JAPANESE

POP CULTURE
& LANGUAGE
LEARNING

POP

USIC

JAPAN

1111111111111111111111111111
22101133940036

Henes
XJapan
Blue Hearts
Major Force
ShOnen Knife
Pizzicato Five
The Boredoms
Sadistic Mlka Band
Shang Shang Typhoon
Yellow Magic Orchestra
Southern All Stan
Kome Kome Club
Street Sliders
The Boom
Nelories
Nahki
Tigers

2-3's
B'z

.Japanese

" . . . there has been an evolution in

Japanese rock and pop away from
slavish imitation of foreign models
toward music that 's more confident
and prof essional."
Bv STEVE M

cCLURE

I
A Beginner's
Guide

fi had I0 for every

time I've heard something like, "Japanese
pop music? It's just a bunch
of no-talent idols and bad
imitators of foreign bands,"
I'd be rich.
Such comments are dead
wrong-not that there isn't a
lot of egregious Japanese
pop. Take Hikaru Genji (1t
Genji), an "idol" act of the
eighties. This squeaky-clean
group is best known for the
ability to lip-sync while
whirling about on roller
skates. This is the dreck
you're likely to see on
prime-time TV, causing
many people to conclude
that 90 percent of Japanel>e
pop music is rubbish.
Big deal. The same can be
said of pop in any country. If
you take time to separate the
wheat from the chaff, you 'II
discover Japan has produced
some great pop music and
boasts musical visionaries
like Kina Shokichi Ot~A
Nakaido Reiichi (i'!Jtf
Ji Jlinl) and Sakamoto
Ryiiichi (:lfi*ffl!- ).
Japanese popular music, as
opposed to court or aristocratic music, originated in
rninyo (R;mf\) regional folk
songs, music played at summertime bon odori (tJ;:f.!fl 1J )
festivals and local styles
such as Osaka's kawachi

tn,

Yellow Magic Orchestra,

pioneering rock group of the
1970s.

c "(

14 Mangajin

oa

n'Tf~!j'gQ)f& kasLVkokumot.wno kara

(! jH'jJillj: totemo seiketmna dreck = ( i '/ ( t.!. t, 'tv ' 4ilJ kuwlkudaranai mrmo chaff =
narralive songs='*~ ;;l'jQ)lJj( kataricilo 110 11/a Allied forces= !!l!fr11I rengogu11 loosely dell ned = )E~ Q)i).! r,~ t

squeaky-clean"'

ondo (iPJP'.lif.lii{) songs.

Echoes of these and other
traditional styles can be
found in Japan' s pop music,
but it was the introduction of
Western music after the
Meiji Restoration ( 1868) that
really set the ball rolling.
Styles of popular music
that flourished in the 18681945 period included military and brass band music,
Osaka's rokyoku (Uttl), also
known as naniwabushi
1Em'i) narrative songs, chanson, Asakusa o pera, the
show music of the
Takarazuka (31:~) all-girl
revue, jazz (in the broad,
prewar sense of the term, encompassing dance music and
straight pop . ongs), tango
and Hawaiian music.
Japan's defeat in 1945 and
the ensuing Occupation by
victorious Allied forces
( 1945- 1952) resulted in more
foreign music being heard in
Japan, especially through the
US armed forces' Far East
Network (FEN) radio service. Many Japanese musicians and music fans got a
taste of genres like country,
rockabilly and modern jazz
thanks to FEN. At the time
the main popular style was
kayokyoku (:!X~:!Htln, a
loosely de fined term that one
authoritative guide to Japanese pop music describes as
"Japanese MOR (middle of
the road)." T he late Koga
Masao (-.+Jj'ii&~) is recognized as the greatest

Lt.; teigi no bakuzento silita

kayokyoku songwriter.
Important singers right after the war included Kasagi
Shizuko (~tft ~ ;(-=f),
whose 1948 release, "Tokyo
Boogie-Woogie," was a
huge hit. Misora Hibari (~
~ '0' li I) ) was a major star
whose untimely death in
1989 sent the nation into
mourning. Misora's forte
a type of
was enlw
melancholy lwyokyoku ballad that leans to themes like
doomed love affairs and
painful separations.
Traditionally based on the
Japanese minor pentatonic
scale, enka occupies a place
in Japan similar to that of
country music in the United
States. Enlw's biggest fans
are middle-aged salarymen,
who croon along to favorite
tunes in Japan's 280,000
lwraoke machine-equipped
bars.
The only Japanese artist to
have any impact in the West
in the post-war period was
the late Sakamoto Kyu (:tii:<$:
1L), whose "Ue o Mui;e
ArukO'' (.1. raJ It\"(~.:. ? ,
known overseas as
"Sukiyaki") made No. I on
the Billboard singles chart in

Japanese
Pop Music
in the US

att:).

a-

Pop music
icon Misora
Hibari was
known for
her soulful
renditions
ofenka.

KOME KOME Club started as a rock/funk group but is now

moving toward MOR.

1963-a feat no other Japanese artist has achieved.

Crucial to the development of Japanese pop was
the "group sounds" phenomenon of the 1960s. Japanese
musicians, inspired by Westem groups such as the Ventures (who still tour Japan
every year) and the Beatles,
formed bands such as the Tigers and the Jaguars where
the electric guitar was the
main instrument. Since then

there's been an evolution in

Japanese rock and pop away
from slavish imitation of foreign models toward music
that's more professional and
self-assured.
Pioneering rock groups
of the 1970s included A ower
Traveling Band, led by
Uchida Yuya (P'J EEl 61:1!),
considered one of the "godfathers" of rock in Japan;
Happy End, whose alumni
include Yellow Magic Orchestra co-founder Hosono
Haruo mi (k:l!l!lffDiU!!), whose
excellent 1993 ambient album, Medicine Compilation,
is available in the United
States on the TriStar label;
Zuno Keisatsu (i1.US!l~.
"Brain Police"); Sugar Babe,
from which emerged solo
artists Onuki Taeko <*l'tWY
-=f) and Yamashita Tatsur~
(Llrfite~. one of the geniuses of Japanese pop); the
Sadistic Mika Band and RC
Succession. RC Succession
produced solo stars Nakaido
Reiichi, whose live shows
are unrivaled for intensity,
and lrnawano Kiyoshiro (.~

The US rock & roll market

seems to be a tough one for
imports. Promoters of Japanese pop music in the past
have mainly pushed the top
acts from Japan, but have
met with little success. Terri
McMillan and partner To m
Toeda, who together make
up Medius Entertainment,
feel that some of the Japanese groups and artists who
have loyal followings in Japan, but are not at the top of
the heap, might actually be
better received in the US.
One group that caught
their attentio n was Pizzicato
Five (see main story page
48). After hearing their COs
while screening acts for the
New Music Seminar Japan
concert, Psycho Nile, Terri
and Tom "fell in love" with
Pizzicato Five and decided
to devote efforts to bringing
them to audiences in the US.
Apparently they have been
successful: Pizzicato Five's
first US album, Made in
USA, a compilation of material from various Japanese
albums, will be released by
Matador records in June.
The three members of
Pizzicato Five are all enthusiasts of American R & R,
especially the "classical"
60s, and they have selected
the material for the album
themselves.
The next act Tom and
Terri have their eyes on is
vocalist Gao. Like Pizzicato
Five, Gao has a following in
Japan, but might be a little
too distinctive for her home

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Mangajin 15

Fea tu r e Story

Pizzicato Five, a three-member group, is releasing its

first US album this June.

"It pays to shop around

to find the gems that
exist in the midst of
the pop pabulum. "

ff?IT:t~B), whose new

group, the 23's (or "Nisans"-older brothers), is
very much in the RC Succession hard-rock tradition.
The 1970s' "new music"
boom saw singer/songwriters
such as Nakajima Miyuki (~
lib }).19> ~ ) and Matsutoya
Yumi (t}ff:~Etr~. aka
"Yuming") gain popularity
with a sophisticated, personal
approach. Nakajima's songs
are often dark and moody,
and her style could be termed
"Japanese chanson," with its
emphasis on the dramatic.
Matsutoya's image of the
self-reliant, mature woman
helps make her a favorite
among young working
women. Her music has a
smooth, West Coast sound.
In the late seventies three
things had a major influence
on Japanese pop. First was
the "idol boom," which saw
performers like Matsuda
Seiko (t~t.=!!l f).
Yamaguchi Momoe (ill
"!M,), Go Hiromi (~ '(} i? ~)
and Saijo Hideki (~~3'iift)
capture the hearts and wallets
of millions of teenagers.

Do

Under the idol system,

new artists sign a contract
with a production company,
often when they' re as young
as 12. Ten-year contracts are
not uncommon. The potential
idol is then groomed and
educated under company su-

A show by six-member industrial thrash metal group

the Boredoms is less a concert than an all-out attack on
the senses.

pervision before making a

debut. When the time is ripe,
the production company
makes a master recording and
starts talking to record labels.
Idol stars are usually paid a
salary by the production
company.
When their shelf life expires at the ripe old age of 20
or so, they're usually let go in
favor of the next crop of
tarento ("talents"). The use
of the term tarento is ironic,
to say the least, since most
idols' appeal is based on
looks and certainly not on
singing skill.
The second big event in
Japanese pop in the late seventies was the Yellow Magic
Orchestra, a three-man group
(Hosono Haruomi, Sakamoto
Ryuichi and Takahashi
Yukihiro [~~~])whose
brilliant synthesizer-based
style of music had an enormous influence on musicians
worldwide. After leaving
YMO, Sakamoto composed
music for several movie
soundtracks, including collaborating on the score for
The lAst Emperor.
The third big development
during this era was the debut
of Kina Shokichi and his
band Champloose ( 7- -f /' 7
Jv- X), which brought the
music of Okinawa, Japan's
southernmost prefecture, to
the attention of mainstream
pop fans. Champloose's
unique sound was based on
the combination of electric
instruments with the
Okinawan sanshin, a threestringed instrument similar to
mainland Japan's shamisen
but with a shorter neck and
snakeskin instead of cat or
dog skin strung over the resonance box.
The group's first hit was
1974' s "Haisai Ojisan" (1'1

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lcyiJdo seisaku sum

Mangajin 16

Featur e Story

Shang Shang Typhoon 's music draws on Japanese folk songs,

music from Okinawa and China, plus a dash of rock.

-lt1 :13 t: ~ lv ), a bright

tune that always gets the
crowd dancing at
Champloose's exuberant
concerts. Highly recommended is the group's 1980
album Blood Line, which includes my all-time favorite
Japanese song, a ballad titled
"Subete no hi to no kokoro ni
hana o" (-9'"" -r (J) A 0),(., 1:
:(a- , " Flowers for Every
Heart"), usually referred to
as "Hana." The original version features Ry Cooder on
slide guitar. Th is beautiful
song has been covered by a
variety of artists, especially
in Southeast Asia.
With the popularity of
"world" music in the late
eighties there was new interest among the Japanese in
their musical heritage.
YMO's Sakamoto used
Okinawan musical styles in
his superb 1987 album

Beauty. Since then, bands

using "ethnic" stylings have
come to the fore.
The most interesting group
to come out of Okinawa of
late is the Nenes ( ;j,- ;j,;(. pronounced "nay-nays"),
a female quartet who specialize in a captivating blend
of Okinawan folk music and
contemporary pop. Their
third album, Ashibi (ih L Cf.
Okinawan dialect for "playing" or "relaxing"), includes
traditional-style songs such
as " Akabana," (ihtJ'Iilj:),
pop tunes like " Bye Bye
Okinawa," and a haunting
cover of Bob Marley's "No
Woman No Cry." All original songs on Ashibi were
composed by China Sadao
(~D~ 5.~ ), one of
Okinawa's best-known musicians and the man who
brought the Nenes together.
" Young people in
Okinawa show no interest in

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Mangajin 17

F e a t u r e S t o r

BABEL PRESS

traditional music," says Nencs member

Koja Misako (i5W1kf&:-=f). "Chinasan has decided on this means to attract
their attention."
Shang Shang Typhoon (1:. /:t ~)
plays music that draws on traditional
Japanese fo lk songs, melodies from
Okinawa and Chinese songs, plus a liberal dash of rock and even an occasional
nod to the blues. The seven-member
band, fronted by female vocalists
Ni shikawa Satoko (~li JII~$ f) and
Shirosaki Emi ( LJ MI!!JHf~). has existed
in various forms since 1980 when it was
founded by the enigmatic Koryu <*I~n.
"red dragon").
Koryu's instrument of choice is a
banjo strung with shamisen strings.
Playing a shamisen, he says, is too
much to expect from someone with no
formal training in traditional Japanese
music.
"I grew up listening to American
rock, but I also listened to Japanese
folk songs," says Koryu. "I wondered
why Japanese pop music couldn' t use
traditional rhythms, which most Japanese people are famili ar with."
In concert, Shang Shang Typhoon

presents one of the best shows on the

circuit. Nishikawa and Shirosaki, in
bright, fl owing robes, alternate between
energetic, high-pitched vocals during
up-tempo numbers and delicate, beautifully phrased singing for slower songs.
Koryu leads the rest of the band-bass,
drums, keyboards, percussion-chugging along with his banjo-cum-shamisen
setting the pace.
While Kina and other Okinawan musicians like the Rinken Band ( t) /dt /vJ-\
/ ~ ) update their musical heritage, at
the other end of the Japanese archipelago there's Moshiri (.:C ~ 1) ), a
group of Ainu and Japanese musicians
based in Hokkaido. Several tunes on the
group's 1991 album, Kamuychikap (1J
b. 7-11 y 7', "God's Bird") feature the
mukkuri ( J.,. -;; 7 1) ), an Ainu instrument
which sounds like a Jew' s-harp, as well
as beautiful, haunting vocals in the Ainu
language.

These days, the Japanese group bestknown internationally is Shonen Knife

(1--"~f. T 1 7 ), who got their start in the
Osaka indies scene of the early eighties.
The three women who comprise Shonen

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Shi5nen Knife sings

about flying jelly beans,
household cleaning liquid
and insect collecting. The
lyrics on the US version
of their Rock Animals album are all in English.

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Published by BABEL PRESS

in Japan 700

(!] BABEL INC.

1-3-6 N1shikanda, Ch1yoda ku

Tokyo 101 Japan Tel 03-3295-230J

18 Mangajin

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F e a t u r e S t

Knife-Nakata.ni Michie ( lfl~~ ~t~)

and sisters Yamano Naoko (LlJ!fflli!r)
and Yamano Atsuko ( Wft, .fcr )- got
together to play music as a hobby after
starting work as "office ladies." Their
goal was modest: to play one live date.
Shonen Knife's simple bass-guitardrums music is a strange but endearing
amalgam of the Ramones, the Ronettes
and the band's own comically kitsch
sensibility. Who else sings about subjects like flying jelly beans, household
c leaning liquid and insect collecting?
Over the years Shonen Knife has
moved from so-bad-they' re-good amateurism to a polished style without losing their charm or sense of humor, as
seen on their latest album, Rock Animals, released in the United States in
early 1994. The Japanese version of that
album contains songs in English and in
Japanese, while the US version is all
English.
Here's a sample o f Shoncn Knife lyr-

or y

The
Nenes
blend
Okinawan
folk music
and contemporary
pop.

ics from "Fruit Loop Dreams":

lar appeal is the Nelories, who come

from Nara. Comprised of college students Kirihara Jun ( ~ }jj( il) and Kubo
Kazumj (?\ 1:W~). the Nelories '
quirky, English-language songs are
reminiscent of Shonen Knife's material.
But instead of a garage-band sound, the
Nelories favor a minimalist style, which

There's big bird named Toucan Sam

With a pretty colored beak like a
candy cane
I wonder if he'd be so nice
As to take us to fruit loop paradise
Another Kansai girl g roup with simi-

(cominued 011 page 48)

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r garlji bando-fll IJO SOUIId O

Use your c urrent

Eng I ish-language
Windows 3.1 system.
Print to any Windows
<.ompatible printer.
Import and export text
files for use with other
Japanese word processors
Enter Japanese words
phonetica lly and convert
to Kanj i.
Bilingual screens and
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$249 - Demos available for $20

KanjiWORD is a trademark of
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1-800-232-3989 fax 1-206-562-0811

Mangajin 19

otable new book:

Understanding Japanese
lnfonnation Processing I
reviewed by Douglas Horn

There aren't a whole lot of sources for

mformation about Japanese computing.
and if you're lucky enough to find a bit
here or there. odds are it's written in Japanese. Even so. when Ken Lunde wrote

pealing. Ken Lunde's style is easy but

concise. and wherever the re is a potentially confusing subject, you can bet that
there will be a table or illustration to clear
up any doubts. What's more, the book's

Understandin!!, Japanesr Information Processing no one could have predicted the

uccess it would encounter. After all , the
mainstream computer industry is only now
beginni ng to realize that people do, in fact,
use Japanese computers outside the Tokyo
city limits.
Why all the fuss over one book? First.
UJIP is one of the first books about Japanese computing to be published in English. Second, by selling out its lir!>t edition in less than s ix months, it shattered the
conventional wisdom that no one is intere ted in Japanese computing. Most importantly, the book is full of hard-to-find
information about Japanese computing preented in an easy-to-understand way.
Typical of the fine computing books
published by O'Reilly and Associates.
UJIP is well-organized and visually ap-

Understanding
Japanese
Information
Processing.
by Ken Lunde.
Sebastopol,
CA: O'Reilly &
Associates,
1993. 470
pages, $29.95
(softcover)

'' lay-flat" binding means readers won't

have to use something heavy to keep the
pages from flipping.

Understanding Japanese Information

Processing is approximately 440 pages
long-nearly one-half of that being charts
and tables. Some of the major topics in-

Free kana-learning
programs for the Mac
Kazumi Hatasa ahd his
colleagues at Purdue University have put together a
pair of exceptional kanalearning programs for the
Macintosh.
" Hiragana and Kataka na" version 1.0 uses visual and verbal mnemonics
to introduce the pronunciatio n of Japanese. The introductory lessons include an
English phrase to set the context for the visual cue; the
indiv idual kana is pronou nced with an Eng lish
word that contains the pronunciation of the kana; the
shape of the kana is high-

24 Mangajin

lighted in the graphic; and

finally, the kana appears in a
normal type face. The student
is asked to input the kana
using He pburn or Kunre n
romanization; the kana. if
correct, appears on an adjoining screen. The student
can choo e to go through the
kana chart ro w-by-row or
large combination of rows.
There is no attempt to introduce the writing of the forms.
There are also exercises
for practice. One can use a
flashcard function as well a
kana g uessing game in both
sections. In the katakana
(rominued on pofle 56)

elude Japanese character sets and encoding methods. Japanese input and output,
Japanese e-mail, and Japanese infonnation processing techniques. As the topics
indicate, the book is skewed towards the
intermediate or professional user o f Japanese. Even so, readers of all experience
levels will find the book useful. though
Japanese computing neophytes may be
frustrated by the absence of some topics.
Readers will quickly find out why
the book is not entitled " Introduction to
Japanese Computing." The main thrust of
the book is Japanese information processing . so when it discusses how certain
things, such a kana-to-kanji conversion,
are done, it te nds to describe how they are
handled behind the scenes (or screens)
rather t.han how users can take advantage
of these processes. Also, though chapters
one and two are dedicated to the bas ics of
the Japanese writing system. the book
assumes a certain level of familiarity with
computing.

Power Macs run

KanjiTalk, JLK
In March, amid much fanfare , Apple Computer debuted its ne w Power Macintosh line, based on the super-fast PowerPC microprocessor. The Power Macs deserve the hype they are receiving- they are s ignificantly faster than previous
Macintosh computers, which
are based on the Motorola
680XO microprocessor series. Eventually , all Power
Mac software will be written specifically for the new
PowerPC chip. (These programs will be called ''native
mode" applications.) But until native mode applications

become widely available ,

Power Macscan still run virtually all existing Macintosh
applications via emulation
of the 68LC040 chip.
Even so . upon hearing
of the new computer, many
users of KanjiTalk and the
Japanese Language Kit immediately questioned how
we ll their Japanese systems
would run on the new platform . The answer is "very
well." The Power Macs ship
with the Macintosh System
7.1.2 operating syste m and
built-in emulation of the
68 LC040. The Japanese
(conlinued 0 11 page 56)

ComputerCorner
Though this slant may frustrate some
readers, the information they need is there
if they look for it. Those interested in using
the book as a reference for programming
Japanese applications will find this structure perfect for their uses.
Readers wi th some experience with
Japanese software- this includes anyone
who has learned to use a Japanese word
processing program with any proficiencywill find that UJIP is thick with the information they need to understand how their
Japanese software works- or why it
doesn 't. This information can help users
get to the next level of Japanese computing, from word processing to Japanese email and desktop publishing.
Chapter eight is a listing of selected
software applications. Though the listing
is not as exhaustive as Mangajin's software special (Mangajin #29), it does offer
longer product de criptions and i ncludes
software for the UNIX. NeXT, and Amiga
platforms, as well as IBM and Macintosh.
Probably the book's greatest strength,
from an experienced user 's standpoint, is
its excellent descriptions of the various

types of Japane. e output. Ken Lunde. the

author. is an employee of Adobe Systems.
which developed PostScript. As ~ uch , he
has an excellent grasp of font technology.
Some readers may question his openmindedness to the virtues of competing
systems. Nonetheless. describing Japanese
font s and character sets is the book s
strength. and the chapter on Japanese output should answer all conceivable questions about PostScript. TrueType. and
bitmapped fonts.
Anyone who buys Understanding
Japanese Information Processing for use
as a reference for creating Japanese software will not be disappointed. The pages
are filled with charts. tables, and lists. In
fact, the book has nearly twice as many
appendixes as chapters. It also includes C
language sample routines of several Japanesecharacter handling functions for those
readers interested in creating their own
Japanese application .
Some of the most useful lists in the
book are those that point readers toward
more sources of information. Publica! ions,
corporations, associations, and Internet

news groups and file archives are listed.

However, it is hard to imagine when some
of the book's charts and tables would ever
be useful to readers. For exam ple, dozens
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Mangajin 25

Frederik Schodt

FUjikO
Fuiio (A)

interviews

creator of

''The Laughing
Salesman''
In Mangajin No. 33, we presented a manga story from The
Laughing Salesman, and at that time we gave a little background on the title. We mentioned that it was drawn by Fujiko
Fujio (A), half of the famous duo known as Fujiko Fujio
(Fujimoto Hiroshi and Abiko Moto) who had brought the
world such manga masterworks as Doraemon, Obake no QTarl5, and Ninja Hattori-kun. We reported that the duo had
eventually dissolved their partnership and begun to do their
own respective things, maintaining some of their fonner
identity by adopting the pen names "Fujiko Fujio (A)" (Abiko)
and " Fujiko F. Fujio" (Fujimoto).
We pointed out to our readers that The Laughing Salesman was a "black humor" manga featuring a lecherously
grinning "salesman" named Moguro Fukuzo, who maliciously
set people up for failure and unexpected consequences under
the guise of helping them realize their dreams or overcome
their problems.

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Manga story
featured on
p. 70-77

But as we read more of the series and tried to come up

with a coherent explanation of who Moguro Fukuzo was and
why he acted the way he did, we were, quite frankly, stumped.
We couldn' t decide if Moguro represented the forces of evil, if
he just had a sadistic streak, or if there was some kind of
deeper moral to the stories.
Then, we found out that manga authority, author, translator, and regular contributor to Mangajin Frederik Schodt was
planning a trip to Japan, and we asked him about the possibility of interviewing the creator of the Salesman to find out the
inside scoop on this enigmatic character and manga series
(which has recently enjoyed a second boom after being revived
in animated form for a popular TV show). The result was this
interview, which also serves as an introduction to our second
selection from The Laughing Salesman, shown on pages 70 77 of this issue.

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<I> Schodt: As you know, Mangajin is currently carrying episodes of The Laughing Salesm an . I
think most readers of the maga zine are fans of
Japanese manga and have a great interest in The
Laughing Salesman, but since they may not
know the cultural background all that well, in
this interview I'd lik e to ask you some questions
to help them better understand this manga.
First of all, I'd like to ask you a little about
the original inspiration that led you to cr eate
The Laughing Salesman. If I'm not mistaken, I
believe you first created him 25 years ago?
Abiko: It's a good while ago now, and I'm afraid
I've forgotten much of it. I don' t know if you' re
familiar with him, but I used to be a great fan of the
Japanese mystery writer Edogawa Ranpo. For a
time he wrote in a genre he called "curiously flavored" stories-stories similar to those of [John]

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ACADEMIC FOCUS
JAPAN

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1.1

Collier and Saki, stories that were uncanny, had a

bit of a twist to them, or, in a sense, a kind of
black humor- and I liked them a lot and wanted
to try drawing the same kind of thing in manga.
At the time, I was drawing children's manga, not
manga intended for adults, but as a change of
pace 1 drew this one for a magazine called Big
Comics.
Schodt: So it was Big Comics? I thought it was
Manga Sunday.
Abiko: Yes. Earlier [before Manga Sunday], just
once, 1 drew a short, single episode story [for Big
Comics]. There was this odd character named
Moguro Fukuzo, who got hold of a faint-hearted,
timid young man and, in a sense, led him down
the path of destruction. I drew it because I wanted
to do something that had not previously been
done in manga.

Schodt: That's something I wanted to ask you

about. I think it came across then, as it does
now, as a highly unusual story line. Could you
tell us briefly about the response the story got
from the industry, or from readers, when it
first appeared?

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Mangajin 29

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should I describe it? - like it was frightening, or
it was a kind of manga they'd never seen before.
That kind of response. To an extent it was exactly
the kind of response I had aimed for, you know,
so I found this fascinating .

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30 Mangajin

Schodt: In that sense, I think you must have

filled something of a pioneering role.
Abiko: Yes. For almost anything, in the world of
manga or whatever, I seem to be comparatively
quick on the draw. For example, it's already 20
years ago that I drew the golf manga called "Pro
Golfer Monkey." That was before anyone, child
or adult, had seen such manga, but today whole
magazines of just golf manga are selling very
well. I opened up new territory that way. I was a
pioneer. (Laughs)

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Schodt: As I unde rstand it, s hortly a fter

that black humor star ted becoming popular in
Ja pan.
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Schodt: In reading The Laughing Salesman,

when you look a t the people that the main
character Moguro Fukuzo is always helping
out, if you can call it that, they're mostly cha racters - how should I put it? - who a r e bent
over or bowed down by life, who are filled with
dissatisfaction, who a re certainly not ha ppy.
Then Mr. Moguro shows up and proposes to
"fill the emptiness in their hea rts." I wonder if
we can interpret this theme as a kind of reaction to Japa n's high-growth economy of the
sixties and seventies?
Abiko: Well, I can't claim to have thought it
through that far in drawing the manga, but I do
have the feeling that in the years since the war, in
contrast to all the economic growth Japan has experienced, there's been a weakening of the spirit
[lit. "thinning of the heart"]. And so what happens with people is that when they get hold of all
kinds of things, they want more; or when they get
a little money , they want more. As this
progresses, I think all kinds of unsatisfied desires
and frustrations begin to pile up. What I'm interested in is the way Moguro sort of prods or pokes
at those kinds of feelings.
To some extent I am writing about myself. I
could perhaps say that the characters who become Moguro's victims are all modeled on various aspects of myself.

1.' ?

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own character ?
Abiko: Yes, yes.

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Sa/esma11 first appeared, then two or three years ago it

became popular again . I find it very intriguing that it' s
had a second period or popularity like this, and I understand it's partly the influence or T V animation.
Abiko: That's right, that's right.

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Schodt: But it's probably not j ust that, is it? T his is

just my personal interpretation (and it may be wrong),
but first there was the era or the bubble economy, then
the bubble burst, then an anti-materialistic reaction
took place in society, and it seems to me the renewed
popuJarity has something to do with that.
@ Abiko: Yes- though it's not like I had calculated that
would happen. l happen to have among my friends a man
named Ohashi Kyosen, who produced a television show
called "Gimme A Break." He asked me to be part of itthis was six years ago - and so I was going to do some
animation. Well, this program called "Gimme a Break"
was just loaded with talent - including Ohashi Kyosen
himself, but also people like Beat Takeshi. So if I was
going to participate as an animator on a show that gathered together the most amazingly original talent in all Japan, I had to think, of all the different characters I had
created, which would make the stronge t impression. In
the end I decided Moguro Fukuzo, the Salesman, was the

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lv t:."ft t o t:.. i t:. i -m0)8:)U: J;:~,\]t ~ lv t '-' 1 -? 1i
tJq, ~ -c , {& n' -r v t:: 1: r- ~ 7 . ~ n ~, ~ <J t ~, ~ ?
.;;.,~-:>~ t

lh~A.

~It

1/A.f;J,.

"')(

If (

~A.t

''

t~?~lv"t"Tl o -ftL"t"~~-~ l<tL c b

tL -c ,
-'\-' 6

l>t. ! t

~?

-J t

~,,

61f:M"t"-t,ttLt\ -ttL1:7 =-f.-~

~I::

? lH:I!A.t;;,.
Jj: ? -c t ::.. 6 n' -r: 0)
IHH! l \ l <tA.
0

r.:r ~ 7

3 ;.;

. ~

tLv<J tv?1i't*11.Ci, *mEf~~lv~-t?t!ttn

--:
(
t'' !:::'" - ~ t:.. It l t vI -J 7 v / ~ iJ' til "( .Q -f: -J \,' -J

(continued 0 11 page 78)

WER

" If this Isn't the very best woy

of leomlng basic Japanese,
I'd like to Jcnow what Is.~

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32 Mangajin

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TOO ~0 '(OtJR.t . iAAPPD IN

f>.. E.ORING Qff\Ct. ~\.1\lt. I'M
A~NI)

R.\JNNING

C\\ILO\-\OOD IS FOR
SPOILING P.D\JLT~OOI> .

WI~

rR..

NO R.SI'ON':>ISILITI'C5!
11~'1: ~ ~ SUMMt.R. .'
1\~
1\A. ! ~;CLICK *

"p,

Calvin: "Hi dad, it's me Calvin."

-+ ~ L ~ L , 1-{ r~ , 11 t!.

<

Moshi moshi, papa,

hello

J: , iJ Jv '11 /

boku, da

dad

1/rne

yo,

Ka ruvin.

is (crnph.)

Calvin

Calvin: "Ljust called to let vou know it's a perfect day outside."
-+ ;r} (j: f&;%1: v'v' ;R1[ f!. -::>""C ~A.. ""Cth~ff.: ( ""C 'll;i~Lf.: f!.lt l:t.lvf!.o
soto

wa

saiko ni

tenki da

ii

tte

oshiete agetakute

outside as-for highest/great good weather is (quote)

., ("C ~.:.:

,_, fJ

dem va shiw dake

wanted to tell

~1. 1 1...-tt'?

phoned
~--;j

f">\. L1t?

11011 da.

only

(explan.)
~ ~o h ""A.

IJ:I)I.

L..:.'H{

it's J:.A Tli know

... 0) [j iJ~ii-c t:t. -0 r. f.li.l~llo know O) ;h c l:~fl~un iJ';\':% <:1'-Vi#, that l i~rii!)C"C'Ii~lll'~
.,~

~ tt -0 QJ 7Ptfilli o

Calvin: "Too bad vou're traQQed in a boring office while I'm running around free with no responsibilities!

-+

Have a good summer! Ha ha hal" click*

11
li
1iiJ O)tjU~ ~ t:t. --c
Fi ltH:

<

<

Boku wa

nan no g itnutno nakule

1/rne as-for no duties/responsibilities whatsoever -and

J -{ J-{

li

"'?

papa wa
dad

i I? t:t. "'

tsumaranai

as-for

~L v '
Tanoshii

XL
natsu

office

~
o

are closed up

-t .::: t..,--c .P !
sugoshite

ne!

fun/enjoyable summer (obj.) spend/have (colloq.)

t i..

too bad Q)WJO) it is .8 J: rf,

..,~l.1t?

0) ' : ,

no ni

freely outside (obj.) am running around even though

t!. b o

tojikomerarete o-ki no doku-sama da

in/to

.o

hasllirbnawaue-iru

M t.:.~&? I? tt ""C J3~Q)llj~

;;f 7 1 :A 1:
ojisu
11i

boring

~ ;.t:: IJ 19:1-::> --c "'

9t

jiyii 111 soro

(hon-) so sorry

J\ J \ 1 \!

* iJ -T;; *

Ha ha Ita!

*Kachi.'*

(laugh)

cl ick

t;.:..<=
L'tJ""<
-fQJiR{~O)that li~~~

ne.

is (colloq.)

tt ""Cv'.O o you're

...,,.,t-:>

..,

~ ....

J,j. T)C* i "t'"~f..j.(iJf Too bad

1: ]j'i.P-0 ~ ~~nn o
t
hi=
trap = I b tj: J "t'" , are trapped l;l: I M t:. ~ &".> I? tt ""( It' -0 J , I :!it !W1 ~ iJf"t" ~ t:t. < ~ tt ""( v' -0 J 0
!:1.
while= I tj: 0) l:~t L ""C J o
...:.,
.....'{'
,.. .,
-t
I:'?J:?
haw a good summer li "have a good time" t:t. c.' c lfi)~0)3!<}J["t'" ' ~~ L "'ltk~t:t./v'v'U~~ :::-t J
a:~r.~-

0)

:r:lo

click =

't"J...h

l n -T;;,

childhood

ue

seijin-ki

f ukai ni suru tame ni

(quote) adulthood (obj.)

:.l:'t

JJ t

~,~

\ -!1\=

~ -r ~, n-r~ ~ J t:t.~ , m~ ~w .ov~v-r-~~0

Calvin: "Childhood is for:.m:1oiling adulthood."

-+ XIJ~M -=> --c, ~AM f .tF'@u: 'tot.:&".> 1:
Yonen-ki

~ ~

childhood 'j: l.:f{l~O)'*M J

ih o

0)

a ru

no

~0
sa.

spoil/ruin

in order to exist(s) (explan.)(colloq.)

lt t.c
t '
I.JJ1f~fi::J o Adulthood li I* A O)If.JVJJ
:

'l nA-~'"' '

-<t<l>.l.tt'

l}l.lt$fi-.J1tJ

The Days Au Ju.s1 Packed. copyright e 1993 Uni\'ersal Press Syndicate. All rights reseJVed. Reprinted/translated by permi~~ion of Editors Press Sen ice, N.Y.

34 Mangajin

CAL'm~ ~s ~'fSW.ICIJSL'{

~US

ONL'{ OOPE IS 'Tt) CALL

1-\8...1>! P\JS"\N() 'flint r>U..
\\IS M\()HT, C~'.JIN 0\r.l..S 1\\.
G\GI\NT\C lti...E?t\~'t.!
~

SHRIJN\( "R:> ~. 511. Of

~N

\NSt.G.'

"Calvin has mysteriousiWtshrunk to the size of an insect!"

'fJ Jv "/1 :..- fp
..-f~1iJ 1: b
<i.!R L? "' (J) :k ~ ~

1: *ffi 1v --c- L- i '? t..: !

Calvin

Karuvin

ga

<

fukakai ni mo

konchii kurai

(subj.) strangely/mysteriously insect

.:A.t,?f~'-'

(lt,..~o.,U~

lit!R::k,

thesizeof an insect li

about

no

okisa

ni

chijinde shimatta!

size

to

shrunk (regret)

I:Jh

.$. - ~< C,i..-'(/)*~~J o

"tiis only hope is to call for help! Pushi~ with all his might. Calvin dials themi~antic telephone!"
*J5 "C' WJ~t if ;j(t\6~ 12J.)'}I: , ::EJ.;. li /j:l.-' o
i?i1J
'f
fX-?"(,
Demva de rasuke o

moromeru

igai ni,

nozomi wa

phone with help (obj.) ask for/seck other than

til!5

'fJ Jv r11 :..- li 8}( /j:

Kantvin

(J)

.Y 1-f Jv

IID"t!

daiyaru

mawasu!

wa kyodai-na demva no

Calvin

as-for

huge

phone

dial

(, t

t;'t

-tl'M l<

t,o<,

r1J It''? 1!1.-''

furishibotte.

..,

to

1:1J ~ ~ < l "( J

Calvin: "U's ringing! He runs to the mouthpiece! Will anyone be able to hear him??"
-+ m:;m fJ' /j:-?"Z:''-''o! tJJv 11 :..- li ~!5u(J) ~~o 1: }Eo !
Demva ga

natteiru!

Karuvin

phone (subj.)

is ringing

Calvin

;1:13

f.

~gc (/) J!f

kare no koe

li

Aite

wa

wa juwaki no sowaguchi ni hashint!

as-for handset 's mouthpiece to

-IJ' [}f) ~I& n .o

ga

kikitoreru

t:. ~ -7 1J'??
I wonder

Calvin: "Bzz Bz! Bzzzz! Bzz Bzz! Bzzz Bz!"

-+ 7 ' / / , / / ! / - / ! / / / , 7 ' / / !
Bubw1,

bun!

Bu-n!

Bubun,

bubun!

Father : "Calvin. this had better not bec;ou."

-+ tJ Jv '11 :..- , 33 1 ;t t!. '? t.: t.: t!.
Karuvin,
Calvin

omae

dattara

you

if it is

(t~

l<t

tada

run

daro ka

other party as-for he/him ' s voice (subj.) be able to hear

Zenryoku

(obj.) spin/tum

.... A. t>

to call for help li.ftiJ It~ ;.J(ao .0 t..: 161: ~~5-t .0.:.
with all one's might (j:

nai.

(a) hope as-for not e)(iSt all (one's) might (obj.) squeeze out/exert

--c-

li

de

wa

/ - /, //!
Bu-n,
bun!

-t i

1v

s11man

-t'o
zo.

nothing with as-for won' t end (masc. emph.)

~I')

~1t'';:

''?1!1..

I'H~

->--1

Bzz li!il,"/J'/ ///~ lj:,O {f~ff-"t ~J!f~ii'o lj:.f:3 , - AX I:Iibuzz C t~ '? c ~~P],

"' .0 0
had{, r,better not::.. (ljji:Jf~Jii~Pl) li
,,~..,,,.!:'~ ~

~"(l,llh~

r lij: "' li ? -IJ~ J: "'/"C' ij: "' li ? -IJ' J: ", J o

I:Jfi'-''~o M"~mli hadbetter ...

<,'l~<

6o

!:'~~

t~

lli1Jt.liJc VCffl

~;.. ~

,'[!,15- ~ft "' ~11: ~-to t ~

rL- t..:li-JfJ'.l:'-''J o

The Essential Ca/vi11 & Hobbes. copyright II:> 1988 Universal Press Syndicate. All rights reserved. Reprinted/translated by pcnnission of Editors Press Service, N.Y.

Mangajin 35

mJJ?.1-t m~! 1f ~

7'7 '/ 7 :J... tJ /;'\.=.-

by

Deluxe Company

Zusetsu Gendai Yoga Benran

A Visual Glossary
of Modern Terms

Koichiro: ih,

:f- 7, ::1 - 1

A.

boku.

(intcrj.) 1/me

+ o- -z:-t o

Koichirrl

~t.t

fiJl B

c, .. .

desu. Ashita hima nara . . .

(name)

is

tomorrow

if free

" Hi, this is Koichiro. If you' re free tomorrow-"

(PL2)
Lady Friend: ih,
-!? .t -::> c
t'if-::> -r
:f- o
A,

chotro

matle

ne.

(interj.) a lillie/a moment wait-(request) (colloq.)

.:f -r

"I

+ ;t; /

Kyatchi-hon

-/){

A. -::> t.:.

!l) o

ga

haitra

no.

call waiting/another call (subj.) came in (explan.)

''Oh, wait just a second, okay? I received a call waiting

(signal)."
" Oh wajjjust a second, okay? I've got another call."
(PL2)
a is essentially an interjection of recognition/making a connection. It can be

used as an informal ''hi" when reaching someone on the phone or running

into them in the hall/on the street: it can also be used like 'oh'' to express a
sudden thought/realization/awareness of something.
hima refers to "free/idle/leisure time," and nara makes a conditional meaning, so hima nara =''if you are free."
matre is the -re form of ma/Sit ("wait"), here being used to make an informal
request.
ne is like the colloquial tag, "okay?" which expects him to agree/consent.
kyarchi-hon. from English "catch phone." is one of the names used for "call
waiti ng" in Japan. A less polite term used sometimes is warikomi denwa,
from the noun form of warikomu ("force/push one's way in/butt in on [something]") plus denwa (''phone !call)"): roughly. "a butt-in phone call."

Man: ~ ~iS~ 1~ -::> t.:. t i , fPJ

Juwaki

mafia

handset

holding

ilLv'-r

mama. nani
as is

what

naite

Jut.!. J: - o
11

da

yo.

are crying (explan.) (emph.)

"What're vou (.standing there) with the phone in

):OUr hand crying for?" (PL2)
Koichiro: -? 0 -? ...
U1 U
Sob sob (effect of being choked up/crying)
Narration: .:f -r y +
J: -::> -r -f (J)
ff:f ~

* / ':.

Kvatchi-hon

ni yo11e

sono

sonzai

call waiting

by/owing to that's/his existence (obj.)

_tt::h.C,:h.f.:.

!'1.l, ::J-17-D- l'""0 -::> f.:. o

wasurerareta owko,
was forgoncn

man

Koiclrir(}

de ana.

(name)

was

This was KOichiro: the man whose existence had

been f!!rg9tten on account ofcaJlWaitini (PL2)
juwaki literally refers to the " telephone handset/receiver," and motta is the
plain/abrupt past form of mmstt ("hold"). The particle o. to mark juwaki as
the direct object of moua, has been omitted.
mama =as is/unchanged,'" so moua mama means "with the handset held in

Deluxe Company, All rights reserved.

First published in Japan in 1993 by Futabasha, Tokyo.

your hand and doing nothing else"- in this case referring to the fact that
he's just holding the phone and crying. instead of talking, as he would normally be expected to do.
naite n is a contraction of naire-iru no, the progressive ("is/are - ing") form of
naku ("cry'') plus the explanatory no. indicating he wants an explanation of
the situation.
sono =''that's" in the sense of "belonging to that/of that," but in this case
"that'' refers to Kiiichirii, so it means "his.''
wasurerarera is the plain/abrupt past form of wasurerareru ("be forgotten"),
the passi ve of wasureru ("forget"). Sonzai o wasurerareru =''have one's existence forgotten:
kyatchi-hon ni yo11e sono sonzai o wasurerare/a is a complete thought/sentence ("[he] had his existence forgotten on account of call waiting") modifying otoko ("man").
de alia is the plain/abrupt past form of de aru, a more formalt'literary"
equivalent of da/desu ("is/are'').

[ English translation rights arranged through Futabasha.

Mangajin 45

mIY! 1-t m~B-19! Jl

by

7 7 -;; 7 "A tJ / ;"\..:::.Deluxe Company

Zusetsu Gendai Yogo Benran

Sound FX: I! -t! ~~ r {

Pi po pa pe
(sound of dialing touchtone phone)

A Visual Glossary
of Modern Terms

Man: ~ t.:.

f11~

-IJ'

J:, i-:> t.:.

Mota

rusu

ka

yo.

< ...

mauaku ...

again absent from home (?) (emph.)

(exasp.)

" Is she out a~ain? Sheesh!" (PL2)

m su refers to one's absence from home.
mauaku (literally "completely/entirely"). is often used as an exclamation of
exasperation.

Narration: -f (f)
Sono

koro

that's upproximatc time

Sound FX:

Meanwhile

~ Jv Jv Jv ... ~ Jv Jv ... ~ Jv '"'

To ru ru ru ... 10 ru ru . . . ro ru ru

Rinnng .. rinn2 ... rinng._._. (sound of telephone

ringing)
Sound FX: ;f. 1 ;t! 1
(effect of tos ing/throwing re latively
Poi
poi
small and light things aside)
Woman: 7j: It' ,
7j: "' !
~ Ri!i ?.if -IJ~
7j: 1.- ' !
Nai.

nail

Juwaki

go

nail

is not here is not here handset (subj.) is not here

" I can ' t find !hi can ' t find it! I can't find the handset." (PL2)
SoundFX : 71-+t -:::!')
Gasa goso

(effect of moving paper/objects around)

Woman: a?-:> t.: !!

Ana!
ex istedlis here

''1 found it!" (PL2)

Sound FX: Jv Jv Jv, 7' "I
Ru ru ru, pu!

(ringing followed by effect o f the sound suddenly

breaking off/being cut oft)
Woman: (t t' l;JJ-:> -1? ~-:> t.: o
Kedo
but

kirchaua.
hung up-(regret)

" But they hung up." (PL2)

Narration: 1) -'E :J /
t :J - r v :J.. li J:
Rimokon

10

remote control and

kodoresu
cordless

<

wa yoku

~
1: 7j: o
maigo ni naru.

as-for often lost/astray become

(Television) remotes and cordless (phone handsets)

often 20 astrav.
aua is the plain/abrupt past form of aru ("exist"), so it's literally the state

Deluxe Company. All rights reserved.

First published in Japan in 1993 by Futabasha, Tokyo.

English translation rights arranged through Futabasha.

46 Mangajin

menr "[It] existed." It"s often used idiomatically as an exclamation for w hen
one finds what one is looking for, like English " I found it!"
kircharra is a contraction of kiue shimaua, the -re form of kiru ("cut." or in
the case of a phone, "hang up") plus the plain/abrupt past form of shimau
("end/finish/put away''). A form of shimau after the-re form of a verb implies the action or its result is regrettable/undesirable. The subject of this
verb is the party on the other end.
rimokon is abbreviated from rimoto komororu, the cumbersome katakana
rendering of " remote control. Kodoresu is a katakana rendering of
"cordless."
yoku is the adverb form of iilyoi ("good/fine''). here meaning "often/frequently" rather than "well.
maigo is written with kanji meaning "be confused/go astray" and "child,'' so
maigo ni naru literally refers to a child "becoming lost." Adult speakers are
more likely to use the verb mayou when speaking of becoming lost, but they
can informally use maigo ni naru without it sounding panicularly funny. Using the expression for inanimate objects, though. is distinctly humorous.

~m~1-t ffl ~! 1J!~

by

Zusetsu Gendai Yi5go Benran

A Visual Glossary
of Modern Terms

Man :

77-:;7:A tJ/;"\..::..Deluxe Company

JiJ, :t v, 4- iJ' ~

1m J.>

J:: o

A,

kaeru

yo.

ore, ima kara

(interj.) Ume now From will return home (emph.)

" Hi, it's me. I'm just s tarting home now." (PL2)
a is an interjection of recognition that's often used as an informal " hi," when
reaching someone on the phone or meeting them in the hall/on the street.
ore is a rough/masculine word for ''lime."

Sound FX : .:.,;;
G I.

C reak (a dull and very b rie f "creak" from opening

door; a more s ustained creak would be gii)
Man:

b-?
Fii
" Whe w" (sigh of fatigue/relief)

Sound FX :

J~-t

Pachi
C lick (flicking light switch o n)

GJ

Messa~: JiJ, :t v , 4-

iJ' ~

1fff -0

J:: o

A,
ore, ima kara
kaeru
yo.
(interj.) Ume now from will return home (emph.)

Sound FX:

" Hi it's m e. l'mius t s tartinl! home now." (PL2)

t: ;;
Pi!
BeeR (beep after final message on answering machine)

(!) J!ii
L.. i.P
ore no koe shika

Man: -t-'-:>,i'IJ
Yappari

:;f

after all/as expected Ume

A-:>"lv'Jj:v ' o
haitte-inai.

's voice only

(not) recorded

"As expected, o nly my own voice is recorded."

"As us ua l m v own message is the o nly_o n e." (PL2)
Narration:

mt iJ' ~ b

fi1 <;H~
Dare kara mo rusuroku

(!)

A ~ 1j: It'

110

hairanai

~ ';t,
otoko wa,

not from anyone message (subj.) not come/be recorded man as-for

.:. -? L..
koshite

-r

in this way

t -:> t ;f,X L.. <

1j: J.>

(!)

motto sabishiku naru

no

more

lonely

1: JiJ -:> t.:. 0

becomes (explan.)

de ana.
was

In this wav. the man who received m essal!es from

no o ne came to feel even lonelie r . (PL2)

Deluxe Company. All rights reserved.

Fin;t published in Japan in 1993 by Ftllabasha, Tokyo.
English translation rights arranged through Futabasha.

yappari, a colloquial yahari, implies that something fits one's expectations.

shika works together with a negative (- nai) later in the sentence to mean
"only." Haille-inai is the negative form of haitte-iru (literally, "is inside").
which in the context of a tape-recorder/answering machine means "is recorded." The phrase- shika haitle-inai means 'only- is recorded."
dare by itself is the question word "who," but followed by mo + negative it
means " no one/not anyone." Inserting kara ("from") between dare and mo
makes it "not from anyone."
rusu refers to a person's absence from home, and roku refers to a " record/
recording," so rusuroku implies a recording made during one's absence i.e., a message o n an answering machine. Telephone answering machines are
known as rusuban denwa in Japanese. Rusuban is the traditional word used
for the task of guarding/watching the house while everyone else is away, so a
rusuban denwa is a telephone that takes phone messages while you are away,
and rusuroku is the term for referring to those messages.
hairanai is the negative of hairu (literally, "enter/go in/come in"), so
rusurokuno (=ga) lwiranai ="messages don't come in." This complete
thought/sentence modifies otoko ("man"): "the man for whom messages
don't come in from anyone." The subject marker ga often changes to no in
modifying clauses.
sabishiku is the adverb form of sabishii ("lonely''). The adverb form of an
adjective plus naru ("become'') implies either "become(s) that quality,'' or
'become(s) even more that quality." In this case motto ("more") helps indicate the latter meaning.
de alta is the plain/abrupt past form of de aru, a more formal!'' literary"
equivalent of da/desu ("is/are").

Mangajin 47

A Visual Glossary
of Modern Terms

F e atur e S t o r y

Pop .\fusic
""nrru~dfrom

page 19)

i;; dominated by Kirihara's accordion and bac ked by Kubo's guitar

plus bas and drums.
\ 'ocali t Kirihara's lyrics are surreal meditations on subjects
from Japanese tourists shopping overseas to the depressing urban
landscape of "No Love Lost": " Broken bicycle/Crushed fruit on
the street!The clouds in the sky don' t seem nice at all."
The elories have gained a loyal cult followin g in Britai n, where
they played live gigs in addition to recording a session for Radio
One's John Peel. The duo have released four C Ds. Their first fulllength album, Mellow Yellow Fellow Nelories, was recently released
in the United States on the He llo Recording indie label.
Pizzicato Five (!! -T 7J 7 7 1 ~l) is another Japanese act
that has set its sights on the American market. Last year the band
appeared at the New Music Seminar's " Psycho Nite" Japan showca e. and M atador Records will release their US debut album in
June. This delightfully bizarre trio (never mind the " Five") is
fronted by fashion plate Nomiya Maki. Describing PS's music
isn't easy. Nomiya, Konishi Yasuharu, and Takahashi Keitaro are
obviously keen students of '60s pop culture, which they refract
through their Japanese sensibility. The result is gems like "Twiggy
v . James Bond," which immediately conjures up images of sports
cars chasing each other along the Ri viera, or tongue-in-cheek ersatz psychedelia like " Magic Carpet Ride" (not the Steppenwolf
chestnut), which appears on the band's latest Japan album, Bossa
Nova 2001, as well as on their US album, Made in USA. What
could be Pizzicato Five's strongest selling point outside Japan is
their brilliant use of videos, in which Nomiya adopts an amazing
variety of pop personae.
The Boredoms hail from Kansai, but their industrial thrash metal
bears no resemblance to the pop of Shonen Kni fe and the Nelo ries.
Boredoms' lead singer Eye Yamatsuka achieved notoriety in the
early '80s with the band The Hanatarashi (-if I \ T -9 7 :/ ).
known for violent performances. One legendary Hanatarashi gig
featured a backhoe which the band used to chase audience members around until they smashed it into a wall.
A show by the six-member Boredoms is less a concert than an
all-out attac k on the senses. The songs have titles like
'Greatborefull Dead" and "Cory & the Mandara Suicide Pyramid
Action or Gas Satori." The mosh pit in front of the stage resembles
a mix master set on liquefy, full of fan s bent o n causing and/or sustaining gross bodily harm.
The Boredoms' latest album, Pop Tarari, was re leased by
Warner in the United States last fall, and they are expected to take
part in this summer's Lollapalooza concert tour. The group is part
of a Japanese underground scene that manages to survi ve in the
face of massive public indifference. This is rebellious music, but
not in the narrow, po litical sense. The extreme, over-the-top music
of the Boredoms, Daihakase, Captain Condoms, UFO or Die and
Dowser is designed to disrupt the complacency of what they see as
a conformist society.

~ ~5l ~ 1-t ffl ~i} ~ ~

Zusetsu Gendai Yoga Binran

(co111inued 0 11 J>af:e 50)

?.!\?.!! ~ 7 7 / 11ersttretsu-11a fan gil( = Ill i!i!Jii,!-i # slmtme11/

,'t',,UC7) shusshinno resemblance ='l!!fU rtti).i notoriety = :11::
r, akWII\'6/:/l.':,if akultro backhoe = 1 < / 7 :t. 7 ( -~P.cnffi!j'jiJI~) /iakku/ul(isslw
no kus,,-c;kuki) mosh pit = 7 7 / IJf~ i ..., "(.j1jl L. <!? ~ '"- L. <!? ~ ,-.j"' 7.> 7.. i" - ;;
liil C7) A-"<:- A fan t?O aWmlatte o~hiai he.fhiai suru suti'ji mae 110 .m pi'su
mixmaster = Jflj[;:;J.qJll\ l!l1 ha1111iit'ltiiriki
c uh following=
en~tJ hail from=

48 Mangajin

,.------------ - ----.,
CCl Deluxe Company. All righh r,,erved.
Fir" published m Japan in 199:\ by Ftnah:hha. Tokyo.
Fn!!h<h tr:m,Jm ion ri~lll' arranged through Futaba,ha.

by

7 7

7 'A tJ /

1~

=- -

/Deluxe Company

mm

2;H 1.1'0 'Jdit~~lt..: :tm10

'rfn'iS
kai;/w kara shikr17 sarera nengan 110 keirai demta.
jo.ining company third year in/having become company from
w<is issued
longed for mobile phone
3{ffl

t.: L""C

swmen-me

ni shire

Narratio n: AH:

N\'o7slia

The long-~nvai ted mobile phone, fimllly issued !!y...my_company in my t hird year of eJllplo~ment. (PL2)
Narration: .: ~l "t" .t:;h (,
Kore de
lhl'

'i1'~7 /
eigyo-ma11

0
110

1\ ') ' ' ')

ore mo

baribari

~ !!
sa.'

\\llh 1/mc al'o (ripping/energetic FX) of ,;o\c<man/sa\cs rep (emph.)

Now 1. too, a m a ha rd-driving salesman. (PL2)

the narration in the first three panel~ repre~ents the man s interior monologue.
111'17., /w combines the kanji for "enter" and company: to refer to a person~ ""hiring by/joining a company.
.;11e indicates places in sequence. so .m1111e11me is ""third year: The phra~e ... 11i .1/tire plays many different roles:
here it can be thought of as a fancy 11i ("in" - i.e.. "in the third year: empha~iing the time frame) or as equivalent
toni 1Wtte ('"having become: from llttru. "become - i.e.. "having become/reached/arrived at the third year'").
sltikyt7 .mreta is the past form of sltikyt7 sareru. passive of sltikyt7 sum (""issue/supply"'). Ny17slta SWIIIl'llme ni shire
kaislta kara sltikyt7 sarera is a complete ~entence ('"was issued by my company in my third year of employment")
modifying 11enga11no keirai deml'a (""long awaited mobile phone"). The line is merely a modified noun. not a complete
sentence. It essentially sets the topic for what follows.
harihari is an FX word both for "tearing/ripping." and for working vigorously/energetically.'"
eigyii typically refers to a company's "sales/marketing." so eigyli-ma11 is an employee engaged in drumming up busine'' for the company.

[D

~ -:~ f- < !l!i !J:. t.:

Narr ation: J: L ,
Yn.\111.

safsoku

'l1n~ L -r

't' {J

kanojo ni

de1110

h. J: 1

de11ua shire

n1iyii.

good/all ngh1 rogh1 away girlfriend 10 or ~omconc make phone c:oll shall II)

All right. I will right away try calling my girlfriend (or someone).
I k now. I' ll try it out by_calling my girlfriend. (PL2)

Nar ratio n:

t -c J: o

.:!vlj:

Mme

Konno

wa il

yo.

A ::l~

hirogomi no naka

(emph.) I hi" kind of

crowd

t.:~

';J:"fn'Lv'

lj: o

ja

ha:.ukashii

no.

, in,idc if il b i' embarrassing (colloq.)

Wait a minute. It' d b~em ba rrassing (to ma ke the calif in a crowd like this. (PL2)
yoflti is an exclamatory/interjectory form of the adjective iilyoi ('"good/fine""). It's often used to show that one is
ready to begin an action ("okay/all right, r m gonna do it/let"s do it"): here the feeling is more like ''All right. I know
what 1"11 do .. :
demo literally means "or something/someone/someplace/etc.: bu1 it"s often u~ed merely as a "softener" without carrying it<, literal meaning. He would not use demo if there weren't any other possibilities. but he's not really thinling
he might call <,omcone else.
deml'll ="telephone/phone call" and denwa sum (shire is the-re form of .H mt) i~ one way to say make a phone call."
miyii is the volitional "le!"s/1 shall" form of mint (''look"). which after the -re form of another verb males an expression meaning "try doing (the action).''
mate is the plain/abrupt command form of ma/.1'11 ("wait").
ltirogomi = "crowd/throng of people."' and ltitogomi no 11aka = " in a crowd."

Nar ration: n' C v' "'""C

Ka to ille

~~tt.t 1iJ!IW n'":> t~ t lliln'ht..:l?

t.: ~~.~? hJ.J o

klislu7 toire kara da ro

lien

11i omoomrem.

kikarerara

having 'atd !hal public toile! from if il i' of I am overheard strange 10 will be though!

On the other hand,jf (I call) from a public toilet and people hear me,_ the ' II think I ' m weird. (PL2)
Man: ,,_1' 'tv , 't v 0
Ji: ~(?
Ht7i.

ore.

ore.

hi/hello

1/mc

Umc heahhy/energcuc

Genki?

" Hi! It's me, it 's me. How' re ya d oin'?" (PL2)

Nar ration: t:, ~ Lt. 1 ,

t'.: n' I?

n'tt:ttli

v''-'

lvt~? !

ka 10 irre is an expression
for "having said that/
though that may be the
case/on the other hand."
N!l~r is normally read be11jo, one of many words for "toilet"; wire, a kat akana rendering of "toilet'' (loirello occurs only
rarely). is u\ed at least as frequemly as be11jo today.
it's not uncommon for da or desu ("i<,/are"') to stand in for another verb. Here it essentially substitutes for demm
mrtt ("'make a phone call"): klislu7 roire kara demm ,\uru ro ="if I call from a public toilet:
kikarewra "a conditional "if/when" form of kikarertt ("be heard/overheard"). pas~ive form of kiku ('"listen").
nmo11arem i., the passive form of omou ("think'"): ltenni omo,.arertt ="be thought strange."
cluki.\hii i\ a variation of chikusho. literally meaning "beast" and often used as an expletive of chagrin: "Damn!
demta o kakem is another way to say "'make a phone call." Kakereba here is a conditional "if/when" form of kakem. The
form ... lm ii in a question typically asks what a per~on "is
7 J +t- I?~/-.., , .B h ... 4,_ Fl ~- .. .
expected/supposed to"' do.
A risaclum.
ore. . . kwl sii . . .
sli da (literally. " [it! is so/that way") is often an exclamation
(name-dim.)
\/me
today (colloq.)
expressing a sudden realization/thought/idea, like "Oh,
''(Hi,) Arisa, I ... today. like, ..."
I know/that' s it!"

Sil da!
(explel.)
where from if m~okc phone cull is good/OK (explan.-is?) !hat way i>
Damn, wher e a m I SJ!PJlOSed to call from? 0!!, I know! (PL I ; 2)
Chikishii.

Man:

doko kara

kakereba

ii

11

da?

"(Hi,) Arisa. guess what I got today." (PL2)

Mangapn 49

0-~~ii~~~

F e a t u r e S t o r y

Pop Jlusic
-dfrom (Hlgt 48)

That urge to break out of the mold also powered Ozaki Yutaka
( ~llio;.!hs mu ic. But Ozaki s medium of choice wa trippeddown. old-school rock ' n' roll, which gave it mass audience appeal. His 1983 debut, Seventeen's Map, contained songs that gave
'oice to young people's frustrations with society, especially

OL Shinkaron

school.

In 1987 Ozaki was found guilty of possessing amphetamines but

he managed to continue his career. He died at the age of 26 in
1992, after he wa found drunk and naked on a Tokyo street at 5
AM the same day. Official cause of death was pulmo nary
edema----excess accumulation of fluid in the lungs.
In the late eighties the late-night TV program "Jkaten" featured
amateur and semi-pro bands and spawned the "band boom." This
blast of raw rock ' n' roll frightened people in the business who
were accustomed to dealing with packaged talent. The band boom
had little lasting impact, however. with the odd band uch as Tarna
(t::. 1) managing to carve out a career despite the boom' collapse.
The eighties also saw the " live house" club scene produce great
no-nonsense rock bands like the Blue Hearts (whose material is
available from Portland, Oregon's Juggler Records) and the Street
Sliders. The cramped, smoky confines of the myriad of live houses
in major Japanese cities are the best place to check out new talent
before the producers smooth out the rough edges.
The tendency toward a bland, anonymous sound remains o ne of
mainstream Japanese pop's big weaknesses. Hom sections arc
wimpy and there's too much emphasis on computer-programmed
music, resulting in music with a smooth veneer but little ubstance. It pays to hop around to find the gems that exist in the
midst of the pop pabulum.
These days, artists who dominate the Japanese hit charts are
those who manage to get their songs used as themes for TV commercials or dramas. This "tie-up" phenomenon has resulted in
huge growth in the CD singles market (COs-albums and
singles- account for over 90 percent o f prerecorded music sales in
Japan) and has he lped the Japanese record business grow despite
the recession.
For the record (no pun intended), production o f audio oft ware
in Japan in 1993 totaled 417.73 million units, up 12% over 1992,
with a wholesale value of 5 13.68 billion yen ($4.89 billion), up
7%. Japan is the second-biggest music market in the world. Another interesting bit of data is that foreign music accounts for
roughly a quarter of the market.

tJ t.t. v < L'

? 1.' It tt ftC

At l ' l l

t:.. ~

The most successful pop act in Japan at present is undoubtedly the trio Dreams Come True, whose 1992 album, The Swinging S1ar, is Japan ' s all-time top-selling album at over 3.2 million
copies. While the production style is slick, Yoshida Miwa (}fiB ~
{LI)'s vocals arc strong for a mainstream pop act. Other Japanese
mega-acts these days include Chagc & Asuka (+ -t 7' & JIH~).
who likewise favor a smooth. pop ound. and Kome Ko me Club
(COIIIilllll'lf 1111 f'O!il'

1.> l

52)

raw rock'n'roll =filii IJ ~(Q)~ ~' D "/ 7 / U- II- ka:arike 1111110i rokkmtroru
carve ou1 a career = (11',\!j';~U:: L. "( Q)) -"\'- '\' ') 7 a-1;11 I) 1~1 ( (ongok~a ro
shire no) kyaria o kirihirak11 anonymow, = f~lt'l;(l) ~ ~' kosei no nai wimpy
= l)\)1.' yowai pabulum= ln..J<rr't'-::J i I? t.. ~' t (7) ranjtm de tstiiiUmmai mono
'lick= t']t'J;I.:1J: \f."( t:. komyii ,; shitatelll

50 Mangajin

:t.;
tJ

Akizuki Risu. Al l righl' reserved. Firs! publi,hcd in

Japan in 1991 by Kodan~ha Lld., Tokyo. Engli>h
translation righl> arranged lhrough Kodan;ha Lid.

by ~:k ,t=J ~
Mother : ~ U
Kaislla

1.:

ttl tt. t:.

iJ'"'?

ni

wa

nareta

kai?

company to as-for became accustomed

i'I

Akizuki Ris u

(?)

" Have you gotten used to your new job?" (PL2)

New O L: ') lv
Un.

" Uh-huh" (PL2)

kaislla is literally "company/firm," but it's often used in si tuations where an English speaker would more
likely say "work/the office." Here it's a question having to do with new employment, so "new job" seems
more appropriate.
nareta is the plain/abrupt past form of nareru ("grow accustomed to").
kai makes a softer/ less abrupt question than ka: i!'s reserved for informal use.

Mother: "' t.: b ~ .!JCJI.

ljiwaruna

senpai

mean

semors people like

toka

inai?
not exist?

"No sen pai who are_mean to you?" (PL2)

NewOL: "'~"'

#lv~ "<"~ l..v'

J: o

lnai

yo.

Minna

yasasllii

J: o
yo.

not exist (cmph.) everYone kind/nice (emph.-is)

"No e veryone's nice." (PL2)

senpai refers to anyone who is one's ''senior" in a given group- here. the group of OLs at her workplace by virtue of having entered the group before oneself.
... roka ="things/people/places/etc. li ke ... "
inai is the negative form of iru ("exist" for people and other animate things). The mother speaks the word
with the intonation of a question.
in informal situations. the emphatic panicle yo by itself can function as desu yo ("is/arc/will be" + emph.).
especially in female speech.

Mother: 1:71'7

-:>1:'
ue

Sekullara

"'oJ
iu

(J)?

no?

lit?,

1::.151

Hora.

joslli

nt

"''<"!?Lit'

7~

L.t:.IJ .. .

iyarasllii

mane

sllitari .. .

ga

sex ua l harassment (quote) say/called (explan.) (interj.) superior (subj.) disagreeable/indecent behavior do 1hings like

" Is it called sexua l harassment? You know wher e vour super iors behave indecently ..." (PL2)
New O L:

~1. 1 ,

Nai.

~lt' o

nai.

not exist not exist

"No noJ the re's nothing like that)." (PL2)

sekuhara is the Japanese adaptation of English "sexual harassment.'" abbreviated from the full katakana rendering, sekushuaru /zarasumelllo.
hora is often used to call a person's attention to something, like " here/look/see/watch,'' but this use is more
like "you know."
joslri refers to a person's superiors in the corporate hierarchy, especially the boss he/she reports to directly.
iyarashii, like iya(-na) from which it comes. means "disagreeable/offensi ve,'' but iyarasllii is the preferred
form when the offensiveness is of an "indecent/lascivious/amorous" nature.
mane by itself means "imitation/ mimicry." but an adjective followed by mane (o) suru makes an expression
meaning "behave (in the described manner)." Suru here occurs in its -tori form. shitari : the -rari form of a
verb implies that the action is one of several possible actions.

GJ

Mother : t.: ~ iPJ

Jli

~,
sa.

1) /
(J) 1J "I 7' Jv t -lr
fit ... furin no kappuru toka

7 ... 7

then/in that case (colloq.) immorality

of

f?
wa?

couples people like as-for

"Then (how a bout) couQies who are having affairs?" (PL2)

New OL: ~il'-~lv. Lft~ L"t"<tt"t" bitt.:~~"' lv t.!.b?
Okiisan.
mother

shinpai shite kuretent wake

worrying for me

situation

ja nai

dane?

is not (explan.) is it?

" It's not (r eallv) that .}'Ou' re wor r ied about me, is it, Mother?" (PL2)
jli (or ja) is a contraction of dewa ("in that case/then").
sa (or sometimes sli) is a particle used colloquially as a kind of verbal pause.
furin ("immorality") commonly refers to extramarital affairs.
kappuru is a katakana rendering of English "couple: It can refer to any "couple,'' as opposed to jlifu. which
is used only for married couples.
shinpai is a noun meaning "worry/concern/fear: and shinpai shite is the -te form of the verb sllinpai suru .
kurete-ru is a contraction of kurere-iru, from kureru ("give [to me]"). Kureru after a -te form implies that an
action done by someone else benefits/is done on behalf of the speaker or subject.
... wake ja nai (or de wc1 nai) is like English "it's not that .. :
11 dais a contraction of explanatory no da, used here because she's stating the "explanation" that she has herself figured out regarding her mother's questions. Ne is like a tag seeking confirmation from the listener;
"right?/isn't it?/(it's not ...), is it?''

Mangapn 51

F e a t u r e S t o r

Pop Jfusic
I CN!trnu~d f rom page 50)

(** CLUB), who have moved toward MOR recently but whose
roolS are in the rock/funk style.
Other contemporary stars include pop songstress Nakayama
~1 iho (ffl LIJ~:f.J!.); Kubota Toshinobu (~ i* B3f1Jf$), who favors a
black American style; the duo B' z; the veteran Southern All Stars,
whose frontman, Kuwata Keisuke (~ B3{itti), is one of the
Japan's true showmen; former idol Nakamori Akina ( ri~~I3Jl~).
whose ups and downs are chronicled by Japan's lively weekly
magazines; the pop/rock band Wands; the dance act trf; and
heavy-metal/glam band X Japan, whose leader, drummer Yoshiki
(usually written in romaji), recorded an album of orchestral music
with Beatles producer George Martin.
The Tokyo and Osaka club scenes continue to produce some of
Japan's most interesting music. The cool acid jazz sounds of
United Future Organization's latest, eponymously titled album
was released in March in the United States on the Talkin ' Loud
label. There 's Major Force, Cool Spoon, the pop-oriented Original
Love, the ambient house of acts known as Dark-Eyed Kid, the
Scha Dara Parr rap group, Takagi Kan <i9i*5i:) Vibrastone and
Z ingi, and the reggae sounds of vocalist Nahki (T- .:\'-), Tokyo
Ska Paradise Orchestra and P.J.
Closer to mainstream, one interesting trend has been for Japanese artists to put more non-Japanese "ethnic" fl avor in their
work. Singer Sandii Suzuki, formerly of Sandii and the Sunsetz,
includes to good effect material in Malay and Indonesian on her
latest album, Dream Catcher. The pop/rock band The Boom have
flirted with reggae, bhangra and Southeast Asian styles in an intelligent, inspired way that steers c lear of cliche.
And in a move totally out of left field, kawachi ondo artist
Kawachiya Kikusuimaru (infi*J*~*}L) collaborated with UKbased bhangra remixer/producer Bally Sagoo to produce an inspired album, Hore Hore Hare Hare ( ;f; v ;f; v l \ v l \ v ), which
recently came out on Nippon Columbia. While we' re at it, let's
mention classical/rock crossover group Kryzler and Company,
whose takes on the classics are decidedly different.
It's difficult to keep track of all the music coming o ut of Japan.
Japanese fans rely on a variety of music magazines to keep track
of what's happening. Key titles include Rockin' On Japan, Music
Magazine and Remix. Foreign publications such as Billboard and
Spin often introduce Japanese music in their pages as well.
The point is : don't be afraid to plunge into the wild and wacky
world of Japanese pop music. Find an artist or band you like and
take it from there. You might strike out a couple of times, but the
thrill of discovering real talent makes it worth the trouble. You' ll
pick up more than a bit of non-textbook Japanese and insight into
Japanese pop culture along the way.

0 ~ii1C~
,_,,.

OL Shinkaron
1\.'Lll~

T ,;:, Jll
-b'

(J)

? L A-

Steve McClure is Tokyo Bureau Chief o f Billboard magazine.

c'

chronicle= clcH~: C: 1/J ~/Jfi!C T ~ kiroku ni IOdomerulshojut.!u s uru

eponymous= )jjJ :g 17) domei no nincd =f. T ll T reo dao~u cliche= ih IJ !!!
f.:. I) 17) ('f.i:l;)/3? 1J h.~1.t.:. (;7.. '71 ill) arikiwri no (slmi!O)larifureta (sutaim)

Akizuk i Risu, All rig hts reserved. First published in

Japan in 199 1 by Kodansha Ltd., Tokyo. English

translation rights arranged through Kodansha Ltd.

52 Mangajin

by

GJ

Ll.JIII~A.

.f* }i

l~~t'iT

Othe r_ Part : iJ;(J)-,

"'t?-=>
Ano.
Yamakawa-san irasshaimasu
(interj.)
(name-han.)
is present
''Is Mr. Yamakawa in?" ( PL4)
OL:

TI

Akizuki Risu

fJ'?

ka?
(?)

li t.:.t!~t'i 9HI:I'i' l:t"o .:f~d

1J{.:~"'ilt.:.t?71tt.:.ib1Jit"1J<o
Yamakawa wa radaima gaishursu-clul des11. Go-de11gon
ga go::.aimashirara ukeramauarimasu ga.
(name)
as-for right now ou!laway
is (hon.)-message (subj.)
if have
will hear/take
but
" Mr. Yamakawa is away right now. Would XQU like to leave a m essage?" (PIA)

LIJIII

a11o is a hesitation word similar to "uhh/um." except that it sounds much more po lite. In a face-to-face encounter
it is often like "Excuse me,.. but th at Eng lish phrase doesn' t seem quite natural in this situation.
irasshaimasu is from the intrinsicall y polite/ho norific verb irasslwru ("is present/comes/goes").
since the workers in a company a ll belo ng to the same "group." Japanese refer to their co-workers without the
honorific -san ("Mr./Ms." ) when speaking to someone outside the company, even when they would normally
use -san in addressing the person directly. or whe n referring to him within the company.
gaishursu is a noun referring to the act o f "going out," and the suffi x -clul means " during/in the midst
so
gaislwrsu-chii = "in the midst of be ing out' '
"is out."
gozaimashirara is a conditional " if'' form of the PL4 verb gozaima.w. equivale nt to a nt ("exists/has/have").
ukewmmvarimasu is the polite form o f the PL4 verb ukewmawaru , equi valent to kiku (''hear/listen to"). She
"Would you like to leave a message?"
lite rally says " If you have a message I will listen to it (but)"

or:

Other

~arty:

*r*l

lliJII
(!)
"Z"T
Yamakall'a 110 kanai desu
(name)
s wife
is
"This is Mrs. Yamakawa.

't c' tA

li i3

t)

it"

"Z"l

.1:.

7 n'?

kedo slwjin wa orimasu

desluJ ka?
but husband as-for is present I wonder if/is perhaps?
I wonde r if m hus band is in?" (Pl4)

OL: "'"?~ i3t!t~t.:t.t-:>-ci3tJ iT o llJIII

li
9Hl~
-r-t"tl{, "'n'IJ< "'t.:.l...i l...J:. 7
lrsumo
o-sewa 11i naue-orimasu. Yamakawa wa gaisltutsu-clul desu ga,
ikaga
itashimasho
always
(hon.)-are receiving favors
(name) as-for ou!laway
is but. what way/how
shall do
" Thank vou for aU vour kindness. M r . Yamaka wa is away. How can I b e of assistan ce?" (PIA)
orimasu is the polite form of the PL4 (humble) verb oru. equivalent to iru ("exists/is presem").
... deshO ka asks a question. "I wo nder if (it/he/she) is ... ?/Is (it/he/she) perhaps ... ?"Using the PL3
(-masu) form before desha is a very polite style. .. ormal" politeness would be " . .. slwji11 ua oru desho ka?"
itsumo o-sewa ni naue-orimasu is a po lite greeting that es entiall} thanks the listener for patronage/services or
any kindness he/she may have done fo r the speaker. Sewa means "help/aid/favor,.. and sewa ni naru is an expression meaning " receive favor/aid/help." Naue-orimasu is a PL4 equivalent of naue-iru. the progressive
("am/is/are -ing") form of naru. so o-sewa ni nalleiru (or orimasu) literally means "1/we are (always) receiving your favor." An OL saying this to a colleague's wife implies the wife's actions indirectly benefit the company; a wife might also say it to an OL because she knows the OL helps her husband in the cour~e of hb job.
ikaga is a PL4 equivalent of do ("what/what way/how"), and irashimasho is the polite voli tional ("let's/!
shall") form of the PL4 verb irasu, equi valent to sun t ("do"). In a questi on the volitio nal form becomes "what
shall we ... ?/who shall I ... ?/etc., so ikaga irashimasho ka = "what shall 1/we do?"

Osore-irimasu.

(gratitude)
" l ' m ve.-y_much obli~" (Pl4)
~-:? ~-:?
OL: -IT 3 7 ""("::: ~ ~' it" n'? f
Sayo
de gozaimasu ka? I
Bwsu bw su

that way
is it?
(effect of mumbling on and on)
''Is that s o? I (etc. etc.)" (PlA)
.:. ~ t? n' t? i3 at Jii ", t.:. l i T
Q_L: 1t: 1i c'
Nochi-hodo koch ira
kara o -demva irashimasu.
later
this side/direction from
(hon.)-will call
''I'll caJJ you b ack later." (PL4)

o r ' 'I' ll have him r e turn vour call later ." ( PlA)
- -

here our OL is simply practic ing at random a number of

stock phrases used on the phone.
osore-irimasu is the polite form of the PL4 verb osoreiru. which is similar to sum imasen in that it can be used
either as an apology or an expression of gratitude.
sayo is a formal equivalent of so ("that way") and de
go::.aimasu is a PL4 equivalent of da/deSII ("is/arc"). so
sayo de go'-llimasu =so desu ="it is so/that way." The
quest.ion m~rker ka makes it " Is that soT ..
11oclu-lro:;to IS a more formal word for oro de. afterwards/
later on.
kocltira l it~ral!y means "this side/direction:" but is often
use~ as an tndrect. and therefore more pohte, way of refemng to oneself/one sown company. Depending on context. this sentence could mean she will call back later herJ: o
self, or that the absent person will return the call later.
Arigato,
okiisan.
Mo
ii
yo.
mother already good/okay (emph.)
o- is honorific, and itaslrimasu is the polite form of the
thanks
" Thanks, Mom. T hat' ll be_e n ough." ( PL2)
PL4 verb irasu. equivalent to suru ("do"). so o-denll'a
irashimasu = demm .mru = "make a phone call.''
It-:> .:. H ~ l ~ i.P-:> t.:. (!) 1.: o ' - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - 1
Mother: f.t 1-v t!. o
Nan da.
Kekko
omoshirokaua
no ni. mt) ii is li terally "already good/fine." idiomatically
what is it? quite/considerably was fun/enjoyable even though meaning ''that 's enough."
11011 da by itself implies either disappointment or relief.
" Oh. Even tho ug h it was quite fun. "
"Alread y? I was havin~" (PL2)
here the former.
0 L
(!) 7 -r omoshirokana is the past form of omoshiroi ("is fun/
Oeru
enjoyable/interesting").
110 Mana
110 11i ("even though/a lthough''), especially at the end
office lady 's manners
OL E tiquette
of sentence, can express regret/disappoi ntment.

Manga1in 53

0-"~ii1Caffii

by

GJ

OL Shinkaron

tJ<) J

I')

TI

Akizuki Risu

.!& t) ~I~

New OL: J: l, I
Yoshi.

torihiki

!JC

t.: tl!ilti't 1.> i'o

-saki

ni denwa suru zo.

oka)/all right transaction target/destination to

make call (emph.)

" All rightl l ' m_glling to call the client." (PL2)

Sound FX: ::._ <
Goku

Book T itle:

Gulp (effect of swallowing hard)

-r !v ~? (f) ""<' -tDeml'(l no Mana
telephone of manners

Telephone Manners
yoshi is an exclamatory/ interjectory form of the adjective iilyoi ("good/
fine"). It's often used to show that one is ready to begin an action ("okay/all
right. I'm gonna do itllet's do it").
torihiki-saki is a term referring to one' s business clients/contractors, from
torihiki ("Lransactions/dealings'') and saki ( literally "tip/point," but also
having many idiomatic meanings, including "destination/target").
;_o is a roughlma~culine particle for emphasis that female speakers use only
in very informal situations, or when speaking to themselves.

[2J

NewOL:

HI*-*~*

-r-ttJ'? ~<'-::>ti:>t!t~i5t.:~-?'t'i:>IJ ;t'to

Ka wasaki-sama desu ka? ltswno

(namc-hon.)

is it?

o-sewa ni naue-orimasu.

always

(hon.)-are receiv ing favor

" Is this Mr. Kawasaki? You are alwavs doine us kind

mvors. (T ha nk you.)" (PlA)
Ka wasaki:
~<' -')
~ -') 1.:?

c: -')

Dii

iu

fti

ni?

how/what say/called manner in

"In what way?"

"How so?" (PL2)
o-sewa ni naue-orimasu is a polite greeting used among people doing business wi th one another, essentially thanking the listener for his services or patronage. Here we use a rather literal trans lation because of the li ne that fo llows.
do iu (literally 'what/how ay") means 'what kind of." and.fi7 means "manner/style"). so dii iufti 11i = '' in what manner/way?"-+ ''how so?"

Sound FX: ' ' ' ' '" "/

Ba ba ba!

(effect of nipping pages roughly/violently)

New OL:

l}- -?

Hii-!
(cxclam.)

" Ai-yi-yi!" (exclamation of distress/panic)

Kawasaki: ; t - 1 ! 3; it.-? ::: VJ lv
o
Vi!
hey/yo

a-

Are?

Gomen

ne.

(inlerj.)

sorry

(colloq.)

" Yo! What hJ!m>ened? I' m sorry, okay?" (PL2)

:,/ a - '7 / t.!. J: - o ;t - 1 o
Jod{llr
da yo.
Vi!
jokc/je!.l

is (emph.)

hey/yo

"It was just a ioke. Heyl" (PL2)

Akizuki Risu, All rights reserved. First publi>hed in

Japan in 1991 by Kodnnsha Lid., Tokyo. Engli~h
translation rights arranged through Kodan<oha Ltd.

54 Mangajin

the OL is desperately searching for the proper way of hand ling Mr.
Kawasaki's unexpected response. Since o-sewa 11i naue-iru is a stock formula/greeting, one never actually asks what sewa ("favors") the speaker is
referring to. Kawa~aki was playing a practical joke on the nervous newbie.
iii, with a long vowel, is used for trying to get the attention of someone relatively far away - appropriate in this case because she is away from the
phone. It's informal. but does not have the abrupt/rough feel of the short oi.
which is used to get someone's attention in c lo e proximity.
are (or are) is an interjection of surprise/bewilderment at someth ing unexpected.
gomen. from the honorific prefix go- and menjiru (''exempt/excuse"), has
become an informal word for apologizing/begging pardon.
lengtheni ng the e mphatic yo simply gives it more emphasis.

0-n~ii1~~

by

[Q

f:k fol

TI

Akizuki Risu

tali B. ~Iilli 1:
Kondo no doyobi. eiga ni

Man: A,/'!f(!)

OL Shinkaron

thi~

Saturday movie

lrn'f..:l'?
ikanai?

to

not go?

" Won't you go to a movie ( with me) this Saturday?"

" Wanna_gQJo a movie Saturda_y'l" (PL2)

OL: ~ -- -::>, Hill B -<?
- '

Doyobii?

what?

Saturday

" Wha-a-at? Saturday?" (PL2)

kondo ("this time/occasion") can mean either 'recent/recently" or "the upcoming/soon": kondo no + a weekday i~ always the !alter meaning. so
kondo no doyobi =''this (coming) Saturday."
ikanai is the negative form of iku ("go"), here spoken with the intonation of
a question. Negative questions are o ften used when making invitations/suggestions. Depending on context. they correspond to Engli ~h expressions
like " Won' t you (have/go/come/try/etc.) ... ?":"Wouldn't you like (to) ...
'[':or " Why not/why don't you ... ?"
-!expresses strong surprise. or even alarm. as if she's being asked to do
something unreasonable. or on too ~hon notice.

OL: -J - - lv,

"''~t.:v'

U- n.
(intcrj.)

rt c' -:t, 1

ikitai

kedo-.

want to go

hut

c-J

n'f.t.?

I smw hi

dii

ka 110?

.Jf: (!)

that day how is it I wonder

" Hmm, I 'd like to, but I wonder how that day is?"

" Hmm, I'd like to, but I'm_not sure J can." (PL2)
'I? .J: -::> c
f;'f -::> -r
tl
.f.~~
.R. -r ;.,. J.:,
0

Chotto

ma11e

ne.

Techo

mite miru.

a linle/moment wait-(requcq) (colloq.) datchook try looking/checking

" Wait a second, okay? I'll check my datebook." (PL2)

t7n indicates she is pondering/considering how to an~wer.
ikitai is the " want to'' form of ik11 ("go").
do kana? is literally " I wonder how it is," but it often carries the idiomatic
meaning of " I wonder if it's possible" - "I wonder if I can.'' or in this context, " I don't knowfl'm not sure i f I can.''
clwuo malle (ne) is the standard expression for ''Wait a minute/second.
(okay?)" in informal situations. More formally you would ~ay Cho11o malle
kudasai. Chouo o-machi kudasi. or Shiishii n-machi kudo mi.
techo refers to any kind of small pocket notebook for taking notes, keeping
track of dates and addresses. etc. The panicle o, to mark the direct object.
has been omitted after techo.
mite is the -te form of miru ("look/sec"). Miru after the -te form o f a verb
"check.''
means "try (doing the action)," so mite miru = ''try looking"

GJ

Sound FX: 7 / 7 / 7 /
Fun fim fim
(effect of humming)

OL: if?!
A!

f!.v' L. .J: -J ~ h-f:. v' 0 I -J lv o

(intcrj.)

Daijobu

mitai.

okay/fine

looks like

Un.

uh-huh/ycs

" Oh! It looks okay. Uh-huh." (PL2)

OL:

~ ~~15

(!)

v :; .A/ Jill

Eikaill'a no ressw1 mae

Eng. conv. of

le~son

(!)
110

B t: L -r 'b &? ")

hi ni shite morau

n' &? o
kara.

before of day to will ha\c it made because

"(Because) I' ll have my English conversation lesson

switched to the day before." (PL2)
mitai (da/desu) after nouns. adjectives. and verbs implies "that's the way it
looks/seems to be."
Engli ~h ''le~son." The panicle o, to
mark the direct object. has been omitted from after re.mm.
mae= "before" and mae nn hi= " the day before...
... ni shite mnrau is from ... 11i wru. an expression meaning " make (something) into .. ./change (something) to .. : Mnrau after the -te form of another verb implies having the action done by someone else. In thi s case, she
means she will have her teacher switch the lesson to Friday.

re.mm is the karakana rendering of

Ak i1uki Risu. All rights re,crvcd. liiN puhlished in

Japan in 199 1 by Kodan~ha Ltd .. Tokyo. English

tran,latinn

right~

arranged through

Knclan~ha

Ltd.

Mangajin 55

Power Macs
nfl~li<"J jfll/11 f'<l~l' 2-/)

Language Kit will run on any Macintosh operating system later than
S~'tem 7.1. and it performs very wel l on the Power M acs.
Po\' er Macs began selling in Japan on March 31st, bundled with
KanJiTal!... 7.1.2. a native-mode version of KanjiTalk for the PowerPC.
:'\am e mode applications util ize all the new technology of the PowerPC
chip. and run much faster than current application~. KanjiTalk users who
upgrade to Power Macs will have to upgrade to this newest version of
KanjiTalk. Japanese Language K it users who choose to upgrade to the
PO\\er Mac can still use their existing version of JLK on the new
hard'' are platfom1.
Those buyers who wait to upgrade their system will get acces!> to
:.ome of the next-generation PowerPC chips due in the second half of this
year. These new PowerPC chips, the 603 and 604, (current Power Macs
use the 60 I chip- there is no 602) will allow future Power Macs to run
even fa~ter than those just released. and should eliminate some of the
bugs that always tend to show up in new technology.

-Doug Horn

Kana-learning programs
(COII/IIIIIl'd

from page 2-1 J

stack there are also exercises utilizing sports and the states of the union.
There are some difficulties. of course. The use of English words to
describe a Japanese sound often causes problems- rabbit for ra. ribbon
for ri. for example. avigation in and out is accompli!>hed by using the
typical Mac arrows. but movement is linear and slow. There is nothing
on the menu bar that allows quick movement between stacks. Also. the
hiragana program only covers the initial 46 kana.
But in a real sense. who cares? These material)> are free. and even
with the shortcomings they are better conceived and executed than some
programs available commercially.
The second program. world Geography version 1.0, is just what
you'd expect it to be- a katakana learning program based on world
geography. It is well conceived, focu~i ng excl usively on the names of
countries throughout the world. Like the other programs. this one permits
a variety of activitie!> to practice kana through listening and writing. My
only complaint is that there are no I ist!. to help ~ tudents compare thei r
English pronunciation with the written Japanese equivalent.
Both programs are available on the I nternet from the Fl' P site
FfP.I ntersc.tsukuba.ac.jp. This will be the preferred way to receive the
program~. If you have no access to Internet. then they are available from
Prof. Kazumi H ata~a. Dept. of Foreign Languages and Literatures.
Stanley Coulter Hall, West Lafayette. I 47907. Send two formatted H D/
DD disks for each program and please figure out the postage in advance
and include it on a self-addressed disk mailer.
If you are a developer or a teacher. also consider looking at Devel opment Tools for Japanese Version 2.0 and Autoglos~. version 1.0. Both
wi ll be extremely useful and also free. They too arc available from the
Tsukuba FrP site.
These programs represent the very best in what educational soft ware ~hou ld be. They are well conceived. nicel y programmed. and
shared in the best way- as freeware. The Purdue group is to be
thanked. and I hope others will follow suit and make their materials
available in the same spirit.

- Fred Lorish

56 Mangajin

Sato Ta\o.c"cmon. All right' rc,crvcd.

Fir't published in Japan in 1993 by Futalxt,ha. Tokyo.

Engli'h lr:m,hJIIOil righb arranged lhrough FUiabm,ha.

Take'emon-ke no Hitobito I The Take' emon Clan

by 1~HitT;b1lrPEJ
Arrow:

I Sato Take'emon

*fi- A
Shinnyli
slwin
newly entered company member/employee
New E mplo.)'ee

P<

NewEmpl.l : /)d'JJ:- . / ::_ (J) FAX

I? j!i '> --:-t (t;i)C> H1"t~t,-t-J
I :.bit"t.O .l: o
Kocho,
I kono jakk11s11 ik11ro
' rttre mo oto ~am
dete kiclw11.
I Kowarete-ru yo.
section chief
this
fax how much
1f >end af1erward' come' out-(rcgrct)
is broken (cmph.)
"Chief, this machine k eep s s uittin" the fax bac k out afterwards no matter how m a n y times I (t r)'
to) send it. I( _L broke n ." ( PL2)
kaclul means "section chief: I ) ,
c4uivalent to manager" in U.S. corporate structure. It's standard for Japanese employees to refer to and addre~s their superiors by title rather than by name.
ik11ra (""how much'')+ a verb in the -te mo pattern makes an ex pression meaning. "no matter how much (Uyou)
do the action.'' Okulle is the -Je form of ok11m ("send"). so ik11ra okune mo = "no matter how much/how many
times I send (it)."
dele is the -te form of deru ("come/go ou t"). and kicluw is a contraction of kite silimou. the -Je form of kuru
("come") plus shimou ("end/fi nish/put away"), which after a -te form implies the action or its result is regrettable/
unwanted.
k01mrete-m is a conLraction of k01mrete-im ("is broken"). from kowareru ("break").

NewEmp1.2: :.it 77 ~:::1/

t t,'/){-) 1-v f~ 'bl-v o
h'/J'Iv~~'
J::t, 7')' t, J:H o
Kore
Famiko11
to chigau
11 do
mo11.
Woko1111ai
\'0,
Kocllo.
this family computer/NES from different (explan.-is) because not understand/know how (emph.) \ection chief
" Becau e this is diffe re nt from a Famikon, I don't know how (to run it), Chief.''
"But thi is diffe r e nt fro m a N inte ndo. I don' t have a clue, C hief." ( PL2)
Famiko11 i~ an abbreviation of famirii konpyl7tii. the full katakana rendering of "family computer." It is the regi~tered trade name used in Japan for the Nintendo Entertainment System.
... 10 chigau ="is different from.''
n damon h a contraction of no do mo110. which altogether can be thought o f as "because."
ll'akomwi is a colloquial contraction of ll'akarcmai.
the negative fonn of okaru (''[canl understand/comNew E m pl. 3 : /)-=> 1', J: - !! ~ ;;6 1:
lli "t
J: o
prehend").
Katclro!
Dem m ni
dete
yu.
the lengthened vowel on the emphatic particle yo
section chief
telephone to con1elgo out-(requc;t) (emph.)
suggests a whiny tone here and in the next frame.
"Chief!! Pick up this p ho ne call, wi ll you?"

"Chief, take_this call, will you." ( PL2)

<1) ,
f ? + li
}.>f!~;et..t,~
t..:J ~ /v"'( , ~ :fr.$(~ :. t
.. Uc/ri
ua
o-10A11i-wnra do.. Ill/Ille. 11amoiki-na ko/0
ille-ywr
no.
koitsu
1/e ba.
our co./\\e ao,-for steady cu,t.-(hon.) is/are (quote)
bra~:en
thing is saying-(derog.) (ex plan.) th i'> guy (quote) (ernph.)
" H e's b e ing uppity a nd calling himself a ' favored c us tomer ' th~u.)'." (PL2)

f----

demva = "telephone" and dete is the -te form of deru ("come/go out"). Denwa ni den1 means "come/go to the
phone" or "take/pick up (a call)." The -te form is being used as an informal request.
uclli literally means "in~ide/wi thin" but is used frequently to refer to one's own house/family. company. or other
group. Here it is the way the party on the other end refers to his own company/shop/organization.
tokui refer!. to a person's "forte/special ~kill(s)." but o-tok11i-sama is a word for "steady/favored customer." The
new recruit thinks it's bntzen/audacious of the other party to use this honorific word instead of the neutralwkuisaki. but he was probably the first one to be rude: in a situation where a steady customer thinks he is being treated
shoddily. he might well refer to himself by the honorific o-tokui-sama. in a bristling tone. as a way of impressing
on the offender that he expects to be treated better.
lwme b a colloquial equivalent of nado 10. literall y "things like" plus the quotative particle 10.
11omoiki-11a ="brazen/audacious/rude." and namaiki-na kow = "brazen/rude things." The panicle o. to mark the
direct object. has been omitted after koto.
iue-ya11 b a contraction o f ine-iyagoru. from ine-iru (progressive form of iu. "say'')+ the derogatory/insulting
suffix -yagaru . No shows he is making an explanation. The combination ... name iue-_I'OIIIIO thus becomes " is
saying things like . .. : and inserting nw11ai~i-11a koto makes it "is saying brazen things like .....
koitsu is a contraction of kono yatsu ("this guy/fellow/thing"). a rather rough way of referring to another person.
ue ba here i., best thought of a~ an emphatic. colloquial equivalent of the quotative phrase. to iu 110 ua. which is itself
ofte n j ust a fancy ua ("as-for"). for setting the topic. Normal sy ntax would put this at the beginning. but it feels more
emphatic when tagged on at the end li ke this.
I
- -- - -- - - -- - -- - - - -- - - --_J g 11ai refers to "condition/state." in this case the kaclu"J's
Kacho: if:~ ~ _ ') , I n{l' :/!::
~ -=> 'l ~ I? 't' 0 t.:. o "physical condition/health." Guai (ga) warui (waruku is
A- ! 1
Guai am~ll
lwlle ~ic/raua.
the adverb form of narui, "bad") is a generic phrase for
<intcrJ.l
condition bad
is bccommg-Crcgret)
saying one feels unwell in some way.
" Oh, 1' m starting to fee l s ick!' (PL2)
nalle is the -te fonn of naru ("become") and kiclwua is
the past form of kidw11, seen in panel I. implying a re...;
...
t:.,
-FX:
g rettable/undesirable ac tion. The adverb form of an adFurajecti ve followed by a form of 11a11e kur11 means the sub(effe~: t o f lig htheaclednc s)
ject "begins to become/becomes more (that quality) ...

<

Mangajin 57

,y;-:~~
Furiten-kun

58 Mangajin

~Mi

Title: Oif{flfl L.

yobidashi comes from yobu ("call/summon") and

dasu ("put/get/bring out"); it's the word used for
"paging" someone (whether to take a phone call or
for some other purpose). or for calling someone to
the phone from some distance away (e.g.. a neighbor who does not have a phone).
one of the most common ways to answer the phone
is to say hai and then identify yourself. As in English, some dispense with the hai and go straight to
the identification.

Yobidashi Demva
call our

relephone

Calling (Someone) to the Phone ..... Paging

Sound FX: J J J J J
Ri ri ri ri ri

Pro (ietor:

Rinnnng (phone ring)

1, ~1-tiilf o / o / 't"T o

1,

Hai,
yes

Miijan-so

Ron-ron

desu.

mahjongg parlor (name)

is

" Hello MabiQngg Parlor Ron-ron." (PL3)

Ca ller:

~'

b.O '-'' lj t I ll'f[flfj L. t:JTHJ b o

A,

wanti

kedo

yobidashi

bur

pagmg

(inrerj.) bad

ta/1011111

uarui literally means "bad,'' but it's often used as an

"sorry."
informa l apology: "it's bad of me"
ll'a is generally thought of as feminine, but men can
use it with a slightly different inflection and not
sound effeminate.
ya/Slt is an informal/slang word for "guy/fe llow.''
Tte is quotative, so Yamada 1/e yatsu ="a guy called
Yamada."
kedo ("bu t") here is merel y to soften the end of
the sentence.

ua.

requesr (colloq.)

" Yeah, I'm sorry to trouble you, but could

yo~e someone for me?" (PL2)
l.LJB3
-?l
~"'?
f.!. ljC:'o
Yamada

1/e

yatsu

da kedo.

(surname) (quote) guy/fellow is

bur

"A._guy named Yamada." (PL2)

Proprietor: llJ EH

ntmi is the question word "what,'' here filling in the

place of the given name in a full name. as a way of
asking what the man's given name is.

Yamada nani-san?
(surname) whar-(hon.)

"Mr._Yamada what?" (PL3)

Caller:

;;r_-

-to,

~,

~'-''"'?
aitsu

"l d-:d.:.
te
ilia

"/;(./..-

nan

-:~ lt

kke

JIJIE /fiJ~ ... /fiJ-:t .. .

Yamada Takashi. . . Takao . . .

na.

uhMer's see thar guy \\har (quore) called (recollecrion) (colloq.) (surname) (given name) (given name)

" Let's see what was he called ? Yamada Takashi ... Takao ..."
~'
7' 1J ~:I, llJEH/f 1J ~ ::I o
A,
Takahiko, Yamada Takahiko.
(inrerj.) (given name) (surname-given name)

" Oh. Takahiko. (It's) Yamada Takahiko." (PL2)

aitsu is shortened from ano yatsu. literally "that guy/fellow."
nan te ilia is the past tense of the expression nan te (or to) iu ="called what?"(from iu, "say").
kke expresses an effort to recall something that's vague in the speaker's memory.

Proprietor: :if:%

!;!. ?
Nenrei wa?

age

as-for

"~"

Caller:

=+

(PL2)
.li < I? "' o

25

aboutlapproximarely

Nijiigo

gurai.

chotto is literally "a little.'' but it's

also used as an interjection when
objecting to something that was
said or done, like "now wait a
minute/look here/listen here."
ne is a slurred form of the negati ve
nai. so kankei ne = kankei nai
("has no relation/connection" or
"is irrelevant").

" About 25." (PL2)

Proorietor:

~~

(j,?

Shokugyo wa?
occuparion as-for

"His occupation?" (PL2)

Caller : i?J:-?t-, ~;.._-~;t. .:t
Chouo-,

S0/111(1

IJGtfd~-

koto ktmkei ne

t.!~?

daro?

a lin lela minure that kind of thing irrele' ant should be/is surely

"Just a minute, here. What's that got to do with it?" (PL2)

aller : li ~ < L. "l

< tL

Hayaku shite kure

quickly

J: o I
yo.

.: -=> -!? ~ Kotclrii,

"' ~ -nr L. "' A-t.!. o

isogaslrii

do-(request) (emph.) as for this ~ide/direcrion am

11

bu~y

da.

(explan.)

"Do it quickly, will you. I'm busy."

" Hurry up, will you. I haven' t got all day!" (PL2)

Proorietor: L n' L
Shikashi
but

LlJ EH 7' 1J ~ ::1

Yamada Takahiko

=r

li _J- t.!.lt
nijiigosai dake

t:. ~ -!? J:
ja

(surname given name) 25 year~ old only if it is

-=>

t .. .

c/10110 . . .

a lillie

"But if it's only Yamada Takahiko, age 25, it's a little (difficult)."

hayaku is the adverb form of hayai

("quick/fast"). shite is the -te form
of suru ("do/make"), and kure after
a -te form makes a fairly abrupt re
quest or gentle command, so hayaku
shire kure = " make it quick, please/
will you?"-+ hurry up, will you?"
kotchii is a contraction of kotchi wa,
lite rally, ''as for this direction.''
Kotchi is often used to refer to oneself cume") in a conversation.

" But it's kind of (tough) if all I have to go on is Yamada Takahiko, age 25." (PL2)

Mangajin 59

,~,':1~
Furiten-kun
Title:

~ ~5

Demva

Telephone(s)

Other Party:

'lll:~i5

J:

Denwa

< ~ :. .Z tj: v'

7j: o

yoku

kikoenai

na.

telephone well

can't hear

(colloq.)

" I can't hear (through) the telephone very well."

"I can't hear ou verv_well." (PL2)

Furiten:

+1

1: T 11'?
desu ka?

So

that way

is it?

"Is that so?" (PL3)

yoku is the adverb form of iilyoi ("good/fine"), so it means "well." When it
modifies a negative verb, it means 'not very well.''
kikoenai is the negative form of kikoeru ("can hear").

GJ

Furiten: :.

t: 1 -r:--9-t;-,-? - - -- - - -- -- ---i

1:

Kore de
this

do desu ka?

with how

is it?

" How's this?"

"How is it now?" (PL3)

Sound FX:

e/
(effect of being stretched tight)

t: ~ 7j: v'

~: *-'lll:~5

lto-denwa

ja nai

thread/string phone is not

lvt!.

J: o

n da

yo.

(explan.) (emph.)

" It's not a strin _phone vou know." (PL2)

ja nai =de wa nai =" is not"
yo is used for emphasis when stating/revealing something the listener particularly needs to know/be told.

Letters

- - - - - -(colltinuedfrom page 4 )

to have devised a method of paying off that is reminiscent of the Mafia's

"Widows and Orphans Society" of the 1920s and 1930s. l don ' t know
about Tokyo or other cities, but I know from personal experience that
it's being used in Osaka and Hiroshima.
In Osaka, for example, pachinko parlor owners have formed an
"organization" euphemistically called *~:!it ~:t" *t:: .A 1iHJI:$~1bb
~(Osaka Shinshosha Mibojin Fukushi Jigyo Kyokai , "Osaka Welfare
Association for Widows & the Physically Handicapped").
I am told that the police ignore payoff windows bearing thi s sign,
even when they are located immediately adjacent to the pachinko parlor. Whether the employees in these booths are eithe r widows or physically handicapped is unclear; it's difficult to tell when only hands can
be seen.
W. D ENNIS
Osaka

Ueda Masashi, All rights reser ved. First published in Japan in 1992 by Take Shobo, Tokyo. English translation rights arranged through Take ShobO.
60 Mangajin

...

~ea\:ft

OL Reiko-san

by

..Y..e tf5JP.

Title: 71 7

:t 'r

1 Yamada Sanpei

of course, all Mangajin readers are

aware that this word is not pronounced "carry okie ...

Karaoke

Ka raoke

the karaoke phenomenon has spread widely enough in the U.S. now that the
activity involved no longer needs explaining. The term comes from kara
("empty") and an abbreviated fonn of
'T 7. ~ 7 okesutora. the katakana
rendering of English "orchestra," so it essentially means "empty orchestra" i.e.. orchestral music without ("empty of') singing. Originally, recording studios and radioffV stations used pre-recorded music to accompany singers. and
eventually someone hit on the idea of making the same kind of pre-recorded
music available for the mutual "entertainment" of bar and club patrons. etc.

*-

Reiko-san.

ura

umai

ni!.

(namc-hon.) songs/si ng ing skillfu l

(colloq.)

" You' re really a good singer, Reiko." (PL2)

Re iko: '-'' ~, i' f.v 7j: .::. t . . .
I e.

sonna

koto . . .

no
that kind of thing
"Oh~no not at a ll."

(PL2)

ga. to mark uta ("song[s]/singing") as the subject. has been omiued.

ne with a long vowel expresses the speaker's impression strongly: "it really is
so. isn't it?"
sonna koto . .. implies something like sonna koto nai (literally "that kind of
thing does not exist"), idiomatically meaning "that's not true." lt"s customary
in Japan to humbly deny the truth of any words of praise. at least initially. If
you respond with a straight-forward ''thank you." as you might in Engli~h.
it"s likely to give the impression that you're conceited.

Man: l ~' l
Shikashi

r5 '-'' !!k

furui uta

<

J: ~ '? "( .0 tJ. .r. o

yoku shitte-ru ne.

but /(emph.) old songs (obj.) well

know

(colloq.)

" You really know the old songs well."

" I'm amazed at how well you know the oldies." (PL2)
Reiko: ~ ... ~ ~ , i &>!
?. . .
huh?

E.

mii!

yes (interj.)

" What? . . . Yes, sort of, I guess." (PL3)

shikashi (literall y "but/however") often imroduces statements/exclamations
of surprise. mainly serving to emphasize the feeling of surprise.
yoku is the adverb form of iilyoi ("good/fine").
shiu e-ru is a contraction of shiue-iru ("know").
a shon e is spoken with the intonation of a question. and means "what?": a
long e is a polite but not too formal "yes.''
mii (ne) works like a vague "Yeah. son of. I guess/Well. yes. you're right I
suppose" when acknowledging things that are a little e mbarrassing/awkward.
or when you want to be modest about something you have been credited with.

ltswno uclri de

kikasarete-m

kara.

al"ays home at am being made ro listen because/so

JL~

f:>'t>?

(J)

J:

b. o

oboechau
no
yo
ne.
learn
(explan.) (emph.) (colloq.)

'T m always being made to listen to them at home, so I

can' t he lp but learn them."
" I a lwa_y_s_have to listen to them at home so I a bsorb them bv osmosis." (PL2)

Yamada San pei, All rights reserved.

First published in Japan in 1994 by Fu.abasha. Tokyo.

English translmion rights arranged through Futabasha.

kikasarete-(i)ru is from kiku ("hear/listen to")-+ kikasu (''make/let listen'')

kikasareru ("be made to listen")-> kikasareteiru ("am being made to listen").
oboeclrau is a contraction of oboete s!rimau, the -te form of oboeru ("learn/
memorize/acquire [a skill]") plus shimau implying the action is unintended/
occurs willy-nilly-+ "can't help but learn/absorb by osmosis."
no shows she is making an explanation.

Manga)ln 61

'\'J-t.:=SJI

by Yamada Sanpei

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

r-...._ 1T
1- -h
'i
_ (
...
II

<.''

<.

t -;t r

L._\ 'T
)

62 Mangajin

/':.

7)'

~ '

,. ;

Title: iJ 7 ;t 'r
Karaoke

[Q

1: iJ 7 ;t 'r rriJ'~ "'?

kaeri
11i karaoke
ika11ai?
say
way home on karaoke
not go
"Say, on the way horne won' t you go to a karaoke (place with me?)"

Coworker : t.l.:t, I m tJ

Ne.

"Say~

Reiko:

l'

how about we go for karaoke on our way home?" (PL2)

< "' < !

neat the beginning of a sentence is used to get the

listener"s attention, like "say/heylloo~ here:
kaeri is the noun fonn of kaeru ("return home''): it
can refer to depaning from the office. arriving at
home, or to the way between.
ikanai is the negative fonn of iku ("go"). Negative
questions are often used when making invitations/
suggestions. Depending on context, they correspond
to English expressions like " Won't you (have/come/
try/etc. ) ... ?": " Wouldn't you like (to) ... ?": "Why
nollwhy don't you ... ?": etc.

lku
iku!
will go will go
''I' II go, r II go!"'

" Let's do let's do!" (PL2)

Reiko: 7 / 7 /
Fun fi m

(effect of humming cheerfully)

iJ ~ iJ ~
Kata kata kaw
Tap tap_tap (sound of computer keys)

Sound FX: iJ

Kacho: +-?

iJ'! f$

1Jf

~0

-r

tJ 7

*'r

1: lr <

t "'-? t! tt

-e

SiJ
ka! Shigoto ga
owaue
karaoke ni iku
to
i11 dake
de
thlll way (?) work (subj.) after finished karaoke to will go (quote) say only/just with/from

1tJl 'b ~~L.< ~7.:> -?l :btt i.P!

shigmo mo tanoshiku naru
ue
wake ka!
work
also enjoyable becomes (quote) situation (?)
" Aha! So just because (they know) they'll be going for karaoke after work, their work becomes more enjoyable." (PL2)
so ka is literally a question ("Is it that way?/is that right?''). but it 's also used as an exclamation of sudden
realization/understanding: 'That's it!/Oh, right!/Aha!"
owaue is the -te form of owaru ("[so mething! ends/finishes"): the-re form here can be considered shorthand for -te kara, which means "after."
to i11 dake de is literally "just from saying; but it' s idiomaticall y equivalent to ''just because."
wnoshiku is the adverb form of ranoshii ("enjoyable''); the adverb form of an adjective followed by naru
("'become'') implies that the subject (in this case. "work") " takes o n/becomes (more)'' that qua lity.
... ue wake is a colloquial equi valent of ... to iu wake. essentially meaning ''the si tuation/explanation is
that ..... This feeling of having stumbled on an explanation is expressed in the single word "so" in English.
the question particle ka is purely rhetorical.

;.,. /v ~ ! I {1: 'Jl. tJr

ff -? t:. C, J.,.!v ~ "C' tJ 7 'r '::
Ylfshi,
mimza ! Shigoro ga
owauara
mimw de karaoke ni
okay/all right everyone
work (subj.) when finished everyone with karaoke to

KachO: J: - l ,

ff .:. -? !
iko!
go

let~

"All right everyone! When work is through (today) let's all go for karaoke." (PL2)
yoshi (or yoshi) is an interjectory fonn of iilyoi ("good/okay"), often used to introduce statements declaring that one has decided to. or is about to. do some special action.
owauara is a conditional "if/when" form of Oll'am ("[something] ends/finishes" ).
ikfi is the volitional ("let's/! shall") form of ik11 ("go'').

<

Coworker: '<'

t!. 7 , lUll>{:
t ff
(J)
?!
Yc1
dii,
kacho
iku
no?
1110
disagreeable is section chief also will go (explan-?)

ra dli is a variant of ira da, ' 'is disiasteful/disagreeable.~ one of the most
"Oh no! Is the chief going too?" (PL2)
common ways to express ones objection to something.
Reiko: fr (J) ~; 1.:> ?!
no turns iku ("go") into a noun ("going");
lku no yamem?
o to mark this noun as direct object has
go (nom.) quit/forego
been o mitted. lkuno (o) .vameru ="quit/
"Should we forget. it? " (PL2)
forego going
"not go"
1t -? -IJ'
jc()t J:
1$ L. "( t:.
(J) ' :
t.l :r.. o sekkaku indicates that a thing or situaSekkaku
kibtm yoku
shigoto sltite-ta no ni
ne.
tion is special/long awaited/precious/ac>pecially with good feeling/mood was/were working in spite of (colloq.)
complished with much difficulty. It's
"Just when we were working in such a good m~
often followed later in the sentence with
hunh." (PL2)
no ni ("even though/in spite of') to express frustration that "in spite or the special
Kacho: iJ? c, c, . .
situation. something remains to be desired/is a let down.
Arara. . .
kibun ="feeling/mood," and yoku is the adverb fonn of ii/yoi ("good/li ne").
(i ntcrj.)
Kibtm yoku ("in a good mood") modifies sfzigoro shite-(i)ta, past tense of shigoto
"A i~i-yi_, ." (PL2)
shite-iru (''is/are working"). from shigoto suru ("work'').

<

<

<

Mangajin 63

v3

L /..,;-"~>A- Crayon Shin-chan

71"5~ Vlu'S~Iu

~ ~ ~~~(1\J~~Eli

64 Mangajin

'7

v3

L. fv t;, ~ fv Crayon Shin-chan

okaslti refers to all kinds of sweets and snack foods:
candy. cookies, cakes, pastries, crackers, chips, etc.
nemuku is the adverb form of nemui ("sleepy"). The adverb form of an adjective followed by naru ("become")
means the subject "takes on/becomes (more)" that quality.
yo-na can be thought of as equivalent to " type of"; it
makes the entire clause before it, e nding in naru., into a
modifier for lama, a slang word for "guy/fellow/type."
. .. kuse-ni means "even though/in spite of (some characteristic/statement/action)," where the characteristic/statement/action mentioned in some way contradicts/belies
what the person/pany involved would like you to believe.

Title: ;l-7 , l.-lv"S~Iv/ t:-?-ct .I: ") Tyoi ko

Ora,
Shin-chan I Touemo
lime
(narne-dimin.) tremendously good child

t!.

-t- 0) 1

II

da
yo
hen Sono ichi
am (emph.) collection no. I
I'm Shin-chan .. And I ' m a Very G ood
Boy! Story 1. (PL2)
ora is a variation of ore, a rough, masculine word for"!/
me." Wa, to mark ora as the topic. has been omitted.
the boy's given name is Shinnosuke . Children are frequently addressed with a shortened form of their names
plus -chan, a diminutive variation of -san.
yoi is an alternate form of ii ("good/fine"), and yoi ko (or
ii ko) = "good/well behaved child"-> "good boy."
hen refers to a "compilation/collection" containing a number of "articles/stories/episodes," and sono ichi, so11o ni,
sono san, etc. (literally "the first/second/third of that") is a
relatively common way of designating the seq uence of the
"stories/episodes.''

QJ

Mother:

Sound FX:

J:-L.,

*"(

Shin-chan:

Bag: -f 3 :J !::" 'A 7 ;; ~

Choko
Bisukeuo
chocolate
biscuits
Chocolate Cookies

m$

~ v''?tjC:d'L.Q

iitsukerareru is the passive form of iitsukeru ("command/

direct/assign [to do]").
- nari-ni ="in - 's own way," so kodomo nari-lli ="in a
child's own way"
chokkan shita is the plain/abrupt past form of chokkan
suru (''sense intuitively").
Shin-chan:

FX:
Mothe r :

Mother: b ,
L.. I? t.: I? L.. v' o
Fu,
shirajira~hii.
(stiOed laugh) transparent/obvious
"(Stifled lau!!h )'How trans oarent." (PL2)
;~:;._w; f0) ~9='
HR < ~ .Q J:-? ~
Okashi
no tochi'i nemuku naru yc1-11a
(hon.)-snack of midst
get sleepy type of
';7

t::~~v'

(-lt!: o
kuse ni.

tama
ja 11ai
guy/fellow is not even though
"As if he were the ty(>e to fall a s le_w in
the m iddle of a s nack." ( PL2)

Pu (stifled laugh)

Shin-chan: .:'1'-"-" \::-".-".

Gya he he Hi he he
(uncontrollable laughter fro m being tickled)

FX:

:J'f3:JT3:17"3

Kocho koclto kocho

Tickle tickle tickle

Mothe r : 13 ~ ~ Jt:.?
Me- samew?
eyes
awoke
"Are you awake?" (PL2 )

<iJ' -

Kuka(the breathing of someone sound asleep)

~<9J

Gyu (effect of holding/gripping tightly)

~J

yo)l
o
iitsukerarem
na ''
chore/errand (obj.) be ordered/told to do (colloq.)
C
Tfft ~ IJ (:
1.[~ l.-f.:: o
to
kodomo nari-ni
clwkkan shita.
(quote) child in the way of intuited/sensed
" When s he c~lls tha t way, sh e wants m e
to do s omething for h er," h e sensed with
a child's intuition. (PL2)

<1J' -

nete-(i)ru ("is/are sleeping") is froni neru ("go to sleep").

yoshi is an exclamatory/interjectory form of the adjective
iilyoi ("good/fine"). It's often used to show that one is
ready to begin an action ("okay/all right, I'm gonna [do
something]/let's [do something]").
moratchao is a colloquial contraction of moratte shimao,
the -te form of morau (lit. "receive," but frequently meaning "take/help oneself to") and the volitional ("let's/1
shall/1 think I' ll") form of shimau ("end/finish/put
away"). Sltimau can be added to the -te form of another
verb to imply the action will have undesirable results.

') :f-' ')

if; 0) D'f '(]'1]

li
"A no yobi-kata
wa
that way of calling as-for

tt? -?t:,J(>}.;o

Kuka- (effect of being sound asleep)

Pari pori
Crunch c run ch (sound of eating something crisp/crunchy)

Arrow:

H~T

Yoshi,
o-kashi
moratchao.
okay/all right (hon.)-snack shall receive/take
"Allr!ght, I thin k I ' ll just help myself to
vour cookies then." (PL2)

L. lv 0) T It - . -1? .t -? C.
-t o
Shinnosuke- .
chouo
kite-.
(name)
~lin lela moment come-(request)
"Shinnosuke_._come h ere a minute ." (P L2)
;~

Mothe r : L.. lv -1? ~ lv , ~ "( .Q 0) iJ' 7 o

Shin-chan.
nete-n1
no ka(name-dim.) are sleeping (explan-?)
"Shin-ch an, are you asleep?" (PL2)

He . . . (tail end of laugh from being tickled)

sameta is the plain/abrupt past form of sameru ("awaken/
become conscious"), but when speaking o f awakening from
sleep, the phrase mega sameru (literally, "eyes awaken") is
usually used. Here, the subject marker ga has been omitted.
S hin-chan:

<iJ' Kuka- (effect o f being sound a s leep)

Mother:

.to v' !
Oi.l
(interj.) " Hey!" ( PL2)

oi is a relatively rough way of getting someone's attention- or of trying to wake them up.

Mangajin 65

v3 /

------------------------------

L..A.t,{>k Crayon Shin -chan

---------------------------

L.. 1E' ~~

J: lv IJ'

-? t: ':>

,!,Z IJ
?
"'(

.:,

\. "* c.

l l r\f;t.
~ IJ
J: < A. (7)

(7)"l

tt~

u: (:

66 Mangajin

I?

3 /

1..-lv 1? ~ lv Crayon Shin-chan

b ~
L -c b "'<'"'<' ': tl:
Nera
Juri shite mo Mama ni wa
went to sleep pretense even if do mom to as-for

Mother: ;@:f..:

b ;lp J., lv t!

iJ' C;,

tt o

;.,.

-5'

.1: o

wakaru n da
kara
ne.
Muda yo.
can tell (explan.) because (colloq.) no use (emph.)

Arr~w:

tonari refers to an "adjacent/neighboring location," and

obasan chi is a contraction of obasanno uchi ("lady's
house"), so tonari no obasan chi is literally "the neighboring lady's house."

lj2l
L.::..J Shin-chan:

"Even if vou oretend to be asleeo. I can

tell rvou're faking). It's no use." (PL2)
*= iJ' C;, 9E lv t!. 7 1) L J: -? t .\!.!, ? -c 1.> o

"I'm on my way!" (PL3)

Mother: ijf .(., t:t
1m b"th""Cl.> .l: o
Kanjin-na

Tsugi kara shinda juri shiyo to omotte-ru.

next from died pretense shall do(quote) is thinking
Thinkin~xj

time he'll pretend to be

dead. (PL2)
Mother: t .:. .7::> <:: ,

@]':if&:
Tokoro-de.
kairan-ban
by the way neighborhood circular

1 b L -c ~ -c

kairan-ban is literally ''circulate and view board," referring

to clipboards circulated from house to house with information of interest to the entire neighborhood (fire safety/
neighborhood clean-up/special events/etc.). As the illustration shows, a folder has replaced the board in this case, but
the traditional name has stuck.

itte kimasu (lit. "will go and come") is the standard parting

phrase when going on an errand.
'??iJ'~ o

Ukkari,
ukkari.
carelessly/inadvertently carelessly/inadvertently

" I wasn' t thinkin2. I wasn' t thinkin!!."

(PL2)

Mother: t:. {/) ts b J:

Tanomu wayo.
request (fem. emph.)

" I'm counting on you." (PL2)

Sound FX:

;f-' 1) ;f-' 1)

Crunch crunch

Pori pori

Mother:

@]~~ !

Kairan-ban!

"(I meant} the circular!" (PL2)

Shin-chan: t.-?

~ Narration: 1 b"t?

yo.

"You' re forgetting the most important

thing." (PL2)

Shin-chan: 7? 7JdJ'

t, .t -? t!. '-'' o

" By the way, I want you to send round

the neighborhood circular." (PL2)
In Hands: iJ' \t' I? k
Kairan
(For) Circulation

Ja.

Mawasu?

" Bve then." (PL2)

Send round?
Performer: H n <:: t -? ::: ~'"' 1 -To

Mother: b - ,

itsumo yori

always more than

yokei ni
more

mawashite masu-.
is spmmng

" He's keepingitgoing even longer than

usual." (PL3)
Sound FX: 7 7 7 / 7 /

mawasu means " turn/spin/rotate," and it's also used idiomatically to mean "circulate," so in Japanese the pun betwee n the two is a natural one- though in English it requires a bit of a stretch. Mawashite-(i)masu is the PL3 form
of mawashite-iru, from mawasu: the man literally says
"He's spinning it/sending it round even longer than usual."

Shin-chan: tr -r iJ' L \t' o

"Whew! Good 2riefl" (PL2)

yare-yare is the verbal equivalent of a sigh of relief, typi cally following something exasperating or worrisome.

~ Shin-chan: t'.:. ~= b?""C( lv t!.

? ft?
Doko ni motte ku nda
kke ?
where to
take (explan.) (recollection)

" Where did you say I was supposed to

take it?" (PL2)
Mother: l;h' Ltv', ~ ;>(.:CL1T iJ' Go

Teke ten ten

(effect of twangy accompanimen t)

Hai

hai,

"Okay, okay, wait a second while I write

it down (for you).'' (PL3)
SoundFX: t! lv t!. lv t!. k
Dan dan

"This is hard." (PL2)

Mother: t t:t I') {/) :t 1 { ~ k t,

dan

Bam bam bam (effect of roughly slapping

paper on table and writing note)

1:

OnPa~r:

obasan chi ni
lady's house at/to

\t'v'

ima memo shimasu kara.

yes/okay yes/okay now make a note because/so

"Okay, okay, now I'll write a note, so (wait)."

Muzukashii.

tlv'""CCttli

-?h-?ho

Fa,
yare-yare
(sigh of relief) (interj. of relief)

Omedeto gozaima-su.

"Co.ngratulations!" (PL3-4)
'-'' -:::> t J: fJ J: th'l: 1 b L -c 1 T-)

Tonari no
next to of

mo110 wasurete-ru

crucial/essential thing are forgeuing (ernph.)

mawashite kite
chodai.
spin/circulate-and-come please
" By the way, please go and spin/circulate
the neighborhood circular."

V'?""C~1-T o

ltte kima-su.

tt:t~ (J) HI!~ k

Tonari no

{/)

obasan

t,
chi

The lady next door

.l: o

oite kureba
ii
no
yo.
if leave-and-come is good/okay (explan.) (emph.)

" You just need to eo leave it with the

lady next door." (PL2)

FX: 171717

..

Ira

ira ira (effect of irritation/annoyance)

motte ku = motte iku = lit. "carry and go" --+ " take"
kke impUes he's trying to recall something that he should
know but can't immediately remember.

Mangajin 67

68 Mangajin

v3

L ;,_ t:, -'(, ;,_ Crayon Shin-chan

1 t..- 3 / L lv -t:,

lv Crayon Shin-chan

Neighbor: f- ~

Sound FX: t::. t::. t::.

Shin-chan:

Ho

Sound FX:

If~-=>

Flop (effect of folder or similar flat and

somewhat heavy object flopping down)
Sound FX: \:!/;-/ \:!/;-/
pin-pon

Ding-dong ding-don~ (door chimes)

Sound FX: .::\'- "\' .::\'- "\' Kya kya (squeals of glee/delight)

Father : t::. t.!. 1t' i

" Coming, coming." (PL3)

c:

(PL2)

oya is an interjection of mild surprise.

do shita =do shita (lit. "did how/what?"), which asks for
an explanation of something that seems out of the ordinary
or unexpected: "what happened?/what's the matter?/what's
going on?" Do mo shinai is the negative form of the same
expression.
:tolf~/v

1:

Obasan
auntie/me

ni nanika
to something

1j: 1: 1.1'

-r -r

-::>
~
< ;h. t::. !v t.~1j:lt>(J)?
ja nai no?
motte kite kureta
II
brought for me
(explan.) isn't it?
" Isn ' t it that you brought me something?"

" Did you brinl!.me something, maybe?"

(PL2)

-t-?

f!-::> f::. o

0,

so
(interj.) that way

datta.
was

"Oh, that's right." (PL2)

SoundFX:

1J'f~

..:-t-

Gasa goso

.
.

Crinkle crinkle (sound of paper crinkling)

obasan ("aunt/auntie") can be used to refer to any woman
past her mid-twenties or so, and such women often refer to
themselves as obasan when speaking to children.
motte kite is from motte kuru (lit. "carry and come" ->
"bring"). Kureta is the past form of kureru ("give [to
me]"), which after the-re form of another verb means ''do
(the action) for me." -Te forms don't have tense, but kureta
makes the whole phrase past tense: "brought for me."

Shin-chan: !i It' ,
Hoi,

:I V o

kore.

"Here, this." (PL2)

On Paoer: i::7j:IJ (/) :to ';f ~ !v 1?
Tonari

110

n Wr 1? -r t::.

i''o

obman

The lady next door

"That nincomp_QQp. When~ets home,

he's gonna get it." (PL2)
:T- "/ Bo! (effect of fire ig nit ing with a
burst - here representing he r burning rage)

" Nothinl!'s the matter." (PL2)

Shin-chan: :to :to '

1: ..:

Ano o-baka.
Kaetlara
ushioki da.
that (hon.)-fool/idiot returned when punishment is

~X:

L7j:1t'o
1110 shinai.
Do
what/how even not do

o ill

In Hand: n' It' G !v Kairan (For) Circulation

Mother: th (J) :to 1 { tJ o
1\it -::> t::. G :to L :to ~ t.!. o

" Oh, Shin-chan, what's the matter?"

Neighbor:

"I'm home. This was lying in the street."

Lt::. (J)?
:to~' L.lv-l?~lv,
Oya,
Shin-chan,
do shita no?
(i nterj.) (name-dimin.) what/how did (explan.)

..

n' I? lv o

(PL2)

hai.
yes

Shin-chan: t ' ?

Tadaimli.
Miclri ni kore oclrite-ta zo.
just now
road/street on this was fallen (emph.)

Neighbor: liv ' li lt' o

Hai
yes

t::.

yaru is an informal word for ''do." and kotli is a contraction

of koto ("things")+ wa ("as for," to mark the topic).
Kodama no yaru ("kids do") modifies koro for the meaning
''things kids do"-> ''what kids do.''
wakarmr is a colloquial contraction of wakaranai, the negative form of wakam ("[can] understand/comprehend").

Basa!

Pin-pon

~ J., ..:

" The mysteries of what kids_@_," (PL2)

" Oh." (PL2)

0.

(J)

Kodomo no yaru kotli

wakaran.
child (subj. ) do as for things can't teiUunderstand
"You can't fathom what kids do."

Ta ta ra (effect of running)

chi

tadaima (lit. "just now'') is the standard greeting spoken when

arriving home/back at the office: "I' m homeW m back."
oclrite-(i)w is the plain/abrupt past form of oclrite-iru ("is
fallen/lying on the ground''), from ochim ("[something] falls/
drops"). Any relatively small thing lying on the ground that
doesn't belong there may be described as oclrite-iru. usually
preceded by some indication of its location - i.e., in the
street, over there, in front of the house, etc.

-r

1:: t ~ G L. !v 1? ~ k (j:
So
to mo shirazu Shin-e/ran wa
so/that way (quotc)even not know (name-dim.) as-for
Not knowing it was so , Shin-chan was ...

Narration: -t- ?

UnawareLof what lav in store for him1

Shin-chan was . . . (PL2)
Shin-chan: X 1? ~ ;..., 1:: ffJ: t;, {' lv !i ~ 4 -T ='- - T J.>
Toclum
Dad

to Kiiclran wa rokidoki chii suru.

and Mom as-for sometimes kiss

" M y dad and mom smooch sometimes."

(PL2)

Neighbor: -f :11.

-r,

-t- h \:?

Sore de, sore de?

that with that with

" Yes? Go on." (PL2)

:J='--A P,kh.bv' 0 ~-1 ltv'.t.lv' o
Ji'isu
JUtce

numinei.
drink

Kashi
snacks

kuinei.
eat

" Drink some iuice. Have some cookies."

(PL2)

-zu is a classical equivalent of negative -nai, so slrirazu =

slriranai ("not know").
clnl represents the sound of a kiss, and adding suru (''do'')
makes it a verb: cirri suru = ''to kiss/smooch."
sore de. literally "with that,'' is used as a conjunction to
mean "and/and then/and so/because of that." Here she's
essentially trying to encourage him to go on and tell more.
nominei is a dialect/slang form (usually masculine) of 110
mina, the shon form of nominasai, which is a gentle command form of 11011111 ("drink"). Similarly. kuinei = kuina =
kuinasai =a gentle command form of kuu (an informal
word for "eat").

Mangajin 69

Warau Serusun~an
b ~-T/f'=tit (A)
Y Fujiko Fujio (A)
Title:

~ (J)

1J 7 ::t J;-

*-

Jt-

Yume no Karaoke Horu

The Karaoke Hall of
Dreams
On Kimono:
~~ii\IJ(i)

Moguro Fuku(zo)
Moguro Fukuzo (name)

Warau Serusuman ("The

Laughing Salesman" ) features
a kind of black humor not
generally associated with
Japanese manga. Nevertheless, this title, moderately successful in print form, enjoyed
a huge boom in popularity
when it was shown in animated form on the TV series
" Gimme a Break" ( .:' ~ 7 ~
tlv'().
To provide background
and help put this manga in
perspective, we have an interview with Fujiko Fujio (A),
the creator of "The Laughing
Salesman,"by none other than
manga authority Frederik
Schodt (see page 28).

Warau Serusuman Fujiko Fujio (A). All rights reserved.

First published in Japan in 1969 by Chuo Koronsha, Tokyo.
English translation rights arranged through Chuo Koronsha.

70 Mangajin

7'~?

-tt .t 7.:. i" ;t A-

------------------

Warau Serusuman

GJ ~ver Street :

Kosugi Shoren-Kai: lnslwku-gai

Kos u g i S hop Association: T avern a nd Re staurant District

Other Signs : (clockwise from lower le ft)

Pasura Bon I Soba I

Clu7ka Tainan

Pasta B on I Noodles I Tainan Chinese C uis ine

Yakitori Kuni
Kuni's Skewer ed C h ick e n
sho1en =store/shop: most typically referring to retail shops. but a shiilen-kai (""shop association'')
would include reMaurants. taverns. and other small
businesses as well.
inshoku is written with kanji meaning "drink" and
''eat,"' and -gai means ''district.''

On Awning Over Door:

stmakku is an abbrcviation of s tmakku bii.

Karaoke S n ack Bar
from English snack
Bar." but in Japan the
Sign:
term most commonly
Snack Ako
evokes the image of a
A ko's S nac k Ba r /G rill
relati vely small drinking establishment. alway~ with counter seating (sometimes with a few tables as well), where the principal
libations are whiskey and beer rather than sake.

Karaoke Swwkku

Onchi: (sing ing)

A-, A me no furu yo wa renki ga waru-i . ..
" Ohhh, on nig h ts when rain com es down the
weathe r it is bad ." (PL2)
Narration:

Onehi Hideshi ( Yonjussai), Sarariiman

Onchi Hideshi (age 40), Salar y m a n
ame no furu is a complete thoughllsentence ("rai n
falls/comes down" or "it rains") modifying yo
("night"). The subject marker ga often changes to no
in sentences used as modifiers.
the singer's name is a pun on ]~Iii onchi. which
means ''to ne deaf( ness)."

Onchi: (singing)

Hon-ni kono ro wa mama naranu- ...

''Truly this world does not go as wished:'
" H ow true it is tha t in this world nothing
goes your way." (PL2)

hon-ni is a colloquial equivalent of the adverb homo

ni ("'really/truly").
mama naranu is a "literary" form of mama ni
naranai, 'docs not go according to one's wishes."
Collea~ J :

Oi, sorosoro.
" Hey, (maybe) it' s about time."
" H ey, w h a ddya s a y we get out ta h e r e?" (PL2)
C_plleagu e 2:
Un. soda 1w.
"Uh-huh, l !>uppose you're right."
"Yeah, le t 's." (PL2)
sorosoro literally mean~ "slowly/gradually/by and
by." but it'~ frequently used idiomatically to imply
"It's about time for" ~orne action - here. the action
of leaving.
the colloljuial/masculine ua is like the tag "(that's
right). i~nt it'l/1 gue~~.-

Pro()!ktress:

Warui 11 ja nai no? Onchi-clwn ga anna-ni no((e llfa((e-iru no ni.

" T h at's n ot ver y nice, is it?-- w h e n d ear Mr. O n ch i is r e a lly
getting into his s ingin g like that." (PL2)
CQUe~-ue

1:
linda yo. Aro wa Ma111a ni 111akaseru kara.

" It's o k ay. W e'lllcave the r est to y ou (to e n terta in him)." ( PL2)
wami ="bad" "not nice"
11 is a contraction of explanatory 110. and another explanatory 110 replaces
the question marker l..a at the end. Asking questions with no is common in
informal speech. e'>pccially that of women: using ka here would ~ound
very abrupllrough.
-chan is a diminutive equi1alent of -.mn ("Mr./Ms.") mo;,t typicall} u;,ed
11ith children, munc;,. But dose friends u~e it among them~ehc;, at almost any age. and bar nwmas and hoMesses often u;,c it endearing!) \\ ith
their regular cu~tomcr~ "dear Mr. Onchi.''
1101/e is from uoru. literall y "ride" but in the context of music. "get into
the beattnow." The - tl! form makes this an adverb for 11/a//e-iru ("i'> sin!!ing"). from /1/l/1/ r~ing'').
110 ni "' "even though/if/when" "when"

-------

-- -----------------

Mangapn 71

'J;;.? -tt

;t ~

-t 1

/-v Warau Serusuman

~=
~~'IJ~-:{~
} :to:-.=
ffi~\l~~~~:ii!~ Q] Onchi: (singing)
~ 'IJ ~- n q)
U-, a me no furu yo wa ore hitori,
q)

{J

.t

-r

{}

I)

if
11

" Ooh, on nights when rain comes down, I'm

all alone,"
hiza o kakaete sake o nomu- .
"Hugging my knees to my chest and drinking
sake." (PL2)

c 1.>

0
~=~~==~~~~~~~~
.-----..------~~11
0

Sound FX:
Soro- (effect of sneaking away)
Onchi:
Fu-! Kokora de hito-iki ireru ka?
"Whew, hereabouts, shall I take a break?"
" Whew, maybe this is a good time to take a
break." (PL2)
kokora = 'hearabouts/at about this point''
lliro-iki =literally 'one breath," and ireru = "put in/take

~~~~~~~~~~t~~!~~~~~;;~~~~~~~ 0

in''; hito-iki ireru is an expression for "take a break."

Onchi:
Arya? Futari wa? (PL2)
" Huh? (What happened to) the other two?"
Proprietress:
Futari 1omo o-saki ni kaet/a wa.
"They both went home/left ahead of you."
"They both excused themselves early." (PL2)
kaetta is the plain/abrupt past form of kaeru ("go/come
home," or in a case like this, simply "leave/depart"). Osaki ni echoes the expression o-saki 11i shitsurei s11rul
shimas11, "excuse oneself ahead.of another/others" (from
saki ni, "[do] first/ahead/earlier than others"), so o-saki
11i kaetta is like "excused themselves to go home early."

Onchi:
He he he. Kore wa osore-irimasu.
"(Self-satisfied chuckle) You' re very kind." (PL4)

kaerareta is the past of kaerareru. the PL4 form of kaeru ("go home/leave").
kiite-(i)rasslwru is the PL4 equivalent of kiite-iru. from kiku ("hear/listen
to").
umasa is a noun form of umai (''good/tine/skillful/masterful").
osore-irimasu is the polite form of the PL4 verb osore-iru, which can express either gratitude (''thank you/you're very kind/l'm much obliged") or
apology ("I'm sorry/! beg your pardon").

Moguro:
Demo, mottainai desu na, ana/a no uta o koko dake de u/au no wa.
"But it seems like a waste, you know, for you to be singing your
songs only here." (PL3)
mottainai ="wasteful/a shame"
no after utau ("sing") turns the entire preceding phrase into a noun: "singing your songs only here: and wa marks that noun as the topic. The syntax is inverted; normal order would be a11ata no uta o koko dake de utau
110 wa mottai11ai destt na.

72 Mangajin

Onchi:
Nan da yo? Damalte kie-yagatte!
"What's with them? Disappearing without a
word!" (PLI)
Ore no utalte-ru tochii ni . ..
"Right in the middle of my singing!" (PL2)
damatte is the -te form of damaru ("fall silent"), serving
as an adverb: "silently/without saying anything."
kie is the stem of kieru ("vanish/disappear"), and -yagatte
is the -te form of the derrogatory/insulting suffix -yagaru.
utatte-(i)ru ="is/was singing," from 111111 ("sing"), and
rochii ni ="in the middle of/during."

Sound FX:
Pachi pachi pachi
Clap clap clap (applause)
Moguro:
lyli, o-jozu desu nli. (PL3)
"Say, you' re really good."
Onchi:
Do- domo.
"Th- thanks." (PL3)

iyli is a kind of
"warm-up" word
for exclamations of
either consternation
or delight/approval,
here the Iauer.

Moguro:
Saki ni kaerarela o-futari waitsumo kiile-rassharu
no de anata no uta no umasa ga wakaranai n desu.
"Those two who left early probably don' t appreciate how fine your singing is because they
hear it all the time." (PL4)

'it'/ -tt X. 7.> T ;i A- Warau Serusuman

---------='-'----

[Q

Moguro:
Do desu ? Hitotsu basho o kaele mouo chan-to
shita suti!ji de waue mimosenka?

" How about it? Wouldn' t you like to go somewhere el e and try singing on a proper stage?"
(PL3)
Onchi:

J:.~a~7'.f

;It & c ;
o iO>i-0>1."

IJ(

O>Vl:r? .t-t
1." 1: Q) It 3 !
-t
t' 1:

1tDJI L t.IIU'c
A "> t:. "> Hi ! ;
f) t' ~ !
"? 1."
? ..;.. 7 -t- fJ -t
t. l i- i.
:/ ;; t'
1." !

a-

E? Chan-to shita swi!j i ?

" What? A proper stage?" (PL2)

kaere is the -re form of kaeru (''change/switch''), and
basho o kaem ="change places: in thi s case meaning

"move on to another location/go somewhere else."

11/a//e is the -re form of wau ("sing"), and mimasen is
the PL3 negative of miru ("look/see"). which after a
-te form means " try (doing the action)." Negative ques-

tions are used for invitations/suggestions, like "won' t

you try (singing)?" or "wouldn't you like to try (singing)?"

l2J

Moguro:
So desu! Puro no yo-ni isho o tsukete choshii no
mae no swi!j i ni agaru 110 desu.

" Yes. You dress up like a professional and get

up on a stage in front of an audience." (PL3)
rsukete is the-re form of tsukem ("attach/put on"); the
-reform essentially functions like "and."Jsho o rsukere

= "put on a costume and . . ." -+ ''dress up and ..."

Moguro:
A11ata wa supouo raito to choshilno dai-hakuslw
o ukete 111011.
" You sing bathed in a spotlight and the audience's
thunderou applause."

" You stand in the spotlight and sing to the

audience's thunderous applause." (PL2)
ukere is the -re form of ukeru ("receive" - "be bathed/
enveloped in"); the -re form in this case makes what

precedes it into an adverb for 111au ("sing").

Moguro:
Sore wa sore wa ii kibu11 desu yo.

" lt's really, really a great feeling." (PL3)

Onchi:
So- sonno koto dekimasu ka?

" Is something like that actually possible?"

(PL3)
Moguro:

" I fill the emptiness in people's hearts, Moguro Fukuzo ..."

Nan desu ka. kore?
" What i thi T

On Card:

" What does it mean?" (PL3)

( Koko)ro 110 sukima ... (o-u)me shimasu

I fill the emptiness ... in people's hearts (PL4)

Moguro Fuku::.o

Moguro Fukuzo
sukima refers to a "crack/opening'' in a fence/wall/door/
window/etc. Using the word with kokoro ("heart") is

figurative.
o-wne shimasu is a PL4 form of wneru (''fill in").

Moguro is written with kanji meaning "mourning" and

"black." while the kanji for Fukuzo mean ''happiness"
and "make/create."

Onchi:
Kokoro 110 sukima o-ume shimasu. Moguro Fukuzo . ..

Watashi II'O ko iu mono desu.

" I am this kind of a person."
" Here's my card" (PL3)

Moguro:
Boramio de o-vaku 11i latent to omoimosu vo.
"As a volunteer. I think I can be of service. to you."

" I' d like to volunteer my services to you (at no charge)." (PL3 >
o- is honorific. and yakuni rareru is the potential ("can/able to") form of
yaku11i rarsu ("be useful/helpful/of service" ).
(cominued on 11e11 pa~~~

Manga}in 73

1'.;? -tt

x. 7.> -t ;,

Warau Serusuman

QJ

Onchi:
Kore wa?

' 'What is it?" (PL2-3)

Moguro:
Mli, 1011ikaku o-nori kudasai.
" Well, in any case, please get i n."

' 'You' ll see. Please get in." (PL4)

mii is u!>ed as a kind of "verbal warm-up: that adapts
to fit the context: "well/you knowll mean/let's see/of
course."
tonikaku = "in any case/at any rate"
o-nori kudasai is a PL4 equivalent of the request 1101/e
kudasai. from noru ("get onto/into").

[2] Onchi:
A-!

"Wow!" (PL2-3)
Moguro:
Ugoku karaoke rt7mu desu yo.

" It's a moving karaoke room." (PL3)

the panicle yo is often used to emphasize information
that is new to the listener.

Sound FX:
Ca gaga-

Vr-vr-vroom (sound of truck starting up)

[] Onchi:
A- , kita e kita e to yogisha 1va hashiru-

" Ahh, northward, northward the night train

races ..." (PL2-3)
e marks the place/destination toward which a move"nonhward.''
ment occurs. so kiw e ="to the nonh"
yogi.fha combines yo ("night'') and kisha ("train"; k
changes tog for euphony).

'~~lffi~~~iil
/

Onchi:
Mado 110 muko 11ya ie no akari ga- . ..

"Outside the window, the lights from (nearby)

houses ..." (PL2-3)
muko = "over there" and ... no mukii ="the other/opposite side of ... ... ~o mado no mukii = "the opposite
side of the window"-> "outside the window."

nya is a contraction of ni wa, in which ni marks the

place/location where something is. and wa marks that
place as the topic of the sentence.
(continued from preiml\

ITJ

pa~e)

Mog.uro:
Do::.o. kochira desu.

" Please (come) this way."

( PL3)

Moguro:
Are o vo11de okimashita.

"I calied for that a while ago."

(PL3)

ronde b the -te form of robu ("call/~ummon"). and okimashita is the PL3
past form of oku ("\et/phice/lea,e"). OJ..u after the -te form of a verb implies
doing the action beforehand/in anticipation of ~ome fuwre need.

74 Mangajin

~ '7 -tt ;t 7.>

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

[Q

-t i

lv Warau Srusuman

-------------- - - - - - - -

Onchi:
lya-, ugoku karaoke n7mu to iu no mo nakanaka
ii desu nii.

"Boy-o-boy, this moving karaoke room is really great, too!" (PL3)

Ugoku riz.umu ni awasete utau tone.

"(EspeciaJiy) if you sing along with the rhythm

of the motion!" (PL3)
Mo uro:
Mel. kokora de hito-iki irete kudasai. Ho! ho! ho.
" Well now, at this point, please take a break. Ho
ho ho!"

" Well now, why don't you come over here and
catch your breath a bit. Ho ho ho." (PL3)
iyli is a kind of "warm-up" word for exclamations of
either consternation or delight/approval.
to iuno mo is literally "a thing called ... , too," but it
can be thought of merely as a fancy mo ("too/also''). In
English. saying "too/also" here is a little awkward, but
mo is better than wa in Japanese because it implies that
the moving karaoke room belongs among many "really great" things ("this. too. is really great"). whereas
using wa would sound more like he was setting it apart
in its own exclusive category ("this, in contrast to other
things. is reall y great").
nii and ne. both with long vowels. give the feeling of
exclamations: "it really is so. isn't it?"
riwmu is the katakana rendering of English "rhythm."
and awasete is the -te form of awasem ("match/conform to"). so rizumuni awasete implies conforming/
keeping in time with the rhythm." The -te form allows
the preceding phrase to act as an adverb for utau
("sing").
to after a non-past verb can make a conditional ''if/
when" meaning.
mii is used as a kind of "verbal warm-up," that adapts
to fit the context: "well now/you know/1 mean/let's see/
of course/all right.''
ho ho ho is often a demure, feminine laugh. but
with the lengthener and small tsus. and coming from
this character. we imagine a shrill. almost grotesque
laugh. It's most likely not a warm. Santa Claus laugh.

1: i; t ;
11 .., ~ l...

? l /)(
"'( '
.., <>

t; :

iJ 1:

f;

~ .,
t; tl

l;t .

r
I

Q)~;)

* **

Onchi:
Demo, Moguro-san, anata wa tashika suteji to
chosht7 ga iru . .. to osshatta no de wa?

' 'But Mr. Moguro, if I'm not mistaken, didn' t

you say there would be a stage and audience?"

Kore wa ido-sha desu.

"This is (merely) our transportation." (PL3)

(PL4)

Mo sugu mokuteki-chi e tsukimasu yo.

Moguro:

"We will reach our destination soon." (PL3)

E. so desu.

ido refers to a "movement/transfer/migration" from one place to another.

and the suffix slw means "vehicle." so ido-sha essentially means "cran~pon
vehicle/means of transponation."
mokw eki "aim/goal" and -chi "(geographical) place/region/locaht) :
so mokweki-chi ="destination."
tsukimasu is the PL3 form of tsuku ("arrive").

" Yes, that's correct." (PL3)

tashika means "sure/certain." and iro means "exists/
there is" so tashika iru looks like "certainly exists."
But when tashika is used as an adverb without the particle ni after it like this. it implies a more tentative 'I
think/if I'm not mistaken/I'm pretty sure."
normally sweji. an inanimate object, would require aru
("exists/there is"). but since he's speaking of the stage
and audience in combination. he omits aru and makes
do for both with iru ("exists" for people and other animate things).
osslw11a is the plain past form of the honorific verb
ossharu ("say").
no de wa? implies something like no de wa nai !naka11a
ka, "is/was it not the case that (you said.. .)" -> "did
you not say . .."

Moguro:

Sound FX:
Kii-!

Screech (sound of brakes squealing as u-uck stops}

Moguro:
Tsuita yo desu.

" We seem to have arrived." (PL3)

tsuita is the plain/abrupt past form of tsuku ("arrive").
... yo daldesu ="seems/appears to be the case that .. :
Mangarn 75

___

_
;t_?
_ ~_~_o
_ T i_
~

___~_ar=
a~
u_S
~
e~
r~
u~
s~
u~
m
~a
~
n_________________________________

[Q Moguro:
lkaga destt? Koko ga yum e no karaoke horu desu.

" What do you think? This is the Karaoke Hall

of Dreams." (PL3)
Onchi:
Hie-! Su- sugoi!

" Wow! It- it's incredible!" (PL2)

ikaga is a PL4 equivalent of do ("'how"'). so ikaga desu?
=do desu? /kaga desu (ka) can imply either " How are
you/things?" or " How about it?!How is (the specified
item) in your opinion?"
"What do you think?"

k::::::;;;;:::;r:::;:::=;r===y=:;:;=;;;;;;;;;;;;,~] IT] Hostesse~:

lrasshamrase- .

irasshaimase is a polite command form of the PL4 verb

" Welcome!" (PL4) irassharu (''come"). It's the

standard expression for welcoming a visitor to one'
home, or customers to one's place of business.

Moguro:
Menbli:,u kiido. Kochira geslllo desu.

"(Here's) my membership card. This ma n is

my guest." (PL2)
Hostess:
Hail Sore de wa do ka enjoi shire kudasaimase.

"Okay! Well then, by aJJ means enjoy yourselves." (PL4)

membiizu kiido is a katakana rendering of English
'member's card'' .... " membership card."

kochira (li terally "this side/direction") is the polite

way to refer to someone you are introducing to another person.
gesuto is from English "guest."
sore de wa literally means "if it is that" "in that
case/then/weJithen."

Hostess:
Dewa, kosucht7mu rt7mu e dozo.

" Well then, please go to the costume room."

(PL3-4)
Onchi:
Kosuclu7mu nlmu?

"Costume room?" (PL2)

Moguro:
era11de is the -te form of erabu ("choose/select"). and kudasai after a -te
form makes a polite reque~t.

Moguro:
Watashi wa enka o hitotsu ...

"1 (will sing) an enka." (PL2-3)

enka arc sometimes called the Japanese equivalent of country and western
songs. They are typically sentimental pop songs about lost love. separation from home. hard luck. etc.. with me lodies based on traditional Japanese musical scales.

CZJ

Onchi:
Sore ja watashi wa I madorosu-mono demo ...

" Well then, perhaps I' ll do a sailor's song." (PL2-3)

sore ja i~ a contraction of sore de ll'a, seen above.
modnro.w is from Dutch "matroos," referring to a " sailor/seaman." The suffix -mo11o (literally "thing/item'') here essentially refers to a "genre/category."
demo literally means "or something: but it's often used merely as a "softener'' without carrying its literal meaning. Here it does renect the fact that
he had many possibilities to choose from, but it doesn't mean he' s still
trying to make up his mind. He is in fact stating his decision.

76 Mangajin

Ho! ho! ho. Suki-na ishiJ o kiru. no desu.

" Ho ho ho. You put on a costume you like."

" Ho ho ho. You dress up in the costume of

your choice." (PL2)
dewa is a conjunction deriving from sore de wa een
in the previous panel: " in that case/then/well."

kosuchtlmu nlmu is from English ''costume room.''

... e dii:.n politely urges the listener to go to the specified place.

Moguro:
Senkyoku ni yotte suki-na kosuchumu o erande
kudasai.
"According to your choice of tune, please select
a costume you like."

''Please select a costume to go with your

choice of tune." (PL4)
senkyoku is written with kanji meaning "select" and
" tunc/song"
"your choice of tune/song."
... ,; yone ("according to/depending on") is the -te
fom1 of ... 11i yoru ("depends on/is founded on").

~?

-tt

~ ~

-r t

lv Warau Serusuman

MogtJ_ro:
Kosuchiimu ga kimarrara meiku o dozo.

" Once you've settled on your costume, please

(proceed with your) make-up." (PL3)
Onchi:
Meiku ? " Make-up'?" (PL2)
Stxlist:
Maw. ogushi kara ararasere iradakimasu.

"First I will have you let me undertake your hair."

" I'll start with your hair." (PL3)
Onchi:
lya-, nandaka sutii ni natta ki ga shire kita.

" You know, I' m beginnin g to feel like I've become a star." (PL2)
Moguro:
So desu. Koko de wa anara ga sutii desu.

"That's right. Here, you are the star." (PL3)

atarasete is the causative ("make/let") -te form of ataru.
here meaning " undertake/apply oneself to." The causative -te form+ itadakimasu is a roundabout and polite
way of saying 1 will (do the action)."

Jiin Ta daa (effect of striking a pose; oftentimes

the person wi ll actually say jiin, like an English

speaker might say "Ta daa.")

Sound FX:
Pachi pachi Clap clap (applause)
Moguro:
Hya-, kimalle-ru-!

" Wow! A dashing figure indeed!" (PL2)

kimatte-(i)iru is a colloquial expression meaning a
person's appearance/manner/etc. are 'just ri ght."

Hostess:
Dewa Onchi-sama, mein horu e dozo.

" Well then, Mr. Onchi, please proceed to the

main hall." (PL3)
Moguro:
Mein hi5ru wa nakanaka rorenai n desu yo.

"The main hall is very hard to get, you know."

(PL3)

0
0

Onchi:
A-! "Oh no!"
Sound FX:
Waf (sound of cheering crowd)
Hostess:

O nchi:
Da- dame da! Anna-ni kyaku ga iran ja Ll/aenai.
" It- it's no good. If that many spectators are there, I can' t sing."

"N-no! [ can't sing in front of an audience that big." (PL2)

Moguro:
Shinpai irimasen yo. Are wa mina biicharu riaritii no o-kyaku desu
kara.

Dewa minasama, o-matase shimashita.

"Well then, everyone, we have kept you waiting."

"All right, ladies and gentlemen, this is the moment you have been waiting for." (PL3)
Umi no otoko no uta no nanbii wan! Onchi
Hideshi no li5ji5 de-su!
" It is (now time for) t he appearance of Onchi

Hideshi! - the number one singer of sailors'

songs! " (PL3)
minasama = "everyone"; when the word is used as a
term of address before a large group. it's often the
equivalent of "'ladies and gentlemen."

''There's no need to worry. T hey're all only virtual (reality) spectators." (PL3)
11/aenai is the negati ve potential

l\1_qgyrQ=

Sora! "There!" (PL3)

Sound FX:
Don

Boom (effect of pushing hard)

Onchi:
Waf " Yikes!" (PL2)

(" can't/am unable") form of utau

("sing'').
kyaku means 'guest/visitor," or in
a business contex t "customer/client. .. For a show/performance.
kyaku refers to the "spectators/
members of the audience."
/xlclwru riaritii is a katakana rendering of English "virtual reality.'

To be continued .. .
Mangajin 77

3i+::f= att

( A) -f / ~ ~ .:>.----------------~~~~~~-----~~~dfrom
:

Fujiko Fujio ( A) Interview

--------

------ -----

page 32)

;.

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strongest, and that's why I chose him for the

animation.
T his gets a little off the subject, but on
Japanese TV until then, animation was used
mostly in programming for kids, and it appeared during the 6 o'clock and 7 o'clock time
slots. "Gimme a Break" was scheduled for a
muc h later s lo t, between 9 o'clock a nd I I
o'clock, o, of course, I animated the Salesman
with an adult audience in mind. Actually, at
first, I didn' t think this kind of unconventional
animation would go over all that well, but contrary to my expectations, it became a huge hit.
The animation o f The Laughing Salesman! Out
of all o f "Girnme a Break ," Moguro's ten minutes got the highest ratings.

t.J.: !v t.! It c, -f

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f~l..l

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Abiko: ~I?<

tlo -fh."t", tit lv t'tl, J;{,L..,

7 7 ::,..-iJr, .kt'f.i.JrfEff!J A~
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c'b o
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t<

t,

the kind of story or theme society was looking for.

Abiko: I suppose so. And the great majority of
the fans were women. T his struck me as really
fascinating.
Schodt: That seems rather surpr ising.
<1> Abiko: Yes, it was.

Schodt: I assumed male read ers were in the

~ Schodt: -t nIt "5 J: ? t :t9~ l' 9 b o

Abiko: -f? "Z"T o -f ? "Z"T o
r.:A.tt\'

<D Schodt: Wow! So it must have been exactly

majority.

Abiko: Well. when I did it as a manga 20 years

u~

ago, almost all of the fans were men, but when I

did it on TV fi ve years ago, as an animation,
there were lots more women. Women have a bit
of a, you know, mean streak in them (laughs),
so I think maybe they really enjoyed seeing stories like The Laughing Salesman, where all
kinds o f people get done in by Moguro.

11&

13ii

Schodt: #?Itt; 1..- ~~ttO)A~0)1J1J< ~ t.' C.,~ ? t~ lv l' 91J"'o

r..:J..b/..!~

t~

Abiko: t.!i.J 1?20{iiJ.iflitrl: '7 / 7f"Z"-?-? t.:: ~l;l:, ~ -? If I:J li c lv c'

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t $

b J.. ! .<.

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~0

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;;lt,ffi,\

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'ttl.'

{fl:.

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r,~

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L t

Schodt: But wou ldn' t women 25 years ago

have been the same?
Abiko: Well, maybe, but ...

(!)

Sc hodt: Is there some sp ecial reason why

there are m o r e women fan s this time
a r ound?
Abiko: I don' t know. I think it probably owes to
the difference in medium. Before, it appeared in
a men 's magazine called Manga Sunday, so the
audience was almost all men. Women probably
had very little opportunity to see it. But when it
came on TV, the viewers were mostly women.
and I think the high rarjngs show that it received
their approval.

i:> >b "'~Tit c'o

This interview will be continued in Mangajin No. 37, along with Part II of our
manga story The Karaoke Hall of Dreams, from The Laughing Salesman.
78 Mangajin

Naniwa
Kin'yudo
The series:

* -

Naniwa Kin 'yildi5 first appeared in Kodansha's Weekly

Comic Morning (~flj :J ~ 'J 7 .:C 7.) in 1990. It was
an immediate hit and has run continuously ever since. The
appeal of this series seems to be a combination of the subject
matter (the unethical dealings of an Gsaka loan/finance company), the gritty Gsaka dialect used by most of the characters,
and the rough but oddly detailed style of drawing.

=- /

by

Aoki Yuji
Part 3

The title:

=-

Naniwa (written here in katakana T r;, but sometimes

written with the kanji ilit:ft or ilit~) is an old name for the
Gsaka area, where this series is set. Kin 'yii (~~) means
"money/finance," and the ending do (:i:i[) written with the
kanji for "road/path," can be thought of as meaning "the way
of ..." Given the content of the stories, the title could be
rendered as "The Way of the Gsaka Loan Shark."

The story:
In the beginning of the story, our
hero, Haibara Tatsuyuki, takes out a personal loan from a shady sarakin loan
company so his boss at the print shop
can pay the shop's bills. Soon after he
obtains the loan, however, a major customer goes bankrupt, and his boss, in financial straits again, skips town. Haibara
is left without a job-and probably in
debt for the amount of the loan.
After studying up on finance,
Haibara applies to a loan company for a
job and aces the written test. But his application is rejected when the company

runs a credit check and learns that he has

taken out personal loans in the past. The
manager won't tell Haibara why he was

rejected, but does warn that he might

have trouble getting hired at a legitimate
finance company.
Sure enough, everywhere Haibara
applies turns him down. Confused and
dejected, he happens to notice an advertisement for Empire Finance, lnc., on the
back of a free packet of tissues he has

a tap on his shoulder and is brought in

for an interview.

been handed on the street. The company

is hiring, and he decides to give it one
last shot.
On his way up to the office, Haibara
passes by two gangster types threatening
a third man for having defaulted on a
loan; then, at the door to the office, he
overhears loud threats and abusive language coming from inside. Just as he begins to wonder about this place, he feels

This month's installment opens with

Haibara, Empire Finance's newest employee, performing the menial cleaning
chores often expected of new hires.
Then he gets his first real assignmentcold-calling Gsaka-area construction
companies in an effort to lure them into
high interest loans. Initially, Haibara
meets with ridicule and hostility from
those he calls, but then ...

Aoki Yiiji. All rights reserved. First published in Japan in 1990 by Kodansha, Tokyo. English translation rights arranged through Kodansha.

Mangajin 79

-t =- 7

80 Mangajin

~~:@:

Naniwa Kin 'yudo

- - --t =- '7 1;. M il'.i Nani wa K in 'yiidl5

Sign: BANK Jv ..A 1- -t 1 Jv 1-'

Banku Rusuchairudo
(bank name)

~ti~

xfr5

Kitahama Shiten
(place name) branch

Bank Ruthschild Kitahama Branch

Sign: fJ ffl ft#

(f:l;)

Shin"_riJ Kashitsuke. Jiko Tegata Waribiki. Fudosan Kashitsuke

trust/credit loans

private biiVdrafl discounts

real estate loan~

Credit Loans, Private Bill Discounts, Real Estate_Loans

( Kabu)

%-~ikhl!

Teikoku Kin "yil

joint stock co. empire finance

Empire Finance, Inc.

..A 1--\'" 1 iv r Rosuchairudo =

the bank's name is imended to be close to. but not quite the same as, D
" Rothschild."
shiten is literally "branch store," but it's also used for bank branches and sometimes for other kinds of corporate branch offices.
jiko ="personal/private" and tegata refers to a variety of ''bills/notes/drafts" of payment, typically with a due
date sometime in the future when the payment is to be made. Waribiki ="discount," referring to the practice
of "selling" these bills/notes to a finance company at a discount in order to receive immediate payment. For
more details, see our first installment of thi s story in Mangajin No. 34.
the kanji ~ kabu (="stock") in parentheses before or after a corporate name denotes a ~A: ~ II kttlmshikigaisha, or "joint stock (type) company."
the company apparently prefers to use the o ld kanji ~ (kuni: read koku in combinations) in its formal name
rather than the simplified 11.

[D

Sound FX: -' .:1.

..;

Gru!

(twisting/squeezing effect- here of squeezing excess water out of the washrag)

it's quite common for the newest employee(s) to be expected to take care of clean-up chores.

Haibara: }.; (;i. J:: -? ::: ~--v, ;t t' o

Ohayo

gozaimasu.

" Good morning," (PL3-4)

Takayama: }.; (;i. J:: -? ~ lv o
0/raro-san.

Harikille-iru

good moming-(hon.) working hard/enthusiastic

nii.
(colloq.)

" G'mornin' . You' re raringjogo, aren' t you!" (PL2)

ohayo go::.oimasu is the traditio nal "good morning" greeting. Though go;:aimasu generally belongs to PL4 and
sounds very formal and polite, its feeling in ohayo go:aimasu can range down to a quite informal PL3 - or even
lower in various con tracted forms. 0/wyo-san is an informal shorthand for the same greeting; it' s best considered PL2 even though -san is the honorific title used with names ("Mr./Ms.") and usually belongs to PL3.
lwrikiue-iru is the progressive ("is/are - ing") form of harikiru, w hich refers to being "enthusiasti c/zealous/
gung ho" at work or some other acti vi ty.
the colloquialnii, here a masculine equivalent of nif, adds emphasis to make a mild exclamation.

Sound FX: ?

1 - /

Uii-n

Vroooom (sound of vacuum cleaner)

Mangajin 81

-T:::. r;

-----------------------

82 Mangajin

~M!il:i.

Naniwa Kin 'yDdo

- - - - --

;-.::. 7

Yoshi.

"'*-r <it~ n'?

.:. ~c.,

JAIJli:tL

Kuwata : 3 :.--,

Nan i wa Kin 'yudo

~iMill

Haibara k111r, kochira

kite kureru ka?

yoshi is an exclamatory/interjectory form of the

adjective ii/yoi ("good/fine"). It's interjectory use

10
will you come?
typically ~hows that the time i~ right for some
" O kay, Haibara could vou come over her e?"
action. either by the speaker or the listener:
(PL2)
''okay/all right (now's the time)."
kite is the -te form of kuru ("come''), and kureru ka after the -te form
Haiba ra : li \, ' 0
of a verb makes a slightly less-abrupt request than using just kure. its
Hai.
non-question form . -Te kure and -te kureru ka are both masculine.
yes/okay
hai is used to express assent/compliance with a request/command.
" Yes sir:." (PL3)

okay/all right (name-fam.) 1h1s direction

1:

7- ;{. .o

n' c., o

kimi ni

ataeru

kara.

Kuwata: .:. (J) .-$:

Kono hon
rh is

book (obj.) you

ataeru essentially means "give/bestow''; in the

context of work 10 do. it's often equivalent to "allot/assign."

to will give/allot because/so

" I ' m_going__tu ive ou this book." (PL2)

kara ("because/so'') is probably best regarded here as a colloquial softener" to make the end of the sentence less

abrupt. Though, in effect, the thought continues 2 frames below (''So I want you to .. ."),after the insertion of a
parenthetical statement in the next frame, the grammar does not really create a continuous sentence.

[2]

On Book: ill.!J:
Kensetsu

~~ '90
Meikan Kyiijii

conqruction directory

li -t.!f

Doken-ya

wa mina

general contractors as-for all

[I)

Kuwata:

rtfT
fttka

illJ~

Kensetstt

~:?f

G_rosha

Osaka wnhin prefecture con~trucuon comractors

'90

1990 Construction Directory

Kuwata : tillR

:kt'li
Osaka

G eneral Cont ractors Located in Osaka

:fl:j\t)Jl
7;{ H~ tj./v'v'o
suki

nan va.

rough/slipshod accouming (subj.) like

donburi kanjo

ga

(cxplan.)

"Ge nera l contractors all like rough accounting.''

" G ener al con tractors a re a ll pref.!Y.Mlpshod in their accounting." (PL2-K)
j u is the suffix for "prefecture" used for Osaka and Kyoto Prefecture~. and -l..a (lit. "under") implies "within" (i.e..
"under the administration of"). The Japanese word that encompasses all of the prefectures is l:llilll{f!!,~ todofuken:
one prefecture is known as a til to (Tokyo-to), one as a j[f do (Hokkaidii), two as f{f fu, and 43 as V.~ ken (e.g.. Chibaken)
toka ="within T okyo";fuka ="within Osaka/Kyoto"; kenka ="within (this/the named) prefecture."
gyosha literally means "industry/trade person"; it refers to members of whatever industry is indicated.
donburi kanjo refers to figuring by rough estimates and dispensing with any kind of precise accounting. The term
comes from tradesmen who simply kept their money in a pouch (called a donburi) in their work vests (called
haragake) and never bothered to keep track of income or expenses. This donburi does not refer to the large bowb
with lids in which traditional Japanese eateries serve many a delectable dish.
with ruki ("like"), the liked object is marked with ga. and the person who likes it is marked with ll'a.
nan ya is Kansai dialect for the explanatory na n(o) da (''the situation is that ...").
-f(J)

r, ~

Sono meikan

~
o

Q't',
f1-?Jffii n't,
mite, katappashi kara

that directory/list (obj.) look at-and one end

fl.t~IS

~ n'IT~

demva

o kakeru

from telephone call (obj.) make

lv'Y>o
11

ya.

(explan.)

"(So I want you to) look at that directory_ a nd call every listing in it." (PL2)
Ha ibara: li "'

katappashi kara is literally "from one edge/end.'' implying 'to the other." and deml'll
o kakeru means "make phone call(s)." so he's essentially telling Haibara to call evel)
number in the book.
n ya is Kansai dialect for the explanatory n(o) da.
Following a plai n. non-past verb with n yaln da can serve as a command.

Hai_

:rc<Jokay

" Yes sir ." (PL3)

Kuwata: I OO;!>:
Hyappon demva shitara
100 (count)

Phone lt<!9ks:

Other Books:

if call

kanarazu

ichi-niken

delinircly/for sure I or 2 (count)

wa

hikkaka11e kum

a~- for

will take the bait

kara

110.

because/so (colloq.)

"(llecause) if_you ma ke a hundred calls you' re sure to get I o r 2 pla ces that take the ba it." (PL2)
Q~
gtJ
'41(,~~)
1 1'// ~-:JI;,o-~-:J hon (changes to -ppon or -bon with
Shokug_ro -betsu
Demva-cho I
Taun Peji
I
Haro Peji
some numbers) is often used as the
occupation classified by telephone book
town pages
hello pages
counter suffix for telephone calls.
Yellow Pages I Town Pages I Hello Pages
Denwa (o) shitara is a conditional
"if/when" form of demva (o) swu.
-r- 1
7 1 1J AH~ J: 1 1g
essentially the same as denwa o
Di!ta Banku
I Shi11 'vo-roku Jo I Shin 'vo-roku Ge
kakeru above: "make phone call(s)."
Data Ba nks LCr edit Directory Vol. 1.1 Credit Directorv Vol. 2
ken (tf) is the counter suffix for houses as well as shops/restaurants and other business establishments.
hikkakaue is the -te form of hikkakaru ("get hooked" "take the bait"): kum (''come") after a -te form can be
used to imply the action moves/will move toward the speaker.
Taun Peji is the name NTT (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp.) has used since 1984 for its "Yellow Pages...
formerly called Shokugyo-betsu Demva-clro. so either this office has kept a very old phone book arou nd for reference, or the artist has slipped up. The ''Hello Pages: are NTT's equivalent of the "white pages.'' i.e.. the alphabetical listing- or in the Japanese case. the kana-order listing.
two volume books in Japan are of1en designatedjo Md ge. lilerally the "upper" and "lower" volume~.

1' /

mu r

Mangapn 83

_ _ __ _ __ _____:_-T .::. '7 ~

Ill!
_ill~

N aniwa Kin 'yud~

1>'\uft'l.
1o9l

;<it>! U

,I,~ y p :I. '[.

flS J'll' j <'f l'l
"

11r
1

- J. . . ~i.ffl.llt:ltYV \ )IY' '7n~

j:~l
~fiB\~
~l'-9(\1'

.r.,.1""'
t{:t~

;Ali~~

-c:-ti-

84 Mangajin

rot: t. !tll! t.-.~,..,_,. ~~>-l5

-n't~- !ll(~t.lh'rv ~-'8
\~u-tt_ ~ >t.'lt~t :. YV l.U bn')
;!.~:0~

ltt'<t!f.&Tt)V S~ -~""~

I1>:tl.. t~ll.ll'ir.'"'"" b'l.'l<

~o\-'\k.
1;1\>t~

~t~llio~-YV

)Jy<j

+nOtYi

-x;t'IC~y--.Y l 'l<ll?n~

~ 1o~" \'2J.tt~..,..,

I. ~J-8.-A
Ql('ll~'

-r::.. '7 ~lit ill

Nanlwa Kin 'yDdo

Kuwata: 'bl'bL.. ,
H~
1:> "\ "t'?
Moshi-moshi. slzacho
oide?
hello
presidcnllowncr presen1?
" H e llo is the own er in?" ( Pl.A-info nnal)

.. U R
.

moshi-moshi is the standard way for the person initiating a phone call to say " hello."
shacho combines the second kanji of ~U kaisha ("company'') with the suffix for indicating the " head/
chief/leader'' of a group. ~ clro, to give the meaning "company president/owner."
aide is a PL4 word that is strictly speaking a noun ("presence/arrival/depanure'') but is often better thought of
as a verb ("is present/comes/goes''). Here oide is short for oide desu ka or the slightly more polite oide desho
ka ("is he present?"). The word is not Kansai dialect as such, but Kansai speakers probably use it in place of
irassharu (which has essentially the same range of meanings- ee below) more than Tokyo speakers do.

-c ",

(J)
:,!iiJ iJ I i:>i"'-lv iJ'? I i:>1i:<
Kuwata: =Fff~
~ -tt
t..: t..: ~ i T
3 o
ka? 0-yasuku
sasete itadakimasu
yo.
Tegata no waribiki omahen
drafllnote of discoun1 nOl have
(?)
(hon.)-cheapllow rate will have you allow me to make it (emph.)
" Do you have any notes you ' d like discounted ? I'll g ive y_ou a low rate." ( P L3- K)

.
.
.

Kuwata:

..
.

Listin~:

omalren is Kansai dialect for arimasen. the PL3 form of nai (''not have/not exist"): omahen ka = arimasen ka
= "do you not have?"
o-yamku is from yasui ("cheap/inexpensive" or when speaking of interest/discount rates, "low"). Since the
context is tegata no waribiki, i.e., the "discounting of a promissory note" (see frame I). he is offering to keep
the discount rate low, which is to say. pay more for the note. Yasuku suru ="make (something) cheap/low in
cost or rate."
sasete itadakimasu is a roundabout and polite way of saying suru ("will do/make"), often used when the action mentioned constitutes an offer of favors/favorable treatment.

-t-1 "'{'? n'o -rn-m Mit

(J)

ti

1J

c~j:

", -c:-:) t... ~ 7.>?

so
dekka. Shin 'yo yfishi 110 hi5
wa do11ai dessharo?
that way is it?
credit loans 's direction as-for
how about it?
" I s that rieht? H ow a bout a loan on c redit? " ( PL3-K)
so dekka is a Kansai dialect contraction of so desu ka, " is that so?/is that right?"
hii is literally "direction/way"; ... 110 ho is frequently used to direct someone's attention toward one (or in this
case a second) of several choices/possibilities.
donai dessharo is Kansai dialect for do desha (ka)? ("how about it?").

1:

ilifi

A*.

crY

Kariwaku
Ni11p11
Tobi
temporary frame
laborer
scaffolding worker
Ex~~vating I Concrete Framing I Laborers I Scaffold Worke r s

DokO
eanhworks

n'

..
.
Sound FX:

~Hi>:
JHt
I
t.:.--? 't
I
Kaitai
Kata:.uke
Tekkin
clean up/pulling away steel/reinforcement rods
dismantlement
Dismantling I
C lea n Uo
I
Rod Work

kariwaku refers to the temporary frames/molds/forms constructed for pouring concrete.

tobi can refer to constntction workers in general, but o ften specifically indicates those who build scaffo lds .
these appear to be want ads placed by construction companie~ looking for workers in each of these categories .
Kuwata is simpl y using the ads as a source of construction company phone numbers.
!!~!!;t

Pi pi pi!
(sound o f dialing pus h-butto n phone)

Haibara: 'b L..'bl ,

u~ v'l?? L..~~'iT?
Moshi-moshi, slraclro
irasslwimasu ?
hello
presiden!lowner
present?
" H e llo is the owner in?" ( Pl.A)

Othe r P art y

ry:_,

-!Jf'

c' -t? e::.

~ lv?

Waslri ya ga,
dochira-san ?
lime
is but which direction/who-(hon.)
" I'm the owner.jJJutl w h o is t his?" ( PL 3-K )

irasshaimasu is the polite form of the PL4 verb irassharu

("is present/comes/goes"). Dropping the question panicle
ka and a king with j ust the intonation of a question feels
slightly less formal than asking irasshaimasu ka?. but it
remains very polite.

.
.

waslri is a word for "Ume" used mostly by middleaged and older men.
ya typically replaces da ("is/are") in Kansai dialect,
so waslri ya is equivalent to waslri da ("is me").

doclrira literally means "which direction/way: In formallpolite conversation, the di rection words koclrira
("this direction") and sochira ("that direction") often serve as polite personal pro nouns, " llwe" and " you," respecti vely. Doclrira is the equivalent polite word for asking "who?" Adding -san is also polite. but using this
shon fom1 instead of the full sentence doclrira-san desu ka lends a slight note of informality.

Mangajin 85

-r =- '7 ~ ~ l1i

Nani wa Kin 'yudo

/
7 \.'a ~ t~

t:;; */ ~s? 1(t'>?>

fiJ ~

'jj

~ fJ
v~
!I

IJ'

7'8

*'iiii
?~

'h'

!!

L- 7
>??

(J)

'J

tJ' fJ' I
{> t: "/
~

':

c c.:
-:>-:>

1? 1?

t:

fj, :---

t IJ
'(:>

86 Mangajin

-J I

-J- ::. '7 ~~ill: Nani wa K in'yiido

Haibara: llf~
~1 51
q) ;t'j'lij
fi\:/M! C. IJtL:'ti" o
Tegma ll'aribiki 110 Teikoku Ki11 'yt7 10 moshimasu.
note/draft discount~ of empore finance (quOie) 'aylbe called
" We're called Empire Finance. (offering) promissory note di!.counts."
" This is Empire Finance, offe ring promissorx note discounts." (PL4)

miishimasu is the pol ite form of the PL4 verb mosu ("say/be called"). The preceding 10 i~ the quotative particle. marking the content of what is said or what something/someone is called.... To miishimosu b the polite
way to introduce/identify oneself: " I am ... :or when speaking for an organization. "this is ..."

OtherParty

Sound FX:

ld:lv'(',
(.ili;fl]ft
-/J'?i<'C:>/..h.L 7*/~v!!
Na11 ya.
korigashi
ka '! Iran
li'Cre.
alw11dare!
what h high intcre~t lender (?) n01 need (colloq. cmph.) idiot/fool
" What's this - a loans h ark? Forge t it, you idiot!" (PL 1- K)

if+ -t /

Coelum

(sound of s lamming down receiver)

yo is Kansai dialect for 11a11 da. literally what is itT' but often used idiomatically to imply the item mentioned is LriviaVunwonhylbcneath noti ce.
ira11 is a contraction of ira11ai ("not need'") negative of int ("need").
wae i~ a rough/masculine form of the colloquial emphatic panicle wa. IVai~ usually described a~ feminine,
but men can also use it. with a slightly different innection. without ~ounding effeminme. Men, u~e of wa is
especially common in Kansai dialect.
ahrmdare is a variation of alto or aho. meaning "idiollfoollblockhead... Mild as the English equivalents sound,
any form of aho can become a powerful insult depending on the tone of voice with which it is said. Here,
ahrmdare comes across as a pretty strong epithet.

@]

A nother__~rty

IWII

H1iii ti 7*? -/)>!!

Omae ll'a
ahii ka?
) OU
a'-for idiot/fool (?)
"Are you s ome kind o f a dimwit?" (PLI )

omae is a rough. masculine word for "you:

Sound FX: ff-1--t/

Coelum
(sound o f s lamming down receiver)

Another Party

:::..q)-- :7
-!Jf!!
Kono
boke
fill!
tho\
dimwit/moron (emph.)
" Moron!" (PL I)

Sound FX: 1!7- -t /

Gachmr
(sound of slamming down receiver)
Haibara : 7 ;- '/ , q) -/J' t:. ~ (: L-'(' -/J( J.> o
Kuso!.
me no kawki ni shiyagam.
(curse)
eye of enemy to make-(derog.)
"Sheesh, they all make me their worst enemy!"
"Sh eeslh_the_y a ll tre at m e like I'm the ir
wo r s t en e m_y!" (PL I)
Sound FX:

!!!!!!
Pi pi pi

hoke is an epithet implying the per<,on's lights

have dimmed or he has gone loco/<,enile. so it's
essentially a synonym for aho. Bo~e is more
commonly u~ed as an insult in the Kansai area
than in Kanto/Tokyo.
ga here is best thought of simply a~ providing
e mphasis.
kuso!

i~

used widely as a curse of chagrin at moof adversity. Since it literally refers to "excrement." it's undeniably crude. but it's not considered objectionable/unprintable to the extent of
its English counterpans.
me no kawki ni sum is an expression for "bear constanlleternal/intense enmity" toward someone.
shiyagam is a derogatory equivalent of suru
("do/make").
ment~

(sound of dialing Jouch-tone phone)

:::_ ? ld: I) ~ I:'-? -!:_, ~ {;'-? -!:_, t~ o
Haibara : 3 - :/,
Yiishi.
kO
naryadotchi mo dotchi da.
all right/okay this way if become> which way al'o which way is
"All right, if it comes to this, whichever way, it's all the same."
" All right then. Who car es what they think." (PL2)

yoshi or yiishi is an exclamatory/interjectory form of the adjecti ve iilyoi ("good/fine"). It'' often used when
mustering one's strength/energy to meet a challenge.
kli naryii is a contraction of ko nareba, "if it becomes like this," from kii ("like this/this way")+ a conditional
"if" form of nam ('"become").
dmchi is a colloquial equivalent of dochira ("which direction/way"). and dotchi modo/chi i<> an expression
meaning 'whichever way you choose it makes no difference"- "i.e.. "it's all the same." In many cases it
corresponds to the Englbh expression "six of one. half-a-dozen of the other." but here he seem<, e~sentially to
be saying it makes no difference/he doesn't care what those at the other end of the line think.

Mangapn 87

- --

7=- 7

--

~!~till

Nani wa Kin'yil do

~t,ii

-? J;: ~lj

-c

< t,

t:'

J;:

-?

"' c

88 Mangajm

!!

7::::.. '71fr:r.itill Naniwa Kin 'yudo

Haibara:

IJJ tJi ~~.It

L t L,

t: /.,?

Mosili-moshi, Takaraka Kensetsu-san ?

hello

(construction co. name-hon.)

" Hello is this Takataka Construction?" (PL3)

~AA'!!
c EtJ LiT o
Co-worker: 'i'U~I
Teikoku Kin")ll7

empire

to

miMzimasu.

finance (quote) saylbe called

"We' re called Empire Finance."

"This is EmP-ire Finance." (PL4)
-san is most commonly used with personal names to mean "Mr.fMs.," but it's also often used as a polite suffi x
for names of groups/institu tions/corporations/etc.

Takahashi:

/\ 1 '

Hai,
yes

;g;m

'Z'"T o

Takahashi desu.
i;

(name)

" Yes. T his is Takahashooeaking)_," (PL3)

[ill

Haiba~a :

'it:~
%'00
Teikoku Kin 'yfi
empire

$Li-t

iJ< 0

to

miJshimasu

ga.

finance (quote) say/be called but/and

"We' re called Empire Finance (but)."

" This is Empire Finance." (PL4)
ga is a conjunction that can be translated either as "'but'" or and." depending on the context. Here the conjunction signals that he has more to say. but he pauses to wait for a response from the other end before proceeding.
This is a fairly standard way to identi fy oneself at the beginning of a phone call.

Takahashi: 'it: .fiJ

Kinri

ua

dono gurai

wz.?

interest as-for about how much i.~ it?

"What's your interest ra_te?" (PL2)

Haibara: ilZfl]?! t::> .1: , t? .1: -? c fif-? -r <t~ ~ v'o
Kinri?
interest

Cho- cho11o
a little/a moment

ma11e

kudasai.

wait

please

" Interest rate? Wa- waitjust a moment, pl_ease." (PL3)

ya regularly replaces da in Kansai dialect, but asking questions with ya sounds quite a bit "softer'" than aski ng
questions with da in standard Japanese.
matte is the -te form o f matsu ("wait"), and adding kudasai makes a polite request.

Haibara:

~ EB ~ fv ,

'it: :flj

(J)

Kuwata-san, kinri 110 ke11

(name-hon.)

de

kawal/e

moraemase11?

interest of matter on/with change/switch couldn' t I have you?

"Mr. Kuwata, could I have you change with me concerning a matter of interest rates?''
"Mr. Kuwata could vou take over for me and tell this P-erson about our interest ratesZ"
(PL3)

Kuwata: :;f;1 ,
0 !,

b7

~hiJ'ltt..:

kiJ' o

3:,"\' o

miJ

hikkaketa

11 ka.

Yosha.

(intcrj.) already snared/hooked (ex plan.-?) okay/all right

" Ho, yoy_got one on the hook already? Okay_, sure." (PL2)
ken= "matter/case/affair" ; ... no ke11 de= concerning/with regard to a matter of ..."
kawalle is the -te form of kawaru ('"switch/change"), and moraemasen is the PL 3 negative of morau ("recei ve"'). A form of morau after a-te form i mplies having someone do the action for oneself. T o use the negati ve form of the verb when making a request is more polite than using its affirmati ve form.
o! is an interjection o f surprise, like ''oh 1/hey!/ho!/wow!' '
hikkaketa is the plain/abrupt past form of hikkakeru ("to snare/hook").
yosha is a variation of yoshi, an exclamatory/ interjectory form of iilyoi ("good/fine'"), expressing his assent to
the request: "Okay/Sure thing/Be glad to!"

Sound FX: ;f /
Pon

Tap (effect of pat/tap on shoulder)

Mangajin 89

-r=- '7:/M!.il!

~~51

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h.- ~ ""? 8

;...-- f)'

t~

~I?

li '/} (/)
(!) ' : It L.
~ t:t t:. .t

iflJ~A,_ "'?

(/)

"[- li

'

90 Mangajin

~ ~!

t:t

-r-

t!. '7

< $;

A-W
~ li

. Naniwa K in 'yud:__
o _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

Dif':::f'.:.

.:.

\,'

(/)
A-'J~

if~Jtt~
~lit,

=1' li

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~ '/}{ ~

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(/)

7.::. '71fr:h\!l!ii1 N aniwa Kin 'yudo

~ Takavama: X.!?v'

!f-v' ~lj:v'i.P, I*IJlCI3o I ;13

Erai

hayai ya nai ka, Haibara-kun.

Li

Kimi wa

fll:/M!}j:
kin'yl7-ya

1: fi'ilv'Cl.> 't'- o
ni

muiroru

de-.

very/phenomenally fast/quick is it not? (namc-fam.)

you as-for moneylender to/for are suited (emph.)
"That's phenomenally quick, Haibara~It means) you' r_e meant to be a monevlender."

(PL2-K)

erai basically means "admirable/worthy of praise/respect, .. but the word is here being used as an adverb to modify
hayai ("fast/quick"). In standard Japanese, the proper adverb form. eraku. is used in th is way as a colloqui al
e mphasizer ("very much/considerably/terribly''), but Kansai speakers use erai just as it is.
ya nai ka is Kansai dialect for ja nai ka. wh ich is literally a question: ''is it not?"' The question is pure ly rhetorical,
though, and he's actually congratulating Haibara on the speed of his success.
the suffix -ya can refer either to the trade/business itself (most commonly small shops) or to the person/people running it, so kin'yii-ya can mean 'moneylender" either in the sense of "finance company" or in the sense of someone
who works for such a company.
muitoru is Kansai dialect for muite-iru, from muku ("be suited/fit [for]"). De adds strong emphasis, like the masculine zo or ze in standard Japanese but without feeli ng quite as rough.

Books: 7 - 7 ;\ / 7
Difla

Banku

Shikihi5

data

bank

four seasons information

Data Banks Japan Company Handbook

{' Jfl
i'l'f!1
~ rJ / - :;
Shinyii
credit

Juhi'i

Taun

Peji

information

town

pages

Credit Directory
Haibara: v'"\-',

Town Pa_ges

i <"h

l'i' J:,

i <"H.o

magure

desu

magure.

SliikihiJ (full name Kaisha Shikihi5) contains brief

descriptions of Japanese firms, including their
latest performance figures and profit outlook. An
English edition of the book is called Japan Compcmy Handbook.
Although they are fictiona l publications, Shin'yif
ji51ti5 and Shin'yr7-roku (p. 82-3) would seem to be
the same sort of company financial directory.

chigau is literally '(is) different," but idiomaticall y it means "that's the wrong idea/conclus ion"
no/really fluke/lucky stroke is (emph.) !luke/l ucky stroke
--> you're wrong."
"No, it's just a fluke, really. A tluke." (PL3)
Willi is an informal anata ("you").
ya de is a Kansai equi valent of da yo ("is/are" +
Takayama: v'~ -J;_,i.J!?o .:.~1.. l"l ~lvt.:.<J) 18$ "\-' 't'!
emphasis).
Iya.
cltigau. Kore wa anta 110 shukumei ya de.1
gyi5kai is written with
no different/wrong thi s as-for you
's
destiny is (emph.)
kanj i meaning " industry/
" No vou' re wron!!. This is vour destinyJ'' (PL2)
trade/profession" and
.:. <!)
~Jr.
li <!)- , IF iiJPJ i.l{ IF iJiPJ i' . O'f'- .h: !v Jt? o
"world/realm," but it
Kono
gyi5kai
wa
nif, fwvatari ga fuwatari o
yobu
n ya.
does not refer to the busithis i ndustry/business as-for (colloq.) default (subj.) default (obj.) ' ummon; (explan.)
ness world in general.
"In this business, one def~ult begets another." (PL2)
It's used when speaking
Takayama: t!.i.l' G
'7 :,-1; li
7' :.-- H.!H" 1-v~ o
of a specific kind/segDaka ra
wash i-ra 1va gen o katsugu 11 WJ.
me nt of business/industry
therefore/for that reason we
as-for are superstitious (explan.)
the way members of that
''That's why we' re superstitious." (PL2)
business or trade might
speak of "the industry/the
1JJ B
(J) L.. .t: "::>!! to: 't' 71--:::> tJ' ~ t t.:. lv ~
trade/the business'' -->
Shonichi no shoppana de hikkaketa
11 ya.
first day
's
beginning
at snared/hooked (explan.)
kono gyi5kai = "this busi" You got one on your hook at the very__beginning of y_our first !I~" (PL2) ness."
fuwata ri refers to "non~AA~~
1: lj:J.>
(J)
1-l ~!vt.:. (!)
1i'l$ "\-' l' !
payment/default" on a
Kin'yii-ya ni naru
110
wa anta 110 sl111kumei \'a de!
bill/note.
money lender to become (nom.) as-for you
s
destiny ' is (cmph.)
Iya,

yo.

" It's your destiny to become a moneylender." (PL2)

washi is a word for "Ume" used mostly by middle-aged and older men, and -ra is an abrupt ending that makes
nouns pl ural. so washi-ra ="we.''
n ya is Kansai dia lect for the explanatory ending n(o) da.
if written in kanji, gen would be written Mi:, meaning "sign/efficacy/omen": ge11 o katmgu is an expression implying that a person sees/clings to almost anything as a sign of good luck, or avoids certain things because he regards
them as bringi ng bad luck
" is superstitious.''
no is a " nominalizer" that turns the complete thought/sentence kin 'yi'i-ya ni naru ("become a moneylender'') into a
noun, and wa makes th at noun the topic of the sentence: "As for becoming a moneylender, ..."

Lower Left:

#;
Hb ~
Nihatsu-me Owari
second shot

end

Second Shot: The End

-hatsu is a counter suffix for "shots," most typically shots involving explosions, such as of guns, rockets, and fireworks, but also of such thi ngs as pachinko balls. As we noted in our first installment of Naniwa Kin 'yt7di5 in Mangaj in No. 34, it's a deliberately unconventional counter to use for the parts of a story.
the counter suffix -me is for places in a seq uence, "first/second/third/etc.." so nihatsu-me is litera lly "the second shot."

To be continued ...
Mangajin 91

Vocabula r y Summary

From Furiten-kun, 12 58

From Basic JaQanese, 12 38

:f~llJ?j:

f!!

;.,..i){ <

r..~M

'b O)T .::~.-'

~ilt.O
~;.,..'>0)
{~L'bO)

}('if.

!fflir
f;t-"Z~

!iM3t

bukiyo-na
iro
migaku
mondai
1110/lOS Ligoi
namakeru
n omimono
otoshimono
oya
roka
({I be mono
taido

clumsy/unski llfu I
color (n. )
poli h (v.)
problem
incredible/tremendous
be lazy/idle
drink/beverage
dropped object
landlord
hallway
food
attitude

From Visual Glossary, p. 45

~'!iili5~1Ht -0

'il1ffiS-t.O
'g"~?/

!ii'fJ' L~t '

1f.
llf!l

A=n.

~ili5~

11Ji3(

NHWm;J8
rlfln'~l.6
::~-

1-' v.A

0-*f!!!t~r
.:f 1' :; -T :F /

1;1{0)

') .:e- :J /
fB 41ft i 11 ,;[j

1/'i"H
;J1i Lv'

~-?-f<

5t.m-t.o

denwa o kakeru
denwa suru
eigyo-man
lra:ukashii
hen
"i1/1(/
hitogomi
juwaki
kanojo
kei rai denwa
kikareru
ki5doresu
ki5slll7 benjo
ky archi-hon
nengan no
rimokon
rusuban denwa
ru.mroku
sabishii
sassoku
sltikyt7 suru

make a phone call

make a phone call
salesman/sales rep
embarrassed
strange( ness)
free/idle/leisure time
crowd/thron g of people
handset (of telephone)
girlfriend/she
mobi le phone
be heard/overheard
cordless (phone)
public toilet
call waiting
longed for
remote control
telephone answering machine
(answering machine) message
lonely
right away
issue/supply (v.)

From OL Shinkaron, 12 50
(.:)(:f. ._f
7 '} /

"l- llt

v'l:h6~

v'-t-'I?Ll.-'
:l3-~/

1:-. R']
tru~6

-t 7/\7
-~
!&~1 1 ~%
'(>~Lv'

(go- )dengon
fur in
gaiJh utsu-chll
1jiwaru-na
iyarashii
jodan
jiJshi
nareru
sekuhara
techo
torihiki-saki
yasashii

message
immorality/affair
be out/away
mean/unkind
d isagreeab le/i ndecen t
joke/jest
superior(s) (at work)
grow accustomed to
sexual harassment
datebook
client
kind/nice

From Take 'emon,

77~::1/

j!<~
.:.t>t~6
~~)1\lj:

~6

tff.A1t.U

famikon
guai
kowareru
11{1//laikilla
okuru
shinnyL7 slwin

p~

"family compu ter"/Nintendo

condition/state
break (r.)
brazen/audacious/uppity
send
new employee

I~HH: ~j: '-''

kankei nai
nenrei
shokugyo
yobidashi

~A
II

~~

O"ftfll L

irrelevant ( PL2)
age (n. )
occupation
paging

From OL Reiko-san, Q.,...Ql

MIJ

kaeri
umai

-? i "'

way home/retum(ing)
skillful

From Crayon Shin-chan, p. 64

Ll't~T

-f.:z.--t-0
JJH.IJ:
ih-t
g fJf~ N'.> .0
;e.:e--t.o
.HL:.t:>~

Ll? t::l? Lv'

~~

-? '? fJdJ

mJ~

clwkkan sunt
chL7 suru
kanjin -na
//la\VGS/1
mega sameru
memo suru
oshioki
shirajirashii
toclu7
ukkari
yoji

sense intuitively
kiss/smooch (v.)
crucial/essential
tu rnlspi n/rotate/ci rculate
awaken/become conscious
make a note
punishment
transparent/obvious
midst
careless I y/inadvertently
chore/errand

From Warau Serusuman, p. 70

~h-tt-6

lf.'!!tK
fl'l-
"R'Z:
iri X. 6

.:..:.1?

< r'o.A
;117

B A'-J.lt!!
ft4.ijj
')

::-: ./...

-f-?-f-0
t (:;?' <

awaserrt
cili5sht7
hakuslw
isho
kieru
kokora
madorosu
meiku
mokureki-chi
0/IC/ti
ri:u1111t
soro-soro
to11ikaku

match/conform to
audience
applause
costume/clothes
vanish/disappear
hereabouts/at about this point
sailor/seaman
make-up (11.)
destination
tone deaf( ness)
rhythm
slowly/gradually/by and by
in any case/at any rate

From Naniwa Kin 'yiido, p. 79

:ff)J~

-fiJ!l: IJ
.y /HE!<
~!#
(;t I)

.0

? I -? 1.P~t6

fJ' t:. ~

il!.&:
~.flj

~IM!Ji:
;gjflji{

i <tt.
~~

lol<
A'ft:.
niG;i
~00
\!jlj~J

lfil!tt

fudosan
f uwatari
gen o katsugu
gyokai
lwrikiru
hikkakeru
kataki
kensetsu
kinri
kin 'yt7-ya
korigashi
magure
meikan
muku
ninpu
shukumei
teikoku
waribiki
ytlshi

real estate
default (11.)
be superstitious
(a particular) industry
be enthu iasticlzealous
snare/hook ( v.)
enemy
constructi on
interest (rate)
moneylender
loan shark(ing)
nuke/lucky stroke
directory
be suited/fit (for)
laborer
de tiny
empire
discount(S)
loan/financing (n.)

The Vocabulary Summary is taken from material appearing in rltis issue of MANGAJIN. It's not always possible to give the complete
range of meanings for a word in this limired space. so our "dejinirio11s" are based on the usage of the word in a particular story.

92 Mangajin