Excuses, excuses. Japanese-style shoseijutsu

[Taro Toporific]

The art of making excuses
Part of growing up in Japan is about naturally acquiring shoseijutsu -- phrases and expressions that get you through difficulties and make good impressions.

My personal favorite standby is "I have to attend a hoji (Buddhist commemoration ceremony)," used during the times when I'm desperate for a brief holiday. Hoji are held on the anniversary of the death of an important family member... hoji as a long, monotonous day in which shinseki (relatives) gather, listen to a monk chanting for hours and eat cold shojinryori (Buddhist vegetarian cuisine) with bad sake. ... it the perfect excuse to wrangle a few days off. Bosses and colleagues will respectfully lower their voices to say "gokurosama (we appreciate your reverent suffering)." They might even urge you to take an extra day off before coming back to work...
- - - Japan Times, Monday, February 17, 2003

[GomiGirl]

The absolute worst excuse for somebody taking a sick day and not even phoning in the morning was natsu-batte or summer fatigue.

It was obviously just the quickest thing the stupid girl could think of at the time when I questioned her about her two days off.. She was obviously wrong for the job and the company so I had to let her go.. maybe that was her plan all the time.