Mangajin62 - Humor in Japan

What makes the Japanese laugh? JAPANESE POP CULTURE &LANGUAGE LEARNING $5.50

MANGAJIN

I

•I.

Manga for Career Wo•en New Year's Dishes 6 2>

0

744 70 78600

9

1997: Year of the

Ushi

CONTENTS

J

.J

i

No. 62, February 1997

0

Features 12 The Japanese Sense of Humor I s " Japanese humor" really an oxymoron? Top interpreter Muramatsu Masumi explains, sharing a few choice jokes in the process.

Manga

15 Humor in Leadership: Reflections of a Simultaneous Interpreter

page 12

I 7 After Zero • 7 7 -1 -

An excerpt from M uramatsu's book, presented in bilingual format.

0

T he ''Devil's Seeds" start to reveal their devili h natu re.

3 8 Kacho Baka I clzidai • ~ ..& J \ tJ

63 "Career Women" Comics T .R. Reid explores a new genre of manga tories.

-1t

With much pomp and circumstance, the section chief makes lunch.

Departments

42 Our Tono-sama • -? "S (J) ~ ~ i 44 App-Install • if.>~"' lv 46 American Comics • 7 f. ') tJ (J) i~ iiiD

nyanchi; plus,

Oilbert and Gaifield- in Japanese.

66 Minori Demetsu • h. (J) ~ fi

m

A young 'woman takes a chance and quits the job she hates. Can she make it as a freelancer?

84 Yarikuri Company • ~ ~

< ~ tJ /

;~.::.-

9 Brand News It's time for K itty' s keeping away the "sleep demon ...

50 Computer Corner H i-tech, lo-budget mean of studying Japanese.

page 56

54 Book Review Taken Captive, by Ooka Shohei.

SS On the Bookshelf Recently released books about Japan.

56 Cooking Corner Kuri kin ton and other New Year· s dishes.

61 Senryii Humorous haiku- by the people.

Language Learning 86 Basic Japanese: A Laughing Matter page 66

Dec iphering the different kinds of laughs.

Miscellaneous

92 Pop Japanese

S 6 7 94

93 Voca bulary Summary

Publisher's Note Letters Bloopers Classifieds

Wi lliam Marsh explores slang of 1950s Japan. Word from this issue o f Mangajin.

Mongojin is a made-up word combining mongo ("comic:s/artoons') and jin ("person/people"). It sounds almost like the English word "magazine" as rendered in japanese-mogojin. All of the japanese rmnga in Mongojin were created in Japan. by Japanese artoonists. for Japanese readers.

BRAND NEWS ~: ~

lv ~ ~ 1 A

Nyanchi Taimu Through painstaking re earch and development, Japanese pet-food giant Pet Line Foods, lnc., has created a new line of single-serving, easy-to-open canned kitty victuals called Nyanchi Taimu ( t: ~ lv i? -11 L... ). This is not your typical pulverized , gelatinous fare: Nyanchi Taimu comes in five sumptuous varieties, a ll made with the freshest kill (mostly tuna) and pac ked with vitamin and minerals. As most manga readers know. an interesting feature of the Japanese lang uage is that it provides specific onomatopoeic words for de crib ing almost any sound. Animal sounds are no exception: pigs say bii-bii, sheep say me-me, duc ks say gii-gli, cats say nyii or nyan, etc. These sounds are often combined with real Japanese words to c reate special animal languages. Talking cats, for example, ornament the ir Japanese with nyan whe never they can.

The name Nyanchi Taimu is a clever combination of Japanese cat sounds and the common phrase 7 / -f- -1 1 L... (ranchi taimu , borrowed from the Eng lish " lunc htime"). Nyanchi Taimu's wholesome goodness appeals to the cat-lover's practical side, while the name. just like a cat, exploits his soft spot for cuteness.

HiM~ !v ! Suima-sen! Lf lavishing auention on your nyan-clwn (kitty-cat) has made you yearn for a catnap. why not perk up with a caffeine-laced peppermint Suima-sen! (II Iii% -tt lv !) tablet from Beans Company? The name combines the word suima (litlt). "drowsines ." and sen (-tt /v), an archaicsounding equivalent of shinai. " not do" (although still commonly used, sen actually comes from senu, the negative form of the classical equivalent of suru). The resulting phrase could be interpreted as " You won' t be drowsy." Strictly speaking, Uilfl~ -tt lv isn' t proper Japanese, but the word-wizards at Beans Co. have taken liberties with the lang uage to make a pun w ith the word suimasen, a colloquial contraction of sumimasen (" Excuse me'' or " I' m sorry"), a word often used to get someone· attention.

Send u s your examples of creat ive product names or slogans (with some kind of documentation). If we publish your example, we'll send you a Mangajin T -shirt to wear on your next shopping trip . In case o f duplicate entries, earliest postmark gets the s hirt. BRAND NEWS, P.O. Box 77188, Atl anta, GA 30357- 1188

7 ') .:r. 1 7 1 7~ lff1,~,', 1', ' .7. o -1f :-- ~ :::::{ (. t.: "t" Lt..:>? . '!Hl ~i~.i~ t.:. ~ I

~·

·:; ~ nt.R. t.:.

.:11:

t i§v' i Lt.:.o 1il'if.!I~Jt~c {l c tt ii" o

U\•L•

Being a dedicated professional, I promptly called Mr. Tanaka's secretary and relayed to him the derails of

"'Jf:.

:t- L -r t.:oo?l;t.: ~ "' ·HHQ;1Jr.::.·~-v, i lt.:.l: i;fiLt Lt.: l:.:. 1:> .

The meeting ended, and Mr. Tanaka was to go to the MIT! offices. Mr. Ki singer offered, "Let me see you off." Mr. Tanaka expressed his appreciation as they walked out of the banquet room and to a waiting car. The doorman jumped to open the car door. Lo and behold, the car was not a Dodge. Mr. Tanaka said, "Thank you for your trouble," so I interpreted, to which Dr. Kiss inger replied. " No. I ju. t wanted to see your Dodge... This could be taken as a scathingly ironic comment.

t-=>

the incident. I was informed that Mr. Tanaka did own Mangajin 15

T aly ak u

•) f , J

1

:H.t.-ftJ-c·*-?·n,~CT)r;t ~··:~ ~t!ltttt''b, +.:n,t?:O:Iri"~t. '

l:r;t, -fCT) ''l~l;tf~I~•H't'"~ 1.:.

o himitsu 11i

shirakaua

v'oJ

to

iu

7J't;, t!.o kara da.

seeds (obj.) secret into wanted to make because is

"I've said this before, but the reason the created the scar legend of the Devil's Seeds in the fi rst lace was because the wanted to kee these seeds a secret." (PL2) Umezawa: MR-99 l;t, tt, N!!:lrv! c'.:i? '/J', AJI 1: 1/ll{ft bf.:.C:>"t tifif- f.tfvt!. -t'o Emu-iiru kyiijiikyll wa, kimi, akwna dokoroka, jinrui (seed variety)

as for you

devil

far from

ni Jukuin

o morarasu shuslri 110 n da

humanity to good news (obj.)

bring

zo.

seed (is-explan.) (emph.)

"Far from havin an thin to do with the devil MR-99 is a seed that will brin humani ." (PL2)

ood news to all

• nando ="how many times"; nando mo ="over and over/repeatedly/time after time." Nando mo iu literally means " I say this over and over" " I' ve said this before." • akuma nado to iu (lit., "[it] speaks of things like the devil") and osoroshii (''fearsome/scary") both modify densets11 ("legend"): "the scary legend that speaks of things like the devil"--+ ''the scary legend about them being the devil's seeds." • tsukuua is the plain/abrupt past form of rsukuru ("make/fabricate"). • no is a nominalizer that rums the complete thought/sentence akuma nado to iu osoroshii densersu o rsukuua into a noun, and wa marks that noun as the topic: "as for the making up of the scary legend about .. .'' • shitakaua is the plain/abrupt past form of shirai, the ·•want to" form of suru ("do/make"); - ni suru is an expression for "make [something] into I something]," so shushi o ltimirsu ni shira/wua ="wanted to make the seeds into a secret"--+ " wanted to keep the eeds a secret.'' • the X dokoro kaY pattern is equivalent to expressions like "far from X. Y." " far from X. not even Y" or "not even Y, much less X." Akuma dokoro ka is literally "far from the devil," implying "far from having anything to do with the devi l." • fukuin is also the word used to refer to "the (Christian) gospel," but here it's being used more generically to mean "good news/glad tidings." • jinrui ni Jukuin o morarasu is a complete thought/sentence ("it brings good news to humanity") modifying slwslri ("seed").

Umezawa:

t-?ct,

-f(J)

.mil

t

~~1.>

Mottomo,

sono fukuin

o

araeru

of course

(J) I±.:.(!) .fl. f.tfvt!. no wa k01w watashi fill n da

that good news (obj.) give/bestow one as for this

Vme

fJ<

bo

ga

ne.

(is-explan.) but (colloq.)

''OC course, the one who will give them the good news is me." (PL2) • no after ataeru is like the pronoun "one,'' and sono fukuin o ataeru modifies it: "the one who will give them that good news."

Kuze:

~l;t, K:k (J) ~tl~ .fiJf7'E~ (J) Jitsu wa, Ke-dai 110 Kiikogaku Kell/..')·17-shirsu 110 actually

K Univ. 's archeology

dept.

$!;~ sensei

~'i'fli] -?t.:. fv"l'To ni ha11ashi o ukagaua 11 desu.

of/in teacher/professor (target)

"Actual) I s oke with a rofessor in the Archeolo

,

r:

spoke wilb

(explan.)

De a rtment at K Universit ." (PL3)

• kenkyt7 refers to scientific or academic research, and -shirsu designates a " room/office," so kenkyii-shitsu literally means "research room/office." As a generic term. it can refer simply to a college professor's personal office, or in the sciences. his lab; but when preceded by the name of a discipline or specialization. it can refer to various-sized sub-units within a depanment. • ha11ashi = "story/account/talk/remarks," and ukagaua is the plain/abrupt past form of ukagau ("ask" or ''hear/be told.'' depending on the context); lumashi o ukagau is an expression that implies asking someone for an account/remarks/explanation and then listening to what he has to say, so it's often equivalent to "speak with [someone]."

Mangajin 19

7' 7 :$1 -

20 Mangajin

0 • After Zero

Akuma devil

110

's

Shushi wa

Indo no Ashoka-o no

seeds as for India

moto

ni kuru

made,

of King Asoka 's court/realm to come until/Defore

v>ipq_) 00

a-

~4tl""tv>t-:

l?lv' q_)'t"To

ikutsuka no kuni

o

tenten to shire ita

rashii

several

no desu.

countries (obj.) had moved from place to place apparently (explan.)

''In the time before they came to King Asoka's realm in India, tbe Devil's Seeds apparently bad travelled through a number of otber countries." (PL3) Kuze: i-hi?Q> 004 1::1: ~M. ~~~ Q) tt.:Y. I:J:-::>-r tJt.=t?~nt.: ~~li ~!It Q)J3~'1f't" Sore-ra no kuniguni wa saisho, Akuma

110

those

countries as for at first

's

~*

~

han'ei

o kiwamemasu ga, kekkyol.:tt,

~~iT

prosperity (obj.) maximize

devil

~)6j,

1J'-,

Shushi ni yotte seeds

morarasareta hofu na kokumotsu no okage de

by

was brought

bountiful

grain

thanks to

lf-4~:LL

iJA!v1:t-)it"o soso ni shire horonde imasu.

but ultimately quickly/without delay

fall to ruin

"Thanks to the bountiful harvests brought about by the Devil's Seeds, those countries at first attained unprecedented prosperity, but then they quickly fell to ruin." (PL3) • -i5 denotes a king, and Ashoka-o = "King Asoka," one of the greatest rulers of ancient India, who reigned from around 273-232 BCE and unified most of the country for the ftrst time. • - no moto after a person's name refers to a place (physical or abstract) near/beside/under the influence of that person: Ashoka-o no moto ni kuru= "come to King Asoka's court/realm." • made after a verb means "until" that action takes place; when the foUowing clause describes another action, it implies the second action takes place/took place in the time leading up to the frrst action. • tenten describes movement from one locale/residence/job to another, often with a feeling of haphazardness. The word is used to modify various words that imply movement, but its most common appearance is probably in the more generic tenten to suru seen here (shire ira is the past form of shire iru, from suru, "do"), which implies "move about here and there." • rashii implies an element of inference or indirect knowledge ("apparently/it seems/I guess")--used here because he is reporting what the professor told him. • motarasareta is the plain/abrupt past form of morarasareru, passive form of motarasu ("bring/bring about"). Akuma no shushi ni yorte motarasareta is a complete thought/sentence ("[they] were brought about by the Devil's Seeds") modifying hOfu na kokumotsu ("bountiful grain"-+ "bountiful harvests"). • - no okage de means "owing to/thanks to/as a result of -." It can be used either for giving credit or assigning blame. kiwamemasu is the polite form of kiwameru ("take to an extreme/maximize"). • soso ni shire= sosi5 ni ="quickly/promptly/without delay." .• horonde imasu is the polite form of horonde iru, from horobiru ("[nation/ruler/race] falls to ruin/is ovenhrown"). Kimi. wazawaza you

sonna

koro

o

shirabera

no ka?

specially that kind of thing (obj.) investigated/inquired into (explan.-?)

"You went to the trouble of find ing out all that?" (PL2) • wazawaza implies the action required special/deliberate effort: "go/went to the trouble of [doing the action]." • shirabeta is the plain/abrupt past form of shiraberu ("investigate/study/look into/inquire about").

Kuze:

+?

+ VC. ~i![Q) ~JE \! 71-iJ' -::> t-: Q)'t"T iJf, desu. Soshite, saikin no kenkyii de walwtra no desu ga, that way is and recent research in became known (explan.) but 't"-t o

So

i-hl?q_)

004

those

t

~00

1::1:,

sore-ra no kuniguni wa,

ringoku

to

l:~~~ih-riltlv't"lt'-::>t-:t?lv'

Q)

!it!Gv'

no

tatakai

ni makiko111Qrete lwronde ilfa

countries as for neighboring countries with that were battles/wars into were drawn-and

fell to ruin

rashii

to to.

ar pareotly(quote)

''Yes. And this is something discovered only in recent research, but those countries were al destroyed by becoming entangled in wars with their neighbors." (PL3) • kenkyii refers to scientific or academic research, and wakatta is the plain/abrupt past form of wakaru (''come to know"): saikin no kenkyii de wakarta ="became known in/through recent research." • makikomarete is the -te form of makikomareru, the passive form of makikomu ("entangle/draw in"); the -te form is being used to indicate the manner of the next mentioned action. • horonde itta is the -te form of horobiru plus the plain/abrupt past form of iku ("go"). lku after the -te form of verbs that represent changes or transformations implies that the change/transformation takes place or took place progressively, over a period of time.

Kuze:

t'?~G

Doyara

+n

1::1:

¥.~ Q)

fir

a-

sore wa Akwna no Shushi o

apparently that as for devil

's

.()1

Kuze-kun.

tsumari,

~,

c'O)OO>b

-t-ht!ft !1!!:11l.

~-T

~l1J•-?t.:

ib.o

kono

rane

o

kokugai

ni dashite wa naranu.

everyone/no one thisllhese seeds (obj.) outside of the country to must nottakellet out

'"No one must take these seeds outside the country."' "'These seeds must not be permitted to leave our borders."' (PL2) 00 0) I\': 0)~1: fle-J -"'l.. o Kuni

no

tami

Ito

country of people/populace

tame ni t.wkau for

use

beshi. should/must

"'The must be used onI for the eo le of this countr . "' (PL2) >£> L ::.. 0) ~ ~ 1i11Ut.t;C ft-'->"" ~ xm: n~ it!Jn'-> Moshi kono

if

kin

o

yabureba, osoru-beki saiyaku ga otozureru

this prohibition (obj.) if tear/break

fearsome

-r- ~ .1:> -? o de aro.

calamity (subj.) will visit probably/surely

'"If an one violates this rohibition a fearsome calamit shall befall the land."' (PL2) • nanpito is a literary/archaic equivalent for dare ("who"); nanpito mo in an affirmati ve sentence means "everyone," and in a negati ve sentence, ·'not anyone/no one."

• kokugai literally means "outside of the country," and ni marks it as a destination. • naram1 is a literary negative form equivalent to naranai, so dashite wa naranu is equivalent to dashite wa naranai, a '·must not'' form of dasu ("take/let/put out"). • no tame ni is literally "for the purpose/sake/benefit of' ...... "for." • beshi after the plain, non-past form of a verb can various ly 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 da/desu at the end of sentences today. One place beshi continues to be

,

seen is on public signs giving instructio ns of one kind or another.

• moshi typically works together with a conditional form later in the sentence to give the meaning of "if '; yabureba is a conditional ("if/when") form of yaburu (''tear," or in the case of a rule/law/prohibition, "break/violate"). • osorubeki 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." Osorubeki saiyaku ="fearsome calamity." • orozureruliterally means "visit" ...... saiyaku ga otozureru ="calamity will visit/befall [us/the country]." • de ariJ is the conjectural form of de aru, wh ich is a more literary/formal equivalent of da/desu, so it's essentially equivalent to dariJ/deshiJ ("is probably/surely''). (cominued on next page)

Mangajin 23

7' 7

,

24 Mangajin

~

-

0 • After Zero

IIJ Kamimura:

~~·iin: HijiJ ni

Jl!¢~ ... , ~ "i.'T bo kyiJmi-bukai hanashi desu ne.

extremely interesting/curious

is (colloq.)

"It's a most interestin Umezawa:

isn't it?" (PL3)

-t$t-t ~r ... Kamimura-kun . .. (name-fnm.)

"Ms. Kamimura ·~" (PL2-3) [!) Kamimura: ~dll:ts-A.

li

-1-t.:

c'A.f.t.

Ku::.e-san. \Vawshi ll'a

iuai

donna

.fl.

(name-hon.)

a~

Umc

V~hi .wiyaku

for (emph.)" hat ktnd of calamlt)

-*7.>

IJ~ ga

kuru

(~ubj.) will

Q)IJ', :::.Q) B ""f~"Ch.f.::l.-''t'T no ka. kono me de mile miwi desu

come(e,plan.- ?) the-.e

C)C\

:bo 11'0.

"ith would like to sec( fern. colloq.)

" Mr. Kuze I' d like to see with my_own two eyes ·ust what kind of calamit will come." (PL3) • iuai i~ an cmpha.~iler for question word~. so it can be like "[What] in the world?/[ How] on earth?/[Wherc[the bla£es'' or ''just rwhat kind of - ]?" • mile is the -1e form of mint ("sec/look at"). and millli is the "want to'' form of the same verb. A fonn of mim after the -le form of a verb implies "do the action and sec what happens.'' • iuai donna saiyaku ga kuru no ka is a complete queMion ('just what kind o f calamity will come?"), and a form of mim after a complete embedded question ending in ka make~ an indirect question - ''I want to see just what kind of calamity will come.''

Narration:

~ll Q) fj-=f, MR-99 Q) Akuma no Shushi, Emu-iiru kyiijiikyii flO devil

's

seeds

(seed variety)

-fl.."( [ltW-

~I!J

Soshile sekai

kakkoku

and

1:

tf.~

IJf tlfii-:Jf.::o

seisan

ga

lwjimaua.

of production (subj.) fQtJ.l~il..f.::

began

Q)f.!.-:Jf.:.o

ni yushwsu sarew no daNa.

world various countries to

was exported

(explan.)

Production of the Devil's Seeds, MR-99 be an and the

orted to countries arouncUhe world.

(PL2) • hajimaua is the plain/abrupt past form of hajimam ("[something.! begins"). • kakkoku can mean either "each/every country·• or ·•various countries": sekai kakkoku =''every country in the world" or •·various countries around the world ."

Narration:

~1M

(j:

!::ttl!

Saisho u·a

1ochi

110

land/~oil

(subj.)

at fir;t a'> for

• 10chi no ma:ushii is a complete thought/ ~entence ("[their[ land/soil is poor") modifying kunigu11i ("cou ntries").

ma::.ushii kuniguni ni. poor

countne'

to

At first to countries with poor soil. (PL2) Narration: -ftti?Q)

f•J~

't'

(!)

Sore-ra 110 kuniguni de

no

~lli'1C:>

I... ... , lilt*

subarashii seika

~ ~

o

"(,

countries in that were spectacular re~ul~ (obj.) seeing

those

ft!!Q)

mite, hoka no kuni

mo arasolte k01w shushi o konyii shila.

other countries also vying

these seeds (obj.) purchased.

Seeing the s~acular results obtained in those countries other countries vied with one another to pur· chase the seeds. (PL2) • de 110 after a place name is literally like ''that is in/at [that placel" or ''that was in/at [that place].'' Context determines the tense. Sore-ra no kunigu11i de 110 subarashii seika ="the wonderful results that were [obtained] in those countries.'' • mite is the -te fom1 of miru ("see"); the -1e form is here being used to indicate the cause or reason for what follows. • arasolle is the -le fonn of arasou ("compete/contend/vie'').

Narration: ;:' {r: L Q) Go-::.onji no kaw mo iru

10

onrou ga. shushi sangyo 110 kyokyfi stmt

(hon.)-l.now people also exist (quote) thinl. but

~ced

indu~try hubj.)



tiFf t fl b

~·'-> H~i\

J.:-y okyii suru s/mshi

in other words farmers as for each year industry (subj.)

supplies

seeds (obj.)

In other words. each year fanners are forced to bu seeds su

and . ..

• kigyo no kyokyii sttru is a complete thought/sentence ("the industry supplies [them]") modifying sltushi - + "seeds the industry supplies." • kawazaru is a negative form of kau (''buy''); the -zom o ezu (or enat) form of a verb means "can't help but/have no choice but to/must [do the action]." The sentence continues to the next fr.tme.

[}]

-/)t fi+ Pt.~ ([) tf.Ql~ /j:([)'t'j;l.> 0 ga shuslti sangyiJ no seimei-sen na no de artt.

Narration: -ftt. sore that

indu~rry

(subj.) seed

's

lifeline

• de aru is a more formal/literary equivalent of desu. so na no de aru is essentially the same as na no dalde.w. used when making explanations.

(is-explan.)

that is the seed industry's lifeline. (PL2) Narration: 1995iF Sen-kyiihyaku-kyiijiigO-IJe/1

1995 Umezawa: Qt..: ~ ;t!!

\.", MR-99 t± jll:!fit 1]' Jc: m~ Tatta sannen de, Emu-liru kyiijiikyii wa sekai kamugi shijo

t..: ·:d.:. 3iF

Mitamae!!

seellook-(command) a mere 3 years

30%

in

(seed variety)

6 ¥.> 1.> 1:

t

30% ([) :,; .:r. 7 sanjuppiisento no shea

as for world

wheat

't' de

marker in/of

~ ·:d.:.o

o shimeru ni itatta.

of share (obj.)

hold

to reached

" Look ! In a mere 3 years, MR-99 has reached the point of holding a 30% share in the world wheat market." ''What did I teU you! MR-99 has gained a 30% share of the world wheat market in 'ust 3 ears!" (PL2) • the suffix -ranwe attaches to the stem form of a verb (mi- is the stem form o f miru, ··seeiJookat") to make a strong, authoritarian command. Here it carries the tone of "Look/see, il's jus t as I said!/What did I te ll you!'' • no makes 30% into a modifier for sltea ("share"); 30% 110 sltea = ·•a share of 30%." • - ni itatta is the past form of ni itaru, which means ·'reaches as far as - : ·

0

c-

-r

t

A!& X. 1.>

Ato icltinen de gojuppiise1110 o

koeru

more I year

surpa~~

Executive A: .1':>

iF

50%

in

50%

(obj.)

dtti:

't'T o

keisan desu. calculation

ato icltinen de gojupplisemo o koeru is a complete

i~

" Our calculations indicate it will sur a ss SO% in another year." (PL3)

[Ij Executive 8 :

7 .:/. 'J 7J n' t;, Amerika knra US

([)

b C' !v C' !v ~ .:t -r v' ~ -t

JQJ..A f.{ kOnytl-sii

no

thought/sentence ("[it] will surpas~ 50% in anothe r year'') modifying keisan ("calculation'').

mo don don

from that are purchase/order quantities also rapidly

fuete imasu

lj: o

na.

are increa~ing (colloq.)

' 'The orders from America are also increasin rapidJy." (PL3) • konyii ="purchases/purchasing,'' and -sii is a suffix meaning ··number/quantity," so konyt7-sii =''purchase quantities." Since kara means ''from," Amerika kara 110 konyii-sii can mean "quantity of purchases from America," but the context shows he's talking about purchase orders coming from America rather than purchases Japan is making from America. • f uete imasu is the polite form offuete iru (''are increasing"). from fueru ("increase").

Umezawa: 7 7 7, Fu f u f u,

$.~1j:

b lv

ltiniku na

111011

(smug laugh) ironic

th ing

,1;([) :ft.tf.:klil 1: A,-? -f([) da. A no slwkuryo taikoku ni imaya sono

t-2o is

that major food country to

.f.Rt- ~ :/c IJ -? lt"C 1.> t sltuslti o uritsukete-ru to

now of/for that ;eeds (obj.)

me

~elling

(quote)

I± wa tiS

lj: o

na.

for (colloq.)

" Heh heh, it's ironi~ isn't it-ho w we are now sellin seed s to that agricultural superpowe r." (PL2) Executive 8 :

l...n' L..

1]'~

li

~II&

!ff!J'ti

Sltikaslri komugi wa senryaku busshi bur

fiiin' nanika

wheat

a~

for strategic commodity

'Fttr -? -r t teo wte kuru

to

-r-t n' t;;, desu kara. is

v' f tt i::.ure

*Jf'.

O{.f '/J{ Bei-seifu ga

because eventually US gov. (subj.)

.~.~~' ~ -t n{o

omoimasu ga.

something will rake action (quote) rhink/cxpecr bur

"But wheat is a strategic commodit so I ex action a ainst us." (PL3)

,

• shokuryii = ·'food/foodstuffs/prov ision~ ... and taikoku is literally "great/major country": - taikoku is a label for designating countries that are major producers of the specified item or that are superpowers in the specified field: sltokuryo taikoku = " major food producing country" • ··agricultural superpower'' (cf. kei;:.ai taikoku = "economic superpower"). • imaya is an emphatic form of ima ("now"). • sono shushi ="seeds o f/ for that" -here implying the seeds responsible for sustaining the US as an agricultural superpower. • uritsukete-ru is a contraction of uritsukete iru, from uritsukeru. a combination of um ("sell") and tsukeru: -tsukeru after the ste ms of certain verbs implies the action is directed forcefully at something or someone. so uritsukeru i used when speaking of a sale from the seller's point of view-especially when a strong seller is in a position to dictate terms. • the sentence is inverted: norma l order would be a flo sltokuryo taikoku ni imaya sono slmshi o uritsuketeru to wa hiniku llCI 1110 11 da flO. • teo utte kuru is from the expressio n teo utsu ("take actio n/take the necessary measures Ito resolve a problem]"). Kuru ("come") implies that the action will be directed toward the speaker • "Ithe US government 1will take action against us." Mangajin 27

7' 7 :$1 -

'btli (7).

gJJ j. G-:t:J-t-11.

=t:J •

(;::: 1 nothing more than (explan.) I wonder?

" I wonder if, as our company president says, they were simply nothing more than conflicts centering on a seed?" "Could the resident be ri ht in saying that the countries were sim I fi hting over a seed and there was nothing more to it than that?" (PL2) • - ni suginai is an expression for "'i~ only/is nothing but/is nothing more than - ... • shushi o meguru {"'it centers on a seed") modifies arasoi {"fighllconnicllwar"): '·fighting/conflicts centering on a seed" • "'fighting over a seed:· (cominued 0 1111ext page)

Mangajin 3 1

7' 7 11 - 0 • A fter Zero

iJf.:ftlR* ~

tt ~· --r L.

fiiJ

*

i:' ~

c

ti ~ ~' 1: !;{ "?*

L. t:: ¢ "('

~-

t.t

l (''

n l;t '

t::

t!

* tfj

-t

t::

t-t

~

R

< 'i:'

~

"P: ·

1t 4-

.

~· ~ ~--

¢ ('

~1.>-!­ "?

£

"('

J: !!

C:

t1 A

t:: t.t

(!)It~ It (i) !;::

t:. .:

c

~

iJ>

(continued from previous page)

Kuze: -ftL t {>, 1!1-""f

El ~

1.:

Soretomo, shushi

Jltal

ni nanika no himitsu ga

or

.fi·~lil'

Mi.PO)

1Jf ifJ .0 am

0)

t! 0? -IJ''?

no

daro ka?

seeds themselves in some kind of secret (subj.) exists (explan.) I \\Onder

' 'Or do the seeds themselves hold some kind of secret?" (PL2)

Kuze:

r:,JJ t... I Kamimura Hakau. . . I

~f.j

nazo

'/J(

~T ~· .Oo

ga

iJ-.mgiru.

:...:.:.o=~""'-"'-st=el'l'_!lbout her as well." (PL2) ~

wake

demo noku,

*.0

HiT

.f.I(:1Jtft

t.:

wagasha

ni kuru mae

l;t wa

situation even is not something like our company to come before as for

l.. 't'lt''ilt'o nanimo

shite inai.

• o-sugim is from the adjective iii ("are numerous/many"'), and the suffix -sugiru means ''too much/excessively." so o-sugiru =·'are excessively many." Nazo ga o-sugiru is literally "the mysteries are too many." • taisllita ="considerable/of considerable merit"; when combined with a negative it often becomes ''of no particular merit.'' • - wake demo naku is a continuing form of- wake demo noi, a slightly more emphatic equivalent of - wake de wa IUii (or - wake ja nai: literally. "it's not the case/situation that -")---+ "it's not the case that she graduated from a considerable university."

• kore to itta is the past form of kore to iu, which means "of particular note/import/significance''-though it's usually followed by a negative to give the meaning ''of no panicular note/not any - of panicular note." etc. Similarly, nanimo works together with a negative later in the sentence to mean ''not anything/nothing.'' Shite inai is the negative form of shire iru (''has done''). from suru (''do"). Kore to itta kenkyii o nanimo shite inai ="has not done any research of panicular note.'' Sonna

konojo ga

are dake

no

koto

o

ware noketa.

that kind of she/her (\ubj.) thmmuch 1ha1 is thing (obj.) 1nanaged 10 do.

" Yet she ma naged to accomplish that remarkable feat." (PL2) If~

HN:

/maya shacho now

j'l,>~ I) f.:_ o

li

11,tk0)

II'Cl

kanojo no

iinari

da.

her

yeo-man

is

co. pre5.. as for

1

"And now she has the president wra~round her little linger." (PL2) • sonna (lit.. ''that kind of') as a modifier for kanojo ("she/her") is like "she who is/was that kind of person." • are dake looks like "only that." but its idiomatic meaning is "that much/many"--often. a!> here. implying that the number/ item/action/accompli hment in question is a very large/remarkable one. • yatte noketa is the past form of yatte nokem. a slang phrase for "mannge to do [somethingl/pull [something! orr:· • iinari refers to a person who moves at someone else·~ beck and call: - no iinari da mean~ the subject is "completely under - 's thumb/wrapped around - 's lillie finger/putty in - ·s hands."

Kuze: i "(

J: !! Mate yo!!

wait (emph.)

" Wait a minute!!" (PL2) • mate is the abrupt command form of mliiSll (''wait"). 0)

~~

1Jf ifJO) .f

l?,

nara.

in exist if it i~ the ca'>e thm

" If it's true that the source of the calamities is in the seed itself, MR- 99 ~ fl}g;_ ~1tt..: fl111'-t 1•.1/. l .: -t" f-it ~ i11.0 Emu-lim kyiijfikyii o (seed variety)

saisei saseta Kamimura Hakase koso .wre

(obj.) regenerated

(name)

Dr.

o

A~J

':11!!.~

I? ~'-' o

shim jinbut.w ni hokanarcmai.

(emph.) that (obj.) know personage i> none other than

" then Dr. Kamimura the one who regenerated MR-99 is precisely the one who should know." (PL2) • moshi - no nara gives the embedded complete thought/sentence .wiyakuno kiin ga ano shushi ni aru ("the source of the calamity is in that seed") a conditional meaning: "if it i, the case that - :·

,

• saisei sasew is the past form of .wisei saseru ("cause to regenerate"), from saisei sum ("resuscitate/regenerate/reproduce"): Emu-lint kyiljiikyii o saisei saseta is a complete thought/sente nce ("I she) caused MR-99 to regenerate'') modifying Kamimura Hakase (" Dr. Kamimura") • "Dr. Kamimura who caused MR-99 to regenerate.'' • koso emphasizes Kamimura Hakase with the feeling of "none other than her": in thi~ cal.e. it overlaps with the meaning of the expression - ni lwkanaranai ("is none other than - "). • sore o shim is a complete thought/sentence ("[she] ~nows that") modifyingjinbwsu ("personage").

Mangajin 33

7" 7

34 Mangajin

9 - 0 • After Zero

Umezawa: 7 7 7 Fufufu (self-satisfied laugh)

"Reb heh heh." Umezawa: f.l.O) Watashi no ywne ga konna-ni mo hayaku my

jitsugen suru

to

wa

na.

dream (subj.) this much even qu ickly be actualized/fulfilled (quote) as for (colloq.)

" I never ima ined that m dream would be fulfilled so soon!" (PL2) ~J: (J) J?,?-?¢J, f.!.~-) /j: o Konoue no (name)

yatsu me, kuyashi-gatte iru

who is guy-(derog.)

daro

is chagrined

na.

probably/surely (colloq.)

" That Konoue must really be kicking himself." (PL 1-2) it; " \ '? L:t § 7t 7'.1{ tlt ~ 1J> I? fiJl X. ~ lj:

-r J?..' iJL:lf.:

0

itte-yagatta.

that guy as for himself (subj.) world from hunger (obj.) e lim inate (explan.)(quote) was saying-(derog.)

" He was-sa in that he wanted to eliminate hun er from this earth himself!" (PL I ) • konna-ni mo 1 more emphatic form of konna-ni ("this much"); hayaku is the adverb form of the adjective hayai ("quick/fast"), so onna-ni mo hayaku = " this quickly/so quickly." • to wa makes the entir~receding sente nce into the topic of an unspoken exclamation, which is to say, it makes that topic itself into an exclamation. lt can be any kind of exclamation-pleasure, c hagrin, dismay-and here it is obvio usly an exclamation of glee. • yatsu is an informal/slang word for "guy/fellow/person"; no yaTSlt after a name or title usually has at least a mildly belittling/ derogatory feeling, and it's commonly used when finding fault with or deriding the person. • -me after a word referring to a person shows contempt/derision/anger directed at that person, so here it goes hand in hand with the derogatory feeling of yatsu. • kuyashi-gatte iru is from kuyashi-garu ("show signs of being chagrined"), a verb formed from the adjective kuyashii ("be vexed/mortified/chagrined"). The suffix -gam is attached to various adjectives of feeling (either psychological or physical) to create verbs that mean "show signs of being - ." The -garu form is used to speak of how another person is feeling- since that person's feelings are usually known only indirectly, from the way he/she allows his feelings to show. • aitsu is a contraction of ano yatsu (informal/slang for "that guy"). • itte-yagatta is a contraction of itte iyagana, a derogatory/insulting equivalent of itte ita ("was saying"). file is the -te form of iu ("say"), i- is the stem of iru, and yagatta is the past form of yagaru, a derogatory/insulting suffix that connects to the stem form of verbs.

Umezawa: P.l..t Konoue to ketsubetsu shire (name)

with

paned ways

tt L.. i b

tlt ~ ~ sekai-jii

1rm,

yatsu hodo no

tensai

o

ever since/after that guy extent that is genius (obj.) -::> t.:

sagashi-mawatta

"/)f'

.y ;1.

ga,

dame

t.!.-::> t.:. J: 0 datta

throughout the world went around searching but no good/fruitless was

yo. (emph.)

"After artin wa s with Konoue I traveUed aU over the world lookin it was no use." (PL2) • ketsubetsu shite is the -te form of ketsubetsu suru ("part ways/have a falling out/break with"), and irai means "ever since (until now)": ketsubetsu shite irai = " ever since parting ways with." • X hodo 110 Y means "a Y that is to the extent of X," so yatsu lzodo no tensai ="a genius that is to the extent of him" ..... "a genius of his caliber/a genius like him.'' • sagashi-mawatta is the past form of sagaslzi-mawaru ("travel around searching/looking for").

Umezawa:

I I

t.!. Masa-ni kami no michibiki da

J: o yo.

• soko is literally "that place/there," but here it refers more to a place/point in time-i.e., the po int at which Umezawa had searched and searched and pretty much given up hope. • arawarera is the past form of arawareru ("appear/show up"). • kami no michibiki is literally "the guidance of God"-+ " divine guidance/the hand of God."

[II

Kamimura: !!11t

(J)

iJ ~

iJ> ~ L.. tL i 1.?: lv J: 0

A kuma no miclzibiki kamo shiremasen yo. devil

's guidance

may possibly be (emph.)

" It could be the hand ofthe devil, you know." (PL3) • kamo shiremasen is the polite fonn of kamo shirelllli ("might be/may possibly be"). • yo often emphasizes something the speaker thinks the listener particularly needs to know or be reminded of: "-, remember/ - , you know.''

Mangajin 35

1' 7 9 - 0 • After Zero

t:t (:

!?

16 Mangajin

Executive: t:.,

*~

Ta-

taihen

U~!!

"t"T,

tksu, shachO!!

(stammer) trouble/disaster is

co. preslsir

''Sir, it's a disaster!" (PL3) Umezawa: Lf:.?

c·?

DIJ shita? wballbow did

"What's wronc?'' (PL2) • taihen refers to a "serious/troublesome/alarming situation," and taihen tkJ/desu! is used as an exclamation in response to any cause for alann. • do is "how/what" and shita is the plain/abrupt past fonn of suru ("do"), so do shita is literally " What did you do?'' But the expression is often used idiomatically to ask for an explanation of something that appears out of the ordinary: "What's wrong/What's the matter/What's the trouble?"

Executive:

3~ MR-99 Sannen -mae, hajimete saibai o shiro Tai no Emu-iiru kyiijt7kyt7 -batake de 3 years ago first cultivation (obj.) did Thailand in MR-99 fields in N~

1Jt

~.:-:.:>"t"~t'1T!!

ihen

ga

okotte imasu!

mishap/unusual event (subj.)

is occurring

"In the MR-99 fields first cultivated 3 years ago in T hailand, a mishap is occurring!" "There's been a misha in the MR-99 fields first cultivated 3 ears a o in Thailand!" (PL3) • saibai o shita is the past form of saibai o suru, literally "do cultivation" - "cultivate." Hajimete saibai o shita is a complete thought/sentence ("[we] first cultivated [them]") modifying Tai no Emu-iiru kyiljilkyii-batake ("the MR-99 fields in Thailand"). • okotte imasu is the polite form of okotte iru ("is occurring"), from okom ("occurs/happens").

Umezawa:

~ 1: ?! Nani?!

''What?!" (PL2)

8J On-site staff:

f* (explan.)

roduce hea ds of

ain!" (PL3)

• kabu when speaking of plants refers to a single plant or cluster. • mi might be described as the "bearing part" of plants -i.e., "seeds/grains/nutslberries/fruits''- and when speakjng of mi, tsukeru means "form/bear/produce (seeds/grains/etc.]." • mae= "before," and mi o tsukeru mae= "before producing grai n"; ni marks this as the time frame when the next mentioned action takes place. • koshi shire iru ("are withering") is from koshi suru ("wither and die").

Umezawa:

~ 1~t>?

Do iu

.: c lcoto

t!.?!

tM~il

da?!

BylJgenkin

;¢•?! lco?!

whal kind of thing/situation is disease causing bacteria (7)

"What's ROing on? Is it some ldnd or disease?'' (PL2) On-site stall': lf.~

:;r-IJ:I

"t"To

Gen 'in furnei desu. cause unclear/unknown is

"The cause is unclear."

''We've been unable to identify a cause." (PL3) • asking a question with da is masculine and can sound very rough.

To be continued . ..

Mangajin 37

© Nonaka Eiji. All rights reserved. First published in Japan in 1996 by Kodansha. Tokyo. English translation rights arranged through Kodansha.

38 Mangajin

.=-t-;\~

A

Dai SanjL7hassho Ter.w -)in no.

38-chapter

iron person

Cha ter 38: Iron Man • dai is like "no." and -shiJ is the counter suffix for chapters in a book. • we considered translating tersujin as "Griddle Man,'' but since this manga is a parody of the strong, silent, action-hero genre, " Iron Man" seemed more appropriate.

[!]

Narration: ~!{:

~

J\1$ Yakami

Kacho

-taku

section chief (name) residence

Section ChiefYakami's Residence Yakami: 1*8 Kyiijitsu no hiru-sagari . .. day off

of early afternoon

Earl afternoon of a da off ... :::.. lv f;t fl# 1: li :::.. t.!. b 'r) (}))...-:d.:. ·J!f; 'J I \ Korma

roki ni

wa kodawari no hairra yakisoba

this kind of time at as for

discriminating

c'

"/;t -:::> < -::> "U'f.J., (}) nado rsukurte miru no

yakisoba a thing like try making

~

v' v' o

mo

ii.

(nom.) too/also is good/appealing

Times like these are great for making the consummate yakisoba. (PL2) • hint= "noon," and hiru-sagari = "a little after noon/early afternoon." • kodawari is the noun form of kodawaru ("be particular/scrupulous [about]"), and haitta is the past form of hairu ("enter"; the past form often implies "containing"), so kodawari no hail/a means "containing scrupulousness"- "discriminating." This modifies yakisoba ("stir-fried noodles''). • rsukwte is the -te form of tsukuru ("make"); miru after the -re form of a verb means " try Idoing the action!," so rsukulle mint= "try making." • no makes the preceding complete sentence kodawari 110 hail/a yakisoba nado rsukuu e mint ("[I will] try making some discriminating yakisoba") act like a single noun. • - no mo ii makes an expression like "Ithe described action], too, is good/appealing/satisfying."

I±

Yakami: ::t 1 Jv Oim oil

wa

~-;

g-r,

iJ-sugizu,

~-t:t-r ~·-r,

as for not too mucb

not too jjuJe

i /vr katsu

sukuna-sugizu,



~ .5

girl

(subj.)descendanl

-40\

2.o

Q:. .J,..L

J:!ll

+ ~ ~· 1":! t>

j a. is

20~litr *t.: ~Q) 1;:.U>=t- t.: ~ 0 Nijiinen-nme kita ano onna no ko ja. 20 yrs. ago

came

that

girl

is

"I know it' s that irl. It's that 'rl who visited 20 years ago." (PL2) • a! indicates the speaker has suddenly noticed/recognized/realized something, like "Oh!lthat's right!/l know!" • ja is used by many older male speakers as a substitute for da ("is/are"). • -mae (or -nme ni) after a lime span means "[that much time] ago." • kita is the past form of kuru ("come''), and nijiinen-mne kita ="[she] came 20 years ago": lhis is a complete thought/sentence modifying ano onna no ko ("that girl'') "that girl who came 20 years ago."

c:

G w omanB: 1 t,

(J)

..!;

Uchi

no

a

cu1e

i:i:Ji

""t'-9 J: o ro.

o-haka desu

5

my house/family 's (hon.)-grave is (emph.)

~

''This is m y family's grave." (PL3)

:c

&.

c u:

f-~?

shison?

.:r t.: ~ o

ano ko

(interj.) that child

.§

...

~ --:> , ~ U>

A!

·c

£

-/){

• konna modifying an adjec1ivc is shon for komra-ni ("'this much"), so konna kawaii =..,his much cUie'' ··so cute/this cute."' • musume can mean "daughler" or jusI "girl."

-5

..c

~

kall'aii musume ga

• yo i often used to emphasize information thai the speaker thinks the listener panicularly needs 10 know.

1i t

-,;

!! rJ

~

·c

:;;:

·.: .&> " ]

0

Mangajin 45

ra

L- f± ~

Comics for the Career Woman

* t:. t:: '-"'

t:.

(J)

''

.,.c

i! ~

~

l 't li

i' "..

/

If;L ~

!;

••

As j apanese women establish a more prominentpresence in the workforce, a new genre ofmanga has emergedchronicling the life ofthe "Career noman. TI T. " by T.R.Reid

o.,

of J:-Jii

wH:

Narration: =:JJ

Mitsuki -mae ni koshi no nukeru yo na 3 months

~

Q)

ago

.!,II'

\." gljttt.:

omoi

de wakareta

become paralyzed type thoughts/feelings with

~

otoko no hanashi wa, man about story

parted

li, i:>v':t3"' -t J.>.!:: L. -r, 01-01

as for by and by

suru to shite, will do/tell

As for the tale of the man I broke up with three months ago feeling utterly debilitated, I will get to it by and by, but. . . The story of the man with whom I went through a devastating break-up three months ago, I will relate

in due course. but • . • (PL2) Sound FX: 11 ·J 11 -;; 11 -:; Ka! ka/ ka/ Click click click (clicking of heels on floor) • mitsuki = sankagetsu = "3 months"; mae ni after a time span means "[that much time] ago." • koshi refers to the rear midsection of a person's body, roughly from a little above the waist down through the hips; in many expressions it represents the main support and locus of strength of the body (and, metaphorically, of other objects), similar to "backbone/spine" in English. Nukeru literally means "comes out/slips out," so koshi ga nukeru (here, no replaces ga because it's in a modifying clause) essentially refers to a loss of the body's main support and strength, like being suddenly without a backbone. It can describe becoming physically unable to stand or going into a state of emotional paralysis/ debilitation due to shock, extreme stress, grief, terror, etc. • yo na ("type/kind of') makes koshi no nukeru ("[I) become paralyzed") into a modifier for omoi f'thoughts/feelings"): "paralyzing-type feelings." • wakareta is the plain/abrupt past form of wakareru ("part/separate/break up (with]"). • mitsuki-mae ni koshi no nukeru yo 110 omoi de wakareta is a complete thought/sentence ("3 months ago [I) broke up with [him) with paralyzing-type feelings") modifying otoko ("man"). • - otoko no hanashi ="the story of the man with whom [I did the action]." • to shite is the -te form of the expression to suru, which often implies "make it - /make it that _ .. in the sense of making a choice/selection/decision-the decision here being that she will defer giving an account of her former boyfriend until later. The sentence continues through the next 2 frames.

0

Narration:

t

1: ir 1:'-'f.:. (J)f!.-?t.:. o kimete ita

no dalla.

of day (quote) had decided

(eJtplan.)

10

I who became age 28 had decided that this would be the day of a new departure. at an rate I had decided that toda June 20th the da I turned 28 would be the da of a new d~arture

Sound FX: "fJ

for me. (PL2)

"fJ '"I ka!

'"I

Ka!

Click click (clicking of heels on floor) • -sai is the counter sufftJt for years of age. • na11a is the plain/abrupl past form of naru ("become") and to marks the result, so nijllhassai to natta ="became 28," which modifies atashi (a varia1ion of watashi. " Vme."' used by female speakers) ''I who became 28." • kimete ita is the past form of kimete iru ("has/have decided"), from kimeru ("decide"); o marks kono hi (''this day") as the object of her decision-what she is deciding about-and 10 marks a rata na wbidachi no hi ("a day o f new departure") as the specific content/nature of the decision-what she has decided knno hi is. • no datia is the past form of the explanatory no da.

Editor: /v? N?

" Hunh?" (PL2)

0

Sound FX: J(/!! Ban!!

Bam (effect of slamming envelope down on desk) Envelope:

~t:}:(

Jillyo

Letter of Resignation Editor:

• decha11a is a contraction of dete shima11a. lhe -te form of deru ("'come/go oUI"") and 1he p:ll>t form of shimau, which afler the -te form of a verb implies lhe action is/was regrettable/ undesirable. Hanaji ga dent as a phrase means ""gel a bloody nose·· or ··one's nose bleeds." • tis.flw is from the English word ""tissue:·

""("'?

Tehe!

(self-pitying, embarrassed laugh) /111?~-?t.: o T-f "J~;z. ~'-'?

1\-}-lfn

Hanaji

dechatta.

Tisshu

nai?

ti~~ue

not have?

no.,ehleed came out-(regret)

"My nose is bleeding. Got a tissue?" (PL2) "IJ•, -f- fJ', C. 1 C.-? h.""?ltt.: fJ', h.(J)

Editor: ofSo

so

ka,

toto

that way (?) that way (?)

finally

ka,

<

t) lv b! mitsuketa ka, Minori-krm mo!

found

(?)

(name-fam.) also

" Is that right, is that right? You finaiiY.Iound one too!" (PL2) Editor: -f 7::> of -? .:¥ 1J .:¥ 1J (f) *lit t!. t lv ~ ,. o Sorosoro

gm-gm no sen da 111011 nli. by and by/soon barely within limit of line/position is bemu'ci'>O (colloq.)

:t:;tt. b

n4

-L·~

,;~:

L-et.:

Ore mo

hibi

shinpai

wa

shite-ta

I

~vt!.!! 11

da!!

also everyday worry/anJtiety as for was doing/having (cxplan.)

"You were soon coming to the position o f being at the limit, so I, too, worried about it every day."

Minori:

" You were coming right down to the wire· not a daj' went by.Jhat it didn' t wei h on m mind." (PL2) lj: , lj: 1v 1:T fJ'. .:¥ 1J .:¥ 1J -? 1:? Na-

nan desu ko.

(stammer) what

is

gmgm

ue?

(?) barely wilhin limit (quote)

" Wh- what do ou mean-'ri bt down to the wire?"' (PL3) • -f --IJ• is an alternate spelling for -f-"'> -IJ• ('"is that so?/is that right?''); many manga artists like to use kalakana long marks instead of adding hiragana for long vowels. • mitsuketa is the plain/abrupt past form of mitsukuu ("find/discover '). • -krm, a more familiar equivalem of -san ("'Mr./Ms.'"), is used mainly wi1h male peers or subordinates, but in a corporate setting superiors use it with subordinales of both sexes. • giri-giri implies being just barely within a limit; and sen (lit., ·'Jine"') can refer to a "position/leveVtrack": giri-giri no sen ="barely within the limit/right up against the limit.'' • mon is a contraclion of mono. which after db/desu means "because it's - "; - da monno ="'because it"s - . isn't it/ right?" and elongating the na gives it a bit of a comemplativelreOecting feeling. • shinpai is a noun for "worry/concern/anxiety." and shinpai sum is its verb form ··worry/fret''; shinpai shite-ta is a contraction of shinpai shire ita ("'was worried/anxious"), pasl fonn of shinpai shire im (''am worried/anxious"); inserting wa adds emphasis. • ue here is a colloquial equivalent of the quotative phrase to iu 110 wa ("as for what you refer to as - "').

Mangajin 69

h q) IJ i~

70 Ma~ajin

llt • M inori Densetsu

~t De, shiki

Editor: "t',

l;i "' "?? wa itsu?

so ceremony as for when

"So when's the ceremony?" (PL2) Minori: .f: 1v t.t 1v t: ~ ~ tJ i -It A-!! !x -nr Sonnan

ja arinwsen!!

Onna

~

M't:> .o

q)

li

.a~

ga kaislra o

yameru

no

wa

kekkon

~U

that kind of thing

is not

woman (subj.) co./job (obj.)

~.Zi?hf.t'-''

lv"t'TiJ',

7':A7

li?

kangaerarenai

11

desu ka,

desuku

wa?

quit

l:J.?'H.:

1ga1m purpose as for marriage other than

can't think/imagine (explan.-?) man. editor/you as for

"That's not it at aU! Is marria e !! th~e,_o ~n"'l'-L'r~easo=~n!.!...l~~~==-"-'-~'-""!~=='-='-'S!=~~~ • somwn =sonno 110 = ·'a thing like thatllhat kind of thing,'' and ja orimasen is the PL3 equivalent of ja nai ("is not"); sonnanja orimosen ="it's nothing like thatfit's not that at aJVthat's not it at all.'' • tw is a nominalizer that makes the complete thoughtfsentence onna ga kaislw o yomeru ("a woman quits her company/ job") act as a single noun. and wa marks that noun as the topic (i n this case a secondary topic, after desuku). • kangaerarenai is the negative form of kangaerareru (''can think"), potential form of kangaeru ("think"). • desuku is from the English " desk": de.w ku is used in Japanese newspaper and magazine publishing as a word for ''managing editor.'' Editor: it!!!.: Hoka ni tumiko

aru

~omething

other

110

ka?

exists (explan.-'!)

" Is there something else?" (PL2)

Editor:

~,

i

A.

mnsaka,

~ iJ',

(interj.) surely not

'(} J::

c L -r

c

~ q')

ltyollo shite

II}{! q) .:. ? ano ban no koto?

could it be

that night of thjng

?

"Oh surel' it's not ... this isn' t rchance about that one oi t is it?" (PL2) ~, ~ t) ~ ~? t..: " ' ~ J:> '-'' "t', .f: q) , f.:. i t.:. i T Jv itT t!.? f.:. iJ' i? ...

*

Aarya yolla ikioi de, sono. tomo-tomo hoteru-goi (stammer) as for that got drunk impetus/impulse by (interj.) by chance hotel district

''Th- that was ·ust a drunken im u -t7J'7

c-IJ'

Sekuhara

toka

t:.~t.t

.t o C: -:. .ib /.., t.! -:. -r .furikmula

U

1/e

a ,h

shachii

-r t.: -t!'o

Cinko

ille mira

ille-ta

bank

try going (em ph.) long since combined together transferred (quote) co. pres. was saying (emph.)

ze.

"Try going to the bank. T he boss was saying he'd long since transferred it all to our account." (PL2) • ine is lhe -te fonn of iku ("go"). and miro is the abrupt command fonn of miru ("see/look at''): a fonn of miru after lhe -te fonn of a verb implies "try [doing the action I and see I what happens/what the situation is ]:' • matomete is the -te fonn of maromeru ("put together/combine into one"). • furikonda is the past form offurikomu ("pay by bank transfer"): matometefurikonda ="combined and paid by bank transfer"-+ "paid the combined amount by bank transfer." • ue is a colloquial equivalent of the quotative to. • iue-ra is a contraction of iue ira ("was saying"). past of iue iru, from iu ("say").

Minori: -l:>il{v'iT!

~~~

L- li

Chigainwsu.' Atashi wa

7 1J-

1.:

furii

11i

~

IJ f.:'-' t.!lt 't'T!!

naritai

dake desu!!

Vme as for free/freelance to want to become only

is different

is

''No! That's not it either. I 'ust want to o freelance!" (PL3) Minorl: 71 7- C: L- -r *-lnl: L- t~"' t.! It -c't'!! Raita

to shire dokuritSII shitai dak.e desu!! as want to stand alone/become independent only is

writer

''I just want to strike out on m own as an inde • • • •

ndent writer!" (PL3)

f urii is shone ned fromfuriiransu, lhe katakana rendering of "freelance.'' naritai is the .. want to'' fonn of naru ("become"): naritai dake = '1ust/only want to become.'' raita here is the katakana rendering of the English word .. writer.'' dokuritsu shitai is the "want to" fonn of dokuritsu suru (.. become independent'').

Narration: ~ -t i.Jq.:, Sasuga ni.

f~'*

1::

to:~

sakka

11i

naru

C:

li , LX. to: n' -:. t.: o

to u·a ienakaua. as would expect author/novelist to will become (quote) as for could not say

Still, I couldn' t bring myself to sa I was ~oing to become an author. (PL2) • sasuga ni ty pically implies that the action fits what you would expect of the person under the circumstances; here she has .l!.llexpectedly turned decisive and boldly announced that she's striking out on her own, but it fits with her underlying timidity that she can' t bring herself to publicly claim the goal of sakka. • perhaps even more than the word "author" in English. sakka refers to a composer of literary work.

Editor:

~ AJ.!,

-t /..., t.t

.:: c

Nan da,

somw

koto ka.

what is

tJ'o

that kind of thing (?)

''Oh, is that all?" (PL2) Ed.Jtor: '-'"' /i

<

lv l:~~'v', #Q)IJ lvo 4-fl 'v'-:.1!1.-' n ja nai, Minori-kun. Kongetsu ippai

good/fine (explan.) is not

(name-farn.)

C

li '-'Vi\ IJJB

to

wa iwazu.

il'~ 'Z:b o

ashita kara demo.

this month through end (quote) as for not say tomorrow from

even

"It's fine, Minori, is it not? Instead of saying [you' ll stay] through the end of this month, even from tomorrow [you can be independent]." "That should be fine, Minori. Wh wait until the end of the month? You can start tomorrow." (PL2) • nan da (literally "what is it?'') at the beginning of a sentence often expresses a feeling of let down. Here it gives the

feeling of "Oh, that's all it is," overlapping wilh lhe meaning of somra koto ka (''is it (only) that kind of lhing?"). - 11 ja nai spoken wilh the intonation of a question is literally like " it's - , is it not?'' but idiomatically it is equivalent to " it's probably/surely -··or " it should be - ." • ippai after a time word referring to a day/week/monlhlyear makes an expression for ..through lhe end of [lhe specified day/week/monlh/year]." • iwazu is equivalent to iwanaide, a negative -re form of iu ("say") -- ''instead of/rather than saying." •

Minori: li? Ha?

"Huh?" (PL3) Editor: ~ 1.: -tt 7f-i~ t.! t !v Nanise fukyo da mon

ho

AU

ne.

Jin 'in

'fel11l 't' ~to:"' t !v il' -:. "'(,

.t <

sem

yoku

dekinai mo11 ka

ue,

U-R

.: If L- -r t.: L o

shacho koboshite·ta shi.

after all recession is because(colloq.) personnel adjustment can' t do thing (?) (quote) frequently co. pres. was grumbling(cause)

"After all it's a recession. The boss has been grumbling a lot late! that he wished he could reduce staff." (PL2) • nanise is a colloquial/dialect variation of ntmiJhiro. which can take on a variety of meanings depending on its context: "at any ratc/1 mean/you know/after all." • jin'in seiri ("personnel adjustment") essentially means "staff cuts/layoffs/downsiz ing." • dekinai is the negative fom1 of dekiru ("can do"). and 111011 is a contraction of mono ("thing"), so dekinai mon ka is literally ''is it a thing that can't be done?" - • ''I wonder if it can' t be done?" (implying ''I wish it could be done/1 wish I could do it''). • yoku is the adverb form of ii/yoi ("good/fine"). here meaning "ofte n/frequently" rather than ··well." • koboshite-ta is a contraction of kobo.~hire ira ("was complaining/grumbling"), from kobosu ("complain/grumble"). • shi marks the preceding as the cause/reason for something- here. the reason he thinks Minori can quit right away.

Mangajin 73

_ __

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

JJ._:_ _:_ q):.___:_ IJ iii

1lt • M inori Dense_ts_ u_ _ _ __

~tt7

.U.i..1-

t! t;;. "(• "? ~ \

t:. 0

~ ~ ~ ~~

1 .it: 1i

t:.~h--~iiJJ

CT)tt"(·*?~~

t! tL {, "(• t: "?

t:.

74 Mangajin

-c

~

· ..1 lv J:f.

-r

t.:.:l!Y-ti>

q)~lf..:t:. t! "'? t "'(• l

"? tJ· q) •., t:. b t10 0 'I:!'L---~

i

li

tL '

_ ....

tJfl..,li'-=> -c .t. o

Editor: i, Ma,

ganbatte

yo.

UR

ti\~

1:P

Q)

Shutcho

-chii

no

~.:

<

li · J:.

shacho ni wa

~-=>

yoku

c o~l,

t.:' '.it 'i "'?

tg

~G7) 0

76 Mangajin

"'?

t:::.

G7)

(J)

IJ

i~

ilt • Mino ri Densetsu

Minori:

~ G9 -

, .: :11., o- /

kR!O iT?

An6, (interj.)

kore, ron kumemasu? this loan can assemble/lake out "Excuse me, can a loan be taken out for this?"

"Excuse me, can I buy this on credit?" (PL3) • ano is a hesitation word simiJar to " uhh/um.'' It's often used to get someone's attention, essentially like " Excuse me." • kumemasu is the polite form of kumeru, which is the potential ("can/be able to") form o f the verb kumu (''put together/ assemble.'' or when speaking of a loan, "take out/draw up"). In this case, kumemasu? = kumemasu ka?

Salesman: b 1?-? lv ! + lnl

It

1 1: OK !

Mochiron! Jukkai made of course ten times up to

- -Iff 'iC :11. -r 1.>

~Hi

J:!

ichiban urere-ru kis/111

yo!

• -kai is a counter for " times/occasions." and when speaki ng o f loans it re fers to the number of times pay ments will be made -+ " installments." • mega rakai (lit., "eye is high") is an expression for "have d iscerning j udgment/good taste." • urete-ru is a contraction of urete iru ("is selling"), from urem ("[something] sells"): ima ichiban urere-m is a complete thought/sentence ("[it] is selling most now") modifying kishu (''model'') ..... ·' it' s the best-selling model right now."

Minori:

=+ ... Nijii.. . 20

li'.i,

:=+@I

:tl,~i' 1.: 1l I') i-ttlv? ie, sanjukkai -barai n i narimasen? no 30-inslallment payments to won't it become

"Can't you make it 20 ••• no. 30 Installments?" (PL3) Salesman: li? Ha?

"Huh?" (PL3) • -barai is from harai (h changes to b for euphony). a noun form of harau ("pay"): a number plus -kai-barai is the term for stating how many installments a loan must be paid off in. • narimasen is the polite form of naranai (' 'not become''), negative of naru ("become"). Spoken as a question it LiteraJiy means "won't it become - ?" but here this is actually an indirect way of asking ·'can't you make it - ?" • l:i? spoken as a question is a polite/formal " huh?/what's that?/excuse me?"

liT!!

• onegai sllima.w is literally a polite " I request it [of you 1." often essentially eq uivalent to "please Ido the aforementioned action]." • iya is literally " no: · but can serve merely as a kind of hesitation word. like ""well/er/that is:·

Onegai shimasu!! (hon.)-request do

" Please!" (PL3) Salesman:

If' ,

~,,~,

Li.P L .. .

1iya, shikashi . . . (stammer) no/well but

" W- well, but . . ."

Minori:

.Bili~i'

L ;t T!

~ 1l t~

t.: It

1Jf

Ill 1J

l:i"!

Onegai shimasu! Anata dake ga tayori desu! (bon.)-request do you only/alone (subj.) reliance/hope is/are

"Please! You' re m onl bo !" (PL3) Mlnori: ~ 1l t~ G9 ~ ~ L "' V t -g -IJf, 11! !f. 1:

a-

;~ .0 j(iAH'F* ~~ ~ -tt 1.> ~' b Lt1.1l P G9 .t ! ! Anata no yasashii hitokoto ga, rekislli ni nokoru j oryii sakka o tanjli saseru kmno shirenai 110 yo!! you 's kind one word (subj.) histOrY in will remain woman author (obj.) give birth may possibly (explan.) (emph.)

''One kind word from you could give birth to a woman author whose name will go down in history!" (PL2) • tayori = "reliance''-i.e., the person or thing one is relying upon for some purpose - • " hope.'' • rekishi ni nokoru ("[she/her name] will remain in history'') modifies jor:ni sakka (' 'woman author"') -+ " a woman author who will remain/go down in history." • tanjo is a noun for "birth," and tanjii saseru is the causative ("cause to be") form of the verb tanjo suru ("be born''); kamo shirenai ="might/may possibly." so tanjo saseru ka1110 shirenai is Literally ·•may possibly cause to be born.'' .to~ I: :H·:d~ '7-7' o li, ~ t..:LG9 }t't-tf G9 ~C:>bh f!. ..:d.:. 0 Nakenashi no oka11e de kaua wiipuro wa, arashi 110 kak~go 110 armrare datU/, small quantity of money with bought word processor as for my commllment of manifestation/symbol wa~

Narration: 1lltf.l:lG9

The word processor I bought with what little money I had gave concrete shape to my commitment. (PL2) • nakenashi 110 is used when speaking of one's meager cash/possessions: ··what little - one has:· • kaua is the plain/abrupt past form of kau ("'buy""); nakenashi 110 okane de kaua i~ a complete thought/sentence ("[I) bought it with what li ttle mo ney I had'') modifying wiipuro ("word processor," shortened from wiido pumsessii. the full Japanese rendering of the Eng lish te rm). Wiipuro in Japanese usuall y refers to dedicated word-processing equipment with built-in software and a primer rather than to a software application for use on an a ll-purpose computer.

Mangajin 77

;.,. (!)

W'-' "? 1: -r A,

(J) 0

78 Mangajin

IJ

i~

llt • Minori Densetsu

Narration: b 1 ~c~l) li Mo ato-modori wa now

l~"'o

-~

shinai.

lssho kono hito

::..tl) A

c

i~"'clfo

to

soi-togeru

lvf!o 11 da.

backslide as for won't do em ire life this person with will live together until death (explan.)

There was no turning back. I would Uve out the r est of m life with this rson. (PL2) i .0-c' ~~ (J) J: 11: lt~lflj: I*~ -r ~t.: l li q~Jt >a: 1-l:}._nf.: (J)f! ..::d.:o Marruie niiz.uma

yo ni ke11age 11a ketsui

110

just like new bride of

like

brave

de atashi wa kare o te 111 ~reta Ume as for him/partner (obj.) acquired

no datto.

decision with

(explan.)

ust like a new brid I had bra vel taken the lun e a nd ac uired for m self a new a rtner. (PL2) FX: T I'J -t I'J Suri suri

Nuzzle nuzzle (effect of lovingly nuzzling her cheek against the word processor carton) • soi-togeru means '"live together as man and wife until parted by death"; to marks the person with whom one will live. • mnrude introduces a statement of like ness. such as mitai or yo da ("'is like''). giving the meaning ·'just/exactJy like - :· Here we have the adverb form, yo ni. indicating a like manner - ''[do the action] as if I were - /like - would." • kare is actually a pronoun for ''he/him." but it is also used colloquially as a common noun meaning "bQyfriend," and in this case she is extending it to mean " bridegroom/spouse.'' • te ni ireta is the past form of ze ni ireru (''obtain/acquire"; literally "put/take into [one's] hand"). 0 marks kare as the direct object of this verb. MiSIItenaide

IViipuro-cha11! 1

ne.

Futari de shimrase 11i naro!

don't abandon-(rcque\t) (colloq.) word processor-(dimin.)

together

let'~

become happy

" Please don ' t abandon me, my little Word Processor. Together we'll be happy." (PL2) • misutenaide is a negative -re form of misw eru ("abandon/desert/wa lk out on/leave in the lurch"); the -te form of a verb often makes a relatively abrupt request or gen tle command, and a negati ve -te form makes it a negative request/command: "(please) don't - ." • -chan is a diminutive equivalent of -san ("Mr./Ms.") most typically u~ed with the names of children or among close adult friends. Except among children. adding -chan to the names of inanimate things generally has a humorous effect. but here it is essentially an extension o f her bridegroom metaphor. • shiawase =''happiness,'' and naro is the volitional (''let's!! shall") form o f nan1 ("become''), so shiawase 11i naro= ''let's become happy.''

Landlady:

~ t;, , #(J) I'J ~ ~ lv, Ara. Minori-cha11,

.t311J t) o

• ara is a feminine interjection showing sudden awareness o r surprise, "oh !/oh my!/goodness!" (interj.) (name-'t' t 1! Minori-clum. Omedetii! Hoho ...

(J)

J:, h- (J)

110

yo,

was waiting (explan.) (em ph.) (namc-dimin.)

congratulations (fern. laugh)

" I was waiting for you Mino ri. Congratula tions! Ha ha . .." (PL2) Minori:

~?

£? " Huh?" (PL2) • maue-ta is a contraction of mane ita. past form of moue iru ("am/is/are waiting"). from matsu ("wait"). • omedeto (go::.aima.w ) is a congratulatory phrase/greeting used for a wide variety of joyful/auspicious occasions.

M inori: J:

<

Yoku

::·;{f t, go-z.onji

b., 13lf ~ lv o

=- 'l /~f-

~' ':>

~ i t}

oV.>-c't~

~

dalle

bacili

wa

wa

yo.

Naosara

even if you are punishment us for

28

ataranai

I? lhl:f::.lt'

won' t hit (fern. colloq.) (ernph.) all the more

l:~~lt' (J)o

medetai

ja nai

no.

joyous

is not

(explan.)

"There's no (!!lnishment fol" being 28. In fact, it makes it all the more joyous." (PL2) • dtme is used as a colloquial equivalent of mo ("'even/too/also"') or de mo ("even if he/she/it is" or "even if welyoultlley are"'}--here the latter. • bachi is '"divine punishment'": bachi (ga) ataru (lit., '"punishment hits [you]") means "be punished" or "get what you deserve,'" and bachi (wa) ataranai is the expression's negative fonn. • ja nai no literally asks "isn't it the case tllat -?"'; but it's a purely rhetorical question that is actually a fairly strong assertion. • Minori meant it wasn't particularly joyous to be gaining her independence at the ripe age of28. The landlady thinks Minori's getting married. and that Minori is saying it's not particularly joyous to get married at that age, which is three years past the traditional "deadline" for young women to get married in Japan. So she contradicts Minori, essentially implying that it is especially joyous when an unmarried woman so far past the ideal age is still able to get married. Unmarried women past tlle age of 25 have long been compared to unsold Christmas cakes after the 25th of Decemberimplying they are of little value and hard to sell in the marriage marketplace. But the actual average age for a woman's flfSt marriage in Japan has apparently been rising in recent years and is now over 26. i::.'~·.1~o

Landlad.r: (jt,'! Hai!

Takknlbin.

here deli verc(l package

" Here! This was delivered today," (PL2) Sound FX:

~· :A

..;

Dosu!

Thump Minori: -) ~-:> Upu!

"Qor• • rakkyt7bin is a generic term for "package delivery service" and it can also be used to refer to the package that is delivered.

Landlady: # £Ji Suginae

Fusa

tte

Minori-chan no okiisan

(surname) (given name)(quote) (name-dirnjn.) "~e

!f./.i' C.

Landlad

Sosii 10

·s

desha?

mother is. isn' t she/right?

Fusa is our mother ri ht?" (PL2-3) *t~ b .t, ~:tL ~dJ.. ~-~!! kita

wa

yo,

konrei

kagu dai-ichigo!

?,uickly/without delay came (fern. coiiOlf~ A- ~ kore de

(colloq.) this with

auntiefl

also brief relief

'JJv n ;t.! tsurukame!

is crane&tortoise c ranc&tortoisc

" But ou know with this I can heave a si h of r elief. Knock on wood knock on wood!" (PL2)

FX: ti 1:> 1J Horori (tears of joy falling) • tsuru = "crane," and kame= " tortoise." both of which are considered symbols of longevity and good luck: tsurukame rsurukame is used as a formula/chant to ward off bad luck.

Minori: ~-

~1:

i.l{

Na-

nani

ga

':IJvn;t. tsurukame

J:,

.i:>li'~A-!

n/t,tJ - a;, 7 ~ q-; 1: n' ~ 1 -:> t:> ~ -:> -co

*

A-a,

kuma no ito

{interj.)

spider 's threads in became entangled-{regret)

ni

karamatchatte.

"Oh no, it got caught in a spider's web." (PL2) ;\1J~ t":>J:~t":>J: o

chocho.

foolish

butterfly

FX:

~7 ~7

Gura gura

Wobble wobble (effect of moving in an unstable way)

fluttering/swaying/falling gently.

Baka na

''Yikes!"

"Dumb butterfly." (PLI ) • li-a is a sigh/interjection of disappointment or lament, like "oh well/oh no/too bad/what a shame." • ito= "thread," so kumo no ito is literally "spider's thread(s)." • karamatchatte is a contraction of karamatte shimatte, from karamaru ("become entangled") and shimau, which after the -re form of a verb implies the action is/was regreuable/undesirable. • chocho ("butterfly") is often shortened to chOcho in colloquial speech.

FX: :J-5' ; o

daro.

person about thing as for can't saysurely/probably

"Surely you can't speak about other people." "You shouldn't be talking about others." (PL2) • jitabata represents flapping one's arms and legs about and/ or wriggling and writhing to try to escape from something/ someone-i.e., a desperate struggle to regain control or freedom. • ien is a contraction of ienai ("can' t say/speak"). negative of ieru, which is the potential ("can/be able lo") form of iu ("say"). • daro is a shortened daro, which makes a conjecture ("surely/probably"), but in this case it's a strongly assertive conjecture.

Mangajin 85

pop japanese

Let Them Eat Barley ere are more artifacts unearthed dunno what to say"). Others felt the same way , since the s illy during my archeological dig into popular Japanese slang from the expression tondemo happun ( lv 1: >b 1 ~ ·;; -;1 /, of which a very free Postwar Era. Corrections and comments are welcome. translation might be " I mean, how 1950 was one of the many years in off the wall can you get?") entered which comic Tony Tani was on a roll, the language that year and sti ll spouting catch phrases like 0 pops up at times when truth seems much stranger than fiction . misuteiku! ("Oh, mistake!"-a phrase first uttered in September by a crimi1951 brought Japan one year nal as he was arrested). With the new c loser to the end of the Occupadecade , Japan 's media, like tion, yet the influence of America was undiminished. By now it was America's, shifted its attention from the moralistic platitudes of discredclear that in social-policy matters, ited gray eminences to the consumthe Occupation was o n a gyakuerist whims of apple-cheeked tiin 'ejli kosu (i!l! :::1 - :A, "reverse course"), ( T 1 - / .J:. - :J -t - , "teenagers"). but that did not prevent large Economically, it was a good time to numbers of Japanese from feeling work in industries whose names were pai ned asto n is h ment when written with kanji characters containDouglas MacArthur, who a s ing kane-hen (~ 1M, the metal radical, Supr eme Comma nder of the i.e., steelmaking) or ito-hen (:kd/il, the Occupation forces had stood tall thread radical, meaning textiles). On before their emperor, was fired by by William Marsh the literary front, 1950's equivalent to President Harry Truman. The The Bridges of Madison County was general's famous eulogy to himOoka Shohei's Musashino Fujin, a novel in which the wife of self ("old soldiers never die, they just fade away"), delivered a jealous aristocrat falls in love with her servant. before Congress, entered Japanese as "Rohei wa shinazu, tada The lives of Koreans who'd lingered in Japan after their kiesaru nomi." (A one-liner equally prized by Japan-hands homeland ceased to be a Japanese colony in 1945 grew allegedly surfaced on a Tokyo placard in support of the great immensely more complicated on June 25, 1950. Forces from man's presidential aspirations: " We play for MacArthur's the Soviet- occupied sector of Korea (north of the erection.") sanjiihachido sen, 38&1Ji!, or 38th parallel) invaded the south1951 was also the year when Japanese adopted from ern sector where US troops were dug in. The economy revved English the expressions piiliru ( !:::" - 7 - Jv, "PR"-public up as Japan became the c hief US supply base for this civil relations) and nairon (-T 1 o /, "nylon"). war that split families and pitted the Communist bloc against The hit novel of 1951 was Santo-jiiyaku, or Third-Rate the capitalists. (The reddo pliji, or Red Purge, of Communist Executive, by Genji Keita. Japan's perennial oversupply of Party members from their jobs by General MacArthur had same assured that the tag santo-jiiyaku c=: ~ 11Hli) stuck and begun in May and would eventually result in the dismissal became all the rage. Nor was there a shortage of punsters or of over I, I00 teachers and government workers, not to trend-watchers. In 1951 they began to cannibalize the immemention over 10,000 workers in the private sector.) diate past for inspiration, recycling shayo-zoku (~Ht6~. the As for those Japanese on the other side of the issue, it would "setting-sun tribe," Dazai Osamu's famous 1947 label for the seem that the prospect of largesse begat arrogance. Asked by dying aristocratic class) as shayo-zoku (t±Jfl Jm, the "companya reporter to comment on the high price of rice, a conservative business tribe," referring to good old boys who, then as now, politician blurted: "BinbOnin wa mugi o kue!" (~/:f--A li shamelessly ran up huge tabs on their expense accounts). Another variation on a theme was to refer to buses manned ~ ~ jt ;t, "Let the poor eat barley!"). Perhaps this notorious fat cat had plumped himself out by tsumami-gui (-:::> i J.J. :ft only by the driver as wanmankli, a swipe at Prime Minister It', "eating with his fingers"), which is the sly way to refer to Yoshida Shigeru, who so dominated Japanese politics that from dipping into the public cookie jar and stuffing one's cheeks 1949 on his rivals and critics spoke disparagingly of wanman with the tastiest morsels. Caught in the act, the pol would have ( '7 / ? / , "one-man") rule. do ne well to ape the droll drawl of comic author Bunroku Shishi, whose 1950 observation on the state of things in William Marsh (marshbi/@gol.com) is a freelance writer general was: "Ware honma ni yo iwan wa" ("I most assuredly based in Tokyo.

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92 Mangajin

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