がまんする

    ここをクリックして下さい。
Japanese, Naturally...

By Mizue Sasaki

   がまんする

子供: お母さん、ボクにもこいのぼり買って!
母親: 今年はがまんしてね。来年必ず買ってあげますから。


Kodomo: O-kaasan, boku ni mo koi-nobori katte!
Haha-oya: Kotoshi wa gaman shite, ne. Rainen kanarazu katte agemasu kara.

Little Boy: Mummy, buy me a carp streamer, too!
Mother: Be patient and do without it this time and I'll be sure to get you one next year.

* *    *

May 5 is Tango no Sekku (Boys' Festival). So that boys will grow up fit and well, various customs are involved such as hanging irises from the eaves or floating them in the bathwater. This latter is called shobu-yu (iris bath); The iris was believed to have medicinal properties in ancient China and the water is pleasantly perfumed. May was the month for gathering medicinal herbs and plants (in China) and it is said that the iris (shobu) became associated with the Boys' Festival in Japan, during the Erring States period/ because its pronunciation is identical with that for "contest" (shobu). At that time, of course, it was hoped that male children would be victorious in battle.
Another agreeable custom associated with Tango no Sekku is to fly koi-nobori (carp streamers) from a pole in the garden and see them fluttering in the wind although those of us living in rabbit hutches have to make do with little ones stuck out of the window.
Koi-nobori consist of the fukinagashi (streamer) at the top. In the middle is the ma-goi (black carp) with the hi-goi (red carp) at the bottom.
The streamer or banner (nobori) comes from the banners used to mark warriors' encampments during the Warring States period. But the nobori or koi-nobori also refers to the ability of the tenacious carp to swim up (noboru) waterfalls.
Gaman sum involves restraining oneself and suppressing one's feelings of physical and psychological distress. E.g. Yaseru tame ni, tabetai mono wo gaman suru (to go without things one enjoys eating in order to lose weight) and Kin-en-sha na no de, tabako wo suu no wo gaman suru (to go without cigarettes in a non-smoking compartment).
AS a five-meter koi-nobori can cost as much as \100,000, the feelings of the mother in the conversation are easy to understand.

* * *

gaman suru-endure, put up with, go without,
be patient; kanarazu... suru-dp (something)
without fail.

Mizue Sasaki is a lecturer at Nihon University.

Asahi Evening New May 4 1986