香山リカのココロの万華鏡：渕正信的な生き方 ／東京

(Mainichi Japan) July 3, 2011
Kaleidoscope of the Heart: Living life at your own pace, pro-wrestler Fuchi-style
香山リカのココロの万華鏡：渕正信的な生き方　／東京

Readers may be surprised to hear that I am a pro wrestling fan, and I even belong to the fan club for referee Kyohei Wada.
　プロレスファンの私は、和田京平さんという名レフェリーのファンクラブに入っている。

At a recent club meeting, veteran wrestler Masanobu Fuchi also made an appearance.
先日その集い「京平会」に、これまたベテランレスラーの渕正信選手が参加した。

Fuchi is now 57 years old.
　渕選手は、現在５７歳。

He made his debut at 20 and fought in bouts under legendary wrestler Giant Baba's All Japan Pro-Wrestling organization for his entire career.
２０歳でデビューしてから、ずっとジャイアント馬場さんが設立した全日本プロレスという団体で試合をしている。

The wrestling world, however, underwent seismic changes during Fuchi's time in the ring, particularly when Giant Baba passed away in 1999, sparking strife and division in the organization.
For a while, there were even fears All Japan Pro-Wrestling would disintegrate, but Fuchi stuck with it even through its darkest moments.
途中、プロレス業界は激変し、とくに馬場さんが亡くなってからは分裂騒動が起きて団体じたいの存続が危ぶまれた時期もあったが、渕選手はその間もずっと居残り続けた。

Fuchi is not the type to glory in the limelight of the marquee bouts, but rather spends a lot of time fighting in earlier matches and letting younger wrestlers practice their moves on him, gaining him the nickname, "The First-Bout Demon."
華々しくメインイベントで活躍するタイプではなく、前半戦で若手に胸を貸すことが多いことから、「第一試合の鬼」などと呼ばれている。

Looking at his career, I sometimes find myself wondering how Fuchi compares to regular company employees.
　渕選手を会社員にたとえたらどうなるだろう、と私はときどき考える。

For example, imagine a new employee at a long-standing firm does well and nails down all her duties, but then gets caught in a wave of change that hits her entire industry.
　新入社員として老舗企業に入社し、順調に仕事を覚えたものの、業界じたいが変化の波にのみ込まれる。

The company founder dies, and coworkers leave one after another for new jobs or to start their own businesses.
創設者も亡くなり、先輩や同僚は状況を見つつ、転職したり起業を試みたりして次々に去って行った。

Our theoretical employee knows that even if she stays, prospects for promotion are slim to nonexistent.
自分もいまの会社にいても、これ以上、出世する見込みはなさそう、とわかっている。

But, even so, she remains, doing her work at the same efficient pace as ever.
　しかし、それでも、同じ会社で同じペースで仕事をし続ける……。

Generally speaking, this does not seem a wise life course in this day and age.
　これはおよそ、現代には似つかわしくない生き方だろう。

These days, it's thought clever to constantly build your appeal both inside and outside your office, hunt down good chances and change careers at the drop of a hat, always looking to better your position and your salary. もっと自分を内外にアピールして、チャンスを見つけて軽やかにキャリアチェンジし、年収や地位を上げていくのが“いまどきの賢い働き方”だと思われているからだ。

However, in this breathless daily competition you can think of your coworkers as nothing but rivals, while both your mind and your body slowly wear down under the strain, leading eventually to depression.
It is a simple truth that many a "business warrior" ends up just like this.
ただ、そういう息もつけない競争の毎日の中で、同僚のこともライバルとしか思えず、心身をすり減らして結局はうつ病などで倒れてしまう“ビジネス戦士”が多いのも事実だ。

Fuchi has never spent an extended time out of the ring due to injury or any other cause.
　渕選手は、ケガなどで長期にわたって戦線離脱したこともない。

He has persevered in the same organization and at the same level his entire career, and has earned the respect of both the wrestling world and its fans.
同じ団体で同じレベルを維持しながらの安定した試合ぶりは、いまではプロレス業界やファンの誰からも尊敬されている。

In person at the fan club meeting -- the first time I had ever seen him in regular street clothes -- he was the picture of gentleness and composure, and he greeted fans he was meeting for the first time, like me, and old acquaintances with equal grace.
そしてはじめて間近で見た私服姿の彼は、独特の余裕とおだやかさにあふれ、私のような初対面のファンにも昔からの知人にも、まったく違いなく同じように接してくれた。

Living life and working in a dog-eat-dog world isn't a bad thing.
　生き馬の目を抜くような生き方、働き方も悪くはない。

Your antennae are always up, you're always looking to grow, and the daily tension involved in always making sure you never miss a chance to move up can be good.
いつもアンテナを張り巡らせ、成長、向上の機会を逃さない緊張感の高い毎日を送るのもいいだろう。

But, I feel I have to say, for those of you rushing through daily life, what is it like to catch a glimpse of people like Fuchi, just moving along at their own pace?
　でも、と私は言いたいのだ。あわただしく走り回る人たちを横目に、いまいる場所でマイペースを保ち続ける「渕正信的な生き方」はどうですか、と。

For my own part, of course I think I want to do the same.
もちろん私もそうしたいと思っている。

毎日新聞　2011年6月28日　地方版