ツイターを見ると、暗い政治的潮流の中に明かりが差してきたのがこの記事です！わたしも８４歳にして恋をし踊って歌って人生を謳歌したいものだと思った！謝！やはり歌・三線、琉球舞踊など、はじめなければだね。転載、少し要約的に紹介します。元気な小浜島のGIRLSたちに元気をもらった。
史上最高齢のダンス＆ボーカルグループが結成された。沖縄の離島小浜（こはま）島で暮らす８０代以上のおばあちゃんたちによる「小浜島ばあちゃん合唱団」が、初のオリジナル曲を制作し音楽活動をしていく。情報を聞きつけた複数の大手レコード会社がスタッフを現地へ飛ばすなど音楽関係者が視察を開始。平均年齢８４歳の“天国に一番近いアイドル”として熱い視線が注がれ始めている。
Heaven can wait for Japan's geriatric pop queens
Kohama (Japan) (AFP) - They joke about knocking on heaven's door, but a Japanese 'girl band' with an average age of 84 have struck a blow for grannies everywhere by becoming pop idols.
Hailing from the remote, coral-fringed island of Kohama in Okinawa, KBG84 -- a play on the name of saccharine teeny boppers AKB48 -- admit to being slightly bemused by their success after cutting their first disc and completing a sellout Japan tour.ＡＫＢ４８→ＫＢＧ８４は日本ツアーの成功に戸惑っているのも確か。ＣＤが売れたのだ！
"When I first heard someone call us 'idols' I thought an idol meant someone who had lived a long life and was at the gates of heaven," pint-sized diva Tomi Menaka, 92, told AFP in a herb garden overlooking Kohama's turquoise sea.アイドルと聞いたとき、長生きして天国の入り口にいる者たちのことかと思ったよ、と歌姫の９２歳のとみさん。
"But in Tokyo they told me it was an entertainer -- which was a relief because I thought it meant I was on my way to heaven," she added, picking up steam as her fellow group members collapsed in fits of giggles. "I hadn't even been to Tokyo or Osaka. I wanted to go there before I went to heaven."東京でエンターテイナーのことだと話した。ほっとしたよ、天国への道行きかと思ったからね。東京にも大阪にも行ったことないよ。天国に行く前に行きたかった。
The 33-strong troupe of singers and dancers has released a single called "Come on and Dance, Kohama Island", with a heart-warming video shot on the tiny honeymoon isle, which has a population of just 600 and lies a mere 150 miles (240 kilometres) off Taiwan.台湾から２４０キロ離れた小浜島は６００人の人口。心温まるビデオは”小浜島に来て踊ろう（？）”
Normally hunched over a walking stick, Menaka tosses her cane aside like a bona fide rock star when she's on stage, dancing with joyous abandon to the pling-plang of traditional Okinawan string music given a Tokyo-style pop makeover.
"I've never been as happy as I am when we perform," she said, wearing a stripy kimono and flame-red headscarf, her gold teeth glistening in the midday sun.演じているときが最高
"Going to Tokyo for the first time, I thought I was so lucky to be born. I got to meet my grandchildren. I'll never forget it. I was moved to tears."東京で孫に会えた。
Okinawan islanders have one of the highest life expectancies in the world, their diet containing more vegetables and less sugar than that of mainland Japanese, the staple food the purple-fleshed local sweet potato rather than rice.長寿の島沖縄、食事は、多くの野菜と少ない塩が主で芋をよく食べる。
Menaka, a queen bee of the group, which has a minimum age requirement of 80, stays fit by doing housework. But she is not particularly fussy about her diet.グループの女王は家事をしなから健康だ。あまり食事にかまわない。
- 'Young at heart' -
"I like meat and sweet things," she cackled, flanked by the group's eldest member, 97-year-old Haru Yamashiro, who shook her head disapprovingly.
"I look after my health by cleaning my home, wiping the floors, steaming rice. I stay in the shade when it's too hot. I don't want to tan. I have to take care of my skin -- I'm still young at heart!"
日焼けしないようにしているよ。心は若い！
While they tweak the nose of old age with their indefatigable girl power, backstage at a KBG84 gig is a far cry from Glastonbury -- walking frames block entrances, and blood pressure monitors and defibrillators are close at hand.
The brainchild of Kyushu-born musician Kikuo Tsuchida, who has lived on Kohama for over 20 years, the rambunctious seniors recently signed a record deal and have been followed by Japanese documentary crews as they play to audiences, generally from middle-age upwards.
土田喜久子さん（？）、九州生まれの独創的な考えで始まったのだね。小浜島に２０年以上住んでいて。手に負えない元気な彼女たちはレコーディングの契約を結んだ。ドキュメント製作スタッフと、中年以上の者たちが舞台に立って歌うことをー。
"We felt like stars in Tokyo," said 86-year-old Hideko Kedamori. "Everyone in the audience had a big smile, which gave us the energy to sing our hearts out. We're blessed to have been born in Kohama. Our lyrics are about the island and nature -- whales in the sea spouting or dolphins doing somersaults."東京でスターのような気持ちになった、と８６歳のひでこさん。観客はみな大きな笑みで心から歌うエネルギーを与えてくれた。小浜に生まれてよかった。鯨は潮を吹き出し、イルカはとんぼ返りをしている。
Life in paradise has barely changed for the geriatric pop queens, who still enjoy long chats over a cup of tea and compare themselves to musketeers.島の人生はあまり変わらない。長いおしゃべりを楽しんでいる。
"We still sit around gossiping about life," said Kedamori. "If we fight, we quickly make up again, just like when we were kids. We are all together with the same heart. All for one and one for all."
四方山話をしているよ。喧嘩をしてもすぐ仲直り。同じ心でいるよ。みんなは一人のために、ひとりはみんなのために
The diminutive Menaka, as usual, has the final word.
愛らしいめなかが閉めのことば。
"I want to go back to Tokyo with the grannies and see my grandchildren before I go to heaven," she said with a toothy grin.天国に行く前に孫に会うためにまた東京に戻りたいよと歯を見せて笑った。
As her colleagues rolled their eyes and warned it would be impossible to stop her once in full flow, Menaka smiled and stared wistfully out to sea, before adding: "That would be just grand."
いったん始まったら止めることはできない。それはすばらしい。
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