| INTRODUCTION |
| Peter:Stop by our website japanesepod101.com for all the latest and greatest features, line by line audio, iPod on the go plus much more. Stop by and see what’s going on at japanesepod101.com |
| Sakura: おはよう、東京。第六回、日本文化レッスンです。さくらです。 |
| Kazunori:かずのりです。 |
| Peter:Peter here and we are back with another Japanese culture class. As always, brought to you by Erklaren, the translation and interpretation specialists. Now, Kazunori, his first Japanese culture class, how do you feel Kazunori? |
| Kazunori:Good. |
| Peter:Yes and Sakura is here with me. |
| Sakura: Yes. |
Lesson focus
|
| Peter:What did we want to talk about today Sakura? |
| Sakura: 建国記念の日 |
| Peter:And what’s this? |
| Sakura: It’s National Foundation Day. |
| Peter:Now we were planning. We had a big show all about this and when we mean a big show, you know, do the average Japanese people know about this day? |
| Sakura: Not really. |
| Peter:Yes. |
| Sakura: I have to admit. |
| Peter:Kazunori, do you know about this day? |
| Kazunori:I don’t really know. |
| Peter:Yes most Japanese people don’t really know about this day. |
| Sakura: Yes. |
| Peter:So when we say big show, we researched the week about this day. Then we found out that Saturday is also the start of… |
| Sakura: オリンピック |
| Peter:One more time. |
| Sakura: オリンピック |
| Peter:Which is |
| Sakura: Olympics. |
| Peter:Yes and then we were torn. What to do, what to do! Do you want to hear about National Foundation Day, do you want to hear about the Olympics? |
| Sakura: Ah let’s go for オリンピック… |
| Peter:One vote for Olympic. What do you want to hear about? |
| Kazunori:オリンピック |
| Peter:Two for Olympics. And I think I will go with the Olympics. |
| Sakura: Yes. |
| Peter:Okay so what we are going to do is we will give you just a basic introduction to what the National Foundation Day is. Then we will switch over very quick to the Olympics because we know, everybody wants to know about the Olympics. Okay so Sakura, can you tell us about National Foundation Day which is? |
| Sakura: 建国記念の日 |
| Kazunori:けんこくきねんのひ |
| Peter:And one time fast. |
| Kazunori:建国記念の日 |
| Peter:Yes now there is three words in here right Sakura? |
| Sakura: Right. |
| Peter:And what are the words? |
| Sakura: 建国 |
| Peter:Which is? |
| Sakura: National foundation. |
| Peter:Next. |
| Sakura: 記念 |
| Peter:Which is? |
| Sakura: To commemorate some. |
| Peter:Yes and finally. |
| Sakura: の日 |
| Peter:Which is? |
| Sakura: Day of. |
| Peter:Yes. The day for commemorating National Foundation. |
| Sakura: Yes. |
| Peter:Okay. So please tell us a little bit about this. |
| Sakura: Okay it’s on February 11. |
| Peter:Every year right? |
| Sakura: Every year yes and it’s not like Japan was not founded on this specific day. So they chose this date. It’s – I think it’s in the very old historical document and it’s the day when the emperor first took throne. |
| Peter:First took the throne. |
| Sakura: Yes 神武天皇 |
| Peter:神武。Emperor. |
| Sakura: Yeah 神武 yes emperor Jinmu. |
| Peter:And it is believed to use the first emperor back all the way back in 660 BC. Wow! A long time ago. |
| Sakura: Yes, so they chose this date, February 11 as the National Foundation Day. |
| Peter:I see. And when did they decide this? |
| Sakura: It was decided in 1966 in December. |
| Peter:In December. Okay here is the trick about this day. Although the National Foundation Day is relatively new, you know, 1966 seems relatively new. |
| Sakura: Yeah. |
| Peter:It’s just new by calendar standards right? |
| Sakura: Yes that’s right. |
| Peter:This day actually extends back a long, long time. |
| Sakura: Yes. |
| Peter:And you can find out more about this date again on our home page because as I said, we did the research but as I said we were really anxious to talk about the Olympics and Japanese athletes participating. |
| Sakura: Right. |
| Peter:So we just wanted to give you a brief introduction to this. |
| Sakura: Yes. |
| Peter:And now without further adieu, we are going to switch over to the Olympics. |
| Sakura: Okay. |
| Peter:So Sakura, this year where are the winter Olympics going to be held? |
| Sakura: イタリアのトリノ |
| Peter:One more time. |
| Sakura: イタリアのトリノ |
| Peter:Yes Torino Italy. Now Japan is sending many athletes right? |
| Sakura: Yes. |
| Peter:Now out of all these athletes, there is one that’s getting very special attention. Who is she Kazunori? |
| Kazunori:安藤美姫 |
| Peter:One more time, break the name down. |
| Kazunori:あんどうみき |
| Peter:And one time fast. |
| Kazunori:安藤美姫 |
| Peter:Sakura, can you tell us what’s so special about 安藤美姫 |
| Sakura: And she is very good at jumps. She is a figure skater. |
| Peter:Figure skater? |
| Sakura: Yes フィギュアスケート and she did a full turn jump for the first time in the world when she was 14. |
| Peter:Wow! |
| Sakura: Yes. |
| Peter:She was all over the news here. |
| Sakura: Yes and she is very popular in mass media because she is very cute. Yes and she is called ミキティ |
| Peter:One more time. |
| Sakura: ミキティ |
| Peter:Break it down. |
| Sakura: ミキティ |
| Peter:Now why is she called ミキティ |
| Sakura: Okay her first name is Miki right? |
| Peter:Okay. |
| Sakura: So we are just putting ティ to make it sound cute ミキティ |
| Peter:ミキティ |
| Sakura: It is very popular yes. |
| Peter:I see. So ミキティ has a great chance of getting a medal. |
| Sakura: Yes. |
| Peter:Very good chance for Japan. |
| Sakura: I think so and フィギュアスケート in Japan was very exciting this year especially 女子 |
| Peter:女子 is |
| Sakura: Female. |
| Peter:A female. |
| Sakura: Yes and there are also two other skaters who are getting attention. |
| Peter:Okay. Who are the other skaters? |
| Kazunori:荒川静 |
| Peter:Break it down. |
| Kazunori:あらかわしずか |
| Peter:And one time fast. |
| Kazunori:荒川静 |
| Sakura: And she is very good at technical things, technical and performance and also very graceful. |
| Peter:Very graceful. |
| Sakura: Yes and the last one is |
| Kazunori:村主章枝 |
| Peter:Break it down. |
| Kazunori:すぐりふみえ |
| Peter:And one time fast. |
| Peter:村主章枝 |
| Sakura: And she is very good at artistic performance. |
| Peter:Ah artistic interpretation. |
| Sakura: Yes so when they are competing in Japan to get – you know, go to Torino, everybody was watching figure skater on TV. |
| Peter:Really? |
| Sakura: Yes. It was very exciting and very high level. |
| Peter:Now Sakura, I have a few questions. First, what name should we call them by? Since we are talking about them, what name should – I know for ミキティ, we can just call her ミキティ right? |
| Sakura: Right. |
| Peter:But what about 荒川, should we call her 荒川さん or 静, how can we call them when we talk about? |
| Sakura: When they don’t have a nick name and we usually call, we usually say the full name like 荒川静. |
| Peter:For professional athletes. |
| Sakura: Yes or just 荒川選手 |
| Peter:Yes. |
| Sakura: 選手 is athlete right? |
| Peter:Yes and this is what we want to point out here. The mass media gives certain famous people names. |
| Sakura: Yes. |
| Peter:For example, Ando last name, first name Miki. The media gave her the name |
| Sakura: ミキティ |
| Peter:So we can call her ミキティ. |
| Sakura: Right. |
| Peter:And the reason for this is, she is young right? |
| Sakura: Yes. |
| Peter:So she has this kind of so they gave her a cute young name. Now the other – other people we mentioned were Arakawa Shizuka and of course Arakawa’s last name first name Shizuka. So we would add on player. |
| Sakura: Yes. |
| Peter:And what’s the word for player? |
| Sakura: 選手 |
| Peter:Break it down. |
| Sakura: せんしゅ |
| Peter:And one time fast. |
| Sakura: 選手 |
| Peter:So we would say 荒川選手 |
| Sakura: Right. |
| Peter:And 村主選手 |
| Sakura: Right. |
| Peter:Okay it’s quite important to know how to talk about different people. |
| Sakura: Right. |
| Peter:Famous people are kind of separated a bit right? |
| Sakura: Umm that’s right. |
| Peter:Okay now let’s ask Kazunori the question everyone wants to know. Kazunori, who is the cutest? |
| Sakura: Among the three? |
| Peter:Among the three. |
| Sakura: 安藤、荒川、村主 |
| Kazunori:安藤。安藤美姫。ミキティ。 |
| Peter:ミキティ |
| Sakura: I like them all. They are all different. Yeah, you should – yeah, listener should you know find the difference between them. They look very different also. They are all nice. |
| Peter:All nice. |
| Sakura: Yeah. |
| Peter:Now Sakura, let’s – who do you think is going to win the medal? |
| Sakura: Actually I think 村主 has a good chance, yes and because in addition to her artistic performance, she is improving in her technical skills as well. So you know, I think she has a good chance. |
| Peter:Okay so Sakura, she said 村主. So Kazunori, who has the best chance out of the three to win the medal? |
| Kazunori:村主 |
| Peter:You too? |
| Kazunori:Yes. |
| Peter:Ah oh boy! |
| Sakura: What about you Peter? |
| Peter:Good question. Umm well sorry, I don’t want to agree with you guys. So… |
| Sakura: Perfectly fine. |
| Peter:For argument sake, I am going to support ミキティ and again these are all figure skating singles. The single competition figure skating. This is quite popular in Japan because Japanese athletes are quite strong in this area. |
| Sakura: Umm…. |
| Peter:Okay now that we introduced you to Japanese figure skaters, we are going to introduce you to another area that the Japanese are quite strong in this year and that is… |
| Kazunori:スピードスケート |
| Sakura: Yes. |
| Peter:Which is |
| Sakura: Speed skating. |
| Peter:Give it to us one more time. |
| Kazunori:スピードスケート |
| Peter:Okay. Who is the Japanese speed skater with the best chance of winning a medal? |
| Kazunori:加藤条治 |
| Peter:Break it down. |
| Kazunori:かとうじょうじ |
| Peter:And one time fast. |
| Kazunori:加藤条治 |
| Peter:So we should call him 加藤選手 |
| Sakura: 加藤選手 |
| Peter:Okay. |
| Sakura: Yes. |
| Peter:So 加藤選手 has the best chance of winning a medal. |
| Sakura: Yes. |
| Peter:For the speed – yes. Okay what does he do? What is he good at? |
| Sakura: Short track and it’s his first time to go to the olympics. |
| Peter:Really? |
| Sakura: Yes. |
| Peter:How old is he? |
| Sakura: 21 |
| Peter:Wow! So young. |
| Sakura: Yes. |
| Peter:Yes. All of Japan has great expectations for him. |
| Sakura: Yes and he has the world record. |
| Peter:Really wow! So yes he has – I think he has best chance to win a medal for Japan right? |
| Sakura: Yes. |
| Peter:Yes, yes. |
| Sakura: I hope he does. |
| Peter:Okay and you know, let’s see. Sakura, for people, for Japanese people going to Torino and going to the Olympics, how will they cheer 加藤、あ、加藤選手 and ミキティ, how will they cheer them? What words will they use? |
| Sakura: 頑張れ！頑張れ！ |
| Peter:頑張れ！ Okay can you break it down for us? |
| Sakura: がんばれ |
| Peter:And one time fast. |
| Sakura: 頑張れ |
| Peter:頑張れ。Right. Okay so in the case of ミキティ, what would they yell? |
| Sakura: ミキティ頑張れ！ |
| Peter:Okay in the case of 加藤選手 what would they yell? |
| Kazunori:加藤、頑張れ！ |
| Peter:Yes. |
| Sakura: Yes. |
| Peter:Name plus the 頑張れ。 |
| Sakura: Yes. |
| Peter:Go, go keep at it. |
| Sakura: Umm that’s right. |
| Peter:Okay so let’s give you a little sense of what it would be like if you were at the speed track. So… |
| Sakura: Right. |
| Peter:Is there a rhythm to it or it’s just 頑張れ or? |
| Sakura: It’s just 頑張れ、頑張れ everyone says that. |
| Kazunori:頑張れ！ |
| Sakura: 頑張れ！ |
| Kazunori:加藤、頑張れ！ |
| Sakura: 頑張れ、頑張れ！ミキティ、頑張れ! |
| Kazunori:加藤、頑張れ！ |
| Peter:So for those of you who are going to Olympics and you hear them yelling, this is what they are saying go! |
| Sakura: 頑張れ！ |
| Peter:Yes. Okay very interesting. Okay next up and lastly, we have |
| Sakura: スキージャンプ |
| Peter:One more time. |
| Sakura: スキージャンプ |
| Peter:Break it down. |
| Sakura: スキージャンプ |
| Peter:And this is |
| Sakura: Ski jump. |
| Peter:Ski jump yes. |
| Sakura: Yes. あ、とか large hill とかね。 |
| Peter:Yes I don’t know how those people do that. That is the most crazy sport I’ve ever seen. You get on top of the big, big whatever that thing is. |
| Sakura: Hill. |
| Peter:Thank you Sakura. Well, all right, anyway. |
| Sakura: Yeah. |
| Peter:Funny. Go down and then you jump and… |
| Sakura: Yes and then you fly in the air. |
| Peter:Yes really flying. |
| Sakura: Umm… |
| Peter:So the Japanese are quite good at this and the thing about Japan that most people – maybe most people don’t realize is, they have so many winter sports here. Again the North Hokkaido, the Northern Island is freezing cold. It gets covered in snow, northern Japan is blanketed in snow. |
| Sakura: Yeah. |
| Peter:They have the Minami-Alps. |
| Sakura: Ah.. |
| Peter:The Southern Alps in the south. So, so many winter sports… |
| Sakura: Yes. |
| Peter:For everyone to participate in. So the Japanese do do so many winter sports and this ski jump is one of them. Now… |
| Sakura: We don’t do it but of course ski jump is popular yes. |
| Peter:Oh Sakura, you are ripping me to shred today. |
| Sakura: Sorry, sorry. |
| Peter:Okay so who do we have in the ski jump? |
| Sakura: 原田雅彦 |
| Peter:Okay break it down. |
| Sakura: はらだまさひこ |
| Peter:And one time fast. |
| Sakura: 原田雅彦 |
| Peter:Okay and tell us something special about 原田選手。 |
| Sakura: 原田選手 is not young. |
| Peter:Not young? |
| Sakura: Umm. |
| Peter:How old is he? |
| Sakura: 37. |
| Peter:Wow! |
| Sakura: Yes so he has lot of experience. |
| Peter:A lot! |
| Sakura: Yes and – but the thing about him is that okay, he is good but his performance changes drastically you know, depending on the jump. So like you know, if we are expecting him to jump really you know, a long distance, he sometimes you know end up jumping short distance. |
| Peter:Ah! |
| Sakura: And we go, oh! But at the end, he does it, you know. |
| Peter:Very unpredictable right? |
| Sakura: Right. So very dramatic. |
| Peter:You never know what you are going to get with 原田選手。 |
| Sakura: Yes. |
| Peter:Okay and – and he won a gold medal at? |
| Sakura: Nagano Olympics. |
| Peter:The Nagano Olympics. |
| Sakura: 団体金メダル。 |
| Peter:In the team jump. |
| Sakura: Right. Japan team in Nagano Olympics. |
| Peter:I see. Okay so today, we just wanted to introduce you to a few of the famous Japanese representatives. |
| Sakura: Yes. |
| Peter:And a message for all the Japanese participants. |
| Kazunori:日本、頑張れ！ |
| Sakura: 日本、頑張れ！ |
Outro
|
| Peter:Okay. So that’s going to do it for today. |
| Sakura: また、明日ね。 |
| Kazunori:また明日。 |
| Peter:Okay see you tomorrow. Be sure to stop by japanesepod101.com and check out the premium learning center. Inside, we have material to bring everything you learned in the lesson together. Flashcards, quizzes really consolidate what you learned in today’s lesson. Stop by, say hi and be sure to leave us a post. |
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