A：ここは、私の縄張りですよ。余計な手出しはやめてください。
B：それはちっとも知りませんでしたね。そんなこと、誰が決めたんですか？
Nawabari
A: Koko wa, wotasht no nawabari desu yo. Yokei no tedashi wa yamete kudasai.
B: Sore wa chittomo shirimasen deshita ne. Son'na koto, dare ga keimeta'n desu ka?
A: This is my territory, you know. Please refrain from.any unnecessary meddling.
B: I know nothing about that. Who made that decision?
Nawabari refers to roping off a specific area. The owner of a vacant lot, for example^ will often ropei off his lot and then display his name nearby so that everyone will know who owns the land. In addition to this meaning, nawabari is also used to refer to the sphere of influence of gamblers as well as ordinary people. I had Iraq's Saddam Hussein in mind as I wrolethis week's conversation. In what direction win ou^woi'Id move in these final years of the 20th century? , Saddam claims that Kuwait has always been part of Iraq. Jibuti no nawabari de aru to shucho shite iru (He continues to insist that it is part of his own territory).
But who in the world agrees with him? Arabs, of course, have their own way of looking at things and one can see by watching TV that their sense that jibun-tachi no nawabari wo mamorinuku (they must protect their own territory until the very end) is very strong.
Nawabari arasoi (Juridicial disputes) sometimes lead to death and destruction. It's said that one yakuza gang's nawabari in Shinjuku are so distinct that other gangs are unable to extend their influence into the area. A rope, invisible to ordiriary people, thus rings the Kabukicho area.
For the most part, countries in this century are entities whose right to self-government has been recognized-entities with a "territory (nawabari)." Many countries have been drawn into the Juridicial dispute (nawabari arasoi ni makikomarete shimatta) we now call the Persian Gulf war. As a result, how many people will be injured or killed? It's frightening to think about. Once boundaries are drawn, territories come into existence with all their vested interests. If the vested interest is oil, countries begin to selfishly insist that jibun no nawabari wo hirogetai (they want to extend their sphere of influence) and that jibun no nawabari ni osekkai suru na (their own territory is not to be meddled in by others).
The situation in the Persian Gulf is not simply a dispute over "territory (nawabari)." There is no doubt, however, that nawabari ishiki (the jealous sense of one's domain and sphere of influence) is not far in the background.