Japanese Slang (17 page)

Another pivotal jargon verb,
maitobasu
(dance and fly), means to walk towards a rich-looking victim, spot the bulging wallet in his trousers, and with a masterful snap of the hand whisk it out as the victim passes. As more and more Tokyo gangs adopted this technique, it appeared in different parts of town as
mondorikiru
(somersault cut),
chigai o mau
(dancing in contrast),
chigai o matsuru
(celebrating in contrast), and
chigai o kau
(shopping in contrast), along with popular shortened varieties such as
chigai
(contrast), and its inversion
gaichi.

The clans grew and split and grew again, and the jargon of petty theft became richer and richer. Pick-pockets could now rattle off scores of secret words for wallet:
h
za, nakasuki, umo, tai, y
, jinsuke, yoite, bochi, zuda, yoichi
and
yoichib
, chinkichi
and
jinkichi.
Some gangs named their wallets
nasu
(eggplants),
iwa
(rocks),
kaeru
(frogs),
kaerudachi
(frogs' friends),
ike
(buried), and
p
su
(the English word “purse”); other gangs went for more inspired expressions like
hitsujiire
(sheep entrance). A sheep, they explain, will readily eat paper,
and paper is used to make money, and money goes into wallets... so why not call a wallet a sheep entrance? Subtler expressions like
rokkupu
and
miire
refer specifically to the money inside the wallet, while
ike
(“buried,” as in buried treasure) is used exclusively when a wallet divulges an electrifyingly large wad of notes. Some provincial gangs, however, will use
ike
to mean “wallet,” their reasoning being that wallets are buried in trouser pockets.

If a wallet proves to be empty, the verdict is
mosagara
(from
mosa kara,
“the gut is empty”) or
iwagara
(from
iwa kara,
“the stone is empty”).

Outsiders listening in on this charismatic jargon will hear eccentric statements such as:

•   
Aitsu wa shin'iri dakara, mada chigai o mau koto wa dekin
yo.
He's new, so he still can't dance in contrast.

•   
Nan'te kott'a! Chigai o matsutteru saich
ni kuso-nasu otosh'chimatta ze!
Man, I tell you! Right in the middle ofcelebrating in contrast, I dropped the fucking eggplant!

•   
Tsuite n
n
! Ky
no iwa wa doremo hotondo kara data ze!
No luck, man! Today's rocks were almost all empty!

•   
Kono hitsujiire ni wa ikura haiterun da ze? Chotto hayaku mite miro yo!
How much is in the sheep entrance? Quick, take a look!

Foreigners who spend time lurking around urban train stations are likely to be amazed at the change in the jargon's lilt as they stray from one clan's territory into the next. On the Chiyoda-ku side of Tokyo station,
for instance, they might hear
nakaba
and
nakabba
for “inside pocket,” while a few hundred yards away on the Chuo-ku side, the pocket might turn into a more plosive
nakapa.
If they were to wander a mile or so in the direction of the port, the pocket changes into
uchiba
(inside place) and, on the waterfront, first into
chippa,
and then by the waterbus terminal into
hikopa.

Working the Crowd

When pickpockets work in groups they describe them-selves as
yama o kumu
(gathering into a mountain). They form clans, with leaders, bag specialists and wallet specialists, and sometimes loot carriers, loot concealers, diversion creators, and lookouts. If they are the kind of group that enjoys working crowds, then Tokyo pickpocketese refers to them as
batazoku
(clamor gangs),
hirabazoku
(wide place gangs), and
mogurizoku
(dividing gangs). One or two members will push and jostle their way through the masses collecting bags and wallets, which they then pass to colleagues who are known as
tatemai
(framework) and
daitsukimono
(the person who sticks to the base). These are well-dressed individuals, usually with an adamantine pillar-of-society look about them, who trail at a safe distance carrying all the wallets and bags. If there is a police bust they sidle off with the goods, and the pickpocket remains loot-free and innocent. This technique of stealing and passing is known as
matsu,
from
matsubazue
(crutches).

In some clans the thieves will split up and work the crowd from different angles. They are called
yaritemai,
and use basic no-frills pickpocketing techniques such as
okihiki
(put and pull) and
narabihiki
(move parallel with and pull). They walk or stand next to the pedestrian, hoist the wallet, and then do
dakko,
the flicking movement of the palm that will send the goods up into the sleeve. When sleeves are full, wallets and bank notes are flushed out and passed to the loot carriers.

In larger clans, pickpockets split into sets of two to increase their volume. These twosomes are given avian names such as
oshidori
(mandarin duck), and
basa
(flutter). A popular duo trick is
sotomo
(outer face), in which one partner stumbles into the victim, bows and apologizes, while the other partner cleans out pockets and bags. In a denser crowd, the couple might go for a simpler
maku o haru
(spreading the curtain). The idea here is to stand so close to one's victim that one's partner's working hand is completely hidden from view. A related method is the dramatic
maku o kiru,
a theater expression meaning to raise the curtain or start the performance. The curtain, in this case, is a magazine or a newspaper which is raised quickly and opportunely to cover the victim's face. The performance lasts a few seconds, the curtain comes down, and the players scuttle off with their loot.