It’s no ordinary sale. It’s a FUCKIN’ SALE!
FUCKIN' SALE. In flashy Osaka the use of English for decorative purposes in Japanese advertising reaches a new peak of perfection.
There are some stories that explain themselves pretty f*ckin’ eloquently.
God knows what the people in this Department Store in Osaka were thinking when they came up with this advertising slogan but Zarina Yamaguchi, a friend of a friend, was thinking “pretty damn funny” when she snapped this picture on January 4th. Zarina explains:
Well, a childhood friend of mine and I were strolling along the local street in Shinsaibashi, Osaka. Being around the extra-genki Osaka-jins and salesladies screaming ‘Irashaimasse’ from every direction for the ongoing New Year Sales has never made us feel more at home. On our way to catch up over coffee, I walked into this store to check some things. Truth is, I didn’t even notice the posters. When I looked around, each corner had posters that printed ‘fucking sale’. I didn’t know how to react but what caught me by surprise was that none of the people around me seem to understand the profanity. My friend Sarah and I, both of mixed Japanese descent, both bilingual in Japanese and English, were struck with the comical twist. Pretty sure I would have never seen this elsewhere, I had to snap a shot.
The store is located in Shinsaibashi right next to Hearton Hotel Shinsaibashi and Planet 3rd cafe, she adds.
I should note that Zarina’s childhood friend is Sarah Kashani, my friend and one of the most knowledgable scholars on Koreans in Japan. Sarah verified the authenticity of the signage and the sale, although neither side has disclosed whether they actually bought anything at the sale.
2012 is going to be a fuckin’ awesome year in Japan. You can’t help but feel that way. Our thanks to Ms. Yamaguchi-sama for her contribution. We’re f*ckin’ grateful. 超感謝ですよ。
These cats are all dressed up for the fuckin' sale, dude.
Hi all
many of you have commented on Andrea C’s reference to the movie “Fucking Amal”.
I am from South Africa, and A(L)MAL is an Afrikaans word meaning EVERYBODY, so South Africans will find this especially hilarious. I have to admit, sometimes I enjoy the comments more than the article
And then there’s “¡Ñoooo Que Barato!” in Hialeah, Florida (Miami-Dade County). The last two words mean “What a bargain!” and the first word is an intensifier that literally is short for coño, cognate to “cunt” (but in this context is more like “Shiiit, What a Bargain” or “Daaaamn, What a Bargain”).
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sandrino/485495254/
Cultural differences are so much fun. I wonder what the former ad manager of this company is doing now?
Sometimes the commentators are more funny than the poster (myself). I really have to see “Fucking Amal” or should it be “Fuckin’ Amal.”
Yes, I believe this maxim is often applied for proper decorum when eating with cannibal tribes in the South Pacific.
Andrea-sama
If you see the movie before I do, let me know if it’s worth seeing. Thank you!
For anyone thinking of going to see it, it should be pointed out that “Fucking Åmal” is a film about Swedish Lesbian Teenage Schoolgirls. Just sayin.
About the Swedish film “Fucking Åmål”
The title “Fucking Åmål” is derived from a line in the film:
“Varför måste vi bo i fucking jävla kuk-Åmål”
Which basically means: “Why do we have to live in such a dump of a town?”, although less eloquently put. The English title of the film I might add is the much less exciting “Show my love”. Interestingly enough in Japan the move was called: “Shô mî lavu” (source imdb.com) A throw back to the English title?
This sale is not held at the department. Japanese departments are above such a stupid behavior. Some Japanese doesn’t understand f-word. They think using it is cool because some famous punk or pop singers like P!nk use it.
Another comment about Fucking Åmål/Show me Love: I recall an interview with the director Lukas Moodysson from back when the movie caught on. He apparently received a call from a distributor in the U.S who – clearly- had misunderstood the Åmål part and asked if he could be sent the movie “Fucking a Male”. Oops! Also, while we’re on the topic of Swedish movies, the Swedish word for “The End” is “Slut”. It is usually displayed in large caps at the end of all movies and has caused more than one of my English speaking friends to choke on their popcorn.
I think I’m going to try ending all my emails with the Swedish word for “the end.” Hmm…maybe not. Thanks for sharing!
I don’t know a better word to describe the place. What do you suggest?
OMG, that’s hilarious! Poor people didn’t realize what they were saying. I sort of think the whole thing is cute!
//Beth @ the Chicago Singer
This is really not a fuckin’ sale, it’s more of a darn sale. 20% is really lame.
Hey Jake,
When you bought Baptise a sense of irony or satire was it a two for one sale? You literally risked life and limb to report about organized crime and a little post about a swear word probably garnered you the most responses
Oh and late Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. This must be a great time for your kids. 8 days of gifts (even though the first seven suck), Christmas presents and New Years money.
LOL! Thank you and happy holidays–even though we’re all back to work. Yes, there is something f*cking ironic that a a little post about a swear word garners more response than most of what I’ve written but hey, if it gets people to read the blog–okay!
We know.
…the end….means.. you reached …the bottom.
KUSO JAPAN
In a new example of “kuso” words and signs springing up in Japan and
Taiwan and China and Vietnam, an posh department store in Osaka south of Tokyo recently
displayed
a “on sale” sign for some products that read in English letters:
“Fuckin’ Sale.” Don’t bother looking for it, as the sign has been
removed after the brouhaha hit
the internet and went viral. A reader of longtime American expat and
yakuza expert Jake Adelstein’s ”Japan Subculture” blog spotted the
sign and sent it in to Jake.
He posted it. It went viral. All hell broke loose.
But the department store didn’t mean to be rude or crude. In Japan,
English words are just for decoration, like icing on a cake, and most
people there have no idea
what the effing word meant. It’s just way to be cool using English
words, in much the same way that Americans like to say “ciao” or
“c’est la vie” when they
really cannot speak Italian or French very well.
Zarina Yamaguchi, a friend of a friend of Mr Adelstein who is himself
married to a Japanese woman and has lived there for ages after working
as a crime reporter to the Yomiuri Shimbun, told Jake that the sign
was “pretty damn funny” when she took the snap on January 4. She told
Jake in an email:
“[A ]friend of mine and I were strolling along a street in
Shinsaibashi, Osaka. …..On our way to [have ]coffee, I walked into a
store to check some things. Truth is, I didn’t even notice the
posters. When I looked around, each corner had posters with the words
‘fucking sale’ on therm. I didn’t know how to react but what caught me
by surprise was that none of the people around me seemed to understand
the profanity of it all. My friend Sarah and I, both of mixed Japanese
heritage, both bilingual in Japanese and English, were struck with the
comical twist. Pretty sure I would have never seen this elsewhere, I
had to snap a shot.”
But Zarina might want to know that similar signs pop up in English in
Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand and China. It’s not just a Japanese thing.
In Asia, English words are used on
advertisement and store signs are mere decoration, and nobody has any
what they mean. Nor are they supposed to. It’s just “kuso,” Zarina.
And you know what kuso means, right?
Lafcadio Hernia – bwah hah hah hah!! Best name ever.
This website really has gone viral – HuffPo, Gawker, leMonde, deStandaard + France, Norway, Romania, etc.
I’m surprised that Sweden is not represented – it seems like half of Sweden has come by to comment. Come on, you guys!
Google has a “news for fuckin’ sale” category on this story, and you can even sign up for “fuckin’ sale news alerts”.
Also, original contributor Zarina Yamaguchi’s FB page has 10,000+ shares on this subject.
I’d personally like to say, “Thank you, Japan.” I mean this sincerely. Such warm belly-laughs are all too rare in this vale of tears we call life.
Are you serious? “news for fuckin’ sale category’? Wow.
Well, I love that Japan is capable of generating little stories like this. What’s amazing to me is that this story garners more attention than about anything else I’ve ever written.
I think Zarina must be floored as well. Thanks for writing in.
I like the idea of a fuckin’ sale. Much better than coupons, but quite tiring.
Hysterical!!! I hope the person or people who thought of this don’t lose their jobs!
Uh, coño doesn’t mean cunt. It means something like DAMN!
Coño! Que barato! means DAMN! HOW CHEAP!
It is my first language.
This is hysterical. I love it. If I were a teen living in Japan and my mother asked me “Where are you going?” I could reply “To the Fucking sale!”
You could!
I like your website template, I have a similar one. Welcome to check my blog. Anyway, nice post.