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起承転結
Japanese schools teach a four-part structure for telling a story: 起 the setup, 承 the development, 転 the turn — something unexpected — and 結 the conclusion. It comes from classical Chinese poetics and is still taught in composition classes, and it shapes how anecdotes get told: the 転 is the point of the thing, and a Japanese story often withholds it until late. Knowing the shape makes a rambling account easier to follow, because you can hear where it is going.