You can hear the voice recording for the diary.
今日は長男の１歳の誕生日である。
It was my child’s first birthday.
わたしの両親をマンションによんで、ささやかな誕生日会を開いた。
We held a small birthday party with my parents at my house.
妻が長男が食べられるケーキを作り、食事は両親が持ってきてくれた赤飯を食べた。
My wife made a cake he was able to eat while we ate Sekihan my parents brought.
赤飯は縁起物としていわれており、初めての誕生日によく食べられている。
Sekihan is steamed glutinous rice with boiled red beans and is considered good luck in Japan, so Japanese eat it on their birthday, especially on the first birthday for their children.
また、一升餅を背負わせた。
Also, we made our child carry a total of 1.8 liters of rice cake (Issho Mochi) on his back.
これは「一生子供が食べ物に困らないように。一生健やかに育つように」の一生と一升をかけている。
This means that he will never have to suffer from hunger. It’s a play on words ”Issho (lifetime)” and “Issho (1.8 liters: a unit of old Japanese liquid measurement)”.
To be continued.
