Hi all, Eishi here! Hope you are doing well 🙂
As you might’ve noticed, my blog is very random.
It is a pure reflection of who I am as a scatterbrained Japanese comedian.
Yes, everything here is written from the perspective of an English Rakugo performer, but the topics may vary from rakugo and Japanese language/ culture to wellness, positive psychology, and philosophy.
Today’s post is about pinky promise/ swear.
The other day my son asked me to pinky-promise to take him to a certain fast food restaurant once this chaos is over.
Pinky promise is cute, but do you know how it is done in Japan?
The action of a pinky promise is the same (as in the photo above), but we say the following phrase as well.
ゆびきりげんまん、うそついたらはりせんぼんのます。ゆびきった！
指切りげんまん嘘ついたら針千本飲ます。指切った！
This roughly translates as…
Pinky promise, if you tell a lie, I will cut your finger, hit you with the fist 10,000 times, and make you swallow 1,000 needles…
Kids often don’t know the whole meaning of this phrase, but this is what it actual means…
So, ladies and gentlemen, if you are pinky-promising with a Japanese kid, think twice.
Deliver what you promise, or else…
English Rakugo NZ 