The reader may have the impression that Japanese people are thoughtful and considerate, always accommodating, or very emo- tional and sentimental. But the Japanese are no exception when it comes to such emotions as anger and hate. It is human nature to get upset, angry, and infuriated from time to time. Japanese use swear words, express anger, and ridicule others pointedly.
In the uchi context, Japanese people express frustration, anger, hostility, and fury with candor. Among friends, family members, even between teachers and students, where strong personal rela- tionships exist, venting anger and frustration is expected. Because of the strong amae relationship, sooner or later the negative feelings will be assuaged. Most blunt verb endings are used with strong phonological emphasis. Swear words, such as bakkayaroo ‘you idiot’ and chikushoo ‘damn (you)’ are primarily used by male speakers. Here are a few examples taken from comics (see figs. 4–6).
(11) Mr. Gori (teacher):
Omaera zen’in hoshuu da hoshuu!
you all extra study BE extra study
Nigakki mo sangakki mo doyoo mo
second semester also third semester also Saturday also
nichiyoo mo zuu-u-tto hoshuu da-a!!
Sunday also forever extra study BE
All of you, after-school study, I’m ordering you to do it!! (blunt ending)
(11)
The second semester, the third semester, Saturdays, Sundays, for- ever . . . you are going to do after-school study!! (blunt ending) (Mizusawa 1992, 52)
(12) Editor-in-chief:
Sassato shigoto shiro-o, kono noonashi kisha!!
quickly work do this lousy reporter
boonasu yaran zo.
bonus give-NEG IP
Get your work done, this (you) lousy reporter! There will be no bonus for you!!
Reporter Taniguchi:
Hai-i!! Kuso.
yes shit
Yes, sir!! Shit! (kuso) (Mizusawa 1992, 24) (13) Koota:
. . . na wake nee daro. Bakkayaroo.
fact BE-NEG BE idiot
That can’t be! Idiot! (bakkayaroo) (Ikeno 1992, 191) (14) Reiichi:
Kono onna ga kono onna ga oreno kao o
this girl S this girl S my face O
dainashi ni shita n da-a. Chikushoo.
useless as did NOM BE damn
This girl, this girl, she scarred (lit., made useless) my face! Damn! (chikushoo) (Ikeno 1992, 152)
Female speakers also use blunt endings, although the female use of swear words is somewhat limited. A female may shout baka ‘fool, idiot’ as shown below.
(15) Nanami:
Koota no baka!! Daikkirai!!
Koota LK fool hate
Koota, such an idiot! (baka) I hate him!! (Orihara 1992, 130) Interestingly, when girls become members of delinquent female cliques (or behave like “bad” girls), they take on a male blunt speech style. Speaker A in (16) offers one example of a typical speech style of high school girls involved in threatening acts.
Figure 5. Examples of swearing (Mizusawa 1992, p. 24; Ikeno 1992, pp. 191 and 152; Orihara 1992, p. 130)
(14)
(12)
(16) A: Ichinen no kuseni taido dekai n first-year student BE despite behavior arrogant NOM
da yo. Daitai nee nan na no yo kono chairoi
BE IP anyway IP what BE NOM IP this brown
kami. Dasshoku shite n janai no-o?
hair bleach do NOM BE-NEG IP
You are only a first-year student, but you’re behaving like seniors. (blunt ending followed by yo)
Anyway, what is this brown-colored hair of yours? (yo) Bleaching your hair, huh? (no)
Kaho: Kore wa umaretsuki de . . .
this T natural BE
This is the natural color . . .
A: Umaretsuki demo nan demo mezawari na n
natural or what or bothering BE NOM
da yo ne. BE IP IP
Whatever it is, it bothers me (blunt ending followed by yo
ne). (Orihara 1992, 18)
When people in the soto relationship are involved in conflicting positions, the formal speech style is maintained, but the tone becomes critical, contemptuous, ridiculing, and often threatening. The following segment is taken from a late-night television debate. The television debate offers a public forum where people legiti- mately engage in argument. In fact the participants are expected (and are perhaps under some pressure) to express opposing views. The participants were debating the animal-rights movement. Mr. Kawai, representing the group that feels the animal-rights move- ment is too radical and has gone too far, talks fast, in an angry and excited tone. The transcription of the Japanese text appears in the appendix.
(17)
Well, I think animal-rights people are hypocrites. The reason is (desu
ne) that when they are asked what they would do in concrete terms,
they never give an answer (yo). For example, Mr. Hirose (desu ne), let’s assume that there is a lion right in front of you, let’s hypothesize that. At that moment (desu ne), what are you (anata) going to do? Huh? There may be some cases you must kill the animal; it may attack you
(16)
and you might be killed, right (desho)? But you just say that the situa- tion like that doesn’t exist today or something (desu ne). That’s noth- ing but an excuse, isn’t it ( janai desu ka)? If you (anata) are serious about the animal-rights movement, I think you should give concrete answers to the questions right here and now (desu yo). That’s all.
(Transcribed from the Asahi television program Pre-stage, September 24, 1992; my translation)
Mr. Kawai maintains the desu/masu style, and yet the delivery of these endings is emphatic and accusatory. The particles yo and ne follow desu, signaling interpersonal and informational attitude to the statement. He uses desho ‘isn’t it’ and janai desu ka ‘isn’t it the case’ with emphatic stress to express accusation. The pronoun anata ‘you,’ which is not normally used to address one’s interlocutor, is used to express an antagonistic attitude.
Expressions of fury and ridicule, then, are as much a part of Jap- anese as accommodating, considerate expressions. When a Japanese speaker is excited, personal emotion as an expression of the individ- ual dominates the discourse. In comparison to the United States, though, such individualistic expressions are likely to be used only in a limited number of situations. In the contexts of the uchi relation- ship, or where conflict is expected, as in the television debate, Japa- nese people directly express anger and fury. But when they are aware that the situation calls for avoiding disagreement, they rarely show anger and fury. Instead they initiate tireless behind-the-scenes negotiations, searching for compromises that will minimize unex- pected conflicts. Japanese emotional expressions are, although self- revealing, still responsive to relationality cues.
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