Authentic Japanese Manga with Translations re ea -. TY trem soars eaIs USING JAPANESE ON YOUR PC A CHALLENGE? Japanese Suite — Integrating bi-directional Japanese machine translation, OCR, and Windows 95 OLE 2.0 technology, these advanced programs offer the only complete Japanese productivity bundle available for uncompromising English-language Windows users, Our Japanese Suite includes: Tsunami MT for E-I translation, Typhoon MT for J-E translation, and now KanjiScan Japanese OCR. Quality Software ~ Neocor machine translation (MT) software performs sentence-level draft translations using our 120,000 word Core dictionary and artificial intelligence translation engines. The result? The world’s premier quality Japanese machine translations on any platform. In fact, Neocor’s MT programs ate the only such software certified with Microsoft's coveted Windows 95 compatibility logo. Just this year, Neocor released ‘a groundbreaking software program called KanjiScan Japanese OCR, the first program available for scanning printed Japanese documents which can then be accurately recognized by KanjiScan and converted into a useable electronic file on English Windows. Experience ~ If Japanese isa challenge, Neocoris the solution Consider some of the satisfied customers who've relied on Neocor software: AT&T, the U.S. Navy, Hokkaido University, NEC, and General Motors. Whatever your level of ability with the Japanese language, Neocor can enhance your productivity and performance in Japanese communications. Call for a free evaluation CD-ROM or visit hitp://www.neocor.com and download the demo versions directly from our website 7 CHALLENGE ACCEPTED. iScan ‘rind "f your business involve dealing with Japan, then NeocorTechnologies’32-bie machine translation products will peove useful” PC Magazine June 25, 1996 NeocorTtech Neocortex: n. The dorsal ragon of he corbval orton www.neocor.com 1-800-693-9283 (619) 483-2524DYNAMIC JAPANESE AFirst Course in Spoken Japanese Now available from Mangajin A i 5 Quality language-learning software by DyNnED “An excellent Japanese program that can be used by both high school Dd : students and adult, thc covers topics and language structures ‘taught in high school Japanese programs i the US." Presidentofthe National Coun of Secondary Teachers of Japanese 1H An effective, ensy-to-use course designed to give students a strong foundation in spoken Japanese, 2 CD-ROMs provide 40-60 hours of interactive (ractice and study Order today from MANGAJIN Wi Quality sound and engaging graphics supplement 800-552- 3206 . 404-724-0895 Japanese phrases and dialogs. Fax: 404-724-0897 Wi Instant recording and playback allows students to E-mail: orders @mangajin.com ‘compare their speech to the on-disc model Online catalog: www.mangajin.com ‘Translations anda bilingual glossary available on-ine. P.O. Box 77188, Atlanta GA 30357 ‘WE Text support in romaji and kana initially, then kana aren only as student becomes proficient. mecntosh 2 CD-ROMs only $179We serve the finest kanji, born of ancient Chinese seeds, grown in the highlands of Japan and meticulously blended over thousands of years , now available on your desktop. Ii aji dashiteru! + Quality kanji program supervised by Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, the only accredited kanji testing service recognized by Japanese Ministry of Education «Includes all 1,945 jouyou kanji taught in the Japanese public educational system! + Easy install! Learn fast! + Create your own flashcards! + Work at your own pace! + Fun self-assessment tests! + Useful at all levels of achievement! Phonetic spelling of each character! Frequency of occurence give for each kanji! + Flexible user-based program! With the Essential Kanji Cafe, you've got the freedom to create your own kanji flashcards by simple cutting and pasting. Keep track of the kanji you've got and those you need. Everything on screens that are easy to read and understand. Tastefully blended and brewed at our Kyoto kanji-roasting 3 Japan Kanji Aptitude Test Thre only one Kanji test accredited by the Japanese Ministry of Education POsh ogy -ie) ae AO Wher 200,000 people have taken the Kanji tests [lest way to quantity your Kanii ability Hlesting sites in Los Angels, San Francisco, New York, San Jose/US.A., Vancouver, Toronto/CANADA, Bangkok/THAILAND, Paris/FRANCE, Amsterdam/THE NETHERLANDS, Sao Paulo/BRAZIL, Asuncion/PARAGUAY, London/U.K., New South Wales/AUSTRALIA, and Hong Kong. 1 ! Testing Schedule e t , S Testing dates Deadline for receiving applications. we For further information, please contact the Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing 10/12/97 9/11/97, Foundation by fax at 011-81-75-352-8310 1/25/98___ 12/24/97 __| orvist our web site: https www kanken.orjp/i page 12 Manga 18 Ninja Mugei-cho © 2. ¥ $8 3: (i Not all ninja are cunning masters of stealth and deception. 23 Aino Wakakusayama Monogatari BO EMM a Terashima Reiko’s autobiographical manga about two working women still living with their parents 30 Hyakunen Senrya © (i “)\| An ode to scattered showers. 32 American Comics © 7 % ') 77 Dik il Dilbert and Garfield—in Japanese. 51 Yayake no Uta # 41817 Oi Grandma outfoxes her strait-laced daughter 69 Kaiketsu!! Todo Kacho # (811 b ¥ RE Masumi discovers that her old friend has passed her by on the ladder of promotion. Miscellaneous 5 Publisher’s Note 6 Letters 7 Bloopers 92 Cultural Exchange 94 Classified Ads Mongain isa made-up word combining mone CONTENTS No. 67, August 1997 Features 12 The Japanese Job Search With lifetime employment still the rule, job-hunting for a Japanese college senior is a serious matter. (In bilingual raiyaku style.) 36 TV Dramas Miniseries are ratings gold—thanks to tried-and- true plots and hot young stars. Kathleen Morikawa tunes you in, Departments 9 Brand News A cheese and chikuwa snack—something to sing about! 40 Book Review The Encylopedia of Japanese Pop Culture, by Mark Schilling 41 On the Bookshelf Recently released books about Japan Be ma ve va ae Ts v < 44 Computer Corner Doug Horn gives you the picture on KanjiSean OCR software for Japa- nese text. page 69 46 Cooking Corner Kanten, a jelly-like substance derived from seaweed, has an intziguing history Language Learning 86 Basic Japanese: Hodo It’s a matter of degree. 93 Vocabulary Summary Words from this issue of Mangajin. icsleartoons") and jin (‘personfpeople”) le sounds amos ike the Englsh word “magaine 1 rendered in Jpanese—moyoin. Al ofthe Japanese manga in Mango were created in Japan, by japanese crtconst, for Jpanese readersThe Perfect Shirt For Your Next Court Appearance. Kik inbutsu Hang out in seedy poo! halls til 2AM? Thinking about a full-body tattoo? It 0, this is a shirt you can appreciate. Kiken Jinbutsu is Japanese for “Dangerous Individual” Can you live up to the warning? ‘The front of this shirt bears the kanjfor Kiken Jinbutsuin black while the back displays our own red & black stylized kabuki demon. Coming or going, this shirt is guaranteed to make a lasting impression. 100% cotton shirt. #M0060 + L or XL + $17.50 Don't forget our 4 other designs! Super Gaijin eT ‘This longsleeve T bears “The kano “ies the kal characters Cho widely used by hos Gaijin, win he translation Selng te Japanese (Super Gaye) under quien of srocones oath“ Gale means “Wo colors, red ana Due. Sine Front nly 100% cation Front only, 100% ooton, saad "Lor = ‘oor $15.00, i750 Samurai T LogoT “The ofginal Mangan “his shirt features our shit Tis stor-seeve T iM fogo on he fot. ack features our eco {ogo on white sit. Ba, sama wih Mangos ot ncerstatedt Jogo. Front ny 100% Front ony, 660 Bens coton foot? +L orxL+ ‘1500 TO ORDER. Add SAH charge (calls under $10, SRH=83.50/$1001-$20=S4 50 / $2001-835-85.50 $35 05-$60$5 50 / $80.01-$100=87 £0 / ove $100 01=88.50. Rush axa. Canadian orders ada 1.00) We accept MasterCard, Visa, Dover, checks, and money orders (made out to Mangein anc ran rom US Funds). Please alow 2-4 weeks celery. {800-552-5206 + fox 404-724-0897 » PO Box 7186, Ant, GA 30967 + oders@mengai am ZBA IMANGAJIN| Publisher & Editor-in-Chief ‘Vaughan P. Simons Jepan Representative ‘Moteki Hiremich Translation Bditor Wayne Lammers Editor Virgina Muray Associate Eilitors Paige Larkin, Matthew J. Spellman Contribuors Loraine Fick, Douglas Horn, Kathleen ‘Moria, Ohuyann Teuko, ‘Sasaki Yoshinoby, Robbie Swinnerton Ginny Shord Waters Art & Graphics Ashizawe Kazako Corer Ashirawes Kazuko Catalog/Marketing Manager ‘Grey Willis Business Manager ‘Alton Wallace Advertsing Director ‘Nishizahi Kazuo OffceSubscriptions Manager ‘Gwenn M. Glish Accounting Supervisor ‘Cathy Hanrahan Administrative Assistanes Etissa Carvin, Sleven Cummings Sean Durkin, Jeff Embry, Morahash Maki, Inoue Satoko, Greg edaszewski evemiah Poole, Keiko Sweigart Exclusive Agent in Japan Sekai Shuppan Co. Lid. Tel, 03-3479-4434 | Fa 03-3479.5047 Subseritions in Japan: ¥LO,0/year Advisory Board Akizawa Koji, Peter Goodman, Karen Sandness, Frederik L. Shoal, “Jack Seward, John Steed, Ginny Skord Waters, ‘William Yamaguchi Mangajin employees ean be reached via ‘ennal at firstname mangaji.com Mangajin web page Dupe? amangajin som Mangajin (ISSN 1051-8177) is published 10 times a year. monthly except Jandary and July by: Mangajn, Ine, 212 hth St, NW, Atlan GA 30318. The yearly subscription rat is $50.95; the yearly averse subscriptions rate is $80 ($50 vo Canada), Periodicals postage pd at Atlnia, GA 30308 snd additonal offices Postmaster: Sen address changes to: Mangan P.O, Box 77188, Atlanta, GA. 30357, USPS #005137. The name Mangaje is repstred in the US. Patent & Trademark Office. Printed in USASAU) YE 11, een ae This note is primarily for our subseribers. That doesn't mean we don't appreciate those of you who buy Mangajin from newsstands and bookstores We have been very fortunate to get much better newsstand distribution than anyone thought possible back in 1989 when we were getting started. That includes even the big chain stores like Barnes & Noble and Borders, along with the specialty bookstores where you might expect to find us. (We are not in every one of those chain stores—the decision to carry a particu- | lar title is still up to each manager.) Once the ‘magazine is on the rack, however, people have to buy it to make the system work, so newsstand purchasers are an important part of our ecosystem. 3 In fact, most of our subscribers are “converted” newsstand purchasers. | Our subscribers are very important to us, and we try to stay in touch, We have always main- le | tained our subscriber database in house. Ie gives us betier quality control, and we can respond more quickly to address changes, special requests, etc. In the very beginning we kept a mailing list in WordPerfect on an old XT-type PC—actually a surprisingly workable system. We printed labels on a small dot-matrix printer that had a bad habit of going out of alignment, so as I kept an eye on the printer, I got to know the names of many of our subscribers, Eventually, we switched to a real database custom-programmed in a software called 4th Dimension. That database served us well for a number of years, but with the launch of our catalog operation last year the time had come for a new system. After much deliberation and consultation, we decided on FileMaker Pro. ‘The new database went into service with issue No. 66. The old database had been through a lot of changes under various business managers and subscription managers, and, although it served its purpose, there were some problems when the old data was flowed into the new database, We have tried to catch and correct these, but if your address is not exactly as it should be (if, for example, your zip code has changed, or if your apartment number is not correct), please let us know by e-mail ([email protected]) fr through our subscription hotline (1-800-552-3206). We occasionally get calls from concemed subscribers who want to make sure their subscriptions do not lapse. Of course, we send out renewal notices starting two issues before expiration, but if you suspect your renewal notice somehow went astray. or if you just want to see how much longer you have ‘on your subscription, look at the top left part of the mailing label from your subscriber copy. The number there is the last issue in your subscription. ‘Thanks for keeping it current. CCopytigh © 1997 hy Mangan tne. Al rights reserved. Ditber® by Scot Adams, reprintedtraslated by permission of United Media, New York. + Garfield, by San Davis, ©1993 Paes Ine. Distbuted by Univers Press Syndieate, nc All its reserved + Ninja Muge-ch,by Ishi Histchifrstpublished in Japan‘ 1985 Futaasha, Tokyo Publication in Mangajn aranged trough Fuabisha. Aino Wakekwayama Monogetar by ‘Terashima Reiko, frst published in Japan in 1995 by Take Shobo, Tokyo. Publication in Mangajn arranged though Take Shobo. «Via no Ut, by Sagan Ryohs fst published in Japan in 199 by Shogtkukan, Tokyo, Publication in Mangajin arranged though Shogakukan,« Keer! Todo Kacht, by Kadokashi Yasto, frst published i apanin 1996 by Kodansa, Tokyo. Publication in | Mongain serangsd through Kodansha,» Hyatu-nen Sena, by Goda Yoshi, frst poblished in 5apan in 1996 by Shogakkan, Tokyo, Publcaion ip Mangajn ranged through Shogakukan Tsunami Notebook Japanese Software for Windows 95 Introducing Tsunami Notebook! Released on March 15, 1997, th program i designed for small businesses and students. So what can it do for you? Oh, jus lite things like enabling you to read and write Japanese kanji, hiragana, and katakana on the English Windows ‘operating system, Plus word processing and printing Japanese sending and receiving Japanese e-mail, and handling all sorts of deccronic Japanese files (SJIS,JIS, EUC, ‘and more). Based on Neocor's premier Japanese translation software, Tsunami MT, the Notebook version also executes fast and accurate draft English-to- Japanese translations. Neocor software is the solution for Japanese communi cations on English language computers Visit heep://www.neocorcom and download a fice demo directly fiom out ‘website or call now at |-800-693- WAVE (1-619-483-2524) to order with VISA, ‘Mastercard, or American Express "Yapanese ‘e-mail on english Windows." "Sugoi, Ms, Tsunami Notebook, Mangajin 5se Your PC to Master Japanese and Chinese Eee, ste by trait, yo Asan language skills with Smart Characters integrated word process. ing, reading, weting, wanslting, and learning tool for PCs, Handy on-line ref erences, dictionaries, furigana, pinyin, and English annotations speed reading, ‘writing and translation earn and use ken and hanes while creating your own documents, faxes sand vocabulary lessons. Smart Characters The definitive Word Processing, Reading, Writing, Translatin Learning too! fr Japanese ‘and Chinese ity end eiting replaces com bersome printed didiosaries, ands easly hidden fr printing, faxing, or ever ‘rocessng ese by native ot lent speakers. ‘Customize online diionsties end dynamic sls allel ems ase for rapid Yet etry, pot lt, etc, end ight-o-et rope ions connenitng in lepnere ordi ond in bth kengges, or Hoey oning end using les ble word processing senso aos Signed Torna spoon “The optoncl DoubleByt TueType font inter= Japanese i Truelpe font inthe same doc ent under any of Windows, including Windows 95. Aeron $0 for Vides 5,5, NE or Windows 95 it $7995. Double uci fainter face js $1993, DOS rs 29 fer Sens only $9295 Call wef ee brghore. of ter eda Satin gusrantrd Apropos Customer Service: 8 Belknap Stoo! » ington, MA 02174 {300-676-4021 or 617-648-2041 Visit os om the Web: WWLaproposincxom 6 Mangajin ees Letters to the Editor Mangajin welcomes comments by let- ter, fax, ore-mail, although we reserve the right to edit for clarity or length. Please address correspondence to: Editor, P.O. Box 77188, Atlanta, GA 30357 ([email protected]). HARM ORMHS KMBDCT. HALE £10 J BEINN 8 2 iB Tait TOT | Ho 1218.9, Fax 033470436 More long manga Iwas sory o se that there was no con- Cinuing story in issue No. 65. like to read excerpts from longer manga as it allovis me to get true feeling of the style of the author and to get involved inthe story. als feel that a good way to learn a specific vocabulary isto see the sime words come up over and over again in three subsequent issues. Also the subject matter is often more inter esting in longer manga Mani Lawrie Montreal Loosen up! Tram a Japanese male, 26. 1 have en joyed reading Mangajin sine No. 26.1 helieve your magazine helps non-Tapa nese to understand not only language but also culture and habits. Please don’t be conservative lecting comics. Just as non-Japanese want to find out more about Japan, 1 ‘want o find out more about the US and other countries. I feel your choice of US comics is very conservative. I would like to see comics like “Beavis and Butthead” to learn more about Ameri- cans of the same generation, AAbacin Arsusit Kavvasahi, Japan Washlet worries Having just returned from a business trip to Japan, I was quite interested in the “Rise of the Washlct” article in Mangajin No. 65. Missing from the article, however, was a helpful listing of the various push-buttons on such devices. For those proficient in katakana, sutoppu, shawa, and dorai can be readily recognized as stop, shower, and dry, but what is the function of the chamu charm”) button? No doubt this is yet another creative example of gairaigo, but like many such “Ioan words” the meaning is not immediately clear to a non-Japanese. Even the pictograph on the button—a female hovering over a mini-fountain—only deepens the mys- tery. The fact that the toilet in ques- tion was in the men's room is an additional complication, ‘A braver soul, no doubt, would have solved the mystery through di experimentation, but somehow I find the idea of a toilet seat plugged di- rectly into an electrical socket to be somewhat unnerving. Also, knowing hhow the Japanese like very hot baths, P'ma little concerned with respect to the temperature set-point of such de- vices—is fuzzy logic used to ensure an optimum level of warmth? Bos Nasi Webster, NY Most washlets come with temperature control capabilities, but we can’t of- {fer any guarantees. Although differ ‘ent brands have different buttons, here are a few more options found on a washlet’s remote control Ei (senjo), “washirinse’ Ik (tomera), “stop. EP ARS (bide suisei chosetsu), “bidet water control’ GE (kanso), “dryer WA (onsui), “warm water {18H (benza), “seat” Websites of the moment With a Japanese film (“Unagi”) sharing top honors at Cannes this spring, the time seems right to ex- plore websites devoted to Japanese cinema: The “Unagi” homepage: hetp://www.shochiku.co.jp/ english/unagi-e/index-e.html ‘The Kinema Club is an informal group of scholars studying Japanese cinema and other moving-image media. Reviews, links, resources. http://pears.lib.ohio-state.edul Markus/Welcome.htm|RINE NA TO RT BLOOPERS Blooper Classics: Don't let them happen to you Some Bloopers like the following examples—are committed by almost evervone. With his we officially declare a moratorium on the publishing of Bloopers involving these words , > Lwent to Japan on the JET Program without previously studying Japanese, and during my first year I had a lot of problems keeping similar-sounding words straight in my head. I quickly ound out 1 was not alone, however. My friend confessed that he sometimes had a problem ) distinguishing between words like kawaii (“cute”) and kowai (“frightening/scary"). Before i he got it straight in his mind, he had unwittingly approached many mothers with their little i kids, crouched down to the child’s level, and in a friendly tone said, “Kowai, ne” (“My, i it fright- ening!”) aa fpr eceaan oe PAW iene LEW one KLM m Teen eke ere Kone Ba Te nm Nocera aces Ra Coe Ce LTT Ten dation! Masse Wiaiow Volume 2 is now available St. Ignatius, MT One day, wl helping some students ee OI with the daily school-cleaning ritual, one of them correctly pointed out that I had . arrived at school very late that day. “4 ‘Wanting to tell them T'was only human ‘ e ] (ningen), 1 unwittingly informed them DUCE that I was only a carrot (ninjin). They COIN Oa all fell about laughing, leaning on their RUC Lel eco brooms, probably thinking, “Yeah, I'd say that’s about right. Toxy Mrrcueut ‘ken, Japan Recently I was volunteering at a nurs- ing home for Japanese people in Los An- Experience festival geles. One of the residents asked what cae RI) 1 was studying in school, and I told him . that T had already graduated and was currently unemployed due to a layoff. The resident responded with, “How sad, you are a bimbo.” My shocked facial ex- pression must have said something be- wuse he repeated the remark. When came home that night I told my mother oan about the incident. She jst laughed and locations found explained he had probably called me eta . Pre “binbo” —“poor.” Boy was I embar- rassed. Susan SnoHo Los Angeles We'll send you a Mangajin T-shirt if we publish your language blooper (Japanese or English), Send to: 4055 Orchard Drive San Jose, CA 95134 Boaerc PO Bor 718% Ana GA Stet eede ge) ERE 30357 or Bloopers @Mangajin.com Mangajin 7‘Mangajin’s Basic Japanese col- umn has consistently been voted the most popular part of the magazine. (Check out the Basic Japanese in this, issue to see why!) Back in 1993, we compiled those popular Basic Japanese columns from the first 24 issues in book form, and called it Basic Japanese Through Comies. Thousands of readers have found it to be a wonderfully enter taining way to gain greater cultural and linguistic insights. It has proved popular with business people as well udents and teachers—fans range ‘core Japanophiles to those I n reader surveys over the year, Pee from har ‘whose interest is only casual Part 2 picks up where Part I left Now we bring you Basic off, bringing you all the Basic Japanese Through Comics, Part 24 Japanese columns from issues No. 25-48 of Mangajin magazine. If you liked Part 1, here's your chance to get even more of Mangajin’s unique presentation of Japanese language Peo) and culture. Ir you haven't seen Part J, take 25, Body Language (Part 1) adv antage of oa nese eomblned a ee (Part 2) package price of only $24.95 for both 3g. paper volumes—a savings of almost $5.00. Beton Harness the full power of the 30. Maitia basic building blocks of Japanese, 31. Sasuga appreciate more of the subtleties of a ae the language, and add depth and Bears beat ocarandertarang ot $f BAN contemporary Japanese culture with 36. Mono (Part 2) Basic Japanese Through Comics, 37. Slang & Colloquialsms (Part 1) Part Land Part 21 88. Slang & Colloquialisms (Part 2) 39, “Face” (Part 1) 40. "Face" (Part 2) Only $14.95/¥2,500 in Japan! 41. Kondo $24.95 for both books in the US $5. Toko In the US order through Mangajin: ponte Tek: 800-552-3206» Fax: 404-7240897 + E-mail: odes@ mangajn.com Ae ener In Japan order through SSKC: 47 Commands (Part) Tek: 03-3479-4434 + Fax: 03-3479-5047 48. Saying What You Want (Prices do not include shipping and handling.)Chiichiku The Japanese have a reputation for bring- ing in the best of Western culture and blending it with thei own, resulting in unique new hybrid, This seems to be es- pecially true in the area of foodstuft. ‘That mainstay of Japanese cuisine, tenpura, was ofiginally picked up from the Portuguese. Tonkatsu, superficially nothing more than a pork cute, has been refined and re-defined in a way tha is now uniquely Japanese, Kasutera (“eastella” a kind of pound cake), Comelecrice"), and anpan (a bread roll filled with sweetened bean paste) are all based on culinary imports. Th Sy Gh er eh st = CH LTRS Wty oe Bim Avs, Now, a product called Chiichiku offers the unlikely combination of cheese (Camembert, no less) and chika, Writ- ten with kanji meaning “bamboo-ring” (tf ia), chikuowa is made from fish paste and fashioned into a cylindrical shape. Unlike some of its milder-flavored cousins, chikuova has a rather strong fishy taste, aking it a favorite of cats, but it’s a taste that, for most foreigners, is an ac- quired one. (The Chiichiku package notes that the product's fine, dark texture comes from fish skin, so there is defi- nitely no shortage of fishy flavor here.) at ov ‘The name Chiichiku is writien in a way that hints at its combination of ingredients. The initial chit is writen in Katakana, the script generally used for imported words. In fact, itis simply the first sound of the word chiizw (F~ %), as “cheese” is rendered in the Japanese phonetic syllabary. The second part, -chiku, is written in hiragana, the standard phonetic script, in keeping with its identity as a Japanese word. The little singing birds over the name show why this is such a catchy name: chiichiku is a slight variation of the sound associated with the call of little birds (usually ptichiku, pachiku). As the ad copy states, “You can’t forget the name or the delicious taste.” To clinch the association with bird calls, it describes the taste as fushigi-na aji no hamonii (“a marvelous/mysterious harmony of flavors”). se, although an imported food, has long been a part of Japanese cuisine. One of its more popular uses has been as o-tswnami, the kind of finger foods eaten with adult beverages, and the copy in this ad for Chiichiku starts out “With beer, with wine, with saké. ..” It goes on, however, to add“... that’s right, in lunch boxes 100,” positioning Chiichiku as a taste treat for the entire family. ‘Send us your examples of creative product names or slogans (with some kind of documentation). Ifwe | ‘publish your example, we'll send you a Mangajin T-shirt to wear on your next shopping trip. Incase of | duplicate entries, earliesi postmark gets the shirt. BRAND NEWS, P.O. Box 77188, Atlanta, GA 30357-1188 Fie AVH HY ENE CLAS, THEW T, MME MEME C3 DF Sun. fans + MATE 37 28 EEO RE OHM DAM OME ORCI SBOE HL (WS, P.O. Box 77188, As 11s, US.A. Mangajin 9Quality Books & Software About Japan ey ae en ee Cosmotoay oF Kyoto * cp (Mac/PC) teferenc New low price: $49.00 ‘ewe ovo Seino apes La Tue Bia Book oF Sumo: History, ==) PRACTICE, RITUAL, Ficat by Mina Hall Winimetcal line drawings make Tae Br fo the most user friendly sumo guide ‘evalable. Covers pis | ee ~suMO. = again | tor trations, train- SE PAS. | tw methods, ‘stanie Iie, rankings, fighting holds, and judging. Designed as aninro- ction, to sumo, it contains charts, photographs, and diagrams for af cionados a8 wel, Featured ae maps to the traning stables plus ior mation on how to be a sumo spectator ae where to eat and stay near the sumo arena in Japan. 144 pp. Over 200 daw ings aed photos. $19.95 {raw on a US bank, Purchase orders aocopted from companies and schools. Contact This interactive CO-ROM adventure takes place in 2Oth-eentury Kyoto. Beautiful graphies and mysterious fencounters combine with a histor cally accurate description of ancient street life and religous beliefs. The CD also inludes an eneyelopedio ‘mode with over 400 us trated entries on aspects of Heian culture and religion. A super-seduc- ‘ve game given tremendous reviews on National Public Rado and in Wired, New Media, MacUser, Newsweek, and many other magazines. rica se tet i feito emscereseate a ieee een temas Benne cuneate Eee ae AAlido. $34.00, through” of 24. of ‘Kyoto’ Japanese art. $39.00 ‘Rane avo Omen Sromes. By Yostikichi Fura Four short stores that are dreamlike eveeations: ofthe inner Ives of Japanese people. By the win ner of the Akutagawa Prize, the Kawabata Yasunat Pie, and many other iterary awards. 144 pp, 12.98, ‘Suse: Tie Japanese Arr o€ Maron Lavoscare ‘Stones. 8y Felix Rivera. 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Pacific Software Publishing - Language Solutions Group 600. 108in Avenue NE, Suite 104, Belevue, WA 98004 Soles 800-232-3898 oF 425-688-6080 Fox: 425-990-3368, The Encyclopedia of Japanese Pop Culture by Mark Schilling Jopanese pop culture is the beto version of twenty-first-century American pop culture. Mark Schilling’s encyclopedia is an in- valuable guide to a rich but labyrinthine subject. | use it not to look up what I don't know, but to find out what | should know —Roger ebert A comucopia turned upside-down, this fascinating book defines | New Japan through its pop culture—everything from pachinko to Tora-san, from instant ramen to Goekilla —Donald Richie 300 pp * 7x9 * 60 black & white photos ISBN 0-8348.0380-1 + $99.95 (soft) WEATHERHILL Pa ey - ae See ea,.< This was the ninth kaisha seisumeikai Kiyomi had attended. Sito WEL Some of the companies had administered 20-minute tests of B4L0 40 ft. middle-school-level Japanese and mathematics. Wks Awd Rua ne WOW PRO FAREZOPF ORAL In contrast to Kiyomi’s experience, the reaction of the pee reat Stee companies to Takao had been fast. By the end of December FCT 2H ARCH MLO BARRENS ZHRISASHIVZ. BE he had already received a brochure from a trading company citi i OL CHS. LL AMSHX CL DL. tha specialized in kimono. He was off to a good stat. Around lsh Aho Reva ars oS 8 te AUF ulna ye March, however, his interest changed to banking. He visited OSH RE OEE eI the main office of a local bank in Kyushu, where he was from. Unlike the exchange of cards and letters so far, this was the first time he had come in contact with a live human being, ELONTER TROY eos ” : and he was a litle nervous. Interview manuals give detailed All EVES & BAL win eae LAGER LZ, 54% instructions about how to deal with such situations, but he had SO RAO = 27 NIAC CHS Besa rw RE IES A & EATON = AA} 4% eo best ht» EY Edi Ci CO not bought a manual Didets The hierarchical relationships (between senior and junior members} of sports clubs (aiiku-kai) at Japanese schools are ik Ktonie—y «9 78 ribwls Lilet, Jit vey ley dine. Takao 4s on te vats plea, adhe se sent “itu lai oy bid lived in the team dormitory. In that kind of hierarchy, he EERO L PABA 8 YL Cube MBE KEO received strict training in proper etiquette toward his superiors AaRIBIC i LK FORM CHIAL TVS. CALIF — Japanese companies are also hierarchical organizations that place iorsitcc vi x HI AYy 2 ALL CCAS ALT=. heavy emphasis on group activities and group harmony. For Roadie kunimeinaie kava 77 hai that reason, students from sports clubs are popular with : ae corporations, Takao reports that when he asked one company fe Rlhwo ia Bhi Maoh %. 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SEER) va TTA PR REE KE AL To Ma EMILE, HHOSMH F7DLVT Standard Features Include: E,| dictionary of 64,500 entries ‘* LE dictionary of 61,000 entries +* 6,300 kanji '* 30,000 kanji compounds ‘year subseription 2 GaMB memory Menon * 2 expansion slots panes * One-year warranty (valid in US only) Order #MOO15 + $395.00+(539.95 value FREE!) Modern Language Expansion Card ‘Adds 4,700 modern terms to your IDX-9500. Order #M0066 + $79.95 DO Rei eee Rate Pe Lae E-mail: orders@mangaj Call for shipping & handl "Fee sabctpen oferty prcnens nace rough Mangan Oe alee US Feroin ors wo coal S30 9S towers pc a sbscponThe Lighter Side ighter Sid baer of Ninja ‘Mangajin has previously featured manga from Ishii Hisaichi’s “Action Comics Donuts Books” (subtitled “Ishii Hisaichi Senshit"). Many of Ishii’s strips parody Japan’s famous ninja warriors, and these manga have now been collected in a newly-published volume called “Ninja Mugei- cho” (“Record of the Inept Ninja”). Even the title of the book is a take-off on fellow-manga artist Shirato Sanpei’s, series called. a Bugei-cha” (F HREM, “Record of the Koga Martial Arts”). Ninja (2%) are the fabled practitioners of ninjutsu (2.41), the art of stealth. (The “nin” in these words—; same kanji used in shinobu, hidden.”) Employed by rival warlords in times of strife, ninja specialized in spying, sabotage, and assassina- avoid capture a ninja had to be both devious and physically fit. Different schools of ninjutsu developed over time, each with special tricks and gadgets used for escape or to avoid detection. One famous ninja technique was the suiton no jutsu, by which a spy could secretly cross a moat by submerging himself completely in the water, breathing, through a pipe. hide/lie The warrior shown at left is using a typical ninja tool, the shukdkagi, which was used for climbing walls. (Getting one’s head stepped on, however, was not a form of ninjutst.) Ninja warriors came from ninja families, found especially in the remote areas of Iga (now called Mie) and Koga (now Shiga). The secrets of the art were taught from an early age and passed down over generations. Clad in black and working at night, real ninja were so skillful and mysterious that many Japanese believed there was magic involved in their feats, 18 Mangailn Ninja Mugei-cho eas ae RIG Record of the Inept Ninja by LID BG Lehi Hisaichi ough Fb ae ew ES eT y ese, Peedi J FON 9a aco MMSE OE BES) BR Kolo da na, himigashiresoma 19 ochian basho wa Tree place {ie clea) Mader (fon) with senders, play at for “"This is tthe rendezvous point with the eapiain.” (PL.2) QB BAK? Ait wa nan de? 1 aster wit “te ‘What's the signal?” (PL2) 270% oO BAM ah Kk Falurd no naki-goe sankai dao ee “Sait Snes is Cemph) “Three ow! outs.” (PL2) sau eer toa group—in his case a band of nina. Kashira (which changes to -gashirain his combination) means headlhietMeader.” Ninja 2: Ninja 3: bo, tl 877090 GE VR BE tAT. Al,” ore sa, fur no maki mane nigate nan da (inter °T (colo) owl of erycall imitation, weak/ensiled at (am-expan.) “Ah, you know, I’m really bad at doing owl imitations.” (PL2) BEA i? Omae wa? you asfor “How about you?” (PL2) AL’ RO Ho aTh Bb BR BAL IE. Ore mo dame da. Niwatori nara tokui manda kedo. ime also no good am chicken ifitis forte (ivexplan) but “I'm no good But Ican doa mean (PL2) Ninjal: 4) 12 7% 2 4/7y HM BAR. Ore wa uta 10 inoshishisenmon na nda. Vive asfor pig and wild boar specialist amexplan) “Lspecialize in pigs and boars.” (PL2) Ninja2: +) 220 LTari. Ore aera shit dekinal Te ae ‘+ shika works together with a negative later in the sentence “Kean ly do fogs (2 toma “onshore dein cada so se Ninja3: Bot: te dekinai means “can only do ~." Yowatia na. + yornartais the planfabrupt pas form of yowuru (become be ata loss (clog) weak"), used idiomatically to mean *be at a loss/in a “What'll we do?” (PL2) quandary.” Ninjal: Le SKM 770% DHERT AB. Ja sa) honmono no fukurdtsukamacte sa, inthatcaseahen (cllog) teal owl eatchand (collog) Lode yeh metbe vv AT ko shime-agete _-muriyari rukaserya ii nda 90. rH, BEA HM VU, Paitsqucere on and Yoreibly if make cy/all is good (expan) (mp) “Well then, all we have to do is catch a real ow! the squeeze until we make it hoot.” (PL2) AL “omae atama ii linweri) “you “bead ig good “Hey, youre smart.” (PL2) Soot ep Sasuga terakoya-de da. befitting school graduate ite at's an elementary school graduate for you.” (PL2) nakaserya itis a colloquial nakasereba i, from nakaseru, a causative (“make -ba form of a verb is conditional (if), but when followed by iit takes onthe idiomatic meaning of all we have to-do is ~," so nakaserya ii ="all we have to do is make it ry [by putting the squeeze on i saswga implies the action is befitting ofthat person or lives up to what one would expect of himn—in this case What one would expect of a person who has been schooled, ‘erako (it, “temple child”) was the word for "schoolchild” in the Edo period (the term probably comes from an earlier era hen priests were the providers of what litle education was available), and terakoya (-ya denotes a shop or small business) 'were shops or homes that took pupils fora living. Small private schools ofthis kind proliferated during the Edo period, catering especially to children of the commoner classes, providing them with an elementary education, the suffix -de aftera type of school means “graduate of [that kind of school].” ") form of the verb naku (“ery/ealt”). The nigh to do ~/ contin nex pug} Mangaiin 19cine from previo pe) & i 77no ik Dokoka ni fukur wa somewhere infat “owl asfor Ninja2: we diro inai kana! notexist I wonder femph.) “I wonder where.” (PL: FX: Fan430 Kyoro kyoro (effect of ‘there isn’t an owl around here some- ering about) + though pointing to three different ninja, the three balloons actually repre sent a single sentence: Doko ka ni fukurd wa inal ka na tto (“I wonder if there isn't an ow around here somewhere”). To or ois sometimes used atthe end ofa sentence for emphasis. €] Sound EX: ck a7 Ho ho ho Hoo hoo hoo Ninjas Bor wit at tat (er) exissis preset (emph.) “Ah! There’s one!” (PL2) 20 Mangaiin All: £f! OMELH! Ke sare Sore! Tsukamaera! “ Buttatake! Nigasu na! there h Tit don’t let escape “Take that! Catch him! Clobber him! Don’t let him get away!” (PL2) Sound FX: 4 94+ Rustle rustle Ry RA Ray Pokal pokal poka! poka! ‘Wham! Bam! Wham! Bam! ikamaero isthe abrupt command form of isukamaeru, “catch/captare.”| ‘5:9 but isan emphatic prefix, and rattake isthe abrupt command form of taraku, “hit” —> “clobber. + nigasu = "let gofallow to escape,” and na after the dic ‘verb can make an abrupt negative command, “don't ~ ary form of a Ninja: ~>! x (ines) “Oh no!” (PL2) Ninja: si ® 3! Kunigashira-sama! leader thon) “Captain!” (PLA)Ninja he bo Re MES Record of the Inept Ninja by QUWOEUS Dhl Misch nosero is the wg Ta ‘will go (emp) “Let's go.” (PL2) IL, ko & ors. Yoshi, ashi 0 nosero. OK Toot (ob.) put on top “OK, put your foot here.” ay Sasa (effect of moving swiftly) (PL) Sound FX: Pat (effect of setting foot down) abrupt command form of the verb nosers (“puvplace on”) Zhot Sore! hat “Heave-ho!” (PL2) Pi (effect of flying into the air) yadyF Shuywachi (effect of powerful heaving) + sore! (li, “that” is often used as an interjection when theusting/swin striking/throwing something, + shuwarcht is borrowed from the “Ultraman” TV series masterful Ultraman getting ready to set off his laser beam, Ninja 1: Sound FX: the effect of the 3] Sound FX: 4+» Dosa! Thua a ei 2 ke to wa naka ka, Abaormal situation/isturbance as for not exist (7) “Are there no disturbances’ “Is everything quiet?” (PL2) RC 3A Bt Ht re de sannin ninja 9a St Speople sin (s.) SRHBLE Db Kizetsw shitorimoshita ga. were passed out buttough “Yes, sir—though I did find three unconscious ninj out front.” (PL3) + 6 refers to a situation that is abnormal or a disturbance of some kind, and ‘naka here is dialect for na (not exist"): J wa nai ka (I, is there noth ‘ut ofthe ordinary/are there no di c rity personnel to inquire whethei 5, 80 ts like “is ever Councillor: + ha! isa crispormal hai (“yes”); note that, in Japanese, answering ha!/hai toa negative question like “ate there no disturbances” means "yes, [that i, correct; there are no disturbances.” That's why he uses ga ("but/thou ‘when he adds the remark about the unconscious ninja, + shitorimoshita is a dialecUcontraction of shite ovimashita, the PL3 past form of shite one (= shite ir) from the verb suru (“do”). Kizessu suru “faintpass out ets shite irw/oru = “isfare passed ou nd. Mangajn 21Ninja Mugei-chz ae IG Record of the Inept Ninja byOLOOS OG hi Hisaichi j NL 4 aye - le i L q i ey) Es FX: Tono: daremo combines with a negative ing the da adds emphasis: “no one a al fatsumaste konai is the negative of atsumarte kuru, from atsumaru ({people] gather”), using the -te form plus kuru (“come”) implies thatthe people will be coming to gather where the speaker is: Supposed to suis a contraction of desu, here added merely for politeness, iyagatte-yagars is a contraction of iyagatte ira with the derogatory verb ending -yagaru. Ivagatte iru (“are shun from HEA°2 iyagaru: shigoto o iyagaru = "show an aversion to work ‘show the desire to avoid work.” aitsu comes from ano yatsu ("that guy/person" ferring to someon bums.” The sentence is inverted: itsura (wa) would normally come atthe Ey EY EP Moke moku moku Puff puff puff Fon} Hots A” Daremo—atsumatte kona sue. no one doesn't gatherand-come (pol) ollog.) “No one’s coming at all.” (PL3) | eH 9 JUy BCS Oh Aisu no noroshiagete-ru noni {he signal tht is smoke signal am raising even though “Even though we're raising the smoke signal.” (PL2) te Mo CRA AK, Shigoto 0 iyagatte-yagaru nda, ‘Work (0b) are showing aession t-(derog) (explan.) BV, those guys 7 “They just want to avoid having to work, the rats.” (PL2) ‘mean “not anyoneino one.” Lengthen- ‘or atleast they're ng/showing an aversion to") is 4 rather rough way of re ra makes it plural ("those guys") ~> “the ratstbe lazy served Fin pubis in span in 1985 by Fats, Ty 22 Mangajin beginning, FX: £7 47 £7 Moku moku noku | Puff puff puff | me Sound FX: 99999999 Ta a a tata tata 1a (sound of running feet) Juju ju (Sizzling of roasting fish)(© Terashima Reiko. A sgt seve, Fis psd Jpn in 1983 by Take Shobo, Tokyo. B SOR eWeek Aino Wakakusayama Quaint Wal by Fi Monogatari usayama Story # Terashima Reiko alles ele he author of this autobiographical 4-panel manga, Terashima Reiko, \writes in her book's foreword that the inspiration for her series came from a TV cartoon that used to run on Sunday nights called “Ai no W: kkusa Monogatari” (literally, “Love's Wakakusa Story,” with wakakusa be- ing a place name made up of the kanji for "young-grass"). The cartoon was the animated story of women who bravely fought to survive in the frontierlands of 19th-century America, Terashima likened her unmarried older sister, Shizuka, to the staunch ‘widow in the cartoon and saw her father as a stranded soul in a woman's household. Although Terashima has now married and moved from her par- ents’ home in Kyoto, the story of her Wakakusayama home continues to be chronicled from the point of view of the family cat in a manga series called Tadasuke Nikki (“Tadasuke’s Diary’) FX: 2929 Kossori (effect of stealth/sneaking) 2] Father: 720 tk THY F- A AoTS Washi no kaky@ burandé ga hette-ru my high-grade brandy (Subj.) has decreased Be 7 He ow Shika ka? Bhumika? (ame) 0) (wame) C) Be PS PEoCHS OIE Takai kara kazatte aru noni ipetive teeane ison dapay orem tough “Some of my good brandy"s gone. Was it you, Shizuka? Tkumi? I was keeping iton display be: + washiis a word for “ime” used mostly by middle-aged and older men. + hette-ru isa contraction of hette iru, from era (“decrease/go down’) + Razate isthe -te form of the verb kazaru (“decorateldisplay”), and aru means “existe in a place” (for inanimate things). Aru after the -te form ‘of a verb means the setion was done and the result remains in place Kossori (effect of stealth/sneaking) 3 EX: 4] Mother: 7770 file = TED FA RZD Warashino kokana —shina-tori naive kuriimu my high-priced winkle-emover night cream b Mots! ot 12 HE Reo mo hete-ra! Kore wa Shizuka ya nat tlso as decressed this as for (name) is, det “Some of my expensive wrinkle cream is gone, too! hhad to be Shizuka!” (PL2-K) + ya nais Kansai dialeot for da na; ~ cla na withthe intonation of a question ‘essentially makes a conjecture: “it's~, it seems guessl bet.” Mangajin 23,Ane, MRE HEM oT. ROEM f Ao BE ih os Aino Wakakusayama Monogatari Cau) pl, ethno “ “Hlmm. as for shichisuimet. Quaint Wakakusayama Story BAECS eb, at by SHUR F Tein Riko cra om Ie, the calculations sure are troublesome.” “Hmm, shichi suimei sure isa pain, with all these calculations?” (PL2) Shizuka: 7.0? Uranai? Giiatonfonunling “Finding out your fortune?” (PL2) ‘+ shichit suimet is acategory in kigaku, a kind of divination that uses a system (of charts and calculations to predict or guide a person's future Ikumi: 9 HMGL ES FE eR’ MD Iisu_kekkon shitara shiawase minaret ka da te When muy happy” can become (°) (quote) “It says it'll tell you when to get married in order to be happy.” (PL2) Ba AC eer NT ADNEA« Kya,” mite? Ninen -g0 da tie. ite miasukenakya’ (euead took 2years Tater (quote) partner mist find “Ooh, look, it says in two years! I've got to find a husband!” "(PL2) Shizuka: A-. Ub... UW SAS boCr- bh? watashi wa... Keisanki morte Kika na? Gnter,) me ‘as for ‘caleulator © hall bing Tonder “Hmm, and what about me? Maybe I should get a calculator.” (PL2) + mite (-te Form of miru, “look at") is being used as an informal command. + mitsukenakya isa colloquial contraction of mitsukenakute war, which here implies miesukenakute wa ikenai, a“musvhave to” form of mitsukeru find’). + ka'isa contraction of koyd, the vo verb kuru (“come”); motte kur bringigo get ~.” onal (“I think [Ml ~") form of the bring” —* motte koe = "Think PU a Tkumi: =, OH A one wa kantan, (inser) older sister ax for simple “Oh, you're easy.” (PL2) Shizuka: 0) Wie Cer Warthireru sj ya toka? evenly divisible umber “is. or: “You mean it’s an evenly di je number or + ye often replaces dain Kansai dialect a kumi: 40404 Die Fk Showa yonjianen izen amare wa ikkatsu shit Showa dinh year before “bith ae for are lumped ogstherand TWA Cb) o< koTET. F ‘ashita ni demo” te nawe-masu. Hora tomorrow on even (quote) ‘has bevome , hol/see "AS for those born before 1965, they’ re all jumped to- gether and it says ‘as soon as tomorrow.” See For anyone born before 1965 it says “tomorrow, if See?” (PL3) Pashit ‘Smack! te-masuis a contraction of to nate imasu, from nary (“become”), but here it essentially means “it says.” 24 MangajinSEO WD at Aino Wakakusayama Monogatari Quaint Wakakusayama Story by IRE F Terashima Reiko 5 ej) Father!® (PL2) “Eel re Pl kot, Lot Goki ga! Tone,” tone cockroach (ub) gs st “it’s a roach! Gel (PL2) although it would be impossible to quantify, Japanese spouses tend to ad ‘ress and refer to each other as otdsan/okasan a good deal more than “American spouses, perhaps because they see their roles as parents as more their roles as husband and wife. We considered changing rather" 10 "Honey!" inthe first line, because “Father” seems moe like @ daughter addressing parent rather than a wife addressing her spouse, ‘g0ki is short for gokiburi, “cockroach tote isthe -1e form of tora (“take/geticatch”) Wife: 25 RoC KEE Eb MDELAELY (thinking) Ko yerte tamani wa tayori ni shitagemashd, this way: do-and_ sometimes asfor_shall make him my support “T should show him I depend on him like this every once in a while.” (PL2) nD eR Buricburi_— Sabisw (quivering FX), service (effect of being very pleased with herself for rendering the “service” of massaging her husband's ego) Husband: §) 0 LK Me daijo. ow/akeady” OK. “It’s OK now.” (PL2) tayori is the noun form of tayaru (“dependlrely upon”); the expression here ‘comes from tayori ni suru (lit, "make [someone] one’s dependence), which implies depending on someone asa source of support and strength, shitagemasha is a contraction of shite agemashd, which is a volitional (Cet'sit shall") form of shite ageru from the ver suru Cdo/make"): ager after the -te form of another verb implies doing the aetion for someone else's benefit, Husband: KR, PO Uk RUE Zo. Mo dajioba ya. Yausw wa nigeta zo! fowsneady OKiafe “is guy awfor ramawray (empl) “It’s OK now. He ran away.” (PL2) Wie: £7 B “Huh?” (PL2) Eb RAE Ma edo ne. well goodine but_(cllog,) “Well, so much for that.” (PL2-K) b wk A ita {ier} exis there “Ah, there itis.” (PL2) Sound FX: 12.5. Bagi Stomp Bis Kansai dialest for ito Soe] Mangan 26The salvaging of the Sindia When the Sindia was built in 1887, it was the largest four-masted, steel-hull sailing vessel ever. Built by Harland and Wolff the firm that produced the Titanic a decade later— the Sindia was owned by oil magnate John D. Rockefeller. Her final voyage hegan in Shanghai in 1901. Taking advantage of the chaos surrounding the end of the Boxer Rebellion, traders, loaded the Sindia with priceless items looted from temples and, some say, with tons of gold. At the next stop, in Kobe, the Sind picked up fine china and other valuable Japanese goods to be sold in the US during the Christmas season. The ship had bad luck off ist of New Jersey, however, and ran aground not far from Attempts to retrieve items stored in the lower holds sful, and eventually the india sank into the sand Recently, however, a group of treasure hunters have begun an effort to salvage the Sindia and her cargo. Since the ship lies in fainly shallow water, engineers have been able to build a steet cofferdam around the ruins. After the water is pumped out, the site will be dry and archaeologists willbe able to work without using diving gear. The salvage project is not only the largest marine archaeologi: cal excavation ever, itis also the only Japanese and Chinese ar- cheological dig ever to take place in the United States. The trea- sures unearthed are expected to have a value of $40 million One doesn’t have tobe an inves- tor or an archaeologist 10 benefit from the excavation of the Sindia. | 2YFAT FL 7994 AA ramp to the dig, bleachers, and a even a video screen have been set up for spectators. Tn conjunction with the com- mencement of the salvage project, a bilingual Japanese and English) chiren's picture book has just been published. Called The Sindia and the Whale (Sekai Shuppan, 1997), the book is a far 11 tale of the ship's last voyage involving vengeful gods, heroic whales, and a very lucky captain. It was written by Fukumoto Tomoo. 26 Mangajin BOR Mae Aino Wakakusayama Monogatari Quaint Wakakusayama Story ‘Eh F Terashima Reiko[2] Narration: nat Co Hite Karaoke de tetswya Karioke ‘at _allnighter All-nighter at the Karaoke Bar Walter: Hii SF. 4 Fo Heiten desu Maid, Sore closing is alwayeach time “t's closing time. Thanks for coming.” (PL3; PL2) Shizuka: > ho ome BBW Ue, soto ga akarui iy gui ab) i rahi cnohy “Wow, it’s light outside.” (PL2) Coworker: Sif 2 80. Go-jt da_mono. 5:00 is. explan) ‘Well, it’s 5:00." (PL2) + maido isan informal abbreviation of maido arigato gozaimasu, which isa standard polite phrase for thanking customers! Korn Clink (sound of earring hitting phone handset) Tkumi: 122, Be HL ue cms toa ise Naruhodo, Otoko ni goshite —shakai de haaraku tame ni wat Teco nn cmen with rnkifsociateand society In work for purpose of for “L get it. It’s so you can compete shoulder to shoulder with men in the working world!” (PL2) + narutiodo expresses one’s understanding of what ha been said or observed: “ahalselindeedeally”—* “that makes sensefl get te" + goshite the -t form of gosurs (“ranklasociat [with]") usually written °F 2. 3 Tkumi: C6 ROLES Re tt vfe—-n tet Oo fal Demo onna-rashitu ashinoto wa hat-hiira haite-ku none! bet” inwomanlymanser “on ft” arfor high helt wenrand-go (expan) (allo. “Yet you wear high heels for a feminine touch.” (PL2) avat avyy Maswemasu — kanshin Ime snd ore aiale r'm impressed all the more!" (PL2) Shizuka: $2 #2, Mane well (slog) “Well, Ltry.” (PL2) Father: Zi it Sore wa ta at as for (clog) “Those are + hhaite-ke is a contraction of hate ik, the te Form of haku (°wear [on feetegs!) plus ik ("20") + dine vaguely aims what another person hs ssid: "Yeah, sor off Wel, yes, I suppose/Yeah, something ike that,” (J Father: 7774 0 QB Dwr & LS tw eA. H i HLT. denska "no amidana no manga 0 tora tame sare. Otoko ni goshite hin in “shel on manga (06h) setake porose. right? men ith uakSsocat-and “so she can grab the manga on the baggage rack in the train, right? Competing shoulder to shoulder with the men.” (P12) FX: Daeo Hyoit (effect of reaching/grabbing) Shizuka: 44°C ¢= n-2 Mita na? ‘ete looking (explan?) “You saw that?” (PL2) asking a question with no (elongated here) is common in collequial speech, especially among females. Mangaiin 29rf Hyaku-nen Senryii wi LL T Co) £0 that 2878 L Cob # gotar ts [ksh 4 /tiliet S| =e. we know hell go tar [eastiiti-s 2c PVE D © SHBLAMIL Le paso £009 BEIM, kitbio THe | Ben: “I also have executive style hair.” Enc (2C 1k ow MB API TH Lk. Soreni boku wea kamigata ga jityaku sutairu desu shine. furthermore Hime as for arsivie (Subj) executive syle and besides (call. Boss: “We think it will turn silver.” ME KB & BSA Sieh wl come (ne) dtp.) + think 2945 o> that (2 LC ab + itt hale ai Harsiiver & GRICIAITIEI2 gray &) eECLEME LOBEL LL Mangajin 39UMMM T HAVE A DATE WITH THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMAN ‘ON THE PLANET. TONIGHT! (@) MMMM (©1904 Paws Allighs srt, Disibed by Univeral rs Syadiate MMM AND WHICH PLANET WOULD THAT BE? (don: FH Kon'va we Conk ator ‘word in mow + have adate, 17. nibsea 2 tee TT ret le “Lhave a date with she mast beautitul woman on the planet ton ight!” —H anne kK EF Oh E trial de ichibon ‘tri na 10 déto ‘te nan dat (isexplan) + planet it Hei t2 (EM) Ox EA, EM me LE OH DRSL BHO OED, DWI) & BOR. HE HOR LMC S d+ onthe planet (2 PHHAKE-CH ~h~| ORIDARD ALA. LECH, ROT 1 FORE ORES ORE) Cid a—7 aN tee, THER EL £8, Ichiban means “number oneifirs,” but i's also the word used to modify adjectives and descriptive nouns to give the meaning of “most ~." Kirei = “pretty/beautiful," so ichiban kirei = “most beautiful” [2] Garfield: “And which planet would that be?” Ene, ED HH OLE KSI te Sorya, "dono sekaino oro dao na SSforthat which Woe ‘Of thing. coulditke (ellog) don: Kikoea zo! teas (emph) + which planet would that bo IEA CIR ¢ Tho LU EO planet DCE Bio TOBA! ses. , 7 ‘+ would that bo that (7.20 the planet &4ir#A%, heard that that (2. Garfield Dio eRe tet. + soryais a colloquial contraction of sore wa. + kikoeta's the plain/abrupt past form of the verb kikoeru (‘can hear/is audible"). 94 Mangajn WlNZTYIN-KES ag RIFAIOES LAH, — Hummingybird MIS, HELV bR-Yave mee bocce die ea lie t SAE GSEs CAP a2 tl SG tol 5-2 sere: 1-| Eee R154 FOLIA TE 1 oS ASP a cane 8 eae ke oe = US Krit= LO THB RAPPER A REA, MANIA ETE TS 21) CREDIEKI YT CR, MOBI FIk SR TALY EF BAL. UB CERAD, ELV Fm 5 SBM LBRATE EF, BIBRA 3 | Mangalin, inc. P.0. Box 7168 ‘Atlanta, GA 30357-1188 USA ‘6 : US (@00) 952-3206 EARS (408) 724-0805 Fax | 3H (404) 724-0897 E-mail ! [email protected] c YOR | $450 it — GA HHTE% Tax 6% erat eit Us Ret (7 ti ete ai BY | | | | I Li Hito” ("Nice Guy") starred Kasra Tasos member ofthe op group SMAP. asa youngman working fora sport-shoe company. ‘oru and Kazumi are seatmates on the flight from New York to Narita International Airport. He’s got the aisle, she the window seat. That's why, when she neg! the convenient little baggies and tries to run for the rest room, she ends up regurgitating all over him, But it is not airsickness: she is several months’ pregnant, deserted by her older, married lover and wondering how she’s going to break the news to her strict but ailing father. And so begins their love affair. Toru agrees to go home with her for the evening and pose as her fiancé—for a fee, of course. Change the plane to a train and Narita to Napa and we could easily be talking about the 1996 Keanu Reeves movie A Walk in the Clouds, but this first scene is where the similarity ends. Like many Japanese TV dramas, “Virgin Road”—Fuji TV's miniseries for the first quarter of 1997—does not hesitate to “take a hint” (7b hhinto ni shite) from Western films, as the TV magazines like to describe such borrowing, but quickly returns to familiar subplots, cultural symbols, and stereotypes to flesh out the remaining 10 episodes. In the case of “Virgin Road” sajin Rado—the title is the Japanes sh term for walking down the aisle), which ran on Monday nights for 11 weeks starting in Fs to grab one of January, the old standards employed were sentimental, often maudlin family relationships, long-kept secrets concerning Kazumi’s own birth, a conniving rival for Toru’s affections, and the essential differences between Tokyo and Osaka residents. 36 Mangajin The road to ratings success Using tried-and-true formulas, TV dramas score big ratings on Japanese TV. Toru, played by relative newcomer Sorimachi Takashi, is an Osakan trying to make his way as a freelance writer in Tokyo. The role has sent Sorimachi’s career soaring. He quickly rose to a top-10 position in viewer polls of Japan’s favorite male actors and has picked up lucrative commercial contracts with companies such as Shiseido Cosmetics, He retums to the same time slot in the summer season in a series called “Beach Boys. Kazumi is played by Wakui Emi, who was scouted some years ago by a talent agent while strolling through Tokyo Disneyland. Currently ranked as the nation’s fourth ‘most popular actress, she has enjoyed a succession of memo- rable roles Most Tetsuya drip from his yukata sleeves, The multi-talented Takeda, a singer, writer, and actor, has been almost a national institution since 1980 when he frst starred in “3-Nen B Gumi, Kinpachi Sensei.” It was there that he immortalized the character of the highly emotional, hard-working, and long-enduring junior- high-school teacher who has appeared in sequel after sequel, helping three generations of students through the traumas of the Japanese educational system. Once their charade has begun, Kazumi and Toru can- not seem to put an end to it; a string of misunderstand- and their own emotions—interfere. One of the main the sentimentality is provided by veteran Takeda the role of Kazumi’s father, a man whose emotions complications is that there are soon three suitors vying forKazumi’s hand: the baby’s father, her new boss, and, although he is loathe to admit it, Toru. ‘The audience knows she will marry one of them because the opening credits feature a very pregnant Kazumi strolling down the “virgin road” with an unidentified groom waiting for her at the altar. But who is it? His face is obscured by songstress Amuro Namie who, like Cupid, floats down from the church balcony where she has been belting out her latest rillion-seller, the series theme song “Can You Celebrate?” ‘The secret was not, of course, revealed until the final epi- sode at the end of March—an episode which garnered ratings ‘of 28 percent, up from the series average of 20 percent. The entire series was made available on video April 18, almost real time for those Japanese drama fans without access to the televised version and others eager to vicariously relive the happy moment. A spokesperson for Pony Canon Shopping Club, the distributor of the four-volume set, reports the series is selling well even with a ¥36,200 (around $350) price tag Publisher Kadokawa Shoten beat out the video by releasing the tale in book form on April 11 ‘The “Virgin Road” success story is typical of many of the better dramas that the nation’s four major private broad casting networks (Nihon Television, Tokyo Broadcasting, Fuji, and TV Asahi) churn out at the rate of approximately two dozen per quarter Japan has four TV seasons of 11 to 12 weeks, each sepa- rated by a fortnight of specials. (NHK, the public network, runs on a different schedule, and its serials can run from six months to a year.) Most of the miniseries that do well in the ratings can expect to reappear in expensive video collectors editions that, at nearly ¥10,000 per volume, are often offered for sale on an installment plan. Pony Canon, for example, offers ‘two to three titles a month, and they face plenty of competi- tion in the distribution field Part of the popularity of owning one’s own copy may be that Japanese dramas are so seldom rebroadcast. A recent report from the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications noted that only two percent of new programs are repeated A few his like “Virgin Road” will turn up several months later, rerun in late afternoon slots, But then they, like their less successful competitors, disappear into the TV archive 3 (“Broadcasting” accessible only on video or at the Ho: Library in Yokohama where fans can go to watch memo- rable TV programs from the past. Old shows do return, however, in the form of updated sequels, such as the top draws of the second quarter of 1997 “Hitorsu Yane no Shita 2” ("Under One Roof 2,” the story of six orphaned and reunited siblings trying to live together again, 192 hit) and “Fuzoroi no Ringo-tachi IV" (“Irregular Apples IV"), which began as a tale of college buddies in 1983 and now, in its fourth return, is tracking the old friends throug! their traumatic 30s LANGUAGES eee eneeReneenazece MINH RAT OREO AU AARMICL ORTH, 7 ompR ATR EF CFT + HB) é ye O2U Fy bA~ KOBE OK | a / ee OR LATA KEAPIIR AFL ELAR NITIES REMULRROD TRA SPEER CT Los Anoeues #2 Tol:(213) 365-9040 Fania) anzanar ie argaes ca sc010 BROS DY. RAOMRE AEM EL DZ, Pasaoena tt Te(818) 449-4441 {508 tie hw Sut 200 VISIT MANGAJIN’S World Wide MC Cen» Mangajin on-line: previews of upcoming Issies. selected features and manga... political cartoons back Issues... Computer reviews... catalog Iter. books... new products... and the coolest of links: POINT YOUR BROWSER TO: Mangajin 37The other major characteristic of the secor 1997 was the continued monopoly of top roles in prime-time dramas by members of pop music groups, especially SMAP, the energetic five-man act that now dominates the Japanese TV world Starting out in 1988 as a skateboarding back-up group for Hikaru Genji, the top teen group of that era, the boys soon ‘moved to center stage and were christened SMAP, which stands for Sports, Music, Assemble, People. Assembling people is a skill at which they have proven expert: on New Year's Day 1992, they had the distinction of becoming the first group ever to give five concerts in one day at the Nippon Budokan arena, Since then, there's been no stopping them, and the nation’s ‘TV magazines are compelled to provide a listing of all their scheduled appearances each week, including their own ely popular Fuji variety show "SMAPsSMAP.” In the second quarter of 1997, the group or one of its ‘members appeared in more than 20 programs a week, and three quarter of entre bers were starring in highly rated prime-time dramas. It is no wonder that when 100 well-known figures were asked by Shikan Gendai magazine to choose the Man of the Year of 1996, the president of Fuji TV cast his vote for SMAP. wura Takuya, SMAP"s most popular member, starred in an unpleasant and violent little drama called “Git.” playing a man who suffers from amnesia and works as dk man for a blackmailer. Fellow SMAPster Kusanagi Tstlyoshi, on the other hand, starred in the uplifi ” (Nice Guy”), the story of a Hokkaido lad who comes to Tokyo to work for the company that makes his favorite sports shoes. His motto is: “The happiness of those around me is my happiness,” and his attempts to help others also make his own dreams come true. “i Hito” was such a refreshing change from other prime-time dramas—which have grown increasingly bizarre and violent in the past few years—that it enthralled the public, Kusanagi's character may be out to humanize a Japanese corporation, but as he sprints around Tokyo in his favorite running shoes viewers cannot help but recognize the influence of Forrest Gump. ‘And what is likely to be the most successful series of the third quarter? Another SMAP member, Nakai Masahiro, is starring with Tokiwa Takako (a rival of Wakui Emi, now ranked as the nation’s second most popular TV actress). This too is a love story, with Nakai playing a young intern who is propositioned by Tokiwa, a prostitute out to earn enough money for her brother's heart surgery. TV Gaido, Japan's oldest and most widely read TV magazine, is calling this one a Japanese version of Pretty Woman. And so another new season dawns. Japan may have four TY seasons, but the climate changes very little from one season fo the next Kathleen Morikawa is a columnist for the Asabi Evening News and Daily Yomiuri newspapers. THE FILMS OF KUROSAWA AKIRA RED BEARD Kurosawa’s “monument to the goodness of man” chronicles the touching relationship that develops between a vain young doctor and a ‘compassionate ‘clinic director. In his last role for Kurosawa, actor Mifune Toshiro gives a power- house perfor- mance as the dignified yet Passionate director. Cap- tures the look and feel of 19th- century Japan. 1965, B&W, 179 minutes (on 2 tapes). In Japanese with English subtitles. $39.95 titles. $34.95 SEVEN SAMURAI Set in 16th-century Japan, this is the tale of 7 mercenaries hired to defend a peasant community against bandits. ‘When the samurai arrive, a spectacular series of battles begins. Hailed by crit- ics as one of the greatest films of all time. 1954, B&W, 208 minutes (on 2 tapes). In Japanese with English sub- YoumBeo One of the most popular Japanese films released in the US, Yojimbo reflects Kurosawa’s love for the ‘American Western and his flair for dark humor. Here he replaces the traditional clean-cut hero with a cynical samurai who tums the war between two equally evil clans to his own, advantage. Later remade as the Clint Eastwood film A Fistful of Dollars. 1961, BSW, 110 minutes, In Japanese with English subtitles. $29.95 To order: shipping and handling cost depends on the total amount of the order—contact Mangajin for the correct amount. We accept MasterCard, Visa, checks, and money orders (anade out to Mangajin and drawn on US funds). Please allow 2-4 weeks for delivery. 1-800-852-3206 + Fax 404-724-0897 + PO Box 7188, Atlanta, GA 30357 + [email protected] 38 MangajinGateway [Eye Daily Yomiuri Report From Japan Published in English by The Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan's - and the world’s - largest newspaper, Report From Japan provides the fastest, most accurate updates of the top news from Japan - from a Japanese perspective. Gateway Japan's powerful, full-text search service provides instant access to Report From Japan, plus over 10,000 documents on Japan related: Business and Market Research, Trade, Economic and Foreign Policy, _—_-Visit us at http://www.gwjapan.com Cultural and Educational Programs, Call for more information Grants, Fellowships and Exchanges, 1-888-GWJAPAN Consultants, Area Specialists, and much more!Pop culture, from A to Z The latest book devoted to the ever-changing world of Japanese popular culture is a handy ‘one, says reviewer Ginny Skord Waters. The Excyciorson oF Janaat Por Cunt, by Mark Schiling Weather 1997. 343 pages, $22.95 (paperback) For western devotees of Japan, pop culture is at once the most accessible and mystifying of phenomena: Its lurid ubiquitous- ness just about smacks you in the face, but attempts to figure out just what is going on are met with puzzlement as to why you would ever want to bother when you could be pursuing better known and, the Japanese ike to think, far more representative exemplars of Japanese culture such as Zen gardens or flower arranging. The only people who take pop culture very seriously are anthropologists and, more recently, literary scholars of a post-modernist hent, but their heavy-hand- edness often tends to drown the baby in the bath water. Pop culture is elusive by nature: a swiftly moving amal- ‘gam of fun and sheer goofiness. And nowhere does it move more swiftly or unexpectedly than in Japan—you have to run And that’s not all .. If you are up to more academic approaches to Japanese popular culture, take a look at The Handbook of Japanese Popular Cul ture (Greenwood Press, 1989: reviewed in Mangajin No. 15) and the more recent Contemporary Japan and Popular Culture (Wniversity of Hawaii Press, 1996). The former is somewhat "uneven but nonetheless chock-full of information. The latter, a compilation of symposium papers, can make confusing reading for those uninitiated to contemporary academic psycho-babble, Still, the two standout articles on television and film by Andrew Painter and Susan Napier, respectively, are relatively accessible and marvelously insightful. For my money, however, the best of the genre remains Ian Buruma's Behind she Mask (Pantheon Books, 1984, reviewed in Mangajin No. 7). Now out of print but sill available through special order, this witty, irreverent analysis of the Japanese psyche through film, manga, and popular enteriainment is as timely and provocative today as it was 15 years ago. So it goes with the classics. 40 Mangain The Dies’ cami variety show red the airwaves nthe 19705 very fast to keep up with it, Armchair travelers on either side of the plobe will find pop culture sprinter Mark Schilling’s hotoff-the-press Encyclopedia of Japanese Pop Culture to be a reliable and informative companion. ‘The Encyclopedia takes up where your Japanese informants tail off, in mercifully brisk and stylistically uncluttered prose In true encyclopedic Fashion, topics are arranged alphabetically from A for Animal Friends (cute pandas and pet lizards) to Z for Zoku (trends manifested as social groupings—this is Japan, after all). Clearly the author, a Japan-based journalist specializing in entertainment, knows his stuff: Each entry not only liberally deseribes a given phenomenon, but also traces its history, press coverage, reverberations, andthe psycho-social basis of its appeal. Look up Pachinko (sandwiched between Oyaji gvaru and Pink Lady) and you'll find that Japan boasts 18,000 neon-blazing pachinko halls, that the prone to giving out paperweights as prizes, and that yes, right around the eomer you can trade your winnings for cold cash and eventually—given a change in current gambling laws your groceries Look up Misora Hibari, a sort of Japanese Judy Garland, and you'll find a capsule history of enka popular singing: those geared more toward rock and roll will be more than edified by the many entries on its postwar manifestations, ranging from Sakamoto Ky® (remember “Sukiyaki"®) to SMAP and the Kinki Kids, who, if for nothing else than their name, deserve to be around for a while Connoisseurs of Japanese pop culture might quibble about the topie selection, for the Eneyelopedia sticks to mostly home- grown phenomena. Not included, for example, are gaijin linguistic sarento like pioneering Kyoto-ite Edith Hanson and shrewd buffoons like Kent Gilbest or Dave Spector, or other Japanese imports (such as the cult of golf). But you have to draw the line somewhere; otherwise, the book might have run to multiple volumes. Es ntries are puzzling in their extreme detail—do we really need two pages on (continued on page 85) Kansai area is| ON THE BOOKSHELF ‘A Japanese Advertising Agency: An Anthropology of Media and Markets, by Brian Moeran. Honolulu: Uni- versity of Hawaii Press, 1996. 352 pages, $19.95 (paperback) Based on a year's field work in a Tokyo-based agency, the book presenis a case study of an advertising cam paign to outline the complex relations that exist among different divisions within the agency, between the agency and the client, and between the agency and the media Japanese as a Heritage Language: The Canadian Experience, ed. by Kacuko Nakajima and Michiko Suzuki. Toronto: Soleil Publishing, 1996, 159 pages, $18 (paperback) A collection of essays, research papers, lesson outlines, and a teacher's guide written by those involved in the teaching of Japanese as a heritage language for more than 20 years. Exploring Kanto: Weekend Pilgrimages from Tokyo, by Michael Plastow. New York: Weatherhill, 1996. 261 pages, $19.95 (paperback) ‘A modern-day tour of the 33 temples of the ancient Bands pilgrimage route, each within easy travel range of Tokyo. ‘Ateach temple there are walking routes that require from one to three hours to complete, “In addition to the temple art and architecture . . . you will find scenery that ranges from the urban to the rural and mountainous, and attra tions that run the gamut from kilns to doll factories With detailed directions, suggestions for accom= modations, and a list of pertinent geographical kanji for each location. Living Language Japanese All the Way, by Hiroko Storm. New York: Crown Publishers, 1996. 12 pages (paperback) and 8 compact disks, $95 ‘A Japanese course designed for self-study, carry ing the student from basic through intermediate Japanese. The second set of CDs is designed for “on-the-go” learning, requiring no textbook. Child of Darkness: Yoko and Other Stories, by Furui Yoshikichi, translated by Donna George Storey. Ann Arbor MI: Center for Japanese Studies, The University of Michi ‘gan, 1997. 212 pages, $38.95 (hardcover), $16.95 (paperback) Furui, who won the Akutagawa Prize in 1971 with the novella “Yoko,” is regarded as the leading writer of Japan's “introverted Generation.” This book provides transtations and critical commentaries of his stories “Yoko,” “The Plain of Sorrows (Aihara),” and “The Doll (Ningy@).” The Washlet: For when paper just doesn’t do the job, a Tor ZOE Panasonic Inti Mist I! AROMAT gasy 10 NAIS To receive our free catalog & videotape, call toll free 1-888-575-8080 Fax 201-945-6664 Exmail: [email protected] TSU-TECH Corporation Washlet Professionals Star Festival CD-ROM Mac Version 1.0} oy itis thvough the understanding of tures of other people that wwe come to recognize the common bond we all share and begin the work of building the alcbal community of the future Star Festival does this with style FOR WHOLESAL TAL JP TRADING INC FOR RE Mangalin 45MANGAJI N TAPES RE A SOUND INVESTMENT! ou've probably read or heard about the Y Mangajin tapes by now. Audio reenactments of all of Mangajin’s manga pages are now available on cassette tape. Unlike many language-learning tapes which may have a single speaker reading the lines in a monotone, Mangajir's tapes feature real voice actors who play out the parts and bring the manga stories to life Side “A’ of the Mangajin tapes gives you each sentence or line of Japanese followed by a pause for repeating, then the same line in English with a pause Side “B” provides the entire content of each story in Japanese, with no pauses, then the entire story in English with no pauses. If you've ever priced language learning tapes, you'll realize how much of a bargain these tapes are at only $8.00 cach. 66 “like she flow of the dialog—it sounds very natural; the voices have realistic emotional content, not stilted like dubbed videos.” “The tapes make the story and the language come alive. Ian check my reading with the speaking: it’s helpful and fu.” Subscribe to the tape series and you get ten tapes, one full year of the Mangajin cassette series for only $80.00—thar's a yearly savings of $29.50 off the pric you'd pay if you bought each tape individually at the regular price of $10.95 each, You save $29.50 when you subscribe to the Mangajin Cassette Series today! CALL: 800-552-3206 Mangajin's Money-Back Guarantee: 1 you ever become dissatisfied with Mangsjin magacine or the ‘Mangan Tee Series for any reason you may cance your subscrition and receive fl refund onal unmatd issues and/or tapes What they’re saying about the Mangajin tapes: “like being able to hear the Japanese at the normal speed you would hear in conversation. It more natural sounding and interesting than most study tapes “like the variety of formats—the translation following the Japanese on Side A and the uninterupted stories on Se! 9 Please note that in the US, tapes are mailed separately from the magazine, arriving 1-2 weeks later. Order via email: orders@mangaji Atlanta, GA 30357 + Te Minato-ku, Tokyo 107 + Tek: 03-3479-4434 + Fax: 03-3479-5047 for single cassette tape/¥ 1,000 for one year (10 tapes) In the US: Mangajin + PO Box 771 In Japan: SKC + Minami Aoyama 2- Prices in Japan: ¥1,200 + handi com + CompuServe: 74230,2555 300-552-3206 + Fax: 404.724.0897US. Frontline has used its extensive information The arse, updated and real Sees ee ae JAPANESE eee MAILING LIST DIRECT MAIL to Japanese prospects for 8.5¢ per piece For direct marketing with immediacy and impact, use our list of Japanese in the US. US. Frontline aso provides fall ditect-mailing service, from designing, printing co inser and mailing ll ‘ 330 Madison Avenue, 2nd Fl., New York, NY 10017 {FrontLine Tel: 212-922-9090 / Fax: 212-922-9119 ALC Press is looking for people of all nationalities who would like to exchange letters (in English) with Japanese. In Japan there are lots of people, £) young and old, who want to correspond with overseas friends. Tokyo-based publisher, ALC helpoftheinformation youhave preferred that you write in Eng Press, Inc. have launched the provided. ‘The Japanese pen- lish, but Japanese is acceptable ALC Correspondence Club - a pals will then write to you. Itis as well penpal introduction service - in R, order to promote international exchange and friendship among individuals in Japan and other countries. If you are interested in participating in this exciting program, please complete this form and mail it to our head quarters in Tokyo. You will become a member of the ALC Correspondence Chib upon our receipt of your regi tration form, Registration. is free, and valid for six months. During the six-month registr tion period, we will match you with Japanese penpals with the ALC Correspondence Club Registration Form Name: Sex: (iMale/ (Female Address: PostalCode: Country: 1 ' ' ' ' 1 ' ' I ' 1 1 1 1Text entry made easy Printing @ computer document is a simple task these days—even if that document is in Japanese—but putting an existing paper document into a computer isa little more difficult. For years, the only way todo it was to laboriously type the docu- ment by hand, Today, page scanners and optical character recognition (OCR) software can ease the burden consider: ably. And now, a new application from NeocorTech called KanjiScan for Win- dows promises to bring Japanese OCR to users of non-Japanese Microsoft Windows—even those who do not read Japanese, This is a potential boon to non Japanese speakers who try to communi- cate with non-English-speaking Japa via machine translation software KanjiScan is clearly meant to target the users of NeocorTech’s other products, the 44 Mangajin ‘A document halfway through the correction phase of recognition, ‘Tsunami English-to-Japanese and Ty- phioon Japanese-to-English translation systems. In fact, KanjiScan includes a data link feature to automatically trans- fer recognized text to Typhoon for trans- lation. (Users of other machine transla- tion systems can save the recognized text and open it in their translation programs.) Using KanjiScan Optical character recognition software reads scanned documents or image files of text and tries to determine what let- ters, numbers, or characters the black marks represent. People do the same thing when they read, only they're much better at it. Some characters are easy to recognize, while others are more difficult And, as anyone who's attempted to read a messy photocopy or fax knows, image Guality makes a big difference in whether ‘or not a document is readable. KanjiScan makes its best guess on what character each mark repre- sents, and on clear, high resolution scans, it often does very well. As reso- lution and clarity decrease, however, so does recogni- tion, But even the clearest images are rarely error-free So once KanjiScan completes its ini- tial recognition, the user must 20 through every KanjiScan allows users to scan Japanese text into their computers— but it needs a little help. character, making sure that the program has correctly interpreted the mark. To help the user check and correct recognized characters, KanjiScan dis- plays the character it believes to be cor- rect in red, next to the black and white image of each scanned character. The user can then read through each charac: ter and modify those that have been incorrectly identified. Unfortunately, because the red and black characters are ‘crammed together, reading them is occa- sionally difficult. ‘When the user notices an incorrectly recognized character, he can click on the character with the mouse, bringing up a window which allows him to select the proper character. KanjiScan offers a list of other probable characters; usually the proper character is on this list of near misses. If not, the user may enter the proper character, either using Kanji- Scan’s front-end processor or using the kanji search system. NeocorTech claims that the search system allows even those who do not read Japanese to find and center the proper character. While this, may be technically accurate, in practice those without some basic understanding of the Japanese writing system would have difficulty using the search system with any speed. NeocorTech's promotional materials, for KanjiScan claim a 90-95 percent recognition accuracy rate when using ‘quality scans. The scans used to test the system for this article never reached this. level, however. Interestingly enough, KanjiScan seems to have little trouble discerning complex kanji characters that any advanced language students might balk at. What stumps it, however, aresimple hiragana characters and Arabic numerals. When a hiragana character is misread, however, it is invariably the second choice on the correction list, so correcting these problems is a simple operation KanjiScan includes several tools for improving recognition accuracy. The frst allows users to define areas to be recog- nized, leting the user select which text will be recognized and in what order, Other tools allow users to clean up messy images. This includes removing extrane- ‘ous spots and ines that will interfere with proper recognition and lightening or darkening text as necessary to provide & readable image. Unfortunately, while this last too is useful for poorly scanned text, it can only be applied to the entire image, rather than on a block-by-block basis, which limits its use. One of KanjiScan’s more advanced features for improving scanning ability is its “self-learning.” KanjiScan keeps track of the corrections users make and employs this knowledge to make itself “smarter” This does work, to & point about half of the mistakes corrected the Grand Opening first time through a particular scan did not occur in subsequent scans. But this feature seems to have an upward limit to its ability t0 correct itself. Even after scanning the same image six times, the same errors kept coming up—and wouldn't you know it, those pesky hiragana characters were almost always the culprits. ‘enough to correct, but troublesome none theless, if only because, to human eyes. these are the simplest characters to rec- ‘ognize. Users will just have to chalk this, up to the difference between computers and people and hope that NeocorTech finds a workaround for future versions (or that with enough “learning” the pro ‘gram will one day break through this pa ticular shortcoming). These errors were easy Specifics KanjiScan runs on Windows 95 or NT ‘computer systems with a 486 or better microprocessor, at least 16MB of RAM G2 MB for Windows NT), and 40 MB of free hard disk space. It does not require any Japanese computer software (US versions of Windows work jus fine) It will connect to any TWAIN-compat- ible scanner (300 dpi or higher recom- mended), or it can read existing scans in TIFF, BMP, PCX, or GIF format ‘The system is simple to install, and the documentation is adequate. KanjiScan is capable of scanning horizontal or ver- tical Japanese text, as well as English (There are, however, more capable applications available for English-only OCR.) Overall, KanjiSean is a useful sys- tem, which, though it appears to fall short of a few of its claimed abilities, still fills a need for many users. Advertising hyperbole aside, the sys- tem works as promised, allowing even users with only moderate Japanese reading abilities to scan Japanese docu- ments into the computer—with a litle user correction along the way. Users who need to input large amounts of Japanese text will find KanjiScan to be worth its $490 price tag, in terms of saved time and frustration. Douglas Horn is a freelance writer living in Seattle Japanese Windows 95 BARB UTY EUAXOIS Eel Word, Excel, Office 97, Access Ichitaro, Lotus, MS-IME97, E-Mail, Internet Japanese Mac Software H Ase YyDIITb JLK, KanjiTalk 7.5.3, Mac Word, Mac Excel WF R— 7 7.5.3. WyvyI7TI—kF, VYv7Lo7tsIe IBM Compatibles - Apple Computers IBM © fae Memory Upgrades, Rep: -_ PyvyPv$aYea—-a— Printers, Scanners, Installations, Upgrades , Consultation, Training ORBIT COMPUTER SUPPLIES & SERVICES 310 East Golf Road, Arlington Heights, IL 60005 Ta: (847) 758-9100 « since 1985 + Fax (847) 758-9151 http://www linxco.com/or Mangajin 45,The Gelatin of Japan Like so many ingredients in Japanese cooking, kanten (“agar-agar”) has a seaweed base. Opa tet coma: of sures in Jepson ‘one of its simplest pleasures —is to duck into the cool of a traditional kissaren teahouse. Its wooden interior should be dark and shaded; outside a small stand of bamboo rustles, gently; a firin wind chime softly amplifies breath of air: miniature moss gardens induce memories of moist, green glades in far-off forests. Waitresses in kasuri-patterned yukata offer oh-so-welcome o-shibori towels and ice-cold ‘mugi-cha tea. But best of all they bring glass bowls filled with cooling desserts There will be mounds of kakigdri, shaved ice frappé fla- vored with fruit syrups; or anmits, sweetened azuki beans: maybe amecake, a naturally sweet preparation of rice: or, best, ofall, kanten—chilled cubes of translucent jelly seasoned with vvinegared soy sauce and a dab of mustard. Fora brief moment the sweltering heat lifts, and you understand how Tokyoites (and Eaokko before them) managed to survive the dog days of summer in those long-gone, pre-air-conditioning day Its not the taste that does it—kanten has litle flavor, It is something in the smooth, slithering texture that cools and ‘This Asian Jell-O seems to whisper ‘of snow-covered mountains or of dappled ocean depths. Some- the fainte refreshes so effectivel how it is no surprise to find out that the basic ingredient of anten is seaweed and that itis prepared in the dead of winter in the Japanese Alps. ‘The use of marine gelatin is nothing new. Tokoroten, a dish made by cooking down rengusa (“heaven's herb’ and allowing its natural gels to set, was already popular in seaweed Nara times, Nor was it exclusive to Japan: The awkward (and unappetizing) English name “agar-agar” was taken from the Malay language, even though the Celts too have long eaten carragheen jelly. Predictably, though, it was the Edo-era Japa- nese who found a way of refining it the furthest. Like many of the best discoveries, it was accidental. In 1652, while traveling to his feudal fief in Kyushu, the daimy 46 Mangaiin Misw-yokan of Satsuma made an overnight stop at an inn in Fushimi village, near Kyoto. The landlord, served him rokoroten even though the weather was unsea- sonably cold. As was customary, all leftovers were thrown out into the snowy night. A few days later, Toraemon came across the daimya’s jelly—but it had been transformed by the process of repeated fr. and thawing into a white, certain Minoya Toraemon, spongelike substance. The curious publican tried an experiment. He found that when this naturally freeze-dried rokoroten was cooked down and allowed to gel ag. the original dish, it also tasted far better. ‘The new dish became a specialty of Toraemon’s inn, and word began to spread. Nine years later, the Zen priest Ingen ‘came to try the new delicacy. Mightily impressed, he promptly bestowed on it the poetic name Kan-Ten ("cold heavens”) ‘The name stuck, and its popularity has remained unchanged to the present day—as has the way in which it is prepared. Kanten can be used in much the same way as the gelatin derived from animal sources (usually the hoofs and bones of cows) to make both sweet and savory dishes. But in almost anten is superior. It dissolves beter, sets more not only looked more refined than every aspe readily at room temperature, produces a firmer jelly, and does rnot melt as quickly in hot weather. It also has a neutral taste that combines well with other ingredients. Kanten is an ideal food for dieters, since it contains valuable trace elements, lends bulk to meals, stimulates digestion while suppressing the appetite, and has zero calories. In Japan kanten is mostly used to make desserts or aspies, and also features in traditional wagashi candies, However, this, versatile ingredient also has many uses in Western-style dishes. asa thickening agent for jams, salad dressings, condiments, soups, and stews, Robbie Swinnerton is the food editor of Tokyo JournalAzuki bean jelly * K& 3 2A (miu voran) Ingredients (serves 8) 1 stick (10 oz.) kanten (agar-agar) 3 cups water 3.344 o7, sugar 14 02, can of neri-an (puréed azuki beans), sweetened pinch of salt Preparation Rinse the kanten and tear into four pieces. Cover with water and soak until soft (about 30 minutes). To prevent the kanten from floating up, rest a light plate directly on top of it x Wrap the kanten in a cloth and squeeze out the excess water, Tear into fine pieces and place in a pan. Add the water and cook over medium heat, stirring until it has dissolved. Strain through a sieve into another pan. Add the sugar and stir over medium eat until dissolved. Remove from heat and add the neri-an, Return to the heat and add the salt, When the mixture comes to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly, Stand the pan in a basin of ice water and stir the mixture to reduce its temperature 5. Rinse a 4" tray in cold water, as the water will help the jelly slide out once set. Stand the tray ina basin of ice water and pour in the bean mixture, Reftigerate until set. 6. Turn out of the tray and cut into eight pieces using a wet knife, Altematively, cut the jelly inthe tray, resting fa chopstick over the tray as a guide. (From The Essentials of Japanese Cooking, by Sucuki Tomoko, distributed by Tuttle.) e Medical Service for Foreign Nationals in Japan pecavenesn BHDY TEL.03-5285-6161 TokYO METROPOLITAN HEALTH English Monthly Publication & MEDICAL CENTER What's on in Mon-Fri: 9am-5pm ‘When in Kansai KASAI @ copy of TIME OUT Kyoto, Kobe, Osaka and Nara Mew From Ryrches “Lee Proce Inc. SHOTARO ISHINOMORI JApall Tel: 03-5285-8181 Provides explanation of the Japanese Medical System as wel as introduction to medical faites and parctones Eo Mon-Fri: 5pm-10pm_ Sat, Sun Holidays: 5pm-10pm Tel: 03-5285-8185 Emergeny telephone interpretation for ‘emergency medical creo foreign ational Tel: 078-232-4516 Fax: 078-232-4518 email: [email protected] 1-13 kuta-cho 1-chome, Chuo-ku, Kobe 651 303 pages, 5 ch. $14.95 rupee ch Saeco aie | | Call 1-800-247-6553 prevent institutions from providing URL: http://www.kto.cojp | | or fax PO to: 408-732-7723 http://www.lanchester.com Mangan 47aA ety sae NS —ADramatic Comic Advertisement i “flew into a rage/became hysterical and...” ‘modosareta is the past form of modosareru, which is the passive form of modosu (“return/put back/restore”), Matsyo: WSL, BEA, 63 RAIS Loot £1 Ki koro, O-kasan, mB nanni mo shicha dame yo! ing chon mother (nt anymere [vel anything mustn't Jo. (mph) “Now listen, Mother. Don’t do anything else?” (PL2) Die oH LEN AL hb. $3, Lok Mott tH Rokuna koto shinai nda kara. Mo, —_jittosuvatte-te_yott Froperdecent things dont do. (explan) because, (exasp) sillgiely be siting. (emp) “You don’t do anything decent! Really! Please sit still “You're never up to any good, so just sit stil! Sheesh!” (PL2) * ii koto is literally “good thing,” but its also used idiomatically as a “warm-up” for admonitions/instructions—like “Now listen.” Fi desu ka can be used in the same way’ + mg often works together with a negative later inthe sentence to mean “not anymore”; here, dame (“no good/won’t do") functions as the negative. M0 can also be an exclamation of exasperation/disgust ("“good grief"/really!/ sheesh!”)—which is how the second instance is used here, *+ nani mo is an emphatic nani mo, which works together with a negative later in the sentence fo mean “not anything/ nothing.” Shicha dame is a contraction of shite wa dame ("is no good if you do” —* “mustn't do”) yy Potsun (effect of someone/something being all alone, separated from other people/things) Otake: BHA, EF LE By AR NLT, Otane-san, dé shita ne? —__-Bon'yari shite. (oame-ton.) howvhat "did cote.) ae spaced ouistes-and “What's the matter, Otane? You're just sitting there staring into space.” (PL2-3) Otane: BH, BIT EK. A” Otake-san Ginter.) (oame-bon “Oh, Otake.” (PL3) *+ davis “howiwhat” and shita isthe plain/abrupt past form of sure ("do"), so do shit i literally “What did you do?” But the expression is often used idiomatically to ask for an explanation of something that appears oat of the ‘ordinary: "What's wrong/What's the matter/What's the trouble?” A Mkagetsu 20 One month later... Otane: BLITE-A. HORA EK om fan? Oshige-san, hirwgohan mada kane? (canehon). Tune motyet |) (coll) “Oshige, is lunch ready yet?” (PL2) Bar tek fH. Onaka —suita Somach hastesome empxy (eng) “Pm hungry?” (PL2) ‘Mangajin £9BIRO D4 » Vayake no Uta mh Ae boy OBE ORY Ne" AQthias ay 0 ay MU RMESD eS BE WRC LE? DIB GAGE: igdtw 2" 9 0 AO |edit Cmte | barn oaies Case SB w— x KE Brymer Je 54 MangajinBLYESA, BOA £K bur Oshige-san, hirw-gohan mada kai? (mamehon)” —"Tunch not yet (2) ige, isn’t lunch ready yet?” (PL2) Wf HotS OM He ok BLIFOTI ALL 2 MO EME LEE O-tasan,” nani “itte-ru nol? Dare yo, Oshige tel? Atashi wa musume no Matsuyo desho! Ge pmb int asain (plan who sem) (ome) (ani) "Une af dais who's (vane) sry “What are you saying, Mother? Who's Oshige!? You know I’m your daughter Matsuyo!” (PL2) ‘kai makes a softer/less abrupt question then ka. hic, BR Ik S08 fKhith) Convo, Sore ni, o-hiru wa ‘sakki ‘tabeta bakari ja nai no. andalso ‘tuneh) for awhile ago usta” ieitno thai? “And besides, we just ate lunch.” (PL2) Otane: BY, 5 Hot pias Oya,’ sd data kane. Gieec ave, yan, + tabeta isthe plain/abrupt past form of taberu (“eat”), and bakari “Oh. did wet” (PL2) after the past form of a verb implies the action occurred just now Sound FX: 394 ay F 39 F ‘or very recently. Ja nai no is literally a question (“isn’titthe case Kotchi korchi otehi that ~”), but it’s a purely rhetorical one that in fact serves as a Tick tock tick strong assertion Otane THUG. BIEL BHETLOWET. BUATH TLE Sore ja. bochi-bochi kaerasete moraimask. Ojamasama_deshita inthateasethen soon will zohome (hon intrusion was, “Well then, I'll be going on home. Thank you for your hospitality.” (PL4) Matsuyo: 2 MS oC? KL HS oO kM Ka kaeru tte? Doko ni kaerw no ol? {Glammen gohome (quote) where 19 go home (explan,) (emph.) “G- go home? Go home to where!?” (PL2) bochi-bochi is an informal/stang equivalent of soro-sovo, literally meanng “slowly/gradually/by and by” but often used in situations like this to mean “it’s about time to ~." aerasete is the -te form of kaeraseru, the causative form of the verb kaeru (“go/return home"). A causative verb plus moraw/moraimasu isa polite way of saying “I will do the action.” ‘ojama-sama deshitais a variation of ojama shimashita, a polite formula used when leaving someone's homeloffice/ tc. after a visit. It literally means “I have intruded,” and implies an apology for the intrusion and thanks for the hospitality BSA. LodYLT tf BREA OD MS R ty O-kasan. —shikkari shite yo! “Orkasan no aerate we, (on.-mether be srong(command (mph) (hon pmether (Sub) gohome house as For ICC LOE O EY BREAL md koko shikanai no sol!“ O-kasant Tow ‘here haveonly (explan) (emph,) chon. )mother “Mother, get a hold of yourself! The only house you can go home to now is this one, Mother!” (PL2) 5 Otake: CASRN, BHSA, AME Hot Ee Konnichi wa, Otane-sin,” dai motte kita yo. (greeting) Iname-hom) sce cakes "brought (emph) ‘SHlelo-o, Otane, Tbrought you some daifuku!” (PL2) #4 Git (sound of door opening) daifukw is « small round cake of mochi (“pounded rice cake”) filled with an (“sweet bean paste”) BUPA, FO He MR gO kt O-bachan, ” wchino haha ga hen nano so! (bon.ygrandma “ny! mother (sy. fs stange Gs-explan,) (emph,) “Osbachan, my mother’s acting strange!” (PL2) uci literally means *inside/within” but is used frequently to refer to one’s own house/family, company, or other ‘group; uchi no = “my/our.” Jha is the proper word for referring to one’s own mother when speaking to someone outside the family, Mangajin 55BIRD + Yoyake no Uta Bw’ 08 Ro ER | ett PY RHO LUN? EUBSRY Le] SS2RDENSRSO a 00% hadage KR Oa CaO BERYW 40 + OHV YE 56 Mangajinin Pola! (effect of staring blankly) [2] Otke: BHSA, LobvLECH to SEL MH b>S HO? Otane-san, shikkari shitokure yo. ‘Atashi ga wakaru kai? (oameshon) please be srong-request) (empha) "ime 0b.) can recogize “Otane, please snap out of it. Do you know who Iam?” (PL2) ‘+ shikkari shitokure is a contraction of shikkari shite o-kure, the -te form of shikkari suru plus o-kure (“please,” feminine. + atashi isa feminine variation of watashi(“Wme"). With wakars (“know/can recognize”), ga marks the thing known/ Fecognized—which is equivalent tothe direct object in English: watashi ga wakaru ="[You) recognize me.” 3] Otake: 3-25. KF HK AR, Ce. Daxara, boke dane,” horva apparenty senly is (colon) 3 fe this “Tt looks like she’s gone senile.” (PL.2) Matsuyo: 2-9! £3 LELE3. Wok be B Do shimasho.” Komatia wa ites.) ow/at "shall do” am toubied (fem emph) “Hu-u-nh?! What should I do! Oh dear.” (PL2) + korya is a colloquial contraction of kore wa, The a sentence order is inverted; korya would normally Pokz! (effect of staring blankly) come first 4 Bebe shoe M) We SST LH Motor ome Ovaora, sore ja nanimo —yaji_ 0 sasenaide, ada suwarasetoita_no kai? Gite)” “thei Ine) anstiag_‘tusk_ (0b) without tng [er] do. just “made [her si (explan!) “Goodness gracious, you mean you just made her sit around without giving her anything to do?” (PL2) Matsuyo: 22, 34 + swwarasetoita is a contraction of suwarasete cita, the -te form of suwaraseru Ema ‘cause to sit") and ota, a past form of oka (“seV/leave/pat in place"). A -te Form yes ne) + oku can mean to do the action and leave the result in place, so suwarasete oita “Well, yes.” (PL2) is literally “caused [her] to sit and left ther] that way.” 5] Otake: Bet EhEY KS kikboce bn Hidoi nz. Soreja__bokeru nt kimatte-ru_ yo! isawfuverel colo) thewin tit case gosenite iscenain wo. (émph.) “That's awful. In that case, she's Certain to go senile.” “How awful—it’s no wonder she’s lost her mind! (PL2) om Ch MLE hb. Wh —H WAG HF SETHI AK BR Ima kara demo osokunai kara. nanika ichiban sukina koto 0 saseteageru nda ne ‘ow, from ‘even isttioo late because something most likes thing (bj) Tet Iner do (explan) (clog) “It’s still not too late; you've got to let her do something she really likes.” (PI.2) + Jchiba is tnerally “number one,” but when it modifies an adjetive or descriptive noun, it means “mostto the greatest degree”: chiban suki na koto = “thing [she] most likes” —* “[her] favorite thing.” é 230 23, HE MAT WU A Lehbur aok tr 6 kia Le S539," niwarni hatake ante ii njanaikai? Kitt boke mo soku nare shi thet way that way Yard ‘garden something like wit “Ah, ves, something like a vegetable garden in your yai ‘come out of this stupor.” (PL2) ood “"won'tit? surely senility also will come teter and might be nice. That would surely help her Bice <, SRL RMI DLA, WEA bk fo Bo Tonikaku,” “hore jo honkaku-toki ni boketari shivara,” —okusan mo taihen 9, anyhow more than this seriously goes senile or something. wifelyou ako difficultyftouble will be (eiph,) Daoay) C HBL Beeb EK Te tsukibkiri de mend6 minakucha naranaicue constant attendance (manner) must eae for(case) “Anyhow, if her condition gets any worse, it’s going to be.a lot of trouble for you, you know. You'll have to care for her around the clock.” (PL2) Bem Poke! (effect of staring blankly) the tari form of a verb followed immediately or later in the sentence by suru means “do something/things ike ~," ‘and shitara is a conditional form of suru, so honkaku-teki ni boketari shitara = “if [she] goes seriously senile or something tsukidkir is iation of tsuki-kiri (14.8.9) 9, “constant attendance”), Mangajin 57Rede WDE 33% OF + Yayake no Uta eKENHIT ® HCO k CAM CHU = Keo HRwe owe - ant ese Bnew Dine NA g oyu 58 Mangajin1] Matsuo: BREA, thee cl if i Leen ob, O-kasan.” —‘soreja koko hatake ni shite iia, {Bor -moier in that casethen teeth place garden into. isOK to make fe emph) “OK, Mother, you can make a garden here.” (PL2) tl WH BD oT oe kL PL dy Tadashi hiryd dake wa, betsuna noo tsukatte ne. Dame Yo, are wa however teilizr onlyjust as for different one. (0b) use-request) (colloq),to.goud (is2mph) that as for “But, for the fertilizer, please use something else. Not that stuff.” (PL2) Otane: (E> tho. Hai hai. ye yes “OK. OK.” (PL2) + dots are added next to hiry6 and are to show that she stresses the words, Are (“that”) refers to the night soil Otane used as fertilizer the first time around, ‘+ Matsuyo is leting her mother have her way, but hiryo dake wa (“as for just the fertilizer”) carries the feeling of “but I have just one restriction regarding the fertilizer.” ‘+ Matsuyo's iast sentence is inverted; normal order would be Are wa dame yo, Narration: BUbSeA EO OM CK & MD, HE & for. O-bachan "wa nia no suni ni ana o hori, taihi 9 tsukutta. on)-grandma as for ‘yard of comer in hole (00) dugand compost (obj) made Grandma dug a hole in one corner of the yard and made compost. (PL2) Text balloon: 27) ESS, HEM MM, ERE MS SOK ATED OD FY, Daidokoro no nama-gomi, ochiba, zasso, kinjo kara moratta’ niwatori_ mo fun, kitchen fom raw garbage fallen leaves weeds neighbors from received ‘chicken (med.) droppings BK 9 ERI ete orkome mo togisjiru, etosetora, on erice from wash water et Kitchen scraps, fallen leaves and weeds, chicken droppings from the neighbors, water from rinsing rice, ete. Arrows (R-L): 4 pAtbs WA 7e Tokidoki kaki-mawasu —Ama-yoke ita ccasionally sirup euinprtection cover Stir occasionally. ain Cover + kome refers to uncooked rice; it often gets the honorific o- even in informal speech. PHT Yagate Before long... Min iin min min lin (sound of cicadas chirping/droning) ‘Mangajin 59DIR DE » Yoyake no Uta ARERR ROH . 4 : = : Reb NER REE meoeeex’ Sf] CAO S nsf? IE ea BIST 25 ‘ Ct PC eeourase eA BRA Sens BEY: 60 MangajinMatsuyo: 25} AAR ISO Hh Ok O-sasai wa mina wchino hatake no yo. (on)-vegetbles asfor "all “our” garden. from (ae-emph) “As for the vegetables, they are all [things] from our garden.” “The vegetables all came from our garden.” (PL2) kot HM oC BEL bh, Tontemo shinsen de oishit ne. “ fresh” aredeause) dalicious (callog) “They*re so fresh and delicious.” (PL?) ® & Fok A kt Boku mo setsudaria nda yo! Tine. aso." helped expan.) (inp) “Thelped, too!” (PL2) + understood after the second no is something like yasai (“vegetables”) or mono (“things”); no between two nouns ‘makes the first noun into a modifier forthe second, and where context makes the meaning clear, the second noun can be left understood like this. + in informal situations, the emphatic particle yo by itself can funtion as dest yo (* in female speech, Fathi farewill be” + emph.), especially Matsuyo: 2D = XH 2YiIT b BUSA D HR k Kono nukamiso-zuke mo Obsichan no tokusei Yo. Uisthese mukamiso pickles also (hon.ygrandma, "s.specalty (ar-emph) “These nukamiso pickles are Grandma’s special recipe, too.” (PL2) Father: (f3, En Lit, Ho,” dore dore (ier) which. which, “Oh? Let me see.” (PL2) + nukamiso is a type of paste used for pickling vegetables, made from rice bran (nuka), salt, water, and spices; is a suffix meaning “~ pickles” or “pickled in ~.” + dore is a pronoun for “which,” but it's also used as an interjection when the speaker is about to try something out or examine something, with the feeling of “Well now, let’s give ita ty/let’s take a lookilet’s check them out.” ay ay Kori kori Crunch crunch + She Fu Be Korya umai! —Saiks da? (inter) as forthis dlicions, greatest are “Wow, these are great! Wonderful!!” (PL2) + korya is a contraction of kore wa. ‘+ mai, when used of foods and beverages, is a mostly masculin informal word for “delicious/tasty.” Father: BREA, CO anit, eH BEVLET bo Okasan,” Kono nuka-zuke, mainichi onegai shimasu yo {on emother these sce bran pickles, everyday than request (emph,) “Mother, please make these pickles every day?” (PL3) Ms 2.76 Hahaha Otane: itv iv, Hai hai Ys *OK, OK.” (PL2) + nuka-zuke is short for nukamiso-cuke, a pickling process utilizing rice bran. Although there are different methods {depending on the type of vegetable, size, and time of year, in many cases the pickles are ready the next day’ ‘Mangajin 61DIR D4 + Yoyake no Ula RSV RERU AT BORO UVR ROY? Shue sO OV 62 MangajinT 2 Otane: THE’, HABER, BiHEIS REVO EF Sore a, darmaesama, ovsaki ni yasumaseteitadakimasu ihen ““inaser-ton) duo -teore wil ive you allow met e/g Bed “Well then, sir, I'll be retiring now.” (PL4) + yasumasete is from yasumaseru (*makerlet [someone] rest/go to bed”), and itadakwitadakimasu ater a -te form implies “have [someone] do the action,” so the combination here means “have you let me go to bed this s simply avery polite way of saying yasumnimasu (“I will goto bed”) + dannarsama isa very poitiformal way of addressing or referring tothe “master ofthe house"; i's most typically ued by servants and outsiders, but in Very formal households may also be used by the wife or, as here the in-laws 3 Otane: HKALE VE, O-yasuminasaimase {hom good nigh “Good night.” (PL4) Father: 5, £5. BAG EY. A domo.” O-yasuminasa Gime) thanks hon. good might “Oh, thanks. Good night.” (PL2) 4 Father: #(% KR wr, HO BEA 6 Bic lt Mino orion mo: Droperimannery is. (emph) your (hon moter (emp) “She's so proper, your mother— eal, fe, HLT GE HVS, ‘mai-asa, —maicban, shite kanaracw boku ni isasu shite ery morning every night in tha way witout fall me, 40 greeters pod wishes (ames) “every moming and every evening, in that way she greets me without fail." “every day without fail, she politely wishes me good morning and good night like that.” (PL2) + aisatsu refers o all ofthe various greetings, salutations, offering of good wishes, and paying of respects exchanged ‘when meeting or parting, arising or going to bed, on seasonal and other special oceasions, etc. Aisatsu shite is the -te orm ofthe verb aisatsu (0) suru (“preeisluteoffer good wishes/pay respects”) + the sentence is inverted; richigi da né would normally come at the end. The -fe form of aisatsu shite marks the preceding as the manner in which she isso proper. [5] Matsuyo: Shc. bee RMI RLS OO kk Are de. ‘anata. ni wa hontGni kansha shite no yo ne that sth “you afc ty stank expan enh) eda) “It shows just hove truly thankful she is o you. (PL3) MM RCL. HLHTORY. HD & RMT CAE ot Kokx 0 nakushite. thu ate mo nai, foshiyori itt kureta tte obj) "stand “nowhere go" ely penon (3) tookin (qi) ‘aking in an old woman who"d lost her home and had nowhere to go." {PL2) the colloquial quotative tre marks the preceding as the specific reason for her gratitude. ‘Matsuyo: LIV, til Hoté Ati, Bit AS BAH VN atk bo. EVER Cemum mdai Kint wa hitorimusune —nanda bara atarinae jana a ag (extn) you. afer Ipenondnghie(ite-oxpan) tectare amatrofeouse. “isnt! king about? You're an only child sot’ only natural.” (PL2) Ha ha ha, nani” ite laugh) what iste “Ha ha ha, what are you talking al Shik 23° GAH HE Sore wa 30 nanda kedo {Gat as for Hkethat (ivexplan,) ot “That's true, but...” (PL2) Hahaha Hohoho (masculine and feminine laughs) asking a question with dai or m dal is generally restricted to males in informal situations. Ie feels a little softer than asking with the abrupt da or n da hhitori = “one person,” and hitori-musume refers to a daughter who is the family’s sole/only child. Traditionally it's the responsibility of the eldest son to take care of the parents in their old age. Ifa daughter isan only child, however. the responsibilty falls to her. Mangajin 63DIR OB » Yoyake no Ute PePHaCHL BY MVPD Oe BKB CHS LO” . Po ROME EA yc) = S fit 7 * AHR QUA 5 Oa aD IRR Ya Hava POSSE Par WOSWeRY” MV RVHURW HR ERrertr MEF QLD kew OMENS SR wm OUBRNAR 64 Mangajin‘Matsuyo: Ch kot bh, Hl EER CAT. BITC RY b TRA LC GOR L. Demo “yokatta wa. hatake 0 tsukurasete agete. Okage de boke mo uibun you natta shi, but was good/am glad (fem. emp.) garden (obj) allowed 0 make thatks to tht senility also considerably beter became and “Anyway, I'm glad [let her make that garden. Thanks to that, she’s gotten much better, and vokatta is the plain past form of ii/voi (“good/fine"). Besides its literal meaning of “was good, idiomatically to mean “I'm glad” or “I’m relieved,” depending on the situation. tsukwrasete is the -te form of isukuraseru, the causative (“make/let") form of the verb tsukuru (“make/ereate”), A form of ageru after the -te form of a verb implies the speaker/subject does/did/will do the action for someone else's benefit; inthis case, Matsuyo is allowing her mother to make a garden, yokarta is used Father: BO SK We & fob) eBok M ky Youurd no yasai -girai mo sutkari —navtta no yo. (game) "s vegetable disike also completely was cured (expla) (emph.) “Yotard’s dislike of vegetables has been completely cured, too.” (PL2) BUSA Koi. WOETh RT. REA & LTOSVEY he O-tasan ni wa, itsu made mo genki de, naga-iki 0 shite moraitai ne, {hon.}snother to asfor forever in'good health Tong life (obj) want hertahave (coll) “As for your mother, [hope she'll have a long, healthy life.” (PL2) -girai is from kirai, a noun referring to a feeling of dislike/repugnance; yasai-girai can refer either toa person who dislikes vegetables or tothe dislike itself, 3] Narration: Wo Be kN HR £, BaSOA ib Ob Tt. Yama odo toreta yusai 0 O-bachan—wa__kinjo. ni mo waketa ‘mountain extent was abe to harvest vegetables (00) (hon}-grandia_as for neighbors amng also divided Grandma was able to harvest a mountain of vegetables, and she shared them with the neighbors as well. (P12) hhodo indicates “degreelextent,” so yama hodo = “to the extent of a mountain/as much as a mountain,” modifying toreta (“was able to harvest") -* “[she] was able to harvest as much as a mountain.” This in turn is a complete sentence modifying yasai (“vegetables”). For more on the use of hodo, see Basic Japanese 67 in this issue. Otane: Neighbor 1: Neighbor 2: SA bi, We BRK TH ke Konnichi wa, ii ovtenki desu. {0 daygood sfernoongoodtine (hon weathers (collog) “Good day. Beautiful weather, isn't it.” (PL2) db, BEDE w AS A.” o-bachan. (Gites) (hor. anda “Oh, hi, O-bachan.” (PL2) BIH, vob ANALG O-yasai, —_itswmo — arigata (on vegetables slays thank vou “Thank you for the vegetables.” (PL2) isan interjection that inéicates recognition'making a connection; it's often used as an informal into someone in the hall/on the streevete. i” when running 5] Neighbor 1: Neighbor 2: b, O dSe Th TORO HARE RCSA BE ot kn’ bla Demo, nina no chisa-na hatake de yoku annarnt takusan yasai ga toreru wa nel but yard in small” garden “in. wellamazingly thatmich alotot_ vegetables (Sub) is able o harvest (fem. emph) “But she sure does get a lot of vegetables out of such a small garden in her yard!” (PL2) BRE, AHHEA O ED Fok BELY Le Soreni” “yaoya-san no yori zudto—_oishil shi furthermore prectarecet "save than muchore iar dciios and eides “And they're so much tastier than the ones from the greengrocer.” (PL?) eoith Ju bk! Bok Mh 37 Wt bb DO be puro nef “Kino nanika otsu ga aru ure enough pofessical (coll) stray something Kouchtek (}) ensthas (expan) (emp) "pro for you! She must know some special tricks.” (PL_2) ‘yoku (the adverb form of ito, “good/fine”) can express surprise/amazement athe action/behaviorsituation mentioned. the suffix ra can refer either to a trade/business (most commonly a small shop) or to the person/people running it; en with kanji meaning “shop of eight hundred (i.e., many) things,” is the Japanese word for “preengrocer: ‘Mangajin 6529 HY OH + Yoyake no Uta Hert NRwQrs ARU’ Bew OV Key’ APR Qvwe’ RRM SRO RAGE Nn oVBR AKG. BwrRe oR DIV UW eRORRV OY’ BoE OPOC BAI IL De NW 66 MangajinFX: yeu tau Kyoro_byoro (fect of casting eyes back and forth to make sure the coast is clear) ‘Sound FX: PRR Do bo bo Plop plop Otane: oh, ORL ik Ce PL fhbane Br. Yappari,” koyashi wa Kore 0 sukoshiwa tsukawanal tone eraliteally feriirer_asfor ‘this (08) alte atleast” ifdon'tuse (clog) “Afterall, as for fertilizer, if you don’t use atleast of litte of this, [it's no good}.” “For fertilizer, you really do have to use at least a litte of this stuff.” (PL2) Ba. BF HoT ANT. HC MOEA, bt 25 bhShy ky Nani,” mizo 0 hoe irete,” aio de umetokya.”niowanai kara, wakaranai_ yo, ha gre okl and patinand nr iturirer des sel teat won ttn el inh) “Why, if | just dig a little trench to put it in and cover it up afterwards, it doesn’t smell, so no one even knows it’s there.” (PL2) Hahaha Ahahaha Sane Jat (pouring effect) ‘ni (an elongated nani, “what”) is sometimes used as an interjection when denying/belitling/shrugging off some problem or difficulty, as ito say “never mindit’s nothing to worry about.” umetokyais acolloquial contraction of umete okeba, the-fe form of umeru (“bury”) plus & conditional (“i”) form of the verb oku (“set/eave”): oku after the -fe form of another verb implies doing the action and leaving the result in place in order to gain a desired benefit now or later. Otane: C4. BY TEA OBIT k. COLT Mh OF MRS OD & Deno, Ouke-xon no otage dese yo. KOshie hatate 4a dekin no. mo Br" eameten) ‘tanks “ie cg) inthiewy ewiey (49) ano om)” “Bat iti all thanks to you, Otake—‘elng able to doa garden ike thie. 1's all thanks to you, Otake, that I ean garden like this now.” (PL2) '* no makes the complete sentence kd shite hatake ga dekiru (“|1] am able to do a garden like this”) function as a Single oun (“being ale to doa garden like his + agin the sentence is inverted; normal onder would be Demo, kashitehatake ga deka no mo Otake-san no okae dese 90. [] Otaker 1. BH HOR) Rok BR, BAR KP BD BET Hahaha are ie dotseia dana ne Ants ai boketa ‘furl 9_saseta, favo)" th ator bigeuonss “vou (ollog) “you (ou) wet see peat (8) mae doi “fa haha, that really worked wel, didn it_having you do that senile at, and then Sound FX: 79/\7 Haha ha 2 IRE A MPUAVLTS ES I dy {uri (“pretense”) following a verb means the “pretense of [doing the action],” so boketa furi = “pretense of being senile.” Low theoty musume-san ga. oro-oro shite-ru_toko ni, atashi ga dete-te, dhughter¢hon, (subj Was Musered "situation to) “1 Gubj) came oudnd ‘a Th HUA oT BHLES, TCE OKLTCNE OO be hhatake demo yarasero te chitkoku shitara, sugu ni Ok shite kureta mono ne. garden orsomething let do(command) (quote). when advised immediately OK'ed(for you) (expla. (collog) £('_. when your daughter was all in a dither, I showed up, and when I told her she should let you have a garden, she agreed right away!” (PL2) FANN PN Ahahaha Ahaha ha dete-te is a contraction of dete itte, from dete iku (“come ouvappeat”) yarasero is the command form of yaraseru (“*make/let do”), te is a colloquial equivalent of quotative 10, and ‘chiskolu shitara is a conditional (“iffwhen”) form of chukoku suru (“warn/advise”) > “when | advised her “let you “when I told her she should let you ~." ‘Mangajin 67ONE CATALOG, HUNDREDS OF Propucts! If it relates to Japan or Japanese language learning, chances are you'll find it in our lahat Japanese Resource GuIDE. Parente ee ped cs Combining the best of books, software, videos, music, and other specialty items, our catalog is 40 pages of the most innovative items available relating to Japan. To receive your i FREE copy of the a ea Japanese Resource Guipe, never thought of— Call : 1-800-552-3206 all in one place. Fax : 404-724-0897 or send e-mail : [email protected] BOOKS Call Now For Your free VIDEOS ‘SPECIALTY i ITEMS - MANGAJINKaiketsu!! Todo Kacho ” “ Chief Todo, Wonderful Guy!! by ["1\ Kadohashi Yasuto Todo Kaoru is nicknamed “Todo,” which means "sea lion”—and it so happens that he strongly resembles one of these creatures. He's a section chief (acho) at Gokoku Shu, a manufacturer of traditional Japanese saké as well as beer and liquor. Todo Kacho works in the Welfare Section (Vf &, kasei-ka) of the General Affairs Department, where he is often called upon to handle touchy employee problems. Although he may appear to be a bumbling fool who is overly fond of his company’s products, he has a good heart and a knack for making ev erything work out to everyone’s satisfaction, Perhaps this is the reason behind the series title, Kacho (“Chief Todo, Wonderful Guy!!”), Kaiketsu!! Todo At the beginning of the series, young Kuwata Masumi is assigned to work in Todo’s section, and a good deal of the stories involve her rela- tionship with her unconventional boss. Masumi entered Gokoku as a er track” (#8 # Mk, sdgd-shoku—see our feature story on page 12 for more on this subject) staff member, instead of the standard track for women which leads to a few years of serving tea and then getting mar- ried. Though she was at first disappointed at her ROR tao transfer to the Welfare Capeecmaean’Riwate Mises Section, which she saw as a demotion, Masumi was pleased to find that Todo Kacho was willing to take her under his wing and teach her the tricks of the trade. In the episode that runs in this and the next two issues of Man. gajin, we get an inside look at the office politics of a typi Japanese corporation. On the title page of that chapter (shown atleft), rodo Kach® and Masumi are pictured enjoying fresh: ly-steamed sweet potatoes—an old-fashioned treat, Kaiketsu!! Todo Kacha first appeared in Kodansha’s Mister Magazine in 1996, and it continues to be serialized in the bi weekly publication, Title: ® 5 i bi Fike Dai Go Wa: Doranba no Kyisei-shu No. 5” sory execution goundipoin of no eta sor Chapter 5: Last-Minute Savior © Kadohashi Yast, Al rights eservod. Fit published in pan in 1996 by Koda, Tayo. lsh alton igs atanged though Koda Mangajn 69+ Kaiketeu!! Todo Kaché UA ERE POLK MRIRS SW KK RAIA G| Semmes BEKO WAM + DS Rew REIN KRY Cea ey eine ES WAIT AT somo “HSH ees? RORAKA— RRA, DRA DT Kao ae THE ACK CHOC PA oRRS Karey dna 28 TA gaits 49s KeMIRR MAKI A VINBORNL0 BpS |) VRE TBOHKIn LOY MMLC A© ik cok Be kt HA ot ay Naty ELT Uchino kaisha de wa wakai jose? shain ga Kompanion t0 shite our" company ‘at as for young. female employees (sib.) comparions as Mowers ok a ihe DET fari-dasareru oo ga mama armas fax mobilized — occasions (Subj) nowEthen exioceue From time to time, the young women working at our company are sent out to act as ‘companions’. (PL3) * K-, =O thle Yo da,” kono kako. isagreeablefembarassing “is this. appearance “Ugh—I look ridiculous.” (PL2) Po ADF Misuta— Kakuteru Mr. Cocktail 213 7 iit is properly read Gokoku Shuz0, and is the actual name of her company (shue7 means “alcoholic beverage maker" > “brewery/disilley/ winery”). The furigana uchi no kaisha ("my/our company” represents what would actually be spoken aloud, while thekanji serve to add more specific information, making it ike “my/our company, Gokoku Shu." onpanion (from the English “companion” refers to young women deployed at trade shows and other events to acl as hostesses or assist in various ways—handing out brochures. presenting information, or just being there and looking prety. vada (with the da elongated for emphasis) is a contraction of iva da (“is disagreeable/unpleasanvJembarrassing”). Isoda: By RR Cb MEAL MRO SYR yay ko RdE Saiwai tek ni mo megumare, ek no kondishon 10 narimashite luckily weatherby also have been bessed-and splendid conditions. (result) became “We have fortunately been blessed with good weather, and conditions are perfect.” (P13) AU 2 Rh a7 HS LAR AL THRME R CLT, Honjion kono Layo ni na Gokolu ga kore ire-dokaro ni shig sht ada wake ds, ‘is exhib. hall © as for (Co. name) (ub) Is provd of fai maidens (doer) "have had gather situation Is-and “We've had Gokoku's pride, our loveliest young, laes, gather inthis hal today and =. BSA Ons fA A HEH AAT ERS > BLA CT ay ‘mina:san no naka kara nannin ga geindtai ni sukauto sareru ka tanoshimi des ne everyone “from among how many people (Subj. show business by wll be scouted (2) pleasure “is. (collog) “Tlook forward to seeing how many among you will be discovered by talent scouts!” (PL3) ‘Mangajin 71