Nihongo Blog
Cats, cats and more cats
It’s the Year of the Rat according to the Chinese zodiac. In fact, the rat is the first in a cycle of twelve animals that take turns representing each passing year. Besides the rat, there’s[…]
What do we do for Christmas?
What do people do at Christmastime in a country, like Japan, with no Catholic or Christian tradition? Well, we also celebrate Christmas, but in our own way. Businesses kick off their Christmas campaigns well before[…]
Goethe wonders: “Is that ‘Gyoete’ me?”
This post’s title is the translation of some verses popularly attributed to the writer Ryokuu Satô (1868-1904, “Gyoete towa ore no koto kato Gête ii”). At one time, the name of the great German writer’s[…]
The second button
In Japan, March is the month of graduation. Colleges, schools and universities alike hold graduation ceremonies, which mark the end of one stage in students’ lives. For some people, graduation evokes memories of an era[…]
Kanji and the woman
While preparing materials for a Japanese course, we read that the kanji meaning “come back” or “return” (帰) comprises two parts, the left meaning “follow” and the right, “broom” and “woman”. Together, it represents a[…]