Yuri's Report

How to say “Hello” in the Japanese language.

2011-05-07T21:27:00.000+09:00

I have heard that native English speakers do not like to repeat what they have just said. Is this right? For example, when you say “Hello”, you would say some other greetings instead of repeating it. When you are said “Nice to meet you”, you would use “You, too” or some other expression instead of repeating “Nice to meet you” without any change.

What I hear is that if you don’t show your vocabulary extensive, you would be regarded to be childish in your countries. However, in Japan, you don’t need to change phrases you have just heard. “Hello” is “Konnichiwa”, and when you are said, “Konnichiwa”, you should reply with “Konnichiwa”. If it is after sunset, people will say “Konbanwa”, so you should respond with “Konbanwa.” No Japanese people would think your vocabulary is poor or that you are not greeting from your heart when you repeat a greeting.

To be honest, I do not see why you would need to demonstrate various expressions all the time when you speak in English. Why? If I may add, many native English speakers always seem to try to present their power, strength and ability as well as their vocabulary. I believe that it must be only natural in some countries, but things are opposite in Japan. People try to avoid showing things off.

This is one example for real about one ex-Yokozuna who was in the highest rank in Sumo. Have you seen Sumo? It’s the traditional Japanese-style wrestling. When a sumo-wrestler from a foreign country held up his fists when he became a champion, Japanese people criticized him saying “He showed off his victory.” We prefer coolness. He showed off what he had done too much and people hated it.

Now, there is another example in Tokyo. I was in a train which was in a station with the doors open. When a woman was about to get on, the doors started closing. One American man held the door with his hands and let the woman through. The sensor of the doors may have detected an error, the doors opened again, and we heard an announcement saying that they had troubles with the doors. The American man held up his fists smiling, yelling and looking around, and then looked at people nearby. No one responded him or said anything there. I was just surprised to see how an American man showed off his strength.

Anyway, you do not need to represent your strength or rich vocabulary in Japan. You may say why showing your strength is connected with your wide vocabulary, but proving your large vocabulary all the time seems to be demonstrating your ability for me. If you do the worst that could happen is Japanese people may dislike you. However, showing your ability and vocabulary must be only too natural for you, and you might not understand what I mean here. Just keep in mind, if you are planning to visit Japan, "THE NAIL THAT STICKS OUT GETS BANGED DOWN." Demonstrating your abilities too much is sometimes regarded as destroying the harmony in my country.

I ask for your kind understanding that I just want to say there are many differences among countries, and don’t mean to offend any foreign cultures. I just hope this will help you if you have a chance to work with Japanese people in the future. Lastly, I just want you know; if Japanese people do not seem to be with a confident, they just prefer to be humility and are not fool.

Thank you.

Thanks, Koir and Gakuchoh!

One Month after the Massive Earthquakes in Japan.

2011-04-10T22:54:00.000+09:00

One Month has passed.
Almost everything seems to be back the way it was in my town.
There are still aftershocks almost every day, but we usually have many of them in this country anyway.
I live next to Tokyo, and far from the affected area.
Watching the disaster areas on TV, frankly speaking, I cannot help wondering why they lived in those dangerous lower areas near the sea, and every time I can believe that you, non-Japanese people, would be curious why Japanese people live in this dangerous country with many earthquakes. Just as I cannot move out of my land, they cannot leave their towns.

A great number of countries have offered assistance to Japan.
They say it is 116 countries and regions. I wanted to write all the names of them here, but it is too many to type.

I can’t thank them enough.

Thank you.

Thank you very much, dogsbody70, RealJames, JamboP26 and Koir!

You have helped me correcting my English, and your countries have offered a helping hand to Japan.
I don’t know what to say.

18 days after the Massive Earthquakes in Japan.

2011-03-29T23:08:00.001+09:00

I bought a new mobile phone last week.

My old one didn’t receive earthquake early warnings.

The new phone sounds an alarm every time an emergency earthquake alert is issued.

Even if I am fast asleep, my phone will wake me up a little bit before the earthquake occurs.

In addition, my old phone’s battery had been running out too fast.

I decide to buy a new mobile phone every three years at least.

There were some people who phoned for help while under the rubble after the Earthquakes.

My cell-phone charms are a small flash light and a whistle.

If a massive earthquake occurred and I’m buried under the rubble, I would search for an exit in the dark with my flashlight. You might say you would use your cell phone’s backlight, but the battery life is precious under the circumstances. I would use my flashlight.

If there is not an exit, I would use my whistle to alert the rescue team to my position. Nine days after the Earthquake, a 16 year old boy and his grandmother were found in their ruined kitchen. He said he had heard the rescue workers, but the rescuers didn’t hear his voice for days.

Can you imagine that you cry out for help in the dark and the rescue team doesn’t hear you?

I think there may have been many people who cried out for help, but usually people cannot cry loud enough.

I’ve had this whistle for years. When I saw the movie “Titanic”, the heroine blew a whistle for help, I thought I should have a whistle with me.

I really recommend that you should have one. Really.

Thank you.

JumboP26, Koir, thanks for helping!

Ten days after the Massive Earthquakes in Japan.

2011-03-21T21:21:00.001+09:00

Ten days have passed.

The sense of distrust for the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) seems to be increasing among people. There seem to be some reasons for this. One of them is that most operators in the nuclear power plant left the worksite just after the earthquake occurred, and the rest tried to mend the plant, but they were short of staff. Some people say this is why the situation got worse. The second reason is that the Company does not tell when blackouts start, and it disturbed the railway service. There was kind of panic in many stations for a few days. TEPCO is battering Japanese economy.

Now, there is a rumour that says the company housing of TEPCO doesn’t have a blackout. That means that most people have a hard time with the blackouts, but TEPCO employees don’t. I don’t know if this rumour is true.

I met one of my friends today. She said she hasn’t had a blackout yet. And she also said she lives in front of TEPCO’s company housing. She and I live in the same city.

Thank you.

JamboP26, thanks for correcting.

Six days after the Massive Earthquakes in Japan.

2011-03-18T21:14:00.000+09:00

Six days have passed.

Many people have registered a strong complaint by phone with Tokyo Electric Power Company for the random information of the blackouts. If this goes on, so many people would go bankrupt because many factories and shops can’t operate.

Last night, I did not expect a blackout, but it happened suddenly. The schedule had said it would start at 12:20PM, but it didn’t. Then, at around 6:40PM, it started.

I was cooking dinner, and about to use a mixer. With a clunk, the light went out.

We had to eat pot noodles. I realized why many people buy a lot of bread and it has been sold out for a week. We can eat bread without electricity. My IH cooking heater needs electricity to cook things.

So, at about 9:20 this morning, I went to a supermarket. There was a very long line of shoppers which ran around the corner of the block.
I succeeded buying bread! And five pot noodles.
Now, it’s only 30 minutes to today’s blackout if the schedule is correct.

Thank you.

Thanks for helping, JamboP26!

Four days after the Massive Earthquakes in Japan.

2011-03-15T19:06:00.002+09:00

Four days have passed since the Earthquakes occurred. Japan is at the edge of a radioactive accident now. The leaking radioactivity level is increasing. I believe this is more serious than the earthquakes.
In addition, as most power plants have stopped and the Government is enforcing planned outages, the capital region is in total confusion.

Last night, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) didn’t tell where and when today’s blackouts would be happening.
At about 4 AM this morning, an earthquake occurred which woke me up. I turned on the TV to check the epicenter and the intensity, and saw that the blackout would be from 6:20 AM to 10 AM in this area today.
They should have informed us earlier! Other people must have thought the same. The gross incompetence of TEPCO has disrupted many factories, shops, train services and many other economic activities.

Since 4 AM is too early to slip out of bed, I fell back to sleep. Three hours later, I got up thinking the blackout would be on but it wasn't. Then, it was almost 10 o'clock with the light still on, so I thought there might not be a blackout today. I went to a supermarket.

There was a long line of shoppers waiting to enter the building. Batteries, flashlights, candles, portable gas stoves, small gas canisters, rice, pot noodles, bottled water, milk, eggs, bread and some other things had been sold out already.
My first priority was cat food today, and I was able to buy three bags of it. I also bought some bacon and rice cakes on impulse.
When I got home, it was almost 11 AM, the blackout had not yet started.

But then, a city office vehicle was driving down the road beside my house announcing that the blackout would be from 11 AM to 2 PM. It was only five minutes to 11 AM.
Again, they should have informed us earlier! How could they change their plans so randomly?

The electric company has been saying that there would not be radiation leakage any more, but the situation is getting worse. Is TEPCO knocking Japan down!?

Thank you!

Koir and Gkuchoh, thanks!!

Three days after the Massive Earthquakes in Japan.

2011-03-14T20:36:00.000+09:00

Three days have passed. We still have many aftershocks here.

The Prime Minister of Japan announced that they are starting rolling blackouts in the northern half of Japan last night, but not when they start.

This morning, many commuters were surprised to learn many trains weren't running. The people made long lines around stations in the capital region.

I checked the internet and they said these rolling blackouts will continue until the end of April and possibly into summer.

I thought I needed a big bucket to flush the toilet because it doesn’t work when blackouts happen. So I went to a supermarket nearby.

There were so many people around the shop, something I hadn’t seen before. Too many people were in the supermarket, and many were walking.

I think they started buying up food because they had learned many factories had stopped and that food would be scarce.

My first priority was not food but a big bucket. I left there and went to a small local hardware store. Since the shop is small, I believed there would not be too many people and they would not have sold all their buckets.

Bingo!

There were only a few people buying small tanks. I was able to find a big bucket!

One hour from now, the blackout will be here.

Thank you!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolling_blackout

Koir, thank you as always!

Two days after the massive earthquakes in Japan.

2011-03-13T23:10:00.000+09:00

Two days have passed since the earthquakes here.

There is only news about the accidents in the newspapers. All of the TV channels have been broadcasting solely about this disaster. They are showing videos from the time the biggest earthquake and tsunami occurred, giving explanations of how radioactivity leaked, reporting where and how many people have been isolated, and commenting on the many rescue teams from foreign countries that are arriving to help us. (We really, really appreciate it. Right now, the announcer is saying that teams from the US, China, Germany, Switzerland and some other countries have come. )

I live in Kawasaki city, Kanagawa prefecture which is located next to Tokyo. We have only had the usual sized earthquakes here, however, bottles of water are scarce in stores. I saw some men buy all the boxes of bottled water in a supermarket. I think they have two reasons to do so. The first reason may be that tap water has been smelling of Chlorine since the day before yesterday. We usually drink tap water and don’t store bottled water, so we need to buy bottled ones now. (I believe we will be able to drink tap water after boiling it.) The second might be that they think there will be some larger earthquakes near here and we might lose the lifelines that we have, because the seismic activity seems to be coming nearer.

Some of the shoppers’ eyes seemed to be panicked. There are no more butane gas cartridges in stores around here.

Thank you for reading this gloomy story!

coltostallion, thank you for helping!

Massive earthquakes occurred yesterday in Japan

2011-03-12T13:50:00.000+09:00

Around 2:50 p.m. yesterday, an earthquake happened. I changed the TV channel to NHK as usual. I always watch NHK when an earthquake occurs.

The breaking news appeared on the top of the TV screen, and it said a massive earthquake had occurred.

Suddenly, the power went out and the TV turned off.

It was long-period oscillation, so I thought the epicenter was far from here.

I put my emergency belt bag on, took the radio and my cell phone, and left the house.

The ground kept shaking.

I’ve had many earthquakes here in Japan, but I’ve never this big.

I heard a car alarm from a vehicle left in a nearby parking lot.

The neighbors came out of their house.

We thought our house might collapse.

I looked up to the power poles and lines to check if they fell down. At the same time, I saw a passenger aircraft flying to the west. This was not the usual flight path, so I thought HANEDA airport must have been closed and the airplane had been diverted. My house is near the airport.

I learned that the main source was in the Pacific near the Tohoku area located in the east-north part of Japan.

I wanted to know if my family was safe, but the phone was not working.

I tried to email many times with my mobile, but I only succeeded twice before the battery power got too low.

I regretted that I hadn’t bought a small power-generating equipment to charge up my phone.

The blackout finished about 9:30 last night.

Luckily, all of my family members were safe.

My house doesn’t have any problems now.

However, I see the TV footage of the disastrous tsunami.

They say the number of missing is over 1300.

Now I don’t know what I can do.

Thank you.

Koir, thank you for correcting my English as always.

Comments from Alejandro in Chile

2010-11-07T22:23:00.000+09:00

Alejandro : I find this to be a very interesting topic. I would like to simply add that one of my teachers at the center where I study Japanese here in Chile seems to dislike using the word 'gaijin' as well, and prefers 'gaikokujin'. Her rationale was, if I remember correctly, that, while 'gaijin' is not derogatory in itself, 'gaikokujin' suggests a respect for the other person (being more formal), whereas the former has no such connotation, and could therefore be interpreted as being impolite.

Yuri : Alejandro, thank you for reading and answering.

Most Japanese people say the word “gaijin” without knowing that.

It might be causing troubles between people from foreign countries and Japanese. What can we do for that???

My Answers to Columbine

2010-11-04T17:20:00.000+09:00

(C=Columbine, Y=Yuri)

C : ユリさんの質問に関しては、ちょっと複雑と思います。

Y : I didn’t know the issue was controversial or complicated.

この問題が物議を醸しているとも複雑だとも知りませんでした。

Thank you for answering.

答えてくださってありがとうございます。

C : 外国人は日本について学び始めると、必ず『日本人は外国の事をよく分からない』や　『日本人に取って、外国人が宇宙人みたいん』の意見を聞いています。それはやっぱり正しくないですが、何か普通になりました。

Y : Yes, the comments are right. Most Japanese people don’t know or understand foreign countries well. Let me say this, though, many people in foreign countries don’t understand Japan.

その通りです。ほとんどの日本人は外国のことを知らないし、理解していません。でも言わせていただければ、外国にいる外国人の方たちは、日本を理解していません。

C : もちろん、その意見は大学で、日本人の友達で、直していますが、日本の社会をよく分からないの人の中で、そのような意見に信じている人はいっぱいんです。

Y : Those comments about Japanese people are correct, I’d say.

Most Japanese people have never met people from foreign countries. When those people first meet a person from a foreign country, the Japanese people would be so impressed and overreact.

私としては、そういうコメントは正しいと思います。

外国人の方に会ったことがない日本人はたくさんいます。そういう人たち初めて外国の方にお会いしたら、ものすごく驚いて過剰反応するでしょう。

And I think you would say you don’t understand why those Japanese people are surprised meeting foreigners.

でも多分あなたは、どうして日本人が外国人と会ったからといって驚くのか、わからないでしょうね。

Have you imagined that you have never met people who are not your race?

人種の違う人と会ったことがなかったらと、想像してみたことはありますか？

C : それにも、日本の社会に着いて勉強し始めるの人でも、他の外人から変な意見と聞いています。「日本人があなたの事を『外人』と呼ぶ、悪口だ。人種差別的な響きがある.」だから、日本人は「外人」を付けると、外国人達、「実は、日本人さんは私の事がすきじゃないの？ばか

にするの？」と心配します。

Y : I see. I didn’t know the word was such infamous. I got it.

そうだったんですか。そんなに評判の悪い言葉だとは知りませんでした。

C : 多分、この考え違いの理由は:

1)英語で、人を国籍で呼ぶのは人種差別的な響きがあります。たとえば『ジャップ』『パッキ (パキスタン人）』

Y : I know that “Jap” is a derogatory term, but how about “Japanese”?

If I call you English, is that a discrimination?

C : ２）ある子どもは外国人を見ると「あ、外人！外人だ！」道の中に呼ぶので、日本人の大人も「外人」を付ける、何か子どもぽいです。みて、みて、僕のペット外人の感じがあります。

Y : If there are many people from Western countries in Japan, those children wouldn’t say like that.

もし西洋の方が大勢日本にいたしたら、そういう子供たちもそんなことは言わないと思いますよ。

However, when you are called gaijin loudly on the street, you would hate it. I understand it.

でも、道で大声で外人と呼ばれたら、嫌ですよね。わかります。

C : ３）有名な人は「外人」は悪事と言います。たとえば、デビト。

Y : Columbine, sorry; I don’t see what this sentence means.

Who is デビト?

(This man was ; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debito_Arudou)

C : 4)自分の国にいるでも、日本語に取ってまだ『外人』です。そして、それが好きじゃないんです。

Y : I know that! I have heard it many times.

I’d like to write a bit about this issue later.

C : and various other reasons.

For me, I don't mind being called 'gaijin' by someone I don't know, unless it's people openly pointing and bawling it, or kids making a fuss, then I might tell them (in japanese) that they're being rude.

Y : In the city in Japan, I think such things would not happen, while in rural places, it’s likely.

C : I don't mind if a friend uses it now and then as a joke, or ironically, but I don't like it when people use it all the time. Even if ~you~ don't think it's got a bad meaning, the foreign community generally does, so if I let everyone call me 'gaijin' all the time, I'll have to deal with my foreign friends asking me why I allow it, don't I find it demeaning, don't I realize it's a bad thing, and so on.

Y : I see. I will never say “gaijin” anymore.

C : Also it lumps us all together, like it doesn't matter who or where we come from, the thing is we're Not-Japanese.

Y : Yes, the Japanese people like to lumps people all together.

We often lump ourselves all together. It may be difficult to understand why you don’t like to be lumped together to most Japanese people.

C : I've also had conversations like "gaijin cause a lot of crime in Japan; these days loads of drug dealers and prostitutes are gaijin....

Y : I agree with you!

I’m sure that there are more Japanese criminals than foreign criminals, but the Japanese people like to say so.

C : Oh, Hi Columbine! Everyone, this is my friend Columbine, she's gaijin." I think you can see why sometimes it's really frustrating!

Y : I must say here there are differences.

In Japan, if one of my friends come to with someone, and said “this is my friend, and she is gaijin”, other friends and I would be really interested in the person, and try to be friends with the person.

And I would say “I have a foreign friend!” to many other friends.

I believe that many Japanese people want to be friends with foreign people, but they can’t because of the language.

If I was in England and my friend said “this is my friend, and she is gaijin”, I would feel nothing, and say “Hi, I’m Japanese.”

I’m sorry; I don’t understand what you feel.

C : Also if you're white, a lot of Japanese people seem to think 'gaijin' means 'american', so it can be annoying for Europeans to be introduced as 'gaijin' and then get asked about America.

Y : OK, this is understandable.

It must be frustrating.

I am really sorry to hear that.

C : So for me, if you have to refer to me by something other than my name, please use my actual nationality, イギリス人、or I'd rather be called 外国人 than がいじん、even if it's more formal. The formality actually means that both the japanese people using it and all the foreigners KNOW for sure there's no bad meaning.

Y : I will say外国人 or イギリス人.

Your comments are really instructive and helpful. (^_^)/~~

勉強になりました。どうもありがとう。

Columbine’s Comments

2010-11-04T17:18:00.000+09:00

Hi Yuri (^_^)

This is a really interesting topic.

If you have any questions about the changes i've made, please ask me.

ユリさんの質問に関しては、ちょっと複雑と思います。外国人は日本について学び始めると、必ず『日本人は外国の事をよく分からない』や　『日本人に取って、外国人が宇宙人みたいん』の意見を聞いています。それはやっぱり正しくないですが、何か普通になりました。もちろん、その意見は大学で、日本人の友達で、直していますが、日本の社会をよく分からないの人の中で、そのような意見に信じている人はいっぱいんです。それにも、日本の社会に着いて勉強し始めるの人でも、他の外人から変な意見と聞いています。「日本人があなたの事を『外人』と呼ぶ、悪口だ。人種差別的な響きがある.」だから、日本人は「外人」を付けると、外国人達、「実は、日本人さんは私の事がすきじゃないの？ばかにするの？」と心配します。多分、この考え違いの理由は:

1)英語で、人を国籍で呼ぶのは人種差別的な響きがあります。たとえば『ジャップ』『パッキ (パキスタン人）』

２）ある子どもは外国人を見ると「あ、外人！外人だ！」道の中に呼ぶので、日本人の大人も「外人」を付ける、何か子どもぽいです。みて、みて、僕のペット外人の感じがあります。

３）有名な人は「外人」は悪事と言います。たとえば、デビト。

4)自分の国にいるでも、日本語に取ってまだ『外人』です。そして、それが好きじゃないんです。

and various other reasons.

For me, I don't mind being called 'gaijin' by someone I don't know, unless it's people openly pointing and bawling it, or kids making a fuss, then I might tell them (in japanese) that they're being rude. I don't mind if a friend uses it now and then as a joke, or ironically, but I don't like it when people use it all the time. Even if ~you~ don't think it's got a bad meaning, the foreign community generally does, so if I let everyone call me 'gaijin' all the time, I'll have to deal with my foreign friends asking me why I allow it, don't I find it demeaning, don't I realize it's a bad thing, and so on.

Also it lumps us all together, like it doesn't matter who or where we come from, the thing is we're Not-Japanese. I've also had conversations like "gaijin cause a lot of crime in Japan; these days loads of drug dealers and prostitutes are gaijin.... Oh, Hi Columbine! Everyone, this is my friend Columbine, she's gaijin." I think you can see why sometimes it's really frustrating! Also if you're white, a lot of Japanese people seem to think 'gaijin' means 'american', so it can be annoying for Europeans to be introduced as 'gaijin' and then get asked about America.

So for me, if you have to refer to me by something other than my name, please use my actual nationality, イギリス人、or I'd rather be called 外国人 than がいじん、even if it's more formal. The formality actually means that both the japanese people using it and all the foreigners KNOW for sure there's no bad meaning.

Gaijin

2010-11-04T17:14:00.000+09:00

Wikipedia says that Gaijin (外人) is a Japanese word meaning "non-Japanese", or "alien".

I have heard foreign people hate being called “gaijin”. Is that right?

I went on a trip in Japan with an American friend a few years ago. When we took a taxi, I was talking to the driver in Japanese and I said the word “gaijin” in the conversation.

My friend wasn’t able to understand Japanese. She had started studying Japanese, but she didn’t even know how to say “mother” or “father”.

However, she seemed to catch the word “gaijin”, and got upset.

Most Japanese people believe that “gaijin” means “people from foreign countries” without any further meaning. We can say “gaikokujin（外国人）” and “gaikoku kara irasshatta kata（外国からいらっしゃった方）”, but the first one sounds too formal and the second one is too long to say.

Since I didn’t know my friend didn’t like to be called “gaijin”, that I was shocked to know she was angry.

I believe the definitions in Wiki are a bit wrong. The Japanese people don’t mean anything negative by the word.

I’d like to know why and how the word has become associated with a bad meaning or impression.

If you know any reasons, let me know, please.

And, what should I say instead of gaijin???

Thank you.

Columbine, thanks for helping.

Nightmares

2010-10-19T15:35:00.002+09:00

This is what I have been dreaming of in the past week.
About one week ago, I bought a lot of herrings in a dream.
I bought too many herrings, so I didn't feel like cooking them.
After that the herrings appeared in my dreams every night. I knew I should hurry up, or the fish would go rotten, but I didn’t. You probably know the feeling that you should finish a difficult task before it's too late, right? For example; preparing for an examination in school or cleaning the fan in the kitchen. When you postpone tough things to do, you feel uncomfortable, don’t you?
I have been feeling uneasy over the past week without knowing why.
This morning I dreamed I finally picked up one of the herrings. It was rotten.
I put many rotten herrings into a plastic bag. Fortunately, the last one was safe!
I sliced the fish and baked it with potato in my dream.
And that's how my nightmares ended.

Thank you.

Koir, JamboP26 and Columbine, thank you!

Japanese Honorifics

2010-09-26T16:38:00.000+09:00

One of my American friends asked me two questions about Japan. This was one of them.

The Contract318 : My first question is: What is the meaning of calling someone _____chan vs _____san. In my Japanese class we are called by our last names with san at the end, which I think means Mr./Mrs. However, many times in manga people say "-chan" at the end. Is this something said just between friends?

Answer : Yes.

The Japanese language has five common honorifics to add at the end of names of people.
“San”, “chan”, “kun” “sama” and “dono”.
“Dono” is used scarcely. You write it when you direct letters to lower ranking people. That means that writing the honorific makes you appear bossy.
When my younger brother has wrote to me using it, I got angry and complained. He said that he writes many letters to his patients with the honorific every day, and he had used it out of pure habit. He is a doctor. I believe he is arrogant.
I think only Tennoh (the Japanese Emperor) can use that when he writes to Japanese people.
When you write letters, you must write “sama”.
“Sama” is also used to call customers. Shop assistants and clerks usually address their customers with “sama”.
By the way, we call god/gods “kamisama”. This “sama” is the honorific.

When you call your boss and fellow workmates, you should add “san” to their family names.
If you are very elderly, you can address young subordinates with “kun”. However, I don’t recommend it.
If you are a male student, you would address your male friends with “kun” or just their names without an honorific, and would address your female friends with “san”. If the person is your girlfriend, you can address her without an honorific as well.
If you are a female student, you would address your female friends with “san”. When the friends are very close, you can address them with “chan”.
When you are an adult, you must be very friendly to address friends with “chan” or to be addressed with “chan”.

Is it complicated?
Don’t worry. You can always say “san”.
Good luck!
Thank you!!

Koir, ColinHowel and Columbine, thanks for helping!

What “Freeter” Is

2010-09-23T20:42:00.000+09:00

If you write the Japanese word フリーター in English, it would be “freeter” (both singular and plural), and that means a person or people who work(s) part-time.
Once one of my English teachers asked me what “freeter” was.
I wasn’t able to explain that then because it’s really complicated.
Let me try it here.
Freeter is a shortened version of “freearbeiter”.
“Free” is from the English word “freelancing”, and “arbeit” is from the German word “arbeiten”(work).
Then, the last part “er” is the English way to make nouns from verbs. For example, play and player.
Arbeiten is pronounced arubaito in Japan, which means part time job(s). The origin is that medical students used to say they “arbeiten” when they cut corpses to study human bodies. They meant it was hard work. My father (who is a surgeon) used to say that cutting corpse heads in two is tiring activity. Japanese medical students studied German because early Japanese medical information was from Germany. This word has spread and been changed to mean 'part time work'.
Anyway, “arbeiter” means “part time worker” now.
In this word “freeter”, “free” means “without permanent position” or “freelancing”, and many young people can’t get permanent positions recently. Most of them become freeter. You might think “freelancing” implies independence and flexibility, but these people only have instability. They can earn little.
This is a big problem in Japan. I guess your country might be so, too.

Thank you.

Koir, Columbine, dogsbody70, ColinHowell and JamboP26, thanks a lot!

A Dream

2010-09-13T21:08:00.002+09:00

This was my dream this morning.
I was desperate for the bathroom in the dream. I seemed to be on a big ship or a huge vehicle, and was about to attend a meeting. I decided to visit the bathroom before the meeting starts when the floor shook violently. I stumbled back several steps, then saw many people coming down the hall. I pushed my way through the crowd with great effort. The ground kept shaking and I went backward again. I felt as though I were a tiny boat in a hurricane.
Next I saw a stairway in front of me. My destination seemed to be on the upper floor.
I crawled up the stairs because the floor kept shaking widely. The ship must have been in a huge typhoon. After tumbling down twice, I managed to reach the top step and reached out my hand. Except now it wasn't a step but a big vaulting box I had to clear.
Since the floor was shaking so much, I had to climb over the box. Behind it was the door and I rushed at it.
Finally I opened the door and woke up.
I felt really tired.

Thank you.

Koir, JamboP26 and dogsbody70, thank you very much for your help.

Kakusan’s comment Ⅱ

2010-09-02T14:48:00.002+09:00

(This is Kakusan’s response to my post titled “Why Japan prefers a monocultural society : Part 2)

Indeed, in order to maintain the very diversity that I espouse, it is sometimes necessary to follow a policy of isolationism or protectionism. When a unique variation is in danger of being crushed by overwhelming external force, for instance, something must be done to preserve it. If that is the course that the Japanese people, or any people, decide through a democratic process to follow, then that is entirely their prerogative.

We too face problems with foreign wildlife out-competing our native species, such as the red squirrel.

Yurisan, I do not mean to imply that you need to be large! That was in reference to animals and plants in general. In humans in particular high heterozygosity serves as a guard against the genetic defects that can arise through inbreeding. It results in offspring that are more resistant to all sorts of diseases. Let me be clear, I am not advocating some kind of eugenic cross-breeding programme! I was merely pointing out that diversity has it's advantages in various arenas, and so it should not surprise us to find that multiculturalism, in an analogy with genetic diversity, can also be advantageous.

I agree that studying abroad is a good thing. However, I think there are some things that you learn from living next door to someone who came from another country, or growing up in the same class at school as someone from another culture, that you cannot learn from reading or from spending a short time with people in another country.

I genuinely believe that a spirit of common understanding is fostered over the long-term by multicultural societies. I acknowledge that clashes happen, and that they can have terrible consequences, but in the long run when we are confronted every day by the reality that we are all human beings, it is very difficult to foster baseless prejudice.

As for the UK and the US, I contend that the crime rates are hardly attributable to multiculturalism. The fact is that we used to have police on the streets walking the beat, and if anyone were to shout for help a policeman would be there. Nowadays the police spend most of their time doing paperwork, eating curry and getting into car chases. Now that's a slightly simplistic take on the problem, but suffice it to say that it represents the main cause for the current climate and attitude towards crime.
...I did not mean to accuse the Japanese of bigotry! I apologise if I was unclear — I meant that human beings in general tend to find reasons to discriminate against, segregate and persecute others. These are usually false reasons, and such people would hate others even if they couldn't find a reason. The supposed reasons are just a way of rationalising baseless hatred.

I understand about Christianity in Japan in the 17th century. It was the same all over the world. The views of the Church at that time were very bigoted, albeit well-intentioned for the most part. The majority of missionaries thought they were doing God's work and making the world a better place, and in some cases they did a lot of good. However, many of the Church's doctrines were harmful and certainly overbearing. So the reaction of the Japanese, who already had their own very effective ethical code, was entirely understandable and quite natural in my opinion. I don't think there is ever a good reason for killing, but certainly some reaction to suppress the cultural invasion was inevitable.

I understand what you are saying about starting in a new workplace. In fact I usually tend to be like that myself, but I know what you mean about Western people in general. Rest assured that we're not all like that! I appreciate that some precious aspects of diversity can be lost by assimilation, and this is a great shame. As with the out-competition of native species, this is something to be avoided and I feel that protective measures are most certainly warranted in such situations. You are most certainly entitled to be yourselves, I do not deny that. All I am saying is that we can learn a lot about who we are as human beings by living alongside people who do things differently and come from a different background.

On the other hand I accept that there is a danger, in an environment of total multiculturalism, of losing one's roots and of losing the uniqueness of our own cultures. In order to prevent this some protectionism is warranted, as long as we remember that we are still a part of a greater whole.

My nephew

2010-08-22T13:24:00.000+09:00

This is a story of my brother’s son who is three years old.
One day, his family and I went shopping together. My brother was looking for a hydroscope for his son, but the shop did not stock suitable hydroscopes for children.
During the car ride home, my nephew said to his father.
“Papa, will you buy me a hydroscope? Will you buy me a hydroscope?”
He repeated that endlessly.
Then my brother said, “I hear you. If you repeat once more, I won’t buy one for you.”
The child answered, “OK, since I won’t say that any more, then buy me a hydroscope. Since I won’t say that any more, then buy me a hydroscope, please!”
He started repeating that endlessly.
We just had to grin.

Thank you.

Koir, klint and dogsbody70, thank you!

Why Japan prefers a monocultural society : Part 2

2010-08-16T23:51:00.000+09:00

This is my response to Kakusa’s comments.

Kakusan: Of course in the case of the Potato Famine, there were many other historical factors that induced the dependence upon potatoes, but when one has the choice it is certainly preferable not to rely upon a single variety of crops.

Yuri: In Ogasawara Islands which is located in the south of Tokyo, there were about 350 endemic insects, but alien species are exterminating most of them. In particular, a green anole (lizard) has had a profound impact on the native insects and plants. This is only one example and alien species have been doing a lot of damage to endemic insects, plants, fish and animals throughout Japan.

Kakusan: In genetics, too, we see that if we have two specimens that are weak due to high homozygosity, but they are highly heterozygous with respect to one another, so to speak, their offspring will be much stronger, larger and healthier.

Yuri: I do not see why you need to be large. I do not fight hand-in-hand combat or hunt animals. I’m sure that I have enough muscle strength, and Japan has the world’s highest longevity rate. I think this means Japanese people are healthy.

Kakusan: However, if one society comprises many cultures rather than just one, then it is much more likely that the society as a whole will be able to find within itself those cultural resources with which to equip itself against the new difficulty. In this way, we can learn from those who are different from us how best to cope with unfamiliar situations.

Yuri: We can learn from other countries because we can study abroad when necessary. I do not see why you need to live together in one society.

Kakusan: In turn this eventually leads to a more peaceful society.

Yuri: Do you know that Japan is very safe and girls can walk outside alone in the middle of the night wearing skirts and high heels? I do not think the UK and the US are more peaceful.

Kakusan: People will always find reasons to hate one another. Whether they be religion, culture or skin colour,

Yuri: The Japanese do not hate people because of religion or skin colour. I do not see why you hate people for such reasons. Japan persecuted Christianity in the 17th century, but that was just to prevent being colonized by Western countries.

Kakusan: I understand what you are saying about "reading between the lines" and hearing what is left unsaid. However, when we have to learn how to do this with a new group of people with different mores, we leave our "comfort zone" and both exercise a new area of our brain and learn something about ourselves which could not have otherwise been revealed.

Yuri: In Japan, when you are starting out in a new workplace, after introducing yourself, you communicate that you know hardly anything and ask to be shown the ropes. This is the Japanese way to say things. We do not expect our co-workers to tell us everything, but we act like this because we find the attitude of self-confidence when you first meet people despicable. On the other hand, Western people always show their self-confidence, and if you were to act like the Japanese, your co-workers would hate or look down on you, right? I believe this way of behaving comes from the Japanese spirit. Do we need to change our culture and spirit? I do not want to.
When we go abroad, we conform to your way, but in Japan, we want to be ourselves.

Kakusan: Obviously there is the long-term history of the "Bamboo Curtain",

Yuri: My response about this topic seems to become long.
I will write next time.

Kakusan: So, to take a very broad, overall message from history, one could get the impression that Japanese interactions with the "outside" have had a tremendously unfortunate negative tendency.

Yuri: Yes. In addition, our culture and spirit is different from yours; so when you behave ordinary, sometimes we can’t help feeling you are overbearing because we do not have the culture of debate. I think Japanese people sometimes feel we have been argued down by foreign people.

Kakusan: In this sense, it seems to me, and correct me if I'm wrong, that Japan has benefited from an exclusive kind of "multiculturalism of ideas" in a way that few other nations can claim to have done.

Yuri: Yes, you are right. So, I do not see why we have to live with foreign people when we can get a lot of information about foreign countries easily.
I don’t dislike foreign people, I love foreign countries, but still I personally prefer to live in a monocultural society rather than a multicultural one.

Thank you!

Kakusan, thank you for the revision.

Jdn-san from Poland's Questions

2010-08-16T23:38:00.000+09:00

These questions are from jdn-san concerning my previous post about Binbohgami-The God of Poverty.

How do I invite Fukunokami(the god of fortune)?
How to ward off Binbohgami(the god of poverty)?

The answer is : Don’t be lazy. The Binbohgami loves lazy people.
Keep your room warm, especially on New Year’s Eve. Binbohgami hates a warm room. On the other hand, Fukunokami loves it.
Keep your room clean through a whole year.
Then, be good and kind to everyone around you.

There is a story that the Binbohgami appeared at the house of a poor man. He showed the Binbohgami gracious hospitality. Then, the Binbohgami turned to the Fukunokami.
This story means that you should welcome everyone even if the person seems to wish you harm.

Can you do that?

Jdn-san, thanks for the questions.
Columbine, thanks for the revision!

How to Say Good Night in Japanese.

2010-08-13T11:54:00.001+09:00

“Oyasuminasai（お休みなさい）” is usually translated as Good Night.

If I translate Good Night word for word into Japanese, it’s “ii yoru”. Good is ii, and Night is yoru.

If I translate “oyasuminasai” into English literally, it means “Get rest, please”. It is in imperative form.

Perhaps you would think this expression is said only to a person who is going to bed. However, you can say that both when you are going to bed and when another person is going to bed.

This might sound strange to you because we can say it when the listener isn’t going to bed. When you are going to bed, how you can say “Get rest” to other people who are not going to bed?

I’m sorry, I have no idea!

Thanks, Koir, as always!

Bon

2010-08-08T11:02:00.000+09:00

Bon(or Obon) is one of the Japanese Buddhist customs to honor the spirits of ancestors. It takes places around August 15th in many areas all aver Japan.

During the Bon period, many people receive company holidays and visit their ancestors’ grave. We believe that the spirits of ancestors return to this world during this period.

We also believe that the bad spirits come to this world from Hell when Bon starts. It is said that the maw of hell is opening, and they stay around water and drag people into their world. So many Japanese people avoid playing around a river, a lake, or a beach around Bon.

Still, many people die in water during the Bon period. Do you believe this?

Thank you!

P.S. If you have any questions about my post or Japanese customs, don’ hesitate to ask!

Columbine, thanks!

Customs of Japan

2010-07-31T12:58:00.001+09:00

When you come to Japan and go drinking with Japanese people, some of them will say, “Let’s start with beer!” and then you’ll all give a toast. If you want to behave like the Japanese, you'll need to pour for other people, even when you are not a host or a hostess. This is a kind of Japanese tradition, and how Japanese people communicate each other while drinking.

The legal drinking age is twenty years old here. When there are unmarried young women, you should look after their glasses carefully, because a woman can’t pour for herself. If an unmarried young woman pours for herself, it is said that she will not be able to get married. So a woman has to wait until someone notices her glass. If a woman wants to be poured, she pours for someone, and then the person will notice her empty glass and pour for her.
Is this too much of a bother? Perhaps, but if you are a man, I think this could be a good excuse to speak to a young woman who you like. Good luck!

Thank you!

P.S. If you have questions about my post or Japanese customs, don't hesitate to ask.

Columbine, thanks!

Kakusan's Comment

2010-07-21T16:15:00.000+09:00

This is Kakusan's response to my last post.

Kakusan(UK) : Hi Yurisan!

I found your observation very interesting. I grew up in the UK in a very multicultural background, and I think I can understand the reasons behind this premise that ethnic diversity is beneficial. So I have put together a few of my own thoughts on the matter below.

My grandmother came from Ireland. You may have heard of the Irish Potato Famine. This was a terrible time of starvation and poverty in Irish history, during which around a million people died and a similar number left the country in order to survive. What caused this was, in part, what we call a monoculture. This is when a farmer, or a whole agricultural sector, becomes dependent upon one variety of crop for survival. It is typified by enormous plantations of one type of crop, stretching as far as the eye can see. The problem is that, if there is one parasite or pest to which this crop is susceptible and this pest happens upon one of these plantations, then the entire sector will fall at once. This will result in mass poverty and starvation, precisely as in the Irish Potato Famine where Irish farmers became overly dependent upon the potato. One way to avoid this is to grow different strains of a crop, or different crops entirely, such that one avoids "putting all one's eggs in one basket". In this way, when a parasite comes along, it will only destroy those sectors of the crops that are susceptible, and the farmers will still have a proportion of their produce left to rely upon. Thus famine will be prevented. Of course in the case of the Potato Famine, there were many other historical factors that induced the dependence upon potatoes, but when one has the choice it is certainly preferable not to rely upon a single variety of crops.

In genetics, too, we see that if we have two specimens that are weak due to high homozygosity, but they are highly heterozygous with respect to one another, so to speak, their offspring will be much stronger, larger and healthier. This has been confirmed by observations in both plants and animals, and even in humans, for example in Sickle-Cell Anaemia. (Heterozygot Advantage) This is commonly called hybrid vigour or heterosis. The simplest examples of the converse of this are things like the health problems found in historically in-bred families of the European aristocracy. Here, it is clear that there is strength in diversity.

The proposal is that a parallel can be drawn with human culture. There is strength in ethnic diversity.

In a society, when a new difficulty arises, there may not be an effective launching-point into dealing with that difficulty contained within all cultures. In other words, some groups may be culturally better equipped to deal with, say, social revolution, war or poverty, than others. However, if one society comprises many cultures rather than just one, then it is much more likely that the society as a whole will be able to find within itself those cultural resources with which to equip itself against the new difficulty. In this way, we can learn from those who are different from us how best to cope with unfamiliar situations. Thus, we can pool the experience of millennia of life on this planet, rather than excluding ourselves from one sector or another of that information, and so be better equipped to deal with life.

In my personal experience, I grew up around other children, particularly at secondary school, who came from different backgrounds or were second or even first generation immigrants. It was fascinating for me to discover different perspectives in my peers, and most importantly this experience enabled me to be objectively critical of my own pre-conceived notions. This stimulus was already around me as I grew up and began to formulate my own way of thinking. One can read about other cultures ad infinitum, but there is no replacement for this personal experience. Moreover, one finds that, when children are exposed to variety in this way, even if there is bigotry in the parents, very often the children will be much more tolerant of different cultures, backgrounds and points of view. In turn this eventually leads to a more peaceful society.

People will always find reasons to hate one another. Whether they be religion, culture or skin colour, we must not allow this to contaminate those purported reasons themselves. I believe that there is strength in cultural diversity, and great potential both for personal growth by exposure to it and for development of society by implementing it.

I understand what you are saying about "reading between the lines" and hearing what is left unsaid. However, when we have to learn how to do this with a new group of people with different mores, we leave our "comfort zone" and both exercise a new area of our brain and learn something about ourselves which could not have otherwise been revealed.

I also think I have some idea as to why the Japanese may be cautious about multiculturalism. Obviously there is the long-term history of the "Bamboo Curtain", but also in more recent history Japanese people were not always welcome in western cultures such as North America, despite the U.S. cultural bombardment of Japan in the post-war relationship. I understand also that in the late 19th and early 20th century Japan was keen to demonstrate her ability to maintain an empire to rival any European colonial power, and that sentiments like this led to Japan's involvement in WWI on the side of the Allies, but ultimately in WWII on the side of the Axis powers, which obviously led to the final conclusion. So, to take a very broad, overall message from history, one could get the impression that Japanese interactions with the "outside" have had a tremendously unfortunate negative tendency. Having said that, of course, the post-war period has seen unimaginable growth and prosperity through international trade and very selective adoption of certain features of foreign cultures. This really is a dramatic reversal in my eyes (although I do not wish at all to downplay the effect of the admirable Japanese work ethic and many other excellent native cultural features), and in some sense suggests that Japan is much more multicultural on the level of ideas, although clearly not on the level of individuals actually living in Japan, than one might think. In this sense, it seems to me, and correct me if I'm wrong, that Japan has benefited from an exclusive kind of "multiculturalism of ideas" in a way that few other nations can claim to have done.

So, what do you think Yurisan? I hope I have been able to explain a little where this position is coming from and how I think it relates to "the Japanese way" of looking at multiculturalism, so to speak, without rambling on too much!

How I was astonished recently.

2010-07-15T14:48:00.002+09:00

One of the Japanese TV stations broadcasted a Harvard University course in philosophy from April to June. The title was Justice with Michael Sandel (a heated class in Harvard).They talked about how to determine what is morally correct behaviour, and this program was very interesting.

However, what astonished me most in the lecture was when the professor spoke as follows, (This was said when they were talking who should enter Harvard. )；

The common good is served, is advanced, if there is a racially and ethnically diverse student body. Everyone benefits.

He said this as if it was common sense. This was the premise upon which their discussion was based. I was really shocked.

Is this global standard?

I’m sure that most Japanese people would not understand or agree with the Idea.

I don’t know about any great professors, but common Japanese prefer a non-diverse society; so Japan absorbs few immigrants.

Japanese people generally prefer not to say every word that comes into their head, and those listening are supposed to understand what the speaker has left unsaid. Many Japanese people aren’t used to spelling everthing out in detail. This is possible only when people have the same values and cultures.

I know that other countries have many immigrants and I have thought that you just like it. I didn’t imagine anyone thought that a diverse culture benefited everyone.

I think Japanese people can’t speak English fluently without overcoming this cultural difference.

On the other hand, learners of Japanese should also know that Japanese culture is quite different from what you might expect.

Thank you!

Koir, Kakusan, thanks a lot!

Binbohgami - The God of Poverty

2010-07-04T22:03:00.000+09:00

Binboh means poverty and kami(gami is from kami) means god. It is considered that people who are possessed by binbohgami fall into poverty. There used to be some events held for the god, but most of them are fading away.

When I was a kid, I was told that sharpening both sides of a pencil attracts binbohgami.

Nowadays, if a company which you just joined went bankrupt suddenly (not from your actions), and this situation was repeated on several occasions, you would be called binbohgami as a joke.

There is a twin god of binbohgami which is called fukunokami. This god is considered to bring good luck.

And there is another god called yakubyohgami. This god brings plague.

Frankly speaking, I don’t understand why monotheistic religion can have only one god because Japan has many gods here. The Japanese word kami is usually translated as god, but kami might be somehow different in concept from your god.

Thank you.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binb%C5%8Dgami

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRhKULxyQ5o

Golden Week

2010-05-07T14:49:00.000+09:00

It’s Golden Week here. (Today is May 5th)
Golden Week refers to the period from April 29th to May 5th when there are four national holidays. Many people go out for a trip during this time. You may have noticed that many Japanese tourists appear in your country during this week every year.
I went to a beach and gathered clams. Have you ever dug for clams with a small rake?
I got a bucket of clams, and made a rice dish with them. I really enjoyed it.

Thank you!

Columbine, manganimefan and Koir, thank you!

When speaking in English, why Japanese people get embarrassed?

2010-04-28T12:30:00.000+09:00

-This is only my opinion. I’m so sorry, in advance!!!

I have been asked why some Japanese people get embarrassed when speaking English. If you have talked with some Japanese people who are not very good at speaking English, you would agree with the question and say that you don’t expect Japanese people to speak English fluently. The answer is that “we are not embarrassed, but intimidated by you”. They dare to say “I’m embarrassed” because they are too scared to say “You scare me.”

There are three major reasons.
1. When talking with people from foreign countries, many Japanese people get frustrated by rudimentary Japanese. So, most of us can’t help believing that we have to speak fluently when speaking in English.
2. Faces seem to be very fierce when you say “What?”
3. People from foreign countries don’t seem to even try to understand what I mean.

The first reason:
Most Japanese people haven’t seen adults who speak in rudimentary Japanese. Since we don’t know how to speak in rudimentary language, we can’t help feeling we have to speak fluently, even in English.
Can you imagine this? If you haven’t had neighbors who are not native or haven’t heard rudimentary English, you may still have some acquaintances that are not native speakers. Their English might be kind of strange and sometimes sound rude, but you are used to their way of talking. You don’t think they are strange or rude, do you? However, Japanese people can’t help feeling apprehensive, thinking that we may say something rude and you may get angry.
Here's an example:
One of my aunts went abroad for the first time and met a woman there. My aunt doesn’t speak any foreign languages and the woman spoke rudimentary Japanese. The woman said my aunt looked a lot like her mother, and called my aunt “Mama-san”. “Mama” is from the English word, and “san” is kind of Mr. and Mrs. The woman obviously said it with affection, but my aunt became very angry. Japanese people say “Mama-san” when referring to a barkeeper, and my aunt is biased against that kind of woman.
The problem is that we are not used to talking with people from foreign countries.

The second reason:
Would you say “What?”, if I say your face is very fierce when you say it?
Frankly speaking, your face is sometimes frightening to me.
I often hear that Japanese people are expressionless, while your face is too expressive. Your smile is great, but some other expressions are a little bit terrifying sometimes. The problem is that we are not used to talking with people from foreign countries.

The third reason:
Since Japanese language is so different from English, learning English is very difficult for Japanese. Schools tell students that “yes” = “hai”, and “no” = “iie”, but in particular situations these words often exchange meanings with each other. This means that English words “yes” and “no” (and other words in English) may be very complicated to understand for Japanese people. Also, English has many sounds that Japanese people can’t catch. The coup de grace is that you speak too fast to follow! When speaking in English, I feel like I’m an idiot and you are becoming angry.
Among Japanese people, it is the listener’s responsibility to understand what the speaker means; while in English, it is the speaker’s responsibility to make what you say understood. When Japanese people speak English, they are trying to overcome a lot of great difficulties but you don’t seem to even try to understand what we mean at all. Even in English conversation schools located in Japan, I have heard this problem from friends many times. They commented that teachers who were native English speakers didn’t try to understand what they meant at all. They were not be able to communicate these difficulties to the teacher because they didn’t know what to say in English.
I know that my problem is that I’m not used to talking with people from foreign countries, but I’m still, to be honest, very nervous.

Thank you!

Koir, thank you!

Odawara Castle

2010-04-22T11:09:00.000+09:00

I went to see cherry blossoms and Odawara Castle in Odawara city. This castle was constructed in 1417, and its ownership has changed several times.
Around the Warring States and Azuchi-Momoyama periods (1467-1600), there were a lot of chatelaines called “daimyoh” in Japan. They were fighting for supremacy. This sounds similar to the U.K.’s history, the one difference being Japan had Tennoh(Emperor) since the 7th century. You might know of the word “Shohgun”; this title was given to “the leader of a samurai clan” (the winner among chatelaines) by the Emperor. Even so, Tennoh’s authority has been artificial.

Anyway, Japan has a lot of beautiful castles. Come and take a look at these cool donjons!
Thank you!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odawara_Castle

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_castle

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sengoku_period

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azuchi%E2%80%93Momoyama_period

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_of_Japan

(Koir, thaks!)

Tea?

2010-03-09T14:33:00.001+09:00

As you may know, when flying in a plane, the flight attendants will ask you several times what you would like to drink.I used to say, “Tea, please”. They used to give me a cup of green tea.

I always wondered why they gave me green tea despite my asking for tea.
However, this mystery has finally been cleared up. One day, I said “Tea, please “ as always, the flight attendant replied, “green or English?”　At last, I realized that I should have said “English tea, please.”
If you are a native English speaker, this sounds very odd. But I’m sure that most Japanese people believe when you say “tea”, you mean English tea. It must be a uniquely Japanese notion, but when Japanese people want green tea they say green tea, not just tea.
This is a trivial matter. But now I’m a little bit afraid to speak in English because I might have a lot of perceived notions causing confusion. Learning English is still very hard.
Thank you!

Koir (Canada) : Very interesting post, Yuri. It definitely illustrates how the Japanese culture has different preconceptions compared to Western countries. I do admit to being confused about the central concept in the first few read-throughs however. This showed me that I also have preconceptions about the basic meaning of "tea", a very useful thing I should be aware of.
Even in Western countries such as Canada and the United States there are preconceptions. Years ago, I was in the U.S. and was surprised at the confusion between "chips" and "French Fries". I was at a restaurant and ordered a sandwich with chips. I said that expecting to get French fries, but when my order came, on the plate with the sandwich was a small bag of potato chips.
This happened once or twice afterwards until I started saying "French fries" when I ordered a meal. No wonder the server looked at me oddly...I was ordering something she wasn't familiar hearing in that context.

Columbine (UK) : Thats interesting. Maybe it depends on where you are flying from or to. When I was flying to Japan before, I had to go from London to Bangkok first. When the air hostess asked me "tea or coffee?" I was given black english tea. But when I flew from Bangkok on the same air-line just a few hours later, I was given green tea and when I flew back it was the same. Even when I started in Bangkok, when I was flying to England, I was given black tea again.
Now that I think about it, it's quite confusing!

atheistwithfaith（UK）：　When I was flying with JAL, they automatically assumed I meant english tea (I am English). I think most people realize not to make assumptions about language when speaking to a non-native speaker.

Congratulations!

2010-02-20T20:52:00.000+09:00

My friend, Naomi, gave birth on 5th of February.

Her son’s name is Manato.

Noami, congratulations!

Is this peculiar to Japan?

2010-02-19T22:21:00.000+09:00

One of my Japanese friends (whose husband is American) once said that when American people go to visit the home of an acquaintance, they don’t bring a calling present.

If you are American, tell me if this is true.

If you are not American, do you bring a hospitality gift? I want to know if this is a custom peculiar to Japan.

I usually bring sweets or fruits which costs about 2000 or 3000 yen. This depends on our relationships.

When you have guests in your house, you need to provide some sweets to serve your guests. If you haven’t had time to buy anything, you can serve the gift the guests offered, saying “I’m sorry; this is what you have brought.” (“Omotase de sumimasen.)

Do you have any customs when you visit an acquaintance?

Thank you!

Koir(Canada) : Being from Canada, I can say bringing a gift is dependent on the situation. If it's a party with other guests, most of the time bringing something like food or dessert is preferable to ensure everyone has enough to eat. Other times, bringing gifts when you visit an acquaintance isn't a common practice.

I don't visit acquaintance that much in their homes...mostly because my acquaintances are quite far away. Perhaps another person who does have acquaintances closer to them can provide more insight.

Klint(The US) : Well, like Koir said, most of the time when people here meet up for things like cookouts, football games, and even movies, it's better to bring food and drinks with you. I guess this is often seen as a way to relieve the host from having to supply everyone with food on their own. It's really just a social convention that most people will choose to follow though. Therefore, it's not entirely necessary to bring anything at all, especially if you're going by yourself or don't plan on staying too long.

In my experience, the only real gift giving is done around the more obvious, major events (Christmas, Birthdays, Valentines Day...) although it's typical for one to receive gifts during other important stages of their life as well (graduation, buying their first home, getting married, having kids, getting promoted, retiring, etc...).

I hope this has been helpful.

Columbine(UK) : For me, it depends on the circumstances. If I had never been to their house before, I might take something, especially if I was invited for a sit-down dinner. A bottle of wine or flowers, or some chocolates. It's not compulsory though.

If it were just a casual visit with a friend, I might take some DVD's with me we could watch or if i'd done some baking, some of that in a tupperware box. Often I don't bring anything, but then it's more normal to return an invitation with an invitation. So I might not bring anything, but then they would visit my house another day instead.

If it's a party, I would offer to bring something when I accepted the invitation. Obviously if it were a birthday party, i'd bring a card and a gift relative to how well I knew them.

If I have a guest visiting, it's generally polite to offer them a drink, and if they stay longer, something to eat. Like if a friend of relative pops around, i'll always offer tea and a biscuit. If it's later in the evening, I'll offer other things.

Koir, Klint and Columbine, thank you!

And, Koir, thanks for the revision as always.

Evidence of Poverty?

2010-01-12T15:59:00.000+09:00

Several days ago, a Japanese TV news program said that some American people were proposing hanging out laundry to dry in the sun. At first I didn’t understand the point because most Japanese people hang out their clothes, except those who don’t have a balcony or a yard in which to hang things.

The news reader continued that hanging laundry is seen as evidence of poverty in the US, so some people protested against hanging the washing out to dry. They don’t like their town appearing to be poor.

I was shocked to hear this. We’ve always hung laundry outside, as we believe that using a dryer is a waste of electricity. Nobody here protests against what we do. We have a drying tumbler, and we use it when the weather is bad.

So then, when American people come to Japan, do most of us appear poor to you? Do I appear very poor?

Thank you.

http://www.alachuacounty.us/documents/bocc/agendas/2009-04-28/d229954f-7b85-4b9d-afbf-0498ee48fd2c.pdf

Klint(in Massachusetts ) : No, I don't see hanging laundry outside to dry as any sort of sign of poverty. My family and most other people where I live also hang our laundry out to dry, whether they're rich, poor, or somewhere in the middle.

Koir : Although being Canadian, I do have trouble imagining people preferring to hang their clothes out to dry in the sun when a dryer usually is fairly affordable for most people. But by no means does that mean I think all countries must believe the same thing. Again referring to past anime series I have watched (specifically To Aru Majutsu no Index and Toradora), it appears both practical and "exotic" (for lack of a better word) to hang laundry out to dry in the sun or using a tumbler to dry clothes.

Klint and Koir, thank you!

A Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T16:29:00.000+09:00

A Happy New Year!

It was very nice this morning.

We call New Year’s morning “gantan”. During gantan, we eat food called “osechi”.

Pictured above is osechi that I made.

This is not for just one person, but for a family.

Usually osechi has three boxes. We start with the food in the first box drinking “toso" (a sort of sake). The second box mainly has vinegared food and grilled fish. The third box has boiled food.

We don’t finish all the osechi at one time. Osechi includes a lot of food that can be kept for a long time, and we eat it until about the third day. However, eating osechi at each meal is tiring, so after gantan we often eat something else with osechi.

Thank you.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osechi

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toso

Koir, thanks!

Book: Guin Saga Vol.130

2009-12-30T22:00:00.000+09:00

This is the final volume of Guin Saga, entitled “A Fathomless Future”.

I’ve read 130 volumes of this story, and the final book doesn’t have an ending because the author died before she finished it. Even so, the story seems to continue.

Valerius, the chancellor of Parros kingdom, says in the book; “The Middle Land may be about to go into very difficult times.”

There is a lot of foreshadowing. I really want to read the rest of the story, but I can’t.

Will Istavan be able to meet his son? Will the son have family troubles with his half-brother? Will he inherit Istavan’s kingdom in the future? What will happen to Rosalie? What about Rinda? Who will be the heir of Guin’s kingdom? What will happen to Octavia? Above all, what is Guin’s real identity? Where is he from!?

The story suddenly ended in the middle of the story. Do I have to imagine the rest of it by myself?

Thank you.

Koir, thanks as always.

When will you have fun?

2009-12-16T11:19:00.001+09:00

I used to go to an English conversation school. One of the teachers there had started learning Karate, using the same style I had learned. The coaches that taught me were also teaching him.

He said he would be competing in a Karate tournament, but unfortunately, I didn’t manage to go to see the matches. So the next day, I asked him how he did.

His story was that one of his coaches told him not to enter because there were too many fighters. I don’t know the details. Anyway, he was not able to fight in the tournament.

What surprised me was his words: “They should change the system of the tournament. They now choose the opponents by lot, so sometimes beginners fight advanced students. If beginners fight between beginners, they will have a lot of fun. They can reasonably expect to win.”

I was astonished. “They will have FUN?”

Indeed, in the first-round, most beginners fight against advanced students and lose.

However, nobody had ever thought as he did. Japanese people think that if you want to win, you need to become strong. It would take about three or four years, and it’s not surprising. Try hard! In addition, I say that nobody has ever said they had fun or wanted to have fun in the Karate school. They only wanted to be strong.

Now I know this seems to be a Japanese way of thinking, and foreign people wouldn’t agree.

Still, Karate is not a sport. I can’t call Karate fighters “players”. Am I too serious?

Thank you.
Koir, thanks as always.

A villa of Mito Kohmon

2009-11-29T13:20:00.002+09:00

Mito Kohmon’s real name was Tokugawa Mitsukuni (July 11, 1628 - January 14, 1701). He was a famous territory lord during the Edo era, and many TV dramas have been made using the “Mito Kohmon” name. As a result, almost all Japanese know about him.

I went on a trip to Ibaraki prefecture and saw his villa last Sunday. He lived there after he retired, and eventually wrote a history book. The villa has a large, beautiful garden and receives many visitors each year.

When I was a kid, children were always joking about Kohmon because the word has the same pronunciation as “school gate” and “anus”. Kids must still make this corny joke even now.

Thank you.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokugawa_Mitsukuni

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ff7XRVbF80&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28S-IxNapBw

Koir, thanks!

A University Entrance Examination

2009-11-27T13:29:00.000+09:00

I think many of your schools start in September every year, while Japanese schools start in April.

The Japanese school system is six years of elementary school, three years of junior high school, three years of high school, then two or four years of university.

Many foreign countries seem to have many options to finish schools, while we only have the 6-3-3 system in Japan.

Just after I graduated high school, I entered a pharmaceutical school. Normally, you would complete university training then enroll in a professional school in your country, right? You can take time to decide your profession which seems very convenient.

However, students in Japan need to decide before they're seventeen whether to become a doctor, pharmacist, lawyer, or another profession. I took an entrance examination for pharmaceutical school when I was seventeen. The school was one department of a university where they taught medicine and other fields of study typical for Western universities.

When I worked as a pharmacist, one of the office women said to me, “You decided to become a pharmacist when you were 15 or 16 years old, didn’t you?”

She was right. I decided when I was 16 and started preparing for the exam. Japanese universities and professional schools are hard to enter, but many of them are easy to graduate.

She said, “I can’t believe that! I didn’t imagine anything about my future when I was 16! I wish I did. If I have done that, I could have gotten a better job and salary!”

How old were you when you decided your occupation?

By the way, this is when I had the entrance exam. I didn’t know a certain English word in the English examination. The word was “pub”.

I have been to some pubs in Ireland now, but normal Japanese 17 year students don’t know what “pub” is! What do you think?

Thank you!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Japan

Koir, thanks for helping as always.

She said, “I feel queasy.”

2009-11-14T14:06:00.001+09:00

Years ago, when I had just started working in the pharmaceutical department of a hospital, the senior nurse came into the pharmacy and said, “I feel queasy”.

Hearing that, you would think that she was suffering from nausea, wouldn’t you?

Well, she said it in Japanese, and the words she used were “mukamuka suru.” That means both “I feel sick to my stomach” and “I feel offended”, so I first thought she had had some sort of conflict.

I said, “What’s up?”which meant “I’m prepared to listen about your worries.”

She didn’t realize I was misunderstanding her, and kept repeating “I feel queasy.” for several minutes. I waited for her to confide in me. Then she said, “E ga itai.”

I was in a crisis! “Itai” means “have a pain”, but I didn’t know what “e” was. I thought it must have been a part of a human body I didn't know about.

“I should have studied harder!” I regretted my lack of knowledge since earlier I had mistook “nose bleeding” for “a small amount of bleeding” during a phone call from a paramedic. (Both words have the same pronunciation in Japanese medical terms.)

I said, “Which part?” with some hesitation. She repeated “E ga itai” for about 20 minutes.

And then, she told me that she had eaten too much. I finally realized what she was saying.

“You have a pain in your stomach?”

She angrily looked at me. Her eyes seemed to be saying “How many times do I have to tell you?”

However, “stomach” is “i”. Not “e”. Never!

She just wanted some stomach medicine.

Afterwards, I found out the senior nurse was famous for her dialect. Many people had problems understanding what she would say. This made me wonder how possible it was that she was unaware of her dialect and how it confused people, but I didn’t have the guts to ask her.

Thank you!

Koir, thanks as always.

Music : TAKE Heart~Tobitate heiwano hatoyo~ by Yukio Hatoyama

2009-11-05T21:20:00.000+09:00

Yukio Hatoyama is the Prime Minister of Japan. He recorded this song in 1988, and released it last month. The lyrics are as follows; “Take heart. Let’s live together looking forward a better tomorrow, pursuing liberty and peace.”

He often speaks about the spirit of “yuuai”. My English-Japanese dictionary says that “yuuai” means “fraternity”, and an online English dictionary says that “fraternity” has the following meanings:

1 : a group of people associated or formally organized for a common purpose, interest, or pleasure

2 : the quality or state of being brothers

3 : persons of the same class, profession, character, or tastes

However, the Japanese word “yuuai” doesn’t mean such a group, quality or people. Instead, the word means “friendship and love”. I believe when Mr. Hatoyama says “yuuai”, it also means “Everybody lives at peace”.

His name “Hatoyama” means “pigeon mountain" (hato means pigeon, yama means mountain), and a white pigeon is the symbol of peace. So I think his deeper feeling is that he should pursue world peace, as his name contains the symbol for peace.

Thank you.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yukio_Hatoyama

Koir, thanks for helping as always.

Book : Guin Saga Vol.129

2009-10-29T20:44:00.000+09:00

This is the latest volume of Guin Saga, entitled “The Child Chosen”.

This is what Skarr (the second son of the Arugosu’s king) said:

"You say that we, who are at the mercy of the gods, try to escape fate desperately to survive or try to achieve our ambitions while, all around us but just out of sight, necromancers and strange monsters who came from nowhere are struggling for power to dominate the whole world?"

The storyline seems to be becoming a magic and monster story. I prefer human stories to stories about magic or monsters. If a powerful wizard appears, settles wars and saves people in the end, the story is absurd.

I believe that telling a wizard story is difficult because the author must decide what a powerful wizard can’t do. If there are many almighty wizards, regular people are useless. The author of Guin Saga might have known this and therefore made Skarr speak the lines above.

The problem is that the author has died. Who can take over the world’s longest great story?

Thank you.

Farewell Party

2009-10-11T20:51:00.003+09:00

I gave a farewell party for one of my friends from belly dancing class.She is going to Kobe, which is very far from Kawasaki. I will be missing her. When I belly danced for the first time at the belly dancing party, she danced with me. It was very fun to practice together, and to talk about the costumes for the party.
We were sad to say goodbye, so we took many pictures with her just before she left us.I wish she lives in happiness in Kobe.

Thank you.

This is the restaurant where we held the party.
http://www.rest-intiraimi.com/food_menu.htm

Koir, Columbine and DougLewis, thank you for helping.

Ise Grand Shrine

2009-10-06T18:23:00.004+09:00

I went to Ise Grand Shrine last week. Ise Grand Shrine is the headquarters of approximately 80,000 shrines, and the most traditional site in Japan.

The Ise Grand Shrine has two distinctions. One of them is that the shrine has two gods.

There are 125 shrines within Ise Grand Shrine, and the two main shrines each house a major god (not saints). The names are “Amaterasu-oomikami” and “Toyoukeno-ookami”. “Amaterasu-oomikami” is said to be one of ancestors of Tennoh(Emperor of Japan) and the Imperial Household of Japan.

The other distinction is that the two main shrine buildings and the gate bridge are rebuilt every 20 years.

You would think a very traditional shrine would be old and huge. However, Japanese people believe that gods would like to live in new houses. We think gods lives in the shrines, not in Heaven Above. So we can’t take pictures near the buildings. (I took the picture shown above at the foot of the stairs in front of the building.)

Another reason for rebuilding is the architectural style known as Shinmeizukuri. That means the building doesn’t have groundwork. Ise Grand Shrine is the one and only shrine built in this style.

When I entered the gate of the shrine, it started raining. I walked about 20 minutes to get to one of the main buildings in the downpour. I thought gods might dislike me.

Thank you.

http://www.isejingu.or.jp/shosai/english/index.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ise_Shrine
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amaterasu_Omikami
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_of_Japan
http://www.sengu.info/index.html
Koir, thanks as always.

Yokozuna

2009-09-29T21:33:00.002+09:00

Yokozuna is in the highest position in the sumo world. Yokozuna Asashoryu won in the Akibasho(Autumn Tournament). He displayed a sign of pleasure with his fists in the air when he won the last match. This kind of behavior is a problem in the eyes of the Yokozuna Deliberation Council.

They say that Yokozuna should not behave like that. I agree with them. I believe a Japanese sumo wrestler would not do that. Asashoryu is from Mongolia, so he does not have Japanese feelings or sensitivity.

I used to do Karate, and I had never behaved like that when I won. Showing your pleasure is rude when you win a Japanese traditional match. If he was a soccer player, there would not have been any problems.

However, some people approve of his behavior. They say Asashoryu is exciting, and that we need to accept foreign manners when non-Japanese are involved. These days, judoists display their pleasure when they win in the Olympics or similar matches, and there are many foreign judoists in the world.

Should we change our culture? I don’t think so, but I need to accept the possibility. Still, I don't like seeing people showing their pleasure when they win in Japanese traditional matches.

Do you understand what I feel?

Thank you.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumo
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asash%C5%8Dry%C5%AB_Akinori
Koir, thanks for correcting my English.

We are entering the realm of the unknown.

2009-09-22T10:07:00.002+09:00

Yukio Hatoyama took office as prime minister, and gave his inaugural address on September 16th. “We are entering the realm of the unknown” was a part of his speech.

He promised to reduce bureaucratic meddling in politics, eliminate the practice of wasting tax revenue, and to make the best effort with a sense of responsibility.He did acknowledge “we might fail through a trial and error process”. It was then that he said “We are entering the realm of the unknown.”, and asked for people to be tolerant.

This would be an odd thing to hear, right? This is the Japanese way of speaking. I believe The President of the U.S. would not speak in this way.

Some Japanese people don’t like a person who displays any confidence when beginning something. For example, a Japanese person new to a company would say he or she has no knowledge, needs help, and is not confident even if he or she knows the business well and is confident. If you say you are full of confidence when you are new, you arouse ill feeling.

Despite that, I believe he went too far by saying “we might fail”.

Thank you.

This is the inaugural address in Japanese. Sorry, we don’t have it in English.
http://www.hatoyama.gr.jp/speech/090916.html

This is an article about Yukio Hatoyama.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/17/world/asia/17japan.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=yukio%20hatoyama&st=cse
Koir, snbzk. Thanks for helping.

‘A Dress Shirt’ has become ‘a Y-Shirt’ in Japan

2009-09-13T14:02:00.002+09:00

We call a "dress" shirt a "Y-shirt" in Japan.

By the end of the Meiji Era (1868-1912), people had begun wearing dress shirts. At that time, dress shirts were only available in white, so they were called “white shirts”.

However, the word “white” was indecipherable as a word to Japanese speakers, to whom it sounded like the letter “Y”.

Many Japanese people have trouble with spoken English; the Japanese language has many vowels which makes hearing consonant sounds difficult. To illustrate this point, Japanese speakers refer to “white" as “howaito” (white=ホワイト) in romaji.

By the Taisho era (1912-26), people began referring to white dress shirts “Y-shirts”.

Even though many colors of dress shirts are available now, we still call them Y-shirts. In Japanese, it’s “waishatsu".

Here is a song named “Heya to Y shirts to watashi” (or “Our Room, Your Dress Shirts and Me").http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUBAUVg5Kxs

Thank you.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meiji_period
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taish%C5%8D_period
Koir, Naoko, thank you for helping.

To Praise the Members of Your Family

2009-09-05T13:43:00.002+09:00

You are not expected to praise the members of your family when speaking or writing in Japanese. However, this seems to be a little difficult to understand for some American people. (I don’t know about people from other countries.)

One of my American friends had begun studying Japanese. He wrote me something in Japanese, and he kept calling his wife beautiful. This sounded very strange to me.

In Japanese, we speak about our own family in a modest way. If you praise them, you sound sort of rude.

When I warned him not to praise his wife, he insisted that was his choice and writing style.

He didn’t understand that he should use the Japanese style when speaking in Japanese, as learning any foreign language is connected to learning the foreign culture. He eventually gave up studying the Japanese language.

Nevertheless, many young people read Japanese manga and know much about Japanese culture from them. I believe this is a great thing. Studying Japanese may be easier for them.

Thank you.

Nagoyankee, thanks for the first sentence.
Koir, thanks for the great revision.
Snbzk, thank you for telling the grammar.

Election Day

2009-08-30T14:48:00.002+09:00

I went and voted today.

Japan has been under the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) regime since 1994. They have issued too many government bonds, and collapsed the social insurance and pension systems.

Now, the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) is trying to take over. They promise to revive the deeply troubled economy.

Both parties say they will do things successfully, so I have got leaflets of their political views.

The contents seem to be almost the same. My focus is on the appearances of the leaflets themselves.

The DPJ is a paper folded in the middle, and contains four pages. It doesn’t look too expensive, and the four pages are enough to know what they will do. It appears to show an efficient spending of money.

On the other hand, The LDP’s leaflet has 20 pages including the cover. The paper quality is better than the DPJ’s so initial impression is good.

However, the contents were not easily understandable or clear. The same descriptions are repeated on multiple pages. Also, there is no table of contents. I needed a lot of time to understand the ideas the leaflet presented. I judged that this was a waste of paper and money. This, to me, means that the LDP will be unable to quit their wasteful use of tax revenue. They don’t seem to be smart.

It’s 1:30 pm, August 30, 2009. The result of the vote will be announced tonight.

Thank you.

P.S. The picture shown is of the place where I voted.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_Democratic_Party_(Japan)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Party_of_Japan
Koir, Orochitachi, thanks for helping.

Roten

2009-08-23T22:03:00.002+09:00

Last night I went to a summer festival at a shrine. There were many roten and yatai, which are small mobile shops.

Yatai generally means a small mobile shop, a definition that includes roten. However, yatai and roten offer different things. Yatai offers different kinds of food, we think of shops selling food. Roten, on the other hand, offer toys, willow baskets, goldfish scooping or ring toss. The picture shown is of a shooting game roten.

Rumor has it that yatai and roten are affiliated with gangs. The people selling things at yatai have a certain hierarchy: the higher-ranked people cook difficult dishes such as “okonomiyaki” and “yakisoba”. The lower-ranked people cook simpler food like baked corns. (Which, as you may have guessed, only need to be baked.) The highest-ranked people normally don't sell anything, but instead patrol the area and prevent fights. Nobody would start fighting knowing the scary people are walking around.

Again, these observations are only rumors.

Thank you.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yatai
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okonomiyaki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakisoba
http://www.kikkoman.co.jp/homecook/search/recipe.php?numb=00001876 = baked corns
Koir, thanks a lot.

Guin Saga Vol.128

2009-08-21T22:47:00.001+09:00

This is the latest volume of Guin Saga, entitled “Secrets behind the Sacred Shrine”.

Chief of Staff Yona of the Parros kingdom travels to Yaga, the holy land of the Miroku religion. He is secretly investigating the religious community. Yona discovers the people of Yaga are brainwashed as though they are puppets on wires. The magus assigned to protecting Yona is burned in a magic fire. To make matters worse, the community is enforcing a law making it illegal to leave Yaga once they enter.

I really want to know the future of Istavan’s sons! I think I need to wait about 100 volumes, but there isn’t any information about the new author continuing the series. (The original author, Kaoru Kurimoto, died in May.) Istavan has two sons: he has never seen one of them. I’m dying to know if they will lead their countries to war with each other in the future!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guin_Saga
Koir, snbzk and ANegative, thank you for correcting my English!

Fireworks Display

2009-08-17T21:15:00.002+09:00

Every August 15, there is a fireworks display held close to where I live. I watched and enjoyed it again this year.

In the Edo era, people used to shout “Kagiya” and “Tamaya” while watching fireworks displays. Kagiya was the oldest fireworks maker in Japan, and Tamaya was the second. They would alternate their fireworks displays on the banks of a river. Kagiya was in the lower course of a river, and Tamaya was in the upper. People would shout the makers’ names in admiration.

In 1843, the Tamaya Company burned itself and the half of the town in an accidental fire. In those days, such a thing was a felony charge. As a result, the government put an end to the company and took all its assets. The master of Tamaya, Ichibee, was banished.

Kagiya still exists, and their master is the fifteenth-generation now.

Nowadays, there are many fireworks manufacturers. So, few people shout “Kagiya” and “Tamaya” during fireworks displays.

Regardless, small children enjoyed shouting "Kagiya" and "Tamaya" this year. Their parents may have told them to shout it when they watch fireworks. Their voices were very cute.

Thank you.

http://www.souke-kagiya.co.jp/
Koir, thanks a lot!

Bon/Obon : Augusut 9, 2009

2009-08-09T14:54:00.003+09:00

Bon (or Obon) is a Japanese Buddhist custom concerning the spirits of ancestors. It takes place around August 15 in many areas all over Japan.

The main custom of Obon is visiting the graves of the ancestors, but customs vary by area.

In many areas, they make a horse and a cow called “shouryouuma” with a cucumber and an eggplant to welcome the ancestors. Shouryou means spirit, and uma means horse. They are the spirits’ conveyances between our world and the afterworld. The cucumber represents a fast-running horse; the spirits use it in their journey to arrive in our world early. The eggplant represents a slow-moving cow; the spirits use it to travel back to their world late.

However, there are many people who don’t visit the graves or participate in the ceremonies. They go out for a trip because many companies are closed around bon, and they take advantage of this opportunity.

Almost 50,000 people departed from Narita Airport yesterday, and they stay abroad for about a week.
Like Golden Week, all leisure venues and almost all Shinkansen trains are full of people. Expressways are full of cars, and plane tickets are more expensive during bon.

You should avoid Bon when you come to Japan for the same reasons as Golden Week.

Thank you.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bon_Festival
Koir and Nathan, thanks for correcting my English.

Bon Dance Event: August 2, 2009

2009-08-02T12:06:00.002+09:00

I went to a bon dance event today. It is a festival that is held by neighborhood communities on summer nights. During the festival, people perform bon dances.If you go bon dancing, you should wear yukata. They are more informal kimono made from thinner fabric. Those who have stayed in a Japanese-style hotel, or "ryokan", may have worn a yukata. Hotel customers wear it to relax. It functions as both pajamas and bathrobe. In the past I enjoyed bon dancing. When I was an elementary school student, I made a promise with friends to go to bon dancing every year. I was really looking forward to going to the festival. I would put on yukata the day of the festival. My mother gave me some money. I bought some food at yatai (stalls which are open only during a festival), and ate with friends. And then, we danced in line.After becoming an adult and before getting married, I took Japanese classical dancing lessons. As a part of the lessons we performed bon dancing while wearing matching yukata.I’ve heard people perform bon dancing in many other countries now. If you see people dancing, please try. It’s very easy and simple.

Thank you.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bon_Festival#Bon_Odori
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZA_JRSvRGQ
Koir, thanks for helping as always.

A Book: Kushiel’s Dart : July 29, 2009

2009-07-29T21:44:00.003+09:00

This is a fantasy story written in 2001 by Jacqueline Carey. Recently, it has been translated into Japanese and published here.

When I started reading, I thought I had bought the wrong book as the heroine was a courtesan. Reading further, I discovered that the story seemed to be about conspiracies in an aristocratic society. I can’t be absolutely certain because the first volume was divided in three parts, and currently only the first third has been translated into Japanese. Even so, the story is interesting.

I want to read the next one soon, but I don’t know when the other two parts will be released. I seem to need to read it in English, but it would be too difficult to read the story in it's original English language as there are too many coined words and "specialized" terms for physical pleasures. Therefore, the Japanese translation is more preferable as these terms have been translated into words more easily understood by Japanese readers.

Regardless, the amazing part of the story is the elimination of Christian morals. Japanese people originally don’t hold to the same kind of morals, so those who grew up in a Christian community would feel the story is more specific or unique than I do.

Thank you.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kushiel
http://www.jacquelinecarey.com/books.htm

Koir, thanks for correcting my English.

General Election

2009-07-25T12:16:00.002+09:00

Prime Minister Aso dissolved the Lower House on July 21st to prepare for a general election to be held on August 30th.

As you may know, Japanese Prime Ministers change rather quickly. Mr. Aso took the seat of Prime Minister after the two previous Prime Ministers resigned.He was elected by members of the LDP (Liberal Democratic Party). Most people can’t vote when a Prime Minister is elected, as it is the responsibility of ruling party legislators.

They elect their boss, and then drag him down. This would make them appear to outsiders as nothing more than a pack of wild dogs.

Japanese people don’t attempt coup d’états or assassinations. They are meek, docile, and quiet. I sometimes watch news stories on TV of people in other countries protesting against unfair treatment. If those energetic people immigrated to Japan, the country would be changed by their behavior. I think Japanese politicians may know that, so they ban immigration from other countries.

Thank you.

Koir : "Politics make strange bedfellows, but soon they get used to the same bunk."

That's an English saying that came to mind while I read your post. It refers to the fact that political interactions seem to combine different kinds of individuals with different viewpoints, but after a short length of time they all end up behaving the same way as previous politicians. Just a little insight, Yuri.

As for the post, I changed a few sentences completely to increase their readability (to my eyes at least) but still tried to keep the central concepts. Even without revision, your strong views on the subject are very clear. It is a valuable insight.

The troubles in Japanese politics are known to some extent even in the Western world. Scandals and quick falls from power seem to be the norm. However, the feeling that people only raise someone up in order to tear them down is a universal human trait. It puzzles me why that happens so often.

The only thing I can think of as a reason is people do so in order to get their views and their desires fulfilled over anyone else's; the direct connection to the power to shape the world as they see fit, without any difficulty or repercussions. When that doesn't happen, the only thing they can think of doing is destroying what they just raised to a higher position.

I suppose I could go on, but then it would become an unproductive rant.

A very informative post, Yuri. Have a great week!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_Democratic_Party_(Japan)
Koir, thanks for the revision and the comment.

Sleeping on the Train : July 16, 2009

2009-07-16T21:16:00.001+09:00

Many Japanese people sleep while sitting on the train; some sleep while standing up. This may be hard to believe. One of my English teachers from the U.S. said he couldn't imagine it before he came to Japan, but then he saw people doing it every morning in Tokyo.
I’ve never seen people sleeping on the train outside Japan. I wonder what you think when you see people sleeping on the train. I’ve read that some foreign men have named it the “Japanese siesta”.
When I get on the underground train in New York, I tried to sleep out of habit, but then I remembered I wasn’t in Japan and woke up quickly.
Do you sleep on the train in your country?

Thank you.

Koir, thaks for correcting my English.