Hungry for Words: Mostly Japanese

Kareishuu: The smell of aging

On this blog, I like to mix in some 俗語 （ぞくご　zokugo) with words or phrases that have been in use for a long time. Zokugo doesn't directly translate as slang, though it can mean that: it points to words or phrases slang, words-of-the-moment, made up words or phrases, and so on.

Today's word is a zokugo of sorts that was 'invented' by a cosmetics company, Shiseido, in 2000. 加齢臭 かれいしゅう　kareishuu literally means 'the smell of gaining years', or the smell of aging. Apparently, Shiseido discovered that as people get older, especially (but not limited to) men, some chemicals that are supposed to smell rather bad to others (presumably younger people) are produced by their bodies. 加齢臭　is supposed to smell like candle wax, aged cheese and old books. Smokers and heavy drinkers are supposed to have it worse than non-smokers. Here's the Wikipedia Japan entry on it. This Japanese site urges 'Otousan' (Dads) to check themselves for this odor after the age of 40.

This naming tied in nicely with an existing zokugo, おじさん臭い　(ojisankusai)　or おじん臭い (ojinkusai), which means to act like an middle-aged/old man, to be a fuddy duddy. No one gets as much abuse as middle-aged men in Japan; they are supposed to be behind the times, clueless about popular culture or computers and the like, balding, overweight or pathetically thin, lewd (or 'ecchi') and yes, smelly. Younger girls scorn them unless they can get money off of them, and younger men dread becoming one of them. Even their wives scorn them, especially if they retire or are made redundant and spend too much time in her realm, i.e. their home. (Older people get a lot more respect in society than the middle aged, at least on the surface.)

The 加齢臭 industry seems to be doing pretty well in Japan, selling things like deodorants, soaps, colognes, even nutritional supplements and teas to ward off the dreaded 'smell of aging', presumably to insecure middle aged men.

The best way to learn kanji is not online

This post is not about a particular world, but I often see people on various forums and such asking about some killer software app or website where they can learn, and memorize, kanji characters.

In my opinion, no such site or app exists, because the best, or only, way to learn kanji properly is to write each character out physically many, many, many times.

Before you scoff at the old fashioned concept of putting pencil to paper. let me explain. Kanji characters depend a lot on the stroke direction of each swash or line. (For that matter, some katakana characters do also: can you tell the difference between ソ　and ン?) Stroke order is not as important for reading comprehension, but can make a difference when you are writing kanji by hand. And I don't really know of a better way to learn these things than by writing out the characters repeatedly until you develop a muscle memory for how the characters should be written. You can't do that by typing.

If you live in an area near a Japanese bookstore, go and look for a 漢字練習帳　(かんじれんしゅうちょう　kanji renshuuchou) - a kanji practice notebook. These have pages with large grids that are perfect for practicing your kanji by hand. They're used by kids in elementary school in Japan. Of course you can always practice on any old piece of paper, but the notebooks are nice to write in.

You can use an online resource to organize your kanji study, but for practice and memorization? Do it by hand.

More than 1000 kanji required to read a newspaper

This page on Wikipedia Japan has listings by grades 1 through 6 of the kanji characters that are taught. The list has changed over time, but basically it's a total of more than 1000 characters (1016 for that list). To read a newspaper, you should know all of these characters. Even for manga you should know most of these characters. Here is another list, which also includes the kanji taught in junior high (grades 7 through 9 in US terms), organized by the number of strokes per character. I don't know how to write out a lot of these off the top of my head, but I can read them.

I haven't written a lot of Japanese (or any other language for that matter) out by hand recently, unless I'm writing an address on an envelope or something. I do most of my writing online, where I can easily look up kanji if needed. I am positive that's lead to a deterioration in internal kanji database. I know I'm not alone in this, because I often see Japanese people writing some very strange kanji online.

So, if you want to learn properly, write it out!

How I learned

In case you are thinking, "She's Japanese, how can she understand how it is for a non-Japanese to learn kanji", let me tell you how to learned all the kanji required to be learned by the 5th grade in a few months, when I was about 10!

I was born in the Tokyo area, and lived there until age 5, when my parents moved to London. I was already reading by that age (see my English Twitter page for a photo of me reading intently at around age 3 or 4...though I'm not sure if I was actually comprehending anything!), but of course mostly kana-base pictured books and such.

For the next 4 years, I attended regular schools in England and didn't learn much Japanese. Then we moved to the U.S., in the summer when I was age 10. My parents knew we'd be returning to Japan the next year, so they wanted to put me in the Saturday Japanese school.

My mother sat me down with a simple book, and told me to read. To her horror, she discovered that I could barely read at all. So, she had a correspondence course for overseas Japanese kids sent over - for grades 1 through 4. From June to September, she sat me down every day, making me go through the correspondence course. The kanji was especially difficult - she made me practice those characters, over and over and over again.

I really hated this...it was summer, and I wanted to be playing with my new friends! I remember threatening to jump out of the window of our 5th floor apartment several times. But my mother perservered. By the time September rolled around, the Japanese Saturday school was not sure that I could keep up with the other 4th grade level kids, but I could, just barely. (I hated going to that school anyway for other reasons, but that's another story.)

The next year, we did indeed return to Japan. Once again the regular elementary school near our new home wasn't sure that I was ready to jump into the 2nd term 5th grade, but they put me in anyway. I remember feeling very strange and foreign for the first few weeks, but after that I really had little problem. I could keep up fine with all the lessons. And that summer of intensive drilling by my mother was what brought me up to speed, despite all the grief I gave her. (One of these days I'll remember to thank my mom for that.)

So you see, I'm living proof so to speak that pencil-on-paper drilling really works! It's hard and boring, but really sticks.

*This post was inspired by this question on Ask Metafilter, where there are suggestions for online learning resources. I haven't tried any of them myself but maybe you'll find one there to suit you.

Arbeit as a part time job, and other kinds of workers in Japan

Contrary to what many English speakers seem to think, English is not the only language from which Japanese imports words and phrases - and often twists the meanings of. Ever since the Meiji Restoration, and even before that, Japan has been incorporating words from other languages very freely.

Which leads to today's word: アルバイト (arubaito), or バイト (baito)　for short. German speakers may recognize that this comes from Arbeit. While Arbeit means 'work' (verb form to work is arbeiten), once again the Japanese imported version of the word is a bit different from the original.

アルバイト　means part time or casual work, usually by students or other young people who can't or won't work at a 'real' or full time job.

The Japanese word for work is 仕事　(しごと　shigoto), but someone who is working part time doesn't refer to their workplace as a 仕事先　(しごとさき　shigoto saki) as a full time employee would; they'd call it a バイト先　(バイトさき　baito saki).

When they go off to their job, they might say 「バイトに行ってきます」（baito ni itte kimasu), not 「仕事にいってきます」(shigoto ni itte kimasu).

'Proper' employees vs. バイト and others

In Japanese working society, a 正社員 （せいしゃいん　seisha-in) is a full time employee, literally translated as a 'real' or 'proper' company member. Being a 正社員 means that one gets full benefits, a year-end bonus, and historically (though not since the early '90s) lifetime employment.

Then there are the other workers, which are called バイト、パート　(paato, or part time, usually applied to housewives with part time jobs and never to men for some reason) or 派遣社員 (はけんしゃいん　haken sha-in, or contract worker). Both　バイト　and パート　workers work part time, and contract workers usually work full time, but without the benefits or year-end bonus. They also may or may not get paid for overtime. (Many employment agencies give benefits and other perks to contract workers who are signed up with them, however.)

Traditionally, being a 正社員　has had higher status than being another type of worker. But since the 'Lost Decade' of the late '80s to '90s, when the Japanese economy went through a big downturn, many younger people have preferred to earn their living by being 派遣社員　or even アルバイト. It gives them far more freedom to leave a job if they don't like it, take time off to travel, and so on. This is a huge fundamental change in Japanese society, which has been analyzed to death in Japan itself but doesn't get that much publicity outside of the country, even in the latest flurry of news stories trying to learn some lessons from the Lost Decade to deal with the current worldwide recession. In any case, the Japan of the Economic Miracle of the '60s to mid-'80s is long gone for all purposes...

Wagamama, not the restaurant

Today's word is:

我がまま　わがまま　wagamama

(It's sometimes written 我が侭, but it's most commonly written as all hiragana or 我がまま）

It means to be selfish, demanding, care only about yourself, and so on. It is a word that can have a negative or positive connotation, but mostly it's negative. A wagamama child (我がままな子供）is synonymous with a spoiled/bad child.

It it most often used as an adjective, e.g.

あの人は我がままですね。　あのひとはわがままですね。 ano hito wa wagamama desu ne.

• That person is selfish, isn't she.

Sometimes it's used as a noun:

おもちゃ買ってなんて、我がまま言わないで！　おもちゃかってなんて、わがままいわないで！ omocha katte nante, wagamama iwanaide!

Don't say selfish (things) like 'buy me a toy'!

So what about that restaurant then?

According to the Wagamama Wikipedia page, the London based chain of 'TGIFA'* pan-Asian eateries "defines wagamama as "wilful / naughty child". I guess they mean that in a positive way.

If you want to see what I and others think of Wagamama, take a look at this forum topic over on Just Bento.

(*Thank God It's Fake Asian ^_^;)

Comfort, healing, gratification

Today's word is inspired by the personal finance book I've just reviewed over on Just Hungry.

癒す　いやす　iyasu

It means to comfort or heal. In current vernacular, it's used a lot in with a passive voice:

癒される　いやされる　iyasareru　

- to be comforted by something or someone.

In the Saving Techniques book linked to above, the author uses the passive term 癒される　quite a lot. She has a habit of spending money on things that she thinks will comfort her, make her feel better. For example, she is 癒される　by a coffee and cake at her favorite 喫茶店　(きっさてん　kissaten, coffee/tea shop); a latte at a international coffee-selling chain, the act of buying several bottles of aromatherapy scents (which she plans to use later for to be 癒される　some more); a bar of chocolate. Of course, the point she is making is that she's wasting money for that feeling of immediate gratification. So she switches to ways she is 癒される　that don't involve spending money, such as cleaning up her cluttered apartment, or just going outdoors and taking a walk.

The term 癒される　is used quite a lot in marketing in Japan. All kinds of things are supposed to give you that feeling, from music to food to　anime to stuffed plushies to... you get the idea.

By what things or actions are you 癒される？

Legs like sticks

I've just spent the last couple of days playing tourist in Paris (on a short stopover en route back to Zürich from western France). I had a very packed agenda, since one purpose of my trip was to do some research for my food blogs, especially Just Hungry. I walked around so much that my legs feel really heavy and tired.

Which leads to today's phrase:

足が棒になる　あしがぼうになる　ashi ga bou ni naru

- (My) legs become sticks. Meaning: To walk around for so long that ones legs feel tired and heavy, like big sticks. It can also mean that you've done something to the point of exhaustion.

Example: パリ観光は楽しいけど、足が棒になる。パリかんこうはたのしいけど、あしがぼうになる。
Pari kankou wa tanoshii kedo, ashi ga bou ni naru.

- Paris sightseeing is fun, but my legs become sticks (= I walk around so much that I become exhausted).

*Note that in Japanese Paris is 'pari'

Another way this is used is like this:　

足を棒にして　あしをぼうにして　ashi o bou ni shite -

- To walk around doing something persistently, until the legs turn into heavy sticks

Example: 足を棒にして買い物をする。あしをぼうにしてかいものをする。ashi o bou ni shite kaimono o suru

- To walk around shopping, until the legs turn into heavy sticks, or to shop 'till you drop.

Example 2: あの作家は足を棒にして本の下調べをする。あのさっかはあしをぼうにしてほんのしたしらべをする。Ano sakka wa ashi o bou ni shite hon no shitashirabe o suru.

- That author walks around until his legs are heavy sticks, doing research for his book = the implication is that that author is very thorough.

So, next time you get exhausted from walking around, point out that your legs have become sticks!

Graduation Photo

(Yes I know, another long pause between posts. Still very busy with life and house-hunting.)

Today's word is 卒業　(そつぎょう　sotsugyou). It means graduation.

The verb, to graduate, is 卒業する　(そつぎょうする　sotsugyousuru).

And the graduation ceremony itself is 卒業式　(そつぎょうしき　sotsugyoushiki).

In Japan, the school year starts in April and ends in March. So, now is the time for graduations. Being that Japanese people are very sentimental (despite their reputation for stoicism by some outside observers) it's a very emotional time for parents as well as students.

Although I went to school all over the place, I think that the timing of the school year in Japan makes the most sense: the year ending at the end of winter, and beginning in the spring. Late March to early April is also the time when cherry blossoms bloom throughout the country, so my memories of graduation as well as the end of the school year (and saying goodbye to my classmates), and the start of the new year (the excitement and stress of a new set of classmates and new teachers to get to know) all seem to have a backdrop of masses of pale pink blossoms.

There are a few songs traditionally sung at graduation ceremonies. In my day one of them was 『蛍の光』(ほたるのひかり　hotaru no hikari), 'The light of the firefly'. It's sung to the tune of Auld Lang Syne. I hear this is no longer sung much at graduation ceremonies anymore.

Another one is 仰げば尊し　(あおげばとおとし　aogeba toutoshi), which is a bit hard to translate, but is something like 'The respect I feel for my master (teacher)'.

However, my favorite song about graduation of all time in any language is one penned by Yumi Matsutouya, aka Yuming, one of the best singer-songwriters in Japan. It's called 卒業写真　(そつぎょうしゃしん　sotsugyou shashin), which means Graduation Photo. It's not sung at graduation ceremonies since it's way too subtle and private for such occasions.

While Yuming herself sings Graduation Photo beautifully, the song was first made by famous by Junko Yamamoto, who was the lead singer for Hi-Fi Set, a group that was very popular in the '70s to '80s. This is the original Hi-Fi Set recording.

And here's Yuming's version, sung in 2010, with her husband at the keyboard. I'm not sure why she is so emotional while singing it...but it is a very nice version indeed.

Here are the lyrics with a very rough translation (which sounds way worse than the original, which is poetry):

悲しいことがあると　開く革の表紙

卒業写真のあの人は　優しい目をしてる

街で見かけた時　何も言えなかった

卒業写真の面影が　そのままだったから

人ごみに流されて　変わってゆく私を

あなたはときどき　遠くで叱って

話しかけるように　揺れる柳の下を

通った道さえ今はもう　電車から見るだけ

あの頃の生き方を　あなたは忘れないで

あなたはわたしの　青春そのもの

When I am sad, I open the leatherbound cover

In the graduation photo he has gentle eyes

When I saw him in town, I couldn't say a word

He looked just as he did in the graduation photo

As I am pushed along by the tide of people, I am changing

Please occasionally scold (my changing self) from afar

The willows that swayed as though they were talking to me

The street that I walked to school, now I only see from the train


Please don't forget the way we lived back then

Your are my youth personified

This song is all the more special to me, because I don't have any of my class albums or photos from the many schools I've attended. They got lost in the mail when I
moved to Switzerland and shipped my books from New York by sea mail. I don't remember the faces of my former classmates anymore, or even most of their names. I guess this is one of the hazards of the largely nomadic life I've lead. But when I hear this song, the feelings of wistful sadness and sweet nostalgia come back to me, in a cloud of cherry blossoms, and I can almost see my old classmates' faces again.

Kankonsousai: Japanese society's rituals and the gifting they require

(My apologies again for the infrequent updates recently. I'm still looking for a new home an am as a consequence rather frazzled and busier than usual.)

Today's word is 冠婚葬祭　(かんこんそうさい　kankonsousai). It's made up of 4 kanji characters, as you can see, and each one points to a particular rite of passage in a Japanese person's life:

冠　(かん kan): 元服（げんぶく、げんぷく　genbuku or genfuku)) , or in modern Japanese 成人　(せいじん　seijin) - coming of age, becoming an adult

婚 （こん kon): 婚礼　(こんれい　konrei) - marriage

葬　（そう sou): 葬儀　(そうぎ　sougi) - funeral rites

祭　(さい　sai): - all other festivals and special events

In Japanese society, there are a lot of rules that one is supposed to follow to maintain smooth interpersonal relationships. A large part of that is the giving and receiving of gifts or money on special personal occasions, or 冠婚葬祭. The rules are so complicated that there are books and websites that instruct people what to give, who to give to, how much to give, as well as what to write, how to thank someone, congratulate someone, or send condolences and so on, depending on the occasion and who you are.

Here are some examples:

At New Year's, older relatives are expected to give the children of close relatives お年玉　(おとしだま　otoshidama), a money gift. How much you give depends on the closeness of the relationship, the age of the child, and so on.

When someone dies, one brings an envelope with money when one pays their respects (as well as flowers etc.)

When you move into a new neighborhood, you are expected to introduce yourself to the neighbors on both sides, to the front, and to the back of your new house, but not necessarily to the neighbors diagonally next to your house. (If an apartment, you also introduce yourself to the neighbors above and below you.) You usually bring a small gift of something edible like a box of cookies or similar.

Twice a year, in the summer （お中元　おちゅうげん　ochuugen) and at the end of the year (お歳暮　おせいぼ　oseibo), you are supposed to show your thanks to your boss and other people you are obligated to show gratitude for, by sending them gifts.

When someone gets married, people send them gifts of money rather than things (no bridal registries!)

Gifts are expected for graduation or starting a new level of school, retirement, when a child reaches the age of 3, 5 or 7, and on and on. The recipient also has to give back a thank-you gift to the giftee! (Note: Perhaps surprisingly, birthday gifts are not traditionally given, though they are popular in recent years, like Christmas gifts.)

As you might guess, all of this gifting back and forth is a big business in Japan, and it can get quite expensive. Most people budget a serious chunk of their income for 冠婚葬祭 gifting purposes. But this is just considered a necessary part of living in the society.

Some years ago I picked up an American household money management book in the bargain bin of a bookstore (Barnes & Noble actually) in New York. It wasn't evident from the cover, but it was written for practicing Christians. In the book, the author listed some fixed expenses that she thought every household would have. One of those fixed expenses was for tithing; she recommended 10 to 15% of ones net income. I thought that's a lot to give to your church (disclosure: I grew up with Christian and general Shintoist-Buddhist parents, and as an adult I'm sort of agnostic/non-religious). But then, most Japanese household budget books and articles recommend setting aside a very similar amount of ones income for 冠婚葬祭 expenses, which are also described as お付き合い　(おつきあい　otsukiai), getting-along-with-people, expenses. It may be a stretch to say that interpersonal/societal gifting in Japan is the equivalent of giving to your religious institution, but you could argue that both types of spending help to keep ones place in life more acceptable.

Further reading

• This Japanese site lists a whole bunch of rules to follow for 冠婚葬祭 situations, as well as general etiquette and so on.

Americans are Big and Loud

Japanese people have many prejudices, both good and bad, about 外人　(gaijin foreigners), in general, and アメリカ人　(amerika-jin Americans) in particular.

Here are some adjectives that are often used to describe Americans. You might notice a common thread running through them.

• 大らか　(おおらか　ohraka) - big-hearted, magnanimous, not hung up on little details
• 大声　（おおごえ　ohgoe) - loud - loud literally and loud as in opinionated
• 大げさ　(おおげさ　ohgesa) - exaggerated, exaggerates, over-dramatic.
• 大きい　(おおきい　ohkii) - big, both in height and weight

The kanji 大　which means big is used in all of these phrases as you can see. Americans have the image of being big and loud and overweight and dramatic. I am guessing this is partly a holdover from the post-war period, when American GIs roamed the streets handing out candy to little Japanese kids, and towered over the short Japanese adults. (My father was a kid in the post-war period, and he still has vivid memories of getting chocolate and chewing gum from big GIs.) And while Japanese people are now a lot taller than they used to be, they are generally a lot skinnier at least than most Americans. (Unfortunately, Americans are generally perceived overseas as being very fat, and getting fatter...which may actually be true.) In addition, American pop culture, not to mention foreign policy and so on, all contribute to that Big/Loud image.

One thing I've noticed about some (not all) Americans who try very hard to fit into the Japanese culture is that they become the opposite of Big/Loud. One recent example is the African-American (he's part Japanese-American also) enka singer Jero, aka Jerome Charles White, Jr. If you don't know Jero, he's a singer who has taken the world of enka, a traditional form of Japanese pop song, by storm. It's the equivalent of a Japanese singer going to Nashville and topping the country charts. Here he is being profiled on an episode of CNN's Talk Asia program:

Whenever I've seen Jero on TV, he's been quiet, soft spoken, polite, obsequitious - exactly the opposite of his hip-hop image. He might already have been like that before entering the Japanese entertainment world, but his non-Big/Loud image has certainly helped him gain fans, especially amongst the traditional enka fan base of middle-aged and older people, especially women. Whether he will help to change the Big/Loud stereotype of Americans, only time will tell.

Japanese people and poo

Bodily wastes are a taboo subject in most cultures, but not that much in Japan. In fact, the subject of poo, or the lack thereof (as in constipation) is discussed fairly openly in polite society.

There are many different ways of calling poo. When it's on the hard side, it's called うんこ　(unko), while the softer kind is called うんち　(unchi). These are both informal and rather cute terms; the formal term (the equivalent of feces in English) is 便 （べん　ben)　or　大便　(だいべん　daiben). This combines the kanji for 'big' with 'ben'. Another word for it (a bit rude) is 糞　(くそ　kuso), also read as ふん　fun. くそ　is also a swear word, like 'shit' in English, but milder in terms of shock value.

On J-List they have several cute unchi (poo) goods, including a pink unchi pencil topper mascot. Kawaii poo: Only in Japan?

Here's a mysterious yet colorful video about 'The unchi of love'.

Constipation, a problem that is considered to be quite critical for ones health, is called 便秘　(べんぴ　ben-pi). This combines the kanji 'ben' with the one that means secret or hidden. So constipation is your body secreting or hiding your poo. Makes sense, doesn't it?

The opposite problem, diarrhea, is called 下痢 （げり　geri). Some people get snickery about the male English name Gary, since it sort of sounds like 下痢.

The formal names for urine are 尿　(にょう　nyou)　or 小便　(しょうべん　shouben - 'small' ben as opposed to 'big' ben for poo). Informally it's called しょんべん　(shonben)　or (especially by kids) おしっこ　(oshikko).

As far as I know though, there are no kawaii pee mascots.

(Edit: Apparently there is a poo and pee doll pair, though they are Scandinavian, not Japanese: see a picture (thanks Sile...I think ^_^;)