木村さん：「最近のA社の業績はすごいですね」
加藤さん：「ええ、めきめきと頭角をあらわしてきましたね。」
Tookaku wo Arawasu
Kimura san: Saikin no A sha no gyooseki wa sugoi desune.
Katoson: EC. Meki meki to tookaku wo arawashite kimashita ne.
Kimura: Comapany A's achievements these days are really something, aren't they?
Kato: Yes, they've really leapt into the forefront.
* * *
Tookaku wo arawasu refers to having talents and gifts or technical ability which are head and shoulders above everyone else; to stand out or tower above the pack.
When Company A began making electrical goods 10 years ago they were just a small company. Once they began to make computer software, however, their sales increased steadily. Now they are as successful as any other leading software maker.
After graduating from high school, Mr. A spent two years studying computers at a technical school. He then entered Company A; One of his classmates from technical school told him recently, "A sha ga, konna ni tokaku wo arawasu to wa, kangae mo shimasen deshita vo" ("I had no idea Company A would end up leading the pack in such a big way.") In fact, Mr. A was as surprised as anyone else. The company's remarkable growth, of course, has its reasons. When hiring employees, the personneldepartment looks for people with ability and a real desire to work rather than those who simply have proper academic credentials. The company has also adopted a flexitime system and encourages employees to express their ideas freely in all meetings. A kun wa kono kaisha no naka de, miru miru tokaku wo arawashite ikimashita (Mr. A seems to distinguish himself in the company before one's very eyes. ) If there are lots of employees like him, it's only natural that the company stands head and shoulders above everyone else in its field. (A kun no yo na shain ga takusan ireba, kaisha ga gyokai no naka de tokaku wo arawasu no mo tozen desu ne.)
Which company do you think I'm talking about? Ac- tually, though I have a certain company in mind, the rest I've made up. Indeed, with Japanese companies changing so much these days, it's not at all surprising for such a company to actually exist. Take Sony for instance.
Sony mo gun gun tookaku wo arawashite kita kaisha no hitotsu desu (Sony is one company which has rapidly come to tower above the rest.) This isn't, of course, to ignore the criticism Sony has received for some of its activities around the world.
Some of the adverbs used to modify tdkaku wo arawasu are:
a) meki meki-perceptible or visible, i.e., meki meki seicho ga aru (have visible progress/growth) ; meki meki jotatsu suru (make remarkable progress).
b) miru miru-to change before one's very eyes, i.e., Tooshokoku ga miru miru minshuka sarete itta (Before our very eyes, the countries of Eastern Europe have been democratized) ; Oame de, kawa no mizu ga miru mini fuete itta (Owing to the torrential downpour, the level of water in the river increased as we stood and watched.)
c) gun gun-describes something progressing or growing very rapidly. From Jack and the Beans talk:
Mame no ki ga gun gun nobite kumo made todokimashita (The beanstalk grew so quickly it soon reached as high as the clouds.)
Minasan no mawari de, gun gun tookaku wo arawashite kita hito ga imasu ka (Do you perhaps know someone who has rapidly asserted their preeminence over everyone around them? ) Or perhaps you're the one? !