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Polite bans and bilingual signs
Japanese public signs often phrase prohibitions politely: ~はご遠慮ください ("please refrain from"), ~はお控えください, or ~しないでください. To Japanese readers these are clearly rules. Translated literally into English, they can sound optional, so guidelines on multilingual signage recommend plain imperatives such as "No swimming" or "Do not enter," with a reason where safety is at stake. Japan's national standard pictograms (JIS Z 8210) were revised in the run-up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, partly to align with international symbols, and many tourist areas now combine Japanese, English, simplified Chinese, traditional Chinese and Korean with pictograms. The 仁淀川 in Kōchi is known for its remarkably clear water, nicknamed 仁淀ブルー. It and other Kōchi rivers such as the 四万十川 have 沈下橋, low bridges without railings built to let floodwater pass over them. They are much loved and much photographed, and the water around them can be deceptive. The grammar of this lesson is the grammar of who and what something is for: 向け, 向き, 用, ことから and ならでは.