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【No. 0796】Mice and Cheese

Feb 21, 2017 16:42
Today I will talk about the relationship between mice and cheese.

In various animations, manga, and plays, you can see a scene that mice like cheese.

However, according to a study at Manchester Metropolitan University in the UK, mice avoid cheese unless they are starving.

Since mice have a high metabolic rate, they prefer grain, fruits, and sweets that contain a lot of sugar.

Also, it is thought that mice dislike food that have a strong fermentation odor like cheese because of their keen olfactory sense.

Although there are several theories as the reason why we think that mice like cheese, there is no widely accepted one.
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【No. 0795】Yakan (Kettle)

Feb 20, 2017 11:06
Today I will talk about a tool called "yakan."

Yakan is a kettle-shaped tool that is used for boiling water.
(Incidentally, my dictionary says "yakan" is "kettle" or "boiler.")

Stainless, steel, aluminum or copper is often used as a material.

The yakan, which appeared in the Kamakura Period, was originally used to simmer drugs.

Therefore, the name became "yakan" -- ya means medicine and kan means pod.

It is not clear when yakan came to be used a tool for boiling water.

The roots of huetsuki yakan (kettle with whistle) that are often used these days seems to be ones that were released by a kitchenware manufacturer in New York in 1921.
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【No. 0794】Dosakusa

Feb 19, 2017 16:30
Today I will talk about the Japanese word "dosakusa."

"Dosakusa" means a situation that people are confused by sudden incidents or errands.

In most cases, it is used with "magirete," which means "to blend into something", something like "dosakusa ni magirete ~ suru" (to do something in the confusion).

Usage example: Dosakusa ni magirete party kara kaeru. (I escape from the party in the confusion.)

Some people say that this word comes from "bakuto gari" (to hunt gamblers), which was conducted to get workers at Sado Kinzan in the Edo period.

In this theory, "dosa" is a changed form of "sado," and "kusa" comes from "kusai," which means "to be sound like something" -- that is, "dosakusa" indicates a confusion of a gambling parlor in Sado Kinzan.

However, nowadays this thought is regarded as a vulgar belief.
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【No. 0793】Daifuku

Feb 18, 2017 17:09
Today I will talk about the Japanese food "daifuku."

The literal meaning of 大福 (daifuku) is "big lucky", and it is a kind of Japanese sweets that wrap azuki-an (a sweet red paste made from red azuki beans) in mochi (sticky rice cake).

During the Muromachi Period, such mochi sweets were called "uzura mochi" (quail mochi) because of its shape.

Also, since uzura mochi was big and gave you the feeling of long fullness, it was also called "腹太餅 (harabuto mochi)," where '腹 (hara)' means belly and '太 (buto)' means 'large').

During the Edo Period, harabuto mochi became smaller, and it became to be called "大福餅 (daifuku mochi)," where '大 (dai)' means big and '腹 (fuku)' means belly.

Finally, the auspicious letter '福 (fuku),' meaning lucky, came to be used instead of '腹,' and it became '大福 (daifuku)' or "大福餅 (daifuku mochi)."
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【No. 0792】Prairie Dog

Feb 17, 2017 23:35
Today I will talk about prairie dogs that are belong to the squirrel family.

Prairie dogs are inhabit the grasslands of North America -- they make burrow and live in there in flocks.

The social of them is polygamy, and the family groups are called "coteries".

Coteries are live in the same burrow, share feed, and kick out males who came from outside.

They build strong camaraderie among coteries.

It is also known that they kiss and hug to each other when greeting.

Incidentally, burrows made by prairie dogs are divided into a bed room, a children's room, a toilet, a pantry, a managing room, and so on depending on the role.
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【No. 0791】Kattarui

Feb 16, 2017 22:54
Today I will talk about the Japanese term "kattarui."

"Kattarui" means "to feel sluggish" or "to feel lazy."

This word was derived from "kahina dayushi," which is a word used in Heian Era.

"Kahina" of "kahina dayushi" means "arm," and "dayushi" means "to feel sluggish."

The word "kahina dayushi" changed to "kahidarushi," "kahidarui," then "kattarui."

That is to say, "kattarui" originally meant "to feel sluggish/lazy because of tired arms."

It came to mean not only "arm" but also "body," and finally it came to have the above meanings.

Incidentally, my dictionary says that "kattarui" can be translated into just "tiring."
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【No. 0790】Cold

Feb 15, 2017 22:32
Unfortunately I have caught a cold.

I have a sore throat and a headache, and feel a chill.

So today I will talk about trivia about a cold.

More than 90% of common colds are caused by virus infection.

The number of virus types is more than 800, and medicines that suppress these viruses hasn't been developed yet.

Doctors prescribe might medicines for you, but they only have an effect to suppress the symptoms.

Since such medicines have also adverse effects, many doctors and pharmacists heal on its own when they catch a cold.

Incidentally, if you can develop a specific medicine for colds, no doubt you win the Nobel Prize.
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【No. 0789】Valentine's Day in Japan

Feb 14, 2017 03:00
Today is Valentine's Day.

On this day men in many countries present bouquets, cakes or chocolate to women.

On the other hand, in some countries such as Japan or Korea, women present chocolate to men they love.

For this reason, a large amount of chocolate has been sold in supermarkets lately.

Incidentally, chocolate of Valentine's Day in Japan is able to be divided into several categories.

"Honmei choco" (Main chocolate) ･･･ A chocolate that is presented as a confession of love.

"Giri choco" (Obligation chocolate) ･･･ A chocolate that is presented as an expression of thanks or social etiquette.

"Tomo choco" (Friend choco) ･･･ Chocolate that are presented to each other among women.

"Gyaku choco" (Reverse chocolate) ･･･ A chocolate that is presented from a man to a woman.

Today I'm going to present chocolate to some colleague as a souvenir, so I need to explain the chocolate is unrelated to Valentine's Day.
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【No. 0788】The Etymology of Chocolate

Feb 13, 2017 22:24
Last week I bought a lot of chocolate.

However, since I didn't know where the word chocolate came from, today I searched the etymology on the Internet.

First, the word chocolate comes from Spanish.

The Spanish word chocolate comes from a Nahuatl word xocolatl.

Here, xocoli means bitter and atl means water.

Since the sound xo didn't exist in Spanish, it has come to be cho.

Originally, chocolate was treated as a medical drink among native Mexicans, and it was neither solid nor sweet.

It has spread to all over the world, continuously improved, then chocolate has become the feature like today.
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【No. 0787】National Foundation Day (Kenkoku Kinen no Hi)

Feb 12, 2017 20:48
Last week I wrote diaries related to my overseas business trip.

I will talk about Japanese words and culture again from this week.

Yesterday, February 11st was "Kenkoku Kinen no Hi" (National Foundation Day), which is a national holiday in Japan.

The purpose of this day is to commemorate the founding of Japan and to foster a love for Japan.

It is said that Emperor Jimmu, the first emperor of Japan, was crowned in this day.

However, this story is based on Japanese mythology, and the exact day when Japan was founded is unknown.

In cases where you don't know the exact day like this, the name of the national holiday becomes "kinen no hi," instead of "kinenbi."

I think that many Japanese people misunderstand this day as "kenkoku kinenbi."
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【No. 0778】Hebi-geiko

Feb 3, 2017 20:41
Today I will talk about the Japanese term "hebi-geiko."

The literal meaning of "hebi" is "snake," "geiko" means "enrichment lesson," and "hebi-geiko" means that someone quits enrichment lessons soon.

Usage example: Don't do hebi-geiko (Don't quit something easily).

Snakes are a creature that hibernates during autumn and winter, and starts activities in spring.

We thought that a person who started something in spring and ends in autumn was similar to the snake, then the term "hebi-geiko" was born.

Incidentally, there is another idiom called "mikka bozu, " which has the almost similar meaning of "hebi-geiko."

You can see the etymology in the following article.

http://lang-8.com/kanotown/journals/146010804523318607706596508768806929454
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【No. 0777】Otoko-mae (Manly Look/Attitude)

Feb 2, 2017 23:32
Yesterday I talked about the Japanese word "iro-otoko," which mean a good-looking man or a ladies' man.

Today I'd like to talk about the word "otoko-mae," which means a manly look or attitude.

"Otoko" in "otoko-mae" means a man and "mae" means "front."

Here, "mae" can make a noun that expresses a function or state of something by attaching after another noun.

For example, there is "ude-mae" (ude means an arm and ude-mae means skill.)

Originally, "otoko-mae" means something like the role of a man.

However, now it usually means that someone is nice as a man, that is, someone has a manly look or attitude.
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【No. 0776】Iro-otoko (A Good-looking Man)

Feb 1, 2017 22:31
Today I will talk about the Japanese word "iro-otoko."

"Iro-otoko" means a good-looking man, a lascivious man or a man who is popular with women.

Since "iro" means "lascivious" (also means "color") and "otoko" means "man," "iro-otoko" originally meant only a womanizer.

During the Edo period, it came to mean a good-looking man and a popular man.

It is thought that such a change of meanings is derived from Kabuki.

In Kabuki, an actor who played a love scene as a role of a beautiful man (called "nuregotoshi") had his face painted white.

From this fact, "nuregotoshi" came to be called "iro-otoko," then came to have the above meanings.
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【No. 0775】Suppin (Unpainted Face)

Jan 31, 2017 22:33
Yesterday I talked about the Japanese word "beppin," which means a beautiful woman.

Today I'm going to talk about the word "suppin," which was derived from "beppin."

"Suppin" means a person (mainly a woman) who wearing no makeup at all.

This originally meant that a woman is beautiful even if she doesn't makeup.

However, it has been used for meaning to appear on stage without wearing makeup in the Kabuki world.

Recently the meaning has spread publicly from the Kabuki.

"Suppin" is also used as a word that expresses a state of no job in Final Fantasy and a state of no ability in Kirby Super Star.
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【No. 0774】Beppin (A Beautiful Woman)

Jan 30, 2017 00:07
Today I will talk about the Japanese word "beppin," which means a beautiful woman.

It is said that this word comes from a signboard of an eel restaurant in Aichi Prefecture.

During the Edo period, eel dishes came to be popular, and the restaurant hung out a sign that was written as "sukoburu beppin," which means "very different item."

(Here "beppin" is an abbreviation for "betsu no shina," which means "other item.")

This changed to just "beppin," and came to be used to mean an outstanding person.

And now it is used as a word that means only a beautiful woman.
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【No. 0773】If you cut your nails at night...

Jan 29, 2017 10:19
Today I will talk about a Japanese superstition.

"Yoru ni tsume wo kiru to oya no shinime ni aenai" (If you cut your nails at night, you won't be with your parents when they pass away).

Like this, it is thought that to cut your nails at night is something bad in Japan.

I will introduce two theories that are thought of as the derivation.

【Because it was dangerous】
Formerly in Japan, people cut their nails using a small knife. Furthermore, since there were no light bulbs, it was very dark at night. As a result, some cut their hands wrongly and some were dead because of the mistakes.

【Because it could bring bad luck】
By omitting "yoru ni tsume wo kiru" (to cut your nails at night), it becomes "夜爪 (yozume)," (night nails). This is associated with "世詰め (yozume)," which means "short-lived."
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【No. 0772】Nureginu (Innocent Sins)

Jan 28, 2017 21:44
Today I will talk about the Japanese term "nureginu."

The literal meaning is "wet clothes," and it means "innocent sins" or "unfounded rumors."

When you want to mean "to accuse someone of falsely," you can say "nureginu wo kiseru" by using the verb "kiru," which means "to wear."

Originally, "nureginu" meant "clothes wetted by water."

There are some theories about the etymology, and one of them comes from the following old story:

A stepmother envied the beauty of husband's daughter by a previous marriage, and she put a wet cloth of a fisherman who lived nearby in the daughter's room.

The daughter's father looked the cloth, and he was misled into thinking that she stole the fisherman's cloth, then he killed his daughter.
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【No. 0771】Abura ga Noru (Putting on Fat)

Jan 27, 2017 11:01
Today I will talk about the Japanese idiom "abura ga noru."

The literal meaning is "to put on fat," and it means that someone gets into the full swing of his/her work, or someone is in the prime as a man/woman.

Usage example: Recently his work has put on fat (he has gotten into the full swing of his work). It is said that men put on fat (men are in the prime of manhood) at around age 35.

Originally, this idiom has been used for fish or birds.

The amount of fat included in fish and birds increases depending on the season, then the taste improves.

From this fact, "abura ga noru" (to put on fat) came to mean that something/someone gets better.
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【No. 0770】Andesu Melon

Jan 26, 2017 21:16
Andesu melons (アンデスメロン) are sold in Japanese markets.

You might think that this melon is related to Andes Mountains or Andean something from this name.

However, the andesu melon is a kind of melon that was developed by a Japanese company, and it is not related to Andes mountains at all.

Since this melon is easy to grow and you can feel relieved, it was originally planned to be sold as "Anshindesu melon" ("anshin" means "to feel relieved").

However, it lacked a sense of humor.

Also, since you would remove a melon core (that is called "しん (shin)" in Japanese) before eating it, "anshindesu melon" seemed to become "andesu melon" by removing "shin."
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【No. 0769】Decchiage (To Make Up a Story )

Jan 25, 2017 10:28
Today I will talk about the term "decchiage."

"Decchiage" means to make up a story as if it were actually happened.

Usage example: Kare no hanashi wa subete decchiage da (All his stories are hoaxes). Buyuden wo decchiageru (I cook my heroic story up).

This term comes from the Han reading of "捏" in "捏造 (netsuzo)," which has the same meaning of "decchiage."

The Han reading of "捏" is "detsu," and it came to be verbalized as "decchiageru," then it came to also be used as the noun form "decchiage."

By the way, the Hiragana form of "でつ (detsu)" looks like Snoopy.