みずえ「運転気をつけてね。道がどんどん狭くなるから」
ひろし「本当だね。これでハンドルを切りそこねたら、ひとたまりもないね」
Hitotamari mo nai
(Yamamichi no doraibu de)
Mizue: Unten ki wo tsukete ne. Michi ga dondon semakunaru kara.
Hiroshi: Hontoo da ne. Kore de handoru wo kirisokonetara, hitotamari mo nai ne.
(Driving along a mountain road)
Mizue: Be careful driving, OK? The road's getting narrower and narrower.
Hiroshi: You're telling me. A mistake turning the steering wheel and we're goners.
* * *
Hitotamari mo nai translates as "without the least resistance, irresistibly, helplessly. Hitotamari refers to either 1) a small gathering of water, or 2) a short period of time. It can also refer to enduring and bearing up and, as a colloquial expression, is usually followed by mo nai.
The beginning of fall in Yamaguchi is beautiful. And though famous tourist spots like Hagi or Tsuwano are good places to go, uniformed high school students on school trips tend to destroy the charming stillness of such places. It's best to avoid such tourist spots and enjoy a drive in the mountains.
Mt. Higashi-hoben is but a 30-minute drive from Yamaguchi University and I quickly accepted my coworker's invitation to go for a visit. The mountain road stared out as asphalt but soon turned to dirt. The gorge to the right also grew deeper and the mountain to the left higher and steeper. If a stone fell on us kuruma wa hitotamari mo naku tani ni ochite iku deshoo (our car would most certainly be sent helplessly tumbling down into the gorge).
Some readers probably think I'm exaggerating. I'm not. Perhaps it was because of the rain we'd had in September, but evidence of landslides could be seen all over. And the closer we got to the top the worse the road became. Hiroshi's expression betrayed his worry and the seriousness with which he was driving. As for me - and I'm a bit embarrassed to admit this - I was taking in the gorgeous fall colors! Hidden in the clouds, the mountain was just like in a sumie painting. Fall flowers were blooming all over and at the top a small jizo stood alone in the middle of the open area. Getting out of the car, our ears were met with a symphony of insect sounds. How lucky I was to have made the trip!
Let's look at the expression in another context. Looking at houses built along a river, "koozui ni nattara kono ie nado hitotamari mo arimasen" ("if there's flood these houses here won't have a chance"). If a verb follows the expression it changes to hitotamari mo naku as in hitotamari mo naku nagasareru (they'd be helplessly washed away) or hitotamari me naku kowareru (they'd be helplessly destroyed).
Kome no yu'nyuu ga jiyuuka saretara Nihon no nooka wa hitotamari mo nai (If the import of rice is liberaliz ed, Japan's farmers will be helpless) ; Nihon no nooka wa hitotamari mo naku hookai suru deshoo (Japan's farmers will probably collapse without anj resistance).
Safely back from my trip up that mountain road, I'm now writing this column. Yokatta!