Reading Japanese With A Smile

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Reading Japanese with a Smile

Nine Stories from a Japanese WeeklY Magazine for Intermediate Learners

TOM GALLY

7a

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~ ) '\ ;.; 00 Bankoku the country of Ban / § mT mezas« to aim for; to intend to go to / ::1;?, connection / tijl shain company employee / ~9;OJi,* muchi-m6mai ignorance

~.i. As the story explains, ) '\ ;.; 00 is a misinterpretation of ) '\ ;.; ::1 -7 "Bangkok." / The slanted line (' ) above the character 00 in the title on p. 130 indicates emphasis. See also Sa. / § 1~T modifies t±ffit. / ::1;?, is an abbreviation for ::1;?, -7 :,.; 3 ;.;, that is, a relative or friend who can provide special assistance or access. A ::1;?, tiffit is an employee who got her job through a personal introduction instead of the usual hiring process. (A typical ::1;?, 1± ffit might be the child of a former classmate of the company president) / ~9;0 muchi means "no knowledge" and ~'* momai "darkness; ignorance." ~9;oJi,* thus means "the depths of ignorance."

7b

~ t~!*J tonai within Tokyo (see 3b) / *=¥-lBmH± ote shu/>,

I34

....

The "Country of Ban"

pansha large publishing company (see Sb) / tJJ~T.Q works; is employed / K~ Kei:Jo Miss K / 'lip including (Miss K) / jiijMO):9:'~I29A doki no joseiyonin four women hired at the same time / At±1ifF. § nYUsha gonen-me fifth year after entering the company / ~c~ L '"'( kinen shite in honor of / .:. 0) * kono ham this spring / -*i~: issho ni together / #ij:7!-1*fT kaigai ryoko overseas trip / 13t @ ~ '5L. "C t: keikaku 0 tateta made a plan

JiJ ~c~ L'"'( Iai" ~c~T.Q kinen sum / '5L. '"'( i: Iai" '5L. '"'( .Q tateru

~.i. The suffix ~ in K ~ is a title of respect for a young unmarried woman. Originally used for the daughters of the nobility and wealthy, now ~ is often applied with mild sarcasm in the popular press to young women who may put on high-class airs. / jiij M doki means "same period of time," so K~~l n~jiijM O):9:til29 A means "four women, including Miss K, who were hired at the same time."

A Since large Japanese companies usually hire new employees only once a year, in April, the people hired at the same time tend to think of themselves as a group. And beca~se there is no senior-junior (:$'GIl senpai, f~¥ kohat) te.nslon t~ color their relations, as there is with people hired earlier or later, jiij M employees often find it easier to socialize with each other than with other coworkers. / Because Miss K is twenty-four and just starting her fifth year of work, she and the other three women were probably hired immediately after they completed two years of junior college. This would traditionally make them -~ ~ ippanshoku, the term used for support workers, especially women, who are not in line for promotion. In contrast, ~ir 11 sog6shoku are career-track employees who, in large companies, are almost invariably graduates of fouryear colleges. In recent years, more women have been at-

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I35


tending four-year colleges and looking for ~..g. ~ jobs, but they still do not always receive equal treatment in hiring and promotions.

7c

.:? Ii J;, 1.' I:-:>T? J; ~Iv

f,**Rii& ,± It, 0 It, ol±\ t.:'b~, B ~ C 7. 'b~ ~ '\ ~

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/ :tf;f-- }v'b~ 71 (J)J'{ / :J 7, Cit' J .::. C -c"~ij

,± i C i "? is;

~ f,*1m!ll!. kJihochi candidate locations / v ~ v 7:> various / tf1 t: daa were mentioned; were proposed / B ~ nissii the number of days / 7. yosan budget / ip I? because of / ~ /' 'if if- - }v 7P -7 1 (J) /"{ /' :J -7 Singapore or Bangkok, Thailand / t It' -? .:. t -r: to iu koto de (see ii, below) / ~,j: ~ t ~ -? t: hanashi toa matomatta they decided; they reached a conclusion

It; tf1 i: 1& tf1 ~ deru / ~ t ~ -? t: 1& ~ t ~ ~

~~ Thailand is called -7 1 in Japanese, while the Thai language is -7 1 ~g. Tai-go. / The phrase t", -? .:. t -r: refers to something that has been previously mentioned. It usually does not need to be translated into English.

7d

J;<t;"? -r1t:J:? 1l'~'L-I' 1l';(' Il)i; t)J:.:?t':~'~"('"

~ B '\ K. ,±, ~1±(J)1m IJ ~:P&It't.:~qT1tJlm

~ ~?"(~ I:-:>-C~' ~/v1l'<

-c" '\ i ~ ~: Jl1!1,89 t.t B l.¥ C ~tfi (J) 7 1 (J) 'J 7-

l;. 1::<t!.1v J; ~< ~,

'd:- J! -:::> 't, C IJ ib;t -r 3!R Wi -c" 7 f.J 'd:- A n l j:3 v

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7e

Mit 1$rm(J)~')~(J)Y.?'d:-i'b~,t~ c, K.?,± ~ "? -f <, -f (J)f~ 'd:- ~¥ L t: 0


~ ~ B yolmjitsu the next day / ~f±(J)1ffi' ~ I: I«lisha no kaeri ni on her way home from work / PjJl'" t: nozoita peeked into; dropped by / ~1Tft:m!Ji5 ryok6 dairiten travel agency / ~ ~ I: masa ni exactly; precisely / :m!;ma9 ~ ris6-teki na ideal / B~! nittei schedule / ~m kingaku amount of money / 'J 7 - tour / J! "::) ~t mitsuke she found / t ~ ~ ;t -r provisionally; for the time being / 5!H U9f -r: dokudan de on her own judgment / 7 (¢J :a: An '"'( 13 " -t: .Jf!Yfllm 0 irete oita she went ahead and made a reservation

jiJ PjJl" »t: 1& PjJl < nozolm / J! "::) ~ + 1& J! "::) ,t ~ mitsukeru / An'"'( 1& An~ imu / 13"'t.:: 1& 13 <

~:t PjJl"'t.:: modifies ~~Tft:m!Ji5, so PjJl"'t:'~~Tft:m!Ji5 means "a travel agency that she dropped by." / The use of t ~ ~;t -r suggests that Miss K has made the reservation only provisionally, pending consultation with her coworkers. / The final 13'" tc, translated above as "went ahead," indicates an action taken with an eye to future developments. See also 51.

~ ~ ~ yokuasa the next morning / 1$ 00 (J) - A (J) Y * nakama no hitori no Waii6 Miss Y, one of the group / J! i,}~ H ~ mil«lkeru notice; catch sight of / ~ -? -f < immediately / -f (J)ftf: sono ken that matter / '*~ L. t: h6kolm shita reported

'*~ L. i: 1& ,*~T ~ hokolm sum

I37

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~;t {$ ra' means "a companion, friend, or colleague (either individuallyor as a group)." / The t after J!;6~~t ~ is th sequential t (see lj). / -t- 0)14: here refers to the fact th ~ Miss K had made a tour reservation. The word 14: ~ often used to refer to previously discussed matters. IS

7£

rv)_v)<7)i1~2b -o t.:(7) J: 0 ii-=f.~: 71 (7) '/ 7 - ~ $ L:i!1v t: -? -? i: ~t n c\ v) v);b J: t.J.J

~ v' ", 0);6{ cb "? t: 0) J: ii no ga alta no yo there was a good on~ / MJ~~: k:t'.te ni on mr own; without prior consultation or permrssion / $ L. ib Iv t ~ "? i: mOshi. konjatta signed up for / "'''' b J: b. ii wa yo ne that's okay, isn't it?

jJJ cb "? i: IlF cb ~ / $ L.;i61v t ~ "? t: IlF $ L.:i6: Iv '"C' L j: "? i: IlF $ L.;i6 tr mOshikomu / L. j: "? i: IlF L. j: .oJ

~;t When referring to a person's behavior, MJ~ usually suggests selfishness or disregard for the feelings of others. When it refers to the speaker's own actions, the word conveys a sense of humble apology. In this sentence, Miss K's apology for what she has done is reinforced by the L. i "? t: suffix (see 3h and 41). This apology is little more than a ritual, though. Miss K in fact thinks she has done a good thing by making the reservation, and she is expecting to be thanked.

I38


7g

I39

~ ~ji.;zM igai na kao a surprised face / ft"'~FjI karui hi nan slight criticism / ~T chOshi tone of voice / :i6:~ "'( komete with; including / ~.:t t: kotaeta answered

tJ:J L. IlF T ~ / :i6: ~"'( IlF :i6: ~ ~ lwmeru / ~ x.J:. ~ ~ .:t ~ kotaen«

~i ~ji.;ZM:a:-T ~ means "to make a surprised face" or "to look surprised." ~ji. means "unexpected," and the reason for the surprise is that something unexpected has occurred.

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The "Country of Ban "

7h

r ~ L?, 7 1 ~: L t: 0) ? J \ ~ :1 7 t ~ ~ i,p -o i: 0) J

~ 2f;; t? (shows mild surprise) / 7 -1 I:: L. i: O)? rai ni shira no? Did you decide on Thailand? / J'\ /' ::J -7 t: ~ ~ 7P"? t: 0) Bankoku ja nakatta no Wasn't it Bangkok?

tiJ L. t: q" T ~ / t: -t> ~ i?~ "? t: q" -C- I± ~ i?~ -o t: Q' -e I± ~'" de wa nai q" -C- 2f;; ~

r:

t t;

~i: The I:: T ~ ni suru pattern means "to decide on; to choose." / In informal women's speech, a sentence ending with the particle 0) may be either an explanation or a question depending on the intonation. Explanatory fl) sentences have falling intonation, while questions have rising intonation. In writing, it is impossible to determine whether a sentence such as 7 -1 I:: L. i: 0) is an explanation or a question without contextual dues. Here, the ? shows unambiguously that 7 -1 I:: L. i: 0) is a question, and that context tells the reader that J '\ /' ::r -7 t: ~ 7'J: 7J\ "? i: 0) is a question as well. (Question marks are normally used in Japanese only in cases of possible ambiguity. If the sentence is clearly a question-because it ends in ir, uses an interrogative pronoun, etc.-then the question mark is omitted.)

7i

L~ t

r it -o , t!. '? 't: J\ ~:1 7 Lt 71 O)§t~t!.'t c~"''''J

~ X. "? ett Huh?! / t!. "? '"(" but / §t~ shuto capital city


X. "? is a shortened version of X. x., an interjection that, depending on the situation and intonation, can indicate joy, sorrow, anger, agreement, or hesitation Here it shows surprise. As in 4g, the final small -o in X. "? indicates a sudden halting of the vocal chords. It is not pronounced "t," Here and in 7j (X. - -o ), this "? is similar to an exclamation point / The conjunction t!. "? '"(" is used in speech when asserting a fact that contradicts another person's statement or assumption.

L~ t L~ t

r§t~? it - -o , t!. -:> l71 O)§t~,± 7:t A ~ L

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J: -J 0 J \ ~ :1 7 '? l :1 7 li~ '9 < 'b) L? 00 0) ~ Wi t

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x. - "? ltt (shows surprise or disbelief) / 7':t.A Laos / ::J -7 i?t"':) < koku ga tsuku ends in koku ("country") / 00 0) ~ frj kuni no namae the name of a country / t: -t> ~ ", 0) ja nai no isn't it?

t: ~ ~ v q" -C- I± ~ '" de wa nai q" -C- 2f;; ~

x. - "? is pronounced with a prolonged rising tone. This interjection is often used in conversation by young women. / The "? '"(" after J'\ /' ::J -7 is a contraction of C ", oJ 0) I± to iu no wa, which literally means "that which is called ... ," though there is usually no need to translate it into English. In writing, J~' /' ::J -7 C v oJ 0) I ± might be rendered with quotation marks: "Bangkok." / The ellipsis dots in quotation marks 1······ J indicate that the listener, Miss K, is so stunned she is unable to speak.

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:)c Genuine country names that end in 00 koku include ~ 00 Eikoku "United Kingdom," 1- I) **000 Chiri Kyo. wakoku "Republic of Chile," and the official name of Japan, B *00 Nihonkoku or Nipponkoku.

7k

~ ~ i tL -r .:. (J) 1J umarete kono kata ever since she was born / =+Im~rm ny"Uyo nenkan twenty-four years / I~ ;.,r C: "\ -? 00 Ban to iu kuni a country called Ban / "':) i ~ in other words; that is / 1§' t: -r ~;b ~ 7i' -::J i: shi1Z.Jlte utagawanakatta believed and didn't doubt

jj; ~ i tL -r ~ ~ i tL ~ umareru / -m t: -r ~ -m t: 1.> shinjim / ~;b ~ 7r -::J t: ~ ~;b ~ "\ ~ ~ -? utagau

~~ .:. (J) 1J kono kala means "since; after." ~ i tL -r .:. O)}j' is a set phrase that means "all one's life; ever since one was born." / The C: before 1§' t: -r is the quoting C:, indicating what Miss Y believed. / Another version of the phrase -m t: -r ~;b 7d:' 7J> -::J t: appears in 3m.

The "Country of Ban JJ

71

~ IiiJWlA:t:±(J):9:'t11±tU: doki nyusha no josei shain ni among the female employees who joined the company at the same time / - At!.~t hitori dake only one (person) / ~i'tcf*ffl ~ enko sajy6sha a person hired through a personal connection / I!# tIWfISIl rumor / * ~ t!. -::J t:.1v t!. bonto datta n' da was true

~i'tc means nearly the same thing as ::r;?, in 7a-a personal connection, whether through blood, marriage, or acquaintance. / f*ffl T ~ safy6 sum means "to hire," and f*ffl~ sajy6sha is "hiree." / - At!. ~t~i'tcf*ffl~i1~"\ ~ C: \t \ -? I!# hitori dake enko saryosha ga iru to iu ZfllJasa means "the rumor that only one person was hired through a personal connection." / The Iv in * ~ t!. -::J t:.1v t!. is a contraction of the explanatory (J). In other words, the fact that there was one hiree-Miss Y -who got her job through a connection explains why Miss Y is working in this company even though she is so ignorant / This sentence is in parentheses because it indicates Miss K's thoughts.

I43

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The "Country of Ban JJ

7m

':~-iL-I>'::t.tlvoll) r1t,d -ibl:! LIv~ 7l><LIv

A 1iE.1f:§~: L --C .. K nllj:~O)~~~ij[-m Lt.:

0) t!. "? t: 0

~-B- A f±1ilF § ~: l"t' rryiisha gonen-me ni shite in the fifth year after joining the company / P.to)=-~ uwasa no shingi the truth of the rumor / ~1~ L t: kakushin shila was convinced of

;.1 ~: l"t' is a literary version of ~: or -r: "in or at (a place or time)." / The characters =- and ~ in Jt~ mean "truth" and "falsehood," respectively. In some contexts, • ~ can be translated as "truth or falsehood," though here just "truth" is better.

.3t Large Japanese companies, which often have their pick of new hires, screen prospective employees in several ways. One is by choosing only those who have graduated from high-ranked universities, thus relying on the rigor of the university entrance exams to weed out the poorly educated and the less diligent Another is by subjecting applicants to exams and interviews. The tests given by companies are usually not as tough as college entrance exams, and they often focus on more practical, commonsense knowledge, such as current events and geography. And a third is to use recommendations from the personal contacts of important people in the company. While this method is sometimes as effective as the others-a recommender can lose face if the introduced employee turns out to be a dud-it does not always work, as shown here by the case of Miss Y.

I44

e

THE R,CH Boy's URINE THERAPY AND H,S GIRLFRIEND'S DEPRESSION

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1$*JII0)1±~~~t~1±o)OL, M-T~1v (=~J) ~::, O~ (=;\) t v)~EJII:16PJ1J;).0)m;A'b~-e~t.:o * ~~~=~~#, •• -A~~~~,~O)ft~~~ /GJJJ M€~1±~:: lJJcV), ~~X!±;\ 137JfIl ~ Mf~ 0 • ~ BMW t l'\ ~ .r, n ~f:tv)7t~t""( v).Q 0

M-T~Iv!±=Ji+~B, :=:7JfIlO)*~~3 :1~ffl .L,~~~~o)~Y~Nt.~-e¥~N~-~i L t: 0 ~ 0) ~, = *JI. 0) ~ Y 7°}v!± ifiJ 0) ~ ;Z ~ * T }V ~:: ~ x: Y -7 -1 ~ 0

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r t.l ;Z, fl 0) ~Jt 'b~ Iifj ~ l:f1 L t: Iv t!. ~ t t\ 0 tt 4It~ i! .0) t: cV) ~::;j:) L 0 ~ ilX Iv --r: .Q Iv t!. 0 ""( J

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THE RICH Boy's URINE THERAPY AND HIS GIRLFRIEND'S DEPRESSION

M-ko (24), an office worker at an architectural firm in Kanagawa, now has a boyfriend, 0 (28), who is as handsome as K6ji Kikkawa. Although he went to a second-rate university, he's 184 centimeters tall, works at a real estate company run by his father, and makes over eight million yen a year. He drives both a BMW and a Mitsubishi Pajero,

On Valentine's Day, M-ko bought 30,000 yen worth of chocolate just for 0, and they went on a double date to Yokohama with another couple. That night, the two couples checked into a hotel with a view of the sea.

While 0 was taking a shower, M-ko got a telephone call from her girlfriend in the next room.

"Hey, according to my boyfriend, 0 drinks his own piss every morning. He says it's good for his health."

"Yuck!" M-ko said. "Are you serious?"

I47

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The Rich Boy's Urine Therapy

M -r ~ Iv iJ!f& ~ f& ~ 0 ~ ~: IifJ < t" § {~t.: ":) ~ ~ ~:~;tt.:o

"-1.-1:.1 *-1.-

r.$~~.~~~5~~~h~~":)~Iv~O*~

JiX:7t~±¥f~j~ t IPJ t: ~" t -? t ~ f1j < ~ v' Iv t!.o ;g ~i!k1v~J;.0 J:J

o ~ ~: .:f- A ~ h -t- -? ~: ~ -? i: M -r ~ Iv ,± " r -t- A

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'±~*\H:-1-\? ! J t]gl~~:18Ivt!.o

o ~ ,± ".J - J\ /'1@E1t¥*" ~ lj!( ~ Ah --Cv\ r. ~ ~ t ~ ~:'±v\"J ~ rJS~"J~t~v\o

M-r~ Iv'±= B ra"t~lvt!.*" O~~:="J0)~1tj:~ ill L iz;

CD flO)1W~i!k* t, ~ v' ~ t CID fl ~:iX* ~~&') ~ v\ ~ t

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iJ'> -o ~ J: <" ill <" :J31fi:~ to)O ~ '±4fJ~*" ~ ~ v A r 7 /' ~: ~ -? l < h ~ 0 t, iJ'> i., M -r ~ Iv ,±;;t.t!.o

rv\ i" 'KA1v t!. r; -1 /' iJ!1*r*J~iJill. i ~" ~Bl'± ~ B ~ ~ i t.:iX u Iv t!.:b J

to -t 1

t ~ftT ~ t: U'~:" '::!~I!t~iJ!i -r < ~ ~ iJ'> ~-r~

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When M-ko nervously asked 0 about it, he replied 'LUllLl"' ........ UJ, "It has cured my colds and tonsillitis and fever. There's nothing dirty about urine; it has the components as sweat and tears. You should try drinking it, too."

When 0 started to kiss M-ko, she adamantly refused.

"No kissing! No way!"

o also practices "no-underpants therapy"-he never wears briefs when he sleeps.

After stewing over it for three days, M-ko laid down

three rules for 0:

(1) Do not drink urine in front of me. (2) Do not try to get me to drink urine.

(3) Always gargle after drinking urine, and then brush your teeth for at least twenty minutes.

Every weekend, the handsome, gentle, and rich 0 invites M-ko out to expensive restaurants. But M-ko just feels depressed.

''That wine he's drinking now will get warmed up in his body, and then tomorrow morning he's going to drink it again."

Whenever she thinks about it, the gourmet food turns bitter in her mouth.

I49

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Sa

~ j3:t}j t ~ i o-botchama rich boy / ~pjH~It*~ innyo kenk6-h6 urine therapy / ~ A kaibito girlfriend / :I_ yUutsu depression; melancholy

~.t. j3:t}j"':) t ~ i is the extra polite version of j3:t}j"':) t ~ Iv obouban; which is either a polite term for another person's son or a derisive term for a rich, coddled young man who lacks common sense. / Just as t ~ Iv is a child's-language version of the polite suffix ~ Iv (6c), t ~ i is the child's version of the even politer suffix ~ i. / As explained in this story, adherents of ~*.itit believe that drinking or gargling one's own urine in the morning is beneficial to one's health in various ways. A few Japanese doctors advocate the practice, thou~ it is not widely followed in Japan. / The characters m the phrase ~* 1i!itit mean "d~ink-urine-h~~-method.'~ / A ~A may be either a boyfriend or a girlfriend '. Unlike ~ A aijin "lover," the word ~ -(\ . does not Implythough it does not rule out--sexual mtlm~cy. ( If you l~~ to impress people with your ability to wnte ?ifficult kanji, the • in 11. is a good one to learn. (It IS also wntten IJ. Learn both versions and impress people even more.)

ISO

ISI


Sb

iJ' ~ iJtp t:~?t~(it?lh'llt~'L-I' :t-.r.}y .r.A': 1:t:~?J:<"

:fII!~}11 0) {± ~~i3t~1±0) 0 L"\ Mr ~ Iv (=Il~1J

:t-(A. 1:t:~?I;l-l; i!?ll'P':? t: I: .:~'tn:

~:, O;g (=J\) ·C v' -J E}lI~liJw,O)~AiI~""0

~ t::.o

~ 1$~JII Kanagawa prefecture south of Tokyo / f1~~n ~U jUtaku sekkei gaisha housing design company / 0 L 6eru female office worker (see Sa) / E JII ~ RJitA Kikkawa Koji-ni resembling K6ji Kikkawa / ~AiJ{--r: ~ t: kaibito ga dekita (she) acquired a boyfriend

tn 't: ~ i: ~ --r: ~ 1a>

~i: E J II ~ R] is a handsome pop singer and actor. He was at the height of his popularity in the early 199Os, when this story was written. / The suffix itA ni means "resembling; looking like." / The ", -) in 0 ~ t v -) modifes ~A, so O~ t It, -) EJlI~RJitAO)~A means "a boyfriend named 0 who looks like K6ji Kikkawa" / The suffix ~ kun is explained in 3b.

A. Articles in the popular press often describe people's appearance through comparisons with show business personalities.

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The Rich Bf!Y's Urine Therapy

8c

t.'~'"/J« 1- t)~? t...A,J:,J:?V'-I><I;tI;r;~?J:A, J:,J:,

~*J!f-:" 7c .:._ mE t!.ii~, ~ ~ - J\ flY -e:/ T, ~

It~';l~' ... I:'?l!-A,"/Jf~'t...-I> -:>/:. j.A,t...~? 1;t?V'-I> < iA,;lA,

O)*i'§'T ~ If'th~~t±~:iJJ¥J, 1F ~X ttJ\ sliP]

~mTo

~ *~ daigaku university / .::. of (adds emphasis) / =VIE niryii second-rate / J1t~ shinch6 height / - Aim ~ :'--1- f?yaku hachiju yon senchi 184 centimeters (6'0") / x: chichi his father / ~-g-t ~ keiei suru runs; manages / :If'J1Jil ~f± judosan gaisha real-estate company / W1 '¢J tsutome works; is employed / ~~)( nenshU annual income / J\ S JJ FG happyaku man en eight million yen / m -t Iwsu exceeds

JjJ W1 '¢J B' W1 '¢J ~ tsutomeru

~.i. This sentence describes three things: 0' s education, his height, and his income and job. While M-ko regards the second and third-184 centimeters and eight million yen per year from his father's company-as good, the first-O's graduation from a second-rate university-is not so favorable. The particle C of singles out *~ as different from the other two elements. / The particle (J) after x: is an alternative form of the subject particle iJ~, so x: (J)~-gT ~ :If'J1J~~f± means "the real-estate company that his father manages," with X:(J)~-g-t ~ being a relative clause that modifies :If't1J~~t±.

3t This sentence assumed that the reader was in tune with the Japanese zeitgeist of the early 1990s. At that time, Japanese women were said to demand three things from prospective husbands: ~~~ kii-gakureki "high educational background," ~ J1t~ kii-shinch6 "high height," and

I52

The Rich Bf!Y's Urine Therapy

~ ~A kii-shurryu "high income." In other words, they were supposedly interested only in men who were tall and rich and had gone to good universities. Because each requirement began with the kanji ~, they were referred to collectively as .=: J@i sanko "the three highs." Like ~ J II ~ Jij, though, =~ vanished from the public consciousness within a few years.

8d

~ .. kuruma cars / J\:):r.. 0 Pajero / 19:!v)5t~t'"(v\~ tsukaiwakete iru uses one or the other as appropriate

Ii; 19:! v \ 5t ~ r '"( B' 19:! v \ Jt ~ t ~ tsukaiwakeru

~.i. The b "also" after .. indicates that 0' s cars are another example of his wealth and attractiveness to M-ko. / Pajero is the name of a line of four-wheel-drive vehicles made by Mitsubishi Motors. In some countries they are marketed under the name Montero or Shogun.

IIi hi

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I53


8e

::<.1. .: I: lI·-::>t:~'i J: '? 11' !!,/..,"*;.,~;.,

M-=f~ /v'±=fJ + 1m 8, =7JPiO) * /73 :J ~

J:'i .' J;/..,f.ti:l> J:':IH

m.L, *~~~O)~Y~~t.~~~~~?

- r :a:- L tz;

~ = 13 -t!Z9 8 nigatsu jiiyokka February 14th (Valentine's Day) / ~7JPi san man en (costing) thirty thousand yen / * ;.; 1- =t:I a sincere present of chocolate / ffl'i: L yOi shi prepared / -9:./X.t!. -l? anna tomodadn girlfriend / 7J 'Y "/}v couple / *'W~ Yokohama city south of Tokyo, in Kanagawa Prefecture / .y 7' }v T - r double date

tiJ ffl'i: L ~ ffl:t!-t ~ yOi sum / L t: ~ -t ~

~i. -9:./X. t: -; is a friend who happens to be a girl or wcr man. No romantic connection is implied. / In Japanese, the meaning of 7J 'Y "/ }v . is restricted to a man and wcr man who are lovers or married to each other. The word is not normally used in the more general sense of "pair."

3t On Valentine's Day, Japanese women give presents of chocolate to men. There are two major categories of these chocolate presents: .~ 1- 3 :I giri choko "obligatory chocolate," which includes inexpensive chocolate candies that female office workers give to male coworkers or bosses in whom they have no romantic interest, and *;.; 1- 3:I "favorite's chocolate," which is a more expensive chocolate gift given to an actual or prospective lover. The *;.; in *;.; 1- 3:I is an abbreviation of :;$:frl honmei. Originally a sports term for a competitor that is expected to come in first in a race, :;$: frl can also refer to the person who is the leading candidate for some position. In this story, 0 is M-ko's leading candidate for her future

I54

The Rich Boys Urine Therapy

husband. / March 14th has been designated * r; -1 r':;-'"White Day" in Japan. On that day, men who received Valentine presents are supposed to reciprocate with gifts of white chocolate or other treats.

8f

J:_Q J".t~p,. 'i.7;. .7;.

-of 0)11(, =*'i0) ~ Y 7° )ld± ~O) j!;t .Q * T )v ,:

7:r.Y71/o

~ i"(7)11( sonoyoru that night / =)f,[<7)7J 'Y "/}v futakumi no kappum the two couples / #ij:(7) J! X. ~ * .:;-}v umi no mieru hoteru a hotel with a view of the sea / 1-.::r.. 'Y -7 -1 ;.; checked in

~.i The (7) in #ij:(7) J! X. ~ is an alternative to the potential particle iJ~, so #ij:(7) J! X. ~ * .:;-}v literally means "a hotel from which the sea can be seen." / With the omitted verb added, this sentence would end 1-.::r.. 'Y -7 -1 ;.; L t:

8g

~ ~ l' r; - ~ 7fr (f"(", ~ C ~ shawii 0 abite im loki while taking a shower / ~(7)~~.@: tonari no heya the room next door / 'Mt~iJ~a; '? t: denwa ga atta there was a telephone call

ISS

iii 1:1

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III III

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tiJ m-u'-c 1& m-ry'~ abiru / ~ ~ t: 1& ~ ~

~~ ~ "" r; - ~ m- rY ~ is the usual expression for "to take a shower." m- rY ~ means "to be drenched with a large amount of water or other liquid."

8h

~.g. tl.:t hey, listen! / fJ,. (7)~Jt watashi no kare my boyfriend / I*J ~ t:e L t: kikidashita extracted information by asking; found out / 4J!~ maiasa every morning / 1@.6li(7) t: ~ I.: kenko no tame ni for health's sake / j3 L ~.: urine / ~ Iv -e ~ Iv t!. ~ -c nonde 'ru n' daue (is said to) drink

tiJ I*J ~ t:e L t: 1& I*J ~ t:e T kikidasu / ~Iv -e ~ 1& ~Iv -e\{' ~ 1& ~u nomu

~~ tl.:t is used in conversation to get another person's attention or to change the subject to something that the speaker considers important. / Here ~Jt means "boyfriend." Similarly, ~Jt:tc kanojo sometimes means "girlfriend." / j3 L ~.: is the word that children learn for "urine." A more formal word is IJ'\'f£ shahen. The medical term is Pi( try6. / The Iv after I*J ~ t:e L t: and ~ Iv ""C' ~ is a contraction of the explanatory and nominalizing (7). / The ending ~ -c is used to report what someone else has said. It is a contraction of t \{, -? .


~ ~1' ~ get! yuck! gross! / 7:; really? are you serious?

~~ The interjection ~f ~ indicates the speaker's disgust (The small ~ is explained in 4g.) An initial ~f seems to connote stomach upset in Japanese. Similar words include ~f -? "vomit," ~f ~ ~ "burp," and the onomatopoetic ~f.:t ~f.:t, which describes the sound of retching. / 7:; is a shortened, slangy version of AOO § majime "serious; not joking."

8j

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ osoru-osoru nervously; fearfully / 0 ~ I: I*J < t Olum ni kiku to when (M-ko) asked 0 / EI {g i: ~ ~ ~ I: jishin tappuri ni full of self-confidence / ~.:t t: kotaaa answered

Ih ~ .:t t: 1& ~.:t ~ kotaen«

~i. The reduplicated ~ ~ f& ~ is an adverb derived from the verb ~ ~ osoru "to fear." / The t after I*J < is the sequential t. / t: ~ ~ ~ means "full." / The subject of ~ .:t t: is 0 ~.

I57

]

I I

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8k

~ 00.$ kaze a cold; the flu / ,ffii~~~ hent6en tonsillitis / ;fE ~~ kafonsh6 pollen allergy; hay fever / .: n -r: by means of this / ra "? t: naotta were cured

tiJ ra -? t: d' ra ~ naoru

~.t. m$ can refer to both the common cold and the flu. / The tonsils are called ,ffii ~~~'l hent6sen. / The verb tj::J3 ~ is written ra ~ when it means "to recover from an illness." When it means "to be repaired; to be restored," it is written Wi ~ .

81

~ * (J) nX: 7t 1ry6 no seibun the components of urine / 7f ase sweat / ~ namida tears / [i¥J t: onaji the same / -t "? t ~ (not) at all / fIj < tj: \t' kitanakunai not dirty / ~ kimi you / ~ Iv -r: Ji.. 0.t nonde mira yo try drinking it

tiJ -r: d' tf. / fIj < tj: \t' B' fIj \t' kitanai / ~ Iv -r: Q' ~ tr nomu / Ji.. 7:> Q' Ji.. ~

~.t. * (J) nX: 7t ,± 7f -? ~ t [i¥J t: -r: means "urine is made of the same things as sweat and tears." / -t "? t ~ adds emphasis to the meaning of a sentence. It is us~. ~nly in negative constructions. / The pronoun ~ kimt IS used


mainly by men when addressing a friend or close acquaintance who is of equal or lower social status. Being a woman, M-ko would be likely to reply to her boyfriend using either his name (probably followed by ~ lv, -t ~ lv, or ~ kun) or ~ tj: i: "you." / Ji.. 7:> is the brusque imperative form of Ji..1a:>. / When used after the gerund (-te) form, Ji..1a:> means "to try," so ~ A. -r: Ji..1a:> is "to try drinking." / The final .t reinforces O's recommendation that M-ko try urine therapy.

8m

;t-<A- CX-A ;:

o tn:.:f-.A ~ h-t -) t: ~ -:J t.:M-=f ~ Iv Ii, r.:f-.A

1f'J t~'" 'IJ·t~ < ;: Ii

li*fSt-jt:1 ~ ! J c ij{~ t:jBlvt.:o

~ :f .A ~ n-f -? I: 7d: "? i: kisu sares6 ni natta was about to be kissed (by 0) / ~M I: zettai ni absolutely / -{ ~ ! no! I refuse! / ij!i 7d: I: katakuna ni stubbornly / ~e A. t: kobanda refused

JiJ :f .A ~ n d' :f.A ~ n 1a:> Q' :f.A T 1a:> / tj: "? t: d' tj: 1a:> / t§ A. tf. Q' ~e tr kobamu

~.t. -{ ~ indicates strong dislike or refusal. It is also written \t' -?, til, or ~. / The tj: in the adjectival noun (na adjective) ij!i tj: katakuna is part of the stem, so another tj: is needed when the word precedes a noun: ij!i tj: tj: JrnJ3t katakuna na taido "stubborn behavior."

I59

rr..,

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8n

~ / - J '\ ;.t 1@.£ nopan kenko& no-underpants therapy / JO( I') An "( It' "( toriirete ite has adopted / !Il ~ c ~ I::, j: neru toki ni wa when he goes to bed / v' ":) ~ always / "F iii ~ ":) ~t ~ v' shitagi 0 tsukenai doesn't wear underwear

IiJ JO( I') An"( 1& JO( I') An~ toriireru / v'''( 1& v,~ / ":) ~t 7j: v \ 1& ":) ~t ~

~.i. The J'\;.t in / - J '\;.t is an abbreviation of J'\;.t '/ "underpants" or J'\;.t T -( - "panties."

s: Practitioners of / - J'\ /1@!lt£ believe that sleeping without any restrictions on the nether regions is beneficial to one's health.

80

~ - Bra' mikM. kan for three days / t~ Iv t!. nayanda worried; was unable to decide / * sue after / := ":) (J) ~1tj: mittsu no joken three conditions / ill L t: dashita presented

jiJ 'I~ Iv t!. 1& ,t~ tr nayamu / ill L i: 1& ill T dasu

~.i. * refers to the end of an action or period of time, so .=:

B rdH~ Iv t!.* means "after brooding over it for three days."

I60

11(11,

The Rich Boys Urine Therapy

8p

:bt~ L i;t ~'A.,I: J: -7

CD flO)frj-c'itkffiR t, ~ v'':: C

:bt~ L ~'A.,I: J: ? TT

@ fl~:itkffiR ~WJ~~v'':: C

® ~'bffi,l&\&'T-? ;6S'v' i., I: t:+"~w_ l:?i~i <.::c

~ fl (J) frI 1: watashi no mae de in front of me; in my presence / ~»R L 7j: v' innyO shinai do not drink urine / 1IJ ~ 7j: v' susumenai do not urge; do not recommend / ~ *f~ innyO go after drinking urine / ~\-r kanarazu always; without fail / -? iJ'fv' L ugai shi gargle / = +73- W- 1:. nijuppun ijJ for more than twenty minutes / jj ~ ~ < ha 0 migaku brush your teeth

til ~»R L 7j: v' 1& ~»R T ~ innyO suru / 1IJ ~ 7j: V \ 1& 1IJ ~ ~ susumeru / -? tiS'v' L 1& -? tiS'v' T ~ ugai suru

~.t The sentence-final .:. c indicates a strong command or prohibition. It is often used in signs: -7 J'\::I ~ ~ ;b 7j: v ' .:. c tabako 0 sutsanai koto "No Smoking." / The pronunciation of = +73- is discussed in 1m.

II

II

II

iiil :illl


~ iP"?':' J: < handsome / 11 t, < yflStlJhiku gentle; kind / J3~~-; okanemochi rich / 4ij;JI* mai-shumatsu every weekend / f,1fj K& v A r 7:"; kokyu resutoran high-class restaurant / ~"? '"( < n.Q sasou« kureru invites (M-ko)

Ib iJ~"?':' J: < B' iJ~"? .:. J: v 1& iJ~"? .:. -? J: ", kakko yoi / 11 t, < 1& 11 t. ", yararhii / ~"? '"( 1& ~ -? sasou

~.i Both iJ~"? .:. J: < and 11 L < are adverbial forms, which are used to link series of adjectives. Both of these words and J3 ~~-; (J) modify 0 l!. / iJ~"? .:. J: v is a shortened form of iJ~"? .:. -? J: v-, which means "having a nice, refined appearance" or, more colloquially, "goodlooking" or "cool." It is also pronounced iJ~"?':'''',,' or iJ~"? .:. -? ",""\.

Sr

~ L iJ~ L however / 1£. t!. yuutsu da is depressed; feels blue

~.i This sentence echoes the story's title.


Ss

IT) t~~,t.I:~, ~td~ >6'n ~ L t:

r,,) z , fix Iv t!. ry 1 ;,- iI{1*1*J -ei1ffi. i ~.. 111l Ii ijg 8

(J) $A i i: ik ts Iv t!. b J

~.g. '" i now / ~ Iv t: r; -1:,.; nonda wain the wine he drank / 1* I*J -C- tainai de inside his body / i.lffi. i ~ atatamari is becoming warmer / {Bl kare he / I!ij B (J) W3 asbita no asa tomorrow morning / i t: again / ~ tr nomu will drink

~.i The subject of ~ V is {Bl, that is, 0 l!.

St

~-j-i'-j t~-j

C ~1tT ~ r.in: .. .::.".~JEiI{i T < 7j: ~ ii' ~-e

J;; ~ 0

~ c (quoting c) / ~1tT.Q tztn: s6z6 suru tabi ni every time she pictures in her mind (what she describes in 8s) / ':'~.!W!7E gQChiso gourmet food / i i" < ~.Q mazuku naru starts to taste bad / iJ~ G because

.~.i ~1lT.Q roz6 suru means "to imagine; to picture in one's mind." / ~'.!W!7E can mean food or drink to which one is treated, or it can refer to a luxurious meal. Here the focus is on the latter, as they are eating in an expensive restaurant where the food would normally be delicious. / The iJ' G explains why M-ko is depressed in 8r-she can

•

iii 1111

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no longer enjoy the delicious food because she keeps thinking about what will happen to the wine that her boyfriend is drinking. .

q

fJJ cY) L D~ Jv i2 ;f\:r "JlI~I~~O)~&

H,s HRST CAll G,RL W4s THE G,RL NEXT DOOR

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fJJ@')LD~Jv£ m:r i' )vm(d:~(])~~

* * - Y 7 i4ij: ~: Wi L. t: ~ I: i4ij: J1! A PIT (J) JI:JJ 1~ s ~ Iv in. jrJ Ii, ;k ~ :iJj &,), ~1f:~ lJ (J) JlfJi( tI15i~: tI1 i,p ~t t: 0

v'-::J ~ (J) tI15i(J)11l Ii, :l1!!JG~tI1 (J)1t~±f~. ~:~~ 1~>lj~ (J) r*f,f J ~ ~ ~t ~ (J) t-: 7,}~, -:. (J) B Lt f~. 0) B *1£ 7,}~~ i -::> "'( v' t: 0

J~Jj~ (J)11l ~ - A "C'~ ::-':'-tt ~ -:. C ~: ~ -::> i: S ~ Iv Ii 7*11l, ~-::> t-:Nj{"C"I~ Iv t-:o ~~: Ii, A PIT"C' lij! ~ ~ c (J) ~ v' r * T ltd: tI15i L. i T J (J) ~ './ 7 1- 7 ~ iJ~ Gb~o

r J: L., IDE~Ii~ L? ~ v'J

C ~~i1c L.t-: S .~ lvIi, ~~15~~* lJ J:J"j"t-:o

~ "" 1J - ~1frU', ~v' ~ 9l L.~&') t: C ~ 0 "C', $ ~ (J) 1- "" -1 A 7,}~q~ -::> t: 0 ~: -:. ~ 7,}'" ~: , ~ -::> < lJ r 7 ~ mHt t: S ~ Iv Ii § ~ tr v' tz.; ~ttli S ~ 1v7,}~ttu ~~~tt~(J)~~(J)MT~~Iv~-::>~(J)~o

I66

HIS FtRST CAll GIRL WAS THE GIRL NEXT DOOR

S (59) is deputy mayor of Town A on the Sea of Okhotsk in Hokkaido. At the beginning of June, he went on his first business trip to Tokyo in six months. Usually the evenings of his business trips are spent briefing his Diet representative's secretary on the latest goings-on in his district, but today the secretary's schedule was full.

Now S was able to spend the evening in Tokyo alone. Late that night, his brain foggy with drink, he tried to decide what to do. In his hand was something he had never seen in Town A:. a flyer advertising a call girl service. "She'll come to your hotel," the ad said.

"Okay, no one will ever find out," he thought, and he picked up the telephone.

He had just taken a shower and sobered up a bit when the doorbell rang. Smiling, he slowly opened the door. But then his eyes widened. The woman was M-ko, the daughter of his neighbor back in the government employee housing complex where he lives in Town A

I II

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I'll,

The Girl Next Door

riitip"tc-=f*o)=~o)liTt':o .:: Ivt.t c':: ~{IiI'd:' L "'('" ~ Iv t':J

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Lip L, S ~ 1v00pt~~:M-=f"S -t> Iv Ii t: t~iJ~id:

iJ'" "? tz;

r j3 t ~ Iv iJ~Wf Iv t: Iv ~ L J: J mt'€SO)~ < t.t -o t: S ~ lvIi,

r j3Y: ~ lviJ" t? 0)1±* ~ iJ~~ ~ liTt':o ~ -:> cit: ~~: ~ t? id: ~ ~ 1': ~ t: ~ t.t v~ iJ"J

C /J\-~rd1~~ 'd:' ~~t t.:iJ~, v iJ"lv-tt- Ivm1J iJ~id: "'0 M-=f"S~lvliJL~c ~*~c ~"::)iJ"bQD~~'" "? t: 0

rM;ffi:i" ~ ? J {IiI~Lt.t~"?~S~Iv~#,M;ffi:t.tL~.~~j3 ~ 0) =7Jpj 'd:'1k "? 1':0 M -=f"S ~ Iv Ii,

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I68

The Girl Next Door

"You're supposed to be a junior at a women's univer-

sity. What are you doing in a place like this?"

M-ko was unfazed by S's scolding.

'You called for me, didn't you?" she replied. That put S on the defensive.

'Your father must be sending you an allowance," he said. "Shouldn't you be behaving better?"

He lectured her for nearly an hour, but to no effect. 'You want to pay for some more time?" M-ko asked.

He couldn't tell if she was joking or serious.

Though S had done nothing, he paid the 30,000 yen as agreed, with no extension.

"1 won't tell your wife," M-ko said as she left, still with a stubborn expression.

Why? Since when? How did she get into this? Unable to find out anything from her and, even worse, caught in the act himself, S returned home, his head, it seemed to him, having grown even grayer.

9a

~ *JJ ¥.J l hajimete for the first time / lJ.if Iv t!. yonda called / *.::;- r )v~ botetom jo hotel call girl / ~(/)~! tonari no musume the neighbor's daughter

III lJ.if Iv t!. B' lJ.if~ yobu

~.i *.::;- r )v is a blend of the words *'::;-)v "hotel" and r )v ::r J1.,g TomJw.buro "Turkish bath." A *.::;- l- )v~ is a prostitute who plies her trade at hotels. / The phrase :m ¥.J l p;f Iv t.= *.::;- l- )v ~ indicates that this is the first time the protagonist of this story has hired a call girl.

3t The word r)v::r J1.,g formerly referred to bathhouses with private rooms where women would provide massages and sexual services to male customers. In the 198Os, after the Turkish government and others complained that genuine Turkish baths are not brothels, the bathhouse industry abandoned the term and coined the word '/ - 7" '7 ;..- 1" "soapland" to replace it It is not known whether soap manufacturers have objected. / Although Japan enacted an antiprostitution law in 1956, the measure is inconsistently enforced and many forms of prostitution continue to be practiced openly.

IJO

The Girl Next Door

r

9b

~ :t * - 'J 7 ~ Ohotsuku Kai Sea of Okhotsk / ~: m L. t: ni men shita facing onto / ~tifU:Ji Hokkaido Hokkaido / A PIT E machi Town A / !lh~ jl!Yaku deputy mayor / A jJ *JJ ¥.J rokugatsu hajime at the beginning of June / ~1p ~ ~ hantoshi-buri for the first time in half a year / *J5t IfH~ Tokyo shutcho business trip to Tokyo / ttli,p~tt::. dekaketa went; set out for

JiJ m L. t: B' m T ~ mensuru / ttl i,p ~t i: d' ttl~" ~t ~ dekakeru

~.i :t * - 'J 7 ~~:m L. t: and ~t~Ji both modify A PIT, so the phrase :t * - 'J 7 ~~: m L. t: ~t ifU:Ji A PIT means "Town A in Hokkaido, facing onto the Sea of Okhotsk." / PIT is the official designation for a local governmental area smaller than a m shi "city" and larger than a ft mura "village." The kanji PIT is read either cho or machi, with some towns preferring one reading and other towns the other. / A !lh ~~ is a civil servant who serves as assistant to the mayor of a city or town. / ~1p~ ~ (/)*J5t ttl~ means "his first business trip to Tokyo in half a

"

year.

I7I

The Girl Next Door

9c

~ " '"::) ~ always; usually / lli 5l shuteM business trip / ::fX yom evening; night / i&:7t jimoto local / ~lli senshutsu elected / fta± daigishi Diet member / f~·ff hisho secretary / ~~12{ senlgo-ku electoral district / '11f~ j6sei situation / l&;f;f shuzai information-gathering / ~~t ~ ukeru he receives / .:. (J) 8 l;t kono hi wa on this day / B li nitlei schedule / ~ i -? "'( " vi: tsumatte ita was full

th ~ i -?"'( ~ ~ i ~ tsumaru / v i: ~ v ~

~.i "'"::) ~ (J)lli5l(J)~I;t means "Usually in the evening on his business trips." / Here the word i&:7t refers to the location of a political power base, so :l:i!!.JG~lli(J)ft~± means "a Diet member elected from S's district" / ft~ ± usually refers to a member of the ??t~ II7t Shiigiin "House of Representatives," the lower and more powerful house in the Japanese Diet / l&;f;f refers to gathering information for a particular purpose. l&;f;f~~~t ~ means roughly "to be interviewed." In this case, the Diet member's secretary would presumably ask S about the political situation in his boss's home district and perhaps put pressure on S to provide political support

The Girl Next Door

9d

~ - A l:' hitori de by himself / ~.:." -tt ~ .:. C ~: ~ -? i: sugoseru koto ni natta became able to spend (the evening) / i*~ shin'ya late at night / f#-? t.:Jil:' yotta atama de using his drunken brain / ·t~ Iv t!. nayanda tried to decide what to do

th ~ .:." -tt ~ Iar' ~ ,:,"1" sugosu / ~ -? i: ~ ~ ~ / M -? i: ~ r; -) you / ·t~ Iv t!. ~ 'I~ u nayamu

~.i The first half of this sentence means "S, who was now able to spend the evening in Tokyo by himsel£" He seems to have spent the evening getting drunk. / ·t~ U here means "to be unable to make a decision."

I73

The Girl Next Door

ge

~ .:f.~:li te ni wa in his hand / J!~ -: C: O)tj:,,' miru koto no nai never seen (in Town A) / r * T )v~: te ~ L i 1'" J hoteru ni shutch6 shimasu "We'll send (a woman) to your hotel." / ~;.; -7 1- 7 ~ advertising leaflet for a sex business

~.:E. The word ~;.; -7 "pink" is a euphemism for sex-related matters. A e:;.; -7 ~ Wi pinku eiga is a pornographic movie. / A 1- 7 ~ is typically a one-page advertising flyer. The word is also written 1ft I? L. / .:f.~: Ii modifies . 3; ~, the principal verb of this sentence. In other words,

S was holding the leaflet in his hand. / The phrases J! ~ -: C: 0) tj: It' and r * T)V I: te~ L i 1'" J 0) both modifye:;';-77-7:';-.

:)c A e:;.; -7 7- 7 ~ is typically a small printed notice advertising a call girl service, massage parlor, or other sex business. e";.; -7 1- 7 ~ are often posted next to public telephones in nightlife areas or left in apartment building mailboxes.

9£

~ J: L okay! here we go! / IDEf9l1 shoko proof, evidence / ~~

IJ4

The Girl Next Door

I? tj: v nokoranai will not remain / §: ~ i* L t: i 0 kesshita decided / ~~~ fttwaki telephone handset / JO( ~ LJft.: toriageta picked up

Ih ~~ I? tj: v Q' ~ ~ nom / i* L t: ~ i* 1'" ~ kessuru / JO( ~ J:Jft.: Q' JO( ~ LJf ~ toriageru

~.:E. People say J: L when they have decided to do or start something new or difficult / The C: before §: ~ i* L t:

S ~ Iv is the quoting C:, indicating what S said to himself when he decided to call the prostitution service.

9g

iI'J J: -tc. ~

:r ~ 7 - ~ 7ft U' ... M: "\ ~ 9ll fT; &') t: c .:. 0 -e ...

~ ? ~

$~ 0) -r ~ -1 A iJ~p.!1!; "? i: 0

~ ~ l' r; ~ ~ 1ft (J' shawii 0 abi he took a shower / m,,' yoi drunkenness / Y L sukoshi a little bit / ~ ¥J t: sameta lessened; cooled off / C: -: 1.:> -r: when / ~~~ 0) 7- l' -1 J.,. heya no chaimu doorbell / p.1ib '9 t: natta rang

JiJ 1ft l! 1& 1ft rl ~ abiru / Yf; ¥J t: 1& Yf; ¥J ~ sameru / p.1ib '9 i: 1& P.1ib ~ naru

~.:E. m'" iJ'rYf; ¥J ~ means "to sober up." Yf; ¥J ~ is an intransitive verb meaning "to cool off." In this context, it may also be written ~ ¥J ~ or II ¥J ~ .

The Girl Next Door

9h

a, .:<:.7. Ii)

~: .:. -? i,p~:, ~ 0 < IJ r 7 ~ ~~Ht t: S ~ Iv Ii §

~ Uv,t.:o

~ ,: .::. -? ip ,: with a smile / ~ -:::> < '? slowly / F 7 :a: mJ 't i: doa 0 aketa opened the door / §:a: t-v .. t: me 0 muita his eyes widened

tJJ JHtt.: B" JHt ~ akeru / u,,'t.: B" ~U < muku

~~ The idiom §:a: ~J < me 0 muku means "to open one's eyes in surprise or anger." The verb :iFfJ < means "to peel," but §:a::iFfJ < has a different meaning from the English "to keep one's eyes peeled."

9i

L:J:·Ih'.:<:.7. i";:'i tr v'IvL:~'it~< l:t..:t)tri"1i) .:<:.A;:

:t('ti Ii S ~ Iv 'iI~11 ts 1}~ J!t 11 ~ (J) ~ ~~ (J) M r

i? ~ Iv t!. -:) i: (J) t!. 0

~ j('ti josei the woman / 13: t.r sumu to live; to reside / * ~Jii komuin civil servant / f±~ jiitaku housing / ~~ tonari musume neighbor's daughter

~~ *~ Jii 13:~ is a housing complex for public employees.

Government agencies and private companies in Japan often provide low-cost housing for their employees. / The suffix -s -t> Iv after M -f- reflects both S's acquaintance with her and their difference in age. See also 6c. / The explanatory (J) in M -f- -s -t> Iv t!. -:::> i: (J) t!. tells why S's eyes widened in 9h.

IJ6

The Girl Next Door

A The words j(tt, j( onna, and tlffl A fujin all mean "woman." Of these, j(tt is the most neutral. In certain contexts, j( onna might suggest "mistress" or "prostitute," while tlffl A .fo.jin is avoided by some feminists and others for its old-fashioned, patronizing air. In many expressions, though, j( and ~ A are still the only choices, such as tc (J)-f- onna no ko "girl" or tlffl Af4 fojinka "gynecology."

9j

t: t, L: J: t, t!.v' ~ Ivtllv t..: I:

fil'il-.:tcr:k(J)=1f:(J)Ii'ft!.o ':'Iv~ c':' ~fPJ~

t rv- ~ Ivt!.J

~ iitip tashika I thought; I was pretty sure that / j(-f-* joshidai women's university / -1f. sannen third year (student) / lift!. hazu da supposed to be / '::'lvt:t..!::.::.-r: konna toko de in a place like this / {"pJ:a: L. -c" .. ~ Iv t!. nani 0 shite iru n' da what are you doing?

~~ The sentential adverb iit ip indicates that the speaker is almost certain of what he saying, though the word does leave some room for doubt. Here it reinforces 'if, which also indicates something that the speaker believes to be true. Thus iit;6-'j(-f-*(J)::::1f.(J)Iift!. means "I thought you were supposed to be a junior at a women's university." / j(-f-* is an abbreviation for j(-f-*~ joshi daigaku. / t.::. is an informal version of m tokoro "place." / The Iv in L. -C" .. ~ Iv t!. is a spoken form of the explanatory and nominalizing (J).

The Girl Next Door

9k

~ Lip L however / JJt~ shitta scolding / i: t: 6 iI~~ ip "'? t: didn't flinch; was unfazed / j:3 t: ~ Iv (refers to older men) / !If Iv t!. Iv "1: L J: yonda n' desho you called, didn't you

til t: t: 6 iI~ ~ i» "'? t: ~ t: t: 0 iI~ ~ "\ ~ t: t: 6 (' / Ilf Iv t!. ~ !If~ yobu

~.i t: t: 0 <" means "to be overcome; to be staggered." / The word j:3 t: ~ Iv is used to address or refer to men who are somewhat older than oneself The word implies some degree of familiarity. The equivalent for referring to women is j:3 l;f ~ Iv. The words j:3 t: " \ ~ Iv and j:3 l;f ~ ~ Iv are used in the same way to refer to elderly men and women.

91

1;J:t~~'~ b7.> x: A i: oj L

1JJt~ O)~ < ~ -:J t: S ~ Iv Ii, r j3)t ~ Iv ip ; O)f±

n<

* ~ 1J~~ ~ li-rt.:o ~ -:J C: i t: 6O~: -?;~ ~ ~

t':60 t: ~ ~"'11J~J

~ Mt~(J)M: < ~"'? t: batairo no waruku natta looked defeated / j:3 x: ~ Iv ouisan your father / {±~ ~ shiokuri allowance / ~"'? tit: ~~: motto majime ni more seriously / -? ~ ~ ~ {> t!. ~ t: {> ~'" iI~ yaranakya dame ja nai ka aren't you supposed to behave?

q8

The Girl Next Door

th ~"'? t: ~ ~ ~ / -? ~ ~ ~ {> ~ -? ~ ~ ~tn,;f w -? ~ / t: {> ~,,\ Q" "1:I± ~'" de wa nai

~.i Mt~ literally means "the colors of flags." Originally, the idiom Mt~ iI~M: It' referred to an army's flags becoming less visible on the field of battle as the army is defeated. Here, it refers to the fact that 5 was in a weaker position to scold M-ko for working as a prostitute after she pointed out that he was the one who had hired her. / {± * ~ is money sent periodically to help another person, such as a college student or an aged parent / -? ~ ~ ~ {> t!. ~ is a contraction of ~ t? ~ 'tn~;f't!.~, which means "must do."

9m

.: ~\i; {; ll'A.-It?<! J;? -:o-? 1;1:< ~ J; <

C: IJ'\ ~ IF.f 00 ~ ~ ~ ®C ~ r t: 1J~, "'11J~ Iv -tt Iv:if! JJ 1J~

~ ,,'10

~ Ij'\-~rJj ko ichy'i-kan for nearly an hour / mft:r®'C't t: sekkyo 0 tsuzuketa he continued preaching / "'iI~lv-tt Iv unfortunately / :i§.1JiI~~'" hakuryoku ga nai it had no effect (on her)

Ih ®'C'tt.: ~ ®'C't ~ tsuzukeru / ~ It' ~ ~ ~

~.i The initial t in this sentence is the quoting t, referring to 91. / Before expressions of quantity, the prefix Ij, ko means "almost; slightly less than." / The original meaning of mft is "religious preaching; proselytizing." In its reference here to S's attempt to convince M-ko to quit prostitution, the word lacks any religious connotation. / :i§.1J means "the ability to move or influence other people."

I79

The Girl Next Door

9n

~~ %~ jodan joke / *1K honki honesty; seriousness / "J iJ\ ;JJ. unable to tell the difference / D ~ kuch6 tone of voice / "\ "? i: said / ~ffi:"t ~? end» suru do you want to extend the time?

tiJ "J iJ\;JJ. Qi" "J < / "\ "? i: Qi" B -? iu, yii

~.:E %~ t ~ *1K t ~ "J iJ\;JJ. D ~"t" means "in a tone of voice that S couldn't tell was joking or serious." / It seems that S had arranged to pay for one hour of M-ko's services. If he had agreed to the ~ffi:, he would have had to pay an additional fee.

90

~ fiiJ ~ l;Z iJ\ "? i: nani mo shinakatta had done nothing / ~ffi:;z l"t" ench6 nashi de without an extension / :Jl5E t< j3 I') kitei d6ri as agreed / .:::: JJ fIj san man en thirty thousand yen / 11"? i: haratta he paid

tiJ L ;Z iJ\ -? t: Qi" l;z" \ Qi" "t ~ / 11 "? i: Qi" 11 -? harau ~.:E {iiJ ~ l;z iJ\ "? t: nani mo shinakatta refers to the fact that S had done nothing that he had paid the call girl for. / :m5E means "agreement; rules" and the suffix t<j3 1'),

I80

The Girl Next Door

also written :ifi 1'), means "in accordance with," so :m5E:ifi I') means "as agreed."

9p

~ j3 ';f'~ Iv (refers to older women) / P'lruH: L t ",""( at; ~f' ~ naisho ni shitoite ageru I'll keep it secret for you / ~ ~ t L t: kizen to shita stubborn / l.ii kao face; expression / 1m "? ""( " \ "? t: kattte itta left

tiJ L t ,,\""( Qi" i.r j3 v \""( Qi" "t ~, j3 < / L t: Qi" "t ~ / 1m "?""( Qi" #ff ~ kaen« / ", "? t: Qi" q-r < iku

~.:E Here, j3 l;f' ~ Iv refers to S's wife. M-ko uses this word because she is acquainted with S's wife. If M-ko had never met S's wife or was not on familiar terms with her, she would have used the word J! ~ Iv okusan "wife" instead. / P'lIDE means "secret; conftdential." P'lIDE~:"t ~ means "to keep conftdential." / at; ~f ~ indicates that M-ko will keep the secret as a favor to S.

The Girl Next Door

~ 7l-tf why? / v'-::>ip C:> since when? / ~ -? iptt ,;J: kikkake wa how did she get into this? / fPI ~ nani mo nothing / r*l ~ tl:\-ttf kikidBsezu unable to ask / ~ i ":) ~;t in addition; even more so / l-?' ~:a- ":) ip i tL "'( sheepishly, having been caught in an act of weakness / 1m !15 L t: kikyo shira returned to his home town / 8 ~ shiraga white hair; gray hair / !~;t t: J: -? 7l;n. ii~ L t: .fuera yO na ki ga shira seemed (to him) to have increased

jiJ 1*1 ~ ili -tt-f u:§' r*l ~ ili -tt- 1a:> u:§' r*l ~ ili T kikidasu / ":) i1~ i tL "'( u:§' ":) i1~ i tL 1a:> u:§' -::> i1~ t! / 1ffl!15 L t: u:§' 1ffl

!15 T 1a:> kiky6 sum / ~;t t: u:§' ~;t 1a:> .fueru / L t: u:§'

-t1a:>

~i. The first sentence consists of the questions that S wanted to ask M-ko but couldn't Why and when had she started working as a call girl? What led her to do it? / ~ -? i1~ tt means "cause; reason; start" / 1*1 ~ ili T means "to ask." It often refers to an attempt to extract information from someone who is reluctant to reveal it / The idiom L '? ,~:a-":)i1~t.r means "to reveal a person's weaknesses or secrets." The literal meaning is "to grab by the tail."

r82

AUlHOR'S PROFILE

TC?M GALLY-writer, lexicographer, and translator-received master~ s d~ees in linguistics and mathematics from the University of Chicago. He is the author of Handy_ j~ The Basia in 50 ~ Lessons and English for Sde:ttrs_ts, and g~er~ editor of Kenkyusha's Guide to f!J:tantztatwe Expressions In English. His dictionary work m~~des Kenlryusha_'s New. japanese-English Dictionary, 5th Editzon, as ~ell as .I~ online version as part of the Kenkyusha Online Dictionary, Among his translated works ar~ japanese YeWs at a Glana, Amazing Sdena Tricks for Kids and ~arents, and jazz Up Your japanese with Onomato~ For AU Levels. He is presently associate pro!es~r in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Tokyo.

With the exception of Chapter 9, which is new to this edition, this book was first published

by Kodansha International in 1997 under the title Strange but True: A True-Life japanese Reader.

Cover design by Koichi Kawamura.

Published by Japan & Stuff Press, Mihara 2-19-60-202, Asaka-shi, Saitama-ken 351-0025, Japan.

Japanese text from "Dekigotology," Shukan Asahi.

Copyright © Asahi Shimbunsha.

English translation and commentary.

Copyright © 2007 by Tom GaIly.

All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-4-9902848-1-7

First edition by Japan & Stuff Press, September 2007

www.japanandstuff.com

CONTENTS

INTRODucnON 7

~~ff8 II

~O)T::f-/iJ. -c~~fij~~ - J ~ -0)&6t~ 13

The Honesty of a Famous Supermarket, Revealed by a Daughter-in-Law's Sudden Urge

~ :Q''?

2 t:8i.5U§1, \ -c~:::>£m:tLl.JJjiiO)~nBO)tH

33

A New Year's Dawn on the Summit of Mt. Fuj4 Climbed While Carrying a Dead Friend

55

A Woman's Shrewdness Concealed in a Fictional Journal

trtt'Jtt~

4 mliO)~~

73

The Son-in-Law of the Mob

93

The Two Sides of a Superclean Woman

111

Examination Hell Lullabies for Infants

(,? :t~,

7 J ~::J~§}~9:J ~f±~(])1m~O.1I*

129

The Cluelessness of a "Connected" Employee on Her Way to the "Country of Ban"

19>??-::>

8 ~W~~~~~~~~ffiC~A(]) ••

145

The Rich Boy's Urine Therapy and His Girlfriend's Depression

165

His First Call Girl Was the Girl Next Door

INTRODUCTION

Most japanese-language textbooks make language learning simple and systematic. They carefully limit the number of kanji introduced at each level. They present new vocabulary and grammatical patterns step by step. Most important of all, they choose topics that are easy for readers to understand and unlikely to offend any teachers or students. The only problem with these textbooks is that they generally are very, very dull.

The boredom induced by textbooks contrasts sharply with the rich and stimulating variety of the japanese press. Some fifty thousand books are published every year in japan on subjects ranging from philosophy to pornography. Thousands of magazines clog the racks of bookstores and newsstands, offering entertainment and debate, scandal and libel, the high, the middlebrow, and the very low. It is this world, the world of Japanese as it is really written, into which this book is intended to provide a glimpse.

The nine stories in this book were chosen from the "Dekigotology" column that appeared in the magazine :II flj:M B Shiikan Asahi for many years. The word dekigotology (T.:t- ::l r 0 :; ~) is a combination of ill *$ dekigoto, which means

"event" or "happening," and the GreekjEnglish suffix -logy. Dekigotology, in other words, is the study of things that happen. Each week, the column carried a half dozen stories, all purported to be true, about interesting events that had happened to people recently. The stories generally concern subjects that are familiar or topical, and their interest lies in the way they reveal what happens behind the scenes of everyday life.

7

Introduction

The stories are often surprising and usually funny.

The stories on the following pages were selected from the hundreds that ran in "Dekigotology" in the early 199Os. To be chosen, each story had to meet two criteria: it had to be interesting, and it couldn't be so topical that it would quickly go out of date. There was also an attempt to choose a variety of topics.

Organization

Each story is presented first in its entirety, exactly as in the paperback book edition, with kanji pronunciations marked only when they appeared in the original. An English translation appears on the facing page. This translation is intended to help the reader understand the Japanese, so it is more literal in places than a smooth literary translation would be. Students of Japanese may want to avoid looking at the translation until they have finished reading the text and notes.

Next, the story is presented again a sentence or two at a time, with the reading of every kanji marked with furigana, Each of these text excerpts is followed by several groups of notes.

The first notes, marked with the kanji ~ (short for ~iti vocabulary), consist of short glosses of words and phrases that appear in the preceding sentence. Every word is explained except basic grammatical function words (,;;1:, iJ~, :a:, etc.) and words that have appeared earlier in the same story.

'IReLsecond group of notes, marked with the kanji IJJ (short for ~~P] verb), consists of reverse derivations of declined verbs and adjectives. The first word in each derivation is the form that appears in the sentence, while the last word is the form that would normally appear in dictionaries. For example, the series ~:b ~ iJ .. -? t: ~ ~:b ~ '" ~ ~ -J utagau goes from the past-tense negative to the nonpast negative to the nonpast affirmative (or dictionary) form of this verb.

;. ~ t.~ (

The third group, marked with ~.:E. (short for 11~ an-

8

Introduction

notation), consists of detailed notes on the vocabulary and grammar. Special attention is given to identifying the subjects of verbs and to showing which nouns are modified by which adjectives, relative clauses, etc. These notes also include remarks on usage, related words, and typographical conventions, the last being a topic rarely mentioned in Japanese textbooks.

The notes in the final group, marked X:. (short for jt (t culture), provide information and commentary about the cultural background of the stories. When necessary, they also explain what makes the stories particularly interesting or funny to the Japanese reader.

Pronunciations are marked in the notes using romaji, not fiirigana, There are several reasons for this. Furigana are sometimes hard to read, especially when the type is small. Romaii are useful for showing word divisions and identifying the readings of the particles ,;;I: and ""-, such as in the phrase C It, -J (J) 1;;1: to iu no wa. And for students who have learned Japanese from teachers who prohibit the use of romaji, the romaji scattered through the notes will familiarize them with this method of representing Japanese pronunciation, which is still essential for scholars and for others who use both Japanese and English in international contexts.

Acknowledgments

I am grateful to many people for their help in the preparation of this book. I first learned of "Dekigotology" over two decades ago from T omoko Iwai, who was one of my Japanese teachers at the time, and her enthusiasm for making language learning interesting as well as educational was one of the inspirations for this book. I am also thankful to Hiroko Fukuda and Kazushi Ishida, who made valuable contributions to an early draft, to Michael Brase and Shigeyoshi Suzuki of Kodansha International for their helpful suggestions during the planning stages ~d for their careful editing of the first edition in 1997, and again to Michael Brase, now executive director of Japan &

9

Introduction

Stuff Press for offering to publish this expanded edition.

Special' gratitude also goes to the Asa(7i Shimbun for kin~ly granting permission to reprint the st~nes here. and ~o Shinchosha for permission to use the versions publish~ In book fonn. Readers who wish to read more of these stones are encouraged to purchase the paperback anthologies .in the ~ B X J1l! Asahi Bunko and $JfilxJ1l! Shincho Bunko senes.

I would also like to thank the participants in the Honyaku mailing list for their wise and informative discussions on many matters related to Japanese and English translation. For their responses to questions I posted about this book, I am particularly indebted to Sara Aoyama, Adrian Boyle, John Brannan, Regina I. A Brice, John Bryan, John De Hoog, Alan Gleaso~ Graham Healey, Rich Higgins, Brian Howells, Sako Ikeganu, Dan Kanagy, Yosuke Kawachi, J. C. Kelly, Mamoru ~ondo, Bill Lise, David J. Littleboy, John Loftus, Tammy J. Monmoto, Gururaj Rao, Adam Rice, Karen Sandness, Fred Uleman, Rodney Webster, and John Zimet

As always, I am indebted to my wife, lkuko Gally. She provided many comments and suggestions about each of the stories in this book, and her insights greatly improved the accuracy and depth of the notes.

Although all of these people did their best to help me, I fear that I have betrayed their kindness by persisting in many errors, for each of which I take full responsibility.

Tom Gally

IO

E1*~ft~~~j}OOA~: c -? --C, ~*O)'~~/j.o)--::>I±~ f4:ff0)P'J~iI~ooB < ~It' C It' -? .:. c ts, WKi v~}v"t"I±, a* •• , Bt~M~~~.~~~~~~~~~G,ft 1fil~~It'O)iI~'b Ln~It'iI~, ~KitL1:O)Tq:.7. ~ ~:~-? --C 'b, ~ LIv"t"~,H6~ 'b O)iI~Ii c Iv c~tG-? --Clt'~It'o rB *O)~11f~:-::>It'--CJ cil~ P¥fo~~~-?J Clt'-?, sf.!l_A~$JfI*JO)l±~JU:I:fl~ J:: -? ~-~~~§!frjrna, ~~It' I± r7. ~ 7. ~lvl±¥ft~Jt-?J O)J:: -?~, 1~':I±JL-::>iI~'b ~ tL ~ It' iI~ , ~ ~ ,: I ± jf!ftB ~ ~ I!' iI~ t) iI~tG -o --C It' ~ iI~ G t!.o ~O)J:: -? ~~f.!l-:ff"t"B*~ft~~~.m~~ c, B*I±-::> i G ~ It' 00 t!., B *.AI±~·11H: Z Lit' Aft t!. , cit' -? t: ~M ~ x_~ t iI~t.l ~ v-,

L~L, B*~tt/j., B*O).OO, TV~,~OO~~ a- J! --C It' ~ C, .:. 0) 00 iI~1tBO) 00 ,: ~ It ~ It, (' G It'1l~ ~ Wi ~ * -? --C It' ~ cit' -? .:. c iI~ b iI~ ~ 0 1: 66 "t" ff¥ft ~ 00 'b ~ ~ L, T 66"t"Ittfltl;r L It '00 'b ~ ~ 0

fJ..I±*Jit"t" B *~ft~~~m L --Clt't.: c ~, B *~ft~;fZ"t" ~ "':) --C It' t.:~f.!l-.iI~f!l ,: ~ ~ C, J:: < ili: < O)*m ,: fT-? --C JL t ~nh. L t: 0 t t!. B *~ftil~ Ii c Iv c~Mt ~ ~ i,p",:) t: Il{

-c:- s , ~.:. I:iitlvt!.*, ~,:~~0)~;fj/11:, UifB ~ ':~m

It'mt7J~~tt.:o -B 'b!f.< ~O)J:: -? ~~O)B*~ft~Mt J.;. t: iI~ -? t: 0 1:Ki 7' :7 7. I: ~ ~ c, ~ -? c ~f4. tLj}O) ~h.!IW iI~19.! b rt, ~ J:: -? I: ~ -? t: 0 ~ tL iI~ r 7 q:. :1' ~ 0 ~ - J t!. -? tc;

r r::t-::l ~ 0 ~~ J iI~W~--C:ilflJ~ B I:tG-? t.:o)I±BBfo 53if:ljt!."':)t.:o :~iHJJiI~G'±, ':'O):1:7AO)*l) ~~I±* ~O)I:fl~HJ~ooB < {~x_ ~.:. c ,:~ ~ 0 ~0)P'J~'±1S4

II

~?tJf ,:. ill -::> ""C v' ~ iJ~, fl.t:. t iJ~ B 1INI~T ~ If-G -r iJ~ l v'':' C, v'~ t? lv'':' c, -r ~ v'':' c ~ C'iJ~9=J'L' c ~-::> ""C v' ~ 0 ~1W Ii iJ~ ~ O)ftf4!f i" Me A., 't" v' t: fJ,. I:' C -::> ""C tt, 7 7 A 't"~ -::> t: r T::t- :1" r 0 :; ~ J 0) ~ 4 lv' A ra' 'ti iJ~ ~~~~~O)~~~-::>~oA,'t"~ rT::t-~rD:;~J i" *Bft l""C < t: ~ -::> t:':E:j:j:W-=f)t;~ ,:.~r.M l""C v' ~ 0

W-l: 0) ~ E8 't", .:. 0) * i" it -::> t: 0 ~ fflt I:' A -::> ""C iJ~ t? 0) ~ i" 1L "?~ A., 't", fi~ c ~*IB ~ 1±~ i"ft ~t i: 0 :itf§!.Me:tr Ii B *~ft i" ~ffT ~ j}OOAt!'iJ~, B *0)':' c i" ~~ft't" c' ~ v' ~ .s, ~ I:.mOOT ~ iJ~, it:. lij}OOAO) § 't" B *~ft~ B :<$:Ali c'O) ~ ~ I:.J!;t.Q iJ~, C v' ~ .: C I:'J!.~O)cb.:Q B :<$: A I:' ~ Me A., 't" v' t: t!. ~t tL l;f'*~~ll v' 0

I

~(}):T =\=- It} C'~D ~ ~:g~ - / \-(})~B

THE HONESTY OF A FAMOUS SUPERMARKET, REVEALED BY A DAUGHTER-IN-UW'S SUDDEN URGE

I2

~(J) -T :f-/lJ. -C~D ~ f[~;( -/ \-(J)~~

-r L. L .. 1/:..,

titEB~(J)Sr~1v (=~) ~~:, Jgr~:11tr ~ti,

F r ~ Iv ( :k ~) iI{Wi tl "( ~ t: (J) '±, fBi f:Ilj (J) lIft h ra, (J) !fjJ. (J) ::.. e t!. ~ t: 0

ri1{~ i --r* t: iI" G, i?.t ~ e 1* (J) &i ~ Jt~: tlJ

S r ~ Iv~: e -o "( ,±* J: ~ 't:fliv'M--r 2b ~ 0 ~'" -o 'fv,~;mJ: < ~ "(tj: I..-t.:f&, ~~~~h "(~~~:v''':)

"( ~ G -o ic;

* /' e ~ ,~, 0 1n: iI{{f.l1v t!. -tt v' tr • ~~~Pa:, it :Z i: S r~lv, be, MiI{jQ:<(J)~~A-J"- rK/OO~J --rJi~t.:e",~ r--T'/(J)~~:§iI{l1:i~t.:o Jgr (J) § ~ffl e v) -o "( v , i: iI" G ,

(::.. h~: '±.:f. ~ ili-tttj: v' b tl)

e ~Jt,±,~,~ t: ~ (J)(J), ~Jj~J±Jll!tiJ: ~ ~m 1..-0 ~ ~ mHt ~ e, ~:I:q: '±:k1!m(J) r-- T '/ 0

THE HONESTY OF A FAMous SUPERMARKET.

REVEALED BY A DAUGHTER-IN-UW'S ' SUDDEN URGE

It was midday during a dry spell in the rainy season when F-ko (61) came from Zushi to visit the home of her daughter-in-law Sko (31) in Setagaya.

"Since 1 had already come as far as Shibuya, 1 just dropped by to see my grandchild's face."

For Sko, her mother-in-law was more frightening than a demon. Sko did everything she could to be a good hostess for F-ko. Later, her mother-in-law took Sko's daughter for a walk.

Sko breathed a sigh of relie£ As she relaxed, Sko felt hungry, and her eyes suddenly came to rest upon the bag of doughnuts that her mother-in-law had bought at K-nokuniya, a luxury supermarket nearby. F-ko had said that she was going to take the doughnuts home to Zushi.

Sko thought at first, "I really shouldn't touch them." But hunger is stronger than reason. She opened the bag and found six doughnuts inside.

IS

Honesty of a Famous Supermarket

,J,t~

z , f@v'1."lt"""~ t, J\ 'J 7 O)~~~A ~ ~:7G~:

~ L 'l;J3 v' tc; of -) t I;;I:~ t? &"J.~ 1;;1:, fi~n~ G ~ ~ t, r-T'YO)~~~~f'l, ~pgJJE)fl:1w"?'lv'-::>t.:o t :::. 7;; nf, jg r ~:~ "? t: F r ~ lv, L -o n~ ~ , 1lmJE. ~ ij:v'O) ~:1n:n{"::)v't.:n~ t?*~o rX~o)K~OOS#:::'Ivij:~~~~~ij:Iv'l!J

t, ~ "? of < K / OO~~:}!4 _ +7tO)tJi:~O)ma50 K ~ OOSO)tf!~~<bllt~~t Lt.:o ~¥A-.~:, ;\+ riO) r- T 'Y -11m ~~&~*.~::J?l;t, JlOC%jt t % ~ :f;jO)Jtf£~n{ F r ~ Iv~ i 1."~W~: ~ t: 0) 1." JiJ ~ 0 J=1J]i=~rdJ~ ~ 0 I~Ht I!', JlOC%jt 1;;1: of 0) i: !l6.li~ ,: * ~ ill t: tv' -) 0

Fr ~ Iv <b :::. n': 1;;1:, r~~iI{~:K~OOSt!b- J

,J,v'J:, J: 'i

t *~~o :6tA {> S r ~ Iv~: PjOli L 'l!ill"? tz ;

~'il;j;<

<b 1? 7;; lv, ofn~ I*1v\t.: S r ~ Iv 1;;1:, ~W1fBo :::.

O)f~~I;;I:, ~:f;ji 1."~"?'lqT:::' -) t fi!l) < iRA.' L'lv'

~o

I6


"Maybe she won't notice if 1 eat only one," S-ko thought She hurriedly ate a doughnut and carefully reclosed the package.

Flo returned from her walk none the wiser. Quite satisfied with herself, she left for home carrying the bag of doughnuts.

But sure enough, when F-ko returned to Zushi, she noticed that one doughnut was missing. That's when the trouble started.

"I can't believe that, of all the stores in Japan, Knokuniya would make such a mistake!" F-ko immediately called K-nokuniya to complain. The call dragged on for thirty minutes. F-ko was too much for the person handling the matter at K-nokuniya. The first thing the next morning, clutching a single SO-yen doughnut as if their lives depended on it, the sales clerk and the floor supervisor came to F-ko's home to apologize. One way, it had taken more than two hours. When asked, the sales clerk said she had left home at five o'clock that morning.

F-ko was greatly impressed. 'That's K-nokuniya for you!" she said.

She spread the story around to her friends and S-ko.

Of course, when S-ko heard what had happened, her face turned deathly pale. She has firmly resolved to take the secret to her grave.

la

~-B- ~yome daughter-in-law / j-'q--,(., dekigokoro (bad) impulse / -c:m.Q de shim to find out from; to be shown_ by / 1f 1!l yumei famous / .A - !'\ - supermarket / IDit:f: seii honesty; sincerity

~~ rq--,(., is usually written I±I*,(". Katakana is often substituted for kanji or hiragana in informal writing as a kind of playful emphasis. / The phrases ~O)j-'q:.,(.,-c~ .Q and 1f1!l A - J'\- 0) both modify IDit~.

Ib

~ tit ill ~ SeltTgaya residential area in western Tokyo / S T ~ Iv Em-IW'5tln Ms. S., S-ko / -= - " .::::. +- Pl sanju.. issai 31 years old / ~ taku home, residence / Jg -=f Zushi city near Kamakura, about 50 km south of central Tokyo / ~5 shutome mother-in-law / ~ tl '"( ~ t: ttlzUnete kita came to visit / f~f:f:j lsz!YU the rainy season, which usually comes to all of Japan except Hokkaido in June / "iftLOO harema a brief dry spell

I8

~.i The word ~ can come immediately after a person's name without a connecting 0), so S -=f ~ Iv~ means "S-ko's home." / The phrase Jg-=f~: 11 trM modifies F -=f ~ lv, so Jg-=f~:11tr~5, F-=f~1v means "F-ko, (S-ko's) mother-in-law, who lives in Zushi." / The topic of this sen tence is F -=f ~ Iv iJ~~ tl '"( ~ i: 0) ,;t "(the time when) F-ko came to visit"; the 0) is a nominalizing particle. This topic is linked by the copula t!."'? t: to ~f:f:j 0) "" tL flij 0) JffJ. 0) .:. C. The core meaning of the sentence is thus "the time when F-ko came to visit was around midday during a brief dry spell in the rainy season."

Y:.. The principal characters in the "Dekigotology" stories, and in many similar articles in the popular press, are identified by their initials. The -=f in S -=f marks it as a woman's name, perhaps ¥-=f Sachiko or wt-=f Shizuko. The mother-in-law F -=f might be X -=f Fumiko or Jli-=f Fujiko. Not all women's names end in -=f, however, and sometimes you may see names like H ~ (for *~ Hammt) or A ~ (for !fi:~ Anna). / The ages .::: - and "A- are written in kanji here because that is how they appeared in the original vertically-printed article. In horizontal Japanese text, the numbers would normally be written as 31 and 61. / The kanji M is not one of the 1,945 characters of the 1It ffl i~* j6y6 kanji list recommended by the Japanese government for general use. Aside from school textbooks and newspapers, few publications adhere rigorously to that list, and the student of Japanese who learns only the 1It ffl ?~* will remain incompletely literate.


:::~


1c

L.o: ? ~ ~= 7)'1.; ;,.

r~~i-e*t.:;6~G, 1?.t -::> c~O)1m~~~:~J

~ ~1i- Shihz!ya a major business, shopping, and entertainment area on the west side of central Tokyo / ~ ma~ grandchild / tm kao face

I7J *= t: ~ *= ~ kuru / J! B" J! ~ miru

~i. What F-ko means to say at the end of this sentence is t l-::> C:~O)Ma-J!~:*=t:.Iv-r-T "I just dropped by to see my grandchild's face." F-ko's omission of the verb is a breezy, familiar style that is common in speech and informal writing. The stories in this book contain many verbless sentences. / The symbols r and J are used here as quotation marks. Called j7J1t~JJl. kagi kakko "key brackets" because of their resemblance to Japanese L-shaped keys (j7J kagz), these marks are also used for emphasis and to indicate proper names, as in lg and 6j.

ld

~ s T ~ Iv~: C: -::> "( Ii Esu-fw.san ni totte wa for Sko, in Sko~ s opinion / * oni devil; demon / 'Mi v) kowai frightemng

~i. The topic phrase of this sentence is understood to be F T~ Ivli.

3t Conflicts between married women and their husbands' mothers are a frequent theme of popular fiction and television dramas, reflecting, perhaps, the prevalence of such conflicts in real life.

20


Ie

-ltv' il;v' -t ~ I: tri"l'J -::>

Mv' -::> 'fv'~~ J: < ~ -c 7d: L t.:{~, ~ ~~n-c

t!/v If

fX~ ~: v' -o -c ~ G -::> t: 0

~ *'iv) -::> ,tv) sei ippai as much as possible, with a total effort / ~:m J: < aiso yaku cheerfully; warmly / ~ "( ~ t, t: entertained (her) / 1~ ato after / ~ musume daughter / il n "C tsurete taking along / 1tX~~: sanpo ni for a walk / v' -::> "( ~ ~ -::> i: had gone; [lit] received (her) going

ItJ ~ "( ~ I..- i: B" ~ "( ~ T / iln "( ~ iln ~ tsureru / v' -::> "( ~ fT < iku / ~ ; -::> t: Q' ~ ; -J

~i The subject of ~ "( ~ I..- t: and ~; -::> i: is S T ~ lv, and the subject of iln "( and v' -::> "( is F T ~ Iv.

"Jt:. The image of a daughter-in-law playing the perfect hostess while secretly fearing her mother-in-law would be familiar to many Japanese readers.

]

~ * '/ C: with relief / - .@, hitoiki a short rest:; [lit] one breath

~i As in 1a, the katakana in * '/ C: indicate a mild emphasis, similar to italic type in English. This word appears in dictionaries as ,~-::> C:. / Again the verb is omitted. The full idiom is - .@, "':) < hitoiki tsuku "to take a breather."

2I

Honesty oj a Famous Supermarket

19

i :::I~

~ ~ iI~*-£1v t!. ki ga yurunda relaxed; became less tense, less vigilant; [lit] the ~ ki became slack / -Itv\ because / ~ Jll kiifuku empty stomach; hunger / jt X. t: oboeta felt / .s, c suddenly / ill: < (J) chikaku no nearby / iI'1G ~ kokyu high-class; luxury / r K / [@~J Kinokunfya abbreviated name of supermarket / Jl-:;) t: katta purchased / c v \ ~ to iu, to yU which (F-ko) said (she bought) / r- - + 'J (J) ~ d6natsu no fukuro bag of doughnuts / § iI~ 1.1: i -:;) t: me ga tomaua (Sko) noticed; [lit] (Sko's) eye stopped on

JjJ *-£Iv t!. ~ *-£ tr yurumu / jt X. i: ~ jt x. ~ oboeru / it -:;) t: ~ Jl -) kau / 1.1: i -o t: ~ 1.1: i ~ tomaru

~.t. The phrase ~ iI~*-£1v t: -It v \ iI~ means "perhaps because she relaxed," explaining why Sko suddenly felt hungry. / The topic-marker 1;;1: wa after Sko-san has been elided. / While jtx. ~ often means "to remember" or "to learn," here its meaning is "to feel." / Mi is the subject of it"C) ts. / S.:r ~ Iv is the topic for § iI~ 1.1: i -:;) tc,

.3t Tokyo residents would recognize K / [@~ as ff:2. / ~1Ji Kinokunfya, a luxury supermarket that sells imported food. (There's also an international chain of bookstores called Kinokuniya, but they write their name ff:2.fftmJ~.)

22

m- § ~ffl jitaku-y6 for use at one's home / c v \ -:;) -c v \ t: iI~; to itte ita kara because (F-ko) had said that / ~ -a: IH -It t.t v \ te 0 dttsenai cannot touch; cannot get involved in / b b (shows mild exclamation; used by female speakers) / b (J)(J) mono no but / ~HlI;;l:3J:I1J: t) ~~ L kiifuku wa risei yon lstfYOShi hunger is stronger than reason

til v\ -:;) -c ~ s -) iu or yU / v\ t: ~ v\ ~ / IH-It~ v' " IH -It ~ ~ IH T dasu / ,FiJ}, -o t: I:ir ,FiJ}, -) omou

~i The kanji ffl is used as a suffix in many expressions similar to § ~ffl. Examples include ~ ffl kyakz¢ "for use by guests," .ffl gunyo "for military use," and f±ffl shaya "for company use." / The parentheses in (': n I: 1;;1: ~-a:

IH -It ~ v' b b) and in Ij indicate S-ko's unspoken thoughts. / ~m L is the archaic literary form of the adjective ~i v \ lstfYoi "strong." / F.:r ~ Iv is understood to be the subject of v' -:;) -c v' t:., while S.:r ~ Iv is the subject of IH -It ~ v' and ,FiJ}, -:;) is.

::>c The p~~ase ~Jll 1;;1: ~'11 J: t) ~i L is a pun on the pro~erb . ~ ~ 1;;1: ~U J: t) ~m L pen wa ken yon fst9'OShi ''The pen IS mightier than the sword."


Ih

23


u

.s, (7, i> !.tiJ· 7,"" ;:.

~ ~ mHt ~ c ~ g::q: I±:k1JQjO) r- T ~ 0

~ 1m It ~ C akeru to when (S-ko) opened / ~ I: Ii naka ni wa inside / :Atlroklw six (roundish objects)

~i: In full, this sentence would end :A1m 0) r" - T 'J iJ'r"&J ~ tz.

lj

"'"" ;:. b "'~ t:

( -1JQj t.: It ~ t? Jt;OC\ t? ~ \t'~;OC\) C ~ f@", --ritx:: ~

... t: tllv v I> t t t'

c~ }'\'J 70)jI~~A~ I:JG~:m:L-C;j3"'t.:o

~ -1m t.: tt td: G iklw dake nara if only one (doughnut is missing) / ~") "'C'tt~ ~ isoide taberu to eat in a hurry / J'\ ':J -7 package / ~ /uta cover / ftA ~ I: nen'iri ni carefully; meticulously / 5C I: m: L. "( .i3 ") t: mao ni modoshite oita redosed (the package); [lit.] returned (the cover) to its original position (in preparation for F-ko's return)

JjJ ?tiJ~ G ;Z ,,"\ B' ?tiJ~ ~ wakam / ~") "'C' B' ~ <" isogu / m: L. "( B' m: T modosu / .i3") t: B' .i3 <

~i: The particle C is used in two distinct meanings in this sentence. The first C can be called the "quoting" c; it is used to report speech, names, or, in this case, thoughts. The quoting C often appears with the verb § ~ "to say" or .~, ~ "to think"; it is also used in Ig and lh, for example. The second C is the "sequential" c; it shows that one action follows another. Examples of the sequential t appear in 1i and lk.

m -f -? c 'i~ G ~~&i sO to wa shiranu shiitome her motherin-law, who didn't know about that / ft~ iJ~ G m: ~ c sanfJO.. kara modoru t~ when, (she) returned from her walk / 1JHf"( sagete carrymg / {llii JE3f I: manzokuge ni with a satisfied look / ~ ~ "( ") ~ t: kaette itta went horne

tJJ -~n G.lQ B' ~~ shim / m:tf"( Q' m:tf ~ sageru / ~~ "( Q' 1W ~ kaeru / III ~ i: B' f-r < iku

~i The.lQ ending on ~ G.lQ is a more literary version of the negative suffix td:"); ~ G.lQ has the same meaning as ~ G ;Z,,). / The basic meaning of the verb m: ~f ~ is "to dangle; to let hang." When the object is a shopping bag, handbag, or other object with a strap or handle the

verb is best translated as "to carry." ,


:)t:. Sko's impulsive doughnut eating is the T.:t- 'L\ mentioned in the story's title.

lk

25


11

~ t.::. 6 iJ{ however (i.e., contrary to what was expected or hoped) 1m"? t: modotta returned I L"? iJ\ IJ surely; without missing a thing I JE IJ ~'" tarinai to be lacking; to be missing I ~ iJ{-::)'" i: ki ga tsuita noticed I iJ\; because I *'Bi. taiben a major crisis

til ft:."? t: d' ft:. ~ modoru I JE IJ ~'" Q' JE IJ ~ tan"ru / -::) v t: Q' -::) <

~.i The adverb L"? iJ\ IJ, which modifies 1n: iJ{ -::) v ' tz, suggests that F-ko is the type who lets very little get past her. I As in lb, the particle 0) is a nominalizer, so -ilJE ~ ~ '" 0) means "(the fact) that one doughnut was missing." I Note that the meaning of iJ\ ~ depends on the form of the verb it follows. After the past or present tense, it means "because": 1n: iJ{ -::) " ' i: iJ" ~ ''because she noticed." When preceded by the gerund (-te) form, however, it means "after": 1n:iJ{-::)"''""CiJ'' ~ "after she noticed." I The word *'Bi. often expresses shock or panic. Someone who finds that the bathtub has overflowed and soaked the tatami is likely to shout r *'Bi.t': ! J "Oh, no!" The word's use in the above sentence expresses Sko's sense of impending disaster. I The copula t: after *~ has been elided.

~ tf!~ ~ tantiJ.sha the person handling the matter I ~l~ ~t

L t: konmake shita gave up

IiJ 1l~ ~t L t: Q' ~~~ ~tT ~ konmake suru

1l~ ~tT ~ means "to give up because one's opponent is more persistent"


1m

~ ~ r 0) tenka no unsurpassed; leading I .::. Iv ~ ~ .A such a mistake I ~ Iv '""C (expresses doubt, surprise, or anger) I ~ "? of < immediately I ~ 4 en-en at length; longwindedly I fiLa lwgi complaint I .~ denwa telephone call

~i As the kanji suggest, the original meaning of ~ "F is

" d h "th· "the enti ""th

un er eaven, at IS, e ennre country or e

world." When used as a modifer, ~ T 0) means "widely known to be the best" I The traditional pronunciation of +5.1- in the meaning "ten minutes" is jippun, not juppun as shown above. While the former pronunciation can be heard in news broadcasts and the like, the latter is more common in contemporary speech. (When +5.1- means "enough; sufficient," it is pronounced jiibun.) / With the unstated verb added, this sentence would end .. JJLa 0). ~:a- Lt:..

In

27


~ ~~J.I-;j: yokuasa (or yokuchoj ichiban the first thing the next morning / J\ + pj 0) F ~ T 'J -1fm hachijii-en no donats« ikko one SO-yen doughnut / f&~*$~: gosh6 daiji ni with infinite care / :J1l;t kakae holding (his or her arms around) / Jli7i:J:t hanbai-in sales clerk / 7i: ~ ~ uriba sales floor (of the supermarket) / Jt1f~ sekinin-sha the manager; the person with senior responsibility / ~~ ~: sbazai ni to apologize

11.1 :J1l;t w:J1l;t ~ kakaeru / ~ t: w * ~ kurn

~.i. Other combinations with ~ include ~ B yoku/itsu "the next day" and ~iJ!I. yokushii "the next week" / :J1l;t is the stem of :J1l;t i T kakaemasu, the present formal of :J1l;t ~. The present formal stem is used to link clauses. / The difference between ~~~: ~ t: 0) "t: 2ft; ~ and just ~ ~~: ~ t: is that the 0) followed by the copula "t: 2ft; ~ indicates that 'this sentence is an elaboration of the preceding sentence: it explains what happened after the 1'l! ~ ~ gave up in the face of F-ko's complaints.

3t The term f&~ is so close in form and meaning to the English "afterlife" that one might think it a loanword. In fact, though, f&~*$ comes from Buddhism and originally meant "caring more about the next life than about this one." In this story, the meaning is more secular. The supermarket employees were worried about not the Great Beyond but the store's reputation. There's a bit of sar-

m ft jg katamichi one-way (trip) / = IJ¥ rdl ~ ~ nijikan aman over two hours / I*J ~t ,;f kikeba when (F-ko) asked / -t- 0) t: ~ for that purpose / .li1J¥~: go/i ni at five o'clock / * 'd: ffi i: ie 0 deta left home

til I*J ~t 'i w I*J < kiku / ffi i: q' ffi ~ deru

~.t The opposite of ftjg is tt{l 6fuku "round trip." / Other expressions with ft include ft =F "t: katate de "with one hand" and ft1J katah6 "one (of a pair)." / After a numerical expression, ~ ~ means "somewhat more than" as in + A~ ~ jiinin aman "more than ten people; 'a dozen or so people." / In this sentence, -t- 0) i: ~ means "in order to make the one-way trip of over two hours." / The unstated subject of I*J ~t ';1:' is FT.

:>c Nowhere is the gender of the JIi%J:t specified, nor that of the 1l!~~ or the % ~ ~O)Jt1f~. Each could be either male or female. This ambiguity is often impossible to maintain in translations into English, in which genderspecific pronouns are unavoidable.


cas~ too, in the use of this full-powered ~~g. kango to descnbe how someone carried an eighty-yen doughnut

Ip


lq

:r..7': '1"- <I:~

FT~lvb ::n~:'±, r~TiJr~:K/OO.@:t'::;b- J

t':v'll'lvlf~

C *~iJJio

~ ~ t"iI~~: really; as expected / *~iti: daikangeki greatly moved; deeply touched

~.i .::. tL "this" refers to the long journey made by the supermarket employees. / The vowel of the exclamation particle b is lengthened to b - wi as emotive emphasis. / * dai is a prefix meaning "greatly; very much." / The particle t here is the quoting t (see lj), / The verb of this sentence is ~iti: L. i: kangeki shita, with the L. i: omitted.

1r

~~ 1J:.A yiijin friends; acquaintances / !!XII!! L. -c 1m -::> i: fuicho shite mawatta proclaimed; spread the word

IJJ 1m -::> t: ~ 1m ~ mawaru

~.i By itself, !!X1I!!t" ~ means "to announce; to spread (news) widely." The 1m "? t: emphasizes that F-ko told this story to one person after another.

30

3I


Is

~ b"t 0 Iv of course / MOO ganmen face / if B whaku pale; pallid

JiJ fjfj v -t: ~ fjfj < kiku

~.i With the omitted verb replaced, the sentence would end MOO if B ~: ~ "? i: "her face blanched."

s: The kanji if in if B means "blue" or "green" It also has the kun reading ao.

It

~ f~~ himitsu secret / ~:Ii.; hakaba grave / ~ -o -c 1T'::' -? t motte iko to to carry away / 11m < kataku firmly; resolutely / ijc'L' L. -C,,' ~ kesshin shite iru has decided; has resolved

tfJ ~ -» -c ~ ~-::J motsu / 1T'::' -? ~ 1T < iku

~ Sko's determination to carry to the grave the secret of her furtive doughnut eating has two motives. One is her embarrassment at having forced the supermarket employees to take such a long journey for the sake of an 80-yen doughnut The other motive, which gives a sharper edge to this story, is Sko's continuing fear of what her motherin-law would do if she ever found out

I

1d: 7J' "?

r:~&tBl, \ C'~':J 12

~:t LlJ J~ (})f}J B ()) tl1

A NEW YEAR's DAWN ON

THE SUMMIT OF MT. FUJI, CLIMBED WHILE CARRYING A DEAD FRIEND

*~1:;li.~~ L -Cv)~ T ~ Iv (==) 1;t1F*, ~

iN"t~1v

£~.~~~Ac~~~g±~W~~*L~o c~

7:JiJii, *'i:B'I:~~T~ c, ~AI;t~jj$ttc~~~ Lt&J~ t.: c v) ~ 0 mAA: 1:,Wg£t~ £t i: i? T1: I: C < ~

-o -c V ) t: 0

Oc L~ ~~nLLt.:Xml;t, T~IvI:~JliLt.:o ffh ~ ~*fl:g±w I:~~ .: c I: t:t "? -cv)t.:o c~~ ~':h~i?a~~~i?L-C~"?-C<h!J

-t I;n: V) t':~ffl~ ~ ~th L -c ,

ffh ~ ~v)-Cv) ~ i TiJ~ i?J

c V) ~ 0 -t L -c =AI;t T ~ Iv ~~hl:H L, *~ I: :il1*~.I:*-tt, g±llJ 1:[il]iJ~"? t.:~1:-&; ~ 0

11)'f!

~q:t, 1F*fifrX~~r~~ 1:)1 "? i: 0 fi'g l;t!j[i*J ~II

~ :i6J7.,

f -t~ i?~:1J, iitsiJii~v)1:T;Q.J

34

A NEW YEAR'S DAWN ON

THE SUMMIT OF Mr. FUJI, CLIMBED WHILE CARRYING A DEAD FRIEND

T (33), who works as an editor in Tokyo, had promised to climb Mt. Fuji on the morning of New Year's Day together with a friend from his native area, Shizuoka. But when T telephoned him on New Year's Eve, he was told that his friend had been in a traffic accident and was near death. T rushed to the hospital only to find that his friend was already dead.

Having sobbed for a while, his friend's father appealed to T: "I was supposed to go along to climb Mt. Fuji. Please do something so that my son can climb it

w!" no .

The head nurse, who was nearby, was moved by this

d id "I'll al "

an Sal, go ong, too.

So the father and nurse led T outside, and they actually did put the dead body in the car and head for Mt. Fuji.

Along the way, they were stopped for questioning as part of the year-end safe-driving campaign. A police officer peered into the car and said, "That fellow looks sick."

35

Carrying a Dead Fnend

t IlfJ < 0 rl'J' ~ tj: < JI: 1* "'(" ~ 0 .:: t iJ~ J" Iv t: iJ~" .. iW1:-~ 0 t.:.tfgl±~JJJ L l J'\ r :b - "'("j'G$ L l < :It tz;

... b1:

~i~ 1:-1Jl ~:9~ L" =AiJ~*7R!rLlJ;g 1:-!r ~ M3i) t:

0) I±~o)+~o Jl:1*1:-;j3~ 0 t.:.O) l±m_;_~~f1:- ~"::) l v-t: T ~ Iv",(,,~ 0 0 3n:i1iiU±jK,¢.Cf+1LB(o T~~: jEf~ij!if!iJ~M3i ~" T ~ IvI±Moc ~ ,~r}'" lfn.t! ~ It ~: tj: 0 tc;

t: /::: t:

q:WJ1L~-¥" ~0 t1JLtl:i!!!~~v~t.:.o 1>t~*~

t: < t" ~AO)1*iJ~Y L71ii\.iJ~ < tj: 0 tz;

r ~ ~ ~ 0 t.:.1v t. ~ tj: v ~ iJ~ J

t" 5<:iJ~O' t ~ "::)~~ v~ t.:.o

l;l~

--t~YLWJ" v'~tj:~~BiJ~~Lt.:.o ~A1:-~ch.,

T ~ Iv ~ x: ~ ~iJ~Jl: i ~ tj: < tj: 0 t.:.o

~ hip ~ 1L1f\iJ~~ ~"t.:.o =Ji ~:~AO)5<:iJ~ ~ ~~, 1! ~ iJ~@ ~" gi I: § JJJ y "" 'J ?' - "'("110 t.:.=AO)~ ~iJ~lfi]~ ~ h l vvtz; ~AI±~0 lV' 0 J: -? I:jti 00 X:I±" 71 )vA1:-~ftl:@ITi",(,,1L1f.iJ~iJ~0t::. O)"'("~oo

T ~ Iv I±" i t.:.~iJ~Jl: i ~ tj: < tj: 0 t.:.o

Carrying a Dead Friend

Soon the fact came out that it was a corpse. When he understood the situation, the officer was so moved that he led the way for them in his patrol car.

Leaving the head nurse at the foot of the mountain the three began to ascend the Osawa Trail. The time was ten o'clock at night T, who used to lift weights carried the body piggyback. The temperature was fift~ degrees belm,: zero Celsius. Rigor mortis had already begun to set ill, and T fell down several times and got covered with blood.

At half past five in the morning, they finally reached the summit. They built a fire, and the body of T's friend warmed up a little.

"It looks like he's come back to life," the father muttered to himsel£

Just before seven, the morning sun suddenly shone on them. As they sat on either side of Ts mend, neither T nor the father could stop crying.

Five .years have passed since then. In February, a letter arrived unexpectedly from the friend's father. Enclosed was a photograph of the three of them taken with a self-timer. The mend seemed to be smiling. It had taken the father five years to send the film to be developed.

Once again, T couldn't stop crying.

37

2a

~ L ~ 1X. nakitomo dead friend / fft It, -r katsuide carrying on one's shoulders / ~'0 i: nobotta climbed / 'M±L1Irn Fuji-san-cho the summit of Mt Fuji / W B (J) /:Jj hatsuhinoek the first sunrise of the year

jJJ 1f!. It, -r 1& f!! <" katsugu / ~ '0 i: 1& ~ ~ noboru

~.t The verb ~ '0 i: modifies 'M ± UJ JJi and L ~ 1X. is the object of1f!.It'-r, so L~1X.fftlt'-r~'0t.:.'M±L1Im means "the summit of Mt. Fuji, climbed while canying a dead friend on one's shoulders." / The prefix L ~ naki "dead" is also used in other combinations, such as L ~ A nakihito "deceased person" and L ~ jC nakichichi "one's late father." / The prefix fJJ hatsu means "the first of the year," as in W~ hatstryu "one's first bath of the New Year" and fJJ~1j hatsum6de "New Year's visit to a shrine."

3t One of the many customs associated with the New Year's season in Japan is viewing the first sunrise of the New Year. People go to mountaintops and east-facing seashores on the morning of January 1 to see and photograph the year's first dawn. Because of the cold and snow, though, only the most intrepid attempt to climb Mt. Fuji, which at 3,776 meters (12,388 feet) is the highest peak in Japan.


~ JIU¥--r To/g6 de in Tokyo / II~~ henshii-sha editor / 1F* nenmatsu at the end of the year / ~.m 1¢ri home town; native area / DOO Shizuoka name of a prefecture and city southwest of Tokyo / 1X.A yujin friend / 5C.EL gantan the morning of New Year's Day / ~ UJ tozan mountain climbing / ;f/.]* L t: yakusoku shila promised

til l"( 1& T ~ / ;f/.]* L t: 1& ;f/.]*"t ~ yakusoku sum

~.t The phrase JIU?~"t"*i~~a-l-rIt'~ T ~ Iv means "T, who works as an editor in Tokyo." / Series of nouns linked by (J) are sometimes difficult to parse. Here ~.m (J) D 00 (J) 1X. A means "a friend from T's native area, Shizuoka," / 'M±~UJ is "climbing Mt. Fuji."

.3t The "Dekigotology" editors assert that all of the stories in this series are true. One piece of evidence to support this claim is the high proportion of characters who are editors, designers, or employees of publishing companies-in other words, the sort of people who are likely to be acquaintances of the series' writers.

39


2c

~ c':' -0 iJ{ however (i.e., contrary to what was expected) / *~ B Omisoka the last day of the year / m~t" ~ c denwa sum to when T telephoned / ~:im.Mc !wtsil jiko traffic accident / ~.:. L okoshi had caused / 1tm kitoku close to death

jj; ~.:. L Iti'" ~.:. t" okosu

~.t ~:im.~t'd:~':' t" means "to be in a traffic accident" / The c after m~iSt" ~ is the sequential c, while the C after 1tm t: is the quoting C (see 1j). / T ~ Iv is the subject of m~t" ~, and o:.A is the subject of ~.:. L and 1t ~ t":. / The subject of "\ -J is the unidentified person who told T of his friend's accident over the telephone.

2d

i~'

( 1Jl 'i~'A, iJ' t..:

• m~~:,w~~t0~tt.:GT't"~:L< ~0-c"\t.:o

~ m~ by6in hospital / 19~t-:J~tt.:; kaketsuketara when (I) hurried (he found that) / t" --r:~: already / t: < ~ '? -c " \ t: nakunatfe ita had died

jj; 19~t-:J ~tt.:; Iti'" ~~t1t~t ~ kaketsukeru / t: < ~ -?"( " \ i: Iti'" t: < ~ ~ nakunam, "\ ~

~.t 19~t1t~t ~ means "to rush or hurry to a destination." /


The subject of ~~t-:J~tt.:; is T ~ lv, and the subject of t: < ~ -:) -c "\ t: is 0:. A. / Here, the t.:; suffix suggests ~at the matter described in the following clausethat IS, the death of T's friend-was surprising or unexpected.

2e

m U: c L ~ IJ for a while / ~iJl: L i: ga/gil shita sobbed' wailed / 5<:il chichiqya father / ~Jj L i: aigan shita a~ pealed; begged

jj; ~iJl: L t: Q' ~iJl:t" ~ ga/gii sum / ~Jj L i: Iti'" ~Jjt" ~ aigan sum

~i 5<:il is the subject of both ~i:iL L t: and ~Jj L tc. / 5<:il is more formal than 5<: chichi.

I':,

"

4I


m f.l. b watashi mo I also / -kf~: issho ni together (with you and my son) / .:. t ~: 7d: '? "'( v' t: was supposed to, was going to / t~ -J ip (word used with requests) / .:. n ip; now; soon / I~' T musuko my son / ~; ~ "'( {> '? "'( < n noborashite yatte kure let [have] him climb the mountain (as a favor to me)

tiJ 7d: '? "'( v' t: Q' 7d: '? "'( v' ~ Q' 7d: ~ / 1r; L "'( Q' 1r'~ T Q'1r~ noboru/ {>'?"'( Q'{>~ / < nQ" < n~

~~ The pattern .:. t ~: 7d: -o "C v' ~ follows the plain form of the verb and means "is supposed to" or "has bee.n d~ cided to." / 1r; L",( is the gerund of 1r ; T, which IS the literary causative form of the verb 1r ~. The usual spoken causative form is 1r; -It ~ . / J?e verb {> ~ ~ere means "to give," with T ~ Iv as the giver of the a~on and the father as the recipient / < n is the brusque Imperative of < n ~ "to do for =' ~e brusque imperative is seldom used in formal SItuations or by women. The more polite version of < n is < t!. ~ v'.

~-E- -f ';f' nearby; next to / Rmffi: fucha head nurse / ~jj; L r


kando sbite was moved (emotionally) / '":J v , "'( v' ~ i T go along with; accompany

JfJ v' i: Q' v' ~ / ~jj; L"'( Q' ~jj;T ~ kando sum / '":J v' "'( Q" 1-.1" < lruku / v' ~ iT Q" 1-r < iku

~ -f,;n: v't:'Rmft means "the head nurse, who was nearby." / The Rm of Rmffi: is the same as the last character of ;g~Rm kangofu "nurse." / The sentence f.l. b '":Jv'"'(v' ~ i Tip; literally means "Because I'll go with you, too." The explanatory ip; "because" indicates that the head nurse is giving another reason why T should take his friend's body to Mt, Fuji-because she will accompany them.

2h

~ -f L"'( then; next / = A futari the two people (i.e., the father and the head nurse) / j!nill L tsuredashi led (I) outside / *~~: honta ni actually / li1* itai corpse; body / 1fI kumma car / *-It nose placed (into the vehicle) / -m- ±!lJ ~: rm r,p '? i: Fu}t:san ni mukatta headed for Mt Fuji

tiJ j! n ill L Q" j! n ill T tsuredasu / *-It Q" *-It ~ noseru / rm r,p '? i: Q' rm i,p -J mukau

~1 *-It ~ is the transitive counterpart of * ~ nom "to ride; to get in a vehicle." / j!nill L and *-It are the stems of the present formal forms j! n ill LiT and *-It i T, respectively. As in 2j, 21, and 20, these stems link clauses. / The sense of * ~~: in this sentence is "actually went so far as to (put the corpse into the car)."

43


2i

~ ~!=f:! lochii along the way / 1f.*IfllX: nenmatsu keikai year-end safety [safe-driving] campaign / f~rll' kenmon inspection; questioning / :iI "? t: alta encountered; came across

th :iI "? t: IIF :iI ~ au

~.:t :iI ~ is one of several ways to write the verb cb ~ . When the meaning is "to meet; to rendezvous with," the word is written ~ ~ . The meaning "to match; to align" is written it ~ . When written :iI ~, the verb means "to encounter by chance; to happen to meet" :iI ~ is usually used of unfortunate experiences.

~ During ~*flllX:, the police do spot checks on passing vehicles, looking for drunk drivers, undone seatbelts, and other traffic violations. In this case, they may also have been hoping to tum back some of the motorcycles and cars packed with young people that gather at the base of Mt Fuji for a raucous celebration of the New Year.

~ Iff.[ keikan police officer / .1*1 shanai interior of vehicle / PJJi ~:i6ch. nozokikomi peeked into / -f -; ; (1)1]

44

4S


sochira no kala that person / M ~ iJ'r!f: ", kaoiro ga warui looks sick / ~ < kiku ask; inquire

Jj} PJJi ~ :i6 ch. ~ PJJi ~ :i6 U nozokikomu

~i The verb PJJi ~ :i6 u "to peek into" is a compound of PJJi < nozoku "to peek" and :i6 U komu "to put into." / -f -; ; (J) 1] is the polite version of -f (J) A sono hila "that person." / The idiom M ~ iJ'r!f:'" literally means "his facial color is bad," but "looks sick" is closer to the intended meaning. / The verb ~ < indicates that the police officer spoke in a questioning tone. As suggested by the sentence-final tl, he was asking for confirmation that Ts friend really was sick.

2k

00 ~ ~ < i 1i -c: Gb ~ .: C 1J~ / '\' t- t::'1J~ '\ it- i"h -j 'd:- to

Ih'1l'1v 7l'1vi::'-j 1t1v~J.

-o t::.Ii'§'j:~tJJ L l/\ r 7J --c::1'G~ L l < ;h,t::.o

m 1m b 7d: < ma mo naku soon / Jlf$:'"t.:'cb.o .: t itai de aru koto the fact that it was a corpse / / '{ l> i: was revealed / $'11 jifo the situation / ~ "? i: shitta learned; found out / /'\ r 7J ~ patrol car / ;t;~ L'"'( < n i: send6 shite kureta led the way (for T and the others)

IJJ /'\' t- i: IIF I;fn~ / ~ "? i: d' ~ ~ shiru / ;t;~ L '"'( ~ ;t;~T.o sendo suru / < nt.: ~ < n~

~i The idiom rdl b 7d: < literally means "without even an interval of time," in other words, "very soon." / The verb I;f'n.o is used when lies, conspiracies, or other secrets are discovered. / $'If i' ~ "? i: Iff.[ means "the police officer, when he found out about the situation"


21

~ ,. Jumoto the foot of the mountain / ~~ L nolwshi leaving behind / :::. A sannin the three people / jdR~ llJ ~ Osawa Tozando the Osawa Trail / ~ I') Mlc16 t: 0) I± noborihajimeta no wa when they began climbing / 11( 0) + ~ yom no jiiji' ten o'clock at night

th ~~ L 1& ~~ T nolwsu / ~ I') Ml cI6 t: 1& ~ ~ noboru, Ml &') ~ hajimeru

~.:E - A is the subject of ~~ L and ~ I') Ml cI6 t.:.

3t Is it surprising that :::. A "three people" should refer to two living people and a corpse? This may reflect the traditional Japanese belief that some portion of the soul of a dead person continues to inhabit the physical remains. This would also explain why T and the father decided to carry the corpse up the mountain in the first place.

2m

~, t~~, t: ~ oj I) J: -j ;;_, 'f 1-

)11* ~ j3 ~ -o i: (J) Ii 1i .m. ~~f ~ -? "? -c \r' i: T

~1v"t:3;~o

~ :j:3 ~ -? t: carried on his back / :m:;. ?iH}" ju~e weight lifting / ~ -? -c v =t: had done; used to do

IJJ :j:3 ~ -? i: 1& ~ ~ oJ obuu / ~ -? -c 1& ~ ~ / v t: Q' "'~


~ The verb ~ ~ oJ means "to carry on one's back." / :iI~ ~ :j:3 ~ -? t: 0) I± means "the one who carried the dead body"; this phrase is linked by the copula -r: tIt; ~ to :m: ;. ~ ~f ~ ~ -? -c,,' t: T r: Iv ''T, who used to do weight lifting."

2n

m ~7.ffii kion air temperature / jj(,¢.rf byotenka below the freezing point / + 1i~ jiigo-do fifteen degrees (Celsius)

~i -15°C is +S°F.

20

~ T-r:~: already / 1Ef~li!W! shiga k6choku rigor mortis / Ml i I') hajimari had begun / fPJ ~ b nando mo several times; again and again / $i '(}' korobi fell down / lfn. t!. £? ~t chi-darake covered with blood / ~ -? i: became

JfJ Ml i I') 1& Ml i ~ hajimaru / $i '(}' 1& $i~ korobu / ~-? t: 1& ~~

~i The kanji of 1Ef~li!W! show the meaning: "death-afterhard-straight," that is, "stiffening after death" or "rigor mortis." / The verb $i~ describes the action of tripping or slipping and then falling down. / The suffix t!. £? ~t also appears in 1~t!. £? ~t dorodarake "covered with mud."

47


2p

::: -If! /-v::: I; li/-V to ~ 'i I; J: 'i t: t: -:>

tp wLn 1I;f-f., ~ -::> c: rrLtJ: i!!! t) ~ \t' i: 0

~ !:pRtrIi.~-*- gozen goji-han half past five in the morning / ~ -::> C finally; at last / ]tl:: chOjo summit / i!!! ~ ~ I.t , t: tadoritsuita reached

tiJ i!!! ~ ~'" i: B' i!!! ~ ~ < tadoritsuku

~.i. The verb i!!! t) ~ < means "to reach a goal after suffering or hardship."

2q

t~~ 11 19>'i I;/-v iJ';,t!. -t-:. IJtd~

~ ~ *-:r i: < C:, :6tA(J){ifi:i?{Y li1iil.ip < t:t -::> iz;

~ ~ ~ *- takibi bonfire / t: < light (a fire) / h(AO)1* yiijin no karada Ts friend's body / ~'L sukoshi a little bit / 71ffi.-n~ < ~ -::> i: atatakaku natta warmed up

tiJ i: < B' ~ < taku / 71ffi. -n~ < B' 71ffi. -n~ I.t \ atatakai / ~ -? t:

B' ~.o

~.i. The adjective ~t::.t::.-n~,,\ "warm" is written 71ffi.iPlt' when it means "warm to the touch" or "friendly; cordial" and iii IP I.t \ when it means "warm air temperature."


2r

~, ;Q';(_ to to

r ~ ~ ~ -::> i: Iv t ~ t:t \t' i?~ J C:, Y:. i?~ 7.) C: t) -:J ~

~\t't.:o

~ ~ ~ ~ -::> t: ikikaetta came back to life / t» C t) to himself / "':)~~I.t\t::. muttered

til ~ ~ ~ -::> t: B' ~ ~ ~.o ikikaeru / "':) ~ ~ I.t' i: B' ~ < tsu~aku

~i The Iv after ~ ~ ~ -::> t::. is a spoken form of the explanatory nominalizer (J), and t.: ~ ~ \t \ is a contraction of -c:- 1;;1: ~ \t' "not." / The ending t.: ~ ~ I.t' -n~ means roughly "it looks like (he's come back to life)."

2s

'"

J

~ -t~p L Rtr shichi-ji sukoshi mae shortly before seven o'clock / \t' ~ ~ t) suddenly / i'j B arabi the morning sun / ~ L t: sashita shone (upon them)

Ih ~Lt::. B'~T sasu

II'

dl ,II'

""

'Hi

49


2t

~ 1*.7;. basami sitting [standing] on either side of / T ~ Iv ~ jC ~ Ti-san mo chichi mo both T and the father / ~ namida tears / 11: L? ~ < ~ "? t: tomaranaku natta wouldn't stop

JiJ 1*.7;. Q' 1* ts hasamu / 11: L? ~ < Q' 11: L? ~,,\ Q' .Jl:,Q tomaru / 7d: "? i: Q' ~ ~

~.1 The verb 1* U means "to place or press between." It is the source of the noun ~ basami "scissors." / The compound phrase T ~ Iv ~ jC ~ is the topic of the verb phrase 11: L? ~ < ~ "? tz; the subject is r~. /' A literal translation of T ~ Iv ~ jC ~ j}J; i1~ 11: L? ~ < ~ "? i: might be "Both Ts and the father's tears wouldn't stop."

2u

~ &; h i1~ L? since then / 1i 1f i1~ ~ tf t: gonen ga sugita five years passed

jjJ ~ tf i: Q' ~ ~~ ~ sugiru

50

5I


2v

I: 1Jf"'J 19>'i t.:1v t:.t:. t"'J-tf1v kJ: t I::' t..:1J'.£

= fH::btA 0) x: i,p G~~, fJ! ~ 7J~JIi s , ~~: l=J

I::''i I: ~lvl:1v L~ Liv I::''i J>'i

.~~71-~.~~_AO)~.#~.~h~

\/, tz;

~ = Ji nigatsu February / ~~ totsuzen unexpectedly / 19! ~ tayori letter / )j ~ todoki was delivered / q:t~: naka ni inside / EI tb ~ "\' '/ -1 ~ jido shatta self-timer; automatic shutter / fl"? t: toua taken / -= A (J) 1]:;1{. sannin no sbashin a photograph of the three people / [I'ij ~ ~ h "(" \ t: do.fo sarete ita was enclosed (in the envelope)

tiJ )j ~ Q')j < todoku / 11 "? t: Q' ft~ torn / [I'ij~ ~ h "("\~ Q'[l'ijM~h~ Q'[I'ij~T~ diifosuru

~i: The context here suggests that 19! ~ refers to a letter. In other situations, the word can also mean "news (about a person)" or "communication." / § tb ~ l' '/ -1 ~ 1:11 "? t.:. - A(J)1]:;1{. means "a picture of the three people, taken with a self-timer." The verb fl"? t: modifies 1]:;1{.. / When t ~ "to take" refers to the taking of photographs, videos, etc., it is written fl~. / [I'ij~T ~ means "to enclose in the same envelope."


2w .

~ ~ '? '"( v \ ~ waratte iru smiling; laughing / J: '1 ~:: Jt;t ~ yo ni mieru appears to be; seems to be

jjJ ~ '? "C v \ ~ Iai" ~ '1 warau

~.t ~ '1 can mean either "to smile" or "to laugh." (To keep

this story from becoming too macabre, let's suppose that \

the corpse is only smiling.)

2x

J:,J:, Iflvi'-i it> ;::: IJ.1v

x: ,± , 7 1 }V A ~ ~JH~n: IH1 T i 1: 1L 1f. ip n~ -? t:

(J)1:~~o

~ 7 -( )v A firumu film / m it ~:: lID T genz6 ni mawasu send for developing / Ii if. ip ip -o i: gonen kakatta it took five years

IJJ irlp'? i: Iai" irlp ~

~.t As in 10, the final (J) -r: ~ ~ indicates that the preceding clause is an explanation of what came earlier. Here, it explains that the letter from the father came five years later because it took him that long to get up the courage to develop the film.

52

~ it.:.. again

~i This sentence is an echo of 2t


2y

I,,:;

II",

'''',

Jill IIII

:111 'ill 'II II i:i ,,,,

:::1

'"''

~'"

J'"

'n,

5]

~U1'FB ~ar~,~61)~ "S;{(J)G"£"£1Jc

Iii III

A WOMAN'S SHREWDNESS CONCEALED IN A hCTIONAL JOURNAL

I", h"

til, illl

~U1'F B ~a(~~l1@)~ "9:.(1) ~££tJ'c

t~I*JO)lfijf±~:tJJ~~ F-T~ Iv (=1i) Ii, Jlt~i5"Jh

1:'1 -It~,

i~~ryO)*~~, T~ (==) c~.~~~~o

4'-*,

rift '11Httj:\{'ti c~{'FJt~:~~\{'lvt':o Af±~~O)~

~~: B~2.~-= < iJ~G, i~~1j II < n~ ? J

c {Jt ~:~~~ ~ n,

r~~~,~~0~~~l-=<bo~~, ~~O)B ~2. ~ ~ 0 i G tj: \{'iJ~ G, f.l.O) li~~B 7 1 7:'-- 3 './ (J)

H" _

iYt0 ~ B N2.tJ.J

c'I:k:Mi, 1i\{'~:~-tt-g.-?.:: c ~:#c~t,:o ~~IF.f{\ li{'F*~~~t,:.:: c ~ ~ ~ F-T~ Iv .. ~~, ~O)ij: \{, 7 1 7 :.-- 3 :,; ~ -= ~ Jl tJ. l ~ llv ~ v , i: iJS', T tt

'i*~jfo

1;1:

r l:-=¥\{'tj:, -t.::'< "OOS\{, ! J

i.e-t.. {}t"te itili:~:tj:~l-:0)1!£0~ B~2.~:i" t: tj: ~ L J.;.. ~ ~ v , t.: II L i ~ t: 0

A WOMAN'S SHREWDNESS CONCEALED IN A HCTIONAL JOURNAL

F-ko (25), who works for a trading company in Tokyo, is living with T (23), a college student who is in the midst of looking for a job.

This spring, Tasked F-ko, "I'm so bad at writing it's pitiful. I'm going to keep a diary as practice for employment exams. Would you check it for me?"

She readily agreed. "In that case, I'll keep one, too.

But a simple diary would be boring, so mine will be all lies, total fiction, okay?"

And so they decided to show each other their diaries.

When F-ko was in college, she had sometimes dreamed of becoming a writer, so every evening she had a good time writing out her innocuous fiction.

T thought her writing was great "You're good," he said. ''This is really interesting!"

But recently she found a new way to enjoy her fabricated journal.

57

A Woman's Sbreudness

rv\i~ ~1±~:~~:;oj:~AiI~v\~0 1Bl~fJ,.~:.~ilt ~ ~ J.;.. t: v \ -c: ~ it $ ~: ~ -? "C < h t: ~ 0 if. T 0) T t. ~ ~ ~~ili:$tt'= L .. ····J

.:. O)~q:yr:p O)r¥-~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~f;oj: < ~-:J ~ 8 ~c.~:. < t ~ O)t*~iI~t.: i t?;oj: V\o

"'A, ~I

r A, 8 I;t T iI{:J :/ ;,\-C:j)l V\o fJ,.li ~1±0)1Bl t ~ ~IHJ

!O)~~;'-.A,.o m~I:B~~~~ 1BlO)i!iI~fJ,.0)~~: ~ ~ ~1';oj: < @ -? t: t ~ ~i~ *Jft.: ;oj:~O)T~ ~ ~ t: r ... ... J

':'h~ Fr~IvO) utili'!:" ti~t:'"(~;b;oj:v\T~I;j:\ r 1) 7 1) T -( - ~ ~ J: tlo '/7 '/7 t, t ~ -) J

t ~$~;oj: ~ 0)0

r 8 ~c.0).t3 iI~~1'-C: ~ 1Bl0)1:yth li~OO il'.7 A ~ ~ t: L, fJ,. 0) i¥-~ Ii ~~ 7 -{ 7 s- 3 :/ -? '"( .:. t ~: ;oj: -? '"( ~ lo L I;f' t? < ~ :: 0)3e~ 8 ~c.-?&» t? h;oj: v\;b J

L t.:t.:iI~':~ -) F r ~ Iv -c: ~ ~ 0

A Woman's Sbretodness

Tbere': someone at the company whos been on 1try mind these days. He seems interested in me, too. He invites me out to eat and things like that. After all, IS younger than me and marriage is a long wqy ojf. ..

She gets an inexpressible thrill as she writes nonchalantly in her fictional journal about her ongoing affair.

T had a party tonight and was late getting home. I went with the man.from the office to a mellow bar. When we came out of the bar, he casually put his ann around my shoulder. I felt the premonition of a new romance. ...

Believing without a doubt that this story was also Fko's invention, T was all innocence. "It's so realistic," he said. "1 get all excited."

"Thanks to his diary, 1 know everything that T does, while my affair is supposed to be completely fictional. 1 won't be able to give up swapping diaries for a while."

F-ko laughs shrewdly.

59

~ i1J1'F sOsaku creative work; imagination / B ~~ nikki diary; journal / f~'d) ~ himeru hidden; kept secr~t./ --9:.(J) anna no a woman's / L i: t: ip ~ shrewdness; wiliness

~.i. As the story explains, a ilJf'F B ~~ is a diary or journal that is supposed to be a work of the imagination) '!he word L t: t: ip ~ is the noun form of the adjectival noun ~.m ip shitataka (also written 1il!~~) "shrewd; stubborn; wily." / --9:.(J) L t: i: ip ~ can mean either "a woman's shrewdness" or "the shrewdness of women." / The verb fl' 'd) ~ modifies L t: t: ~~ ~ .

3b

~ t~ I*J tonai within Tokyo / iffH± shasha trading company / tJJ 'd) ~ tsutomeru works; is employed / 8,t.~fJJ shiishoku katsudo job-hunting / i -::> ~ ~ (J) massakati no in the midst of, at the height of / *~~ daigaku-sei ?ni= versity student / T~ Ti-kun Mr. T / [ffJ;jl1=fl d6sei-chu now living together

60

A Woman's Shrewdness

~.i The t~ in t~ I*J is the last character in the official name of Tokyo, *Jjtt~ Toky6-to ''Tokyo Metropolis." / ft. means "getting a job" and mth "activities." / i -::> ~ ~ appears in dictionaries as =- -::> ~ IJ . / The phrase ft.m th i -::> ~ IJ (J) *~~, T ~ means ''T, a college student who is in the midst of looking for a job." / The suffix I=fl chii, as in [ffJ;jl1=fl , indicates that something is currently taking place, as in I $I=fl koji-chii "under construction," ffiM I=fl kentikhii "under evaluation," and litlG~ I=fl sens6chii "in a state of war."

. '

I I

"

'j::. A iffH± is a company whose main business is buying and selling products, commodities, or services. Although the term is often translated as "trading company," many itlf1=± do business primarily or exclusively within Japan. The large, powerful Japanese trading companies that operate internationally are called ~*itlf1± sOg6 shasha. / The ft .ilSth of a typical university student involves requesting information from companies, preparing separate handwritten resumes for each potential employer, visiting companies for tests and interviews, and asking friends, teachers, and relatives for advice and contacts. For most four-year college students, ft.mth is the culmination of a lifetime of study and determines the student's future career and social standing. / The suffix ~ kun is added after a surname or given name. Usually used in place of ~ Iv with the names of boys or men, it indicates that the speaker or writer regards the other person as a friend or subordinate. It is not used when speaking to or about an older person In this story, it suggests that T, as a university student, is still regarded as young by the writer or readers. / The term [ffJ. can mean simply "living in the same home," but, as in this case, it often describes a man and woman living together out of wedlock.

6I


3c

~ 4'-* konshun this spring / ft ore I; me (masculine, informal) / 'Iw' t ~ v , t f t: nasakenai hodo to a pitiful degree / 1tJt sakubun writing; composition / fjfj'" yawai weak

~.t Like ~ boku "I; me," 1ft is used only by men. ft is less polite than ~ and is not used when speaking to superiors or in formal situations. / The particle tf c· means roughly "so much that .. ; to such an extent that ... " / The phrase '11Ht~"'tf C'1tJt~:fjij'" means "so ?a? at writing that it's pitiful." / The Iv in fjij'" Iv t: IS a contracted form of the explanatory particle (J).

3d

~.g. }... ~±~~ rryiisha shiken company entrance examination / **>J?l renshU practice / B ~c. :a:-:;: < 7P I? nikki 0 kaku kara I'm going to keep a journal, so ... / 7~j!j1j L -c < nl.> ? tensaku shite kureru? could you correct it for me? / ~Jt ~:1H ~~ n kare ni sedan sare (F-ko) was consulted by him

jJJ 7~j!j1j L -c ~ i~j!jIjT ~ tensaku suru / if'§~ ~ n ~ ~§~ ~ n~ 1& ~§~T ~ s6dan suru

~.t 7~j!jIjT ~ means to correct or revise another person's writing. / The subject of:;: < is ft (T ~), while the subject of 7~j!j1j L -c and if'§~ ~ n is F::;-. T ,,:ants to practice writing because employment tests often include essay questions.

A Woman -s Shrewdness

3e

c ~ ~ well, in that case / '? ~ ~ "? -c. < tsukiatte kaku write together with you / ;b (shows emotive emphasis; used by female speakers) / "C' ~ but / i: t!. (J) simple; plain; unadorned / C ~ (contraction of "C' ~± de wa) / '? £ I? ~ ", boring / fJ,. (J) I± watashi no wa mine; my journal / ~g:~ 7 1 -7 ~ 3 ;..- (J) senb« fikushon no completely fictional / 1Jt'? ~ usotsuki lying; false / ,t:R:~ kaidaku agreed cheerfully / 1f."'~: tagai ni to each other / J!-Itit-J miseau to show (to each other) / .:. c (nominalizer) / #!;~ i: kimaa decided

'? ~ ~ "? -c ~ it ~ it -J tsukiau / #!;~ t: ~ #!;~ ~ kimeru

it ~ it -J here means "to do something together." / The particle C ~, from "C" ±, indicates the topic of '? £ I? ~ "" so t: t!. (J) B ~c. C ~ '? £ ; ~ v literally means "as for only a diary, that would be boring." / Both 7 1 -7 ~ 3 :;..; and 1Jt'? ~ mean "not true," though 71 -7 ~ 3 :;..; is often used in the sense of literary fiction while 1Jt'? ~ refers to a deliberate lie or deception. / The use of the sentence-ending particle ~ after a noun or adjectival noun, as in B ~c.~, is a feature of women's speech. Men would say B~c.t!.~. / The omitted verb after '19<:~ is L -C, the gerund form of T~. / 1f."'~:J!-Itit-J': c~: #C~ t: means "they decided to show (their journals) to

i

I Ii Ii' II

: :~ ::::

'10, "11 ".


each other." / The subject of 'I~~( L -() is F -=r ~ Iv while the subjects of J! -tt% -? and #C~ t: are F -=r ~ i and T~.

3£

~ ~~Il=;f{-t gakusei jidai when (F-ko) was a college student / 1'F* sakka writer; author / Jt J! i: .:. C: ~ it; ~ yumemita koto mo aru had sometimes dreamed about / 4ij:~ matYo every night / ~ (J) 7d: ", tsumi no nai without sin; innocuous; harmless / 11= ~ j!! t>. '"( kakitsuranete writing at length; writing an extended work / ~ llv -r:'" t: tano shintk ita was enjoying; was having fun / *~. dai ZfSSan lofty praise

til Jt J! i: ~ Jt J! ~ yumemiru / 11= ~ j!! t>. '"( ~ iff ~ ~:tJ ~ kakitsuraneru / ~ llv -r: ~ ~ L ts tanoshimu / v t:

~ "'~

~i: ~~ means "college student"; the word normally does not refer to students of high schools, vocational schools, etc. / ~ft means "era; period of time," so ~~~{t literally means "the period when (F-ko) was a college student" / The clause 1'F* ~Jt J!t.:.':' C: ~ it; ~ modifies F .:r ~ lv, so 1'F * ~ Jt J! t: .:. C: ~ it; ~ F .:r ~ Iv means "F-ko, who sometimes used to dream of being a writer." The ~ in .:. C: ~ it; ~ here means "sometimes; in addition to other things." / ~. means "high praise"; the prefix * adds emphasis. / With the omitted verb added, this sentence would end T~,j:*~.lt.:..

....

A Woman s Shrewdness

3g

1: =F "~' umai skillfully done / 7d: (indicates appreciation) / T':' < very / TIff B ", omoshiroi interesting; fun

Without the okurigana "', 1: =F'" becomes the adjectival no~n 1: =F jOzu,. which means "skillful; talented." / T':'~ <. IS the ad~erblal form of ~'" sugoi "frightening; terrifying; amazmg; extreme." The use of T':'~ < to mean

"very," though common in speech, is discouraged by some conservative grammarians.

r 3h

i I

i'

I

iii

l!1.

l7P t. however / ~JJtk kanojo she / m:ili: I: 7d: '? '"( saikin ~i .nat~ recently / *frt.:. ~ arata na new / ~ lJi. tanosbimi enjoyment / J!'" t:. t, '"( t, i '? t: miidasbite shimatta discovered

J! ", t.: L '"( ~ J! ", t':T miidasu / L i '? i: ~ L i -? m:ili: I: 7d: '? '"( is nearly the same as m:ili: saikin, which also means "recently," but m:ili: I: 7d: '? '"( emphasizes a change in situation. Here, it shows that F-ko has just discovered a new kind of enjoyment / The gerund (-Ie) form followed by L i -? indicates that the action of the verb has unfortunate consequences. In the case of J!'" t.: L '"( L i '? tz, the pattern is used ironically, as the conse-


quences are unfortunate for T, not for F-ko. (In other contexts, the gerund + L i -? form may indicate merely that the action of the verb is completed.)

3i

~.g. \t \ i now / ~U kaisha (my) company; (my) office / ~ ~:: ~ ~ A ki ni naru hito a person I'm thinking about / ~Bl kare he / J@.,*iJ! a; ~ J.J. t: \t \ kyomi ga aru mitai seems to be interested / jt.. shokuji meals / ~ 0 "(" < n i: ~ sasotte kuretari invites me (to meals) (and other things) / 1FT toshishita younger (than me) / R*t!i Iuklwn marriage / :St; saki in the future; still far off

JjJ J.J. i: v \ -r: IW J.J. t: v \ t!. / ~ 0"(" 1& ~ -? sasou / < n t:..1J IW < n~

~.i. This passage is taken from F-ko's journal. / Though ~f± means "company," it often refers to a person's workplace, especially an office. / J@.,* means "interest," and~ J@.'*i!{ a; ~ "to be interested." / The suffix J.J. t: \t \ t:.. means "seems." / The t: IJ suffix in ~ 0 "(" < n t: IJ corresponds to "other things"; that is, the man shows his interest in F-ko not only by inviting her to meals. / As in 3e, t ~ is a contraction of -r: tt de 'lila. 1F T (J) T t ~, *fi t!il;;t:St;t!. means "In the case of T, who's younger than me, marriage is still a long ways off." / The clause-ending particle L means roughly "too; in addition." It is often used when several clauses all exemplify the same thing. Two more examples appear in 3n.

66


67

. j:.. On average, Japanese marry later than people in any other country, and college graduates are especially likely to marry late. Few young men of Ts age and situation are married. F-ko, though, would be considered quite eligible.

3j

~ J1§n-q:t shinkiH:hu now in progress / i!f.~ zm;aki infidelity / ~ IJ ~f~ < casually; nonchalantly / If < c ~ kaku toki when (she) writes / '19c~ kaikan pleasure / i: i t:; ~ \t \ extremely good

~i The original meaning of i: i t:; ~ \t \ is "unbearable," but it has taken on the extended meaning of "unbearably good." / i!f.~ is the object of the verb w= < .

i/I :11

::i

",I

::::


3k

m A, 8 I¢ today; tonight / ::r:/ J'\ party / Jl! It , osoi late (arriving home) / ~1HI~0)cfi; ~ fon'iki no aru having a nice ambience / J '{ - bar; drinking spot

~.i A::r:/ J '\ is a college party where the attendees share the expenses. The word comes from the English "company." / ~~±O)~Bl kaisha no kare literally means "he of the company," that is, "the man at the office." / ~IHI~ means the atmosphere or mood of a place. As here, it often refers to an interesting, memorable, or romantic ambience. / With the omitted verb, the second sentence would end J '{ - -"..{T -? t: ba e iua "went to a bar."

3t Japanese has several words for places where alcoholic beverages are sold and consumed. A J '{ - or J'\ 7' serves mainly whiskey, brandy, cocktails, and other Western drinks and may have a stylish interior. A A -J- 'Y -7 or A -J- 'Y -7 J -{ - serves light meals in addition to drinks. A ~ch.~ nomiya is a Japanese-style drinking and eating establishment, and an m7illi~ izakaya is an inexpensive version of the same. A 1:::" -v * -)v serves mainly beer, while a -7 '7 7' or -J-1 r -7 '7 7' is generally more expensive and caters to businessmen on expense accounts. A fashionconscious young woman is likely to prefer a J '{ - as being trendier or more romantic while disdaining a 11k];. ~ or m7jlg~ as the province of drab older men.

68

A Womans Shrewdness

Ii' 111' :I!I ;:11 ::11

31

~ Ji5 :r ill ~ ~ mise 0 deru sai when we left the bar / ~ ude arm / m kata shoulder / @ -? i: mawatta encircledwraI?ped arou~~ / ~ koi love; romance / 7 ~ yokan pr; sentiment; anncipauon / ~ t: -c kanjite felt

Jh @ -? t: Q' @ ~ mawaru / ~ t: -c Q' ~ t: ~ kanjiru

~i The word Ji5 can refer to almost any kind of retail establishment, including bars, restaurants, shops, boutiques, etc. / If completed, this sentence would end ~ t: -c It, t: "I felt" / The subjects of ill ~ are F-=f ~ Iv and ~U O)~Bl the subject of @ -? t: is ~Bl O)~, and the subject of ~ C -c (It , t:.) is fl. watashi "I."

I!.


3m

m .: tL ~ this also / g t "( shinJiie believed / ~;b ~ It, utagawanai does not doubt / 1) 7 1) T -{ - it; 1a> has reality; is realistic / '/7 '/7 L t {> -oJ shiver with excitement / ~$~ ~ ~ q) mujaki na mono innocent person

Jh 1~ t"( B' g t 1a> shinJiru / ~;b ~ v' B' ~ -oJ utagau /

'/7 '/7 t, t {> -oJ ~ -t>'( -t>'( l,,( t, i -oJ ~ -t>'( f'

(i"1a>, li-?

~i. .: tL refers to the passage quoted from F-ko's journal. / "jIH'J::" is in quotation marks because F-ko's journal was not really the "imaginative work" that F-ko pretended it was. / The t after "jIH~" and the t after Ts statement are both the quoting t (see 1;). / .: tL ~ F -=f ~ Iv q) "jIH'F" t 1§ t "( ~;b ~ v' T tt means ''T, who believed without a doubt that this was also F-ko's 'imaginative work.'" / Referring to T as a ~$~~ ~ q) suggests that he is innocent and childishly unsuspecting of F-ko's unfaithfulness. / This sentence's omitted verb is the copula t!. -:::> t.:...

70


30

I:-?_i! n'tL ;:11::'1 il?J..,tJlv Ii

r8Nc(J).toi,p~f'~, ~JtO)qrJJJI±~OO:tl7.7.5.R VJ t:~

bt~ L 1 b i! n'lvil? Iv ._

L., f.l.(J)i$1n:I±5t~717 ~ 3 ;.t'?--C':: t I:tj:

Q--C~L.o

~ }' ~~~j3ip~f-r: nikki no.okage_ de thanks to the diary / .

iBlq)1TJJJ kart no k6d6 his actions / :@:iID zenmen completely; in every aspect / ff 7 A ~ VJ garasubari visible; exposed / 71::@: completely; entirely

~-:::>"( ~ B' ~0"(V'1a> B' ~~, v'1a>

This sentence and 30 are what F-ko is thinking or saying. They. are not taken from her journal. / The original ~~arung of j1'7 A ~ VJ "is "lined with glass (and thus VISIble from the outside), In its extended meaning, the word :ef~rs . to information that is open to the public. Here, It indicates that F-ko knows everything T does because he records it all in his diary. / 7 -{ 7 ~ 3 ;.; -:::> "(

.: t ~: ~ -:::> "( 1a> is a contraction of 7 -{ 7 ~ 3 ;.; tv' -? .: t ~: ~ -:::> "( v' 1a> fikushon to iu koto ni natte iru "it is supposed to be fiction." / Ali described in 3i the clauseending L's mean roughly "too; in addition" and are used when giving a nonexhaustive listing of examples or reasons that lead to a certain conclusion (whether clearly stated or not). Here, these clauses explain why F-ko cannot stop keeping her journal (30).

II II III :111 :111

7I

A Woman s Shrewdness

30

~ L I;f' ~ < for a while / 3'<:1i B ~r. kokan nikJU [lit] exchange diaries / ~ d) ~ n ~ v cannot quit

tiJ ~d) ~n~'" ~ ~d) ~ n~ ~ ~d)~

~.t. The meaning of 3'<:1i B ~r. is explained by this story: a diary in which two people alternate entries, or diaries that two people show to each other. The practice of exchanging 3'<:1i B ~r. is most common among girls of elementary or junior-high-school age.

3p

~ L i: t: 7J> I: shrewdly / ~ oJ warau laugh

~.t. This L t: t: 7P I: is echoed in the title of the story (see 3a).

j(j)&0)-r"W1 j--, T~ (=IZ~]) I±, )'[; B, *. M -f- ~ Iv ( = 1m ) 0) tB Jft :1m , ~t ~ X rtf ~:-:~)] ~ "( Wi :h, t:.o

ilV'

T ~ I±, .::. 0) gJ}iff IJ ~ ,ti,Z "( v) t: 0 C V) -) 0) I± \

M-f- ~ 1v00X~JU±~t~1:' t l V) C ~ 0)%1 ht:.;J:1J Bl1

v- ~-jV"

O)*Jl~o *5tttBla~I±j(j)&t.:-?t:.ilS'\ F\'./1-J\-"7(

iI {sit. U',

iJ·

r $-tt ~ Pi clj. L &9.Q c~ .::. ;;s t ~ 7'j: iI~ -? t:.J

iI" G 1:' tb .Q 0

~"(, ~t~~U.iI{I1H:~ < c, V) ~ 7'j: IJ J\ './ 1- /\ -~O)-ffiilS'§ ~:mrfJ6lv1:' ~ tz;

ri31ilJ 7'j:~v)i-tt-? ! J

T~iI{~~ IJ .Q C, 0 /;( ~:PJ.j.~o ~*$1:"±~~0) jfL'lil{1:' ~ ""( v)"(, !U: 1±~~tBlaO) J: -) ~:,

rT~ c i3~iHl~:f£ -) J c v) -) J: -) 7'j:':: c ~j(. Lt:.~iI{~ -? ""( tb.Q 0

74

The other day, T (24), a designer in Osaka, paid his first visit to X City in Hokuriku, the birthplace of his wife, M-ko (24).

T was dreading this visit to his wife's home. The reason for which is that M-ko's father is the boss of a yakuza gang not entirely unknown in Hokuriku, and at their wedding reception, even though it was held in Osaka, there had been so many guys with gangster haircuts standing around that, as T says, "I was in no mood to enjoy any marital bliss."

When their train arrived at the station, a troop of gangster haircuts suddenly came into view.

'Welcome ho-o-o-ornel" they all yelled as T got off the train.

A banquet had been prepared for them at the gang headquarters. A poster on the wall read "In Honor of T and the Young Miss" in huge letters, as though announcing the name of the Boss's successor.

I.

11;

,"

75


T ~ '±~~f'l:H L t: < t.t. ':) t.:iJ'r"

""A,~~

r {iiI @I iI"1*.~ t, i: ~ $E~ I: t.t. ~ iI" ~ J

~t

-¥~c T ~Mr~ fu':~~n --C~1fC It.:o

~,±~~_til'r~" j31m~c\t'-? c~':" T~':-y -1 7 iI'riJi ~ n t: 0 ~~ 't" -? i < i::i ~iI'r l:H t.t. \t' 0 iJ~, t.t. fu c iI"J1if& i 't" ~ ~ ":J ~t "

r J7. t.t. ~ i" ~ nil" ~ ~ J: 7::> t, < j3)jj\t' liT J c" \,t) j3 -? c L i: c ~ "

r J7. t.t. ~ z , -: nil" ~ ~ J: 7::> l < ~'m2J'Ji\t' i T J C" \t' ':) --C L i ':) t: 0

,0'-::> ~.'

-IE}" 18-'¥P~*o T~iI'r~O)iitW':A~" clbji

\t' L t: 0) t!. 0

rft7tO)fMF~ ~iI'r't" ~ t.:J r~ft7t't" -? i? ~ *~t!.J

-: fu t.t. j!iiil'r~ i? -: i? iI" ~ iin" ft7t,±~;j:Pj i -:l"( 7~ L MI &» t: 0

IN ':) t.:O)ilfT ~ 0 *~""1ffi':) --C ~ ~ B 0) J: -? I:" r\t''':J1ffi ~ 0) iI"o ~ O)iitW 't" ~ 1~~ ,±£,~ t!.iI" t? ... ... J

c".~~~.M#A~" ~-1D-~~~~~ ~o


T was inclined to make a run for it, but he was perto take his seat by the unperturbed M-ko, who him, "After you've been through this a few times develop a certain resistance to it."

~ The party was lively. As the ending time approached, "r was handed a microphone. He was so neIVOUS that :he stumbled over his words. Somehow he managed to

get to the end, but when he tried to say, "In the future, 'I hope to get to know you all," he instead blurted out, "In the future, I hope to benefit from your advice."

One and all applauded and cheered. They had mistaken T to mean that he was going to enter the world . of organized crime.

Here and there voices could be heard: 'The Boss has a successor."

'With the Young Boss, we have no more worries." The Boss himself was moved to tears.

T didn't know what to do. Even though they've returned to Osaka, he receives a call from his father-in-law nearly every day, asking, "When are you coming home? Even in our business you need time for training, you

1m " ow.

T is on the verge of a neIVOUS breakdown .

,.

II.

77

4a

~ ;fPjJ:g gokud6 the underworld; organized crime / ~~" musumemuko son-in-law

~.i The term ;fPjJ:g refers to the netherworld of gambling, prostitution, drugs, and other vices. Here it specifically means Japanese organized crime-the yakuza.

4b

~ *~ Osaka Japan's second-largest city / j-.4f 1 + ~ designer / T tt TI-kun Mr. T (see 3b) / ~ B senjitsu the other day / * tsuma wife / ill ~ fI!! shusshin;;hi native area; birthplace / ~~~ Hokuriku the Japan Sea coastal area of central Japan / X m eklwsu-shi X City / :FJ) t.J '( hajimet£ for the first time / Wi n t: otozureta visited

Ih Wi n t: ~ Wi n ~ otozureru

~.i The dot separating * and M -=f ~ Iv is called a 1ft!! nakaguro or ~jt kuromaru. Here it functions similarly to

The Son-in-Law oj the Mob

a comma, so *. M -=f ~ Iv means "his wife, M-ko." / ~~ ~ encompasses the prefectures of ifi~ Niigata, 'M'W Toyama, ::0111 Ishikawa, and tM# Fukui. It is also called ~~~iI!!:n Hokuriku Chih6 "Hokuriku Region." / The comma after ill $til!! is like an equals sign, indicating that X City in Hokuriku is M-ko's home town.

y:,. Jobs such as ?4f -{ + ~ fall into the general category of 7J -)1 7J + ~ ~ katakana shokugyO, that is, job titles written in katakana. Other examples include 7' t1 j- • .:::L ~ -IT ~ "producer," ? -1 I> 7 -)1 ~ "director," and '7 1 -)1 ~ "writer." These titles convey the image of urban sophisticates who work in trendy, media-related fields, far from the sleazy world of organized crime into which T has married. / By identifying the Hokuriku city as X m, the "Dekigotology" editors are being especially cautious to avoid identifying the location, since no Japanese names begin with X in romaji. This extra caution may be due to the gangster connection.

4c

~ £;W ~ satogaeri a visit by a newlywed woman and her husband to her family / 'Ii X. '"( \t' t: obiete ita feared; dreaded

Jh 'Ii X. '"( ~ 'Ii X. ~ obient / \t' t: ~ \t' ~

79


4d

~ c'" -) 0) ,± to iu no wa because / 5i:fJI. chichiqya father / i? J: v c slightly; somewhat / ~ 0) ~ tL i: na no shireta famous; well-known / :1:11 iii b6ry0kudan criminal gang / m~ kumicho leader

jjJ ~tLt::. B' ~tL~ shireru

~.i. C v -) 0) ,± indicates that what follows is an explanation of what came before. Here, 4d and 4e explain why T was dreading the visit to his wife's family home {4c}. / ~t~ -r: -; J: v C ~ 0) ~ rt, t::.:I: 11 I]] means "a gang known somewhat in Hokuriku." / Although the literal meaning of -; J: '" c is "slightly; somewhat," here the word is used with ironic understatement to suggest that the gang is actually quite well-known in Hokuriku. / m ~ refers to the head of any group that is called a m. Many yakuza gangs have names ending in m, including the largest, ill D*Ii Yamaguchi-gumi. But there are also legitimate organizations called *Ii, so in other contexts *Ii:l.lt may not refer to a gang boss. / The copula t!. is omitted from the end of this sentence.

::>c Japan has hundreds of criminal gangs, including some of nationwide and international scope. Their activities include drug dealing, gun running, gambling, prostitution, extortion and protection rackets, confidence scams, and legitimate businesses as well. Many gangs have long histories and well-established organizations built upon fierce group loyalty. Among the general population, the gangs are regarded with a mixture of respect, amusement, and

80


fear. A police crackdown has weakened their influence in recent years.

4e

It",'::'A, (} ~;tA, .a:tl~7,). ~;

~~iHJtA~';t*~ t.: -:J t:.iJ'r, /'\:.-- T /'\-7iJ'r~

r.1 , r ¥ -tt :a:- i Jj. L cl6 ~ c~.:: 0 l.::'~~ ~ iJ~ -:J t: J iJ~ t?'t"~~o

~~1hU!~ kekkon hir6en wedding reception / J ~ ;.; 1- J '\ -7 (men with a) short, curly hairstyle / ~ (}' narabi were lined up / ~-tt shiawase happiness / Pih. L ¢J ~ kamishimeru to savor, to enjoy / c'':'.:? t ~ 1j: 7P -::> t: dokora ja nakatta I was far from ... ; I certainly didn't feel like ... / 7P t? because

t!. -::> t: B' t: / ~(f B' ~~ narabu / t ~ 1j:ip-::> t:

B' -r: ,± 1j: ip -::> t: B' -r: ,± 1j:,,' de wa nai B' -r: ~ ~

1Bla biro means announcement, so the meaning of ~~t 1Bla~ is "a party announcing a wedding." Traditional Japanese wedding ceremonies are attended only by family members, and one purpose of the 1Bla~ is to inform the invited guests that the nuptials really did take place as scheduled. / ~~t1Bla~'±*~t!. -::> i: means "the wedding reception was held in Osaka" / The word J '\ ;.; 1- J '\ - 7 is a Japanese neologism taken from the English "punch" and "perm." T was frightened when he saw many men with J'\;'; 1- J '\ - 7 at his wedding reception because this hairstyle is common among yakuza. / Strictly speaking, J '\ ;.; 1- J '\ - 7 refers to the hairstyle itself, but here and in 4f it means men who have that hairstyle. / The word c'':'':? followed by a negative verb indicates that something that might be considered normal is in fact


unlikely or impossible. ¥-It ~ Pi J.J. L ~ ~ c:.: 0 t -? ~ 7P"? t: can be translated as "Enjoying my happiness (at getting married) was the furthest thing from my mind." / The 7P I? indicates that this sentence completes the explanation begun with C It' -) (J) Ii in 4d. In other words, T had dreaded the trip to his wife's home because her father was a gang leader and there had been many gangsters at their wedding reception.

4f

~ ~ -c (shows a change in topic) / %~~IJ. tokkyu ressha express train / IR eki train station / 7i < tsuku arrive / '" ~ t.,: ~ suddenly / J ~ ::.--1- J ~ - 7 (J) - ffi panchipama no ichidan a group of men with "punch perms" / § ~.:~ rp;61v -r: ~ i: me ni tobikonde kita leaped into sight

IiJ 11Hf;ib1v -r: B' ~ Lf;ib tt tobikomu / ~ i: B' * ~ kuru ~.i. ~ -c here indicates that the focus of the story has shifted

(.~~, from the reasons for Ts fears back to the visit to X City.

{'.l;~

r:;::1l / %~ is an abbreviation for %5JUfiMT tokubetsu kyiiIw

I; ... :J~ "special express." / Although ~IJ. ressha and 11. densha can both be translated as "train," they are not identical. ~IJ. refers to a series of train cars linked together, while a 11. may consist of only one car. A 11. is powered by electricity, while a ~IJ. could have a steam or diesel engine. / The C after 7i < is the sequential C (see 1j). / ~Lf;ibtt means "to jump into." The idiom § ~.:~(J;ib tt literally means "to jump into one's eyes," that is, "to appear suddenly."


yr------------------------- __

1 4g

~ .'B1m' ~ t.,: ~ v i -It "? ! okaerinasai masett Welcome home! / ~ ~ ~ oriru get off (the train) / D 4~': kuchiguchi ni with many voices / Plj.~ sakebu to shout

~i .'B;W ~ t.,: ~ It' i -It is an especially polite version of .'B1i ~ t.,: ~ ", o-kaerinasai, the usual greeting given to a family member who has just come home. An informal everyday version is .'B 1m ~ o-kaeri. / The small "? in .'B 1m' ~ t.,: ~ '" i -It "? indicates an abrupt halting of the voice at the end of the greeting. Here it suggests tough yakuza speech. (Ibis small final "? indicates a glottal stop; it is not pronounced tor tsu.) / The C after ~* ~ ~ is the sequential c.


4h

*i*i~ ~ Ii ~~O) ffl iiJ{~ ~ 1:" v' 1:", i~: Ii l-i'i£'ifiO)J: -) ~:, rf~tJ3t:~M~¥£-)J c

t;:~, t, ~ 'IJ';" I;i

v' -) J: -) ~.::. t ~*. LJ-:~iJ{5l-:) 1:" J;; ~ 0

~ ;m:<$: 1l~ kumi honbu gang headquarters / j; ~ enkai party; banquet / ffl ~ iJ'f.-C: ~ -r,,' -r yoi ga dekite ite preparations were finished / ~!: Ii kabe ni wa on the wall I • ~ sbilmei the naming of a successor / ;J1U! hirO announcement / (J) J: -J !: no yo ni like; as if / .t3 ~~ o-jo. sama daughter (respectful) I fR. -J iwau congratulate I c v -J J: -J ~ .:. t to iu yo na koto something like ... / *1 L t: taisbo sbita written large / ~ kami paper / ~ -:J '"( ~ ~ hatte am was stuck (to the wall)

Jj] -c: ~ -r ~ -c: ~ ~ / v -r ~ v ~ / *i!f t. t: q' *1 T ~ taisho sum / ~ -? -r q' ~ ~ ham

~~ The term :<$: 1l~ is used by many companies and other organizations to designate a headquarters or main office. / The verb *i!f L i: modifies ~. The phrase r T ~ t 13 ~~ :a: fR. -J J t", -J J: -J ~ .:. t :a: *i!f L t,:JJ£ means "a piece of paper on which something like 'Congratulations to T and the Young Miss' was written large." I The t in t v -J J: -J ~ is the quoting t.

;>c Many tided positions in Japan, from those of kabuki actors and artisans to those of shop owners and gang bosses, are handed down from generation to generation, with each person in line receiving the same ceremonial name. When a son is not available to inherit a male title, it may go instead to an adopted son or son-in-law. The banner congratulating T and M-ko, with Ts name written so prominently, looked like a H~1liU! "announcement

-


of succession," suggesting that the gangsters believed that T was joining the gang as their boss's heir.

4i

r 1- < Iv ,I: • t!. ~ 1v'IJ'~' t;:~'It Iv

T ~ Ij:~~j tH L i: < ~ -:) t: iJ{, r fpJ@J iJ:.1*.~ L

101v;t ~ "'~'-If' Iv x.i; .: ~ t

t-:; §£rJ~~: ~ ~ iJ:.; J ijZ~ t T ~ M-r ~ Iv ~:jJ

~-I'<1t~

~ n 1:" jf frt L i: 0

~Hr Ifl L i: < ~ -? t: nigedashitaku natta felt like running away / {PI @] iJ~ nankai ka a few times / 1*~ L t: I? taiken shitara after you have experienced (this) / §E~~: ~ ~ men'eki ni naru you'll become immune / ~~ t T ~ heizen to sum unconcerned; indifferent / M T ~ Iv~: fntr ~ tL -r Emu-lw-san ni satosarete was instructed by M-ko / ~ ffC L i: chakuseki shita sat down

~~f'lfllt.:. < ~ ~Hrlfllt.:.'" ~ ~~fIflT nigedasu / ~ -? i: ~ ~ ~ / 1*~ L t: I? ~ 1*~T ~ !aiken sum / fntr ~ tL -r ~ fntr ~ tL ~ ~ fntrT satosu / ~ ffC L i: ~ ~ ffC T ~ chakuseki sum

~~fIflT means "to run away," so ~~flfllt.:.'" is "want to run away" and ~ ~f Ifll i: < ~ -? t: is ''began to feel like running away." / The words 1*~ taiken and ~~ keiken both mean "experience" and are sometimes interchangable, though 1*~ usually refers to a specific in?dent that has made an impression on a person, while ft~ often refers more generally to a person's past or background. / §E~ is the medical term for "immunity." It also has the extended meaning, as seen here, of "being accustomed to something." / T ~ is the subject of the passive verb fntr ~ tL -r and M T ~ Iv is the agent, so the gist of the sentence is ''T was instructed by M-ko." / fntrT

85


means "to provide moral instruction (to an inferior}." Here the word is meant to be comical, because it makes M-ko seem like her husband's teacher. / T ~ is the subject of if JfC L tz,

4j

?t~lj' (, <Ii> 0-; r1-<1-v

~li~~J:iJ!~~ i3~~c\t)-? c~~::~ T~n:

bt~

'71 7 iJ!i}jt ~ nt.:o

~ ~ uttlge banquet / ~ t) 1:. iJ<; t) moriagari became lively / ;}) 00 ~ o-hiraki the end of the party / '? -1 -7 micro, phone / ill ~ n t: watasareta was handed

tn ~ t) 1:. iJ<; t) ~ ~ t) 1:. iJ<; ~ moridgaru / iii ~ n t: Q> ill ~ n ~ Q' iliT watasu

~.i. An elegant word for "banquet" or "party," ~ sounds ironic when describing a gathering of thugs. / Words such as *:t b ~ owaru "to end" and -tjJ ~ kiru "to cut" are taboo at weddings and other celebrations, so euphemisms are supposed to be used instead. Here, ;}) mJ ~ is the polite substitute for *~ b t) owari "the end."

4k

~ ~5i 1: kinch6 de because of nervousness / -) i < well / § ~ kotoba words / ill ~ It' denai don't come out

tn ill ~ It, ~ ill ~ deru

~.i. The topic of this sentence is T ~. / -) i < § Jf iJ<; ill ;Z

86


", means "he wasn't able to get the words out very well."

41

~ iJ<; but; however / ~ Iv C iJ>. somehow or other / ~f& i 1: saigo made until the end / .:. ~~ -::J £t he reached the end / h- ~ ~ i mina-sama you (plural, polite) / .:. n iJ>. ~ b kore kara mo from here on; in the future, too / J:. o L < ;})}jl'" liT yoroshiku o-negai shimas« (see explanation below) / "';}) -) c L t: c ~ io to shita toki when he tried to say / .::m~}jl'" i T go-shido negaimasu please give me instruction / '" -:? -c L i '? t: iae shimatta he said (to his regret)

til .:.~ .. -::J £ t Q> if~" if £ t ~ kogitsukcru / " ,;}) -), " \ -:? -c ~ § -) iu, yU / L i: ~ T ~ / L i '? i: ~ L i -)

~i The original meaning of if ~'~ £t ~ is "to row (a boat) all the way to one's destination." Here it is used in its extended meaning, "to reach a goal after repeated efforts." / J:. 0 L < ;})}jl'" liT is a set phrase used when one is introduced to other people. T had intended to close his speech with this phrase. Instead, he said J:. 0 L < .::m~ }jl'" iT, which sounded as if he were asking the gangsters to instruct him in the ways of the underworld. / The ,,\;}) -) in ,,\;}) -) c L i: is the informal volitional form of § -) "to say." When the informal volitional is followed by c T ~, it takes on the meaning "to try" in the sense of "to attempt (without success)." / As explained


in 3h, the gerund + L i -? pattern indicates that the action of the verb had unfortunate consequences. Here, 1" s slip of the tongue made the mobsters think that T intended to join them, a misinterpretation that was definitely unfortunate for T.

4m

~ -[jiJ ichid6 everyone / 18.f.P~* hakushu kossai clapped and cheered / .:: 0) tit W kono sekai this world (of organized crime) / A 1.J bairu enter, join / lh~'" L t: kanchigai shita misunderstood

jjJ lh~'" It.: 1& lh~"'i" 1.J kanchigai suru

r.:r " h ""th·

~i: -I"J means everyone w 0 was present or e enure

group." / The omitted verb after fB.f.~* is It.:. / - [jiJ is the subject of both 18.f.P~* L t: and lh~'" L tz. / T ~ is the subject of A 1.J. / The t before WJ~ It' is the quoting t (lj); it is used with the verb lh~'" L i: to indicate what was misunderstood. / The 0) in Il ~'" L i: 0) t!. indicates that this sentence is an explanation of why everyone applauded.

4n

J.H'.!:A. iJ?c.-:>ri t"I'J.l-t:>.!:A. iJ?A.b'

r.)to)Jj'q)\~ ~'"7J{'t" ~ t-=J rti$l)t't" -J t ~ ~$

t':J

~ fl~ qyabun the Boss / itffikf tJ' atotsugi successor / -r: ~

88


i: has been created / ;:s:m~-e waka~n de with the Young Boss / -? -; we; our gang / ~~ antai safe; secure

Jj] -e ~ t: 1& -e ~ 1.J

)t:.. The gang members want T to be second-in-line to M-ko's father because a son-in-law is more likely to be recognized as the undisputed leader of the gang should the current Boss be incapacitated. Without a designated heir, the gang would risk disintegration into rival factions. Many men join yakuza gangs because they come from broken families, have limited educations, or suffer other disadvantages that exclude them from mainstream Japanese life. Gangs bring structure and security to the members' lives.

40

~ .:: Iv ~ J!ii konna koe such voices; such words / i.b -; .:: -; 7P t? achikochi kara from here and there / ii tL could be heard / ~~ i "'::J -c kan-kiwamatte was very moved / r~ L M=i ~ i: namida shi-hajimeta began to shed tears

J1J iitL 1& iitL1.J moreru / ~~ i "'::J -c 1& ~*')! i 1.J kankiwamaru / j~ L 1& r~ i" 1.J namida suru / M=i ~ i: 1& M=i ~ 1.J hajimeru

;1 .:: Iv ~ J!ii refers to the gangsters' outbursts of emotion in 4n. / The noun r~ means "tears" and the verb r~ i" 1.J "to shed tears."


4p

~ ~ '0 t::.(1) komatta no the one who didn't know what to do / *- ~ ~11 '0 "'( ~ Osaka e kaeue mo even after they returned to Osaka / jf B (1) J:: -? ~: renjitsu no yo ni nearly every day / "\ "':) when / 11 ~ kaen« come back (to X City) / .: (1)tltWl: ~ kono sekai de mo even in this business (of organized crime) / ~~~ shugyO training; education / 16'~ hitstry6 necessary / .x: gifu father-in-law / ~ ~~ denwa telephone call / .J -1 0 - -e-tfri noir6ze sunzen

on the verge of a nervous breakdown .

JjJ ~ '0 t: Jar' IN ~ komaru / 11 '0"'( 1& 11 ~ kaen« / A ~ 1& A~ hairu

~.i: Here, IN ~ means "to be uncertain how to deal with an undesirable situation." / With the omitted verb shown, the first sentence would end T ~ t!.. / tit W is usually translated as "world." Here the sense is "field of activities," that is, the world of organized crime. / The 7),; "because" after 16'~ t!. shows that the clause explains something that was expressed or implied earlier. Here, the father-in-law wants T to come back to X City soon because a period of training is necessary even for people joining the underworld. / .MiJ~ A ~ means "there were telephone calls (from the father-in-law nearly every day)." / The topic of .J -1 o--e-tfril:ib~ is T~. / .J -1 0 - -e comes from the German Neurose, which is cognate with the English "neurosis." A Japanese synonym is 1$~


~. ~inkez:sh6 "nervo?s disorder." In informal speech and ~tmg, < -10 - -l: and .:f$K:£~ may refer to any of a WIde and Ill-defined range of emotional and mental problems. / -tfri is a suffix meaning "just before; on the verge o£" Other examples include ill j6--tfri shuppatsu sun:zen "just before departing" and ::l-}v -tfri g6ru sunzen "just before (reaching) the goal."

~ .. s: At the end of this story, T faces the dilemma of balanc-

~g his. own ~sh .to keep away from the world of organized cnme WIth hIS sense of family obligation to his new father-in-law. The difficulty of his dilemma is compounded by his spoken blunder, which made it seem as though he wanted to join the gang, and by the threat of violence that underlies most relations with yakuza.

, ,

~a 0 L (J) P9~9}~ll

THE Two SIDES OF

A SUPERCLEAN WOMAN

-f-1i; m IR (J) * f tB 1tJi1± ~: fjJ cYJ 1a> 0 -=f ~ Iv (= rill) Ii, ~ nV'~~f ~ -c:~ 1a> 0

j}tB~: Ii, 1~DrW.~ 'd:-1zi7" ~ 7j: V'o v'i ""("Ii,

IA(· n

r$A1f~ 'd:- M ~ ~n 1-7° =t- ~ -n{-mJl& ~ n -c II' ~ iJ{,

o -=f ~ Iv Ij: +~t.l_t ~ Wi -n" t.J '\ ~ 0 rW.~ 'd:- -?I i-tt

...

1::'71 'J ~..:z. -c:M ~ 1J:-t ~ L -c v' 1::'0

r -1 vt_:~t~Ij:7j:v'o $Jf~.~:*1a>~Ij:, i-r~

01: iJ' IU,:

m: 'd:- t:-t ~ M ~ 0 JJt i~ ~t Ij: t: rJ'l::. 11 IDL -n{~!l! n 1a> (J)""(" ,

~ ~: ~ 'd:- An 1a> 0 itt? A (J) ~n: 78 i 1a> C 7j: 1a> C '\ Gb '"(

~A, ... 1";1:

-n{;bnl::.if~@:(J)~, ftff,(J) 71'7 A '\ .-=f(J)f~, .0)51

~f"""o M~M~ L7j:v'cD&n7j:v'o §~""("t, ~ ~ (J) ./ "/ 'd:- w:& '\ M v' -c -n" t.J A 1a> ~ 1 C~ t_: 0

94

THE Two S,DES OF

A SUPERCLEAN WOMAN

.. Oko (24), who works for a large publishing company in Chiyoda-ku, likes things to be sparkling clean.

Whenever she goes out, she can't be without a disin• fectant for minor cuts and scrapes. While moistened

· paper towels for wi ping off Westem-style toilet seats are

· now widely available, O-ko has been busily wiping toilet · with tissue soaked in disinfectant for more than a

And it's not just toilets. Whenever she takes the . the first thing she does is wipe off the seat particularly careful with the armrests because of repeated skin contact. When she stays at someone's ." .. ~.-~ she can't get to sleep until she has busily wiped

. in her room-the walls, the windows, the

frames, the door handles.... She even wipes the .,n ... ,,~.. door knob every time she goes into her own

95

A Superclean Woman

t~~#~~A~A~~~ (=A) #§.L~. :tc~$.@:Ij:~ r$ijli-?*]j~fi t? Ii ~ ntRo aPJT~,*~;:

Ij:~ A 1) yJ,]j~~~ "::JIt'""CIt't.:o ~~:r~t L""Cttl-:l t: t ~ ~:~

rf&-c:tw~Tnl;f'It'It'-? J

111

t~ fPJ~tj: < A 1) YI':r]j'-'~-tt""CfPJ:fJJi ~nt"'J"{

i31t,t.:O -t-~ ~ t~ ~~~IJ-c: t &l)t.: J: ~ ~:lIln~ < tj: '? t: ~ t!. '? i: 0

r i ~ ~ fi t?]j'-' '? ""C .Q Vr t\ iw~ J: 0 ~fl~~ 1'\ 7 T 1) 71j:~ t¥fIfJ;~-C:1A ~ * '?""C .Q 0 ~~]j'-' t?*.mlfil~~ ~ L ""C ~ ~ ~1n:~ -c: 1j:1*Hi:l*:t~ t!.]j'-' t? ~ .: ~ T nl£' ~1n:J

tit' '? ""C ~ PjUlilHfJ;*,J ~ / ;;()v:r ~ .::z.. - y t;j1fl L

i: ~ t!. '? t: 0

t tj:.;Tj.~: ~ 0 ~ ~ ~ 1j:*~t*~~~S:~~ I:B :!it--c:~

.Qo

A Superclean Woman

But when her friend A-ko (28) got a look at Oko's f room, it was a complete mess--clothes and books scatf: tered all around. There was a slipper plastered to the i kitchen floor. When O-ko had dropped and broken an J egg, she had simply put a slipper over it, thinking, "Oh, I can clean that up later." She left it there for several months, and before long the slipper had stuck fast, as if glued there.

. "It may be messy, but it's clean," O-ko said. "I wipe up orgaruc matter and bacteria with disinfectant Even if germs should breed from the egg, they're still dormant in the air. There's no problem as long as I do this." As she spoke, she sprayed around some disinfectant

. Incidentally, O-ko graduated from the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Tohoku University.

97

Sa

~ ~. keppeki obsessed with cleanliness; fastidious / OL Oem female office worker / l*g~7J.1PlJ1j naijugaigtJ tough on the outside but soft on the inside

~.i ~. modifies 01. / OL is an abbreviation for the Japanese-English * 7 -( .A. l> T -( - "office lady." The term indicates an office support worker who is female, usually young, and not in a career-track position. / The kanji in 1*J*7J.jqlj show the meaning: inside-soft-outsidetough, that is, lenient about matters that have to do with oneself but strict about matters that have to do with other people. A typical example would be a person who habitually eats junk food while urging others to watch their diets. Here, the I*J and 7J. also refer literally to the protagonist's opposite attitudes toward germs inside and outside her home. This double meaning is indicated by the marks of emphasis that appear above I*J and 7J. in the title on p. 94. These marks are called m,~ boten "side points," because they appear next to kanji in vertically printed text The term 1*J*7J.1PlJ1J appeared originally in ~*'f Ekikyo, the Chinese classic of divination called the Book ojChanges or I Ching in English. It is also written j'!. !liiIJ I*J * gaigOnaiju. The opposite is 7J.* 1*J!lii1j gaijiinaigO or I*J 1PlJ1j7J.* naigogaiju.

A Superclean Woman

5h

f-1t 831R Chtyoda-ku Chiyoda City (administrative area in central Tokyo) / *.f.tl:Hl&:t± ote shuppansha large publishing company / iJJ ~.o tsutomeru works; is employed / ~

i n.v '~f ~ kirei-zuki fond of cleanliness

t 't

'~ Tokyo has twenty-three IR ku. The word IR has tradition-

ally been translated as "ward," but in recent years many of Tokyo's IR have changed their official English names to "city." / *.f. indicates a company that is one of the largest in its field.

iii

"I

5c

7J.lli gaishutsu going out; leaving home / 11 tJ kizuguchi wound; injury / r¥f *~ shodoku-yaku disinfectant / j( 7P ~ ~'" kakasanai does not omit; does not forget

JjJ j(i7~ ~ ~ It' q- j(i7~T kakasu

~ 7J.lli~: Ii gaishutsu ni wa here means "whenever O-ko goes out" The particle Ii is used for contrast to emphasize that O-ko's behavior is different when she's away from home. / 1ItJr¥f*~ is medical disinfectant for cleaning minor cuts and scrapes. / The verb j(i7~T is often used, as here, in the negative. / The subject of this sentence is 0 r ~ Iv.

99

A Superclean Woman

5d

.); ? L ~ <'{A, ~ r". <. r".jl L I~A,

It'i -r: ';1.. i$:A:{j!~ 'd:- fit -) iln T 7° q:. /' 7J~m~

>t- .: I: I!o? nA, .' I: J: 'i ,u.

~ n't" It' ~ 7J~ .. o.:r ~ Iv ';1 + ~P)'...t ~ JW7J\;,

~i'<·t,LJ:?t'<~< ..;.< ..;. ..;.

.Dm •• 'd:-~i~~~1'l~~-r:fit~fit~L

't: It' tz;

~.g. v' i -C'i ima de wa nowadays; these days / r$:ttfl!~ yoshiki benza Western-style toilet seat / 1l:"t -? nuguu to wipe / 71 tL T '7.:f-;'; nuro-napukin moistened paper towels / m I[ ~ tL "C v' ~ shihan sarete iru are sold (at retail stores); are marketed / +:4=-.1;),1:. b lW7.P ~ jiinen ijo mo mae kam since more than ten years ago / 1ii 0 m ~~ ~"Ei i -tt i:

T 1 '/ :,; a: kizuguchi shodoku-:Jaku 0 Jukumaseta tisshu tissue soaked in disinfectant / 1A ~ 1A ~ L "C v \ t: Jukifuki shite ita has wiped

IJJ m I[ ~ tL "C Q' m l.OC ~ tL ~ Q' m l.OC T ~ shihan suru / ?i i -tt- i: ~ "Ei i -tt- ~ Q'"Ei ts Jukumu / 1l:"t ~ 1l:"t ~ t.r ~ 1A ~ 1A ~ T ~ Jukifuki suru / v' t: ~ v' ~

~.i i$~1J!~ ~1A -? 7ItL T '7.:f-:'-- means "moistened paper towels for wiping off Western-style toilet seats." / m1l& refers only to selling in stores, markets, or other public venues. It is not used to describe private transactions. / The reduplicated 1A ~ 1A ~ T ~ suggests repeated, vigorous scrubbing and has a somewhat childish ring. The word is derived from the verb 1A < Juku "to wipe."

3t Oko took special care to clean Western-style toilet seats because they come into direct contact with people's bottoms. With crouch-style Japanese toilets (~~ r -1 v washiki toire), the user does not touch the toilet Although both types of toilet are common in Japan, the Western

IOO

A Superclean Woman

style is gaining popularity in both private homes and public facilities.

5e

m r -1 t- toilets / t.: ~t -c 'i ~ v' dake de wa nai not only / $Jf¥${f)it Shinkansen bullet train; Shinkansen / * ~ Ifif Ii noru toki wa when she gets on (the Shinkansen) / i-r first of all / ~Jt zaseki the seat

~i The subject of*~ and 1A~ 1l:"t ~(T ~) is OT~ Iv.

! !!

I I!

5f

0'1: 1l' IU! ..;. /:: < nA, .'

JJttE~ ~t ';1 i: lft~ lfJJJL 7J~M!I! n ~ (J) -r:.. !f.f~: ~ 'd:- A

n~o

~ Ml~ t t hijikake armrest / t: (}' t: T.J frequently; again and again / JIlL bada skin / 19m tL ~ Jureru touches / (f) -c because / ~ I: toku ni especially / ~ ~ ).. tL ~ nen 0 ireru is careful

~ The M hiji in MlHt means "elbow." / Other words ending in lHt kake are JElHt ashikake "footrest," mm ~t katakake "shawl," and r$Rllmtt yoJukukake "clothes hanger." / ~ ~ ).. tL ~ is a common idiom meaning "to be careful." ~ means "thought" or "feeling."

IOI

A Superclean Woman

Sg

t: 1- "'- v'.i I: " ~

11hAO)*~:78i ~ C ~~ c, cb,"(iI~;bnt':$~

1J'''' il:' L-.d t; ~"'- ,o,-ti 0- -c

O)~, ~0)7l7A, ~-=f0)~, .0)51~-¥ .. ····o

~ 1tf!A tanin another person / * ie, uchi house; home / is i ~ c ~ ~ C tomaru to naru to when she spends the night / a;""(iJ~;bnt.::g:B@: atfgawareta heya the room assigned to her / m kabe wall / ~ mado window / il7 A glass / ~-T shoji translucent sliding door / f~ san lattice /11 fosuma opaque sliding door / "51 ~ .:p hikite handle

IiJ a; ""(iJ~;bnt.: d" a; ""(iJ~;bn~ d" a; ""(iJ~ ~

~~ Here, the kanji * might be read either v k. or ~ ~. / is i ~ means "to spend the night; to stay." / The phrase c ~ ~ C means roughly "when it is time to ... " or "when she happens to .... " / a;""( iJ~ ~ means "to assign or allocate to another person." / ~T was originally the general term for all traditional wood-frame sliding doors. Now the word usually refers to ~iJ~ ~ ~T akari sh6ji~ which are covered with a single sheet of translucent paper, silk, or plastic so that light can shine through. These ~T have a framework of horizontal and vertical crossbeams (f~) that one may hold when sliding the door open or shut A 11 (or ll~T fosuma shOjz) usually has no lattice and is covered with two layers of paper, so light does not pass through. The handle ("51 ~ .:p) is typically a round or rectangular indentation.

I02

A Superclean Woman

M ~ M ~ L ~ '" C fokifoki shinai to if she doesn't busily wipe / OR n ~ ", nemurenai she is unable to sleep

1J:\~M~ L~'" d" M~M~T~ fokifoki suru / ORn ~'" d" ORn~ d" OR~ nemuru

Si

!I

Ii:

t; t~ < If "'-iJ''''- iV' 1:',0, l;tv'

§~~~, ~OOo).J7"~4if:Jjt, Mv''"(iI~GA~

,;{ r-s,

EI ~ 1: ~ jitaku de mo even at her own home / ~ ~ genkan front door / .l 7' knob / ~~ maida every time / M"'""( iJ~ £? foite kara after wiping / A ~ hairu to enter / 'i c't!. hodo da she is so (fastidious that she ... )

til M" \""( d" M < Juku

~i. ~ ~ usually refers to the entranceway of a home or building, although here it refers specifically to the door itsel£ / The word 'i C' suggests that the action described by the sentence is somehow unusual or extreme. It can often be translated as "so (adjective) that ... " In this case, the adjective is unstated, because we understand from the preceding sentences that what is being described is O-ko's obsession with cleanliness.

IOJ

A Superclean Woman

5j

C .:: 0 iI~, 1ff.. A rr/X:f. t!: Iv r ~ 7 j\) iI~ § Y L t:

li'Q) t J; ,,~ J: 7 J, < '1I~ t, '1 7 t.:~'

1~k(J)lt~.@: Ii, i$ijli~*iI~1ti G It' I') 1i1lJmo

~.g. t.:. 01J~ however (i.e., contrary to what one would expect) / 17:.A(J) AT ~ Iv yii}in no E.h;san (O-ko's) friend, A-ko / § ~ L i: mokugeki shita eyewitnessed; saw firsthand / ~Bt9:(J)i:t~~ kanojo no heya her room / r~ij~ yOfuku dothing / * hon books / ftt ~ ,;f ~ 1Dl:Jm chirabari bodai scattered about with abandon

JiJ §. L t: " § ~T ~ mokugeki suru / ftt ~ ,;f ~ ~ 1ti ~ ,;f ~ chirabaru

~i: A T ~ Iv is the subject of §. L tc, which modifies tlB ~. / ~lf:t( refers to 0 T ~ Iv. / 7$ijli refers to dresses, blouses, slacks, trousers, shirts, and other Western-style clothing. The opposite is *Oijli wafuku ''Japanese-style dothing." Since most Japanese wear *onli only for special occasions or not at all, r$ nli can usually be translated merely as "clothing." / ftt ~ ';f'~ means "to scatter about" / The suffix 1Dl:Jm is used after the -masu stems of certain verbs to indicate that something is done with complete freedom. Thus ~ ~ 1Dl:Jm yari badai means "doing whatever you want" and :tt~1Dl:m tabe h6dai "all you can eat"

5k

I04

In most Japanese homes, people wear slippers when walking on carpet, wood floors, or linoleum. They remove the slippers when walking on tatami, and switch to a different pair of slippers when using the toilet

A Superclean Woman

Fa- am daidokoro kitchen / * yuka floor / A I) 'Y J'\ slipper / ~ ~ -:::> v ' '"'( V vi: haritsuite ita was stuck

Jj} ~ ~ -:::> v ,'"'( " ~ ~ it < haritsuku / v' t: " v' ~

~ ~ ~ 1t < means "to be stuck firmly onto something."

."):..

"

il

51

I

jl

~ ~~ tamago egg / 1i t L '"'( Wtl-? t: t ~ I: otoshite walta toki ni when she dropped and broke (an egg) / f~--c:'1i~ Tn';f'v' v' ~ ato de sO}i sureba ii ya it's okay if I dean it later / fPHf'~ < nanige naku casually; without concern / 1J~ ~ -It '"'( covered up / M:fJ JJ ~ nankagetsu mo for several months / 1Dl: -? '"'( i:> v' i: botte oita had left untouched

tfJ 1i t L '"'( " 1i t T otosu / Wtl-? t: " !tl ~ waru / ti ~Tn';f' " 1i~T ~ soji suru / 1J~~-It'"'( " 1J.t-lt ~ kabuseru /1Dl: -? '"'( " 1Dl: ~ h6ru / i:> v' t: " i:> <

. ~i The -ba form of a verb followed by v \ V \ "good" means "it's okay to do ... ," as in f~--c:'1i~Tn,;fv'v\~./ The final ~ adds a sense of casual unconcern. This casualness is reinforced by the phrase M'f~ < . / 1Dl:~ here means

IOS

A Superclean Woman

"to leave alone; to ignore." / When used after a gerund the verb j3 < adds the sense that the effects of the pr; ceding verb extend into the future. Here j3 < is used be. cause O-ko left the slipper stuck to the floor for months.

5m

-tt-:>1;,-I' < ~~\ lit..:

-t- 0) -J i?, ~~1frJ 1:' t ~ t: J: -J ~: ~ n 7'd: < 7'd:-:)

t: 0) t!. 0 i: 0

~ -t- (J) .oJ i? before long / :Jt~1lrj setchakuzai adhesive; glue / t ~ t: J: .oJ ~: as if attached / ~ n tj: < tj: -:> i: hanarenaku nalta became unable to detach

IiJ t ~t.:.. ~ t~.Q / ~ntj: < ~ ~ntj:", ~ Mn~ hanareru / tj: -:> t: ~ tj:.Q / t!. -:> t: ~ t!.

~.t :Jt~1irj -e t ~ t: J: .oJ ~: setchakuzai de tometa yO ni means "as if stuck with adhesive." / The (J) in ~ntj: < ~ -:> t: (J) t: -:> i: shows that this sentence completes the explanation of why the slipper back in Sk was stuck to the floor.

5n

1;, -tt~\lt-::>

ri 2li_h fi~ iP0 -c ~ ~t t\ jt~ J: 0

~ i ib well; anyway / fX; -jp -:> ""( .Q ~t c: chirakatte 'rn kedo it's messy, but / 1~~ seiketsu clean; hygienic

IiJ fiX ; ip -:> ""(.Q ~ fiX; iJ" -:> ""( "'.Q ~ fiX; iJ".Q chirakan«

Io6

A Superclean Woman

~ fiX ; iJ".Q means "to be messy; to have things scattered about" People often use this word when apologizing to guests about a disorderly home. / 1~~ is close in meaning to ~ii kirei "dean; beautiful," but while ~ii may emphasize the clean appearance of something, m~ focuses on its healthful, hygienic cleanliness. As with the ;p, in 3e, the sentence-ending particle J: immediately after the adjectival noun 1~~ is an indicator of women's speech. A man would say m~ t!. J:. A similar example of female usage is IJZ~ in Sp.

50

I!I 111

~ 1f~~ yukibutsu organic matter / J'{ -7 T 'J 7 bacteria / M ~!IX -:> ""( .Q jUkitotte 'rn I wipe away

th M ~ !IX -:> ""(.Q ~ M ~ !IX -:> ""( "'.Q ~ M ~ !IX.Q jUkitorn ~.1 M ~ !IX.Q means "to wipe off, to wipe away." / The subject of M ~ !IX -:> ""(.Q is the unspoken f.t. wa/tlshi, meaning 0 T ~ Iv. / Note that 1f~~ and J'{ -7 T 'J 7 are the objects of the verb M ~ !IX -:> ""( .Q.

I07

A Superclean Woman

Sp

~ *IBM saikin bacteria I ~9it L- '"( ~ hanshoku shire mo even if (bacteria) propagate I ~~9l-r:'± kiikichii de wa in the air I f*ft~~rrn IgUmin j6tai state of dormancy I .: '7 T tLl! Iw sureba if I do this I ifZ~ heiki okay; no problem Ie'" "'? "C to iue she said

IiJ ~9it L- '"( IlW' ~9itT ~ hanshoku sum I Tn'! IlW' T J.> I "'"'? '"( IlW' § '7 iu, yU

~~ ifZ~ is used in speech to mean "there is no need to

" "Id' "/H ld

worry or on t care. ere, a man wou more

likely say ifZ~ t':.

Sq

~ Illmm .. ~ fonmu sh6doku-jaku disinfectant vaporizor / / 7,:}v nozzle I ~::r. - '/ C (indicates the sound of disinfectant being sprayed) I ¥Jl L- t: oshita pushed

IiJ ¥Jl L- t: IlW' ¥JlT osu I t.:"'? t: IlW' t.:

~~ lilt; literally means "spraying fog." I The context suggests that 1ll1lm .. ~ is the container for spraying the disinfectant, not the disinfectant itself I The (J) in fill L. t: (J) t: "'? t: indicates that this sentence explains that ::.

Io8

A Superclean Woman

'7 Tn'! in 5p refers to Oko's spraying the air with disinfectant

Sr

:j--,: 1:'iliU':\,'iI«-t><71«.o; I..-~-:>I..-A,

t 7j: J;. ~:, Or ~ Iv 1j:*~~*~~~ff~(7) l±L~~

th~o

t id: Ji..!': incidentally; by the way I *~t*~ Tohoku Daigaku Tohoku University I ~~i1B Yakugaku-bu Faculty Pharmaceutical Sciences I lB ~ shusshin graduated from

*~t*~ is a respected national university located in Sendai in northern Honshu. I In 4b, lB ~fIl! shusshin-chi meant "the place where one was raised." Here, lB ~ indicates the school from which O-ko graduated.

~ The point of this story is the contrast between O-ko's extreme aversion to possible sources of infection in public and her slovenly, unhygienic lifestyle at home. But behind this humorous situation is the more serious theme of the nearly pathological fear of germs that seems to affect an increasing number of Japanese. Sales of pens, computer keyboards, and other products made with antibacterial plastics have been booming, and surveys have reported that a significant percentage of people, especially women, never use public rest rooms. While some scientists warn that it is futile and even counterproductive to try to avoid contact with microorganisms, the spread of AIDS and some food poisoning scares have only increased people's fears. Despite these trends, though, Oko's case is still unusual.

• 1'1 iii

b

tiO~~~f~ ~J;i/3\ ~-~~~~ijJ~

fXAMINATION HELL lULLABIES FOR INFANTS

tiO~)'G(;:: ~~/3\ ~~ti~~~~

~~lii!G~ C '" it ';f', v' i ~ J:f=t~t(~/J\~t(0)1J;f1t~ ~~o

+~':1itr S~ ~ lv, ~A&+-tJ JI O)fiIij$JU;t, fI'F A,0)1w~H:i!Ih 't" l;t ~ G NJ., C ~ --::> of < ~1iiii ~ f#JMi Lt.:o

-£a:ftO)tf!.~ l;t "iw~ft1f" 0 'Iti~O)jf!T'h{ G ,

r,~ G, ~ (/)9;.O)r, ~O)~ O)r !:V); ~ 'h~~t 't" ~ ~ LJ:o 7~7- J:, ~1v~rc1t~-%--::>~~J r~--::>~O)~-£a:~IvO)~§~,~§~~LJ:o ~~ C ~% L 't" ~ 0 77Jj.t.:v'~ § ~O)=~iI{v' t If Iv ~O)J:J

C V' --::> t.:Wtilr~, 1=1 V' I*J i,P-tt't" V' ~ 0 i<C,bI:

=», ~~)itB~O)x:ftlj:, m:B}B, ttJG~lii*~13

~jO)*~,:[il]~t't", r*~A~~I*JJ ~ r*~O)~ ts J ~ ~% Jj.1*J iI~ -tt 't" v' ~ 0 .:: h ~ ~ ~ c, S t ~ Iv l;t~":) ~ 'h{v\v\of -? t!.o

II2

tXAMINATION HELL LULLABIES FOR INFANTS

days, "examination hell" begins as early as junior . high school or elementary school.

In Chiba, the parents of Baby S, eleven months old, . have already commenced preparations, determined not to fall behind the times.

The mother is in charge of "moral and aesthetic edu... cation." While out for a walk, she lectures her son.

"Look!" she'll say. ''That girl is throwing sand on the boy next to her. Never make friends with anyone like that"

''That mother's eyes look funny, don't they? I'm sure she had them fixed. It's better to have eyes with two natural folds like mine."

The father is in charge of the baby's studies. Looking ahead to the boy's ultimate admission to university, he reads college guidebooks at his son's bedside every evening. He says the boy falls asleep better that way.

: :

IIJ

Examination Hell Lullabies

-flvtd:~~ B, St-t:>Iv'j:-A1:JiIv1:\t'~-c, A ~*I*J ~ t: 1) t: 1) ,:~ -::J -c L i -::J tz;

1J~-::J1J~t) It::.Xftt':-::Jt::,1J~, t t) 1:5't) ':td:-::Jt::.* ~ J! -C.V) t: 0 td: Iv (:_, Xfto) Ifi ~;&, ~r.i5*~(J) ~- V't.:~t,j:~n 't"V)td:1J~-::J t::.O)t':o

1:, ,~,-T0)~~;&'j:~r.i5 (:_ 7*«'), i -r 'j:X1JffE~~ !$tH:~jJ ~~~j'~':' (:_ 1:~MffO)~J!'j:-3&o ~~,:: ~;JX ~j'1J~ ~ -::J i: (:_ ~ V) 't", ~ ~ til? -tt ~ 0) ,: 16'JE I:: ~-::J't"V)~o

II4


One day when Baby S was playing alone, he tore up one of the admission guidebooks.

The father was disappointed, but he was surprised when he saw the tattered book. Why, the only page left untouched was the one for Keio University, the father's alma mater!

So they decided that their son would aim for Keio.

The parents agreed to focus all their efforts on the entrance exam for the university's nursery school. They've .. heard that the exam includes a ringtoss game, so they're doing everything they can to get their baby to wrap his .• fingers around a ring.

IIS

~ 1: tJ tl)'[I. zem.sai·/i zero-year-old baby / I:' b Jf~ ni mo qyobu extending even to ... / ~~ljijG~ juken sens6 intense competition to pass entrance examinations; "examination hell" / r~~ Iwmori-uta lullaby

In Japan, babies under the age of one are said to be -e 0 tl zerosai or ~ tl rei-sai "zero years old." / The word ~ ~ juken refers to studying for and taking examinations, especially college entrance tests. ljijG ~ sens6 means "war." / A r~~ is a song sung to babies to put them to sleep. Here the word is used ironically. / This title literally means "Lullabies for Examination Hell, Which Now Reaches Even Infants Less Than a Year Old."

~~
I'
(
"
[
(
(
f
I
! ~ c v' x_ 'I to ieba concerning; in regard to; speaking of / v' i ~ now / r.p ~t<: chugak/w junior high school / IJ\ ~t<: sh6gak/w elementary school / 1J:if1t jidai era; age

til v' x_ Ii Q" S ~ iu,yii

II6

~ c v' x_ Ii follows a subject that is already known or has been mentioned; it introduces information that is related (perhaps only tangentially) to that subject Here, ~~ljijG ~ is already known to the reader, and C v' x_ II indicates that the story that follows is somehow related to ~ ~liaG~. / The point of this sentence is that high school students are no longer the only ones competing intensely to pass entrance examinations. Now junior high and elementary school students are also fighting the ~~ljijG~.

s: Japanese schools follow the six-three-three pattern introduced from the United States after the Second World War. IJ\~t<: lasts for six years, followed by three years of r.p~t<: and three years of ~t<: Iwlw "high school."


6c

'" '" '"

::::

~ -T~ Chiba prefecture and city east of Tokyo / tI: ts sumu to live; to reside / i? -? Iv (respect suffix used with children's names) / ~ f~-t-7J f1 seigo juikkagetsu eleven months after birth / fiIU*J. ry6shin parents / 1ij:A,0)'11~ sakJwn no j6sei the current situation / ~n "( Ii ~ ; ~ okurete wa naranu must not delay / ~"? -f < promptly / ~fnI junbi preparations / I»JtlS L t: kaishi shita commenced

. IiJ ~n "( Q" ~n~ okureru / ~; ~ (=~; ~ v') Q" ~ ~ / I»JtlS L i: Q" I»JtlS-t ~ kaishi sum

. '. ~i T~ might be either -T~m Chiba-shi "Chiba City" or

II7

II" I(

-

[


m ltX~ sanpo walk; stroll / jiTn~ t? michi sugara along the way / tl t? hey! look! / ~ (J)-9:(J)r ano onna no ko that girl / ~ O):!ij 0) r~: tonari no otolw no ko ni at the boy next to (her) / ?i'Y suna sand / n~ ~t '"( ~ l: L l kakete 'ru desha is throwing (sand), isn't she?

jj] n~~t'"( ~ Q" n~~t'"(It'~ Q" n~~t ~

~.t ltX~O)jiTn~ t? means "while taking a walk." / l: L l is an abbreviated spoken form of l: L l '1, the formal volitional form of the copula t!.. / The subject of n~ ~t '"( (It,)~ is ~O)-9:(J)r.


the larger T~!Jit. Chiba-ken "Chiba Prefecture." / The i":> ~ Iv in S i? ~ Iv is the version of ~ Iv used when addressing or talking about babies, children, and sometimes adults who are close friends or relatives, usually younger in age. Though i? ~ Iv may be used for both males and females, it is more common with the latter. The equivalent suffix for males is ~ kun (see 3b). In this story, S i":> ~ Iv happens to be a boy (see 60). / The quoting C after 1l'FA,(J)i1f~~: ~n '"( Ii ~ t? tJ. indicates that this sentence expresses the sentiments of S's parents, to wit, "we must not fall behind the times." / The final tJ. in ~ t? tJ. is the literary form of the negative suffix ~ It'. The gerund (-te form) followed by either Ii ~ t? tJ. wa naranu or Ii ~ t? ~ It' wa naranai means "must not" / Both tt tJ and ~J~+-tJ Ji modify S t ~ Iv.

6e

6d

6£

~ -B3=~ hahaoya mother / m~ tantO (area of) responsibility / '11f~~1f j6s0 kyoiku moral and aesthetic education

~.t '11f~~1f is a type of pedagogy that emphasizes the development of a child's overall sensitivity to moral, aesthetic, and spiritual matters. The quotation marks indicate that the term is being used sarcastically to refer to the lessthan-lofty instruction provided by S's mother in 6e through 6i.

~ '1';1. J: don't (do that) / ~ Iv ~ r Canna ko to with a

child like that / it ~ -g-? i? ~ tsukiatcha (don't) be friends; (don't) spend time together

1t ~ -g-? t ~ Q" it ~ -g-? '"( Ii tsukiatte wa Q" it ~ -g'1 tsukiau

~.t The elements of this sentence have been reversed. In standard order and without the contraction to 1t ~ -g-? t ~ it would read ~ Iv ~ r c it ~ -g-? '"( Ii 'I' ;I. J: "Don'~ be friends with a girl like that" / A man would say 'I' ;I.

II8

II9


t!. J:. instead of Y ;J. J:.. / Here Y;J. is in katakana for emphasis. Also written t: ¢J or It §, this word means "forbidden; no good; worthless."

~ &i.> '9 i? (J) i:3 HJ: ~ Iv atchi no okiisan that mother Over there / i:3 § ¢J omeme eyes / :If' 13 ~ foshizen unnatural

~.i &i.> '9 i? is an informal version of &i.> i? t? "that; over there." / i:3 § ¢J is a word used only by or to small children. Other children's words include i:3 =F"'( otete "hand," b Iv b Iv "dog," and ~ -? ~ -? "automobile."

6h

-It~'lt~' L- -If'" .s, t~;t

~ -:> t ~ ~ L- l 0 0 "7 "7 J;. i: v) td: § r!.i 0) = m iJ{

v'i? Lflvtd: 0) J: J

~ ~ '9 t certainly, I'm sure / ~~ L "'( ~ seikei shite Jru she's had plastic surgery / 77 J.J.. t: v \ I'd: Mama mitai na like Mama's / 13 ~(J) shizen no natural / =li Jutae folded (eyelids) / v\ i? 'i Iv the best

th ~~ L "'( ~ w ~~ L "'( V \ ~ w ~~T ~ seikei sum ~.i ~~ can refer to any type of surgery or treatment that changes the shape of a part of a person's body. / Note that S's mother says 77 when talking about hersel£ When speaking to children, Japanese adults often refer to themselves by name or title rather than with a first-person

I20


pronoun. Similarly, children usually refer to themselves by name until they reach school age, when girls are supposed to start saying fJ.. watashi and boys ~ boku for "I; me." / =:m: here refers to -lii!ft fiaae mabuta "double eyelids," that is, eyelids with a horizontal crease.

s: Most East Asians have -lii!ft hitoe mabuta "single eyelids," that is, eyelids without a visible fold. Some Japanese who admire European facial features undergo a simple operation to add creases to their eyelids. Here, S's mother is sneering at another mother for having had that operation while bragging that her own eyelids are naturally the fashionable creased type. She may also be warning her infant son to avoid potential marriage partners who alter their appearance artificially.

6i

'" , '

~ t v \ '9 t: ~ -T"t: to itta chOshi de in this manner / § v \ M ip-\t"'( v \ ~ iikikasete iru instructs

tiJ v\ '9 i: w § -? iu, yU / § v\Mip-\t"'( w § v'Mip-\t ~ iikikoseru

~i This sentence's initial t is the quoting t. It refers to the quotations from the mother in 6e through 6h. / § v \ M iJ\-\t ~ means "to instruct" or "to convince." Here it seems to suggest that eleven-month-old S is actually paying attention to what his mother is saying.

I2I


~ -jj ippo meanwhile; on the other ha~~ / ;J3~~.mtiB£lO) fJ-benkyo tanto no in charge of study L xm chich1f!Ya father / 4e:B5fl maiban every evening / ttlG1: makuramoto de at (5's) bedside / lifH3 ~ saishii mokul!Jo final goal; ultimate target / *~ daig~ku. university / ~rPJ!t"( ni mukete directed toward; aimmg at / r *::rA::r~I*JJ Daigaku Nyiigaku Annai "Guide to University Admissions" / r A~O)~1SJ Nyiigaku no Tokushoku ."~ey Fe~tures of Admissions" / we h-I*J ~~-tt- -c v '.0 yomzkikasete zru reads to

IlJ we h-I*J i,P-tt- -c 1& ~n h-I*J i,P1!- .0 yomikikaseru

~~ ;J3}@~.m has the prefix ;J3 becau.se th~ word re~;r~ to : child's studies. / The tt makura in ttlG means pillow, and ttlG literally means "next to the pillow." / li~ § ~O)*~ refers to the university that the parents want S to enter. / *~A~~1*1 and A~O)~1S ar~ comm~rcially published guides to techniques for entenng certain universities. ~1S means "unique characteristics." / m<h. I*J i,p1!-.o means "to read to" or "to instruct through reading."

6k

I22

''',"' ,""",


~ -: n :r ~.o c kare 0 yaru to when (the father) does this / 1Il "J ~ ~{\r' ", netsuki ga ii falls asleep well / -f -J t! sO da is said to

~i -: n refers to the father's reading to 5. / The noun 1Il "J ~ "falling asleep" comes from the verb 1Il"J < netsuku "to fall asleep." / The word -f -J indicates reported speech. Here, it means that the parents have said that 5 falls sound asleep when they read the university admission books to him.

61

.:r.", 0- I: I) a;-f

-flv 7d: ~ ~ B, S 1::> ~ Iv Ii ~ A 1:ii Iv 1: v' l ,

IA?~~A,~r~ ~ I) ~ I) ,:i."? l L i -o tz;

m -f Iv ~ 2b.o E sonna aru hi on one such day / - A 1:31 Iv 1:'" -c hitori de asonde ite was playing alone / 1:::" I) 1:::" 1) ,: ~ '0 -c L i '0 t: biribiri ni yabutte shimatta tore up

Jj; 31 Iv 1:'" -c 1& Jut ~ asobu / ~ '0 -c 1& ~.o yaburu / L i '0 t: B' L i -J

~ Both -f Iv ~ and 2b.o modify E. -f Iv ~ E means "such a day" and 2b.o E means "one day; on a certain day," so -f Iv ~ 2b.o E means "on one such day (during the baby's training for university admission)." / A~~1*1 Nyiigaku Annai is the same as *~A~~1*1 in 6j. / 1:::" 1) 1:::" 1) ,:~.o means "to tear up; to tear into shreds." 1:::" 1) 1:::" 1) ,: suggests that the baby tore up the book especially violently.

J:.

I23


6m

II" c

~ iJ~ -:) iJ~ ~ L t: gakkari shita disappointed / i? ~ t; ~ I: ~ -o t: * chirijiri ni natta bon the book, which had been scattered around in pieces / J! -c mite when he saw / • " -t: odoroita he was surprised

IJJ iJ~ -:) iJ~ ~ L t: Q" iJ~ -o iJ~ ~ T ~ gakkari suru / t: -:d:.

Q" t!. / ~ -o t: Q" ~ ~ / J! -c Q" J! ~ miru / ~'" t:

Q" • < odoroku

~.i. The unspoken subject of this sentence is x:ft, which is the same as the predicate noun in the first half of the sentence. Thus the first half can be translated literally as "He was a disappointed father."

6n

~ ~ Iv t nan to (expresses pleased surprise) / ill ~t(: shusshinko alma mater / • hiS *~ (J) -'" - :; t!. ~t Keio Daigaku no piji dake only the page for Keio University / Ii! n -C'" ~ 7P -:) i: yaburete inakatta was not torn up

jJJ Ii! n -c Q" Ii! n ~ yabureru / "d~ iJ~ -:) t: Q" '" ~ "\ d" "'~

I24


~.i As in 5r, ill:!it shusshin means "graduated from." t( is an abbreviation for ~t( gakko "school." Thus ill:!itt( means "the school from which one graduated." / The appositive comma after ill:!itt( indicates that the school in question is .hiS*~. / The (J) at the end of this sentence explains that the father was surprised in 6m because only the page for Keio University was not torn up.

-;:.. Keio University is an old and respected private university in Tokyo. It was founded by mtR~E Fukuzawa Yukichi (1834-1901), the educator, philosopher, and diplomat whose face appears on the 10,OOO-yen note. The university's full name is .hiS~~*~ Keto Gijuku Daigaku .• hiS is the era name for the years 1865 to 1868.

60

,!ill,

:'1:::

, .,~

~ -r: then; therefore / ,~,T musuko son / ;t;~t( shibok6 (see 11:, below) / .hiS t #tN'J Keto to kime decided on Keio / i -rl;J: mazu wa first; to begin with / ~m:@:" Y6chisha name of nursery school/fi%:1J ~?fHf'~ .: t -c: zenryoku 0 ageru koio de to make a total effort / :1;;:.AA} fiifo the husband and wife / ~J! iken opinions / -It itchi matched; agreed

IJJ #t N'J Q" #t N'J ~ kimeru

:::m

,~.i ;t;~ shiM means "aspiration and desire," so ,~,T(J);t;~ t( means "the school their son would try to enter." / ~ m~~~ means "taking the nursery school entrance exams." ~m~ is a nursery school affiliated with Keio

I25

r c


University and famous for its rigorous admittance standards. A child accepted by this nursery school is likely to be admitted to the university more easily. / The omitted verb at the end of this sentence is L t: *~0)i':~1:J:- 3& L i: means "the opinions of the husband and wife were the same."

6p

t, It A, b ~ ~ b I: ~

~~ ~:~tt~-y]j~GV.> 0 t: t jjfj v' l .. ~ 'd:- ti; -tt Q

O."l..

(J) ~:1l,9E~: ~ 0l v' ~ 0

~ ~~ shiken test / fii11t ~ f wanage ringtoss / c I*J \,t \ '"( to kiite they heard that / fii wa ring / fI ~ -tt ~ 0) nigiraseru no making him grasp / ~,jE~: ~ '? ""( v \ ~ hiss hi ni natf£ iru (they are) frantic

Ii; iYJ '? t: IJ:W' iYJ ~ / I*J v \""( IJ:W' I*J < kiku / fI ~ -tt ~ Q' fI~ nigiru / ~ '?""( ~ ~ ~

~~ fiifl~f is the children's game in which a ring made of rope, wood, or plastic is thrown from a distance onto a vertical pole. It is the type of game that might be included in a nursery school entrance examination. / m I? -tt ~ is the causative form of the verb fI ~ "to grasp; to hold." An eleven-month-old baby is too young to play ringtoss, so the parents are just trying to get him to wrap his fingers around the rings. / The 0) after m ~ -tt ~ is the nominalizing 0); it turns fI ~ -tt ~ into a noun.

:)c While some people will be amused by the misplaced fervor of this mother and father eagerly trying to prepare their infant son for university entrance exams, for many Japanese parents this story may strike uncomfortably close


to home. Among Japanese who fall into the broad social ~~s of salaried white-collar workers--company employees, civil servants, academics, and the like-admission to a good university determines more than anything else one's career, social standing, and marriage prospects. Parents whose own lives have been shaped by this obsession with educational credentials are naturally eager for their own ~ldren to enter the best possible schools. The parents in this story are unusual not in the degree of their enthusiasm but only in how early they have begun.

';iii ;Ii!:

I27

. I!!!

THE CLUELESSNESS OF

A ''CONNECTED'' EMPLOYEE

ON HER W4Y TO THE "COUNTRY OF BAN"

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I3°

THE CLUELESS NESS OF

A ''CONNECTED'' EMPLOYEE

ON HER WAY TO THE ''COUNTRY OF BAN"

.. This spring, Miss K (24) and three other women, her peers at a large publishing company in Tokyo, planned . to take an overseas trip in honor of their fifth year since entering the company.

They discussed various destinations, but considering : the available time and their budget, they settled on either Singapore or Bangkok, Thailand.

The next day, Miss K stopped at a travel agency on her way home from work and found a tour to Thailand with the ideal schedule and price. She went ahead and made the reservation.

The following morning, Miss K spotted one of the group, Miss Y, and immediately told her what she had done.

"I found a good tour, so I went ahead and signed us up for Thailand. That's okay, isn't itr'

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Miss Y looked surprised and replied in a somewhat critical tone, ''What? Did you decide on Thailand? Weren't we going to Bangkok?"

"Huh? But Bangkok is the capital of Thailand .... " "The capital? But the capital of Thailand is Laos, isn't it? Bankoku ends in koku, so it must be the name of a country."

Miss K said nothing.

For the twenty-four years of her life, Miss Y had been convinced that the name Bangkok meant the .. "Country of Ban."

Miss K thought, The rumor that one of the women hired ... with us got her job through a amneaion-I guess it was true

after all

In her fifth year since joining the company, Miss K

has now confirmed the truth of that rumor.

I33

r

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