Japanese · Intermediate (B1) · Chapter 7 of 12
Culture and traditions
祭りと伝統Matsuri to dentō
Explain festivals and customs in Japanese with long relative clauses, the nominalisers の and こと, and passive phrases like ～と言われている.
In this chapter you'll learn to
- Describe things with long relative clauses (私の生まれた町)
- Turn verbs into nouns with の and こと
- Explain customs with ～と言われている, ～と呼ばれている and ～ことになっている
Listen
During the Tanabata festival in Sendai, Sato Kazuki shows his new colleague Linh, from Vietnam, the decorations and explains the custom. Listen to the whole dialogue first, then line by line.
Sato
リンさん、これが仙台の七夕祭りです。
Rin-san, kore ga Sendai no Tanabata matsuri desu.
Linh, this is Sendai's Tanabata festival.
Linh
わあ、きれいですね。上にある大きい飾りは何ですか。
Wā, kirei desu ne. Ue ni aru ōkii kazari wa nan desu ka.
Oh, how beautiful. What are the big decorations up there?
Sato
吹き流しと呼ばれている飾りです。この商店街の店が、一つ一つ手で作るんですよ。
Fukinagashi to yobarete iru kazari desu. Kono shōtengai no mise ga, hitotsu hitotsu te de tsukuru n desu yo.
They're decorations called fukinagashi, streamers. The shops in this arcade make each one by hand.
Linh
全部ですか。いい伝統ですね。七夕はどんな行事なんですか。
Zenbu desu ka. Ii dentō desu ne. Tanabata wa donna gyōji na n desu ka.
All of them? What a lovely tradition. What kind of event is Tanabata?
Sato
昔からある星の伝説が由来だと言われています。空の上に住んでいる二人が、一年に一度だけ会える日なんです。
Mukashi kara aru hoshi no densetsu ga yurai da to iwarete imasu. Sora no ue ni sunde iru futari ga, ichinen ni ichido dake aeru hi na n desu.
It's said to come from an old legend about the stars. It's the one day a year when two lovers who live up in the sky can meet.
Linh
ロマンチックですね。でも、七夕は七月七日ですよね。今は八月ですけど。
Romanchikku desu ne. Demo, Tanabata wa shichigatsu nanoka desu yo ne. Ima wa hachigatsu desu kedo.
How romantic. But Tanabata is on the seventh of July, isn't it? It's August now.
Sato
そうなんです。仙台では、昔から八月六日から八日まで祭りをすることになっているんです。七月にする地域も多いんですけどね。
Sō na n desu. Sendai de wa, mukashi kara hachigatsu muika kara yōka made matsuri o suru koto ni natte iru n desu. Shichigatsu ni suru chiiki mo ōi n desu kedo ne.
That's right. In Sendai, by tradition, the festival is held from the sixth to the eighth of August. Many areas hold it in July, though.
Linh
あの竹に飾られている細い紙は何ですか。
Ano take ni kazararete iru hosoi kami wa nan desu ka.
What are those thin strips of paper hanging on that bamboo?
Sato
短冊です。願い事を書いて、竹に飾るんです。そうすると、願い事がかなうと言われています。
Tanzaku desu. Negaigoto o kaite, take ni kazaru n desu. Sō suru to, negaigoto ga kanau to iwarete imasu.
They're tanzaku. You write a wish on one and hang it on the bamboo. People say that way your wish comes true.
Linh
私も書いてみたいです。
Watashi mo kaite mitai desu.
I'd like to write one too.
Sato
いいですね。あそこで書けますよ。大事なのは、自分の字で書くことです。それから、屋台で何か食べませんか。
Ii desu ne. Asoko de kakemasu yo. Daiji na no wa, jibun no ji de kaku koto desu. Sorekara, yatai de nanika tabemasen ka.
Great. You can write one over there. The important thing is to write it in your own hand. And then shall we get something to eat at the stalls?
Linh
ぜひ。私の生まれた町にも、秋に月を見るお祭りがあるんですよ。今度、写真を見せますね。
Zehi. Watashi no umareta machi ni mo, aki ni tsuki o miru omatsuri ga aru n desu yo. Kondo, shashin o misemasu ne.
I'd love to. In the town where I was born, there's a festival in autumn where people look at the moon. I'll show you some photos sometime.
Understand
Long relative clauses and が → の
You know from A2 that a plain-form clause can go before a noun to describe it. At B1 these clauses get longer, but the rule stays the same: everything that describes the noun comes before it. (sora no ue ni sunde iru futari), the two people who live up in the sky; (ano take ni kazararete iru kami), the paper hanging on that bamboo.
Inside such a clause, the subject takes (ga), never (wa), and is often replaced by (no): and (watashi no umareta machi) both mean “the town where I was born”. Both are common in speech and writing; works best in short clauses like this one.
- これは商店街の店が作った飾りです。Kore wa shōtengai no mise ga tsukutta kazari desu.These are decorations the shops in the arcade made.
- 母の作る料理が一番好きです。Haha no tsukuru ryōri ga ichiban suki desu.I like the food my mother makes best of all.
Turning verbs into nouns: の and こと
To use a verb as a noun (“watching”, “to write”), add (no) or (koto) to the plain form: (matsuri o miru no ga suki desu), I like watching festivals. (daiji na no wa, jibun no ji de kaku koto desu), what matters is writing it yourself. With (suki), (jōzu) or (kirai), is more usual; right before at the end of a sentence, use .
Some fixed patterns always take : ～ことができる (can), ～ことがある after the dictionary form (sometimes; after the た-form it is “have ever done”), and ～ことになっている (it's the rule, the custom): (hachigatsu ni matsuri o suru koto ni natte iru), by custom the festival is in August.
| Japanese | Meaning |
|---|---|
| (Omatsuri ni iku no ga suki desu.) | I like going to festivals. |
| (Daiji na no wa, mainichi tsuzukeru koto desu.) | What matters is keeping at it every day. |
| (Shūmatsu wa, kazoku de dekakeru koto ga arimasu.) | At weekends we sometimes go out as a family. |
| (Ie no naka de wa kutsu o nugu koto ni natte imasu.) | The custom is to take your shoes off indoors. |
Explaining customs: ～と言われている, ～と呼ばれている
The passive is often used to explain customs and beliefs, because no particular person is doing the action. ～と言われている (to iwarete iru) means “it is said that”: (negaigoto ga kanau to iwarete iru), they say your wish comes true. ～と呼ばれている (to yobarete iru) means “is called”: (fukinagashi to yobarete iru kazari), decorations called fukinagashi.
Other useful passives: (kazararete iru), is decorated or displayed; (okonawareru), is held: (matsuri wa hachigatsu ni okonawareru), the festival is held in August.
- この祭りは四百年前から行われていると言われています。Kono matsuri wa yonhyakunen mae kara okonawarete iru to iwarete imasu.This festival is said to have been held for four hundred years.
- 伝説の二人は、織姫と彦星と呼ばれています。Densetsu no futari wa, Orihime to Hikoboshi to yobarete imasu.The two lovers in the legend are called Orihime and Hikoboshi.
More in the grammar: Relative clauses · Turning verbs into nouns: の and こと
New words
- 七夕Tanabatathe Star Festival · たなばた; traditionally on 7 July; the legend is about two (hoshi), stars, in the (sora), sky
- 祭りmatsurifestival · まつり; often (omatsuri)
- 飾りkazaridecoration · かざり
- 商店街shōtengaishopping street, arcade · しょうてんがい
- 伝統dentōtradition · でんとう; (dentōteki na), traditional
- 行事gyōjievent (yearly or traditional) · ぎょうじ
- 昔からmukashi karasince long ago, by tradition · むかしから
- 伝説densetsulegend · でんせつ
- 由来yuraiorigin (of a name or custom) · ゆらい; ～が由来だ (ga yurai da), it comes from …
- 地域chiikiarea, region · ちいき
- 飾るkazaruto decorate, to put up (on display) · かざる; passive (kazarareru)
- 短冊tanzakupaper strip for writing a wish · たんざく; hung on (take), bamboo
- 願い事negaigotowish · ねがいごと; (negaigoto ga kanau), a wish comes true
- 屋台yataifood stall · やたい
Practise
1.Which phrase means “the town where I was born”?
2.Put the words in order.
Tap the words below in the right order.The important thing is to write it in your own hand.
3.Match the Japanese with the English.
Pick a word on the left, then its meaning on the right.
4.How do you say “People say that wishes come true”?
5.What does (fukinagashi to yobarete iru kazari) mean?
6.You explain a custom to a visitor: “The rule is that you take your shoes off indoors.” Which sentence says this?
0 of 6 exercises done.
Say it out loud
これは何という飾りですか。
Kore wa nan to iu kazari desu ka.
What is this decoration called?
Listen, then say it out loud, as close to the recording as you can.
Check
Five questions on this chapter. Then mark it as finished to add its words to your review deck.
0 of 5 answered.