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Yesterday was the end of the Autumn Sumo
Tournament, and what a battle it was. Yokozuna (Grand Champion)
Asashoryu, the strongest wrestler in the sport right now, won
his sixth straight tournament in a come-back finish, defeating
up-and-coming wrestler Kotooshu (pronounced koto-OH-shu) in an
exciting 11th-hour playoff bout. The battle was interesting
because Asashoryu is from Mongolia and Kotooshu is from
Bulgaria, an amazing match-up for this most traditional of
Japanese sports. Asashoryu was smiling with glee after clinching
his hard-fought victory, something that isn't done very often by
Japanese wrestlers, who strive to suppress emotion and act stoic
in front of their fans. In past years, the sumo world has been
dominated by Hawaiian wrestlers like Konishiki, Akebono and my
own favorite, Musashimaru, but they've all since retired,
leaving no replacements.
The Fox TV show 24 is a smash hit here in
Japan. As with such U.S. shows as CSI, ER, the X-Files and Twin
Peaks, 24 is being watched mainly through video and DVD rental
shops, which must stock dozens of copies of each set of episodes
to keep up with demand from Japanese viewers. There are even
special events held in Tokyo where groups of people watch a
whole 24-hour season all at once, in a space of 24 hours.
Calorie Mate, a line of on-the-go food bars and drink packs, has
made 24-themed commercials, and the other day we heard a
Japanese person's cell phone chirp with the tell-tale phone
sound from the show (the corporate-sounding phones that ring at
CTU).
Sometimes the Japanese use words they're sure
are English -- but they're completely unintelligible to you and
me. One such word is biking, as in, "I had breakfast at the
hotel, and it was biking style." It turns out the word
comes from the word "viking" and means "all you
can eat" (aka smorgasbord). Then there's the term freeter,
which sounds like something to eat, but means a person who works
part-time jobs, never bothering to find full-time employment or
start a career. Some words, such as pasocon, aircon or waapro
(personal computer, air conditioner and word processor,
respectively) can be puzzled out, but still might give you the
heebie-jeebies when you first hear them.
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