一昨日親戚筋から電話が入り、90歳余の祖母が他界したとの事。直ぐにお悔やみを申し、先ずは弔電をと思い、115番に電話。「弔電をお願いします、文面は・・・・・」と告げる。すると、「台紙はどのように」と問いながら、2千円から数万円のものを色々と説明・・・。「それでは・・・で」とお願いする。すると、今度は文面は、「縦書きの毛筆体がよろしいかと・・・、横書きは云々」と説明。よく聞くと、縦書きと横書きで値段が違うとのこと・・・。

こんなことは極一般的な常識になっているのでしょうが、何時も妻や社員に任せていた為、やり取りの中で「エッそんな・・」と思うことが結構あった。

電話を切り、それにしてもと考えた。電文を、横書きにするか、縦書きにするかで料金が違う。電報の台紙が高いものだと数万円・・・。ビックリぽん、である。

大体今の日本で電報が必要なのか・・？。これだけ通信機能が発達し、何時でも何処でも意を伝えることはOK、文章に残す必要があれば、FAX、メール、手紙、特に急を要する用件でも、電報などより遥かに早い通信手段は幾らでもある。にも関わらず、慶弔に際しては未だ電報が主流・・・。

過っての、「早く意を伝える」という電報の役割は、遥か以前に終焉を向かえ、今では、慶弔に際しての形式行為に過ぎないと思うが、廃れることなく、しかも値段は相当高額なものになっているようである。

これは独占市場故のことか。クールビズなど、国が方針を出せば、アッという間に今の状況であるが、国が直接関係していた電報市場は、未だ独占のまま。しかも、普通では考えられないような値段がまかり通っている。電報は電報なりの意味はあると思うが、それにしても・・・と思うのは小生のみであろうか。

The day before yesterday, I received a phone call from a relative who told me that his grandmother, who was over 90 years old, had passed away. I immediately called 115 to offer my condolences and send a cable of condolence. “Please send a telegram of condolence to…” she said. Then, while asking “how to put the backing board”, I explained various things from 20,000 yen to tens of thousands of yen… So…” he asks. This time, he explained, “I think it’s better to write vertically in brush strokes, but not horizontally… If you listen carefully, the price is different between vertical and horizontal writing….

This kind of thing is common sense, but since I always left it to my wife and employees, there were many times when I thought, “What the hell…”.

I hung up the phone and thought about it as well. The fee is different depending on whether the telegram is written horizontally or vertically. If the telegrams are expensive, they cost tens of thousands of yen… Surprisingly, it is.

Do you need a telegram in Japan nowadays? If you need to leave a message in writing, there are many means of communication that are much faster than faxes, emails, letters, and especially telegrams, even for urgent matters. In spite of this, telegrams are still the mainstream for congratulations and condolences…

The role of telegrams as a means of “communicating your intentions quickly” came to an end long ago, and now they are merely a formal act of congratulation or condolence, but they have not fallen into disuse, and they seem to be quite expensive.

Is this due to a monopoly market? However, the telegram market, which was directly related to the country, still remains a monopoly. What’s more, the prices are unimaginable. I think that a telegram has a meaning like a telegram, but even so… am I the only one who thinks so?

「就活」という言葉が一般的になったのは何時ごろのことであろう。何時の時代でも、新卒での就職活動は、人生の大きなターニングポイントであることに違いは無い。ただ、小生のような昭和人間には、今の大学生にみられる様な就活戦争はピンと来ない。大体は２･３社にターゲットを絞り、その中でどこかに決まったもの。ところが近年の就職戦線は一変し、就職難、求人難の時代背景に関係なく、１０社、２０社はごく普通、中には４０・５０社にエントリーシートを提出し、１年の長丁場で就職活動に専念するようである。中でも文系の学生は大変なようである。ところがイザ就職しても、３ケ月と続かず、続いて第二新卒として再び就活に臨むケースが非常に多い。

弊社は、そうしたミスマッチを少しでも無くそうと、求人企業からの依頼のみでなく、求職者からの依頼で求職企業を調べる事も手がけている。特に最近は、ブラック企業と目される企業も多く、リクルートキャリア（東京・千代田）の「就職白書2017」によると、「企業を選ぶときに最も重視した条件」では、「勤務時間・休暇」をあげた学生が就活開始直後の4.8％から活動後の12月には7.4％になっているとのこと。やりたい仕事、勤めたい企業で選ぶのではなく、最も重視するのが「勤務時間と休暇」。全くもってハッという感じではあるが、週１の休みもまともに取れず、１日１２時間勤務が常態化している企業がざらにあるのも事実のようである。故に、こんな就職白書が出てきても、「最近の若者は・・」と嘆く状況ではないのかもしれない。

いずれにしても新卒での就職は、その人の一生を左右するくらいの大きな出来事。私見ではあるが、学卒で最初に勤めた先の、教育、社風が、その人の一生の仕事ぶり、仕事に対する考え方を大きく左右する様に思う。故に、はじめの職場はより慎重に選ぶ必要があると同時に、採用した企業も、その人の一生を左右するくらいの気持ちで、真剣に教育する必要があるように思う。

When did the term “job hunting” become popular? There is no doubt that job hunting as a new graduate is a major turning point in one’s life at any given time. However, for people like me in the Showa era, the job-hunting wars of today’s university students do not resonate with me. Mostly, we narrowed down our target to two or three companies and decided on one of them. In recent years, however, the job market has changed drastically. Regardless of the difficulties of finding a job or finding a job, 10 or 20 companies are the norm, and some of them submit their entry sheets to 40 or 50 companies and focus on job hunting after a long year. It seems to be particularly difficult for students in the liberal arts. However, there are many cases in which even when they do find a job, it doesn’t last for three months, and then they start looking for work again as second graduates.

In order to eliminate such mismatches as much as possible, we not only handle requests from job seekers, but we also handle requests from job seekers to search for job seekers. Particularly recently, many companies are seen as black companies, and according to the “White Paper on Job Hunting 2017” by Recruit Career (Chiyoda, Tokyo), the number of students who cited “working hours and leave” as the “most important criteria when choosing a company” rose from 4.8% immediately after starting job hunting to 7.4% in December, the month after activities. Instead of choosing the job you want to do or the company you want to work for, the most important thing is “working hours and vacation”. Although it sounds like a total disaster, there are some companies that can’t even take one day off a week and work 12 hours a day as normal. Therefore, it may not be a situation in which young people lament, “Young people these days…” even when such a job white paper comes out.

In any case, getting a job as a new graduate is a big event that will affect your life. It is my personal opinion that the education and corporate culture at the first place you work after graduating from school will greatly influence the way you work and the way you think about your work. Therefore, it is necessary to choose the first workplace more carefully, and at the same time, the company that hires the person needs to educate him/her seriously, with the feeling that it will affect his/her life.

昭和３８年３月　西ノ島町立黒木中学校卒業の同級生１２０名の内２５名が箱根湯元に集合、古希同窓会が開催された。

時は平成２９年５月２９日、夕闇せまる夜７時、登山鉄道をしたてて箱根湯元に集まるは、御歳７０歳の美男美女、パン・パン。生まれは同じ隠岐の島、一同に会せば、幼心に火が点いたの如く、見栄も美貌も投げ捨てて、○○チャン、○○ちゃん、なんとハートは１５歳。

７０歳の老老男女が、ジュンちゃん、キョウちゃん、セッちゃんだものな・・・。同窓会ならではの光景、一挙に５５歳も若返るのはいいものだ。

In March 1963, 25 out of 120 classmates who graduated from Kuroki Junior High School of Nishinoshima Town gathered at Hakone-Yumoto and held the reunion of the old age.

It is a beautiful man and a beautiful woman of 70 years of age and a pan pan that time gathers at Hakone Yumoto with a mountain climbing railway at 7:00 in the evening on May 29, 2007. They were born on the same Oki island, and when they met each other, they were like a child with a fire in their hearts.

Seventy years old men and women are Jun-chan, Keough-chan and Set-chan…. It’s a nice sight that only a reunion can have, to be 55 years younger at once.

毎年の事ながら５･６月は企業、団体の定時総会が目白押し。小生も今週は業界団体の総会で火、水曜と東京出張。火曜日は全国調査業協同組合、水曜はNPO法人全国調査業協会連合会の総会に参加。また、６月は社団法人関西総合調査業協会、公益財団法人天風会の評議委員会（総会に準じたもの）が予定されており、何かと多忙。しかし、その隙間をぬって、来週の月、火曜日は何となんと、御歳７０歳の古希同窓会（中学の同期）。考えるに、これは我が人生の総会のようなもの。まだまだ先は長いが、ひとつの節目であることは間違い無さそう・・・。人生の総括には未だ早いが、振り返ってみると、幼少のころからの思い出が走馬灯のように浮かんでくる。この世に生を受け、最初の記憶が３歳の時,たぶん祭りの日の記憶。後しばらく無く、鮮明に覚えているのが小学校入学の時、なんと入学式を終え、自宅近くの川で水遊びをしていたら、何時の間にか仲間と喧嘩になり、びしょ濡れになったものだった。以後、７０歳の今日まで、山あり谷あり、紆余曲折いろいろあったが、それなりに楽しく充実した日々を送って来た様に思う。あと余命５０年、今日死ぬかのごとく生き、永遠に生きるかのごとく学んでいく事にする。そして　”やった　やった”大声で叫びながら次の世へ旅立とうと思う・・・。

In May and June, there are many annual general meetings of companies and organizations. I’m also on a business trip to Tokyo on Tuesday and Wednesday for a general meeting of an industry group this week. On Tuesday, I attended the general meeting of the National Association of Surveyors, and on Wednesday, I attended the general meeting of the National Association of Surveyors. Also, in June, I will be busy with meetings of the Kansai Research Association and Tenpukai’s Board of Trustees (which is the same as the general meeting). However, next Monday and Tuesday will be a reunion of my junior high school classmates who are 70 years old. If you think about it, this is like the General Assembly of my life. There’s still a long way to go, but there’s no doubt that it’s a milestone… It’s too early to sum up my life, but when I look back on it, memories from my childhood come to mind like running lanterns. I was born into this world and my first memory is when I was three years old, probably on a festival day. What I remember vividly is that I got into a fight with my friends before I knew it and got soaked when I was playing in the water in the river near my house after the entrance ceremony at the time of elementary school entrance. Since then, until today, at the age of 70, I have had many ups and downs, and many twists and turns, but I think I have spent my days enjoying and fulfilling them in my own way. I have 50 years to live, and I’m going to live today as if I’m going to die, and I’m going to learn as if I’m going to live forever. And I think I’m going to leave for the next world screaming, “Yes, yes, yes”….

弊社の直ぐ南側、徒歩５分の所が往時のデートスポット、中ノ島である。御堂筋の挟んで日本銀行、大阪市役所があり、その東に中ノ島図書館、大阪公会堂（共に明治の建物）、東洋陶磁美術館と並ぶ、文化の香り漂う大阪一の風向明媚（小生曰く）な地であり、弊社企業サービスがその少し北にそびえる事から、より一層その感を深めている。

その中ノ島の先端部分で春のバラ園が開園されている。毎朝、中ノ島を跨いでかかる「なには橋（通称ライオン橋）」を渡って会社に向かうが、そのなには橋の下がバラ園である。

今週がバラ園の盛り。何時もながら、この世ならではの見事なバラが今を盛りと咲き誇っている。明日、明後日の土、日が多分最高の見ごろでは・・、足を運ばれることをお勧めしたい。ただ、その時間が取れないお方は、小生が撮った少しボケ気味のバラをお楽しみ下さい・・・。

何時に間にか小生にも２人目の孫が誕生。肖像権を主張される前にソッとお披露目。

Just south of our company, a five-minute walk away is Nakanoshima, the old dating spot. The Bank of Japan and Osaka City Hall are on the other side of Midosuji, and to the east of them are Nakanoshima Library, Osaka Public Hall (both buildings of Meiji era), and the Museum of Oriental Ceramics, which is the most scenic place in Osaka with the aroma of culture.

At the tip of Nakanoshima, a spring rose garden has been opened. Every morning, I cross the “Niniha Bridge” (a.k.a. the Lion Bridge), which straddles Nakanoshima, to my office.

This week is the height of the rose garden. As always, the beautiful roses are in full bloom now. Tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday, are probably the best times to see them… I recommend you to visit them. However, if you can’t take the time, please enjoy the slightly blurry roses that I took….