♦ 5月のコラム
♦♦ 海洋技術学専攻
♦♦♦ 佐藤徹教授
峰不二子の恋人
ルパン三世の第一シリーズの初回放送はあまり人気がなく、爆発的に視聴率が上がったのは再放送かららしい。元々青年誌連載だったルパン三世は、第一シリーズの始めの数回は少年対象ではなく、ちょっとお色気のある雰囲気で、子供ながらにお茶の間にふさわしくないかもと思ったりしていた。ちなみに、視聴率アップのために第一シリーズの途中から少年向けに方針を切り替え、そこに加わった一人が若かりし日の宮﨑駿氏だった。
峰不二子が初めて登場した、その青年向けの放送回では、彼女は恋人プーンと組織を裏切って逃避行中だった。「そ、そしき？」。小学生だった私には組織の意味が理解できなかった。辞書を引いてもピンとこない。子供心に「そしき」についてあれこれ想像して得たおぼろげな姿とは、何か怪しげな目的に向かって大人が裏でコソコソ活動する不気味な集団で、その全体像は構成員にもわからない、というものだった。そう言えば、ブラックゴーストもショッカーも、虎の穴だって「怪しげな目的に向かって」、「大人が裏でコソコソ」、「全体像はわからない」、つまり「そしき」だ。それに対し孤軍（グループのこともある）奮闘するのが正義のヒーローであって、私もご多分に漏れず子供心にそうなろうと誓ったのだ。
さて定年を前にして私は自分に問う。果たして私は悪の「そしき」に立ち向かう正義のヒーローだったか？もしかしたら「そしき」の構成員として、全体像も目的も知らずに「イー！」とか言っていなかったか？
もう一つ私が理解できない言葉に「ガバナンス」がある。幼い私に言わせれば、「ガバナンス」は民主主義における専制主義の隠れ蓑だ。すると選挙で過半数をとってやりたい放題のどこぞの女首相もそうなるのか。そこで私はさらに問う。もし一国のような巨大組織や私の身近な組織が「ガバナンス」という名のもとに、全体像や行く末の見えない「そしき」になろうとしていたら？「ガバナンス」が組織ならぬ「そしき」を運営する手法になったとき、当然ですが、そこに自由や透明性はない。嗚呼。
PS：峰不二子の声は、私は断然、二階堂有希子派です！
♦♦ Department of Ocean Technology, Policy, and Environment
♦♦♦ Toru Sato, Professor
Fujiko Mine’s Lover
The first broadcast of Lupin the Third didn’t gain much popularity, and it wasn’t until reruns that the viewer ratings exploded. Originally serialized in a men’s magazine, the first few episodes of the first series of Lupin the Third were not targeted at children. They had a somewhat naughty atmosphere, and as a child, I thought it might be a bit inappropriate for family viewing. By the way, to increase ratings, the first series’ focus shifted midway to be more child-friendly, and one of the people who contributed to this shift was young Hayao Miyazaki.
Fujiko Mine made her debut in one of the episodes aimed at a young-adult audience, where she was escaping with her lover, Poon, having betrayed the organization. “Organizeeetion?” As a young elementary school student, I couldn’t understand what “organizeeetion” meant. Even when I looked it up in a dictionary, it didn’t quite make sense. I imagined “organizeeetion” as a shady group working toward some mysterious goal, where the members didn’t even fully understand the whole picture, and it felt like a secretive operation where adults were conspiring behind the scenes. Now that I think about it, Black Ghost, Shocker, and Tora-no-Ana were all “organizeeetions” in this sense — working toward some sinister goal, adults conspiring secretly, and the members having little idea of the full scope. The heroes, fighting on their own (sometimes forming a group), stood against such “organizeeetions.” I too, like many children, vowed to be a hero like that.
Now, nearing retirement, I ask myself: was I really a hero standing up to the evil “organizeeetion”? Or was I, perhaps, an unwitting member of such an “organizeeetion,” blindly going along with it, saying “Eeee!” without knowing the true purpose?
There’s another word I couldn’t understand back then: “governance.” As a child, I thought “governance” was merely a disguised form of authoritarianism in a democracy. Does that mean that a female prime minister, for example, can just do whatever she wants once she gains a majority in an election? So, I ask myself again: what if a huge organization like a nation, or even an organization close to me, operating under the banner of “governance,” is headed toward becoming an “organizeeetion” with no clear picture or future? When “governance” becomes a method for running an “organizeeetion” rather than an organization, there is, of course, no freedom or transparency. Alas.
PS: As for Fujiko Mine’s voice, I am absolutely a Yukiko Nikaidou fan!
