木村：「あっ、部長」
郡長：「おいおい君達、そんなに僕を煙たがらなくてもいいじゃないか」
Kemutagaru, Kemutagareru
(Office no naka, mina ga zatsudan shite iru tokoro ni bucho ga haitte kuru. Minna wa kyu ni hanashi wo yameru.)
Kimura: A, bucho.
Bucho: Oi oi kimitachi, sonna ni boku wo kemutagara naku temo ii ja nai ka.
(Everyone in the office is chatting when the boss
walks in. They immediately stop talking.)
Kimura: Chief!
Chief: Hey, come on everyone, you don't have to be so uptight around me, do you?
* * *
Though kemutagaru can simply mean being "sensitive to smoke," as in the example it can also mean that one feels awkward or ill at ease in another's presence, that one prefers to keep them at a respectful distance.
Mr. Kimura's boss is extremely strict with his employees; he rarely smiles or tells any jokes. He just does his job, no more, no less, Shaintachi wa bucho wo totemo kemutagatte imasu (The employees really feel uncomfortable and awkward in his presence.) No one invites him to go along when everyone goes out drinking after work, hiking on Sunday. They all agree that with the boss along, they'll end up feeling like they're back at work. Bucho wa minna kara kemutagararete iru sonzai (The chief is ostracized by everyone.) But the chief actually feels very lonely. "Doshite minna boku wo kemutagaru no daro" ("Why does everyone feel so uncomfortable around me?") He wishes they would invite him along.
Given the employees are only exposed to his strict side, it's perhaps only natural that they don't understand him.
The boss always goes directly home after work. He has two sons in college. Musukotachi mo chichioya wo kemutagatte amari hanashi kakeyo to shimasen (The two sons also keep their Dad at a respectful distance, rarely talking to him.) They think they know what he'll say anyway; "Are you keeping up your studies? You're not wasting the money you earn at your part-time job, are you?" The only person that seems to understand him is his wife. She says, "Though he can't tell jokes and doesn't have any real hobbies, he's a serious person with a lot of knowledge. He always tries to do what he thinks is right."
One day the boss tells his wife about his troubles.
"I'm isolated at work, Minna boku no koto wo kemutagaru no da" ("Everyone acts like I've got the plague.") But what is she supposed to do? A 50-year-old man is not about to start changing his ways. She suggests he invite the employees to their house some Sunday. "I'd like to meet them," she says.
It turns out they all have a nice time talking freely, something they'd never been able to do at work. The wife senses the employees now respect her husband.
After just one afternoon, the attitude of the employees changed. Bucho wa izen hodo kemutagarare naku natta (The boss wasn't as ostracized as before.) Next time the office crew invites him out for a drink, I certainly hope he decides to go along.