狸(たぬき)寝(ね)入(い)りする 　 Literally, 'to fall asleep like a tanuki', this expression comes from the tanuki's habit of fainting when suddenly confronted. Other animals also have this habit, hence the English expression of the same meaning, to 'play possum'. eg.「ちょっと､狸(たぬき)寝(ね)入(い)りしないで､聞(き)いてよ！」 'Stop pretending to be asleep and listen to me!' 　 　 　 取(と)らぬ狸(たぬき)の皮算用(かわざんよう) 　 Literally 'counting the pelts of tanuki not yet caught', this expression is equivalent to 'Don't count your chickens before they are hatched.' 　 　 　 他(た)抜(ぬ)き 　 'take away others' Little tanuki statues can be found outside shops and restaurants in downtown areas. Their significance comes from the play on words他(ほか)を抜(ぬ)く to take away others. If you take away others, you are the best! 　 　 　 たぬきうどん 　 たぬきうどん and たぬきそば are dishes found in the Kanto region. They refer to soup noodle dishes which are served with てんかす, bits of fried batter, which is considered to be disguised tempura. These dishes do not exist in the Kansai region, as there is always a bowl of てんかすon the table to be used with any dish. These dishes are not to be confused with きつねうどんand きつねそば, which are soup noodles served with thin pieces of fried bean curd! 　 　 　 「狐(きつね)」の表現(ひょうげん) Fox expressions 　 An animal that plays a similar role to the tanuki in Japanese folklore is the fox. Both tanuki and fox are considered sly, but the Japanese think of a tanuki as being まぬけ(simple-minded), wheras they think of a fox as being more ずる賢(がしこ)い(crafty and cunning). 　 きつねとたぬきの化かし合い  　 Literally 'fox and tanuki tricking each other', this refers to two people trying to outsmart (outfox!) each other. 　 　 　 狐(きつね)の嫁(よめ)入(い)り  　 This expression has come from a folktale about a fox's wedding, 狐の嫁入り, and the idea that someone (like a fox) is playing tricks when in the midst of fine weather there is a sudden shower. eg.  「雨(あめ)が降(ふ)ってきた。狐(きつね)の嫁(よめ)入(い)りだ！」'It's started to rain. It's a sunshower!' 　 　 　 きつね色(いろ) 　 Light, golden brown. Often used to describe bread, eg. パンを狐色(きつねいろ)に焼(や)く, to toast to a golden brown. 　 　 　 昔話(むかしばなし)の表現(ひょうげん) Folktale expressions  　 Just as in English folktales begin with 'Once upon a time there was....・ Japanese tales begin with the following expression: 「むかし、むかし､あるところに　………　がいました。」 And in the end, if they all live happily ever after, the Japanese say: 「めでたし、めでたし。」 　 　 　 　 You will probably have noticed that the kanji for たぬきand きつね have an element in common. This is the left-hand radical「　」called けものへん animal radical jwhich comes from the kanji for dog,犬. This radical appears in many words for animals, eg. 狸(たぬき)、狐(きつね)、狼(おおかみ)、猪(いのしし)、猫(ねこ). These words, except for 猫, are usually written in hiragana when they stand alone and in kanji when part of a compound. They show the role radicals play in the kanji system, giving a generic meaning to a 'family' of related words. What are the meanings of the five animal names left? 　 　 　 Answers: tanuki, wolf, boar, fox, cat Errata: In the Kaji Section of アラカルトno. 37 神話 should have read 神学 (theology) 　 　 　 　 Privacy & Copyright © The Japan Foundation