“I tend to find Japanese people are very interested in swear words,” writes Chris Broad, a British ex-pat living in Japan. “Despite hearing them in every song, movie and TV show, surprisingly they are never covered in the Japanese-English education sustyem.”
Broad has appointed himself a “swearing missionary,” spreading not the Good Word but all the bad ones, inspired by
How to Use Fuck Correctly: 99 Phrases Using Fuck, Shit, Damn, and Hell that Schools Won’t Teach You that Should be Used with Care by Madsaki, released earlier this year in Japan. Reviewed in depth by Japansubculture, its contents demonstrate everything from convincing expletives to navigating confusing homographs such as the phrase “Oh, for fuck’s sake.”
For those uncertain of navigating Amazon Japan, the book can be ordered in America from Yesasia with a modest markup. At Kotaku, Brian Ashcraft reports that it provides detailed explanations and useful illustrations that help with context: “Which looks more enjoyable? The book that tells you how to say, ‘I brush my teeth’ or the one that teaches, ‘fuck off?'”
