Aibou (相棒 – Buddy)
Aibou
相棒
Do you have aibou (相棒)?
あなたには「相棒」がいますか？
Aibo means a partner who works or plays with you.
「相棒」とは、一緒に仕事などをする相手や仲間のことを指す言葉です。
Ai (相) means ‘each other’ and bou (棒) means ‘stick.’
「相」は ‘each other,’ 「棒」は ‘stick’ を意味します。
This word came from kago (駕籠), which was used in the Edo period.
この言葉は、江戸時代に使われた「駕籠」に由来します。
Kago is a kind of human-powered vehicle that can carry a human — the sitting space was hung with a single stick, and two people carried it on their shoulders.
駕籠は人を乗せて人力で運ぶ乗り物のことで、人が座る部分を一本の棒に吊るし、2人で棒を担いで運びます。
The person who carried the front side of the stick was called sakibou (先棒 – front stick), the person who carried the back side was called atobou (後棒 – back stick), and they called each other aibou (相棒 – each other’s stick).
棒の前の方を担ぐ人を先棒、後ろの方を担ぐ人を後棒と言い、彼らはお互いのことを「相棒」と呼び合っていたそうです。
