＜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
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49) on X
(Reference) Original article in Japanese
・日本語の面白い語源・由来（その９）図星、野次馬、じゃじゃ馬など
1. Hitting the Mark (Zuboshi)
図星（ずぼし）
“Zuboshi” refers to the black dot in the center of the target in Kyudo (Japanese archery).
① The target, the weak point. Used in phrases like “hitting the mark.”
② When someone’s observation or point is spot on. Used in phrases like “What you said hit the mark.”
In Japanese Kyudo, there are two types of targets: “Kasumi-mato（「霞的（かすみまと）」）” and “Hoshi-mato（「星的（ほしまと）」）,” each with its own defined dimensions.
The white circle in the center of the “Kasumi-mato” (Kasumi target) is called “Seikoku” (正鵠). From this, the phrase “Seikoku o eru” (正鵠を得る), meaning to accurately hit the crucial point or essence of something, originated in the Meiji era. In the Showa era, because “Seikoku” also meant “target,” the phrase “Seikoku o iru” (正鵠を射る) was coined. Incidentally, both “Se” (正) and “Koku” (鵠) mean “the point at the center of the target.”
The “Kasumi-mato” is originally a formal target, but is now commonly used except in university archery.
The “Hoshi-mato” (Hoshi target) is a less formal target, and the black circle in the center is specifically called “Hoshi” (星). This is used in university archery competitions.
In addition, there is the “Tokuten-mato” (得点的), used in corporate team competitions.
Furthermore, target archery (Western archery) targets have even more subdivided circles, ranging from the 10 points in the center to the 1 point at the bridge.
2. A Curious Onlooker (Yajiuma)
野次馬（やじうま）
Originally, “Yajiuma” referred to an “old horse” or an “unruly, uncontrollable horse.” By extension, it has come to mean “a person who shows superficial interest in events that do not directly concern them (mainly incidents and accidents, but also unusual and strange phenomena), gathering out of curiosity, and making a fuss for amusement, or a person who engages in such behavior.”
Fire scenes and accident scenes are often crowded with onlookers. The trait of engaging in such onlooker behavior is called “yajiuma-nejo” (a curious onlooker’s mentality). The phrases “yaji o tobasu” (to heckle) and “yajiru” (to heckle) also originate from “yajiuma.”
One theory about the etymology is that it comes from “oyajiuma” (old male horse), and that at some point, “oyajiuma” transformed into “yajiuma.”
Another theory suggests that the term “yajiuma” (old horse) originated from the fact that older horses don’t lead but simply follow behind younger horses. This led to the term being used to refer to people who irresponsibly make a fuss about other people’s affairs, or to nosy people who gather and make noise.
Incidentally, even today, “yajiuma” is sometimes used in its original sense to refer to “wild horses.”
3. Jajauma (Wild horse)
じゃじゃ馬（じゃじゃうま）
The term “shrew” refers to either a wild, unruly horse that is difficult to tame, or a woman with a fierce temperament who behaves as she pleases; a headstrong, tomboyish girl.
Shakespeare’s comedy, “The Taming of the Shrew,” was also made into a film starring Elizabeth Taylor.
“Jaja” originally comes from the onomatopoeia “jiyajiya.” In “Rodrigues’ Great Grammar of Japan” (1604), written by the Portuguese missionary João Rodrígues (1561–1633), it is recorded as meaning “insects chirping loudly.”
In the Haikai: Saikaku’s Great Collection of Poems (1677), there is a line that reads, “A Shinto priest leads a ‘jajyuma’ (a type of horse), inquiring about a strange dream before nightfall.”
「邪邪馬（じゃじゃうま）に神主一人引のせて夜前ふしぎの夢の御たづね」
4. Kuwabara Kuwabara（くわばらくわばら）
“Kuwabara Kuwabara” is a spell (a charm) to ward off disaster and lightning strikes. My mother, born in the Taisho era, often chanted “Kuwabara Kuwabara” when it thundered.
There are two theories regarding its etymology.
① One theory suggests that Sugawara no Michizane (845-903), who was exiled to Dazaifu due to slander by Fujiwara no Tokihira, became a thunder god after his death and deliberately refrained from striking his own territory, “Kuwabara,” with lightning.
② Another version of the story goes that the thunder god fell into a farmer’s well, and the farmer covered it up. However, in order to be released from the well, the thunder god swore, “I hate mulberry trees, so if you say ‘Kuwahara’ (mulberry field), I will never fall in again.”
Theory ①, which describes the vengeful spirit of Sugawara no Michizane, harboring intense resentment, as a thunder god attacking nobles and emperors who slandered him, is quite a frightening story. Theory ②, however, sounds like something straight out of a Japanese folk tale anime, with the thunder god appearing humorous and even comical.
5. Earthquakes, Thunder, Fire, and Fathers
As an aside, there’s a saying that lists scary things: “earthquakes, thunder, fire, and fathers.” I myself experienced the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake (January 17, 1995) and the Northern Osaka Earthquake (June 18, 2018), so I understand the terror of earthquakes very well.
Since people have died from lightning strikes while playing golf, it feels eerie when thunder starts rumbling on a golf course.
By the way, regarding the last word, “oyaji,” there is a theory that it does not refer to a “thunderous father,” but rather is a variation of “ooyamaji,” which means typhoon. Certainly, modern “oyaji” are not scary figures, so this theory seems to have some merit, but under the old patriarchal system, “oyaji” must have been an absolute authority figure, second only to “earthquakes, thunder, and fire” in terms of fear.