Anonymous

I moved to Tokyo in the early 90s from my native New Zealand to experience another culture. I wanted to learn the Japanese language, make new friends, broaden my horizons and perhaps save a little money teaching English. I enrolled in a Japanese language course and found an English conversation school to sponsor my visa.

Eventually, I found a reasonably priced apartment in Ogikubo, a residential area in the Suginami ward of the city. Although my schedule was tiring, after about six months my Japanese was improving and I was beginning to feel comfortable in my new environment. I wanted to experience more of the real Japanese culture and decided that I’d start using the nearby public bath or Sento. Public baths in Japan are a communal experience and there are a lot of dos and don’ts to learn before giving it a try.

In the beginning, I wasn’t quite sure what the Japanese elderly women at the Sento thought of me. They were always polite but I somehow felt that I was making them uncomfortable. I have bright red wavy hair and am also red down below. I would often catch them staring at me followed by an awkward silence. This didn’t bother me at first. After all, I was a foreigner and not what they were used to. Over time though, the staring and darting glances started to get to me. Were they looking at me as a freak?

One night, after a particularly bad day at work I decided to go to the Sento to unwind and relax. There were about 12 elderly women in the baths talking spiritedly until I walked in. Suddenly, it got completely silent and the darting glances began. I couldn’t take it anymore. I decided to make my feelings known. My Japanese was improving and I thought I’d give it a shot. This is what I thought I said in Japanese. “Why are you staring at me? I am a human being!”

Suddenly, the twelve elderly women who were normally quiet and restrained broke out in uncontrollable laughter. I was dumbfounded. Were they making fun of my Japanese?

Later on, one of the women who could speak a little English explained the mistake that I had made.

I had wanted to say, Naze mitsumete ira nodesu ka? Watashi wa ningen desu! (Why are you staring at me? I am a human being!)

What I actually said was, Naze mitsumete ira nodesu ka? Watashi wa ninjin desu! (Why are you staring at me? I am a carrot!)

Ningen=human being,  Ninjin=Carrot.   

I lived in the area for another three years and from that day on I was affectionately known as Carrot San by my friends at the Sento. The ice had been broken. They had accepted me and I felt comfortable in my own skin.

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The Dragonfly Report will go dark during the month of October as our writers will be attending a workshop at a Buddhist monastery near Kanazawa, Japan and will not have access to the Internet. We will be back in November.  In the meantime, keep on enjoying the many classic stories from our archives.