The High-Lows are a now-defunct Japanese rock band whose sound mixes a tinge of American doo-wop with a mallet over the head dose of youth nostalgia. Though not a huge fan, I picked up one of their CDs back in the day after hearing that they were the successor band to the influential late 1980s J-punk band The Blue Hearts (“Linda Linda” remains one of my favorite songs).
Despite the clear US influences in his band’s music, guitarist/songwriter Masato Mashima felt like 2002 (runup to the Iraq war) was an appropriate time to let us know what he thinks about Americans in his fun piece of album filler entitled “American Spirit” from the album angel beetle. Here’s a translation (lyrics in Japanese available here as culled with some difficulty from utamap.com):
Crush the colored races/Make the rules so they benefit me
Don’t admit my mistakes/That’s the American Spirit
Kill Kill Kill John Wayne-style
You’re an impudent bunch for a colored race
Hey! You say you can’t obey me?!
Hey! Who do you think I am?!
American/I’m an American/I’m the World Champion, baby
American/I’m an American/Unlimited justice, baby
Beat up the badguys/I even went to the moon, you know!
Ain’t I cool? Ain’t I smart?
I don’t understand your sadness,
But please, understand my sadness
I would like to present translations of two different articles on the use of whale meet in school lunches in Japan with little additional comment. These articles are actually half a year old, but they appeared on the exact same day, which makes the contrast all the more striking. My personal take on this issue is contained in this post and comments on Adam’s recent post. Now to me, one of these sounds like a real news article and one sound like propagandistic fluff, but you be the judge. As an aside, if you are looking for some English language material in support of Japanese whaling activities, there’s an entire blog of it here.
Whale meat is super delicious
Students at the No.5 Kouyou Elementary school have “nostalgic school lunch”
For the school lunch week from the 23rd to the 27th a menu item from the mid 1950s to mid 1960s named as “nostalgic school lunch” re-appeared for several days running at an elementary school of Mukou City, Kyoto prefecture. On the 27th whale meat with sweat and sour sauce made an appearance, and this rare menu was sampled with pleasure by the children.
The plan was to deepen the students understanding of the history and significance of school lunches. Nutritionists created the dished by consulting menus from 1957-1968 that had been preserved by Kouyou Elementary. Boiled cabbage, mixed pork and beans-even these basic foods were provided.
On this day, the menu at No.5 Kouyou Elementary had four dishes: whale with sweat and sour sauce, sesame marinated vegetables, white rice and miso soup. The whale, which these days rarely appears in school lunches, was mink whale caught for study. The whale meat was cut into cubes, deep fried with wheat flour, and slathered with sweet and sour sauce. Although it was the first time the children had eaten whale, they were delighted saying “it’s super delicious!” They never stopped asking for second helpings.
At the same school there is also a display in the hall way outside the computer lab to introduce the children to the history of school lunches, starting in 1949, and telling them about the changed in menu and preparation methods.
A week of school lunches
Whale meet appears on menu at elementary schools in this prefecture, etc.
January 27, 2006 The pan-Japan school lunch week began on the 24th, and on the 25th Tatsuta-fry made with whale meat appeared on the menu at Tanabe City’s Uwaakitsu Elementary School (Haraakira Komatsu, principal). In the prefecture a total of 174 Elementary, Junior High and other schools served school lunches using whale meat throughout the week.
Throughout the week a variety of functions were carried out to increase the awareness of children and students, teachers, guardians and area residents towards school lunches. In this prefecture they promoted this by making school lunches using various traditional and locally grown ingredients.
This is the second time that whale meat has appeared in Uwaakitsu Elementary school, the first having been March of last year. On this day the “taste of Wakayama Prefecture” menu also included the other dishes of vegetable and plum rice, boiled egg and kouya style frozen tofu, and ponkan oranges grown locally in Uwaakitsu.
In their own classrooms, the children tasted the dish which they hadn’t had in a long time. Wakana Sugi, a second year girl said of the whale meat, “I guess it’s kind of tough.”
Whale meat has largely disappeared from school lunches since commercial whaling temporarily ceased in 1982. The prefectural school lunch association called on the city, town and village education association to use whale meat to try and move along the children’s education of Wakayama food culture, and it began to appear in school lunches in January of last year.
There are also plans in Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Nara prefectures to use whale meat in school lunches throughout this month.
The Ministry of Education, in commemoration of the first test school lunches in Chiba, Tokyo and Kanagawa Prefectures starting on December 24 1946, every year designates a “school lunch week” starting on January 24th, but not conflicting with winter vacation.
Japanese uber-blogger Kikko scoffs in her most recent post at what she terms lame and unpatriotic promises that certain celebrities have made “if Japan beats Brazil” in the upcoming World Cup match. Kaori Manabe, for her part, has reportedly promised to “hold a Carnival in a bikini” in the off chance Japan can topple the current World Cup defenders. Sure, maybe they shouldn’t be prematurely predicting Japan’s elimination in the first round, but to me it makes perfect sense to make wild wagers when the odds are stacked in your favor.
In the (as always, too long) intro to her post, however, Kikko-san makes some interesting claims about the English meaning of the word “cop”:
Speaking of Croatia (NOTE: the team Japan recently tied against in the World Cup), that’s the homeland of (PRIDE kickboxer) Mirco Crocop. Since I heard it a while ago, I know that Mirco, who worked as a police officer, took that ring name from the “Cro” in “Croatia” and the English “Cop” meaning “police officer” to make his ring name “Cro-Cop” meaning “Croatian Police Officer.” In other words, since a robot police officer is “RoboCop,” then a Croatian police officer would be “Crocop.” But “cop” has the sense of “beat cop” (NOTE: omawari in Japanese) or “po-po” (NOTE: pori-ko in Japanese) or “the fuzz” (NOTE: mappo in Japanese), doesn’t it? “Police officer” (NOTE: keisatsukan in Japanese) means “police” or “policeman” [in English], as in “strange police officer” or “a policeman with his nipples in the wrong place,” so “cop” has more of an informal (NOTE: kudaketa in Japanese) connotation. Then, if you pronounce it “cop” (NOTE: as it is normally pronounce in English; “cop” in Japanese is normally pronounced COPE-poo), then it has an even more informal connotation. So if someone says “Cops are coming!” then it’s like “The fuzz are here!”
Um, no? First of all it’s always pronounced cop (i.e. カップ; it would be different in British English, I guess, but that doesn’t change the meaning at all). And another thing: “cop” is something of a colloquial term, but it has none of the pejorative connotation contained in the Japanese satsu, pori-ko, or mappo (unless I misread these terms), or even the English slang “po-po” or “fuzz.” Any lame-o on the street will “call the cops” on someone if they’re acting like a douchebag. Your posts are always enlightening, Kikko, but you might want to stay away from analyzing the “nuance” (a Japanism meaning “connotative meaning”)of the English language.
UPDATE: In related/parallel lives “news“: Home Depot Criticized For Pledging $10 Billion To American Cancer Society For Every Padres Home Run
I stopped at Book Off, that wonderful oasis of a Japanese used bookshop in midtown Manhattan, on my way home from Connecticut last weekend. I wasn’t intending on actually buying anything, but the first all 4 issues of Osamu Tezuka’s manga Adolf (Adorofu ni Tsugu) at a dollar apiece were too tempting to pass up. It’s an interesting work of historical fiction that answers the question: “What if Jews living in Kobe during World War 2 found definitive proof that Hitler was 1/4 Jewish?” As someone relatively unfamiliar with Tezuka’s work, I’ve been surprised to see depictions of torture and mass murder peppered throughout – I had thought he traded mostly in cute robot boys and little lions, but if you look at his bibliography he’s pretty freakin’ prolific!
What caught my eye, though, was this disclaimer at the end of the first volume (loosely translated):
In this “Complete Works of Osamu Tezuka (published in 1996), the images of many foreigners, mainly blacks and Southeast Asians, make an appearance. Some of those images depict those people as they were when their countries were undeveloped or exaggerate past eras and differ greatly from the present situation. Recently, there have been claims that such depictions are racially discriminatory toward blacks and some other foreigners. As long as there are people who feel uneasy about these images or feel insulted by them, we believe we must seriously listen to those opinions.
However, the exaggeration and parody of people’s features is the most important method of humor for comic books (manga). This is especially prevalent in Tezuka’s works, so people of many countries are the subject to parody. Further, beings from the animal kingdom to the world of the imaginary are very humourously caricatured, not only humans. Not even the author’s self-portrait is an exception to this, with his nose drawn several times longer than it actually is. Also, the author is a person who always and continually held the belief that all hatred and conflict is evil, including that between the civilized and uncivilized, advanced nations and developing nations, the powerful and the weak, the rich and the poor, and the healthy and the sick – beneath his stories runs a strong “love of humanity.”
The reasons we have ventured to print the “Complete Works of Osamu Tezuka” are that the author has already passed on and therefore cannot edit his works. Not only would a third person changing the work of the dead would pose a problem in terms of the person’s dignity, but also cannot be considered an appropriate measure to deal with the problem at hand, and not only that, we have a responsibility to protect works that are regarded as the heritage of Japan’s culture. From the beginning, we oppose all discrimination and will work to eliminate discrimination. We believe this is the responsibility of a publisher. We hope that readers, too, will use this Tezuka work as an opportunity to recognize the fact that various discrimination exists and deepen understanding of this issue.
So, Tezuka’s manga aren’t discriminatory but should be used as an opportunity to reflect on the issue of racial discrimination? Sure, Kodansha. Maybe you’ve gotten smarter in the last 10 years, but I kind of doubt it.
This comment is a direct reaction to moves by a group in Japan called “The Group to Eliminate Discrimination Against Blacks,” a fairly sanctimonious group that originally started without a single “black” member to its name. The group claimed that Tezuka’s “Kimba the White Lion” included racist depictions of black Africans and demanded it be changed to reflect a more culturally sensitive era. The move resulted in the removal of Kimba panels from several museum exhibits dedicated to Tezuka. Indicative of Japan’s general isolation from global debate in general, majority public opinion in Japan seems to be against a movement to eliminate discrimination against blacks led by a hypersensitive NGO.
Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find any images online that demonstrate the sharp “satire” of Osamu Tezuka, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw a few bones through noses in Kimba the White Lion. Next time I’m in Japan or Book Off I’ll be sure to look out for them.
For the record, I have yet to encounter any stereotypical-type images in Adolf, though one of the Nazis is deliberately depicted as lizard-like to emphasize how evil he is.
Reuters is reporting that Saddam Hussein’s last novel, entitled “Get Out of Here, Curse You” in it’s original edition, has just been published in Japan by a minor publishing company.
The book, believed to have been written on the eve of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and titled “Devil’s Dance” in its Japanese translation, hit stores around the nation Friday.
Jordan banned the book on the grounds it could damage ties with Iraq, but pirated copies of the tale of an Arab tribesman who defeats foreign invaders became a bestseller in Amman.
The original manuscript was smuggled out of Iraq by one of Saddam Hussein’s daughters, Raghad, and a copy given to Japanese journalist and translator Itsuko Hirata.
“The novel is dated to the times of ancient tribal society but the tribal warfare depicted in the novel is strikingly similar to what happened and is happening in the Iraqi war — totally,” Hirata told Reuters before the book’s release.
“He (Saddam) knew he was heading into a war he couldn’t win, so I think with this book he was trying to make his position clear and send a message to the Iraqi people.”
The book jacket text reads:
Worldwide first edition!
This is an indictment, and a warning.
That Hussein wrote a novel.
Anyone interested in ordering the book can get it from Amazon Japan here. I expect that the English translation that has most likely already been prepared by CIA analysts will not be published, so this may be your best shot.
One of the better dictionarial resources on the Internet for English/Japanese translation is Eijiro, accessed through the ALC search engine. Here are a few prime examples that we’ve stumbled across, to show just how far ranging it is. In fact, if you get lucky you may even locate an entire bilingual text such as this one, which is always a good study tool.
◆「fuck」は、性的な交わりを持つことをいう、最も直接的な表現だ
Fuck is the most direct way of saying ‘having sexual intercourse.’
◆重要なのは銭、一番大切なのはお金、世の中は金だ。
It’s all about the benjamins◆アメリカの百ドル札の表にベンジャミン・フランクリンの顔が描いてある。◆〈語源〉ラッパーのパフ・ダディの歌のセリフ（1997 年）より。◆This phrase refers to the portrait of Benjamin Franklin on the American hundred-dollar bill. Popularized by the line in a Puff Daddy rap song (1997).
One little-publicized project being undertaken by the Japanese government right now is to write official English translations of the most important Japanese statutes. This is being done by a special Conference for Examination of the Implementation and Foreign Translation of Laws (法令外国語訳・実施推進検討会議), which has met several times over the past few years (see the Cabinet Secretariat website).
As part of this project, the government is creating an official Japanese-English legal glossary, and trying to end the practice of using awkward English translations for Japanese legal terms. Some of the changes, as reported by the Asahi Shimbun:
法律, which has previously been translated as “Law,” will now be translated as “Act” or “Code.” This is a really, really good change. The translation “Company Law” for 会社法 has always made me chuckle: my American legal ears expect it to be called “Corporations Code.”
株式会社, glossed in most dictionaries as “joint-stock company,” will now be translated as “business corporation.” This is an awesome change. I don’t think native English speakers have talked about “joint-stock companies” since the days of Queen Victoria.
法人, previously called “legal entity,” will now be called “juridicial person.” I really wish they would just call it a “corporation.” ALC seems to back me up on this one.
Here’s a real stinker: 時効, the Japanese equivalent of what Americans refer to as a “statute of limitations,” is going to be called a “prescription.” WTF? This word has so many meanings in English, and it’s hardly ever used in this sense.
You may have read about one of the several incidents over the past few years in Japan of suicide pacts arranged by total strangers who hooked up via suicide themed Internet forums. After seeing yet another article about it a couple of days ago I decided to look at some of these forums for myself. Needless to say, it’s rather grim stuff, people asking for advice on how to kill themselves, locations to do it, looking for partners since they lack the courage to do it alone, other people responding with advice or heartfelt pleas not do to it, and so on.
Because it’s possible that nothing has yet happened to ruin your day, I’ve decided to start translating some random suicide forum posts for your amusement and edification. Here’s the first one.
From Miss Chika,
I am a 22 year old woman living in Tokyo. For a few years I’ve been depressed, unable to go about my life without alcohol.
Wrist cutting, hanging, gathering up medicine to drink, I did all kind of things. But being a half-alcoholic it all ended up just attempts.
Now I’m working, but the scars are still there. When someone asks me about them I just say “I cut myself.” There are people, dummies, who ask around to find out more information. There isn’t anything more than “I cut myself,” so that’s all I say.
But there’s nobody who asks about the injuries. It’s because everybody is scared of themselves being injured by the sadness and pain of others.
It’s bad, but I’m being difficult. I even carry a knife when I go to the psych clinic.
Having come this far already I’m not threatened by or scared of cutting my neck or wrists. If I can die the momentum at that time, I’ll be satisfied.
Earlier this year I spent an entire month working fulltime translating documents about Aum Shinrikyo into English to be used as research materials for a report on international religious terrorism being created by a Washington DC based organization that shall remain nameless.
While I did a couple of articles and some excerpts from various books, I spent almost the entire time translating large sections of Aum and I, the confessional jailhouse memoir of Ikuo Hayashi, a former medical doctor who helped to spread sarin gas in the Tokyo subway on that infamous day.
Although I was paid to do this translation, it was not intended for publication and my client has no rights over the material, only requesting the translation in the first place for their own reference. Therefore, I’ve decided to excerpt some of my very favorite sections of evil cult related goodness to post every once in a while.
Here is the very first installment – my translation of page 133 of Aum and I.
***
There was nothing I could say in response to that, but I do remember feeling terribly remorseful about delaying the salvation plan. Because of that., I thought that maybe I could perhaps advance my training a bit, and even performed a bit of secret surgery, cutting my tongue’s frenulum with the aim of perfecting my Yoga’s “Nagomdoni.” I also thought I had failed to become a Siddha because I hadn’t pushed myself to the limit, so I started fasting. The result was that my body became progressively weaker, and I became unable to do breathing exercises. Whenever I tried I would develop an irregular pulse.
Over the course of three days of fasting I was able to maintain consciousness even without getting any sleep. I tasted one part of the “experience” described as the so-called “sequential states of consciousness.” As a “prithag-jana” [an unenlightened person still a slave to their worldly desires], I had trouble during the period after the fasting, when I started eating again. I was reading an article by someone who had achieved Siddha, which contained some sections specifically talking about people tormented by gluttony, or pained by fasting. Upon reading these sections, I was swept up by the images of food, and felt the same lust to eat say, eel or bread. I thought that I had been overcome.
At exactly that time, the Aum magazine Mayahana printed a story about the Buddhist training from the time of Shakyamuni. It said that during the time of Shakyamuni’s spiritual training, there was a practice of eating the feces of some animal, say a dog. Thinking that the reason I hadn’t yet become a Siddha was because I just hadn’t been pushing my limits, I thought that perhaps I should try doing the same thing as the original Buddha. I decided to begin eating my own feces.
When first facing my own feces I seriously hesitated. It was originally a part of me though, and there are even living things that eat feces. Since it’s the same E. Coli that just came out of me, it couldn’t upset my stomach, right? Inflammation of the pharanyx is a possibility though… I tried to reason through the various possibilities before finally eating it.
Perhaps because at that time I had been eating nothing but roots and vegetables for three months solid, there was actually no smell.
At Nagata Jinja in Nagatu-ku in Kobe city it was learned on the 4th of this month that a male priest(30) at the Shinto shrine (shrine head: Masakatsu Fujiwara) had installed a hidden video camera in the dressing room used by the shrine’s Miko and recorded them changing clothes. The shrine then fired him. The Nagata office of the Hyogo Prefectural police then filed charges with the Kobe District Prosecutor on suspicion of the minor offense of peeping.
According to the investigation, when on February 14th a worker was cleaning the shrine, they discovered that a video camera had been installed in an unused locker inside the girl’s changing room. Fujiwara shrine manager, along with reporting this to the Nagata police, also asked the 11 male staff about the situation, and one of the lower ranking male shrine priests known as “Gonnegi”
confessed to the crime.
The man made a statement that he had “made recordings on several occasionas.” The girl’s changing room was normally used by two Miko.
The Nagata shrine is said to have been built in the year 201 A.D. by Goshintaku(御神託). It is counted as one of the representative Shinto shrines of Kobe, along with Ikuta(生田) Jinja and Minatogawa(湊川) Jinja.
Note: Miko are so-called “shrine maidens” who assist in rituals, somewhat like an altar boy in Catholicism, but often with more responsibility and a wider range of dutied. They can be aged anywhere from early teens to mid-twenties, and despite the name virginity, or even marital status, is not a consideration in modern times.
For the school lunch week from the 23rd to the 27th a menu item from the mid 1950s to mid 1960s named as “nostalgic school lunch” re-appeared for several days running at an elementary school of Mukou City, Kyoto prefecture. On the 27th whale meat with sweat and sour sauce made an appearance, and this rare menu was sampled with pleasure by the children.
