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Origami Posted by Ginny on Jun 17, 2010
Origami (おりがみ) is a traditional Japanese art form of paper folding. Basically, origami is a flat piece of paper formed into a work of art without any glue or scissors. The most iconic origami design is the paper crane. The paper crane has become internationally known through the struggles of a young girl named Sadako…
Japanese Soccer Posted by Ginny on Jun 14, 2010
The man of the hour in Japan is Keisuke Honda (本田 圭佑). Here’s the reason why : Makoto Hasebe (長谷部誠) is the vice captain for the Japanese soccer team. He’s a talented midfielder who has played for the German club VfL Wolfsburg . Takayuki Morimoto (森本 貴幸) is currently the youngest player to debut professionally…
Expressing Purpose Posted by Ginny on Jun 11, 2010
The particle に plus a motion verb can be used to express purpose : レストランにカレーを食べに行きました = I went to the restaurant to eat curry.(Or, I went to the restaurant for the purpose of eating curry. Or, I went to the restaurant in order to eat curry.) (レストラン = restaurant. に = to. カレー = curry…
Surimi Posted by Ginny on Jun 8, 2010
Surimi (すりみ) is a type of pulverized fish meat. Here are some interesting types of すりみ. Satsuma age (さつまあげ) is a type of すりみ made out of fish. Flour and surimi are fried together until the paste hardens. Here is a video showing how it is made : Chikuwa (竹輪) is a type of surimi…
Japan’s New Prime Minister Posted by Ginny on Jun 5, 2010
On June 2nd, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama (鳩山由紀夫 or Hatoyama Yukio) announced his resignation as Prime Minister. The former Prime Minister (pictured left) broke his promise to close an American military base in Okinawa (沖縄). Poor public opinion in the polls and with an upper house election coming up next month, Hatoyama was forced to…
Karate Posted by Ginny on Jun 2, 2010
A new movie called The Karate Kid is scheduled to be released this year in June. Here’s the trailer : I haven’t seen the movie yet, but the confusing part is that the movie is titled The Karate Kid, but yet the kid in the movie learns Kung Fu, not Karate. In fact, 1:02 of…
Japanese Condiments Posted by Ginny on May 29, 2010
ポンず (ponzu) is a dark and watery dipping sauce made of rice vinegar, seaweed, fish flakes, lemon and sometimes soy sauce. からし (karashi) is a type of mustard made from crushed seeds. It is a dipping sauce that is yellowish in color. わりした (warishita) is a sauce made of soy sauce, salt and sugar. It is often…