Learn and Teach Japanese

Video (2 minutes) to show changes in middle-class work across ten decades.

The clips (from anime) portray some of the features that appeared and then disappeared.

_________

It's been almost 100 years since the "salaryman" type of office worker first appeared in Japan back in the 1920s. As our society faces a major turning point, SmartHR decided to create a brand film to reflect upon how work styles have changed with time over the past century. We hope that by looking back on history, we inspire people to think about how they want to work going forward.

To learn more about each scene, visit our special brand film website Hataraku no hyakunenshi [A Century of Work] (Japanese language webpage) https://100years-movie.smarthr.jp

2021-12-20

short videos - temple introduction, part by part

These 1 to 2 minute videos from a Pure Land (Jodo-shu) Buddhist temple in Echizen-city, Fukui-ken give a good overview of the buildings, gardens, and special features of the place. All content is recorded in Japanese.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnFE-oiX-bWyAHX5JraeE8A/videos

親縁山大寳寺 (Daihou-ji is the ordinary name; its Sanmon name is Shinen-zan) was begun in 1603 when the local daimyo, Honda Tomimasa, was installed by the regional Matsudaira clan. In the 1700s and again in the 1800s the main hall burned down. The current hondo is from the 1850s.

2021-12-16

Lessons from Okinawa's Shuri Castle tunnels of WWII

Article about a local citizen's movement to reopen the sealed tunnels as world (negative) heritage site.

EXCERPT

More than 75 years have passed since the Battle of Okinawa, but that has made this reckoning more urgent, not less. As Hojun Kakinohana put it, "The human lessons we can learn from this headquarters are vastly more important than what Shuri Castle has to teach us. It's about the value of life and the uselessness of war. I'm in a hurry to see it reopened and hope it will be designated a world negative heritage site. There are not many of us who experienced that war left to tell our stories. We'll be gone soon. So I'm in a hurry."

Full story with photos, https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/wwii-bunker-shuri-castle-okinawa

2021-10-14

virtual exhibition, Traveling in Tokugawa Japan

launch of the online exhibition "Travels in Tokugawa Japan (1603-1868): a Virtual Journey": https://t.co/2bGgqJKAjn?amp=1

I curated the exhibition in collaboration with the John Rylands Research Institute and Library of the University of Manchester. The exhibition is based on items from the Japanese Maps collection (you can browse the now complete collection on Manchester Digital Collections: https://www.digitalcollections.manchester.ac.uk/collections/japanesemaps/1).

Best regards, Sonia Favi

2021-08-27

Still worth listening to, "Tohoku kara no Koe"

Students at Jochi Dai were instrumental is doing interviews with 3.11 survivors across many months. The conversations are valuable documents for future researchers, therapeutic for those who put their experiences into words, but also there is merit for learners of Japanese. After all, the highest levels of fluency in language, proficiency in society, and literacy in culture come from 5 main domains of human life. These are hardest to express, but also they are hardest to understand and appreciate fully.

<>humor

<>emotion [Voices from Tohoku, above]

<>persuasiveness (politics)

<>literary arts (poetry, sermons, lectures)

<>religion

Consider visiting "東北からの声," https://tohokukaranokoe.org/

2021-06-02

more online sources of Japanese life, livelihoods, sights and sounds

cross-posting from the June 2021 newsletter of the Consulate General of Japan (Detroit office)

...the print publication known as niponica is now also a web magazine, available in Web and PDF formats, in English, French, Spanish, Arabic, and several other languages. Another example is Japan Video Topics, a collection of over 150 videos on dozens of topics about modern life in Japan and Japanese cultural traditions. These informative videos are now available, in multiple languages, on the Web-Japan.org website and a dedicated Japan Video Topics YouTube channel. The YouTube channel playlists include "Japan's Famous Places," "Foods," "Pop Culture," "Technology," and more. Other resources, such as Japan Fact Sheets, Kids Web Japan, and Trends in Japan information may be found on the Web-Japan.org website.

2021-04-16

The story of Shiga-ken and Michigan as sister-states

Newly added to the channel for Consulate General of the Government of Japan, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeqPrZrK9AA&t=4s

The video outlines the 50+ years of exchanges, activities, and volunteers making this relationship sustain and grow.

The case of Konan-city (formerly of Kosei-cho pre-2005 municipal mergers wave) and St. Johns, Michigan is foregrounded.

2021-02-11

book and documentary (Kyushu) - 40 years of Japan fieldwork

Promoting her latest book, Prof. Joy Hendry talks of her long-term ties to the people of rural Japan [extremis.com 2021 An Affair with a Village],

https://youtu.be/JimK5daYkVg

2020-12-22

visiting a "book cafe" in Fukui-ken

Just published from Echizen-city: a 2-minute introduction to this classic "book cafe" (vinyl record collection, too).

The name seems to be "Godot" (as in the stage production, "Waiting for Godot"), but when the phonetic Katakana is reworked into alphabet, it comes out "Go dou."

It is a good example to glimpse the atmosphere and details of this kind of shop.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8i4IesO9iM&feature=youtu.be

2020-12-14

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

<><>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

2019-12-19

upcoming exhibition - National Ainu museum

Article today in Japan Times to share with students and others with Ainu or Japan interests.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/12/19/national/national-ainu-museum-hokkaido-exhibit-700-artifacts/

2019-10-24

specialized vocabulary... Flooding: what to do next

The frequency and degree of disasters in Japan and the rest of the world will be increasing. Seen today at JapanTimes online, the summary (4 pages) in Japanese or English editions could be helpful to become familiar with talking about disaster and recovery.

article, https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/10/24/national/flood-recovery-manual-typhoon-hagibis/

excerpt

The 32-page guide titled "Recovering From a Flood Disaster" was created by the Disaster Connection Japan Network, an organization comprising some 40 nonprofit and volunteer groups engaged in disaster-relief activities, based on the groups' experiences in flood-hit areas.

The manual is free but in Japanese. Matsuyama said that there is no plan yet to make an English version.

An application for the manual can be filled out on the organization's blog (blog.canpan.info/shintsuna/)

The website also offers a downloadable four-page leaflet summarizing the advice. It is available in Japanese and English.

EN, http://blog.canpan.info/shintsuna/img/RECOVERING_FROM_A_FLOOD_DISASTER.pdf

2019-10-23

Reiwa enthronement - not something you see everyday

There were a dozen articles at japantimes.co.jp today that describe and interpret the formalities Tuesday, October 22, in Japan.

This one tells the story in pictures and may interest people today and in years to come.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/10/22/national/pictures-day-enthronement-ceremony/

2019-10-07

podcast - learning Japanese; studying in Japan

Via JapanTimes online today

Writer Daniel Morales created a podcast in which he speaks to people living and working in Japan and asks them how they learned to speak Japanese. It is a podcast that talks to bilingual people about studying Japanese and working in Japan.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2019/10/07/language/podcast-talks-bilingual-people-studying-japanese-working-japan/

2019-09-18

video, Foundation for Ainu Culture

See the channel on Youtube for videos from the Foundation for Ainu Culture.

Browsing these short movies can contribute to more vivid descriptions of the past and present of Ainu people around Japan today.

See also the newsletter of the research center hosted at Hokkaido University in Sapporo to see the topics presented each semester by guest researchers and Ainu experts,

Center for Ainu and Indigenous Studies, [CAIS] Hokkaido University

aynu teetawanoankur kanpinuye cise

https://www.cais.hokudai.ac.jp/english/

browse the video channel at Youtube> https://tinyurl.com/ainufoundation

2019-07-02

ekiben - nice summary, well-illustrated

The art of food and display, along with the context of rail travel, come together to form another brief article from the guest writers at Atlas Obscura.

Using the searchbox for 'Japan' will bring a dozen or two other topics from the Web project, too.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/japan-train-food

2019-04-10

poems from Japan (in English translation)

Back in 2015 an artist was commissioned to hand-carve the translated Japanese poems of several centuries onto some of the large stones in the Japanese-style garden at the Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park in west Michigan. You can find out more about the choice of poets and see the dozen or so poems here, https://mishigan.blogspot.com/2019/04/poems-from-japan-in-english-at-meijer.html

2019-04-01

about the forthcoming "ReiWa" nengo announced April 1

Wikipedia already has posted the update:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_era_name [cf. in Japanese, https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%85%83%E5%8F%B7]

"The new era Reiwa (令和)^[1] is expected to start on 1 May 2019, the day when Emperor Akihito's elder son, Naruhito, is expected to ascend to the throne as the 126th Emperor of Japan"

Not everyone knows that the name of each era does not have to match the years of the emperor or empress' reign, as in recent periods.

The era-name was changed when natural disasters spoiled a given period, for example. By switching to a more favorable name, the idea was to change the fortunes of people's lives. Looking again at Wikipedia there is fuller discussion of the concept.

Historical nengō

Prior to the Meiji period, era names were decided by court officials and were subjected to frequent change. A new era name was usually proclaimed within a year or two after the ascension of a new emperor. A new era name was also often designated on the first, fifth and 58th years of the sexagenary cycle, because they were inauspicious years in Onmyōdō. These three years are respectively known as kakurei, kakuun, and kakumei, and collectively known as sankaku. Era names were also changed due to other felicitous events or natural disasters.

In historical practice, the first day of a nengō (元年 gannen) starts whenever the emperor chooses; and the first year continues until the next lunar new year, which is understood to be the start of the nengō's second year

2018-12-28

video visit to Shikoku, "rural living in Japan"

Here is one filmmaker's take on life outside the metro centers of Japan.

=-=-=-=-=-= quoting boingboing.net this morning:

Until the early 2000s more people lived in villages and small towns than in cities. Population in large cities continues to rise, while the opposite is true in rural areas. This is especially true in Japan, where people are fleeing from their rural homes to live in Tokyo and Osaka. Today 92% of Japanese live in large cities. In this video, Greg Lam, the host of Life Where I'm From, went to Japan's smallest island, Shikoku, to learn what living outside a megalopolis is like.

https://youtu.be/xJc-lBbZ_Ao

2018-12-08

glimpes of life and language, video Clips: Fukui-ken, Kii Peninsula and Kansai area in 2018 and 1998

About 20 years ago I borrowed a camcorder and recorded interviews in English with Fukui-ken friends about several facets of social life. After Youtube became easy to use by so many people, I digitized the recordings to share online (see below). Then during my 2017 year in Japan I made a few more clips, mostly 2-3 minutes observations of events, rather than conversations. But a few weeks ago I made a short visit to see some of the same 1998 people whom I talked with. After 20 years we see things from a different perspective. Most clips are in English, but still have value to learners of Japanese, since social proficiency and cultural literacy are just as important as linguistic fluency and accuracy.

One recording is with a former workmate in Fukui who has actively protested nuclear power each week at the kencho. That conversation is in Japanese.
And as a curious experiment, one conversation illustrates Code Switching: we jump back and forth between Japanese and English. In my early days of learning Japanese it felt confusing to switch so freely, but now there feels like almost no boundary between the languages anymore. Maybe other non-native speakers have a similar experience, too.

I will send this link to my social studies colleagues, too, but first I want to share the clips with students of Japanese life and language.
-- W

Video Clips: Fukui-ken, Kii Peninsula and Kansai area, http://bit.ly/clips2018jp

2018-10-20

use smartphone (or PC) to practice Kana

Flash-player is needed, so only certain browsers support this:

Thu Oct 18, 2018 8:20 pm (PDT) . Posted by: "Hatasa, Kazumi"

There is a series of exercises for kana learning at http://tell.cla.purdue.edu/hatasa/KanaExercise/learn-hiragana.html

Exercises are implemented in Scratch (a type of computer language) and they require the Flash Player.
Since the Flash Player is not supported on iOS or Android, they normally do not work

on smart phones or tablets. However, if you download a free web browser called "Puffin,"

they should work just fine. Puffin is available from the App Store and Google Play.

2018-10-19

kami shibai & ningyo gekijo, traditional performance in photos & viideo clips

Back in 2017 as part of an anniversary event for a Jodo-shu temple in Fukui-ken they hosted a Buddhist priest who has a combination road show - kamishibai and also puppet theater. Here are a few scenes to share with others.

kamishibai frame and audience, https://www.flickr.com/photos/gpwitteveen/33460093082
video clip (2.5 minutes), opening scene, https://www.flickr.com/photos/anthroview/33487732021

puppet story:
-young protagonist talks with wise priest, https://www.flickr.com/photos/anthroview/32774310484
-transformer demon (at first a meek human but now!), https://www.flickr.com/photos/anthroview/33576066156
-wise priest, https://www.flickr.com/photos/gpwitteveen/32774079664
-video clip, demon in disguise meets acolyte, https://www.flickr.com/photos/gpwitteveen/33604153865
-video clip, dramatic climax, https://www.flickr.com/photos/anthroview/33487725241

2018-10-12

more films Re: Japanese culture, society and values through film

Thanks to T.P. for the initial question to senseionline about film titles with subtitles suitable for high school viewers. And thanks, too, for D.C. (below) for putting together a list to begin with. I would like to see the final choices for the students! But here is another way to answer the question:

Before assigning movie titles to a given theme/category, how about first making a list of some features of Japanese society, culture, values to show and discuss. Then the possible scenes or full-length movies can be selected. Joy Hendry's book, Understanding Japanese Society, has been an important overview to life and language on the islands. She is revising the 2012 edition now for reprinting.

The ToC would give a list of themes to examine through film. Some contexts would include, for example,

Home culture

School culture

Workplace culture

Counter-culture like citizen movements, protests, non-salaryman lives

Combinations of traditional and modern/Western practices

The land - before massive consumer economics, livelihoods were tied to coast, paddy, urban/merchant, and mountain conditions

Life events, life cycle, religion and ceremony

One big consideration is the teen audience, since some movie scenes or situations might not be suitable.

Rich sources of social observation or commentary are the 1980s, 90s films directed by Itami; more recently the ones by Kore-eda.

imdb.com and wikipedia sometimes give enough detail to make a decision about a film title, too.

A great documentary from 1995 that shows how foreign ideas come to Japan and acquire local uses, meanings, and expression is "The Japanese Version" from www.cnam.com They make a full version (includes a chapter on love hotels) and a high school version (no love hotels).

There is also this project with a dozen short conversations in English with Japanese residents in rural Fukui-ken from 1998:

"Social Sketches of Japan" segments are online at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfc4C_JsrO37Rl2NBi6fJci09ls_478u3

Thu Oct 11, 2018 12:36 pm (PDT) . Posted by"Derek Chin"

Here are some movies I came up with. The titles marked with a (?), I wasn't able to confirm myself:

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

On confronting death/the deceased:

Departures / おくりびと

After Life /ワンダフルライフ

On dealing with suicide: [see also the documentary, "Saving 10,000" at tinyurl.com/saving10000 ]

The Cross / 十字架 (?)

On career/career change:

Railways / 49歳で電車の運転士になった男の物語

On parenthood/family:

Like Father, Like Son /そして父になる (?)

On school bullying / disability:

A Silent Voice /聲の形

On depression:

My SO Has Got Depression / ツレがうつになりまして。

On international cooperation:

We Can't Change the World. But, We Wanna Build a School in Cambodia /僕たちは世界を変えることができない

2018-09-20

series from video bloggers based in Nagoya

Article at bbc.com showcases 6 years of the vlog from a husband-wife team on their Youtube Channel, "Rachel and Jun."

===Story excerpt:

They're all created by Nagoya-based husband-and-wife vlogging duo Rachel and Jun Yoshizuki, who run the YouTube channel Rachel and Jun. Their on-the-ground accounts of daily life in Japan have been viewed more than 200 million times.

They belong to a community of "J-vloggers": YouTubers who attract millions of views by sharing their insights into Japanese culture. Often (but not always) expats, these users upload anything from a tour of a Japanese high school, to what it's like to stay in a tiny room in a capsule hotel and what it's like to be multiracial in Japan.

Full article, http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20180919-the-vlogging-duo-on-youtube-who-teach-the-world-about-japan

2018-08-29

sugar art of AmeZaiku - Tokyo and around Japan

This New York Times Magazine online story about a new generation of artisan _Ame Zaiku_ includes a 1 minute video to show the artist making a goldfish from a lump of MizuAme. It gives new meaning to the expression, "eye candy"!

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/17/t-magazine/amezaiku-candy-japan.html

On a related subject, there is an article about how to make sweets in the 19th century, https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/wagashi-design

2018-08-14

family names - 26 readings for "Niu"

This JapanTimes article describes the logic, variations, and patterns among surnames in Japan these days.

For students at any level this is worth knowing. The extreme example is the 2-character family name with kanji for 'ship' and 'alive' with 26 ways to read it, from Nioi to Mibu, according to the article.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2018/08/13/bilingual/japanese-surnames-among-usual-suspects-youre-bound-find-curveballs/

2018-08-03

photo-essay from Kobe: one-room family life

Most documentaries these days seem to be mainly video. But the older medium of still photos, with its unnatural frozen moment, allows careful study and reflection. This story of a big family in a small space shows readers something of Japanese society that seldom attracts attention. With the forces squeezing the middle-class ever smaller and expanding the proportion of people with few resources, this story is a timely one; probably similar stories can be pictured in many of the G-20 societies, too.

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/photo-booth/a-japanese-photographers-view-of-life-in-his-familys-one-room-home

2018-07-25

curious and mostly useful to know - 50 things about Japan

This 11 minute Youtube has some surprises even for long-time Japan residents, it seems!

English narration; but a Japanese voice-over (or subtitles) would add value for students of Japanese language.

https://youtu.be/URDXZSJZ2ME

2018-07-16

article about role-play (Rental Family Members; letter from Tokyo)

There is some good food for thought in the examples here: families who have temporary need of a person to fill in a role for their family circumstances.

Letter from Tokyo - April 30, 2018 Issue. Japan's Rent-a-Family Industry

People who are short on relatives can hire a husband, a mother, a grandson.

The resulting relationships can be more real than you'd expect.

By Elif Batuman, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/04/30/japans-rent-a-family-industry

Japan's Rent-a-Family Industry | The New Yorker

www.newyorker.com

Japan's Rent-a-Family Industry People who are short on relatives can hire a husband, a mother, a grandson. The resulting relationships can be more real than you'd expect.

2018-05-18

How many women writers of Japan do you know?

A recent article at Japan-Times introduces some of the writers of Japan and ends by announcing a series of feature stories, beginning in June.

For many of us, this will be a chance to expand our own cultural literacy & social proficiency.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

A series exploring female writers of Japan will be published on the third Sunday of the month, starting in June.

Where would we be without the words of Japanese women?

BY KRIS KOSAKA, CONTRIBUTING WRITER

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2018/05/12/books/without-words-japanese-women/

2018-04-30

expanding your kanji recognition, knowledge, and usage

Here is a browser extension for Chrome browser spotted today via Twitter, "Yomi-chan":

Link> https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/yomichan/ogmnaimimemjmbakcfefmnahgdfhfami

Blurb> *Japanese dictionary with Anki integration*
Yomichan turns your browser into a tool for building Japanese language literacy by helping you to decipher texts which would be otherwise too difficult tackle. It features a robust dictionary with EPWING and flashcard creation support.

Creator's website> https://foosoft.net/projects/yomichan

2018-01-19

review of book about 3.11 disaster & now, author Richard Lloyd Parry

This book review might interest Senseionline readers or students engaged in the social geography of Japanese life.
TITLE: Ghosts of the Tsunami: Death and Life in Japan's Disaster Zone
amazon link, https://www.amazon.com/Ghosts-Tsunami-Death-Japans-Disaster/dp/0374253978/ref=sr_1_1

Ghosts of the Tsunami: Death and Life in Japan's Disaster ...

www.amazon.com

Ghosts of the Tsunami: Death and Life in Japan's Disaster Zone [Richard Lloyd Parry] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Named one of the best books ...

review, https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/aug/16/ghosts-of-tsunami-japan-disaster-richard-lloyd-parry-review

Related to this topic are the short films by Toko Shiiki, now based in Ypsilanti, Michigan, but with ongoing projects in Fukushima:

https://youtu.be/wHdcnA_yIds and https://youtu.be/U35cXKd--w4 and https://youtu.be/-X70pvWK4Lw

Her Fukushima colleagues also sent this link with a youtube story embedded that features the radiation measurement work by (now emeritus) Professor Ryuo Hayano, http://josen.env.go.jp/movie_event/ch_japan_04.html

Channel Japan/CNBC ASIA 「Fukushima Today」 #4 『物理学者早野龍五と福島の6年』｜福島の今を伝える番組・イベント等の紹介｜除染情報サイト：環境省

josen.env.go.jp

環境省では、放射線に汚染された地域の環境を回復する「除染」を推進しています。住民の皆さまへ、「除染」に関する取り組みについてお知らせいたします。

2017-12-25

time traveler - old photos around Japan

Here is a collection of early color photos taken in postwar by GHQ staffers,

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/12/25/national/ghq-photographers-color-shots-offer-rare-insights-postwar-japan/

excerpt:

The National Diet Library in Tokyo caught attention this autumn when it published color photos taken immediately after the end of World War II by a staffer at the General Headquarters (GHQ).

For even older visual history, browse these photos copied from Library of Congress in Washington, DC at the Prints and Photograph room, http://old-japanphotos.wikispaces.com/ (and the companion project for comparison, http://old-koreaphotos.wikispaces.com/ )

2017-11-22

teaching katakana

https://quizlet.com/49720879/katakana-flash-cards/ & https://www.memrise.com/course/43875/katakana-2/

[Kyler Jackson]

http://tell.cla.purdue.edu/hatasa/KanaExercise/
[K. Hatasa]

[Android device] student-created free app on the Play Store that helps students practice hiragana, katakana and some basic vocabulary, so please check it out at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.UBCOJapaneseLanguageGames.KamiNoTabi&hl=en
[Nina Langto]

YouTube explanation and illustration for katakana, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIJhOR8fPkE
[Kyoko Shoji]

2017-10-13

info-mercial about Smartphone distraction in public (walking)

subtitles in English, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Fm0Zirt8wI

歩きスマホ参勤交代/Samurai Smartphone Parade

www.youtube.com

99％の人が歩きスマホを危険だと感じていながら、 73％の人が歩きスマホの経験があると回答。わか ...

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