ディレクター：「金閣寺でのコンサートを企画しているんですが。出演していただけませんか」
ぜひ
歌手：「それはまたとない機会です。是非出演させて下さい」
Mata to Nai Kikai
Terebi no
direkutaa: Kinkakuji de no konsaato wo kikaku shiteiru'n desu ga. Shutsuen shite itadakemasen ka.
Kashu: Sore wa mata to nai kikai desu. Zehi shutsuen sasete kudasai.
TV Director: We're planning a concert at Kinkakuji
Temple. Won't you be one of the performers?
Singer: That would be the chance of a lifetime. I'd love to.
* * *
Mata to nai kikai can be variously translated as "golden opportunity" or "rare/excellent chance." It is a chance or opportunity not expected to come around again. The expression can be used in many different situations.
There are many good programs on television these days. Instead of watching them when they're aired, however, (a luxury few have), I usually tape them.
And so the other day I finally got around to watching some of the programs I'd taped over the past few months. One of them turned out to be>a concert of classical music held at Kinkakuji Temple in Kyoto.
Kinkakuji, built in 1397, is, of course, one of Kyoto's most famous temples. As if to symbolize the power and authority of the then reigning stiogun, the temple once truly sparkled with its golden color. Since the original temple was destroyed by fire in 1950, the present temple is a reconstruction.
The concert was held at night, such that the temple, reflected in the many lights, presented a dream-like sight. The darkness of the night, the lights, Kinkakuji, "Konna kokei wo mini no wa mata to nai kikai desu" ( "This was a once-in-a-lifetime sight." ) With Kinkaku-ji so beautifully complemented by the night lights, perhaps they should illuminate the temple like this all the time. But I've never heard anyone make this suggestion. The sound of the soprano's voice piercing the night air from the stage at Kinkakuji was truly stunning. The chief priest of the temple answered the interviewer's question: "Watashitachi ni tottemo kono yo na moyooshi wa mata to nai kikai deshita" ("For all of us at the temple as well, this event was the kind of opportunity that knocks just once.") Let's look at another situation.
Imagine someone tells you they're going to introduce you to someone you'd otherwise never be able to meet. You might say, "Mata to nai kikai desu kara, zehi goshokai kudasai" ("That would be a golden opportunity. Please, please introduce me.'"') After you've been introduced, you then say, "Anna kata ni shokai shite itadakeru no wa mata to nai kikai deshita" ("Being introduced to that person was the kind of thing I'll never have another chance of doing. )
Thank you ever so much." The expression can also be used to refer to a place. I have an aunt who lives by herself in Kyoto. "Why don't you come to Yamaguchi?" I ask. "To be invited to Mizue-chan's house, mata to nai kikai dakara iku wa (why, that's an opportunity that will only come around once.) Yamaguchi ni ikuni wa mata to nai kikai desu (It's a golden opportunity just to get to go to Yamaguchi,)" she answers. Come to think of it, if I hadn't been given the chance to teach at Yamaguchi University, I may never have come to the prefecture myself! My aunt couldn't have been more correct.
What kind of things do my readers consider to be "golden opportunities?" Meeting someone new? Visiting an unusual place? Whatever, mata to nai kikai wo nogasanai de kudasai (don't let that golden opportunity slip through your fingers. )