Blog #4 Kazu

     Hi, this is Kazu. The school is already starting tomorrow and it makes me sad to realize my vacation is over, but on the other hand I cannot wait to see my friends everyday for another half an year. During my summer vacation, I had so much fun going to the sea, BBQ, and just hanging out with my circle members. Thus, I do have so much to write about how fun those events were, but I am going to write about something different instead.
     While I played hard during my summer vacation, I also did not quit working part time as a hotel staff. Few days ago, when I was arranged to a conference where most of the customers were foreigners, one man came up and asked me several questions about Japanese language such as "How do you say thank you in Japanese?" "What does Gozaimasu mean?". At this point, I answered his questions with all my best and things did go well. However, after I was done with my work, I came to think that though I name myself a Japanese, I do not know the origins and the real meanings of the Japanese words that I use everyday. Therefore, I searched the origins of Japanese basic greetings after I came back home that day. Thus, I am going to introduce several of them in this blog.
     First of all, "おはよう(Good Morning)" was originally used by Kabuki actors saying "お早いお着きですね(You are here early)” and it gradually changed to "おはようございます". Then, "こんにちは" and "こんばんは" are said that there must have been a sentence after them. For example, "今日(こんにち)は、元気ですか？(How are you today?)" or "今晩(こんばん)は、寒いですね(It is getting colder tonight)". It is said that since there were sentences after, that is the reason why Konnichiwa's and Konbanwa's "わ(wa)" is written as "は(ha)". Lastly, "ありがとう(Thank You)" came from the word "有り難し" which when you look at the Kanji, it means "あるのが難しい(hard to have)".
     Hence, after I searched about each words' origins, I feel more confident to name myself a Japanese and I am sure I would have a better explanation the next time a foreigner asks me about Japanese.