Week 2 - Stories of the Japanese Prefectures (Absolute Beginner Book Club)

Japanese Language Book Clubs
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These are 傍点（ぼうてん）or side dots. Wikipedia says:
Adding these dots to the sides of characters (right side in vertical writing, above in horizontal writing) emphasizes the character in question. It is the Japanese equivalent of the use of italics for emphasis in English.

They get used for a variety of emphasis in Japanese. For example, in レンタルおにいちゃん manga that we read in ABBC, the dots were used to draw your attention to the difference in spelling between お兄ちゃん (used with her real older brother) and おにいちゃん (used with her rental big brother).

Here I think they just help separate out where an individual word starts and stops to make the reading easier for young children (and non-native learners!). I actually found this quite helpful - both words could have been tricky to parse out otherwise.

There are other marks in Japanese with different names that can serve the same function - the wikipedia article has more info.

Chapter 8
I love how they describe the wonder of the formation of the lakes - they gently leave out the fact that 500 people died when the volcano erupted in 1888 that created these lakes!

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22
Akita translation

秋田県
Akita Prefecture

なまはげは、こわい？
Is Namahage scary?

大みそかの夜です。
It is the night of New Year’s Eve.

「なぐごはいねが（なく子はいないか）！」
“Are there any crying children?!”

おにが、木でできたほうちょうをふり回しながら、家に入ってきました。
The demon entered a house wielding a kitchen knife made from wood.
家の人は、おさけなどを出して、おにをもてなします。
The people in the house serve it things like sake and entertain the demon.
そして、おにはつぎの家へをむかいました。
Then, the demon heads towards the next house.

村人がふんしているこのおには、「なまはげ」とよばれます。
This demon, which villagers disguise themselves as, is called “Namahage”.
なまけていたり、けんかをしていたりすると、「なまはげ」はそれをいましめてくれます。
If you are lazy or pick fights, “Namahage” will admonish you for that.
「なまはげ」は、こわいかっこうをしていますが、人びとにしあわせをもたらしてくれる、山のかみさまのつかいなのです。
“Namahage” is scary-looking, but it is a messenger of the mountain gods which brings happiness to people.

The word つかい/使い in the last line has a few different definitions, but “messenger” seems to work the best. At least @Gorbit99 and I had the same idea!

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23

Huge thanks for these translations, it caught a few things that I got wrong (for example I didn’t realize that Bandai was an actual mountain and Jisho translated it as “thousands of years” so I just assumed it was a geological thing from many, many volcanic eruptions)!

One small thing that is bothering me that I can’t figure out - in page 12 what does the ぶ do 一つぶ一つぶ?

Full sentence: かがやく宝石のような赤いみの一つぶ一つぶに、農家の人のくろうがつまっているのです。

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This is one of the tricky things about the lack of kanji - it’s not 一つ＋ぶ but rather 一粒.

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25

Hmm, could it be that the Akita subtitle, “なまはげは、こわい?” means “Are you afraid of the Namahage?”? Makes more sense to me than “are they scary?”

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Yamagata translation

山形県
Yamagata Prefecture

大すき、さくらんぼ
Beloved cherries

くだもの王国の山形県。
Yamagata prefecture is the kingdom of fruit.
なかでも、人気のさくらんぼは、夏のはじめにしゅうかくされます。
Especially the popular cherries that are harvested at the beginning of summer.

さくらんぼは元もと、明治時代に、外国からやって来たくだものです。
In the Meiji period, cherries originally were fruits that came from foreign countries.
さいしょは、日本全国でさいばいされていましたが、しもや、台風のひがいが少ない山形県で、よくそだつようになりました。
In the beginning, they were cultivated throughout Japan, but in Yamagata prefecture, where there was little frost or typhoon damage, they came to grow well.

さくらんぼのさいばいには、おどろくほどの手間がかかります。
Cherry cultivation takes a surprising amount of work.
かがやくほう石のような赤いみの一つぶ一つぶに、農家の人のくろうがつまっているのです。
Every single red, shining jewel-like fruit is packed with the farmer’s toil.

The repetition of 一つぶ一つぶ in the last line threw me a bit, but I figured it meant either “every single” or “each and every” in this context.

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27

The latter actually makes more since to me, but it’s simple enough that it could mean what you’re saying. They’re not actually so different.

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I think it’s more like “one by one”. 一つ一つ in Jisho means “one by one”. Here the つぶ is 粒, the counter for small round things. So 一粒一粒 is “one by one” or “one small round thing at a time”.

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Week 3 thread!

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:cherries:・ だいすきさくらんぼ・Much loved cherries・ :cherry_blossom:
After reading this passage, I did some research and found that Yamagata produces 70% of Japan’s cherries. In June, during cherry season, one can participate in all-you-can-eat cherry picking sessions. I’m so excited to try it one day, as it combines my love for Japan, cherries and gardening.
Below is my translation

くだもの王国の山形県

Fruit kingdom of Yamagata prefecture.

なかでも、人気のさくらんぼは、夏のはじめにしゅうかくされます。

One of the most popular fruits, cherry, is harvested in the beginning of summer.
Particularly, as for popular cherries, in the beginning of summer are harvested.

  • しゅうかくされます: しゅうかく (harvest) + されます (polite passive for of する → される → されうます)

さくらんぼは元もと、明治時代に、外国からやって来たくだものです。

As for cherry, it’s a fruit that originally came along from abroad in Meiji Period.

さいしょは、日本全国でさいばいされていましたが、しもや、台風のひがいが少ない山形県で、よくそだつようになりました。

As for beginning, all over Japan was cultivated, but in Yamagata ken where frost and typhoon damage are few, reached the point of growing well.

  • ようになる - reach the point where~, come to~

さくらんぼのさいばいには、おどろくほどの手間がかかります

Cultivation of cherries takes surpising amount of labour.

かがやくほう石のような赤いみの一つぶ一つぶに、農家の人のくろうがつまっているのです。

One-by-one … red fruit looking like a shining jewel, farmers’ labour … is packed with?

  • ような is a “connective” form of ようだ - look as if; appear; seem

:question: What’s the word-by-word translation of this, how does つまる fit in here?

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31

Better a little late than never!

Fukushima translation

福島県
Fukushima Prefecture

五色ぬまのひみつ
The secret of the five-colored lakes

しぜんがうつくしい福島県の「うらばんだい」とよばれる地いきには、いくつかのぬまがあります。
In the naturally-beautiful Fukushima prefecture’s region called “Urabadai” there are several lakes.
赤みがかっている「赤ぬま」、青白く光る「青ぬま」、見る場所によって水の色がかわる「るりぬま」など。
There are tinged red “Akanuma (Red Lake)”, bluish-white shining “Aonuma (Blue Lake)”, and “Rurinuma (Lapis Lazuli Lake?)” whose water color changes depending on where you look, among others.
これらのぬまは、まとめて「五色ぬま」とよばれています。
These lakes altogether are called “Goshikinuma (Five-colored Lakes)”.

五色ぬまは、どうしてできたのでしょうか。
How were the Five-colored Lakes made?
答えは、ばんだい山のふん火です。
The answer is the volcanic eruption of Mount Bandai.
ふん火によって山がくずれ、どろが川をせき止め、くぼ地に水がたまってできたといわれています。
It is said that because of the eruption the mountain crumbled, mud dammed up the river, and water collected in the basin.
山のふん火によってきれいなぬまができるなんて、ふしぎですね。
To think that beautiful lakes are made because of a volcanic eruption is incredible, isn’t it?

To clarify, would the the phrases ending in stem-form verbs in the second-to-last sentence just be listing out events? Like saying “… and … and …” ? I’m more familiar with the te-form being used in this way.

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Page 12

I got the general sense of this one but not 100% sure of the translation. Perhaps: Each shining, jewel-like red fruit is packed with the farmer’s labour - or - Each shining, jewel-like red fruit is picked one by one; it’s lots of effort for the farmer.

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I think you were actually quite close. I took the phrase to mean that the cherries were “filled with the farmers’ effort/hard work”, sort of like a lunch made by your mom would be “filled with love”, to use an example.

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34

That’s right, in spoken language the て-form is often used as a connective, but in written form it’s common to see the verb stem used instead.

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This looks like an AにBがつまる phrase, but I don’t know what につまる means.

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It’s つまる not つかる.

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Thank you, I fixed the typo.

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38

Hello everyone. I’m trying to catch up after missing a few weeks due to vacations. I just finished reading and translating the Miyagi Prefecture section.

My translation: 宮城県, page 10

おいしいお米にひとめぼれ
Delicious hitomebore rice

宮城県の真ん中あたりには、平らな土地が広がっていて、米作りがさかんです。
Around the middle of Miyagi Prefecture, tranquil land spreads wide, and rice cultivation flourishes.

ここで多くさいばいされている「ひとめぼれ」は、宮城県で生まれたいねのしゅるいの一つです。
“Hitomebore,” cultivated here in great numbers, is one of the rice varieties born in Miyagi Prefecture.

「一目見ただけですきになる」といういみの「ひとめぼれ」。
“With just one look, you’ll fall in love.” They say that’s what’s meant by “Hitomebore.”

一口食べただけで、「おいしい！」と、すきになってほしい。
With just one bite, “Delicious!” you’ll say, and you’ll want to love it.

そんなねがいをこめて作られているお米なのかもしれませんね。
Maybe the rice is made with that kind of desire in mind.

I felt okay about most of this, but there were two parts that gave me trouble.

Translation Questions: Sentence 4, page 10

The first was the end of sentence four: すきになってほしい. I think I understand all the component parts:
すき (好き): like, な-adjective
に: Particle, goes with なって
なって: become, て form of なる
ほしい: want, when paired with なって it means “want to become”?

But when I put it all together it’s hard for me to make something that works in English. You’ll want it to become your favorite? You’ll want to like it? I read the other translations in the thread but I would love some more insight!

Translation Questions: Sentence 5, page 10

そんなねがいをこめて作られているお米なのかもしれませんね。

I had a lot of trouble with this one and had to look at everyone else’s translations to get any sense out of it. So I thought breaking it down would be helpful. And it was! But I want to know if my breakdown is accurate, or if I’ve just made it fit to what the other translations said.

そんな: That sort of, that kind of, adjective
ねがい: Desire, noun
を: Object particle
こめて: To put into, て form of こめる (込める)
作られている: to be made, passive (られ) + state changed (?) (ている) form of 作る

So far, we have “Be made with that kind of desire put [into it].” I think. Is all of the above modifying お米?

Moving on:
お米: Rice, noun
なの: Described in thread; の is an explanatory particle, and it requires な if it comes after a noun (thanks @Micki !)
かもしれません: Might be, set phrase (jisho)
ね: Particle

Put it all together and I get, roughly:

It might be rice made with that kind of desire put into it.

But that sounds a little awkward in English, so I changed it to “Maybe the rice is made with that kind of desire in mind.”

Does that seem about right, or did I just strong-arm my way through it and wind up with something passable based on vocabulary alone?

Okay, now it will be on to page 11!

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39

Here といういみ just means “means” here (confusing sentence there), so “hitomebore means love at first sight”

Afaik, this is exactly it

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40

One way to look at it would be two consecutive actions joined by a verb in te-form. So this would be: with just one bite you’ll fall in love with it and desire it, saying “delicious!”

But it might be that the ほしい just emphasises the 好きになる rather than being a separate action, and a natural translation would probably be: with just one bite you’ll fall in love with it, saying “delicious!”