Reading Japanese with a Smile Nine Stories from a Japanese Weekly Magazine for Intermediate Learners Tom GALLYthis book was first published by Kodansha International in 1997 under the ttle Strange but True: A TrueLife Japanese Reader Cover design by Koichi Kawamura, Published by Japan & Stuff Press, Mihara 219-60-202, ‘Asaka-shi,Saitama-ken 351-0025, Japan. Japanese text from “Dekigotology,” Shikan Ahi, Copyright © Asahi Shimbunsha, English translation and commentary. Copyright © 2007 by Tom Gally All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-49902848-47 First edition by Japan & Stuff Press, September 2007 wow japanandstuff.com ‘With the exception of Chapter 9, which is new to this edition, Conrents Inrroouerion BRE BOF +> THEAE2-N\-OW The Honesty of a Famous Supermarket, Revealed by a Daughterin-Law’s Sudden Urge 2 Cag ceo eetWROMBOW ‘A New Year’s Dawn on the Summit of Mt. Fuji Climbed While Carrying a Dead Friend 3 BIER WOSLOLERDS A Woman's Shrewdness Concealed in a Fictional Jounal ure: 4 MEO The Son-in-Law of the Mob 5 BRO L ORAL The Tiwo Sides of a Superclean Woman i B 33 55 B 36 HOMECERIBMMSTER uw Examination Hell Lullabies for Infants 1 Ny MSS 32 ROME i) The Cluelessness of a “Connected” Employee on Her Way to the “Country of Ban” 8 SHS PARMA DADE Ms The Rich Bay's Urine Therapy and His Girlftiend’s Depression 9 MOTHAEMF b VBA ROI 165 ‘His First Call Girl Was the Girl Next Door Inreoouerion Most Japaneselanguage textbooks make language leaming sim- ple and systematic. They carefully limit the number of kanji in- troduced at each level. They present new vocabulary and grammatical pattems step by step. Most important of all, they choose topics that are easy for readers to understand and un- likely to offend any teachers or students. The only problem with these textbooks is that they generally are very, very dull. The boredom induced by textbooks contrasts sharply with the rich and stimulating variety of the Japanese press. Some fifty thousand books are published every year in Japan on sub- jects ranging from philosophy to pornography. Thousands of magazines clog the racks of bookstores and newsstands, offer- ing entertainment and debate, scandal and libel, the high, the middlebrow, and the very low. It is this world, the world of Japanese as it is really written, into which this book is intended to provide a glimpse. The nine stories in this book were chosen from the “Dekigotology” column that appeared in the magazine 3871/94 Hi Shiiken Audi for many years. The word dekigoolagy (7% =P }07-) is a combination of Hi34 dekigotg which means “event” or “happening,” and the Greek/English suffix logy. Dekigotology, in other words, is the study of things that hap- pen. Each week, the column carried a half dozen stores, all Purported to be true, about interesting events that had hap- pened to people recently. The stories generally concem subjects that are familiar or topical, and their interest lies in the way they reveal what happens behind the scenes of everyday life. 7Introduction The stories are often surprising and usually funny. The stories on the following pages were selected from the hundreds that ran in “Dekigotology” in the early 1990s. To be chosen, each story had to meet two criteria: it had to be inter sting, and it couldn't be so topical that it would quickly go ‘out of date, There was also an attempt to choose a variety of topics. Organization Each story is presented first in its entirety, exactly as in the paper- back book edition, with kanji pronunciations marked only when they appeared in the original. An English translation ap- pears on the facing page. This translation is intended to help the reader understand the Japanese, so it is more literal in places than a smooth literary translation would be. Students of Japanese may want to avoid looking at the translation until they have finished reading the text and notes. Next, the story is presented again a sentence or two at a time, with the reading of every kanji marked with furigana Each of these text excerpts is followed by several groups of notes. -, The first notes, marked with the kanji #8 (hort for #d% ocabulan), consist of short glosses of words and phrases that appear in the preceding sentence, Every word is explained ex: cept basic grammatical function words (Ii, 28, %, etc) and words that have appeared earlier in the same story. The second group of notes, marked with the kanji 5 (short for BhfH verb), consists of reverse derivations of declined verbs and adjectives. The first word in each derivation is the form that appears in the sentence, while the last word is the form that would normally appear in dictionaries. For example, the series KDI tt er Keb. ex KES saga goes from the pasttense negative to the nonpast negative to the nonpast affirmative (or dictionary) form of this verb. The third group, marked with 2 (short for TA am & Introduction notation), consists of detailed notes on the vocabulary and grammar, Special attention is given to identifjing the subjects of verbs and to showing which nouns are modified by which adjectives, relative clauses, etc. These notes also include remarks on usage, related words, and typographical conventions, the last being @ topic rarely mentioned in Japanese textbooks. The notes in the final group, marked % (short for Ek: alu), provide information and commentary about the cul tural background of the stories. When necessary, they also ex- plain what makes the stories particularly interesting or funny to the Japanese reader. Pronunciations are marked in the notes using romaji, not farigana, There are several reasons for this, Furigana are some- times hard to read, especially when the type is small. Romaji are useful for showing word divisions and identifying the read- ings of the particles ( and ~, such as in the phrase EV Olé to iu no toa And for students who have learned Japanese fiom teachers who prohibit the use of romaj, the romaji scat tered through the notes will familiarize them with this method of representing Japanese pronunciation, which is still essential for scholars and for others who use both Japanese and English in international contexts. Acknowledgments am grateful to many people for their help in the preparation of this book. I first leamed of “Dekigotology” over two decades ago from Tomoko Iwai, who was one of my Japanese teachers at the time, and her enthusiasm for making language learning interesting as well as educational was one of the inspirations for this book. I am also thankful to Hiroko Fukuda and Kazushi Ishida, who made valuable contributions to an carly dra, to Michael Brase and Shigeyoshi Suzuki of Kodancha Intemational for their helpful suggestions during the planning stages and for their careful editing of the fist edition in 1997, and again to Michael Brase, now executive director of Japan &Introduction Stuff Press, for offering to publish this expanded edition. Special gratitude also goes to the Asahi Shimbun for kindly granting permission to reprint the stories here and to Shin- chosha for permission to use the versions published in book form. Readers who wish to read more of these stories are en- couraged to purchase the paperback anthologies in the 4 E13 i. Ahi Bunko and 35MM Shinchi Bunko series. would also like to thank the participants in the Honyaku mailing list for their wise and informative discussions on many matters related to Japanese and English translation. For their responses to questions I posted about this book, I am particu- larly indebted to Sara Aoyama, Adrian Boyle, John Brannan, Regina I. A. Brice, John Bryan, John De Hoog, Alan Gleason, Graham Healey, Rich Higgins, Brian Howells, Sako Ikegami, Dan Kanagy, Yosuke Kawachi, J. C. Kelly, Mamoru Kondo, Bill Lise, David J. Littleboy, John Loftus, Tammy J. Morimoto, Gururaj Rao, Adam Rice, Karen Sandness, Fred Uleman, Rodney Webster, and John Zimet. ‘As always, I am indebted to my wife, Ikuko Gally. She pro- vided many comments and suggestions about each of the sto- ries in this book, and her insights greatly improved the accuracy and depth of the notes. Although all of these people did their best to help me, I fear that I have betrayed their kindness by persisting in many errors, for each of which I take full responsibility. Tom Gally Ane HARMEFRMEA LOT. RAOHAD—DIK PBONSAHACEVEWI CER, MRL ATI, BAMR, ARBRE CEBET SLEDS PS, th BVRVOOMSLAGVAL PBILDF¥ Xb IIe Th. BLA CHS LOMELA LM TRY, FA AOPRIOWT] LH (PMEGSI) EVI, FA BRPMMOUBICHS £5 LRP MA, SS id [AS ASARMENG | OLIG, ReiMoMd AEWA, SMUD DEBI 0 Ro TS HS Bo FOLF CHAE CARB EMT SL, HAIZO EORUBIC. HAAGRIKZ LU ABE, Evor AMS RAE Cae. Lal, BRIA, KORE, FLU, Bee ERTVSL, COBAHORICMITE CS WME HERO CHSLVI CE MDDS. LA CRHELES HSL. FRTHIELV HESS, ARR CHAM EMML TORE, ARB Bo TUR BARAMEIC RSL. LK ORB FO TUbMALK. ERAAMMEL ALB SPORE TO, TLIMA EA, HICMREO SRE, ES (Ci WB EBC BEC EOLI CHORAL Akbok, LZ FAREEL, POL RABLNO RAMAbHS LI chook. thst [Fe ahuy Y=] A THB Ro OLA SEB oo MMP SIL, COII LORY Y— 1K SOWMRMEMACRLSCLEIDS, TONBUHAERM SPB IBoTH SM, RE OMARERT SMT SL VIE, VRHLVIE, FEVCLSEMHLE ZO TS, MILD) ORME RA TURMICE o TIE, ZIACH ot [FFT hUI—| OA LY AMTED PRCEAD LI Kok. Hts [FF ThaY—-| & WPL RS OhAFRFRE CRM LTO So YEOMHT. COKEEsK. PRIAOTHOO RMEAORAT. GREPMGERENIK, HRRE ISAAGE PAT SABAH BROCE ERBTE FOF HF CMHTS D>, ELUMGAOA CHAS BRAKEO LIBR SD, EVIC LIC MRDHS BRA OMA TOREIRIZABM LV. BOF +b CHS BB2-/\-ORE Tue Honesty of a Famous Superwarer, eveaten By A DauesteR-w-Law's Suoven UeeeBOF + CHS AS2-\-ORR HHEOSFEA (=~) Bec. B FSA (A-) WiheCR ROI, HERON DROZ EKO Ke [RAE CRED, SLOLMOMERKC AS SESAKESTIRE UHV MTHS. Heo URAL COTE LAK, MEER THRI Vo ThHOK. LB. MARAE, BMERAES FEA, BL, fA OMMRA—7— TK 7 BB CHOKE) FOF IORICAMIEE Oo EF DABAL Wo THK, (CHIEF MS DA) EIS BOLOD, RMIBEL DIL. B ERTS LE, HICILATHO F-F 70 Tue Honesty oF a Famous Supermarket, Reveaeo sy A Daveurer-w-Law's Suovew Uree Tt was midday during a dry spell in the rainy season when Fko (61) came from Zushi to visit the home of her daughterinlaw Sko (31) in Setagaya. “Since I had already come as far as Shibuya, I just dropped by to see my grandchild’s face.” For Sko, her motherinlaw was more frightening than a demon. Sko did everything she could to be a good hostess for Eko. Later, her motherinlaw took S- ko's daughter for a walk. Sko breathed a sigh of relief As she relaxed, Sko felt hungry, and her eyes suddenly came to rest upon the bag of doughnuts that her motherinlaw had bought at Kenokuniya, a luxury supermarket nearby. Eko had said that she was going to take the doughnuts home to Zushi. Sko thought at first, “I really shouldn’t touch them.” But hunger is stronger than reason, She opened the bag and found six doughnuts inside.Honesty of a Famous Supermarket (MIE % B Spd em) £, BUTHAB LE, 117 YOHEBAD | RULTHVRe FH EMS wmils, BRP ORS FOP YORE T. HRITICHO TH OK. ELOM, BEKRORFTSA, Lowy, — BLD RVOCMAOV ED KK [KFOK BIBT AALFSRAT! I &, Sof6 K/ BEC StH OMMOEE, KJ BIR OHY SMG Lito BARE. AE AD K-F 7 —MERERB HA, WER CID WOWEEME TSNEE CHM RRO THS, MOSM Do BUTE, HORA EO tO HGS REMKEWS. FHEASCHIM, [Static K/ BK D— | wees EK KAP SF SAME LT iBlo hk. OESA, ENEMVEST SAM, MIRE. © DUBE, BBECHO THEI CMC EL TO Bo Honesty of a Famous Supermarket “Maybe she won't notice if I eat only one.” $ko thought. She hurriedly ate a doughnut and carefully re- closed the package. Fko returned from her walk none the wiser. Quite satisfied with herself, she left for home carrying the bag of doughnuts. But sure enough, when Fko retuned to Zushi, she noticed that one doughnut was missing, That's when the trouble started. “T can’t believe that, of all the stores in Japan, K- nokuniya would make such a mistake!” Fko immedi- ately called K-nokuniya to complain. The call dragged on for thirty minutes. Fiko was too much for the per- son handling the matter at K-nokuniya, The first thing the next morning, clutching a single 80yen doughnut as if their lives depended on it, the sales clerk and the floor supervisor came to Fko's home to apologize. One way, it had taken more than two hours. When asked, the sales clerk said she had left home at five o'clock that morning. Fko was greatly impressed. “That's Knokuniya for you!” she said. She spread the story around to her friends and Sko. OF course, when Sko heard what had happened, her face turned deathly pale. She has firmly resolved to take the secret to her grave.Title BOF ECM BRBA—N— OBR BR yome daughterinlaw / 74> dekignkoro (bad) impulse / THIS de shine to find out from; to be shown by / # 4% yitmei famous / A—/— supermarket / BE sii honesty, sincerity sk FAA» is usually written Hi%K-Ls. Katakana is often sub- stituted for kanji or hiragana in informal writing as a kkind of playful emphasis. / The phrases 17 #-LyC4a1 % and HHA—/—D both modify Mi. Lepee =z . FEEA BB HET Suqgaye residential area in western Tokyo / ST SA Esekowan Ms. S, Sko / =— iB sani iai 31 years old / % taku home, residence / i2-F Zui city near Kamakura, about 50 km south of central Tokyo / 38 shitome motherinlaw / ia S12 tacunte kia came to visit / #878 fapw the rainy season, which usually ‘comes to all of Japan except Hokkaido in June / 7. aroma a brief dry spell we Honesty of a Famous Supermarket hia me MRD tame | Bt we RZ han The word % can come immediately after a person's name without a connecting , so SF&AZ means “Sko's home.” / The phrase EFICfEBR: modifies FFE A, so MFCM, FSA means “Eko, ($-ko’s) motherinlaw, who lives in Zushi.” / The topic of this sentence is F FS AMATA ROIS “(the time when) Fko came to visit’; the ® is a nominalizing parti dle. This topic is linked by the copula #227: to HERID BEAM OBOK &. The core meaning of the sentence is thus “the time when Eko came to visit was around mid- day during a brief dry spell in the rainy season.” The principal characters in the “Dekigotology” stories, and in many similar articles in the popular press, are identified by their initials. The J in SF marks it as a woman's name, perhaps #- Sachiko or MF Shizuko. The motherinlaw F$ might be XF Funiko or iF Fagiko, Not all women’s names end in *¥-, however, and sometimes you may see names like H3€ Harumi) or A% (for &2% Anna), / The ages A are written in kanji here because that is how they appeared in the original vertically:printed article. In hori zontal Japanese text, the numbers would normally be writ ten as 31 and 61. / The kanji ity is not one of the 1945 characters of the HB 760 kanji list recommended by the Japanese government for general use, Aside from school textbooks and newspapers, few publications adhere rigorously to that list, and the student of Japanese who leams only the #438 will remain incompletely liter ate,Honesty of a Famous Supermarket Honesty of a Famous Supermarket Ic BGs chad, be ot home kcal Shibuya a major business, shopping, and entertain. ent area on the west side of central Tokyo / 3% mago grandchild / #8 kao face By ot we RZ hue / Sew LB mine 2 What Fko means to say at the end of this sentence is EDEROME LIRA TT “T just dropped by to see my grandchild’ face.” Fko’s omission of the verb is a breezy, familiar style that is common in speech and infor: mal writing, The stories in this book contain many verb- Tess sentences. / The symbols [ and J are used here as z quotation marks. Called 9530 kggi kakko “key brackets” ' because of their resemblance to Japanese Lshaped keys (65 ag), these marks are also used for emphasis and to indicate proper names, as in Ig and 6). le freotoBis (oce ck, Pesine Bhicvotb bor. BB ARO ILW at ippai as much as possible, with a total ef fort / BARE < aio yoku cheerfully, warmly / &C% L 4 entertained (her) / ato after / 14 musume daughter / LIT source taking along / BSI sanpo mi for a walk /2T% 507: had gong [lit] received (her) going BH OTRLE mw OTRT / MNT © MNS comm / oT ew fi< lu/ bot h55 3% The subject of & TL and BHoK is SERA, and the subject of BHT and WoT is FEE A, K The image of a daughterinlaw playing the perfect hostess while secretly fearing her motherinlaw would be familiar to many Japanese readers. 1d SFeAc eos HVE cH, if ovens ay ee, 8 SFEAIE o Tit Bwkosan ni tote wa for Sko, in S kko's opinion / 38 oni devil, demon / i kowai fight ening 2% The topic phrase of this sentence is understood to be F FS Als. AX Conflicts berween married women and deit husbands mothers are a frequent theme of popular fiction and tele vision dramas, reflecting, perhaps, the prevalence of such conflicts in real life. 8 ok & with relief / $4. bitiki a short rest [lit] one breath 3 As in la, the katakana in ck y & indicate a mild empha sis, similar to italic type in English. This word appears in dictionaries as (>. / Again the verb is omitted. The full idiom is 2 < bitoikd taker “to take a breather.”Honesty of a Famous Supermarket Honesty of a Famous Supermarket & g EWS FF 7 ORICA MLE oh b BER nSE en, & “Ge E ( OBB As Fk? Bi CH ABATE ki ga yurunda relaxed; became less tense, less Vigilant; flit] the 4 Ai became slack / 2EV» because / 2 IL kajfuku empty stomach; hunger / $2.72 oboeta felt / Ae suddenly / #< D chikaku no nearby / #6 hilt highclass, luxury / [K 7 BIE! Kénokuniya abbreviated name of supermarket / So 72 atta purchased / £3 ‘o i to 9% which (Bko) said (¢he bought) / F-+-70 $8 dnaisu no fukuro bag of doughnuts / Eliik ¥ 3% ‘me ga tomatta (Sko) noticed; [lit] (So's) ee stopped on PRAT ex ABE yunema | GER A2 ow BERD oboeru | ote WS kau / bE of er LES tomar The phrase MARA EAEW AY means “perhaps because she relaxed,” explaining why Sko suddenly felt hungry. / The topicmarker ( we after Sko-san has been elided. / While $£2.% often means “to remember” or “to lear,” here its meaning is “to feel” / fii is the subject of > R./ SFE A is the topic for HALE OH. Tokyo residents would recognize K / BIR as #27 EI Kinokuniya, a luxury supermarket that sells imported food, (There’s also an international chain of bookstores called Kinokuniya, but they write their name #2(*18)/28.) ih EPonhevocvnns, (cache fiteobda) keto eso, She atk 38 FVS/il jizakuyo for use at one's home / Eo TE 5 0 ite ita kara because (Fko) had said that / F-& 1H 2222 te 0 dasenai cannot touch; cannot get involved in / ia (shows mild exclamation; used by female speakers) 1 &OD mono no but / BBISBEL DAL kpfiew twa ris yori taposhi hunger is stronger than reason HoT HD vor / Wi eS / Hee © HES ew HT daw] Bot: ew B5 omow #& The kanji fis used as a suffix in many expressions simi- lar to HGF. Examples include 2/8 ipukwo “for use by guests,” JH guar) “for military use” and 4:58 shay “for company use.” / The parentheses in (C#UIZI2-F Hie%R vd fa) and in Ij indicate S-ko’s unspoken thoughts. / #8 L is the archaic literary form of the adjec tive 58U> ipo’ “strong” / F¥& A, is understood to be the subject of V0 CWA, while SF& A. is the subject of HEM and Bor, The phrase IUATEEE 93H L is a pun on the pro- verb <7 138 £9 38 L per wa ken yor! tugoshi “The pen is mightier than the sword.”Honesty of a Famous Supermarket li etna c, MXtio r-ty. 8% ITS & akerw to when (Sko) opened / ICIS naka ni ‘wa inside / 718 rokko six (roundish objects) Z£ In fill, this sentence would end A/HO F-77088 72, ij (tire oA etvm) by Buokess 2 OHREKY CEE TRV Io 8 —IBKIN% 5 ikko dake nara if only one (doughnut is missing) / "CHS oide tabers to cat in a hurry / 1 2D package / # futa cover / BAY AC nen’ini ni carefilly, meticulously / JECBELTHBW 7 moto ni modo. shite oita reclosed (the package); [lit] returned (the cover) to its original position (in preparation for Fko's return) By BPS PPS eoakam / BUT BC ing / BRUT & RF modou / BOT © BS 2 The particle & is used in two distinct meanings in this sentence, The first £ can be called the “quoting” &; itis used to report speech, names, of, in this case, thoughts ‘The quoting & often appears with the verb #4 “to say” or {85 “to think’; it is also used in 1g and th, for exam ple. The scoond & is the “sequential” £5 it chows that ‘one action follows another. Examples of the sequential & appear in li and ik. Honesty of a Famous Supermarket 3% So's impulsive doughnut eating is the 74> men- tioned in the story’ title. Ik Sis, Hideo hak. Ko Biche tvs. ZI ERMS ORE MITC, $8 FF CILMS AME © w wa shinann shitome ber mother- inlaw, who didn't know about that / BUA BES & sanpo kara madors to when (she) returned from her walk / BRUT T sage carrying / WUENFI manzokuge ni with a satisfied look / HCl" 7 hate ina went home Hy HS va ee KD shire / TT ow BITS 2 Coe WE buen | ote we tik te 3% The #8 ending on $ii4d is a more literary version of the negative suffix 1; 51542 has the same meaning as 415 721», / The basic meaning of the verb #21 is to dangle to let hang” When the object is a shopping bag, handbag, or other object with a strap or handle, the verb is best translated as “to carry.”Honesty of a Famous Supermarket ul kcaay jl Lote F FEA, Lomo, THD BOOM OVEPSKBS # ELSA however (ie, contrary to what was expected or hoped) / Kt: modotta retuned / LoD. surely, without missing a thing / J. %V> taninai to be lacking to be missing / M2*O UZ: i ga suita noticed / 25 because / KE taihen a major crisis Bot: KR modom / BY tev a 2% sarin / DM wot The adverb L-o#*)), which modifies 32° V7, sug gests that Pko is the type who lets very little get past her, 7 As in Ib, the particle © is a nominalizer, so —fH2 %V90) means “(the fact) that one doughnut was mise ing” / Note that the meaning of 2» depends on the form of the verb it follows. After the past or present tense, it means “because”: A O77 “because she noticed,” When preceded by the gerund (4) form, how ever, it means “after”: S0'2W TAP “after she no- ticed.” / The word KH often expresses shock or panic Someone who finds that the bathtub has overflowed and soaked the tatami is likely to shout [ABE 1] “Ob, nol” The word’s use in the above sentence expresses So's sense of impending disaster. / The copula 7 after KH has been clided. Honesty of a Famous Supermarket im (REOK Bilhore Ae &, Soe CK BRE #8 FO tenka no unsurpassed leading / = A% 3% such a mistake / % AT (expresses doubt, surprise, or anger) / &2€¢ immediately / JE ener at length; longwind- edly / {13% kégi complaint / #238 denwa telephone call a As the kanji suggest, the original meaning of KF is “under heaven,” that is, “the entire country” or “the world” When used as a modifer, KF means “widely known to be the best.” / The traditional pronunciation of +4 in the meaning “ten minutes” is sippy, not jigpun as shown above. While the former pronunciation can be heard in news broadcasts and the like, the latter is more common in contemporary speech. (When +} means “enough, sufficient,” it is pronounced jithun) / With the esate verb ade this sentence woul end ORO ELK. Baus) UEsHA Un. '#% tantésha the person handling the matter / #8f4\5 Lit konmake shia gave up BREW LA RRITS & konmake suru 3 ARFLITTS means “to give up because one’s opponent is more persistent.” 7Honesty of a Famous Supermarket lo Eg gang Hi Bz cH &rOTHS. BPA yohuase (or yokuchd) idhiban the first thing the ing / AT FIO K-77 (Rl bachijten no dinate ikko one 80-yen doughnut / RKC gobo aii ni with infinite care / 44.2. kakae holding (his or her arms around) / SH5EF banbatin sales clerk / 36 3% teiba sales floor (of the supermarket) / HE sckininsha the manager, the person with senior responsibility / #58 (© shazai ni to apologize TAR we RB hakaeru | BX KZ haw ‘Other combinations with # include A yokwitw “the next day” and BUH yokwhi “the next week” / 42% is the stem of 4423 Aakaemast, the present formal of 44S. The present formal stem is used to link clauses. / The difference between @IJBI= & *:@°Ca B and just a JRC & te is that the ® followed by the copula C4 indicates that this sentence is an elaboration of the pre- ceding sentence: it explains what happened after the #814 % gave up in the face of Pko's complaints. The term #4 is so close in form and meaning to the English “afterlife” that one might think it a loanword. In fact, though, #4: 43% comes from Buddhism and orig nally meant “caring more about the next life than about this one” In this story, the meaning is more secular. The supermarket employees were worried about not the Great Beyond but the store’s reputation. There's a bit of sar 2B Honesty of a Famous Supermarket casm, too, in the use of this fullpowered MLE kango to describe how someone carried an eighty'yen doughnut. A APTW thie, RM tot CREME WS. $8 Hill Atami oneway (ip) / —RFN42 9 néjihan amari over two hours / BIFIE dikeba when (Fko) asked / £0 72% for that purpose / REFS gi ni at five o'clock / REZ ie o dea left home By BOUTS ew BS haku / HAS ew HS dew 3 The opposite of Hill is “E48. gfuku “round trip.” / Other expressions with }¥ include HFC katate de “with one hand” and JF kauabi “one (of a pair)” / After a me merical expression, 4) means “somewhat more than,” as in +A jinin amari “more than ten people; a dozen or so people.” / In this sentence, £0728 means “in order to make the oneway trip of over two hours” / The unstated subject of BRUTE is FF. %& Nowhere is the gender of the RUJEH specified, nor that of the #244 or the 3) MOWER. Bach could be ci- ther male or female. This ambiguity is often impossible to ‘maintain in translations into English, in which gender specific pronouns are unavoidable.Danae Honesty of a Famous Supermarket Honesty of a Famous Supermarket Iq FRaAe onic, PStaCK BE EKA. b-] 8 STAC really, as expected / MRI daikangeki greatly moved; deeply touched 2 CA. “this refers to the long journey made by the super market employees. / The vowel of the exclamation part. de # is lengthened to b— sd as emotive emphasis. / K dai is a prefix meaning “greatly, very much” / The particle & here is the quoting & (see Ij). / The verb of this sentence is MRL 7: kangeki shita, with the Lz: SES AB Chote KA yijin friends; acquaintances / KEL THO t ‘fuichs Shite mazwatta proclaimed; spread the word & Boke GS mawan 2% By itself WHET means “to announce; to spread (news) widely.” The [ilo 7%: emphasizes that Fko told this story to one person after another. 1s bOSA, eneboeS esc, MMEE, 8 854A of course / Bill ganmen face / HHH sthaku pele; pallid Dh BAY Ze ww BHC hikw 2& With the omitted verb replaced, the sentence would end BSL AI % 2 7 “her face blanched.” % The kanji # in #67 means “blue” or “green.” It also has the kun reading ao, It com, Bhs cho cH 5 LRG LTS. 85 WA imiton secret / HH hakaba grave / ¥¥-2 CHEZ 3 & motte ikd 10 to carry away / THl< hataku firmly, reso- lutely / BOL°CUS hein shite iru has decided; has re solved By HoT © 19 motu /FFLF ww ATS ku 3% Sko's determination to cary to the grave the secret of her fartive doughnut eating has two motives. One is her em- barrassment at having forced the supermarket employees to take such a long journey for the sake of an Alyen doughnut. The other motive, which gives a sharper edge to this story, is Sko's continuing fear of what her mother inlaw would do if she ever found out. 32 CEeRBUCBoF BIweOMEOW A New Year's Daw ow THe Semmir of Mr. Fust, Cumseo Waite Carrvine a Dean FrrenoCeRuceoe SIwEOMEOU HOR CMRGE LEVSTSA (SE) WR, BOPMOKALTHOMLBIEWKLES EL Bit, KWH ICMBTS CRASHERS LIEBE. MEI OVEST CEC S aT. —_ DE LED HMLARMIL, TEAIBUML ZS [ASI MEMES CE ROTH KR. EF PIAPSOBLERSLTHOT HI I SIS 8 HLT [bowTWAETH SI £5, SELTIARTSACMRUWL, BAK EMI, BHU OLONTHSo o Se, RMON CH ho wera el BBA, (44504, MEasBoctth A New Year's Daww on THe Summ of Mr. Fuss, Cumseo Wane Carrvine a Dean Frrewo T (33), who works as an editor in Tokyo, had promised to dimb Mt. Fuji on the morning of New Year’s Day together with a friend from his native area, Shizuoka. But when T telephoned him on New Year's Eve, he was told that his friend had been in a traffic accident and was near death. T rushed to the hospital only to find that his fiend was already dead. Having sobbed for a while, his friend’s father ap- pealed to T: “T was supposed to go along to climb Mt. Fuji, Please do something so that my son can climb it now?” The head nurse, who was nearby, was moved by this and said, “Tl go along, too.” So the father and nurse led T outside, and they actue ally did put the dead body in the car and head for Mt. Fuji. Along the way, they were stopped for questioning as part of the yearend safedriving campaign. A police off- cet peered into the car and said, “That fellow looks sick”Canying a Dead Friend EBL. Mb eK MATHS CO EAN, H We oP AIR LCN bh AO CHBL TK Ko MEEMIRL, SAM ARBUE BD thot DISKO. HE BROKOWERRIT EY 2 TORTEACHS. MMIEKAT THES TT FERMAAIE , TSA OHO ME Sit Keone 7 . SWEEPER, POL bIM DMA. RAKE REL RADA ilk ¢ oro [E&BoRAC ea] £, RUDE YDRPV KO as CHD LA, WS SOMA MELE. RATIRA, TSEARRORMILE SEK Boke NDS BARBS KAKKAORMP SRM, MORE, HLAMY y 7 7 — Chto AOE AMOMHSNTH?. KAKO THSEFICHE Bo Rid, 74 VAERRICET S CHF OD oK DCHS. TSA, ECRMILE SRC BOR. —Carying a Dead Friend Soon the fact came out that it was a corpse. When he understood the situation, the officer was so moved that he led the way for them in his patrol car. Leaving the head nurse at the foot of the mountain, the three began to ascend the Osawa Trail. The time vas ten o'clock at night. T, who used to lift weights, carried the body piggyback. The temperature was fifteen degrees below zero Celsius. Rigor mortis had already begun to set in, and T fell down several times and got covered with blood. At half past five in the morning, they finally reached the summit. They built a fire, and the body of T's friend warmed up a little. “Tt looks like he's come back to lif,” the father mut tered to himself Just before seven, the morning sun suddenly shone on them. As they sat on either side of T’s friend, nei- ther T nor the father could stop crying. Five years have passed since then. In February, a let ter arrived unexpectedly from the friend’s father. Enclosed was a photograph of the three of them, taken with a selftimer. The friend seemed to be smiling. It had taken the father five years to send the film to be developed. Once again, T couldn't stop crying.WC hit fie BB LEK nakiomo dead fiend / HU hatwide carying on one’s shoulders / 27: nobotta climbed / atu Figesanché the summit of Mt. Fuji / #) Fi DH hatsubiinade the first sunrise of the year HVT ew HC hate / Bio ts ee BS noboru The verb So modifies WIN and HEK is the object of 18°C, so C&AHW CH ABLUT means “the summit of Mt. Fuji, climbed while carrying a dead friend on one’s shoulders.” / The prefix 12% naki “dead” is also used in other combinations, such as C23 A nakibito “deceased person” and U2 nakichichi “one’s late father.” / The prefix #1) hats means “the first of the year,” as in #i% Aatugu “one's first bath of the New Year” and #8 hatsuméde “New Year's visit to a shrine.” One of the many customs associated with the New Yea’s season in Japan is viewing the first sunrise of the New Year. People go to mountaintops and eastfacing seashores on the morning of January 1 to see and photograph the year's first dawn. Because of the cold and snow, though, ‘only the most intrepid attempt to climb Mt. Fuji, which at 3,776 meters (12388 fet) is the highest peak in Japan. 38 Canying a Dead Friend BERLE. 8 FORT Talo de in Tokyo / SS82% henshizsha editor / 4ER nenmatsu at the end of the year / $8 kydri home town; native area / HH) Shizuoka name of a prefecture and city southwest of Tokyo / 2A. yijin friend / 76H. gantan the morning of New Year's Day / #Ill tozan mountain climbing / #3 L 72 yaloku shila promised MH LCS tS /MRLA © MRIS yakwoku sum 2% The phrase WK CHRE LTWST SA means “T, who works as an editor in Tokyo.” / Series of nouns linked by © are sometimes difficult to parse. Here $8 O©MOKA means “a friend from T's native area, Shizuoka.” / 8-111 is “climbing Mt. Fuji” H The “Dekigotology” editors assert that all of the stories in this series are true. One piece of evidence to support this claim is the high proportion of characters who are edi tors, designers, or employees of publishing companics—in other words, the sort of people who are likely to be ac quaintances of the series’ waiters.Carrying a Dead Friend trot, Rhee thie kee LABELS EB -£ x42" however (ie, contrary to what was expected) / Kits Omioka the last day of the year / BTS & dea sunt to when T telephoned / SEC itt jiko traffic accident / #2C Lobos had caused / (8:8 itl close to death Eo L ew BOF oboe GHB WHF means “to be in a traffic accident” / The & after MAFF Z is the sequential &, while the & after fERETE is the quoting & (ce 1). / T&A is the subject of BATS, and AA. is the subject of KEL and fE9575. / The subject of 1° is the unidentified person who told T of his ftiend’s accident over the tele phone. 2d PRickinonret eek. tot. WADE bydin hospital / HIF DUV7: kaketuketara when (D hurried (he found that) / CIC already / 2< %9 “Custs nakunate ita had died BRIS ONG: bo BRITT akeouhere | T2< 29T Vite CRS nakunars, VB SBIT{TTS means “to rush or hurry to a destination.” / ~e —Garoving a Dead Friend _ The subject of HEIII%25 is TSA, and the subject of EX Bo TWN is KA. / Here, the 5 suffi sug gests that the matter described in the following clause that is, the death of T's friend—was surprising or unexpected, 2e Sadar, bane. DELS DRE LAE, Fs Ace. HH OELAED fora while / Fi L7: gikyit shita sobbed; wailed / S048 chichioya father / ELA aig peed begged Son tea BOHOL BETS gibt sou / SULT ee KR & agen suru 7% SCR is the subject of both HL 7 and RBLA./ 32841 is more formal than 4 chi. a—Caroiing a Dead Friend 2F BLeKwoTH KS. & Fike Hic Ethic’ jrcnpodse Bo lewocint | BE Hb coatashi mo 1 also / —#4IC iho ni together (with you and my son) /< EI2% TWA: was supposed to, was going to / £3 2» (word used with requests) / =i. a6 now, soon / KF musuko my son / ES LTH 3 "CCH noborashite yatte kure let (have) him climb the mountain (as a favor to me) Wh otuie tots es / BC wr BS FES nobom/ PoC TRS / Che (na Gk The pattem CEI%2 TVS follows the plain form of the verb and means “is supposed to” or “has been de cided to.” / #5 LT is the gerund of 485°, which is the literary causative form of the verb %2. The usual spoken causative form is 52%. / The verb *°% here means “to give” with T&A, as the giver of the action and the father as the recipient. / < #1 is the brusque im- perative of ¢ 21% “to do for me” The brusque impera tive is seldom used in formal situations or by women. The more polite version of < #1 is (7E8U.. Ut, fieoutvs EFPS] EWF. HE IL nearby; next to / MER fics head nurse / HH) LT e Carrying a Dead Friend ands sbte was moved (emotionally) / DWC w 8 $$ g0 along with; accompany WROD / i LT ow BT hands suru / DV Trt buku / EEF FTC sku TIPISV-7LAE means “the head nurse, who was near by.” / The iit of REE is the same as the last character of RIG hangofe “nurse.” / The sentence VC» ¥ &F%6 literally means “Because I'l go with you, too.” ‘The explanatory %*% “because” indicates that the head nurse is giving another reason why T should take his finds body to Mt. Fuji-because she will accompany em. on eLclhats stabi, £8 icaid Wik, PLliichaorocas, HB ZLT then; next / =A. fuaari the two people (ie, the fther and the head nurse) / EAL eerweai cd o outside / AS IZ bontd mi actually / BLE itaé corpse; body / HE kuruma car / 3% nase placed (into the vehi. Ce) / EIN I o Fgion ni muda beaded for ft. Fuji By EL sw BN dan / Fee ew Het Jot © 5 mukau / BEB man 3% HED iis the transitive counterpart of €% non “to ride, to get in a vehicle” / i#:f.Hi L and SR are the stems of the present formal forms iH f1i UE and See x ‘%, respectively. As in 2), 21, and 20, these stems link clauses. / The sense of 44 {2 in this sentence is “acte ally went so far as to (put the corpse into the car)” “aCarrying a Dead Friend 3% eh toca along the way / WIR nenmatsu kek yearend safety [safedriving] campaign / B80! kexmon ine spection; questioning / i> 72 atta encountered; came across iho twit aw #13 is one of several ways to waite the verb 4 3. When the meaning is “to meet; to rendezvous with,” the word is written £7. The meaning “to match; to align” is written, 42. When written iff, the verb means “to encounter by chance, to happen to meet” itl is usually used of unfortunate experiences. During 4E4°F7%, the police do spot checks on passing vehicles, looking for drunk drivers, undone seatbelts, and other traffic violations. In this case, they may also have been hoping to turn back some of the motorcycles and cars packed with young people that gather at the base of Mt. Fuji for a raucous celebration of the New Year. 3 HiatieMada re500%, Mise wetial ENS. 38 WE keikan police officer / LPN shanai interior of veh- de / BER nowokitom’ pecked into / £5508 “4 Carrying a Dead Friend serhina no kata that person / BEA havi ga wand Tooks sick / Bi < il ask; inquire SH WSLA@ BSAC nocokikomu iB The verb WEEAtr “to peck into” is a compound of 8 < nocoku “to peck” and itr homu “to put into.” / = 5 SOF js the polite version of £A sono bito “that person.” / The idiom B@5°HEV" literally means “his f ial color is bad,” but “looks sick” is closer to the in- tended meaning. / The verb Bi < indicates that the police officer spoke in a questioning tone. AS suggested by the sentencefinal 4a, he was asking for confirmation that T's friend really was sick. 2k then Bice sc tanvin, bes RISER LCS —CHBL TC Ctue OMDB & ¢ ma mo naku soon / BURCH SSL tai de aru koto the fact that it was a corpse / /SU72 was re vealed / FF jo the situation / 12%: shina leameds found out / 4 — pawrol car / HLT CHE sends shite urea ted the way (for T and the others) BH NVR wR’ / Blok © MS shin / KML TERT % sendé sera] te LN} 3 The idiom fll b % < literally means “without even an in- terval of time,” in other words, “very soon.” / The verb (ZH. is used when lies, conspiracies, or other scercts arc discovered. / H1% Hl 7:42 means “the police off cer, when he found out about the situation.” 6Carrying a Dead Friend 2 nah nee he at BR ERAL, Shek ROWED TH #5 8 fiumato the foot of the mountain / HL nokosh lea. ing behind / =A sannin the three people / ARB sata Tazandé the Osawa Trail / 321 #872013 nobor- Iajimeta no wa when they began climbing / RO+K yond no jij ten o'clock at night PRL ew RF nokosw / BEN Reed ts BS noborw, Wir & bajimera SA is the subject of BRL and 20 #tnwo7, Is it surprising that =A “three people” should refer to two living people and a corpse? This may reflec the tradé- tional Japanese belief that some portion of the soul of a dead person continues to inhabit the physical remains This would also explain why T and the father decided t0 camry the corpse up the mountain in the first place. 2m nga Bkeesonode Rhee. CORT EATHSo #8 Bot carvied on his back / HAP japoage weight lifting / "TV: had dong; used to do BRot © HED ob [POT RE / Ve ve 6 ing a Dead Friend 2% The verb $1483 means “to carry on one’s back” / iff # BROIL means “the one who carried the dead body”; this phrase is linked by the copula C4 to E BAEVO CORTE “T, who used to do weight ing. $8 ilk hion air temperature /IKACTF Ipotenka below the freezing point / ++ TIE jigodo fifteen degrees (Celsius) 7% ASC is 45°F. 2o soi ads», Ts .ahisRo. MA SIFI Rot. $B FTC already / TERETE shigo hachoku rigor mortis / HE bgjimari had begun / FUE mando mo several times; again and again / 40° korobi fell down / ti 72 13 chidarake covered with blood / %2 7: became Sb AGED ee Ah hyimane / HU ee WEES howbu / 18-2 wee “% The kanji of FEIN show the meaning: “deathafter- hhardstraight,” that is, “stiffening after death” or “rigor mortis” / The verb #2. describes the action of tripping or slipping and then falling down. / The suffix 7517 also appears in ¥8#£% 1} dorodarake “covered with mud.” 7Gargying a Dead Friend Canying a Dead Friend [ESMoRA LRA] Ey Rute Sly Burs. *PMTELRE gozen gojihan half past five in the morning / ok finaly, at last / BLE ofgj6 summit / iil) vr: tadoritsuita reached By WD Ve wl) AC tadoritsuku 24 The verb ill!) ##¢ means “to reach a goal after suffering or hardship.” $B ALR f: ihikaetta came back to life / OLY to him- self / 25-7: muttered Wy ERROR © SED ithe / OBOE ws ‘tudagaku Gh The A affer 4 838-2 7: is a spoken form of the ex planatory nominalizer , and © ZV is a contraction of Tike “not” / The ending Ce %0°%* means roughly “it looks like (he's come back to life.” Raker’, BKoRiS ile tot. 2s HAA TS 8% EEA sakibi bonfire / t:< light (a fire) / RAKE _pijin no karada Ts ftiend’s body / 27 L sukoshi a lite bit 7 ilk < te fe atatakaku nata warmed up BG ew IEC aku / Bd 6 iW atatakai / tot: wed 28 The adjective d7ztzau> “warm” is written HAW it means “warm to the touch” or “friendly, cordial” and z>v> when it means “warm air temperature.” CAB L, wa nb Maan. | HCE Lilt shichizi sukoshi mae shortly before seven o'clock / V8 % ) suddenly / 1H axahi the moming sun / U7: sahita shone (upon them) Sh BLA Et saw ‘Carrying a Dead Friend 2t Rhea Tarek vtanks 5% wor. 8% PA hasami siting [standing] on cither side of / T & A, BSE Thaan mo chichi mo both T and the father / i snamida tears / th. % § % 2 12 tomananales natta wouldn't stop Bete ew Be hasamu / EMC LB RV © ILS tomane | tot ow 1 2 The verb #et> means “to place or press between.” It is the source of the noun # havemi “scissors.” / The com- pound phrase TEA X% is the topic of the verb phrase Ib 5% < tos; the subject is BE. /°A litera translation of T'S A630} BARE 5% < 22 might be “Both Ts and the father’s tears wouldn't stop.” 2u anr sn tahen. BB HS since then / HAGEL: gonen ge gia five years passed AXLES agin Carrying a Dead Friend fio avila, Bich Kow storia snc $8 Al migatu February / 229% totvarn unexpectedly / {8 luyori letter / FH & todoki was delivered / "P12 naka mi in- side / EDS + 7 9 — jido shana selftimer, automatic shutter / #5 72 tote taken / =AOEK sannin no sha «bin a photograph of the three people / FST SHC 7: deft sare ita was enclosed (in the envelope) FAX AL tadok / Hoes MS tome / ISSA THR APSE co HTS defi suru 2 The context here suggests that 11) refers to a letter, In other situations, the word can also mean “news (about a n)” or “communication” / BED + 7 7 — THis 7=AOBH means “a picture of the three people, taken with a selftimer” The verb dit 7: modifies 5.3. / When &% “to take” refers to the taking of photo- graphs, videos, etc, itis written #22. / THAT % means to enclose in the same envelope”Cargying a Dead Friend Carrying a Dead Friend ay 2w Bkisho eva k3CRRS. Tait, EWokeoe mor. 88 E25 again 3 This sentence is an echo of 2t. Ko Cw’ swaratte in smiling, laughing / £3 2 36 ni mien appears to be; seems to be By RoC eR warn 3525 can mean cither “to smile” or “to laugh.” (To keep this story from becoming too macabre, let's suppose that the corpse is only smiling) ig, 74 wAeHRichls z chED pot OCHS. BE 71D firumn film / BUBIZLIT gonad ni marae send for developing / iAF2-# 1 gonen kakatia it took five years Pirot = Prd AAs in lo, the final °C indicates that the preceding clause is an explanation of what came earlier. Here, it er plains that the letter from the father came five years lter because it took him that long to get up the courage to develop the film.3 BEB lZWOS ZOLERDS A Wowan’s Surewoness Conceaeo w a Fierrowat JourwatAFA RICWHS QOLEEDS MADAM SPEEA (LH), th, BURKE Foi) ORF, TH (TE) Clee chs, at TH TRE LTE AT. ALR BUCAREE KOS, HHL TNS 7) CRIM S [E%d, LEORHOTH KD. Th, KHON HUPOE SEVP, LOKEBI1 ZY avo ios ata! CARB VICAR SE ICED Te RAEI RHREPRACLOSSPESA, BK, ROT WI4F Ya vEBSBRTRLATIRA, TH LEA gERE TERee, FOCHAY ! | LPL, ke, HBBIDe oT COR & ARB RERLAEMVELTLE DK. 56 A Woman's Surewoness Conceaceo iw a Ficriowas Jourwat Ce ee Ey Fko (25), who works for a trading company in Tokyo, is living with T (23), a college student who is in the midst of looking for a job. This spring, T asked Fko, “I'm so bad at writing it's pitiful. I'm going to keep a diary as practice for employ- ment exams. Would you check it for me?” She readily agreed. “In that case, Pl keep one, too. But a simple diary would be boring, so mine will be all lies, total fiction, okay?” And so they decided to show each other their diaries. When Fko was in college, she had sometimes dreamed of becoming a writer, so every evening she had a good time writing out her innocuous fiction. T thought her writing was great. “You're good,” he ssid. “This is really interesting!” But recently she found a new way to enjoy her fabri cated journal.A Woman's Shrewdness Pik, BHKRICE SAAS» Hb AIC A SAK, RECHT HEY. HFOTL © PLE Levee COMTPORME, SOG CMOS ARI a < CAORRMLE SEV. (FEIT SYNCH, MIERHORE, Bi ADHSNK-No MEMS, HOMYROR IS Oe < Moke al, HLEBOTREBCET J CHOP SAD “Alte” IRL THD SMTA, TU 7UF1-bSkb, YOY LE“I] CRBRE SD. [AROBDTC, ROPMAA NF ABD EL, MOPREL IZ Ya voTIEKhoTS Le LITS<, CORMARP HOSED] LERDIERIFTSATHS. A Woman's Shrewdness Ther’s someone at the company who's been on my mind these days He seems intersted in me, too. He invites me out to cat and things like that. After all, T's younger than me and marriage is a long way off. She gets an inexpressible thrill as she writes noncha- lantly in her fictional journal about her ongoing affair. T bad a party tonight and was late geting home I went with the man from the office to a mellow bar, When we came ot ofthe ba, be casually put bis arm around my shoulder. I ‘lt the premonition of a new romana. Believing without a doubt that this story was also F- ko's invention, T was all innocence. “It’s so realistic,” he said. “I get all excited” “Thanks to his diary, I know everything that T does, while my affair is supposed to be completely fictional. I won't be able to give up swapping diaries for a while.” Bo laughs shrewdly.BD BEO Liztems BGI souaku creative work; imagination / Rd nikki diary, journal / #4 % himere hidden; kept secret / KD onna oa woman's / Lf:72% & shrewdness, wiliness As the story explains, a SIE E182 is a diary or joumal that is supposed to be a work of the imagination. / The word L#:z:%& is the noun form of the adjectival noun $87 shitataka (also written fit») “shrewd; stub- born; wily” / KOLAR S can mean either “a woman's shrewdness” or “the shrewdness of women.” / The verb 4 modifies L #5 ABA tonai within Tokyo / Witt sasha trading company / B®% tsutomera works; is employed / BRIE Sisko hutsudé jolrhunting / 75%) 2 masaakari no in the midst off at the height of / K7##: dajgakse uni- versity student / T Tekum Mr. T / (VBE dieiht now living together 60 A Woman's Shrewdness 2% The #8 in #814 is the last character in the official name of Tokyo, HER% Tobyoio “Tokyo Metropolis” / #3 means “getting a job” and 18BH “activities” / 201) appears in dictionaries as 36> 18 9. / The phrase SERIE BE ol) OKA, TH means “T, a college student who is in the midst of looking for a job.” / The suffix ch, as in FIP, indicates that something is currently taking place, as in L3#th hgj-dhz “under construction,” BRET} entocha “under evaluation,” and WP sensbeht “in a state of war” % A Pitt is a company whose main business is buying and selling products, commodities, or services. Although the term is offen translated as “trading company,” many Hitt do business primarily or exclusively within Japan. The large, powerful Japanese trading companies that operate internationally are called #4784 sg0 shisha, / The RIES of a typical university student involves requesting information from companies, preparing separate hand- written résumés for each potential employer, visiting com- panies for tests and interviews, and asking friends, teachers, and relatives for advice and contacts. For most fouryear college students, #MLIEN is the culmination of a lifetime of study and determines the student's future ca reer and social standing. / The suffix # kun is added afier a sumame or given name. Usually used in place of SA with the names of boys or men, it indicates that the speaker or writer regards the other person as a ftiend or subordinate, It is not used when speaking to or about an older person. In this story, it suggests that T, as a univer. sity student, is still regarded as young by the writer or readers. / The term [3/4 can mean simply “living in the same home,” but, as in this case, it often describes a man and woman living together out of wedlock. or3c SK, é, Homevisehbiclentte A Woman's Shrewdness A Woman's Shrewdness 7 ie i AE RROBE 47%% konsen this spring / NE ore I; me (masculine, info. mal) / {#17 22°14 & nasakenai hodo to a pitiful degre / ESC sakubun writing, composition / 31> joweai weak Like 8 boku “me,” {8 is used only by men. ff is les polite than { and is not used when speaking to super, ors or in formal situations. / The particle | &" meang roughly “so much that.; to such an extent that..” / The phrase 48174 91d LYESXICEYVY means “50 bad at writ ing that it's pitiful” / The A in #UA%E is a con tracted form of the explanatory particle 2. JALIRIR spisha shiken company entrance examination / HH renshi practice / WEG BE< > nikki o haku kam Tm going to keep a journal, so.. / HILT < 1S? densaku shite kur? could you correct it for me? / (2 BEEN hare ni sidan sare Po) was consulted by him HH LC or RAIS Sta ru / AUS Tow HR EAB ex BTS sidan sore HIT S means to correct or revise another person's writing. / The subject of # < is fe (T), while the sub- ject of HH) LT and HBS 2 is FF. T wants to prac tice writing because employment tests often include essy questions. @ 3e (ted, Beoabo cic. ce, RKO YAR POR SEV MD, LOUSH7 + avolios Hite! ORR Bucieds | ceichon. Ud well, in that case / D2 TH tsukiate haku write together with you / (shows emotive empha- sis, used by female speakers) / C% but / 7270) simple, plain; unadomed / + (contraction of Cli de aa) / DE SEV boring / LOE watashi no wa ming my journal / 2887-4 7 23 YO zenbu fitushon no com pletely fictional / E> & ssotsuki lying, false / RE ‘eaidaku agreed cheerfully / H.V°IZ t4gai ni to each other / EBA miseau to show (0 each other) / & E (nomi- nalizer) / BRD Z2 kimeta decided M DEbOT SAD sukiaw / POO ew HS Kimera 2 f1 844 here means “to do something together.” / The icle Le, from Cla, indicates the topic of £5 % HEU +226 20 literally means “as for only a diary, that would be boring” / Both 7 4 % 2 2Y and REO mean “not true.” though 747 93 Y is often used in the sense of literay fiction while 8 & refers to a deliberate lie or deception. / The use of the sentenceending particle #2 after a noun or adjectival noun, as in 12a, is a feature of women’s speech. Men would say Hat/2d. / The omitted verb after REE is L , the gerund form of FH. / HVC BUEI CEI BLOT means “they decided to show (their journals) to &A Woman's Shrewdness cach other.” / The subject of th#i(LT) is FFSA, while the subjects of B27 and Bexb7 are FH y) and TH. 3f SERRE BAL Sb bboFEEA, a, Honu7 (py avehatacRe ATW RAS, THe EB pute jie when (Bk) was a college ste / VER sakka writer, author / BATS Lb % % yumonia foo naa ons dread abo / 5% mai every night / BDz twmi no nai without sin; innocw. ous; harmless / #2 ilta°C kakitsurancte writing at length; writing an extended work / LACUS tan. inde ita was enjoying, was having fun / KEM dai zsan lofty praise By BRA ee BRS yumemin / BRT @ PEt % hakitsuraners [LAT ee RUE tancshima | Ot: eS 2% #2 means “college student’; the word normally does not refer to students of high schools, vocational schools, etc. / HAE means “era; period of time,” so 2#ERH lie cally means “the period when Fko) was a college ste dent” / The clause (FREBACL 4S modifies FEEA, so REBLECLODSP FEA means “Fko, who sometimes used to dream of being a writer” The b in 2&2 here means “sometimes in addition to other things” / #83€ means “high praise; the prefix * adds emphasis. / With the omitted veb added, this sentence would end Tl A485 U7 4 A Woman's Shrewdness 38 (Ebun, to¢ tide 1) i EEV> sma skillflly done / % (indicates appreciation) [356 vey / HEY mbit neg fun V3 Without the okurgana %, 564 becomes the adjectival &° noun -EF jaa, which means “skillful; talented” / $= isthe adverbial form of BEU> ago “ightenngs ten fing; amazing; extreme.” The use se of Fo cto mean “very,” though common in speech, is discouraged by some conservative grammarians. 3h Lil, BE Biticzoccolbos BreRrathon evict. 1 LL however / 1K kanojo she / MII GT saikin ni nate recently / 372% arata na new / LI tanoshimi enjoyment / KATE LT LE 21 miidashite shimatia discovered js RVELT @ ARF miidau / Lot LEX j% BOLIC oT is nearly the same as LIE saikin, which F also means “recently,” but #LIfIC%2°C emphasizes a } change in situation, Here, it shows that Fko has just dis- covered a new kind of enjoyment. / The gerund (ve) form followed by L £4 indicates that the action of the verb {has unfortunate consequences, In the case of SVE LT Lox, the pattern is used ironically, as the conse %A Woman's Shrewdness quences are unfortunate for T, not for Fko. (In other contexts, the gerund + Li form may indicate merely that the action of the verb is completed) 3i fos, Michie shana, BeRicl Kath eatnc, RiicBoc cn 2 BROT ce, Mie: 8% VE now / Stk aisha (my) company, (my) office / 12% BA ki mi nara hito a person Ym thinking about / 18 hare he / FURA' BA 7=V> ki ga ara mitai seers to be interested / $¢% shokwji meals / HoT ¢ Hit sasote kuretari invites me (to meals) (and other things) / 4E-F tachisita younger (than me) / $4 hekkon marriage (/ 3: sak i the future, stil far off BRC @ BLE / BOT HI sao / Ct Dee CNS This passage is taken from Fko's journal. / Though 24 means “company,” it offen refers to a person's workplace, especially an office. / FRO means “interest,” and HORA DHS “to be interested.” / The suffix A7sW-7E means “seems” / The 721) suffix in BT < NID come sponds to “other things”; that is, the man shows his inter est in Fko not only by inviting her to meals. / As in 3e, Le is a contraction of Cit dew EFOT US. ti WHILSG7E means “In the case of T, who's younger than ‘me, marriage is still a long ways off” / The clauseending particle L- means roughly “too; in addition.” It is often used when several clauses all exemplify the same thing Two more examples appear in 3n. 66 —A Woman's Shrewiness %_ On average, Japanese marry later than people in any other country, and college graduates are especially likely to y late, Few young men of T’s age and situation are married. Fo, though, would be considered quite eligible. 3j erry) comitokhe, sive ios hie #< caoktaczonn, $8 SRAT*P shinkacha now in progress / 85 mwaki infidelity / S017 %¢ casually; nonchalantly / #<% & haku ‘oki when (che) writes / {AG kaikan pleasure / 72% 6% > extremely good 3% The original meaning of *2 = 5 %1> is “unbearable,” but it has taken on the extended meaning of “unbearably good.” / #252 is the object of the verb # <.Walad 18 A Woman's Shrewdness 3k (Aa tas cH, Basiobe, # BROS N—A, #% Ho today, tonight / 77/78 party / IBV> oxi late (arriving home) / SHH % fin’iki no are having a nice ambience /7*— bar, drinking spot 3 A 2777% is a college party where the attendees share the expenses. The word comes from the English “company.” / BLOB kasha no har literally means “he of the com- pany.” that is, “the man at the offic.” / EH means the atmosphere or mood of a place. As here, it offen refers to an interesting, memorable, or romantic ambi- ence. / With the omitted verb, the second sentence would end N—-N47-9 7 bie itta “went to a bar” % Japanese has several words for places where alcoholic bev ferages are sold and consumed. A /S— or 787 serves mainly whiskey, brandy, cocktails, and other Wester drinks and may have a stylish interior. A A777 or % +7778 serves light meals in addition to drinks. A SKE nomiya is a Japanesestyle drinking and eating es tablishment, and an JEWS izakay is an inexpensive ver sion of the same. A E*V 7k — JV serves mainly beer, while aZFT or FA bY FT is generally more expensive and caters to businessmen on expense accounts. A fashion conscious young woman is likely to prefer a 7°— a8 being trendier or more romantic while disdaining a #4 IE or RHEE as the province of drab older men. A Woman's Shrewdness 31 eliob, Roliata ESI, HeeBo TEEN D PR mise 0 der sai when we left the bar / BU ude arm / FH kata shoulder / [al> 72 mawatia encitcled; ‘wrapped around / 2 Aoi love; romance / “Fi, yokan pre- sentiment; anticipation / #8 °C kanji felt 8 Bok BS mawan / BUC RUS kanji 2 The word jf can refer to almost any kind of retail estab- lishment, including bars, restaurants, shops, boutiques, etc. / If completed, this sentence would end AL CU°7: *T felt” / The subjects of HS are FES A, and SHO M, the subject of Il] > 7 is 4##Bi, and the subject of I U (WZ) is Hh ceatashi “L?cd 3m zneF sno “Be cece? Sis, [UT UF 1 -boE BR. VIII L be 5 A Woman's Shrewdnes J Efe oO. ZAG this also / BLT shinite believed / Bebe. tageeanai does not doubt / ') 7 1) Ft ~ 8% has real ity, is realistic / 77-77 Lb > shiver with excite ment / S652 8 © musiaki na mono innocent person FUT ee RUD shinjiu / REDIV ex EF utggau / SITY BR @ ELEC LTLED RE <9, LE9 Zit refers to the passage quoted from Fko's journal 7 “f1V2" is in quotation marks because Fko's joumal ‘vas not really the “imaginative work” that Pko pretended it was / The & after “AU” and the & after T's sats ment are both the quoting & (ee I. / SHO F FSA D “Gite” ERC THD LVTH means “T, who be lieved without a doubt that this was also Fko's ‘imagine tive work’ / Referring to T as a SAB4% & © suggess that he is innocent and childishly unsuspecting of Fo’ tunfaithfilness, / This sentence’s omitted verb is the cop ula #9 ’ A Woman's Shrewdness 3n (Hkosairc, Botta kins xy x Ly, AOPMEET YY avoTleke 2TtbLe 1 HRD DTC nikki no okage de thanks to the diary / BOTH hare no hidé his actions / 21h zmmen com pletely; in every aspect / 1 7 ABN ganasubani visible; ex posed / 424 completely; entirely Wh GoTS who EB, S 3 This sentence and 3o are what Fko is thinking or saying, They are not taken from her journal. / The original meaning of #75 A#&) is “lined with glass (and thus visible ftom the outside)” In its extended meaning, the word refers to information that is open to the public. Here, it indicates that Fko knows everything T does be cause he records it all in his diay. / 7477470 CEI TS is a contraction of 747 Yavew FEE OTS flushon to ix koto ni nate iru “i is supposed to be fiction.” / As described in 3i, the clause ending L’s mean roughly “too; in addition” and are used when giving a nonexhaustve listing of examples or rez sons that lead to a certain conclusion (whether clearly stated or not), Here, these clauses explain why Eko can- not stop keeping her journal (30).