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Lost in Translation

I was initially perplexed by the shirts that the youth of Japan liked to wear. Shirts with phrases/words in English were extremely popular. I paid no attention until one day when I actually paused to read a teenager's shirt. It made no sense. I read an author that said if you look at the shirts like a form of haiku poetry, it almost makes sense.

 

While in Sanyo Onoda, there was little to do in the evening, other than eat or play pachinko. I chose to wander the mall and chronicle some of the shirts sold in the stores.

 

I'm betting that the manufacturers made use of some of the electronic translators. When I was staying with my host family, they would occasionally pass me their Casio pocket translator. I would read their comment and think, "HUH?". One time the translator had said, "A man is a fool that sets his house on fire." I had no idea what they were trying to get across....don't play with matches, keep away from the stove...

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Uploaded on November 16, 2008
Taken on November 21, 2008