Takeshi Fumimota the Message Carrier

[David Jordan]

I'm rather intrigued by the explanation of our list comember from Japan
(perhaps he could give us his name in romaji; *I* sure as hell can't
decipher his very long userid that transcribes Japanese characters, nor
can my newsreader), as I've wondered (1) what "Fumimota" might mean in
Japanese, or (2) *if* it evens means anything at all.  And now we have an
possible answer!

There are a lot of Japanese family names ending in "moto," and I thought 
TRP had clumsily constructed a name on his own for his character. 

But why "mota"?  Those of us who know street Spanish will recognize this
as a slang term for marijuana.  (Its basic meaning is "speck" or "small
spot," possibly cognate with the English word "mote.") The "fumi" would
appear to be a phonological corruption of the Spanish "fuma," he smokes,
or "fume," (there should be an accent on the 'e') he smoked.  (That's
"smoked" in the _preterite_ tense, by the way.  Hmm ...) Thus Fumimota
would be a sly way of punning in a Japanese family name "he smokes (or
smoked) marijuana." 

So Takeshi carries messages *and* takes drugs.

I'd be very surprised if I was the only one to have noticed this.  I think
it is the accurate interpretation of the pun on one level as there is a
sprinkling of street Spanish in _Vineland_ and some evidence in other
novels of TRP's knowing Spanish.  In _GR_ one character even speaks in
the nonstandard Argentine voseo dialect.

David Jordan
littlcat at netcom.com