Japanese and American Cultural Connections
Susan Tomlinson, Keizai Koho Fellow, 2008
Franklin Central High School, Indianapolis, Indiana
Lesson Description
There are many instances of cultural borrowing and cultural connections between the
United States and Japan. Using a story about a Japanese couple’s date at a Tokyo
baseball game, students will discover examples of English words that have made their
way into Japanese vocabulary. After a discussion of the story, students will be asked to
explore Japanese influence on American culture by writing a story of their own.
Objectives
Students will be able to:
-identify examples of cultural borrowing between the United States
and Japan.
-compare and contrast popular culture activities in the U.S. and Japan.
-locate various Tokyo attractions on a map
-create a story to illustrate ways in which their own experience has
been influenced by Japanese businesses, foods, culture and language
Materials Needed
A Date at the Tokyo Dome Story Handout, inspired by and adapted from a story
by Dr. Judith Berling
Answer Sheet and Answer Key
Paper, pen or pencil, map of Tokyo
Teacher Directions
This lesson could serve as an introduction to Japan and Japanese culture, or it could be
extended to include a project requiring students to dig deeper into understanding the ways
in which the cultures of Japan and the United States have been influenced by their
geography, natural resources, and interactions with each other. Additional resources are
listed that provide excellent information about the Tokyo Dome, Japanese baseball, and
different types of restaurants in Tokyo.
The story is filled with many examples of English words that have been borrowed or
adapted for use by the Japanese. These words that have a distinct Japanese
pronunciation. The hyphens have been added to assist in pronunciation. It is suggested
that the story be read in one of two ways. Students can be given the story to read alone or
in pairs or groups with the directive that they are to figure out the meanings of as many of
the words as they can on their own. An answer sheet is provided on which students can
write their answers. A shorter version of the activity would be for the teacher to read the
story aloud, pausing to allow students to volunteer the familiar English pronunciation of
the words as the teachers reads.
Following this, discuss the similarities and differences in the activities described in the
date compared to their American counterparts. Students can then brainstorm a list of
Japanese words that have made their way into American culture and write a story of an
American date that includes the use some of these Japanese words.
1
A Date at the Tokyo Dome
A college student named Yuji (yoo jee) planned a fun and romantic evening in Tokyo
with his girlfriend Noriko (no ree ko). He planned to meet her at the Suidobashi subway
stop near the Tokyo Dome where they would attend a be-su-bo-ru game later that
evening. After the game he planned a ride to the top of the Tokyo Tower for a romantic
view of the city.
Yuji arrived a half an hour early for their deet-o, because he needed to buy tickets for
the be-su-bo-ru game at the Lawson kon-bi-ni store. He entered the store and went to the
Loppi terminal where he used the touch screen menu to purchase tickets for tonight’s
game between the Yomiuri Giants and the Yakult Swallows. He walked around the store
for a few minutes, flipping through the pages of a manga magazine and looked at the
candies and fruits and the rows and rows of bento box lunches. The sight of all of this
food made him hungry. He left the store and strolled around the area surrounding the
Tokyo Dome Stadium. He noticed a statue of Colonel Sanders outside the KFC, and he
also passed a Starbucks and a Ma-ku-do-na-ru-do. The sights and smells of this made
him even more hungry, so he bought some a-i-su-ku-ri-mu as a snack.
Bento Lunch Box of fish, tofu
and vegetables
All photos by Susan Tomlinson
Makudonarudo or
McDonald’s
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He sat on a bench as he ate his a-i-suku-ri-mu and looked around the Tokyo
Dome complex. There was a small
amusement park with a roller coaster,
ferris wheel and one of those rides that
takes you high into the air and then just
drops you. He could hear the screams
of the riders as they experienced the
thrill of dropping almost a hundred feet.
Yuji checked his cell phone and
found that Noriko had left a message.
She sent a text saying that she would
like to get a bento meal at the game, and
then maybe they could stop at Starbucks
for a latte afterwards. He walked to the
subway station and got there just as
Noriko arrived. They entered the Tokyo
Dome and were handed a be-su-bo-ru
ka-a-do with a picture of one of the pure-yas. They bought some soft drinks
and a bento meal to share.
After Yuji and Noriko were seated,
they watched the pit-cha wa-mi-n-gu appu. Then the man at the ma-i-ku-ro-ho-n
shouted “Pu-re bo-ru.” The pu-re-yas
entered the field, politely greeted each
other and then the home chi-i-mu took
their position on the da-i-ya-mo-n-do.
The Yakult Swallows were up to
bat first, and so a me-n-ba of the team
came up to the pu-re-to. The pitch was
a su-ro-bo-ru which floated in
su-ro-mo-sho-n. This was the first
su-to-ra-i-ku a-u-to of the game, and there
was a loud ee-ru from the su-ta-n-do. As
Yugi looked over the lists of players in
the pu-ro-gu-ra-mu, he felt the lineups
read like a pee-ji from the “Hu-zu-hu obu Big-gu Ri-gu Be-su-bo-ru.”
The second batter got a hit-to,
although it dropped very near the right
field fa-u-ru ra-i-n. The ra-n-na looked as
it he might stretch it into a tau-be-su-hitto or even a su-ri-be-su-hito, or a ho-mu
ra-n. When he finally scored, the su-ko-a
bo-ru-do registered wa-n ra-n.
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And so on until the rak-ki se-be-n. At the end of the seventh inning, the fans were
ready for this special tradition of blowing up and then releasing thousands of long
balloons into the stands. Even though Yuji and Noriko had seen this before, it was
always a fun i-ben-to to witness.
However, Noriko was not a
big be-su-bu-ro fan, and she
was beginning to think that
perhaps they should continue
their evening somewhere else.
So she smiled sweetly and
asked what the result would be
if the ha-fu bak-ku should fa-nbu-ru on the kik-ku o-fu. Yuji
took the hin-to, but not before
they had been able to see some
action in the middle of a
batting su-ran-pu. The pi-n-chi
hit-ta was arguing with the pitcha. The kot-chi on third base
looked about to blow a hyu-zu,
and it generally was a case of
puu-su-po-tsu-ma-n-ship-pu.
Noriko and Yuji exited the dome, and as they walked out to the street, they learned that
the Yomiuri Giants had won by w-an r-an. “Hip-pu, hip-pu hu-re.”
Noriko said that she would like to go to a de-su-ko. It was too far to woo-ku, so Yuji
hailed a ta-ku-shi, and headed for a place near the Tokyo Tower that had good de-su-komy-uu-jik-ku . By the time they got there, it was too late for ko-ku-te-ru or sha-n-pe-n or
even bu-ra-n-de or u-i-su-ki, or bi-ru, so they walked down the street to a Starbucks and
Yuji had an o-ren-n-ji ju-su and Noriko had a.large koohi-i-kap-pu of latte with lots of sa-tou.
Yuji wanted to end the evening with a romantic view
of the city from the top of the Tokyo Tower. They bought
their tickets and rode the elevator to the top. He told
Noriko how lovely she was, more beautiful than any
mo-der-u or anyone on te-re-bi-jo-n or movies, and then
he gave her a pu-re-sen-to of a keychain with the Yomiuri
Giants emblem and a key to his heart. Noriko smiled
sweetly and took his hand and squeezed it gently. He put
his arms around her and hugged her tightly, feeling the
beating of his haa-to. He stepped back and gave her a
short ki-su. They were on top of the Tokyo Tower and on
top of the world as they dreamed of their future together.
A hap-pi en-do!
Inspired by and adapted from a story by Judith Berling.
Tokyo Tower
4
Directions: As you read the story, fill in
the English words.
be-su-bo-ru –
i-ben-to -
deet-o -
be-su-bu-ro –
kon-bi-ni store –
ha-fu bak-ku –
Ma-ku-do-na-ru-do –
fa-n-bu-ru –
a-i-su-ku-ri-mu –
kik-ku o-fu –
be-su-bo-ru ka-a-do –
hin-to –
pu-re-yas –
su-ran-pu –
pit-cha wa-mi-n-gu ap-pu –
pi-n-chi hit-ta –
ma-i-ku-ro-ho-n –
pit-cha –
Pu-re bo-ru –
kot-chi –
chi-i-mu –
hyu-zu –
da-i-ya-mo-n-do –
puu-su-po-tsu-ma-n-ship-pu –
me-n-ba –
w-an r-an –
pu-re-to –
Hip-pu, hip-pu hu-re –
su-ro-bo-ru –
de-su-ko –
su-ro-mo-sho-n –
woo-ku –
su-to-ra-i-ku a-u-to –
ta-ku-shi –
ee-ru –
de-su-ko-my-uu-jik-ku –
su-ta-n-do –
ko-ku-te-ru -
pu-ro-gu-ra-mu –
sha-n-pe-n –
pee-ji –
bu-ra-n-de –
Hu-zu-hu o-bu
Big-gu Ri-gu Be-su-bo-ru –
hit-to –
u-i-su-ki –
fa-u-ru ra-i-n –
ra-n-na –
bi-ru –
o-ren-n-ji ju-su –
koo-hi-i-kap-pu –
tau-be-su-hit-to –
sa-tou -
su-ri-be-su-hito –
mo-der-u -
ho-mu ra-n –
su-ko-a bo-ru-do –
wa-n ra-n –
rak-ki se-be-n –
te-re-bi-jo-n –
pu-re-sen-to –
haa-to –
ki-su hap-pi en-do –
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Key for Words
be-su-bo-ru – baseball
deet-o - date
kon-bi-ni store – convenience store
Ma-ku-do-na-ru-do – McDonald’s
a-i-su-ku-ri-mu – ice cream
be-su-bo-ru ka-a-do – baseball card
pu-re-yas – players
pit-cha wa-mi-n-gu ap-pu – pitcher
warming up
ma-i-ku-ro-ho-n – microphone
Pu-re bo-ru – play ball
chi-i-mu – team
da-i-ya-mo-n-do – diamond
me-n-ba – member
pu-re-to – plate
su-ro-bo-ru – slow ball
su-ro-mo-sho-n – slow motion
su-to-ra-i-ku a-u-to – strike out
ee-ru – yell
su-ta-n-do – stand
pu-ro-gu-ra-mu – program
pee-ji – page
Hu-zu-hu o-bu Big-gu Ri-gu Be-su-boru – Who’s Who of Big League Baseball
hit-to – hit
fa-u-ru ra-i-n – foul line
ra-n-na – runner
tau-be-su-hit-to – two base hit
su-ri-be-su-hito – three base hit
ho-mu ra-n – home run
su-ko-a bo-ru-do – score board
wa-n ra-n – one run
rak-ki se-be-n – lucky seven
i-ben-to - event
be-su-bu-ro – baseball
ha-fu bak-ku – half back
fa-n-bu-ru – fumble
kik-ku o-fu – kick off
hin-to – hinto
su-ran-pu –slump
pi-n-chi hit-ta – pinch hitter
pit-cha – pitcher
kot-chi – coach
hyu-zu – fuse
puu-su-po-tsu-ma-n-ship-pu – poor
sportsmanship
w-an r-an – one run
Hip-pu, hip-pu hu-re – Hip, Hip Hooray!
de-su-ko – disco
woo-ku – walk
ta-ku-shi – taxi
de-su-ko-my-uu-jik-ku – disco music
ko-ku-te-ru - cocktails
sha-n-pe-n – champagne
bu-ra-n-de – brandy
u-i-su-ki – whiskey
bi-ru – beer
o-ren-n-ji ju-su – orange juice
koo-hi-i-kap-pu – coffee cup
sa-tou - sugar
mo-der-u - model
te-re-bi-jo-n – television
pu-re-sen-to – present
haa-to – heart
ki-su - kiss
hap-pi en-do – happy ending
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Additional Teachers’ Background information
Resources
Tokyo Map
http://www.cityofnanaimo.com/asia/Japan/Tokyo.pdf
Tokyo Dome
www.tokyodome-hotels.co.jp/e/index.html
Tokyo Tower
http://www.tokyotower.co.jp/english/
Yomiuri Giants Website
http://www.giants.jp/top.html
Guide to Japanese Baseball
http://www.baywell.ne.jp/users/drlatham/baseball/home/home.htm
YouTube Pep Rally
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAj5R79F28Q
Online Japanese Dictionary of Foreign Words
http://www.docoja.com/kata/katatxtg87.html
This site contains Japanese words of foreign origins. The teacher can use this site to
compile additional words to create a story similar to the story from this lesson. The site
allows the user to search for words related to topics such as amusements, food, etc. Note,
however, that there is a search category for sex that contains several words that are
inappropriate for the classroom.
Not Just Sushi
http://www.edb.utexas.edu/japanese/sushi.php
This is an excellent website that was created for 6th graders in Texas but is appropriate for
use in upper grades. It provides students an opportunity to interactively explore different
foods and restaurants in Tokyo. This includes a soba restaurant, fast food, sushi, and
western food, as well as home cooking. Superior site!
7
Extended Activities
Ask students to list as words we use in English that have their origins in Japanese. This
would include brand names, food, sports, names, games and could include movies, comic
book/manga and anime characters, etc. Some words may be used in Japan but may have
origins from other Asian countries (such as Ramen noodles which are Chinese noodles or
various words related to martial arts), and this determination can be made from an online
search and be used to further illustrate cultural borrowing of words and terms between
other nations. The following is a sample list generated by a high school World
Geography class and can serve as an example or a springboard.
Honda
Toyota
Suzuki
Kawasaki
Yamaha
Mitsubushi
Sony
Panasonic
Mazda
Toshiba
Sushi
Teriyaki
Tofu
Fujiyama
Fuji
Ramen (Chinese noodles)
Soba
Bamboo
Godzilla
Jujitsu
Judo
Kendo
Hole in the Wall
Pokemon
karate
Samurai
Sake
Konichi wa
Sensei
Shogun
Kamikaze
sudoko
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