先生：木村君の家のお父さん、こわそうな人ね。
木村：そうですか。外面は悪いけど、本当はやさしいんですよ。
Uchi-zura/Soto-zura
Sensei: Kimura-kun no ie no otosan, kowaso na hito ne.
Kimura: Soo desu ka. Soto-zura wa warui kedo, hontoo wa yasashii'n desu yo.
Teacher: Your father seems like quite a frightening sort of person.
Mr. Kimura: Really? He might not appear very friendly, but he's actually very pleasant.
* * *
Uchi-zura refers to the "face" one displays to one's family, soto-zura to the self displayed to outsiders.
Tsura means "face." When found after uchi or soto the pronunciation changes to zura.
Eleven students from Yamaguchi University are participating in a homestay program in Cambridge, England. Though the students are primarily interested in improving their English, I, in fact, hope they come back having learned how to compare Japan with foreign countries. Non-Japanese often complain that Nihonjin wa soto-zura wa ii ga, nani wo kangaete iru no ka wakaranai (though Japanese appear affable, it's difficult to know what they're thinking). I hope the students begin to wonder about why people say this and perhaps even to question whether it is in fact true.
Most British who accept foreign students into their homes come from the lower, middle class. Their lifestyle comes as a surprise, if not a shock, to many Japanese students. Since students' image of "Westerners" is in fact an image of "Americans," the students are taken aback when their homestay families complain that they use too much hot water when washing their hair each morning. Whereas in the United States most families who accept foreign students volunteer to do so and thus are, of necessity, quite well off, in Great Britain, most families charge about 10 pounds a night. In fact, it's not unusual to find five or six foreign students staying with one family in a dormitory-style arrangement. In spite of the fact that the Japanese students who go to Great Britain are usually from well-to-do homes, the experience usually ends up being quite rewarding.
Around 5:30 in the evening, homestay families and their Japanese guests enjoy talking together :
A:"Uchi no otosan, uchi-zura wa ii'n desu yo (My dad is really nice at home). He helps clean up in the kitchen and serves tea.... Soto-zura bakari yoi hito yori, aa iu hito to kekkon shitai (I'd much rather marry someone like that than someone who is only pleasant and helpful to outsiders)." B : "Soto-zura mo uchi-zura to onaji gurai yokereba, ii'n desu ga (If only people would be as affable at home as they are when outside)...." C: "Nihonjin wa soto-zura wa yokute mo, uchi-zura no warui hito ga ooi desu kara (It must be because there are a lot of Japanese who are devils at home and angels in the street)." D: "Demo, dooshite soto-zura bakari yoi no desho ne (Why is it that people are always only good at being nice to outsiders? ) " I wonder how many Japanese men could participate in such simple conversations? Hataraki-zukareta otoosan no uchi-zura ga waruku naru no mo, muri wa nai (I suppose it's inevitable that fathers who come home exhausted have a hard time being pleasant to their families).
I'm really looking forward to hearing about all the things the students learned during their stay in Cambridge.