catapult

ついに富岡製糸場の世界文化遺産登録が正式に決定しました。catapultは古代の大型兵器で「石弓」（『プログレッシブ英和中辞典』小学館）を指しますが，英英辞書にもto suddenly make someone very famous（LDOCE）とあるように「一躍有名にする」という意味があります。今回は「日本を一躍、近代産業国家の１つに押し上げた」と解釈できます。（Koyamamoto）

Japan's Tomioka Silk Mill registered as World Heritage site
DOHA (Kyodo) -- The UNESCO World Heritage Committee decided Saturday to add the Tomioka Silk Mill, a historic factory building symbolizing Japan's industrialization from the 19th century, to the World Cultural Heritage list.
…The U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's advisory body took note of the role played by the sites in the late 19th century in the innovation of sericulture and the silk industry, a factor that helped catapult Japan into a modern industrial economy.
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