As more and more anime series become available on Netflix, it seems like the average quality level continues to drop (though perhaps some of it is due to my tastes which become pickier and picker over time). Regardless, in the last year or so I would say there is one anime that I really enjoyed… Read More »
For beginner students I don’t recommend listening/reading a lot of Japanese where characters speak in a regional or other accent. While it’s good to have some understanding of other styles of accents beyond the typical Tokyo-dialect (東京弁), my concern is that you might unintentionally pick up something and use it without knowing it’s not typical… Read More »
Suzuko Nakano (中野 鈴子) (1906-1958) was a female Japanese poet born in Fukui prefecture who has, as far as I can tell, never been translated into English. This is my translation of her poem “闇と光と” (Darkness and Light). There is very little available about her in English online, but this is her Japanese Wikipedia page.… Read More »
I’m glad to announce the release of a new piano album, free to listen to with all new music in my unique newage-ish style.
Although this blog is viewed from a variety of people all over the globe, today I wanted to post a brief article about an important local event that is happening two days from now, on Friday February 28th. The Oregon Ki Society (more info) is going to give a live Aikido demonstration from 6pm-7pm (Update:… Read More »
I came across Japanthem, a book written by Jillian Marshall and published in 2022, in my local library and decided to borrow it. The main draw for me was the topic of Japanese music, which is mentioned several times on the cover, not to mention the title contains the word “anthem”, which is a reference… Read More »
In Japanese, many verbs have both a transitive (where an action occurs against an object) and intransitive form (where an action occurs on its own, without an object). Even though these forms can be expressed in English to a certain extent, there can be some subtle nuances. Lately I came across a sentence in Japanese… Read More »
This is a full bilingual translation of the Japanese fairy tale “The Accordion” by Ogawa Mimei, a story about a mountain hermit who comes across a main selling medicines.
A set of 40 pictures from my recent trip to Honolulu, Hawaii.
A weekend of Ki-Aikido training in Honolulu (and a visit to a temple) I recently came back from Honolulu, Hawaii, where I attended a three-day event involving intensive training in Ki-principles, Ki-Aikido, and Kiatsu. I went as a member of the Oregon Ki Society (more info here) and stayed in the dojo there with a… Read More »