It’s funny the way culture reflects language and vice-versa. One phrase you’ll hear sometimes in Japanese is tenka no~, which literally means “having received the blessing of Heaven and the Emperor to rule Japan.” During the sengoku or “Warring States” period of Japanese history, that’s what the various warlords were trying to do: win enough power that they could go to the Emperor in Kyoto and receive his blessing to become the designated military ruler of the country (Shogun). In modern usage, tenka no~ is used to refer to companies that receive special status from the government, and someone might cynically complain about tenka no NTT (“NTT, Anointed by Heaven”) when their phone service is bad. Another word I’m fond of is shinmai (SHEEN-mai), which means “new rice” that’s just been harvested. A person who starts a new job will often be referred to with this term, e.g. shinmai salaryman for someone working their their first 9-5 job, or a shinmai idol singer who has just made her debut and is still “green.”
Someone starting a new job is shinmai, or “new rice,” a word I like for some reason.
