父親：今日も勉強かい。
娘：そうなの、明日試験なの。
父親：そんなに躍起になって勉強しなければ、やっていけないのかい？
Yakki ni Naru
(Nichiyoobi mo isshookenmei benkyoo suru, shinnyuu shain no musume ni)
Chichioya: Kyoo mo benkyoo kai?
Musume: Soo na no, ashita shiken na no.
Chichioya: Sonna ni yakki ni natte benkyoo shinakereba, yatte ikenai no kai?
(To his daughter who has just entered a company and is having to study on Sunday.)
Father: You're studying today, too?
Daughter: Yes. I've got a test tomorrow.
Father: So, what is it? You can't keep up unless you study all out?
Yakki ni naru means 'to be all out about something, to go all out, to be hell-bent on doing something.' My two daughters both joined the work force this year. The oldest wants to be a television director; the younger one is employed at a computer company. Today's conversation concerns the younger one.
Since she attended the same private school from elementary school through college, she didn't have to go through the infamous 'examination hell.' Ima made yakki ni natte benkyoo suru tokoro nado, mita koto mo nai (I've never seen her going all out to study like she is now). The company, it seems, has a six- month training program required for all new-comers.
Since April she's had to study practically everyday. I found it interesting to hear her talk about her com- pany. I thought, "Now I understand what they mean when they talk about how Japanese companies train people to work for the company." Every Monday is a test day. Since she majored in English literature in college and didn't study about computers, she's having a hard time. She says that not only are the names of the people with the top 10 scores on each test announced, but that if you get a low score, you've got to stay until 5 p.m. listening to a special extra lecture.
"Yakki ni naru wake ga, wakaru deshoo (You see why I'm so worked up about studying, don't you)? This is the first time in my life I've studied this hard." She continues: "There's no one to blame but yourself if you get a bad grade. But that's not all. If everybody's grade is low, they put you in a room without air conditioning. " "In this heat? All they give you is an electric fan?" Japanese-style groupism has its good and bad points. But does a company really need to employ such methods in order to instill in people a sense of company loyalty and cooperation? Fortunately, the employees who understand the material pitch in and help out those who are having a hard time.
My daughter's homework for today was to write a haiku: Okitemite, nishibi ni bikkuri, nekyuujitsu (I awake surprised, the sun is setting; a day off spent sleeping). I can only guess that, what with being so busy, she can't think of much else.
My husband said to her recently, "Yakki ni nattemo, dame na toki wa dame (You can give it everything you have and still do poorly. There are no guarantees). Why don't we play tennis sometime?" Indeed.
The training period will end in September. I hope she doesn't have to spend too many days in that room without the air conditioning...