You Still Don't Know Gumma" Episode 3 Thoughts: Finally, the Strongest Item "Jomo Karuta" Appears! Gumma Prefecture in the form of dancing vines

The short anime "You Still Don't Know Gunma" started this April.
Based on a comic serialized on the web comic distribution site "Kurage Bunch," it is a comedy in which " Gunma" (Gunma Prefecture/people in Gunma Prefecture), which is often disparaged on the Internet, is deformed with exaggerated action scenes with a lot of tension.


This work is so local that only the local commercial TV station, Gunma Television (Gunma Television), broadcasts it, which is a crying shame. However, it is also available on Animax and Gyao! The author, a native of Gunma, delves into the details of such a super-local work with love.


Episode 3, "Gumma Prefecture in the Shape of Dancing Vines," is about "Jomo Karuta," which is arguably the most important aspect of Gumma culture. The "Jomo karuta" is a local item created in 1947, right after the end of World War II, in which various matters related to the hometown of Gumma Prefecture are recited in a karuta form. However, it is more than just a local item because there is a tradition unique to Gumma that a karuta tournament using Jomo karuta is held every year, and almost 100% of elementary school students in the prefecture participate in the tournament (by winning the regional qualifying rounds, etc.).

For more information on Jomo karuta, please refer to the following website.
Gunma Prefecture official website


Elementary school students in Gumma always practice Jomo karuta at their local children's associations in winter. The Jomo karuta tournament is run according to a system in which children who achieve excellent results in their respective district children's associations advance to school tournaments, district tournaments, and even prefectural tournaments. Of course, the children try their best to win the karuta for the tournament , so of course they must memorize all the cards written on the karuta. As in iroha karuta, the children are thoroughly trained so that they can memorize the contents of the cards within a few tenths of a second by listening to the first syllable of each card.


For example, here are some examples of iroha.

I: "Ikaho Onsen (hot spring), one of the best hot springs in Japan.
RO: "Denjihei Funatsu, an old farmer.
Hanayama Park, famous for its azaleas.


For Gumma, these phrases (songs) are so firmly etched in her mind as a child that she can (should) recognize most of them even after she gets older. For this reason, when they go out for a drink with people from their hometown whom they have not seen in a while, they can get excited just by talking about the Jomo karuta, which has become their common language. Let me give you an example,


A: Ah, what is "yo" in Jomo karuta?
B: You, that's "Shima Onsen (hot spring) to wash away the dust of the world," isn't it?
A: Oh, that's right!　That one with the naked guy on the picture card!
B: Yes, yes. It was so embarrassing to take that one off!


B: Oh, yes, it was so embarrassing to take that one!


I spoke passionately, but the topic this time is the "Jomo karuta". It is no exaggeration to say that this "Jomo karuta" is the biggest and strongest item that makes Gumma special, and it is a common language that anyone in Gumma can understand. If you don't know this karuta, you must be a moguri (a person from another prefecture), and this feeling is quite real.


Incidentally, the title "Gumma Prefecture in the Shape of a Crane D ancing" (or more correctly, "Gunma Prefecture in the Shape of a Crane Dancing") is a reading that corresponds to the character for "ts" and is a poem about the shape of Gumma Prefecture, which is like a crane with its wings spread. The other is "Chikara unite ni million" (*The "ni million" part changes depending on the population at that time. The "2 million" part changes depending on the population at the time. In my childhood, it was "1,800,000"), so even if you forget the contents of the other bills, you cannot say you are a real Gumma unless you can say at least these two quickly (I think).


Thus, the main character, Nori Kozuki (CV: Takehito Kajiwara), is accused of spying from other prefectures and is blamed for asking his classmates about the words of this "Kamige karuta" game. The spearhead of this group is Kyo Shinooka (CV: Aya Uchida), the most prominent heroine of the film (she finally comes out...). Kabuki is blamed by Kyo. Then, his friend, Futaya Todoroki (CV: Jun Kasama) finally appears, and that's the end of the story.


It seems that the theme of the next episode will be "Yakimanju, " a specialty required in Gumma.

(Editorial Department, Kamata)

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