100 Japanese Things

In Which 100 Japanese Things Shall Be Revealed, So That You May Learn Much Japanese From Them

Thing # 3: The Man’s Liberation Oasis: R25 February 29, 2008

Filed under: advanced, intermediate — eatabug @ 7:00 am
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R25.jp is a weekly net-paper home to a plethora of conversation starting information mainly about (but not limited to) Japan. It is geared toward male readers.

The page is divided up into different categories like “Life”, “Economics”, “Politics”, “Miscellaneous”, and “Sports”. Originally R25 was a free paper handed out on the streets (it still is) so the articles are written short and succinct so guys could read them during their commute to work (R stands for “Recruit” and 25 is for guys 25 years and up).

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Examples of some of the article headlines:

大昔から「黄金」ばかりが珍重されるのはなぜ?

おおむかしから　おおきん　ばかりが　ちんちょう　されるのはなぜ？
(Why Has Gold Always Been So Highly Prized?)

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尿は健康のバロメーター?トイレで健康チェックしよう!

にょうはけんこうのばろめーたー？といれでけんこうちぇっくしよう！

(Is Urine a Health Barometer? Check Your Health in the Restroom!)

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ちょっとワルい男が女性にモテる理由って?

ちょっと　わるい　おとこが　じょせい　に　もてる　りゆうって？

(Why Are Bad Boys So Popular Among the Ladies?)

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In addition to their shorter articles, they also feature longer editorial style essays written by contemporary Japanese writers.

Another bonus: weekly interviews, usually with someone from the entertainment/arts industry like musicians, filmmakers, or actors. Past interviews have included: Demon Kogure, Tadao Ando, Thom Yorke, & Quentin Tarantino.

AND FOR THE LADIES: Be sure to check out L25.jp

 

Thing #2: House of Councillors　Kids Website February 27, 2008

Filed under: beginner, intermediate — Saleem @ 4:19 am
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As frequently pointed out by the Economist, Japan’s politics are dang confusing. Even more confusing when you have to keep straight political terms for government bodies, party names, etc., in two languages.

You might begin here: 参議院キッズ　(House of Councillors Kids) website .

Admittedly, not an enticing web site name. But a good start if you want to up your J-politics vocabulary and general J-political understanding.

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Key terms to get you started:

国会　(kokkai): In English this is known as “The Diet”. It’s Japan’s legislative body. Members are elected directly by citizens.

参議院　(sangiin): The House of Councillors, the ‘upper house’ of the Diet, where councillors serve 6 year terms

衆議院　(shuugiin): The House of Representatives, the ‘lower house’ of the Diet, where representatives serve 4 year terms

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Phrases you might learn:

国会ってなにするところ？

kokkaitte nani suru tokoro?

(This Diet you mentioned, what do they do there?)

note: the ‘this… you mentioned’ implication comes from the ‘tte‘ sound

どんな話し合いするの？

donna hanashiai suru no?

(What do they discuss/consult about there?)

note: The “no” makes the question sound cute and little kid-ish.

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More English background reading at the Economist Japan Political Structure page.

BONUS: If the kanji is overwhelming, might I recommend running Firefox with the Rikai-chan plugin? Gives you a popup dictionary right in your browser window, just mouse-over the kanji and a (usually accurate) reading and definition pop up.

NEXT UP: Something more fun than Japanese politics. Jeez.

 

Thing #1: Gakken Kids Science Website February 25, 2008

Filed under: advanced, beginner, intermediate — Saleem @ 4:18 am
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What’s that you say? Facing a page full of science based Kanji makes you want to cry and poo?

Bladow: Gakken Kids! Science : a science site for Japanese kids.

On the top right of the page, you’ll see a button labeled ‘ふりがな’　and then ‘なし’ and’あり’. (Furigana are hiragana or katakana text above a kanji to help you read it even if you don’t know how.)

Punch ‘あり’ and all the ‘hard’ kanji (as judged by the site’s makers) will magically have furigana letters to help you read along .

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Phrases you might learn:

「どうしてあくびがでるの」

doushite akubi ga deru no?

(Why do yawns happen?)

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「宇宙（うちゅう）はいつどうやってできたの」

uchuu wa itsu douyatte dekita no?

(When and why did the cosmos come about?)

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… both useful phrases for confounding little Japanese kids or supervisors.

Reading this stuff is also a good way to bone up on science terms for 2kyu and 1kyu tests. If you’re into that sort of thing.

FUN FACT: Type キッズ into Google, along with any other Japanese word, and you’re likely to come up with an easy to read site on that topic. (キッズ　is the katakana spelling of ‘kids’ that’s used in lots of Japanese kids products).

I’ll look for more of these sites and post the best ones that I find.

 

What’s Going on Here? February 19, 2008

Filed under: Uncategorized — Saleem @ 6:04 am
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Hey Person,

Do you

  • want to learn Japanese?
  • from real Japanese stuff?
  • And you’re not particularly into anime (not that there’s anything wrong with that)?

I(soon to be we) am just like you, at least regarding the above.

A few years ago, I moved to Japan without knowing a lick of Japanese. I just didn’t know how to find the good Japanese stuff. I’d walk into stores and see lots of… things.

Some that looked cool. But not speaking Japanese made it hard to know what the hell to buy.

The information on the internet skewed toward anime and martial arts, and those are both cool things, but I just happened to not be too into them. And my Japanese friends would sometimes recommend me things that seemed way beyond my level or unapproachable, either too hard or hard to get.

So here we’ll review 100 Japanese things (for starters), from the point of a Japanese learner. How’s it work? We’ll tell you:

  • what the thing is
  • where you can get it
  • what kind of Japanese you might learn from it
  • a phrase from it that you can use right away

We’ll make no claims to be critics or Japanese experts, just people sharing 100 Japanese things. Here we go.