Comme ça du Japon

Do we get 指南 (ShiNan) “to point to the south” with指 (Yubi) “finger” or 指す (SaSu) “to point” and 南 (Minami / Nan) “the south” ? Yes and no. No, because this word is used like this : 指南する (ShiNan SuRu) “to give a lesson”, 指南を受ける (ShiNan Wo UKeRu) “to receive a lesson”. Why is it so different from the litteral meaning ? And moreover what is the origin of such a word ?

This word originally comes from a chinese invention called 指南車 (ShiNan Sha) “vehicle pointing to the south”. According to a legend, this device was invented during the war of Takuroku fields between 黄帝軒轅 (KôTei KenEn) “KenEn the emperor of China” and a rebel named 蚩尤5 (ShiYû) “Shiyû”, a long time ago. The troops of the Emperor were facing difficulties because of a thick 霧 (KiRi) “fog”. A 指南車 (ShiNanSha) “vehicle pointing to the south” was built in order to guide the emperor’s army towards the enemy camp. This vehicle looks like a pushcart on top of which is placed a statue of a 仙人 (SenNin) “hermit”. The hermit points the south with his hand. The statue rotates accordingly to the difference of movements between the two wheels. Thus, the pointed direction is guaranteed to be the same no matter what movements the vehicle makes. Eventually, the Emperor caught the rebel.

This is an interesting story but many historians don’t consider it seriously. It is believed that the invention came later, during the 3rd century. Also,the south direction was chosen because it is the imperial direction. For instance, the imperial throne in China is facing the south. The historians have some doubts about the practical use of the 指南車 (ShiNanSha) “vehicle pointing the south” because the chinese were likely already using magnetic compass. It might have been used during a short period but the ancient texts mention that it was used during feast or as a present.

The current meaning of 指南 (ShiNan) “to point + south” probably came from the fact that the always-pointing-to-the-right-direction-hermit teaches us a lesson : to not be blinded by our beliefs and to not ignore our fellows’ advices.

All the photos, courtesy of ISHIDA Shoji, are copyrighted. Do not use them without his permission. Thanks. Read ISHIDA Shoji’s website for more information about “Shinansha” [jp]. This is also available in german [ge].

Sony recently made a surprising announcement. Sorry, this has nothing to do with the improbable release of the playstation 3 for this spring. It concerns employments at Sony. They announced that the recruitment will be doubled for 2007 which might make you 歯ぎしり (HaGiShiRi) “gnash your teeth” given last year’s massive layoffs.

This is indeed very different from the restructuration plan that Sony had to roll out during 2005. The layoff were at lower levels and the future employments will be for technical departments. The employees will have to focus on the new 中核製品 (ChûKaku SeiHin) “core products” : プラズマテレビ (PuRaZuMa TeReBi) “plasma televisions”, 液晶テレビ (EkiShô) “liquid crystal televisions” (Bravia) and digital camera (Cybershot).

For 2007, Sony said they were going to hire about 400 people. That’s about two times more than the last years. They also said that employments previsions for 2006 will be raised up to reach 350 persons. Other big companies in Japan are likely to take the same decisions.

In a few months, a law about the safety of electrical appliances will be applied in Japan. This law concerns electrical appliances which did not pass the safety check system introduced in 2001. It will be illegal to sale those equipments after April 1st. This is not an April fool joke. The reason behind the date is that the fiscal year begins on the first of April in Japan. Directly concerned by this law, the second hand shops owners are upset and are trying to find a way to make use of their soon to be illegal stock of merchandise.

Second hand shops in Japan

The second hand market is evaluated at a whopping 千億円 (SenSuuOkuEn) “100 billions JPY”. From digital camera, ゲーム機 (Ge-Mu Ki) “game consoles” to washing machine, they have everything at any price. The second hand retailers are criticizing the 電気用品安全法 (DenKi You Hin AnZen) “law on the safety of electrical appliance” because it is against all the effort made towards the recycling of used goods. The japanese government recognizes the role of second hand market in the 粗大ゴミの減量 (SoDai GoMi No GenRyô) “reduction of bulky refuse” but in the end 安全 (AnZen) “safety” is always the priority.

PSE

This law makes it illegal to sale equipments that did not pass the PSE safety check. It is very easy to determine if a piece of equipment passed the test. You just have to look for a mark with the acronym PSE for “Product Safety Electrical appliance and material”. There are two shapes. The round mark is when the test is done by the maker and the diamond shape is for tests done by third parties. Particularly dangerous equipments are required to be tested by a third party. As this system was introduced in 2001, all the electrical appliances made before this date are concerned. However, the law will be progressively applied. First the ban will be applied on 259 types of appliances (television, washing machines…), then another batch of 101 categories (air conditioner, AC adapter…) in 2008, and 87 kinds of electrical components such as coords, switches and so on, in 2011.

Bypassing the law ?

The japanese government said it has to deal with more than 150 calls per day regarding the law. Most calls come from second hand profesionnals who are trying to determine what to do with their 在庫 (ZaiKo) “stocks”. Some of them said they were told that they could apply the PSE mark if they did the tests themselves. However, they would have to take responsability in the event of an accident. The truth is somewhat different, you have to register as a 製造事業者 (SeiZô JiGyô Sha) “maker”. This might look like a bummer but it turns out to be a matter of filling up some forms as no qualifications are needed. As a maker, you can perform the test which consists of looking for defects, checking that the device functions correctly and that there is no 漏電 (RôDen) “current leakage” during a 通電実験 (TsuuDen JikKen) “test of current transmission” for which a current of 1000 volts is used.

Some big second hand chain stores are considering to change their economic model. They would rent equipements rather than sell it, effectively avoiding the ban on sales. Another way to escape the law would be to sell abroad. Many professionals are asking the governement to clear up the confusion. It remains unclear what means will be employed to avoid the sales of 粗悪な商品 (SoAku Na ShôHin) “subquality products” abroad or to check the conformity of PSE tests done by individuals.