Hungry for Words: Mostly Japanese

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 ^_^;)

Shuutai: A public disgrace

If you've been watching the news, I'm sure you've seen this:

The man in the middle is now former Finance Minister Nakagawa, who showed up at a press conference at the G-7 summit in what seemed like a state of, let's say, complete inebriation. He's since resigned, though he claims he was not drunk, but had just taken too much cold medicine, or just a bad mix of cold medicine and a little tipple at lunch.

Which leads to today's word, one that has been used a lot in the news reports about this incident:

醜態　しゅうたい　shuutai

This means 'unseemly (ugly) disgraceful behavior'. (If you break down the kanji,　醜means 'ugly', and　態　means 'behavior'.) People in Japan seem to be most upset about the fact that he did this on a world stage, and that the international media has been making fun of it. (Sort of like the George Bush Sr. throwing up incident, or the shoe-throwing at Bush Jr. incident, etc.)

A more informal word that's also been used is

恥さらし　はじさらし　hajisarashi

恥　(haji) means shame, so はじさらし　means to expose ones shame, to disgrace yourself publicly.

Also related is

恥をかく　はじをかく　haji o kaku

This means to shame or disgrace onesself.

Mr. Nakagawa has been accused of being a 恥さらし、disgracing himself (and, it's implied, by extension the Japanese government and the Japanese people) to the world. In a society like Japan, where saving face is of paramount importance, this is a big, big deal.

So boys and girls, let's not mix alcohol and cold medicine and then go out and hold a press conference! Remember YouTube! ^_^;

Footnote: When I first saw this on BBC News, they just showed Mr. Nakagawa by himself. I didn't realize there were two people flanking him. Now why didn't they stop him from going out? Didn't anyone backstage in the Japanese delegation stop him? What a mess.

This is Mr. Nakagawa sober, as he announced his resignation (as Finance Minister; he's still a Member of Parliament). Uh..he sounds a bit drunk normally...

The yen is high, and Japan doesn't like it

Today's word is

円高　えんだか　en-daka

It means 'high yen'. (Note that in Japanese, the yen is not pronounced with a Y sound at top. Just pretend the Y is not there and you have the correct pronounciation.)

円高 is often paired with

ドル安　どるやす　doruyasu

Which means 'cheap dollar'. As you've probably deduced already, both terms refer to currency exchange rates.

For a country that Japan that relies heavily on exports, especially to the United States, an 円高ドル安 situation is not good at all. As a matter of fact, just 円高　alone refers to a high (expensive) yen against the dollar rather than any other currency, do the ドル安　part is often dropped.

At the moment $1 is around 91 yen, which is very 円高, making a lot of people in Japan, especially in the government, very unhappy. The very fact that there is a commonly used, short and easy to remember phrase for the relative worths of currencies is an indicator of how critical export trade is to the Japanese economy.

Which, at the moment ain't looking good at all.

See also:

• Money Money Money - some financial terms
• More About Money: In Japan, the wife is the family CFO - more financial terms, and a bit about household money management

Roma-ji can be tricky

A little earlier today I had a mini-rant on Twitter, about someone 'teaching' another user (who happens to be a famous British TV presenter and Japanophile, though that's irrelevant) how to say some things in Japanese that were, unfortunately, wrong. One thing that the person was doing was 'spelling out' words in roma-ji, which as you probably know is the phonetic representation of Japanese using the alphabet, incorrectly, therefore changing the meaning.

Here's one phrase the person doing the teaching used:

ima wa Elvis Presley kitemasu.

The use of 'wa' in the sentence is not really correct either, but I want to focus on the kitemasu. This reads as きてます, which would make the sentence mean "Elvis Presley is here now". I know Elvis sightings are not uncommon, but I think the person meant to say

ima Elvis Presley o kiitemasu. いま　エルビス・プレスリー　を　きいています。　（今エルビス・プレスリーを聴いています。）

Kiiteimasu きいています　聴いています　means listen (ing) to things like music. One little syllable, big difference!

While it's convenient for people who come from European languages to start learning Japanese phonetically with roma-ji, it's quite easy to mess things up. One of the best things you can do is to learn how to read and pronounce the two main phonetic alphabets, hiragana （ひらがな）and katakana (カタカナ）as soon as you can. Leave the kanji characters for after you've mastered that!

(And beware of language lessons, and candy, from people you don't know ^_^)

Mottainai (wasteful) and moushiwakenai (sorry)

Today's first word is

勿体無い もったいない　mottainai

It means 'it's a waste', 'wasteful', 'worth keeping'. For instance, my grandmother used to keep little bits of string because she considered it to be もったいない　to throw them away. Letting the tap run when you're brushing your teeth, throwing away plastic bags and so on were all もったいない for her.　(Aren't most grandmothers like this? They are from a generation where you needed to carefully conserve your resources and possessions.)

The word もったいない　has been appropriated by the green/eco movement in recent years. There is even a non-profit organization called MOTTAINAI.

A big もったいない　situation for Japanese people, especially older folk, is to leave grains of rice in your rice bowl. Rice has a special place in Japanese culture, and wasting it is several levels worse than wasting any other kind of food.

Besides もったいない、the other word that comes into play is:

申し訳ない　もうしわけない　moushiwakenai

This is a bit difficult to translate to English, but it means feeling ashamed, being apologetic. Used on its own to address someone, it means "I'm sorry". (You saw a lot of Japanese bankers using this phrase in the early '90s or so, while bowing their heads deep to the ground.)

So, whenever I'd leave little bits of rice in my rice bowl growing up, one of my parents would invariobly say もったいない, and then お百姓様に申し訳ない.

お百姓様に申し訳ない おひゃくしょうさまにもうしわけない　

ohyakushousama ni moushiwakenai

お百姓様 is a very polite word for farmer(s). So the entire phrase means, to feel shameful or apologetic towards the honorable farmer(s) who grew the rice.

Think of the starving children in (blank)

Another thing my parents used to say when we left food uneaten was, 'Think of the children in (some starving country)'.

(country) の子供のことを考えなさい　(country) のこどものことをかんがえなさい　 - (country) no kodomo no koto o kangaenasai

I thought it was only Japanese parents who did this, but I've since found out that parents all over the place say the same thing! I always thought that it was illogical. Why would me clearing my plate when I was full already, help the poor starving children in (some starving country)? But then, who said parents had to be logical...

You could probably guess the age of someone by which starving country their parents used to guilt them into cleaning their plates. For me, it was usually Ethiopia and Bangladesh I think. For an older generation in America it was the starving children of Europe. What country was it for you and your parents? Do you use the same tactic for your kids?

Ageashi o toru - Grabbing (or tripping up) a raised leg

Today's phrase is

揚げ足を取る　あげあしをとる　ageashi o toru

Literally the phrase means to catch or grab a raised leg. In actual use, it means the habit some people have of grabbing onto small mistakes made by another person, in speech or otherwise, and correcting them - a nitpicker. The 'catch or grab a raised leg' thing comes from sumo or judo, where a combatant can catch hold of, or trip up, the raised leg of his opponent (considered to be a mistake) to bring him down. For example, a person who is always correcting another person's grammar, typos, or spelling mistakes, is a chronic and often annoying 揚げ足取り　あげあしとり　ageashi tori (the noun form of 揚げ足を取る).

The most widespread type of 揚げ足取り　is a micromanager, who grabs onto any small mistakes made by someone below him/her in rank and dwells on it. I've worked for such people a couple of times, and they were absolutely hell to deal with. There's even a whole book about managers like this, and how to deal with them:

なぜ上司は部下の揚げ足をとるのか　なぜじょうしはぶかのあげあしをとるのか　naze joushi wa buka no ageashi o torunoka - Why do managers nitpick/try to trip up subordinates?

So, if you encounter someone who is always correcting you for small mistakes, you can yell at them, 揚げ足を取らないでよ！　あげあしをとらないでよ！　ageashi o toranai deyo! - Stop nitpicking me/trying to trip me up!

Adult buying - 大人買い

Today's phrase is:

大人買い　おとながい　otonagai

Literally translated, it means 'adult buying'. It has nothing to do with buying porn though. It means the habit that some adults have, of buying a whole set of something that is nominally meant to be bought in singles.

The phrase 大人買い　is a relatively new one, and is used mostly in relation to things that are considered to be childish to collect or buy. For instance, normally manga paperbacks are meant to be bought one at a time. But many adults are too impatient to do that, or are so into a particular series or author that they will rather have an entire set all at once. Some popular manga series can consist of a lot of volumes - for example, the long-running ガラスの仮面　(がらすのかめん　garasu no kamen, Glass Mask) is now on its 43rd volume and is still being updated - so this is a fairly serious financial commitment. But true fans don't care about that.

Some companies fully realize their products are often bought in this way, so they release things in formats or packages that cater to the 大人買い　public. A good example is the Re-ment company (Japanese site, US site), which makes doll-sized miniature sets. The sets can be bought singly, in little boxes that retail for around 300-400 yen each, or in big boxes that contain whole series of 8 to 10 or more sets. Buying a big box is 大人買い, while those on tight budgets or kids can still enjoy the single sets. Many other makers of similar plastic toys or figurines, most often called 食玩　(しょくがん　shokugan) sell their products this way.

I recently had a bout of 大人買い　which I wrote about on Just Bento. Not content with owning just one of those cute onigiri boxes, I just had to have the whole series of three. 大人買い can get expensive.

Adult or grown-up?

The word 大人 おとな　otona, is usually translated as 'adult'. But in actual usage, it may be closer to the phrase 'grown-up'. Japanese being the free borrower from other languages, when it comes to things that are porn-related, instead of using the existing words for adult liek 大人　or 成人　(せいじん　seijin), imported words are often used - e.g. the phrase アダルトビデオ　(adaruto bideo), most often abbreviated as AV, means exactly what you might think it means.