木村：今度の旅行の計画、日程に無理がある様ですね。
佐藤：それでは、ご破算にしましょうか。
Gohasan ni suru
Kimura: Kondo no ryokoo no keikaku nittei ni muri go. aru yoo desu ne.
Sato: Sore de wa gohasan ni shimashoo ka.
Mr. Kimura: The itinerary for the next journey seems a bit demanding.
Mr. Sato: Should we clean the slate and plan it all over again then?
* * *
The original meaning of gohasan ni suru relates to working with the abacus and means to return the abacus beads to their original position after completing a calculation. As used in this week's conversation, the phrase refers to returning to the way things were before any travel plans had been made in order to start all over again. The expression can be used in relation to a) shigoto (work), b) feeiyafeu (contracts),
c) shodan (negotiations), d) yafeusofeu (promises), and e) keikaku (plans).
a) Kono aida tanomareta shigoto no koto desu ga, are gohasan ni shite itadakemasen ka ( "In reference to the work I agreed to do the other day, could I withdraw my offer?"). A person who had initially accepted responsibility for a particular job finds that circumstances now make undertaking the task impossible and is asking to be relieved of the previous commitment. Note that gohasan ni shite feudasai (rather than gohasan ni shite itadakemasen ka) in the sentence's final position expresses the nuance that the speaker is angry because something disagreeable about the other party has been uncovered. Upon hearing this the "other party" is apt to be both surprised and worried and ask, "Nani fea fei ni iranai feoto demo arimashita ka" ("Was there something you didn't find satisfactory?"). This could be followed by something like, "Well, I hear you've also asked one of your rival companies to do the same job." The point is to make sure you use gohasan ni shite itadakeemasen ka when your refusal to do something is related to your own personal inability.
b) "Kono aida no feeiyafeu gohasan ni shitai'n desu ga" ("I'd like to cancel the contract we made the other day"). "Ee, dooshite desu ka" ("Oh? But why?"). Imagine a summer house along the coast catches your attention and you go ahead and sign a purchase contract only to find out your company is about to transfer you to the United States. Though kaiyaku suru (to annul a contract) is the proper expression, this week's expression is also often used.
c) Mother: "Natsu yasumi wa kanojo to Igirisu ni iku'n deshoo" ("You're going to England with her this summer, aren't you"). Son: "Ano yafeusofeu gohasan ni natta'n da" ("That date has been called off"). In this case, gohasan ni suru has been replaced with gohasan, ni naru because it is the girl who doesn't want to go and not the boy. "Yakusoku wo gohasan ni shita no wa kanojo de, boku de wa nai" ("She was the one who called everything off, not me").
Instead of seeing events as determined by the willful choices of humans, Japanese prefer to say that events are determined by nature. Picture a man who has an argument with his fiancee, calls off their engagement, and is then asked by, a friend, "But weren't you engaged? " Like most Japanese he'll probably answer "Gohasan ni natta'n desu" instead of "Gohasan ni shita'n desu." It seems we make an unconscious choice to avoid taking responsibility for our own words.