Amateur manga madness at Comiket

JAPANESE
POP CULTURE
&LANGUAGE
LEARNING
US$5.50 I CAN$7.75

MANGAJIN

ThaJoy of
8

Japanuu
Bath

Top &rnady Tearn:

DownTown
~amutal ftorn
Outat ~paea .

__....,. --~~-

::---.....

CONTENTS
No. 63, March 1997

Features
12 Soaking in the Sentii Confessed bath freak Rick
Kennedy describes the pleasures of the local public
bath-an experience many Japanese themselves can no
longer enjoy.
page 12

16 Going Downtown In 1989 theirfirst TV show

was a ratings flop, but today members of the comedy
duo Downtown are the highest-paid entertainers in
Japan. Mark Schilling explains why.

Manga
19 Manga Shorts 1m :J ?

i~@

50 Mad about Diijinshi Thanks to cheap printing

Hundred-Year Senryii, Happy Day, President

Ponpoko, Yarikuri Co. , and
Selected Works of Ishii Hisaichi.

29 After Zero 7 7

and lax copyright laws, manga ''fanzines" are a major

phenomenon in Japan. Mary Kennard guides us through
one of the biggest dojinshi events.

- 0

"T he Devil 's Seeds" comes to a shocking

conclusion.

64 American Comics 7

;1-

1)

tJ (f) it@

Dilbert and Garfield-in Japanese.

67 Minori Densetsu 7-J- (f)

~ f~m

Minori' s all set to launch her career as a

freelance writer- until she gets some alarming news.

Departments
9

Brand News:
Yutopia really exists, right outside
Tokyo.

54 Book Review
Samurai from
Outer Space, by
Antonia Levi.

55 On the Bookshelf

page SO

Recently released books about Japan.

62 Cooking Corner
Nori and hand-rolled sushi.

page 20

Miscellaneous
5
6
7
18
94

Publisher's Note
Letters
Bloopers
Warning & Pronunciation
Classifieds

Language Learning
86 Basic Japanese: Contractions, Part 1
You won' t find them in the dictionary, but
there's no need to get uptight about contractions.

92 Pop Japanese
William Marsh explores s lang of the 1960s.

93 Vocabulary Summary
Words from this issue of Mangajin.

Mangajin is a made-up word combining mango ("comics/cartoons") and jill ("person/people"). It sounds almost like the English word "magazine"

as rendered in japanese-magajin. All of the Japanese manga in Mangajin were created in japan. by Japanese cartoonists. for japanese readers.

[e lour PC to
.\laster Japanese
and Chinese
T'

ojoy tlucncy by le\era~in~ your

.\._'l..lll tan~ ~kills \\i th Smart

Charucart im~rared word process_,.. reading. writin~. translating, and
k:arrun~ tool (or Pes. IIandy on-line rcft:~. dictionaries, .furi,4Wta, pinyin,
and En~h annowtions speed reading,
1r.Titing and tran~lation.
Learn and use ka nji nnd hanzi while
creating your own documents, faxes,
and \'ocabulary lessons.

The definitive
Word Processing, Reading,
Writing, Translating, and
Learning tool for Japanese
and Chinese

c_

LETTERS

Letters to the Editor

Mangajin welcomes co/111/lellls by let

ter.fa.x, or e-mail, although we resen e
the right to edit for clarity or length.
Please address correspondence to:
Editor, P.O. Box 77188. Atlanta. GA
30357 ( [email protected]).
D :ifs:~l:f(l)f:,t,JHJ .A:W\i!I!"'C"T o II +:<r:
tt (7) )i ti lit WtH l~iliJf'lt -t ;.; ~ - "*?"l'-''f..:t.:~'"C*liWt "'C"-4 : T ! 0 7
!lC~'ftllrti t'I IIJ2-1 8-9. Fax: 03-3479-4436

Japanese joking around

T think that it wou ld be useful to
occas ionally include a sec ti on on
simple tongue twiste rs and jokes. It
really gives learners confidence if they
can pull off a joke in another language.
They don't have to be sophisticated to
be successful. For example. one of my
Japanese friends asked me the following: Je no naka ni. donna tokoro ni wa
hoki5 ga nai? ("In what pan of the house
is there no direction?"). The an!.wer il>:
toire ("the toilet"). Why? Kitanai!
(''dirty l ~ t,: 1d: "'],'' or, for the purposes
of a joke, " no North l ~tld:'-'' 1 ").
A NNE P A RSONS

Glenside, SA. Australia

Format suggestion

Annotated text entry and editing replaces cum

bersome printed dictionaries, and Is easily
hidden for printing, faxing, or every-day word
processing use by native or fluent speakers.
Customize on-line dictionaries and dynamic
glossaries to add technical terms and boiler
plate phrases for rapid text entry.
Edit and export left, vertical, and right-to-left
writing to any Windows application.
Perfect for individuals or offices that need language assistance communicating in Japanese
or Chinese, correspond in both languages, or
hove difficulty running and using less flexible
word processing systems or adjuncts designed
for native speakers.
The optional Double Byte TrueType font interlace accessory allows simultaneous use of any
Japanese lraditional, simplified Chinese
TrueType font In the same document, under any
version of Windows, Including Windows 95.
\m10n ).()for \\'indo1113.1, >.II. Kl, or Windows
9) 1s just Sl79.9>. Doublcll)1<' Trul'T)'pc fom inter
f<l<e ~ just S-19.93. DOS 1 crsion 2.9 for Students is
onh S99.95. c~u or wtit< for d fr('( brochure, or
order tod~y! St~ti>fdC1ion gut~r,mtccd.

Apropos Customer Service:

8 Belknap Street Arlington, MA 02174
800-676-4021 or 617-648-2041
Visilus on the Web: WWW.crproposinc.com
6 Mangajin

In the manga translations, underlined

bold lines should be reserved for the
Japanese pronunciation instead of the
English meaning. This wi ll discourage
the tendency to read the Eng!ish meaning of the manga, and it will lead the
eye to the "sound" of the nihongo
conversations in the manga. I think that
would be better for learning Japanese.
STEPHANIE NG
Wolverhampton, England

Jibun or ... ?
I e njoyed Basic Japanese o. 59 on
various pronouns for "you." I know
you could not include all the alte rnatives. but perhaps you will be inte rested to hear the answe r I received
when I asked a Japanese fri end what
pronoun I should use for " you" when
talking to him. My friend, a college
student born in Kansai , told me to
use "jibun." Of course this is also the
reflexive pronoun, whic h can cause
confusion for me. When the subject of
my poorly constructed Japanese sentence is unclear, my frie nd ofte n asks
"Ore? Jibun ?" ("Me? Or you?") That

baffled me the first dozen times!

M tCIIAEL CRo, 1
via e-mail
Translation Editor Wayne Lammers
replies: This last example is a peifectly
normal use of j ibun. As we often point
out in our notes: jibun = "oneself"or " me/myself. " ''he/himself, " "you/
yourself. " " they/themse lves, " e tc. ,
depending on the context.
If your subject wasn 't clear, it 's entirely natural for your listener to ask
back, " You mean me ? Or you/yourself?" or "Are you saying that a bow
me? Or about yourself?" Jibun is always context sens itive (so, for that
matter, is everything else in language).
It 's possible there's a stronger pref
erence for the use ofjibun fo r "you " in
the Kansai dialect, bill it's ha rd to say.
I suspect your f riend's recommendation
reflects something mo re specific in the
ll'liY you posed the question or the context of the discussion. There are lots of
times in the flow of conversation when
j ibun is indeed the best wo rd to use for
the equivale111 of "you. " Bill since it 's
so context sensitive. it 's obvio usly not
a good cho ice unless you 're sure you
kno w what you 're doing. It 's probably
best 110t to f ollow your friend 's advice
fo r general purposes, although it may
indeed have been the correct advice fo r
the particular context. Better to choose
one of the other options offered in Basic
Japanese No. 59.

Websites of the moment

Things long and thin:
Can you use chopsticks? This page,
produced by a Japanese specialty hashi
shop, contains photos. legends, and
lore about those ubiquitous utensils:
http://www.egg.or.jp/hyozaemon/
They're not chopsticks, but could possibly be used as chopsticks in a pinch:
Pocky! Fittingly, there are two pages
dedkated to the tasty treat beloved by
Japan's foreign population.
http://www.jurai.net/-pocky/
pocky.html
and
http://www.cs.ubc.ca/spider/graves/
pocky.html

The

a
By Rit;k tannetJv

12 Mangajin

~orne people decide to live in a particular

;;;::1 neig hb o rh ood

because it has a good

school or a good delicatessen or is a straight-shot
commute to work. We decided to live in Hiyoshi,
just over the Tokyo border in Yokohama, because
Hiyoshi has a very good public bath. My wife and
I are bath freaks.
I try not to talk about it too much. I notice that when
I tell a friend that I have discovered a particularly noteworthy
public bath-sento (}lHJJ), we call them- l get back a wary
smile, as if I had just put in a good word for a compelling
new religion.
It must be admitted that the institution of the bathwhich was once considered the cornerstone of civilization
in some parts of the world-is fading. This is true even in
Japan, the preeminent bathing society. Tokyo has lost 500
of its roughly 2,000 sentO over the last decade as it has gotten
harder and harder to run a bath as a business, even with a
government subsidy.
Real-estate developers tear baths down, effectively ripping
out the social heart of the community, and put up in their
place boring but profitable apartments, each with a privatebut lonely-bath, its pastel plastic tub so small the legs of the
bather must be jacked up in a fetal position against the chest;
hardly a natural position to relax in.
Many young Tokyoites have never been to a public bath.
When they go on the annual company excursion to a hotspring resort and are encouraged to soak with their colleagues
in a communal bath before and after the
/~-- -......... evening banquet, they don't know what
->iliiiii_iiil'....
to do, never having taken a bath in
public before. The more modest of
them are said to wear bathing

suits into the bath, an action as unfeeling as a winemake( s

wearing boots to treat the grapes.
The best way to understand the transformational effects
of a Japanese bath is to go through the procedure. A bath takes
an hour and a half if you rush it; if you take your sweet time
it can last the whole day.
Gather up your bathing gear-soap, shampoo, scrub brush,
c lean underwear and socks, and maybe something not too
demanding to read after the bath. Move in a leisurely fa hion
to your bathhouse of choice. pay your 370 at the counter,
and slide open the door appropriate to your sex. (If you can't
read the Japanese for "Me n and ''Women,"' now is the time
to learn.) Find a locker and take off your clothes.
Enter the tiled bath area with its inevitable mosaic of
Mo unt Fuji on the back wall and take a shower, just to wet
the surface. The n pick up one of the wash basins from the
stack in the corner and pull up a little stool to one of the
scrubbing stations equipped with spigots for hot and cold water,
a mini-shower, and a mirror. Now show your mettle by
demonstrating just how thoroughly you can lather and scrub
yourself. A dedicated scrubber can take 20 minutes to work
up a lather as thick as whipped cream while scrubbing down
every square millimeter of the body, possibly fini hing off with
an invigorating rough brush to get the blood flowing. Rinse
the soap off, and you are at last ready to immerse yourself in
the bath.
Jt will be hot, but not actually boiling. The government
has decreed that the water must be at least 40C ( I 04F). The
muscles cannot resist this heat and almost immediately begin
to melt. After a minute even the jaw muscles, your body's
toughest, slacken, and your mouth may ease open. The bath
itself is likely to be a jacuzzi, with bubbling water giving off
steam as it swirls around you. Particularly sybaritic hot baths
are molded to fit the body, so you lie back as if lounging on
an underwater chaise lounge, while resting your neck on a
chromium pipe kept cool by the cold water coursing through
it, a chilled towel across your brow. You soak in this bath for

r
l

I;

AI Tolcyo's Fujinoyu, oJI is quiet before 1116 firo cll5/omer arrives. Each bother takes o p/oslic
bucket onJ stool to one of the spigots lor the rery imparlanl pre-saok scrub.

a minute or two and emerge slightly wobbly, as if your heart

has been taken out and massaged. .
Then you plunge into the cold bath, which your body
first reacts to as if it were being e lectrocuted. The cold bath,
a recent innovation in Japan, is as cold as the North Sea, and
the body naturally protects itself by beginning to shut down
after a few minutes, so it is necessary to get out before you
drift away entirely.

Make sure you go through the right curtain or you'Bfimi yourselfin an embarrassing situation.
(At this both, it's men on the leh, women on the right.}

Then back into one of the hot baths, perhaps a variation

on your first hot bath, such as one which pummels you with
a powerful stream of water, as from a fire hose, or one which
tickles you with an electric current. Or you might want to
wander into a place where, when you push a button. a tream
of water pummels your head and shoulders from above or visit
a room with the steamy atmosphere of a tropical rain forest.
with recorded birdcalls in the background adding to the illusion.
Each sento is different.
Then back into the cold bath.
You stagger from hot to cold, back and forth, maybe five
times, until the difference between hot and cold is only
academic- you cannot really feel the difference. Your body
now seems to be floating in some soft metaphy ical pace,
and it is impossible to think linearly. This is as clo e to total
relaxation as it is pos ible to get without actually dying.
In the minds o f mo t Japanese, however, the cia ic bath
is something a bit different: a place where a natural hot spring
gushes out in a bamboo grove and a beaker of sake tloats on
a tray at your e lbow. Through the vapor lingering over the
water, you make out several comely members of the opposite
sex. Then it begins to snow ...
Several years ago, the Tokyo Metropo litan Government
decided that these outside baths, called rotenburo, were not
necessarily sinful and decreed them legal in the city itself,
although men and women were not allowed to share the same
rotenburo. Almost immediately, the more imag inative public
baths installed rotenburo, so now it is easy to bathe outdoors
right in the middle of the c ity, often in a little bamboo grove,

jack up= liP L l. If~ oshiagem I 1fr f) V.. -c ~ oritateru unfeeling= M (!) ~ v' jo flo flai spigot = t\':: I I jaguchi meule = ~l!\l kigai lather (v.)
= .fij?((l)/1Q ~it J., sekkenno aua o 11111'11 lather ( 11.) = .(j~<l)ia .fekkenno cnva whipped cream =* 1 J "1 7 ') - 1. jacuzli =i'o!!Jll 11 11 all'aburo
I "/'\' 7 - "/ jaktlji sybaritic = tlf;@ t> -tt J., tanno saseru be wobbly= ,I., I? ,I., I? t' ~fum-jura sum pummel = t~ t.:. < wwk11l j!J!ff~.j- J., renda
S llrll tickle = <t'
~ kusuguru I 'I:R <J/iiJ ~ t' 9 kokomyoku shigeki sum

<'

----------------------------------

Mangajin 13

while the s now drifts down.

The rotenburo is the finale to any visit to a
pubic bath. The water in the rote nburo is not as
hot as in the baths inside the building, so bathers
can stay in as long as they like, lulling the mselves
to the edge of consciousness. The water of the
rotenburo is often perfumed with herbs, a diffe rent
o ne each day of the week.
After the bath, you will want to spe nd a few
minutes contemplating the bath 's little garde n,
possibly while s ipping a good Japanese lager from the sake
s hop aro und the corner. Then perhaps it's time for a session
in the bath's massage chair, where a 100 coin slipped into a
slot will send vibrating mechanical fingers up and down your

s pine for five minutes. Then, by all means,

enjoy a platte r of sas himi , which sometimes the
local s ushi s hop will deliver to the bath.
There is inevitable attrition as the old-style
Spartan public baths in the cities fail to
accom m odate the m selves to an affluent
new urban gene ration, which has to be s hown
tha t a visit to a public bath can be a ric her
experie nce than a quic k showe r at home. It is
a job as difficult as re forming video-watc hing
couc h po tatoes into info rmed moviegoers. But the re are
abunda nt signs that the bath indus try has a lot of life left as
it moves to adapt. The bookstores are full of illustrated guides
to the best baths, the Tokyo Bath Association publishes a glossy

Mixed bathing?
Before World War II, people living
in towns in the countryside bathed
together as a matter of course in
one huge village bath, which was
sometimes as large as a tennis
court. When the war ended, the
American Occupational Forces
clomped into Japan with their
muddy boots and, professing horror
that the sexes were bathing happily
together in the same water,
prohibited this entirely natural
community activity. But there are still
some places in the back of Japan' s
beyond that never got the word and
where there is still a single bath
for all comers. It is surprising how
devoid of licentiousness these few
remaining great old baths are,
however. As the rural population
ages, your companions of the bath
in the countryside are likely to be
jolly, voluble grandmothers.
monthly, and in Tokyo there are a
numbe r of bathing c lubs whose
members make an excursion to a ne w
bath every week. It is s till true that
of all countries in the world, Japan
has most successfully managed to
integrate the ritual of the bath into
daily life.
Rick Kennedy, a 20-year resident of
Tokyo. has been raking baths for as long
as he can remember. The website he is
associated with, Tokyo Q (hllp:/lwww.sonet.orjpltokyoql), includes a rundown on
Tokyo's best public baths.
platter = ~

1J fr :b 1t moriawase attrition
genshO licentiousness = h. t.!. I? lj:
-tT ~ midara na koi jolly= Ill.}~\ lj: yoki na
voluble = ~;liiJ.t ~ 1J: hanashi-zuki na

= i~ :'J..'

14 Mangajin

Kings of
Comedv Are

owntown
bg Mal'~ Schillinl

apanese TV comedy, foreig n (and not a few Japanese)

viewers o ften complain, appeals to the lowest common
denomjnator. The gags and skits are dumb, crude, or outright offensive, while the performances are amateurish, with
the comics cracking up at their own jokes.
True, all too true, and yet the kings of Japanese comedy in
the '90s are two aggressively cool dudes who have long affected
disdain for the uncool masses and have built their careers by
discarding the traditional safety nets of their craft- venturing
out before live audiences week after week with only their talent
for improvisation to save them. In the process they have
defined a no-holds-barred style of comedy that recalls Robin
Williams in its free-associating flights of fancy, Richard Pryor
in its trash-talking earthiness, but is, finally, unique to them.
The duo of Matsumoto Hitoshi and Hamada Masatoshi,
known as Downtown, work a lot of g igs that have little to do
with real comedy, but are common status signifiers for successful Japanese comics. Together they have hosted prime-time
infotainment and variety shows and served as TV pitchmen
for a convenience store chain. Separately, each has writte n a
best-selling collection o f comic essays. Hamada, the straight
man of the duo , has starred in TV dramas and cut two millionse lling pop records with super-producer Komuro Tetsuya.
These extracurricular activities have been handsomely
rewarded. In 1996 Matsumoto had the dubious honor of
paying more in income tax than any other entertainer in Japan:
263.4 million. Hamada was second on the list at 236.4
million. Though Hamada feigned embarrassment to the press
when their tax payments were made public, saying that he and
Matsumoto were just " two klutzes who couldn't find any
loopholes," their'rankings were widely recognized proof that
Downtown reigns as the king of not only comedy, but of the
Japanese entertainment world.
Although raking in more yen than most of its colleagues,
disdain= fiJI keil!etsu I ~1fT J;. sagesumi pitchman = CM .Y

16 Mangajin

v/

Downtown is still do ing the heavy lifting of the profession:

live stand-up comedy. That makes them unusual indeed among
Japan's comic e lite, who spend most of their on-air time as
highly paid tarento ("talents," or celebrities) on variety shows
only ta ngentially re lated to comedy and have long since
distanced themselves from their stand-up roots.
Downtown, however, carefully nurtures those roots and
regards stand-up as its raison d 'etre. Instead of a funky underground club, its main venue is a weekly show called Caki no
Tsukai Ya Arahende!! (7i of 0){~ It'-? <l0 C:> A../v t:, "This Is No
Job for Kids!!"). Debuting on a Kansai station in October 1989
and moving to the national NTV network in October 1991 ,
Caki has long been the most unusua l and- its many fanatically loyal viewers wou ld claim-the hippest comedy show
on Japanese television.
Their genius was nurtured in Amagasaki, a suburb of Osaka.
where Matsumoto and Hamada were born in 1963. Although
the boys went to the same e lementary school, they did not
become friends until they entered junior high. Matsumoto was
hardly a diligent stude nt-he later reminisced that he spent
more of his adolescence in coffee shops than classrooms-but
he was already a budding comic: his stagehand father often
took the family to perfonnances of manzai, mkugo, and comic
stage plays, and the young Matsumoto eagerly memorized the
gags and routines.
After graduating from high school, Matsumoto was determined to become a comedian ("Comedy is what saved me ,"
he later said. " Making people laugh was the reason for my
existence ... [Without it] I'd probably be a middle-aged man
selling superballs"). Hamada, on the other hand, toyed with
the idea of becoming a motorboat racer. After failing the exam
for the motorboat-racing association's school , Hamada
happened to run into his old friend, who persuaded him to
apply for the training school of Yoshimoto Kogyo, the Kansai's

shii emu taremo klutz =

c.' 1.: doji budding= ~~ til L TJ' Itt.:. me o dashi-kaketa

biggest talent agency. Hamada agreed, figuring that by going

back to school he could goof off for another year before
getting a real job. The boy!> were accepted and began their
career!> a!> comics.
It wasn't obvious at first that tho'>e career!> would be brilliant. After their first-ever television appearance. host
Yokoyama Yasushi-then one of the most popular comedians
in the country-stormed over and told them they knew nothing about the an of man:.ai. ''You guys are ju~t a couple of
punks talking." he sneered. Given this experience. it was not
surprising that the boys never auached them,elves a~ apprentices to a senior comedian. then s tandard practice. Matsumoto
picked the name Downtown out of a magazine because it was
g ive n as the English translation of shitamachi. the pre-modern
working-class heart of the city, w here entertainment for the
urban masses first tlourished.
T he Kansai region. where Yoshimoto Kogyo had three theaters, is where Downtown got its s tart. performing for bored
housewivc!- who often paid more attention to their hox lunches
than the chatte r on stage. Eventually. however. Downtown
developed a s trong following among teenage girls who liked
their looks (M atsumoto. in particular. has since developed a
reputation as a womanizer). their stylishly casual fashion'>. and.
most of all. their brand of comedy. which may oca'>~ionally
have been crude but was always ultra-cool.
B y 1987, they had their first regular show, an afternoon
program on a local station that featured Downtown's stage act
at a landmark Osaka theater. In 1988 they began appearing as
regulars on their first Tokyo TV s how. "Re11ren!! Tokimeki

Kurabu" ("Passionately!! Heartthrob C lub") and a radio show,

"Rolfe Yan Sutli No. I ("Lotte Young Star No. I"). ln October 1989. caki no Tsukai Ya Arahende!!" premiered. Downtown had finally made it to the big time.
Airing at II PM on Sundays, Gaki begins with a short comic
sketch. In one, an off-camera Matsumoto solemnly discusses
the dangers of parking without a concrete wheel stop, as
Hamada slowly, inexorably backs a car through the walls of
an apartment-building set that has been constructed in a real
parking lot. The panicked occupants. including a dentist and
nu r'>e fornicating in
lfttt it ztl?
the dentist's chair.
Monzoi (it :t) is a style of comedy
e~cape unharmed.
involving a duo------a straight man (tsukkom1)
but after Hamada
and a clown (boke)-exchanging witty
parks his car and
dialogue. Although it has been popular
calmly exits. it
throughout the nation during its long
seems to explode in
history, manzai is chiefly associated with
a roar of flames.
the Kansai region, which includes O saka,
Thi~. we see from
Kyoto, and Kobe.
Hamada's startled
expression, wasn't
in the script. Then Matsumoto s trolls on camera w ith a canary-eating look on his face: the explosion- made by igniting
a ring of powder around the parked vehicle- was a practical
joke on Hamada.
Following that sketch comes the main event of the
30- minute show: Appearing on stage before a live audience.
M at~umoto and Hamada essentially wing it for the rest of the
(continued on page 81)

CALL FOR LESS

JAPAN
$0.33/MIN.
24 HOURS A DAY 7 DAYS A WEEK
FOR MORE INFO CALL

TEL: 800-818-6600
310-979-3162
N

ellrork E

nhanced T

echnologies. Inc.

http://www. net internct.net/- nad ia

Mangajin 17

Downtown
(cominuedfrom page 17)

program, relying only on viewer postcards drawn at random

from a box for inspiration.
This, as Matsumoto insists, may sound easier than dreaming
up routines or rehearsing skits, but it isn't. "Young guys who
want to be comics tell me they want to do improv like Downtown. I say 'go ahead and try it," but they can't do it; they're
just two guys standing around talking."
After working together for so long, Matsumoto and Hamada
are completely in ync with each other's comic rhythms,
creating a ceaseles fl ow of wisecracks, put-downs, and freeassociating stories that may appear out of the ether, but are often
hilarious in their spot-on timing and off-the-wall inventiveness.
The one doing most of the free-associating is Matsumoto.
A master of improvisation, Matsumoto can instantly create fully
realized characters, from a fairylike creature called Exciting to
a resolute turd which refuses to be flushed. Playing himself,
Matsumoto is possessed of an infinite variety of comic attitudes.
from Jack-Benny-like foppishness to Eddie-Murphy-like aggressiveness, switching from one to another with an abruptness that
itself is a source of laughs.
Though ostensibly the straight man. Hamada is as much an
actor as reactor, constantly prodding his panner to new heights
of outrageousness. With his boyishly round face, Hamada looks
like a cute kid in a grown man's body. But there is nothing
childish about his comic attack. Unlike fSllkkomi, who live up
to their names (tsukkomu literally means to thrust or shove) by
constantly- and predictably- hitting their panners upside their
heads, Hamada's favored weapon is his tongue, which is as fast
and sharp as any in Japanese show business. At the same time.
he is a gifted physical comedian who can get laughs by fran-

tically leaping, gazelle-like. across the stage or by squatting, his

back to the audience, in a heap of feigned embarrassment.
During the ir improv sessions on Gaki, Downtown is not playing the assigned roles of boke and tsukkomi so much as simply
playing-with words. personas, reality itself. Mentioning a contestant who had won a banana-eating contest on a recent TV
special, Matsumoto conjured up the image of a human banana.
" If you stepped on him, you'd slip," he said. "And the insides
would come :.quining out." Or once. out of thin air. he began
spinning the tale of an imaginary surfing expedition to New
Zealand, during which he rescues a local boy with a high fever
by riding him to the doctor's on his surfboard. The laughs came
from Matsumoto's seeming obliviousness to Hamada's skeptical
snorts, mocking questions. and remon trating raps on the head,
as Matsumoto blithely told one outrageous lie after another.
This style of free-form humor, which respects no boundaries
or taboos. may have become Downtown's comic signature, but
it was not always popular. When they started the show in 1989,
ratings were abysmal. Even the studio audience was sitting o n
its hands: used to the broad, obvious gags of so many Japanese
TV comics, they didn' t know what to make of these two speedrapping madmen. But instead of changing their act, Matsumoto
and Hamada persisted-and succeeded in educating the audience to appreciate their brand of humor. Five years after its stan ,
the show's ratings had passed the 20 percent mark and Matsumoto
was being proclaimed hi generation's comic genius.

Mark Schilling 's book, The Encyclopedia of Japanese Pop Culture, will be published in April by Weatherhi/1. This article is an
edited excerpt from that book.

turd = lf"t !IH' f!ll gesu-yaro foppi;,hncss = 1<\ JfJI. t) kidori I "\'- -+T kiza gazelle-like= ff +! Jv Q) .1: ? 1.: ga:em no yo ni squirt out = ( i&: W~ ~- 7-.
~:IX Q) b Q) 7J{j Plt ~ lfl L ""[ ( J., {ekitai ya pesuto-jo no mo1iO ga) fukidashitl' kum remonstrate= v' ~ t> J., isamem blithely 111-ir!i 1.: kaikatsu ni I j!
j\ "t' heiki de abysmal = ~ ii t.: :f ~ > kyoku1a11 ni wami Ill fii f.. sairei 11a
Mangajin 81

vocabulary summary
From Manga Shorts, Q. 19
~M

JJ.8

ftll
lfit.;\.1'

'f-1'F ~
r~~

R.fftl!f

~~t 1.>
lj: ~It lj: '-''

!I: :Ill.>
J.lf.A."tl.>

t~~i'f
1i~

$L..l&rl-

t>tPT

(1) I1-t!: 1.>

J:l~

7:!
t!!:~ .:

(1) fttf

!iJJ~Tl.>

kamigata
Jura
giri
omotai
tezukuri
zangyo
mitSLtmori-sho
kakeru
nasakenai
kaneru
konyii suru
toriaezu
shakkin
moshiko mi
wakasu
noboseru
gencho
kuji
setai-nushi
nokemono
dokumi suru

hairstyle
bath
duty/obligation
heavy
handmade
remaining work
written estimate/quote
break/chip off
pathetic/disgraceful
combine with
purchase (v.)
for starters
loan (11.)
application
boillheat (water)
feel dizzyllightheaded
hallucinato ry sounds
lots/straws
head of the household
excluded person
test for poison (v.)

From After Zero, p. 29

JJtit!!

~il"tl.>
1fi:klj:
~~
~~T'->

1&:~
~~

~irt

~1J

'*~

~IYJ"tl.>

*-?
tttt

lli*
~~

J.l~

J!J:If.f
Jtif
r", 1

-~d(H.:

rHt-; lj:
-?;t~

i*~
.Q~
tU~

~fffii

!e.'fiT 1.>
~

- l;JJ
~Jl:Tl.>

-tiFx <

13-"tl.>
~tll

f1J(J9 1.:

AD

genchi
haken suru
jiidai na
shippei
hassei sunt
higai
moyo
zenmetsu
zenryoku
gen 'in
kyiimei suru
tatsu
moto-moto
jindai
cho
oyobu
seifu
sekinin
tou
shidai ni
gai-teki na
tsumari
hoshii
nom in
shiigeki
kabuka
kyiiraku suru
teki
issai
kinshi suru
aitsugu
keikoku suru
sochi
geki-teki ni
jinko

the locale/spot
dispatch (v.)
serious/major
disease
appear/break out
damage (n.)
appearance
total destruction/loss
full strength
cause (n.)
investigate
[time] passes
originally
serious
trillion
reach/extend/amount to
government
respons ibility
question (v.)
gradually
external
in other words
guarantee
farmers
attack (n.)
stock price
fall rapidly
enemy
entirely
prohibit
follow one after another
warn
device
dramatically
population

- <:"tl.>
fl'RH11!t.:
~1: ,.,\';

JEf1>

-? t~

-'f,IJI,Jjl
t~1

.1;1.>

1t11iiRT 1.>
li'J'T
J rjJ\rj

jjlfVt"tl.>
{Uti

UMtt

t 1 't 1.>
if-.::.- t r:

If,( Jill

~ft"t 1.>

i.!l!.l.:
)iL t1.1.>

hlcln"t 1.>

il'i ;t :t 1.>

itten suru
himitsuri ni
in bel
shotai
ISIIIIIOri
fushigi
ubau
SCirl/
kakusaku suru
}'1/fi/SII
no uhau
tasse i suru
fukusllli
baisho
mo keru
to~hi -goto ni
genri
henka suru
gyak11 ni
a rent
hr}Chi sum
kie-saru

suddenly change
secret I}
plot/conspiracy
true identity/nature
intention
mysterious/odd
steal
leave
scheme (1.)
forgive
know-how
attain/achieve
revenge
reparations
make a profit
year by year
principle
c hange (v.)
on the other hand
become ruined
abandon
disappear/vanish

From Minori Densetsu

R.ilfl L.
~cJ~
.:.~"t

J:-f(l)

1!\lffi
-~5}

*i:f4
L. (1) <
~Of

hi'iflll

:t:3i:Hf~

-1' ~~) 11.ill

'L t? ill~
;c~

11 ') ~-t

i't if( lj:

r~ t> '-'

~"'~"?

fi11P.E"tl.>
-1' illt t)

JlHe

'iJ"((l?-f~

1/fif-

f'F*

~Tl.>

rr1.~

-it~
~~.t
<fi:~
~~i?t>l.>
~L.f:~ ..Jlllj:

~1

ifJ~\

mitoshi
kiji
konasu
yoso no
irai
tobun
kytlryii
shinogu
yachin
tain o
ogesa
fudosan-ya
tachi11oki
jodan
hikkom
kichii na
shimeru
aisats11
I OSl/11 suru
fuwatari
johatm
mo te-a.wbu
keiji
sakka
tsuba suru
koi
hanayome
s/111 gyiJ

I!0/1111011()
akirameru
ISIItSIIIIIU
bokuto/su na
mayou
yllki

67

o utlook
article
handle/write
from other places
request (11.)
immediate future
salary
bear up/manage
rent (11.)
no npayment/arrearage
exaggerated
realtor/developer
eviction
joke
move/ relocate
precious
c lose ( v.)
greetings/formalities
go bankrupt
default ron a loan]
evaporate/disappear
toy with/take advantage of
revelation
author
spit (v.)
act (n.)
bride
training
real thing
give up
envelop/enfold
na'lve/unsophist icated
vacillate/be undecided
courage

The Vocabulary Summary is taken from material appearing in I his issue of Mangajin. It 's 1101 always possible to give the complete
range of meanings for a word in this limited space. so our "deji11ilions" are based 011 the usage of the word in a particular story.

Mangajin 93

Hyaku-nen
Senryu

[D

Woman 1: t:. ~a.,

a.,~ "t' ~ 0

ato de

Jii
(interj.)

ne.

later (colloq.)

"Well see ou later." (PL2)

Men: B -j o

0.

~ffi.&*

yes/right

Coda Yoshiie

" YeR..''

Noren: 17:.

9'}
Otoko

(partially hidden) Onna

Women

Men

this group is probably on a company-sponsored trip to a

hot-springs resort. Though mixed bathing in such places
was common in the past, in mosl cases today, the bath
areas for men and women are separate.

fillt.::

.:

onaji

""'""'
""'

.."

same

.."e
..

.s::

Cl)

.s::

-5

1l

Woman 2: -t--7

.s::

"'
c

' C:

but

00
c:

>..

""'
{:

"

"
2""
en
li'

~
.:
c:

!
.:

'0

i.i:

'B
c:
~

..
1:!
~

.E

c:

<
.:!

:c
~

>-

;8

"
0

lv

t.:: -t> 7j: It\

11

ja nai

won't go (explan.) is not

......."

Q.

~o

ne.

-f-?

'b

so

mo

(J) 0
110.

(?)

" But I' ll bet today is one da he won' t be

tha t wa ." (PL2)

.:

"

J:
yo

today only as for that way (emph.)

\, \ 7'.1' 7j: \, \
ikcmai

UJ

i'l

so

"t' 'b "t 0 f.! It !;i

Demo kro dake wa

:0

ieba

that way if say that way (is-emph.) (colloq.)

" Now that ou mention it,~" (PL2)

.2
;;

'Z"'

'-'xl! -f?

So

I~ )lt
~ if
..t.
11
~

--:1

....

IJ~

f)

.:r ~~

'-"

kimete-ru is a contraction of kimete iru, from kimeru

("decide"), but this use is based on the idiomatic expression kimatte iru. meaning ''[something] is 'right on"' or
''lsomeone] looks dashing/cool"; - de kimete iru implies
"makes himself look cool/dashing with - ."
ieba is a conditional " ir' form of iu ("say"), so so ieba is
literally, "if you ~ay that" - now that you say that/now
that you mention it."
so wa/mo ikanai is an expression like "that is out of the
question'' or "can' t very well be that way."

Yano:

L..t..:

(J)?

Do shita no?
what did

(?)

''What' s the matter?" (PL2)

Ki:a

otoko I

flashy/showy man

lffl t:.

onaji l1mi
same

hair

Jura -agari demo

bath just after even

( ~~-=f)

(Tamiko)
(name)

The cool_, nasby guy

Even after a hot bath
No hair out of lace. - Tamiko
do shita no= do shita no (''What happened?/What's
wrong?/What's the matter?").
-agari is a noun suffix meaning "fresh from/just after"; it is
essentially the noun form of the verb agaru in its meaning
"be ftnished/come to an end."

Mangajin 19

~ E3 (ctHAPPY
Kyowa Happy
Matsuura Seiji

1~5mii l) LJ

Valentine's Day in Japan is marked by the phenomenon

of "duty chocolate," as we have explained before in Mangajin ("A
Taste of Culture," No. 24). It's a time for women to give gifts of
chocolate to men- especially for "office ladies" to give to male
co-workers and bosses. The majority of these gifts have absolutely no romantic feelings behind them but are merely cases of
Ols feeling obligated to give chocolate to every man in their
office so no one will feel dejected.

~:

;-> v/71 :;,.- 7- 3 ::1

Barentain
Choko
500
~ 1000 fil
Gohyaku kora sen en

OL 1:

Valentine's Chocolate 5~1000

{E:~ ii'VII ' II' ft t .. .
Zenbu

kawaii

kedo .. .

all

are cute

but

''They're all cute, but ..

OLI: .:Pf'J:I)

(J)jj -!Jt v'v'

tezukuri no ho ga ii

l: 'l"~v'?

/v
n

ja nai?

handmade (compar.) good (explan.) isn' t it?

" wouldn't handmade ones be better?"

(PL2)
OL 2: i- 7
t.l.o
So

ne.

that way (is-colloq.)

" You' re ri ht." (PL2)

no ho ga is used in making comparisons. It is attached

to the greater of the two items being compared- here the
comparison being between handmade and ready-made.
~

OLs: liv', -'f 3 ::I! IH', c' 7-t"o

Hai.

choko.

Hai,

dozo.

here

chocolate

here

please

' 'Here, have some chocolate! Here, have

one." (PL2)
hai is often used when holding something out for someone
to take or look at, like "here."
diJzo is used to mean "please," but in the sense of granting
a favor or request, rather than asking one.

G] c o-worker:

.:n -=>"C ~7-3 ::1

Kore tte
itachoko
this

~ 5-}~tt.:
o

waketa

as for bar chocolate (obj .) divided

t!lt L:'r iJ: '-'' (!) ?

dake

)a nai
no?
only/just is not (explan.- ?)

" Isn' t this 'ust a chocolate bar

up?!" (PL2)
OL: ~l.!R 7J: lv t! ir G i-tt't" + 71!!
Giri na n da

lit

kara sore de jiibun!!

duty (is-explan.) because with that enough

" It's a duty, so that's eno ugh!"

" It's only duty chocolate, so what do you

ex ect!" (PL2)
tte (a colloquial equi valent of various quotative forms)

often serves to mark the topic, like "as for - ."

sore de jt7bun (lit., ''[it' s] enough with that") is an expres-

sion for "that's enough/that's good enough."

20 Mangajin

~ E3 ~ctHAPPY
Kyo wa Happy

m)ifittL )t_; Matsuura Seiji

Title:

~ -1? ~ lv

tr G

Ai-clum

Kara

(name-dim.) from

From Ai-chan

[!]

E nvelope: ffi'Ptt

""-

Tanaka-kun e
(name-fam.) to

To Tanaka-kun
-kun is a more familiar/informal equivalent of -san ("Mr./
Ms.), used mainly with male peers or subordinatesthough in a corporate setting, superiors use it with subordinates of both sexes.

Tanaka: it; -::> ! ' -1? ~ lv iJ' G t.!!

A!

Ai-chan

kara da!

(illlerj.) (name-dim.) from

is

"Ooh! It's from Ai-chan!" (PL2)

[i] Co-worker:

t ~,

i3 Jt; ~.:!!
o-saki ni.

Ja,

(interj.) (bon.)-fm;t/ahead

" Well, good nighL" (PL2)

o-saki ni is short for o-saki ni shitsurei shimasu. lit. 'T m
being rude by leaving before you." It is a standard way to
say good-bye when leaving before others.

Note: :::.Jl)

~~~

Kono
this

:::.angyo

~?

t 1.-'"f!
yattoite!

remaining work do-(request)

~0

i31il.-'!
Onegai!
please

Ai.
(name)

Please finish up this work! Ai. (PL2)

Document: J.Ul'i !iMirsumori-sho
~

E1--------~.
~
~

~
,...
.0

.:

Estimate/ uote
Tanaka:

< +--::> !
Kuso!
(expletive)

"Damn!" (PL I)
:::.cm gyo (literally "remaining work") implies working late
in order to finish a job that didn't get done during regular
work hours. An element of urgency can usually be
as~umed. though not always .
yauoite is a contraction of yatte oite, the -te fonn of yaru
("do") plus the -te fonn of oku ("setlleavelput in place).
Oku after the -te form of a verb can mean to go ahead and
do the action.
onegai is from negau. "to request," and is often used as
an equivalent of "please."' In this use, the honorific prefix
o- i obligatory: the PL3 fonn is onegai shimasu, so
onegai by itself feels quite informal.
mitswnori = "estimate/quote,.. and the suffix -sho means
"document... so mitsumori-sho refers to a written estimate/
quote/bid.

Mangajin 21

al~2l~B!~

Title:

:::1

Choko

Duty Chocolate

Ponpoko Shacho
'i f..., '5 t. 1..' t.> s Hashimoto lwao

+3

~J.lll.

Giri

giri means "duty/obligation," and choko is short for

chokoreto, the Japanese rendering of the English word
"chocolate."

OJ

OL: l\1'
Hai,
here

-~
gm
duty

+3

:::1 0

choko.
chocolate

''Here. It's duty chocolate." (PL2)

FX: ;f-1
Poi
(effect of tossing the box)

FX: "?J.>~
Tsururi
(effect of box slipping out of his hand)
FX:

:::1.]..

Goto

Plol!
Man: !> -:> !::
Otto

.;

"Oops."

""~

.g

...'5

..

""
e
::0

OL: ib-!
A!
(interj.)

.."t
..

-5

"Ob no!"

-g

Arrow:

~Itt,:

Kak.eta

"'
.E

Broken

'I:

c:

kaketa is the plain/abrupt past fonn of kakeru ("break/

chip off').

-;;;
c:

OL 1:

"'"',.,"0
...""',;

~J.lll.

'Av't.:.

Giri

kaila

lv~T -:> "C -o

n desu

lie.

obligations (obj.) broke/failed (explan.) (quote)

"The sa he broke his obli ations!"

(PL2)

I'd:~

""

ltl'd:v'o

.g~

Nasakenai.

.c

"What a dis race!"

...'5,.,

pathetic/disgraceruI

-o

g::
He,

(interj.)

"il..

:E

Mo

::0

Q,

anymore

u"'::
-o
f:l,

..

!')

""'I:
<
~

'5
E

:c

no kuse ni

ne.

in spite of being (colloq.)

ikichli ikenai
can' t go on living

wa

ne.

(emph.) (colloq.)

" How can he go on living?" (PL2)

"~

man

" Really? He should be ashamed of

himselfl" (PL2)
t,- ~~"S~ibv'ltl'd:v' ::b
tlo

=
-g

otoko

I,\

I
g:

1'1~

.n
l,\5
0~
4.135

22 Mangajin

kaita is the abrupt past form of kaku ("neglect/fail in"), so

giri o kaita is the past form of giri o kaku, meaning to
" fail in one's social duties/obligations." The humor is in
the misunderstanding between giri-choko ga kaketa ("the
duty chocolate broke''-as seen in the previous frames)
and giri o kaita.
~ no kuse ni means "in spite of being ~ ," here essentially
implying " he did such a despicable/outrageous thing in
spite of being a man! He should be ashamed of himself!"
ikichli ikenai is a colloquial contraction of ikire wa ikenai,
("can' t go on living"), from ikiru ("live") and ikenai
("can't go," negative potential form of iku, "go").

~~~2}~~~
Ponpoko Shacho

_-_g

Title: - {i
lsseki

'j: G '5 C. \.' t.> 13 Hashimot o lwao

NichO

one >lone two birds

Two Birds with One Stone

OL: ~ -, "' < b

sa.

iku

.1: -!

yo!

wa

(interj.) will go (fern.) (emph.)

''OK, here goes!" (PL2)

Man I : i:l? !
.ff i ~ iJ'o
01

Mame-maki ka.

(inrerj.) bean-scauering (?)

"Oh! It's IIUlme-maki!" (PL2)

mame-maki takes place on Setsubun , the last day of the
year on the traditional Japanese solar calendar, around
February 3. On this day, beans-usually soybeans-are
scattered inside and outside the house to drive demons
away. The same ritual is performed at many offices as well.

!J: -f c -

OL: .t-3 t:
Oni

sora.

wa

demons as for outside

< r;t ? f:>- o

h..
Fuku

wa

uchii.

fortune a:. for inside

' 'Demons ou-u-t! Good fortune i-in!"

Man 2: 177!
/rete!

" Ouch!"
Man 1:

l'l"''

Ha ha ha!

oni wa soto.fuku wa uchi is the customary chant when

scattering beans in mame-maki.
ire (with the re repeated) is a variation of itai ( ..ouch").

Man].: 7- 3

:::1 ~- Jv?

Choko

boru?

"Choco-balls?"
O L: ;<v/7'1 ;..Barenrain
Valemines

;lfttl"Cl.>

(J)

.1: !

to kanere-ru

no

rot

with combined (explan.) (emph.)

" I' m combinin with Valentine's." (PL2)

ih'
t t:> :&~ 1- 3 ;:J t.!. t.l' c, !
A.

mochi giri

choko da kara!

(intcrj.) of course duty chocolate i\ because

"Oh of course, it' s just d uty chocolate."

(PL2)
kanete-ru is a contraction of kanere iru ("is combined
with"), from kaneru ("combine with" or "double as"').
moe hi is a slang abbreviation of mochiron ("of course").

Mangajin 23

~@~@

I)

~~;n~~~~~~
Yarikuri Company
by !;1: L> t t 1.' b s Hashimoto lwao

Title: :f!!!:,l.
Mushin
detachment/withou t mind

Without Mind

:IJ
1

in ordinary u~e. mushin (lit.. "without mind/mindless") refers to ''detachment.'' including the detachment of being completely absorbed in
an acti vity to the point of being oblivious to other things; in Zen Buddhism, 11'111Shi11 is one of the goals of meditation-attaining a state of
complete naturalness in which one is freed from the mind's usual habit~
of discriminative thinking.

Monk: t.J- ':/

Kii!

" Kaa!"
Sound FX: I!;,.
Pishi

Whack! (effect of "awakening stick" hitting trainee' s

shoulder)
kii is one of several shouts customarily uttered when thrusting/swinging/striking at someone or something with a weapon or tool. Other
common shouts are ei! and yii!
in Zen Buddhism. a flat stick known as a kyosaku or keisaku ("cautionary/awakening stick"), about four feet long and slightly wider at
the tip, is used to help those performing zazen ("sitting meditation")
stay alert and to keep them from nodding off.

Monk: ?!lli,L
Mushin

1.: 7j: .0
ni naru

(J)

110

.ot> o

ja.

without mind become (cxplan.)

"You must become wit hout mind." (PL2)

T rainee: '' 1 o
Hoi.
ycs/OK

?l.'i: ~'

c 1:
1.,

t.t

"
""
~

-")

11

"Yes sir." (PL3)

11i marks the result of the verb 11aru ("become") so 11i naru as a unit is
equivalent to the English "become."
ja is used typically by o lder males as a substitute for da ("is/are"), so
110 ja is equivalent to the explanatory no da.

Monk: !i-,
Ho,

.::.v'-:>

!i

koitsu

wa

;fl!r;,(., l:lj:? t .0 lj: - o

mushin ni nattom
nli.

(interj.) this fellow/guy as for without mind has become (colloq.)

"Aha this one has become without mind." (PL2)

hiJ is an interjection showing interest/mild surprise, like "Really?/
Well. well/Hmm.''
koitsu is a contraction of korw yatsu ("this guy/fellow''), a rather rough
way of referring to another person.
natloru is a contraction of natte oru, which is equivalent to natte iru
("has become"), from naru ("become"). Men in positions of authority/
respect often use oru in place of iru for-te iru forms.
the contraption on the wall is a pachinko ("pinball") machine.
some Japanese corporations send their employees to a temple for a brief
period of zazen training as part of their orientation when frrst joining the
company or at various other transitional points in their careers. The
trainees in this strip would appear to be of this kind. rather than men who
expect to become monks.

24 Mangajin

~~~~

~ ';!!/ !R (===::~ c::=a~~i:

Yarikuri Kanpanii
by li ~ tJ t

L1 h

s Hashimoto lwao

Title: 1 :;,-

~, ;;

$' -

lmiineuo

The Intern~
Yarikuri: i?.t-::>C:
Chotto
a liule

lifi"h' -::> f.:.

takalwua

-?1? 1:

'b

kedo.

uchi

mo

de

was high/expensive but my house at too/also

1 /7- :.f, ;;

llf). l...f..: /vf!o

o kiinnl shita n da.

lntiinelto
Internet

Manag~:

Itt',

(obj.) purchased (explan.J

"It was a bit e~nsivc, but we bQ!!ght [a computer

to et on the Internet at our hou too." (PL2)
U-o
Hii.
(interj.)

" Well well." (PL2)

..;
~

..2 '---~-J.-

J"
~

e"'

-=

~
~

r--------~

takalwtta is lhe plain/abrupt past form of wkai ("is high/expensive").

uchi can s imply be a generic term for "house,'' but in many contexts it
specifically means "my/our house." Uchi de= "at our ho use,'' and
uchi de nw = "at our house, too.
konyll shita is the past form of konyii suru ("purchase''): o marks
lllliilletto as the direct object, so he literally says "[we I purchased an/
the Inte rnet."
lw is an interjection showing interest/mild surprise, like "Really?/
Well, weU/Hmm.''

Yarikuri:

~"( , .:.;It

Sate,

l"
kore de

(i ntcrj.) I hi'

t.:.7> t
tokoro to

L'7>kl;;
irmma

with variou..,all kinds of pla~cs with

::1/$'7~"("~7.>

-f'
~o.

l.ontaklllo

dekiru

~ontacl

can do (emph.)

"Well then,n ow I can contact all kinds of places."

(PL2)
.wte i~ frequently used to signal that the speaker is about to begin
something.
kore de is literall y "with this ... often meaning "now."
iromw is a contraction of imiro na (''various/diverse").
konta~uto i~ fro m the English word "contact.'' ;md konwkuto dekirtt is
the po tential {"can/be able to") form of komakwo suru {"conJact"').
;:o is a rough. masculine particle for emphasis.

Yarikuri: i 'f,
Mazu
fir;t

t IJ th .i 'f ...
toriaezu ...
for ~tarters

" Let's see for starters ..."

toriaezu introduces what will be done as an immediate measure pending further action, "for now/for starters/as a stopgap."

Yarikuri:

H\'1.: (/) JI1 L.. _i6h t.3.o

~'7>1v~

t:::..7> 1.:

iromw

wkom ni slwkkin

'.triou.J;tll ~md' of pl;~ce'

"it'~ application~

Ill

lmtn'

110

miJshikomi da.

for applicauon

i'

to all kinds of place~ for loans ...

" I ' II apply to a ll kinds of places for loans." (PL2)

.1/wl.l.in is wiucn with kanji meaning "borrow" and "mo ney" and is a
noun for "borrowing money/taking o ut a loa n" or for the re~ulting
"loan/deb!."
miishi~omi i~ a noun form of the verb miishikomu ("apply").

Mangajin 25

~ 'L~ ,'0~~ ''Silji

I s h ii H i saichi Sensh U

SELECTED WORKS
of ISHII HISAICHI
The Over-Heated Bath
The family in this manga lives in a home
with an old-fashioned tub. Though some
Japanese baths today are filled from the
start with hot water, the traditional
method has been to fill the tub with cold
water which then circulates through an
attached heater until it reaches the right
temperature. With older model heaters
that lack thermostatic controls, it's not
unusual for the water to become overheated. Bathers first soap up and rinse
off outside the tub and then get in to
soak, so the tub itself is filled only once
each night, with each member of the
family using the same' water in turn.

Mangajin 26

Motber: ~ '~:> 'l:> o .: C:,

~-IJ'Ivo
b-1;> L..l ~ ~
bo
akan.
Wakashi-sugi ya
wa.
(exclarn.) as for this won't do healed e~~:cessively is (fem. colloq.)

Achichi.

Kora

"'ucb! This won't do. It's too bot." (PL2-Kansai)

achi (with the chi repeated) is a colloquial variation of atsui ("hot") used as an exclamation when one is burned/scalded.
she is speaking in Kansai dialect. Kora =Icon wa ("as for this"), and aJwn = ikenai (..[it] won' t do''). Ya =do ("is/are"), so
wakluhi-sugi ya "is overheated."
wakashi-sugi is from wakasu ("boil/heat [water]"), and the suffiJI -sugi (from sugiru. "pass/surpass"), which implies that
the action occurs "excessively."

Mother :

+ -J

-? :;

So

ya!

that way

is

'7 + (J) 7 A 'A :::1 ~.: 9G ~.:

Uchi no aho-musuko ni saki ni
my/our dumb/idiot son to

first

}.. t:, L.. -c

hairashite
make enter/take-and

WIImiJl

"l?.t:?t'

&?

L..t..:'? o

yukagen

chodo

yo

shitaro.

hot water temperature (obj.) just/exactly good/fine shall make

''That's it! I'll make m

(PL2-K)
Sound FX: ~ /

ood-for-nothin son et in first and make the water temperature just right."

Pon (effect o f pounding fist into open palm upon being struck by a bright idea)
soya= soda (literally, ..(it] is so").
saki ni mod ifying a verb means "[do the action) first/before someone else."
hairashite =hairasete, which is the -te form o f the causative hairaseru ("make/let enter") from hairu ("enter," or in
the case of a bath, "take"). The ni a fte r aho-musuko marks who will be "caused/made" to do the action.
yu ="hot water" and kagen ="extent/degree," so yukagen refers to the temperature of the heated bath water.
chodo yo= chOdo yoku, the adverb form o f chodo ii ("just righC). Shitaro =shire yaro, the volitional ("let's/1 shall")
form o f shite yaru , from suru ("do/make").

Mother: -

iJZ- , 1:3 7 c $t 1.: J... t) ~ I;U

t. -

lppei-,

o-furo

saki ni

hairinaJUJr~.

(name)

(hoo.)-balh

fii'St

take

"lppei, you take your bath first!" (PL2-3-K)

~: ~ c"t'
Ato de

"'"'
ii

.l: o A,,
yo.

/rna,

later with is good/OK (emph.) now

t!Hi
~nkyo

study

I.:.J :;~"C -0 c.:'? ~ lvt!.o

ni notte-ru tokoro na n da.
on am riding

place

(explan.)

"Later is OK. Just now I'm riding high on study."

''That's OK. I'D go later. I'm reaDy &ettin& Into studying ri&bt now." (PL2)
hairinahare is a dialect form that comes from hairinasare, in which hairi- is the stem form of hairu ("enter" or "take
[a bath]") and -nasare is the pla in/abrupt command form of the PL4 verb ending -nasaru. In spite of its hono rific
origins, the politeness level of -nahare is essentially the same as -nasai, the "standard Japanese" PL2-3 command form
that derives from the same root.
- de ii (lit., "is good/OK wi th") is an expressio n meaning "- is adequate/acceptable/OK."
- ni notte (i)ru is from noru ("ride") and implies "being carried along by [something)" in a positive/enjoyable
sense - "riding high on - /really getting into - ."
tolcoro literally refers to a "physical place/location," but used idiomatically after a verb it can mean ''just now [did/
am doing/will do the action]."

Mother : 0'/rlv o
Akan.

t-J

Q)(f-\:tt..:

C:,L..

b o

ilJI.i11i

Mo

noboseta

raslri

wa.

Genchii

1Jf f*J.:;t.O o
ga

kikoeru.

won't do already became overheated it seems (colloq.) hallucinatory sound(s) (subj.) can be heard

" Oh, no! I seem to have already gotten overheated . I hear hallucinatory sounds."

" Oh no! The hot bath must' ve alread

one tom head. I'm hearin

th~"

(PL2-K)

noboseta is the plain/abrupt past form of noboseru, which means "have the blood rush to one's head" or "feel dizzy/
lightheaded." She is speaking of the fee ling one gets from sitting too long in a hot bath- though in this case she
apparently concludes she got it j ust fro m c hecking the bath.
speakers in Kansai often shorte n rashii to rashi. The word is used when making a conjecture based on something
hea rd, seen, or read-+ "is apparently/seems to be that - ."

Mangajin 27

7 :J

t.t fv fJ' o

Nan da ?

Kuji

1UJn/w.

what is it? lots/straws something like

Ishii Hisaichi SenshU

SELECTED WORKS
of ISHII HISAICHI

Father : f.t fv t!.?

"What i it? [Doing] a thing like drawing straws."

"What're you drawing straws for?'' (PL2)
he speaks in inverted fragments. In full and in normal order, his sentence
would be something like Kuji nanlcn tsukutte, nan da?

Fathe r : -) i-t"? f.t i lv t.:. 19> ? t.:. ~ f.t "' iJ'o

Umasfi-na
ta~ty-looking

manp1

ja nai ka.

bean paste sweets

is it not?

"Aren' t these tast _looking manjii!" (PL2)

;1?-?, ~"((j:
.:.lt'-:?i? o
sate wa

A!,

koitm-ra.

(interj.) fl] betldarcsay these/you guys

"Oh~uys!"

(PL2)

manjii can range from a fist-sized bread-like bun with a small amount of an
("bean paste") in the middle, to much smaller confections that are mostly an
with a very thin sweet-cake coating. Ja nai ka, literally a question, is actually
more of an exclamation here.
sate wa introduces a suspic ion like saying "I bet/T daresay ~ ."
koitsu is a contraction of kono yatstt ("this guy/fellow/thing"), a rather rough
way of referring to another person. and -ra makes nouns plural, so koirsu-ra
="these guys
''you guys."

Father: fltJ,ti .
Setai-nushi

no washi

nokemono

ni

shite

head of household(=) Ume (obj.) excluded person to make-and

LIJ~It

yanwwake

LJ:-)

c L-rt,

shiyo to shire mo,

equal division even if try to do

li lt'iJ'fvo

-f-)
so

wa

ilrml.

that way as for won' t go

"Even if you try to exclude me, the master of the bouse,

and to divide them equally [among only yourselves], it
won't go that way."
"You may have thought you could leave me, the bead
of the household, out and divide them up IUIIOD2 yourse~but you're not going to get away with IL" (PL2)
.:.~~

-)ilt'o
umoi.

Korya

as for this/these tasty/delicious

"The ' re_really good." (PL2)

FX: .:C 7" .:c 7"

Mogu mogu (effect of chewing)
shiyo to shite mo is the verb suru ("do") with a conditional "even if' fonn of
the ending -yo to suru, which gives the meaning "make an effort to [do the
action].'' lkan is a contraction of ikanai. negative of iku ("go").

Son: )\; JJ
Sengersu no da kedo daijobu da
last month s arc

but

ne.

OK/safe are (colloq.)

"They're from last month but tbe seem to be safe

don' t they1" (PL2)
Mother: 7 :J 1: ~It tJ{
~ J! T l.l fJ'
Kuji
~traws

de dare

ga

dokumi suru ka

with who ('ubj.) do poison taste (?)

iJI: 66 fv 1:
kimende

-t fv t!.

stmda

wa.

without deciding ended (colloq.)

" We got by without havin to draw straws over

who would try them first." (PL2)
Father: -? -) -)
Uutt (groan/moan)
kimende is a contraction of kimenaide, negative -te form of kimeru ("decide").
Stmda is the past form of sumu ("end/be finished"); -naide sumu after a verb
means ..get by without Idoing the action!."
28 Mangajin

o ~'\\et

'Z.eto

by lttiJ ~~ *~~I Okazaki Jiro

-The Devil's Seeds, Conclusion

In 1973, archaeologists from K University unearth an
urn from the tomb of King Ashoka. Inside are some
ancient seeds whic h, accordi ng to legend, produce a
robust grain that can grow in any soil. Inscribed on the
urn, though, is a chilling warning from the king:
"These seeds mu t not be permitted to leave our
borders ... If anyone violates this prohibition, a
fearsome calamity shall befall the land.''

Back at K University, two men take an interest in the seeds. One,

Umezawa, is a greedy man with big ideas about cornering the
world seed market. The other, Ko noue, is a brilliant and idealistic
biochemist with no interest in making money. Umezawa is
anxious to leave K and develop the miracle seed--called
MR-99-in the more profitable private sector. Wary of
Umezawa's self-serving scheme, however, Konoue refuses to
leave. It is a bitter break, and the vindictive Umezawa spreads
rumors which cau e Konoue to be expelled from the university.
Although he steals the research from K University, Umezawa fi nds that Konoue is the only
person with the scientific know-how to develop MR-99. He i forced to wait 20 years before
discovering a genius of Konoue's
caliber: the mysterious Dr. Kamimura.
With her he lp, the seed is developed to
great success. All over the world,
formerly barren land is producing ample
fields of grain, and in three years' time
Umezawa Chemical has captured 30
percent of the world wheat-seed market.

Experts worry about planting so much of the world's crops with just
one variety o f eed, but Kuze. an executive at Umezawa Chemical,
has other fears. He's been investigating the ancient warning and has
discovered that MR-99 was in fact the cause of several calamitous
wars througho ut history. Umezawa is unfazed. however, and is
gloating to Dr. Kamimura about his triumph over Konoue when an
aide bursts in with terrible news: crops in fields flfSt planted with
MR-99 three years ago in Thailand have withered and died.
COkauki Jim. All righl< reserved. Fir..l published in Japan in 1990 by Shogakukan, To~ yo. Engli<h lrarl\lauon ngh1' arranged 1hrough Shogaku~an.

Mangajin 29

7" 7 ~ -

~A:::_:
fl~
er~
Z:,::..:
er:.::_
o _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ __ __

it~M

~R
tfo tfo I

L.

~ R 99
7 ~ 1;:

t'
~

'*

-~
~
~~
....,.. _,
I.

~
<

30 Mangajin

I.

Umezawa: :;. -1 :; 7
Staffu

staff

T (" I:
sugu ni

JJVtl!.
genchi

1: i*ifl:T .0 A..t! !!
ni hake11 suru 11 da!!

(obj.) immediately the locale/spot to

''Dis atcb
~

f.t.

Wataslti mo
I

dispatch

(explan.)

rsonnel to tbe site immediatel !" (PL2)

-t <1:

suguni

rriku!!
<''

also immediately will go

" I' ll go right awa too!" (PL2)

following a non-past verb with a sharply spoken 11 da-the ex planatory form-can serve as an abrupt command.

TV News: MR-99
Emu-iiru kyt7jt7kyii
(plant variety)

1:
ni

il!.k~

j tldai I W

~~Iii

~~ L ,

tJ{

shippei ga

in/among serious/major disease

(~ubj.)

hassei shi.
has appeared/bro ken out-and

rt IKJ

-c:

ti.Ui-

'IJ{

IB-c 1.t ' .0

~trt

1:T o

kakkoku

de higai

go

dete iru

moyo

desu.

variou~

countrie., in damage (subj.) i'> occurring appearance

is

"A major outbreak of disease has occurred in MR-99 fields, and the damages are mounting in countries
around the world." (PL3)
shippei is a fom1al/technical word for ''disease."
has~ei shi i~ the stem form of hassei suru C[insects/disease/a natural calamity/etc.! appears/occurs/breah out"): the stem
is here being used as a continuing form: "breaks out, and .. :The te nse of verbs used as continuing fo rms is typically
determined by the following or ma in c lause, in this case making it "has broken out. and __ ."
dete iru is from deru ("comes o ut/appears: or whe n speaking o f damage. "occurs''): higai ga dete iru = 'damage is
occurring'' or "damage has occurred.''
moyo de.111 at the end of a sentence literally means " it appears that [the described action is occurring/the described situation
exists!": the phrase is used frequentl y in newscasts when speaking of events that are still developing/unfo lding.

[2]

On Screen: t- ~ ~7
Namibia

148
Jiiyokkn

)'lo!amibia, the 14th

-IJ I? tx :lg- ~ tL-"( \, \ .0 :J:Ill

li \t'-rni>
3~ iiiJ
Kore wa iwre-mo sannenTTUte knra saibai sarete iru hatake
this as for every case 3 yrs. ago
from have been cultivated fields
-t-tti?Q) :J:Ill
li, titl
t \,\?
1itilt
sore-ra no hatake de wa, hobo

TV News: .: h

-c:

~.: t) '

.:t

izure-mo = dore-1no = any/alVevery (one)."

saibai sarete iru is from the verb saibai suru ("cultivate'') saibai sareru (" be cultivated")
saibai sa rete iru ("is
being cultivated" or "has been culti vated." depending on the context). Sa1men-mae knra saibai sarete iru is a complete
sentence ("[they) have been cultivated since 3 years ago'') modifying hatake ("fields").
okori is the stem form of okoru (''occur''), again being used as a continuing fonn.
-ra is a suffix that makes nouns and pronouns referring to humans- and a few other special cases, of which this is
one- inio plurals: sore can be either "that'' or "those," but sore-ra is unambiguously "those."
- to iu koto desu is a quotative expression often used when relaying information gained from another source.

Narration: ;1.:\'-:.-:J
Mekishiko

Mexico

Narration: 1 7/
Iran

Iran

Mangajin 31

7' 7

~91-M

( (I{] R
J!~l
~ ~ 99

It 7- 1:
~ l.t t

tt

t.t

l \
II

32 Mangajin

'

0 After Zero

Narra tion: .ttii;ft!'f:

li

-:f:.)J
zemyoku

Umezawa Kagak11 wa
(co. name)

~If"[

agete

as for full strength (obj.) rnising/exening

)( L. t::.

t&.~

li

..tnt r, 1j: n'-:::> t::.o

taishita

seikn

wa

agaranakatta.

notable fruits/findings as for

~~

MR- 99

q)

Emu-iiru kyiijiikyii shippei

(plant variety)

110

W.~

lt!Y"J L.t.::

"/)t,

gen 'in o kyiimei shita ga,

disease o f cause (obj.) investigated but

did not arise

~
A
t~U'-"m
!!.e
""za
=.!w,.,a,_C
=
h":erru
"?cal
=,_t.._h:.::e........;;u~t'-"e~
v"""
e'-'-e
=
ffort into investi a tio the cause of the MR-99 disease but

without a n._y notable success. (PL2)

-fl.""(, II~ "/)f ~? 1.:-?tl"[ , *'.'f.

(j:

tJtiJf-:::>"[1,\-:::>f,:o

Soshite, toki

wa

hirogatte itta.

and

ga

tatsu

ni tsurete,

higai

time (subj.) passes accompanying damage as for spread progressively

And as time assed the da ma e continued to spread. (PL2)

;;enryoku is "one's fuiVcomplete stre ngth" or "all one's might,'' and ;;enroku o agem is an expression for 'give it one's
alVdo one's utmost'': using the -te fo rm makes it a modifier indicating the manner o f the verb.l.:yiimei shita (past form
of kyilmei Sllnt, ''investigate/study/look into'').
taishita =considerable/o f considerable merit"; when combined wi th a negative it often becomes " without panic ular/
notable -" or 'no - to speak of." Taishita seika wa agaranakatta ="findings o f considerable/notable value did not
arise" - "without notable success."
hirogatte is the -te form of hirogaru ("[something] spreads"), and itta is the past form of iku ("go"): ik11 after the -te form
of a verb that represents a change or transformation implies that the change/transformation takes place progressively over
a period of time.

t bt

I'.Jl!!

q)

-?1:U.:

Moto-moto tochi

110

\ 'tl.\'etll

Reporter: 'b

originally

ll t', ~

IYr

.;oil (;ubj.) is poor place

of(!)

#.t',t;.

!i

tt: k -r::-t

S0/10

higai

11'0

jindai de111.

of that damage' a' for seriou'

< q)

MR- 99

tokoro lwdo. iikuno Emu-lint kyt7}t7kyt7 o

extent

a lot of

(plant variety)

-c"'

if',(,l-.. L.
t..:
dii11ytl shite ita

(f) C:: ,

11ode,

(obj.) had imroduccd/plamed because/so

arc

' 'The poorer a place's soil to begin with, the more they had pla nted MR-99,_so the d a mages were
particularly severe." (PL3)
hodo = "extent." ~oX lwdo Y is literally "to the extent of X. Y... which is essentially the Japanese way of saying "the
more X. the more Y." In this ca\e. moto-moto tochi no yasera il> a complete thoughtl-.emence ("To begin with, the soil
was poor") modifying tokoro ("place"). so the effect of lwdo is lil..e "the more a place had poor soil to begin with. the
more .. :

fu.porte r: .Jt~

~ q)

~~

~M

ti

Sengetsu made no

higai

siJgaku

wa

last month until of

damage~

3~15.p:j

r.: & A.. "t" ~ ' i To

sancho-en ni oy01ule imasu.

total figure as for 3 trillion yen to

ha~

reached

' 'The total damage figure through last month has reached 3 trillion." (PL3)

-r:: li,
fffiift"r:
t ~~=
Kaigai de wa, Umezawa Kagaku to tomo ni

~~~

overseas at as for

(co. name)

w~

~Iff

(f)

!'ftt

:a-

r.,,?

J!f

Nihon

seifu

110

sekinin

1011

koe

-n<.
ga,

together with Japanese governme nt of responsibility (obj.) question voices (subj.)

;J.:;r.; r.: t:i i-:::> -c"' i-to

shidai ni takamatte inuJSll.

gradually

are n smg

"Overseas. voices demanding that not only Umezawa Chemical but lhe Japanese govemement take responsibility are gradually rising."
" Overseas, a rising tide of public opinion is dema nding that not only Umezawa C hemical but the
Jaeanese g~)Vernment take res nsibilit ." (PL3)
oyonde imasu is the polite form of oyonde iru. from oyobu ("reach/extend/amount to"), and takamatte imasu is the polite
form of taknmatte iru, from takamant (''rise/get higher'').
sekinin o tou (lit.. "questio n [someone's] responsibility") implies both assigning blame and de mandi ng some effon to
make things right. Umezawa Kagaku to tomo ni Nihon seifu no sekinin o toll is a complete sentence ("[they] demand
that together with Umezawa C he mical, the Japanese government take responsibility'') modifying koe ("voices").

Sta ff: i~f'F

~1;:

.:t

~,,-J
!i ,15-xGH~"' n'?!
to
i11 koto wa kangaemrenai J.a?!
repeated cultivataon di>abilit} (quote) ~ay thing a\ for cannot thin!.
('!)

Rensak11

shiJgai

"Could it be a p roblem b r ought on by r epea tedly_gr owing the sa me crops on t he sa me la nd?" (PL2)
Staff 2: MR- 99
1.: {>, I)J~ 1 1 1 1.: 'b, )'HI~~ lk! (- li
-"F.:<
~.!.~ltG~L~"' ' !
Em11-ilm kyt7}17kyt7

11i

(plant varict})

in also within

mo. dojii-cltii ni mo. xai-teki 11a i11slri

~oil

in al<,o

external

11'(1

mattaku

mi-ukemrenai!!

cau\c a' for completely c;annot be

sccn/ob~crved

"No exte rna l cause can be o bser ved in eit her the M R-99 plan ts or in the soil." (PL2)
kangaerarenai i' the negati'c form of kangaerarem ("can thin!.."). the potential ("can/be able to") form o f kangaeru
("th ink"), so - 1m kangaerare11ai ka li terally as!..' ..can we not thi nk - T - "could it possibly be - ?"
mi-ukerarenai is the negati ve form or mi-llkemreru ("can be seen/observed"). the pote ntial rorm o r mi-llkem ("sec/
observe," usua ll y used when examining something to gauge/cv:tluate/judge it).

Mangajin 33

7' 7 ?

t,
<

L.
.t

34 Mangajin

0 After Zero

Kuze:

-? i

f~~

jifi IJ

1: ~-:> t.:.

densetsu

-dori

11i 11atta

IJ ,

Tsuma ri,
in other words

.R

"/J'o

wake ka.

legend exactly as became situation (?)

"ln other words the le end has come true." (PL2)

tw tta is the past form of naru ("become"); ni marks the result of the verb naru ("become") so ni natta as a unit is
equivalent to English "became'': densetsu-dori ni natta ="became exactly as the legend [says].''

llll W

Re orter: 11t.t
Hos/u}

~7

(J)

mondai

7 Jv tr ~)

t~i~ft~

(J)

.t H

o .A

tJf

110 toraburu kara Ume:;.t/1\'a Kagaku no RoJ/1 Shisha ga

guarantee problem\ of/with trouble

C!R: '/Jv-7(1)

g~

due to

(co. name)

LA

br.mch bubj.)

'11ti Lt.:.!!

nomin gunlpu /10 slulgeki () ukemashita.'.1

farmer

group

of

auack (obj.)

received

" Due to roblems associated with

by a farm group." (PL2)

guarantees~

the LA office of Umezawa Chemical has been attacked

Rosu is the katakana rendering of "Los" and commonly serves as the Japanese short name for 'Los Angeles."

Re~rter:

it.:.,

-r:

OOI*J

li,

~i'lHt'f;

7Jf

.f*fillj

(J)

~.{fi:l.."(lt>iTo

ga kyiiraku shire inwsu.

de wa, Umewwa Kagaku 110 kabuka
again/also within the country at as for
(co. name)
s stock price (subj.)
i> rapidly falling
kokw wi

Mara,

the rice of Umezawa Chemical stock is in free-fall." (PL3)

I:!~ Q) i'l!! ~l~i'IJlfH!"! !

" Domesticall
Picketers: tli'J
t.:!!

Umewwa da!! Niimin no teki!!

(name)

is

Hiki;:_uri-dase!.'

farmers of enemy

drag out

" It's Umezawa! Enem y of the farmer! Ora him out!" (PL2)
hikizuri-dase is the abrupt command form of hikizuri-dasu ("drag out"). from hikizuru ("drag") and the suffi1t -dasu.
which implies the action of the verb moves outward.

Picketers:

~?t:,ilt!!

lin'

~0!!

!'lif:

cil.!!

Ya!cllimae.'.'

Baka

mm.'!

Sekinin

wre.'!

do in/beat up

idiot/fool guy

re!.pon,ibility take

"Get him! Sonnuvabitch! Take res_J!onsibiJity!" (PLI , 2)

ymchimae is a contraction of yaue shimae. the -le form of yaru (informal word for "do") plus the abrupt command form
of shimau. Shimau after the -1e form of a \Crb can imply the action is done abruptly/summarily. Yatchimau is a slang
expres~ion for"do [someone) in/beat [someone! up."
tore is the abrupt command form of roru ("take"): .rekinin (o) tom= "take rc~ponsibility."

Umezawa:

<-f-!!
Kuso!!
(curse of chagrin)

"Arggh!" (PLJ)
Executive: 11:1~ .

c7

EC

J. ')

iJ li

Shadu}. ii-shii 10 Amerika

co. pres.

EC

and

USA

11'1

MR- 99
Emu-iiru k.nljiikyii

as for

(plant variety)

110

kl}nyii

i:Jsai kotoll'alte kimashiw.

of purchase (obj.) cnurely

refu~ed

came

" Sir! T he EC a nd US have refused a ny further purchases of MR-99!" (PL3)

Kuze: -f iti.l' I?,
l'.l'E~
nt I(,UJ..I n' $tn'l.> t t: H.( Q) tMtl:l I
Sore-kara.
and/aho

Kosei-sho

ga gen'in

ga

ll'akaru

made slw.1hi no \'1/Sh/1/su

Health& Welfare Min. (\ubj.) cau-,e bubJ.) kno"/find out until

<,eed\ of

e~port

11a

as for

~ll::t J.>

J: -? 1: l: .. .

kinshi sum yo m

to . . .

prohibit (command)(quote)

"AI o, the Health and Welfare Minist ry has prohibited a ny further export of the seeds until the cause
has been determined." (PL3 implied)
korowaue is the -1e form of kotm1aru ("refu~e/decline"). and kimashiw is the polite past form of kuru ("come"); kuru
after the -1e form of a verb often implies the action is directed at/toward the speaker or his group.
- yii ni is often used to give commands with the feeling of ''I want you to -." Something like itte kimashita ("said to us")
is understood after the quotative to.

Kuze: 1tf!.(J)

.ffiT- it:,

other

seeds

~ri:1

t)f
;fH.:j.,:lt>"EI.-'iT
J: o
ga
ai-tsuide imasu
yo.
even rerumed product (subj.) are following one after the other (emph.)

Hok.a 110 slmshi made,

henpin

''Returns a re comio in one after the other, and thev even include some of our other varieties of seeds.''
(PL3)
- made most typically means ''to/until/as far as - ," but here it is essentially for emphasis, like "even - ."
ai-tsuide imasu is the polite fonn of ai-tsuide iru, from ai-rsugu ("occur succes~ively/come one after another").

Umezawa: t:,,
Chi-

t:,(L.t-)!
cltikushii.l

(stammer) (cur5e of chagrin)

" D- da mn!" (PLI)

Mangajin 35

7' 7 9 -

c lll.-

~'?.tti

; -t ': l
tJ ~ .ft. "(

?? (J). '

-co

tL

0 After Zero

f;t fi

-r- c

'*X

T(J)4iif

0 n::
~
~
Ei ta
~

':

36 Mangajin

:i-.

~t)X:m
(J) A- l l:

l: bl)

l;t t:
tHI

n::

-.f
~;:

l:
3

n:: ~
ilbEi

~(J)

-t

Kuze:

.t ,

tt~, ::n t!.?f.:. !v-e-t

Shachli, /core datto n desu
co.~

this

was

f:i..lt

yo,

(J)

!;to

densets11 ga keilwku slrite ita no

wa.

(explan.) (emph.)

1Jf Jiii5-L.."Cii'f.:.

legend (subj.)

was warning

(nom.) as for

"Sir, it was this. This IS what the legend was warning about." (PL3)
no is a nominalizer that turns the complete sentence densezsu ga keikoku shite ita ("the legend was warning [about it)")
into a noun, and wa marks that noun as the topic of the sentence. The order of the clauses is inverted; normal order
would be denSt!tsu ga keikolcu shite ita no wa lwre datta n desu yo.

Kuze: fPJ A 'b

Nanpiro mo

kono

tane

kokugai

ni daslrite wa naranu.

everyone/no one this/these seeds (obj.) outside of the country to must not take/let out

"No one mu t take these seeds outside the country."

"These seeds must not be ermitted to leave our borders."

nanpito is a literary/archaic equivalent for dare ("who"): nanpito mo in an affim1ative semence means "everyone," and
in a negative sentence, "not anyone/no one: He is quoting from the inscription seen in pan I (Mangajin No. 6 1).
naranu = naranai, so dashite wa naranu = daslrite wa naranai, a "must not'' form of dasu ("take/let/put out").

3iJ=:

j l t... t.:.
MR- 99
tassltita Emu-liru kyiijiikyii no hatake wa, lwtogotoku

~=

Saibai shite sannen ni

cultivate-and 3 years to have reached

(plant variety)

of

zenmetsu shire imasu.

fields as for one and all have been totally desuoyedllost

"Eve

MR99 field that has been cultivated for three ye.ars is a total loss." (PL3)
SbadtO: t.:. ~lv, fPi iJ'(J) ~m Ytfl't. 1Jt
ftb li''l
-t--)
lj:J.>
(J) ~t...J:-?o
Tabun,

nanika 1w jigen siichi

~bly

some son of timing device (subj.) functions/activates-and that way becomes (explan.) probably

ga

lrataraite

so

naru

no

desha.

'Probably it's that some kind of timing device functions and it becomes that way."

''It must be a function of some kind of biological time bomb." (PL3)

saibai shite sannen ni tasshita is a complete sentence (''being cultivated, they have reached 3 years") modifying MR-99
no hatake (''MR-99 fields").
hataraite is the te form of the verb hataraku, which for humans means "work" but for machines and biological effects
is often more like "function/operate/come into play.''

Kuze: lif:l;l

(J) :Hi f-

.fi. 'i't-1: ~ tl i Lt.:. 1Jf,

!j:

Akuma no Slmshi wa himitsu ni saremashita ga.

devil

's

seeds as for

were kept secret

-t- n~: t .:: ? -t- IJ

oo;r~

sore-demo kossori

kokugai

even then

but

~= ~ t:> 111 ~

t.:.
ni mochi-dasareta

secretly outside the country to

~: t... .1:

(/)

desha.

110

were taken out (explan.) probably

"The Devil's Seeds were kept a secret, but they were nevertheless probably smuggled out of the countr ."
(PL3)
-tt...-c, .f!T7- ~'FI:.Attf.:. 00 !;t f'F~ (J) 1.~-hi: -/Jf ~l]l'f.JI.: J:.iJ!IJiTo

Soshite, silushi o
and

te 111 ~reta

kuni

wa sakumotsu

seeds (obj.) acquired countries as for

c rops

110

"And in the countries that ac uired the seeds cro

-t ;h.

Sore
that

1: c 'b 1j: ?

"(

,; tomonatte

"IJ

'b

jinka

mo

~ x_ t.:. ~

fueta

seisan-ryo ga

of

y ie lds

geki-teki ni agarimasu.

(subj.) dramatically

rise

ields would rise dramatically." (PL3)

t... J: -) 0

desha.

accompanying population also increased probably

" In con 'unction with this the o ulation would row as well." (PL3)
c'(J)~*t
-fO) fj[-1- 1: ~x_ ,
~!?t:
~;!fill:
1Jf l:tJfJ.> o
Dono nolw mo sono shushi ni
kae,
sa ra-ni seisan-1yo ga agam .
every farmer

those seeds

to change-and even more

yields

(!.ubj.) rises

"Every farmer would switch to those seeds, and yields would go up even more." (PL3)
saremashita is the polite past form of sareru, the passive form of suru ("do''): himitsuni suru = .. make [something] a
secret," so himitsu ni sareru ="(something] is made/kept a secret."
shushi o te ,; ireta is a complete sentence ("[they I acquired the seeds") modifying kuni ("countries").
tomonatte is the -te form of tomonau ("accompany"); - ni tomonal/e ="accompanying/in conjunction with - ."
dono - ="which -," but dono - mo ="every - ."
kae is the stem form of kaeru ("change/switch (to]"): the stem is being used as a continuing form: "change and ..."

Kuze: -t.::

3~ E1
(J) ll;f!IR 'lfttrt tJ~
11 ~ 1 -to
ni sannen-me no jigen saclti ga hatarakimasu.
that place/point at 3rd xear of timing device (subj.) functions/activates

1:

Solw

"At that point, the Jrd-year time bomb goes off." (PL3)
1::
.n:t% ~ /.Jti~ t.:. :till -/Jf
~~ t...'

t:m

Saisho ni saibai
fm;t

o hajimeta hatake ga

cultivation (obj.) began

zemnetsu shi,

fields (subj.) are totally destroyed-and

1: 1;1: 11 t 1v c'O) :till

1Jf -?';. 1: 1j: 1.> (J)-e-t 0
yonen-me ni wa hotondo 110 hatake ga dame ni nam no desu.
4th year
in as for almost all
fields (subj.) no good become (explan.)
4:13

"The fields where the seeds were first cultivated are totally lost, and in:.:...::
th""e""~""
o.:
u:..:
rth
"=-'-=~~=~==-=
the fields are ruined." (PL3)
(cominued on M XI page)
Mangajin 37

7' 7 :$1 --------------------------~

38 Mangajin

0 After Zero

I]) (conJinud from pmious poge)

the suffix -me indicates places in a sequence, ''first/second/third/etc.,'' so S{llmen-me is ''the third year.''
saisho ni saibai o hajimera is a complete sentence ("[they] began cultivating [them] first'') modifying harak~.
zenmetsu shi is the stern form of zemnetsu suru ("be completely lost/destroyed"), again used as a continuing form.

Kuze: - 'f!i; L... -c,

~:

fill;{.

/tten shire.

ue

J.,!J!f:~?:i1.t~

making complete/sudden change starvation by

coumrie~

visited

ri

t -?

-9 J.,

(J)

wa

do

sum

no

ni mimawareta kuni

1.' L... J: -? ir?

desha

ka?

as for how/what do (ex plan.) I wonder (?)

"As for the countries that, in a complete turnabout, are visited by starvation, what will they do. I wonder?"
ose the 'II do?"

" In a complete turnabout the countries are visited b starvation. Now what do ou su
(PL3)

itten shire is the -te form of itten sum ("turn around" or "suddenly/completely change''), ue is the noun form of ueru
("starve"), and mimawareta is the past form of mimawareru ("be visited," passive form of mimau, "visit"'). ltten shire ue
ni mimawareta is a complete sentence ("in a complete turnabout. they are visited by starvation") modifying kuni.

Kuze:

(J)

.f!f- li

flWH~IH:

n'c,,

f,f-t;,~itLt..:"t'l..J:-?

kara
were brought in

K\ ~ ttt~

.1:.

probably becauselso

< 7tn' c, t.t n' -:>t..:

(/) :mt-

Slruslri

1;1:

-r

1'-to

.1:.:. L...t..:

yokoshita

(/)

~~

kuni no
inbo
seeds (obj.) senl/delivered country 's plol/consipiracy

110

's

lrimitsuri ni = himitsu ni ="in secrecy/secretly."

mochi-komareta is the past form of mochi-komarem ("is brought in"). passive form of mochi-komu ("bring in").
lunu is a noun referring to what the speaker views as "normal expectations''-the way something should/ought to be, or,
when speculating about a past event as in the case, the way something must have been; Jwzu da/desu after a past verb
means the speaker thinks that action occurred.
akuma no slzuslzi o yokoshita is a complete sentence ("[they] sent/delivered the Devil's Seeds") modifying kuni.

Kuze: fill X.

~IIi C,
kare-ra

1J{

Ue

ga

t~ -c J., 1.' L... J: -? ! !

kari-tateru
desha!!

fJ' fJ

starvation (subj.) they/them (obj.) will spur/incite

probably

"Their bun er would s ur them on!" (PL3)

:r:(J)

oo (/)

Sono kuni

110

f'f:!lm

mkumotsu o

that country 's

crops

wr. (/)

f'n ~ 1:!! :r: L -c

~ 1:!!
ubau tame ni!! Soshite fukuslnl no tame ni!!

(obj.) steal purpose for

and

revenge of purpose for

"To steal that countr 's cro s-and for revenge!" (PL2)
tame ni after a verb means 'for the purpose of ldoing)/in order to )do)"': the equivalent for after a noun is no tame 11i.
meaning "for the purpose of/for the sake of [the thing)"' or just for Ithe thing].'"

Kamimura: j.. i!t ~ lv

Kuze-san

(J)

i-3--::> L... 't> J., illi ~

110

ossharu

(name-bon.) (subj.)

say

tori

t~
da

t .1!1. "' i "to

to omoimasu.

exactly as is (quote)

think

''I think it's exactl as Mr. Kuze sa s." (PIA)

tori is a word that follows a verb or a complete sentence to mean "exactly in accordance with [the described action]."
It's functionally a noun, so a preceding sentence follows the rules of modifying sente nces-with the subject often
mark:ed by 110 instead of ga: Ku:.e-san no ossharu tori= "exactly as Mr. Kuze says."

Kuze:

t~H

Kamimura Hakase.
(name)

Dr.

" Dr. Kamimura." (PL3)

[I]

Kamimura: :. h 1J'

:!1!:/l

Kore ga Akuma
this (subj.) devil

(J)
110

's

fi-T

(J)

Shushi no
seeds

.iE-1*

"t'"to

shotai

desu.

of true identity/nature is

''This is the true nature of the Devil's Seeds!' (PL3)

Mangajin 39

7' 7 ~ -

0 After Zero

~Q~ ~
"? "?

'

'll!~

t:. tJ A
(/) ~ t:.
iJ aB 'i

!?

!!

t:t
A

t::

c.

!?

w' '

*t:.

M f.b.
R (J)

(J)IJ:
iJ 99 -j

f,t

i?lvt:. li ~-:>l!t) ~Jl;iS ~1-:>"t"t:. (J)ir?!

Kuze: ii;,,

Aa111a
(stammer) you

wa yappari zenbu shitte-ta no ka?!

after all entirety knew (explan.- ?)

~for

"S- so ou knew all about it after all?!" (PL2)

Kamimura: ;;{.;to

E.

''Yes." (PL3)
shitte-ta is a contraction of shitte ita. past fom1 of sllitte im ("know''). from shim (''come to know").
asking a question with no ka is masculine. and can sound very abrupt/rough. It asks for an explanation, literally like saying
''is it that - ?"

Umezawa:

~ lv t!
?!
Nan da to?!
what i'> (quote)

".What?!" (PL2)

[I]

llllll

da to is a very rough way of challenging/questioning what has just been said, or o f expressing outrage at it.

.:. it 1.' ::: (J) ~t

4.> :.B L i "' l'T b o
Shacho,
kore de lwno lwislzo
mo oshimai desu ne.
co. president wnh this/now this company toolalso finished
il> (colloq.)

Kamimura: Uft,

"Sir. with this. this company will be finished, won't it."

" I'm afraid this comp_an.Y is finished1 sir." (PL3)

kore de means 'with this" in the sense of "by this means'' or "now that this has occurred.''

i:i1ilf!J: ... -f-1' I t'')~;>') 0(>1') t:t.kt.!.?!

0omae ll'll,
ittai I
dii ill
ISUIIIOfi IW /J dtt?!
(stammer) )t'u a' for (cmph.) what kmd of imemion (cxplan.)

Umezawa: :.B ,

''Y- you! ... Ju),t what is your intention?"

" Y- you! . . . .Just what kind of game are you playing here?!" (PL2)
ittai is an e mpha-,iler for question word~. so it can be like "I What I in the world?/1 Howl on earth?/[Wherel the blazes"
or "just [what i.,ind of - IT

.fl. (J)J:-)~ .(, -JJr,

MR- 99
~
WI.J:.IIB* i:.:
(J)ir
SlwchiJ. Naze, wmashi 110 yotw mono ga Emu-iim kyiijiikyii o
saisei dekita
no ka
co. pres. why
Vmc
like
per~on (subj.)
(plant variety) (obj.) was able to regenerate (cxplan.- ?)
1!'.~,:1H.:
,[!,I; I i 1t A, 1.' Lt.: -/)>?
Jushigi 11i
omoimasen deslri10 kn ?
mysterious/odd
did not think
{?)

Kamimura: fi:-B:o fi!Ji&,

'Sir. didn't you think it mysterious why a person like me could regenerate MR-99?"

"Sir didn' t it ever seem odd to you that someone like me was able to re enerate MR-99?" (PL3)
no yuna after a noun essentially corresponds to '--like'' in English, and mono written with this kanji means "person,''
so watashi 1w yo na mono= 'a me-like person''- "a person like me.''
saisei dekita is the past form of saisei dekim ("can resuscitate/regenerate"), the potential ("can/be able to") form of
saisei suru ("resuscitate/regenerate''). For sum verbs, changing suru to dekiru makes the potential form.
omoimasen i~ the polite negative form of omou (''think"); omoimasen des/rita lw asks the negative question "didn 't you
think -?"so fushigi ni omoimasen deshita ka ="didn' t you think it mysterious/odd?" Naze. watashi no yo 110 mono ga
Emu-iiru ky17)17kyfi o saisei dekita 110 ka is a complete embedded question (''Why was a person like me able to regenerate
MR-99?"), which in combination of fushigi ni omoimasen deshita ka becomes an indirect question: "Didn't you think it
mysterious/odd why ...?"

Umezawa:

tj: (.: ~ '?!

Nanii 1!

" What?!" (PL2)

[2]

Kamimura: ~J:.

li
fi.(J)
X 't'T o
Konoue wa watashi no chichi desu.
(name) as for
my
father
is

" Konoue is my father." (PL3)

chichi is the proper way to refer to one's own father when speaking to someone outside the family. It's never used to
refer to another person's father. and it's never used within the family (otosan is u ed in both cases).

Mangajin 41

7' 7 $1 -

42 Mangajin

0 After Zero

OJ

Kamimura: j(

ti, ~ t:t t.:. tJf

Chichi wa, anata ga

father as for

1iJf?E

(J)

-w

ken/..yil no issai

-r *f!f:

~-:>

ubarte

daigaku

saru toki mo,

you (subj.) research of entirety (obj.) stole-and university (obj.) left

-g;bt;t :/.1'-:> t.: (J) (:, ~ t:t t.:.

nani-mo
iwanakarta
noni, anata

fPJ b

c ~f.:. t:>,

:X:

to kitara.

iJr

* '->,

~ ~~

K*

time even

1: v' t:> tl.t:t <t:t ~ .t -? f:

chichi ga Ke-dai ni

iiDm l..J.:o

irarenaku naru yo ni kakusaku shita.

[not] anything didn't say even though you when it comes 10 father (subj.) K Univ. at

so that could not stay

schemed

"Even when you stole all of his research and left the university, my father said nothing, but you! You
schemed to make it im ossible for him to sta at K Universi ." (PL2)
ubaue is the -te form of ubau ("steal"); the -te form here is like "and'': ''steaUstole and . . ."
kenkyii no issai o ubatte daigaku o saru is a complete sentence (''[you] stole all his research and left the uni versity")
modifying toki ("time'')-+ "the time when you stole all his research and left the university."
nani-mo works together with a negative later in the sentence to mean "not anything/nothing": iwanakaua is the past form
of iwanai ("not say''), which is the negative of iu ("say''). so nani-nw iwmwkatta ="didn't say anything."
quotative to plus kitara (a conditional "if/when" form of kuru, ''come") makes an expression very much Like the English
"when it comes to - ." It often carries a tone of exasperation or disdain.
irarenaku is the adverb form of irarenai, negative of irareru (''can be/stay in a place"), from iru ("be/stay in a place");
naru ="become," so irarenaku naru ="become unable to stay."
yoni after a verb can mean "so that [the action takes place]": irarenaku naru yo ni ="so that he became unable to stay."

KawaisiJ na

li, -f tt "C 'b ih t:t t.:. ~

chichi wa, sore demo anata o

pitiable/poor

father as for

Kamimura: :/.1':/?v' -f-) t:t :)(

even so

you

J4'-f-?

c L f.:. o

yurusiJ to shita.

(obj.) tried/intended to forgive

"Even so, my poor father wanted to forgive you." (PL2)

t!!t c' fl
(J:
ih L -c WFi:tt:t:/.1'-:> f.:. h!!
Dakedo watashi wa
kesshite yurusenakalla wa!!
Vme as for by no means couldn't forgive (fern.)

but

"But I could never forgive you!" (PL2)

:)(
:/.J'C:J
MR-99
{f) J7;'7

llfl~HJ,L"'C,

Chichi kara Emu-lint kyt7jt7kyt7

110

kiki-dashite.

father

of know-how (obj.) found oulllearned-and here/this place to

from

(plant variety)

noulwu

koko

1:-?-?"'C~U.:.

(J)

.t !!

ni yalle kita

no

yo!!

came

(explan.) (emph.)

"I extracted the know-how for re eneratin MR-99 from m father and then came here." (PL2)
kawaiso (''pitiable/wretched/miserable") is a descriptive noun that can refer either to the feelings of pity a person has or
to the situation/circumstance/person/thing that brings about those feelings of pity.
. yuruso to shita is the past form of yuruso to suru, where yurusii comes from yun/Su ("forgive"). A verb ending in -of-yo
to suru gives the meaning "make an effort/try to [do the action].''
yurusenakalla is the past form of yurusenai, negative of yuruseru ("can forgive"), from yuru.m.
kiki-dashite is the -te form of kiki-dasu. from kiku (''hear/listen to") and -dasu ("take out/extract"). Kiki-dasu usually
implies a special effon to get some specific information from someone-including. but not necessarily, through coercion.
yalle kita is the plain/abrupt past form of ya11e kuru, where kuru= ''come": ya11e kuru typically implies coming over
considerable distance or through special effort/circumstances.

Umezawa: 7 7 7
Uuu

"Ohh-h-h-h." (groan)

GJ

Kamimura: .: n "C
Kore de

E1 (Jg

{f)

mokuteki

110

with this/now aims

c-::> I

.i:tnlt Lt.:.

ho

hiLOtsu wa
tassei shita
wa.
of
one as for attained/achieved (fem.)

"I've now achieved one of m aims." (PL2)

;h l;t f.:. A..
(/)
f~~
li
b.o
Anata
e
110 fukushii wa
ne.
you

to/against that is revenge as for (colloq.)

"Revenge against ou." (PL2)

e typically marks the destination of a movement. but here it marks the target of fukuslul ("revenge"). Anata no fukushii
would be "your revenge," but anata e no fukushii is "revenge against you.''

Mangajin 43

7' 7 :it -

44 Mangajin

0 After Zero

t!Ji:!!
Kamimura Halwse!!
(name)

Dr.

"Dr. Kamimura!" (PL3)

A
An/a
you

iu

to

hito

wa jibun 110 fukuslu7 no Tame dake ni

(quote) say/called person as for ones own revenge of purpose only for

.:. lv tj: ~.::_ t

![!:-? L.. "\ .:. t
konna-ni mo osoroshii koro
this much (emph.) frightful

~ '\'":d.:. (/) iJ'?!

vatta

th ing (obj.) did

110 ka?!

(explan.-?)

"Did ou do this dreadful thin merel for our own reven e?" (PL2)
anta is a more casual/informal anaw ("you''). so a111a to iu hito is literally a person called you"- an expression for
"you" that's generally used when the speaker is aggravated/perturbed with his listener.
jibun ="oneself," or "me/myself,'' "he/himself." "you/yourself," " they/themselves," etc .. depending on the context.
Adding no makes it possessive: " my/his/your/their (own) - ."

[!]

tit~
higai

Kamimura: .LL A, i '\: IT)

E,
ima made no
yes

l;l: ?l:-c
ft.(J)
Jttf:
wa subete watashi no sekinin

now until that is damage as for

all

my

-c>-t o
desu.

responsibility is

"That's right. I am responsible for all the damages seen so far." (PL3)
i:!t-9J!. (/) A4 "- (J)
Jt~frt
!;t .:. n i "f ~U
nr t ? 111.:.

:5t

Sekni
no hitobito e
no
baishiJ
wa kore made kaisha ga
miJketa
bun
o
the world of the people to that is/are reparations as for until now company (subj.) made a profit portion/amount (obj.)

11 ~ ll l.. -c tJ C:> ?

.:. C

1: tj:

haki-dashite morau

koto

ni narimasu wa.

will have spit out

IJ iT :bo

thing/situation will become (fern.)

"As for [making] reparations to the people of the world, it will become the situation that I will have [the
company] spit out the portion that is the profit the company made until now."

"To make reparations to the people of the world, I'll be asking this company to give up the profits it
has taken in." (PL3)
e is again being used to indicate the target of an action-here the action implicit in the word baishiJ ("reparations").
kore made kaisha ga moketa is a complete sentence ("the company made a profit until now") modifying bun ("share/
portion/pan,'' here referring to a portion of money): "the portion of money the company made as profit until now."
ha ki-dashite is the -te form of haki-dasu ("spit out/disgorge"), and morau after the -te form of a verb implies the speaker
will have the listener or someone else do the action.
koto is literally "thing," but here it has the more abstract sense of "situation." Koto ni narimasu is the polite form of lwto
ni 11aru (literally, "the situation becomes/will become ~ ") which basically implies "that's what's going to happen."

8]

Kamimura: 0- tit~ lvo

Kuze-san.

00 B '-''

~ (/)

~ .}.; Jt 1t L i L J: -J o

Omoshiroi

(PL4)
o-mise shimasho is the polite volitional ("letsn shall") form of o-mise suru, a PL4 humble equivalent of miseru
("show") - "I shall show - "-"let me show - ." A humble verb shows respect for the listener or the person being
discussed by humbling the person do ing the action- in this case, the speaker.

~ Kamimura:

.:tt l;l:
MR- 99
n<
1i:~l...1.:.
~:It!!. iJ'C:J :f\'f-::>-c~U.:. "fTo
Kore wa Emu-iin1 k)'iijiikyii ga
zenmetsu shita
nochi kara motte kita tsuchi desu.
this as for (plant variety) (subj.) was completely lost farmland from
brought
soil
is
"This is soil that I brou ht here from a field where the MR-99 lants were totall lost." (PL3)

MR-99 ga zenmetsu shita is a complete sentence ("the MR-99 was completely destroyed") modifying niJchi ("farmland").
motte is the -te form of motsu ("hold") and kita is the plain/abrupt past form of kum ("come"), so motte kita =
"brought." MR-99 ga zenmetsu shita nochi kara motte kita is a complete sentence ("[I) brought [it] from farmland where
the MR-99 was completely destroyed") modifying tsuchi ("dirt/soil").

Kuze:

;l; -::> !!
A!!
(exclam.)

"Great Scott!" (PL2)

Mangajin 45

7' 7

--------------------------

0 After Zero

3M.:
(.; R ;

~ I .:.
t:t 99 n

I.' q)

!!

46 Mangajin

l;t.

Kuze: ._,
Ko-

~ t. ~ f.tv'!'

~h
li,
MR-99
(})
kore wa, Emu-liru kyiijilkyfi no

(stammer) these as for

me

ja nai!!

of sprouts are not

(plant variety)

''Th- these aren't MR-99 s routs!" (PL2)

[I]

+~ r---t J: o
Tada no komugi desu yo.

Kamimura : t.:.. t.!. (})

plain

wheat

is (emph.)

"They' re just plain wheat." (PL3)

(}) .mtiL

Kamimura: MR-99

k:lllm

komyt7

li,

lil (})

1F.::." c1.:

.mikin wa, roshi-goto ni dojo

Emu-liru kyiijfikytl

110

(plant variety)

of root nodule bacteria as for year by year

~~

ft.g.~

chisso kagobutsu

till-?t...n,~'iTo

fuyashite ikimasu.

soil of/in nitrogen compounds (obj.) increase progressively

root nodule bateria increase the nitro en com

' 'MR-99's nit

(PL3)
li t? , hlv~f:.tlll
Hora,

110

unds in the soil ear b

ear."

c!iill:. IJlOlll. 't" b o

renge-barake to onaji genri de

ne.

{interj.) milk vetch fields same as principle by (colloq.)

"You know, by the same principle as milk vetch fields." (PL2)

-f L"C 3.if {( 0 t.:.
~
1.: I c' lv f.t
f'f-~
't" t
Soshite, sam1en tatta

koro

ni wa

donna

sakumotsu demo

and

3 years passed approx. time by what kind of

:liP.

tochi

crop

r:f -::> li C' 1.:

sodatsu hodo ni

even if it is will grow extent to

He!ili: 1.: L"CV ' l.> (})'t'T o

o lziyoku ni shite iru no desu.

land/soil (obj.) fertile

to have made (explan.)

"And b the time 3 ears have assed the

fuyashite is the -te form of fuyasu ("increase/augment"), and ikimasu is the polite form of iku ("go"), which after the -te
form of a verb that represents a change or transformation implies that the change/transformation takes place progressively
over a period of ti me.
hora is often used to call a person' s auention to something, like " here/look/see/watch"; when calling attention to something not directly observable it can be like ''you know."
onaji means "the same" and the preceding to marks the object of comparison.
donna - demo is an expression for " no matter what kind of - it is" _. "any kind of - ."
hiyoku ni shite iru is from lziyoku ni sum ("make fertile/productive").

8:]

Kamimura: MR- 99

13 M-

it?J.:.f!F.~
aru teido

Emu-lim kyt7jt7kyt7 jishin wa

~#.
chisso

i'&tlft

iJr

r:':i (f.tl.Jc ,

1 E~"Z"Ht

lj: ~t'O)'t"T o

ga
takaku naru to
ikite ikenai
no desu.
itself as for a certain degree nitrogen concentration (' ubj.) when becomes high can ' t go on living (explan.)

(plant variety)

11iido

"M R-99 itself can't survive once the concentration of nitrogen reaches a certain level." (PL3)
takaku is the adverb form of the adjective takai C high"). so takakunaru ="become high," and aru teido takaku naru =
''become high to a certain degree" --+ ''reach a certain level." To afier a plain verb can make a conditional ''if/when" meaning.
ikite is the -le form of ikiru ("live''). and ikenai is the negati ve form of ikeru ("can go"), from iku ("go"); a form of iku
after the -re form of a verb o ften implies the actio n will proceed into the future, so ikite iku ="go on living," and ikite
ikenai ="can' t go on living/can't survive."

Kamimura: ~-ttt.:..
Yaseta

11( ~
doju o

~ft~-tt,

~iJ\:f.t

henka sase,

*:liP.

1.: ~T o

earth

to

lriyoku na daichi 11i modosu.

poor/infertile soil (obj.) causes to change-and

fertile

returns

"To alter soil de leted of nutrients and make it fertile earth a ain." (PL2)
~ n iJ 1 ~It: (}) fi.:::F- (}) +*(})
Ht Fl t!. ? t.:.. (})'t"T o
Kore ga Akwna no Shushi no lwnrai no yakume datta no desu.

this (subj.) devil

's

seeds

of

original

role

was

(explan.)

"This was the ori inal role of the Devil's Seeds." (PL3)
henka sase is the stem form of henka saseru C'cause [something] to change" - "change [something]").
modosu ="return [something)," often implying 'return [something) to its former state" ...... "make it - again."

Kuze: ';(iJf-::> iJ'f.t iJ' ? t.:..o

Ki ga tsukanakmta.
didn 't realize

" I never realized." (PL2)

:::_(}) : :. c '.t ~1 -? "Z"v'fll.f , v'-?i't"'b

!i'

t.!.o

Kono koto

haw

da.

this thing/fact (subj .)

shiue ireba.
if know

~iJ'f.t
i't:~
~= !JH :Itl.>
itsu made mo ywaka 110 sakumotsu ni megumareru

forever

bountiful

crops

by will be blessed expectation is

" If you know t~ou will be blessed with bountiful harvests forever." (PL2)
9rl l? f.ttt:l<.lf, :tiH
~ jj'tttt.:..
ii
~.: :likirt L t.:..
::t
areta

mama

ni huchi slrita

kow

t.!.7:>1 o
daro.

fields (obj.) mined unchanged state in abandoned thing/situation is probably

~"'-"'"'-"""'--"-'-'-"=.:.:....:,:'-'-'~.>:....1=->==-> abandon the ruined fields as they were."

(PL2)

(com inued nnnex1 page)

Mangajin 47

7' 7 $1 -

48 Mangajin

0 After Zero -

- -- - -- - -- --

[6] (continued jiom preious page)

shiue ireba is a conditional ("'if/when") form of shiue irtt ("know"). from shim ("come to know"): shirmwkereba is a
conditional form of shiranai ("not know").
arew is the past form of a rem (';become ruined/wasted") und mama = " as is/unchanged state," so aretamama =
"unchanged from being ruined": hochi sllita is the past form of hiJc/ri sum ("abandon"). so hawke o areta mama ni
hochi shita ="abandoned the fields in the state of being ruined" - "abandoned the ruined field~ as they were."

MR-99
Kamimura Hakau. Emu-iirrt kyiijiikyii no shushi to
(name)

Kamimura:

Dr.

(plant variety)

noulrau

oyak~ 11i suru

wa,

n desu

t~e?

of seeds and know-how as for will make public (explan.)(colloq.)

" Dr. Kamimura ou intend to make this secret of the MR-99 seeds ublic don' t you?" (PL3)
~ t? 0 A..o T't'l:
~liJ
Q)
M'J'em
1: iUH: c-:> "t" ~ IJ iTo
Mochirorr. Sude-ni
of course

kakkoku

no

ken!.:yii-jo

11i renraku o roue arirrrasu.

already various countries of research centers with

have conununicated

"Of course. I have already communicated with research centers in various countries."

" Of course. I' m already in touch with research centers around the world." (PL3)
renraku o roue arimasu is from renra/.:11 o toru, which is a way to say "contact/get in touch [with].'' Arimasu is the polite
form of aru, which after the-re form of a verb can imply that the action has already been done in anticipation of present or
future need.
A nata no mii hitoWtno mokuteki mo, kiuo tassei sa rem deslu1
110.
you
>
other
aim
toolal;o sure!) will be achieved probabl) (colloq.)
" You will surely achieve our other aim as well." (PL3)
a number or quantity means ''I that much! more,'' and ltitot.w = ''one: so mii hitotsu ='one more." When 110
to make it a modifier for another noun. the meaning change\ to "another/the other - .''
kiuo can rnnge in meaning from a wishfuUnot very confident "maybe/perhap'>." to a "probably/surely/undoubtedly"
~pokcn with a high degree of confidence, but it stops short of absolute sureness. It's often echoed by a conjectural form
at the end of the sentence, like deshii (" probably") here.
wssei sarem i the passive form of tassei suru ("achieve/anain").

1//(J before

i~ added

[I]

Kamimura: #.

Q)

1:1~ I'J i-tt A..o

Watashi 110 de wa arimase11.

lime

i~

not

(J)

Chichi

110

fl!Y-J 't'T o

mokuteki desu.
my father 's
aim
b

"It isn't mine. It's my father's." (PL3)

de 1\'Q arirrrasen is the polite negative fonn of desu nstare").
'-''00)

rr n', ::.. (J)

ltsu 110 hi ka.

.II!!J;R -lr c.;,

ko11o clriht7 kara

.,omcday/one day thi'>

earth

fill X.

11(

ue

ga

it'f x. ~7.>
kie-saru

::.. t

~o

koto

o.

from ~tarvation ('>ubj.) will di'>appear/vani'>h thing (obj.)

"That one day starvation may vanish from this earth,'' (PL2)
itsu-ka is a generic "sometime," which can include the meaning "some day": inserting 110 lti makes only the latter possible:
"some day/one day." lrsu-ka can refer to either paM or present time. but itsuno lti ka is always used to refer to a future day.

Mangajin 49

/\~

A~Vl

~oJ;Ns~;
Amateur MANGA
ARTISTS draw
thousands of people at
DOJINSHI FAN FESTS
around JAPAN.

I~ I

i'-h"d r,., start assom-

bling two days before the event begins.

Dressed warmly against the bitter cold,
carrying sleeping bags and provisions,
the small crowd of mostly high-school
and college boys docile ly receives line
numbers from the e lected-by-default
leader, then wanders off to stake out a
good place to wait. By the eve of the
event, the crowd has swelled to several
thousand, with determined groups of
girls now mixed in. Some are wearing
costumes, mostly of anime or manga
characters, although one young man is
very fetching in his girl's kimono, complete with wig and makeup. When two
gaijin show up at midnight and sign up
for the line, they receive a round of
applause. The wind coming off the
water is freezing, and at last the fans settle down to get what sleep they can.
As the morning of the event dawns,
more fans start to trickle in. First come
the o nes who live close enough to take a
taxi or who have been able to persuade
their parents to drop them off. When the
b uses and trains start to run, the trickle
becomes a steady flow, and by 6 AM the
crowd numbers in the tens of thousands,

with more coming every second. Buses

rented by the convention committee
ferry back and forth from three major
train stations, and a fleet of taxis is in
use. By I 0 AM, there are more than
200,000 people waiting, filling an
immense hall and completely covering
the neighboring parking lot.
Finally, only I 5 minutes late, the
doors open and fans spill in, running (in
spite of the admonitions of the guards)
to the booths they have chosen. And the
buying frenzy is on!
What is this event, which draws
300,000 young people from all over
Japan for the space of rwo days, twice a
year? This is Comic Market (Comiket
for short), Japan's biggest convention
for artists and fans of amateur manga. or
dojinshi (!i51 A at, literally "coterie magazine," but nowadays mostly indicating
what is known in the US as " fan zines").
I attended my first Comiket in the
summer of 1985, a bewildered fan
introduced to a new world by her
Japanese pen pal, and have attended
a lmost every Comiket since, although
now I go on business. As editor of
Comic Box Jr. , a Japanese-language

docilely= }.; 1::. ~ L < oronashiku trickle in= j..' L i'"?~ ? "( (
= ill~ kankoku I i11J. chili frenzy =~I til:!* mi k.yoran jo1ai

Homoerotic "JUNE" comics

are very popular among
female dojinshi fans.

monthly magazine specializing in

information about and reprints of dojinshi, it is now my job to meet the artists,
look for the best dojinshi, and observe
the trends. It's a dirty job, but someone's
got to do it ...
Fanzines seem to be a global
phenomenon-all over the world people
share the desire to create their own
stories or to transport their favorite
characters into worlds of their own
making-but only in Japan has it
reached such stratospheric proportions.
No one knows exactly how many
slikuru ( -lj-- '.7 Jv, "circle," a person or
a group of people who produce dojinshi
magazines) there are in Japan, but a
conservative guess puts it at somewhere
between 40,000 and 50,000, with more
forming every day.
There are a number of reasons for

sukoshi-zutsu yatte kuru/ := 4 'fi. 4 '<'> ? "( < 6 saman-gogo yatte kuru admonition

losi ng the copyright

thi s. One is the sheer
altogether, but in Japan
quantity and quality of
that thr ea t i not
antmation a nd manga
available in Japan, for all
as strong. Companies,
age groups and coveri ng
t he refore. are mo re
inclined to be le nient
all genres. In the US. for
with amateurs who use
example. we seem to get
copyri g h ted cartoon
most of o ur inspiration
characters in their own
from e ither books or TV.
manga c reations. T hey
This is especially true for
a r e, after al l , an
young g irls. as there are
ex treme ly large fan
almost no comic books
base. Fan s who buy
written fo r them. The
doji nshi a re the same
majority o f America n
Fans crowd a circle's booth at Comiket in Tokyo.
fans who buy o ffi cial
fanzine writers seem to be
women, and they naturally rum to the written word, rather than
manga. videos. CD . and tie-in merchandise.
comics, to produce fan fiction. In Japan, however, the situation
Another contributing factor is the relatively inexpensive cost
i reversed. Exposed to manga almost daily. women as well as of professional-quality printing. Whereas fanzines in the States
tend to be photocopied and stapled together, the majority of
men use pictures to te ll their stories.
Japan's "differently enabled," relaxed copyright laws are dojinshi are lavish productio ns. with o ffset printing, binding,
a nd four-color covers. In fact, there are now a number of
another strong factor in the prevalence of dojinshi. It' s not
that there are no copyrig ht laws-there are quite a few of printing companies whose business comes almost entirely from
them-but they are e nforced a bit d ifferently. In the US, if a
dojinshi publications. Co miket itself may only take place
company overlooks copyright infringement. it is in danger of
(continued on page 58)
copyright=

l.Ht:tl clrosakuken

infringement=

f1'f.

sllingai offset printing= :t 7 i::

'l

.I
c

Cl
01

N
Fe

a
01
fl

1- (:fl l~l) ofusettn insarsu

Arts of Strength, Arts of Serenity

by Nrrk/a,u Suino
In this guide for choosing a martial arts just right for you,
swordsman and author Nicklaus Suino shows the benefits of
regular marrial arts practice for mental, physical, and spiritual
health. Nicklaus Suino is also the author of I1x Art of japa11tst
Swordsmanshrp: A Manual of Eishin-Ryu laido and Prartitt Drills for

japa11m Swordsmanship.

Publishers of Fine Books

on Asia and the Pacific

0-83<48-0376-3 $10.95 (soft)

A Gift of Japanese Cooking

by Mifunt Tmji
The author brings exotic-sounding recipes down to earrh
through the use of readily available ingredients and straightforward instruction. Traditional woodblock prints complement the recipes.
0-8348-03~7-X

$9.95 (soft)

To order or request a
catalogue, contact:
W eatherhill, Inc.,
41 Mo nroe Tpke.
Trumbull, CT 06611
Tel: (800) 437-7840
Fax: (800) 557-560 1
Email: weath 12 [email protected]

A Gift of Chinese Cooking

by Walter Long a11d Mtili Lm
You don't have to be a wizard with the wok to produce an
exciting Chinese meal for your family and guests. Dclighcful
illustrations, wonderful recipes, and reassuring practical directions and advice make this book a welcome gift for any cook.

Visit our web-site for

W eathe rhill's complete
o n-line catalogue:

www.we atherhill.com

O..BHS-03771 $US (soft)

52 Mangajin

Mad about Dojinshi

(continued from page 52)

twice a year (in August and December),

b ut so mewh ere in J a p a n s ma ll e r
conventions, or "events" ( 1 ~ / ~ ), take
place almost every weekend and holiday.
It's difficult to comprehend the
amount of money that changes hands
during a Comiket. If each fan spends
10.000 on dojinshi (a very con ervative
est imate -many spend more tha n
30.000 o r 40,000 a day), sales from
the two-day event amount to a minimum
of 3 billion, or about $30 millio n. T he
actual amount is probably two to three
times tha t. For most of the c ircles,
producing a fanzine is a labor of lovethey rarely break even- but for the ate
(.kf.) circles (the most popular groups,
sometimes referred to as kabegiwa"wall 's edge"-since they are usually
located ne xt to a wall at conventio ns
geeky misfi ts

= ;;f $'

to accommo d ate long lines) a good

Comiket can supple ment a regular salary
very nicely.
Who are the fans at these events?
T he majority are o f h igh-school and
college age. but it's not uncommon to
see j unior-high students. Office ladies
a re a lso well represented. Long-time
fans are now bri ng ing their children to
events-a new generatio n getting a n
early start ! Appro ximate ly 70 pe rcent
of the fa ns are female.
Unless they're in costume, the guys
generally wear a "uniform" of jeans and
T -shirts and seem to fit the image much
of the public has of socially inept, geeky
misfits. For the women, however, casual
is not the order of the day. They are more
fashion-conscious, wearing anything
from suits to e legant dresses to outfits

~ oraku fashion-conscious

=7

"/ ~ 3 :.-

1:

fro m the extre me ly frilly brand called

Pink Ho use (surely the o nly line of
clothing to have its own fanzine). In fact,
except for their arm loads o f dojinshi or
their wheeled luggage racks piled high
wi t h books, fe m a l e fa n s are
indistinguishable from the chic young
wome n seen in the crowded streets of
Shibuya or Harajuku.
Dojinshi themselves can be broken
down into two very broad categoriesVJ I~I:JilJ It (dansei-muke, comics written
fo r men) a nd !A tt IUJ It Uosei-muke,
comics written for women). Within each
of these categories are two further
general d ivisions-'parody" (anime,
manga, or game) and original. (In the
world of dojins h i the word parodii
conno tes a straight imitation, without
the satire.) The majority of dansei-muke,

IV!C!~ ~ fasshon ni binkan tw

Now Available From Mangajin ...

(The Time Monkey)

One of Japan's most lovable creations is now available in the United
States exclusively through Mangajin. The Jikan de Gozam is an alarm
clock shaped like- and with the personality of-a playful monkey. To
make this monkey tell you the time. simply shake or knock it. In a
childish monkey-like voice. it might announce in Japanese:
Gozen hachi-ji jfigofun de gozaru.
" It's eight-fifteen AM.''

Then again. it might not. This monkey has an attitude- it's programmed
to make whi msical non-ti me related remarks about 20 percent of the
time. These include lines like:
Nemui de gozaru.
Jishin de gozaru.
''I'm sleepy."
"It's an earthquake."
ltai de go:aru.
Tokei de gozam.
"That huns."
"I'm a clock.''
If you really need to know the time. just shake it again. It is programmed
not to make silly remarks twice in a row. The monkey also comes wich
a time-announce function, as well as an alarm and snooze button. A
great gift for children or anyone who needs an alarm clock that will
definicely wake them up with flair! (Requires two AA batteries. not
included). # M002 1 $55.00 plus $5.75 S&H (extra for rush and delivery outside USA).

To order: 1-800-552-3206 Fax 404-724-0897 P.O. Box 77188, Atlanta, GA 30357 [email protected]

58 Mangajin

both parody and original, are of the " H''

varie ty-in other words, lots of sex.
Common the mes include S&M, bondage,
and rorikon ( o 1) :::1 /,"Lolita complex").
In j osei-muke comics, oddly enough,
the situation is much the same. although
the termino logy is different. A hig h
percentage of parody dojinshi fall under
the category of yaoi dojinshi. Yaoi (-\"'
::t 1 ) is a word coined to ex press
dojins hi where two (or more) mal e
characters in a manga or an animated
show are placed together in sex ual
situations (regardless of their sexual
orientation). The word comes from the
expression " Yama nashi, ochi nashi, imi
nashi" or "No climax, no punchline, no
meaning," and is rather misleading, as
many excellent, well-thought-out stories
have emerged from this genre. Similar

terminology

fan fiction exists in the West in the form

of "slash" fiction , as in Kirk/Spock.
In the "original " category, s uc h
homoerotic dojinshi are known as J UNE.
named after the first magazine to publish
ho moe ro tic stories a nd manga for
women. Of course, there are many nonsexual dojinshi, too--in both parody and
original form- but as a saying at comic
markets goes. " If you want to sell it, put
sex in it."
Still , it's not all sex. As mentioned
earlier, dojinshi are mainly a labor of
love, and it's possible to find a book
about almost anything you' re interested
in. A favorite singer? Sure to be there,
even Western singers. Science fiction?
Sure-from PK Dick to Darkover. Star
Trek? Ye p. Military armaments? Yep.
Your favorite pet? Lots of them. And if

you can' t find what you' re looking for,

why not draw or write your own? It's a
wide-open fi eld!
The dojinshi industry is one of the
biggest phenomena happening in the
manga and anime world today. Not only
are many of the big manga stars emerging
from this field (C LAMP, Oya Kazumi,
Koga Yun, Hagiwara Kazushi, and Ozaki
Minami, to name just a few), but even
established professionals are sometimes
turning to the dojinshi world, where they
can write as they please, free from
editorial and economic constraints. As the
manga establishment becomes more and
more static, it is not incomprehensible that
the much-needed recharge will come from
the world of dojinshi.

Mary Kennard lives and works in Tokyo.

= m~fr yogo wide-open field = -~ m~ 17) "uf HE tt ~ 1!;\' '? 'Jt Jf mugen 110 kallosei 0 1110 /S/1 bun 'ya

Full-text search provides access to

10,000+ Japan-related
documents on
Business and
Market Research,
Science and Technology,
Trade, Economic and
Foreign Policy,
Organizations, Services,
Experts and much more!
Look us up at
http://www.gwjapan.org
Call for more information
1-888-GWJAPAN

Mangajin 59

77. (J) IJ {iftit

Minori Densetsu Part 2 ,._v_

The Legend ofMi

by !I illi16 ~ t? I Oze Akira
On her 28th birthday, a resolved Suginae Minori marches into her office~
publishing company producing a low-circulation trade magazjne-~and sll~p~
a letter of resignation down on her boss's desk.

Her boss, however, seems mote

concerned about his AosetJtee~ tharr
losing Minori. The compJmY needs
to downsize, he says, and he's been
expecting her to get mkfied and quit
anyway. "That's not it1at all!"Minon
protests. "Is marriage t.Qe only re n
you can think of for a J oman to quft
her job?"

In fact, Minori has plans quite different from

marriage: she's going to be a freelance writer.
Unappreciated, she leaves the office in a huff.
"I worked like a slave there for a full four
years," she thinks to herself. The next step
towards independence is buying her very own
word processor. Minori is excited about taking
this definitive step towards her goal.

At home she is met by her landlady, who has a surprise

delivery from Minori's mother- a wedding futon set.
The landlady is thrilled: "I had secretly been worrying,
you know, that you might wind up as an old maid." But
Minori sets her straight: "I'm not getting married! I just
quit my job! I've struck out on my own!"

Oze Akira . All righls reserved. Firs! published in Japan in 1995 by S hogakukan. T okyo. Eng lish 1tans la1ion righ1s arranged 1hrough Shogalcukan.

Mangajin 67

h (J) fJ 1i ~ Minori Densetsu

68 Mangajin

Landla!!!:

~H...

flf:i.Jt.;?!

Kaislw ... yameta?

company/job

quit

" You guU your job?" (PL2)

yameta is the past form of yameru ("stop/quit"), which when written with this kanji specifically means "quit work/resign
from office."

Minori: -f!vlj:
Sonna

tm

L...~v''t."

J:,

Hl!~lv o

kao

sllinaide

yo,

Obasan.

};.'):_..;<:
Daijiibu

t!.

n'i?l

da

kara!

that kind of face don't do/ma~c-(reque>t)(emph.) aunt/auntie all right/safe am/blare because

" Don' t look at me like that Obasan. I' ll be fine." (PL2)

-ft)-t>~, li -:> ~IU: L... t.; ji!,:iffi l... n' ~J.,
~
t.:. ~' ~"' It t' .. .
Soryli,

hakkiri to shita mitiishi

as for that

c lear

ga

ant

wake

ja nai

kedo . . .

outlook (subj.) have situ;llion/ca,e is not

but

"Of cour e. it's not the case that I have a clear outlook, but .. .
" Granted I don' t know et exactl what I'll be doin but .. .
shinaide is a negative -te form of sum (''do/make"); in colloquial speech the -naide form of a verb makes a request or
relatively gentle command nor to do the action. A wide variety of idioms based on - kao (o) sum are u ed to describe
people's facial appearance~ and expressions: Jonna kao (o) suru = make that kind of a face." and sonna kao (o)
sllinaide ="don' t make that kind of face" - "don' t look at me like that."
daijobu means 'all right/OK'' in the ~ense of "safe and secure/no cause for concern"- "''ll be fine."
soryli is a contraction of sore n:a. ''a.\ for that": it's sometime~ used like this as a "warm up" phrase with such idiomatic
meanings as "of course/it's true that/it goes without saying that."
hakkiri to sllita ("is clear/clearly defined") is the past form of hakkiri (to) sum (''become clear").
wake ja nai (or wake de '''a nai) il> literally like English "it's not (the case/situarion) that - :but this kind of explanatory
form is used in Japanese a great deal more than in English.

<

;t 't' t!.-:> -r: t.; ~ lv :iC JI.

made daue
takusan kiji

Minori: .:. tt
kore

this/now until too/even

many

.:. ~ l -r: t.:

l,

konashite-ta

shi,

artic les was handling/writing and

" I' ve been writin a lot of articles a nd

J:'-f 0)
~tMt
il' I? ~ -fRMI t
yoso no
01her

~ I?-:> t.; .:.

~ .1.> .0 L. ,
kara mo irai
o moral/a koro 1110 am shi,
magazine publishers from also requests (obj.) received occasions also have and

zasshisha

" I've had reguests from other magazines and

~Ht
li
=n'R 7t 0) ~t!- 't' LO)If.Q
tobun

L. .. .

wa nikagetsu-bun no /..:yiiryii de shinogeru shi. .. .

immediate future as for 2 months' wonh that is pay

with can get by

''for the time being I can get by on the 2 months' a

so

I have in the bank so ...

konashite-ta is a contraction of konashite ita. the past fonn of konashite iru ("am/is/are handling''), from koiiOSu
("handle," which when speaking of writing assignments means write/chum out"). 0 , to mar k J.:iji as the direct object of
this verb, has been omitted, as it often is in colloquial speech.
shi is an emphatic "and/and besides/and so," often used when listing up causes/reasons in an explanation.
koto mo aru is an expression meaning the described situation/circumstance "can occur/sometimes does occur," or, when
it follows a past verb, " has (sometimes) occurred."
tobun refers to an indefmite period of time beginning at the present; rabun wa ="for the present/for the time being/for
the foreseeable future.''
shinogeru is the potential (''can/be able to") form of shinogu ("bear up/manage/ride out'').

Minori:

;j:~{ij

J;.O)I), nr/v!! IJ ~T!

Bi'iJ'i

Suginae

Minori,

taim)

~0~ <T>
ganbarimasu.' Yachi11 110

(surname) (given name) will strive hard

rent

li L.;t-t!'!v!

wa shimasen.'
of nonpayment/arrearage as for won't do

' 'I' m oin to 've it ever thing I've got. I won' t fall behind on m rent!" (PL3)
ganbarima.w is the polite form of ganbaru. which means "to strive hard/do one's best" at a particular task.
yacltin (literally. "house fare/fee") refers only to "the rent" for a home or apartment, and can't be used for the cost of
renting anything else; yachinno taino ="nonpayment of rent'' - "falling behind on rent.

Landlady:

J;. <1) I) '1':> -t> lv

Minori-cha11 . . .
(name-dimin.)
0

~ lv t.;

anta ...
you

"Minori . . . ou . .!...!." (PL2)

-clwn is a dimjomive equivalent of -san (''Mr./Ms.'') most typically used with the names of children, but also among
close adult friends and family.
anta is a more casuaVioformal anata ("you").

[I]

Landlad

b~-:>!!

Wli!!

" Waaahh!!" (sudden wailing)

Mangajin 69

------------------------Ji

70 Mangajin

q)

IJ iii: llt M inori Densetsu

------------------------

Minori: "t>f.!.o i:>i-.Hf~

bo

i:>l;(~ lv,

Lfe

l..~lt>\."

J: o

Ya da.

ne.

Obasan.

Shinpai

shinaith

yo.

Ogesa

(interj.) exaggerated{colloq.) aunt/auntie

worry don't do-(request)(emph.)

"Don't be silly, Obasan, you' re really overreacting. Please don' t worry." (PL2)
t_,~r?
fvt.!.
J:, -t? t.:~lj:lt> fvt.!.
J:!
~ ... ~t..:L..~, ~fvt..: ~t

Landlad

Chigau

n da

So

yo,

ja nai

is differenc (explan.) (emph.) that way is not

n da

e:

Uim-t .o
will marry

e:

1v t.!.-::d..: ; , "t>-::> ~Q)::

n dartara,
yarto ano koto

keldron suru

(explan.) if it is

finally

yo!

atasha,

anra

(ex plan.) (emph.) (stammer) as for me

ga

you (subj.)

~r

-a- .i .o

.!::

.\'!~.-::>

ga

ieru

to

omotte .. .

-r .. .

that thing (subj.) could say/tell (quote) thought-(cause)

" It's different from that. It's not that way. 1- l just thought that if you were getting married I could ftnaUy
tell you about that thing."

" You don't understand. It's not that at all. I- I lust thought that if you were getting married, I could
finall tell ou." (PL2)
ya dais a variation of iya do, literally meaning "[something] is disagreeable/unpleasan t"; it's one of the most common
ways of expressing one's objection to something-including lighthearted objections like 'oh, go on!ldon' t be silly/don't
make me laugh/etc."
shinpai slzi11aide is a negative -te form of shinpai .wru ("worry"), again serving as an informal request/command not to
do the action.
chigau literally means "differs/is different," but often implies "is wrong/mistaken/a misunderstanding-+ "you don 't
understand."
atasha is a contraction of atashi wa ('"as for me''); atashi is a mostly feminine variation of watashi ("lime'').
n dattara after a verb makes a conditional expression that's literally like "if it is the case that [the action wiLVdid occur]."
ieru is the potential ("can/be able to'') form of iu ("say/tell''), and omorre is the -te form of omou ("think").

Minori: ih. . .

~Q) .:

'?

ano koto

(Mammer) that

'f?

lie?

thing (quote)

''Wh- what do you mean by ' that thing'?"

"T- tell me what?" (PL2)

- rre is a colloquial equivalent of the quotative expression - to iu to ("if/when you say - "); when it's used to quote
something the other person has just said, it basically means ''what do you mean by [the quoted word/remark).''

~r Ul) 71 ~ - ~ ~-t;,::vvr ~'"'

ga kono apiito buchi-kowashite bim

Landlady: -ffbiflit
Fudosan-ya

realtor/developer (subj.) lhis apartment

tear down-and

~ -::>t..:-r .o

bullateru

-::>'t' "' ?
tte

iu

~vt.:

.I:!!

n da

yo!!

building put up/construct (quote) say (explan.) (emph.)

"A property developer has decided to tear the apartments down and put up an office building!" (PL2)
ill! ..1:1f
J: '
ii!!J:.It"!
Ji-age

yo,

ji-age!

land-grabbing (emph.) land-grabbing

''Developers. It's the greedy developers!" (PL2)

buclzi-kowasltite is the -te form of buchi-kowasu (often buldwwasu}, an informal but emphatic form of kowasu ("break/
wreck/tear down"); the prefix buchi- (or but-) is used with a number of verbs to imp ly that the action is done in a particularly forceful or even violent manner. Bullatem uses the same prefix with tateru (''build/construct'').
in this case, tte is a colloquial equivalent of just the quotative particle ro.
ji-age refers to the practice of real estate developers and consolidators enticing or intimidating/forcing landowners to sell
out and move when their property is needed for a build ing project.

Landlady: ::::)fv
Gome11

J.J.Q) t) -t)~.lv!!

.1:,

yo, Minori-chan!!

(apology) {emph.) (name-dimin.)

::::)/vJ:H - !!
Gomen

yo!!

(apology) (emph.)

" I'm sorr Minori! I' m so-o-o sor

b~~

Wii!!
(wailing)

!! Waahh!!" (PL2)

Mlnori: -f tt -::> -r .. .
Sore tte .. .
that

(quote)

"As for that . ..

"You mean .
11e here is a colloquial equivalent of ro iu no wa, literally "as for what is called - ," which is often just a fancy way of
marking the topic ("as for -").

Minori:

H!i~lv . .. j'[ -t):iJ!~?

Obasan,
aunt/auntie

tachinoki?
ev1ct1on

" Obasan, [does it mean] eviction?"

"Obasan I'm being evicted?" (PL2)

l{lc/rinoki is the noun form of tachilloktt (''move o ut/vacate"); the noun form can refer either to voluntary " moving oull
evacuation'' or forced ''eviction."

Mangajin 71

72 Mangajin

_ __

_ _ _ _ ____:_
1-J.
:........:..:.
q)

IJ

1~

!!1. Minori Densetsu

--------------------------

OJ

Landlad

~lvf~

f!lt

1:~~'-'o

Alita

dake

ja nai.

only/alone

is not

you

1: {t/v"'t' A }j./vl;t. ,
Koko

ni sunde-ro hiro minna,

this place in/at

live

=lr.o J.:tpq 1: t1:1 t:t. ~ ~ t:t. ~ t:t. "' 1v t..:

nishiikan inai ni
2 weeks

denakya naranai n da

within

must leave

people

J:-,,

all

yo!!

(explan.) (emph.)

"Not 'ust ou. Ever one wbo lives here has to leave within 2 weeks." (PL2)
sunde-ro is a contraction of sunde iro ("is/are li ving" or 'Jive"), from sumu (''live/reside [in a place]"). Koko ni surule-ru
is a complete sentence ("[they] live here'') modifying hito (''people''). Wa to mark hito as the topic of the sentence bas
been omitted.
denaJ..ya naranai is a contraction of denakereba naranni, a " must/have to" form of deru ("exit/leave/vacate").

Minori:

7C~ t.~f.t.'-''

Jodan )a nai
joke

is not

P o t'-J
wa.

Do

(fern.) how

-?-:>"( ~1-:>~-t!:

yaue

ilikkose

-:>"(

v'-7

<7)?!

ue

iu

no?!

doing mo' eire locate (quote) say (cxplan.-?)

"This is ridiculous. How' m I su osed to get a new lace?" (PL2)

Minori: = ~' Ji 53"(J) M~:fl- ,
=:h'.; Ji= T-hul'1
!i !'tllit.t.

'ftft ~

f.t.(J)

Nikagersu-btm no kyilryo, sanjtlrokuma11 11isen goltyaku-e11 ll'a kiclto JUt gun-sltiki11 na no

2 months' worth that is pay

362.500 )Cn

as for

preciou~

yo!!

war chest (explan.) (is-emph.)

"The 2 months' a 362 500 is m)' precious start-u capital!" (PL2)

joda11ja nai is literally "it is not a joke," and it's an expression for strongly dismissing or protesting what the other person
has said: "That's ridiculous/You can't be serious/You' re o ut o f your mind/Impossible!" or" o way!/Forget it!," etc.
yaue is the -te form of yaru ("do"). so dlj yaue ="doing how" - "in what manner" or just "how:
o hikkose is the abrupt command form of hikkosu ("move/re locate one's residence or place of business).
a king a question with explanatory no is very common in colloquial speech---especially among female speakers.
o the amount is roughly $3,150 at present exchange rates.
o ending a sentence with the explanatory no or na no plus yo is mostly feminine: the yo in this case essentially serves as
equivalent to da/des11 yo ("is/are"+ emphasis).
o

Sound FX: ff- -;;

Gii!

Rrrrr (sound of bank's shutter coming down)

8]

Minori:

f,)'-:> "( - -:> !

M11'.> t:t. ~ '"Z'- -:> !

Moue!
wait-(request)

don't close-(requc'>t)

Shimenaide!

" Wait! Don ' t close it!" (PL2)

Sound FX:

r' / r' / r / r' /

Don don don do11

Bang bang bang ba~ (sound of pounding on shuuer)

o
o

maue is the -te form of mat.w ("wait'' ); the -te form is being used as an informal request/command.
shimenaide is from shimem ("close [something]"): the -naide form o f a verb makes an informal request/command not
to do the action.

ATM: 17-;; :,t"" 17-1:!

/rasshaimase!
(2reeting)

'rWelcome!" (PlA)
irasshaimase (''welcome/come in'') is the standard expression for welcoming a visitor to one's home or customerS to
one's place of business. Using katakana representl. the ''accent" of the machine-generated voice.

Mangajin 73

l-J.

74 Mangajin

(J) f )

fii;

rut

Minori Densetsu

Minori: I>"'~-::>
Aisatsu

~!

wa
nuki
yo!
greeting/formalities as for omission (is-emph.)

"S are the formalities!" (PL2)

Sound FX: !! -;; !! :; !! ':1
Pi!

pi.'

pi!

Dit dit dil (pushi ng buttons)

nuki is the noun form of nuku ("omit/skip/dispense with").
in feminine colloquial speech, yo alone often serves for desu yo ("is/are +emphasis).

ATM: 7 1) 'll 1- ? :3-+f 17 'l -1 o

Arigato go~aimashita.
"Thank y_gu ver much." (PL4)
Sound FX: ? 1 - /
Uiin

Vreee (whir of motor spitting her passbook bac k out)

MJnori:

=- :;

1~1- .. !? Jo~fl.
li .. !?
Nippachi . . !? 0-kytiryif wa .. !?
28
(hon.)-pay/salary as for

"28!? What about m

Sound FX: ff'l "r- /

a !?" (PL2)

Gashiin

Crash (sound of shutter touc hing noisily down)

nippaclri (from ni, 2. and hachi, 8: lr changes to -pp for euphony) can refer to the 2nd and 8th months (February and

August), which have traditionally been thought of together because they are slow business months, but here she's using
it for the number 28, which represents the yen balance in her savings account.
female speakers often use the honorific prefix o- with kyiiryo ("salary/pay") even in informal speech.
stating just a topic plus wa (''as for'') with the intonation of a question asks very generally about the status/condition/
location/etc. of that topic.

Understanding an1me
(collfinuedfrom page 54}

Japanese society today is in the world of ani me.

Chiaki. the heroine of Zenki. for example, controls a
demon lord. Zenki. and uses him to fight evil ... Chiaki may
still be in high school. but she is already a powerful miko.
She controls Zenki by reducing him to a toddler: a demon
still, but a baby demon who she then terrorizes and bullies
like an older sister. In doing so. she also reveab how traditional Japanese women control the me n in their lives. They
tum them into children.
Much of Samurai reads this way- like lite rary c riticism.
I confess that, when I began the book, I s us pected that anime
would no t tand up to suc h scrutin y, but I now know what
anime otaku (::t -1 7 , "fans") know: there's more to a nime than
the confusion and feeling of gene ral weirdness that an initial
viewing c an produce. Wha t the untutored American viewer
takes out of anime is considerably less than the Japanese
animator puts in.
What stands up less well in Samurai is Levi's explanation
of the populari ty of anime in rathe r cosmic te rms-an act,
according to Levi, of c ultural communication between the GenXe rs of the US and the so-called shinjinrui
A 11. ''new

(m-

human types") o f Japan. "What this flood of d ubbed and s ubtitled video cassettes really re presents is a c ultural exchange so
ambitious that neithe r the Japanese nor the American government would have dared to plan it. The new generations of both
Japan and Ame rica are s haring their youth, and in the long run,
their future ... Future social historians may well conclude that
the c reation of the American otaku was the most significant event
o f the post-Cold War period.'' More s ignificant than c heap airfares? I doubt it.
Such attempts to explain the appeal of anime to alienated
modern youth a re few, however, so they're but a minor distractio n in the book.
Three appendices hold valuable information for those wanting to delve more deeply into the allusive a nd elusive world o f
a nime. The first contains addresses. phone a nd fax numbers, and
URLs of providers of ani me. The second is a n excellent list of
recommended readi ngs. And the third is a s hort g lossary
of te rms (some Ja pa nese, some Englis h) which every otaku
should know.

John Benedict is a freelance translc1101; middle-school teacher

of Japanese, and nmelist.

-- ------ cosmic= ;R 1.J.: 0~ t.t. remai-teki na I 'f1t jQ (J(j t.: f uhen-reki 11a allu;ive =Off ,l; ((.] a11ji-reki I 51~~,t';: ((~ in 'yu-re/..i

Mangajin 75

11 (]) I ) f~ Ill. M inori Densetsu

------------------~~~-

76 Mangajin

m
0

Soaud FX: ff? ff?

Gata gata
Rattle rattle (sound of desk and contents rattling while being moved)

Former ~I?, J.J.(J) t), C.' ? Lt.:

Co-worker : Ara, Minori, doshita

1/{:lb!.:.

(J)?

A- t: ~ lj:n -? !.:.

(J)?

no?

ara is a feminine interjection showi ng sudden awareness or surprise. "oh!loh my!/goodness!" Used when seeing someone you didn' t expect to see, it can be like "Oh, hi!"
do is " how/what" and shita is the past form of sum ("do/make"). so do shira can literally mean "what did Iyou] do?"
But it's most commonly used as an idiomatic expression meaning "what's wrong?/what happened?/what's the matter?"
n ja nakaua no is the past form of 11 ja nai no. which when poken with the intonation of a question literally asks "isn't
it (the case) that - ?"

Mlaorl:

~.

..

Na-

~ A- ~ (J),

.: tt

... ?

nan na no, kore ... ?

(swnmer) wbat (explan.)

this

"Wb- what's this all about?'' (PL2)

8]

Former Jt 'l
Co-worker: Mite

(J)

C. E t)

J: o

~U

f11lim L -1? ~-? t.:

(J) o

no

tori

yo.

Kaisha

tosan shichaua

no.

see/seeing of

as is (is-emph.) company went bankrupt-{regret)(explan.)

"Exactl what it looks like. The compan went bankrupt" (PL2)

mite is the -te form of miru ("look at/see"), and - no tori makes an expression meani ng "exactly as - ... so mite no tori=
"exactly as seen/as you can see"

"exactly what it looks like."

ga, to mark kaisha as the subject of tiisan shichaua. ha~ been omitted.
rosan shichatta is a contraction of tosan shite shimaua, the-re form of tosan sum ("go bankrupt") plus the past fonn of
shimau, which after the -te form of a verb implies the action is/was undesirable/regrettable.

Mlnorl: till ...

- - TO"Ba.nk-"
FX: -" I?
Fura

Wobble (effect of Minori suddenly feeling weak/faint/unstable)

Former ::filt) ltiL'l Ufl: I!
~~!
~U (J)
i:>~

iSI;t,>~l?"' t -? 'l
}-:;..-;;(7
.1:!!
shachO wa
johatsu!
Kaisha 1w o-kone arai-1.11rai motte
tonzura
yo!!
put out-and co. pres. as for evaporated/vanished company 's {hon.)-money
all
took-and neeing/escape {is-emp,b.)

Co-worker: FuwaltJri dashite

default

"Tbe president defaulted and disappeared. He made off with ever last bit of the compan 's moneJ1 '
(PL2)
juwatDri can refer either to the act of nonpayment/default, or to the bill/note that is not honored/paid. Fuwatari dashite is the
-te form ofjilwattlri (o) dasu (literally, "put out a non-payment/bad bill''), which is essentially equivalent to the verb "default.''
jiRuJtsu here implies johatsu shita, past form ofjohatsu suru ("evaporate''). which is used as an idiomatic expression for
"[a person) disappears/vanishes" (usually in situations when the person has done so deli berately).

o, to mark o-/cane as the direct object of motte, has been omitted.

arai-zarai means "aiVthe whole/every last bit."
mone is the-re fonn of motsu ("carry/hold''), and tonzura is a slang word for "running away: Kaisha 110 o-kane (o) araizarai mone tonzura yo= "he ran away carrying every last bit of the company's money."

Mangajin 77

h q-; 11 ii llt Minori Densetsu _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

--------------~~-

78 Mangajin

OJ

SoundFX:

[I] Loan shark:

.B -J !
0!

U*

t;t

v '~ i

O) tp ,

shacho

wa

me

no ka,

11:~

ti?!

n' < t..-rlv

shacho wa?! Kakushite-n

(imerj.) co. pres. as for nm here (ex plan.?) co. pres. as for

are hid ing

t."(>~i

t.!J:d

l'.t?!

/a ne

darii

na ?!

nm

I suppose (colloq.)

"Hey, isn't the president here?-the president?! l don' t suppose it' s that you' re hiding him?"
" Hey, where's your president? I wanna see your president. You wouldn' t be hidin~h:..:.im
=~'-"-"
would you?" (PL2)
Sound FX: .::f -\'7
Kyii

Ack! (sound of scream)

ine is a rough. masculine slang variation of inai, negative of iru ("exist/be present" for humans and other animate beings);
jane is similarly a rough. masculine variation of ja nai ("is not"). The vowel combinatio n ai often changes tO ei or e in
masculine slang.
kakushite-n is a contraction of kakushite iru no ("is/are hiding [something/someone]" + explanatory no), from kakusu
("hide (something/someone!").
- ja nai daro na is an expressio n for '' I don't suppose it's that - ... o ften with the feeling o f ' it beller not be that - ."

Minori: t.tl:

J:o

~t.:L t!.--:>"'C" ... ~t.;t., t!.--:>"'C"

Nani

yo.

Atashi datte . . .

what (is-emph.}

UG

atashi datte shacho

I

100

too

1:

~v't.:v'

J: o

ni

auat

wa

yo.

co. pres. (lllrget} want to see/meet (fern.} (emph.)

''What's that? 1, too ... I, too, want 10 see the president.''

''What!? You ... ou're not the onl one who wants to see the resident!" (PL2)
nani yo (fern.) and nan da yo (masc.)--literally "what is it?" or ''what's that?"--can be used in a challenging or even
belligerent tone to protest or express offense/outrage at what the other person has said.
datte here is a colloquial equivalent of the panicle mo ("too/also'').
aitai is the " want to" form of au ("meet/see"); ni marks the person you want to meet.

Minori:

l!!l~llll

Yonen -kan

mo koki-tsukane oki-nagara. mada atashi

4 year period all of having worked [me] hard

still

me

mote-asobu tsumori?!

(obj.) take advantage imemion

" After having driven me like a slave for four car s does he intend to take advanta e of me some more?"
(PL2)
t '-?
t.,-r<tt.J.J 0)
J: , .B*~:f!.!!
t'-?
L.-r<tt.J.J 0)
J: , 3L.t=>ill~?!
Do

shite kureru

110

yo,

o-kyilryo!!

Dr!

shite kureru

110

yo,

what/how will do for me (explan.) (emph.) (hon.)-pay what/how will do for me (explan.) (emph.)

tachinoki?!
eviction

"What will he do for me about my back pay? What will he do for me about my eviction?"
"What'm I supposed to do about my back pay? What ' m~osed to do a bout m eviction?" (PL2)
Loan shark: H... Hv ' .. .
0-

oi .. .

(stammer) (interj.)

''H- he . . ." (PL2)

-kan is a suffix meaning "period'' used after words indicating a length of time: mo after a number implies that the number
is large for the given context: yonen-kanmo ="all of 4 years/4 whole years."
koki-tsukatte is the -te form of koki-tsukart (''drive/work (someone) hard")
"drive like a slave."
oki-nagara after the -te form of a verb implies ""in spite of having done the actio n."
mote-asobu means " play/toy (with)/make sport (of)/tritle (with)/take advantage (of)," etc .. depending on context.
shite is the -te form of sum (''do") and krtreru after the -te form o f a verb implies "[do the action] for me"; dii shite
kureru no? literally asks 'what will you/he do for me?" The expression places blame and responsibility for the
speaker's predicament on the listener or on the third person referred to. The sentence order is inverted: normal order
would be 0-kyiil)'ri (wa) do shite kureru no yo? and Tachi11oki (wa) do shite kurem no yo?

Minori: 28fll

"C'
Nijiihachi-en de

28 yen

~-)

do

\.,-? --:>"'C"

shiro

ne

"'J

0)

J:~?!

i11

no

yo?!

with what/how do (qume) say (explan.) (emph.)

''What am I suppOsed to do with 28?" (PL2)

shiro is the abrupt command form of sunt ("do"). so do shiro essentially asks what the command is: "do what/how?"
With the quotative tte iuno? it becomes "[you're/he's) saying for me to do what?"- 'what are you saying I'm supposed to do?"- " what am I supposed to do [with 28)?'"

Mangajin 79

JJ.

80 Mangajin

(J)

IJ iii:

M inori Densetsu

OJ

Sound FX: 7 ' " ' ;f 1' ;; ;f 1' ;;

A ha ha Kya! kya!
Hajla ha F&k eek (laughing and squealing)

0 Proprietress: J.J..(J) fJ , ~d.: ftk tr?

M itwri.
(name)

11tmi 11011111?
what will drink

" What' ll ou have Minor!l" (PL2)

-r-...

,if(
t.!tt
Ii,
mizu
dake de.
is fine/OK water only/alone with

Minori: "'"'

"Just water is fine." (PL2)

Minori's scn1ence is inverted; normal order would be mi::.11 dake de ii ("water alone is fine"). /i ("good/fine/OK") in
response to an offer mean~ "that's OK/never mind." so putting ii first gives us an element of that here as well.

Minori: <<,
(PL2)
mama is one of the standard ways of addressing or referring to the female owner/ proprietress of a drinking estabJjshment.
kiuo can range in meaning from a wishfuVnot very confident "probably," to a surely/cen ainly/undoubtedly'' spoken
with a high degree of confidence, but it stops shon of absolute sureness.
yo ne has the feeling of " I say/assert .... but don' t you agree?/am I right?"

Manga}ln tJ 1

1-J.

82 Mangajin

(J) ~~ i~ ~lt

Minori Densetsu

J: o
Atashi ga sakka ni naru
I

nante,

yahari

ten

ni tsuba suro koi

(subj.) autho r become a thing like after all heavens/sky on/at

spit

datta

act

no

yo.

was (explan.) (emph.)

" As for a thing like me becoming an author, it was after all an act of spitting at the heavens."
" When I ot it into m head to become an author I was reaU 'ust spitting into the wind." (PL2)
nante can be considered a colloquial equivalent of nado, or of an entire phrase like nado to iu koto wa (literally ..a thing that
is something like - " ). It's often used to imply the preceding item or action is ridiculous/inappropriate/unthinkable.
ten ni rsuba suru (lit., ''spit at heaven") describes actions that backfire or boomerang on the person doing them.

Minori: .:3t. !i
Kore

ll'a

l:$.1.1~

{])

'.k:*

"'-

1~\-? '(

Gunma

110

jikka

kaette

~Hr

.{I:Atil.

l.. .1:>

ha11ayome slwgyo shiro

this as for (pref. name) in parent;,' home to go home-and

bride

traming

-:>

-r

~' ')

}.; ~ ' ;If

fj: lvt~

iu

o-tsuge

11a n da wa.

tte

do (quOie)

~ay

ho

divine message (explan.) (fcm.)

" This is a divine message tellin me to o home to my__lli!rents' house in Gunma and start learning how
to becom~ood housewife." (PL2)
hanayome slwgycl ='"bride 'slhomemaker"s training ... and shiro is the abrupt command form of suru ("'do''): tte iu is a
colloquial equivalent of the quotative to iu, which marks the preceding as the specific content of what follows: ~ tte iu
o-tsuge ="a divine message saying - :

[IjPro rietress:

'I.f.:MJi:>f.: o ~/vf.:.:{])}jij,

Mara hajimatta.
again

Iii(>

C iJijlt.f.:

fllJQ)

Anta kono mae, otoko to wakareta

began

you a while bac k

"There you go again. As :l -=-.

r~
eca
~ll~=~~=c...!!!~~~~~~~~=:!<!!..~~=<!.!.!:"..L.!~~c..!!J!....!!~
your boyfriend, too." (PL2)
.: lv t. Q) ~ff.: ~ ..$:~
J: 0
Minori: ..... .. .
Ko-

kondo no

keiji

koso ho111nono

yo.

(stammer) this time 's revelation (emph.) real thing (is-emph.)

Minori:

"Th-this time it's the real thin l_or sure." (PL2)

~:it Lt.:
B 1.:: .: 1v fj: 1.::
1.:: fj: J.> fj: 1v -r

;r-*

Dokuritsu shira hi ni konna-ni fukii ni 1w ru

c.-?~ ;t, -r t

nam~

.. .

do kangaete nw .. .

went independent day oo this much unhappy become a thing Jjke no matter how you think about it

" No matter how ou look at it for me to have so man unhappy thin

I decide to o inde ndent as to be some kind of si n ." (PL2)

n to me on the ver da

kono mae (lit., ''before this") refers to a time in the relati vely recent past: ''the other day/a while back/recently."
do-te mo, with a verb filling in the blank, makes the expression, no matter how Lone does the action]." Kangaete is
the -te form of kangaeru (''think about"), so do ktmgaete mo =.. no matter how one thinks about it/looks at it."

0 Proprietress:

7 fj: .: t. .1 ;{, '( J.>

Aho na kow ka11gaere-m
foolish

't < ~::d.: t?' lf'j}J~Iif

hima attara,
f udosan-ya

at)

l.. -r ~ fj: ~ "' J: 0

<" IJ

meguri

shite kinasai

yo.

go do

(emph.)

things be thinking free time if have real eMate agencies making rounds

"![you have the tjrne to be brooding over such stu~id ideas, go make the rounds of the real estate offices."
(PL2)
.t:; 11:
fj: lv '(
fj: lv b?' fj: .Q
lv t~ 1,)' I? c
O-kane

11a111e

namoka naru

11

da

kara.

(hon.)-money a thing like something can be done (explan.) because

"As far as the mo ne is concernedLYQ!! can always work something out." (PL2)
kangaete-ru is a contraction of kangaete iru ("be thinking"). from kangaeru ("think [about]/ponder").
attara is a conditio nal (''if/when") form of aru ("have")
" if you have."
- meguri (fro m meguru, "go around/circle") re fe rs to "making the rounds of - ."Shire is fro m suru, and kinasai is a
command form of kL1ru ('"come"); kuru after the te form of a verb is often equivale nt to the English. "go [do the action]."

[IjPro rietress:
"T.mraku

nattara

fumsato"

tte

iu

1W.

soro-soro

akiramete hoslrii

wa 11e!

pai ofulltrying when becomes hometown (quote) say o ne/talk soon/by and by want you to give up (fem. colloq.)

"It's about time....YQ!!.gave up this talk about going home whenever the oing gets a little rough!" (PL2)
~
~ ~ -r
.ttl$ 1: '!iir "? -r ~ t.: !J:. ~ ~ fj: ~ 't"
11. tr

"Yume

yaburete

furusato

11i

dreams are tom/broke n-and hometown to

Q)

.f~Jpj fj:

~J

otoko"

came home woman (obj.)

iJki-na ai
big

de

tsutsumu

love with envelop/enfold

-r:

~'~ l.. fj: ~' lvt~

iJ' C:>
tl!
i ya shinai 11 da
kara
ne!
cououy of naive/unsophisticated man a thing/person like doesn' t exist (explan.) because (colloq.)

fE#

inaka 110

bokutotsu na

kaette kita Ollila

fj: lv

name

"The roverbial 'sim le count bo who takes into his bi Iovin anns the woman who came home
to the countr with her dreams shat! ered' doesn' t really exist ou know." (PL2)
FX: .:7
Giku (effect of words hining home)
furusato refers to one's "old ho metown/native place,'' usually when one is away from it. The word traditionally evokes the
image of a small country community where one's family still lives and to which one's heartstrings are drawn.
(continut d 011 next page)
Mangajin 83

h (})

f) f~ ~!t

M inori Densetsu

jiJ ;t

~I

~?

(/)

84 Mangajin

[ID (continu~d from pr~vious pag~)

akiramete is from akirameru, and hoshii after the -u form of a verb implies the speaker wants someone else, often the
listener, to do the action.

yaburete is the -te form of yabureru ("be tom/rent asunder"), and kaette kita is the past form of kaette kuru ("come
home"); yume yaburttefurusato ni kaette kita is a complete sentence ("[she] came home to the country with her dreams
tom apart") modifying onna ("woman''). 0 marks this as the direct object of tsutsumu ("wraplenveloplenfold")-i.e. as
the thing being enfolded-and de marks olci-na ai (lit,. "big/capacious love'') as the thing in which it is enfolded.
yume yaburete furusato ni kaette kita onna o oki-na aide tsutsumu is a complete sentence ("[he] enfolds in a big love
the woman who came home to the country with her dreams tom apart") modifying inaka no bokwotsu na otoka
(''simple country boy").
i ya shinai is an emphatic slang equivalent of inai ("don't/doesn' t exist"). from iru ("exist[s]" for people and other
animate beings).

~:

;t--:>'

}jljtt. -t:> ~?

Q)?

E!

Wakarechau

no?

wakarechau is a contraction of wakarete

(from wakarem. "break up") plus shimau,
which after the -te form o f a verb implies the

(exclam.) separate/break up-(regret) (explan.-?)

''Wba-a-at? You're breaking up with him?" (PL2)

~:

action is undesirable or regrettable.

? .. .lv, it!

lvt! Itt' ~ o

~It'-?

1.:

li

b-)

U . . . 11,

n da kedo sa.

Airsu

ni

wa

mo

:i3-=>'t' 1.>
mada mayotte-ru

uh-huh

7-1 'JfJ{-?~t.:. P o
aiso ga tsukita wa.

still am vacillating (explan.) but (colloq.) that guy with as for now/already have gotten fed up (fern.)

"Uhh .. -huh-thou h I' m still not uite sure. But I' ve had it with him." (PL2)
mayotte-ru is a contraction of mayotte iru (''be undecided/vacillating''),
from mayou (''vacillate/be unable to decide'').
aiso ga tsukiTa is the past form of the expression aiso ga tsukim ("become fed

A_: h.-/vo
FL7n.

" Hmm." (interj.)

up/di gusted with" or often in matters of romance. "fall out of love with").

FX: r.1 <

Pilcu (effect of pricking up ears)
A : 't' b !!11 ~1 ~ 1.> t.l: 7 o ~ t.:. L.. 1.:
Demo yiiki aru nii. Atashi ni
but

courage have (colloq.)

1;1: 't' ~ tj: v' J:-!

wa dekinai yo!

dekinai is the negative form of dekiru ("can do

Iit]"); with this verb, the person who can or cannot

do the action is often marked with the particle ni.

by as for can't do (emph.)

" You're brave. I could never do it." (PL2)

~:

-t- ? *?
SO?
that way

~:

"Really?" (PL2)
t!.-:>'t' ~t..:t..J.:.-t:>

t?

Datte

atashi-rachi

mo nijiini

after all

we

J:!

22

yo!

**M

..: QJ;&.i
t L.f.t~t>'t' 25
Kotro mama keklcon mo shinaide 25

ctJ'

1:~-=>t~-r ~~,

taka

ni natchatte sii . ..

already 22 (are-emph.) in this Slate marriage even not do-and 25 or something become-{regret) (coUoq.)

''I mean, we're already 22, you know. What if you wound up lust like now, unmarried, at age 25 or
something, you know, and . .
mama means "as is/unchanged," so kono mama= " unchanged from this/in this same state.''
natchatte is a contraction of natte shimatte, tbe -te form of naru ("become") plus the -te form of shimau. which after the
-te form of a verb implies the action is undesirable/regrettable. For a woman to be unmarried past 25 is considered cause
for great alarm in Japan-though the average age for first marriages has risen somewhat higher in recent years.
the particle sa or sii in the middle of a sentence is often like the colloquial English pause words, ''like/you know.'' Her
sentence continues to the next panel.

mawari

wa

mo

minna

kekkon shire kodonw mo

iru

noni,

jibwr dake hitori sabishiku

surroundings as for aii'Cj)dy everyone has married-and children also exist/have even 1hough oneself only

fJJ v\ '( It\ 1.>

l:; fJ'.
toka,

hararaite iru

-t- ?

t.t -:> t.:. 0

C' ?

i' 1.> ?

so

nattara

do

suru ?

alone

forlornly

is/are working or something thai way if becomes what/how will do

~:

"even thou h ever one else around ou is married with kids ou're still workin~by your lonesome?
What if that ha ened? " (PL2)
~ ~--:>! -t tt. -:> 't' -!T1 7-!
sabishiku is the adverb form of sabishii ("lonely"}, and
Kyii!

(exclam.)

Sore

tte

saite!

that (quoce) lowest/worst

"Yikes! How totally awful!" (PL2)

Sound FX: .:f -t J\1\ J\1 \ l \ 1'1'
Kya ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

(high-pitched laughing)

hararai1e iru is from hataraku ("work [ac a job}"). so hitori

sabishikuluuaraire iru =working alone with feelings of
loneliness"--+ "working forlornly all by yourself."

tte here can be considered a colloquial equivalent of the

quotacive phrase to iuno wa; it essentially serves to mark
the topic: sore tte ="as for that."

To be continued ...
Mangajin 85


pop Japanese

The Year of Living Dangerously

speak for "the Silent Majority."

he year 1960 was one of dyShilly-shallying and buying
namic contradiction, a year
time was not what student speech
when the right and the left, the leadaimed for. It was as instantaneous
ers and the led, and the young and
and in your face as an angry disthe old stopped biting their lips and
trict attorney. The rapid-fire retorts
confronted each other ... savagely.
nansensu ("nonsense") a nd igiOn January 18th the Koan Chosa-cho
naslti ("no objections") were its
( P ubl ic Security In vestigation
binary poles in 1960. Nansensu was
Agency) classified the Zengakuren
(A ll-Japan Federation of Student
almost as devastating a putdown as
hi-kokumin ("un-Japanese") had
Self-Governing Associations) and
been during the war years.
other leftist student organization as
How intense a year was 1960?
boryoku-shugi-teki hakai katsudo
yogi dantai ("groups suspected of
On May 20, the Liberal Demodestructive activities and advocating
cratic Party (LOP) majority, faced
violence"). The very next day, in the
with a sit-in by Socialist lawmakWhite House, Prime Minister Kishi
ers on the Diet floor, brought 500
and US President Eisenhower signed
police in to expel them, then
documents to extend the US-Japan
ratified the new US- Japan security
pact. Zengakuren demonstrators
Security Treaty, subject to ratification
stormed the gates of both the
by their respective national legis laprime minister's residence and
tures. The stage was set.
the Diet the same day. On June
But 1960 was also the year when
by William Marsh
LOth Eisenhower's press secretary,
this catchphrase describing the ideal
husband's attributes caught on: ie
James C. Hagerty, flew into
tsuki kii tsuki babii nuki ("[he comes] with a house, a car, and Haneda airport to make advance preparations for a scheduled
presidential visit, but his car was totally surrounded by angry
no old lady [mother-in-law]"). Another blunt, contagious, female take on things emerged from an actress d uring an interdemonstrators; a US helicopter finally had to lift him to safety.
view: "Sekkusu ga saiko yo" ("Sex is the greatest"). For (The presidential visit was soon cancelled.)
women to publicly air such views marked a break with the
On June 15, an enormous wave of students and workers
pre-war past more radical in its way than the anti-American
piled against the gates of the Diet building. Right-wing
extremists in a car deliberately drove into the crowd. Police
harangues that would soon fill the air.
and students went head to head, and Tokyo University senior
In February, the stock market broke the I ,000 barrier as
Kamba Michiko, 22, perished in the crush. Four thousand dema bullish government trumpeted its plans for kOdo-seicho ("aconstrators reached the inside and convened a protest on the
celerated/high growth"). Later, in July, a new administration
grounds. The police came back with force, brutally expelling
under Ikeda Hayato would pro mise shotoku-baizo (''income
them. In the end there were 182 arrests and 589 injuries, 43
doubling") within the decade. Having provoked outrage back
in 1951 by suggesting the poor should eat barley if rice prices
of them critical. On June 17, all the major newspapers ran
were too high, lkeda played on his reputation for bluntness
unprecedented editorials asking the demonstrators to Boryoku
with his popular campaign s logan: "Watakushi wa uso wa
haishi, gikai mamore ("reject violence, preserve the legislative process"). The following midnight, the security pact
moshimasen " ("I do not tell Iies").
automatically became law. On June 23, Prime Minister Kishi
If that sounds like Richard Nixon, the resemblance is not
announced that he was stepping down. Ikeda spoke of maincoincidental. Then Vice President and already actively involved
taining a tei-shisei and called for kan 'yo to nintai ("tolerance
in foreign relations, Nixon was fascinated by the deft prevarications of Japanese political rhetoric as it was translated for and patience") from all sides.
him. Borrowings he popularized in American English include
And on October 12, a 19-year-old right-winger murdered
Ikeda favorite tei-shisei ("low profile") and mae-muki no sltisei Socialist Party leader Asanuma Inajiro with a short sword in
Hibiya Park, then committed suicide a few weeks later.
("forward-looking posture"). Perhaps the most notorious came
years later, when Nixon, like Ikeda in 1960, faced furious
Not your average year.
resistance from student groups and echoed the prime minister's
famous remark ("Koe naki koe o kiku ," that is, " I hear the
William Marsh (marshbil@ gol.com) is a freelance writer
based in Tokyo.
voices of those who don' t use their voices") by claiming to
92 Mangajin