Japanese people don’t really like to get wet when it rains.  In foreign countries, many people walk in the rain without carrying umbrellas, however you don’t see that in Japan.  Instead, convenience stores and train station kiosks sell plastic umbrellas. Simple plastic umbrellas cost 500 yen. Besides the cheap plastic umbrellas, the well-known, Waterfront, brand offers various types of colorful umbrellas at a very reasonable price.


It is said that annual consumption of Japanese umbrellas is 130 million, 90 percent of which are plastic. The population of Japan is approximately 128 million, which means that each person is purchasing 1 or more umbrellas per year. You might wonder where all the plastic umbrellas go.

The number one reason so many are purchased is that they are misplaced or left behind.  Many people likely forget umbrellas on the train while commuting to work. According to Japan Railway, umbrellas are the second most forgotten items on trains behind clothing.  It is said that 300,000 umbrellas are collected as lost and found items a year. Besides losing them, people end up buying new ones even they already have some at home, when it suddenly rains.

Here is a part of the column about umbrellas from "Yoroku" by Mainichi Shinbun.

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Romaji Translation

Eikoku-jin to nihon-jin wa yoku tenki ni tsuite kaiwa suru to senjitsu no shouran de kaita. Tomo ni tenki ga kawariyasui kuni yue daga, sono taisaku wa seihantai no you da. Nihon-jin wa kawariyasui kara arakajime kasa o junbi suru ga, eikoku-jin wa onaji riyuu de kasa o motanai hito ga ooi sou na.

Kasa no shouhi ni oite sekai de gun o nuku to mirareru koto kara, kishou raitaa no kurashima atsushi san ga "amagasa minzoku" to yonda nihon-jin de aru. Katsute no eikoku shinshi mo kasa o motta ga, kore ga juuhachi seiki no jonasu hanwei to iu hito ga mi o motte yo ni hirometa shuukan da to no itsuwa wa yoku shirareteiru.

Kasa to ieba josei no higasa shika nakatta touji, kasa o mochiaruita kare wa choushou no mato to natta. Sorebakari ka ame no toki ni hitobito ga tsukau basha no gyosha kara wa, doromizu o hanekakerareru iyagarase o ukeru. Daga sanjuu-nen go niwa amagasa o motsu shuukan ga hiromatta to iu kara, ichinen iwa o mo tooshita to iu beki ka.

Vocabulary

eikoku-jin ??? --- British (people)
to ? --- and
nihon-jin ??? --- Japanese (people)
tenki ?? --- weather
tsuite ??? --- about
kaiwa ?? --- conversation
senjitsu ?? --- the other day
kakita ??? --- past tense of the verb "kaku (to write)"
tomo ?? --- both
kawariyasui ?????? --- easy to change
kuni ? --- country
yue ?? --- a reason
taisaku ?? --- measures
seihantai ??? --- the exact opposite
arakajime ????? --- previously
kasa ? --- umbrella
junbi suru ???? --- to prepare
onaji ?? --- same
riyuu ?? --- reason
motanai ???? --- negative form of the verb "motsu (to have)"
hito ? --- people
ooi ?? --- many
shouhi ?? --- consumption
sekai ?? --- the world
gun o nuku ???? --- excel others
kishou ?? --- weather
minzoku ?? --- a race
katsute ??? --- once; at one time
shinshi ?? --- gentleman
seiki ?? --- century
hiromeru ??? --- to spread
shuukan ?? --- custom
itsuwa ?? --- an anecdote
yoku shirareru ??????--- well known
~ to ieba ???? --- speaking of
josei ?? --- woman
higasa ?? --- a parasol
touji ?? --- in those days
choushou ?? --- a sneer; ridicule
mato ? --- target
basha ?? --- a horse-drawn carriage
gyosha ?? --- a coachman
doromizu ?? --- muddy water
haneru ??? --- to splash
iyagarase ???? --- nasty things to a person
ukeru ??? --- to receive; to get
ichinen ?? --- determination, resolution
iwa ? --- rock
toosu ?? --- to pass through

Grammar

Nationality is expressed by adding "jin （?）", which literally means "person", after the country name. Katakana is generally used to write the names of foreign countries. Please check out my "Around the World with Katakana" lessons to learn how to write them.

Amerika-jin ????? --- American
Itaria-jin ????? --- Italian
Oranda-jin ????? --- Dutch
Kanada-jin ???? --- Canadian
Supein-jin ????? --- Spanish
Doitsu-jin ???? --- Germany
Furansu-jin ????? --- French
Burajiru-jin ????? --- Brazilian