私「本当に素晴らしい遺跡ですね」
調査者「これ程の遺跡があったとは、予想もしないことでしたよ」
Yosoo mo Shinai
(Saga-ken Yoshinogari iseki)
Watashi: Hontoo ni subarashii iseki desu ne.
Chosasha: Kore hodo no iseki ga atta to wa, yosoo mo shinai koto deshita yo.
(In Saga Prefecture at the Yoshinogari ruins)
Me: These ruins really are something, aren't they?
The researcher: We had no inkling that they would be of these proportions.
Yoso mo shinai (usually found in the past tense) means one was unable to foresee or guess how something would turn out; the results were unanticipated, unforeseen, and beyond one's expectations.
Not too long ago in Saga Prefecture, ruins of a Yayoi period (B.C. 300-A.D. 300) community and its burial mounds were uncovered in land which had been destined to become an industrial park. Further investigations revealed that over 350 dugout-type dwellings and 2,500 graves had been found - this wasn't a small village but a large community. Indeed, the discovery in Saga provided substantiation for what was written in the Chinese historical document Gishi-wajinden about people living in Japan during the Yayoi period. Yosoo mo shinakatta koto ga hakken sareru kamo shiremasen (Something unexpected may be discovered). During the Nara Age, a large- scale road was also built in the same location. The settlement continued on into the Heian period.
The remains are located in a vast plain about 40 minutes by train from Hakata in northern Kyushu. The calm climate of the area must have played a part in the long life of the community. Koko de donna seikatsu ga sareteita no ka soozoo shite miru no wa totemo tanoshii koto desu (It's fun to try and imagine what kind of life the people had who lived here). Since this sentence talks about the past, sozo suru is used. A famous ruler may have lived in the community. Soozoo shite miru no wa hontoo ni tanoshii desu ne (It really is fun to let one's imagination run loose about these things).
Let's look at some other examples using yoso mo shinai:
"Yoru ni natte ame ga furu nante yosoo mo shimasen deshita" ("For it to rain in the evening was certainly unexpected). It had been so clear in the afternoon." "Jim ga Mary to kekkon suru nante yosoo mo shimasen deshita" ("For Jim and Mary to get married. What a surprise). Mary had lots of boyfriends and was so popular. Jim, on the other hand, just didn't seem to be her type." "Nishi-Doitsu to Higashi-Doitsu no aida ga yoku naru nante yosoo mo shimasen deshita" ("It was unexpected for relations between West Germany and East Germany to get better").
Yo no naka ni wa yosoo mo shinai koto ga takusan okorimasu (Many things happen all around us which are unanticipated and unforeseen).