おみやげがいこう (omiyage gaiko)

* “J-WOTD” = “Japanese Word of the Day”

The beauty of the term Omiyage Gaiko is in its simplicity. Rather than being a complicated “4 character word” (四字熟語) it’s a neat little phrase that I saw for the first time being used on the television earlier this week. Yukio Hatoyama (鳩山 由紀夫) of the Democrats (not to be confused with his younger brother Kunio “a friend in my butterfly collecting club is from Al-Qaeda” Hatoyama (鳩山 邦夫) who is in the LDP coined this phrase a couple of weeks ago.

The two words that make up this phrase お土産 (omiyage, souvenir) and 外交 (gaiko, foreign policy) make an unusual combination. Hatoyama was using them to refer to Prime Minister Fukuda’s recent decision to force the refueling bill through the lower house without debate before his scheduled trip to America later this week. Hatoyama was implying that Fukuda didn’t have a decent souvenir from Japan to give to President Bush and so forced through the policy in order to give him something to talk to Bush with. As I’m sure you can guess, Hatoyama wasn’t too pleased that such an important policy for Japan was being dictated by Fukuda’s desire to come up with a topic of conversation in his upcoming conversation with Bush. I’m always a fan of smart politicians with the gift of the gab but this phrase tickled me enough to write it up as a J-WOTD.

Usage:
独立国・日本としての気概を持つべきで、属国のような扱いを甘んじて受け入れることに繋がる「お土産外交」はやめるべきであると釘を刺した。
“Hatoyama made it clear that as an independent country, Japan should show some balls and stop passing legislation just to please the United States or the world will begin to treat it like a vassal state of America.”

Oh, and just for fun, here is the video of 鳩山 邦夫 (Kunio Hatoyama) that we mentioned above, where he said, “A friend of a friend is a member of Al-Qaeda”:

Click here to view the embedded video.

See more about this J-WOTD here.

じてんしゃそうぎょう (jitensha sogyou)

* “J-WOTD” = “Japanese Word of the Day”

I’m surprised that there hasn’t been more focus by the media on what Nova really was. Nothing more than a long lived Ponzi Scheme.

I guess for the foreign press it is easier to win over readers with a sob story about how many gaijin will be fired/evicted due to the mess that Nova is today. What is most amazing about this scandal is how quickly it has snuck upon us. Only three years ago Nova’s share price was trading above 600 yen (this week it is closer to 16 yen!). Why did the proverbial $hit hit the fan so quickly? Because Nova was a house of cards.

But not just any old house of cards, the cunningness of Nova’s ability to finance its future from its cash flow of today would have even surprised Baldrick. The beauty of the pre-payment system meant that Nova would receive an entire year (and sometimes more) of cash before the student had even begun her lessons. While any respectable company would use the cash carefully, a Ponzi scheme is all about growing that cash. Spending it today (ads, new schools openings, new teacher hires, celebrity bunnies, you name it) so that you will hopefully sign up more students (read “free cash”) in the future.

It’s alright while you are growing. The faster you are growing, the more students sign up, the more cash they pay you in advance, the more you can finance the growth of your empire. But this can get really dangerous if you don’t realise that you are borrowing from tomorrow to finance today. The moment the growth stops, the cash stops coming in and you have no way of paying your bills. You start to realise that you can’t even afford to pay your teacher’s salaries. The momentum disappears almost immediately and you come to a grinding – and ugly – halt.

Clearly the Japanese (except for the poor OLs who signed up for Nova) have seen a few of these scams in the past. So many in fact that they have a word for it. 自転車操業 (jitensha sogyo, running your company like you would a bike).

The example of a bicycle is perfect. Think about it for a moment, the faster you pedal, the faster you move, the more momentum you pick up. Things are great – they’re fun even. And then you run our of steam (not even Lance Armstrong can ride a bike forever). The moment you stop pedalling, your momentum disappears and you start to slow down. Eventually your wheels stop spinning and your bike falls over. Not only a halt but potentially a painful one. Nova was the best example of a jitensha sogyo Japan has seen in a long time.

Example of usage is found in real life HERE:

英会話学校の経営は前払いの受講料を教室数の拡大に充てる自転車操業が大半
“The vast majority of English Conversation Schools run their business like a bicycle by funding their expansion with the prepaid lesson fees from their students”

わかいつばめ (wakai tsubame)

* “J-WOTD” = “Japanese Word of the Day”

Since antiquity the sparrow has always been seen as a bird of love in the west. It was associated in classical mythology with Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, and Catullus, the Roman poet, famously used the sparrow as a symbol of true love and spiritual connection to his lover. In Japan the sparrow does not carry the same connotations except in the phrase wakai tsubame which literally means a young sparrow but refers to a younger lover of an older woman, or, 女にとって年下の愛人。

The term wakai tsubame is credited to a artist called Okumura Hirofumi, 奥村博史, the lover of author and feminist Hiratsuka Raicho (平塚らいてう or 平塚雷鳥). Okumura, who was five years younger than Hiratsuka, began seeing her 1914. However, when their relationship soured Okumura wrote the following lines in a farewell letter to her:

静かな水鳥たちが仲良く遊んでいるところへ一羽のツバメが飛んできて平和を乱してしまった。若いツバメは池の平和のために飛び去っていく。
(A sparrow flew in amongst a group of happily playing quiet waterfowl and disturbed the peace. For the sake of the pond’s peace the young sparrow will leave and fly away.)

It is from this letter that the term took hold and gained a lasting place in the Japanese language. However, despite this poetic farewell, their relationship continued and they would eventually marry in 1941.

二枚目 or nimaime is the handsome guy here ↑

にまいめ
(nimaime)

* “J-WOTD” = “Japanese Word of the Day”

For some reason, the Japanese language has many words to describe good looking men. かっこいい, ハンサム, イケメン, 美少年, and Kansai-ben’s 男前 are quite a selection, proving that Japanese can be more expressive that English when it comes to certain things. This means that there are either a lot of good looking men in Japan, or there are a lot of empty compliments being tossed around. Either way…

One more humorous way of calling another man attractive is to say that he is nimaime or “二枚目”. Taken apart, this seems to be an odd expression at first. Literally, it means “The second sheet/ board”. However, when it means handsome, the expression originates from Kabuki (as does 男前). On signs outside the Kabuki theatre, the main actor’s name would be on the first page, and the “beautiful male” role (the sexy actor who has his face painted white, or the 顔を白くぬった色男の役) would be featured on the second page. Thus, “二枚目” came to mean any good-looking man.

A humorous extension to this expression is to call someone (or yourself) “三枚目”. This refers to the actor who played the role of the clown (name on the thrid page of course), and is sure to bring laughter to any conversation that starts out with a “二枚目”

Rinko Kikuchi as a JyoshiKosei in the Movie “Babel”

いあい (iai)

* “J-WOTD” = “Japanese Word of the Day”

If you enjoyed the movie Babel / バベルの塔 (official English language site) as much as I did then I’m sure the first thing you did when you got home was to do a Google Search to find out who that unknown girl was playing the role of Chieko. While I’d heard of (and recognized) Yakusho Koji (役所広司), I hadn’t heard of Kikuchi Rinko (菊池凛子)before (official English language site).

Following the hype surrounding her Academy Award nomination, I had read a little about her in the press. It turns out that she is more than just a good actor, she is also a very fast learner. Apparently it only took her 9 months to learn sign-language in order to play the role of Chieko, a deaf Japanese high-school girl. (No comments on why a 26 year old is playing the role of a high-school girl please.) Low and behold, the hobby page she has one her official site mentions this but today I’m writing about another of her hobbies, Iai. While I’m sure that most Weeaboo’s probably are already on top of Iai, it was a new word for me, despite my many (unathletic) years in Japan. Thanks to my good friend, Blue, who enlightened me to the wonders of it. (As you might have noticed, it wasn’t even registered on the almighty alc online dictionary).

Context on her page (although I admit that it is not that helpful):

特技：馬術、日本舞踊、居合い、手話

Iai (居合い), is one of the very many martial arts in Japan. Put in lay terms, it is like Kendo but with a sword. In fact, it seems to place a great emphasis on sword use and the art of removing it swiftly from your sheath (鞘、さや）. As they say, a picture tells a thousand words so please take a quick look at the below video that I found on Youtube. It does the best job of illustrating the art.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The thing that struck me as the strangest about Iai is that it apparently claims to be an art that it claims to heighten your character (「修練の過程を通して、人格を高めることも目的とします」 [source]) . If any stippy.com readers out there can enlighten me as to how this could be possible while slicing people’s arms of with a Japanese sword (真剣） then please leave a comment below!

Oh, if you are more athletic than me and spent a few years practicing Iai while you were in high school then feel free to test out your knowledge at Iai University (Japanese language website).

やめけん (yameken)

* “J-WOTD” = “Japanese Word of the Day”

The phrase “yameken” is an abbreviation of the words 検事 (kenji, member of the public prosecutor’s office (検察庁, kensatsucho)) and やめた (yameta, to quit). Quite literally it refers to someone who has quit their role as a public prosecutor. More specifically, it almost always refers to someone who has passed the bar exam after quiting and become a lawyer. I guess it is a little like an elite version of “datsusara” (脱サラ) except it is a lot less common.

The concept is novel as the majority of people who go to work for the kensatsucho are bound to silence and often work there until they retire. It’s a well paid and well respected job so it is generally controversial for them to seek a career elsewhere – let alone when you consider that they have to study for the bar exam at the age of 40+. Those that don’t succeed at the bar exam have been known to seek a career on television by offering political commentary on large criminal cases.

Example of usage:
所謂「やめ検弁護士」が、当然のように拘置所のことを語っているのを見て、げんなり。
It was depressing watching that small-town yameken lawyer talk about Jail as though it was part of every day life.

Related vocab: 「ヤメ判」 and 「ヤメ警」

ひだりうちわ (hidariuchiwa)

* “J-WOTD” = “Japanese Word of the Day”

The uchiwa is a type of fan, which these days is generally made of plastic and handed out at festivals or in front of train stations for advertising during the heat of summer. Here it is combined with hidari, the word for left, to literally mean to use a fan in the left hand. However, with air conditioners becoming so common these days, you are just as likely to hear the phrase in the cold of winter as the heat of summer because the term carries with it the connotations of living a life of comfort.

In summer you can often tell the mood of someone by the way they are using their uchiwa. Using a fan in the stronger of your two hands is generally taken as a sign that you have something on your mind, maybe a bit stressed or having a sense of purpose. This contrasts with the use of the weaker hand which is so often a sign that the person is relaxed. As most people are right handed it is this image that is being described by the term hidari uchiwa.

Recently at work I heard this word used to describe someone who had produced excellent results during his middle age years, but now entering his fifties is resting on his laurels and not working so hard knowing that the company will look after him. If this is a side effect of the Japanese lifetime employment system then I am glad that it is crumbling.

Example: 左団扇で暮らす。(Hidari uchiwa de kurasu) To live in the lap of comfort.

逆玉（ぎゃくたま, gyakutama）

* “J-WOTD” = “Japanese Word of the Day”

Literally gyaku means opposite and, generally, tama means ball. However, despite it becoming a common enough term over the last decade or so, it is not easy to see just how gyakutama took on its meaning of “to marry a wealthy woman.”

Tama is short for the phrase tama no koshi ni noru （玉の輿に乗る、to marry a wealthy man). Of old tama also meant gemstone or a thing of beauty and it is that connotation that is being used here. Koshi ni noru means to ride in a palanquin (a covered litter for one passenger). These can often been seen in the samurai dramas where someone of importance is being carried in a koshi. Thus, the phrase literally means “to ride in a beautiful palanquin.”

As only people of the upper class could ride in a beautiful koshi, it took on the meaning of a women marrying well. Tama no koshi is well ingrained into the lexicon and is often shortened to just tama no koshi, but the addition of gyaku and the abbreviation of the term to just tama to form gyakutama is a very modern addition. For some reason around Tokyo these days I tend to hear it much more than the original.

Example:
彼は逆玉を狙っている。(Kare ha gyakutama wo neratteiru.)
“He is aiming to marry a wealthy woman”

へべれけ (hebereke)

* “J-WOTD” = “Japanese Word of the Day”

It is December and on the social calendar that means bounenkai 忘年会. These end of year parties are often held for work groups, sports clubs or any gathering of friends who need another lame excuse for a few drinks. With so many of them it can be a period when there seem to be more drunks around than normal.
The most common terms used to describe drunks are 酔う（you、to get drunk）and 酔っ払い（yopparai, drunkard). However, these tend to be somewhat overused. Hebereke, however, is one term that doesn’t get used as often as it might. Hebereke means to get badly drunk and is most commonly seen in the phrase へべれけになる (Hebereke ni naru, to get drunk).
Everyone in Japan should have the opportunity to use hebereke over the next couple of weeks, whether it being describing your friend’s behaviour on Saturday night or the random incoherent guys struggling to catch the late night trains.
Example:

へべれけになるまで酒を飲む (Hebereke ni naru made sake wo nomu “Drink till you are as drunk as a skunk”)

にそくのわらじをはく (nisokuno waraji wo haku)

* “J-WOTD” = “Japanese Word of the Day”

To “Have one’s fingers in two pies“, or to “have the best of both worlds“. (Literally: To “Wear two pairs of straw sandles” – waraji being the straw sandles, pictured here.)

There are situations everyday where we would like to do two things at once, or be in two places at the same time. Sometimes this seems impossible right? As hard as having the best things from two worlds even? That’s how we English speakers express the concept, which seems a little to exaggerated when you think about it. Well, the Japanese have a more earthly approach, and think that the ideal analogy for having your fingers in two pies is, wearing two pairs of straw sandles at the same time. We have all used best of both worlds and its equivalents in English, and now its time to start in Japanese!

This phrase is used in a positive meaning. For example (the actual example where I heard this phrase being used), a man at my work is a head of marketing department, a typical Tokyo white-collar salaryman job description. However, he also has a farm in Northern Hyogo where his hometown is. He often returns there on weekends to plant his rice, and several times during the year to check it constantly and finally do the harvest. When speaking about this to another colleague, he said, 「おれにはできないなぁ、二足のわらじを履いてるよね」(There is no way I could do what he does, he has the best of both worlds).

Leave a comment, and tell us your「二足のわらじを履く」story!