日本人是否拼錯了“我們為麥克阿瑟當選祈禱”？
互聯網上充斥著對同一故事的引用：
大概是在1946年，道格拉斯·麥克阿瑟將軍暫時負責管理投降後處境艱難的日本。他是一位非常正派的監督者，以至於許多日本人希望他能夠被選為權力職位，可能是美國總統。在日本的一個大城市，他們在一條主要街道上豎起了橫幅，上面寫著“我們為麥克阿瑟的勃起祈禱”之類的內容。
日本人是否寫過“我們為麥克阿瑟的勃起祈禱（或演奏）”的牌子？
我知道以日語為母語的人即使在寫作或打字時也會混淆“r”和“l”，但是當我用谷歌搜索這句話時，我得到了很多用戶生成的內容，而不是可靠的來源，這讓我懷疑這是杜撰的。
- 2也許這是不言而喻的，但我相信日語藉詞中的 L 和 R 由一個音素表示，我相信通常發音介於兩者之間。例如可樂 -> コラ (kora)，橄欖球 -> ragubii (ragubii)。“選舉”和“安裝”的音譯可能會映射到相同的日語拼寫。– 保羅2016 年 12 月 15 日 16:09
- “飛了兩次”。聽起來像個笑話。– 用戶116432018 年 4 月 16 日 5:30
- 我至少可以保證日本人對麥克阿瑟的喜愛，其中許多人開玩笑地（或認真地）稱他為幕府將軍麥克阿瑟（他幾乎符合古典幕府將軍的定義）。我親自參觀過東京皇宮對面的一個公園，皇宮側入口處豎立著自由鍾模型，紀念麥克阿瑟和他給日本帶來的民主美德。– HSZMV2018 年 4 月 20 日 17:53
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3 個回答
2018年更新：請參閱其他兩個答案，以獲取下面所附照片是正在重新粉刷的標誌的證據。報紙消息來源沒有直接證實這一點，但當時存在廣泛的審查制度。
雖然這件事已經被廣泛傳播，甚至有人將其追溯到1948年的銀座，但這是當年出現在銀座的真實標誌：
正如您所看到的，儘管印刷體和草書混合在一起，但拼寫沒有問題。也許有人看到了第二個草書“L”，一開始誤讀了這條信息，然後把笑聲傳給了他們的朋友。
我用谷歌搜索了一下，看看是否有人用日語寫過相關內容，結果發現如下：“當我看到用日語寫的'日本即時建築公司'幾個字時，我忍不住笑了。左邊寫著'奇妙的超快速建築' “從頭開始”。每個人都喜歡說他們的公司很快就能完成工作，但“即時施工”才是真正的成就。就像方便麵一樣！”
- 1建築物的彩色視頻以及下方和側面的附加標誌：awm.gov.au/collection/F04949，視頻從26:55 開始，其中包括織田俊世(Toshiyo Oda) 寫給麥克阿瑟的詩：“我讚美你的榮耀，正如我讚美基督的榮耀一樣。”榮耀——天父的孩子，背負著十字架”– 戴夫博士2015 年 4 月 2 日 14:27
雖然公認的答案表明一張海報沒有拼錯“選舉”，但還有其他這樣的海報。甚至連標題都提到“東京到處都畫著支持麥克阿瑟的標語”。同一棟大樓的另一側甚至還掛著不同的標誌。
根據傑克·蘇厄德 (Jack Seward) 1971 年出版的著作《經常被誤解、有時令人驚訝、始終令人著迷的日本文化和生活方式》
這位已經年邁將軍的一群熱心日本支持者安排在東京市中心繁忙的日比谷十字路口高高懸掛一面巨大的橫幅，麥克阿瑟從第一大樓的辦公室出來時就可以看到它。請記住，日本人往往會混淆英語中的“r”和“l”，請嘗試想像橫幅上這些六英尺高的字母：“我們為麥克阿瑟的勃起祈禱！”
因此，如果這個故事不是真的，至少可以追溯到 Jack Sewards 1971 年的書。
有關傑克·蘇厄德的更多信息，請參閱《東京周末報》上的他的訃告
日本問題傳奇權威、美國退伍軍人傑克蘇厄德於 2010 年 11 月 10 日因中風後並發症在德克薩斯州休斯頓去世，享年 86 歲。傑克是一位才華橫溢的人，留下了國際成就和服務的遺產。
“傑克”1924 年10 月11 日出生於休斯頓，原名小約翰·尼爾·蘇厄德(John Neil Seward Jr.)，在達拉斯長大，1941 年從伍德羅·威爾遜高中(Woodrow Wilson High School) 畢業後，開始就讀俄克拉荷馬大學。在此期間，一次偶然的機會讓他與日本結下了終生的緣分——他與父親老約翰·蘇厄德(John Seward Sr.) 一起在俄克拉荷馬州巴特爾斯維爾的弗蘭克·菲利普斯牧場工作了幾個夏天，兩名日本同事開始教他一些日語。 18 歲時，他自願在美國陸軍服役，在發現他的日語知識後，陸軍將他招入密歇根大學安娜堡分校的一個關於日本的特殊軍事情報訓練單位，兩年後他畢業他班上第二名。
日本佔領期間，傑克在道格拉斯·麥克阿瑟將軍的參謀部指揮下服役。這是他在日本生活的25年的開始。陸軍服役結束後，他在美國中央情報局任職，參與其亞洲行動……
1963 年，傑克與四國的 Aiko“Jean”Morimoto 結婚，並育有兩個兒子。這些年來，他建立了日本領先專家和語言學家的聲譽，在夏威夷大學研究生學習後獲得了博士學位，並開始追求他對寫書的興趣……
因此，傑克·斯圖爾特能夠親自了解拼寫錯誤事件，並在1982 年 12 月 17 日的一篇文章和多本書中重複了這一說法，其中包括《來自日本的奇怪但真實的故事》中的插圖，顯示了街道對面橫幅上的拼寫錯誤，與建築物上繪製的標誌不一致。
Toshiyo Odo 是1948 年麥克阿瑟在日本戰役的領導人，正如你在下面看到的，他的拼寫技巧並不是最好的：“PERSOUNELS”、“lipps”、“alied”、“personuels”、“personels” 、“humouraus” ”、“人員”。如果他能在一個標誌中以四種不同的方式拼寫錯誤人員，那麼他可能會像傑克蘇厄德所說的那樣在另一個標誌中拼錯“選舉”。
- 1@AveryMorrow 我認為你低估了尾田的努力。《生活》雜誌11/27/50第130頁有一張小田站在另一個1948年競選標誌旁邊的照片。另見照片13.2和13.3“親愛的麥克阿瑟將軍：美國占領期間日本人的來信”等。有多少拼寫錯誤您看到小田的這個標誌了嗎：pinterest.com/pin/205336064236571962？1951 年 4 月麥克阿瑟離開日本時，許多美國報紙都提到“小田俊世夫人，她的丈夫贊助了 1948 年“麥克阿瑟競選總統”活動（鏈接如下：）– 戴夫博士2015 年 4 月 1 日 11:48
- 1fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2011/Geneva%20NY%20Daily%20Times/…建築物上的標誌與 Seward 的描述不符，橫幅橫跨街道（從街道的一側延伸到另一側）當麥克阿瑟從第一大樓的辦公室出來時，他就能看到它。措辭相似，但並不完全相同。– 戴夫博士2015 年 4 月 1 日 11:48
- 1
- 1
我的叔叔伯納德·弗魯在澳大利亞加入了麥克阿瑟。他擔任秘書，上岸時挽著腓立比總統的手臂，站在密蘇里號將軍身後的一群人中，然後又轉到國務院。戰後，他繼續擔任麥克阿瑟的秘書和政府禮賓處處長。
伯納德遵守自己的誓言，不談論辦公室的許多內部運作。只有當我已故的妻子問起他時，他才會說一些不重要的事情。他的記憶力非常敏銳。我在回憶錄《飛行員的生活》中寫了關於“Bernard Frew KCSG”的一章。
http://www.harvard.com/book/a_pilots_life/
這是關於當前問題的分章。
Watch those L's
麥克阿瑟將軍並沒有作為一個將自己的意志強加於人民的征服者軍人接管東京的軍政府。他的執政非常公正，幫助日本人民康復，所以他們開始真正愛他。這種愛在我認為是伯納德最幽默的日本故事之一中得到了體現。
一天早上，正如伯納德所描述的那樣，麥克阿瑟將軍憤怒地走進辦公室，對他進來時所看到的一切感到憤怒。他的評論是，或者說他的命令是：“我希望你派人去那裡，把那個東西拆掉。”該死的標誌。” 當然，辦公室裡的每個人都已經聽說過這個標誌，所以他們確切地知道他在說什麼。當時有人認為麥克阿瑟將軍計劃返回美國競選總統。一個或一些日本人在建築物或構築物上展示了一個標誌，表達了他們對麥克阿瑟將軍的支持。伯納德說他們不能拆掉這個標牌，因為它是私人財產。麥克阿瑟說：“我不在乎，我希望把那塊牌子撕掉。” 支持麥克阿瑟當選總統的牌子上寫著：
第二天早上，辦公室裡的一個人問伯納德是否派人出去撕掉了標牌。伯納德回答他：“哦，不，我們不能這樣做，因為它是私有財產，我們重新粉刷了它。” 事實上，當我觀看有關麥克阿瑟的紀錄片時，我確實看到了該標誌的圖片以及重新繪製的文字。*
我附上伯納德的照片（在汽車附近），跟隨麥克阿瑟和他的團隊進入他的行政大樓。
Skeptics
Did Japanese people misspell "We pray for MacArthur's election"?
Asked 10 years, 7 months ago
Modified 5 years, 3 months ago
Viewed 8k times
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The Internet is full of references to the same story:
It was probably in 1946, when Gen. Douglas MacArthur was temporarily put in charge of running Japan, which was in tough shape after surrendering. He was such a decent overseer that many Japanese hoped that he could be voted into a position of power, possibly President of the USA. In one of Japan’s larger cities, they put up a banner across a principal street that said, something like “WE PRAY FOR MACARTHUR’S ERECTION”.
here, here, here and here, and there are many more on the Internet.
Did Japanese people write a sign saying "We pray [or play] for MacArthur's erection"?
I know that native speakers of Japanese mix up "r" and "l" even when writing or typing, but when I google about this quote, I get a lot of user-generated content, rather than reliable sources, which makes me suspect that it's apocryphal.
united-statesquoteslanguagejapan
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edited Mar 20, 2013 at 9:36
user7920
asked Dec 17, 2012 at 9:08
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Maybe it goes without saying, but I believe L and R in loan words in Japanese are represented by a single phoneme, I believe usually pronounced somewhere between the two. E.g. cola -> コラ (kora), rugby -> ラグビー (ragubii). The transliteration of "election" and "erection" would probably map to the same Japanese spelling. –
Paul
Dec 15, 2016 at 16:09
"Flied wice". Sounds like a joke. –
user11643
Apr 16, 2018 at 5:30
I can at least vouch for the Japanese love of MacArthur, many of whom jokingly (or seriously) refer to him as Shogun MacArthur (he pretty much met the definition of a classical Shogun). I've personally visited a park in Tokyo across the street from the Imperial Palace that has a model of the Liberty Bell erected at the Palace side entrance that was Dedicated to MacArthur and the virtues of Democracy he brought to Japan. –
hszmv
Apr 20, 2018 at 17:53
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2018 update: Please see the other two answers for evidence that the photo attached below is of the sign being repainted. Newspaper sources don't directly attest to this, but there was widespread censorship at the time.
Although it has been spread far and wide that this occurred, and some even date it to Ginza in 1948, this is the actual sign that appeared in Ginza that year:
Toshiyo Oda
As you can see, there are no issues with the spelling, although print and cursive have been mixed. Perhaps someone saw the second cursive "L" and misread the message at first, then passed the chuckle along to their friends.
I Googled this to see if anyone had written about it in Japanese, and found the following: "When I saw the words 'Japan Instant Construction Company' written in Japanese I couldn't help laughing. On the left is written 'Marvelously Superfast Construction From Scratch'. Everyone likes to say that their company gets the job done fast, but 'instant construction' is a real accomplishment. Like instant ramen!"
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edited Apr 16, 2018 at 0:18
answered Oct 7, 2014 at 18:16
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Avery
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Color video of the building and additional signs below and on the side here: awm.gov.au/collection/F04949 starting at 26:55 into the video, including Toshiyo Oda poem to MacArthur saying "I praise your glory, As I praise Christ's glory - a child of the heavenly father carrying the cross on his back" –
DavePhD
Apr 2, 2015 at 14:27
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While the accepted answer shows that one poster did not misspell election, there were other such posters. Even the caption refers to "signs painted all over Tokyo boosting MacArthur". There was even a different sign on another side of the same building.
According to Jack Seward's 1971 book: The Often Misunderstood, Sometimes Surprising, and Always Fascinating Culture and Lifestyles of Japan
A group of ardent Japanese supporters of the already aging general arranged to have a gigantic banner hoisted high over the busy Hibiya intersection in downtown Tokyo, just where MacArthur could see it when he emerged from his office in the Dai Ichi Building. Bearing in mind that the Japanese tend to confuse the "r" and the "l" in English, try to visualize these six-foot high letters emblazed on the banner: "WE PRAY FOR MACARTHUR'S ERECTION!"
So if the story isn't true it is at least traceable to Jack Sewards 1971 book.
For more on Jack Seward, see his obituary in the Tokyo Weekender
Jack Seward, a legendary authority on Japan and a U.S. military veteran, passed away on November 10, 2010 at the age of 86 in Houston, Texas from post-stroke complications. A man of great intelligence, Jack leaves behind a legacy of international accomplishment and service.
Born John Neil Seward Jr. in Houston on October 11, 1924, ‘Jack’ grew up in Dallas and upon graduating from Woodrow Wilson High School in 1941, started attending the University of Oklahoma. During this period, an act of chance introduced him to his life-long connection to Japan — while spending several summers with his father John Seward Sr. working on the Frank Phillips ranch in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, two Japanese co-workers started to teach him some Japanese language. At the age of 18, he volunteered for active duty in the U.S. Army, and upon discovering his knowledge of Japanese, the Army enrolled him in a special military intelligence training unit on Japan at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor where he graduated two years later second in his class.
Jack served under General Douglas MacArthur’s staff command during the occupation of Japan. This was the beginning of his 25 years spent living in Japan. After his tenure in the Army, he served in the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency as part of their Asian operations ...
In 1963, Jack married Aiko “Jean” Morimoto of Shikoku, and together had two sons. Over the course of these years, he built his reputation as a leading Japan expert and linguist, obtained a doctorate’s degree following post-graduate studies at the University of Hawaii, and also commenced pursuing his interest in writing books...
So Jack Steward was in the position to have personal knowledge of the misspelling event, and repeated this account in an 17 December 1982 article and multiple books, including an illustration in Strange But True Stories from Japan showing the misspelling on a banner streched across a street, which is inconsistent with the sign painted on the building.
Toshiyo Odo was the leader of the 1948 campaign in Japan for MacArthur, and as you can seen below his spelling skills where not the best: "PERSOUNELS", "lipps", "alied", "personuels", "personels", "humouraus", "personnels". If he could misspelll personnel four different ways in one sign, it is possible he could have misspelled "election" in another sign as Jack Seward has stated.
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edited Apr 1, 2015 at 15:08
answered Mar 28, 2015 at 17:08
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@AveryMorrow I think you are underestimating Oda's efforts. There is a picture of Oda standing next to another 1948 campaign sign in Life 11/27/50 page 130. also see photos 13.2 and 13.3 "Dear General MacArthur: Letters from the Japanese During the American Occupation", etc. How many spelling mistakes do you see in this sign of Oda's: pinterest.com/pin/205336064236571962 ? When MacArthur left Japan in April 1951, many US newspapers refered to "Mrs. Toshiyo Oda whose husband sponsored the 1948 "MacArthur-For-President" drive (link below:) –
DavePhD
Apr 1, 2015 at 11:48
1
fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2011/Geneva%20NY%20Daily%20Times/… The sign on the building doesn't match the description of Seward of a banner stretched across a street (from one side of the street to the other side) just where MacArthur could see it when he emerged from his office in the Dai Ichi Building. The wording is similar, but not exactly the same. –
DavePhD
Apr 1, 2015 at 11:48
1
"his spelling skills where not the best" That's a bit ironic. –
Acccumulation
Apr 15, 2018 at 22:33
1
is there an actual photo actually showing the humorous misspelling? Yes or no? –
Fattie
Jun 12, 2018 at 17:50
@Fattie no, as far as I know –
DavePhD
Jun 12, 2018 at 21:02
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My uncle Bernard Frew joined MacArthur in Australia; he served as his secretary, landed holding the arm of the Philippian President, stood in the group behind the General on the Missouri, then changed to the State Department. He continued to serve as secretary for MacArthur and Chief of Protocol to the Emperor in the Administration after the war.
Bernard respected his oath not to speak about many of the inner office workings; only when my late wife questioned him would he speak of non-important happenings; He had a very sharp memory. I wrote a chapter on "Bernard Frew KCSG" in my memoir "A Pilot's Life."
http://www.harvard.com/book/a_pilots_life/
This is a sub-chapter on the question at hand.
Watch those L's
General MacArthur did not take over the military government in Tokyo as a conquering military man imposing his will on the people. He was very fair in his administration, helping the Japanese people recover, so they came to really love him. This love was demonstrated in one of what I think is Bernard's most humorous stories of Japan.
One morning, as Bernard describes it, General MacArthur came into the office roaring mad, angry at what he had seen on his way in. His comment was, or his order was, "I want you to send somebody out there and tear down that damn sign." Of course, everybody in the office had already heard about the sign so they knew exactly what he was talking about. This was at the time when there was some thought that General MacArthur planned to return to the United States to run for president. One, or some, Japanese had expressed their support for General MacArthur in a sign that they had displayed on a building or a structure. Bernard said that they couldn't tear down the sign because it was private property. MacArthur said, "I don't give a damn, I want that sign ripped down." The sign supporting MacArthur for president said: "The Japanese people hope and pray for General MacArthur's erection."
The next morning, one of the people in the office asked Bernard if he had sent somebody out to tear the sign down. Bernard answered him "Oh no, we couldn't do that because it was private property, we repainted it." Actually, I did see a picture of that sign with the repainted text while I was watching a documentary on MacArthur.*
I attach a picture of Bernard, (Near the car), following MacArthur and his group into his Administration Building.
Bernard
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answered Apr 15, 2018 at 17:01
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+1. Thank you for providing this published oral history. It seems to correspond with the photos posted in other answers –
Avery
Apr 16, 2018 at 0:21
While an amazingly astute answer - thanks! - it would be great if someone could show an actual picture of such a sign. (Perhaps even the repainted version.) Thanks again! –
Fattie
Jun 12, 2018 at 17:52
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