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26
Aug 11

A New Prime Minister

It seems like it wasn’t that long ago that I was discussing how Japan’s Prime Minister Hatoyama Yukio stepped down after only eight months to be replaced by Kan Naoto. Well, now, 15 months after Prime Minister Kan took power, he’s stepping down, too.  Take a look at what I wrote back then–it’s far more common for a political leader to step down in Japan than it is in the US. Japanese voters don’t even elect their Prime Minister directly. Instead, they elect their local representatives and those representative together elect the Prime Minister. Japanese culture, too, plays a large role.

“Taking one for the team” and taking personal blame so that the company (or in this case, the government) can move forward is much more likely to happen in Japan. Consider the fact that Hatoyama stepped down largely because he didn’t fulfill a campaign promise. (To close an American military base in Okinawa.) Well, in the time that Kan has been prime minister, Japan experienced one of the deadliest series of earthquakes and one of the most horrific tsunamis in all of Japanese history. While Kan can’t be blamed for an act of nature, there’s the failure of the nuclear power plants and leaking radiation to consider as well. These plants were built long before Kan’s time as prime minister, but there’s more to it. The disaster relief handling, the nuclear power plant disasters and the government’s response to the tragedies have been under the spotlight by upset citizens.

Much of the rest of the government pressured Kan into his resignation and offered to pass some of the bills he’s put forth in order to broker a deal with him to resign. Kan’s bills focus largely on finding clean, renewable sources of energy for the country so that Japan is less reliant on dangerous nuclear power.

Kan’s party, the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) remains in power and will have the majority needed to elect a new prime minister from their party next week. The new prime minister will become Japan’s sixth prime minister in only five years.

Do you like the idea of the nation’s leader resigning to take the blame for failure of government, even if he alone is not responsible? Why or why not? Would you like your nation’s leader to change every few months or every year or so?

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19
Aug 11

Traditional Japanese Ghost Stories, Part 3

Summer is the season of Obon in Japan, so it’s high time for another look at a traditional Japanese ghost story. This time we’ll take a look at Botan Dourou and the two most common versions of the tale.  Also known as “The Peony Lantern,” Botan Dourou dates back to the 17th century in Japan, although it may have been derived from an older Chinese tale. There are two versions of the story with some major differences: the earlier Otogi Boko version and the Meiji-era theatrical version (also known as the Rakugo or Kabuki version). Both versions feature a gorgeous woman ghost named Otsuyu, who wanders past a man’s house each night carrying a peony paper lantern. She is also accompanied by a young woman ghost. (The woman is her maidservant.)

In the earlier version, an older man, a widower samurai named Ogiwara Shinnojo, is the man who spies Otsuyu each night. Struck by her beauty, he falls in love with her. He does not know at first that she is a ghost. Every time the sun sets, she visits with him, but she leaves before the sun rises with no explanation. When a snooping neighbor spies the woman visiting Ogiwara each night and thinks that there’s something odd about her, he peers into Ogiwara’s bedroom one evening and finds Ogiwara making love to a skeleton. The neighbor tells a Buddhist monk, who warns Ogiwara to stay away from the woman or he will die as well. The monk places spiritual protective barriers around Ogiwara’s home. When Otsuyu returns that evening, she cannot enter the home. She calls forlornly for Ogiwara to come out and join her. Despite the warnings, Ogiwara is too much in love with her to resist. He exits his safe home and follows Otsuyu back to her “home”: a grave. In the morning, Ogiwara is found dead in the open grave. He’s embracing a skeleton.

In the later version, Ogiwara is replaced with a young man named Saburo, a medical student rather than a samurai. Otsuyu’s story is fleshed out–and it turns out that she and Saburo were in love when she was alive. Otsuyu, daughter of a wealthy widower samurai, was sent in life to live in a small home with a single maidservant after the samurai remarried and his new wife did not like Otsuyu. When a doctor visits Otsuyu to check in on her, he takes along his student, Saburo. Saburo and Otsuyu are instantly smitten with one another. Otsuyu begs Saburo to visit her often–and tells him she will die if he goes too long without seeing her–and he promises he will visit her. However, social decorum of the time mandated that he not visit an unwed woman alone, so Saburo relied on tagging along with another of the doctor’s visits. However, the doctor refused to go back, knowing that Saburo had fallen for Otsuyu and disapproving of the match. (In some versions, Saburo falls ill for a long time and becomes bedridden for months. He cannot get a message to his love.)

Otsuyu dies of a broken heart and her maidservant dies in grief at the loss of her mistress. The pair become ghosts who stroll past Saburo’s home at night carrying a peony paper lantern. Saburo does not know his lover has died, so he’s overjoyed by her nightly visits. In this version, another servant of the house spies Saburo in bed with a skeleton. He tells a Buddhist monk, who gives Saburo the news that his love has died and shows him her grave as proof. Grief-stricken, Saburo retreats to his house and the Buddhist monk places protective barriers up to block out the spirits.

Otsuyu and her maidservant continue to visit Saburo at night but cannot enter the home. Hearing Otsuyu sadly call for him makes Saburo more heartbroken and over many nights, he loses his will to live. Other servants pity the sad, dying man and one night remove the protective barriers without Saburo’s knowledge. That night, Otsuyu once again enters the home and makes love to Saburo. He is found dead in the morning with her skeleton in his arms, but he is smiling and content.

Have you ever heard of Botan Darou? Have you seen a movie or stage version? Which version do you prefer, the earlier or the later version?

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12
Aug 11

Radio Taisou: Daily Exercises

Every morning at 6:30, the NHK radio airwaves plays a special tune and encourages residents of Japan everywhere to join together for a special 5-10-minute workout. Communities gather at local parks, employees at offices arrive early to exercise before the work day begins, and kids who get to school early for sports team practice join together to workout. In the summer, schools, parents, and communities encourage young children to head to the local park and participate in the morning exercise. In many areas, a volunteer instructor will stamp a participation card for each morning a kid comes to the session in the summer; if the kids fill up their cards, they get participation prizes.

These morning exercises are called “radio taisou,” or “radio calisthenics.” There’s also an afternoon version that airs at 3:00. Some companies have their workers drop what they’re doing to stand and perform the exercises. There are two kinds of exercises: those for younger, more energetic people and those for everyone else. The basic exercises is mostly a series of stretching routines, a simple “warm up” to get the blood flowing and the mind more alert for the day. At most sites, a volunteer will lead the group in the workout. After many days of repeating the stretches, you may come to remember how to do them yourself.

Radio taisou began in Japan in the 1920s. The Japan Post newspaper and NHK Radio started the project, although they may have been inspired by MetLife’s American radio exercise programs that appeared around the same time. The radio taisou briefly stopped after World War II, when American occupiers thought the masses getting together for a daily workout was too militaristic in nature. However, the program was reworked in the 1950s and focused more on exercise and bonding with co-workers, classmates, and members of the community. They’ve aired consistently since.

See an example of the radio taisou in a park here.

Have you ever participated in radio taisou while in Japan? Do you like the idea of a short daily exercise you do together at work, school, or in the neighborhood? Why or why not?

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05
Aug 11

~N Desu: Implications

Oftentimes translation from Japanese into English isn’t direct. “~N desu,” or the casual form, “~n da,” is one such example. The phrase is added at the end of sentences to sort of imply a reason for the sentence based on the context of the conversation. Translations often include “That’s why…”, “As it happens…”, or “As a matter of fact…”, but more often than not, no translation at all is necessary.

Take a sentence with and without “~n desu” at the end and let’s compare the meanings: “My mother came this morning.”

Kono asa haha ga kimashita.

Kono asa haha ga kurun desu.

Note that the version of the sentence with “~n desu” requires that the verb return to its unconjugated or informal state. Both of these sentences can translate to “My mother came this morning.” However, the second one carries an implication that depends on the context of the conversation. For example, if someone asked the speaker, “Why are you late?”, the second version of the sentence implies that it was because the mother stopped by, perhaps for an unannounced visit, that the speaker is late.

Another implied translation of the “~n desu” ending is that the speaker is asking for assistance from the listener. For example, if you were to state, “I’m thirsty,” you’d have a couple of options (literally “My throat is dry”):

Nodo ga kawakimasu.

Nodo ga kawakun desu.

The first version is simply the polite conjugation of the declaration that you’re thirsty. The second implies that you would like the people listening to you to direct you to somewhere where you can get a drink or to join you for a drink.

You can ask a question with “~n desu ka” as well. (In casual form, the “~n da ka” is incorrect; it is simply “~no.”) If you want to imply that you would really like to hear the reasons behind something, simply add “~n desu ka” to the sentence. “Why did you quit school?” can be asked in a couple of ways:

Doushite gakkou yamemashita ka?

Doushite gakkou yametan desu ka?

Both versions literally mean the same thing, but the second implies that you really want to know the full details.

Practice turning basic sentences into “~n desu” sentences. Have you ever had a discussion in Japanese before in which someone used “~n desu“? Do you think you missed the implications at the time?

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29
Jul 11

Japanese Comfort Dishes

Warm foods like chicken soup and vitamin-rich foods like oranges help Westerners clear up their sinuses and build their immunities. When ill in Japan, there are a few cultural comfort foods to which many people turn, much like chicken soup in the West. Whether you want to do as the Japanese do should you fall ill in Japan or your love for Japanese food will give you comfort during an illness, try Japanese comfort foods. (These foods are for colds and other mild illnesses. If something more serious is wrong, seek medical attention.)

Kayu: Also known as okayu, kayu is a warm rice porridge. Since rice is such a staple of the typical Japanese diet, it’s not surprising that rice porridge is more popular than oatmeal, although the concept behind enjoying a warm, easy-to-digest porridge is much the same. You can enjoy kayu on its own or with cooked meat, steamed vegetables, or with cooked or raw egg. Add tea and you have chakayu. Making kayu is as simple as boiling rice and water with a touch of salt until the rice is mushy.

Negi miso: Green onions called negi are another antidote for feeling under the weather in Japan. Vitamin-rich negi can be steamed or enjoyed raw. One particular dish made for the ill with negi as a main ingredient is negi miso. Miso is a Japanese flavoring often used in soup. While you can add chopped negi to a miso soup to make a version of negi miso, the most easily digestible form of the dish for the ill is a negi miso drink. Just boil water with miso flavoring and add chopped negi.

Shogayu: Another hot drink for the ill in Japan is shogayu. Shoga, Japanese ginger, is thought to provide many health benefits, including upset stomach relief and a boost in immunity. Shogayu is a simple drink to make; add a pinch of grated shoga and a dash of sugar to a mug and then add hot water.

Fruit: A common gift in Japan for an ill person is fresh fruit. You may notice in Japanese TV shows that a friend or family member attending the bedside of a person in the hospital will peel an apple for the patient to eat.

Do any of these dishes sound appetizing to you? Do you think they make good meals when you’re ill?

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22
Jul 11

On the Train: What the Japanese Find Rude

Some aspects of rudeness are practically universal–calling someone a rude name, for example–but others vary by culture. If you hope to spend any time in Japan or you meet Japanese people, you may benefit from a quick lesson in a few things the Japanese find rude. You’ve read about a few ways to be polite to the Japanese. Not following these simple rules of etiquette may make you come across as rude. Today we’ll discuss what Japanese people find to be rude behavior on the train. (By the way, sleeping on a train isn’t considered that rude–but most people would do it on a bench instead!)

Don’t speak on your cell phone on a train. This may surprise you since the Japanese are perhaps more attached to their cell phones than even the rest of the world (and they’re a few years ahead of the rest of the world in cell phone technology). However, speaking on your cell phone in Japan is considered rude because it distracts other people. Trains are also notoriously crowded; sometimes there is barely any room to move. You would bother a lot of people to speak on your cell phone. If you must contact someone, text instead of speaking. The “don’t speak on your cell phone on a train” rule isn’t even an implied rule–most trains explicitly request this and post a message throughout the train. Incidentally, keep your voice very quiet if speaking to someone with you on the train. In general, people do not like to hear conversations on trains and often regard foreigners as loud people.

Don’t eat on the train. This is messy and rude. If possible, avoid drinking as well, but if you feel the need (which is not surprising if the train is hot and crowded), a sip of a bottled non-alcoholic beverage is okay. Just make sure not to bump anyone when you get your drink out. On the same note, don’t leave a mess of any kind on the train.

Keep your hands up in crowded trains. In extremely crowded trains, some Japanese men grope unsuspecting women and young girls who can’t identify who in the crowd touched them. To avoid accusation, honest men find it easier to hold onto railings with both hands or to clutch the railing with one hand and an object with another. This shows the women around them that they wouldn’t touch them. Most foreigners aren’t suspected of this behavior, but it doesn’t hurt to show your hands. Also, if you’re male, pay attention to “women-only” cars on some trains. These cars, as the name implies, are for women only and are a courtesy to make women feel there is less risk of sexual harassment.

Have you ever ridden on a Japanese train? Can you think of a few other rules of etiquette on the train? What do you think of the fact that women are sometimes groped on trains?

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15
Jul 11

Shinjuku: Tall Buildings and Entertainment

In a first for the “Places” entries about Tokyo, we’re looking at an entire special ward of Tokyo: Shinjuku. This ward is the home of Shinjuku Station, not only Japan’s but the world’s busiest train station. You’ll also find the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, one of the tallest buildings in Japan and the seat for the local Tokyo government.

Among the more culturally appealing attractions of the area are the Japanese Sword Museum and a number of parks. The Japanese Sword Museum, which offers English-language information about the exhibits, has over 150 swords on display. You’ll also find Japanese armor. The Shinjuku Gyoen (Park) is especially crowded during the hanami season because of the spectacular view of blossoms.

Shinjuku is also known for an expansive array of shopping opportunities. A number of department stores have an anchor store in Shinjuku and you’ll find mini malls as well — stores and malls such as Iseten, Odakyu, Takashimaya, Mylord and Lumine. Popular electronic stores include Yamada Denki and Yodobashi Camera.

If you’re looking for food, you’ll find a plethora of cheap, tiny restaurants in Omoide Yokocho. (It’s sometimes called “Piss Alley,” but the food isn’t all horribly cheap!) The mini malls and anchor stores have slightly higher-class restaurants so you can grab a bite while you’re shopping.

Kabukichou is in Shinjuku as well. Kabukichou is Tokyo’s “red light district” with adults-only entertainment. That’s where you’ll find a large share of love hotels and host and hostess clubs. Unofficially, you’ll find over 1000 members of the yakuza, the Japanese mafia, as well! Shinjuku Ni-chome is Tokyo’s best known gay district, with gay bars and gay host clubs and love hotels.  You’ll find plenty to do during the day and during the night in Shinjuku!

Have you ever been to Shinjuku? Are you more interested in shopping there or spending time at nightclubs?

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08
Jul 11

~Hou Ga Ii Desu: It Is Better…

How would you give advice when speaking Japanese? Depending on the context, you could tell someone that “it is better to… [do this.]” The Japanese equivalent of “It is better to…” is “hou ga ii desu,” which you place at the end of the sentence. However, there is a connotation to the phrase in Japanese that may not exist in the direct English equivalent. “Hou ga ii desu” implies that you really recommend doing something and that any other option may be problematic, rude, or even dangerous. The phrase isn’t a simple indication of your personal preference or recommendation, so think about the context before you make a recommendation with the phrase.

Depending on the context, “hou ga ii desu” can translate to “It is better to…” or even “You had better…” The latter translation applies when you’re recommending a course of action directly to a person. The first translation is a more general recommendation or a less forceful translation of the phrase. Nonetheless, the second translation may better capture the idea that any alternative to your recommendation is dangerous or problematic.

Properly using the phrase “hou ga ii desu” involves an irregular rule that you should make note of. When you want to recommend something in the positive sense, such as “It is better to come early,” you use the past tense positive casual form of the verb before the “hou ga ii desu” phrase. When you want to recommend something in a negative sense, such as “It is better not to come late,” you use the present tense negative casual form of the verb before the phrase.

It is better to come early. = Hayai kita hou ga ii desu.

It is better not to come late. = Osoi konai hou ga ii desu.

Read here to review a few more verbs. How would you say “It is better to…” do any of these verbs?

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01
Jul 11

Jankenpon: Rock, Paper, Scissors

Since what we know in the West as “Rock, Paper, Scissors” (or “Stone, Paper, Scissors”) was developed in China, it shouldn’t be a surprise to discover that the game exists in many countries around the world. The sheer amount you see the game played in Japan, though, particularly on Japanese TV shows, may surprise you. It helps if you’re familiar with the Japanese take on the game in case you’re ever asked to play. You will see the game played to determine who wins something, like a flip of a coin, or just to pass the time.

In Japan, the game is called “jankenpon” or “janken” for short. The game is usually played for the best of three. The rules are similar to “Rock, Paper, Scissors” in that you make the same fist for “rock,” peace sign for “scissors,” and flat palm for “paper.” Paper still beats rock, rock still beats scissors, and scissors still beats paper. The players begin the game by shaking their fists up and down in tandem three times, revealing their choice of rock, paper, or scissors on the third beat. In Japan, you say “jan” on the first beat, “ken” on the second beat, and “pon” on the third beat.

If the players both throw the same choice and the round is a tie, they say, “Aikou deshou” in three beats (“ai-kou-deshou“) and play again, shaking their fists up and down on each beat and throwing their new choices on the third beat. This means “one more time!” However, you can keep saying it and keep playing again and again no matter how many times you tie thereafter.

Some, but not all, games of “jankenpon” are more complex, particularly when played on Japanese game shows. During this version of the game, the players are seated at a table. On the table is one toy hammer (a plastic collapsible squeaky hammer) and one hardhat. The two players play a round of “jankenpon” but the person who throws the winning choice of rock, paper, or scissors doesn’t necessarily win. Instead, the loser must scramble to grab the hardhat and put it on his head. The winner must grab the toy hammer at the same time. The winner is trying to hit the loser on the head with the toy hammer before he successfully puts on the hardhat. If she does hit him, she wins the round. If the loser puts the hardhat on before the hammer hits the top of his head, no one scores the point and the players go back to playing jankenpon.

Have you ever seen Japanese people play jankenpon, with or without the hammer addition? Would you rather play jankenpon or flip a coin to settle a debate?

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24
Jun 11

Pan: Japanese Bread

Elsewhere on the site, we’ve discussed manju, “steam buns,” and briefly, we mentioned anpan as well. A look at Japanese food wouldn’t be complete without a more in-depth look at Japanese bread. Due to early Portuguese influence, the Japanese refer to bread as “pan,” the Portuguese word for “bread.” Pan was introduced to Japan by Westerners in the 19th century and did not exist in native Japanese cuisine beforehand. While sandwiches like we’re used to in the West are still less common than rice dishes in Japan, there are a number of Japanese foods made with pan.

The anpan, as previously mentioned, is sweet bread filled with sweet filling. It’s definitely more of a dessert than a meal. However, like manju, there are hearty meal fillings for pan as well. Curry pan is filled with Japanese curry, katsu pan has fried pork cutlets inside (yes, fried, breaded pork inside of the break), croquette pan has a croquette inside (a croquette is fried mixture of potatoes and other vegetables as well as potentially meat and seafood), and yakisoba pan is filled with yakisoba–fried noodles!–and ginger. Operating as both a dessert and a potential meal depending on your mood, the fruit sandwich is another common Japanese sandwich. Fresh-cut fruit is layered in bread with a yogurt cream.

Panko refers not to a sandwich-like treat but to a form of breading. Panko is a popular coating for fried meats, seafood, and vegetables. Panko is a lighter, crisper texture than other Western breading. This is unsurprising due the fact that Japanese bread tastes different than Western bread.

When you order a hamburger, you have to make sure that you’re in an American-style restaurant if you’re looking for a hamburger on a bun. Most Japanese hamburgers are served as patties on plates without bread. Until about the 1970s, foreigners in Japan looking to make hamburgers had a hard time finding hamburger buns!

Have you ever tried Japanese pan? Do you prefer the dessert breads or the meal breads? Do you like hamburgers without buns?

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