Let’s Take Sentences Apart (2)

Today we look at another sentence of the ghost story Yuki Onna 雪女 (Snow Woman) by the Japanese poet Sōgi (1421–1502):

その女が茂作の顔へ白い息を吹きかけると、茂作の顔も手もどんどん白くなって行きました。

Like in part number one, we’re going to cut the sentences up at the particles. This way we can break down the sentence into digestible chunks. In this sentence we have four particles: the subject marker が, the particle へ for directions or movements, the direct object marker を and the particle と, which here acts as a conditional (と has many more functions).

その女が (sono onna ga): The subject marker が makes その女 (this woman) the subject of the sentence. Now we know that the woman is the center of the actions described.

茂作の顔へ (Mosaku no kao he): 茂作の顔 (Mosaku’s face) combined with the particle for directions or movements へ results in something like “towards Mosaku’s face”. Next, let’s go find out what exactly comes towards Mosaku’s face.

白い息を (shiroi iki wo): the i-adjective 白い (white) describes 息 (breath). In this context, white also means icy, as this breath comes from the Snow Woman. The whole set 白い息 (white/icy breath) is defined as the direct object, because it is followed by the direct object marker を. Therefore, it is the breath that comes towards Mosaku’s face.

吹きかけると、(fukikakeru to): 吹きかける (to blow upon) combined with the particle と which here has a conditional meaning, shifts the whole meaning of this first half of the sentence: in this function と can mean something ‘like as soon as’, ‘when’ or ‘if’. Taking this conditional と into consideration, the sentence looks as follows: ‘As/When the woman blew a white frozen breath onto Mosaku’s face…’

Now let’s find out what happens when this breath reaches Mosaku’s face… What consequence does the woman’s breath have?

茂作の顔も手もどんどん白くなって行きました。(Mosaku no kao mo te mo dondon shiroku natte ikimashita): 茂作の顔も手も (Mosaku’s face and hands) combined with the onomatopoeia どんどん (steadily) suggests, that a process is about to unfold. A transformation is happening to Mosaku’s face and hands and this change occurs steadily. Like always, we find the verb at the end of the sentence, which is combined with the adverb for white: shiroku 白く. The verb itself is なっていきました, which is a combination of the verb naru なる (to become) in the te-form and the past form of iku 行く (to go). Technically, the sentence would also work without the verb iku 行く, but here it emphasizes the change happening to Mosaku’s face and hands. The fact that iku 行く is in the past tense – 行きました – makes the action of the whole sentence an action of the past. The latter half of the sentence could thus be translated as: ‘Mosaku’s face and hands steadily became/turned whiter.’

Now let’s bring it all together!

‘As the woman blew a white frozen breath onto Mosaku’s face, his face and hands steadily turned whiter.’

Written by Jannick Scherrer