Osaka Style Banker Wallpaper and a Language Lesson

Use this wallpaper on your computer and be the envy of all your friends.

Dude’s standing a pile of money!!! ブリングブリング♪

This wallpaper is from a famous Japanese TV Drama staring Riki Takeuchi called Minami no Teiou or, roughly translated, “The Caesar of South Osaka”.

I asked a random Osaka friend for tips on any interesting jdramas that use a lot of Osaka dialect, and she mentioned this one… Unfortunately I can’t seem to get my hands on the actual drama anywhere…

My wife, on the other hand, says this drama isn’t interesting because the story is always the same… (her dad is a huge fan.)

Someone borrows money from the Riki’s ring of money lenders… the borrower can’t pay the money lenders back, Riki’s group goes to threaten them to get the money back… turns out the person who borrowed the money was really intent to pay them back and isn’t all that bad… maybe he was borrowing the money to pay back someone who was scamming him or something… so then Riki comes in and does a quasi-good deed by trying to get to the money back from the person who was scamming the original borrower…

Or something like that.

Here’s a Japanese lesson that may help you follow the story line if you end up seeing this drama.

おんどりゃ！人様に借りた金はきっちり返すのが人の道だろうが？はぁ？？！

ondorya! Hitosama ni karita kane ha(wa) kicchiri kaesu no ga hito no michi darouga?! HAa!?!?!?!?

This translates into… (while gripping the lapel of the listener) “PUNK! RETURNING MONEY TO THE PERSON YOU BORROWED IT FROM IS THE PROPER WAY FOR A PERSON TO ACT RIGHT!?!?!?! RIGHT!?!?!!”

If Japanese had such a thing as capital letters… It would be in all-caps as well.

Cultural note.

あなた (anata) is a nice way to say “you” in Japanese.

君 (kimi) is a little less formal.

おまえ (omae) is a pretty mean way (unless you’re super good friends with the listener) to say “you”.

おんどりゃ, as used here is pretty despicable no matter what the situation.

- Harvey