時代感覚
今年年号は「平成」から「令和」に、従って私は、昭和、平成、令和と３時代を生きることとなった。多分に次の年号を聞くことは無かろうと思う。というより無いことを願う。
昭和は激動の年。戦前、戦後で時代は大きく分かれ、軍国主義から民主主義へと移行。私は戦争を知らない子供として団塊世代の始まり、昭和２２年にこの世に生を受けた。従って、戦前の事は直接は知らない。ただ書物や話を聞いて想像するのは、今の北朝鮮的な環境下にあったのではないかと勝手に思っている。１６年１２月の戦線布告は、止むにやまれずとも思うが、やらされた感も強くあり、本当は「真実の歴史」をじっくりとひも解く必要があるように思う。
今、北朝鮮はアメリカ主導による自由経済券から総スカンをくい、経済封鎖に苦しんでいるが、日本も似たことからトラ・トラ・トラに至ったように思う。そういう事からすると北朝鮮の問題は軽々には考えられず、現在の一大関心事である。
昭和、平成、令和とこの３時代を振り返るに、私の知っている昭和は何といっても目覚ましい経済成長。食うや食わずの時代から飽食の時代となり、年に１５％、２０％のベースアップを経験し、直接的に経済成長の恩恵を肌身に強く感じた時代であった。
平成は、何といってもIT化か。平成５年に携帯電話が買い取り制となり、一般大衆に普及。またたく間に誰もが携帯電話を携帯するようになり、やがてスマホに変わり、誰でもどこでも何でも判るようになった。また、オフィスはワープロからパソコンに変わり、一社一台から一人一台となり、スマホやパソコンなしでは生活出来ない時代となった。ただ、昭和ほどの経済成長の実感はなく、日々の生活が贅沢になった分、家計は苦しくなり、贅沢をしながら金銭苦に悩むといった矛盾が生じて来ているようだ。
さて令和はどんな時代になるのであろう・・。よくは分からないが、今私が思うのは働き方の変化である。単に政府が進めている「働き方改革」では無く、IT化とAI化により身体を動かして働くことが徐々に無くなっていき、身体を動かすのはスポーツくらいという事になっていくのでは。
こんな思い付きを好き勝手に書きながら、今年もこのブログ更新が最後となった。今年一年このブログを覗いてくださった皆様、本当に有難うございました。週一更新を心がけているつもりながら、年を追うごとに更新回数が減っていき、多分このブログを始めた２００５年４月以降で最低の更新回数であったと思う。これも歳のせいなのかな・・・。
弊社は明日２８日、社員皆で朝からビルの大掃除をし、お昼１２時から御用納め。
令和２年が皆様にとりまして和やかな幸多い年になりますよう祈念して、年末の挨拶とさせていただきます。
This year’s number was changed from “Heisei” to “Seiwa,” so I have lived in three eras: Showa, Heisei, and Seiwa. I’m probably not going to hear the next year’s issue. Or rather, I hope not.
The Showa era was a turbulent year. The times were very different before and after the war, with the transition from militarism to democracy. I was born in 1947, the beginning of the baby-boom generation, as a child who did not know the war. Therefore, I don’t know directly what happened before the war. The December 16 declaration of war was unavoidable, but it also gave me a strong sense that I was forced to do something about it, and I think that we really need to carefully unravel the “true history.
Right now, North Korea is suffering from an economic blockade as a result of the US-led free economic vouchers, and Japan seems to have reached tiger tiger tiger from the same thing. In that light, the issue of North Korea is not to be taken lightly and is a major concern at the moment.
Looking back at the Showa, Heisei, and Reiwa periods, I can say that the Showa period was a period of remarkable economic growth. It was a time when we went from an era of eating or not eating to an era of satiation, experiencing base increases of 15% and 20% a year, and feeling the benefits of direct economic growth in our bodies and minds.
The Heisei era is all about IT. In 1993, mobile phones became a buy-out system and spread to the general public. Before long, everyone was carrying a mobile phone, which was eventually replaced by a smart phone, allowing anyone to know anything, anywhere. In addition, the office has changed from word processing to personal computers, and from one per company to one per person, it has become impossible to live without a smart phone or computer. However, the economy has not really grown as fast as it did in the Showa era, and as daily life has become more extravagant, households are suffering, and there seems to be a contradiction between extravagance and financial hardship.
Now, what kind of era will Reiwa be in… I’m not sure, but what I see now is a change in the way we work. It’s not just the “work style reform” that the government is promoting, but with the introduction of IT and AI, the need to work physically will gradually disappear and the only physical activity will be sports.
This is the last time I will update this blog this year, while writing these thoughts. Thank you to everyone who has taken a look at this blog over the past year. I’ve been trying to update this blog once a week, but the number of updates has been decreasing year by year, probably the lowest since I started this blog in April 2005. Is this also because of my age…?
We will clean the building in the morning and finish at 12:00 p.m. tomorrow.
I would like to conclude this year’s greetings with the hope that the second year of Reiwa will be a year of harmony and happiness for all of you.
*** Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version) ***
