- JLPT N1
をかわきりに(して)
NikoJLPT N1: を皮切りに（して）
I'll be honest, I never see this grammar being used.
But then again, I'm not a native Japanese speaker...
を皮切りに (をかわきりに) is used when you are pointing out the first thing that was then followed by a lot of other, similar things.
For example:
ウィリアムさんは、広島の原爆ドームを皮切りに、日本の世界遺産をすべて見に行ったそうです。
ウィリアム さん は、 ひろしま の げんばくドーム をかわきりに、 にほん の せかいいさん を すべて みに いった そうです。
William-san said that he visited all of Japan’s World Heritage sites after seeing the Hiroshima Peace Memorial.
The Hiroshima Peace Memorial is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Why does "skin/pelt" (皮) "cutting" (切り) mean "starting with ~" or "~ marked the beginning of..." ...?
Don't ask me.
What I was particularly confused about is whether or not the action coming before を皮切りに is supposed to be the cause of the action following it, as none of the grammar books I looked through made mention of this.
Sometimes our English translations will indeed make it seem that they're connected:
ある一人の生徒の行動を皮切りに、多くの生徒がボランティア活動を行うようになった。
ある ひとり の せいと の こうどう を かわきりに、 おおく の せいと が ボランティア かつどう を おこなう ように なった。
The actions of one student were the catalyst for many other students to volunteer.
I suppose we can just say that maybe the action before を皮切りに is causing the action after it. But this is not necessarily the case.
👷 Construction 👷
This, at least, is straightforward. Just put a NOUN before を皮切りに：
NOUN ＋ を皮切りに
Oh, and don't be alarmed if you see を皮切りにして or を皮切りとして.
They mean more or less the same thing.
Examples...
その選手は2010年の大会を皮切りにして、8年連続で優勝している。
その せんしゅ は にせんじゅうねん の たいかい をかわきりにして、 はちねん れんぞく で ゆうしょう している。
Starting with the tournament in 2010, that player has won eight years in a row.
作曲家である彼は、自叙伝の出版を皮切りとして、作家としても多くの作品を生み出した。
さっきょくか である かれ は、 じじょでん の しゅっぱん をかわきりとして、 さっか として も おおく の さくひん を うみだした。
Beginning with the publication of his autobiography, the composer went on to write many books as an author.
As with most N1 topics, the main issue is not so much the grammar in question but rather the fact that the sentences are lengthy and they contain a lot of vocabulary.
So you might want to take extra time really going over the word-by-word breakdowns of each sentence. In fact, when I write those word-by-word breakdowns, I often notice mistakes in my translations that I have to fix. This helps in accomplishing the most difficult part of NDL's: Getting Rei's stamp of approval for a given translation. She's a tough proofreader. ^_^
Niko
