First Lady's Taste of Home
ファーストレディー 鳩山幸さんに聞く（１）

It would be normal to assume that the first lady has her own chef, but that's not the case with Hatoyama Miyuki. In fact, the prime minister's wife is so talented in the kitchen that she's published her own cookbook, which has now been made into an English version.　

Hatoyama's recipes are straightforward ― just like her thoughts on certain political issues like the jeering that disrupts proceedings in the Diet. In a recent interview with the "Mainichi Weekly," Hatoyama discussed topics ranging from political turmoil to her position as first lady and her taste for cooking.

"I do my own cooking," a smiling Hatoyama said, adding that her opportunities to cook have probably increased since moving into the Prime Minister's Official Residence in October 2009. "It only takes my husband a couple of minutes to return home, so I probably have a lot more opportunities to cook.

"Overseas, first ladies sometimes have their own cars and drivers and they're protected in various ways. But in Japan there's no car or driver, and there's no one to cook for you, and I feel that approach of doing everything yourself is quite different," she says.

Hatoyama says the recipes in the English version of her cookbook, "Home Cooking with Japan's First Lady," use commonly available ingredients such as tofu and radish, and she hopes people overseas will enjoy them, while also recognizing her ability in the kitchen.

"Even in Japan, there may be people who think that I don't cook, so if people look at this book and think, `She really does cook,' I will be happy," she says, smiling.

毎日ウィークリー2月6日号

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【WORDS　単語をチェック】
first lady 国家元首の夫人（ここでは首相夫人）　taste of home 家庭（料理）の味（後出 taste for ～ は、～の好み）　assume 推測する　that's not the case with ～ ～にはあてはまらない　(be) talented in the kitchen 料理の才能がある　(be) made into ... version 英語版が作られる　straightforward 分かりやすい、すっきりした　jeering やじを飛ばすこと　disrupt 中断させる　proceedings 審議　the Diet 国会　range from ～ to ... ～から…に及ぶ　turmoil 騒動　position 地位　Prime Minister's Official Residence 首相公邸　approach やり方　available 入手できる　ingredient 食材

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The first lady: 'thankful' for all the challenges
ファーストレディー 鳩山幸さんに聞く（２）－４

■　一番つらかったことは…

毎日ウィークリーのサイト　毎日jp「英語を学ぶ」

The first lady: 'thankful' for all the challenges
ファーストレディー 鳩山幸さんに聞く（２）－３

■　国会中継「見ます」

毎日ウィークリーのサイト　毎日jp「英語を学ぶ」

The first lady: 'thankful' for all the challenges
ファーストレディー 鳩山幸さんに聞く（２）－２

■　英語に接して育つ

毎日ウィークリーのサイト　毎日jp「英語を学ぶ」

The first lady: 'thankful' for all the challenges
ファーストレディー 鳩山幸さんに聞く（２）－１

２００９年９月の鳩山由紀夫首相誕生とともに、ファーストレディーとなった幸さん（６６）。料理の腕前には定評があり、料理本も出版してきた。「シンプルでおいしい日本の家庭料理を海外に伝えたい」との思いから英語版を出版するのを機に、インタビューした。首相公邸で料理をする頻度から、国会中継の感想まで ―― 驚くほど率直に、気さくに語ってくれた。

毎日ウィークリーのサイト　毎日jp「英語を学ぶ」