{"id":5894,"date":"2009-05-12T11:47:40","date_gmt":"2009-05-12T15:47:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/?p=5894"},"modified":"2009-05-20T10:34:33","modified_gmt":"2009-05-20T14:34:33","slug":"witlife-38-%e5%a9%9a%e6%b4%bb%e3%83%bb%e9%9b%a2%e6%b4%bb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/2009\/05\/12\/witlife-38-%e5%a9%9a%e6%b4%bb%e3%83%bb%e9%9b%a2%e6%b4%bb\/","title":{"rendered":"WIT Life #38: \u5a5a\u6d3b\u30fb\u96e2\u6d3b"},"content":{"rendered":"

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WITLife<\/a> <\/strong>is a periodic series written by professional Interpreter\/Translator\/Writer Stacy Smith<\/a><\/strong> (Kumamoto-ken, 2000-03).\u00a0 Recently she\u2019s been watching Fujisankei\u2019s newscast in Japanese and sharing some of the interesting tidbits and trends together <\/em>w<\/em>ith her own observat<\/em>ions.<\/em><\/p>\n

When I was in Japan back in March, a topic that was on everyone’s minds (or at least those of my single friends) was \u5a5a\u6d3b (konkatsu<\/em>),\u00a0\"\"the idea of pursuing a marriage partner in the same way you would look for a job.\u00a0 The flip side of the coin is the companion term \u96e2\u6d3b (rikatsu), referring to rikon katsudou<\/em> or similar efforts regarding divorce.\u00a0 In keeping with the times, new dramas this spring season revolve around these themes.\u00a0 In the interest of anthropological research as well as satisfying my Japanese drama addiction, I checked out \u300c\u5a5a\u30ab\u30c4\uff01\u300d and \u300c\u30b3\u30f3\u30ab\u30c4\u30fb\u30ea\u30ab\u30c4\u300d .<\/p>\n

The former stars SMAP member Masahiro Nakai as Kuniki Amamiya, a 34-year old who finds a job in the local government office’s Decreasing Birth Rate Countermeasures Section with the condition that he must be married.\u00a0 As a single guy, he lies during the interview and says he is engaged.\u00a0 Thereby the plot is created where he (as well as some of his similarly duplicious colleagues) have to find a wife ASAP!\u00a0 They go about this by attending \u51fa\u4f1a\u3044\u30d1\u30fc\u30c6\u30a3\u30fc (deai party) <\/em>and \u304a\u898b\u5408\u3044\u30d1\u30fc\u30c6\u30a3\u30fc <\/em>(omiai party<\/em> aka omipa-)<\/em>, speed dating type of events where after a two minute conversation the men rotate their seats.\u00a0 The most commonly asked questions right off the bat were regarding salary and savings, causing Amamiya to bemoan his prospects.\u00a0 He is depicted as a \u8349\u98df\u7537\u5b50 (soushoku<\/em> danshi<\/em>),\u00a0 a “herbivorous man<\/a>” who is cooperative, family-oriented and kind but not very aggressive when it comes to romance.<\/p>\n

\"\"\u300c\u30b3\u30f3\u30ab\u30c4\u30fb\u30ea\u30ab\u30c4\u300d looks at a broader ranger of characters, but focuses on mother Sachiko Matsuda (Keiko Matsuzaka, whose character is zany in the same way she was in her maternal role in the drama Mother and Lover) and 39-year old daughter Nanami (Sachiko Sakurai, pictured on left).\u00a0 Of course the issue is marrying off her daughter, though Nanami herself is not particularly interested in finding a mate.\u00a0 The fact that she has 3 months before she turns 40 looms like an expiration date, and the voiceover beginning the show reveals the statistic that 1 out of every 4 Japanese are alone for their whole lives.\u00a0 Nanami is rubbed the wrong way by former classmate Rikako (Misa Shimizu, pictured on right) who seems to have it all with a wonderful husband and young son.\u00a0 However, when Rikako’s marriage collapses she moves in with Nanami and her mother and is forced to begin \u96e2\u6d3b…<\/p>\n

The interesting thing about \u300c\u30b3\u30f3\u30ab\u30c4\u30fb\u30ea\u30ab\u30c4\u300d is that it provides a glossary in the form of subtitle-like definitions for its viewers when unfamiliar terms come up along the course of the show.\u00a0 For example, Nanami is a “parasite single,” someone unmarried and living at home sponging off their parents well past when they should.\u00a0 She is also “ohitorisama<\/em>,” someone who is enjoying life on their own and not\u00a0 focused on konkatsu.<\/em> Her ignorance is played upon for laughs, like when her friends take her to an omiai<\/em> bar .\u00a0 She asks why this location, and when \u5a5a\u6d3b is the explanation given she questions, “Tonkatsu<\/em>?”\u00a0 I imagine that this drama will reveal her transformation from ignorant bliss to hardcore \u5a5a\u6d3b fan and possibly even conclude with wedding bells, but you’ll have to stay tuned to see.<\/p>\n

Here is some other terminology from the show that I enjoyed learning:<\/p>\n