木村：先月から一カ月かかって、部長に新しい企画書を書いたんですよ。
佐藤：それで、反応はどうでした。
木村：さっぱりです。どうやら一人相撲だったようですね。
Hitori-zumoo
Kimura: Sengetsu kara ikkagetsu kakatte, buchoo ni atarashii kikaku-sho wo kaitan desu yo.
Sato: Sore de hannoo wa doo deshita.
Kimura: Sappari desu, Doo yara hitori-zumoo datta yoo desu ne.
Kimura: I spent the last month writing out a new plan to present to the department chief.
Sato: And how did he react?
Kimura: He didn't. It looks as if I was just wasting my time.
The expression hitori-zumoo, literally one-man sumo, originally comes from the display put on at shrines during Shinto ceremonies in which one person imitates two sumo wrestlers fighting. In its idiomatic usage; it means a futile effort in the same way that fighting without an opponent is futile because you can never win.
I'm now on spring vacation after the end of the school year, but anyone who thinks that means I have a lot of free time is very much mistaken. At the moment I'm busy getting ready for the new academic year in April, planning new courses and advising students who are proceeding to graduate school.
One thing I'm working on is making a graduation album for the students who are graduating this month. I want tfte students to take a big part in the task because after all it's theirs. One student, a French girl called Christine, has been a great help. I asked her when she called me this mornirig whether she had received enough contributions for the project. "No, I've only heard from eight people so far," was her reply. Watashi bakari ga hitori-zumoo wo totte iru yoo desu. (It seems as if I'm making all this effort for nothing.) But with graduation iust around the corner. I'm sure the other student will soon jump into action. I tell her not to worry. Hitori-zumoo ni owaru koto wa kesshite nai tva. (Your efforts won't all be in vain), so don't worry.
The expression hitori-zumoo can be used in a number of sit- uations such as when one is still ignored even after having sent frequent love letters to someone or when a salesman is trying his hardest to explain a company catalog to a business partner who is not paying attention. Kekkyoku watashi dake no hitori-zumoo ni owatte shimai mashita (It's all a big waste of time in the end) can be used under such circumstances.