Let's learn Japanese culture from Sazae-san Vol.2

As I introduced earlier, Sazae-san is one of the most famous cartoons in Japan. This manga reflects the lifestyle of Japanese people who lived in 1950-1960's. A lot of things dramatically had changed since the war ended. Some were too poor to raise children, others were looking for jobs to earn money. On the other hand, TV broadcasting was introduced and the rapid growth of economy is called "high growth period"

In the late of 1950's, many Japanese households had own three modern appliances: a television, a refrigerator, and a washing machine. These appliances are called "three sacred treasures" (三種の神器・Sanshu-no-jingi)

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Three sacred treasures are a sword, a mirror, and a jewel that the first Emperor of Japan had. They are regarded as things that the God granted to the Emperor. Three modern appliances are compared to these in that they were so useful that they completely changed their lifestyles at that time.


In 1950's, there were few people who own their televisions at home. In general, electrics retail stores display a television and turned on to watch sumo wrestling and baseball games. People gathered in front of the television to watch the games.

Now, let's take a look at some cartoons here.
If you don't know much about Sazae-san, Please visit this site.

Masuo-san : テレビをみよう (terebi wo miyou)

Let's watch the TV!

Tara-chan: おとうちゃん、みえる？(Otochan Yoku Mieru?)

Can you see it, daddy?

Then, Tara-chan asks Masuo-san if he can see it clearly again.

Masuo-san: いたい　いたい！みえるったら (Itai Itai Mieruttara)

Ouch! It hurts! Yes, I can see it, no worry

The number of households that owned their televisions was dramatically increasing.  About 90 % of Japanese had a television by 1960 and they enjoyed watching sports, especially sumo wrestling.

Refrigerators were getting common among people as well.

Before that, they had had huge ice blocks in a container and keep

food in it. People couldn't keep ice creams, so that they bought an ice cream from

ice cream stalls which came around to sell. Once people bought an ice cream, they ate it right away.

Katsuo and Wakame thought the gift was assorted fruits,

so they keep the box in the fridge.

However, it contains a dozen of bar soups!

Now, let's review today's key words!

テレビ (te le bi) written in Katakana

television

冷（れい）蔵（ぞう）庫（こ）＝rei zou ko

れいぞうこ

refrigerator