You know you're Japanese when...

hugging and other intimate contact makes you uneasy, yet daily you cram yourself so tightly into a rush-hour train that you can determine, to the minute, how long it's been since the guy in front of you washed his hair. And you have the self-control not to express disgust with this state of affairs.

Kotowaza of the day: No monkey is perfect

Japanese:

猿も木から落ちる

Romanized:

Saru mo ki kara ochiru

Meaning of Japanese:

Even monkeys sometimes fall from trees

English equivalents:

Anybody can make a mistake
No horse is so well shod that it never slips
Even Homer sometimes nods

Addendum: It slipped* my mind when originally posting this kotowaza, but the crepe myrtle tree (more commonly spelled "crape," but named for the crepe-like appearance of its flowers) is called Saru-suberi in Japan. Saru-suberi (百日紅, 猿滑り, or 紫薇花 in kanji) doesn't translate cleanly into English, but it means something like "monkey slipping" or "tree so slippery a monkey would slide down the trunk." This nice image of the crepe myrtle bark shows why the name is appropriate.

*no pun intended. really.

Kotowaza of the day: Go with the flow

Japanese:

柳に風

Romanized:

Yanagi ni kaze

Meaning of Japanese:

Wind blowing through willow branches

English equivalents:

Follow the path of least resistance
Soft words pacify wrath
To take ~ in stride

Kotowaza of the day: Child's play

Japanese:

赤子の手をひねる

Romanized:

Akago no te wo hineru

Meaning of Japanese:

Twisting a baby's arm

English equivalents:

Like taking candy from a baby
Like fishing in a bucket

Kotowaza of the day: Cosmic balancing act

Japanese:

捨てる神あれば拾う神あり

Romanized:

Suteru kami areba hirou kami ari

Meaning of Japanese:

Some gods abandon people, and others pick them up

English equivalents:

When one door shuts another opens
One man's trash is another's treasure

Kotowaza of the day: When rambling pays off

Japanese:

犬も歩けば棒にあたる

Romanized:

Inu mo arukeba bou ni ataru

Meaning of Japanese:

A dog that wanders about will find a bone

English equivalents:

A flying crow always catches something
The dog that trots about finds a bone

Kotowaza of the day: Tongue-untied

Japanese:

立て板に水

Romanized:

Tateita ni mizu

Meaning of Japanese:

Swift as water running down a vertical board

English equivalents:

Speak nine words at once
Your tongue runs nineteen to the dozen
To speak very fluently

Kotowaza of the day: Kick 'em when they're down

Japanese:

泣きっ面に蜂

Romanized:

Naki-ttsura ni hachi

Meaning of Japanese:

Like a bee stinging a person who is already crying

English equivalents:

Add insult to injury
Rub salt into someone's wounds
Misfortunes never come singly

Faces of evil

CSM yesterday ran a focused commentary on the revival of the word evil in our public and private discourse. The article focuses on the dehumanizing/demonizing effects when such non-nuanced language is applied too broadly, and the public responsibility for social ills this language allows us to eschew. More than once it is suggested that we engage less in judgement and more in humble and collective self-examination.

Personally, I prefer the term "wicked."

Kotowaza of the day: To DIY or not to DIY?

Japanese:

餅は餅屋

Romanized:

Mochi-wa mochiya

Meaning of Japanese:

If mochi is what you want, go to the mochi-maker

English equivalents:

There is mystery in the meanest trade
Every man to his trade
Find the right person for the job
Horses for courses

Kotowaza of the day: Undemocratic but effective

Japanese:

鶴の一声

Romanized:

Tsuru no hitokoe

Meaning of Japanese:

One word from a crane

English equivalents:

The king's word is more than another man's oath
Word from the top
Voice of authority

Related:

Straight from the horse's mouth

Kotowaza of the day: Lonely abalone

Japanese:

磯の鮑の片思い

Romanized:

Iso no awabi no kataomoi

Meaning of Japanese:

Like the one-sided attraction of an abalone clinging to the surface of a rock

English equivalents:

Unrequited love
Love cannot be compelled

Kotowaza of the day: Looking in the wrong places

Japanese:

畑に蛤

Romanized:

Hatake ni hamaguri

Meaning of Japanese:

(You won't find) clams in a field

English equivalents:

You can't squeeze blood from a turnip
Seek hot water under cold ice
Like trying to get milk from a bull

We're back!

Okay, so we've actually been back for a week. But it was a hectic week, what with catching up at work and all.

This weekend we finally had some time to organize trip notes and photos, parts of which I plan to post - a day or two at a time - on the days they actually occurred, which means they'll gradually materialize below.

Kotowaza of the day will also resume today.