Haisai Ojisan

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At the beginning of 10, I returned to Japan from Zurich on JAL after attending the World Cimbalom Congress in Appenzell, Switzerland. The Congress included an introduction to the Okinawan scale as part of its presentation of Japanese music. Then, on the flight, they were showing a video that felt like Kazufumi Miyazawa of The Boom visiting “Shima Uta,” so I found myself watching it. It made me realize once again how uncultured I am. I had never even thought about the meaning of the deigo flowers. That prompted me to listen to a bit of Okinawan music lately.

As I listened, the lyrics to “Haisai Ojisan”¹ caught my attention. I could not make any sense of them at all.

Aari aari waaraba, yee waarabaa
Iyaa ya waarabaa nu kusabukkuite
Tumugwa tomeyunna, yee warabaa

　　　— From the chorus of verse 2 of Shoukichi Kina’s “Haisai Ojisan”

Do you understand it? I did not understand it at all. German might even be easier².
Apparently, a translation into Tokyo Japanese would go something like this:

Hey, hey, kid—hey, kid!
You’re just a brat, yet you’re talking big.
Are you trying to find yourself a wife, hey, kid?

The individual words apparently mean the following.

Aari aari (arii ari)

A phrase like “hey, hey” or “now, now,” used to call out to or gently admonish someone.

Waarabaa (child)

“Child,” “brat,” or “kid.”

Yee

A form of address or interjection such as “hey” or “say.”

Iyaa (you)

“You” or “thou,” used toward a peer or someone of lower status.

Kusabukkuite

“Still green,” “still snot-nosed,” or “with your bottom still blue.” It is a teasing expression about being a child.

Tumugwa (little wife)

“Bride” or “wife.” The suffix “gwa” (small) conveys affection.

Tomeyunna

“Are you looking for one?” or “Are you seeking one?” (the interrogative form of “tumu,” meaning to look for or seek).

Ryukyuan and Japanese split from Proto-Japonic into separate languages, and the linguistic distance between them is apparently about the same as that between English and German. No wonder I could not understand it. I looked online for an automatic translator, but there was none. After persistently searching for a translation, I found one posted on 2ch. (Never underestimate 2ch.) Incidentally, “Haisai” is apparently the male form of “Howdy.” The female form is “Haitai.”

For the original lyrics, Uta-net is one place to look. For explanations of their meaning, Taru’s blog³ also seems useful.

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