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Momotaro (3): 4 Expressions
This is the last article on Momotaro. In the last article, Momotarō set out for Onigashima, and a dog, a monkey and a pheasant joined him for one millet dumpling each.
The four of them cross the sea in a boat. On the rocks ahead stands the demons' castle, with a black iron gate.
1. 一生懸命（いっしょうけんめい）— as hard as one can
一生懸命 means doing something with all your strength. It is one of the most useful four-kanji words in Japanese.
鬼たちは、中から一生懸命に門を押さえています。
The demons were holding the gate shut from inside with all their might.
It does not help them. The pheasant pecks at their eyes from the sky, and the monkey climbs the rocks and opens the gate from the inside. Momotarō could not have opened that gate alone.
Today:
- 試験の前に、一生懸命勉強した。
I studied as hard as I could before the exam. - 一生懸命走ったが、電車に間に合わなかった。
I ran as fast as I could, but I missed the train.
Tip: You can use it with に or without: 一生懸命に働く and 一生懸命働く are both fine.
2. 〜だけで — only; just
〜だけで means "only that, and nothing more." It often shows that something is less than it looks.
けれども鬼たちは、体が大きいだけで、あまり強くありませんでした。
But the demons were only big; they were not very strong.
The demons throw down their iron clubs and give up. Their chief cries big tears and says 命だけはお助けください — "please, just spare my life" — and offers all the treasure. Momotarō forgives him.
Today:
- 彼は口だけで、何もしない。
He is all talk and does nothing. - 見ているだけで、楽しくなる。
Just watching makes me happy.
Tip: In 命だけは, だけ means "at least this one thing": これだけは忘れないで — "Whatever you do, don't forget this."
3. 首を長くして待つ（くびをながくしてまつ）— to wait eagerly
Literally "to wait with one's neck stretched out," like someone looking down the road again and again.
家では、おじいさんとおばあさんが、「桃太郎はまだ帰らないかなあ」と言いながら、首を長くして待っていました。
At home, the old man and the old woman were waiting eagerly, saying, "Isn't Momotarō back yet?"
Momotarō comes home with a cart piled high with treasure, pulled by the dog and pushed by the monkey.
Today:
- お返事を、首を長くして待っています。
I am eagerly waiting for your reply. - 子どもたちは、夏休みを首を長くして待っている。
The children can hardly wait for summer vacation.
Tip: 首 is in many idioms. 首になる is "to be fired," and 首をかしげる is "to tilt one's head (in doubt)."
4. 何より（なにより）— the best thing of all
何より means "more than anything." 〜て何よりだ says that something is the best news you could have.
「まあまあ、けががなくて何よりだよ」と、おばあさんは言いました。
"My, my, you are not hurt, and that is the best thing of all," said the old woman.
The old man says えらいぞ、えらいぞ。それこそ日本一だ, "Well done, well done! Now that is truly the best in Japan." The story does not say if he is praising what Momotarō did or the cart full of treasure. The old woman thinks of something else. When Momotarō left, the last words he heard, words that seem to be the old woman's, were けがをしないようにね, "mind you don't get hurt." Now he is back unhurt, and that is what she is glad about.
Today:
- お元気そうで、何よりです。
I'm so glad to see you looking well. - 無事に着いて、何よりだ。
You got there safely, and that's what matters most.
Tip: 何よりも before a word means "more than anything": 何よりも家族が大切だ — "Family matters more than anything."
Read it in the story
Did Momotarō do the right thing? The traveler said the demons took the treasure from lands all around, but the story never names its owners, and it never says the demons came to his village. Momotarō brings the treasure home. Japanese writers have been arguing about it for more than a hundred years. Read it and see what you think.
On Thursday, October 22, the final part of The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter will be released.