This is How to Japanese, a monthly newsletter with something about Japan/Japanese and a dash of いろいろ.
日本・日本語： 筋
When I first moved to Chicago, I refused to use Uber or even taxis. This was back in 2013, when Uber was still cheap, largely because rides were being heavily subsidized by the company to grow its user base. Instead I ran around the city breathlessly, making bus and El connections as best I could, waiting under the heat lamps on winter days and sometimes even killing time in Walgreens so I didn’t freeze while waiting for the next bus to roll up north on Broadway or east on Irving Park. This “austerity” did help me learn the city. But at what cost? I saved money but wasted time. And missed potential connections.
At some point I gave in and started taking occasional rides, and while none of the drivers that I rode with stand out to me now, a decade later, I do remember having conversations, both with drivers and with other riders during that brief period when it was very cheap if you were willing to share your ride and zig zag across the city. I guess I was willing to waste time, once again, to save a few dollars.
Fast forward ten years in the future. My aging body, which is inexorably approaching its physical limits, is less willing to do the work I did when I first moved to Chicago, and my brain has ripened; I’m wise enough to spend the money to save both time and effort: In the past few months, I’ve become a taxi rider here in Osaka. I hosted family and was preparing for my wedding, and I’m not sure I would’ve made it through either without the occasional rest that a taxi can provide both in terms of time and physical exertion.
Uber here in Osaka is linked with the taxi system, so unless you specifically ask for a larger van, you end up in one of the local cabs. I wrote more specifically about my recommendations for Osaka, about using Uber, and about my wedding over at the blog this month in a sort of post that I haven’t written for a long, long time. The last time I can remember being this excited to make specific recommendations was just after moving to Tokyo in 2008.
In the newsletter this month, I want to talk about 筋 (suji), which is a topic that came up with one of the Uber drivers when I was riding around with family.
When you’re rolling into cabs with loud foreign family like a reverse clown car-exit, taxi drivers inevitably seem to shut up or talk a lot, and we had a good mix of both over the course of a week. If you’re on your own, you might have to be more aggressive about breaking the ice, but I highly recommend it. It’s a great opportunity to practice conversation, and you might end up with small kismets, like the fact that the driver I’m about to tell you about has a daughter who married an American from Chicago.
This guy was not actually an Uber driver, now that I think about it. We just hopped into his cab on Midosuji right outside of the Parco department store in Shinsaibashi. We had a nice conversation over the course of the ride, and at some point I asked him a question that had been on my mind since moving to Osaka over two years ago: Why are there so many 筋 in Osaka and not in Tokyo?
筋 has a number of different definitions…and by “number” I mean 18. A dozen and a half!
Let’s go through them quickly:
1. Muscle or muscle fibers
2. Tendon
3. Blood vessels visibly showing above the surface of the skin
4. Plant fibers
5. A long, narrow chain of things
6. A striped pattern
7. Family lineage
8. A school of art or study
9. Aptitude/talent
10. Logic of things
11. The plot/summary of a novel/play
12. An area related to that thing (I may need some help understanding this one)
13. Something one wants to request
14. The area along a road or river
15. In go or shogi, the play considered the proper move (Need some help here as well, although this site has some information)
16. On a shogi board, either of the vertical 9 rows
17. Social standing, position
18. An abbreviation of 筋かまぼこ (fish paste)
Can you see the theme here? Things that are long. Things that are connected through an area, physically or metaphorically.
The one we’re interested in is 14. (Although it might also be the first definition from this page, which says 細長くひと続きになっているもの - a long, thin, continuous thing?) My driver let us know that 筋 are “avenues,” and they run north to south: 堺筋 (Sakai-suji), 天神橋筋 (Tenjinbashi-suji), 御堂筋 (Midō-suji), etc.
通 (tōri), on the other hand, are “streets” and run east to west: 本町通 (Honmachi-dōri), 長堀通 (Nagahori-dōri), 中央通 (Chūō-dōri), etc.
This was a bit of a なるほど (naruhodo) moment for me. I remember feeling thrown off by the kanji in Osaka upon first arrival. None of the kanji I included above are unusual in and of themselves, but something about the frequency and the combination just stood out from what I was used to in Tokyo. It took a few months to get the vibe, much like learning to stand on the right side of the escalator. Now standing on the left throws me off whenever I go back to Tokyo.
The driver also noted that 通 were originally residential areas, which seems to be backed up. A few sources online note that 通 originally meant “a place where people live” while 筋 meant “a road heading to a destination.” 通 were the core of the city, and 筋 were constructed to supplement and connect the areas. Each 筋 had different purposes, with Midō-suji connecting two temples and Sakai-suji providing access to a waterfront trade area. Some of these 筋 like Tenjinbashi-suji have taken on a greater role than just a thoroughfare, with the 商店街 (shōtengai) playing a vital role in the neighborhood.
So next time you come through Osaka, take a moment to pause and consider whether you’re heading north-south or east-west. Maybe you’re checking out the used books in Semba Center building along Chūō-dōri or heading to Tsutenkaku near the southern part of Sakai-suji. There’s a lot to see here, even if our attractions are not quite as big and bold as the temples in Kyoto or the neon lights of Shinjuku; we’re a matte finish city, not a glossy finish city like Tokyo or a lacquer finish like Kyoto. Our highlights are in the small neighborhood streets and eateries, far from the crowds on 道頓堀.
And when you do visit, grab a taxi to save some time. Your feet will thank you.
いろいろ
As noted above, this month’s blog post is online with some Osaka and general Japan travel recommendations. The podcast is also linked there. I go over all of the newsletter and blog content plus an extra story from my wedding.
Thank you for your feedback last month! I really appreciate those who took the time to send an email or leave a comment. I’m still looking into options and need a little time to explore.
This oral history of the NBA’s COVID-19 shutdown was an interesting read. I remember those first few days pretty vividly. The day after the Jazz-Thunder game was my last day in the office because I worked from home on Fridays.
Really inspiring dev diary for the game Balatro. I played it a bit last year but didn’t get addicted, yet this article still made me want to make a game. Instead, I doubled down on Japanese study.
Long-term Osaka resident here. This was a なるほど (naruhodo) moment for me as well. Thanks!