'
-
Political Campaigns in Japan : The Art of Connection
M A N G A J I N
SellI Ame
c
No. 59
~"
-
-~- ~-
-
BRAND NEWS
J3 V' iJ) :Z. tj T
~
-c
Ohikae Nasutte Yo! Please , Baby, No Fat Finally, a dairy product that satisfies the discriminating tastes of housewives and mcmhers of organized crime syndicates alike. Morinaga 's mil k drink,
Ohikae Nasutte ( .:tJ U -IJ' X..1&: T
0 "( ),
provides more protein and calcium
than whole mi lk, but wi th huff the culori es and almost no fat. l nsurticient calcium is one of the few weaknesses of a traditional Japanese diet. Choices of dairy products are limited. so whole milk is one of the only options available for the calcium-impaired. M orinaga has aimed this product mainly at young women who need calcium, but who also want to watch the calories. So what doe all of this have to do with organized crime? It's in the name.
Ohikae 11asul/e ( i:> U -IJ' X..1&: -9 0 "( ) is a slang expression with a double meaning. Simply put, hikae comes from the ver b hikaeru (~X. .0 ). meaning "prepare and wait ( tand by)." or "cut back/moderate." Nasuue i~ an archaic variation of 1w.mue. the -Te form of the verb 11asaru (honorific equivalent of suru, "do"). With the addition of the honorific prefix o-. ohikae IW.\'IIffe means "please prepare 10 li len (to whal I am about to say1 will now introduce myself),'' and is followed by a sl ylized, " pre-formatted" ~piel
about 1he speaker's background. The phrase i s used by members of a
certain segmen1 o f Japanese society which traditionally includes yakuza, streel vendors, racketeers, quacks, and the like. Ohikae 11asulle is used when introducing oneself or paying one's respect to another member of this special soc iety. Of course. when saying
ohikae ltnSllfte, one must strike the appropriate pose- lhe same pose the cow on the carton has assumed. Unless you happen to be among those who honor the code (a bunch of imimidating Japanese guys wilh full-body tattoos). doing the ohikae llasuffe bit is usually good for a laugh. Since !his is a super-low-fat, low-cal laclic treat, the cow addressing us with "ohikae nasutte" is making a pun with an ahcrnate meaning o f the verb hikaeru: "cut back.'' In olher words. please cut back on the calories (like the cow say ) and dr ink Ohikae Nasutte instead.
On this poster, Japan's most lovable loser, Tora-san of the movie series Otoko wa Tsurai yo, strikes an ohikae nasutte pose as he introduces himself with the stylized speech.
Send us your examples o f creative product names o r s logans ( w ith som e kind of d ocumentation). If w e publish your example, we' ll send you a Mangajin T -shirt to w ear on your next shopping trip. In case of duplicate entries, earliest postmark gets the shirt. BRAND N EWS, P .O. Box 77 188, Atlanta, G A 30357- 11 88 1) .J:. 1 7-. 1 7' To: 111i ,';,', ¥. "\> 7, o 1! :.-- ~ ::: ff: t.: -c: Lt.:. I? • 'li f'l· i' i~ .X. "( , j·,'J t/1 ~ ~foi ~;}I\ ;1: ·c- }3 j~ t; f ~ ~ ' u ttl ·I& )} 1.: t;J. , iJ,t 1111j AT:,.. 'I' '/ ~ illi .'.!± L.. £ ·to [IT] t. fJiJt.: I'IJ L.. -c 1!l f.{ G':> .h~ .Y,·'IJ' ~) j·,'l t il. t .t.:>'/.1- -ttl,' t.:. t!. ~' t.:. t;Jdi' IJ:, ~\1'1! il~ Gil O) 1 - Iff '1 • I.');' 1.: T :/ ·\' '/ t Hit f) L i -9 o ~li 1t; IJ: BRAND NF.WS. P.O. Rnx 77 188, A t lama, GA 30357- 11 88. U.S.A.
7
Mangajin 9
Politics in Japan: The Art of
Connection Traveling with the re-election campaign of Di et member Ono Kiyoko, political scientist Robin LeBlanc learned that the noisy traditions of a Japanese political campaign all boil down to one thing: making a connection. Four molllhs illlo my study of Ono Kiyoko :S 1992 re-election campaign for her seat in the House of Councillors. I found myself in a cro11•d of Japanese men and ll'omen on a sort of platfo rm in the middle of a pla:.a at Tokyo's Shibuya Station. We grabbed.familiarly at each other:1· arms. balancing oursell'es. reassuring each other ofour presence. We swayed in the late July heat and a humidity that seemed to compress the lungs. Loudspeakers worked the pla:a from se1•eral sides, with music and ad1•ertisements creating the usual background hum. BLII on this night. the ordinary din was surmo1111ted by noise blaring from soundtrucks of several competing politicians. My memories COli hardly son one sound from another: They are all noisenoise pushing us backward and for~rard in the thick. thick ai1: Blll in 1he mids1 of 1he confusion, my group looked to one sou11d truc k and one set of .wiled poli1icicms with white-gl01•ed hands. We crying and thanking her supporters again looked up a/ Ono Kiyoko, our woman and again. but as I screamed, she caug/11 candidate surrounded by men in 1he my eye. and over her microphone. over cemer of the truck platform. and 0 111 to all the other clash and bang of 1hat those around us. We asked each other: unbearable July evening, I heard my name. "Arigato Robin! Arigato Robin!" Would ~re be disappointed /011101'1'011'? \Vhen Ono sound truck began 10 pull Those two '''ords cmmbled the last bi1 of OIW_I'. I clambered as high on nn· rock as my impanial scholarly facade. Tears I could. IH'al·ed and screamed "Ganbatte. streamed down my face as Ono left the ganbane. ganbaue Ono-sensei! .. She ~ras pla:.a. The next e1•eninx she 11•on her
s
-• grab= ') 11u~wuu • ~rabbed al each olhcr·, arms= ij7J l£- ~ilJ..o. {~ ' J t.:. f({/(' o kwnialla • din = · · i' ~ f"J ~ i! ~ tFI J.ctwycmm~ti J.:ltAknl·teAi 1111 w1emae
n' (:,-
12 Mangajin
second lerm in the House of Councillors by the skin of her teeth. Despite all my pretensions as a foreign obsen •e1; I had ll'anted her to win. M ost foreigners in Japan have !.een and heard ound truc ks (large vans with loudspeakers mo unted on top) like Ono's in the streets of the towns where they live. Many Westerners shake their heads at Lhe
Mt ('j-
-- -- -sr1on • impanial 'cholarly facade =
--:-:--:--l fo: I
!l.l
politicians' wh ite gloves and the artificial voices of the uniformed ux ui.111 (:f.~ . "nightinga le" ) gi rl s. profes~ional~ at announcing a candidate's name from PA systems. The~e loudspeaker ~how-, hardly seem to provide a chance for intelligent policy debate. Why do the Japanel>e put up wi th this. foreign observers wonder. What kind of politics is this? In truth. these public sound truck performances. known variousl y as l?llitiJ en:etsu ( i!r lift iiii .iil . ··. trcet or atory") or ytl:ei (jff ,:it . ·'election canvassing/s tump speaking''). are seldom a way for a politician to distinguish himself or hersel f from others in term~ of pol icymaking preferences or skill. Anyone anticipating th e sort o f platform-defining comments ("' Read my lips. no new taxes'') conveyed in media events in major American elections would be sore l y disappointed by the content of the short ~pceches. or aisatsu (if>~' ~ ":> . "greetings"), offered by the politicians atop their trucks. L ittle or nothing is said that is even catchy. let alone controversial. Moreover. Japanese voters know as much. Even when they ~top to see the spectacle. they do not expect it to reveal much about their policy options at the ballot box. Nevertheless, with a trained eye. the non-Japanese observer can come to learn a lot about Japanese politics. We may miss important parts of the Japanese political display if we view it through Western preconception),. In Eng li sh. we are o ften used to hearing politics referred to as the "art of compromise," but we usuall y do not consider the cultural biases contained in the expression. In ideal terms. an-ofcompr omise politics i s a world of tough-minded individuals with strong. distinct opinions who alter each other's convictions by banging heads in a goodnatured but advcrsarial relationship. Japanese politics. on the other hand. would be much better characterized as the "an of connection:· and it is the difference between "compromi),e·· and
=-
=
""connect ion .. as the primary goal of politics that can trip up the foreign observer of Japanese elections. Fo r reasons both struc tural and cultural. the Japanese politician i s not rewarded for the capacity to ),land against all comer~-quite the contrary. In fact. a Japanese politician who cannot blend in well w ith other s in his or her party cannot expect to achieve anything in a world where personal acquaintances and informal networks of obligation are the keys to power. The sound truck show fails to ~how off a politician\ skill at rational debate because it is designed to fulfill an
entirely different mission: demonstrating the depth of a politician's connection to those around him or her. By the time Ono appeared before the Shibuya crowd. nearly everything she could do on her own behalf to win another term had already been done. Actually. most of it had been done months earlier-even before the 18-day campaign period allowed by law offi cially beganand much of that work con~ isted of building networks of favor and obligation with other pol iticians and their supporters. Ono spent months building the '·thankyou networks'" that her supporters and I embodied for her at the Shibuya plaza because suc h net works are the cultural cement of a Japanese politician's organizationa l structure. Once Ono has done somethi ng important for me and I have done something important for her. we are linked by a sense of reciprocity: we have a son of loyalty. At events like the one outside Shibuya station. Ono appears publicly a~ the sort of person who can incur and fulfil l obligations with other interesti ng and auractive people, demonstrating that she is worth a voter"s loyalty. Japan·s extremely restrictive campaign law~ reinforce the empha~il> on campaigning through networking. A candidate has few means to distinguish him- or herself from the crowd of office-seekers. The official campaign period is just over two weeks long. and door-to-door visits and most uses of the media are off-limit s. Candidates may display posters of therm.e l ves. but during the campaign peri od they can only be hung in designated poster sites, right along with the posters of any other candidates for the same position, all of the exact same size and shape. Candidates may not use paid adverti ing. They are given free time for tal king-head presentations on public tele vision. but everyone who run s for office. no matter how unlikely his or her success , has exac tly the sa me opportunity. (In fact. scores of people with no chance to win an election often declare their candidacy simply to have the opport unity to air their views on TV.)
=
=
• alop Q) 1·. Q) - 110 "" 1w • cnnlruvcr,ia l ,,k ,Po; Q) (J(J 1.: /;;; Z> ginm 1111 11111111 ni 11am • an o f comprom i'c "?Z· t£& if.r dakyii-)111.111 • adver~;•rial rlii l.f (J(J /;;; rekiwi-reki 1w • reciprocily +lllr: 1Jdi)J .wlgo j11jo I Hili. f/< {{ ,1t"igo i:o11 • office-,cckcr i'i!i>i'; Q) ) ~)', l1lr Y,· (.1e11kyo 1111 ) At"ilwslw • w lk ing-head T ~nil ) 7 ~ ~ 3 / t1' /;;; ,,ri ft·Q) rlf! It 1'1' JlhJJ(IJ 1.: II\ "'C ~ • 6 ~)(1,i_q (ll'riili·l(ll) ak"·'""" .~a 1111A11, um/111 no kiW dake ga /la111e11 11i d<•fe ;,., jlitai
=( v
= <,
t.:
=(
Mangajin 13
Candidates may pass out fliers. but these are strictly limited in format and number. Finally. although candidates may make tel ephone call s and send postcards to voters. the cards must be addressed to specific people. and randomly dialed. A side from name recognition gained in other arenas (Ono. for example. won an Ol ympic medal for gymnastics in the 1960s), candidates must rely heavily on word-of-mouth support. a strategy that means connecrion is everything. Even the lists o f addresses and phone numbers candidates can use during campai gn period come from influential people connected to their campai gns. Some political parties have natural ties to organizations that can provide these name lists. The Japan Communist Party and the former Japan Socialist Party have long relied on their ties to labor unions who supply workers as possible supporters. The K omeito (or Clean Governm ent Party, now part of the New Fron tier Party), has successfully used i ts ties to a religious organization (the Soka Gakkai). L iberal Democratic Party (LDP) politicians such as Ono have to build their connec ti ons by net work ing amo ng organizations such as those of small businessmen, farmers, and other politicians who hold ofti ces at lower levels of government or in the other house of the Diet. This crucial co nnect ion-build ing actually occurs long before the campaign period. As much as six or seven months before the opening of the campaign period. Ono and other LDP members who wanted to run for the House of Council lors vi sited the offic es o f potentiall y fri endly politicians of the same party. gently making their aspirations known. By Apri I of 1992. Ono 's staff had moved out of its tiny office to a three-story building that became the headquarters of Ono's k oenkai (I{Z 1-£ 1; . "political suppo rt association''). I n July, because electoral r eg ul ati o ns pro hibit koenkai f r o m functioning during an official campaign
period. the o rgan i zation became the ''election headquarters,'' and the focus changed from building connections to publicly demonstrating them. By law. the kr)enkai could not engage in ··ca mpaign" activities. It could not publish newsletters asking for a vote for Ono. for example. However, the kr)enkai could and did devote itself to making Ono better known on several levels. I n mid-April. th e kr)enkai he ld a jimushobiraki ( ·j~ .f-)5 11lr 1*1 ~ . " o ffi ce opening") party with well over a thousand guests. M ost w ho came had been contacted by koenkai workers from lists of previous Ono supporters. the rolls of other organizations that koenkai workers represented. and the membership lists of the kOenkai of friendly politicians. M any of those who came to enjoy the good chee r and hosp itality al so broug h t envelopes filled with congratulatory cash. and after eating and drinking at Ono's establishment, they carri ed away the ob ligatio n to drum up a few more
conn ecti ons who would have a few more connections of their own. The cash and connections were used over the next few months to sponsor "Get Behind Ono" events in vari ous neighborhoods throughout the far-tlung Tokyo prefecture. Al though they canno t open l y ask for votes, politicians are in many ways less legally hamstrung at this time than during the official campaign peri od. The law all ows politicians to liberally advertise kiienkai events on posters as long as the posters are not hung too far in advance of the event or left up following its end. From April until Jul y. therefore, a chief concern of the kr)enkai headquarters and branch leaders of the organization was gathering cash to print. hang, and remove posters as scheduled events came and went. Like official campaign events such as the Shi buya gairi5 en::.etsu. koenkai events place much more importance on connection than policy pronouncements. but prior to the campaign period. lush settings and varied entertainment are used to foster esprit de corps among Ono followers who wi ll be cal led on to show up for her during the offi cial campaign period. For example, Ono had strong support from a member of the House of Representatives with a ti ghtly knit gr oup of femal e supporters. He sponsored special evening events w here entertai ner s or famous speakers were paired with appearances by Ono and other politicians. In return for dinner, entertainment. and a chance to see how well connected their elected officials were. attendees at these events supplied their names and addresses, as well as the names and addresses of acquaintances who lived in the district. to the staffers of the Ono campaign. T hese lists of addresses were Ono's meibo (t'r or li st of con tacts for phoning, sending postcard s. and getting out the vote. As one of Ono 's powerful koenkai leaders told me, a politician's meibo is his or her most important resource. After the begi nning of the campaign peri od. the more el abor ate touches of kr)enkai events were no longer legally
wn.
• arena = ~;):U: IJ) JJ,'1 k_,.,-,~; "" lw I i,f; ~r'r: IJ) ~~~ f ;. Ill; W · ~msumku "" lmwi . .
kii.wk11 .wrete iru • esprit de corps = 1·11*-.'i -L.• dallkl'/.W.I'flin
14 Mangajin
possible. I n a se nse . however. the campaign just moved from entertainment halls to the street. Much like an American politician. Ono would stroll the streets flanked by supporters. shaking hands with any willing onl ookers. But in Japan. w here bows are customary and handshakes are unfami l iar. her move had a different meaning. A handshake from an American politician implies equality-the banter of two strong individuals who cheerfu lly agree that politics is the ''art of comprom ise."' A politican's handshake in a world of bows. however. is a display with a certain extremity. Sometimes embarrassed men and women even blushed and waved Ono away w ithout taking the proffered hand. However. by making the awkward move of touching people she wou ld not have touched if she knew them in ordinary circ umstances. Ono could portray an extraordi nary desire to be linked-connected- with those around her. Even the most reluctant of handshakers had to acknowledge her example of braving the tendency of social
forces to separate human beings from each other. By the time the campaign had reached the plaza at Shibuya Station on the last Saturday before the vote. Ono was able to attract a crowd of campaign workers who had come to her office as representati ves of other politicians. companies. or organizations. and supporters who had wound up in the Ono camp through a trail of connected koenkai. On the soundtruck w ith her were politicians ranking from foreign minister to ward assemblyperson. who said little but. by their presence. demonstrated their c01inection to Ono. M any speeches were made: none were remarkable. Nevertheless. careful observers could have walked away wi th important information. since the art that enables a candidate to pull off a prominent plaza displ ay is the same one that wi ll l ater help her navigate the complicated system of connections at the heart of Japanese policymaking. In my months as a campaign observer. f had been tempted. as many Americans
would likely be, to think a more "substantial"' po li cy debate would improve Japanese electoral politics. By the time I arrived at Shibuya Station. however. I had come to see the speeches as on ly the· smallest. perhaps least important part of the campaign ritual. After sharing tea and sweat and jokes with friends of Ono·s friends. I was linked to a human chain that made standing back from the hopefu l, swaying crowd at Shibuya impossible. Many foreigners and. indeed. many Japanese rightly rue the shallow level on which most public pol itical discourse occurs. Nevertheless. when we look at them with more open minds. positive lessons also come from the sound-truck spectacles . Even when we see it as the ··art of compromise:· politics i s finally a cooperati ve venture. and building human connect ions between the elected and the elec tors is . after all. a chi ef aim of democratic politics.
Robin LeBlanc is assislllnl pn~fessor of politics at Og/etlunpe UniFersity in Atlantu.
• n~nked by = - i" loloj fl~J (.: jf ~ l "( - o rw7gmo·ll IIi IS/I rete • proffered = ,\;:; l/1', ~ ~ l f.:. Sllsflitfll.l"lll"l'ltl • on looker' = iki: uri "" hiro • ward a"emblypcr>on J:.( ~~ ,!\! 1 kt~l.11i giin • ritu~o l fli< ;-\ gi.1/liki • rue < nagel.u
Jll) v' 1::
=
=
=ll'j:
f·); ~Jl f.· /)(7/.:ans/w
/ ~ J'
2< -j' I)
__
JAPANESe CJNEMA CLASSICS RASHOMON
IAMPOPO
An Academy Award-winning film
directed by the masterful Akira Kurosawa. Four different narrators describe the same brutal act-a woman's rape and her husband's consequent death-yet the facts elude us because each interprets the story to make himself appear in the best light. Often copied (most recently in the Denzel Washington film Courage under Fire),
never matched. 1950, B&W, 87 minutes. In Japanese with English subtitles. $29.95
KWAIDAN Based on the ghost stories by Japan's most famous American ex-pat, Lafcadio Hearn. Four spine-tingling supernatural tales are told with visually stunning effects and an arresting musical score. Director Kobayashi has created a masterpiece In which terror thrives and demons lurk. 1964, Color, 164 minutes (on 2 tapes). In Japanese with English subtitles. $39.95
Directed by Juz.o Itami. A satire about food and sex, Tarnpopo parodies American westerns and Japanese samurai films. It is the story of a young widow who runs a small ramen restaurant in Tokyo and the handsome truck driver who teaches her how to make the perfect bowl of noodles. Colorful characters and witty humor are just two of the ingredients in this zany film. 1987, Color, 117 minutes. In Japanese with En glish subtitles. $19.95
To ord4!r:Shipping and handling cost depends on the total amount of the order-contact Mangajin for the correct amount. We accept MasterCard, Visa, checks, and money orders (made out to Mangajin and drawn on US funds). Please allow 2-4 weeks for delivery. 1-800-5~-~:zD~ • Fax ~tM-1:M-0891 • PO Box n188, Atlanta, GA ~"' • Ort.larsOMangajin.~m
Mangajin 15
MERICAN CARS ARE FINALLY MAKING INROADS ON THE JAPANESE MARKET, WITH SAWY AD CAMPAIGNS PAVING THE WAY. JOURNALIST SASAKI YOSHINOBU EXPWNS HOW. In the highly competitive Japanese car market, sales of imported cars, including products from America's Big Three, are in high gear, while those of Japanese cars seem to be stalled. According to Ministry of Transportation statistics for the first half of 1996 (January- June), the registration of American cars in Japan rose I 8.3 percent from the same period a year earlier. German car manufacturers also boosted the ir sales by 22.4 percent. In contrast, sales of domestic cars grew by o nly 0.7 percent. Car dealers in Japan point out three major reasons for this shift: the expansion of foreig n automakers' sales networks in collaboration with domestic makers; the low prices and low-inte rest loans offered by fore ign car makers; and the inc rease in imported car s available with right-hand drive. In addition to these plus factors, foreign automakcrs are making efforts with their advertisements to attract Japanese consumers, whose pre ferences are diffe rent from those of Americans. Let's explore the Big Three's ad world in Japan. The first stop is General Motors. OM' s ad slogan for the Chevrolet Camaro is "Shibore o ranoshimif'' ("Let' s enjoy Chevrolet"). As many professional copywriters say, simple is best. But isn' t this a little roo simple? "One reason for keeping it simple is that this slogan is used in a series of ads," says a Japanese ad copywriter who has bee n in the business for 20 years. Indeed, the Chevrolet Blazer ad uses the same slogan with the following headline: " Kono 4WD wa honmono no Amerikt1 o shitteiru, Shibore Bureizii" (''The 4WD that knows the real America: Chevrolet Blazer"). In this context, "Chevrolet" is a synonym for American c ulture, the copywriter analyzes. A Japanese journalist specializing in the auto industry points out that using American culture in advertising might be a good idea. Tf GM is competing with European carmakers, he explains, the "American-ness" of GM's cars would prevail because Japanese lifestyles have been Americanized since the end of World War
T'" ~ f f/.IHI • • ~fi) ~tlll\t i* Htcn tl:o'J!o<·.t~V-I!II"C>·t~~j ·~ ~
'1.' - · '(,~'~"'C., na,..,.t.. •o;,.} Y ~,. ~ CI 6U';Ir.t4' -1"11. •1'A
.. ~ ... '•'.. Q:t .. e,i\.1hl,l(i{~"'~~~ r,,·~~?\~.t.;. ~..... /Jtt-st"·'''1' ,/ f (Y.•-1tfi~··.., Y'7 f~l ~ t "':;,l;, o; '?")ott•t ~I_ f. 'VJAI~~..~~ """'~'4
o - ,t
f"IH.Itit',,J,,•lt; ..u:.&t'IU•HI.liM·~" •·llt<· ~-_,~ ~·.-. !t";... ,.,HitU.. «R'I)1• ft..- '~< ,..,_ ..,,,.,to .... l
r.,.
you do for me ... General Motors? 50 Mangajin
L
This 1Vcommercialfor
Jeep shows the same Englishcatchphraseasin the US, but the voice-over says, "Jiipu to yoberu no wa tada hitotsu" ('There's onl:JI one caUedJeep!").
0CHRYSLER
Hi
::1;.11 I? I- t!' :.''J1l"CWJII•I*•tf>(l( "h-·:t? ·
. ....tt.llt il1l~c ..2- 61!t:~•(,: •• t• •t.•~.,t..M kl- ·h~f>'lt"CCtlt 16.:t: I-~'J.
Contrastingdebutads from Chrysler: the cheeiful "How doyou do? I 'm the Chrysler Neon" ("Hajimemashite, Kuraisura Neon des~" right); and the more commandit~g 'The ChyslerStratus has arrivedinJapan" ("Kuraisura Sutoratosu, Nihon tochak~ " above).
~- •:Air•
t • at.et.r.: BtJ.
.:nt.Ta>.:l:. tt ~fl">t:.
6• •
gJ.~ lli!IIJ.'l'OOa\ '"~"T" ~ -at-1!1
tO
:z:.;..!,.;., *•~.:• •••t.~ lll lt, ll .ltSRS7- >7JI.IJ'JI••? ... ,.7 7 >t? t- '' ::J:.
. . ?.,1';;1.,-*":.-u .~ :n:*J~~;:tn.\'~t.-rt.6u~ :.-"C
••~>1'1'\•
T-fiD • • t .1tU.Atit:.• •
.t ••
itJD'l'. INY"t'h'((,t;!!~ I
(
**~uu:.r;;;...
)
"i'::iFJ!,Z7'1~7? ASS' ) (
lii<.H~Vl3illl
)
'
oill . .. .
J 'ii' . '\,., t-4 · , . •
. . ..
••u..•tti;H "C1 11>".>
) (
•tt~ti:~~1'·J::...?
(
..
I
.,.,,
~·
~:
.
. 4t .
•
...,.
CHRYSLER
e '
neon
I
L,.,.
'\ ' "' ( I "
0120-712-812 q, ~ •M\'1 LU
•
,.....) ~
Mangajin 5 1
II. Chewing gum, Coke, T -shirts, McHamburgers- why not Chevrolet? Meanwhile, the copywriter has a different viewpoint. With images of the American good life, he says, this ad implies American leadership in the automobile industry. He feels, however, that it seems to be an anachroni m. "As a Japanese driver, I don't think American cars are No. I in the world." The second stop is the " World's Leading Company" (a it says in the ads), Ford. Spot ads for its Mondeo, Explorer. and Taurus proclaim: "Sekai no he.I'LttO burando o Nihon e. Kokusai kakaku wa Fodo no ryoshiki desu" ("Bringing the world's best brands to Japan. International pricing is a sign of Ford's good sense"). This ad , points out the auto journali st, obvious ly tri es to take advantage o f somet h ing most J apanese consu mers believe to be true: Almost everything is more expensive in Japan than in foreign countries. The ad implies that the same goes for car prices. The copywriter says that "good sense" is an imperious choice of words. To him, the slogan implies 'This is a product of the great America, ~o you should buy it.'' The las t stop is Chrysler. The ad for CHEVROLET its Neon reads: "Hajimemashite. Kuraisurli Neon de.w" (" How d o you do? T am the Chrysler Neon"). Unlike the GM and Ford ads, thi s one doesn't emphasize 17DI'1'1'l,~· .. f'.tt:tl«>t;VI •. )t ttoPSnJ\?- . i t)il;l,.i••lllf ~ 6 •• a -t- .=l ':.l.,..'f' ~ a:..O&;"IIo ''t'tt~C.' American c ulture. As a resu lt. it looks l\!.olo''J;.t1"C ... t,l)6, ~....... t"-'ltl..t•• • . &.:..,l'lh~l,..( ii,,..U.?tlC.:~6"( , ~ 4>&.-- " " .. .,_ • • I '<~ 11:. .... , ..... ~-~- 1.1 ill Ot• 'f'tJIIO.OOt ~ t "' ' """' more friendly to J apanese cons umers ., r..,f, • '' .1.. ,., . ' ' despite the Neon's ferocious reputation as .;!.'..:._ a "Japanese car-ki ller." The Japanese media have already reported sensationally that the little Neon is America's Chevrolet uses stereotypicalAntL>rlcan imagesfariJ.s car ads itt]apa11. last trump card in the competition against Japanese cars, the car journalist says. "'That's Chrysler's taste, however. C hrysler Japan Sales has asked the why Chrysler no longer needs to stress its American tlavor." media nut to use the nickname since it might create a backlash The nickname of "Japanese car-killer" is a bit strong for by Japanese consumers. When looking at the Big Three's progress in Japan in the fi rst half of 1996, the gold medal goes to GM, which sold I0 ,633 cars, up 147.4 percent from the same term a year before. Ford gets the silver. selling 8,125 cars (up 12.6 percent). Last is the bron7.e, going to Chrysler, which sold 6,991 cars (up 8.2 percent). Wide distribution networks and affordable prices are important factors in accomplishing the goals of American automakers. Another key is whether they can grab Japanese consumers' hearts-and their ads retlect their stance toward ' Japanese consumers.
.c:::::::;-
BLAZER
t
!.!.~~
1
r
,,
. ... !j
" '' '
0
' f.
I
f iJI
,
.! f
......TAURUS
~ . <'
t. 1(,
\ I l 4.,. !\IV ' '
Sasaki Yosht11obu is a freelance journalist living in Yokohama.
*
Ford's ads, likethisoPlejortheTaurn.s, emphasizelowprices.
52 Mangajin
• booSl = J,-'\" -j" fuyasu/ iJ I ~ .l 'f .Q hikiageru • imperious= l!"t Jj: sondai na • ferocious = ~L ?.!! t.t. morersu na • backlash = &.1/f\: hanpar.,·u
vocabulary summary From Kaji Rviisuke no Ci, p.l7 ).(,:)1;
;JH.!f-r'-> ~,g.to:~J
:f:•:J:tr'S i!ii>j:-:
il:l~ frll T 7.>
*!Ef;'f-t 7.> lt!!.~
;mr~-t '->
i&ifl j1 l]lt\"(\,\J.>
~ill:~ ,6.-
o/ ~lf:Jj
{/II
gimon n a ika ku jyilkyil kaisan niramu j unbi kane 1w n egai j ihro t e islwtsu s uru slllltsuha ais ats u ((lisei totmwe ru hajime te naiyo h ossoku s hiji sum ts uishin j inan c h onan
J"Jrn'J WX'. Jf!¥1JX t.: i? tr
iWiJiiJ ij~f· fo: l~j'jlt \
fit 1.< fM:W -t 7.> tl:l.I.!J t5H~ ~~ ~.:Zl.>
trol!6-c IJ..J:@: ~~
roff--t'-> j£!flt1 ;}..:~
±tY:J
f-:>c ;~::; n' L. ~,,
Z Ull O
~ _f-
- /i 1oc~'l +.[1. ~'/J:
'Dill lt!rr.~
ftJlll.O~ ~;;t,
-t-c-1.: ~R:ltfr 'JI"t . l ;
Jll,c.,
m<-
);![Jltfr-tl.> ~~,(_,
~'f.tiiN!l'it ~tm ~$'}
-t lvt:i:
zehi setro ku sum ikinari f uiuchi sen kyo rikko ho suru iji S lll'll jihan hokai suru seij i muite iru s ho kugyil
~J
iJ~-t
tui Ejl.1.:
j(~ --'•
~L;..i
::I·o ·; .:\'-
c
o k ashii slu7sa i ippr1 seiseki f us hig i na kanrw) dan zen gifri-te ki yoso sude-ni k ets udan is hi tsug u sokudan s uru robas hin s h17giin kaika n angai S llllllll ri tu watas u kantan ni hat.w gen go rotmki
by all means persuade sudden I y/abruptl y surprise attack elec tion stand as a candidate (1'.) mai111ain constituency collapse ( v.) politics suit/be suited Ito/for i occupation fit/suit (v.) d oubt (n .) cabi net/government circumstances dissolution stare/fix one's eyes [on] preparations selfish request (n.) resignation submit/present (v.) candidacy announcement readiness arrange/establ ish for the first time co111ent s inauguration instruct postscript second son first son much more odd bright/talented person on the other hand grades marvelous/amazing bureaucrat by far/decidedly rat ional/prag matic elements/trai ts already deci sion dying wi sh carry on/follow immediately decide excessi ve solicitude House of Representati ves hall/building unexpectedl y smoothl y/easily hand over/gi ve over easily statemelll racketeer/extortionist
<:A:;J~
m asukomi n agasu o.w e n1 se isu lwbatsu
ifl[-t .j1fl ~X. 7.>
;ffiJ -t ilf\11~
mass media leak (1•.) take control/ possession o f co111rol (1•.) faction
From Selected Works o[Ishii Hisaichi, p. 38 Tv'~lv
~uibun
!:LiZ-:::>
m edat.w s hin obi s hinri teki o ku ki zu
{!.[f' -L·~ ~ ~(
<
fVi
considerably stand out undercover action psychology enemy set/leave in a place w ound (n.)
From Obatarian, . 42 {:ilm
Y:lUJ ~Uffi
1;:19;
c lv t:, lv -/)' lv t:t
::I.dM t,"i"(l.>
'f·*
\,\f~/il)
fil.l\!J.
n'f9r -tt i
It'
1:!'£.@-tl.>
shurui n ok o ri fiifu nyilbr1 tonc hinkan 1w gomibako sute n1 ya sai itame d anclti daido ko ro sem a i kai::.o .wru
kind/type remainder husband & wife wife absurd/ incongruous garbage bin di scard (v.) vegetables stir- fry (n.) housing complex kitchen small/cramped remodel
From Kekkon Shivo Yo JlliJ~I'!(j
s higeki-te ki
ti
1/CIIS U
~\,\
kirai suika kao h en da h o tondo s /w shin roku na /al/011111 c ha1110 s hi1a y appari s hikarubeki bas ho tO/'ll i111a i sum e nsei daku b e tSII 11 i
:A1tJ
Mi
·f). t.!
li c lv c'
'LJ.A 7:>('/J:
lfit· f:, -t' !v C l.. f .: ~'? (;j:'~J
L. n' '->"' g.
t;wr
tf!i 7.> ~ fjf!-t 7.> ji~jF.
t?J < 81] ~.:
.65
sti mulati ng/arousi ng summer dislike w atermelon f ace is strange almost all photograph (11.) sati sfactor y request (v.) proper/success ful after alliin the end su itable/proper place take Ia piewre l retire from expeditions/tours embrace/make love Inot I par ti cularl y
From Take'emon-ke no Hitobito, R· 84
it' -ti!C:> l..v' Jlll.~¥-rg.l.>
:iill!~J T'->
* ") 'Tt:/;f-/
ma ~ u
.w b aras hii rikai d e kiru undo suru ho kke pinpo n
first o f all wonderful can understand exercise ( 1'.) hockey Ping Pong
The Vocabulary Summary is takenfrom material appearing in this issue of Mangajin. It's nm alll'ays po.uible to give the complete range of meanings f o r a word in this limited space, so ottr ''definitions" are based on the usage of the 1rord in a particular strny. Mangajin 93
IJIIfl~(/)-
Kaji Ryfisuke no Gi
Kaji Ryusuke's Agenda
by~••se
Hirokane Kenshi
Scandals, deception , infighting, gridlock-business as usual for pol itics in Japan. The arti st Hirokane Kenshi (the well-known creator of Koehn Shima Kli.wku and artist of the series Ningen Kosm en, both featured in earli er issues of Mangc~jin) approache~ this inexhaustible subject from the inside with his latest solo project. Kc~ji Ryllsukc 110 Ci. Kaji Ryusuke, the 39-year-old second son of a powerful politician. is from Kagoshima on the island of K yushu. A graduate of the prestigious Uni versity of Tokyo. he ha~ built a successful career as an elite salaryman at one of Japan· s foremost corporation~. Becoming a politician like his father. Kaji M otoharu. is the farthest thing from hi~ mind. Talented, contident, and hotheaded (one colleague compares him to a " wild thoroughbred"). he evokes both respect and censure from those around him. lchinoseki Ayumi is an employee under Ryusuke. She is also his lover.
Kaji Yukiko, Ryusuke's wife. lives at the Kaji family home in Kagoshima in order to be w ith their son who attends the elite prep ~chool La Salle.
Yamamoto Makio is secretary-general of the Nishikie club. Kaji Motoharu's political support group in Kagoshima.
Shortly after the story begin~. Ryiisuke and Ayumi are awakened (post-lusty encounter) in their Tokyo hotel room by Ryiisuke's beeper: his office had received an urgent call from his wife in Kagoshima. The news is grim: dri ving home after a long day of campaigning in K yushu. Ryiisuke·~ brother had fallen a~ lccp at the wheel and his father was killed instantly in the crash. Ryusuke rushes back to K yushu. His brother dies in the hospital. but not bd'ore imploring Ryusuke to carry on the famil y's political tradition for the sake of their father's memory-and for the country.
At the funeral. the prime minister himself (a longtime friend of Kaj i Motoharu) asks Ryiisuke to run for office. With scandals wearing down the party' s popularity. only someone with the powerful Kaji name can win the Kagoshirna race. The party can't afford to lose that crucial district i f it hopes to retain the leadership of the Diet. Even so. Ryusuke refuses the prime minister to his face-a shocking thing, indeed. memoir~. for the first time he begins to respect his father as a politician. Although accused of being involved in a scandal. it looks as though he wa!> simply made the scapegoat in order to protect the prime minister.
Ryusuke returns to Tokyo. Having read some of his father's
The plot thickens- a politician from the prime minister' s cabinet makes u racist comment w hile visiting the US. and although he claims he was misinterpreted, it has weakened the party ' s position. If Ryusuke doesn't run for office. the party is doomed. Ryusuke's lover. meanwhile. tells him that she is pregnant and want~ to keep the baby. We pick up the story a few days later as Ryusuke meets Yamamoto in a Tokyo coffee shop.
Mangajin 17
IJDliS lli 11' ~ ift •
\
w.:.~
*I')! ~
~
A. c:·
? t
/\ ;t (' =1' /\ L. C;, ~
1.'
;to·
~
'J
/\ Q
I')
"' t~ h n t:t c. ~
t,
~l ~
y
18 Mangajin
~ ,R
Kaji RyiJsuke no Gi
Waiter: li'C:>-:> l~li'"i-tt.Z o / rasshaimase. welcome
"Come right in!" (PIA) • irasshaimase is a polite command form of the PIA verb irasslraru (""come"'). It's the standard expression for welcoming a vis itor to one's ho me or customers to one's place of busmes~.
0
Yamamoto: iJ?.
~1l'
-r--t!
A. R\'iisuke-kun. Koko desu! (intcrj.) inamc-fam.) here is/are/am
"Oh, Ryiisuke. I' m over here." (PL3) • Yamamoto, as a longtime family friend and a generation older than Kaji. addresses Kaji here by his first name plu\ the polite but relati vely fami liar -ku11. Below. us he begin' trying to per~uade Kaji to run for office. he swi tches to the more polite and formal -sa11.
.: I') ~ t'? ~>- LIJ<$: ~ lv o Yal Korya domo, Yamamoto-san. (f reeting) as for this (emph.) (name-hon.)
Ka'!: -? !
' Ah! Hello, Mr. Yamamoto." (PL3) • ya or yii can be used as an informal " hi/hello" by male speakers. • domo is acmally only an intensifier, but its u e with expressions of apology, thanks, and greeting has made it an all-purpose shorthand for those same expressions. It can be either formal or quite informal as suits the occasion. Korya diimo (or the uncontracted kore wa domo) are common variation~.
0
Yamamoto: Thi-ttlv. i:>{['~
IF.'tro9
rfJ
.t:>li'fCf/l',L.~'f..:Li:l.."C
Sumimase11, o-slrigoto jikcm -chi/ o-yobidmlri iu11himallrite. (apology) (hon.)-work hours during Chon.)-call/,ummun uut-(cau,c) " I' m sorry to have asked YQU to come down here during working hours." (PL4)
Kaji:
"' L /e. no
IJ@J~~ iJ'~ tl1"C.:. ~itt..: ~v-r-t-IJ•'! ltsu Kagoslrima kara dete korarew 11 de111 ka :' "hen (place name) from came out (explun.· ·>)
'-'-=>
" Not at all. When did vou come up from Kagoshima?" (PL-l) • .wmimase11 can be a polite apology or thanl..~ depending on the conte-..t. • the suffix -cltil means ''during/in the mid~t \O 1ltigoto jil..1m·clul = ··during work hours." • o-yobidaslti itaslrimasltite is the -te form of o-yohidc1.111i itlllltiml/.\11, a polite PL-l humble fom1 ofyobidasu, from yobu ("call/summon") and -dasu, which implie~ the action tal..e~ place in an outward direction • "call out/away !from ~ome th ing J." The -le form is often used to state the cau\e/rea<,on for what come~ next in the sentence. but in thi~ case the syntax is in verted and it is stating the causc/rca\on for hb apology. • ie is a shortened iie ("no" ). often u~ed like "not at all." • Kagoshi ma is the name of a major city and a prefecture in southern Kyush u. • dete korareta is the past form of dete korareru. a PL4 honorific form of dele kum ("come out"). From the perspecti ve of the city, dele kuru is used to speak of someone trave ling from the count ry to the city: in the case of Tokyo. "country" inc ludes any regional c ity .
or:·
0
't'To 4-B 'i J(;:)p ~~1l'~!v ~ ~{~}(...):-) t .\£l.li'i l.."Co Kino desu. Kyo wa ::.ehi Ryiisttke-scm o settoku shiyii to omoimashite. yesterday is today as for by all means (name-hon.) (obj.) '>hall pcr;uade (quote) think/thought
Yamamoto: S');A
" Yesterday. And todav I intend to ersuade you no matter what it takes." (PL3) • settoku sltiyo is the volitional ('' let's/! shall") form of settoJ..u suru ("persuade"). • to marks ::.elri Ryiisuke-san o senoku shiyo as the specific content of his thoughts. • omoimaslrite is the -te form of omoima.w, the PL3 form of omou ("think"). The ·te form is again used to indicate a reason- his reason for asking Kaj i to see him.
Kaji: .t:l -:> t
,
~' ~ ~
IJ
Otto. ikinari Juiuchi (interj.)
~
<-? ~) ~ ~l i t.. t..:
i.>.
'"'''''
o kunlll'lllllrt'IIUI\Irita Ill'. Halwlw Ira. (ObJ.) ""' fed/gl\cn (colloq.) (laugh)
"Whoa you hit me with a surp rise punch right otT the bat. Ha ha ha ha." (PL3)
• otto is an interjection used when a person i~ caught off guard and \Uddenly realizes he needs to be careful leM he make a mistake/put himself in danger/get in trouble. • fuiuclti refers to a ''surprise attack/ambu\h." andfuiuc11i 11 J..urau (or kuu. literally "eat." very informal) i~ an expre~sion for "be ambushed" or "be attacked when one·~ guard i' down." Kum11·asaremmllita is the PL3 past form of kurawasareru, the causati ve-passive form of kurau.
Mangajin 19
1JD ;t; l!i 1l' (J) lA • Ka11 Ryiisuke no Gi
'
t. .~
iE9: fl. ~t li 1: ~
;!
l ' '/)(
li
irEJ~
-tt-c A
*'t ~*
.:
L- ti:
-c '.c
l' .?,
C" 1*1 ~ ~f
~ 1: 0) -? 91- ~ 1't ~ li ;t t 0) ~ ~ ·r M;t~~tt A ~
7
l' l'
It IJ
~R.
;.,.. l
20 Mangajin
1*1 !
fJ' ~ C, li
Sound FX: ;;( ;;( Zu :.u (sound of sipping coffee)
IT]
c:
U:
JUI:
,'ifi:k flh L -c 1.- ~ ~ '!
\I'll
:ehi
riUiilw .1hi1e ktulawi!
L 1: -9
0 -ne!(ai
i'i!l 'r'
.1ilima.,u vo! 7\ugi 110 wnk1o ni
Yamamoto: J31~(! ~' (hun. J-requ~''
J: !
;j((!)
m~l.c (ernph.)
n~\1
clccluul 1n a' lur h) all me~n' ''·'"" "' canthdalc-lrcque,l)
" Please, I' m begging you, you really must run in the next election!" (PU) [:!f:fl"~A... 1J· •U.:~ItiL!.f J01I' IIIJ ~:!1.~.\ L"C !t t.: }JIIifud~ (f) .lti!ff:t Ryil.wke-wn ga
la/anakert•ba .wmjt7 nenka11
iji shile kill/
Kaji Mmolwm 110 ( n<~rncJ
(narne-hon.J ('UbJ.) if don'1 'land/run JO }r. period lltalnlamcd-and-camc
(j:
••·a
jibcm
iJ)iJt~L.i-t o lu1kai shimasu.
·, COihliluency a' for
will collapse
" If you don' t run, the constituency cultivated b) Kaji 1otoharu over the last 30 years will disintegrate." ( PL3) • 1111egai mean' "reque,t" and adding sum/.,hilllll.\'11 turn' it into a vcrb. "make a rcqucM/ask a favor." Unless another subjccl is ~pecilied. it ;, understood to be the 'peakcr who b making the n.:que'>t. '>O the expres,ion cs,cntially ~erves as a polite and formal "plea\c." • rikkiiho shile i' the -1e form of rikktJ/w 1111'11. literal!) ..,land a, a candidate" - • "become a candidate/run for office." Kuda.mi after the -1e form of a verb make-. a relati1ely polite reque'l. • :1' ;, often done in Japane,e. he uses hb lbtener's name in a '>illlation when an English speaker wou ld use "you." • ll/lmwkereba i' n conditional •·;r· form of llllfllllli. negati ve of 1a1.111 (",ta nd." hen.: referring to "standing" as a candidate) • "if you don't run ... • iji lltile i~ the -II' form of iji 1/lrtl ("maintain/<,u,lain/J,.cep up"). and ~1/(/ i\ the plam/abrupl pa\t fonn of kuru r ·come"). '~hich after th..: -1e form of a' .:rb often implie, the actwn continued from 'ometime in the pa~t until the pre~ent. Sanjt7 nenkan iji .1hire kiw is a complete thoughtl'>clllence (''I we I have 'u~taincd I it I for a 30-year period") modifying Kaji Mowlwmtw jilmn (''Kaji Motoharu·, con,tiwency''). • hiikai sltima.llt i' the PL3 form of ltiikai 1111'11 ("collap,ddl'integratc").
li Warashi wa jibun !/me
as for
go
se1p
ni
self (subj.) politics for
muire iru
10
wa
omoemasen.
islam suited (quotc)(emph.) cannot think/believe
" I can' t believe that I am suited to politics."
"I ·ust don' t think of my elf as suited to politic ." (PL3) • jibwr ="oneself:' and it becomes "Ume/myself:' "he/him/himself:' "you/yourself." etc., depending on the context . • mui1e iru is from muku (''suit/be suited [to/fori''). • omoemasen is the negative form of omoeru ("can think"), the potential form of omou (''thin k").
0
Yamamoto: li•J tt
,H i•J tt
Muki
j11m11ki
~ !v
-c
1>: A
1111111e
'uiwbility un,uiwhilily
~omcthing
lrmmin
. .: {, t J-IJ' ~, ~ l ' t A.. -c--4
J:
ni mo u·a/..mwuu
lil..e the pcr-
can't tel l
1111111
dt•.111
yo.
thing
''
(cmph.)
" Suitability is the kind of thing that a person can' t judge by himself." (PL3) f.L. n (f) lhl"(f) ~ :t~ nt . ;,: ·•H.: il' ') -c ~ ,l.l (f) n' t· ;J-IJ,
.u /,..
IVawshi jisltin ima 110 jibwtno
slwku~wl
I
lll}'clf no" of
occup
5011:
*f: ~> f.:
/J- "'(' ~
!1t€111J
lll/la
ima demo
gimmt
gojllllen 50 F'
n"n
ga luml/lni trul)
aile tru
no ka dii /..a
fitv'u'"
"he1hcror no1
~lvf.!. /Ill 11
da.
have pa"t:d even at prc,cnt doubtful (c,plan.)
" I have my own doubts whether or not my occupation t ruly suits me--even now after 50 years." (PL2) • m11ki i~ a noun form of m11l.u. \O it mean'> ..,uitability:· andjt111111~i i' 11' oppo~ite. "um.uitability." • name is a colloquial equiv:~lent of nado. literally "thing' likeh,omet hing like." • •rakarwwi i' the negati ve form of u·akam. which can mean e ither "underMand/wme to under,tand,'' or "can under'tand/tell." • ji1hi11 ("self/onc.,elf') i-. common!) u~ed 111 combinauon with per,onal pronoun' and noun': ll'lllll.lhilboku/ore jishin = "I myself:· ~art• jishi11 ="he him~elf." Yamada-.1a11 ji1lti11 = "M'>. Yamada her,elf." • arre iru i~ from wt ("fitJ,uitlmatch" ). and (11o) l.a dli l.a after a compli:te lhought/,entence means "whether or nol [the described 'illlation exiMs/aclion take' pl;u.:el."
0
Yamamoto: ~1l'~A...!
"}-~
Ryiisuke-san! (name-han.)
mtt
V'lllll
/maya Hawmura Naikaku
li
1~$'~0)
:1*7.1?.
iJ'C:> l?-1: ~~ (>
~f.i:J..'o
wa
naigai no
jokyo
kora mile
abw w i.
dlimo
now-(emph.) (name) cabinel/gov't as for internal & external circumstances from looking lemph.) precarious/unsteady
" R iisuke! Based on what I see oin on both inside a nd outside the government, the Hatomura Cabinet is looking increasingly vulnerable." (PL2) .::.(f)i£ -c: ~'It!!#\ 1: r;t M~ ~~¥: "t'LJ:1 o
,
Kono mama de as is
ikeba
aki
ni '"''
kaisan
st1sellho
desha.
(mean~) if go aurumn in as for di~solution geneml election i' probably
"At this rate, in the fall we w ill probably have dissol ution Iof the Diet] and a general e lection."
"At this rate the rime minister will probably dissolve the Diet and call a (PL3)
~eral
election this fall."
• - knra mile (lit., ''looking from'') is an expression for "judging from/based on - ." • kono mama= ''unchanged from this." and ikeba is a conditional ("if/when") form of iku ("go/progress"), so kono mama de ikeba is literally "if things go on like this''--+ ''at this rate."
Mangajin 2 1
1JD if> IIi 1l" (J) lA • Kaji Ryiisuke no Gi
22 Mangajin
ITJ
Yamamoto:
~
-f-0)
Sono toki
l
that
~
1.:01v-c-
~ n'l?
!¥!f!til
~
L-~~tttlf
-i!!v'
lv-c'To
o
nirande
ima kara
junbi
o
shinakereba
osoi
n desu.
time (obj.) seuing sights on now from preparations (obj.) if don't do/make is/will be too late (explan.)
" If we don1J_ook ahead to that. time and be in makin re arations now it' ll be too late." (PL3) Yama oto: M1.2Ftj: /Mv' -c--t ;6~ I:Y'J B 1.: -c- b 11'¥:~ ~ 1{1:11 VC IJliJ~R; ~: M-::> "(*"( v't..: t-: ~ t..: v'!
I
Kalle na negai desu ga. selfish
request
is
asu
ni demo
jillyo
o teislzutsu shite Kagoshima ni
but tomorrow on even resignation (obj.) submit-and
(place oame) to
modolle kite itadakitai! want you to return-and-come
" It is a selfish request but, even as early as tomorrow, I want you to submit your resignation and return to Kagoshima." "Perha s it is resum tuous of me but I want to ask ou to submit Ka oshima immediate! ." (PL2) • nirande is the -te form of niramu ("stare [at]/fix one's eyes [on]"). • shinakereba is a conditional ("if/when") form of shinai, negative of sum ("do/make"):junbi o suru ="make preparations/ prepare." • asu ni denw is an expression for " immediately/as soon as possible" (where the frame of reference is days/weeks/months rather than hours or minutes). • teishutsu shite is the -te fom1 of teishutsu suru ("submit"); the -te form here implies "[do the action] and - ·• • modotte kite is the-re form of modotte kuru ("return/come back"), and iradakilai after the -te form of a verb implies the speaker wants the listener or someone else to do the action.
[I]
Yamamoto: F>lfl- ~ !v
1~4~
0)
aisarsu
110
pi'irii
(riamc-hon.)
's candidacy an nouncement for
party
!m~tJ.>
J:-J
~~~
!.t
\'O
raisei
1ra 10/0IIoere arimasu kara.
0)
ill.~
Rviisuke-sa11 110 shutsuba
hirakem can open/hold
~~- 7 1 -
!.t v'"?"t" 'b \\'a irsu demo as for
anytime
'f.U."C
so that readine'' a> for has been establ ished because
" We've already laid the groundwork so we can hold a part.YJ_o announce y our candida~t any_time." (PL3) • slwrsuba .Hu·u means "run for electio n:· and shw.wba aisatsu refers to '·announcement of one's candidacy." • hirakem is the potential ('"can/be able to") form of himku ("open," or when speaking of an event, " hold/commence"): hirakem yiJ (11i) = ··so that I wt: I can hold." • taisei refers to ·'readiness,'' and taisei o 10to11oeru means ''arrange/establish a state o f readiness Ito carry out the described action]." To1011oere is the -re form of roto11oeru, and arimasu (PL3 form of ant) after the -re form of a verb implies the action was done a nd the result remains in place. so in this case it means a state of readiness has been established and remains in place/on standby. • iya can mean ''no," but it's also used as a ki nd of warm-up/hesitation word ("well/er/uhh/1 mean") with little or no feeling of negation, and that is how it's being used here. Though Yamamoto doesn' t allow him to go on, Kaji is probably about to express hesitation rather than disagreement.
Kaji: "'~ .. . lya .. . (interj.)
"WeU ..." (PL2)
0
Yamamoto: ~
(j:
)il.\'11
"Actually, I have something I'd like to show r.,o u." (PL4) • o-mise shirai is the "want to'' form of o-mise suru, a PLA humble equivalent of miseru ("show"). A11ata ni o-mise shitai is a complete thought/sentence ("[I] want to show [it] to you") modifying mmw ("thing"). • arimasu is the PL3 form of am ("exists" for inanimate things, often implying "exists in one's possession"-> "[I] have").
0
Yamamoto: 20.lf.li~~.:
;htj:f.:.O) ;t:;)(J: Nijr7nen-mae ni anara no o-c!liclriue 20 yrs. ago
your
:IJDiE Kaji
Ji:~ 7\:;~ ;Of .fi.JtU: ili~ttt..: =f.~ -z--to Motolraru -sensei ga waraslri-ate ni dasareta tegami desu.
(hon.)-father (sumame)(given name) (title) (subj.) addressed to me
sent
letter
is
"It's a letter our father the Honorable Ka"i Motoharu sent to me 20 ears a o." (PL4) Letter: !i!:}~~Crn). . . lll:.$: J*WiiCtl!) (partly hidden) Kagoshima (-shi) .. . Yamamoto Makio(-sanra) (city name)
(surname) (given narne-hon.)
Kagoshima City .. . M r. Yamamoto Makio Stamp: 8:;$:
jjl~
Nippon YL7bin Japan
mail
Ja an Postal Service • chichiue is a polite and formal word for "father"; using the honorific prefix makes it even more polite. • sensei, most familiar as the word for "teacher,'' is also used as a respectful title for a variety of people considered worthy of respect, including doctors. writers, and politicians. • a personal pronoun or name followed by -ate means "addressed to [the stated person].'' • dasareta is the plain/abrupt past form of dasareru, a PL4 honorific form of the verb dasu ("put out," or when speaking of letters and other mail items, "seod"). • nijr7nen-mae ni anata no o-chichiue Kaji Motoharu-sensei ga watashi-ate ni dasareta is a complete thought/sentence ("Your father, the honorable Kaji Motoharu, sent (it] to me 20 years ago") modifying tegami ("letter").
Mangajin 23
hO ;t; IIi 11' (J) i~
• Kaji Ryusuke
J: ft ""F fl. i* -t< ~i ~ 1: ~I <7)
~*(i) "? l·71*.1 A iB t:. 0 7 ~
"( i$
t
l' 7' "f <7)<7)7, ~
~c -rc .rt
l•.:.-t:ml: 1> ~
n: ;r- ;n f,t
"'(
24 Mangajin
t:.
"? "?"'(
~
11
no Gi
OJ
Yamamoto:
~t":>:?!v
""l' i"t'
~In=~
R.-ttt.:.:.ct;t~t)i-ttlv o
Mochiron ima made dare ni mo miselll of course now until [no1]1o anyone ~howed
koto wa arimasen. have never
" It goes without sa ·n that I've never shown it to anyone until now." (PL3)
Yamamoto:
-c
4-, ~ t.t t.: 1.: M cl6 .t:> .!-~ -tt"t ~ t cry "t'"t o lma, anata 11i hajimete o-miu suru 1110110 desu. now you 10 for firsr rime (hon.)-show rhing is ·'Jt is something I' m s howing you for the fi rst ti me now." " Here and now
• • • •
0
o u' re the first erson I've shown it to." (PL3)
mochiron is an adverb impl ying ·•of courselnaturally/withour quesrion/needless to say.·· dare mo is followed by a negarive 10 mean "nor anyone/no one"; insening 11i makes ir " nor to anyone:· miseta is the plain/abrupt past fonn of miuru ("show'"); o-mise suru is a PL4 humble fonn of the same verb. koto wa arimasen is the PL3 form of koto wa (or ga) nai, which after a pa~t verb means "have never [done the action].''
Yamamoto: -fO)
IJ..rH
li
••·a
f..~ii
777·
1~Jl.
t.:~t..:-:>"C
,fl,
t.:
Sono 11a11·o Nishikie K11ralm lws.111ku 11i araue u·arashi ni of rhm conlcnt> as for (name) club inauguralion a! the rime of 1/me 10 ~, 7? ", ~
iroiro w vnriou,ly
c m!]~ t.t ~ -c ,.-~ ') t.: "?
t
0)
--c--r n{.
sltiji nasa{{e kuda.1·mra 1110110 des11 ga. in,tructcd me lhing' ., bur
<
i!i1rfl cry c.:.7> -:r J: ,;)(A--c" r~~' saiKn 110 r.wishin no rokoro o _mk11 yonde kuda.wi. end a1 po,r,cripr rhar io; place (ohJ.) \\CIIkarcfull) plea..c read
Yama moto: 11.::1& cry
"The contents are various thing!. he instructed me at the time of the inauguration of the ishikie Club. but please read carefully the postscript at the end."' " It contains various instruction he had for me when the Nishikie Club was launched, but let me
draw your a tte ntion particula rly to the postscript at the end." {PL4) • - ni llfa{{e means ·-.:urhe rime of/in conjunction wirh·· an action or even!. • iroiro ro is an ad verb form of imim. a noun meaning ··various irems/rhings/ki nds.'' • sltiji na.w{{e is !he-re form of sh(ji 11a.wtru. a PL4 honorific eq uivalc nl of shiji .1'111'11 {"instruct/d irect''). Kudasarw {the plain/abrupl pas! form of kudasam) after rhe -reform of a verb rypic:tlly implies !he aclion was done 10 or for rhe speaker by <,omeone of hi gher social s!atu\ "in~rructed me ... • rsuishin11o rokoro is literally ··the place that i\ the posrscripr" • ··rhc po,rscrip!." • yoku. the adverb form of ii/yoi ("good/fine/OK"). often means ··carefully/rhoroughly ... • ymule i' the -te form of.mmu ("read"). and /..1/{/ami after rhe -te fonn of a \erb makes a relatively polite rcquc'l.
'*m-
Letter: :if!fr~
:Stl:l ;_k~ 0) ~fl' -/)t J.li:A: :t1 1.: Lf.:o Tsuisltin Senjitsu jinan no Ryiisuke ga Todai Bun-ichi ni gokaku shiro. postscripl the orher day second son who i~ (name) (subj.) Univ. of Tokyo Humanilies I rolby passed/was accepred
PS: The other da m second son, Ryiisuke, passed the entra nce exam for the Unive rsitl' ofTok o ~acultl' of Letters I. (PL2) :I.UJ -.&IW 1l't'A0) A.\' j: I) 1&1ti ~~~ L I;' ~H.'f t:. t.! 0 Chonan Haruhiko gokaku no roki yori s1lbai ure.vhii kimoc/1i da. (name) passed/accepted (mod.) rime more than several fold happy/joyfu l feeling is
clde~t ~on
~ joy
is several times what I experienced when m first son Ha ruhiko assed the_exam. (PL2)
• senjirsu refer to a relatively recent dare, ranging from a few days ago to as much as several weeks. • chonan (lit. "head boy") refers to a "firM-born son... andjinan (lit. "next boy") means ··second son:· Subsequent boys are simply numbered: samwn ("third son"), yomwn ("fourth son''). etc. The same pauem is used for girls: chojo (''head "first daughter'').jijo ("next girl'' "second daughter''), sanjo (''rhird daughter''). etc. The last child of either girl'' sex is called suekko (lit. ·'end c hild" "youngest child''). • Todai is an abbreviation of Tokyo Daigaku (''University of Tokyo"), and Bun/ is an abbreviation of Bunka lchirui (X .fH~i. " Human Sciences 1"). The University of Tokyo is regarded as being at the very top of the higher-educarion hierachy in Japan and is the most difficuh uni versiry 10 get into. • gokaku is a noun that refers to meeting a ~tandard or passing an eligibiliry screen of some kind, and gokaku shira is the plain/abru pt past form of the verb giikaku s11ru . In the case of schools and colleges, it means to pass rhe enr rance exam and be accepted for admission. • yori fo llows the lesser item in a comparison: "more than [!he time when - I.'' • sii- is a prefix meaning ··several," and -bai is a counter suffix for multiple. , so siibai = ·•several rimes/several fold.'' Bai by itself alway means nibai ="two times/double'': sa11bai =''three times/triple,'' yonbai ="four times/quadruple.'' gobai =''five times," erc.
Mangajin 25
1JD Its i!lft (})
!.~
?~
T.
tJ'
t*
\.,\ *
fJ: (::.
1,)\ {-j: ? \.,\
t.:: ;t1. ~
c
{-j:
!~
~tp -
*1~1J t~~
I"J(])ft
7 t~ (J:. ;z (J:. c
(])~.;;... tp~El
~~t~
!tit T ;z
~
I
·~
l"i
1,)\ L) ~ ?
"L \., \
.
26 Mangajin
--
• Kaji Ryusuke
T.
no Gi
---
,._ # El Jk fJ: ") jj 73' ~ tf fi IJ:. T: # .fJ: '778jj'? 7-+f?.t.~ ;z I (]) L) ft l::. 11..- t T lJ:. \.,\ ~ iJ ?
t.:: 1.1( 1,)\
c
*
~(])l,tlli
:t 6 \.,\ t::. 1f: 1)~ 1)~ ? fdl ~ t.:: 1li 1,)\ 1::.
?
t.::
1,)\
'? t::.
Letter : ~1!~ 1? ,
r:£11-
~~
lj
:;(§:jfj
Naze nara. Rytlsuke wa chiJnan Haruhiko because
.J:IJ
1'-=> t
yori
zu/lo
lli*;O{~n'-=>f-: iJ'!? t.!.o
deki ga warukatra kara da.
(name) as for eldest son (name) more than much more
had poor results
because is
The reason is that Ryiisuke always djd much worse in school than m eldest son Haruhiko. (PL2) Eht -r: ~ '7 0) tJ .B n' L.."' n\ ;(J:'ff lj 7 -IT- Jt.- ~1-t 0) 61H.JL
Jibtm de
iu
oneself by
say (nom.) (emph.) odd
nu
mu okashii
ga, Haruhiko wa but
~ '//77:A 1.: "'t::. tstme ni toppu kurasu ni ita
'lin.:
always
top
class
Rasiiru
jidai no roku nenkon,
(name) as for (sch. name)
J§;t
t.!.-:>t::.o
shiisai
datta.
era
of
6 yr. per.
at existed bright/talented person was
Haruhiko was an excellent student if I do sa so m self-alwa s at the to of his class durin his six years at La Salle. (PL2) • 11aze nara (or naze 11araba) signals that the speaker or writer is about to offer an explanation of what he has just said. As in this case, it's usually echoed at the end of the clause or sentence with kara, node, or another explanatory fonn. It' s used mostly in written Japanese, and sounds a little stiff in colloquial speech. • deki refers to how well made something is or how good the results arc, and deki ga warukatta is the plain/abrupt past fonn of the expression deki ga warui (lit.. "the make/result is bad"); when speaking of students, the expression refers to "doing poorly/being a poor student." • jibun de iu no mo okasltii is literally " it is odd for me to say this myself": the expression is used like "if I do say so myself' when making a self-satisfied remark about something connected with oneself. • Rasiiru refers to Kagoshima La Salle-a prep school famous for its graduates' success at getting into the University of Tokyo. • shiisai refers to a person who outshines others in his class-though it may be as much from hard work as from native intelligence. In school. the key measure is top-notch grades-> "a good/excellent student.''
-tt-r.
1:~11Li C: riX.!.f, ttJ·'f:lf:. (J) tJi !j ~~m tJ Ippii . Ryil.ruke 1m to ieba. clu7gakusei no koro u·a benkyr1 1110 sezu. on the other hand (name) as for (quote) if 'ay jr. high o f period as for study even did not do
Letter : - )j ,
A ;f'- ·;; !! n• I) supiftsu bakari >ports
only
~ '..> '"C ~ ''"C,
mile ire.
IJ.liJ!'( seiseki
tJ 1J 7 A 0) r1• t'iU!to mo kura.w 110 chtl teido.
was ·doing/playing gnrdes too/also class
of
mid-level
On the o ther hand, if I speak of Ryusuke, when he was in junior high he didn't even study and did o nly sports, and his g rades were at the middle of the class. Ryiisuke~ on
the other hand, didn' t even studv when he was in ·unior high. He s pent all his time playing and his grades were only averag~ (PL2) Letter: i ~ t!' ~0,: 1.: LH 'iLl.:. t (j .rl'. -:> "( {> 1.-' ~ n' -:> t.:.o ~orts,
Masaka
TiJdai
hairertt
11i
tu
(cmph.) Tokyo Uni v. into could enter (quote)
wa omolle 1110 i11akatta. a' for didn'tthink-(emph.)
I never imagined he'd be able to get into the University of Tokyo. (PL2) • be11kw! se:u is eq ui valent to henkvi'i shi11aide ("without/instead of studying" or ''didn't study. and - "-from benk)YI .nu·u, ·'study"): inserting 1110 adds emphasis: "didn't even study and - ." • .wwe is the -re form of yam ("do." or when speaking of sports. "play''). and ire is the -re form of iru. wh ich makes the verb progressive ("is/was playing" ).
t
3~
1.: ~ -::>-c-t-o-::>t ·§l:~~
~5m
C:>L..$ tJO)
yallo juken be11kyiJ rashiki mono finall y exam
\,\ C {>
study
fitj.!jt l.:
like i:'~
c.
.re. -=>t-:1? ,
o lwjimeta to
ornollam,
~
tmb6t.:.
thing (obj.) began (quote) if/when thought
L.. "( L.. l -::> f.=o
giJkaku shire shimatta.
a senior in hi h Letter:
i!il;-? -71 7' Shiisai
de benkyii 110 mushi
good stud. is-and study
no
aniki
to
wa
waga ko nagara
zenzen
~O)f!.o
cltigau taipu na no da.
of bug/worm who is older bro. with as for my children although are completely different type
(explan.)
Compared to hi s older brother, who was an excelle nt student and a bookworm, though both are my childre n, he 's a completely different type.
Though they're both my own sons, he's a com letel different type from his older brother, who was such a good student and loved to study. (PL2) lf'.'.l'.m~
An{t'l.> o
Fushigi na
ki ga suru.
marvelous/amazing feels/seems
It's quite amazing to me. (PL2) • tokoro-ga is a conjunction that implies something is contrary to the expectations raised by what precedes it: "but/however/ nevertheless/on the contrary." • - rashiki mono= ''something like/akin to -"; the feeling here is that even when he started studying , he didn't really have to study all that hard. Ryusuke's middling grades disqualify him from being called shilsai, but his native intelligence is clearly above that of his older brother. • hajimeta is the plain/abrupt past form of hajimem ("begin"); a past verb followed by to omottara can idiomatically mean "as soon as [the action took place]." (cominued 01t11exr page)
Mangajin 27
JJO ;t:; ~ fr' (J) Ut • Kaji Ryusuke no Gi
28 Mangajin
@] (co11ti1111ed from previous page) • mushi means "bug/insect.'' and it's used much the way "worm" is used in "bookworm" to mean "one who loves to read books"; benkyu no mushi is literally ·'study worm''-+ "one who loves to study.'' • fushigi no= "wonderful/marvelous/mysterious/amazing/magical.'' and - ki go suru implies that's how he feels or that's how the silllation seems.
rr
Letter: ::..r!)
:A t;{ ¥ Kono .fwari ga s/u)mi these 2-pcoplc t-ubj.) in future
rm(7)11i
i"J'G(/')
c' -7 " ' -7 !u
~ ~~ b· n' ~J i"J' G ~·"' t;{. do;,, mil'lli o ayu11111 l.a u·akaranai ga. ~'hat kind of path (obj.)will wall,. C'!) don't know but
:r
.J
r:u IJ -ret.
!,!.7..
kodomo no /..oro J..ara 110 jiuari o mim J..ac:iri de 11 a. childhood from 2-pcoplc (obj.) ;ee/wmch hmit if it "
c
Letter: .(}~
IJ: 'f>;{f.~ $' 1' 7 '\." l:if: 11' li J11:ifl* $' 1 7' t!. .'J.I.-7 o Hamhiko u·a kam:w) taipu de Rytl.lul..e u·a seiji-ka taipu da w 0111011. (name ) a' for bureaucrat type i'o-and (name) a' for politician type is (quote ) think
I don' t know what pa ths these two will tread in the future, b ut from what I've seen of them d uring their childhoods I'd say_Haruhiko is the bureaucratic type while Rvlisuke will make a better litician. (PL2) • ll'akaranai i~ the negative form of 1mkam ("come to know"). A que>tion ending in ka followed by wakaranoi essentially makes an indirect question. " I don't know who/when/where/what kind of - ... • koro (or gom) typicall y refer> to an approximate point in time. but it can also refer to a general period of time: kodomo no koro ="the period when o ne was a child" • "one·s childhood." • - kagiri de u·a (lit. "if it i' within the limit of - ")after a verb mal-.e5 an idiomatic expression for "so far as one can tell/sa) from(doing the action(.'' ~£. (J) ~; ~ *11:'-''l" 1?-ttf.:'-''o Moshi wotashi no oto o tsuide kureru to shitaro dan~e11 Rytlsuke ni yorasetoi. if lime of tracks (obj.) follow-( for me) by far/decidedly (name) by want to have do If [one of them] is to follow in m footste s without uestion I would refer it to be Rylisuke. (PL2)
Letter: 'b L
Lette r: ~1t-
(7)
ft.§!IY:J
f,¥-=>
ttm
.t:> .t U
'kfT }J
.: -t- .: i"Li"J' I? (/')
Rytlsuke flO motsu guri-teki seil..oku oyobi jikkoryoku koso kore koro 110 (name) (subj.) holds/has rutional/pragmatic quality/character together with powers of execution (emph.) from now of
I::J*
(J)
if:5(ifi* l:c -:> 't
Nihon 110 seiji-ko ni tone Japan 's politicians to/for
?z<"'i"J' i?~·;., koku bekara:.aru
essentiallindispen~able
~~ '/;t(J)f!.o yiJso 110 110 da. elements/traits (explan.-is)
The pragmatic qualities Ryusuke has, together with his ability to get things done, are indispensable qualities for Japan's politicians from this time forward."
The pragm a tic, m an-of-action qualities that Ryiisuke has are precisely the quailties t hat will be essential in Japan's future oliticians. (PL2) • Ryiisuke no mot.m is a complete thought/sentence (''Ryiisuke has [it]") modifying gliri-teki seikoku (..pragmatic quali ty/ character'') as well as jikkoryoku ("power of execution/ability to get things done"). No substitutes for ga to mark Ryiisuke as the subject of motsu, as it often does in modifying clauses. • koso emphasizes what comes before it with the feeling of'·none other than that/that very thing [is - j." • kore kora is literally ·'from this,'' meaning "from this time forward"-+ ''from now (on)/(in)the future:· No makes it a modifier for Nilzon 110 seiji-ka (''Japan's politicians") -+ ''Japan's fu ture polit.icians.'' • kaku is a verb meaning ''lack/be wanting," and bekarazom is an archaic "must not'' form, now used mostly only in formal writing, so kaku bekorazaru ="must not be lacking" "is indispensable/essential." • kore karo no Nihon no seiji-ka ni totte kaku bekorazaru is a complete thought/sentence (''[they! are indispensable to Japan's future politician~") modifying yiiso ("elements/traits").
0
Yamamoto: 1JDifrlt:'i'.
li 201i'tilil.: -t--c-(..: i/?f.;:t.: Kaji-sensei u·a nijzlllell-llllll' ni .mde-ni mwta (name-title) "'for 20 yr'. ago already you
" Twe nty years
ag9~
(J) .: c t
-t-1
~- .z·ct.:iG ~tt.: (7)1."-to
kow o .l'tJ ka11xaete orareta 110 desu. about (obj.) that way ""' thinJ,.ing (e~plan.)
110
your fa the r was a lready thinking of you in this way." (PL4)
• - no ko/IJ i-, literally "thing' of/about - :·or \impl) "of/about - :· • kangaete orareta is the pa.,t form of kangaNe ora rem. a PL4 honorific equivalent of kangaete im ("i' thinking"). from kanguen1 ("think'').
Ka 'i :
~I? t:t i"J' -? t.:o
• shiranokoua is the plain/abrupt past form of shiru c·come to know").
Shiranakoua. didn't know
" I had no idea.'' (PL2)
0
Yamamoto: ~.£11'~/, ,
.:."iJ~IUr
1'-~" ' o
Rnlsuke-.wm. go-ket.wda11 kuda.wi. (name-hun.) (hon.)-dcci'oinn plea'e
" BY!lsuke, please make your d ecision." (PL-l) Yama moto: L.:~
X:t-. (7) jil.J::
:r
~l' "(
rl~
(7)
!~
(.: f'..<.ifi
(!)
ill
~ i~lv'\."Y~'-' <
Naki clticltiue 110 islti tJ 1.111ith• Ni/1011 110 tame ni seiji 110 miclti o erande kudasai. dccca;cd father ·,dying wi'h (OhJ.) carry onllollow-aml Japan ·, ,aJ-c for politic, of path (nbj.) pka'e choo'c ''Please follow your father·~ dying wi~h a nd. for the sake of Japan. choose the path of politics.'· (ctmtinued mr Ill' II page) Mangajin 29
hO 1/Hl: fi" Q) 111 • Kafl RyOsuke no Gi
.f f.L. h h 0) f;• t~· fli IJ It
.t it
T
~, t~
-r· t~
l
'-
lj:$t~
~il14
-:> l:t. 'L' "[~lj:
ii tt 1;1 L' L' ~ "(I: T ~
f!
,
30 Mangajin
0 (cominuedfrom pr~•·io111 fltlfll' )
" For the greater good of J apan, p lease follow your father's dying wish a nd choose the~ of politics." (PL3) • go-ket.wdnn k11da.~ai is a PL4 honorific equivalent of ket.wdan shite k11da.wi ("please decide"). from ket.wdan .wru ("decide"). The honorific prefix go- (oro-. depending on the word) plus the Mem of a verb plus kudasoi makes a PL4 honorific request. • noki is a modifying form of nak111wru ("die"). • t.mide is the-re form of ts11g11 ("carry on/follow [a wish I''). • eronde is the -re form of erab11 ("choose/-.elect"). and k11dasai after the · te form of a verb makes a relatively polite request.
Ka'i:
PL. ~t.¥=rdl Sukoshi jilwn a little
~ o
T~"' o kudasai.
time (obj.)please gi'e me
"Please give me a little time." " I 'll need some time to think it over." (PL3)
t "t:T
~~ c,,
Watashi 110 jinsei no koto desu
kara,
q) A~ q)::..
Ka 'i: ft.
's
1/me
life
about
.If
-r
ima koko de
is because/so now here
l'!DitlfT 7.> sokuda11 .wru
::..
t
li
kow wa
lfl*
ij: v'o dekinai.
at immediately decide thing as for cannot do
"This is about my life, so r cannot decide here and now." "This will a ffect the rest of m life so I can't make a sna decision right her e and now." (PL2-3) • sokudan refers to an "instant/immediate/on-the-spot decision,'' and sokuda11 suru is its verb form. • koro wa d~kinai after the plain. non-pa-.t form of a verb makes a negative potential ("cannot'') form of the verb.
0
Ya m am oto: tJ~d) i L..t.:
f.!.
(t;;(.t.:~' ::..
q)
Wtt/..arimashita. Watasfti 110 undeNood
lime
t
t.\11/aetai kmo
I± -fit t!lt
-r-.J
u·a sore dake desu.
(\ubj.) \\Jntlo tell th1ng a' for that
onl)
"
''I understand. What I wanted to tell you is only that." "Cer tainly. That's a ll I wanted to say to )'!>u." (PL3) • wokarimashiw i~ the PL3 past form of 1mkam, "come to know/underswnd." The word is often used to show acceptance of what the other person has said/a~ked: "yes/OK/cenainly/that' II be fine." • r.wraerai is the "want to" form of t.111Wem ("tell/convey information ito I"): u·auH!ti no rswaetai is a complete thought/ modifying kmo ("thing''). sentence ("! want to convey lit
n
Sound FX: tJ '/ Ka
::1 ·')
tJ
7
kko kka
Click click click (sound of heels clicking against floor)
8]
Yamamoto:
~•
of jL ~· I? .. .
A.
wrekara .. .
(interj.)
and
"Oh, a nd one other thing ..." • a is an interjection used when suddenly noticing or remembering something.
Ka ii: li"'? Hai? ye~
" Yes?" (PL3) (!] Yama moto:
.lf;i~{·
~~{.;,
.!rill
l;t
~tll•(:~~-:>'t'H~'-r
fttl'
riibt11hin
nagara.
slti11pe11
u·a
kirei ni IW.mlle oite
J..udami.
make clean-(ahcad)
plca,c
grandmmherly although it i'> pcl">onal afla1r' J' fur
"Although it is grandmotherly of me Ito <,ay this]. please tidy up your personal affairs." "This may sound overly solicitous, but please make sure your personal affairs a re in good order." (PL4) ~·1 ~~
q)
t.: ¢>
-r-9
Sltiirai
110 tame
desu.
for the good/benefit of
j,
future
"For the good of your future." " It will be for your own good in the future." (PL3) • • • •
•
riiba~ltin i~ written with kanji meaning "the heart of a grandmother:· -" and ~hOI\ ing exce,.,ive ~olicitude. nagara i-. often used to link two action-. that occur simultaneous!). but it can al'o be used to mean ··although" or "although iti'> - ... kirei 11i i' an ad,erb form of J..irei 1111 ("beautiful/clean"). and nasalle i-. the-re form of nmaru. a PIA honorific equivalent of Sl/1'11 ("do/make"): kirei ni 11a.w ru /..il't' i ni .\111'11 "makel somethingl cle<~n" • " tidy [something I up." oite is the -re form of oku. which after the -1e form of a verb implies the action i~ done now/ahead o f time in preparation for 'ome future need. and kttda.wi after the -1e form of a verb makes a polite request. so kirei ni nasol/e oite kuda.wi altogether becomes "please go ahead ant! tidy l ~omethinglup now." no Wille often means "for the purpose but here it means "for the good/benefit of."
=
=
or:·
Mangajin 31
!JO ;-a IIi 11' (J) ~ft • Kaji Ryusuke no Gi
32 Mangajin
~liD Gii11
Narration: 1/
~fifi Kaikan
of Rep~. representative hall/building
House of Representatives Office Building • Slulgiin ("'House of Representatives") refers to the lower house of Japan's legislature, the national Diet. The Shtlgiin has 512 members elected to 4-year terms-except that the House may be dissolved for a new election before the full term is up. Though the Diet also has an upper house (Sangiin, "the House of Councillors"'). it is the Slulgiin that predominates in selecting the prime minister as well as in legislation and budget. • JIUl giin basically means "assembly member."' so it is used for both representatives and councillors (with the appropriate modifier when necessary), as well as for legislators at other levels of government.
Narratio_!l: 1~ i=.fif[l)t: Minshu Seilm-tiJ
'i!'f-"1>1~ kanjil"lui.
(party name)-pany
~ecrewry-general
f.JI.fl!. Stt~uka
·~; Hiroshi
hurname)(givcn name)
Suzuka Hiroshi Secretary-General of the Democratic Harmonv Party • Mimlw Seiwa-rri is a fictitious political pany modeled on the Jiyt7 Milt fhu-til (fi Ill!( t·Q. ··Liberal Democratic Pany""). Luer in the story. the party name i~ abbreviated Minsei-ui . taking its fir~! and third kanji. just a~ Jiyfi Minshu-tiJ is more commonly known as Jimill-t(i. • in '>Ome p;mie~ the ~ecretary-general i., called ,·Jwkicho instead of kanjidtii.
[}] cbiefofStaff: j~JA!::St:1=.. Suzuka-sensei, (name-title.)
7J.1J fJ Amerika
I:~T-:>"llr'f.: ni
America/USA to
~:lji:;g
f.J{hth"l ~i Lt.:o
iue ita
Morimoto-ku11
ga kaeue kimashita.
had gone
(name-fam.)
(subj.)
came home
"Sir Morimoto has returned from his trip to America." (PL3) • Japanese speakers often address their superiors by name plus title when an English speaker would say "Mr./Ms. -" or simply "sir/ma"am." • iue ita ("had gone") is the plain/abrupt past form of itte iru ("has gone"). from iku ("go"). • Amerika ni itte ita is a complete thought/sentence ("[he] had gone to America"') modifying Morimoto-kun. • -ktm is a more familiar equivalent of -san ("Mr./Ms." ). used mainly with male peers or subordinates. • kaette is the -te form of kaeru (''go/come home"), and kimashita is the PL3 past form of kuru ("come"), which clarifies that the meaning is ··come home" instead of ·•go home."
Suzuka: H -j ! [}I
D·f'A. "('
Yo11de kure.
(cxd:Jm.) ca ll-( rcquest)
"'All right! Call him in."
"All r!g!Jt! Ha ve him come in." (PL2) • iJ i.., an exclamat ion of approval/delight.
• yo11de is the-re form of yobu (""call/summon"). and kure after the-re form o f a verb makes a relntively abrupt request or gentle command.
Mangajin 33
1JO ;t;
IIi 11'" U'> Ui •
KaJi Ryusuke no G1
~ * r"l.'
~~W:A..: ! -?~A, -tt-rtf:1~
l.,;>i.'/~
0
A-{>*1: -c- ~nl
c.
(..,
t:.
'/);
~ ~,,
t
A-
t:.'
: 50.:
:]Jtt ~· Jv
1
il
fp '/){
~
Ji'
iJ.;
t:.
~
c·
7'
t::: 1.-
'? ~)J 0) ~ ~ ~-· 7
'? '0 :..-
"t:'
"/)> '/ :!1 L(,~~
J:
?
iTA IWll'
"'C" O)
T .t
34 Mangajin
*.:
~ rA, ~M.?..tt
7
I;!
~~
twx
/0)$
T
~
(.., c .t
t:.
-c:·
§ 0) ;x. lr.J?~· t:.' -tt 15 7'
t:. A-
()
l.i 1:
-r-t-rtJ
*gi 0)
'/);
[!]
Morimoto:
~,,~;J;, ~~ ·~ +~
~-t
.t o
~:$'~
lyii,
desu
yo.
Angai
batchishi
-tA-t.t~c
~L"L
sunnari to watashite kurenwshita.
piece of cake is/was (emph.) unexpectedly/~urprisingly smoothly/easily
(interj.)
handed/gave to me
''Man, it was a piece of cake. They gave it to me with less fuss than I ex~" (PL3) c li .f!!I, -=> "L'Lh-1-ttA-~Lt..: -IJ{ .. . Morimoto: .:A-~1: Mllit: .Af.IJ',-* J.> Komw·ni kantan ni ll)'iishu dekim Lhis much
" I never
to
wa omoue mo mimase11 deshita ga .. .
easily couid obtain/acquire (quote) as for did not even 1ry thinking imagined it would be so easy t~et bold of.. bu.L....,__," (PL3)
but
• iyii is an interjection that gives exclamatory e mphasis when expressing delight/pleasure. • batchishi is a variant of bcuchiri. a colloquialism meaning that something is or turned out "just right/exactly as desired/a complete success," often with the additional feeling of ·•a cinch/piece of cake." • swmari (with or without a following to) is an adverb meaning "easily/smoothly/without resistance." • watashite is the -te form of watasu ("hand over/deliver/give"). and kuremashita is the PL3 past form of kureru, which after the -te form of a verb implies the action was done to or for the speaker or subject. • nyiishu dekiru is the potential ("can/be able to'') form of nyiishu sum ("obtain/acquire"). • omotte is the -te fom1 of omou (''think''), and mimasen deshita is the PL3 past form of minai, negative of miru ("see"). Mim after the -te form of a verb implies " try [doing the action]" or "[do the action) and see," and inserting nw between -te and miru adds emphasis: omoue mo mimase11 deshita =''did not even try thinking"-+ "never imagined/dreamed." To marks komw-ni ka111a11ni nyiishu dekiru as the specific content of what he never imagined.
Morimoto: .: it
-/)t
)d'd~
(J)
i:i~
kore
{:ll
Okubo Monbu Daijin 110 mmulai lwtsugen no
k~i\A:I~
tiichii
1£cci·
llll:m
(J)
7---t'~ T o
tepu
desu.
this ('ubj.) (name) Min. of E<.lucation ·, problematic Matement of '' iretapping tape
i~
"This is the wiretap tape of Education Minister Okubo's gaffe." (PL3) Sound FX: ::r 1- ·J Koto.'
(light "lap" of selling cas!.elle tape on de~k) • Monb11.1hii ="Ministry of Education" (equivalent to the US Department of Education). and Monbu Daijin refers to its top official. " Minister of Education" (equivalent to the US Secretary of Education). • tiJchii is written with kanji meaning "steal"' and " listen·· and ca n refer to direct eavesdroppi ng as well as to bugging/ wiretapping: it> verb form is tiicltli sum. • earlier in the ~tory. Mini~tcr Okubo made a private remark about agricultural goods in the US being cheap because sla\'ery i~ Mill practiced there in the South.
Suzuka: .: h I $ Kore ikko
-/){ SOli t-· Jv n'o ga gojiiman-doru ka.
l-item (~ubj.)
this
'/i:lt'
b
A,
t.!
t.t o
Yasui
111011
da
na.
{?) cheap/inexpensive Lhing
$500,000
i$ (colloq.)
"This one item was $500,000, was it? It's an inexpensive thing, isn' t it?" "So this one tape cost $500 000 did it? I'd caU that a bargain." (PL2) • ka literally makes it a question ("Is this one item $500.000?"). but the question form is often used rhetorically when observing/confirming something for oneself. with the feeling of "So this is -, is it?/I guess/it seems." • yasui mon do (lit. "it is a cheap thing") is an idiomatic expression for "what a bargain!"
Morimoto: 7' v
.A •
7 1- 7 /
Pure.\'11 Atora/1/a
$' ~ k "C (!)(;!: lUI/Ill!
(ne'' '>paper name)
t.J-3.(1) Jtl! ) j (J) =to·; .:f
~T
J: o
110 \I'll tada 1111 cltihii 110 gorm.m ki shi11b1111 de.w
yo.
a, lor
a mere
reg 1onal
~I*!
rJckctccr newspaper
i\ (emph.)
" Press Atlanta is nothing but a hicktown racketeer newspaper." (PL3) Morimoto: ~X':·~ c· ·) -tt fJJ ~ ~; n' ~ '1:: -IJ' I I n~ 1! '.> !.:. 1-v ~ L J; -? o Yat.l'll· ra
drise
lwjime kkara kane
tho'e gu)' any"ay the .,tan
;.:a mokmeki daua
from money ('uhj.J
was aim
11
deslui.
(cxplan.) probably
"It's probably that from the beginning money was their aim anyway." "They were probably just after the money from the start." (PL3) •
• • • • • •
b a colloquial mulo ("
Mangajin 35
1.JD ifi IIi 1'1- q')
Ui • Kaji
RyOsul
::Jt~M /.1 -\"~ 1: 1;{ A~ ~fij-X;lj 1.> '? -! ~
t
t:. ;,-
~
36 Mangajin
Morimoto: .::? -1?
-/){ 'N h lj: ~ "\"' A;;fk (}) ? .7.. ::1 ~ 1.: VIET ga kawana/.:ya Nihon no masukomi ni ll£tgasu
Kotchi
this sidc/wc(subj.) if didn"t buy Japan
·s mass media to
Koitsu
o
osaeta
t.=? t~ I? L v'o
tokoro
dana rashii.
leak place/situation was apparently
a anese media if we didn' t bu it." (PL2) li );: ~ \..' -c'T P o
.: c
i-
Morimoto: .: P'?
c.: J.,
wa
lwto
okii
this o ne/thing (obj.) took comroVpossession of thing/s ituation as for
desu
is
ne.
big (colloq.)
"That we took possession of this thing is big."
"Gettinz__our han
Suzuka:
kotchi ("this side/direction") is often used for referring to oneself or one's own group: ·'llwe:' kawanakya is a contraction of kawanakereba ("if l we] don't/didn't buy [it]"; tense is determ ined at the end of the clause.) tokoro dalla is the plain/abrupt past form of tokoro da. which after a verb can mean ''be about to [do the action)." osaeta is the plain/abrupt past form of osaem ("'hold down/control'" or '"take into custody/possession"). A~"'
f(tf.b '2
lj: o
t.Jt -c'"l.ilj:<"C, Jli:iJ{
(})fj)
ir~il!!.i.'<
(.: c?"C
Min~ei-tii 110 tame dake de H"(lllak/lle. 11"(180 Seichikai 11i tolle is big (colloq.) \party nam~ ) for ;ake/good of only is not-and our (faction name) for
Okii
na.
Ji"ii\"1.:
'b
}(~l,' o
11w hijr7 11i iikii. abo exceedingly is big
"It's big_al! right. N9t only for the Democratic Hl!_rmony Party_, but for our own Seichikai faction as well-very big." (PL2) • no tame = ··for the ~akc/gooklbenefit or:· and dake de 11·a nakute is a conlinuing form of dake de u·a 11ai (""i t is not only - ··) --+ ~ no tmne dake de >~·a nakllle = ··not only for the good of - . but .. :·
[I] Chief of Staff: t
j;j·v' i-tt?
• iimasu is the PL3 form of iu ('"say''), and to after a non-past verb can make a conditional (''if/when") meaning. To iu to or to iimasu to as a response to what the other person has said essentially asks for further elaborationlclarificaLion.
iimasu to?
To
(quote) iflwhen you say
" In what wayZ" (PL3) Suzuka: .: v , ~..> Koit.m
WHJ
t
(})
o Hatomura
th is thing (obj.) (name)
~-
·;; +J- :.-
110
o.vsm1
who i'
unde
!.: k -tt~Lli ni misereha to
t€H~
iJ'
Wf.!IX
~
siijislwku
ka
kaisan
o
~~f~lj:
< ~ hJ., o
_mginaku sareru.
if show general resignation or di,solut ion lobj.) will have no choice bm to do
" If we show this to old man Hatomura, theyJI either have to resign en masse or dissolve the House." (PL2) Wfll'X - ~:i1!1'"1~ 1: J111.J1~ -r;., i;J:"f t.!.o Suzuka: ' 11t!.~, Tr1~en.
kaisan
sr)senkm
o semak11 .1111"11
of cour~e/nawrally db,olution general e lecti on (obj.)
e lect
hn:u
da.
expectation i'
we can expect them to choose to dissolve the House and hold a general election." (PL2)
"N aturally~
• ussan is a somewhat d isre,pectful way to refer to middle-aged and older men. It's a contraction of oji.mn. • misereba is a conditional (..if/when.. ) form of miseru (""show..). • .w1- is a prefix that implies everyone/everything/the totality is included in the event/action/item. andjislwku means ··resignation from job/office:· .'-O .w7jishoku refers to all of the members of a given group (presumably the cabinet in thi s case) resigning at the same time, and sr7.wmho refers to all of the seats in the House being contested at the same time. • yogi naku .mreru implies being forced to do something: ··be obliged to do/have no choice but to do:· • lla:u is a noun referring to .. normal expectations ..- the action someone o;hould/ought to/will most likely take.
Suzuka: MJIX Kaisan
II#Wl
(!)
jiki
110
kyasu~ingu
dissolution time of
Suzuka:
iJ{
fit? t..:
.:. t
1.: ~;., o
bodo wa wareware ga
mglfla
koto
ni naru.
:f -t .A 7 1 / 7" f.castong
~·
l.i
vote as for
~it:-'< we
(subj.) have grasped situation will become
"When that dissolution takes lace, we will hold the swing votes." (PL2) ":]t;!v"fit.!i A i- l!Ji]-9" t.!.o .!t(})? i? 1.: l\tiJ{ i!RfiJJ (}) {i:~t
l.i
"Sakin<.ureba
wa
if precede
hito
o
seisu" da. lma 110 uchi ni waga lwbatsu
people/others (obj.) control
~it
~~~IK
"'-
:lf!Ht!
zen"in
senkyo-ku
e
kaese!
is
immediately
our
faction
110
daigishi
of House members as for
all members electoral district to return/send back
" It's ' He who goes first controls others.' Send all House members in our faction home to their e lectoral districts immediately!"
" As they say, 'First to move takes control.' Send all our faction members back to their home districts immediately!" (PL2) • kyasutingu bodo (or more properly kyasutingu bOlo) is from the English '"casting vote"-the deciding vote that the presiding officer casts to break a tie. In Japanese, the term is also used to refer to the votes a small faction holds that can swing the tally one way or the other--+ '"swing vote.'" • sakinzureba is a conditional ("if/when") form of sakinzum (more comonly sakinjiru, "go ahead of [someonej"); seisu is an archaic form of seisuru ("suppress/control/dominate"). • daigishi usually refers only to members of the House of Representatives, not of the House o f Councillors. • kaese is the abrupt command form of kaesu ("return [something/someone]" or " take/send [someone/something] back.'"
Morimoto:
~n'r
IJ i Lt..: !
Wakarimaslrira-' understood
" Yes sir!" (PL3) Mangajin 37
Ishii Hisaichi Senshfi
SELECTED WORKS of ISHII HISAICHI
The lighter side of ninja This issue's Ishii Hisaichi manga selecti ons are taken from volume 27 of his "Action Com ics Donuts Books" (subtitled ··Jshii Hisaichi Senslu7." which is what we call it in Man~ajin ). Many of the strips in this volume have to do with Japan's famed ninja warriors. Ninja ({!. .(';·) are the fabled practitioners of ninjutsu (!c!.fi!:i), the art of stealth. (The "'nin" in these words-!.!.-is the same kanji used in shinobu. " hide/lie hidden.") Employed by ri val warlords in times of strife. the ninja specialiLed in spying, sabotage, and assassinations. Their training was intense-to avoid capture a ninja had to be both devious and physically fit. Different schools of ninjutsu developed over time, each with special tricks and gadgets used for escape or to avoid detection. One famous ninja technique was the suiton no jutsu. by which a spy could secretly cross a moat by subme rging himself completely in the water. breathing through a pipe. The warrior shown below is using a typical ninja tool, the s flllkiJkagi, which was used for climbing walls. (Getting stepped on the head, however. was not a form of ninjutsu. )
.&:
~ -
c
].:; "0
Ninja warriors came from ninja fami lies. found especially in the remote areas of Iga (now ca lled Mie) and Koga (now Shiga). The secrets of the art were taught from an early age and passed down over generations. Clad in black and working at night, real ninja were so skillful and mysterious that many Japanese believed the re was magic involved in their feats.
38 Mangajin
.~ ~ c. "
z
u:: 'l3
'~
----~~--~--T-----------~~
NinjaA: -)-:;~-)-:;~, ~;1. U!
u!,
(groans)
" Ur
t!.o ::t v t
dnme
da.
no good
is
Ore
-$t ':ff't'J! saki ni ike!
ltf'v>-'(
o
oite
me (obj.) leave-and ahead to
go
! ur h! It's no use. Go on a head without me." (PL2)
• dame (da/desu) is often used as a prohibition. but it can also be used like this to mean a desired end cannot be achieved: " I can't do it/it's no use/it won't work/etc." • ore is a rough, masculine word for "[/me." • aile is the-re form of oku ("set/leave in a place"), and ike is the abrupt command form of iku ("go''); oite iku means " leave [something/someone] and go"-> "leave behind/go on without." • saki ni iku ="proceed tirstlgo on ahead."
i- 1-v ld: .: c
Ninja B: X. ·:~ ? £?!
Somw
*-It
\."
~ !v, ,f:JHift ~ io koro dekimasen. kumigashira-sama.
huh?/what? that kind of thing
cannot do
band/squad head/ch ief-(hon.)
" What'? I can..:! do that commander." (PL3) Ninja A: v'v' iJ'G . /lt:'v'"C H< 1-vt! ·'l ! li
kara.
oire
iku
11
da!
is fine/OK because/so leave-and go (explan.)
''It's OK, leave behind and go!'' " It's O__K,_go on a head!" (PL2) • wa. to mark sonna koto as the topic. has been omiued. as it ofte n is in colloquial speech. • dekimasen is the PL3 negative form of dekiru ("can do"). • kwni refers to an organi zed group of some kind (here the "company/troop/band" of ninja) and -ga.l'hira is from kashira ("head/chief/leader"). so for a paramilitary group like a band of nil(ja. kumigashira is like "commander... • ii kara (literally ''because it's OK/ftne") is an expression for "that's OK/never mind." • following a pla in, non-past verb with n da can serve as an abrupt command.
NinjaB: i-lvld:-! :bt.:L. Sanna!
(J) #~
:t'
&.'v'"C {'fltt!.t:t.lv-ro
Watashi no bento o
that kind of
Ume
oire
ike da. na.nte.
·s lunch (obj.) leave-and go
(quote)
"That's too much-telling me to go on ahead without my lunch." (PL3 implied) NiniaA: ; '\'}] "Vo o f~ t;~ mJ;Itf.t.'v' iJ'G ::tv t ii~'-c :% I:{Ttt Baka yaro. Kizu ga fukakure ugokenai kara ore o oite mki ni ike to
i*<-c
c
idiot/fool guy wound (subj.) deep-(cause) can't move because/so me (obj.) leave-and ahead to
F-h-r ~
irteru
lvt!!! 11
go (quote) am saying
daft
(e~plan.)
"Idiot. I'm saying leave me behind and go on ahead because I can't move because my wound is deep." " Idiot! I'm telling you to go on ahead without me because I'm hurt too badl to o on." (PL2) • sonna (lit. "that kind of'') can be used by itself as a generic exclamation of dismay/shock/protest. • da nallle is a colloquial quotative form that implies the s ituation is "unbelievable/unthinkable/out of the question.'' • the twist in this panel depends on the fact that the direct object does not have to be specified in Japanese-which allows the hungry Ninja B to hear Ninja A saying "leave it behind/go on without it'' (it= lunch), instead of the intended " leave me behind/go on without me" in frame 2. • baka yaro is a shortened bakLl yarif (lit. " fool/idiot''+ "guy/fellow"), most typically directed at another person to mean "you fool/idiot/blockhead/etc.'' · • fukakute is the -te form ofJukai ("deep"): the -te form is being used to indicate the cause of what follows. • ugokenai is the negative form of ugokeru ("can move"), potential form of ugoku ("move"). • 1o marks ore o oite saki ni ike (''go on ahead without me'') as a quote-in this case, a self-q uote. • iueru is a contraction of iue iru ("am saying''), from iu ("say"). • n da shows he's making an explanation.
NinjaB:
i-~tt.'t'
11~·~~
'b
ftr
.t
~;). o
Sore ja
bemo
1110
wberaremasen
ro
ne.
in that case/then lunch also
" I hen NinjaA :
.:~'"?
y!)u~_!ln ' t~at
Koirsu
IJ: -;; ! u:a!
this guy
as for
can't eat
'b G-:>"C-:> S't'i:> o Moratletc!uw.
(e tnph.)(colloq. ) sh<~ll receive-and-go
ygur lunch either, can you? I ' ll just take them both." (PL3; PL2)
" You S.O.B.!" (PL I) • sore means ''that:· and ja is a contraction of de 1ra ("if it is..). so sore ja is li terall y '' if it is that/if that is the case"-> "then." • raberaremasen is the PL3 negati ve form of raberareru ("can eat"). potential fom1 of wberu ("eat''). • morattetchao is a contractio n of moratte iue shimaiJ. the-re forms of momu ("receive/take/obtain") and iku ("go") plus the volitional ("let' s/1 shall/lthink I'll'') form of shimau ("end/finish/put away..). Moratre iku = ..receive/take and go:· or simply "take"; the volitional shimaiJ after the -te form of a verb often carries the feeling that the speaker intends to do the action even thou gh it may be problematic in some way. • koitsu is a contraction of kono Yatstt ("this guy/fellow/thing"). a rough way of re ferring to another person. but when aimed directly at the listener in a contentious situation it becomes "you jerk/twit/S.O.B ... (or worse).
Mangajin 39
Zuibun
dekai
yatsu
da
na.
considerably large/huge guy/fellow is (colloq.)
I s hii Hisa i chi Se n sh fi
" He's an awfull)' big_gtJy, isn't he?" (PL2) EIIL? "( I!.O'' (!) 1±$ IJ' -r:· ~ i v'o
SELECTED WORKS of ISHII HISAICHI
Medaue
shinobi no shigoto ga dekimai. work (subj.) surely can't do
stands out-(cause) undercover
''I'd think he' d stand out too much to do undercover work." (PL2) • • • •
zuibun is an adverb meaning ·•quite/very much/considerably." dekai is an informal word for ' 'big/huge." yatsu is an informal/slang word for "fellow/guy." medaue is the -te form of medarsu ("stands out"); the -te form is being used to indicate the cause of what follows. • dekimai is equivalent to the conjectural dekinai daro/desho; dekinai is the negative form of dekiru ("can do''), do dekimai ="surely/probably can' t do."
Hiro
no
shinri
1111 millen
10
people of psychology of blindspot
shire. as
amari too much
.k §; ~'!::: IJ' X.? -r '..
!.!.i.l":,
o~t'i
t{';.k
.c.-,i1I
~ft
(!)
wr -r:--t o
lga 11i11pll, shimhiJ bndai henka 110 jursu desu. (name) ninja method impre,sion exagg transform(mod.)tech. is
" It's the lga School ninja techniq_ue of transformation by_exaggerated impression." (PL3) Sound FX: (!) L (f) L (!) L (!) L (!) L Noshi 110shi noshi 11oshi 11oshi
Thud thud thud thud thud (sound of heavy footsteps) • ro afler the plain form of an adjective makes a conditional "if it is
~ ... kaelle introduces clauses that express something con trary to what you would normal ly expect in the situation. ki ga rsukanu = ki ga lsllkanni. the negative form of ki ga rsuku (''notice"). .(..,;JE (shi11shii) is a pun on H'J': silinsltr"i biidai with the latter kanji is an expression for ·'exaggeration" (it literall y means "make a need le/pin as big as a stick/pole"). The pun is strained. making it hard to pin down a literal meaning for it. but with the kanji used here shinslul brldai henkameans something like "transformation by/of exaggerated imprcs~ion." • ninja techniques typically have name;, (often ve ry grandiose and wordy) that end in no jw.w (lit.. "the technique of - ").
Sound FX:
(!)
L
(!)
L
(f)
L
(!)
L
Noshi noshi noshi twshi
G uard:
~0,
A!.
:::17.
i "t" !
kora.
mate!
Thud thud thud thud
(interj.) (interj.) wait/stop
"Hey, hold it! HaJt!" (PL 1-2) kora! is an interjection for stopping someone who' s about to do something he/she shouldn 't: "Hey!/Stop that!/Hold it right there!" • mate is the abrupt command form of matsu (''wait''); when spoken sharply it's like ·'stop!lhalt!''
Ninja: t:i: !v Nan what
G uard:
~'X., /e.
t!~ ''
d£1? i;,
" Whadda ya' want?" (PL2) )JIH.: ileTSII-11i.
(intcrj.) [1101) in partintlar
''Er, nothing in particu lar.''
"Er never mind." (PL2) • bersu-ni combines with a negative later in the sentence to mean "not particularly ." Here. ber.w-ni by itself implies a negative ending to the sentence. something like bel.w-ni nni. 40 Mangajin
Nin 'a A: i$!{ Teki
Ishii Hisaichi Senshfi
SELECTED WORKS of ISHII HISAICHI
wa
nw111in
daro?
e nemy as for how many people I wonder
"As for the enemy, I wonder how many men they are?"
"1. wonder how man men the enem has." (PL2) Nin'aB: 2A "t"lt?1J'? 3A 1J'tj:? Futari
desho ka?
Sannin
ka na ?
2 people could it be three people could it be
"Could it be two men ? Ma be three?" (PL3; PL2) • the standard counter suffix for people is -nin. but the first two are irregular: "I person"= hitori, and "2 people" =.fu tari. Nann in is the associated question word: ''how many people." • daro he re is equivalent to daro ka, which after a question word asks " I wonder who/what/how/how many/etc." • desha ka is the PL3 form of daro ka. but since there's not a question word in this case it's like " I wonder if it is - ?/is it perhaps - /could it be - ?" • ka 1za also asks a conjectural question, " I wonder if it is -?/is it perhaps - /could it be - ?"
NinjaA: J: l ,
::..rn
'fl';bi
Yoshi.
knno
bema o .. .
~. ..
good/all right this/these lunches (obj.)
" All right. I 'll ta ke these lunches and . •." • yoshi (or riishi) is an interjectory form of iilyoi ("good/oka)' ''). often used when declaring that one has decided to, or is about to, do some particular acrion. • kono can be eirher "this" or "these." It's only used as a mod ifier: the sland-alone word for " this/rhese·· is kure.
Nin'aA:
.Zit''Y o
Ei! (interj.)
"There!" ei! is an interjection that is shouted when th rusting/swinging/striking/ throwing something at a person or thing.
Enemy: h! Wa'
Yaro!
Koirsu!
Teme!
(cxclam.) guy/fel low this guy
you
" Yikes! You jerk! You twit! You S.O.B.!" (PL I) lJ r. t.:..' tj: o Ninja A: 3A San11in IJO da 11a. 3 people or more is (colloq.)
" At least three, iU!eems." (PL2) Ninja B: -r'b , t..:l-'lt..: J./;{ - "t"!;l:tj:v' J:?-r· -ro Demo. but
wishita
me11bii
particularly great members
de wa 11ai
\'
i' not
appears that
"But it appears that it's not a very elite me mbership."
" But apparent! not a very high caliber of people." (PL3) • yaro is an informal word for "guy/fellow." but in a comenri ous silllalion il can mean "you jerk/you S.O.B." (or worse). • similarly. kvi1su is a conlracrion of ko11o yarsu ("this guy/fellow/thing"), an informal way of referring to anothe r person. but when aimed direclly at lhe liste ner in a conlentious situari on il becomes "you jerk/twit/idiot'' (or worse). • temi! is a slurred Temae ("you''). Though Temae can be a fairly pol ire "you." I he slurred fem e is very informal or even rough. and in contentious si tuarions, il. 100. becomes " you j erk/twit/S.O.B.'' • ~ da 11a makes a conjecture: ''it's ~ . il seems/) guess.'' • in srrictusage. (iii af1er a number or quant ity means "I thai number/ amount! or more'': more loosely. it often means ··more !han [that number/ amounlj" (i.e.. nol inc luding lhe slated number/amount). • m e11hii is from I he English "member:· • y(} da/desu means "it seems/appears (!hal).''
Mangajin 41
---J~ Obatarian by
:tr.il83 1J1 -::> V Z:. I
Hotta Katsuhiko
What's an "Obatarian?"
The name Obatarian was coined from two words: obasan ( ;f.H.f ~ lv ), literall y ··aunt."' but used all a generic term for middle-aged or adult women; and hatarian ( 1\ '7 1) 7 / ). from the Japanese title of the 1985 American horror movie Rewm of the Living Dead-a reference to the ''battalions'' of zombies in the film. The word, now firmly ensconced in the Japanese language thanh to this popular rnanga, is used to refer to a type of middleaged woman who strike), terror into the heam of people around her. or at lea~t raises a few eyebrows. After years o f managing husbands. children. and household budgets, "Obatarians" ),eem to be using the authority o f their middle years to focus at la!>t on them!>elves. without regard to the !>OCial norm!> dictated for women in Japnn .
c
-r-::>
.f!li.fi ~ 0 Jlll !{)( -? -c .. Chigau shurui o hitosara zwsu lOtte . .. different kind/type (obj.) one plate each take-and
Narration: 1? t:PJ
To take one late each of two different items and . . . • hito- ="one,'' and -sara is the counter suffix for ·'plates.'' • wtte is the -reform of tom ("take"); here and below, the -te form is being used like ''and" to link events in a chronological sequence: ''take lone plate eachj and .. :·
Narration: 0
t '?
i''? ft.-..z·r. ..
hitOI.\11 :ur.w tabete . .. one ucm/piece each eat-and
eat one piece each and ... • hitotsu is a generic counter for "one item/piece"; it can be used for almost any inanimate object if one doe), not know a more specific counter. • wbete i~ the -te form of taberu ("eat").
12]
Narration: ~;It t)
~ 0 t-:::> ~= i
c.J6-c .. .
nokori o hitotsu ni matomete .. . remainder (obj.) one into combine-and
combine the remainin
ieces onto one
• nokori is a noun form of nokoru ("[something] remains/is left"). • matomete is the -te form of matomeru ("bring/put together/combine''); hitotsu ni matomem =··combine into one."
Narration:
r~-9 -;t;\?' 1}7/ ijf[ Jnl+ii'L (f) t:t.-..zJio modo,\// Obataria11 -r\'17 kaite11-:ushi 110 wbe-kata. return Obatarian -style rcvoh ing ~u,hi for ea1ing mel hod
put it back- this is Obatarian 's system for eating revolv in~ushi .
• the verb modosu ("return/put back jto its former placej") here is the end of a complete sentence modifier that began in frame I: "(shej takes one plate each of two different item'> and eats one each and combines theremainder into one and returns I itj." This complex sentence is o ne of three modifiers that ultimately modify tabe-kaw ("eating method''). • -rytl i' a !>uffix for indicating a "school/style/,ystem" of doing something, !>O obawrian-ryt7 ="the Obatarian style/,yMem'' or "Obatarian's Myle/ 'ystem." • kaite11-:ushi (lit., "revolving su,hi' ') refers to inexpensive sushi served on plates that circle on a conveyor belt in front of the customers for their selection. Some shop' price all plates the same but vary the quantity on each plate depending on the expense of the toppings/ingredients; others use color-coded plates to establish higher prices for prem;u,, Items. • 110 make, kaiten-:usili into a mndifier for tabe-kata: "revolving . ushi eating method" • "method for eating revolvi ng ~ushi.'' In turn. Obararian-rytl modi fie' thi' combination to give "the Obatarian-style method for eating revolving 'ushi." Finally the long sentence modifier. which started in frame I, modifies that who le combination: "the Obatarian method/system for eating revolving sushi in which ~he takes one plate each of two different items and etc." The entire "~entence" in Japanese is actually only an e laboratel y modified noun. not a grammatically complete sentence.
42 Mangajin
~~hf!J
OJ Narration:
by
fJ.t EE fJ
17)
~
(±
:J;;:AAf
IT/ 7J ~ i" 7.l o
no otTo
wa
fiifu
-genka
obatarian
's husband as for husband & wife fight/spat (obj.) do/have
o
suru.
Obatarian's husband fi hts with his wife. (PL2) Co-worker : x~ IT/ tJ -c'"T11' ?
Obatarian 1
:t; ~ 7' 1) 7 / Obatarian
Fiifu
-genka desu ka?
husband & wife fight/spat
is it?
" Did ou have a fi t with our wife?" (PL3) Husband: v'-?, i:>.lfG-f11' Lv'o
-.:J (};: I Hotta Katsuhiko
lya,
o-hazukashii.
(interj.) (hon.)-embarrassing
" Yes, I'm ashamed of myself." (PL2) • fiifu ="husband and wife;• and -genka comes from kenka ("fightlquarrel"), so fiifu-genka = "marital spat." and.flifu-genka (o) suru ="have a fight with one's spouse.'' • iya is a kind of ·'warm-up" word for exclamations of either consternation or delightlapprovaJ, here the former. Though in many contexts it serves as an informal "no," in cases like this it can instead serve as an implicit "yes." • in spite of the honorific prefix o-, o-/wzukashii implies that the speaker himself is feeling shame/embarrassment.
0
Husband :
~ -::> t; '{' &;;
if I do
C h 11' -::> "( J., /...., f! 11{ .. .
v'11' /v
Yatchli
w
ikan
wakaueru
is no good (quote)
know
11
da
ga . . .
(ex plan.) but/and
"I know I shouldn' t do it ancllbut ..." • ymchii ikan is a colloquial contraction of yaue wa ikenai Cmust not do"), from the verb yaru ("do." informal). • wakaueru is a contraction of wakalle iru ("know"), from wakaru ("come to know/understand"). To marks what comes before it as the specific content of what he knows/understands. • ga can mean either "but" or ·'and" depending on the context, and the humor here depends partly on that ambiguity.
0
Husband: - JJt (± t: i 7.l C:
Y:m
17)
-??
ichido hajimaru 10 nyobo no
ya1su
once
if/when it begins wife who is guy/person
- il§lrJJ
I±
isshiika11
wa kuchi o kiko to shinai shi ...
D~~.::?C:Lf.tlt'
one week at least
L ...
doesn' t try to speak
and
"once we get going, my wife refuses to speak to me for at least a week " Co-worker: -f;...., t.t 1: ?! Sonna-ni?! that much
"That long?" (PL2) • hajimaru ="[something] begins,'' and to after a non-past verb makes an "if/when" meaning. lchido hajimarulo ="if [a fight] starts once" --+ ''once [a fight] starts." • nyobo is an informal word for "wife.'' • yatsu is an informal/slang word for "guy/fellow/person"; 110 yatsu after a name or tirle usually has at least a mildly belittling/derogatory feeling, and it's commonly used when finding fault with the person. • wa after a number or quantity often has the meaning of "at least [that many/ much]." • kuchi o kikO to shiMi is from the expression kuchi o kiku ("speak"); -o to shinai is the negative form of the verb ending -o 10 suru, which means "make an effort to/try to [do the action]"; the negative form often implies not only "doesn't try to [do the action]," but ''refuses to [do the action]."
8]
Husband: t.!..11'G
? v>
Dakara
1sui
~-::>t;~? \'atchatt
;...J!o 11
da.
therefore involuntari ly do it:(involuntary)(explan.)
"so I can't hel m self." (PL2) • rsui as an adverb for actions implies the action is/was done ''inadvenently/involuntarily/without thinking:· In this case it essenti ally re inforces the same meaning included in ya1chau. yatclwu is a contraction of yaue shimau, from yam ("do"); shimau after the -le form of a verb can imply the action is done involuntarily/i n spite of oneself.
Mangajin 43
~
Obatarian by
:tJiil83 tJ)-::> {) ;:: I
Hotta Katsuhiko
Hat:
r·-r r·
7 ;f Jv Makidonarudo Cbu~ine~;
name)
MakiDonalds
A.-:> -r ~ "'
Obatarian: ~ lv.:. Anko
haiuenai
Q)
c:tt?
no dore?
!>wcet bean paste not contained one; wh1ch
" Which ones don' t have sweet bean paste?" (PL2) Narration: lv 1? lv 1J' lv ~ .:. d -? , ...
c
Toncilinkan
c a-
Ita
knto
n
iu ...
absurd/incongruous thing (obj.) say She asks tbio that are co~n!!l1l!!l~et~e::!.l~~~~
• the artist ha~ deliberately altered the name from -:r 7 I' T 11.- ~· Makudonarudo. the k.atakana rendering of ·'McDonalds.'" • anko is a heavy paste made of mashed beans (most commonly red adzuki beans) boiled with sugar; it's used in many traditional Japanese confections, so Obatarian is asking what she might well ask in a traditional sweet shop if she didn'tlike anko, or wasn't in the mood for it. • a panicle to mark anko as the subject of ilaiuenai has been omitted. Haillenai is a contraction of haiue inai ('"is not inside/is not contained"). • anko ilaiuenai ("'anko i~ not contained lin it]'") modifies the prounoun 1w ("one/ones'") ..ones that don't contain anko": wa to mark this as the topic of the question dore? has been omitted.
_g 0
.<:
"'" ~ .<:
1;\ 7 ~ '9
~
~ '-~ ~ l,..
:J
z t: ~ 7J'"E. ~ ., (.;' 0)I
.. " " ~
*
~
'
~
~
l~
..." .<:
Ul
0
>.
~
{:
_g 0 .<:
"'.::!
.::: >. "" ~
·= "
! "
i"" <>
:c
a. z
u:::
..:
t" f
.<::
"'
·c
<0 ~
:<: iJ
"
;..:
3 "5
::z: Q
44 Mangajin
I
[2) sound FX: 7J -; 7J =; Gam
~:am
Rattle rattle (sound of ice rauling) Narration: 7 1 A :1- ~ - Q) 7 $' -c- il< T tJ• ~ Ill L -c tJ• t.: J.>, .. . kal..ida~llile
Ai.lttl..iilui
no }itlll dt• l..iiri n
u.:cd wllcc
of lid \\llh 1cc (obj.hcrape out-.1nd
kajiru.. . bue-.lche"~
she scoops out icc with the lid of her iced coffee and chews o n it; • kakidasili1e is 1hc -le form of kakidastt ('"~crape/scoop out'"); the -te form being u~ed like "and"": ··~crapesh,coop~ out and ..."
[!] Narration: £.H•; Nagai
c
Lt.: 1~ -'{> ? slrila a/o ya//o
1iii J.> -Jr
c
.\iU. If. . .
kaeru ka
to
omoeba .. .
i~
long May did after finally go home (?)(quote) if/when think
After she stays a long time. when you think ' Is she finally leaving?" ..." after she sta_ys a long time you finally see her get UJ! to leave and . . . • nagai is literally "long stay." and nagai shi1a is the plain/abrupt past form of its verb form nagai sum, which usually implies outstaying one's welcome. Nagai shita ato =··after staying a long time:· • omoeba is a conditional (""if/when") form of onwu ('"think"'), and to mark.s the preceding question yallo lwem ka? ("Is she finally going home?'') as the specific content of her thought.
wrei
11111
is.1l.o 11i
1.: r.~-r J., gomihako ui suteru
I ray
.1l'u
together
garbage bin inlo di,card
[II Narration: r v 1
i> ~'') L .t !: "J ~ t'li
she dumps her tray in the trash a long with everything else: -;-,-A" . 7 - r- . ;~ , , $' IJ 7 ::..fo~mo
f;1'1
fotlo
o/l(lwrian.
food
uhawrian
the fast food obatarian.
Obataria n doing fast food. • torei is a l..atal..ana rendering of the Engli-.h word "!ray," and(lj.1uto.{iido i~ a l..atakana rendering of the Engli~h word' ··fa,t food."" i~slw ni ("together !with)"") here implic' gomi to isslw 11i (""together with the tra,h"). • !!OIIIi = ··tra,h/garbagc ... and -ba/.;o i'> from lwko ("box": the It change~ to b for euphony). • in Japanese thi~ i~ another e laborately modified noun. with three complete sentences at:ti ng a> parallel modifier~ for j(i.,uro }lido obatarimt ("the fast food obatarian '").
---~bf!J
Obatarian by
:tJffl EE tJ) -:) V Z: I Hotta Katsuhiko
CD
Husband: 1
t:. !IFf·~ v>t:.-n -~ t-=~t
Mala yasai
n'o
itame ippiu dake ka.
again vegetable st ir-fry one item only
('?)
"Is it again only the one item of vegetable stir-fry?" "All we have is vegetable stir-fry again?" (PL2) • ippi11 is a combination of ichi ("one" ) and -hill the counter suffix used to count food/menu items; the suffix changes to -ppi11 in certain combinations.
!I] Obatarian:
l·tl.lt!!
Lt
Dauchi
n·a daidolwro ga
hou,ing complex "'for
f11?r kit..:hen~
/){ (subj.)
-ttiP /...,
t_:'-IJ>G
LJ: - /){~L'
-<:LJ: !!
semai
da kara
s/11! gauai
deslw.'!
u
is small (explan. ) becau~e/so can ' t be helped
'urely
" With the kitchens in these housing complexes so small,J'OU know there's nothing I can do about it!" (PL2) Sound FX: F / Don
Thump (sound of pounding list on table) when speaking of a room (or an entire house). .1euwi means "small/l imited in area/cramped"; it' s the opposi te of hiroi ("roomy"). • shiJ ga 1111i is a variation of shikara ga uai. "it can't be helped/there' :. nothing one can do about it. .. • desho is a shortened deslu!. which literally makes a conjecture. "perhaps/ probably/surely... A short desho (or the PL2 dam) is often used when giving a reminder or admonishing the l istener about something he/she has ignored/overlooked: " surely you know/have you forgotten that - ";when it's spoken forcefully it has the fee ling of "you know very well that ~ ...
@] Obatarian: ::. ;...,~ Konno
P,Jr
-r: ~ ': iJ{ 1'1'n7.>
-:>
-r "'' -j
tokoro de nani ga tsukurem 1/e
iu
0)?! uo?!
this kind of place inial what (subj.) can make (quote) say (explan.)
" What do you expect me to be able to make in a lace like this?!" (PL2) Sound FX: .:f- ·'J Kii! (effect of screeching hysterically) Husband: J:, J: L , t ~ ib, &:iii: L -r It < L "( ~ 7.> -IJ' t?o Yo-
yoshi. jli.
(stammer) okay
then
kaizo shite
hiroku .~hite yaru
kara.
remodel-and will make bigger for you because
"0 - OK, then I" II remodel and make it bigger for you." " 0 - OK then let's remodel so ou can have a bi er kitchen." (PL2) • tsukureru is the potential (''can/be able to'') form of tsukuru ("make''). • lie is a colloquial equivalent of the quotative to. • asking questions with the explanatory no is quite common in colloquial speech. • yoshi is an interjectory form of the adjective iilyoi ("good/fine/okay''). kaizo ="remodelling," and kair.ii shite is the -te form of the verb kaizo stmt (''remodel"): in this case the -te fonn indicates the means of the next mentioned action: how it will be accomplished.
"'B
:-z
1 r-----------------------------------~ z
u::
• hiroku is the adverb form of hiroi ("roomy''), and shite is the -Ie form of suru ("do/make"); hirnku suru = " make it roomy/roomier." • yaru after the -te form of a verb implies doing the action to or for the listener or someone else.
• kara. literall y ''because/so.'' is used here mainly to "soften" the end of the sentence.
8.] Narration:
-f L "( ctitf SrHitite and
1t: . . .
kai:r!
-go . . . remodeling after
And after remodeling ... Sound FX: F / Don
T hud (sound of setting heavy platter on table) Arrow:
~!f· f.t:: v't:.~
Ya.wi itame
Vegetable_stir-fry
Mangajin 45
'$American ComlcsW///////////////////////////////////////////_
ca\Vitv Okd J.lobbE~ ~
Cail•in and Hobbes, 0 1987 Universal Pre" Syndicmc. All righh rc,cf'ed. Rcprintcd/trat" lmcd hy pcnni"ion ol blitor' Pre" Scf\ ice. NY.
OJ
Calvin: "I think it's time we had a new dad around here. When does your term of office ex ire?" 77"t't -fl:>-t-1:> ;"{;"{ ~ *'fLt, 1 A l.:fi.:t.O r<~t!. c .\!~.? lvf!.o Uchi
demo sorosoro papa
our house
at
soon
;"{;<
ttM
1::
Q)
new
..o
\,I"? ~w
Papa no ninki wa .dad/you · s
o atarashii hiro ni kaeru beki da
dad (obj.)
pcr,on to change
to omou n da.
should ((jUOtc) think (cxplan.)
Q) ?
itsu kireru
no?
tenn as for when expire (explan.- ?) 4•0:Ih•
ll•'t\•
~ll
o-!
J: HH
1Jf~.}H~IJ:0)11ia/ti.t:i!H~O)fflij;'{',
• we had a new dad t l
lt'o~~P.·UIJIJ:O)I:,
it!l.."C\.o 1 1J:t,.•J
·4
t~; 1 -?,l!:P,f.:'{',
1f
"\
.4·1
.t.
1\-:
<~l
.:: O)nijiJ:timeHUii L. "Cv•7.>o It's (=It is) time + 1!ii.E~~l;li r- L. -c ., .::.:. '{'1;1: r f;~;~J 1Jflffl..'- 1 AI:IJ:..,"(Po~.!
U'
"(t-•IJ:II 1 j .:.t~~~To o aroundhere li r.:.O)J:>f.:t)J ~• r-Jt,J o .,:.; f..-.t. (
• office li r0tt
II]
Father: "Sor
I•J..I,. .t.
1;,o~,. ~
(
1\~J'
.ot- 1:
t, J
J.
1; - ;tA
" (
rx:m~u ~0~thiJ:l.."C~d't..t.:i>O)o
Calvin I was agpointed dad for life."
iJJv"/ { /, Karul'ill. (name)
~1,1
IH:'. !f( IJ
warui
kedo, bok11
is bad/no good
• torlife r~EN:li'{', ·~~Q)J
[II
'
term li-{-0) rfH.IIJ Hl1To -:>iiJ, :tJIL-"l'i/IJ:
but
l
1ra
a~ for
)(Jll.
ff.f.l'"t'
slllt\ltill de chiclliora far her
li1r life
1.:
fHr'i~H"C.O
11i
11i11mei .mreteru
lvt.!. 11
da.
to have been appointed (ex plan.)
o
Calvin: "FOR LIFE?! What about a recall vote? What about impeachment?" ~!t?l 'J ::1- '"' r;:~ li c.·? t:t (/) ~ ? iJ!i!MJ li? Shiishin ?!
RikiJru
for life
tolzyo wa
recall
do
11ano
sa?
Dangai
vote as for what kind of (explan.)(colloq.) impeachment
wa?
a~
for
Father: "There are no provisions for either." c'-:> t;, (> jl~ 1.: "/;t II' ho Dotchi mo neither
kitei
ni
nai
ne.
provision/rule in not exist (colloq.)
.
~· 1J•J • What about...? r- lit'? ~0)1J•/ - 1: -:>~•"( lit'?.'[!.? ' 0 either 11.: .:. '{' fi recall VOle t impeachment ~ L. , no provisions for either '{' r t' t:> ~ 1: '? 1;\ "( b l!.lt7'Jf IJ: ~I J
m
[I]
0
Calvin: "Did you write this constitutioru'ourself, or what?" ::..(!)
1i!it~
Kono kiyaku this
IJ
LJ7}"t'
, 1 ~t,•f..:
11'0
jibun de
kaita
constitution as for by oneself wrote
or
Father: "Well._your mom helped some, toQ," -t ? t!.. t:t, "< t t;, .l: '? ·H~.; '? t..: Soda na,
c
mama mo clwuo
...ennet's see mom \ (, .... ~
al~o
a little
t
f. t,
• ... orwhat? fira,)CO)~JtU:fllt-, ~·~·fl
.: '!:!.t
'
•
~omething
't c·
tets11da11a kedo helped
ll'ake?
did circum\lance
1j: o 11a.
though (colloq.)
f-7'1·~1.:7'1•? ,.,
Lt..: hit?
ir t:tkir
ka tum ka shim
-11• ,
.f~Lt {,?
J
~t·,
:
• Weii, ... ~.1,Ji'{'Ej·~HIJtJ/IJTt~'<'. +llr·O) , i'.!I~Ht<~ttl.> JM~~t·<.:JIJ,,l.>
46 Mangajin
ll7H.:{,roffmtln{~7.>.:.tt,f-~-t7.>}<.fJI. h
k!J*-I.:J: -J"C
r+-it.:~.J./i~/'{'{Jj ~t'o
~h.
~~ @ ~ American Comics////////////////////////////// /$///////////// //////////////$///////////////~ ELECTION D~'( \'::> ~~~ UP, OAt>. PEOP\.f. 'flt>J-lT 1t> 00~ 'NI-It.RE '{()\J
sooo 0~
-mE 1'59JES.
The Authoriwth•e Coll'in om/ Hohhe.\ , 0 1990 Univcr~nl
[I] Calvin:
Pre!'
Syndicate. All righh
Rcpnnted/tnm, J:ncd by permi:-.:-.ion of Edito~ Pre:-.s Service. NY.
"Election day is coming up, Dad. People want to know where you stand on the issues." rve, 'b ?-t<· 1~~·w t.:. ~:l o ~HJ:(l) S~ ..,'!: ~: -::>~.o' -r l-J..Ivt:t Papa.
miJ sugu tiJhyiJ-bi da
dad
soon
1 ~1~
(})
papa
11.0
ne. Kakus/111 no rolllen ni !suite minna
election day is (colloq.)
Jl~
~ :t-f]})
iken
o
opini.?~s
dad/you 's
f:.iJC?
various
~0
'l"~• '
shiritagal/em
regarding everyone
yo.
"t" '
;,A,
r{,-? _, <·- t.; j
t o)
J
~
• issues l.l:.:. .:. 't' l.l:~ffi fi(J ~Zli~fJ-c7) (t-J c ~ ~ J: ~• 6•
issues
J: o
(obj.) wants to know (emph.)
• is coming up fjt[-:;1 1,-> "(v > ~J t.
>~' r>
'( :\
~
where U r c7)ilff l.l: knowc7) El (t-J~It c ~ ?
[I]
re-;~r\ ed.
Father: "Such as?" t..: t ;{. I! t··;"~
flllm?
Tatoeba
mondai?
donna
for ex
-'!
0
to
I •
t. /.. ·- ~
r~
-c E IJ ,
~
~ ~Hif.(Q)r,IJ :I!i ~ tfrt o stand l.l: , ~I) t.: ,_' .:
t
~ \ · J.
tt·.d H
Q)r*J:ff ~ .JI.IVJ t..
~ A.ot\•
IU,. f~~'
1:.~;~
l.
fir£ 1 t.: l.J:JXjt ~ c ' c7) f\l)li ~ lll ~ J
.: c o
-c ,_ ' 1.> o
;,sues
Calvin: "Later bedtimes,_expanded TV privileges, shorter school weeks, and less discipline." ~H1~;} 1ill (J) ~IJTif c -IJ', 7 !.--~ mmt!tili (7) tll:k , .ib\l(l) ~H.( I I f.<: i'iiJ i~ Slulsltin j ikan
110
kurisage
bedtime
of postponeme nt
wka, or
~j:f!:
(7)
*Ii.fll
~tv -IJ' o
kiritsu
no
kamva
nanka.
terebi shichii-ken no kakudai. slnl no TV
viewi ng-right~
tiikiJ ni.u1l
~,
sakugen ya.
of expan,ion weekly #of school days reduction and
discipline of deregulation things like
~-1-rt-ct;; IJ ' ft..: c ;ll! c'lvt.:iiiJ W:iJ•J t P-) .0':11.-k m-fft/t-5'J!~J 't'. :..:'t'l.l:Joltj~Jl:iJ{;'.IJU.:.i2.&?-cPJ.,7vt"tJ~(t.~~G1):.c --:>£ IH~m~llillll~ ht.-rt l.- '''iiH1lc7)H\~ ~-=~·tT ~ ~~jj:}~ ~ i i- t G1) ;! t.: a school week c l.l: t:n/rl t '('Q) s 1111\J,
• such as li the issues • privilege l.l:
0
PitA
Father: "I'm against them all." b &:i-t t.!. tlo
t·n
Doremo hantai da any/all
Ul.f;~ ·
:!-!..·~ ~,
• against li:ti:~;l)t)j)t't' ~~.: c't' , ft.lili:li for o l'm=lamo .;:,(,. !!
Jsi
• !see l b:iJ' -:>f..:J -XIIJid:LL::- t.: -r f .f-? / ~ ~ li c'J ~ c·o
ne.
• so is literally, "that way," but it's often used like "Is that so?/1 see" in
against islam(colloq.)
Calvin: "I see."
response to an explanation or statement.
-t-? 0
so.
that way
.,
'
"How's your IRA? ; {; {
(7)
Papa
110
Prett~
well funded?" 11.1JA. jJ.!JIA1tf~1z:WJ/t (i
kojin raislwkukin t.wmitate kanjiJ u-a d:~d/you ·s IRA a' for C:' lv l;t t? ~ ' ? t.:_· \, ' J/. f..: 1. '? l Q ? do111w guai? Daibu ramaueru ?
<·
what kind of condition
Father: "Go to bed."
'b ? Mii
;J.;:: ~~ v ' o
nenasai.
greatly
saved up
• How's = How is. IRA l.l:lndividual Retirement AccountQ)Ei'J<:',
m!A
<:jJl~/-t:Q) t.:&? l:.fttJ;. ,·c-c Mti.,l:{£:c7) ~-,,,;.c7).:. c o • pretty l.l: l .l ,\1}<:' f :iJ•t.:
.):
< /;I)'~ I) ~~::;;\1.: I '
I)
G1) / j'll'1it.:J
fund l.l:
,
pretty well 't' f7J•t.:
rtri'l1T 7.> /
ftil;.
Pretty well funded? l.l: Is it pretty well funded? Q)m:t-r,
fii ,·,:~;l)(t..; ;I: -:>f.:;/)•? J
b ' -J .0:~~~ -:.:> i -t ~ !IW.I.l: -r ~ -c 1.- , ~ tp c ··~'t1t..: t G1)
I)
I) 0
ft.:_ ,., _;;
r~iii_'iJ n' ~;Jll~
now sleep-lcommand)
Mangajin 47
'://~ American Comics ~///////////////////////////////////////////////////// ////.
PAYOI='FS TO PET
CAT5 ARE: MORE. POPLILAR THA~
OWNE.R5 J:"ROM
E.VE.R
THE POWER FUL
CAT LOBBY .'
ITJ TV Host:
"Cats are more popular than ever."
I±
;f,::rQ) A~ Neko no ninki cats'
ma.wma.w
agone imasu.
popularity as for more & more
r.: tt i
• more ... than ever
[I]
ii"ii" r.ii{-?"Cit'iTo
1va
is rising
1.'~1.~1:1.: .: tl. t "(' 1: ~
TV Host: "And our hidden camera shows wl]y!" ll~. LlfJI.IJ 1J J. 7 1: -t"Q) .fll\!11 -aKakushidori kamera hidden
de
.\'Olio nm
o
l'amcra with/of/for thai rc
0
,JriVJ LiLt.:! kaimei shimashita! made clear
• shows why =shows why cats are more popular than ever.
@]
TV Host: "Payoffs to pet owners from the powerful cat lobby!" ~ilJJ~ t- ::r ffoil~t'.:Et.:-t? 1.: 1\1'1-:>"Cit'o Jtlillrt Ky{jryoku na neko
powerful
rn-w
dantai
nt
ga kainushi-tachi ni
cnt lobby/group (subj.)
owners
10
okulle iru
Q)
-tt"' l"i"!
wairo n.o sei desu!
is/are sending bribery of fault
is
Garfield: "Lies! All lies!" ? 'J t.!.! k? ·; t.!.! Uso lie
da! is
D-uso da! big lie
• payoffs ::::.kiJ:
48 Mangajin
is
rmu/wliJ
~c-~ti:~*-tJ.dJf, l l~ia-c.>
rmiU*J
17)_&.;*b~~o
lobby l;t.JiH'ffi{t
~/////.
SENRYU
Humorous Haiku
JII t~[J
Special Edition: "Spam-ku" on the Net
h
S
\
7 'I (J) ::_ i 1;/J ~ Lf~:J ~ .f~·:f'i· (.: L. ""(. fi { t'l· \.'l!,fd.J It L. ,
Spam (;):.
pam i s the trademark name for an inexpensive canned meat made from pieces of pork and ham. sea~oned with spices and pressed into a loaf shape. It i~ remarkable for its distinctive bright pink color. as well as for the jelly-like sub!-.tance it i~ packed in. Exactly which parts of the pig are used to make Spam i s a matter of much speculation. Popular during the frugal war years and into the 1950s. Spam has earned a place in American cultUJ e as a kind of pop icon. Even during this age of nutritional awarene!">s. the fatty canned meat stubbornly maintains a pre~ence on the grocery shel ves. Now . there i s a W orld Wide W eb site featurin g thou!>and~ o f ··spam- ku"' wri tten by amateur poets. A stronomer John Nagamichi Cho i~ re s pon ~ ible for creating the widely accessed web page. w hich can be found at: http : I /www . naic . edu/-jcho/spam/ sha . h tml . Following are some of our favorite~ from Cho's archive.
J
\1.
I
f,;
+I
L~t
•
\
~
JJ/.{1:, Spam ~"T-7(:
Lt..: i'hJJ ~{r•JT-'b MAu.'fA (ll l:f.UI!A. ) "/)•
'
~
&; 1,j~cY') ""( ~-tt"t" v'-0 , '7 - !v )-: r;
1
r' 7
.r. 7 (WWW)
.fT 1 ~I,){
< (J) 7 7 {: 7- l,)f t..: ~ ([)\.', 7 r' v .Ali hnp://www.naic.edu/ -jcho/,pam/,ha.htmi""C ~~ .1-:.l I" 1.: . + 3 7 L\:(J) . ' ft'~"', W n• I? i~ 1111j A t.l'iill ! .... t..:ft'f'l' a- f.{•hJ ::..'~ll fl' Li-to I)
i -9
J~1j~· (: ~
1
.
IL
;'t?
Pink beefy temptress I can no longer remain Vegetarian
tt --<..2- J /.._ ~
..;-~·
Makeso da
!! / 7 (7)~?3~= Pinku no miwaku ni
X.:; -7
1) 7 /
Bejitarian
=
Aan ""can/food tin:· and Aan no naAa litcr;olly mean' ""inside the can/ food tin:· pinAu is from the Engli'h ""pink."" and niAu mea.!\ ""meat... • Aore ""thi;..'" luma ""no\c/snout."' and Aore !uma? can be shonhand for ~ore ll"ll h a1w tlesu All? ("" h thi' a 'nnut'!'"). Adding the t\\ o other item' male<. it like '"I' this a \ntlllt or ear or fcctT the Japanc>c version c;.;.crniall y '"Y': ··oh pink mc:11 in the tin. 1, this a 'nout o r car or feerT
=
hana. mimi, ashi?
1§ / ...
:.
·. <.A-1\-(J)l!PJJ.:.w_~v··n,i-t
pinku niku kore
=
.:f:(J)
*N(J)ki~re(J)-#(J)~~cL.-c(J)•~~~~L.tL~ *~ ' 1.: r;J -t 1.> ~2.J~(J)i~ 1 ? t..: /" n-c ~ i. . JJITJJMJ-(J) ~",.::. (/) ilr .. M~ 1.t
l!/7~-:n
defeated/yield to tcmptat icuf"J. and the .,; claldf!lll ending of :t 'erb implre' ··11 'ccm,/loolvfecl' lrl.e [the action w ill occur j."' ' 0 11111Aes fi do ""I'orneonc I " about 10 be dcfc:ucd/ ) reid to temptation.'" The person/thing one kheslyicld' to i;. marl.ed "ith min t hi s ca,e. 111i11·aAu (""charm/ temptation'"). beJilllrian i, the l amkan:r rendering of the Engli'h ..,cgetari:m:· • the Japanc'c ver;.ion c;.,e nt ially >Uy': ""About w give in 10 th e pinl. rcmptre,,: a 'egerarian:·
•
I~
Kan nonaka-
• 11111~e- i;. the >lcrn of 11111~em (""hhc/bc
Spam li •
-c ~' 7.> (J)f.p!.i:. ~ i ~ i ~tl}":iJ!ij(J)~.tffU.: to.·-:> -c ~'i-t o ft'ljflnt 11-.tJ..: ') t..: ijiJI.II!j:•l' t.P I? 19SO'.fft 1.: n'lt ""(A lj;JI) ~ '.) t..:Spam li,
Oh tin of pink meat I ponder what you may be: Snout or ear or feet?
~,
"'
1~lt.\"(J)mJ~t.l'~ 1::;.; 7 ~c • .:f:;IL~~~.... ~cP.o-!:! •J -k;t(J)~~nn{ L ~!f. ,'C-:> t..:!f;'f~"CT tHt 1.: .__j"? -c 7 'J (J) c'(J);!;ii5}(J) lkJI.l{H~III ~ {L
tJi· (7) r-j I
Mangajin 62
..
1t~1.:~1 L.IA1d>t..:'~'f1Di~ M..,'ilkJ(J)rilif.:'!r,l"-t
o- 7
=
• hen mcarh ··tmgmcm/pocce:· '" pin~u hen= ..pin~ mor.el:· • .~llo~lto "an ··cffct'l\n \\Ord lhat gi\e, the 'en'c of 'omcthing hca1) and fall): •hoppai =··,ah> :· • ~ona ;, a comraction of ~or<' om ( ..a, for thi,··1. and 1um da = .."hat i' irr· • the Japane'c 1cr.ion c"entiall> 'a)': ..Thi, pon~ mor,cl. 'o fatty and 'all): "hat;, itT
Pink tender morsel Glistening with salty gel What the hell is it?
!! /7 H· Pinku hen
.:¥'
r .:¥' r
L
J:.
-?
{io~.t \
gitogito shoppai
_::_ ~ ~ {IJJ t_: Korya nan da?
Old man seeks doctor "I eat Spam daily," he says. Angioplasty .A;-\ L 1~1 Supamu niku
411:0 it~ -c maonochi labete
125ft jm v\ isha-gayoo
.1hi:e11 =··nature/natural:· andjit.1ili:en = .. unnatural:· Adding ,; make' it an adverb: .. unnaturally:· • yugmula = ··bcnt/contortcd.. :jilshi:en ni yugonda = ..contorted unnawral ly:· hate rdcr- to ''the c nd/fanhc~t point.. in 'pace or time: " hen ~peaking of a procc". it refer'> to .. the ultimate outcornc/rc,uh:· • written with thi' ~anji. ~1111 mean> .. coffin/ca, ~ e t ..- pro1· iding a convenient pun on t1111 meaning ..can/ food tin:· Ktm 1111 1111~11 = .. inside a coffin:· the J:op;onc.,c 1er,ion C\\Cntiall) ~a}s: .. After ha1 ing been con torted unnatur.olly- in'>ide a coffin."
• tahl'le i' the ·I<' form of tobem (..cat.. ): the -te form in thi' t·a,e indicate~ the cau~e/rea>on for the ne't me ntioned action. • isha = ''doctor:· and -goroi i' from komi. a noun form of the 1crb ~l/WIII r·~ommutc to/frequent"').\() illlll-gt~\1/i i'> a noun for ··rrc:quenting the doctor·· the Japane'>c 1cr~ion e"entiall)' 'a),; ··Haling eaten Spam dar I). I frequent the doctor:· All of our tran,latoon' '>hO\\ hm1 difficult it can be to crJm the \arne meaning into 'o fe" Japane'c '>liable'. but thi'> one lo'e' the mo'>t because ··angiopla,ty:· '" effec1i1e on the Englbh l'ef'>ion. 'impl) cannot be handled compactly rn JJp;one\C: , I < 'If keUon ~eiui-jul.\11.
Highly unnatural The tortured shape of this "food " A small pink coffin
*-c (/)
Fushizen ni
~ -/)~ lv t_:
yuganda hate no
f'g (/)"I kan no naka
Other web sites post English senryii on topics varying from politics to ).Cience fiction. Try out these sites: http: / /www . naic . edu/-jcho/ editorial / ehp . html (editorial & political haiku: also by John Cho) http://www. columbia . edu/-tg50 (a variety of haiku) http://www. crew . umic. edu/-brinck/poetry /xmas-haiku . html (Christmas-related haiku). ( W e' ll 'end you a Mllll!-il!iin T -shirt if we publish your se111:\'IT. Send to Scnryu. Mangajin. Inc .. PO Box 77 188. Atlanta. GA 30357- 11 H8 (or to senry u @ mangaj in.com). All Japanese 'ubmi,,ion_' will be tran,lmcd into E n g li s h and vice ve r"o. ~tHJ1~}(7) ) lll~P ~ J3i6 I) ,_, t..: t.:~,- 't..: }j 1.: IJ: a1~1j A. T;., -\"' "/ ·b it 'o \ L .i · r ~ )liJ: Scnryil. Mangaj in. Inc .. PO Box 77 188. A1lanta. GA 30357- 11!\8 it..: IJ: Hi ;I - IV '>Cn ryu@mang;ojin.com) t.: h' 111(,([!.: .): z, J:l:fi;ll.i ~Lolli .: ' i!L.Itl.: J: 7..> i:tKHi 11-1->:,;(t!.:id ~S;':I\ -r ~n.J: L ;t T
l
r
-r
Mangajin 63
Kekkon Shiyo Yo Bokutachi no Shippai to Seiko
Let's Get Marrie Our Failures and Successes by Hoshisato Mochiru Kekkon Shiyo Yo follows the story of the employees of a Tokyo wedding hall called Ageha Bridal Garden. Wedding halb. where both ceremonies and receptions take place. handle a ll the details of the wedding-including tlowers. music. decorations. and food. All a couple has to do is make choices. In Part One of our selection from Kekku11 Shiyil Yo. however. Ageha wedding planners Masatoshi and Sanae are stuck with a groom who just can't seem to make a decision.
:.ij!
I J. \' fJ ')"""J
:. <
c.
!?
?
-r
After the meeting. Masatoshi and Sanae. who were once engaged to each other. are in a bad mood. The independent Sanae is angry because the groom didn't seem to respect the bride· s job: Masatoshi points out that it's not her place to criticize. Before long they' re having a loud argument in the breakroom. ··J can't tell whether they like each other or hate each other." snickers a passing co-worker.
Masatosh i's sweet girlfriend. Shako, also works at Ageha. Hearing the fight. she fo llows Masatoshi to the rooftop where he goes to cool down. She invites him to her place that evening to look at the photos from a recent trip.
Later. over a beer, Sanae share>. her opinions with Kakieda. her boss. " I'm just saying I don't like the view of life that equates marriage with happiness:· she explains. The divorced Kakieda (who is secretly in love with Sanae) poinb out that many young couples fai l to anticipate the difficulties of married life. They exchange a significant glance. This episode opens with Shoko welcoming Masatoshi to her apartment.
Mangajin 65
ito~
66 Mangapn
t.- J: ? J: • Kekkon Shiyo Yo
Shoko: "' C:>-:> L 't' "'o /rasshai.
(greeting)
"Come in." (PlA) • irasshai is the abrupt command form of the PL4 verb irassharu ("'come"); the verb is inherently polite, so even the abrupt form is polite. It's used to greet/welcome visitors to your home: also by shopkeepers and restaurant workers to welcome customers as they enter.
[}] Masatoshi: hili; -:> , t:¥·1'-1?-'t' iv ,
!jii]~B~
Wii!
shigeki-teki
ShiJko-chan
71 ·:;
::l o
kakko.
(exclam.) (name-dimin.) stimulatinglarou~ing appearance
''Whoa Shoko what a dress!" (PL2) Shoko: Il t!. ir c, o Natsu da kara. summer
i~ becau~
"Because it's summer." (PL2) • wli is an exclamation of surprise. but it can carry a feeling ranging from great joy to dismay, so it's not immediately clear how the speaker feels. • -chan is a diminutive equivalent of -san ("'Mr./M~."), most typically used with the names of children. but also among close adult friends and family . • shigeki means "stimulus" or "stimulation." and shigeki-teki means "stimulating/provocative." • kakko is a colloquially shortened kakkiJ. which refers to one's extemal appearance- most commonly how one is dressed.
Shoko: *~"'? Kirai? dislike
"You don' t like it?" (PL2) • as in English, in informal speech almost any word can be rumed into a question by raising the intonation at the end. More formally her question would be kirai desu ka? (''Do you dislike it?").
Masatoshi: -J -J lvo <1? .. . U'un.
A, .. .
uh-uh/no (interj.)
"Not at all. Oh, here ..." (PL2) -') lv wr is an informal "yes.'' and -') - !v rln represents pondering. but -') -') lv u'wr with a slight inOection between the two rt's means "no/not at all/never mind." (Since the exact pronunciation is difficult to describe. the Mangajin tapes would be a good reference in this case.) • a is an interjection used when suddenly noticing or remembering something. •
0
Masatoshi: 'A 1 71 o Suika.
Il
t!.
-jp
c,
0
Natsu da kara.
waterme lon summer is because
" A watermelon. Because it's summer." (PL2) Shoko:
h~o
wa.
(exclarn.)
''Oh, my!" (PL2)
0
Masatoshi: Rlv'? Kirai? dislike
"You don't like it?" (PL2)
Mangajin 67
aili ~~
L, j:
? J: • Kekkon Shiyo Yo
7:>~ =
ttn -rt 0 L.0
68 Mangajm
<•A t.t. '"f (}) ~ t.t. "? "L 1.>
ShOko: .kl;f ~ o Dai-suki. greatly like
" I love it!" (PL2) • dai- is a prefix that means ''large/large \cale - :·and suki means ''like'' (actually. it"s a noun that means ''liking;· but it's often equivalent to the English verb "like'') ''like very much/love."
[!]
Sound FX: ~ tJ ~ tJ ~ ~J Smra wwa sawa
(effect of gentle. refreshing bree7e) • wnra .11111"0 i~ related to the word .1·m•·oya~a (na). which i' U\Cd to dc,cribc the cri~p. cool. refn.:~hing feeling of ~uch
thing> a' fre!>h air. a
[II
bree~:e.
4=-?l"J.> l:-'t' ~l.' o
Masatoshi: .::tL, id?lt'( Kore, this
a morning. after a bath. a <.:ool drinl-.. etc.
kawaiku
ursrmeru
ja nai.
cutely/attractively is/are pictured is/are nol
" In this one, you are pictured attractively, are you not?"
" You look cute in this one." (PL2) Shoko: -?t:., .:.1-v~ IJ) o IJfi, Ya
da.
konna
no. Kao.
disagreeable/distasteful is this kind of one
r·l»; ito shimobukure.
face lower pan swollen/plump
" It's disagreeable. this one. My lower face is swollen."
"Yuck! My_cheeks look all puffy." (PL2) • kawailiu is the adverb form of kcm·aii ("cute/adorable"). modifying msutteru. • utswteru is a contraction of utsutte iru ("is pictured''), from utmru, which is a verb for "[an image] appears/reflects [on a TV or movie screen/in a mirror/in a photograph).'' When modified by an adverb, it means ·'appears/reflects in the manner described." so here he's essentially saying she "looks/came out cute" in the picture. • ja nai looks like ·' is not."' but here it"s a colloquial 'hort form of ja nai (desu) ka. "isn't it so?" This is often a purely rhetorical question. which actually makes it more of an assertion than a question. The assertion can be mild or strong depending on the tone of voice. • yii dais a variant of iya da, "is distasteful/disagreeable." one of the most common ways to express one'!> objection to something in colloquial speech. • konna is ·'this kind or· and no here is like the pronoun "one'' ·'this kind of one"-+ ·'this one." Konno is often used to belittle or put down the item it modifies. and that is the feeling here. • shimobukure literally means "swollen in the lower part," and kcro ga shimobukure da/desu describes a face with full. rounded cheeks.
0
Masatoshi: {1~
ll)
Bo~u 110
1/me
·,
!11 -/J{ lui
ga
tc:
t:.
J:
!itk t· II 'Jt.i'JL-7.>
{J(!)
da yo. Norondo lilt' l\11111111/e m 111111111. ,jde ('ubj.) 'trange i' (emph.) almo't eye' arc clo,cd (cxplan.) hen
" I'm the one who looks weird. My eyes a rc almost closed." (PL2) • holw i.' an informal "'lime" used by males. • - 110 lui ga i' u,ed in making comparison,. It i' all ached 10 the greater of the two items being compared. and l1e11 = "strange." >O - no hii ga hen means" - i> >trangcr"; hac it implies " I' m ' !ranger I in the picwre [than you are." • lwtmulo mean' "almo>t completely/alrno't all" or if modifying a n.:gative. "almost none/hardly at all." • o. to mark me ("eye~") as the object of 1.111111111tem. ha' b.:cn omiucd. a' ir o ften i' in <.:alloquial speech. • t~/1/lllllteru is a contraction of tswnmte iru ("i,/ar.: <.: lo,cd"). from tlrmumt. a colloquial variation of tsubum ("close lonc·~l eyt:, .. ). • mono (lit.. ··thing") i~ often U!>t:d a' an t:~planator) form at the end of a 'cntcnce in colloquial !>peech.
ShOko: -:. A -r: Fmari de
?f.-?-r:¢
'1f.tf:.
utsutteru
shashin,
7><~
tJ)
roku1w no
~~,.,
~- o
.:tt
~
~n-r:¢
L. .. .
nai
nii.
Kore
mo
buretem
shi . . .
rwo persons together are pictured photograph \albfacrory one nor cxi~l (colloq.) rhi' one too/also Icameral has moved and
" We don' t bave any decent pictures with both of us in them. This one's blurred too and •.." (PL2) • the particle de often marks the amounL number. or scope of people/items involved in an action. so futari de utsutteru means '·two people are pictured together''-with "two people" in this case meaning "both of us.'' Flllari de utsrment is a complete thought/sentence modifying shashin ("photogr.tph[:o.j") ''photographs in which we are both pictured together." • roku na =··satisfactory/proper/decent."' and no is again equivalent to the pronoun ·'one"-+ "a satisfactory/decent one.'' Ga, to mark this as the subject of noi ("not exist''), has been omitted. • bureteru is a contraction of burete iru, from bureru, which refer\ to the camera moving as the shuuer is pushed. The form burete iru is usually applied to the look of the resulting picture-+ "is blurred." • shi is a relatively emphatic "and'' for connecting two clauses: it cannot be used to connect two nouns as "A and 8" (to or ya must be used for that purpose).
Mangajin 69
.S ~ [... J: ? J: • Kekkon Shiyo Yo ---
t::
~
? j It
fp
?
70 Manga,in
[D
Masatoshl: ~~ ' .:it l.t.!vtJ•, f-!J!< ~.: '/-\' ·;t ~- ;f1~L."ltl?-:d.: ~"? t! 'bO?o A, kore nanlw. kodonw ni sllallli oshile moraua yatsu da mono. ( interj.) thi-, one
a~
for
child
to
shu ncr
asked to push-( for us) one
i~
(explan.)
"Oh. yeah, as for this, it's one we asked a child to push the shutter for us." "Oh, ye~ tha~one we asked some kid to take for us." (PL2) • ii is an imerjection that expresses recognition/recollection. like "oh. yeah/oh. that's right." • nanka is a colloquial nado (''something like''). It's often used when singling out one of several items for particular attention, so it can be very much like the topic marker wa "as for - "). • shauii is from the English ''shutter''; o. to mark it as the object of oshite morarta, has been omitted. • nshile is the -le form of osrt ("push"), and moral/a is the plain/abrupt past form of morau, which after the -le form of a verb implies having someone e lse do the action for you. Ni marks the person asked to do the action. • kodomo ni slwllli (o) oshire nwralla is a complete thoughtlsemence (''[we] asked a child to push the hutter'') modifyi ng yatsrt ("thing/one").
Shoko: .: it Kore thi~
b
.: i L
{, ,
b :Jf 7 "l 1.-, o
.: t L
mo. Kore mo. kore
mn boketeru.
one too thl' one too thi' one too ;, off focu,
"And this one. And this one, a nd this one is out of focus, too." (PL2) Ma atoshi: -f.:~' .:.J (J) } t.: ~lvt! tJ• I? , .: lv t.t. 'b lv t! J:n Sokoim 110 hito ni W11011da kara. ko1111a 111011 da yo. thereabout' "ho ;tre/were people to reque,tcd becau'c thb kind o f thing b (emph.)
" We just asked whoever hl!P~n ed to be around so this is a bout what you have to expect." (PL2) • • • •
hoketem is a contraction of bokl'le iru ("b, out of focus/blurry''), from bokem (''become out of focus/blurry"). .wkoira is an informal word for .10110 hell ("thereabouts/nearby"). ummula is the plain/abrupt pa~t form of tanomu ("request a favor'' ). komra 111011 dab literally "it is thi~ kind of thing,'' idiomatically implying "this is about the size of it/this is about what you can expect."
Shoko: = A-r Furari de
4--?t.:
1J:Jt,
utsul/a
shaslzin,
i?~lvct....t.: 0?,
clranro shira
-t'i 'b no. ichimai mo
two perwns together appeared photograph proper/successful one
t.lv' lv"t"T J:-o nai
11
desu
yo.
1-count even not have (explan.) (emph.)
"A picture with both of us in it, as for one that came out sharp, we don't have a single one." " We don' t have a singkgood picture with both of us in it." (PL2) Masatoshi: -f 1 t!. -? It fJ•? da
So
kke
ka?
that way is (recollection) (?)
"Was it that way?" " Really, is that d@t?" (PL2) • chafllo is an adverb meaning "duly/properly/perfectly/successfully," and chanlo shira IW is an expression for "one that is proper/well made/the way it's supposed to be." Wa. to mark this as the topic, has been omitted. • -mai is the counter suffix for thin, flat things. such as paper. COs, computer disks, coins, etc. The number I plus a counter plus 1110 nai means ·'there's not a single one,'' or ''Uwe don't have a single one." • kke or da kke expresses an effort to recall something that isn't entirely clear in the speaker's memory, so here it probably implies he's trying to remember if previous batches of pictures were all like this one, as SMko claims.
Shoko: -f ;J So
1."-t J: desrt m.
·.fi
'b
Iclrimai mo.
that 11ay i' (c;nph.) 1-count even
"That's rjgh t. NQ!a single one." (PL2) • in thi~ ca~e mo alone i' enough to imply mo nai.
ShOko:
~ '? !i' fJ
Yappari
c
t.... tJ· ;..,-"'( ~ .l:~i'fr -r:, i? ~ !v t.... t..: 7' o shikarubeki bas/to de. chanto sltita puro
after alliin the end suitable/proper place
at
proper
(J)
no
A 1.:, Nh "l t> I?? t..: .. . hito
ni roue nwralla, ...
professional who is person by
had taken-( for us)
" In the end, maybe if we had o ur picture taken by a proper professional at a proper studio ..." [See next fram~ • yappari is a colloquial yahari ("after all/in the end"}, implying that what she's about to say is the logical outcome or solution. • shikarubeki is a modifier that implies the thing is "suitable/fit/properly appointed" for the desired purpose. • puro is from the English ''pro'' for ··professional''; puro no hito ="a professional," and cha111o shita puro no lrilo ="a proper professional." • rotte b the-re form of tom, which when wrinen with this kanji means "take a picture"; moraua is the plain/abrupt past form of morau, which after the -re form of a verb implies having someone else (marked with m) do the action for you. • shikarubeki baslw de. clwnro shira puro no hitoni, tolle moratta is a complete thought/sentence (''[we) had [our picture] taken by a proper professional at a proper studio"') modifying fro in the next frame.
Mangajin 71
lli ~
72 Mangajin
~ J:
? J: • Kekkon Shiyo Yo
Shoko: 'i ~
-IJ{.. .
(continuing) ItO ga . . . side/option (subj.)
"[it would be better]." "Maybe we' ll ·ust have to have our~·~ ·c~ tu !!.r~e,_ta,...,k,_,e"-' n,_,a,t,_,a~.!,; ro ~~~~~~~~~~~~==.~~~~ (PL2) • - hii ga here implies something like - ho ga ii, which after a verb or complete sentence makes an expression meaning "it's preferable/better if you/we [do the action]'" or "you/we had better [do the action]." Ho in this case essentially refers to the ''sides/options/alternati ves'' in making a choice-the implied other option in this case being to cominue to have chance passers-by take their picture.
Masatoshi:
/>.
I •
lma. wrii! no\\ lei'' ta~c pit:ture
"Let's ta ke one now!" (PL2) • torii i~ the voli tional
0
Shoko: "),
<,hall") form of /01'11 ("take a picture").
") A- o
U(~tammcr)
("l et'~/1
Uti.
yeah/OK
" 0 ... kay." (PL2) Masatosbi: -tJL-7? -{?- (.:: L't'
~ ...
Sentjit taimii
ni
sa. ...
sclf·timer
to change it (colloq.)
shile
" Wc' ll_put it on the self-timer ou know ..." (PL2) is an informal ·'uh-huh/OK.'' but like lwi it can also be used merely as an acknowledgment/pause word. as if to say, " I've heard you and I'm preparing to respond'' or ' 'I' ve heard you but I don't know how to respond.'' Masatoshi's response to this shows that her tone must have betrayed considerable puzzlement in this case. • serufu laimii is from the English ·'self-timer." • ni shile is the -1e form of ni sum. which is used idiomatically to refer to changing a setting or the position of a switch (cf. onni suru = ·'rurn on": ofuni sum= "rurn off'): serufuraimli ni suru ="switch to/put it in self-timer mode.'' • sa (or sometimes sii) is a panicle used colloquially as a kind of verbal pause to draw the listener's attention ro what the speaker is saying. something like a teen's use of"like/you know" in colloquial English. •
8]
Masatoshi:
1111
:A F111ari
(J)
'~}!'~
no shashin
'$: 11.
the t\\H of u' of photograph (obJ.)
"and get a picture of the two of us." (PL2) Masatoshi:
7 1 11.- J.... y.J( '> -c J., .{in111111 nokottl'/'11. look/here film remain'
(;I.:), Hora.
" Look, the re's some film left." (PL2) • a form of 1111'11 ("take a picture") is understood after o. • flora i' an interjection u'ed to call the listener·, attention to something. like "here/look/see." • jinmw i\ from the Engli'h "film": ga. to mark thi' a' the subject of nokoueru. has been omitted. • nll~llllt'l'll i' a contraction of no/..oue iru ('"remain!Ji, left"). from nokom.
Mangajin 73
l:i ~ (., J: ? J: • Kekkon Shiyi5 Yo
t::-:> ;f.v It.., t:. I .:
~~ I
1: I iii 0
8
"'
74 Mangajin
Sound FX: t::- t::- t::- t:: 7 t:: ·y t:: ·y Pii
pii
pii
pi!
pi!
pi!
(sound of self-timer signal approaching moment when picture will snap) Sound FX:
1 ~ :/
-t
Pasha
Click (sound of shutter) TV Host :
*VRI~
.:;- v
L t:. '?
~ (J)
Kekkon shitara rerebi no when get married
o-shigoro wa intai nasaru 11 desu ka? TV of/on (hon.)-work as for will retire from (explan.- ?)
"Will you retire from television when you get married?" (PIA) • kekkon shitara is a conditional ("if/when") form of kekkon surn ("marry/get married"). • rerebi i shonened from terebijon. the full katakana rendering of the English ''television.'' • intai nasaru is a PIA equivalent of intai sum ("retire [from]").
1J~ Kare ga
i~H1E ensei
TV Guest: fH' o 1/.!i Hai. yes "Ye~
he
(~ubj.)
(/) no
~"' ot
fJ:·J~ lj:(J)l:, sltigoto na 110 de,
expedition
* ':
v'l'il?lft:.o'\:"To
;~t
want to be/sray-(for him)
uclti ,,;
because it is home
ite agetai desu.
since his work re uires him to travel a lo I want to be at home for him." (PL3)
• ensei in the military means "expedition/campaign": in civilian life it refers to "touring/traveling/being on the road," especially for \pons competitions. No marks this as the subject of oi (''numerous/large in quantity"), and the complete thought/ "work in which travels are many." sentence ensei no oi ("travels are numerous'') modifies sltigoro ("work") • kare ga . . . sltigoto 11a 110 de looks like "because he is work in which ...... but it implies ''because he is engaged in/he has work in which .. .'' • ire is the ·te form of iru ("be in a place" for people and animate things). and agetai is the "want to" form of agent: ageru after the -te form of a verb implies doing the action as a favor/benefit for someone else. The -rai form of a verb acts as an adjective. so its PL3 form is ·tai desu.
0
Masatosbi: "--,
nbb"S~? (J)-/J', :::.(/) Ao He, yamechau no ka, kono hito. (imerj.) quit-(unexpected)(explan.·?) this person
·'Gee, is it that she's going to quit, this person?" " How a bout that! So she's oing to quit." (PL2) Masatoshi: 't ') :::. - liD 8 It\ v ;f.- 'J' - t!. ') t:. 0) 1: 0 Kekko
omoshiroi
repotii
quite
interesting
reponer
datta
TWni.
was even though
" ... even though she was a pretty interesting reporter." ''What a shame. I thou ht she was a pretty good reporter." (PL2) • hl is a mild exclamation of surprise like "Really?/Gee!!How about that!" • yamechau is a contraction of yamete shimau, from yamertl ("quit work" when written with this kanji); shimau after the -te form of a verb implies the action is unexpected. often with a feeling of regret. • - 110 ka literally asks " Is it that - ?" but often the question is purely rhetorical and the feeling is more like "Oh. so it's that - ." • the syntax is invened; normal order would be kono hito (wa) yameclwu no ka. • kekko, when modifying an adjective, means "quite/pretty/con iderably." • repotii is from the English " reponer: · • datta is the plain/abrupt past form of da ("is/are"), PL2 form of desu. • 110ni ("even though/in spite of the fact that") at the end of a sentence often expresses disappointment/regret at something the speaker thinks should have happened but didn't, or should not have happened but did. Here his disappointment is over the reporter's decision to quit "even though/in spite of the fact that" she was a very good reponer.
Mangajin 75
i5 ~ t., J: ? J: • Kekkon
76 Mangajin
Shiy/5 Yo
(J)f.:.~t:
Shako: q!Ji
-t--J
Kare no tame ni
Lt.:.i.r' lv"t"T J: o ih t:. L , J:
so
shitai
11 desu
yo.
Atashi.
he/him for sake of that way wants to do (explan.) (emph.) lime
< h7.Pl.> o
yoku
wakaru.
we ll
understand
"She wants to do it for her husband. I understand just how she feels." (PL2) Shoko: 'EL't\i? '\'lv t~ 0 -c -t--J t!-:>t:. t.:..o;,/j:lt 1 "t"Ti.l'o Momoe-chan daue (name-dim in.)
so
also that way
datta
ja nai desu ka.
was
was she not?
" Momoe-chan was that way, too, was she not?"
" Momoe-chan wanted it that wa too remember?" (PL3) Masatoshi: 7j: lv "t" i.l'ld: tho 'Iff~ 1.> <'::> i.r' 7j: '::> 7d: 1-v "t" ih !v/j: 1:: - ~~i'ffr Nande why
ka nii. I wo nder
Yameru kurai quit
1±-tfi.T 1.>
nara nande anna-ni isslu'J-kenmei shigoto suru
extent
i f it is
why
that much diligently/all o ut
work
(J)
il'l:t. iho
no
ka nii.
(explan.) I wonder
" I wonder wh ? If she's just going to up and quit, why did she work so hard the way she did?" (PL2) • no tame ni = "for the benefit/sake of." • siJ is literally "in that way/manner.'' but it's often equivalent to just ''that": shitai is the "want to" form of suru ("do"), so siJ shitai =·'wants to do that/it." • atashi is a variation of watashi ("1/me''), used mostly by female speakers. Wa, to mark it as the topic, has been omitted. • yoku is the adverb fom1 of the adjecti ve iilyoi ("good/fine") "we ll.'' Yoku wakaru ="understand well" -+ "understand just how she feels.'' • Momoe-chan is Yamaguchi Momoe, one of the most popular aidoru kaslw ("teen idol singers") of the 1970s, who chose to completely give up her showbiz career when she got married in 1980. • dane is a colloquial mo, meaning " too/also.'' • ja nai desu ka literally asks ''is it not?/was it not"" -but it's a rhetorical question that actually makes a fairly strong assertion. In this case it has the feeling of a reminder tag: ''remember?" • nande is an informal naze ("why"), and f
desu
th
ne.
Komw-.1·an
no
iu
ton
kamo.
is (colloq.) (namc-hon. ) (subj.) say exactly a' may be
" We ll, yes. It may be exactly as you say."
" Wei!, yes, I guess_j'!Ju' re right." (PL2) • .w'J desu means "it is that way/it is so"--+ "yes: · but adding ne orne can make it a somewhat less straightforward expres-
sion of agreement. To a large extent. Shoko is saying this just to be agreeable: elsew here in this story. she shows that she fully subscribes to the traditional view that a woman should g ive up her work when she gets married. • the name Km1110-.1·m1 here is essentiall y cq ui v:t lcnt to "you": Japanese speakers often use their listener's name in situations when an English speaker wou ld say "you:· • tori is a word that follows a ve rb or a complete ~e ntence to mean "exactly in accordance with I the described action(." It' s functio na lly a noun. so a preceding sente nce follows the rules of modifying sentences-with the subject often marked by no instead of ga: Km1no-san 110 iutiJri = "exactly as Konno-san says/exactly as you say." • kama is short for kwno shireuai ("might be/may possibly be").
Masatoshi:
11-v...
\..'~
Un . . .
iya . . .
... -t--J
uh-huh
(interj.) that way (emph.)
so
't"b ... demo . ..
"Ub-huh . . . I mean .. . it's not reallY. .. ." (PL2) • iya, an informal "no," is often used as an interjectio n when trying to clarify or backtrack from something just said: " no/ weiVI mean." • so demo implies sii demo nai (lit. "it 's not really so''); not quite sure what to make of her sudden flip-flop and agreement, Masatoshi searches for a way to say it's not really all that big of a deal.
0
Masatoshi:
~
"( 0
Sate. (interj.)
" Well then." (PL2) • sate is an inte rjection used when one is abou t to begin/do something. like ·'well now/well then.''
Shoko: ffl'i 1.> Kaeru
(J)?
no?
go home (explan.-?)
" You' re oin home?" (PL2) • in informal speech it's very common to ask a question using just the explanatory no with the intonation of a question.
Mangajin 77
~
*i
1.,
J: ? J: • Kekkon
S;~hi~yo~Y ~ o _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
lj:~ ~' ~ '
-r-r
i" < t.ltt 0
~'
l
78 Mangajin
0
OJ
Masatoshi: ? lvo Un. uh-huh/yeah
" Uh-huh." (PL2) Shoko: .: (!) l;tl ... Kono koro .. . rcccmlyl!hc'c day~
" Recently ..." Shoko: t'
kurenai desu
ne.
embrace/make love not do to/for me (colloq.)
" ou never make love to me an more." (PL3) • daite is the -te form of daku ("hold in arms/embrace/hug.'' or ''make love to"). and kure110i is the negative form of kureru. which after the -te form of a verb implies "do for/to me" -+ "[you] don't make love to me."
Masatoshi: ih. A.
l ... im.
(imcrj.) (intcrJ.)
sono.
Betsu-11i.
shi11ak111e mo
that (not) panicularly even if don't do
tanoshii
1\
shi . ..
fun/enjoyable (cau~e)
"Ah. well. that is. even if we don't do it. it's fu n, so . .. " "Ah, well, you know, I have a good time even if we don 't do
it . ~"
(PL2)
he~itation words in thi~ case-words spoken to fill the gap while he tries to figure out what to ~ay. • bet.w-11i is followed by a negative to mean " not particularly - : · Here the implication is that he doe~n·t partic ularly feel that they need to make love in order to ha'e a good time. • shi11ak111e 1110 is a conditional "even if' form of shinai ("not do"), negati ve of sum ("do"). • shi can be u~ed to indicate a cau~e or reason- in thb case the reason why he doesn' t particularly feel they need to make love.
• a. iya. and so11o can all be con\idered
ood time?" (PL3) what?/huh?
" Huh?" (PL2)
Book Review ( collli 1111edfromf)(l!le 54)
where on page 73 the decea~ed is identified by his per~onal items, including his spectacles, whereas on page 77 it is suggested that the victim's spectacles were. in fact. not found at the scene. Lapses such as these. and a gene rally weak writing sty le. cause the reader to pause rather too often. The book' s strengths. however. outweigh many of these naws. The episodes w hich are related are well researched. The author makes an effort to present alternati ve viewpo ints and is. at the same time. effective in indicating his own convictions. One may wonder at his frequent reliance on such popular mystery writer~ as Matsumoto Seicho and Kikumura ltaru. and indeed their rea~oning in these cases. based wholly on ··evidence" available through the press rather than actual case files. must be suspect. At the same time, the frequency with which writers like Matsumoto engage in speculation concerning these !.pectacular crime~ indicates the very significant role of Japanese popular culture in the dissemination of information to the public. particularly in view o f the
r~f Japan ese language and lilermure a/ the Unit•ersily of Monwna.
Matthew C. Strecher is an assis/a/11 professor
( ¥~ f;j; If.:, If~;, 1: -r- 7.> (\/lltai 0} haml>ara Ill \llr~cquittal = .f!!!. !Jil,t~ ik: 11/ll:.ai /umJ.et.\11 • obnoxiou' = 1: t.:.)f~.f t..: haw meill'liA/~ I ( ~ ~ "(' IJ: ) 1t'li liL1- (!) (koko dt' H'll) .\11111'<111 110 • throw tantnum = 11' k L "\' a:-~~ i' ka111lwku o oJ.a.w • banality = ~frill( P..R (!)f..: ~
•
di,rnc~nt:er ~
reticence of the Japanese authorities. In a sense. one might say that the machinery of popular culture effecti vely fills in the gaps left by the Japanese state. which. historically. tells its citizenry onl y as much as it needs to know. The real value in Shocking Crimes of Po.mvar Japan lies in its ro le as a starting point for future research. Although the facts are well researched and largely accurate. no anempt is made to assess the deeper social implications of these crimes, and it is this lack of curiosity that prevents this book from being of direct use to anyone with more than a casual interest in Japan. However, it may prove to be a useful resource for mo re serio us scho lars of Japanese culture and society: many of the episodes related in Schreiber's text can and should be expanded into more serious essays which will examine the larger picture of postwar Japanese histo ry.
11a
a:-'-
<
I
Mangajin 79
*~ ~i
80 Mangajin
L. J: ? J: •
Kek-..: ko ~n'....:S~h'I.:iyo~ - ~Y_:o:.___ __ _ __ __ __
_
c
Shoko: il? t.:. L Atashi Ume
to
~'
-c
ire
ranoshii desu ka?
with being fun/enjoyable
is it
" Js it fun being with me?''
" D!!.J'.!)u have a good time being with me?" (PL2) • ite is the -te form of iru, which in the form - ni iru means ''be in/at/on/etc. [a place]" for people and animate things; in the form - to iru it means "be with [someone]." The -te form here indicates manner or means: atashi to ite ="by/while being with me" - • "being with me."
MasatQshi: '~ l..P Tanoshii
.J:: ~
ro.
'~ L
<~ ~ ~
Twwshikunakra
~(:~~'
.J:: o
konai
ro.
is fun/enjoyable (einph.) if not enjoyable wouldn't come (einph.)
"IYes. l it is fun. If it wasn't fun. I wouldn't come." "Sure. I wouldn' t come if I didn' t." (PL2) • tanoshikwwkya is a contraction of Wllosilikullakereba. a conditional ("if/when") form of tallosiliku11ai. negative of tn11oshii (" is fun/enjoyable") - • "if it isn't/wasn't fun." • konai is the negative form of kuru ("come").
ShOko: ;$: ~ t.:? Homo ni? truly/really
" Really?" (PL2) • homo ni is the adverb form of lwnto ("true/truth"). She makes it a question by raising the intonation on ni.
0
Masatoshi: 7 k o Un.
"Uh-huh." (PL2)
0
ShOko: *IJ'!Jlt ~ lv o Konno-sa1z. (name-hon.)
" Konno-san." (PL2) Masatoshi:
7 lvo Un. ''Uh-huh." (PL2)
• even though they have now been dating for quite a while, she continues to call him by his surname p lus the polite -san ('"Mr.'')-another sign of Shoko's relatively traditionalmindset. It doesn't actually sound quite as stiff and fom1al as if an English-speaking woman addressed her boyfriend as "Mr. So-and-so."
Mangajin 81
- - - - - - _ _ _ _ ___:= *E ~ 1..- J: ? J: • Kekkon Shiyo Yo
0
82 Mangajin
I
.6.
'lX
I
"?
I
"(
I
;
<
t:.' ~
< jilij
:b'
1.ltlt A 'IJ{ 1: "fJ:.:*: i"Jit~ 0
l
"(
0)
ShOko: ;t:;zt
1:
*5t
Obon
ni
Dita
17)
jllijf,Ji
11~
..tM" t..-c < J.> lv -c.'T o
110 1yoshin ga jokyo shite kuru 11 desu. (festival name) at/for (place name) in/from parents (subj.) come up to Tokyo (explan.)
" D uring Obon, m_y paren ts in Oita wi ll be coming up to Tokyo."
"M
arents in Oita will be comin to visit durin Obon." (PL3)
• Obon (or Urabon) is the Buddhist " All Souls' Days•· observed each year from August 13 through 15 or 16 (or the same days in July in some areas). lt is a heavy travel time as families gather for the festivities much as Americans get together at Thanksgiving time. He re the parents are coming up to the city from the country, but more typicall y, those living in the c ity return to their ancestral ho mes in the country. • Oita is the name of a prefecture in northern Kyushu. as well as of its capital city. • jo/.:yiJ, written with the kanj i for "up" and "capital," refers to traveling "up" to Tokyo from any outlying area, North, South. East, or West (more than commuting distance is assumed). Jokyo shite kuru is from jiJ/.."'jo suru ("travel up to Tokyo"); kuru after the-re form of a verb implies the action moves toward the speaker, so the formjiJ/..'YiJ shire kuru is only used by those who live in Tokyo and are speaking about someone else coming to visit. • she uses the explanatory n desu because she's '·expla ining" the siruation that leads her to make her next request.
Masatoshi: -') 1-vo Un.
" Uh-huh." (PL2) Shoko:
~-::> -c < t!. ~ ~'o Arte kudasai. meet-(request)
" I'd like you to meet them." (PL3) Masatoshi: -? Iv a Un.
"Uh-huh." (PL2) • aile is the · te form of au (' 'meet''). and kudasai after the · te form of a verb makes a relatively polite request.
Masatosl:!!: X..? E? huh?/what?
" Huh?" (PL2)
Mangajin 83
-rr;flf3,~
Title:
~t~t
~.ifl1ttiifirn.J
Aisatsu
co. pres. greeting/ceremonial
addres~
Greeting from the President
Take'emon-ke no Hitobito The Take'emon Clan by
~t:G
Shacho
• aisarsu can refer to a wide variety of civilities/formalities. including routine daily greetings like ohayo go~imosu ("'good morning'") and kannichi wa ("good afternoon'') as well as client visits, seasonal compliments and gifts, and ceremonial addresses.
I Sat6 Take'emon
;;-r
MC: "t" li,
Dewa. ma:;u then
.1/wchiJ mri hiwkmo.
liN of all co. pre>. from
one word
" Well then, to begin with, a word from our president." (PL2) FX:
:1
'7
Koku (effect o f light bow) de 1m. often contracted 10 ja in less formal situations. is a conjunction meaning "in that case/then/well." • yori sounds somewhat more formal than kara ("'from").
0
l ·:}
Sign: f*:xt~U
.:;- ~--~~:.--
joint stock co.
telepathy
.AU
2
< : ..... <
research center
A:
Nyiisha
< .,
MJ~:m Kenl.:yll-jo
Kabushiki-gaisha Terepa.rhii
-shiki
enter-company ceremony Tele~ath Research
Center Inc. New Em Io ee :Welcoming Ceremony MC: t.:. f_!o, \ i (J) U& (J) Tlfi? Lo,' 13..:. c I! ~ Tadaima no shacho no subarashii o-kotoba
..
just now
of co. pres.
Jli!Wf"t" ~ to: 11' "'? t.:. rikai dekinakatta
o
wonderful (hon.}-words (obj.)
:t·
li
numo
wa
could n01 understand persons as for
f!q (:J asu
.t IJ yori
wu
shussha
1: &!!i'0 ni oyabaw.
tomorrow from coming to work is unnecessary
' 'Those unable to com~rehend the wise words be~wed on ou bY. the resident just now need not come to work tomorrow." (PL2)
•
• • • • •
84 MangaJin
kabushiki means ·'stock,'' and -gaisho is from kaisha ("company/corporation"'; in combinations. k changes tog for euphony) 'joint stock company." terepashii is from the English "telepathy:· kenkyii refers to scientific or academic research, and -jo is a suffix meaning "place of/for [the stated activity!"-> kenkyii-jo =·'research center· (can also be kenkyii-sho). nyllslw combines the kanji for ·'enter" and "company," to refer to a person's "hiring by/joining'' a company. and -shiki means "ceremony." Nyt7sha-shiki refers to a ceremony to formally welcome the ''entering class" of new employees. tadaima means ·just now." and adding no makes it a modifier for the phrase shachiJ no subarashii o-kotoba (""the president's wonderful words"'). rikai dekinakatta is the plain/abrupt past form of rikai dekinai ("can't understand"). negative of rikai dekiru ("can understand"): dekiru replaces suru to make the potential ("can/be able to'') form of sum verbs. tadaima no slwcho 110 subarashii o·kotoba o rikai dekinakotta is a complete thought/sentence ("[you] couldn't understand the president's wonderful words of just now") modifying mono ("'person"). shusslw is a noun referring to the act of ''going/coming to work." - ni oyobazu is an expression for "'[doing the action I is unnecessary/need not [do the action].''
-rr~~lif3,\ ~
t;.·
Title: 1/v 1::: 1 If ,'E UndiJ
vt t Take'emon-ke no Hitobito The Take'emon Clan by
{tifl'tt.ti~r,
-busoku
exercise insufficiency
Out of Shape • the suffix -busoku is fromfusoku ("insufficiency/shortage"). L "l ~~· "t'
Cat: ::to::to
.~hitenaide
Com-gom
I Sat6 Take'emon
1-' L
i!lHi1rtJ.> ir?
sukoshi wtdii suru kn?
(lie abolll FX) in,teatl of doing a little
cxerci~c
("!)
"Shall we get a little exercise instead of just lying around doing I!Qthing?" (PL2) Dog: lvN- . uh-huh/ycah
" Yeah." (PL2) • goro-1/0ro shitenaide is a negative -te form of goro-xoro sum ("'lie about idly:·
usually at home. indcx1rs). A verb in the -1wide form followed by another verb implies '"do the second action without/instead of doing the first action:· • undi"i is a noun for ··exercise," and undiJ suru is its verb form.
Cat: ;t; ·y 7- iJ> I! / ;f-./
iJ>t:r.?
Hokke
ka pinpon
ko no?
hockey
or Ping Pong is it perhaps?
"'Hockey, or maybe Ping Pong?" " Shall we j)lay hock~ be Ping Pong?" (PL2) Dog: ~ '-?, :::1' 11.- 7 t!. t:r. o /yo.
gonijit do
no
golf
nn.
is (colloq.)
" NQ. golf." (PL2) • hokke. pinpon and gorufu are from the English " hockey,"' "Ping Pong," and ·'golf,"' respectively. • ka between two nouns is like "or.'' kana at the end of a sentence typically asks a conjectural question, " I wonder if it is -?/Is it perhaps - /Could it be - ?" • iyo is a colloquial word for "no"; the more formal equivalent is iie.
@] Sound FX :
~· :--
1
Pishi.'
Whack (sound of golf club hitting ball) Dog: ifJ-, A 7 1 A l t;, '1,-:> t.:. o ill! A. suroisu shichorta. Ike (cxclam.)
slice
did-(regret)
': A -:> t.:.o ni hairtc1.
pond into entered
"Oh no I sliced it. It went in the ond." (PL2) Sound FX: ;f- f' -t Poclw
Splash (sound of ball landing in water) /f');E t!. ir ~ ~ 7 o ;jc ;;tv t!., ;;t v o Cat: ilE!Ii:IJ Undr)
-husoku dn kara
nii.
Tsugi. ore
exercise insufliciency is because (colloq.) next
1/me
da. ore. is
Ume
"Because you really don't get enough exercise. Next is me, me.'' ' 'You' re just out of shape. Next it's my tum, my turn." (PL2) • a long ii as an exclamation often carries a feeling of dismay/alarm. suraisu is from the English ''slice." and its verb form is suraisu suru. Suraisu shichallo is a contraction of suraisu shite shimatta, the -te form of suraisu suru plus the plain/abrupt past form of shimnu. which after the -te form of a verb often implies the action was undesirable/regrettable.'' • lroitta is the plain/abrupt past form of hoiru ("enter"). Ni marks the place entered. • nii adds colloquial e mphasis: ·•you really are/do - ... ore is a rough. masculine word for ·'lime."
Mangajin 85
• pop Japanese
Tease me, squeeze me, dial me re you lonely. fru ~trated. and Japan e~e? Do you dream o f meeting thai ~pecial ~omeone who thinh you're ~omeone ~pccial. too? Well. you're n01 alone. There's a place where you can go 10 meet other!. who are in the 'ame boa!. I t"~ cal led a telephone club-terekura ( 7 1.- ~ 7 ). From th e land that brought you the Walkman and karaoke machines. here·~ the late~t in palmtop systems that ~Ct you anoat in a world of unchecked fantasy. And you'll be doing whm you do there in
A
pair~.
What that i s depends o n you. over the phone line in Japan can (and very often do) involve restrained. tentative con versations between strangers seeking pennanent com panio n ~hip. The terekura a~ ori ginally concei ved i~ a place where fellows hoping to meet M ~. Wonderful (or just to talk to ~omebody) pay to enter ti ny booths and hook into a chat line. On the other end are their female counterparts. usually calling from home at no charge. Then what happens? 11· ~ up to the couple. Thirty minutes of desultory conversation. a friend tells me, i~ usually enough for the partie~ to reach their private conclu ~ions... 1 happen to be free tomorrow ..... one or the other ma) venture to ~ay . ..lts11 110 ma 11i ka demra o kirarechaua .. ("All of· a ~udden the phone went dead") is one common refrain following such a proposal. Otherwi.,e. the pair may agree to meet in a re~taurant or coffeehou~e. They might even go !>O far a~ to show up and identify themsel ves. Even if they do. shrugs my friend. nothing ever really works out w hen people connect through terekura. But he keeps going back. Males who a~k questions like ..lma doko ni inwsu ka! Do1111a Juku o kite imasu ka ?.. (..Where are you now? What are you wearing?") arc cut off instantly. Any hint that the conve~ation·~ becoming a platform for aural voyeurism promptly land~ the offender in hyperspace. Thi~ surprbed me. ~ince phone sex seem!> to be a ~port enjoyed by both men and women. Ads for it are plastered everywhere in Japan- telephone poles. sports n ew~papers. erotic manga- and the target audience is certainly not limited to men. "Shi8ekiteki IW deai o yakusoku ~flima.\·u·· ("We promi~e you a stimulating encounter"). proclaims a typical ad in a .. lady's comic" (an erotic manga for women). which deliberately u!.es the punning phone number 518-456. The~e En counte r~
digits can be pronounced go-icflihacfli-sfli -go-roku. encoded ~hort han d for ko-i-ll"a-ji-8o-ro ( .. love i), a gigolo"). T he service being offered i~ dell8011 daiaru and receive re~pon!>e),. or listen to message), posted by othe r s and leave messages for any w ho seem attractive. The fee for each trarhaction is deducted from fund~ w ired to the de/18011 ~ys te m in advance. The chance~ of a call being returned suffer becau:-.c the other party may be collecting a fee from the de11go11 o,y),tem to 'pice thing), up wi th alluring me~~ages. Even high school girl s get into the act. picking up .,pending money each week ba),cd on how many callback requests their messages generate. According to a want ad in one lady's comic soliciting applicant'> for the pol>ition of terelw11 companion. the worker may operate in one of two modes. depending on whether her intent i.,to initiate 11limaru se11yil ISI7sfwuo ( / - -:r Jl.- •J/.I!J ..;~ 3 1 ~ . "normal priority encounte~") or tere-etcfli w7slwuo ( 7 1..- .x. :1 + ../ - ~ J ·:~ ~ . ..telephone !'>ex encounters"). (Tstlsltouo l ..twUccessful applicant can ~tart right away. wi th earning~ ~ent to an account of her choo~ing.
by William Marsh
92 Mangajin
William Marsh (IIU/r.\·ltbilm'go/.com) iva freelance H"rirer ba\etl i11 To/..yo.
