Meaning of Baka Inaka
What does ‘Baka Inaka’ mean?
As with much of the Japanese language, the phrase can be interpreted in various ways, depending on what emphasis is put on the words, and who is saying them.
Therefore, meanings of the word ‘baka’ can range from ‘crazy’, ‘wacky’, or ‘silly’, to ‘foolish’ or ‘idiotic’.
In the same way, ‘inaka’ means countryside, but can also mean ‘the sticks’, ‘boonies’, or the ‘wops’, meaning a rural backwater in the middle of nowhere.
Therefore, meanings of the word ‘baka’ can range from ‘crazy’, ‘wacky’, or ‘silly’, to ‘foolish’ or ‘idiotic’.
In the same way, ‘inaka’ means countryside, but can also mean ‘the sticks’, ‘boonies’, or the ‘wops’, meaning a rural backwater in the middle of nowhere.
Put together, baka inaka loosely translates a ‘crazy countryside’. The phrase was chosen to describe Fukui, on account of the many amazing, amusing, and often unusual experiences that many foreigners have whilst living there.
Though many in the West think of Japan as an ultra-high-tech country, Fukui is a land where snakes roam the school corridors, where foreign men have been reported for holding hands with Japanese ladies, and where the snow falls so heavily – it can crush a house. This is the world of the baka inaka.
The design has become extremely popular with both ex-pats living in the Fukui, as well as the local Japanese population of Fukui itself.
The tongue-in-cheek design that plays on Fukui’s nuclear capabilities and uses the words inaka, and baka inaka, were the cause of some controversy when the t-shirt first appeared and still trigger debate – which is one of the reasons why the design remains so popular.
Though many in the West think of Japan as an ultra-high-tech country, Fukui is a land where snakes roam the school corridors, where foreign men have been reported for holding hands with Japanese ladies, and where the snow falls so heavily – it can crush a house. This is the world of the baka inaka.
The design has become extremely popular with both ex-pats living in the Fukui, as well as the local Japanese population of Fukui itself.
The tongue-in-cheek design that plays on Fukui’s nuclear capabilities and uses the words inaka, and baka inaka, were the cause of some controversy when the t-shirt first appeared and still trigger debate – which is one of the reasons why the design remains so popular.
