, Fuji Santaro: Japan's beloved salaryman celebrates 30 year

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M A N G A J I N

Tarnagotchi
Vitfual pgt

Toilet
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Miyabe Miyuki's
prizewinning mystery
6 S>

No. 65

BRAND NEWS

=IE

~~

Hana-Hana Meiwaku

Flower-Nose Annoyance
Finally, spring has arrived. For some
of us, there's a heavy price to pay for
nature's orgy of pollen, but Kanro's
Hana-Hana Meiwaku (~E.~~J!;),
the "super-herb candy," offers relief
from the misery of hay fever.
The name Hana-Hana Meiwaku
combines the kanji for "flower"
(hana- ;{t) and " nose" (hana-~. )
with the word meiwa/..ru (lli )>Jl;- "annoyance/inconvenience"). :(t ~ ~l'Ji:
suggests a phrase meaning "Are
flowers and your nose bothering
you?" ("Hana-hana, meiwaku?")
The word play arises from the
Jln;.;;~-J~tc8
fact that Hana-Hana Meiwaku
sounds like the phrase hanahadg
meiwaku (~~ t!. .11; !R':-"a great
bother/an inc redible nuisance").
Hanahada means "exceedingly/extremely/immensely," so hanahada
"'~f . ... ,.
meiwaku indicates a pretty high level
~ :J ;. tJ ..... , .,
of annoyance.
e 771Jt
Another dimension to this pun is
that if you try to say hanahada
meiwaku with a stuffy nose, da becomes a nasal sounding na, and you
come out with the name of Kanro's herbaJ candy.
Hana-Hana Meiwaku works its magic with a combination of natura] ingredients.
These include a heavy dose of menthol and seven so-called super-herbs: tencha extract
(tencha no ekisu, tencha being a Chinese herb tea made from a plant in the rose family), shiso extract (shiso is an herb commonly used in Japanese cooking), bitter orange
(dai dai), jujube (natsume), striped bamboo grass (kuma-zasa), hawthorn (sanzashi),
and licorice (kanzlf).

~R--Jml'

Thanks to Moteki-san and the folks at Sekai Shuppan for this one.

Send us yo ur examples of creative product names or slogans (with some kind of documentation and a decent product picture). If we publish your example, we'll send you a Mangajin T-shirt. In case of
duplicate entries, earliest postmark gets the shirt. BRAND N E WS, P .O . Box 77188, Atlanta. GA 30357-1188

7 J.:r.-171

/ ~iffi.fi.~~.Ao - ;ti.;.,-~.::::.r.Ft.:"t'"L..t.:l?, fi*l-~7&-X..-c tHflHiil~g:B;t"t'"i:>:iliiJr~~.o' o m~5t

L.. i To fill t.:.~H.: 00 L. -c ~U~ O)m~tP G t~*li ~ i:> 1ltit ~,., t.: t! ~,., t.: t-g. l;t, 001~7111 F.P C7)
.13 ~ 1J L.;! T o ~)t; ';iBRAND NEWS, P.O. Box 77188, Atlanta, GA 30357-1188, U.S.A.

~.: ';t, ~liD A T 'l"" :; ~ ~.2

~ ifi:!p v'n 1: T :/"" ':1 ~

Mangajin 9

Tamagotchi:
A fad is hatched
This lovable nuisance is peeping its way into t he
hearts of (mostly) young people across Japan.
Toy makers hope it-and other ke y-chain toyswill find Its wa y Into your life, too.

by Richard Sadowsky
Imagine smuggling a pet into school

or bringing a baby to work. Several

times during the day it audibly
demands attention and could be in
danger if neglected for too long. In
fact, living with it is an endless cycle
of altruistic tending- burp, feed, and
change; burp, feed, and change.
Measure its weight, give it medicine
when it's sick, marvel at its transformations. So what if you can't sleep at
night worrying over its health?
But this is an electronic toy. The
crying (or peeping in this case) is
persistent, but no milk formula is
needed and the mess doesn't require
nappies-just the press of a few
buttons. It's called Tamagotchi (t.:. ~
:::..-=> "I:> ), and it's a pudgy little chick
that hatches from a virtual egg. It
exists "inside" a flat, egg-shaped
device with a tiny LCD screen. The
bird grows day by day, each day
becoming a "year" older. With good
care, a first-time caretaker can keep
the pet "alive" to the age of 15 or so.
Once a person accepts the mission
to care for a Tamagotchi, it becomes a
labor of love: the longer the chick
survives, the more bleary-eyed one
gets. To stay alive, its various needs
must be tended to in a timely fashion.
Too many accumulated virtual poops,
for example, and it dies of toxicity.
Neglected, the bird becomes demanding and develops an attitude, but with
proper feeding and firm discipline it
becomes well-behaved.
How does Tamagotchi actually
work? Simple screen animation shows

12 Mangajin

the chick in its different phases of life

and emotional states-when it's sulky,
sleeping, or happy and fanning its
feathers. It peeps when it wants something. A, B, and C buttons serve such
basic functions as "mode," "cancel,"
and "action." To find out why it is
peeping, one has to press the buttons
and check various gauges representing
different vital functions. If the food
gauge has waned and the chick is
hungry, pressing the "feed" button
replenishes the chick and is reflected
in the gauge. If it pesters you for no
apparent reason, there is the option
of giving it a virtual spank or two.
One of the things the Tamagotchi
likes to do is get you to play a game
in which three out of five victories
determine the winner. On the count of
three, one has to guess the side to
which it is going to run. When the
Tamagotchi is young, the game is easy
to win, but the chick gets smarter with
age and uses feints and tricky mane uvers. (This is a version of the
Japanese children's game "Atchi Muite
Hoi" or "Look Over ... There.")
When the chick wins, it jumps up and
down with joy.
Sadly, all good things must come
to an end, and eventually the little
tykes die. The good news is that
unlike a real pet, the Tamagotchi can
be resurrected by pressing the reset
button on its back.
Tamagotchi was invented by a
young woman named Maita Aki of
Bandai Co. and was introduced to the
Japanese market last autumn, selling

for I ,980 (around $ 16) each. Its name is a cutesy combina- fiscating his egg. How a yakuza gangster ordered 50 units from
tion o f the words tamago (~~, "egg") and the English word a retailer and beat him up when they didn' t come in. How
" watc h." ( Because nearly all consonant sounds in the middle-aged men buy them to give to high-school girls as favors
Japanese syllabary require a vowel attachment, the " tcb" of in e xchange for their company-the so-called "enjo kosai."
" watch" becomes tchi in Japanese. Such alternative romaji ren- Or how a friend is number 220 on the waiting list to buy a
derings as "T amagocchi" and "Tamagotcb" have also been Tamagotchi at a local department store for her fifth-grade boy.
observed.) The toys are made in a variety of colors and patThe Internet lends itself well to propagating Tamagotchi
terns and are attached to a key chain so that they may be car- mania. As with most home pages that border on the obsessiveried around and tended throughout the day.
compulsive, the wealth of trivia available on Tamagotcbi makes
So who would want to take care of such a demanding virtual one marvel at the time some people have on their hands. Little
pe t? At lea st 750,000 people in Japan, that's who-and information is yet available in English, but in Japanese it' s
possibly millions more worldwide. Bandai can' t keep up with easy to get lost in the flood.
the current demand. Just 38 days after the product's NovemVia the Internet, one can find out which stores are expectber 23 launch, all 350,000 Tamagotchis had sold out. The stores ing new shipments, find a foster parent, read memoirs or an
were quickly restocked, but by mid-February supplies across autopsy report, purchase via auction or trade, view the charthe country dried up and a blac k market developed. On the acter at every stage of development, download T amagotchi
Internet Tamagotchis were being sold for 10,000-50,000- icons for Windows, get info on web sites that are giving them
that's five to 25 times the list price. A mint-condition, ori g inal white Tamagotchi- a collector's
item- goes for 1 20 ,000.
Schoolkids and the young crowd in Japan are no
strangers to s mall e lectronic devices . Hand-held
A large part of the Tamagotchi boom involves the Wor1d Wide Web, where
fans buy and sell eggs, trade information on proper petcare, or just show off
key-chain games were a hit produc t of 1996, a
their loved ones. Shown below is the daily diary kept by one owner for his third
resurgence made possible by the relicensing of the
pet- a Genjlrotchl-type Tamagotchi. This one, his third, lasted 17 days (in the
rotate-and-drop block game Tetris. On any train o n
world of Tamagotchl, one day equals one year, so he indicates the pers age
a g iven day in Japan there are bound to be a fe w
at the beginning of each entry with the kanji ::t sai, which means "years of
age). At the beginning of each entry is the pet's LCD appearance for that day.
children or teens sitting hunched over their miniature computer games, thumbs plying tiny buttons too
k. :l. ~_, ~ ,~
WJl.Bi!
T._..,
.. ._...
.. .... ..
small fo r some adult fingers. These games, selling
..r. .. .
IU
" CX&It Qlj~c
at 980 -1 , 180 ($6 -$ 10), run on two " button"
<1!1
J5*'C.
Olil

i.~
batteries that last for months and are said to be selling
""""''
Oll!l
a =

t-4l. l
Olil
..l"~,i:
4-fll((,
:
4
/
4
Zlll
~ .," .
~

at I00,000 units a month in Japan.

fa t.<6o.Ut...
, ~.. ~~~
T etris Jr., from Hiro Company, Ltd., was the
,. 'J ;o ,
~~~ 7l'Mt1l
Oil)
.st. :
first key-chain game to appear. The same company
.,t-f&d
.....
IJit
Olil
II
=
has recently licensed the 1978 game Space Invad~dll t.
l<aJ
~:i : L(tt.fil.~ /
e rs, and Bandai has licensed Pac Man to create
IGJ.t u-.a
Pac-Junior. Anothe r button-battery toy kids get a
ilJ C. r
~
Ot!l
.,r crt-.
,l ..
om
4 L 1
.a
kick out of is a s imple microphone/playbac k
I.
4/ 4
J:t"Ct.
..m
tell t(loe(H,.
device that allows a few seconds of voice record~q
O'tn:fta u as
ing and endless playback.

>CI
JS c. :
>Ill
.,Ct aA
0111
n
But none of these toys has swept the nation quite
4 &.
Iii

....,,.
4/ 4
+a J ?A.t t H. -cc. Mf1 c.. t...
like T amagotchi. In Japan, not a day goes by with"'
~Q
out hearing some news or rumors regarding this
..O'Jil&.lt OOIIttl
: a A. t
0 111
:r. t.
product. 'TAMAGOTCH' BLAMED FOR TWO-CAR CRASH,
announced the Daily Yomiuri on March 8, 1997:
, ~,:~ t3:09JE"t:
" According to polic e , a 2 5 -year-old woman
~~4:
12@1
Sirl <- :
12@1
rear-ended a car waiting at a traffic light after being
7-.A:
O@]
O@l
itJt:
distracted by the sound of her egg-shaped toy."

Diary of a Tamagotchi Parent

~~

.,. ,.c.,.,,. ~,

~,_,..,.

ill

..
... . .

. ...

...

...

... .

~UA t

...

.... ...

ot~

. ...

....

~ I) .

. ...
I

....

~tlti Lt

~tl

SECONDHAND UNITS SELLING FOR 15 TIMES NORMAL

PRICE CAUSING TROUBLE, read the Asahi Shinbwt on
February 26, I 997. The article detai Is how some
hopeful buyers are sending in their money but
getting nothing in return . The Mainichi Shinbun,
another major daily newspaper, has even set up a
Tamagotchi corne r o n its Japanese-language
home page.
Then there are the rumors: How a junior high
school boy slugged his teacher (a woman) for con-

....... 1,:

V-:>tt:
-f4)~: ~1U~.{

f*~:

1 @]

4/ 4

.U:F1f(,:

* ::; _, i)O)l'f:~~ (, fto

99a

S@l

Here's the entry for the final day of his second pet: 11:00 KishO 13:09
Shlbl5 ("awoke at 11 AM, died at 1:09PM"); Gohan (rice/meals): 12 kal
(12 times); GiJmu (games): 0 kai; Toire (toilet): 1 kat, Shitsuke (discipline):
4/4; Okashl (snacks): 12 kai; Chusha(shots): 0 kai; Taf/U(weight): 99g;
Yobidashi (called out): 6 kai; Sono ta (other): Mats baikintchi no mama
deshita ("Still infected"). In the end the chick is replaced by a Japanesestyle ghost with no feet and a pointed hat.

Mangajin 13

Life of the Tamagotchi

The Tamagotchi's appearance changes as it grows older. Here's
a possible lifeline for a pet of the taragotchi variety.

Prenatal
pet.

Marutchi-just hatched.

.....
.........
. ....
-
.-
. .
:-oo :
...............

......

Mature taragotchi.
~

Trouble! A germ, resembling the cartoon

character Baikinman ("Germ Man"),
takes over. The pet may or may not
recover.

........
...:.:....::......:.....:..

Oyajitchi-the senior citizen.

Death, indicated by a Japanese-style ghost

(with a pointed hat and no feet).

away, play a simulated game, view one by live camera,

learn the "laws" that govern Tamagotchi, or learn "cheating" techniques known as ura-waza.
Ura-waza (~ ~ , literally, "back [doorj tricks")
techniques include learning how to put the ch ick into
" hibernation," find hidde n screens, put the chick on a
diet, keep it alive to 99 "years" of age, win at Atchi Muite
Hoi, even how to take it apart or decorate it. There are
even instructions on how to kill the thi ng as quickly
as possible.
How has such a fascination with this virtual pet
developed, and is it healthy? Some speculate that the
popularity of Tamagotchi among young Japanese women
who have yet to have children is due to their strong nurturing instinct: the virtual chick fills an emotional need
by becoming a surrogate child. This does not, however,
explain the phenome nal interest in the c hick by both
genders. Others consider the virtual pet fad to be a result
of not being allowed to have pets in the crowded living
conditions of Japan.
Whatever the psychological significance, the romance
with virtua l pets is still in its infancy. In addition to
Bandai 's Tamagotchi, virtual pets of all sorts are being
produced by various companies-and not only in Japan.
These include:

The Fish Club Aquarium by the Japanese e lectronics maker NEC Corp., which has fish swimming in

fJ_nwHling to a llow japan's mysteries to

elude her, newcomer Betty Reynolds
puzzles over the odd entities and
tt~ e"~"'lAf happenings around her-whether in
a sushi shop or traditional inn, temple
or toilet-and presents the fruits of her
inquiries in brilliant watercolors with
hand-lettered captions. The resulting
sketchbook is a highly useful and
amusing primer for anyone contemplating Japanese language study or
travel to Japan.
48 pages, softcover
Original watercolor sketches
Handlettered text
0-8348-0386-0
S14.95

cm~lllli'J,~eor place on order. 41 Monroe Turnpike Trumbull, CT 06611 Tel: (800) 437-7840 Fax: (800) 557-5601

14 Mangajin

www. weatherhill.com

a small aquarium on one's compute r mo nitor;

S uper Wan-c han by Na Software of California, a desktop dog that requires a Windows compute r;
Compute r Petz, from PF Magic in San Francisco, interactive animals that " live" on computer desktops and
mature over time, deve loping personalities based on
attention, training, and interaction with their owners;
" Fin-Fin," a hybrid do lphin-bird that evolves and adapts
to light, sounds, and nurturing input, still under development by Fujitsu.
Currently Tamagotchi is being ported to the popular
Nintendo Game Boy platform and to C D-ROM a well, but
there's a twist. Part of the a llure of
Tamagotehi is the chick's unexpect.e d
calls for atte ntion. Since Game Boy
uses more battery power and must be
turned off, the Tamagotchi game will
have to be "saved" eac h time, and its
main foc us will be diffe re nt. In the
G ame Boy ve rsio n, the chic k competes
against computer-gene rated riva ls in
three types of contests: sports, beauty,
and academic knowledge. Its abi lity to
win in each category will depend on
h ow it is raised ( in regard to the
frequency of playing one game over anothe r ). There will be th ree mo re
feeding options (vegetables, cake, or icc
c ream in additio n to rice and a snack)
and the ability to " praise" as well as
"punish." Whether the cartridge (priced
at 4,286) catches on with kids will be
closely mon itored after its release in
Japan this summer.
Bandai is hoping the second version of the Tamagotchi series ("New
Spec ies Discovered") will be equally as
popular. Rumor has it that there will
be a choice between a lish and a beetlelike insect to raise. And if we're lucky,
a Tamagotchi game will be an option
buill into the next gene ration of cellular phones and pocke t pagers.
One can imagine in the fu ture a
merger o f this kind of guided evolution
of a virtual character, known as a "software agent" with online gaming. Once
a person's agent can beat all computer
ri vals at a game, he' ll want to up the
stakes and have it compete against
agents created by other people . Enter
secure transactio ns and legal betting
and you have " Virtual Gladiators,"
racing, or any game that can work in
an e lectronic milieu . Wha t ha ppens
when the line begins to b lur between
interactive gaming and real life? Mili-

tary training? GeLLing paid to

play games online?
The more sophisticated
online "agents" become. and
the more ubiquit ou ~ the
Internet grows, the more infi nite the scenarios. Agents
for gaming , for education,
for bus iness. Today there
already exist trainable virtual
agents to carry out real-life
tasks in the Internet world,
such as seeking out infor-

Hiro Company's Tetris Jr. was the

pioneer electronic key-chain game.

Mangajin 15

mation and relaying it back. What if the artificial intelligence develops an agenda of its own? What if the
virtual baby we raise suddenly fa lls in love with
another of its kind and elopes?
For the moment, the cute chicks are safely contained
in plastic units that run on batteries. Bandai has been
rushing to increase the output of Tamagotc hi at its
production facilities in China and hopes to have 7.5
million units in circulation by the end of June. Furthermore, Bandai (soon to be Sega-Bandai due to a recent
merger with Sega, a major player in the electronic
gaming market) is setting up factories in Singapore and
Malaysia to produce Tamagotchi for overseas markets.
Bandai America aims to release its virtual pets in the
United States by summer. How long this particular fad
will last nobody knows, but one thing is for sure: The
digital pet is here to stay.

Richard Sadowsky (richard@awaji-is.or.jp) is a

freelance writer and translator living on Awaji Island
in rural Japan.

See our web site for virtual pet linl<s!

www.mangajin.com

Virtual Graveyard
This Tamagotchi graveyard on the Web comes complete with a
Buddhist priest and tombstones. Bereaved owners post notices of their
pets' demise along with their names and a tongue-in-cheek eulogy. One
memorial, for a pet who died at age 9, reads 'r - 'I' ll<fjJ .t I) H ~ t!.? t~ li L
t, ~ ;.., ,.~;; m't' 1~ < ~ ;.., t~ ~ < h . (Keki ga nani yori suki datta Hashi-chan.
Tengoku de takusan tabete ne) "Hashichan loved cake more than anything. Eat a lot of cake in heaven."

To p:
Tamagotchi no ohaka
("Tamagotchi
graves").

Middle:
Toroku wa kochira
("Registry here").

Bottom:
c??( I;L:.;r.,
ICII
Registry categories
~<~e
111t
ter" " -~
..,.,,~
.,
are Selnengappl
""'
lt(l
" 41
tA;Io ., q
tJI')AA.
~rt.
("Date of birth"),
:i~~m!am~~:::m.:;:~N:t,;:r:u.H:~o:~<;"l
'JO:.t5ft~ C.I IJ G""'II
"-'
Sedai ("Generation"),
ShibO ("Date of
death"), Talpu ("Type [of pel]"), Kyonen ("life span"), Kainushi
("Owner"), and Omairi ("Offerlng"-of incense, flowers, or cake).
Ht~I II)~U)WICII

The Washlet: Far when paper just daesn1t do the jab.

TOTO

ZOE

Panasonic

Inti Mist
To receive our free catalog & videotape,

call toll free

1-888-575-8080

Fax

201-945-6664

E-mail: tsu-tech@tsutech.com

TSU-TECH Corporation
16 Mangajin

W ashlet Professionals

7=i ~ ~@.J}
Fuji Santarii

))

by -tt ~ r) -tt / ~ 1 I Sa to Sanpei

Manga anist SatO Sanpei has
been drawing his popular fourframe salaryman comic Fuji
Santaro for the Asahi Shinbun
newspaper since 1965, making it
one of the most widely read
manga in Japan. To celebrate the
strip's 30th anniversary, the
A sahi released a hardcover compilation of Sato's favorite strips
over the years, titled simply Fuji
Santaro. Sato provided comments
about the inspiration for the
strips. In this issue of Mangajin
we present selections from 19651980; strips from 1981-1996 will
appear in a future issue.
Born Sato Koichi in 1929,
he had decided by his teens to
go to a fine-arts high school in
Tokyo. Up until then he hadn' t
done much serious drawing, so
he had to convince his middleschool art teacher to raise his
grade and write a letter of
recommendation. Altho ugh he
was successful in persuading his

teacher, his practical father

convinced hjm to go instead to a
technical-arts school in nearby
Kyo to. Once there he signed up
for the lrozome (i!!*, " Dyeing")
course of study, thinking that it
would involve drawing. Instead
it turned out to be applied
chemistry.
Undaunted, SatO continued
to develop his drawing skills and
got his fi rst job-in the advenising department of Daimaru
department store-by submitting
a resume in manga format.
While at Daimaru his manga
Osaka Musuko ("Son of Osaka")
began in the Shin-Osaka
Shinbun. It was then that he
chose the pen name SatO Sanpei,
after a famo us aristocratOkamoto lppei. Sato says he
changed lppei (- -', "first
level") to Sanpei (=: ijZ, "third
level") because he wasn't as
high-class as lppei.
The c haracter Fuji Santaro

is Everyman-make that
Everysalaryman. Fuji represents
the typical Japanese businessman, a guy who keeps his sense
of humor as he faces the
obstacles of an ordinary life. He
keeps his hair cut short, wears a
suit (probably g rey), deals with
corporate nonsense, admires
pretty girls on the train, and
dutifully takes his wife and kids
out on his day off. Not a ll the
strips are about Fuji-san, but
to readers the characters are
as fami liar as people they
already know.
Over the years Sato has
learned to avoid certain topics
in his manga: politics, re ligion,
the Impe rial family , sexy
women. He points out, however,
that he can' t change having a
man's point of view, and he's
happy if he can find subjects
that are both funny and
noncontroversial.

Mangajin 25

7:JE,~@.~ Fuji Santaro

by

Sato

Sanpei

-fT~? -fj-~~1

~ IJifl;t

Toji wa

June 11, 1966

li ;fi{fr: I: :U~~tl.""(li>f.::o
mada, bonasu wa genkin de
shikyii sa rete ita.

"f.f.!.,

at that time still

;f---)-.A
bonus

as for

cash with/in was being issued/paid

At that time. bonuses were still paid in cash.

shikyii sarete ita is from the verb shikyii suru ("provide/supply," or when
speaking of wages/salary/bonus, "pay"). De marks genkin ("cash") as
the means of payment.

FX: 7Fii
Whoo
3

-666 11

26 Mangajin
I

Santaro
7=JE,~@.p Fuji
by
to
Sa

Sanpei

-tt-~'7 ..,.~~1
DB~rm+:=::

~,

March 16, 1968

$.t.! ?1"/J- ~ f;f -:> ""Cit'o A

Showa yonjfisan nen, mada

~

Showa 4311968

wa sukunakatta.

fil

+
~
~

t:.
y
1

jJ

~
?

'L

year

as for

bit:

new ar

i"lo

is (c:oiJoq.)

"''bis is a new car, isn't it'r'

"You bou&bt a new car." (PL3)

.,_ 7J1tt..!l
- - Yogoreru
will aec diny

t=.

VI

~t>o~'

fJ';

kara

sawaru na!

don't IOUI:II

"You'D aetlt dirty, so doD't toucb!" (PL2)

na after lbe dictionary form of a verb can make an abrupt probibitioDinegative collllll8Dd. so sawan1 na = "don't touch."

[I)

Fuii: Q)-tt"""C b ;

1t' $.

-t

J: o

Nosete moraimasu yo.

will receive a ride

l:!

ii.
c
g

(emph.)

' 'I' ll o for a ride with ou." (PL3)

nosete moraimasu is from noseru ("give a ride/take on board").
Morau after the -te form of a verb implies the speaker or subject
receives/will receive the benefit of the action from someone else;
in this case, Fuji is declaring that he intends to receive/take a ride.

"l::l

.!!

il::l

..

ii

:=

1
!

~T

Shbuho desu ne.

persoo(s)

years in Japan may be designated either in the traditional manner, counting years within an imperial era, or using the Western common-era
years. The Showa era ended in 1989, with the death of Emperor
Hirohito; the current imperial era name is Heisei, and 1997 is Heisei 9.
mai, a katakana rendering of the English "my," is frequently set before
another imported word to indicate a private/personally owned possession,
so nUJi kii is "my car"-- "one's own/private car."
mai kii o motte im is a complete thought/sentence ("[they] have private
cars") modifying hito ("person/people").

1>
1J.
fJ'

hito

have

were few

let

motte iru

In 1968. there were still relatively few people who had their
own cars.

li !),' t.t "/)' -? t::. 0

\,\
~

mai kii

still one's own car (obj.)

[!]

..

~'Jl ~'J! ~'J !

Kwsu! Kwu! Kwsu!
"Your shoes! Your shoes! Your shoes!" (PL2)

1
~

Kutsu

nuide

noru

no hajimete.

shoes take off-and ride/gel in (nom.) first time

"This is the first time I've taken off my shoes

when ettin into a car." (PL2)
nuide is the -te form of nugu ("take off [a piece of clothing]").
noru can mean either "ride" or "get on/into" a car/bus/train/etc.
no is a nomina.lizer that makes the preceding complete sentence
(kutsu [o] nuide noru = "[11 take [my] shoes off and get into [the
car]") act like a single noun. Wa to mark this as the topic has
been omitted.

Mangajin 2;

7=JE,~@.p Fuji Santaro

o
by

Sat

Sanpei

-tj- ~? -tj- :,..-~ 1

August 17, 1970
~'c.,

~~M

f.: ;.. o o

Kono koro kara

zenseiki

ni hairu.

::. Q) ::. -?

this time

from prosperous period into enter

From around this time. [trucks exchanging toilet tissue for

used newspapers and magazines] became quite common.

Il:a: tlf\~

~t'b~~"'i:l..t"to

Mtlido
D.MWtlfG.N ittullbrtG.r&
~time (laL~~
. , . _ _ _ ... ~,(PIA)

D-MJWGitUe iiAtlrl1rtt.Ja is a PlA form of MII!WigtUnW ( ..CIIIIe

(aDeODe] a ctilluabace"). 1be pintle implies aallpOioay: "I'm

lOllY 110 Clllle you~ exc:aae cbe clilluibmce."

'i!J~iit

Truck: 'i!Jflfllfl,

c 1-1 v 7

Furu-shinbun, furu-zasshi

to
o ld newspapers old magazines with

~tl

1.:

no kokan

ni

Q)

It'

1- ~ - ~~-

toireno pepii
toilet paper

IJ i LJ.:o

mairimashita.

of exchange (purpose) came/have come

" I've come to exchan e toilet a r for used

newspapers and magazines." (PIA)
mairimashita is the polite past form of mairu, a PI.A humble verb

which can mean either "go" or "come," depending on the context.

chirigami kokan ("tissue paper exchange") trucks were a common
sight in the 70s, when a stack of newspapers could be exchanged for

a few packages of tissues or a roll of toilet paper. Such trucks continue to be used today, although they are becoming less common.

::t - ..(I

Oil

(ialerj)

"Hey there!" (PL2)

Rec cler: h."? ? 7- .: 'J 7t IJ
Futsii

chigiri-uri

IJ:

L.. -c ~It'

wa

shite-nai

normally fragment sales as for am not doing

lv:J.
n su

It c P.Zo

kedo

(explan.) but

ne.

(colloq.)

''I don't usuaU trade b

(PL3 informal)

ou know."

chigiri ("tom piece/fragment") is the noun form of the verb chigiru

("tear"), and uri is the noun form of uru ("sell"); combining them

creates the concept of selling in tom off fragments.

n su is a contraction of the explanatory n desulno desu.

28 Mangajin

7=i ~"l.;@.p
-lfr?

Fuji
by

Santaro
Sa

to

Sanpei

~~~1

April15, 1972

manaita

ni

noru to

chopping block on when sellplaced

t?
:J ~ J{~ 1..-lj:lt>o

mi5

jitabata shinai.

anymore doesn't struggle/wriggle

"when you put it on the chopping block, it

stops struggling." (PL2)

mo followed by a negative verb means "not [do the action]

anymore."

jitabata represents kicki ng/wriggling/struggling in a desperate

attempt to escape disastrous consequences, andjitabata shinai is
the negative form of the verb jitabata suru. Mo jitabata shinai =

R_

"doesn't struggle anymore"-+ "stops struggling."

..

<i)

[!]

og
<i)

la

Wll'e: (, ?"(lt> -:> f.:li '} ~flt>lt> b ! o

MDIV intJ lt6 ga ii
wa yo.
t.1 beeler any.....t ao
<rem. eaph.)
"You'd better tUe It wldl ,_," (PL2)

l)dl:

c;
c

..,0

1
-5I

15

b~?"( oO o

Wakmre-ru.
lllldenlad/am aware
"llmow." (PL2)

7)1

- M ga ii after a verb makes an expression meaoiq '1t' s preferablelbetter to -."

8]

Notice:

.AJJHUJJ
Jinj i ido

Personnel Chan es

"8

jinji = "personnel," ido ="shift/reshuffle/shake-up," and jinji ido

ij,

c:

<i)

'9

<i)

0
724 15

refers to the reassignment of personnel within a corporation. Large

Japanese firms like to have their employees experience a wide variety of jobs within the company as tbey rise through the ranks, and
many have regu lar (annual or semi-annual) "shake-ups" in whic h
large numbers of workers are reassigned all at once. Perhaps Fuji is
worried he will be transferred to a branch office out in the boondocks; lower-ranking employees in Japan have little say in what
type of work they will be doing or where they are stationed.

Mangajin 29

7=1 'E,~@.fj

Fuji

Santaro

by

5 at

Sanpei

~~? -fj-~~1
r~llfi s

"Kin'yobi wa
Friday

:re

January 10, 1973

-c '7 1 :..- a- ~ ? -c J

~?

hana

katte

wain

as for flowers buy-and

"'-?

to
iu
(quote) say

::1 " ' - "/"" Jv

komiisharu

katte"

wine (obj.) buy-and

iJ{ ~ / ~ o
ga hitto.

commercial (subj.)

hit

A commercial that said "On Friday. buy flowers. buy wine"

was a hit.
~:

8
Suiy6bi

1;1: ? -( /

t-

Q) ~d 0

wain o
nomiJ.
Wednesday as for wiDe (obj.) let's drink
wa

On Wednesday, let's drink wine.

On WedDesdaL make It wine.
nom6 is the volitional ("Jet' s/1 shall") form of nomu ("drink").

Book: '7 1 /
Wain
wine

<!)

no

nomi-kata

of/for method of drinking

How to Drink Wine

nomi is from nomu ("drink") and -lwta is a verb suffix meaning
"way/method of," so wain no nomi-lwta is literally "method of
drinking wine" _. "how to drink wine."

[!]

Left Pge:

1;1: ~ '7 -( /

11:1

1:

Nilcu

ni

wa aka-wain
meal for/wilh as for red wioe

Rlpt Paae:

Red wiDe goes with meat.

1:
li B ? 1 ::.-

1!

Sakana
fisb

ni
wa shiro-wain
for/with as for white wiDe

White wiDe goes with ftsb.

Balloon: 7 7'
Age

c
to

Y1

::1 /

daikon

fried tofu and daikon radish

Deep-fried tofu and daikon

age (or abura age) is deep-fried tofu, and daikon (literally, "large/
great root") is a large, long, white radish that can be as big as a
person's arm. Age and daikon- besides being neither meat nor
fish- are seen as frugal, "down-home" type foods.

30 Mangajin

7:jE,~@.p Fuji Santaro

to
-fj-r?

Sanpei

Sa

by

-fj-~~1
December 27, 1976

:liHr 7- J...
Kaigai ryokO biimu

7$:~1-

:<$:~fto

honkaku-ka.

overseas travel boom intensifies/becomes serious

The overseas travel boom intensifies.

OJ

Son: 6.11

li?
Rokugatsu wa?
sixth mootJJ as for

''What's the sixth month?" (PL2)

~:

Jkf!lJlo

Minazuki.
''Tbe waterless month." (PL2)
the son's question is infonnally cut short; it might continue,
" Rolcugatsu wa nan to iimasu lw ?'' Likewise, da or desu is understood at the end of Fuji's response.
minazuki Oit "month without water") is a classical/poetic name for
the sixth month on the traditional lunar calendar. On the modern
calendar, the sixth month, or June, is usually quite wet, but the
sixth lunar month typically came a month or more later in the solar
cycle, a much drier time of year.

Son: 1011
Jiigatsu

tenth month as for

g_

"What's the tenth month?" (PL2)

:ii

"'~
"'~

F uji: :ftll1!!f:Ji o
Kannazuki.

"The godless month." (PL2)

"
~

kannazuki (or kaminazuki, lit. "month without gods") is a classical/

poetic name for the tenth lunar month. The name reflects the belief
that the gods gathered for an annual convention at Izumo during
that month, and so were absent from the rest of the country.

1:ii
~

!l

c::

.."

0
"J:l

Arrows: ~~
lsha

Doctor

Lar&e arrow:

ii
;:o

""

if;i~

Kaigai

Overseas

li

!l

0-shogatsu

c::
~

li?
wa?

first month/New Year's as for

" What's the first month?" (PL2)

Fuji: ~1!!1:Ji o
7J -t! rt <~ o

g_
:ii

Jnazuki.

"'1;1

10

"'

l:t?
wa?

Kaze hiku na.

doctor-less month co ld don' t catch

76 1227

"The doctorless month. Don't catch cold!"

(PL2)
starting with the first kanji from isha ("doctor"), he coins a new
name modeled on the others that literally means "month without
doctors."
na after the dictionary form of a verb can make a prohibition/
negative command, so kaze (o) hiku na ="don't catch a cold."

Mangajin 31

7=J'E~@.p Fuji Santaro

-ifr? -if~"' 1
by

Sa to

Sanpei

March 2, 1980
~~/v

Okusan

IJ{
ga

~J.>

(/)

1;1:

~t'!.;

-z'"ib'->o

okoru

no

wa

tozen

de aru.

wife-(hon.) (subj.) get angry (nom.) as for natural/j ustifiable

is

It's only natural that a wife would get angry.

no makes the complete thought/sentence okusan ga okoru ("the wife gets
angry") act as a single noun, and wa marks it as the topic of the sentence:
"as for a wife getting angry, [it's naturaVjustifiable]."
de aru is a more formal/"Literary" equivalent of desu.

OJ

Text: ~BIB

Ketsu-yobi

lack day

Lacking Day
the made-up word ketsu-yobi is close to the reading of JJ BIB
getsuyobi ("Monday"). She appears to be doing the family accounts.
yobi refers specifically to "weekday"; it's not used for "day" in
other contexts.

@~sa: B
[}]

Text: ~BIB

Ka-yobi

.R

song day

lii

Singing Day

"''9..
"'-a

the made-up word ka-yobi is a homonym of )(llfi B kayobi

(''Tuesday").

B7l8

"
~

@]

1l

""

.......

-a

Rh B~ 8

..!!!

.;;=

the made-up word sui-yobi is a homonym of * BI B suiyiibi

("Wednesday") .

_;;::.

Text: BIB

Moku-yobi

til

eye day

1
tl

-a
~

Sui-yobi
intoxication day

.:

..,"0

Text: ~BIB

Drinking Day

:!

.:

Ogling Day

"o/~ 81:8

.R

the made-up word moku-yobi is a homonym of *Ill B mokuyobi

("Thursday").

Text: MjBIB
Kin-yobi

Muscle Day

lii

"''9..
"'

the made-up word kin-yobi is a homonym of ~BIB kinyObi

("Friday").

flO 3. 2

Text: ~81l B

Do-yobi
Anger Day

the made-up word do-yobi is a homonym of llfj! B doyobi

("Saturday").

32 Mangajin

,,

Santaro

Fuji
Sa

by

r7

(brand name)

~ 1&: ~.X. 7

Sanpei

July 14, 1980

~~, -?
t, fliT (!) ?Jt~J

v .:e- ;..-J e:

"Mama Remon "

to

iu

to

naT/tae no senzai

tJf
ga

(quote) say/called name wi1h detergent (subj.)

:a: t!i ~"(It' f.:

oki na

shea

large

share (obj.)

shimete ita.
held/had

A dishwashing liquid called " Mama Lemon" held a large

share of the market.

IT] Newspaper:

:::1

~/

" - ?' /

~ .t ? iJ' t:J

Kopenhagett

Kyo

kara

Copenhagen

today

from

Copenhagen
t!t~

Starting Today

~A

~;a

Sekai Fujin

Kaigi

world women meeting

International Women~s Conference

lf~
Byiido

Equality

IT)

On bottle: ~~~~ v.:e- ;.Papa Remon

(imagined brand name)

Papa Lemon

80 7 14

Mangajin 33

-It 7 'J -

:W: :t~ Salaryman Senka

I
Gp~J

7b JJ

\ f

tz.

)J\
.<.._15_

/~

t cf} )))
~
~
<
\
lr~_;

r.;,t-p

'fl
Lf7

- l~Lf\.
d-

!=.

..........

]"
\

-s

.........

'-'

'--'

\~
'

'

'-. (r-

! '--

),,,

')

i (/

I
~

f6l

\ I

tl

,.../

ShOji Sadao. All rights reserved. First published in Japan in 1989 by Kodansha, Tok:yo. English translation rights arranged through Kodansha.

34 Mangajin

~(

IT

Title: 1J-7 1) - 7 / .!}J:f4

Sarariiman
Senka
Sala man Seminar
sarariiman combines katakana renderings of the English words "salary" and "man" for a word referring to a salaried
employee, usually a white-collar office worker (male only).
senka really refers to a "specialized course," but we stretched this to "seminar," even though the words seminli
and zeminliru are also used to mean "seminar" in Japanese.

[!]

Anow: "' i ~ -:> -r .Q

~ .U
Jma tsukane-ru nu!ishi
now

is using business card

Business card he's usl111 now.

~M
KK
~-~~
Bussan Kabushiki-gaisha Ei8%-ka

On card: *-0

Daimaru

Hl"P

TlJIUJka

~
Susumu

{proper name) producu joint-stock co. sales teCtioo (surname) (liven name)
Daimaru Corporation
Sales Section Tanaka Susumu

tsukatte-ru is a contraction of tsukatte iru, from tsukau ("use"). lmD tsukane-ru is a complete thougbllaentence
modifying meishi ("business card").
-J:::. tkli, meaning "large/great," occurs in many Japanese trade names, and 0 , read maru, generally represeuts a blaDk.
so this DaimDru Bussan could be translated literally as "Great _ _ Products." But, since the artist problbly
intended a play on the stereotypical company name -J:::.jt DaimDru, we've kept it as a proper name
the word bussan in a company name frequently denotes a trading company, but it is generally omiaed in lbe
English name.
eigyo means "business operations," but eigylJ-ka (lea "department/section") is invariably the section of tbc
company in charge of sales/marketing.

Tanaka: c' ?
Do

}j..

-r {>

;:p: fL

mite mo

heibon

t.t lv t!..
na n da

.t

-t- - o

yo

nli.

how even if look ordinary/plain (ex plan.) (em ph.) (emph.)

"No matter how ou look at it it's ' ust too plain." (PL2)
do - te mo, with a verb filling in the blank, makes the expression, "no matter how [one does the action]."

Tanaka: btl.btl.
Wareware
we

~-

eigyo

1;1: 3Lf.:f.t ( t ~1,\~>/vo

wa medaraiUJkucha ikan.

sales [dept.] as for

must be conspicuous

"Those or us In sales need to stand out more." (PL2)

metkltanakucha ikan is a contraction of metkltanakule wa iUMi, a "must/have to" fonn of the verb m.edl.lt.ru
("stand out/be conspicuous" -- "make an impression"). 1be contraction ikan for ikmai is used mostly by meo.

Sign: ~ WTJ
~n.llliJ
Meishi lnsatsu
Business Card Printin
Arrow:

*13

Mokume

).. IJ
-m

wood grain conlaining/including

With wood crain

-iri (from ).. .Q iru, "contain/be included in") is a suffix meaning the thing it follows has been inserted into or
included inside/within the item.

Arrow: ~~t
Kinbuchi

-?~

-tsuki

gold rim auachedfincluded

With old rim

-tsuki (from tsuku, "stick/attach") is a suffix meaning the thing it follows has been included with or attached onto
the item.

Mangajin 35

36 Mangajin

Arrow: ~

Washi

tradiliooal Japanese paper

Japanese wtJSIIi paper

the kanji ~ wa is used to indicate items that are of native/traditional Japanese origin. It is a reference to *tO. read
Yamato, which was the name of the area around present-day Nara where the first central government of Japan aro&e,
and which therefore became one of the first names for referring to Japan as a whole.

.:. (J) fD*

Tanaka: 7 /,
Un,

kono washi

uh-huh

this

ni shiyo.

washi will choose/make it

"Yeah, I think I'll use this washi." (PL2)

l~<-r
lil'b
Ef :!T.--=>o
Shibukute,

shika"w

medatsu.

tasteful/simple and in addition stands out

" It has a kind of subdued a

eal and it' ll make an im ression." (PL2)

~ ni shiyiJ is the volitional ("let's/I'IVI think I'll") form of the expression ~ ni suru, which indicates a choice is
being made: "I' II have/make it/choose - ."
shibukute is the -te form of the adjective shibui, which has a wide range of meanings but when speaking of aesthetic
things usually refers to the quiet/simple/subdued kind of appeal associated with traditional or antique items.

Tanaka: r~ 1-'~o
Domo domo. I
{greeting)

.:.lv~

f'l::>f.:

Kondo

tsukutta washi rw meishi desu.

this time/recently made

lfl.

(J)

washi

of

~-J 't'To
meisbi

is

"How do you do. This Is the WtJSIIi business card I bad made recently." (PL3)
domo is a shortened dOmo, which is basically an emphasizer meaning "indeed/really/quite" but is often used as an
all-purpose greeting. This shortened form feels a little infonnal, but the word is inherently polite because it's used
with so many polite greetings. In this scene, Tanaka is apparently calling on a c ustomer or prospect.
kondo is literally "this time/occasion," but it can also mean "recently," "now," or "soon/next time," depending on
the context.
the complete thought/sentence kondo tsukutta modifies the combination washi rw meishi ("business card made of
washi").

FX:

J.,--;;

Mat
(effect of suppressed displeasure/anger)

[1]

Customer: it!. tilt'

(thinking) Mada walcai
still

<tH: 51- (J) -:c

kuse ni jibun rw koto

to

?"'./ t!.~lv-ro I .:.(J) ;'\:IJ!

washi da nante. I Korw balca!

is young in spite of oneself 's thing (obj.) lime

(quote)

this idiot/fool

''Callin& himself wtJSIIi when he,s still so young What an idiot!, (PL2)
Tanaka: :t o 'l
Oro?

"Huh?,,
the humor/confusion arises from the fact that washi is also a word for "lime" used by middle-aged and older men.
The customer thinks washi rw meishi means "my business card" rather than "business card made of washi," and
takes offense that the much younger Tanaka presumes to use a word for "lime" that is above his station. Strictly
speaking, the two washis are not quite identical, since their pitch accent is different when they are pronounced
properly (the pronoun starts low and rises on the second syllable, while the paper starts high and drops low on the
second syllable), but it's not at all unusual for even native speakers of Japanese to confuse such distinctions (when
speaking or listening) or to miss them altogether (when listening).
~ da nante is a colloquial quotative fonn that implies the situation described is outrageous/ridiculous.
oro is an interjection of surpriselbewildennent when something does not go as expected.

Mangajin 37

~American ComlcsW////////////////////////////////////////////////////4
ALTHOUGH IT WOULD BE
ILLEGAL TO 5EARCI1 YOUR
CAR OR HOI"\E. FOR
ILLEG/\L DRUG~ .. .

~TAR1li\IG

TODAY1 THE.
COMPANY WILL &GIN
RI\NDOM DR.UG TE~TING.

DllBERT:~,_

WE tiAVE fOUND NO
ETt\tCAL f>ROBLEf"\
WlTI-1 ~OCKING THE
BLOOD OUT OF YOU~

~E.SULTS Will

OODY. )

BE f'05TED
lN Tt\E

CAf ETE.RII\.
3
Dilben reprinted/translated by permission of United Media, New York.

[!] JI.QII: "'Starting todaY the COOXHlllY will begin random drug testing.
'/J't;,, t>t>tt "'r' li

*B
tbil day

tt.M

~:~-t .0 Ut~tr~

WGgasha de WQ
main ,.; toisluv
oar c:o. .a as for employees 1arJebna

HOitjilnl kllra,
from

nuki-uchi

t-7 7 ~

lha

aaprise

:At- i

~t>Qo

test

'}

~SIIIO

doroggu

0 lrtljblten&.
(obj.) wiD ...,

~T
.A J- <ii,ii) ~Vl~tri? -d'ft?::. Co *~~~~;l~ 7 T -t:r :t ..( ~-f'l)
1:.
I..*""'
LA.ti
.:. : _,
A.
f"'IA.
&:e.,L.C.
SQJ r7-:~ ~nf:tf~QJ~JIIJIII:tti! t... "Cv' .O t.:~. JIJJJI:A t... "C ~::. tt.nf~c ~ .O o tii~&;tA.t.f:lt~ J:.,.,
~-r:1. t-~~l--r.o1tiinf~t>~"(i"'o
t t.:, ~ifi~. tfi,:i~nt.>i'i~ft?~ii~~tJ, WJ::Mfflll)
-t' C '
A.'C"-L
....'Ct
!lt .r..
JC-:>L (
-""-1'
t"' t..
t ff-1
..

random drug testing l;tr7 7

:to(P\.f~

.t...,
~

A.~\.

~LI

~trc..z<

1~:1. ~ ~QJilti;-=F&:&i -~tJt!nt, ti!i:~li ttf'i~ ~QJ~It~ (,~-r .Oik~'~i "C'It

t.:~
?f
At.
L.A."''
-"*''

.O o l...f)
::.?.,....
t...t.: tr7
7 ~7:1. H: :t~ L.. "Cii,
.o.t
t
-t.OJirt ~ <. aDQJIJc ~ ? "Cit'.O o

[II

*~-~1:R..O i

11:, 7'7 -1' 1f~-Q)fiW~~.Q I! l.."C'IiUt

Boss: "Although jt would be illegal to search your car or home for illegal drugs .. ."
U.ft (J) II ~ 13 ~
;.;$ ~~
tf~-t 7.1 .:
li t!tl!:
Shain

-r:

no kuruma ya jitaku de

employee's

car

or

a-

home at/in illegal

drugs

~t

(obj.)

search

A:.A.l,.J <\

-r:

wa horitsu de

thing as for

law

by

~ t: ? tt "t" "'
kinjirarete in1
is forbidden

.o

1Jr .. .
ga . . .
but

~:b~

Ill 1

li r-~ ;tt ':>"C (WJWf) ~ ~i"J o

search(place) for Although - ,

iho yakubutsu o siisaku suru koto

l. t'?

,1:.$:A.

'?t

'?"1

r- t.:,ttt.c (>, J o .:.o:>)Ct;'to:>;EJmt-J)7f li)jzo:> :J "71:*'C< o

kinjirarete iru Is from kinjirareru, the passive form of kinjiru ("forbid").

r=:----

[!1 llgg: "We have found no ethical problem with sucking the blood out of your body.
lltl (J) # 'IJ>t:J Jfn. a- IPlv'lll.O.: c ~: li -faJ:!(!(J IUJII f)f ~~~\
sltobm no kllrada ktJro chi o
sui-toru kolo ni wa rinri-teki mortdai ga
you .u 's bodies from blood {obj.) suck uplout thina in as for edlical problem {subj.)

Besulls will be posted jo the cafeteria."

M* li '}] 7 :L. T ') 7 1: ft7FT .0

/Cnuo keklw

1e11

WG

raults as for

knfe~ria

ni

lceiji suru.

cafeteria

in

will post

.:

'IJf

b'il'~f:.o

NJi
koto
ft1 . . , _
110( eltisl utallioa (lllbj.) .......

lt..,.. .A./!"' 0:~ 4

....
have found no ethical problem li, Jl:f:QJftj~, ~lifiiJ (,R.-?f)>; ~il' ? f.:.::. c ~t'*T .Oo problem wlfi t, : 1'

..A..

f!J, Jvf!.t,\

f- 1:118-t.O~MJ

38 Mangajin

11'5 f\ VIOLATION OF

WHY HIWE YOU

REfUSED TO 5UBI"\LT TO OUR
EMPLOYE t DRUG

MY PIUV/\CY 1\ND 1\N

BUT YOUR
IN5ULT TO MY INTEGRrTY.
1 DE.M/\N D TO BE JUDGE.D r PE RFORMI'\N(E.
ONLY ON MY PERFOI\r'\!\NCt. ~ STlNK5.

TE~TlNG?

PERFORI"\1\NCE
AND !\TIEND-

1\NCE. .

II

Dilben reprinted/translated by pennission of United Media, New York .

= .... -.

. . . . . ....._ .,.to '""'toM . . . . . drug tlilllqT

~i
.,.~ t ~lt.f ::l: t- I!Lt.: ~t!.

LYu "'"'?

JaMir
....,

....

tl

.,.

i:clfo

tl

(CIIIj.) .......... (CIIIj.)

LA.!,

._...

iyo/U 6ltlta
.......

!lao

l&tt~'l'~.: l: t-ft't.O.

-------[3]

tte?

(nplla.)(colloq.)

C!Jf,A.

....... - at r-.~~ ~jltt.tt..<tt~J .:t .:0-a-:~~

~a.. ~~ ..-~, ~T ~ 1- t-it.o.: t

n?

II dfl

. . ., ,

~T ~

"t-1tt.o t "'~

t-Mi t..~iM.ll:ii ~n.oi~~fl>.o o

Dilbert: "It's a violation of my privacy and an insult to my integrity.

~3!1: l;l:
f/.,(J) '1'711\';/- (J) ~i!f "t:,
f/.,(J)
W~~

~:~;J'T.O . f~~

"t:To

Kensa wa watashi no puraibashii

no shingai de, watashi no seijitsu sa ni tai suru bujoku desu.

test

of violation and

as for

my

privacy

my

integrity

regarding

insult

is

I demand to be judged only on my performance."

(J)
~- t.:~t -zo ~JltJT L-"(
~ "'o

fr$

Shigoto no
work

jisseki

dake

<t.:

de

handan shire kudasai.

of performance only (means)

please judge

Ill) ~~

ill .:,Q):t.Yrg.

t.. .L -) t

if?...{~

..-1.\.:?

o&

integrity I rrot~/i}Ulf/iEilJ
be judged on -

....,~1\?

7"7 .A~ ~m L., a violation t an insult

~7 'J

r-

1.: J:

1:' :f'Jj ltff ~ tl. J.> J

IIMltl
,...,

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

,..,.h ................. (......)

1: .,...,... ,

..

U.:'

1:1 V'~"' '~ f!. -fPo

LP.Ci#.) U

......, . , . , }1.-M

t.t. to

,........,..101 .....

..

.A. l.. t

l... 1:' .:.Q))Cf,t:<7Yfi!i~t ~ ? \:'v'J.> o

It A.!~ A.

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

lil -

l.!lk~IJ

,., -

(I

...........

~~
jlllq6
. . . . wad: ........ C>l Ilk

l:

tll.ft

.......

.:_,:

~0
..

<->
-

.,,.

lllnkli rA~t'J l:~t,~ftl!*, C8"t'li rt::d.:{~.)lf!/~ftlv"t'~~~~''i~CH:'~t'J ~"'~-l:ft~

n..r..

Mangajin 39

WHAT WOlJLD 't'OU 5AY 15 MY 8E5T

CHARACTER TRAIT, GARFIELD?

0 1994 Paws. All rights reserved. Distributed by Universal Press Syndicate.

[!]

Jon: "What would you saY js my best character trait. Garfield?"

"Jf- 7 1 - Jv r\ If< Q) tt~ Q) - tt v' v' t .:. -? li
Glljiirudo,

bok.u no st!ikaku no ichiban

(name)

1/me

wouldyousay - li,
~? ~!..

most

good

JJtt

H~

6.1.

's character of

ii

fiiJ t!. t .\!!,-)?

tokoro wa nan da to omou?
pan as for what is (quote) think

"'"'"

f~~t.:li - t.!t:.'e',-J:OJ .!::~t,-Ji:J!;f;:'t", .:.:'t"li Whatismy bestcharactertralt tit"

t:-r

? Wr,, I:DG t... 't' t? .\!1.? 1J t~b. 't' "' J.> b (J)o
~

t:(~zi

41''"1,.?

tl..'"'>

character trait rtt~/11t'l/~Jl:/~WJ o

ichiban means "number one/first." but it's also the word used to modify adjectives to give the meaning of "most
- : li = "good," so lchiban ii = "most good" - "best.

Garfield:

"Your ability to order pizza."

olf ~ iJti' 0
fi~:t.J t!. Q o
Piza o clu'imon suru niiryoku da ne.

pizza (obj.)

order

capability is (colloq.)

[!] Garfield: "And I'm not just saying that."

*;, r,

.13-ltt.:

t.:~~~~\

oseji

ja nai

yo.

truth

flattery

is not

(emph.)

Honto,

.to

..

SoundFX: ~
~"E~"E

"'

... ~ \

.:.:~

I'm(= I am) not just saying that ft.: t.!-t- HJ? -r"' J.> t.!lt't"li ~ "'J li fo;tt.!lt't'~ < -r .(.,1J'; of? .\!1,? /

iHt L. L. {' ~lt 'J

..

..,
.1:: "' -J i:'*l:-ft:btt-0
"(
.,.,.
"';,.

pat patti
r~>-~:--J ~t-. .f.'t"ft< t.:t.:"'t.:IJ,
?>)>

l..'t''ft-J o
honto is shortened from hont/5 ("truth").

40 Mangajin

:.

.=.

tt,t,\

~~

Ji''""'

r"'"'T"'"'=t-/~'t'~'t"J ~t:._ ~'t"J.>ti'fr(J)~:mt:

Spurning the traditional squat toilet, trendy Japanese

homeowners are turning to a lavish lavatory Innovation.

Rise of the ''washlet''

by Laura Kriska

When should a toilet do more than flush? The questio n may

sound like an bizarre Zen koan, but it's not. It is a question
millions of consumers in Japan have answered in the past few
years. A toilet should do more than flush when it is a hightech toilet, otherwise known as a "washlet." This innovative
type of toilet has been revolutionizing bathrooms throughout
Japan, where more than 10 million washlets have been sold
since their popularity soared in the 1980s.
Perhaps hearing the words high-tech and toilet together
makes you a little nervous, but don't worry. Although the
features on washlets may vary, they are all designed for optimum comfort. A washlet does everything a standard Westem toilet does, only it does more and it does it better-albeit
for a higher installation price.
The "wash" in washlet i a bidet-like spray which cleans
the user on demand. A remote control activates the duration
and pressure of the water spray from a retractable nozzle.
Another function found in washlets is an odor-eliminating fan
system that is automatically activated by sitting on the seat.
Some washlets come with a warm-air drying functio n and most
also have a seat-warming device to make the washier an
exceptionally comfortable place to sit. Less common but more
specialized features are also available, including blood pressure measurement and urinalysis.

Toilets
of old:
Lac k ing a
seat the
traditional
Japanese
toilet
requires no
unhygenic
bodily
contact and
is t herefore
still popular
in public
restrooms

like this one.

42 Mangajin

Washlet technology was originally developed in the United

States by Arnold Cohen, founder and CEO of American
Bidet, and has been used to assist people with medical problems. General application of the wash let idea took place after
the technology reached Japan in the 1960s and manufacturers
there saw the potential for creating a viable consumer product.
Because of the ease and comfort of use, washlets first became
a hit with the elderly. Soon, however, consumers of all ages
recognized the benefits of the washlet, and today more than
20 percent of all Japanese homes have one.
The luxurious washlets may see.m like the antithesis of
traditional Japanese squat toilets, which are still the most prevalent type of toilet in public places. Squat toilets require the
user to literally squat over a ceramic bas in in the floor.
Although these toilets may be uncomfortable to use, they are
more sanitary than other types of toilets and for this reason
maintain their prominent position in Japanese bathroom culture.
The reason for the success of wash lets in homes is that they
provide useful functions that consumers value: personal cleanliness and comfort. One washlet owner says that she first
considered using one because it just made sense."lt's like washing your hands," she says. Another owner claims that he has
become addicted to his washlet. " I got so used to the comfon
of my washlet that I can't use public restrooms anymore."
While few American manufacturers have pursued washlet
technology, many Japanese companies, including Panasonic,
Toto, and NAIS, continue to compete for the still-growing
market. The most successful of these companies, Toto, has
captured around 56 percent of the washlet market in Japan
and has made significant efforts in the past two years to break
into the American market.
Toto's first challenge was to develop a washlet that met
the specific needs of the American consumer. After some
delicately acquired market research, they discovered that many
American consumers d id not like the air drying feature which
was standard on J apanese washlets. A complex panel of
control buttons also had to be simplified. With the help of Turkish-born product designer Ayse Birsel, Toto produced the zoe
(written in chic lower-case letters), a streamlined washlet with
smooth, sloping contours that has won design awards from the
Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design and

Industrial Design Magazine.

T oto felt that the washlet would do well in the American

market because of its innovative nature and its focus on good
health and cleanliness. Toto also knew, however, that its washing function might fall into the realm of bathroom taboo. To
counter this obstacle, Toto markets the American wash let based
largely on its comfort.
The zoe, like other washlets, is actually a toilet seat which
can be attached to most existing Western-sty le toilets. The cost
is between $600-$800. USA Bidet and American Bidet each
make a simple water-spray attachment which costs around $ 100
and can be easily attached to an existing toilet seat. Panasonic
offers a full-featured washJet called Inti-Mist with water spray.
seat warmer, and air drier for $900-$ 1.000.
Since their introductio n in the United States, washlets
have slowly been making their mark. Toto c laims that sales
have steadily climbed to around I ,000 units per month. It's
been reported that several large hotels throughout the country
have installed washJets in response to customer requests. And
the award-winning zoe model is even on di play at an art
gallery in Soho.
Cohen, however, predicts that American consumers will be
slow to accept full-featured washlets because use of the product
requires behavior modification. "Tushy washing is not easily
discussed in America," says Cohen. " We're asking consumers
to change behavior that they don't even want to talk about.''
The key for washlet succe among American consumers may therefore be education. Several unsu pecting users
have reported confusing first encounters with wa. hlets in
Japan: One man used the water spray to wash his hands;
an other curious user, unable to read the directions in

Ji

fJ

Fretty
potty: The
washlet-a
toilet seat that
washes and (in
Japan) air
dries the
user -has
a handy
remote
control device.
Pictured here
is Toto's
zoe model
wash let.

Japane e. got a wet urprise when she started testing the

console buttons before sitting down.
Although toilet techno logy hasn' t changed much in the
past 80 years, it may not be long before Westerners agree, as
many Japanese consumers have, that a toilet in the '90s should
do more than just tlush.

lAura Krisko 's book, An Accidental Office Lady, will be

published this summer by Charles E. Tuule Publishing.
Sl'l' our

\\l'b~ik

lor loild

Iiili\~!

\\\\\\ rn.rrrq.tjill.( orn

The (omplele Bookstore for Teachers and Students of Japanese

Om 1000 titlrs milable
)almost rnry lllle publlshrd in hpanl
Alull ringe of hilrdtoftnd lmh~ng &
fuming millrriilfs-tassrnts, Yidro
taprs,nmputrr soltwilre, maps, games
Exdusivr ilgrnllor Bonjlnsha

1970 !f.li

rz:

$MSW~~ ~~ ~fimM~fi~
JJDffi~Hi ~~m~

OEFL '/ 7 :;z

~~t7~~~A~~~~~~mtmo

lure of Bonjinsha and Japan Publications

fer afrrr catalog, plrm t~ll!fax:
The Water Garden, Suite #160 East
2m West Olympit Boulevard
Santil t.lonicil, (illilorniil IJ(W04.4QJ6
Telephone )310)4S31022
fmimile )310)4S38022
for wholmle orders, plem tillllfu:
IPTRAOING,INL
San frulisto, Cillifornia
Telephone )41Sj 468017S

fmimilt (415j46UIJJ8

e ~r:l;;tiJRr.::a="t o { ~jjij ~~l )

? v :; ';I ~ ~ - t: 0) s ~ ~I t OK !
*- k~~1 ~~. * ~ffiB o

o-~t :.--i!Jt.-.::q~ . ~~-~t-Tr~t ~

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PASADENA~

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Fax:(213) 3659131
392 1 Wilshire Blvd. Suile 410

Fax:(818) 4493280
350 s. Lake Ave . Suire 200

Los Angeles, CA 90010

Pasadena, CA 91101

Mangajin 43

 Maeda Tsukasa. All rights rcM:rved. First published in Japan in 1988 by Kodansha. Tokyo. English translation rights arranged through Kodansha.

54 Mangajin

 taiyaki is a traditional Japanese sweet- a fish-shaped "griddle cake" filled with an ("sweet bean paste"). The name is a
combination of tai ("sea bream'') and yaki (the noun form of yaku, "roast/bake/toast").

[!)

Sound FX: I! 11 7
Pika!

Flash! (effect of sudden burst of light or, in this case, lightning)

::to 7
Goral

Rumble! (sound of thunder)

..Y- ..YZii

1)1

(sound of pouring rain)

117 7 117 7
Koral

/carat

(sharp, staccato sound of wooden geta striking pavement as be runs)

Kosuke: b Fii

"Phew."
FX: -+fZii
(sound of pouring rain)

Volc:e: l.,-:>ll i"t'

~1v::..

tJt A-:>"t"-0

~- o

ga h/Jitt~-ru yij.
bean paste (subj.) is inside (emph.)
"Filled with bean paste all the way to the taU!" (PL2)

Shippo fMtle
tail
untiVup to

anko

.E

;f. I} :L - A
t!. ~ - 0
Boryiimu
mant~n da
yij.
volume
full_points is (emjlll.)

''Tbey're really ftlling!" (PL2)

Sound FX: ..YZii

(sound of pouring rain)

anko is a more colloquial word for an, the sweet bean paste/jam that is a mainstay ingredient of traditional Japanese
sweets. It's made from a wide variety of beans. most commonly from azuki.
h/Jitte-(i)ru, from the verb hairu ("enter/go into"), means "is inside," or for food items, often "is ftlled with."
boryiimu is a katakana rendering of the English word "volume," and when speaking of food refers to the size/bulk of the
pieces/portions.
manten is literally "full points"- i.e., a score of 1()()%..-so boryiimu manten means "the size is perfect/leaves nothing to
be desired'' -- "is really big" - "really fills you up."

~,.iii

1 "MANGAJIN

See the complete Mangaj in catalog online!

http://www.mangajin.com
Mangajin 55

* Jl

Jj{

t:: ;.... ;f.-~ ii5"':: .:1. 7' Jt-

Dai- Tokyo Binbo Seikatsu Manyuaru

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

f.J .-{ ~'

1J1 ~ I_,

"'f

~ ~'
~
~'
t_,

i" l;t
f.J

~'

53 :::t -'t
f9v(J)

L-en~
iJ' ;f.
tt "r
iJ' "/
?

t: 1:
l;t

56 Mangajin

OJ

(I]

Sign-Left: ~ft

SoundFX: l!'b
Pika

Nadai

Flash
-!f-

Famous
Sip-Center: f.: \1 ~ ~

Zii
(sound of pouring rain)

Taiyaki

Taiyaki

::tO'/

Sign-Rigbt: ~ill!

Goral

Aoba

Rumble!

(name)

Lowersign:

\1>-:;.U~ 70F9!!
lppiki
nanajii-en
one count
70 yen

Oishii

oishii

taiyaki

wa

tasty

taiyaki

as for

\;>fJfJ~

"t"T fJ-?

ikaga

desu

kii?

is

(?)

how

?Itt"( t t.:~ !!
got wet-(regret)

"I'm soaked!" (PL2)

Sound FX: -ifZii
(sound of pouring rain)

;\~-\' ''~""

FX: liil? -

Basha

basha

Splash splash

Hoii

(effect of mouth-watering aroma wafting

his way)

\1' -::> u~ 70F9!!

lppiki
nanajii-en
one count
70 yen
70 yen each!!

Narration: -i:(f) 11\j,

basha

Nurete motii!!

ippiki is a combination of ichi ("one") and -hiki, the counter

for most small- to medium-sized animals, including fish; -hiki
changes to -pilei for euphony.

Basha

Splash splash

IT] Young man:

''How about a tasty, delicious taiyaki?!"

(PL3)

~=

Hyii

"Yikes!"
Sound FX: ; <: ~ -t ; <: ~ -\'

70 yeo each!!
Vendor: .i>\1' L.\1' il\1' L.\1' 71-\'o\'- li
tasty

Voice: V'-t>~

;;f]/(f) :f- 7 y ~

So no toki, ore no poke/to

pocket
that time my
L. iJ' tj: i.l' -::> t.:. 0
53F9
goji'isan-en shika nakatta.
had only
53 yen

r:

,;~:

ni wa
in as for

nurete motii is dialect for nurete shimatta, the -te form of

nureru ("get wet") with the plain/abrupt past form of shimau
("finish/end/c lose"). Adding a form of shimou to another
verb can mean that the action is completely finished, or that
the resul~ is undesirable/regrettable. Here, both meanings
could apply.

Vendor: .to\I>L.\1' 71-\'o\'Oishii

tasty

[;!:

taiyaki wa
taiyaki as for

\1' iJ'fJ{ 't""t iJ' - ?

ikaga
how

desu
is

kii?
(?)

" How about a delicious taiyaki?!"

At that time I had onl

pocket. (PL2)

(PL3)

Sound FX: 7'7' Gu gi'i

(sound of stomach growling)

ore is an informaVabrupt masculine word for "1/me."
shika nakatta is the past form of shika nai ("have only/have
nothing but/have no more than"). Shika is always followed
by a negative verb or adjective.

~~---iliA

""MANGAJIN

Jm 8 *m$i~Jjt~ffi~~ti o
http://www. mangajin.com
Mangajin 57

*:iiOiU:' /

58 Mangajin

;f{ -

j:_ii5" .=.

.::1.

7' Jl- Dai- Tokyli Binbo Seikatsu Manyu_a_ru_ _ _ _ _ __

Sign:

[!]Young man: ::::: <-:>

Goku!

Gulp (effect of swallowing)

.:e:- =- / 7'
Magazine: :iflj
Shiikan

Ano,

30fii

(sound of pouring rain)

11

su is a contraction of the explanatory no desu.

0-c

~ lvt!o

Youngman:

~-.Oiitl

I see

20 yen (explan.-is)

l:t

~ ~?

kau

(/)

1t c'--c"L.J: ~?

a little

-t-t)~

Sorya

lt'lt'!!
ii!!

as for that good/fine

"Aha! That's a great idea!!" (PL2)

Sound FX: -IfZii
naruhodo. expresses new comprehension/understanding, as
in "1 see/1 get it/Aha!"

Both:

chotto .. .

It'-:> ll~ !!

lppiki!!

"I'm afraid not "

R~

ippiki

yii

Niirulzodo!

one count

ttsii is a colloquial equivalent of the quotative to iu ("say - ").

110 turns the entire phrase Shippo dnke ttsii into a noun, and
wa marks it as the topic of the sentence: "as for saying 'only
a tail' ..."
soryii is a contraction of sore wa ("as for that").
clzotto ="a little," and soryii clzotto is short for something like
sore wa cholto dekimasen, literally, "That's a little impossible." Chotto is often used this way to "soften" a negative
reply, or to avoid actually having to say the negative word.

Kosuke: 20fil

"'-:> ll ~

"bow about we buy one by POOling our

funds?" (PL3)

"I've only got 20 yen to my name.

Couldn't I have just a tail?" (PL2)
Vendor: -t- t) ~ ;b t, .1: -:> c .. .
Soryii

-r:

de

no
wa
dO deshii?
(quote) say (nom.) as for how would it be

Shippo dnke
ttsii
no wa dame ?
tail
only (quote)-say (nom.) as for no good

as for that

~~

tte

Zen-ZJJisan nijii-ell na n da.

(/)

shusshi

joint/cooper. investment (means) one count buy

Breakdown of the 70 yen

"? ""?-

I:IH~

Kyodo

uchiwake

20fil

but

Zii

of breakdown/distribution

L. "? l;r' t!!t

1v:;.. nt .. .
11 su ga .. .

mal)

K05uke: ~Iii]

20fii

Nanajii-en no

total assets

-c 1.>

Young man: X.?

E?
' 'Huh?"
Sound FX: -If-

20 yen, 30 yen, 20 yen

Below fish: ?Op:j
(/)
~ t, bIt

Young man: @lit~

:Jiif-:>

"Uhh, I have 50 en so .. ." (PL3-infor-

Nij1"i-en san;u-en nl}u-en

70 yen

v sop:]

ore goju-en motte-ru

(interj.) 1/me 50 yen am carrying (explan.)

shiiluln means "weekly publication," and is often used at the

head of weeldy magazine titles, and moningu is the katakana
rendering of the English word "morning." Kodansha's
Shiikan Moningu is the periodical in which this manga was
serialized.
taiyaki are made by pouring pancake-like batter into the two
sides of a fish-shaped mold, and putting a generous dollop
of bean paste on one side. When the batter is nearly cooked,
the one side is flipped onto the other, completing the beanpaste filled "sea bream."

Above fish: 20F9

?Op:j
nana;u-en

Kosuke: <b (J), :t

Moningu

Week/LMominr

ll ~

70yeneach

weekl,ryub. morning

1t'-:>

lppiki

"One!!"
Vendor: li v'.t !!
Hai yo!f

" Right!"
hai yo is an infonna!/friendly hai ("yesiOK/sure/right"),
with the yo in this case having more of a softening effect
than an emphatic one. Frequently used by shopkeepers, it
can be thought of as equivalent to the English phrase,
"Coming right up!"

50fil

(thinking) Nijii-en I gojt"i-en

20 yen, 50 yen

~~---iliA

'MANGAJIN

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http://www .mangajin.com
Mangajin 59

_ _ _ _ __

60 Mangajin

---=-.:
*-~
Jt!:.:....:.Jii:
~
t:_
;..-___;
;f_
, _1:.
=.:.::..
~=--v.::. .:1 7' JL-

Dai- Tokyo Binbo Seikatsu Many_u_

a r_u _ _ __

Vendor:

-e~

li L-::>11 t.:lt

'Ff(J)

UciU no wa shippo lklke de mo

ours

tail

as for

3 'J(J)

yoso no

only even with the others'

-m;~

li

~J.>

jpt:J

ippiki-bun

wa

aru

kara

t.l.-o

ne.

one fish's worth as for have because (colloq.)

"Because ours, even with just the tails, have as much as other places' whole taiyaki."
"Even Just the tails of our taiyald are as big as a whole taiyald at other places." (PL2)
uciU (literally, "inside") is often used to refer to one's own bouse/shop/company_. "we/us."
bun means "portion," and when used as a suffix means "an amount sufficient for/equivalent to - "
T'be merchant is obviously exaggerating about the size of his taiyaki.

Narration: !F5L -1?

Yiidachi

(/)

'1='

no naka

l ~v''t" J ~f.:.

"oyoide" kita

sudden shower of midst (obj.) came swimming

bt.:. ~ (/)

l.:;ffh:: i ;/1.."t' L- i

*~

omono

(/)

no

r7 1 J
"tai"

-+

"IS much

- ."

li ~ ? c!:: "' -? lUl l:

wa

big game that was sea bream as for

a-tro iu ma ni
instantly

f.:. o

futari no kuchi ni nomi-komarete shimaua.

2 people s mouths by was completely swallowed

The big-game "sea bream" that came "swimming" through the sudden shower was swallowed up by
our two mouths in an instant. (PL2)
Sound FX: !::" 7J
Pika

Flash
:fo ;;

Goro!

Rumble!
-!f- -!fZli zii

(pouring rain)
oyoide is the -te form of oyogu ("swim"), and kira is the plain/abrupt past form of kuru ("come") - "came swimming."
a-tto iu ma ni is an expression meaning "instantly/ in no time at all." It lite rally means " in the time it take to say ' Ah!"'
nomi-komarete is from nomi-komareru, a passive form of nomi-komu ("swallow up" ); a form of shimau after the -te
form of a verb can mean the action is completely finished.

b(b(ffl~~ij~(~AID~~A~I~!

http://www .mangajin.com
Mangajin 61

i ~ f Okusama wa lnteria
Dezaina
-t
~.,..

1- ~I*

II'

fi< Ji ~
by Akizuki Risu
.tf,A.

Okusama: ~ ~

(;\

li

:::.J!) 8 "' 9 1 Jv

Ba.suriimu wa lwno shiroi

bathroom

~)

this

as for

white

Uliru lk
tile

with

C'? ~ L- .t ? ?
dO desiW?
how is it?

' 'How about this white tile for the bathroom?'' (PL3)
Oient: 111 1 0
Hoi.
yes/OK

''OK." (PL3)
oiUtsamo is a very polite word for referring to another person's wife, and
it's used in the title of this manga because this woman has chosen to
continue working after marriage.
m-~ is no rmally pronounced yokushitsu, but the furigana here indicate
that it's meant to be read as the more modem term basuriimu (from
" bathroom").

Okusama: Bit!!

'!f_eji

kuro

ni

shimashO.

JOints (obj.) black (result) let's do/make

"Let's make the rout black." (PL3)

Client: !I\ . . . ~-t n'?
Kuro . . . desu ka?
black

is

(?)

" Black . . . ?" (PL3)

~ ni shimashiJ is the volitio nal ("let' s/1 shall") fo rm of - ni suru,

which means "make it ~" in the ense of making a c hange or selection.
Ni marks the end result or selection made.

Okusama:

~ -?' ::n~:

Madan tlil
modem

~ I) i -t
J: o
ttarimasu
yo.
feeling/look (result) will become (emph.)

i1 / :J
kanji

1:

ni

"It'll look modern." (PL3)

Client: ? -lv, J: < bn' lv~ "' .. .
On,

yoku wakannai .. .

(intelj.)

well

'

don'tlcoow

I reaU don't know ..." (PL2)

narimasu is the polite form of naru ("becomes'"); ni marks the result

of the becoming, so ni naru as a unit is like Englis h "becomes/will
become"- "it' U become a modem feeling"- "it' ll look modem."
yoku is the adverb "we ll," or whe n modifying a negative, "not very
well"; wakannai is a contraction of wakaranai ("not understand"), so
yoku wakaraiUii is Literally "not understand very well"-i.e., she can't
e nvision very well what it would be like with black grout.

FX : V'-f
Hiso
(effect of a whisper)

Okusama: tJ 1:!
Kabi

b .:let;,;!: -tt lv o
mo medachimasen.

mildew also won't stand out

" And it' U hide the mildew." (PL3)

Client: il? -J . ? ttL"'!
A!,

ureshii!

(intcrj.) am happy/glad

" Ah

62 Mangaji n

reat!" (PL2)

;;r-Te
t I Okusomo wo lnterio Dezoino
1- ~ li

17'

f)(Ji ~ -t
by Akizuki Risu
[!]

Okusama: t

.t -:>

Clwno

c ::. ~

~!v ~

iffl. ffPJ i-to

lcono hen no shiryo

a little

this

area

lcarimasu.

in materials will borrow

" I'm aolnx to borrow these materials for a bit!'

(PL3)
Bucho: lvo
N.

yes/OK

''Sure." (PL2)
kono hen means "this area/vicinity," so kono hen no shiryo is literally
" materials in this area," but in this case it's essentially just a roundabout
way of saying "these materials."
the particle o, to marie shiryo as the object of karimosu (from lcariru,
"borrow"), has been omitted.

O kusama: lv- .. .
N ...

" Hmmm." (PL2)

BuchO:

~ -:> ll t) o
Yappari.

as expected

"Just as I tbougbL" (PL2)

FX:

-t~~

.. .

Supipi .. .
(effect of sleeping soundly)

yappari is a colloquial yahari, which implies that a situation or outcome fits one's expectations: "sure enough/after aWjust as I thought."

Mangajin 63

Friend: ~-,
ft#iR ~t.:. ~ Q)
A,
KaruiUIWa OUJri no

glj~

fT~ t.:.v'o

besso

ilcitai.

(intelj.) (place name) vicinity of coaagelcabin want to go

" Ahh, I'd like to eo to a cottage in somewhere like

Karuizawa." (PL2)
Okusama:

#i:i21

~ ;f-- 'l c!::

Umibe de

L. \:v't.:.v'o

bO-no shite itai.

beach arion want to be daydreaming

" I'd like to be daydreaming on the beach/' (PL2)

Karuizawa is a large summer reson area in the mountains near Tokyo.
ni, to mark besso as the destination, has been omitted. Besso refers to
a "vacation conage/cabin/viUa'' whether rented briefly or owned as a
second home.
bo-tto shite itai is the "want to" fonn of bo-tto shire iru ("be daydreaming"), from bO-tto suru ("stare blankly into space/be in a daze/
daydream").
Friend: .!::' "? -!? 1: l.J:> Il
Dotchi ni shiro natsu
in any case

fl: ~~T~
shigoto suru
do work

"? \:

tte

summer (quote)
31\I:~A..~It'

J:

~- o

ki ni nannai

yo

ne.

not feel the motivation to (emph.)(colloq.)

" In an case it's hard to feel motivated to work in

the summer." (PL2)
Okusama:

~I

(..,

dotchi ni shiro is equivalent to dotchi ni shite mo, "whichever you

choose/whichever the case may be" - "in any case."
the quotative tte here serves as a colloquial equivalent of wa ("as for").
nannai is a contraction of naranai, the negative form of naru ("become"). A verb followed by ki ni naru is an expression for "get the
desire/feel the motivation to [do the action].''

FX: -t' <"?

Zoku!
(effect of a sudden shiver)

Bu cho:

t.!. , ~ t.!., 1f.

Fuyu da, fuyu da, fuyu

1f.

winter is winter is

/J{
ga

t.:.- !
kitii!

winter (subj.) has come

" It's winter, it's winter! Winter is he-ere!" (PL2)

Both women: li-lt'!
Hiii!
yes/OK

"Yes sir!" (PL3)

FX: ' / : t - /
81/0TI

(effect of air conditioner running full blast)

64 Mangajin

i.it-Te
t I Okusomo wo lnterio Dezoino
1- ~I*
17'

t'<JJ'?-t
by Akizuki Risu
CD

Olrusama: ~B

J!.

,.(/)0

Kyo
ZJlllgyO
M no.
today overtime wort (is-explan.)
"I've aot to work late today!' (PL2)

Husband: OK, If< tJf 5':A: f'FJ.,

Dlcl, boku ga yiishoku tsukuru
OK

J:o
yo.

(subj.) supper will make (empb.)

''OK, I'll make supper." (PL2)

zangyo (literally, "remaining work") implies working late in order to

finish a job that didn' t get done during regular work hours.

Okusama: 19>.0 L"'C

Yurushite,

~f.tt.:. o

ana/a.

forgive me

l.il'f.:.f.t'-''
Shikata nai

J: o

(/)
no

yo.

you/dear can't be helped (explan.) (emph.)

''For ive me dear. It can' t be bel

." (PL2)

Husband: ;t?
?
(interj.)

"What?" (PL2)
yurushite is the -te form of yurusu ("forgive"). Here it's shon for
yurushite kudasai ("please forgive me").
anata literally means "you," but Japanese women typically use it to
address their husbands in the way English-speaking women use "dear/
honey."

"'~

Okusama: ;t-:>?

J:,

E!?

/ya
yo,
(interj.) disagreeable/repugnant (is-empb.)

:. lv t.t

:. .!::

1:

konno

lwto

de

BU tt. .0 t.t lv -r -:> I

wakareru

nante!

this kind of thing (cause) pan/break up (quote)

"What? You can't leave me over a

(PL2)

thin& Hke this!"

iya yo (lit., "it is distastefuVrepugnant") is a feminine expression of

objection or refusal. A male speaker would say iya da or iya da yo.
nante here can be considered a colloquial equivalent of no wa, where
no is a norninalizer that makes lwnna lwto ck wakanru ("[we] part/
break up over a thing like this") act as a single noun, and wa marks it
as the topic. The sentence is inverted; normal order would be lwnna
lwto de wakareru Mnte iya yo.

Bucho: "'-tvf.t
Hen na

zf.S

shibai

li

~ao-c

t!:$ LIJ: ~ v' o

wa yamete shigoto shinasai.

strange play/acting as for stop-and

work

do

" Quit your silly charade and get to work." (PL2)

Okusama: t;, .:t ?o I li~'-'' o
Che!
(interj.)

Hlii.
yes/OK

"Darn! I Yes s ir." (PL3)

Husband: b L. b L. ...
Moshi moshi ...

" Hello?" (PL2)

shinasai is a relatively gentle command form of suru ("do").
che! is an interjection of disgust/chagrin, a little rougher sounding
than "rats!/dang!/sheesh!" but not obscene.

Mangajin 65

 ~ :t: tt 1 ;..- 7-

1)

7' 7-' if 1 T -

tJ iLfJ' fJ-~,
f.l"j];; t:, A~ ~ ,
I l:t
t: .:
"'

"'?

t:.

~ L:.!.W.ll.:~~;m:;'-'..:4.:i,;..i..:...t,;;;,;t;;iiii~~L:.J

66 Mangajin

Okusama wa Inter/a Dezainii

L. ""C

'IJf jjU*-1:

Olmsama: ;t;t

<n ? ""Co

~(CtJfltitum/)

Okusama: -B:" .: c

Tomodtu:hi ga besso lulshite kureru tte.

friend

(subj.) cabin

fi.: -? .t 0

weekend

let's go (emph.)

Shiimatsu

ikO

.f:Ji~"'

Okusama: 7'-tGeho

Cough
SFX: / '\ :--I'\ :--

white is the -te form of kllsu ("lend"), and kureru implies the
Iebon is done for or to the speaker/subject; w hite kureru =
"1end (to) me/us."

b~

~it

li

ought to have thing as for

friend

Bashi bashi

Thwack thwack
Husband: -t!--t!-

tJ. ? !

Motsu-beki mono wa tomodachi

ne!

zeze

(is-colloq.)

Wheeze wheeze

" You really need to have friends!" (PL2)

SFX: 1v /v
Run

Husband:

(humming happily)
li
;rj.. "t> ;'1 - ~;f .:z.- t!. i''o

run

~~

Konya wa

soto de

biibekyii

tonight as for outside at

barbeque

da

zo.

is (emph.)

" Tonight we' ll barbecue outside." (PL2)

Sound FX: 7'Bii (sound of car)

the verb suffix -beki g ives the meaning "should/ought to/

must"; motsu-beki means "should/must have/possess," and it
modifies mono ("thing")--+ "a thing one ought to have."

c.:.:? t!.

Husband: "'"'

tokoro da

li

goodlfme place

that

wa,

bessii.

Kawaii!
cute

''There' s tbe cottage. Isn't it Just

darling!?'' (PL2)
Olrusama's line is inverted; normal order would be Besso wa
aredawa.

Okusama:

;;$:!1m~

!lj:JP t!. o

-) it L. II'!

Honmono no danro da.

real

fireplace is

Ureshii!
am happy/glad

"A real fireplace. Great!" (PL2)

Husband: 7"-t- o -?b, :ffil-~L.~II'C o
Geho.

Uwa,

soji shilUii to.

(cough) (interj.) clean

must do

" (Cough) Ugh, we've got to clean." (PL2)

sOji shinai to is a coUoquial "must/have to" form of soji suru
("clean").

Hnsband: -j-;::: <

Sugoku

very/extremely

~n ""C
yogorete-ru

i'o

is dirty

(empb.)

zo.

''It's really dirty." (PL2)

FX:

<""'

Husband: *ii~

:;4.- 8

-:J~tl.. i:> ~? t.: G o

Kekkyoku maru ichinichi t.ruburecluma

in the end

full day

ne.

cooaumed-(JCII'd) (colloq.)

"In the end, a full day was consumed [by

cleaning]."
''In tbe end. we wasted tbe whole day
cleaning." (PL2)
~-, -:J'/J>nt.:-o
A.,
tsukllrera.
became tired

(interj.)

''Obb, I'm wom out." (PL2)

FX: <?t.: ~
)C~
monku

Okusama: 1i\h t.:: t;,

tui.
is (colloq.)

is (emph.) cabin

[2]

Guttari (effect of being dead tired)

~- o

''It's a nice spot." (PL2)

Okusama: ~n t!. b, jjtl*-l:o 'IJ>bll'li'? o
Are da

u-.

long time."

good/OK (coUoq.)

f;f-:J~ ~

wa nZ.

''It's been left empty for a loa&

10 I
guess it's to be expected." (PL2)
nagai = "long" and koto ="thing," but nagai lwto meaos "for a

yo.

"Sonnds
= ==--R-=ood=." (PL2)

Okusama:

so

b n -o

shikata nai

no
ne.

/i

ktur.J

can't be helped (fem. coUoq.)

"Let's go for tbe weekend." (PL2)

Husband: "'"'

t!.? t.;

deserted was

long time

"My friend said she'd lend us her

summer cottage." (PL2)

il*

Nagai koto muj in dotkJ

lend to me/us (quole)

Gui (effect of rolling up sleeve)

Kaettara

a-? "( ~

b!!

itte yaru

wall

when go home complaint say-(to her) (emph.)

"When we get home, I'D give her a plec:e

of my mind!" (PL2)
tsuburechatta is a contraction o f tsuburete shimana, the -te
form of tsubureru (meaning "take/be consumed" when speaking o f time) plus the past form of shimau ("end/finish/put
away"), which after the -te form of a verb can imply the action
was done completely/thoroughly or that it was regrettabldundesirable. Here, both meanings apply.
itte is from iu ("say"), and yaru means "give to (an equaJ/subordinate)." Yaru after the -te form of a verb implies tbe action
is done to someone e lse.

Phone: !! - ..,

fl/'f11!='iltlli5' -r-t o

Pii.

Rusuban denwa desu.

(beep FX) answering machine

is

"Beep. This is the answering machine.

~8 '/p(;, 5Jij)/ (: 1T?""C i - To
Kyo kara bessii ni

itte-miisu.

today from

have gone

cabin to

"I'll be at my summer cottage starting

today_/' (PL3)
Okusama: <1;--?, <1; It''?!
A!
(interj.)

aitsu!
that person

"Ooh, that woman!" (PL2)

rusuban traditionally refers to the task of guarding/watching
the house while everyone else is away, and denwa = "telephone," so a rusuban denwa is a telephone that is on guard
while you are away- i.e., an answering machine.

Mangajin 67

Bow

by Terry Yamamoto

That's Bow as in "bow-wow." Terry Yamamoto's slapstick dog comedy

appears in Shogakukan's weekly men's magazine, Big Comic Superior. Unlike most Japanese dogs, whose spoken vocabulary is largely
limited to variations on '7 / '7 / ! (wan-wan-roughly translated, "bowwow!"), Bow speaks his own language. In fact, he was named after his
favorite word:;'\ '7, bau. Bow lives with the lnugami family, comprised
of a tough-talking Grandma, her gangster son Daigoro, and his daughter Sayaka. (lnugami 7t1111 is a real surname, but it's amusing here
because it literally means "dog god.") It was Sayaka who brought Bow
home from school.
The artist is cagey about his inspiration for the series-each "Bow"
book collection features a different explanation-but it seems safe to
say that he met a bull terrier belonging to someone somewhere, and
began writi ng the manga thereafter. The following version of
Yamamoto's story comes from volume 1 of "Bow."

<~>~tt

Terry Yamamoto
Born on May 5, 1966. Like a typical
Japanese boy, he dreamed of making it
to the national high-school baseball
:.i:.?
.,!;
J.: i'-::>~ 1=
11 11<">
tournament at Koshien Stadium but
;h. ~ 75;13( ~ ~$$~1&, i!tJF.~it!!.
was disappointed. Nevertheless, he
~-~~-~
~=-<=
k~l l
graduated from high school
~ 1& ifit o 1ffl I~H& , 1ffi. 9C
L.
,
unscathed
and then roamed
~ ~ ..g--:> t.:. 7 ;J. 1) -}]
the
world.
After
returning to
1tlvt:?~>lv
1J
L.~
Japan he created "Bow,"
9f;'{i~O)Wij-:> -cIt' t.:. 8 It\
modeled after the white bull
/Jv'T 1) 7 ~-=EYJH:,
terrier belonging to a Native
t.>J..
1Jf-:J
9 2 1f: 5 rJ ;6, I? 1 ". ? J
American he met on his travtllvl
Cf!?l.flv
J;
els, and it has been running
~ Ji~ o ~.qq:Jj ~ !Pf~ o
.:-;.-;:?
Q\,\
since May of 1992. It's been
~!fmao lv~ o
received quite favorably. He
likes noodles.
Tcny Yamamoto: self-portrait.

7 1) - LiPfs:
I:> A.
11'-::>
11 1
t:.
:.
1 9 6 6 1f 5 Ji 5 B ! '1 tLo ~ 0) r
:.iLLA.
F-::>
I? l <Eflr~ ~ ao ~-t;6f, ~tJT o -t
~

-e

-e

C Yamamo1o Terry. All rights reserved. Firs1 published in Japan in 1994 by Shogakukan. Tokyo. English translation rights arranged lhrough Shogakukan.

Mangajin 69

/{?

... ,

,_ 4- J

'T ~ .,

!?

70 Mangajin

Bow

Bow: r<? ') ...

Baii ...

"Bo-ow"

Dai oro:

ff'''"'o t:-

Ga lw ha lw. Do
(laugh)

t~,

*~

t~?:t!

da,

omo110

daro!

how

V'.t-t..:lvrt!!. "t'
Hyoto11-ike

de

t-JIJ _t.lft..:

lvt~ !!

tsuri-ageta

11 da!!

is large creature isn "t it? gourd/(name) pond at fished out/landed (explan.)

"A ha ba ba. Whaddya think-it's a big one, huh? I landed it at Hyotan Pond."
1-t:> Q) rt!!. "t' ffiil1 ::. t 1: -t ? n' 1j: .. .
Uchi 110 ike de

our

kau

koto 11i sukka 110 .. .

pond at/in keep/raise thing decide on-perhaps

"Maybe I'IJ keep bim in our pond." (PL2)

Sound FX: 7f 1) 7f ; tlJ
Gari gari gari

Scratch scratch scratch

~~f:,b -v'o

Sayaka: iPJil
No11ka

kimochi woriii.

somehow/kind of disgusting/unpleasant

"It's kinda ross." (PL2)

do do literally asks "what/how is it?"-often meaning ..what do you think of that?/how does that grab you?"
11i sukka 11a is a contraction of ni suru ka 110.
kimochi (ga) warui (lit., "feeling is bad") implies that the thing in question makes the person feel unpleasant/sick.

m Grandma:

*4tJ

::.nf~lj Q)

Kore daJce no
this much

~ ~ lv

iimono

T""'<' X...

"ill!.

lllJnlaVL . .

iU no

of large creature

1t

calfisb

~ l- t..:

1:

Jj
kiushitll hii

3:.

Q)

nushi

fl>b l-tl.lvo

'IJf

Q)

t..: > t

uchi ni
ga
mi no UJme
not happen while witbio reuuned way (subj.) body/self for benefit

okin

!!v

/uJ rno shiren. Warui lwto

pond of master/lord may possibly be

bad

il'

ga

tbiDg (subj.)

~ ~!!

ja

zo!!

is (empb.)

"A cadlsb tbk ~ mi!ht be tbe lord of tbe pond. U you know what's IOOd for yoa. m ' l

him back before something bad bappem!" (PL2)

f~ Y !?
Daigorii: u3;:."
"Nushi"

dii!?
is

master/lord

''Tbe ' lord'!?'' (PL2)

kore daJce looks like "only this," but its idiomatic meaning is ' '(to/of) this extent"-usually, as here, implying dl8l the
amount or size is great.
nushi ="master/lord"; wbeo speaking of things like mountains and lakes and rivers, nushi often implies a divine entity.
okin is a colloquial contraction of olcinai, tbe negative form of okiru ("take place/occur'' ). Uchi ni after a verb Jives the
meaning " while/during -,"so okinai uchi ni ="while [something) doesn ' t happen"-+ "before something happens."
mi no tame (da) is an expression meaning "(is/will be) for your own good."
ja zo = da zo ("is/are" + masculine emphasis); elderly speakers often substitute ja for diJ (especially in maoga stereotypes),
and the masculine zo gives an authoritarian tone to tbe sentence.

Daigoro: 7l""";'

~1ij:IJ

"

Ga ha ha ho ha.. . !! Toshiyori
(laugh)

li

-t<

::.tt t.!!! 7j:-':: tJr

wa

sugu

kore da!!

old people as for immediately/always this

is

Niini

.:E

t.!!!

ga nushi da!!

what (subj.) lord

is

"Ha ha ha! With old people it's immediately this! What' re you talking about, ' lord'?"
" Ha ha ha! It's always like this with old people! Don' t imme this ' lord' era ." (PLl-2)
suguliterally means " immediately/promptly," but when speaking of personal tendencies/traits, it can be more like "always."
11a11i go - da, where the blank is filled with a word or phrase the other person said, s1rongly takes issue with that word
or phrase: "What kind of nonsense is - ?/What do you mean by - ?1- my foot!"

Bow:

'~?-!!

Baii!!

"Bow!!"
SoundFX: 1<:,-"" J<;,t"" J'{;,t""

Daiaoro:

Basha basha basha

Splish splash splash
~-, -n;.x. --?!!
A,
temi!!
(interj.)

you

''Hey, you mutt!" (PLI )

teml is a colloquial variation of temae. Temae can be a humble word for "lime," but wben slurred as teme it becomes an
insulting term for "you"; exclaimed by itself, it has the feeling of "you jerk/SOB/rat/cur/etc."

Mangajin 71

1~

72 Mangajin

7 Bow

Bow:

1~?1~?-

...

Bau baii ...

DaJ&orii:

"Bow woww "

""( iH. 11 {iiJ ""C
Teme wa nan te

i" A.. t! 7 ! !
koto su n dii!!
as for what (quoce) thin& do-(explan.)

you

''What tbe heck are you doing!?'' (PLl)

Grandma: 1'(1-"~Jt.:.l)
1Jf ~ :t -~ !) "? t.:. ? 1!
ga m0 ippiki
otta
wai!
inviting puoislunent (subj.) more ooe count existed (emph.)

Bochi-atari

"'lbere's another one who's lnvitln& tbe wrath of tbe KOCis!" (PL2)
sun d4 is a contraction of suru no dD, the verb "do" plus the explanatory ending; o, to mark koto as the object of suru,
has been omitted.
bachi-atari (literally, "punishment target/recipient") is someone who evokes punishment from tbe gods.
ippiki is a combination of ichi ("one") and -hiki, tbe counter suffix for small- to medium-sized animals. -Hiki changes to
-bild or -piki in combinations tbat would otherwise be bard to say.
otta is tbe past form of oru, equivalent to iru ("exist/be in a place" for people and animate beings).

[II

Sound FX: r- 7 / r- 7 /
Dopun dopun

Slosh slosh (effect of water sloshing around in the tank)

@]

SoundFX: ~""~~ ~""~~ ~""~~

Jaba

jaba

jaba

(effect of water splashing more violently in the tank)

"IJI!tt~

Sayaka: 1<1<-1

l....t.:.

J: -!

Abare-dashita
y(}!
began to be violeot (emph.)

Papli!
Papa

mean "begin [doing tbe action)/lthe action]

begins to occur."

''Dad! It's freaking out!" {PL2)

Daigoro:

-c J :x. iJf
Teme

~ il' -t

ga

you

odorokasu

il' ~

abare- is from abareru ("become rowdy/

behave violently"), and -dilshita is tbe past
form of -dasu, whicb as a verb suffix can

t.:. -to * - !!
zo!!

kara da

(subj.) startle/frighten because is

(emph.)

"It's because you startled it!" (PL I)

FX: -? ~ -? ~
Uri uri (effect of wrenching Bow' s nose in punishment)

Bow:

1~'7 - !!
Baii!!

''Boww!"

Sound FX: ~ 7

'Y

Gura! (effect of sudden jolt )

Bow:

;-t .. .

Ba .. .

"Ba!"

Sound FX: 7' 7 7-7

Gura gura (effect of shaking/quaking)
jj ?' j j ?'

Gata gata (effect of rattling/jostling)

Daigoro: L.-:>,

:11!1.~

t.:-:> !!

Ji!,
j ishin da!!
(stamme r) earthquake is

"1- ... it's an earthquake!" (PL2)

Bow: ;\ ':1 ..
Ba! ...

"Ba!"
Sayaka:

~~~~~!!

Papii!.'

''Daddy-y!''

(continued on next page)

Mangajin 73

J{

74 Mangajin

? Bow

r-"frv (/)

h.lv~-MIM/l,

ft'III70ilC

':

t~< tt. ~- 1 1

shiiD
nl
lr.akMIV'IJ!!
of UDderDeMb inl bidefiKe CO'm'

181uru

no

table

"Eyeryoae. take cover UDder the table!" (PL2)

Smmd FX:

''(~ .y J'(~ .y
. . , bGIIIa
SpiMb ......

~ro is tbe 8bnJpt command form of~"' ("hiddtake cover"); tbe ro is cloopted bccauac be'alboulina out.

s~t -:>f.:

t:.

J:-

f.to

114.
cUaedfdied clowD ~ is (colloq.)
"It 11e1111 to be over." (PL2)

06tllfttiiiQ

[I]

yli

Grandma: ~ li IJ

.ltl!m

7 7 X tJf
namazu ga

Yahari

jishin

7~-t 1.J
yochi suru

t ~tchii

(fJ
110

of08GIIIIUII ( ..calm
down/quiet downlbccome IICUicd").

OSQmQitQ ila put form

**

li
1d: 1v t:. ~ QH o
wa honto na nja
no.

after all/as I thought catfish (subj.) earthquake foresee/foretell (quote) (nom.) as for true

(isexplan.) (colloq.)

"So it's true after all-what the sa about catfish foretellin earth uakes." (PL2)
Sound FX: ;'{ / ;'{ /
Panpan (effect of beating dust from clothes)

Daigorii:

t,

t.:. t!. (fJ

111\~

t!.

-Ifo

Ke.

tada no

giizen

da

ze.

(interj.) Just/mere chance occurrence is (masc. emph.)

''Bah, &t's just a coincidence." (PL2)

tchii no wa is a contraction of the quotative to i11 no wa, here meaning " as for what they say about - ." Namazu ga jishin
(o) yochi suru ("catfish foretell earthquakes") is the specific content of what is said.
na nja = na no da, and no is equivalent to the colloquial ne or nli.

ano na (or ano ~~e) is used 11 a warm-up pbrllc

wbcn cautioniug or conec:tinJ IOIDeODC who's
getting canicd away or wbo' s jumped to tbe
wrong conclusion.

fi!J?

7~

nani?

Yochi

Sayaka: b :x.
Ne

-co

tie.

(interj.) what foreknowledge (quote)

" Hey, what's that mean? 'Foretell.'" (PL2)

Grandma: lv?
N?
(interj .)

''Huh?"
tte here is a colloquial equivalent of the quotative phrase to iu no wa ("as for what you called/termed - "). Sayaka's
question is inverted; normal o rder wo uld be Yochi tte nani? (equivalent to Yochi tie nan desu ka? = "What is yochi?l
What does yochi mean?").

[!)

Gnpdma: 811

li (/) *,

::R.!Jt

1Jf ~ ~ .o

11n: .fit t- IUiiiT .o ft1J

fit

i.> .0

1v t:. ~ o

DiJblltsu wa

niJ,
tensai
ga okiru mae nl sore o satchi suru niJryobl ga aru
n )4
animllJ u for (colloq.) nat. dil8lller (aubj.) occura before dill (obj.) perceive
llbility (subj.) have (expllll.)

"You-. animals bave the abiUty to.._ aatural dlsasten comiJur before they actually bappea." (PL2)
abe qlin uses niJ as an equivalent of the coUoquial II# (or 116), which in the middle of a sentence is a kiod of verbal
pause, limilar to English "you know/you seell mcanllike."
unstli ga okiru mae ni son o satchi suru ila complete thougbl/scntence ("before a natural disaster occun, [they] perceive/
sense itj modifying niJryobl ("ability") ..... "the ability to sense a natural disaster before it occurs."

Grandma: 77;(

(fJ

Jt!!m

Namazu no jishin
catfish

"f~,

-ft'liJ' t:> ;f-;(~ t;r

yochi,

sore kara nezumi ga chinbotsu suru June kara nigedashitari sum to ka

s quake foreknowledge and also

rat

(subj.)

it~Tl.J
will sink

AG iJ't:> i!tlflliLt.:.IJTl.J l:t;'

ship

from

do things like nee

1d: o
na.

and/or (colloq.)

" Like the catf&Sh foretellin earth uakes or rats abandonin a shi that's oin to sink." (PL2)
chinbotsu suru is the verb for "sink" used when speaking of a ship going down, so chinbotsu surufune = "sinking ship/
ship that will sink."
nigedashitari is from nige-dasu ("run away/flee"); the -tari suru form of a verb literally means "do a thing/things like
[the action]," and is frequently used when listing two or more alternative actions.
( contin11ed on next page)

Mangajin 75

J~

r'J Bow

/\ /\
/\ /\

/\

..

"
c~i
;&.

;&.

tfj

(J)

~'
~'

-r 'IJ

-f'T"?It

!! A-

7:-jt

t; 1: ..,
~

76 Mangajin

"
"~ It
c
< 1A-~ '
t::: ::2ft
.., 1: l;t

!!

.... . ,. .

(continued from previous page)

[!)

GraDdma:

*- ::r

it ?

1Jf

It I!

q)

1Jf

Jl ~ 1J q)

Nelw gtJ /r.Qo a~m~ toki wa tnlgi 110 IIi 1a tliM to kD 110.
em (IUbj.) f~ee wall time as for next day (subj.) nin -s/or (c:ollclq.).

"'r like wbea eats W1llb tbelr faces, It raiDs tbe ant day." (PL2)
FX:

~'J ~'} ~'}

Pori pori pori (effect of washing face)

c.t:

-\"-

My6

"Meow"
o, to mark kilo as the object of arau, bas been omitted; also, tkJ/desu ("is/will be..) is understood after tliM.

S.yk: t~~
Jil

li?

;,., WQ?
in that catellhen cloa as for

"How bout dop. then?" (PL2)

FX:

~P'-:~

Bib! (effect of Bow perking up his ears)

Sa aka: 3?A

i$1: ?

-c 7.> -

fiiJ

!!

q)-!

(PL2)
Bow:

;{"J -

Baii

"Bow"
FX: ':1 "./ ':1 "./
Goshigoshi (effect of washing face with paws)

~ (>

Grandma:

lv

7.>

t: ~ 7:> !!

aratte-ru is a contraction of aratte iru, from arau ("wash").

jaro = daro, which makes a conjecture, "probablyll suppose."

o.lacri:

"1Jq)f.t.7, ~~tJo
SayaA:a.

Ano nil,
(intaj.)

lvf.t.

NNJ

mot10

li

~-1 - lvf.t.

wa
as for

miinna
Ill

)!fl

f!.?!

.10-l..lv!!

meishin d4!
lions ~re

Mlsllin!!

thin&

"Listen, S.yllka. AU of those tblop are suoerstid:: Su-per-sti~(PL2)

S.yua: ;t?
(DUDe) that ~nd of

E?
(intaj.)

"Wbbd?"
are distinct syllables) is a contraction of sonna ("that kind of'). The same contraction is used for anNJ
("that kind of," distant) and /wnNJ ("this kind of') as well.
be elongates minNJ for emphasis.

nNJ (nand NJ

Dai oro: ~-.

:::..(J)

lti: 1:

Dai-ichi, kono daken ni

first

Sil'it.t.J
chonoryoku

iJ< 3?7.>
ga

aru

fR

b.3:.

?'"C

wake

ne

tte

lvt!.
n da

J:-!!
yo!!

this mongrel in that kind of supernatural power (subj.) exists situation not exist (quote} (explan.) (emph.)

J?(J) M t!.
Ano tsura da
that

lvt.t
nna

face

~ 1v
mon

f.t!

'Jli\/\J\/\1\J\!!

na!

Ga ha ha ha ha lw ha!!

is (explan.) (colloq.)

(laugh)

''Fi.rst of all there's no wa this mutt could have that kind of su

face like that! A ba ha ha hal" (PL2)

wers! Especially with a

ne is a slurred colloquial equivalent of nai ("doesn' t exist/not have"); - wake (ga) nai literally means "the situation o f does not/would not exist," which often implies "would never be the case that - " or " there's no way that - could happen/
be the case." Here, the "situation" is described by the complete embedded sentence kono daken ni mw chonoryoku ga aru
("that kind of supernatural powers exist in this mutt").
tte n da, a colloquial contraction of the quotative to iu no da, here serves essentially to emphasize his disdain/scorn for
the suggestion that a dog could have a sixth sense about natural disasters.
tsura (usually written ifii) is an informal/slang word for "face"; it can sound rough and insulting, and it has that feeling
here. The kanji Ill is usually read kao, which is a neutral word for "face."
(colllinued on next page)
Mangajin 77

/{ ? Bow

,~,

78 Mangajin

J.

(continued from previous page)

~I> ,

::./v~ . . . 0

:fitl~<~'
m6
lonna jiklm.
IIi ~1141
(ialelj.) lllady Ibis kiDd of lime a.. ldlool 10
--.,
"VVHHI,Iook at abe tllae! l'ft ..... at ay . . . . " (PL2)

(>:t

A.

to

'ff?-!
Gail!

Grrr!

Dldaori5:

~It !
'1 1~7 ':/ -:J : fi ( lvt!.? I
IJoU/ On wt1 pochiltko IIi ib II diJJ
move
1 ror .-:IJillko 10 willao (apia)
"OuUa the way! I'm aoiDc to abe.........., Ml'lor" (PLI-2)
jukM refers to a wide variety of after-IChool and Saaurday academiea maay
ICboolcbildrea llllleDd 10 aupplemenc
cbeir studies, mostly in preparation for bip.cbool aDd c:oUeae eall'aDCe euma.
iA:tuuJA:uclttJ is an abtftviated ~ wt1 Nlnllllli, a "muuttbave 10" form of ib <"SO">
doU is the abrupt command form of doku ("move uUklstep beck").

J..,._.,

n'.

it::*?! .f:(J) -J-7 X ~:

ka, daken! Sono namazu ni

Dai oro: "'"'

li

good/OK (?)

mongrel

!hat

=f..J:.

IIT

te

dasu

catfish onto hand/paw extend

A-t.~b.J:.- ~!!
nja ne
zo!!
don' t

"'1li

~?!!
na!!

(emph.) good/OK (emph.)

"Now listen, you mutt! Don't you dare lay a paw on that catfish! Got that?!" (PL I )
Bow:

-!
Bet

"N ah!"
ii ka? is literally the question " is it OK?," but it's also used when beginning admonitions/instructions like "listen here/
listen up!"
n ja ne is a s lurred n ja nai (negative form of the explanatory n da/desu); following a non-past verb with a sharp n ja nai
can make an abrupt negative command, "don' t - ."
be is the sound uttered when sticking one's tongue out in mockery.

Dl!laGri: ft! t.

It\. of{/)
11!!
:wno kilo wtJ!!
dial IKe fOI'

Nan joi,
wbll is

"Doa't &lye me tbat look!" (PLl-2)

Bow: 1<?/JQil

"Bow-ow"
Sound FX: "- 'h ;f. 'IJ
Bok4 bok.a (sound of giving Bow a couple of raps on the bead)
jai is equivalent to dai, a colloquial variation of da. The sentcoc:e is invened; normal order would be :wno kilo wt11tan joJ?

FX:

~ JI; ~ JI; ~ JI; ~ JJ;

Guru guru guru guru

(effect of circling)

Bow: J'\'/?Baa

"Bow-ow"

m Souad
8:)

FX= 7 "\"

SoundFX:

*';;

CltDpon (sound of fish breaking the waaer's surface)

;'\~ "\" 'J

Basha!

SPLASH
Bow:

) '\ 'J

Bat

"Ba!"

Bow:

1'\'/ -

Boil

"Bow"

Soaad FX:

;f. t

"- t

Potapota

Drlpdrlp

Mangajin 79

J{

80 Mangajin

rJ Bow

I'"'

Bow:

1~? - !I
Bail!!

"Bo-ow!!"

Soaad FX: 1< :..- "\' 1<:.-- "\'

1~:,.- "\' 1~:.-- "\'

&uh4 INuho bosh4 bosh4

Splisb splash splisb splash

Sound FX: ;f-71

Polal

Boink (effect of Bow hitting fish's head)

[!]

Bow:

I~

Ba

"Ba!"

8J

FX: 7'71 -'/

Pukii!

(effect of fi sh slowly floating to the surface)

ff- './
Giin!

(effect of being mentally shocked)

[!]

Bow: 1<? I~? 1<?! 1'<?!

Bau bau haul Bau!!

"Bow J!OW wow! Bow!"

SoundFX: ;f- './ ;f! './
Pon pon

(effect of patting fish)

FX: 1< '/ ; <1

Pa!

pa!

(effect of quick/sudden motion, looking back and forth)

7'71 - './
Pukiin

(effect of floating lifelessly)

Bow: 1<?-1
Baii!

"Boww!"
FX: Y"Y
Da!

(effect of sprinting off)

Sound FX: 71 './ 7

Gan!

(effect of bumping into the door frame)

~~.aliA

1 ""MANGAJIN

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http://www. mangaJin.com
Mangajin 81

1~

82 Mangajin

r'J Bow

Bow:

J'{ -

J !!

BII!!

"Bah-!!"
FX:

~-~-

Doshiin

Thud (sound of heavy object- Bow- hitting the ground)

Bow:

J'{~?-o

1\ 71 \ 71\7

Baga.

MMhli

(FX)

(panting)

"Bow-ow"

8J

Sound FX: ;f, ~

*'

-1 ;f, -1
Pota pota pota

Drip drip drip

Bow:

J'{

~ 7 IH~ 7

Bahi!

bahi!

(yipping sound)

FX: ;( 'J ;( J
Zuri zuri
(effect of dragging himself backwards)
Bow:

''1:: 1 -

!!

Bahii!!

" Baeee!!"
Sound FX: ~ r F r ~
Do dodo dodo

(effect of pounding/racing feet)

-----

SouDd FX: ;( lf-

'ZIIbo
(effect of becoming caught in/squeezing through a tight spot-the hedge)

Computer Corner
(continued from page 51)

text translation, and the folks down under at JWM deserve

a rousing "Hang in there, mates!" for developing a program
that allows you to read (with the he lp of the dictionaries)
" the multitude of Japanese text resources avai lable on the
Internet and even the various Japanese newspapers and online
magazines available on the World Wide We b."
The problem is that you need to know the e ncoding format of the J apanese file you've downloaded a nd then
convert it into a format which your operating system can read.
To assist in this task, there is a downloadable conversio n
utility available from the web site. LavaSoft's Custo mer
Support Services pointed out to me that " unfortunately, Japanese has about seven differe nt schemes (unlike the ASCII set
used for our alphabet), but these should converge into one
standard, probably Unicode." So there is hope that this
feature will become mo re user-friendly over time and with
increasingly integrated JWM upgrades. For a superb explanation of ' Net s urfing in J apanese, check o ut Mo moi
Katsuhiko's article in the Computer Comer of Mangajin No.

57 (see http://www.mangajin.com/browsers.html).
Japanese WordMage was conceived in 1991, inspired by
one student's desire for a vocabulary and kanji study system.
The release o f version 4.2 will introduce (along with other
improvements) an "adventure creator" function, improving the
ability of teachers to tailor materials to their courses. That
release will be followed by E uroWordMaster for French,
German, Italian, English, and Spanish, among others. I believe
that WordMage will become an increasingly useful aid for students, teachers, and p rofessionals. You might be wise to
become a registered user earlier rather than later, before the
price goes up.
Considerable additional information on such things as multimedia and cross-platform capabilities can be found on the
Web at LavaSoft's web site : http://www.lavasoft. com/ . The
latest version of JWM can also be obtained through Mangajin's
Japanese Resource Guide.

John Benedict is a freelance translator, middle-school teacher

of Japanese, and novelist.

Mangajin 83

1\? Bow

"?

!!

84 Mangajin

OJ

Bow:

J'(7-'J

M!

"BAHHH!"

Daigoro: < -t- -::> !!

Kuso!!
(expletive)

"Crap!" (PLI)
3~

Daigoro: -::>t.:.<
Ttaku

-e

275

sanjuppun de niman

~e:,n.o

t.:.-r

t':t-'-''?

mo

torareru

tli

dii iu

t! -::> !!

wake dill!

(exclam.) 30 minutes in 20,000 as much as have taken away 19uote}-as for what Jdod of situatioo

is

''Unbellevable--1 lost 20,000 In Just 30 minutes! How could this happen to me?!" (PL2)
Sound FX: '11 - ;,
Klin
~

(sound of can being kicked)

ttaku is a contraction of motta/cu (literally, "completely/entirely"), which is frequently used by itself as an exclamation
of exasperation.
mo after a word indicating a number or quantity most often implies that that number/quantity is "a lot"
torareru ("have [something] taken away") is the passive form of toru ("take") -- "be relieved of/lose."
ti'l is a contraction of to wa, the quotative to plus the topic marker wa. When it foUows a verb or complete embedded
sentence (sanjuppun de niman mo torareru ="[I] was relieved of20,000 in 30 minutes"), it makes that action or
described situation the topic of the larger sentence.

Kan

Clank

'j];,

Sound FX: 'h/

SoundFX:

kan

Clank

/~:J:r;,

PakQn

[I]

Daigoro: t'b - !
Dowii!

''Whoa!"
Sound FX:

n:,_,"" /

Gashan

Crash
Sign: "Tr"S'(>/v
Sato-chan
(name-dim.)

Sato-chan

0 Motorcydist:

~.Sb..z.--::>!!

Abune!
is dangerous

"Look out!" (PL2)

abune is a rough, masculine corruption of abunai ("dangerous"). Abunai directed at another person as an exclamation
serves as the warning "Watch out!"

~~-aliA

1 'MANGAJIN

s *~-r- -t~n *9!

http://www .mangajin.com
Mangajin 85

1< 7 Bow

86 Mangajin

[!]

Gnndma: IUt. .1.1' ! b L.

Hore

II

(illterj.) look

Dtdaori:

(J)

mil! Washi no

"8 ::d..: :ii 1J

t ~ ~ ~t!!

tOri
jaro gal!
lime (subj.) said exactly as is surely (emph.)
illil

"See! Surely it is exactly as I said, isn't itT'

"See! What'd I tell you?'' (PL2)
.., ..0 -tt .:r. !
Unue!
DOily

"Shut up!" (PLI)

/tore is an interjection used to call a person's attention to something, like "becellook/see," and mii is a colloquial command
form of miru ("look/see"), so hore mii works together like "See!"
tOri is a word that follows a verb or a complete sentence to mean "exactly in accordance with [the described action)."
It' s a noun, so a sentence coming before it follows the rules of modifying sentences-with the subject often marked by
no instead of ga- Washi no iltll tiiri ="exactly as I said."
jaro daro (shortened from darlf); ga after the conjectural darii provides emphasis like "surely must (be) -," usually
making for a strong assertion rather than a conjecture.
unu# is a rough, masculine corruption of unuai, which literally means "noisy/bothersome" but is used like the English
expression, "Shut up!"

FX: 1-7-:;
Chira!

(effect of casting a sidelong glance)

Daigoro: It? o
1/1.1~
t~ J:,
1/1.\rt.::n
Ke.
Giizen da yo,
giizen!!
(interj.) coincidence is (e'Tiph.) coincidence

"Humph. It's a coincidence! A coincidence!" (PL2)

Dalftrl: \ -? ...
GiL ..

"CooDe "
FX:

~i:>~-?

Beehill
(effect of something wet and sticky-here the fish's face pressed up against the glass)

G:)

Sound FX: ~~~ -t-:;

Basha

SWISH

Bow:

J'i-:;!!
Ba!!

"Ba!!"

0
I

Sound FX:

1-< ~ -:~

Pah!
~

~~--liA

1 'lJIANGAJIN

Preview next month's issue!

http://www.mangajin.com
Mangajin 87

1 ~ r)

88 Mangajin

Bow

IT]

Bow:

,1 '(~ -':1 !!

Bahii!!

''Baeeee!!"
SoundFX: X~~~~
Zu tkJ tkJ tkJ tkJ (effect of running quickly/scrambling)

Sound FX: i f / if'/ if'/ if'/

(effect of Bow bumping into various things)

Gan gan gan gan

Bow:

;'(? -

Baa

" Bowww"
Grandma: !"l-=>t.:O!!
Okottoru!!

7? f.

is angered

t J.> i':t - !!
okottoru
zo!!

1J< !"l -=>

Namazu ga

carfish (subj .) is angered

(emph.)

! The catfish is an r !" (PL2)

''It' s an

okottoru = okotte oru ("is angry"), from okoru ("become angry").

(!]

Sound FX: ff './ ~ '\"

1- :::1

#Hki do/co

Gan

Bump Snap Thud (effect of bumping and breaking things)

Bow:

; {? -

Baa

''Bowww"
Grandma:

:klL~.

fJIJ t "h'

-tt lv

IJ'., !!

DaigorlJ,

nantoka

sen

ka!!

something or other woo't [yoo] do (?)

(name)

"Daigoro! Do something!" (PL2)

sen is equivalent to shinai, negative fonn of suru ("do"). Nantoka sen ka! literally asks ''Will you not do something or
otherT' but it actually serves as a strong, authoritarian command, "Do something!"

8]

Sound FX: t::;f't'./!

Dopon!

Kerplunk!

Sayaka:

,1'(-{J<- 1
Bai-bili

''Bye-bye."
~

Dai&orii: ..: tt.

Kore de

this

"' "'

lv

ii

t.:

7> !!
tkJro!!

with good/OK (explan.) probably

"With this, it is OK, right?"

"Tbere. Are you happy?'' (PL2)

Grandma:
"h' i? ..:
"thli t.1J' -=> t.:. lv t:. ~ !!

:mt)

leO
sureba yokatta
nja!!
beginnini from this way if doldid was good (explan.)

Hajime

kara

''You should have done this in the ftrst place!" (PL2)

sureba is a conditional "if' form of suru ("do''), so - sureba yokotta is literally "it would have been good if you had
done _ .. - " You shouJd have done - ."

Daigoro: It -:> ,
Ke,

t.:. t.:.

tatari

';t

f"J t:. tl.:r.

n' I?

ore wa

shinjine

kora

t.t 1v -c 1ft
nallle

t.t ! !
na!!

(exclam.) curse/hex such a thing I as for don't believe because (colloq.)

' 'Hum h! Don't think that I actuall believe in curses!" (PL2)

Bow: 7? Fii

(sigh)
nante here is a colloquia l equivalent o f nado to iu mono wa, literally, "as for a thing that is called someth ing like - ."
Name is often used to imply the preceding is ridiculous/silly/unworthy.
shinjine is a masculine corruption of shinjinai, negative of shinjiru ("believe").

(cominued on nexr page)

Mangajin 89

J< r)

90 Mangajin

Bow

(continued from previous page)

[!]

Gnnclma: i t! ~ lv t.t
Modo

..... kiDd of

ICill

Dl!lauri5:

SONUI

~ .. .

koto wo .. .

lhinJ

(obj.)

"[You're] sliD [saymg] such things."

"Y'D nefti' lam, wOI y?" (PL2)
""- lv t! ? I!
Hln
da!!
iJ

(IIIOit)

"Phooey!"
llln dais a verbalized snort of defiance or thumbing of ooe's nose.

FX: 7'7

Gural

(effect of sudden jolt)

FX:

XX;;(;(;(

ZMZMZMZMD'
(effect of tbe ground shaking/rumbling)
~b?

it.:.

- f!T
-I! Dowo!
MIIIQ jUhUr
diJ!!
~_......

iJ

(illferj.)

! It's aaodler earthauake!" (PL2)

Bow:

/(-;~!I

&!I

"Ba!!"

FX: ;;( ')

;;( ')

Zuri

zuri

(effect of slipping)
Daigoro: b?!l
Wa!!

"Yikes!"
Bow:

~~""-;;

Babel

(yipping effect)

Daigoro: -T"<' ;;( ~ lv, :f ;t. :..-- ~ ~ "' ..

Namazu-san,
(name)-(hon.)

"Mr. Catfish

(PL3)

FX: ""~

Peko

(effect of bowing head)

Grandma:

A,-~1?

:il!v'

Ima sara osoi

now

'71! !
waif!

;-!{?-!
boke!

is late (emph.) idiollhalfwit

''It's a tad too late for that now ou idiot!" (PLI )

ima sara means " now," implying " now at this late point/now after what has happened."
boke as an epithet implies the person's lights have dimmed or he has gone loco/senile; it's more commonly used as an
insult in the Kansai area than in the Kantofrol..-yo area.
wai is a rough, mostly masculine form of the feminine wa and is typically used for exclamatory emphasis. Grandma's
use of this fits with the general roughness of her language throughout.

Mangajin 91

vocabulary summary
From Fuji Santaro, Q. 25
fijh.J.,

yogoreru
sa waru
noseru
nugu
kokan
mairu
koi
manaita
jinji
ish a
kaigai
fujin
kaigi
byodo

~;bJ.,

0)-ttJ.>

lb.<

x~

i:v'l.>
::::r-1'
~-r-1'~

A$
18~
~;r~

'X. A

~:a
-'~

get dirty
touch (v.)
give a ride/ take on board
take off [clothing]
exchange (n.)
come/go (v.-polite)
carp (n.)
c hopping block
pe rsonnel
doctor
overseas
woman/women
meeting/conference
equality

meishi
bussan
heibon
medatsu
shibui
shikamo

~fi

-'fL

eDt~

L~"'

liJ' t
l

'?

11'

ilinJ.>
)!1f4J
~M~

3f;fiil

1:1:\:tf
J:-fO)
!TiL t
iA<. <

*~
if.> ?

t "'? FdH.:

shippo
man.ten
nureru
shiikan
zen-z.aisan
kyodo
shusshi
yoso no
y iidachi
oyogu
omono
a -tto iu ma ni

B"'

11!1.

!\11\

-l:;Y:.-tt
7;\:!
:it*!-

ff t) 1.>
;ht:. t)

}JIJ;f.t
~ill

C:' ? -t;, ~.: l0

J~~

?':tt

~1.>-t

L il' t.:. tJ~tt " '

shiroi
meji
kuro
modan na
kabi
shiryo
kariru
atari
besso
umibe
dotchi ni shiro
I!OtSU
fu yu
zangyo
yiishoku
yuru su
sltikata ga nai

Q.

~:IP

tw~"tJ.,

~A

*1/.ffii
~~tt.J.,

fn;!f:jfi:';!~

t.:. t.:. t)
~ t)

white
tile joints
blac k
modem
mildew/mold
materials/documents
borrow
vicinity
cottage/cabin
beach/coast
in any case
summer
winter
working late
supper
forgive
can' t be helped

J::.ffl.>

fiil?
j:

7i' t ltt.tt "'

~~J.,

7-t
~

t:.~

1f:~t)

-t<
:llfii'T
it!!t.l

n' < nJ.>

J3~il.>
;-~;;(

7~-tJ.>

t:. t!. <7)

fill~
::R~
~~"tl.>

~tt.J

;f, ;;(

iti)t"t 1.>
-fl'Jit
~fff

t' <

? 1.> ~ "'
'?l:J.>
1JJ~

iR t: 1.>
i: t.:.
&f~l?

l'!v'

disagreeable/repugnant
part/break up
play/ac ting
friend
lend
weekend
tonight
outside
real/genuine
fireplace
clean (v.)
deserted
in the end
take/be consumed
grow tired
complaint
ans we ring machine

honmono no
danro
soji suru
mujin
kekkyoku
tsubureru
tsuka reru
monku
rusuban denwa

From Bow,

~1;f"t;,!f!1;v'

62

iya
wakareru
shibai
tomodachi
kasu
shiimatsu
kon 'yo
SOlO

:<$:~<7)

ill!.

tail (n.)
full points/100 percent
get wet
weekly publication
total assets
j oint/cooperative
investme nt
others'
sudden shower
swi m
large creature/big game
instantly

From Okusama wa lnteria Dezainii,

).\!*

&fiX:

Jt'PJ

bus iness card

products
ordinary/plai n
stand out/be conspicuous
tasteful/simple
in addition

From Dai-Tokyo Binbo . .. , Q. 54

il4.~

z:~

:&:JI
il'"t

~tJ,ttJ.>

From Salaryman Senka, Q. 34

.tt Jlilj

"'~
}Jij;f'tl.>

tata ri
tsuri-ageru
kau
kimoclti warui
ike
nushi
kamo shirenai
okiru
kaesu
mi
tame
toshiyori
sugu
odorokasu
jishin
kakureru
osamaru
namazu
yochi suru
tada no
giizen
tensai
satchi suru
noryoku
nez.umi
clzinbotsu suru
taif ii
meish in
doku
urusai
okoru
hajime
slzinjiru
mata
ima sara
osoi

Q.

69
c urse/retribution
fish out/land
keep/raise [a pet]
disgusting/unpleasant
pond
master/lord
may poss ibly be
happen/occur
return [an object] (v.)
body/self
benefit
old people
immediate ly/always
startle/frighten
earthquake
hide/take cover
[something) beco mes calm
catfish
foresee/fo retell
just/mere
chance occurrence
natural disaster
perceive
ability
rat
[a ship] sinks
typhoon
superstition
move aside/step back
noisy/bothersome
become angry
beginning
believe
again
now/at this late point
late/too late

The Vocabulary Summary is taken from material appearing in this issue ofMangajin. It's not always possible to give the complete
range of meanings for a word ill this limited space, so our "dejinitio11s" are based 011 the usage of the word in a particular story.
Mangajin 93