Mangajin61 - TV News in Japan

Saddled with the burden of being in a relatively peaceful, law-abiding country, the Japanese j ust don't have the crime and violence that US newscasters can count on to spice up the evening report. They make up for the lack of mayhem by paying more attention to political and economic news-and depend on opinionated anchors to add the necessary spark. Japane e television boasts a ctiverse field of option; whi le cable TV, satellite broadcasting, and HDTV are still small, they are making steady inroads. There are over 19,000 private stations owned by 12 1 broadcasting companies sending out TV news and other offerings to some 125 million viewers. Of tho e viewers, 98.9 percent own color TV sets, 35 million of which are officially hooked up to the quasi-governmental network Nippon Hoso Kyokai (NHK), which broadcasts nationwide. Twenty-eight percent also have satellite broadcast receivers-the beuer to view CNN with-and about 75 percent of the population can tape TV news broadcast.-; on their VCRs (known here as VTRs) for later viewing. Foreign news programs are available by either cable or satellite in the

fonn of BBC World and CNN International. Neither, alas, is pennittcd 24-hour broadca.-;ting yet, except at major hotel and luxury apartment buildings in Tokyo, Osaka, Kobe, and Kyoto, though change is reportedly in the works now that NHK has given up on its idea for a Global News Network with an Asian perspective to rival CNN. The basic TV lineup con ist.-; of five major commercial televi ion networks, plus NHK. "Start the day with NHK" could be their slogan: NHK's is the first news broadcast in the morning (from as early as 5:00 AM on orne days), though not always the last at night. Before ending the day with a rendition of the national anthem, NHK will have brought you as many as 21 news shows (each lasting from 5- 30 minutes, scheduled back to back at peak hours) throughout the day. Like the national newspapers, Japan's TV stations have fairly distinct political personalities. There is enough diversity among the stations, however, to forestall charges of an ovemll "media bias." NHK, for example, is finnly on the side of the conservative establishment, while the

• mayhem= !Ji,)J boryoku!M!th , ik/(1 • forestall = *=1'?.\'.:jljj [;. lf?;l)>1:t)., ojige-zukaseru I(}).. i 1:t).. lrirumaseru • hefty= lf!:t.; v' omotai I ;t;' ') .:x. - 1.. (J)~)., IJoryiimuno aru • obsessive = it\'!l!l!: (J) kado no I II): ~ '? ;/)> tt t.; toritsukareta • pedestrian = ~ ~ ~ t.; ~ (J) arikitari no I ~ I) h. tt t.; arifurew • be enticed= ~!'Ji: ~ tt).. yiiwaku sareru I ~ ltJ> h. .0 hikaruu

Mangajin 55

COMPUTER CORNER

ing-lt-with-y0 u Some words of wisdom from a seasoned computer-toting traveler

by Eril< Kassebaum

M

oving is one of li fe 's most stressful experiences. Oftentimes it's the little things which are the most aggravating. Things like not having the right electrical adapter or being chastised for putting one·s tra h i n the wrong color bag have a way of accelerating that first fall down the ''W-curve·· of sojourner adjustment. When computers are introduced into the equation. it's possible to go from "honeymoon·· to "hell'' in an afternoon.

Where to Buy Yo ur Computer Whether you should buy a computer here or in Japan is a difficult question these days since computer prices in Japan are much more reasonable than they were j ust a few years ago. On lightly older systems. it"s often possible to find deals that are very altractive- provided you can use a Japanese-language operating system. Unless you need a really powerful desktop system. you should consider buying a laptop computer before going to Japan. If you buy a laptop. don't ship it-carry it with you on the plane. PCMCIA (PC card) modems range in price from $100 to $250. so buy one when you get the laptop. Many new laptops have built-in CD-ROM players. If you get a set of powered spc:lkers, you'll be able to use your laptop as a stereo. Don't skimp on RAM- if you plan to usc Windows 95 or a Macintosh sy~tcm. make sure your computer has at least 16 megabytes of RA M . The computer should h:.~ve a warranty specifically stating that your machine is eligible for worldwide service. Most computer makers will not service your equipment unless you have such a warranty. A lways check the fine print before you buy. Shipping a desktop system to Japan is an expensive and risky proposition. I f you decide to do so. keep in mind that shipping your desktop system out of Japan will cost more than a one-way ticket back to wherever you came from. For those of you who do decide to ship desktop systems to Japan. think about the possibility of making the trip "one way" (i.e., sell it in Japan).

Pho ne and Electric Lines Electrical current in the western half of Japan i almost the arne as in the US ( I 00 volts AC at 60 H z): i n the eastern half it is not ( I 00 volts AC a1 50 H z). (The US standard i II 0 volts AC at 60 Hz.) The split in current is east/west with the dividing line along 56 Mangajin

the traditional boundary between the Kanto and K ansai regions. If your computer or electrical device docs not have a uni versal power adapter and you live in the east. you will need to buy one. M acintosh computers do have univer al power adapters-all you' ll have to do is lind a wall socket. Tip: Don't forget to ground your surge suppressor. Speaking of wall sockets. you won't lind too many in your home or office. so take a pair of good multiple-outlet surge suppressors. Grounded three-prong wall sockets are nonexistent, so bring a few grounded three-prong-to-two-prong electrical adapters. By the way. most computers in Japan are not protected from electrical surges and are hooked up to stacks of plug extenders which are so overloaded that they actually radiate heat. Avoid these "electrical octopuses... Standard Arneric:ln-market analog modems work just line with Japanese phone lines. American-market ISDN modems ( l SD terminal adapters) are generally not compatible wi th Japanese ISDN lines. Many areas of Japan do not support "Tone Dial" so you might have to set your modem software to " Pulse Dial.·· Japanese phones use standard RJ-1 1 jack . so you won' t need any special adapters.

Advice for Road W arriors • If you' re on the road in Japan and need to go online. look for a gray l SD pay phone. They have modern jacks for both standard analog and ISDN lines. Use the analog port. • If you're at an office or school and need to get onl ine. look for the office fax machi ne. In general. most fax machines in Japan use regular analog phone lines. • Beware of phones that are connected to switchboards: digital phone lines can kill your modem and computer. L ook for the fax machine and usc its line.

Choosing an Ope rating System For those who need to work in both English and Japanese. the consensus of opinion is that the Macintosh operating system (OS) offers the best multilingual support. If you buy a Macintosh and wish to process Japanese text. you can either install KanjiTalk (the Japanese version of the Macintosh OS) on your computer or you can install Apple's Japanese Language Kit (JL K). Maintaining a multiple-language system on a W I TEL

computer is more complicated. I f you have an English version o f Windows 3.1/95. you can buy kits which provide some of the functionality of JLK. The integration is not as tight. and reliability w ith respect to the use of Japanese-language Windows applications is spotty at best. The si tuation would be very different if Microso ft had decided to enable support for the processing of double-byte scripts such as Japanese. If you want to stick wi th a WINTEL -type platform and are comfortable using a Japanese OS. then m y advice is to buy the Japanese version of Windows 95. Ironically, English-language Windows 95 software programs run well on the Japanese version o f Windows 95. Consider these three points if you are goi ng to install a Japanese OS on your computer: I. Macintosh computers are the same wherever you go-aside from the keyboard. the primary difference between a Japanese-market M acintosh and an American-market M acintosh is the OS. You can convert a Japanese Maci ntosh into an English-language M acintosh by simply installing the English version of the M ac OS. 2. WINT EL hardware in Japan can be very different from that found at home. At present you need to be aware of the fact that Japanese-market NEC machines usc a proprietary version of Windows. and that if you are going to install a Japane eversion of Windows 3. 1 or Windows 95 on a computer you've brought from America, you'll need to make sure that you buy the version designed for IBM PC/ AT computers. 3. Before you switch operating systems. decide whether or not you want to have a dual-boot system.

0

Wi th a dual -boot system you create two separate operating systems and choose which you want to run during startup. On a Mucintosh this i s relatively easy to accomplish. On WINTEL systems your best bet is to purchase a program called System Commander (http://www.v-com.com). System Commander lets WINTEL users decide at startup which OS they want to use.

Printers and Pe riphe rals Printer and peripheral support for bilingual computers can be a nightmare if you don' t have a M acintosh. On the W INTEL side. most printer and peripheral problems relate to the availability of software driver which work in mixed-language environments. It is not reasonable to expect that a Japanese-market printer will work reliabl y with a WINTEL computer runnin g an English version of Windows 3. 1/95. I f you are running the Japanese version of Windows 3.1/95 then you should probably buy your printer in Japan. People do manage to make these things work, but it's rarely ·'plug and play." Peripher als (printers, scanners, monitors, etc.) are available in Japan at prices which are fairl y competitive with those in the United States. Remember. before you go out and buy this type of equipment. you should think about what you will do with it when it's time for you to leave Japan.

Choosing an Internet Se rvice Provider Internet Maga::ine i s one of the better Japanese Internet magazines available. This magazine is worth buying even if you have difficulty reading Japanese. If you are unsure as to where to ( comintted on page 40)

~""' to Exchange LeHers with Japanese Friends? 0

ALC Press is looking for people of all nationalities who woulcll•e to exchange letten(in English)with Japanese. In Japan there are lots of people, ~ ·'·--~.~wo-e-......... young ancl olcl, who want to correspond with overseas friencls. ALe eon~~!~

2· 54-12 Eifuku. Suginemi-ku Tokyo 168 Japan

Tokyo-based publisher, ALC help of the information you have preferred that you write in EngPress, Inc. have launched the provided. The Japanese pen- lish, but Japanese is acceptable ALC Correspondence Club - a pals will then write to you. It is as well. penpal introduction service - in order to promote international ALC Correspondence Club : exchange and friendship among individuals in Japan and other Registration Form :I countries. If you are interested I in participating in this exciting NaiM: Sex: OMalo/ OFHIIIIe program, please complete this form and mail it to our headquarters in Tokyo. You will become a member of Postal Code: Counlitl the ALC Correspondence Club upon our receipt of your regisMarital Status: OMarried/ OSingle Age: tration form. Registration is free, and valid for six months. Occupation: Nationality: During the six-month registration period, we will match you Hobbles/ lntorosts:

·----------------------------------~-·

with Japanese penpals with the

-------------~~- --------------------We're waiting to hear from you!

vocabulary summary From Kaji R y_iisuke no Gi, ~- 17 tSlli-ni tsutomeru osaraba suru kima((e iru fHi~ koenkai 21C$ honbu IW#X kaisan tsugi-tsugi to ~~7~-t sugata o kesu iJR~ habatsu JJJ~ ugoki :i:>-t-1?< osoraku Ufjl,;, nigiru u- J:.-::> Lt.: t_, hyotto shitara 9£ ;;;j hatsugen J-.-'FTJ.> nyiishu suru ~2~ kisha 3? t.: I) atari ~:!JDi"J.> sanka suru it ~·l±l-r kogidasu ~ minato ~5t to bun ~~I) miokuri it IF renchii ~~ tasii plfQ mochiron -L,I'ic shinpai ~5t yabun JfH!f: yifken tsukiai -::>~3?"' }JIJhl.> waka reru j!f± kyodo !:l:.tr umu ~,IE issoku senkyo T-f~ f urin ~lf/189'i" chim ei-teki 1za yoso ~* 1iiJ$ nanitozo naisho de 1*1*~-rfJV;~. Janomi ~r saishi .::'"#~-r--r go-zonji desu tJJiit baai [5j~CT) doto no ~ tsum.i 15-lf7,;, tsugeru :t31iv' o-tagai ~q.* shorai tl:\'"(*7,;, detekuru J¥,qf-r 7,;, biko suru .ilU'i!Af4 sanfujin-ka ;JvtlJ-'F kogitte ~~ffl hiyo if.P;>j:? makana u 1383 jiy ii ;fti~IJ kenri ~J., saguru

-::> "' 1: ltMJJ.> ;;t-fj-7;\"tJ.> i*i-::>'t"v'l.>

*4c

c

m"l>.

:iR*

at long last/finally wo rk [as an employee] say goodbye has been decided/set electio n committee headquarters dissolution one after another disappear faction movements pro bably grasp/ ho ld (v.) may possibly be statement obtain re porter approximate time participate row out ha rbor/port quite a while send/see off [on a trip] group o f people large number of course worry/concern late at night item/matter of bus iness relationship part/separate/break up (v.) home town/district produce/give birth to talented pe rson/prodigy election adultery fatal/mortal e leme nt please/kindly in secrecy request (11.) wife & child know situation equal guilt tell/ inform each other future e me rge/come out follow/tail obstetrics de pt./c linic [bank] check costs (n.) pay/finance (v.) freedom right/authority probe/investigate

From Manga Shorts, ~- 38 :L7J/

rJJi% .z J.> 1l!ti" 7,;, 5\:;{t CT) ~

iffi

~IF ~~ ~W -t-7::>-t-7::> ITIJ~

7k!R

eakon machigaeru zangyo suru sendai no rei mago tochii engi nozoku y ureru sorosoro kiken mizumushi

air conditioning err/make a mjstake work late previous generation spirit/ghost grandchild middle luck leave out/omit rock/sway soon/by and by dangerous athlete's foot

From Akuma no Shushi, ~1ft

a kuma ~ 71< kin fili(J.> yaburu ~J.,~~ osoru-beki ~Jff. saiyaku w7J:Ilt1lt okuman choja 5f:/J:li:i" J.> kansei suru i ~L< masashiku ~,f!!CT) kyiikyoku no :t.7 !:::" kabi Jt!'ic-t J.> shihai suru j!-fg meishin ue ~ilf1lt gizensha ;n{z;.:r idensh.i ±tf( dojo n~;¥4 h.iryo ntF-1-tJ.> seiiku suru ;J, 3( komugi L f.p '-> shikamo ;til[~ shokubutsu *!IJ"jj saikin ~5t yobun 1"}!:1:.-tJ.> saisei suru ;R;:Jtensai WF~~ sosho ff-~ jidan lililJ'G sai-yiisen ubau ®:? Am hitogara l~fh tran,lation nght' arranged through Kodan>ha.

Mangajin 17

!Jn ;t; ili 11" (J) ~~~

18 Mangajin

•

Kaji Ryusuke no Gi

~: 11--~

Gaimu-sM

MiDistry of Foreign Alrairs • -shii is a suffix used in tbe names of government ministries; gaimu = " foreign/external affairs,'' so Gaimu-sM = "Ministry of Foreign Affairs" (equivalent to the US State Department).

Sign : ~;f.~ Kissa-shitsu

Tea Room • kissa refers to the drinking of tea, and -shitsu is a suffi x meaning '·room": kissa-shitsu =''tea room/coffee shop."

Omori: -f-) SO

iJ'o "?lt'l:

11fli)f.;

iJ'o

lea. Tsui-ni yameUJ ka.

tbat way (?)

finally

quit

(?)

"Is that so? You finally did quit, did you?" "Abaa. so you ftnally took the plunge." (PL2) • sii ka is used to acknowledge that one has heard and understood what the other person has said, like " Is that so?/1 ~ Abaa." • tsui-ni ="at long last/finally," implying " after much effort/many hardships," or "after much anticipation/waiting." • )VJIMUl is tbe plain/abrupt past form of yameru ("stop/quit"), which when written with this kanji specifically means "quit wort/resign from office."

Kaji: -)!v, Urz,

ats

"'-::>LJ::''v'

kirziJ

ippai

"t' de

uh-huh yesterday full/end of day (scope)

I61f:

f}J¥'>t.:.

;tL~~Rii:

t

jfirokurzerz tsutometa Maruko Bussan to 16 yrs

worked

(co. name)

;;f-lj-7;-{l.J.:.o osaraba shita.

with paned/said goodbye

"Uh-huh. As of the end of the day yesterday, I said goodbye to Maruko Products, where l worked for 16 years." ''Ub-huh. Yesterday m arked the end o f 16 ears a t Maruko." (PL2) • ippai (daldesu) means " is full." but - ippai de after a time word referring to a day/week/month/year makes an expression for "as of the end of [the specified day/weeklmonlhlyear]." De often marks a n amoun! or scope; in this use it in effect marks the specified '·full day/week/month/year'' as the scope in time. • rswomera is the plain/abrupt past form of the verb tswomeru, whjch means "work [as an employee]";jtlrokunen tsutometa is a complete thought/sentence("! I) worked [there) 16 years") modifying MarukiJ Bussarz ("Maruko Products"). • osaraba shira is the plain/abrupt past form of osaraba suru, which means "say goodbye (to)" or "part/break off relations (with)."

Mangajin 19

Q_Q

I

' ...

20 Mangajin

JIHI:!. .Q

Kuracbi:

rr -r.::. :h.A-o wa modotte koren.

tomorrow from wi ll go quite a while at least

can ' t retum

"Tomorrow. I won ' t be able to return to Tok o for uite a while." (PL2) • shibaraku refers to an indefinite period of time. rang ing from ··a moment" to ·•a while/a long time," depending o n the context. Wa after a word indicating an amount usually carries the e mphatic meaning o f ·'at least [that amount)"; with shibaraku it gives the feeling of ··quite a while." • modoue is the -te form of modoru ("return"; "co me/go back" ), and koren is a contraction of korenai ("can' t come"), the negative form of koreru. which is wide ly used as the potential ("can/be able to") form of kuru ("come"; tlle more proper potential form is korareru). Using a forn1 of kuru after modotte clarifies that he means ·'come bac k" instead of "go back" -in this case meaning "come back here to Tokyo." (, ~'

B:;f;:.

~ tame

(J)

Kaji Ryt7suke-san wa kore kara Nihon no (name-hon.)

as for this

from

Japan

1: fiJJ~t>"'(~ t;,;b/j:(Jtl!!lj: ~ 1-ltlvo ni hataraite morawanakereba narimasen.

's sake/good for

must have him work

"As for Kaji Ryusuke, from now on we must have him work for the good of Japan." ''From this time forward, we need Kaji Ryiisuke to dedicate himself to serving his countrY-' (PL3) f:itiJ~

~±

(J)

~1vt..:

:i!JE

~-to

Waga

kyodo

no

unda

issoku

desu.

our

hometown/district (subj.) produced talented person/prodigy is

" He is an exceptional talent produced by our home district." "He is a man without eer in our district." (PL3) .:: n iJ' t:. ~$ 1: -? -? -c Ill¢ Ara1 1: c-? -c lf'i~ (J) ffi-=F Kore kara sen/..-yo ni

this

utte den.t

ningen ni tofte

from election in take offensive person

3&~1¥Jij:

chimei-teki na fatal/mona!

71-T :A

~~

mainasu

yoso

for

furin no aite

iJt "' ¢ ga

iru

c "'-? .:: c

to

iu

koto

1:1. wa

adultery of panner (subj.) exists (quote) say thing/fact as for

l'To d~su.

minus/negative element

as

"For a man who is about to take the offensive in an election, the fact that he has a mistress is a potentially fatal element." "For a ma n who is about to make his olitical debut havin a mistress could be a lethal handica ." (PL3)

Yamamoto: fJIJ.$ Nanitozo

-t-(J)ill

~

sonohen

o

biJ'-? "'( T ~ " ' o wakatte kudasai.

please/kindly that area/circumstance (obj.) understand

please

"Please understand the gravity of the situation." (PL3-4) • kore kara is literally "from this,'· meaning "from this time forward/starting now"; in some contexts kore kara plus a verb becomes an expression for "be about to do the action" (literally, "will/is going to do the action from this time"). • no tame ni often means "for the purpose of," but here it means "for the good/benefit of." • hataraite is the -te form of the verb hataraku ("work/labor"), and morawanakereba narimasen is the PL3 form of morawanakereba naranai, a "must/have to" form of morau ("receive"); a form of morau after the -te form of another verb implies having someone e lse do the action. • waga comes from the classical wa ("lime") + ga (equivalent to modem no), which makes it essentially the same as watashi no ("my'"). But waga can be either singular or plural, "my" or "our." It has a somewhat "literary"/formal feeling. • kyodo refers to one's " native place" or "hometown/district/prefecture." • undo is the plain/abrupt past form of umu ("bear/give birth to/produce"); waga kyodo no unda is a complete thought/ sentence ("our native district bore [him]") modifying issoku ("talented person"). In a modifying sentence, the subject is often marked wit.h no instead of ga. • ut/e deru ="stand forward/take the offensive"; it's used to mean "make one's debut" in a particular world (political/ literary/academic/etc.) as well as to speak of entering a particular political race-here both meanings apply. Kore kora senkyo ni 1ttte dent is a complete thought/sentence ("[hel is about to make his political debut/run in an election") modifying ningen ("person"). • furin literally means "immorality," and one of its most common uses is to speak of adulterous affairs. • aite basically means "counterpart" (generally for animate things only) and can be used to refer to persons ranging from a "companion/mate/partner'· to a "rival/opponent/enemy";furin no aite ="partner in adultery," or from a male perspective, "mistress." • - to iu koto wa after a complete embedded sentence is like "as for the fact that - , [it is ...]" __,. "the fact that - is ..."; the embedded sentence here isforin no aite go iru ("[he] has a mistress")__,. "the fact that he has a mistress is ... " • mainasu is from the English '"minus"; mainasu yoso = "minus element/negative element"--+ "drawback/disadvantage/ handicap." • nanitozo by itself can be equivalent to " please," but, like dozo, when it's combined with the polite request form, -te kudasai ("please [do the action]"), it serves merely as emphasis. • sonohen is litera lly "that area.'· often referring to the geographical area near some specific point: "the vicinity." But here it is being used more abstractly, to refer to "that circumstance." • wakatte is the -te form of wakaru ("come to understand"), and kudasai makes a polite request: wakatte kudasai = " please understand."

Mangajin 31

hll ;i; IIi 1l' (J) m • Kaji Ryusuke no

.: L-

; 'b•

';t

i"L-

~

L-

"( .0 "' .. fp

.0

fJ• ~

"'II

32 Mangajin

!MINI*-f ;;.,.i*Att 1: (J) 1:

;t <

f,t

1*1 0

{,~fJ.."t:'t) j) A, '/J{

fJ• "(

L-

"'

:

T !

G ::..._i_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

:1:' ~

fJ..

IT]

lcbinoseki:

-c: b ,

~ . ..

Denw, watashi .. .

''But I . .."

0

Yamamoto: -t"h l;;l: in)dJ iTo Sore wa wakarimasu.

2$:-A

1: P'JW"t:

Hom1in

ni naisho de

that as for understand the person himself to

fl4Jf*O) ;>j: "'

unrelated

tanomi

< J.>

kuru

(subj.) request (purpose) come

Ume

c'-?

;>j:!v"l

in secrecy

~= ni

iiJJ.

;fl. fJf kankei no nai watashi ga

• kankei no nai is a complete thought/sentence ("'has no relationship/connection") modifying watashi ("Vme") --+ kankei no nai watashi ="I who am an outsider/a third party." • tanomi is the noun fonn of ranomu ("request"), and ni marks it as the purpose of kum ("come"): tanomi ni kuru = "come to ask/request." • nanre can be considered a colloquial equivalent of nado, or of an entire phrase like nado to iu korolmono wa (literally. "a thing/place/person/action that is something like - ··). It's often used to imply the preceding is ""ridiculous/inappropriate/unthj nkable." • do - re mo, with a verb filling in the bla nk, makes the expression, "no matter how [one does the action]." Kangaete is the -te fonn of kangaeru ("think about"), so do kangaete mo ="no matter how one thinks about it/looks at it." • shika nai after a verb implies that doing that action is the only optio n: " have no choice but to/must (do the action)."

~X.

-rt

H1H... v'o

nallte do kangaete mo okashii. a thing like how even if think is Strange

''I know. No matter how you look at i it's odd for a stran er like me to come to ou in secret and ask a thing like this." (PL2)

.:.-? To

Yamamoto: l-fJ'l-, Shikashi, but

kO

l-fJ' ;>j:v' !!

suru shika nail

this way

do

must

''But I had no other choice!" (PL2)

@]

Yuaamoto: il:l./'~: Tashilea-ni

.:. n l;;l:

B= A

(J)

lwre wa

o-futari

no nwndai desu.

r..,ll

"t'To

certainly/IISSIUedly this as for (hon.)-2 persons 's problem

is

"'t's true tbat tbls is a matter for tbe two of you." (PL3-4) l,fJ> \...., ~ f.t f~(J) 1i 1: b fi!J b ~fJt f.t v' fJ' C ~ X. f! of oJ "t' {> ;>j: v' 0 Shilcashi, anoia no ho ni mo nani nw hi ga nai lea but

to

ieba

so denw nai.

side on also there's II()( any fault (?) (qu01e) if say/ask not necessarily so

your

"But if one asks whether there is not any fault on your side, it's not necessarily so." "But you're not necessarily wltbout fault, eitbe!!'' (PL3) • tashilea ni - da/desu means "It is certainly/assuredly _ .. or " it is true/indeed the case that -." • futari ="two persons/a couple'"; he uses the honorific pre(ix o- because his listener is one of the two people he ' s referring to, so o-futari is effectively like saying "you two/the two of you." • nani nw followed by a negative means " not anything"; nani mo nai = "there is not anything/there is nothing." When one wishes to be more specific about what there is nothing of, the specific word is inserted in the middle: uani mo hi ga noi = "there is not any fault/error/blame." • anaiiJ no hO ni nw nani mo hi ga nai lea is a complete embedded question, " is there no fault on your side, too?" • ieba is a conditional ("if/when") form of iu ("say," but here meaning "ask''); to marks what is asked: " if you ask 'Is there no fault on your side?"'"

8J Yamamoto:

:IJOi5 ~ lv 1: li

~.:r

7Jr

~ oo

.7r: (J)

.:.

c

~

.::rHo-r:-t

J:

ho

Kaji-san

saishi

ga

aru.

Sono

koto

o

go-wnj i de.w

yo

ne.

ni wa

(name-hon.) to as for wife&child (subj.) exists/has

that thing/fact (obj.) (hon.)·know (cmph.) (colloq.)

"Mr. Kaj! has a wife and child. I believe ou' re a ware of that." (PL4) • normally, iru is used to speak of the existence/presence of people or other animate beings. but sometimes aru is used with kinship tenns. • go-zonji daldesu is a PL4 honorific equivalent of shitte iru ("know").

0 0

lcbinoseki:

• e is a less fonnal ·'yes'' than hai, but it' s still

X. X. . . .

E . .. ''Yes ••." (PL3)

Yamamoto: " '"' li

quite polite.

"t:Ti.P?! 'l'fffi desu ka? Furin

good/O K ? ~ ~...,

is it?

-r "' J.>

tsukiatle iru

...,-r: tte

*l!t

(J)

l;;l:

ffi"F

(J)

1J 1:

110

wa

aite

110

ho ni katei

1Jf

~o

(J)

~

~ ..., "(

ga

ant

no

o

shiue

adultery (quote) (nom.) as for partne r of side on family (subj.)

tli*

!;;l:

baai

wa sono

-f(J)

2$:-A honnin

1.: b

lliJ~(J)

$

cxist~as

1Jr ~ o

ni mo dora no rsumi ga

carrying on relationship situation as for that person herself in also

equal

(nom.) (obj.) know-and

aru

(J)"t:T

J:!

desu

yo!

110

guilt (subj.) exists (ex plan.) (emph.)

" You see if ou carr on an adulterous affair knowing that your partner is married, you yourself bear e ual uilt." (PL3) • ii desu ka is literally the question " is it good/OK?," but it's sometimes used idiomatically when beginning an explanation

(like " You see, ...") or an admonition (like "are you listening to me?'" or "now listen here' "). • rte here is a colloquial equivalent of to itt; -to iu no wa after a noun is literally ··as for what is called - ."'which is often j ust a fancy way of marking the topic ("as for - "). • no is a nominalizer that makes a complete thought/sentence, aire no ho ni katei ga aru ("the partner has a family") act as a single noun. 0 then marks that noun as the object o f shiue. • shitte is the -te form of shiru ("know"); the -te form is be ing used to indicate the manner o f the next mentioned actio n, tsukiatte iru ("is carrying on a relatio nship," from tsukiau, "socialize/have a re lationship with")~ "carry on a relationship knowing [the partner has a family)." (continued on next page)

Mangajin 33

.IJD 1-8 l!lfl' (J)

"'f

*

--

~.1)

'-

• · (J)

?f;t

"'( t:.

._

~

1:

1:

Jj\

\ ' t:t 1? 1l "'(

• Kaji Ryiisuke no Gi

~ .f ~·

~ fp tt (J) "?

~lt

li.

.m

iri

~

t:. t>

t;>

l L .if. If .1) 0

~

1:

34 Mangajin

t)

!

-t

~ (continued from previous page)

• from aite no to tsukiatte iru is a a complete thought/sentence ("[the person] is carrying on a relationship knowing that her partner has a family") modifying baai ("situation"). Wathen marks baai as a topic ("as for -"}-in this case a second topic that serves to narrow down the main topic: "[As for adultery], as for in a situation where the person is carrying on ... [that person, too, has equal guilt]."

12]

Yamamoto: 4- ~; it!. 11< ~"'o ~t.tt.:.Q) /ma nora mada osokunoi. now if it is still

D

Anota no kuchi

not too late

your

iJ'; 1JomttA- 1: ~Utt

~

i!i'lf"C "fttv'!!

kara Kaji-san ni wakare

o

tsugete kudasai!!

moutMips from (name-boo.) to separation (obj .) teiVmfonn

please

''H you do it now. it's not too late. Please let Mr. Kaii hear from your own Ups that you want to break UP with him." (PL3) -ttt tJf .i31iv' Q) ~* 1:c-::>"Cb "'"' .:c t.tA-"t''t tJ•; ! Sore ga

o-klgai

no shOrai ni totte ma

that (subj.) (bon.)-each other 's future

for

ii

koto no n desu kara!

jjoodlbest thing (is-explan.) because

"Because that is what is best for each other's future, too." ''That's what's best for both of you in the long run." (PL3)

-

• osokunoi is the negative form of osoi ("late," or "too late"). • wakare is the noun form o f wakareru ("[something] divides/parts/separates"); tsugete is the -te fonn of tsugeru ("tell/ inform/announce"), and kudasai makes it a polite request, so wakare o tsugete kudasai = "please announce your parting"-. "please say goodbye," or in this case, ' 'please tell [him] you want to break up." • - ni totte = "for - ;• and - ni lotte mo = "for - , too." • ii ="good/fine," but ii koto here implies not only " a good thing" but "the best thing."

4- t.t; illd:'

"?"'

o

tsui

emerged/came out

you

omotte,

apiito

no mae de anata o

with will meet (quote) thinking apartment in front of

cmata no a to

Q)

c .1!;1.-::>"C 71'\- 1- Q)liiJ't" ~t.tt::. >d:' to

f.}:-::>"Cit'"C, matte ite,

you (obj.)was waiting for-and

Jf€:~T

L. "C L. ;b> '£ L. f::. o bikiJ shite shimaimashita.

of after (obj.) carelessly followed/tailed-(undesirable)

"I must be2 vour pardon but I was waitin2 for vou in front of vour apartment intendin2 to speak with you, and when you came out I instinctively followed you." (PL3) • shitsurei is a noun for "rudeness," so shitsurei desu ga is literally "it is a rudeness, but ..."The expression is essentially an apology for having done, or being about to do, something rude: "excuse me, but ..." • aiJ is the the volitional ("let's/l shall") form of au ("meet"), and omotte is the -te form of omou ("think"); a volitional form followed by to omou expresses intent, so aiJ to omotte ="I intended to meet/I planned to meet [y u], and ... " The -te form is being used to indicate the purpose of the next mentioned action, matte ite. • matte ite is the -te form of matte iru ("am/is/are waiting"), from matsu ("wait"). This -te form merely indicates that the preceding took place before the following . • dete kita ("came out") modifies anata ("you") --+ "you who came out"; no makes this a modifier for ato ("after/behind"). • tsui implies doing an action "carelessly/without really thinking/automatically/instinctively"; he's trying to imply that he found out about her physical condition by accident. • bikiJ shire is the -te form of bikiJ suru ("follow/tail"), and shimaimashita is the PL3 past form of shimau, which after the -te form of a verb often implies the action was undesirable/inappropriate: dete kita anata no ato o tsui bikiJ shite shimaimashita = "I instinctively followed after you who came out."

[!)

Yamamoto: ~t.tt::. Anota you

Q)

:fi'tJ>ttf.:. ilffl' li

~ ..A#o

no

ikareta basho wa

sanfujin-ka.

(subj .)

went

111!-tt A-

Q)

Ryiisuke-san no

place as for obstetrics deptlclinic (name-bon.)

.i3T-tt Aokosan

"t'T Q.? desu

's (hoo.)-child-(bon.) is

ne? (colloq.)

"The place you went was an obstetrics clinic. It' s Mr. K!Ui' s chUd, isn' t it?'' (PLA) ~: -EB

- da

~F.;!

San'in

(name) obstetrics clinic

- da Obstetrics • ikareta is the past form of ikareru, a PL4 honorific equivalent of iku ("go"); anata no ikareta is a complete thought/ sentence ("you went [there]") modifying basho ('•place") __."the place you went." (continued on next page) Mangajin 35

bO Iii l!i: 11' fJ)

36 Mangajin

Ul •

Kaji Ryusuke no Gi

(continuedfrom previ011S page)

8]

Yamamoto:.:..: I: 'J'IjJ=f. -!Jf ~~~To ~ /jf.:. 1: ~L ~ Ifo Kolw ni kogiue ga here

at

arimasu.

Anata ni

check (subj.) exists/have

you

to

g1ve

1: f;'f-?"'(~~Lf.:. o

1$

sash~geru

tame ni motte kimashita. purpose fo r

brought

"I have a check here. I brought it to give to you." (PL3-4) • sashiageru is a PL4 honorific equivalent of agertr ("give [to you]"). • anata ni sashiageru is a complete thought/sentence ("[I] will give [it] to you") modifying tame ("purpose"); anata ni sashiageru tame ni ="for the purpose of giving it to you." • motte is the -te form of motsu ("hold/carry") and kimashita is the PL3 past form of kuru ("come"), so motte kimashita = "carried and came" -+ "brought." ~•

.:n -e

Wffl, -tq)-ftl! 11

q)

~il'~-?-rr~"'o

Shochi

no hiyo, sonoto wa lwre de ntllkanatte kudasai. dispolitioo of costs etc. as for tiUs with pay/finance please

"Please use it to cover the costs of disposibon and such." "PieMe ~~~elt to take care of ' tblnp.."' (PL3) ~= ~.~,~=F

ill!.•

fllfi

:tli!i

(partly bidden) Kogitte GinlcO 1/cebulcuro Shiten cbec:k (name) bl!lk ~ (place) branch

____

.__

IT)

Check - Bank Ikebukuro Bnmcb

• shochi refers 10 actions/measures taken lo deal with/take care of/resolve a problem - "disposition." • makantute is the -te fonn of fMkanau ("paylfinance/cover lhe COSI"), and kudasai makes it a polite request.

Jddno-lrf:

7Lil t: ~ f.tll> b,

Jiidan ja nai

-t lvf.t

wa,

sonna

.: t!! ~ b-? lwto!!

t ~tr ~ "' t

Umii to unuunai to

fl.

El Ell "e L .1: II

q)

watashi no

jiyU

desho!!

is not (fem. colloq.) that kind of thin~ wbccher give birth or not Ume 's freedom is surely "Where do you get off, suaestiDg a ~ D.ke that! It's my own free cboke whether I

joke

DOt." (PL2-3)

JthhiG8eld: "~Jt.tt:. 11

-~

wa

ittai

Anato you

t'-) "' -? :fl~tJ -!Jf "IJ-?-r fl. q) -:1711'>~- tdO iu lcenri ga atte watoshi no pura_ibashii o

as for (emph.) what kind of right (subj.) having

lime

's

have the baby or

•.o

lv"t'Til'?!

saguru

n desulca?!

(obj .) probefmvestigate (explao.-?)

pnvacy

..As for you, with what kind of right is it that you probe my privacy?'' "What rl&bt do you have to 10 diaio& Into my private life?!" (PL3) • jQdlmja nai is literally " il is 1101 a joke," and it's an expression for dismissing whatlhe other person has said as ridiculous/ out of lhe question/outrageous. Idiomatically it corresponds to expressions like, "No way/Forget ii/You've gOI to be kidding!Xou're out of your mindflbis is DO laughing matter/You can't be serious/Mind your own business!" • wrr6 ta and unuunai to come from lhe verb umu ("bear/give binh"); lhe -o to - mai to (for some verbs, - yii to - mai to) pattern means "wbether one does lhe action or DOl" - "whether I give birth or not/whether I have lhe baby or 1101." • jiyU ="freedom" and watoshi no jiyii = "my freedom" - " my own free choice." • desho (or deshO) literally expresses a conjecture ("il is probably/surely [my free choice]"), butlhe conjecture here is strictly rhetorical. Her sentence is acnaally a very strong assertion, and feels more like: " It's my free choice, and you know it!" • inai is an emphasizer for question words: "(What) in the world?/(How) on eartb?/(Where) lhe blazesr• • atte is lhe -te form of aru ("exists/have"); ittai diJ iu lcenri ga atte = "having wbal kind of right" - "with what kind of righl"

0

Ichinoseki: .:.tt li

.fl.

Kore wa wataslzi this

as for

1/me

r..,m "t'T

'IWA

q)

lwjin

no mandai desu

individual 's problem

trG

fl.

q)

~.t\1,

"t'

i*V>o

:b!!

kara

watashi

110

ishi

de

kimenr

wa!!

is because/so Vme

's

mind using will decide (fern. colloq.)

"This is my individual problem, so I will decide using my own mind."

"This is a urel

rsonal matter so I'll make u m own mind." (PL2-3)

• watashi no mondai ="my problem"; watashi kojin no mandai = "my individual/personal problem" "a purely personal mauer." • ishi is a noun for " intention/intent/mind/wish," and de marks it as the means of an action: wataslzi no ishi de kimeru ="I will decide according to my own wishes/using my own mind."

[!)

lddlaeld: ~HL

LiT!

Shilsurei shimosu!

rudeness

wiU do

"Excuse me!" (PL3) • shitsurei is literally "rudeness/bad manners," and shimasu is lhe PL3 fonn of suru ("do"), so the expression essentially means"' will do/commit a rudeness." Shitsurei shimasu is normally a polite way to take one' s leave, like saying ·•excuse me" when talting one's leave in English, but in this case it's quite clear lhat her tone is no longer polite. Note that becauae of !heir social relationship (she is female, he is older. and they are not well acquainted) she continues to use many PLJ forms even when she has become angry and is DO longer coocemed about being polite.

Mangajin 37

Sawayaka Sanda J(~sb~l Mr. Fresh ~4~rru Thunder

Boss:

4-8

~

*"'

Kyo mo atsui

~0

na.

::r.. 7

";:1'./

Ealwn

todal also is bot (coUoq.)

a.c.

1tlt"C , Rei-

~

rei

"t'T i.l'?! desu ka?l

(stammer) spirillghost

is it?

"G- ghost?" (PL3) • sendai, literally "previous generation" is used for speaking of the last, and now deceased, proprietor/master/head of household. In this case it refers to the former shachii ("company president"). • rei= "souVspirit," especially of the dead, so it's often equivalent to "gbost."

0

O L: :j';f, Mago

f./{! gal

grandchild (subj.) "~randson!"

Shacho:

~Gf.h

Yil.

(PL2)

;~~

f./>Q?

zangyo ka ne ?

(greeting) working late

(?)

" Hi there working late, are you?" (PL2)

Newcomer :

~.... lma

(f) 110

11:-R C '

Q.

21.l.J :::J /'') .I J(; / I Hatakeyama Konzern

:: Q)

~ Jv

t.t lv-IJ'?

desu, slwcho-satr. ko11o

biru

t~atlka?

"t'T, Uiit ~ lv ,

Agent: t· 1 Do what/how Ag~nt:

is

co. pres.-(hon.)

this

building a thing/place like

''What do _ou think, sir? How about this building?" (PL3) I:' t': t::. !i-IJ' ~ I:' i t.! t-• ::1 Q) ~d± b .A -::>"( i-ttlv

J: o

Dekita

yo.

bakari de

mada doka 110 kaisha

mo

haittemasen

is-and stilVyet where of company even not entered/moved in (emph.)

completed just

"It's ' ust been com leted and no other com

has moved in eL" (PL3)

• do desu ? asks ''how is it?" in the sense of "what do you think of it?"; coming from a salesperson/agent it essentially asks whether the listener is interested in purchasing/renting. • nanka is a colloquial nado ("something/someone/someplace like"), here essentially functioning to mark the topic, like wa ("as for"). The syntax is inverted; normal order would be korw biru narlka do desu? (''as for this building, what do you think?/how about it?'} • dekita is the plain/abrupt past form of dekiru ("be completed"), and bakari after a past verb means the action occurred ''just now/very recently.'' • haittemasen is a contraction of lwifle irnase11, the PL3 negative form of lwitte iru ("has entered/moved in"), from hairu (''enter/move in").

Shacho: ifJ(!) i1f'i1

-/){

A11o tochii

ga

that

~:h."( 7.l

Q)

hanareteru 110

fPJ f.t(!)-IJ'P?

fj:

wa 11a11 11a 110 kane?

middle (subj.) is separated pan as for what

(explan.-?)

" As for that part where Lhe middle is separated, what's the e xplanation for that?" " What's with that a in the middle?" (PL2) • hanareteru is a contractio n of hanarete iru ("is separate d"). from hanareru ("separate/become separated"). huh?/what? • 110 here is like "pan."' and it's modified by the complete thought/sentence tochii ga hanareteru ("the middle is separated") - " the pan where the middle is " What?" (PL2-3) separated"; ano ("that") modifies the combination, making it "that pan where the middle is separated," and wa marks the who le thing as the topic: "as for that pan where the middle is separated." • no ka 11e (after a verb) or na no ka ne (after a noun or question word) asks for an explanation. Asking a question with ka 11e is mostly reserved fo r persons whose social status is higher than the liste ner.

' ? Agent: A..

£?

Agent: ilr.>ilr.>, ilr.>:tt. "t'T -IJ'? A, are desu ka? (intelj.)

is it?

that

''Oh, that?" (PL2) Agent: ;:Q) ~Jv Q) ;f--tKono biru this

no

building o f

o11li owner

iJ<

~~a-iJ'?v '"C"

41!11

ga

engi o katsuide

yonkai

ao

~ v 't.:

lv"t'T o

llOZOita n desu.

(subj.) acted on SUf.C:rslition-(reason) 4th floor (obj.) omitted (explan.)

''The owner of the buildin . Sound FX: ~ ..:z. '7 '7 '7

rstitious so be left out the 4th ftoor." (PL3)

Byiiii

(effect of strong, howling wind) • onli is from the English "owner." • engi o katsuide is the -te form of engi o katsugu, which means to do certain things in order to gain good luck and avoid other things in order to escape bad luck - "be superstitious/act according to superstition." The -te form is being used to indicate the reason for the next mentioned action, nozoita. • four is considered an unlucky number in Japan because one of its pronunciations is slzi, a homonym for "death." • nozoita is the plain/abrupt past form of nozoku ("leave out/omit"); n desu shows he's offering an explanation.

Shacho:

:k'i:~

Daijobu

f.,:Q)-IJ'P? t.fi:tl "(' ¢ ~t t•o na no ka ne? Yureteru kedo.

all right/safe (cxplan.- ?)

is swaying (reason)

"Are ou sure it's safe? I can see it swa)'in~" (PL2)

Sound FX:

e ..:z. 7 7 7

Byiiii

(effect of stro ng, howling wind)

Sound FX:

~- ~ ~-

Yiira

t:>

yiira

(effect of wavering/swaying)

A ent: i~~ -nr"'"' Engi ga ii

fJ'~

kara

Jc:J:x "t'T J: o

daijob11

is auspicious because/so all right/safe

desu

yo.

is

(emph.}

" Because it's auspicious, it's safe."

" It's an aus icious desi n so ou needn' t worry." (PL3)

• daijobu means "all right/OK" in the sense of "safe and secure/no cause for concern"; daijobu daldesu (yo) is often used to reassure the liste ner, like "don' t worry." • yureteru is a contraction of yurete iru ("is rocking/ swaying"), from yureru ("rock/sway"). • the syntax is inven ed ; normal order would be yureteru kedo, daijobu na no ka ne? Kedo is most familiar as a word for "but,'' but its actual function is to mark the preceding as background information for what follows; in this case it essentially marks yureteru as the reason why he asks whether it's safe. • yura yura represents rocking or swaying gently; elongating it to yiira yiira suggests the rocking/swaying has a particularly large motion. • engi ga ii is an expression for " is auspicious/a sign of good luck." The opposite is engi ga warui, "is inauspicious/bad luc k." The agent would have him believe that avoiding the bad luck number four compensates for any accompanying loss in structural integrity.

Mangajin 41

~~~

OJ

tit~

4 :::J ~H::~tiliD The 4 -Panel World Plan by

& tlJ ::J /

") I Jl- /

Sound FX:

.A+~ Sucha

(effect of finnly adjusting glasses) Salaa_man: /.... -;; , i- ~ i- ~ t!. ~ o Mu!,

sorosoro

na.

da

(interj.) soon/by and by is (colloq.)

I Hatakeyama Konzern

''Mmm it's about time, I guess." (PL2) • sorosoro literally means ·'slowly/gradually/by and by,'" but sorosoro da/ desu is frequently used to mean "it's about time/it's getting to be time [for something]."' na is used as a kind of self-check/confirmation when speaking/thinking to oneself: "that seems to be the case, doesn ' t it?"; "yes, it really is so, isn' t it?"; "that's the way it is, I guess."

Sound FX: 7 / ..; Tan!

(effect of bouncing on diving board)

[f)

Announcer: (:_(}::_;.;.

~"llt

Tobikomi josha diving

~i)"("""f~\..'o

li

wa yamere kudasai.

boarding as for stop/quit

please

"Please stop diving-style boarding.'· ' 'Please refrain from d.ivin onto the train at the last second." (PL3)

t ""(" ~

m:~

"t"i"

Toremo

kiken

desu.

very/highly dangerous

0

is

" It is extremely dangerous." (PL3)

Sound FX: Jv Jv Jv Jv Jv Jv Jv Ru ru nt ru ru ru ru

Rri-i-i-innn (sound of bell warning that train is about to depart) Sound FX: r 11 -:~ Dokil!

Wham! (sound of man bouncing off of train platfonn) SaJar man: if? -j '? I Au!

"Oofl" Commuters: b if? ? ! Wii! (exclam.)

"Yikes!" (PL2) • robikomi is the noun form of tobikomu ("dive into"): tobikomi is the word used for "diving" as done from a springboard or platform into a pool. • josha is a noun referring to '"boarding/getting onto/gelling into'' a train/ bus/car. Tobikomijosha refers to diving/leaping onto a train at the last second, as the doors are closing. • yaml!te is the-re form of yameru (''stop/quit"). and kudasai makes a potite request. • robikomijoslw wa o-yame kudasai, or some similar phrase. is frequently announced at many stations during the crowded rush hour.

42 Mangajin

Yunbo: fJ'~ "1:3> ~A-, K6chan.

[ ..Pivtf-

2

-t-n,

Sore, mizumushi no

sorry

-"'

.::

*!R

::::~A- o

Gomen.

(J)

i:li

t.}j:o,>

t!-:d:.o

o-ma]mal

daua.

that athlete· s foot for incantation/remedy

was

"Sorry. That was the remedy for athlete's foot." (PL2)

.B0

.c

• naonnai is a contraction of naoranai, the negative form of naoru ("become better/be cured"). • gomen, from the honorific prefix go- and menjiru ("exempt/excuse"), is an informal word for apologizing/begging pardon. A more formal version is gomen nasai. • majinai literally means "spell/incantation/magical formula," but here it refers to a "folk remedy." The honorific prefix o- is almost always used with majinai even in informal speech, especially among female speakers. • datta is the past form of da ("is/are").

-

.J::J

~

·= ..c Q.

..:.;

·= ., " ~

:0 :::>

Q.

c u: .,;

~

l;l

!!

~'

!!! .c

co

·c

A-Il

It• ¢?

ObocluJn.

Yunbo

iru?

aunt/auntie

(name) exists/is present

Yokota:

(imerj.)

"Uh-ob." (PL2)

"Obadum, Is Yunbo here?" (PL2)

Yuabo's Mother: !3(

~

Oku de

Q "(¢ neteru

Sound FX:

J:o

back 11 is sleeping (emph.)

"He's asleep In the back room." (PL2)

question particle ko simply by raising the intonation on the fiDal syllable. • ob refers to the "back/depths/inner reaches" of a confined space. Yunbo's mother here is either at the front door or in a room relatively near the front door, and obi can apply to ay room "farther back" in the house. • neteru is a contraction of nete iru ("is sleeping"), from nern , 19> A-llo !:3 ~ 1:> Oi,

Yunbo.

(interj.) (name)

Okiro

li 1! / :J. ~"' tl .i o Yolwto-kun wa sensu wand r!Z. (sumame-fam.) as for sense is bad (colloq.)

"Yokota-kun, your [aesthetic] sense is bad, isn' t it'T' ''You don' t have much or an aesthetic sense, do you, Yokota?" (PL2) Yokota:

~-:>?

E!? huh?/wbat?

"Huh?" (PL2)

wake up (emph.)

ze.

' 'He Yunbo. Wake u (PL2)

"' t.: v'J o t..~t-~r•

t:\.•

t.:t!.L, 11if'l:hN1~.!::'"t' guys cv'?~1H:IJ:-:9:t11:t.tVC t

1~JliT oO o

0 Executive: "Oh. sure. I make a little more money. and I have a nice office ..."

-t- '?

Sorya

~

i ih li'ru,H: ,

that is It '

well

v'

(/) 'i -? tJ{ *lfn

fl.

mli wshika ni, watashi no ho ccnainly

:;j· 7 1 :A

Ume

b 1\1.! ?

~ide

·s

"(

ofuisu

mo tsulwtteru ro. . .

good/nice

office

also ..hA.t

am using

wa

chotto

(bubj.)

~alary

as for

a lillie

b

t~

• sure :J¥:~,;51:' , Jt~c1J 7.> Hi lfi.~"t' Jll It>"( , ~·IJ

'0·.

~

•

t

~v' l , oi shi, larger is-and

(emph.)

/·4~<

"J

/.ryiiryo

1.> J: .. .

ii

""\ ·~ · ~ · h

';t i? J: ?

ga

fJ ~ -\

t

f 'b

\•J..

""Jit·

~ 7:J lvj Q);"(j,P...f;:l.: 1\1! -J o

• makemoney f-;J}: t-~ ("/*2iHt- ~J.> J o • sorya is a contraction of sore wa. is a sofVgentle/agreeable-sounding interjection that adapts to fit its context "well/you know/really/1 mean/ let's see."

• ma

@]Executive: "And of course. I'm much, much smarter." -ftt~:

b i?7.Jiv, fl.

~i-?

-/){

Sore ni

mochiron, watashi no ho

ga

also

of course

Ume

js" • smart IJ:;if{:~~IJ:3:1: "'(~ ~.:-

(/) 's

-r-? t z.iino

side (subj.) much more

j(iJfv'v' ljhc' Q 0 atama ga ii keredo sman

"'"' .. '· rj{tJtv'v'J C.v>?:6:'*1:fflv''-> o

but

ne. (colloq.)

, ,~t

• atama ga ii, literally "[one's] head is good," is an expression that means "smart/sharp/intelligent." • keredo is a colloquial contraction of keredomo ("but"). Here it is merely serving to soften the end of the sentence (though this executive seems only slightly more concerned about diplomacy than the one on the facing page).

Mangajin 47

Humorous Haiku

SENRYU

Poems submitted by our readers Illustrations by Anthony Owsley }Jij ht.: 0) Wakareta no

iEOO:v• ~ t Shojiki iu to

wt? ht-:0) Furareta no.

I broke up with him; If I tell the honest truth, he broke up with me.

• wakareta is the past form of wakareru ("break up/part company"). • shojiki iu means "speak ho nest ly/ speak the truth"; to after a non-past verb can make a conditional "if/when" meaning. so shojiki iu to= "if I speak/ te ll the truth.'' furore/a is the past form of furareru ("be dumped/jilted"). • in both cases. no is explanato ry, indicating that the poet is making an explanation.

by /IQ)Ji\ ( Taka no Tsume, "Hawk Talons") Kanagawa, Japan

• as in the US, the winning team of the Japan Baseball Series holds a celebration party, where inevitably. beer (or other alcoholic beverage) is poured over teammates' heads. This year, the Orix Blue Wave from Kobe won the championship. • doshaburi refers to a "driving downpour"; adding no makes it a modifier for biiru (from the English " beer") "beer that is a driving downpour" "a driving downpour of beer." • ganbaua is the plain/abrupt past form o f ganbaru ("stri ve hard/do one's best").

t~L~~ ~

0)

Doshaburi no

t:'- Jv iJ~ ~ h L v' Biiru ga ureshii

17LMJ~ ShukushO-kai

Rejoicing In a driving downpour of beer: VIctory party by '/J'/.., If. -:> t.:. A (Ganbatta Hito, "Tried-hard Person"), Kobe, Japan

1L~tiE Bukkyo-to

1 7''0) B t! ~t ~i lbu no hi dake wa

7

1) 7-.1-~ Kurisuchan

/

Nation of Buddhistsonce a year on Christmas Eve, becoming Christians

• Bukkyii means "Buddhism," and the s uffix -to denotes "cohorts/group member, B :ifi:UH: .t o~.fj;l(;t:,9i;~IH:, :~mH: t .Qtl:fali B 4'ml.:~11!lt-E"t'"G;'P. L. i i"o

Mangajin 63

o ~\\et

2.eto

by ltliJ !ll~.:Xe~ 1Okazaki Jiro

-

The Devil's Seeds, Part 1-

Subtract the dark, Cold War Era edge from the Twilight Zone, add a '90s Japanese backdrop-plus too much KooiAid before bedtime-and you have a typical short manga "episode'' of Okazaki Jiro's After Zero. Like any bizarre dream, the plotlines are often less than watertight, but distinctive artwork and fantastic stories make After Zero a timeless classic. Debuting in 1990 in the weekly magazine Big Comic, the After Zero stories are now published as independent volumes of collected shorts by Shogakukan. "The Devil's Seeds" is the fourth After Zero episode to appear in Mangajin (issues 22, 30-32. 41-43).

Umezawa is a greedy man with big ideas. His key to fame and fortune lies in an ancient seed recently unearthed in an archeolog ical expedition. Legend has it that the seed produces a robust grain that can grow in any soil. Unfortunately, Umezawa lacks the brains to unlock the seed's potential.

~.: A- ~ '

t~ '?

'If 11 0

•• .• •

~

At first, he tries to exploit the genius of an idealistic young biochemist, Konoue. Already wary of the seeds' purported curse, Ko noue is turned off by Umezawa·s self-serving scheme.

=f

Almost 20 years later. Umezawa is the president of a large chemical company. He has finall y found the genius who can make his dream a reality: the young and lovely Dr. Kamimura.

The broody Kuze, high-level executive and moral conscience o f the c hemical company, steps aside to allow Dr. Kamimura to head the company's most important project: cultivating the miracle seeds they call MR-99.

(

{) Oka1..aki Jiro. All rights reserved. First published in Japan m 1990 by Shogakukan. Tokyo. English translation rights arranged through Shogakukan.

Mangajin 65

7' 7 ~ -

66 Mangajin

0 • After Zero

Title:

!!~11(

Q)

f!UT-

Akuma

110

Shushi

's

seeds

devil

The Devil's Seeds between two nouns makes the first into a modifier for the second in a wide variety of ways. one of which is to make the first no un into a possessive noun, so a kuma no = "the devil's - ." • shushi is a more academic/technical-sounding word for rane ("seed'' ). •

CD Inscription:

110

fiiJ At

.:: Q)

Nanpito mo

lwno

{I lane

a-

oort.

1: til L. "( l:l: ~ I? ilo

o

lwkugai

ni dashite wa naranu.

everyooelno one this/these seeds (obj.) outside of the country to must not .akeJiet out

No one must take these seeds outside the country. These seeds must not be permitted to leave our borders.

00

~

Q)

Kuni no

tami

Q) ~ 1.:

'ff! -)

no tame ni tsukau

country of people/populace

for

use

-"{ L.

0

beshi. should/must

They must be used only for the people of this country. t L. ;:Q) # a- I\ttLI!, ~¢ ,-.;:, ~ ~}[ 'IJ~ Moshi lwno if

kin

J.OtL¢

~~7:>? o

o

yabureba, osoru-beki saiyaku ga otozureru de ari5. this prohibition (obj.) if tear/break fearso me calamity (subj.) will visit probably/surely

U anyone vaolates this prohibition, a fearsome calamity shall befall the land. 7 ~ 3 '11 x ,.)( J: I) Aslwlca (name)

-o

hibun

yori

king epi.aphlstooe inscription from

From an inscri tion in Kin Asoka's tomb • nanpito is a literary/archaic equivalent for dare ("who"); nanpito mo in an affirmative sentence means "everyone," and in a negative sentence, "not anyone/no one." • kono can mean e ither "this" or "these" depending on the context. • kokugai literally means "outside of the country," and ni marks it as a destination. • naranu is a literary negative fo rm equivalent to naranai, so dashite wa naranu is equivalent to dashite wa naranai, a "must not'' form o f dasu ("take/let/put out"). • 110 tame ni is literally "for the purpose/sake/benefit of' -+ "for." • beshi after the plain, non-past form of a verb can variously mean ''can/should/must." Beshi is a holdover from classical Japanese, and although its modifying form beki is still very common, the dictionary form beshi is now relatively limited and sounds archaic; it's usually replaced by beki do/desu at the end of sentences today. One place beshi cootinues to be seen is on public signs giving instructions of one lcind or another. • moshi typically works together with a conditional form later in the sentence to give the meaning of "if'; ~ba is a conditional ("if/when'') form of yaburu ('lear," or in the case of a rule/law/prohibition, "break/violate"). • osoru-beki combines an archaic form of the verb osoreru (" fear") with beki ("should/must" ), making a modifier that literally means "should be feared/is to be feared" - "fearsome/frightful." Osoru-beki saiyaku ="fearsome calamity." • ototMreru literally means ·' visit"-+ saiyaku ga otowreru = "calamity will visit/befall [us/the country)." • de ari5 is the conjectural form of de aru, which is a more literary/formal equivalent of da/desu, so it's essentially equivalent to dar01deshi5 ("is probably/surely"). • -iJ denotes a king, and Asholca-i5 ="King Asoka," ooe of the greatest rulers of ancient India, who reigned from around 273-232 BCE and unified most o f the country for the first time. • yori sounds more formal/literary than kara ("fro m").

Mangajin 67

7' 7 9 -

0 • After Zero

t '' 11. if t, ~A,~.t

T

ft

~*lc

fJ

"?

4

;.:~~~ -:> tii=l~

Jt

of

L.

"'(

7J

• t: !!

1~~-:>

,- * t:.

L' L' U: 1.>

0

~

~

1)

~

"'(

h 7)

!!

•tr !!

68 Mangajin

OJ

~ K7c Sen-kyiihyaku-nanajiisan -nen Ke-dai

1!'-~$

Narntloa: 1973 1973

Rigaku-bu

!t1t~-f:

~?eli

Seikogaku Kenkyii-shitsu

year K univ. science faculty biochemistry

1973, K University, FacuJty of Sciences Biochemist De Umezawa: 13M li '~ t.J t.=!! ~< -ffi t.: c.dt1v J: ! ! Omae wa

you

baJc.a da!!

Mattaku

shinjiraren

yo!!

as for fooVadiOI are completely/utterly cannot believe (emph.)

"You're a fool! I really can't believe ou!!" (PLl) o o o

o

o o

tbe suffix -nen is used both when counting years and when designating a calendar year. -dtJi is short for daigaku ("college/university"). -bv in a corporate setting is usually translated "department," but in an academic setting it generally refers to a "faculty/ college" within a larger university- rigaku-bu ="faculty of sciences." kenlcya refers to scientific or academic research, and -shirsu designates a "room/office," so ken/cyfi-siUtsuliterally means "research room/office." As a generic term. it can refer simply to a college professor's personal office, or in tbe sciences, his lab; but when preceded by the name of a discipline or specialization, it can refer to various-sized sulHmits within a department omae is an informal to rough. masculine word for "you." shinjiraren is a contraction of shinjirarenai. the negative form of shinjirareru ("can believe"), from shinjiru ("believe"). ;1. •J 7J Ameriko

Umezawa: 7

~

Yi -r J.J..-?!!

o

mire miro.'.'

America/US (obj.) look-and-sec

" ust take a look at America!" (PL2) Umezawa: 'i?.t ? C " ?

- {>

v.W.R

•:.

t.: I

X

x_iMff ftC. --:>

tJ~

~ "99

"1:-.:J-~

A.

-t~-c

? "'(

;

t:.

li1J

.Q

~'

A

t::

!!

&..

~

:t t::.• •: v 't ~ li '*~~ ~ ii ~' j;J. A J:. ~·0 t::.• ':

c ~

*

0

70 Mangajin

~

r(

~' ~'

~ 0

fJ

~

.

Umezawa: ::.1v ~

"11 ~~It'

Konna

kabi-kiLSai

*-?¥:-

1±1-r,

~ lviJ'

daigaku

nanlw

dele,

this kind of smells of mold university the likes of leave-and

"Leaving behind the like of this musty university," MR-99 ~ i~ -:> ""f , t!!:W. (J) .fi-T ~~ Emu-iim kyiijiikyii o tsulwlle selwi no shushi sangyo (seed variety)

(obj.)

using

world

's

seed

~

:tvt.:"t:>"t'"

o

ore-taclzi de shihai suru n da!/

~~T~

lvt.:!!

industry (obj.) we/us together rule/take over (explan.)

" we will use MR-99 to take over the world's seed industry!" " We'D leave tbis musty university and use MR-99 to take over tbe world's seed indus

!" (PL2)

• kabi = " mold," and the suffix -kusai means "smells/reeks/stinks of - ,"so kabi-kusai = "smells moldy/musty." • nanka is a coUoquialnado ("something Idee"), here essentially equivalent to wa ("as for"), but with a feeling of belittling/ making light of what comes before it: "as for the likes of this musty university." • tsulultt£ is the -te form of tsulwu ("use"): the -te form is here indicating the manner/means of the next mentioned action: how or with what they will take over the seed industry. • ore is an informal to rough. masculine word for "Ume." and adding the suffix -taclai makes it plural, " we/us.'' De gives it the feeling of "just the two of us together."

Konoue:

f~rl,

::. 1.- ' "?

!i

Umewll"a,

koitsu

11·a

(name)

"!I!:J;f (J) Hf-T" ~ AJ.!. "'Akwna no Shushi " na 11 da

this one/thing as for devil

s

seed

• ze is a rough, masculine panicle for

1fo :;e.

emphasis; with the explanatory 11a n da here it gives the feeling of a strong reminder.

(is-explan.) (cmph.)

"Umezawa, these are ' the Devil's Seeds ' ou know." (PL2) Kiinoue: ::. (J) .fl-T

(J)

A -:> -r 1.-' f.:

±fa\.

haille ita

doki

Kono shushi no

fJf ~ 0 t .: o

tt X

1:: ni

meibun

ga

ana.

seeds (subj.) were contained earthen vessel on inscription (subj .) exisled

these

"The eartben vessel that contained tbese seeds bore an inscription." (PL2) r1iifA~ ::. U> tl ~ OO;t 1:: l±l L: t .li ~ I? ~ o J "Nanpito mo kono tune

o

kokugai

ni dashite wa ntJranu."

everyooefno one these seeds (obj.) outside of the country to

'" These seeds must not be

must not take/let out

rmitted to leave our borders."'

• haitte ita is the past form of lwitte im ("is in/is contained in"); kono shushi no haitte ita is a complete thought/sentence ("these seeds were contained in [it]") modifying doki (''earthen vessel"). The subject is often marked with no instead of gain modifying sentences. • alta is the plain/abrupt past form of am ("exists"); ga marks meibun ("inscription") as the subject of alliJ. and 11i marks doki as the place of existence, so dold ni meibun ga alta = ·•an inscription existed on the earthen vessel"- "the earthen vessel bore an inscription."

Umezawa:

;\"/J ~ . . .

H ~liT, Baka na ... Omae,

foolish/crazy

you

-f lv~

~{g

sonna

meishin

-c

t: ~ (/)fJ'? o shinjiteru no ka?

~ {g

that kind of superstition (obj.) believe

(explan.- ?)

"This is crazy. You really believe a superstition like that?" (PL2) • baka na as a modifier means "idiotic/foolish/crazy": as an exclamatio n it's like "This is crazy!ffhat can' t be!ffhat' s impossible!" • shinjiteru is a contraction o f shinj ite iru. fro m shinjiru ("believe''). • asking a question with no ka? is masculine and can sound very abrupt/rough.

Konoue:

*

/j: , ffH';o v li Dakedo na, Umezowa. Ore wa

1.- ' li'~o t= lt (::

liya. no

but

(colloq.) (name)

~{J

W. . .tJ:

meishin

ijo ni

1:: ,OOP;f::

~~_.,

kane 11i /..y omi

~

nai

lvt!.o n da.

Vme as for superstition more than money in interest not have (explan.)

"No. But you see, Umezawa As for me, even more than the superstition, I lack interest in money." "Not reaU • Bu ou see Umezawa. I have even less interest in mone than in tbe so rstition." (PL2) • iiya is a variation of iya, which is an informal "no": a regular iya can feel quite abrupt, but iiya has a "softer" feeling, something like "not really." • na. like ne, can be used in the middle of a sentence as a kind of verbal pause. It can be like English •·you know/you see/ I mean." • kyiJmi = "interest" ; kyomi (ga) aru = " have an interest [in - ]," and kyiimi (ga) nai ="have no interest [in - ]."

nt

Ore ga I

<

!i, ::.U> :it!1.!;~ fJ'i? fill~ ~ ~ T /J~ ~ :1t~.O ::. t f!.lj" f.!. o wa, kono clrikyii kara ue o rrakusu lriJiro o kangaertt koto dake da. (subj.) interest have what a' for this can h from hunger (obj.) eliminate method (obj.) think about thing/action only is

Konoue: ;tv

!J!JPA;:

~ ~ U)

kyiJmi am no

"The onl thin I have an interest in is thinkin about how to eliminate hun er from this earth." (PL2)

iflbl:

~/v""(

ShiJbai

rrante

t'-?"t'"'blt'v' lvf.!.o do demo ii

11 da.

trade/business the likes o f is unimponant (explan.)

"I couldn' t care less about business." (PL2) • no here is like the pronoun ·'what"; it's be ing modified by the complete thought/sentence ore ga kyomi aru (" I have an interest in [it]") - • "what I have an inte rest in." Combining this with koto dake da ("is the only thing") makes it "the (continued on next page)

Mangajin 71

7'7~ - 0

72 Mangajin

• After zero

[§](continuedfrom pre1·io11< pag~)

only thing I have an interest in is . .." • kono cllikyt7 kara ue o nakusu is a complete thought/sentence ("eliminate hunger from this earth") modifying Iloilo ("method") • "a method to eliminate hunger from this earth" "how to eliminate hunger from this earth." In tum, kono chik)•t7 kttra ue o nakusu hiihii o kangaeru is a complete thought/sentence ("think about how to eliminate hunger from this eanh") modifying koto (lit.. "thing," but here essentially meaning "act'') ''the act of thinking about ..." • nante can be considered a colloquial equivalent of nado, or of an entire phrase like nado to iu kotolmono wa (literally, "a thing/place/person/action that is something Like - "). It's often used to imply the preceding is ridiculousltriviaV unimponant. • do demo ii is an idiomatic expression for "is unimponant/doesn't matter/doesn't make any difference," or more subjectively. "I don't care/1 can take it or leave it."

Umezawa:

Rn..t .. . Ko1wue .. .

" Koooue ..•" Umezawa: i-ll) 1::

II'>!! Konoue me!!

(name) (derog.)

"Konoue that rat!" (PL I) • -me after a word referring to a person is a derogatory suflix showing contempt/derision/anger toward that person.

Umezawa:

~ (!) {1;)~~ tJr!! Ano gizensha gaff

th:lt

• an exclamation consisting of a subject plus ga expresses very strong feeling about that subject, whether of joy/delight, concern/ alarm, anger/rage, or contempt/disdain. The context must be your guide as to exactly what the feeling is. • kabushiki means "stock." and -gaisha is from kaisha (''company/corporation'': in combinations, k changes tog for euphony) _. '1oint stock company" "Corp./Inc."

hypocrite (subj.)

"The damn h

rite!" (PLl)

:!f, Jft:fj{

Narration: 1991

Sen-kyiihyaku-kyt7jiiichi -nen. Tokyo year (place)

1991

1991 Tok o 1t~ ~~~t± Umezawa Kagaku Kabushiki-gaisha

Sign: t4ii;

(name)

chemistry joint stock company

Umezawa Chemical Co

ration

Executive: MR-99 ... Emu-lint kyt7jfikyt7 . .. betsu 110 110 (!>ced variety)

o

"Akuma 110 Sl111shi."

other name (obj.)

devil

's

seed

" MR-99 a.k.a. ' the Devil' s Seed."' (PL2) Executive: 201Fr11i,

K:k

(!)

JYI5$

liJf3l:~

t~r,

Nijiinen-mae, Ki!-dai 110 Kokogaku Kenkyii-shitsu ga, 20 years ago

K univ. of/at archeology

dept.

7 7/

3

:tJ I

Ashoka-o

1J' c.y

ftllt.~

J€Uill.J~

110 iseki kara

giizen

hakkutsu shita

(!)

(subj.) King A:.oka

s

iff~

ruins from by chance excavated/dug up

"Twenty years ago, the Archeology Department at K University happened to dig it up from the ruins of King Asoka"

[see next J!anel] • -mae after a time word means "[that much time] ago." • giizen is a noun referring to a "chance occurrence," but it's a lso quite commonly used as an adverb (i.e.. as an equivalent for giizen11i) meaning ''by chance/by accident/by coincidence." • hakkwsu shita i~ the plain/abrupt past form of hakkutsu suru ("excavate/dig up"). • the entire second line is a complete thought/sentence modifying tsubo ("vesseVpot") in the next frame. (!) rjJ il' C;, ISubo rw naka kara

Executive: ·:; ;f,

siitsubu.

vessel of inside from several grains

"several grains [emerged/came out] from inside a vessel."

''Twent ears a o several rains were found inside a vessel tbat the Archeology Department at K ned to di u from the ruins of Kin Asoka." (PL2) Universit ha Executive: i*:ff: Hozon

~f.i!

t~r

)Otat

ga

:ilf.z;-r

>a:-

~~t.:

node, idenshi

o

kanzen 11a

J:.-IJ'·=>f~ (!)\!,

yokaua

preservation condition (subj.) was good because genes (obj.) complete/perfect

" Because the seeds were weU- reserved it was

~

-r:

~t}iliT .::.ct~rili* ,

karachi t!e toridasu form

m

extract

kato ga deki, were able to-and

sible to extract genes in com Jete fo

and •• .''

(PL2) • st7- is a prefix meaning "several." and tsllbu ="grain,'" so siitsubu ="several grains'': something like dete kita ("emerged/came out/appeared") is understood after siitsubu. • yokatta is the plain/abrupt past form of the adjective iilyoi ("good/fine''). • /Qridasu =''take out/extract," and koto ga deki is a continuing form of kato ga dekim, which afte r a plain, non-past verb makes a potential ("can/be able to") form: toridasu koto ga deki = "is/was able to extract, and .. :·

Mangajin 73

7' 7 :$1 -

:3>~

~ ~

t1

.ft t:. b

tf Ci> ~

±iil" .- tJ' if "f

-t II

0 • After Zero

Executive:

~ l "'( soshite and

~(!) llf~-r ~ sono idenshi o

-::>H:, tsui-ni,

finally/ultimately !hose

~: ni

l6:11 kinshu

#tl t.,, isholal shi,

genes (obj.) close varieties to transplant/graft-and

~Jl ~1!-o .::.t 1: .lit~lt.: (J)"t"To holsugen saseru lcoto ni seikD shito no desu. expression cause

lhing in

succeeded (explan.)

"now, ftnally, we have succeeded In lntrodudnl those genes Into modem varieties ud maid• tbeiD viable." (PL3) Ellecutive:

~tL

b

~"'( ~~t.:JT)~iJ'If

it±!!

1111#

1:-t,

Sore mo subete anoia no okoge desu, Kamimuro HoluJse!! that also all thanks to you is (name) Dr.

"And it is all thanks to you. Dr. Kamimura!" (PL3) • tsui-ni ="at long last/finally," implying "after much effort/many hanlships." or "after much anticipationlwaitiDg." • isholal shi is the stem form of isholat sum ("transplant/graft'' ); the stem form is being used as a cootinuing form: "tnasplantlgraft, and .. :· • luJtsugen here implies idenshi horsugen ("gene expression"); its verb form is luJtsugen suru, which can mean either "reveaUrnanifest/express" or ·'be revealed/mani fested/expressed," and hotsugett soseru is the causative form of the verb: •·cause to be manifested/expressed." • seikO shiro is the plain/abrupt past form of seikD suru ("succeed"); - ni sei/c4 suru ="succeed inial - ." Koto is literally "thing," but here refers to an action, so - koro ni seikiJ shiro is literally "succeed in/at [the described action]." • anota ="you," and - no okage da/desu means "owes to/is thanks to -,"so anota no oluJge desu ="is thanks to you.'"

Executive: MR- 99 . . . Emu-iin1 kyiijiikyii. . . (seed variety)

t: lv ~ ±.tft

I: t

donna

demo

dojo

~*!- ~ l I: lilt 1fT o 1Hl:o hiryo nashi de seiiku suru komugi.

what kind of soil even if it is fenilizcr without

grows

wheat

"MR-99-wbeat that will grow in any kind of soil without fertilizer." (PL2) 1: ~1=111;1: 191 -? l ~-?"'(It> i lt.: 7Jf, Um~o SluJcho wa osshane imashito ga, (name)

co. pres as for

was saying

butland/so

"President Umezawa was saying, but ..." "President Umezawa was sayin& that no one but Dr• .r-oooue could reproduce MR-99, so •••" • saisei dekiru is the potential ("can/be able to") form of soisei suru ("resuscitate/regenerate/reproduce'"); dekiru replaces suru to malce the potential form of suru verbs. No here is like the pronoun "one," referring to a "person"; ~'""-6nl kyiijiikyii o saisei dekiru is a complete thought/sentence ("[he] can reproduce MR-99") modifying this pronoun. and wa marks it as the topic ("as for'')-+ "as for the one/person who can reproduce MR-99." • ossluJne imashita is the past form of osslratte imasu, from the PIA honorific verb ossluJru ("say").

Executive: i

~iJ'

masalw hardly/never

~t:t.t~

.&tlo

lie'

(!)

:R.J"

1J{

anara lwdo

no

tensai

ga arawareru

you

t

li!!

to wa!.' ex tent that is genius (subj.) will appear (quote) as for

" I never imagined that a genius like ou wou~ear!" (Pl3-4) • masako emphasizes statements of incredulity/disbelief. Something like omowanakotta ("didn ' t think") is implied after the quotati ve - to wa, making it like " I hardly thought/1 never imag ined - ." • X !Jodo no Y means "a Y that is to the extent of X." so anata hodo no rensai ="a genius that is to the extent of you" ''a genius of your caliber/a genius like you."

Mangajin 75

7' 7 9 -

0 • After Zero

"'\ m-t

iik:SK

~

u

lli tt t± .f L- I,\~ {>

~

?j. -?~t

i:>F./J* ' 1Ji

5F ;g ~ :~ .:. 1Ji (.: LI,\

t:.

t7)

~

0

VF

* t;~

~

I?

!_;

ft ±

1Ji Yl

n~

, 1iJf R

t.:'K~

t:.

_t

t7)

I 99

!i

m-A .... I'll .=. -, ~ ~ ;r.t ~

'in

*!!:!

*X~~ t~

tt -:· n 7> --c$r:;.. ~

I.\ ,q ~ ~

'/)t

)..

'

"\~

~

~'tlt -t ~

A

i!~

/.._t7)

c~

-g ~

~ ~

c7).f. ii ,§1

1-

G.fAM

tl. t7) it R 1>1l!!.$t l

t) 1: • 99 ~?Jar

1t

'l

t

A-1-L L o L'

fJ~

~'

0

76 Mangajin

-c

t7) ,:

,, ,_ .... r"~

!B~ ~.,.

•..J.

oif: ~

-

7

11.-

~±

Kuze: llnJ:.

iJ' .. .

Konoue Hakase Jw .. . (name)

Dr.

('1)

"Dr. Kiinoue, hunh .• ." (PL2) Kuze: ~b~ b MR-99 li fft~

1±9:

:sf~ Q) '-'' -::> ~"'a-,

iJt

Somosomo Emu-iiru kyiijiikyii wa Umezawa Sllacllii ga kenkyii no to begin with

''To Kuze:

(seed variety)

as for (name)

K* tJ'~ iitih.I:IH.. t.: Q)f!.o o, Ke-dai Jwra nusumidashito no da.

issai

co. pres.(subj.)research of

entirety (obj.) K uoiv. from stole out/away (explan.)

·n with Preside nt Umezawa stole all the research on MR-99 from K Universit " (PL2) 'IJf ~.:. L.t.; lllf~ 'b *!!iii, ff- ~ 1: 1it:>;(l~t't.: 'IJf .. .

K*

Kl-dai ga

okoshita

sosllli mo kekkyoku,

jidan

ni

ochitsuita

ga .. .

K univ. (subj .) brought/filed lawsuit also in the end out-of-court settlement in culminated/ended

''The lawsuit rtled b K Universi

but

ended in an out-of-court settlement, but . . . (PL2)

• issai is more commonly seen as a strong emphasizer for negatives ("entirely/absolutely [not/none]"). but here it's a noun meaning ..entirety"; kenkyii no issai =''the entirety of the research.'' • nusumidashita is the plain/abrupt past form of nusumidasu, from nusumu (..steal") and das11 ("take out"). • okoshita is the plain/abrupt past form of okosu (lit., "raise," but when speaking of lawsuits, "bring/file"); Ke-dai ga okoshita is a complete thought/sentence ("K University filed [it]") modifying soshO ("lawsuit"). • ochitsuita is the plain/abrupt past form of ochitsuku, which can mean ..conclude/end/cu]mjnate [in]."

Kuze:

-fQ)~ ,

.s·ono sai,

shachii wa Konoue Hakase ni taishite

on that occasion co. pres. a~ for (name)

Dr.

against

aranu

hibo

chiisho

o

shi,

unfounded s lander/defamation slander/defamation (obj.) did-and

"at that time President Umezawa made unfounded slanderous and defamatory statements a ainst Dr. Konoue, a nd ... .i:>tJ'If-c'" t~}.± li K* tJ'~ ill.v'/ H ~ tt"t"L.i·:d.: o okage de

wa Ke-dai kara

oi-dasarete shimal/a.

thanks to that the doctor as for K univ. from

hakase

was driven out-(rcgret)

''thanks to that Dr. Konoue was driven out of K University." (PL2) Kuze: il? ttll c' Q) ~~ .e;· iJt, /f li .•.!!.i tt-r, Are hodo

no gakuslw ga. ima

that extenllcalibcr of

wa megumarez.u.

scholar (subj.) now as for is unblessed-and

*HI -'< c

c "' 7 o

=:ii!E

*?

-c'"

3rd-rate

univ.

at in straitened manner research (obj.) is continuing (quote) say

sanryii daigaku de

lwsoboso to

:sf)E

kenkyt7

a- ~tt"t"v'l.>

o tsuzukete iru

to

iu.

"The sa this brilliant scholar has now been reduced to carrying on his research with mjnimal resources a t a third-ra te univers ity," (PL.2) • hibo and chiisho are synonyms, both meaning "slander/de famation": both are suru verbs. Shi is the stem form of suru, here acting as a continuing form: "did/made [slanderous/de famatory statements I and .. .'' • okage de ("owing to that/thanks to that"') is a form of the - no olwge daldesu expression seen above, but "'thanks to that'' in this case is a statement of blame rather than credit. • oidasarete is the -te fonn of oidasareru (" be driven out'"). passive form of oidasu ('"drive out" ): shimatla after the -te form of a verb implies the action was undesirablc/regreuablc.

[II

Kuze:

rn,M

.:C 7 Jv Q) f!. o li ~;$ moraru no mandai da. wa kigyo this one/thing o.s for corporate morals/ethics of issue/problem is

::. "'""?

Koitsu

"Cor Kuze:

flj~

Rieki

rate ethics are at issue here." (PL2) Q)!i 1j:~ =F~ a- i!li'lv rw tame nara shudan 0 era ban

Erofits for the purpose of if it is

~ i!.t ~ lvo Kuze-san.

Hal?

" Yes?" (PL3) • Ita!? is a somewhat stanled but fo rmal ··yes?/what?"

Kamimura: 4-8 iJ' ~

.f;1. iJt :st~0036Si) Q) Kyo kara watashi ga Kenkyii Kaihatsu-bu no (subj.)

MR-99 aEmu-iiru kyt1jt7kyii o (seed variety)

li ... wa ...

Kuze: li -::> ?

"Mr. Kuze." (PL3)

today from

Q)

no

for the sake of rofit is ..."

(n;une-hon.)

[!]

iu

means (obj.) not select (quote) say thing/attitude as for

'The attitude that

GJ Kamimura:

c a7 to

• eraban is a contraction of erabanai ("not select"), negative of erabu (''select"), but in this case erabanoi means "not be selective/picky": shudan o erabanai = ..not be selective about means/methods" - ''be willing to do anything."

R&D Dept.

iift sat-yusen

~~

bucho

c

to

"'? iu

.:. c koto

of dept. head (quote) say thing/situation

-r--t

1Jt,

desu ga, is

but

c

$lj{ L. ""( -t Q)fl!l. 1: 7 "J -T L. ""( v' l.> ~ li if:> IJ i -t:t lv -nro jikii to shite sono hoka ni tatchi shite iru hima wa arimasen ga.

(obj.) highest priority item

as

other things on

touching

time as for

not have

but

"Beginning today, I am head of the R&D Department, but with MR-99 being the highest priority Item, I won't have time to deal with an · else." (PL3) • tatchi is from the English •'touch"; tatchi slrite iru is from the verb tatchi suru ("touch," or by extension. "meddle with/ take a hand in"). • ga ("but") can be thought of as implying something like " but is that lilcely to be a problem?'' She's really just telling him the way things will be, but implying that she 's inte!"Csted in his response "softens'' the message. Mangajin 77

7' 7 ? - 0 • After Zero

~!

~I> tJ '

l86

t:. t:. ~

(/) IJ• IJ> "[(;,

-t.:1.. 0

' {>

t) ! A ! -r· ..f

l:

~tt7:>

T7

Tjj(J) e t)

IJ"t.t

• fiiJ .: fA

7

{> (/) IJ~

~t1)~ c:~u ~

t:. (:

f;t(/)}..

\. ' :r.

A

-=>

.At:.

"[~(/)

T ~ l.t J:

0

78 Mangajin

l.t '

t)

•.At ' · ~'/ -r·

l.t

-=>A

c· -=>

IA'I"

-t~ e

"LA. (J)

99

tJ~~ ~

]{X

l .:t,

t.lfL

*

cc

(/)(/)'"[

tJ> (/)

-=>l:-A

R

l' ~

-rM

~~u

fLIWl\.'

M 11 :

'

ftl1.

~~ -=> 'tit -r~

i,'

A

~

'

$_

o-

-t~

tJ>

Kuze:

"'~,

(>1?0/v

/yo,

mochiron sono hoka no koihotsu

ml~

-fc7)-fjgc7)

(interj.) of course

other

fl.

li, .::ni"t'

)iJ!IJ

wa. kore made

-diiri

~t) L~

1Jf

warashi ga

development as for until now the srune as

I

IJ iTo

torishikirimasu.

(subj.) will manage/supervise

' 'That' ll be fine. I will of course continue to handle aU other deveJo ment ro'ects as I have before." (PL3) Kuze: c ;J-:> "( (> , fi c lv C' c7) A. ~ 7 7 li MR-99 c7) ~ .fl "t'T tro To

iue mo,

hotondo no

sutaffu

most of

staff

(quote) even if say

wa Emu-iiru kyiijakyii no as for

(seed variety)

yam

desu go.

of/for necessary pernonnel is/are but

"Not that that means much, since most of the staff are assigned to MR-99." (PL3) • iya is an informal "no:· here implying "No, it won't be a problem'' (answering her implied question) .... 'That'll be fine." • torishikirimasu is the PL3 form of torishikiru ("manage/run/be in charge of'). • itte mo is a conditional "even if' form of iu ("say"). To itte mo often introduces a qualifying statement that sheds different light on what one has just said.

Kuze: ;t;h, Mii,

fflH~ fill1&:: c7) #. 1.:1;t k~b L"'"t"TiJt bucho hosa no watashi ni wa f usawashii desu ga

(interj.) dept. head asst. (=)

lime

for

is suited/befits

bo

• mii is a "warm-up" or pause word that adapts to fit its context: " I mean/you know/really/anyway/of course."

ne.

but (colloq.)

"Anyway, it is suited to r who am the assistant department head." "Anyway, it befits my role as assistant department head." (PL3)

@]

Kamimura: ~t!!:~lv,

~-:>"(.fd~ !T 1Jf, itte okimasu ga,

-tl

Kuze-san,

hitokoto

(name-hon.) one word/thing

will say now

but

''Mr. Kuze there's one thin I'd like to make clear from the be Kamimura: fl.. 1Jt .:. c7) ~t± 1.: A ·:>f.:. c7) l:i, fPJ (> ~ t.f. t.:. c7) :f-.A watashi ga k01w kaisha I

ni hailla

IW

." (PL3) ~

~

wa, nanimo anara no poswo

o

(subj.) 1his company into entered (nom.) as for [not] at all

your

•?

13 t:. ~ t.f. "' lv "t"T .t o ubau tame ja nai 11 desu yo.

post/job (obj.) steal purpose

is not

(explan.)(emph.)

"As for my entering this company, it is not at all for the purpose of stealing your job." ''I didn't 'oin this com an because I wanted to take awa our 'ob." (PL3) • itte is the ·te fonn of iu ("say"). and okimasu is the PL3 form of oku, which after the ·te form of a verb implies the action is done now/ahead of time in preparation for some future need; here the feeHng is that she wants to head off any later misun· derstanding by making one thing clear now/up front/at the beginning. • haitta is the plain/abrupt past form of IUJiru (here meaning "enter/join [a company]"). No is a nominalizer that makes the complete/thought sentence Watashi ga kono kaisiUJ 11i haitta ("l joined this company") act as a single noun, and wa ("as for") marks that noun as the topic ·•as for my joining this company:· • nanimo combines with a negative later in the semence to mean "not anything/in no way/not at all.'' • tame ja nai is the the negative form of tame do/desu, which after a verb (or complete sentence) means ''in order to [do the actionJ/for the purpose of [doing the action]." • ki ,; itta is the plain/abrupt past form of ki ni iru ("like/be pleased with"). 1J< ~U.:}v:>f.:. iJ'i? .:.-t- ~-?"( :JlU.:. c7)"t"To . yarre kira is the plain/abrupt past Shacho no hirogara ga ki ni itta kara koso yatte kita no desu. form of yatte kuru. where kuru co. pre~. · s character/personality (subj.) liked because {emph.) came {explan.) ="come": yatte kuru typically ··r came here because I liked the president's c haracter.'' implies coming over consider" 1 joined because I was drawn to the president's personality." (PL3) able distance or through special e ffort/circumstances.

FX: .::. ..; ! Ni! (effect of a grin) Kamimura : Uti c7) AM

Kuze: ~

~

li

Rui

~

wa tomo

o

ll'}-?, Mo,

now/any more lime

(name)

(>

~1$.c7)mnlv

.A!It t!.o

mo etai IW shiren jinbutsu da.

(title) too/also mysterious

personage is

. Ms. Kamimura is a m sterious one too." (PL2)

lli'J H jogen

c·

t.f. nado

li1t b

lltl"'-r l-v' Subarashii

lilt*

t.:!!

seika

daff

wooderfuVspectacular results/fruits is

"The results are spectacular!" (PL2) • seika refers to the '·results/accomplishments/fruits" of an endeavor.

Umezawa: T A

r it!!

Tesuto

-chi

1:

~lvf.!.

ni

eranda

wa.

kyassaba

test

lands/plot for/as selected this place as for

•':!

-

.z lraenakaua

..$: kusa ippon

1: 1j: 1.1' -:d.=

grass I count

didn't grow

.ll!!h

>;:-

clriryoku

o

li, :f"" ·;;-It I< l" koko

PJj1j: lv f!. rokoro nan da

cassava

de

IV.>i \,\'::>

: -Iron (pronounced -bon or -ppon after certain numbers) is the counter suffix for long. slender things, including blades of grass; kusa ippon ="one blade of grass." • Jraenakaua is the past form of haenai, the negative form of haeru ("[a plant] comes up/grows''). Kusa ippon lraenakaua is a complete thought/sentence ('' not one blade of grass grew [thereI") modifying tokoro ("place"). • cassava is grown for its tuberous roots. which are used for food. Its power to draw nutrients from the soil is strong. making it easy to cultivate.

Umezawa: .:./vlj:

::f:§Q)

Konna

fumo no

±.It!! 1:

MR- 99

li

JVlll:

tochi ni Emu-iiru ky17jiikyii wa migoro ni

this kind of infenilelbarreo land o n

(seed variety)

~

>;:-

-?Itt.:!!

mi

o

rsuketa!!

as for splendidly fruit/grain (obj.) attached/bore

''Even on this infertile land., the MR-99 has roduced s lendid beads of grain." (PL2) • migoto comes from miru ("see") and koto ("thing''; k changes to g for euphony), implying "something to see"; migoto ni = "in a manner that is something to see''__. "beautifully/brilliantly/masterfully/splendidly." • mi might be described as the " bearing part" of plants- i.e., "seeds/grains/nutslberries/fruirs''- and tsukera is the plain/ abrupt past form of rsukeru ("attach." or when speaking of mi, "bear").

GJ

Kamimura: i.H6-c" t -J .::."~·"'iT, .fii* Omedero gozaimasu, congratulations

U!*o

Umezawa Shaclro. (name)

co. pres.

"Con ratulations, sir." (PL3-4) Umezawa: ;(! li ~ < k L- f.= "{:1t Kimi wa marraku you

raislrira

f.!.

J: o

gakuslra da

yo.

as for indeed admirable/amazing scholar arc (emph.)

• omedero go::aimasu is a congratulatory phrase/greeting used for a wide variety of joyful/auspicious occasions. • marraku (lit., "completely/entirely") here is used like "indeed/truly" to emphasize raishira. • raishira bas ically means "considerable/quite some," and it implies admiration, wonder, or even amazement at the thi ng or person modified.

" You a re a trul amazing scholar." (PL2) [}] Kamlmura: .:. h

~±~ (J) ~ {> .•• slracho 1w yume mo ...

1:

Kore de this

with co. preslyou 's dream

• Japanese speakers often refer to their listeners by name or title when an English speaker would say "you.'' and no makes a possessive, so slraclrii no here is like ·'your."

also

" With this, your dream, too [can be attained]."

"Now you can attain your dream." (PL3 implied) Umezawa: -f-? So that way

f.!.!! MR- 99 l" flt-W- (J) Hi+ ill~ daff Emu-liru Jcytlj17ky17 de sekai no slwshi sangyo is

(seed name)

wi th world

's

seed

t o

Jti\CT J.:, shilrai suru

Q)f.!.!! no da!f

industry (obj.) will rule/take over (explan.)

"That's right! With MR-99 I'll rule the world's seed industry!" (PL2)

Mangajin 81

Ojiisama:

-? -? t.:- ! !

·:::n, -t:

~ -? t.:

~~!

Yattii!!

Tsui-ni

katta

zo!!

did

finally

bought (emph.)

' 'I did it! I finally bought one!" (PL2)

Mammoth-like Ojosama!! by 1\'iil ED ti Jv I Okada Garu

• yaua is the plain/abrupt past form of yaru ("do"); it's used as an exclamation of joy, like "1/he did it!" or "All right!/Yeah!/Hooray!" • tsui-ni ="at long last/finally." • zo is a rough/masculine particle for emphasis, but female speakers can use it for special effect in informal siruations (e.g., talking to kids or among close friends) or when speaking to themselves.

Qj§sam a: -) tL l v' 1j Ureshii

-? t.:

C, -) tL l v' 1j! tiara ureshii na!

na

am happy (colloq.) (quote) am happy (colloq.)

"I'm

ha

SO·O·O

~y_,

ohhh so happy!" (PL2)

Sound FX: -) v'- lv Uiin

Rrreee (whir/whine of computer) Ojosama: -"..H e, ( interj.)

.. 1:l

-"'

..c

00

'?'

2

1j

.,

.A .,.

:::l

-5 "0

01)

c

"~ l!l

..c

00

·;:

7 A tJ'o

iJt

7

ga

mausu ka.

this (subj.) mouse

(?)

" Hmm, so this is a mouse, is it?" (PL2)

..c

~"

.: tL kore

ip '-

In

• /lara is a contraction of 10 itlara, a conditional ("if/when") form of the quotative to iu ("say"). The pattern X tiara X essentially says " when l say X, I really mean X" and serves as a very e mphatic way to express a view or feeling. The colloquial particle na here also adds e mphasis. • ka literally makes the second line a question ("Is this a mouse?"), but the question form is often used rhetorically when observing/confirming something for oneself. with the fee ling of "So this is - , is it?/1 guess/it seems." Yoshi!!

~c -~

Co c

>.

-"'

{?.

'"

-55

"

-"'

;"

u. >.

-"'

-a 0\ 0\

.: § 0.

~

.: "2 ..c

.!!!

::0 :::l

0.

.. .

ness and •• •" • yoshi is an interjection that signals the speaker is ready to/about to begin an action.

w 0

.!f!~

sassoku . . .

all right then/in that case promptly

0

g

Ja,

"All right then, I will immediately ..." " All right, then, I think I ' D get right down to busi-

c

..c

t: ~ ,

Ojiisama: J: l !!

o ·osama:

7

7 A 1: ~WJ

mausu

ni namae

mouse

to

demo

tsukeru ka.

name or something attach

(?)

"Shall I name the mouse or something?" " name the mouse." (PL2) X.- t , X.- t, 7 ·;; ;:\'- - 7 7 A, ;J :r_ 1)- ,

e to,

E to,

urn/let's see urn/let's see

Makkii Mausu,

Jerii,

(name)

(name)

"Urn let's see Mack Mouse J erry_,__,__," -)-lv , 7-.::L-*, -7-.::L-JlJJ . . . Dn,

Chiita,

Chiisuke .. .

hmm

(name)

(name)

" Hmm, Chuta, Chiisuke . . ." Narration: !>It'!! Oi.'!

ii: -J

t! 0!

Chigau

daro!

hey is different/wrong probably/surely

~

Hey! You know that's not what it's about!" (PL2) • namae o tsukeru = "attach/g ive [something] a name" - " name [some-

.,i':.

thing]." Demo literally means "or something/someone/someplace,'' but here it's best thought of merely as a "softener." • the question indicated by ka is again purely rhetorical; a rhetorical question typically assumes an affirmative answer, and in this case it's essentially like saying "Will Ushall I -? Yes, I think I shall - " - "I think I'll - ." • e to and an both imply an effort to think of something: " uhh/umllet's see." • chii is the sound a mouse-the live kind- makes, and -ta and -suke are common endings for boys' names. • daro (or darif) makes a conjecture ("surely/probably - "), but, especially when the last vowel is short, it can have the feeling o f "you surely know that - " or " you know very well that - ."

-ci .,

"'~

l!l

..c

00

·;:

< ~

0

" "

"0

.:.:

0 ©

82 Mangajin

*

Magazine: 1~Jf Gaishi

-kei

i£1i

~U

1Jt

kigyo

siisha

ga

foreign capital affiliated enterprises several companies (subj.)

1: J: ¢ ~m ni yoru satyo

Internet

on relies hiring (obj.) implemented

1 ;; ? -

Mammoth-like Ojosama!! by fll'iiiE 7l Jv I Okada Garu ~ 1' ~/

~$7

.F§ I

1cf:f. ~

'Y

Di t:

~ -{ :;...-

He,

*± jf

*' Ii

(interj.)

I ti' 1

(?)

Qjosama : J: 0 L.. '~'

:;

u. ..c::

00

"~

-=

"E 00 c:

"' ~

~

..c::

00

•t:

c

_g ;;;

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g

-5; ~ c

UJ

ci

>.

""'" 10

..; -5;

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.&>

:; "'

u.

>.

.&>

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.:

"'

~

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.,

"0

~

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~

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;::

~ ~

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00

Ian Baldwin is a freelance writer based in New York City. • disquieting = '!'t\il t.: fuon na • s lay ~· ;t t.: samazama na

= fiT korosu • disparate =

•t:

~

;t

~

~ " " 0""'" 0

"0

iQ)

84 Mangajin

;

c

0.

;

o~:

1 ;.,~ -~ '/ /nt6netto-yii

t-JJJ 1: ni

:::1;., ~ ; 1 - ~lconpyiitii

Internet-purpose

for

computer

n '? t.: lwtta

'll'~ kora

!3ii

-t? 1:. -t!."''o

o-kone

chiJdai.

bought because (hoo.)-money please give me

bou&ht a computer to use tbe Internet, so I need some money." 0......: aamlb 1." ft? Q)o "I

(PL2)

ShiisholallwtsudO de tsuk.au no. in will use (explao.)

job search

"I'm going to use it in my job search." (PL2) Mother: L. J:.? fJf~lt' btl.o SM ga nai wane.

<

~? lkura?

"''

can't be helped (fern. colloq.) bow much

"You're hopeless. How much do you need?" (PL2) • the suffix -yo means "purpose,'' and --yo ni ="for the purpose of - /ro use with - ." • k.ana is the plain/abrupt past form of kou ("buy"); o, to mark konpyiitii as the direct object of this verb, has been omitted, as it often is in coUoquial speech. • chOdai is an informal "(please) give me/let me have." • shiislwku is a noun for "getting a regular/permanent job'' and kotsudo refers to ·•activity" that is directed toward a specific purpose, so shiishoku kotsudo ="job search." • shlf ga nai is an expression for "there's no help for it/it can't be he lped." Sometimes it's used to express exasperation with one's listener: "there's no help for you/you're impossible/you' re hopeless."

Q 'osama: ·; 7 1Sofuto

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