Cultural Keys: The History of Japanese Words and Phrases 978-4590009827

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CULTURAL KEYS: The History of Japanese Words ™ .a n d

Phrases by HIROSHI OTSUKI &

BRADLEY GRINDSTAFF

THE HOKUSEIDO PRESS

CULTURAL KEYS: The History of Japanese Words and Phrases by Hiroshi Otsuki and Bradley Grindstaff Copyright © 1995 by Hiroshi Otsuki and Bradley Grindstaff All rights reserved ISB N 4-590-00982-X

Published by The Hokuseido Press 3-32 4. Honkomagome, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo

Preface iii

Preface It is often said that a language’s vocabulary is the best index of the culture in which that language is spoken. Vocabulary is shaped by the lives of the people who speak the language. The way a society creates phrases and idioms reveals the thoughts and common experiences found in that society at a given time. Therefore, etymology, the study of word history, shows us the history of a people, how they have thought, acted and lived over the centuries. Word history traces the path of human activities. A look into the origin of words gives new insight into a society’s growth. Words and phrases explain the development of civilization, the progress of knowledge, and the history of the race that has used them. Some expressions originate from everyday life, wars, theater, play, food, trade, sports, travel and religion. Others developed from the names of historical figures. In this book we hope to trace the etymology of some representative Japanese phrases. Such etymologies can be used as keys to understanding and remembering the history and culture of Japan. The study of etymology can also help those wishing to learn the Japanese language. Some phrases can only be used correctly, if one knows the original meaning. Knowing the origin of a phrase may also help students to remember it. In this little book the readers can enjoy learning about Japanese culture and at the same time learn new vocabulary or perhaps redefine phrases only partially understood. Our thanks to Hiroko Otsuki, whose clear drawings enable even a complete stranger to Japan to understand the context, and to any readers whose interest in the Japanese language and culture leads them to send

iv Preface further ideas or questions to us. Finally, we would like to thank our coworkers and the administration of Baika Women’s College for their understanding and support, financial and otherwise. September 1995 Hiroshi Otsuki Bradley GrindstafF

A b u ra • u n tfte

*-r v

can be found ThTfnst ^ ,tW° .EnSl,sh transJatic original meaning. The second rranslanon of t mon usage today. conveys the most co commonly usedtlemenfs W ^ d " descriPrions ,sk can be found there. ApTendb W'th an aste Japanese historical p e rio d ^ X C Sh° WS the dates
»Ke>£-5 £)

• To sell oil • To waste time at work

Before the Meiji Period, oil was burned for light. When a man used a measure to sell oil, it took time for all the oil to drip from the measure. During this time the merchant had a chat with his customers. Even though it seemed like it, this was not loafing on the job. Removing the funnel or measure from over their cus­ tomers’ containers too quickly would have, in effect, robbed the customers of the last few drops of oil, which they had paid for. Another possible etymology goes back to merchants who sold oil for ladies’ hair. Chatter­ ing cleverly and skillfully they took time to make regular customers. A third possibility refers to the Edo Period’s Doke-geki, a farce, a low comedy. In these plays a long ad lib speech was called abura, as it was sticky, “ schmalzig” in German or Yiddish. Therefore, a long speech is abura o uru.

Aho

(noun or aho da, adjectival verb)

• The site o f a ruinous expensive palace • Idiot (Kansai dialect)

In ancient China, during the Qin Period (c. 221-207 B.C.), Emperor Shi-huang-di (259_210 B.C .), Shikotei in Japanese, had a new palace built at a place called Abou to celebrate his thirty year reign. This palace was so huge that ten thousand people could enter. But he spent so much on building the new palace that his country was ruined. The palace named Abou, ironically, became famous. It was used to indicate that something

4

Aho

Bu t « awabou, ‘‘hasty p tlo n A T h 'is^ h 11 V * 1"

why ^

is fro'

‘> « e s « « i t t S t t * : “ ' h i ' ' h t opening one’s mouth and m P.r° no,unced by sirnpl -ith bou, “ a boy,’ to form , n° thi" * ” are joiner open-mouth” or “gapmg f o d " ’ “ d then "«

^ o ^ L T - Y o l Z r t t t k ™ '' T haf feeks of stuP'dt™es has a foendlv ' J 8 ‘nonsen^ ” Aho s o L Therefore to intensify'ahiTah ,m tImate connotation. ^ "stupid man" ’"is t a r d " f ^ P° SS,lbJp from « * common name for a man * ^ “ taUy, Taro is a D°aho, "stupid idiot,” is like ah ^ 3 womannve form of aho. It is used in 3 strongJy negaIncidentally, the Kansai p refeten cff * Kanto preference for !> nce or a^>° and the unrelated words m diff * UStrjate the use of totally Nagoya, *awake, meaning ’T s U i S T " In This word may be from L , p d person- is heard. M e around,” "to horse around"”’ o r ^ “ to have an affair.” d’ or Pefbaps, even "to

Z "L d„ iff" enCeS “

»»ge

clock aw ay.” or "Please rena r i Please P ut the area only the second m e a n L « ; C ^ In the K anto area katazukeru or d a* * * ls J P 'e d In the K anto a- a y . ” fo the Kansai area on a r l ' ^ t0 P « one sees the warning, Yubizump ■ T- * autom at,c door to p u t your fingers between rh mf hu*’ Be careful not area the verb hasamu is used d° ° rS ” In the K an t°

mra*“™- 5 A 0

• Divine • Clever

This word originally expressed reverence to an un­ seen superhuman power, or reverence and recognition of another person’s incomparable strength. Its use has been debased, to the equivalent of “ clever.” Kashikoi is also used to intensify some words of criticism. Warugashikoi and zurugashikoi are respectively the intensified forms of warui, "wrong” and zurui, “ sly.” Shinto priests begin Norito, or Shinto prayers, with the words Kakemakumo kashikoki, “ It is an awesome responsibility to say the words of god.” We may reply to our seniors very politely, Kashikomarimashita, “ Very good, sir,” or “ Cer­ tainly, Madame.” In kashikomaru, “ to humble oneself,” the original meaning, “ reverence to a superior power,” is found. The most important room of the imperial palace in Tokyo is called the Kashiko dokoro. It is here that the three treasures, said to have been given by the gods to the Japanese Imperial family, are kept. These treasures are a mirror, symbolizing honesty, a sword, symbolizing resolution, and a jewel, symbolizing charity. In the Kanto area riko is usually used to express clever. Riko originally meant “ skillful in speaking” or “ fair-spoken.” It later came to mean “ cunning” and then “ clever.”

Katte

K atsu ra

49

(noun)

• A hair ornament made form vines, like a wreath * W^ _______________ _____ __________________________

Katsura was originally kami and tsura. Kami is “ hair,” and tsura is from tsuru, “ vine.” The original word referred to a wreath of vines, used to decorate hair. Another form of “ head decoration” was made using flowers. This was called kamisasu. Sasu is “ to insert” or “ to point.” Both the word for and the appearance of these decorations have changed. Through hatsu-onbin* and rendaku* kamisashi has become kanzashi. The object itself is no longer made of flowers. It is an ornamental hairpin worn by women wearing kimonos.

K atte

(noun or katte da, adjectival verb)

• 8#T Ofr-oT)

• The right hand in archery • One’ s own way, selfishness________

Katte has many meanings. One is “ selfishness,” as in Katte na koto o suru, ” He does what he likes.” It can also mean two conditions as in katte ga chigau, “ to be out of one’s element” or “ Things did not work out.” A third meaning is “ freely” as in katte ni tsukau, “ to make free use of another’s thing(s).” The fourth meaning, with o * , is ’’kitchen,” okatte. (See Daidokoro) In archery the arrow is held in the right hand, which is called katte, while the bow is held in the left hand, oshite. An archer’s right hand can be moved freely when using a bow and arrow. Therefore, katte came to mean “ convenience” and then “ selfishness.” In the kitchen one must move freely without hindrance. Therefore, the kitchen came to be called okatte. A kitchen door, or

5°

Kawakiri

backdoor, is called katteguchi, guchi being the rendaku* form of kuchi, “ mouth.”

K a w a k iri

(noun)

• To cut one’s own skin • The beginning, the start

This word is from kawa,"skin,” and kiri, the ren’ yd form* of kiru, “ to cut.” This originally meant “ the first moxa which burns the skin.” Moxa refers to a herb applied to the skin in Chinese medicine to stimulate the body and improve blood circulation. This treatment produces a painful burning sensation. The first moxa hurts so much that one feels as if he is being cut. From this the meaning of “ the beginning” or “ the start” has developed. Okyu, Japanese for moxa, also means “ chas­ tisement.” Okyu o sueru, literally “ to apply moxa,” is also “ to punish” or “ to scold.”

K aze • M

(noun)

(*»-t?)

• Wind • A cold

In eastern medicine there are said to be three types or causes of sickness. The first is psychological, from a troubled mind. The second relates to physical condi­ tions such as food or fatigue. The third includes envi­ ronmental causes, such as cold, heat, moisture, dryness, fire and wind. Wind is considered to be the most important of these environmental causes. The relation­ ship between exposure to wind and catching cold is easy to see. The Chinese kanji for wind is combined

Kegirai

51

with the unspoken kanji for “ devil” to write ’’cold.” K e c h i (noun or kechi da, adjective verb) • An ill omen • Stinginess

This is from an old word keshi or keji meaning “ an ill omen” or “ jinx.” From here the meaning ” to find fault with others’ work or actions” developed. From this starting point the meaning changed several times. The meaning became “ with fear of being blamed” and then “ cowardice” and then “ crude.” The next change result­ ed in the modern noun meaning “ stinginess” and an adjective kechi na, “ stingy,” but it can mean ’’poor,” “small,” or ’’shaby.” The old meaning is retained in two idioms, kechi ga tsuku, “ to get an unlucky break,” and kechi 0 tsukeru, “ to throw cold water on someone’s scheme.”

K egirai •

(noun or kegirai sum, verb)

(idg*f)VT

• Dislike the color of fur • Prejudice

Kegirai is not just “ to dislike,” but “ to dislike without reason.” This word is from ke and kirai. Ke means “ hari” or “ fur,” and kirai became voiced to girai through rendaku*. Horse breeders sometimes found their attempts to improve their animals frustrated by a kck of attraction between a mare and stud. They explained this by saying that one, or both horses, did not like the color of the other’ s coat, kegirai. This word tame to be applied to people meaning “ to dislike

52

Kekko

something or someone without reason.”

K ekko

(noun)

• To construct a building • Good, splendid, and no thank you

This word originally meant to construct a building. In most cases the construction is good. Kekko came to be used to express praise or applause, such as in the proverb Nikko o mizu ni kekko to iu na, “ Don’t praise any place until you’ve seen it.” Kekko, meaning “ to be satisfied,” is easily changed into affirmative or negative. To answer if one would like coffee, Kohi o nomimasu ka? Kekko desu ne is affirmative. Ne shows that the second speaker has the same feeling as the first speaker. It would be nice to have a cup of coffee. The phrase is used like “ Yes, that would be nice” in English. On the other hand, Kekko desu almost always indicates a nega­ tive response. In this case it means that the second speaker is satisfied as is without coffee.

K e n mo h ororo

(noun phrase or kmm barmda, adjectival verb phrase)

• Bird calls • To be curt, blunt

Ken and hororo are both the calls of kiji, a common pheasant, familiar to the Japanese. This high pitched chirping sounds very blunt or curt to the Japanese. The chirping, ken, once reminded people of kentsuku, a now archaic word meaning “ to scold loudly.” People say ken mo hororo ni kotaeru, which means “ to reply curtly.”

Kesho

K e ri ga tsuku

53

(verb phrase)

• tto as-o
x -5 fc/v)

• A flat surface composed of a number of removeable screens _____•M ethodical, precise_________________________________

In the Heian Period screens, usually made of paper, used to divide rooms were called kicho. These screens, when arranged properly, formed a single surface, men. Properly placed, they are both attractive and practical, providing beauty and warmth. Japanese houses are built more with the heat of summer than the cold of winter in mind. There is very little insolation and large open areas to provide for air flow in the summer. Properly placed, screens are, therefore, a must in the winter. Kichomen incorporates men, “ surface” with kicho, “ screen” or “ screens.” This word means “ methodical” or “ precise.”

Kowai

K otow aru

55

(verb)

• ®t£

• To cut • To refuse

Kotowaru is a compound word from koto and warn, koto meaning “ thing(s)” and warn, “ to cut.” This word originally meant “ to cut or distinguish clearly.” Later, in the Edo Period, kotowaru came to mean “ to give a reason,” then “ to apologize” and later “ to give an excuse.” Now it means “ to refuse.”

K o w ai

(adjective)

• Hard, stiff • Afraid

Kowai, meaning “ fearful,” “ frightful,” or “ afraid,” originally meant “ hard” or “ solid.” The new meaning developed from the fact that when someone is afraid, his muscles become tense and hard. This is known as the fight or flight reflex. This tense state came to be expressed by kowai. Sekihan, literally meaning “ red nee,” is made by boiling rice and red beans together. It is eaten to celebrate a happy event, such as a birthday, or entering or leaving school. Harder than usual rice, sekihan is also called okowa, the polite prefix o* and kowai, in which kowai means “ hard to chew.”

56

Kudamono

K u d am o n o

(noun)

• Sftl (< tlt>s now found in otto, “ a husband,” originally ohito, “ a uiale person,” hito meanirig “ a person.”

74

Musuko

Hirne, once meaning simply “ a girl” or “ a woman,” came to be used in reference to princesses and upper class women, such as Kaguyahime, the moon princess, a famous story character. In modern Japan the nobility has lost its former prestige. Consequently, this word is now archaic. The male counterpart, hiko, “ a boy” or ‘‘a man,” is no longer used independently, but still found in men’s names. Hiko and hirne share the element hi, which refers to a power beyond human understanding. Hime and hiko may mean those born from this power. Hi refers to superhuman power that originated outside the realm of primitive people’s comprehension. Ohisan, one word for “ sun,” shares this etymology. Respect for the sun is shown by the use of hi with both o and san, two forms of politeness. The emperor’s family was considered to descend directly from Amaterasu, the sun goddess and chief divinity of the Shinto pantheon. A son-in-law is called muko and a daughter-in-law is called yome. What are mu and yo? Muko may be an ab­ breviation of mukauko, “ an invited child,” mukau being from mukaeru, “ to welcome” or “ to invite.” Yo in yome is thought to be of various origins, such as from yohime, yowame, and yokime. Yohime means “ an invited girl,” yohi from yobu, “ to call.” Yowame means “ a weak girl,” yowa from yowai, “ weak.” Yokime means “ a good girl,” yoki being now yoi, “ good.” Muko and yome, someone else’s son or daughter are distinguished from musuko and musume, one’s own son and daughter. Nowadays, muko and yome also mean “ a husband” and “ a wife.” Hanayome, “ a bride,” and hanamuko, “ a bridegroom,” both contain hana meaning “ a flower.” This refers to the newly weds as “ the flowers” or stars of the wedding party. A father calls his own son segare. This is from yasegare, which consists of yaseru, “ to become thin,” and kareru, “ to wither.” People speak of members of their own families humbly.

Natto

N arik in

75

(noun)

• t m (*t>SA d

• To become kin • New Rich

This word refers to “ the nouveau riche” or “ those who have recently become wealthy.” Spite, envy, and censor are conveyed by this term. This word is from nari and kin. Nari is the ren’yo form* of naru “ to become.” In shogi, Japanese chess, a pawn becomes kin, when it enters enemy territory. The name of this piece, kin, means “ gold.” In this way even the lowest can achieve power. Kin is also a Chinese pronunciation of kane, which means “ money.” Narikin does not mean “ to become money” but “ that the lowest has become powerful,” or, in these days, “ rich.”

Natto

( noun)

• UTS ( 4 ^ t -5)

• Temple storehouse • A soybean dish

Priests can not eat meat. They must get their protein from plants. Soybeans are full of protein and easy to digest. Priests made a sticky dish of fermented soybeans in the storehouses, called nassho, of their temples. The sbo of nassho is one Chinese pronunciation of the word for place, hasho. This changed to the more commonly used pronunciation to of tokoro, “ place,” in Japanese. Nassho became natto. Natto was imported from China in the Kamakura Period. Miso, “ paste,” and shoyu, “ soy sauce,” which are also made of soybeans, however, were originally Japanese.

76

Nehori hahori

N eh ori h ah ori • filO lW

(adverb phrase)

(fc K tm S h )

• To dig roots, to dig leaves • Inquisitively___________________

Nehori hahori tazuneru means “ to ask about every detail.” Ne is root, hori is the ren'yo form* of horu, “ to dig,” and ha is “ leaf.” It is impossible to dig leaves. To dig roots, to get to the root of something, is to know or inquire about something in great detail. Hahori is jokingly added to nehori to show that a person is too inquisitive. In a similar vein, ne mo ha mo nai uwasa, literally “ a rumor without roots or leaves,” means “ groundless rumor.”

N e k o b ab a

(noun)

• SStflf (LiCiTtf) • Cat dung • Embezzlement

Literally neko, "cat,” is combined with baba, a slang word often used by children meaning “ excrement” or “ feces.” This phrase came into use in the Edo Period. A cat quickly buries or covers its excrement. From this, acts such as finding a purse or wallet and not reporting it to the police care to be known nekobabasuru, suru meaning “ to do.”

Nekojita

N eko mo sh aku sh i mo •

77

(adverb phrase)

Oh; fc L * < Lt>)

• Woman and child • All the world and his wife, anybody and

^bod^

We can not be certain where this phrase came from, but the most probable explanation involves two pho­ netic changes. Neko is from meko and shakushi from jakashi. Meko means “ woman” and jakushi, literally, “ weak person,” means “ child.” Therefore, the original form meko mo jakushi mo is “ woman and child.” The phrase appeared in the Edo Period when the social standing of women, girls and boys under fifteen was far below that of adult males. Therefore, this phrase means “ even women and children." It also means “ people with no qualifications.” The changes in pronunciation from meko to neko and from jakushi to shakushi, eventu­ ally led to a change in kanji. This phrase is now written as cat and scoop, items often found in the kitchen, and easy to combine by association. It came to mean “ every­ body from a house” and now “ everybody.”

N ek o jita

(noun)

• iss- (ta ;i;fc )

• C at’s tongue • A person who does not like to eat or drink hot things

This is from neko, “ cat,” and jita, rendaku* form of shita, “ tongue.” Cats do not like to eat hot things. From this a person who does not like to eat or drink anything hot is called nekojita. Cats are very popular among the Japanese. Here are some other Japanese phrases involving cats, their literal translations

78

Nemawashi

and their real meaning in English: neko neko neko neko

ni koban no hitai nade goe ni katsuobushi

to give coins to a cat a cat’s forehead a cat’s crying voice to give a cat dry bonito neko no te mo karitai to want to borrow even a cat’s hand nekoze cat’s back

pearls before swine a small area a coaxing voice to give someone their favorite things to need all the help you can get a bent back or round shoulder

Note: Even more prevalent than phrases incorporating the word “ cat” is the ever present manekineko “ inviting cat statue,” seen in many restaurants or shops. In the Edo Period shop owners believed that when a cat used its paw to wipe its forehead a customer would enter. This superstition gave birth to millions of clay cats. They seem to be waving to customers but actually they are just starting to wash their faces.

N em aw ashi

(noun)

• 1S@E (faih iE )

• To loop something around the roots of a tree • Talk over in advance

This means “ to consult before a meeting so that a proposal will be accepted.” Originally, nemawashi was to dig around a tree, cut the thick roots and then to tie them so that the tree could be easily transplanted. Ne means “ root,” mawash't is the ren’yo form* of the verb mawasu meaning “ to loop something around” or “ to bind,” in this case, “ to loop a straw rope around the roots.” The embroidered apron of sumotori, “ wrestlers,” is called mawashi, as the belt is looped around the belly

N eta

79

of a sumotori. Now, it means “ to prepare the ground in advance” or “ to negotiate with everyone concerned or affected by a plan so that all may go well.” Note: Foreign business executives often label this com­ mon Japanese business practice as price fixing or cartel formation, practices illegal in western countries.

N eta (noun) • tit z

• Seed • A news item, (raw) materials

Neta is used by journalists to refer to “ a news source.” This word was coined by inverting the syllables of tane,"seed." The “ seed” is the news source. Neta is also used among sushi makers, meaning the fish, vegeta­ bles, and so on used in sushi. Another example of syllable switching is dafuya, “ a ticket scalper” or “ an illegal ticket-broker.” This is dafu and ya. Dafu is the reverse of fuda, a now archaic word for kippu, “ ticket.” The original order, fuda, lives on in nafuda, “ name badge” or “ name plate.” Ya means “ a seller,” “ dealer,” or “ store.” A third example is found in gen, “ an omen,” such as in Gen ga ii, “ The omen is good.” Gen was originally engi, which is now used as in Engi ga ii, meaning “ The omen is good.” Engi was changed to gien and then gen. At first gen was used to express a bad omen, but now it is neutral in sense. A common tree sazanka, a type of camellia, was once called sanzaka. It is still written with the kanji for mountain, san, tea, za, and flower ka. When seeing this word written for the first time, many Japanese are confused.

80

Nimaime

N im aim e

(noun or nemawashi sum, verb phrase)

• The second board • A handsome boy

Ni, “ two,” is combined with mai, a suffix used in counting flat objects such as paper or boards. Me shows that the phrase is used as an ordinal number such as sanninme, “ the third person,” or yottsume, “ the fourth one.” Eight boards are used to decorate the front of Kabuki theaters. The first board shows who owns the theatrical company. The second, nimaime, boasts the name of the leading actor, who, more often than not, is a handsome man, The third, sanmaime, announces the comic actor who serves as a foil for the leading actor. From this, nimaime clearly indicates a handsome or popular actor. Now the generalized term means any handsome man. Sanmaime has been generalized to indi­ cate a person who has a funny atmosphere or comic nature.

N y obo

(noun)

• IxM (G i •31*5)

• A court lady’s private quarters • One’s own wife

Nyobo was originally a private room used by court ladies. The kanji, nyo, means “ woman” or “ lady” ; bo means “ room.” In the Heian Period court ladies of high rank had their own rooms or nyobo. Eventually nyobo came to mean “ these court ladies themselves.” It was impolite to address superiors by name directly. It was good manners to use a word connected to them, such as their office, position, or building, instead. Nyobo indicated a court lady of high rank. Like

Ochido

81

kamisan and some other forms of polite address, nyobo s use slowly spread down in society. Lower ranking ladies and, eventually ordinary housewives, came to be called nyobo. (See Kamisan)

O cha

O

nigosu

(verb phrase)

• To cloud the tea

When one makes tea badly, it tastes bitter. At the same time, it becomes cloudy, nigoru. From this ocha o nigosu means “ to cloud the tea,” that is, “ to quibble,” “ to cover up,” or “ to do something to save face.” Another possible explanation is that in the Edo Period Chaban Kyogen, humorous plays produced by amateur groups, became popular. Both actors and the audience became involved in this -type of farce or burlesque. Occasionally ad libs and humorous exchange between actors and audience members made a shambles of the written script. Confused actors then had to ad lib, or bluff, their ways back to the next lines of the play. This was also called ocha o nigosu. The now dated verb chakasu, “ to make fun of,” came from this phrase, not from the noun chakasu, “ tea grounds.”

O chido

(noun)

• ISJf (Jb’ -biO

• To go along a secret path • Fault

This was originally otsu and do. The literal meaning is “ to go to excess,” “ to break out of bounds,” or “ to go too far.” ‘ Otr« is “ to go over” or “ to cross.” Do is

82

Odawarahyojo

“ degree.” In the Heian Period otsudo was to avoid a sekisho, a control station on the main road, by going along a secret path, or taking the back roads. Many place names, usually in mountain passes, include seki from sekisho, such as Seki in Mie Prefecture or Sekigahara in Gifu Prefecture. The most famous sekisho in the Edo Period was in Hakone, where people entering and leaving Edo, the capital, were checked. Special atten­ tion was paid to Iri teppo, de onna, “ Guns going into Edo and women going out of Edo.” The danger to the government of guns entering Tokyo is clear. The danger presented by women leaving the city is ex­ plained by the practice of employing women as spies. Later otsudo came to mean “ failure” or “ mistake,” as in Watashi ni wa ochido ga arimasen, “ I am not at fault.”

O daw arah yojo (noun phrase) • TEBUfFS {tstib ?>V-* 5 V z 5)

• Odawara conference • Inconclusive conference, fruitless debate

After the deaths of Oda Nobunaga and Akechi Mitsuhide, Toyotomi Hideyoshi wanted to expand the area under his control. From his battles in Kyushu and the Kansai he marched into the Kanto plain with an army of 300,000. The Hojo family and their retainers, numbering 50,000, were a major obstacle. Hideyoshi besieged the Hojo army in Odawara Castle, now in Kanagawa Prefecture. Entrenched in the castle, the Hojo family could not decide whether to counterattack or make peace. After debating their next step for one hundred days, the Hojo family was attacked and des­ troyed by Toyotomi’s army in 1590. The Hojo’s long meeting did not come to any conclusion. Today, any long, seemingly fruitless meeting is called Odawarahyojo.

Ohiraki ni suru

O fu k u ro

83

(noun)

• iJA < % • Bag • Mother

Ofukuro was once ofukurosama or ofukurosan. This is from 0 , a particle* to show politeness, fukuro, “ bag,” and the suffix sama or san. Ofukurosama meant “ a woman who kept a fukuro in which precious things were kept.” In the Kamakura Period a housewife kept the family’s money and other treasures in a fukuro. This important bundle consequently came to be called ofu­ kuro. Nowadays, most Japanese housewives still control the household accounts. The ofukuro has, however, been replaced by bank books and even stock portfolios. In Japan, household finances are so firmly under the housewife’s control that some Japanese men do not know their own salaries, but only the amount of the monthly allowance they are given by their wives. Another connection between the word “ bag” and “ mother” is that the womb was called kofukuro, literally translated, “ child-bag.” From this ofukuro could have developed.

O h iraki ni suru • JoHfl

T ?> (iSU

(verb phrase)

§ ic T 5)

• To open • To break up a party, to close a meeting

When a meeting is closed or brought to an end, the chairman or toastmaster will say Dewa kono hen de ohiraki to itashimasu, “ I’d like to close the meeting.” Ohiraki is 0 * for politeness and biraki, the ren’yo form* of hiraku “ to open.” Tojiru “ to close” is not used. On joyous occasions Japanese people avoid words like

84

Oishii

owaru “ to finish” and tojiru, “ to close.” In a wedding party the couple’s families and friends wish the new couple continued long life and good fortune. At the end of the Edo Period several books concerning wed­ ding etiquette were published. Many words including tojiru, kaesu, modosu, matamata, kasanete, and saru were taboo in weddings. Kaesu and modosu mean “ to send back.” These words can be associated with sending a bride back to her parents. Matamata and kasanete mean “ again and again.” These phrases can be associated with divorce and remarriage and are therefore avoided. Saru, “ to leave,” of course, could imply that a bride will leave her husband. Tojiru, “ to end,” needs no explana­ tion. These taboos are still found in modern Japan. Those invited to wedding receptions and asked to give a speech had better avoid these words.

O ishii

(adjective)

• Skilful, delicious • Delicious

This word developed from ishii, a word meaning “ skillful,” “ good,” or “ pleasant” in the Nara Period. Later it came to be used only by women to mean “ delicious.” Men used the word umai, “ delicious.” Later 0 * was added to show politeness. Over the centuries, as children learned from their mothers, this word came to be used by men as well. Nowadays, umai is also used for “skillful,” such as in hanashi ga umai “ to talk well.” Oishii almost always refers to food, although it can be used in reference to having interesting news about business, Oishii hanashi ga am, “ I have a profitable business proposal for you.”

Ojan ni naru

O isoreto

85

(adverb)

• Hey you! Yes sir! • At a moment’s notice

Oi is an interjection, calling for attention such as in “ Hey, you’” Oi is sometimes repeated, “ Oi, oi.” This rather strong command may be considered rude. Before World War Two oi was often used by husbands to wives. Sore is also an interjection corresponding to “ there,” as in “ There now, it has turned out all right.” This word was first used in the highly militarized Kamakura Period. When a man was addressed with “ Oi” he stood up to do as directed, shouting “ Sore.” Oi was also used as a reply to commands. Oi sore meant “ yes” and implied that the commands would be carried out without question. Today this phrase is most com­ monly found in, “ Oisore towa dekimasen.” This means “ I can not do it right away.”

O jan ni naru

(verb phrase)

• The fire is over • A total failure

In Edo fires occurred frequently. There was a fire alarm system includ­ ing many watch towers with bells to be rung in case of fire. In the country­ side, temple bells served the same function. By listening to how often the bell nearest them was being rung, people knew the approximate dis­ tance to the fire. Five rings meant that the fire was yery close. Four, three,

hinoimydgura (=uutck lower)

86

Okagesamade

and two rings showed more distance. One ring, which sounded like jan to the Japanese, meant that the fire had been extinguished, Jan came to mean “ end.” By adding the polite o *, the word ojan was created. This word meant that the fire was over. But later this meaning changed to an expression of sorrow for people whose homes had been burnt. Even­ tually the meaning changed to mean “ something was a total failure or a wash out.” In the expression jan jan sake o nomu, “ to drink one cup of sake after another,” jan is an onomatopoetic word from striking a bell continually. The repeated striking of a bell is equated to the repeated refilling of the cups.

O kagesam ade

(sentence)

• tsM fZ S t*

• With god’s help • Thank you for asking.

The question Ogenki desuka? “ How are you?” is often answered with the phrase Okagesamade,“ Thank you for your concern.” The same can be used when one is asked about things like winning a prize, getting a job, or passing a test. For example, Okagesamade skiken ni gokaku shimashita, “ Thank you, I passed the examina­ tion.” Okagesamade has four elements. 0 * shows polite­ ness. Kage, in this case, means “ divine power.” Sama shows “ a condition.” De shows “ by means of.” When everything goes well, people express thanks for it. From this okagesamade came into use. Kage has two basic meanings “ light” or “ the absence of light.” Tsukikage means “ moonlight” and kage o ukeru “ to receive light.” By extension, this has come to mean “ to receive divine power, help, or protection.”

Okusan

87

Kage also means “ shadow” or “ shade.” This can be found in a number of combinations. Hikage mono, literally “ someone in the shade,” means “ a social outcast.” Kageguchi, “ a mouth that casts a big shadow,” is “ backbiting.”

O kusan

(noun)

• is < § A

• woman at home • wife

In the Edo Period the houses of Daimyo and other high class samurai were divided into the omote and oku, the outer and inner parts. Omote was for the husband, while the oku was for his wife. Therefore, the wife, who was found in the oku, came to be called okugata or okusama. This usage came to be applied to wives of every class. The kanji gata, from kata through rendaku* , is the same as that for direction. This is another exam­ ple of being polite by avoiding direct reference to a person. One points and says ano kata rather than ano hito, “ that person.” Men often refer to their own wives as kanai, using the kanji, for inside and house. Sama is usually used after names, but, as in the above case, it can be applied to places, or sometimes things. In a restaurant a waiter may call out Kohl sama, “ Mr. Coffee.” When he does not know or remember who has ordered coffee, Kohl sama wa dochira desuka? can be used to ask “ Where is M r./ Ms. Coffee?” Although the question Kohl 0 chumon nasattanoiva donata desuka,’’Who ordered coffee?” is more accurate.

88

Omedeto

O m edeto

(sentence)

• isnbX'b -5

• To love • Congratulations!

Omedeto is from o* for politeness and medetashi. The early form, medetashi, was a compound of mede and itashi. Mede is the ren’yo form* of mezu, “ to love,” “ to be charmed,” or “ to be affectionate” and itashi was used as an intensifier. Therefore, medetashi meant “ to love very much.” In the Heian Period the meaning of medetashi j changed to “ propitious,” “ auspicious,” “ joyful,” or < “ happy.” Mezurashii, meaning “ rare” or “ curious,” is also derived from mezu, as rare things are loved. We can ask about a baby’s due-date by saying Omedeta wa itsu desuka. In this case omedeta is used as a noun, meaning “ birth.” Medetai is ironically used to mean “ stupid,” j “ silly,” or “ half-witted,” such as in omedetai hito, “ stupid person.” The phrase, “ Ignorance is bliss,” can have a more positive meaning than the ironical use of omedetai hito.

O m oshiroi •

(adjective)

(Jo fe LAvd

• A face beaming with happiness • Pleasant, funny, interesting

This word is from omote and shiroshi. Omote means “ face” and shiroshi is an old form of the adjective “ white,” shiroi. In this case, however, the meaning of shiroshi or shiroi is closer to that of “ shining,” “ bril­ liant,” or “ beaming.” A happy face is said to glow. Therefore, omoshiroi is a feeling of pleasure. A newer meaning of omoshiroi is “ interesting.” A verb related to shiro, shirakeru is literally “ to

Oogesa

89

become white, faded, or discolored.” Now it means “ to become indifferent” or “ to lose interest,” as in Za ga shirakeru, “ Everyone loses interest in the conversation.” It currently means “ spiritless,” as in shirake sedai “ spirit­ less generation.” Another Japanese word for funny is okashti, which originally meant “ tasteful,” “ graceful,” “ elegant,” or “ charming.” Warau, “ to laugh,” was derived from warn, "to divide” or “ to break.” When one laughs, one’s face divides or splits.

O ogesa

(noun or oogesa da, adjectival verb)

• A large sash worn by Buddhist Priests

This word is from 00 “ large” and kesa, from the Sanskrit word kashaya m ean in g “ red-brow n clothes.” It is a sash worn by a Buddhist Priest over his robes. There are two kinds, large and small. Oogesa, “ the large sash,” is rather conspicuous. From here the present usage “ ex agg erated ” appeared. The voiceless k sound of kesa became voiced through rendaku* as the second element of this compound word.

9

°

Oote

Oote

( noun)

• :*:¥ (t3isX)

• Literally chasing hand • Major

Many place names, especially in old castle towns, contain oote, such as Ootemachi in Tokyo, or Ootemae in Osaka and Himeji. Oote once was pronounced as “ oute” and meant an army attacking the front gate of a castle. Oute is made of ou meaning “ to chase’’ and te meaning “ hand,” in this case “ men.” Incidentally, an army that attacked the back gate was called karamete. The front gate came to be called ootemon or ottemon. As the front gate is most important, this term has been generalized to mean “ the most important.” We can find oote no kaisha “ important company,” oote no kigyo, “ important enterprise,” and oote no daigaku, “ important university.” The original kanji for chasing, ou, has been replaced by the kanji for large, ookii.

O rigam itsuki • f/ r O ff ifT S

(noun)

( f i O W o i )

• With folded paper

^^^ertifie^^^^enuine^uarantee^ This word is from origami and tsuki. Origami is from ori, the ren’yo form* of oru, “ to fold,” and garni is through rendaku* from kami, “ paper.” In this case, origami is not colored paper or the art of making figures by folding this paper. It refers to certificates stating that art objects and/or historical curios are genuine. Such certificates were written on a folded piece of a special paper, karasu no kogami. From this what is recognized as good and is trustworthy is called origamitsuki, tsuki being the ren’yo form* of tsuku, “ to attach.”

Osokarishi Yuranosuke

O roka

91

(noun or oroka da, adjectival verb)

• ig*> (&*>*>)

• To have a crevice • Foolish

Oroka has the same etymology as arai “ coarse” or "rough.” 0ro in oroka meant “ to have a crevice” or “ chink” and then “ random” or “ haphazard” and now “ dull.” Orosoka, “ neglect,” has the same etymology as oroka. Ka in oroka express a condition. This is also found in the words nameraka, “ smooth,” odayaka, “ calm” shizuka “ quiet” and wazuka “ few” or “ little.” In the Heian Period the word oro was combined with oboe, “ to remember,” and urooboe, “ a vague memory,” was coined. Through mimesis, orooro suru is used to express “ being flustered,” as in kare wa sore 0 kiite orooroshita, “ He was flustered to hear that.”

O sokarishi Y u ran osu k e • ®^!3

(noun phrase)

( X Z f r D LUb^W-rit)

• Late and the proper name Yuranosuke • To have missed the boat, have “ blown” it

Many people familiar with Chushingura, the story of the forty-seven rdnin, do not know that there were originally forty-eight. The forty-eighth rdnin, who was unable to arrive in time to help kill lord Yura Kozukenosuke and subsequently commit harakiri or suicide, was named Yuranosuke. Combined with an adjective osokarishi meaning “ to be late,” his name has become a common noun meaning “ someone who has arrived too late for something” or “ someone who is often late.” Osokarishi is archaic. Now osokatta is used. (See Ronin)

92

Osusowake

O susow ake

(noun)

• To give a kimono hem to others • To give a rarity, food, to others

This word consists of o, suso, and wake. 0 * is a particle for politeness. Suso is a “ kimono hem.” Wake is the ren'yo form* of wakeru, “ to distribute” or “ to share.” The original meaning was “ to give the hem or edge of a cloth, for example, a kimono, to another person.” In the Edo Period this word came to mean excess food, as well as cloth. When one is given a rarity as a present, he shares it with neighbors. As in other cultures, the Japanese grow closer to each other by dining or feasting together. Even in the current economic slump, foreign workers or visitors are sur­ prised by the amount of after hours socializing, eating and drinking, at most Japanese companies. This socializ­ ing goes back to the idea of sharing the hem, excess, with others. Note: Many books about Japan written for western readers point out the difference in the social structure of a culture based on the wet paddy cultivation of rice, like Japan, and a hunter-gatherer or dry field society, like Europe. In Japan large numbers of individuals had to work together, not just to plant and harvest rice, but also to maintain extensive irregation networks involving holding ponds and small canals. This led to a strong group spirit in Japan, just as local conditions led to individualism in Europe, where neighbors were compet­ itors for game, fish, and farm land. The strong group ties based on Japanese agricultural needs is reinforced by the mountains that criss-cross Japan turning much of Japan into a collection of isolated valleys. The clannish­ ness of these valleys may remind Americans of Appala­

Otsuri

93

chia and British of Wales. The Japanese strongly differentiate between people they know and people they don’t know— ucbi and soto, insiders and outsiders. The differentiation is historically based on the strong ties, almost exclusitivity, of agricul­ tural groups and valleys or villages. Therefore, sharing food, drinking together or helping a friend from your own village, school class, or university, takes on special importance to Japanese.

O tonashii

(adjective)

• f ok&Lt *

• Adult like • Quiet, calm

Otonashii consists of otona, which means “ adult” and rashii,“ \\ke.” A person who has grown up is quiet, calm, and gentle in most cases. This word is not related to oto, “ sound,” and nashi, “ without.” The etymological opposite of otonashii is yayakoshii, consisting of yayako and rashii. Ko, meaning “ child,” was appended to yaya, meaning “ baby.” Yayako, now archaic, also meant “ baby.” Therefore, the meaning of yayakoshii was “ like a baby.” From here the meaning developed “ to be difficult to handle,” and now “ com­ plicated” or “ troublesome.”

O tsuri

(noun)

• ij-o D

• The balance

This word consists of tsuri, combined with o* for politeness. Tsuri has something to do with fishing or

94

Oyaji

angling. Tsuru was originally “ to hang or hook some­ thing,” as in tsurigane, “ hanging, temple bell,” tsuribashi, “ suspension bridge” and tsurikawa “ a hand strap in the train.” Tsuru has now developed the meaning “ to attract,” as in otoko o tsuru, “ to attract a boy” or “ to draw,” as in me ga tsuriagaru, “ eyes are slanted.” A compound using tsuru is tsuriau,"to balance” Au means “ to fit” or “ to suit.” This comes from “ to pull or take from both sides.” Tsuriau is used in expressions like Ano fufu wa tsuriatteiru, “ The couple is well-matched.” Otsuri is from tsuriau. When a buyer pays more than something is actually worth, a seller must return change to create a balance between the money and offered goods or services.

O yaji

(noun)

• Old man • Father

Oyaji, slang for father, originally meant “ an old man.” Oya has the same etymology as the now archaic oyu, later oiru,” to become old.” J i is from an old word chi, “ man” or “ father.” Chichi “ father” can often be heard. The somewhat impolite term oyaji, on the other hand, is limited in use .

L

Oyatsu

O yasum in asai

95

(sentence)

• Please sleep _____*0 0 0 (1 night________________________________________

If you take it literally, this is the command to sleep with the polite prefix o * . Yasumu is “to sleep.” Nasai is a suffix showing an order, such as in ikinasai, “ G o,” or benkyo shinasai, “ Study.” It is strange that the person going to bed first would say Oyasumi nasai to those who will go to bed later. This phrase was originally Goyukkuri oyasuminasai. It was used to wish that those going to bed later will have a good night’s rest, not as a command. Goyukkuri oyasuminasai became Oyasuminsai, and then Oyasumi. lrasshai is heard when we enter a shop or restaurant. This is not imperative like Kochirae irasshai, “ Come here.” This is an abbreviation Yokoso irassbaimashita, “ How glad we are that you have come here.” A similar shortened case is found in Uso o Tsuke! (See Uso o tsuke)

O yatsu

(noun)

• Eight • A mid-afternoon snack, or snack

Yatsu is literally eight. 0 * is a prefix to show polite­ ness, such as in ocha “ tea,” or ohana, “ flower,” Before the Meiji Period, Japanese people divided the day into twelve periods. During the eighth period, what is now two o ’clock to four in the afternoon, a snack was served. In early days Japanese people had two major meals a day. In the Edo Period a sweet or snack was introduced at yotsu, “ four,” between ten and twelve in

96

Pan no mimi

the morning, and at yatsu in the afternoon. Though the Japanese have changed their way o f reckoning time, the word for the eighth period has survived to mean a snack eaten at any time.

P an no m im i

(noun phrase)

• /\”y © 5 (fcfA,©#.*)

• Bread’s ears • Heels or crusts of bread

In pan no mimi, pan is “ bread” ; no shows possession, and mimi means “ ear.” Mimi also means “ the edge” or “ corner,” just as ears are at the edge of one’s face. Mimi can now mean “ the edge of anything square.” The edge of a loaf of bread came to be called pan no mimi. Mimi 0 soroete kaesu, “ to pay one’s debts in full,” must be explained. Mimi was used to show the edge or corner of paper, books, and cloth. Then it was applied to the edge of ooban, “ a large oval Japanese gold coin,” or koban, “ small gold coins.” Eventually, it came to mean the coins themselves in the Edo Period. People said mimi 0 soroete ooban ju ryo kaesu, “ to pay back ten ryo (monetary units) of ooban in full.” Mimi 0 soroete refers to all the money to be returned arranged in neat rows for quick counting.

Pin kara kiri m ade

(adverb phrase)

• t” h T ') & X \ (tf%A> e. § 0 & ? ) • Literally from point to cross • From the best to the worst

Pin is the abbreviation of pinta, which means “ point” in Portuguese. Kiri is a corruption of the Portuguese

Rokudemonai

97

word cruz, “ cross” in English. Kara is “ from” and made is “ to.” This phrase is said to have started in the sixteenth century when Christianity was introduced to Japan by Portuguese and Spanish missionaries. They also introduced some kinds of cards to the Japanese, who soon changed the original numbers to Japanese style, with points and Chinese kanji numbers. In cards, as in dice, pin, Portuguese, pinta, meaning ’’point” or ” speck,” stood for one. Kiri, “ cross,” was used as ten. There is another possible etymology for kiri. The one mentioned above refers to cards in sets of ten The tenth, last, card was marked with the Chinese character for ten, which looked like a cross, kiri to the Por­ tuguese. In sets of twelve cards the last one is also kiri meaning “ the end” or “ the last” in Japanese. Therefore, pin kara kiri made meant “ from first to the tenth or last.” The current meaning, from the best to the worse, is exactly the opposite of the original as in Kinu no shitsu ha pin kara kiri made am, “ The quality of silk is from very good to very bad.” Note: The origin of Pontocho the name of Kyoto’s most famous entertainment area, is also related to the Portuguese word pin. The connection is unclear but perhaps was related to gambling.

R o k u d em o n ai

(adjective)

• Without land _____• Useless, good-for-nothing___________________________

This is from rokudemonashi, “a good-for-nothing fel­ low” or “ a worthless fellow.” Rokudemonashi literally means “ without land.” Roku is a loan word from China, meaning' “ flat land.” For farming flat land is easy to

98

Ronin

cultivate, most satisfactory. Roku came to mean “ calm" or “ right” , and then “ satisfactory.” From this connota­ tion the modern phrase rokudemonai, ’’good for nothinging” appeared in the eighteenth century. At present, roku meaning “ well” or “ enough” is always used in the negative. For example, Rokunakoto ga m i means mean­ ing “ It is not productive,” Kare wa roku ni ret mo iwanai, “ He did not thank (someone) enough,” and Kono atari ni wa roku na shokudo ga nai, “ There are no restaurants to speak of in this neighborhood.”

R onin

(noun)

• $ A (5-5 CAT

• A wanderer

Ro is from ruro, which means “ to wander” and nin is “ a person.” Both are Chinese character words. In Japanese the former is urotsuku and the latter is hito. In the Edo Period ronin came to mean “ a masterless samurai." Earlier, in the Heian Period it had meant "a wanderer without a census register.” Then in the Kamakura Period it meant “ a samurai who had lost his lord when his army was defeated in battle” or “ a person who was in prison.” The largely illiterate population of that time confused ro, “ prison,” with the ro of ronin. In the Edo Period ronin meant not only “ a masterless samurai" but “ one who visited many provinces to train himself in fencing.” In the Meiji Period the samurai class, which had strongly supported the previous gov­ ernment, the Tokugawa Shogunate, was abolished. But the word ronin, meaning “ an unemployed man,” sur­ vived. Now it also means “ a high school graduate who has failed to enter college and must wait, and study, until the following year’s entrance examination.”

Saba o yomu

99

A student studying one additional year after high school is called ichiro, the abbreviation of ichi nen ronin meaning “ first year ronin.” When ichiro is written in Chinese characters, it also can be read hitonami, which, in Japanese, means “ common” or “ average.” Ichi is “ one” ; ro is read nami, “ wave.” Therefore, Japanese say ichiro wa hitonami da, as a pun. This means “ to study one year to prepare for entrance examinations after graduating from high school is common,” as the entrance examinations of prestigious colleges are very tough. Incidentally, takuro refers to a high school graduate who studies at home to prepare for the following entrance exams. Takuro is an abbriviation of jitaku ronin, j i meaning “ one’s own” and taku, “ home.”

Saba O yom u

(verb phrase)

• s i ( s i f ^ ± t f ) • To count mackrel

^ ^ ^ ^ T ^ c h e a ^ r ^ e ll i n ^ o m e o n ^ h ^ jv r o n ^ iu m b e i ^ ^ ^

When many small fish, such as mackrel, are caught in a net, they are sold cheaply, and fishermen do not count them accurately. Saba, a type of sardine, is common. Yomu can mean “ to count,” although the usual mean­ ing is “ to read.” This phrase now means “ to tell someone the wrong number.” For example, saying you made six copies when you made seven.

IOO

Sabishii

Sabish ii

(adjective)

• gLV>

• Nothing to respect • Lonely___________

This developed from the Nara Period word sabushii, which meant “ there was nothing or no one that one could respect.” It could be implied that one could not see someone who should be there, or that one wanted something or somebody. In the Heian Period sabushii became sabishii. The meaning was “ to be wild,” as in solitary scenes of falling leaves. It also meant “ the solitary of sleeping alone.” By the end of the Heian Period, the aristocracy was hard pressed by the new forces of bushi. The nobles’ power, authority and economic basis had been greatly eroded. They felt lonely and solitary. From this time sabishisa, “ a feeling of solitary,” became the main theme of Waka poetry. By the Kamakura Period, sabishii was very clearly established as the main theme of all Japanese literature. Sabishii expresses the feeling of withering in winter. But it shows beauty, not sadness, and involves maintaining freedom of the mind from the influence of the new wealth and gaiety of the rising samurai and merchant classes, the noveau riche of that time. The aim of sabi is the exclusion of gaiety and gaudiness. It means to taste the course of nature quietly and find beauty in it. Sabi is the beauty of the mind free from things of the world. By enduring solitude and loneliness, one can learn to find beauty in them. (See Wabishii) Samui “ cold” is from sabui. Mu and bu are sometimes switched. This word has the same etymology as sabishii. “ lonely.” It conveys the image of a lonely person ostrasized from the warmth and companionship of the village.

Saikoro

Saikoro

ioi

(noun)

• Dice rolling • Dice

Invented in China, dice spread to Europe as well as Japan. In Chinese they were called shaitsu. In Japan this pronunciation was corrupted to sai. As early as the Heian Period, Emperor Shirakawa (1127-92) said that dice and the water of the Kamo River (in Kyoto) could not be controlled by any power or authority. Later koro was added to sai, maybe by children. Koro is a mimetic word to show rolling. Nowadays, saikoro is much more commonly used than sai. Note: Koro koro is a mimetic word, expressing continu­ ous rolling. Mimetic words are formed by associating certain sounds with certain conditions, for example korokoro to korogaru “ to roll.” These words are often expressed in pairs, sometimes with an alternation between voiced and voiceless in the first syllable. The voiced version goro goro expresses that something big is rolling. Korori indicates that something has rolled and then stopped. Korori korori refers to something that has rolled, stopped and then started to roll again. There are many onomatopoetic and mimetic words in Japanese, maybe because the Japanese have a tendency to describe not objectively after analysis, but intuitively. These words add greatly to the expressive nature of the Japanese language.

102

Saji o nageru

Saji O nageru

(verb phrase)

• S C ( S C « - * ( f & )

• To throw away a spoon • To give up in despair, to throw in the towel

Doctors used a small spoon, called a saji, when mixing medicine. It is said when a doctor thought that a patient would not recover, he threw away, nageru, this spoon. For example, Sono mondai wa mutsukashii node saji o nageta means “ The question was so difficult that I gave up.” Another phrase using saji is saji kagen, composed of saji and kagen, “ addition and subtraction.” This phrase means “ to use one’s discretion.”

Sakan a

(noun)

• & ( £ *> *)

• A side dish • Fish

This word, first used in the eighth or ninth century, consists of saka and na. Saka is from sake, “ Japanese rice wine.” Na means any vegetable or fish. This word originally meant “ a side dish or relish served with rice,” especially when served with sake. Sakana, meaning “ a relish,” next came to mean “ cooked fish.” Now it indicates any fish living or cooked. From the word na we also have nappa, “ vegeta­ ble” and also some fish names, such as funa, “ a type of carp,” iwana, “ a char,” and manakatsuo, a type of “ bonito.” When the consumption of vegetables in­ creased, na came to mean only “ vegetables” in most cases. Today we still call any side dish taken with sake, even cheese or peanuts, sake no sakana. In the case of

Sakura

103

fish sake no is redundant, as sakana is from sake and na. Sake no sakana can also mean singing, dancing, and chatting for entertainment when drinking sake. Now fish is called sakana, but it was originally expressed as uwo, now uo. Uo is seldom used, except in uogashi or uoichiba, meaning “ fish-market.” At an earlier time, Kansai area people distinguished uo from sakana, the former being living and the latter cooked. Now sakana is used far more often than uo, such as sakana tsuri, “ fishing” and so on. Osaka is sometimes called Naniwa. This place name is from na and niwa, “ fish” and “ garden.” The sea along the south coast of Osaka Bay, roughly speaking, the site of the new Kansai International Airport, was a rich fishing area. Nabe is a pot in which various vegetables, meat and fish are boiled. This type of cooking includes sukiyaki, mizudaki and many other dishes. Kanji exists for nabe. However, it was merely taken from Chinese to express this Japanese word. The real origin is na, “ vegetable or meat side dish,” and a rendaku* form of he, “ pot” or “ container.”

S ak u ra

(noun)

• Blooming flower • Cherry

The cherry blossom, sakura, is the national flower of Japan. Sakura is from sakuhana\ saku, “ to bloom ” and hana, "flower.” This word indicates the fact that cherry blossoms bloom and then fall after only a few days. The short duration of cherry blossoms’ beauty is emphasized by the word sakuhana. These beautiful blooms are soon replaced by leaves. ■

104

Sayonara

The Japanese of the Nara Period saw a direct causual relation between cherry blossoms and the annual rice harvest. Cherry blossoms were regarded as an expression of the power of the spirits, or gods, dwelling in cherry trees. Cherry blossoms were believed, in turn, to induce rice plants to blossom and bring about a good harvest. During the Heian Period the power of cherry blossoms and their supposed connection to the rice harvest lost importance. Instead, the cherry blossom was seen as an object of beauty. By the beginning of the Edo Period when one said flower, hana, it indicated sakura.

Sayon ara

(sentence)

• $ A fixed fight, a prearranged game___________________

This is from Yaoya no Chobei, who lived in the early Meiji Period. Chobei was a yaoya, “ grocer,” who had business with the Sumo Association. He sold lunch and tickets to sumo spectators. He sometimes played go with an important member of the Sumo Association. Chobei lost intentionally to flatter his opponent and thereby succeed in business. This became known among the sumo wrestlers. To lose a game by intention came to be called yaocho. The word came to be generally used to mean a fixed outcome in any game. The passion that many Japanese businessmen have for golf is well known in all countries. It may be less well known that some men bidding for contracts with other companies may strategically lose golf matches,

Yasashii

141

and large bets, to cultivate their business relationships. If there is any bribery involved in such an act it is very hard to prove. Note: The name yaoya means literally eight hundred types of goods. The number eight is considered lucky in Japan. It is written in two downward open strokes that can be compared as a gesture indicating full arms. The number eight hundred in this case was used to mean “many.”

Y asashii

(adjective)

• •¥>§ h n

• To become thin• • Easy, kind_______

Yasashii has the same etymology as yaseru, meaning “ to become thin.” Originally yasashii referred to the situation, in which a person was so troubled or embar­ rassed by his own mistake that he lost his appetite. People who were so troubled that they lost weight were seen as very considerate or gentle people. Since a gentle person is easy to handle, yasashii came to mean “ easy to handle” or “ easy.” The opposite of yasashii was muzukashii, now mutsukashii. It has the same etymology as muzukaru, “ to fuss” or “ to be peevish.” Its origianl meaning was “ sullen” or “ bad tempered.” From here its meaning became “ annoying” or “ bothering,” and then “ troublesome” or “ difficult.” Kyowa kodomo ga muzukaru means “ The children are fussy today.”

142

Zendama

Z en dam a

(noun)

• # 5 (-tfA, i i i ) • Good ball • Good people

Zendama is from zen and tama. Zen is a Chinese character, meaning “ good” and tama is “ a ball.” Tama was once used to mean “ a person.” In the Edo Period, in the early eighteenth century, Yomeigaku, the doctrine of Wang Yang-ming, was introduced from China. This philosophy teaches followers to cultivate their minds and to try to become saint-like. In this teaching there i are two poles, zen, “ good,” and aku, “ bad,” in every­ one’s mind. The zennin, “ good man,” was illustrated by drawing a circle as a face and writing the Chinese character meaning good in it. An akunin, “ a bad man,” was illustrated by writing the Chinese character “ bad” * in a circle. Tama, “ a ball,” is also a circle. A good man came to be called a zentama or zendama. Bad people were akudama. Oyadama means “ the chief” or “ leader,” as oya means “ parents” or, by extension, “ your supe­ riors.” Zendama is not related to philosophy or Zen Budd­ hism. The Zen school of thought developed in Japan during the Kamakura Period.

i44

A 1

APPENDICES

Common Elements 0 and GO

0 and go are used to express politeness. There may be a general rule for usage. 0 usually is used with native words such as (o)hashi, “ chopsticks,” (o)hanashi, “ story” and (o)kao, “ face.” Go is usually combined with words borrowed from Chinese, such as (go)kazoku, “ family,” (go)kekkon, “ marriage,” and (go)annai, “ guid­ ance,” as in Sono kyaku o sono heya ni goannai shitekudasai, “ Please show the guest into the room.” But there are exceptions. 0 is used for a few loan words from Chinese (o)ryori, “ cooking,” (o)benji, “ reply,” (o)kashi, “ candy,” and (o)keiko, “ practice.” The use of o with loan words was originally limited to women. Later men came to use them as well. In the Heian Period women usually used native words, as shown by the stories and essays written by women writers then. They only used o for politeness after they began to use loan words from Chinese. These words already used by men. So adding o for politeness was perhaps the “ politically correct” thing to do, as an apology to men for using ‘their’ vocabulary. Nowadays, ladies use o for loan words from Chinese but also from western languages, as in (o)shashin, “ pho­ tograph,” (o)yofuku, “ Western clothes,” (o)gessha, “ monthly fee,” (o)kocba, “ black tea” and (o)kohI, “ coffee.” Men usually do not add o to these words. So, When they do it seems very polite. Go is added to adverbs to show politeness, such as goyukkuri, “ taking time” or gomottomo, “ naturally.” There is another prefix for politeness, mi. This was once used only with something or someone noble, like

APPENDICES

145

mikado, “ emperor.” Sake dedicated to god is called omiki. This word combines two prefixes for politeness, o and mi, with ki meaning sake. Some words have different meanings when o is added. Teuchi means “ closing a deal” or “ reconciliation,” but oteucbi is “ capital punishment given personally by the lord.” Tetsuki is “ a manner of doing something by hand” but otetsuki is “ touching a wrong card.” Incidentally, in such words as omocha, “ toy,” okowa, “ rice boiled together with red beans,” and onara, “ break­ ing wind,” o is always used. If you take off o, mocha, kowa, and nara can not be understood. Mocha is from moteasobu, “ to play,” kowa, from kowai, meaning “ hard,” and nara from naru, “ to sound.”

2

Rendaku

Voiceless sounds, often word-initial sounds in the second elements of compound words, sometimes become voiced. This phenomenon is called rendaku. In the Heian Period priests created rendaku in order to chant Buddhist sutras as majestically as possible. But there are a lot of exceptions to rendaku. It is perhaps better to speak of tendencies rather than rules. First, rendaku often happens when the first element explains the second element, such as yamazakura, “ mountain cherry blossoms,” fiifugenka, “ a quarrel between hus­ band and wife, warabuki “ a thatched roof,” taiboku, “ a big tree,” and naegi “ young tree.” Second, rendaku seldom happens when the first and second elements are on an equal footing, such as yamakawa “ mountain and river,” and kusaki “ grass and tree.” Third, rendaku often occurs before and after n, such as bangasa, “ coarse oil-paper umbrella,” and donzumari, “ the end.” But these days rendaku is not followed by everyone. Some

146

a p p e n d ic e s

people say sankai, “ third floor,” or hirakana, Japanese characters, while others say sangai and hiragana.

3

Onbin

This may be called euphonic change, a sound change which occurs in the middle or end of words to make the pronunciation easier. Onbin occurs in root words or in verb or adjective conjugation; in the latter case onbin occurs regularly or obligatorily. In the Nara Period onbin sometimes occurred, but it happened more fre­ quently in the Heian Period. There are four kinds of onbin, that is i-onbin, u-onbin, batsu-onbin and soku-onbin. 1-onbin occurs in nouns when in gi or ki changes to i, as in tsukitachi to tsuitachi, “ the first day,” and in verb conjugations, such as isogite to isoide, as in isoide kudasai, “ Please, hurry up,” and kakite to kaite as in namae o kaite kudasai “ Please, write your name.” U-onbin occurs when i or ku changes to u, as in sumai to sumau (now sumo, “ wrestling” ) and as in the adjec­ tive conjugations such as in medetaku to medetau (now medetd as in Omedetd gozaimasu, “ Congratulations!” ) and waruku to waruu as in Watashi ga waru gozaimasu, “ I’m wrong.” (The change of au to o happened in the Muromachi Period) Hatsu-onbin is the change to syllabic nasal consonants and i, that is, bi, ni, mi to n, as in shinite to shinde, “ dead,” asobite to asonde, “ playing,” and yomite to yonde, “ reading.” Sokuon-bin is the change of a consonant and the following vowel, for example, i (originally wi) , ki, chi, or ri, to a long consonant. A few examples of this common change are found in utaite to utatte, “ singing,” mochite to motte, “ having,” and hashirite” to hashitte, “ running.”

APPENDICES

B 1

147

Conjugation Verb

*

Akinai is an example of the verb form called ren’yokei, or ren’yo form. This corresponds to the verbal noun form in English, such as “ running” in “ Running is fun.” This form has been widely supplanted by Chinese character words or by the use of the word koto, “ thing,” after the verb infinitive. However, examples of the ren’yo form can still be found. The word omoi, “ thoughts,” still exists in compounds like omoide, “ mem­ ories,” kataomoi, "unrequested love,” and omoidasu, “ to remind.” Omou koto or the past tense form omotta koto also exists. These words mean “ what (I) think,” or “ what (I) thought” as in Watasbi ga omotta koto wa machigatteita, “ What I thought was wrong.” Kangae, “ idea,” exists simultaneously with kangaeteiru koto, “ what is being thought.” Tsuri means “ fishing.” Yomi is “ reading” as in Yomi ga asai, “ (His) understanding of what he is reading is very low.” Kansai residents are familiar with the saying, Kyoto no kidaore, Osaka no kuidaore. Here we can find ki, the ren’yo form of kiru, “ to wear” and kui, the ren’yo form of kuu, “ to eat.” Daore is from the ren’yo form of taoreru, “ to fall down.” The whole sentence means “ If you dress as expensively as people from Kyoto and dine out as often and lavishly as people from Osaka, you will go broke,” literally “ fall down.” The conjugation of kaku, “ to write” is kaka, kaki, kaku, kaku, kake, kake. The first is called mizenkei, which is followed by nai or «; the second is ren’yokei, followed by masu or ta; the third is shusbikei, which is used to end a sentence; the forth is rentaikei, followed by nouns; the

148

APPENDICES

fifth is kateikei, followed by ba, and the last is meireikei, the imperative. As for verbs there are five conjugations, one being godan, which covers the most verbs. The others are kami icbidan, shimo ichidan, kagyo henkaku, sagyo henkaku. The following are examples of these five conjugations: mizen ren’yo shushi rentai katei meirei kaka kaki kaku godan kaku kake kake kako kai mi miru kami ichidan mi miru mire miro miyo shimo ichidan azuke azuke azukeru azukeru azukere azukero azukeyo ki kagyo henkaku ko kuru kuru kure koi sagyo henkaku sa shi suru suru sure seyo shi shiro se Mizen in mizenkei means “ not to happen yet.” kei means form. This form is followed by auxiliaries indicating negative and future. Therefore, kakanai means “ do(es) not write,” kakou “ will write.” Ren’yo in ren’yokei is from yogen, which means “ things with conjugation.” There­ fore, ren'yokei is followed by verbs or auxiliaries, both of which are conjugated. Kakimasu means “ write” or “ will write.” This is used as in Tegami 0 kaki, dekakeru “ I’ll write a letter and go out.” The ren'yokei is also used as a noun, like a gerund or infinitive in English. Asobi, “ playing,” hanashi, “ talk,” itami, “ pain,” and konomi, “ taste,” are used as nouns. The ren’yokei of every verb can be used as a noun, but today this use has decreased, as loan words from China are used to express abstract meaning. Shushi in shiisbikei means “ to stop.” It is used at the end of a sentence. Rentaikei has the same form as shushikei. Rentai in rentaikei is from taigen, which means “ noun” or “ pronoun.” Rentaikei is followed by a noun

APPENDICES

149

or pronoun. The Japanese language does not need relative pronouns, as rentaikei can modify the noun. Katei in kateikei means “ supposition.” This form is followed by a particle, ba, which is used for supposition, such as kakeba wakaru, “ if you write it, I will understand it.” Meirei in meireikei means “ command” or “ order,” as in Kake “ Write!”

2

Adjectival Verb

This is called Keiyo-doshi in Japanese and is a kind of adjective. The conjugation is similar to those of aux­ iliaries, such as soda, “ it is said that,” and yoda, “ seem­ ingly,” and this form is, therefore, called an adjectival verb. In Japanese both predicate and attributive adjec­ tives have the same form, as in sono hana wa shiroi, “ this flower is white,” and shiroi hana, “ a white flower.” Adjectival verbs, however, have different.predicate and attributive forms, as in kare wa kenko da, “ he is healthy,” and kenko na hito, “ a healthy person.” The following chart shows the conjugation of adjec­ tival verbs: genki “healthy”

mizen ren’yo shushi rentai katei meirei daro dat da na nara de ni

Mizenkei shows future, as in genkidaro, “ he will be healthy.” Renyokei is followed by yogen, that is auxilliaries, as in genkidatta, “ he was healthy,” genkideiru, “ he is healthy,” or genkininaru, “ he will be healthy.” Shushikei shows present affirmative, genkida, “ he is healthy.” Rentaikei is followed by a noun, as in genki na hito, “ a healthy person.” Kateikei shows supposition, as in genki naraba, “ if he'is healthy.” Adjectival verbs enable many

15°

APPENDICES

Chinese words to function as adjectives by means of na, as in benri na, “ convenient,” seijitsu na, “ sincere,” yuka~ na, “ brave,” and zannen na, “ regrettable,” and also kanji words ending with teki, such as attoteki na, “ over­ whelming,” inshoteki na, “ impressive,” and minshuteki na, “ democratic.” Loan words from western languages also become adjectives when combined with na. Ereganto na, “ elegant,” and kurashikku na, “ classical,” are two of many examples.

APPENDICES

C

T im e Chart

The beginning of each period is given: ------- About

10,000

B.C.--------

Jom onshiki Period --------- About 300 B.C.----------

Y ayoishiki Period ---------About 300 A.D.---------

Kofun or Y am ato Period ---------About 650 A.D.---------

A suka Period -----------------710-----------------

N a ra Period — ------------- 784-----------------

Heian Period ---------------- 1185-------------- —

K am ak ura Period ---------------- 1333----------------

M urom achi Period ---------------- 1573----------------

Azuchi M omoyama Period ---------------- 1600----------------

Edo Period ---------------- 1868----------------

M eiji Period ---------------- 1912----------------

Taisho Period --------------- 1926 ---------------

Show a Period ----1989—

Heisei Period

151

154

INDEX

A

B

abura o uru 3 ageru 67 aho 3 aikyo 5 akachan 5 9 akai 58 akanbo 5 9 akarasama 58 akarui 58 Akechi Mitsuhide 64,82 akinau 6 akindo 6 Akitsushima 6 akudama 142 Akutagawa Ryunosuke

baji tohu

27

C

A m aterasu

74

Amenohiboko anko 28

63

Arai Hakuseki 12 aratamaru 8 aratameru 8 aratamete 8 ariawase 109 arigato 7 Ashihara 64 Ashiharashiko 64 Ashikaga Yoshimitsu atarashii 8 atogama 8 aro no matsuri 9 aun no kokyu 9 ayashii 10 ayashimu 1 o

baka

n

12

banzai 1 3 Benkei 1 3 , 3 2 benkei no nakidokoro 1 4 benkei no nanatsu dogu bikkuri 1 5 biwa 30 Bocchan 70 Bodhidharma 3 9 bozu 1 5 bozuatama 1 5 bozugari 1 6 bushi 100 chaban kyogen 8 1 chakasu 8 1 chanpon 1 6 chawan 1 6 Chikamatsu Monzaemon 24

26

chinpun kanpun 1 7 chochin mochi 1 7 Chushingura 9 1 Clinton, Bill 140 cruz 9 7 D dadakko 1 8 dada o koneru dafuya 7 9 daidokoro 1 8 daikon yakusha daimyo n 8

18

r9

INDEX

dan 60 ddnapati 20 danka 20 danna 20 dannadera 20 danto 20 darashinai 20 daruma’s teaching 3 9 Datum a Taishi 3 9 dashinuku 1 1 8 dasoku 21 date 21 Date Masamune 22 doke-geki 3 domo 7 donburi 22 donburi bachi 22 dosakusa 23 dosamawari 23 dotanba 23 Dozaemon 24

E engi

79

F

fugainai 25 furoshiki 25 furoya 26 fushiawase 109 fushidara 21 futatabi 121 G gametsui 26 garakuta 27 Genji 32 geta 'o azukeru

27

155

geta o hakaseru 27 go 140 gochiso 120 gohan 5,37,44 gohantsubu 63 gomakasu 28 goma o suru 29 gomasuri 29 gonedoku 1 8 goro goto tot gyujiru 29 gyunyu 29

H hachimaki 23 hadaka 58 hade 30 haiku 45,53,69 Hana 27 hanasu 30 handon 31 hangan biiki 32 hara 3 4 hara ga tatsu 32 haragei 3 3 harakiri 9 1 harapeko 3 3 hare 3 4 hareru 3 4 haruka 3 4 hasami 106 hasamu 4 hashi 3 5 Hashiba Hideyoshi 64 hashigozake 3 5 hatsu-onbin 6,49,61 hechima 36 Heike 32 , I I 4

i 5 125 tsubazeriai 105 tsubo 124 tsugunau 6 tsukikage 87 tsuki to suppon 128 tsuma 128 tsumahajiki 129 tsumamu 128 tsumasaki 128 tsumayoji 128 tsumazuku 128 tsume 128 tsumeru 4 , I29 tsumetai 129 tsuriau 94 tsuribashi 94 tsurigane 94 tsurikawa 94 U u 131 uchi 9 3 uchi benkei

14

udatsu ga agaranai 13° uma 11 umai 84 unagi nobori 131 unagi no kabayaki I 3 I uno me taka no me 132 unomi 132 uo

103

161

u-onbin 6,116 urameshi ya 133 uramu 133 uranau 6,134 urayamashii 133 urayamu 133 urooboe 91 uso o tsuke 134 uyamuya 135 W

wabi 135 wabishii 135 waka 3 1 , 6 9 , 5 3 , 1 0 0 H 4 , 119 wakaru 136 Wang Yang-ming

warau 89 warugashikoi

142

48

Y

yabuisha yaji

115

137

yajiuma 1 1 , 1 3 7 yakimochi 137 yakitori 131 yakuza 118,138 yamabushi 28,41 yama no kami 4 7 , J 3 9 yaocho 140 yaoya 141 yari 106 yarikuri 106 yarn 67 yasashii 141 yaseru 141 yayakoshii 93 yome 7 4

162

INDEX

yomeigaku 142 yugata 123 yunomi 38 Yura Kozukenosuke Z zen 39 zendama 142 zennin 142 Zontag

31

zurugashikoi

48

91

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