A small plea for help ...

Just a small plea for help, if I may .....

I am working on a new piece of artwork, and its title in English is to be "Caught Napping" (as in 'caught unprepared' or surprised...).

I like to prepare some of my prints (of Japanese subjects) with both English and Japanese titles (... it looks cool !)

Can anyone assist me with a colloquial Japanese equivalent of "Caught Napping" in this context.

I would appreciate both Romaji and Kana/Kanji if that's OK.

Regards,

ジョン

Hi, Sensuikan-san!

Your request is not as easy as you think. It is because how you are interpreting "caught napping/by surprise, etc." cannot be understood by people on the other side of the Web without explanation. You may be thinking of something with a humorous twist or something serious--we can never tell. If it is to be a title for one of your works of art, casual translation can turn out most inappropriate or even abhorrent. In any language, I think, idioms and phrases very often have shades of meaning and should be used carefully.

Having said that, there is something in Japanese that approximates "caught napping."

寝首を掻かれる（ねくびをかかれる）
This phrase means to be caught off-guard in the sense that you get tricked and killed in your sleep.

If this is not appropriate, maybe you can give a description of how the phrase is to be used.

hehe, woah, that's heavy XD

I'm guessing it was more along the lines of falling asleep on the job and your boss catching you in the act

but hey, what am I but an innocent bystander?

Hello Epigene ...

Yes, you are quite correct in your statements - thats why I requested the help on this one ! It is very easy to offend or even to amuse, when you don't want to ... !

Curiously, your offering as described by you would appear to be very close to what I was looking for !

To explain ... I am painting a scene of panic on the decks of a World War II submarine which is suddenly and unexpectedly being attacked by an aircraft which has not been detected by the lookouts. It is, in fact, a potential scene of a 'life and death' situation.

Thanks very much for the response.

Regards,

ジョン