Sugoi... You did it. That answer fits perfectly - thx.. Suteebu.
--- In [email protected], "kamuininja" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > --- In [email protected], "stevemissemiko" > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > This one's got me stumped. I watched the move "Spirited Away" > > recently. I believe the Japanese title is "Sen to Chihiro > > kamikakushi". I watched the movie in Japanese with English > > Subtitles. There was one scene where a question was asked - it > > sounded like "Bansai ga nani". The caption read "What is a > > foreman?". My questions is "Bansai" - does this really mean > foreman > > (supervisor/boss/leader)? I can't find it in any of my > > dictionaries. Elsewhere in the movie, I hear the same word used > and > > always - it means "foreman". Thx.. > > I haven't watched the anime, but I did some digging and I think I've > got the answer to your question. > > The character you are talking about is the frog in the bath house, > right? It's called "bandai gaeru" (bandai frog) . > > "Bandai" doesn't mean "foreman". It literally means "duty stand", > which actually is (or should I say was?) the high seat in a "sentou" > (publich bath house) where the manager sits to keep an eye on the > changing rooms and the bathrooms for men and women. > Traditionally, there is only one big room in a "sentou", and there > is a partition wall in the middle to separate "otoko-yu" (men's > bath) and "onna-yu" (women's bath). > The "bandai" is located at the one end of the wall near the entrance > (or the lobby) so he/she can look over both "otoko-yu" and "onna- yu". > > In that movie, the manager who sits on "bandai" is a frog, so he's > called "bandai gaeru" or "bandai" for short. > They employed "foreman" for him, because there's no word > for "bandai" in English. I guess the translaters had a hard time > with this one. > > "Sentous" are getting fewer and fewer and I think the > traditional "bandai" is disappearing too. > > Kamui Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Japanese_Language/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
