70 Japanese Gestures

Japanese is considered to be an extremely difficult language to learn. The writing system is made up of over 100 phonetic symbols in addition to thousands of Chinese characters. It is often said that it takes till the age of 10 for a Japanese child to master the language. Many people are of the belief that Japanese keep body action to a minimum when speaking, yet over 120 gestures are commonly used. Even after eliminating those that will probably no longer be in use by the end of the next decade, 70 still remain. These are presented here. It is an uncomfortable fact that, at present, there are many Japanese who are not proficient in English. Communicating with words may be difficult but why not start with gestures? Great insight into the culture and lifestyle of Japan can be had from understanding its gestures. Many gestures have been influenced by the West and introduced through foreign movies. However, there still are many interesting gestures considered unique to Japan. (by Hamiru.aqui)

GENERAL GESTURES // These gestures are used in daily life and are popular with both adults and children:-

1 // Bowing [Ojigi]　

Lower your head. A movement when greeting someone. This is a practice that is not seen in Western countries, though it is very often observed in Japan. It is believed to have its roots in China, where it indicates a degree of respect or gratitude to another person. Though Japan does not have the custom of shaking hands, bowing can be looked upon as similar to the Western handshake. It seems that, in general, people bow more politely when bidding goodbye than when meeting someone. When bidding goodbye to an older or higher ranked person, to wait with your head bowed until the person turns his or her back, or until the door closes, is a form of showing respect to that person.

2 // Yes. No. [Hai. Iie.]

As in the West, in Japan, one nods when saying “yes” and shakes the head sideways when saying “no”. However, depending on the question, there are times when the English “yes” and “no” seem to be interchanged.

(i.e.) “Aren’t you going? – “Yes” (nodding the head) = (“Yes, I am not going”). In the West, this question would be answered with a “No” and shake the head: “No, I’m not going.”

3 // Itadakimasu / Gochisousama

Place both palms together and lightly bow your head. Itadakimasu is said before eating a meal, make sure your chopsticks are still on the chopstick rest. Gochisousama is said after eating the meal, both phrases are said while you lightly bow your head.

4 // Me [Watashi]

Put your index finger on the tip of your nose. In Western countries, people joint to their chests when indicating themselves, but in Japan, people point to their nose. When indicating others or other things one points with index finger to the center of the object or the person being indicated. When indicating the person one is talking to directly, the index finger is pointed at his or her nose to indicate “you”. They gesture may offend a Westerner, but to the Japanese, it is not considered rude at all. For young people these days, pointing to the nose has become an outdated gesture, and influenced by movies, they have started to point to their chests. Nonetheless, pointing to the person one is talking to is still a common Japanese gesture.

5 // Come over here! [Kocchi ni oide] / Go away! [Acchi ike]

- Come over here! [Kocchi ni oide] – With the back of your hand facing upward, shake your hand downward toward yourself. Some people use both hands to gesture to a child.

- Go away! [Acchi ike] – With the back of the hand facing upward, shake your hand as if trying to shake something off.

Sometimes, the “come over here” gesture may be misunderstood as “go away”. The two can be difficult to distinguish, but a nodding of the head, and the fact the person is looking at you and laughing, will make it likely that “come here” is meant. A person saying “go away” will often not make eye contact.

6 // Calm down [Ochi tsuite]

Move both hands up and down while saying “maaa maaa maaa” with your palms facing the ground. This conveys that one wants a person to calm down, cool his or her temper, or not be so frantic. Maaa maaa maaa must be said together with the hand motion. Otherwise, people will not understand what you are trying to say. It may be best to remember the “maaa maaa maaa” and the hand motion as one set.

7 // I’m going to pass in front of you [Mae wo tourimasu]　

Round the back slightly, place one hand up with your fingers together and the thumb up, then gently move your hand up and down when passing in front of someone. It is basically considered impolite to directly pass in front of someone. This gesture can be taken as an apology when passing in front of someone and obstructing his view, for example, in a store aisle. In Western culture, this gesture is very similar to saying “excuse me” when passing in front of someone. You will make a positive and favorable impression with this gesture and may find people striking up a conversation with you.

8 // I don’t know [Shiranai] / That’s wrong [Chigau]

Shake your upright hand near your mouth with your thumb closer to your face. There are times when the head is shaken at the same time. In that case, the head and hand will move in opposite directions. When this gesture is seen, for example, when asking directions, it simply means the person does not understand English or he or she is unable to assist you. One is advised to simply go and ask another person.

9 // Thank you [Katajikenai]

With your thumb facing toward your face, move your hand upright to a point in front of your face. It is the same gesture made by a sumo wrestler who has won as he accepts his prize money. It is an expression derived from the handheld sword. Often it is used by men as an abbreviated form of expressing appreciation. In Japan, there is a custom to pour drinks for one’s guests. When the host sees his guest’s glass is nearly empty, he will come over to refill it. Then, the guest will make this gesture to show appreciation instead of saying “thank you” in words.

10 // Do you want to go eat? [Shokuji]

Pretend to hold a rice bowl in one hand and bring a pair of chopsticks to your mouth with the other hand. Repeat the hand motion of bringing a chopstick to your mouth several times. Sometimes, only chopstick motion is used with two fingers acting as a chopstick. When you see someone looking at you and making this gesture, it means he is asking you have already eaten or would you like to go eat together. Japan is the only country in Asia where spoons are not often used for eating. The Japanese custom is to eat with a rice bowl and chopsticks. Of course when Western dishes are eaten, Japanese will use a fork and spoon. At a formal Japanese dinner, chopsticks only are used. For your additional information, It is not considered impolite to drink soup directly from the bowl. You should also remember to always hold the rice bowl by supporting it with one hand underneath it.

11 // Wait a moment [Chotto matte]

Show the palm of one hand to the other person. It also means to wait there. Both hands are used at times. In the West, gestures meaning “wait” often involve raising your index finger. However, in Japan, showing the palm of one hand or both palms to the other person is the basic gesture. If the Western-style gesture for wait is made in Japan, the Japanese would think of it as “1”, as in No.1. If a child grabs your finger when you point it upward to signify the Western “wait”, you will now be aware that it’s because the child thinks you are starting a game.

12 // Seiza / Agura

The proper way to sit in a tatami room is in the seiza position, which is sitting on your knees with your legs tucked under you. In a formal setting, you would continue sitting in the seiza position. But once the greetings have been made and the atmosphere becomes relaxed, you may unfold and cross your legs, in the seating position Japanese call “agura”. The host may sometimes say, “Please put yourself at ease.” In which case, you would thank him before assuming the agura seating position. Agura was considered a man’s seating position from the time when Japanese dressed mainly in kimono. Sitting in the agura position was considered bad manners for women. Unless in the company of close friends, it may be better for women to sit with legs unfolded, but to one side. Sitting in the seiza position for hours is painful even for many Japanese. The legs fall asleep and you may not be able to stand without help. There are various ways to survive long hours of seiza sitting. The most popular one is to cross your toes. Ask a Japanese friend for tips. You will be surprised to find out how many different ways there are.

13 // Tapping the shoulder [Kata wo tataku]

When you want to let someone know he has dropped something, or you want him to notice that you want to talk to him, or when you’re meeting someone and approaching him from behind, tap the person on his shoulder two or three times to make him aware of your presence or to request his attention. The same thing is done when you want to point something out to hi, for example, “Look over there!” you would tap the person on his shoulder before saying what you have to say.

14 // Hot [Atsui]

When you’ve touched something hot like a hot pot, grab the earlobe with the thumb and index finger. This comes from the fact that the earlobe has the lowest body temperature compared to other body parts. Please don’t think of this gesture as meaning someone has lost a pair of earrings.

15 // To laugh [ Warau]

Covering the mouth when laughing. In the old days in Japan, for a man to show his teeth indicated weakness or that he was joking. To show one’s teeth when laughing was considered bad manners. There used to be custom where married women painted their teeth black (ohaguro). To have white teeth forever meant that the woman had missed her chance to marry. Japanese hide their mouths when laughing because of this custom. However, in present day Japan, there are many who do this in order to hide poor tooth alignment or because they feel embarrassed about something.

16 // Let’s put that subject aside [Sono hanashi wa oitoite]

The gestures looks like one is moving a box from in front of one’s self to the side. It is a gesture used when changing the subject or saying, “Let’s put that subject aside and change the topic.”

17 // I agree! [Nattoku!]

Hit the palm of one hand with a closed fist. This gesture can also be done by hitting your thighs. In that case, be sure to slap your thighs hard enough for the sound to be heard. This gesture may look similar to a “want to fight” gesture in the West. Don’t worry if you see someone directing this gesture at you. There is no need to move away. No one wants to start a fight with you. In fact, it is quite the opposite. They are just agreeing with what you say!

Japanese Fugu

The infamous fugu (blowfish) is a luxury food in Japan, one with a long history and an exciting reputation. Also known as fuku, this delicious fish has been part of the Japanese diet since ancient times, and is as popular today as it’s ever been; in fact, the Japanese consume some 10,000 tons of fugu annually. There are different varieties of fugu, but most notable among those approved for human consumption by the Japanese government is the tora, or tiger, fugu.

Tora fugu is renowned for its delicate and distinctive flavor—and for the deadly toxin tetrodotoxincontained in its liver and ovaries. Before being sold or served, the law requires that the poison be removed entirely, a procedure undertaken by specially licensed chefs.

Fugu has long been on the Japanese menu: fugu bones have been unearthed from shell mounds dating back some 2,500 years. During the late sixteenth through the mid-nineteenth centuries, deaths by fugu poisoning were commonplace, and various laws were passed prohibiting its consumption, but it was eaten regardless.

It wasn’t until the late nineteenth century that a safe and standardized preparation method was established. In1948, a certification system for fugu preparation was introduced in Osaka; this was later adopted by other prefectures in the country. Nowadays, if prepared by a specialized chef, there is no risk involved in eating fugu.

Fugu is normally served at specialty restaurants—some quite elite—which offer set menus priced from 5,000 yen to 30,000 yen (US$50.00-$300.00). Typical dishes include fugu-sashi, or tessa: thin, nearly transparent slices of raw fugu beautifully arranged on a plate. Fugu-sashi is dipped in ponzu-shoyu, soy sauce mixed with citrus juice, and garnished with momiji-oroshi (grated daikon mixed with red pepper) and green onion. Crunchy yubiki or teppi (boiled skin) is eaten the same way.

Fugu-chiri or tecchiri is a savory nabemono, one-pot dish of fugu with tofu and vegetables that is simmered at the table and then eaten. This dish is accompanied by the same ponzu sauce, momiji-oroshi and green onion. Any remaining liquid is simmered with rice to make fugu zosui (rice porridge).

Other characteristic dishes include deep-fried fugu, whose crispy coating is savored together with the umami of succulent fugu meat. And to conclude this bill of fare, hire-zake—sake infused with the umami of roasted dried fugu fin—may be sipped in a final toast to this meal.

Tips when eating at Japanese restaurants

Ohiya (Cold drinking water)
Start with safe, tasty water in Japan.
When you take seat at a restaurant in Japan, cold water will be served. This is called "ohiya." Along with "ohiya," the waiter or waitress will also give you "oshibori," a wet towel you can use to wipe your hands and/or brow. Both "ohiya" and "oshibori" are provided free of charge and do not worry about tipping because it is not required for either of them. In some countries, they serve free mineral water in hotel rooms. In Japan, however, since tap water is safe and can be drunk as is, free mineral water is not provided at hotels.

Sabi-nuki (no wasabi)
Wisdom of the Japanese, who eat sushi and think "Sabi-nuki" means "no wasabi" and is a term from the sushi jargon. If you do not like hot wasabi, you should ask for "sabi-nuki" in advance at a sushi restaurant. By the way, do you know why we use wasabi in sushi It has been proven that wasabi eliminates fishy smell and has strong sterilizing power.
Since the Japanese eat raw fish, they have long known this power of wasabi. Tasty sushi incorporates the wisdom of the Japanese, too.
(Wasabi = Hot savory herb(Japanese horseradish, kind of) that complements sushi, sashimi, soba and other dishes)

[Pin-point Advice on Traveling]
How about trying common dishes.
Since you have traveled a long distance to come to Japan, please do not forget to try common dishes. Dishes favored by common people include soba, udon, ramen, and curry and rice. They cost approximately 500 yen, so trying them shouldn't be a problem. Please do not miss an opportunity to do so. Although you may have the impression that sushi is expensive, you will not have to worry much about prices if you go to a "kaitenzushi (conveyor-belt sushi)" restaurant. Since the prices are indicated by the color of the plates on which the sushi is served, you can enjoy sushi according to your budget.

Let's speak Japanese in a Sushi restaurant!
Hokkaido abounds in fresh seafood. When you go to a sushi restaurant, you should ask for your favorites by referring to the words and phrases below:

• [Maguro] kudasai ([Tuna], please.)
• [Maguro] no sabi-nuki kudasai ([Tuna] without wasabi, please.)
• Sushi menu
• Tuna (maguro)
• Fatty tuna (toro)
• Cuttlefish (ika) (Squid)
• Octopus (tako)
• Scallop (hotate)
• Raw shrimp (ebi)
• Salmon (sake, samon)
• Crab (kani)
• Sea urchin (uni)
• Salmon roe (ikura)
• Squila (syako)
• Flatfish (hirame)
• Tuna roll (tekkamaki)

Namara-umai! (Very delicious)
Do not miss delicious dishes that originated in Hokkaido "Namara-umai" means "very delicious" in the Hokkaido dialect. We have numerous tasty dishes unique to Sapporo and Hokkaido that might make you throw out this phrase in rapid succession. They include miso-flavored ramen, "Genghis Khan" barbecued lamb, fresh seafood, soup curry that has caught on nationwide and various sweets cooked with ingredients produced in Hokkaido. Since they are not so expensive, we recommend that you try Hokkaido's tasty specialties.

Let's speak Japanese in the Hokkaido dialect.
Like "namara-umai," we have a unique dialect in Hokkaido. Here is a list of terms from Hokkaido dialect for you to use without feeling embarrassed:

• Umaissho (delicious)
• Shibareru (very cold)
• Shakkoi (cold)
• Kepparu (work hard)
• Menkoi (cute)
• Obandesu (Good evening)
• Azumashikunai (feel ill at ease)
• Waya (terrible)

*Be aware! These are Hokkaido dialects and may not be understood outside Hokkaido.

[Pin-point Advice on Traveling]
"Otoshi" is served even if you do not order it.
When you order an alcoholic beverage, a small dish is served along with the drink in some cases. This is called "otoshi (starter)." "Otoshi" is served to all customers, even to those who have not ordered it, but it is not free. It would be easy for you to consider it as sort of cover charge. Also referred to as "tsukidashi," "otoshi" varies depending on the restaurant and season. Common food tends to be served, but you never know what you will get!

Methods of payment in Japan
Japanese people say "okaikei o onegaishimasu" to the waiter / waitress when they have finished their meals and want to pay. It means "Check, please". The waiter / waitress will bring the bill to your table. You can pay at your table in some restaurants. However, not all restaurants have this payment system. Some restaurants use a pre-paid meal coupon system while others require the meals to be prepaid.
Please note that in many restaurants, you are kindly advised to pay at the cash register near the entrance / exit.

Let's speak Japanese at a restaurant
We have a collection of useful expressions to use when you pay for your meals. When you leave the restaurant, please do not forget to say "Gochisosama" with a smile.

• Okaikei o onegaishimasu (Check, please.)
• Dokode harauno desuka? (Where should I pay?)
• Ikura desuka? (How much is it?)
• Credit card wa tsukae masuka? (Do you accept credit cards?)
• Oishikatta desu (I enjoyed the meal. It was good!)
• Gochisosama deshita (Thank you for the meal.)

Useful Column
Please try the following dishes. Did you find them delicious or unsavory.
By difficulty levels Let's try Japanese tastes that Japanese people eat routinely.

Difficulty Level 1: No problem!
Tsukemono // primarily vegetables pickled in salt - is a preserved food unique to snowy areas. Other than pickles in salt, we have those in rice-bran paste, soybean paste, sake lees and so forth. Pickles have different characteristics in different regions, and Nishinzuke, pickled dried herring, cabbages, and so on, in addition to Matsumaezuke, dried cuttlefish and kelp pickled in soy sauce, are famous in Hokkaido.

Difficulty Level 2: You can manage!
Umeboshi // In Japan, people talk about "umeboshi" first when it comes to sour food. It is one of Japan's traditional preserved foods and is made by pickling plums in salt and then drying them in the sun. Umeboshi is used for boxed meals because it helps to keep the food fresh. It has long been popular as a healthy snack and we found that it has the effect of soothing fatigue.

Difficulty Level 3: Appearance of an archenemy!
Ikura // Refers to salmon roes pickled in salt or soy sauce. Salmon and trout are fish that are representative of Hokkaido. "Ikuradon," or a bowl of rice topped with plentiful amounts of ikura, has gained great popularity as one of Hokkaido specialties. Ikura is also popular as a sushi ingredient available in Hokkaido. Salmon roes that have been separated into individual eggs are called ikura while those that are still in the sac are referred to as sujiko.

Difficulty Level 4: You would be a Japanese food connoisseur if you can eat it.
Shiokara // Eefers to the salted and fermented flesh, internal organs, eggs and the like of sea animals. The most popular shiokara in Japan is from squid. People eat it as a side dish and snacks to go with alcoholic beverages, but some people do not like it at all. "Konowata," considered to be one of the top three delicacies in Japan, is made with the intestines of sea cucumbers.

Difficulty Level 5: You are as Japanese as the Japanese if you can eat it.
Natto // Natto is made by fermenting soybeans with the bacillus natto bacterium and is characterized by its strong smell and sticky and stringy consistency. This is a must-eat breakfast dish for many Japanese people and a number of hotels serve it for breakfast. Having said that, there are a lot of Japanese people who do not like it and people do not eat it very often in the Kansai region. Generally, people pour soy sauce onto natto, but they also add mustard, leeks, eggs and such if they like.

JAPANESE LANGUAGE (日本語)

The Japanese language is spoken by the approximately 120 million inhabitants of Japan, and by the Japanese living in Hawaii and on the North and South American mainlands. It is also spoken as a second language by the Chinese and the Korean people who lived under Japanese occupation earlier this century.

CHARACTERISTIC OF JAPANESE
Vocabulary //
Three categories of words exist in Japanese. The native Japanese words constitute the largest category, followed by words originally borrowed from China in earlier history, and the smallest but a rapidly growing category of words borrowed in modern times from Western languages such as English. This third category also contains a small number of words that have come from other Asian languages. Studies by the National Language Institute show that the frequency of these three types of words varies according to the kinds of written material examined. In magazines, native Japanese words constitute more than half of the total words, while the Chinese borrowed words average about 40%, and the rest drawn from the recently borrowed words from Western languages. In newspapers, the words of Chinese origin number greater than the Japanese native words.
Sounds of the Language

Japanese has an open-syllable sound pattern, so that most syllables end in a vowel -- the syllable may be composed solely of the vowel. There are five vowels, /a/, /i/, /u/, /e/, and /o/. Vowel length often distinguishes words, as in to for "door" and too for "ten." The basic consonants are: /k/, /s/, /t/, /n/, /h/, /m/, /y/, /r/, /w/, and the syllabic nasal /N/. Many of these consonants can be palatalized in front of the vowels /a/, /u/, and /o/, for example, /kya/, /kyu/, /kyo/. When the two consonants, /s/ and /t/, occur with the vowel /i/, these consonants are automatically palatalized as /shi/ and /chi/. The consonant /t/ is pronounced as /ts/ in front of the vowel /u/.

Unlike English, which has stress accent, Japanese has pitch accent, which means that after an accented syllable, the pitch falls. The word for "chopsticks," hashi, has the accent on the first syllable, so its pitch contour is ha shi. Without the accent on the first syllable, hashi may mean "bridge" or "edge." "Bridge" has accent on the second syllable, which can be seen if a grammatical particle such as the subject marker ga is attached to the word: hashi ga. "Edge" has no accent, so it would be pronounced without any fall in the pitch even with a grammatical marker such as ga.

Grammar //
Every language has a basic word order for the words in a sentence. In English, the sentence Naomi uses a computer has the order subject (Naomi), verb (uses), and object (a computer). In the corresponding Japanese sentence, the subject comes first, just as in English, but then the object appears, followed finally by the verb: Naomi-ga (Naomi) konpyuuta-o (computer) tukau (use). The rule of thumb in Japanese is that in a sentence, the verb comes at the end. The two word orders, subject-verb-object for English and subject-object-verb for Japanese, are both common among the languages of the world. If we look again at the Japanese sentence, we see that the subject and the object are accompanied by particles, ga with the subject "Naomi" (Naomi-ga) and o with the object "computer" (konpyuuta-o). These are called case markers, and a large number of the world's languages have them. We can see a remnant of a case-marking system even in English: the pronouns in English change shape depending on where it occurs, he/she/they in the subject position, but him/her/them in the object position (e.g., She saw him). If we go back in history, the older English of five hundred to one thousand years ago had an extensive case-marking system similar to modern Japanese. These case markers make it possible for the words in Japanese to appear in different orders and retain the same meaning. In the sentence we have been looking at, it is possible to place the object where the subject normally occurs, and the subject in the normal object position, and not change the meaning: konpyuuta-o Naomi-ga tukau. If we do the same thing to English, the meaning of the sentence is radically altered (The computer uses Naomi). If we have a more complex sentence, it is still possible to change the order of all the words as long as the verb remains at the end. The sentence "Naomi gave a computer to Taro" has the subject-indirect object-object- verb basic order, Naomi-ga (Naomi) Taro-ni (to Taro) konpyuuta-o (computer) ageta (gave). This sentence has the following word order possibilities, starting with the basic order we just observed.

Naomi-ga Taro-ni konpyuuta-o ageta (subject-indirect object-object verb)
Naomi-ga konpyuuta-o Taro-ni ageta (subject-object-indirect object verb)
Taro-ni Naomi-ga konpyuuta-o ageta (indirect object-subject-object-verb)
konpyuuta-o Naomi-ga Taro-ni ageta (object-subject-indirect object verb)
Taro-ni konpyuuta-o Naomi-ga ageta (indirect object-object-subject verb)
konpyuuta-o Taro-ni Naomi-ga ageta (object-indirect object-subject-verb)

Although the Japanese language allows a multitude of word orders, the one inflexible order is the verb, in that it must appear at the end of the sentence. This is no accident. The core element in a sentence is the verb, because the verb expresses the action or the event involving the referents of the other words. Such a core is often referred to as the "head" of a sentence or a clause, and Japanese always places the head at the end of its clause. In a noun phrase, modifiers function to modify the head, as in expensive computer, where expensive modifies the head of the phrase, computer. In Japanese, the modifier always precedes the head, as expected (takai (expensive) konpyuuta (computer)). This is not only true of simple modifiers, but for modifiers that involve an entire sentence. Note that in the English sentence the computer [that Naomi uses], the bracketed portion modifies the head computer, and this modifier follows the head. In Japanese, the head-final order is invariably followed, so that this would be expressed with the modifier preceding the head: [Naomi-ga tukau (that Naomi uses)] konpyuuta. With few exceptions, the languages of the world either follow the head-final order, just as in Japanese, or the head-initial order (for example, Indonesian). Within the same language, we might see one or the otheroption for different types of clauses, as we saw for English simple modifiers (head-final) and sentence modifiers (head-initial). Japanese is consistently head-final for all types of clauses.

The Japanese verb does not indicate number or gender. The same form for the verb is used with singular and plural subjects, and no gender distinction is made. The verb inflects for tense, negation, aspect, and mood. Following are some inflections for the verb "to push," which has the root os-.

os-u (push) present/dictionary form
os-ita (pushed) past
os-anai (not push) negation
os-ite iru (is pushing) progressive
os-e (push) imperative
os-itara (if (you) push) conditional

These forms vary depending on whether the root of the verb ends in a consonant or a vowel. While the root of the verb "to push" above is consonant-final, a verb such as "to eat" has a vowel-final root (tabe-), and it takes a slightly different shape for each of the inflections: tabe- ru (present/dictionary form), tabe-ta (past), tabe-nakatta (negation), tabe-te iru (progressive), tabe-ro (imperative), tabe-tara (conditional). In languages such as Italian and Spanish, a rich verbal inflection that indicates both number and gender often allows the speaker not to express the subject if it is understood in the context, e.g., (Juan) vio ese film ((Juan) saw that film) in Spanish. In Japanese, despite the lack of number and gender inflection on the verb, it is possible not only to leave the subject out, but any other element in the sentence except the verb, so long as it is understood in the sentence. The Japanese counterpart of the sentence "Naomi uses the computer" may be expressed simply by saying the verb tukau (use), so long as it's clear to the hearer from context that the sentence refers to Naomi and to the computer.

In Japanese, ideas often expressed in other languages with separate clauses and sentences frequently take the shape of a word, albeit a complex one. This is the agglutinative nature of the language. For example, the expression in English, Naomi was made to go purchase a more expensive computer by Mary, contains separate verbs was made, go, and purchase. In the Japanese counterpart, these verbs together form one complex verb (Japanese uses "come" for the English "go" in this context) : katte-ko-sase-rare-ta (buy-come-made-was-past). Other languages that have an agglutinative verb system include Korean, Navaho, and Turkish.

Writing System //
Japanese is traditionally written vertically, with the lines starting from the right side of the page. While this way of writing is still predominant, there is another way that is identical to English in starting from the top left hand side, with each line written horizontally.

Japanese is written using two systems of orthography, Chinese characters and syllabaries. Chinese characters, or kanji, were brought in from China starting about 1,500 years ago. Prior to their introduction, Japanese was strictly a spoken language. Chinese characters are by far the more difficult system because of the sheer number of characters and the complexity both in writing and reading each character. Each character is associated with a meaning; for example, the character 行 has the basic meaning "to go." There are tens of thousands of characters attested, but in 1946, the Japanese government identified 1,850 characters for daily use. In 1981, the list was increased in number to 1,945 characters, and given the name Joyo Kanji List (Kanji for Daily Use). The characters in the Daily Use List must be learned in primary and secondary schools, and newspapers generally limit the use of characters to this list. Most characters are associated with at least two readings, the native Japanese reading, and the reading that simulates the original Chinese pronunciation of the same character. If the same character came into Japan at different periods or from different dialect regions of China, the character may be associated with a multitude of Chinese readings that represent different historical periods and dialectal differences. For example, the character , "to go," has four different readings, the Japanese reading and three distinct originally Chinese readings. The second system of wriiting are syllabaries, or kana, which were developed by the Japanese from certain Chinese characters about 1,000 years ago. Each syllabary represents a syllable in the language, and, unlike Chinese characters, it represents a sound but not meaning. There are two types of syllabaries, hiragana and katakana, each containing the same set of sounds. For example, the sound "ka" in Japanese may be represented by the hiragana or the katakana , both of which were developed from the Chinese character . Hiragana is often used in combination with a Chinese character, in such a way that, for example, the character represents roughly the root of a verb, and the inflection is written with hiragana. Katakana is used to write loan words from Western languages such as English, French, and German. It is not uncommon to find kanji, hiragana, and katakana used in the same sentence. Along with Chinese characters and syllabaries, Roman alphabets are sometimes employed for such things as names of organizations. For example, companies such as Honda, Toyota, and Sony often use Roman alphabets for their name in advertisements.

HISTORY OF THE JAPANESE LANGUAGE
Through painstaking research, we now have conclusive evidence for the genetic relationships of the major languages of the world. English, along with a host of languages spoken in Europe, Russia, and India, belong to the Indo-European family of languages. In contrast, there is no conclusive evidence relating Japanese to a single family of languages. The most prominent hypothesis places Japanese in the Altaic family, which includes Turkish, Tungusic, Mongolian, and Korean, with the closest relationship to Korean. According to Roy Andrew Miller, the original Altaic language was spoken in the Transcaspian steppe country, and the speakers of this language undertook massive migrations before 2,000 B.C., spreading this language family from Turkey in the west to Japan in the east. However, this hypothesis is inconsistent with some major features of Japanese, leading some scholars to turn to the languages of the South Pacific in the Austronesian family for clues of genetic relationship. A hypothesis that has currency among a number of Japanese historical linguists is a "hybrid" theory that accepts the relationship to the Altaic family, but also hypothesizes influence from Austronesian languages possibly through heavy lexical borrowing. It is also important to note that in the northern island of Hokkaido, the Ainu people, who are physically and culturally different from the rest of the Japanese, speak a language that has even more successfully escaped attempts to relate it to a single language family.

With the introduction of the writing system from China starting about 1,500 years ago, the Japanese people began to extensively record their language through poetry and prose. The language of that era, called Old Japanese, had a number of features that have been lost through time. For example, Susumu Ono has argues that Old Japanese had eight vowels instead of the five that we see today. There were also a number of grammatical and morphological features that no longer exist. The transition from Old Japanese to Modern Japanese took place from about the twelfth century, A.D., to the sixteenth century, A.D.

VARIETIES OF JAPANESE
Regional Dialects //
There are a large number of dialects throughout the four main islands and the smaller islands of Okinawa and others. Some dialects such as those spoken in the southern parts of Japan (Kyushu, Okinawa) are virtually incomprehensible to the speakers of other dialects, requiring the use of the standard (or "common") dialect for communication. The two dialect families with the largest number of speakers are the dialect spoken in and around Tokyo, which is equivalent to the "common" dialect, and the dialects of the Kansai region spoken in western Japan in cities such as Kyoto, Osaka, and Kobe. Due to the spread of the common dialect through television and radio, most people outside the Tokyo region speak the common dialect as well as the dialect of their area.

Social Styles of Speech //
The Japanese language employs an extensive system of politeness and honorific markers. It is often the case that in order to utter any kind of expression, the speaker must keep in mind his/her social standing to the person addressed, and the person being talked about. These markers appear on verbs, adjectives, and even nouns. For example, the informal form of the verb "to go," iku, is used when speaking with someone close to the speaker, but if the person addressed is a stranger or is older than the speaker, the politeness marker -masu appears: iki- masu. If the person being talked about is socially superior to the speaker, the honorific form of the verb "to go," irassyaru, is may be employed, even if this person is not present. In using this honorific form to talk about a socially-superior person, if the person addressed doesn't have a close relation to the speaker, such as a relative or a friend, or is older, the politeness marker appears on the honorific form: irassyai-masu. Thus, this form, irassyai-masu, simultaneously allows the speaker to be polite to the person addressed and show respect to the person being talked about. The prefix o- (go- in some contexts) may be used with nouns and adjectives to show politeness or respect to the person addressed or spoken of, as in o-tuskue (desk) and o-suki (like).

The use of pronouns varies according to social context and also often according to gender. The first person pronoun boku is used by a male in relatively informal situations, while watashi is used by a female in informal situations and by both male and female in formal situations. There are a large number of ways to expressed "you" according to social context and gender, including using the actual name of the person addressed. Aside from pronouns, the choice of some sentence-final particles varies by gender in informal speech.

The use of politeness and honorific markers and the various pronouns reflect the prominent role that in-group/out-of-group factors play in Japanese. If the person addressed is not within the "group" of the speaker in personal relationship or age, the speaker uses the polite style of speech. Familial words also reflect this. The word for your own mother is haha, but okaasan for the mother of others. We see the same bifurcation for the terms for father, sister, brother, and so forth.

FAQ
Where did Kanji come from?
Kanji, or Chinese characters, came from China about 1,400 years ago. Similar kanji are also used in China, Korea, Taiwan and some other countries, but they don't have the same meaning. For example, the characters for letter (tegami) mean toilet paper in China.

There are two types of kanji in Japanese. One type is close to Chinese character that came from China. The other type is called Japanese kanji (kokuji). Kokuji were made by Japanese based on Chinese charcters. Japanese characters are simpler than the Chinese characters. In 1981, the former Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture, designated 1,945 kanji for daily use. Thet are called "joyokanji". They are learned in school, so most people know at least this many characters.

Is Japanese a difficult language to learn?
There are only 51 sounds in Japanese, so it is not difficult to pronounce. Some people say that Japanese sounds like Spanish.

However, there are many types of Japanese, and so it is difficult to know which type to use. Male and female Japanese is a bit different, so if a man uses the language used by women, he will sound very strange. Or if an adult used the language used by a child, that would sound funny.

It is easy to speak basic Japanese, but it is difficult to speak correct, polite Japanese. For example, there are sometimes many way to say one thing. If you want to say "you", you can use anata, kimi, or omae. You just have to use the right word or you will sound too strong or too weak.

For me, one of the most difficult things about learning Japanese was knowing which word to use. it took me a long time to learn that it was okay to say omae to a friend, but not to a business client. I had an American friend who told me he once called his Japanese client omae because he was in the habit of using it all the time with his friends! Of course, this didn't sound good at all.

In America and many other countries, the most important thing is to be friendly. So it's not uncommon to even call your boss by his or her first name. But in Japan, It's more important to show respect than to be friendly. So sometimes you might think that Japanese are unfriendly and cold, but they are probably just trying to show respect to you.

Is Japanese difficult to read and write?
Yes, it is difficult. One of the reasons is that there are three types of writing : Kanji, hiragana, and katakana.

Each kanji characters has a meaning, and the character are put together to form words. For example, the kanji for "food" is made by putting the character for "to eat" and the character for "thing" together to make "an eating thing".

Hiragana is like simple kanji. The hiragana symbols are a little like the English alphabet because they have sounds and not meanings. These symbols are used to put kanji together and to show different forms of the same root kanji. For example, in haya-i ('quick", adjective), haya-ku ("quickly", adverb), haya-sa ("speed", noun), the haya part is the kanji and the rest is written in hiragana. And hiragana can also be used to make words on their own.

Katakana is like hiragana, each symbols has a sound and not a meaning. But katakana is used mostly to write words from English or other foreign languages. So if you wanted to write "hamburger" in Japanese, you would use katakana.

"The Latin alphabet (romaji) is also often used in modern Japanese, especially for company names and logos, advertising, and when entering Japanese text into a computer.

Can you pronounce Western names properly in Japanese?
Japanese has fewer sounds than English, and so when you put names into Japanese, you can sometimes get funny words. For example, my name is Max, but I have to pronounce it "makkusu" in Japanese.

Other foreigners have an even more difficult time with their names in Japan. I met a man in Japan named Gerry, in Japanese his name sounds like geri (diarrhea). Another one even worst, his name is Barker, which sounds like baka (fool).

Life of a Bento

Bentos are just starting to penetrate the consciousness of people outside of Japan, though judging from the growing interest ina bento sites like this one and several others, it’s definitely trending up. However, the bento or obento (the more polite honorific term) in its many guises is an integral part of life in Japan. Here are the many different types of bento that a typical Japanese person might eat at different stages of life.

The Preschool Years

Pre-school institutions in Japan are nursery school (保育園　ほいくえん　hoiku-en), which is for children aged about 2 to to 4, and kindergarten (幼稚園　ようちえん　yoh-chi-en), for age 5 to 1st grade. Most pre-schools do not have school lunch facilities, so children are required to bring bentos for lunch. For mothers, making bentos every day for their children can be a stressful yet exciting challenge.

Some mothers (and even a couple of fathers) knock themselves out making charaben or kyaraben (キャラ弁）, those highly decorated, cute bentos that still get the lion’s share of attention outside of Japan when it comes to bentos. The most-often stated reason for charaben is to encourage picky eaters to eat their food, but I’ve always thought that their role as a creative outlet for the mothers, as well as the urge to compete against other kids’ bentos (and by extension, their mothers’ bento skills) are just as strong incentives. Every lunchtime can be a contest of sorts as to who has the cutest bento. There are also numerous formal contests that a charaben enthusiast can enter to win prizes, money and more.

Elementary (Primary) School Years

Most elementary or primary schools (小学校　しょうがっこう　shoh-gakkou) have school lunch programs, so mothers are relieved from everyday bento duty. However, bentos are still necessary for school outings (遠足　えんそく　ensoku), which occur once or twice every school year.

Another occasion when bentos are needed is the annual Sports Festival　（運動会　うんどうかい　undoukai). This is a school-wide event where the kids are divided into two teams, Red and White, and compete in various athletic events. Parents are supposed to attend, and at lunchtime the whole family sits somewhere within the school grounds and tucks into a big family bento. This is another opportunity for the creative bentoist to show his or her skills off.

And of course, during summer vacation the family might go on a trip to the mountains or the seaside, with some onigiri (rice balls) or even a picnic basket.

The High School Years (Grades 7 to 12 in the U.S.)

High school isdivided into junior high, or middle school (中学校　ちゅがっこう　chuugakkkoh) and senior high, or upper school (高校　こうこう　koukou or 高等学校　こうとうがっこう　kohtoh gakkoh). Many high schools don’t have cafeterias or school lunch programs, so it’s back to bento again. Boys of this age are growing rapidly and have huge appetites, so their mothers pack them big bentos (ドカ弁　dokaben). The boys are often still hungry, so they supplement their bentos with sweet (お菓子パン）or savory (おかずパン）filled breads like a yakisoba pan (a roll filled with fried noodles), anpan (a roll filled with sweet red bean paste), hotdogs and so on, bought at a convenience store or bakery.

Some girls are as hungry as the boys (especially if they participate in after-school sports) and require big bentos too, but others like small, pretty bentos that help them to watch their weight （ダイエット弁当, diet bento), made by their ever obliging mothers.

Ronin-sei and College/University Years

In Japan, the best way to assure future success in life is to enter a good university. Because of this, competition for entry into the best schools like Tokyo University is extremely fierce - so fierce in fact that if someone doesn’t get in on the first try (they can take the entrance exams in their last year of high school) they will try once, twice, even more times, going to exam prep schools. These in-between students are called 浪人生　(ろうにんせい　rouninsei), which comes from the word 浪人　(ろうにん　rounin), which were what out-of-work samurai were called in the olden days.

Rohnin-sei, as well as college kids, have notoriously poor eating habits, especially the boys. These students rely a lot on what’s available at their local konbini (コンビニ, convenience store). Konbini stock a lot of readymade bentos. They aren’t necessarily healthy choices, since they tend to have a lot of deep fried or otherwise high-fat foods in them, but they are probably better than cup noodles and hamburgers.

Girls of this period in life might also go for pretty food with a pseudo-European flair. This is typically served at cafes and is called ‘Cafe style’. Cafe style bentos (カフェ弁当, cafe bento) come in alternate packaging and in small portions. There’s usually a dessert too. (For some reason, desserts, fruit and other sweet things are considered the domain of women in Japan, and not very manly.)

Young Adults, Newlyweds

After graduating from university, both single guys and girls continue to rely on konbini bento and the like for their sustenance, though many women, and some men, start making their own, health-conscious bentos. (Incidentally, this type of bento is what Just Bento is mostly about!)

Once they get married, a guy might be lucky enough to get a wife who takes the time to make him ‘Loving Wife Bento’, or 愛妻弁当 (あいさいべんとう　aisai bento). These tend to be cute, colorful bentos, nutritonally balanced, often with little love messages (edible or not) in them - sort of a grown up version of charaben.

The honeymoon period does not last long for most couples.

The Child Rearing and Working Years

When the kids come, there’s no time to make heart shapes on Dad’s bento, so his bentos become purely practical, tasty and nutritious. The thermal bento packed with hot rice (hokaben, ホカ弁）is popular amongst men of a certain age.

Also popular amongst those men of a certain age, but across all ages too, are train station bentos (駅弁, ekiben). Many people dream of taking a leisurely trip around the country, riding local rail lines and enjoying regional bentos. Most people don’t have that kind of time though, so they content themselves by buying ekiben in the food halls of department stores.

Once the kids are bigger, Mom has a bit more leisure time. She might take advantage of that by enjoying lunches out with her friends. They might enjoy an elegant bento lunch (幕の内弁当, makunouchi bento) at a traditional Japanese restaurant, but might keep it a secret from their husbands. These ladies of a certain age have a lot of influence on which restaurants become popular. (A cliché is that if you see a lot of middle-aged women at a restaurant around lunchtime, that place is bound to be good and a good value too.)

The Golden Years

A retired couple, if they don’t get divorced (‘retirement divorce’ is an increasing phenomenon in Japan) have a lot more leisure time. With the kids grown up and hopefully gone (though many adult children in Japan continue to live with their parents, especially if unmarried) they can indulge in things like home delivered bento （お取り寄せ弁当） without breaking the bank.

The older a Japanese person gets, the more they tend to prefer simple, traditional food. Simple onigiri (rice balls), perhaps filled with homemade umeboshi, are a perfect bento snack or lunch. In fact, onigiri are universally loved - they are soul food for Japanese People.

A few other bento types and vocabulary:

• Kouraku bento (行楽弁当) - any type of bento eaten on an outing, such as for cherry blossom viewing. Can be an elaborate makunouchi bento, or something assembled at a convenience store.
• Ohanami bento (お花見弁当）- a bento eaten while admiring the cherry blossoms.
• Omotenashi bento (おもてなし弁当) - bentos served to guests; usually a makunouchi bento type.
• Shoukadou bento (松花堂弁当）- related to makunouchi bento; a formal bento served at restaurants, where a deep bento box is divided into 4 equal sections, each section with a small serving dish.
• Hinomaru bento (日の丸弁当）- the simplest kind of bento; the box is filled with white rice, and an umeboshi (pickled plum) is placed in the middle.
• Jukuben (塾弁) - a light bento eaten in the evening at juku (exam prep school). Most Japanese schoolkids go to a juku at some point in their lives.

And just in case you were wondering, all of the bentos in the photos are Re-ment miniatures.