I posed a series of questions to Edward Lipsett, one of the founders of Kurodahan Press, a publisher that focuses on new translations of Japanese literature as well as reprints of classic texts. We touched on a variety of topics, including learning Japanese, Japan’s culture, translation checking, and the daily activities of a publisher, so I think there’s a little something for everyone.
I’ve released an ebook of “The Masquerade Ball” in bilingual Japanese/English format. It’s written by Edogawa Rampo, master of classic Japanese mystery.
Having trouble finding opportunities to practice writing in Japanese? In this post I wrote in Japanese about a fun experience I had. I ask you to try doing the same, and in exchange I’ll give my feedback on your writing. Japanese learners of any level are invited, and there is no length requirements on the result.
The other day I saw a reference to María Ortega García’s book “Weaving Words: The Alchemy of Languages” (amazon link) on Twitter somewhere, and both the title and book summary sounded really interesting, so I contacted the author. She was kind enough to send me a review copy of the paper version of this book,… Read More »
Japanese is rife with compound verbs, which are generally composed by taking the verb stem (what I like to call the ‘pre-masu form’) of one verb and attaching it to a second verb. For example 食べ終わる (“tabeowaru”) which is comprised of the verb stem of 食べる (“taberu”, meaning “to eat”) and 終わる (“owaru”, meaning “to… Read More »
In this article I’d like to go over the Japanese expression “dake atte” (だけあって), particularly because the meaning is not quite what you expect given the words comprising it. But first let’s look at those words as a starting point. だけ (dake) is probably a word you’ve come across before, and many times it is… Read More »
I put together a list of 10 expressions in Japanese that involve our favorite furry friend––the cat.
I picked up “To Avoid Being Swept Away by a Large Bird” by Hiromi Kawakami for the usual reasons––an interesting description on the cover, a curious title, and a reasonable length––but reading the first few paragraphs helped me close the deal (although I admit it was more because the prose was easy to read than… Read More »
I’ve decided to start doing live streaming on YouTube where I talk about learning Japanese and other related topics. The first public session is scheduled for this coming Saturday.
I’ve made a list of 50 hints for learning Japanese based on my own experience, covering everything from kanji, listening, and grammar to study habits and other topics.