Takeshi Fumimota the Message Carrier

[thomas evans]

This has he ring of truth to me.  I don't doubt that TRP is capable of 
punning in Japanese, but the English alternatives seem compelling.

On Sat, 17 Feb 1996, David Jordan wrote:

>> 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
> 
> 
>