Japanese people don’t really like to get wet when it rains. In foreign countries, many people walk in the rain without carrying umbrellas, however you don’t see that in Japan. Instead, convenience stores and train station kiosks sell plastic umbrellas. Simple plastic umbrellas cost 500 yen. Besides the cheap plastic umbrellas, the well-known, Waterfront, brand offers various types of colorful umbrellas at a very reasonable price.
It is said that annual consumption of Japanese umbrellas is 130 million, 90 percent of which are plastic. The population of Japan is approximately 128 million, which means that each person is purchasing 1 or more umbrellas per year. You might wonder where all the plastic umbrellas go.
The number one reason so many are purchased is that they are misplaced or left behind. Many people likely forget umbrellas on the train while commuting to work. According to Japan Railway, umbrellas are the second most forgotten items on trains behind clothing. It is said that 300,000 umbrellas are collected as lost and found items a year. Besides losing them, people end up buying new ones even they already have some at home, when it suddenly rains.
Here is a part of the column about umbrellas from "Yoroku" by Mainichi Shinbun :
傘の消費において世界で群を抜くとみられることから、気象ライターの倉嶋 （くらしま）厚（あつし）さんが「雨傘民族」と呼んだ日本人である。かつての英国紳士も傘を持ったが、これが１８世紀のジョナス・ハンウェイという人が身 をもって世に広めた習慣だとの逸話（いつわ）はよく知られている。
傘といえば女性の日傘しかなかった当時、傘を持ち歩いた彼は嘲（ちょう）笑（しょう）の 的となった。そればかりか雨の時に人々が使う馬車の御者（ぎょしゃ）からは、泥水をはねかけられる嫌がらせを受ける。だが３０年後には雨傘を持つ習慣が広 まったというから、一念岩をも通したというべきか。
Romaji Translation
Eikoku-jin to nihon-jin wa yoku tenki ni tsuite kaiwa suru to senjitsu no shouran de kaita. Tomo ni tenki ga kawariyasui kuni yue daga, sono taisaku wa seihantai no you da. Nihon-jin wa kawariyasui kara arakajime kasa o junbi suru ga, eikoku-jin wa onaji riyuu de kasa o motanai hito ga ooi sou na.
Kasa no shouhi ni oite sekai de gun o nuku to mirareru koto kara, kishou raitaa no kurashima atsushi san ga "amagasa minzoku" to yonda nihon-jin de aru. Katsute no eikoku shinshi mo kasa o motta ga, kore ga juuhachi seiki no jonasu hanwei to iu hito ga mi o motte yo ni hirometa shuukan da to no itsuwa wa yoku shirareteiru.
Kasa to ieba josei no higasa shika nakatta touji, kasa o mochiaruita kare wa choushou no mato to natta. Sorebakari ka ame no toki ni hitobito ga tsukau basha no gyosha kara wa, doromizu o hanekakerareru iyagarase o ukeru. Daga sanjuu-nen go niwa amagasa o motsu shuukan ga hiromatta to iu kara, ichinen iwa o mo tooshita to iu beki ka.
Vocabulary
eikoku-jin 英国人 --- British (people)
to と --- and
nihon-jin 日本人 --- Japanese (people)
tenki 天気 --- weather
tsuite ついて --- about
kaiwa 会話 --- conversation
senjitsu 先日 --- the other day
kakita 書いた --- past tense of the verb "kaku (to write)"
tomo とも --- both
kawariyasui 変わりやすい --- easy to change
kuni 国 --- country
yue ゆえ --- a reason
taisaku 対策 --- measures
seihantai 正反対 --- the exact opposite
arakajime あらかじめ --- previously
kasa 傘 --- umbrella
junbi suru 準備する --- to prepare
onaji 同じ --- same
riyuu 理由 --- reason
motanai 持たない --- negative form of the verb "motsu (to have)"
hito 人 --- people
ooi 多い --- many
shouhi 消費 --- consumption
sekai 世界 --- the world
gun o nuku 群を抜く --- excel others
kishou 気象 --- weather
minzoku 民族 --- a race
katsute かつて --- once; at one time
shinshi 紳士 --- gentleman
seiki 世紀 --- century
hiromeru 広める --- to spread
shuukan 習慣 --- custom
itsuwa 逸話 --- an anecdote
yoku shirareru よく知られる--- well known
~ to ieba といえば --- speaking of
josei 女性 --- woman
higasa 日傘 --- a parasol
touji 当時 --- in those days
choushou 嘲笑 --- a sneer; ridicule
mato 的 --- target
basha 馬車 --- a horse-drawn carriage
gyosha 御者 --- a coachman
doromizu 泥水 --- muddy water
haneru はねる --- to splash
iyagarase 嫌がらせ --- nasty things to a person
ukeru 受ける --- to receive; to get
ichinen 一念 --- determination, resolution
iwa 岩 --- rock
toosu 通す --- to pass through
Grammar
Nationality is expressed by adding "jin （人）", which literally means "person", after the country name. Katakana is generally used to write the names of foreign countries. Please check out my "Around the World with Katakana" lessons to learn how to write them.
Amerika-jin アメリカ人 --- American
Itaria-jin イタリア人 --- Italian
Oranda-jin オランダ人 --- Dutch
Kanada-jin カナダ人 --- Canadian
Supein-jin スペイン人 --- Spanish
Doitsu-jin ドイツ人 --- Germany
Furansu-jin フランス人 --- French
Burajiru-jin ブラジル人 --- Brazilian
Credit : about.com
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