LIST OF -TARU ADJECTIVES

OK, it's time for me to post another list to feed my OCD. Today I came across the word 悠然 【ゆうぜん】 (n,adj-t,adv-to) with an air of composure; calmly.

So I got to thinking: what's the dealie-o with these -taru adjectives? I found out that 形容動詞 adjectives are pretty rare in comparison to the "-na" and "-i" adjectives (I'll do another post on "-nai" adjectives soon.). I did a little searching on line and learned that true -taru adjectives originate from the classical Japanese ending "-toari" which devolved into "-tari," which declines into what we now see as "-taru" adjectives. It seems that the "-taru" adjectives have an antiquated air, but several are still in common use. I couldn't find a comprehensive list on line for English-speaking students of Japanese, so here's my attempt, which I'll update periodically. (If anyone thinks of a word I've left off the list, let me know and I'll add it.)

A. -TARU ADJECTIVES FORMED FROM DUPLICATE KANJI

堂々(P); 堂堂 【どうどう】 (adj-t) (1) magnificent; grand; impressive; dignified; majestic; imposing; stately; (2) fair; square; open; (adv-to) (3) grandly; boldly; confidently; (4) fairly; squarely; (5) unreservedly; without apology; without hesitation

悄悄; 悄々 【しおしお; しょうしょう; すごすご】 (adj-t,adv-to) (uk) in low spirits; dejected; sad

昭昭; 昭々 【しょうしょう】 (adj-t,adv-to) (obsc) clear; bright; plain; obvious

粛粛; 粛々 【しゅくしゅく】 (n,adj-t,adv-to) silent; solemn; quiet

爛爛; 爛々 【らんらん】 (adj-t,adv-to) glaring; flaming; fiery; blazing

濛々; 濛濛; 朦朦; 朦々 【もうもう】 (adj-t,adv-to) (1) dense (e.g. fog, dust, etc.); thick; (2) vague (as in being unable to think clearly); dim

惻々 【そくそく】keenly; heartily

凛々; 凛凛 【りんりん】 (adj-t,adv-to) severe; intense; biting

B. TWO-KANJI -TARU ADJECTIVES

惨憺; 惨澹 【さんたん】 (adj-t,adv-to) miserable; pitiful; tragic; wretched; horrible

宛転 【えんてん】 (adj-t,adv-to) (1) moving smoothly; (2) (of eyebrows) shapely

忸怩 【じくじ】 (adj-t,adv-to) bashful; shameful

暗澹【あんたん】 (adj-t,adv-to) dark; gloomy; somber; depressing

荒涼; 荒寥 【こうりょう】 (adj-t,adv-to) desolate; dreary; bleak

索莫; 索漠; 索寞 【さくばく】 (adj-t,adv-to) dreary; bleak; desolate

蕭寥 【しょうりょう】 (adj-t,adv-to) (arch) desolate; lonely; barren

蕭索(oK) 【しょうさく】 (adj-t) lonely

蕭条 【しょうじょう】 (adj-t,adv-to) dreary; bleak; lonely

落莫 【らくばく】 (adj-t,adv-to) desolate; dreary; lonesome

溌剌 【はつらつ】 (adj-t,adv-to) lively; vigorous; sprightly; vivid

C. TWO-KANJI -TARU ADJECTIVES ENDING IN -然

消然; 悄然 【しょうぜん】 (adj-t,adv-to) dejected; dispirited

昭然 【しょうぜん】 (adj-t,adv-to) manifest; clear

呆然; 茫然; 惘然 【ぼうぜん; ボーゼン; もうぜん(惘然)】 (adj-t,adv-to) dumbfounded; overcome with surprise; in blank amazement; in a daze

燦然 【さんぜん】 (n,adj-t,adv-to) brilliance; radiance

悠然 【ゆうぜん】 (n,adj-t,adv-to) with an air of composure; calmly

泰然 【たいぜん】 (adj-t,adv-to) calm; composed; self-possessed; firm

渾然; 混然 【こんぜん】 (adj-t,adv-to) whole; entire; harmonious; well-rounded

D. FOUR KANJI -TARU ADJECTIVES

曖昧模糊 【あいまいもこ(uK)】 (adj-na,adj-t,adv-to) obscure; vague; ambiguous

泰然自若 【たいぜんじじゃく(uK)】 (adj-t,adv-to) having presence of mind; self-possessed; imperturbable; calm and self-possessed

失意泰然 【しついたいぜん】 (adj-t,adv-to) (arch) keeping calm and collected at times of disappointment; maintaining a serene state of mind in adversity

満目荒涼 【まんもくこうりょう】 (adj-t,adv-to) all nature being bleak and desolate; scene looking desolate and forlorn as far as the eye can see

荒涼落莫 【こうりょうらくばく(uK)】 (adj-na,adj-t,adv-to) (arch) scene looking desolate and forlorn

空空漠漠; 空々漠々 【くうくうばくばく(uK)】 (adj-no,adj-t,adv-to) (arch) vast; boundless; empty; vague

生気溌剌 【せいきはつらつ】 (adj-t,adv-to) being full of vitality; being vivacious

才気溌剌 【さいきはつらつ】 (adj-t,adv-to) resourceful and quick-witted; showing a flash of brilliance; have a keen (sparkling) intellect

生気溌剌 【せいきはつらつ】 (adj-t,adv-to) being full of vitality; being vivacious

E. ONE KANJI PRE-NOUN ADJECTIVALS (technically not -taru 形容動詞 adjectives, but I'm putting them here for reference b/c they are 連体詞 adjectives that end in -taru)

眇たる 【びょうたる】 (adj-pn) small; minute; tiny; little; insignificant

最たる 【さいたる】 (adj-pn) prime; conspicuous

主たる 【しゅたる】 (adj-pn) main; principal; major

F. TWO KANJI PRE-NOUN ADJECTIVALS

名立たる 【なだたる】 (adj-pn) famous; notorious; noted

Word of the Day: Judicial Scrivener

Here's a pic of an ad that is similar to a lot of ads I've been seeing on the subway lately. It's advertising the services of a 司法書士 【しほうしょし】, which I've seen translated on ads as "judicial scrivener," a term I haven't seen since I read a short story by Herman Melville. Basically, the guy doesn't have a law degree, but has apparently studied law and is offering 相談
"consultations" regarding debt relief, among other things.

Now, this ad brings to mind a few issues. First, are these "scriveners" certified to provide legal advice? My guess is that they are not, and I can't imagine that there is a "scrivener" exam and that there is a code of ethics that they must adhere to, such that they could be "disbarred" for a violation. If there's no regulation of these "scriveners", how are consumers protected?

Second, is there are a *market* for these legal consultations by non-lawyers? By the number of ads I'm seeing, it's a thriving business. It's no mystery to me why there's a need for these services. It's widely acknowledged that the number of lawyers in Japan is kept artificially low by an insanely difficult bar exam, which conveniently allows lawyers to charge high fees. The unfortunate consequences of this include (1) there are a lot of people who are unable to afford or even have access to a lawyer in some parts of the country and (2) a lot of people who have studied law but haven't taken/passed the bar exam are in jobs that in the States would be considered practicing law, like this non-lawyer fellow offering "legal consultations." Most of my co-workers have studied law but aren't "弁護士" even though they are doing things that on a daily basis that lawyers do: researching legal issues, drafting legal memos, interpreting regulations, etc.

Third, are people able to distinguish between a "scrivener" and a "lawyer"? Such a practice is prohibited by law in the United States (champerty), so an ad like this would raise hackles. Could you imagine an ad by a paralegal offering "legal consultations"? That paralegal would need to get a lawyer pretty quickly.

I was at lunch last week and a woman asked me "why is it so easy to become a lawyer in the United States?" After nearly choking on my 鯖 【さば】mackerel on this remarkable lack of tact (not the first instance), I turned the question back on her and asked whether she considered that maybe the number of "lawyers" in Japan is kept artificially low, and so now you have a lot of people providing quasi-legal services in an unregulated manner to people who can't afford or even have access to a real lawyer. Did she think this was a good thing? Did she not know that there were parts of Japan where there were no lawyers? This may sound like a good thing to Americans who see the excesses of too much litigation, but the consequences of not being able to assert ones rights fully undermines the justice system considerably, in my view.

Considering that she had studied law but did not pass the exam, I think she saw my point...but I got the sense that it wasn't a topic she wanted to delve into any further, so I left it at that.

Learning from Prime Minister Aso's Mistakes 麻生首相, 有難う御座います！

（麻生首相and his disquieting への字smile）

Here's a list of the errors that Prime Minister Aso has made in speeches (so far) that everyone is jumping all over him about. I had been wondering what exactly the errors were, but few people I know could remember what they were, or what exactly he got wrong, so I tracked them down in case anyone is interested. Good excuse for learning some new words!



1. Rare beast!

Apparently, in describing Japan's "esteemed" or "valued" relationship with Russia, he meant to use the term 珍重 【ちんちょう】 (n,vs) prize; value highly...but instead said 珍獣 【ちんじゅう】 (n) rare (or peculiar) animal.

2. Choice of The Penis Generation

He meant to use the term 団塊世代 【だんかいせだい】 (n) the babyboomers; the baby boom generation (literally, the "lump/node generation")...but instead of saying "daikai" he said "daikon" which is the word for "phallus" 男根 【だんこん】. Freudian slip?

3. Unprecedunted!

In seeing the term 未曾有 meaning "unprecedented" or "unheard of" he read it as みそゆ...which sounds like "味噌" (miso) and "湯" (yu = hot water)... but it's supposed to be pronounced 【みそう】 or 【みぞう】. In my book, this one is an understandable slip, given that the yomi for 有 is rarely just う, but to a lot of my Japanese coworkers, this was unforgiveable. In fact, at the Administrative Training for Japanese bureaucrats that I attended a couple months ago, a speaker intentionally mispronounced this word, and got a big laugh from the audience (one of the only ones in 2 weeks...). It seems that the sentiment is that government officials are supposed to be highly educated, and slips like these undermine the public's confidence. But I suppose making fun of him for these slips is a proxy for critcizing him b/c he's so ineffectual in more important ways, thereby perpetuating his inability to be taken seriously.

4. So Complexificated!

He read the word 繁雑 meaning "complex; intricate" as 【ひんざつ】...but it's supposed to be pronounced【はんざつ】. As a result it wound up sounding like "frequent and complicated". I'm guessing that in his head, he inadvertently saw the kanji for 繁 and associated it with 頻繁 【ひんぱん】 (adj-na) frequent; incessant, and transposed the yomi. Who knows? I'm just glad b/c I learned a new word from his gaffe!

5. Down in the Dumps

Instead of pronouncing 低迷 meaning sluggish as 【ていめい】, he said 【ていまい】. I guess that he was thinking of the 迷 in 迷子 【まいご】 (n) lost (stray) child. This one really surprised one of my coworkers b/c she said it's not an uncommon word at all. Either way: new word for Mikey!

6. Shaking the Foundations

The last one I found is when he pronounced 基盤 meaning "foundation; basis; base" as【きはん】 instead of 【きばん】. This is interesting because the "ban" doesn't seem to be a pronunciation born of necessity (like an "n" shifting to "m" before a consonant as in "nanboku" > "namboku"). There are words in Japanese that are pronounced "kihan":

軌範(P); 規範(P) 【きはん】 (n) model; standard; pattern; norm; criterion; example
羈絆 【きはん】 (n) fetters; shackles; bond; connection
帰阪 【きはん】 (n) returning to Osaka
帰帆 【きはん】 (n,vs) returning sailboat; setting sail for home port

All great words...especially "returning to Osaka"! So instead of criticizing Aso for his screw-ups, as my Japanese coworkers like to do, I should thank him for the vocabulary building!

(Apparently, his blunders have revived an interest in kanji, and a book about commonly mispronounced kanji is flying off the shelves.)

*UPDATE*

Here's the latest gaffe:

Apparently, instead of pronouncing 踏襲 as【とうしゅう】 (meaning following (e.g. suit, in someone's footsteps, etc.)), he pronounced it as "ふしゅう," which sounds a lot like 腐臭 【ふしゅう】 (n) smell of something rotten; rotten smell. I'm guessing that he forgot the onyomi for 踏 ("tou") and remembered only the kunyomi, which is "fumu" (to step). I had never seen the word 踏襲 before, so thanks again, PM Aso!

(You'd think that by now he'd start reading his speeches before reading them in public, or at least have his staff put furigana on the teleprompter!)

Words of the Day: 手酌 etc.!

(seen in a shop in Osaka...eeg)

Found a few really good words this past week, but I've been adjusting to my new job so I haven't gotten around to posting them:

1. 手酌 【てじゃく】 (n) pouring one's own drink

Useful, in a metaphoric sense!

2. 頭打ちに成る 【あたまうち　に　なる】　(v) to plateau

This is one I've been looking for! I wanted to express how my Japanese improved quickly when I first got here, but it seems to have leveled off (and may even be getting worse!), so this seems to do the trick. I literally "bumped my head"...

3. 十把一絡げ; 十把一絡 【じっぱひとからげ; じゅっぱひとからげ】 (n,adj-no) lumping together all sorts of things; making sweeping generalizations; dealing with various things under one head

I love this one! Literally, "bundle ten sticks into one." I'm sick of saying "一般化" all the time b/c it lacks punch when I'm disagreeing with someone who has just made an insanely broad-brush statement. Unfortunately, the few people I've tried it out on didn't recognize it, so I imagine it's not in current usage. Still, it's another arrow 矢【や】 to add to my quiver 箙【えびら】.

On a side note, a friend of mine says that when he was a kid, he thought the expression was "十羽ひと空揚げ”　or: "taking ten birds and making one fried chicken dish." Hah! Reminds me of how, when I was a kid and heard someone say "shut the window, or you'll catch a draft," that it was "catch a giraffe," which made no sense but was still plausible, at least to my 8-y/o mind.



4. 権限を付与する　＝　to grant authority

権限 【けんげん】 (n) power; authority; jurisdiction
付与 【ふよ】 (n,vs) grant; allowance; endowment; bestowal; assignment; conferment

付与 sounds much better than "ataeru," I think.

5. 相関関係 【そうかんかんけい】 (n) correlation; interrelation

6. 迂回; 迂廻 【うかい】 (n) (1) detour; (vs) (2) to detour; to circumvent

(and saving the best for last...)

7. 鑑みる 【かんがみる】 (v1,vt) to heed; to take into account; to learn from; to take warning from

I saw this one in adverb form: Xに鑑みて in view of X; in the light of X; taking X into account. Much more precise than について、に関して、etc. for when you want to get across the idea that you're building on things that have been established.

A bonus is that the kanji is used to get across the idea of "to discern" or "to discriminate" so we see it in all sorts of interesting combinations:

a. 印鑑 【いんかん】 (n) stamp; seal
(the kanji finally makes sense to me now: the impression that one uses to distinguish oneself from others!)

b. 鑑賞 【かんしょう】 (n,vs) appreciation (e.g. of art); aesthetic sense

...so for "film festival" is 映画鑑賞会 【えいがかんしょうかい】

c. 鑑定 【かんてい】 (n,vs,adj-no) judgment

So then we get:

鑑定書 【かんていしょ】 (n) expert's written opinion or report
精神鑑定 【せいしんかんてい】 (n,vs) psychiatric examination
ＤＮＡ鑑定 【ディーエヌエーかんてい】 (n) DNA test

d. 鑑別 【かんべつ】 (n,vs,adj-no) discrimination; judgment; distinction

from which we get: 雌雄鑑別 【しゆうかんべつ】 (n) sexing (of chickens, silkworms, etc.)
(literally: female/male distinguish)

Going Whole Poodle in Japan: 旅の恥掻き捨て

I was taught a good expression yesterday:

旅の恥は掻き捨て 【たびのはじはかきすて】

旅 【たび】 (n,vs) travel; trip; journey
恥 【はじ】 (n) shame; embarrassment
掻く 【かく】 (v5k,vt) (1) (uk) to scratch; (2) (See 汗をかく) to perspire; (3) to shovel; to paddle;
捨てる 【すてる】 (v1,vt) to throw away; to cast aside; to abandon; to resign; to break up with (someone)

Literally: "trip embarrassments, shovel and toss"

I guess you could translate this more smoothly as "Embarrassments that happen abroad can be discounted."

This is the sage advice that was given to me by my Deputy Section Chief when I expressed concern that I have to give a speech in Japanese in only 30 minutes (when the original speech was an hour), and my Japanese isn't good enough to speak that quickly. He used this expression to mean that no matter how poorly I do, it'll be ok because I'm abroad and it won't have any real effect on my career. This is the closest equivalent to "gaijin pass" that I can think of! Basically, we can get away with making mistakes, etc., because we're foreigners and not expected to know all the ins and outs of how things work here. So in a way it can be a relief, but it's a double-edged sword because it's also a reminder that we will never fit in. (I'm reminded of how nice it is when I'm just treated as a human being instead of a curiousity, like when I go to the dentist's and they just speak to me in Japanese normally, instead of freaking out that a foreigner is speaking Japanese, even if ineptly.)

He intended to be supportive, but in a way, it can be even more disconcerting. I hope that my work at the Ministry has been helpful in some way, and I don't want to be seen as just something entertaining. Speaking of entertainment, I was using a phrase with my fellow fellows before we came to Japan. We recognized that there was a likelihood we would be seen just as "dancing poodles" in that to some colleagues, it would be merely entertaining that there was a foreigner in the office, and that we would be lucky if we were given real work to do. (as in: sure, dancing poodles don't dance particularly well, but it's a wonder that they dance at all.) We eventually came to the conclusion that in some cases, it made sense not to fight being held up as cheap entertainment, so instead of making the most of things by "going whole hog" we would be "going whole poodle."

As it turned out, I've been given reasonably substantive work, even if I haven't been incorporated entirely into the daily goings-on in my Section, so I am very thankful. I'm also thankful that I've been able to learn so much about trade treaties, etc. So I guess in the end, I should just suck it up on the occasions that I'm seen by some people as a curiosity....and enjoy the ride.

So, really, maybe the Expression of the Day should be:

着眼大局 【ちゃくがんたいきょく】 (n) having an eye to the big picture; being aware of the general situation

Word of the Day: 時効 (Statute of Limitations)

According to the Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan's Justice Ministry 法務省(Houmushou) announced that it would soon be launching a study group 検討会(kentoukai) to deliberate whether to extend 延長 (enchou) or abolish 撤廃 (teppai) the statute of limitations for certain felonies 重大事件 (juudai-jiken). Here's the first paragraph of the article:

法務省は３日、殺人などの重大事件の公訴時効を見直す方向で検討に入った。刑事訴訟法は殺人など「死刑に当たる罪」の時効期間を２５年と定めているが、期間の延長や時効の撤廃も含めて検討する。

On the third (of January), the Justice Ministry will launch a study group aimed at reconsidering the statute of limitations for prosecution of felonies including murder. The study will also address whether to extend or abolish the statute of limitations, which the Criminal Procedure Code sets at 25 years for capital punishment crimes.

Vocabulary List:

刑事訴訟法 【けいじそしょうほう】 (n) Criminal Procedure Code
殺人 【さつじん】 (n,adj-no) murder
死刑 【しけい】 (n) death penalty; capital punishment
時効期間 【じこうきかん】 limitation period; period of limitation; period of prescription; prescription period
期間の延長 【きかんのえんちょう】 extension of period
時効 【じこう】 (n) (1) statute of limitations; lapse of rights after a period of time; prescription; (2) ageing; aging
撤廃 【てっぱい】 (n,vs) annulment; abolition; repeal; rescission
検討する 【けんとうする】 (n,vs) consideration; examination; investigation; study; scrutiny; discussion

Headline of the Day: 紅葉マークの表示義務 "Obligation to Show the "Autumn Leaf" Sticker

On the Metropolitan Police's web site, there is a notice that, according to 【道路交通法第７１条の５・第２項】, Road Traffic Law, Section 71, Clause 2:


７５歳以上の運転者が普通自動車を運転するときは、車の前面と後面に「紅葉マーク(高齢運転者標識)」を表示しなければなりません。

= Drivers over the age of 75 must display on the front and back of the vehicle the "Autumn Leaf" sticker signifying "elderly driver" when operating common passenger vehicles.

(I hope there aren't drivers over 75 operating commercial trucks!)


When I first got to Japan, I was puzzled as to why the sticker indicating "Learner" 初心者was a green arrow, but now I realize it's a green, sprouting leaf, which makes more sense: 若葉マーク (although it still looks like an arrow to me)

The "elderly driver" sticker 紅葉マーク looks like a dried up leaf about to fall from the tree, which is a pretty depressing reminder for the elderly drivers. (This reminds me of an article I read about slang terms used by doctors in the UK; apparently, "CTD" on a patient's chart stood for "circling the drain"...ack!)

At least the name is better than the one used before for drivers over 70: 枯れ葉マーク "areha maaku," which is literally "withered leaf" sticker. I think I'd refuse to put that on my car too, if I were in their shoes.

Although the site indicates that it's an "obligation" 義務, according to the Japan Times, the provisions relating to fines 反則金 【はんそくきん】(lit. "against + rule + money) of 4000 Yen for failure to comply 遵守 【じゅんしゅ】 will not be enforced 実施【じっし】されていない. (The police web site, however, still has the fine listed with a notice in red saying "現在は指導期間としています" or something like "The Period of Instruction is currently in effect."

According to the article, the requirement is supposedly being downgraded by the National Police Authority (NPA) to an "obligation to make an effort" because approximately 75% of drivers over 75 already use the stickers. In my opinion, it would seem that the ones who refuse to use the stickers are precisely the ones whose operation of a vehicle would require a warning to other drivers.

According to the web site, there are other stickers, which I haven't noticed on the streets yet.

A butterfly for 聴覚障害者標識 = Symbol for Hearing & Vision Impaired Drivers:

A four-leaf clover for 身体障害者標識 = Symbol for Physically Impaired Drivers:

Both of these are truly puzzling. I don't know what a butterfly has to do with hearing/vision impairment. It also seems like the internationally-recognized symbol for "disabled" would have done just fine, and I'm not sure what a clover has to do with physical impairment. (Maybe soon someone will tell me that it's actually four heart-tadpoles or something...)

Speaking of which, I'm seeing the use of "身体不自由" all over. Apparently because the term 障害者 is disfavored because it has connotations of "injury," organizations are using "身体不自由" which is closer to "physically challenged."　

Word of the Day: 余波 = After-effect or Fallout

I was looking for a way to say aftershock or after-effect, and my 首席 came to the rescue：余波　（よは）、which is literally "the wave that remains (after the winds have subsided)."

Great word!

Here's an example from Mainichi Shimbun:

毎日新聞社の英語版ニュースサイト「Mainichi Daily News」（MDN）が掲載した記事が「低俗すぎる」などと批判され、同社が記事を削除するなどした問題をめぐり、ネット上で余波が広がっている.

Here's my rough translation:

The fallout from Mainichi Shimbun's deletion of articles published on its English language news site "Mainichi Daily News (MDN") that had been criticised for being "excessively vulgar" is spreading on the Internet.

Vocabulary list:

掲載した 【けいさいした】 (n) (1) publication (e.g. article in paper); appearance; insertion; (vs) (2) to insert (e.g. an article); to run (e.g. in a newspaper)

低俗 【ていぞく】 (adj-na,n) vulgar
批判される 【ひはんされる】 be criticized for; get rubbished; get stoned
削除する 【さくじょする】 (n,vs,adj-no) elimination; cancellation; deletion; erasure; DEL (key)
余波 【よは】 (n) (1) waves that remain after the wind has subsided; (2) after-effect; aftermat

広がっている 【ひろがっている】 (vi) to range; have sprawled

Expression of the Day: Blind Turtle Floating Log

Yesterday's expression about a colt coming from a gourd reminded me of another 4-character expression in Japanese that I love:

盲亀浮木 【もうきふぼく】 unlikely event; rare occurence (lit. "blind turtle, floating log")

This reminds me of an incident I'll never forget that happened a few years ago when I went to Argentina for a summer internship. I was kicking myself because I had forgotten to take the phone number of a good friend Juan Ignacio whom I had met in Buenos Aires a few years earlier and gradually fell out of contact. On the second day after I arrived, I was apartment hunting and accidentally missed the subway stop where I was supposed to get off. While I was on the subway, feeling depressed and lonely, someone suddenly called out my name and grabbed my shoulder! It was my friend JuanIg, who just happened to be on the same subway car and didn't even know I was in Argentina. (He said he never takes that line but for some reason I can't remember he wound up on it.) Everyone else was looking, I think, as we excitedly reconnected and expressed our surprise, but it was a great moment. I remember thinking of the chances of that happening: going to a foreign country, taking a random subway, missing my stop, and bumping into the one person in that city you know, etc. Pretty slim! Definitely rates a 盲亀浮木 in my book!

Anyway, this expression is apparently based upon a Buddhist quasi-parable used to demonstrate the slim chances of being born in a life in which there is possibility of attaining enlightment. The metaphor involves a blind turtle surfacing a countless number of times and the chances of that turtle one day hitting upon a floating log in such a way as to go right up into it. Or something like that. There are a lot of interpretations that I've come across on the Internet but the way I see it (admittedly reflecting a way of thinking that is distorted by the 70s and far removed from that of the Boddhisatvas...), it's a good reminder to appreciate the opportunities we have been given in our lifetime.

I recently saw a video of a guy from New Zealand who was born without limbs and he spoke about how, even though he would rather have limbs if given the choice (he gets credit for being honest), he is thankful for the doors that his condition has opened for him in life and forced him to focus on what's really important, i.e., connections with other people, etc. Very heartfelt and moving.

Last weekend, I met a deaf guy here in Tokyo and I've been learning a lot of Japanese Sign Language from him during our conversations. My rudimentary ASL is helpful but only gets me so far, and he has been amazingly patient and we've been able to communicate much better than I had expected. (The fingerspelling 指文字 itself was a formidable challenge, but I found a good site on line and finally succeeded in getting the entire syllabary down.) It was great to be able to listen to what he had to say about growing up deaf in Japan. I was surprised that his parents who are both hearing didn't learn sign language. I had met another deaf Japanese guy in NY a couple years ago and he told me that his parents wouldn't let him sign in public because they were embarrassed...but according to the guy I just met, that mentality still exists but is thankfully getting rarer, at least in the cities and with younger generations. As we were signing on the subway, we were getting a lot of stares, so I was imagining how that must be to experience that on a daily basis growing up. (He drew the picture attached to this post, btw.)

So now that I'm looking back on 2008, I'm thankful for the opportunity to come to Japan and be able to learn so many new things every day, meet interesting people, eat amazing food, and visit places I've always wanted to go. So even though life isn't "perfect" by any stretch, the rarity of a life that affords such wonderful opportunities and the ability to connect (and reconnect) with such great people is something I definitely have come to appreciate these past few years. So thanks, New Zealand guy; thanks, JuanIg, and thanks, blind turtle!

Phrase of the Day: Horse from a Gourd!

Today I was talking to some co-workers about how something was unexpected and I was searching for a phrase that meant "out of the blue."

I knew 藪蛇 【やぶへび】but that wouldn't work because it has a negative connotation; it is literally translated as "snake from the thicket/bush," and means something like "stirring up a "hornet's nest" or "bringing unnecessary trouble upon oneself."

(Another good expression using "yabu" is 藪の中 【やぶのなか】 which is "the inability to discern the truth due to conflicting testimony," which is derived from the Akutagawa Ryuunosuke story "In A Grove," upon which the movie Rashomon is based in part. Another good expression is 藪医者, which is literally "doctor from the bush" and means "quack (doctor)"; I have no idea whether this is in common use, but I like it!)

The only other expression that I could think of was 亀毛兎角 【きもうとかく】(lit. "fur on turtles and horns on rabbits"), but she said she had never heard of it. In any event, it probably wouldn't work because it's apparently used as a metaphor for things that do not exist, or to express absurdity.

She then suggested the following, which she assured me was commonly used, or at least readily recognized:

瓢箪から駒 【ひょうたんからこま】 (exp) something very unexpected; something said as a joke actually happening (lit: a colt/chesspiece/spool comes from a gourd)

I like it...and I'm looking forward to the next opportunity to use it, whenever that may be!

Prove it! 立証 and 反証

I learned a couple really useful litigation-related words today:

立証 【りっしょう】 (n,vs) establishing proof; demonstration; substantiation

反証 【はんしょう】 (n,vs) proof to the contrary; disproof; counter-evidence

Example One:

被害の立証が困難なため、申請を見送るという

Due to difficulties in establishing injury, the motion/petition was continued/postponed.

Example Two:

裁判長は、事故原因とされた「脇見運転」の反証として検察側が提出した動画を証拠採用し、法廷で上映した。

The presiding judge ruled that a video submitted the prosecution was admissible and could be shown in court to disprove "distracted driving" as a cause of the accident.

Key words:

被害 【ひがい】 (n) damage
立証 【りっしょう】 (n,vs) establishing proof; demonstration; substantiation
困難な 【こんなんな】 (adj-na,n) difficulty; distress
申請 【しんせい】 (n,vs) application; request; petition
見送る 【みおくる】 (v5r,vt) (1) to see off (e.g. to the station, an airport, etc.); to escort (e.g. home); to farewell; (2) to see out; to send off; (3) to let pass; to wait and see; (4) to let a pitch go by (baseball); to watch a batted ball go into the stands


裁判長 【さいばんちょう】 (n) presiding judge
事故原因 【じこげんいん】 (n) source, cause of an accident
脇見運転 【わきみうんてん】 (n,vs) looking aside while driving; taking one's eyes off the road ahead while driving
反証 【はんしょう】 (n,vs) proof to the contrary; disproof; counter-evidence
検察側 【けんさつがわ】 prosecution
提出した 【ていしゅつした】 (vs) (1) to present; to submit (e.g. a report or a thesis); to hand in; to file; to turn in; (n) (2) presentation; submission; filing; (P)
動画 【どうが】 (n,adj-no,vs) (1) animation; motion picture; moving image; video; (2) in-betweening (in anime)
証拠 【しょうこ】 (n) evidence; proof
採用 【さいよう】 (n,vs) (1) use; adoption; acceptance; (2) appointment; employment
法廷で 【ほうていで】 at the bar of justice; in facie curiae
上映した 【じょうえいした】 (n) (1) screening (a movie); showing; (vs) (2) to screen a movie

Word of the Day: 笊法

While discussing the enforcement of certain environmental statutes today, a co-worker said that, in practice, many companies are able to circumvent some of the strictures/provisions. I knew that loophole is 抜け穴　"nukeana," which literally is like a secret door, apparently.

I wondered whether there was any way to refer in Japanese to the law itself, though. I guess I was looking for something akin to "toothless law." It turns out there's a great term for this: 笊法 【ざるほう】 (n) (uk) law full of loopholes. I love this one because 笊 literally is a "porous basket." Very expressive!

Slang: ゾンビ会社 "Zombie Business"

I learned a slang word today that is probably no longer in current use in Japan, but is relevant longer in current use in Japan, but is relevant to what the US is experiencing right now. According to an article I read on http://www.reason.com/, "Twenty years ago, Japan's economy was plagued by struggling markets, liquidity concerns, and frozen credit. In response, Japan tried bailing out its banks, investing in infrastructure, and propping up "zombie businesses," firms that would have failed without government intervention."

Perfectly conveys the idea!

Phrase of the Day 学級崩壊

One of my co-workers teaches a class on trade law at a private university here in Tokyo, and he asked me if I wanted to teach a class for him. The previous week, I had given a presentation at Administrative Training on the Japan-China-Korea Investment Treaty (日中韓投資取り決め）that is currently being negotiated by my section colleagues at MOFA. Since he hadn't taught a lesson yet on investment treaties, I gave a lecture based on the presentation I gave.

Hoo-boy, what a trying experience! When I walked in, it seemed as though about 1/2 of the students were sitting in the back 2 rows: bad sign. While the regular professor was taking care of housekeeping matters, it seemed like no one was paying attention, instead talking to each other, texting on their cellphones, etc. I walked up to the podium and noticed that the girl in the front row had her head down on the desk and was asleep; if it were my class back in the States, I'd have chucked her out of the class (or at least told her to wake up), but it was a bit awkward because the regular professor didn't seem to know how to keep discipline and they took advantage of his passivity (受身を利用する　＝　うけみ　を　りよう　する）.

I was actually really surprised how discourteous 不謹慎（ふきんしん）the students were, considering how many times I've been told how the Japanese are so polite to strangers and respectful of their elders, etc. Maybe things are different once they get into university because it's like a vacation compared to high school!

As I was talking, I was a bit unnerved at the people in the back of the class continuing to talk, etc. but I charged ahead. At one point I was talking about "retaliatory measures/actions" and I inadvertently said 回復行為　（かいふく　こうい）(recovery action) instead of what I should have said: 報復行為 （ほうふく　こうい）, so I felt like a total idiot afterwards when I realized what I said. No wonder I got blank stares when I said that!

(For the record, and as penance, I'm forcing myself to distinguish among the following:
回復 kaifuku = recovery
復習 fukushuu = review
復讐 fukushuu = revenge
報復 houfuku = retaliation
仕返し shikaeshi = reprisal; tit for tat; requital

The most unnerving thing was the blank stares. I recognize that my Japanese isn't fluent, but I figured I had given the same lecture before without any problems and everyone seemed to understand it then, so I was surprised to see all these looks of apparent incomprehension on their faces. I was also a bit annoyed that people would blatantly talk, text-message, etc., throughout a guest lecture. Still, it seemed like at least 2/3 of the students were paying attention, so I guess I shouldn't complain.

Then it all just went to crap.

As I was giving my lecture, there were 2 rather lengthy announcements about the protests at nearby Yasukuni Shrine...and then right before I could get into the interesting stuff and the recap, there was an emergency drill 避難訓練　（ひなん　くんれん）...ack! So before I could give a conclusion and give the take-away points and *hopefully* end on a positive note with people leaving the class having learned something, the buzzer goes off and we're being told to leave immediately.

So not the best experience, and I seriously doubt I'll volunteer to do it again....and it definitely made me miss my students back at George Washington University School of Law, who were spectacular (for the most part), now that I look back. I guess I should be more appreciative once I'm back in DC!

Anyway, this phrase sums the experience up:

学級崩壊 【がっきゅうほうかい】 (n) class disruption (e.g. due to discipline problems); classroom chaos

This one will also work: 混沌（こんとん）としている = to descend into chaos

Hope my next lecture doesn't turn out so poorly!

Word Of the Day: Tied/Untied

At dinner, someone mentioned the difference between Overseas Development Assistance that is tied to business interests, and assistance that isn't...so I was wondering how to say that in Japanese. I couldn't find it in my dictionary, but eventually stumbled upon it while looking up something else. Just as you would expect:

紐なし援助　＝　｛ひもなし　えんじょ｝　Untied Aid　（lit. "aid without strings")
紐付き援助　＝　｛ひもつき　えんじょ｝Tied Aid　（lit. "aid with strings")

(紐 is also used in 紐帯 【ちゅうたい】 (n) important connection; important social foundation; tight relationship (lit. "cord/string and obi"))

I admit that I get a little rush whenever a metaphoric usage is the same in a little rush whenever a metaphoric usage is the same in another language.