木村「うちの会社の若い連中、残業も休日出勤もいやがりませんよ」
加藤「それはよく仕込みましたね」
Shikomu
Kimura: Uchi no kaisha no wakai renjuu zangyoo mo kyuujitsu shukkin mo iyagarimasen yo.
Kato: Sore wa yoku shikomimashita ne.
Mr. Kimura: The younger group of employees at our company don't seem to mind working overtime or coming in on a holiday.
Mr. Kato: Looks like you've trained them well then.
* * *
One of the meanings for shikomu is found in this week's conversation: to teach or train someone/something to do something. (Shitsukeru has a similar meaning. )
Young company workers are coming to believe their "personal lives" are more important than their "company lives." This has led older employees to complain: "Wakai renjuu wo shikomu no wa nakanaka taihen desu" ("Breaking in a bunch of young employees is really tough"). Indeed, the diligent attempts by older employees to train these young people is all too often unsuccessful. When five comes around they are more apt to ask for permission to finish their work in the morning than agree to stay on and work longer. Instead of training (shikondeiru) young employees, aren't perhaps the older employees themselves "being trained" (shikomareteiru)? Leaving for home at five in order to be able to eat dinner with one's family begins to make sense after hearing it said so often. "It used to be that our family ate dinner together only on Sundays. Thanks to the younger employees at my company, however, I'm home for dinner much more often. My wife and children are very happy about it." "Zuibun joozu ni shikomaremashita ne" ("I'd say I've really been well-trained" ).
Imagine that a women notices her neighbor's husband comes home early. (She's been hearing his footsteps), "I'm so jealous of you," she says. "Doo yatte goshujin wo shikonda no?" ("How did you 'train' him to do that?").- what with the high price of land, most Japanese salaried workers live in apartments called "mansions" (condominiums).
Neighbors use the same stairs, have connected verandas, and can thus "know" quite a lot about the family next door! - The neighbor's answer, "Shikonda nante tondemonai ( "Trained him? You've got to be kidding. It just happened naturally") only reveals she doesn't know the real reason behind her husband's actions.
Shikomu can also be used in reference to animals: inu ni gei wo shikomu (teach a dog to do tricks) ; kyuukanchoo ga hanaseru yoo ni shikomu (train a hill mynah (Gracula religiosa) to imitate human speech); and neko ga nezumi wo toru yoo ni shikomu (teach a cat to catch mice). Of course, since there aren't many mice around these days, most cats can be found either gracefully walking around their house or asleep on top of the stereo. They live lives free of responsibility. My cat, however, is well-trained (Watashi no ie no neko wa yoku shikomareteiru). She seesme off at the door when I leave and then, if I ring the doorbell, even comes to greet me upon my return. Though I didn't use to like cats, this one has won me over. The cat, it seems, has been the one doing the training, not me.