Archive for April, 2011
Japanese Royal Couples Posted by Ginny on Apr 30, 2011
With the wedding of William and Kate in England, interest in the royals is at an all time high. Did you know that the Japanese also have a royal family? If you’d like to know more about Japanese royal weddings, there’s an article about it here: https://blogs.transparent.com/japanese/royal-wedding-attire Since the royal wedding in England, I think…
Legendary Manga Creators Posted by Ginny on Apr 29, 2011
In Japan, some mangaka (漫画家) or manga creators are millionaires with fame and prestige. Manga creators are often called ‘sensei’ (先生), which is a title usually reserved for teachers and white collar professionals like doctors. One such famous manga creator is Leiji Matsumoto (松本零士); who is best known for his Captain Harlock (キャプテンハーロック) series. Leiji…
Famous Japanese Swordsmen Posted by Ginny on Apr 26, 2011
Japan has a long list of famous swordsman, including a swordsman named Miyamoto Musashi (宮本武). So many stories of Mushashi’s duels and ability as an expert swordsman can be found, but details of his personal life, like when he was born, when he died, his ancestry and how he died is still unclear. What we…
Japanese Palaces Posted by Ginny on Apr 21, 2011
If you’re ever in Japan, make sure you make some time to see some beautiful Japanese palaces. One palace you should definitely visit is Akasaka Palace. Akasaka Palace (迎賓館) is located in Tōkyō. It was formerly the residence of Prince Hirohito, but after WWII the Palace was taken from the imperial family and used as…
Contracted Japanese Words Posted by Ginny on Apr 17, 2011
The Japanese language has many examples of words that are contracted or abbreviated for convenience. For example the word デパートis often used to mean ‘department store” in Japanese. However, デパート is a contracted form of デパートメントストア. When you think about it, デパート is much easier to say than デパートメントストア. Some people wrongly assume that Japanese…
Sakura Sakura Posted by Ginny on Apr 13, 2011
The sakura (桜) or cherry blossoms in Japan are in full bloom. I guess you can say that cherry blossoms are one of the iconic symbols that people associate with Japan and Japanese culture. There’s also a Japanese folk song about the sakura. You might have heard of it before because it’s often chosen as…
April Festivals Posted by Ginny on Apr 11, 2011
Part of the reason why Japanese locals try to organize local festivals is because they attract visitors to the area. There’s a lot of teamwork and cooperation that goes into putting a festival together, but in the end it may help stimulate the local economy. If you want to help Japan out by going to…