Tokyo Drift
东京漂移
Meet Junichi Suwabe—the kind of man who drives the city for pleasure.
诹访部顺一—在都市中享受行驶乐趣的人
By Roland Kelts | Photographs by Sebastian Mayer
From：http://magazine.lotuscars.com/archive_issue2/archive_issue2_article5.html

Some nights after work, Junichi Suwabe likes to take the long way home, adding an hour or so to his commute through Tokyo just for the pleasure of driving. He courses over the elevated expressways encircling the world’s most populous city in his carbon grey Lotus Evora — one of only 50 such models in the entirety of Japan — and takes in the view. Tokyo at night is a luminous jumble of skyscrapers, flashing and streaming neons, and flickering four-storey video screens stretching in all directions, seemingly borderless. Seen via satellite, Tokyo is the brightest city on earth.
有几个晚上结束工作之后，诹访部顺一喜欢绕远路回家，那得花上比平时上班多一个小时左右的时 间，只是为了享受驾驶的愉悦。他开着他的碳灰莲花Evora驶过环绕着世界上最拥挤的城市的高架公路——这种车型在全日本仅有50辆——边欣赏沿途的风 景。夜晚的东京林立着熠熠生辉的摩天大厦，霓虹灯流光溢彩，那些足有四层楼高的电子屏幕闪烁的灯光朝四面八方延伸，似乎无穷无尽。透过卫星来看，东京是地 球上最明亮的城市。

“There are many places in Tokyo that are beautifully lit at night,” Suwabe says, gesturing broadly toward the park and skyscrapers outside his recording studio office. “And driving my Lotus is a real mood-changer. Driving it past all those lights can really make me feel much better.”
“东京很多地方在夜晚亮起灯时是非常美丽的，”诹访部指着录音室外的公园与大楼说：“开着莲花车能转换我的心情，开车经过所有那些灯火时能让我心情更为愉悦。”

Suwabe is something of a celebrity in his homeland, famous on sound if not on sight. A seasoned voice actor and popular radio talk show host, his rich, edgy baritone can be heard frequently throughout Japan on television and movie voiceovers and in internationally renowned anime series like Bleach, Gundam, and Vampire Knight — not to mention such global video game megahits as Final Fantasy and Street Fighter. He is also an active blogger and deejay, mixing overseas tracks with Japanese sounds to produce infectious hybrid recordings available on CDs and through his Internet radio show.
诹访部在日本算是个名人，以他的声音而不是外形而出名。他是个经验丰富的配音 演员，同时也是知名电台节目主持人，他那富有穿透力的男中音经常活跃于日本的电视、电影旁白以及国际知名的动画作品，如《死神》、《高达》、《吸血鬼骑 士》等，更不用说诸如《最终幻想》与《街头霸王》那样全球大卖的游戏。他是个活跃的博主和DJ，经常把海外与日本的音乐混合起来制成极具感染性的混音作 品，通过CD与他自己的网络电台节目播放。

“I use my voice to express things,” Suwabe says, shrugging in modesty. “That’s the work I do.”
“我用我的声音来表达事物，”诹访部耸耸肩，谦虚的说：“这就是我的工作。”

This slim, diminutive, and very intense man has been focusing on my questions during our conversation like a seasoned interviewee accustomed to public probing. Intensely protective of his privacy, he politely asks me not to print the location of his home even as he cultivates his fans with obvious affection. In a nation riddled with carbon-copy salarymen, Suwabe is an original. His sartorial ensemble is strictly cool casual: open-necked cotton shirt, dark plaid vest, tapered slacks, and chic sneakers. This is what he wears to work after walking his pet chihuahua, a lean and bright-eyed fellow aptly named Zero.
这个瘦小而热情的男人 在我们的谈话过程中一直专注的听我的提问，像个经验丰富早已习惯了面对公众的受访者。为了保护个人隐私，他礼貌的要求我不要公开他的家庭住址，即使他十分 喜爱他的粉丝。在日本这个遍布着千篇一律的上班族的国家，诹访部是独特的。他的着装走休闲路线：开领棉衬衫、深色格子背心、小脚松身裤与时尚运动鞋。这是 他溜完狗之后穿去上班的衣服，他的宠物狗是一只名叫Zero的吉娃娃，娇小而有一双明亮的眼睛，犬如其名。

“I’ve always been drawn to the casual coolness of the Lotus design,” he says when asked about what drove him to seek out this particular model. “You can immediately see that it’s a classic sports car, but it’s not overly garish or flashy; it’s subtle, no matter which model. I really love sports cars, and the Elise and other models are definitely sports cars first, and that’s good. But my Evora is even more subtle.”
“莲花休闲而别致的设计一直很吸引我，”当被问及是什么驱使他购买了这款跑车时，他如是说：“你一眼就能看出这是款经典跑车，却不招摇俗气。我十分喜爱跑车，Elise和其他款式无疑是其中十分出色的，但我的Evora却更为精巧。”

In many respects, Japan is a nation of restraint. Politeness, subtlety, and etiquette are critical to interactions, and it is often too intricate for foreigners to decipher. The Japanese language is, by Western standards, indirect, vague, and characterised more by nuance than necessity.
日本在很多方面都被条条框框所约束。礼貌、敏锐与礼节在人际交往中至关重要，这些对于外国人来说十分难以理解。以西方的标准来看，日语过于迂回暧昧，总纠结于没有必要的细微差别。

“I chose a subtle colour and design deliberately,” he says as we walk along an adjacent park beneath the bright yellow leaves of ginkgo trees. “I wanted to express the fact that I was more settled down in my 30s. Outside, it’s a calm car, and a lot of the calmer colours match the design of the Evora perfectly. But the interior is paprika, a reddish colour.” He smiles. “There’s some real passion inside, you see.”
我们漫步在临近的公园，头顶上是金黄色的银杏树叶。“我特意挑选了精巧的颜色与设计，我已过了而立之年，更要沉淀下来。从外观上来看，这辆车十分沉静，很多冷色都十分适合Evora的设计。而车的内饰却是辣椒红。”他笑着说：“它的内心激情满满。”

Suwabe’s passion for cars, and for the Lotus in particular, emerged early in his life and was rooted in popular culture, the very domain that would eventually become his discipline. Japan’s post-World War II economic juggernaut hit its stride in the 1970s, when a supercar boom swept the nation. As a boy, Suwabe regularly encountered Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and Porsches, and as the F1 bug bit into his nation’s deeper passions, he became enamoured with the Lotus racing team.
诹访部对车尤其是对莲花车的热爱很早就开始 了，这份爱植根于流行文化，最终成为了他的专业领域。日本战后经济复苏在20世纪70年代达到了顶峰，当时超级汽车的繁荣发展横扫日本。当时还是孩子的诹 访部时常看到法拉利、兰博基尼和保时捷，当F1的热潮深入日本时，他迷上了莲花车队。

“I’ll never forget the John Player Special colours sported by Lotus,” he says. “I loved that.”
“我永远都忘不了莲花赛车上JPS的涂装[注1]，”他说：“我非常喜欢。”

But it was narrative — the stories of popular culture from both home and overseas — that hooked Suwabe on the distinctive appeal of Lotus design and style. While he always loved cars, the now-infamous appearance of a Lotus in The Spy Who Loved Me in 1977 made a marked impression. “I saw the movie and the Esprit submarine car and thought to myself, ‘Wow, so that’s it,’” he says. “Very cool.”
正是这些日本国内外的故事使得诹访部对莲花独特的设计与风格产生了兴趣。 作为爱车一族，1977年电影《海底城》[注2]中出现的莲花跑车给他留下了深刻的印象，尽管这个款式在如今早已声名狼藉。“我看到影片中那辆能变成潜水 艇的Esprit[注3]，觉得实在是太棒了！”

At roughly the same time, a Japanese manga [graphic novel] series revolving around cars and car-racing hit the shelves. One in particular, The Circuit Wolf, was aimed at a young male audience and featured a memorable car as the weapon of choice on the racetrack.
几乎是同一时期，以赛车与赛车运动为主题的漫画作品在日本开始流行。其中一部名为《赛道上的狼》[注4]的作品主要针对年轻男性读者，其特点就是在赛道上以赛车作为武器，令人印象深刻。

“The main character drove a Lotus Europa,” Suwabe says, as if explaining the obvious. “I loved the story, and I loved the car. As an adult, after trying many different kinds of cars, I had to learn about the history of the Lotus. And it really inspired me. After that, it was the only car I ever wanted to drive.”
“主角开的就是一部莲花Europa，”诹访部说，仿佛解释的是一件显而易见的事：“我很喜欢那个故事和里面的赛车。长大后我试过各种各样的车，对莲花的历史有所了解，给予了我很大的鼓舞。从此，莲花就成了我唯一想开的车了。”

Youthful passion often gives way to pragmatism, of course. But here’s where Lotus’s attributes have come to suit the 30-something Suwabe to a T. “Lotus makes lightweight sports cars,” he says, running his hand across his Evora’s hood to demonstrate, “and they make the best cars I’ve ever driven. This is especially critical when you consider Japan. The traffic situations we have here are brutal; there’s not much room. Large engines, large encasements, and heavy cars — there’s just not enough space here to manoeuvre that kind of vehicle. We don’t have many places where you can use a car like that to its fullest. Instead, you need a car where you can enjoy the handling and savour the joy of driving even when you have to drive rather slow.”
年轻的热情总是让位于实用主义，但这正是莲花的特质与30多岁的诹访 部十分吻合的地方。“莲花跑车是轻便型的，”似乎是为了证明这一点他的手拂过爱车的发动机罩，说道：“莲花生产的车是我开过的最好的。考虑到日本的情况， 这一点尤为重要。这里的交通情况十分糟糕，空间狭小。大型的引擎和车厢，加上沉重的车身，这样的车型在如此狭小的空间里是无法完全发挥性能的。相反，你需 要一辆能够操控自如的车，即使低速行驶依旧能让你享受到驾驶的乐趣。”

Suwabe sighs and eases back into the arms of his reclining chair. “After comparing lots of different types of cars, I concluded that Lotus was the very best.”
诹访部叹了口气，靠上他座位的靠背。“比较过很多不同种类的车后，我得出了结论，莲花就是最好的。”

Minimalism, restraint, and pragmatism are three characteristics that have typified Japanese culture and aesthetics for centuries. It’s no accident, after all, that the nation which invented the Walkman has also produced the haiku poem and the ikebana art of flower arrangement — all forms of expression that speak to the essence of their materials. “It’s very hard to put into words the experience of the Lotus,” Suwabe concedes. “It’s about the senses. Compared to other cars, the Lotus gives you more of the feel that you’re in control, that you’re really there. This may sound spiritual, but I feel myself being one with the car. I really feel that strongly. Just by driving it I feel a surge in myself. I feel uplifted.”
简约主义、克己复礼与实用主义是长久以来日本文化与美学的三大特征。这个国家拥有俳句和花道的同时，还发明了随身听，并不是 偶然的，所有这些都是表现材料本质的艺术形式。“很难用言语来描述开莲花车的感受。”诹访部承认：“这更多的是一种感觉。和驾驶其他车相比，莲花能给人以 更强烈的支配感与存在感。这听起来很玄乎，但我就是有这种强烈的感受，开车时能感觉到人车合一。仅仅是开着它我就感觉到心潮澎湃，精神振奋。”

In a city of 30 million people, experiencing the sensation of being an individual — let alone an individual connected to the car you’re driving — is no small feat. It’s important, also, to note that Suwabe is not your typical working stiff in the Tokyo megalopolis; his fame and creativity as an entertainer and artist mean that he can work on what the Japanese call “flex-time” — flexible hours independent of the rush-hour madness. Still, he needs to commute — and he needs to commune with the masses.
在一个有着三千万人口的城市，感受到自己独立的存在——更不用说人车合一的体验——可不是什么简简单单的事。此 外有一点很重要必须指出的是，诹访部不是典型的东京上班族芸芸众生中的一员，作为一名艺人和艺术家，他的名气和创造力意味着他可以享受“弹性工作时间”， 从而避开上下班通勤高峰。但是他仍然需要上班，需要与大众交流。

“When I’m stopped at a traffic signal in downtown Tokyo, the reaction is incredible,” he says. “Pedestrians at the crosswalk just start staring at my Lotus, then stare at me, then back at the car. I actually worry that they might bump into someone. And it’s then that I know they’re real car lovers.”
“我在东京市中心等红绿灯的时候，周围人的反应令人难以置信。”他说：“斑马线上的行人起先盯着我的莲花车看，随后又盯着我看，然后再盯着我的车看。我真担心他们会一头撞上别人。于是我就知道他们都是真的车迷。”

But would he define himself similarly?
那他会说自己是个车迷吗？

“Oh, yes,” he says. “I read magazines, of course, and check out information on cars on all sorts of web sites, too. I also attend every Tokyo Motor Show. Recently there has been a decreasing number of foreign makers, but that’s supposed to change next year, which is good news.
“我是，”他说：“我看汽车杂志，还会在网上看各种各样的车讯。每次东京汽车展我都会去看。最近海外厂商的数量有所减少，不过好消息是明年会有所好转。”

Still, there really is no viable Japanese competitor in the sports car market. Europe still dominates, and Lotus is at the top.”
在跑车市场仍然没有具备竞争力的日本厂商，欧洲依旧支配着市场，而莲花是其中的佼佼者。

Suwabe adds that the conventional appeal of the sports car is about speed, but that’s not so helpful in crowded, space-saving urban Japan. There’s nothing comparable to the autobahn here — nor are there straight, horizonless freeways, given that the Japanese archipelago is just slightly smaller than the state of California.
诹访部还说，传统跑车的卖点是速度，但这在拥挤狭小的东京市中心没用。考虑到日本群岛比加利福尼亚州还略小一点，这里没什麼能和高速公路相比的道路，更别提看不到头的直道了。

“I can only go 60 kilometres per hour, according to the law,” he says. “Late at night when the traffic is light…” He pauses. “Look, please just say I go the legal speed. Maybe on a straight stretch I can get up to 100, and I’m not saying I never do that, but even going the legal speed limit, the Evora is so low to the ground and handles so well, it feels like you’re going faster. It really does.”
“根据法律规定，我的时速不能超过60公里，”他说： “但是深夜没什么车的时候……”他停顿了一下：“我们就说在法定速度的情况。在直道上我能飚到时速100公里，我也没说我从来没这么干过；但即使在法定限 速之内，Evora的重心也能很低，操控自如，感觉比实际速度更快。它真的能做到这样。”

Suwabe has owned both the Lotus Elise and the Exige, and since the Evora is his third, it’s safe to say he’s drunk the Kool-Aid. “You can really feel [Lotus founder Colin] Chapman’s original principles in the Lotus car of today,” Suwabe says. “His belief in the power of brilliant handling and a direct connection to the driver. No other car drives like the Lotus.”
诹访部已经拥有一部莲花Elise和Exige，Evora是他的第三部莲花车，可以说他是个狂热的爱好者了。“今天的莲花车依然能让人感受到Chapman[莲花创始人]的初衷，”诹访部说：“他的驾控自如与人车合一的信念。，没有别的车能像莲花那样做到这一点。”

[注1]：1972年帝国烟草公司以这年新产品John Player Special的推广继续为莲花提供赞助，所以1972年的赛车都被称为"JPS"。
[注 2]：007电影系列，本片是EON制片公司出品的第10部007影片，也是罗杰·摩尔第三次扮演007，与1962年4月18日伊安·弗莱明出版的第 10本007小说同名。尽管如此，本片只有片名和两个人物是出自弗莱明的这本小说，由此成为具有原创故事的第一部007影片，后来影片剧本被克里斯托佛· 伍德(Christopher Wood)改编为小说，取名为“James Bond，The Spy Who Loved Me”。
[注3]： Lotus Esprit Concept，《海底城》里的原型车莲花Lotus Esprit S1，2.0L发动机 欧洲版本160匹马力，北美140匹马力。0-60英里加速8秒，最高时速133英里/小时。这款车可以变成一艘潜艇。
[注4]：サーキットの狼（赛道上的狼），漫画家池沢早人师1975年到1979年在周刊少年jump上连载，真人版本电影在1977年上映，主角風吹裕矢的爱车就是欧版的莲花,是左驾驶的。

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