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M A N G A J I N
.Japan's yen to vend:

VENDING MACHINES

JAPANESE
POP CULTURE
& LANGUAGE
LEARNING
$4.50
No. 28

RISING
SUN,
the movie

The

Vending Machine
Phenomenon

story by Matt Durbin

japan has more vending machines per capita than any other country in the
world- about twice as many as the US. Vending machines in japan are 24hour retail outlets offering a dizzying variety of products, and utilizing gimmicks and hi-tech innovations to attract customers.
Estimates vary, depending on exactly what you call a "vending machine" (Should gumball machines be included? How
about change-making machines?), but the Japanese Vending
Machine Industry Association ( 0 ~ !fbll&:Jl:t~n:~thbi'n says
there are approximately 4.1 million vending machines in Japan.
And that's just machines that sell a product; there arc another 1.2
million "service machines," such a'S coin lockers, coin operated
TVs, and parking meters. By comparison, trade sources say there
8

MANGAJIN

are 4.5 million merchandise vending machines in the US (no statistics arc available for US "service machines").
More than half of the machines in Japan (2.5 million) are
beverage vending machines. For the big beverage companies
such as Coca-Cola, Kirin, and Suntory, vending machines are
not only important retail outlets, they are also used as sales promotion tools for the endless stream of new sports drinks, juices,
yogurt-based drinks, various types of water, tea and coffee prod-

Vending machines lined

up outside a liquor store:
these effectively extend the
hours of the shop. and are
convenient for tiiP small-purchase customer. Because of
intense competition. once a rival places a machine in front
of a shop. others companies
must do the same or risk losing mctrket sharl'.

ucts that now onto the market. The success of Coca-Cola's

Georgia Coffee in the very competitive canned coffee market
can be at least partly attributed to the fact the Coca-Cola has
750,000 vending machines- about 30% of all beverage vending
machines in the country.
The competition to attract customers has led to new designs
and technical innovations. Some newer beverage machines dispense the product at waist level. This requires an extra motor to
bring the product back up, and cans take a little longer to come
out, but the machines are considered convenient for the elderly
and people carrying packages.
At one time, roulette-type machines were popular. When a
purchase was made, lights would nash, and every so often a
lucky customer would get another selection for free. These were
quire popular a few years ago, but lost favor when it was discovered that young hoys were gambling away their allowance
money trying to win free drinks.
Talking drink machines were tested by Panasonic ten years
ago, but were unpopular with shop owners, who complained that
they were being kept up at night by the chatty machines below
their homes (many merchants live over their businesses). The
"talkie" has a home, however, in banks and post offi ces, greeting
customers, telling them to insert the card. enter their secret code,
take the cash, etc .. with a polite "Thank you" at the end.

chines are usually placed in front of sakaya (liquor stores), hut

can also be found on train platfonns, in hotels, discos and sometimes our in the middle of nowhere.
It is only in the last 20 years that alcoholic beverage machines began appearing on streets. In the early days, the machines were rolled out in front of a shop and then wheeled back
in at closing time. The government decided, however, that movable machines would he a hazard in an earthquake, and ordered
them bolted down outside.
In 1975 the Vending Machine Association introduced a voluntary measure restricting operation between II pm and 5 am,
but the fi nal decision wa~ left up to the owner, and in practice
many machines were left on well into the night. In 1989 the
National Tax Administration released an official notice requiring shop owners to cut off their alcoholic beverage vending machines at I I pm, partly for the purpose of preventing minors
from drinking. There are no penalties or other provisions for
enforcement, however. and at most a warning might he issued.
There is a warning printed on alcoholic beverage vending
machines:

One major difference between the US and Japanese vending

machine scene is the abundance of alcoholic beverage vending
machines in Japan. These account for almost LO% of beverage
vending machines and are nor just limited to beer. There are
machines for wine, whiskey, sake, shochii (clear liquor di tilled
from yams or grains), canned mizuwari (pre-mixed whiskey and
water) and chfihai (shnclu7 with juice). Sizes range from small
glasses of sake, known as '7 / tJ '1 7' (Wan Kappu, "one cup")
to two-liter jugs of beer. Unthinkable in the West, these rna-

But there is nothing else to prevent underage drinkers from

availing themselves of this convenient source.
Consumer groups who view alcoholic beverage vending
machines as contributing to alcoholism and teen drinking have
recently stepped up their attacks. These groups arc small and
face a formidable government bureaucracy. They have been
largely ignored in the past, but some groups have now hired
lawyers and have petitioned city governments with formal
documentation, which means the government must respond.

~ t&iF ~ (i') fiXi!"'i.t::>.t !ffiXit'ii3!fili$Ht-C'M tl. ~ tL n.'

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Miseinenslw no insltu oyobi inshu-unten wa hiJritsu de

kinshi sareteimasu - Drinking by minors and drunk
driving are prohibited by law.

ff J.,., =\'- -1 / T 1 - ~o:>tH5MJiti~ l!l clulingamu. kycmdii tii no kOI/OIO honhaiki intense = ~ L \, '/1/ff.!! f,t lwge.fhiil
karetsu-na can be attributed to = - f.:~ IXI T 6 t :IJ .Z C, it 6 - ni kiin sum to kangaerareru allowance= ,J,irto ' kozukai the abundance of = (lit. )~:~
f,t hofuna ---> ~ ~0) tasii no unthinkable= ~ .Z G tL f,t v' kllllflllerarenai voluntary measure = bJ .1: ff.J f,t 11!1Jn jishuteki-na .1hochi nvaitthcmsetves of =
- 'd:fiJffli" J., - o riyiLwru formidable = .:r::.t'~' tew>wai petition = ~j!II9Q-t J., seigtilt .wru

gumbatl machines = 1- .:>.- 1 /

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MANGA JIN

r
F e a t u r e S t o r

'} 7 r- r; x 7 ~ ~~.& :~t~ rJR:$J

Snfutnuea lido Hanhai-ki Takeru
Software Vending Machine Takeru
More than just a vending machine, this is really a terminal connected to
a database at the software vending company. The customer can scroll
through choices of software products on the screen or search by product
type, and see a demo before putting in money. The manual is printed on
a laser printer, and the software is copied onto noppies.
One machine can vend an almost unl.imited selection of software,
and the customer is always assured of getting the most recent version.
The costs of conventional packaging and distribution, as well as returns
of unsold older product versions are eliminated.
Takeru is the name given to the entire system. It was developed by
Brother Industries, better known in the US for their sewing machines
and typewriters. There are currently 280 of these installed in computer
shops, large electrical appliance chain stores, and a few in bookstores.
Further expansion is planned after completion of an updated version.

'*

Aji
Kansei
Atsu Ats u
" tlavor c ry o f joy hot ho t" (lite ral translation )
Fried Food Vending Machine
The name Aji Kansei implies that customers will let out
a cry of joy whe n they discover how de lic io us the fried
foods fro m thi s mac hine are. It fries up various combinations of frenc h-fries, c hicken nuggets, tater tots, and
small sausages and de livers them in a paper cup. The
food products a re sto red in a re fri gerated compartment
a nd brought o ut to be fri ed when ordered . The machine
c leans the fry ing o il eve ry six hours and automatically
re places it as needed. In the ir promotional material,
the mo tto of the maker, Wlirudo Ft7zu Shisutemu
(" World Food[sl System[s j") is give n as:
Furesshu Narhura ru Herushii & lijii
" Fresh Natural Healthy & Easy."

Meanwhile, the beverage companies

have begun defensive measures by building the machines into the walls of shops.
This effectively removes them from the
street and puts them onto private property
where they arc less subject to regulation.

After beverage machines, the second

largest single product category is cigarette vending machines. Japan has over
450,000 of these, compared to I 80,000 in
the US-not so surprising if you consider

that 60% o f Japanese me n smoke (as

compared to around 30% of men in the
US). Like alcoholic beverage machines,
cigarette units simply have a sticker saying you should be 20 years old, although
some machines put them at the bottom, so
they don't obscure important advertising
messages.
The remainder of the machines sel l an
amazing variety of merchandise, from
frozen beef, hot noodles, cakes, ice
cream, batteries, cameras, film, phone

cards, CDs, panty hose, neckties, sex

toys, magazines (often, but not always
pornographic), and of course, manga.
Machines sell ing pornographic material or sex toys often have a special fi lm
on the front glass so the contents cannot
be seen during the day. At night, a light
comes on revealing the contents. Not just
limited to entertainment districts, these
machines are sometimes found in residential areas.

scroll through = (iilii"Ufi ~ {j:JPJJ ~ lt >:c 7Jl c, )

- ~1- 6 (gamen o idiJ sasenagara) ichiran suru unlimited= ;.~(7) musii no be assured of = WIDE ~ :h. 6~
J3 :B '.' ~;J -9 oikakusu , _pornographic material_= ;f- 11-- / +IJ:fj'~ poru~o kl_mkObut.w vandalism = f~~tQh ~ hakailha.wn kiii
ATM =(automated teller machone V')'*) ffl.: FllliJJ fjj ~t11, ~,. '~ genkm)ldi5 azuh'harm-kt miSchef = \. ' t:; C:J uazura
---- -- - -- - - - -- - - - - -

hoshfi sa rent obscure =

10

MANGAJIN

-r

F e a t u r e S t o r

More MANGAJIN!
Back issues
are the answer!
No.17: Go back
to eighth-century Japan with
the philosophical story of The
Phoenix, by the
creator of cartoo n favorite
"Astroboy."

/1(: ~ MJWi/1:,~
Kame Jido Hanbai-ki
Rice Vending Machine
This machi ne, located right
next to a rice shop (-;f:~
komeya) provides a convenient
outlet for housewives who just
need the basic purchase-a bag
of ri ce. T he shopkeeper can
concentrate on larger sales, and
the small-purchase customer
doesn' t have to wait in line.

is transferred to
the hard-driving,
militaristic sales
department of
his company.

No. 19: Profes

sional translators d iscuss
their trade in our
series of interviews.
Also:
report on sumo,
Japan's trendy
old sport.

ff~ 9itlhll&;;ctt
Yasai Jido Hanbai-ki
Vegetable Vending Machine
This machi ne hy electronics giant
M itsubishi has a fan for ventilation, but
docs not provide refrigeration, so like the
rice machine above, it's most likely to be
placed in front of a shop. It docs have lighting i nside so customers can check out the
merchandise before purchasing.
Last winter, a machine was set up in a
hi gh pedestrian traffic area of Osaka, selling heads of l ettuce for I 00 yen, about half
the supermarket price. Al though the machines are qui te different, bargain-priced
i mported frozen beef is also sometimes sold
through vendi ng machi nes.

No. 20: Two research physicians are forced

to re-evaluate
their ethics in
Ningen K~saten.

~. --------- :-~
1

One important factor maki ng the entire vending machi ne phenomenon possible is the low level of vandalism in Japan. M ost vending machines in Japan are
outdoors, on the street, but vandalism i s
not really a problem. While some vandal ism does exist (phone card vending machines in phone booths have become a
prime target), machines for the most part
arc l eft alone.
Nakajima Y asuo, president of the Ja-

pan Vending M achine Association, says.

" V andal ism of vending machines is not
really a problem. Unli ke ATM s and cash
changers, they don' t have much money,
and the penalties for vandalizing a machine arc quite high." I n addition, random acts of mischief like rakugaki (m:~
~, "graffiti") are not that common either.
While vending machines provide a
marketing tool for business and conve-

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M AN G AJIN

11

F e a t u r e S t o r y

*;t:ry /~ 3

''/ }-;\-

Toshiba Wan Shatto Bii

"Toshiba One-Shot Bar"
Whiskey Vending Machine
The promotional material for this machine stales
that as a trend for the 90s:

-If - !:::" A ~;jill Lfttt~ \.I'Q)iJflbi;(%0)-\T!:::"A Siibisu o oshitsukenai no ga suiko no

slibisu - Not forcing service (on people)
is the highest form of service.
With the "One-Shot Bar," there is no need to
worry about pesky or elusive waiters. You insert
your money, select single or double of your favorite brand of liquor, and hold your glass under
rhe spout. Ice and mixer arc provided separate ly.
There are about 500 of these machines installed in places like Karaoke /Jokkll.\'11 ( iJ 7 -t
7 o;j{ J 'l "A, ''Karaoke Box") a fac ility with
small cubicles rented out to individuals or small
groups to practice their karaoke technique. They
arc also well-suited to small resort hotels that
can' t afford a bartender.

z-.J.!iilf!V~ gi)
Meishi Kuruhu
"Meishi Club"
Business Card Vending Machine
Never leave home without your meishi
(business cards) but if you do (or if
they are lost), just head to a meishi
vending machine. These units look
something like an ATM, and operate
like a word processor. You choose
from 18 basic sty les, then input your
name, company name, address. etc.
(For those who just can ' t cope with a
keyboard. there is also a pen-type input
device.) About 30 econds later, you
have 30 meishi for I ,000. Don' t expect the same quality you would get
from a print shop, but these meishi are
apparently considered adequate for
some situations. This machine is imported from a company called KIS in
France by H :<$: -t 7
(Nihon Oto Foto, "Japan Auto Photo).

12

M ANGAJIN

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if

F e a

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t u r e S t o r y

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T 24

Fiorina 24

Cut Flower Vending Machine

Say that you, an overworked salaryman, just remembered your wife's birthday on the way home from
work late one night. Not a problem, you simply step
up to the 24-hour flower vending machine. Found in
major train stations, these units sell bouquets o f fl owe rs in the 2,000-3,000 range. The promotional material from the maker points out that it can also be used
for fruit or other food stuffs.

~, 7 ~

1 n .!liJJ~ /c~

Nekutai Jidn 1/anbai-ki

Necktie Vending Machine

Stanley Market in Nagoya sells imported neckties

and belts, and has put a necktie machine vending in
front of the shop. The customer can choose between
Armani and Valentino, but the tics come already
g iftwrapped, so you don't know what your tic actually looks like until you o pen the box. The tics cost
10,000 each- about half the usual retail price, and
receipts arc given with each purchase. Stanley Market
re po rts selling several ties a day. Bar hostesses, who
buy ties for their favorite patro ns' b irthdays or o ther
special occasions, are said to be regu lar customers.

nience for consumers, they have a cost.

The large, high tech machines consume
huge amounts of electricity. Many of the
machines are cooled by Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) the ozone-eating material
found in air conditioners, aerosol sprays
and refrigerators.
In the new atmosphere of e nvironme ntal awareness. however. changes are
being made. Coca-Cola will test a new
machine this September that uses a fuzzy
logic microprocessor claimed to reduce
e lectrical consumption by 50%. Coke
also asked its bottlers in Japan to col lect

CFCs from the 60,000 o r so vending machines "temlinated" each year.

Even though most vending machines
provide a special bin for empties. all these
can and boule machines lead to a tremendous amount of garbage. T ras h fro m
vending machines is a apparently a serious headache for train stations, which
collect tons of garbage every day.
The economic s lump has a lso a ffected the vending machine industry. One
result is that operators are replacing their
machines every four or five years instead
of every three years, as in the past.

Some say that in the heated competition of the last few years, most
of the good spots have been taken,
and that this factor alone will result
in a plateau for the vending machine
business. It's hard to imagine, however. that the vending machine will
ever lose its place in the heart of the
Japanese consumer.
Matt Durbin is a free-lance writer in Tokyo. Thanx to: The Japan Vending Machine Association, Peter Evans, Karen Ma,
and SSKC.

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awareness = J~i;&(IHI.:Ili)""-Q);i2,~ klmkyii (mandai) e no nin,,hiki

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

M ANGA JI N

1 3

A TASTE OF CULTURE

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Kisetsukan
"A sense of the season"
keeps Japanese menus fresh
all year long.
Kisetsukan, or "a sense of the season," is the Japan.csc national e thos. Seasonal feelings arc reflected in clothing and personal accessories, architecture and interior design,
and most definitely in culinary matters.
Despite mode rn technology which e nables consumers to
enjoy exotic food s from a ll over the world throughout the
year, the choice of what to serve at a Japanese meal is very
much determined by seasonal cons iderations. ln effect,
kisetsukan means allowing nature to direct your diet.
. The Japanese notion of shun (1iJ, the time of year when a
particular ing redie nt is at its peak) is acquired at a n early
age. The observation and study of natural phenomena is an
integral part of the yochien. (Y;/JfffiOOJ. pre-school ) curriculum.
Japanese ch ildren spend their summer vacations keeping a
diary on insects, plants, vegetables, and fi sh. Young school
children learn that digging up fresh bam,boo shoots is a springtime outing, while going to harvest sweet potatoes is an auturnn school trip. As a resuit, most Japanese g row up appreciating the bounty of each season; genuinely regretting the
passing of one season whi le eagerly anticipating the pleasures of the next.
To Westerners, the most c urious aspect of Japanese culinary kisetsukan is the enjoyment of a s ingle ingredient prepared in various ways at the same meal. No matter how much
in season tomatoes might be, it's unthinkable in America or
Italy; for example , to serve at the same meal a fresh tomato
salad and a meat or pasta dish sauced with tomatoes. The
Japanese, on theother hand, would think nothing of serving
three eggplant dishes at one time, In fact , a recent meal prepared by a Japanese friend included nasu no o-miotsuke
+O)!:>h-13-::>lt, chunks of eggplant simmered in miso soup),
yaki nasu (J:JHiO small whole eggplants, grilled then chilled
and garnished with fresh grated ginger), and shiba-zuke ( L

Om

r.

by

Elizabeth Andoh

Iii((, eggplant and gourd pickled with akajiso ,:tf;~~. an

herb that imparts a pinkish hue).
In a Japanese-planned menu, variety means a few ingredients used in many ways, not lo ts of different ingredients.
Indeed , a professional Japanese chef' s skill is often evaluated on the basis of his or he r ability to transform a s ing le
ingredient into a full menu. The omakase ryori (;t-31f.-tt:ll'I:!IR,
" leave-it-up-to-the-chef-to-decide-what-to-serve food") concept that prevails in most e legant kaiseki restaurants depends
upon the chef's ability to obtain the best seasonal (and reg ional) ingredients avai Iabl e and then convert the m into a
wide range of dishes. The Japanese cul inary imagination
thrives within these rather narrow constraints, whereas American chefs tend toward more free-whee ling cu lina ry fantasies.
Indeed , Americans arc often disappointe d with Japanese
meals that feature just a fe w ing red ients.
Of course, part of the pleasure of formal Japanese meals
is in their presentation, not just in how good the food tastes.
And kisetsukan plays an important role in culinary aesthetics. The various themes and motifs used to convey a sense of
seasonal feeling are deeply rooted in Japanese culture. Many
of these motifs are closely linked to natural phenomenon,
others are associated with national folklore and ceremony.
Most Japanese assume their symbolism to be self-evident, just as Americans assume that everyone knows Santa
Claus means Christmas. But for those not brought up in a
Japanese household, it can be difficult to decode many culinary clues. So, to help fill in those cultural blanks for you, I
thought it might be useful to include a brief description of
some of the major motifs used in Japanese food presentation.
Despite the shift to the Gregorian calendar (January 1 is
New Year's Day) in the later half of the 19th century, the
Japanese still think of spring as the start of a new year: school

national ethos= fi'IJ'I!;'Itf~h';~'i'i lwkuminseilkokwnin kishitsu considerations= ~Lflll. haity o bounty = ~J1- megumi c urious= L ~ ', /f}~.:li\ t:t.
mezurashii.fushigi-na in season= lll& IJ /'IU desakaril slum imparts = .g. X. .:5 ataem prevails = .J: <Q C_, tl J., , ~ (f..n: 3':> 7.> yoku mirarem, ippanteki de aru thrives= .;r: ;{_ 7.> sakaeru f ree-wheeling= #:OJ( i;t honp6-na aesthetics= ":'#:.'- bigaku folklore= RFo,{T.l. min/am denshi5 self-evident
= Fl ajj (J) jimei no decode= llfl.:fRT 7.> kaishaku sum motif= -f:c 7- 7f{!i~,f mochiifuldaizai
~--------------------------------

14

M ANGAJIN

Tasteof Culture

enrollme nt, business rec ruitment, even television dramas and

s itcoms star! afres h in April. The major symbol of springtime in Japan is the national emble m, sakura (t~. "cherry blossom''). The shon but beautiful blossoming of the cherry tree
symbolizes the glorious, though fleeting, nature o f life ... an
idea that captures the fancy of Japan's poetic intellect.
How docs such lyricism affect people' s eating habits?
To enhance the seasonal effect of foods with no parlicular
growing season, they are often shaped to look like some seasonal motif. For e xample, carrots might be cut to look like
cherry blossom petals in April, maple leaves in September,
and plum blossoms in January.
In Japan, the essence of summer can be evoked in an
instant through association with the Tanabata -t: 9 festiva l,
celebrated on July 7. Legend has it that Orihime (*'& t; .lll:i.,
" Weaving Princess") and Kengyt7 ('.$:4-,"the Cowherd") were
so e namo red o f each other, neither could do his or her job
right. The gods in heaven became angry with them- the Japanese work e thic is indeed legendary!- and banished them to
opposite sides of the firmament. However, once a year, on
Tanabata, they are permitted to meet by crossing the heavens
o n a bridge of tars. which is the Milky Way.
Tran lated into c ulinary activity, a favorite summertime

Somen noodles, a summertime treat

.
I

tiJ

!oitcorm = (illuat ion wnedy d)ll/i) :J ) T-{ -111-*'l /..omtdii bwrxumi necting = l.t ~t..: ~' /w/..t/11(11 captures the fancy = !IIJP,j; t J I <ttl. i ~ /..\{]/Ill
lrik11lmis11m lyric"m = ~Mi'tjojosei enamored= 1!'- '4J 1.: 1..: 7.> mudw ,; lliiTII th~ lirrnarncnt = A:~ o~ura the Milky WJy = ;kG!) Ill m1111 nv gilll'a

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MANGAJIN

15

Ta ste o f C u l ture

di h. somen (-f ~ ti)!v, thin white noodles served tloating in

ice water), resembles the Weaving Princess's threads. In July,

packages of somen often contain a few colored noodlesgreen, pink, and yellow-mixed with the white ones, to enhance the "woven" effect.

Fundamental Japanese

B*-~Ar~

Japanese Language Education Software

Interactive, Multimedia CD-ROM Application for IBM PCs
High Quality Sound by Professional Narrator
Animated Stroke Order of Characters is Shown
Interactive Role Playing and Dialogues
Record and Replay your Voice with Microphone
Challenging Lessons, Quizzes and Carnes

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Since summers in Japan can be stifling, it's little wonder

that water, with its cooling, curative powers, is the chief hot
weather motif in Japanese cuisine. Water is often sprinkled
on the sidewalks and streets to cool surrounding shops and
houses through evaporation. And, at fancy restaurants, water
is sometimes deliberately sprinkled on the table or serving
tray to suggest this. (Should you attempt to wipe these droplets away from your place? No, not unless they really interfere with your eating.)
Some of the major autumn culinary motifs derive from
the changi ng foliage . A popular fall dish is a wild mushroom
pilaf called aki no sansaku f:kO)IJitR, or "Autumnal Stroll."
This pilaf is often packed into a famil y picnic box and typically decorated with (carrot) maple leaves, ( t::. < cl; lv rakuan;
yellow pickled radish) ginko leaves, and slender (green bean)
pine needles strewn across the rice to resemble the forest floor
on an autumn afternoon.
Although the moon waxes and wanes throughout the year,
the Japanese think that the early autumn full moon, around
September 15, is the most spectacular. That is why circular,
or round. moti fs are preferred at this time of year. j:all moonwatching (rsukimi .FJ ~) is only slightly less popular than
enhance= } I (< "\f. -r ~~J~ht" hiki1merulma.w srill ing = .'ii!J7l \- '/!A
L :V.' ' ikigumslliilnwslli m.wi curmivc powers= iGm~JJ.*O)tJ J., clli1)'17
k{ika no am ~vuporation = !!P!kjoilal.\"11 foliage= *O):l\)! ko 1111 lw

waxes nnd wanes = i1i.l t, X I 1i ' ~ micllikake .nm1

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word

k.ata(ru)

tal<. relate

k.ata(rau)

converse

fo,

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MAN GAJI N

Taste o fCulture
springtime tlower-viewing (hanami ~E~). But when c loudy
weather is predicted for mangetsu (ifdllfl "ful l moon") e ve,
softly poached eggs are often served for supper because their
el liptical shape and filmy veneer evokes images of a moon
hidden by wispy c louds-an interesting die tary quirk.
The wintertime table in Japan focuses on celebrations of
the ew Year. And that means, among othe r things, the triumvirate known as shiJ u~. "pine "), chiku (it. "bamboo''),
and bai (f.fit. ''plum"). Since pine trees are always green. the
pine branch cluster symbolizes the eternal nature of things.
Bamboo symbolizes streng th (bamboo poles never snap; that's
why life guards at sw imming pools depend on the m). Plum
blossoms equate with he artiness because they bloom in J anuary, even when it snows. ( By the way, sho, chiku, and bai as
category titles are used year-ro und to de note differently priced
menus in many Japanese restaurants. I'm not sure why, but
used this way, shiJ !also pronounced matsuj is the most expensive meal. chiku[also pronounced takel is medium-priced,
and bai [also pronounced umej is the c hcapesl. )
The Japanese fondness for evoking seasonal attitudes is
not limited to carving and shaping food into vario us stylized
motifs. Tableware, inc luding plates, bowls, c ups. trays, and
accessories s uch as chopstic k rests, also he lp convey season-

ality. Even the mate rials used to fashion these tabletop accoutrements have seasona l connotations. In the warm months,
the Japanese favor g lass and crystal dinne rwa re because it
reminds the m o f ice; a refreshing thought on a hot, humid
day. Woven o r slatted bamboo is also popular in the summertime. probably because it provides ventilatio n, should a
cool breeze happen by.
The Japanese preoccupa tion with seasonal nuances requires enormous attentio n to detail when preparing meals.
Americans often assume that o nly top food professionals can,
or would, spend the necessary time and ene rgy on such tasks
as molding rice, carving vegetables, and coordinating decorative garnishes to plate design. Actually, the average Japanese housewi fe-and-molhcr g ives a lot o f thoug ht to presenting attractive meal~ for her family a nd fri e nds. The basic
kitchen ski lls of these home cooks arc greatly e nhanced by a
dizzying array of kitchen paraphernalia- equipment and appliances. And that 's what we 'II be exploring in the next issue
of "A Taste of Culture.''

Correspondence to:
Eli~aheth Ancloh, do M ANGA.IIN,
PO Box 711 9. Mariella, GA 30065- 1119

<

pouched egg= if\: 1::. L JJii mmlri twnafio

ettiplical shape
+fJ I' J
daen-kei filmy veneer = 1\f J3 i 3 "h h t.:. ~~ u.wkn t;ll"areta maku quirk
= ~-:t!;l, kistJ 1riumvira1e = ..:: '...>~il. mitmgwni nccoUiremcnls ~ f,m,w, .w;bilrin venliiUiion ilfi~~/ ilfiJ!filw7ki/1S17/ii happen by = t.:. j: t.:.;!: -*~
ramatama ktlnt diuying nrray = 1-li ~' t .td.:. ~ 1t ~ 11 <:i' t~ I) 1::. "iff;. k t3. memai o oko.m~em lwdo ~urari 10naranda paraphernalia ittJ-4. d/Jgu

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MANGA JIN

17

Japan
in Your Pocket!
Within the vast array of Eng lish
lang uage mate rial a bo ut J apan is a c uriou s genre, part g uidebook. part encyclo pe dia, devoted to explaining the
intricacies of J apanalia to tourists and
assorte d Japa no philcs. While these
books run the gamut fro m hi g hly informative to mere ly quaint, until no w
the y have all te nde d to delive r a madefo r-export ortho do xy g lo rifying tradi ti o nal c ulture while s lig hting mod ern
develo pme nts.
The Japan Tra ve l Bure au has
broug ht this g e nre into the nine ties
with a c hatty and accessible 14 vo lume set o f bo okle ts title d ( in Japanese) Nihon Etnki Jiten B.<f>:*Zt ~ 'I~
~-lite rally , "Japan pic ture-expl a ining encyc lopedia."
Each bookle t is packed with the
kind o f in valuable info rmatio nal nug gets us u a lly g leaned o nly thro ug h
ye ars o f observatio n. One le arns, fo r
e xample, that the fo rma l company seal
is usually round (a square seal has limite d legal authority); that you can predic t the weather by kic king a wo ode n
c log.
Even more fascinating than the individual entries, howe ve r, is the s tance
adopted toward the material. " Living
Japanese Style," an indispensible guide
to dail y life covering bo th ma tte rs
triv ial (how to bet o n the ho rses) and
consequential (ho w to pay y our re spects at a funeral) , is remarkable for
its re fre s hing a ss umption that. Joe

A Look Into japan Living japanese Style Eating in Japan

Festivals of japan Must-See in Kyoto Must-See in Nikko A Look
Into Tokyo Salatyman in japan Who's Who of japan Today's
Japan Regard Sur Le japan Vie au japan japanese Characters
japanese Inn & Travel

Various authors. Tokyo: Japan Travel

Bureau. 192 pages each, 950 (paperback).

Ga ij in might just acti vely pa rtic ipate

in J apanese soc ie ty, ra ther than me re ly
g awk in wonderme nt from the sidelines.
Vo l. 8, " Sa laryma n in Japan." the
most whimsical and e nte rta ining of the
e ntire set , switches between sa rc as m
and sympathy to ward the white-collar
Japanese wo rker . The pli ght o f the
middl e manager is d epicted by a g lum ,
bespec tac le d c hu mp s urro unded by
c artoons representing" e lfish requests
fro m subordina tes," "cheating wi ve s"
" fun - loving daug hters" " re be llious
sons ," and so o n. Above his head hove rs a tho ug ht-balloon: " I must be the
most mi c rable man o n earth." Ins ide,
he's no t in very goo d shape e ither, hi s
anatomy mapped out thus : " headac he
from han gover"; " lun gs hurt fr o m
c hain s mo king"; " weak li ver fro m
hea vy drinking"; a nd the real kicker.
" he mo rrho ids fro m long hours of sitting." Makes yo u wo nder if the writers weren ' t just a little overly identified with the ir topic.
Altho ug h numbe red in seque nce,
the booklets a rc o rg anized not so much
seri a lly as to pic ally, whic h some times
leads to subject ove rlap, partic ularly
with such common human denominators a s food , trave l, and entertainment.
But this duplication isn ' t necessaril y
a draw back: the differe nce in tone,
breadth o f coverage, and spin fro m
volume to volume re nders actual redundancy rare.

On the whole, the series presents

a more sanitized Japa n than the reade r
mi ght pre fer: nocturnal amuseme nts
in the e nte rtainment districts are dismi ssed with the c autio nary " it 's best
to vi. it these places with someone who
knows hi s way around." But he re. as
elsewhe re in the collection , illustrations take up the s lac k, such that the
accompa nying ske tch leaves no d o ubt
as to the nature of the s ig hts the re in.
In this way, each item is illuminated
thro ugh a ba lanced inte rplay o f wo rd
and image, to humoro us, ironic, or informatio nal effect, de pe nding upon the
s ubject.
The . c t itself ev inces some very
Japa nese features: categorizing and encapsulating kno wle dge, miniaturiz ing,
creating m atc hed "sets," infus ing a
topic with "cuteness," integrating wo rd
and image, as well as the very idea o f
etoki *~t ~ (pic tu re e x planatio n ) in
the series title . Perhaps most Japanese
of all is the forc e that g ives ri se to the
entire genre: the urge to de fine what is
Japanese, both to the world and to
themselves. Here, the result is an informati ve, ba lanced and candid collection that will have considerable appeal to weste rners and Japanese alike .
(Note: selected volumes in this se-

ries are available through

See p. 92 fo r details.)

M ANGAJIN.

Ginny Skord Waters is a professor

of Japan ese language & literature.

intricacies = >WI"' jjfml ~ ~ konUJ/wi tokorolfukuzatsu-.w Japana.Iia = H ;;$: ' {: Nihon-gaku Japanophilcs = :tJl H shinnicllilw run the gamut =- (J) ~
~ 1: t> /,:: 6 - 110 Zf/1 iki IIi IV(I /U TU gawk : ,Y. :IJ / /:: ~ n t i') ,0 p0/w11 IO IWJ.IUIIIUU sarcasm: JilJJilj jlisiJi chump: nfj( of ? ~ J{>'.)kan'aiS0-/1(1 Jll/.111
thought-balloon = ~ ;l '( ~' 6 :.: C. ~ 1)~ j" IJjz ~ tl:l L. kangoete iru lwto o shimesu fukidashi the real kicker = J>Di.lh ? It/~ It kiwametsuke/kessaku overly
identified =- (J) U r: t;t .., '(~ ;{_ j ~ 1.> ~110 mini 1w11e kangoesug iru >pin = (llil, l !)3~.f0') ) V'P.IJ (sl'lsumei nado no) h.it~eri lake up the slack = t::. 6 ~~ ~
~I ~fill I'> 6 (fill) ~ PJ!If '- Mi 'J) tarumi o hiki.l'himeru (larinai tokoro o ogina u) cv~ nces = lj: .., ~ IJ 1)~-t hokkiri shime.l'u

18

MANGAJIN

Book R ev i ews

Made In Japan andother Japanese "Business Novels."

Translated and edited by
Tamae K. Prindle. Armonk,
NY: M.E. Sharpe, Inc., 1989.
202 pages, $15.95 (paperKomikku Nichi-Bei Masatsu: Waratte bakari wa back).
Tamae Prindle's translation of
iraremasen ( ::J ~ "J ~ B
~ ? l' (.ftJ' fJ (;t "' G
1:t fv, "Comic Japan-US Friction : Not Just a Laughing this collection of keizai shf"Jsetsu
Matter"). Ono Kosei, transla("economy/business novels")
tor; Lawrence H . Bielgelsen &
offers the American student of
John F. Neuffer, editors. ToJ apancsc corporate cuI ture a
glance at the inside-or underkyo: Kodansha Ltd., 1992. 247
pages, 1500 (paperback).
side-of Japanese business.
Throu gh a presentation of
The Japanese are always curious
often purposefully stereotypic
about how they arc viewed by
other countries, and this book
characters, the seven short novels provide perspectives that are
helps satisfy that curiosity. Not
often left unaddressed in more formal written approaches to
Japanese business. Typical of the series is Takasugi Ryo's From
Just a Laughing Matter includes
I00 cartoons on Japan from newsParis, featuring a fast-track salaryman on assignment in France.
When an executive wife from a client company visits, he acts
papers and magazines across the
as her translator and shopping guide, but he docs the job so
US and around the world. The
book is divided into LO categowell, it becomes his permanent position. His career comes to a
stop,
and we arc given a chilling portrayal of a company in
ries. including Trade Tangles, Car

Wars, America for Sale, and Perwhich even the most talented individual is but a commodity in
ils of the Persian War. A Japanese
service of the corporate goals.
translation of the cartoon and commentary (in Japanese and
English) arc given on the facing page. In fact, everything. from
the contents and foreword to the notes about the cartoons, is
presented in both English and Japanese. No readings are given
for the kanji, however, and there are no language notes or gramTl.- amaziiiR word f"Octssor for rhr Applr Macintosh
mar explanations afa M ANGAJ IN . I n selecting cartoons, priority
was given to those that evoked a chuckle, and even if you're
not a language student or sociologist, you'll enjoy the book.

Book Shorts
*'*'m :

The word ~that

Japanese Business Etiquette. Diana Rowland. New York:

Warner Books, 1993. 286 pages, $12.99 (paperback).
Japanese Business Etiquette provides
a focused, organized guide to business and personal relations with the
~JlPANESE
Japanese as well as other practical
information to help make living and
working in Japan easier and more
productive.
A Practical GuicJ(' to
Success with the J.1Panese
The book covers a broad range of
Rol\l:md
__,.,.,
topics from cultural values and eti~ .~:: .
quette to communication, presentation, negotiation, and Japanese corporate culture. This new edition does
an excellent job of beefing up existing sections, and new additions cover
working for Japanese companies in
Japan and in the West.
Concise and easy to read, the book provides an ideal overview
for business professionals and tourists alike. One caveat: because the book covers so much ground, it sometimes sacrifices
depth for breadth, tending to focus more on "how" the Japanese
behave than on "why" they behave as they do.

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MANGAJIN

19

RISING
SUN,
the

mOVIe
by Rebecca A. Mundy

Police investigators
Jolm Connor (Sean Connety)
and Web Smith (Wesley Snipes)
check out the scene of a young
woman s murder in Rising S un.

The opening is brilliant. On the screen, the Japanese characters 0 lf. (a no nstandard kanji combination that would have to be read nissho, "sun rising") fade
into a burning sun rising powerfully on the ho rizon. The red orb breaks apart to
reveal a c ircle of worker ants rushing about on the desert floor, but whe n the cam era
pulls back, we are in what appears to be a Japanese Western. The camera pulls back
even more and we realize that the Japanese Western is a video for a karaoke version
of Cole Porter's "Don' t Fence Me ln." Singing is gangster/playboy Eddie Sakamura
and sitting at the bar watching him is sultry blond, Cheryl Austin.
This witty and provocati ve beginning raises the viewer's hopes for the movie
Rising Sun. Directed and produced by Philip and Peter Kaufman, and starring Sean
Connery and Wesley Snipes, the fi lm is based on M ichael Crichton' s best-selling
novel. It is the story of two special liaison detecti ves investigating a murder
mystery that pulls them into a web of industrial and po litical intrigue. After reading
the novel, I had envisioned a sophisticated, high-tech thriller, spiced with political
plots and evoking a strong sense of Japanese style-maybe something like Black
Rain. What I got instead was a Beverly Hills Cops version of Rising Sun- good
ente11ainment in its own right, but somehow dissatisfying and certa inly not on a par
with C richton' s far more controvers ial depiction of US-Japan relations.
T his is not to say that the movie is without its moments. The pi vota l murder
scene, where a beautiful call-girl is seduced and strangled on the boardroom table
of Nakamoto Industr ies during the grand o pening celebration o f the Nakamoto
Tower building in downtown Los Angeles, is a near perfect blend of sensuality and
myste ry. Sean Connery (as semi-retired police detecti ve and Japan expert John
Connor), and Wesley Snipes (as detecti ve Web Smith) create a dynamic partnership and add an interesting inteiTacial dimension to the plot.
There is also a great deal of humor in the film that never existed in the book,
including a hilarious sushi-eating scene reminiscent of Tampopo, Japan 's classic
film o n the fi ne arts of food and sex. T aiko drum sequences, surrealistic karate fight
scenes and a haunting musical score composed by Takemitsu To ru add a backdrop
of Japanese aesthetic sensibility.
But beyond that there is little in the film that gives the audience any real insight
into modern Japan. Gone is much of the political commentary and the minilectures on Japanese culture that were so important to the novel. The spoken
Japanese is sparse and repeats the same mistake as the book in the use of the word
kOhai (as in senpai-kohai, the "senior-j unior" relationship); Connor addresses his
j unior partner as "kOhai" rather than by name.
To maintain the humorous to ne o f the movie, some o f the supporting
characters are exaggerated caricatures of American politicians and trade negotiators who would be hopelessly inadequate in the reality o f upper level US-Japan
business dealings. The intention of the producers was apparently to create a
commercially viable film, almost a humorous take-off on
C richton 's novel, focussing on the murder mystery rather
than political contro versy. In spite of this, the film has
already spurred protests from Asian American organizations, accusing the movie of villainizing the Japanese and
perpetuating racial stereotypes. Actually, a cross-section of
characters is presented for both nationalities-heroes and
villains, Japanophiles and bigots. So me of the Japanese
characters are definitely portrayed as good guys. Yoshidasan, a high-ranking Japanese businessman instrumental in
the negotiations for the purchase of Micro Con by Nakamoto
Tndusllies is portrayed as a man of impeccable integrity.
Another Japanese character, Eddie Sakamura, the gangster
orb= J:.R kyil sultry= 'gfi~li0 t.: kannoreki -na intrigue = ~2if.ht!m'
~ inbO I sakubo sensual i ty= 'E\IiE:t'l. km111osei haunting = Ll:
J., kokoro ni nokom a humorous take-off= .:z..- ~ 7 :J.. t.: ;ill.\jfilj
yiimoraSUIIQ fiishi Japanophiles
D ~ shiw richi-ka bigots =
A+f!A!Jflill#~ ~ ~'"{ ~ ' A"< jin slw -re ki heu keu o ida ire- iru
hirobiro impeccable= E~ L.. 5.)-<1:>t.: ~ 'IX !.'!:<1:>1d:~' moshibunuo
nai I kellenrw nai inlegrity = ~:;1::;/i:':i~ seijitsu I kokersu

=om

Photo by Sidney Baldwin

24

M A N GAJ I N

Movie R eview

playboy, becomes the movie's unlikely hero. ultimately risking hi own life to
ave Connor and Smith. The studio also made a major depanure from the novel
in what appears to be a concession to Asian minority interest group . They
change the nationality of the murderer from Japane e to American. although the
film leaves hi identity somewhat ambiguou .
The producers, perhaps overly concerned about commercial success and
fearful of aggravating racial tensions, softened the political
controversy of the movie too much, and shied away from the
hard issues of US-Japan relations that are an integral part of
the story. The film could have been directed in such a way
that it shed some light on the complex state of affair
between Japan and America without casting either country
in a simple "good guy" or "bad guy" role.
As the filmmakers responsible for the beautiful and
controversial work Hemy a11d Ju11e, Philipand Peter Kaufman
should have continued their precedent and taken a bolder
stance on Ri.si11g Sun. It would have made a far better movie.

Stan Egi plays Nakamoto

Industries corporate llot-sl!ot
lsl!il!ara. and Mako is Yoshida.

Rebecca A. Mundy is public affairs director of the JapanAmerica Friendship Foundation in Los Angeles.
ambiguou., = ih \ '1 ~' aimai aggravati ng racial tensions =
A tRill] (l)~~'i.l~ ~ (.~ N:> 7o>_jinslmkan no kinchii o takameru \hied
a\\ay = L. I):: h. L. f.:.tM.It f.:. sl!irigomi shita I saketa precedent = tiiJ~ ~enrei

Photo by Sidney Baldwin

UCHIKAKE --The japanese wedding

kimono. Choose from our hand picked
selection of exquisite vintage silk
kimono. These make a striking wall
hanging, the f ocal point of any decor.
Shibumi Trading offers cultural items reflecting the
spir it of J a pa n. Car ved granite la nterns, bamboo, obi,
calligraphy sets, screens, a nd scrolls. O ur na rra tive
catalog is a fascina ting a rmchair tour of Ja pa nese
culture. For a catalog of our complete line, please send
$3.00. For photos of each of our unique kimono call or
send 10.00. which is refunda ble with purchase or
ret urn of photos. ( ISA, MC a nd Amer ican Express
accepted ). Call 1-800-8-B-6525.
We also ell unique elementa ry school curricula on
J apan or C hina which feat ure cultural items for
ha nds-on learning.

Shibumi Trading Ltd.

P 0 Box 1-F
Eugene, OR 97440
1-800-843-6525

MAN GAJIN

25

Wari-in, a "ta/lyn seal used on

the edges of papers to show
they are connected or related in
some way, can be found in two
shapes.

Some women prefer

more delicate-looking
seals.
Kaku-in, or square-shaped
seals, are often used by artists
to complete their works.

Jitsu-in (personal seals) are registered at town hall.

A mitome-in is used to acknowledge receipt of registered mail or

other home-delivered items.
They are often mass-produced.

Hanko:
Japan's alter ego
Hanko '1'11-=f, or seals, mark every turn in life for a Many kinds of seals
Japanese person, from the cradle to the grave. They
There are many kinds of inkan which can be placed
are the proof of authenticity and identity in Japanese into two general categories, .fi..F-n shi-in (private seals)
society; without their round, red impressions, Japa- and 0t:n ki5-in (official or government seals). More prenese do not "exist."
cisely, they can be grouped into ~t:[l jitsu-in (one's
Birth certificates and registrations of marriage need registered seal), iJHi'F.fl ginkoin (a seal used for banka seal to be acknowledged. The deceased are in limbo ing), ~F.fl m itome-in (a private seal/signet). U~t:fl
without the imprint of a hanko on their death notice. shamei-in (company seal) , ~ t) t:n wari-in (joint seal/
One must affix a seal on one's will. The survivors can- tally), ft~~t:n daihyosha-in (company representative's
not inherit anything they are entitled to without the mark mark) and others.
The ~lOP jitsu-in, perhaps the most important, must
of a hanko . One's registered seal is also indispensable for preparing registration papers for one's com- be registered at town hall, where officials issue upon
pany or property, notarial deeds, and documents for request an F.flit:::U:Ill'F inkan shomeisho (certificate of
bank loans. A seal is required on 1/.tA. ,~Jringisho(a draft seal verification). These certificates have specific peproposal circulated through the company for reaching riods of validity: in the case of registration of property,
a consensus), contracts, applications, and written ex- 3 months, and for notarial deeds, 6 months. As menplanations.
tioned, just about all important documents require
The ubiquity of seals in Japanese society can be one's registered seal: the impression signifies approval
noted from the number of synonyms: "1=11 han 'fll-T: or consent.
hanko (band stamp, seal); t:P'I'IJ inban (seal) F.nff~ingyi5
(seal, signet, sigil); F.fl~ insho(seal, stamp); F.flii inkan Avoid damage
(seal, seal impression), and others. Hanko is a ge- 1
One must be careful not to damage the face or
neric term; the proper terms are inshi5 and inkan.
material of the seal. If a seal is broken it will no longer

be valid since its imprint will not match the registered seal
impression. Many people protect their registered seals with
caps and leather bags, and it is customary to carry seals in
sturdy cases to prevent breakage. Anyone, householder or
non-householder, man or woman, can have a jitsu-in. Minors can also have registered seals with consent from their
guardians. Seals, however, are for one's lifetime only and
not to be passed onto later generations. They are engraved
with both family name and personal name, but just one name
will suffice if the individual can be identified by it. Identical
mass-produced seals, rubber seals, stamps, and seals of
pen names, however, cannot be registered. Registration of
seals with a different name or which are difficult to make
out is also prohibited. Registered seals are about 15mm in
diameter for men, and 13.5mm for women, and about 60mm
long in both cases.

Other uses
No specific format has to be followed for the ifHl'E:n
ginko-in, used for bank documents. This seal is an important one, but it does not necessarily need to be registered
at town hall. Since it is for making deposits, savings and
other transactions, the ginko-in must be registered with the
bank, however, and mass-produced seals once again are
not allowed.
The ~!On mitome-in is also called an ~!On ura-in; ura ("behind" or "back") indicates that this seal plays a supporting
role to the more formal jitsu-in. Its impression is affixed on
the receipts of registered mail, parcels, door-to-door deliveries, and other items which come to the home. Its purpose
is to Jg~ o mitomeru, "acknowledge" or "confirm"; it is usually one or two sizes smaller than the jitsu-in or ginko-in.
This seal is also called :=.:lcf!J sanmonban (mass-produced,
"three-penny" seal).
The inkan plays an important role in the Japanese art
sumi
world, too. An artist finishing a painting or work in
(Japanese ink) puts his or her signature and red seal on it.
Without these two elements the piece not only lacks a sense
of completion but also is not regarded as real. The work
loses market value even if it is indeed a genuine piece by a
major artist. A painter, famous or not, will not forget to add
these identification marks. When works by maestros are
occasionally forged, these two details are also skillfully coped. In a recent case, the genuineness of certain print works
by Munakata Shiko came into question. Their authenticity
was established finally on the basis of the genuineness of
the signature and seal.

i:
1R

Eurocentres courses receive the generous support and c lose cooperation of the
Ishikawa prefectural Boord of Education.
The programme provides opportunities
to experience Japanese culture. history and
tradition along with intensive language instruction.
Optional programmes include calligraphy; zen practice. industrial/cultural visits
and weekend excursions- to name o few.
Learn Japanese ways of life while staying
~li with a Japanese family.
Eurocentre Konazowo is o small cosmoPQ politan
world with participants from many
countries. Together they learn the Japanese
language and culture. and also about each
other.
A course unit lasts 4 weeks; more than
one may be taken at a time.

-c

*c
B

*1tX

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devoted to the teaching of languages to
adults . We teach English. French. Ita lian.
Spanish. German. Russian and Japanese in
the countries where it is spoken.
For a brochure please write to:

ECJAOOSmn

:.;;;~~~~:,:.';
-~~S'f!t~1&4l'IIF

Next time: the corporate inkan

!Bil;;;l~ 2-12 ~=#t't:Jt-4F

2-12 Kanda Surugadai

Fuk81 Bu1ldmg

Chyoda-ku . To29ky5o5140411 Fax: (03)3295-5443

Phone: (03)3

by Sawane Fumitoshi
. ~

..... ~.

. ~......:

...... ~ .i: .

i"'

~~

%
@
1j

"*

':' ;_ .::~ .,..-~~ -~~1:}~g~

~
..

~)

"

Calvin: "Mom_, can I seUire toJ:!!Y.__Qed mattress?"

~ 77, ~;t~'G7) 7;t~l--A 1.: :Jd:itlt"'C"It'lt'?
Mama,
Mom

beddo

no

marroresu

ni

lri o rsukere ii?

bed

('s)

mattress

to

may ( I) set fire

Mother : "No. Calvin."

~

-Y":J.

J: o

Dame

ro.

we considered using Maroresu o moyashire ii?.

"May I burn my mattress," but decided that the
more literal Matoresu ni hi o rsukere ii? was
perfectly OK here.

no good (~mph.)

Calvin: "Can I ride my tricycle on the roof?"

-+ m.flG7) J:. ""{.' =-~ 1: *')"'( "'"'?
Yane no

ue

roof ('s)

top

de sanrinsha
at

tricycle

ni

norre ii?

at/on

may (I) ride?

tricycle
(trike)

gflii

o~!-c>li~ L -r ~ 7 1 7

t -? .: t 'b 0 .0 o

Mother : "No. Calvin':

~

-Y":J.

J: o

Dame

yo.

no good (emph.)

Calvin: "Then can I have a cookie?"

-+ t.~, 7 7 :1'-- <bi?..Z-0?
Ja,

kukkii

moraem?

well then cookie

can receive
(;f,

then

l:l:l L -r -? i

;,.-r

,:.:;.~

t,.-

ll:.l61:~~.5~~~;J(tl:l:lVC:i:>P"(;j{jqol.::t:>c Lt~'lt ,

<7

'l -'\'- -

.of-t.: }._ tL J: -? t "' -? Q) ~{ 7J 11.- "/1 /

.J:-..t~

then- -i-it.l:-'1'0,

J;~\.

t,fi: l}Q)~;)<:t

Q) tl C:> "' o

Mother: "No. Calvin':

-+ -Y":J.

Dame

J: o
yo.

no good (cmph. )

Calvin: "She's on to me."

~

WJ:I..{ ~, :tt t..:

;>j: o

minukarera

na.

was seen through (colloq.)

J.

isonto ... I (t.:.< l?h.~t't) ll<~-:>"(o'-0 ,

:
f!<~i'Uv-c'l,\}.,Q):'ef:

.,

f,

( AQ)~t#i?t )

Call'ill & Hobbes, copyright I 987 Uni\'ersal Pre'' Syndie<~te. All rights reserved. Rcprintedllran,htled by pernlio,,ion of Editor' Press Service. N.Y.

32

MA NGAJIN

(0\ViN .J

HobbtS

~~

Calvin: "Where's Dad?"

-+ /~/{ (li) c.::
Papa (wa)
dad

doko?

(as-for) where

to be grammatically correct. the sentence does require the wa. but in actual speech it sounds more natural to leave it
out.
r,r.JJ.r

~.

mt

t..t

:.,. '

..

u.ZJJ'f

l.""t=

t;,;...

!fiT ."l~
t VC.J Iii t -~~
9(] 1: f-1! bit .0 BJ:ft,!li momo\ Dad -? !:mom
li!!! ~ .0 fJJ ~'i'J1f'L'
li ~

t
,!.
JJIJ
<
,:. :k A.J,t"ll
ruJ 1: q:, ~ .15 ~,. 8 4>: ~ I? j, L .1? I? t.: ?1~-c ~.:. , r.J:- ~ t ' t t;t:.d' -? ""?t-~ 11~'1:
t ft btL .0 .: t tJ< ~ <,
;.
c:"''' .!::(....._"? Lt.:
ffl kt liCli.ili; ~' : .: it r:~t .Jtl
L daddy ~ mommy li 11: r.JJ~\"..It't', k. A tJ<ft-? t~,g. li!jgiJ ~ tl L h. t.: >

dad ~
J

f I,

.~

-?.$'

f.: D'J<{f'IJItq) ,;\li:i t L"C foj!h it 6

Mom : "He's in the living room. making a fire."

-+ I, Hill
!.: ~,,.::,
~:~ o
'l<. t .t:> .:. l
lma

ni

iru

ua

Hi

-c :0

okosllire-ru

C. .:. 1:>

J: a

rokoro

ro

living room in i s/exist~ (fem. colloq.) fire (obj.) starling/making place/time (emph .)

trans lat ing " making a fire" as H i o okosllire-iru spo ils the joke in a way. si nce it implies that the fire is being started
in a stove or fireplace. The other option we considered was Hi o rsukere-iru, which could be interpreted to mean
that Dad was sctling fire to the ho use - apparently Calvin's inte rpretati on of his mother's reply. Since it's Mom's
line. however, we went with a word ing that would renect what she intended to say.

OJ

Calvin: "A fire! Oh, boyj"

-+
t.!.-:>""(?! T:." P!
Hi daue ?! Sugoi!
fire

i~-(quotc)

;awesome

c: k' t ~'-? t..: It "t'li ~ C

L -c ~ ' t.: n' f.Ht <? it 6

fire IJ: tji.

oh, boy .1?6'-'li'il-l: boy

~

,.

~ }.

t.: ~ ')c :.k jlQ)fY:P~ t .1? 6 t.: > , .: .: 'l'li Calvin

..

lJ.~..,

-nr t' t? I? t

' .':. ,.

Mf~

.:. -).i.A.

c ---t.:-~,, -- ~~i<l?"--~it~tt.-- .. -?v-"''~ t~~~~ 'fl,

il?~ tt.~t

tJ<h-t

the English word "fire" in this frame is ambiguous. so ~aying kaji (:.k 'Jl) in Japanese would be to anticipate (and
de tract from ) the punch line in the next frame. None of the other words we could thi nk of assoc iated w ith fire fit with
Calvin's exci tement here. but we decided to use lri - so the Japanese reader doesn ' t realize what Calvin is th inking
until the punc h line actually come~.

Ca lvin: "Oh . In the fireplace."

-+ t:tlvt.::, ll.&:t/i(.:

n'o

Nan da danro ni ka
fireplace in

oh

IUIII

da

i~

('!)

literall y what (is it)T but it is used as an expression of di sappo intment/let down.

M ANGA J IN

33

~I~I"l0l
Ueda Masashi's

'~f:l<~
Furiten-kun
Fusuma

110

Akeshime

sliding paper door of open ing & closing

The Opening and Closing of Sliding Doors

f usuma refers to the k.ind o f sliding door pictured. The door has a wooden
frame, which is covered with heavy paper on both sides. It's to be distinguished from a shoji screen/door. which has translucent white paper on only
one side of a grid made of thi n wood laths.
ake is from akeru ("open") and .vhime is from shimeru ("close/shut").

Sound FX: J..Sii (effect of sliding the door open smoothly and quietly)
~.: ,
( thinking) Johin-ni,

Yount! Wife: J:.

H L.. t -? n' t.: o

oshitoyaka -ni.

elegantly/gracefully gracefully/in ladylike manner

" Elegantly.., gracefully,'' (PL2)

j ohin-ni is the ad verb form of johin, w hich means "elegance/grace/refinement"). Here and in the next frame she is reminding herself how she has
been taught to open and close the }iiStuna as a proper wife.
shitoyaka-ni is the adverb form gf shitoyaka( -na), which means "graceful/
gentle/polite/ladylike.'" The ho norific o- is almost always included when the
word is spoken, less often when written.

Sound FX: J..Sii (effect o f sliding the door open smoothl y and quietly)

Young Wife: ff'P-1r t.:,

( thinking) Shizuka-ni,

<a

utsukushi k u

quietly/softly/gently beauti fully/charmingly

" Quietly, beautifully." (PL2)

shizuka-ni is the adverb form of shi::.uka(-na), " quietlstilllcal nlfsoft/gentle.''
ustukushiku is the ad verb form of utsukushii ("beautiful/lovely/chamling").

Mother: -:$ ;tt.O ? Wasureriiforgets

" She alwavs forP"ets somethint!." (PL2l

lengthening the end of the word gives it the feeling of a sigh o f disappointment/dismay.

Ueda Masashi. All rights reserved. First published in Japan in 1992 by T ake Shobo, Tokyo. English translation rights arranged through Take S hobo.

4 0

M ANGAJIN

'!Jf:l<
Furiten-kun

llli /C.til
lido
automatic

~ CD

Ha11bai-ki
vending machine

Vendin_g Machines
:I-7

Machines: :J .:1. - A

lltSLI

Kora

Juice

Cola
!Ub'c~
Hrmbai-ki

Sign: ru1.1
l ido

~1im
Seisaku-sho

automatic \ending machine manufacturing place

Vending Machine Manufacturingji:o_J

Boss: .:hn'c, 1.-t
i-ti-t (l!li1l!l!U~m
Korekara

,,a

11Wsumasu

jido ha11bai-ki 110

from now on a, for more and more vending machines of

,t;t tn.

n{

setchi

go

in~tallation (~ubj.)

.z .o

t hffiJ ~ h .o o

ji1er11
will

10

increa~e

yosoku .w reru.

(quote)

is forecast

"The forecast is for more and more vendin machines to tieplaced in service in the future." (PL2)
-ki is a uffix for machine~ of various kind~.
seisaku-slw is literally "manufacturing place" - "plant/factory.'' but is also
commonly used in manufacturing company names.
korekara is literally 'from this: meaning "from thi~ time forward."
setchi is a noun referring to the in~tallation of various kinds of equipment etc.
yosoku sareru is the passive form of yosoku sum ("predict/forecast")
Shikam-11i

wagasha to shite wa sono j uyil

a~- for

\oltherefore our company

l.:ki'1:
ji11sokL1 11i

11i

that demand to

<

~.z "t'v'n'fo: "t'l.t~ c, fo:'-' o

kotaete ikanakw e wa 1Wra11ai.

~wiftly

must re<,pond and proceed

"Therefore our compa ny must swiftly respond to

that (increasing) dema nd." (PL2)
shikaru-ni is a very formal word for but/however/nevenheless," but it is also
sometimes used (strictly ~peaking erroneously) to mean "and so/therefore.''
wagaslw to shite wa is more l iterally like saying "as for on the part of this
company. (we must . ..).''but here you can think of it as just a formaVwordy
equivalent of ll'o. to set up the tOpic (1rogosho wo = "as for thi s company, ...").
kotoete is the -te form of kotaeru ("answer/respond to"), and ikanakute wa
11aranai is the "must/have 10" form of iku ("go"). lku is used after the -te form
of a verb to imply the action is proceeding or will proceed on into the future.

A: to: 1v t!. ~', 0 fJ -t' ?

Nan dai.

arya?

what is it?

as for that

"What' s that?" (PL2)

!!: El.fJJ lltb'c ~

lido hanbai-ki

Q)

110

r1

!lib lUi:/~~ t!.

jidrl hanboi-ki da

J: o

to

yo.

vending machine of/for vending machines is (quote) (cmph.)

"T hey saxj!'s a ''ending machine for vending machines." (PL2)

Sign: Blli1J
!!& :/~~
lido

Hanbai-ki

automatic vending machine

Vending Machine
Arrow:

i:>~

Okane

Mone
Sound FX: ff 'I /
Gatan

Kathunk (typical sound of merchandise dropping in/

out of vending machine)
dai is <l colloquial nan da ("what is it?") and Cli)'Cl is a contraction of are wa
("as for that"). Normal syntax would be Arya 11011 dai?
... da to shows he is relaying information he heard from someone else.
lUI/I

e Ueda Masashi. All right' rc~rvcd. Fi rst

publi~hed

in Japan in 1991 by Take ShobO. TOkyo. Engli~h translatio n rights arranged through Take Shooo.

MAN G A JI N

41

'!Jf:l<

~ I

Title: {E)(

L----~_r;_:!_~_rk_s-

Fu riten-ku n
[Q

- - -- -- ------'
(/) -?
no-?

Boy: '7 - ,

wa,

hanabi

kalle kita

(cxclam.) fireworks bought-and-came (explan.-?)

" Wow! You bou ht some fireworks?" (PL2)

Boy:

~ 1:J

Yaro

1:J o
yaro.

let' s do let' s do

" Let's do ' em, let's do 'em." (PL2)

katte is the -te form of kau ("buy"), and kita is the plain/abrupt past form of
kum (''come"). -Te kuru has a variety of meanings, including "do the action and (then) come'' and 'go to do the action and come back," either of
which is possible here.
asking a question with no strictly speaking asks for an explanation, "'is it
the case that . .. ?" but such explanatory forms are used far more frequently in Japanese than is natural in English.
yariJ is a volitional ("let' s/1 shall") form of yaru ("do"). The repetition as
well as the shortened final vowels reflect his eagerness to get started.

~v ' t ::.

Boy:

kurai toko de yareba-?

in/at

if do?

if we do them in a dark lace?" (PL2)

yaue is the -te form of yaru ("do"); yatte mo is a conditional "even if (we)
do."
amari followed by a negative means "not very"; yoku is the adverb form of
iilyoi ("good/fine' '), so amari yoku followed by a negative means "not very
well."
mien is a contraction of mienai, the negative form of mieru ("can see").
zo is a rough/masculine particle for emphasis.
toko = tokoro = "place' '
yareba is a conditional "if/when" form of yam ("do" ). It implies yareba do
(desu ka), ''What/How about if we do?"

Sound FX: ;.,--\' ;;

Sha!

Y -\' ;;
sha!

;.,--\' ;;
shal

:,- -r ;;
shal

:,- -r ;; :,- -r ;;
sha!

shal

(sound of sparks shooting/snapping out from the sparkler)

t!. 1:; ?
Yappa

mien

daro?

after all/as expected can 't see probably/right?

" Like I said, you can't see it, r ight?" (PL2)

yappa is a shortened and more informal version of yappari. When yapparil
yahari is used to confirm/restate one's own earlier claim/assertion, it is like
"see, didn' t I tell you?" or "just as I said before."
mien is again mienai.
daro (= dariJ) means "perhaps/probably/1 suppose," so strictly speaking it
makes a conjectural question, but it is a rhetorical question that expects the
listener to agree, so it has more the feeling of "isn't it just like I said?/
wasn't I right?"
Ueda Masashi, All rights reserved. First published in Japan in 1992 by Take ShobO, Tokyo. English translation righls arranged through Take ShobO.

42

MAN GAJI N

ill\tll,l0l
Ueda Masashi's

,~,':1~
Furiten-kun
Title: ":! Jv 7
Gonifu

Golf

[!]

-c: -t tJ'?

Furiten-kun: H-?, s~ ~
Oya,

rsuri

desu ka?

(interj.) fishing is it?fare you?

"Well. well, going fishing, are you?" (PL2)

~

b tJ' o

t! 7:> o

Mirya

wakam

daro.

Neighbor: ":! Jv 7 t!. J: o J! t)

Gonifu da
golf
-+

yo.

is (cmph.) if look come to know probably/surely

"It's golfing. If you look, you can surely tell."

"I' m going golfing. Is n't it obvious?" (PL2)

oya is an interjection of mild surprise.

mirya is a contraction of mireba, a conditional " if/when" fonn of miru
("look"). Mireba wakaru ="if (you) look, (you) will come to know." Mirya
wakaru daro implies it should be obvious, and feels a little like "are you
blind?/open your eyes!"

Sound FX: ' ' :--

Bashi

-----

Crack (sound of golf club hitting ball)

FX: 7::..-1-Funya- (effect of ball flying weakly/unsteadily
through the air)
Sound FX: # 7- -1- /
Bochan

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

Splash (sound of ball landing in lake)

f.JIJ

t:~f.t.lt'TtJ' o

Nan da,

yappari

rsuri

ja nai su ka.

what is it?

after all

fishing

is it not?

Furiteo-kun: f.t.lvt!., -?::>1!1')

-+

"Heck, it was fishing after all."

" Heck, I was right after all. You did go fishing."
(PL2)

nan da is literally "what is it?" but by itself or at the beginning of a sentence it's often used to express the feeling that something hasn't lived up to
expectations- in this case the neighbor's expectations. At the same time,
the yappari ("after alUas expected") implies that the neighbor did live up to
Furiten-kun's original expectations.
su is a colloquial contraction of desu ("is/are"). Ja nai (de)su ka is literally
"is it not?" but the question is rhetorical so it actually serves as an emphatic
observation, "ll is/was fishing"-+ "You did go fishing."

Ueda Masashi, All rights reserved. First published in Japan in 1992 by Take Shooo, Tokyo. English translation rights arranged through Take Shobo.

MAN GAJIN

43

mrft<lv
by

Tanaka-kun

51 -t- iJ 1:::: D

Title:

I Tanaka Hiroshi

;{-?

Plima

J\

Perm
Sl~: ~~
Bi,o-shitsll

~-~

~~

Tomi Biyo-shitsu

beauty parlor

(name) beauty parlor

Beautv Parlor Tomi Beauty Parlor

biyo refers to the cultivation of beauty, whether through exercise, diet. cosmetics. hair styling, or other means. but biyo-shitsu (shitsu =''room") usually focus just on hair styling. T oday their clientele includes both sexes.

[2]

Tanaka-kun: "- / ~
Hen-na

ata111a

ni

natchatta

na-.

strange/wierd head/hair to became-(regret) (colloq.)

"My head became weird."

- "My head/hair turned out really weird." ( PL2)
kami no ke is the term for the hair on a person's head. but w hen peaking
of a person's haircut it's common to refer to it as atama (literally " head").
natchatta is a contraction of 110tte shimatta. the -re form o f naru ("become/
became") with the plain/abrupt past form of shimau ("end/finish/put
away"). which after the -te form of another verb implies that the action or
result was regrettable/undesirable.

Sound FX: 'f ;1.

'f ;1.

Clum

C/11111

Chirp chirp (sound of birds outside)

Tanaka-kun:

-a

IYJ!t"t't

"'{:>--:>li'fJ

"-/

fl o

lchiya

akete mo

yappari

hen

da.

one night even when passed/dawned after alVstill strange/wierd is

" It's still weird even the next mornin~." (PL2)

;,.. fv ~ :k -?
tl 7:> ~- 0
Minna

warau

everyone laugh

daro

na- .

probably /surely (colloq.)

"Everyone will surely laugh, won't they?"

- "I bet every_one'lllaugh,_" (PL2)
akete is the -te form o f akeru ("[day ] dawns/[night]ends or passes"); -te 1110
is a conditional even if/when (the action occurs).''

yappari in this case is "after all" in the sense of "stilUcontinuing even now."

Boss: IB'P<fv

li?

Tanaka-kim wa?
(name-hon.)

as-for

"(Where's) Tanaka-kun?" (PL2)

OL: 7-1""'< iJt
"-/
~(f)""f
{,f:tr
Atama ga
head

hen

na no de

yasu11111

sii desu.

(subj.) strangc/wicrd because/so take day off (hearsay-is)

" He savs his head feels (is) weird so he's taking the
dav off." (PL2)
when ata111a is taken to actually mean " head," arama ga hen can mean either "(one"s) head feels strange" (i.e.. one feels dizzy/has a headache/etc.)
or '"(sorneone"s) head is strange" (i.e.. the person is bany) - in this case
the former. since she is reporting Tanaka-kuns own words. That. o f
course. is the meaning Tanaka-kun hoped she would take. but from his perspective his true meaning was " my hair looks strange:
yasumu means " take a rest/go to sleep: or in the context of work/school.
" take a day off/stay home:
... so daldesu is used to report what you have heard from someone else. In
this case we assume she has heard it from Tanaka-kun himself, but so dal
desu is al so used for what one has heard indirectly from third parties.

44

M ANGAJIN

Hllft<lv
Tanaka-kun

by

.:;z -t- 7J 1:: D :..-- I Tanaka Hiroshi

Title: 7

v 1:::" PJ!:jifij
Television Movie

Terebi Eiga

On TV: E1 .J:. -? o - ~ 'l 3

Niclriyo Rodo SilO
Sunday

Owari

Roadshow

The End

Sundav Nil!ht at the MO\ies The End

Tanaka-kun:

I.' I.'

11!1!: tOO

t.:.-? t:.

~- o

li

eiga

dana

na- .

good/fine movie was (colloq. emph.)

" That sure was a good movie." (PL2)

rodo sho, from English "road show," when seen in movie advertisements
refers to the "exclusive engageme nt" of a movie at a major theater prior to
the movie's general release, so using rodo sho in the name of a te levision
movie program is intended to give it a certain 'exclusive" feeling.
normally owari is wrinen tf b I) , but on television and at the end of movies the okurigana (hiragana after the kanj i) are sometimes dispensed with.
dana is the plain/abrupt past form of da ("is/are").
(j:

Eiga

wa

yappari

eigakan

de minakucha

movie(s) as-for after all/really movie theater at

h. t:. .:.

t t:

mita koto ni
saw

~ c.,~\,\

naranai

if don't see

.J:. 0
yo.

thing to doesn' t become (emph.)

" If you don' t see a movie at a theater. it doesn ' t re-

allv count as seeinl! it." (PL2)

in this case yappari has the feeling of "in the end/in the final analysis (it
really is so)." so his sentence could be trans lated a linle more loosely as,
" In the final analysis. you really have to see a movie on the big screen. or
else it doesn't really count a seeing it."
-kan (by itself read yakata) refers to a " large building," and is the final part
of many words referring to theaters/assembly halls/sports faci lities/etc.
minakucha is a contraction o f minakute wa, a negative -te form of min t
(" see/watch") plus wa, making a negative conditional "if (you) don' t see."
mita is the plain/abrupt pa t form o f mint (''see/watch"). The past tense of a
verb plus koto ni naranai is an idiomatic expression meaning "it doesn't!
can't count as (having done the action).''

Pocket oaperback

Bunko

bunko literally means ''library/archi ves" but here implies :>'cW4: bunkobon,
referring to a book from one of the numerous " li braries" of pocket-sized
paperback editions Japanese publishers issue.

Sign: i$:
Books

Hon

Tanaka-kun:

,,,::It

'b

~-? rt t)

Shosetsu mo yappari
novel

.!i!fri$:

"(' Jx i t.t. < -? "~:> ~

tankiibon

de

yomanakutclw

also after all/really hardcover by means o f if don' t read

~)Uvf!.:.

C f: ~C.,~\,'
koto ni naranai

~!

yonda

na!

read

thing to doesn' t become (colloq. emph.)

"I.tyou don' t read a novel in hardcover , it doesn ' t

really_ count as reading it!" (PL2)
tankObon basically refers to books published as single volumes rather than
as part of a larger series/library. The word actually includes original
softcover editions as well (i.e. trade paperbacks that aren' t merely later reprints of hardcover books). but in this context the feeling of the original
comes through best if we translate it as ''hardcover.''
yomanakucha is a contraction of yomanakwe wa, from yomu ("read"), and
yonda is the plai n/abrupt past form of the same verb.

M ANGA J IN

45

b 3Lrt~ ~ ::t:e~
Y T achibanaya Kikuta ro

Beranmei Tochan

DJ

,~

8
1.!'!
Hyakuten ka!

TOchan: .iJ -? ,
0!

(exclam.) 100 points

"Hey! You got a hundred!" (PL2)

-ten is the counter sufftx for points on a test.
the question particle ka is purely rhetorical.

Kachan:

~ -? !i ~
Yappari

atashi ni

after all/sure enough 1/me

nita

da nei.

to resembled/took after (explan.) is (colloq.)

"Sure enough, he takes after me, doesn't he?" (PL2)

atashi is a variation of watashi ("lime"), more common among female speak( ers than males.
I!.. nita is the plain/abrupt past form of niru ("to resemble/be Hkeltake after").
nei is a dialect form of ne, which expects the listener to confirm/agree with the
statement.

[D

Tochan:

-r ~ lv 't" v'-? o
Teyandei!
"Horsefeathers!" (PLI)

Tochan: .iJ v' I? 1:

-IJ:J t:.

1:

nita

ni

-?

-r lv

t!..;;, v' -? o

Oira

ni

kimatte-n

Ume

to resembled/took after is for sure/obvious probably/surely

daroi!

"It's me he takes after, that's for sure." (PL2)

-Gil~

3
ll

{j..x -;;::,
~

(-:::

1-= -w~

teyandei is a slang/dialect phrase meaning something like "What the hell are
you talking about?" or "You're full of it!"
oira is a mascuHne slang word for "lime," a somewhat softer variation of the
rough ore.
kimatte-n daroi is a dialect contraction/variation of kimatte-iru daro, "is
surely decided/definite." The expression ... ni kimatte-iru means "of course
(it's) ... "or"... is the certain/inevitable result/conclusion."

Yowatta

na,

imasara

kanningu

weakened/troubled (colloq.) now/at this point cheating

to

mo

,Z~ \r'

ienai

(quote) even can't say

shita
did

l- o
shi.
and

"What a bind! It's too late to tell them I cheated." (PL2)

yowatta is the plain/abrupt past form of yowaru ("become weak"), which is
used idiomatically to mean "be troubled/in a fix/at a loss."
imasara means " now," implying "now at this late point/now after all that has
happened/been said."
kanningu, from the English "cunning," is the Japanese word for "cheating"
on a test. The verb form is kanningu suru, and kanningu shita is its past
tense.
ienai is the negative potential ("can't'') form of iu ("say"). The phrase . .. to
mo ienai feels like "can't very well ;ay .. ./can hardly say . .."
shi is "and" for between two clauses. In this case, the syntax is inverted, with
the clause that would normally follow shi coming at the beginning: lmasara
kanningu shita to mo ienai shi, yowatta na would be the normal order. Kazuo
is at a loss as to how to defuse the dispute between his parents.
Tachibanaya Kikutaro, All rights reserved. First published in Japan in 1991 by Take ShobO, Tokyo. English translation rights arranged through Take Shobo.

46

M ANGAJI N

31:1E~~::t:fU~

Y T achibanaya Kikutaro

Friend: ? t:> (/).to X ~ />; IJ:

Uchi 110 otosan

t.!. -tf 0

wa Nalwmura Masatoshi ni nite-n

my dad

as-for

(name)

da ze.

to resembles-(explan.)(emph.)

" My dad looks like Nakamura Masatoshi." (PL2)

Kazuo:

Beranmei Tochan

.......,_ o
He.

" Reali ?" (PL2)

uclri is literally " inside," but is used frequently to refer to one's own house/
family, company, or other group. Addjng no makes it possessive: " my
house's/family's"
"my." Saying uchi no otosan instead of chichi is considered a somewhat childish way of referring to one's father.
nite-n da is a contraction of nite-iru rw da, where nite-iru ="looks like/resembles," and the explanatory form n(o) da serves mainly as emphasis.
he is a light exclamation, like ''Gee!/Wow!/How about that!" or like "Oh
yeah?/Really?" when the speaker isn't really questioning. It gives the feeling
that the speaker is at least mildly impressed.
ze is a rough, masculine particle for emphasis.
the men the boys are saying their fathers look like are famous Japanese actors.

[2]

Friend: 71 ;( :;f </>;

I?

Kazuo-lum
(name-ho n.)

chi

wa ?

house/family as-for

" How about ours?" (PL2)

Kazuo: ? .. . ? t:> li -? -::>If t) EB:ft?-!j-71 ;( 1J'f.t. 7
U ...Uchi
my dad

wa yappari Tamura Masalwzu lw nii,

as-for after all

(name)

J\J\I' o

Ira Ira Ira.

perhaps is? (laugh)

"As for my dad, in the end maybe O'd say he looks like)
Tamura Masakazu. (laugh)"
-+

" I su ose I'd have to say mine's (like) Tamura

Masakazu. Ha ha ha." (PL2)

Kazuo-kun chi is a contraction of Kazuo-kun no uchi, literally "Kazuo-kun's

house/family," or, since he is directly addressing Kazuo, "your house/family."
Kaztto-ktm chi wa becomes literally "As for your house/family,'' but the
friend' s actual meaning is "As for your dad?"_. " How about your dad?" In
turn, when Kazuo says uclri wa he means "As for my dad" rather than "As for
my family/house."
ka nli asks a conjectural "I wonder if he is ... ?/Is he perhaps ... ?" but adding yappari makes it sound much more definite because it implies he is stating
his "after aiUfinal" conclusion_. " I suppose I'd have to say . . ."

[TI

Tochan: .to ? ,
0,

71 ;( :;t, !f- < It- :h.

.t o

Kazuo,

yo.

(greeting) (name)

Jrayaku

kere

quickly return home (emph.)

" He there Kazuo. Hurr on home now." (PL2)

hayaku is the adverb form of hayai ("quick/fast").
kere is dialect for /were, the abrupt command form of lweru ("'return home").

GJ

Friend: ~ (J) A

t!. :h.?

Ano hito dare?

that

person who?

" Who's that?" (PL2)

Kazuo: c!:: . c!:: f.t. t.J (J) .to C ~ />; t!.
To . .. tonari

no

ojisan

ne- next door

's

uncle/man

.t,

da yo,

J\ 1\ l ' o

ha ha ha.

is (emph.) Oaugh)

" H- he's the man from next door." (PL2)

tonari refers to an adjacent/neighboring location, so when speaking of houses
it means " next door," when speaking of seats it means "the next seat," etc.
Tonari no = " in/of the next house/seat/etc."
ojisan (lit."uncle") is commonl y used to address or refer to men who are past
their mid-twenties or so. Tonari no ojisan ="the man (from) next door."

e Tachibanaya Kikutaro, All rights reserved. First published in Japan in 1991 by Take ShobO. Tokyo. English translation rights arranged through Take ShobO.
MAN GAJIN

47

!H1liQ Katsu-Shika 0

48

MANGAJIN

Katsushika Q was erialized in ~:: :; 7' -::1 ~ :; 7 A.~ 1) :t Jv

(Big Comic Superior) during 1991- 1993. Katsushika is the name
of a ward (~Mi!R, Katsushika-ku ) in Tokyo where the central
character, Kyu-san, runs a coffee shop with his sidekick, Goro.

~ ~ffi Q
Katsushika Kyu
Kyii's name is sometimes written as the number nine in Japanese
(}L), sometimes with the English letler "Q," and sometimes phonetically in kana.
The stories combine lapstick humor. vi!>ual gags. and parody.
and take some strange twists, but Kyu and Goro usually appear as
humans. In our story, however, Kyu has turned into a penguin.

by

th~nT-![
Tomisawa Chinatsu

Sound FX : (:J)I} I} 1) 1) 1) :; 1) 1) 1) 1) 1)
(1 i) ri ri ri ri ri
1 i ri ri ri ri ri
Brri-i-i-i-nng, brri-i-i-i-nng (sound of alarm clock)
Sound FX : 1- './
Chin
Ding (slight ringing sound from hitting the alarm-off button)
T itle: ""'-/.:''./ t: ~ "? t.:.
Pengin
ni /1(/1/(/
penguin

.
"Sound" FX :

10

became

lL ~ !v
Kyil-san
(name-hon.)

Part 1
plito wan
pan
I

Q Turns Into a Penguin, Part I

pengin ni naua is a complete thought/sentence ("became a penguin") modifying Kyt7-san. so the title is
more literally, "Q, who became a penguin."
1::3-::J 1:::3-::J

Hyoko hyoko
(bobbing/waddling effect)

Q:

~/.:''./

f.::' !!

Pengin

da!!

penguin

am/is/arc

" I'm a penguin!" (PL2)

Tomisawa Chinatsu. All rights reserved. First published in Japan in 1992 by Shogakukan, Tokyo.
English translation rights arranged through Shogakukan and Viz Communications.

MA NGAJIN

49

l!Sflii Q Katsu - Sh i ka 0

it.!\ 'fiiJ
"? "' jp

t:.

{>
tp A.

t:t

50

MANGAJIN

~~Q Katsu-Shika

Q: ~-'

" ' '?

t.:. . ..

maitta.
U- ,
(sigh/groan) be dumbfounded/at a loss
"Uuh, this is awful." (PL2)

tlv jt '? t.:. -IJ> t:t? ftit . ..

fPI
!D!: "' mon kutta kana ? Ore ...
Nanika warui
Ume
ate
Ill wonder
something bad thing
"I wonder if 1 ate something bad?"
- " Was it s omethin2. I atel'' (PL2)

n'

Q : t ... ti'J~X.-f1i5

(: 1\ t:t It tttf ...

mise ni denakereba ...

To . .. toriaezu
fo- for the time being shop to
must go out
" F- for the time beinl!. I'd b etter I!O out to the
shop." (PL2)
.(.,
ftJji. ~ l,"'(
~ }.; 'S -::> It J:: ~ o
Shigoto o shire kokoro
0
ochitsukeyo.
will calm
work (obj.) do-and heanlmind (obj.)
" I ' ll calm mvs elf bv doing s ome work." (PL2)
" Sound" FX: -"\'- .::z. "/
Kyu!
(effect of pulling bowtie tight)
Sound FX:

?11/

maitta is the plain/abrupt past form of mairu, "to

be dumbfounded/at a loss/baffled." It's often used
as an interjection with the feeling of "I' ll be
darned."
mon is a contraction of mono, "thing." The particle o, to mark mono as the object of kutta (plain/
abrupt past of kuu, "eat") has been omitted.
ka na makes a conjectural question, "I wonder if
...?/is it perhaps that ... T
having ore at the end is inverted syntax. Normal
order would be ore (wa) nanika warui mon kutra
kana?
roriaezu introduces what must be done as an immediate response pending further action, "for
now/for starters/as a stopgap."
denakereba is short for denakereba naranai, the
"must/have to" form of deru ("go/come out"). Ni
marks mise ("shop") as the destination of deru,
so the meaning is "go out to" rather than "go out
of/from." Q apparently lives in rooms behind or
over the shop, but even when this is not the case,
mise ni deru is the way shopkeepers would refer
to going to work.
shire. the -re form of suru ("do"). here works Like
an adverb. expressing how he will calm himself.
ochirsukeyiJ is the form of ochirsukeru ("to calm/
pacify") that shows will/intent.

Uiin
Whee-e-e n (hum/grind of electric coffee grinder)

nttn ...

aJsui could be either ''I'm hot" or "it's hot."

1
?itm ~ ..
Atsui! I Re- re- re- . . . reibo o ...
hot
a- a- a- air conditioner (obj.)
" I'm hot! I 1- 1- 1- . (I' ll turn on) the air conditione r ." (PL2)

Q : ~-::>v'!

Goro:

-jl}-'{>~-

'

~"'

~'-'' o

Uhya-,
samui samui.
(exclam.)
cold
cold
" Hoo-ooh it's cold cold." (PL2)
Sound FX: tJ7/ tJ7/
Karan koran
Ting-a-Iing (sound of bell that jingles as door is opened)
FX:

t- -"\'Doki
(effect of heart mjssing a beat from being startled)

Goro:

~'

A,
" Hey,"
Sound FX: r'j- /
Vt7n
Rrrrrrm (hum of air conditioner)

-c

n' ,

G o o : 'JL~Iv, {PI,
!v -r: 1"
~m .A tt
Kyt7-san, nani, reibo irete
-n desu ka,
starting
(explan.-?)
(name-hon.) what a.c.

::..rJ)

*"'

(J)

1: 0

kono samui no ni.

this/so cold even though
"0. what' re vou turning on the air conditioner
for, when it's so cold?" (PL3)

n(o) desu ka, with the explanatory no, asks for an

explanation, and nani . .. n desu ka makes a question like "what are you (doing that} for?"
irete 11 is a contraction of irete-iru no, from ireru
("put in''). With many appliances, ireru refers to
turning on the switch. from suittchi o ireru, but in
the case of an air conditioner it refers to the e ntire
process of cooling the room - i.e., to "running"
the air conditioner.
kono is used colloquially here like konna (ni), to
mean "to this extent/so ..."

M ANGAJIN

51

~ti Q Katsu - Sh ika 0

12 t ~
,!=]

1?

t"
J:

"'?

t:.
<
!!

~
IJ,
/J,

/J,

.". t......"
~

t:.."

52

M ANGAJIN

TII\l!i Q Katsu-Shika 0
Goro:

'?

t:.

<!!

-)

-c'-9 J:!

12,Fl

mauaku ( literally "completely/entirely"), is of-

Mo jt7nigatsu desu yo!

Mattaku!!

ten used as an exclamation of exasperation.

(exclam.)
already December
is (emph.)
" She es h ! It's D ecembe r alread !" (PL3)

yo is used to emphasize information the

speaker thinks his listener doesn' t know, so the
feeling here is something like "Don't you
know it's December?" Yo is also used to e mphasize requests/commands with a tone of authority (see next frame and be low).

Sound FX: 111-

Kachi ("click' ' of turning off a.c. switch)

Sound FX:

::r:t :t ...
Go- . .. (sound of a.c. shutting down )

Goro:

..

<"

li ~ '? , ~ 7 T
Hora!, mo sugu

"/;{
ga

;toeg=~/v

oJ..:yaku-san

"/)> ~

*J.,

kuru

kara

:1 - l::: kohii

.An cr ~ "' J: o
irete kudasai

yo.

(cmph. )
(intcrj.) soon/shortly (hon.)-customers-(hon.) (subj.) will come because/so coffee
please make
"Look the cus tomers will be comin g s oon, s o would l'OU ~lease make the coffee." (PL3)

hora is an interjection used to get the listener to notice/pay attention to something: " Hey!/Look!/Come on!"
o, to mark kohii ( from English ..coffee' ') as the object of irete kudasai, has been omitted. /rete is the -te form of
ireru ("put in,'' or when speaking of coffee/tea, ''make/pour"), and kudasai after the -te form of a verb makes a
fairly polite request.

Sound FX:

purururu (or puru puru. bunt buru, burururu, etc.) represents shiveri ng/shak-

7' Jv Jv Jv ...

ing. Since a penguin prefers cold, he's apparently shivering from the heat.

Punt runt
Brrrr (effect of shiveri ng)

Q: ;to"/;' l "'

Re- re- re- reibo on the previous page presumably represents a s imi lar e ffect
of trying to speak while his teeth are chattering fro m the heat.

mieru = "can be seen/appears"; the particle ni is

used to mark both the person who can see and

what (so meth ing) can be seen as (i.e. what it
looks like). When both are specified as here,
context tells which is which.
the question indicated by no ka is rhetorical.
The question form is often used like th is when a
person is trying to figure out/clarify something
in his mind "So it's ... , is it/I guess."

Okashii.

strange/odd
" That's odd." (PL2)

:J' o Gori5

~= (;t
ni wa

JL ~ lv ~= Je_,ZJ.,

Ky7-san

111

(J) "/)>?

1nieru no ka ?

(name)
to as-for (name-hon.) as appear (explan.-?)
"To Goro I mus t (_still) look like Q," (PL2)
Goro: "'~-? l~~t,iit- !!

lrasshaimase-.1.1

1L ~ !v .::c - .::.. / 7. 2-=' !!

Ky t7-san.

moningu juratsui!

two
(namc-hon.)
morning
Q, two mornings!" (PL2)

welcome
" Welcome! (PL4)

:F ...

Sound FX: :J;F :J;F :1

Kopo kopo kopo ...

Klu~ klu~ klu~ (sound of pouring coffee)

Sound FX:

11~-'r'

Gosha

irasshaimase is the standard greeting shopkeepers use to welcome

customers. It is a command form of
the PL4 verb irassharu (''come").
at a coffee shop, moningu is short
for moningu slibisu (from English
" morning service"), which refers to
special breakfast sets that can be
ordered with coffee or tea until late
morning. Typically the set includes
toast, a boiled egg, and/or a small
salad.

Cras h (sound of decanter falli ng o n coffee cup)

Q: t!.~ t!. !!

Dame da!!

'?'i

I')~/.:'/

Yahari

peng in

t!. !!
da!!

after all
penguin
am
no good is
" It's no u se! I I r e alll' am a pen~min_!" (PL2)
G_9ro:

vahari means "after all/as expected," often

with the emphatic feeling of '' it really is so."

<b-<b

A-a

(Goro's sigh/groan of dismay at Q 's spilling the

coffee)
Goro: 1L ~ !v :1-l:::- ';t
Kyil-san
kohii wa

")ii"\

"/)> ~ . ..

kara ...

(name-hon.) coffee as-for fine/okay because/so

" Q,_furget the c offee."
Goro:

-lT7Y Jot9li~t' liT

to sarada on.egai shimasu

~ -:A ~ t

tosuto

J: o
y o.

(hon. )-request
(em ph.)
toast
and salad
" Plea se (ma k e) th e toas t and s alad?" (PL3)

the expression ... wa ii (kara) is literally "(because) ... is fine/okay," but often implies "it's
okay for you not to do .. ."
" never mind/
forget the ... "
to= ..and'' for between two nouns.
onegai is from negai, " request,'' and onegai
surulshimasu, meaning ..(1) make a request/ask
a favor," is often used as an equivalent of
"please." The ho norific prefix a- is always neeessary for this use - though it can be omitted
when us ing negai in other ways.

M ANGAJIN

53

t!&Q Katsu-Shi ka 0

1:'1i1J
T~
'/} "'?

!11:
A,

..... __

L-:iO*ffiia
~ p I A t;,
~,
T
~,, ?r' -r "'?
!!
!I
I t:t
(J) I. \

1i'"f

5 4

M ANG A JIN

~'

-r

tSMQ Katsu-Shika 0

@J

Sound FX:

-+r 7 . . -+r 7 ..
Saku .. Saku ..
(a crisp sound, here of knife cutting thro ugh bread crust)

Sound FX: / - /
81711
(hum of toaster oven)

C ustomer A: 7

'J

7 :..-

Fukkushi
"Ach oo!" (sneeze; a variation on hakushon, the standard sneeze sound)
C ustomer 8: ~ J.J..- o

Sanli-.

sami- is a corruption of samui ("cold"),

another adjective often used as an exclamation (see Basic Japanese in this
issue).

cold

" Brrrr."
Goro:

1L ~ lv "* t.:.
Kyt7-san mata

if.> -?

A!

oh!/hcy!

~ ))}

~ !!

reibo

o!!

(name-hon.) again air conditioner (obj.)

"Hey, Q (is running) the air conditioner again!"

- "Sheesh there go~ain with the a ir conditione r !" (PL3)

~-= L.-cr~v'!!
ni shite kudasai!!

iPtflv
kagen

Gor o: "'"'
li

good/fine cxtem/degrcc

kagen =''degree/extent," and shire

(the -te form of .mru, "do/make") plus
kudasai makes a request or gentle
command. so ii kagenni shite kudasai
is literally "do/make (it) to a good/
appropriate extent" - implying that
"good extent" has al ready been
reached-> "that's enough/stop it!"

please make it

to

" Pjease cu t tha t out!" (PL3)

S ound FX: ;'\ 7 1'\ 7

;\ 7

Pata pata pata

P atte r patter patte r
G oro:

-+r 7 .Y "C" T
Sarada desu
salad

is

J: !! -+r 7 .Y!!
yo!!

Sarada!!

(cmph.)

salad

" The sa lad ! I asked you to make) the salad!" (PL3)

FX:

~ /-\" 1)
Hin 'yari

..

yaue 11 is a contraction of yaue-iru

no, the progressive ("is/are - ing")
form of yaru ("do") plus the explanatory 110.
11(0) desu ka asks for (or in this case
demands) an explanation.

(effect of cool/chill)
Gor o :

-c

Nani

yaue

lv "C" T ~'!!
n desu ka!!

what

arc doing

{cxplan.-?)

~ -?

fiiJ

" Wha t a r e y_ou doing?" (PL3)

Q:

~ / .: / t.::
Pengin
da

penguin

~' ~ tl:H* "* -tt lv o

kara

am because/so

" I'm a penguin,

Goro:

'b

dekimasen.

so I

cannot do

can' t do it." (PL3)

*- ,

MO-.

(interj.)

" Sheesh !"

~oro: ~

Wake

(J)

no

~\ lv 7'j: v\ .::. t L.l'j:v'--c'' f~v' !!

wakannai
koto shinaide kudasai!.t

reason/meaning (subj.) can' t understand

thing

please don't do

" Please don' t do things whose reason I can' t understa nd:

- " Plea se stop acting so irratio nally!" (PL3)
Gor o: ti~-?,

Hora.t

t~Jv"C"l'j:l-'"C" ;t-:$" -0)

}J.t:>litv'LiT!!

Nayande-naide

ho onegaishimasu.t!

look/come on without brooding

odii
orders

no

s direction

please do

" C ome on, please go ta ke orde rs instead of (standing there

broodingl" (PL3)

dekimasen is the PL3 negati ve form

of dekiru ('"can do").
mo. literally now/already.'' is sometimes used as an interjection expressing exasperation/frustration.
wakannai is a colloquial contraction of
wakaranai, the negative form of
wakaru ("[can] understand/comprehend"). Wake no wakaranai is a complete thought/sentence ("[one] can't understand the reason/meaning") modifying k01o ('"thing")= "thing(s) one can't
understand"
"things that make no
sense:
nayande-(i)naide is from nayamu
('"fret/brood/agonize'').
hii is literally "direction/way": ...
no ho is frequently used to direct
someone towards one of several
choices/possibilities.

M ANGA JIN

55

~MiQ Katsu-Shika

!? {iiJ ;t
"'[--:>

-t ?

-r

v 1 2

MANGAJII)I

0 ~~ "'? 1
~
o _

-{

56

{f,fijQ Katsu-Shika 0

C us tomer C: ~-:../7" 2 -::::> o

1:1
futatsu. lkko

Moningu

v~/71 - "t: o

reman tii

de.

morning
two
one
lemon tea
\\ llh
" Two mornings. One with le mon tea." ( PL2)
Sound FX:

/~

-ko is a counter suffix for ~mall. relatively

compact items. Its use here
generic -tsu) is colloquial.

(in~tead

of the

7 ;-\ 7

Paku paku
(effect of opening and closing mouth)
Goro:

7... --:>?
!?

1PJ

--c !?
tte!?

-c>-9 --:>

Nan desu

nan desu lie (or less formally. nan da lie) is used

to ask a speaker to repeat what he/she has just
said. when you didn't hear/understand, or when
you cant quite believe your ears.

huh?/what? what
is
(quote)
" Huh? What did vou s av?" ( PL3)

Q: 7.:\"-- :;
Kukii!
(sound of a penguin's cry of a ng uish )
Sound FX:

J~-7

J'\-7

J~-7

Pata pata pata

Patter Qatter ~atter
:tL~Iv!!

Goro: cl?--:>

A!

Kyii-san!!

oh!fhey! (name-hon.)
" H eyLQl" ( PL3)
FX: 7'7/

Puan
(effec t of light c hangi ng)
Sound FX:

:J":t :t

**

Gooooo

(roar of traffic)

Q:

m~ "' fi<:. '7 . . .

Byoin e
ikO.
hospital to shall go
"I~I Lgo to the ho_spital." (PL2)

Q: LiP L
Shikashi

fr--:> t:. t.::.l:>-c>

itta

tokoro de

ikc7 is the volitio nal ("Let' s/1 sha ll") form of iku
("go").

t ' -)
do

7j: 0?
na ru ?

but
went even if were to how/what become/happen
"But even if I were_to_go what would happen?" ( PL2)

is the plain/abupt past form of iku ("go") .

.. iliatokoro
de mea ns "even if (one) were to ..... : it's s imilar to-te mo but tends to imply more strongly
-w

that the result will be negative.

Q: ~/- / -eT o
Pengin

desu.

penguin
am
" I ' m a ~enguin." (PL3)
Doctor:

-t--J-c>-9 J: o
yo.
(emph. )
is so
" You certainly are." ( PL3)

So desu

m~ -to /v f.: !!
Do setsumei suru n da!!

Q: t'-)

how explanation do (ex plan.-?)

" How do_l exp la in it?" ( PL3)
Sound FX:

asking a question with da or n dais masculine

and can sound very roug h. so the question he
asks himself here feels something like " How the
he ll do I explain?"

11-;;7-tJ:;-T
Katchi katchi
C lick click (sound accompanying the nas h of the ped estrian light)

MAN GAJtN

57

l:'5MQ Katsu-Shika 0

~'

1J b
~:f'

:~

~ ~

1J ~ ;,;

"?1':, ~-

~-r~;.-0)

c h

0)

t::.-"')

t::
!?

n~

1 I

t;~

c t:.
I?

58

MANGA JI N

:ff,fil5Q Katsu5hika 0

Q: .: tL li ~
(J) l.J- ,Z t:. ~**
7i (J) tJ' !?
Kore wa kami no ataeta shiren na no ka!?
this

as-for

god

(subj.)

gave

LriaVtest

(explan.-? )

"\-? .. .

Q) ~~ 1? {> b tJ'? "(if> ~f 7i ~ "\ t

no kimochi mo wakatte age-nasai to

/ .: /

Pengin
penguin

's

feelings

also

understand for them

iu .. .

(quote)

say

"Is this a trial from God/the gods? Telling me to understa nd

what it feels like to be a penguin . . ." (PL2)
~~- ~-

Sound FX: 7" 7"

Gu gu

Bibii Bii

(''gripping/folding" wings together)

Q:

/\ 'J

Ha!

7ffi

(car horns)

t..~ II

Aka da!!

(interj.) red

is

" Oh no! It's red." (PL2)

S.oJ.md FX: ~Bii

@]

Q: l:: 1
Hii
Sou nd_~X:

Beep
"Yikes!"

1 :i:t:t:t

1 ~ 7 1~7

Para para I
Goooo
Patter patter I Vrooom (roar of lraffic)

@)

Sound_FX:
Q:

/\ 7 /\ 7

Hii hii (effect of heavy breathing)

7i J.> f. ~ / .: / Q) 1n ~ 1? 1Jf
Naruhodo pengin no kimochi ga
1 see/indeed

penguin

.t -

< b tJ'

yoku

feelings (subj.) very well

t::. 0

wakatta.

understand

"Yes, I r eally understand how a penguin feels now." (PL2)

c:- t.:

Q: b tJ'-? t.:. tJ' C-y

Wakatta
kara

do

Q) t.: !?
yii no da?

~-

da to

understand because/so how/what is (quote) say (explan.-?)

..... " But so what if I do?" (PL2)

Madame: cf:>C:J, JL~Ivo
Ara,
Kyil-san.
(interj.) (name-hon.)

"My! It's Q." (PL2-3)

Mada me: :::: ~ ~ t.:.
Gobusata

t ~ 1i "' . . .
ja nai .. .

long time no see

isn't it

" It's been a long time." (PL2-3)

li
wa

.BT5

o-mise

1:

mi

ni kao

1:1:\l"C

dashire

~o

ne.

occasionally as-for (hon.)-shop to/at face please put out (colloq.)

"Show vour face at the club now and then okav?"

(PL2)
Woman 1: if> C-.J, 7L ~ lvo
Ara, Kyii-san.
"Mv! It's 0 ." (PL2-3)
Woma n_2: 7L ~ - lv
Kyii-sa-n
" (Hi,) Q." (PL2-3)
Woman 3: it.:.
.:.3=5~
L. "C
Mara go-shimei
shire

~o

ne.

again (hon.)-designation please do (colloq.)

"Ask for me again, okay?" (PL2-4)

naruhodo expresses one's understanding of what one has

heard/observed/experienced:
'aha/1 see/indeed/really."
yoku is the arlverb form of iilyoi
("good/fine"): lengthening it
adds emphasis: ''ve-e-ery well."
wakatta is the plain/abrupt past
form of wakaru. Since wakaru
means "come to know/understand,'' its past form is often
equivalent to English "understand" rather than "understood."
~ - yii is an alternate spelling
of iu ("say"). The quotative to
iu + explanatory 110 + the masculine/rough question da (see
above) is essentiall y an emphatic flourish.
ara is an interjection showing
sudden recognition/notice of
something, "oh/oh my/hey."

" Because you/I understand, what i s it that you/1 say it is?"

Madame: t:. i 1:
Tama ni

quotative forms in Japanese

mark the content not only of
speech but of other actions/situations/things. In this case to iu
marks pe11gi11 110 kimochi mo
walwtte age11asai as the specific
"content" of kami 110 ataeta
shire11 ("trial fro'll God"), which
in normal syntax would follow
to iu.
wakatte is the -te form of
wakaru ("come to know/understand") and age-11asai is a gentle
command form of ageru
("give"). A form of ageru after
the -Le form of a verb means "do
(the action) for someone."

gobusata is a greeting used with someone you have not seen or heard from in
a long time. Go- is honorific (standard
for the greeting), and busata is lit.
"without communicationltidjngs.
(o-)mise can refer to almost any kind of
"shop" or retail establishment, but since
she seems to be standing in front of a
bar, we translated it as "club" here.
dashite is the -Le form of dasu ("put/
take out" -+ "show/display"), used here
as an informal request, "please." The
colloquialne at the end of a request
urges compliance/obedience.
shimei = 'nomination/designation" and
shimei suru ="nominate/designate." In
the context of night spots, it refers to
designating/asking for a speci ric hostess rather than simply taking wl oever
comes.These women are presumably all
bar/club hostesses.

MAN GAJIN

59

J!,iiltiQ K atsu-Shik a 0

l J:t.

-r IJ ;.;

~' ~

,c_, f*
;f If

=' "'f fp
.:, :? ;.;
IJ
I 7 1: fp

!!

60

MA N GA JI N

ufn Q Katsu -Sh ika 0

Q: -? - ~) , ~ ci: ~ i b
Omu

yahari

1;

A rr11

(J)

ningen

hmm nflcr all/really surrounding

of

people/humans

)L ~ !v C L. ""( ~~~ ~
KyL7-san toshite utsuru

as

u ': ti

(J)

no

(name-hon.)

mawari

no me
s

eyes

111

wa

in a~>- for

''the people around (me)."

L. 1, ' o

raJhii shows that the speaker is

rashii.

rellectlappear apparently

"HmmJt_pJ!arentlv to the people around me I still look like Q."

(PL2)
Q:
-? L. -c ~ 1v 0 1 ~ / : /
J:
~- o
Doshite
na n da.
I Pengin da yo
nli.

t.:

w hy

t.:.

(explan.- ? )

penguin

Llmu indicates he is pondering.

mawari = 'surroundings/vi cinity,'' and mawari no ningen =

am (emph.) (colloq.)

" Why is it?__LI'm a penguin~ right?" (PL2)

making a judgment/conjecture
based on something he/she has
seen/heard: "apparently/it
seems/1 g uess.
na (lengthened for emphasis) is
used as a kind o f self-check/
confirmation when speaking/
thinking to o neself: "that seems
to be the case. doesn't it?"

FX: ::: l7 .. .
Coku ... G ulp .
Ba rrel: fr.l1 1i
Uokichi (common fi shmonger name)

Q:

1,\'/)'/v

tsui as an adverb for actions im-

Ikon
not good/won't do not good/won' t do
"Oh~ no. This won ' t do." (PL2)

fh.

Wf!~

"? 1,\

Tsui

L'

~:

'/){ -?!ibtl""C L. i-? o

shinsen-11a sakana ni kokoro ga

in spi te o f myself fresh

fish

by

ubawarete shimau.

heart (subj.)

is stolen-( regret)

" In spite of myself, my heart is taken by fresh fish .''

" I some how find mn_elf tempted by fresh fish." (PL2)

Q: f(j!

A ra~

!i

Ore wa
1/me

a~-for

~lvt.!. o

~/.:'/t.~~v ' lvf.:' o

na 11 da. I

ningen

ja nai n da.

Pe11gin

human being (explan.-am)

penguin

(explan.-am not )

" I' m a huma n being! / I' m not a penguin!" (PL2)

FX:

I \ :;

Ha!

~~

Jl

ltsu 110 ma ni ka tamago o

unnoticed/unawares

egg

(J)

as hi

(obj.) foot

E. [- k (

Oji Tamago

i~~-c"'' !

"'C".:Z.v' !!

Yaomasa

(common greengrocer name)

(cxclam.)

I {if

!i1JdJ1J'

/:/ t:

.(.,

i"C'

Karada bakari ka kokoro made

body

only-?

heart

even/too

c L. ""(I, \ ~ -!!

0 -?
narikiro

~ ~) ~

pe11gin

ni

pengui n

into will completely become

to shite-iru-!!
is about to

"Arrggh! Not only my_bod but even my heart is trying to

turn (completely) into a penguin." (PL3)
FX: .of 7 ..
Kira ...
Twinkle/Giin_t (light of setting sun reflected in his tears)

Q:

rn .j.j~

"
e

f) .:. -J
ikf).

South Pole/Antarctica to

shall go

Nank voku

itsu noma ni ka (lit. "in the

space of when?") is an expression meaning '' while ( I) was not
aware/before (I) knew/without
realizing it."
atatamete-iru i~ from
atatameru ("to warm").

Oji Eggs I Yaomasa

FX: 1f /
Can (effect of shock/astonishment)
Di!i.'!

takes after nouns. A s in the

two endings here. 11a 11 da and 11
da can be merely emphatic
rather than explanatory.

110

de atatamete-im!!

J\. r'i !&

(name) eggs

-r-

Efl

no ko

of top with
am warming
warmin~ on my feet."

" Without even realizingl!, I' m

(PL2)

Q:

ore is a rough/ masculine " 1/mc.''

11a n(o) is the fo rm explanatory

Hunb? (startled/ puzzled 'gasp")

Q: "'' -::> o:>lm~:n'

Crates:

plies the action is/was done inadvertently/unintentionally.

ubawarete is the -te form o f
ubawareru ("to be stolen"), the
passive form o f uba u (" steal").
Shimau after the te fo rm o f a
verb often means that the action
is regrettable/undesirable.

... bakari ka is an expressio n

meaning "not only - .''

nari is from naru ("become/turn

into'') and -kiro is the volitional
(''will/shall") form of kim, a
verb suffix meaning ''finish (doing)/(do) completely:
. .. to shire iru is an expression
meaning ' is about to/is o n the
verge o f/ is try ing to:

..
iM is the voli tional ("wi ll/
shall") form of iku (" go").

"I'll go to Antarctica." (PL2)

M ANGAJIN

61

~~Q Katsu-Shika

62

MANGAJIN

~fi!PQ Katsu-Shika

~?

Q: .::. "?
Kif

t l""C jj(J
toshite n1une

t::. J:J..t /"{ / .:' /

natta

ijO

pengin

this way became

since

pengu in

as

chest

~~

!i? -r
haue

-r \t'.::. -? !

ikire ikO!

(obj.) sprcadlthrow out wil l go on living

"Since it's come to this, I'll throw my chest out (proudly) and Iiy_e_as~uin." (PL2)
I') ~ ~ !i 'JL ~ lv ~ lv t!.fJ' ~ 'JL ~ lv
t l -r
:8 jfz
~ t.:./1; -r .. .

-r wa

Toriaezu
for starters

Kyt7-san na n da kara KyL7-san

as-for (name-hon.)

because I am

toshite

okane

o ramete . . .

(name-ho n.) as/in the capacity of (hon.)-money (obj .) save

"For starters since I'm 0. I'll save uo my money in the capacity _Q(_Q, and ..." (PL2)
a verb followed by ijo means "since/seeing that/so long as (the action occurs/occurred)."
mune o haue is the -te form of mune o han1 ("throw one's chest out'"}. serving as an adverb meaning "proudly."
tamete is the -te form of tameru ("collect/accumulate,'' or when speaking of money. "save'').

Q:

r"Fuji
.s- 1.:. J 1: *? -r
" ni notte

ll! illllAG

Kansoku-sen

""" q:y.:. -? ,

1i ~
Nankyoku

iko.'

survey/observation ship (name) on ride-and South Pole/Antarc tica to

" 20 to Antarctica on the survey shi~t Fuli!" (PL2)

1iI! . . .
itt t:p (J)
Nankyoku .. . sekai-jL7 no
Antarctica

.:' /

/"{ /

entire world s

pengin

(/)

Fuji is the name of a wellknown icebreaker affiliated

with the Maritime Self-Defense
Forces and erving as a transpan and survey ship for J apan's
research station in Antarctica.

will go

lfl :t!! 0

no tsudou Nanf..:yoku.

penguins (subj.) gather

Antarctica

"Antarctica .. Antarctica where all the world 's penguins

!!_ather." (PL2)

Q:

~~ -,

A-,

(/)J-{7~1.A !!

w-

yume no paradaisu!.'

(exclam.) dream of

parodoisu is a katakana rendering of

English ''paradise."

paradise

"Ahhh the oaradise of mv dreams!" (PL2)

Sound FX: 7- -t 7 7 7 - 7 7 Chararara
rara
(sound of accompaniment for dancing)

Sound FX: ::I/ ::I/

Knock knock

Kon kon

Goro: ll ~

7L~Iv, ~~""CT~It' o

Hora

KyL7-san okite kudasai.

look/come o n (name-hon.)

please get up

{:$ 'l"T J:!!

Shigoto desu yo!!
work

is (emph.)

"Come on 0. Please 2et uo. Time for work." (PL3)

Goro: 'JL ~ lv,

KyL7-san,

?iliil!

reizoko

~ P. c'.:. 1: -t .Q
o nedoko ni suru

(name-hon.) refrigerator (obj.)

bed

lv ~ ~
n

b-?

nara mo

to make (explan.) if

okite is from okiru ("wake/get up").

shigoto desu is lite rall y "it's work,"

but implies ''it's time to go to work.''

-tJ Xl: -:> -rT ~ v' J: o

ichidai katte kudasai yo.

mo re o ne-(count)

please buy

(cmph.)

"0 . if vou ' re I!Oinl! to use the refri2erator as a bed olease buy another one." (PL3)
Customer: <f;, filJ, .:. h o
.. . ni suru is an expression meaning "make (someA,

nani, kore.

oh!hcy what

thing) into .. .''

mo before a number means that many " more." -Doi

this

" Hev. what 's this?" ( PL2)

Jar Label: 1i.:f!!
Antarctica
Nankyoku
FX: 7 .:f- 7 .:fKukii kukii (penguin cry/sqeal)

Customer:

It'~ -

Iya-11,

lv , It' t.:. - It' ! !

ita-i!!

disagreeable

huns/ouch!

"Stoo i-i-it! Ou-u-uch!" (PL2)

Someone: lil i1i )L ~ lv
~
t3. P. .. .
Saikin

Kyii-san

hen

done.

recent ly (name-hon.) strange/odd is isn't he

"Qlbeen strange recentlv. hasn' t he?" (PL2)

Goro: iW fJ' ~ t3. J::
Mae kara
before from

da

is a counter suffix for appliances, cameras, cars, and

many other kinds of machinery.
kotte is the -te form of kou ("buy").
noni, kore is an inversion of kore nani?, an informal
version of kore wa nan desu ka? (''what is this?").

iya- n is an exclamatory form of iyo do, literally

meaning " is disagreeable/unpleasant." As an exclamation, iya do often means " Don't!/Stop it!"
itoi is an adjective meaning "huns/is painful," but
it's also used as the exclamation "ouch!" The
lengthener here makes it feel more like a scream.
ne at the end of the sentence assumes/expec ts the
listener will agree with the statement.

yo

is (emph.)

"It's from before." ..... " He was alway_s that way." (PL2)

MANGA JIN

63

Kacho Shima Kosaku:

Japan's Most
Famous
Salaryman
We've been thinkingfora while about reprinting part ofHirokane
Kenshi' sfamous sa/aryman mango, KachoShima Kosaku. While
this was in the works, we discovered another Shima f an: T.R.
Reid, Washington Post bureau chief in Tokyo. The following is an
excerpt from a story Reid filed to the Post last year about his
addiction to manga in general and Shima-kacho in particular.
My name is T.R. Reid and I am a mangaholic.
On the theory that the way to deal with addiction is to
confront it openly, to confess to the world, I hereby reject all my
former rationalizations- that I could quit any time I wanted, that
I was only a social reader, that it dido ' t really bother me when my
local dealer sold out before I could buy
my weekly fix.
Rather, I now concede that I am
hopelessly hooked on manga. Every
Thursday morning I race to the bookstore and plunk down 230 yen ($2.25)
for the new edition of Comic Moming.
This 340-page weekly carries about 20
continuing comic strips, including the
one I love most, "Section C hief
Shima"-agripping battle-in-the-suites
corporateepicaboutoneShimaKosakusan, a hard-working salaryman at a
giant consumer electronics company
who wages a never-ending struggle for
truth, profits and the Japanese Way.
Written and drawn by Hirokane
Kenshi-a rich, famous but still remarkablydown-to-earth manga artist it has a strikjngly realistic pictorial style
and a vast tableau of settings and characters. MANGAJJN readers will recognize the similarity of the visual sty le to
Ningen Kosaten, the series Hirokane drew to stories written by
Yajima Masao.
Our hero, Shima Kosaku, is a single, forty ish salaryman. He
heads the General Affairs Section (Our episode came a little
before this -Ed.) at " Hatsushiba" Corp., a huge consumer e lectronics multinational that is clearly modeled on Matsushita. the
Japanese giant that produces Panasonic, Nationa l and other brand
names. Hirokane himself was a salaryman at Matsushita before he
hit it big in the manga trade, and many of the triumphs and
tragedies that occur in Kach6 Shima are based quite openly on
actual events from Matsushita's corporate history.
The plot of'Section Chief Shima" involves recurring corporate crises that require Shima-san to use all his ingenuity and
charm to make sure that Hatsushiba doesn ' t lose market share to
its Japanese and American competitors. There are countless
subplots involving the financial and romantic problems of Shima

and his colleagues. Hirokane is such a good storyteller that almost

nothing is predictable.
The story really got interesting shortly after the real Matsushita
bought the American film producer MCA. Sure enough, in the
manga, Section Chief Shima was dispatched to Hollywood by the
brass at Hatsushiba with instructions to buy a famous American
movie company.
Almost every week thereafter, the negotiations took startling
turns. There were corporate spies, suspicious fifes, and the
mysterious rerum of Shima's former girlfriend, the beautiful (and
sexually voracious) Omachi Kuniko.
Along the way, Shima experienced what every Japanese
expects in America: he was mugged on a street in Los Angeles;
his American rental car dido ' t work right; he visited an ordinary
American horne and was amazed at how big it was.
Shima had to worry not only about the business deal, but also
about the political reaction in the US as another American icon
became Japanese. His company solved this problem just like real
Japanese companies do-by paying ex-Cong ressmen to do the
necessary lobbying in Washington.
This was all so fascinating that I found myself actually
looking forward each week ro Thursday mornings, when I could
read the next installment.
But then, as the months went by and Shima's career continued to advance. some startling developments occurred. First, the beautiful
Ohmachi Kuniko broke all the rules of
Japanese propriety by walking out midway through the marriage ceremony
with a well-bred young man her parents
had picked to be her groom. Still wearing her $25,000 wedding kimono, she
raced to Shima's apartment and confessed her love fo r him.
While heartwarming, this was a
frightening tum of events fo r Shima
addicts. It seemed to signal a wedding
for Shima himself, a twist that wo uld
eliminate all the rich subplots stemming from his sex life.
The next piece of good news was
even worse. The brass at Hatsushiba
promoted Shima from kach6, or section chief, to bucho, or division chief, a
more exalted but less adventurous posit ion in Japan 's corporate bureaucracy.
This was so unexpected the national
newspapers ran stories o n it: "Japan's most famous salaryman
gets promoted," said the Mainichi Shinbun.
Besieged by reporters-including me-the creator of "Section Chie f Shima" finally explained what was going o n. " I've
been writing about Shima-san since 1982," Hirokane said in
nostalgic tones. "I've sold 13 million copies of Shima books. And
that's enough. 'Section Chie f Shima' is going to end."
Going to e nd! But what would happen to my Thursday
morning high?
In fact, Shima's serial did come to an end, althoug h there was
a revival of the national "Shima fever" last fa ll when a movie
(using real actors, not cartoons) based on the series came out.
The n, the other day, as I was leafing absent-mindedly through
another manga periodical , Mister Magazine, I was stunned to see
a character who looked like Shima-san's twin brother. Not only
(cominued 0 11 pa.~e 73)

MAN GAJIN

65

~!HUIH'F

66

MAN GAJI N

Kacho Shima Kosaku

~-B:IiUJH'F

QJ

Narration: R:.fffl

KachO Shima

I:tli

rJ)

iWl

li

.!f!. v' o

kojo

no

asa

wa

hayai.

as-for

early

Kyoto

(place name) factory

s morning

Kosaku

Starting time at the Kyoto factory is early. (PL2)

tHIU~
li
8~litr
rJ) 7 V ;;t if~
1:

~,a

~1.Jo-t

Jugyo-in

zen 'in

sanka suru.

all persons

participate

wa

hachiji-mae

no

employees as-for before 8 o'clock 's

rajio

tmso

ni

radio calisthenics in

J.J o

All employees participate in radio calisthenics (held) a little before 8 a.m. (PL2)
Sign: 'ti.':i:

~-

Anzen dai-ichi
no. I

safety

Safety First
Leader:

s "'-::> 1?

Oitchi

1: "' ~ lv l "' .. .
nii

san

shii . . .

"A-one two three four .."

rajio taiso, literally "radio exercises/calisthenics,"' refers to a calisthenics sequence, with rhythmical music accompaniment, broadcast a couple of times a day on NHK radio. Most Japanese have at least some familiarity
with the sequence from the time they are in grade school. The morning broadcast is generally much earlier
than 8:00, but many employers use tapes of the same program for employee exercises.
oitchi is a variation of ichi ("one") often used when counting beats for exercise. Ni ("two'') and shi ("four")
are lengthened to get four even beats, since san is considered two syllables in Japanese.

Narration: -frJ)r&

19t>hJ.J

Sono aw okonawareru
after that

.. n. "':)

wa, soshi-sha Yoshiwara Hatslltaro

is done/held morning meeting as-for founder

rJ)

nrw

(=)

:fnt:~m

"Ern;:

(i,

"ltsutsu no Seishin" o
five

~J!ro~

t!HL
chorei

11/;\.Zt.:
tonaeta

(surname) (given name) (subj.) advanced/preached

~to-t'-'

.:: ~

showa suru

koto

tp G trc t. '-' 0
kara hajimaru.

act of

from

spirits (obj.) recite in unison

rJ)

no

begins

The morning meeting that follows be ins with a recitation in unison of "The Five S irits" set
forth by founder Yoshiwara Hatsutaro. (PL2)
Leader: - --::J,
U ~ ~Ht 11) :tl1J :t$ o
Hitotsu, slwkai hiJshi no seishin.
one/first

society service of

spirit

" One: a s irit of service to societ "

chorei, a meeting for formal "good-morning"s and brief remarks from the ranking member of the group regarding the coming day's agenda, is a fairly standard custom at Japanese businesses, schools, and other organizations. The meetings often include the singing of a company/school song or chanting of a motto, etc.
tonaeta is the plain/abrupt past form of tonaeru ("advocate/preach/set forth"). Soshi-sha Yoshiwara Hatsutaro
no tonaeta is a complete thought/sentence ("founder Yoshiwara Hatsutaro set forth") modifying itsutsu no seishin
("The Five Spirits"). This use of seishin could also be translated "ideal(s)"-+ ''The Five Ideals."
showa = "chorus" and showa suru ="sing/recite in a chorus/in unison.'' Koto is literally "thing," in this case
referring to an "action" -+ shiJwa suru koto = "the action of reciting in unison."

Workers:

'(}~--::J,

L~t.P~'

Hitotsu,

shakai

'i-) L 11) -\tlt'Liv o

hoshi no
seishin.

one

society

service

of

spirit

"One: a spirit of service to society."

Narration: 9J 00
)C1fi.
~1t 11) .:
~~t:JJ1<
Chugoku bunkaku

jidai no Mo goroku

China Cultural Revolution era

::.. rJ)

n.mfl1! Plfo

~=

kono go-seishin showa ni

this

's Mao quotations

~u

11)

J:: 7 7J:

iHii9

AA:W:

Mf.-9 J.,

no yo-na

senno

koka

kitai suru

11)

is like brainwashing effect (obj.) look/aim for

i! !:f:l

,;~:

s s ts tt

m!flJ s9 -r: ~ '? t::.

honsha no
renchii
wa
omune
hihan-teki
five spirits chorus of head office 's group of people as-for mostly/generally critical

de alta
were

tJ~ ..

ga .. .
but

The crew at the head office were generally critical of this recitation of the Five Spirits, which
was intended to have a brainwashing effect like the quotations of Chairman Mao during the
Great Cultural Revolution in China, but . (PL2)
bunkaku is an abbreviation of bunka daikakumei, "great cultura l revolution," referring to the 1966-69 upheava ls in China. Chinese and Korean proper nouns are read with a Japanese pronunciation, so Mao becomes Mo.
kitai suru ("look/hope/aim for") ends a complete thought/sentence ("aims for/intends a brainwashing effect
like the Mao quotations of China's cultural revolution period") modifying kono go-seishin showa ("this FiveSpirit recitation").
renchii is an informal word for referring to a group of people: "bunch/crew."
hihan = "criticism," and hihan-teki ="critical." De atta is the past of de aru, a more formal equivalent of dal
desu ("is/are"), so hihan-teki de atta = "were critical." Ni after showa marks it as the target of the criticism.

MANGAJtN 67

~:&:tH.IH'F

Kachl5 Shima Kl5saku

ftllf#T

11 ~ L
~A"'
~M

IliJ<il

:lr \.\ ......

lfll*
"' -r:
.-!-?
I
t1iiS
--:> ?M

"T:~t::

"'i"T:~
't t
: .:.i
=

~/)<

"'

68

M ANGAJIN

~ft ~#t-it

Narration: -=. .-:> 'G

thi~

j!!r.j.J
renclrii

Q)

kmclri

KachO Shima Kosaku

110

H l: 0

(j

side/direction s group of people

a~-for

be

lil::'

~ill'

lwdo

su11ao de

<

odoroku

11'0

\urpri~d

.llj

f! o

slri11ke11 da.

degree arc docile/meek-and serious

are

. . . the people here are amazingl cooperative and serious about it (PL2)

oo

,:(J)
~ (j
Ko11o mnjime-sa 1ra.
this

*U
lronslra

nrt

(J) t '>
lli:~<'
~fi~$
110 torill'ake ll'areware sende11-bu

seriousness as-for head office

t:

U:

ni

wa

1r,..

panicularly

(J) ~"P
110 re11clu/

wcJu, advenising depl. 's bunch

l'<n.-:>f~ o

kaimu

de ell/a.

in/among as-for nonexistent

wa~

Such an earnestness was com letely lacking among_those at the head office- at least amone
the crew in the Advertising Department. (PL2)
kotchi. an informal fom1 of koclrira (lit. ''this side/direction"), is often used to refer to one's present location,
"here," especially in the contex t of contrast ing it with another location.
de is essentially the -te form of da/de.,u ("is/are"). and it adds the meaning "and,'' so su11ao de means " is/are
docile/meek/cooperati ve/acquiescent and ..."
shi11ke11 literally means "real sword." (a~ opposed to a wooden or bamboo sword used for practice/training),
and it's not hard to see how that leads to the idiomatic meaning of "serious(ness)/earnest(ness)."
majime is another word for "serious/earnest": adding -sa makes it a noun: "seriousness/earnestness."
lronsha no (''the head office's") and toriuake wareware senden-buno ("pan icularly our advenising
depanment's" ) both modify re11clul ("bunch/crew") separately.
roriwake = panicularly/especially." but he u~e~ it here for the meaning. "speaking in pmicular of (the advertising depanmem)" rather than "(the advenising depanment) is especially/more than other lacking in .....
"at least in the advenising depanment."
uare1mre means "we/us: and ware11are senden-lm is literally "we. the advenhing depanment." No makes it
possessive. so " 'are1rare senden-buno renc/ul is literally we/us. the advenising depanment's bunch/crew."

*'(
kite

1 ~1111

r:

Atarashii

shokuba

isslulkcm

ni

1110

new

workplace to since carne one "eel.

tO

~.ijlj

Narration: :f!f L. "'

~*

ka

section

{/)

A.,

~}.,

i){ '

1)(/fl/

ga.

(cmph. ) become but

iJ{

"'ilt'-t;

110

AR~
11i11gell

ga

ima-iclli

uclriwkete ko11ai.

people

(subj.)

not quite

relax with!Clpen up to me

-? -t; t rt "(.:. ~ lt' o

It's been a whole week since'l came to my new worJrnlace, but people in my section still
haven' t uite warmed up to me. (PL2)
1tt1:
Ore

tt

~~ ~

11.11 ~n~

wa

myo-11a

koritsu-ka11

Ume as-for

odd/strange

:a:o

1\;jd? "? -c ~.- , ;., 0

ajiwalle-iru.

feeling of i:.olation (obj.) am tasling/experiencjng.

I continue to beJeft with an odd feeling of isolation. (PL2)

the -te form of a verb plus a length of time plus ... 11i 11aru makes an expression meaning " it has been (that
long) since (doing the action)." lnsening mo adds emphasis: "it has been all of (a le ngth of time) since ..."
"it's been a whole week since .. :
large Japanese corporations are typica lly divided into bu ("divisions/depanments"). which are in turn divided
into ka ("sections"). KachO in the title of thi~ manga is this ka plus the suffix cho for referring to the "head/
chief/leader" of an organization or group. ~o it literally means "section chief/manager" - which is the official
corporate title/position of Shima Kosaku. our title character and the man whose thoughts we are fo llowing
here.
ima-iclli (or ima-hitotsu ) is used before a negative verb to imply the action does not quite succeed/satisfy
one's expectations/fulfill one's de~ire~.
uclritokete is from uchitokeru (lit. "melt" "open one's hean/warm up Ito another person)"). Konai is the
plain/abrupt negati ve form of kuru ("come"). A form of kuru after the -te form of a verb is often a way of indicating that the action of the verb moves toward the speaker- i.e., he is referring to the others not warming/
opening up to him.
koritsu ='isolation" and -ka11 is a suffix for "feeling": koritsu-kan ="feeling of isolation:
ajiwalle-iru is from ajiwau. literally "taste/savor." but often used idiomatically to mean "experience." Using
the -te-im form implies the experience is on-going/continuing.

MAN GAJ IN

69

~iHMJH'J:

Kachi5 Shima Ki5saku

w i; .:
r,
c c <

"' ~ {>
", .:. '?

(J)
_,~
I~ I ;~~;:.;
~
. ~.. l;t
.:L

~f'FI, ~~~
'? _,~ -r
,..

t::. ;:.;
~ (J)

IJ

.- ........................0

..

~~

"0) '?

tal!:

-tilft
0)'*'0)
~0)

l!: "'k \.\

.0).

llll 7 ti
"' 0)

t:IUJ
t:

ft.
l..,
"'(

70

M ANGAJIN

~"'k
tr 7 1ii'

.t. U II"
-tAO>
.t. l at;
-t "'(
L

\.

"t
l!:

\.

.,!llfHHJH'F Kacho Shima Ki5saku

[I)

Narration:

~ ll

"htt~

IJ

M ~ lv
ichigensan

1;1:,
Kyoto wa

Yahari

H Wf 1)

>jl{f~

(!)

as expected/really (place) as-for first timers/strangers (hon.)-rcfusal of cus1om

lhis

tokoro

ga

nokotte-iru

(subj .)

remains

lv
11

t!.7?

~ 1J'o

daro ka.

(ex plan.) is it perhaps?

newcomer~gerhaps

Does the custom of turnin awa

Narration: ::_(!) J'JF1t!r8~1d:
c::_J:>
!l
Kono haitmekina

~-:> "( "' ~

1J!

okotowari no shiizoku

wa

real! still lin er in K oto? (PL2)

tl!'W. c ~JlliT~
c::_7:>
ld:!v t.!.7:>~1J'o

tJH~

(!)

Cion

no sekai to

exclusive/cliquish plucc/aspcct as-for (name) of

kyotsrl sum

tokoro

na 11

daro ka.

world with have in common place/aspect (explan.)is it perhaps?

Is this cliquishness a characteristic shared (by the whole cit

with the world of Gion? (PL2)

iclrigen-san means first time/chance customer: referring to a cu tomer who shows up at a teahouse/exclusive restaurant by himself instead of being brought there and introduced by someone already known to the establishment.
Kotowari is a noun form of kotowaru ("refuse/tum down"). and ichigen-san o-korowari essentially means "chance
customers (respectfully) refused." The teahouses of Gion. in KyOto. are known for adhering to this policy.
nokolle-iru is from nokoru ("remain/be left over") -+ " has remained/still lingers:'
rokoro is literally ''place," here referring more abstractly to "aspect/characteristic." Haitatekina tokoro ="cliquish
aspect"-+ "cliquishness."

Narration: "' ~, ibi ~ o

Ira.

chigau.

rio

is different

No, that's not it. (PL2)

[!]

Na rration:

!.c+t.H

1J{

Joslri-slrain

ga

f!fl.: -?)f.:."'
rokuni

no da.

cold

(explan.)-is

female employees (subj.) especially

~ tl

<fJ (!)

tJ

Yalwri

(!)

n 1;1: -r .li.ld:

<fJ (/)

~5
1.: lr.( ~
lratsugen ni gen 'in

karulra~umi-na

ano lri no wro

after all/really 1ha1 day ('s)

(!)f.!.o

tsumetai

I hat

rash/care less

s1a1ement in

ga

aru

cause (subj.) exists

T he female employees in particular are cold and distant. It must be because of the rash comment
I made that day. (PL2)
yalrari indicates that he is contirming a previous suspicion. implying. "so it isn't a maner of cliquishness after all."

[?]

Shima: ::_ (!)

~/

<1d: "'

ll

<fJ i IJ

pan

wa

amari

rrmakrmai

na.

bread

a~-for

lnol) very much

no11as1y

(colloq.)

(remembering) Kono
this

-') i

1d: o

"T his bread isn' t very_good is it?" (PL2)

J.I,(P~

Senmon-ka o
experts

~ 6') "(

atsumete

"?

\,I

I\ /

(/)

;)

.=. .;J.. -

motto

umai

pan

no

menyll

(obj.) assemble-and more

tasty

bread

of

menu

ff -? f.:. ':> v' \,'

o t.mkuttara

ii

C
ro

,f!j!, ~ Jd: o
omou 1ur.

(obj.) if make is good (quote) think (colloq. emph.)

" I think we should assemble some experts and (haye them make a menu of tastier breads! ' (PL2)
this frame is a flashback to the preceeding chapter when Shima has just arrived at his new post in Kyoto and is taken
on a tour of the factory. He was shown the company's new hit product. a bread making machine, and was asked to
sample some of the bread. He did not know it at the time, but the recipes and methods for making bread with the
machine had been developed by the female employees at the factory. His offhand comments created considerable
antagonism toward him. but at the root of the problem is the fact that Shima simply does not like bread.
amari followed by a negati ve mean~ "not very .. :
... tara ii (to omou) is literally "(I think) it is/will be good if .. : "(I think) we should .. :

'

Narration: .,.((f. ill

Uchi

(!)

~T.fJ

no Suzukamo

advertising section s

(name)

v' -'J

17:.7-

to

iu

josili

(quot~)

called

ttn

shain

i '"C"
made

female employee even

M1J' J: "C J: "C L "'o

nanika

yosoyososhii.

somehow

distant/cool

Even the woma n named Suzukamo in my_section seems distant someh_pw. (PL2)
Suzukamo:

c' ? -t'o
Du:.o.
pie:be

"Your tea sir.'' (PL3-4)

Sound FX: :::1 1- J
Koro! (slight "knocking" sound of ~etting teacup and saucer on table)
rrclri l iterally means "inside/within... but it is commonly used to refer to one's own group/section/company/house/
etc. The author uses the kanji ,.:fL;'* meaning "advertising section" and properly read senden-ka, to inform the
reader which "inside group" Shima is talking about.

dow is a polite word widely used when offering something. especial ly food or drink. It corresponds to Eng lish
"please" in the sense of "please lakc/eal/drinklhavc'' rather than "please give me: See Basic Japanese 9.
(comilrued on following page)
M ANGAJIN

7 1

~ :lHHIH'F

Kacho Shima Kosaku

1t 1E fl9

faJ

MJ:
-tlltlll .., ')
Q>'/rQ>

Q) "'Jl "'( t
...t.t\.Q) \.to

t: "'(

.m

\.' t:
~ 0 l~
l~

f?.l (7)

~t:8

\.\

ldt
t:

Q)

l~

.m
Q)

...t.

t:

72

M ANGAJIN

~lll-K&UIH'F

Kacho Shima Kosaku

(continued from previous page)

@J

Narration:

~-=>C ft1t

Kiuo

~~~' P~' li . ;:1})

warrri uwasa "'a, kono

I})

ore no

probably lime about bad

!J:I])r

l})r~H:
among

I})

no

rumors as-for this throughout workplace of

rti-=>-r ,

~t'-e
Su~ukamo

onna no ko 110 aida ni lriromaue,

girls

Jlil);/~lfl

slrokuba-jii

has spread-&

(name)

t f:l}) ::c
mo sono koto

:a: llr1v't.:.
o

kiilll.

also those things (obj.) heard

Most like! nast rumors a bout me haves read among all the girls in this workplace, and
Suzukamo has heard them too. (PL2)
Sound FX: iJ :; iJ :;
Ka! ka' (sound of shoes clicking against floor)
killo is used when making conjectures with varying degrees of confidence ("maybe/probably/surely/undoubt-

edly") but stops short of complete certainty.

-jr7 crt) is a suffix meaning ''throughout - ," but when directly mouifying another noun is often translated as
"all the - in - ."
hiromaue is from lriromarrr ("spread/be circulated''). The -te form here acts like "and .. .''
kiita is from the verb kiku ("hear").

@]

Narration: M

J:

Nani

yori

t
mo

~0$;~:::

nyojitsu ni

~~~h't'o>J.,

monogatatte-im

fJl

1: t:_'o

I})

!i

no

wa tsukue no ue da.

what more than even vividly/graphically tell s/demonstrates (nom.) as- for

desk

I})

top

is

What proves this more graphically than anything else is m y desktop_, (PL2)
1!E
I}) ~liH~ I})
fJL 1: li -Hi B .{t. 'IJ{ llU.dt -r "' J.> I}) l: ,
Hoka 110 kaclro no tsukue ni
other

fte:

(=) manager 's

fJl

desks

wa mainiclri lrana

I})

J:: (:::

(;j:

{E:t!,~

ore no tsukue no

ue ni

11a

zen:en

lime 's

top on as-for lnotJ at all not exist

I})

desk

ga

okarete-iru

no ni,

is placed

even though

on as-for every day flower (subj.)

~ \,' 0

nai.

Even thou h flowers are placed every day on the desks of the other ma na ers there aren't
any flower s on m desk at all. (PL2)
110ni yori mo ("what'' + "more than"+ "even") makes an expression meaning "more than anything."
nyojitsu ="reality"' and nvojitsuni is its adverb form. 'in a real/realistic manner"--+ "vividly/graphically."
monogataue-iru is from monoga/aru. literally "narrate/tell of/recount," but used idiomatically to mean "indicate/demonstrate/prove."
no is a "nominalizer" that turns nani yori mo nyojitsu ni monogatatte iru into a noun, like saying "the thing
that demonstrates this more graphically than anything else.'' Wa marks this noun as the topic: "As for the
thing that . .."
okarete-iru is from okareru, the passive form of oku ("set down/place/leave").
::.em.en followed by a negative means "not at all.''

Sound FX: iJ"+

-v iJ"+ '\'

Cacha gaclw (rattling sound of unlocking door)

FX:

J{ :;

Pa! (effect of light coming on)

pa! represents the sudden brightness. not the sound of the switch.

@]

Sound FX:

F-IT;;
Doscr! (dull "thud" of plopping down on the chair)

Shima: .b-?
Fii

"Whew." (blowing out his breath in an exhausted sigh)

(continued from page 65)

that, but this Shima look-alike was having a drink with a woman
who bore a striking resemblance to Gmachi Kuniko. This turned
out to be a new "graphic novel" by the same Hirokane Kenshi,
running in every issue of Mister. The Shima look-alike is another
salaryman, Kaji Ryusuke, and the beautiful girlfriend is an OLat

this company. If there can be any successor to Section Chief

Shima, this is it. It's a rich, fascinating, cinematic story-and a
new installment comes out every issue. I'm hooked again!
My name is T.R. Reid and I am a ...
1992. The Washington Post. Reprinted with permission.
MANGAJ IN

73

~-G:tHIH'J:

74

MAN G AJ I N

KachO Shima Kosaku

S!lt!'t Q*lf:f'F Kacho

Sound FX:

r )V )V )V

Shima Kosaku

"' )V )V )V

~l____So_u_n_d_F_X_:~r~Jv=J=v~Jv~----------------------------------------------------~
Donmmt

Brinnng

Shima: ~' i> L.i> 1....,

A.

~~

moshi-moshi, Nami

oh/uh

hello

fJ' o

!)X:~ A..

ka.

Orosan

(name)

f!. o
da.

(hon.)-fathcr-(hon.) is

"Uh, heUo, Nami? It's Dad." (PL2)

moshi-moshi is " hello" on the phone. The person who initiates a phone call always begins with moshi-moshi,
while the other person responds with either moshi-moshi or hai (literally "yes: but on the phone it can be
considered another form of "hello") or both, hai moshi-moshi.
even though one normally does not use the honorific prefix o- or suffix -san with oneself. parents often refer
to themselves as orosan ("Dad") or oklisan ("Mom") when speaking to their k.ids.

Shima: -? A.. . . . -? A..,

Un . . .

genki

1111,

uh-huh

t!.

J: o

i t!.

da

yo.

Mada

(cmph.)

still

uh-huh fine/healthy is/am

~~

""( J.:, {/) fJ'?

okire-nt

no ka?

up/awake (explan.-?)

"""'
U"'h'-'
-h'"'"u',.,h"-'. ......,e=
a h~
l'_,_.m..,_,
rm
=e,_
.Y
~
o"""
u_,
' r"""e'""s"'
ti"'
ll'-'u~..._h""u=-'-?"
h
(PL2)
Sound FX: -:1-T -::J-1- -:1-T
!.-'
'

Kochi kochi kochi

T ick tick tick (sound of clock)

genki is a noun referring to a vigorous state of health/energy. The second line shows that it is Shima who is
speaking . Nami probably asked him simply, Genki?- which serves as an infom1al " How are you?" (literally,
Are you we ll?").
okire-ru is a contraction of okite-iru ("be awake/up'') from okiru ('"wake/get up").
no shows he is looking for an explanation, in this case more by way of figuring the explanation out for himself
(e.g.. "Nami must have still been up because she answered the phone") than of really expecting her to explain
herself (e.g., "What are you doing still up?").

Shima:

(j:

Jirsu wa

.Q,
ne,

i:> X

LTUlh as-for (colloq.)

A.. i t:. -; .t -;)

t~ A.. -c'" J.:,

nayande-ru

A.. t!. o

orosan

mara

chorro

Dad

again

a little am troubled/distressed (explan.)

n da.

"Actually, I'm a little troubled again." "Actuallv. I' ve e:ot a little problem ae:ain. " (PL2)
jirsu =truth/fact," sojirsu wa is literally "in fact/actually/to tell the truth." It's often used on the phone and in
letters tO bring up the "true/actual" purpose of one's call or letter, after the openjng formalities.
ne in the middle of a sentence is a k.ind of verbal pause. similar to English "you know."
nayande-ru is a contraction of nayande-iru, from nayamu ("fret/worry/be troubled"'). Using the -de-iru form
shows that his worries/troubles are on-going/continuing.
n dais a contraction of explanatory no da, literally "it's that ..."

Nami:

c' -? 1.... t:.

Do shira

(J)?

i3 -;) -r ::.: I? A.. o

no?

ltte goran.

how/what did (explan.- ?)

say-and see

"W hat's wron ? Tell me." (PL2)

do is "how/what"' and shita is the plain/abrupt past form o f sunt (''do/ make"). but do shita is an expression
meaning "what's the matter?/what has happened?"
itte is the-re form of iu ("say"), and adding goran (a PlA equivalent of miru. "see") makes a gentle command.
Though polite, the fact that -re goran makes a command means it's normally appropriate o nly when speaking
to someone of equal or lower status. Only in very informal situations, as here. can it be used in the opposite
direction.

Nami: -? A.. ... -? A.. . .. ..&- - A.. .. .

Un . . .

1111

fiin .. .

uh-huh

uh-huh

hmmm

''Yeah uh-huh hmmm " (PL2)

fiin is an interjection showing that one is listening with interest/understanding, "oh?/is that so?/hmm, I see."

M ANGAJ IN

75

~~ ~f#:1'F

Kach o Shima

Kosaku

"''~.f " ' -"~

~

"' ; 0) "'
..
A-J:: r~O) i"l:

l:-}~J::~""'

""' 1: IJ1

l;t

t:t

:t;

l.'tl..l. '

? I! L-

t:t

1: I.'
l;t

n.

I!

l: \.'
~

7
\.' 7

:.b-::>

!-r

f.l:

I~

o/

ll.

~ j3-

!-

c:
1.1:

tt. =~~

76

M ANGA J IN

~~R~#H'F

Nami: ~~lji. L:~ld:lt' o 1~/

Kachl5 Shima Kl5saku

H~

suki ni

Kallfan

ja nai.

Pan

easy

isn't it?

bread (obj.)

like

': ld:ttl lt'lt'

ii

nareba

to

(/)

J: o

no

yo.

if become is good (explan.)(emph.)

"But it's easv. All vou have to do is learn to like bread." (PL2)
-f:(f) 1~/
tJ~ Hlt'l...v' c
.~.-)
J:-)1: ~hi! "'"'
Sono

pan

ga

oishii

to

o1nou
bread (subj.) delicious (quote) lhink

that

A- t.::~ld:lt'?

yii "'

nareba

so that

if become is good (explan.) isn't it?

ii

ja nai?

" Isn' t it fa matter of) getting so you think the bread is delicious?" (PL2)
ja nai looks like "is not," but here it is being used as a rhetorical question. "(It's easy), isn' t it? (Of course it is!)"
suki ="like" so suki ni naru is literally "become to like" "get/learn/grow to like." Suki really should take
ga. ("pan ga suki ni nareba ... ")but the use of o is increasing. especially among younger people.
ii means "good/fine," and -ba ii makes an expression meaning ''it is enough to do -/all you have to do is-.''
ending a sentence with the explanatory no plus yo is feminine. In most such cases men would say n(o) da yo.
... yiJ ni nareba is a conditio nal "ir' form of ... yiJ ni naru, "get/become so that ..."; omou yiJ ni naru =
"get/become so that you think .. :
the second janai? has a question mark to clearly indicate that it's a question. ln informal speech it's very
common to ask questions without using the question particle ka. simply by ending the sentence with the intonation of a question.

Mother: 1ft 'f~!

Nami!

Dare

(name)

who

to hanashiteru
with

no?

arc talking (cxplan.?)

" Who ar~ou talking to, Nami?" (PL2)

lzanaslzite-ru is a COntractio n of /wnashiteiru, the progressive ("is/are - ing") form of IICIIICISII ("talk/speak").
as king questions with the explanatory no is also common in informal speech, espec ially among female speakers.

Jjf.tlfl

(f)

.i> X ~ A-

n' e;, o

IH 1.>?

A.

Mama. I

Kyoto

110

otiisan

kara. I

Deru?

oh.

Mom

(place)

in

Dad

from

answer/speak?

Nami: ih,

? ? o

"Oh Mom. It's from Dad in Kyoto. Wauna talk?" (PL2)

no between two nouns make the first a modifier for the second in a wide variety of ways. Here it means
"(Dad) who is in (Kyoto):
dem is literally "come/go out." but in the context of a phone call it means "answer/speak on the phone."

Nami:

77,

ii

Mama,
Morn

lie!

Ja

ne!

is good/okay (quote) well then/in that case (colloq.)

" Mom says it's okay. W e ll then .. .''

" Mom savs never mind. Goodbye then." (PL2)
ii is literally "good/fine/okay": it' often used idiomatically like "it's/that's okay" in the sense of "no/never
mind.'' For more on the idiomatic use of ii. see Basic Japanese 12.
11e is a colloquial equivalent of the quotative to.
ja is a contraction of de wa. which literally means "in that case.'' but it's used informally for goodbye." We
covered o ther permutation~ of ja as "goodbye" in Basic Japanese 14.

Sound FX: 11 + '\'

Cacha

Click (sound of phone hanging up at other end)

____

~l
.

~_-

so_u_n_d_r_x_:__
__J
Tsii ________________________________________________________
(sou nd of dial tone)

Sound FX: 1- /
Chin (slight "ping" of phone bell as he returns handset to its c radle)

Narration:

~~ :.-

H ~ (: 7d: tt ... n'o 7d: J.:. !l c'o

Pan

suki

ni llare. . .

ka.

like

to

i' it?

bread (obj.)
L~arn

become

Naruhodo.
indeed

to like bread ... hunh? I guess that makes sense. (PL2)

namhodo expresses one's understanding of what has been said: "aha/1 see/indeed/really"

"that makes sense."

MA NGAJIN

77

~~~M:f'F

f:>

I~

j}

Kacho Shima Kosaku

.:.

~fJ' / ~8t1.
"? i (f) t:: I ~ fJ'

-:1 1 1l li :,..- .:,

't -r L ~ t- ~

.t. ~~ n
; :..- L~ ~ li

t->Y<l

-r i

78

MANGAJIN

~R:JiUJH'F

Kachi5 Shima Kosaku

-------------------------------------------] Sound FX: 1! ::.-- #- ::.-- !::" ::.-- #- :.-Pin pan

pin pan

Sign: f:X:.R.

(sound of chimes announcing the noon hour)

11

Shirsu

Tt}h :J.. o - 1l /

Fushimi
(place)

Kojo

Surogan

plant/factory

slogan

Narration: -t -?
So

i!S'H
Shishin

Quality Improvement

Action Guidelines

cJ t

11a11 da.

Hirorsu no sluJhin

-? (J)

ifli Jh

IMl ~ T J.>

(J) 1:

kaiharsu suru

(=) product (obj.)

develop

ni

110

li

-t- -? ~., -?

~ 1J

it!! ill: ~
jilnichi-na

in order to as-for

n' 0 M:J t J.>

that kind of steady/step-by-step/unsung efforts

(evenr_thin~ins

Sound FX: t! 7- --r

~v

doryoku kara hajintaru

from

ward on the
southern edge
of Kyoto.

a na is insened when explanatory no (da) follows a noun or

equivalent: - na n(o) da. Both
explanatory forms here are
used mainly for emphasis.
kaiharsu "development" and
kaiharsu suru = "develop"
after a verb, no ni means " in
order to/for the purpose of'

wa

That's right. In order to d evelop one (new) product . ..

sO iu

Fushimi is a

action/behavior guidelines

~ lv t!. o

that way (explan./emph.) one

lr!WJ
Kodo

quality (obj.) raise/improve

The Fushimi Plant Slo_2an

(.lin J.>
Takameru

t:.. o

n da.

begins (explanlemph.)

with tha t kind of slow-but-stead v effort. (PL2)

':1

Cacha! (""rattle.. of door knob or of door closing device staning to pull door shut behind him)

@J

Narration:

itt~

CM

Ore-racl1i wa ima made, dekiagaua

shohin no

we

products for commercials (obj.) make

as-for until now

finished

shii-em11

o rsukuru shigoro shika shire-inakaua.

work

were only doing

"Until now, we were only doing the work of making commercials for fini shed products."
All we' ve been doinguntil now was make commercials for_nroducts that bad already been fully dey_elopcd. (PL2)

.f -j \;l-?
So i11

~~

~~.i"Lf..:

1:

kage

ni kakurera

#%"

kuro

<

:@:
~ '-:> ~ n' :d..: o
mattaku
shiranakaua.

that kind of shadows in hidde n hardship/suffering (obj.) (notI at all

didn't know
" We didn' t know anything at all about that kind o f hardship hidden in the shadows."
W e knew nothine a bout all the hard work that went on behind the scenes. (PL2)

On Can:

::2

tJ

::2 -

Koka kora
developing the recipes and methods for making bread had been very difficult and had taken over a year.

ore is an informal/rough word for "'lime'' used by men. -racl1i makes it plural, ''we," referring to members of the
senden-bu ( ..adveni ing depanment") Shima belonged to in Tokyo, before his recent transfer.
dekiagaua is the plain/abrupt past form of dekiagaru (''[something) is completed/finished"). The verb modifies
shohin ("product' '), which in turn modifies CM, pronounced shii-emu, an abbreviation deriving f ro m English
..commercial(s)" that has effectively become a naturalized Japanese word.

dekiagaua s/riJ/rin no CM o rsukuru is a complete thought/sentence ('make commercials of finished products..)

modifying shigoro ("work/job'').
shika combines with a negative later in the sentence to mean ' '(is/has/does) only" and sltite-inakaua is the negative
past form of shire-iru C are doing..) from suru (..do..) -+ ... shika shire inakatra ="were only doing."
kak11reta ("[be] hidden'') is the plain/abrupt past form of kakureru ("hide''). So i11 ("that kind of') and kage ni
kakurera (..is hidden in shadows") both modify k11ro (''hardship[ s]/suffering").
mattaku, like ;;en;;e/1 above, is followed by a negative to mean ..not at all." Shiranakatta ("didn' t know") is from
shiru (''learn/come to know").

Narration: .:tl..n''-:>
Korekara

~it

li

chiishoku

wa

J{/

mainichi pan

if~8

from now on noon meaVIunch as-for every day bread (obj.)

-? o

rabeyO.
shall cal

From___lliD!_on I'm going to eat bread for lunch ever v dav. (PL2)
H~':';t ~tl.~("lb. ;{;.,- (J) ~L.:m;L
t;< bn'J.> i"t',{/

ft""-::>-:11tJ:-? o

Suki niwa 11arenakwe mo.

tabe-rsuzukeyo.

like

to

Even if I
::2

tJ

::2 -

pan no yoshi-ashi

that

ga

wakaru made pan

be-

and bad brea d. (PL2)

rabeyo is the volitional ("let"s/1 shall") form of reberu; rsuZtlkeyo is the
volitional form of rsuzukem ("continue''), here being used as a verb suf-

Koka kora

Sore

ga

even if can "t become bread s good-and-bad (subj.) understand until bread (obj .) shall continue to eat
can' t learn to likillJ'm going to keep~tinebread until I know the difference

tween_~tood

On Can:

ft""J:

fix showing his intent to continue do ing the action (eating bread).

ore 110

rswni

aganau

rada

(subj.) Ume 's guilt/misdeed (obj.) make amends for

hirorsu no

holto

nan da.

only one (=) method/means (explan.)-is

That's the one and onl way_I can make a mends for what I said. (PL2)
ore 110 rswni o agana11 ("make amends for my misdeed") and rada hirors11 11o (''the one and only") both modify hiJho
( ..method/means/way").

MAN GAJtN

79

~Jd_iL~ l'JH'F

80

M ANGAJIN

Kacho Shima Kosaku

~~ tUJH-'1:

"Sound" FX:

~7

KachO Shima Kosaku

'/

Paku! (effect of taking a bite)

.Ill~

Narration: fh'
Nagai

t!..o

84

(J)

shokuzai

no hibi

long atonement/expiation of

days

da.
is/are

(Jheselare mv lonl! davs of atonemenl (PL2)

Menu Sii!DS: tJ

v- -? c.' lv

Kare

Cur__a_ Udon
Middle:

Ten~ru

udon

Katsu kare

wheat noodles tempura & buckwheat noodles

curry
~ibll

(J)

Temoura Zarusoba
~~]t
:J..J~I/ :; 71-

Konshii no zangyo-shoku
this week s

ramen

Cutlet Curry

Ramen

Supageuii

overtime meal

spaghetti

This week's Overtime Soecial:~aghetti

Upper Left: ... ~ .......,
.:.it**
< t!.. ~ "' !
... -ka

Ramen

cutlet curry rice

]t
kudasai! Shokudo

go-renraku

... section to (hon.)-contactlcommunications please

jj.g

~.fit~

Un 'ei

linkai

dining room operations/management committee

(For/when/if . . .) olease contact the . .. Section. Dininl! Room Steerinaz Committee (PLA)
udon is a thick, white noodle, usually served in a hot broth flavored with soy sauce. Kare udon has a curry-sauce
added.
zaru is short for zarusoba, in which soba refers to a ligbtbrown buckwheat noodle thinner than udon. Soba is also
eaten in a hot broth, but zaru refers to a bamboo frameldrainboard on which soba is served cold, topped with
shredded nori ("seaweed") and with a dipping sauce on the side. For tenzaru, some kind of tempura (shrimp and/or
vegetable) is included on the top or side as well.
katsu is short for katsuretstt, the katakana rendering of "cutlet," which unless specitied otherwise means "pork cutlet." Katsu kare is a mound of rice topped with a pork cutlet and curry sauce.
renraku is a noun referring to the act of getting in touch with/relaying information to someone. Adding the honorific prefix go- and kudasai makes a polite request, "please contact ..."
yaue is from yant ("do"), and kO yaue
= "in this way" -+ "this is how ..."
umidasareru is the passive form of
umidasu ("bear/create"), from !IIIIU
("give birth") and dasu ("take/put out").
wakaue kita is from wakaru ("come to
know/understand") and kuru ("come").
Kuru after the -te form of a verb often
means "begin to (do the action).''

Ne,

Shima

Kacho,

itsumo clulshoku no toki ni

say/hey (name) section chief always

"'~<~J.>

tlo

inaku naru

wa

ne.

disappears

c.::

lunch

's time

t:rr-?"C'

Doko ni

(fern.) (colloq.) where to

iue-ru

at

(J)?

no?

is going (ex plan.-?)

"Sav. Mr. Shima alwavs disappears at lunch time,

doesn' t he? Where does he 2:0?" (PL2)
OL:

~(:,~v' o

Shiranai.

Narration:

"I don't know." (PL2)

Ore

wa

ganbant

zo.

Vmc as-for strive hard (emph.)

.l'f! <

$~$

(J)

Hayaku

jigyo-bu

no ningen ni nari-kiru 11 da!!

quickly manufacturing department 's

Allfl 1:

IJ

1.> A..t!!!

person to become completely

l'm_eohu! to l!ive it mv all to make myself over into a

manufacturinaz man as quickly as oossible. (PL2)

neat the beginning of a sentence is used

to get the listener's attention, like "say/
hey/look here."
inakunaru is literally "become(s) gone/
lost/nonexistent," from inai (negative of
iru, " is here/exists" for animate things)
and naru ("become[s]") "disappears."
shiranai is the negative of shiru ("come
to know"), but in actual use it serves as
the negative form for shiue-iru ("know/
understand").
ganbaru means to be "dogged/persistent" in working toward some goal.
nari is from naru ("become/turn
into") and -kint is a verb suffix meaning "finish (doing)/(do) completely."
Hayaku . . . ni narikiru = "become
fully ... as soon as possible.''

M ANGAJIN

81

~-LHl~H'F

82

MANGA J IN

KachO Shima Kosaku

,
~!{tUJFf'F

@J

SW: ~~
Jigyo

mil{

Bucho-

shitsu

KachO Shima

Kosaku

operations department head- room

"Manufacturing Department Chiefs Office"

General Mana2er -(Electrothermic E.nuipment) Manufacturing

jigyiJ basically means "an undertaking/enterprise," and ajigyo-b11 is a division/department of a corporation engaged
directly in the activities/operations that give the business its reason for being. For a manufacturing company, it
would be the " manufacturing division/department." Since the next frame reveals a more specific name for thisjigyobu, it is apparently one of several. which makes it inappropriate to simply translate the word as "Operations Department" in this case.
bucho, literally "department head," typically corresponds to a "general manager" or a "vice-president" in an American corporation.

@]

Narration:

~~1ll:

Torishimariyaku
director

Dennetsu-ki

Jigyo-bu

JigyiJ BuchO Kurashige

electrothermic equipment manufacturing department general manager (surname)

Shun 'ichi
(given name)

Director and General Manager of Electrothermic Equipment Manufacturinl!:. Kurashige Shun'ichi

torishimariyaku refers to a "director'' on the corporate board of directors.
dennetsu refers to "electric heat" and -ki is a suffix for "tool/equipment," so dennetsu-ki is an all-encompassing term
for electrical appliances that involve heating e lements: space heaters, toasters, rice cookers, bread makers, etc.

@]

.:\'- ~

Kurashige: .li6 ft,

li
wa

Shima-kwr, kimi
(name-hon.)

~ Mt

tl

tiBI~ .0

eigo

ga

dekiru

lv-? :d.:.
11 yatta

1j: !
na!

you as-for English (subj.) can do/speak (explan.)-was (colloq.)

"Shima, you can speak English, right?" (PL2)

Shima: lilt' o
''Yes. (sir)." (PL3)

Hai.

EJ

-kun is an equiva lent of -san ("Mr./Ms.") used among males of equal rank, or by superiors when speaking to or
about their subordinates (either male or female).
dekiru is literally "can/able to do," but when speaking of a language, it means "speak/know/understand.''
n is a contraction of explanatory no, and yatta is Kansai dialect for datta. the past form of da (''is/are'').
na is a mostly masculine equivalent of ne, which expects the listener to agree with/confirm the statement: "right?/
isn't it so?"

-1

Kurashige: 7 ;.

1) 'h \."
Amerika de

America

t .: (J) ~~ /;;. -

in

1Jf

'hpan mekii

uuoko no
our

bread makers

::? -:> -1 ~!I=JJ

ga

gottsii

(subj.) very much

1:

hyoban ni
popular to

1j:

~ J:

-c

nariyotte

1j:,

na,

have become-and (colloq.)

" In America our bread makers have_e~tten really popular, you know and . .."
7/ jJ ::;! (J)
~i~
BIJ{;$: (/) :r. 7 1 ~ lv -/)~ i!i: \,\ ? -!;, ~: t ? t
J: .0 lv-? 0
Shikago

keizai

110

dantai

Chicago from economic/business group

110

erai-san

's

VlPs

ga chikai uchi ni

dolto

kiyoru

n ya.

(subj.) in near future many at once will come (explan.)

"a whole bunch of business leaders from Chicago will be coming to visit in the near future." (PL2)
-t-lv II#
Son toki
that

(;l

~ F91~

t.: (J) ~ t.:. It\

wa

annai-yaku

tanomi-tai

lv-? -/){!
n ya ga!

time as-for guide-duty/role want to request (explan.) but

"At that time I want to ask you to be their guide (but)."

" I want to ask you to show them a round a bit while they' re here." (PL2)
uttoko no is a dialect contraction of uchi no tokoro no (lit. "our place's" "our").
gottsii is dialect for gotsuku, an informal/slang word for "highly/greatly/very much."
hyoban is literally "reputation," referring to how something is being received by the public; hyiiban ni naru can
mean just " is being talked about" or it can mean " is being received well/has become popular" (cf., hyiJban ga ii ="is
popular/being received well" and hyoban ga warui = " is unpopular/being receive poorly").
nariyotte is a dialect form of natte, the -te form of naru ("become"), and kiyoru is dialect for kuru ("come/w ill
come"). Inserting a form of yoru (yotte is it's -te form) into verbs is especially common in Kansai dailect.
erai-san is an informal equivalent of o-eragata ("dignitaries/YIPs"). Erai is an adjective meaning "eminent/important" (for describing people), and -san has been added to make a noun meaning " important person/people."
son is a contraction of sono ("that'').
o, to mark the object, has been omitted after annai-yaku ("guide").
tanomi-tai is the " want to" form of tanomu ("ask a favor/make a request"). N ya is dialect for explanatory n(o) da.
ga literally means ''but," but here merely serves as a "softener" for the sentence ending.

@]

Shima: b fJ'

~ I L. t.: !

Wakarimashita.
understood

"Certainly, sir." (PL3)

wakarimashita is the PL3 past form of wakaru ("come to know/understand"), which as a response to a request/command means "yes/okayn will."

MAN GAJIN

83

~ft!&if1!:ft

84

MANGAJ I N

KachO Shima Kosaku

~~.fb#Ht

GJ

KachO Shima Kosaku

Kurashige: -f il7J' I?
Sorekara

yoru

after that/in addition

night as-for (place) to

II'O,

Cion e

tsuretelle

seuai sltite kure

take-and

entcnain

ya.

please (emph.)

"And in the evening I 'd like you to take them to Gion and entertain them." (PL2)
the Cion district in Kyoto is the mo t famous of Japan's hanamachi ("Oower towns") where traditional geisha entertain the (mostly male) clients of ultra high-class restaurants with singing, dancing. witty conversation, games. and
companionship.
tsuretelle is a contraction of tsurete iue. the -te form of ts11reru ("bring/take along" for people and most animals) fol lowed by the te form of iku ("go"). Tsurete ik11 ="take (someone) along to/go with (someone) in tow."
seuai is a noun referring to the entertainment of client . and seuai s11ru is its verb form (sltite is the -te form of suru,
"do''). Kure after the -te form of a verb makes an informal request or gentle command.
this ya is a panicle used with commands/suggestion/requests to emphasize the speaker's desi re that the action be done.

@J

.:!?*-~

Shima: ftt!E?
Cion?

"t'T7r?

Ochaya

desu ka?

(place) (hon.)-teahouse

is it?

"Gion? You mean(to)a teahouse?" (PL3)

ochaya (lil. "teahouse/shop") is the traditional name for the high-class restaurants where geisha entertain.

@]

Kurashige: -f-? o

.:. tl7)'

So ya.
is so/right

~' -?

I? .:. -?

Korekara

ko iu

.:. c

i i

~F.>

koto

mo

mama

ant

110 de

occa~ionally/oftcn

exist/occur

because/so

from now on this kind of thing/situation also

(f)

-c:

"That's ri2ht. This kind of thing will ha(!~periodically__ft:_om now on so ... "
.:\'-~
b 1.-'L -f:(f) /Jlfii t: /JJi -/)t
~<
J:-Jt: /j:-::>}::.~'1.:. 1J7J{P'v' 0
kimi

mo .wkoshi sono hiime11

you

also

a little

11i

that direction in

kao

ga

kiku

yo 11i

face (subj.) ha effect

11at1oita

ho ga ii.

so that became in preparation is better if

" it' d be best if vou made vour face known around the re." (PL2)
soya is dialect for soda ("it is so/that's right").
kiku means "be effective/have effect... so kao ga kiku is literally "(one's) face has effect,.. meaning one's face is
known/recognized and has some pull. Kao ga kiku yo ni naru ="become so that your face is known."
nauoita is a contraction of naue oita. from naru ("become") and the past of oku ("sellplacelleave"). Oku after the -te
form of a verb implies doing the action ahead of time/in preparation for some later event/purpose.

Kurashige:

-f-? {>
Soya

A,~
'7 ~
Konban washi

lj: o

na.

is so/right (colloq.) tonight

Ume

t:

"? ~ :t:;

ni

1 "(

<it o

tsukiote k11re.

to/with (please) keep company

" I know. Come with me tonight" (PL2)

h- (f) .:~:; ~ ~ t -tc :~;t

Najimi no o-chaya to okami

.!1111

familiar

:ao

*rl?l- L t <

~ n' ", o
sakai.

shifkai shiwku

teahouse and madame (obj.) will introduce in preparation because

" (Because}_I'll introduce ou to a teahouse a nd ma da me I

know." (PL2)
Kurashige:

tHs

(f)

1J

li

sake no

ho

11a

ii'li

Shima-kun wa

"' ~t::. 7

-r

7J'?

ikeru kuchi ka?

(name-hon.) as-for sake/drink s side/direction as- for can go/do type

"Shima a re you a stron2 drinke r?" (PL2)

Shima: I"', A.iiE h. t: o
Hai.
yes

hitonami ni.

... no hii wa (ho is literally "direction/

way") here is little different from a
plain 11a to mark the topic: "as for .....
ikeru kuchi {lit. "can do/go type") is a
term for someone who can drink/hold
his liquor a strong drinker."

like most people

" Yes_, I can hold mv own." (PL3)

Kurashige: :;f / -t- I t'-?
Omw

~?

na dii m?

women as-for ho_;; is?

" How about women?" (PL2)

do ya is dialect for do da. "how is it?/

how are you with ...?"

Shima: ;f / -t- I
Omw
women

wa

dame desu.

as-for no good

is

" I' m no ~ood with women." (PL3)

Nar ration: 4>:
A, I,
c "( b -f: lv lj:

*(:

Homo ni ima wa.

truly

totemo

soya is also dialect for soda ("i t is so/

that's right"). but here he's using it in a
common idiomatic way. to bring up a
sudden thought/idea.
waslri is a form of ''I" used exclusively
by older men.
tsukiote is dialect for tsukiafle, the -te
form of tsukiau ("socialize/keep company with"). Adding kure makes it an
informal request/command.
shiikai shitoku is a contraction of shiikai
shite oku, the -te form of shokai suru
(''i ntroduce") with oku implying the action is done "in preparation.''
sakai is a Kansai dialect equivalent of
kara ("because").

sonna

1: lj: 11./j: 'v'.

ki

ni narenai.

now as-for really/hardly that kind of will/desire to can't become

I really can't get in the mood for that right now. (PL2)

ki means "wiiVintenlldesire." and

narenai is the negative of narem, the
potential ("can") form of 1Wnt (''become"). Sonolsonna ki ni 1Wru means
"get in that kind of mood."
totemo is an emphasizer; when it modifies a negative potential form. it means
"can hardly .. ."or "reall y cannot ... "

MAN GAJIN

85

86

MA NGAJIN

 Kacho Shima

~lHHJI:f'f.

@]

Narration: J;tfi
Kyoto

(j:

JJUE ,

1\'0

gen:.oi.

Kosaku

'~ff,t,

-JG41BT'

I.Uf,

Pomo-cho. Shimabara. Ka111ishichiken.

(place name) as-for now/at present (place name) (place name)

I~DUfi it!!.

8 JIIIBT

Cion Higashi Shinchi. Miyagall'a-cho

(place name)

nado

(place name)

(place name)

fJf

:ftltr

(/)

110 lwna111achi

ga

if>
aru

/){'

ga,

places like (=) no"'cr town (subj .) exist

but/and

At present there are a numbe r of entertainment districts in Kyoto, includin&...f!>nto-chO

Shimabafll., Kamishichiken G ion Hi~shi Shinchi and Miyagawa-cho but .. .
Qb
ff~~ C.:.;:, fJ{, .:..:., '*I~Epgi\ "t"if>'-> o
IIIOIIomo .l'llmei-na tokoro
most

famous

ga.

place

koko. Gio11 Kob11

(subj.)

the most famous niace of all is

tl~ 1M rp ~B (J)
i:3 ~ill ';t
Cion Kobu

o-chayo

110

wo

here
her~

f.~

"ichigen-san o-kotowari"

i;,

Cion Kobu. (PL2)

1204!f,

yaku hyak11-11ijukken,

(place name) of/in teahouses as-for approx.

" - .J.~ ~!vi:>lf!i'IJ "

de aru.

(place name)

120 houses

c.:.-? t!.o

(J)

t't'i:r\

~c Vrlbl~~"'

no

kokushiki

gen to shite ku:11sonai tokoro

chance customers (hon.)-refusal of rule/precedent (obj.) stringently not break/relax

place

da.
is

T here are about 120 teahouses in Cion Kobu and it is a place where the "chance customers re~pectfully refused" r ule is strictly observed. (PL2)
11ado completes the list of places. and no makes the entire list into a modifier for hanamachi (''nower town"). Nado

customarily comes at the end of a liM like this whether it is a complete list (i.e., it means "these several items") or
there are additional items left unmentioned (i.e.. it means "etc./and the like"). Thi s makes it similar to the way "including .. :can be used with both complete and paniallists in English.
the conjunction go can mean either "and" or "but" depending on the context. In this case either English rendering
seems possible.
de aru is a more formal/literary equivalent of des11 ("is/are").
-ken is a counter suflix for houses/shops/restaurants.
ku:.11sanai is the negative form of ku:.usu ("break [up]/demolish"). Kakushiki o ku::;11s11 means to "break/relax a rule/
precedent." Gento shite k11::Jtsa11ai is literally stringently not break/relax"
" strictly observe:
"iclrigeii-SOII o-kotowari" 110 kokushiki o ge11to slrite ku: usa11ai is a complete thought/sentence ("the chance customers respectfully refused' rule is stric tly observed") modifying tokoro ("place").

Narration: \." li,

l;l:

Dewa.

o-choya

to

wo

i11ai

ikanaru 1110110 ka?

well then/now teahouse (quote) as-for (emph.) what kind of thing?

" Now, as for what's called a teahouse, exactly what kind of thing is it?"

Now, what exactly is a teahouse? (PL2)

-o

\."

Hitokuclri

de

'15

1J~

JM Wt

kyaku

ga

:.oslriki

i: .:Z li ,

ieba.

one bite/word in

if say,

customer (subj.)

b;~nquet

Ht ~

-c

karite

room (obj.) borrow/rent-and

ijlljft

(J)

it'Hf

T 7.> c.:..:?

slmshoku

110

asobi

Sllrtt

tokoro

food & drink of/with cntcnainment (obj.) do

place
ln_a word~ it is_a place where customers rent a

\."if> 7.> o
de am.
is

banquet room a nd entertain with food and drink.

(PL2)

-t-.:.

1: ~~ ,

~~

Of'(f,

Soko

ni geiko,

maiko

yobi.

;tlJII! li

glj(J)

fttl:lLrn n' C:> Ifl'J~it7.> o

ryliri wa betS/1110 shidoslri-ya kara

that place to geisha apprentice geisha (obj.) call/~ummon food as-for separate
caterer
from
To tha t place, they summon ~ish a and dancers_. and orde r in food from an outside

f.:. t~ -t i1.f~ It (J) :1JJi

t!. fJf ,
Tada sore dake 110 baslro do ga.
just

that

only

of place is

~ (J)

ippa11110

A Ill! 1: l;i ~ iJ' ~ iJ'

11inge11 11i II'CI 11aka11aka

but average/common perwn

for

toriyoseru.
order in

caterer. (PL2)

f{fiS

fJt

~ 1t'

<l)

slrikii

ga takai

110

t!. o
da.

quite/very thresholdldoor.;ill (subj.) high (explan.) i;,

" It is a place of just !.hat, but for the ordinary person the doorsill is very high."

-+

T hat 's a ll there is to it but___ill's a place that) the 01:_dinaty_person can' t easilv visit. (PL2)
iuai places strong emphasis on the question word that follows: "who/how in the world/ where the blazes/exactly what
kind of -/etc.'' Jka11aru is an archaic equivalent of do i11 or dono yli-110 ("what kind of'), still used idiomatically.
ieba is a conditional "if' form of iu ("say"): lritokuclri de ieba = lit. "if you say it in one word"--+ " in a word."
::aslriki refers to a formal Japanese-style guest/reception/dining/banquet room wi th tatami mats on the n oor and a
decorative toko11oma ("alcove''). They can vary in size from just a few mats to a hundred or more.
kyaku ga :aslriki o karite s/ws/roku 110 asobi o s11ru is a complete thought/sentence ("customers rent a banquet room
and entenain with food and drink") modifying tokoro ("place").
geiko is the term used in Kyoto for geisha. female entertainers trained in traditional Japanese music and dance,
while maiko, literally "dancing girls," arc apprentice geisha.

To be continued in the next issue of MANGAJIN

MAN GAJIN

87

Vocabulary Summary

From Basic Jaeanese,

fii:~\..'

abunai
at sui
heta-ni
hocho
itai
karu/wzumi-na
111/lkll
sugoi
torareru
urusai

?.:!f:i,..'

rfl.:
~T

"'t.:. "'

~flj:"f~~

tr<
i?i\..'
ct:>il.J.>
-J J.> ~"'

Q.

34

dangerous/hazardous
hot
unskillfully
kitchen/cooking knife
sore/painful
hasty/rash
peel/skin/strip off
incredible/terrible
be taken
noisy/bothersome

From Furiten-kun, Q. 40
JJJW.b'C~
t.lv~l.:

J::.JiJ 1.:
(H) L.

c ~~,~

~ l.\..'

7miJ-tJ.>

jido hanbai-ki
jinsoku-ni
johin-ni
( o )shiroyaka-na
llt.l"ukushii
yosoku suru

vending machine
swiftly
elegantly/gracefull y
gracefu 1/gentle/ladyl ike
beauti fulllovely
predict/forecast

f rom Tanaka-kun,
f!'Jrt.o
~~~
~ lib1
~ITffifi.[i
/"\./~

J"i-7

!)'~
~;-)

f*tr

r,ct;

akeru
biyo-.l'hirsu
eiga
eiga-kan
hen-na
piima
shosetsu
warau
yasttmtl
yomu

Q.

44

(day) dawns
beauty parlor
movie
movie theatre
strange/weird
perm
novel
laugh (v.)
take a day off/stay home
read

From Beranmei Tochan, Q. 46

iJ/:=./7'

'ft..J.J.>

c ~ t)

jjijJ.>

kanningu
niru
/01/(ll"i
yowartt

cheating
resemble/take after
next door
become weak/be troubled

From Katsu-Shika 0 . p. 48
ig)

~~

1$
niRIJAn
~f#t:>
~
m~

Mtr

tt c..:.

H t;, "?It J.>

H~' L.~'
~/.:"/

?flm
?fliiffl
iiii!i:
.ft-77"
~~
tJf!F~
it\:*it!

ararameru
byiJin
kami
kansoku -sen
kimocili
mtme
Nankyoku
nayamu
nedoko
ochitsukeru
okashii
pengin
reibo
reizoko
saikin
sarada
setsumei
shinsen-na
shiren

warm (up)/heat
hospital
God/the gods
survey/observation ship
feelings
chest
South Pole/ Antarctica
fret/brood/agonize
bed/place to sleep
calm down/pacify
strange/odd
penguin
air conditioner
refrigerator
recently
salad
explanation
fresh
trial/test

~~

tamago
tam e ru
tsudo u
lltSIIrll
wake

t.:.V:JJ.>

1Jn

~J.>

.R

egg
collect/accumulate/save
gather/collect/swarm
reflectlappear
reason/meaning

From Kachi5 Shima Kosaku, ~

,;~Jtl

M-:tJ
7JU
tJ~11B(f:J ~
~g

m:'f'.lJ
}1.; t J.>
A:ilfZ.~~.:
;W'I'~J

itkill~
tt~1
~~

1~56-tJ.>
~~Hto

6:1'\

Jt!H4-t o

T..!'GJ
Dl1 If:
Wft.>

?i9j
JV\-t

j:l;:i!f!i"J.>

t{ffii
~3!tJ.>
~~~~~
fi~tr
~~

~n~~=

}.;1{tfji
7 ~;f'f*f~
~JJUTJ.>
:ll{i~

H~*

iS\:In

~t#-tJ.>

fJ:H1 L.@:

trm

'!1
*811--t.o
M$

11/J{D-tJ.>
'1'?/1~

t'liJ !IE:t"
JSu'I~
~)

:t-V: I:

n.u. .o
~1\
LE.~t.!-t

nn.

~.It~

/iff<

cho rei
doryoku
genzai
haitateki-na
hatsugen
hi han
hiromaru
hitonami-ni
hyoban
jimichi-na
jt7gyo-in
kage
kaihatsu suru
kakureru
kakushiki
kitai suru
kojo
koritsu
korowa ru
kuro
kuzusu
kyotsii suru
majime
m.onogataru
najimi
nayamu
nokoru
nyojirsu-ni
o-chaya
rajio taiso
sanka suru
senden-bu
senmon-ka
senniJ
settai suru
shidashi-ya
shislrin
shitsu
slriJkai suru
shokuzai
showa suru
shiizoku
soshi-sha
SU/lao-na
takameru
toku-ni
tonaeru
/Sllllli
umidasu
11\V{ISQ

:.angyo
z;ashiki

morning meetin g
effortlendeavor
at present/now
exclusive/cliquish
statement
criticism
spread/be ci rcu Iated
like most people
popularity/fame/reputation
steady/step-by-step
employees
shadows/behind the scenes
develop
hide (v.)
rule/precedent
look/aim for/expect
factory
i solati on
refuse/turn down
hardship/suffering
break (up)/demolish
have in common
seriousness/earnestness
narrate/tell of/prove
familiarity
fret/worry/be troubled
remain/be left over
vi vidly/graphically
teahouse
radio cal isthenics
participate/join
advertising dept.
experts
brainwashing
entertain (clients)
caterer
guidelines/principles
quality
introduce
atonement/expiation
sing/reci te in unison
custom
fo under
docile/meek
raise/improve/enhance
especially
advocate/preach
guilt/ misdeed
give birth to/create
rumor(s)
overtime
banquet room

The Vocabulary Summary is taken from material appearing in this issue of M ANGAJIN. It 's nor always possible to give rite complete
range of meanings for a word in this limited space, so our "definitions" are based on the usage of the word in a particular story.

88

MANGAJtN