'Political Campaigns inJapan : The Art of Connection -MANGAJINNo. 59 Sell I Ame c --BRANDNEWS J3V' iJ) :Z.tj T-c OhikaeNasutte Yo!Please,Baby,NoFat Finally, a dairy product that satisfies the discriminating tastes of housewives and mcmhers of organized crime syndicates alike. Morinaga 's mi l k drink, Ohikae Nasutte ( .:tJ U -IJ' X..1&: T 0"( ),provides more protein and calcium thanwhole mi lk, butwi thhuff the culori es and almost no fat.l nsurticient calcium is one of the few weaknesses of a traditional Japanese diet. Choices of dairy product s arelimited. sowhole milk is one of the onl yopti ons available for the calcium-i mpaired. Morinaga has aimed this product mainly at young women who need calcium, but who also want to watch the calories. So what doeall of this have to do with organized crime? It's in the name. Ohikae 11asul/e ( i:> U -IJ' X..1&: -9 0"( )is a slang expression with a double meaning.Simplyput , hikae comesfromthever bhikaeru .0). meaning "prepare andwait (tand by)." or "cut back/moderate." Nasuue an archaic variation of 1w.mue. the -Te form of the verb 11asaru (honorific equivalent of suru, "do"). With the addition of t hehonorificprefix o-. ohikae IW.\'IIffe means "please prepare 10 lilen (to whalI am about to say-1 will now introduce myself),'' and is followed by a sl ylized, " pre-formatted" about 1he speaker's background. The phrasei s used by members of a certain segmen1of Japanese societywhich traditi onall yincl udes yakuza, streelvendors,racketeers, quacks, andthe like.Ohikae 11asulleis used when introduci ng oneself or paying one's respect to another member of this specialsociety. Of course.whensaying ohikae ltnSllfte, one must strike the appropriate pose- lhe same pose the cow on the cartonhas assumed. Unless you happen to be among those who honor the code (a bunch of imimidating Japanese guys wilh full-body tattoos). doing the ohikae llasuffe bi tis usually goodfor a laugh. Since !his is a super-low-fat,low-cal laclic treat, the cow addressing uswith "ohikae nasutte" is making a punwith anahcrnate meaning ofthe verb hikaeru:"cut back.'' In olherwords. please cut back on the calories (like the cow say) and dr ink Ohikae Nasutte instead. On this poster, Japan's most lovable loser, Tora-san of the movie series Otoko wa Tsurai yo,strikes anohikae nasutte pose as he introduces himself with the stylized speech. Send us your exampl es o fcreativeproduct names orslogans( withsomekind of documentation).If we publish your example, we' llsend you aMangajin T-shirt to wearon your next shopping trip. In case of dupl icate entries,earliestpostmark gets theshirt.BRANDNEWS,P.O.Box 77188,Atlanta,GA30357- 1188 7 1).J:.17-.17' To:111i ,';,', . "\> 7,o- 1! :.--::: ff: t.:-c:Lt.:. I? 'li f'l i' .X."( ,j,'J t/1;1:c- }3 t;f' uttl I&)} 1.: t;J.,iJ,t 1111 j AT:,..'I''/ illi .'.!L.. to[IT] t. fJiJt.: I'IJL..-c 1!l f.{ G':>.Y, 'IJ' j,'l t il. t.t.:>'/.1- -ttl,' t.:. t!. t.:. t;Jdi' IJ:, Gil O) - Iff '11I.');' 1.: T :/ \''/ tHit f)Li-9o 1t; IJ: BRAND NF.WS.P.O.Rnx 77 188, At lama, GA30357- 11 88.U. S.A. Mangajin9 Politics in Japan: The Art of Connection Travelingwiththere-electioncampaignof Di etmemberOnoKiyoko, political scientist Robin LeBlanc learnedthat the noisy traditions of a Japanese political campaign all boildown to one thing: making a connection. Four molllhs illlo my study of Ono Kiyoko :S 1992 re-election campaign for her seat in theHouse of Councillors.I found myself inacro11dof Japanese menand ll'omen onasort of platforminthemiddleof a pla:.aatTokyo'sShibuyaStation.We grabbed.familiarly ateachother:1 arms. balancing oursell'es.reassuring each other ofour presence.We swayed in the late July heatandahumiditythatseemedto compress the lungs.Loudspeakersworked the pla:a fromse1eralsides,withmusic and ad1ertisementscreatingtheusual background hum.BLIIonthisnight.the ordinarydinwassurmo1111ted by noise blaringfromsoundtrucksof several competingpoliticians. MymemoriesCOlihardlysonone sound fromanother:They are all noise-noisepushingusbackward andinthe thick.thick ai1:Blll in1he mids1 of 1heconfusion,mygrouplooked toone sou11dtruckandonesetof .wiled poli1icicmswithwhite-gl01ed hands.We lookedupa/OnoKiyoko,ourwoman candidatesurroundedbymenin1he cemerof thetruckplatform.and 0 111to thosearound us.Weaskedeachother: Wouldbe disappointed/011101'1'011'? \Vhen Ono s sound truck began 10 pull OIW_I'.I clambered as high on nn rock as I could.IH'aled and screamed "Ganbatte. ganbane. ganbaueOno-sensei! ..Shecrying and thankingher supporters again and again.but as I screamed,she caug/11 myeye.and over hermicrophone.over alltheotherclashandbangof 1hat unbearableJulyevening,Iheardmy name."ArigatoRobin!ArigatoRobin!" Those two '''ordscmmbled the last bi1of myimpanialscholarly facade.Tears streamed downmy faceasOnoleftthe pla:.a.Thenexte1eninxshe11onher second lermintheHouse of Councillors by theskinof herteeth.Despiteall my pretensions as a foreignobsen e1;Ihad ll'anted hertowin. MostforeignersinJapanhave!.eenand heardound truc ks (large vanswithloud-speakersmountedontop)likeOno' sin thestreetsof thetownswheretheylive. ManyWesternersshaketheir headsatLhe - - - - - - - - -- -- -- -- --:-:--:--l grab= ') n' (:,- al eacholhcr, arms= ij7Jl- 'J t.:.f({/('okwnialladin =Mt('j- sr1onimpanial 'cholarlyfacade =!l.lt::. o tstme nitoppukurasuniitashiisaidatta. alwaystopclassatexistedbright/talented personwas Haruhiko was an excellent studentif I do sasomself-alwas at the toof his class durinhis six years at La Salle.(PL2) 11aze nara (or naze 11araba) signals that the speaker orwriter is about to offer an explanation of what he has just said. As in this case, it's usually echoed at the end of the clause or sentence with kara, node, or another explanatory fonn.It' s used mostly inwritten Japanese, and sounds a littlestiffin colloquial speech. deki refers to how well made something is or how good the results arc, and deki ga warukatta is the plain/abrupt past fonn of the expression deki gawarui (lit.. "themake/result isbad"); when speaking of students, the expression refers to "doing poorly/being apoor student." jibun de iu no mo okasltii isliterally "it is odd for me tosay this myself": the expression isused like "if I do say so myself' when making a self-satisfied remark about something connected with oneself. Rasiiru refers to Kagoshima La Salle-a prep school famous for its graduates'success at getting into the University of Tokyo. shiisai refers to a person who outshines others inhis class-though itmaybe as much fromhardwork as from native intel-ligence. In school. the keymeasure is top-notch grades-> "a good/excellent student.'' Letter :- )j ,LiC:riX.!.f,ttJ'f:lf:.(J)tJi!j tJ-tt-r. Ippii .Ryil.ruke1mtoieba.clu7gakuseinokorouabenkyr11110sezu. on the other hand(name)asfor (quote)if 'ayjr. highofperiodasforstudyevendid not do A ;f' - ;;!!n I) '..> '"C ''"C,IJ.liJ!'(tJ1J7A0)r1 t'iU!to supiftsubakarimile ire.seisekimokura.w110chtl teido. >portsonlywas doing/playinggnrdestoo/alsoclassofmid-level On the other hand,if I speak of Ryusuke, whenhewasin junior highhe didn't even study and did o nlysports, and hi sgradeswereatthemiddle of theclass. on the other hand, didn' t even studv when hewas in unior high. He spent all histime playing and his grades were only(PL2) Letter:i t!'1.:LH'iLl.:.t(j.rl'. -:>"( {>1.-'n' -:>t.:. o MasakaTiJdai11ihairertttuwaomolle 1110i11akatta. (cmph.)Tokyo Uni v.into could enter (quote) a' fordidn'tthink-(emph. ) Ineverimagi ned he'dbe able to get into the University of Tokyo.(PL2) be11kw! se:u is equi valentto henkvi'i shi11aide ("without/instead of studying" or ''didn't study. and- "-from benk)YI .nuu, 'study"): inserting 1110adds emphasis:"didn't even studyand- ." .wwe is the -reformof yam("do." or when speaking of sports. "play''). and ireis the -re formof iru. whichmakes theverb progressive ("is/was playing"). Letter: tC:>L..$tJO) tmb6t.:.c..re. -=>t-:1? , yallojukenbe11kyiJrashikimonoolwjimetatoornollam, finall yexamstudylikething(obj.)began(quote)if/when thought \,\ C {>fitj.!jt l.:L.. "( L.. l -::>f.=o giJkaku shire shimatta. a seniorin hih i!il;-?-71 7' Shiisaidebenkyii 110mushinoanikitowawaga konagarazenzencltigautaipu na no da. good stud.is-andstudyof bug/worm who is older bro. with as for my childrenalthough are completely differenttype(explan.) Compared to hi solder brother, who was an excellent student and abookworm, though both are my childre n, he 's acompletely different type. Though they're both my own sons, he's acomleteldifferent type from his older brother, who was such agood student and loved to study.(PL2) An{t'l.>o Fushigi naki ga suru. marvelous/amazingfeels/seems It's quite amazing to me.(PL2) tokoro-ga is a conjunction that implies something is contrary to the expectationsraised by what precedesit:"but/however/ nevertheless/on the contrary." - rashiki mono= ' 'somethinglike/akin to-"; the feeling here is that even whenhe started studyi ng, he didn't really have to study all thathard. Ryusuke'smiddling grades disqualify him frombeing called shilsai, but hisnativeintelligence is clearly above that of his older brother. hajimeta is theplain/abrupt past form of hajimem ("begin"); apastverb followedby to omottara canidiomatically mean "as soon as [the action took place]."(cominued 01t11exr page) Mangajin27 JJO;t:; fr' (J)UtKaji RyusukenoGi 28Mangajin @] (co11ti1111ed from previous page) mushi means "bug/insect.'' andit's used much the way "worm" isused in "bookworm" tomean "onewholoves toread books"; benkyu no mushi is literally 'study worm''-+ "one who loves to study.'' fushigi no= "wonderful/marvelous/mysterious/amazing/magical.'' and- ki go suru implies that'show he feels or that's how the silllation seems. Letter:::..r!):At;{rr c' -7" ' -7!u bn'i"J' G t;{. Kono .fwarigas/u)mido;,,mil'llioayu11111l.auakaranaiga. these2-pcoplct-ubj.)infuture kind ofpath(obj.)will wall,.C'!)don't knowbut rm(7)11ii"J'G(/').J:r!,!.7..r:uIJ-ret. kodomo no /..oroJ..ara110jiuariomimJ..ac:iride11 a. childhoodfrom2-pcoplc (obj.) ;ee/wmchhmitif it " Letter:IJ:$'1'7'\."l:if: 11'liJ11:ifl*$'1 7' t!.c.'J.I.-7o Hamhikouakam:w)taipudeRytl.lul..euaseiji-kataipudaw0111011. (name)a' forbureaucrattypei'o-and(name)a' forpoliticiantypeis(quote)think Idon' tknow what pathsthese two willtreadin the future,but from what I've seen of them during their childhoodsI'd say_Haruhiko is the bureaucratic type while Rvlisuke will make abetterlitician.(PL2) ll'akaranai the negative formof 1mkam ("come to know").Aque>tion endingin ka followed by wakaranoi essentially makes anindirect question. " I don't know who/when/where/what kind of - ... koro (or gom) typicall yrefer> toan approximate point intime. but it can also refer to ageneral period of time: kodomo no koro ="the period when onewas achild" "ones childhood." - kagiri de ua (lit. "if iti' within the limit of - ")after averb mal-.e5 an idiomatic expression for "so far as one can tell/sa)from(doing the action(.'' Letter:'bL (J) *11:'-''l" 1?-ttf.:'-''o Moshiwotashinootootsuide kureru to shitaro Rytlsukeniyorasetoi. iflimeof tracks (obj.)follow-( forme)by far/decidedly(name)bywant to have do If [one of them] is to follow in mfootsteswithoutuestion Iwouldrefer it to be Rylisuke.(PL2) Letter:(7)f,-=>ft.!IY:Jttm.t:> .t U'kfT }J.: -t- .: i"Li"J' I?(/') RytlsukeflOmotsuguri-tekiseil..okuoyobijikkoryokukosokore koro110 (name)(subj.)holds/hasrutional/pragmatic quality/charactertogether withpowers of execution(emph.)from nowof I::J*(J)if:5(ifi*l:c -:> 't '/;t(J)f!.o Nihon110seiji-koni tonekoku bekara:.aruyiJso110110 da. Japan's politiciansto/for elements/traits(explan.-is) The pragmatic qualitiesRyusukehas,together with hisability to get things done, are indispensable qualities for Japan's politiciansfromthistime forward." The pragmatic, man-of-action qualitiesthat Ryiisuke has are precisely the quail ties t hat will be essen-tial in Japan's futureoliticians. (PL2) Ryiisuke no mot.m is acompletethought/sentence (''Ryiisuke has[it]") modifying gliri-teki seikoku (..pragmatic quali ty/ character'') as well as jikkoryoku ("power of execution/ability toget things done"). No substitutes for ga to mark Ryiisuke as the subject of motsu, as it often does in modifying clauses. koso emphasizes what comes before it with the feeling of'none other than that/that very thing[is - j." kore kora isliterally 'from this,'' meaning "from thistime forward"-+ ''from now (on)/(in)thefuture:No makes ita modifierfor Nilzon 110 seiji-ka (''Japan's politicians") -+ ''Japan's futurepolit.icians.'' kaku is averb meaning ''lack/be wanting," and bekarazom is an archaic "mustnot'' form, now usedmostly only in for-mal writing, so kaku bekorazaru ="mustnot be lacking""is indispensable/essential." kore karo no Nihon no seiji-ka ni totte kaku bekorazaru is acomplete thought/sentence (''[they! are indispensableto Japan's futuremodifying yiiso ("elements/traits"). 0Yamamoto:1JDifrlt:'i'.li201i'tilil.:-t--c-(..:i/?f.;:t.:(J) .: ct-t-1(7)1."-to Kaji-senseiuanijzlllell-llllll' ni.mde-nimwta110 kowo.l'tJka11xaete orareta110desu. (name-title)"'for20 yr'. agoalreadyyouabout(obj .) that way""' thinJ,.ing" Twenty yearsyour fatherwas already thinking of you in thisway."(PL4) - no ko/IJi-,literally "thing' of/about- :or \impl) "of/about- : kangaete oraretais the pa.,tformof kangaNe orarem. a PL4 honorific equivalent of kangaete im ("i' thinking"). from kanguen1("think''). Ka 'i : t:t i"J' -? t.:o Shiranakoua. didn't know " I had no idea.''(PL2) 0Yamamoto:Rnlsuke-.wm.go-ket.wda11kuda.wi. (name-hun.)(hon.)-dcci'oinnplea'e " BY!lsuke, please make your decision."(PL-l) shiranokoua isthe plain/abrupt past form of shiru ccome to know"). Yamamoto:X:t-.(7)jil.J:::r(7)(.:f'..::..tli lfl* ij: v' o Watashi110jinseino koto desukara,imakokodesokuda11 .wrukowwadekinai. 1/me'slifeaboutisbecause/sonowhereatimmediately decidethingas forcannot do "This is about mylife, so r cannot decide here and now." "This will affectthe rest of mlifeso Ican't make a snadecisionright her e and now."(PL2-3) sokudan refers to an "instant/immediate/on-the-spot decision,'' and sokuda11 suru is i ts verb form. koro waafter the plain. non-pa-.tform of a verb makes a negative potential ("cannot'') form of the verb. 0Yamamoto: iL..t.:f.!.q) ::..tI-fit t!lt-r-.J Wtt/..arimashita.Watasfti110t.\11/aetaikmouasoredakedesu. undeNoodlime(\ubj.)\\Jntlo tellth1nga' forthatonl)" ''Iunderstand.What I wantedto tellyouis only that." "Cer tainly.That's all Iwantedto say to )'!>u."(PL3) wokarimashiw the PL3 pastform of 1mkam, "come to know/underswnd." Theword i s often usedto show acceptance of what the other person has"yes/OK/cenainly/that' IIbefine." r.wraerai is the "wantto" form of t.111Wem("tell/convey i nformation i to I"): uauH!ti no rswaetai i s a completethought/ sentence ("!want to convey litn modifying kmo ("thing''). Sound FX:tJ'/ ::1')tJ7 Kakkokka Click click click(sound of heels clicking against floor) 8] Yamamoto: of jL I? .. . A.wrekara .. . (interj.)and "Oh, and one other thi ng ..." ais aninterjection usedwhensuddenly noticing or remembering something. Ka ii:li"'? (!] Yamamoto: Hai ? " Yes?"(PL3) .!rilll;tfttl' riibt11hinnagara.slti11pe11uakirei ni IW.mlle oiteJ..udami. grandmmherlyalthough iti'>pcl">onalafla1r'J' furmake clean-(ahcad)plca,c "Although itis grandmotherly of meIto - ... kirei 11ii' an ad,erb form of J..irei 1111("beautiful/clean"). and nasalle i-. the-re form of nmaru. a PIA honorific equivalent of Sl/1'11("do/make"): kirei ni 11a.wru =/..il't' i ni .\111'11= "makel somethingl " tidy[something I up." oite is the -reform of oku. which after the-1eform of a verb implies theactiondone now/ahead of time inpreparation for 'ome future need. andkttda.wi after the-1eform of a verb makes a polite request.so kirei ni nasol/e oite kuda.wi al -together becomes "please go aheadant!tidy now." no Wille often means "for the purpose or: buthere it means "for the good/benefit of." Mangajin31 !JO;-a IIi 11' (J)~ t Kaji Ryusuke no Gi 32Mangajin Narration:1/*1: -c-(.., t:. '/); :50.: :]Jtt t1 A- Jv il t:.' fp '/){ Ji' t:.7' iJ.; t:::1.-c 0);x. t:.'-tt157' '?0)t:.7 A- '? '0:..-"t:'"/)>'/ :!1 J:iTA ?IWll' "'C" O) TI;! .t c. l.i 1: 1JO;t; IIi 11'"U'>UiKaJi Ryusuke no G1 0 -r-t-rtJ () !I)T (..,c .t t:. rA,*.: 7'/); twx /0)$ -c: * T gi 0) [!]Morimoto: .t olyii,batchishidesuyo.Angaisunnari towatashite kurenwshita. (interj.)piece of cake is/was (emph.)smoothly/easilyhanded/gave to me ''Man,it was apiece of cake. They gave it to me with less fussthan I (PL3) Morimoto: Mllit:.Af.IJ',-*J.>cli -IJ{.. . Komwnikantan nill)'iishu dekimtowaomoue mo mimase11 deshitaga .. . Lhis mucheasilycouid obtain/acquire (quote)as fordid not even 1ry thinkingbut " Inever imagined it would be so easy bold of.. bu.L....,__,"(PL3) iyii is an interjection that gives exclamatory e mphasis when expressing delight/pleasure. batchishi is avariant of bcuchiri. a colloquialism meaning that something is or turned out "j ust right/exactly as desired/a complete success," often with the additional feeling of a cinch/piece of cake." swmari (with or without a following to) is an adverb meaning "easi ly/smoothly/without resistance." watashite is the -te form of watasu ("hand over/deliver/give"). and kuremashita is the PL3 past form of kureru, which after the -te form of averb implies the action was done to or for the speaker or subject. nyiishu dekiru is the potential ("can/be able to'') form of nyiishu sum ("obtain/acquire"). omotte is the -te fom1 of omou (''think''), and mimasen deshita is the PL3 past form of minai, negative of miru ("see"). Mim after the-te formof averb implies " try [doing the action]" or "[do the action) and see," and inserting nw between -te and miru adds emphasis: omoue mo mimase11 deshita =''did not even try thinking"-+ "never imagined/dreamed." Tomarks komw-ni ka111a11ni nyiishu dekiru as the specific content of what he never imagined. Morimoto:.: it-/)t (J)llll:m1cci(J)kore{:llOkuboMonbuDaijin110mmulailwtsugennotiichiitepudesu. this('ubj .)(name) Min. of Epaper name)a, lora merereg1onalrJckctccrnewspaperi\(emph.) " Press Atlanta isnothing but ahicktown racketeernewspaper."(PL3) Morimoto:c ) -ttfJJn''1::-IJ'I I 1! '.>!.:.1-v L J;-?o Yat.l'll radriselwjimekkarakane;.:amokmeki daua11 deslui. tho'e gu)' any"aythe .,tanfrommoney('uhj.Jwas aim(cxplan.)probably "It's probably that from the beginning money was their aim anyway." "They were probably just after themoney fromthe start."(PL3) IWIIIe ba colloquial mulo (" "then." raberaremasenis thePL3 negati veformofraberareru ("can eat"). potentialfom1of wberu ("eat''). morattetchaois a contraction of moratte iue shimaiJ. the-re forms of momu ("receive/take/obtain") and iku ("go") plus the volitional("let' s/1shall/lthink I'll'') formof shimau ("end/finish/put away..). Moratre iku =..receive/take and go: or simply "take"; thevolitional shimaiJ after the-teformof averb often carries thefeel ingthat the speaker intends to do the action even thoughitmay beproblematic insome way. koitsu is a contraction of kono Yatstt ("this guy/fell ow/thing"). aroughway of referring to another person. but when aimed directly at the listener ina contentious situationitbecomes "you j erk/twit/S.O.B ... (or worse). Mangajin39 I s hiiHisai chiSensh fi SELECTED WORKS of ISHII HISAICHI 40 Mangajin Zuibundekaiyatsudana. considerablylarge/huge guy/fellowis(colloq.) " He's an awfull)'big_gtJy, isn' the?"(PL2) EIIL? "(I!.O'' (!)1$IJ'-r:iv'o Medaueshinobi noshigotogadekimai. stands out-(cause)undercoverwork(subj.) surely can't do ''I'd think he' d stand out too much to do undercover work."(PL2) zuibun is an adverb meaning quite/very much/considerably." dekai isaninformal word for ' 'big/huge." yatsu is an informal/slang word for "fellow/guy." medaue isthe -teformof medarsu ("standsout"); the -te formisbeingused to indicate the cause of what follows. dekimai isequivalentto the conjectural dekinai daro/desho; dekinai isthe negative form of dekiru ("can do''), do dekimai ="surely/probably can' t do." Hironoshinri1111millen10 shire.amari peopleof psychologyofblindspotastoo much .k ;IJ' X.? -r 'b (!)-c--t o iJkii rokael/eki ga Wtkallttmonodesu. if i' bigcomrmynotnoticethingis " As one of the blind spots_of human psychology, actually tend not to notice athing when it's too big."(PL3) !.!.i.l": ,.c.-,i1It{';.k (!)wr-r:--t o lga11i11pll,shimhiJbndaihenka110jursu desu. (name) ninja method impre,sion exagg transform(mod.)tech.is " It's the lga Schoolninjatechniq_ue of transforma-tion by_exaggerated impression."(PL3) Sound FX:(!)L(f) L(!)L(!)L(!)L Noshi110shinoshi 11oshi11oshi Thud thud thud thud thud(sound of heavy footsteps) ro afler theplainform of an adjective makes aconditional "if itis ... kaelle introduces clauses that express something contrary to what you would normal ly expect in the situation. ki ga rsukanu =ki ga lsllkanni. the negative formof ki ga rsuku (''notice"). .(..,;JE(shi11shii)is apun on H'J' : silinsltr"i biidai with the latter kanji isan ex-pression for 'exaggeration" (it literall ymeans "make a needle/pin as big as a stick/pole"). The pun is strained. making it hard to pin down aliteral meaning for it. but with thekanji used here shinslul brldai henkameans somethinglike "transformation by/of exaggerated ninja techniques typically have name;, (often very grandiose andwordy) that end in no jw.w (lit.. "the technique of- "). Sound FX:(!)L(!)L(f) L(!)L Noshinoshinoshi twshiThud thud thud thud Guard: :::17.i"t" ! A!.kora.mate! (interj.)(interj.)wait/stop "Hey, hold it!HaJt!"(PL 1-2) kora! is an interjectionfor stopping someone who' s about to do some-thing he/she shouldn't: "Hey!/Stop that!/Hold it right there!" mate is the abrupt commandform of matsu (''wait''); when spoken sharply it's like 'stop!lhalt!'' Ninja:t:i: !v Nand1? whati;," Whadda ya' want?"(PL2) Guard: )JIH.: /e.ileTSII-11i. (intcrj.) [1101)inpartintlar ' 'Er, nothing in particular.'' "Ernevermind."(PL2) bersu-ni combines with anegative laterinthe sentence tomean "notpar-ticularly."Here. ber.w-ni by itself implies anegative ending tothesen-tence. something like bel.w-ni nni. IshiiHisaichiSenshfi SELECTED WORKS of ISHII HISAICHI Nin'a A:i$!{ Tekiwanw111indaro? e nemyas forhow manypeople I wonder "As for the enemy, I wonder how many men they are?" "1.wonder how manmen the enemhas."(PL2) Nin'aB:2A"t"lt?1J'?3A1J'tj:? Futaridesho ka?Sanninka na? 2peoplecouldit bethree people could it be "Could it be two men? Mabethree?"(PL3;PL2) the standard counter suffix for people is -nin. but the first two are irregu-lar:"Iperson"= hitori, and "2 people" =.futari. Nann in is the associated question word: ''how many people." daro he re is equivalent to daro ka, which after a question word asks " I wonder who/what/how/how many/etc." desha kais thePL3 form of daro ka. but since there'snot a question word inthis case it's like" Iwonder if itis- ?/isitperhaps- /could it be - ?" ka 1zaalso asks a conjectural question, " Iwonder if it is -?/is itperhaps - /could it be - ?" NinjaA:J: l ,::..rn'fl';bi~ . . . Yoshi.knnobemao .. . good/allright this/theselunches(obj.) " All right. I ' ll ta ke these lunches and . ." yoshi (or riishi) is aninterjectory form of iilyoi ("good/oka)' ''). often used when declaring thatonehas decided to, or is aboutto, do someparticular acrion. kono can be eirher "this" or "these." It' s only used as amodifi er: the sland-alone word for " this/rhese is kure. Nin'aA:.Zit''Y o Ei! (interj.) "There!" ei! is an interjection that is shouted when thrusting/swinging/striking/ throwing something at a person or thing. Enemy:h! Wa'Yaro!Koirsu!Teme! (cxclam.) guy/fel lowthis guyyou " Yikes! You jerk! You twit!You S.O.B.!"(PL I) Ninja A:3AlJ r.t.:..'tj: o San11inIJOda11a. 3peopleor moreis(colloq.) " At least three, iU!eems."(PL2) Ninja B:-r'b ,t..:l-'lt..:J./;{- "t"!;l:tj:v'J:?-r -ro Demo.wishitame11biide wa 11ai\' nokoriohitotsuni remainder(obj.)oneinto combine the remainin ic.J6-c .. . matomete .. . combine-and ieces onto one nokori is anoun form of nokoru ("[something]remains/isleft"). matomete is the -te form of matomeru ("bring/put together/combine''); hitotsu ni matomem =combine into one." Narration:-;t;\?'1}7/ ijf[Jnl+ii'L(f)t:t.-..zJi o modo,\//Obataria11-r\'17kaite11-:ushi110wbe-kata. returnObatarian-stylercvoh ingfor ea1ingmel hod put it back- this is Obatarian 's system for eating the verb modosu ("return/put backjtoits former placej") here is the end of a complete sentence modifier that began inframeI: "(shej takes one plate each of two different item'> and eats one each and combines there-mainder into one and returns I itj." Thi s complex sentence is o ne of three modifiers that ultimately modify tabe-kaw ("eating method''). -rytl i' a !>uffixfor indicating a"school/style/,ystem" of doing something, !>Oobawrian-ryt7 ="theObatarian style/,yMem'' or "Obatarian's Myle/ 'ystem." kaite11-:ushi (lit. , "revolving su,hi' ') refers toinexpensive sushiserved on plates that circle on a conveyor belt infront of the customers for their se-lection. Some shop' price all plates the same but vary the quantity on each plate depending on the expense of the toppings/ingredients; others use color-codedplates to establishhigher prices for prem;u,, Items. 110 make, kaiten-:usili into a mndifier for tabe-kata: "revolving . ushi eating method""method for eating revolvi ng Inturn.Obararian-rytl modi fie' thi' combination to give "the Obatarian-style methodfor eating revolving 'ushi." Finally the long sentence modifier. which started inframe I, modifies that whole combination: "the Obatarian method/system for eat-ing revolving sushiin whichtakes oneplate each of two different items and etc." The entire inJapanese is actually only an e laboratel y modified noun. nota grammatically complete sentence. Obatarian byfJ.t EE fJ1 -.:J (};:IHotta Katsuhiko OJ Narration::t; 7' 1)7/17) (:J;;:AAfIT/ 7J i" 7.l o ObatariannootTowafiifu-genkaosuru. obatarian's husband as forhusband & wifefight/spat (obj.) do/have Obatarian's husband fihts with his wife.(PL2) Co-worker :IT/ tJ-c'"T11' ? Fiifu-genkadesu ka? husband &wifefight/spatis it? " Didou have a fitwithour wife?"(PL3) Husband:v'-?,i:>.lfG-f11' Lv' o lya,o-hazukashii. (interj.) (hon.)-embarrassing " Yes, I'm ashamed of myself."(PL2) fiifu="husband andwife; and -genka comesfrom kenka ("fightlquarrel"), so fiifu-genka= "marital spat."and.flifu-genka (o) suru ="have afightwith one's spouse.'' iya is akind of 'warm-up" word for exclamations of either consternation or de-lightlapprovaJ, here the former. Though inmany contextsit serves as aninformal "no,"in cases likethisit can instead serve as an implicit "yes." in spite of the honorific prefix o-, o-/wzukashii implies that the speaker himself is feeling shame/embarrassment. 0Husband: t; '{' &;;v '11' /vCh 11' -::>"( J.,/....,f!11{.. . Yatchliikanwwakaueru11 daga . . . if I dois no good(quote)know(ex plan.)but/and "Iknow I shouldn' t do itancllbut..." ymchii ikan is a coll oquial contraction of yaue wa ikenai Cmust not do"), from the verb yaru ("do." informal). wakaueru is a contraction of wakalle iru ("know"), fromwakaru("come to know/understand").Tomarks what comes beforeit as the specific content of what he knows/understands. ga can mean either "but"or 'and" depending onthe context, and the humor here depends partly on thatambiguity. 0Husband:- JJt( t: i7.l C:Y:m17)-?? ichidohajimaru 10nyobonoya1su onceif/when it beginswifewho isguy/person - illrJJIL ... isshiika11wakuchi o kiko to shinaishi ... one weekat leastdoesn' t try to speakand "once we get going, my wife refuses to speak to me for at least a week" Co-worker:-f;...., t.t 1: ?! Sonna-ni?! that much "That long?"(PL2) hajimaru ="[something] begins,'' and to after a non-past verb makes an "if/when" meaning. lchido hajimarulo ="if [a fight]starts once" --+''once [a fight] starts." nyobo is aninformal word for "wife.'' yatsu is an informal/slang word for "guy/fellow/person"; 110 yatsu after aname or tirle usually has at least amildly belittl ing/derogatory feeling, and it's com-monly used when finding fault with the person. wa after anumber or quantity oftenhas themeaning of "atleast [that many/ much]." kuchi o kikO to shiMi isfrom the expression kuchi o kiku ("speak"); -o to shinai is the negative form ofthe verb ending -o 10 suru, which means "make an effort to/try to[do the action]"; the negative form often implies not only "doesn't try to [do the action]," but ''refuses to [do the action]." 8] Husband:t.!..11'G? v> ;...J!o Dakara1sui\'atchatt11da. thereforeinvoluntari lydo it:(involuntary)(explan.) "so I can't helmself."(PL2) rsui as an adverb for actions implies the action is/was done ''inadvenently/invol-untarily/without thinking: Inthis case it essenti ally reinforces the samemean-ingincluded in ya1chau. yatclwu isa contraction of yaue shimau,from yam ("do"); shimau after the -le form of averb can imply the action is done involuntarily/i n spite of oneself. Mangajin43 Obatarian by:tJiil83 tJ)-::> {) ;::IHotta Katsuhiko _g 1;\ 7 0 '9 .. "" = " ! " "" i :c a. z u:::..: " t f . ?c1iii J.>-Jrc.\iU. If. . . Nagaislrilaa/oya//okaerukatoomoeba .. . long Maydidafterfinallygo home(?)(quote) if/when think After she stays alongtime. when youthink' Is shefinally leaving?"..." after she sta_ysalong time you finally see her get UJ! to leaveand . . . nagai is literally "long stay." and nagai shi1ais the plain/abrupt past formof its verb form nagai sum, which usually implies outstaying one's welcome. Nagai shita ato =after staying a long time: omoeba is a conditional (""if/when") form of onwu ('"think"'), and to mark.sthe preceding question yallo lwem ka? ("Is she finally going home?'') as the spe-cific content of her thought. [II Narration:r v 1i>L .t !:"Jt'li1.: J., wrei11111 is.1l.o 11igomihakouisuteru I ray.1l'utogethergarbage bininlodi,card she dumps her trayin the trash along with everything else: -;-,-A".7- r- . , , $'IJ7::..- fotloo/l(lwrian. f;1'1fooduhawrian thefastfoodobatarian. Obatarian doing fast food. torei is a l..atal..anarendering of the Engli-.hword "!ray," and(lj.1uto.{iidoa l..atakana rendering of theword' fa,t food."" ni ("together !with)"") here implic' gomi to isslw 11i(""together with the tra,h"). !!OIIIi = tra,h/garbagc ...and -ba/.;oi'>fromlwko ("box": the Itto bfor euphony). in Japanese another e laborately modified noun. with three complete sen-tences at:ti nga>parallel for j(i.,uro }lido obatarimt ("thefastfood obatarian'"). "'B :-z Obatarian by:tJffl EEtJ) -:) VZ:I HottaKatsuhiko 1 z u:: CDHusband:1t:.v>t:.-n n' o Malayasaiitameippiudakeka. againvegetablest ir-fry one itemonly('?) "Is it again only the oneitem of vegetable stir-fry?" "All we have is vegetable stir-fry again?"(PL2) ippi11is a combination of ichi ("one" ) and-hill the counter suffix used to count food/menu items; the suffix changes to -ppi11in certain combinati ons. !I] Obatarian:ltl.lt!!Ltf11?r/){ Dauchinadaidolwroga hou,ing complex"'for(subj.) -ttiP/...,t_:'-IJ>G--:>-r "'' -j0)?! Konnotokorodenanigatsukurem1/eiuuo?! this kind ofplaceinialwhat (subj.)can make (quote)say(explan.) " What do you expect me to be able to make in a lace like this?!"(PL2) Sound FX:.:f- 'J Kii!(effect of screeching hysterically) Husband:J:,J:L,t ib,&:iii: L -rIt < L "(7.> -IJ't?o Yo- yoshi.jli.kaizo shitehiroku yarukara. (stammer) okaythenremodel-and will make bigger for you because "0 - OK, then I" IIremodelandmakeitbigger for you." " 0 - OKthen let's remodel soou canhave abier kitchen."(PL2) tsukureru i s the potential (''can/be able to'') form of tsukuru ("make''). lie is a colloquial equivalent of the quotative to. asking questions with the explanatory nois quite common i n colloquial speech. yoshiis aninterjectory form of the adjective iilyoi ("good/fine/okay''). kaizo ="remodelling," and kair.ii shiteis the -teform of the verb kaizo stmt (''remodel "): in this case the -te fonn indicates the means of the next men-tioned action:how it wi ll be accomplished. hiroku is the adverb form of hiroi ("roomy''), and shite i s the -Ie form of suru ("do/make"); hirnku suru = " make it roomy/roomier." yaru after the -te form of a verb implies doing the action to orfor thelistener or someone else. kara. literall y ''because/so.'' i s used here mainly to "soften" the end of the sentence. 8.] Narration:-f L "(ctitf1t: . . . SrHititekai:r!-go . .. andremodelingafter And after remodeling ... Sound FX:F / Don Thud (soundof setting heavy platter ontable) Arrow: Ya.wiitame Vegetable_sti r-fry Mangajin45 '$AmericanComlcsW/////////////////////////////// ////////////_ ca\Vitv Okd Cailin and Hobbes, 01987UniversalPre" Syndicmc. All righh rc,cf'ed. Rcprintcd/trat" lmcd hypcnni"ion olblitor' Pre" Scf\ ice. NY. OJCalvin:"I think it's time we had a new dad around here. When does your term of office exire?" 77- "t't-fl:>-t-1:>;"{;"{ *'fLt,1 Al.:fi.:t.Oclvf!.o Uchidemosorosoropapaoatarashiihironikaerubeki datoomoun da. our houseatsoondad(obj.)newpcr,ontochangeshould((jUOtc)think(cxplan.) ;"{;J-lT1t> 'NI-It.RE '{()\Jsooo-mE1'59JES. The Authoriwthe Col l'in om/ Hohhe.\ , 01990 Syndicate. All righhRcpnnted/tnm, J:ncd by permi:-.:-.ion of Pre:-.s Service. NY. [I] Calvin:"Election day is coming up, Dad. People want to know where you stand on the issues." rve,'b?-t tG1);! t.: a school week cl.l:I I t.!ltiu t.:I.i\ll lill t.. . hB/!ln ..., >t:n/rl t'('Q) s 1111\J, 0Father:"I'm against them all." tn b&:i-tt.!.tlo Doremohantaidane. any/allagainstislam(colloq.) Calvin:"Isee." -t-? 0 so. Father: that way "How's your IRA?well funded?" ; { ; {(7) (i Papa110kojin raislwkukint.wmitate kanjiJu-a sIRAa' for C:' lv l;tf..:J-XIIJid:LL::- t.: -rso is literally, "that way,"but it' s oftenused like "Isthat so?/1see" in response to an explanation or statement. '., How's = How is. IRA l.l:lndividual Retirement AccountQ)Ei'J / ftil;. f.:;/)? Jb' -J-:.:> iI) n'-t!IW.I.l: -r-c 1.- tp ct G1) Mangajin47 CAT5ARE:MORE.POPLILAR E.VE.R ITJTV Host:"Cats are more popular than ever." ;f,::rQ)Iii"ii"r.ii{-?"Cit'iTo Neko noninki1vama.wma.wagone imasu. cats'popularityas formore &moreis rising more ... than everr.: tt i.: tl. t"(' 1:"Cit'oJtlillrtQ)-tt"'l"i"! niokulle iruwairon.oseidesu! powerfulcntlobby/group (subj.)owners10is/are sendingbriberyoffaultis Garfield:"Lies! All lies!" ?'Jt.!.!k? ;t.!.! Usoda!D-usoda! lieisbig lieis payoffs ::::.kiJ:rmu/wliJrmiU*Jlobby l;t.JiH'ffi{t 48Mangajin Humorous Haiku SENRYU Special Edition: "Spam- ku" on the Net J IIh S pami sthetrademarknamef or aninexpensive cannedmeatmadefrompiecesof porkandham. with spices andpressed into a loaf shape.It remarkablefor its distinctive bright pink color. aswell as for the jelly-like sub!-.tance it packed in. Exactlywhich parts ofthepig areusedtomake Spami s a matter of muchspeculation.Popular during thefrugalwar years and into the1950s. Spamhas earned a place in American cultUJe as a kindof popicon.Evenduring this ageof nutriti onal awarene!">s.thefatt y cannedmeatstubbornl y maintains a on the grocery shel ves. Spam(;):.7'I (J)::_i1;/JL(.:L. ""(.fi {t'l \.' l!,fd.J It L. , J.. "' o- 7 M..,'ilkJ(J)rilif.:'!r,l"-tSpamli .:f:(J) 1::;.;7.... J \1.If,;+I :.L ,'C-:> tHt 1.: .__j"?-c 7'J (J)c'(J);!;ii5}(J){L -c 7.> (J)f.p!.i:. i ito.-:> -c ft'ljflnt \ 11-.tJ..: ') t..: ijiJI.II!j:l ' t.P I?19SO'.fft 1.: n'lt ""(A lj;JI)'.)t..:Spam li, ' 1.: r;J -t 1.>1 ?t..:/" n-ci. .JJITJJMJ-(J)(/) ilr .. 1.t . to.. theultimate outcornc/rc,uh: writtenwiththi' mean> ....- pro1 idinga convenient pun on t1111meaning ..can/ foodtin:Ktm1111=.. insidea coffin: the J:op;onc.,c1er,ion C\\Cntiall).. Afterha1 ingbeencontorted unnatur.olly- in'>ide a coffin." Pinktender morsel Glisteningwith salty gel Whatthe hell isit? !! /7 H Pinku hen .:'r .:'r L J:.-? \ gitogito shoppai _::_{IJJ t_: Korya nan da? Old man seeks doctor "I eat Spamdaily," he says. Angioplasty .A;-\ LSupamu niku 411:0 -c maonochi labete 125ft jm v\ isha-gayoo Highlyunnatural Thetortured shape of this"food" A small pinkcoffin Fushizen ni lv t_: * -c (/) yuganda hate no f'g (/)"I kan no naka tahl'le i' theIhO\\hm1difficult it can be to crJm the \arnemeaninginto 'o fe"Japane'c '>liable'.butthi'>one lo'e' themo'>t because angiopla,ty: '" effec1i1eon theEnglbhl'ef'>ion. 'impl) cannotbe handled compactly rnJJp;one\C:, I< 'If keUonOther web sites post Englishsenryiiontopics varying frompolitics to ).Ciencefiction. Try out these sites: http: / /www. naic . edu/-jcho/ editorial / ehp. html (editorial&politicalhaiku: also by John Cho) http://www. columbia . edu/-tg50 (a variety of haiku) http://www. crew. umic. edu/-brinck/poetry /xmas-haiku . html (Christmas-related haiku). (We' ll'endyou aMllll!-il!iin T-shirt if we publish your se111:\'IT.Send to Scnryu. Mangajin.Inc ..PO Box 77 188. Atlanta. GA 30357- 11 H8 l (or to senry u @mangaj in.com).All Japanese 'ubmi,,ion_'willbe tran,lmcd into Eng li s handvice ver"o. J3i6I),_, t..:'t..: }j 1.: IJ:A. T;., -\"'"/ bit 'o \L .i r )liJ: Scnryil.Mangaj in.Inc .. POBox 77188. A1lanta. GA30357- 11!\8 it..: IJ: Hir ;I - IV -r '>Cnryu@mang;ojin.com)t.: h'111(,([!.: .):z, J:l:fi;ll.i i!L.Itl.: J:7..> i:tKHi 11-1->:,;(t!.:id L ;t T Mangajin63 KekkonShiyoYo Bokutachi no Shippai to Seiko Let's Get Marrie Our Failures and Successes by Hoshisato Mochiru Kekkon Shiyo Yofollows the story of the employees of a Tokyo wedding hall called Ageha Bridal Garden. Wedding hal b. where both ceremonies and recepti ons take place. handle allthe details of the wedding-includingtlowers.music.decorations. andfood. Alla couple has to do is make choices. In PartOne of our selectionfromKekku11Shiyil Yo.however.Agehawedding planners Masatoshiand Sanae are stuck witha groom who just can'tseemto make a decision. :.ij! I J. \' fJ ')"""J :.< c.? !?-r After themeeti ng.Masatoshi and Sanae. whowere once engaged to each other. are ina badmood. The independent Sanae is angry because the groom didn't seem torespectthe bride s j ob: Masatoshipoints out thatit 's nother placeto cri ticize.Before longthey' re having a loudargumentinthe breakroom. Jcan' t tell whether they like each other or hate each other." snickers a passing co-worker. Masatoshi's sweet girlfriend. Shako, also works atAgeha. Hearing thefight.shefollows Masatoshito therooftop where he goes to cool down. She invites himto her place that evening tolook at the photosfroma recenttrip. Later. over a beer, Sanae share>.her opinions withKakieda.her boss. "I'm just sayingI don't liketheview of life that equates marriagewi th happiness: she explains. The divorcedKakieda (who is secretly in love withSanae) poinb out thatmany young couples fai l to anticipate the difficulties of marriedlife. They exchange a significant glance. This episode opens wi thShoko welcoming Masatoshito her apartment. Mangajin65 t o ~ t.- J:?J:KekkonShiyoYo 66Mangapn Shoko:"' C:>-:>L 't' "'o /rasshai. (greeting) "Come in."(PlA) irasshai is the abrupt commandform of thePL4 verb irassharu ("'come"); theverb is inherentlypolite, so even the abrupt formis polite.It's used to greet/welcome visitors to your home: also by shopkeepers and restaurant workers to welcome customers as they enter. [}]Masatoshi:hili; -:> ,t:1'-1?-'t' iv,71:;::l o Wii!ShiJko-chanshigeki-tekikakko. (exclam.)(name-dimin. ) appearance ''WhoaShokowhat a dress!"(PL2) Shoko:Ilt!.ir c, o Natsudakara. summer"Because it's summer."(PL2) wli is an exclamation of surprise. but it can carry afeeling ranging from great joy to dismay, so it's not immediately clear how the speaker feels. -chan is a diminutive equivalent of -sanmost typically used with the names of children. but also among close adult friends andfamily. shigeki means "stimulus" or "stimulation." and shigeki-teki means "stimulating/provocative." kakko is a colloquially shortened kakkiJ.which refers to one's extemal appearance- most commonlyhow one is dressed. Shoko:Kirai? dislike "You don' t like it?"(PL2) as in English, ininformalspeech almost any word can be rumed into a question by raising theintonation at the end. More formally her question would be kirai desu ka? (''Do you dislike it?"). Masatoshi:-J-Jlvo ~ =Kore,kawaikuursrmeruja nai. thiscutely/attractivelyis/are picturedis/are nol " Inthis one, you are pictured attractively, are younot ?" " You look cute inthis one."(PL2) Shoko:-?- t:., IJ) oIJfi,rl; ito Yada.konnano.Kao.shimobukure. disagreeable/distastefulisthis kind ofonefacelower pan swollen/plump " It's disagreeable. this one. My lower faceis swollen." "Yuck!My_cheeks look all puffy."(PL2) kawailiuis the adverb form of kcmaii ("cute/adorable"). modifying msutteru. utswteru is a contraction of utsutte iru ("is pictured''), fromutmru, which is a verb for "[an image] appears/reflects [on a TV or movie screen/in a mirror/in a photograph).'' When modified by an adverb, itmeans 'appears/reflects in the manner described." so here he's essentially saying she "looks/came out cute" in the picture. ja nai looks like ' is not."' but here it"s a colloquial 'hort formofja nai (desu) ka. "isn't it so?" This is often apurely rhetorical question. which actually makesitmore of an assertion than a question. The assertion can be mild or strong depending on the tone of voice. yii dais avariant of iya da,"is distasteful/disagreeable." one of the most common ways to express one'!> objection to somethingin colloquial speech. konna is 'this kind or and no here is like the pronoun "one'''this kind of one"-+ 'this one." Konno is often used to belittle or put down the item itmodifies. and that isthe feeling here. shimobukure literally means "swollen inthe lower part," and kcro ga shimobukure da/desu describes a face with full. rounded cheeks. 0Masatoshi: ll)!11-/J{tc:t:.J:!itktII 'Jt.i'JL-7.>{J(!) 110luigahendayo.Norondolilt'l\11111111/e m111111111. 1/me ,,jde('ubj.)'trangei' (emph. )almo'teye'arc clo,cd(cxplan. ) " I'm the one who looksweird. My eyes arc almost closed."(PL2) holw i.' an informal "'lime" usedby males. - 110luiga i'u,ed inmaking comparison,. It i'all ached 10 the greater of the two items being compared. and l1e11= "strange." >O- no hii ga henmeans" - i>>trangcr"; hac itimplies "I' m ' !ranger I inthe picwre [than you are." lwtmulo mean' "almo>t completely/alrno't all "or if modifying a n.:gative. "almost none/hardly at all." o. to markme as the object of 1.111111111tem.ha' b.:cn omiucd. a' iroften i' in t:da' an format the end of a 'cntcnce in colloquial !>peech. ShOko:-:. A-r:?f. -?-r:'1f.tf:.tJ).:tt L. .. . Fmari deutsutterushashin,roku1wnonainii.Koremoburetemshi . . . rwo persons togetherare picturedphotograph\albfacrory onenor(colloq.)rhi'one too/also Icameral has movedand " We don' t bave any decent pictures with both of us in them. This one's blurredtooand .."(PL2) the particle de often marks the amounL number. or scope of people/items involved in an action. sofutari de utsutteru means 'two people are pictured together''-with "two people" in thi s case meaning "both of us.'' Flllari de utsrment is a complete thought/sentence modifying shashin ("photogr.tph[:o.j")''photographs in which we are both pictured together." roku na =satisfactory/proper/decent."'and no is again equivalent to the pronoun 'one"-+ "a satisfactory/decentone.'' Ga, to mark this as the subject of noi ("not exist''), has been omitted. bureteru is a contraction of burete iru, from bureru, which refer\ to the camera moving as the shuuer is pushed. The form burete iru isusually applied to the look of the resulting picture-+ "is blurred." shi is a relatively emphatic "and'' for connecting two clauses: itcannot be used to connect two nouns as "A and8" (to or ya must be used for thatpurpose). Mangajin69 70Manga,in t::? j It fp ? .S[...J:?J:Kekkon ShiyoYo ---[DMasatoshl: .:itl.t.!vtJ,f-!J! -c J., Hora..{in111111nokottl'/'11. look/herefilmremain' " Look, there's some filmleft."(PL2) aformof 1111'11("take a picture") isunderstood after o. fl ora i' an interjection u'ed to call the listener ,attention to something. like "here/look/see." jinmw i\ fromthe Engli'h "film": ga. to mark thi'a' the subject of nokoueru. hasbeen omitted. i' a contraction of no/..oue iru ('"remain!Ji, left").from nokom. Mangajin73 74Mangajin t::vIt -:>;f..., t:.I.: ~ ~ 1:Iiii 08 "' l:i(.,J:?J:Kekkon Shiyi5Yo Sound FX:t::- t::- t::- t::7t:: yt:: y Piipiipiipi!pi!pi! (sound of self-timer signal approaching moment when picture will snap) Sound FX:-t Pasha Click(sound of shutter) TV Host : L t:. '?.:;- v(J) Kekkon shitararerebinoo-shigorowaintai nasaru11desu ka? when getmarriedTVof/on(hon.)-workas for will retire from(explan.-?) "Will you retire from television when you get married?"(PIA) kekkon shitara is a conditional ("if/when") form of kekkon surn ("marry/get married"). rerebi ishonened from terebijon. the full katakana rendering of the English ''television.'' intai nasaru is a PIA equivalent of intai sum ("retire [from]"). TV Guest:fH' o1/.!i(/) lj:(J)l:,*':v'l'il?lft:.o'\:"To Hai.Karegaenseinootsltigotona 110 de,uclti,,;ite agetai desu. yeshe expeditioni.r'7j:'::>7d: 1-v "t"ih !v/j: 1::1-tfi.T 1.>(J)il'l:t. iho Nandeka nii.Yamerukurainaranandeanna-niisslu'J-kenmeishigoto surunoka nii. whyI wonderquitextenti f it iswhythat muchdiligently/all outwork(explan.)I wonder "I wonder wh? If she'sjust going to up and quit, why did she work so hard the way she did?"(PL2) no tame ni = "for thebenefit/sake of." siJ isliterally "in that way/manner.''but it's often equivalent to just ''that": shitai is the "want to"form of suru ("do"), so siJ shitai =' wants to do that/it." atashi is a variation of watashi ("1/me''), used mostly by female speakers. Wa,to mark it as the topic, has been omitted. yoku is the adverb fom1of the adjecti ve iilyoi ("good/fine")"well.''Yokuwakaru ="understand well" -+ "understand just how she feels.'' Momoe-chanisYamaguchi Momoe, one of the most popular aidoru kaslw ("teen idol singers") of the1970s, who chose to completely give up her showbiz career when she got married in1980. dane is a colloquial mo, meaning "too/also.'' ja nai desu ka literally asks ''isit not?/wasit not""-but it's a rhetorical question that actuallymakes a fairly strong as-sertion. In this case it has the feeling of a reminder tag: '' remember?" nande is aninformal naze ("why"), and f -c < t!. ~ ~ oArte kudasai. meet-(request) "I'd like you to meet them."(PL3) Masatoshi:-?Iva Un. "Uh-huh."(PL2) aile is the teform of au (' 'meet''). and kudasai after the te form of a verb makes a relatively polite request. Masatosl:!!:X..? E? huh?/what? "Huh?"(PL2) Mangajin83 2 Take'emon-ke no Hitobito The Take'emon Clan byI Sat6 Take'emon l :} < : ..... kenkyii-jo ='research center (can also be kenkyii-sho). nyllslw combines the kanjifor 'enter" and "company," to refer to a person's "hiring by/joining'' a company. and -shiki means "ceremony." Nyt7sha-shiki refers to a ceremony to formally welcome the ''entering class" of new employees. tadaima means just now." and adding no makes it amodifier for the phrase shachiJ no subarashii o-kotoba (""the president's wonderful words"'). rikai dekinakattais the plain/abrupt past form of rikai dekinai ("can't un-derstand"). negative of rikai dekiru ("can understand"): dekiru replaces suru tomake thepotential ("can/be able to'') form of sum verbs. tadaima no slwcho 110subarashii okotoba orikai dekinakotta is a complete thought/sentence ("[you] couldn't understandthe president's wonderful words of just now") modifying mono ("'person"). shusslw is a noun referring to the act of ''going/coming to work." - ni oyobazu is an expression for "'[doing the action I is unnecessary/need not [do the action].'' t;. vtt Take'emon-ke no Hitobito The Take'emon Clan byI Sat6 Take'emon Title:1/v 1::: 1If ,'E UndiJ-busoku exerciseinsufficiency Out of Shape the suffix-busoku isfromfusoku ("insufficiency/shortage"). Cat :::to::to 1-' Li!lHi1rtJ.>ir? Com-gom sukoshiwtdii surukn? (lie abolll FX)in,teatl of doingalittle("!) "Shall we get alittle exerciseinstead of just lying around doing I!Qthing?"(PL2) Dog:lv-N- . uh-huh/ycah " Yeah."(PL2) goro-1/0ro shitenaide is a negative -te form of goro-xoro sum ("'lie about idly: usually athome. indcx1rs). A verb in the -1wide formfoll owed by another verb implies '"do thesecond action without/instead of doing the firstaction: undi"i is anounfor exercise," and undiJ suru isits verb form. Cat:;t; y 7- iJ>I! /;f-./iJ>t:r.? Hokkekapinponko no? hockeyorPing Pong is it perhaps? "'Hockey, or maybe Ping Pong?" " Shallwe j)laybe Ping Pong?"(PL2) Dog: '-?,:::1' 11.- 7t!.t:r. o /yo.gonijitdonn. nogolfis(colloq.) " NQ. golf."(PL2) hokke. pinpon and gorufu are from the English " hockey,"' "Ping Pong," and 'golf,"'respectively. ka between two nouns islike "or.'' kana at the end of a sentence typically asks a conjectural question, " I won-der if it is-?/Is itperhaps - /Could it be - ?" iyo is a colloquial wordfor "no"; the more formalequivalent is iie. @]Sound FX::-- 1 Pishi.' Whack(sound of golf club hitting ball) Dog:ifJ-,A71 Alt;,'1,-:> t.:. oill!': A-:>t.:. o A.suroisushichorta.Ikenihairtc1. (cxclam.)slicedid-(regret)pondintoentered "Oh noI sliced it. It went in theond."(PL2) Sound FX:;f-f' -t Poclw Splash(sound of balllandingin water) Cat:ilE!Ii:IJ/f');Et!.ir 7o;jc;;tvt!. ,;;t v o Undr)-husokudnkaranii.Tsugi.oreda.ore. exercise insufliciencyisbecause(colloq.)next1/meisUme "Because youreally don't get enough exercise.Next is me, me.'' ' 'You' re just out of shape. Next it' s my tum, my turn."(PL2) along ii as an exclamation often carries afeeling of dismay/alarm. suraisu is fromthe English ''slice." anditsverb formis suraisu suru. Suraisu shichallo is a contraction of suraisu shite shimatta, the -te form of suraisu suru plus the plain/abrupt past formof shimnu. which after the -te formof a verb often impliesthe action was undesirable/regrettable.'' lroittais theplain/abrupt pastformof hoiru ("enter").Ni marks theplace entered. nii adds colloquial e mphasis: you really are/do- ... ore is arough. masculine word for 'lime." Mangajin 85 popJapanese Teaseme,squeezeme,dialme Areyoulonely. and Doyoudreamof meetingthaiwho thinh you're too? Well. you're n01alone.There'sa placewhereyoucango10meet other!.who areinthe 'ame boa!. cal ledatelephoneclub-terekura ( 71.-7).Fromthelandthat broughtyoutheWalkmanand karaoke machines.the in palmtopsystemsthat youanoat in a world of uncheckedfantasy.And you'll bedoing whmyou do therein Whatthati sdependsonyou. overthephonelinein Japan can (andvery often do) involve restrained.tentati veconversati ons between strangers seeking pennanent Theterekura ori ginally concei ved a placewhere digits canbepronouncedgo-icfli-hacfli-sfli -go-roku.encoded forko-i-ll"a-ji -8o-ro ( .. lovei),a gigolo").The service being offereddell8011daiaruOfarto showupandidentifythemsel ves. Even if they do. shrugs my friend. nothing ever really works outwhen people connectthrough terekura. But hekeepsgoingback. Maleswhoquestions like .. lma doko ni inwsu ka! Do1111a Jukuokite imasu ka ?..( .. Whereareyounow?Whatareyou wearing?") arc cut off instantly.Any hint thatthe becominga platformforauralvoyeurismpromptly the offenderinhyperspace. surprbedme. phonesexseem!>tobeaenj oyedbybothmenandwomen.Adsforitareplastered everywhereinJapan- telephonepoles.sportserotic manga- and thetargetaudience is certainly notlimited to men."Shi8ekiteki IW deai o yakusoku ("We prom- youa stimulating encounter"). proclaims a typicaladin a .. lady'scomic"(aneroticmangaforwomen).which deliberately u!.esthe punningphonenumber 518-456.92Mangajin requeststheir messagesgenerate. Accordingtoawantadinonelady'scomicsoliciting applicant'>for thepol>itionofterelw11companion.theworker may operatein one of twomodes.dependi ng onwhether her intenti.,to initiate 11limaruse11yilISI7sfwuo( / - -:rJl.- J/.I!J..;- 31"normalpriorityor tere-etcfli w7slwuo ( 71..- .x.:1 + ../-J. ..telephone !'>exencounters"). (Tstlsltouol .. twUccessfulapplicantcan right away.wi thtoanaccountof her WilliamMarsh(IIU/r.\ltbilm'go/.com)iva freelanceH"rirerba\etl i11To/..yo.