On a few occasions my informant, Peter, has taken my hand and rhythmically chanted a short, japanese phrase while swinging our arms back and forth. I never knew what he was saying or who he had learned it from until I asked to document it. The following is from when I interviewed him in the USC Village:

Me: “Can you explain that thing you do where you swing our hands while sing-chanting in Japanese? What is that?”

Peter: “Well, when I used to go on walks with my grandmother, we would hold hands and swing them while chanting this over and over again: ‘Yo sun-sun ikimashou, yo sun-sun ikimashou.’”

Me: “Could you please translate that for me?”

Peter: “The ‘Yo sun-sun’ part does not have a real meaning…”

Me: “Can you extrapolate on that?”

Peter: “It’s like, ‘la, la, la” in English. It’s just sing-songy.”

Me: “And the second part?”

Peter: “That means, like, ‘Onward, here we go…;’ but in a pleasant way.”

My informant then helped my find the Japanese script and translation with my computer so I could add it to my entry:

~Original script: 行きましょう

~Roman script: Ikimashou

~Translation: (A nice way of saying) Let’s Go

Analysis:

I’m so glad my informant chose to share this with me. I now know a little more about his cultural background and how that comes into play in his everyday. I’m also honored that he has done this with me when we hold hands. I think it means he feels connected to me, and wants to replicate the happy feelings he got from his grandmother in me.