Professional Documents
Culture Documents
relatively peaceful, law-abiding country, the Japanese j ust don't have the
crime and violence that US newscasters can count on to spice up the
evening report. They make up for the
lack of mayhem by paying more
attention to political and economic
news-and depend on opinionated
anchors to add the necessary spark.
Japane e television boasts a
ctiverse field of option; whi le cable
TV, satellite broadcasting, and HDTV
are still small, they are making steady
inroads. There are over 19,000 private
stations owned by 12 1 broadcasting
companies sending out TV news and
other offerings to some 125 million
viewers. Of tho e viewers, 98.9 percent own color TV sets, 35 million of
which are officially hooked up to the
quasi-governmental network Nippon
Hoso Kyokai (NHK), which broadcasts nationwide. Twenty-eight percent also have satellite broadcast
receivers-the beuer to view CNN
with-and about 75 percent of the
population can tape TV news broadcast.-; on their VCRs (known here as
VTRs) for later viewing.
Foreign news programs are available by either cable or satellite in the
mayhem= !Ji,)J boryoku!M!th , ik/(1 forestall = *=1'?.\'.:jljj <mizen nijitsegu qua.~i-govemmental = ~~}
~"> jun-kiJei no national anthem = 1!1:11: kokka
RESPEG ED
TBS NEWSMAN
CHIKUSHI TETSUYA
WITH CO-ANCHOR
HAMAOAKEMI
ON THE SET OF
"NEWS 23."
Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) takes a studied, middle-ofthe-road approach. TV Asahi, like its siste r new paper. tends
to be more liberal. The others fa ll in along the spectrum.
The process of gathering news, like many other activities in
Japan, depends largely on connections. News reporters (ac.X.
kisha), whether prim or broadcast, have been characterized by
some Western journa li sts as mere lap dogs due to their
restrained coverage of politicians. The proble m is that the Japanese government is the main source for political and economic
news: reporters who dare to offend find themselves cut off.
Several years ago Ozawa lc hiro, now c hair of the Shinshinto
political party, completely shut o ut a reporter's organization
when that reporter angered him for " no t re porting the truth."
They found the mselves banned from a ll of O..:awa's press
conferences- temporari ly.
Governmental news has traditiona lly been parceled out to
reporters belonging to the "kisha c lubs" connected to each
government ministry. This isn' t the only source, though. A
savvy journalist develops a relationship with certain politicians.
following them everywhere in hopes of joining an impromptu
press conference or catching o ff-the-record remarks.
Therefore, whether the news source is officia l or unofficial.
reporters are almost completely beholden to the good graces
of the politic ians they cover. The result is often reporters who
are so closely tied to their sources that they find it difficult to
ask frank questions at press conferences.
Nonetheless, according to Nikkei Weekly's Katsumata Michio,
some of the more ambitious and idealistic younger journalists
are training themselves in more confrontational investigative
reporting techniques, which are not necessarily taught in school
or on the job.
T he format of the Japanese TV news program differs little
from the pattero seen in the US : there is usually a main
newscaster (::.. .:1. - :J. .:\'- '\' :J. 7 -, nyi'isukyasutii. sometimes
shortened to /..:yasutii; or "announcer"- both terms have made
0
lap dog
it into Japanese) who leads with the ropp11 ny/7.1'11 ( 1- "J 7'::.. .:1. ;;r. . main stories), surrounded by j unior co-anchors. reporters.
and gue~t experts brought in to pontiticate on the day's stories.
In-depth business information, including detailed coverage
of specific companies, is a central feature of Japanese TV news.
Michael Palcnno, an English-language news producer at a TBS
subs idiary, describes Japanese ne ws shows as having much
more relaxed pacing than in the US. resulting in time for longer
stories. Six or eight minutes spent o n one story is not unusual.
"There is also less division between feature stories and breaking news," says Palermo. "The news/commentary line is less
firm ly drawn."
Japan's many mo rning news programs have the ir own
bouncy, re lentless ly c heerful sty le, which o n some shows
is compo unded by a pack o f reporters chatting together on
the set.
One interesting AM-news segment is a review of top news
tories from the earl y editions o f the leading newspapers. a
feature called clu'Jkan yomi-kurabe (<i!lftl i!Xh !t ~ . reading and
comparing the morning papers). Also seen regularly o n the AM
news arc greetings and weather reports from correspondents
in the regional bureaus. Perhaps wanting to make the most of
their moments on national T V, the regional reporters are prone
to what veteran American journalist Linda Ellerbee calls "riding
the e lephant,'' or engaging in wi ld stunts. NHK often intersperses little travelogues between main news sequences in the
morning.
Since there's no t much p romotion for J apan 's TV
news programs, few anchors become household names--quite
unlike their American counterparts. The ide ntity of ordinary
reporters, too, is far less emphasized : they don' t sign off with
their names, although the name will appear on screen.
Even so, more and more ancho rs are gaining distinction
from the rest of the pa:::k. Japanese newscasters o ften express
their own opinions about the issues, either in a separate
impro mptu =
=w. r1
* c L "( .0:
semnonka to shite iken 0 nobem bouncy= t.k:i.S ~ kaikatS/1/Ill I :JC1<\0) J: ~ \ genki 110 yoi intersperse = r"~ t: li ~ (r aida ni hnSll/11111 ~ ;(_ .0 majiem
0
14 Mangajin
Mangajin 15
~c.
assisted by younger male co-anchors and reporters and converses confidently with
guest commentators.
Ando Yilko of Fuji TV started as a newsroom nobody, but worked her way up
through persistence and a powerful presence. She took over the anchor role on
"News Japan" at II PM from a male newscaster, Kimura Taro, who continues in
the elder statesman role of commentator.
Their gains notwithstanding, the female anchors did not even figure in the recent
Yomiuri Shimbun media poll. The top five news anchors were, in descending order,
Kume Hiroshi, Chikushi Tetsuya, Tawara Soichiro, Kimura Taro, and Sekiguchi
Hiroshi. Connie Chung may still have better options at home.
It may be a sign of the maturing of media in Japan that the influence of the
media itself is becoming more of a topic of public debate. A recent Yomiuri Shimbun
poll showed viewers are questioning the influence of the TV media on politics
and the tum of public events. Indeed, a TV Asahi executive once claimed, "It was
televis ion that created the non-LOP government." At a recent international
symposium on TV coverage of the 50th anniversary of the end of World War IT,
criticism was voiced at the failure of the Japanese news programs to " present
their audience with concrete examples indicating that Japan was the aggressor in
the Pacific War." Tt was decided that, since the media can shape mankind's
values, they "should do their best to contribute to the promotion of universal
ethics for the bene fit of mankind," reported the Daily Yomiuri. It remains to be
seen how these lofty goals will be accommodated in the changing TV news
environment.
Calll-800-247-6553,
or fax PO to: 408-732-7723
http://www.lanchester.com
J eanmarie Todd watches the 6:00AM NHK news in her cozy apartment in Tokyo.
tl If~ ~_m ~ nebarizuyosa - notwithsLanding = - !.: b 1!' 1!' t? I? i ' ~
mo kakawarazu ethics = 1~ J!l!. rinri I I1l: f!/l\ d/Jtoku
_
persistence=
16 Mangajin
"""'sEntertainment
10
Tourists searching for the essence of Japan may follow guidebook directions to Shinto shrines
and Zen gardens, but guidebooks won't lead to some of the new, offbeat destinations that are
having increasing success luring in the Japanese. Places with names like U-Zone, Wild Blue .
Scagaia, and Joypolis are surfacing all over the country. These new entertainment centers are
so popular that Seagaia and Joypolis each had more visitors in one mo nth than Mt. Fuji had
all year long! What do these places have to offer that the traditional spots do n' t?
~ z
astroturf = T
jinkiJshiba namboyanl
llikinami I !if ViE teiryL7
= i!R =F- ~
---------------------------------------
SOMangajin
it.]
wonderlands
development's real success has been in gathering hundreds of thou ands of people from all over
Japan to be exposed to outrageous prices w ithout ever coming in contact with M other ature.
A one-day adult pass costs 4,200 (around $40); rental fees, amusement rides, and food are extra. Everything from swimsuits ( women:
I ,800 per day) to lounge chairs (600 for two hours on A Deck or
2,000 for a four-person table on B Deck) arc available for rent. (You
can bring your own swimsuit, of course, but that's about it.) Attraction fees average 600 per ride, and food prices average three times
the going rate on the outside.
Oceun Dome is spotless, some might say almost terile. From its
chlorinated water to the strictly patrolled shower rooms. visitors need
not worry about bugs, trash, or dangerous tides. For parents of young
children. the best feature of Ocean Dome is the corps of lifeguards
and staff that swarms over the beach and wuter, life preservers in hand.
Although the bathing suits worn by the male lifeguards look as though
they were purchased in the little boys' department (it is said that the
skimpy suits allow for faster reaction time in the case of an emergency), the number of guards will put even a nonswimmer at ease.
While it may be true that the real beach immediately adjacent to A flashv entrance sets the mood at Jovpol/s.
Ocean Dome is dangerous, there is a lovely. clean, public beach just
15 minutes south by car. The fine, dark sand at A oshima Beach docs leave a dirty residue on feet
and towels, and there are no hair dryer available in the public rest room. But if you can manage
the unorchestrated nature of Nature, where sunshine, ocean waves, und breezes do not follow a
schedule, Aoshima is a lovely, free alternative.
" . . . an attempt
In short, if you want to go to a beach, go to Aoshima, but if you want to have one of the most
to combine the
interesting swimming pool experiences of your life (und you've got plenty of cash), go to Seagaia's
convenience of
Ocean Dome.
Joypolis. an unusual but accurate term. is the name of gamemaker Segas new attempt
to combine the convenience of urban game center s with the excitement o f full -serv ice
theme parks like Disney land. Of the three Scga theme parks in Japan ( Yokohama, Osaka, and
Tokyo), the newest and biggest is in the Tokyo Decks development across the Rainbow Bridge
from Shinbashi.
Tokyo Joypolis is an original, four-story theme " park" with II main attractions, a Sega game
arena, a Funteractive Square, and a cafe with an outdoor deck overlooking Tokyo Bay. The main
auractions include both rides and virtual reality experiences. earl y all are interactive in some
way, meaning the actions of the player affect the experience. Unlike being passively strapped
into a roller coaster and going for a ride, the games at Joypolis demand a player's attention and
reward participation.
Visitors enter Joypolis through a vault-like door. Each level i s visible from the first floordark interiors marked with purple neon signs decorating the balconies with short messages (in
English) like " State of the Art." " Stimulating." and " Total Entertainment." Low, pulsating music
plays in the background. punctuated by ringing bells from the game area and real -life screaming
from unidentifiable locations.
The central attraction of the building i s the Time Fall ride- an adventure in suspense. Eight
sw~nn = $1'; 1 ~ muragaru skimpy = ::IP.'Ii\"t.: ']' ~ ~' lt(jiJ ni chii.mi I li /v (I) ~~14' '? fl& 0) howw kimochi teitlo
no adjaccnr = ~ t) -& 1t (I) tonaria\ra.l'e no I ~ 1~ l... 1.:. rin.,et.w shita vauh- like c.loor = g A~ ill~' IJ~ kyodai
tl(l omoi 10bira
Mangajin 51
110
Half Pipe Canyon will leave you trembling with adrenalinno roller coaster can compare with the rush of this intense ride.
Only if you've parachuted out of an airplane or bun gee-jumped
off a bridge will you have some idea of what to expect.
The entrance fee for Joypolis is 500 (about $5) and each
attraction is about 700- reasonable, especially considering
that while you're there you'll get a glimpse of Tokyo's Beautiful People. You'll also get to sec what those Beautiful People
do on a date. Although Sega traditionally caters to a teenage
audience, the majority of visitors are in fash io nably dressed
pairs between the ages of 20 and 25. Going to Joypolis on a
date is not only cheaper than dinner and a movie, it counterbalances the worst part of this theme park- lines. Long lines.
The average waiting time is an hour, but lines for the more
popular rides ofte n exceed two hours. This drawback,
however, fai ls to discourage the hand-holding couples, who
seem happy to have more time to stand together in the dark.
It's not exactly clear why places like Seagaia's Ocean Dome
and Joypolis are increasing in popularity. Perhaps places like
these fu lfill a growing de mand for interactive entertainment
by a generation raised on video games and computers. Jf you
visit these places, you may not be able to identify the essence
of Japan, but you' ll certainly have a lot of fun.
lAura Kriska's book, An Accidental Office Lady, will be published this summer by Charles E. Tuttle Publishing.
kimoclzi drawback
BOOKS
SOFTWARE
VIDEOS
SPECIALTY ITEMS
1-800-552-?J206 fax
52 Mangajin
I
Delving into the
world of manga
~O OK REVIEW
reviewed
by lan Baldwin
COMo
UNORGROIJND jAPAN,
r;un-=a
J:; erabu I
54 Mangajin
_ _ _ __ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ __ __ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ __ __ J
--------------------------ON THE
BOOKSHELF
Old Ways to Fold New Paper, by Leza Lowitz. Berkeley, CA: Wandering Mind Books, 1996. 98 pages. $10 (paperback)
be daunting= 1:> [;. lf?;l)>1:t)., ojige-zukaseru I(}).. i 1:t).. lrirumaseru hefty= lf!:t.; v' omotai I ;t;' ') .:x. - 1.. (J)~)., IJoryiimuno aru obsessive
= it\'!l!l!: (J) kado no I II): ~ '? ;/)> tt t.; toritsukareta pedestrian = ~ ~ ~ t.; ~ (J) arikitari no I ~ I) h. tt t.; arifurew be enticed= ~!'Ji: ~ tt).. yiiwaku
sareru I ~ ltJ> h. .0 hikaruu
Mangajin 55
COMPUTER CORNER
ing-lt-with-y0 u
Some words of wisdom from a seasoned
computer-toting traveler
by Eril< Kassebaum
ALC Press is looking for people of all nationalities who woulclle to exchange
letten(in English)with Japanese. In Japan there are lots of people, ~ '--~.~wo-e-.........
young ancl olcl, who want to correspond with overseas friencls.
ALe eon~~!~
Tokyo-based publisher, ALC help of the information you have preferred that you write in EngPress, Inc. have launched the provided. The Japanese pen- lish, but Japanese is acceptable
ALC Correspondence Club - a pals will then write to you. It is as well.
penpal introduction service - in
order to promote international
ALC Correspondence Club
:
exchange and friendship among
individuals in Japan and other
Registration Form
:I
countries. If you are interested
I
in participating in this exciting
NaiM:
Sex:
OMalo/
OFHIIIIe
program, please complete this
form and mail it to our headquarters in Tokyo.
You will become a member of
Postal Code:
Counlitl
the ALC Correspondence Club
upon our receipt of your regisMarital Status: OMarried/ OSingle
Age:
tration form. Registration is
free, and valid for six months.
Occupation:
Nationality:
During the six-month registration period, we will match you
Hobbles/ lntorosts:
----------------------------------~-
vocabulary summary
From Kaji R y_iisuke no Gi, ~- 17
tSlli-ni
tsutomeru
osaraba suru
kima((e iru
fHi~
koenkai
21C$
honbu
IW#X
kaisan
tsugi-tsugi to
~~7~-t
sugata o kesu
iJR~
habatsu
JJJ~
ugoki
:i:>-t-1?<
osoraku
Ufjl,;,
nigiru
u- J:.-::> Lt.: t_, hyotto shitara
9 ;;;j
hatsugen
J-.-'FTJ.>
nyiishu suru
~2~
kisha
3? t.: I)
atari
~:!JDi"J.>
sanka suru
it ~ll-r
kogidasu
~
minato
~5t
to bun
~~I)
miokuri
it IF
renchii
~~
tasii
plfQ
mochiron
-L,I'ic
shinpai
~5t
yabun
JfH!f:
yifken
tsukiai
-::>~3?"'
}JIJhl.>
waka reru
j!f
kyodo
!:l:.tr
umu
~,IE
issoku
senkyo
T-f~
f urin
~lf/189'i"
chim ei-teki 1za
yoso
~*
1iiJ$
nanitozo
naisho de
1*1*~-rfJV;~.
Janomi
~r
saishi
.::'"#~-r--r
go-zonji desu
tJJiit
baai
[5j~CT)
doto no
~
tsum.i
15-lf7,;,
tsugeru
:t31iv'
o-tagai
~q.*
shorai
tl:\'"(*7,;,
detekuru
J,qf-r 7,;,
biko suru
.ilU'i!Af4
sanfujin-ka
;JvtlJ-'F
kogitte
~~ffl
hiyo
if.P;>j:?
makana u
1383
jiy ii
;fti~IJ
kenri
~J.,
saguru
-::> "' 1:
ltMJJ.>
;;t-fj-7;\"tJ.>
i*i-::>'t"v'l.>
*4c
m"l>.
:iR*
at long last/finally
wo rk [as an employee]
say goodbye
has been decided/set
electio n committee
headquarters
dissolution
one after another
disappear
faction
movements
pro bably
grasp/ ho ld (v.)
may possibly be
statement
obtain
re porter
approximate time
participate
row out
ha rbor/port
quite a while
send/see off [on a trip]
group o f people
large number
of course
worry/concern
late at night
item/matter of bus iness
relationship
part/separate/break up (v.)
home town/district
produce/give birth to
talented pe rson/prodigy
election
adultery
fatal/mortal
e leme nt
please/kindly
in secrecy
request (11.)
wife & child
know
situation
equal
guilt
tell/ inform
each other
future
e me rge/come out
follow/tail
obstetrics de pt./c linic
[bank] check
costs (n.)
pay/finance (v.)
freedom
right/authority
probe/investigate
rJJi% .z J.>
1l!ti" 7,;,
5\:;{t CT)
~
iffi
~IF
~~
~W<<
tiiihJ.>
-t-7::>-t-7::>
ITIJ~
7k!R
eakon
machigaeru
zangyo suru
sendai no
rei
mago
tochii
engi
nozoku
y ureru
sorosoro
kiken
mizumushi
air conditioning
err/make a mjstake
work late
previous generation
spirit/ghost
grandchild
middle
luck
leave out/omit
rock/sway
soon/by and by
dangerous
athlete's foot
a kuma
~
71<
kin
fili(J.>
yaburu
~J.,~~
osoru-beki
~Jff.
saiyaku
w7J:Ilt1lt
okuman choja
5f:/J:li:i" J.>
kansei suru
i ~L<
masashiku
~,f!!CT)
kyiikyoku no
:t.7 !:::"
kabi
Jt!'ic-t J.>
shihai suru
j!-fg
meishin
ue
~ilf1lt
gizensha
;n{z;.:r
idensh.i
tf(
dojo
n~;4
h.iryo
ntF-1-tJ.>
seiiku suru
;J, 3(
komugi
L f.p '->
shikamo
;til[~
shokubutsu
*!IJ"jj
saikin
~5t
yobun
1"}!:1:.-tJ.>
saisei suru
;R;:Jtensai
WF~~
sosho
ff-~
jidan
lililJ'G
sai-yiisen
ubau
:?
Am
hitogara
l~f<li:CTJ~h'i "' etai no shirenai
JtiJ'g
jogen
'fmi:!
rinri
il!!.1J
chiryoku
T-=ECTJ
fumo no
taishita
*Lt.:
mu
~-
:'l;l;rj.
fJJ-l.,1\r
sassoku
denkiya
shiishoku katsudo
igai to
shoshinsha
65
devil
prohibition
tear/break ( v.)
fearsome/frightful
calamity
millionaire
complete (v.)
definitely
ultimate
mold/milde w (n.)
rule/take over
superstitjon
hunger/starvation
hypocrite
genes
soil
fertilizer
grow
wheat
moreover
plant (n.)
bacteria
nutrients
resuscitate/regenerate
genius
lawsuit
out-of-court settlement
highest priority
steal (v.)
personality
mysterious
advice/counsel
ethics
[soil] fertility
in ferti Ie/barren
admirable/amazing
~-
82
promptly
appliance store
job search
surprisingly
beginner
The Vocabulary Summary is taken from material appearing in this issue of Mangajin. It's not always possible to give the complete
range of meanings for a word in this limited space, so our "definitions" are based on the usage of the word in a particular story.
Mangajin 93
Kaji Ryfisuke no Gi
,E
Hirokane Kenshi
Hirokane Kenshi is known for his complex dramas and forays into the
depths of the human psyche. Utilizing a realistic drawing style in which
Japanese characters actually look Japanese (no blonde hair or huge Di neyesque eyes), Hirokane has enjoyed great popularity since the debut of his
first serialized manga in 1974. Stories emerge from settings ranging from
boardrooms to bedrooms to newsrooms, and though some of his best-known
manga-Ningen Kosaten and Last News- were written by other authors and
drawn by Hirokane, Kaji Rytlsuke no Gi is solely Hirokane's work. Kaji has
been serialized in MR. Magajin since 1991.
Kaji Ryusuke, the 39-year-old second son of a powerful politician, is from
Kagoshima on the island of Kyushu. In the first two episodes presented in
In this episode, the last of the excerpts presented in Mangajin, Ryusuke meets again with his
friends lJmori and Kurachi, the chief of the Dainichi newspaper's political desk and an officer for
the Foreign Minister, respectively.
0 llorokane Kcn,ho. All right' rc''""'d. FoN publi'hed on Japan in 1992 by Kodansha. To~)O. Engli>h tran,lation nght' arranged through Kodan>ha.
Mangajin 17
18 Mangajin
Kaji Ryusuke no Gi
~: 11--~
Gaimu-sM
Sign : ~;f.~
Kissa-shitsu
Tea Room
kissa refers to the drinking of tea, and -shitsu is a suffi x meaning 'room": kissa-shitsu =''tea room/coffee shop."
Omori: -f-)
SO
iJ'o "?lt'l:
11fli)f.;
iJ'o
finally
quit
(?)
Kaji: -)!v,
Urz,
ats
"'-::>LJ::''v'
kirziJ
ippai
"t'
de
I61f:
f}J'>t.:.
;tL~~Rii:
worked
(co. name)
;;f-lj-7;-{l.J.:.o
osaraba shita.
"Uh-huh. As of the end of the day yesterday, I said goodbye to Maruko Products, where l worked for 16 years."
''Ub-huh. Yesterday m arked the end o f 16 ears a t Maruko." (PL2)
ippai (daldesu) means " is full." but - ippai de after a time word referring to a day/week/month/year makes an expression
for "as of the end of [the specified day/weeklmonlhlyear]." De often marks a n amoun! or scope; in this use it in effect
marks the specified 'full day/week/month/year'' as the scope in time.
rswomera is the plain/abrupt past form of the verb tswomeru, whjch means "work [as an employee]";jtlrokunen tsutometa
is a complete thought/sentence("! I) worked [there) 16 years") modifying MarukiJ Bussarz ("Maruko Products").
osaraba shira is the plain/abrupt past form of osaraba suru, which means "say goodbye (to)" or "part/break off
relations (with)."
Mangajin 19
Q_Q
'
...
20 Mangajin
JIHI:!. .Q
Kuracbi: <:,
De,
1:
li
Kagoshima 11i
wa
and so
(place)
(PL2)
de is a coiJoquial short form of sore de, literally "with that," used as a conjunction to mean "and then/and so."
Kagoshima is the name of t11e southernmost prefecture in Kyushu as well as of its capital city.
asking a questio n with a question word plus da or 11 da is restricted mostly to males in informal situations; depending oo
the tone o f voice, it can sound very rough, but there s no feeling of roughness here.
Kaji: lq B
Ashita
tJ C:>
rr <a
kara
iku.
t., li I? <
Shibaraku
"Tomorrow. I won ' t be able to return to Tok o for uite a while." (PL2)
shibaraku refers to an indefinite period of time. rang ing from a moment" to a while/a long time," depending o n the
context. Wa after a word indicating an amount usually carries the e mphatic meaning o f 'at least [that amount)"; with
shibaraku it gives the feeling of quite a while."
modoue is the -te form of modoru ("return"; "co me/go back" ), and koren is a contraction of korenai ("can' t come"), the
negative form of koreru. which is wide ly used as the potential ("can/be able to") form of kuru ("come"; tlle more proper
potential form is korareru). Using a forn1 of kuru after modotte clarifies that he means 'come bac k" instead of "go
back" -in this case meaning "come back here to Tokyo."
(, ~'
<:
Kurachi: Jl!,I:!.Q
Mu/W
IJ)
de no
sukejiiru
schedule
wa
~-j
~i -:;, "(v>.Q
IJ) iJ'?
mo
kimatte iru
no kn?
(name)
club
HQ
to
have e ntrusted
"I've left that u to m election committee and the Nishik.ie Club." (PL2)
:A?':J;~.-Jv li
r.J-:;,[., t) ?1 -::>"t"v>-r.to-t- C:>< ~.Q ~ ...,.
~
f.lv' <C:>'-'' t!.01o
Sukejiiru
wa
bisshiri
umatte ite
osoraku nem hima mo nai kurai
daro.
schedule
" I imagine my schedule wiU be so am- acked I'll hardl have time to slee ." (PL2)
muko means "over there/the other side/the other end'': the artist chooses to use the kanji for ''Kagoshima" to make clear
exactly where he means by mu/W (though in this case context makes it pretty clear anyway). De marks mu/W as the
place where an action takes place (or in this case all the actions implied by sukejiiru, "schedule"), and no makes that
combination a modifier: muko cle no sukejiiru = "schedule at that end.''
kimatte iru ("has been decided/set") is from kima m ("be decided/be determined").
kOen means "support/bac king; and -kni refers to an "association/society/committee": in spons, a kOenkai is a "fan
club"; in politics. it's essentially an "election committee" (though during the official e lection period, k.Oenkai activities
are restricted and a separate 'campaign headquarters" must take over).
oyobi is a somewhat formal "and/as well as/together with," more likely to be seen in writing than heard in conversation.
makasete is the -te form o f maknseru ("leave/entrust to"), and am after the -te form of a verb implies the action "bas
been done .''
bisshiri (''tightly/closely'') is an adverb for describing how much something is fLIIed/packed, and umatte ite is the -te
form of umatte iru ("is filled"), from umaru ("become filled"), so bisshiri umatte ite ="is jam-packed, and .. ."
kurai indicates an approximate degree/extent; - kurai darli here is literally like "the situation will probably be such
that -."
Omori: MltX
Kaisan
li
'-''-?
wa
itsu
to
~ A--c>'-''.Q?
fimde iru?
~il';rt5i:
IJ)
~~
Minsei-tli no j ingasa
ftlJl
"IJf
daigishi
ga
*4 c
iti '-''
chikai
to
.\!', -j f.to
omou na.
(party name) of rank-and-file representatives (subj.) one after anOiher are returning home because/so is near/sooo(quoce) think (coiL)
Mangajin 2 1
22 Mangajin
1 .,
(J)
if;f{fE*'g
b J:j.!. < iJ' C,
~ t:- i~ l -c ~
1j: o
So
ieba
uchi
no
seimu jikan
rruJ hayaku lwra
sugata o keshitem
na.
that way if say foreign ministry of parliamentary vice min. also early from has disappeared from sight (colloq.)
Kurachi: i"-?
13" i li
~~11
liamen
on."
(PL2)
Kurachj:
li
in~~
t!.-? t:: 1j: o
Kare wa
Seichi-kai daua na.
be
as for (name)-association was right?
"He belon
ieba is a conditional " iP' form of iu ("say"), so sii ieba is literally, "if you say that"; its idiomatic equivalents include
"now that you say thai/now that you mention it" as well as "incidentally/come to think of illthat reminds me."
uchi is used to refer to one's own workplace, and no is possessive, so uclri 110 ="our"; providing the kanji for Gaimushii clarifies/reminds us of specifically where uchi is in Kurachi's case.
hayaA11 is a noun form of hayai ("quick/early'').
sugata refers to a person's "figure/appearance," and keshitem is a contraction of lreshite im, from kesu ("erase/wipe
away/extinguish"); sugata o kesu is an expression for "disappear."
Omori: i" -? ,
O:.lflfJ. ~
frJJAi:
(J)
i* ffjJ t.!.
J: o
So.
Su:uka Kanjicho no habatsu da yo.
right/yes (name) sec.-gen. "s faction is (emph.)
(J)
t'J~
m~~
(J)
lai~
tJf "'-I;,I!A-
~1J'-?f..:. o
Konlwi IW ugoki
wa Seichi-kai no jingasa
ga ichiban hayakatta.
this time of movements as for (name)-assoc. 's rank-and-file (subj.) first/most was quick/early
(PL2)
i3i"t?<
Mitt~
(J)
Osoraku
kaisan-ji
110
~II:
wa
Suzuka
konkai basically means "this time/occasion," but like kondo, its idiomatic meaning as a modifier can range from "tbe
recent" to "the present/current" to "the upcoming."
ugoki is the noun form of ugoku ("move"), so it literally means movements''--here referring to the flurry of electionoriented activity they have observed.
ichiban (lit., "number llfirst'') before an adjective means "most," and hayakatta is the plain/abrupt past form of the adjective hayai ("quick/early")
ichiban hayakatta ="was/were the earliest" or 'was/were first.''
kyasuti11gu biido (or more properly kyasutingu boto) is from the English 'casting vote"-the deciding vote that the presiding officer casts to break a tie. In Japanese usage, it can refer to any vote that controls the outcome.
nigiue iru is from 11igiru ("grasp/squeeze in one's list").
Kaji:
u-.;. -? t l
t:: C,
Hyouo shitara
may possibly be
:k~ ill:
c.
.:c.
"I think ou' re robabl ri ht. I once heard somethin like that from a re
rter coveri
Suzuka.'
(PL2)
rashii implies an element of inference or conjecture based on something seen or heard; sore ra.rhii koto ="something that
seems to be that" or "something Like that." The implication is that the reporter didn't say Suzuka had the tape in so many
words. but did say something suggesting that was the case.
kiita is the plain/abrupt past form of kiku ("hear"). and koto ga aru after the past form o f a verb implies "[1/someooe)
once [did the action)"- "I once heard from a reporter''- "a reporter once said."
1J ) 1 .l.J.rJ.J I.:
rR~Ilii:
li JIJII.tlXT ~
~o
Jkkagetsu inai ni Shiigiin
wa kaisan suru na.
I month
within House of Rep. as for will dissolve (colloq.)
Omori: -
;,_
Mangajin 23
------------------- 1JO Its l!i 11" ([) ~~~ Kaji Ryiisuke no G~i---~-------
/\~'.rtt
/' 'IJ ? A
/\ tt ..:; l
~'
'b <
fJ. 11
-11
J
lVI
24 Mangajin
"'
Kuradti: t
"'?.:: t
To
iu koto
li,
wa,
P..J.JI'll:
408
40 days
~;!tf!
sosenkyo
~ l-~ltttl!~
lcara,
situation is because/so
"That means since a eneral election must be held within 40 da s of the dissolu
to iu koto W{l at the beginning of a sentence refers back to what has just been said like ''Which is to say/Which means/
That means ..."
so- is a prefiX that implies everyone/everything/the totality is included in the event/action/item; sosenlcyo refers to all of
the seats in the House being contested at the same time _. ''general election."
shinakereba naranai is a "must/have to" form of suru ("do"), which here is actually completing the verb senkyo (o) suru
("do/have/bold an election").
- wake da = "the situation is that - "; - wake da kara = "because the situation is that -."lbe sentence continues to
the next frame.
:lkEBiif
-:::>lt-r
*'->
1:
(J)
li
A,~
(J)
tt "~Jt.:.t)
t,)?
llklri
lca?
(name)
you (subj.) gold badge (obj.) anachlwear-and (place)
to come (nom.) as for this year of end approx. time (7)
"Kaji, as for your coming to Nagata-cbo wearing a gold badge, will it be about the end of this year?"
Kaji,
omae ga
kin-bajji
Nagata-chO ni kuru
tsukete
no
wa kotoshi no kure
''you may be coming back to Nagata-cho wearing a gold badge by around the end of tbe year. KaJL"
(PL2)
Kurachl: ~/v"(,
~??i<
so umaJ.:u
Nante,
wa
ikanai
kana? Ha ha ha
(laugh)
" . . . but then again, maybe it won't go quite that easily, huh? Ha ha ba." (PL2)
omae is used mostly by men with their peers and subordinates. Among friends and family it generally carries a feeling of
familiarity-though it can also sound quite rough depending on tone of voice. When used with people other than acquaintances it feels quite rough.
kin = "gold," and hajji is from tbe English "badge"; kin-bajji here refers to a special lapel pin Diet members wear.
tsukete is the -te fonn of tst1keru ("attach," or when speaking of things attached to one's person, "wear"). 1be -te form
here is being used to make a modifier for the next mentioned action. Nagata-chO ni kuru ("will come to Nagata-cbO").
Nagata-cho is the district in Tokyo, southwest of the Imperial Palace, where the National Diet Building, Prime Minister' s
Residence, Diet members' offices. party headquarters. e tc. are located.
no is a nominalizer that makes the preceding complete thought/sentence (omae ga kin-bajji o tsukete Nagata-cM ni kuru
="you will come to Nagata-cho wearing a gold badge") act as a single noun, and wa marks that noun as the topic of the
sentence: as for your coming to Nagata-cho wearing a gold badge..."
atari is a lso used to refer to a general geographical area ("vicinity"), but here it indicates a general time frame.
nante is a colloquial quotative form implying that what precedes it is somehow unwonhy/ridiculous/silly. When it's at
the beginning of a sentence like this it implies the speaker is just kidding/not serious in what he has just said, or that he
thinks he may have spoken too boldl y/optimistically/wishfully.
sii here is a colloquial equivalent of sonna-ni (''that much"). Umaku (wa) ikanai is the negative form of umaku iku ("goes
weWgoes as desired"), and sonna-ni umaku iku ="goes that weLVgoes that easily." lnsening wa adds emphasis.
~i:
i,
~@
li 151JOT.0 t!lt
~o
Ma,
konkai
sa.
o nly (colloq.-is)
" W e ll
Kaji:
<
1.: t.P it!'!~ IH l- t.: Aft f!_o ~ -IJ' G iJ! "- ~.0 bIt 1.: 'b "'iJ' Iv o
Tonikaku kogidashira fime da. lma kara minato e modoru wake ni mo ikon.
at any rate
rowed out
boat
return
"At any rate, I've already rowed m boat out to sea. I can:...'t::...v..:...e:::.:r:..z_w
=
el:.:.l...,,'-=-'='-=:-&:.~'-=:.=:
ma is a soft/gentle/agreeable-sounding interjection that adapts to fit its context: "weiVyou know/reaUy/1 mean/let's see."
sa gives assert ive emphasis at the end of a sentence in informal speech, usually taking the place of da/desu ("is/are");
this use is mostly masculine.
kogidashita is the past form of kogidasu, which can mean either "row out" or " begin rowing," here perhaps a little of both.
- wake ni wa/mo ikanai (here shorte ned to ikon) is an expression like"- is out of the question" or "can' t very well - ."
Sound FX:
ff"f- "r
lchinoseki: lili',
- / DG . . .
Hai,
lchinoseki .. .
yes/hello
(name)
8:]
Ichinoseki: ~ !
1Jn?fi ~ lv?
A!
Kaji-san?
(interj.) (name-hon.)
1[;,~ ~
!t?~
ftiiJJ
!A!.EI
1:' It ft .IJ Q)
"?
-r
<
tt
26 Mangajin
c .:t
t:t
~'
1:
~
"?
~: ~B
Asllita
q"J
no
asa
1:
~'?o
~73'
~;t~"'
Kagoshima ni
tatsu.
TObun
aenai
I!U'e..cb
tomorrow of morning
.\!1.-? Itt
to omou
udo
jf;~
'"c.- ~ -? "C<tto
genld
de
to will depart quite a while cannot meet (quote) think but/so good beahh in
(place)
yatte laue.
pe-e do
wbile.10 Dke
when tats11 is written E?, it means "depart [on a trip)." This is non-standard kanji usage, but the association with the
compound /.lH~ (slluppatsu, ''depart'') helps clarify the meaning, since the standard JL? (tatsu) bas so many other possible
meanings.
tobun refers to an indefinite period of time: "a while/quite a while."
aenai is the negative form of aeru ("can meet/see' '), which is the potential ("can/be able to") form of au ("meet").
kedo is most often thought of as equivalent to "but," but what it basicaJJy does is mark the preceding as background for
understanding the following, so in some contellts it's closer to English "and," "so," or nothing at all.
genki de yatte is the -te form of genki de yaru, literally "do in good health" but essentially meaning "be in good bealtb.,. KMn
after the -te form of a verb makes an informaVabrupt request or gentle command, "[do it], please /[do it], will you?" so gerrki
de yatte kure ="(please) be in good health'' - "(please) tate care of yourself." Requesting/commanding with -te kure is
masculine; females would add an honorific o- to make it -te o-kure, or use just the -te form by itself.
Krui:
-?!v,
Un,
J!jifJ
1.::
ni
miokuri
!1
;l?:lj:ll''t"<i'Lo
wa
konaide kure.
1:
ni
tasii
miokuri
*.o
kum
n'l? o
kara.
company of people and (pan y name) of people (subj.) large number send off (purpose) will come because/so
" Because people from the company and people from the DHP will come in large numbers to see me off."
"There'll be a lot of people there from the office and from the DHP to see me ofT." (PL2)
miokuri is the noun form of the ve rb miokum. which means to "see/send [someone] off' when he/she is going on a trip.
Ni marks miokuri as the purpose of going or coming some where.
kotwide is a negative -re form of kuru (''come" ): kure after a negative -re form of a verb implies "please don' t [do it],"
so ko110ide kure = "plea~e don' t come."
renchii is an informal word for re ferring to a group/bunch of people.
ya is used 10 connect items in a list, implying that the lisl is not complete and funher items could be added.
Ichinoseki:
'*.;,.
Tokidoki
1\tM
clenwa
T ~ "'
kudasai
flo
ne.
Kaji: o/J~
t' .0
Mocl1iron suru
of course
t b
~o
i:> ~ i.P
(!)
sa.
Onaka
no koclomo no koto mo
-1-fft
q)::.
child
about
LAiU!
Lo
t.:. ~ lj:!
shi11pai cia
shi.
Ja 11a!
"Of course I will do that. Since I' ll be concerned, too, about the child in your stomach. Well then."
" Of course IJI call. I ' U be thinking about the child you' re carry_!ng, too. WeU b e then." (PL2)
o11alw. esscnlia ll y meaning "abdomen: is the general term used to re fer to "sto mach/intestines/ute rus," each of which
also has a more lechnical name.
- 110 koto is literally "things of/about - " - "about - ." Mo implies the i1em it marks is in addition 10 something else
- "too/also." so kodomo no koto mo = ''about the child, too." That is, he'll be thinking not only about her, but also
aboul I heir chi ld.
shinpai suru typically means " worry/fret," and shinpai cia = "am/is/are worried." but in some cases the meanings are
closer to ''think/care about" and "am/is/are tninking about."
shi marks the preceding as a cause/reason for something-usually one of several reasons; as here, the olher reason(s)
are often left unstated. In this case. shi essentially works together with mo to imply that his thoughts about the child are
his second reason for calling-the unstated first reason being that he' ll be thinking of Ichinoseki herself.
jii (a con1rac1ion of dewa) is literally " in that case/then," but it serves idioma1ically as a casuaVinformal "goodbye." For
thi s u~e. i1's o flen followed by a ne or na.
Mangajin 27
28 Mangajin
IT]
~ FX: 7'Jv Jv Jv Jv Jv
Purururururu
(beep/ring of intercom)
12:]
Ichinoseki: lilt'?!
Hai?!
"Yes?!" (PL3)
hai is the standard response when someone is trying to get your anent ion, whether in direct speech, through an intercom,
knocking on the door, etc.
(!I
Jdllnosekf:
t'-; ~tl
-r:-ttJ>?
ntJ'C&.\
fl.,
(/) tJum
~~
(place)
Ill:<$:
1~~~
(/)
k.Oenkai
no
Ef'J
1..- iT
1Jfo
l's
dochira is literally "which direction/side, but just as koch ira ("this direction/side") and sochira (''your direction/side") can
be polite words for referring to people ("1/melwelus" and "you," respectively). dochira can be used as a polite interrogative
pronoun for people, " who?" (i.e., it's like donata, the polite equivalent of dare, "who?"). 1be honorific -sanuJ or no Ieala
is usually appended in such cases.
yabun refers roughly to the time after dark but before the typical bedtime.
osore-irimasu is the polite form o f the PIA verb osore-iru. which can express either gratitude ("thank you/you' re very
kind/I' m much obliged") or apology (''I'm sorry/1 beg your pardon") depending on the context. Here it is the latter.
wa, to lllllrl:: watashi ("lime") as the topic, has been omiued.
sensei, most familiar as the word for "teacher,'' is used as a term of address for a variety of people considered worthy of
respect, including doctors, writers. and poJjticians.
-chO is a suffix meaning "head/chiefneader," and kaiclw is the standard title for the head of any body/organization whose
name ends in -kai: "chairman/director/president."
yatte iru is from yaru ("do"); kaichO o yatte iro is literally am doing/serving as the chairman" - "am the bead/chairman."
Kagoshima no Kaji Sensei lcOenkai no kaiclw o yaue iru is a complete thought/sentence ("[I] am the chairman of Mr. Kaji's
election committee in Kagoshima") modifyi ng Yamamoto, his name.
- to moshimasu is a standard pattern for introducing oneself very politely. Moshimasu is the polite form of mosu, a
PtA humble verb equivalent to iu ("say/be called"). A humble verb shows respect for the listener or the person being
discussed by humbling rhe speaker or the person doing the action.
[!]
Nameplate: - .I llG
Jchinoseki
lcbinoseki
lcblnoseki:
c'? "'?
Doiu
.::"'.lfl#
go-yokefl
ka?
(?)
Yamamoto: 1Joml!il:1t-ttA..
.t:>-::>~<b"'
~tt -:>-ri't
~o
Kaji Ryiisuke-san to
o-tsukiai
nasattemasu
ne.
(narne-hoo.)
with (boo.)-relationship are doing/having (colloq.)
''I believe you are carrying on a relationship witb J(aji Ryiisuke.'' (PlA)
yiiken refers to a particular item/matter of business, not to business in genera.!.
deshO ka? literally malc:es a conjectural question ("might it be?/is it perhaps?"), but it's often used merely as a way of
adding a touch of politeness; it sounds a little less direct, and therefore more polite, than desu ka? ("is it?").
tsuk.iai refers to a " relationship/association of some kind, ranging from a business relationship to a general social relationship to a romantic one. 0-tsuikai nasattemasu is a contraction of o-tsukiai nasane imasu, which is a poJjte, PtA
hono rific equivalent of tsukiatte iru ("are socializing/carrying on a relationship"), from the verb tsukiau ("sociaHze/have
a relationship"). To marks the person that the relationship is "with.''
ne shows that he expects his listener to conftrm/agree with his statement, like the English tag questions, "right?/isn't it?/
weren' t you?/1 believe?"
Mangajin 29
T h -t-
~ '/) q)
~'
., ill.
-r~
30 Mangajin
rar ~
$ $
[!]
Yamamoto: ;J31fiv'
Onegai
T ~ "'o
(hon.)-request
is
separate
please
[I)
Yamamoto: tJDffi~:f)-~/v
1:1.
.::n
iJ'C:> B:;f;:.
~
tame
(J)
as for this
from
Japan
"As for Kaji Ryusuke, from now on we must have him work for the good of Japan."
''From this time forward, we need Kaji Ryiisuke to dedicate himself to serving his countrY-' (PL3)
f:itiJ~
(J)
~1vt..:
:i!JE
~-to
Waga
kyodo
no
unda
issoku
desu.
our
this
utte den.t
ningen ni tofte
3&~1Jij:
chimei-teki na
fatal/mona!
71-T :A
~~
mainasu
yoso
for
furin no aite
iJt "'
ga
iru
c "'-? .:: c
to
iu
koto
1:1.
wa
l'To
d~su.
minus/negative element
as
"For a man who is about to take the offensive in an election, the fact that he has a mistress is a potentially
fatal element."
"For a ma n who is about to make his olitical debut havin a mistress could be a lethal handica ."
(PL3)
Yamamoto: fJIJ.$
Nanitozo
-t-(J)ill
sonohen
please
Mangajin 31
.: L-
; 'b
';t
i"L-
L-
"( .0 "' .. fp
.0
fJ
~
"'II
32 Mangajin
!MINI*-f
;;.,.i*Att
1: (J) 1:
;t <
f,t
1*1 0
{,~fJ.."t:'t)
j) A, '/J{
fJ "(
L-
"'
T
!
G
::..._i_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
:1:'
~
fJ..
IT]
lcbinoseki:
-c: b ,
~ . ..
Denw, watashi .. .
''But I . .."
2$:-A
1: P'JW"t:
Hom1in
ni naisho de
unrelated
tanomi
< J.>
kuru
Ume
c'-?
;>j:!v"l
in secrecy
~=
ni
iiJJ.
;fl.
fJf
kankei no nai watashi ga
kankei no nai is a complete thought/sentence ("'has no relationship/connection") modifying watashi ("Vme") --+ kankei
no nai watashi ="I who am an outsider/a third party."
tanomi is the noun fonn of ranomu ("request"), and ni marks
it as the purpose of kum ("come"): tanomi ni kuru = "come
to ask/request."
nanre can be considered a colloquial equivalent of nado, or
of an entire phrase like nado to iu korolmono wa (literally.
"a thing/place/person/action that is something like - ).
It's often used to imply the preceding is ""ridiculous/inappropriate/unthj nkable."
do - re mo, with a verb filling in the bla nk, makes the expression, "no matter how [one does the action]." Kangaete is
the -te fonn of kangaeru ("think about"), so do kangaete mo
="no matter how one thinks about it/looks at it."
shika nai after a verb implies that doing that action is the
only optio n: " have no choice but to/must (do the action)."
~X.
-rt
H1H... v'o
nallte
do kangaete mo okashii.
a thing like how even if think is Strange
.:.-? To
Yamamoto: l-fJ'l-,
Shikashi,
but
kO
l-fJ' ;>j:v' !!
this way
do
must
@]
Yuaamoto: il:l./'~:
Tashilea-ni
.:. n l;;l:
B= A
(J)
lwre wa
o-futari
no nwndai desu.
r..,ll
"t'To
is
"'t's true tbat tbls is a matter for tbe two of you." (PL3-4)
l,fJ> \...., ~ f.t f~(J) 1i 1: b fi!J b ~fJt f.t v' fJ' C ~ X. f! of oJ "t' {> ;>j: v' 0
Shilcashi, anoia no ho ni mo nani nw hi ga nai lea
but
to
ieba
so denw nai.
side on also there's II()( any fault (?) (qu01e) if say/ask not necessarily so
your
"But if one asks whether there is not any fault on your side, it's not necessarily so."
"But you're not necessarily wltbout fault, eitbe!!'' (PL3)
tashilea ni - da/desu means "It is certainly/assuredly _ .. or " it is true/indeed the case that -."
futari ="two persons/a couple'"; he uses the honorific pre(ix o- because his listener is one of the two people he ' s referring to,
so o-futari is effectively like saying "you two/the two of you."
nani nw followed by a negative means " not anything"; nani mo nai = "there is not anything/there is nothing." When one
wishes to be more specific about what there is nothing of, the specific word is inserted in the middle: uani mo hi ga noi =
"there is not any fault/error/blame."
anaiiJ no hO ni nw nani mo hi ga nai lea is a complete embedded question, " is there no fault on your side, too?"
ieba is a conditional ("if/when") form of iu ("say," but here meaning "ask''); to marks what is asked: " if you ask 'Is there
no fault on your side?"'"
8J Yamamoto:
:IJOi5 ~ lv 1: li
~.:r
7Jr
~ oo
.7r: (J)
.:.
.::rHo-r:-t
J:
ho
Kaji-san
saishi
ga
aru.
Sono
koto
go-wnj i de.w
yo
ne.
ni wa
"Mr. Kaj! has a wife and child. I believe ou' re a ware of that." (PL4)
normally, iru is used to speak of the existence/presence of people or other animate beings. but sometimes aru is used
with kinship tenns.
go-zonji daldesu is a PL4 honorific equivalent of shitte iru ("know").
0
0
lcbinoseki:
X. X. . . .
E . ..
''Yes ." (PL3)
quite polite.
"t:Ti.P?! 'l'fffi
desu ka? Furin
good/O K
? ~ ~...,
is it?
-r "' J.>
tsukiatle iru
...,-r:
tte
*l!t
(J)
l;;l:
ffi"F
(J)
1J 1:
110
wa
aite
110
ho ni katei
1Jf
~o
(J)
~ ..., "(
ga
ant
no
shiue
tli*
!;;l:
baai
wa sono
-f(J)
2$:-A
honnin
1.: b
lliJ~(J)
cxist~as
1Jr ~ o
ni mo dora no rsumi ga
equal
aru
(J)"t:T
J:!
desu
yo!
110
" You see if ou carr on an adulterous affair knowing that your partner is married, you yourself bear
e ual uilt." (PL3)
ii desu ka is literally the question " is it good/OK?," but it's sometimes used idiomatically when beginning an explanation
(like " You see, ...") or an admonition (like "are you listening to me?'" or "now listen here' ").
rte here is a colloquial equivalent of to itt; -to iu no wa after a noun is literally as for what is called - ."'which is often j ust
a fancy way of marking the topic ("as for - ").
no is a nominalizer that makes a complete thought/sentence, aire no ho ni katei ga aru ("the partner has a family") act as
a single noun. 0 then marks that noun as the object o f shiue.
shitte is the -te form of shiru ("know"); the -te form is be ing used to indicate the manner o f the next mentioned actio n,
tsukiatte iru ("is carrying on a relatio nship," from tsukiau, "socialize/have a re lationship with")~ "carry on a relationship
knowing [the partner has a family)."
(continued on next page)
Mangajin 33
"'f
--
~.1)
'-
(J)
?f;t
"'( t:.
._
1:
1:
Jj\
\ ' t:t 1? 1l
"'(
Kaji Ryiisuke no Gi
~ .f ~
~ fp tt (J)
"?
~lt
li.
.m
iri
t:. t>
t;>
l L .if.
If .1)
0
1:
34 Mangajin
t)
-t
from aite no to tsukiatte iru is a a complete thought/sentence ("[the person] is carrying on a relationship knowing that her
partner has a family") modifying baai ("situation"). Wathen marks baai as a topic ("as for -"}-in this case a second topic
that serves to narrow down the main topic: "[As for adultery], as for in a situation where the person is carrying on ... [that
person, too, has equal guilt]."
12]
Anota no kuchi
your
i!i'lf"C "fttv'!!
tsugete kudasai!!
please
''H you do it now. it's not too late. Please let Mr. Kaii hear from your own Ups that you want to break
UP with him." (PL3)
-ttt tJf
.i31iv' Q) ~* 1:c-::>"Cb "'"' .:c t.tA-"t''t tJ; !
Sore ga
o-klgai
no shOrai ni totte ma
for
ii
4- t.t; ill<t.t"'
[!]Yamamoto: -tttl:,
Sore ni,
ima nora
osolamai
c "'? Q)
li ~~t.:.Q)
.i3~#
to
wa anoia no
o-karadQ.
iu
no
besides that now if it is is not too late (quote) say (nom.) as for
~ .Z
-c
Q) .:
Q>.:c ~
no koto
"t' b ~ .o A- "t'To
of thing
is also
(explao.)
"Besides that, as for my saying 'If it is now, it's not too late,' it is also something that comes from thinking
about your physical condition."
"Also, when I say it's not too late if you do it now, I'm thinking about your present physical condition,
too." (PL3-4)
he uses w iu no wa here to quote what be said previously and make it into his new topic.
kangaete is the -te form of kangaeru ("think''); - no koto o kangaeru = "think about -."lbe -te form of a verb followed
by no koto daldesu implies "it is a thing that comes from [doing the action]."
demo aru is de aru (a more formal/literary equiv. of desu, "is/are") with mo inserted for the meaning of''too(also" ... "is also."
IT] Yamamoto:
~tL
't"T t;r, fl,
tt ~t:tt::. ~= ~.}.)-)
Shitsurei desu ga, watashi wa anata ni
aiJ
rude
is
but
lime
~ T:t f::.
as for you
f&
>d:'
"?"'
tsui
emerged/came out
you
omotte,
apiito
no mae de anata o
cmata no a to
Q)
f.}:-::>"Cit'"C,
matte ite,
Jf:~T
"I must be2 vour pardon but I was waitin2 for vou in front of vour apartment intendin2 to speak
with you, and when you came out I instinctively followed you." (PL3)
shitsurei is a noun for "rudeness," so shitsurei desu ga is literally "it is a rudeness, but ..."The expression is essentially
an apology for having done, or being about to do, something rude: "excuse me, but ..."
aiJ is the the volitional ("let's/l shall") form of au ("meet"), and omotte is the -te form of omou ("think"); a volitional form
followed by to omou expresses intent, so aiJ to omotte ="I intended to meet/I planned to meet [y u], and ... " The -te form
is being used to indicate the purpose of the next mentioned action, matte ite.
matte ite is the -te form of matte iru ("am/is/are waiting"), from matsu ("wait"). This -te form merely indicates that the
preceding took place before the following .
dete kita ("came out") modifies anata ("you") --+ "you who came out"; no makes this a modifier for ato ("after/behind").
tsui implies doing an action "carelessly/without really thinking/automatically/instinctively"; he's trying to imply that he
found out about her physical condition by accident.
bikiJ shire is the -te form of bikiJ suru ("follow/tail"), and shimaimashita is the PL3 past form of shimau, which after the -te
form of a verb often implies the action was undesirable/inappropriate: dete kita anata no ato o tsui bikiJ shite shimaimashita
= "I instinctively followed after you who came out."
[!)
Yamamoto: ~t.tt::.
Anota
you
Q)
:fi'tJ>ttf.:. ilffl' li
~ ..A#o
no
ikareta basho wa
sanfujin-ka.
(subj .)
went
111!-tt A-
Q)
Ryiisuke-san no
.i3T-tt Aokosan
"t'T Q.?
desu
's (hoo.)-child-(bon.) is
ne?
(colloq.)
"The place you went was an obstetrics clinic. It' s Mr. K!Ui' s chUd, isn' t it?'' (PLA)
~: -EB
- da
~F.;!
San'in
- da Obstetrics
ikareta is the past form of ikareru, a PL4 honorific equivalent of iku ("go"); anata no ikareta is a complete thought/
sentence ("you went [there]") modifying basho ('place") __."the place you went."
(continued on next page)
Mangajin 35
36 Mangajin
Ul
Kaji Ryusuke no Gi
8]
at
arimasu.
Anata ni
you
to
g1ve
1: f;'f-?"'(~~Lf.:. o
1$
sash~geru
brought
.:n -e
Wffl, -tq)-ftl! 11
q)
~il'~-?-rr~"'o
Shochi
ill!.
fllfi
:tli!i
____
.__
IT)
shochi refers 10 actions/measures taken lo deal with/take care of/resolve a problem - "disposition."
makantute is the -te fonn of fMkanau ("paylfinance/cover lhe COSI"), and kudasai makes it a polite request.
Jddno-lrf:
7Lil t: ~ f.tll> b,
Jiidan ja nai
-t lvf.t
wa,
sonna
.: t!! ~ b-?
lwto!!
t ~tr ~ "' t
Umii to unuunai to
fl.
q)
watashi no
jiyU
desho!!
joke
DOt." (PL2-3)
JthhiG8eld: "~Jt.tt:. 11
-~
wa
ittai
Anato
you
lime
's
.o
lv"t'Til'?!
saguru
n desulca?!
pnvacy
..As for you, with what kind of right is it that you probe my privacy?''
"What rl&bt do you have to 10 diaio& Into my private life?!" (PL3)
jQdlmja nai is literally " il is 1101 a joke," and it's an expression for dismissing whatlhe other person has said as ridiculous/
out of lhe question/outrageous. Idiomatically it corresponds to expressions like, "No way/Forget ii/You've gOI to be kidding!Xou're out of your mindflbis is DO laughing matter/You can't be serious/Mind your own business!"
wrr6 ta and unuunai to come from lhe verb umu ("bear/give binh"); lhe -o to - mai to (for some verbs, - yii to - mai to)
pattern means "wbether one does lhe action or DOl" - "whether I give birth or not/whether I have lhe baby or 1101."
jiyU ="freedom" and watoshi no jiyii = "my freedom" - " my own free choice."
desho (or deshO) literally expresses a conjecture ("il is probably/surely [my free choice]"), butlhe conjecture here is strictly
rhetorical. Her sentence is acnaally a very strong assertion, and feels more like: " It's my free choice, and you know it!"
inai is an emphasizer for question words: "(What) in the world?/(How) on eartb?/(Where) lhe blazesr
atte is lhe -te form of aru ("exists/have"); ittai diJ iu lcenri ga atte = "having wbal kind of right" - "with what kind of righl"
Ichinoseki: .:.tt li
.fl.
Kore wa wataslzi
this
as for
1/me
r..,m "t'T
'IWA
q)
lwjin
no mandai desu
trG
fl.
q)
~.t\1,
"t'
i*V>o
:b!!
kara
watashi
110
ishi
de
kimenr
wa!!
is because/so Vme
's
"This is a urel
watashi no mondai ="my problem"; watashi kojin no mandai = "my individual/personal problem"
"a purely personal
mauer."
ishi is a noun for " intention/intent/mind/wish," and de marks it as the means of an action: wataslzi no ishi de kimeru ="I
will decide according to my own wishes/using my own mind."
[!)
lddlaeld: ~HL
LiT!
Shilsurei shimosu!
rudeness
wiU do
Mangajin 37
Boss:
4-8
*"'
Kyo mo atsui
~0
na.
::r.. 7
";:1'./
Ealwn
a.c.
1tlt"C <tt !
tsukete kurel
tum on-(request)
fL~:-
11
*-
.:::
Worker: 7 v?!
00
Are?!
.2
(inlerj.)
~c
lyii,
nani
yo,
korl?
(exclam.) what (is-emph.) this
Worker: .:t ? ?!
~~?!!
A!
" What?! Oh, no!"
!?
[!]
Controller: ~ll?
ReibO
Coolloe
Bill?
ttll ?
DanbO
BinbO
Heating Pove
the gag is based solely on the fact that binbO ("poverty'') ends with the same
sound as reibli ("cooling/air conditioning") and danbi5 ("heating"). Using
all kanji would weaken the parallel because, though the sound is the same,
the kanji for -bli are different (~J.IIi!n, and
respectively).
1tz.
38 Mangajin
Sawayaka Sanda
Mr. Fresh
Thunder
OL: 7 7 ,
Ara,
~~?
zangyo?
by ft~~~'L'
E,
keklW
yes
kakariso
de.
!!l.b" (PL2)
ara is a feminine interjection showing surprise, "oh!loh?/oh my!lhey!"
zangyo (literally. "remairung work") implies working late in order to finish
a job that didn' t get done during regular work hours.
kakariso is from kakaru ("[something] takes/requires," here implying
''takes/requires time"); the -so (da/desu) ending of a verb implies "it
seems/looks/feels like [the action wiU occur)." KekkiJ kakant ="takes/will
take quite a bit of time."
OL:
Koko
:!'J.,
- A "t'
ll-0
(f)
J: o
ne,
no
yo.
E- ?
Yamete kudasai
what
stop/quit
yo.
please (emph.)
J: o
Homo ni dem
really
no
yo.
Jt;ft (/)
u~
Sendai no shachiJ
previous
(/)
110
.t3+JJ:~
(/) .. .
okiisama no .. .
mother
's
rei
"t'T i.l'?!
desu ka?l
(stammer) spirillghost
is it?
O L: :j';f,
Mago
f./{!
gal
grandchild (subj.)
"~randson!"
Shacho:
~Gf.h
Yil.
(PL2)
;~~
f./>Q?
zangyo ka ne ?
(?)
Newcomer :
~....
lma
(f)
110
is it not?
ja nai desu ka literally asks "is it not?/was it not?'- but it's a rhetorical
question that actually makes a fairly strong assertion.
Mangajin 39
~ ~~
1!!.w. 4
Computer Corner
by
=
c:
'"
Q.
Be Prepared!
If you are going to buy a computer and take it with you to Japan.
make sure that everything works before you get on the plane.
Assume that you will be the new computer guru and buy a few
books relating to the Internet and the programs that you plan to
use the most. Sign up for n subscription to your favorite
computer magazine. Locate FAQs relating to the programs you
own. Also. make sure your Internet software works before you
go to Japan.
40 Mangajin
::J ? {l:gfiOO
:0
::>
Q.
:: Q)
~ Jv
t.t lv-IJ'?
biru
t~atlka?
"t'T, Uiit ~ lv ,
Agent: t 1
Do
what/how
Ag~nt:
is
co. pres.-(hon.)
this
J: o
Dekita
yo.
bakari de
mo
haittemasen
completed just
do desu ? asks ''how is it?" in the sense of "what do you think of it?"; coming from a salesperson/agent it essentially
asks whether the listener is interested in purchasing/renting.
nanka is a colloquial nado ("something/someone/someplace like"), here essentially functioning to mark the topic, like
wa ("as for"). The syntax is inverted; normal order would be korw biru narlka do desu? (''as for this building, what do
you think?/how about it?'}
dekita is the plain/abrupt past form of dekiru ("be completed"), and bakari after a past verb means the action occurred
''just now/very recently.''
haittemasen is a contraction of lwifle irnase11, the PL3 negative form of lwitte iru ("has entered/moved in"), from hairu
(''enter/move in").
-/){
A11o tochii
ga
that
~:h."( 7.l
Q)
hanareteru 110
fPJ f.t(!)-IJ'P?
fj:
(explan.-?)
" As for that part where Lhe middle is separated, what's the e xplanation for that?"
" What's with that a in the middle?" (PL2)
hanareteru is a contractio n of hanarete iru ("is separate d"). from hanareru
("separate/become separated").
huh?/what?
110 here is like "pan."' and it's modified by the complete thought/sentence tochii
ga hanareteru ("the middle is separated") - " the pan where the middle is
" What?" (PL2-3)
separated"; ano ("that") modifies the combination, making it "that pan where
the middle is separated," and wa marks the who le thing as the topic: "as for that pan where the middle is separated."
no ka 11e (after a verb) or na no ka ne (after a noun or question word) asks for an explanation. Asking a question with ka 11e
is mostly reserved fo r persons whose social status is higher than the liste ner.
' ?
Agent: A..
is it?
that
no
building o f
o11li
owner
iJ<
~~a-iJ'?v '"C"
41!11
ga
engi o katsuide
yonkai
ao
~ v 't.:
lv"t'T o
llOZOita n desu.
Byiiii
Shacho:
:k'i:~
Daijobu
is swaying (reason)
Sound FX:
e ..:z. 7 7 7
Byiiii
Sound FX:
~- ~ ~-
Yiira
t:>
yiira
(effect of wavering/swaying)
fJ'~
kara
Jc:J:x "t'T J: o
daijob11
desu
yo.
is
(emph.}
Mangajin 41
~~~
OJ
tit~
4 :::J ~H::~tiliD
The 4 -Panel World Plan
by
") I Jl- /
Sound FX:
.A+~
Sucha
sorosoro
na.
da
I Hatakeyama Konzern
[f)
Announcer: (:_(}::_;.;.
~"llt
Tobikomi josha
diving
~i)"("""f~\..'o
li
wa yamere kudasai.
please
t ""(" ~
m:~
"t"i"
Toremo
kiken
desu.
very/highly dangerous
is
Sound FX: Jv Jv Jv Jv Jv Jv Jv
Ru ru nt ru ru ru ru
"Oofl"
Commuters: b if? ? !
Wii!
(exclam.)
"Yikes!" (PL2)
robikomi is the noun form of tobikomu ("dive into"): tobikomi is the word
used for "diving" as done from a springboard or platform into a pool.
josha is a noun referring to '"boarding/getting onto/gelling into'' a train/
bus/car. Tobikomijosha refers to diving/leaping onto a train at the last
second, as the doors are closing.
yaml!te is the-re form of yameru (''stop/quit"). and kudasai makes a potite
request.
robikomijoslw wa o-yame kudasai, or some similar phrase. is frequently
announced at many stations during the crowded rush hour.
42 Mangajin
[ ..Pivtf<lv
~ A-1J'
~ trlt
J: ? o
1UJ1IkJJ
stUrUii
y6.
somebowlkiDd of am cold/chilly (empb.)
mom
Nmtmm-1-
Mother: .f-~?
SiJ yii
~ 1;1:
L.i>* 1: Ji!. t- -:::>lj""( .:'~A-o
tolci wa shiomiZM ni ashi o ISUete flOI'GII.
!hat kind of time as for salt watea- in feet (obj.) cry ..tiDa
"At times Uke that you should try .,.~r~nr yoar feet
in salt water." (PL2)
k4chan is an informal equivalent of o1t:asan ("mocber").
flllllka is a contraction of nan, literally "something," but often uscd lithe
.c
..
[I)
~.c
Piiu
(effect of chil Udraft)
co
:::>
-5
"0
a:,
"t:
"
!!!
.c
co
c
c
.9
"\/- _
~c
_,
Sound FX:
'(f-
U-~P 1
(pyii), the
-1
Piiu
(effect of chiWdraft)
mom
naonnai
yo.
~
c;,
Mother:
c
w
0
>-
-t-n,
Sore, mizumushi no
sorry
-"'
.::
*!R
::::~A- o
Gomen.
(J)
i:li
t.}j:o,>
t!-:d:.o
o-ma]mal
daua.
was
.B0
.c
<I)
...
>-
.J::J
=
..c
Q.
..:.;
=
.,
"
~
:0
:::>
Q.
c
u:
.,;
l;l
!!
~'
!!!
.c
co
<0
...
r:
.J::J
"'
;;
-"'
02
V'l
IQI
Mangajin 43
Yunbo-kun
by Saibara Rieko
..
Cll
~
f-
~
:1
"0
~
~
'C:
.2
;:;;
-.;;
c
.c
.!a
co
lfi
0
.80
.c
Cll
>.
.0
~
.E
c
"
.......
c.
.E
.c
.!a
:0
:1
c.
i'!
u:
..;
"i:
.'!l
.c
04)
c:
<
0
-"
02"
~
.0
...
Cll
Ci;!)
44 Mangajin
[)
:t31!~~A-,
19>A-Il
It ?
ObocluJn.
Yunbo
iru?
aunt/auntie
Yokota:
(imerj.)
"Uh-ob." (PL2)
Oku de
Q "(
neteru
Sound FX:
J:o
Yunbo.
(interj.) (name)
Okiro
li 1! / :J. ~"' tl .i o
Yolwto-kun
wa sensu wand r!Z.
(sumame-fam.) as for sense is bad (colloq.)
~-:>?
E!?
huh?/wbat?
"Huh?" (PL2)
wake up (emph.)
ze.
<-
Kii
(the breathing of someone sleeping
soundly/peacefully)
oi is a relatively rough way of getting someone's attention
or of trying to wake him up: "hey!/yo!"
okiro is the abrupt command form of okiru ("wake up").
yo is often used to emphasize requests or commands; with
commands it carries a strong, demanding tone.
asobO is the volitional ("let'sll shall") form of asobu ("play").
ze is a very rough, masculine particle for emphasis.
SoudFX:
J: o
SoundFX:
yo.
<-
Kt7
(the breathing of someone sleeping
soundly/peacefu lly)
yo.
a;o
A.
Mother: 1; C:> ,
Hora,
T 1.1 C.
kolw,
suruto
ko ytlfii ni
if do
<-
kawaii.
it's cute."
" See if ou do like this here it makes
him reall cute." (PL2)
is cute
Kil
Yokota:
?-
A-o
On.
(interj.)
"Mmm." (PL2)
hora is used to call a person's attention to something, like
"herellooklseelwatch."
.::? ~? is a variant spelling of .::?"'? ("this kind or'),
andfii refers to a "manner/style," so ko yiifii ni is Literally,
" in this kind of manner/style"
" this way."
to after a non-pa~t verb can make a conditional " if/when"
meaning, so suru to = " if [you] do," and ki'J yiifii ni suru to
="if you do fit] this way."
Mangajin 45
~American ComlcsW////////////////////////////////////////////////~
YOU'VE BEEN RI\N()Q'\LY
SELECTE 0 TO HAVE
LUNCM WlTM /\ ::lENIOR
EXECUTIVE Of THE
COM PI\NY.
EXECUTlVE-5
~W
l COULD .sQU~M
Hf\ HA HA
HA HA
\..
HAl
[I]
Boa: "You've been randomly selected to have lunch with a senior executive of the company,"
'/ -1(J) t&
C (J)
!iJ: (J) ~jt ~: ~f'F~ :fllllli -e ~ 1Jf iJIIfttf.:o
Uclti
no jiiyoku to
no
you've
=you have.
., . ~~<
for
random
sampling
1:
C. ?~<
....'..
1'1;1
c.,. . ~
erabarel4
r... clt'-:Jl.t::~t-~.QJ
t .,<
a senior executive of the company r.: Q)~tfQ)-~ ..... t>ilflQ)-~/? ~Q)-~j
o"'
cQ)1:.8 ..
t- ~ t.,, a senior executive li-t Q) IF -r- ~ l:.Al Q)~ t- ~ -to
havelunchwith ...
meal
~~.~~ <~
t ~<
Ci ~ <t.<~
t <t<
An executive li~~
uch/llterally means "within/Inside," but in many cases It's used to mean "our house/shop/company.- Uchl no
means "of/belonging to our house/shop/company.
[I]
Boss: "T his is how the executives show that they are regular people. just like you and me."
1Jf, 11!~9: ~ tt ~ fl.. t ~b I? (t "' ~biD OJ A rlf! t!. t "'-? .::. t ~ ~-tt ~,
.: n
Kore ga,
this
11!~9:
jiiyaku
Ume
regular
to
iu
koto
thing (obj.)
miseru,
show
(explan.-is)
l.tl
futsii no ningen da
UiU-\
~-t!-.0/J#d.:J
f.("( ~ .:'
1')1.L
1t?
L ~ ~<
li show Q) I'J9g! c >j: J., ~ fo.hYrlo f.::. tt.ilr, illJltt..: i? 7'Jf ... ~
[!] Namdlon:
At lunch
-e
~jt
Chiisholal de
lunch
81
you
as for
worm/bug
mitai ni
hineritsubuseru
like
squash
squash r~l'?~T/'~~~~v.:,::-t.o J
.....,&14
bug -~1::
trt..
f!RJ
n do
-i'!
1\J\J\1'1'1'!
zo!
Ha ha ha ha ha hal
(explan.) (emph.)
Oaugh)
nanzo here can be considered a colloquial equivalent of wa ("as for"); this use often carries a belltUing or even
contemptuous tone, so kimi nanzo is like saying As for the likes of you.
46 Mangajin
l LJANT YOU TO
KNOW lliAT I'M
AND Of COURSE ,
[ ' M MUCH 1 MUCN
5MARTER. .
JU5T 1\ NORMAL
j/
GUY ..
___)
(I
R
Oilben reprintcdllmnslated by pennission of United Media, New York.
OJ Narration:
71
Jvl{-
Dirubato
li
wa
(name)
~f;t
lwishoku
~lfht..: a
ni erabareta.
ffi.f. ':
aite
Executive: ul want you to know that I'm just a normal guy ..."
fl.
t ~:@(!) .A.F~ t.! tv'? .::.t
Watashi mo futsii no ningen diz
to
iu koto
o
a-
Ume
also
regular
\'-.. r.tA.
"tn
J:
(ellplan.)
JJ,t:.:.
by
I"J\. l. ~"':)
rt.: t!.Q) J o
~ 1: t:riJ~?-rt;v'f..:v'lvt.! ...
kimi ni
wakotte moraitai
n diz .
was chosen
l.fb"'
t:\.
1~JliT oO o
0 Executive: "Oh. sure. I make a little more money. and I have a nice office ..."
-t- '?
Sorya
i ih li'ru,H: ,
that is
It '
well
v'
fl.
:;j 7 1 :A
Ume
b 1\1.! ?
~ide
"(
ofuisu
mo tsulwtteru ro. . .
good/nice
office
also
..hA.t
am using
wa
chotto
(bubj.)
~alary
as for
a lillie
t~
'0.
~v' l ,
oi
shi,
larger is-and
(emph.)
/4~<
"J
/.ryiiryo
1.> J: .. .
ii
""\ ~ ~ h
';t i? J: ?
ga
fJ ~ -\
f 'b
\J..
""Jit
ma
b i?7.Jiv, fl.
~i-?
-/){
Sore ni
mochiron, watashi no ho
ga
also
of course
Ume
js"
smart IJ:;if{:~~IJ:3:1:
"'(~ ~.:-
(/)
's
-r-?
t
z.iino
j(iJfv'v' ljhc' Q 0
atama ga ii keredo
sman
"'"' .. '
rj{tJtv'v'J C.v>?:6:'*1:fflv''-> o
but
ne.
(colloq.)
, ,~t
atama ga ii, literally "[one's] head is good," is an expression that means "smart/sharp/intelligent."
keredo is a colloquial contraction of keredomo ("but"). Here it is merely serving to soften the end of the sentence
(though this executive seems only slightly more concerned about diplomacy than the one on the facing page).
Mangajin 47
Humorous Haiku
SENRYU
iEOO:v ~ t
Shojiki iu to
wt? ht-:0)
Furareta no.
t~L~~ ~
0)
Doshaburi no
17LMJ~
ShukushO-kai
Rejoicing In
a driving downpour of beer:
VIctory party
by '/J'/.., If. -:> t.:. A (Ganbatta Hito,
"Tried-hard Person"), Kobe, Japan
1L~tiE
Bukkyo-to
1 7''0) B t! ~t ~i
lbu no hi dake wa
1) 7-.1-~
Kurisuchan
W e'll send you a M angajin T-shirt if we publis h you.r senryii. Send to Senryu, M angajin. Inc .. PO Box 77 188, Atlanta. GA 30357- 11 88
(or to senryu@ mangajin.co m). All Japanese s ubmissions will be translated into Eng lish and vice versa.
~~;j-Q)JI I~P a- .toi! 1J v't.:. t.: v> t.:.)JI: liitAT ~ 'I' y a-i1HiH. ~ t' o ~9i:li Senryo. Mangajin. Inc., PO Box 77118. Atlanta. GA 30357- 1188
C~ t.:li111-T ;t- J!.-"f senryu@mangajin.com)o t.d.>, B :ifi:UH: .t o~.fj;l(;t:,9i;~IH:, :~mH: t .Qtl:fali B 4'ml.:~11!lt-E"t'"G;'P. L. i i"o
Mangajin 63
o ~\\et
2.eto
Subtract the dark, Cold War Era edge from the Twilight Zone, add a '90s Japanese backdrop-plus too much KooiAid before bedtime-and you have a typical short manga "episode'' of Okazaki Jiro's After Zero. Like any bizarre
dream, the plotlines are often less than watertight, but distinctive artwork and fantastic stories make After Zero a
timeless classic. Debuting in 1990 in the weekly magazine Big Comic, the After Zero stories are now published as
independent volumes of collected shorts by Shogakukan. "The Devil's Seeds" is the fourth After Zero episode to appear in Mangajin (issues 22, 30-32. 41-43).
Umezawa is a greedy man with big ideas. His key to fame and
fortune lies in an ancient seed recently unearthed in an archeolog ical expedition. Legend has it that the seed produces a robust
grain that can grow in any soil. Unfortunately, Umezawa lacks
the brains to unlock the seed's potential.
~.:
A- ~ '
t~ '?
'If 11
0
=f
The broody Kuze, high-level executive and moral conscience o f the c hemical company, steps aside to allow
Dr. Kamimura to head the company's most important
project: cultivating the miracle seeds they call MR-99.
{) Oka1..aki Jiro. All rights reserved. First published in Japan m 1990 by Shogakukan. Tokyo. English translation rights arranged through Shogakukan.
Mangajin 65
7' 7 ~ -
66 Mangajin
0 After Zero
Title:
!!~11(
Q)
f!UT-
Akuma
110
Shushi
's
seeds
devil
CD Inscription:
110
fiiJ At
.:: Q)
Nanpito mo
lwno
{I
lane
a-
oort.
lwkugai
ni dashite wa naranu.
everyooelno one this/these seeds (obj.) outside of the country to must not .akeJiet out
00
Q)
Kuni no
tami
Q) ~ 1.:
'ff! -)
no tame ni tsukau
country of people/populace
for
use
-"{ L.
beshi.
should/must
kin
J.OtL
~~7:>? o
U anyone vaolates this prohibition, a fearsome calamity shall befall the land.
7 ~ 3 '11 x
,.)(
J: I)
Aslwlca
(name)
-o
hibun
yori
Mangajin 67
7' 7 9 -
0 After Zero
t '' 11. if t,
~A,~.t
ft
~*lc
fJ
"?
;.:~~~
-:> tii=l~
Jt
of
L.
"'(
7J
t:
!!
1~~-:>
,- * t:.
L' L' U:
1.>
1)
"'(
h
7)
!!
tr
!!
68 Mangajin
OJ
~ K7c
Sen-kyiihyaku-nanajiisan -nen Ke-dai
1!'-~$
Narntloa: 1973
1973
Rigaku-bu
!t1t~-f:
~?eli
Seikogaku Kenkyii-shitsu
you
baJc.a da!!
Mattaku
shinjiraren
yo!!
o
o
tbe suffix -nen is used both when counting years and when designating a calendar year.
-dtJi is short for daigaku ("college/university").
-bv in a corporate setting is usually translated "department," but in an academic setting it generally refers to a "faculty/
college" within a larger university- rigaku-bu ="faculty of sciences."
kenlcya refers to scientific or academic research, and -shirsu designates a "room/office," so ken/cyfi-siUtsuliterally means
"research room/office." As a generic term. it can refer simply to a college professor's personal office, or in tbe sciences, his lab;
but when preceded by the name of a discipline or specialization, it can refer to various-sized sulHmits within a department
omae is an informal to rough. masculine word for "you."
shinjiraren is a contraction of shinjirarenai. the negative form of shinjirareru ("can believe"), from shinjiru ("believe").
;1. J 7J
Ameriko
Umezawa: 7
Yi -r J.J..-?!!
mire miro.'.'
mashi na kenkyii
a little
better
*'!f.
fi, J.J..Ivf.t
~
shita gakusha wa, mimw daigaku o
univ.
1-r
I:::V::f-.AW.
1: .A?-r.O o
dere
bijinesu-kai
ni
hailleru.
"An scholar who has done halfwa decent research has left academia and entered the business world."
(PL2)
~{t)j ~# t..:!!
Soshite okuman chi5ja da!!
Umezawa: -f L -r
and
millionaire(s) is/are
ill1:!!
Tanomu!! Konoue!.'
astlrequest
(name)
Umezawa: MR-99
Enw-ifru /cyiijiilcyii o
:it$:~-\!'7.>
1:1;1:,
c? L-r'b
lwnsei saseru
ni wa,
13WJ(l)
2fi
tJt
ga
1H'~
hitsuyiJ
your head/brains (subj.) necessary
t.tlvt.!.o
no n da.
(islare~xplan.)
''In order to complete the develo.P.ment of MR-99, I absolutel must have our ex rtise!" (PL2)
o
o
when tanomu is addressed directly at the listener, it means " I request this of you'': if it is a foUow-up to a request already
made, it's like "please/1 beg you/1 implore you."
ktursei saseru is the causative form of kansei suru ("be completed"), so it means "cause [it] to be compleled" -+ "bring to
completion."
- ni wa after a verb is essentially equivalent to - tame ni wa. "for the purpose of[doing the actionYm Cl~Mto (do lhe action]."
QIQmQ is literally "bcad"-bere referring to Koooue's lrnowledge and insight .... "brains/expertise."
Umezawa: -: v''?
Koitsu
tJf
5C!iX:t'ttf.f,
ga
kansei sureba,
i ~ L < ~:9!(1)
{if[-=f t f.t .0 f"ft..:o
masashiku kyii/..:yokuno shushi to naru lwzu da.
ultimate
seed
become
sho uld
"If we com Jete this without a doubt it will become the ultimate seed." (PL2)
kaitsu is a contraction of kono yatsu ("this guy/fellow/thi ng" ); when used to refer to a person, it can range from mild to
very rough, but when referring to things it's merely informal.
kansei sureba is a conditional ("if/whe n'') form of kansei suru " if it is brought to completion."
- to naru means "become - " or "will become - ."
hazu is a noun referring to " normal expectations"-the way something should/ought to be; hazu da/desu after a verb
means that that action "can be e xpected to occur" "should/ought to occur."
Mangajin 69
7' 7 11
0 After Zero
:t"tltM
.:
til~
9f.
,-A
ft(7)
Iii ...
L.'l(7)
1S+
li"
~~
t> ?
- {>
v.W.R
:.
t.: <7> I
X <7>
x_iMff
ftC. --:>
tJ~
~ "99
"1:-.:J-~
A.
-t~-c
? "'(
t:.
li1J
.Q
~'
t::
!!
&..
:t t::.
: v 't
~ li
'*~~
~ ii
~' j;J.
A J:. ~0
t::. ':
c
~
70 Mangajin
r(
~'
~'
~
0
fJ
Umezawa: ::.1v ~
"11 ~~It'
Konna
kabi-kiLSai
*-?:-
11-r,
~ lviJ'
daigaku
nanlw
dele,
(obj.)
using
world
's
seed
:tvt.:"t:>"t'"
~~T~
lvt.:!!
" we will use MR-99 to take over the world's seed industry!"
" We'D leave tbis musty university and use MR-99 to take over tbe world's seed indus
!" (PL2)
kabi = " mold," and the suffix -kusai means "smells/reeks/stinks of - ,"so kabi-kusai = "smells moldy/musty."
nanka is a coUoquialnado ("something Idee"), here essentially equivalent to wa ("as for"), but with a feeling of belittling/
making light of what comes before it: "as for the likes of this musty university."
tsulultt is the -te form of tsulwu ("use"): the -te form is here indicating the manner/means of the next mentioned action:
how or with what they will take over the seed industry.
ore is an informal to rough. masculine word for "Ume." and adding the suffix -taclai makes it plural, " we/us.'' De gives
it the feeling of "just the two of us together."
Konoue:
f~rl,
!i
Umewll"a,
koitsu
11a
(name)
seed
1fo
:;e.
(is-explan.) (cmph.)
"Umezawa, these are ' the Devil's Seeds ' ou know." (PL2)
Kiinoue: ::. (J) .fl-T
(J)
fa\.
haille ita
doki
Kono shushi no
fJf ~ 0 t .: o
tt X
1::
ni
meibun
ga
ana.
these
"The eartben vessel that contained tbese seeds bore an inscription." (PL2)
r1iifA~
::. U> tl ~
OO;t
1:: ll L: t .li ~ I? ~ o J
"Nanpito mo kono tune
kokugai
ni dashite wa ntJranu."
haitte ita is the past form of lwitte im ("is in/is contained in"); kono shushi no haitte ita is a complete thought/sentence
("these seeds were contained in [it]") modifying doki (''earthen vessel"). The subject is often marked with no instead of
gain modifying sentences.
alta is the plain/abrupt past form of am ("exists"); ga marks meibun ("inscription") as the subject of alliJ. and 11i marks
doki as the place of existence, so dold ni meibun ga alta = an inscription existed on the earthen vessel"- "the earthen
vessel bore an inscription."
Umezawa:
;\"/J ~ . . .
H ~liT,
Baka na ... Omae,
foolish/crazy
you
-f lv~
~{g
sonna
meishin
-c
t: ~ (/)fJ'?
o shinjiteru no ka?
~ {g
(explan.- ?)
Konoue:
/j: ,
ffH';o
v li
Dakedo na, Umezowa. Ore wa
liya.
no
but
(colloq.) (name)
~{J
W. . .tJ:
meishin
ijo ni
1:: ,OOP;f::
~~_.,
nai
lvt!.o
n da.
Vme as for superstition more than money in interest not have (explan.)
"No. But you see, Umezawa As for me, even more than the superstition, I lack interest in money."
"Not reaU Bu ou see Umezawa. I have even less interest in mone than in tbe so rstition." (PL2)
iiya is a variation of iya, which is an informal "no": a regular iya can feel quite abrupt, but iiya has a "softer" feeling,
something like "not really."
na. like ne, can be used in the middle of a sentence as a kind of verbal pause. It can be like English you know/you see/
I mean."
kyiJmi = "interest" ; kyomi (ga) aru = " have an interest [in - ]," and kyiimi (ga) nai ="have no interest [in - ]."
nt
Ore ga
I
<
Konoue: ;tv
!J!JPA;:
~ ~ U)
kyiJmi am no
"The onl thin I have an interest in is thinkin about how to eliminate hun er from this earth." (PL2)
iflbl:
~/v""(
ShiJbai
rrante
t'-?"t'"'blt'v' lvf.!.o
do demo ii
11 da.
Mangajin 71
7'7~ - 0
72 Mangajin
After zero
Umezawa:
Rn..t .. .
Ko1wue .. .
II'>!!
Konoue me!!
(name) (derog.)
Umezawa:
th:lt
hypocrite (subj.)
"The damn h
rite!" (PLl)
:!f, Jft:fj{
Narration: 1991
1991
1991 Tok o
1t~
~~~t
Umezawa Kagaku Kabushiki-gaisha
Sign: t4ii;
(name)
Umezawa Chemical Co
ration
devil
's
seed
K:k
(!)
JYI5$
liJf3l:~
t~r,
dept.
7 7/
:tJ I
Ashoka-o
1J' c.y
ftllt.~
JUill.J~
giizen
hakkutsu shita
(!)
iff~
"Twenty years ago, the Archeology Department at K University happened to dig it up from the ruins of
King Asoka"
Executive: :; ;f,
siitsubu.
''Twent ears a o several rains were found inside a vessel tbat the Archeology Department at K
ned to di u from the ruins of Kin Asoka." (PL2)
Universit ha
Executive: i*:ff:
Hozon
~f.i!
t~r
)Otat
ga
:ilf.z;-r
>a:-
~~t.:
node, idenshi
kanzen 11a
J:.-IJ'=>f~ (!)\!,
yokaua
-r:
~t}iliT .::.ct~rili* ,
extract
kato ga deki,
were able to-and
and .''
(PL2)
st7- is a prefix meaning "several." and tsllbu ="grain,'" so siitsubu ="several grains'': something like dete kita
("emerged/came out/appeared") is understood after siitsubu.
yokatta is the plain/abrupt past form of the adjective iilyoi ("good/fine'').
/Qridasu =''take out/extract," and koto ga deki is a continuing form of kato ga dekim, which afte r a plain, non-past verb
makes a potential ("can/be able to") form: toridasu koto ga deki = "is/was able to extract, and .. :
Mangajin 73
7' 7 :$1 -
:3>~
~ ~
t1
.ft t:. b
tf Ci> ~
iil"
.- tJ'
if
"f
-t
II
0 After Zero
Executive:
~ l "'(
soshite
and
~(!) llf~-r ~
sono idenshi o
-::>H:,
tsui-ni,
finally/ultimately !hose
~:
ni
l6:11
kinshu
#tl t.,,
isholal shi,
~Jl
~1!-o .::.t 1: .lit~lt.: (J)"t"To
holsugen saseru lcoto ni seikD shito no desu.
expression cause
lhing in
succeeded (explan.)
"now, ftnally, we have succeeded In lntrodudnl those genes Into modem varieties ud maid tbeiD
viable." (PL3)
Ellecutive:
~tL
~"'( ~~t.:JT)~iJ'If
it!!
1111#
1:-t,
Executive: MR- 99 . . .
Emu-iin1 kyiijiikyii. . .
(seed variety)
t: lv ~ .tft
I: t
donna
demo
dojo
grows
wheat
"MR-99-wbeat that will grow in any kind of soil without fertilizer." (PL2)
1: ~1=111;1: 191 <, L.. f.P t
IDH
(!)
{if(~
0) J: -? 1:
Executive: ~:ll
Kai!So
,;
hijo ni
tsuyoku, shilwmo
mamelw
no shokubwsu no yo ni
t;,(J)
.f!U.Y:
mizukora no konrya
own
*Ill~
-/J{
gr#.
m'IJ:Et... , -ftl
saikin
ga
chisso
plant
like
1J'~o
as
grows
wheat
"Wheat that is very strong against dryness, and moreover, like plants in the legume fami ly, has bacteria in
its own root nodules that fix nitrogen, and grows with that as its nutrient."
"Wheat that stands up extreme! well to drou ht conditions and on to of tha like lants of the le ume
rows b metabolizing nitrogen that has been fixed by bacteria in its own root nodules." (PL2)
famil
donna - demo= "no matter what kind of - it is," and " - nashi de= 'without - "; donna dojo demo hiryo nashi de seiiku
suru is a complete tho ught/sentence ("[it! grows in any kind of soil without fertilizer") modifying komugi. The "sentence"
is actually only a modified noun-a sentence fragment.
rsuyoku here is equivalent to tsuyokure, the-re form of the adjective tsuyoi ("is strong"); it's being used as a continuing
form: " is strong, and . .."
mameka ="legume family." and mameka no shokubutsu ="leguminous plant/legume."
kotei shi is the stem form of korei suru ("fix," here referring to the process of nitrogen fixation"); the stem is being
used as a continuing form: "fixes [nitrogen] and ..." This "sentence," too, is merely an elaborately modified noun.
~
Executive: MR-99
fl}~tlHf(:o
(!)
ilal:.
Emu-iiru kyiijiikyii o
(seed variety)
soisei dekiru
no
"As for the one who can reproduce MR-99. it is only Dr. Konoue,"
.fffit
ttl~
li !>-? l ~-?"'(It> i lt.: 7Jf,
Um~o SluJcho wa
osshane imashito
ga,
(name)
was saying
butland/so
Executive: i
~iJ'
masalw
hardly/never
~t:t.t~
.&tlo
lie'
(!)
:R.J"
1J{
anara lwdo
no
tensai
ga arawareru
you
li!!
to
wa!.'
ex tent that is genius (subj.) will appear (quote) as for
Mangajin 75
7' 7 9 -
0 After Zero
"'\ m-t
iik:SK
lli tt t .f
L- I,\~ {>
?j. -?~t
i:>F./J*
' 1Ji
5F ;g
~ :~ .:.
1Ji (.: LI,\
t:.
t7)
VF
*
t;~
I?
!_;
ft
1Ji Yl
n~
, 1iJf R
t.:'K~
t:.
_t
t7)
I
99
!i
m-A
....
I'll .=. -, ~
~ ;r.t
~
'in
*!!:!
*X~~ t~
tt -: n 7>
--c$r:;..
~
I.\ ,q
~ ~
'/)t
)..
'
"\~
~'tlt -t
~
i!~
/.._t7)
c~
-g ~
~ ~
c7).f.
ii ,1
1-
G.fAM
tl. t7) it R
1>1l!!.$t l
t) 1: 99
~?Jar
1t
'l
A-1-L
L
o L'
fJ~
~'
76 Mangajin
-c
t7) ,:
,,
,_ ....
r"~
!B~
~.,.
..J.
oif:
~
11.-
Kuze: llnJ:.
iJ' .. .
Konoue Hakase Jw .. .
(name)
Dr.
('1)
19:
iJt
''To
Kuze:
(seed variety)
as for (name)
issai
co. pres.(subj.)research of
n with Preside nt Umezawa stole all the research on MR-99 from K Universit " (PL2)
'IJf ~.:. L.t.; lllf~ 'b *!!iii,
ff- ~
1: 1it:>;(l~t't.: 'IJf .. .
K*
Kl-dai ga
okoshita
sosllli mo kekkyoku,
jidan
ni
ochitsuita
ga .. .
K univ. (subj .) brought/filed lawsuit also in the end out-of-court settlement in culminated/ended
but
issai is more commonly seen as a strong emphasizer for negatives ("entirely/absolutely [not/none]"). but here it's a noun
meaning ..entirety"; kenkyii no issai =''the entirety of the research.''
nusumidashita is the plain/abrupt past form of nusumidasu, from nusumu (..steal") and das11 ("take out").
okoshita is the plain/abrupt past form of okosu (lit., "raise," but when speaking of lawsuits, "bring/file"); Ke-dai ga
okoshita is a complete thought/sentence ("K University filed [it]") modifying soshO ("lawsuit").
ochitsuita is the plain/abrupt past form of ochitsuku, which can mean ..conclude/end/cu]mjnate [in]."
Kuze:
-fQ)~ ,
.sono sai,
Dr.
against
aranu
hibo
chiisho
shi,
"at that time President Umezawa made unfounded slanderous and defamatory statements a ainst
Dr. Konoue, a nd ...
.i:>tJ'If-c'"
t~}.
li K*
tJ'~ ill.v'/ H ~ tt"t"L.i:d.: o
okage de
wa Ke-dai kara
oi-dasarete shimal/a.
hakase
that extenllcalibcr of
wa megumarez.u.
*HI -'< c
c "' 7 o
=:ii!E
*?
-c'"
3rd-rate
univ.
sanryii daigaku de
lwsoboso to
:sf)E
kenkyt7
a- ~tt"t"v'l.>
o tsuzukete iru
to
iu.
"The sa this brilliant scholar has now been reduced to carrying on his research with mjnimal
resources a t a third-ra te univers ity," (PL.2)
hibo and chiisho are synonyms, both meaning "slander/de famation": both are suru verbs. Shi is the stem form of suru,
here acting as a continuing form: "did/made [slanderous/de famatory statements I and .. .''
okage de ("owing to that/thanks to that"') is a form of the - no olwge daldesu expression seen above, but "'thanks to
that'' in this case is a statement of blame rather than credit.
oidasarete is the -te fonn of oidasareru (" be driven out'"). passive form of oidasu ('"drive out" ): shimatla after the -te
form of a verb implies the action was undesirablc/regreuablc.
[II
Kuze:
rn,M
.:C 7 Jv Q)
f!. o
li ~;$
moraru no mandai da.
wa kigyo
this one/thing o.s for corporate morals/ethics of issue/problem is
::. "'""?
Koitsu
"Cor
Kuze:
flj~
Rieki
~ i!.t ~ lvo
Kuze-san.
Hal?
.f;1.
iJt
:st~0036Si)
Q)
Kyo kara watashi ga Kenkyii Kaihatsu-bu no
(subj.)
MR-99
aEmu-iiru kyt1jt7kyii o
(seed variety)
li ...
wa ...
Kuze: li -::> ?
today from
Q)
no
(n;une-hon.)
[!]
iu
GJ Kamimura:
c a7
to
eraban is a contraction of
erabanai ("not select"), negative of erabu (''select"), but in
this case erabanoi means "not
be selective/picky": shudan o
erabanai = ..not be selective
about means/methods" - ''be
willing to do anything."
R&D Dept.
iift
sat-yusen
~~
bucho
to
"'?
iu
.:. c
koto
-r--t
1Jt,
desu ga,
is
but
$lj{
L. ""( -t Q)fl!l. 1: 7 "J -T L. ""( v' l.> ~
li if:> IJ i -t:t lv -nro
jikii to shite sono hoka ni tatchi shite iru hima wa arimasen ga.
as
other things on
touching
time as for
not have
but
"Beginning today, I am head of the R&D Department, but with MR-99 being the highest priority Item,
I won't have time to deal with an else." (PL3)
tatchi is from the English 'touch"; tatchi slrite iru is from the verb tatchi suru ("touch," or by extension. "meddle with/
take a hand in").
ga ("but") can be thought of as implying something like " but is that lilcely to be a problem?'' She's really just telling him the
way things will be, but implying that she 's inte!"Csted in his response "softens'' the message.
Mangajin 77
~!
~I>
tJ '
l86
t:. t:. ~
(/) IJ IJ>
"[(;,
-t.:1..
0
' {>
t) ! A
! -r ..f
l:
~tt7:>
T7
Tjj(J)
e t)
IJ"t.t
fiiJ .: fA
~t1)~
c:~u
~
t:. (:
f;t(/)}..
\. ' :r.
-=>
.At:.
"[~(/)
T ~ l.t
J:
78 Mangajin
l.t '
t)
.At
'
~'/
-r
l.t
-=>A
c -=>
IA'I"
-t~
e
"LA. (J)
99
tJ~~ ~
]{X
l .:t,
t.lfL
cc
(/)(/)'"[
tJ> (/)
-=>l:-A
l' ~
-rM
~~u
fLIWl\.'
M 11 :
'
ftl1.
~~
-=> 'tit
-r~
i,'
'
$_
o-
-t~
tJ>
Kuze:
"'~,
(>1?0/v
/yo,
ml~
-fc7)-fjgc7)
(interj.) of course
other
fl.
li, .::ni"t'
)iJ!IJ
-diiri
~t) L~
1Jf
warashi ga
IJ iTo
torishikirimasu.
' 'That' ll be fine. I will of course continue to handle aU other deveJo ment ro'ects as I have before." (PL3)
Kuze: c
;J-:> "( (> , fi c lv C' c7) A. ~ 7 7 li
MR-99
c7)
~ .fl
"t'T tro
To
iue mo,
hotondo no
sutaffu
most of
staff
wa Emu-iiru kyiijakyii no
as for
(seed variety)
yam
desu go.
"Not that that means much, since most of the staff are assigned to MR-99." (PL3)
iya is an informal "no: here implying "No, it won't be a problem'' (answering her implied question) .... 'That'll be fine."
torishikirimasu is the PL3 form of torishikiru ("manage/run/be in charge of').
itte mo is a conditional "even if' form of iu ("say"). To itte mo often introduces a qualifying statement that sheds different
light on what one has just said.
Kuze: ;t;h,
Mii,
fflH~
fill1&:: c7) #. 1.:1;t k~b L"'"t"TiJt
bucho hosa no watashi ni wa f usawashii desu ga
lime
for
is suited/befits
bo
ne.
but (colloq.)
@]
Kamimura: ~t!!:~lv,
~-:>"(.fd~ !T 1Jf,
itte okimasu ga,
-tl
Kuze-san,
hitokoto
but
''Mr. Kuze there's one thin I'd like to make clear from the be
Kamimura: fl..
1Jt .:. c7) ~t 1.: A :>f.:. c7) l:i, fPJ (> ~ t.f. t.:. c7) :f-.A
watashi ga k01w kaisha
I
ni hailla
IW
." (PL3)
~
your
is not
(explan.)(emph.)
"As for my entering this company, it is not at all for the purpose of stealing your job."
''I didn't 'oin this com an because I wanted to take awa our 'ob." (PL3)
itte is the te fonn of iu ("say"). and okimasu is the PL3 form of oku, which after the te form of a verb implies the action is
done now/ahead of time in preparation for some future need; here the feeHng is that she wants to head off any later misun
derstanding by making one thing clear now/up front/at the beginning.
haitta is the plain/abrupt past form of IUJiru (here meaning "enter/join [a company]"). No is a nominalizer that makes the
complete/thought sentence Watashi ga kono kaisiUJ 11i haitta ("l joined this company") act as a single noun, and wa ("as
for") marks that noun as the topic
as for my joining this company:
nanimo combines with a negative later in the semence to mean "not anything/in no way/not at all.''
tame ja nai is the the negative form of tame do/desu, which after a verb (or complete sentence) means ''in order to [do the
actionJ/for the purpose of [doing the action]."
ki ,; itta is the plain/abrupt past
form of ki ni iru ("like/be
pleased with").
1J< ~U.:}v:>f.:. iJ'i? .:.-t- ~-?"( :JlU.:. c7)"t"To . yarre kira is the plain/abrupt past
Shacho no
hirogara
ga ki ni itta kara koso yatte kita no desu.
form of yatte kuru. where kuru
co. pre~. s character/personality (subj.)
liked
because {emph.)
came
{explan.)
="come": yatte kuru typically
r came here because I liked the president's c haracter.''
implies coming over consider" 1 joined because I was drawn to the president's personality." (PL3)
able distance or through special
e ffort/circumstances.
Kuze: ~
li
Rui
wa tomo
ll'}<,s.;
yobu
~H
'tc~
ka. Kamimura Joshi
iJ'o
fl. c7)
watashi no
Kuze: (>-?,
Mo,
(name)
(>
~1$.c7)mnlv
.A!It t!.o
personage is
lli'J H
jogen
t.f.
nado
li1t b
lltl"'-r <nlvo
darema
kiite Jmren.
's advice/counsel something like [notl anyone/no one won't listen-(to me)
K uze: 7 7 .. .
Ft7 ... (sigh)
c7) f!-=f iJ'o
Akuma no shushi ka.
Kuze: !!Jl
devil
's
seeds
('?)
Mangajin 79
7 7 $1 -
80 Mangajin
0 After Zero
Book:
-il~=f
f'lf'F
--
ldenshi
Sosa
gene
1~~
to Rinri
il&..t
.Z
Konoue
Kazuyuki
Tai
year Thailand
1992 Thailand
Umezawa: t"I~C:> l-v'
Subarashii
lilt*
t.:!!
seika
daff
wooderfuVspectacular results/fruits is
Umezawa: T A
r it!!
Tesuto
-chi
1:
~lvf.!.
ni
eranda
wa.
kyassaba
test
':!
.z
lraenakaua
..$:
kusa ippon
grass I count
didn't grow
.ll!!h
>;:-
clriryoku
PJj1j: lv f!.
rokoro nan da
cassava
de
IV.>i \,\'::>
<L- -c'
suirsukushire,
-t'"!!
<.Off
letel~eted
eranda is the plain/abrupt past form of erabu (""select/choose"), and ni mark~ reslllo-chi as the purpose for which the
place was chosen. Tesuro-chi ni eranda is a complete thought/sentence ("[wei chose lit] for/as a test plot") modifying
koko ("here/this place"), and wa marks koko as the topic: as for this place that we chose for our test plot...."
sui- is the stem of the verb suu ("suck in/suck up/absorb''), and -rsukushire is the-re form of -tsukusu, a verb suffix
meaning "I do] fully/complete ly/exhaustively/down to the last bit."
;;t>: -Iron (pronounced -bon or -ppon after certain numbers) is the counter suffix for long. slender things, including blades
of grass; kusa ippon ="one blade of grass."
Jraenakaua is the past form of haenai, the negative form of haeru ("[a plant] comes up/grows''). Kusa ippon lraenakaua
is a complete thought/sentence ('' not one blade of grass grew [thereI") modifying tokoro ("place").
cassava is grown for its tuberous roots. which are used for food. Its power to draw nutrients from the soil is strong. making
it easy to cultivate.
Umezawa: .:./vlj:
::f:Q)
Konna
fumo no
.It!! 1:
MR- 99
li
JVlll:
(seed variety)
>;:-
-?Itt.:!!
mi
rsuketa!!
''Even on this infertile land., the MR-99 has roduced s lendid beads of grain." (PL2)
migoto comes from miru ("see") and koto ("thing''; k changes to g for euphony), implying "something to see"; migoto ni =
"in a manner that is something to see''__. "beautifully/brilliantly/masterfully/splendidly."
mi might be described as the " bearing part" of plants- i.e., "seeds/grains/nutslberries/fruirs''- and tsukera is the plain/
abrupt past form of rsukeru ("attach." or when speaking of mi, "bear").
GJ
U!*o
Umezawa Shaclro.
(name)
co. pres.
raislrira
f.!.
J: o
gakuslra da
yo.
~~ (J) ~ {> .
slracho 1w yume mo ...
1:
Kore de
this
also
f.!.!!
MR- 99
l" flt-W- (J) Hi+ ill~
daff Emu-liru Jcytlj17ky17 de sekai no slwshi sangyo
is
(seed name)
wi th world
's
seed
t
o
Jti\CT J.:,
shilrai suru
Q)f.!.!!
no da!f
"That's right! With MR-99 I'll rule the world's seed industry!" (PL2)
Mangajin 81
Ojiisama:
-? -? t.:- ! !
:::n, -t:
~ -? t.:
~~!
Yattii!!
Tsui-ni
katta
zo!!
did
finally
bought (emph.)
Mammoth-like Ojosama!!
by 1\'iil ED ti Jv I Okada Garu
yaua is the plain/abrupt past form of yaru ("do"); it's used as an exclamation of joy, like "1/he did it!" or "All right!/Yeah!/Hooray!"
tsui-ni ="at long last/finally."
zo is a rough/masculine particle for emphasis, but female speakers can use
it for special effect in informal siruations (e.g., talking to kids or among
close friends) or when speaking to themselves.
Qjsam a: -) tL l v' 1j
Ureshii
-? t.:
C, -) tL l v' 1j!
tiara ureshii na!
na
"I'm
ha
SOOO
~y_,
..
1:l
-"'
..c
00
'?'
1j
.,
.A .,.
:::l
-5
"0
01)
"~
l!l
..c
00
;:
7 A tJ'o
iJt
ga
mausu ka.
(?)
..c
~"
.: tL
kore
ip '-
In
~c
-~
Co
c
>.
-"'
{?.
'"
-55
"
-"'
;"
u.
>.
-"'
-a
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.:
0.
.:
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.!!!
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:::l
0.
.. .
w
0
.!f!~
sassoku . . .
Ja,
..c
t: ~ ,
Ojiisama: J: l !!
o osama:
7 A 1: ~WJ
mausu
ni namae
mouse
to
demo
tsukeru ka.
(?)
e to,
E to,
Makkii Mausu,
Jerii,
(name)
(name)
Chiita,
Chiisuke .. .
hmm
(name)
(name)
ii: -J
t! 0!
Chigau
daro!
.,i':.
-ci
.,
"'~
l!l
..c
00
;:
<
~
"
"
"0
.:.:
82 Mangajin
Magazine: 1~Jf
Gaishi
-kei
i1i
~U
1Jt
kigyo
siisha
ga
1: J: ~m
ni yoru satyo
Internet
1 ;; ? -
Mammoth-like Ojosama!!
by fll'iiiE 7l Jv I Okada Garu
~ 1'
~/
~$7
.F I
1cf:f.
~
'Y
Di t:
~ -{
:;...-
He,
* jf
*'
Ii
(interj.)
I ti'
1
(?)
;fl.
b tlf546 c i' 1.:> n' - !
Watashi mo hajimeru to suru kli!
all right
Ol)
-g
Ol)
.=
Ol)
c::
c
.2
c fb.
.0 'MS
'lp~
1 .0
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begin
shall I do?
.=
also
;;
.~
-.;
"'
ka.
internet
"'
"'
~
lntlinetto
"'
Ll.
"'
.=
0
0
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jisshi
.&>
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.;
.=
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Several finns affiliated with foreign capital are implementing hiring via the Internet
Forei Finns 1m lement Hirin via Internet
O 'iisama: ......__, 1' / ? - _:f, :; 1- -IJ' o
"'" I ~91-
:r- :;1
lntiinetto
O'iisama:
i;(J)- ...
Ano . ..
"
~ "'o
lwdasai.
please give me
lease." (PL3)
wakauenai
not under<aand
rugn: 7 vI!
Terebi
Televisions
Arrow: fiT
Machi
(J)
fiT~~~
no
denkiya-san
lv
Book Review
(continued from page 55)
Mammoth-like Ojosama!!
by !Ril IIl il Jt..- I Okada Garu
..
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84 Mangajin
0.
o~:
1 ;.,~ -~ '/
/nt6netto-yii
t-JJJ 1:
ni
:::1;., ~ ; 1 - ~lconpyiitii
Internet-purpose
for
computer
n '? t.:
lwtta
'll'~
kora
!3ii
o-kone
chiJdai.
(PL2)
job search
<
~?
lkura?
"''
Q 'osama: ; 7 1Sofuto
50.000
approx.
*"''
:fr.9U:
Ara,
1g01
to
yasui
Q)
tl.o
no
ne.
*11
Kazoku
"f
de
fl~
1JJ.(.,~JJI
tsukaeru shoshinsha-yo
(J)
1w
sofwo is short for ; 7 ~ ? .:r. 7 sofw o uea. the kalakana rendering of the English word. "software."
f ukumete is the -te form o f f ukumeru ("include").
hodo after a number literally implies that the number
is an approximation, but it's also used as a "softener"
in many cases when there's nothing really approximate about the figure.
ara is a feminine interjection showing surprise.
''Oh!/Oh?/Oh my!!Hey!"
f!.'IJ~... lililio
da kara... lw ha ha.
(laugh)
'"That's because it's a model for novices, that the whole family can use. Ha ha ha.'' (PL2)
Mother: C~~,
-i?J:.-?C ~t?-tt<: .t o
Jli,
chotto
yarasete
yo.
let me do (emph.)
:<$:~ ~:
Kore de homo,;
this
with
really
1 /
~- ;f, y
f11tiinello
Internet
1- 1Jt
ga
i!l!~
tsukaeru
Q)?
no?
11a
doko e
as for where to
iua
110
kana?
Hen
da 110.
(interj.) strange/odd is (colloq.)
Mangajin 85
pop japanese
Slang Archaeologist
Lately I've been working on what I
selling these off for almost nothcall "A Colloquial History of the
ing so they could eat. Minshuka
Postwar Era," although a history o f
(!It; ft, "democratization") was
colloquialisms is what it is . The
the ne w creed for a population
living in barakku (1~7 'J 7, "barbu zzwords for a g iven year say
everything about that time. They also
rac ks," i.e., makeshift shacks and
g ive you loads to talk about w ith
temporary shelters).
people who used the m when they
1946 was a year when many a
were hot.
gentleman was accused of senpan
(~~[!., "war crimes") and many a
Here are the entries for 1945 and
1946, the first two years in the surlady accused of being a panpan
vey. Look for samples from other
(I ~/ ~ ~ /, a " pompom" girl, from
decades in column to come- a nd
the English phrase for cheerleaders a nd s trippers who s hake
please let me know if you catch mistakes. Japan, Japanese, and Japanese
po mpoms for the ir audiences; the
connotation in Japanese was "prosspeakers have mutated so radically in
titute"). An onrii (:t / 1) - ,
a half-century that even native speakers confess to dire uncertainty about
"only") was a woman who reserved her favors for a particular
their own interpretations.
1945 will be remembered- by
G l , who may or may not have
returned the courtesy. "A, sii," that
those who survived it- as the year
when the aerial bombardment of
sagacious-sounding expression
mainland Japan's urban centers by
which, if it means anything, means
biikii ( B0, "bastards in B-29s")
almost
the same thing in English
William Marsh
ki lied nearly I 00,000 people in a
and Japanese (Ahhh ... is that
single night a nd eventually le ft 13
so?), became a staple of commumillion homeless. Japan's leaders respo nded to the hopeless
nication between the occupiers and the occupants of Japan, as
situation with fanatical slogans like lcllioku gyokusai (- mE
did contentious discussions regarding the individual who, once
rF, " let 100 million jewels shatter,'" that is, die honorably), a locally revered as a god, had renounced his own divinity and
become a ningen-tennii (A. [U] -R!:l), or human emperor. Barreference to their plan to defend the homeland by turning the
entire populatio n (the n roughly I00 million) into a suicide
room debates on this subject might have been feistier had
alcohol more potable than the ho me-brew d regs known as
force. Men known as nikudan (lkJ~iji. "bombs of flesh") would
paddle o ut to approaching ships in barrels attached to torpekasutori (faiR ~) ) been available. Besides the nasty beverages
does; children and mothers would charge tanks with bamboo
and the blasted landscape, the ubiquity of furiiji (i~~~~). vaspears. A second slogan of that time, Shinslriifwnetsu (fll!tli
grant children who were the sole survivors of bombed homes,
If' iii., the " land of the gods" [Japan] will not disappear), now added to the melancholy. No program commanded as muc h
seems prophetic: in 1996, a large number of Japanese high
attention as the tazunebilo no j ikan (~tl A Q) ~ PJJ, "missingschool students expressed the view that success in rebuilding
person hour") o n the radio, via which survivors of (or returnees to) bombed areas tried to discover whether other members
its economy and explo iting its relationship with the United
States meant Japan had won World War n . Be that as it may,
of the household might still be out there somewhere, alive. As
the pika-don (I! tJ r' /' "fl ash thud," the description given
a hedge against despair and destitution, the rara-busshi ( 7 7
~it. handouts from the Licensed Agencies for Relief of Asia,
by survivors of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima) was
soon followed by formal surrender. W ith the country's infraor LARA) played a role. Meanwhile, the she ll-shocked resistructure in ruins and agricultura l and other production disdents of Japan began to hear talk of tetsu no kiiten (~Q) tJ rupted, a yamiiclli (fHI rti, " black market") flourished and people
7 / ), the Iro n Curtain. Slang imports from the Western side
learned the art of kaidashi (!'!III L.., " foraging for food"). As
thereof for 1946 included kamu kamu, eburibodei ("Come,
the Shi11chiigu11 (illi.lttW:, "Occupation forces") took up posicome, everybody," the phrase used by James Harris, a poputions, the time had come for the nation's citizens to express
lar Japanese-British teacher of English, to introduce his radio
ichioku sii-za11ge (- {t!f.tii:Ufii, "the collective penitence of 100
how), and llabalraba-"hubba, hubba," that rah-rah chant then
million") and cope with their kyodatsu jiitai (~l!litl(!.\!1, prosmuc h beloved by army rats from the USA.
tration/collapse/desponde ncy). Even the once-mighty were reduced to takenoko-seikatsu (r(l) (-tf:.$, " bamboo-shoot livWillia m Marsh (marshbil@gol.com) is a freelance writer based
ing"), stripping off layer upon layer of expensive clothes and
in Tolryo.
by
92 Mangajin