1992 -'1'- 1D 16 ll !IL c!

Uilff;tJ;;J(of
1994 if- 10n 1011~17 (1r!,IJ11!!11on ~til i!AJ.il;rl39-l}

JAPANESE
POP CULTURE
& LANGUAGE
LEARNING

~J1WB Ifif}] iliJ

j,

mm:mm ~ .--..~

AI: Jtp11'1 Stew M11l1

~iafi 950 P3

<*1*922 P3 )

}!~~m~~~~~~~!l!lt -----aAP.PI
~
Icatlon and text Inside;;;-~~--=
- -

--

....

.,.M

New Game in Town

Since last summer's debut, the japan
Professional Football League has had great
success finding fans in a nation w here
baseball has reigned supreme-until now.
by Kirk Martini
- League soccer is more than a new game: it's
a new attitude, a new relationship between a
game and its sponsors. In baseball. Japan's premier team sport, this relationship is c lose, and
the game reflects the spartan values o f discipline and sacrifice that pervade traditional corporate c ulture in
Japan. The J-League has introduced a much looser relationhip. using a marketing blitz to create its own image of an exciting, g lamorous, and exotic sport. Corporations support that
image because it's popular, and that support makes it more popular. Lt's an upward spiral that shows no signs of slowing.

In the beginning ...

Hardly known as a soccer powerhouse, Japan has played the
game longer than most people realize. Popularity hit a peak in

the 1960s when the Japanese team finished in the top eight at
the 1964 T okyo Olympics and took the bronze medal in the
1968 Olympics at Mexico City. The game soon slid into popular obscurity, however. played mainly by corporate-sponsored
teams. By the late 1980s, corporate teams were playing to
crowds of o nly a few thousand spectators. A rag-tag collection of these anemic teams. combi ned with shrewd and relentless marketing. formed the beginnings of today's J-League
hysteria.
Corporate-sponsored teams have been an important part
of the Japanese sports scene for decades. Many comp<mies
maintain teams in sports such as rugby. soccer, baseball. volleyball and American football. These teams arc like supercharged versions of an American company softball team. Some
corporate ba eball teams have million-dollar budgets that include cheerleaders and all the trappings o f a pro team. Players
are on the books as company employees. but many are really
full -time athletes, some with salaries in the $200,000 range.
Like numerous other facets of corporate Japan in the 90s, however, many teams have fallen victim to the recession.
Although both J-League soccer and professional ba eball
have their roots in corporate-spon ored teams, they've taken

slid into popular obscurity = ~ I? IJ. III! (:.\!:i ti? 1L sl1irtmwna ni wosurerare [slide into = ~1.:, IJ. III! 1: (: t.: 1.> .1hirmwmc1 ni ... ni IWmj Ipopular
obscurity= ill: 1: ~11 1? it"(~ ' t.: ~' ~JUl.~ yo ni shimrete:ina_!jotai] rag-tag= ~-tt~!cl6 yosemsume ~hrewd = lUtt II Q) t.: ~' nukeme 110 nai I rappings
= filii I) 'b Cl)Jft~ alta ka:arimonolfu:okuhin face1 = ilu/f,Jtlfl men/yci11i

24 Mangajin

different paths. Pro baseball has maintained the traditional role of the corporate team as a public relations
arm, generating good will and enhancing public image for a single sponsor. In most cases, the relationship between team and company is very tight.
.. . and then there was )-League
The J-League is based on a completely different concept, and plays by different business rules. The league
is the brainchild of its chairman, Kawabuchi Saburo.
a veteran of Japan 's 1964 Olympic soccer team.
Kawabuchi's philosophy is to make money by putting on a show and marketing it like crazy.lfthe show
and the marketing are good, then corporate sponsors
will cramble to sign up. Armed with market research
indicating that interest in soccer among those in their
teens and twenties nearly matched interest in baseball, Kawabuchi started selling his vision of a professional soccer league to potential sponsors in the late
1980 . It was the peak of the bubble economy, and companies
were flush with cash and eager for new forms of promotion.
Kawabuchi lined up more than 100 sponsors.
For most teams, the primary sponsor is a large Japanese
corporation such as Mitsubishi or Mazda. Ln addition, there are
several secondary sponsors and shareholders, many of which
are foreign companies such as Nestle, Ford, and Coca-Cola.
Some teams have sponsorshi p from local citizens groups as
well. Each player's uniform is decorated with at least three corporate logos: one on the chest, one across the shoulders, and

(Opposite page) A /-League match is more than a show of athleticsthe spectacle of devoted fans (cheering on the Shimizu S-Pulse) is
port of the fun. (Above) japanese soccer legend Romosu Rui (r.) defends Verdy Kawasaki against the Kashima Antlers.

the logo of this year's official upplier of J-League uniforms.

Mizuno sportswear. Mizuno designed uniforms for the entire
league as an ensemble. so that only the players- not the uniforms~lash on the field.
Curiously enough, the logos of secondary sponsors are often most prominent. The uniforms of the Ycrdy Kawasaki team.

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Mangajin 25

J- L e agu e
In addition, there's the Nabisco Cup, a short tournament for the
whole league, plus the Kodak all-star game. The season stretches
from May to November, and there are sponsors all along the
way.
TV rights and League paraphernalia also pull in lots of cash.
During the do ldrums of corporate soccer, television rights for a
game sold for about 300,000, but it didn' t really matter, since
games we re rarely televised. For J-League broadcast rights,
Kawabuchi negotiated a headline-making deal of I 0,000,000
per game. Official J-League goods such as towels, watches and
caps are all designed and manufactured by Sony Creative Products; the company markets a line of more than 200 products in
over I 00 stores nationwide. Annual sales are projected in the
$300 mjllion range. Products appeared on shelves seven months

for example, display the Coca-Co la logo across the chest, even
though its primary sponsor is the Yomiuri media chain. Mazda
sponsors a team that has the Fo rd logo on the chest. Thi seems
like a logical arrangement since Ford and Mazda have had several successful joint ventures in the automotive world, but it
will be a cold day in Okinawa before competitors share shirt
space in baseball.
Always looking for opportunities, the J-League has found
more to offer potential sponsors than individual teams-companies bid for sponsorship of the season itself. The season is
divided into two halves called stages; there ' s a winner for each
stage and then a playoff series between the two winners. This
year the first stage was named the Suntory Series (won by
Sanfrecce Hiroshima), and the second stage, the Nicos Series
(Nicos, also known as Nippon Shimpan, is a credit company).

(cominued on page 58)

paraphernalia = lllli!ifiiJI. kanren slrolrin doldrums = 'GtAt/ itrli'i f ushinlchintai negotiate= ~i!JiT .Q klisho suru

Teams of the )-League

Beginning with 10 teams in May of 7993, the }-League
has grown to twelve teams, with plans to add at least
four more in the years to come.

JEF United lchlhara

:J:r. 7.::L-T1 -r :r.

nnlli{

location: Chiba Prefecture

Main Sponsors: JR East, Furukawa Electric
Secondary Sponsors: Sega Enterprises, Pentel

Kashima Antlers

Yokohama Fltigels
~ ~ 7 J ::L-7'Jv A

JJt &b7 / ~7-

location: lbaraki Prefecture

Main Sponsor: Sumitomo Metal Industries
Secondary Sponsor: Tostem

Location: Yokohama
Main Sponsors: All Nippon Airlines,
Sato Industries
Secondary Sponsors: Bandai, ldemitsu

Bellmare Hiratsuka
/'{Jv"<- v~~

LocaUon' Kngw Pefect"'"

.,.,
Main Sponsor: Fujita Industries
.
Secondary Sponsors: DDI, Tohato, Hoya

Yokohama Marinos

-~

Sanfrecce Hiroshima
-It / 7 v ;; -'!- :r.. It Q

Location: Hiroshima
Main Sponsor: Mazda
Secondary Sponsors: Sumiken, Mazda

;fjt ~"<') ./A

Location: Yokohama
Main Sponsor: Nissan M otors
Secondary Sponsors: Kodak japan,
Tetoro Blue International

Gamba Osaka
jf /

'"*rli

Location: Osaka
Main Sponsor: Matsushita Electric
Secondary Sponsor: Panasonic

Jubllo Iwata
; ) .:L

~ D ~JEEI

location: Shizuoka Prefecture

Main Sponsor: Yamaha Group
Secondary Sponsor: Nestle

Urawa Red Diamonds

i~l~l v ..1 r ~ 1 -v -t :.-- ;(
Location : Saitama Prefecture
Main Sponsor: Mitsubishi Motors
Secondary Sponsor: japan Word Perfect

26 Mangajin

Shimizu S-Pulse
7-lf ;fc:r.. :;.. 1 ~ Jv A
Location: Shizuoka Prefecture
Main Sponsors:
TV Shizuoka, Citizens Group
Secondary Sponsors: ]Al, Honen Corp., Ezaki Glico

Nagoya Grampus Eight

:t'2J~ 7"7 / I~A:X:.1 ~

Location: Nagoya
Main Sponsor: Toyota Motors
Secondary Sponsor: Toyota Motors

:It

Verdy Kawasaki
"f :r. Jv'T 1 Jl l*tf
location: Kanagawa Prefecture
Main Sponsor: Yomiuri Newspapers
Secondary Sponsors: Coca-Cola japan,
McDonald's Japan

NT

 m:ll.t:f!l

by :tm! EE 'IJ\-::> V Z.. I Hotta Katsuhiko

Narration:

:;f 1' ~

IJ 7 /

Obawricm

OBATARIAN

obalarian(')

(j:

1:

11a

lion

km.-a::Jt 11i

memoru.

:L\for book (obj.) wilhoul bu} ing lake nole'>

Obatarians take notes instead of buying the_bJ)Ok. (PL2)

In Book:

~ :./ -t iJ
Nikujaga

f'F IJ 1i

(J)

110 tsukuri-kata

meat po1~1oc., of making mel hod

ReciP-e for Nikujaga

kawa:uni is a classical Japanese form equivalent to kawanaide. the negative -te
form of kau ("'buy"). A verb in the -:u ni or -naide form followed by another
verb impl ies "do the ~econd action wi thout/instead of doing the first action."

memoru is a slang verb formed from the English word ..memo"+ the verb
ending -m. T he noun memo in Japanese usually refers to notes you take for
your own purposes rather 1han an informal letter sent to others. The proper
verb forms arc memo (o) sunt ("make a memo/note") or memo o tont (literally
''take memos/notes''), but memoru is used as a slang/colloquial equivalent.
11ikujaga is th in-sliced beef. potato chunks. and onions simmered in a soy and
sake broth.

Storekeeper: i

-?

t.:.

Mauaku

< ~ I<

l "' o

:t7:iisllii.

(imcrj.) braten/shamclcss/chccky

" What nerve!" (PL2)

n'

i ~
Masaka

~tt
issatsu

.o .:: t

marugoto

~ -t
uts11su

7\

t: ~ .. .

ki

ja .. .

\urcly (nol) I (counl) \\holly/entirely cop} inlention as-for

" Surel she doesn' t intend to copy out the whole book."
(PL2)
mauaku. literally meaning "completely/entirely: is often used as an exclamation/interjection of exasperation.

masaklt cmpha~iLes a statement of disbelief/incredulity. For this use. the sentence typically ends in a negative conjecture (nai daroldesllif). so that is the
ending implied here: ... janai dariJ = ..surely isn't/doesn't .....
satsu is the counter suffix for books. lssatsumarugow wsusu ("copy one book in
its entirety") i s a complete thought/sentence modifying ki ("intent/intention").

Sound FX: A ~ A ~ Sura sura (effect of walking briskly)

L 1)
t!. t
Storekeeper: 7/, ~TiJq: -f:IL li
Fu11.

sa.wga11i

hrumph

sore

11'0

J: -) t!.

.fJ!, '? t.:.

muri

da

to

1ha1 as-for impossible is (quolc)

(cmph.)

lj: 0

omotta

\'O da
na.
lhought/rcalit.ed il scc'mstappcars (colloq.)

" Hrumph, it looks like even she realized that would

be impossible." (PL2)
fim is a kind of "~non" of sati~faction.
sasuga ni here gives ~pecial cmphasi& to the understood subject. obmarian: "even

11
\.. ,

she ...
quotative to marl..s sore 11'a muri da ("that is impossible") a~ the content of omotw.
the plain/abrupt past form of omou (..think/realize").
yo da after a verb means "it ~eemyappears" the action was done or will be done.
the colloquial panicle na expresse~ a kind of self-check/confirmation. like an
English tag. " (it is.) bn't it/(that appear~ to be the case.) doesn't it?"

:?"

S!tund FX: iJ-

Gii! (~ound

Sign:

::J

t'- I

Kopii
copy

of copy machine motor)

f'i

IOfll

I /cllimai jlle11
I (cou nl )

10

Copies I 10 each
kopii, the katakana rendering of English "copy: almost always refers to a "photocopy." The verb form kopii .wru means "make a photocopy." Ursusu (above)
ca n also refer to photocopying. but when used in i solation is more likely to mean
"copy by hand...
-mai is the cou nter su ffix for
items like paper/tickets/records/COs/plates/etc.

nat

Ho11a Kal,uhiko. All righl' re~ervcd. First published in Japan in 1991 by Take Shobo. To kyo. Engli~h translalion righ1s arranged 1hrough Take Shobo.

52 Mangajin

by flit 83 tJ)-:::> V Z: I H o tta Ka ts uhiko

Ellfl!W

Narration : ;;t ,, ?

7 /

1)

obatarian(s)

OBATARIAN

7" Jl,;;!.

r;t
wa

Obatarian

-r- iF.> 0

gumme

de aru.

as-for gounnet

isJare

Oba taria ns are ourmets. (PL2)

Sound FX:

Sign: 'J- A

kyoro (effect of shifling/searching eyes)

Kyoro

Worcestershire Sauce

Sosu

obatarian has become a slang term for selfish middle-aged woman:

gurume is a katakana rendering of the word gourmet."
de aru is a more formal/ literary equivalent of daldesu ("'is/are").
sosu, from English "sauce." by itself refers to Worcestershire-type sauces; all
other sauces have to be specifically named: tabasuko sosu ("Tabasco sauce").
tomato sosu ("tomato sauce"), etc.

Oba tarian: Q .t,

1 'h

Ne,

1)

lkari

wa

nai

no?

(interj.) (brand name) as-for not exist/have (explan.)

"Sa don 'typu ha.Y.e Ikari?" (PL2)

Storekeepe r: T "I ~ -tt A, 0 o'11;1J tt. -r- L "( 0
Suimasen.

Shinagire deshite.

(apology)

out of stock

is

" I'm sorr . It's out of stock." (PL3)

neat the beginning of a sentence is used to get someones attention. like
"say/hey." It feels less formal than "excuse me." but not abrupt or rude.
lkari is one of the best-known brands of Worcestershire sauce in Japan.
suimasen is a colloquial sumimasen. which can mean either "sorry/excuse
me" or "thank you" depending on the context.
deshite is the -te form of desu ("is/are"). Use of the -te form here can be seen
either as marking the cau elreason for his apology. or s impl y as a way o f
softening the end of his sentence.

Storekeeper: .:.t,l?

"t"

li

Kochira

de

wa

"'~'~r-r--t~'?
ikaga desu ka ?

this direction with as-for

how is it?

" How a bout this one?" (PL3)

~~.17:.
Shinseihin

-r-

de

*-'Pl.

i4=1J

taihen

hyoban

'b J:

< .. .

mo yoku . . .

new product is-and very much reputation/reception also good

" It's a new produ_cj_a_nd has been ver v well received."

Oba ta ria n: t.!. n
J: !!
'7 t, li
1f '/J' I?
Dame

yo!

Uchi

wa mukashi kara

no good/won't do (cmph.) our house as-for long ago

') - A

sosu
sauce

l;t
wa

1 'h

1)

lkari

from

c .. .
to . . .

as-for (brand name) (quote)

"That won' t do. At our house, from long ago, (it's been
establi hed that) our Worcestershire sauce is lkari.''
" No wa ! We've always used lkari a t our house." (PL2)
kochira is literally "this direction/side," hut it's actually just a polite way o f
saying "this/this one." Shopkeepers often use the direction words kochiral
sochiralachira when pointing out merchandise for their customers.
hyoban literally means "reputation... referring to how something is being received by the public: hyoban ga ii ="is popular/being received well" and
hyoban ga warrti ="is unpopular/being received poorly...

GJ

Storekeeper : .:. .Aft

go-shishoku

-t - Jv 't'
seru de

- ii "t" T ~ro

lwngaku desu ga.

(hon.)-trial eating sale is-and half price

is

but

" We' re having an introductory sale so thev' r e half

price." (PL3)
O bataria n:

2~

Nihon

i? J: 1 t.!.l.o' o
clrodai.

2 (count) l pleaseI give me/let me have

" I ' ll take 2." (PL2)

clrOdai is an informal ''(please) give me/let me have."
Hotta Katsuhiko. All rights reserved. First published in Japan in 1991 by Take Shobo. Tokyo. English translation rights arranged through Take Shobo.
Mangajin 53

~~AID&

by .:lz:.:rt~~:t:eB

Xtlh

Q]

I T achibanaya Kikutaro

O n Pa pe r: 7 7. ~

Test

Teswo

Li~ "' i:: :Z!?

Motto benkri5 slzinei to eraku

Tochan: 'b -=> i:: !!12591

Beranmei Tochan

more

\tudy

<

-t'o

tj: ttt.l "'

narenei

zo.

if don't do imponant can't become (masc. emph.)

" If you don' t study harder

(PL2)

Boy: !i- lt' o

"Oka ." (PL2)

Ha-i.

benl..yiJ shinei = benkyiJ slzinai. the negative of benk)ii suru ("study").

eraku is the adverb form of erai ("eminent/important [person]"), and narenei
= narenai ("'can't become"), the negative potential ("can/able to") form of
naru ("become").

ta

Kacha n: -? -:> I! I)
Yappari
after all

7')1

~~

-t:!

t.0-7

l)

.:t:..
A

ikasenai to dame

!>Uppl. classes to

ka nei?
? (colloq.)

must make go

"After all, must we send him to a juku, do you think?"

--+ "May_!>e we really ou ht to send him t o a 'uku."
(PL2)

"P-"11'~ -M

CJ/1

juku

I~

juku refers to a wide variety of after-school and weekend academies that Japanese school children attend to supplement their studies.

IJ

TOchan:

t:

1 ~ lv , i" 1
U-n.

t.: ~ -r o

siJ da nii.

" Hmm, I wondcrr..'' (PL2)

<

f1 t.:
n 1LT-P1
t;, "' i"J'i"J'o i"J'!? Pll' o
Demo. rsuki ni iclziman gosen-en gurai kakaru kara nei.

Kacha n: ""C" b,
bUI

month per

Yl 5,000

about

costs

so

(colloq.)

" But it costs a bout 15 000 e r month so ..." (PL2)

an elongated iin is a pause sound implying one is considering how to answer.

soda i~ literally " it is so/that is right," but soda na (or nii) is another expression implying one is considering how to answer/respond.

Toe han: '""- G t;r 1 ~t.H' -=> o !!12 ~91

BerabiJ-mei!
ridiculou.Joutrageous

;t L?

-c- ~ 1'j: < t.:. -::> -r:

Benkyii dekinaklllatte

<~ -:> t.:.

eraku11afla

' tudy

even if cannot

A
hiw

Boy:

,J -:> "(

to

.0 .:: i::

ifteru koro

i"J{
ga

&:r.t t! J:

-:> o

hanrai da yo!

a while ago (comp.) wha1 Iyou] are saying (subj.) is opposite (emph.)
" That's the O(WJ>Site of what ou said a minute a Q,"
(PL2)

dekinakuraue is a colloquial dekinakute mo ("even if/though [they] cannot")

from dekiru ("can ldoj/be able to Ido]"). Benkyo (ga) dekiru is literally "can
study" but it actually means ''do(es) well in school."

natta is the plain/abrupt past form of naru ("become"). Benkyo ga

dekina~waue erakunaua is a complete thought/sentence ("'became important
even tho ugh Ithey] did poorly in school' ') modifying lziro ("person/people'').
ikura is "how many/much" and ikura mo is ''however many/whatever quantity'' "any number/quantity.'' lrai! is a strongly emphatic slang version of iru
("exiM,.. for animate things).

ro marks the object of comparison in the expression ... ro lzanrai da. so sakki
ro . .. lwllfai da means "is the opposite of a while ago."
li:> Tachibana)a Kikutaro, All right'> reser1cd. FiN published in J apan in 1991 by Take Shooo. Tokyo. English translation rights arranged through Take Shooo.

54 Mangajin

by .:ll:1E~~::t:E!B

lochan:

I Tachibanaya Kikutaro

~Wl

lj: o

Kesa

wa

tosmo

to

toast

and coffee

this morning as-for

kohii

ga

nn.

ii

(subj.) good/fine (colloq.)

" I' d like toast a nd coffee this mornin!!.'' (PL2)

Kachan: !:> ~, -(It'~ lv ' ' 1 tJ 7
t!.
b.lt' o

Beranmei Tochan

Oya.

zuibun
haikara
da
nei.
quite/very modern/Western is/are isn't it/aren' t you

oh

" Mv 20odness. that's very modern (of vou)." (PL2)

... ga ii is used to express one's choice/preference/selection.
oya is an imerjection of mild surprise.
haikara is from "high collar." It came to mean "up-to-date/fashionable"
around the turn of the century, when Western "high collar" fashions came to
Japan. Ironically, haikara now has an old-fashioned ring for a word meaning
" up-to-date," having been replaced by words like -t? v' naui ("now-ish").

Tochan: "t' t 1j: lv c 7j:

<1

JJ. ~it

-IJ~

b.-

Demo nalllonaku I misoslriru ga

but

c ~ Lf Lit' 1j: 7 o

ne to

sabishii

nii.

I miso soup (subj.) if don "t have is lonely (colloq.)

some how

"But somehow..., without miso soup it feels like

somethin~:'s_missing."

Sound FX:

(PL2)

-v

~~ 7 ~~ 7

1... ~ "\' 1... ~

Paku pak11

Muslra muslra

(taking bites) (chewing nois ily)

Kachan:

~ tt

r.:. ~ 1'1:

Sore ja

l. o

tsukuru

yo.

in that case will make (emph.)

"Then I ' ll make some.'' (PL2)

ne is a slang/dialect version of nai ("not exist/have"). The vowel combination
ai changes to e or ei in cenain dialects and masculine slang.
to after verbs and adjectives can give a conditional " if/when" meaning.

Tochan: -J -lv ,
U-n,

~-?

1! I')

yappari

yes

asa

wa

misoshiru da

nii.

after a ll/really morning/breakfast as-for miso soup is (colloq.)

" Yeah, for breakfast misoslziru r eallv is it." (PL2)

Sound FX: ::< ::<- ':1
Zuzu- ! (sound of sippi ng his soup)
yappari is a colloquial yalrari ("after all/as expected" -> "it really is so.")
asa ="morning," or, when speaking of food, "breakfast." Asa wa misoslriru da
looks like " morning is miso soup," but it's shon hand for asa wa misoshiru ga
ii. "as for morning/breakfast, miso soup is good/to be preferred/best."

lochan: JJ. ~

rr

Misoshiru da to
miso soup if is/have

meslri mo
rice

kui-te

nii.

also want to eat (colloq.)

" If it is miso oup, I want to eat rice, too."

" If I have misoslziru, it ma kes me want some rice to
go with it.'' (PL2)

Kachan:

~ttl:.~ I.-'-?(>

Sore ja

l'ilt:. t!. J: o

itsumo to onaji da

in that case always as same

yo.

is (emph.)

" Then it's the same (brea kfast) as alwavs." (PL2)

Boy: 1.-' -:::>"t"$ i -T o
file kima-su.
will go and come

''I' m !!Oin!! (t o school).'' (PL3)

kui-te is a slang/dialect version of kui-tai, the "want to" form of kuu ("eat" masculine, informa l).
itte kimasu, the PL3 form of ille kuru, is the standard "goodbye" used by a
person leaving ho me for work, school, an errand , or some other outing.
I!:> Tachibanaya Kikutarll, All rights reserved. First published in Japan in 199 1 by Take Shobo. Tokyo. English translation rights arranged through Take ShobO.

Mangajin 55

~ ,L~ ,v~~ ,"SiiJ~

Student:

tr~1:1v, ~1 -:> 1:"?

Kiisan.

shiue-ru?

mother/mom

know

"Mom, do you know?"

" Mom, x_ou know what?" (PL2)
=- ::L- r / li x~ ~ lv t:. J:

Ishii Hisaichi Senshu

Nyt7ton

SELECTED WORKS
of ISHII HISAICHI

11'(1

ewton

ten.wi

nan da

b o
ne.

\ '0

as-for gcniu' (explan.-is) (en1ph.) (colloq.)

"Newton was a genius, right?" (PL2)

Mother: X..?
'!

" Huh?" (PL2)

Student:

"? i

;tv

I)

Tsumari

JU

t:.

J: o

na 11 da

yo.

ore mo rensai

lv

i.e./that means lime al'o gcniu; (explan.-is) (cmph.)

"So that means I'm a genius too." (PL2)

Mother: ~ lv (J) .: c -t-' ~:1/v '!
Nan no koto ra nen ?

what

of thing 'is (cmph.)

"What arexou talking about'?" (PL2-K)

ts11mari = "that is to say/in other words/i.e."
ore i'> a rough/masculi ne word for " 1/me."
ya 1U!n h a Kan~ai dialect equivalent of da yo ("is/are+ emph.). but ya nen
i\ more free I) used by female speakers than da yo is. For both da yo and ya
nen. intonation makes the difference between a statement and a question.

Student:

=-

r :. -

::L -

li

Nyt7wn

a~-for

cwton

'J / ::!

J! -c

ringo

mite

fallen/fal ling apple (obj.) sec/saw-and

1H~ L.. t.:.

lwkken .~hita

(obj.)

di~covcrcd

9 I JJ
inryoku
gravity

{fr t:, t.:.

ochita

wa

!v t!.
da

J: o
yo.

11

(explan.) (emph.)

"Newton saw a falli ng apple and discovered gravity." (PL2)

Mother: i- il -!Jt
Sore
that

ga

donai

(subj.) whatlho"

shiw
did

11

ra?

(e~pian.- ?)

"So what?" (PL2-K)

ochiw is the plain/abrupt past form of ochiru ("fall/drop''). Ochira ringo can
refer either to an apple already on the ground or o ne that is still falling.
since, in the Iauer case, the apple " has fal len'' fro m the tree as soon as it
leaves the branch.
mire b the -re form of miru ("'see/observe"). The tense of the -te form of a
verb is determined by the end of the clause/sentence.
inryo~ u ("gravity") is wrillen with kanji meaning "pull" and "strength."
flaaen .1flira is the past form of lwkken sun1 ("discover''). fro m flakken
("discovery").
dmwi i~ dialect for diJ ("whaVhow"), ~o donai Jfliw = diJ sflira (shira is the
pa\t form of sum. "do"). Sore ga del shira ban expression equi valent to "so
what'?/what'~ that got to do with it?"
ya typically replaces da in Kansai speech. A~king questions with ya is very
common among female speakers in Kansai. but asking questions with da in
'tandard Japanese can sound a bit rough and is mostly masculine.

Student: ;1-

Ore

li 'ifi. t:, t.:. loc t~~

11a

ochita seiseki

lime as-for fallen

'JUJ
jitsuryoku

z
o

n -c

mite

grades (obj.) sec/saw-and

1 J,~ L.. t.:. -lr 0 o

hakken shira kara.

true abilities (obj.) disCO\Crcd

becau<;e.

" I saw my fallen grades and discovered my t r ue

abilities." (PL2)

Sound FX:

:f. -tJ
Poka

Thunk (effect of knock on head)

jirsuryoktt is wriuen with kanji meaning "true/acw al" and "strength."

kara (literally "because") shows he is offering an explanation.

l'hii Hisaichi. All right' rc~rvcd.

50 Mangajin

Fir-~

publi,hed in Japan in I 99 I by l'utnbu,ha. Tokyo. English translation rights arranged through Futabasha.

~ ,L~ ,v~~ ,~ilia

Ishii Hisaichi Senshu [i]

Girls:

t!. -

Yo

SELECTED WORKS
of ISHII HISAICHI
~

c -?

I lilv

dfi.

Honl(i!

.:f -t-!

Kyii!

disagreeable i'
truth
(squealf,crc:tm)
"Oh~ gro-o-oss!_LReall-y-y-y? I Eeek!" (PL2)

Sign:

;\A

Bas11

Bus
yo da is a contraction of iya da. meaning "'is disagreeable/unpleasant/embarrassing."" It'> colloquial u~cs arc many. including the equivalent of a schoolgirlish oh gross!'"
lrontij mean'> tmth."" but with the intonation of a question it becomes Is
that true?/Rcally?""

Man 1: C'.:.

Mllf~

(J)

110 ~eifukll

Doko

frt:t?
ka na?

v.here of uniform I wonder

" What chool would those uniforms be for I wonder?" (PL2)

--

i!i: <

Man 2: .:. (J)

~:

Kono chikaku ni
this

nearby

1J:.

(-,;~

joshikti

iJ?-:> t:. -:> It

alia

i;t?
na?

kke

:tt girls" high school exis1ed (recoil.) (colloq.)

" Was there a girls' school near here'?" (PL2)

doko 110 wij11l.u is literally uniforms of where: meaning "uniforms from/
for what \chool. ..

kana a~k'> a conjectural que~tion. 1 wonder where/what/how/etc."

kono (""this") modifies chikaku. a noun referring to the vicinity/area
nearby."" so ktmo chikaku ='"this vicinity/near here:
joshi = '"girl(s)/femalc(s)."" and -kO refers to 1.":j I~ kUkO. or more fully. t:i ~If
-:f:f;( kotii 8llkkii: high schoor - joshikri ="girls' high school."
alia is the past form of aru ("exist/be in a place). and kke expressc~ an effon to recall something that''> vague in the '>peal..er"s memory. He's trying to
recall whether he has heard of there being a !.Chool in the vicinity.

c.:. (J) '(:t;(?

Kimi-tachi. doko no gaJ..I.ti?

Man: ttt:."S,

you-( plural)

"here of

\ChOOI

"You girl , what school are_E)u from?" (PL2)

Girls: l;i"
Ha ?

" Excuse me?" (PL3)

kimi i~ an informal/masculine word for you: used to addre~~ pcr,ons of equal
or lower \OCial Matus. -Tachi makes it plural "you people/guys/girls."
ha spol-en with the rising intonation of a queMion is a polite "What's that?/
Excuse meT when you didn't hear/under~tand clearly what was said.

Girl:

t '<' J? IJ 1 -tt lv

ifii]ij~i

Seifuku

ja arimasen.

uniform

" not

" These aren' t (school) uniforms." (PL3)

Girl: W1 L
15Ak:il
"t'"-T o
Nakayo.\hi
friends

j1lgonin -gtoui

de-su.

I 5-pcr~on grouplband/g;mg is/arc

"We're just a group of IS friends." (PL3)

Sign:

1\ A

Basu

Bus
nakayoshi means 'friends: implying a clo~e/intimate friendship: "great
friends/chum~/bosorn

buddies."

-nin is the counter suffix for people. so jfigonin means "IS per~ons/people.""
-gmni i~ from l..wni. which can refer to a wide variety of social groups as well
as to group'>/~cb of object\. Jilgonin-gumi ="IS-member group (of people)."

e l\hii Hisaichi. All right reserved. FiN pubh,hcd in Japan 111 1991 by Fuwba,ha. T okyo. Engh'h tran,Jation right' arranged through Fut:aba-.ha.
Mangajin 57

J - L eague
(continued from page 26)

before the first J-League game, generating such intense interest that
300,000 people applied for that game's 40,000 available scats.

Ishii Hisaichi Senshu

Regional identity

SELECTED WORKS
of ISHII HISAICHI

Despite the hype and hucksterism, J-League teams are less strongly identified with their spon ors than most baseball teams. In forming the JLeague, Kawabuchi sought to change the image of soccer a a company
game by dropping references to the sponsor in the team names, using
only a reference to a city. That's the normal arrangement for American
professional teams, but it met with resistance in Japan, where most teams
have traditionally been defined by corporate rather than regional identity. Most of the twelve pro baseball teams, for example, do not include a
c ity or region in their team name. But Kawabuchi got his way: all JLeague team names include the home city rather than sponsors.
Surprisingly, not one team calls Tokyo home, although several are
based in outlying cities such as Kashima in lbaraki prefecture and Urawa
in Saitama prefecture. The J-League has avoided one of the central economic problems o f Japanese baseball: the Giants, the only team with
"Tokyo" on its unifonns, generates almost as many fans a. all the other
teams put together. This dominance leaves other teams with few fans,
and means that a series of victorie over the Giants can cause a nationwide dip in product sales for the winning team's spo nsor. Kawabuchi's
organization gives every J-League team a clear regional identity and a
strong base of local fans. To secure community roots and cultivate native
talent, J-League teams are required to support local youth soccer clubs.
This strategy of cultivating local fans seems to work, because they' re
coming in droves. Attendance in the first year averaged more than 18,000
per game. A real J-League enthusiast is not a mere fan": he or she is a
sapota(+r :- 7-, "supporter/booster''), a special breed found only in
J-League stadiums. Baseball ha fans, usua lly salarymen and OLs who
sit in shin sleeve and cheer in unison with megaphone-shaped noisemakers while their team is at bat. A really hard-core fan may wear a
team-color happi coat. J-League supporters are something else altogether.
In addition to the standard noisemaker-megaphone, their ar enal includes
a complete team uniform, a full-size team flag, and face paint in team
colors. Throughout a game, supporters chant, dance, and wave their flags
in unison. Their spectacle rivals the game, which is probably for the best
since it's unlikely that they ee much of the game through all the waving
flags.

That foreign flavor

Most J-League team names come from the languages of South America
and continental Europe. The Yerdy Kawasakj name, for example. derives from the Portuguese word for green, the team color. Some teams
use names that evoke the primary sponsor. All Nippon Airways sponsors
a team called the Flilgels, from the German word for wing. Mitsubishi
Motors sponsors a team called the Red Diamonds, a reference to their
company logo, although the team is usually called the Reds.
Other names are less direct, and show the Japanese knack for aborbing foreign words into the language. ln Hiroshima, there's a team
called Sanfrecce Hiroshima. The san pan comes from the Japanese word
for three, andfrecce is the Italian word for arrow. The name means "three
arrows," representing spirit, skill. and strength. Osaka has a team named
(COIIIillllt'd 0 11 page 60)
hucksterism= :tf{i t~ senden sllllgi come in droves= /W h 'S: ~ L.. 'l.jtjl L.. ;~{!
~ / )\/{: L. '( :J1P L. ~{! ~ 11111re o uasltite osltiyosenv'raikyo shite osltiyo.veru lin droves
= /If :h.'S: l:t. L. '( /
L. '( mure o uasliite /taikyo shite j arsenal = T:1.\' t:, ,',',/ f:.
b .i /emochihin/wkuwae knack = .-/'}1: saihJku
__j

<

58 Mangajin

*'fi

QJ

Boy:

~ufi

16!1

(!)

Kokugo 110 shukudai

"<" '.>'"( "<"7.>

-IJ'C-:>,

yaue yam

kara

~"(:

Japane\c for homework will do for you because/so math

Friend 1:

~ij:tJ11f~

(!)

sllgaku 110

:a:

mondai-slu7

"<"-:>'"((h~~'-IJ'?
yatte kurenoi ka?

for problem collection (obj.) won't Iyou I do for me?

" I'll do the homework for JaP-anese (class), so will vou do the worksheet for math?" (PL2)
~,~,,
-tfu
:e.

li

good/fine (emph.)

" Sounds good." (PL2)

kokugo, literally "national language," is the name used for the " language an~" stream of the Japanese school
curriculum -

i.e.. the equivalent of what has traditional ly been called "Eng li ~h" in American schools.

yalle is the -re form of yam (informal word for "do." or in this case "will do"). and following it is a different
yaru. meaning "give to (someone)." When thi~ ~ccond yoru comes after the -te form of a verb. it means " do
(the action) to/ for (someone).'' so yatte yaru =''(I) will do (something) for you: In this case. though. he will
actually be doing it for both of them.
the suflix -slrii refers to an "anthology/collection." Mondai-shii usually re fers to a workbook. from which a
worksheet of problems might be assigned. Thi~ ~eem\ to be the case here.

yatte kurenai combines the-re form ofyaru ("do") with the negati ve form o f kureru ("give ito me]"). Kureru
after the -te form of another verb implies the action will be done by someone else for the benefit of the
speaker/subject. As a question. yatte kureuai (ka) makes an informal request, "Won't you ... for me?" .......
" Would you ... for me?" Once again. though. the friend would be doing it for both of them in thi~ case.

z.e is a rough/masculine particle for emphasis.

I!ru.':

tx~

(!)

r..,m~

-IJ'C-:>, HiX., ikl ..a

"<"7.>

Siigaku no mondaislu7 yam

math

for

kara,

1r1m

(!)

omae. kokugo no shukudai

worksheet will do because/so

you

"<"-:>-r<tt~'-'-IJ'?

ya11e kurenai ka ?

JnJ>Unese for homework won'! Iyou I do for me?

" I ' ll do the math worksheet, so will you do the homework for Japanese?" (PL2)
Friend 2: OK.
Oke.
"Okay;' (PL2)
omae is a rough/masculine word for you...
"OK ," pronounced ei ther okU or like. can be con~idered a fully naturali7ed word in Japanese. and is most often wriuen this way in Roman

Boy: ;tv 1Jf

Ore

ga

Jeuer~

rather than in katakana.

Uf<

(!)

llfllH!:tn

"<"7.:.

shakai

110

mo~rdai-slu7

yaru

kara.

omae.

will do

bccau~e/so

you

1/me (subj.) social studies for worksheet

Jll'.H

1J'C-:>, HiX. ,

(!)

171M!

"<"-:>-r(hij:~'-IJ'~ o

rika 110 slwkudai ya11e kure11ai ka 11a?

~cience

for homework won't Iyou I do for me?

" I' ll do_the worksheet for ocial studies, so wouldyou do the homework for science?" (PL2)
Friend 3: '-'"'
C. 'b o
li

101110.

good/fine (emph.)

"Sure thing,'' (PL2)

shakai means ''society," so as a school subject it refers to "social studies." The school subject is often called
U:Z;H slwkai-ka , in which the suffix -ka denote~ a specialization/field of study.
rika refers to the natural sciences as a whole. and is what ~cience cla~ses in elementary and j unior high school
are called.

ka lUI a ks a conjectural queMion. " I wonder if ... : \O making a reque~t u\ing kana can make the request
sound a lillie less abrupt: " I wonder if you wouldn't ... ?"
the panicle tomo is added to the end of sentence~ to wongly affinnlagrcc with what the other person has said
or asked.

Boy: :eR.fl
Rika

(!)

nl~

110 shukudai

"<"7.>
yam

-IJ'C-:>, HiX.,
kara.

science for homework will do bccau,e/so

omae.

H~

slwkai

:a: o
o.

you 'ociat 'tudie; (obj.)

" I'll do the homework for science, so 6 ''ill) you (do) s_ocial studies?" (PL2)
Sound FX: ;f. 71
Poka

Thonk (effect of rap on head)

~ I shii

Hisaichi, All righls reserved. First published in Japan in 1991 by Futub~"ha. Tokyo. Engli~h tran,lation rights arranged through Futabasha.

Mangajin 59

J-League

stars of Japanese soccer and was a member of the

G amba Osaka. Gamba is the Italian word for leg,
Japanese team which fought uns uccessfull y for a
and sounds like the Japanese verb ganbaru, mean\
berth in this year's World Cup tournament. With
ing to fight hard or persevere. The deri vati ves
~ the new popularity of the J-League. Ramos has
many endorsements, and is a common sight on Japaganbatte and ganbare are traditional sports cheers.
The Osaka club also considered the name Osaka JOzu
';
... ~ -:;
nese television.
1
~ IIJ
Over his long career. Ramos has set deep roots in
C*l~ :J 3 -.A\ or Osaka Jaws, which sounds like
the Japanese wordjozu _t.f-, meaning s killful. The
Japanese s ports culture, exceptionally deep for a foreign-born athlete. His career stands in contrast to that
O saka group clearly did its homework on multi-linof another great Brazilian player. Zico, who capgual word play.
]-League stopwatch
tured and broke the hearts of Japanese soccer fans
In addition to foreign names, J-League teams
in just a few seasons.
have also adopted quite a few foreign players. They come from
more than a dozen countries, including Brazil, England, NorZ ico-a nickname derived from Portuguese-came to Jaway, Germany, and the Ukraine. Teams are allowed as many as
pan in 199 1 at the age of thirty-eight to help Mitsubi shi Metals
corporate team become the J-Leagues Kashima Antlers. Sports
five foreign players. although no more than three may be on the
prognosticators were stunned when Zico led the long-shot Antfirs t-team roster. The troubles of foreign baseball players in Japan have been well documented in books and movies, but Jlers to win the first stage of J-Leagues first season. Early this
League soccer has been a rather differe nt story.
summer. just three years after atTiving, Zico retired from JapaIn Japanese baseball. foreign playersnese soccer. Three years is a normal tour of
mostly Americans-have never been comduty for a foreign athlete in Japan. and most
pletely welcome. Many foreigners complain
athletes leave with linle or no fanfare. But
of treatment as suketto . or helpers-i.e .. not
there was nothing normal about Zico's rereal players. Conventional wisdom among
tirement. Public reaction was tremendous.
atll*Clii!illl
_J.LE.I\GUE
Japanese managers holds that rebellious and
After the final whistle blew for one of
lazy American players disrupt the harmony
his last games, Zico ran to the cheering fans
of rigidly disciplined Japanese teams. A reat one end of the field and threw his jersey
into the crowd. They went wi ld. Running to
cent beer commercial plays o n this s tereothe other end, he threw his shorts into the
type by reversing the roles: it shows a locker
room scene o f a burly American player in- Fuji Bank's popular ]-League passbook
crowd. They went really wild. NHK sports
dignantly lecturing the importance of teamcameras zoomed to the faces of heartbroken
work to his laid-back Japanese teammate, who calmly gulps his
young women. rolling tears s treaking the red team-color face
beer in defiance.
paint that spelled his name, :;- :I . Fortunately he had the foreInstead of treating foreign players as suketto, J-League socsight to wear more than a jock under his s horts, or there might
cer has embraced them as skilled expe rts and teachers. Foreign
have been a riot.
But Zico s popularity extends beyond the millions of
baseball players are typically imported fo r size and strength,
to s mash home runs and hurl s trikes. They often ins pire
young women who ardently follow the J-League and its
~~wm"
players. When Zico retired, Japanese bookstores were sellfear and awe, but are rarely singled out as teachers or
role models: their power can' t be taught, and their knowling at least four books by o r about him. including the
titles Jiiko no Riida Ron ( :;- :I 0) ' ) - ?'"- Rffil . 'Zicos
edge and experience are often dismissed. But soccer is a
different game. a game in which normal-sized players
" Theory of Leadership") and Kami.1ama Jiiko no /s/10 (NI
re ly on sk ill and strategy. Japanese soccer has looked to
1*:;- :I O)illi_9:. "Estee med Words of the God Zico"').
foreign players for technique and experience. not for
Of course, foreign baseball players have also written popumuscle. Many foreign soccer players have achieved relar books. Warren Cromartie's Samba Samurai Yakril
spect and acclaim that foreign baseball players have never
("Farewell Samurai B aseball." publis hed in English as
known. Two exceptional Brazilian- born soccer players.
Slugging It Out in Japan) was a very popular book in
Lui Ramos and Zico, show the heights that foreign playJapan. but more for Cromartie's inside gossip than his
ers can reach.
theory of leadership.
Lui Ramos has played soccer in Japan since 1977.
Zico is clearly res pected for his achievements and
He was a fixture on the Yomiuri corporate team, now
leadership, not just for locker-room storytelling. Shortl y
Yerdy Kawasaki of the J-League. ln 1989 he became a
before Zico returned to Brazil, then-Prime Ministe r Hata
Japanese citizen. chang ing his name to Ramos u Rui ( 7
awarded him the Prime Minister's Prize. making him the
.:C :A ffllwt). Ramos light-brown curls and scraggly beard
first foreigner to receive that award. To find a baseball
]-League
make him easy to s pot o n the playing field. and he sits
player who has approached Zicos impact on Japan. it
haircare
front and center in the team photo. He is one of the great
(unuinued ou paxe 77)
(continued from page 58)

I'I'M~fiOJUI,IItJ~

ster = {Hit. ;I / l ' i - torokumenbli burly= IJC-;, L I) Lt.: s .asshiri-shita fixture = ii-L.Ii9 ;I / ; {- clulshin-reki 1//C'IIbii scraggly= 'EC
'~>. t.: "(> b t.: "(>!!) k~11utkujyara uolmojamoja 110 ~-nh = IHJ:h!;t~ sluasujo-ken endor~ernent = JLfi/1', iJ.i kokoku Jlrm.we11 prog~oMicator =
'.fi yogenslw/urauwslw JOCk = -IT :F- 'J - sapora

60 Mangajin

< t.: '\' r?

r, j .r,/

by

*~R]
Oshima Tsukasa

The manga
Shoot! tell the story of To!>hi. Kenji and Kazuhiro-freshmen at Kakegawa High School and the
newest members (along with two other fre hmen, ina and Sasaki) of the school's well known
soccer club. T oshi, Kenji and Kazuhiro (they generally call each other by their first namc'"s) once
formed the core of a formidable junior high school . occer team, but at Kakegawa High, they are
learning the hard way that high school soccer is a whole new ball game.
In this epi sode, the five freshmen are having their first practice with Kubo (referred to by all
as Kubo-san), the captain and star player of the team, who last year led the Kakegawa soccer club
to the Final Eight-an incredible accomplishment. since the club had been formed only six months
earlier. Kubo has been in the hospital, and thi i hi first time back with the team since the freshmen
boys joined. Unaware that Kubo would be there, Toshi has shown up late to practice: now he is watching
from the sidelines. aghast, as his friends get trounced single-handedly by the great Kubo.

The main characters

4'"1'7'7:.-

Kubo Yoshiharu
Captain, Kakegawa
Soccer Club

Hiramatsu Kazuhiro

Tanaka Toshihiko
(Toshi)

The artist
At 24 years of age. O shima T sukasa is a relative
newcomer to the manga scene. But she has already made an impact, winning the K odansha
Manga Award in the boys' manga category (~'if.
i~IWJ, Shi1nen Bumon) for Shoot.'. her debut work.
The judges were most impressed by her ability to

Shiraishi Kenji

portray the experiences of adolescence w ith such

accuracy and sympathy even while maintaining
the pace and excitement of a typical sports manga.
Currently. O shima is in her third year of serializing Shoot! in Slu7kan ShiJnen Magajin (~!Ill ~-1f7

7"/:l /).

Inc identally, " T sukasa" is a masculine pen

name. Oshima's given name i s Yoshiko.

O;,hima T,ukasa. All right> rc,cncd. FtN publi>hcd in Japan in 1991 by Kodnn;,ha. To!..yo. English lran;,lation rights arranged through KoJansha.
Mangajin 61

62 Mangajin

1-! Shoot!

: / .:1 -

rp
IT)
iJ~ . ..
~1t
no seito
ga ...
Gakko
]II
school throughout of students (subj.)
All the students in the school ...

Narration: ~~

.
.
Narration:

The whole school ...

-jii is a suffix meaning "throughout - ," but when modifying another noun like this it's bener translated as "all
the students in school" _. "the whole/entire school."
seito most commonly is used to refer to students through high school; the word can also refer to students in
private classes of various kinds. College students are called ~1o gakusei.
ga marks seito as the subject of the clause (a modifying clause), which continues through 2 more panels; the
full sentence continues through S more panels.

-ell)

~ ...
~~
sono
yiishi
o...
that's/his bold/heroic figure (obj.)

(at) his bold figure, .. .

yiishi is wrinen with kanji meaning "brave/bold/heroic" and " appearance/figure"; o marks the word as the di rect object of the verb appearing in the next panel.

Narration: -

~J.,

t:.)

1:

~11')

...

hitome
miru tame ni atsumari . ..
one eye/look see purpose for
gather

.
..

in order to get a look, has gathered (and)

Combined narration, panels 1-3:

The entire school gathered to get a

look at his bold figure ...

hitome is literally "one eye," but idiomatically means "a look"- most commonly implying a very brief
"glance/glimpse," but in some contexts used for more sustained " looks/observations/examinations" as well.
tame ni after a verb means " in order to (do)/for the purpose of (doing)."
atsumari is the stem form of atsumaru ("[something] gathers"), here being used as a continuing form .

1:

Narration: fD:}ti

-:)-:) 1 h t:. .. .

kansei
ni
tsutsumareta . ..
cheering voices by/in is wrapped/enveloped/engulfed
(something) is enveloped in cheers

.
Narration:

(on) the cheer-envelo~ed ...

tsutsumareta is the passive past form of tsutswnu ("wrap/enfold/envelop").
ih~

IT)

7 1 - Jll )-:

1: . . .

110
fiirudo
ni ...
a sa
morning in/during field
on
o n the morning field ...

. morninl! field . .. (PL2)

.

no between two nouns makes the first into a modifier for the second: "morning field/field in the morning/field
of a morning."
the particle 11i is used to mark the location where something or someone "exists/is present."

Narration: ihiTJ A

-/){ ~~ ~ T "( It \ f:. o

kakete-ita.
a no hito
ga
that person (subj.) was running
that person was dashing about.

the magnificent ~lal'er was dashing about. (PL2)

Title: :/ .:z.- r!
Shiito!

.
.

Combined narration, panels 1-6:

The entire school gathered to get a

look at his bold figure, and the
magnificent ~layer dashed about
the morning field that was envelooed in cheers.

Shoot!
ano hito here has the feeling of "THAT person"- i.e., "a particular person of note/the person everyone's
been talking about." Since the person is a soccer player: "the phenomenaUmagnificent player."
kakete-ita is the plain/abrupt past form of kakete-iru ("is running"), the -te form of kakeru ("run/dash/gallop")
plus iru ("exist/be [in a place]"). Adding iru to the -te form of a verb makes its progressive ("is/are - ing") form.
shiito is a katakana rendering of English " shoot"; in Japanese shiito is used in sports like basketball, soccer,
and hockey- not for firearms.

Mangajin 63

:-- ~ - I-I Shoot!

7;,

- ~ ~- ?.., <---:: ~]J~ ~

1~" 7- tl ~ A,

l!o ~

1 t::

64 Mangajin

n~

"")"?A,

~~ ~~

"/)\

1-

~ ~ -r

s; -c: "")
t: t~
-tf

::.-

[~]

Sound FX: " 7

Hii

1\

hii

1\

hii

1\

~-

t-! Shoot!

lui

(effect of heavy breathing)

~----------------------~--------~----~--------------------------------------~
Tos hi: ~ - ,
fD!t!

Kenji is the name of the player in the first panel, who is playing
goalie; Kazuhiro is the name of the player with the glasses.
oi! is a relatively abrupt/rough way to get someone's attention.
miro is the abrupt command form of miru (''see/look at"). The emphatic particle yo is often added to the abrupt command form; it
adds a friendly kind of emphasis, so it actually makes the command
seem not quite so rough.

Kenji!
Kazuhiro.1
(given name) (given name)
" Kenii! Kazuhiro!"
Nitta:

Ev', ~.:? J:!

Oi,
miro yo!
{interj.) look (emph.)
" H ey, look at that!" (PL2)

Nitta:

1Ht'fi

t.:.

f.litt
(J)
-IT ;t 7J - 'B'II
1!o
Kakesho Koki5
no
sakkii-bu
da ze.
(name) high school of soccer club/team is (emph.)
" It's the soccer team from Kakesho Hie:h." (PL2)

1he off-panel speaker is s1ill Nina.

-bu ("club"), !he same suffix used for "departmen!" in corporate struclure, is the
nearly universal suffix for the names of
Nitta: ~~
~IO"t j...i*~/v
jjl.~:*"t
lvt!.
Sludent aclivity groups through high
Asaren
yamete Kubo-san
mini kite
n da
yo.
school. When interscholastic competition
morning practice quit-and (name-hon.) have come to see (explan.) (emph.)
is involved. it can be translated "team."
" They s kipped their morning practice session and came to
asaren is an abbreviation of asa (no)
see Kubo." (PL2)
renslnl, '' morning praclice."
On Shirts: ~~jt'fj
yamere is the -re form of yameru ("quit/
KakeshO (name of school)
forego"-> ''skip").
mi is the stem form of min1 ("see/look at"), and ni after the s1em form of a verb means "in order to/for the purpose
of," or simply "to/for." Kite n is a contraction of kire-irtl ("have come," from kuru. ''come") plus explanatory no. Mi
ni kuru= "come to see"; mini kite-iru ="have come to see."
Nitta: 3; tL 7j: lv ir
c' 0 iJ' (J) 7 7 '1' (J) A 7J '7 r ? / t.:. ~ tl- (J)?!
Are
nanka
dokka
no kurabu no sukauto-man
jane
no?
that something like somewhere of/from club
's
scout(s)
are not (explan.-?)
"(And) a r e n 't those guys over there scou ts from some Cpro) club?" (PL2)

are means "that" when referring to something that is not close to either the speaker or tlie lislener: "that over there."
nanka is a colloquial nado ("something/things like"), here used in place of wa to mark the topic.
dokka is a colloquial dokoka ("somewhere"). Kurabu, from English "club," refers here to some kind of professional,
semi-professional, or corporate soccer team.
sukatllo-man is from English "scout" and "man"; sukauto can also be used by ilself for the same meaning.
Nitta:

~3-,

T~f.:c.

lj:;i; o

suge is a masculine/slang version of

sugoi "amazing/awesome/incredible".
a long nli emphasizes exclamatory expressions with the feeling of ''it really is
7j: lv "t -? t.:. -? 'l fJJ 1\ t.l}j
"t: ~A 1-8 t!. 'If .:c. o
so, isn't it?''
Nan teuatte
hatsu-shutsujo de besuto eito da
ze.
nan tettatte is a contraction of nan te
whatever you say first appearance in
best-8 is/was (emph.)
iuatte, a colloquial equivalent of nanro
" I mean man! They made the final 8 in the ir first aooearitte mo, which means ''whatever anyone
a nce!" (PL2)
says/say what you will" -> "when all is
j.._ ~ lv
'/){ It\ 7j: iJ' -? t.:. C;, ;l!!f;J.f t.:. 0 t.:. t!..:? - 7j: ~ 0
said and done/after all"; sometimes it's
Kubo-san
ga inakauara
muri
datta
daro
nii.
used idiomatically as a kind of connect(sumame-hon.) (subj.) if not present impossible was probably (colloq.)
ing exclamation: ''I'm telling you, . .. !II
"I bet thev could n e ve r h ave d one it without Kubo." (PL 2)
mean, man! ...
harsu- is a prefix meaning "first,'' and shutsujo refers to an "appearance" in a competition/tournament/league.
inakattara is a conditional "if' form of inai, the negative of iru ("exist/be present").
muri da ="is impossible," and muri daua = ''was impossible/would have been im possible."
Hyo-.
suge
nii.
(exclam.) amazing/incredible (colloq.)
"Yow! T hat's incredible!" (PL2)

Nitta:

1*

Sound FX:

-If ;t
Za! (abrupt scraping sound of shoes on ground as he comes to a halt)

Sasaki:

tiT El3 ,

3<:1t t!. o

Nitta,
kotai da.
(surname) shift/relay/substitution
"Substitution, Nitta."
"Yill!_go in for m e, Nitta." (PL2)
Nitta:

kotai refers to changing with another person in doi ng some task, as

in a "change of guard/shift,'' or, in athletics, a "substitution." The
verb form is kotai suru.
o is a colloquial, masculine "yes/sure."

.to, .to ) o
0- {f.
y- yes/sure
" R- rightt!" (PL2)

(co11ti11ued o/lfollowillg page)

Mangajin 65

::, .:t -

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

t-1 Shoot!

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

@
?

~B if~

"'" *~;

"'?

"'t:."
"})

1
!

66 Mangajin

i;~'

~ ~-

t-! Shoot!

(continued from previous page)

*'

aite basically means "counte rpart" and can re fer to persons ranging from
a "companion/mate/partner" to a '' rival/opponent/enemy." Aite ni nannif
is a contraction of aite ni naranai, negati ve form of aite ni naru, literally
" become a counterpart." In an athletic contest, aite ni naranai means
one side "can't compete with/ is no match for" the other.

Toshi: 1:4
Sasaki! (player's surname )
SoundFX:

I\ 7 I \ 7 I \ 7 I \ 7

Ha hli ha ha
(effec t of heavy breathing)

~=f.
Sasaki: f!_ ~ f!_ o i 0 "t"
Dame da. Maru-de
aite
ni nannif
yo.
no good is completely opponent/competition to not become (emph.)
" It's no good. W e ' re comple tely unable to become competition.''
" It's no good. We're comP-letely outmatched." (PL2)

Sasaki:

ill!=

'i' -::> -co

tJ{

::t-;v

~(!)1:,

;'i;,..-; '\ ;...-

l .o:

A. hl? h t t -?

b .. .

Kenji
ga
mamotte-ru
goru
na-noni,
banban
ten
irerarechimau
wa . . .
(given name) (subj.) is guarding/tending goal even though it is (relentless FX) points get scored on-(regret) (emph.)
"Even though it' s a goal tended by Ke nji, we' re getting scored o n re lentlessly, and . .."
''Even with Kenii tending goal. we' re ge tting scored on right and le ft, and . .." (PL2)
mamotte-(i)ru is from mamoru ("guard," or in the context of a soccer goal, "tend'').
ten= "points," and ten (o) ireru (literally "put in points") means "score points," or simply "score."
irerarechimau is a contraction of irerarete shimau, the passive -te form of ireru (''put in/score" ) plus the shimau
ending that shows the action is regrettable/undesirable, so it means "be/get scored o n.''
the usually feminine particle wa is added for emphasis, and the statement continues on in the ne xt frame to anothe r
embedded sentence ending in wa. The use of wa like this at the end o f parallel embedded sentences, typically describing details of a larger action, is heard among both men and women and does not sound particularly feminine.

@]

Sasaki:

~m

!i

~ii.!iU: tiJ<:v'f::, i -J :b, b-? .

;~-o;~-o

t:." -tfo

Hiramatsu wa kantanni nuichimau wa,

mo,
meromero
da ze.
(surname) as-for easily passes-regret (emph.) (i merj.) (groggy/hel pless FX) is (cmph.)
"~ets by Hiramatsu like there's nothing to it. Man, we're completely h elP-less." (PL2)
Hirammsu is Kazuhiro's surname.
kantanni ="easily"
" like there's noth ing to it.''
nuichimau is a contraction of nuite shimau, from nuku ("pass/outrun/go past").
mo, literally " now/already," is often used as an interjection expressing exasperation/ frustration.

Sasaki: Ji M Ji (f)~ =-IT- L. t!. tH:', .::n t.: -? Ji N t.!. --.:>-c

JJJJ -c ~ "'
lv l..: -?t:I - 1J'o
Go tai go no mini gifmu da kedo, kore ja go tai ichi
datre
katenai
n
ja nif ka.
5 against 5 (=) mini game is but, if it is this 5 agai nst I even if it were can't/couldn' t win (ex pl.)
is it not?
"It's a mini-game of jus t 5 against 5, but at this rate, we probably couldn' t win even if it were 5
~ainst

1." (PL2)

kore ja is literally " if it is this," meaning " at this rate/under these circumstances."
daue is a colloquial de mo ("even if it is").
katenai is the negative potential ("cannot") form of katsu ("win").
nja nif ka is a masculine/slang corruption of n j a nai ka, which is literally a question, " isn't it the situation that ... ?";
but the question is rhetorical, making it essentially a conjectural statement: "probably isn't/doesn't/can' t . .."
Kubo:

c IJ*"'

c.'- Lt.: i6?!

J:. :t o
Do shita!!
Tori koi
yo.
what/how did take/get come (cmph.)
" What's the matter? Come and get it!" (PL2)

do is ''how/what" and shita is the past form of suru

("do/make''). but do shita is an idiomatic expression
meaning ''What's wro ng?/What's the matter?''
tori is the stem form of toru ("take/ta ke away"), and
koi is the abrupt command form of kuru ("come").
The particle ni ("to/for"), seen in the pattern mini
kuru above, has been dropped in the heat of the moment: tori ni kuru= 'come to get it/take it away."
uwa' is an exclamation of surprise/intimidation. He's
reacting to the ease with which Kubo slips past him.

Nitta: -) :b-::> !
Uwa!
(exclam.)
"Yie!" (PL2)
FX: .A -y
Su! (effect of sm ooth, q uick, deft movement here of s lipping past his adversary)
Nitta:

--.:> -c

v' -::> -cb *"'-? tt lj:v'o

Tte
itte mo
oitsukenai.
(quote) even if say
can' t catch up
"So h e may say, but I can' t catch up." (PL2)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -----,
B 1 - -Kenii:
< -::> !
I
Ku! (sound m ade in the back of throat)
Sound FX:

Y :;
Da!
(sound of foot hitting ground forcefully when
running)

ue is a colloquial form of quotative to . and irre mo

(fromiu, "say") isaconditional,''evenif you say."
When to is used at the beginning of a sentence like
this, it re fers back to the last thing said: "even if you
say that/so you may say. but . . ."
oitsukenai is the negati ve of oitsukeru, the pote ntial
("can/able to") form of oitsuku ("catch up").
ku is not a standard interjectio n or exclamation, but
rather a sound that reflects his great exerti on and/or determination.
dada dada re presents running, and a sing le da represents taking off at a run - or if already running. a new
burst of speed/effort.

(contmued on followmg page)

Mangajin 67

;.,. ~ - t- 1 Shoot!

68 Mangajin

:/ ~ - 1-! Shoot!
(etmtinuedfmm prrrilllt\ pa~l')

Sound FX:

I { ;

Ba! (effect of sudden, vigorous/dramatic action- here of Kazuhiro leaping into Kubo's path)

To hi: ' 11~

-/)t ill ~

Hiramats11

\-:n \ t.: .f, -

ga

oits11ita is the plain/abrupt past fonn of oits11k11

oits11ita!

(""catch up"").

(surname) (>ubj.)
caught up
"Hira matsu 's caught him !" (PL2)
Kazuhiro: /rl!t

li

Mlil.!.:

Kondo II"O kalllan ni

thi~ lime a\-for ea>ily

t~-IJ'it'-'
mrka~em

i>A.

I
n'!

n11kaseru is the causative (""make/

let"") form of mrku (""pass/outrun/

get past"").

111011 ka!
thing ('!)

let get b)
'No way will I let him get past me so easily this time!""
"No way is_huoing to get by me so easily this time!" (PL2)

.. mo11(o) ka after a non-past

verb
makes an expression like no way
will I ... /by no means will I .. .''
(See Basic Japanese No. 36)

Sound FX: -If 'I

Za.'
(abrupt scraping sound of shoes on ground as he plants himself in position)
Kazuhiro:

:: ~ ' !!
Koi!
come
'Come on!" (PL2)

koi is the abrupt command fom1 of kuru ('"come""). In face-offs

like thi . it can signal readiness for battle. or simply be a shout
to help the speaker focus his energies on the challenge.

(B

Kazuhiro: .1:'1'-.U
fl)
!VJJtt 1.: :'.3h~il.t':,'(>i.'ltf..:~'o
(thinking) Jiilw111ilin no ugoJ..i ni madauasarec/w ikenai.
upper lxxl> of 1110\CITh.'lll b) mu\t not be confu-cdlmi~led
""I mu~t not be misled by his upper body movements."
" I can ' t let his uppe r body movements fool me." (PL2)
jlilwnsllin is literally ""upper half body'": the word for ""lower body"" is r 'l'-4kailansilin .
ugo/..i i' a noun form of ugoku ("move''). Jiilwmlri11110 ugoki =""movements of the upper body...
madmrasareclw i\ a contraction of madowasarete ll'O. the pa~sive -te fom1 of madmmsu ("confu e/perplex/
mislead"") plus ua. The pa11ern -te ua ikenai make~ the "muM not- form of verbs, so madowasarete rva
ikenai =""must not be confused/mi'iled/fooled...

Kazuhiro : /f ;t 't' (J) 7 v- 't' b 1!' :>f.: -f'

(thinking) lma mtrde 110 pure de
wakaua
:.o.
now until of pia) (mean>) under~tood (emph.)
""I have understood from his play until now."
" I've ligured out from watching his play_so far." (PL2)
Kazuhiro : :.. (J)
A
(J)
'ii!IJ:E
li 1i: t!
(thinking) Ko11o lriw
no jiJ..u-aslri ua lridari dtr.
thi; pcr-on/guy ' P" ot foot a'>-for left
"
" T his guy's pivot foot is his left." (PL2)
pure. from English "play:' is a noun in Japane~e. though it can be tumed into a verb by adding sum ('"do").
wakaua i., the plain/abrupt past form of wakaru (""come to know/understand"). De mark~ the preceding as the
mean., of the following action. ~o imamade no p11re is the means by which he has "come to understand (some :o is a rough/masculine panicle for emphasis.
thing).'"
jiku-aslri ("axis/pivot"+ "foot/leg") refers to the foot/leg that is not his kicking/striking foot.

rJ~ ~
Kazuhiro: )i_
A. t!!
J:< ~J.,
(thinking) Hidari lri:.a 0 yoku
mim
nda!
I.. nee (obj.) '"ell look at/" a1ch (cxplan.)
left
''Watch his left knee well!''
" I've gotta keep my eyes on his left k nee!" (PL2)

FX: of

'I

K''

' of focusing sharply on something)

(effect

@]

FX:

yoku is the adverb form of ii/yoi (""good/

fine""). so it means ""(do something) well/carefully.""

11 dais a contraction of the explanatory no plus
da ('is/are"). A non-past verb followed by a
firmly poken 11(0) da or n(o) desu can serve
as a command. In this case he is issuing the
command to himself.

71
K11i

(subtle movement of knee)

@]

FX: -+r ''I

Sa!

(effect of quick movement)

t,t r
Kazuhiro: Jr.
(thinking) Hidari da!
""h's left!"
"He's going left!" (PL2)

Mangajin 69

~ .:1 - ,.
L I

$ hoot!

aj:f

70 Mangajin

;,.

I-! Shoot!

FX: ;J.. ;;
Su! (effect of s mooth, quick, deft movem e nt- o nce again, of s lipping past his adversary)

Toshi: lj: t: ?!
Nani?
what?

'&)(f) ;fDJt
-/;{ . ..
A no Kazuhiro ga .. .
that (given name) (subj.)

"What?! That Kazuhiro . .." (PL2)

-/;{
Toshi: -Ttf- !
it.:. 'ff'~

f''!
tldd'Lt.:.
Suge!
Mata Hiramatsu ga
nukareta
~o!
amazing/incredible again (surname) (subj.) was overtaken/passed (cmph.)
" Incredible! Hi ramatsu was overtaken again."
"Incredible! He !!Ot oast Hiramatsu again!" (PL2)

nukareta is the past form of nukareru ("be overtaken/passed"), the passive form of nuku ("overtake/ pass/get
around").

Kazuhiro: -t- .. . i' lv lj: !

So-sonna!
th- that kind of

Lt ti?!
!lllJ:t
Jiku-ashi \VQ migi?!
pivot foot as-for right

''Th- that can't be! Is his right his Qivot?" (PL2)

sonna (lit. "that kind of') can be used by itself as a generic exclamation of dismay/astonishment: 'That can' t
be/that's impossible!"

m.::E c

Kazuhiro: i? -/;{-? ! '&)(f) A

-/;{
flj ~J:t (/)
[R~IJ
lj:" \ lv t.! 0
~= ';J:
Chigau! A no hito IIi wa jiku-ashi 10 kiki-ashi 110 kubetsu
ga
nai
11 da.
different/no that person to as-for pivot foot and striking foot of distinction (subj.) not exist (explan.)
" No! T o that person, there is no d is tinc tio n between pivot foot a nd striking foot."

..
..
.

"No! For him there's no distinction between his Qivot foot and his striking foot." (PL2)
chigau is literally "diffe rent." but it's often used to mean " no. that's wrong/it's not that way."
kiki is the stem form of kiku, meaning "work/be effective: so kiki-ashi is literally "working foot." In soccer it
refers to " kicking/striking foot." Kiki-ude (which generally means one's "dominant hand'') refers in baseball
to one's "pitching/throwing arm: (Similar terms include hidari kiki, or " left-hand~d," and migi kiki, or "righthanded.")
kubetsu ="distinction," and A to 8 no kubetsu ="distinction between A and B."
nai ="not exist/not have''; in the paHern ... ga nai it's often best thought of as "there is no ...
he uses the explanatory ending 11 da because he believes he has figured out the explanation for what has just
happened.

Toshi: i, it.: .7d!H~!v

-J;t 71) Ma- mata Kubo-san

ga Jurii
a- again (surname-hon.) (subj.) free

t_t l

da!
is

"Kubo's broken free again!" (PL2)

f''!
Toshi: ;,..:z.-r .;r_l) 7 I: A.~
Sht7to
eria ni hairu
zo!
shoot

area

into will go in (cmph.)

"He's gonna get into shooting range!" (PL2)

furii is from English "free," and shiito eria is a katakana rendering of English "shoot(i ng) area" --+ "shooting
range."

Nitta:

< -? !
Ku!
(exertion sound in back o f throat)

Toshi: "''~, i? i;{ 7 0

lya,
no

chigau.
different

"No, he's not!" (PL2)

Mangajin 71

~~

?:A
'/ 7

7-i
7'

Jv

! ! t:'

1
~

7''

12 Mangajin

_ 1-1 Shoot!

~ ~

-!Jf

Toshi: 'fti~

go

Hiramatsu

(subj.)

(surname)

- t- I Shoot!

~~,-?~'l

l.> !
oirsuite-ru!

has caught up

"Hiramatsu's cau2.ht up!" (PL2)

Sound FX:

;X-1f7

Zuzii
(sound of sliding on ground)

Toshi: ::Z7171 /7.

Suraidingu
sliding

.
Toshi:

:; 7 )!..-

t! '!

takkuru

da!

tackle

is

" It's a sliding tackle!" (PL2)

oirsuire-(i)ru is the past participle ("'has-'') form of oitsuku ("catch up"). Though English "catch up" can refer
to the entire process of catching up. Japanese oitsuku refers to the moment when one actually "catches up to/
pulls even with" the object of one's pursuit. For a "momentary verb" of this kind, adding iruto the -te form
makes a past participle ("has -ed'') rather than a progressive ("is/are - ing'') verb.
~ -t-!Jt

Sasuga

-fV') ~ ~ ...

tDit!
Kazuhiro!

Sono mama ...

befining (given name) in 1ha1 manner/state

.
.

"That's our Kazuhiro! And from there . .." ( PL2)

sasuga implies the action is befitting of Kazuhiro, and lives up to what one would expect of him. (See Basic
Japanese No. 3 1.)
sono mama literally means ''in that same state/manner: but is used idiomatically to mean ''immediately/directl y... The implication is that some subsequent action should follow immediately from his slide- as indeed
it does below.

Sound FX: t-/

Ton

Iru!

(effect of Kubo tapping the ball gently from below to raise it s lightly off the gro und)

Toshi: ;f'- )!..- ~ I i$-IJ>-\t t..:?!

Boru
0
ukaseta?!
ball

(obj.)

made noal

"He floated the ball?"

"He uo1med the ball UJ!?" (PL2)

ukase/a is the plain/abrupt past form of ukaseru, the causative (''make/let") form of uku, "(something) floats/
lifts up (into the air)."

Sound FX: 7f :;
Ga!
(effect of Kazuhiro's foot s triking the unde rside of the ball)

Inter v iew
(cowinuedfrom page 35)

volvement with the magazine at that

time was the most concrete outside factor in my decision. That, and a more
ne bulous knowledge that, what with the
rising prominence of Japan in world
economics, there was plenty of commercial translation out there to be done. But
really, nothing drew me away; I was
driven away by partic ular proble ms associated with the position I then held,
and by my longstanding discomfort with
the two-way pull of teaching and scholarship demands in academia-including
its lack o f respect for translation as a
fully c reditable schola rly activity. The
de mands of teaching had in fact left me
with precious little time to trans late. The

argument that had persuaded me to go

into an academic career had proved false
for me, so it was time to try something
else; it was time to try returning to the
course l had originally planned.
l expected to bone up on a specialty
or two a nd become a regular comme rcial/technical translator, alo ng with expanding my work for Mangajin, but as it
happe ned, I got a commission to translate Goka Shohei 's Furyoki ("POW
Journal"), a very long novel that I've
only recently finished . So be tween that
a nd Man gajin, for the time being at
least, I've re mained a literary a nd cultural tra ns lator. The next project I' m
planning is Shono's most important

novel, Yilbe no Kumo ("Eveni ng

Clouds"), but unless I can get som e
grant money for that, I may well be at the
point where I need to diversify into some
commercial area.

Do you think you'll ever go back to

teaching?
I enjoyed teaching a lot, but translation
is really my first love. Under the right
conditions, if I thought I could make the
original a rg ument that took me into
teaching in the first place work for me, I
might go bac k into the classroom. In the
meantime, I like to think of Mangajin as
my c lassroom and the magaz ine's
30,000 reade rs as my students.

I'BJ
~)l'

Mangajin 73

,
/~

r Shoot!

c
1'

.A ..r'\' !;t
t o '/ ~

::..--7

!?

74 Mangajin

:::.. ~ - 1-! Shoot!

Yalta!

Hiramarsu ga kuria shira!

did

(surname) (>ubj.)

cleared

"All right! Hiramatsu clea red the ba ll!" (PL2)

Sound FX: ;:( ;:( X ...
Zu ~~~ :u
(effect of sliding on ground)
Sound FX: :f- /
Piin

(effect of ball or other object being tossed/flying through the air)

yarra is the plain/abmpt past form of yaru (''do"), so it literally means " (Uwelhe) did it," but one of its most
prominent uses is as an exclamation of joy. ''Airight!/Yeah!/Hooray!" See Basic Japanese 13.
kuria is from Engli h ''clear." and kuria slrita is the past form of the verb kuria suru (''to clear").

@J

Kazuhiro:

(!)

7d ~ lv

tJ~

:.. lv t:t 0 -:>

Ba- baka-na!

Ano

Kubo-san

ga

konna

f.. foolish/crazy

that (sumame-hon.) (subj.) this much

1 {,

1\71

t:.:!

~ I? ... ?!

assari ... ?
easily

''ILcan' t be! For the great Kubo to so_easil _/' (PL2)

baka-na = "idiotic/ foolish/crazy,'' so as an exclamation it's like "That's crazy/impossible/can' t be!"
ano Kubo-san is literally ''that Kubo-san: meaning the one everyone knows is so great.
konna in this case is short for komw-ni. " this much/so: and assari =easily/effortlessly.'' so komw assari =
" so easily."

Kenji: -T 1 A

fiJJt!

Naisu Ka:.ulriro!
nice

(given name)

" Nice goin_g, Kazuhiro!" (PL2)

Sound FX: )f' /
Da!

(effect of Kenji dashing forward to grab the cleared ball)

Kenji:

'v' t:. t.3.1~ !

lwdaki!
will receive

" It's all mine!" (PL2)

iradaki is essentially a tmncated iradakimasrt, the PL3 form of iratlaku (''receive/will receive"); the truncated
form drops to PL2 .

Kenji: .Z?!
?!

"Huh?" (PL2)
Sound FX: .::f .:z. Jt.- Jl- JlGyu ru rum

(effect of backspin on ball as it hits the ground)

Sound FX: A -

"I

Sii!

(effect of smooth, rapid movement Ken ji: '/;t-:>!

of ball bouncing back the way it came)

;\ :;'/A~/?!

Na!

Bakku supin?!

wha?

backspin

" Wha .. . ? (It had) backspin?!" (PL2)

Kenji: li-:>!
Ha!
(intcrj.)

"Ai!" (PL2)
Ira' is an interjection of sudden awareness.

Sound F X: ;\:;
Ba!

(effect of sudden vigorous/dramatic move by Kubo)

Mangajin 75

76 Manga~m

~~-t-I Shoot!

Sound FX: A

Su!

(effect of smooth. quick action- here of moving in for the strike)

Sound FX:

A".,
Supa!

Whop! (crisp kick of the ball)

J - L eague
(crmtint~ed.li"fllll flllge

60)

may be necessary to go all the way back to Babe Ruth. In 1934.

shortly after his release from the Yankees. Ruth led an immensely popular seventeen-game all-star tour that inspired the
beginning of Japanese pro baseball.
Japanese players in the J-League
also lead a different life from their
baseball counterparts. Most J apane~e
ballplayers are like salarymen in uniform: cogs in the machine of the sponsoring corporation. Many team~ have
rules about player conduct and grooming. Most players are very businel.\like on the fie ld. and a neatly
trimmed mustache is a bold
symbol of individualism. There are a few
lico's Theory of Leader- new-ge nera l ion
ship, by the respected ballplayers who
former Antler
show some flair.
such as star outfielder Akiyama Koji. who
occasionally does a trademark running flip
across home plate to punctuate a big home run.
But Akiyama's antics arc on the wild side of Japanese baseball. and they pale against the colorful JLeaguers. When a J-League player scores a goal. his celebration may include jumps. flips. hip-wiggling. and waving hand
gestures that defy polite description. Some J-Leaguers make
ational Football League touchdown celebrations look demure.
In the grooming department. most J-League player:. are reasonably clean-cut. but some are less conventional. Twenty-two
year old Abc Yo~hinori of Verdy Kawasaki has dyed hair and
earring~. Hi\ 26-year-old teammate Kitazawa Tsuyoshi has hair
that hangs near his shoulders. In Japanese baseball. tho~e styles
are as likely as multi-colored mohawks on salarymen.

A new attitude
The J-League s more relaxed attitudes about foreign players.
namboyant scoring celebrations. and radical hairstyles are all
part of its carefully crafted image. J-League teams are not bur-

de ned with the duty of representing the straight-arrow values of

a l.ingle sponsoring company. The teams play to entertain the
fans and make money. and they"re doing both very well. JLeague ~occer is extremely popular with the shinjinmi (the "new
breed"'). Japan's fun-loving generation of teens and twentysomethings who grew up during the prosperous 80s.
But Japan i~ a land of booms and fads. particularly among
young people. The looming question is whether J-League popularity wi II la\t. One of the strongest factors in its favor i~
Ka\\ abuchi'" philosoph} of local support for every team. in the
form of .,pon).Or<,hip. fan~. and youth soccer clubs. In addition
to its top-down organi7ation of
marketing and promotion. the JLeague has a grass-roots organization of civic supporters and
~
upcoming players. Time will tell
if those roots are firm.
Whether or not the JLeague lasts. its explosive beginnings are already having an
impact on the Japanese sports
world. This summer, plans were anSupporter shirts
nounced for a new professional volleyball league. cleverly named the VLeague. If their approach is anything like the J-League's.
the wave of marketing hype should break sometime soon.

-"'-

J.LEhGUE

Kirk Martini is a regular contributor to Mcmgajin.

) -League on Internet
For those with access to the World Wide Web, information on )-League teams can be found at the
following URL (Uniform Resource Locator):

http:// syrinx.gen.u-tokyo.ac.jp/ j-league/

The site contains information about )-League teams,
current standings, recent news, and other information about japanese soccer. Almost all of the information is in English.

.l

groom i!lg = lJ t:. L. ~h. mida.vltillllllli 'how ~ome nair,: rfli r'! h.':!: !! -It 7., ~ T ~{.: lit 7., (111111\l~romi Ollli.\1'!"" kyakll 0 yoro~ubosem anl~cs = t.:_b
(dt/ ,,, tEo It lllll'tllllltrdfu:;ake demure = r.'i X. /1) ~~ tl';?' lukol'me/mmlfHiu~llktl moh;lw ~' = IJ..: <7) "[<7)-t:: :f.- '7 ){lj I) kamt 110 ke 110 molwkll gort
flamboyant = li ~ l.f'-: L ~ 1 luuwbouo.1itii looming que,tion = k. ~ <f~ t,.JJ!h j l f.: \'tl111 "4i~uuwltiarmmrew !(imrm

Mangajin 77

~ .::z.

78 Mangajin

1- 1 Shoo t!

:,

liQ

Sound FX:

~ -

I-I Shoot!

;\-lj-

Pasa

Thwwpt (effect of ball landing in goal net)

Sound FX: '' 7 ' ' 7

@J

Sound FX: '' 71 '

"Sound" FX: :f-11- /

Hii hii
(heavy breathing)
7

hii
(heavy breathing)
Hii

Pol<n

(effect of open-mouthed dumbfoundedness)

Kazuhiro: "t .:::~' !

Sugoi!
amazing/incredible

"Incredible!" (PL2)

@J

Sound FX: 1- /
Ton

(sound of ball falling to ground)

"Sound" FX: L-;...,

Shii- 11
(effect of complete silence)

Ej

Kazuhiro:

;J{-

iv 1:-

Bam

ball

i-fil'-tt -r
ukasere

I h,
I

(obj.) make/made nom-and

~J ~ t :t v ~.:

1m- H'a:aro

ore

11i

pur- purpoo;ely Vme

10

.A !:::" / ;J{- iv 1:supin-biJm

o
spinball

i'#,t I? 1:t t..: lvf.!.o

keraseta

(obj.) made kick

11

da.

(e~plan.)

" He made the ball float/lift up. and purposely made me kick a spinball.''

" He deliberat~ rai ed the ball ofT the_ground so my kick would put spin on the baill" (PL2)
ukasere is the -re fonn of ukaseru. the cau~ative make/let"" fonn of uku ('"fl oat/lift up'' into the air). The-re
form is being used like a conjunction: "make/made float and ..."The tense of a -te form verb is determined
by the end of the clause/sentence.

kerasera b the past form of keraseru. the causative form of keru ("kick"). Ni marks the person who does the
action of the causative verb. so o re ni . .. l..eraseta =made me kick.'"
he use\ the explanatory ending, da because he has figured out the explanation for what happened.

Mangajin 79

Part II

by

-~~
Saigan Ryohei

:=:

Yilyake no Uta is the title of a collection o f manga from the larger work T Fl (f) /y R
(Sanchome 110 Y7hi, " Evening Sun Over Sanchome"), a series that has been running in
Big Comic Original since 1974 and continues to run today. Through detailed drawings
and carefully conceived dialog, author Saigan Ryo hei lovingly portrays the everyday lives of everyday people in Japan in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
Although there are some regular characters who appear throughout the series,
mo 1 o f the stories are self-contained episodes.
In the episode begun in Mangaji11 o. 38 and continued here. Saigan gives
us a close-up look at the world of the movies in the early 1960s. All of the actors
and movie titles cited are real. For the translated titles of films, we have consulted Japan. by Arne Svensson (Screen Series, Peter Cowie, ed., A. Zwemmer
Limited. London/A.S. Barnes & Co. New York, 197 1), as well a~ some additional reference materials. Where we weren't able to locate origina l English
titles or offic ial translations of Japanese titles, we have provided a litera l re nde ring of the Japanese.
A Word About the Title:
The kanji .i1' is actually read shi, and means ''poem/poetry." Herefurigana is
provided to give an alternative reading. wa (-? f.:.). which can refer to either a
song or poem. "Sunset Song'' eems a fitting translation for Yilyake 110 Uta,
since "song,'' like uta, can refer to e ither verse or musical compositions.
P.li!OOiO)t!t~ (Eiga no Sekai, "The World of the Movies"), Part II:
In Part I of Eiga no Sekai, lppei is running out the door with his older brother, Roku, to
the Sunset Cinema ((>'I I .:\'- .::f, 7, Yilhi Kinema). while the boys' parents marvel at the
frequency with which the two of them have been attending movies lately. Indeed. the
entire episode has lppei and Roku at the Sunset Cinema, seeing anything and everything
the theater has to offer-from gangster film to monster movies to Walt Disney. lppei is
clearly a hard-core movie fan. undaunted by the fact that the film has a tendency to break
halfway through the show. and that throngs of viewers make it hard for a little boy to see.
He is delighted to have found the perfect chaperone in Roku. And Roku's motivation? In
Part II, we learn the truth behind his sudden love for the movies.
!!:> Saigan Ryohei. All righ1s reserved. Firs! published in Japan in 1990 by
Shogakukan. English 1ransla1ion righ1s arranged through Shogakukan, Tokyo.

80 Mangajin

OJ

Narration:
Soshite mata .. .

And then again .. .

Another Day . . .
Sign:
Katsuragi Hana Ten

Kats uragi Flower Shop

Ippei: (off panel)

Kyo no eiga

11a

nan 1w no. oniichan?

" What're the movies today, Roku?'' (PL2)

Roku:
"Gemwma ni Te o Dasu 11a" to " Han::.ai-o
Kapone" sa.

'"Don' t Touch the Loot' and 'AI Capone,

King of C rime'." (PL2)
oniiclwn i\ a polite but informal version of niisan.
literally meaning older brother." Children often
u~e tmiiclum to addre~~refer to older boys and
young (unmanied) men they I.. now relatively well.
gennamn i~ a slang word for gen/..in ("money/
cash"). which is the proper reading for the kanji
.!Jl~ .

te = " hand" :md dasu = "put oul'': reo dasu is

literally "put/reach out one~ hand." which idiomatically means "touch/go after/meddle in."
Na mal..es a negative command. '>O teo dasuna
="don't touch/keep your hand'> off."

W lppei:
" Kendama ni Teo Dasu na" ntmte hen-1w
eiga da 11e.

"' Don' t Touch the C up a nd Ball ' is a

strange (name for a) movie, isn' t it." (PL2)
Roku:
Ha lw lw. gennama da yo. O-kane no kolo
sa.

"Hah hah hah, that's ' loot.' It means

'money'." (PL2)
kendama refers to a "cup and ball" toy of the
kind pictured. Because he b not familiar with
the word gemwma. lppei hear'> the similarsounding J.endama and mi\tmder<,tands the title.

(I]

[I]

FX:
Zoro :.oro Zoro ::.oro

(effect of large number of people standing/

walking continuously in a line)

lppei:
Ni!. mae kara kuru hito mi111U1 koll'ai kao
shite-1'11 yo.

"Hey, the people coming the other way all

have scary looks (on their faces)." (PL2)
mae kam kum is a complete thought/sentence
("come from in front [of usj"' "come from the
other direction") modifying hito ("people").
kmmi = "\cary/frightening.'' kao =face.'' and
.1hire-tiJru is the progressive ("ivare -ing"l form
of 1mu ("do/make''). so k01rai /..ao (o) shile-(i}ru
= "i'>lare making scary face~" "ha\'e scary
looh (on their faces)."

IIJ

Roku:
Wakaua. Chodo gyangu eiga o mite, dete kita n da yo.
" I get it. They just came out from seeing a gangster movie." (PL2)

lppei:
Na-n da.

" Ohhh. (So that's all it is.)" (PL2)

Sound FX:
J i ri ri ri ri ri
Rinnnng (sound of bell signaling lhc impending start of the next show)
Over & Next to Billboard:
Yiihi Kinema

Sunset Cinema
Billboard:
Han::.ai-o Kapone

AI Capone, King of Crime

CeiiiiG/1/a

ni Te o Dasu 110

Don' t Touch the Loot (lilm titles)

Mangajin 81

GJ

On Side of Buildin : (partially obscured)

Yuraku Tea(toru)
Yiiraku Theater
Billboard: (partially obscured)
(YL7raku) Teatoru Minami Taiheiyo
Yiiraku Theater
South Pacitic
Si n Over Entrance:
Joei-chu
Film in Progress
Right of Entrance: (partially obscured)
Rodo sho Minami Tai(heiyo)
Exclusive Engagement: South Pacific
rtfdo sho, from English "road show," when seen
in movie advertisements, refers to the "exclusive
engagement" of a movie at a major theater prior
to the film 's general release. The name Yiiraku
Theater here is intended to suggest a movie
house in Yiirakucho, near Ginza, which is home
to quite a few major " road show" theaters.

~ Characters on Screen:
Pera pera pera ... I Pera pera.
(effect of speaking a foreign language
fluently)
pera pera is normally used when a foreigner speaks
Japanese fluently, or a Japanese speaks another language fluently, but here the implication is simp ly
that the characters on screen are speaking English.

0 ~:

Oklichan ga tsurete kite kureru eiga, itsumo

anmari omoshirokunai ya.
"The movies Mom brings me to are never
very interesting." (PL2)

tsurete kite is the -te form of tsurete kuru, "' bring

(someone) along." Kureru after the -te form of
another verb implies the action be nefits/is done as
a favor to the speaker/subject. Okachan ga tsurete
kite kureru is a complete thought/sentence ("Mom
brings me along") modifying eiga ("movie/film"').
itsumo = "always," so when followed by a negative it often becomes "never.''
anmari is a colloquial amari, which before a
negati ve means " not very."
omoshirokunai is the negative of omoshiroi
("amusing/funli nteresting" ).

[I] IImei:
Fufufu, ko iu toki no tame ni himitsu heiki I
Shinekoruto o motte kita n. da.
''Heh heh heh, it's for times like this that
I brought along my secret weapon, the
Cine-Colt." (PL2)
no rame ni is literally " for the purpose or " for."
molle kita is the plain/abrupt past form of molle
kuru, "bring (something) along."

SoundFX:
Pa! Kachi!
(abrupt/sudden effect, and click of triggerswitch)
Title:
Maboroshi Tantei
Phantom Detective

82 Mangajin

pa! is used for a wide variety of rapid/abrupt actions, including a light

coming on or going out. Here it's the effect of the image suddenly appearing.

[] IQpei:
Ano hito no atama ni utsushite yare.
"I'll project it on that man's head." (PL2)

Sound FX:
Kachi!

Click!

Sound FX:
Da-n!
Bang (sound of shooting gun written as sound FX on projected image)
Mother:
lppei! Nani shite-ru no? Yamenasai!
"Ippei! What are you doing? Stop it!" (PL2)
wsushite is the -te form of utsusu ("show/project [an image]"). and yare is
the abrupt command form of yaru, which after the -re form of a verb can
mean either ''do for'' or "do to" someone.

_ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ __:7
_f:.:.;
Yt:_t.:_
t(!)
--"~;f
-=- Yuyake no Uta

ITJ
0

Sound FX:

Kasha!
(the click of the mechanis m that changes
the s lides)

W Mother:
lppei, fii(J ii desho.
"That's about enough, is n ' t it, lppe i?"
(PL2)
Im~ei:

MiJ hitotsu mitai ro-!

" I wanna see one more!" (PL2)
Signs (Right to Left):

Kachi-kachi Yama I Shinerama I Jil-en

CrackJing Mountain I C ine rama 110

lssunbiJshi I Shinerama I Jll-en

Little One Inch I C ine ra ma I 10
Norimono
Rides

mo ii is literally 'already good/fine,'' meaning

"that"s enough." In this case adding the conjectural desho essentiall y makes it a question: ''that"s
enough, isn't it?/you've had enough, haven't you?
Kachi-kachi Yama and lssunbihhi are the titles of
well known Japanese folk tales. The scenes pictured in the previous two frames are of"Little One
Inch" going down the river in a soup-bowl boat
with a chopstick oar, and of him getting ready to
subdue a giant oni (''ogre") with his needle sword.
norimono here refers to "kiddie rides ... This is a
small "amusement park" for kids on the roof of a
department store.

8J

t.:il!t..~
~A..<:tllit

t;; "( t; (J)

~ ' ~
"'.. \.\
I>
-/)"
~
\

'"?j't!
"(

/~

. I

i;

a., (J)1- t;;c.

~);ill..

...t <
"(

lp_nei:

Eiga no aida, otonashiku shite-tara, depato

no okujiJ de asonde ii !fe if!a ja nai ka.
" You said if I behaved myself during the
movie 1 could play on the roof of the
de partment store." (PL2)
Mother:

Mo osoi kara kaimono shite kaeru no yo.

" It's ge tting late, so we need to do some
s hopping and go home." (PL2)
otonashiku is the adverb form of owna.vhii ("quiet!
meek/good tempered/obedient"). and shite-tara is
a conditional "if' form of sltire-(i)m. from suru
("do"). Otonashiku suru means be good/behave...
a verb ending with -del-le (mo) ii i7nplies the
action is/will be permitted/granted.
the question ja nai ka (""is it not/did you not?") is
strictly rhetorical. He's in effect accusing her of
going back on her word.

~ li!Jill:
" If we' re going shopping. it' okay. I Let's
go, let's go."
" If we're going s hopping, I'll s kip it. I
Le t's go, let's go." (PL2)
Mothe r:

(off panel)

Omocha uriba ni wa yorimasen yo.

"We will not s top in the toy d e pa rtme nt."

(PL3)

Che-f
m~:

" Dra t!" (PL I)

(thinking)

Dakara oklichan to eiga miru no ya da yo.

" This is why I ha te going to movies with M om." ( PL2)
M other: (thinking)

Mattaku, lppei to kuru to kore da kara.l

Kaimono suru nara ii ya. I lko. iko.

[II

!I!~:

"Shecsh, because it's like this when I come with lppei (it's exasperating)!''
"Sheesh . It's always like this whe n I come with Ippei!" (P L2)
ya da is a contraction of iya da. meaning "is disagreeable/unpleasant"- an

expression for indicating one's dislike of something.

IIWIIaku (literally "completely/entirely"), is often used as an exclamation of
exasperation.
to after a non-past verb makes a conditional "when'' meaning. Kore da kara
( literally "because it is this") after a conditional form often implies disgust/
disappointment/exasperation with the described action.

Mangajin 83

$'titt0)6~

OJ

YOyake no Uta

Si~n: (partly obscured)

Mishin Hanbai I Uonome Mishin

Sewing Machine Sales I Uonome Sewing

Machines
when English ..machine is rendered as .>. ~ /
(misllin). it specifically means ..~ewing machine'': in other cases the word is rendered 7 ~
/ (mashin) or 7 ~ - / (maslliin). Uonome (lit.
fish eyes'') is a play on the rea l sewing machine
brand name Janome (lit. '"snake eyes..).

W Friend:
Omoshirokatta eiga wane lyappa ri
Cojira no gyakuslu7" sa.

'The movie that was fun was, well. after all,

'Godzilla's Counterattack. '"'
"The movie I liked best was, definitely,
' Godzilla's Counterattack'." (PL2)
Angirasumo deta shi.

"Especially since Angirasu appeared,

too." (PL2)
yappari is a colloquial rahari. as you might expect/after all/in the end."' It sometimes has the
fee ling of "definitel y/for sure."
shi is moM commonly thought of as an emphatic
"and/and be~ides/and moreover: but here it" s an
emphatic "sincelbecau e - "e~pecially since:
sa is u~ed for emphasis in informal speech.
mostly by males. It o flen takes the place of da/

desu ("" i~/are" ).

W Ippei:
"Kai}t7 Baran" "Marango" mo yokaua yo.

"'Varan the Unbelievable' and ' Matango,

Fungus of Terror' were great, too." (PL2)
" KycJ.fu no Ekitai Ningen" ni .. Uclu7jin
To/.rriJ ni Arawaru" mo.

" And ' T he Terrifying Liquid Man' and

'Space Aliens Invade Tokyo,' too." (PL2)
Daikaijtl Baran is the correct title of the first
film. literally "Great M onster Varan:
armmru i~ an archaic form of armmr eru ("appear/~how up'").

Boys:
Gaikoku no de wa "Ama::.on
ga kowakatw 11li.

110

Hangyojin"

"Among foreign films 'Creature from the

Black Lagoon' was really scary." (PL2)
Aro, " HiJshaniJ Ekkusu" ni " Tomei Ningen...
"Uclu7 Senso.

"Also, ' Radioactive X,' 'The Invisible

Man,' and ' Battle in Outer Space'."
(PL2)
no here implies no eiga, and gaikokuno eiga =
"foreign film(~)." No between two nouns makes
the first noun into a modifier for the second. and
where context makes the meaning clear. the second noun can be left understood like this.
koll'al.aua i~ the past form of kmrai ("scary/
frightening").
ato, literally "after: often mean~ "abo/and besides that/as for the rest. ..

Sign:
Tobidasu!
I Surii-dii eiga. I
Sanjigen rittai!
It leaps out at you! I A 30 Film. I Three dimensional!
Gaikotsu-men: Kyofit no Taiken!
Skullface: A Terrifying Encounter!
jigen = "dimension: so sanjigen ="three dimensional.. : riuai means ..solid..
as opposed to "flat/planar." so it also essentially means ..three dimensional."

raiken refers to a "personal/first hand experience"-> "encounter."

~ Friend:
He-! Riuai eiga da tte sa.

" Wow! It say it's a three-dimen ional film." (PL2)

lpgei:
Holllo ni tobidasu no ka nli!

" l wonder if it really leaps out at you?" (PL2)

lte is a light exclamation. like "Gee!/Wow!/How about that!.. -

the speaker is impressed.

84 Mangajin

showing that

OJ

lJ!pei:
No::.oki megane de miru 10 ningyo-geki ya
_wl enclli no slwshin nanka ga rittai ni mieru
no ga aru kedo,
"There a re pictures of puppet shows and
amusement parks and things that look
three-dimensional when you look at them
through a ViewMaster, but ..."
are to onaji ka na?
"1 wonder if it's the same as that?" (PL2)
11i11gyiJ-8eki ya yiienchi no slwshi11 ga riuai 11i
mieru is a complete thoughtAentence ("'pictures of
things like puppet shows and amusement parks
look three-di mensionar ). and 110 is a nominalizer
th at turns the entire thoug ht/sentence into a noun:
ga then marks that noun as the subject.

liJ

Friend 2:
Rittai eiga nara mo. ore mita yo.
" 1 already saw the 3D movie." (PL2)
Tennen-slloku ja nakatta kedo sa ...
" It wasn' t in full color, but ..."
11ara after a noun is a conditional " if it is'' - imply ing "if it is X you're talking about. then ..."
It's often essentially similar to wa c as for X").
in spite of the periods. thi~ ~entence continues
through the first 2 speech balloons in the next
frame.

@]

..

.......

'J
'J

Friend 2:
aka to ao no serohan no IIane aru megane o
kakeru to ne .. .
"when you put on glasses with red and blue
cellophane pasted in, ..."
eiga ga tobidashite mieru 11 da ::.e.

'I
~

"the movie appears to be leaping out."

''the movie looks like it's leaping out at

you." (PL2)
lppei:
Fan.

" Really?" (PL2)

Friend 2:
Hora. mae ni manga :,aHili no furoku ni
tsuite kita rittai manga to mwji sa.
"You know, it's the same as the 3D
manga that once came as a special insert
in the manga magazine." {PL2)
Arrow in Balloon:
Aka to ao de ::.urashita eo imatsu sum.
(They) print shifted picture!> in red and blue.

(They) print the picture twice, in red and

blue, with the image slightly shifted. (PL2)
aka to ao 1111 sero/wn 110 hcllte aru is a complete
thought/sentence ("red and blue cellophane [lenses J
have been pasted") modifying meKa11e ("glasses" ).
The firM 110 makes aka w ao into a modifier for
serolum ("cellophane"). and the 'econd mark~
serolum as the subject. like ga (thi~ ga often
change' to 110 in modifying clnu.,e\l.
tobidlllllite is the -le form of robida.111 ("jump/leap
out''). the le form here mak ing an adverb for mien.1
("can ~ce").

j'ii11 is an interjection showing interest/understanding: Really?/Oh ycah?/1see...

f uroku refers to " supplements/inserts" that are sometimes inc luded with
magazines -

especially children's manga mngazines.

tsuite is from 1.111ku ("be anached"): tsuite kita ="came attached"

"came

w ith."

:urashita is the plain/abrupt past form of ::.urasu ("to shift!~! ide \ideways").

[I]

lppei:
Riuai eiga ka. Omoshirosi5 da nli.
" A three-dimensional movie, huh. Sounds like fun." (PL2)
Sassoku oniichcm ni tanonde misete morao 110 .
" I' m gonna ask Roku right away, and get him to take me." (PL2)
omoshiroso comes from omoshiroi ("amu~ing/fun"). Thi~ - sii da ending of an
adjective implie~ "soundllooks like it is/will be."
misete is the -le form of miseru {"show"). nnd morao is a shortened morao. the
volitional form of morau ("receive"). Morau after the -te form of another verb
implies the action is/was/will be done by someone else for the benefit of the
speaker/subject. either spontaneously or by request. When the voli ti onal forn1
is used. it implies "will ask (someone) and get (him/her to do the action)...
(colllinued 011 fll'.\1/)a.~t')

Mangajin 85

:>'1.lHtQ>I~

ITJ

Yayake no Uta

Iru>ei:
Chef Uso tsuita na. IZI!nzen tobidashite nanka
inai ja nai ka.
" Da rn it! He lied! I It doesn' t leap out at

all." (PL2)
chef is an exclamation of disgust/chagrin, a liule
rougher sounding than "rats!/dang!/shoot !/sheesh !"
but not obscene.
11so = lie: and tsllifll i~ the plain/abrupt past form
of tsuk11: 11so (o) ts11k11 means "lie" or "tell a lie."
tobidmhite is the -te form of tobida.\'11 Cjump/leap
out"). and tobidashite ... inai is the negati ve form
of tobidashite-iru ("is leaping/j umping out").
Nanka is a colloquialnado ("things like/do things
like"), but inserting it l ike this mainly gives emphasis - in thi s case emphasizing the speaker's
disappointment/disgust.
ja nai ka is a rhetorical question. expressing strong
disappointment/irritation.

!IJ

Roku:
Sore ja megane ga hantai da yo.
" If it's that, your glasses are backwards."

' 'You've got your glasses on backwards."

(PL2)
Hidarime ga ao de migime ga aka sa.

"The left eye is blue, and the right eye is

r ed." (PL2)
sore ("that") here refers to the way lppci is wearing his glasses, so sore ja essentially means i ryou
wear them like that."

lumwi ="reversed/backwards"

@]

Sound FX:
Wii'!

Kyli!

Yikes! Aaack!
Sigrl:
Kin 'en
No Smoking
IJ!~ei:

Wa! Ho/116 da! Tobidashite-ru!

"Wow! It's true! It leaps off the scr een!"

(PL2)
tobidashite-m is a contraction of tobidashite-ir11.
from tobidasu (''jump/leap out").
~:

Omosftirokatta kedo mega tsukareta yo.

"That was amusing/fun, but my eyes became

tired."
"Tbat was great, but it really stra ined my
eyes." (PL2)
Sound FX:
Ji ri ri ri riri

Rinnnng (bell for start of next show)

FX:
Can gem (effect of pounding headache)
tsukarew is the plain/abrupt past form of ts11karem
(''become tired").

J'icket La dy:
Arigat{i gozaimashita.

"Thank you for coming." (PL4)

86 Mangajin

(colllinttedfrom (lfl'IWttf pagr)

~ Billboard:
Gaikotsu-men I Niku no Rii-ningyiJ I Binsento Puraisu

I House of Wax

Skull face

I Vincent Price

~ Sound FX:
.li ri ri ri ri ri ri

Rinnnng (sound of bell signaling the impending tart of the next

show)
Jii

Whirrr (sound of projector, presumably just gelling started - since

the bell is still ringing)
Mogu mogu

(effect of chewing)
Sign:
Deguclli

Exit

OJ

Roku:
Ano . .. mae ni ita anna no hito wa do shira
n desu ka?
" Uhh, excuse me .. . what happened to
the girl who was here before?" (PL2)
Hora, chouo Asaoka Ruriko ni nile-iru . ..
"You know, the one who looks a little like
Asaoka Ruriko." (PL2)
ano is a shortened ano, which is a hesitation word

simi lar to " uhh/um.'' It's often used to get

someone's attention, essentially like "Excuse me."
ita is the plain/abrupt past form of iru ("exist/be
[in a place]"). Mae ni ita can mean either ''was in
front of' or ''was here before." in thi s case the
latter. Mae ni ita modifies onna no hiro ("girl!
woman" - l iterally 'female person").
hora is often used to call a person's attention to
something, like "here/look/see/watch"; when calling attention to something abstract/not present, it's
more like a you know.''
Asaoka Ruriko is an actress who became very
popular i n the late 50s and early 60s; she remains
popular today.
nire-iru = "resembles/looks like"

Ticket Lady:
A, ano ko dattara, senshil yamera wa yo.
"Oh, that girl quit last week." (PL2)
Roku:
! Yameta ?
" What? She quit?" (PL2)

ii\o/i,l~
11)-? ~

lli;t::tt
t.: lv "(

L: t&<
'(> !!ti"
'.; t.:
~

-/J'

L~ .f'
~tl.

?Ul J:.l
t:~*

t: '

~ i\
~ ~
()f.

.f~
t/)

-c

dauara is a conditional " if it is/was": like nara

above, it literally implies "if it is X you' re
asking about," and can be thought o f as essentially like the topic-marker wa ("as for X'').
yamera is the plain/abrupt past form of yameru
("quit/resign").

IIJ

Ticket Lady:
Eiga suta ni rwritakute hitori de dete kita
rashii kedo, kek/..:yoku dame de ne.
" She apparently came (to Tokyo) alone,
wanting to become a movie s ta r, but it
didn' t work out for her in the end. (PL2)
Hansamu na daigakusei to issho ni
kurashite-ta kedo, sore mo wakarete.
"She was living with a handsome student,
but she broke up with him, too." (PL2)
Yume yaburete kuni ni kaetta n ja nai ka ne.
kinodoku ni.
" I suppose she went back home with her
dreams shattered, the poor girl." (PL2)
dete kira is the plain/abrupt past form of dere
kuru ("come out''), here implying " come out of
the country i nto the city''-> came to Tokyo."
the kanji MOl$ (meani ng ''birthplace/native
place/old home town" and more properl y read
either kokyr) or furusato) clarify the meaning of
kuni ("home town").

8J

Sound FX:
Zli! (sound of steady downpour)

FX:
Gakkuri (effect of being disappointed)

Nar ration:
Roku-san no o-meate wa doyara Yiihi Kinema no mogiri no onna no
ko dana yo da.
Roku-san's real purpose (for coming) was apparently (to see) Sunset
Cinema's ticket girl.

Roku' s real interest had apparently been the ticket girl at Sunset
Cinema. (PL2)
Sore irai, Roku-san no eiga-zuki wa kage o hisomete shim.alla.
After that, Roku's great love of movies vanished without a trace.
(PL2)
meare ='purpose/aim"; the honorific o- is often added even in informal speech.
diJyara typically pairs up with a conjectural form later in the sentence (here,
yo da) for the meaning ''most likely/apparently.''
hisomete is the-re form of hisomeru, and ka!ie o hisomem, literally something like 'conceal one's shadow," is an expression that means " vanish/
disappear''- used not only of people but also of abstractions like eiga-zuki
("fondness for fi lm"). Shima/la after a -re form has several meanings, but in
this case it implies the action took place thoroughly/completely.

Mangajin 87

CD

Ippei: (thinking)
Oniichan. konogoro chiuomo eiga ni
tsuretette kurenai lUI.
" Roku never takes me to the movies any
more." (PL2)
Signs: (partially ob cured)
Sakai Yohin (Ten)
Sakai Haberdashery
Kiue
I Tabako
Sta mps I Cigarettes
clliuomo is a colloquial/slang equivalent of
::.en::.en. which combines with a negative later in
the ~entence to mean "not at aJI."
konogorn ="recently/these days - "any
more."
lwretelle is a contraction of /surete iue. the te
form of tsurete iku ("take [someone) along").
and l..urenni is the negative form of kureru.
which after the -te form of another verb implies
the action is done for the benefit of the speaker/
subject.

liJ

Friend :
Oi. Yll-clwn chi de eiga yaru ue sa.'
" Hey, Vii-chan said (he's) gonna show a
movie at his house!" (PL2)
oi is an abrupt "hey!" or "yo 1" for gelli ng
someones auention. and oi, with a long vowel.
b for trying to get the auention of someone
rela1ively far away.
Yti-clran chi is a colloquial comraction of Yiicllan no uclli, 'Yii-chan s house."
de marks the location where an action takes
place/will take place.
yam is an informal word for "do: so eiga (o) yaru
i~ literally "do a movie" ~ 'show a movie."
ue is a colloquial equivalent of to. to mark a
quote.

I1J

Sound F~:
Kaslw kasha kashtt
(whirring of film through projector)

Sound FX:
Kasha kasha kas/w
(whirring of film through projector)

[I)

On Billboard:
Burt/ Hawai I Embisu Puresurii
Blue Ha waii I
Elvis Presley
On Painter 's Hat:
Maruei Kanban
Ma ruei Signboards
O ver Ticket Window: (partially obscured)
RriJkin(-/no) I 01ona I Gakusei I ShiJnin
(Admissions) Fee Chart I Adults I Students I Children
Lower Rigb!: (partially obscured)
A ki111010 Den(k i)
Akimoto Appliances
Lower Left:
Honjitsu Kytlkan
Closed Today

88 Mangajin

a kanji in~ide a circle is often (though not always) read mam- . so we've read
the circle with ~ (ei) inside it as Maruei. which could be either the official
name or a nickname for the company. Since ei i~ the first kanji in eiga
("movie/fil m"), we gather that this sign painter works for a company
specializing in movie billboards.
nokin ="fee/fare" and in'o ="chan/table/schedule."
the word ,J, A shonin for. "children" is restricted to schedules of admi sion
fees and tran\ponation fares. These same kanji can be read kobiw. in which
case they mean "dwarf/midget," or shiJjin. in which case they mean "insignificant/small-minded person."
lwnjilsu ~ounds more formal than kyo ("today"): it's the preferred word for
"today" on ~ignsllliers and in public announcements.
kyiikan is written with kanji meaning "rest" and "hall: and i\ the word for
"closed" used by public hall\ (kaikan). theater\ (eigakan). mu~eUim.
(lwkubwsuka11: bijutsukan). aquariums (.mi::.okukan), and any other building
with a name ending in -kcm.

Nani1111a
Kin'yudo
by

Aoki Yuji
Part 6

The title:

The series:
Naniwa Kin'yudo first appeared in Kodan ha's Weekly
Comic Morning (:ilM FIJ ::I ~ "/ 7 .:C :1') in 1990. It was
an immediate hit and has run continuously ever since. The
appeal of this series seems to be a combination of the subject
matter (the unethical dealin g~ of an Osaka loan/finance company), the gritty Osaka dialect used by most of the characters,
and the rough but oddly detailed style of drawing.

=- /

=-

Naniwa (written here in kata kana -T '7, but sometimes

written with the kanji ~fHE or ift:i) is an old name for the
Osaka area, where this cries is set. Kin'yii ( 1fi/M!.) mean
"money/finance," and the ending do (}i1) written with the
kanji for "road/path." can be thought of as meaning "the way
of ..." Given the content of the stories, the title could be
rendered as 'The Way of the Osaka Loan Shark."'

The story so far:

Our hero, Haibara Tatsuyuki, is a new
hire at a somewhat shady loan company
called Empire Finance, Inc. He is put to
work cold-calling Osaka-area construction companie~ in an effort to lure them
into high-interest loans.

Most of the people who answer his

calls are hostile and rude, but then
Haibara gets lucky. The owner of
Takataka Construction, Takahashi
Kunimasa. inquires about inte rest rate!>.

Haibara passes the phone to his skilful supervisor, Kuwata, who learns that
Takahashi needs a loan of3 million by
the next afternoon. Kuwata cleverly explains the interest in a way that sounds
quite reasonable but actually works out
to the exorbitant rate of 42% a year.
Takahashi raises no objections to the
terms. o Kuwata fills out a loan application over the phone, discovering that
Takahashi has a homemaker wife and a
daughter, Masako, who works at the
ward office.

shacho agrees to lend the money only if

Kuwata can convince Takahashi 10 have
his daughter cosign. "We can get our
money back out of her severance pay if
nothing else; he notes.
Kuwata wails until the next morning
to call Takahashi, and informs him that
the money can only be lent with Masako
a cosigner. eeding the money by 3:00
that afternoon, the desperate man finds
himself with his back 10 the wall.

Kuwara and Haibara check on

Takahashi's fi nancial situation and find
that he is deeply in debt. The company's

1'J Aol..i Yiiji. All rights rc\cned. FiN pubh,hcd in Japan in 1990 by Kodansha. Tol..yo. Engli'h tran,lation nght' arranged through Kodan,ha.

Mangajin 89

-r:::.. '7i<Mil

90 Mangajin

Naniwa Kin 'yudo

-r =. '7 ~~lli Naniwa Kin'yDdo

Haibara:

T -/;{

~ [] ~ !v o

h. :::.:

Kuwata-san.

Migoto

l': L t.:. :1~ - o

deshita
ne.

sasuga implies the action (i.e.. pushi ng the loan

through by getting Takahashi's daughter as a cofitting
(name-hon.) skil lfullbri lliant was
(colloq.)
signer) was "fitting for/what one might expect of'
" True to form Mr. Kuwata_. that was masterful!" (PL3)
Mr. Kuwata, with a tone of admiration.
migoro comes from miru ("see") and koto ("thing: k changes to g for euphony), and implies Hsomething to see": migoto
deshita is the PL3 past form of migoro da ="it's (really) something to see-> "that's/it's beautiful/fine/bril liant/masterful/splendid/etc." Migoro! can also be used by itself as an exclamation, 'brilliant!/splendid!"
Sasuga

c t:t --:d: .:. c.,

Kuwata: tl i"

-c b

~fHr

t..: to: v' b

!v -? 'Z" o

nattara is a condi tional "if/when" form

of naru ("become"); . . . to nattara = "if
lend/loan if comes to bank(s) even
diny
thing (is-emph.)
PL K) it becomes .. ./when it comes to ..."
(
2
" When it comes to Clanding)Joan~ even ba nks P-lay dirty."
mon is a contraction of mono ("thing").
ya de is a Kansai equivalent of da yo ("is/are"+ informal emphasis) or daze ("is/are"+ rough/masculine emphas is).
Kasu

to nattara

ginkif demo

kitanai

mon

shire mo

ya de.

li 51-::> -/J' '? 7J: !v t.!. '? 1lif

Kuwata: B <ji:

Nilwn 1va

mitsukaranandara nani

Japan as-for

if not seen/caught

kamahen

kuni

ya.

what (obj.) even if do not matter/don't care country

is

"Japan is a country where it doesn't matter what you do if you don't get caugh t."

".l!man is a country wher e you can do anything you want so long as you don' t get caught" (PL2-K)
Kuwata: ~t.f 1?

':

t:t 1)

Kanemochi ni
weathy

.Z

nari sae

T h If T ~ -c

-/;{

~t- ~ h 6

sureba

ga

yurusareru.

to become (emph.)

subete

if do alVeverything (subj.) is permitted

" I f you just become wealthy. all is permitted.'' -+ " As lon~ou have money, anythin~" (PL2)

mitsukaranandara is a dialect contraction of mirsukaranakauara. a past conditional "if/when" form of mirsukaranai

("not be found/not be found out"), frommitsukaru ("be found/found out").
shite is the -re form of suru ("do''). and nani o shire mo (lit. "even if you do what") is an expression for "whatever you
do/no matter what you do." Kamahen is Kansai dialect for kamawanai ("don't care/doesn' t matter/is permitted").
mitsukaranandara nani o shire mo kamahen is a complete thought/sentence ("if you don't get caught it doesn' t matter
ya typically replaces da ('' is/are") in Kansai dialect.
what you do'') modifying kuni ("country/nation").
kanemochi literally means "money holder/holding'' and refers either to the state of be ing wealthy. or to a wealthy person.
. .. ni nari sae sureba is essentially an emphatic conditional ("it/when'') form of ... ni naru ("become").
yurusareru is the passive form of yurusu ("permit/approve").

Kuwata: '7~ .

4Jifl

Washi. maitsuki
1/me

every month

~1?/vc

T--::J

%:M

ffiffr: Lcl.:>

!v

-? 't'o

kichin-to )riman-en zutsu

teiki

yokin

ya

regularly

IOHfll
100.000

shitoru

de.

each time deposit savings am doing (explan.) is (emph.)

"I am depositing I00,000 in time savings every month without fail."

" (Believe it or not,) I a lways deP-osit 100,000 in time savings every month." (PL2-K)
washi is a word for "Ume" used mostly by middle-aged and older men. Wa, to mark washi as the topic of the sentence,
has been o mitted - as is often done in colloquial speech.
kichinto is an adverb with a range of meanings. all essentially implying that the action is done the way it should ideally/
properly be done: "neatly/thoroughly/precisely/regu larly/punctually/etc."
shitoru is a contraction of shire-om. equivalent to shire-iru, the progressive ("is/are -ing'') form of suru ("do"). Suru after
a noun associated with an action turns the noun into a verb, so teiki yokin suru ="make a time deposit."
n is a contraction o f ex planatory no.
the emphatic de. like standard Japanese yo and ze, is often used when the speaker volunteers information only he knows.
The feeling can range from "For your information/!' II have you know ..." to "You may not be aware, but . .." to " Believe it or not . . ...
r do ya is dialect for do da, "what/how is it?"- in
this case meaning "what do you think?/how does
Kuwata: c '\-'?
fi:)'~
'\-' 7:>?
that grab you?"
Do ya?
lgai
yaro?
what/how is unexpected/surprising isn't it
yaro is dialect for the conjectural dan), here being
" What do you think? I bet yo u' re surP-rised." (PL2-K)
used as a question. "isn't it?" lgai yaro = "Surprising, isn't it' '-> " You' re surprised, aren't you?"
Haibara: !~{
L i Lt..: o
kanshin is a noun referring to feelings of ''admiraKanshin shinwshita.
tion," and kanshin suru is its verb form, "admire/
admiration
did
be struck with admiration/be impressed.''
"I'm imJ!ressed." (PL3)
Shimashita is the PL3 past form of suru.

Kuwata:

~\'f*

~:tUL:i"J.:>

Shorai dokuritsu sum

Jl!f

.:tl -/){ }Rh (::Xt-97.:>

toki

kore ga ginkif ni raisuru

future hl:come independent time/when this (subj.) bank

fgffl

1: fo:J.,

!v

-? "Co

shinyo ni naru

ya

de.

face/fac ing trust/credit to becomes (explan.) is (emph.)

" In the future, when I go independent, this becomes trust in facing the banks."

" ln the future when I strike out on mv own this will be the basis for credit in mv dealin2s with ba nks."
(PL2)
roki = "time," but direct ly after a verb, it means 'when (the action takes/took place)."
taisuru basically means "face/be on opposite sides." and ni marks the object faced. Cinko ni taisuru ="(in) facing the
bank(s)"-> "in ( my) dealings with the bank(s)."
(continued on following page)
Mangajin 91

T- '7 ~~li Naniwa Kin 'y0di5

92 Mangajin

7.::. '7 ~~iii Naniwa Kin'yDdo

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

--------(cominued from prel'ious page)

Kuwata:

ttz

Bi11br1 ua sum 111011

poverty as-for do thing

ya 11ai. Bi11bii-nin lt'C/

fuminijirarere shikamo horitsu ni shiragawcma akan no ya!
is not poor people as-for are trampled on-and moreover laws to must adhere/follow (explan.)

" Poverty is for the birds. Poor peotllf.get trampled all over and thev stilJ have to obev the laws!"
(PL2-K)
ya nai is Kansai dialect for ja nai ("is not").
BinbiJ wa suru mo11(o) ya nai is litera lly "poverty
is not a thing to do." implying ' 'poverty is to be
Vrrrroom (sound of car engine)
avoided/shunned'' --> "poverty is for the birds."
J\:; c:.
.J. :, it-::> --c qT
i1'o
fuminijirarere is the passive -re form of
Saki ni meslzi
kuue iku ka.
jiuninijiru ("trample on"). The -re form acts like
first
meal
eat-and-go (?)
a conjunctive "and.'' and shikamo adds the em" Let's have a bite to eat on the way." (PL2)
phatic feeling of "moreover/still."
shiwgawana akcm is a Kansai dialect contraction of shiwga11anakereba ikenai, a "must/have to" form of shitagau
("follow/obey/adhere to").
no ''a is d ialect for the explanato ry 110 da (like "it is the case that . .." ).
saki-ni modifies a verb to mean "(do the action) first/before (someone/something else).''
meshi ="rice/meal," and kuue is the -te form of kuu, 'eat": both words are informal and mostly masculine, as is the
combinationmeshi (o) kuu ("eat a meal'').
iku ("go") after the -te form of another verb implies "do the action and (then) go": it' s often used for actions done on
the way somewhere. The question indicated by ka is mostly rhetorical.

Sound FX: 7-

'J

Bii1

Kuwata:

<

Haibara: 5 T~ P:J
Gosen-en no clzt7shoku nante lzajimere desu.
(=o)
lunch
(quote) lirst time
is
" As for a 5,000 lunch, this is (my) first time."

5.000

"I've never had a 5,000 lunch before." (PL3)

Kuwata: -t-1 i1'o
So
ka.
that way (?)

" Is that right?" (PL2)

no between a money value and a noun implies

"that costs/is worth," so gosen-en no chiislzoku =
"lunch that costs 5,000.''
nante is a colloq ui al quotative form that implies
the s ituation/thing described is extraordinary/astonishing. It serves in place of the topic marker
1m, so gosen -en no chiishoku1wnre --> "as for a
5,000 lunch, .. :
lzajimete can be either an adverb meaning " for the
first time.'' or a noun meaning ' 'the first time."

li .Z.Z ~lv }t-?--c

Jfr!J
--::H)Ivc77J/ "t" !! i! is Kansai dialect for ii/yoi ("good/
fine").
Tamani
1va
i!
111011
kt!lte
sei
tsuke11 to akan
de!
occasionally as-for good/fine things eat-and energy/vigor must put on/altach (emph.) kulle is again the -re form of kuu
(''eat"); the -te form here is used to
"Once in a while xou have to eat something good to keep :tOI!f
indicate the means/manner by which
strength up_,_you know." (PL2-K)
the following action takes place.
7f :; ff ;
sei ='energy/vigor," and sei tsuken
Ga/SI.t gars u
is a cont.raction of sei (o) rsukenai,
(effect of eating voraciously - or of some other greedy/hung ry/
the negative form of sei o tsukeru
s ingle-minded action)
which means ' 'put on strength/build
up one's vigor."
-t- 7:,.-t 7:> qftPivc o ~1 2lhf
.l: o
-n to akan is Kansai dialect for -nai
ika11 w.
Mo 11iji desu yo.
Soro soro
to ikenai, which makes a "must/have
already 2:00
is (emph.)
soon/by and by if don't go
to" form of verbs.

Kuwata: t..:i!.::.

Sound FX:

Haibar:_a:

-r--t

"We'd better be_going. It's already 2 o' clock." (PL3)

soro soro literally means ''slowly/graduall y/by and by," but
Kuwata: -t-1
iJ' 0
Sr1
ka.
what way (?)
"Is that so?" -

" Okav." (PL2)

Sound FX: I!- ../

Pii-!

Zi-i-ip (sound of unzipping money bag)

@]

Sound FX:

-tt ;;
Sa!
(effect of quick act io n/movement -

Kuwata:

it's frequently used in situati ons like this to mean ' It's
about time for (us to leave)/we'd better be (leaving)."
ikan is a contraction of ikanai, the negati ve fo rm of iku ("go").
To after a non-past verb makes a conditional " if/when" meaning, but here ikanai to is short for ikanai ro ikenai, a ' must/
have to" form of iku, so soro soro ikanai ro is " we must go,
by and by''
'we'd better be going."

-tt 7 , fr.:.

Sa.

i1'o

iko
ka.
(intetj.) shall go (")

" Well then shall we go?" (PL2)

Cashier: tf; IJ f){ c 1 ,:" ~ ~' i L. t..: o
Arigatr)

here of pulling a b ill from the s tac k of 10,000 notes)

sii is often used like 'well now/all right/come on" to prepare oneself for action or to urge the listener to action.
iko is a shott iko, the volitional ("let' sf[ shall") form of iku ("go").
Volitional forms are typically shorte ned thi s way in Kansai dialect,
much more often than in standard Japanese.

go:aimasltita.

" Thank vou ver::y much." (PL4)

Mangajin 93

= 7 ~Mil Nan iwa K in 'yudo

- - - - --r -

94 Mangajin

;-=

'7~Mlli

Haibara:

~ "? ~
Sakki

!.: IIIH t 7.,

ni 10dokeru

'Jt:. }j
Jenpii

(J)
I TJ PL
no ichiman-en.

Naniwa Kin'yOdo

i:> ~
o-kane

~ 1.1' "? t.: lv

ja nakaua
"

t {'

"t' T 1r'?
desu ka?

10.000 other pany/dienl to deh\er (hon.)-mone)

"a' not (c,plan.) is/arc ('?)
" Wasn't that 10 000 ju t now (part of the money_U,e're supposed) to deliver to the clientZ"

a "hile ago 's

(PL3)

Kuwata: .h!.t -:> f.:

lvn'o

Mitolla

n ka.

were watching (cxplan.-?)

" Were you

watching?"' - "So_J'OU saw that did you?"

(PL2)

senpii is one of the most common ways of referring to "the other pan) in a bu\iness deaUrelation~hip: " client."
Senpii ni wdokeru is a complete thought/sentence ("[we[ deliver to the client") modifying o-kane ("money"):
"money to be delivered to the client."

ja nakaua is the past form of ja nai {"i~ not"). and 11 de.w ka. with explanatory n(o). asks for an explanation.
mirorta is a con traction of mire-oua. past form of mire-oru. which is equivalent to mire-iru ("is/are watching").

Haibara: t!. v' t t. -) _.;.: L" T

Daijiibu

n', -t- lv ~

desu ka,

all righll.,afc

is it?

SOIIIIG

::. C. L "'C
koru shite.

that kind of thing

to do

"Is it really all ri!!ht - doing a t!!ingli.ke that?" ( PL3)

daijiibu means "all right/okay" in the sense of "no cau~e for concern." U\ing it as a question implies there li cause
for concern: " Is it okay?/is it safe?/are you all right'?/etc."
i~ often used to indicate the cause/reason for what follows. but in
this ca~e the syntax is invened. Normal order would be .1'011110 koro shite daijr1bu desu ka ?. with sO/lila koro shire
indicating the reason for his asking daijiibu desu ka'!

shire is the -re form of suru ("do"). The -re form

Kuwata:

~~lit' rJL-=>n't':>~lvt.!l?

Sakihodo "Mitsukaranandara
a while ago

Kuwata:

if not seen/caught

.wbere

n' ut~il'->J t

ga

yurusareru"

all/c\Cl')thing (~ubj.) is pcrmined (quOic)

,j "?t.:
iua
'>31d

-?1::> "
yaro.

right?/didn't I'!

"A while ago, I sajd ' Anything goes so long as you d<!!L.t.W caught/ right?"
~ it, R. t h o
Mii.
(intcrj.)

( PL2)

mirore.
watch

" Well, just watch."

T""-"C

(PL2)

sakilwdo i~ a more fonnal word for sakki. a while ago."

ro m:trk~ the content of a quote. and iua is the plain/abntpt past form of iu ("\ay").
_1aro is Kansai dialect for the conjectural daro (or dari'i). here serving~ a tag question. "right?/didn't IT
mii i~ a oft/gentle-sounding interjection/verbal "warm-up" that adapts to tit it~ context. At the beginning of an i n-

vitation or request it can be like "please'': in the case of a command like thi~. it can be thought of simply as softening the abruptness.
mirore is a contraction of mire-ore. the abrupt command form of mire-om . equivalent to mire-im ("be watching'').
frommim ("see/watch"). The abrupt command form of' mire-inc is mire-iro (or mite-ro when contracted).

Mangajin 95

7 - '7 ii Mii Naniwa Kin 'yudo

lfl !li O : : : . ~ 4.
'f

~.:-t

L.

A, '/)1 A,

"L"t':i.~
f,t
~ "'

96 Mangajin

A,

..

i',

Takahashi: :t; ::r< t:

Homma ni
rcallyltruly

~~

-r <it~

kite kureru

= iiliii
'7

Naniwa Kin'yiido

LA'ic L -r v' i L. t.:

(J) 1J'

no ka

to shinpai shite imashita

come (fa\'or) (e,plan.-?) (quole)

lv

-? "t' !!

11

ya

de!

was/\\ ere worrying (explan.) is (emph.)

" We were sla rtillg_!Q_worrv whether vou would reallv come." (PL3)
Kuwala: T lv 1 A.../v o ~:(
"IJ( X.l:l-? .: lv "t' i L. -r lj:- o
Suwnahen.

Kuruma

ga

ero

konde-mashite

11ii.

houma is a colloquial/dialect equivalent

for homo ("truth''); honma ni = "actually/
"S_orry. The traffic was really bad xou know." (PL3)
really/truly."
kite is the -te form o f kum ("come"). and kureru after the -te form of another verb implies the action is done for the
benefit of/as favor to the speaker/subject.
shinpai is the noun for "worry/anxiety/concern,'' and shinpai shite-imashita is the PL3 past form of shimpai shite-iru ("is
worrying/worried" ). from shi11pai suru. the verb "to worry/be concerned." The preceding quotative to in this case marks
the complete question honma ni kite kureru no ka? ("Will [you] really come?") as the content of shinpai shite-imashita.
11 ya is dialect for explanatory n(o) da. and de is for emphasis.
sunmahen is dialect for sumimasen. which can mean ei ther ''sorry/excuse me" or "thank you'' depending on the context.
kuruma is lite rally " wheel(s)," and is used as a generic word for "car"; it can also refer to "traffic" in general. as in this
case.
ero is Kan~ai dialect for eraku. the ad verb form of the adjective erai ("eminent/important [person)"); it can be used
colloquially as an emphasizer like "very much/considerably/terribly."
konde-(i)mashite is the PL3 -te form of ko11de-iru ("is crowded"), from komu ("become crowded"). The -te form is
used because he is stating the cause/reason for their late arrival.
(apology)

carsltraffic (\ubj.) terribl) c rowdedljammcd

(colloq.)

Takahashi: 3671
Sanjtlrokumtm no
360.000

tegata

(=) promi;;ory notes

jllmai

yoi shite okimashita.

10 (count)

prepared ahead

" We've drawn up 10 promissory_ notes for 360_,000." (PL3)

tegata refer~ to a variety of "bank bills/drafts/notes" of payment; in this case it refers to t~ 3li f. )f~ yakusoku tegaw. or
"promissory notes" (mkusoku = promise").
-mai is the counter suffix for nat items like paper/ticketSirecords/compact disks/plates/etc.
yoi shite is the -te form of yoi suru ("prepare"), and okimashita is the PL3 past form of oku ("leave/set/put in place").
Oku after the -te form of a verb implies the action is/was done ahead of time in preparation for some later event/acti on.
l!i.Ot.>-r<t!~~' o

Takahas hi: c"-7-f"

Dozo

do:.o is used to mean " please" when urging one's listener to do

some action ("please do [something)").
aratamete is the -te form of aratameru, a somewhat formal
word for "examine/check/confirm/look over/search.'' Kudasai
after the -te form of another verb makes a relatively polite request, "please (do)."

aratamete kudasai.

(cmph.)lplcasc please check/confirm

" Please check them over." (PL3)

f Jf~

On Note: f.'J .5R

Yakusoku Teg(l(a

Promissory Note
Kuwata:

?/ ,

.:tl. -c:- tt-?.:-? o

Un.

kore de

uh-huh

1hi., wilh finelacccplable ccnainly/assuredly

kekM.

v't.:t!~ i T o

Ti(li"IJ't:
Ta~'hika

ni

iradakimasu.
receive

"Uh-huh, these wiU be fine. I have indeed received (the required notes ." (PL3)
tashika = "~ure/cenai n." and tashika ni = "cenainly/definitely/assuredly"
itadakimasu is the PL3 form of itadaku ("receive").

Takahashi:

;f; -T ,

"indeed."

300h

Ilona is an extreme contraction/corruption of sore

11ara ("if it is so/in that case"): sore 11ara-+
in 1ha1 caseflhcn 3.000.000
(hon.)-rcquesl do
so1mara honnara honara -+ Ilona. It's not
"Then may I have the J..,OOO,OOO, please?" (PL3)
exclusi ve to, but more common in, Kansai dialect.
onegai means "request" and addi ng sumlshimasu turns it into a verb. " make a request/ask a favor." Unless another
ubject is specified. it is understood to be the speaker who is making the request, so the ex pre sion essentially serves
as a polite and formal "please." The o- is an honorific prefix. but it's always used when making a request, even when
~peaking informally.
Hona,

sa11byaktmum o11egai shimasu.

~*~~~
Sono mae ni keimkusho to

Kuwata: -f(J)Jitrt:
before lhal

contracl

~1T:~k
ininjii

t: 41-1 / L. -r <t.!. ~ "'o

ni

sain

and power of anomey 10 signaiUre

shite kudasai.
please do

" Before that"'--please ign this cont rac~wer of attorne_y," (PL3)

Takahashi: ~') 1J' I) i L. t.: o
Wakarimashita.
underslood

" Certainly." (PL3)

sain shite i ~ the -te form of sain sum. meaning "sign/inscribe one's signature" (sain is from English " sign," but in this
context means "signature"), and kudasai makes a polite request.
wakarimasl1iw is the PL3 past form of ll'akant, "come to know/understand." The word is often used to show acceptance of what the other person has said/asked/ordered: " Yes/okay/! will do as you say" __. "certainly.''

To be continued . . .
Mangajin 97

VocabularySummary

From The Far Side, p. 41

mra1

i!Ii"
~~*iti"~
~ b "tv'c

ima
ka esu
m oyogae suru
s amonai to

living room/sitting room

return/pay back
rearrange/ remodel
otherwise/or else

From Calvin and Hobbes, p. 42

-+t ;; tJ-

s akkii
sawaru
te
tsumori
ude

~b~

.f.
-::> {> IJ
~

soccer
touch ( 1.)
hand
intention
arm

From Basic Japanese, p. 46

1:::" 'l

7 ') i" ~

~ ~ h-It
T':t-T a? lf~

"-1-vft

- lliit
~'<

i"

/JJi
3c$
ill l "'
i3c"tlv'

bikkuri Sltrll
bukimina
d e tchioge ru
hen-no
isshun
kakusu
koo
kiji
muzukashii
oto noshii

be startled/surpri sed
weird/eerie
make up/fabricate/invent
strange/odd
an instant/a moment
hide/conceal
face (11.)
article/report
difficult
gentle/quiet

From Obatarian, ~
7' Jv,;.

t-ii

M''I'IJ
::J \! i ~.:.e:
,1. -'-~
-tt
El

J.,. ')

1J]tt
#f~
)(~

f~

IJ /5

~i"
~4

Lv'

gurume
hongaku
hy obon
kopii sum
marugoto
memoru
mukoshi
muri
s hinogire
s hinseihin
taihen
tsukuri-kata
lltSIISU
::.t7::.t7shii

gourmet
half price
reputation/popularity
make a photocopy
wholly/entirely
take notes/make a memo
long ago
impossible
out of stock
new product
very
how to make/recipe
copy (by hand)/photocopy (v.)
brazen/shameless/cheeky

From Beranmei Tochan, p. 54

itl?v'

,, 1 tJ 7
&~t

h.-f it
~lfLv'
"fv'~l-v

e rai
ltaikara
ltantai
misosltiru
s abisltii
wibtw

eminent/important {person)
modern/ Western
opposi te/backwards
miso soup
lonely
quite/very

From Selected Works, p. 56

i!i:<

-MI.

~H! i" ~
~ 11J
~tJ
fr:f-~

ooaa

r..,i\1!~
ftp J: L

chikoku
-gumi
hokken suru
inryoku
jitsuryoku
j oshiko
kokugo
mondai shtl
nakayoshi

nearby
group/band/gang
discover
gravity
true abi lity
girls' high school
Japanese/language arts
workbook/worksheet
friends/chums/bo om buddies

rtr t, ~

och i ru
rika
rin go
seifuk u
seiseki
slwka i
sl111kuda i
stlgo k u
tens a i

J'II!H

') / -::i

aiiJRF1
1~1

t:2;>
~~m

fJ.lf:.

x:;t

fall/drop {1.)
science
apple
uniform (11.)
(school ) grade(~)/mark(s)
society/social studies
homework
math
ge niu ~

From Shoot!, p. 61

9A**

~t~
,.;q~

u-~

J: l !f
~~t~

nrPii 1.::
jg]-::>
i'Vt~

lniJ

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

ttz<

jjll.o l"?

~r

<

:t :h - tr~

t1i1~

i'? <

v~e:

asore n
GtS/11/lOfll
gakkc)
hi::.a
joho ns h in
koke ru
kanta11 11i
katSII
k e ru
kube ts u
madOIVa.VI/
mamo ru
m o ru -de
llllkll
oirsuku
s akkclbu
seito
ttkll
wa zato

morning practice
gather/collect
school
knee
upper body
run/dash/gallop
easily
win
kick (1. )
distinction
con fu se/pcrplex/mi slead
guard/tend
completely
pass/outrun/ go past
catch up
soccer club/team
student(s)
(something) float~
purposely/ intentionaII y

From Yt7vake no Uta,

l't~'l'i

i!t~im

gaikotstt
gya11g11 e iga
hisom e ru
kin odoku
k o wo i
m eate
Minami Taihe iyii
mis h in
ningyiJgeki
omoc//(/
sanj igen
serolu m
renne n sltoku
tobidasu
tsukare ru
uso
UtSUS/1
."abure ru
y ameru
y fie nc hi

"fl?i"

~ 11/'0 S /1

.:' -\' /

7'~ 11lij

'(}-f6')J.:,
~Q).f!J;

.:. ~?It'
Ra?-r
f+j ).( 'fi'F
.:.~/

AJf~~IJ

:t:; b i? '(>

-=:;)I:Jf:
-l!O/\/
:Rt.J;:;~

ifHfllli"

~~t~

? ;
~i"
Mi ~tJ.:,
~6')~

p~

skeleton
gangster movie
vanish/disappear
pitiful/poor/sad
scary/ frightening
purposc/ai m
the South Pacific (ocean)
sewing machine
puppet ~ how
toy
three dimensional
cellophane
natural/full color
jump/leap out
become ti red
lie/ fal'>ehood
show/project (an image)
be broken/shallered
quit/resign
amusement park
shift/slide sideways

From Naniwa Kin 'yildo. p. 89

?~l,'f.i"~

~tf:~R
-L~~i"~
/dltt~

d oku rit.w SLtru

ininjii
s hinpai sun1
todok e ru

become independent
power of attorney
worry/be concerned
deliver

Tile Vocabulary Summary is taken from material appearing in tl1is issue of MMIGAJ/N. It's 1101 always possible to give the complete
range of meanings f o r a word in this limited space. so our "definitions .. are based on the usage of the word in a particular slot')'.

100 Mangajin