Japanglish is the kind of humorous English language usually seen around Japan characterized by a poor translation from Japanese to English. The results of those literal translations can be very funny. Japanglish is also known as Engrish.
Miguel Michán has sent me this great Japanglish example.
Can somebody decipher this Japanglish text?
Other Japanglish posts:
Honne and Tatemae are two very important terms to understand the behavior of Japanese people within their society. Honne could be defined as the true desires, opinions and thoughts of each individual; while Tatemae refers to how the social obligations and the opinions of each individual adapt to the society in general. It is the “face” that a Japanese person shows in public.
Tatemae is displayed when the words and the true intentions of somebody don’t really match completely. What is expressed in the words of the individual is the Tatemae and what he really thinks is the Honne. This can be found in any country in the world; maybe we could even define it as “hypocrisy” if we translate it in a brutal way. However, in Japan it is something that is used in daily life and not in a negative sense, on the contrary, it considered a virtue to be able to express the Tatemae and the Honne in the proper situations.
From a Western point of view, to conceal the truth is usually not well seen. However in Japan it is very important to maintain harmony, thus most of the time the true feelings and thoughts (Honne) are usually not expressed in a direct way in order to not hurt the feelings of others. We could say that the Tatemae is used as a lubricant in the relations between people. It is also frequently used in companies and the corporate world in general, where established protocols have to be strictly followed.
Let’s suppose that a Japanese person invites us to coffee in their house and at the end of the evening we are asked: Would you like to stay and have dinner? (that is Tatemae, it is something that it’s mandatory to say), the answer should be something like I’m not hungry but thank you very much. This can look kind of stupid and confusing to Western eyes but that’s how things work in Japan. To foreigners living in Japan it’s quite complicated to understand what a Japanese person truly wants and thinks. Another example would be when buying a ticket for some show and they are sold out. The sales clerk won’t answer directly saying “Tickets are sold out”, it is very probable that you will have to wait while he is looking at something in the computer, he will start putting weird faces and say “chotto” (a word that you will hear a lot if you come to Japan), he would even go to talk with his boss, etc. The final result, after making you lose your time there waiting, will be that he will say to you something like “It is very difficult to find available seats… chotto…”; that is the damn Tatemae in action.
Honne is usually displayed outside the working world; for example it exists in the events known as nomikai, where work colleagues gather to chat, eat and drink in an ikazaya (traditional Japanese bar). On those occasions you are supposed to show your Honne, talk about your work problems, family problems, etc; so that your colleagues can help you and give their advice. Nomikai are also the moment to complain about your boss or about the asshole of some other department. Let’s say that alcohol plays an important role when evolving from your Tatemae to your Honne mode. I always say that a Japanese guy/girl after drinking a couple of beers is a COMPLETELY different person that when he/she is completely sober. The most extreme case that I’ve experienced was when a very serious and strict boss from another department that I didn’t know very well came with us to a nomikai. The atmosphere was very formal and tense until he drunk a couple of beers and started to tell me how he got divorced the last weekend, as if I had been a close friend all his life!! In that moment all the books and articles about Japanese culture that I had read came to my mind to know what to do and what to say 😉
The first lightning technologies in Japan arrived from China during the 6th century. The commerce and exchange of technologies with China during that time was very intense. The first kind of lanterns that arrived from China were made of stone and they started being used in Buddhist temples to honor Buddha. This kind of lanterns can still be seen today in many different places in Japan, they are called “ishidouru” 石灯籠 (Stone lantern):
Ishidourou
1.- Tourou, 灯籠（とうろう）
Tourou, 灯籠（とうろう): generic term for traditional Japanese lanterns. The main types are:
Little by little the use of lanterns became also commonplace in Shintoist temples, and in gardens and houses of wealthy people as well. Their aesthetics started to evolve, thus starting to look different from the first designs that arrived from China.
Detailed structure of an ishidourou. Source: aisf.or.jp
Ishidourou that are used in temples differ significantly from the ones used in gardens. The garden ones are usually smaller and wider; while the temple ones are tall and stylized. They are usually made of granite; nowadays they are only used as decoration and they are lighted up only in special celebrations. In the garden in Kill Bill and in the first scene of the movie Spirited Away (Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi) some ishidourou can be seen.
Ishidourou in a traditional Japanese garden.
Tsuridourou 釣灯篭 (Hanging lanterns), evolved from ishidourou. The shape of the space where you put the oil to start the fire is similar but instead of being attached to the ground with a granite column they hang from the ceiling; usually they are only seen in temples.
Tsuridourou 釣灯篭 (Hanging lanterns).
If we take the column out and also the cable, then we have a plain lantern, a tourou 灯籠. One of the Summer traditions in many places in Japan consists on making many tourou 灯籠 using paper, lightning them up and leaving them floating on rivers. This tradition is known as tourou nagashi 灯籠流し.
Lanterns ready to be left floating on a river.
Tourou nagashi video.
2.- Chouchin, 提灯（ちょうちん)
Chouchin are another kind of lanterns, much simpler, that also originated in China. They are commonly seen at the entrance of Buddhist temples, in traditional festivals and at the entrance of bars and restaurants. On the contrary to tourou, chouchin are used daily, not only in special celebrations, but instead of oil like the tourou light bulbs are used.
Chouchin at the entrance of a yakitori restaurant.
This photo of hundreds of Chouchin made it to the front cover of my second book “Momentos”.
3.- Andon 行灯 / 行燈（あんどん）
Finally, andon 行灯 lanterns. They are the most modern, they can usually be seen in interiors in hotels, restaurants and sometimes in small gardens. They usually have a tetrahedron, cylinder or cubic shape and are placed on the ground.
