Japanese Lessons: Japanese Reading Practice with Manga 1-3-1

Manga: Give My Regards to Black Jack 1-1-1

*These Japanese lessons are created based on the Terms of Use of the Copyrights of them; TITLE: Give My Regards to Black Jack, AUTHOR: Shuho Sato, and WEBSITE: Manga on Web.

Japanese Lessons 1-3-1 75ななじゅうごさいだん / The Price of Being 75

A scene in Give My Regards to Black Jack

You can browse all of the pages by clicking the picture above and then move to any page via 「もく」 at the left. When you need English translations or explanations, please return here and refer them. This article covers from page 87 to page 108.

Japanese Script with English Translation

先生せんせい、まだのこってらしたんですか?*」「はい、ちょっとになったもので…。」

“Doctor? You’re still here?” “Yes, I was... a little worried...”

One Point Lesson: Japanese Vocabulary

「いらした」 is the contracted word from 「いらっしゃった」. This is an honorific expression and is equivalent to 「く」「る」「いる」 and  「ある」.

「おはようございまーす!おはようございまーす!」「どうしたんだ斉藤さいとう今日きょうはやけに合入あいはいってんじゃねーか…」

“Good morning! Good morning!” “What’s up with you, Saito? You sure are pumped up today.”

血小板けっしょうばん60ろくじゅったん、プラズマネート・カッター6本ろっぽん、ベニロン5gぐらむ。これをぜんあのかねろうじんにやったのかね?* 斉藤先生さいとうせんせい。」「はい!おかげで患者かんじゃ今日きょう良好りょうこうです!」「よけいなことはしなくていい…。りょう指示しじわたしす。」

“60unit of blood platelets. 6 vials of plasmanate cutter. 5 grams of globulin. You used all of these on that old man? Dr. Saito?” “Yes, sir! As a result, he is in the best of shape today!” “Don’t go overboard. I will tell you everything you need to do.”

One Point Lesson: Japanese Vocabulary

「~かね?」 is a formal word, but cannot be used from inferior people to superior people. Nowadays, the younger generation seldom use this phrase.

「ありがとうございます、先生せんせい!こんなにえら先生せんせい手術しゅじゅつしていただいて、じいちゃんもきっと満足まんぞくしとるとです*!」「じゅつけい順調じゅんちょうです。手術しゅじゅつ100ひゃくぱーせんと成功せいこうですが、心臓しんぞう合併症がっぺいしょうがありますので…ここからさき正直しょうじきって本人ほんにん生命力せいめいりょくしだいです。肺塞栓はいそくせんこさずに回復かいふくできるかどうか…しんぜんもあるし。ちなみにこちらは手術しゅじゅつ助手じょしゅをつとめた白鳥先生しらとりせんせい…あっち*ちの研修けんしゅうで、えー…と…。」「斉藤さいとうです!」

“Thank you, professor! I’m sure he is happy to have been operated on by such an esteemed doctor!” “His condition has been pretty good since the operation. The operation itself was 100% successful, but since there have been complications to his heart… To be honest, how it goes from here will really depend on his ability to stay alive. I’m not sure if he can recover without suffering a pulmonary embolism or heart failure. This is the man who assisted me on the operation, Dr. Shiratori. And the resident intern in charge of Mr. Kaneko, Dr. ,uhm...” “Saito, sir!”

One Point Lesson: Japanese Vocabulary

「しとるとです」 is a dialect in a rural area and is equivalent to 「しています」.

「あっち」 should actually not be used toward people. It sounds rude. The professor should have said 「あちら」 as he said 「こちら」 toward Dr. Shiratori.

「すっかりよくなりましたね。午後ごごには退院たいいんできるようにつづきをとっておきましょう。」「ねえ先生せんせい、せっかくだからさい一本点滴いっぽんてんてきってよ!あれをやるとぐーんと*げんるんだ。オレはいっつも調ちょうわるいとちかくの診療所しんりょうじょってもらってんだ。」「うーん…点滴てんてきですか…。点滴てんてきなかなにかごぞんですか?桑沢くわさわさん。500ごひゃくccしーしーなかようするに25にじゅうごgぐらむのブドウとうぎません。牛乳ぎゅうにゅうコップ半分程はんぶんてい、わずか100ひゃっキロカロリーの栄養分えいようぶんですよ。」「するってーと*なにかい?点滴てんてきってやつは意味いみなんかないのかい?」「ええ…おまじないのようなものです。脱水症状だっすいしょうじょうもないのに点滴てんてきつのなんてほんだけですよ。」

“Well, you certainly have gotten better. I’ll work on the paperwork to have you released from the hospital this afternoon.” “Hey, Doc. Since I’m here anyway why don’t you give me one more IV? After one of those, I’m raring to go! I always go to the nearby clinic and have them give me an IV.” “Hm… an IV, huh…? Do you know what is in an IV? Mr. Kuwazawa. A 500cc IV contains no more than 25 grams of glucose. That’s a mere 100 calories of nutrition, about the same as half a cup of milk.” ”Meaning that… there’s no reason to do an IV?” “Yes… It’s a placebo. Japan is the only place in the world that actually gives an IV to someone who isn’t dehydrated.”

One Point Lesson: Japanese Vocabulary

「ぐーんと」 is a Japanese onomatopoeia which indicates something increasing, growing, improving, or stretching. It is used in this way; 「アクセスすうがぐーんとえた。The number of access has increased very much.」

「するってーと」 is a contracted word from 「そうするとうと」. This is sometimes used by middle aged men.

がいだったな…。白鳥先生しらとりせんせいって患者かんじゃさんのまえではがおもみせるんだ…。だけど、点滴てんてきをすすめないしゃなんてめずらしいよね…。」「点滴てんてき成分せいぶんなんてそんなもんだし、注射料ちゅうしゃりょうれると一本千円いっぽんせんえんじょうするからな…。患者かんじゃ一割いちわりたんだから100ひゃくえんしかはらわないけど…たしかに病院びょういんはちゃんと千円せんえんもうかってる…。そういうムダがもりもってくに療財政りょうざいせい圧迫あっぱくするんだよな…。」「ぼく今朝けさよけいなりょうをするなっておこられたんだ…。それもりょうのムダづかいをやめろってことなのかな…?」「無理むりしてがんばることねーよー…。どうせ給料きゅうりょう3万8千円さんまんはっせんえんのままだし…。」「しがう!ぼくこんこそ*あの当直とうちょくでの失敗しっぱいえたいんだ!」「だったら当直とうちょくのバイトいけよ。」「そ…それは…。」

“I didn’t expect that... Dr. Shiratori can actually smile in front of a patient. But a doctor that doesn’t recommend doing an IV sure is rare, huh?” “Well, he wasn’t joking about what is in an IV, and when you add in the injection fee, it can cost over $10. The patient only has to pay 10% of that, about a buck or so. The hospital makes $10 though. Those unnecessary things just keep building up until they threaten the nation’s medical finances...” “Dr. Shiratori got mad at me this morning for doing unnecessary treatment… I wonder if he was telling me to stop wasting medical fees on things that didn’t matter...” “You don’t have to go out of your way and try so hard… hell, we’re only making $450 a month, anyway...” ”No!! This time I really want to get over those mistakes I made on my shift!” “Then go back to that part-time job.” ”Uh… It’s… Just...”

One Point Lesson: Japanese Expression

こんこそ」 can be translated as “this time”. However, it includes a nuance which is something like “by utilizing the experience of failure , I will not make the same mistake this time”.

こんはもうおかえりですか?先生せんせい…。」

“Are you going home now, doctor?”

アパートへかえるとハガキが一枚届いちまいとどいていた…。このあいだ当直とうちょくのバイトをした病院びょういん先生せんせいからだった。

When I got back to my apartment, there was a postcard in my mail box… It was from the doctor I had worked with at my part-time job.

「メッセージは一件いっけんです。」「もしもーし、おかあさんでーす。げんかいえいろう~。もうすぐおぼん*だね~。えるのたのしみにしてるわよ~。」

“You have 1 message” ”Hellooo? It’s Mom. How are you doing, Eijiro? It’ll be the Bon Festival pretty soon. We’re looking forward to seeing you, honey!”

One Point Lesson: Japanese Culture

「おぼん」 is a Japanese traditional custom to pray for ones’ ancestors. It is held on the 15thof August. People usually take the day off and go to their hometown.

「あの…白鳥先生しらとりせんせい昨日きのうから尿状態にょうじょうたいつづいていて…BUNが110ひゃくじゅうまで上昇じょうしょうしました…。腹膜透析ふくまくとうせきかいしたいのですが。*」「なにもしなくていい…。」「ですが先生せんせい…このままではかねさんの容体ようだいは…。」「きみにはまだからないのか?あの手術しゅじゅつ意味いみが…」「え…?」「患者かんじゃたくたおれ、しきめいのままここへはこばれてきた…。それにもかかわらず手術しゅじゅつおこなわれたのは一日いちにちたったあとだ。いまにもにそうな患者かんじゃまえに、すぐに手術しゅじゅつしなかったゆうなにかるか?常識的じょうしきてきかんがえておくれだったからだ。」「だ…だけど…結局手術けっきょくしゅじゅつはしたじゃないですか…?」「教授きょうじゅ指示しじだ。教授きょうじゅ患者かんじゃぞくから100ひゃく万円まんえんけとったというのはったはずだ。我々われわれはその100ひゃくまんのためだけに無意味むいみ老人ろうじんからだきざんだ。つまり…、これじょうりょう無駄むだだ。けんせいのおかげで、患者かんじゃはらりょう月数万つきすうまんていだが…現実げんじつにはその末期医療まっきいりょうには一千万いっせんまんものかねがかかる。そのかね全国民ぜんこくみんってストックしたりょうなかからすんだぞ…。きみ回復かいふく見込みこみがほとんどない老人ろうじんすう月延命げつえんめいするためだけに、何千万なんぜんまんもの国民こくみんかね使つかうのか?現在げんざいほんりょう50ごじゅっちょう15じゅうごねんには80はちじゅっちょうわれている…。そのかねきみはどこからひねりだす…?このままではほんりょう財政ざいせい崩壊ほうかいする…。無駄むだ延命えんめいりょう社会悪しゃかいあくだ…!」

“Uhm… Dr. Shiratori. Mr. Kaneko’s anuria has continued since yesterday and his bun is elevated up to 110… so I’d like to perform a peritoneal dialysis.” “You don’t have to do anything...” “But, doctor, if we don’t to anything, Mr. Kaneko is going to...” ”You still don’t get it, do you? What that surgery was all about...” “Huh…?” ”The patient was brought here unconscious after collapsing. Despite that, we performed the surgery an entire day later. Do you have any idea why we didn’t immediately operate on a man who was about to die? It was because it was already too late for the beginning.” “B… But... but we did the operation, didn’t we…? “Under instructions from the professor. I thought I told you the professor received $10,000 from the patient’s family. We opened up that old man’s body for no other reason than the $10000 they gave him. In other words… whatever we do for him now is meaningless.” “Thanks to the insurance system, the fees paid by the patient are only in the tens of thousands of dollars each month… But in reality, this kind of terminal care costs about 100 thousand dollars. Those costs are taken from the stock of medical money all of Japan’s citizens have contributed. Do you really want to spend tens of millions of citizens’ money just to keep an old man with virtually no chance of recovery? The current medical costs in Japan are around 500 million dollars… It’s said that they will increase to 800 million dollars 15 years from now… Where are you going to get the money? If things go that way, Japan’s medical economy will collapse… Unnecessary life-prolonging treatment is a social evil!”

One Point Lesson: Japanese Grammar

This expression;「~のですが。」 can be often seen. Some words are supposed to be continued, but that is omitted here. This is usually used for making a request and we guess that 「よろしいでしょうか?」 may be omitted.The whole sentence would be 「腹膜透析ふくまくとうせきかいしたいのですが、よろしいでしょうか?」


だったらなんで手術しゅじゅつなんかしたんだ…?延命えんめいりょう社会悪しゃかいあくだなんて*くらいなら…なん教授きょうじゅ指示しじにはさからわなかったんだ…!?

Then why did we do the surgery? If you can call life-prolonging treatment a “social evil”... then why didn’t you oppose the professor’s instructions?

One Point Lesson: Japanese Vocabulary

る」 is a strong word. It can be translated as “to say ~ clearly”, “to declare”, or “to affirm”.

ぼくおなじだ…。ぼくも…白鳥先生しらとりせんせいには一言ひとことかえさなかった…。患者かんじゃさんのことなんてかんがえてなかった…”これはれんだ” ”このひとすくえばぶん一人前いちにんまえしゃだ”…ぼくかんがえていたのはぶんことばかりだ…。当直とうちょくときだってぶん失敗しっぱいにばかりこだわって…ハガキがるまで患者かんじゃさんのことなんてすっかりわすれてた。このひとぞく一体いったいどんな気持きもちで100ひゃく万円まんえんしたんだ…?おじいさん*…あなたは…きたいですか…?」

“I’m the same. I… I didn’t say a single word to Dr. Shiratori… I wasn’t thinking at all about the patient himself… “This is a test…” “If I can save this man, then I’m a real doctor”. I was only thinking about myself. I couldn’t help but think about anything but my own mistakes. I had forgot about the patient until that postcard came. What kind of feelings made this man’s family give someone $10,000? Mr. Kaneko… Do you want to live…?”

One Point Lesson: Japanese Culture

Even though a person is out of your family, Japanese people sometimes call him or her 「おじいさん(ちゃん)」「おばあさん(ちゃん)」 .

なか病院びょういんには死神しにがみあるく。永禄大学えいろくだいがく属病院ぞくびょういん病床びょうしょうすう1千いっせん100ひゃく…、平均へいきんして一晩ひとばん二人ふたりひとくなる…。

Death strides through hospitals at night… From the 1,100 beds in Eiroku University’s Hospital… 2 patients die per night on average…

先生せんせい大変たいへんです!きてください、先生せんせいかねさんの容体ようだい急変きゅうへんしました!きてください!」

“Doctor, it’s an emergency! Doctor, please wake up! Mr. Kaneko’s condition has taken a sudden turn for the worse! Please wake up!”

みゃくがない。」

“He has no pulse.”

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