Japan Encounters its own Generation X JAPANESE POP CULTURE & LANGUAGE LEARNING $5.50
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vocabulary summary From Kekkon Shiyoyo, p. 17
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teiban kyoku watasu yukkuri kemo sunt kimeru hiroen modoru kyt7kei shun in iyami shigoto raise t.Ht ochitsuku monku uc hiawase ippiJ-teki ni danna-.wm a rikai isshii saga.w ynkl'i na kenka stutt akizu ni .fhashin shinri5 slrinpu i
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.vhiawase izen no bakageteru ztt boshi :.u.~hiki
sugiJ-teki na kurasu raku suziJ .Hatt fuko .fhippai mru kako jill.l'ei kurikae.ru
standard/favorite musical piece hand over/pass to in a leisurel y manner consider/examine decide wedding reception return (v.) I coffee/lunch] break supervisor sarcasmtnack work (11.) precious/important become calm/calm down complaints/gripes planning session unilaterally husband-(hon.) understanding all life long seek excessive fight (v.) without growing tired photos groom bride stomach (n.) hole happiness former is foo lish bull's eye diagram/graph (11.) all-encompassing live/make a living pleasure/fun envision/imagine unhappiness fail (v.)
From Selected Works o{lshii j~Q)p
f:\'i\11* i~~-tJ.,
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fukushii suru mazu eiga ai katarau yllkai-ma uru.wi koke ni suru kieru jitsu wa tot.ru zen inaka tsuku
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il'-tt J.,
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make a fool of [someone) disappear actually sudden ly/onexpectedly countryside/home arrive
ntt.:.'-'
Hisaichi~
haulc cry corpslbattallion/unit drift/wash ashore travel expenses earn famine continue uprising situation [situation] becomes tense
Com~
48
appeal/charm (11.) redhead long ago whiskers topic life [school I period physical education violence intelligent be beneficial jTVI program fortunate
From Sarariiman Senka , p. 75
pu~t
review (v.) first of all movie love (n.) talk together kidnapper
miryoku akage mukashi hige wadai inochi jigen taiiku bi}ryoku chiteki tame ni naru bangumi arigatai
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From Cra yon Shin-chan, p. 34
toki no koe butai hyi}c/raku suru ryohi kasegu kikin tsu::.uku ikki jitai seppaktt .1t11·u
~) (/)-f:''
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senka elum ari sene IIJ hataraku kiril(iri.w t.wrai aikawara!u maka.H•rtt doku udai /ttlliJ Sllrtl 1suyubi mall.i torino~oku
yowaku Sttrtt
u
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fur a shinlto komaru
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st:minar picture book aIll industriously work/labor ( v.) grnsshoppcr trying/painful unchanged/same as ever leave/entrust to move aside gt:neration boil (1'.) Mrong fire/flame firewood take away/remove make weaker sound (11. ) lpotllid amateur/novice be troubled
From A Visual GlossC!.D!...Qf Terms, p. 82 {i
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kubi ushiro nagame /(/11011111
matomo ,; chii111011 .\.llrtl m£tda ni kyu_nl takameru
neck behind/in back of view (11.) request straightforward! y order [food] (1•.) wastefully culture/education heighten
The Vocabulary Summary is ((lkenfmmmaterial appearing in this issue ofMangajin. It's not alwa.vs posl·ible IOf?ive the complete ranJ?e of meanings for a word in this limited space, .HI our ..definitions·· are baJed on the usage of the word in a parJicular story.
Mangajin 93
Japan's Generat1onx I
For better or for worse, the younger generation has a new outlook-and a new attitude. WILLIAM MARSH takes a look at the unpredictable, fragile x-sedai. "The authority of the family head, on which the whole structure was based, is no longer what it once was, and there is much talk ofjuvenile delinquency, not to be dismissed even though much of it seems alarmist. When and if the last uf the old sanctions gu, there is no telling what will Jwppen." - Edward Seiden stic ker, J 957 larm signals: The usual gaggle of dudes is hanging out in front of the convenience store. C rouching o n their haunches, splayed o ver their bikes, zigzagging in ragged loops on their skateboards, they're all working hard at looking bored-and succeedin g. You have to step around them to get into the store. Cosmetics manufacturer Kanebo takes the nation by storm with a lipstick commerc ial featuring rock ido l/actor Kimura Takuya. KimuTaku, as he is affectionately known, wakes up in bed to find that his girlfrie nd has just finished applying a coat of lipstick to his remarkably full lips. ln his shock he "trembles like a kitten," as one viewer put it, but soon gives in to the fantasy and take$ up the lipstick. He wears it well and likes it. Over the radio in a taxi the other day, I learned that a mother in her early twenties had been arrested for neg ligence. She'd locked her two sons in the car while she went to play pachinko. I didn' t catch whethe r it was the heat o r carbon monoxide, but the boys died. Four youths, the oldest 18 at the time, abducted a high school g irl, imprisoned her in a closet in one boy's house, abu ·ed her fo r forty days until she d ied, the n dumped the corpse into a steel drum and poured wet concrete over it. When investigators asked one boy what he'd been thinking as he and the ring leader poured lighter tluid over the girl and lit it, be bristled. He to ld them in so many words that he hadn't been thinking, so they ought ~
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ga~•e = (Mi"' L. ~ 'l -flY'. lso~oshii! ichigun • dude= 1111 ~ -:> w kaikko I :AOR "' t.:. ~IJ. kidoua yatsu • crou;·hj on one's haunches= L ~, 1Jt f.J' shagamu • kinen = f-~ koneko • bristle=' t ;, ;?· ij~ 1:: {.: ~ keukagosJ,; 11i nam
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12 Mangajin
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to have the decency not to pester him about it. Onlookers who believed they knew the boundaries of Japanese behavior have been dealt countless shocks in the last decade. Homicides are the surreal, exceptionally visible extreme. The political and corporate elite's blunders and arrogance regularly push the envelope of credibility, but are finally less unse ttling than incidents that point to the emergence of an apocalyptic generation gap.
a post-industrial economy. Those who manage to find work they enjoy shine, according to Nakano, and shed the " lazy" image. It is also interesting to note that, as conscious consumers, the X -sedai tends to stress health a nd lifestyle more and to shy away from prescription drugs and tobacco.
Onlookers who believed they knew the boundaries of Japanese behavior have been dealt
DON'T TOUCH ME, YOU MIGHT HURT ME
countless shocks in the last decade.
TROTTING OUT
THE
LABELS
It would be misleading to imply that mere mention of X-sedai (Xill:1t. "Generation X") makes the public tremble. To obtain a diffe re nt perspective, let's turn to the unique a nd hig hl y respec ted almanac known a~ imidas (an acronym standing for " Innovative Multi-Information Dictionary, Annual Series"). Nakano Osamu, the sociologist from H15sei University who annually writes its shakai genslui (t±033i. ~."social phenomena"') section. devoted five of his 1996
Japan's
Homicides are the surreal, exceptionally visible extreme.
*
• kaku-ka~oku 110 "kaku" (#: ~ Q) ~J ,"the nuclear family's 'nucleus'") Kids once looked after the ir parents in hopes o f inheriting the assets of the
r
Generation
entrie · to tracking the new generation : • dankai junili bunko (It!~ :J .:z. .::. 7- X 1t, " baby-boomer junior c ulture"). Japan's original boomers. says Nakano, were strident rebels at school yet soon me lted into mainstream salaryman c ulture. The ir offspring. however, prioritize quality time with their fami li e s o r b y th e mse lves ove r corporate loyalty. In one survey, four in five newly hired males said they'd be willing to ditc h o ne company to work for another if the circumstances were right. • junsui sluJhi sedai (~~n~<¥:tiH~ 11!:1-t, "the p ure consumer g e n e r a tion "). Ro boticall y purchasing brand-name · goods to impress neighbo rs and coworkers is out; mulling over function and price carefull y and buying to please o nese lf is in. This hi g hl y mature. post-bubble consumer hate · bei n g to ld what to buy or being patron ized with s pecial " Japanese" versions of import goods.
X
latter; now they look out for number one, and their parents do the same. • After that comes surakk£7 (.A 7 '"/ iJ - . that's right, from the 1991 American movie Slacker). In the wasteland of the post-industrial economy, go-getters get nowhere. ''O K, so we'll do serviceeconomy gruntwork for low wages... is the slacker response, " but don' t expect us to get into a lather about anything. and don't bore us wi th directions. criticism, or advice. thank you." • X-sedai e mbraces all the traits just mentioned. says Nakano. Despite its negative media image, he believes this low-wage generation stimulates the moribund economy. Why? X-sedai couples de lay h av ing kids, bo th partners work. they channel more income into consumption, and many actually prefer jobs in fields like software development. networks systems. video products, or the entertainment business- sectors where Japan has been weak but which become vital in
What strikes other com mentators about membe rs of Japan's latest generation is their treme ndous fragility. Allergies and inexplicable new diseases run rampant. bull yi ng c ulminates in s uic ide after suic ide, more and more kids cower in their rooms afraid to go to school. Recently the pro m in ent dail y news paper A sahi Shimbun ran an ll -pa1t series called "Kizu t.wku no ga kowai" ("I ' m Afraid of Be ing Hurt"), which consisted a lmost entirely of anecdotes about the thick walls these "'yasashisa · sedai no wakanumutac hi" ("youngsters of the ' g e ntl e" generation'') erect to protect the egg yolk of the self from external shocks. The series makes for painful reading but has the ring of truth, even il" it sometimes seems to tie everything together a little too ne atly. With Generation X, implies the article. intimacy is always the fi r~t casualty, for exposure of the self could lead to rejection. Reading the series. I found it hard at times not to chuckle. A kid whose friends drag him a lo ng as driver for their m mJXI ("meeting girls'') expeditions confides to the re po rte r that he' d rather not go because "kao ni jisllin ga naku, ukkll da" ("I got no confidence in my face, and it's all such a ha~~le""), but his friends insist. T hen he says this: " Last spring, I did come up with a girlfriend. But after she called me ten times in one day, it seemed like getting involved would be so heavy an obligation I got the run~ and they j ust wouldn' t stop ... Pathos o f another ki nd breaks through as a 23-year-old recalls sl a~hing her wrists three years earlie r at the thoug h t o f another day at an office with nobody she could talk to. She now has a child. Sometimes her wrists ache and she thinks. " If I'd just died then, f' d be happy now." The vulnerability masks itself in odd
~pocalyptic ='Ill:'# t 1a L
fill( i~ll',; ¥f :t ~.:ill~ ':ib 't· .J: 'J 1.: sekai o hametm-teki silllmat.1u ni oikomu ytJ 1w • ditch= .R.iS -c ~ misuteru
7.. heyani IO)ikomortt -
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14 Mangajin
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ways. One is excessive fo rmality of speech (as in use of the word "oraku" when addressing a peer) which the speaker may not consciously affect. One informant told the Asahi reporter that he'd rather speak normally, but the thought that he m ig ht make another erro r prods him to a'isume a protective stance: " If you use polite form s, you can get by without exposing yourself." While the boys succumb to overkill on keigo, the g irls assume a brash, gruff, crude speech peppered w ith truncated phrases. The results are incongruous. Chatting with their closest fri ends, the guys sound like receptionists; the girls sound like Rruce Willis. PRETTY BOYS, ASSERTIVE GI RLS
The gender ambiguities of the X-sedai are complex. Until the economic bubble burst in the early 90s, wome n in Japa n had tremendous momentum . The range of options available to them in respect to lifesty les and c aree rs w as expa nding annually. But while female self-esteem soared, the mostly invisible icon known
I·
sures to the holy grail of college prep can hope to become ... a salaryman just like dad. Is it surprising that fe wer boys have been taking the bait? At school (which tends to be an extended e xerc ise in college prep), the bored kids have been getting more and more assertive. Teachers, trapped in a grid of Ministry of Educa-
Japan•s
Generation
tion regulations, couldn't reinvent a more rele vant c urriculum if they wanted to. The frustration on all s ides builds. Sc hool ro ughnecks who fee l they have nothing to lose draw a line in the sand; the teachers dance around it. Afterwards, the teache rs c onsole the m sel ves by picking on the weaklings among their charges. the ones they can be sure will be helpless to l'ight back. This reinforces the already strong be lie f amo ng bullies that m ight is rig ht. The self-a~surance and independence of the average boy take an acid bath. He learns to hide in the group and slam-dunk easy targets like wimps or homely g irls. Keep moving, do n't let that spotlight fall on you.
While female selfesteem soared, the mostly invisible icon known as Daddy the Salaryman continued to work late, behave like a vassal before his colleagues, and offer less and less to the household in terms of experience or perspective.
When it comes to romance, therefore, a huge proportion of the boys are paralyzed by self-consciousness in front of girls; a much smaller group are cocksure . scornful, and dismissive of them. Rare r yet is the yasashii niichan ("the gentle, brotherly ty pe") or nimaime ("charmer" ), who actually appreciates girls as full-blooded human beings and
X
enjoys their company. The 90s version may pierce his ear lobes and nose and wear T-shirts and slacks that accentuate his was p waist, his long legs, his slender shoulders and throat. This w ill thrill the g irls (some o f the m, at leas t) and be recognized as one way to be cool by most peers. KimuTaku, the lipstick-wearing TV star, is such a character, and nobody's stock in Japan is higher than his. The key to the yc1sashii niichan's appeal to both sexes may be his versatility, his multidime nsionality. KimuTaku and his ort can function outside the proscriptive boundaries. That goes over big. PATHOL OGY OF GENERATION X
Not every gene ratio n produces so ma ny individuals who can be traumatized into autism by miniscule setbac ks or failures in communicatio n, or turn a blind eye when potential ene mies gang up on somebody else . Stepping in to he lp a be leaguered peer, it might be argued, is the best way to protect one's own positio n over the long run. But is it easy? Is it the convenient thing to do? The hi . tory of Japanese society leading to 1996 encourages the X-sedai to give short shrift to whatever is personally inconvenient. Fostering dependency in the consumer (no t unlike the way mothers do in their childre n) has been a powerful tendency in Japan's service economy ever since the hermetically sealed, zero-growth centuries of the Tokugawa era. From 1603 until the Meiji restoration o f 1868, just about the o nly way merchants could distinguish themselves from their competitors was to (CIIIIIilltled 0 11 fJ£1/{e 73)
.prod = '.>? t.wt.wku I Jliij i»lc i " J., .1·higeki .1·unt • peppered with= - ~ ~If! L /:. -· " wyo shiro • truncat~d ;'\'~ !1\ L t:. ichibu ryaku shita ~ t.: fukan~~" Jill • nebbish= 1,' < I; t.: L ikujimuhi I ~) ~ t, t.: ~'A tsumaranai hito • stumblebum = fig ;IW; L niina.ri!i f M~ ;.._ /!. ~ l nrmdakure
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Mangajin 15
Generation X (raminuedfrom /)liJ?I' /5 )
demonsrrale grealer willingness to serve. When Japan turned indu ·trial production of exports into the centerpiece of it · economy after 1945. the empha ·i · on dependable ~ervice remained, but machine took over: the country became a key factory ·ource and testing ground for appliances that ''take care of you." The indu trial society put the kibosh on the rural economy, the extended family. and the tendency for one parent 10 make childrearing a full-time job. Even the moLhers who do tay home are so pampered by machines and lulled by promi es of personal comfort that the sorry chore of saying no to a strident boy or girl has become mendiYkusai-too much trouble. Mom is namby-pamby, Dad is wi lly-nilly, reachers are hamstrung by lradition. Every source of authority whose busine. s it is to help kids form operating assumption aboul rhe world they're in i asleep ar the wheel. The appliances aren't. In a sociely as hooked as Japan is on machines 1ha1 provide service, lhe danger is that potential human partners (who "selfishly" expecl reciprociry in a relationship) will ~eem to the child 10 provide far less ati faction and payoff !han the machines do.
The electronic embrace is total: portable phones, microwave oven . word processors, stereos, massagers, computers, video· rape players and recorder ·. camera·. air conditioners, washing machine . vacuum cleaner·. computer games, answering machines. faxes. modems, vibrator . "Persona l convenience" is also the motto of the new community centers known as convenience stores. They wi ll sell you everything from food to underwear, as well as copy your documenrs. proces your bill . forward your faxes, and expre~~-mail your package . Customers. male and female, tend to ~pend most of their time in front of the magazine and paperback racks, silen tly poring over publications from companies whose definition of service means providing nudiry, glamour. and explicit documentation of the scandalous indulgence of "idols'' and power brokers. When it comes to providing satisfaction on demand. how can a mere human being in rhc role or boyfriend, girlfriend, parent, or teacher compete with these tools? They can'!. William Marsh ([email protected]) is writing a book for Weatherhi/1 called Pop Japanese.
• put the kibo~h on= f!. J.J ") -t!}., 1111' {/f({,\efll • namby-pamby = ~e.\ (j(J t.: kllll.l'lui-leki 1111 I lli D01.J: niekimnai I~'~' i?'lf lv 'lj, iikiiiJI'IIIlll • hamstrung by= '(~ ~ ~J iL ·c ~- ' ~ - ni shil!llrarete iru
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Mangajin 73
Kekkon Shiyoyo Bokutachi no Shippai to Seiko
Let's Get Married Hoshi sal o
Our Fallures and Successes
Mochiru
Kekkon Shiyoyo follows the story of the employees of a Tokyo wedding hall called Ageha Bridal Garden. Such wedding halls- known as " marriage factories" due to the high volume o f ceremonies handled- are the sites of both weddings and receptions. Wedding halls take care o f all details o f weddings, including flowers, music. and food. The hall may have different rooms set up fo r traditional Japanese weddings and for C hris tian-sty le ceremonies. While many
couples choose to go with a traditional marriage ceremony, the receptio n is typically a conglomeration of both traditions. Much as the employees of Ageha Bridal Garden deal with the business o f marriage on a dai ly basis, many of them are dreaming o f their own wedding day. The relationships among these employees-their failure and success stories-provide ample fodder for manga. Be low is a description of the four main churacter~ in KPkkon ShiylJyo.
Kosaka Shi'iko has recently begun worki ng in the beauty ~ulon department of the Ageha Bridal Garden. She came to the company having previously known Konno Ma ato hi. whom s he is now dating.
Konno Masaloshi also works at Ageha. He wa~ dating Kcnjo Sanae and had even become cnguged to her. Their relation~hip e nded , however. and shortly afte rwurds Musatoshi began dating Shoko.
Kcnjo Sanae is s till friend ly with Masatoshi. though their breakup and his ensuing relations hip with Shoko have led to many uncom fortable situations at work.
T ille: :{l:A.t:.t,
Kakicda is Sanae's boss at Ageha.
lu\'er>
though he would like their relationship to extend to a more personal level.
(
110
·s
1t:
Atsui Yuru hot
night
The Lovers' Hot Night koihitn means "boyfriend/girlfriend/ lover": -tarhi makes it plural. and 110 makes it possessive.
Ke~kon Shiyoyo has be~n serialized in the monthly ~ "I 7· ::1 ~ 0 Ho..;hisato Mochiru. All right:-<. rc:-.cncd. Fir:-.t pubh:-.hL·J in Japan in 199-+ hy
(J) ?.!l:~'
Koihitn·tnchi
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Shugn~u~an. Tll")'O.
7 .7.. .A !::' ')
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("Big Comics
Spirit~~
English translation righr, arr.mged through Shogakukan.
Mangajin 17
18 Mangajin
*Jlf:(1) ~ff (1) L-(1) rth li V'1r1Jf"T: l J: -)? Dewa saikin no teiban no kono kyoku wa ikaga desho? in that case/then recenr srandard/favorite that is this musical piece as for bow would it be?
Sanae: 't'li
' 'Tben how about this recent favorite?" (PL3-4)
Sound FX: !:::" -;~ Pi!
(effect of pushing button) • saikin ="recently,'' and saikirtno ="recent." • teiban refers to standard merchandise that sells steadily over time. • kyoku means "tune" or "piece of music." Kono kyoku ="this tune/music," and teibw1 no kyoku ="this tune/music that is a standard/favorite number. • ilw.ga is a PIA equivalent of do ("whatlwbat way/how"), and deshO is the conjectural form of desu ("is/are"). lkaga deslro (ka)? is a more poUte equivalent of do desu (ko)? (''How is it/How would it be?"). Using deshlJ ka instead of desu ka makes a question feel less direct and therefore more polite.
Sanae: .i3~J~ L 0 -ironans/ti
.A.Wi
(1) 110
11_1'11)0 costume change of/nfLI!r entran~c:
't'li 1 J~.:r...AI-Vr
rcque,L-(lo us)
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people are
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many (explnn.) (emph.)
" Lots of cou les request it for their entrance after the costume cha ng~" (PL3)
• o-ironaoslli (literally "changing/fixing the colors": the honorific prefix o- is almost always used) refers to the custom of the bride and groom briefly withdrawing from their wedding reception to change into different wedding outfits. In the more lavish weddings there may be several such co~tume changes. from one kimono to another and/or one gown to another. • nyiijii refers to entering the site/venue where an event is taking place. Here it refers to re-emering the reception hall after the change or clothes. • rikueswo is from the English "request." and rikue.wto sllite is the -te form of' rikue.1·uto .ntru (''make a request"). Kudasaru by itself means "give to me/us." and is used when the giver is of higher status than the speaker (any customer or client would be treated as being of higher starus). After the -re form of a verb. it implies the action b/was done either to or for the ~pcaker. • rikrte.wto shitf' kudasaru is a complete thought/sentence ("(they] request! it] of us") modifying kata. a polite word for "person/people." • n desu indie;ates she's making an explanation-explaining why she's suggesting this particular piece.
Bride: 3;3;, r~'k t !J.!!~J (1) A, "Bijo to Yajli" no (interj.) beauty aod
Groom:
bca~t
[llJ kyoku
-e--9 h o desu
ne.
of/to piece/theme is (colloq.)
''Oh, it's the theme from ' Beauty and the Beast."' (PL3) ~17: t ~~ --:> "(' 7::.. ;I. -r: l J: 7 Bijo to Yajii rre anime desllo? beauty and beast (quote) animation i~, i~n't it?
" Beauty and the Beast ls an animated film, right?" (PL3) • a is an interjection showing reCQgnition. • ro between two nouns is Uke "and.'' Note, though, that it cannot be used for "and" between two clauses. • tte here is a colloquial equivalent of to iu rw wa ("as for what is called -"); when tte (or to iu 110 wa) follows a noun like this. it often fills in for the topic marker, wa ("as for''). • anime is shortened from animeshon, the katakana rendering of the English word "animation." In the United States, anime often refers specifically to Japanese animation, but in Japan the word refers to any animated feature. • des/W (and its shorter fonn desho) literally makes a conjecture, "surely/probably." but when spoken with the intonation of a question it's like a tag question, "right?/isn't that so?"
C room: 11!L
1' ::..;. floku. anime Ume
m~ '
;>j:A-·<:-t J: n
kirai
na 11 desu yo.
anime di,Jikelhate (cxpl;m.) (cmph.)
" I hate cartoons/anime.'' (PL3) • hnku is a relatively informal "1/me" u~ed by males. Wa, to mark hoku as the topic of the sentence, has been omitted. as it often is in colloquial speech. • ga to mark anime as the subject of kirai ("dislike'') has also been omitted. • rwn desu is the form tl1e explanatory 11 de.1·u (seen above) takes when it follows a noun. Although "dislike" in English is a verb. kirai in Japanese is grammatically a noun that refers to the sentiment- not the act- of disliking. so it requires nan dem instead of just 11 df'SLI.
Mangajin 19
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iE 9il L.. J: ? J: • Kekkon Shiyoyo_
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20 Mangajin
<
"'0 li, 1r' 0 ;6> -lj;"./ '1'Jl( (J) CD :a- :Bill (.., v' t.: L ;t T t,p1Jr't'L J:-) il'? o-futari de go-yuk!<.uri k:emii .nasaue wa ikaga dcshif k:a? (hon.)~2 people together (hon.)-leisurely if consider ·how would it be? "how would it be if the two o f y ou consider them together at your leisure?"
"Tben ~rhaps we could loan IOU some sample CDs .for you to consider at yonr leisure.". (PL4) • ikursu ="bow many," and ikutsuka ="several/a number of." • o•watashi itashi~su is a very polite, PIA humble equivalent of watasu (''give/hand over [to]"-Qr here, " loan to"). • kento nasaue wa is a conditional ("if'} form of kento nasaru, a PIA equivalent of kenUJ suru ("considerfevaluate").
·c 'b .
Groom: lu- .
4-8
N-, demo, kyi! kimete shimawanai ro nli. (interj.) but today must decide/choose completely (colloq.)
"Mmm but we really need to decide today." (PL2)
• ira ira ira is related to the verb iradatsu ("become irritated/impatient") and ira-ira suru ("be nervou.slimpatientlirritated/on edge").
FX: v' t? "' t? v> t? Ira
Bride:
ira
ira (effect of being on edge)
~i3~..>!
\t'\t' n'lflv (:
Mii! (exwsp.)
kat::en ni shire yo! good extent to elease do/make (emph.)
L"f
• kimere is the -re form of kimeru ("decide/choose"), and shimawanai ro is a conditional ("if') form of shimau, which after the -te form of a verb often implies doing the action completely. Implied here is shimawanai ro ikenai, which makes a "must/have to'' form of the verb.
.1:. !
Ji
"Sheesh! Enough already!" (PL2) •
m~.
literally " now/already," is some times used as an interjection expressing exasperation/frustration/disgust. • ii kagen ni Jhire is the -te form of ii kat::enni suru, literally "make (it) w a good/appropriate extcnt"- implyi ng that that "go()d extent" has al ready been reached or surpassed. The various command forms of the expression (the -re form is often used as a relatively abrupt request or gentle command) are like "That's enough 1/Stop it!/Cut it out"' #eN'.>~ (J) 1:. ffl~llll i6'i6' ~
Bride: - dtl
Groom: t!. ~ ·c Datte, but
• t.:: ;
(J)
*lJl.t.t
~~1{:
t!.
.t o
boku-tachi no daijl na hir~en da yo. Ume-(plural) 's precious/important wedding reception is (emph.)
''But this is our once-in-a-lifetime wedding reception we're talking about." (PL2) • tWni after the plain, non-past form of a verb can mean "for the purpose of [doing]/in order to [doj." • kakaru refers to bow much time, money, effort, etc., something "takes/requires" in order to be completed/acquired. • using the explanatory no to ask a question is common in coUoquial speech, especially that of women. • the conjunction datte is used like "but'' when stating a protest/objection to what has just been said. • bok11 is an ''Jlme" used by male speakers, and -tachi makes personal pronouns into plurals, so boku-tachi is a "we/us" used by male speakers. No makes it possessive: "our."
Bride: 1±~
c
~= ~ J01j: "' 1-t:~ *~H? ~..> t:, >;>-) ' S/zigow ni modoranai 10 l(vilkei owatduw.' work lo if don't return break will be over-(regret) " l f l don ' t get bac k to work, my break will be over!" " I have to get back to work before my_brcak is over!" (PL2)
.{E!RY.i'l.:f.. c 7.P ik~ lj: ~ {' "'~Ht v' !ttl }){ t.:. < ~ !u it?~ 0) r: " Mada hanaraha ziJtei toka kimenakya ikenai kvoku ga takusan aru noni. still presentation of nowers things like must choose p.ieces (s11bj.) many exist even though "Even though there are s till man y pieces we need to choose, like for the presentation or flowers ."
Groom: it:.
" But we still have to decide on the music for the llower presentation and all sorts of othet:_!hings." (PL2) Bride: t~ 'IJ' G a; Prfl ;O{ . . . ch - , 'b -j • ::E.iT: 1.: 1 -\' ~ iii. h h r) "~' -J o Dakara jikan ga . . . A, because is so time (subj.) (inlerj.)
mo (exa.~p.)
shunin ni iyami hmredwu. supervisor by sarc;~sm will be s;~id·(regret)
"That's why I' m trying to tell you, I'm out of time. Ohh, geez now I'm going to have to take some llack from my supervisor." (PL2) • modoranai is the negative form of modoru ("return/go hack"). and to makes it a conditional: "if l don't go back." • owatchau is a contraction of owarre shimau, from owaru ("[something) ends"). Shimau after the -te form of a verb can imply the action is regrettable/undesirable. • hanaraba = "bunch/bou4uet of flowers." and zotei is a very fom1al word for "presenting/giving [as a gift!." Hanataba zorei refers to a standard part of Japanese wedding receptions today. in which the hridc and groom each present the other's parents with a bouquet of flowers. • to ka (often da 10 ka after a noun) is used when stating one or more of several possibilities, usually implying there are other possibilities besides those stated -> "things like ·- : · • kimenakya ikenai is a contraction of kimenakereha iknwi, a "must/have to" form of kimeru ("choose/decide"). This modifies kyoku ("tune/piece/m usic''): ''piece(s) we have to choose." ( contimwd on nexr page) Mangajin 21
_ _ _ *tl ~ L, J:
.(
'.t t :lt•r
"'; 0 r.:till, B"f t; !
-to~
"'<
22 Mangajin
t.t-t-= "' A ? tt 1:' IJ; \, ' J:
? J: • Kekkon Shiyoyo
£.r.c·* "? "? I IJ; t::
-r "t' ~
<0
{>
0
\. ' It
0 0)\,'fr
A.tt t: f!
!? "' • !J:t A.
~
-r '
c· tt -t-
"? . t t
~
c ':
IJ;. l:t Jl 1:
*
~~? ~:t!
A.
[§] rumli"unJ jmm pri'\'IOU~ ptl~f') • noni here means "even though," implying something like "even though we have a lot more to decide, you're talking o f going back to work'l" • dakara is literally "for that reason/therefore/that's why," often used idiomatically to mean ·'that's why I'm saying/that's what I'm trying to tell you.'' • iwaredwu is a contraction of iwarete shimau, from iwareru, the passive form of iu ("say''). lwareru can simply mean "be told [to do something]," or it can imply being the brunt of criticism/sarcasm/beratement, etc. Shimau again implies the action is unwanted.
Groom:
f±1-
*W
!$:~~ t t',:> -t:. IJ~ f.t.Ad!.?! hiroen w dotchi ga taisetsu na nda?! wedding reception between Which (subj.) precious/irnportanr (exp}an.-?)
t -!lt.:-t:.QJ Sh,1go~o boku-tachi no work
and
our
..
"Which is more important-your work or our wedding?" (PL2) t'-'{,t~61)~~-?
Dose
yamechau
a'!}'_way
~11:
t:.~f.t.\t\;()>0
kaisha
ja nai ka.
will quit company/job
is it not?
"You're going to quit that job anyway." (PL2) Bride: t.t.~: J:! ?):Je t;r (#~1:> -::>l' 1!-::>t.: lv Nani
yo!
tte
Takashi gtl yamero
what (is-em ph.) (name) (subj.)
quit
(quote)
ilia
t.~f.t.\t' 0
n
ja nai.
said (explan.)
is not
"What're ou saying1.! You ' re the one who told mej _should quit!" (PL2) Masatoshi: 11? 1 11?, ~ A 1 "t' l;t t!. 11? I) 1 i" iJ' t:> t$ -t:. ·:::)\.,' -r o
*
*
Mil mil, tiJjit.\'11 mtlde wa mada arimasu kara ochitsuite. (interj.) appointed da~ until a~ for still exists/have because/so be calm
"Now now thete s still time before your wcdding_day. so please calm down." (PL3) • X to Y to dotchi ga - is like "between X and Y, which is - ." Dotchi is an informal dochira ("which Iof 2 itemsl"). • asking a question with n da (after a noun, na 11 da) is mostly masculine and can sound quite rough. • yamechau is a contraction of yamete .rhimau, from yameru ("quit/stop"; when written with this kanji, it specifically means "quit a job"). Shimau in this case gives the feeling that the action is already a foregone conclusion and irreversible. Yamechau modifies kaisha ("company" -+ "job"): ·•a company/job that you will quit." • ja nai ka ("is itnot?/does it not?") in this case is a purely rhetorical question; he's in fact making a strong assertion. • 11ani yo (fern.) and nan da yo (ma~c.) can be used in a challenging or belligerent tone to take issue with what has just been said or done. • yamem is the abrupt command form of yameru ("quit/stop"). • tte is a colloquial equivalent of quotative to, and itttt is the plain/abrupt past form of iu ("say"). Tte mar~s yamero as the content of what the bridegroom said. • ja nai is literally "is not," but implies the rhetorical question "is it not'?"; again, the rhetorical question actually has more the force of a slrong complaint or accusation than a question. • mli mais a sofUgentle.-sounding interjection that's used to try to calm someone down: "Now, now/Easy now/Yeah, yeah." • arimasu is the PL3 form of aru ("exists''); mada arimasu here implies mada)ikan ga arimasu ("time still exists"--. "you still have time"). • ochitsuite is the-re form of ocltit.vuku ("become calm"); the -te form is being used as a request: "please calm down."
Sound FX:
1
Ba11
Bang (sound or slamming vending machine buuon)
[I]
Sanae: m.t..tr? <
-::> -c .: - v'-? .::. t::: ?! ChO-mukatsuku tte kO iu keto?I ultra-nauseated/disgusted (quote) this kind of thing "Is this the kind of thing you call ultra-disgusting?"
"Could anythi!lg be more totally gross?!" (PL2) Saf!~: lj:tplj:,;, {;:j;? ~I') l,lj:v' <-Itt::, :t'nJ 11'i1'1'J 5i-::>"C il?QJ ~ ! Nakanaka readily
lwkkiri shilwi kuse ni, monkrt bakari not be clear even though complaints/gripes only
itte,
ano otoko!
is saying that
man
"He can't ever seem to make up his own mind, and yet be does nothing but C~plplain, that guy!'' (PL2) Masatoshi: :flllii~ QJ trsittHt l::t il?lv~ t lv t!. -::> -r o Jlir{fen
no
uchiawase
wa
anna
mon da
tte.
wedding reception for planning ses&ion as for that kind of thing is (emph.)
"That's about the way it always is with these planning sessions."' (PL2) • 1/e here is a colloquial equivalent of the quotativ.e pl:u:ase to iu no wa ("as for what is called/termed - "). · .: - "' 1 is an alternate spelling for .: ? "'? (kfi iu, "this kind of' ); many manga artists like to use katakaoa long marks
instead of adding hiragaoa for long vowels. ; • when nakunaka is followed by a negative, it means "[not] ea~ily/rcadily/quiekly." Hakkiri shinai is the negative form of hakkiri suru ("[something] becomes clear"), so nakanaktt hakkiri shinai "[tiis miod/wiJll doesn't readily become clear'' ....... "be doesn't/can't seem to make up his mind." • kuse ni means "even though/in spite of [some undesirable traitlcharacteristic/factj." • itte is the -te fonn of iu (''say''); the -te form hece implies something like "saying~, that guy's hopeless/a real jerk." • ltchiawa.~e refers to "planning/making arrangements" for some event, or to the meeting in which that planning takes place. • mon is a contraction of mono ("thing"). Anna mon da ='' it's that kind of thing" ...... "it's about like that.;; The colloquial .. quotative lie here is best thought of simply as emphasis. (continwul on next page)
=
Mangajin 23
~ ~ L,
At.>
f:t b t:: '?"/){A,
: t:: A.,~A., t::t t~
0
?
!f. i; t:: t,::r)A.,
t:• .,.. f:t '?
J:
1: ~
t~
"' 0) 0) .Q t~
?
1:
1: b '
'?
'"'('
L "'
t.>
'"'('-?0)
t:tt= "' ? -'TA ~ 'b
24 Mangajin
J: ? J: • Kek kon Shiyoyo_ _
~
1:
lJ]O)
tb<
-;db
o:>-9:
f:t
-:>fl
I:J(O)
l:t.A
' t:.• '?
""(
? 'IJ• t, 0
'?1.'
t~
"'f
J: '
?
f:t .... '-
~
.t (J)
~
-;
..0. '%t ..0. c
-:>b
t~
-tt
"'f
-~* ,1) ~ 0) 1: l;t. ~
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WJ:!15
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'"'('
tr..J
':
Sanae: -f tL t:: 'i 1.:? fl: ¥
.!::
4Jtit~
.!::
.1::'-::> t
11~
j(t;J
'i lv t!.
Sore ni nani? Shigoto to
hiroen
to
dotchi
ga
taisetsu
nan da
that
and what
work
-::>
-o
ue?
and wedding reception between which (•uhj.} is precious/important (explan.) (quote)
"And what was it? He said ' Which is more important-your work or our wedding'?" (PL2) Sanae: 11: 1Jf ~~ Q ff'W- t.t 1v -c, .1::'- -r- ~ "' "' c .~. '.) -c 6 0) !? i-::> t.:.
ga
yaru shigoro
woman (subj.) does
work
name,
do demo ii
to
as for
unimponaot
(quote)
omoueru no!? is thinking (explan.··n
mattaku! (exasp.)
"As if he thinks a woman's work doesn't reall matter. Sheesh!" (PL2) • 011110 ga yaru is a complete thought/sentence ("A woman does [it)") modifying shigoto ("work")-+ "work that a woman does"-+ "a woman's work." • name can be considered a colloquial equivalent of nado ("something like"), or of an entire phrase like na.do to irt koto/ mono wa (literally "a thing/place/person/action that is something like -"). It's used as a colloquial equivalent of wa, for marking the topic ("as for''), often with a feeling of belittlement. • do demo ii is an idiomatic expression for "is unimportant/doesn' t matter/can take it or leave it." • mallaku, literally meaning "completely/entirely.'' is often used as an exclamation of exao;peration.
Masatoshi: ...:. A
• yokereba is a conditional Ci f/when"') fo rm o f ii(\'oi ("good/finc");.fiaari ~~~ ynkrreba here implies not simply "if 2 pe"ons (f.ubj.) if are good/happy that wi th i~ good/fine (explan.) isn't it'~ "So Jon • a~ the couple is happy, isn't that a ll that matters?" (PL2) tht: two people arc good" but "if the t1 ;., two people feel good about it." Masatoshi: ;ttJJJ1l!IJ • .\ore de ii (lit.. "is gcxKl/fi ne wi th Boku-ra dt' rovakaku iu IIW1u/ai j~ nai. that"') is an exp ressio n for "that 's wedding hall sid~/our side on this and that say probl~m IS not cnoughllhat's good enough." N ja nai? "It's not a problem regarding which w e shoultl say this and that." here;: is spoken as a real question. so " It's not our place to criticize." (PL2) sore de ii njanai? = ··isn't that good enough?"" • "isn't that what muttcrs?" • :r~JIJ!m is normully read shiAijli·f?OII'a and literally means ··wedding hall -,ide," whilt: hoku·ra is an informal. masculi ne "we/us''; applying boku-ra as the rt:ading for these kanji e.,sentiull y gives us the mcaning of "we who work for/represent the wedding hul l." • royakak11 iu = "sny this and that/criticize/raise ohjcctinns··: bok11· ra de royakaku i11 is a complete thoug ht/sentence ("wt: critici7.elraise objections") modifying mondai ("problem/wncern"), andja nai in this case is a straightforward ··is not." F11tari
yokereba
f?O
Sanae: ~(J) ~
1Jf
Ano oto/w ga thlll
.wre
ii
de
-15~.11.: i~t.>t.; ippo·teki ni kirneta
mun (subj.) unihlterally
n
1J:
J:!
0)
no
ja nai"!
yo!
let
Onna
tl.:$
*
M't.>-c
decided (explan.) (cmj)IJ.) woman us for work
"'~ iro
1.:
wa shigoto yamete uchi
11i
..,-co tte.
qult-und home in/at be/stay (quote)
"That guY. decided it unilaterally, you know! That she should ult her job and stay at home.'' (PL2) Masatosbl: llll 0) .fT-t;{tb-tt- ~ -t;~'.>c ~..,f.::.<'?'-'~, b-IJ'-:>t.:. J:.?~ .:c u?~o d~
chollo
Ufta
kurai
for planning :.e ion at
a liule
met
only
Kyok.u no
rou~ic
uchiawase
de,
wakarta
yo na
with understood/know type
koto
iu na.
thing
don't say
"Don' t act like you know it all ust from havin met them briefl to plan the music." (PL2) • iro is the abrupt command form of iru ("exist/be in a place" for people and animate tllings). Uchi ni iru = "be at home'' "remain/stay at home." • ue indicates she is quoting what the man decided. The syntax is inverted: normally this clause would come first. • kurai de (''about/approximately") is often used idiomatically to belittle the significance o f the thing/action/amount mentioned just before it, so chouo atta kurai de means "from merely having met brieOy.'' • wakaua is the pluin/abrupt past form of wakaru ("come to know/underst:md''). Kmo (lit., "thing") here es.<,entially refers to "words/remarks." so wakarw yiJ na k.ota (a) iu ="say/make knowing-type remarks" -+ "act like you know.''
0
Masatoshi:
fA·O)A
th(/)
A11o that
!~L:. /~?f.:. (J)(::,
kanji fe~ling
daua
llfmi.
t.:A.Ij:t~
lii:1JJ<7)l:}'i !.t koro u-a
t.!--:>1:
na hiw datte woman at"'
Oil/Ill
~aislm11o
early on
/.!.1-..,f.!./-.., dandan
a~
tor
danna-.mma
(J)/:.6f>l:.
Jj?-f·
1:.
ramr ni
o-uclri
111
110
husb~nd-Chnn.)
lor sake of
Chon.)-hom~
Pl., iru
~;
--:>-c
••·a
tte
in/at bc/,ta) (fern.) (
;i·) J:•j(,: /;t~d:. /-..,f!.n i11 yo 11i natta 11 da.
;btJf;j;;j; 11'111(11//IGI/Ia
was even though more and mor~ selli~IHle~s/willfulness say
so that
bec:1me
(~xptan.)
"At first, the woman was like 'l'U staY. home for my husband's sake,' too, but then she started insisting on her own way more and more." (PL2) • claue here i~ a colloquial equivalent of mo. ··too/also:· • the quotative tte marks damra·sama 110 tame ni O·llrlri 11i iru wn a' what the woman said or implied. • kanji datta is the plain/abrupt past form of ka11ji da ("is the fecling that""), often used to state what something ·'secms/ seemed like" " itlsht: was like - :· • wagamanw refers to "selfish/egotistic/willful behavior." and wagamama (o) iu (lit.. "say/speak selfishness"') is an exprcs· sion for " make st:lfish demands/insist on one's own way."' - yo ni 1wtta is the past form of - yo ni naru. ··gctlbecomc so that
Sanae:
~
11~
Otoko ga
btJfii a-j wagamanw
man (subj.) ~lftSimess
iu
tJ·~
~"'
0)
J:o
kara
wami
no
yo.
say because is bad/at fault (explan.) (emph.)
"It's the man's fault for insisting on his way," (PL2)
(continued 011 11(').1 {Jllge)
Mangajin25
ii!i ~ '-' J: ? J: • Kekkon Shiyoyo -'---'--
-
--
IH+ ~'
'IJI
A-"'
t:.• ~ '\ 'IJ• A-
26 Mangajin
[!]lwoui...,df"""pn.W..1f"'~
Masatosbi:
tr:.
t!.-.> "'(
Onna datte
• warui (lit., "bad/evil") is often used to mean "i.s at fault/to blame." - ga warui =
~'-''o warui.
"- is at fault/it's ...... 's fault."
woman also is bad/at fault "The woman shares the blame, too." (PL2) Sanae: ~, -? 1.1:' I') Yappari
Masatoshi:
• • • ~anae:
a-
t! lv f.d~
Jl!!l~¥-
(f)
~ 1.>
rikai
no
aru dwma-sama
f.t ~ 7j: <1? -'\' t.: 66
o sagasanakucha dame
.J:.. yo.
after all understanding (subj.) has hu;band-(hun.) (ohj.) must seek/find (emph.) " ln the end, a woman has to look for a more understanding husband ." (PL2) ·1:. ~ L ·( 7) o lssho saga.~hitem. all life long be seeking "Search your whole life long." "Search our heart out. (PL2) rikai 110 aru is a complete thought/semencc ("[hcl has understanding") modifying danna-sama ("husband"). saga.,·allakuclw dame is a contraction of saga.mnaku te wa dame, a ''must/have to" fonn of sagasu ("seek/look for"). sagashiteru is from sagashite im. the abrupt command form of sagashite iru ("is seeking/looking for"), from sagasu.
<
J:.ltlt\~ i>l!l:~f, J:.! Jfffi;.tjo 1;;/v"IJ', f.tlv'e'~ !Ji1~t>"'( 1t..Q Yokei rra o·sewa yo! Masatoshi nanlw, =ndenw kiite kurtru excessive concern (is-emph.) (name) as for whatever listens-( for you)
~~'~lv dareka-san
ill..'-'' yasashii
t If· < -•tn:.~ttlt? to lwyaku issho ni nareba?
kind/affectionate someone-(hon.) with quickly if get together ' 'Mind our own business! Wh don' t you just hurry up and tie the knot witb a certain someone who' s oh so affectionate a nd who han~ _!)n your every word!" (PL2) Masatoshi: i:3 ;t .i :: -t- J: 17- ~ :t:; iftlili t!. o • yokei 110 ="excessive/unnecessary," and o-sewa = "concern/ Omae koso yokei 11a o-sl'wa da. care/favor," so yokei na o-sewa refers to unwanted concern/ you (empb.) exce~sivc concern i• advice/aid. Yokei na o-sewa yo (or da) spoken to the med"You mind our own business! ' (PL2) dling party is essentially like "mind your own business." Co-worker: ~(f) :.A, t,. \-::> b 7 / '/J L. "'( ~ t,. \? • ltandemo kiite kureru ("[she] listens to whatever you say/ Ano futari, it.~umo kellka shitenai? ask") and yasashli ("kind/gentle/affectionate") both modify those two always not fighting? dareka-san ("Ms./Mr. Someone"-+ "a certain someone"). "Aren't those two always fighting?" • issho ni nareba is a conditional ("if/when") form of issho ''Do those two ever stop fighting?" (PL2) ni nam ("become joined/get married"). To marks the thing or person being joined/married. In colloquial l>peech, con· ditionul forms of verbs are often ul>ed for suggesting/urging an action: is~ho ni nareba ="why don't you get married?" • kenka shitenai is a contraction of kenka shite inai ("is/are not fighting"), negative of kenka shire iru ("is/are fighting''), from the verb kerrka sunt ("fight'·). Raising the intonational the end makes it a question: "are they not fighting?"
[!]
Co-worker:
1rr
• naka ga ii means ·'relationship is good/arc good friends" and rwka ga warui means "relationship
do ka wartti 11 da ka. relationship (su~p is good (explan.) or is bud (exP.lan.) or Naka
ga.
iln
is bad/are enemies." • something like wakaranai ('"can't tell") is im· plied at the end: - n daka - 11 daka wakaranai ="can't tell if it's/they're - or ......"
"I can 't tell if they're friends or ene.m.ies.'
"I can ' t tell wbetber they like each other or bate each othe r /' (PL2)
Sound FX:
<-t
Kusu ku.w (effect of low, stifled laugh/giggle)
0
Masatoshi: J:
<
Yoku
~~-(!:. akizuni
lt/vi.l'i"o
J:
fo:- o
knrka stmt
yo
nii.
• yoku at the beginning of a l>entence can ex-
(emph.) (coiiO
Shoko: ~m· ~ lvo Komw·san.
(surname-hun.) " Konno-san." (PL3) Masatosbj:
• Shoko addresses her boyfriend by his surname plus -san both at work and in private. lr docsn 'tactually sound quite as stiff and formal as if an English-speaking woman addressed her boyfriend as "Mr. So-and-so," but today it has an increasingly traditionalistic ring to it as more women use their boyfriends' given names.
tf.+i? '{> 1-vo ShiJko-clum.
• dekimasu is the PL3 fonn of dekiru. which means "be finished/become ready" when re-
(narnc-dirnin.) "Shoko." (PL2-3)
ShOko: 7' 1
:X=·- 7 / 1-·
Dizuniirando
pres~ ~urprisc/amazement at the action/behavior mentioned. • akizu ni is equivalent to akinai de ("withoul growing tired of'), from akint ("grow tired of/bored with").
ferring to something being made/produced/ prepared. (J) II# (f) ?J.TI-, ~' R no toki no shashin, f.tyii
't" ~
1 i"
J: "
dekimasu
yo.
Disneyland of time or photos today will be ready (crnph.) " The ictures from Disneyla nd will be ready today." (PL3) Mangajin 21
*tim
28 Mangajin
t.,
J: ? J: • Kekkon
Shiy~yo
Masatosbi: triJ•·:>f..:.o Wakatra. understood
~~ Ji!. Konban mi tonight see
t.:
IT<
ni
ilat yo. wW go (cmph.)
(purpo~)
J:. o
"OK. I'll come over tonight to look atjhem." (PL2) • walwtta is the plain abrupt past form of wakaru ("come to know/understand"). It's often· used like "OK'' to indicate that one understands a command or request- in this case an implied request/invitation-and will respond accordingly. • mi is the stern form of the verb mint (''see/look at"), and ni iku after the stem form of a verb means "go to [do the action]/go for the purpose of [doing the action]."
0
Shoko: li ~.-' Hai. ycs/OK
"Great." (PL3)
ITJ
Sound FX: ~·v tfb ~·b Zawa zawa zawa (sound of many voices
mixing i n crowded room )
Sanae: i.JJ: Il Mainichi iromw sltiwli .l'hinpu mitrru kedo, every day ;Ill l ind, of brides and gr
frlj: ::_q) A ..,-(. ?1.-• .\!!. ..,t:J~·1o daij5bu 110 110 ka Till ko11n hito ue, tsui omotchau. all right (cxphm.) I wonder this per.un (quote) (cmph.) think-(imolumnry) " I in vo luntarily think, ' I wonder if this pcr~on is going to be all rig ht?'''
Sanae: ,kj:_):: /;;:
"As I see all these dill'erent brides and grooms coming through every day, 1 can' t hel hut wonder about some of t hem-whether they're really goi~make it." (PL2) • iro1111a is a colloquial equivalent of iro-iro 11a ("various/diverse"). • mitem is a contra~.:tion of mite iru, frommim ("sec/look at'"). 0, to mark sltinro shinpu ("bride and groom") as the direct object of mim, has been omiued, as it often is in colloquial speech. • the conjunct inn kedo can mean dther "and" or "but" depending on the context. • daijiihu mt:ans "all right/okay" in the scmc of ··no cause for concern." u~ing it as a question implies there is cause for conct:m: "'1<. it OK?IIs it safe?/Are you all right'!": if the question is conjectura l. a~ it is here. it becomes "I wonder if it's ,afe/1 wonder if they're all right."" Note that daijiibu is not alway~ the proper equivalent for English "all right": it's not u~ed to express willingncs~ ("OK. I'll do it": use lrai or ll"(lkatta/ll"akarimw.lriw instead). when beginning an action (""All right. here go"": u~c .\li or yoshi). or a~ ;ln exclamatory ''All right!" when you win the lottery or hit a home run (u'c yatta!). • daijiihu1wno ~a 110. ko11o hito is a complete 'cntt:nce in inverted 'Yntax: normal order would be ~o11o hiro (ll'a) daijobu na no ~ana? ("I wonder if this person i~ all right?"). The quotative tte marks this sentence~ the ~pt:cilic conrcnr of what she thinh (omotdwu). • r.wi as an adverb for actions implies the action is/was done inadvertently/unintentionally/involuntarily. In this case it essentially emphasizes the same meaning included in nmmchuu. • omotdtau i~ a contraction of omotte shimau , from omou ("think"). Shimau a fter the · te form of a verb cun imply the ac· tion occurred spontaneously/involuntarily.
Kakieda: li -i.l•o
~U
;) t
ftl!A
(J)
.:c
't'
-t-A.t.ti: .(_,1£L'Ct..:. ?,
~
1: 1\.
OO <
~o
Biika. Mainichi hito no kntn de s01ma·ni .rhinpai shiterara, i ni ana aku zo. fooVidiot every day other people 's things over that much if worry ~tomacb in hole will open (emph.) " Idior. if you worry that much about other people's concerns every day, a hole will open in your stomach."
" You idiot. If ou ulcer." (PL2)
wo~mucb
about other people' s concerns every day you'll give yourself an
• blika is a colloquial variation of baku ("fooVidiot").
• ill! A means "another person/stranger/someone e lse" (or plural equivalenL~) whether it is read hito, as called for here. or read tan in. which is its more proper reading. No makes it possessive: "another person 's/other people 's." • koto refers to intangible "things" (i.e., not material objects) such as ''questions/facts/matters/events/situations," so hito no koro::: "other people's mat.ters/affairs/concems."' De marks this as the source/cause of worry. • shiupai shitetara ls a contraction of shinpai shite itara, a conditional ("if') form of shi11pai shite iru ("worry/be worried"). from shi11pai suru ("worry''). • ga . to mark ana as the subject of aku ("[somethingj opens"), has been omitted. • zo is a rough, masculine particle for emphasis.
Mangajin 29
*a* l
J: ? J: • Kekkon Shiyi5y '---o _ __
tiE~
-:>it if~
"( 'IJ) II !
.O!t* (/)
':
~
0 )... '?
(;,"(
l:t
"'-r
'?
30 Mangajin
Sanae: t!.-? -r:, "t"" ~ttl!" h.lv ~ Datte, but
~-tt
1:.
~-? -r: li L "'
t
O)o
dekireba minna shiawase ni natte hoshii mono. if possible everyone happy to want [!hem}to become becau~~e
"ButJ if it was possible, I really WOJIId like them aU to becom~y,_" (PL2) Kakieda: I;J:I;J:-J o W.r)IJO) Je.~ ~i?. ct:l.l'< *i'i~ i;;.!vtP lf-n'l:f"'Co, "t"" ;ftfb·::d.:-?1
~~ o
1:.
HohiJ. fun no Kenjo nara, tonlkaku kekk.on nanka balwgetem, de owmtaro ni nii. (interj.) former (surname) if it were anyway marriage thing like is foolish with prob. would have endedeven !hough (colloq.) "Hm-hmm. [You say such a thingl even though if it were the former Kenjo, it probably would have ended with ' Marriage is foolish anyway."'
''H
interesting that you should say that. In the past you probably would have just said that marriage is stupid~" (PL2)
• dam! is often used in colloquial speech to introduce further elaborations or explanations, especially of a defensive nature. • dekireba is a conditional ("if/when") form of dekim ("can do/is possible")-+ "if possible." • nolle is the -te form of naru ("become"), and hoshii after the -te form of a verb implies the speaker wants another person to do the action, so mute hoshii = "wantlthem] to become." Ni marks shiawa.ve ("happy") a.~ the desired result. • hoM is an interjection that includes a feeling of surprise and shows fairly strong interest in what the speaker has heard or observed: "Hmm/well well/ahaa/interesting/ete.'' • Kenjl5 is Sanae's sumame; Japanese speakers often use their listener's name when English speakers would use "you.'' • owauaru is equivalent to owatta dariJ ("probably ended/would have ended''), from owam ("end'').
Kakieda: 3?'·1!·~
M~
c
~~J L-et ~'''
.\l;l.-J-r:o
bit
t.!.
~o
~~-
t.!.7, o
Shiawave 1w kekkon nara shite 11111 ii to ollw//er/1 wake da na. Zuho.fhi dam. happ) marriage if it i~ is OK to du (
"So now you think it'd be OK to get ma rried if it's a happy marriage. Bull's-e e ri •ht?" (PL2) Sanae: niU!•J"( ~-tt ~= (j; ~IJf-:1.' hJ: o Vare dalle shiall'ase ni wa unyon
llfll'itai wa yo. become (fem. emph.)
wont~ 10
"Everybody wants to lind happiness." (PL2) • .vhite is the -te form of .wru ("do"). and ·te ""' ii means ''it's OK/tine to Ido the action]." so shiawase 11a kekkmr11ara shite mo ii ="if it i~ a happy marriage it is OK Ill do it." To marks this as the content of what he says she's thinking. • ' ll'ake da 110 {lit. "the situation is - . i,n' t it'Uright?") is often used when drawing conclusions or fig uring something out: it often ha' a \Omewhat tentative. conjectural feeling. but here he's pretty 'ure he's right. • dam (colloquially shoncned from darci) literally makes u conjecture ("probably/surely''). but it's also used idiomatically as a tag quc~twn. like ''right?" • dare daue i' a colloquial "no matter who it i~..... "anyone/everyone... • naritai ~ ~the "want to" form o f nal'll ("become"): ni marks what you want to become.
=
*-tt
...,-c
[%1;\ tJ<:$1;1:..Ai?~"' -:>"'C iih-r:o O)o Kekkon iklJru shiawase 1/e zushiki ga ki ni iranai tte iuem no. marriage equals happiness (quote) diagrurn/graph (subj.) don't like (quote) am saying (explan.)
Sanae: *li~
"I ' m lust saying I don't like the view of life that e uates marriage with happmess.'' Sanae: 3?'-tt -? -c, b-? *l;':{i-(J{J~ t 0) t. ~ ~ v'Q)-n, 1i- o
c
Shiawase rre. motto h:tppincss a~ for more
sogo-rek/ 1w all-cncompa~~ing
mono ja nai no ka nll. thing I wonder if it ilin'l
" I think happiness is a more a U-encompassing thing.'' (PL2) • the first lie is a coUoquial equivalent of the quotative phrase to iu, which here can be thought o f more or less literally as "that says.'' effectively making the equation kekkmr ikiJru shiawase into a modifier for UlShiki ("diagram/graph'')-+ "the diagnun lnf life] that says marriage equals happiness.'' • ki ni iranai is the negative form of ki ni iru, an expression meaning ''to like/be pleased with.'' • the second tte is equivalent to just the quotative particle to; itteru is a contraction of itte iru ("am saying"), from iu ("say''). • the third 1/e is essentially like wa ("as for") for marki ng the topic; it's a colloquial equivalent of the quotative phrase to iui!IJ 1vt1 (literall y "as for what is called ..... "): shlawase tte ="as for happiness, .. .''
Kakieda:
Kakieda:
uc,-r
rr.Z-cl.> ~o ~A -r: .::.c (f) I ~J 0'> (;.;;l.f1.pi'J :W.f~LrJ;t-J l.l'i?n letI'm 11a. Fuwri de k11rasu koto 1w "rak11" no llo bakari siizii shichimw1 karn. IS ably/aptly '>aid (colloq.) 2 person~ rngt!thcr live thing/situation of pleasure/fun that is side only envision-(sponl.) hecause "l.!tgree with you there. People tend to envision only the fun side of living together." (PL2) "'~ t!i~L"(h.~t . -f-)-f-') WJL'-' .::.c l.f1.J'IJ L.:~~ ~' -n'i? , /f~l.: ~t.tJ;t-J o f::.a kekkollllrite miru to. .w} .w} tmroshii koto bakari (interj.) if/when marry thai much pleasurable/fun things only
ja11ai kara, fuko ni kanjichimau. is not because/so unhappy feel-(regrel)
"Then when they actually get married, thev discover it's not always only fun things, so they feel unhappy.'' (PL2) • ietem is a contraction of iete iru, from ieru ("can say"). the potential form of iu ("say"). fete iru basically expresses agreement with what has been said, implying, too. that it was well put. • ho means "side/direction," so raku 110 lui= " the side that is fun/the fun side.'' (continued onnexl page}
Mangajin31
iS !II}
~
J: ? J: •
•=t: t) If tJ•
Ke ::_:_: k_:.:_:ko:..:..:. n -=. S:..:..:. hiy~o-=--:.yo:.__
AW~
~JIT
li t (, Ill ~
i' Q) fJ) :1!tlr~
!k
(;q ':J Q ~: .{ 1~
~
"' 0
1,;
~
li
1; 0
32 Mangajin
0
_ __
~-E'·M i..&;?L-. ~L-~
'\"->
=-
< "( "'-
~o Q) tJ• A~ li' t~t
[!}(
• sii:ii shichimau is a contraction of .fii: r1 .1·hite shima11. from sii:o suru ("envision/imagine"). Shimau after the -te form of a verb often implies the action take~ place spontaneously/ involuntarily. -Te shimau more typically contracts to -chau, but it's not unusual to hear -cltimau instead. • iza is an interjection giving the feeling that the moment of truth has come: "now th
Sanae:
~itt~ A,
b ·Hl
"t:
mo sore
dl!
~ltY: tJ.: /v I: L. J;? shippai .1·hita 11 desho ? (name-hon.)lyou also that (ca~) failed (explan.) rigbt?
Kalcieda-san
"That's where ou went wrong, too, right?" (PL2) (J) 1311:: ~= ri6 Ore 1W kako ni hanashi
Kakieda: 1li!
pa.~t
1/me 's
to
talk
~1.> !v t:~>t~"' o li!J#. t.= l:U::''b j11ru n ja nal. Zuboshi da kedorno
io
(obj.)
don't switch
hull's-eye
i~
~o IW.
although (colloq.)
"Don't start talking about my past. You did hit the nail on tbc head thou b." (PL2) • • • •
again. she uses his name when an English speaker would use " you'' to refer to her listener. the panicle de here indicates cause: sore de= "because of that.'' shippai .~hira is the plain/abrupt pa.~t fnnn of sltippai surn (" fail/make a mistake/goof up''). desha (or deshO) literally makes a conjecture (''probably/surely is"), or with a rising intonation, a conjectural q uesrion. Often it's a purely rhetorical question that expects Lhe listener to confirm the conjecture: "right?" • furu can me<~n •·switch/swing aside/move off course." and following a non-paM verb with a sharp n ja noi can make an abmpt negative command: "don't - .'' • keredomo =kedomo =kedo. all meaning "but/although.''
<
Kaldeda: t.fi~T o
<
·c
II# lj:, 1J!tl L- 1j: v' 11# "t: t C.' ·i -? -? -: A "C ~I? VC !l) iJ' 'b .)5· ~ 1j: ~ -"t· t.t o Kekkon sum tolci wa, tanosllikunai ~oki demo do yarte Jutari de kurasltitelcu no ka mo J..angaenakya lUI. get married time a.~ for not fun umes even in how 2 people together will live on (explan.-?) also mu.~t think (colloq.)
" When ou ct mar.ied, you also have to thjnk about how ou'll et through the tlmes that aren' t so much fun together.'' (PL2) Sanae: ~ t' iJt 1 <·:; 11- o r"f J1!; 1j:- il? o Sasuga batsuichi. Kotoha 110 hnshiba.vhi ni jin.l'ei o kanjim lUI. as would expect once-divorced
words/remark~
of
end~
at/on
life
(nbj.)
feel
(colloq.)
''That's a once-divorced man for ou. I sense the wisdom of ex ericnce in our ever • ta1w.vhikunai is the negative fonn of tanoshii ("i~ pleasurable/enjoyable/fun"). • kurashiteku b u contraction uf kurashite iku, from kurasu ("live" in the sense of goi ng through daily life from une day LO the next). and iku after the -te form of a verb can imply the action progresses/continues into the future. • ka11gaenakyu is a coUoquial short form of kanf(aenakereha naranai, a "must/have to" form o f kangaeru ("think"). This makes the complete, embedded que~tion tanoshiku11ai toki de11w dii yane fwari de kurashitekuno ka ("How will you live on together even at times when it's not fun'r') into an indirect question: "You must think about how you will live ..." • sa.rugu implie!> the action/statementlresultlete. fits what you would eltpect of a per~on in the stated po!o.ition. • hatsuiclti h a \lang term for a o nce-divorced person. Literally "one cross out" (from batsu. the name of the x symbol used for crossing things out, and ichi, "one"), it originates from how a woman's name gets crossed out on her husband's family register when they divorce. A twice-divorced person is culled bat.nmi (''two cross outs") and so forth.
Kakicda: t!.-IJ' I? {)akam
onaji shippai
bccau~e
it h " ' \:ltnc mb talc
ll'll
a~
niclo to k11rikae.wmai.
for t" icc
Will
not r~Jlt'at
"That's why I won't repeat the s ame mistake twice."
" That's wh I'll never repeat the same mistake !!,gain." (PL2) Kakieda : ...::.J!r t.
~...
Nido to
na. . .
• nido means "two timcs/twict!'': 11ido to plus a nt:gati vt: verb means "will no t [do the action) a ~econd time" ' 'will nt:ver do [it] again." • kurikae~a11ai is the negative form of kuriJ.ai'.HI (" repeat'').
twice/again (colloq.)
"Never a ain." (PL2) Sound FX:
:J /
:1 /
:1 /
Kou ku11 J..o11
Knock knock knock (sounc.J of Masatoshi knocking on Shoko' s door) Shoko: (.± - l ' o llai. yes
"Comi-i-ing!" (PL3) •
the customary response to the dombell or a knock at the door i~ an elongated hlii called out in a raised voice. Mangajin 33
? v 3 / [; A- "5
~
A- • Crayon Shin-chan
71"5Cf&O~Iul~ w~~~0taJWElfl
~i
tt.
.. ..
34 Mangajin
Title: :t 7
c
Ora
to
Ume and
rJ: t;, ~ 1v I;:I:
Akaiwa:
Kiichan
wa
mother
as for
Ma:u eiga "Furimukeba fiN of all movie if/when turn around
~~ 3 m, ~~9 0-tomodachi na no yo Hen, Sono Kyli (hon.)-friends (explan.) (emph.)collcction No.9 Mom and I are F riends, Story~ Be~~~
• ora is a variation of ore, a rough, masculine word for "rtme." • klichan is an informal equivalent of okiisan ("mother"). • hen refers to a "compilation/collection" containing a number o f articles/stories/episodes, and sono ichi, sono ni, sono san, sono yon, etc. (literally ..the first/second/third/fourth of that") is a relatively common way of designating the sequential place of a story or episode in the collection.
IT] Sound FX:
Voki
Soihite, and then
~ofun.
"Five more minutes." (PL2) • aw before a time word means "I that much more time] remains/is left" until something begins/ends/ol:curs.
f.!. o 4-B
~
.A-7:/.:J.- Jv tsukejiiru t><:hcdule
o (obj.)
'b ? - J!f «WI L -r:t3::? o
mo
icltido
ocha
o (obj)
"Ampachiino " AI Pacino
resutoran rc~taurant
r.::-c
7'1 7- .,
nile
dina. dinner
at
' 'Then it's dinner at the Ita lian resta urant ' Alpacino. " ' (PL2) - --
rnorc/rcmaining 5 minute~
So da. Kyii IW that way is today of/for
diehard
~
( hon.)-t~a
/!(Irian Italian
frJv,~ -:1- -JJ
pounding in nervous antic ipation) J; C 57fo
~?
mite, sono ato
i-311~
"First of all we'll take in the movie ' Die Ha rd Yet_Again,' and afterthiii we'll talk about love over tea." (PL2) Akaiwa: ~ t.., -c, 1 5' 'J 7 / v ;c. r 7 /
Thump thump thumJ! (effect of heart
Akaiwa:
o
~O)f-t.
~}j.~;Q~t? ~ :: ~..JI,>"( ;if; I?-) 0 nomi-nagara ai ni TSltite kararau. while drinking love about talk together
doki doki
Aro
J!-c
(obj) sec-and after that
~· :f ~· :t
" :t
~
Daihiido"
fukushii shite ok6.
mure one time shall rc"ciw-(ahead)
"I know. I 'll review mY. lan for today one more time." (PL2) Akaiwa: ~lv-tt, Wt.>'CO) 7'- ~ Nanse, after all
hajimete tUJ deto first date t!. 'b A, tj: 0 da 111011 na. is because/(empb.){colloq.)
"After all, it is our first date." (PL2) • soda (literally, "lit] is that way") is often used like an exclamation at the beginning of a sentence to express a sudden realization/thought/idea. like "Oh, I know/that's it!'' or when suddenly remembering something, "Oh yeah." before a number or amount means "fthat many/that much} more"; iclli = "one," and -do is the counter suftix for "times/ occasions,'' so mii ichido ="one more time." • jr1kushii is a noun for ''review Ia lesson/plan/schedule]," and fukushii suru is its verb form (shite is the -1e form of suru). • okt1 is the volitional ("Jet's/1 shall'') form of oku, which after the -te form of a verb implies doing the action ahead of time/ as a preparatory measure. • nanse js a contraction of nanise, a colloquial variation of nanishiro, whicb is a conjunction that can take on a variety of meanings depending on its context: ''at' any rate/1 mean/you know/after all, etc."' • hajimete = "for the first time," and hajimete 110 = "the first - ." • da mon is a contTaction of dn mono. which at the end of a scmence essentially means " because it is [as stated/described]." Na adds emphasis: "it i.f -."
• maw= "first of all/to begin with." • jitrimukeba is a conditional ("if/when'') form of furimuku ("tum/look around"). and Dailliido is from the Engli~h "Die Hard" • "Whenever you turn around, it's Die Hard" -+ " Die Hard Yet /\gain." • mile is the -te form of mim ("sec/look at"): the -1e form here is being used a.~ a cominuing foml. "see and - ." • r ha (''tea") almost always get~ the honorilic prefix o-. In cases like this it often carries the generic meaning of "something to drink" (nun-alcoholic). • nomi is the stem of 11011111 ("drink"). and -nagara i' u verb suflix meaning "while Idoing the action]." so nomi-nagam =''while drinking." • katarau (''talk/converse together") implies conversing intimatel y. • we interpreted the name of the restaurant. ''Aipacino:· as a word play on the name of that well-known actor. • nile marks the place where nn event takes place/will take place.
Akaiwa:
~
L, -r 1
~
li .. .
So.rhite I yoru wa .. . and then night as for
"And then, toni~"
• mo
Mangajin 35
IJ v 3 / 1.., A-
t>
~
A- • Crayon Shin -chan
~:z:.t
h.-Tv "('
A,
(J)
1;\
t:t
.
36 Mangajin
':
t:: .:z.
t::T'f .:z. I I I 1- 1-
OJ Shin--chan:
li rl. tt ~ L -c ~ .0 o Hamigaki shite nem. brush teeth-and go to bed
''Brush your teeth and go to bed_:" (PL2) • hamigak i .rhite is the -te fonn of hamigaki (o) .mru. whlch can serve as a verb for "brush teeth." Another way to say "brush teeth" is lw o migaku ("teerh'' + (obj.) +''pOlish/clean").
!}] Shin-chan:
~li 1.: -t ~ ·:1 ::1 L 1&: ~ "(> o neru mae ni oihikko shinakya. (interj.) go to hed before pee/tinkle must tlo &'.>.
0
Moshika shite yiikai-ma? perchance/possibly a kidnapper
''Could you be a kidnap per ?" (PL2) Akaiwa: .AOO~ (/) ~~~' .: C: 19>? t.J:!! Hitogiki no warui kow yii na. other's hearing is bad thing don't say "Don't say things that ~ound bad to olhers."
t.l J.,
"Pi
down! Someone could get the wrong Ideal" (PL2)
A.
"Oh, before you go to bed ou have to go tinkle." (PL2)
t.:.
Akaiwa: -t'?
~.l.
71'~"'"
Sii da ne, a lw ha lm. that way is (colloq.) (laugh)
"That's true, isn ' t it? Ha ha ha ha." (PL2) • mae ni after a verb means "hcfore the action is done/ takes place." • o.1·hikko is baby-talk for "urine,.. and nshikko ~11m is its verb form ("go pee/tinkle"'). Shinakya i.-. a colloquial contraction of shinakereha ikenai. a ''must/have to' " form of sum.
[!] Shin--chan: t.t ;,__ 'IJ>
• moJhikashite (or mosllika shitara/moshika sl/ru to) is a phrase that means "by any chance/is it possible that." • yakai refers to the act of "kidnapping," and -ma is a suffix for denoting a person who does a criminal/anti-social action, so ylikai-ma ="kidnapper." • hitogiki no warui literally means "sounds bad when heard by others"--. ''scandalous/embarrassing." ~ ~ ya is a non-standard spelling of "' ? (iu, "say"). Na after the plain, non-past form of a verb can make an abrupt negative command/prohibition: "don't - ."
Akaiwa : .: t Ln' I? -TKore kara from now
.1+1?
i1iJ '.)
Nanka yii? something business "Did you have some business with me?"
" Did you want something?" (PL2) Akaiwa: -t- ? -~; n• r;, n' r;, 1v -r: ~ t.:. ;,__ t! 1:> :¢f!!
• nanka is 11 contraction of narrika (''something/anythi ng"), and y/J is short for yiiji (" matter to attend to/business"), so nanka yo? is literally "some matter of business?" • smchi is a colloquial sochira (''that side/direction''); both words are often used to refer to one's listener, "you." (Cf. the use of kotchi and kochira for "lime" or "we/us."') o karande is the -te form of karamrl. whlch literally means "coil around/entangle in"; here it's being used idiomatically to refer to the way Shin-chan drew Akaiwa into a conversation. Kita is the plain/abrupt past fonn of kuru ("come"), which shows that the action was directed toward the speaker. o the coojecrural dan1 (''probably/surely") often gets shortened to daro in colloquial speech. Ga can be used for emphasis after sentences ending in conjccturnl daro or desha, making them actually into fairly strong assertions; this is not the "softening" ga we often see.
8] Shin-chan:
~ 1.: ~> ? "'( ;,__ Nani what
Akaiwa:
\'OIIen
arc doing
" What are ou doing'?" (PL2) ~/.,(:{> L"'( i~ ~- J: o Namrimu shiteni w. (not) anything not doing (e~ph.)
" I' m not doin • an thing." (PL2) • yauen is a contraction of yaue iru ("is/are doin g"). from yaru (an informal word for "do"). The explanatory no is often used to ask questions in colloquial speech. • nam1imo is a colloquial nw1imo. wh ich is followed by a negative to mean "not anything/nothing."' Shitene is a masculine/ slang contraction of shite inai ("is/am not doing"). from sum ("do").
f i .., -c ~c u
-t;
L ~> o
L '? "
Slri!
Shi!
' h iHl
~hoo
" I have a date now so lease go awa Shoo. Shoo." (PL 1-2) ~in-chan:
li li ;) '
-r- r " deto. date
Hoho, (interj.)
"Ahaa, a date." (PL2) • kore kara can mean "from now on." or ~imply " now." • iuete is a contraction of illl' ite. the -te form of iul' iru, from iku ("go"). fue im ml!un~ " has gone 10 n place untl remains there," and the -te form can make an informal/abrupt request. so au·lri iuete means "(please) go over there and stay there" or simply "go away.'"
[2] Shin--chan:
?- 1Deto
-r- r dlto, date
date
~:::.:z.-
~:::..:z.-0
hya hyii. (teasing sound/whistles)
"Ada
a date woo wool" (PL2) Akalwa: ?.Q~Ii' 'l;t, ~* o J:-tt J: o Urusai noisy
na, mo. Yose yo. (colloq.) (CXliSj>.) quit (emph.)
''Sbeesh be ulet! Cut that out!" (PL2) Akalwa: ' ' ·:1 ' ' 'J ' ' ·~ Hahhahha!
(embarrassed laugh)
(J) ?
no? (explan.)
n' I?
~ -1;.: lv !.:.
deto na 11 da kara date (cxplnn.) bccam.e/so
ardri iul'fe. over there/away please go
Sotchi kara lwrande /..ita n daro gal! that side/you from approached (expl.) surely (emph.)
" You're the one who approached me!" (PLI -2)
19>-? n'~t'l;it'?
Shin..chan: b L i.l' L -c
• urusai literally means "noisy/bothersome,'' and it's often used li ke English "Be quieti/Shut up!/Simmer down!'" • na after an adjective adds colloquial emphasis. • yose is the abrupt command form of yosu ("quit"). Yo adds fair ly strong emphasis to requests and commands.
[II Shin-chan: rDetu date
~
-c Jj: 1.: ? ue nani? (quote) what ~)
" What's a date?" (PL2) Akaiwa: ;f v ::I?" t:: ~ :h -c lv (J)
i.I'Jj:? koke ni sareten tw kana ? being made a fool (explan.) perhaps "Am I perhaps being made a fool?"
Ore, lime
' 'Is he making fun of me?" (PL2) • tte here is a colloquial equivalent of to iuno wa ("as for what is
called - '').
(m lllinued 0/1/lexr pafo:e)
Mangajin 37
? v 3 / [., A- "5 -t> A- • Crayon Shin-chan
-
b
~
1
~l~> tn~ ~ ~ ¥:> {>
t~ Jl:.t 'IJ• ~ ¥:> (,
tJ::
-r:
"' *i>
;{> .{-?(J) ~ -~·~:: T "? l., -r:
"'
-
-
-t-1>
? t::.•
I I
t 'IJ•
\,'
1
,
(,
::l ~ 1F:. ~ .{- ~~ ::Y ~
<
J:tt:th~ "?
1.'
'.(~~
-=> tt'3
t:: -t- "/;• q) ;
':
38 Mangajin
"'
-r:
-~ ?
[§] (nmtinued from pre\·ious pasw)
Shin-chan: .: /...., ~_: t::> Li -
koke ni suru is an expression for "make a fool of [someoneI." Sa reTen is a contraction of sarere iru ("is/am being made") from sareru ("be made"), passive fom1 of suru ("make/do"). • ka na asks a conjectural question "I wonder if/is it perhaps (that) ·- ?"
(greeting)
"Hello-" (PL3) Shiraka\\'!'!: "Jh, .: /...., ~_: lJ (;:):- o A,
A,
siJ da. (interj.) that way i$
Mada still
"Oh, !~~." (PL2) • soda (lit. "it is that way") is again being used idiomatically ~
Ano
r ,
:t 7
sli.
iSOf?ashii
kara,
busy
because/so
(interj.) (colloq.) 1/me
t ;) 1\ii ') -c t nul now
It> I,>')
kaerre mo if go home
0
Shirakawa: ml\? Dare?
ii 1
who
OK
" Who' s this?" (PL2)
"You know, I'm kind of busy, so is it OK if 1 go home now?" (PL2) Akaiwa:
Akaiwa:
~t one
1Jfo
hikiromerene
daro
ga.
;, not detaining
surely (cmph.)
raising a new topic and wishing to draw the listener' s auention to it. It can he variously like "say/you know/incidentally/ by the way." • -re mo ii? with the intonation of a question is an informal way of asking permission.
Shin-chan: t. "(• o
(name)
• shiranai is the negative fonn of shiru ("learn/come to know"). but more typically it serves as the negative of slzitte
im ("'know"). • Shinnosuke is"Shin-chan's fltll given name. Taking the first part of a person's given name and adding the diminuti ve -chan is a very common way of form ing a familiar name for the person, used especially by family and close friends.
Yiikai saresiJ
in that case/then
about to be kidnapped ''I was about to be
ni mura be(am~
0) ,
no. (explan.)
kidnapped." "He was going to kidnap me." (PL2)
-?t:.
Ttaku.
Shirakawa: il ?!
(exasp.)
E?!
" Sheesh!" (PL2)
" What?!" (PL2)
• ja (lit. "in that case/then," from dewu), serves as a casual/informal "goodbye." ttuku is a contraction of muttaku (literall y "completely/entirely"), which is often used as an exclamation of exasperation.
:J:5 -t
-:f J.
/ t:t ~ v' o
osoku nalle gmrlenlw.mi. (nume-hon.) having bee. late-(cause) (apology)
Akaiw~:
Shinnosuke.
Vmc
''I' m Shinnosuke." (PL2)
"B e then." (PL2)
Akaiwa-san,
Ora,
Shin-chan: ~ ;J i.l'v' ~hi"? f: ~ ~-> t:.
Ja.
Shirakawa: ;Jf,'f!i ~ !v,
not know
Shin-chan: :t7, l...lvO)-fiTo
• ano .m or 0110 sli is a warm-up phrase used when deliberut.cly
8J
shiranai.
not know
(PL2)
froml>eginning
iJ I LX .tl.:J6 -c i~ - t!.:?
" No one's keeping you to begin with!" (PLl-2)
~a:
~c.>~v', ~l?~v' .,
Shirtmai,
"!don' t know him, I don' t know him."
Dare mo ha}ime kara M
no?
"You' re still here?'' (PL2)
-b'.lt Lv' iJ' ~>,
P
ora
ira
was here (explan.)
• kon.nichi wa is the standard daytime (mostly afternoon) greeting, like ·'hello/good day/good afternoon." • ira is the plain/abrupt past form of iru ("exist/be in a place/be here").
to show he has suddenly reali1..ed/remetnbered something.
Shin-chan: "Jh (J)
kormichi wii.
" Oh, hello-" (PL3) Akaiwa: it.:.' v>t:. O)?
-t- 7 t!. o
Shin-chan: j),
o
Konnichi wi'i.
" I'm sorry to be late, Akaiwa-san_" (PL2) "Jh, r'lJII ~ fvo A, Shirakawa-san. (interj.) (namc-hon.)
Akaiwa: iii Ne root~
.:c
~ t ~v' ~-)~ !! ha mo nai koto y li na!! also leaves also nut have thing don't say
i>
mo
" Don't say baseless things."
"Don' t be ridiculous!" (PL2) natta is the past forrn of -- so ni naru, which connects to the masu stem of a verb to give the meaning "almost [do the action]/(the action I almost [occurs]." In this case we have the stem of tht: two-word verb ytlkai .mreru ("be kidnapped"). passive form of yiikai suru ("kidnap"). ne mo ha mo nai is litera lly "has no roots nor leaves" and is an idiomatic expression for "groundless/baseless." ~ so ni
"Ob, Shirakawa-san." (PL2) • osoku is the adverb form of the adjective o.wi ("slow/late"), and naue is the -re form of naru ("become,"). Osoku naru = "become late/he late," and the -re form is being used here to indicate the reason/cause of what follows (i.e., her apology). • gomen nasai is one of the most common ways to express an apology ("sorry"), so osoku mllte gomen nasai = "sorry for being late."
Mangajin 39
'7
v
3 /
L, A- 1.:> ->:> fc • Crayon Shin-chan - --
m y
:&< {>
~7
? ? i
"/)•
1 A,
?
:2
1> ~ .. -t0
~
.. (/)
J:
'- ?
......
'-
..
¥:>
~t,
l:t
...
A, ~
~·
40 Mangajin
*.:: :: 7 ~ , t:t ~~ iiliH 1 ~ .. \' 1: a;. 1.t ~' 1: 1" t..,
t)
*1> v
~·
OH•
Akaiwa:
~0) 't!:,
.:Hfiilt> t.!. iJ' fJ
1\j; -;:~
-c
J: .,
Ano sa,
onegai
kaette
yo.
da
kara
[§J( conrinued)
J!..!! ~f.: 1-Tn' ~ IHLI£.. . Dakara kore kara mukae ni iktmakireba . . . therefore from now meet ·(purpose) must go ·
Shirakawa: t.! iJ' t:> .:: tt..iJ' I?
(intcrj.) (hon) -request is because/so go homc(cmph.)
''Look, I'm begging you, please go hom e." (PL2) Shin-chan: 'i\li.::, J: ., ;t 7 It'{- 'b~· L.. v' fv t.!. 'b fv., yo. Ora r.o home (emph.) lime
Kaeru
isogashii
am busy
"So I have to go meet them now." (PL2) 1 if.~ ~ t:!. l . .. fL .
n da mon. (expl.) because
presxion is used to emphasi?.c how important the request is to the speaker, so it's something like saying "1 beg you." • kaette is the -te form of kaeru (''go/come home"); the -te form is being used as a relatively abrupt request or gentle command.
0
Shin-chan: t ~, o Ja. in that case/the n
"Bve." (PL2) Akaiwa: !;l: Ho
"Whew." (sigh of relief)
0
sum?
kiss
do
Akaiwa:
P-
n';,
Ji
kara, kierol! llecause disappear
OK
fonn, here spoken with the intonation of a question.
shinai ro. A ha ha ha. mu~t treat wi th ~ar~ (laugh) " More than a date . you must take good care of your pare nts. Ha ha ha h a." "Taking care your parents is more
or
~, 1i'~ ;1: L.. J:-) tJ''? Ha lw... Sa, ikinwshiJ ka? (laugh) (inte1j .) shall go ('!)
important than a date. Ha ha ha ha."
J'l'.. .
(PL2) FX: V' ;t - /.,
" Hah hah ..• Well, shall we go?" (PL3) (intt!rj.)
~i;l:
~;).,
jitsu ••·a
ne.
Hie- n (crying inside)
,fj;':F;~/v . . . Akai11·a-~·an
a~tual ly (~oll oq.)
Shirakawa: ::.:61)/v;J: ~ v'o
.. .
(name-hon.)
Gomen nasai.
"Ah, actually, Akaiwa-sa~" (PL3) • sa (or sa) is often used like " well now/all right/come on·· to pn:pan: oneself for action or to urge the listener to action. • ikimashiJ is the volitional ("let" s/! shall") fonn of iku ("go'').
Ka makes it a question: ''shall l!we go?'' • j irsu =''truth/ fact." and j irsu wa ="as for the truth/actually." Jirw wa is often used to show reserve/reluctance when beginning to s peak about something unpleasant/embarrassing. • ne in the middle of a sentence is a kind o f verbal pause .
IT} Shirakaw~:
~-? ~ ~f!i: Sakki totsuzen a while ago suddenly/unexpectedly 1t' ~ il'
o:>
plijtJl iJ' G 'lltiiiS-c'
inaka
no
l}'iishin kara denwa de from got call-and
"I'm really SO!:rJ..!" (PL3) •
rai.~et.wni tai.~er.w
[2]
shinai ro is a colloquial ''must/have to'' form of ni sunc (''tn:asure/trcat with care"').
"'"' .:: ~ .Q J: ., Sono uchi ii koio ttru yo. i.n lime/someday good thing will occur (emph.) " !n time, something good will happen."
Shin-chan: {-0)-? "IS
rJ.:;iu.- -c
~ 1.: ~ ~~·t..:J L eki ni tsuita" to. came to Tokyo-and now statiO)! at arrived (quote)
A,
ima
"Just now, out of t he blue, m y parents from the country called to say they'd <;orne up to Tokyo and had just arriyed at the ~tation." {PL2) ·
c
" You'll have better luck next time." (PL2) FX: ''7!'7 Ha(t1 hafu
(effect of taking a bite of sometbjng too hot and trying to cool it by puffing vn it with his breath as he chews)
country/home of/from parents
"Jokyo shite
71\J\J\ o
rai~·~trsuni
"that's OK/neve r mind.'' • kiero is the abrupt command rnnn o f k.ieru (''disappear/ vanish").
~'
yori, I:JO·I)'IJSh in n1nr.:: than (hon.)-parents
Atm.:t...~v'C o
• ii kara (literally "because it's OK/tine") is an expres~ion for
A.
~, .., "'' fv t!. J: , -t 1.-- (J).:.. 1:: ;J: c) " A. ii 11 da vo, ore no koto 110m. (int.erj .) OK (cxpl.) (cinph.) t/mc about if it is
{)iffO date
• kisu is from the Eng lish " kiss,'' and ki.1·u (o) suru is its verb
Shirakawa:
.
''Oh, if you arc conccmcd uhout me, it's OK." "Oh, never mind me." (PL2) f'- ]' J: IJ, ,::'ji!ljl,l
iFf~:? !!
"Never mind that! Get lost!" (PLl-2)
Akaiwa:
~lime
them, so •. • I . . ." (PL2) i
"Are ou going to kiss her ?" (PL2) Akaiwa :
and/so
is
• jokyiJ, written wifh the kanji for "up" and "capital," refers to travelling "up" to Tokyo from any outlying area, whether it be North, South, East, or West (more than commuting dis- . tance is assumed). Ji5kyi5 shire is the -te form of jlikyii suru ("travel up to Tokyo"). • tsuita is the plain/abrupt past fonn of tsuku ("arrive"). • mukae is a noun fonn of mukaeru ("meet [a rraveler/visitor)"), and ni marks it as the purpose of going. • ikanakereba narwwi is a "must/have to" form of i/..11 ("go"); naranai is often omitted in colloquial speech. • -buri after a time word means that much time has passed since an action occurred or a certain condition prevailed; it implies the interval has been quite long for the context.
Shin-chan: 4'-7- -t;:,? Kisu
shi. . . Watashi . . .
l year interval
"It's been a wh_ole~year since l've sey!l
'Sure, I'll go. I'm busy anyway." (PL2) • onegai da kara is literaiJy ' 'because it is my request"; the ex-
lchinen-buri da
Akaiwa:
~ i fv 'b -? 1 ::1 ~-) il'? Nikumtm ri/(J ikko kuu ka? meat bun more l~otint eat (?)
"Will you eat another nikuman?"
" Want another nikuman?" (PL2) • nikuman are steamed buns filled with a seasoned meat-andvegetable mixture, best when eaten hot out of the steamer.
Mangajin 41
(?~~o (?~ @ le.J~~~
Title: i;J!-F~ ~ Shiohi-gari tidelands hunting/!l_athering
Digging Shellfish/Clamming
Gal Gag World ~
by
• shiohi = shiohigara, which refers to the "tidelands/tidal flats" when the tide is out. • -gari is from kari (k changes tog in combinations), which can refer to hunting game, gathering shellfish, as wcU as going to pick wild berries/
~?~l~~<
fiJIIIft:
I Sato Ryosaku
JJ=f~D
m~hmoms/etc.
II]
Proprietor: 1 -< 1 1· A'i.'i.
*-" ..r.
~if> o
lmairhi ninki ne Ill/. not quite popularity not have (colloq.) ··Tt doesn't quite have [the desired] popularity." " It's just not drawing the crowds." (PL2) ~
;., c. n'
-t :- ~l
Nantoka
~
>a:- ...
yangu
-siJ o ... somehow young stratum (ohj.) "Somehow [1 have to attract] the young social
stratum." "Somehow I need to find a way to appeal to the youn~eneratio!'h" (PL2)
• imaiclri (usually followed by a negative) implie~ that something come' up a little short/docs not quite make the grade. • ninl..i = "popularity." and ninki ne is a dialeclfslang equi valent of ninl..i ( Rfl} nai (''not have popularity/lack popularity"). lmaichi ninki ga nai = " not qui te have (the desired I popularity." • the elongated nlf add~ emphasis. showing quite Mrung feeling about the observation. • the suffix -so i' used widely to indicate particular social clus~es or groups.
0
Pro rietor: ~ -? Si1
thm way
f.''
da! is
' 'That' s itf' (PL2) Sound FX:
;J~ :--
Pon
(effect of pounding fist in palm)
• .fo da (literally, ''it is so/that way") is often an exclamation expressing a sudden realizatioo/thoughtlidea,lik.e " Ob, l know!Thafs it!"
Sign: l- t.: .7J. :\, ;· Slrijimi
·1
-1- '\" -
Kyardul
Clam Catcher Customer : 'b ~_, C. {j, 1;, Motto
more
migi. migi. nght righ1
" More to the right. To the right." (PL2) Sound FX: if Gil
~
1 ~--------------------------~
~ ~----------~~~--~----~
42 Mangajin
Whrrrr (whining or crane unit)
• slrijimi ("corbiculae/frcsh wmer clams'') arc a favorite target of "clamming'' throughout Japan, and are most commonly served in miso soup. They're quite a bit \muller than clams (hamaguri). typically only about an inch or so in size. kyatchli is a katuJ..una rendering of the English word "catcher."
~~)J!)oEJ!~@ ~W~~~
Gal Gag World ~
by
Saishin
newest/cutting edge (mod.) h~bit · ~
OJ
Sound FX : -7 -7 -7 IJ IJ 1 IJ Ta Ill ta lata Ia Ill
Tap ta p ta p tap tap tai!...!!!P (effect of jiggling knee/ tapping toe or heel)
Sato Ryosaku
A: ~11) .7-t: t:l!v -c
~'JiO)?E?
1-----=--~, 1
[_ 0
..
Cutting-Edge Habit?
!:.?~.~~(
fiJI-f15 I
Ano kuse 1wn that
@"jb0 / ~
1!:
>
,-
iu
m?:(~? .
shittt!ru? know
"Do you k~ow what that baJ.?JL~ called?" (PL2) ?ill ? -c 7.> t> .1: " 1:::: :,..- >F- ..:t.::\ lJ "t'" L .t? Shitteru
wa yo.
Binbii
(fern. emph.) poverty
HSur~ I know.
,;i
v•-? tr
re
ka habit what (quote) say/call (?)
know
/?
11)"" 1 +!.? · " no · ktise
Title: :!&if
yusuri desho? shaking
right?
It's called ~llinbo yusuri, right?"
(PL2)
'
Sound FX: 7 7 7 7 7 Tata ta taw
Tap tap tap tap tap nan is a contraction of nani ("what"), and te is a colloquial equivalent of quotative to; nan te iu =''is called wbat.." • shiueru ls a contraction of shitte iru ("know"), from shiru (''learn/come to know"). An abrupt question ending in ka followed by shiueru makes an indirect question: "do you k:now what/when/who/how - ?" • wa yo is a colloquial combination that gives distinctly feminine emphasis. • binbiJ yusuri refers to jiggling one's knee/leg compulsively, which, depending on how the person is sitting, often involves tapping one's heel or toes.
12]
Sound FX: 7 7 '1 7 7 Tara ta 1a Ia
Ta tap tap tap taj! (effect of tapping tinger) A: l-t•, ~~ 7-t: ~!v -c '-''7 -IJ''! Ja.
a11o kuse
then
that
IIlii/
re
iu
ka?
hahit whlll (quote) say/call (?)
"Then what 's that habit called?" (PL2) B: :r...-? 9?11C, Ij: ·' v'o t:?
Shira11ai.
huh/wh;lt
not know
" Huh'? I don't know." (PL2)
A,:
that
A:
?"C It'-) t,Lit' J:: o tte iu rashii yo. shaking quote say/call it seems (emph.)
~tl., ~'7;\ .:L::\
Are,
1)
rrutusu yusuri mou~e
"It's apparently called mo~ yusuri." (PL2) t:tAJ.:.--:> "C ;~'J:J/ 7'-i.>. t!. 'b!v l- -o Nantatle
pasokon
bam.u da nwn
whatever one says personal computer boom
n~.
is because(c.olloq.)
"Whatever you say, it's really a computer boom."
" Well, we really ~e in a computer boom." (PL2)
!!:
* ;..r" ::t?
Honto? truth
" Really?" (PL2) Sound FX:
7 7 7 7 7 ?' ?' 'Ta ta Ia rata tara
Ta J!1ap tap tap tap tap ~P. ~ 10
.,.
r./)
"'
-"'
"' "',..,
10
0::
© ~~~~--~------~~~~~
• rashii follows the plain form of a verb (present or past) .and implies a conjecture based on something heard, seen, ot read - · "is avparently/seems to be/J unden;tand that ~ ." • hon.to (a colloquial lw.nt{]) means "truth; ' but wi.th the intonation of a question it becomes "Js that true'!/really?" • pasokcm is shortened from ~~- '/ 7 iv · .:::r / It"'-- (! - (piisonam · konpyiitl1), the cumbersome li:atakana rendering of the.E nglish "personal computer"; b11mu is from the English "boom."
Mangajin 43
~~)JJ;)oe;:?~@ ~W~ll9~
Tit~: ~F".l ~= car in
Gal Gag World by
"{"
Shanai nite
In The Car
Guv: ;f,
';I !
Ne.1
I SatO Ayosaku
(into:rj.)
"Come on!" (PL2) Girl: 7 ... A ... (interj.)
"Oh." (PL2) Girl: Y" j. Dame
t!.-=>
-c
I!,
*f.t
da
tte
ba,
Kimura-kun.
nor permiued is (quote) (emph.) (name-fam.) " I said no., Kimura." (PL2)
L:~~lt'...
Guy: "'"' li
ja nai!
l!ood/fine/OK is nor
:f,o
N~!
(colloq.)
«It's OK, isn't it? Right?" "Come on! Wh not?" (PL2) • ue ba is used like the emphatic tag, "I sny." It's actually a colloquial contraction of 10 ieba, the quotative particle 10 plus the -ba fonn of iu ("say"). Since the -ba form makes a conditional "if/when'' meaning, - tt~ ba literally means "if I say," implying an emphatic "if l say - ,I really mean - ." • ii ja nai might look like "[it I is not good,'' but it's actually a colloquial short fom1 of the rhetorical ii ja nal (desu) ka, "(it) is goocVfinc/OK, is it not?" Spoken with a falling intonation. ii ja nai is an idiomatic expression used to counter objections the other perwn has raised, so it corresponds variously to ''What's wrong with that?/So what?/Why not?/etc." • ne spoken by itself after another sentence is like a redoubled effort to press the point home and get the listener's agreement ("right?/isn't that so?/don't you think?").
Sound FX: 11 -1Kachi
Click (effect of hitting button)
0
Computer: .:.~t
J: IJ ;t,
)lli.A~LI:. "t'To l!§.A.~ll:: "t'To
yori saki, shinnya kinshi desu. Shi11nyll kinshi desu. this/ben: from ahead no entry is no entry is Kore
"No entry ahead. No en1ry."
''Do not roceed further. Do not proceed." (PL2)
G.J!!: "''Th- o lkenl.
'h--}-~
Kiinabi
(/) .. . no .. .
dam/oops car navigation sy~rem of/on
" Oops, [I hJt the button) on the CarNav." (PL2) Girl: 7'·;~ o Pu!
•
• •
= •
44 Mangajin
(stifled laugh) a round, red sign with a hori<~:ontal white bar like the one shown here is the international traffic sign for "no entry." lwre yori = kor~ kara (lit. "from this") - • "from here.'' Using yori sounds quite a bit more fonnalthan using kora. saki often refers to an area up ahead on the same road or path -> kore yori saki= "ahead from here" or just ''ahead." shilmyii is a noun referring to the act of entering/advancing into a place -> "entry.'' Kinshi means "prohibition." but - kiluhi is often equivalent to " - prohibited" or "no-," so shinnyl1 kinshi =·•entry prohibited/no entry.'' ikenl = ikenai, which can be used as an inteljection/exclamation of chagrin or alarm wben something goes wrong, like "Drat!/Oam!" or "Oops." kilnabi is shortened from kllnabigeshon shisutemu, the full katakana renderi ng of the English "car navigation system."
~~)Jba~~@ !Wc==aa9~
Gal Gag World ~
by
Title: :J- /X Jiinzu
Jeans FX: ,,_;; 8£711
~~~ ~ ;~<
fiJIIIf15
I Sat6 Ry6saku
Ta-daa! Teacher : ~ "
1":> ~ ~' ;t
L f.:."
Katchaimashita.
~----/.A
bought-(impul,ively)
" I went and bought them!" (PL3) • klllclwimasllira io, a contraction of kaue shimaimashita. the PL3 past form of katie .1himau. from kau ("buy/purchase''). A past form of shimau after the -te form of a verb can express the feeling that the speaker did the action impulsively/without being able to help himself.
Teacher:
1) -
J '{ 1
:J.. ~::· /
-r- :; :; - /X!
Riibaisu
binteji
Levi's
vintage e jean~"
"Lev1's vinta
Teacher:
20JJP-J
Kin
T
1)
jiinzu! jeans
!
nijiiman-en nari! is
money/cnsh ¥200,000
''¥200,000 cash!" (PL2) • when amounts of money are written on receipts, checks, etc., it's customary to place the kAnji <6: kin (meaning ' 'money") before the amount and il! nari after the amount. He's verbalizing that sty le here a. a way of dramati7.ing how much he paid for the jeans (at current exchange rates, aJmost $2,000).
Jt±, .f;lt -, -:- .. . Se11.1ei. m re tie .. . (c,clam.) t~ach~r that
Student :~ --) ,
tl-.'.
" Wow, sir! Those a re .. ." Teacher: /'?
N?
" Hunh'?" (PL2) Mudcnts adore~~ I heir teachers by the title .~rnsei rathe r than by name. • the 4uotutivc trf' here j, essentially a coii
Student:
~ /7-
:J ;l· :J- /X ! o-jiinw.'
Binti!ji vintuge
(hon.)-~eans
" Vintage 0 -leans." (literally, "vintage honorable jeans," but we couldn' t come up with a translation that actually conveyed the Japanese word play-sec note below)
Student: 7.
r-t J
IJ:
A, "o" 1m (imcrj.) "o-·• a.' for
~' C:> ij: "' tJ'o iranai ka. not need
(?)
"Oops, I guess l didn' t need the o-." (PL2) Sound FX: X Zu
(slapstick effect) • the student, perhaps recognizing the high value of the jeans. instinctively adds an honorific o- to the word. In doing so. she inadvertantly winds up saying what sounds suspiciously like "ojin," a somewhat derisive slang term for a middle-aged man-thus the teacher's extreme reaction. • imnai is the negative form of im ("need"). • the question indicated by ka is purely rhetorical.
Mangajin 45
t o
&_, If J:! ageyo!
(obj.)
raise
baulc cry
;tit' ;tit' J:i - ! Ei ei o! (battle cry)
" Raise your battle cry! Ei ei o!" (PL2)
Ishii Hisaichi Senshu Infantry:
SELECTED WORKS of ISHII HISAICHI
ll<3Q))ii Toki no koe
J.-J..-;;f--!
E
e
o!
(battle cry)
"E eo!"
• ageyo is an abrupt corwnand fonn of agem (''ralse"). • the kana combination ~ "' (ei) in this case is supposed to be pronounced as two distinct sounds X. and v', and not simply as a long .t, but the battle cry raised by this infantry apparently ha~ only long l sounc.b, without any i sound.
IT) Commander :
t:.: 1-v n'
t.!. -t'u 'b -) - ·& t:: ~ ! ;t t.' ;t t. '!3- !
A. :.-
Nanka hen da ;;o. Mo idtido ja. somehow ~!range 1s (em ph.) mnrc I lime b
t.:i ei li! (battle cry)
"I hat d idn' t sound__right somehow. One more time! Ei ei 0!" (PL2) • nanka is a contraction o f nanika, literall y "something"; but at the beginning of a sentence or clause it's often used a' a ..softener," like ..somehow/ vaguely/kind of - .'' Nanka hen da ="is somehow/vague ly strange.. -+ ..doesn't sound right somehow.'' mii before a number mc:ans " Ithat many I more,'' idzi = ..one:· and -do is the counter suffix for .. times/occasions/repeti tions.'' so mo il·hido = ''one more time:· • it's not unusual for older males tu useja in p lace of da ("is/arc")-especially those in po~ition~ of authority.
lnfan!J:!:
A A
E e
0! li!
(battle cry)
"~
A_Q!"
it turns out the footsoldiers were actually speaking Eng lish and saying " A A 0 ." The standard Japanese pronunciation of the Engli~h lette.r A is J.- (e), and not J.1 (ei)-even though the latter would be c loser to the English pronunciation.
f...· A,
t~' .1; ~ '"? f:>
Na11
da.
(j:?
aitsu-ra wa? whal j,farc thn'c guys a' for
" What are those guys?" (PL2) Lieutem!!Jt:
~~A
ffil~
~c--t o
Caiji11
bmai
dP.I'It.
foreigner corpslbalallion/unit is
"The ' re the foreign bri adc." (PL3) im*l L.t.: O)·c· M IJ (J) Ji~'f!t Hwlchaku .1·hita
node kaeri
110
ryohi
~
o
were washed :l~hore because relum for travcl·e~pcn~es (nbj.)
t.l•-tt ~f.:\,' lv f.!. kasegitai w;mt to c;1m
11 da
c. n'c
to ka.
(cxplan.) (hearsay)
"Seems the were washed ashore from a shi~e~ ~nd wanted to earn their return travel fare/' (PL2) • aitsu is a fairly rough word for "that person.. (more often male than female. hut it can be c:ithcr) and adding -ra makes it plural. " those guys:· • wa marks ait.m·ra as the topic. The ~yntax is inverted: aitsu-ra wa would nonnall y come ti rst. • buwi retcr~ to a military unit of unspecified size. • lzyrlchaku sltira is the: plain/abrupt past form of hyoclwku suru (''drift/ wash a~horc"). • kaeri i~ a noun form of the verb kaeru ("go/come home .. or ··return home''). Kaeri nn ryohi ="travel fare for their return home." • kasegitai i~ the ..want to .. form of kwegu ( ..earn money''). • - to ka implies ·~ . to ka ilia, which literally is like "said -- or something/ said something about - .. ): to ka often indicates that the speaker has heard the infomlation not di rectly from the source but from ~omeone else.
46 Mangajin
*'i:ltl.f -~ -c'-t -f! tsu:::ukeba ikki desu zo! lord without change famine (subj.) if continua~ uprising b (empb.)
Advisor: J!!i!
:: o:> i i
M.Ul tJt
Tono! Kono mama J..ikin
Ishii Hisaichi Senshfi
ga
''My lord__. if the famine goes on like tbis, there's sure to be an ikki." (PL3) Lord: ~ 1: ·:;? 1 ''/ .:\'-?!
SELECTED WORKS of ISHII HISAICHI
Nani!? what
lkki? (indeterminate)
.-
" What? An ikki?" (PL2) • kmw mama= "unchanged from this," and tsuzukeba is a conditional ("1f/ when") form of tsuz.uku ("continues/persists/goes on''), so ko)w mama tsuzttf..eba = '·if [something] goes on like this."
Lord:
~A- t!.'! t' -J \, • -) .: t t!. ·;;? Nan dct ? Diiiu kow da.1 ? what is whal kind of thing is
" What do you mean? What's going on?" (PL2) Advisor: !-! / t.: fo:o• i.P b Uti 1~:/v tJr, $-!L~ l.i Pin 10 kvnai nor come clear
kamo shirema.1·en mny po"ihly be
jillli H'a but situalion "' for
f?C/,
-t- ~l'i t' .;: -r·c: -I;JJJ.Q vu~ 1.> oYci ~ .wrl'horlo made ni sl'ppaku shite oru no desu. thm degree o' far a>
has h<:come tense
(cxplan.)
"You may not realize it, but the situation has grown ·ust that tense." (PL3-4)
t.7l ~ j
~~~ L 1# • \.•
~-t::_O
~
t'
-
Jb. '. . .
( <:··'7: '"'-I I t
0)
~. ~
'l" ~ '-''
-r.
• pin to J..onai is the negative form of pin 10 kurtt (kuru= "come"). a colloquial cxprC\\ion for having ~omcthing come <.:lear in one·, mind a' 111 gelling a JUke, recognizing a face, understanding an cxpla· :uinn/rc:Nm. sensing ~nmething hy intuition. having a hunch. etc. • J..anw .\hirema.H•n i~ the PL3 form of kamo .1/rirenai ("might be/ma} JXl~'' hly be (that)"). • ~l'ppaJ..u ~lute om is equivalent to .1eppaku shi1e irtt ("ha' hccomc tcn,c''). from reppaJ..u .suru ("Ia ~ituation] become' tense").
/
L.
J:>l. ~' ~
I
./
Lord:
·$\o · ~'{.- ~o ~tic -~t.J'"t;,o - *lol.Jl!} .. lkki. lkki ichiytl. Jkki. lkki-uchi. lkkyo ryiiwku. (various words beginning with ikki)
• -~(, (ikki) u~ually occurs as the adverb ikki 11i, which means '·in a 'ingle go/all at once."
• ikki ichiyt7 is literally ''one rejoicing and one lamenting" • "now rejoicing, now lamenting"; the expression is used to describe feelings that swing back and forth between joy and sorrow because of changing circumstance~. ~~ (ikkl) is a noun for " missing/failing to capitalize on an opportunity :• ikki-uclri ="one-on-one/man-to-man combat." - >p. ikkyo is a c lose synonym for -~ (ikki."in a single go/allot once''). Ry/Jtoku means " two henetits," so ik/...'}'0 ryoroku is literally "two benefits at once/from one action." lk/..:yo ryoroku is the expression that was used before -:n_:.~ (isseki nid riJ, literally, ''one stone, two birds'') was adopted from the English expression "kill two birds with one stone''; today both expressions are used.
n', .t-;G7)il !l?! Wlipum kn. onore wa?! word procew1r ( ?l ) ou as for
Advisor : 'J - -jtJ
" What a re you- a word processor?·• (PL 1-2) Sound FX: 'B c:y
;f."'J ;;
BoJ..a!
.Bonk (effect of rap o n head)
~
,
.c
C(j
·c
:;;: :E: '-'
.~ U-!-+-""9'>o.J
J: •
wilpuro is the Japanese word for "word processor.'' shortened from ll'llclo pum.\'f'.\'Sli. rhc full katakana rendering of rhc English term. In Japan the tem1 usually refers to dedicated word-processing hardware rather than to a software application. Because Japanese has a large number of word~ that sound the !>arne but are written with different kanji (as frame 3 illu~ tratcs). a key function of Japanese word processors is to offer the user a menu of alternative~ from which to select. 0110re can mean ei ther " I" or "you"; when it's used for "you" it usually has a derisive/insulting tone.
Mangajm 47
~ American Comics~/////#~//////#////////////#//////#~
Col••in atulllobbr•. lQ I~~0 Universal I''"'' Syndictllc.
[!]
~alvin:
All right< re,crved. Keprmtcdfuan,lmed h)
"What do you find attractive in women. Hobbes?" 7' 7-., ];((f) A (/) t·~ "' ~ t.:. 0 (:
* "/
Hobbu.fu,
011110 110
(name)
IIito
woman
's what
t.
lll•I)A."C'\
dii it1
110
~ind
tokoro
ni
(Q\'Iifv ~d lfObbr~ -
pcrm"
mh
~ ~ t::.J.> ?
miryoku
o
kanjiru?
of place/aspect in appea.l/chnrm (obj.)
J•.\.
J,.t)L(
feel
J,')J.( •(~
ziiA,.
c
.t-1(1
• find f<*-t~I¥J q ~ill '->m& t: .Q I - find attractive r.tiiJJ t ~ t: .Qflf}J(fJt! .m-? J o • tokoro is literally "place," but it's also used Idiomatically to mean "situation/manner/aspecVcharacterlstic." • questions in colloquial speech are often formed simply by raising the Intonation on the last syllable.
[g)
!:lobbes: "Well. I've always been oartial to redheads." ~-J t.!. ~, 7JJ; 'f; 1.± /4' iJ'~) H~ t:t!vt!. , SiJ
da
11a.
tlkliR('
u•n
11111ka~/Ji
kam .l'llki na 11 da.
thllt \\ a)' b (colloq.) red hair a<. for lnng ago 'ince
• I've = I have.
like
(cxplan.)
•
• bepartialto .. . l - t'~!.:~HN - il{~~t..:J " ;.
,., ~ •
I
I' !:
•
~ ~(
~ _:
I T '• ,
t
*'• II·, t
r,;r-
• redhead r~t{:O>AJ Redheaded !ii" O>)f~~.;.j ~f [;
@]
Hobbes: uWith green eyes... I like green eyes." 1::1
Me eye~
1;1
a
't". . .
fAA
wa midori de . . , midori
{/)
no
as for green is/are-and green that arc
ld
me eye.~
1Jf "'"' t.lo
ga
ii
ne.
(subj.) good (culloq.)
• "I like ..... could also be translated as - ga suki da, but - ga li is often a more natural way to express a preference or choice.
!fobbes: "And whiskers! Long whiskers!" .f ~ L iJ' C) U' t f ! f.[: It ' [)'I Y !.!_! Sure kara and :tlso
~a l v in:
hiRe!
Nagai hiRe dn!
whi~ker-
long whi, ke r' is
j
"Let's change the subject." ~6~ ~ Wadai o wpic
tc: ;{_ J: -)
0
kae1·o.
(obj.) 'hall change
• whiskers !i , x·r~Jvo)liJ3U'tf·f~>cf.,ib1J~. ;(,:t~>dtQ)t]'lfO).:.c o • kaeyo is the volitional ("let's/1 shall") form of kaeru ("alter/change/switch").
48 Mangajin
~##~
' V'~ American Comics'//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////~ COA.C.\-\ n\INI<.S '.J\0\..EtK.E. IS fl.£.ROO\C..
4 C"ulloi11 ami 1/ohbts. 0 1990 Universal Pre" Syndicate. All righl> reserved. Rcprintedltran,Juted by perllli'-i<>n ofEdito" Press Sen tee. NY.
OJ
Bully: "You've got two pedods to live. Iwinky."
b
ii.> t
mo
ato
.t3ll!I <1:> 1fli
Omoe no inodli your
life
ni-jigen
dake
(emph.) remaining 2 periods
only
•·t.
• Twlnky liTwinkies c \•I;
2 ~~R t.: ~t t!. -f', -" ~ i:> J: :::.. o
....
t.
•
1tt.1l. ") t..
t.•\.
l.. .t~Cit~~t.l ._)r,~·
hmaclwko. pip-squeak. ~ t.t
~f,tt l
.bbJ,bl:~i?n'"'.::.
J. .,., ~
• to live liif'~;;a)Q)~~liaJOtJffi#.;"t'period l:il'il'o 11
0
zo.
is (emph.)
"'? 13~TQ)Jiij.r,(~qi:J* 1.,,
lY-'*I.:ffl~t•l.> o Twinklec ~ ~ .a.. f
da
~·
f~~m/""-~~
c n•C,,
t;.~A
J:..::. J
~ ~Q)
t:lf .J..
fd:.~ ""(It• (I? ft.) 7.>~1i1Jilf21~~Ra?oJ a
Bull : "Then it's gym class. and I turn you into hamburger casserole!"
n'
-f <7:> ft: Sono aro that
li f*ff t!. t) , I~J t!. !v .:: 1: L.. "C -t~ ~ ! wa ra iiku da kom, niku-dango ni shire yam after a, for phy~ cd i' because m~ar pany to do/mak~-( ror you) ,. ·~
I) ..
•
'b a·-?" Gym IJ: gymnasiumi1)B/'r., •· ., hamburgeriJ:, 1\/J{-:t/ - ~.: ~lU)i', 1=--15t~J(!)-::c'bJ11i"o 1tH.:, Jd::-:.""Civl!/d.::tft,O)otJ ·t=.c\i- make IP" .,4. . t! hamburger out of. .. ~ c' c 'b i'ii''-''' hamburgerl;t I~') -?It""(~¢ J ~ t• c "\ ~ e- L. !.: J:
• gym class I±, 1-!>'ff"t', physical education(~ I., ""C P.E./phys ed) c ~· ,..
•
' .. ~[I).. i
'~
-t (
'
~·
~
r:~•f,.J
I)
,6\
• casserole IJ:, *-l.fll.fflQ)In~~?,~Q).:. c 't", ..:C(!)~?,~I:~J, ~~. -1--;(, 't'
,.
!.. ..
~~ J .,
J-{.7.
'
7~1j: c·~
It •(1..111..
,
,,
;t 2t' i <7).,#;f;t~ Jdt
""( ::t - 7' / -r:-:!1[: <·1H!fi.(!)Jft'i·JtJ1:{F:M: 'b casserole t " ' ~ ~ • - ni shlte yaru is from - nl suru, which implies "make [something) into - ." Yaru after the -te form of a verb often implies that the speaker does the action to or for the listener: "I'll make you - ." -~--~-~~--
[!]
CalvJn: "I hate gym class," f*ff ~ lv-IJ' *-:>.lt'f!.o Taiiku nanlco phys ed
daikkirai.
as for
hate
• nanka Is a colloquial nado ("something like"); here it's essentially equivalent to wa ("as for"), but with a feeling of derision for what comes before it. /.!\•6t}
• there Is a small -? (tsu) in **'"' (dalklrai, "greatly/absolutely hate") for added emphasis.
0
C alvin: "Coach thinks violence is aerobic." ':1 - -f '.d:.~, ¥z:)J ~ :L7D~7"A 'IJ' Kochi ttara, bi'iryoku o earobikusu ka coach
a,,
for
violence (obj.)
• ttara is a contraction of
~
aerobics
"l;t.iv'IJ' t.:_ nanka
da
or something
C
.J&l,-:;'{"~
lvt.:.'
iJ'~o
to
omotteru
n da
kora.
is (quote)
thinkl;
(explan. ) because
to lttara, "if you say -..,• ; in colloquial speech it's often used in place of wa ("as for")
when saying something negative about a person. ~ ·1.'·
• thinks (that) J:.J. T U.:think
4d""C.~.:-
(7)
H A':J~a c
....J~il .
{l- •.1
JJ~
~ o 1; ~•Jl!li "t'coachilr.r;r, ')
~-~·l 1
-z-"' 1.> .::. c (!) P-rti=o
Mangajin 49
H ilS LOOK':> LIK£ A N
FORTON ATEl"r', T H£.Rf A R £ OTH E.R THING-S O N
INTl:LLIG-£ NI AND INFORMATW£ PROE, RAM
0 1993 Paws. All righl' rc
SIX:~
[!]
"}]-fl) Kachiri (sound of hitting the remote control button)
0
Garfield: "This looks like an intelligent and informative program." :. tL C;t j;Ui'J9 "t' t::. ¥J 1: ~ I') -t-? 7j: :ffi:k:fl Kore wa 1hi~
chiteki
as for ime lligenl
• looks like
de i~-and
tame
nan so 11a
benefil lolof
r- (/) t. ~ 1:. ld..l.J 1~» ~) ~
ni
,\t 1~·
seem~ like
I? L.. "• I
t!.
bangumi da
il will become program
~o na.
is (colloq.)
o
• Informative r~.t#.~ /.¥iff~9~ J - I t..; V){:~ ~J " • tame nl narlso is from the expression tame ni naru (lit., "become of benefit" - "be beneficial"), and sl5 na after the stem of a verb Implies "seems/looks like it will (do the action)." .u.
· program .::.::"C'!j:rv\::"(/)
m
J..
r:rlU!I.J
~
~ffii' o
SIX=~
"}] 1-')
Garfield: "Fortunately. there are other things on." 1111.1: ~ :J:@ 1Jf ~ .Q (/) li ~ ~ 1Jff,: It~ :::_ •::d.:o Hok.a ni mo bangumi go Olll no wa arigatai /cotta. besides
also program (subj.) eltist (DOID.) as for
r;~,.
• fortunately
t,: .:
c. 1: J
fortunate
lhin&-is
0
L.d ~. (
111.('11>
~
• there are other things on; on (J) '->C. (JJTV"/Jf~ll& ts tt. -cIt\ .0 o Things li..C t: fiJi' o
1111'
1l4<'...
rfli (JJ:JUil t
~ '? "C
lt •.OJ 0 • hoka "other,• and adding ni makes It like "besides" ... holes nl sru = "exist besides [this)." • no Is a "nomlnallzer" that turns the complete though/sentence that comes before It ("there are other programs besides ir) Into a noun, and ws marks that noun as the topic: "as for there being other programs besides It, • artgatsi kotta is a contra~ of arlgatai koto da ("Is a thing to be grateful for" - "Is a fortunate thing").
=
I
L----~~
50 Mangajin
'
I.
COOKING CORNER
Nothing but Noodles Hot or cold, menrui is the perfect summer treat.
S
ummer is noodle season in Japan. This is not to say that vast quantities of noodles are not consumed at other times of the year. But with temperatures parked above 30' C and the country sweltering under its subtropical blanket of humidity, appetites start to wilt and enthusiasm dwindles for rice and other bulkier foods. T his is when noodles come into their own. In most accounts, the world of m enrui (~m) i · usually divided into two princ ipal categories- although this ignores ramen ( 7- :J. / ). the crinkly Chinese-sty le noodles now fully assimilated into daily Japanese diet (as well as the increasingly popular Italian pasta connection). Wheat flour noodles, such as udon. (-? t ' A.), are usually considered a food of Japan's south and west; .\'Oba ( ~ li), made with varying pro portions of buckwheat flour, is mainly associated with Tokyo and the mountains of the northeast. Within each of these two genres, however, are numerous subdi visions, depe nding both on the way they are made and the way in which they arc served. These days, both types are well represented througho ut the country and consumed with equal gusto throughout the year. The fundamental dec ision is always whether you want to eat your noodles hot or cold. Even at the peak of summer, there is no shortage of people who choose their soba or udon in the kake style-served in a steaming savory broth, with or without such adornments as tenpura, raw egg, natti5, or the g rated mountain yam know as tororo. Most people, however, are not looking to break further sweat a.s they eat, and so the most popular form of summertime noodle is always the chilled style known generically as mo ri soba or hiyashi udon. The noodles are cooked, then strained and cooled, and piled up on a bamboo tray (giving the buckwheat version its alternate name: seiri5 soba). This is then dipped in a piquant soy-based sauce to which chopped negi (green onions) and wasahi (horse-radish) have been added. If the noodles are topped with a sprinkling of finely cut nori seaweed , the dish is called zaru soba/zaru udon (the zaru is the bamboo basket in which the noodles are strained): if you also want a small serving of tenpura with it, ask for ren-wru. This is m enrui cuisine at its simplest, but often its most satisfying. When the noodles are te-uchi (+fl i? ), the dough freshly rolled and cut by hand, they are considered one of the most sought-after foods by Japanese food connoisseurs. They 60 Mangajin
are also remarkably refreshing when the heat is on. Among the wheat noodles, udon and its chunky country cousin ki.~himen (a wide, flat variety mostly eaten in the central region around Nagoya) are often considered bulky and difficult to digest. Much more appropriate for summertime eating is the finer, more delicate hiyamug i (~ t:, "cold wheat"). As the name implies, this is intended to be served chilled (indeed, it is never eaten any other way)- not on a bamboo tray, like mori soba, but fully immersed in ice water. Besides its obvious cooling properties, hiyamugi is usually g iven an e laborate arrangement to provide maximum visual impact: with its multicolor garnishes o f lish, fruit, egg, and vegetables it can resemble a submarine rock garden- in effect, a kind of underwater salad. The archetypal summer noodle- a nd a common gift in the mid-year ocl11lgen g ift-exchange season- is .~omen. Although often considered a more delicate form of udon and hiyamugi (much as, in Italy, vermicelli are an ultrafine form of spaghetti), somen is, in fact, made by a quite different process. Stretched rather than cut (the best of them are known as te-nobe ("hand-pulled"), government standards specify each thread must be no more than one millimeter in diameter. Somen is also the basis for one of the most intriguing and amusing summer pastimes, the custom of eating nagashi somen. As with so many forms of Japanese cuisine, it is not the taste that is remarkable so much as the ritual and setting. The scene might look something like this: a quiet mountain glade, a lakeside garde n, or even your backyard; a wide-brimmed, red paper parasol to provide shade; the cicadas in full drone; the lazy incense of mosquito coils. Leng ths of freshly hewn bamboo have been split and joined to form a primitive channel from the nearest water source, which could be a mountain stream, a favorite spring, or perhaps just the local mains. Copious quantities of noodles are cooked in readiness, and dipping sauces are prepared. When everyone is assembled, the somen is tipped into the simple aqueduct. As the noodles flow downstream, the waiting diners scoop them out with their chopsticks. ft is hardly a strenuous form of fishing (or eating), but at this time of year enjoyment is every bit as important as nutrition.
Robbie Swinnerton is the food editor of Tokyo Journal.
Chilled Summer Noodles Ingre dients 300 g (10 oz.) dried hiyamugi or somen wheat noodles chilled water (preferably purilicd or spring water) ice cubes
Tsuyu (dipping sauce) 5 cups dashi (cooking stock) made from katsuobushi (bonito flakes) and/or kombu (kelp seaweed) 1 cup shoyu (soy sauce) 4 Tbsp. mirin (sweet cooking sake)-if unavailable. substitute 4 tsp. sugar Yakumi (dipping spices) Any or ull of the following: finely chopped scallions, toasted white sesame seeds, grated ginger, fine-cut nori seaweed, chopped shiso leaf
(serves four)
Garnish 8 cooked shrimp. with shell and vein removed but with tail still allached 30 g (1 oz.) wakame seaweed (soaked to reconstitute, and chopped coarsely) 4 leaves green shiso (perilla hhis is mainly a visual garnish, so green maple leaves or other similar foliage can be substituted 8 pods of mange-tout snow peas. lightly blanched 4 young scallions. chopped into S-cm ( I/2") lengths and briefly blam:hed 8 slices carrot (carved into llowerettes, if desired), lightly cooked 4 slices kiwi fruit l mandarin orange, sliced into eight segments (with peel sti II auached)
Pre paration I . First mix all the ingredients for the dipping sauce, bring slowly to a boil , then quickly remove from the heat and let cool down. Refrigerate before serving. 1 . Heat 2 liters ( 1/2 gallon) water in a large pan. When it comes to a vigorour- boil. slowly slide the noodles imo the water and stir well to prevent them from sticking to the side or bottom of the pan.
l . When the water returns to a boil, add a cup of cold water. Repeat twice. If cooking sumen. drain and rinse immediately. If cooking ltiyanw~?i, bring back to a light boil. and cook for 5 minute until the noodles are just slightly softer than al dente. Quickly drain noodles in a colander and rinse under plenty of running water umil well cooled. 4 . Di vide the cold noodles among the indi vidual serving bowls (wide, shallow bowls arc best, preferably glass). Cover with chilled water and add a few icc cubes. In eactL bowl place 2 cooked shrimp, some scallions or mange-loU! , a small portion of wakame seaweed. a shiso (or other) leaf. slices of carrot and kiwi fruit. and mandarin orange segments. 5 . Serve dipping sauce in separate small bowls, with the yakumi (dipping spices) on small side dishes. Each person should sprinkle some of the spices into the sauce, before dipping the noodles in and proceeding to slurp.
Note s Both dipping spices and noodle garnishes can be as simple or as elaborate as you choose. Other ideas might include cuts of chicken-breast meat. kamaboko fish cake, fu (wheat gluten cake), slices of bamboo shoot. wedges of apple. etc. Although hiyamugi and somen arc the most delicate of Japanese noodles. and best suited to this summer treatment. regular wheat udon works equally well as a substitute. In the Chubu region of Japan, around Nagoya, thick, flat kishimen noodles are also eaten this way. However. cooking times have to be adjusted-longer for the thicker noodles. just a couple minutes for the ultra-fine siimen. ~If
you have access to the Internet, Osaka Gas has a page filled with Japanese recipes in English:
h ttp : //www . osakagas .co.jp/ webcooking/ index_e .htrnl Mangajin 61
Humorous Haiku
SENRYU
Poems submitted by our readers Illustrations by Anthony Owsley it~:
i "C'
Ore ni made
tLtk/J{*~ reijo ga kuru
JJ!?tRtr senkyo-mae
Even one like me receives a gracious thank-you note when an election pends. by
so
males, so ort• ni made ;:: ..e\'en It) me:~
reijti"' "!hank-you note." and reijo ga kum = •·a lhank-y\lU nule 'omes." The Japanese lirerally says "even to me a !hank-you nole 'omes'' _, "even I receive/even one like me receives a rhank-you nole." • the s uffi • -mal' means "before [lhc event 1." so senho-mae ="before Ihe election"-+ "wht:n ~n eb:riun pends." rhe pen name Mukansilin -lw means litentlly "indifferen l observer." presumably a non-voter.
.f!if:r!.IJ{·i!R (Mukanshin-ha)
Furu arne me
;Z.:::.U'v'~T~
mi~u
lm.wku = " water shortage." • Tokyo had more rdin than usual during the rainy season this year. However. the mounolin reservoirs that supply neighboring Kanagawa Prefecture (inc. Yokohama) had so little that the area was forced to ration water supplies. Residents were led to wonder whether the heavens were showing partiality. • Omachi Komachi is a play on 'J•ff,J•If (Ono Komaclu), a legendary beauty who lived during the Hcian Era.
= ucvcn to,~' and ore is an
I)!~ [$j ~
• fitru "' "[rain/snow/hail] falls.'' and jitm Will!= "the falling rain." • l'kohiiki"' "favoritism/partiality." and ekohiiki ,1'1/rn =''favor/show partialiry:· • the suffix -busoku is fromfuJoku ("insuffiden~y/shortage"),
ni mtui£·
infurmaUruugh word for "Ume" used by
ekohllkl suru
7./(/f',@ mizu-busoku
Even falling rain shows its partiality: water shortages. by A:illftl-lll/ (Omachl Komach1)
~
]-.'' .::.. -
~
Shidonii e
nx3t~~~~
L
seika o nokoshi
!W:k1-T < seika yuku
Going to Sydney a legacy of triumph; the Olympic torch. by
lft t.:J\ f-ft (Chiyo ni Yachiyo)
• e marks the destination of the a~tion y uku. an alternate pronunciation of iku
("go" ). • t&!l< .H·iku refers to the "accomplishments/fruits" of an endeavor. whi le the homophonous •!'U-: seika (lit.. " holy name'') is the name for the Olympic torch. • nokushi is the stem of noko.l'll ("leave b<'hind"): rhe stem is being used as a modi tier that indicates the manner of the nex t mentioned action: "the Olympic torch goes... leaving behind a legacy of triumph ... What's interesting about the poem is the play between the two meanings of seiku: one proceeds to Sydney. the other is left behind. • Chiro ni Ym:hiyo. loosely " thousands and thousands of years:· is a phrase from Japan' s national anthem .
We'll send you a Mangajin T -shir t if we puhlish your senryu. Send to Scn.ryu, M ang. ajin, I nc .. PO Box 77 18S. Atlanta. GA 303 ~7~ (or to senry u @mangaj in.corn). A l l J apanese submissions wi ll be translated into English and vice ver~a. jtjtv_)-j-Q) il l tJ111 ~ .t3$1J v' t-.: t.:v 't-.: h 1·.:: l.ii~lffii A T :/ 1' ·; ~ i!l;.hl_ L i ·L ~i!JtiJ: SenryO. Mangajin, Inc. , PO Box 77 188. Atlanla. GA 30357 ( V-.: I.iii T f - Jv ·(" [email protected])o l,d3, H :
Mangajin 63
:t~t·~~ ~ J.- 11 Poketto Sutorii
Pocket Story .{lp. t .,
~
..,. :J. ~
by Mori Masayuki The artfully drawn and poetic "Pocket Story" tales are the work of Mori Masayuki. Using various styles-line drawings, woodblock-like etchings, and watercolor paintings-Mori gives his manga a distinct feel and style. Light on dialogue, the images are the focus of these tales. In fact, sometimes no dialogue is used at all. The story presented in this issue tells of a young girl, a new pair of shoes, and a dream. It is typical of the simple yet charming tales which are Mori's trademark. Mori has expressed his hope that a person can sit down with the three books of the "Pocket Story" series and read through them in the time it takes to drink a cup of coffee. He feels that the reader should be fulfilled in some way upon finishing them. The author promises that if his pocket should become filled once again with beautiful things which need to be shared, he will draw more "Pocket Story" manga. In the meantime, it is his wish that all of our pockets be filled to the brim with wonderful things.
The "Pocket Story" series was originally published in the monthly magazine :::1 ~ ·:; '7 • -=E - =- / '/ ("Comic Morning"). The books include the serialized manga as well as additional colorized manga drawn specifically for the set.
Mangajin 65
- - - - - - - -- -- - - --
~7 ·:.~
1- .A 1- - 1J - • Pocket Story
.fir •
~
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~
66 Mangajin
- - -- -- -- -- -- --
~-.
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ltt: l
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Title: ~7 ':I ~A ~- ·;- 24 r*(1)ttJ ~ - "£:') '7-!t.:L~ Pokeno SutiJrii Nijiiyon "Suzu no Kutsu" Saku • Mori Masayulci Pocket Story 24 '~l!qes wttb Bells" by • Mori Masayuld
[D
Narration:
1X
(1) T.:: 1.:, UR:tt~"'
Yoru no
mmikko
7-f~
-nr
ni, nemurenai kodomo ga
night of corner/nook in/at can' r sleep
"'i Lf.:o imashita.
child (subj.) existed/there was
In a little cranny of the night, there was a child who could not sleep. (PL3) • sumikko is an informal equivalent of sumi, which when speaking of physical areas refers to an "unobtrusi'ie comer/ "comer/nook/cranny." Here it's being used poetically with an abstract "area." edge/fringe area" • the particle ni is used to mark the place where something exists. • nemurenai is the negative form of nemureru ("can sleep"}, the potemial form of nemuru ("sleep"). II modifies kodomo ("child") nemurenai kodomo ="a child who can't sleep." • imashita is the PL3 past form of iru ("exist/be in a place" for people and animate things). - ga iru is often like English ,;there is - ,"so - ga imashita = " there was - ."
[!}
Narration: v\ 'i 1;!: - All: {t/v"t"'I.M't1i' l&~ t' lv tJ•~ , aflj., 'IJ1 Jijjl.-\f.: (1)-t"'T o lma wa usho ni suntk illlli otlJsan ktlra, okMrlmono ga todoita no desu. now as for together is not living father from present/gift (subj.)had arrived/been delivered (explan.) From her father, who did not at present live with them, a gift had arrived. A packgt bad come from her father, who no Ioyer Hved with tbem. (PL3)
• issho ni • "together with," or in many cases simply ..with." • slllllk inai is the negative form of sund~ iru (wis livinJ!residing"), from sumu ("residellive in a place"). • ima wa --~~ iMi can mean either " is not [doing the action]at present" (implyina the action may resume at a later time) or "is no looaer [doing the action]" (implying the action is not expected to resume). We chose tbe latter simply because it seemed to work better in English, but it may weU be tba1 the tidher is merely away on extended assignment in another city. • imo wa issho ni sund~ iiiiJi is a complete thouglttlsentence ("as for now, [he) doesn't live together with [them]") modifying ot6san ("father'') -+"father who does not now live with them." • todoita is the plain/abrupt past fonn of todolcu ("[something] anives/is delivered"). • no d~su is used because an explanation is being offered-why the little girl can't get to sleep.
Narration: 'J' ~ ~
n;
(J)
Chii.w-na suzu small
no
-:> "' t.:. tsuita
tk
(1)
aki
no kt1t.w de.ru.
¥it 't'T o
bells (subj.) anached autumn of/for shoes is/are
"It was [a pair of) autumn shoes that had small bells attached." In it was a air of a utumn shoes, with littlejin e bells on them. (PL3) • chiisa-na is an alternate form of the adjective chiisai ("small"). • suzu refers to the kind of bell that is spherical and usually quite small, with a little pellet floating loose inside to make it jingle. Larger bells that are what we think of as "bell-shaped," open at the bottom and with a dangling clapper. are called kt111e (written i4!) or beru (from the English "bell"). • tsuita is the plain/abrupt past form of tsuku ("[something] sticks/attaches to"). Chiisa-na .w zu no tsuita is a complete thought/sentence (''small bells arc attached") modifying aki no kut.m. Tn the modifying sentence, no marks suzu as the subject of tsuita; in modifying sentences, the subject is often marked with no instead of ga. • aki ="autumn," and no allows it to modify kwsu ("shoes")-> "autumn shoes/shoes for autumn." • de.ru is non-past, but it's not unusual for English narrative conventions to call for it to be translated in the past tense.
8:)
Narration: J&li~'S"'Iv i)t
r~,
JfLI.-\
R
ga "Yoru, atarasllii btsu
Obilchan
1£' J&-? L'S"'t!~U o
oroshiclta dalrw!"
c
to
8'·:>f.: (1)~, itta
nip new sboa (obj.) IDIIICD'tputdowll (quote) said Grandma had said, "You mastll't break In new lboes at nlsht!" so pandma
(subj.)
node, becausdso
• oroshicha tltJIM is a contraction of oroshite wa dalrw, a "must not" form of orosu, which is literally "lower/put down" but is also used idiomatically to mean ''use/wear for tbe fU'SI time." • itta is the plain/abrupt past fonn of iu ("say").
Na rration: ~ asa
-nr
ga
1~'S~ L
<·c
machidoshikute,
morning (subj.) is eagerly anticipatcd-(cause)
the girl could hardly wait for morning to come, and • machidoshikute is the -te form of machidoshii, which implies the person "eagerly anticipates/can hardly wait for [something]." Note that in Japanese, machidiJshii is an adjective; it can be used to describe either the thing that is so eagerly awaited or the eager/impatient feelings of the person waiting. The ·te form in this case is indicating the cause o f what follows (next panel).
Mangajin 67
*' J:r "/ t-
--------------------------~
68 Mangajin
~
t-- IJ -
• Pocket Story
[!]
L"t"v~.O
o:>'t'Ta
Dolci-dolci siUte iru IW thsu. (tbumpina PX) is doin8fmakiog (explao.) "her beart was thump-thumping."
her heart tlllllllp-tbumped with anddpatioa. (PL3) • doii-dold siUte iru is tbe propaaive ("is/are - ing") form of dolci-dold suru, an PX-based verb that means "[one's heart) beals faaclpounds" (either in eager anticipation, as here, or in nervousness/fear). • t10 thsu again indicates an explanation is being offered-why the little girl can' t sleep.
Sound FX: f' 1J / 1- 1) / Chirin chirin
+
1)
/
chirin
Jingle jingle jin~ (sound of bells on shoes)
[!) Souad FX:
7 'J ::..- 1- ') ::..- 1- ') ::..- 1- •J / Chirin
ciUrin
chirin
chirin
Jinlle Jbyde Jlnate Jllllle
8:]
Sound FX:
+ ') / Chirin
Jingle
(!]
Souad FX: 1- ') ::..- 7 ') ::..- 1- ') / Chirin
chirin
ciUrin
Jinllei.lnlk J!nlle
0
Sound FX:
+ J/ 1
Cltirin
f' 1)
::..-
cltirin
+
1 )
/
chirin
Jingle lingle lingle
Book Review (COIITilllll'dfrom pllf(t! 54)
But much of what is presented must be taken with a grain of salt Why, for example, would a half-Japanese boy be admiued to the premier Nazi prep school? And can a boy so small for his age really overpower a large adult man? Enjoyable and educational, Adolf gives insight into the manga craze in Japan, but it is a far cry from what the salary man and the student are reading on trains. Adolf is so different, in fact, that even the Japanese bookstores treat it as a normal novel rather than a comic book. Still , readers will understand the power of the visual component of manga and will see how serious topics can be treated well in this medium. Readers wi ll also experience the overwhelmingly frequent use of mimetic/onomatopoeic words in manga to describe actions and sounds. Somehow, baffling words like bratta. chirrup, fwoosh, sclmor, hsh, klakketa, tmp, and kritsh seem natural in context. Unavoidably, there are some gestures and some ironies that may escape the reader who has not spent significant time in Japan. But the meanings of the hand-waving, the fact that someone is wearing a school uniform, the depths of bows, the sounds of insects. etc., are not vital to understanding the story. • mimecic words = lfi~ .ilf girai-go • onomatopoeic words \,' woke IW wakaranai
It is unfortunate that some of the rich meaning may be lost. but the story remains intact. Oniki Yuji' s translmion is superb. beautifully projecting strong emotions and subtle implications. But striving to be true to the Japanese content results in a few cumbersome, unnatural phrases. There are also several examples of uncomfortable (if not simply erroneous) grammar and at least one spelling error. These imperfections should have been screened more carefully to allow the high quality of translation to shine through. The very few weaknesses in the story and its presentation do not detract greatly from the impact of the book. It is insightful, compelling, and just plain great reading. Even the fact that the book was originally released as a serial is usually not too distracting. But caveat emptor: at the end, the serial nature of the work is unavoidably clear-we learn that the story continues in another book. Adolf' An Exile in Japan. Let's just hope that we aren't forced to wait too long for resolution of the cliff-hangers.
TJ Donohue is an engineering consultant and freelance writer based in Denver, Colorado.
=lf
IW
I~ (J) fJ fp G t.:
I
Mangajin 69
~?-
·:; 1- A 1- - •J- • Pocket Story
----~~---------------------
tJ t)
IJt
t
!!
10 Mangajin
ft tl ;t
'(i;:
A..:
1?
t::. 0)
* !?
~:
i;tJ ~
~
A!!
I
[!]
Father: t'tlt'.:ro Reiko. (name)
"Reiko." (PL2) SOundFX: 7'- I};_, 7" 1) / Chirin
chirin
~ln&le
0
Reiko: ~ '..> ? £!? what?/huh?/yes?
"Yes?" (PL2-3) Sound FX: :t-•J / Chirin J in gle
m
Reiko: ~-, J3jt~.lv!l
'-'1.: fi:lv'"C't.: ">:t-7! otosan!! Koko ni sundeta n{)?! father this placeJbere at wereJhave been living (explan.-?)
A, (interj.)
''Oh, Dad! Is this where you've been Uvin&?'' (PL2) • ii is an interjection of recognition.
• sundeta is a contraction of sunde ita, past form of sunde iru ("is living/residing"), from sumu ("reside/live in a place"). For most verbs, the place where the action occurs is marked with de, but the place where one lives/resides is marked with ni. • she uses the explanatory no to aslc a question by speaking it with a rising intonation; it's quite common to ask questions with no in colloquial speech. especially among female speakers. Elongating it gives the feeling of an exclamation.
Reiko:
~ft
Kutsu ne. . .
arigato!!
shoes (colloq.)
thank you
''As for the shoes, thank you."
"Thanks for the shoes!" (PL2) • the <:olloquial panicle ne or nl is often insened in the middle of a sentence to draw the listener's anent ion to what comes before it. The effe<;t can be essentially similar to marking the preceding as the topic ("as for - .") • arigato is a shon encd. and more casual, arigato ("thank you").
ReJko: li ~ !
~ 1:' 1 Hora! Mite! here
look
" Here! Look!" (PL2) • hora is used to call a person's atte ntion to something, like " here!lthere!llook!lsee!/watch!" mite is the -te fonn of miru ("see/look at"); the -te form of a verb is often used as a relatively abrupt request or gentle command.
Reiko:
~lt .., !!
Are!! (imerJ.)
" Huh?" (PL2) • are? is an inlerjection of surprise/bewilderment when something is not a~ expe<;ted or does not go as expected.
Mangajin 71
72 Mangajin
Reiko: t'f.!
~It' -:> ! !
Suzu!
Nail!
bells not existlnot present
"The bells! They're not there."
"Tbe bells! They're gone!" (PL2) • nai is the negative form of am ("existfbe present" for inanimate things).
Father:
h~'
J- , ti
Reiko,
~, o
hura.
(name) here "!_ler~eiko."
(PL2)
• again, hora is for drawing the listener's attention to something.
Sound FX: 'f· 1J ;.; 'f· 1) Chirin
;.;
chirin
~e jingle
fulund FX:
·r
1 )
/
Chiri11
·r
1 )
(sound of bells)
/
chiri11
Jingle jin~ (sound of bells) Narration: B 1VO ~
t,
Me::.amem to, awak.en
;f)( aki
Q'J f:lii "'C" L t.::o no ame de.l'hita.
when autumn of rain
When she woke u Narration: ~ b IJ
was
an autumn rain was falling. (PL3)
Owari end
J beEnd • mezamem = "awaken," and ro after a non-past verb can make a conditional "when•· meaning .... " when she awakens/ awakened" (tense is detennined by the main verb). • no allows aki ("autumn") to modify arne ("rain"). • deshita is the p:L~t form of desu ("is/are"), but here it stands in for the verb fillte ita ("was falling." past of fime iru, from fitru. "Lrain/snow/hailj falls"). • owari is a noun form of uwant ("rsomethingl ends/finishes").
Mangajin 73
-tt 7
I) -
?
:...-
W f:}
4
33 c 0 6
74 Mangajin
• Salaryman Senka
Title: -IT 7 ') - ~ / .Wf-+ Sarariinum
• sarariiman is a word coined by the Japanese from the English "salary'' and "'man." It refers to salaried male e mployees of a company-usually white-collar office wOrkers.
Senka
Salaryman Seminar
• senka (lit., "specialized course") is essentially equivalent to "seminar"-tboogb the Joan words seminii and zeminiiru are also used for "seminar" in Japanese.
Arrow: *~*
Ehon
Picture Book
[!]
~arration: ~ "? ,_,' Atsui hot
:t natsu
"t' tJ
~ lv t.:. t:> ~:: li
1 }
I
demo
J:i+;JJ.
arisan-taclri ni wa natsu-yasumi
'{)t
-'> IJ t
ga
1t1vo
arimnsen.
summer even if it is ant-{hon.)-(plur.) for summer vacation (subj.)
not exist
Even in !he hot summer, for !he ants !here is no summer vacation. Even at the hottest peak of summer, the ants Rot no vacation. (PL3) Narration: Wl .If..< iJ' t:> 1t-:> 1t t tCb ~ t t.. f.:o Asa
havaku kara
morning early
sesse to
hatarakimashita.
from industriously
worked/labored
They labored industriously from early in the morning. (PL3) • in children's books and when adults speak to children, the honorific -.tan is often added to the names o f animals. H there were only a single ant here, we might translate ari-san as ..Mr. Ant." • the suffix -tachi turns nouns referring to people and animals into plurals. • arimasen is the PL3 form of nai ("doesn't exist/there is none"), which is the negative form of aru ("'exisllhavdtbere ia"). • hayaku is the adverb form of /royal ("early/fast"), and asa hayaku is an adverb phrase meaning "early in the morning"; kara makes it "from early in the morning." • sesse to implies doing an action "diligently/busily/industriously." • hatarakimashita is the PL3 past form of the verb hataraku ("work/labor [at a job1"). Like the English " work,'' halaraA:M can also mean "function," but it cannot be used to refer to "working" at a hobby or other pastime. .::\'- 1).:f'')A.~Ivt..:-1:,
Na rration: i_-(!);:7, Sono koro about that
kirigirisusan-wchi
time/me<~nwhile gra~shoppcr-(hnn.)-(plur.)
li illlfVn,tt..t..:o wa asobi-kurashite imashitu. as for were •pending days playing
Meanwhile, the grasshoppers were spending their days havin fun. (PL3) • asnhi is the stem of a.wbtl ("playn1uvc fun/goof off"), and kurashite ima.rhita is the PL3 past form of kurashite im, from kura.w ("puss/spend one's dnys"); asobi-kura.1·u ="spend one's days at play/having fun/goofing off," and asobikurw·hite imasllita = "[they] were spending their days playing/having fun."
Narradon:
~'{)f"(
~
-/Jf
~
:t L f.:o
Yagate fuyu ga kimashita. soon/by and by winter (subj.) came
Soon winter came. (PL3) • kimaslrita Is the PL3 past form of kuru ("come").
Narration: i ')t:A.J..:t? Arisan-tachi
li
:5'l
wa
IWIJII ~ummer
anl-(hon.)-(plur.) as for
fi!J,.,t..: .t:;7'J,If"t" lwtaraita okage de worked
thank~
~-=>
.ib't:lv"t"t..iLt.:o
yukkuri
a sonde kurashimashita.
to leisurcly/comfonable manner playing
spent days
Thanks to havin worked hard durin the summer, the ants spent their days enjoying themselves in comfort. (PL3) • hawraita is the;: plain/abrupt past form of the verb hawruku ("work/labor'"). • okage refers to " indebtt:dness·· (the o- is actually honorific, but cannot be dropped in this use), and okage de means "owing to/thanks to." Nat.m hataraita is a complete thought/sentence ("[they I worked in the summer") modifying okage. giving the meaning "thanks to having worked during the summer." • yukkuri can mean "slowly/without haste," or it can mean "in a relaxed/comfortable manner" depending on the context and the nature of the verb it modifies. Here it is the latter.
• asonde is the ·te form of asobu ("play/have fun"), and kuraslrimashita is the PL3 past form of kurasu ("spend one's days'") • "[they] spent ltheirl days having fun/enjoying themselves."
[!]
Narration: l..iJ'lSlrikashi but
li J: ifilv"t'lt•f..:.i)-IJ'~f"t' t"C(> ?(:,,_,1 ~ 1: ~,_,•tLf.: 0 wa natsu asonde ita okage de totemo tsurai me ni aimashita. grasshopper-(hon.)-(plur.) as for summer were playing thanks to very trying/painful experience witb 11JiCt :\'- 1J.:¥"1J.A~Ivt..:-1:,
klrigirisusan-tachi
But thanks to having played during the summer, the grasshoppers met with very painful experiences." But the grassbop~rs suffered a great deal because they bad goofed off during tbe summer. (PL3) 3030
Yoroyoro
(effect of staggering abollt weakly) complete thought/sentence ("(they) were playing jo the summer") modifying okage, giving the meaning " thanks to having played during the summer" --> "because they h ad played during the ..summer." As this shows, okllge - can be used for assigning blame or stating the cause of a negative result as well as for giving credit for a positive one. • - me ni aimashita is the PL3 past form of- me ni au, which means "have a - experience" (usually a bad one). Au meaDS " meet." so the phrase literally means "meet with a - experience." •
TII.IISU asonde ita is a
Mangajin 75
1
--' 1'-r ·f •~·a/aryman Senka -------~~~7~)~7~-~-~~~
4
76 Mangajin
3
't'{)
st? ~lvt-::4:, ~:l±
demo
1ilf*Ji.,
otosan-tachi. ni wa natsu-yasumi
summer-even ifitis- -fathet-(plur.)
ga
for summer vacation (su~j.)
arimasen. oot_exi~t
Even in the hot summer, for the daddies there is no summer vacation. Eve.n at the hottest peak of summer. the daddies got no vacation. (PL3) ~ If- ( '/)> C;, -tJ:--? -t!:" C 'IJ ~ ilrf.:o Asa hnyaku kara sesse to hararakimashita. rooming early from indusuiously worked/labored
They labored industriously from early in the morning. (PL3) ~: /f.';J,
Basu
Bus • otiJM.m ("father/dad'') in this case essentially refers to middle-aged and older salarymen.
Narration: -t (J).: 7) Sono koro {ierwmn-tachi wa asobi-kurashite imashitu. about that time/meanwhilt: OL-(hon.)-(plur.) as fnr were spending days playing Me~nwbile,
the OLs were spending their days having fun. (PL3)
• "OL ," always writte n with capitalized Roman characters but pronounced 15eru, is a "word" coined by the Japanese from the initials of the English words "office lady"; it refers to young female workers who handle most secretarial/menial tasks around an office. ~1Jf'l
~
'/)t
~
i L.. f.:o
Yagate
fuyu ga kimashita. soon/by and by winter (subj.) came
Soon winter came. (PL3)
8::]
Narration: .t:;c ·) ~AJ:.-1? i;l: Otosan-tachi fathcr-(plur.)
iP:>v'n';bc,-r
-tt ~) -ttc
~ti;t1·~
wa aikawara::u sesse to hatarakimasu. a~ for unchanged/same ns ever industriously work/labor
The daddies continued to work industriously as always. (PL3) Sign: ;\:;. Basu
Bus • aikawarazu ("unchanged/in the same manner as always") modifies the combination se.ue to lwtarakimasu (''work industriously"; hatarakima.w is the PL3 form of hataraku, ("work/labor").
[II
Narration: -fV')._:.:t_, OL~Ad:.i?
'±
ii;~t>il':bt?"f
~L..<
J!lv"t"
< t:>T V')"t'l...t.:o
Sorw koro oerusan-tachi WCI aikawarazu tanoshiku asonde kurasu no deshita. meanwhile OL-(hon. )·(plur.) as for unchanged/swne as evec enjoyabl~ playing spend day$ (explan.)
Meanwhi1e tbe OLs continued as._ always to spend their days baving fun. (PL3) • aikawarazu modifies tanoshiku asonde kurasu ("spend [their] days playing enjoyably/having fun"). • ranoshiku is the adverb form of the adjective ranoshii ("pleasant/enjoyable/fun/merry''). • no deshita is the PL3 past form of the explanatory no desu. Adding this gives a somewhat heightened "literary" feel. No deshira could be thought of literally as ''it was the case-that .._ ," or "the situation was that .._."
Mangajin 77
-
78 Mangajin
-
1f 5 1) - 7 /
-
liJ t4 • Salaryman Senka
- - -- - - - -
Oldtimer: fiJHlf/> L
iJ'v'?
Hangli-meshi
ffJ.ilfl> L
7J: G
kai? Hango-meshi
ht~
L 1:
nara watashi ni
mess kit rice/fond (?) mess kit rice/food if it is
Time
;1: iHtlJ: ~ "''" makasenasai.
to leave/entrust-(command)
"Is it mess-kit rice? If it is mess-kit rice, leave it to me." "Cooking rice with your mess kits, eh? In that case, leave it to me." (PL2) • a hangiJ is a "mess kit/ri<.:e cooker" for use over camp tire$. Made of aluminum, they have a bent-oval shape when viewed from above and are about 7 or 8 inches tall, with a shallow tray nested under the lid where other food can be warmed/cooked double-boiler style while the rice cooks in the main compartmem below. • meshi can also mean " meal," but here it's being used in its original meaning of "cooked rice." • kai is a colloquial ka, for questions. but with a softer, friendlier feeling. • nara after a noun makes a conditional " if it is" meaning. • makasenasai is a relatively gentle command form of the verb makaseru ("leave/entrust to"). Ni marks the person to whom the matter is entrusted, so watashi ni makasena.~ai ='' leave it to me."
Oldtimer: t' ~ ~ ~ v',
t' ~ ~ ~ lt'o
Dokinasai.
dokinasai.
move aside-(commaod) move aside-(command)
"Step aside, step aside." (PL2) • dokinasai is a relatively gentle command form of the verb doku ("move aside/out of the way''). Oldtimer: ,: h ~ '\' )( Kore this
ja
hi
iJf
~~ v ' o
ga
yowai. Saisho wa tsuyobi ni shinakucha. i s weak beginning as for strong fire/flume must make it
if it is fire (~ubj .)
JrHJJ
l.i
1.tltk
!.: L 1j:
"As things are, the fi re is too weak. At the beginning you must make it a strong fire." "Your fire is too small. It has to be bigger at first." (PL2) • kore ja (lit. " if it is this") has such idiomatic meanings as ''at this rate/under the present circumstances/as things are/with the situation ut hand, etc.'' • .wisho = " the very beginning," and .mishu wa = "as for at the beg inning" - • " at tirst." • - ni shinakucha is a colloquial contraction of - ni shinakute wa (ikenai), a "mustlhuve to" form of - ni suru, which means "make it - ."
Oldtlmer: ;:-)v\-?
.:.t
1;1:
(J)
i!tft
koto
wa warashi-ra no
sedai
t>t..:L..t,
iJf ga
~J...d..:-::>"C
""::)j31t'
nanrarte
tsuoi
tJ•Iv
tlo
kan ne. this kind of thing as for I/me-(plur.) 's generation (subj.) say what you wiWafter all is strong because/so (colloq.)
Ko-iu
"As for this kind of thing, our generation is after all the strong one, so ..." "After all, for this kind of thing, it's my generation that really knows how it's done.'' (PL2) • -ra is an informal suffix rhat makes nouns and pronouns referring to humans (and a few other special ca~es) into plurals. • no after a personal pronoun makes it possessive, so wmashi no= "my" and watasfti-ra 110 ="our." • 1111ntatte is a colloquial equivale.n t of nan to itte mo, an expression like "no matter what you say/say what you wjJVwheo aU is said and done/after all." • tsuoi is a corruption of rsuyol ("strong"), andkan is a corruptions of kora ("because/so"). • ha11go were standard military equipmem during World War II and before, but they have seen only much more limited use in the years since (mainly by campers and mountain climbers), so men of the WWII generation would be amo.ng the most familiar with their use.
Mangajin 79
-
80 Mangajin
-
-
-if 5 1J -
-
?
:..-
!1: ¥f • Salaryman Senka
'[1]:
Oldtimer:
::.a:> J: ·H.: :S>-:::> t ? "t.:. futti5 suru boil
Kono ylJ ni in thi~ wa)' ·
5Alxo
j; "Z" li made wa
isuyobi. . until as for strong fire/flame
!'Until they boil, a strong fire like this." ''Until they ~me to .a boil, the fir e should be strong, . ~e this."
...s-.-:::. t
? L t:: f:, X'!\'-
Frmi'J shitara
maki
io
~
9 L- t I) <0 i"v' "t" ;k sukoshi torinozoite hi
when it boils
~ o
"
f.trewood (obj.} a little remove-and "Then when they reach a boil you remove some of the firewood to dam pen the fire." (PI..2)
• made after a verb meanS" "until [that action takes place]." • fuuo shitara is a conditional ("when") form of futti'J suru ("boil")-+ "when it boils/when they boil." • torinozoite is the ·te form of torinozoku (''take away/remove"}. The -te form here is being used to indicate the manner of the next mentioned action. • yowaku is the adverb form of the adjective yowai ("weak"), and yowaku sum means "make it weak/weaker": hi o yowaku suru = ''make the fire/flame weaker" .,.... "reduce the flame/dampen the fire."
r
I! ~:-:· ~r pichi pichi
Old timer: '\-' iF-r: Yagate
v' -) iJ·
1::
iu
ro
oto
-IJ~ J?O
L -c
< z, o
shire kuru.
soon/by and by (sputtering FX) (quote) say sound (suhj .) stans m:curring
"Soon a sputtering sound will start to occur."
"Pretty soon it' ll start sputtering." (PL2) • the quotativc to iu marks pichi pichi as the specific nature nf the otn ("'sound'"). • oro ga suru ="a sound occurs/is made." and oto ga shire is its-re form. Kuru after the -te fom1 of a verb often indicates that the action is "beginning/starting to occur," so oto ga shire kuru= "a sound begins to o~cur."
I2J
To
Oldtimer : L."t".::.f.t\•'
Shlte konai na. doesn't start occurring (coli?'~.)
''Hmm. no sputterin~ ' (PL2) YoungMan: 7?' t -:::>"'C /h.t.:.C:J t'?\:'1" 'IJ>'! Futa toue mitara do desu lid if remove and see how is
ka? (?)
"How would it be if you took off the lid to :;ee?"
"Maybe you should.take off the lid and check." (PL3) • shire konai is the negative form of sllite kuru, and here implies ow ga shite konai ("sound doesn't begin to occur"). • o, to markfttta (")jd") as the direct. object, has been omitted. • rntte is the -te form of toru ("take off/remove"), and mitara is a conditional ("'if/when'') form of miru, which after the -te form of a verb implies "try [doing the action I" or "do (the action I and see." • dti desu ka after a conditional form is like "how would it be if - "-essentially a way of making a suggestion: "why don't you - /maybe you should ._ ." Futa wa donna koro ga atre mo rone wa ikenai 1111. lid as for whnt kind of thing (subj.) even if occurs must not remove (explan.)
Oldtimer :
" You should never open the lid [while the rice is cooking], no matter what." (PL2) ~n-1i;l: -t":h 1.!. -IJ•C> ~,:. ::l n /\1\/\/\/\o ShirolO
wa sore da
kara
knmaru
yo.
amateur/novice as for that iii/are because/so is a problem (emph.)
Ha ha halw ha. ( laugh)
"As for novices, because they are that way, it's a problem. Ha ha ha ha ha."
"That's the problem with novices. Ha ha ha ha ha." (PL2) • donna koto ga aile mo is an idiomatic expression for " no matter what happens.'' • torte wa ikenai is a "must not" form of turu ("take off/remove'"). • shiriJ/o refers to an "arnateur/novice/greenhorn"- anyone without the proper training or sufticient experience to make them an "expert/professional" at the activity in question. • komaru basically implies "be faced with a problem/be caught in a fix/become distressed," hut when it's used to describe another person it usually means that person is the source of the problem/distress.
(i]
-c:t
YoungMan: ;:_:(i. Kore this
"ft"'IJ>'!
demo desu ka? evet~ if it is i ~ l t?
"Even if it is this, is it (so]?" ''Even in this case?" (PL3)
Bags: 7 1 :A 7 1 :A Raisu
Rice·
Raisu
Rice
Mangajin 81
~~~J~ftffl~!~~ Zusetsu Gendai Yogo Binran
OJ
~ lift!.IJ6
Narration: lt BIJ
1: "'(
kokoku dairiten
nite
a certain/unnamed advenisement agency at
A Visual Glossary of Modern Terms 77 "J ? A
At a certain ad agency Yama-chan: ~ ' 1::1 t, :::$- ~ f.:.
-e-to
A, dtJmn, gobusata desu. (interj.) (greeting) first time in long time is ''0~ there, long time no see." (PL3)
<,w.l 1J /!'\=.-
Co-worker: .1: - ,
~
Yo,
'/J J. 7 "'? ~
(J)
LlJ? ~ lvo
kameraman
no
Yama-chan.
(JUeeliog)
by Deluxe Company
cameraman
" •
who is (oame..
''Hey! Hit isn't Yama-cban the cameraman!" (PL2) • domo, essentially an intensifier, also serves as an all-purpose word of greeting that can be either formal or quite informal depending on the context. • gobusata desu is a less fonnal equivalent of gobusata sllite imasu, a greeting used with someone you have not seen or heard from in a long time. • yiJ is an informal greeting. "Hi!!Heyi/Yo!" used by male speakers. • Yama here represenl~ the first kanji of his surname. which could be Yamada or Yamazaki or Yamanwto, etc. It's quite common for adult friends/associates to call each other by the first kanji (or syllable) of their surname plus the diminutive ·chan.
0
Co-worker : t;;.;..., t!.-, 111"1?~>/v , Na11
dli.
what
is
Yama-tlum.
'! '.) ,':!:\
L:~ lj:"''o
makkuro
j anai ?
{namc-dimin.) {emph.)-hlack
i, not
" What is it, Yama-chan? You're completely black, are you not?" "!:le~hat's with that dark tan, Yama-chan?" (PL2)
• i
-:> {ma) is an intensifying prefix, which when used with color~ implies "red as red can be/black as black can be," etc. • ja nai literall y looks like " is not," but this is a rhetorical question: "you are - , are you not? (Yes, you are!)" • makkuro ja nai ="you're completely black."
[I]
Yama-chan: ~ - , ;:. :::. ;..., t;:., o 7 Yi1.
koko 11 toko,
(interj.}
recently
If ··::>1.1•
-e,
bakka
de,
roke
location only/all alike {cause/reason)
"WeU,late!J it's been one location [shoot] after another,~ .•" Yama-chan: ~"' ./... It ' -::> "t, 1 ' '7 1 i b -::> 't , Guamu Guam
Hawai
mawatte,
went-and Hawaii
itte,
toured-and
~~ kesa
.-::>"tl~ lv ~~ .l: o kaette kita n desu yo. this morning came back (explan.) (emph.)
"l went to Guam, travelled around Ra~aii. and.
~t got
home this momin .'' (PL3)
• yahere is contracted from iyii, which often serves as a "wann-up"/hesita-
tion word like "well." • kalw n tolw is a colloquial expression for "recently." • roke is shon for rokffsllon. from the English " location." • bak.ka is a contraction of bakkari, a colloquial bakari ("only/all alike")here implyjng all hls work recently has been on location. • itte is from iku ("go"); mawatte is from mawaru ("go around/tour'').
[IJ
Co-worker:
-e b .
J; riif \ fi'
Demo, omae. kuhi but
you
neck
7r /7-~ 3/
jande.1·hon foundation
7
(/)
l..7.) ,
ushiro
/10
of behind/back
.}.)-t:,"(J.> ochiteru
'lfo ze.
has come off (emph.)
"B.J!!,_you know, here on the back of our neck your foundation has rubbed ofL" (PL2_) _ ~arration:
J;RfiJ!i
(/)
tll:W-
1.'~6 0
Kyoshoku 110 sekai de aru. affectation of world
is
It's a world full of affectation. (PL2) • ochitem is a contraction of uchite iru ("has fallen/rubbed off'), from ochim {"'come/fall/rub ofr '). Ze is rough, masculine emphasis. 82Mangajin
~~~Jlf-\:ffl~~~~
:t v
Zusetsu Gendai Yogo Benran
A Visual Glossary of Modern Terms T7 ·J 7A
~
cf$!)
(f)
1J '/-
Ore no Jlme · s
rizoto resort
r
·-s
>b .r:, IV~:.:z; .-:::x :·:A::T }v wa mochiron . YJTsU luJSutttt:U. sa. as for o[ course Y oulb Hostel {eli!Pb.J
u-
''My vacation resortjs a Youth Hostel, ofcounel' (PL2) • sa gives authoritative/confident emphasis at the end of a sentenee in informal speech, usually taking the pta~..-e of daldesu ("islare")i this use is most!y masculine. • ~ i
11/JCC. -
liJ
KOichiro: ;;l· ;;l· .
tj: !J"66
v' v' $~ t.!.o'
(J)
D,
nagame no ii heya da. (exclam. ) view (subj.) good room is
by Deluxe Company
" Ahh, a room with a great view." (PL2) • nagame no ii is a complete thought/sentence ("the view is good") modifying heya ("room" ). In modifying clauses, no tJften marks the suhject instead of ga.
Koichiro:
*
A 7- Jv
:.:z;- A
Youth Hostel
.:¥5' -
~0
gitii sa. guitar (colloq.)
v 7 v - :,. 3
of/at
:,-
rekureshon recreation
c
"~
to
.:(. li
ieba
(quote) if/when· say
7777 Fufufufu (laugh)
"And for recreation at the Youth Hostel, I take along my guitar.. Heh heh heh heh!' (PL2) · Girls: .A-:T:f - !1
:J - 1-fP-~.4J!
(imagined) Stdeki- 1! KOichiro-salll wonderful/briJliaol (name-bon.)
''Oooh ou're so_cool, Koichiro!" (PL2)
..
..c:
• to ieba is literally a quot.ative "if you/1 speak of.'' but it's often essentially the same as the topic marker wa ("as for - "). • sureki is a highly versatile word for expressing enthusiastic approval/admiration; when applied to a person it. can mean " wonderful/nice/cute/ handsomeJmacho/lovely/talentedlbrilliantlcooUhip,'' etc.
.2g " "e
u..
-5, -5
l
t::
8J
Grandpa: .1":)5(.~/.._, Oniisa11,
fj.; t;J)I'JO)iJ~L, I "Yagiri 1111
waw.~hi "
older hru.lhuddy (traditi on;JI ballad
~ ·c:
f.:.q)tJ· 1 o rwwmu
till~)
yo.
request (o:rnr,h.)
"Hey buddy, do Yagiri no WatasiJi for us.' (PL2) Na rration: ")' c.'~ (J) ::L- :J.. 7. 7 Jv 1:
8
I
lmadoki no
*
yiisu hosuteru ni llxlay's Youth Hvstds to ·V / 7" 0) -'\-!" ->t· Jv ll .: lj: v 1 (J) -r: ~ 0 t..:. o yang u no gyaru wa ko11ai no de aua. young who arc gals ns ror don' t come (cxplan.)
~ .... c: w
~
..
He discovered that young women don' t go to Youth Hostels these da s . ~HfJ:: 1· q) )i k -/){ v ' 0 !iv ' ...
u.. "
A.wbi-)fizu no karagata ga ippai ... good at play who are people (subj.) is/are full
{3.
..c:
.2g
......c:"'
~ .5 §
0.
~
.5
"3"
:;:;
::> 0. ~
u:::
.,;
"<:
:! !!
!I
..c:
"'
"I:
:;;:
They're full of people who know how to have a good time on the cheap. o-nii.wm (or just niisan) literally means "older brother." but it's often used as a generic tem1 of address for young men in their upper teens and twenties (approximately- the older the speaker, the older he's likely to apply o-niisan)-+ "young man" or "hod/buddy." • lwnai is the negative form of kuru ("come" ). • no de atta is a past form of explanatory no cia, so it's literally like "it was the case that ~ ." Using the past form here gives it the feeling that that's what proved to be the case when he got there . • asobi is a noun ~orm of asobu ("play"-including such things as taking pleasure trips) andjozu = "good/skillful at"; adding the suffixji1zu to an action noun can mean the person is good at finding low-cost deals in that activity.
'rrJ .
Note:
~.::. 7 ~: :.
A%.. t!.-t-? -r:~l.>o
;., c:
a
= v 0
">< "
"i)
c
Mangajin 83
~ ~~JJ! ft ffl ~~@ ii Zusetsu Gendai Yi5go Binran
A Visual Glossary of Modern Terms 7-'7 ·y? .A
~':
~
1J /1'\.=.-
by Deluxe Company CaUer : " ' "'
tJ'?
li
J:
ka?
i3 -
Yoku
<
J{l~Ht o
::tv t!!!
kike.
Ore da!!
good/OK (?) we!Vcarcfully listen
1/me
is
" OK, now, listen carefully. It's me!!" (PL2) 307]t! ~t f'f-::> ""( {-> 0 0
Sanjuppun dake 30 minutes
matle yaru.
only will wait·(for you)
"I'll wait j ust 30 minutes." (PL2)
~..
J! .c
* "'
30 71- v
"'
t:.• -jp tt // J: 1"" ffl :to ~ "? !l 'f. -r: I 0/J
~
'C:
5
':::0
1
t:.~
~ Q
• ii ka is literally the question "is it good/OK?," but it's used when beginning admonitions/instmctions like " All right now. listen up!" • yoku (the yo is elongated here for emphasis) is the adverb form of iilyoi ("goodltine/OK' ') - • "[do the action] well/thoroughly/carefully." • ore is a rough, masculine word for "Ume." • mane is the -te form o f matsu ("wait"), and yaru after the -te form of a verb means the action is done for the benefit of someone else~here the listener. The implication is that the caller is doing the listener a special favor by waiting that long .
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t.: 0
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tatte mo konaureba if 30 minutes- when passes if don't come. ;b iP -:> '"( J., t!. 7;) f.t o wakatteru daro na. know/understand probably/[lJ su~ right?
you know what will happen." (PL2) • moshi plus a conditional form combine to give the meaning qf "if."
tt
• tatte mo is tbe "even when" form of rarsu ("[time] pa.~ses"), and lconalulreba is a conditional "if' form of konai ("not come"), from kuru ("cqme'')-. "if
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JO?t
b L..
Moshi sanjuppun
" If you don't show up in 30 minutes. I presume
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pauer:
[you] don't come even when 30 minutes pass."
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84 Mangajin
• wakatteru is a contraction of wa.ka1te iru ("know/understand").
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Sound FX: 7!7· "\' / Gachan (sound of setting down handset)
Boss:
t t.: 2T Fl (J) Llfffi t!o ~ "I 7 7- !!-if I ::J t!-::> ""C J: o Mara nichome no Yamada da. Mikkum piza ikko da lie yo. again 2 chOme of (name)
i~
mixed pizza I count is (qte) (emph)
"It's Yamada in Ni-chome again. He wants a mixed pizza." (PL2) Employee: t:: ~ L -r i t t ~:: ilX L. ~ 1t' /,J!. , 7 1 'J lJ:? Doshite why
matomo ni chiimon shinai n da, strdightforwardly
not order
ait.m
wa?
(explan.) that guy a~ for
" Why doesn' tj hat guy just or der normally?" (PL2) • most Japanese streets don ' t have names; instead , sections of town have names, and are subdivided into numbered chome ("blocks"-though typically they will have a number of smaller streets/alleys running through them), which are in turn divided into numbered banchi ("sub-blocks" which may or may not correspond to street/alley divisions within the larger block), and finally each indi vidual house/ lot is numbered as well. This system accommodates the fact that few Japanese cities are laid out on a grid. • da tie indicates that he's quoting what the caller said. chilmon= "order [for food/merchandise/etc . J," and chiimon suru is its verb form, "order [something)." Chiimon shinai is the negative form of the verb. aitsu is a contraction of a no yatsu ("that guy/fellow"). The syntax is inverted; normal order would be Aitsu wa doshite matomo ni ...
~~5t!J[1~ffl~~~J[ Zusetsu Gendai Yoga Binran
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A Visual Glossary of Modern Terms 7'7 ·y '7 A
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(eff®t of appearing out of thin air) . Angel: ;J-1 7 r:J- J, · Koichiro yo,
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(name)
~
{address)
"0 KOJchiro," t.. ~~:. }J£
.a-
muda ni jinsei
o
wastefully
sugoshite wa ikaii
zo: •
must not pass (emph.) ''you must not pass your life in v~ pursuits."
by Deluxe Company
~: 4-8 Kyo
life
:itli.:•t...-z-l±v•:!J• ~ ~o
li
j:;
(obj.)
*
;t ~:. "'"'
wa omae ni
today as for you
ii
a-o
.:c ,/
mono
;l;lj' J:
{PL2)
-?
0
ageyo.
to good/fine things (ol>j.} shall give
"Today I shall glve you some wonderful thlnWi-!" (PL2) • yo after a personal name when addressing someone directly is similar to
"0" before the name when addressing someone in English. · • sugo.5hite is the -te form of sugosu ("pass [time]"), and ikan is a masculine colloquial equivalent of ikenai ("no good/won't do"); sugoshite wa ikan is essentially a "must not" form of sugosu.
.. zo is a rough, masculine particle for emphasis.
• ii mono (lit., "good/fine thing") often carries the nuance of "something everyone wants to have." ageyi1 is the volitional ("Jet's/1 shall") form of ageru ("give [to someone)").
1.: wowow (/) 7::J- 'f' t.: ~· ~
AnJro: BS 7 /7-JBii-esu antena
110
dekiJda
.i~·
broadcast satellite antenna and satcll. station of
de~;oder
ts
ni
wau-wau
"Her e's a satellite dish and a WOWOW decoder-" (PL2) -• antena is a katakana rendering of the English word ''antenna." and dekiida is a kutakana rendering of "decoder.'' • ni can be used to mean "and'' between pairs of th ings that belong together or that are typically spoken of together. • WOWOW is a private ly-owned satellite TV station. • Ja is used by many older male speakers as a substitute for daldesu ("is/are").
Angel: l.., -:::> ;6'~ Shikkari
f.Xit
~
kyJyo
o takameru ga
.~~ '-'
1Jf J: lt'o yoi.
fmnly/tboroughly education/culture (obj.) heighten (subj.) is good
"[Use them toJ thoroughly heighten your knowledge." "Use them to broaden your horizons." (PL2) • shikkari is an adverb meaning "in a finnlstrong/diligentltborough manner.'' • ga yoi after the plain, non-pasl form of a verb makes a relatively gentle command.
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Ki.iichiro: if> ~.;, ,
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-:> 7 ]...- !:::' -J;t ~ v'o malle, terebi ga nai. (interj.) wait-(requcst) TV (subj.) not have
i
A,
" Oh, wait, I don' t have a TV." (PL2) NHK 1' T o Bill Collector: i? b- " Chiwii. Enu-etchi-ke desu. (greeting) (TV station name) is
"H' IIo-o-o. I' m from NHK." (PL3) • matte is the -te form of the verb matsu ("wait"); the -te fonn of a verb is often used to make infonnal requests in colloquial speech. chiwii is a contraction of konnichi wa, the standard daytime (mostly afternoon) greeting, like " Hello/Good day/Good afternoon." • N HK is Japan' s commercial-free , quasi-national TV station, funded through the jushin-ryo ("reception/viewing fee") that it is authorized to collect from all TV owners for regular over-the-air programming. Owners of BS antennas/dishes are assessed an additional fee on the presumption that they watch N HK's two unscrambled satellite stations. NHK' s bill co llectors have a reputation for keeping a sharp eye out for any newly installed BS equipment as they make their monthly rounds through neighborhoods.
Mangajin 85
• pop Japanese
Sorry, Wrong Number "panting, gasping voice"), while All incoming telephone calls may be r tho se w ho in s i st on verball y divided into two basic categories. sharing with you tidings of the There arc the ones you are happy to ( / f10S/If.l' imminence of their arrival in the receive-and the other ones. land of ecstasy are known as Of the latter category, the most "itteru" goe (~T ~.> "( J.> PI, "'I' m benign arc m eiwaku denwa (i~ ::E; going! I'm going!' voices''). ~ iit'i ): annoyance calls. The classic As I discovered when my wife and perpetrator of meiwaku demva is the I tried to retaliate against a pranksalesperson who rings you up unsolicster a couple years ago, both the ited. A related meiwaku is the stranger phone company and the Ministry of who shows up on the doorstep, stabPosts and Telecommunications have bing the button of your illlailon ( 1 :/ been loath to step in and protect ~ ;f; :/ ). or intercom system. (Since the victims, doubtless regarding intersubject is telephony, let it be noted that infalum systems are tremendous ly vention as a sticky, no-win situation for themselves. (Here the difference popular in Japan, the country where between a culture at the mercy of nobody but Ishihara Shintaro can say lawyers and one at the mercy of no. To a namby-pamby housewife. the bureaucrats becomes c lear.) The intalum is magic: it helps her avoid phone company flack actually came opening the door to all those pushy right out and told us that the rig hts purveyors of cosmetics, new religions, shoe repair, or o rgan lessons. At the of corporations and others to call individuals outweighed the rights of very least, the illlahon helps her avoid sa id individual s to screen out opening the door without first brushing unwanted calls. We were then her hair and ~ huftling the larger hunks advised to get a nijii bango C . :!1! of irreducible not. am that typically clog -ll'i ~- . "two-tier number") -in shon. Japanese entries. In the land of the meek. this is major counterinsurgency.) to pay fo r two lines. preserving our official, or " up-fro nt ... number (1< 1'!'f 0·, omote bango) but Phone calls placed by a friend. relative, or acquaintance can nchieve meiwaku status if the party persistently makes them adding a back-up, or " rear," number (~:ffl: 0·, ura bango). For at inopportune moments like the dinner hour or the middle of a mere seven dollars a month extra. we could switch our omotethe night, or just too often. At long last the gloves come off: bangiJ off at g iven moments so that callers get a phone com"Hakkiri ilte, rneiwaku desu yo!" ("Putting it plainly, this is pany recording saying we' re unavailable, then tell all who gelling to be a pain in the ass!") require the info our back number, thus thankfully eliminating The most common type of unwanted telephone call is, of any social discomfort that identifying and screening out the course. the wrong number. Known as machigai denwa (rdl )!i\ source of harrassment might cause our service provider. ~· 'lll: a!i . "mistake calls"). these inevitable jerkings of a We d id it. stranger's chain pro vide splendid opportun ities for the In May 1996, the government began taking modest steps to reverse this stance in the name of individual puraibashii. perpetrators to prove exactly how polite they really are. Before moving into the area of phone mischief carried out That the Eng lish word "privacy" was used to convey the by amateurs, the point shou ld be made that sagiya (;it W\ ~) concept speaks volumes. - professionals who practice such forms of fraud (.wgi) as In a technological twist not quite possible a few years back, e nticing e lderly couples to invest their savings in dummy the party who had been harassing our home at all hou rs inadcompanies-make liberal use of the telephone to introduce vertently identified himself. It was a film director I'd broken the mselves and their schemes. Like the ir counterparts with. One day he called our house with his keitai denwa (ijl; elsewhere, Japan's con men assemble an advance profile of 1iflil~, "portable phone"). but punched the wrong button when the ir gull (kamo. or duck. in Japanese), which helps them to he heard our ru.wban den wa (ffJ '1' :ffl: 'l il i?i. "ans wering machine") kick in. Waiting for us on our return was a full seamlessly execute their shin 'yo sagi ('ill Jfl iltltt). or confidence game. Anybody can pick up the phone, of course, including cassette of desultory conversation from the car where he was location-hunting. l played the tape for some m utua l teenagers and bored misfits of all ages, which brings us to the acquaintances, and, lo and behold, our phone stopped ringing all too familiar world of itawra denwa (v' t.: T C:. ';'[~;';): prank calls. The ones where you answer and are met with silence are at three in the morning. called mugon (il!Ti ri, "no words") denwa. Your basic heavy breather on the other end is tagged an umeki-goe (llljl t! ?', William Marsh is a freelance writer based in Tokyo.
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92 Mangajin
