fandomhigh | The Art of Japanese Culture through Untranslatable Words; Monday, Fourth Period [03/29].

"Konnichiwa, ducklings ♥!" As one might expect, everything was as it typically was for the class that day, the little circle in the center of the classroom and Shunsui ready with a few hot drinks and a word on a board, ready to be explained and disucssed. Anything more involved would, obviously, be unfathomable. "Today, we're going to be talking about a word that I have often found useful as an outlook in life," and as an excuse, "to not let one be too bogged down by every day annoyances and irritations," and responsibilities, "and that word is shouganai:

shouganai
しょうがない
(It is what it is)

"It is what it is. Shouganai." Shunsui sighed dramatically, rolling his eyes, throwing a blithe hand into the air, in an expression of defeated exasperation. "It cannot be helped. The reluctant acceptance that one must suffer through unfortunate, unavoidable circumstances like, say...mandatory meetings," just to use a completely random example!, "or say a terribly boring class assignment. It's accepting the responsibility on your shoulders begrudgingly, because you know it simply must be done. Or perhaps you've just missed an important portal," also a completely random example, truly!, "and couldn't make it to said meeting, and so now your boss is upset with you, but really, what more can you tell him except," he shrugged, a lazy smile appearing on his face, "shouganai, sensei~ ♥.

"Shoganai is typically used as an expression to acknowledge that there are certain situations that are out of our control: getting caught in the rain without an umbrella, spilling your sake on your favorite robe, you forgot your wallet at home. It is a way of reminding oneself, and...perhaps those around them...that there are many things in the universe that could go wrong, and there is no use in getting too upset over them. After all, it cannot be helped ♥. It is what it is. We accept it and move on rather than getting worked up over something that cannot be changed ♥.

"And so," he smiled again softly, "today, we'll talk about some shouganai experiences we may have had in the past that perhaps we didn't handle as well as we could have. Or perhaps a situation where your approach was very fitting for shouganai and how it either helped or hurt the situation. And, of course, this week, I'd love for you to be aware of shouganai moments, like when a pen runs out of ink or perhaps the Squishy flavors are all incredibly questionable or Apu-san is waking you up from a particular good nap with a question about beans ♥."

He took a sip of his tea.

"Hajimemasu. Let's begin ♥."

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In your best shouganai fashion!

There can be a small game to be hand on trying to pick out exactly which examples are ones pulled from very recent experiences!

Come share your own experiences and thoughts on the double-edged sword that is shouganai. After all, it's an incredibly useful excuse when certain things don't go a certain way that works in your benefit, but there's no denying it possesses a certain annoyance when the thing that cannot be helped is against you.