Archive for September, 2009
Geography of Japan Posted by Ginny on Sep 30, 2009
Japan is a island nation. Japan was formed from volcanic eruptions that cooled off to form islands. Unfortunately, Japan is located in a volatile zone. Several devastating earthquakes have shook the stability and infrastructure of the Japanese economy and society. However, even with such setbacks Japan has been able to rebuild itself. The best natural resource for…
Ramune Posted by Ginny on Sep 27, 2009
Have you ever tried Ramune (ラムネ)? Ramune (ラムネ) is a soft drink with a twist! Ramune (ラムネ) bottles are known for the way they look rather than the way they taste. Ramune bottles are made of glass. The neck and top of the bottle is very unique looking. The interesting part of a Ramune bottle…
Shintoo Shrines Posted by Ginny on Sep 24, 2009
So now that you a little about the Shintoo belief system (from the previous post) let’s talk about Shintoo shrines. The best way to experience or see Shintoo practices is to visit a Shintoo shrine, especially on festival days. There are several famous Shintoo shrines. Each shrine may be different in the sense that it…
Shintooism Posted by Ginny on Sep 21, 2009
The word Shintoo (神道) means “way of the gods”. Some people refer to Shintooism as a religion, but others prefer to call it a “belief system”. The problem with calling Shintoo a religion is that in some ways many Japanese people follow Shintoo practices, however, this doesn’t necessarily mean that they are active “members” of the Shintoo…
Respect for the Aged Day Posted by Ginny on Sep 18, 2009
Every third Monday of September is Keirou no ni (敬老の日) or Respect for the Aged Day. On this day, news stations like to report the current statistics on the geriatric population. As of now, the oldest Japanese woman is Kama Chinen (知念カマ). She is one hundred and fourteen years old. Not surprisely, she is from…
RU Verbs Versus U Verbs Posted by Ginny on Sep 15, 2009
In the previous post, you’ve seen that just because a verb ends in ru (る) doesn’t mean it’s necessarily an u (う) verb. Here’s a tip to help you separate the true ru verbs versus the false ones. When the verb has an iru (いる) or eru (える) ending, it is truely a ru verb. For example…
U Verbs In the Present Indicative Tense Posted by Ginny on Sep 12, 2009
Depending on the person, u verbs can be called godan (ごだん) verbs or class 1/group 1 verbs. Below is a list of verbs that may belong to this group: verbs that end in su in the infinitive: hanasu (はなす) to talk Present indicate tense: hanashimas (はなします)(話します) verbs that end in ku: kiku (きく) to hear…