カテゴリ:life

Samurai and Pedro

Samurai sword-fighting

There is a famous movie studio for Samurai films in Kyoto. But when no one is filming, it changes into an "amusement park." One of the popular events is a Samurai sword-fighting show by actors. The show lasts about 20 minutes and at the end of it, a few people can try their hand at sword-fighting in front of the audience, under the instruction of the actors.
The other day, my family invited our guests there, and watched the show. At the end, four people were chosen for practice from the audience. One of them was a little Western boy, who did very well. After the practice, the Samurai actor interviewed him, as well as others.
Samurai: "Where are you from?"
Boy: "Spain."
Samurai: "Wow! Spain! What's your name?"
The little light-haired boy answered, "Pedro." But because the pronunciation of the "P" was between [p] and [b], the actor didn't get it.
Samurai: Bedro?
Pedro: No, Pedro.
Samurai: Biedoro? (a kind of glass in Japanese)
The audience giggled.
Pedro: No, Pe-dro (slowly)
Samurai: Ah, Beijiro? (quite seriously)
The audience burst into laughter because "Beijiro" is a Japanese man's name, used in old Samurai time.
Little Pedro shouted, "No, Pe-dro!" and we laughed lot.
The actor was at a loss, and asked Pedro, "Do you have a nickname?"
Then the boy's parents shouted something from the gallery, and Pedro on the stage answered,
"Lopez."
The Samurai was even more confused and asked Pedro in Japanese, "Why is your nickname so different from your name?"
There was no answer. Pedro received a little present and went back to his parents, amid enthusiastic applause.