Japanese Slang (7 page)

•   
Shigoto wa nimaimono de yaru ni koshita kot'
n
yo!
You've gotta be at least a twosome to carry off a job well!
(kot'
is Tokyo slang for
koto wa)

•   
Ore-tachi mo sanmaimono de hajimete nagai koto naru n
.
It's been ages since we started working as a threesome.

•   
Ore-tachi no nawabari ni ano yonmaimono ga shima tsukur
to shiteru rashii ze!
It looks like those four guys are trying to move in on our territory.

Groups that work under the umbrella of a gang report directly to the
kaoyaku
(face function), who is also lovingly referred to as the
kataoya
(“one parent,” as in one-parent family). This parent is like a department manager in a bona fide firm: he hires and fires executives and maneuvers them profitably from one job to the next. When the ringleader happens to be a younger man, mischievous executives might refer to him behind his back as
anigao
(brother face). In his presence, however, heads are brusquely bowed and he is meekly addressed as
aniki
(older brother). When sneak thieves work in packs, social and professional hierarchy plays a star role. The man in charge is
dotama,
a name the street crowd claims developed from
atama
(head). The
dotama
is the brain of the pack. He might not personally break the lock, smash the window, or climb the drainpipe, but he makes the on-location decisions, orchestrating each movement of the burglary. In rougher packs the leader is the
konatruki,
a Korean gang word for “ruffian” which has acquired on Tokyo's modern streets a whiff of bravura and daredevilry. Important jobs that promise a high yield in loot are handled by larger sneak-thieving groups that come equipped with specialized watchmen, lockbreakers, computerized-alarm dismantlers, and a vault cracker or two.

Partners in crime refer to each other as
hikiai
(those who pull against each other),
tsute
(connections),
d
shi
(kindred spirits),
gui
and
guhi
(lopped-off versions of
tagui,
“peer”),
h
bai
(comrade), and more affectionately as
ky
dai
(brothers) which, for security, is often inverted to the less comprehensible
daiky
.
Cruder bands of thieves, however, opt for heftier appellations. A favorite is the Korean expression
chie,
which is often distorted to a more feral
chiy
or
chiy
.
The general rule with this set of words is: the harsher the expression, the warmer the criminal bond.
Busuke
(plug ugly),
fushiyaburi
(joint breaker),
hiru
(leech), and
hine
(stale) are often used with great cordiality by one leathery tough to another.

•   
Nan da yo? Orera no hikiai wa anna chatchii doa mo akeraren
'n da ze?
What the fuck? Our buddy can't even open a simple door like this?