Muchiuchi 鞭打ち

I was recently interviewed by 2 2nd Grade students for the school paper. You know - "meet the new teacher " kind of thing. Well I'm not sure who was more surprised by our encounter.



Stock questions - where are you from? what do you think of Jogakuin? when did you come to Japan? what's your favourite colour?

Then: " What's your favourite word?" To be honest they were probably looking for a motto - like " Smile and the World Smiles with you!", but you can interpret the Japanese as "word" too so the cunning linguist in me likes to take a different tack. As you know I like words.

Now, purely from a phonetic point of view, one of my favourite sounding Japanese words is "muchiuchi" (moochioochi). I think it's hilarious. I learned it after a car accident I had a few years back, and it means "whiplash".

Perhaps I've been lulled into a false sense of security by the cute sailor suits and the predeliction for Disney characters which surrounds my teenage charges, I don't know. They always seem so young and naive compared to their British counterparts. Eyes opened once again.

Conversation:

"What's your favourite word?"

"I like " muchiuchi"."

Look at each other with momentary kind of " what does that mean again?" bewildered look, that sends my self confidence back to zero - have I been mispronouncing this word for years??!! - I'd heard of the concept of a stiff neck after an accident when I was in 2nd year, hadn't I???" Then , visibly, the penny drops.

To each other, without the slightest trace of surprise or embarrassment beyond the fact they hadn't known immediately:

" Oh that's it, the SM thing with the leather!"

"Right"

And then went to look for the next questions.

THEY'RE 13!!!!!!

I mean, yeah, it doesn't take a large leap of imagination to get to that tack in English either, but I didn't expect that from the cherubic child who'd quite literally just asked if she could cuddle my Kermit, as if it was the biggest thrill she's had all year!

I'm like: "WHAT???!!!! Car crashes??? Stiff necks????"

"Oh yeah, it means that too!"

" I think I'll give you a new answer..."

" Oh , OK, if you want"

In a totally unfazed tone, as if it was bizarre that a new teacher might not want to go down in the journalistic anals of her missionary founded school's history as a secret whip cracking dominatrix!

On the plus side, my street cred has probably soared to new heights..........