A TASTEOFCULTURE Wagashi A culturaltradition stillalive and well
by Angela Jeffs In spring, taorl-zskurs :P.ffi.W.
hand-moldedcherryblossoms.Insummer, wakaba-kagegoldfish swimming
inatransparent j elly.Autumnisrepre-sentedbykozuenoakimQ)
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PublishedbyBABELPRESS inJapan700 [!]BABELINC.
1-3-6Nishikanda,Chiyoda-ku Tokyo101JapanTei.03-3295-2304 18MANGAJIN
TasteofCulture Everyyear,Torayastages anin-house competition to
create new wagashi.The de-signs shown here are based on the themes
i!U(Nami ="Waves," selected because this was the theme ofthe
ImperialCourtNew Year's poetryreadingceremony)andJ:.
(Jnu="Dogs,"1994beinga"year ofthe dog"under
theChineseastrologicalsys-tem; see our Feature Story, page 12).
what the present confection derives from. A kind of thick mutton
soup was introduced into Japan around thetwelfth
century,butsincethe Japaneseof thetimegenerally shunned the eating
of meat, a mix-ture of azukired beans) and
flourseemstohavebeensubsti-tuted.Thismixturelaterwent through
further transformationsto become the sweet, dense bean-gela-tin
confection of today.Yokan,as it isknowntoday,evolved during the
Tokugawa era as sugar became more widely available. Toraya holds
3,000 classic recipes, from which it produces 150 differ-entkindsof
wagashieveryyear, picked according to the season and
followinginstructionsrecorded in pictures.Amongthesweetsare
zangetsu ginger-flavored pancakes folded gently over sweet azuki
jam and evoking thewaning moon at dawn, and monaka -I;: 9=',
athickermixtureof azuki jam pressedbetweenwafersintoa
shaperesembling the fullmoon. Toraya's zangetsu are printed with
chrysanthemum blossoms, and their monaka feature the same flower,
which, as the imperial family's kamoncrest, symbolizes the
confectioner's strong connection with theim-perialhousehold. Though
Toraya's repertoire includes so many recipes accumulated over the
years, old favorites sit comfortably beside the verylatest designs.
There is a specialteam responsible for creating new wagashi to meet
seasonal and ritual demands- for 1994, for example,
theydevelopeddesignssuitablefortheYear of the Dog.Kurokawa
Mitsuhiro encourages all 760 employees of the company to come up
with ideas. Special orders, like the wagashi catfish ordered for
Prince Akishino's birthday, are handled in Akasaka. Regular
supplies of ingredients and finished wagashi come
frommodernplantsnear Gotenba,at the footof Mount Fuji,the original
shopin Kyoto, and themainfactoryin Tokyo, which started operations
in1985. Though he eats wagashi every day,Kurokawa remains slim
andfit.He claims that the ingredients of wagashi,beinghealthfuland
nutritious, guarantee this-al-though he does admit to regularly
skipping breakfast and lunch to make sure. Despite modern
technology and management methods- Kurokawa has intro-duced
maternity leave and equal pay for men andwomen-artisans stilluse
tradi-tional techniques aimed to stimulate and indulge the five
senses of taste, sight, touch, scent, and even sound, the lyrical
names given to wagashi being considered poetry to the ear. Toraya
now has 69 branches, including shops in Paris and New York. In
addi-tion to traditional wagashi recipes, Toraya is also creating
new recipes to meet local tastes at their overseas locations-thus
ensuring that wagashi will continue to evolve over the years to
come. AngelaJeffsis a free-lance writer living in Hayama, just
outside Tokyo. astrological =r!i JEJ!If(i')sensei-jutsu no evoking=
fl};m T J.,saigen suru chrysanthe- kiku accumulated= J:f/i L1:
chikuseki shitaingredients= ,fA"',ji!J- zairyo artisans =shokunin
indulge= JEJ.,manzoku saseru From 11Manga-holic" to Guru American
journalist T.R. Reid used to be one of the millions of fans who
looked forward every week to buying the manga
magazineComicMorning,primarilyto followtheadventuresof"Japan'smost
famous salaryman," Shima Kosaku. Now, inanewbookof
businessadvicefrom Kodansha,Reid stands shoulder to
shoul-derwithShimaasasenseiforJapan's economic foot soldiers.
Bathed in the glow of Japanese media scrutiny after a pair of
well-timed scoops, Reid, Tokyo bureau chief for
TheWash-ingtonPostsince1990,hasbecomethe gaijin to go to for
commentary and expli-cation ofJapan's favorite topic: itself. Reid
was the first reporter (foreign or Japanese) to fi le a story on
the engagement of Owada MasakototheCrownPrincelastyear (Although
his success, it must be said, was due more to the deference of the
Japanese media to the wishes ofthe Imperial House-hold Agency than
to investigative journal-ism on Reid's part). Then, inApril,Reid
predicted the LDP's impending loss of its
longtimemajorityinthelowerhouse of theDiet.Thesetwodaisukiipu("big
scoops")broughtReidfame,ifnotfor-tune,
asthegaijinreporterwhobeatthe Japanese. "Fact is, "Reid told
Mangajin, "l' ve been wrong a lot, too, but they don' t The Rise of
an American Journalist In Japan by David M. Rosenfeld Kachi5 Shima
Kosaku no Seiki5 Hi5teishiki ("Kacho Shima Kosaku's Formula for
Success") provides distilled wisdom from the manga series for
struggling Japanese salarymen. InPart 2, Amencan journalist Tom
Reid provides input from another point of view. notice since
!lucked out and was right on the big ones." Thankstohisinstant
celebrity,Reid has become afixture on weekendtelevi-sion discussion
shows, as well as the very popular "All-NightLive TV" (fA i v
!::",Asa Made NamaTerebi) on the TV Asahinetwork. Now Reidoffers
his two yen's worth on Japanese corporate life for volume two
ofKachi5Shima Kosaku noSeiki5Hoteishiki("KachOShima Kosaku' s
Formula for Success"), a corpo-rate guidebook for
ambitioussalarymen. The book features highli ghts from the
ad-ventures of ShimaKosaku,thestar of a manga series that has sold
13 million cop-iesintankoboncollectededitions.Reid was even more
attractive to Kodansha as a commentator since hehad confessedhis
addictionasa"mangaholic"ina1992 WashingtonPostpiece,describingthe
world of manga in general, and the Shima
Kosakuphenomenoninparticular.(An adaptation of the article was used
in Man-gajin No. 28 inthe introduction to a story from the Shima
series.) Eager to squeeze some more sales out
oftheconcept,butshortonmaterial, Kodansha enlistedReid to give his
reac-tiontotheprinciplesoflife,love,and office survival outlined in
the text of Seiki5 Hoteishiki Part 2. Thus, after each section
inthebook,featuringthemessuchas "Salary manEcology" (-IT 7
1)-/SarariimanSeitaigaku)or"Fac-tions"Habatsu),Reidweighsin
with"Tom Reid's proposals" 1)-r O)jjt: 8, "Tomu Riido no Teigen").
Inresponsetoquestionsli ke"How
areoverweightpeopleandsmokersre-gardedinAmerica?" and"How
areper-sonnel transfers handled in America?" Reid giveshis Japanese
readersfrank,breezy answers:"lln America] if a corporate
ex-ecutiveisyoung,strong,energeticand handsome, hi s company can
get that same vigorousimage.The idea istogive con-sumers the
presumption that this company will turnout good products." Or
"Japanese companies may have a system for
discuss-ingtransferswithemployeesbeforethe fact, butit seems
somehow abit forced, even militaristic ... ln an American com-pany,
they alwaysconsidertheemployee's preference, and go along withhis
wishes asmuchas possible." If these soundLikethekindof com-ments
many foreigners have probably made
ineveningdrinkingsessionswithJapa-neseacquaintances,that's
becauseReid deliveredhis"proposals"inaseriesof evening drinking
sessions withKodansha editors.PresumablyneitherReidnor
Kodanshawerelookingtobreaknew ground in the debate on Japan: he
saves his serious analysisforhis Washington Post
reporting(supplementedbylighthearted
commentaryonNationalPublicRadio). Kodansha was basically interested
in "pad-ding," said Reid. Thus,hisresponseshaverelatively little to
do with the rest of the book, which actually presents a rather
alarmist portrait of the plight of Japanese salary men in the
uncertainties of Japan's current economic condition.The
firstbookwasmostlya paean to Shima' s heroi sm in service of his
company, the fictitious giant "Hatsushiba
ElectricCorporation."Hewas portrayed distilled= !fi..fijflf:.
jiJryil.Wreta scrutiny= i. IJchiimoku addiction =chiidoku vigoroUS=
fiSJJ ffJkatSUT)XJku-teki debate= .i(i;.!fr ron.siJ =.lll!IO t
journal for a full refund. If at any time I I become dissatisfied
with the journal, I may c.mceJ and receive a full refund forthl
unexpirl'd portion of my order and ket>p the 1993 Volume. 2
Issues a year-$159.95 Order now and receive 2volumes for the price
of f! We'll send you the 1993 issues free of charge. 0Check
enclosed0Bill me (FtrsltI'J_6,1fTI'JPo IJA. ...t...:''> it t..,
"() l!fv' 0 oa mouth-breathing bagof booaers: booger li ,li
1j:'11:f::.v'E bt,t v,J: t,t, Sore,seijo-nakankakunohitonaraze-ttai
nimitaitoomowanaiyo na, thatnormalsense(=)personiffor surewant to
see(quote)not thinktype of f,t lv /)> ){\'* 0)
;pl;:f';pffL..f.:J:-)t:t.b(J)? nankakiminowaruineba-neba shitayo
namono? somethingsensation(subj.)badsticky/gooeytype ofthing
Calvin: -+ "Uh . . .I sufose that degends onj our goint of view . .
." l- E ,-t- tJ:-t- (f)A0)1i1: J: .of.!_-? ;p .. , E
to,sorewasonohitonomikatani yorudarone ...
um/wellthatas-forthatperson'sway of seeingaccording tois
surely(colloq.) u11> ,. ;,. ;,. . creepy, creepy 1: fj: r b -f.
b @.].o J c '-''-)t, f){\'*(J)b .0 '-''/:i3-f'iL..v',J ;I; tv'-) .0
/){,:::: -c"IJ:1&;g-o Gooey lJ:r;p If;p 11 L.. f.: ,J:-JTo
\,\tp}l.J(M')pI,...C:?f;ll...fl that J.,J T IJ:thing T .0 111
oright mind1'/j; f,t.:Z, "?C -J(J'tI..'C A.htJ ..s.C:<
"(1,>0'1:your point of view:A (J);j:JL.i:,b O)O)J2.1JoYouIJ:
:J..- :/-1:" lJ: f,t< ,t:t (f) tlfi-t o Susie:"Forget it. I'm
not-+()f!.olli l(f)IJ:::lvf.!_ V o Moiyada.Aterunowagomendawa.
alreadydisagreeableisguess(nom.)as-forno thanks/won't
dois(fern.colloq.) Calvin:"Youas well. You' re nine-tenths there."
-+*-c-c-clbv'v'lvt-J :iVi!ltliJ{f.:l.0J: o Atete mite moiinja
nai?Mokyllwari-gataatatte-ruyo. even if try and
guessgood/OK(explan.)isn't italreadyabout90%hitting/correct(emph.)
,. forget it = ,b-) v'v',(J):f:o h'A.J;.1(-:>-} tl.V 'iL might
as well .. .'j:fl'lbv'v'oJ )fj 'PJ -'(" 'im11. I? Jtv' -J tb
1!;-D-o 11:'1.\:(1>\,JIi'.f (1!\i)\ \t,n nine-tenths there:
there IJ::::: L..,:A- :/-(J)tjJ.!J /){b 661:ili: v'.::. t'/J>I?,
L:?A>A.. 19 ? f:>i.l#, -j--7]-(f)JL iC:-::> f.:.b (J) o-?
iIJ7Litl1J{f.: -c v' .0 :: t o The Awhoritative Calvin& Hobbes,
copyright 1990 Universal Press Syndicate. Allrights reserved.
Reprinted/translated by permission of Editors Press Service. N.Y.
MANGAJIN27 0 Fx: Peko (action of bowing thehead once) Shop Woman:
OyaIharu no shisha ga kila ne " Well, well, the herald of spring
has come, has he?"(PL2) oya is a interjection expressing mild
surprise.like "Oh!/Weli!/Huh?" kita is the pl ain/abrupt form of
kuru ("come").... ga kita ="... has come/i s here." 0Customer: as
with the robin in parts of North America, the T.wbame milai
daneappearanceoftsubame ("swallow[s)")isre-"(.Just) like a
swallow." (PL2)garded as a sign of spring. Sho_pWoman: Ha! ha!
ha!(laughing) 36M ANGA JIN Title: DaiKyiijiigo Wa:Haru no010zure
"StoryNo. 95: The Coming of Spring'' otozure. meaning arri
val/advent,''is from the verb otozureru ("visit''). GJ Sign:
Hanabishi-ya Hanabishi Narration: Slwnbunnohi gasugirutoorewa
1abe1aku-naru mono ga ant. There' s something Iget a craving for
once the first day of spring a r-rives. (PL2) Shop Curtain: Monaka
l'j:l)KusamochiWaferSweets, Rice Cake Sweets Kashi c Cluli sareru
to ... when cautioned/reprimanded When they are reprimanded.. .
When vou r eprimand them . . . Obata rian::W -=>""C
l.>:hJ:--:>, < i?lt' --::> 0 Shitteruwa
yo-!.sorekurai-! know(fern. cmph.)thatmuch "I know that much!"(PL2)
ffi- n'i?t:I:J-ttli' Jv"t'L.L111-tli!?
Kankaradasebaiindesho,daseba! ? canfromif take outis
good(explan.)right?if take out " IfItake it out of the can it will
be good, right? If I take it out?" "So I'll take it out of the can.
I'll take it out! Will that make you i!!!J!JlY-1"(PL2) chtli sareru
is thepassive form of c/zt7i suru ("caution/reprimand/correct"). To
after the plain, non-past form of a verb can give a
conditional"if/when" meaning. shitte-ru is a contraction of
shitte-int ("know"), from shim ("come to know"). the informal
panicle for emphasis, yo, soundsvery masculine after the plain form
of averb, so femalespeakers typically add the mostly feminine
panicle :h waand say ... wa yo. kurai (''about/approximately") is
often used idiomatically to downplay/mini-mize the significance of
the thing/action/amount mentioned j ust before it, so sore kurai
means "that much"in a belittling sense. her syntax isinverted.
Normal order would be sore kurai shitte-(i)nt wa yo. daseba is a
conditional "if' form of dasu ("put/take out"). ... ba ii n desho
isliterally "itis good if I (do the action), right?" but in
re-sponse toa reprimand/correction. it feelslike: "(I'm doing asyou
said.) Are you happy/satisfied now?" or "(If I do as you say,) then
you'll be happy/sat-isfied, right?" 0Narration:4-/Jt1;1: n'ill -t o
Kondowalakasamanidasu. this time/next/thenas-forupside
down(manner)put out/serve thev then serve itupside down.(PL2) kondo
isliterally "this time/occasion," but it can variouslymean
"recently," "now," "next/then,'' "soon/next time," or "sometime,''
depending on the con-text. sakasarna ="ups ide down," and adding ni
makes it an adverb (i.e., it describes themanner in which the
action is done) modifying dasu ("put out/serve"). @Houa Katsuhiko.
Allrights reserved.First published in Japan in 1990 by Take Shooo.
Tokyo.English translation rights arranged through TakeShobO.
MANGAJI N41 Furiten-kun Title: Ekisha Fortune-TeDer eki refers
tothe Chinese Yi ling (or I Ching, "The Book of Changes"; Ekikyoin
Japanese), and -sha means "person," so strictly speak-ing, ekisha
refers to a person who uses theYi ling to tell fortunes; but ekisha
is also used generically to refer to fortune-tellers of any kind.
Fortune-Teller:t:- i'o Dozo. "Please (sit down)."(PL3) Sbin2le:Eki
divination/fortune-telling Fortunes Front of Table:A;ffi
NinsoPbysiowomy dozo means "please" in the sense of urging an
action ("please do [some-thing]") or granting permission ("please
feel free to ..."),not "please give me [something]." With a short
vowel, as in the following frame,it feels more informal; repeating
it gives the feeling of urging more strongly. as with ekisha, the
word eki can refer to fortune-telling of any kind. nillSo is
generally used to refer to a person's "facial appearance/features,"
so in the context of fortune-telling it means "physiognomy
(readings)." IIJFortune-Teller:c i' c i'o Dozodozo. "Please.
please."(PL3) 0Customer: !ifrn.A.o i- -c:
Kazokuwayonin.Sanryu-gaishaoteinendeyameta familyas-for 4
persons3rd rate co.(obj.) ret. ageatquit c (J)MHii- l-r B1: J.>
o atoekino benkyooshitekonnichiniitaru. after/since
divinationofstudy(obj.)dotodaytoarrive/reach "Afamily of four.After
guittin&:a3rd-rate company at re-tirementtook up the study of
divination, and have con-tinued until today."(PL2)
!iiE!fDt!.i;fZ.IitllfJ25 8 Ryoshfisho I(
Kabu)HachimitsuShiiji-samaHeiseiichi-nenjiiichi-gatsunijiigo-nichi
receiptIjoint stock co.honeyenterprises-(hon.)(era name)
firstyeareleventh monthtwenty-fifth day Receipt I To Honey
EnterprisesInc. / November 251989 illIiE 1: 1...i1...t:. o
TadashiIl okimasa-niryoshii itashimashita. provided/forI above
notedtrulyreceived Provided I The above noted (amount) has been
dulv received.(PLA) (;{;j)r ii,'/*I ll!K!i
(Yil)ShitaukeDobokuKogyoI(Kabu)BakaKensetsu limited liability
co.subcontractor construction/engineeringindustriesjoint stock
co.fool/idiot ronstr\lctionlbuilding Subcontractor Engineedne
Industries, Ltd. / Idiot ConstructionInc. ryoshii is a noun
referring tothe act of receivingmoney, and 1ii ryiishiislto as well
as
ryoshiisho (see below) both mean "receipt." The kanji :li
sholiterally means "certificate," while !f sho means
"docu-ment."Ryoshii itashimashirais aPIA past form of ryoshii sum,
averb for "receive (money)." thefirst year of the Heisei Era -
i.e., the current emperor's reign - was1989. In Japanese dates, the
year is given before the month and date. the character ill
indicates that what follows is supplemental information (indicating
what the receipt is "for"), conditions, exceptions, etc., to
theitem that preceded it. Thisis a written form, not usually given
a "reading." kensetsuand doboku can be considered synonymsfor
"construction," but dobokutends to be used more for construction
activitiesinvolving movement of earth: site preparation, ditch
digging, levy building, etc. many of the proper names used in this
manga involve humorous word plays. 0SoundFX:;Y- 1 Poi(effect of
tossing/throwing away something) (conrmued on followmg {Jage) MAN
GAJIN4 7 -t .=.'7~ I M i t l NaniwaKin'yDdO 48MANGAJIN -t =- '7 1l
lit ili Nani waKin 'yiidlJ (continued from previous page)
Sign.:tft: Shacho-shitstt president room President's Office -
President Sound FX:::1:-- ::1:--Konkon Knockknock(sound of knock on
door) President:'A I)t.: i;Z. o Hairi-tamae. enter-(command) "Come
in."(PL2) Manager:()t...IJ1:ffrA
----------------------------------shirsuisa suffixmeaning "- room."
Thelabels on individual rooms in a Japanese office typically
include this suffix, but in America the label usually has just a
name and/or title. Here, the kanji are seen in reverse, through
thewindow on the door. hairi-ramaeisfrom hairu ("enter").-Tamae
makes a fairlystrong/authoritarian command, so its use is
restricted to the superior ina clear superior-subordi-nate
relationship.Unless you're the president of a company, do-:.o
(ohairi kudasai) is the more appro-priate form to use. Hisashiburi
niyiishii-naslrinjingaarawaremaslritayo,shaclro! for first
timeinalong t imesuperior/excellentnewcomer
(subj.)appeared(emph.)president/sir "For the first time in along
timeasuperior newcomer hasappeared, sir." "Sh:.for thefirsttime in
along time,we have atop-notch applicant."(PL3)
President:li/..,c?i.l'b?(J) li i.l'l?b -o Homoka
ne?Kiminolryokawaate ni naranaikara11e. truthis it?you
sevaluation/judgmentas-foris not reliablebecause/so(colloq.) "
Really?Your judgment isn' t reliable, so (I' mnot so sureI can
count onit)." " Really_?I'm nevertoo surea bout your
judgment."(PL2) shinjin is literally "new person." and
refersvariously to a "rookie" in sports. a "new face" on the
screen, or "fresh blood/a newcomer" inalmost any group. Here it
essentially means "applicant." arawaremashita is the PL3past form
of arawareru (''appear/show up"). ate ni naranai is the negati ve
form of ate ni 11aru, an expression meaning "is reliable/can count
on." 0Mana2er:::..;..,c:liit:,i.)tt,.,Hi"'A,o 1.'-?-tt,
lya.kondowamachigaiomahen.Mantendesse,manten!
(intcrj.)thistimeas-formistakedocs not existperfect
scoreis-(emph.)perfect score " Well this timethere ' sno
mistak_e_about it. -r J.J.t.: i o U11o-kun,tone miramae.
(name-fam.)take-and-see " Uno, obtain (a readout) and see (what it
says)." "Check him outMiss Uno."(PL2) MissUno:li"' o Hai. "Yes
sir."( PL3) (continued on following page) roue is from roru
("take/obtain"), and miramae is a strong/authoritarian command form
of miru ("see"). Again, miru after the -re form of another
verbmeans "do the action and see what happens." The president is
referring to "obtaining/checking" Haibara's credit report. The dots
overc -? -r add emphasis. and in-dicate it's a kind of internal
jargon- he doesn't have to tellher what to "take/obtain." M
ANGAJIN49 50MANGAJIN T - '7~ M i n NaniwaKin' y0di5 ~ ~ " '1010
36~-;l ,..f:-ff*3 .:L .I'( "!- 'Y~ 1} :\'-7'7 -r =- '7 NaniwaKin '
yOdo (colllinuedfrom previous page)
Manager:UShacho,mararyoshii-shosutete-manno ka?
president/siragainreceiptsis/are discarding(explan.-?) "Are you
throwing away receipts again, sir ?"(PL3-K) Sound FX:1! ')1! ')
Biribiri Rrrip(sound of paper tearing) President:iiJb/j:,"-"-"-"-o
Miina,he he he he. yes(colloq.)(sheepish laugh) " Yeah, sort of.
Hehheh hehheh."(PL2) sutete is the -le fonn of suteru
("dis-card/throw away' '), and sutete-manis Kansai dialect for
swete-imasu, the PL3 fonnof sutete-iru ("is/are throw-ing away").
mil na (or mil ne) works like a vague "Yeah, sort of/Well,
yes/You've got me there," whenforced to acknowl-edge something that
is a little embar-rassing/awkward. GManager:7 1- A- !
Soramiro.Kiminohyokawaate ni naran!
(interj.)lookyou'sjudgmentas-fornot reliable "See. what' d Itell
you? Ican't count onxourj_ud2menL"(PL2) tsumande is the -teform of
tsumamu, meaning "pinch/pick up (with one's
fingers/chopsticks/etc.)" and used idiomati-cally for
snacking/nibbling" on appetizers. Here the word is being used as
finance company slang for "take out a loan," andsince 'pinch"
canmean"steal" in English,which isn' t appropriate here,we decided
to translate the word as "to snack": tsumande-ita ("has been
snacking")= past oftsumande-int ("is snacking"). the colloquial
quotative tteexclaimed with the intonation of a question is like,
"you mean to say that ... ?" shiyiJ ga nai literally says "there is
nothing one can do (abouthim)""(he' s) hopeless/impossible." yaro
is an informal/rough word for "guy/fellow." sorais an interjection
like "There!/Look!/See!" and miro is the abrupt command form of
mint ("look/see"); sora miro feels like "See? It's just like
Isaid/What' d I tellyou?" ate ni naran is a contraction of ate ni
naranai("is unreliable/can' t count on") seen above.
@].e.ru!dent:JiltQtl' !:ft r,.li3Jl1fia:- 1&-?itfi ?'Ct.tA-
t!.-t"! Tojima-kun!Warewarewagenkinoatsukaushobainandazo!
(name-ram.)weas-formoney/cash(obj.)handlebusiness(explan.)
is/are(emph.) "Tiiiima!We are a business that handles cash!"(PL2)
-kun is a more familiar equivalent of -san ("Mr./Ms."). In a
corporate setting, superiors typically address their
subor-dinatesusing -kun. warewarewa genkin o atsuka11 is a complete
sentence ("we handle/deal inmoney/cash") modifying shobai
("business/ trade"). President: -? t:. A- .:f.l:l:lLt.:.
Juanteodashitayatsuwa,kanarazumarateodasumonna 11 da!
oncehand/arm(obj.)put/reached
outguy/fellowas-forcertainlyagainhand/arm(obj.) will put/reach
outthing(explan.)-is "Anvone who's had his hand in {that kind of
thin!.!) once is sure to reach out a2ain."(PL2) 1' -:;,.:. .:. 0.i
-r H t)iT o Ha!,kokoroete-orimasu. yesI know/am aware-(humble)
''X.es sirI'm aware of it sir."(PIA) teo dashitaisthepast formof
teo dasu, "put/reach outone's hand," whichidiomatically means
"meddlein/involve oneself in." /uante o dashita is a complete
sentence ("[he] had his hand in once") modifying yatsu
("guy/fellow"). mon is a contraction of mono ("thing"), and m0110
(na no) da after averb implies the action is
"typical/characteristic/a matter of course," or in combination with
kanarazu ("certainly") earlier in the sentence, "inevitable." See
thisissue's Basic Japanese, page 30. ha!is a crisp, formal"yes/yes
sir!"; kokoroete is the -te form of kokoroeru ("know/understand/be
aware of'), and orimasuhereis the formal PL4 (humble) form of
iru/imasu. Themanager has suddenly turned formalandhumble be-cause
he is being scolded. (comirwed 011 follmvi"8 p(se) MANGAJIN53 -t =-
'7 it 1M! ill NaniwaKin 'yiido 54MAN GAJ I N 7" =- '7Nsni
waKin'yudo (cominuedfrom previous page) @JPresident:-f-? v'-?1"
/'>;:- .Att.J.>t$l&(J)'bt-?!IWf t.: iX.! So iuyatsuoireru
tojikonomotoya!IKotowaritamae! that kind of guy/fellow(obj.)if let
in/hireaccidentofsourceisn:fuse-(command) " If we hire a2uv like
that. we' re sure to have trouble. Send him awav!"(PL2) ireru =
"tak:ellet in,"implying "tak:ellet into the company"--+ "llire."
jiko no moto ="source of accident(s)/trouble." kotowaritamae is the
authoritarian command form of kotowaru "refuse/turn down.''
Haibara:f;tt13 $t l..-"(v>J.,(1)1:-t'IJfo Shikenwadekitatojifu
shite-iruno desuga. examas-for did well(quote)be self-confident
(explan.)-isbut "I'm quite confident that I did well onthe test,
but .. ."(PL3) Manae.er:+ -?,t.!-? t::.J: o So,mantendattayo.
yesperfect scorewas(emph.) " Yes. you eot aperfect score."(PL2)
dekita is the plain/abrupt past fonn of dekiru ("can do"), so
literally it says "was able to do (the test)," but the implication
is that he was able to do well on the test. jifu means
"self-confidence/pride," andjifu shite-iru is fromjifu suru, its
verb form. the ga ("but") at the end of his sentence is enough to
imply that he wants confirmation of his feeling that he did well on
the test. He doesn't need to state the question specifically. so,
literally "(is) that way," often serves as the equivalent of yes"
for confirming the accuracy/aptness of what the other person has
said. datta is the past form of da ("is/are"). Haibara:"t' (;t
i;t.Y ;J.t!. -:Jt::.lv"t' L.J:-?iJ'? DewadokogadamedattandeshiJka?
then/in that casewhere(subj.) no good/unacceptablewas(explan.)I
wonder(?) "In that case where was no good, I wonder?" ' 'In that
case. Iwonder (if you could tell mel what was (PL3) n is a
contraction of explanatory no, indicating he seeks an explanation.
Desho k.aasks a conjectural question, "I wonder
(where/what/who/etc.) ... ?"-in this case mea_ning "Iwonder if you
could tell me where ... ?" Using the conjectural (no) desho ka to
ask for an explanation is more polite that using aplain (no) desu
ka-much like it is more polite to use anegative question to make a
request (see next frame). Haibara:li'IJ'1:11'l;tbiJ' J.,'IJf btL"'
lv(J) -? o Kimochiwawakarugaiwarehenno ya.
feelingsas-forunderstandbutcannot say(explan.) "Iunderstand
how_y_ou feel. but I cannot tell you."(PL2) (continued on following
page) MANGAJIN55 t- .::. ?~ i l l Nanl waKin'yDdlJ 56MANGA JIN 7
.::.'7 NaniwaKin'y0dl5 (comitwed from previous page) Haibara:l;r
iiM Shin 'yoKashirsuke,Jiko-reWaribiki,FudosanKashirsuke(
Kabu)TeikokuKin'yli trus!lcredilloansprivate bilVdrafldiscountsreal
es1a1eloansjoint s1ock co.empirefinance Credit Loans, Pnvate Bill
Discounts, Real Estate LoansEmP-ireFinanceInc. akirameyo is the
volitional ("let's/1 shall ") form of akirameru ("abandon/give up
on [an idea/effort]"). jiko = "personaVprivate"andre is an
abbreviation for tegara,which refers to a variety of
"bills/notes/drafts" of payment, typically with a due date sometime
in the future when the payment is to be made.Waribiki = "discount,"
referring to the practice of "selling"these bills/notes to afinance
company at a discount in order to receive immediate payment. For
more details, see our firstinstallment of this story in Mangajin
No.34. the company apparently prefers to use the old
kanjiIll!!(kuni; koku in combinations) in its formalname. Lnthe
advertisement, above, they used the simplified 00.Neither the
reading nor the meaning changes. @]Borrower: (J)mt.:ltlilc <
A-lilitl.! Hosho-ninnorokorodakewakannin shirokunnahare!
guarantor/co-signer splaceonly/a! leastas-forplease
forgive/no!require "At least my co-signer's place, please
forgive/don' t require it!" else._ but not mv
co-siJ!ner's_pJace!"(PL4-K) ManinPiaid:7*7 v!:fiJtiJlllci.-'"Cclv
Ahorare!Fuwataridashiroirenaniitaonno ya? idio!lfoolnonpaymenlfbad
billhaving pul ou!lissuedwhalare saying(explan.) "Dimwit! After
having issued abad bill, what are you saying?" " Dimwit! You
defaulted on apayment. What' re .vou talkin2 about?"(PLl ; 2-K)
dake ="just/only/alone," but dake wa followed by a negative means
"at least not ... /anytllingbut ..."Here, kannin suruin the sense
of "not require" provides the negativemeaning. From the
illustration, we assume they're about to escort the borrower to his
co-signer/guarantor's home or office to dun him for the defaulted
funds,so the borrower is basical lysaying "ask me to do anything
else, but don't takeme to my co-signer's place." He wants to avoid
any trouble for his co-signer.
ka1111in="forbearance/forgiveness/pardon"and kannin shirokunnahare
is from kannin suru, itsverb form, which means "forgive" both in
the sense of "pardoning an offense and in the sense of "not
requiring" some unpleasant/burdensome/onerous action to be done.
Here it is the latter meaning. more specifically, kannin
shirokunnahare isKansai dialect for kmmin shire o-kurenasai, the
equivalent of kannin shire kudasai,from kannin + suru ("do")+ the
relatively gentle command (-nasai) form of kure ("give [to me)fdo
for me") with an honorific o- prefix. 0-kurenasai makes afairly
polite request, so the phrase basi-cally means "please
forgive/don't require of me.''ahorare is a variation of aho
("idiotlfoollblockhead"). fuwatari can refer either to the act of
nonpayment, or to the bi!Vnote that isnothonored/paid. Fuwarari (o)
dasu, literally "put out/issue anonpayment/bad bill," is its usual
verb form-+ "to default." Here, dashiroire is a contraction of dash
ire oire, the -re form of dasu plus the-re form of oku, which after
the -te form of another verb means that action was done
before/earlier. Fuwarari dashirainthenext frame is the past tense.
iuton is a contraction of iutoru.Kansai dialect for itte-iru
("is/are saying").
Okuda:lllt.:t."'?.:.cfi,:i3lltrli'b-J?EA-t.:"'?.:.cli lv Fuwatari
dashitaroiukotowa,omaewamoshindaiukorona nya!
defauhed(quole)saylhingas-foryouas-foralreadydiedsay1hing(explan.)is
' 'The fact that vou defaulted means that vou are alreadv
dead.''(PL2-K) ManinPlaid:-f(J)1tt:1{l'l::>"t"'b'??(J)fi
(J).:.c-?.1::>! Sonohoneohosilo-ninnihirore
moraunowarozennokoroyaro! thai'sbones(obj.) guaranlor/co-signer
byhave picked up(nom.) as-for naturaVof courseofthinglmaneris
surely "It's only_ natural thatasky_our to_pick uuour bones!"(PL2)
(continued on following page) MANGA JIN63 -t - '7 1? /Ill illNani
waKi n 'y DdO 64MANGAJIN : ~.:.It (;1:\.' :t,t 7.=.'7 Nani
waKin'yiidlJ (continued from previous poge) . ... (to) iu
koto(Kansai speakers often drop the quotati ve to, as inthe
secondinstance) occurs here in two different . idiomatic
meanings:"the fact that ..."(in the topic) and "means that ..."(in
the predicate). hirote= hirotte, the-teform of hirou (''pick up").
Kansai speakers typically drop smalltsu (and/or replace it with a
longvowel) in -te forms.Morauafter a-teformmeans the speaker is
asking someone else to do theaction. . nois a "nominalizer" that
makes theprecedi ng clause into anoun, and wa makes that nounthe
topic . Man: ll\rdj i"'t.:t!ltttlf seyakara is dialect for sii da
kara, ''because it Seyakarajikansaeitadakerebazettaikaesltimasu! is
so" here implying "that's why I'm tell ing because is
sotime(emph.)if can receiveabsolutelywill return/repayyou." ''That'
swhy (I say), if youjustgive mesometimeIwiJIitadakereba is a
conditional ("if') form of absolutely it back."(PL2- K)itadaku
("receive''). Okuda: 'IJft:t A, -r:;:r- ill I')ll t' zettai
='absolute,"but here is being used as Zettaiiumonoganandef uwatari
dasu" ya? an adverb, "absolutely," modifying
absolutelysayperson(subj.)whydefaults(ex plan.-?) kaeshimasu, PL3
form of kaesu ("retum/re-" Why does apersonwho says'
absolutely'default?" pay"). " If...v.ou sav 'absolutely_, 'then whv
did vou default?" the quotative to has been omittedbefore iu. (
PL2-K) Zettai (to) iu is a complete thought/sentence (''[he]
says'absolutely'") modifying mono Man: I A-,n' ;, r:.. ;, t...c
< ;, t:t 1itt. ! l ("person"). Okuda-han,kannin shitokunnalrare!
nande is a colloquial naz.e. "why?" (name-hon.)please
forgive/forebear -Iranis Kansai dialect for -san ("Mr./Ms."). " Mr.
OkudaPlease have a (PIA-K) kannin slritokunnahare here comes across
more Okuda:711/!!as ageneralplea for mercy- "Have ahean!" Akan!-
though presumablyhis main concern issti ll no good/won't do that he
doesn't want them to bother hi s co-signer. ' 'Forget it!"(PL2)
akan is Kansai dialect for ikenai (''no good/won' t Haibara:t.L.b
A,1J '/){
do"). HarawanItogawarui11 ya. not payside(subj.)is
bad(explan.)harawan is a contraction of harawanai, nega-"Theone who
doesn ' tpay isat fault."tive form of lzarau("pay"). " It's
hisownfault for notP-aying un."(PL2-K)hii is literally
"side/direction." hereindicating the ''person" who doesn't pay.
Sound FX: :J..-';1 warui = "bad." and ... ga warui is often an
Sfi!(effectof asmooth action accompanied bylittle orexpression for"
... is at fault/isthe problem." no sound- hereofthe elevator
doorssliding open) Sign:(1*) *fjj1fiM (Kabu) TeikokuKin'yii Emoire
FinanceInc. Voice:1fi1M!JM t:t it* iml i'EI
Arerugen=arerugiihanniJookosubusshitsu= Araki Genji
allergen=allergyreaclion(obj.)raise/causesubstance=(name) Aller2en
= A substance that causes an aller2ic reaction - Araki Genii
arerugii is from the German "allergic," but is also an equivalent
for the English adjective "allergic." Arerugii hanna o okosu is a
complete thought/sentence ("[it) causes an allergic reaction")
modifying busshitsr1 ("mate-rial/substance"). besides being a
katakana rendering of "allergen," Arerug en is essentially a short
form of Araki Genji's name, formedfrom the first kanji of his
surname Ji'L,which can be read a(reru), plus the first kanji of his
given name, ibiigen. Arerugen Nakasa Yoshiro. All rights reserved.
First published in Japan in 1993 by Kodansha, Tokyo. English
translation rights arranged throughKodansha. MANGA JIN67 7v lv7'/
Arerugen 68MA NGAJIN
I -?t).rf T- I hF.I\: 7v Jv ?' / Arerugen OLI :tl.:ttl ;t
,GG(!)k,-1f:(!)611'Ne,ne,Hiromi,kiite.Jii-jiinokotoshinoura11aimitli?
say/heysay/hey(name)listen-( please) (magazine name) of/inthis
yearfordivination/horoscopesaw "Hev hev. Hiromilisten. Didy_ou see
horosco_p_e for this vear in GG?"(PL2) Hiromi: t.::bJ: o::. tl77::I
-t.::J.,(!)l.tl.:t o Mirawa yo.Korekekki5ataru110yone. saw(fern.
emph.)thisquite a bit/pretty muchhits/comes true(ex plan.) (emph.)
(colloq.) " (Yeah)I did. These ar e surorisine!v accuratearen't
thev?"(PL2) ne orne at thebeginning of a sentence is used to get
the listener'sattention, like "say/hey/look here"; doubling it up
makesit soundmore urgent. Ne at the end of a sentence assumes
agreement from the listener; with along vowel it shows astronger
assumption, and often has the effect of an exclamation, as here.
kiite is the -te form of kiku ("listen"); she is using the -ze
formtomake an informal request. uranai can refer to any means of
divination/fortune-telling, but since they ask for Araki's
astrological sign below, "horoscope'' seems appropriate here. mira
is the plain/abrupt past form of miru ("see/look at"}.ln colloquial
speech. questions often end inthe plain form, with theintonation of
a question but without the question-marker ka. kekki5,
whenmodifying a verb, means "quite a bit/pretty much." atan1
="hit," implying that the divinations "hit the truth/the mark"
-> "come true." 0OLl :f/..(1) (!)w3lf 't"7'-l- LJ.::I?v.AI-7/IOn
At.!-:>1:",'1-Yl.,'Y.Y! Warashi norakkii
karii110aokitedetoshitararesworanjiimanni11-medatte,tadayo,tada!
mylucky color(=)bluewearingdatewhen
didrestaurantIOO,OOOthpersonis(quote)free(emph.)free " WhenI went
on a date color blue, said Iwas the lOO.OOOth customer at the
restaurant and (the dinnen was free. Free!"(PL2) OL2:-f-?'5" ;t
If;fl.{>77717- "t:1f:*:l -t /:f- 175 fill. o
Si5iebawatashimorakkii kariidenenmatsujanboichiman 'enyo. that
wayif sayUmealsolucky colorwithyear's endjumbo10,000(emph.) " Now
that you mention it..._I won 10 000 in the Year' s Endj_umbo
Drawing (when I was wearine} mv luckv color."(PL2) kite is the
-teform of kiru ("don/wear"); the -te formhere makes the preceding
phrase into an adverb for deto shitara, a conditional "if/when"
form of deto suru ("have/go on a date"). -nin is the counter suffix
for people, and -me indicates places in a sequence,
"firstlsecondlthirdletc.," so jiimannin-me = " IOO,OOOthperson""
IOO,OOOthcustomer: ieba is a conditional "if' form of iu ("say"},
so sif ieba is literally "if you say that ..."-> "now that you
say that/men-tion it" or "that reminds me ..." OL3:f/..,;t, - ;'\-
1- FIJb o Wataslti,st7plideorsurisen 'enOkauawa.
Umesupermarketatchange1000was extra(fern. colloq.) "I20t 1 000
extra in chan2e at the supermarket!"(PL2) OL2: bl.tl.:t o Ataruwa
yo11e. hit/come true (fern. emph.) (colloq.) "(Thehoroscopes) r
eallv come t ruedon' t thev?"(PL2) OlA:-f 1 ,-f -?o So,so. [is]
that way[is] that way "They do. they do."(PL2) Araki::t 17,.fl.1:
-t- n>i!. 1t 1:"?JIL*lvIT)::f- 7? 1, 1:: :tJ o@P;f;:'! - "'o
Mira!?Araki-sannonekutai,kinpika.Shumiwaru- i.
saw(name-hon.)'snecktieglittery goldtastebad " Did vousee it? Mr.
Araki's necktie - e:littering._gold. Suchb ad taste!"(PL2)
Hitomi:i-tt'.: 0 - v '/7 A o611'gt. "('Jtt.JbIT)-:>lj"'C A.J!.
777o Sore nianoniseRorekkusu.Uranaishinjitelrikari-monotsukete n
dii,fufufu. andfbesidesthatfakeRolexhoroscopebelieves-andshiny
thingsis putting on/wearing (cxplan.)(fern.laugh) " And thatfake
Rolex. Hebelieves the horoscope and he's wearin 2thin2sthatshine.
(laugh)"(PL2) shinjite is the -te form of shinjiru ("believe"), and
tsukete n is a contraction of tsttkete-iru ("has put on/iswearing")
from tsukent ("put on/wear"). Araki:I'*287ti1r:ii
187t*#lchijinijiihappunKondoShokai,nijijiihapeunOiKensetsu, "
1:28,KondoTrading Compa nv: 2 :18Oi Construction (Company);"
567t7$;ffil 31li267t4!l;187t .. .
nijigoji'iroppunTakahashiDoboku,sanjinijuroppw1TamabuchiKogei,yojijiihappun
. . . "2:56Taka hashi Contractors 3:26Tamabuchi_Technoloe ies; 4:18
"(PL2) Co-worker:ii}k td.,Jit*lv oi"turn over to." kensersu and
doboku are synonymsfor "construction."but doboku tends to be used
more for constructionthat in-volves earth-moving: site preparation.
ditch digging, levy building. etc. Ar a ki:2-=>:Ef.!. o*"'(
.0,*"'( .0-t'!! A!.futatsu-damada.Kite-ru,kite-ruzo!! (interj.) two
balls/yolksishas come/is herehas come/is here(cmph.) " Hey, it's
adoublevolk!It's hereit's her e(m vluck 'iswith me)!''(PL2)
kite-(i)ruis from kuru("come"), and since it literallymeans "has
come," it also implies "is here/is with me." MANGAJIN73 7!..- Jv 7'
:..- Arerugen 74MAN GAJIN Sign:iRt!} liS ShibusawaShoten Shibusawa
Bookstore 7v Jv 7' / Arerugen
---------------------------------Araki:fi " ' .1!)/l1:L. t.: t.:
1j: "' 1j: o Uranaimobalwnishitamonj a naina.
divination/horoscopealsofooltomadethingis not(colloq.) " Horoscopes
are not to be made fool s of/ridiculed, J guess." " Horoscopes
arenothinl! to scoff at.Xguess."(PL2) shita is the plain/abrupt
past fonn of suru ("do") and ... ni suru is an expression for "make
it ... ,"so baka ni suru is literally "make (something) a
fool""ridicule (something)." 111011is a contraction of 1110110
("thing"). Balw ni shita modifies 111on{o)"ridiculed thing"''thing
to be ridiculed/scorned/sniffed at." when talking to oneself, 11a
at the end of a sentence can make a conjecture/guess. @)Sound
FX:.A/ D O.HIII Thud(sound of heavy object landing on Lheground)
Araki:'?It'""( J.>.t ? lj: ,'? lt'""(lj: lt '.t? lj: o
Tsuite-ntyo-11a,tsuite-11aiyo-11a. am luckyis likeam unluckyislike
" It's like I'm lucky, it's like I' munlucky." "(I don' tknow
whethert ofeel) luckor unlucky."(PL2) 'J '7tJ':7t (>(l)tJ't,IE!?
A- (l)11'? Solw,hikari-monogataran110ka? that way(?)shiny
things(subj.)insufficient(cxplan.-islare)(?) " Oh,Iknow. Maybe
Idon' thave enough shinythings."(PL2) tsuite-(i)ru is from tsuku
("[something] sticks/attaches to"); the word is also used as a
slang word for "lucky." Tsuite-(i)11ai is its negative form. so
lwis literally a question ("Is it so/is that right?"), but it's
also used as an exclamation ofudden realization/ understanding
("'That' s it!/Oh. right!/Oh, I know!"). taranis a colloquial form
of tarinai ("insufficient"). . . . no ka is the formused to ask for
an explanation, "is it the case that . . . ?";but when talking to
oneself it often has the feeling of a conjecture "maybe it's that
..." Narration: Kinlwkuji golden pavilion temple Kinkakuji Kinlwku
("Golden Pavilion") is one of Japan' s most famous templebuildings,
a 3-story structure, gilded al-most entirely in gold leaf. The
suffix -ji means "temple." Strictly speaking, the temple inKyototo
which the pavilion belongs is namedRokuonji,but it is popularly
referred to as Kinkakuji. FeatureStory (continued from page 14) C N
t1 1m(Techniques for ImprovingYourBusiness Forlllne) Q) 
![[Francoise Dastur] Telling Time](https://img.pdfslide.tips/doc/110x75/577cda2e1a28ab9e78a5051a/francoise-dastur-telling-time.jpg)
