Making Sense of Japanese: What the Textbooks Don't Tell You

Power Japanese

by Jay Rubin

Making Sense of Japanese is the fruit of one foolhardy American's thirty-year struggle to learn and teach the Language of the Infinite. Previously known as Gone Fishin', this book has brought Jay Rubin more feedback than any of his literary translations or scholarly tomes, "even if," he says, "you discount the hate mail from spin-casters and the stray gill-netter."

To convey his conviction that "the Japanese language is not vague," Rubin has dared to explain how some of the most challenging Japanese grammatical forms work in terms of everyday English. Reached recently at a recuperative center in the hills north of Kyoto, Rubin declared, "I'm still pretty sure that Japanese is not vague. Or at least, it's not as vague as it used to be. Probably."

The notorious "subjectless sentence" of Japanese comes under close scrutiny in Part One. A sentence can't be a sentence without a subject, so even in cases where the subject seems to be lost or hiding, the author provides the tools to help you find it. Some attention is paid as well to the rest of the sentence, known technically to grammarians as "the rest of the sentence."

Part Two tackles a number of expressions that have baffled students of Japanese over the decades, and concludes with Rubin's patented technique of analyzing upside-down Japanese sentences right-side up, which, he claims, is "far more restful" than the traditional way, inside-out.

"The scholar," according to the great Japanese novelist Soseki Natsume, is "one who specializes in making the comprehensible incomprehensible." Despite his best scholarly efforts, Rubin seems to have done just the opposite.

Previously published in the Power Japanese series under the same title and originally as Gone Fishin' in the same series.

Genres: Japanese Literature, Nonfiction, Language, Japan, Reference, Linguistics, Essays

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Jay Rubin is an American academic and translator. He is most notable for being one of the main translators into English of the works of the Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami. He has also written a guide to Japanese, Making Sense of Japanese, and a biographical literary analysis of Murakami.

Reviews

[Carola · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, this book. OH, THIS BOOK.

You see, when I read the reviews where everyone was praising this book, saying how useful and funny it was, I was slightly sceptical. Sure, I like Rubin's translations. Sure, he knows his Japanese. But I don't trust non-fiction/selfhelp/reference works to keep me interested. I always get bored reading them, I just don't have the patience. And this book is funny? Yeah, right.

Good job, Rubin, proving me wrong. I really enjoyed this book for so many reasons. For one, it really is quite funny. I couldn't help smirk at some of his comments and comparisons, thinking "Yes, yes, that's exactly what it's like". Fair enough, not having grown up in the US, I didn't get all the references (who's Johnny Carson?) but I wasn't bothered by it.

Anyway. 'Funny' is all well and good, but the most important thing about this book is: damn, it's useful. If you study Japanese, and especially if you're at the point where you are starting to become confident and as Rubin himself says "progress from cognitive absorption to intuitive mastery", you have to read this book. I'd personally recommend this book for anyone level N3 and up. I think that's when you will benefit the most from it.

Rubin covers all kinds of topics related to the Japanese language, in small and slightly larger chapters. For me, they can be divided in three: 1) topics that I had no problem with, 2) topics that I never quite got but that are now clear, and 3) topics that I thought I understood but apparently got all wrong (ouch).

Rubin not only explains how certain aspects of Japanese grammar work, but also how to practically deal with them. And that precisely is what makes this book so useful.

The only complaint I have about this book (which is why technically I give it 4.5 instead of 5 stars) is that I would have liked all Japanese examples to have kanji&kana next to the romaji.

And that's it. That's my only issue. Besides that, this book was perfect. I hope Rubin will continue to work on it (it has been revised once already) and will add new topics.

[Karmologyclinic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Required reading before stepping into intermediate Japanese and after having a bit of experience with native Japanese texts (not just your textbook's texts). It will help clarify many grammar points that are muddled in textbooks and grammar books, (wa and ga and misunderstood passive voice are the main focus here, then small essays on smaller grammar points like tsumori,tame, hodo, Johnny Carson and more ). I don't think it will do you any good in the beginner level (other than laughing out loud with Rubin-sensei's jokes).
I appreciated that most of the examples are chosen from literature (Murakami Haruki, Dazai Osamu, Kawabata Yasunari, Misima Yukio and more) and I'll certainly need to read the book a couple more times.

PS-And I'm not even going to whine about the romaji-only choice...

[Sasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was recommended to me by my favorite professor ever, who taught Japanese translation at university. And it was definitely a great recommendation. This book is useful to me not just as a translator, but more as a Japanese teacher. The issue of Wa and Ga and endless modifiers is always a tough one to explain, and I feel better equipped to deal with the kids' questions.

Mr. Rubin, though. What a character. He makes me think of a dad or an uncle who jokes with the waitresses and laughs too loud at his own funnies. He's a great translator, especially of technical/other nonfiction material. Fiction, though. I don't know what it is. I'm a native speaker of Japanese and when I read his translations, they make sense, but the atmosphere is never quite carried through perfectly. I wish I could work with him on a project and learn his skills wrangling the endless Japanese sentences that have to be translated ass-backwards. And maybe add my two cents about atmosphere.

But I digress. This book is a great resource for students and teachers. Right on.

[Vilena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Original, funny, engaging, insightful, and above all, informative… need I say more?

[Andrew F. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would recommend this book specifically to intermediate students of Japanese as it does effectively explain several grammar constructions that often trouble native English speakers. Having said that, there are textbooks which have been published more recently which do this quite well also, so the title probably isn't so fitting anymore.

On a personal level, as an aspiring translator, I was quite disappointed. Dedicating a single page to kanji only to decry them for being 'clunky' and 'not Japanese' was particularly thoughtless. Kanji are used creatively in Japanese literature to no small extent, and attuning oneself to this usage is an important part of being able to understand the nuance of any text (a prerequisite for any serious translator, surely). The intricacy of Japanese, frustrating as it may be at times, is part of its beauty, and why mastering it is such a fulfilling endeavor. Rubin seems to understand this well in regard to grammar, so it's difficult for me to understand why he wouldn't extend this attitude to writing systems.

[Anto]

No rating as I don't feel qualified enough to give a grade to such non-fiction books.

[Tanuki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jay Rubin is the biographer and main English translator of the works of Haruki Murakami. He also seems to relish in mocking academia, despite being an academic himself. Perhaps it's just linguistics he likes to jeer, which does make sense. I vaguely remember the silly turf wars within a university. Anyway, despite his rebellious streak, "What the Textbooks Don't Tell You" was probably just a "what THEY don't want you to know!" marketing tack-on from the publisher. It does reinforce that this is a supplementary text. Rubin seems to have been written it out of being weary of correcting his Japanese Literature students' common misunderstandings or bad practices.

Just like your English teacher in high school, Rubin is furious about the use of passive voice. He rails against the temptation to translate Japanese's "subjectless sentences" into the English passive voice. That seems to be the whole goal of the first 74 pages (the first half the book): helping you restore the "invisible subject" to translated sentences, to keep them in the active voice. Dating the book somewhat, he begins with a argument against the idea that Japanese is a mystical inscrutable language of vagueness. In 2016, it is a quaint bit of late 80's orientalism that he must have been addressing: this idea that Japan was beyond understanding. El-oh-el.

Perhaps this book was a reach for me, having been studying for less than a year. I've seen it suggested that it might be appropriate for JLTP level N3 and up. And yet, all of the Japanese here is in printed in romaji. Rubin even seems to be dismissive of kanji as a writing system at one point (waiting until page 92 to even address its absence), which is odd, but I would argue the short sentence examples are simple enough that it works better to not have to stumble over kanji or kana. The focus should be the author's message. When reviewers complain that they would find kanji easier than romaji, it comes across as an insincere humblebrag, to me. "Oh my kanji skills are so good I'd rather read kanji than sound out Japanese words in my own native writing system."

After the 70 page essay on not using passive voice, the last 1/2 of the book is a bunch of 2-page short essays on miscellaneous words and phrases. These are helpful, and enjoyable, for me to think in a new way (foreign way) about grammar, with explanations in English.

Rubin is fond of literary examples, literature being his specialty. Sometimes it seems to take him on multipage tangents, relevant to grammar lesson, but self-indulgent. Unfortunately, "Making Sense of Japanese" would function better if you could flip to a particular topic, but his writing style almost requires that you take it start-to-finish. But to achieve that, you'll need prior familiarity with a variety of grammar concepts. Hence why you might want to be at nearly JLPT N3. Although, maybe the new N4 is enough.

Since he is primarily addressing the problems of Japanese->English literature translators (and specifically that direction), rather than actual students of Japanese, he is addressing issues of nuance. These matter less for beginners understanding written Japanese and more for an editor deciding the grammatical correctness of a translation. If you do translation work, I'd definitely recommend this book. If you're more a beginner, then this book is certainly a tour of many concepts, but the most valuable parts are probably the very beginning with its useful "wa and ga" corner-cases explanation, and then the very end which teaches how to identify sentential elements in order to divide-and-conquer. Everything in the middle? Well, interesting, but a bit like a disconnected series of blog posts.

[Ivy · Rating 2 out of 5]

His passion for the language really comes through but it's a little too long-winded for someone like me. I probably wouldn't have dedicated 18 pages to distinguish "wa" from "ga", for example.

I'm an impatient learner who just wants to cut to the chase and figure out what potential pitfalls I need to look out for. But as I flipped through the pages hoping for him to illuminate me on something I've not already identified as a problem area, I was disappointed almost every step of the way. The "aha!" moments were few and far between. So that was quite disappointing.

With that said, it's a light read and he can be pretty funny. I had a good laugh with the chapter "Go Jump Into The Lake, But Be Sure To Come Back".

I'd recommend it for a learner who struggles with grammatical rules explained in standard textbooks. I could see how this would be helpful for teachers as well.

But for learners who tend to intuitively pick up languages, and can already wrap their head around the nuances and subtle differences between English and Japanese, this is probably not worth your time.

It's also very targeted at an American audience with American pop culture references, so it'll be a less enjoyable read for those of us who aren't so clued in.

[Ash · Rating 3 out of 5]

Docking a star for misogyny and general douche-baggery.

[A · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are some genuinely insightful tips in here on understanding tricky points about common words and grammatical structures - if you're at or above intermediate level you probably already know most of this stuff from studying a textbook/intuitively, but Rubin explains the mechanics of how and why things work in some depth, and with the use of his own novel 'devices' which admittedly can be enlightening. After reading this book I'll be attempting to use some of the techniques he suggests for parsing certain types of sentences, and reading a lot more closely when I next come across them.

Now to the criticisms.

I personally feel this book is not really worth the amount of hype it gets in certain circles, and seems to have been written for a different audience than the one it is marketed towards.

Rubin's writing and explanations seem geared specifically to his own students, and more generally students of Japanese linguistics and/or translation, as he is constantly referring to how stuff can/should be translated - perhaps this is to be expected from someone like Jay Rubin, but I feel the book is marketed to a more general learner audience than this.

On the same theme, there's a noticeable discrepancy in the difficulty level of topics covered - for the majority of the book Rubin treats upper beginner/intermediate level topics - such as the difference between transitive and intransitive verbs, or the usage of ほど (which I don't believe to be all that difficult, nor does Rubin explain it in a way that is particularly ground-breaking - though I can see why it might be helpful for people who are stuck with it). However the next minute he's delving into a linguistics-minded approach to minute nuances in the grammar of のだ in its use as an explainer, or the 'natural potential' form, both of which seem incongruently difficult in comparison.

Additionally a number of the example sentences struck me as overly academic/literary choices (see p. 100 for an example sentence on the "high pressure selling of kanji" at a certain point in Japan's history - am I missing something or is this example entirely too obscure for the general reader who isn't versed in Japanese linguistic history to be able to access easily? I understand that Rubin is discussing the linguistic aspects of the sentence, and probably intends us as readers to separate the actual subject matter of the sentence from this, but as someone who has never studied linguistics formally at the university level I think this just hinders clarity, which doesn't help in understanding the grammatical constructions he's trying to explain).

Then there's the absolutely bizarre choice to typeset the Japanese example sentences entirely in romaji - at one point I came to a long paragraph of romaji sentences and my brain just shut off and refused to read it, after which I just started skimming over many of the example sentences. If there must be romaji, why not both romaji and normal sentences printed together? If this book is really for a general audience, this choice just does not make sense.

Perhaps Rubin's (equally baffling) take on the uselessness of kanji (p. 92) can provide some hint as to why there's hardly any non-romaji Japanese in this book. It is beyond me why someone so well-versed in the language would argue the notion that kanji are stupid and pointless. If anything, in a language with relatively few sounds and so many homonyms, surely on the whole kanji are helpers as opposed to hindrances? Ironically the no kanji (or kana) approach this book uses only made everything harder to read for me as an upper-intermediate learner.

Lastly - and this one is truly just a matter of personal taste - Rubin's sense of humour and writing style are somewhat old-fashioned and lean towards a non-PC tone by today's standards, which was to me jarring on occasion.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I went into it expecting a good read, and I wasn't disappointed. Jay Rubin's love of and enthusiasm for the Japanese language clearly comes across and transfers to the reader by the way he explains things. The book is fairly small and only 120+ entertaining pages, short enough to be a weekend read (in just one session even, and not many grammar books can be enjoyed cover-to-cover like that!). Looking at the table of contents, one might be lead to believe that this is a book for beginners, and in fact, the clear and deceptively simple explanations make it seem even more so. That's not to say that beginners won't understand or appreciate it, but if you're reading this as a beginner, re-read it when you reach intermediate level. You'll go なるほど all over again. A few of the items might already be fairly well-understood by intermediate students (just a few though). I have one main annoyance with the book, however -- the prevalence of romaji without any kanji and kana! This book is clearly meant for intermediates and at that level, one *should* know the kana and some kanji. There are several lengthy examples from writers such as Haruki Murakami, which *are* great examples, but they're written in romaji (and actually, were more difficult for me to read as a result)! >_< The book could easily have kana/kanji sentences with furigana (and/or romaji, if so desired); why Rubin decided to go with only romaji is a mystery to me. Despite the romaji-only complaint, if you're studying Japanese, read it!

[Hanif Salim · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book puts in some useful and valid points in aspects of Japanese language that learners find confusing, however I did not enjoy reading this. After reading this I find myself to be more confused.

It is unfortunate that the Japanese is written in romaji. It may be useful for early learners but it would be better to provide the sentences both in Japanese and romaji. Funnily, there were some written in Japanese in the Preface and towards the end of the book. Strange.

I find some of the explanations to be a little long-winded and have references to those who lives in the US. Perhaps this is written for the American Japanese learners in mind? (but it is written definitely for all Japanese learners). Or maybe it is just me.

[Books on Asia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this mainly because it represented discussions of grammatical and structural forms of Japanese rather than taking a textbook approach that just tells you how it is, without discussing the whys. There's a lot of advanced Japanese stuff in here, and the level hovers between advanced Japanese and Japanese translation. Having concrete examples taken from real Japanese (pulled from novels rather than textbooks) brings much needed context while not shying away from just how complicated language really is. While textbooks tend to over-simplify, this book tells it like it is in all its ugly complexity.

[Eri · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was like reading a textbook except this one had several really funny parts. It, reexplaines some old grammar, mentiones new things and teaches interesting approach to translation of long sentences from Japanese to English at the very end. Certainly handy.

Also, the subconscious 'Look, Mum, I'm reading Japanese/Russian/English!!!' explains so much about why I love some books more than their Czech equivalents, but why would I ever give up this joy?

[Ahmad · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short book about some differences between grammatical constructs. It was fun and had some interesting advanced topics, but would’ve been easier to follow if kana was used instead of romaji.

[Powersamurai · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very entertaining book to read even for advanced translators. The only fault I have with the book is that I found it hard to read the romaji examples and understand what was being said before reading the translations or explanations given. Japanese script makes an appearance in the very last section of the book, which is a huge waste. That's the reason I gave it a 4.5.

[Federico · Rating 5 out of 5]

10 stelle.
Se fossi un professore di giapponese, non solo renderei la lettura di questo testo obbligatoria, ma utilizzerei il testo in classe come vademecum per 読解　e　作文.

[Shyames · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yeah, definitely should've read that when I was actively trying to learn the language. 😭

[Aleksandar · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a collection of essays that tries to demystify aspects language learners often have trouble with. It's aimed at beginners, though often dips into intermediate territory. If you've been studying for a few years now, you still might get something out of it, such as the concept of the zero pronoun explained in a way you haven't considered before. Or illuminating giving/receiving verbs, and when to use what, which can be difficult in Japanese.

My only comment is that I believe the romaji to be entirely unnecessary. There's literally a block of it at one point, which made that example pretty unreadable. The book is about discussing stranger grammar points, and shedding light on nuances that weren't considered before. If you can't read the kana, what are you doing reading this book?

All in all, a fun little book with lots of humour strewn about. Recommended to beginner and intermediate leathers!

[Ana Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

wildly funny, kinda dated cultural references (not a huge problem if you're old enough to remember them or are fond of history), very thoughtful and illuminating explanations of japanese structure, with all the japanese written in roumaji. likely most useful to readers who have studied intensively for at least half a year, have had some exposure to resources outside textbooks, and don't mind his leisurely prose.

given the above, i was mystified as to why this much-vaunted translator of amazing japanese novelists, who seemed to have so much respect for the language he's poured his life into, would trash 'clunky' kanji entirely with a claim that they aren't integral to an understanding of the language, a lame joke about banana peels providing optimal writing surfaces for same, and an outright racist dismissal of the japanese writing system from the 30s. it's right in the middle of the book. i quote:

“George Sansom had the right idea back in the thirties when he noted that the sounds of Japanese,
'simple and few in number, are very well suited to notation by an alphabet, and it is perhaps one of the tragedies of Oriental history that the Japanese genius did not a thousand years ago rise to its invention. Certainly when one considers the truly appalling system which in the course of the centuries they did evolve, that immense and intricate apparatus of signs for recording a few dozen little syllables, one is inclined to think that the western alphabet is perhaps the greatest triumph of the human mind.'”

just ugh. i can't. not to mention that japan (and by extension, china) has never been plagued by illiteracy at the levels that we see in the US. ever. familiarity with ideographs actually eases the process of reading. i suppose this explains the roumaji?

i would have wholeheartedly recommended this book before its author dropped the above brickquote on my toe, but now i can only halfheartedly do so.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I discovered Jay Rubin as one of Murakami Haruki's translators, and had been meaning to pick up this for some time. I'm glad I finally did. It's not exactly a text book, not exactly a humourous discussion of the Japanese language, but something in between.

Essentially split into two halves, the first is a long and fairly involved discussion of the differences between 'wa' and 'ga', and Rubin's idea of a 'the invisible pronoun' in Japanese grammar. The latter half is a collection of much shorter essays touching on a lot of different grammar points Rubin considers students of the language might find tricky. All of it is delivered with a great deal of humour (though, some might consider it, at times, to be a terrible kind of 'dad's humour' - I loved it).

Considered as a textbook, this might not be exactly what people are looking for. When Rubin explains something, he does so in a lucid way, and often better than any actual textbook I've encountered. However, in many ways, the book is more a series of anecdotes - discussions of the language that students of it might appreciate, but for someone just starting out won't really mean much. However, as a somewhat unique insight into Japanese, and especially into the translation of it (Rubin's particular strength), I'd suggest it's something that cannot be missed.

[Albara Alohali · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book helped me understand why some Japanese expressions or grammatical compositions were constructed the way they are. It also helped me better understand when a non-fluent Japanese is trying speak english while thinking in Japanese (and vice versa). For me at my current stage, I find the book a bit difficult in some parts, so I believe it is perfect for people already advanced in Japanese and are into "Japanese Translating". I just wished That the author wrote the example sentences in Japanese kanji or furigana instead of Romaji!!

Mentioning the author, I just realised after finishing the book that he is a Harvard professor and a translator for several Murakami's novels. (That explains why there were lot's of examples taken from Murakami's novels).

I might get back to the book again after passing my N1 Japanese Proficiency test!

[DolW · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very very good essay. It's nicely written and quite witty. The author clarifies a certain number of points in Japanese language that often appears vague to the students. It's the kind of book that you read once in its entirety and then you come back to it when you think about the Japanese language and you want to clarify.

The last part where the author explains how he actively understand a long Japanese sentence by anticipation is very clever and interesting to follow.

After reading, I really feel like I learned things. Not necessarily about Grammar per say, but how I can approach the Japanese language.

It quite makes you want to get even better.

I only regret the use of romaji that made it difficult to me to read from time to time. But you always can use post-it and translate it in hiragana/kanji... it's actually a good exercise.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great little collection of funny, useful essays about various Japanese grammar points. I think this book deserves a space on most Japanese learners' bookshelf because it is easy to read, unlike many grammar books out there (not that these aren't necessary as well). It's a different way to approach some of the troublesome aspects of the language and may help one reach the hah-ah moment they were waiting for.

Losing one star only due to the examples being in romaji and therefore quite hard to read for the longer ones (maybe it's easier if your vocabulary base is more solid?). Even without examples though, this remains an incredibly helpful book.

[hisuin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pendiente queda una buena reseña del libro y los puntos que trata. En general, ahonda temas que normalmente no se suelen explicar muy en detalle en las clases de japonés, e ilustra sus explicaciones con varios ejemplos.
Como puntos negativos, he encontrado alguna de sus explicaciones algo complicada o difícil de seguir. Además, utiliza casi exclusivamente romaji para las palabras o frases en japonés, lo que dificulta tremendamente la lectura.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is quite short and doesn't pretend to cover everything that can give Japanese language learners problems. It is, though, quite possibly the best resource I've ever read for discussing wa and ga, and it has a number of other useful insights on the areas it touches on. On top of that, Rubin has a great sense of humor that lightens the burden of his explanations. This book was both informative and a joy to read. How often you can say that about a language resource?

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Romaji is so annoying. Some of the insights aren't all that insightful after a year or two of dedicated study. I feel in many places Jay Rubin is more concerned with demonstrating his own wit than making a clear point. The explanation of wa/ga should be read by beginner students, but then they should rely on Tae Kim (book) or Miku Sensei (YouTube) for further explorations of unique grammar nuances.

[Jenne · Rating 4 out of 5]

So helpful and also fun to read! I totally cracked up at one of the footnotes to the point of drawing stares in the staff lunch room.
I also discovered that I've been kind of using "morau" incorrectly. GOOD TO KNOW.

[Nikolay · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable read, though not so detailed. Still it's helpful for translators with its pointing out some interesting and problematic issues.
You can also find interesting mentions of Japanese authors and pieces of literature. I particularly enjoyed the one about Dazai Osamu and Mishima Yukio.

[Laurel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly one of the most accessible and passionate explanations of Japanese grammar ever. Definitely a book I see my self referring to over and over in the future.