A氏：「今日は、わざわざおいでいただいてありがとうございました」
Bさん：「私の方こそありがとうございました。今日は目の保養をさせていただきました」
Me no Hoyoo
A-shi: Kyoo wa, wazawaza oide itadaite arigatoo gozaimashita.
B-san: Watashi no hoo koso arigatoo gozaimashita. Kyoo wa me no hoyoo wo sasete itadakimashita.
Mr. A: Thank you ever so much for going out of your way to come today.
Miss B: No, no. I should be the one thanking you. I saw so many wonderful things today. It was a real treat.
* * *
Me no hoyoo (wo suru) means to feast one's eyes on, to be delighted by seeing something.
A friend who works at the British Embassy invited me to his apartment for lunch the other day. I was sur- prised at how quiet the neighborhood was, given the flat was just a few minutes walk from a JR station in central Tokyo. The apartment had a large living room, three bedrooms, and three bathrooms. There was also a private garden since the apartment was on the first floor.
The living room was like a museum. On the north wall hung a large oil painting of the sea, some mountains, and a reclining woman. The western wall displayed a painting of a reclining man. The two seemed to make a pair. In one corner he had a 2,000-year-old piece of earthenware from Ecuador, in another, a wall sculpture of part of the arm of a Thai goddess. He explained it was just part of a much, much larger sculpture.
"Kyoo wa, me no hoyo woshi ni kita mitai desu ne" ("It looks like I came today just to be treated to a peek at all your treasures"). But the way everything was so openly displayed-I'm used to seeing such things carefully protected under glass in museums-I couldn't help but wonder about their authenticity.
He was quite confident. "I studied myself about each particular historical period and made sure to get the opinions of qualified experts. Everything here is the real McCoy. And if anything is a fake, at least it's a good fake!"
We sat down to eat. The knives and forks were made of silver, the wine glasses cut glass, "From Czechoslovakia/' he boasted. Konna ni me no hoyo ga dekiru to wa omoimasen deshita (I had no idea I'd be able to have such a visual feast. ) The glasses glittered in the winter sunlight streaming into the room.
"Is the caviar from the Soviet Union?" I inquired.
"Denmark," he replied.
It was so quiet as we ate. I often listen to Bach or Mozart while eating and think it's nice to get as many senses involved in the experience as possible.
Somehow I wished he had the same custom. In any case, our conversation was lively.
When leaving, I told him, "Kyo wa me no hoyo wo sasete itadakimashita" ("I saw so many wonderful things today. It was a real treat.") His reply, "On the contrary, I'm the one who's been treated to your love- ly presence. It was a pleasure to meet you." Englishmen certainly know how to flatter a person, don't they!