Grammar Info

N1 Lesson 2: 4/17

皮切(かわき)りに

Beginning of, Starting with

Structure Legend

Structure

Noun + 皮切(かわき)りにして(1)
Verb[る](2) + + 皮切(かわき)りにして(1)

(1) 皮切(かわき)りとして
(2) Verb[た]

Details

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    Standard

  • 使用域

    一般

About を皮切りに

皮切(かわき)りに is a grammar structure that will be utilized with nouns in order to show the starting point for something, from which it then expanded, or something kept happening after. In most cases, 皮切(かわき)りに will just be translated as 'starting with (A)', or 'beginning with (A)'.
This structure is a combination of the adverbial particle を, the noun 皮切(かわき)り 'beginning' or 'outset', and the case-marking particle に. It will appear after nouns or phrases that have been nominalized, before going on to explain how something continued to expand afterwards.
  • 藤田(ふじた)先輩(せんぱい)がやめたの皮切(かわき)りに(ほか)(ひと)たちもどんどんやめていった。
    Starting with Fujita senpai quitting, others quit in quick succession.
  • あの俳優(はいゆう)はテレビ東京(とうきょう)出演(しゅつえん)したの皮切(かわき)りに色々(いろいろ)(きょく)出演(しゅつえん)することになった。
    That actor started by appearing on TV Tokyo and then went on to appear on various stations.
  • 佐々木(ささき)さんの発言(はつげん)皮切(かわき)りに賛成(さんせい)する(ひと)()てきた。
    Starting with Sasaki-san's comment, some people began to agree with him.
  • クラスメイトの高橋(たかはし)さん皮切(かわき)りに、クラスみんな風邪(かぜ)になってしまった。
    Starting with Takahashi-san, my classmate, everyone in my class caught a cold.
In place of に by itself, にして and として are also standard variations of the same grammar pattern.
  • 彼女(かのじょ)社長(しゃちょう)文句(もんく)()ったの皮切(かわき)りにして、みんな社長(しゃちょう)文句(もんく)()(はじ)めた。
    Starting with her making a complaint to the boss, everyone started to make complaints to the boss.
  • あのグループは名古屋(なごや)皮切(かわき)りとして全国(ぜんこく)でライブを(おこな)った。
    Starting with Nagoya, that group performed throughout the country.
Caution
It is rare for 皮切(かわき)りに to be used in relation to natural phenomena, or negative results. What happens as a result of (A) will usually be something positive, and have a specific 'doer'.
Fun Fact
Although 皮切(かわき)り is really only used to mean 'beginning', the kanji combination of 'to cut a hide' can be used as a helpful memory tool for the nuance of creating a starting point from which something expanded outwards over a large area, like skinning an animal.

Examples

  • 皆川(みながわ)さん監督(かんとく)として(えら)ばれた皮切(かわき)りにして、うちのチームは次々(つぎつぎ)スポーツ成功(せいこう)(つか)んだ。

    Starting with Minagawa-san being chosen as our trainer, our team continued to be successful.

    This is very often used with phrases like 次々に, 相次いて, 各地, 次から次へと, etc.

  • (みせ)移転(いてん)皮切(かわき)りとして売上(うりあ)げがどんどんと()がっています。

    Starting with the shop relocation, sales are rapidly increasing.

  • 「レオナルド・ディカプリオはタイタニックの主人公(しゅじんこう)になった皮切(かわき)りにスターへの(みち)(あゆ)(はじ)め、(だい)ヒット映画(えいが)出演(しゅつえん)している。」

    'Starting with his leading role in Titanic, Leonardo DiCaprio embarked on the road to stardom and has appeared in many hit movies.'

  • 東京(とうきょう)皮切(かわき)りに明治(めいじ)時代(じだい)舞台(ぶたい)にした演劇(えんげき)「〇〇」が全国(ぜんこく)30劇場(げきじょう)公演(こうえん)されます。

    Starting with Tokyo, the play XX, which is set in the Meiji era, will be performed at 30 theaters nationwide.

  • それ皮切(かわき)りとしてコンビニ相次(あいつ)いで出店(しゅってん)(はじ)めた。

    Starting with that, convenience stores started opening one after the other.

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