Fall Seven Times, Rise Eight

A friend asked me for a translation of this beautiful picture of a koi trying to swim up a waterfall.  It is actually a Japanese proverb.  It is read Nanakorobi Yaoki and means roughly, "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again," or even better, "Never give up." (Thanks, Micah.) In the face of seemingly insurmountable opposition, never give up!

 Literally, the proverb reads "Seven fallings, eight risings" or more smoothly in English "Fall seven times, rise eight." With hiragana, it looks like this.

This particular saying is often associated with the Daruma Doll, an armless, legless doll that falls many times but always finds its way into an upright position. Read the story of the Daruma Doll here.

 For Japanese language students, the proverb breaks down as follows. This is the kanji for

seven—SHICHI/nana..

The kanji TEN/koro(bu) has the connotation of turn, remove, change, or in this case fall down, tumble.

The left-radical for this kanji is SHA/kuruma, vehicle, cart, wagon, or car. It kind of reminds me of a wheeled vehicle.

The second half of the proverb starts with the character for eight—HATSU/HACHI/ya.

The final kanji is KI/o(kiru), meaning get up, rise, awake.

Its root (radical) is SO/hashi(ru)—run.

 Note: The capitalized reading is the Onyomi; the miniscule reading the Kunyomi.

Real Tokyo Ramen in Denver

September 2012.

Our latest visit to Oshima Ramen was to introduce Eli to one of our favorite eateries in Denver.

 We wanted, finally, to get a shot of the owner, who always graciously compliments my Japanese, but he demurred. He suggested we take a picture of ourselves instead. Here is the crew.

After spending five wonderful years in Japan, we were delighted to discover an excellent ramen shop in Denver. Our son discovered it originally, and we have been back many times since. There are a couple of places in Denver where you feel as if you are walking out of the United States and into Japan. Domo Restaurant is one, and Oshima Ramen is another. The proprietor speaks to us in Japanese, and the place has the authentic feel of a ramen shop in Tokyo or Yokohama. Here we are on our latest visit (November 2011).

This was a few years ago. The ongoing visit of our close friends, Bob and Vicki, and a promise we had made to our niece, Liz, was a perfect pretext to make the drive south to 7400 Hampden (just east of I25) to share a bit of Japanese cuisine with our friends. (In point of fact, ramen originated in China, but ramen shops are ubiquitous in Nihon, and that is where we learned to love it.)

At Oshima Ramen, you can also enjoy yakisoba, fried rice, Japanese pickles, and gyoza, to name just a few delightful dishes. Here's the gyoza. Not only is the food tasty, it is reasonably priced. Whether you are a veteran noodle slurper or are looking for something different, give Oshima Ramen a try. You won't be disappointed.

Here's a link to a map and some reviews of this shop, one of our favorite places to eat in Denver.

Original Oshima Ramen with a quintessentially Japanese drink, Ramune.

Chicken-Vegetable Ramen.

Original Oshima Ramen.

Spicy Kimchi Ramen

Chicken Ramen, Gyoza, and two types of Japanese pickles (Tsukemono/Takuan).

For more about ramen, check out this link. 

 

2011 review: Eat Local.2009 review: From Japan, with love: a True Noodle House. 
2008 review: Strangelunch.
2004 review: God Has Smiled on Oshima Ramen.

I'm Sixty!

Tengo sesenta años. I am sixty years old. Literally, I have sixty years. If I have sixty years, they have been given to me. I didn’t take them. They were given to me. The breaths. The wonders. The miracles. They are a gift—a gift for which I am very thankful.

私は六十歳です。(Watashi-wa roku-ju nen desu.) In Japan, the 60th birthday is the occasion of kanreki, when five cycles of the Chinese zodiac have completed, and the person is said to be reborn. During kanreki, the birthday person has a party with a cake decorated with white cranes and red turtles. The white cranes are a symbol of 1,000 years, and the red turtle represents 10,000 years. A sleeveless red jacket is given to the 60-year old, representing a baby's jacket and a return to the beginning of life.

我六十岁。(Wǒ lìu shí suì.) In Chinese culture, the 60th birthday is a landmark life event and worthy of celebration. The Chinese consider the age of 60 to be the completion of one life cycle. Those who achieve the plateau of 60 years begin a new life cycle at that point. Traditionally, a 60th birthday party is a major occasion in Chinese culture. Parties often take place in restaurants, preceded by games of mahjong before everyone sits down to enjoy the birthday meal. An appropriate menu must include noodles, which represent a long life. (Does spaghetti alio e olio count?)

בן־ששים שנה (Ben shishim shanah.) In Hebrew, my age is stated as “a son of sixty years.” Birthdays are not universally celebrated in Judaism. It is more common to mark the yahrzeit or anniversary of the date of a person’s death, which I understand to be a remembrance of the legacy of that person and a celebration of his or her life.

No matter which language one uses to express the age of 60, it is still six decades, three score, six times ten, five times twelve. It still comes after 59 and before 61. In our youth-oriented society, it is common to play down one’s age. Jack Benny always claimed to be 39. “Sixty is the new forty.” “You’re only as old as you feel, look, think, eat, etc.”

Everyone wants to be young, but wisdom comes with age. An accumulation of marvelous experiences only comes with time.

I have no intention of downplaying the age to which I have attained. I have been given sesenta años. I am a son of shishim shanah. I am blessed and thankful for those years. I have lived and continue to enjoy a wonderful life with an excellent wife, loving family and friends, and uncountable blessings.

I was once asked why I didn’t dye my hair when it started to turn gray. I replied, “It took me 50 years to grow these gray hairs, and I’m not going to hide them.” In Proverbs it says this: “Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained in the way of righteousness.”

I’m sixty, and I couldn’t be happier about it.

Happy Anniversary, Ellie and Ryan

Happy anniversary, Ellie and Ryan.

Here you are thirteen years ago.

Thirteen, the number of ahavah (love) in Hebrew.

"Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one (echad) flesh."

Thirteen, also the number of echad (one) in Hebrew.

In your living room, you have a framed picture of this beautiful kanji (megumi), which means blessing, grace, mercy, kindness. Your marriage is a great blessing. Your home is filled with grace, mercy, and kindness.

It can be seen in the two of you and in the three wonderful boys you are raising. The four lower strokes of the kanji mean "heart." You take people into your heart as a way of life.

As you follow God together, you bring light and life into this world. We commend you for that. We love you and wish you many more years together.

I love Ryan's blog post about your anniversary.

Happy New Year 2011!

In accordance with Japanese versus Chinese custom, we change the year on January 1st. The Chinese calendar will change from the Year of the Tiger to the Year of the Rabbit on February 3, 2011, the Chinese New Year.

Happy New Year!

Hawaiian Nihongo

Our niece, Pam, and her friend, Becky, recently went on vacation in Hawaii. Knowing how I love Japanese, they sent me this picture of a Subway menu in Japanese. Becky pointed out that BLT is in English. What is fascinating is that about 80% of this menu is in English adapted into the Japanese language phonetically. It's something we might call Nihonglish (Nihongo is Japanese for the Japanese language). By learning a 46-character syllabary called Katakana, you could read 80% or more of this menu.

There are only a few actual Kanji (Chinese characters used to write Japanese) on the menu, and since they mostly use the On-yomi (that is the Chinese reading of the Kanji), they represent Chinese sounds/ideas adopted into Japanese.

In fact, the only real native Japanese on this menu, in one sense, are the few Hiragana (another 46-character syllabary, used to write native Japanese words and to add grammatical endings to the Kanji) along with a couple of Kanji using the Kun-yomi (Japanese reading of the character)!

Top Line says "Sabuay"-wa furesshu de Shinsen dakara itsumo oishii!" Subway fresh. Because it's fresh, it's always delicious). The two Kanji are read Shinsen, a second way to write the meaning "fresh."

Second line: "Okisa-wa 6 inchi to 12 inchi, rappu mo arimasu."—Sizes we have: 6-inch and 12-inch, and also wraps.

Third line: "Yasai-wa oSukinamono o oErabi Kudasai." Literally (Regarding) vegetables (polite prefix) favorites or choices (polite prefix) choose please (humble word)—Choose the vegetables you would like. The prefix "o" added to the beginning of Sukinamono and Erabi is an example of word beautification and makes the language more polite. The word Kudasai is a form of please that shows humility on the part of the speaker (writer). When written as a Kanji, it points downward, as follows:

* Beji Deraito (Yasai to cheezu)"—Vegi Delight (Vegetables and Cheese)

* Tahkee Buresto (Shichimencho Muneniku)—Turkey Breast (Turkey Breast, but the word Shichimencho is interesting. It is the designation for a Turkey, but literally it means something like "Seven-Faced Bird," perhaps in reference to the various colors reflected by the turkey’s wattle.)

See more discussion of the word turkey in various languages on my blog here.

* Roesto Bifu —Roast Beef

* Sheefudo to Kurabu (Sheefudo to Kanikama) — Seafood and Fake Crab

* BLT (Baykon, Retasu, tomahto)—BLT (Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato)

* Hamu—Ham

* Roesto Chiken Buresto—Roast Chicken Breast

* Sabuay Kurabu (Tahkee, Roesto Beefu, Hamu)—Subway Club (Turkey, Roast Beef, Ham) (Notice crab and club are both transliterated the same into Katakana.)

* Itarian BMT (Peparoni, Sarami, Hamu)—Italian BMT (Pepperoni, Salami, Ham)

The BMT was supposedly originally named after the "Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit," but now is called Biggest, Meatiest, Tastiest.

* Tsuna (Tuna—this is the closest we can get in transliterating Tuna into Katakana).

* Teriyaki chiken—Teriyaki chicken

* Korudo Kahto Conbi (Hamu, Buroeni, Sarami)—Cold Cut Combi(nation) (Ham, Balogna, Salami)

* Chiken, Baykon Ranchi (Chiken, Baykon, Yasai)—Chicken Bacon Ranch (Chicken, Bacon, Ranch) (Note here that the word Lunch would also be transliterated Ranchi.)

* Steiki to Chizu—Steak and Cheese

* Pasutorami—Pastrami

* Beji Maxu (Yasai Hahmbahgah)—Vejimax (Vegetable Hamburger)

* Kizzu Paku (Kora Paku)—(Hamu, Tsuna, Softo Durinku, Tahkee something and it fades out-can't make out the characters, Durinku, and more unreadables)--Kid's Pack (Children's Pack) (Ham, Tuna, Soft Drink, Turkey, ........, Drink,....

* Onomimono: Softo Durinku (Okii, Chui, Chiisai) Kara oErabi Kudasai, Gyunyu, Uroncha, Kocha mo Arimasu—Beverages: Soft Drinks (Large, Medium, Small) Choose, We also have Milk, Oolong Tea, and Black Tea.

* Supu: Kuramuchyaudah, Burokkari Chizu, Chiken Nudoru, Bifu Vejitaburu—Soup: Clam Chowder, Broccoli-Cheese, Chicken Noodle, Beef Vegetable

The Black Circle in the upper righthand corner says that you can add Bacon for 50 cents to the 6-inch or a dollar to the 12-inch sandwich.

This was also posted on Bonnie's Beans Blog here, with some additional Japanese language information.

A Language Maven's Salmagundi

Bon, I'll see your mish-mash and raise you a tasty salmagundi.....

Our daughter, Bonnie, wrote a blog post entitled Mish Mashed and Smashed, which you can check out here. She had a number of disparate topics to post but didn't think any of them merited a post of its own.

To show in what odd directions my mind shoots off, I offer this post, inspired by the "Engrish" signs in Bonnie's post. We enjoy reading some of these odd uses of English from around the world, and we often find ourselves ROTFL, too (actually I find modern Internet lingo, such as ROTFL, rather odd English, too, don't you?) But these signs led to some interesting (at least to me) "rabbit trails." Kathy was looking over my shoulder while I was reading the blog, and she said of this first sign, "We've seen that in person!" Here it is and the story behind it.

Some very close Japanese friends took us to visit this pool when we were living in Yokohama. We are quite convinced this sign is posted in Owakudani (literally Big Bubbling [think Boiling] Valley) near Mt. Fuji at the place where the famous "Black Pearl Eggs" are made. Here's a shot of the sulfurous steam rising from the ground.

Owakudani is the area around a crater created in the last eruption of Mount Hakone 3000 years ago. Sulfurous fumes, hot springs and hot rivers can be experienced on a walk around the area. Eggs, boiled in the naturally hot waters, are said to prolong one's life by seven years and are readily available for sale. Here is one of the pools where the kuro-tamago (black eggs) are made.

The finished product.

Here is a shot of Owakudani from the cable car. Varying degress of acrophobia in our family kept us from seeing this view of the "Great Boiling Valley" in person!

Of course, Bonnie's post piqued my curiosity in another direction. I had to see how much of the Japanese I could translate for myself (with the help of my lexicons, of course). I was hampered by not being able to see a couple of the kanji, but to the best of my ability here's what this sign reads: Abunai (Danger) Kennan (Danger--I cannot see the second kanji, so I'm not sure of this word) Netto-ni Chui (Boiling Water--Be Careful!). I could not find the first kanji in the second line anywhere. It seems as if they translated it pond, but I could not find the character in any of my dictionaries. Anyway, let's says it's pond. Then here's the interpretation: (Pond) no Naka-ni Iranai de Kudasai. Please don't go into the (pond).

There is no clearer indication than this sign of the difficulty of translating from one language to another and the fact there is no word-for-word translation from one to the other. The word order is different. The connotations, the "feel" of words differs from culture to culture and therefore from language to language.

Yet, I kind of like the straightforward "Danger. If you fall in the pond, you'll be boiled!"

Here's another funny one that Bonnie pinched from Engrish.com. Now, we laugh, and rightfully so, because it strikes our funny bone (the "feel" of the phrase in English) but it's not the fault of the Japanese. It's a problem with English. The word toilet can mean both the room and the fixture, but we most often think of the fixture, so we think the warning is not to wash one's hair or clothes in the toilet bowl! In Japanese, the English word toilet (toire) has been assimilated but has the connotation of the room rather than the furniture! However, this sign doesn't even use the word toire (toilet). It uses the word semmendai (washing stand), probably referring to the sinks!

Here's my breakdown: Kono (this) Semmendai (washing place) dewa (no real translation, but it refers to Kono Semmendai and means that that's what we're talking about), Kami (hair) o Arattari (Washing) Sentakuto (Laundry, etc.)-o-Shinai-de (Do not do) Kudasai (Please).

The final sign from Bonnie's blog is funny, but it also hurts because of the number of times I've tried to go to a dictionary and facilely complete a translation without really understanding the words. For example, if you're a non-native, non-accomplished speaker of English and you're looking for a translation of dear, you could run into trouble by misspelling (deer) or different meanings (loved and cherished versus expensive or even the obsolete noble or worthy).

Here I believe the problem arises from the word shiyo (use). The Japanese phrase, I think, has to do with the proper use of the machine, arising from a need to buy your own tissue (not that you should buy "used" tissue). Also, there's no first person pronoun "I" in the Japanese, and of course, it sounds ridiculous in the English sentence.

Here's how I read the Japanese: Teisshu (the English word tissue written in Katakana) HanBaiKi (Selling [Vending] Machine). Go-Chui (Warning but a polite warning, indicated by the honorific Go). Kono Toire dewa (with regard to this Toilet), Teisshu-o-Jobi-shite Arimasen (there is not normally tissue) Node (Because), Go-Shiyo-ni-naru-Ho-wa (concerning the proper use)-o-Kai (Buy) Motome (Request) Kudasai (Please--a humble request).

Here's a loose translation. Tissue Machine. Caution. There is usually no toilet paper in this bathroom, so please buy some here!




We were discussing this last night and wondering whether the Korean and Chinese translations below the English are as funny-sounding in their respective languages as the English is. I never did learn to read Hangul and don't know enough Korean to make it worthwhile. I can make out some of the Chinese characters (because they are used in Japanese) but China came up with simplications of many of the characters so that they no longer look like the Kanji I learned in Japan.

I hope this post has been of some interest to you, but even if not, I had a blast putting it together! I'll leave you with one last sign from Engrish.com.

Caption on Engrish.com says "This explains the postage due on the toilet paper... "

Yes, this is the sign on the bathroom door. It strikes as funny because the word mailman immediately springs to mind, thus the caption. Japanese Dansei simply means "male."

For some cool pictures and more commentary on the Hakone district around Fuji-san check out this guy's blog, which I ran across while researching this post.