Video by the Japanese Reality Show That Filmed Me

Last November, a crew from the Japanese reality show「ニッポンへ行きたい！」 (I Want to Go to Japan!) came to my house to film me about my passion for kanji. It was part of a competition; after a prolonged photo shoot with me, they flew to the East Coast and did the same with others. We all had to make a strong case about why we needed a free trip to Japan to pursue our particular obsessions with Japan. Those who weren't selected would at least be part of a YouTube video.

After the filming, I heard nothing further about my status and assumed I didn't win. I was right about that but wrong to think that the matter had been resolved right away. It turns out that the TV show posted the video in June! I found out about it a few days ago when a Japanese friend happened to stumble upon it. If not for that, I might never have known!

The whole video goes for 49 minutes, and my part is right at the beginning until 2:54. When you click the link, the video may start in the wrong place. I don't know why. If so, just slide back to the beginning. (The contest winner has a thing for goldfish, and her segment starts at 12:32.)

The video is entirely in Japanese and is captioned in more Japanese, though the captions don't always match the spoken parts. I was dubbed! It's more than a little strange to see my mouth moving and to hear perfect Japanese come out in someone else's voice!

My proofreader was kind enough to transcribe and translate the whole thing for me, so in case you're curious, here it is, along with some annotations that I've made in red. When the spoken and captioned Japanese are identical or almost identical, I've combined them. Otherwise, I've presented both. I hope it's not confusing!

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NARRATOR: …と聞き、向かったのは、アメリカ。
We heard that ... [inaudible]... and headed to America. 

西海岸に位置するオークランド。
(This is) Oakland, which is located on the West Coast.

CAPTION: オークランド
Oakland

人口約40万人
Population: approx. 400,000

Actually, I live in Berkeley! Oakland is just south of Berkeley, and I live as far north in Berkeley as it's possible to live! 

NARRATOR / CAPTION: その中心部から、車で10分。
Ten minutes by car from the heart of the city. 

NARRATOR: 住宅街に、その方の自宅があるという。
The person's house is in a residential area.

INTERVIEWER / CAPTION: でかい家だな。
Big house.

すごい大っきいんだけど。
Very big. 

INTERVIEWER: あぁどうも、イブさん？　
Ah, hello, Eve-san? 

EVE: はい。
Yes.

INTERVIEWER: あ、あはは、こんにちは。
Oh, ha ha, hi. 

EVE: こんにちは。
Hi.

INTERVIEWER / CAPTION: あ、漢字って書いてる。
Oh, (your shirt) says "kanji."

そういうTシャツ持ってるんですね。
You have a T-shirt like that. 

EVE / CAPTION: 私が作ってインターネットで販売しているんです。
I make them and sell them on the Internet. 

INTERVIEWER: え、それ、インターネットで売ってるんですか。
Eh? That's sold on the Internet? 

CAPTION: イヴさん(49)
Eve-san (49) 

Hey, I'm not 49 until next week! But what woman doesn't like to have her age advanced?!

NARRATOR: この方が、日本の漢字を愛してやまないイブさん。
This woman is Eve-san, who can't stop loving Japanese kanji.

自宅の中には ... 
In her house ... 

MAN AT THE STUDIO: うわぁ、大っきい。
Wow, so big.

NARRATOR: 至る所に漢字グッズが。
There are kanji items everywhere. 

CAPTION: 漢字のグッズが飾られている
She decorates (her house) with items with kanji on them

MAN AT THE STUDIO: 粋。
(That's the kanji for) 粋. 

NARRATOR: そんな、漢字が好きすぎるイブさんは、あるものを手作り。
Eve-san, who adores kanji, made something by hand.

They're talking about the art on the stairwell wall, which a calligrapher in Chinatown made. I couldn't possibly have produced that art!

INTERVIEWER / CAPTION: 漢字がお好きなんですね。
You love kanji, don't you? 

EVE / CAPTION: これが私が書いた漢字の本です。
This is a book I wrote on kanji. 

INTERVIEWER: え？　本書いてんの？　
Eh? You wrote a book? 

10年前に、漢字の本をお書きになったんですか。
You wrote a book on kanji 10 years ago. 

MAN AT THE STUDIO: すごいね。
Impressive. 

NARRATOR: 元々、大学生の時に日本の漢字に出会ったというイブさん。
Eve-san originally encountered Japanese kanji when she was a university student. 

CAPTION: 大学生の時にニッポンの漢字と出会う
Encountered Japanese kanji as a university student. 

No, no, no, not at all! I hated language study at that age. I started Japanese at age 31 and took my first kanji class at 32. And that picture of me with a friend? I was 31 there, not in college! (She and I actually met at camp in Vermont when I was 8. We fell out of touch for decades. That picture from 17 years ago was our first time seeing each other again!) 

NARRATOR / CAPTION: 独学で漢字を学び、10年前に外国人のための漢字の本を作成。
(After that) she studied kanji on her own and wrote a book on kanji for foreigners 10 years ago. 

NARRATOR / CAPTION: 間違えやすい同音異義語
Homophones that are easy to confuse. 

WOMAN AT THE STUDIO: 自信と地震ね。
自信 (じしん: confidence) and 地震 (じしん: earthquake). 

NARRATOR: 授業の期間を表す学期と、音を奏でる楽器の違いまでも、分かりやすく解説。
This lesson even gives a clear explanation of the difference between 学期 (がっき: school term) and 楽器 (がっき: musical instrument).

MAN AT THE STUDIO: 幅広い本やな。
A wide-ranging book. 

NARRATOR: さらに…
What's more... 

INTERVIEWER / CAPTION: なんですか　これ？
What is this?

月見うどん!?
Tsukimi udon?! 

WOMAN AT THE STUDIO: 何で？　
Why (does the book say "tsukimi udon")? 

EVE / CAPTION: えーと…月見うどんや…
Well ... it explains about tsukimi udon and ... 

INTERVIEWER / CAPTION: あぁ、たぬきね
Oh, tanuki. 

EVE / CAPTION: そう　たぬきうどんについて解説しているんです 
... yes, and about tanuki udon.

WOMAN AT THE STUDIO: 面白い。
Interesting. 

NARRATOR: また、「直（チョク）」という漢字の面白さを、一つの文章に。
Interesting aspects of 直 (チョク) are (packed) into one sentence.

[THE SENTENCE FROM THE BOOK]: 自転車が直（なお）せないと困っていた子供がいました。青年が来て「すぐ直（なお）るよ」と、地面に直（じか）に座って直（ただ）ちに作業に掛かり、「直（すぐ）に家に帰れるからね」と優しく言いました。
A child was in trouble, unable to fix his bicycle. A young man came and said, "It'll be fixed right away," and he immediately sat down right on the ground and got to work fixing the bike. He said kindly, "You can go home right away."

NARRATOR: 現在は、専業主婦の傍ら、漢字の楽しさをブログで。
Besides being a full-time housewife, she writes about how enjoyable kanji are via her blog. 

CAPTION: 専業主婦のかたわら漢字についてブログで公開
Besides being a full-time housewife, she posts (essays, etc.) on her blog. 

A housewife??? A full-time housewife?!?!?! I'm working like crazy to run the kanji business I founded, not to mention other things I do to earn money. And Joy o' Kanji is far more than a blog! But some people in Japan and elsewhere use the term for "blog" when they mean "website," so maybe that explains the choice of ブログ here.

NARRATOR: 彼女の本は、たくさんの外国人旅行客に感謝されている。
Many foreign travelers appreciate her book. 

CAPTION: 外国人旅行客に感謝されている
Foreign travelers appreciate her book. 

EVE: ニッポンへ行きたい！　
I want to go to Japan! 

Well, that didn't happen, but that's okay. My dogs have severe separation anxiety and wouldn't have been crazy about my leaving them.

Aside from all my quibbles about the inaccuracies, I'm quite grateful to the TV show for giving me this opportunity and providing great exposure for my work. I thoroughly enjoyed the chance to talk about one of my deepest loves in life! 

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By the way, there's a new essay out. Here's a sneak preview:

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