＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
I previously introduced a program on BS Premium called “Street Records（「街録」Gairoku）,” and like “Street Records,” “Document 72 Hours” is an interesting program that gives a glimpse into various life patterns.
It goes without saying, but each person has their own “life.” If there are 7.6 billion people living in the world today, there are 7.6 billion different kinds of lives. Regardless of whether they are “ordinary lives” or “lives full of ups and downs”…
“The life of an ordinary office worker,” “The life of an ordinary housewife,” “A life at the mercy of war,” “A life suffering under oppression in a dictatorship,” “A life suffering as a refugee in a country in a constant state of civil war,” “A life of success and fame,” “A life that tarnished one’s later years,” “A life dedicated to the arts,” “A life dedicated to being a craftsman,” “A life that dedicated one’s life to research and development,” “A life of continuous setbacks,” “A happy life despite being poor,” and so on.
As I got older, I became interested in documentaries that showed these kinds of ways of living and life patterns. It may be a bit of an exaggeration to say that it is a show that makes you think about life, but…
As the catchphrase for Asahi Broadcasting Television’s show “A House in the Middle of Nowhere（「ポツンと一軒家」）” says, “There are as many dramas in life as there are in the middle of nowhere,” perhaps the secret to its popularity is that it gives a glimpse into the thoughts and lives of elderly couples who live in such remote places.
I previously wrote an article about how blogs by Ichikawa Ebizo and others will be preserved at the National Diet Library, but if a “video archive” like this program were to be preserved forever, I feel it would be even more of a “witness to the times” than a “blog.” I think it would be very interesting for people 100 years from now to watch this.
Today I would like to introduce you to this program.
1. What is “Document 72 Hours”?
This is a documentary program that airs every Friday (10:45pm-11:10pm) on NHK General TV.
Each episode of this program is in one location, and the interviews are conducted over a period of 72 hours (3 days), and the various human relationships observed there are monitored from a fixed point.
The current “Document 72 Hours” is in its second regular season which began in April 2013, but the first regular season was broadcast from October 2006 to March 2007, and the first special season was broadcast from July 3rd to July 19th, 2012.
2. Recent broadcast content
On April 26th, the “Rental Person Who Does Nothing,” which became a hot topic this year, was introduced.
Here are some interesting recent broadcasts.
(1) “Tokyo Nagatacho Shared Office” (broadcast on October 18th)
The story takes place in a “shared office” in a corner of Nagatacho, Tokyo, where government offices and office buildings are concentrated. On a stylish cafe-like floor, there are co-working spaces and rental offices, where people with various working styles are working silently. They are not only freelancers, but also satellite offices of companies that have launched new businesses. Many people have left large companies to start new businesses. Over the course of three days, people pursue their dreams while searching for “a way of working that suits them.”
(2) “End of Summer: Osaka Castle Park” (broadcast on October 25th)
The setting for this film is Osaka Castle Park, located in the very heart of Osaka City. The vast site of over 100 hectares includes the Osaka Castle Tower, Nishinomaru Garden, Osaka Castle Hall and other facilities, and is visited by over 2.7 million people a year. The park surrounding the tower is open 24 hours a day, and many different people spend their time here as they please, day or night. What kind of circumstances bring people here? For three days, we will set up a camera in Osaka Castle Park, which never sleeps, 24 hours a day.
(3) “Fukuoka 24-hour dentist with tears and laughter” (broadcast on November 8)
The story is set in a 24-hour dentist in Fukuoka City. Day and night, patients come in constantly, enduring pain. There is a salesman whose unhealthy lifestyle has led to an increase in cavities. There is a female university student who smiles more and has a brighter personality because her teeth have become cleaner. There is a man who lost a tooth in a fistfight when he was young, and he reflects that “no matter how much I lament the past, I can’t get my teeth back.” On November 8th (Good Teeth Day), we will be looking at dramas related to teeth.
(4) “A Little Wedding Story” (broadcast on November 22nd)
This time, the setting is a wedding hall where weddings can be held for just a few tens of thousands of yen. Its selling points are its low prices, small scale, and short duration, with 30 to 40 couples coming in for consultations every day. A remarried couple in their 40s who say they want to keep it simple the second time around. A couple in their 60s who were not able to have a wedding when they were younger, and whose children gave them a wedding dress as a gift. A couple who want to have their wedding in a month so that their sick father can see them in a dress. We look at the small wedding stories from all kinds of different lives.
(5) “Looking at the magnificent view of the Nagano sky” (broadcast on December 13th)
The setting is Achi Village in southern Nagano Prefecture. As autumn turns to winter, many people from all over the country flock to the observation deck at an altitude of 1,600 meters. The visitors come to see the starry sky that spreads across the sky and the huge sea of clouds that can only be seen at this time of year. People are left speechless by the sight of pure white clouds stretching as far as the eye can see, all the way to the Southern Alps. Many people make wishes as they gaze at the sun rising in the distance. What are people thinking in November, when they see a sight worthy of being called a “breathtaking view of the sky”?
(6) “Amusement Facilities in the Twilight of Amagasaki” (broadcast on December 20th)
The story is set in an amusement facility in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, known only to a few insiders. Billiards and table tennis can be played for just 100 yen for 30 minutes, so the facility is bustling with customers day and night. During the day, elderly people on their way home from shopping, groups of middle-aged people working up a sweat playing table tennis, and at night, young people silently enjoying the game can be seen. Some people come here to reminisce about their youth, some to relieve loneliness, and some to cherish time spent with their families… This is a close look at an amusement facility where many different lives intersect.
3. “Year-end Special 2019”
At the end of the year, there will be a popularity vote for the episodes that were broadcast this year. The broadcast will be on Monday, December 29th from 12:15pm to 5:55pm. We are looking forward to seeing which episode will be chosen as the “one you want to watch again.”
For details on the content, we will quote from NHK’s introduction.
We’re doing it again this year! “Viewers’ Choice Top 10 of the Year.” Viewers will vote for “the one they want to watch again” from the 36 shows that were broadcast in 2019, and the show will be presented in a ranked format. Guests include Goro Yamada, Osamu Suzuki, and actress Kazue Fukiishi, who has been the narrator for the show for many years. In addition, singer-songwriter Nao Matsuzaki will perform the theme song for Shika no Ichizoku.