WhatmakestheJapaneselaugh? MANGAJIN I I. Mangafor Career Woen New Year'sDishes 6 2> 0744 70786009 JAPANESE POP CULTURE &LANGUAGE LEARNING $5.50 1997: Year of the Ushi J .J i 0 Manga page12 I 7After Zero77-1- 0 The ''Devil's Seeds" start to reveal thei r devili hnature. 3 8Kacho Baka I clzidai ..& J\tJ-1t With much pomp and circumstance, the section chief makeslunch. 42Our Tono-sama-?"S(J) i 44App-Install lv 46American Comics7f.')tJ (J) iiiD Oilbert and Gaifield- in Japanese. 66Minori Demetsuh. (J) fi m Ayoung 'womantakesa chance and quits the job she hates. Can she make it asa freelancer? 84Yarikuri Company ? . -c . t"t".i:ljl"& t)T v' ,':. t:L"\':;'d:-iffi ', \ L i T o t.: f91J,:. IIU !T!JI1!1!il'll' ll I(,, :;- iJfr i iL- .1: J0m (I') t a v' m ?II !. t:. ; 0) .::L I .:c 7 .hi-1 t)iL -r. tV7 ? Lt.:. o Lt.: l?!l!ti

t p"(){ d "' i hNRT t ."No, I just wanted J!l\A.to see yourDodge."( bb;5 t)1:)!?: t.:(;j:t.:.:; nt .R. t.:. I.:11: iJ' ? t.:iJ' I? "T:i' )tiv' iLt.:. o {l c tt ii"o U\L"'Jf:. :t- L -r t.:oo?l;t.:"' ilt.:.l: i;fiLt Lt.: l:.:. 1:> .t-=> When Tanaka Kakuei[Prime Min-iter of Japan from1972-74]was theMini ster of International Trade andIndustry, Iinterpreted for him andDr.Kissingerwhentheymet over breakfast at a certainhotelin Tokyo.Thistory appeared inthe papers, so it's noecret, but on this occasion Mr. Tanaka said, "Japan is purchasingmanyforeign goods. Forinstance,myownpenisan import,andmy carisaDodge." Dr.Kissingerwaslis te ning appreciati vely. The meeting ended, and Mr. Tanaka was to go tothe MIT! offices. Mr. Kisinger offered, "Let me see you off."Mr. Tanaka expressed his ap-preciation as they walkedoutof thebanquet room andtoa waiting car. Thedoorman j umped to open the car door. Lo and behold, the car was not a Dodge. Mr. Tanaka said, "Thank you for your trouble," so I interpreted, towhich Dr.Ki ssingerreplied."No. I j u. t wanted to see your Dodge ... This could be taken as a scathingly ironic comment. Being a dedicated professional, I promptly called Mr. Tanaka's secretary andrelayed to himthe derails of the incident.I was informed that Mr. Tanaka did own Mangajin15 T aly ak u ) f , J1 ' l:r;t,-fCT) 1c'O)OO>b-t-ht!ft!1!!:11l.0) -/Jf ib.o Nanpito mokonoraneokokugainidashitewa naranu. everyone/no onethisllheseseeds (obj.)outside of the countrytomust nottakellet out '"No one must take these seeds outside the country."' "'These seedsmustnot be permittedto leave our borders."'(PL2) 000)I\': fle-J-"'l.. o KuninotamiIto tame nit.wkaubeshi. countryofpeople/populaceforuseshould/must "'Themust be used onIfor theeole of this countr. "'(PL2) >> L::..0)1i11Ut.t;Cft-'->""xm:it!Jn'->-r- .1:>-?o Moshikonokinoyabureba,osoru-bekisaiyakugaotozurerude aro. ifthisprohibition(obj.)if tear/breakfearsomecalamity(subj.)will visitprobably/surely '"If anone violates thisrohibitionafearsome calamitshall befall the land."'(PL2) nanpito is aliterary/archaic equivalent for dare ("who"); nanpito mo in an affirmati ve sentence means "everyone," and in a negati ve sentence, 'not anyone/no one." kokugai literally means "outside of thecountry," and ni marks it as a destination. naram1is aliterary negative form equivalent to naranai, so dashite wa naranu is equivalent to dashite wa naranai, a 'must not'' form of dasu ("take/let/put out"). no tame ni isliterally "for the purpose/sake/benefit of' ......"for." beshi after theplain, non-past form of a verb can variouslymean "can/should/must." Beshi is aholdover from classical Japanese, and although its modifying formbeki is still very common, the dictionary form beshi is now relatively limited and sounds archaic; it's usuallyreplaced by beki da/desu at the end of sentences today. One place beshi continues to be seenis on public signs giving instructions of one kind or another. moshi typically works together with a conditional formlater inthe sentence to give the meaning of "if '; yabureba is a conditional ("if/when") form of yaburu (''tear," or inthe case of a rule/law/prohibition, "break/violate"). osorubeki combines an archaic form of the verb osoreru ("fear") with beki ("should/must"), making a modifier that literally means "shouldbe feared/isto be feared'' ......"fearsome/frightful."Osorubeki saiyaku ="fearsome calamity." orozureruliterally means "visit" ......saiyaku ga otozureru ="calamity will visit/befall[us/the country]." de ariJ is the conjectural form of de aru, which is a more literary/formal equivalent of da/desu, so it's essentially equivalent to dariJ/deshiJ ("is probably/surely''). (cominued on next page) Mangajin23 7' 7 - 0After Zero , 24Mangajin IIJKamimura: ..., "i.'Tbo HijiJ nikyiJmi-bukaihanashidesune. extremelyinteresting/curiousis(colloq.) "It's a most interestinisn't it?"(PL3) Umezawa:-t$t-t ... Kamimura-kun . .. (name-fnm.) "Ms. Kamimura (PL2-3) [!) Kamimura:.fl.li-1-t.:c'A.f.t. -*7.>Q)IJ',:::.Q)B:bo Ku::.e-san.\Vawshill'aiuaidonna.wiyakugakuruno ka.konomedemile miwi desu11'0. (name-hon.)Umcfor (emph.)" hat ktnd of calamlt) will come(e,plan.-?) the-.eC)C\"ithwould like to sec(fern. colloq.) " Mr. KuzeI' d like to see with my_owntwo eyes ustwhatkind of calamitwill come."(PL3) iuai anfor question so it can be like "[What]in the world?/[ How] on earth?/[Wherc[the blaes'' or ''just rwhat kind of - ]?" mileis the-1eform of mint ("sec/look at"). and millli is the "want to'' form of the same verb.A fonn of mim after the-le form of a verb implies "do the action and sec what happens.'' iuai donna saiyaku ga kuru no kais a complete queMion('just what kind of calamity will come?"), and aform of mim after a complete embedded question endingin kaanindirect question - ''I want to see just what kind of calamity willcome.'' Narration: Q)fj-=f,MR-99Q)IJftlfii-:Jf.::o Akuma no Shushi,Emu-iiru kyiijiikyiiflOseisangalwjimaua. devil'sseeds(seed variety)of production (subj.)began -fl.."([ltW- 1: Q)f.!.-:Jf.:.o Soshilesekaikakkokuniyushwsu sarewno daNa. andworldvarious countriestowas exported(explan.) Production of the Devil's Seeds, MR-99beanand the (PL2) hajimaua is the plain/abrupt past form of hajimam ("[something.! begins"). ortedto countries arouncUhe world. kakkoku canmean either "each/every country or various countries": sekai kakkoku =''every country inthe world" or various countries around the world." Narration:(j: !::ttl! Saishoua1ochi110ma::.ushiikunigunini. atfir;ta'>for (subj.)poorcountne'to At first to countries with poor soil.(PL2) 10chi no ma:ushii is a complete thought/ ("[their[land/soilis poor") modifying kunigu11i ("countries"). Narration:-ftti?Q) 't'(!) I... ... , lilt*"(,ft!!Q) Sore-ra 110 kuniguni denosubarashiiseikaomite,hoka nokunimo arasoltek01wshushiokonyii shila. thosecountriesinthat werespectacular(obj.) seeingothercountriesalsovyingtheseseeds (obj.)purchased. Seeing the results obtained in those countriesother countries vied with one another to pur chase the seeds.(PL2) de 110after aplace name is literally like ''that is in/at [that placel" or ''that was in/at [that place].'' Context determines the tense. Sore-ra no kunigu11i de 110 subarashii seika ="the wonderful results that were [obtained] in those countries.'' miteis the -tefom1 of miru ("see"); the -1e formis here being used to indicate the cause or reasonfor what follows. arasolle is the -lefonn of arasou ("compete/contend/vie''). Narration:;:' {r: L Q) Go-::.onji no kawmoiru10onrouga.shushisangyo110kyokyfi stmt (hon.)-l.nowpeoplealsoexist(quote) thinl.buthubj.)tiFftfl bTsumari,noluJwamairoshikigyo110J.:-yokyii surus/mshi in other wordsfarmersas foreach yearindustry(subj.)suppliesseeds(obj.) In other words. each year fanners are forced to buseeds suand . .. kigyo no kyokyii sttru isa complete thought/sentence ("the industrysuppl ies [them]") modifying sltushi -+ "seeds the industry supplies." kawazaru is anegative form of kau (''buy''); the -zomo ezu (or enat) form of averb means "can' t help but/have no choice but to/must [do the action]." The sentence continues to the next fr.tme. [}]Narration:-ftt.-/)tfi+([)/j:([)'t'j;l.>0 soregashusltisangyiJno seimei-sennano de artt. that(subj.)seed'slifeline(is-explan.) that is the seedindustry's lifeline.(PL2) de aru is amore formal/literary equivalent of desu.so na no de aru is essentially the same as na no dalde.w. usedwhen makingexplanations. Narration:1995iF Sen-kyiihyaku-kyiijiigO-IJe/1 1995 Umezawa:Qt..:;t!!t..: :d.:.3iF\.",MR-99tjll: !fit1]' Jc:'t' Mitamae!!Tattasannende,Emu-liru kyiijiikyii wasekaikamugishijode seellook-(command)a mere3 yearsin(seed variety)as forworldwheatmarkerin/of 30%([):,; .:r. 7t6 .> 1.>1: :d.:.o sanjuppiisento nosheaoshimeruniitatta. 30%ofshare(obj.)holdtoreached "Look! In a mere 3 years,MR-99 has reached thepoint of holding a 30% share in the worldwheat market." ''What did IteUyou! MR-99 has gained a 30%share of the world wheat market in 'ust 3ears!"(PL2) the suffix-ranwe attaches to the stem form of a verb (mi- is the stem form of miru,seeiJookat") to make a strong, authori-tarian command. Here it carries the tone of "Look/see, il' s jus t as Isaid!/What did Itell you!'' no makes 30% into a modifier for sltea ("share"); 30% 110 sltea = a share of 30%." - ni itatta is the past form of ni itaru, which means 'reaches as far as- : 0Executive A:.1':>c - iF-r50%tA!& X.1.> dtti:'t'T o Atoicltinendegojuppiise1110okoerukeisandesu. moreI yearin50%(obj.) calculation "Our calculationsindicate it will surassSO%in another year."(PL3) ato icltinen de gojupplisemo o koeru is a complete thought/sentence ("[it] will 50% in another year'') modifying keisan ("calculation''). [Ij Executive 8 :7.:/.'J7Jn' t;,([)JQJ..A f.{bC' !v C' !v.:t -r v'-tlj: o AmerikaknranokOnytl-siimodon donfuete imasuna. USfromthat arepurchase/order quantitiesalsorapidlyare (colloq.) ' 'The orders from America are also increasinrapidJy."(PL3) konyii ="purchases/purchasing,'' and -sii isasuffixmeaning number/quantity," so konyt7-sii ='' purchasequantities." Si nce kara means ''from,"Amerika kara 110konyii-sii can mean "quantity of purchasesfromAmerica,"but the context shows he' s talking about purchase orders comingfromAmerica rather than purchases Japan is making fromAmerica. f uete imasu is the polite form offuete iru (''are increasing"). from f ueru ("increase"). Umezawa:777,b lvt-2o,1;([):ft.tf.:klil1:A,-?-f([).f.Rt-:/c IJ-?lt"C 1.>tIlj: o Fuf uf u,ltiniku na 111011da.A noslwkuryo taikokuni imayasonosltusltiouritsukete-rutowana. (smug laugh)ironicthingisthatmajor food countrytonowof/for that;eeds(obj.)me(quote) tiSfor (colloq.) " Hehheh, it's isn't it-how we arenow sellinseedstothat agricultural superpower."(PL2) Executive 8 :l...n' L..li!ff!J'ti-r-tn' t;;,v 'ftt*Jf'..O{.f'/J{ Sltikaslrikomugiwasenryakubusshidesukara.i::.ureBei-seifuga burwheatforstrategiccommodityisbecauseeventuallyUS gov.(subj.) fiiin''Fttr -? -r t -t n{o nanikateo wte kurutoomoimasuga. somethingwillrake action(quote)rhink/cxpecrbur "But wheat is a strategic commoditso I ex action aainst us."(PL3) shokuryii =... and taikoku isliterally "great/major country":- taikoku is a label for designat-ing countries that are major producers of the specified item or that are superpowers in the specified field: sltokuryo taikoku = "major food produci ng country" agricultural superpower'' (cf. kei;:.ai taikoku = "economic superpower"). imaya is an emphaticform of ima ("now"). sono shushi ="seeds of/ for that"-here implying theseeds responsiblefor sustaining the USas an agricultural superpower. uritsukete-ruis a contraction of uritsukete iru, from uritsukeru. a combination of um ("sell") andtsukeru: -tsukeruafter the stems of certainverbs implies the action is directed forcefully at something or someone. so uritsukeru iused when speakingof a salefrom theseller's pointof view-especially when astrong seller is in aposition to dictate terms. the sentenceis inverted: normal order wouldbe a flo sltokuryo taikoku ni imaya sono slmshi o uritsuketeru towa hiniku llCI 1110 11 da flO. teo utte kuru isfromtheexpression teo utsu ("takeaction/takethenecessary measures Itoresolveaproblem]").Kuru ("come") implies that the action willbe directed towardthe speaker "ItheUS government 1wi lltakeaction against us." Mangajin27 7' 7:$1- 0After Zero 'btli =t:JgJJj.-(7).G-:t:J-t-11. (;:::1 (J)';t "t"T o shokuryojuyoosasaerunowahijo nikikendesu. fooddemand(obj .)suppon(nom.)as forextremelydangerousis "Butwithout limiting [the discussion]to MR-99, asfor having asinglevarietyof acrop to support our food needs, itis extremelydangerous." " But speaking not onlof MR-99it's extremely dangerous for us to rei fill our food needs."(PL3) Expert:MR-99 Emu-lim kyt7jiikyt7wa,imomasa-nisonari-tslltsu arimasu. (seed variety)asfornowtruly/indeedthat wayis becoming "MR-99 isindeed even now becoming that way." "That's precisely what we are on our way to doinwith MR-99."(PL3) kagirazu is equivalent to kagiranaide, negative te formof kagiru ("limit/restrict"). no is a nominalizer that makes the complete thought/sentence isshurui no sakumotm ga shokuryi5 juyi5 o sasaeru ("a single variety of crop supports food demands") act as a single noun. andwa marksthatnoun as the topic: "as for having a si ngle variety of crop support food demands, ..." arimasu is the polite form of aru, and -tswsu aru after a verb implies "[the action] is even now occurring/being done." Nari- is the stem form of naru ("become"), so nari-tsmsu aru = ' 'is even now becoming... Expert:-:JL-tO Q):1--'\'-71;..- :;;..- Q) bff-T.t -?1: Sen-kyt7hyaku-nanajii -nennoMekisltikon Junnoreimoshimesuyo ni 1970yearof"Mexican June"of examplealsoindicatesas/like -fitJf6;:trTJ.>1:{>tJf tan'itsu-slwgasen.'yi'i surukokusochitainimoshibyogaichiigahassei shitara monoculture(subj.)occupiesgranaryterritoryinifdisease-carrying insects(subj.) if appear/break out (continued on next page) Mangajin29 7'79- 0After Zero 30Mangajin kokuso = c}]ljfl)t(!)t.=o Watashigashinpai de naranainowa . . .nanika . . .morrobets11 110moooda. I(subj.)am deeply worriedthingas forwmethingmore/quitedifferentthingis "as for the thing that deeply worries me ... it is something... a thing much different." " what worries me so much is .. something .. quite different."(PL2) shinpai is a noun for ''worry/concern/anxiety; shinpai da = "am/is/are worried," and shinpt1i de naranai is essentially a very emphatic expression for "am/is/areworried.'' Kuze:MO'J..!/f:t;f(!).f.fi(- 1:. fl)iJ'? Na:e.Akuma mlShushiokokugainidashite 11' 0naranaino ka? whydevil's'eeds(obj.)of the countrytomust not take/let out(explan.-?) " Whis it that theDevil's Seeds must not beermitted to leave the countr?"(PL2) dashire1\'0naranai a'must not" form of daSII ("put/let out''). Kuze:l'l&.rYt.:.0041;1 c(!)l'-''1:.fiUt.'t'li>.Qo Horobita k1miguniwasubere.ringolwto110tatakainiyaburete iru. ruinedcountriesas forallneighboring countrieswiththat arewarsinwere defeated "All of the countries that went to their ruin were defeated in wars with their neibors."(PL2) {>L...(/)t.J1. r- nr!;1001::iii'.) t.:..: ctJfw.1:til.",tJf Moshi.Akumano Slrushigaringokuniwatattakotogagen'indetatakaiga ifdevil'sseeds(subj.) neighboring countriestocrossed overthing/situation (subj.) causebeingfighting/war(subj.) Mii:d.:.(/)fi.Jt:iffil)C'-'''?.:chajimallanonara,densersu-doritoiukotoni naru. began(explan.)if itisexactly according to legend(quote)saythingbecomes "If it is theca e that the wars began because of lhe situation that theDevil's Seeds crossed over to a neigh-bori ng country, then it means thaiit is exaclly accordingto the legend." " If those wars started because the Devil's Seeds crossed over to the nei bears out the Ieend."(PL2) horobita is the plain/ abrupt past form of horobiru ("fallto ruin"): horobita kuniguni ="the ruined countries/the countries thatwent to their ruin." yaburete iru isfrom yabureru ("be defeated''). waraua is the plain/abrupt pastform of wataru ("cross over''); ni marks the place to which someoneor something crosses over. Akunza no shushi ga ringolm ni K'atana is a complete thought/sentence ("the Devil's Seeds crossed over to a neighbor-ingcountry") modifying koto ("thing.'' but here referringmore abstmctly to a 'situation"). - go gen 'in de= ''with being thereason/cause" or "because of - : hajinuara isthe plain/abrupt past form of hajimaru (''[something] begins"). 110 nora = "if it isthe case that .'' to iu koto ni naru (lit., "becomes a thing described as often equivalent to "means that." Kuze: n{;-nJ:-'.>1:. .

fiT->?1.1'? ShachiJgoiuyo ni,ramwrushushiomeguruarasoini suginainodarou ka? co.pres.(subj.)say;likemere/,implcseeds(obj.)center onconllicti> nothing more than (explan.)I wonder? "I wonder if, as our company president says, they were simply nothing more than conflicts centering on a seed?" "Could theresident be riht in saying that the countries were simIfihting over a seed and there wasnothing more to it than that ?"(PL2) - ni suginai is an expression for only/is nothing but/is nothing more than- ... shushi o meguru {"'it centers on a seed") modifies arasoi {"fighllconnicllwar"): 'fighting/conflicts centering on a seed" "'fighting over a seed:(cominued 0 1111ext page) Mangajin31 iJf.:ftlR* tt --rL. i:'c tit:: fiiJ1:!;{* "?*< * L.t:: "(' t.t l' "(' J: !! (' n l;t ' 'i:' tfj t:: t! "P:

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(' 7' 711- 0After Zero

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, (continued from previous page) Kuze:-ftL t{>,1!1-""fEl1.:Mi.PO) 1JfifJ .00)t! 0? -IJ''? Soretomo,shushiJltalninanika nohimitsugaamnodaro ka? orseedsthemselvesinsome kind ofsecret(subj.)exists(explan.)I \\Onder ' 'Or do the seeds themselves hold some kind of secret?"(PL2) Kuze:r:,JJt...I KamimuraHakau. . .I

wake situation nanimo '/J(.Oo nazogaiJ-.mgiru. heras well."(PL2) .f.I(:1Jtftt.:*.0HiTl;t demo noku,wagashanikurumaewa even is not something likeour companytocomebeforeasfor l.. 't'lt''ilt' o shite inai. o-sugim is from the adjective iii ("are numerous/many"'), and the suffix -sugiru means ''too much/excessively." so o-sugiru ='are excessively many." Nazo ga o-sugiru is literally "the mysteries are too many." taisllita ="considerable/of considerable merit"; when combined with a negative it often becomes ''of no particular merit.'' - wake demo naku is a continuing form of- wake demo noi, a slightly more emphatic equivalent of - wake de wa IUii (or- wake ja nai: literally. "it's not the case/situation that -")---+ "it's not the case that she graduated from a considerable university." kore to itta is the past formof kore to iu, which means "of particular note/import/significance''-though it's usually fol-lowed by a negative to give the meaning ''of no panicular note/not any- of panicular note." etc. Similarly, nanimo works together with anegative later inthe sentence to mean '' not anything/nothing.'' Shite inai is the negative form of shire iru (''has done''). from suru (''do").Kore to itta kenkyii o nanimo shite inai ="has not done any research of panicular note.'' Sonnakonojogaare dakenokotooware noketa. that kind ofshe/her(\ubj.)thmmuch1ha1isthing(obj.)1nanaged 10 do. " Yet she managedto accomplish that remarkable feat."(PL2) HN:li11,tk0)1I)f.:_ o /mayashachoII'Clkanojo noiinarida. nowco. pre5..as forheryeo-manis "And now she has the presidenther little linger."(PL2) sonna (lit.. ''that kind of') as amodifier for kanojo ("she/her") is like "she who is/was thatkindof person." are dake lookslike "only that." butitsidiomatic meaning is"that much/many"--often. a!>here. implyingthat the number/ item/action/accomplihment in question is a very large/remarkable one. yatte noketa isthe past form of yatte nokem. aslang phrase for "mannge to do [somethingl/pull[something! orr: iinari refers to a person who moves at someone beck and call:- no iinari dathe subjectis "completely under - 's thumb/wrapped around- 's lilli efinger/puttyin- s hands." Kuze:i"(J: !! Mateyo!! wait(emph.) " Wait aminute!!"(PL2) mate is the abrupt command formof mliiSll (''wait"). Kuze:(IL..0)1JfifJO).finexistif itthe ca'>ethm " If it's true that the source of the calamities is in the seeditself, MR- 99 fl}g;_fl111'-t1.1/.l.: -t"f-it i11.0 I? Emu-lim kyiijfikyiiosaisei sasetaKamimuraHakasekoso.wreoshimjinbut.wni hokanarcmai. (seed variety)(obj.)regenerated(name)Dr.(emph.)that(obj.)knowpersonagei> none other than " then Dr. Kamimurathe one who regenerated MR-99is precisely the one who should know."(PL2) moshi - no nara gives the embedded complete thought/sentence .wiyakuno kiin ga ano shushi ni aru ("thesource of the calamity is in that seed") a conditionalmeaning:"if it i, the case that- : saisei sasew is the past form of .wisei saseru ("cause to regenerate"), from saisei sum ("resuscitate/regenerate/reproduce"): Emu-lint kyiljiikyii osaisei sasetaisacompletethought/sente nce("I she)causedMR-99 toregenerate'') modifying Kamimura Hakase ("Dr.Kamimura")"Dr.Kamimura who caused MR-99 toregenerate.'' koso emphasizes KamimuraHakase with the feeling of "none other than her": in cal.e. it overlaps with themeaning of the expression- ni lwkanaranai ("is noneother than- "). sore o shim is a complete thought/sentence ("[she] that") modifyingjinbwsu ("personage"). Mangajin33 7"79- 0After Zero 34Mangajin Umezawa:777 Fufufu (self-satisfied laugh) "Reb heh heh." Umezawa:f.l.O) Watashi noywnegakonna-nimohayakujitsugen surutowana. mydream(subj.)thismuchevenquicklybe actualized/fulfilled(quote) as for (colloq.) "I neverimainedthat mdream would be fulfilled so soon!"(PL2) (J)J?,?-?J, /j: o Konouenoyatsu me,kuyashi-gatte irudarona. (name)who isguy-(derog.)is chagrinedprobably/surely(colloq.) "ThatKonoue must really be kicking himself."(PL 1-2) it; " \ '?L:t7t7'.1{ tlt1J>I?fiJl X. lj:-r J?..' iJL:lf.: 0 Aitsuwaj ibun.gasekaikaraueonakusun datoitte-yagatta. that guyas forhimself(subj.)worldfromhunger(obj.)e liminate (explan.)(quote)was saying-(derog.) " He was-sainthathe wanted to eliminate huner from this earth himself!"(PL I ) konna-ni mo 1more emphatic form of konna-ni ("thismuch"); hayaku is the adverb form of the adjective hayai ("quick/fast"), soonna-ni mo hayaku = "this quickly/so quickly." towamakes the sentence into the topic of an unspoken exclamation, whichis to say,itmakes that topic itself into anexclamation.lt canbe any kind of exclamation-pleasure, chagrin, dismay-and here itisobviously an exclamation of glee. yatsu is an informal/slang word for "guy/fellow/person"; no yaTSlt after a name or title usually has at least a mildly belittling/ derogatoryfeeling, and it's commonly used whenfindingfaultwith or deriding the person. -me after a word referring to aperson shows contempt/derision/anger directed at that person, so here it goes hand inhand with the derogatory feeling of yatsu. kuyashi-gatte iru isfromkuyashi-garu ("show signs of being chagrined"), a verb formedfromthe adjective kuyashii ("be vexed/mortified/chagrined"). The suffix -gam is attached to various adjectives of feeling (either psychological or physical) to create verbs that mean "show signs of being- ." The -garu form is used to speak of how another person is feeling-since that person's feelings are usuallyknown only indirectly, fromtheway he/she allows his feelings to show. aitsu isa contraction of ano yatsu (informal/slangfor "that guy"). itte-yagattais a contraction of itte iyagana, a derogatory/insulting equivalent of itte ita ("was saying").fileis the -te form of iu ("say"), i- is the stem of iru, and yagatta is thepast form of yagaru, a derogatory/insulting suffix that connects to the stem formof verbs. Umezawa:P.l..t Konouetoketsubetsu shire1rm,yatsuhodonotensaio (name)withpaned waysever since/afterthat guyextentthat isgenius(obj.) tlt tt L.. ib-::>t.:"/)f'.y ;1.t.!.-::>t.:.J: 0 sekai-jiisagashi-mawattaga,damedattayo. throughout the worldwent around searchingbutno good/fruitlesswas(emph.) "Afterartinwaswith KonoueItraveUed aU over the world lookin it was no use."(PL2) ketsubetsu shite is the -te form of ketsubetsu suru ("part ways/have a falling out/break with"), and irai means "ever since -(until now)": ketsubetsu shite irai = "ever since parting ways with." X hodo 110 Ymeans "aY that is to the extent of X," so yatsu lzodo no tensai ="a genius that is to the extent of him" ..... "a genius of his caliber/a genius like him.'' sagashi-mawatta is thepast form of sagaslzi-mawaru ("travel around searching/looking for"). Umezawa:I I t.!. Masa-nikaminomichibikida J: o yo. soko isliterally "that place/there," but here it refers more to a place/point intime-i.e., thepointat which Umezawa had searched and searched and pretty much given up hope. arawarera is the pastform of arawareru ("appear/show up"). kami no michibiki is literally "the guidance of God"-+ "divine guidance/thehand of God." [IIKamimura:!!11t(J)iJiJ>L.. tL i1.?: lvJ: 0 A kumano miclzibikikamo shiremasenyo. devil'sguidancemay possibly be(emph.) " It could be the hand ofthe devil, you know."(PL3) kamo shiremasen is the politefonn of kamo shirelllli ("might be/may possibly be"). yo often emphasizes something the speaker thinks the listener particularly needs to know or be reminded of: "-, remember/ -, you know.'' Mangajin35 16Mangajin t:t (: !? 1' 79- 0After Zero Executive:t:.,"t"T, Ta- taihentksu,shachO!! (stammer) trouble/disasterisco. preslsir ''Sir, it's a disaster!"(PL3) Umezawa:c?Lf:.? DIJshita? wballbowdid "What's wronc?''(PL2) taihenrefers to a "serious/troublesome/alarming situation," and taihen tkJ/desu! is used as an exclamationin response to any cause for alann. do is "how/what" and shita is the plain/abrupt past fonn of suru ("do"), so do shita isliterally "What did you do?'' But the expression is often used idiomatically to ask for an explanation of something that appears out of the ordinary: "What's wrong/What's the matter/What's the trouble?" Executive:MR-99 Sannen -mae,hajimetesaibaioshiroTaino Emu-iiru kyiijt7kyt7 -batakede 3 yearsagofirstcultivation(obj.)didThailandinMR-99fieldsin 1Jt ihengaokotte imasu! mishap/unusual event (subj.)is occurring "In the MR-99 fields first cultivated 3 years ago in Thai land, a mishap is occurring!" "There's been amishain the MR-99 fields first cultivated 3ears ao in Thailand!"(PL3) saibai o shita is the past form of saibai o suru, literally "do cultivation" - "cultivate." Hajimete saibai o shita is a com-pletethought/sentence ("[we]first cultivated [them]") modifying Tai no Emu-iiru kyiljilkyii-batake ("the MR-99 fieldsin Thailand"). okotte imasu is the polite form of okotte iru ("is occurring"), from okom ("occurs/happens"). Umezawa: 1: ?! Nani?! ''What?!"(PL2) 8J On-site staff:f* (explan.) roduce heads ofain!"(PL3) kabuwhen speaking of plants refers to asingle plant or cluster. mi might be described as the "bearingpart" of plants-i.e., "seeds/grains/nutslberries/fruits''- and when speakjng of mi, tsukeru means "form/bear/produce (seeds/grains/etc.]." mae= "before," and mi o tsukeru mae= "before producing grai n"; ni marks this as the time frame when the nextmentioned action takes place. koshi shire iru ("are withering") is from koshi suru ("wither and die"). Umezawa:.: ct!.?! ;?! Do iulcotoda?!BylJgenkinlco?! whal kind of thing/situationisdisease causingbacteria(7) "What's ROing on? Is it some ldnd or disease?'' On-site stall'::;r-IJ:I"t"T o Gen 'infurneidesu. causeunclear/unknownis "The cause is unclear." ''We've been unable to identify a cause."(PL3) (PL2) asking a question with da is masculine and can sound very rough. To be continued . .. Mangajin37 Nonaka Eiji. All rights reserved.Firstpublished in Japan in1996 by Kodansha. Tokyo. English translation rights arranged through Kodansha. 38Mangajin A DaiSanjL7hasshoTer.w-)in no.38-chapterironperson Chater38: Iron Man dai is like "no." and -shiJ is the counter suffix for chaptersin a book. we considered translating tersujinas "Griddle Man,'' but since thi s manga is a parody of the strong, silent, action-hero genre, "Iron Man"seemed more appropriate. [!]Narration: J\1$KachoYakami-taku m section chief(name)residence Section ChiefYakami's Residence Yakami:1*8 Kyiijitsunohiru-sagari . .. day offofearly afternoon Earlafternoon of adaoff ... :::..lv f;tfl#1:li :::..t.!. b'r)(}))...-:d.:.J!f; 'J I\"/;tc'-:::>< -::> "U'f.J.,(}) v' v' o Kormarokiniwakodawari no hairrayakisobanadorsukurte mirunomoii. this kind oftimeatas fordiscriminatingyakisobaa thing liketry making(nom.)too/alsois good/appealing Times like these are great for making the consummate yakisoba.(PL2) hint= "noon," and hiru-sagari = "a littleafter noon/early afternoon." kodawari is the noun form of kodawaru ("be particular/scrupulous [about]"), and haitta is the past form of hairu ("enter"; the past formoften implies "containing"), so kodawari no hail/a means "containing scrupulousness"- "discriminating." Thismodi fies yakisoba ("stir-fried noodles''). rsukwte is the -te form of tsukuru ("make"); miru after the -reform of averb means "try I doing theaction!," so rsukulle mint= "try making." no makes thepreceding complete sentence kodawari 110 hail/a yakisoba nado rsukuue mint ("[I will ] try making some discriminating yakisoba") act likea single noun. - no mo ii makes an expression like"Ithe described action], too, is good/appealing/satisfying." Yakami:::t 1 JvI g-r,fp-::>i/vrkikaiteki 11i suru filthy= t.:ililmi 11a/lr\7, t.:ge/rinna 1 Mangajin63 , On a t.isitto a dimt, super-hanker 1/arashima Hiromi introduus htr companion: "I've brought the mastermind behind the coup d'itat. Japan'sfamousuniformedOfficeLadies,orOL, havelongbeenfeaturedinbusinessmanga-asin the comicstrip OL Shinkaron,familiar to Mangajin readers.There arealsomangadealingwithfemale secretaries.Thebestof thelot.tome,is'"Jfiyaku HishoRilla ..(iR et fl. ,I} 1)T),or" Rina-the Director' sPrivateSecretary,"writtenbylmano Izumi.Inthis series, Narita Rina, secretaryto a senior director at the MarunouchiBank,takes it onherself to solve various busine. s crises confronting her boss. Rina's strategies areinvariablyingeniousandsuc-cessful.butshealwaysseestoitthather bossgets the credit.

OMI, i at Thr bark cover ofa book rol/ertion of "Kono Hito ni Kakero" stories long tall lady 64Mangajin spells out flarashima's IIJIJSJ011-t11 English. f'M..Sl"'1l0ttY A"r()Vo. S'I'\.I AIV\ll.Ki').,M-1"'CD"'c: ITJNarration:=:JJwH: J:-Jii.!,II'\."gljttt.: Mitsuki-mae nikoshi no nukeruyo naomoidewakareta 3 monthsagobecome paralyzedtypethoughts/feelingswithparted Q) li,i:>v':t3"' -t J.>.!::L. -r, otokonohanashiwa,01-01suru to shite, manaboutstoryas forby and bywill do/tell As for the tale of the man I broke up with three months ago feeling utterly debilitated, I will get to it by and by, but. . . The story of the man with whom I went through a devastating break-up three months ago, Iwill relate in due course. but . (PL2) Sound FX:11J11-;;11-:; Ka!ka/ka/ Click clickclick(clicking of heels on floor) mitsuki = sankagetsu = "3 months"; mae ni after a time span means "[that much time] ago." koshi refers to the rear midsection of a person's body, roughly from a little above the waist down through the hips; in many expressions it represents the main support and locus of strength of the body (and,metaphorically, of other objects), similar to "backbone/spine" in English. Nukeruliterally means "comes out/slips out," so koshi ga nukeru (here, no replaces ga because it's in a modifying clause) essentially refers to a loss of the body's main support and strength, like being suddenly without a backbone. It can describe becoming physically unable to stand or going into a state of emotional paralysis/ debilitation due to shock, extreme stress, grief, terror, etc. yo na ("type/kind of') makes koshi no nukeru ("[I) become paralyzed") into a modifier for omoi f'thoughts/feelings"): "paralyzing-type feelings." wakareta is the plain/abrupt past form of wakareru ("part/separate/break up (with]"). mitsuki-mae ni koshi no nukeru yo 110 omoi de wakareta is a complete thought/sentence ("3 months ago [I) broke up with [him) with paralyzing-type feelings") modifying otoko ("man"). - otoko no hanashi ="the story of the man with whom [I did the action]." to shite is the -te form of the expression to suru, which often implies "make it - /make it that _.. in the sense of making a choice/selection/decision-the decision here being that she will defer giving an account of her former boyfriend until later. The sentence continues through the next 2 frames. 0Narration:t1: ir 1:'-'f.:.(J)f!.-?t.:. o Nijiihossoitonorwatoshiwo,konohioorata notobidachinohi10kimete itano dalla. 28 yrs. of age tobecameUmeas forthisday(obj.)new/freshdepartureofday(quote)had decided(eJtplan.) I who became age 28 had decided that this would be the day of anew departure. at anrateI had decided that todaJune 20ththe daIturned 28would be the daof anew for me.(PL2) Sound FX:"fJ'"I"fJ'"I Ka!ka! Click click(clicking of heels on floor) -sai isthe counter sufftJt for years of age. na11a is the plain/abrupl past form of naru ("become") and tomarks theresult, so nijllhassai to natta ="became 28," which modifies atashi (a varia1ion of watashi. "Vme."'usedby female speakers)''I who became 28." kimete ita is the past form of kimete iru ("has/have decided"), from kimeru ("decide"); o marks kono hi (''this day") as the object of her decision-what she is deciding about-and 10marks a rata na wbidachi no hi ("a day of new departure") as the specific content/nature of the decision-what she has decided knno hi is. no datiais the past formof the explanatory no da. Editor:/v? N? " Hunh?"(PL2) 0Sound FX:J(/!! Ban!! Bam(effect of slamming envelope down on desk) Envelope: Jillyo Letter of Resignation Editor:""("'? Tehe! (self-pitying, embarrassed laugh) 1\-}-lfnT-fHanajidechatta.Tisshunai? no.,ehleedcame out-(regret)not have? "My nose is bleeding. Got a tissue?"(PL2) decha11ais a contraction of dete shima11a. lhe-te form of deru ("'come/go oUI"")and 1hep:ll>tform of shimau, which afler the -te form of a verb im-plieslhe actionis/was regrettable/ undesirable. Hanaji ga dent as aphrase means ""gelabloody nose or one' s nose bleeds." tis.flw isfromthe English word ""tissue: Editor:of- "IJ,-f- fJ',C.1 C.-?h.""?ltt.:fJ',h.(J)t)of -?.: 1 J .: 1 J(f)*litt!.tlv ,. o Sorosorogm-gmnosenda111011nli. by and by/soon barely within limitofline/positionisbemu'ci'>O(colloq.) :t:;tt.bn4L-et.: Oremohibishinpaiwashite-ta11da!! Ialsoeverydayworry/anJtietyas forwas doing/having (cxplan.) "You were soon coming to the position of being at the limit, so I, too, worried about it every day." " You were coming right down to the wire not a daj' went by.Jhat it didn' tweih on mmind."(PL2) Minori:lj: ,lj: 1v1:TfJ'..: 1J .: 1 J-? 1:? Na- nandesuko.gmgmue? (stammer) whatis(?)barely wilhin limit(quote) " Wh- what doou mean-'ribt down to the wire?"'(PL3) -f --IJ is an alternate spelling for -f-"'>-IJ('"isthat so?/is thatright?''); many manga artists like to use kalakana long marks instead of adding hiragana for long vowels. mitsuketa is the plain/abrupt past form of mitsukuu ("find/discover '). -krm, amore familiar equivalem of -san ("'Mr./Ms.'"), is used mainly wi1h male peers or subordinates, but in a corporate setting superiors use it with subordinales of both sexes. giri-giri implies being just barely within a limit; and sen (lit., 'Jine"') can refer to a "position/leveVtrack": giri-giri no sen ="barely within the limit/right up against the limit.'' mon is a contraclion of mono. which after db/desu means "because it's - ";- da monno ="'because it"s - . isn't it/ right?" and elongating the na gives it a bit of a comemplativelreOecting feeling. shinpai is a noun for "worry/concern/anxiety." and shinpai sum is its verb form worry/fret''; shinpai shite-ta is a contrac-tion of shinpai shire ita ("'was worried/anxious"), pasl fonn of shinpai shire im (''am worried/anxious"); inserting wa adds emphasis. ue here is a colloquial equivalent of the quotative phrase to iu 110wa ("as for what you refer to as - "'). Mangajin69 hq)IJi ~ lltMinoriDensetsu 70 a ~ a j i nEditor:"t',l;i"'"?? De,shikiwaitsu? soceremonyas forwhen "So when's the ceremony?"(PL2) Minori:.f: 1v t.t 1vt: tJi-It A-!!!x-nr M't:> .oq)li l:J.?'H.: Sonnanja arinwsen!!Onnagakaislraoyamerunowakekkon1ga1m that kind of thingis notwoman(subj.)co./job (obj.)quitpurposeas formarriageother than lv"t'TiJ',7':A7li? kangaerarenai11desu ka,desukuwa? can't think/imagine(explan.-?)man. editor/youas for "That's not it at aU!Is marriae somwn =sonno 110 = 'a thing like thatllhat kind of thing,'' and ja orimasen is the PL3 equivalent ofja nai ("is not"); sonnanja orimosen ="it's nothing like thatfit's not that at aJVthat's not it at all.'' tw is anominalizer that makes the complete thoughtfsentence onna ga kaislw o yomeru ("a woman quits her company/ job") act as asingle noun. and wamarks that noun as the topic (i n this case a secondary topic, after desuku). kangaerarenai is the negative form of kangaerareru (''can think"), potentialform of kangaeru ("think"). desuku isfromthe English "desk": de.wku is used in Japanese newspaper and magazine publishing as a word for ''managing edi tor.'' Editor:it!!!.: Hoka nitumikoaru110 ka? other exists (explan.-'!) "Is there somethi ng else?"(PL2) Editor:i iJ','(} J::?c L -r q')II}{! q).:. c ? A.mnsaka,ltyollo shiteanobannokoto? (interj.)surely notcould it bethatnightofthjng "Ohsurel'it's not ... this isn' trchance about that one oitis it?"(PL2) t) t..:" 'J:> '-''"t',.f: q) ,f.:.it.:. i* TJv itTt!.? f.:.iJ' i? ... A- aryayollaikioide,sono.tomo-tomohoteru-goidallokara . .. (stammer) as for thatgot drunkimpetus/impulseby(interj.)by chancehotel districtwasbecause ''Th- that was ust a drunken imuou knowbecause we haned to be in a hotel district .."(PL2) -t7J'7c-IJ'.. . Sekuharatokaja nakute . . . sexual harassmentor somethingwas not-and ''It wasn' t sexual harassment or anthin. .."(PL2) masaka emphasizes a statement of disbelief/incredulity. For this use. the sentence typically ends in anegative conjecture, nai daro/desho, so that is the ending implied here:- jo twi doro ="surely it's not -/surely it can't possibly be that-." hyouo shite (or hyo11o suru to) is used to introduce guesses/conjectures with the feeling of. "it just might possibly be that -"; in aquestion it becomes "could it possibly be that -?''Heswitches inthe middleof his sentence frombelieving it couldn't be to wondering if maybe it could. arya is a contraction of are wa("as for that"). yottaisthe past form of you ("become drunk''), modifying ikioi ("i mpetus/impulse") - "drunken impulse." sekuharo is shortened from sekuslwom harasumento. the fullkatakana rendering of "sexual harassment." Minori: _q)_.."t' i' tlL ..ono ne (or ano desu ne in PL3 speech) are used as warm-up phrases for cautioning or correcting someone when they seem to have jumped to the wrong conclusion: "now look/ hold on a minute/slow down/1hate to say this, but . .." A- ... -no . .. de.wne . .. (interj.)i'(colloq.) "Look, let me explain something to you ..."(PL3) Edi tor:'!? 1Jf -Jq)? [I)SoundFX: Editor : Chigauno? different(explan.) "That's not it either?"(PL2) ;'\"f--;; Pachi! Snap!(sound of snapping fingers) chigauliterallymeans "differs/isdifferent,'' but oftenimplies"iswrong/mi staken"-"that'snot it." biJ'?t.:.! iJ'?q')*ftfl*11-'-''q')14iJ'? Wakatta!Areka?Fwotsuki-bunno kyiiryiJmiharai 110kenko? understoodthat(?)2 months worth(=)salaryunpaidof matter/case(?) "I know!Is it that? Is it the matter of two months' worth of unpaid salary?" ''That must be it! It's because we feU two months behind on your salary, isn' t it?''(PL2) wakalla, the plain/abrupt past form of woknru ('"come to know/understand"'), is used idiomatically as an exclamation for "Iknow!II've got it!/J've figured it out!" futatsuki = nikogetsu ="2 months," and -bun after a quantity means "enough for/equivalent to that much" or "that much worth.'' (cominued onnexl page) Mangajin71 ;.;I])IJiii&ItMinoriDensetsu - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ~ - - ~ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -72Mangajin ~ J . . _t:.t.t7IJrr ltt) 1)t:.I J ~"rt:.Il", -t "'l: (i i( . !!T ! (cominuedfrom previous page) Editor:jfHrv' -:.-r Q 7:>.t oC:-:.< iC:cl6 -r.JitP>.ib /.., t.!-:.-rU a, h-r t.:-t!' o Cinkoille mirayo.Tokku-nimatomete.furikmula1/eshachiiille-taze. banktry going(em ph.)long sincecombined togethertransferred(quote)co. pres.was saying(emph.) "Try going to the bank. The boss was saying he'dlong since transferredit all toour account."(PL2) ine is lhe -te fonn of iku ("go"). and miro is the abrupt command fonn of miru ("see/look at''): a fonn of miru after lhe -te fonn of averb implies "try [doing theaction I and see I what happens/what the situation is ]:' matomete is the -te fonn of maromeru("puttogether/combine into one"). furikonda is thepast formoffurikomu ("pay by bank transfer"): matometefurikonda ="combined and paid by bank transfer"-+ "paid the combined amount by bank transfer." ue is a coll oquial equivalent of the quotative to. iue-ra is a contraction of iue ira ("was saying"). past of iue iru, fromiu ("say"). Minori:-l:>il{v'iT! L- li7 1J- 1.: IJf.:'-'t.!lt't'T!! Chigainwsu.'Atashiwafurii11inaritaidakedesu!! is differentVmeas forfree/freelancetowant to becomeonlyis ''No! That's not it either. I'ust want too freelance!"(PL3) Minorl:71 7- C:L- -r*-lnl: L- t.! It -c't'!! Raitato shiredokuritSII shitaidak.edesu!! writeraswant to stand alone/become independentonlyis ' 'I just want to strike out on mown as an indendent writer!"(PL3) f urii is shone nedfromfuriiransu, lhe katakana rendering of "freelance.'' naritai isthe.. want to'' fonn of naru ("become"): naritai dake = '1ust/only want tobecome.'' raita here is the katakana rendering of the English word .. writer.'' dokuritsu shitai isthe "want to" fonn of dokuritsu suru (.. become independent''). Narration: -t i.Jq.:,1::C:li, LX.to: n' -:. t.: o Sasuga ni.sakka11inarutouaienakaua. as would expectauthor/novelisttowill become(quote) as forcould not say Still, I couldn' tbring myself to saI wasto become an author.(PL2) sasuga ni typically implies that the action fits what you would expect of the person under the ci rcumstances; here she has .l!.llexpectedly turned decisive andboldly announced that she's striking out onher own, but it fitswithher underlying timidity that she can' t bring herself to publicly claim the goal of sakka. perhaps even more than the word "author" inEnglish. sakka refers toa composer of literary work. Editor: AJ.!,-t /..., t.t.:: ctJ'o Nan da,somwkotoka. what isthat kind ofthing(?) ''Oh, is that all?"(PL2) Ed.Jtor:'-'"'lv#Q)IJ -c.t. o1:PQ)UR li J:. t:. o Kechithsaenaiknishadatto. worthlessis/was-and depressingcompanywas It was a company.(PL2) .=:-T$Q)i$ift1'W- ;;1.1/1: t.-cHalcJW-busiisanzenbunoyoshugyokni-shiomeinniknrojitekeiei shite ita. circulation3,000 count that is/hasliquorindustrymagazine (obj.)mainasbarelywas conducting business With aliquor industry magazine having atotal circulation of 3 000 as its mainstay, it was just barel! IIUlDalin& to stay afloat.(PL2) when describing people. kechi is a noun referring to alack of generosity, "stinginess/meanness,'' but inthis case, it has more the meaning of "smaWworthless/cheap." is the negative form of saeru (''be clear/sharplmasterfuVsuccessful") _, ''be dull/depressing/ineffectual/unsuccessful." hakklJ ="publication," and busii ="number of copies," so hakkO-busii refers to "number of copies published"- "total circulation." -Bu is a counter suffix for copies of a newspaper or magazine. yijshu, literally western/European liquor/wine," is a generic tenn for all kinds of alcoholic beverages introduced to Japan from the West, including wineand beer as well as distilled liquors like whiskey, brandy, vodka, gin. etc. karojite ="barely/narrowly/with great difficulty." keiei is a noun referring to the ownership and management/running of a business, and keiei shite ita is the the past fonn of keiei shite iru ("is running a business''), from the verb keiei suru ("run a business"); karojite keiei shite iru ="is barely running the business" - "is barely staying afloat." Narration: Lli-t.:.'"t:' Q)rJJ,.:.Q'>f!.-=>t.:. o Atashiwasokodeyonen monoaida,koki-tsukawareta110datta. limeas forthereata fuU 4yearsofperiodwas worked hard/exploited(explan.) I worked like a slave there for afull four years.(PL2) 'tCJHft-r11!!1i Jv;f-,1 ITc"$i"(',f.l:!v"(''b Q)f!. "? t.:. o Yasu-gekkyiidekikakukararupo,Jntabyi"ikijimade,nandemoyarasarete kirano datto. low/cheap payatplanningfromreponing1nterv1ewaniclesas far aseverythingwas made to do(ex plan.) For next to nothinI had done ever ything, from planning to reporting to interviews.(PL2) mo after a quantity implies that amount is alot, so yonen nw ="all of 4 years/4 entire years": no makes this amodifier for aida ("timespan/period") - "a period of 4fullyears." koki-tsukawareta is the past form of koki-tsukawareru, which is the passive form of koki-tsulwu ("drive/work !someone! hard''). rupo is shortened from ruporutiiju, the full Japanese rendering of the French reportage ("reporting/reportage"). yarasarete is the -te fonn of yarasareru ("be made to do"), the causative passive fonn of yaru ("do"). and kita is the plain/abrupt past formof kuru ("come"); kuru after the -te fonnof averb oftenimplies movement toward the speaker-herea movement intime from the past up to thepresent. Mangajin75 76Mangajin .1>.1> '7B'd: I? Iit tt bl, 7" ""('d: t.:''.it'i "'?G7) "'?tgt:::. 0 JJ.(J)IJiltMinoriDensetsu Minori: G9 - ,.: :11.,o- /kR!O iT? An6,kore,ronkumemasu? (interj.)thisloancan assemble/lake out "Excuse me, can a loan be taken out for this?" "Excuse me, can I buy this on credit?"(PL3) ano is ahesitation word simiJar to " uhh/um.'' It's often used to get someone's attention, essentiallylike "Excuse me." kumemasu is the polite form of kumeru, which is thepotential ("can/be able to") form of theverb kumu (''put together/ assemble.'' or when speaking of aloan, "take out/draw up").In this case, kumemasu? = kumemasu ka? Salesman:b 1?-? lv!+ lnl1 1:OK! Mochiron!Jukkaimade of courseten timesup to It- -Iff'iC :11. -r 1.>ichibanurere-rukis/111 J:! yo! -kai is a counter for "times/occasions." andwhen speaki ng of loans itrefers to thenumber of times payments will be made-+ "installments." mega rakai (lit., "eye is high") is an expression for "have discerning j udgment/good taste." urete-ruis a contraction of ureteiru ("is selling"), fromurem("[something]sells"): imaichiban urere-misa complete thought/sentence ("[it] is sellingmost now") modifying kishu (''model'') ..... ' it ' s thebest-sell ing model right now." Minori:=+ . ..li'.i ,:=+@I 1.:1l I')i-ttlv? Nijii.. .ie,sanjukkai-baraininarimasen? 20no30-inslallmentpaymentstowon't it become "Can't you make it 20 no. 30 Installments?"(PL3) Salesman:li? Ha? "Huh?"(PL3) -barai is from harai (h changes to bfor euphony). anounform of harau ("pay"): a number plus-kai-barai isthe term for stating how many installments a loan must be paid off in. narimasen is the polite form of naranai (' ' not become''), negative of naru ("become"). Spoken as a question it LiteraJiy means "won't it become - ?" but here this is actually an indirect way of asking 'can't you makeit - ?" l:i? spoken as a questionis a polite/formal " huh?/what's that?/excuse me?" liT!! Onegaishimasu!! (hon.)-requestdo " Please!"(PL3) onegai sllima.wis literally a polite"I request it [of you 1." often essentially equivalent to"please Ido the aforementioned action]." Salesman:If' , Li.P L .. . iyaisliterally "no: but can serve merelyas a kind of hesitation word. like ""well/er/thatis: 1- iya,shikashi . . . (stammer) no/wellbut "W- well, but . . ." Minori: L ;t T! 1l t.: It1JfIll 1Jl:i"! Onegaishimasu!Anatadakegatayoridesu! (bon.)-requestdoyouonly/alone (subj.) reliance/hopeis/are "Please! You' re monlbo!"(PL3) Mlnori: 1l G9L "'V t -g-IJf,11! !f.1:.0j(iAH'F*a--tt 1.> bLt1.1l PG9.t ! ! Anatanoyasashiihitokotoga,rekisllininokoruj oryii sakkaotanjli saserukmno shirenai110yo!! you' skindone word (subj .)histOrYinwill remainwoman author (obj.)give birthmay possibly(ex plan.) (emph.) ''One kind word from you could give birth to awoman author whosename will go down in history!" (PL2) tayori ="reliance''-i.e., the person or thing one is relying upon for some purpose - " hope.'' rekishi ni nokoru ("[she/her name] will remain in history'') modifies jor:ni sakka(' ' woman author"') -+ "a woman author who willremain/go down in history." tanjo is a noun for "birth," and tanjii saseru is the causative ("cause to be") form of theverb tanjo suru ("be born''); kamo shirenai ="might/may possibly." sotanjo saseru ka1110 shirenai is Literally may possibly causeto be born.'' Narration:1lltf.l:lG9I: '7-7' oli,}t't-tfG9f!. ..:d.:.0 Nakenashi nooka11edekauawiipurowa,arashi 110110armraredatU/, small quantity ofmoneywithboughtword processoras formycommllmentofmanifestation/symbolThe word processor Ibought with what little money I had gave concrete shape to my commitment. (PL2) nakenashi 110is usedwhen speaking of one' smeager cash/possessions: what little- one has: kaua is theplain/abrupt pastform of kau ("'buy""); nakenashi 110okane de kaua a completethought/sentence ("[I) bought itwithwhat li ttlemoney I had'') modifyi ngwiipuro ("word processor," shortenedfrom wiido pumsessii. thefull Japanese renderingof the English te rm).Wiipuroin Japanese usuall y refersto dedicated word-processing equipment with built-insoftwareand a primer rather than to a software applicationfor use on an all-purpose computer. Mangajin77 78Mangajin W'-' "?1: -r A, (J) 0 ;.,.(!)IJ ~ lltMinoriDensetsu 0 Narration:b 1 li ::..tl)Aclvf!o Moato-modoriwashinai.lsshokonohitotosoi-togeru11da. nowbackslideas forwon'tdo emirelifethispersonwithwill live together until death(explan.) There was no turning back. Iwould Uve out the r estof mlife with thisrson.(PL2) i.0-c'(J)J:11: -rlli>a: 1-l:}._nf.:(J)f! ..::d.:o Marruieniiz.uma110yo nike11age 11aketsuideatashiwakareote 111 no datto. just likenew bride oflikebravedecisionwithUmeas forhim/partner(obj.)acquired(explan.) ust like anew bridIhad bra veltakenthelune and acuired formself a newartner.(PL2) FX:T I'J-t I'J Suri suri Nuzzle nuzzle(effect of lovi nglynuzzl ing her cheek agai nst the word processor carton) soi-togeru means '"live together as man and wifeuntilparted by death"; tomarks the person with whom one will live. mnrude introduces a statement of likeness. such as mitai or yo da ("'islike''). giving the meaning 'just/exactJy like - : Here we have the adverb form, yo ni. indicating alike manner - ''[do the action] as if I were - /like - would." kare is actually a pronoun for ''he/him." but it is also used colloquially as a common nounmeaning "bQyfriend," and in this case she is extending it to mean "bridegroom/spouse.'' te ni ireta is thepast formof ze ni ireru (''obtain/acquire"; literally "put/take into[one's] hand"). 0marks kare as the direct object of thisverb. MiSIItenaidene.IViipuro-cha11!1 Futari deshimrase 11i naro! don't abandon-(rcque\t) (colloq.) word processor-(dimin.)together become happy " Please don' t abandonme, my little WordProcessor. Together we'llbehappy."(PL2) misutenaideis a negative -re form of misweru("abandon/desert/walk out on/leaveinthelurch"); the-te formof averb often makes a relatively abruptrequest or gentle command, and a negati ve -te formmakes it a negative request/command: "(please) don't- . " -chan is a diminutive equivalent of -san ("Mr./Ms.") most typically with thenames of children or among close adult friends.Except among children.adding-chan to the names of inanimate things generally has a humorous effect. but here itis essentially an extension of her bridegroommetaphor. shiawase =''happiness,'' and naro is thevolitional(''let's!! shall") form of nan1("become''), so shiawase 11inaro= ''let's become happy.'' Landlady: t;, ,#(J) I'Jlv,.t311Jt) oara isafeminine interjection showing sudden awareness or sur-prise, "oh !/ohmy!/goodness!"Ara.Minori-cha11,okaeri. (interj.)(name-'t' t1! ** ... Malle-ta110yo,Minori-clum.Omedetii!Hoho ... was waiting (explan.) (em ph.)(namc-dimin.) " I was waiting for you congratulations(fern. laugh) " Minori. Congratulations!Haha. ..(PL2) Minori: ? " Huh?"(PL2) maue-ta is a contraction of mane ita. past formof moue iru ("am/is/are waiting"). from matsu ("wait"). omedeto (go::.aima.w ) is a congratulatory phrase/greeting used for awide variety of joyful/auspicious occasions. Minori:J: it} 1J Horori (tears of joy falling) tsuru = "crane," and kame= "tortoise." both of which are considered symbols of longevity and good luck: tsurukame rsurukame is used as aformula/chant to ward off bad luck. Minori: i.l{':IJvn;t.J:,J:!! Na- nanigatsurukameyo,Obasan!Karrchigaishinaideyo! (stammer) what(subj.) cranc&tortoise (is-empb.) aunt/auntiemisunderstandingdon't do-(rcquest) (emph.) ' 'Knock on wood my foot! Don'tlump to conclusions, Obasan!"(PLI -2) nani ga- yo (nani ga- da for males), where the blankis fi lled with somethingthe other person said, strongly takes issue with the statement: "What kind of nonsense is- ?!What do you mean by - ?/- my foot!" name can be considered a colloquial equivalent of nado ("a thing like"), or of an entirephrase like nado to iu kotolmono wa (literally. "something that is athing like- "). It's often used to belittle the preceding as trivial/out of the question/ unthinkable." yamera is the past form of yameru ("stop/quit''), which when written with thiskanjispecifically means ''quit work/resign from office." Dokuritsu shiro is thepastformof dokttritsu .wru ("becomeindependent"). To be continued . . . Mangajin83 \ I 0 )' Yarikuri Company by li L.,tt b s Hashimoto lwao Hashimoto lwao. All rights reserved. First published in Japan in1996 by Futabasha. Tokyo. Englishtranslation rights arrangedthroughFutabasha. Title:iJF1iJnHr HaikuRyokiJ Haiku Journey haiku ryoko conjures the image of atrip taken for the purpose of writing haiku (a three-linepoem with lines of 5, 7 and 5 syllables) at thevarious places along the way--espe-cially places that are already famous. OJ Sound FX:;'{-Pa Ho-onk(sound of horn) [I] Sound FX:7f-Ga Roar(sound of truck engine) 84Mangajin [IIYarikuri:.:: tttJf**0)l::-:; ... lj: lv 1? -r o Koregahonto nohitchi haiku.. .Nanchatte. this(subj .)truehitch haiku/hitchhikejust kidding "Now this is true hitchhaikuing.. Just kidding." (PL2) Driver: .t o Arukeyo. walk(emph.} "Walk." ''Get out and walk."(PL2) honto is anoun for "truth," and since no makes nouns into modifiers, honto no= "true - ." the Japanese rendering of "hitchhike/hitchhiking" is -:;1-1' 1 hitchi haiku, and that allows thepun with haiku (the poem). Mnchatrecomes from nante itte shirrume, in which nante (a colloquial 110do to) implies the preceding statement is ridiculous/silly/unbeliev-able, and itte shimatte is the -te form of itte shima11 (iu, "say" + shimau indicating an unintended/regrettable action).A speakermay tack this expression onto something he has said, as a way of saying he' s not really serious/just kidding; or alistener may respond with this expression to imply disbelief. aruke is the abrupt command form of aruku ("walk"); yo is often used to emphasize commands. Yarikuri Company byt;t.L.,tc1.' h:B Hashimoto lwao ,l . ))))) )l t. .....:-7 Hashimotolwao. Allrights reserved.First published in Japan in1996 byFutabasha. Tokyo. English translation rights arranged through Futabasha. Title: - a;,7 q-;* 1:n'1 -:>t:> -:> -co A-a,kumanoitonikaramatchatte. {interj.)spider'sthreadsinbecame entangled-{regret) "Oh no, it got caught in a spider's web." (PL2) Baka nachocho. foolishbutterfly "Dumb butterfly."(PLI ) li-a is a sigh/interjection of disappoi ntment or lament, like "oh well/oh no/too bad/what a shame." ito= "thread," so kumo no ito is literally "spider's thread(s)." karamatchatteisacontractionof karamatteshimatte,from karamaru ("become entangled") and shimau, which after the -re formof a verb implies the action is/was regreuable/undesirable. chocho ("butterfly") is often shortened to chOcho incolloquial speech. y arikuri:b-:> ! Waf {exclam.) ''Yikes!" FX: Guragura Wobble wobble(effect of moving in an unstable way) FX::J-5';iJ.J. :ft It', "eating withhis fingers"),which is theslyway to refer to dippingintothe public cookie jar andstuffingone's cheeks with thetastiestmorsels. Caught in the act, the polwould have donewellto apethedrolldrawlof comic authorBunroku Shishi,whose1950observationonthestateof thingsin generalwas: "Ware honma ni yo iwanwa"("I most assuredly 92Mangajin self ("oldsoldiers never die,they just fadeaway"),delivered before Congress, entered Japanese as "Rohei washinazu,tada kiesarunomi." (Aone-liner equallyprizedbyJapan-hands allegedly surfaced on a Tokyo placardinsupport of the great man'spresidentialaspirations:"WeplayforMacArthur' s erection.") 1951wasalsotheyearwhenJapaneseadoptedfrom Englishtheexpressionspiiliru( !:::" - 7- Jv,"PR"-public relations) andnairon (-T 1o/, "nylon"). Thehitnovelof1951wasSanto-jiiyaku,orThird-Rate Executive,byGenjiKeita.Japan's perennialoversupplyof same assuredthatthetagsanto-jiiyaku c=:11Hli)stuck and became alltherage.Nor was there ashortage of punsters or trend-watchers.In1951they begantocannibalize the imme-diate pastforinspiration,recycling shayo-zoku the "setting-sun tribe,"Dazai Osamu's famous1947label for the dying aristocratic class) as shayo-zoku (tJfl Jm,the "company-business tribe," referringto good old boyswho,thenasnow, shamelesslyranuphugetabsontheirexpense accounts). Anothervariationon atheme wastorefer to buses manned onlyby thedriver aswanmankli,aswipeat Prime Minister Yoshida Shigeru, who so dominated Japanese politics that from 1949 on hisrivals and critics spoke di sparagingly of wanman ( '7/?/, "one-man") rule. WilliamMarsh(marshbi/@gol.com) is a freelancewriter based in Tokyo.