"Hazukashi" is a great word to know. It means "I'm so embarassed." Little children often say it when their parents try to make them speak in English to foreigners. Parents are the same everywhere aren't they????
It is also a great word to know when one is trying to get away from a street hawker and one finds herself (in this case "me")in the middle of a busy intersection - crowds of people on one side of the street, crowds of people on the other side of the street - all patiently waiting for the light to change - and trying to ignore the crazy woman who is out in the middle of the street holding up traffic. At the same time all the taxis and cars are patiently - and QUIETLY - waiting for the crazy woman to get out of the middle of the street - no one honks or screams. If I would have known how to say "Hazukashi" it could have helped to fill the silence.
Another time that "Hazukashi" would have come in handy was when I nearly tripped the blind man who was trying to get onto the train. He put his cane right between my feet. It was all I could do to keep from falling out onto him. I was not sure what the penalty would be for "blind man tripping" and did not want to find out.
Though I have heard negative comments regarding Japanese services for the handicapped, they seem to go to great lengths to assist the disabled in getting through the mass transit maze. All of the walkways have patterned strips of bumps on the flooring that lead to entrys and exits - as well as to boarding areas for the trains. Somehow I'm always on the wrong side of the bumps... Even more imaginative are the sound systems at the boarding areas. Each station has it's very own tune that plays when the trains are coming and going. The tunes sound like a cross between a Christmas music box and the a Merry-go-round at the circus - very happy, sweet notes. Believe it or not you can hear these little songs because Japan is a very quiet place. This is a land of introverts who place the highest priority on "not disturbing your neighbors." Everyone sits on the train very quietly. Cell phone use in public places is frowned upon and there are recordings to remind you of this. Instant messaging is the norm here - too bad I can't figure my phone out. When I hear my phone ringing in my purse, I look around and act like it must belong to someone else....Hazukashi....
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2 comments:
I was searched in google.co.id with keyword: @Hazukashi, then I click your blog to see what is the meaning of that keyword.
Sooo.. Thanks alot..
I too was looking for the definition of 'hazukashii', but I found this post interesting. I find it very heartening that the Japanese have went to such effort to accommodate the blind. These tunes you speak of will be one of the little things I'll look forward to when I eventually travel to Japan myself!
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