Learn and Teach Japanese: 2020

<><>In connection with the pandemic, this year's choice is MITSU,

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/12/14/national/mitsu-kanji-of-year-coronavirus/

Article extract:

The character, which on its own means "close" or "dense," garnered 28,401 votes — 13.65% of the 208,025 cast in a nationwide poll.

<><>In other popular culture news, 'Spirited Away' soon to be surpassed (in money tally) by 'Demon Slayer'

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2020/12/14/entertainment-news/demon-slayer-set-to-become-top-grossing-film/

2020-12-08

25 films online

=-=-= Tweeted 8 Dec 2020 =-=-=

【JFF Plus: Online Festival is about to begin

!】

"JFF Plus: Online Festival" is Online Japanese Film Festival presented by The Japan Foundation.

From new releases to classics, more than 25 Japanese films will stream for free

on the Japanese film website "JFF Plus", which opened this October.

https://jff.jpf.go.jp/

2020-12-05

Remembering a downtown bookstore, GinSen (documentary film)

A former co-worker in Fukui-ken has finished most of the video editing for his 1-hour documentary about the downtown bookstore, GinSen.

The documentary is Japanese-language only; at least for now.

Until the Internet and smartphones began filling people's minds after 2000, it was bookstores and their knowledgeable staff who connected people to ideas and to fellow enthusiasts in various hobbies and subjects.

This story is recorded from 2018 until the demolition of the store to make a parking lot in 2019.

There are a few more edits to make, music to add, and so on.

But he has given me permission to share this Youtube link with others.

The documentary style of Frederick Wiseman (no narrator, long segments) is noticeable.

https://youtu.be/UpN_nd1KiKM

2020-12-02

collection of Japanese folktales read, page by page online

Part of the Japan Foundation (Los Angeles) language learning office's website,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3ng0Jm_DPM

Today's feature is the one about the old couple blessed by their kind action to cover the roadside group of o-Jizo-san with protection from rain and snow.

2020-10-18

young learners & old, too (book - Wabi Sabi)

Announcement for a children's book about imperfection and impermanence,

https://www.brainpickings.org/2010/11/11/wabi-sabi/

Like many children's books, older readers can learn something, too!

Of course wabi-sabi and other culturally rooted realities have Wikipedia pages in English and often in Japanese, too.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wabi-sabi

But the illustrated and simpler language of the children's book may be the most effect way to communicate these things.

2020-10-13

video channel - honorifics

discovered by Tsuboi-sensei in San Diego:

videos that are useful not only for honorifics but also for studying various sentence patterns and listening practice. The explanation is only in Japanese, but it is easy to understand because it has easy-to-understand illustrations and videos, and it speaks slowly and clearly.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq62LsItH2ADzfT4dnjtVIA

2020-08-28

two articles, "at the end of life in Japan"

Not meant to be morbid, these anthropology short articles document changing social life now in Japan.

The topic and discussion could be suitable for students looking at social relationships and changing life there.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Colleague Yohko Tsuji has published an article on the Anthropology-News blog about cultural and social developments in the care of the dead in Japan (cemetery decisions), https://www.anthropology-news.org/index.php/2020/08/13/changing-mortuary-practices-in-japan/

This nicely complements her 2014 article on the blog for Society for East Asia Anthropology concerning funeral practices. http://seaa.americananthro.org/2014/04/evolving-funerals-in-japan/

2020-07-19

Rural population declines leading to more 'aki ya' (vacant homes)

Contributors to AtlasObscura.com bring together stories like this from around the world. You can search the site for 'japan' to turn up many more stories besides this one today. https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/japanese-ghost-houses

A big part of learning the language is learning the society for context and connections. So these sometimes unusual topics add to the mental picture in the minds of students who are learning Japanese.

2020-07-13

now streaming (5 minute anime; English & Japanese) for "Mottainai Granny"

Since 2004, the Mottainai Granny has been teaching lessons of respect for environment and resources, including the waste of food.

[author and illustrator Mariko] Shinju adds that being more mindful of the environment is an important part of life amid a global pandemic as well. "Before we try to restore our lives to how it used to be, we should aim for a better world than before," she says. "I would like to move forward by giving priority to what we should do to live and finding ways to make everyone happy in a sustainable society that protects the environment."

Under the kind but watchful eyes of Mottainai Grandma, every day can be an opportunity to make the world a better place by respecting the environment.

___________________________________________

Starting in June the 5 minute episodes are streaming (Japanese or English currently offered, other languages to follow) at

https://mottainai-baasan.com/en . [online article excerpt, July 10, 2020]

news article in full, https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2020/07/10/general/mottainai-grandma-cartoon/

2020-05-23

movie review for "Tokyo Godfathers" - edges of society

The weekday radio show, "Fresh Air," recently included a 5 minute review by critic John Powers for the newly re-released movie, Tokyo Godfathers. You can click to play the review or read the accompanying transcript at https://www.npr.org/2020/05/22/860777739/tokyo-godfathers-is-a-touching-streetwise-riff-on-the-3-wise-men

Like other social commentary such as Itami Juzo or Koreeda Hirokazu, this anime (original 2003) shines on light on conversations, topics, and characters that most people do not usually see or hear. There is now one version with subtitles and one version with English dubbed voice-overs.

2020-05-12

summertime -virtual Japanese music camp via Live Zoom@ University of Oregon

2020 opportunity --

*Summer virtual Japanese music camp via Live Zoom!*
This class might be of interest to any and all Japanese language learners
this summer. Please let your students know about it.

This course introduces students to a variety of music from different time
periods and genres in Japan to help students improve their grammar,
vocabulary, and kanji characters by incorporating linguistic aspects
through music.

All level of Japanese students are welcome, and there are no textbooks or
exams. The only pre-requisite is that you must have completed first year
Japanese equivalent or higher.

For more information, please check out
https://babel.uoregon.edu/two-great-ways-learn-language

2020-04-14

web video series for textbook, NihonGO NOW!

The first episode is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iEp0w7tfi0&list=PLELpHNkYhXHQifNNpTEuoWkX_EmqsJwJL&index=1

7月にRoutledgeより出版予定の新日本語教材、『日本語NOW!』（野田・ウェッツェル・マーカス・ラフと・土屋・糸満、共著）のウェブビデオシリーズ（監督大澤広暉）が、教科書に先駆けてYoutubeにて一般公開となりました。12のエピソードは、単に言語使用の背景として文化を捉えるにとどまらず、人間関係、場面、状況、音、心情など、学習者が登場人物と共感できる要素をふんだんに盛り込んだ本格的動画メディアです。この教科書を使わない学習者にも楽しんでいただけます。

A web video series (directed by Hiroki Ohsawa) for a new beginning-level textbook series from Routledge, NihonGo NOW! (by Noda, Wetzel, Marcus, Luft, Tsuchiya, and Itomitsu), is now available from Youtube, in advance of the July 2020 publication of the textbook series. Culture is not just treated as a background for language use. The 12-episode video series is a visual art product that depicts personal relationships, scenes, situations, sounds, personal perspectives, and other elements with which learners can empathize. Those who are not using NihonGO NOW! can enjoy it as well.

2020-03-27

collection of 89 videos in Open Access (Smithsonian Institution) project

Results can be filtered by topic, among other things. Many of these go back in time a generation or more ago and serve as a time-travel experience.

https://www.si.edu/search/video?edan_q=japan&

2020-03-14

since the 1970s - the arc of Japanese society

Nice news feature that gives wide view, both for experts to reflect on and for new learners to see.

excerpt,

...In Japan, 1970 marked a decade of unprecedented growth and optimism among large numbers of Japanese, who were convinced the future would only get brighter despite growing problems of environmental pollution and an urban infrastructure struggling to keep up with the waves of people relocating from rural to urban areas in search of prosperity. Newspapers touted Japan's first satellite, the Lambda 4S-5 rocket, and reported on an experimental technology being tested at a Tokyo bank called an "automatic cash dispenser," which allowed you to withdraw cash with a special plastic card.

Against this background, the Osaka Expo opened to the general public on March 15, 1970. It came just six years after the hugely successful 1964 Tokyo Olympics. By the time the expo ended 183 days later on Sept. 13, a record 64 million visitors had passed through its gates.

source,

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/03/14/national/history/1970-osaka-expo-looking-back-past-gauge-japan-sits-present/

2020-01-24

roving camera - Shinjuku on a bike

...Nippon Wandering TV (NWT), where a guy straps on a GoPro and walks and bikes around Japan. [47 minutes on Youtube]

https://youtu.be/sSjql5iGv2c

Surprisingly, an important part of learning Japanese language and society is the visual landscape and all the cultural cues and clues found there.

Without exposure to ordinary city and countryside settings, a new arrival spends a lot of brain energy collecting and organizing visual information!

So there is value in browsing photos and video of places, people, and events.

Of course, if the instructor first prepares a few prompts (for writing or discussion or just paying attention), then the viewing experience gains more value by engaging the student.

cf. the youtube channel with scores of "walking around Japan" in city and countryside, at events and in daily life,

https://www.youtube.com/user/Rambalac/videos

Learn and Teach Japanese

2020-12-22

visiting a "book cafe" in Fukui-ken

2020-12-14

anime king; announced 2020 "kanji of the year" MITSU