If we manage to stay on track, it looks like we only have four more weeks before we've exhausted the grammar points of our book of choice. Which is good, since we only have about 7 or 8 weeks until the test. For those of your reading this with the test in mind, it would be a good idea to click on the "2 kyuu" tag at the bottom of this post. It will automatically call up ALL of our grammar posts for your perusal, making it a pretty sweet study guide. Also, if anybody declares their interest, I'm in the process of making an anki deck that includes all of these grammar points. Pretty swish, huh?
If you don't know what anki is, check it out here. I'm normally pretty lax at reviewing a lot of things, largely because I don't have a good system for it and I feel like sitting down without a set goal just makes me bored and/or frustrated. But the nice thing about anki is it lets you set your own daily goals and whatnot, not to mention edit and synch your cards. Go check it out if you're in need of a good computer-based review system.
All that out of the way, this last weekend I went to the Tokyo Game Show, a trip I had also made last year. It's fun for a lot of reasons, but it's also just as taxing - if not more so - than it is entertaining. And I'll tell you why.
151) ～はともかく ・ ～はともかくとして
Right now ~ isn't the issue/problem/concern/reason, it's ...
Putting ~ aside, ...
I'm having trouble coming up with an apt English translation for this phrase. The idea is that you are talking about two things that are somehow related, but the first thing you mentioned is not the current subject or point of interest. What you write AFTER it is.
Ex. TGS (Tokyo Game Show)の出席者達は、ヲタクともかくとして、あんまり洗わない人が多すぎると思う。僕が気にしなかったんですが、つれた友達はずっと体臭について文句言った。
152) ～はもちろん
~is a given, but .... is also true.
Not only ~, but also ...
This one is best explained with examples, but I'll hazard more forms speculation anyway. The word you mention before this phrase is something that should be obvious, and the things that follow it are less so. Both things are nouns. BEHOLD.
Ex. TGS言えばゲームはもちろん、ブースベーブと言うモデルやライブ演奏もある。
153) ～はもとより
Not only ~, but ....
This one is almost exactly like the previous はもちろん, with the addition that whatever phrase you use after this expression has more emphasis. Not to say the above can't be the same way, but はもとより stresses that point even more.
Ex. そのゲームショーに行きたいなら、旅行時間はもとより線で待ち時間も我慢できないぐらいある。
154) ～反面 （～半面） (both read as "はんめん")
On one hand, ~, on the other, ....
Another nice cleancut grammar point. You use this to string together two contradictory aspects of the same thing, LIKE SO.
Ex. TGSで四回目のコスプレできました！コスプレするごとは楽しい反面仮装を作ることが難しい。
155) ～べき ・ ～べきではない
~should/must and shouldn't/mustn't, respectively
Another one I knew from a long time ago, if only from hearing "守るべき" a MILLION times in as many different anime. And since you just tack it onto a dictionary form of a verb, usage couldn't be easier.
Ex. ゲームが好きと日本に住むなら、一回少なくともTGSを見に行くべきだ。しかしその一回は多分もう十分です。
I should be adding some pictures once I upload them. BRETT, OUT!
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
2級 Grammar 146-150
No sooner than I start bragging about being all on the ball with my Japanese studies, and I'm running about half a week late on a grammar post! You have my sincere apologies.
But I managed to find a part time job, and I'm trying to make as much as I can, so I've been taking on a bunch of hours, plus I went to New Orleans this last weekend for a friend's birthday.
So now that I'm catching up, what would you rather I write about: my weekend in New Orleans, or spending eight hours a day conducting telephone surveys?
Yeah. I thought so.
146) ～のみならず
~ not only
~ as well as
This one is pretty straightforward: when you use it, you're placing the emphasis on whatever follows the のみならず clause. X のみならず Y means that while X might be the norm, Y is surprising, or of particular interest. Here's some book examples:
人間のみならず動物もストレス感じるという。
この株は、安定性が高いのみならず、将来性も
Here's mine:
Ex. New Orleans は Mardi Gras という淫乱な祭りのおかげで有名なので、お酒やパーティが好きな人に人気な旅行先です。しかしながら、New Orleans のパーティのみならず、文化も歴史も‘興味深くいい旅が出来ました。
147) ～のもとで ・ ～のもとに
~ at the feet of (under the influence of)
Used to discuss something that abstractly influences, something else. Under the instruction/influence of Brett's hardcore taiko group, he has become a taiko master. that kind of thing.
Ex. New Orleans は元々フランスに設立のもとで展開されたので、New Orleansの料理はフランスに影響されているものです。
148) ～ば ～ほど
~ the more (you) 'x,' the more you 'y'
Again, this seems pretty basic. You can use it with either verbs or adjectives, to stress an increasing change, kind of in the same way you would use につれて(131) or にしたがって(115). The more you drink, the drunker you get; that's liquor: 酒は飲めば飲むほど酔っ払うものです。
Ex. Bourbon Streetという道は賑やか過ぎで、早く面倒くさくなります。そこに時間を過ごせば過ごすほど、冷静なところに行きたくなります。
149) ～ばかりか ・ ～ばかりでなく
~ not only
~ as well as
The definition for this one is actually IDENTICAL to the definition of のみならず in every way except one: のみならず doesn't have のみならず listed as a synonym. :)
Ex. 土曜日の夜、New Orleans の有名な殺人事件やお化けの屋敷や幽霊が表すといわれる場所のツアーに行きました。その案内してもらったところは不気味ばかりか、ツアーガイドのお兄さんの話もいけ好かないから、友達のウィルが気持ち悪くなって、倒れてしまいました！救急車を呼ぶことになりました。
150) ～ばかりに
~ for the sole reason
～ばかりに is used to specify the cause of something bad.
Ex. New Orleans で人がよく飲みすぎるので、医療補助者が「コイツ、飲みすぎたばかりに、倒れただろうな」と思ったけど、その日ウィルは一口も飲みませんでした。
But I managed to find a part time job, and I'm trying to make as much as I can, so I've been taking on a bunch of hours, plus I went to New Orleans this last weekend for a friend's birthday.So now that I'm catching up, what would you rather I write about: my weekend in New Orleans, or spending eight hours a day conducting telephone surveys?
Yeah. I thought so.
146) ～のみならず
~ not only
~ as well as
This one is pretty straightforward: when you use it, you're placing the emphasis on whatever follows the のみならず clause. X のみならず Y means that while X might be the norm, Y is surprising, or of particular interest. Here's some book examples:
人間のみならず動物もストレス感じるという。
この株は、安定性が高いのみならず、将来性も
Here's mine:
Ex. New Orleans は Mardi Gras という淫乱な祭りのおかげで有名なので、お酒やパーティが好きな人に人気な旅行先です。しかしながら、New Orleans のパーティのみならず、文化も歴史も‘興味深くいい旅が出来ました。
147) ～のもとで ・ ～のもとに
~ at the feet of (under the influence of)
Used to discuss something that abstractly influences, something else. Under the instruction/influence of Brett's hardcore taiko group, he has become a taiko master. that kind of thing.
Ex. New Orleans は元々フランスに設立のもとで展開されたので、New Orleansの料理はフランスに影響されているものです。
148) ～ば ～ほど
~ the more (you) 'x,' the more you 'y'
Again, this seems pretty basic. You can use it with either verbs or adjectives, to stress an increasing change, kind of in the same way you would use につれて(131) or にしたがって(115). The more you drink, the drunker you get; that's liquor: 酒は飲めば飲むほど酔っ払うものです。
Ex. Bourbon Streetという道は賑やか過ぎで、早く面倒くさくなります。そこに時間を過ごせば過ごすほど、冷静なところに行きたくなります。149) ～ばかりか ・ ～ばかりでなく
~ not only
~ as well as
The definition for this one is actually IDENTICAL to the definition of のみならず in every way except one: のみならず doesn't have のみならず listed as a synonym. :)
Ex. 土曜日の夜、New Orleans の有名な殺人事件やお化けの屋敷や幽霊が表すといわれる場所のツアーに行きました。その案内してもらったところは不気味ばかりか、ツアーガイドのお兄さんの話もいけ好かないから、友達のウィルが気持ち悪くなって、倒れてしまいました！救急車を呼ぶことになりました。
150) ～ばかりに
~ for the sole reason
～ばかりに is used to specify the cause of something bad.
Ex. New Orleans で人がよく飲みすぎるので、医療補助者が「コイツ、飲みすぎたばかりに、倒れただろうな」と思ったけど、その日ウィルは一口も飲みませんでした。
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
2級 Grammar 141-145
In an idea that is half laziness, half inspiration, and one hundred percent guaranteed disaster, I am leaving today's example sentences to YOU, the lucky readers! To help lubricate this idea, I'm going to include one example from the book so you have a slightly more solid idea of how the grammar point works in action. When you post your grammar sentences, make sure you post one that nobody else has posted on yet. If you have a picture to go with it, go ahead and post the link in the comments and I will make it so. If you don't have a picture but would like one custom made (or searched) for you, just say so, and it shall be done. Now go forth and grammar!
Also note - I will replace the book sentences with your sentences as they come in. In the event that nobody suggests any sentences, I'll gradually do them myself.
141) ～によると ・ ～によれば
According to ~,
This one is relatively clean cut. The translation is given as "～の話では", or "according to the story give by ~". The three examples are all pretty telling, too - the newspaper, the TV news, and a friend. Sweetness.
Nirav's sentence: 今朝のニュースによると、「日刊四字」の更新率が最近安定しているそうです。
142) ～にわたって ・ ～にわたり ・ ～にわたる
over the course of ~,
over the range of ~,
over a period of ~,
throughout ~,
This one can apply to a wide range of subjects, such as time, distance, or scope/range on a less tangible scale. Think the scope of a plan to build a new highway in the city, or somebody's range of expertise. Fun hint - it can only be used after a noun.
Kiwial's sentence: 三年に渡って、日本ハムファイターズがパ・リーグのクライマックスシリーズに入りました。
143) ～ぬきで ・ ～ぬきに ・ ～ぬきの
without ~
not including ~
I learned this one after I gave a confusing order to a employee at a fast food restaurant. I wanted to order a hamburger without mayonnaise, and I (in retrospect) humorously said something like "マヨネーズはありません". THERE IS NO MAYONNAISE. Since there clearly WAS mayonnaise, she didn't circle the "no mayo" bubble and I began to feebly gesture and mutter until Nirav, standing right behind me, just whipped out "マヨネーズぬきでお願いします。" Problem solved, grammar learned. Like the last one, pair these guys up with a noun.
Book sentence: これ、あなたが作ったケーキですか。おせじぬきにおいしです。
144) ～ぬく
To ~ until the end
To ~ completely or thoroughly
The construction for this one is Verb-ます form minus the ます, plus ぬく. It emphasizes the fact that whatever verb you tag it onto is happening at an X-TREME level.
Book sentence: 難しい数字の問題を考えぬいて答えが出せたときは、うれしかった。
145) ～の末に ・ ～た末に ・ ～た末の (末=すえ)
following ~,
as the result of ~,
after ~, ~ FINALLY happened.
Man, I feel like an idiot for not realizing this kanji existed. When I first saw it I thought, "huh, that's a unique way for the 未 kanji to show up..." To my credit, though, I was suspicious from the get go. Not from a grammatical point of view, however, but just because the shape seemd off. and sure enough it was. 末 is NOT 未, as it would turn out. And with that tidbit, we meet this grammar point. Although it's not listed, I get the feeling this one has a little more emphasis than just "後" might provide.
Book sentence: 必死で練習した末の大会出場だから、本当にうれしい。
Also note - I will replace the book sentences with your sentences as they come in. In the event that nobody suggests any sentences, I'll gradually do them myself.
141) ～によると ・ ～によれば
According to ~,
This one is relatively clean cut. The translation is given as "～の話では", or "according to the story give by ~". The three examples are all pretty telling, too - the newspaper, the TV news, and a friend. Sweetness.
Nirav's sentence: 今朝のニュースによると、「日刊四字」の更新率が最近安定しているそうです。
142) ～にわたって ・ ～にわたり ・ ～にわたる
over the course of ~,
over the range of ~,
over a period of ~,
throughout ~,
This one can apply to a wide range of subjects, such as time, distance, or scope/range on a less tangible scale. Think the scope of a plan to build a new highway in the city, or somebody's range of expertise. Fun hint - it can only be used after a noun.
Kiwial's sentence: 三年に渡って、日本ハムファイターズがパ・リーグのクライマックスシリーズに入りました。
143) ～ぬきで ・ ～ぬきに ・ ～ぬきの
without ~
not including ~
I learned this one after I gave a confusing order to a employee at a fast food restaurant. I wanted to order a hamburger without mayonnaise, and I (in retrospect) humorously said something like "マヨネーズはありません". THERE IS NO MAYONNAISE. Since there clearly WAS mayonnaise, she didn't circle the "no mayo" bubble and I began to feebly gesture and mutter until Nirav, standing right behind me, just whipped out "マヨネーズぬきでお願いします。" Problem solved, grammar learned. Like the last one, pair these guys up with a noun.
Book sentence: これ、あなたが作ったケーキですか。おせじぬきにおいしです。
144) ～ぬく
To ~ until the end
To ~ completely or thoroughly
The construction for this one is Verb-ます form minus the ます, plus ぬく. It emphasizes the fact that whatever verb you tag it onto is happening at an X-TREME level.
Book sentence: 難しい数字の問題を考えぬいて答えが出せたときは、うれしかった。
145) ～の末に ・ ～た末に ・ ～た末の (末=すえ)
following ~,
as the result of ~,
after ~, ~ FINALLY happened.
Man, I feel like an idiot for not realizing this kanji existed. When I first saw it I thought, "huh, that's a unique way for the 未 kanji to show up..." To my credit, though, I was suspicious from the get go. Not from a grammatical point of view, however, but just because the shape seemd off. and sure enough it was. 末 is NOT 未, as it would turn out. And with that tidbit, we meet this grammar point. Although it's not listed, I get the feeling this one has a little more emphasis than just "後" might provide.
Book sentence: 必死で練習した末の大会出場だから、本当にうれしい。
Friday, October 3, 2008
Japanese Language Trivia of the Day:
As much as I like to talk about food, eating, and eating Japanese food, it's a miracle of laziness that I haven't posted this one yet. Especially since this ranks right up there with chopsticks skillz as necessary knowledge for HOW to eat in Japan.
Triangle eating is not about McDonald's 三角パイ, nor is it about a food pyramid-style nutritional scheme. 三角食べ is all about the order in which you eat your food.
As the pictures show (and the text attests), the correct way to eat a meal is to start with your rice and work your way around bite by bite. One bite of rice, one sip of soup, one bite of your おかずor 飯. A lot of you may know this already, or have heard about this, but it would be a mistake to write it off. It's a big, big part of Japanese culture.
How big, you ask? Well, since the 1970s, Japanese schools have incorporated it into school lunches, like a part of the curriculum. And although expert testimony (W. M. Edgar, D. M. O'Mullane (9 1990). Saliva and oral health. British Dental Journal) from around the world supports the idea that interspersing sips of soup is good for keeping your mouth well salivated and therefore helping the digestion process.
But the reason for eating like this is not a nutritional one. It's part of the Japanese reverence for food that is one of the main reasons I love Japan. "和食をおいしく味わうため," according to wikipedia. Gotta love the classic wikipedia objectivity, especially in lines like this as well: 日本以外ではこのような概念はない。
If you want to try it out for yourself, remember, start with your rice, and try to size your bites so that you finish each portion of your meal at the same time.
三角食べ
さんかくたべ
sankaku tabe
さんかくたべ
sankaku tabe
Triangle eating is not about McDonald's 三角パイ, nor is it about a food pyramid-style nutritional scheme. 三角食べ is all about the order in which you eat your food.
As the pictures show (and the text attests), the correct way to eat a meal is to start with your rice and work your way around bite by bite. One bite of rice, one sip of soup, one bite of your おかずor 飯. A lot of you may know this already, or have heard about this, but it would be a mistake to write it off. It's a big, big part of Japanese culture.
How big, you ask? Well, since the 1970s, Japanese schools have incorporated it into school lunches, like a part of the curriculum. And although expert testimony (W. M. Edgar, D. M. O'Mullane (9 1990). Saliva and oral health. British Dental Journal) from around the world supports the idea that interspersing sips of soup is good for keeping your mouth well salivated and therefore helping the digestion process.
But the reason for eating like this is not a nutritional one. It's part of the Japanese reverence for food that is one of the main reasons I love Japan. "和食をおいしく味わうため," according to wikipedia. Gotta love the classic wikipedia objectivity, especially in lines like this as well: 日本以外ではこのような概念はない。
If you want to try it out for yourself, remember, start with your rice, and try to size your bites so that you finish each portion of your meal at the same time.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
表現Break: 蚤の金玉
This is a funny little phrase I picked up in Kagawa-ken when I was on my hitch-hiking trip, and it must've been a personal favorite of the man I heard it from, because he used it more than ten times.
蚤の金玉
のみ の きんたま
nomi no kintama
のみ の きんたま
nomi no kintama
蚤 is a flea and 金玉... well, 金玉 are the family jewels. It's not an エッチ enough word that it would make the cut for The Nightly Yoji; It gets used a lot, even in mixed company. I attribute it to the Japanese cultural tendency to not think twice about discussing bodily functions, bowel movements, and private parts more casually than some other cultures might.
蚤の金玉 are just what you think they are: a flea's balls.
I found a definition online that says this: 取るに足らな いごく小さなものの喩え: a simile used to describe something that's too small to pick up... but that's using a very narrow definition of 取る. It can also mean to earn, to steal, to take, to eat, or to harvest. 蚤の金玉 can be defined simply as something insignificant, something below the radar.
The guy I learned it from liked to use it to talk about people who were nitpickers, cheap, or anal retentive. ｢蚤の金玉より小さい事を気にする野郎。」 I've been able to use it successfully in situations where people have tried to pay me back the 50, 20, 0r even 10円 they borrowed from me.
My favorite thing about learning this one, however, was the wealth of expressions I discovered that mean almost the same thing. Some of these are hilarious:
1. 蛙(カエル）のションベン: frog piss.
2. 蟻(アリ）のオチンチンan ant's wang.
3. 烏賊(イカ）の金玉: squid nuts.
4. 隠した鷹の爪(タカのつめ）: the falcon's hidden toenail
5. 雀の涙（すずめのなみだ）: a sparrow's tear (used like we would say "just a drop in the bucket")
6. 蝉(セミ)のションベン: cicada piss.
7. イタチの最後屁（さいごへ）: a weasel's fart (this one had a footnote: "something that can be sensed by smell, but not seen")
Note: Apparently, in some regions of America (koffkoff those where my dad grew up koff), there's an expression that works the same way. It's "Picking fly shit out of pepper."
Any other equivalent phrases out there?
2級 Grammar 136-140
Two weeks in a row on grammar, I've picked back up on all my kanji studies, and I've got four other posts for this site coming. I'm back on my Japanese study game and all thanks to how incredibly unemployed I am. Man it was nice being in Japan, oblivious to how screwed up the American economical and political landscape has become. Let me do my best to tell you about in Japanese...
136) ～にほかならない
~ nothing short of
~ is guaranteed
Use this to make extremely strong statements of equation: War means death. Think of the ほかならない in terms of what it means conceptually: it won't be(come) anything else.
Ex. Palin副大統領の地位は、ファースにほかならない。
137) ～に基づいて ・ に基づく
~ to be grounded in
~to be rooted in
~to be based on
This is a pretty easy one. 基づく means "to be based on; to originate from." You could use this to say that hiragana and katakana are derived from kanji, or that all computer software is based on binary code. Or how about this one?
Ex. 今の不景気はサブプライムローン危機に基づいている。
138) ～によって ・ により
~ according to
~ by means of
~ due to
によって or により is used to identify the cause or the means of something. My book's examples use によって to say "supported by volunteers," and により to say "due to the blackout."
Ex. 不景気により、ずっと探しても仕事はまだできない。
139) ～によっては
~ depending on
I'm not entirely clear on this one, so I could use a little help, but I think that によっては is used to say, "in this situation, X is the case." I chose to define it as "depending on" because my book's examples lend themselves to that interpretation. Like 「たいてい遅く帰宅しますが、日によっては６時ごろ帰れる場合もあります。」 I read that as, "Usually I head home late, but depending on the day, I can also leave around six." Maybe "...on some days, I can leave around six," would be a better reading. Let's see if I can use it accurately, despite a spotty understanding, and see if Nirav, Clay, or Blue might be able to help iron out the wrinkles.
Ex. 私は 経済のことを心配しているけど、人によってはビジネスは前よりうまく行っているみたい。
140) ～による
~ because of
~ due to
~ is the cause of
Not looking a whole lot different from 138, huh? This is another case where the main difference is in how this phrase can be fiddled with grammatically, and how it finds its way into sentences. It's pretty much the same difference between 132 and 133, wherein this grammar point actually changes the focus of the sentence. The word preceding による acts as something of a modifier, whereas the actual subject is now the noun that follows it. And yes : it can only be followed up by a noun (or noun phrase).
Ex. 外国に住んでいるアメリカ人は、経済による不安を完全に理解できないと思う。
136) ～にほかならない
~ nothing short of
~ is guaranteed
Use this to make extremely strong statements of equation: War means death. Think of the ほかならない in terms of what it means conceptually: it won't be(come) anything else.
Ex. Palin副大統領の地位は、ファースにほかならない。
137) ～に基づいて ・ に基づく
~ to be grounded in
~to be rooted in
~to be based on
This is a pretty easy one. 基づく means "to be based on; to originate from." You could use this to say that hiragana and katakana are derived from kanji, or that all computer software is based on binary code. Or how about this one?
Ex. 今の不景気はサブプライムローン危機に基づいている。
138) ～によって ・ により
~ according to
~ by means of
~ due to
によって or により is used to identify the cause or the means of something. My book's examples use によって to say "supported by volunteers," and により to say "due to the blackout."
Ex. 不景気により、ずっと探しても仕事はまだできない。
139) ～によっては
~ depending on
I'm not entirely clear on this one, so I could use a little help, but I think that によっては is used to say, "in this situation, X is the case." I chose to define it as "depending on" because my book's examples lend themselves to that interpretation. Like 「たいてい遅く帰宅しますが、日によっては６時ごろ帰れる場合もあります。」 I read that as, "Usually I head home late, but depending on the day, I can also leave around six." Maybe "...on some days, I can leave around six," would be a better reading. Let's see if I can use it accurately, despite a spotty understanding, and see if Nirav, Clay, or Blue might be able to help iron out the wrinkles.
Ex. 私は 経済のことを心配しているけど、人によってはビジネスは前よりうまく行っているみたい。
140) ～による
~ because of
~ due to
~ is the cause of
Not looking a whole lot different from 138, huh? This is another case where the main difference is in how this phrase can be fiddled with grammatically, and how it finds its way into sentences. It's pretty much the same difference between 132 and 133, wherein this grammar point actually changes the focus of the sentence. The word preceding による acts as something of a modifier, whereas the actual subject is now the noun that follows it. And yes : it can only be followed up by a noun (or noun phrase).
Ex. 外国に住んでいるアメリカ人は、経済による不安を完全に理解できないと思う。
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
獅子奮迅
しし ふんじんshishi funjin
四字熟語データバンク has a cool feature that I just noticed: a list of the Yo-ji definitions that were accessed most often during the previous month. We've only hit one to our credit, 疑心暗鬼, but there are a few that struck me as pretty cool, so I figured we'd take care of a couple more.
獅子奮迅 functions as a noun. It means, literally, the lion's mad dash, but when you attach it to other nouns, using の, it works like an adjective, turning words like 働き, 勢い, or 挑戦 it makes those words more furious! I've even managed to find examples like 獅子奮迅の検索: furiously looking something up. Let's take a look at the Japanese definition to make sure we get the nuances right.
Definition:
獅子が奮い立って激しく進む意から、物事に対処する際の意気込み、勢いがすさまじく強いことのたとえ。
Translation:
1. As ferocious as a lion.
2. Like mad.
3. Like crazy.
4. Furiously
One of the reasons that I thought that this was a good one was because of the kanji: 獅子. I had never come across kanji for lion before, as most of my students would just say ライオン. But the thing that struck me most about those kanji was the alternate definition: left-handed guardian dog at a Shinto shrine.
I'd heard the word 狛犬 before, and had been told that THAT's what the guardian dogs were called. Maybe they were right-handed ones?
Bonus Shinto Trivia: 唐獅子(からしし；karashishi)
Chinese Lion
狛犬 (こまいぬ；komainu)
Korean Dog
The 獅子 that you find at some Japanese 神社 are said to be a combination of the Chinese and Korean statues that serve the same purpose in their respective countries, and are thought to have made the crossover during the 7th and 8th centuries, at the same time as Buddhism was being introduced.... even though they're more often associated with Shintoism. They sometimes make appearances at お寺, but 仁王 are the more common guardians there. If you know or can find out any more about them, I'd love to hear it.
Both the 獅子 and the 仁王 are often posed in pairs, one with an open mouth and one with a closed mouth. To learn more about this, lets make Brett do research!
Breditt (Edit by Brett): The possible answers to that question are actually listed on the page you linked for 仁王. Since their explanation is concise despite its length, I'm going to go ahead and copy-paste it over here.
"Each is named after a particular cosmic sound. The open-mouthed figure is called "Agyo," who is uttering the sound "ah," meaning birth. His closed-mouth partner is called "Ungyo," who sounds "un" or "om," meaning death. Other explanations for the open/closed mouth include:
- Mouth open to scare off demons, closed to shelter/keep in the good spirits
"Ah" is the first sound in the Japanese alphabet, while "N" (pronounced "un" ) is the last, so the combination symbolically represents all possible outcomes (from alpha to omega) in the cosmic dance of existence. "
例文：高田選手の獅子奮迅のがんばりを見せたおかげで、チームの雰囲気が盛り上がって、起死回生しました。
Thanks to Takada's fierce effort and example, the team's spirits rose and they were able to pull out a come-from-behind win.
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