Tsuyu Series: Rain in Videogames

Touched off by my last post on Japanese cultural symbolism and the rainy season in Japan, I started thinking about the many ways in which rain has been depicted in Japanese video games. Since I started learning the Japanese language, and consequently, about Japanese culture, I've had so many "ah-hah!" moments while playing some of my favorite games. One of my reasons for starting this blog is so that I could share these moments on the interwebs.

Since I started playing video games, there have been so many instances where I thought "WTF???" I mean a lot of the time it was mostly good. Strange, but good. Why does Tanooki Mario turn into a statue?

What, indeed, is a "Tanooki?"

What's with the coin boat that appears with the strange Chinese character on it in Mario 3?

Why do Japanese and Chinese script look similar? Why does the truck in Turbo Man's stage (Megaman 7) look like some sort of red dog?

That green and white design on that truck reminds me a lot of the green and white bags the strange "TAC" thieves in Kirby Superstar.

Why?

What does it all mean???

After I began learning about Japanese language and culture, it all started to make sense. I learned that a lot of the nonsense we see in video games isn't entirely arbitrary, and much of it has roots in Japanese culture and the symbolism that exists within it. What seems a lot like crazy randomness to foreigners, actually has reason and purpose; it's just not immediately obvious to people who aren't familiar with Japanese culture.

Now, I like to retrace old video games in search of hidden cultural references and clues. They are like Easter eggs that were hidden in plain sight. Knowing now what I didn't know then, I play my old favorite games, seeing them in an entirely new light. It's as if they have been rejuvenated, and I along with them. As I play my old games with new eyes, the games are new to me once again. I begin to see a world that was always in front of me, but I just never knew.

Frog/Toads and Rain
In Japanese culture, frogs and toads have the same name; kaeru (蛙). They are associated with rain and, strangely enough, with bad singing.

In Zelda: Link's Awakening, Link learns an important song from Mamu, the frog.

My earliest recollection of a frog/toad and rain in video games has got to be Toad Man, from Megaman 4. My first thought when I saw this was "WTF? Toad Man? What is he going to do? Throw toads at me? Some sort of tongue attack? Some super-sonic croak?" No. Of all things, he makes it RAIN. Rain?! I as seriously at a loss for words. I just accepted it as part of the game. It's "Toad Man," and he makes it rain... OK...

Now, it all makes sense! He's a toad, and he makes it rain, because he's a toad, and in Japan, toads/frogs = rain. Oh, I get it! Hah hah! That would explain the rain in his stage too.

Why there would be a flock of birds in the rain is beyond me.

Which brings me to another recollection of amphibians in video games; frog from Chrono Trigger.

Not surprisingly enough, this character's attacks center around water.

But one of my favorite cultural references to frogs and rain in video games is Genjuro from one of my favorite video game series of all time, Samurai Shodown.

Genjuro Kibagami, Samurai Shodown II

It can be said that this is the game that started it all for me regarding my quest to understanding Japanese language and culture. This game is rich in Japanese cultural references, from language, to traditional music, to history, to folklore.

Genjuro is a character whose theme is Hanafuda, a Japanese card game that is strongly associated with traditional gangs and outlaws. His signature moves all include depictions of hanafuda, and even his stage is a reference to one of the hanafuda cards.

 Genjuro's Stage

A Hanafuda card from the August suit

But the ultimate reference to the hanafuda cards a personification of the "Rain Man" card, one of the cards in the November suit, which depicts a man with an umbrella, looking at a frog through the willows.

NeoGeo characters tend to have some sort of after-fight sequence, and Genjuro's sequences reference the hanafuda cards in one way or the other.

In Kirby's Dreamland 3, you encounter a frog that needs help in stage 2-4. In order to help the frog, and thus gain a heart-star from it, you must find its child. Once you do, the parent-child pair become happy and yields the heart-star to Kirby, which will help him on his quest.

At first this will not seem terribly peculiar, until you realize that there is a Japanese saying that goes "Kaeru no ko wa kaeru." (蛙の子は蛙) Translated, it means "Frogs breed little froggies." A saying in English with a similar meaning is "Like father, like son."

And just for the heck of it, I include another memorable frog scene from one of my favorite video games of all times. I wonder if readers can tell where it's from... :-)

Other Depictions of Rain in Video Games
I love the sound of the rain at night... I'm listening to the rain sing its song to me right now as I type. For whatever reason, rain scenes in video games have always left an impression in me. They add to the dramatic effect.

In Samurai Shodown, WanFu's stage is set in a thunder storm.

In Samurai Shodown 3, when you kill Zankuro, it begins to rain.

During Megaman 2's end sequence, it begins to rain also.

What is it about rain that can make life seem both peaceful, yet sad at the same time? And yet, when the sound of thunder and flash of lightning is added, it can imply a deciding moment? Rain can signal a dramatic beginning, or a tragic end. Or even a dramatic middle. Such is the diversity of rain.

In Zelda: Link's Awakening, the scene opens with Link caught in a thunderstorm

Zelda: A Link to the Past also begins in the middle of a storm.

The accompanying music is actually an excerpt from the story after the title screen.

At the beginning of Super Metroid, Samus returns to Zebes in the middle of a storm.

In Megaman and Bass, players encounter rain early on.

Well, that about does it for frogs and rain in video games. Until the next time!

Tsuyu: More Japanese Rainy Season Trivia

The Japanese are very fond of the changing of the seasons, and they have different symbols and associations for them that they wait for with anticipation every year. In Japan, the rainy season is associated with snails (蝸牛, den-den mushi, or katatsumuri), frogs (蛙, kaeru), and hydrangeas (紫陽花, ajisai). Perhaps it’s a good thing to have things to look forward to, especially during the rainy season when it rains constantly.

The snail has two names in Japanese, and they can be used interchangeably. They are “den-den mushi” or “katatsumuri.” They are associated with the rainy season, and they are often depicted crawling along in the rain on a hydrangea leaf.

Snail Song
This is a Japanese children’s song about the snail.

Japanese
でんでん むしむし かたつむり
お前の頭はどこにある
つの出せやり出せ頭 出せ

Romanization
Den den mushi mushi katatsumuri
Omae no atama wa dokoni aru
Tsuno dase yari dase atama dase

English Translation
Snail, Snail, Snail
Where is your head?
Stick out your horns, stick out your spears, and stick out your head.

“Kaeru” is the Japanese word that refers to both frogs and toads. Frogs are closely associated with rain. As Japan was an agricultural economy based on the flooded rice paddy, the presence of frogs is considered a sign of good fortune.

Japanese Frog Proverbs
蛙の子は蛙
(Kaeru no ko wa kaeru)
“Frogs breed froggies.”

Proveb with similar meaning in English:
“Like father, like son.”

蛙の面へ水
(Kaeru no tsura e mizu)
“Throwing water at a frog.”

Proverb with similar meaning in English:
“Water off a duck’s back.”

Frogs in Japanese Folklore
The position of a frog’s eyes on top of its head gave rise to much folklore. In one story, a frog asks god to grant him the ability to walk on two legs. His wish was granted, but his eyes were left on top of his head. He couldn’t see where he was going, and so he died. Due to the belief that a frog's eyes only look up and it can't see where it's going, if two people are trying to meet up but keep missing each other, they are said to be engaging in "frog sumo" or "kaeru no sumo." (蛙の相撲). If a man marries an older woman, so he always has to look up to her, she is said to be a "frog wife," or "kaeru nyobo" (蛙女房).

One of the Hanafuda cards in the November suit depicts a man with an umbrella, observing a jumping frog through the leaves of a willow tree, another symbol associated with rain. This card is one of four cards in the November suit. Because of their association with rain, these cards are also known a the "rain cards."

Hydrangeas (紫陽花, ajisai)
Hydrangeas are a symbol of the rainy season. They will often be depicted with snails on their leaves. As the flowers change depending on certain conditions, hydrangeas have a poetic meaning of a fickle heart that changes easily.

Japanese Children’s Song (童謡, doyo)
The following is a Japanese children’s song about being caught in the rain.

あめふり
雨　雨　ふれふれ　母さんが
蛇の目で　おむかえ　うれしいな
ピッチピッチ　チャップチャップ
ランランラン

かけましょ　かばんを　母さんの
後から　いこいこ　鐘が鳴る
ピッチピッチ　チャップチャップ
ランランラン

あらあら　あの子は　ずぶ濡れだ
柳の　根かたで　泣いている
ピッチピッチ　チャップチャップ
ランランラン

母さん　ぼくのを　かしましょか
君　君　この傘　さしたまえ
ピッチピッチ　チャップチャップ
ランランラン

ぼくなら　いいんだ　母さんの
大きな　蛇の目に　はいってく
ピッチピッチ　チャップチャップ
ランランラン

Amefuri
Ame ame fure fure kaasan ga
Janome de o-mukai ureshii na
Pitchi pitchi chappu chappu ran ran ran

Kakemasho kaban wo kaasan no
Ato kara iko iko kane ga naru
Pitchi pitchi chappu chappu ran ran ran

Ara ara ano ko wa zubunure da
Yanagi no nekata de naiteiru
Pitchi pitchi chappu chappu ran ran ran

kaasan boku no wo kashimasho ka
kimi kimi kono kasa sashitamae
Pitchi pitchi chappu chappu ran ran ran

boku nara ii n da kaasan no
ookina janome ni haitteku
Pitchi pitchi chappu chappu ran ran ran

Rainfall
The rain is falling, and mommy is
picking me up with an umbrella. I'm so happy!
Splish, splish, splash, splash, la, la, la

As I follow mommy with my bag on my shoulder
Step by step, a bell somewhere begins to ring
Splish, splish, splash, splash, la, la, la

Oh no, that poor kid is soaking wet
She is crying under the willow tree,
Splish, splish, splash, splash, la, la, la

Mommy, shall I lend her my umbrella
Here you, I shall lend you mine
Splish, splish, splash, splash, la, la, la

Mommy has a huge Janome umbrella
I'll go under it, don't worry I'll be fine
Splish, splish, splash, splash, la, la, la

A Janome umbrella (蛇の目, “janome”)

The above song can be heard in the Ghibli film, "The Grave of the Fireflies." I think there may be an allusion to this song in the film "Totoro" as well, when a boy named Kanta decides to give his umbrella to the girl protagonists, Satsuki and Mei, who get caught in the rain.

This scene can be seen here. (Last accessed 6/19/2016)

Tsuyu: The Rainy Season

We're supposed to be in the middle of tsuyu (梅雨, tsuyu), or the rainy season. Tsuyu is this long period of rain just before summer. It is said to be marked by consecutive rainy days, but if you asked me, it tends to be mostly cloudy, sometimes sunny, at least for Osaka. It does tend to get rather humid, which tends to affect the Japanese way of life in surprising ways.

The high humidity and moisture in the air causes mold and bacteria to grow. Clothes that are packed away or kept in the closet for a long time may get moldy and gross. Mold will grow in futon (布団, futon), pillows and bedding that is kept in the closet, or left out on the tatami. For these reasons, the Japanese have their clothes dry cleaned before putting them away. Winter clothes are packed away in air-tight plastic boxes. People that don't take the proper precautions might find mold and other unpleasant surprises when they unpack them in the winter.

To prevent mold from growing and/or getting clothes and bedding from getting all wet and sticky, the Japanese place desiccant boxes and/or dehumidifiers (湿気取り: shikketori) in their closets. Products that are useful for the season usually become available at local grocery and/or drug stores.

As the humidity and moisture begins to increase, the space between futon and tatami, or other flooring, becomes the perfect breeding ground for mold and mites (カビ, kabi, andダニ, dani respectively). Tatami are especially prone to mite infestation with the onset of Tsuyu. To prevent mold from growing under futons, and mites from infesting the tatami, the Japanese put away their futons regularly. I learned this the hard way, as I am lazy and like to leave my futon out.

I lifted my futon to put it away one day, when I noticed dark moldy spots on the white linen casing and on my tatami mats. I was grossed out beyond belief. I learned never to leave my futon out, or at the very least to put it away during tsuyu.

Something the Japanese do on a regular basis is put their futons out to air them. On bright sunny days, walking down a street, one can't help but notice futons draped over people's verandas.  You might even see a baa-chan (old lady) beating them with sticks. You can actually see as the dust drifts off and away from the futons.

Futon being hung out to air on a nice sunny day.

A few years ago, when I took my wife to America to meet my parents, she asked me "Do people not put out their clothes to dry? Their blankets? Mattresses?" I told her "Well, some people do. But mostly, people use their driers." My wife mentioned to me that she noticed that houses didn't have verandas, and if they did, there were no clothes or blankets hanging from them. "In Japan, you don't waste a sunny day. (晴天の日, seiten no hi) On a sunny day, most people put out their clothes and futon to dry in the hot sun."

During tsuyu, it may not always be possible to air out futons and bedding, so the Japanese take advantage of the "dry" features on their conditioners. They hang their mattresses over a couple of chairs, or on special racks for indoor use, and they set their air conditioners to "dry" for a couple of hours. They even sell specialized driers for futons called "futon kansoki." (布団乾燥機: futon dryer) And the Japanese are careful not to leave their futon and clothes out while they go out on errands; sudden rain can be disastrous.

 Futon airing out on a rack.

Insect repelling measures must be taken. There are insect repellents that can be placed in the closet where people keep their futons. You can buy insect repelling paper that you can spread on the floor of your closet, on which you can place your futons when you fold them up and put them away. Some people go the extra mile and buy repellent spray and apply it to the futon every once in a while. To prevent infestations, it is important for people to keep their apartment clean: clothes must not be left lying around, tatami must be vacuumed regularly.

The humidity and the summer heat also attract cockroaches (ゴキブリ, gokiburi). This is common sense, but if dishes aren't washed regularly and the kitchen isn't kept clean, this attracts cockroaches. Food must be sealed properly and crumbs shouldn't be left out lest they become food for any uninvited guests. Laying out repellents or traps is not a bad idea.

As the tsuyu begins to turn into summer, mosquitoes can be a pain in the neck. There is repellent available that can be applied to the body, but you can also use mosquito repellent vaporizers for your room. Or, if you want to be Japanesey, you could always light up one of those green mosquito coils.

 This vaporizer releases an odorless vapor that keeps away mosquitoes.

 Lighting up mosquito repellent coils is common in Japan.

Well, that's it for now. Stay tuned for more the Japanese rainy season!

RAIZIN: Japanese Energy Drink - Ew!!!

So I was on the train this morning, and I saw this.

At first blush, the foreigner in Japan might look at this and think "What does it all mean???"

There's a guy wearing green contact lens, apparently pushing an energy drink called "RAIZIN Green Wing."

What do a guy with green contacts, raisins, green wings and energy drinks have to do with each other?

Perhaps some people who work for this company wanted to tap into the currently existing energy drink market and use it to their advantage.

The Japanese seem to have this penchant for taking something, modifying it slightly, and then reselling it as something "original." (Examples here, here and here.)

I'm thinking, "Okay. So what are some energy drinks that are out right now on the market? Let's see. Well there's that Red Bull thing, and then there's that green Monster drink. Red Bull's slogan is 'Red Bull gives you wings.' Maybe some guys thought 'OK, we need a color, we need wings, but we need something of a distraction. Something that says 'original.' I know! We'll do green wings and have a guy wear green contacts! And just to throw people off even more, we'll call it 'RAIZIN.' Because who puts raisins in an energy drink? Yeah that's what we'll do.'"

BOOM!

"RAIZIN" was born.

Actually, as a Japanese scholar, I know that there is a little bit more to it than simply a guy in green contacts with wings; there is actually clever marketing going on.

There is this special uniquely Japanese way of Romanizing the Japanese language called "Kunreishiki."

It's always been there, people just never stopped to think about it before.

We have the normal system that everybody knows, where basically the language is spelled out in Roman letters and most English-speakers can read because the sounds correspond to the way English-speakers read and write using Roman letters. Under this system, also known as the "Hepburn" system, basically what-you-see-is-what-you-get.

As an example, take this sentence:

私はアメリカ人です。 (I'm an American.)

In under the Hepburn system, it's:

watashi wa amerika-jin desu.

The way you read this is basically straight-forward; all consonants are pronounced the way we would in English, and the vowels are all short.

The trouble with the Hepburn system is that, when analyzed for uniformity from a linguist's perspective, there are many inconsistencies.

Look closely at the "sa," "ta" and "ha" columns.

Going down each column, one will notice that some characters have an inconsistent number of Roman characters to spell out the sound. That's because in Japanese, these characters are considered part of the same sound group. A Japanese sees no difference when looking at the Japanese syllabic characters, but these sounds must be spelled out differently, because they are technically different sounds.

Linguist scholars decided that a "better" system was needed, one that better matched up with Japanese morphology.

Thus the Kunreishiki system of Japanese Romanization was born.

Under this system, all of the spellings of Japanese kana would be uniform.

Instead of "ta," "chi," "tsu," "te," and "to," the sounds would be spelled "ta," "ti," "tu," "te," and "to."

Instead of "sa," "shi," "su," "se," and "so," the sounds would be spelled "sa," "si," "su," "se," and "so."

"Fu" would be "hu," and so on.

The new system would be a streamlined system for scholars of Japanese who wanted a more uniform system "consistent" with Japanese morphology, and "better suited to teach Japanese grammar," but would cause headaches for non-speakers of Japanese who had no interest in ever sitting down to learn the language.

Japanese written in Kunreishiki Romanization is almost impossible for non-Japanese and/or non-scholars of Japanese to read and pronounce correctly.

With Kunreishiki, "Mt. Fuji" becomes "Mt. Huzi," (looks like "hoozie" to normal people) and my name becomes "Jyo" or "Zyo," depending on how you wanted to spell the sound. (In Japanese there are a couple of ways to spell the same sound.)

Compare:

Hepburn:
watashi wa amerika-jin desu.

Kunreishiki:
watasi ha amerika-zin desu.

Remember I said Kunreishiki has always been under your nose?

This brand name, spelled "Nissin," is actually said "Nisshin."

To me, the fact that a system can only be used by Japanese people who have studied it, and/or specialized scholars of the Japanese language, brings its own relevance and necessity of existence into question.

What good is a Romanization system that can only be used by specially trained Japanese and linguists?

There is already a suitable way to represent Japanese morphology; it's called kana.

If Japanese and linguists are going to spend time and effort learning a separate, "Japanese" way of spelling things that no one else understand, why not just use the already-existing kana system?

Which Japanese and scholars have to learn to read and write anyway?

Is not the purpose, and the need for a Romanization of Japanese, to assist non-Japanese speakers in reading and pronouncing the language?

To make matters worse, when Japanese learn this new system of Romanization that applies only to the Japanese language at school, this screws up their efforts to learn other languages that use Roman characters, because now, a uniquely Japanese way of pronouncing them has been cemented in their brain.

Now, when Japanese students want to learn English, or French, or Spanish, or other languages that use Roman characters, they have to "unlearn" Kunreishiki, as it were, and learn the sounds and correct spellings of words.

In my years of teaching English at Japanese schools, I have encountered strange and interesting attempts to spell English words, using Kunreishiki.

Additionally, I have encountered the strange phenomenon of students pronouncing Japanese words as an English-speaker who can't read Kunreishiki would, when speaking to me in English.

Just the other day, a Japanese person asked me: "Mr. Joe, do you like sussie?"

And I'm like... "Sussie... What's that?"

The student says "It's raw fish on rice."

Ah! You mean "sushi."

And the student responds. "That's what I said. Sussie."

D'oh!

So now some Japanese students think they're doing English-speakers a favor if they pronounce Kunreishiki Romaji the way a non-Japanese speaker/scholar would! (In Kunreishiki, "sushi" is spelled "susi.")

Japanese that learn Kurneishiki are essentially learning just another system of Katakana.

And scholars of Japanese really have no use for Kunrei once they start reading and writing exclusively in Japanese.

So back to the energy drink, people would probably be less confused if the makers of the drink decided to spell it "RAIJIN" instead.

And I know that this is how the name is intended to be said because the kana above it give it away.

It reads:

次へのエンジン。

Romanized in Hepburn:

tsugi he no enjin.

([Your] engine to your next destination.)

So naturally, to match or rhyme with "enjin," (engine), the word would naturally have to be said "raijin."

And once you know what "raijin" means, the whole thing comes together.

"Raijin" is the name of the Japanese god of thunder and lighting, 雷神.

Raijin

The makers of the drink called it "RAIJIN" (spelled "RAIZIN") because they wanted to imply that drinking it would make you as quick and as fast as lighting.

I'm still in the dark about the guy with the green contacts...

First Post Ever

Alright, this is it.

My debut as a blogger.

My first post ever.

I'm not sure where this is going, or how far it will go, but I've decided to start a personal blog to talk about my interests and life in Japan.

My name is Joe Cortez, and I was born and raised in Salinas, California.

I've been living in Osaka, Japan, for about ten years already.

My interests include Asian culture, retro-gaming, music and language acquisition.

I'm a self-proclaimed ethnomusicologist, and I love to listen to music from all over the world.

I love to listen to music from older videogames.

I'm fascinated by Chinese characters and the languages in which they are used.

I'm also just fascinated by language in general.

Currently, I can speak English, Spanish and a little bit of Japanese.

In the future, I'd like to study Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Portuguese, Italian, French and German.

My favorite food is noodles.

Anything from spaghetti, to udon, to chow mein, to ramen, to macaroni and cheese, to Mexican soup.

One of my quests in life is to try all the different noodles of the world.

My comfort food is Kraft Macaroni and Cheese; there's nothing quite like a classic blue box.

Of course there are other foods I like; I enjoy Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Italian, Indian and Mexican.

There's a special place in my heart for an all-American breakfast; eggs scrambled or over medium, breakfast sausages, bacon, hash browns, toast, pancakes and orange juice.

Anyway, I think I'll end this post here for now.

I'll tell readers more about myself as the blog progresses.

宜しく。