Departments
Intermediate Japanese - Free Online Course
ATO NO MATSURI
後の祭り
“after the festival”
Festivals are common in Japan. Many relate to Shinto traditions, or to annual milestones like New Year’s. The Japanese are also willing to import festivals. The country has only a small number of Christians; but the Christmas Holiday is celebrated nationwide.
Festivals are typically accompanied by much pomp and circumstance, including parades, floats, and traditional costumes from bygone eras. After a festival, though, these things lose their significance. Japanese therefore use the expression ato no matsuri to describe circumstances in which an apology, an idea, or some preparations are too late to serve any useful end.
For example, if a baseball player scores a run in the final inning of a game when his team is already hopeless behind the opponent, he may lament that the hit is ato no matsuri. Similarly, a businessperson may use ato no matsuri to describe an introduction to a client who has already signed a contract with a competitor.
ATOGAMA
後釜
“the following pot”
A person who follows another person in a position may be called an atogama. Atogama usually describes situations in which the replacement is more or less immediate.
Many people have to play the role of atogama in Japanese companies, which typically rotate employees of all levels every two to five years. In theory, an employee who rotates from a position is supposed to thoroughly train his or her atogama, and bring the new person up to speed on the current status of all ongoing projects. In reality, though, this often doesn’t happen, and the atogama often must scramble to pick up loose ends.
I worked for many years as a buyer in the American division of a Japanese automaker, and we had frequent interaction with counterparts in Japan. One of my greatest sources of frustration was the frequency at which our contacts in Japan were moved around.