Tag Archives: Japan

From samurai and ninjas to giant mecha like Gundam or the beautiful films of Hayao Miyazaki, Japanese history and culture inspire LEGO builders all over the world. With contributors fluent in Japanese, The Brothers Brick also brings you coverage of the people and events in the large LEGO fan community in Japan itself.

Japanese Proverb Vignettes “Ra” through “Wa”

Today we’ll wrap up translations of Izzo’s series of Japanese proverb vignettes. I’ve said before that he’s presenting them in hiragana order, which means he created a LEGO vignette for each kana character in the Japanese syllabic alphabet. Some of you may be expecting 50 vignettes, but there are only 44. Let’s have one last Japanese lesson to explain why.

The Japanese alphabet, or Gojuon, is represented in two scripts (or kana), hiragana and katakana. Goju means “fifty,” and on means sound, implying that there are fifty kana in the Gojuon. Children memorize the Gojuon in tables. There are ten columns of five kana each. The first column contains the vowels; the next nine contain consonants combined with those vowels (plus an N sound in its own eleventh column that nobody counts). However, the “Ya” column includes two duplicate vowels, and the “Wa” column includes another duplicate vowel, two archaic kana (unused in modern writing), and the vowel “Wo” that never begins a word. Thus 44 instead of 50.

(Now combine hiragana with their corresponding katakana forms, Latin letters and numbers, and nearly 2,000 Kanji characters derived from Chinese — each with multiple possible readings depending on context, and you get an idea of how complex the Japanese written language is.)

Now, on to the final batch of Izzo’s vignettes:

Japanese: The seed of pleasure is pain; the seed of pain is pleasure.
English: No pain, no gain.

Japanese: A flower in each hand.
English: Have one’s bread buttered on both sides.

Japanese/English: Like attracts like.

Japanese/English: There’s an exception to every rule.

Japanese: Evidence instead of discourse.
English: The proof of the pudding is in the eating.

Japanese/English: Fortune enters by a merry gate.

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Japanese Proverb Vignettes “Ma” through “Yo”

Izzo has finished his sequence of Japanese proverb vignettes. Now Bruce and I just need to catch up!

So let’s get cracking!

Japanese/Japanese: Fine feathers make fine birds.

Japanese: The mummy thief becomes a mummy.
English: Go for wool and come home shorn.

Japanese: The pestle handle I took hold of in the past.
English: Skills you learn as a young man don’t wane as you grow older.

Japanese/English: An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

Japanese: A sword returns to its sheath.
English: To kiss and make up.

Japanese/English: Penny-wise, pound-foolish.

Japanese: Carelessness is the greatest enemy.
English: Danger comes when you least expect it.

Japanese/English: The biggest trees give the most shelter.

LEGO Creations for the Setsubun Festival

Although Japan officially celebrates New Year’s Day on January 1st, until 1873 Japan followed the lunar calendar used by China, Korea, Vietnam, and many other Asian countries. The Japanese calendar is still full of many holidays that mark various important dates in the traditional lunar calendar.

One such holiday, Setsubun, is celebrated each year on February 3. In the past, Setsubun represented the last day of the winter months and the beginning of spring. Celebrating Setsubun involves the usual Shinto shrine visits, but you also toss toasted beans out your door and yell “Out with demons [oni]! In with happiness!” Pretty fun when everybody on your street is doing it!

To honor Setsubun, a couple of Japanese builders have posted really cool creations.

First up, mumu chases an oni away with handfuls of round 1×1 tan plates (I’m really diggin’ the giant oni head):

And PPB hero Izzo offers his take on the same scene:

(These builders’ awesome oni make my own no-face oni look pretty silly.)

Samurai Sedan Chair by Sumi-Handy’s Son

Japanese LEGO blogger Sumi-Handy posts his own LEGO creations, along with those of his kids. He recently posted a kago (which means “box”), an enclosed sedan chair in which important people were carried around during the Edo period (1603-1867):

The sedan chair is by Sumi-Handy’s son, but what struck me about this creation is the fantastic cedar tree Sumi-Handy himself added in the background. Very, very nice!

Mochi-Pounding

I was honestly a bit disappointed that the New Year’s LEGO creations by Japanese builders didn’t include any mochi-pounding scenes. A really fun New Year’s tradition I remember is to make hand-made mochi (rice cakes). You put a special type of sticky rice in a wooden pestle and literally pound it with a giant wooden mallet. It’s pretty awesome.

Thankfully, mumu’s wife has built a cute little mochi-pounding scene, complete with the mochi-pounding rabbit from the Moon*:

*Where westerners see a face in the Moon, Japanese people see a rabbit pounding mochi.

Japanese Proverb Vignettes “Na” through “Ho”

As regular readers of Pan-Pacific Bricks and VignetteBricks already know, Izzo has been posting LEGO vignettes based on Japanese proverbs. So far, Izzo has posted 30 vignettes on his Web site and in two Brickshelf galleries. I’ve translated the first twenty, and am genuinely looking forward to the next thirty. How do I know there are going to be thirty more? Izzo is posting the proverb vignettes in hiragana order, and there are approximately fifty hiragana characters.

So let’s get started with the next ten, shall we? :-)

Japanese: A bee to a crying face.
English: Misfortunes never come alone. / When it rains, it pours.

Japanese/English: He who runs after two hares will catch neither.

Japanese: Millet with wet hands.
English:Like taking candy from a baby. / Easy money.

Japanese: Wearing a cat.
English: A wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Japanese/English: There’s luck in leftovers. (“Luck” sounds the same as “clothing,” so there’s a pun in this one as well.)

Japanese: Dumplings rather than flowers.
English: Function before form. / Better fill a man’s belly than his eye.

Japanese: Beauty and luck seldom go together.
English: The fairest flowers soonest fade.

Japanese/English: Candle in the wind. (To have one’s life hang by a thread.)

Japanese/English: He that shoots oft, at last shall hit the mark.

Japanese: If you’re in love, travelling a thousand miles seems like only one mile.
English: Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

More Proverbs by Izzo

Bruce has posted again that Izzo has posted another batch of Japanese proverb vignettes in his gallery.

Here we go…

Japanese: Strategem 36: If all else fails, run away.
English: He that fights and runs away lives to see another day.

Japanese/English: Dead men tell no tales.

Japanese: When one god deserts you, another one picks you up.
English: One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

Japanese/English: Good and quickly seldom meet.
(It’s a fast-food noodle stand. Not exactly gourmet cooking.)

Japanese: Providing is preventing.
English: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
(In other words, always be prepared. Thus the Swiss Army robot.)

Japanese: A bird taking flight does not pollute the place it left.
English: It is an ill bird that fouls its own nest.

Japanese: Even dust piled up will make a mountain.
English: Many a little makes a mickle.

Japanese: The moon and a soft-shell turtle.
English: As different as night and day.

Japanese/English: The nail which sticks out gets hammered down.

Japanese/English: A near neighbour is better than a far-dwelling kinsman.

As before, check out Izzo’s if you want to see Flash versions that include the original Japanese text.

Japanese Mythical Creature: “Kappa”

I debated whether to post my latest minifigure over on my minifig-themed blog, but it does require a bit of explanation, so I’ll post it here instead.

Kappa are mythical water imps from Japan. Kappa inhabit lakes, ponds, streams, and other bodies of water. If you do a little research, you’ll find that kappa are associated with some pretty nasty legends. For example, they drag people into the water and eat them.

Their favorite food is cucumbers, which is apparently why cucumber rolls are called “kappa maki.” Long ago, parents would sometimes carve their child’s name into a cucumber and toss the vegetable into water in an attempt to prevent kappa from stealing the child. Generally, though, kappa are considered mischievous creatures today. Here’s a more contemporary, “cutified” kappa:

Japanese Proverb Vignettes by Izzo

I just saw that Bruce posted about a new set of vignettes by Izzo (whose New Year’s creations I posted about earlier this month). Quoth Bruce: “Hopefully Dunechaser will be able to shed some enlightenment via his Pan-Pacific Bricks blog.” Well sir, I shall give it my best shot.

Here’s what I’ll do. The vignettes won’t make sense unless you understand exactly what the Japanese proverbs say, but you still might not get what the proverbs actually mean, so I’ll try to find a corresponding English proverb or provide a brief explanation.

Japanese: By hiding your head you expose your butt.
English: Burying your head in the sand.

Japanese: Even a one-sun bug has a five-bu soul.
(Sun and bu are units of length that are no longer used in Japan, where the Metric system is used instead. There are ten sun in one bu, so this proverb is saying that even a little bug has a big soul.)
English: Tread on a worm and it will turn.

Japanese: If you gossip about someone, their shadow will appear.
English: Speak of the devil (and he’s sure to appear).

Japanese/English: A drowning man will clutch at a straw.

Japanese: To gain one of your nine lives back.
English: To have a narrow escape from death.

Japanese: The son of a frog will be a frog.
English: Like father like son.

Japanese: Prayers to God in difficult times.
English: Danger past, God forgotten.

Japanese/English: Art is long, life is short.
Latin*: Ars longa, vita brevis. *Bonus language!!!

Japanese: Unless you enter the tiger’s den, you can’t steal her cubs.
English: Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Note: I used Izzo’s site to determine which proverbs go with the vignettes in his Brickshelf gallery, but I couldn’t find this one, so I’m not sure what the proverb is. Sorry folks!

The Hundred-Question LEGO Poll

Yes, that’s right, one hundred — count ’em, they’re numbered! — questions. This poll or questionnaire has been making the rounds of Japanese LEGO blogs and home pages recently, and there’s really only one question that’s uniquely applicable to Japanese LEGO fans (#35), so I thought I’d take a crack at an English version.

1) Why did you get hooked on LEGO?

2) What was the first set you bought?

3) When did you first start playing with LEGO?

4) What’s your favorite minifig face?

5) What’s your favorite set?

6) What’s your ultimate goal?

7) What theme do you primarily build in?

8) What about new lines that might be released in the future?

9) What are the moments that make you happy you’re a LEGO fan?

10) What do you think of Bionicle?

11) Was LEGO in the past better than LEGO today?

12) What challenges or problems have you encountered while playing with LEGO?

13) Do you have anything you want to tell The LEGO Company right now?

14) How much do you spend on LEGO in a year?

15) What are your interests other than LEGO?

16) What do you think of flesh-colored LEGO heads?

17) Have you ever used LEGO in an unusual way?

18) What set would you like to see re-released?

19) What if you could work for The LEGO Company?

20) Have you ever attended a LEGO event?

21) What parts are you using a lot lately?

22) What parts do you find difficult to use?

23) How would you increase the number of LEGO fans?

24) What kind of new bricks would you like to see released?

25) Do you have any LEGO games?

26) Have you ever been hospitalized due to LEGO?

27) Have you ever felt any animosity toward The LEGO Company?

28) Who do you respect in the LEGO community?

29) What genre of building are you not good at?

30) Which of your creations did you spend the most time building?

31) How much have you spent on LEGO so far?

32) Have ever made a custom minifig?

33) What do you think of customization?

34) How big is the largest creation you’ve ever built?

35) What thoughts do you have about the LEGO King Champion TV show? [It was a LEGO-themed episode of a Japanese game show. Read about it here.]

36) Have you ever gone out looking for old LEGO sets?

37) What do you think of LEGO clubs or user groups (LUGs)?

38) What part do you have the most of?

39) Do you have any Mindstorms?

40) What parts or features of LEGO do you find useless?

41) What do you think of the colors of LEGO?

42) What do you think of people who say that LEGO bricks are just children’s toys?

43) What parts do you want right now?

44) Have you ever bought anything from the LEGO Sports line?

45) Do you find the LEGO Sports line interesting?

46) What are your thoughts on the rumor about the end of the Star Wars license?

47) What do you use to organize your parts?

48) What’s more important to you than LEGO?

49) What LEGO do you plan to buy in 2006?

50) You’re halfway through. How do you feel?

51) What would you do if you could live in a world made of LEGO?

52) Have you had a particularly heroic episode in relation to your LEGO?

53) Do you have a Brickshelf account?

54) What LEGO Web sites do you like to visit?

55) What title do you have [like “Minifig Customizer” or “LEGO Photographer”]?

56) Go ahead and brag about your LEGO.

57) What do you think of the LEGO Stores?

58) What are your feelings about LEGO sets that aren’t available in your country?

59) What about clone brands?

60) Is your future dream to become a LEGO Master Builder?

61) If you had a million dollars, how much of it would you spend on LEGO?

62) What was the best set released in 2005?

63) On a scale of 1 to 100, where would you place your LEGO building skills?

64) What LEGO do you want for Christmas?

65) How would you improve LEGO?

66) What do you think of Belville?

67) Have you ever participated in a LEGO contest?

68) What movie would you like to see turned into a LEGO license?

69) What’s your favorite LEGO set [yes, it’s a duplicate question]?

70) What makes LEGO so great?

71) What do you think of $600 LEGO [nobody seems to know what this question means]?

72) What do you think of sets that are no longer available?

73) Where do you always buy your LEGO?

74) Is the place where you live a good LEGO environment?

75) Do you currently have a stock of ideas?

76) If you were a minifig in a medieval LEGO war, what would be your rank?

77) What do you think is interesting about your LEGO creations?

78) How many minifigs do you own?

79) What’s the most expensive LEGO set you’ve ever bought?

80) What was the set you always wanted as a kid?

81) Have you ever made a LEGO movie?

82) Do you have any friends or acquaintences who are LEGO fans?

83) Do you have a particularly unique way you use a LEGO piece?

84) What’s your favorite Bionicle mask?

85) What’s your favorite game on LEGO.com?

86) What are your thoughts on “bad” train set #4561?

87) How many sets from the Train theme do you have?

88) How many train motors do you own?

89) What do you think of LEGO games (like ones for Game Boy Advance®)?

90) Have you ever been to LEGOLAND?

91) What would you do if you entered a “Dark Age?”

92) What do you think was the worst set LEGO ever released?

93) What type of creation do you most admire by professional-level LEGO builders?

94) What company do you think is The LEGO Company’s arch-nemesis?

95) Have you ever used LEGO design software (like LDraw, MLCad, or LEGO Digital Designer)?

96) Have you ever built anything that incorporated a motor?

97) Have you ever seen LEGO at a second-hand store?

98) Have you ever bought LEGO at a second-hand store?

99) Have you ever sold LEGO at a second-hand store?

100) Have you ever rebuilt a train?

“Moon-Viewing Sake” by Ichigou

Continuing from Sugegas’s “Udon-Making,” Ichigou has posted his first vignette, a shiritori entry titled “Moon-Viewing Sake:”

Moon-viewing, or tsukimi, parties usually take place on the night of the full moon in August. During these parties, people get together to listen to traditional music, compose poetry, and partake of traditional moon-viewing foods and beverages, including of course sake. (And for those who care about proper pronunciation of foreign words, it’s pronounced saké, as in LEGO! If it were pronounced “saki,” it would be spelled that way!)

The robed monk, the bamboo, and the inverted goblet to represent the sake bottle all combine to make this a wonderful, distinctly Japanese vignette.

“Udon-Making” by Sugegasa

Continuing from mumu’s wife’s “Kitarou,” Sugegasa recently posted a new entry, a vignette called “Udon-Making.” (Notice how the U in “Kitarou” carries over to the U in “Udon-Making?” Not all of them work in English like this, but this is a rare example of one that does.)

For those of you who haven’t had Japanese food lately, udon is a type of Japanese noodle made from wheat. (Soba is made from buckwheat.) Udon is generally served in a broth, with seafood, meat, or vegetables, although my favorite is cold udon you dip into a sauce, with various garnishes.

Udon is made by rolling out the dough, folding it over, repeating this process several times, and then cutting the dough into the noodles. Udon shops often feature a window where you can see the udon cook making fresh noodles. (One of my fondest memories is of the udon shop that occupied the first floor of the English school where my dad’s church met. I spent many hours overlooking the main street of Himeji, with the world-famous Himeji Castle dominating the end of the street.)

What I like about this vignette is that Sugegasa captures the rolling pin and dough perfectly, with just two simple pieces. The overall color scheme makes the minifig stand out nicely, though I’m not sure what Peter Pettigrew is doing… ;-)

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