Reading Japanese witha Smile Nine Stories from a Japanese Weekly Magazine for Intermediate Learners Tom Gally * Nine Stories from Shukan Asahi Gat HH) - All True to Life, but All a Little Wacky * Full Translations, Notes, and CommentaryReading Japanese with a Smile Nine Stories from a Japanese Weekly Magazine for Intermediate Learners Tom GALLYWith the exception of Chapter 9, which is new to this edition, this book was first published by Kodansha International in 1997 under the title Strange but True: A True-Life Japanese Reader, Cover design by Koichi Kawamura. Published by Japan & Stuff Press, Mihara 2.19-60-202, Asaka-shi, Saitama-ken 351-0025, Japan. Japanese text from “Dekigotology,” Shikan Asabi. Copyright © Asahi Shimbunsha. English translation and commentary. Copyright © 2007 by Tom Gally. All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-4.9902848-17 First edition by Japan & Stuff Press, September 2007 www japanandstuff.com Conrenrs Inreooucrion FADE 1 BOF+5 CHSABSE2-N\-ORB The Honesty of a Famous Supermarket, Revealed by a Daughterin-Law’s Sudden Urge 2 CER ceseStWROMAOH A New Year’s Dawn on the Summit of Mt. Fuji, Climbed While Carrying a Dead Friend 3 BFR RICMBSSLOLERVS A Woman’s Shrewdness Concealed in a Fictional Journal subtre e 4 MEOW The Son-in-Law of the Mob 5_BREFO L DARIN The Two Sides of a Superclean Woman 1 B 55 73 936 POMBCERGRRWSS TM Examination Hell Lullabies for Infants 7 VMs IR ROMNRE The Cluelessness of a “Connected” Employee on Her Way to the “Country of Ban” 8 HSHOSPRRRBRACTAORB The Rich Boy’s Urine Therapy and His Girlfriend’s Depression 9 MOTEWEMT b VBS ROR His First Call Girl Was the Girl Next Door mM 29 145 165 Inrroouetion Most Japaneselanguage textbooks make language learning sim- ple and systematic. They carefully limit the number of kanji in- troduced at each level. They present new vocabulary and grammatical patterns step by step. Most important of all, they choose topics that are easy for readers to understand and un- likely to offend any teachers or students. The only problem with these textbooks is that they generally are very, very dull. The boredom induced by textbooks contrasts sharply with the rich and stimulating variety of the Japanese press. Some fifty thousand books are published every year in Japan on sub- jects ranging from philosophy to pornography. Thousands of magazines clog the racks of bookstores and newsstands, offer- ing entertainment and debate, scandal and libel, the high, the middlebrow, and the very low. It is this world, the world of Japanese as it is really written, into which this book is intended to provide a glimpse. The nine stories in this book were chosen from the “Dekigotology” column that appeared in the magazine 38 TI8H Hi Shitkan Asahi for many years. The word dekigotology (7? bY) is a combination of {322% dekigoto, which means “event” or “happening,” and the Greek/English suffix ogy Dekigotology, in other words, is the study of things that hap- pen. Each week, the column carried a half dozen stories, all Purported to be true, about interesting events that had hap- pened to people recently, The stories generally concern subjects that are familiar or topical, and their interest lies in the way they reveal what happens behind the scenes of everyday life. 7Introduction The stories are often surprising and usually funny. The stories on the following pages were selected from the hundreds that ran in “Dekigotology” in the early 1990s. To be chosen, each story had to meet two criteria: it had to be inter- esting, and it couldn’t be so topical that it would quickly go out of date. There was also an attempt to choose a variety of topics. Organization Each story is presented first in its entirety, exactly as in the paper- back book edition, with kanji pronunciations marked only when they appeared in the original. An English translation ap- pears on the facing page. This translation is intended to help the reader understand the Japanese, so it is more literal in places than a smooth literary translation would be. Students of Japanese may want to avoid looking at the translation until they have finished reading the text and notes. Next, the story is presented again a sentence or two at a time, with the reading of every kanji marked with furigana. Each of these text excerpts is followed by several groups of notes. a The first notes, marked with the kanji #& (short for HE vocabulary), consist of short glosses of words and phrases that appear in the preceding sentence. Every word is explained ex- cept basic grammatical function words (lt, 2, %, etc.) and words that have appeared earlier in the same story. ‘The second group of notes, marked with the kanji #4 (short for ii) 35] verb), consists of reverse derivations of declined verbs and adjectives. The first word in each derivation is the form that appears in the sentence, while the last word is the form that would normally appear in dictionaries. For example, the series BED te ww Hed ev ow FEY utagau goes from the past-tense negative to the nonpast negative to the nonpast affirmative (or dictionary) form of this verb. asus The third group, marked with 2& (short for HEAR an- 8 Introduction notation), consists of detailed notes on the vocabulary and grammar. Special attention is given to identifying the subjects of verbs and to showing which nouns are modified by which adjectives, relative clauses, etc. These notes also include remarks ‘on usage, related words, and typographical conventions, the last being a topic rarely mentioned in Japanese textbooks, aap The notes in the final group, marked 3% (hort for 34% culture), provide information and commentary about the cul- tural background of the stories. When necessary, they also ex- plain what makes the stories particularly interesting or funny to the Japanese reader. Pronunciations are marked in the notes using romaji, not furigana. There are several reasons for this. Furigana are some- times hard to read, especially when the type is small. Romaji are useful for showing word divisions and identifying the read- ings of the particles (4 and ~\, such as in the phrase & V9 O\& to iu no wa And for students who have learned Japanese from teachers who prohibit the use of romaji, the romaji scat- tered through the notes will familiarize them with this method of representing Japanese pronunciation, which is still essential for scholars and for others who use both Japanese and English in international contexts. Acknowledgments Tam grateful to many people for their help in the preparation of this book. I first learned of “Dekigotology” over two decades ago from Tomoko Iwai, who was one of my Japanese teachers at the time, and her enthusiasm for making language learning interesting as well as educational was one of the inspirations for this book. I am also thankful to Hiroko Fukuda and Kazushi Ishida, who made valuable contributions to an early draft, to Michael Brase and Shigeyoshi Suzuki of Kodansha International for their helpful suggestions during the planning stages and for their careful editing of the first edition in 1997, and again to Michael Brase, now executive director of Japan & 9Introduction Stuff Press, for offering to publish this expanded edition. Special gratitude also goes to the Ashi Shimbun for kindly granting permission to reprint the stories here and to Shin- chosha for permission to use the versions published in book form. Readers who wish to read more of these stories are en- couraged to purchase the paperback anthologies in the #) A KE Asahi Bunko and 34 SCM Shinché Bunko series. I would also like to thank the participants in the Honyaku mailing list for their wise and informative discussions on many matters related to Japanese and English translation. For their responses to questions I posted about this book, I am particu. larly indebted to Sara Aoyama, Adrian Boyle, John Brannan, Regina I. A. Brice, John Bryan, John De Hoog, Alan Gleason, Graham Healey, Rich Higgins, Brian Howells, Sako Ikegami, Dan Kanagy, Yosuke Kawachi, J. C. Kelly, Mamoru Kondo, Bill Lise, David J. Littleboy, John Loftus, Tammy J. Morimoto, Gururaj Rao, Adam Rice, Karen Sandness, Fred Uleman, Rodney Webster, and John Zimet. As always, I am indebted to my wife, Ikuko Gally. She pro- vided many comments and suggestions about each of the sto- ries in this book, and her insights greatly improved the accuracy and depth of the notes. Although all of these people did their best to help me, I fear that I have betrayed their kindness by persisting in many errors, for each of which I take full responsibility. Tom Gally BADE HAR CESABAI LOT. RKOMAD—JILH PHOAAOHAC GVLe5 5 ER. MRA TIE, MARR. ARAB CEBET OVERS SOS, th BEBZVOPSLNEVA, PRULOFEARKHO TO, BLA THOS ELOANEL ALR THR. TH KORRICOWT) La» [PMEFSI | LV, AA BAC MMOUCMICNS £5 S-RB ORM. SA 2 [AS ASAUMERII OLIG, Miclswoms ALE AS, KBR (SIH ERIE 0 DRo TUS PH Ko TOLD GRAB CHART MMT SL. AKIO EOWA, ARAGRHCZLY MER, bok BRSAZE UPA. Lal, BAKES, BAROMB, FUE, BME EATVSL, COMATOSE CSV BH WeRoTHSZLVI CE AMbDS. EA CBHEHS HSL, Fits LV Hb SS. MILK CHAM EMRLTURE A, ARBRE Bio TWA BAM RSL. ECS ORBITS CHERALK EHHAMMELA LHD EPORA Th, TCIMA EA ICMMOS AME, HAS 15K VHB ER. HO RC EDEL EEOAKBLH BRPoK, LBP FAREEL, POLBREIDHO Rilerbbne rockon. tnt [Peat boy _ J 2Tlo [PED HOY — | A CTIA Ro hO ARAL BEB Rok, MPS, COAFLORY Y—1tK SOWRBCHA CRA SCLEIHS. TONBIEA aEAMES BPP IE OTIS, Mb HART SRF YL WIE, VREBHLVCE, FOVCESLAHLE SO TVS. AILE 0 OBABERA CHRMIC Lo Td, DIAC oT [FF ThUY—]| Oe LVAR PED MRLEADL IKK. Cb (FF Thuy—-l& BA LC RS ohBHETEE IRA LTS. VEOMHC., COREok. FRIAS THSO BtHKOBA TC, GREMMGERENU KK. HRRE HABE PATOWABARA, BROCE ERTS IVIHIKMATSA, ELUMBAOH CHARS HAAZEOLFICBASH, EVICLICRKODHS HAA DBA TURE MIEKBI LV 12 BOF+ CHS 822-/\-ORS Tue Honesty oF a Famous SupeRmarner, Reveateo ay a Daventer-in-Law’s Suoven Ureea a BOF + CHS 822-/\-ORE UHSOSTSA (E>) Bk, BERRY HI FESA (A) MATAROIL, HOM DROZ LKott. TRAE CKO, bLOLROMERICA SESAKL OTERE DVM TCHS. Ho LVR E OTR LAB, MEE CBI ThEOK. RY LA. ROBAREVD, SWERAES FSA, BL, HDS OMMA—N- TK BEI CHOKES FOF VORKAMEE OK. EF DASA LoTR, (CHKBFEMER VDA) E-Book bOO, BMIABEL OIL. EMTS L HIIATO F-+7. 44 Tue Honesty oF a Famous SUPERMARKET, Reveateo ey a Daveurer-in-Law’s Suoven Uree It was midday during a dry spell in the rainy season when F-ko (61) came from Zushi to visit the home of her daughter-inlaw S-ko (31) in Setagaya. “Since I had already come as far as Shibuya, I just dropped by to see my grandchild’s face.” For Sko, her motherinlaw was more frightening than a demon. Sko did everything she could to be a good hostess for Fko. Later, her mother-in-law took S- ’s daughter for a walk. Sko breathed a sigh of relief. As she relaxed, S-ko felt hungry, and her eyes suddenly came to rest upon the bag of doughnuts that her motherindaw had bought at K-nokuniya, a luxury supermarket nearby. Fko had said that she was going to take the doughnuts home to Zushi, Sko thought at first, “I really shouldn’t touch them.” But hunger is stronger than reason. She opened the bag and found six doughnuts inside. SsHonesty of a Famous Supermarket (MAZE te BSB tz) L, BW CRASL, Ny 7ORERAD ICE RLTBUK, TIL S MIL, POPS RS k, FF YORERUC, HEV Io THK. ELSA, WFICROKFESA, Lom), — (HEY EVOKAROVEP SKE. [REFOK/HBRCOARSARFSZBZAT!I k, Sot¢ K/ MEK 4 H+ SOO RE, K/ BOWE ORE LA. BBB At FIO F-+Y —Ie eAIEICHR, OE E 3E WOMEN ET SAGE CHIR LOTHS, PCUIMIA DO . BAUS, BRAT OR HOPI REMEEDI» FFSASCHICI, PSPONCK TRIB] EK. RAP STS AI TRIB LTH ot. ESA, TNEMVESFSA, MMB. © OWBIL, BHE CHO THEI LMC REL TOO Bo 16 Honesty of a Famous Supermarket “Maybe she won’t notice if I eat only one,” Sko thought. She hurriedly ate a doughnut and carefully re- closed the package. Fko returned from her walk none the wiser. Quite satisfied with herself, she left for home carrying the bag of doughnuts. But sure enough, when Fko returned to Zushi, she noticed that one doughnut was missing. That’s when he trouble started. “I can’t believe that, of all the stores in Japan, K- nokuniya would make such a mistake!” Eko immedi- ately called K-nokuniya to complain. The call dragged on for thirty minutes. Fko was too much for the per- son handling the matter at K-nokuniya. The first thing he next morning, clutching a single 80-yen doughnut as if their lives depended on it, the sales clerk and the floor supervisor came to Fko’s home to apologize. One way, it had taken more than two hours. When asked, the sales clerk said she had left home at five o'clock hat morning. Eko was greatly impressed. “That's K-nokuniya for you!” she said. She spread the story around to her friends and S-ko. Of course, when Sko heard what had happened, her face turned deathly pale. She has firmly resolved to take he secret to her grave.la Tithe: BOF HCH BEA —)\— OWE 38 1® yome daughterinlaw / 7% L» dekigokoro (bad) impulse / CHS de shiru to find out from; to be shown by / # % yimei famous / A—/S— supermarket / ME seii honesty; sincerity t& 7¥-Ly is usually written (H5R-l. Katakana is often sub- stituted for kanji or hiragana in informal writing as a kind of playful emphasis. / The phrases OF 0 CH & and #4 A—N—O both modify MIE. Bic, Becky ce a K~) wifa carols, HOMM ORD Lot. 4B {HIN Saagoa residential area in western Tokyo / SF &A. Bsekosan Ms. S, Sko / =— we =+—H sant: isai 31 years old / % taku home, residence / 2-F- Zushi city near Kamakura, about 50 km south of central Tokyo / ¥8 shatome mother-inlaw / HjiaT & 72 tacunete kita came to visit / HEH tvyu the rainy season, which usually comes to all of Japan except Hokkaido in June / HA 7UI] harema a brief dry spell 18 Honesty of a Famous Supermarket Ht ww BIAS tacuneru | Ste ee KB burn The word % can come immediately after a person’s name without a connecting M, so S¥-& AE means “Sko’s home,” / The phrase (2 f£ tri modifies FF-& A, so WPI E tH, FSA means “F-ko, ($-ko’s) motherin-law, who lives in Zushi.” / The topic of this sentence is FF SAM HATEEOI “(the time when) Eko came to visit”; the is a nominalizing parti- cle. This topic is linked by the copula > 7: to HERO FAUT] D4.O = &. The core meaning of the sentence is thus “the time when F-ko came to visit was around mid- day during a brief dry spell in the rainy season.” The principal characters in the “Dekigotology” stories, and in many similar articles in the popular press, are identified by their initials. The in Sf marks it as a woman’s name, perhaps 32-F- Sachiko or fF Shizuko. The motherinlaw Ff might be 3¢ Fumiko or HRT Figiko. Not all women’s names end in “¥-, however, and sometimes you may see names like H3E (for #3 Harumi) or A (for RA Anna). / The ages =—~ and 7K— are written in kanji here because that is how they appeared in the original vertically-printed article. In hori- zontal Japanese text, the numbers would normally be writ- ten as 31 and 61. / The kanji fii is not one of the 1,945 characters of the #FHBEF j6y0 kanji list recommended by the Japanese government for general use. Aside from school textbooks and newspapers, few publications adhere rigorously to that list, and the student of Japanese who learns only the ‘#/Hi#&F will remain incompletely liter- ate. 19rile Honesty of a Famous Supermarket Ic BAschrmo, brob Kot Aca] #& 24 Shibwa a major business, shopping, and entertain. ment area on the west side of central Tokyo / $& mago grandchild / $f kao face By Kew RS kum / Hw LD min 3 What Fko means to say at the end of this sentence is 5 kOCROMERIERLA TH “I just dropped by to see my grandchild’s face.” F-ko’s omission of the verb is a breezy, familiar style that is common in speech and infor mal writing. The stories in this book contain many verb- less sentences. / The symbols [ and | are used here as quotation marks. Called $44%Ill kagi kakko “key brackets” because of their resemblance to Japanese L-shaped keys (64 hagi), these marks are also used for emphasis and to indicate proper names, as in lg and 6). 1d SESAKLOTIME DUH CHS. Honesty of a Famous Supermarket le HookoPHs oO ce lLck, Meine Hobo Tb bot. $B FOIL sei ippai as much as possible, with a total ef fort / SAB ¢ aio yoku cheerfully, warmly / & C2 L % entertained (her) / #% ato after / # musume daughter / HILT ssurete taking along / #512 sanpo ni for a walk / V2 T$ 5272 had gone [lit] received (her) going MH STRELA © STHT / MNT © MNS ture / Vio F< u/ b50k w 565 3& The subject of 6 T2#LZ and HS50% is SFA, and the subject of #21C and WoT is FFSA. % The image of a daughter-in-law playing the perfect hostess while secretly fearing her mother-in-law would be familiar to many Japanese readers, B SFSA Lo TIS Buckosan ni totte wa for Sko, in S ko’s opinion / 5& oni devil; demon / ffi kowai fright ening 3 The topic phrase of this sentence is understood to be F FeAl 3% Conflicts between married women and their husbands’ mothers are a frequent theme of popular fiction and tele vision dramas, reflecting, perhaps, the prevalence of such conflicts in real life. % ye with relief / —4 bitvoiki a short rest; [lit] one breath 7 As in la, the katakana in > y & indicate a mild empha- sis, similar to italic type in English. This word appears in dictionaries as |Z &. / Again the verb is omitted. The full idiom is —f&2 < hitoiki suku “to take a breather.” 20 arHonesty of a Famous Supermarket Ig 2 RS BBBA TEI D, Rie BarSEanr, a mee & WSS «OMB As [ik BI) cH oheEw5 F-F YORK AMEE OK. EB RAWAL Ki ga yurunda relaxed; became less tense, less Vigilant, [lit] the 4% Ai became slack / V> because / 2 IL kijfuku empty stomach; hunger / 2.7: oboeta felt / at suddenly / ¥< D chikaku no nearby / Fai kakya high-class; lwcury / [K 7 BE) Kénokuniya abbreviated name of supermarket / {2 7 hata purchased / & V5 to iu, to yt which (Fko) said (she bought) / F-+ 70 $$ dinaisn no fukuro bag of doughnuts / Ha'ik #5 7% ime ga tomatta (Sko) noticed; [lit] (Sko's) eye stopped on Bp BATE ww Bt yurumu / VAI ww WRSD oboeu / H ok we B4 kau/ikEok w IkES tomam tk The phrase SRA 724tV>% means “perhaps because she relaxed.” explaining why Sko suddenly felt hungry. / The topic-marker (i ta after Sko-san has been elided. / While #£% 4 often means “to remember” or “to learn,” here its meaning is “to feel.” / ii is the subject of Ho t:./ SFA is the topic for HALE OK. 3X Tokyo residents would recognize K 7 HH as #7 BIE Kinokaniya, a luxury supermarket that sells imported food. (There’s also an international chain of bookstores called Kinokuniya, but they write their name #2 HE.) 22 Honesty of a Famous Supermarket th BPORsHewoctukmb, (CHeehe eenba) “kalo xeon, 2H ia ya HH LO HL. 88 FE/H jitakugo for use at one’s home / Eo CW 2 6 to itte ita kara because (F-ko) had said that / #% Hi *£%\ te 0 dasenai cannot touch; cannot get involved in / %27a (shows mild exclamation; used by female speakers) / ®8O® mono no but / 2AIABEL ORL Rafukn wa risei yori tsuyoshi hunger is stronger than reason H VOC eH word / VR eS / HE @& HES ow HS dau / Bot « BF omou 3& The kanji A is used as a suffix in many expressions simi- lar to HGF. Examples include #9 pakags “for use by guests,” EH gun’yo “for military use,” and #478 shayo “for company use.” / The parentheses in (C MIDIS FE iHtt% 44a) and in Ij indicate S-ko’s unspoken thoughts. / 58 Lis the archaic literary form of the adjec- tive HHV> sspoi “strong.” / F$-& A is understood to be the subject of V5 TV7:, while ST-& A is the subject of HttZvs and Hors. The phrase 229% (SHEYE £ ) 5%L is a pun on the pro- verb Sv (£8 £ 0 ER L pen wa ken yori tsuyoshi “The pen is mightier than the sword.” BHonesty of a Famous Supermarket li BSS Petra e, MeaXio v-77. #8 BAIS & akeru to when (Sko) opened / PICId naka ni wa inside / 71 rokko six (roundish objects) 2& In full, this sentence would end AfHO F-F7d Honk. y (hire bse b am) &, Buckhss ita 2 By 7OREEA Y RL TEV Eo 3B 17% © ikko dake nara if only one (doughnut is t missing) / AVCHD isvide taberu to eat in a hurry / 1 NY package / # fia cover | BAY IS nen’iri ni i carefully; meticulously / TEICRLT BW moto ni modo shite oita reclosed (the package); [lit] returned (the cover) to its original position (in preparation for Fko’s return) By PPS @ FPS waka / BVT ow BC toogu / FELT @ RY modou | BVT © BS 3 The particle & is used in two distinct meanings in this sentence. The first ¢ can be called the “quoting” &; it is used to report speech, names, or, in this case, thoughts. The quoting ¢ often appears with the verb 7) “to say” or 3 “to think’ it is also used in Ig and th, for exam- ple. The second & is the “sequential” &; it shows that : one action follows another. Examples of the sequential ¢ | appear in li and tk. 24 Honesty of a Famous Supermarket XX Sko’s impulsive doughnut eating is the #24 men- tioned in the story’s title. 1k 9 E fa va HT Bika oak. K+ I ORE C, MEOH Cor. 8 9 LEH ahi 50 10 wa shirann shitome her mother- inlaw, who didn’t know about that / MAPS RSE gee hae modorn to vn (he) returned from her walk / (FC sagete carrying / FEIT ( manzohuge ni with satisfied look / Fito TV 3 7 face iva went home . FAS wa ww KB shire / HEFT ew HITS TorBS kau) ote he be wen / Bo c& The ¥ ending on #1 ¥a is a more literary version of the negative suffix %\>; #1 wa has the same meaning as 415%, / The basic meaning of the verb #172 is to dangle; to let hang.” When the object is a shopping bag, handbag, or other object with a strap or handle, the verb is best translated as “to carry.” 25nse EES Honesty of a Famous Supermarket il ESM, BPC RORFEEA, Lom), RED RV OKRAOOnD SKE #8 & 242% however (i.e, contrary to what was expected or hoped) / R27: modotta returned / L224 surely; without missing a thing / £2) %&\> sarinai to be lacking, to be missing / SOW 7: i ga twita noticed / 6 because / KE taihen a major crisis By Rot @ RS modou/ RYE @ BOS sarin / DVR we Od i The adverb Low), which modifies S0*OV*72, sug. gests that Fko is the type who lets very little get past her, / As in Ib, the particle M is a nominalizer, so —fHE) %V2M means “(the fact) that one doughnut was miss. ing” / Note that the meaning of 2% depends on the form of the verb it follows. After the past or present tense, it means “because”: MASOV 7A “because she noticed.” When preceded by the gerund (ie) form, how ever, it means “after”: ASOT AS “after she no- ticed.” / The word KE often expresses shock or panic. Someone who finds that the bathtub has overflowed and soaked the tatami is likely to shout [AR2E!J “Oh, no!” The word’s use in the above sentence expresses S-ko's sense of impending disaster. / The copula 7 after KH has been elided. 26 Honesty of a Famous Supermarket im Th b> Gee [AP OK/ HBUMCARTAEFSLAT! I az a _ ALABAL £, Boe Ck) Bigicits SP fottho€ iio 4% REO tenka no unsurpassed; leading / © A 3 ~ such a mistake / % A.C (expresses doubt, surprise, or anger) / Sot immediately / KE% enen at length; longwind- edly / #038 kégi complaint / #35 denwa telephone call zt As the kanji suggest, the original meaning of KF is “under heaven,” that is, “the entire country” or “the world.” When used as a modifer, RF means “widely known to be the best.” / The traditional pronunciation of +4 in the meaning “ten minutes” is sippun, not juppun as shown above. While the former pronunciation can be heard in news broadcasts and the like, the latter is more common in contemporary speech. (When —-4} means “enough; sufficient,” it is pronounced jiibun.) / With the ungated verb added, this sentence would end AHO 7E, In go hc OWLS 4 HA Lr &% 484% santésha the person handling the matter / #4413 LE konmake shita gave up RAD LE @ RATS honmake su -& MRSS means “to give up because one’s opponent is more persistent.” 27Honesty of a Famous Supermarket lo BOC, RE Mo va He BER eaEA 27 5 Hic, MEH cy BORER F 8 Be cH ano TH. 8 BEA —% yokuasa (or yokuchd) iciban the first thing the next morning / A\TtH® F-+-7—(i Aachijaen no donatsu ikko one 80-yen doughnut / RAC gosha daiji ni with infinite care / 42.2%. kakae holding (his or her arms around) / RICA hanbatin sales clerk / 769 3 uriba sales floor (of the supermarket) / HEfE#% sekininsha the manager, the person with senior responsibility / B32 \< shazai ni to apologize Bh far w HIRD hakaem / S72 ow RD kuru 3% Other combinations with 92 include 32H yokujitsw “the next day” and 234 yokushi “the next week.” / #22 is the stem of ta ES Aakaemasu, the present formal of 422 4. The present formal stem is used to link clauses. / The difference between MIEIZ A HO CHS and just H JEic % 7 is that the © followed by the copula C&S indicates that ‘this sentence is an elaboration of the pre ceding sentence: it explains what happened after the #124 & gave up in the face of Fko’s complaints. 3 The term #4: is so close in form and meaning to the English “afterlife” that one might think it a loanword. In fact, though, #424 comes from Buddhism and origi- nally meant “caring more about the next life than about this one.” In this story, the meaning is more secular. The supermarket employees were worried about not the Great Beyond but the store’s reputation. There’s a bit of sar- iy Va i t t 28 Honesty of a Famous Supermarket casm, too, in the use of this full-powered #4#% kango to describe how someone carried an eighty-yen doughnut. #8 HSH katamichi oneway (trip) / EERIE nijikan amari over two hours / [ITI Aikeba when (Fko) asked / tO 72% for that purpose / FREIC goji ni at five o'clock / RE WZ ie o deta left home Sy BAUS U ww BA hake / tte ow HS dew 3% The opposite of Hriil is EW ofuku “round trip.” / Other expressions with }r include HC katate de “with one hand” and 77 katabo “one (of a pair).” / After a nu- merical expression, 4 means “somewhat more than,” as in +A 0 janin amari “more than ten people; a dozen or so people.” / In this sentence, 272% means “in order to make the oneway trip of over two hours.” / The unstated subject of BAITIT is FF. XX Nowhere is the gender of the |G specified, nor that of the 41:44 or the 360 HOFER. Each could be ei- ther male or female. This ambiguity is often impossible to maintain in translations into English, in which gender- specific pronouns are unavoidable, 29tele ES Honesty of a Famous Supermarket Jq FESAb CHIC, PATAICK BIR | ER BB STANT really, as expected / KRW daikangeki greatly moved; deeply touched zk OM “this” refers to the long journey made by the super- market employees. / The vowel of the exclamation parti- cle is lengthened to — wa as emotive emphasis. / XK dai is a prefix meaning “greatly, very much.” / The particle & here is the quoting & (see lj). / The verb of this sentence is BRIX L7: Aangeki shita, with the Lit omitted. Ke 38 KA +yajin friends; acquaintances / KEEL CHok Sfuiché shite mawatta proclaimed; spread the word & Bok = HS mawan 3% By itself KRIST S means “to announce; to spread (news) widely.” The E]> 7: emphasizes that Fko told this story to one person after another. go Honesty of a Famous Supermarket Is EAS yeh ss ° b54A, theBvrSésri, AH # 854A of course / BRIM ganmen face / HE sibaku pale; pallid Gy BAZ: ww BAC hikw z& With the omitted verb replaced, the sentence would end BAH Alc % 27: “her face blanched.” X& The kanji # in #1 means “blue” or “green.” It also has the kun reading ao. It Wp come, Bhs choccy lk LTS. 3 WE bimitsu secret / 4% hakaba grave / #2 CHF & motte ikd to to carry away / Hl < kataku firmly; reso- lutely / HLL TVS kesshin shite ine has decided; has re- solved Bh OT @ HO motu / TOF ww F< tha %X Sko’s determination to carry to the grave the secret of her furtive doughnut eating has two motives. One is her em- barrassment at having forced the supermarket employees to take such a long journey for the sake of an 80-yen doughnut. The other motive, which gives a sharper edge to this story, is S-ko’s continuing fear of what her mother- in-law would do if she ever found out. HW| | a = r t é e f 2 LXRICH OE StwEoMsow A New Year's Dawy ow THE Sumurr oF Mr. Fos, Cumeeo Wane Carving a Deao Frienorina He LERUCHOE B+WEOMaOYW HECHEBE LTWS TSA (SE) ER, BOMMOKAL TUORLSUEMRLES ES Bat, KE IBS SL. KARE Re LABEL. MBKMI OTR OP CRE Ce DTW Ro —_— DELAY RULERBIS, TSAIRBLK. [AO -MK BLURBS CE RoR. EF PINPOAFERSLTROT NI | TALI HAE ORB LC, [hbovTHSETHS) E35, SLTLART SATIN L, AMI REMI, SHUM PokOTHS. oe th, ERERMORM Hot. RRLATH RRA, [2550%, MADE CHa] J4 A New Year's Dawn on THE Summ oF Mr. Fuss, Cumeeo Wane Carrying a Oran Freeno T (33), who works as an editor in Tokyo, had promised to climb Mt. Fuji on the morning of New Year’s Day together with a friend from his native area, Shizuoka. But when T telephoned him on New Year’s Eve, he was told that his friend had been in a traffic accident and was near death. T rushed to the hospital only to find that his friend was already dead. Having sobbed for a while, his friend’s father ap- pealed to T: “I was supposed to go along to climb Mt. Fuji. Please do something so that my son can climb it now!” The head nurse, who was nearby, was moved by this and said, “I'll go along, too.” So the father and nurse led T outside, and they actu- ally did put the dead body in the car and head for Mt Fuji, Along the way, they were stopped for questioning as part of the year-end safedriving campaign. A police offi- cer peered into the car and said, “That fellow looks sick.”Carrying a Dead Friend CB DER THSCEANLEDM, HB HEH ERD LC ha CHL TC Ro MEEMIRL, HAPARBUME ED DE DISKO, BREBROK OLEATE Po COHETSACHS. MMKAPTHERS TCE FRMAVHEYD, TRAM SEO, MESH kok oe . PW REPE, Po CTRL OHV. KEKE EL, KADY Littd < Bok. [ESBonKALe aA L, LADEN RRL as CB LAT, OK OM AMEL eo KATA, TEABRO ROLE SE (ok. SNM SEAVER. TAC KAORP SRA, MOMBS, PKAMY 7 ¥—-TROk=AOF HASABHENTH KR. KAlRoTHSEI CAA Bo Rid, TA VATHAKCATECHEPPOK NCHS. TSA, EXRMLESR< Bok. 36 Carrying a Dead Friend Soon the fact came out that it was a corpse. When he understood the situation, the officer was so moved that he led the way for them in his patrol car. Leaving the head nurse at the foot of the mountain, the three began to ascend the Osawa Trail. The time was ten o'clock at night. T, who used to lift weights, carried the body piggyback. The temperature was fifteen degrees below zero Celsius, Rigor mortis had already begun to set in, and T fell down several times and got covered with blood. At half past five in the morning, they finally reached the summit. They built a fire, and the body of T’s friend warmed up a little. “Tt looks like he’s come back to life,” the father mut- tered to himself. Just before seven, the morning sun suddenly shone on them. As they sat on either side of T’s friend, nei- ther T nor the father could stop crying. Five years have passed since then. In February, a let- ter arrived unexpectedly from the friend’s father. Enclosed was a photograph of the three of them, taken with a selftimer. The friend seemed to be smiling. It had taken the father five years to send the film to be developed. Once again, T couldn’t stop crying. 37ied EBABER Ito ao HOW Tite £8 REY CB rwLL Ho C&R nakitomo dead friend / #1v--C katuide carrying on one’s shoulders / > 7: nobotta climbed / #-EILTR Figisancho the summit of Mt. Fuji / 9A OH} hatsubinode the first sunrise of the year GAC ew HC hatugu / Bott BS noboru The verb BOX modifies BHA and GSK is the object of HVC, so CS KH CH OLBLIUNT means “the summit of Mt. Fuji, climbed while carrying a dead friend on one’s shoulders.” / The prefix C22 naki “dead” is also used in other combinations, such as 1X A. nakibito “deceased person” and U2 ¥%C nakichichi “one’s late father.” / The prefix #0 Aatw means “the first of the year,” as in #34 Aatsyu “one’s first bath of the New Year” and #)i# hatsumdde “New Year's visit to a shrine.” One of the many customs associated with the New Year's season in Japan is viewing the first sunrise of the New Year. People go to mountaintops and eastfacing seashores on the morning of January 1 to see and photograph the year’s first dawn. Because of the cold and snow, though, only the most intrepid attempt to climb Mt. Fuji, which at 3,776 meters (12,388 feet) is the highest peak in Japan. 38 & Carrying a Dead Friend HORT Tokyo de in Tokyo / #448% henshicsha editor / 4E% nenmatsu at the end of the year / $841 kyori home town; native area / WHE] Shizuoka name of a prefecture and city southwest of Tokyo / KA jijin friend / 76H. gantan the morning of New Year's Day / #til! tozan mountain climbing / #73 L 72 jakwoku shita promised LU @ FS /PRLR @ MRIS yakwoku suru The phrase HK CHARS & LTS TSA means “T, who works as an editor in Tokyo.” / Series of nouns linked by are sometimes difficult to parse. Here #844 DBRMOKA means “a friend from T’s native area, Shizuoka” / #2111 is “climbing Mt. Fuji.” The “Dekigotology” editors assert that all of the stories in this series are true. One piece of evidence to support this claim is the high proportion of characters who are edi- tors, designers, or employees of publishing companies—in other words, the sort of people who are likely to be ac quaintances of the series’ writers. 39_Careyng « Dead Friend Se Deed Frond The subject of EIS DISEG is T SA, and the subject of EK ROTA is KA. / Here, the #5 sie gests that the matter described in the following clause’. that is, the death of T’s friend—was surprising or unexpected, 2c te bike LRBR ES. 2 5B & C4A* however (ie, contrary to what was expected) / KWEA Omisoka the last day of the year / MikT SE denwa suru to when T telephoned / 2838247 howsi jiko traffic accident / #22 L okashi had caused / 788 kitoky close to death GH BOL we ROS ohom 3& BG BAH OT means “to be in a traffic accident.” / The & after Bit 4 is the sequential &, while the & after fuMBTE is the quoting & (sce I). / TSA is the subject of BEETS, and AA is the subject of HL and f&§72. / The subject of v4 is the unidentified person who told T of his friend’s accident over the tele phone. 2e Be DELED BEL ARH, Ps cRELA, % VELEDY fora while / BCL A okt shia sobbed: wailed / SCH chichioya fath r aigan shita ap- wut jigya father / LEK L 72 aigan shita ap- MBL BOTS gob om / RULE SU ® aigan sura 3 SCHL is the subject of both BiLLZ and BBLA. / C&L is more formal than 2 chichi. 2d Phas our etcik< ko tut. aa nae noc iad 1G 3B BBE doin hospital / HID S kaketsuketara when (1) hurried (he found that) / $C1< already / 2 < #9 TW 7: nakunatte ita had died By ROK S ww MINS haketsuken / CS GOT wre wi BS nakunan, 3& ERTS means “to rush or hurry to a destination.” / 40 WwCarrying a Dead Friend 2£ ee wicB bcs c kino tut. & Spinme dees revocint | ¥ watashi mo | also / —#&\< isho ni together (with * aan my son)/ 2& hot was supposed to, was going to / &'4) 2» (word used with requests) / “#1 %®6 now, soon / KF musuko my son / 5 LTP T Te HTS touku [WEES ew HTC thy HE FATICVW MAE means “the head nurse, who was near- by.” / The tt of HEE is the same as the last character of ABMS hangofi “nurse.” / The sentence Mboutws EFS literally means “Because I'll go with you, too.” The explanatory 4° “because” indicates that the head nurse is giving another reason why T should take his friend’s body to Mt. Fuji—because she will accompany them, 2h Bhe9 te AY ke Elche Fen eiend i, Hise, BLilicho ro cas, % %LT then; next / =A fidari the two people (ie, the father and the head nurse) / 34041 L touredashi led (1) outside / A415 honté ni actually / JAK itai corpse; body / IK kunma cat / $e naw placed (into the «hi cl) / BEUNCII%o t Ayisan mi mukatta beaded for Mt Fuji HOU Lew tsuredasu | 58° ee FLY nosera [Dot TS mukau SRD is the transitive counterpart of 3€% norm “to ride, to get in a vehicle.” / iH L and SR are the stems of the present formal forms J##1HiL #4 and Het E ‘T, respectively. As in 2), 21, and 2o, these stems link clauses. / The sense of #2412 in this sentence is “actu. ally went so far as to (put the corpse into the car).” Bmaa ie 2 £ ¢ ¢ c ‘ Carrying a Dead Friend 3B & tochd along the way / “FARBER nenmatsu eikai year-end safety [safedriving] campaign / RI kenmon in- spection; questioning / i272 atta encountered; came across Hh Hokwi) au 3 #115 is one of several ways to write the verb % 4. When the meaning is “to meet; to rendezvous with,” the word is written 7. The meaning “to match; to align” is written 4. When written 183, the verb means “to encounter by chance; to happen to meet.” #5 is usually used of unfortunate experiences. SX During £2 MK, the police do spot checks on passing vehicle, looking for drunk drivers, undone seatbelts, and other traffic violations. In this case, they may also have been hoping to turn back some of the motorcycles and cars packed with young people that gather at the base of Mt. Fuji for a raucous celebration of the New Year. BEYD bp. A, [26008 MeOe 38% keikan police officer / HA shanai interior of vehi- ay Hawa nozokikomi peeked into / T6 50H 44 Carrying a Dead Friend sockira no kata that person / BUE&AEV kaoiro ga wari looks sick / BB < hikw ask; inquire Gh) WSRA © WA QRts nocokikomu i& The verb Hit “to peck into” is a compound of if < nozoku “to peek” and iAts komu “to put into.” 1% 45OF is the polite version of DA sono hito “that person.” / The idiom BH 2°3EV> literally means “his fa cial color is bad,” but “looks sick” is closer to the in- tended meaning. / The verb Bil < indicates that the police officer spoke in a questioning tone. As suggested by the sentencefinal #a, he was asking for confirmation that T’s friend really was sick. 2k Whee ihcasceanven, ives or REAR Lt hy —-CHEL TC Cnt 3 DS %< ma mo naku soon / KCHS TE itai de am koto the fact that it was a corpse / 7S 7 was re vealed / 3H jo the situation / #172 shitta learned; found out / Sb 47 — patrol car / $M LT H7z send6 shite kureta led the way (for T and the others) H NVe wine / Mok we MS shim / MLC HF sends suru | Hw SB 2 The idiom ff} % < literally means “without even an in- terval of time,” in other words, “very soon.” / The verb '£4. is used when lies, conspiracies, or other secrets are discovered. / 44% Slo 7:22 means “the police off- cer, when he found out about the situation.” 4tae he ChE a at nent ey Carrying a Dead Friend 2i ebb i AGE MIE BIR. hORRO Ft. 38K fiamowo the foot of the mountain / 5% L- nokoshi leav. ing behind / =A sannin the three people / AUZELL# Osawa Tozando the Osawa Trail / 4 #872 O 1k nobon- hajimeta no wa when they began climbing / D+ “yoru no jiji ten o’clock at night BH) RL ew RF nokosu / EVD ow BS noboru, kid % hajimeru ZE =A is the subject of HL and HY) #7. XX Is it surprising that =A. “three people” should refer to two living people and a corpse? This may reflect the tradi- tional Japanese belief that some portion of the soul of a dead person continues to inhabit the physical remains. This would also explain why T and the father decided to carry the corpse up the mountain in the first place. 2m a> 23 Paivevocturt we ie Rkessonowe SACHS. #8 BO: caied on his back / HRA japsage weight lifting / > TV7 had done; used to do Gh) BRot © ARS ohm /PoT RS / he Wd 46 Carrying a Dead Friend 3& The verb 1.534 means “to carry on one's back.” / iit#é #BSoKOIL means “the one who carried the dead body”; this phrase is linked by the copula C4 to H BATE Po TWRT SA “T, who used to do weight lifting” 2n SOME ETP he, 88 ‘ili kion air temperature / IK F Ayotenka below the freezing point / + FLEE jagodo fifteen degrees (Celsius) 3k ASC is 45°F. 20 SCAMS 0 Ts Late aio, MES it rRo2, $B FCI already / FEGIEIL shigo héchoku rigor mortis / KRE 0 hajimari had begun / {HES nando mo several times; again and again / #&U° horobi fell down / IiL725 \} chidarake covered with blood / % 272 became % REO hE hajimam / GU @ TE korlu / eo kegs & The kanji of 44 show the meaning: “deathafter- hard-straight,” that is, “stiffening after death” or “rigor mortis.” / The verb #25: describes the action of tripping or slipping and then falling down. / The suffix 725+ also appears in #2725 '} dorodarake “covered with mud.” 47an rend TuNGOHAIAA TS Carrying a Dead Friend 2p Eth S ptLs PRE, Po ETRE cal DRv. ae PRE gojthan half past five in the morning / Pot final, at last / THE dgé summit / il) #7: tadonitsuita reached ip LD VK ew WY a tadoritsuku 3 The verb ill! ) a < means “to reach a goal after suffering or hardship.” 2q Rake L, RKORDD UBD <¢ tote #8 SES uakibi bonfire / 72 ¢ light (a fire) / RADE yigin no karada Ts friend’s body / 7 L sukoshi a little bit / iat < % 272 atatakaku natta warmed up Bh te we B84 taku / AD DV aatakai / Bok ww ed tH The adjective S7:722v> “warm” is written ii7V+ when it means “warm to the touch” or “friendly; cordial” and B&2>v> when it means “warm air temperature.” ge Carrying a Dead Friend 2r [EXBoRAU ROD] £, ROL QoR RW 8 H&G O7: ikikaetta came back to life / OE) to him- self / DHPW* muttered Hh LSBok © aiKS ikikaem / ORR wh bubuyaku i= The A after 42 &iR27: is a spoken form of the ex- planatory nominalizer M, and U # %V> is a contraction of TiL&V “not.” / The ending UL %V>% means roughly “it looks like (he’s come back to life).” SLM, wae DM ADELE. % CHR LAW shichiji sukoshi mae shortly before seven o'clock / ¥°&%) suddenly / $34 auhi the moming sun / 22L 7% sashita shone (upon them) Mh BLE wEt sam 49Bh XK we AXS sugim Carrying a Dead Friend 2t Wik. Be ketal Ts roe Robs oe (zor, && $A hasami sitting [standing] on either side of / T&A BLY Téun mo chichi mo both T and the father / i namida tears / Ik. % < % 27: tomaranaku natia wouldn't stop Bh tha ew RE hasan / ik % 6 ww Ibo & IES tomarn | ote GS 3 The verb $tt means “to place or press between.” It is the source of the noun $% hasami “scissors.” / The com. pound phrase T&A 4% is the topic of the verb phrase Ik % < %-o 7; the subject is HE. /°A literal translation of TSA $208 HATES % ¢ tot might be “Both T’s and the father’s tears wouldn’t stop.” 2u brs Htosl st. BB HMMS since then / HAWS gonen ga sugita five years passed Carrying a Dead Friend 2v aD BAA both ke & 2Hickkoknsee, oaks, Pic 439 Kole tate snc yr 9 Clits t Wi #8 Al migatu February / 27K totsuzen unexpectedly / 18 tayori letter / F% todoki was delivered / FFA naka ni in- side / HRY v » ¥ — jid6 shata self-timer, automatic shutter / #2 72 toa taken / =AOEH sannin no sha shin a photograph of the three people / FSF S MTV 7 dofit sarete ita was enclosed (in the envelope) Sh) IBS @ FR todoku / Hots HS tom / MHSH TWH & RSS RTS deft suru = The context here suggests that #2 refers to a letter. In other situations, the word can also mean “news (about a person)” or “communication.” / HID ¥ 7 ¥ — THO = KOER means “a picture of the three people, taken with a selftimer.” The verb #{>7 modifies 5H. / When &% “to take” refers to the taking of photo- graphs, videos, etc. it is written 4. / [ETFS means “to enclose in the same envelope.”Carrying a Dead Friend ; —Carying a Dead Friend 2w em atte TSAI, EXRMILESR< Rok. Bich be a BKK 2 TWD EIFS. 3B HOCUS wanatte im smiling, laughing / £5 (2A EX again & 30 ni miers appears to be; seems to be & This sentence is an echo of 2t. Bh RoC S we K4 warau 3£ 53 can mean either “to smile” or “to laugh.” (To keep this story from becoming too macabre, let’s suppose that the corpse is only smiling.) 2x Be AE) xb =e Rid, 74 WA CHRIST FE CHED D9 DCHS~ B74 VL frame film / SURICES genzd ni mawasn send for developing / H4¢%*>2 7% gonen kakatta it took five years Bh prokwppsS 3 As in lo, the final OC 4 indicates that the preceding clause is an explanation of what came earlier. Here, it ex plains that the letter from the father came five years later because it took him that long to get up the courage to develop the film. Ro SB3 BIVFR cle MOS RQOLEEVDS A Woman's Surewoness Conceateo in A Fierionat Jourwat= HOOF BIVFRSceWDS QZOLEERS WOME CHD SF FEA (LH) 1, RR oR OKPH, TH (T=) cee cHa, a8, THe. HITE LYEILISII AR. ALBURO At BICHREM< PS, HILT. NS?) EMRICMBS DY [Ued, MbORSoTHK b. Th. LEOE MUPOESEV HS, HOUEBIIZY avo i> & Hida] ERE, HV ICRESS CLR. PRE AEREBAACEODSPFSA, BK, FOL WIZ aveEBSBRCRLATHRA, TH AGRH [EB FOCMAY ! I LOL, BK. BK Go TOOK ARI RBLAEMVELTLE OK. 56 A Woman's Surewoness Conceateo iw a Fierionar dourwat A Fko (25), who works for a trading company in Tokyo, is living with T (23), a college student who is in the midst of looking for a job. This spring, T asked Eko, “I'm so bad at writing it’s pitiful. I'm going to keep a diary as practice for employ- ment exams. Would you check it for me?” She readily agreed. “In that case, Pil keep one, too. But a simple diary would be boring, so mine will be all lies, total fiction, okay?” And so they decided to show each other their diaries. When Eko was in college, she had sometimes dreamed of becoming a writer, so every evening she had a good time writing out her innocuous fiction. T thought her writing was great. “You're good,” he said. “This is really interesting!” But recently she found a new way to enjoy her fabri- , ated journal.A Woman’s Shrewdness Ted, SHKMICE SAMS o HOA MBER HSRC, REBT NEY. EFOTL 2. BRIE Le] COM TPOPRE, SOW MOR ARI ( ERORMBMEE SEV. [HATA NCH, MUSHORE, Hi EOSN-X, EMER, RORDROM ICS Ne (Bone Sl, FLEROFRERUT CHEF ESAD “fle” LIU CRDEU TH, [UT VF41-bSER. YIVILE®I I EMBAeSD» [ARO BDC, ROMA F ARYL BOBRILESIIZYaVYoTOeEK RTS Lo LIRS<, CORMAMPHONEVd] LARD FERACHS. 8 A Woman’s Shrewdness There’s someone at the company who's been on my mind these days. He seems interested in me, too. He invites me out to eat and things like that. Afier al, Ts younger than me and marriage is a long way off... She gets an inexpressible thrill as she writes noncha- lantly in her fictional journal about her ongoing affair. T had a party tonight and was late getting home I went with the man from the office to a mellow bar. When we came out of the bar, he casually put his arm around my shoulder, I ‘felt the premonition of a new romance... Believing without a doubt that this story was also F- ko’s invention, T was all innocence. “It’s so realistic,” he said. “I get all excited.” “Thanks to his diary, I know everything that T does, while my affair is supposed to be completely fictional. I won't be able to give up swapping diaries for a while.” Fko laughs shrewdly.3a Bk ok D BAS Title: RUE Siz thd BO Likes 4B (fe sisaku creative work; imagination / Hf nikki diary, journal / #2353 himens hidden; kept secret / KO onma no a woman's / L72722°% shrewdness; wiliness 3 As the story explains, a @I/F #2 is a diary or journal that is supposed to be a work of the imagination. / The word L7#7:22*& is the noun form of the adjectival noun 48% shitataka (also written 7) “shrewd; stub- born; wily.” / KOLLAM S can mean either “a woman’s shrewdness” or “the shrewdness of women.” / The verb 4% 4 modifies Li x*&. £8 4879 tonai within Tokyo / Ht: shaba trading company / $4 tsutomeru works; is employed / HRD shishoku hatsuds job-hunting / % 2481) 0 masakari no in the midst of, at the height of / K2#2 daigakuseuni- versity student / T% Trkun Mr. T / URE dasicha now living together 60 A Woman’s Shrewdness ‘ze The #8 in #579 is the last character in the official name of Tokyo, IX#S Tokyoto “Tokyo Metropolis.” / #3 means “getting a job” and t&3 “activities.” / Eo) appears in dictionaries as BL> BEY). / The phrase #RRIE HERO OKFA, TH means “T, a college student who is in the midst of looking for a job.” / The suffix chi, as in [A#EH, indicates that something is currently taking place, as in L43#4? Agha “under construction,” IRAP Rentocha “under evaluation,” and WF sensichit “in a state of war.” A Fa#£ is a company whose main business is buying and selling products, commodities, or services. Although the term is often translated as “trading company,” many itt do business primarily or exclusively within Japan. The large, powerful Japanese trading companies that operate internationally are called #2 RAtL sdg6 shésha. / The Ht BRGB of a typical university student involves requesting information from companies, preparing separate hand- written résumés for each potential employer, visiting com- panies for tests and interviews, and asking friends, teachers, and relatives for advice and contacts. For most fouryear college students, #3811) is the culmination of a lifetime of study and determines the student's future ca- reer and social standing. / The suffix # kun is added after a surname or given name. Usually used in place of &A with the names of boys or men, it indicates that the speaker or writer regards the other person as a friend or subordinate. It is not used when speaking to or about an older person. In this story, it suggests that T, as a univer- sity student, is still regarded as young by the writer or readers, / The term [&]# can mean simply “living in the same home,” but, as in this case, it often describes a man and woman living together out of wedlock. orA Woman's Shrewdness 3c CAL eA AR He, fies LICH A. 26 49% konshun this spring / ff ore I, me (masculine, infor. mal) / HES VE 2 nasakenai bodo to a pitiful degree / VEX sakubun writing, composition / 55> yowai weak Ze Like BE boku “I; me,” # is used only by men. ff is les polite than #€ and is not used when speaking to superi. ors or in formal situations. / The particle 1£&° means roughly “so much that...; to such an extent that...” / The phrase {1 v.12 CYESCICGYV means “so bad at writ ing that it’s pitiful.” / The A in BBVYAZE is a con tracted form of the explanatory particle . 3d RHE ROH Hie eo. RAIL CK msn, Tie OH nar) cick #8 A4t3XER myitsha shiken company entrance examination / {921 rensht practice / HiR% HF < 2° nikki 0 haku kara Tm going to keep a journal, so.. / ¥HILTC HS? tensaku shite kureru? could you correct it for me? / 1812441 BRS Nt hare ni sidan sare (Eko) was consulted by him By WRAL ow NIT S tensakn suru / MBS ow HR SNS ww MRT S sodan sua t YEU means to correct or revise another person's writing. / The subject of # < is #8 (T), while the sub ject of YH LT and ARS tH is FF. T wants to prac tice writing because employment tests often include essay questions. 62 A Woman's Shrewdness 3e [Ued. BROS OCH b, TE, RHO noe bE the 7) Heel POF SEV MS, LOUSHI tay foele svoioa tial sR, Buicheds gud 720 4% U*& well, in that case / DSO TH ssukiatte i haku write together with you / (shows emotive empha- sis, used by female speakers) /-C% but / #27 simple plain; unadomed / Ue (contraction of Clt de wa) / 2EBRW boring / MOIS watashi no wa mine, my journal / 288744 47D zenbu fikushon no com- pletely fictional / HE & wsotsuki lying; false / HRIE haidaku agreed cheerfully / T.V*I< tagai ni to each other / RE) mivau to show (0 each other) / = E (nomi nalizer) / $272 kimeta decided Mh D8HoT ww SSA tubian / WOKE ww HDS kimeru G& f$&44 here means “to do something together.” / The particle LU, from Cid, indicates the topic of D¥ 5% 3, so KROARE OFS literally means “as for only a diary, that would be boring.” / Both 747 3 Y and REO X mean “not true,” though 747 Ya Y is often used in the sense of literary fiction while Ii & refers to a deliberate lie or deception. / The use of the sentence-ending particle #2 after a noun or adjectival noun, as in H Avda, is a feature of women’s speech. Men would say H#27!%a. / The omitted verb after SR&% is L T, the gerund form of $4./ HVICAPEI CEI kw 7: means “they decided to show (their journals) to 3A Woman's Shrewdness each other.” / The subject of IR#i(LT) is FRSA, while the subjects of AXE and HH are FF SZ and T#. 3£ MERRIER EBA RCL ObSFESA, Bk, Borns try aves bce Aone, T Hae. #5 “RAEIE(C galei jai when (Pko) was a college student / VER sakka writer author / BALLS SZ yumemig oto mo aru had sometimes dreamed about / #6: mayo every night / $8 %2V» tuoi no nai without sin; inocu. ous; harmless / #& i 42°C kakitsuranete writing at length; writing an extended work / HLA CV7: tano Shinde ita was enjoying, was having fun / K##$% dai zesan lofty praise Bre © BAS yumemim / SSBC © BaD ® kakitsuranern | BLATT ow BLY tanoshimu | Wh: we WS zk 4#4E means “college student”; the word normally does not refer to students of high schools, vocational schools, etc. / REE means “era; period of time,” so HARE lit erally means “the period when (Fko) was a college stu- dent.” / The clause (FREBRLOL SHS modifies FSA, so EREBALCLEOBSFFEA means “Eko, who sometimes used to dream of being a writer.” The & in ©& $44 here means “sometimes, in addition to other things.” / #23 means “high praise”; the prefix % adds emphasis. / With the omitted verb added, this sentence would end TH lSAHBE LZ. 64 t i i ‘| 3h A Woman's Shrewdness 3g PEBve, $o CHB Y tJ #6 LFV wnai skillfully done / % (indicates appreciation) / FZ very / HAY» omoshiroi interesting; fun 3£ Without the okurigana Vv», FV» becomes the adjectival noun 7 jaz, which means “skillful; talented.” / $= < is the adverbial form of WV» sygoi “frightening; terri- fying; amazing; extreme.” The use of $2 is “unbearable” but 48°F toshishita younger (than me) / #84 kekkon marriage it has taken on the extended ing of “ / 36 saki in the future; still far off good.” / #244 is the object of the verb Q. ‘unbearably H AVC we ARE / HoT HI saou/ Chr EO ewe CNS 3 This passage is taken from Fko’s journal. / Though 7% means “company,” it often refers to a person’s workplace, especially an office. / f46K means “interest,” and FURAT a HS “to be interested.” / The suffix ALWA means fe “seems.” / The #9 suffix in HoT< NY come sponds to “other things”; that is, the man shows his inter est in Fko not only by inviting her to meals. / As in 3c, U® is a contraction of Cli de wa. FTOTU®, Hi #RtLIETE means “In the case of T, who’s younger than me, marriage is still a long ways off.” / The clauseending particle L- means roughly “too; in addition.” It is often used when several clauses all exemplify the same thing. Two more examples appear in 3n. 66 %A Woman’s Shrewdness 3k mole pte (Siw tasy wc. MsSioke, # MDS BN-AWy 88 4H. bo today; tonight / 127% pany / HEV> asi late (arriving home) / HO % % fun'iki no aru having a nice ambience / 7‘— bar, drinking spot A Woman's Shrewdness 31 ay ph Oe bRL bk ehem, Rotation ics vive (bio Lae reat, Hr UTC 3% JEEM SBR mise o dem sai when we left the bar / Bit ude arm / JA kata shoulder / Blo 7% mavwatta encircled; wrapped around / 2 koi love; romance / “1% yokan pre- sentiment; anticipation / UT hanyjite felt t& A 7% is a college party where the attendees share the expenses. The word comes from the English “company,” GH Bork © WS mawarn / RUC w RUD kanji / PALO‘ haitha no hare literally means “he of the com | 2% The word Jif can refer to almost any kind of retail estab- pany,” that is, “the man at the office.” / F¢H5& means the atmosphere or mood of a place. As here, it often refers to an interesting, memorable, or romantic ambi- ence. / With the omitted verb, the second sentence would end \—4T 2% bie ita “went to a bar.” lishment, including bars, restaurants, shops, boutiques, etc. / IE completed, this sentence would end BUTE “I felt” / The subjects of Hi% are FF-S A and S4t O48, the subject of [El 7 is #PBE, and the subject of HU T(V372) is HL cwatashi “1.” 2% Japanese has several words for places where alcoholic bev- erages are sold and consumed. A 7S— or 7%7 serves mainly whiskey, brandy, cocktails, and other Western drinks and may have a stylish interior. A AF y 7 or ~% ty Z75— serves light meals in addition to drinks. A SKA nomiya is a Japanesestyle drinking and eating es- tablishment, and an F#4/# iakaya is an inexpensive ver- sion of the same. A E-V 28 — JV serves mainly beer, while aZ7TZ or F4b7FT is generally more expensive and caters to businessmen on expense accounts. A fashion- conscious young woman is likely to prefer a 7*— as being trendier or more romantic while disdaining a f+ or J# 18 as the province of drab older men. 68 693m cnokesao “Hi Lac bev Tt $a ly pug1—-bokbe VII LBS 3) EAA BO. ae A Woman's Shrewdness IND this also / (UT shinjte believed / BED BW utagawanai does not doubt / '} TYF1-bS has real. ity; is realistic / S777 LE*%9 shiver with excite ment / S£483% % © mujaki na mono innocent person OC ae ELS shinjine / RED ow FED sutggan / OOO LB Go we ECECLULES @ OCF (443, LE9 Zi refers to the passage quoted from Fko’s journal, / “fie” is in quotation marks because Fko’s journal was not really the “imaginative work” that Fko pretended it was. / The & after “Alle” and the & after T's state- ment are both the quoting ¢ (see Ij). / CH&FFSA D “Bite” LEU CHDVTH means “T, who be lieved without a doubt that this was also F-ko’s ‘imagina tive work?” / Referring to T as a MARA b D suggests that he is innocent and childishly unsuspecting of Fko's unfaithfulness. / This sentence’s omitted verb is the cop ula Koz. 70 A Woman’s Shrewdness 3n (Hitosauc, Hotihie Sit > xiky x ab 8 L, BOBRRES I 4p yavotreie 2TSLo 1 HELOB217'°C nikki no okage de thanks to the diary / {ROFTHY kare no kédé his actions / 4:10 zenmen com- pletely; in every aspect / 77 AHR) garasubari visible; ex- posed / 5242 completely; entirely ib OTS ww HOTS w& ES, 3& This sentence and 30 are what Fko is thinking or saying. They are not taken from her journal. / The original meaning of #77 Ai%) is “lined with glass (and thus visible from the outside).” In its extended meaning, the word refers to information that is open to the public. Here, it indicates that Fko knows everything T does be- cause he records it all in his diary. / 747 Ya YoT CLOTS is a contraction of 717 Yavkew JOLT fikushon to in koto ni natte ina “it is supposed to be fiction.” / As described in 3i, the clause- ending L’s mean roughly “too; in addition” and are used when giving a nonexhaustive listing of examples or rea- sons that lead to a certain conclusion (whether clearly stated or not). Here, these clauses explain why Fko can- not stop keeping her journal (30). maA Woman's Shrewdness 30 LIRG 6, LORRAHH ENED BB LIES < fora while / 23RH a2 hakan nikki [lit] ex change diaries / 2 6 #.%V» cannot quit By PHONE & PHONS & PHS tk The meaning of 2€#&H it is explained by this story: a diary in which two people alternate entries, or diaries that two people show to each other. The practice of exchang. ing 3C#RH #2 is most common among girls of elemen- tary or junior-high-school age. 3p Lips FESACHS. Tue Son-w-Law oF THe Moe BB OL a Ie shrewdly / %4 warau laugh Zk This Lit 7¢aPIC is echoed in the title of the story (see 3a).oyoeor WEO IR KBOF HA F—. TH (SM) td. HEAL BoM FSA (SO) OH. IMEX TE OY Ch Ke TH, Commo ekacvr. Evol, MES A DSIRE CH 2 VE BORAT DME, RMRREAM Ko RA NY FN aU [REEMA LDSZLIALSRPOT| DHCHSo SC, PRAMMDRICH CL, VERO NY Fr = O—fHA A IIRUGLA CH feo [BRU RSET |] THAMN ZL, OAFICUR, MABCLESO FARUCA TOT, BICIBRRBO LIK, (THE BMRERI | LV LIROLE KEL LRA THS 74 Tue Son-i-Law oF THe Mos The other day, T (24), a designer in Osaka, paid his first visit to X City in Hokuriku, the birthplace of his wife, Mcko (24). T was dreading this visit to his wife's home. The rea- son for which is that M-ko’s father is the boss of a yakuza gang not entirely unknown in Hokuriku, and at their wedding reception, even though it was held in Osaka, there had been so many guys with gangster hair- cuts standing around that, as T says, “I was in no mood to enjoy any marital bliss.” When their train arrived at the station, a troop of gangster haircuts suddenly came into view. “Welcome ho-o-o-omel” they all yelled as T got off the train. A banquet had been prepared for them at the gang headquarters. A poster on the wall read “In Honor of T and the Young Miss” in huge letters, as though an- nouncing the name of the Boss’s successor. aThe Sonin-Law of the Mob THIET LES ok wy PLR L te BERRI Bm | WET SMES AIMS ACHE Loo Bite LAN, BHM EWI LSI, THiey ATPHBSN. RiRCI EC SRPMS, a ENEDRRETC FOF, [ARSE CHPSSLAL BHVYLET te, wBIELKEA, [ARSE CNPSSLALS CHBBVET & WwoTLkoke —H, HER, THA COURICAS, cme WLEOK. [BUST O BRE SAS SZ | [BRAC b> RHE] CAGES ESPON, APRME OT RLM. AockOATH. ARNo TOMAD EI, [WOHSODDP. OWRD BRLDE LR DS wel L, BRP SOBMRABAN. Af U-etHCS Bo The Son-in-Law of the Mob T was inclined to make a run for it, but he was per- {ded to take his seat by the unperturbed Mcko, who ‘told him, “After you've been through this a few times fyou develop a certain resistance to it.” i The party was lively. As the ending time approached, “T was handed a microphone. He was so nervous that she stumbled over his words. Somehow he managed to get to the end, but when he tried to say, “In the future, I hope to get to know you all,” he instead blurted out, “In the future, I hope to benefit from your advice.” One and all applauded and cheered. They had mis- taken T to mean that he was going to enter the world of organized crime. Here and there voices could be heard: “The Boss has a successor.” “With the Young Boss, we have no more worries.” The Boss himself was moved to tears. T didn’t know what to do. Even though they've re- turned to Osaka, he receives a call from his fatherinlaw nearly every day, asking, “When are you coming home? Even in our business you need time for training, you know.” T is on the verge of a nervous breakdown.4a thous Title 4638 OFFS $8 (HGH gokudo the underworld; organized crime / #fig musumemuko sorvin-law 3& The term iH refers to the netherworld of gambling, prostitution, drugs, and other vices. Here it specifically means Japanese organized crime—the yakuza. 4b ga , KO FF 1H eenas #- Mesa Cit P ocinn. #& KM Osaka Japan's secondargest city / F4 +— de signer / T# Trkun Mr. T (see 3b) / 56H senjitsu the other day / 3E tuma wife / thAH shushinchi native area; birthplace / JtR Hokuriku the Japan Sea coastal area of central Japan / Xfi ekkuushi X City / MT hajimete for the first time / Hj4U72 otozureta visited Gh ink © NS otocurem 3 The dot separating 3 and MF-&A is called a PE nakaguro or FRA kuromaru. Here it functions similarly to od The Son-in-Law of the Mob a comma, so 3-M-f-& A. means “his wife, M-ko.” / Jt f encompasses the prefectures of Hi Niigata, BIL Toyama, 7)\| Ishikawa, and #83 Fukui. It is also called AGREHLA7 Hokuriku Chiho “Hokuriku Region.” / The comma after Hi is like an equals sign, indicating that X City in Hokuriku is M-ko’s home town. %& Jobs such as 7°44 + — fall into the general category of AY AFH katakana shokugys, that is, job titles written in katakana. Other examples include 70 7 2.—%+— “producer,” 74 U2 4— “director,” and 74 9— “writer.” These titles convey the image of urban sophisti- cates who work in trendy, mediarelated fields, far from the sleazy world of organized crime into which T has married, / By identifying the Hokuriku city as XTi, the “Dekigotology” editors are being especially cautious to avoid identifying the location, since no Japanese names begin with X in romaji. This extra caution may be due to the gangster connection. Kem we id, CORDED EHR Crt. 8% =BHE) satogaeri a visit by a newlywed woman and her husband to her family / #2-CV°72 obice ita feared; dreaded Mh EAT HERS oben / Rw S 79The Son-in-Law of the Mob 4d EWIDO, MES AORHIAE CH toe Lownie b MOE. BB LV5 OIE Wo in no wa because / LH chichioya father BH £vxe slightly; somewhat / ZOMMHZ: na no shiretg famous, well-known / 487) Hf béolusdan criminal gang / HL kumicho leader Gh MMi 7: ew MNS shiem 3£ £124 1d indicates that what follows is an explanation of what came before. Here, 4d and 4e explain why T was dreading the visit to his wife’s family home (4c). / (the CHLVEZONNERAA means “a gang known somewhat in Hokuriku.” / Although the literal meaning of 6k» is “slightly, somewhat,” here the word is used with ironic understatement to suggest that the gang is actually quite well-known in Hokuriku. / #1 refers to the head of any group that is called a #1. Many yakuza gangs have names ending in #4, including the largest, [| [all Yamaguchigumi. But there are also legitimate organi zations called #1, so in other contexts #14€ may not refer to a gang boss. / The copula 7! is omitted from the end of this sentence. 3 Japan has hundreds of criminal gangs, including some of nationwide and international scope. Their activities in- clude drug dealing, gun running, gambling, prostitution, extortion and protection rackets, confidence scams, and le gitimate businesses as well. Many gangs have long histo- ries and well-established organizations built upon fierce group loyalty. Among the general population, the gangs are regarded with a mixture of respect, amusement, and 8 's 2th DAI R, HERE 2 Ri o ha, sy pw ale The Son-in-Law of the Mob fear. A police crackdown has weakened their influence in recent years. , Brea les ecatenrmor| » SVERIETE hekkon hirden wedding reception / 87 F-78 —'¥ (men with a) short, curly hairstyle / IEU" narabi were lined up / 32+ shiawase happiness / WHA LDS kamishimera to savor, to enjoy / ELALERPOK dokoro ja nakatta | was far from..; 1 certainly didn’t feel like... / 2° because Rot w fi / GO w GR nau / Ur keior CAPO we TLE de wa nai CHS 4RGE bird means announcement, so the meaning of #1 GREE is “a party announcing a wedding.” Traditional Japanese wedding ceremonies are attended only by family members, and one purpose of the #£3%3 is to inform the invited guests that the nuptials really did take place as scheduled. / HRB IS AMZ o % means “the wed- ding reception was held in Osaka.” / The word 7* 7 F-7% —Y is a Japanese neologism taken from the English “punch” and “perm.” T was frightened when he saw many men with “V7 F/\—~ at his wedding reception because this hairstyle is common among yakuza. / Strictly speaking, 7% F7S—T refers to the hairstyle itself, but here and in 4f it means men who have that hairstyle. / The word “<4 followed by a negative verb indicates that something that might be considered normal is in fact &ae The Son-in-Law of the Mob unlikely or impossible, 32+ © MHA LS ECA E® dor can be translated as “Enjoying my happiness (at getting married) was the furthest thing from my mind.” / The #4 indicates that this sentence completes the expla. nation begun with £4 Md in 4d. In other words, T had dreaded the trip to his wife's home because her father was a gang leader and there had been many gangsters at their wedding reception. ST (shows a change in topic) / #RBTVHE tokkyt resha express train / §R efi train station / #4 < tuku arrive / WD suddenly / 37” FN-—VO—H panchipama no ichidan a group of men with “punch perms” / H (cit UWIAA C& 7: me ni tobikonde kita leaped into sight FRUGAA TC ew FRUGAL tobikomu / 872 RS kuru ST here indicates that the focus of the story has shifted from the reasons for T's fears back to the visit to X City. / 4838 is an abbreviation for 4F54T tokubetsu kyiké “special express.” / Although Ji)FE resha and #E3f densha can both be translated as “train,” they are not identical. FE refers to a series of train cars linked together, while a 7£31 may consist of only one car. A #3 is powered by electricity, while a SJ#. could have a steam or diesel engine. / The & after ##< is the sequential & (see Ij). / FRUGAL means “to jump into.” The idiom B ZHU % literally means “to jump into one’s eyes,” that is, “to appear suddenly.” & The Son-in-Law of the Mob 4g a [ato esvgto! | THbo se, cath aH He ici, % BY GSWEt | obaerinaai mast Welcome home # / B&O % onim get off (the train) / C4 2 kuchigucbi ni with many voices / U}3 sakebu to shout Bit) GSW EX is an especially polite version of 334% 9) %& Sv» ohaerinasai, the usual greeting given to a family member who has just come home. An informal everyday version is 34%) okaeri. / The small > in BHD GS \» Xt indicates an abrupt halting of the voice at the end of the greeting. Here it suggests tough yakuza speech. (This small final > indicates a glottal stop; it is not pro- pounced tor tu.) / The & after 9 % is the sequential &The Son-in-Law of the Mob 4h Skis caPeohbaca coc. Bic WE RHO LIK, (PRL RRBEHS |e WI LIRILEREL EBM CHS. 3% AEB kumi honbu gang headquarters / BS enkai party, banquet / ARATTH CUT pit ga dekite ite prepary. tions were finished / BE (<1 habe ni wa on the wall / %, shamei the naming of a successor / 42% hiro an. nouncement / O £ (= no y6 ni like; as if / BRK ojs sama daughter (respectful) / 42) iteau congratulate / & WAEARCE wo in yo na koto something like... / K# Le tisho shita written large / #8 kami paper / HT 2% hatte aru was stuck (to the wall) BH C&C we CKES/VCT eS /KBLA we KE $% taisho suru / RT HRS haa 2& The term # #8 is used by many companies and other or ganizations to designate a headquarters or main office. / The verb K#L7Z modifies #{. The phrase [THER BRERI | CVG LG GCE EKBLAM means “a piece of paper on which something like ‘Congratu- lations to T and the Young Miss’ was written large.” / The & in £4 £4 @ is the quoting &. 3& Many titled positions in Japan, from those of kabuki ac tors and artisans to those of shop owners and gang bosses, are handed down from generation to generation, with each person in line receiving the same ceremonial name. When a son is not available to inherit a male title it may go instead to an adopted son or son-in-law. The banner congratulating T and M-ko, with T’s name written so prominently, looked like a $%444%3% “announcement & Sa Eno The Son-in-Law of the Mob of succession,” suggesting that the gangsters believed that T was joining the gang as their boss's heir. = oh Haske led zona, Chit tal ai DRI Sb) PRE MTs Aw NHI Ltt. Brad MU LAS thot: nigedashitake nata felt like running away / fIl2> nankai ka a few times / (KRL 72D taiken shitara afier you have experienced (this) / $23%(< Zt % men ‘chi ni naru you'll become immune / FAREFS heizen to sare unconcerned; indifferent/ MF & A231 nT Emukosan ni satosarcle was instructed by Mcko / # WE LAS chakusehi shita sat down BETH LZ < ew EIT HE Lev) om HELP HE nigedasu / wor wd / RLS w RTS taiten uu / ASIC MENS we WS satan / BG LI ow H WES 2 chakuseki suru HEI HAF means “to run away,” so RITHILZEV is “want to run away” and HIF LA: < tor: is “began to feel like running away.” / The words {£E® taiken and #£&R keiken both mean “experience” and are sometimes interchangable, though £38 usually refers to a specific im. cident that has made an impression on a person, while 2% often refers more generally to a person’s past or background. / $24 is the medical term for “immunity.” It also has the extended meaning, as seen here, of “being accustomed to something.” / T# is the subject of the passive verb iii S41 and M¥-& A is the agent, so the gist of the sentence is “T was instructed by Mcko.” / if &Sedida Lo ay at uv The Son-in-Law of the Mob means “to provide moral instruction (to an inferior)” Here the word is meant to be comical, because it makes Meko seem like her husband’s teacher. / T # is the sub. ject of #1 LZ. 4j wisdko katy, places ean, TH VA IDUES NK. 88 SE stage banquet / BY) A*) moriagani became lively / 3BH& obiraki the end of the party / ¥47 micro phone / #£& tL 7: wutasareta was handed By HED EAS) ow EY EAS moriggam / SNK ow it SNS w EF watau t& An elegant word for “banquet” or “party,” 3£ sounds ironic when describing a gathering of thugs. / Words such as #44 owam “to end” and 4 kiru “to cut” are taboo at weddings and other celebrations, so eu- phemisms are supposed to be used instead. Here, 335 is the polite substitute for #42) owari “the end.” The Son-in-Law of the Mob \» means “he wasn’t able to get the words out very well.” 4l BL GAEDE CEO, [ARSE NOGCLALC BMVLEF) L, vBIL LEER, [AGEE, CMMSSLSLE CH W BBogs] &. votlon Lag 2° but however / %& A-£ 2» somehow or other / HE TC saign made until the end / Z¥21} he reached the end / ASE minasama you (plural, polite) / => 5% hore kara mo from here on; in the future, too / £ DLS BHVLEF yoroshiku onegai shimasu (see expla- nation below) / WBA EL LEE & id wo shita thi when he tried to say / CHRMV ES goshide negaimasu please give me instruction / Vio TLE O72 inte shimatia he said (to his regret) Sy CEO ee MERI S hogisukem / VBI, VOT © EB) my / Liew tS / Lot we LES = Uk The original meaning of iff 8317 is “to row (a boat) to all the way to one’s destination.” Here it is used in its ex- S 4k tended meaning, “to reach a goal after repeated efforts.” / BH C5E BEMHEM. 38 5RHRC kincho de because of nervousness / 3) ¥ < well / BR hotoba words / Hi 7%» denai don’t come out By Weve HS dem The topic of this sentence is TH. / 9 ¥< SHAMS 86 LAU BMW LET is a set phrase used when one is introduced to other people. T had intended to close his speech with this phrase. Instead, he said kL ¢ Tah Bi. EF, which sounded as if he were asking the gang- sters to instruct him in the ways of the underworld. / The W485 in 335 & LZ: is the informal volitional form of 3% “to say.” When the informal volitional is followed by £ $4, it takes on the meaning “to try” in the sense of “to attempt (without success).” / As explained &The Son-in-Law of the Mob in 3h, the gerund + L ¥% pattern indicates that the ac. tion of the verb had unfortunate consequences. Here, Ts slip of the tongue made the mobsters think that T in. tended to join them, a misinterpretation that was def. nitely unfortunate for T. 4m wees Penk Fel, HBR, T BucLror. a eo BIO Aa, eh #8 —IFl ichido everyone / TAFE hakushu kasai clapped and cheered / © 15% kono shai this world (of organ- ized crime) / AB hain enter, join / Ps L 72 hanchi ‘gai shita misunderstood By WB LZ we WBS S hanchigai suru + —T] means “everyone who was present” or “the entire group.” / The omitted verb after JHFIBR is L7z. / — FF] is the subject of both HHFIBSRLZ and Milf tk. / T is the subject of AS. / The & before this V is the quoting & (1j); it is used with the verb #hiltv» Lz: to indicate what was misunderstood. / The ® in i) 3EV LOZ indicates that this sentence is an explana- tion of why everyone applauded. 4n BEER LO bppere CIES [BUT O DHE S aC a 7%] #5 PSP qabun the Boss / BEREX atotsygi successor / C% 88 The Son-in-Law of the Mob #5 has been created / #8K5F-C wakagyabun de with the Young Boss / 4 4 we, our gang / 23% antai safe; secure CaK ww TES The gang members want T to be second-intine to M-ko’s father because a son-indaw is more likely to be recognized as the undisputed leader of the gang should the current Boss be incapacitated. Without a designated heir, the gang would risk disintegration into rival factions. Many men join yakuza gangs because they come from broken fami- lies, have limited educations, or suffer other disadvantages that exclude them from mainstream Japanese life. Gangs bring structure and security to the members’ lives. 40 CAmead boomin, Maks 5 BLT 3 CAF honna koe such voices, such words / Hb 24 25 °C hankiwamatte was very moved / i Lite 7: namida shitajimeta began to shed tears Hat ee HD moreru / BET oe AED han kiwamam / RL & HTS namida sum | Wed ts « Hh DB hajimens nemurenai she is unable to sleep Mh MERE LEV © MAME TS fubifuki un / IRN %V of IRD ow IRS nemurn aS hen Cb, EMov veh, Rocpo ks “TE 5 % FSCS jitaku de mo even at her own home / XY getkan front door / 7 7 knob / 4#£ maido every time / BROTH fuite kara after wiping / AA haim to enter / 12 &°7 Hodo da she is so (fastidious that she...) BRUT ow BRC fukn KBB usually refers to the entranceway of a home or building, although here it refers specifically to the door it- self. / The word '& &* suggests that the action described by the sentence is somehow unusual or extreme. It can often be translated as “so (adjective) that...” In this case, the adjective is unstated, because we understand from the preceding sentences that what is being described is O-ko’s obsession with cleanliness. 103Piet bed Se A Superclean Woman 5 C5 its, Loom, KAOAFEA CR) able ikxowmn, Bike Karke zo he, #8 £42 however (ie, contrary to what one would ex. pect) / KADALEA yitjin no Ekosan (O-ko's) friend, Ako / HEELZ mokugeki shita eyewitnessed; saw first. hand / KOBE kanojo no heya her room / Hip yofuku clothing / % hon books / SIL) BA chinabani ‘hodai scattered about with abandon B BLK & BETS mokugehi sum / BOIL) ow SIZ chirabaru tk AFSA is the subject of H¥LZ, which modifies 4 BB. / 1K refers to OF SA. / HK refers to dresses, blouses, slacks, trousers, shirts, and other Western-style clothing. The opposite is #I/R wafiku “Japanesestyle clothing.” Since most Japanese wear #illi only for special occasions or not at all, #AR can usually be translated merely as “clothing.” / #K5I£4 means “to scatter about.” / The suffix #Ual is used after the -masu stems of certain verbs to indicate that something is done with complete freedom. Thus ? } RH yari hodai means “doing whatever you want” and &~“iA sabe hédai “all you can eat.” 5k Eoess we Bi, IIE, AY 7 ADEN OTOH. A Superclean Woman Hi daidokoro kitchen / HR yuka floor / A') y 7% slip- per / RYDV TV hanitsuite ita was stuck HOOT ew RY AS Aarituku / tt we OS RY +E < means “to be stuck firmly onto something.” In most Japanese homes, people wear slippers when walk- ing on carpet, wood floors, or linoleum. They remove the slippers when walking on tatami, and switch to a different pair of slippers when using the toilet. we OR * [si ‘Wemee chorea, echrnien vel &, Hike Ay yemae chia bMoTHVke 3B ON tamago egg / BELTHOKL AIC otoshite watta toki ni when she dropped and broke (an egg) / #&°CH#BR FUIZVV® ato de si sureba si ya it’s okay if I clean it later / {1\7% < nanige naku casually, without concern / WHET covered up / AAD mo for sev- eral months / Ko TBV7 hott oita had left un- touched (M BOLT @ BLT oom / Hor WS wan / i PF RPIUE ee BREE Gf oom / PEAT we HEB habusern | BoC @ iS him / Bit we BS | =& The -ba form of a verb followed by Vv» “good” means 3 “it’s okay to do...” as in ATHRT NZX, / The final ~ adds a sense of casual unconcern. This casualness is reinforced by the phrase fH117"% <./ #3 here means 105AP ee A Superclean Woman “to leave alone; to ignore.” / When used after a gerund, the verb #< adds the sense that the effects of the pre. ceding verb extend into the future. Here 4 ¢ is used be. cause O-ko left the slipper stuck to the floor for months, 5m tabs cen £055, BR ceo e 5 cHNE Go kROKRoK. 8B 404% before long / $E4¢F1l setchakuzai adhesive; glue / EM@KEZ as if attached / MEME < GOK hana. naku natta became unable to detach Bh cok we hOS / MNES © RENE © HnS hanarem | teotee GB | ots et th BRACE DELIA setchakueai de tometa yo ni means “as if stuck with adhesive.” / The © in HEML% < Zor 27: shows that this sentence completes the explana tion of why the slipper back in 5k was stuck to the floor. Sn thie Ted, Homocane, HE. #8 ES well; anyway / HOMO TSI © chirakatte ‘ra kedo it’s messy, but / 182 seiketsu clean; hygienic Bh ROP OTS @& MOPOTWS @& KLOMS chit rakara 106 A Superclean Woman 3& 152% means “to be messy; to have things scattered about.” People often use this word when apologizing to guests about a disorderly home. / ##¥#% is close in mean- ing to #38 Aire “clean; beautiful,” but while #J# may emphasize the clean appearance of something, f##% fo- cuses on its healthful, hygienic cleanliness. As with the 72 in 3¢, the sentenceending particle 1: immediately after the adjectival noun jf ® is an indicator of women’s speech. A man would say #2722. A similar example of female usage is 574% in 5p. 3 AR yakibusn organic matter / V7 1) 7 bacteria / M&M CS fukitone mu | wipe away & REMoCS we RAN WS we RAMS fukitom 3 GIRS means “to wipe off to wipe away.” / The sub- ject of HAM TS is the unspoken # watashi, mean- ing OFA. / Note that WHY and 7 FT are the objects of the verb KX Mo TS. 107od Na methereed d inte A Superclean Woman 63 be Behar; >. BH cid thE STRTBR) LVOT, @& MUBK saikin bacteria / SEE LCT & hanshoku shite mo even if (bacteria) propagate / 225°C tt kitkichi de wa in the air / PRIRAKIE kyamin jotai state of dormancy / = 3 WUE ko sureba if 1 do this / 325% beiki okay; no problem / &\2T wo itte she said By SLL ew SATS hanshoku suru | FRU & $3 [V2 @ BF iy ya 3 7F-4& is used in speech to mean “there is no need to worry” or “I don’t care.” / Here, a man would more likely say *P507. HO? AVEVa—» LHLEOR 3G RBH BES fienmu shidokuyaku disinfectant vaporizor / 7 AW nozzle / ¥3— & (indicates the sound of dis infectant being sprayed) / ##L 7: axbita pushed Bh HLA ew HS ou / Rok w 3 "AS literally means “spraying fog.” / The context sug gests that "A$1H#E9E is the container for spraying the disinfectant, not the disinfectant itself, / The 2 in HL O27: indicates that this sentence explains that = 108 Sr Ai Superclean Woman 3 FNAL in Sp refers to O-ko’s spraying the air with dis- infectant. ESRC thy es # Lest, SRA, OFS ARREREES holt Ho ‘| 6S, “GB BLAIS incidentally, by the way / HALAS Tobok Daigaku Tohoku University / 3648 Vakugataebu Faculty Pharmaceutical Sciences / 1H 2 shushin graduated from i& FRAGA is a respected national university located in Sendai in northern Honshu. / In 4b, HSH shosshinchi meant “the place where one was raised.” Here, HH indi- cates the school from which O-ko graduated. The point of this story is the contrast between O-ko’s ex: treme aversion to possible sources of infection in public and her slovenly, unhygienic lifestyle at home. But behind this humorous situation is the more serious theme of the nearly pathological fear of germs that seems to affect an increasing number of Japanese. Sales of pens, computer keyboards, and other products made with antibacterial plastics have been booming, and surveys have reported that a significant percentage of people, especially women, never use public rest rooms. While some scientists warn that it is futile and even counterproductive to try to avoid contact with microorganisms, the spread of AIDS and some food poisoning scares have only increased people’s fears. Despite these trends, though, O-ko’s case is still un- usual. 109| PORMBCERS | SRUSTIR Examnarion Het Lowasres For Inrants te fate eS enerPel eee COMBZERS RMF STR Examwarion Heue Lowasies For Iwrants These days, “examination hell” begins as early as junior high school or elementary school. In Chiba, the parents of Baby S, eleven months old, have already commenced preparations, determined not to fall behind the times. The mother is in charge of “moral and aesthetic edu- : cation.” While out for a walk, she lectures her son. | “Look!” she'll say, “That girl is throwing sand on the | boy next to her. Never make friends with anyone like ; that.” | “That mother’s eyes look funny, don’t they? I’m sure | she had them fixed. It’s better to have eyes with two natural folds like mine.” The father is in charge of the baby’s studies. Looking ahead to the boy’s ultimate admission to university, he teads college guidebooks at his son’s bedside every | evening. He says the boy falls asleep better that way. LRRF LWAIZ, WE CHER ODERORES bd, FRICEG SH & A, ERA OMB, HE FOMBICEN TILE Oia, LS OF ¢ HEE BEG Lke ROWS “RAR”. MEDUET AS, [125, SDKOF, MOBOFIMEDUI TST Leo VAL, HABFEEHEB OEY] [So bOBBSADEEY, FARTLE. &O CBRBLTS. VVARW SG AROL BMV GIZA BODE] CWoOKMFT, BVM OE TIS. Hi, BMI ORB IS, HER, AIC CHIE ROKEICMI CT. [KEMERAL © (KEOR fe] PRAM DETHS,. CHEPSL, SERA ZHOSAVWTI LK, ie es a2 13Examination Hell Lullabies EAKEHSH, SERAIL-ATHA THT, K FRAGEY EV ICRotTLEoK. BoP) LERM Honk, BYE) Keon EACH. BAL, RHAOWFR, BK SDE TRRPOKOK. C, BF OCBRIBG CRO. ETA HHeS BRILSH EBITS OL CRMOBRIS—K. RBRic BRITVS OREM CT, MEBSES DIME: BoTWS, 14 Examination Hell Lullabies One day when Baby S was playing alone, he tore up one of the admission guidebooks. The father was disappointed, but he was surprised when he saw the tattered book. Why, the only page left untouched was the one for Keio University, the father’s alma mater! So they decided that their son would aim for Keio. The parents agreed to focus all their efforts on the en- # tance exam for the university’s nursery school. They've i heard that the exam includes a ringtoss game, so they’re | doing everything they can to get their baby to wrap his y frees around a ring, F usSe eA 6a v Title: 0 8B CURIE zemmifi zeroyearold baby / 8 RE ni mo gyoby extending even to... / SEREL juken sensé intense competition to pass entrance examinations, “examination hell” / -5F 4 homoriuta lullaby 3 In Japan, babies under the age of one are said to be #0 BE zerosai or Fi, reisai “zero years old.” / The word & &R juken refers to studying for and taking examinations, especially college entrance tests. #4 sensé means “war.” / A F5F%K is a song sung to babies to put them to sleep, Here the word is used ironically. / This title literally means “Lullabies for Examination Hell, Which Now Reaches Even Infants Less Than a Year Old.” 6b bei goss SRF CMRI, WER Re KRCHS— 8B LV AE to ieba concerning; in regard to; speaking of / Wak? now / AEE chigakks junior high school / 7) "FA shogakko elementary school / FF{t jidai era; age BH Al @ B35 int Examination Hell Lullabies ———ud aes GE EW AIL follows a subject that is already known or has been mentioned; it introduces information that is related (perhaps only tangentially) to that subject. Here, 583% # is already known to the reader, and CV 21F inde cates that the story that follows is somehow related to & SRR. / The point of this sentence is that high school students are no longer the only ones competing intensely to pass entrance examinations. Now junior high and ele mentary school students are also fighting the SERA. X% Japanese schools follow the sixthreethree pattern intro- duced from the United States after the Second World War, “#48 lasts for six years, followed by three years of "H2*BE and three years of BBE Aakd “high school” 6c Feiche ss on, EAP ROW Bs, Bosh ot Cen Reo BRAN Tik on, Exot CMR eRML KS 5% 38 Chiba prefecture and city east of Tokyo / tits sumu to live; to reside / % A, (respect suffix used with children’s names) / #2-+—71 A seigo juikhagetsu cleven months after birth / T8 neshin parents / HES O188 sakkon no jései the current situation / HU TCik% 5 va okurete 12 naranu must not delay / & > < promptly / HAM junbi preparations / BARIL 7: kaishi shita com- menced My HNC © ENS okuem / bi (SEW) & B / Bi U7 ww BURGS S aishi suru & FH¥ might be either +38ili Chibashi “Chiba City” or 17cme mean mnt ea EN Examination Hell Lullabies the larger F-3EI Chibaken “Chiba Prefecture.” / The + 2A in S5*A is the version of &A used when ad. dressing or talking about babies, children, and sometimes adults who are close friends or relatives, usually younger in age. Though 4 # A: may be used for both males and females, it is more common with the latter. The equiva lent suffix for males is # kun (see 3b). In this story, $4 A happens to be a boy (see 60). / The quoting & after PES OPH IEN Tid % 5 va indicates that this sentence expresses the sentiments of S’s parents, to wit, “we must not fall behind the times.” / The final ¥ in % © va is the literary form of the negative suffix %. The gerund (#e form) followed by either (£7 5 #2 wa narany or (£% 5 ZV) wa naranai means “must not.” / Both (¢ & and ERT—AA modify SHv A. 6d ibe 38 BEB Aahaoya mother / 4424 tanto (area of) responsibility / ‘82H 7080 kyoiku moral and aesthetic education ik {PRACH is a type of pedagogy that emphasizes the de- velopment of a child’s overall sensitivity to moral, aes- thetic, and spiritual matters. The quotation marks indicate that the term is being used sarcastically to refer to the less than-lofty instruction provided by S’s mother in 6e through 6i. u8 Examination Hell Lullabies 6e Bt libolisae fas, ao FIED SCL &. 58 BOE sanpo walk; stroll / 32° _michi sygara along the way / 125 hey! look! / DOF ano onna no ko that girl / BROROF\< tonari no otoko no ko ni at the boy next to (her) / BP suna sand / #UF-CSCL & habkete deo is throwing (sand), isn’t she? Bh WITS ee PIF TOS w& PITS 2 POMS means “while taking a walk” / CL x is an abbreviated spoken form of CL £3, the formal volitional form of the copula 72. / The subject of #17°C (0) is BOKOF. 6f FRE, HARELH EAB S| 8 XL don't (do that) / HALF anna ko to with a child like that / ff* ssukiatcha (don’t) be friends; (don’t) spend time together GM H&Bobe w& HES TIS shine wa ee {EX 4 tukiau 7& The elements of this sentence have been reversed. In stan- dard order and without the contraction to ff 5%, it would read HARFEMSB OTR EL “Don't be friends with a girl like that.” / A man would say 7 ugne eee UE AL Examination Hell Lullabies 7X instead of ¥X LX. / Here ¥X is in katakana for emphasis. Also written 72% or SKH, this word means “forbidden; no good; worthless.” 6g lho boeksr,oehy, KARL. 8 H26OBRSA atchi no okdsan that mother over there / BH omeme eyes / 78 AY fushizen unnatural 3 2% is an informal version of 56 “that; over there.” / 4% is a word used only by or to small chil. dren. Other children’s words include 435°C ottete “hand,” DADA “dog,” and #3 35 “automobile.” sous ee at kotBBL Ce. vrarwr bho’ WHEALOE| BB Se certainly, ’'m sure / BBL CH seikei shite she’s had plastic surgery / YT ALU \% Mama mitai na like Mama’s / A#&® shizen no natural / —H futae folded (eyelids) / v5 IZA, the best B) BELTS ew BBL CWS @ BTS scikei sum i 9B can refer to any type of surgery or treatment that changes the shape of a part of a person’s body. / Note that S’s mother says ¥¥ when talking about herself. When speaking to children, Japanese adults often refer to themselves by name or title rather than with a first-person 120 Examination Hell Lullabies pronoun. Similarly, children usually refer to themselves by name until they reach school age, when girls are supposed to start saying #4 wutashi and boys boku for “T; me.” / = here refers to = HL fiutae mabuta “double eyelids,” that is, eyelids with a horizontal crease, Most East Asians have —HiR hitoe mabuta “single eye- lids.” that is, eyelids without a visible fold. Some Japanese who admire European facial features undergo a simple operation to add creases to their eyelids. Here, S’s mother is sneering at another mother for having had that opera- tion while bragging that her own eyelids are naturally the fashionable creased type. She may also be warning her in- fant son to avoid potential marriage partners who alter their appearance artificially. Lvothtc, Bulmecus, FB Lv NTC wo ita chiohi de in this manner / BVBH BETWS itkikasete iru instructs Dok © 85 my / BVM Avec @ BV Re & itkikaseru This sentence’s initial & is the quoting &. It refers to the quotations from the mother in 6e through 6h. / 3° 2x4 means “to instruct” or “to convince.” Here it seems to suggest that eleven-monthold $ is actually pay- ing attention to what his mother is saying. rar£ $ i g ¢ ¢ r t t c i t Examination Hell Lullabies it, ARMED) Rs ae oe Pe ee 2 Halide cos. 35 =—75 ippo meanwhile; on the other hand / B§5RIAY D obenky6 tanto no in charge of study / 084 chichioya father / 48198 maiban every evening / 76°C makuramoto de at (85) bedside / HSE saitha mokubya final goal uli. mate target / KF daigaku university / (CIVITT ni mukete directed toward; aiming at / [K#AFRA| if figaku Annai “Guide to University Admissions” / [AOR | Nyigaku no Tokushoku “Key Features of “Admissions” / BABHAEC UZ yomikikasle im reads to Bh RAM DET © MAMAS yomikikaen 3& 45905 has the prefix 4 because the word refers to a child’s studies. / The 4£ makura in 4£7C means “pillow,” and #4£3C literally means “next to the pillow.” / #8 BOK refers to the university that the parents want S to enter. / KEAERA and HOHE are commer cially published guides to techniques for entering certain universities. £2 means “unique characteristics.” / it Hiatt means “to read to” or “to instruct through reading,” 6k TREPSL, SHAH AVVEI Ke & EABSSA, SEeAU-RCHA CUT, Examination Hell Lullabies CHhERSZE kore o yaru to when (the father) does this / FEO SAU netsuki ga ii falls asleep well / 57 6 da is said to 5 because of / VY AR—VPY A DNY AF Singapore or Bangkok, Thailand / £193 EC to it koto de (see 1, below) / Bld ELE hanashi wa matomatta they decided; they reached a conclusion BH Whe wd du/tbL¢oH wELES 24 Thailand is called 4 4 in Japanese, while the Thai language is 949% Taigo. / The phrase £94 C&T refers to something that has been previously mentioned. It usually does not need to be translated into English. BH, Ka, Stobty cilvc kari Cy SS CHH A a HEL Silo 9 1 0y7- EHOW, CDHATMCHOEANTEO ke The “Country of Ban” $8 BH yokujitsn the next day / SOW IC kaisha no haeri ni on her way home from work / WRV72 nozoita peeked into; dropped by / SR{T{t#EIE moko dairiten travel agency / ¥ SIC masa ni exactly, precisely / FRABHY te risbteki na ideal / HAE nite’ schedule / 24% hingaku amount of money / 7 7— tour / SLO't muitsuke she found / & ) 4x" provisionally, for the time being / BANE dokudan de on her own judgment / F#% Ai TBVZ yoyaku o irete oita she went ahead and made a Teservation BH WBZ ww WC nozoku / ROW & OWS mitsukern E /KNT ANS tem / BVI BS Zk WV modifies HATCH, so ML HAT ABE means “a travel agency that she dropped by.” / The use of & ) &2F suggests that Miss K has made the reser- vation only provisionally, pending consultation with her coworkers. / The final #37, translated above as “went ahead,” indicates an action taken with an eye to future de- velopments. See also 51. Te BG. iho -hoVikehoisc, Kika was Sots, cole Bee. #8 B51 yokuasa the next morning / {HHIO—A® Yi nakama no hitori no Waijé Miss Y, one of the group / Fi DWTS mikakeru notice; catch sight of / S2%< imme diately / OF sono ken that matter / MEF L 7 hokoku shita reported GH) RSL ew METS bokoku sum B7The “Country of Ban” 2 {IH] means “a companion, friend, or colleague (cither in. dividually or as a group).” / The & after LA ITZ js the sequential & (see lj). / ZH here refers to the fact that Miss K had made a tour reservation. The word ff jg often used to refer to previously discussed matters, 7 MeVomtbohok. BEY 4OvT—ER LRALPokne, vubial BB VVOMHOROL ii no ga atta no yo there was a good one / BEFIC katte ni on my own; without prior consultation or permission / LILAC ort mahi. onjatta signed up for / VDL A i wa yo ne thats okay, isn’t i Bp Sok wHS/HLAACP Ok we HLAATL kok w HLIAG moshikomu/ LEK ww L¥EF 7 When referring to a person’s behavior, FF usually sug gests selfishness or disregard for the feelings of others, When it refers to the speaker’s own actions, the word con: veys a sense of humble apology. In this sentence, Miss K’s apology for what she has done is reinforced by the L# ‘oft suffix (see 3h and 4), This apology is little more than a ritual, though. Miss K in fact thinks she has done a good thing by making the reservation, and she is expecting to be thanked, The “Country of Ban” Eas | w tte aR Awe L. Bokio hte hoc aR q *S gt <1 @& BSG BA agai na kao a surprised face / PEW IERE hari Finan slight criticism / WF chéshi tone of voice / A% T homete with; including / ® % 7 hotaeta answered MH Leet /iOT © AOS home / BAK we ® R® hotaen 3 ESBS means “to make a surprised face” or “to look surprised.” 3£4+ means “unexpected,” and the reason for the surprise is that something unexpected has occurred. B9The “Country of Ban” 7h [b. FAELEOINY AALS EDOKO| %% 45 (shows mild surprise) / ¥ 4 IC LEM? Tai nj shite no? Did you decide on Thailand? / 7*7 a7 Cem 2K Bankoku ja nakatta no Wasn't it Bangkok? H Liew te/Urtrok w thkbor =e (LBV de wa nai ee CHD ze The (<3 4% mi suru pattern means “to decide on; to choose.” / In informal women’s speech, a sentence endi with the particle © may be either an explanation or a question depending on the intonation. Explanatory @) sentences have falling intonation, while questions have tis. ing intonation. In writing, it is impossible to determine whether a sentence such as ¥ 4 12 L722 is an explana. tion or a question without contextual clues. Here, the ? shows unambiguously that ¥ 4 IZ L7:@ is a question, and that context tells the reader that WY 77 Ux ey 2k® is a question as well. (Question marks are nor mally used in Japanese only in cases of possible ambigu- ity. If the sentence is clearly a question—because it ends in 2, uses an interrogative pronoun, etc—then the question mark is omitted.) 7i [Ro Hoty ariae 1 o ers & 8B 22 et Huh / HoT but / HE shuto capital city 140 P30 NY IP oCII HO. MORORHL 1 2—-> at (hows surprise or disbelief) / FA A% Laos / iy Cee CHEV de wa nai CHS EE 2-2 is pronounced with a prolonged rising tone. This The “Country of Ban” i 22 is a shortened version of % 2, an interjection that, depending on the situation and intonation, can indicate joy, sorrow, anger, agreement, or hesitation. Here it shows surprise. As in 4g, the final small > in 2 indicates a sudden halting of the vocal chords. It is not pronounced “c” Here and in 7j (2—~), this 2 is similar to an ex- clamation point. / The conjunction 722°C is used in speech when asserting a fact that contradicts another per- son’s statement or assumption. Lp & kp (Hi? 2-9, Koc xt Obes FAL #EWO I] Poor 2722 < hoku ga tuku ends in koku (“country”) / El DARI kuni no namae the name of a country / Ue % VO ja nai no isn’t it? interjection is often used in conversation by young women. / The 2°C after 2% 21% is a contraction of &V5 Mlk to ix no wa, which literally means “that which is called...” though there is usually no need to translate it into English. In writing YY 27 £V35 Old might be rendered with quotation marks: “Bangkok.” / The ellipsis dots in quotation marks [-+++++] indicate that the listener, Miss K, is so stunned she is unable to speak. 4The “Country of Ban” 3% Genuine country names that end in [| kokw include ] Eikoku “United Kingdom,” 4) 340B) Chir Kye. wakoku “Republic of Chile,” and the official name of Je pan, HEE] Nidonkoke or Nipponkoku. 7k Vtudkencoo}, 2° Dany V3 Bh, O80 “vy Bl Bbaeronotas. 8B AEN COOK umarete kono hata ever since she was born / —+1G4F FH) niyo nenkan twenty-four years / 7¥ YeEV5 El Ban to in kuni a country called Ban / 2 4 in other words; that is / {8 UCHED BAD 7: shinjte utagawanakatta believed and didn’t doubt By LENT we HENS umarem / CT w LS shinjiru / SID te yo Tz ew RED EV ew RED utagau 3 OOF kono kata means “since; after.” ENTOOF is a set phrase that means “all one’s life, ever since one was born.” / The & before f# UT is the quoting &, in- dicating what Miss Y believed. / Another version of the phrase fi UC Et % 23 7: appears in 3m. The “Country of Ban” 1 (HK tho HE ic, RARE BWOBEWIMA, BY Ro te AT) fF FUN AALDICHEALAR IC doki myasha no josei shain ni among the female employees who joined the company at the same time / ~A721t hitori dake only one (person) / #REGRIAE enko satydsha a person hired through a per- sonal connection / Mit wwasa rumor / FYKoKA onto datia n’ da was true Hy Hoke & #BiK means nearly the same thing as 4% in 7a-a per sonal connection, whether through blood, marriage, or ac- quaintance. / RANT 4 sai6 suru means “to hire,” and FRAA® sasyasha is “hire.” / —ARWRBRAB IVS £05 Mt hitori dake enko saiyisha ga iru to iu wwasa means “the rumor that only one person was hired through a personal connection.” / The A in FYKOKAL isa contraction of the explanatory %. In other words, the fact that there was one hiree—Miss Y-who got her job through a connection explains why Miss Y is working in this company even though she is so ignorant. / This sen- tence is in parentheses because it indicates Miss K’s thoughts. 1837m keibe cba De A LEE Ie DRok. The “Country of Ban” Ut, Kio be RE Lp ALE EIS LC nyitsha gonenme ni shite in the fifth year after joining the company / MOBUS woasa no hing’ the truth of the rumor / HIE LT: kakushin shine was convinced of Wea Lic ew MEETS kakushin suru / Tots ww 72 (SLT is a literary version of I< or C “in or at (a place or time).” / The characters and % in HS mean ‘truth” and “falsehood,” respectively. In some contexts, Ht 4% can be translated as “truth or falsehood,” though here just “truth” is better. Large Japanese companies, which often have their pick of new hires, screen prospective employees in several ways, One is by choosing only those who have graduated from high-ranked universities, thus relying on the rigor of the university entrance exams to weed out the poorly edu- cated and the less diligent. Another is by subjecting ap- plicants to exams and interviews. The tests given by companies are usually not as tough as college entrance exams, and they often focus on more practical, common- sense knowledge, such as current events and geography. And a third is to use recommendations from the personal contacts of important people in the company. While this method is sometimes as effective as the others—a recom- mender can lose face if the introduced employee tums out to be a dud—it does not always work, as shown here by the case of Miss Y. 144 8 HHISve RRRERIEC MAD 32 Tue Ricu Boy's Urine Tuerary Ano His Girtrrreno's DepressionHSBWOS°S 5352 RRERACDAOS PAM ORBRHALOOL, MESA (=A) ky OF (LAN) EF RMBAWOBAMTER. K POCSLMBAKD, FR-ADLUVF, ROMETS AHEAD, PMI HASHT. HS BMWENY LUE TWH. MFSAIUCATOA, =RANOKYF aIeA BL. KKE SONY TVERIRTY TVF— bE Lk. FORK, LMOA 7 SMILED AA SRF WV F2zyv7tvo OBDY +X 7T-EBUTHSZLE, ROMBOK Rb b BRK [RA, RORPMAMLEARITE, OF faite HORDICBLOCKA TSAR OT] fifo, 92] 146 Tue Ric Boy's Urine Tuerary Ano tis Girurrieno's Depression M-ko (24), an office worker at an architectural firm in Kanagawa, now has a boyfriend, O (28), who is as handsome as K6ji Kikkawa. Although he went to a sec- ond-rate university, he’s 184 centimeters tall, works at a real estate company run by his father, and makes over eight million yen a year. He drives both a BMW and a Mitsubishi Pajero. On Valentine's Day, M-ko bought 30,000 yen worth of chocolate just for O, and they went on a double date to Yokohama with another couple. That night, the two couples checked into a hotel with a view of the sea. While O was taking a shower, M-ko got a telephone call from her girlfriend in the next room. “Hey, according to my boyfriend, O drinks his own piss every morning. He says it’s good for his health.” “Yuck!” M-ko said. “Are you serious?” 147The Rich Boy’s Urine Therapy MF SAAD RS OBICB SK Cy Bron (CBA Re [UB b MORE bE SCN CHORAL. Ro MPTP REACT, SOLRECLOAK, B SRATCAA LI OB ARES (RoRMFSAI, [eR SABC) CURIA KS OFS “7 787 REE” SMO ARTO, BERL FREDDIE, M¥SAIK=HRBARR, OB SOD RHE HLt. DAOWCHKRLEWTL @ MICRREMDEVCIE @MRBAYTI AVL, K+ Ewe ¢ ce molk<, ELS, BERSOOBREMR, BRMLAhIViBoTC NS. LLY MESA (SBE, Tek, KAI 4 VOMEATCE D. BIO MEKKoEARDI se EAMETS, CHEE TC ESO CH Bo 148 The Rich Boy’s Urine Therapy When M-ko nervously asked O about it, he replied confidently, “It has cured my colds and tonsillitis and thay fever. There’s nothing dirty about urine; it has the same components as sweat and tears. You should try drinking it, too.” When O started to kiss M-ko, she adamantly refused. “No kissing! No way!” O also practices “no-underpants therapy”’—he never wears briefs when he sleeps. After stewing over it for three days, M-ko laid down three rules for O: (1) Do not drink urine in front of me. (2) Do not try to get me to drink urine. (3) Always gargle after drinking urine, and then brush your teeth for at least twenty minutes. Every weekend, the handsome, gentle, and rich O in- vites M-ko out to expensive restaurants. But M-ko just feels depressed. “That wine he’s drinking now will get warmed up in his body, and then tomorrow morning he’s going to drink it again.” Whenever she thinks about it, the gourmet food turns bitter in her mouth. 1498a Tite 35-0} 9 8H TR MEME & BA OBB #8 Bij 6 © ¥ obotchama rich boy / KRBHTE inma kenkobo urine therapy / 258A koibito girlfriend / Si yitutsu depression; melancholy ik bYjob © ¥ is the extra polite version of BYj7b © A. obotchan, which is either a polite term for another per- son’s son or a derisive term for a rich, coddled young man who lacks common sense. / Just as 5A is a child’slanguage version of the polite suffix & A (6), & is the child’s version of the even politer suffix & ¥, / As explained in this story, adherents of SIR (EHEE be lieve that drinking or gargling one’s own urine in the morning is beneficial to one’s health in various ways. A few Japanese doctors advocate the practice, though it is not widely followed in Japan. / The characters in the phrase SER MERRZE mean “drink-urinehealth-method.” / A 28 may be either a boyfriend or a girlfriend. Unlike BEA aijin “lover,” the word 2A does not imply— though it does not rule out-sexual intimacy. / If you like to impress people with your ability to write difficult kanji, the %# in 3£% is a good one to learn. (It is also written #8. Learn both versions and impress people even more.) 150 The Rich Boy’s Urine Therapy #5 «#R4S)I1 Kanagawa prefecture south of Tokyo / ESRET Stk jataku sekhei gaisha housing design company / O L Gera female office worker (see 5a) / HIISE BIW Kikkawa K@jini resembling K6ji Kikkawa / 2A A8C & 72 koibito &f dekita (she) acquired a boyfriend Bh Chk ww C&S ¢£ BIISLF] is a handsome pop singer and actor. He was at the height of his popularity in the early 1990s, when this story was written. / The suffix 1 ni means “resembling, looking like.” / The V3 in OMEV4 modifes BA, so OH EV AINKAOBA means “a boyfriend named O who looks like Koji Kikkawa.” / The suffix # kun is explained in 3b. 3& Articles in the popular press often describe people’s ap- pearance through comparisons with show business person- alities. istThe Rich Boy’s Urine Therapy 8c uit & Rec el Rea, & ORES oAMESE Wc eit. B Ab 2 FF daigaku university / = (adds emphasis) / —y nity second-rate / 44% shinchd height / ~\Wev F Iyaku hachifa yon senchi 184 centimeters (60") / X dhichi his father / 2S keiei suru runs, manages / HE Bett fudosan gaisha realestate company / §H% tsutome works; is employed / “FX nensha annual income / i FAFA happyaku man en eight million yen / 9 hosu ex. ceeds By ew BS tsutomeru This sentence describes three things: O's education, his height, and his income and job. While M-ko regards the second and third—184 centimeters and eight million yen per year from his father’s company—as good, the first-O’s graduation from a second-rate university—is not so favor able. The particle CZ singles out A as different from the other two elements. / The particle after 30 is an al ternative form of the subject particle 2°, so ROMET DAA means “the real-estate company that his fa ther manages,” with SCORE FS being a relative clause that modifies RBH Att. This sentence assumed that the reader was in tune with the Japanese zeitgeist of the early 1990s. At that time, Japanese women were said to demand three things from prospective husbands: fi“#HE kogakureki “high educa- tional background,” 45 késhinché “high height,” and 152 ik & The Rich Boy’s Urine Therapy TOLA késhinya “high income.” In other words, they were supposedly interested only in men who were tall and rich and had gone to good universities, Because each re- quirement began with the kanji #j, they were referred to collectively as = #5 sanké “the three highs.” Like HUNG J, though, =75 vanished from the public consciousness within a few years. 7 2~ or ob SBM W ENV LUE HVAT TS, HE kuruma cars / NP 20 Pajero / HVAT TWD tsukatwakete ira uses one or the other as appropriate PEVSPIT CT ww EVSFIT B tsukaiwakera The % “also” after Hi indicates that O’s cars are another example of his wealth and attractiveness to M-ko. / Pajero is the name of a line of four-wheel-drive vehicles made by Mitsubishi Motors. In some countries they are marketed under the name Montero or Shogun. 43The Rich Boy’s Urine Therapy 8e 24S KMotes bom SkEARA MfSAR=A +A, HHAORYF are HEL. KEKbons 7VEbieey rie —heLAS 8 —A+UU4 nigatsu jayokka February 14th (Valentine's Day) / =J5F4 san man en (costing) thirty thousand yen / sk Y F 4 21 a sincere present of chocolate / HBL pai shi prepared / KES onna tomodachi girlfriend / 7 » TW couple / HE Yokohama city south of Tokyo, in Kanagawa Prefecture / 4° 7'V7’— b double date FARL © ARS 4 poi um / Lk we tS KEKE is a friend who happens to be a girl or wo man. No romantic connection is implied. / In Japanese, the meaning of #7 Jv js restricted to a man and wo- man who are lovers or married to each other. The word is not normally used in the more general sense of “pair.” i & 3 On Valentine’s Day, Japanese women give presents of chocolate to men. There are two major categories of these chocolate presents: ##EF 3 2 giri choko “obligatory chocolate,” which includes inexpensive chocolate candies that female office workers give to male coworkers or bosses in whom they have no romantic interest, and 7 7 Fa “favorite’s chocolate,” which is a more expensive chocolate gift given to an actual or prospective lover. The AY in YF ao is an abbreviation of Aaj honmei. Originally a sports term for a competitor that is expected to come in first in a race, 447 can also refer to the per son who is the leading candidate for some position. In this story, O is Mcko’s leading candidate for her future 154 The Rich Boy’s Urine Therapy husband. / March 14th has been designated 7 4 b ?— “White Day” in Japan. On that day, men who received Valentine presents are supposed to reciprocate with gifts of white chocolate or other treats. 8f 2g a £08, “ony 7ViRHOA ERT MIE FxrvIIAy. #8 DK sono yom that night / MOA» TW fuakumi no kappura the two couples / #22 FV umi no miera hoten a hotel with a view of the sea/ Fx y 74 Y checked in The ® in ##054% % is an alternative to the potential particle 2°, so #OSLA SAFI literally means “a hotel from which the sea can be seen.” / With the omit- ted verb added, this sentence would end Fav 74YL 83 Osa x7 eho, ca, Hoitio K ke FCI Gb REEDS o feo BH YX I-EBOTWSLE shaw o abite im toki while taking a shower / BED #S/B tonari no heya the room next door / Mih28& > 7: denwa ga atta there was a tele phone call ISSThe Rich Boy’s Urine Therapy HH BUC we BUS ain / bok wHS ik 1 ¥7—&IBU'S is the usual expression for “to take a shower.” ##U'% means “to be drenched with a large amount of water or other liquid.” $i fiaz, nobkadha ih ucariye, OF bEbh PRORDILBLOTKATSAROT] BK hey, listen! / LOK watashi no kare my boyfriend / BAX IH LZ: kekidashita extracted information by asking; found out / #648 maiasa every morning / (EEO 72% (2 henké no tame ni for health’s sake / BLO = urine / K ACHAT 2 T nonde ‘ru n’ datte (is said to) drink S MRL ow MEMS hhidan / KATS & A TS vw Ht nomu i 422% is used in conversation to get another person’s at- tention or to change the subject to something that the speaker considers important. / Here 4% means “boy- friend.” Similarly, #4 kanojo sometimes means “girl- friend.” / #3 L-2< is the word that children learn for “urine.” A more formal word is JMB shoben. The medical term is JR mo. / The A after BASH LZ and KAT % is a contraction of the explanatory and nominalizing ®. / The ending 2° is used to report what someone else has said, It is a contraction of £ V9. 8i Nifo, v7?) 8B WP gett yuck! gross! / Y 7 really? are you serious? 3 The interjection 1’ indicates the speaker’s disgust. (The small 2 is explained in 4g) An initial 1’ seems to con- note stomach upset in Japanese. Similar words include (7 % “vomit” iF’ 4 “burp,” and the onomatopoetic 7. \FR, which describes the sound of retching. / 7 is a shortened, slangy version of ATI mayime “serious; not joking.” 8j *: MPS Katha hs OF ci &, Hos DIB Are HB D7 csormosore nervously; fearfully / OF (CBA < & Okun ni kil to when (Mcko) asked © / EB 723.480 (2 Jishin tappuri ni full of selfconfidence / #7: Rotaeta an- swered Bh BA © EAS hotaem z The reduplicated 2447k4 is an adverb derived from the verb 244 osorn “to fear.” / The & after [|< is the se quential &. / 722389 means “full” / The subject of BAT: is OB. 197The Rich Boy’s Urine Therapy 8k Paap bInCHoORAK. BB & BRE 8 TE 25 JBUIR kaze a cold; the flu / FAPEIE Aentéen tonsillitis / 76 {BNE Aafinshs pollen allergy, hay fever / = #UT by means of this / #27 naotta were cured Gi) ok @w iS naom 3 JBUAB can refer to both the common cold and the flu. / The tonsils are called FBERR Aentisen. / The verb BS is written 44% when it means “to recover from an ill ness.” When it means “to be repaired; to be restored,” it is written LS. 81 ka) tees bt BA BE ake ROMDSFPREMULC, BOL SHKC EY oD Ao BOKA THA LI $8 FROM 190 no seibun the components of urine / }F axe sweat / 1K namida tears / [| onaji the same / Sok % (not) at all / 754 GW kitanakunai not ditty / & kimi you / KA CAR® K nonde miro yo try drinking it By Ce / TCE @ BV hitand / KAT KE nomu | AA ww BB Lk ROMGNAIEP RLU T means “urine is made of the same things as sweat and tears.” / 5-2 & } adds em- phasis to the meaning of a sentence. It is used only in negative constructions. / The pronoun # kimi is used 158 The Rich Boy's Urine Therapy mainly by men when addressing a friend or close ac- quaintance who is of equal or lower social status. Being a woman, M-ko would be likely to reply to her boyfriend using either his name (probably followed by SA, 6 ¥ A, or & kun) or H%7z “you.” / & is the brusque imperative form of %4. / When used after the gerund (te) form, %% means “to try,” so KA TAS is “to try drinking.” / The final £ reinforces O’s recommendation that M-ko try urine therapy. 8m ofkex ENEI ROMER ALL [eA hist!) Sale Har. HOF AENTI MG hisu sares6 ni natta was about to be Kissed (by O) / MUEHIZ zetai ni absolutely / 4% | no! I refuse! / w= Aatakuna ni stubbornly / #2A72 kobanda refused Gh ASH we FAENS HATS / tok ak B/ABAR @ Hts kobamu t& 4 -V indicates strong dislike or refusal. It is also written vo, ff, or IR. / The % in the adjectival noun (na ad- jective) Hi% hatakuna is part of the stem, so another 7% is needed when the word precedes a noun: i{7% % HERE hatakuna na taido “stubborn behavior.” 459The Rich Boy's Urine Therapy Tike Rich Boy's Urine Therapy _ 8n 8p Ota “7 sy RY Bako Ancor, ORO CHR Lect HSE RIVOS PREVA, ORR Hwee e pens © ee K tweet fk (LFF HS BBO — 78 HERE nopan kenkohé no-underpants therapy / ® me BPI OL. FRO AMT TC toniirete ite has adopted / HS & i214 cee nent toki ni wa when he goes to bed / VD always / | a . . Fae ONT EV shitagi o tsukenai doesn't wear underwear 8 ORC watashi no mae de in front of me; in my pres Hi RVANT © RYO ANZS tone / WT @ VS / ence / URL %&V> innyé shinai do not drink urine / DHE eo OIF EV» swsamenai do not urge, do not recommend / fk ; ve - . FRA inmyé go after drinking urine / WF" hanarazu al t& The ty in 7—/%Y is an abbreviation of ¥y 7 ways, without fail / 3) 2°V> L_xgai shi gargle / — +43 0h “underpants” or 7%” 7 4 — “panties.” -E nijuppun 6 for more than twenty minutes / eB 3K Practitioners of 7 —7*2/ (RHEE believe that sleeping ha o migaku brush your teeth without any restrictions on the nether regions is beneficial By PURLEV ww RTS inns sum / Bd EV & Hd to one’s health. % susumen | AW we FAWTS gai sure c= The sentencefinal < & indicates a strong command or 80 prohibition, Tt is often used in signs: ¥NI Sider aA Ao Phew ta tek ke tea ce tabako 0 sieanai koto “No Smoking.” / The pronun- MESABZAMBARE, OF Zoo RH ciation of +4 is discussed in Im. x zHLK. 3% ==HIAl mikka kan for three days / WATE nayanda wor- ried; was unable to decide / # se after / =ODAE mittsu no joken three conditions / Hi L 7 dashita presented Bh WALK ow thts nayamu / HUT ew HS dau 33 3K refers to the end of an action or period of time, so = EPIRA 7A means “after brooding over it for three days.” 160 161The Rich Boy’s Urine Therapy The Rich Boy’s Urine Therapy 8s Tag, tant vais, Haba OWE AD 8q Li wlesto Por k(, BLS, BERS OOH H ER, BL ARDY HOT CNS. SB mock < handsome / BL jaatita gente kind / 8 WE now / KALT4 Y nonda wain the wine he BRS okanemodi rich / WIAA maishimatsu every drank / {6A tainai de inside his body / #0 atate weekend / HALAL DY kokya resutoran high-class mari is becoming warmer / 1h kare he / HHA O84 ashita restaurant / #2 °C < 1% sasotte kurers invites (M-ko) ww a tomorrow morning / € 7: again / kt nomu will By Pol k< w Porky we Pol ZL kako yo [BLS @ ELV yasashii / HoT w HF sau 3&_ The subject of &tr is 4, that is, OF. $& Both ®oCE< and HEL < are adverbial forms, which are used to link series of adjectives. Both of these words and B&HSO modify OF#. / POI KW is a short- 8t ened form of #22 £\:, which means “having a 343 . & 23 nice, refined appearance” or, more colloquially, “good- & Hilgs ORUIC, THEBES. GODOT looking” or “cool.” It is also pronounced 72> 2 V3V> or dS. PIIZwVw, 4B & (quoting &) / AURT SLU sae6 suru tabi ni every 8r time she pictures in her mind (what she describes in 8s) / As 2332 ,. CRE gochisd gourmet food / E3°< %S macuku naru LOL. MES ARE. starts to taste bad / 6 because H ESC we ETH 5B LAL however / BB yautu da is depressed; feels . biue tk AIRS D sded suru means “to imaging; to picture in one’s mind,” / 2 + . movie. / A +9 % is typically a one-page advertising vero eo. Be EBLAoLL IAT flyer. The word is also written #5 L./ FICIL modifies MEOF + 1 ADM 72, 4, the principal verb of this sentence, In other words, S was holding the leaflet in his hand. / The phrases Fi, LEDRW and [RF IMICHIRL EF] O both modi- 8B OY 7—€U shawa o abi he took a shower / HV fy Ev IFTY, yoi drunkenness / 2° L. sukoshi a little bit / 47% 72 sameta pe ese . . lessened; cooled off / & ©4°C when / BBOF v1 A x AEY IID > is typically a small printed notice adver- bea no chaimu doorbell / i> 72 natia rang, tising a call girl service, massage parlor, or other sex busi- ness. EY YFF% are often posted next to public Bh GU ew BUS abim / HOI. © HHS samen / ho telephones in nightlife areas or left in apartment building yw BS nau mailboxes. 3k BEVDTHS means “to sober up.” 47% is an intran- sitive verb meaning “to cool off.” In this context, it may of also be written $£%) 4 or BE 4. Fa, ‘Hah ee) LRERL ES SA it, Sheth hie. 3% £L okay! here we go! / HEV shito proof evidence / 174 175The Girl Next Door 9h oer, wo CORT eAeS SAH KOVR. EB OCC Pm IC with a smile / M2 <4 slowly / FT =A \}%: doa o aketa opened the door / H&tw7% me o muita his eyes widened Bh PAIK ww BAITS ahem / VK: ww BIS muku i The idiom BH &#)< me o muku means “to open one’s eyes in surprise or anger.” The verb #]< means “to peel,” but HB &#)< has a different meaning from the English “to keep one’s eyes peeled.” 91 Ribas s cake HeAKohkOK, 38 = 2c¢E jos the woman / fet sumu to live; to reside / & #55 homuin cvil servant / 1¢% jitaku housing / BEA tonari musume neighbor's daughter i #5 ALES is a housing complex for public employees. Government agencies and private companies in Japan often provide low-cost housing for their employees. / The suffix 4A, after M¥- reflects both S’s acquaintance with her and their difference in age. See also 6c. / The ex- planatory M in MFbRPAKOKOZ tells why Ss eyes widened in 9h. 176 The Girl Next Door SX The words KE, % onna, and HA fin all mean “woman.” Of these, XE is the most neutral, In certain contexts, & onna might suggest “mistress” or “prostitute,” while HA figin is avoided by some feminists and others for its old-fashioned, patronizing air. In many expressions, though, %& and fA are still the only choices, such as #4 ODF onna no ko “girl” or Ht A Pt figinka “gynecology.” 9j AL Geb kw HED REKO SHOPS CARE x Chte LTRSARI 38 HEX sashika I thought, I was pretty sure that / HFK Jjoshidai women’s university / =4F sannen third year (stu- dent) / 43°72 hazu da supposed to be / TAMECT konna toko de in a place like this / MUL TWS ATE nani o shite ira n’ da what are you doing? H Ltwrts & The sentential adverb #E7» indicates that the speaker is al- most certain of what he saying, though the word does leave some room for doubt. Here it reinforces (33°, which also indicates something that the speaker believes to be true, Thus HEPKFRKOSHO LTE means “1 thought you were supposed to be a junior at a women’s university.” / KF-X is an abbreviation for KFAF joshi daigaku. / & = is an informal version of fit tokoro “place.” / The A in LTS AZ is a spoken form of the explanatory and nominalizing ®.The Girl Next Door 9k Lal, SSAOIERMES & AE USA : kirotts [BUSADIEARATL EJ 3% LL however / MLEE shitta scolding / 72 USA E> oft didn’t flinch; was unfazed / BUSA (refers to older men) / IFA LEA CL & yonda n’ desho you called, didn’t you By CUAMAPOK eK USBEW we KEAC / IF Ate wx UES yale tk 7:4 means “to be overcome; to be staggered.” / The word BUSA is used to address or refer to men who are somewhat older than oneself. The word implies some degree of familiarity. The equivalent for referring to women is 31£& A. The words BUSA and BISH A are used in the same way to refer to elderly men and women. 91 Wee be OB ton SAI, [BREAD OO Ly eboaee. BoLEUDKR SEAS RO LeewD| 3B HEE OIE< %or hatairo no waruku natta looked de- feated / BREA otésan your father / {£349 shiokuri allowance / } 2 & EUXMIC motto mayime ni more seti- ouly / BOK eNO jaranakya dame ja nai ka aren't you supposed to behave? 78 The Girl Next Door Bh tok we GS / PROGR w POBINIE e © B/ UPB ww CEY de wa nai 3 HES literally means “the colors of flags.” Originally, the idiom £f42°7E\> referred to an army's flags becoming less visible on the field of battle as the army is defeated. Here, it refers to the fact that S was in a weaker position to scold M-ko for working as a prostitute after she pointed out that he was the one who had hired her. / 38") is money sent periodically to help another person, such as a college student or an aged parent. / ? 5% X # 72% is a contraction of 5 %ItMIL, which means “must do.” 9m SB pte Ad agnes BARI EA OPATAB A cE TEV 3B /\— ko icbijthan for nearly an hour / BBE BEIT 7 sekkyo 0 tuzuketa he continued preaching / V2 Att A unfortunately / 320% V Aakuyoku ga nai it had no effect (on her) Bp Beltre ew HITS teukem / EV HS

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