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Japanese Folktales Posted by Ginny on May 30, 2011
Today’s post will be on Japanese folktales. Kiyohime (清姫) is one of the folktales that we will be looking at today. Kiyohime is a story about a fatal attraction between a priest and a woman. The story begins when a traveling priest stops by an inn that is owned by Kiyohime’s parents. Soon after the…
Famous Japanese Temple in Kyōto Posted by Ginny on May 28, 2011
Kyōto is a city that has some of the best Buddhist temples in Japan. For example Kinkakuji (金閣寺) is one of the most popular temples in Japan. It’s name means ‘Golden Pavilion Temple’. It’s called that because two stories of the temple are covered in gold leaf. Kinkakuji is a temple that houses relics of…
Japanese Lanterns Posted by Ginny on May 25, 2011
Before the invention of electricity, Japanese people used paper lanterns for light. Paper lanterns are still used today in Japan, but not as much as they were before electricity was introduced to Japan. There are different kinds of paper lanterns in Japan. One variety is called Akachōchin (あかちょうちん), which means “red lantern” in Japanese. These…
Japanese Paintings Posted by Ginny on May 23, 2011
So much can be written about Japanese paintings. There are so many styles and influences that a single museum would be hard pressed to display all the different styles of Japanese paintings. No matter what era or period you come from, the awe of Japanese paintings never goes away! Tani Bunchō (谷文晁) was from a…
Contracted Japanese Words Answers Posted by Ginny on May 21, 2011
Here are the answers to the Contracted Words List that was posted last month. The words in parentheses are the original words while the words in brackets are the meanings of both the contracted and original words. １．テレビ (テレビジョン) [TV/television] 2. HP (ホームページ) [homepage] 3. アニメ (アニメーション) [animation] 4. エアコン (エアコンディショ) [air conditioner] 5. PV…
Famous Japanese Gardens Posted by Ginny on May 17, 2011
There are so many gardens in Japan, but if you want to see some a famous garden, go to the Mōtsūji Teien or Mōtsūji Garden (毛越寺庭園) in Enryūji or Enryū Temple (圓隆寺) in Iwate Prefecture (岩手県). The rocks of Mōtsūji Garden are arranged so as to symbolize the rocky coast of Iwate. In the center…
Japanese Butterfly Song Posted by Ginny on May 12, 2011
There’s a very famous children’s song about butterflies that probably almost every Japanese child knows. Here’s the video of the song with the lyrics below: 蝶々 蝶々 (chōchō chōchō) [butterfly butterfly] 菜の葉に 止まれ (nanohani tomare) [stay on the oil seed leaf] 菜の葉に 飽いたら (nanohani aitara) [when you lose interest in the oil seed leaf] 桜に 止まれ (sakurani tomare) [stay…