＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
Following on from last time, we’ll be introducing some interesting etymologies and origins of Japanese words.
1. Nashi no Tsubute（梨の礫）(Pear Pebbles)
“Nashi no Tsubute” refers to contacting someone but receiving no response or news. “Tsubute” (pebbles) refers to the small pebbles thrown. Because a thrown pebble never returns, the expression “nashi no tsubute” (pears pebbles) comes to refer to a lack of news, just like a small pebble.
The kanji for this is “nashi no tsubute,” but “nashi” (pears pebbles) is a play on meaning and plays on the meaning of “nashi” (none). Since “nashi no tsubute” would imply “throwing something empty,” which doesn’t make sense, the shape of a “nashi” (pears) was used instead.
2. Goro awase（語呂合わせ）(Mnemonic)
Many people probably used mnemonics to remember historical dates in their student days, such as “The Japanese bush warbler sings in Heian-kyo (794)（「平安京にウグイス鳴くよ（794）」）” or “Let’s go first to Pearl Harbor (1941)（「行くよ一番真珠湾（1941）」）.” Other common mnemonics used to remember strings of numbers like phone numbers or PIN numbers are phone numbers, such as remembering root 2 as “One night, one night, the best time to see people（「一夜一夜に人見頃（ひとよひとよにひとみごろ）」）.”
A mnemonic is a form of word play that involves superimposing different sounds or meanings onto certain characters, or a technique used to remember information.
So what is a mnemonic（「語呂」）? It refers to the continuity or rhythm of words or sentences, especially the continuity or rhythm of sounds when pronounced.
“Ro（「呂」）” means “scale.” In gagaku (traditional Japanese court music), “scale” refers to the rhythm of a piece of music, or “rhythm.” A mnemonic is when the words have a good rhythm.
When you are extremely drunk or suffer a stroke, your tongue does not move well, your speech becomes slurred (rhythmless), and it becomes difficult to understand what you are saying.
3. Yaocho（八百長）Match-fixing
“Yaocho” means “prearranged and determined matches.”
Match-fixing has been an issue in sumo and professional baseball several times. Regarding sumo, former Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara made a particularly memorable statement: “Fixed matches are commonplace in sumo.” I’ve also heard stories of “gottsuan sumo,” in which points are paid for with money. Former yokozuna Takanohana, who believed in “serious sumo（「ガチンコ相撲」）,” strongly disliked this “gottsuan sumo” (fixed matches) along with “adoring（「可愛がり」）” (violence). As a result, he was practically banished from the sumo world.
The term “yaocho” originates from a Meiji-era greengrocer（「八百屋」） named Chobei（「長兵衛（ちょうべえ）」）. Chobei, commonly known as “Yaocho（「八百長」）,” was a go-playing partner of sumo elder Iseumi Gotayu（「伊勢海五太夫」）.
Chobei was the superior Go player, but for business reasons, he would deliberately lose matches to cleverly manipulate the outcome and curry favor with Iseumi Godayu.
From this story, the term “fixing matches” came to be used in the sumo world to describe deliberately manipulating the outcome of a match.
Eventually, the term came to refer more broadly to matches that were agreed upon in advance, and the term came to be used to refer to matches other than sumo as well.
4. Ikasama （如何様）(How)
“Ikasama” means a fake, a swindler, or a fraud.
The “ika’（「如何（いか）」）” in “ikasama” comes from the “ika” in “ikaga（「如何（いかが）」）” (how) and “ikani（「如何に（いかに）」）” (how), and “sama（「様（さま）」）” comes from “sama” (how).
Originally, it meant “how” or “in what way,” but evolved to mean “exactly as expected” or “without a doubt.”
Furthermore, the expression “ikasamamono,” meaning “something that makes you think it’s the real thing,” was born, and the “mono” (mono) was omitted, resulting in its current meaning.
Furthermore, “ikamono,” meaning “deception” or “fake,” is said to have been created by omitting the “sama” (how) in “ikasamamono.”
5. Peten (ペテン)(Deception)
There are various theories about the etymology and origin of the word “peten.”
The most common theory is that it is a corruption of the Chinese word “bengzi,” which means “sagi” (deception), but there is also the following theory.
This theory, found in Harada Tanetoku Tanshu’s “Slang Thoughts,” suggests that it comes from “patent.”
“The word “patent” appears in textile trademarks, and is pronounced “peten,” which became the name for the textile.” Also, there were counterfeit products made from cheap cotton treated with chemicals to look like silk, so the act of deceiving someone came to be referred to as “peten ni kakeru” (to deceive).
6. Hechima（「糸瓜（へちま）」）（Loofah)
The other day, when I was eating at a Japanese restaurant, I saw “Itouri” on the menu. When I first saw it, I wondered, “What was Itouri（糸瓜）?” Then I remembered it was “Hechima（「糸瓜（へちま）」）.”
But why is it called “Hechima”? And why is it written as “糸瓜” but pronounced as “Hechima”?
” Hechima” is a type of melon native to India, introduced to Japan from China during the Muromachi period. Its original name was “Itouri,” named after the fiber extracted from its fruit, and its Chinese name is “Shika（「絲瓜（シカ）」）.”
Initially, it was called “Itouri(「糸瓜（イトウリ）」)” in Japan, but the name eventually shortened to “Touri（「と瓜（トウリ）」）.” Since “to” is between “he” and “chi” in the Iroha song, it came to be called “hechima” meaning “between he and chi（「へち間」）.”