The blog Surviving In Japan has posted a very interesting and potentially useful forecast for cherry blossom (sakura, 桜、さくら) blooming in Japan for 2012, divided by region and location. Watching blooming blossoms is known as hanami (花見、はなみ), or simply “flower viewing” (flower + view).
If you’re visiting Japan in early 2012, you might want to take a look! Excellent work at Surviving In Japan to make this forecast easy on the eyes. – J
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Overreach
Here in the LA Times we have a story about a man with Diabetes who refused to eat the rice in an “all the sushi you can eat” special offer at a sushi restaurant, wanting only the fish. I think the kicker here is that the chef kindly offered to prepare him sashimi specifically, but the customer dramatically refused – and then sued for “over $4000.” What an ass.
Not for the last time will I say this: “sushi” is vinegared rice. If you’re not eating the rice, you’re not eating sushi. The chef would be quite literally compromising his craft to take any other stance.
Key para:
Oh said he offered to prepare sashimi for Martin. Two orders of sashimi cost $25, or $3 less than the all-you-can-eat sushi deal. But Oh said Martin declined the offer.
To me, this makes all the legal and moral difference in the world. If you want sashimi – that is, the sliced fish – then order sashimi. Don’t order all you can eat sushi and not eat the sushi (i.e. the rice).
For his lack of respect, the customer wants $4000+ for humiliation and discrimination for his disability.
Sir, you have a medical condition, not a disability. Disability is someone who can’t walk because of a genetic defect. I have Type 2 diabetes; I take pills before meals. I’m fortunate that I do not have to take insulin, but I do not. I realize this might impact my enjoyment of Japanese meals if I was living in Japan, but people would understand… and by the same token, I wouldn’t be baka enough to go after all-you-can-eat sushi.
More to the point, just going after the fish is abusive to the hospitality of the chef and is in effect robbing him of his work.
It’s not just a financial mugging; it’s a cultural mugging. Maybe the image of “sushi” as the fish is being preyed upon here. But we have no obligation to humor cultural ignorance as the basis for a frivolous lawsuit. Nor greed.
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A Rose By Any Other Name
What’s in a name? Today’s subject isn’t any particular place name; it is a term used for famous places as described in an essay on viewing Japanese prints, like ukiyo-e. There is, after all, a long and rich tradition of Japanese wood block printed graphic art of interesting place, such as in the Edo (modern Tokyo) area.
So, here’s part of the paragraph that really got my attention at this site:
The context of meisho-e should be explained further. Meisho, literally “place with a name,” is a term often translated as “famous places” or “celebrated locations.” The earliest known meisho-e were probably painted as a sub-genre of early yamato-e (“Japanese painting”) and were first linked as well toshiki-e (“pictures of the four seasons”) and tsukinami-e (“pictures of the twelve months”).
…This furthers what I call the “Japanese as a language spoken by space aliens” meme. In other words, Japanese is a language with literal meanings absolutely incomprehensible to the Western mind that only Martians could comprehend.
This is laughably false, because the premise above simply isn’t correct.
Your Name Is Your Reputation
In Japanese language, 名 (mei) is indeed used for what we would call name, but it means more than that. It means your reputation, renown, and fame; in other words, not just the name, but what is associated with that name.
So, 名前 (namae; reputation + front) is your name, but it also means the reputation that precedes you. Something that is 有名 (yuumei; have + reputation) is famous because it has a reputation attached. A 有名人 (yuumeijin; have + reputation + person) is a famous person, like Elvis.
For these reasons, a 名所 (meisho; reputation + general place) is a place of renown, a well-known place, a famous place.
Incidentally, the kanji 場 (ba) tends to indicate a specific place rather than a broad one. This is a nuance that is easily missed.
For instance, a 急所 (kyuusho; critical place) uses a kanji usually used for “urgent/ emergency” plus “general place.” This describes, in abstract, the vitals, or vital spots that can be struck for grievous damage. This applies to martial arts, as well as to Monster Hunter video games. While not the same language as 弱点 (jakuten; lit. “weak point”), it fulfills much the same linguistic function.
On the other foot, 足場 (ashiba; foot + specific place) is used for foothold, often in the specific sense of scaffolding (i.e. something you place your feet on to reach high places without falling). It could also be used in a slightly more abstract way, such as a beachhead gained by landing forces during the invasion of Normandy in WWII.
Similarly, an 売り場 (uriba; sell + specific place) is the specific place where you sell something, like a store counter.
場所 (basho; specific place + general place) describes a location.
So, let us not consider famous places to be a matter of standing on top of a particular stone; they are areas, and famous, well known areas at that; places of wide renown.
It’s not about having a name. It’s about why a place has a name to begin with.
]]>Long story short, a new type of sushi bar is attracting a female clientelle in Tokyo: one offering slices and cuts of raw meat other than fish, such as beef, chicken, pork, deer, and horse. The rice is being sold with balsamic vinegar to offset the different meat better than the usual regular variety.
Now, I do see a rather obvious problem. I can understand raw fish of various sorts being entirely sanitary, but raw pork…? Isn’t that dangerous, since pigs are just close enough to humans (in body temp and so on) for a lot of bugs to be able to make the species jump? Well, I’m not their meat inspector, so I’m not going to speculate.
All I know for sure is that it’s an excellent opportunity to underline how the fish is not the sushi, so this, too, is sushi, without any abuse of language. I just don’t intend to vouch for it being good sushi, but someone likes it.
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This is “Nova Scotia” in katakana. This is the province of Canada (カナダ) in which I live. While largely the same latitude as Japan, it is a world away, with a 13 hour difference between Atlantic Standard Time and Japan Standard Time. This difference becomes an even 12 hours during daylight savings time.
Incidentally, I live (住む、sumu) on the coast at a point between Digby and Yarmouth in the South-West part of Nova Scotia.
Like Japan (日本、nihon/ “nippon”), Nova Scotia has four seasons (四季、shiki). Winters are mild due to the action of the Gulf Stream ocean current; summers are also milder in temperature. Nova Scotia experiences a high amount of wind (風、kaze) and has frequent shifts in weather (天気、tenki). The humidity is also usually quite high, which is a major downside to living here.
Nova Scotia is often hit only partially by major storms and hurricanes. My area, the District of Clare (unofficially known as the French Coast), while economically poor, has the distinction of having an uncanny ability to miss the worst of storms, mainly due to the effects of the Bay of Fundy on local weather and an accident of location. Perhaps this is our reward for living in such a depressed area.
経済が悪いながら天気があまり悪くない。
(The economy sucks but the weather isn’t all that bad.)
湿度除く。
(Humidity excepted.)
Nova Scotia’s beaches are rocky; there is a minimum of sand (砂が少ない). There is an abundance of forests, but they look very similar and getting lost is very easy without trails. So stick to the roads and trails. 森が迷子安い。そのため、道を外すしないで下さい。
Population density is not high. 人口密度が低い。
The main “city,” Halifax, is like a very big town. マインな「都市 」Halifaxは大きい町みたい。
It doesn’t feel like Tokyo at all. 東京と全然違う雰囲気。
Unlike most areas, my district contains a high percentage of French speaking Canadians. French speaking communities are scattered across Nova Scotia. Overall, it’s really not a big deal.
I speak French too, but not everyone does. 私も仏語を話すだけど、それが全般的じゃない。
One thing to mention: Peggy’s Cove is a pretty place, but don’t be an idiot. The signs are there for a reason. Don’t get swept away by the waves by getting too close.
Peggy’s Coveは奇麗な場所だけど、馬鹿しないで。危ないから、海に近づけないで。
Last year another idiot got swept away because he ignored the warnings. Every few years another person or two gets the same treatment because people don’t want to pay attention…
旧年はもう一度の馬鹿が海に命を落とした。警告を無視しただから。無視はだめです。
But it really is a pretty place. With a little caution, it’s a great place for memorable pictures.
本当に奇麗な場所だけど。注意しながら、いい写真を撮るスポットだ。
OK, that’s all for now. I gave my Japanese a shot. – J
]]>You may have noticed from the last couple of posts, but I am not feeling well so I am not doing intensive writing. Rather, I’m trying to point people to other good content on the Web.
Why is this, you might ask? Well, let me give you one little piece of Japanese culture: cluttered web design. Kanji encourage Japanese people to use every millimeter of visual space. It doesn’t work as well as it ought to when translated into English. So, pointing to something specific can perform something of a public service.
In this case, try this specific link to Traditional Dishes of Japan, hosted by the English language version Japan National Tourism Organization web page. It’s a public resource, so why be shy?
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Pressed By The Chef’s Loving Hand
So, to “nigiru” is indeed to grasp. Nigirizushi (sushi > zushi, at the end of a compound word; this makes it easier to say) is grasped by the chef and pressed together. It is formed of some sort of meat pressed on top of sushi. The above picture shows ebi, or lobster, in this case. The meat is pressed on top of the sushi while the sushi is in an oblong rectangular box (which simply means that fish/ lobster face forward when being pressed). The sushi (vinegared rice) thus packed provides a stable foundation, and the nigirizushi can then be served as-is.
A variant is known as the gunkan maki (“battleship roll”), using nori seaweed to form a perimeter around the sushi rice that constitutes a “vessel” that can be filled with soft toppings. This invention, pioneered by the Ginza Kyubey restaurant in 1931, greatly expanded the variety of toppings that could be used with nigirizushi.
Now, for pretty much all of the history of sushi, the idea of this being done by a machine was ludicrous, but you may want to take a peek at the video below. Behold – a robot with a silicon hand that can pick up squishy meat correctly, and put it on top of sushi! The idea was to have something that could save time. I doubt it’s economical, but it sure is nifty.
Incidentally, the meat that is put over sushi rice like this is cut in two and served in pairs, allowing the eater to appreciate the taste more (by being, well, less of a chore to handle). This is sensible. I just wanted to mention this to put the above video in context.
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Rice You Can Hold
For once, eating with your hands (in Japan) is OK.
To nigiru is “To Grasp.”
O-Nigiri (Japanese: おにぎり、お握り) is sushi that you grasp while eating it.
Put simply, onigiri are rice balls with fillings of some kind.
Traditionally, these fillings included:
- Pickled dry plums (umeboshi)
- Salted bonito (katsuo-bushi)
- Konbu seaweed (konbu)
- Cod roe (tarako)
Cod roe for the Japanese market is actually one industry that has existed for many years in my tiny coastal community here in Nova Scotia, though overfishing etc. has decreased the quantity, and the Japanese economy has not been booming, either.
Anyway, the point behind these traditional fillings is simple: anything salty or sour acted like a natural preservative. The onigiri long precedes the electric refrigerator, after all. (If you didn’t know that, now you do!)
Today, onigiri are highly popular in Japan as a snack food. A wide variety of flavors and fillings are employed. Onigiri are widely sold at convenience stores all across Japan.
Note that the rice in onigiri is actually not vinegared, thus, it is not itself sushi. Nonetheless, onigiri are common, easy to make, and do not require any worrying about servings or other issues a chef might otherwise face, so you will find them in any sushi-ya (sushi restaurant) alongside quote unquote “sushi.” You can’t miss them. They’re everywhere.
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You Know, The Rice Is The “Sushi.”
That’s right. It’s the rice, not the fish, that is, quote unquote, “sushi.” Sliced fish, usually skewered, is actually called sashimi.
If you didn’t know this, and even if you did, stay tuned for plenty more about the wonderful world of Japanese restaurants.
Sushi rice is actually vinegared rice, with the vinegar providing taste that rice alone would not. Also, Japanese rice is a type that neither clumps together to insane levels, nor is too long-grained to clump properly at all. Instead, it’s a sort of middle ground, requiring paste to really retain a clump. A very common way to get sushi rice to stay together is by using nori, a type of seaweed.
A Fictional Scene
A young man of college student age, named Akira is entering a restaurant with his girlfriend, a woman of similar age named Naomi.
A waitress comes to greet them, making a bow.
Waitress: Irrashaimase. Nanmei-sama desu ka?
Akira: Futari desu.
Waitress: Douzo. Kochira e.
The Translation
Waitress: Welcome. How many are in your party?
Akira: Two people.
Waitress: Please, right this way.
Irrashaimase: A Basic of Hospitality
Irrashaimase is an over-the-top, honorific method of speaking. “Irasshai” is less over-the-top. However, a high class restaurant will use this archaic way of speaking to show customers the highest possible level of respect.
Strictly speaking, in linguistic terms, this is to raise the customers to the highest respect level, above that of the host/ hostess.
Nanmei: How Many Names Have You?
Taken too literally, “nanmei” is a compound word with “nan” being a “what?” type question, and “mei” being “name.” It’s really like asking how many heads of cattle there are in a herd, except we’re talking about people, not cows.
I feel very comfortable phrasing this as asking “how many people are in your party?”
Desu Ka: Polite Question Format
Putting desu affirms the sentence, and adding ka makes the sentence a question. Thus, “How many people are in your party?”
At any rate, it’s simply being polite.
Futari
Futari is a word that is, in kanji, literally “two” + “people.” Thus, two people, a pair, a couple, and so forth.
In response to this kind of question, “two people” seems a good way to look at it, but the word itself is more flexible than this.
A literal “party of two” would be “futarizure” (“tsure” at the end of a compound > “zure”), but what’s the point of being so technical? It’s the hostess trying to bend over backwards so that the guest can relax.
You will see this point arise again.
Douzo
Speaking more literally, we could take this like, “By all means.” That is, by all means, take your time. In reading this too literally, we would miss a more idiomatic sense: “Please.” It’s a gentle and friendly way of saying please that does not imply an obligation, but which confers right-of-way to the customer.
Kochira e
“Kochira” is quite literally this way, as in, this side, in the direction I am standing in.
The particle e indicates a general direction, and not a specific location. Thus, it works hand in hand with “this way.”
What We Didn’t See
We did not see either a copula (which works like is/ am/ are, like desu above) or a verb for the last sentence. Technically we didn’t see a “topic” either (in crude terms, the subject of the sentence) because the customers are well aware that they are the topic. Nor does the waitress need to spell out that they should walk in her direction. This is obvious.
Japanese is a need-to-know language. If you already know it, people don’t want to say it and waste your precious time.
This is another feature of normal Japanese speech that is good to remember.
To Be Continued…
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Yamanashi Prefecture is the part of Japan once known as Kai Prefecture. That’s as in, The Tiger of Kai, Takeda Shingen, who I covered in a “Profiles of Bushido” post a couple of weeks ago. Put another way, this is the prefecture due north of Mt. Fuji. As a result, there is less rain in this prefecture than along the coast.
A Broad Curriculum
You can find details about everything Yamanashi offers, in English, on this page. Click on a component to see the vast offerings. In just the Division of School Education, specialized services in Japanese and English language education, social studies, mathematics, science, music, art, health, technology, and home economics, are offered. That’s a lot.
In 2002, the University of Yamanashi was merged with a major medical university. Thus, the current University of Yamanashi also includes a vast School of Medicine.
In addition, Yamanashi’s Faculty of Engineering doesn’t just talk the talk of improving society through science: it walks the walk, featuring a “Department of Ecosocial System Engineering” and aiding Japan in its push to be a world leader in environmental technology. More juicy info here.
In The Heartland
Yamanashi Prefecture became part of the Shogunate’s core territory. Over the centuries preceding the Meiji Restoration, it received lavish infrastructure spending. Today, it remains a major segment of Honshu (lit.: “main island,” the main island of Japan) in the heart of the country. With Mt. Fuji to the south, and picturesque lakes from which to gaze at it, Yamanashi is also a quality stop for tourists.
The City of Kofu (甲府市)
Yamanashi’s campuses are located mainly in Kofu, the capitol of the prefecture. Kofu is a city of some 201,184 souls. (The “rural” feel of Sapporo has to be contrasted with its population of 1.6 million! However, Hokkaido itself is far less populated than Honshu, so Sapporo is the biggest game in town there.)
Besides being a Mecca for Takeda Shingen fans (which is a good thing, by the way), the city is full of museums, cultural centers, the Yumura Onsen (onsen = hot spring), and precious gem museums from Kofu’s jewelry industry.
I must admit to having a brief encounter with this industry. Once, I translated something related to an exhibition of Kofu jewelry. At the time, I didn’t even know anything about Kofu, but apparently its jewelry industry was far more famed within Japan than it has been in the modern era with stiff international competition. Government support (public-private partnerships and so forth) has been provided with the aim of kick-starting the industry into greater global recognition. Good luck to Kofu’s artisans!
A full two-thirds of the city’s is actually covered by a mix of mountains and forests. Certainly, this is taking the scenic route.
Overall: A Strong Contender
Yamanashi offers a lot of meat for the potential exchange student. In addition, the natural beauty is a definite plus. Considering how utterly packed Tokyo feels, a city of “only” 200k people certainly can’t feel that crowded, either. Definitely worth a look, especially for serial do-gooders who want to be part of improving the world through education, medicine, and technology.
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