夫：この絵、傑作だと思わない。われながら、よくかけたと思うよ。
妻：こう言っては申し訳ないけど、自己満足に過ぎないと思うわ。
Jiko-manzoku
Otto: Kono e, kessaku da to omowanai. Warenagara, yoku kaketa to omou yo.
Tsuma: Koo itte wa mooshiwake naikedo, jiko-manzoku ni suginai to omou wa.
Husband: Don't you think this painting is a fine piece of work? I think I have drawn well, even if I do say so myself.
Wife: I'm sorry to say this, but I'm afraid that's just your ego talking.
Jiko-manzoku means self-satisfaction. The expression is used to show that although a person is pleased with some- thing he himself has done, others may not be so impressed.
It is very true, I believe, that in our everyday lives jiko-manzoku sum koto ni yotte sasae-rarete iru (we are kept going by the satisfaction we get out of our own achievements). After putting forward his own ideas at a company meeting, for instance, a businessman might congratulate himself by thinking, "Everyone was impressed by what I said today." However, sore wa jiko-manzoku ka mo shirenai (he may be the only one who was so pleased with what he said).
In another situation a housewife, trying a taste of the dinner she is preparing, thinks to herself, "This is lovely. It tastes much nicer than what they make in restaurants. " Tatoe jiko-manzoku datta to shite mo, kanojo ga shiawase nara sore de it (Even though she may be feeling a bit full of herself, as long as she's hap- py, that*s fine). How else would she be able to go on cooking meals day in and day out? Similarly, when I go to concerts and watch the performers' faces after the encore, I always think how happy they look. Jiko-manzoku suru koto naku, kono shigoto ga tsuzuke-rareru daroo ka (I wonder if they'd be able to carry on doing this job if they couldn't take a little self-indulgent pleasure in what they do). If they are always worrying about the mistakes they'd made, I'm sure it would ruin their ability to play well.
They say that if we want elderly people to live longer, we should listen patiently to the proud and self-indulgent stories they like to tell. By doing so we make them feel satisfied with the lives they have led and thus encourage them to carry on living happily. So our responsibility as children lies not so much in providing finan- cial support, or in putting them into a good hospital, as in listening to them and showing interest in what they have to say.
However, what we believe to be right isjiko-manzoku ni suginai kamo shirenai (perhaps just a way of satisfying ourselves that we are doing
something good).