The topic of Japanese herbivore men (soushokudanshi)  has been in the news for the last few years in both Japan and oversees news outlets and blogs. Many of these websites have a plethora of information on this cultural phenomenon. However, very few news sites and blogs, if any, cover why these men choose to not proactively seek romantic relationships. The goal of this article is to cover this gap and to clarify some misconceptions on soushokudanshi.

The term soushokudanshi (soushoku = plant eater Danshi = male), or herbivore men, is  a male who does not proactively seek women for a romantic relationship. In its place, these men tend to focus more on their hobbies.

Here are some common misconceptions and poimts i would like to clarify on herbivore men:

1. Soushokudanshi does not translate to grass eating man. It simply means herbivore. the misconception comes from directly translating the kanji to English.

2. Soushokudanshi are feminine men. Some men behave femininely, but this is an individual preference and not a defining characteristic of the group. These men are simply males who do not proactively seek women for love relationships and a good number of them do not prescribe to the
hypermasculized model of how a male should behave.

3. Some articles claim that these men are not interested in sex. Really?! Do I really have to respond? These men are highly interested in sex, as all humans are, but chose to not proactively seek a relationship with a woman.

4. There has not been an effort to clearly distinguish soushokudanshi from males who simply lack the self-confidence to approach women. I have read interviews with men who claimed to be soushokudanshi but their reason for not proactively seeking relationships were based on self-confidence, and not, a lack of interest in seeking romantic relationships. To ensure the term has a clear definition, i propose that it should only be used for men who lack an interest in romantic relationships for reasons other than self-confidence. Also, it should be noted that the term soushokudanshi has a much lower stigma than being called a “man with low confidence.”

Why are herbivore men not proactively seeking a romantic relationship with women?

1. Soushokudanshi avoid proactively seeking women is because of social expectations on men in relationships. If a soushokudanshi has a long-term relationship with a woman, she will expect him to have a stable career and that would ultimately end with him being a wage slave with very little social, personal, and work freedom. The very thing these men are rebelling against. If more Japanese women were comfortable with a lifestyle based on freedom to live your life the way you want and not on social status, there would be more men actively seeking women for romantic relationships.

Additionally, many Japanese men are exposed to parents who are in a love less relationship or even worse, where the wife feels the husband is a nuisance around the home when he is not at work. Also, it is not uncommon to have parents in their 50s+ who sleep in different beds. Seeing their father’s work long soul draining hours to come back to a home where they are not wanted probably has a negative psychological effect to any children in the home.

2. Soushokudanshi also avoid proactively seeking women because having a girlfriend is time consuming and expensive. Going on dates, movies, zoos, etc and hanging out together can cost a lot of money and take up a lot of free time, so soushokudanshi opt out by using time and money on their passions.

3. The INTERNET – men now have 24 hour access to a plethora of naked women and sex videos on the Internet. Rather than watching bad film quality 80s porn and looking at your dad’s playboy to get your hand solo grove on, you can easily view a wide variety of races, genres, and sizes of porn at your fingertips. With men out of juice to chase the goose, the desire to seek women for romantic relationships decreases – these men don’t need a women to get sexual pleasure.

4. Everyone has emotional needs, but many women are extremely needy and want a guy who will meet all their emotional needs and insecurities. Being with a women who has a lot of insecurities and emotional needs can be extremely draining for a man

5.

This is a very important question to ask when making a decision to learn a new skill or trade. Are the energy, money and time invested in the hunt worth the catch (the skill or trade gained)? Could your time and money be spent more wisely for something more enjoyable or profitable? Choosing unwisely could cost you hours of valuable time, money and energy.

What triggered me to ask the question “Is the catch worth the hunt?” is the fact that I am at a fork in the road with several paths in front of me. On the one hand, I would like to work in a Japanese company; on the other hand, I would like to work as a part-time English teacher and freelance Japanese to English translator. Whatever road I choose, I must devote a tremendous amount of time and energy to polish my current skills and to develop new ones.

For example, if I want to work in a Japanese company, I will have to devote hundreds of hours to learn how to write Chinese characters and speak business Japanese. If I head in the direction of being a freelance translator, I will have to study English grammar, write compositions everyday, and study translation. This is where the question of “Is the catch worth the hunt?” comes into play. Would the hunt to learn English grammar (at a professional level) be worth the time spent hunting it? My answer would be yes, if I choose to become a translator. No, if I choose to work in a Japanese company.

Basically, what I am trying to say is that every time we devote ourselves to learning a new skill, we are giving up an opportunity to improve current skills or to develop new skills. This presents a problem because the amount of time we have is finite and it forces us to prioritize between choices. It is for this very reason I must put off learning Chinese and many other things for now – improving my Japanese is much more important.

Take a look at the things you are studying or doing now. Is the catch worth the hunt?

Part. 2 Hobbies

Amakudari? What’s that?

This week Japan’s Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said he would end “Amakudari.”

What does Amakudari mean?

The word Amakudari originally referred to a God coming down from heaven. Presently, it refers to Bureaucrats (People who work in a Government Office) who after finishing work in a government position find employment in a company or organization that has deep ties with the Government Office they worked in. In its present use, heaven is the government office and the God is the Bureaucrat. It is quite grandiose isn’t it?

However, why must they stop doing Amakudari?

One reason for it is because a majority of the former Bureaucrats who did Amakudari became the top of the organizations they joined and receive a very high salary. The Bureaucrats are people who went through a very hard examination, but even so, it is dishonest for them to enter work in such a blessed job just for working in a government position. Another problem is that a majority of these organizations receive a lot of work from government agency. Normally when the government agency entrusts a project to a company or organization, various companies compete and the company that offers the lowest price receives the contract.

However, there are many cases where government agencies entrust a project to an organization (that do Amakudari) without any bidding. There are also suspicions on whether overly large sums of money are being paid to the organizations because there is no competition – money that originally comes from the taxpayers. This is a problem because taxpayers’ money is being used as the source for the high salaries.

The result of an investigation by the Japanese Board of Audit reports that the companies and organizations that Amakudari Bureaucrats belong to receive 25x more money from government agencies than groups that Amakudari do not belong to. Moreover, the former Bureaucrats who became the top of an Amakudari related organization retired after several years of service in the organization – only to pass the position to the next person from the same government office – and started employment for another organization. Even here, they receive a salary and can receive a severance pay after working for several years.

It is also said that the Bureaucrats, in order to have an organization to go to after leaving an Amakudari related organization, come up with a new project on purpose and create an organization to run it. This practice of wondering from one organization to another – after finishing up their time at an Amakudari related organization – like a migratory bird is called “watari.” There are even some people who make several million dollars in the end from repeatedly wandering from one organization to another, receiving severance pay several times. And the system has been criticized for this.

How did Amakudari start?

A Bureaucrat enters government office and works for a while and then receives a managerial position (Section Chief assistant, etc). However, there are not enough managerial positions for everyone and with a rise in position is a rapid decrease in the amount of positions available – According to Japanese law, a person can work until they are 60 years old, but Bureaucrats who can’t receive a managerial position are asked to quit by the Government, even if they are young – and concerning high managerial positions, the amount of people who can work until the set age of 60 is very small. So the Bureaucrats who must quit need a place to work. For this reason the Amakudari system was created.

This time, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said he will put an end to Amakudari. Next, he made a wide call out to all organizations that receive Amakudari, and told them to gather the people who are employed in those positions. However, it will take more than this to solve the Amakudari problem – it is an irresponsible plan unless there is a place for the Bureaucrats to work.

To solve this problem, the Democratic Party of Japan (the Prime Minister’s political party) will make it so the Bureaucrats can work until the age of 65 (the age people can receive a pension). Also, because it is impossible for everyone to be promoted, it is necessary for the Government to create a law that enables a structure where even if a person gets older they can receive a lower managerial position. Even the Democratic party of Japan recognizes that the Bureaucrats are lined up with people of high ability. And even if Amakudari is completely ended, I would like a structure designed to give the Bureaucrats a way to work for the public.

例えば、僕はよく「たくさんをする」というパターンを使った。ある日、GOOGLEに「たくさんをする」と「たくさんをたべた」を検索して見ると、何も出て来なかったんだ。でも、「たくさん食べた」を検索したら、数えきれないくらいのサイトが出てきた。その結果で「たくさんを食べた」という文例が正しい日本語ではないと分かった。
GOOGLEのおかげできれいにした文法（もっとたくさんあるよ！ ）：

GOOGLEを使った前 GOOGLEを使った後

かもしらない かもしれない
たくさんをたべる たくさんたべる
これは肉だか これは肉ですか

In my case, I used the Japanese phrase たくさんをたべる（takusan wo taberu）a lot. Using the strange looks I received from my girlfriend as a rise to action, I plugged into Google the phrase “takusan wo taberu,” and “takusan wo suru.” To my dismay, there was nothing, nadarino. Knowing something was wrong, I fiddled with the phrase – erasing the particle “wo” – and searched for “takusan taberu.”

The result was 180-degree turn in the right direction: tons of sites popped up. Using this as evidence, I felt it was safe to confirm that the phrase I have been using for the past several years was incorrect – an injustice of epic proportions on the thousands of helpless Japanese brethren I was spitting my poison to. Thanks to Google – and the millions of Japanese Google users – I was able to fix not only the example given above, but the many other cracks on my Japanese language exoskeleton.

I was shocked and unprepared to hear such a preposterous statement. How can a person be close to someone they don’t like? He explained that Japanese people feel that they can reveal their true selves (本音) with their childhood pals, while they are unable to reveal their true selves to their University and work pals. The reason is because the latter can judge and scorn them while the former cannot. Due to the relationships and bonds between their parents and their childhood friend’s parents, Japanese people cannot easily break away with childhood friends. Cutting off relations with a childhood friend may create frictions between their families (People who attend the same elementary and junior high school live in the same school district). 　

What do you think happens when you create a situation where the other person feels they cannot break off your relationship, despite your behavior? Obviously, you would feel free to behave in whatever way you wanted. This clearly explains why many Japanese feel they can open the curtains on their true self while securing the binds when dealing with non-childhood pals. Why restrain yourself when the other person can’t “voluntarily” leave the relationship.

This is a classic example of a power relationship and a lingering of Japanese village society. How does a man who bought his wife treat her? How do men treat their wives in countries where women have few or little rights? Even between siblings you can see many cases where one sibling treats another badly. Of course, there are people who are kind despite having the upper hand, but in situations where this is not the case, what is the main reason why the relationship continues? Well, in all three cases the people involved cannot freely leave the leave relationship.

A Dictionary of basic Japanese Grammar by Japan Times and Native Anthropology are the only two exceptions

Self Help:

Rich Dad Poor Dad

Novels:

The Cobweb by Neal Stephenson and J. Frederick George

Gates of Fire: An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae by Steven Pressfieldo

The Thirteen Problems by Agatha Christie (Mass Market Paperback – 1984)

Memnoch the Devil (Vampire Chronicles) by Anne Rice

Shogun by James Clavell

Temple Of The Golden Pavilion by Yukio Mishima 1978 edition and same cover

The Chronicles of Riddick by Alan Dean Foster (200 yen)

The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice (Paperback – 1993)

The Tale of the Body Thief by Anne Rice (Paperback – 1992)

The Trial – Kafka New

The Gossamer Years

Japan:

This I Say To Japan (Hardcover – 2002)

「NO」と言えるアジア―The voice of Asia by マハティール・モハマッド,石原 慎太郎, and Frank Baldwin

THE WALL OF FOOLS? (English Translation)

The Dignity of the Nation -

Native Anthropology: The Japanese Challege to Western Academic Hegemony (Japanese Society) by Takami Kuwayama (1500 yen) (A good book for those interested in Japanese Anthropology. (4000 yen on Amazon used)

Sumo Showdown: The Hawaiian Challenge by Philip Sandoz

Non-Fiction

Everything Bad is Good for You by Steven Johnson

Silent Spring by Rachel Carson

Our Stolen Future: Are We Threatening Our Fertility, Intelligence and Survival? – A Scientific Detective Story by Theo Colborn,etc.,Dianne Dumanoski, and John Peterson Meyers

Armageddon Oil and the Middle East Crisis: What the Bible Says About the Future of the Middle East and the End of Western Civilization by John F. Walvoord

Ways of Seeing: Based on the BBC Television Series by John Berger

An outline of American government by Richard C Schroeder (200 yen)

An Outline of American Geography by United States Information
Agency (200 yen)

Toward Sustainable Science by P.A. Payutto and Bruce Evans

EMU Explained: The Impact of the Euro by Kogan Page

The Roaring Nineties: Why We’re Paying the Price for the Greediest Decade in History by Joseph E. Stiglitz

Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who
Took Vegas for Millions by Ben Mezrich

Rebound: Odyssey of Michael Jordan by Bob Greene

Japanese:

不可能を可能にする人生論―夢は必ず実現できる by 赤塚 充良（FREE with purchase of 3 books or 100 yen)

古事記 (くもんのまんが古典文学館)　（Kojiki Manga by Kumon, good for someone studying Japanese）

A Dictionary of basic Japanese Grammar by Japan Times (1200 yen)

Complete master Series (Kanzen Master) JLPT 3 Grammar book

(Last minute Amakudari) A mind-blowing 91.6% of The Japan Fishers Association’s income is subsidized!

This article is a part of my series called Voices from Japan, which entails translating opinion pieces done by Japanese bloggers into English. This entry is on an article by a member of Greenpeace Japan and focuses on Amakudari: a system of giving cozy positions to retiring high-ranking government officials in semi-private and private organizations in return for favors while in office. And specifically this article will focus on Toshirou Shirasu, a former vice-minister of the MAFF, who received an Amakudari position on the dawn of the transition of political power to the Democratic Party of Japan (the first shift in power in Japan since 19 ) and their planned crackdown of Amakudari. You can read the original Japanese at the blogger’s site.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, or MAFF, was shaken up last September with the illegality of the reselling of contaminated rice. Its former vice-minister Toshirou Shirasu (who was forced to quit after the incident) was appointed as Chairman of the Japan Fishers Association. After it was found out, his appointment was criticized as “last minute Amakudari,”or the last minute rush for retiring high-ranking government officials to lucrative jobs in a private or semi-private corporation right before the Democratic Party of Japan’s reformation – a big part of which is aimed at getting rid of Amakudari).

Toshirou Shirasu’s work history is easily noticed, as he was the vice-minister of the MAFF when the illegal reselling of contaminated rice was discovered. However, his appointment as Chairman of the Japan Fishers Association is not surprising because he was the former director of the Japanese Fisheries Agency – he worked as the director of the Japanese Fisheries Agency; then rose to become vice-minister of the MAFF. And despite being forced to resign over the illegal reselling of contaminated rice was appointed as Chairman of the Japan Fishers Association.

The Japan Fishers Association is without doubt an assembly of the Japanese fishing industry. And, why did the former Chairman, Isao Nakasu, suddenly vacate his position to Toshirou Shirasu? According to the website of the Japan Fishers Association, Isao Nakasu’s last position was the Chairman of the Forestry Agency; but, he was also a former Chairman of the Japanese Fisheries Agency, and therefore higher up on the Amakudari ladder than Toshirou Shirasu. Click here for the Japan Fishers Association’s website.

Note: In the Amakudari system, a person higher on the Amakudari ladder will hand over a position to a person lower on the ladder who just retired. For example, Isao Nakasu handed over his post as Chairman to Toshirou Shirasu – he was Chairman of the Japanese Fisheries Agency before Toshirou Shirasu was and is therefore higher on the ladder. Later, Toshirou Shirasu will hand over the position to another former Chairman of the Japanese Fisheries Agency – a person who served as Chairman after his term of service.

In short, the Japan Fishers Association’s president position is the reserved Amakudari seat for former Japanese Fisheries Agency directors. And the yearly salary for the president is a surprising 186,000 dollars. (If he has a good conscience), he must be feeling the cold stares of the fisherman who are being forced into hard times.

After looking into this case a little bit more, the thing I was most surprised by is the amount of subsidies the Japan Fishers Association receives from the Japanese Fisheries Agency and the percentage of the association’s income it encompasses. In 2007, it received 182.9 million dollars from the Japan Fisheries Agency, or a whooping 91% of its total income!

Certainly, I understand the explanation that one important reason for the group is its emergency price measures for the sudden increases in gasoline prices. However, either way, it is a group that is addicted and dependent on subsidies, and if there were no subsidies it would have no meaning to exist (The group was created to help fisherman, but a part of the subsidies is also being used a site for providing a lush position to retired bureaucrats).

At the Japan Fishers Association the bureaucrats – the former directors of the Japanese Fishers Agency – are doing Amakudari, so it can be said there is the typical damage done by the practice of Amakudari: the practice where people secure a cascade of subsidies during their active duty in government, and the group that receives subsidies guarantees an Amakudari seat for the bureaucrat to lean on has been continuing for a long time.

The other day, I had a chance to talk to a reporter. The reporter said, “Even within The MAFF, the Japanese Fishers Agency is a null zone.” The part that goes unnoticed (The Japanese Fishers Agency) does not go through a process of self-purification, and the old tendency to form collusive relationships remains as if fossilized – and the reporter recommends and hopes for the excavating of The Japanese Fishers Agency.

Continuing the talk on Toshirou Shirasu, even amidst my accusations of the misappropriation of whale meat during his time as the vice-minister of The MAFF, he kept repeating favorable statements (for example, denying claims of any misappropriation) for the Institute of Cetacean Research (ICR) and the Kyoudou Senpaku, a company that hunts the whales, in response to the reporter’s questions. The Kyoudou Senpaku and the ICR are principle members of the Japan Fishers Association. And the President of Kyoudou Senpaku, Yamamura (no first name given), and Hirofumi Nakayama of the ICR serve as permanent members on the board of directors for the Japan Fishers Association.

For this reason, I wonder if Toshirau Shirasu was already thinking about his future position as the Chairman of the Japan Fishers Association when we questioned Toshirau Shirasu with our accusations.

Website of the Japan Fishers Association:

http://www.suisankai.or.jp/index_e.html

Flicker Id: vegetarian.U

Note: the Japanese word salaryman refers to the singular, salaryman, and the plural, salarymen.

Come on Japanese people, if you want to improve Japanese family life, you gotta show the salaryman some love! And vice versa!

What image do you see when you hear the words “Japanese salaryman”? Taking highway stereotype, the images that probably appear on the billboards to your left are men who are dead serious and with no ounce of smile juice left in their face; to your right are possibly men with black suits, glasses, a mushroom haircut, or perhaps no hair at all. When I hear the words Japanese salaryman, I think of a hard working, self-sacrifing, and most of all under appreciated Japanese men who are constantly juggling the overwhelming weights of family and work: a problem that has created bitter conflict between families and fathers, a conflict that can only be solved by their families showing the salaryman some love and gratitude. And more importantly, the salaryman must view the family as having more importance than work. If not, Japanese family life will continue to drift down a negative spiral.

Japan has changed into a completely different life form compared to its battered remains after WW2. It has gone through a rapid transition, beyond all expectations, to become the world’s second strongest economy. To achieve Japan’s current economic wealth, the Japanese public had to make many sacrifices – a sacrifice that can especially be seen in the modern family. A Japanese salaryman must work long hours and make long commutes to and from the office; transfer at a moments notice; and participate in after-work drinking sessions with co-workers. These three things have become a trinity of trouble in destroying Japanese households.

The first part of the trinity, Japanese people putting long hours at the office, is nothing new to the ears of a westerner. The workday, including transportation, for many Japanese men ranges from 11-16 hours a day; combine this with a 6-day workweek and you get one tough work schedule. For example, especially near Tokyo, people commuting 1-½ hours – 2 hours (one-way) to work is the norm. Merge this with an 8 – 12 hour workday and you get a schedule I would not like to have anytime soon. I have experienced riding a packed Japanese train for almost a year as I commuted to my Japanese school in Osaka. Although it was only a 35- minute ride, being unable to move or sit the whole time does suck your energy out.

The second part, moving at a moments notice, causes a lot of loneliness and friction in Japanese families: Japanese men, who despite having a wife, children, and a house, must transfer from one branch to another when ordered to – depending on the company, turning this down can be career suicide. It is common for the father to move alone, leaving their family behind when a company branch is in another Prefecture or region of Japan. Often the wives refuse to go because of the children’s education: the quality of education and educational opportunities in the big city are much better – especially when the child has passed the entrance exam to a good Junior or Senior High School.

The third part of the trinity, participating in the nomikai – although an event that is decreasing in frequency compared to years past – continues to play a big part of company work life. As mentioned in the article in the link below, the nomikai is an event for co-workers to get to know one another in a more relaxed atmosphere and to facilitate group communication and bonds. Using it as an excuse to eat delicious food and drink nice cold brews certainly helps to create a proper environment suitable for socialization. On the flip side, what wife wants a husband that comes home late at night (10-12) piss drunk, smelling of sweat and smoke? Also, what child wants an invisible father?

Thanks to the trinity, the Japanese salary men are currently the most under appreciated life form in Japan. The level of respect for them is much lower than the lowest bow could ever reach – truly at the nadir of the spectrum. I will go as far as saying that Fido is higher on the family pecking order than a salaryman is. I’m not saying they are angels or that they are cuter than dogs, but I am saying the breadwinner should at least be thanked for his self-sacrifice and long hours in a high stress environment. Doing so will make the salaryman feel more appreciated and may possibly give them an invisible tap on the shoulder to make an extra effort to spend more time with family. Derision and shouting will not improve the situation; it will only create more tension in both parties.

All of this is a clear sign that all is not and well in the land of the rising sun. Why do some men avoid going home until their wife is asleep? Is it because after a long stressful 11-16 hour workday, they come home to happy children and wife with arms wide open? Actually it’s a 180-degree turn in the opposite direction: many men come home to be ignored or verbally abused by their wives – and for some poor fellows, their children are already asleep. On the other hand, this is what happens when a man places more importance on work over the family. Salarymen must notice that drinking till late at night with co-workers is detrimental to their relationships with their wife and children and it can reach a point of no return if not careful.

Japan must go about creating a society that places equal or more importance on the family overwork. Salarymen especially, must make an effort to improve family life by spending less time at work and helping their family out more – just bringing home the bacon is not going to cut it. Saying this is easier said than done, however. The system of “coerced” unpaid overtime is deeply entrenched and the need to go out drinking with your superiors and subordinates is still important as ever for bonding with co-workers. Only through an awareness of the problems (on the family and the worker himself) caused by paid/unpaid overtime work system and nomikai, can we make a start to improve Japanese family life.

Note:

1. If the Japanese government truly wants the population to make more babies, it has to create an environment where men and women have the time to make babies. If Japanese family life is suffering, couples won’t find the groove to reproduce.

2. Obviously, not all Japanese salarymen are angels, and many should make an effort to improve family life. At the same time, I believe salarymen need to be thanked and appreciated for their hard work and sacrifice. Only through mutual understanding, concern, and love can Japan recover from this negative spiral destroying families.

3. I often drink at a standing bar near my place: a bar basically where everyone eat appetizers and drink alcohol while standing; like an American bar counter without the stools. Almost 95% of the customers are men; of that 95%, a majority are in their mid-thirties or older. About 10-15% are retired men and most customers come in with friends or co-workers, and rarely alone – except for me! While there, I talk to whoever is around – another way of saying I talk to salaryman. According to many customers and the bar owner, a good number of the salaryman go there to avoid having to go home until their family is asleep or to reduce the amount of time spent home.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/peter3060/2050494752/

Here’s a link to another post I did on Yojijyukugo.

I recommend checking out the link for Wikipedia’s page (English version) on Yojijyukugo. After translating the Japanese page, I realized the English page is much better. Anyhow, if you want to get another perspective on it, you are welcome to read my translation.

Yojijyukugo refers to Japanese idioms formed from four-kanji compounds.

In the Chinese language, most of the yojijyukugo are constructed from a type of idiom called seigo. And most seigo are created from traditions and Chinese classical literature. In the case where there is a background story or reason, a lot of information can be conveyed – compared with the amount of characters used.  Yojijyukugo also helps writers to convey their thoughts to others with the same knowledge, and when used properly, can make an educational point easy to understand. Finally, with yojijyukugo, an author can compose a sentence with a deep meaning with only one four-kanji compound (for example: bitter enemies – placed by fate – in the same boat).

Regardless of the expression, there are two types of yojijyukugo: one in which the word derives its meaning from the combination of 4 Kanji characters, each symbolic of the what the compound expresses. For example, Jyakuniku Kyoushoku – weak + meat + strong + eat. Refers to “the weak become meat and the strong eat.” And the second type consists of the combination of two two-character Chinese words (Seizonkyousou – existence + battle = the struggle for existence). In both types, it is safe to say that each individual Chinese character has a unique meaning in itself. However, in the yojijyukugo created by the Japanese there is one word 見敵必滅 (see + enemy + certainly/at all costs + annihilate), which translates to “If you see an enemy, annihilate them at all costs.” In Chinese, it translates to “If you see an enemy, you will definitely be destroyed or seeing your enemy is a definite sign of your ruin.” And there are other examples where the Japanese and Chinese interpretations completely differ.

However, in the yojijyukugo created by the Japanese there is one word 見敵必滅 (see + enemy + certainly/at all costs + annihilate), which translates to “If you see an enemy, annihilate them at all costs.” In Chinese, it translates to “If you see an enemy, you will definitely be destroyed or seeing your enemy is a definite sign of your ruin.” And there are other examples where the Japanese and Chinese interpretations completely differ.

Knowing these well is seen as a sure way of showing one’s refinement. For this reason, yojijyukugo appears on many types of common knowledge tests and appears from level 5 to 1 of the Kanji Kentei (A test taken to test one’s knowledge of Kanji). On the contrary, not knowing your yojijyukugo is a reason for becoming a target of ridicule. An example of this is the bakachara (Stupid characters: celebrities known for being not intelligent. Paris Hilton would be considered a bakachara), when they are laughed at for making a mistake on a yojijyukugo question.