Yesterday I mentioned the Japanese predilection for abbreviating words and phrases, especially those borrowed from other languages, and gave “sexual harassment” as an example.

Another example is mazakon, which is short for mazaa konpurekkusu (”mother complex”, i.e., Oedipus complex). The meaning of mazakon in Japan is somewhat twofold, however: in most instances, it’s used without the sexual connotations to describe a “mama’s boy”-type character, and less frequently, it’s used to describe someone who has a thing for older women (rorikon, — short for rorita konpurekkusu, i.e., Lolita complex — would be the opposite in this case).

I bring this up because last night I saw a commercial for a new drama starting tonight on Fuji TV called “Mother & Lover” starring Sakaguchi Kenji and Shinohara Ryoko. Yes, indeed the same pair that Judy and I saw in Ginza last month.

According to the official website, this incestuously-titled drama features a theatrical troupe member by the name of Shingo (Sakaguchi) who regards his mother as “the woman he loves most in the world.” However, one day he meets an office lady named Hitomi (Shinohara) who is running late for work, and he delivers her to her office in a rickshaw. Immediately taken with one another, they make a date for the following evening.

Surely, there will come a time when young Shingo must choose between his newfound love interest and mommy dearest — tune in to find out!

Blah, typical J-drama drivel. Just like every other drama in the history of the world, this one will be melodramatic, formulaic, cliché-ridden hokum, and the following events will undoubtedly occur:

• They will fall in love at first sight
• She will buy him a necktie or some other article of clothing
• Another woman [in this case, mommy] will come between them
• They will break up while standing in the rain (sans umbrellas)
• She will try to move on with her life, but at some point will collapse on the floor in tears
• She’ll have second thoughts and try to call him, but for some reason or another, he’ll miss the call
• She’ll decide to forget about him for good and will make plans to move to a different city
• He’ll realize that he made a mistake and will reject the other woman
• In the climax, he will run through the streets at night to try to catch up with her before she leaves to tell her that he loves her
• At first it’ll seem like she’s going to tell him to get lost, but then a smile will slowly emerge on her face
• They will embrace passionately
• The entire cast, production staff and audience will simultaneously burst into tears
• I will stab out my eyeballs and pray for death

Yay, I can hardly wait!