Volume 5: Seniors!
Episode 20: Third YearWhy Osaka Is Taking Her Shoes Off At School - In Japan, you do not wear your shoes inside school. Instead, you have a set of indoor shoes, which you leave at the school's entrance where every school has shelves.
Tomo's Haircut - When Chiyo hesitates to ask Tomo why she cut her hair, it's because she was thinking of the classic reason women chop their off, which is if she was dumped by a guy.
Ayu - This is a reference to Ayumi Hamasaki, a super-famous singer who people think is cute.
Kimurin - This is a nickname for Kumira, similar in structure to how Kaorin is a nickname for Kaori.
Tomo and ICPO - ICPO stands for International Criminal Police Organization and is also known as Interpol. This is the organization that Zenigata, the police figure in "Lupin III", works for.
Police Pocketbook - Police in Japan flash their official pocketbooks instead of badges. The front of the pocketbook is black with the gold sun symbol of the polie and lettering indentifying the departemnt. The pocketbook generally has a pen holder, some note paper, and space for business cards.
Print Club Stickers - These are the stickers you can get from print club machines, which can be seen in arcades and general gaming places, even in America now. It is a bit like a photo booth where you take your picture against a neutral background, and the machine superimposes your picture on the background and frame of your choice. The machine will print a sheet of these stickers, which are usually the size of a small stamp.
Tokyo University - Tokyo University is a national university and considered to be the best in all of Japan. It is very hard to get into.
Skipping Grades - While skipping grades is not a common thing in America, it is far more rare in Japan.
Sasaki and Ichiro - Kazuhiro Sasaki and Ichiro Suzuki are both baseball players who have come to play in America. They both play for the Seattle Mariners. Sasaki is a relief pitcher, and Suzuki is a right fielder.
Chiyo-Dad Will Come Flying - When Sakaki says that Chiyo-Dad will come flying to Chiyo's rescue, in both English and Japanese, it works out that "come flying" is a figurative way of saying that he will come really quickly, even though in Sakaki's mind he really is flying.
"Let Your Darling Children Travel." - In Japanese, this saying basically means that if you truly care for your children, you would allow them to travel and see the world for their own good, rather than sheltering them from it all. In Japanese, the word "kawaii" can mean both "dear" and "cute". In the saying, it should be taken to mean "dear", as in "a child your cherish", but Osaka turns it into a pun and uses it to mean "cute" when she says that Chiyo is "darling", and therefore, it's okay for her to travel.
Episode 21: School Trip
Okinawa/Ryukyu - The Ryukyus, or the 169 islands that comprise modern day Okinawa prefecture, stretch 1,000km from the island of Kyushu to Taiwan. Most people are unaware of the unique history, language, and culture associated with the islands. Although Okinawans speak a number of dialects that belong to the same family of languages as Japanese, many of them are incomprehensible to a Japanese speaker. This should come as no surprise, given that the people of the Ryukyus have often had closer relations in the past to China than Japan.
In 1429, the Ryukyu Kingdom was established. The Ming Dynasty in China demanded tribute from the new nation in exchange for recongnzing its soverignty. In 1609, the Shimazu Clan from Satsuma, Japan, invaded the Ryukyu Kingdom. A tenuous dual tribute system arose and lasted until 1879 when the central Japanese government dissolved the Ryukyu Kingdom and created Okinawa prefecture. Despite pleas to mainland China and even then U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant for aid, the Ryukyus were forced to accept their fate. After World War II, the U.S. took control of Okinawa. It returned the islands to Japan in 1972 but still maintains a strong military presence.
The name Okinawa comes from the word "uchinaa", which is standard Okinawan (uchinaaguchi) for the main island of Okinawa. "Ryukyu", the name of the island chain and the kingdom, originated in China.
School Trips - School trips usually occur one in every scholastic institution, meaing once in grade school, once in middle school, and once in high school. When the class might go would depend on the school, but some take entrance exams into consideration and have the trip in the second year rather than take the trip during the busy third year when everyone is cramming for entrance exams. School trips are also not always strictly educational. Some schools go skiing or to other resort areas, though many others go to historical locations, such as Kyoto.
Tomo's School Trip Rules - The wooden sword and livery coat are ridiculous souveinirs, and Tomo is just trying to make Chiyo nervous by making up these rules.
Yomi's Wakeup Call - There is a really subtle pun when Yomi says, "Tomo, it's almost time for Okinawa." In Japanese, "okiru" is to "wake up", so up until Yomi says the "-nawa" part, it technically sounds like she's just telling Tomo to wake up. Just by watching the show, it's hard to tell whether the pun is there or not.
Airport Souveinirs - There are a lot of gift shops in airports, including ones that sell souveinr types of items local to the area. However, proper souveinirs should be bought at the travel destination, and souvenirs bought at the airport are something for procrastinators and lazy people.
Utchin Tea With Agaricus - Utchin comes from the word "ukon", which means tumeric. Tumeric tea is a specialty of Okinawa. Agaricus is a kind of mushroom and is one of those herbs that supposedly has various qualities that promote good health. It is purported to boost the immune system and help prevent cancer, diabetes, allergies, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure.
Haisai - This means "hello" in Okinawan.
Shurei no Kuni - This literally means "land of propriety". This gate is known as the Shureimon Gate and is one of the entrances to the Shurijo Castle. Parts of the castle compound have history going back to the 1400s, but it was destroyed four times over the centuries by either fire or war, the last time being World War II in 1945. Since then, it has been restored and open at least partially to the public since 1992.
2,000 Yen Bill - 2,000 yen bills are as much of a rarity in Japan as $2 bills are in America. The front and watermark feature the Shureimon Gate while the back has a scene and parts of the text from "The Tale of Genji" as well as an image of its author, Murasaki Shikibu.
The Shurijo Castle Tour - During this episode, the girls visit a number of recongnizable features of Shurijo Castle. First, from the Sureimon Gate, they go straight. (There is a path that branches off to the right, which is where they will eventually leave the castle.) As they walk along, they walk in front of the next attraction in the Surijo Castle park, which is the Sonohyan-utaki. An utaki is a gate where people pray to the local gods, and this particular one is said to have been the most important in the Ryukyu Kingdom.
The gate where the shiisaa are introduced (see note below) is the Zuisenmon Gate, the second gate of Shurijo Castle.
The gate where Chiyo buys tickets is the Koufukumon Gate, the fourth gate of Shurijo Castle. Originally, the civil and judicial offices were to the left and temple and shrine offices for ceremonies were to the right. Now, the ticket offices are to the left and restrooms to the right.
The vast compound they walk through is the Una Forecout, a central area of the Shurijo Castle and the main square used for ceremonies. The striped pattern was used to indicate where officials were to stand and where ceremonial instruments were to be set up. The center road, called the Ukimini, was considered holy.
The large building they stop to admire is the main hall of Shurijo Castle.
The stone paved path they leave by is the right hand path from the Sureimon Gate called the Madama Road. The entryway to the left comes from the Shurijo Castle.
Tomo Clapping - Generally, you only clap in front of shrines and temples where you are praying, but Tomo is doing it here to show her apopreciation in front of the main hall of Shurijo Castle.
Shiisaa - These are oriental lion statues, which Okinawa is known for. They are said to ward off evil and calamity. They are something that was culturally adopted from minland China long ago.
Okinawan Phrases - "Are shiisaa yaibiimi?" ('Is that a shiisaa?'); "Shiisaa yaibiimi?" ('Is it a shiiisaa?'); "Uree shiisaa yaibiin." ('That is a shiisaa.'); "Shiisaa yaibiin." ('It's a shiisaa.'); "Are shiisaa aibiran!" ('That's not a shiisaa!')
Bitter Melon Champloo - Bitter melon often appears in Okinawan cooking. Champloo is an Okinawan form of stir fry, which can include tofu, various meats, vegetables, and even noodles. The bitter melon champloo contains tofu, bitter melon, pork, and eggs.
Other Champloo - Wheat-gluten champloo contains what-gluten bread, eggs, pork, and vegetables. Fine noodle champloo is based on the nooded and can contain a variety of vegetables and meat.
Manzamou - This is a famous sightseeing spot, which overlooks the East China Sea from a cliff of coral reef. "Manzamou"" means "a field that can seat ten thousand".
Koukusaidori - This street was the first to make a comback after World War II and is now a big tourist spot with lots of souveinir shops.
Chinsuko - This is a kind of biscuit cookie and a very popular Okinawa souveinir. The box in Tomo's hands looks exactly like the real product.
Black Vinegar - This is another health food, which supposedly has variously healthy qualities. It is often used as a seasoning, but some people also treat it as a health tonic.
Sata Andagi - This is an Okinawan specialty, which is a kind of sweet fried dough similar in concept to doughnuts.
Miyakojima Island - This island is a little over 300km (roughly 248 miles) southeast of the main island of Okinawa. It is a resort area.
Iriomote Cat - Felis iriomotensis. An endangered species of wild cat that lives only on the Iriomote Island in Japan. Irimote Island is apart of Okinawa prefecture. There is thought to be only about 100 individual cats left in the wild.
Iriomote Island - This island is another 200km (roughly 124 miles) or so east of Miyakojima Island.
Uminchu - This is a written as "person of the sea", meaning "fisherman" in Okinawan.
Writing On Taxi - This cab service is the "Yamaneko Taxi", where "yamaneko" means "wildcat".
Yamamayaa - This is another local term for the Irimote Cat. "Yama" means "mountain" and "mayaa" means "cat" in the local language.
Kaorin Is Not Worthy - When Kaorin tells Sakaki that she is not worthy, the way she words it is most often used when a bride marries into her husband's family.
Episode 22: Entrace Exams Study Camp!
40 On The Street - The "40" written directly on the street stands for 40km/hr, which would be approximately 25mph.
Radio Exercises - This is something children are told to do in grade school. In the morning, the radio plays the music for the standard exercise. Many elderly also do the exercise of out habit and for health reasons. However, it is generally not something young people in their teens do.
Autumn Foods - Chestnut rice, which is rice cooked with some seasoning and pieces of chestnuts, and broiled saury are seasonal foods associated with autumn.
Summer Service Day - In Japan, students are required to show up at school a couple times over the course of summer break. Usually, it's only for a couple hours and not a whole lots gets done - maybe a little preliminary planning for the sports of culture fest. Tomo, Osaka, and Yukari all wish it were a summer service day rather than the real first day back in school.
Keeping Eyes and Ears On Things - In Japanese, the word for "highlight" is "medama", which can also mean "eyeball". Thus, in the previeew, Osaka asks, "What's this year's highlight?" But true to Osaka's love of puns, she takes the literal meaning, "What this year's eyeball?" and goes to ask "What's this year's ear, mouth, and nose?"
Episode 23: Last Sports Fest In High School
Mr. Yukichi - Yukichi Fukuzawa is the founder of what is now Keio University and his face is on the 10,000 yen bill. So, essentially, this is like saying, "Osaka is Benjamin".
Osaka's Gesture - After Osaka drops the sweet bean paste, she makes a motion with her hands. This means "we'll set that aside for now" or "nevermind mind that, let's move along".
Note On Bloomers - Girls actually wear shorts these days.
Cream Breads - These are generally shaped like a crown with very blunt corners.
Boy's Uniform - The term Kaorin uses here actually specifically refers to boys' school uniforms with closec collars and more often than not, a long top and baggy pants.
Pikanyaa - This is Osaka's mangled version of "yamapikaryaa", because "nyaa" is a sound cats make.
