When studying a new language, one of the first things we want to do is learn the “naughty” words, which depending on the language can be pretty colorful (especially that English slang). This isn’t the case with Japanese, however, a language which has very few really innovative insults and only one word you can’t say on TV. The “s” word exists — it’s kuso if you wanted to know — but characters in kid’s TV shows say it regularly, so it doesn’t pack the punch it does in English. Pretty much the most common insult in Japanese is 馬鹿 baka, meaning “stupid” or “idiot.” Someone nearly hits your car in an intersection? Let fly with a 馬鹿野郎 baka yaro! (“stupid jerk!”). Your gaijin husband mistakes a mimikaki ear cleaner for one of those sacred bamboo spoons used in Japanese tea ceremony? Say 馬鹿じゃない？ baka ja nai? (“what are you, stupid?”). Humility is something that’s important in daily life in Japan, and over the years I’ve been surprised to meet several people (students, new acquaintances, etc.) who went out of their way to tell me how baka they were, apologizing ahead of time for any inconvenience their stupidity and slow-wittedness might cause me. In Japan, it’s better to be self-effacing by calling yourself stupid than do the opposite, to appear boastful about how smart you are.
Japanese TV shows often provide an interesting window into how Japan views their place in the world. Like the show Why Did You Come to Japan? which sends camera crews to Narita Airport to interview interesting foreigners who’ve just arrived, asking why they’re visiting the country and (if they’re especially interesting) following them around reporting on what they do while here, for example a group that cosplayed at Comiket. The other day I caught an interesting show called Japanese Wives of the World, which tells the stories of Japanese women living in unexpected places. This episode introduced Yukiko, who lives in Paris with her animator husband Savin Yeatman-Eiffel, who happens to be a descendant of the man who built the Eiffel Tower 130 years ago. To the Japanese there’s nothing more posh than the idea of living in Paris, but marrying into such a famous family is just unimaginable.
At J-List we love the works of Miyazaki Hayao a lot, and carry more Totoro and Ghibli products than any company we can think of. Today we’ve got a great update of new Totoro products, including new noren door curtains that provide privacy between rooms while giving you a beautiful seasonal visual to look at. Browse our My Neighbor Totoro items now!
