demigod
明仁天皇が「生前退位」の意向を示されたことを受け, 実現に向けて皇室典範の見直しが進められる見通しです。
Emperor Akihito of Japan Plans to Abdicate Throne, Broadcaster Says
TOKYO — For the first time in nearly two centuries, an emperor of Japan has said that he will abdicate the throne before he dies.
According to NHK, the public broadcaster in Japan, Emperor Akihito, 82, who in 1989 succeeded his father, the wartime emperor Hirohito, told close aides that he intended to pass the throne to his son, Crown Prince Naruhito, 56, before he dies. No modern emperor has done so: The last emperor to abdicate was Emperor Kokaku, in 1817.
The emperor’s role is now entirely ceremonial. Until the end of World War II, the Japanese public revered the emperor as a demigod, and he served as commander in chief of the army. After Emperor Hirohito surrendered at the end of World War II, the country’s American occupiers stripped him of all political authority. Today, many Japanese still hold the emperor in high regard.
According to NHK, Emperor Akihito, who was treated for prostate cancer in 2003 and underwent heart surgery in 2012, plans to make a formal announcement shortly.
以下省略
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/14/world/asia/emperor-akihito-abdicate.html?_r=0
本日気になった表現は “demigod” です。
『新英和大辞典』(第五版, 研究社)を調べると, 「半神半人(神と人との間に生れた子)」のほか, 「偉大な英雄, 崇拝される人物」とありました。Oxford-Dictionaries.com には “a man who is greatly admired or respected” と定義され, “He was hailed as a demigod style guru.” という例が挙げられていました。
