In this post I review Skritter, an app designed for learning how to write in Japanese (as well as Chinese). Although I highlight a bunch of nitpicks, overall Skritter is a useful app that is worth checking out.
During my Japanese studies, I’ve made it a point to try and have a thorough understanding of Japanese grammar because I feel that it gives me a good base not only for speaking and writing correctly, but also understanding nuances of the language I might otherwise miss. Just the other day the word “呼ばされる” (yobasareru)… Read More »
Recently I published my first paperback book through Amazon’s KDP. In this article I go over what went well and what didn’t. If you are considering publishing through KDP I highly recommend checking this out.
I’ve just released a paperback book of classic Japanese science fiction works by Juza Unno, including “Eighteen O’Clock Music Bath”, the first modern Japanese dystopian story.
In this article I’d like to go over the Japanese kanji 力 (which can be read “chikara”, “ryoku”, or “riki”), including some compounds that are made with it. This kanji has a bunch of meanings, but the majority of them can be categorized as “power”, “force”, or “energy”. But before we get too far I… Read More »
I translated the second part of Kenji Miyazawa’s famous story “Matasaburo of the Wind”, which happens to be the same story referred to in the song “Matasaburo” by the rock band Yorushika.
Books on Asia was kind enough to post an excerpt of one of the stories from my recent book: “Days & Nights: Stories of classic Japanese women’s literature”, which contains my translations of Hayashi Fumiko’s fiction works.
When learning a foreign language, it’s generally a good idea to learn some proverbs, what we call “kotowaza” (諺) in Japanese. It’s not just because they are a fun way to learn new words in context, but also because proverbs can express meaningful ideas in a concise form that often reflects that country’s history and… Read More »
I’m proud to announce Arigatai Book’s first paperback release: a collection of stories by Hayashi Fumiko, now available for purchase on Amazon.
I’m very happy to announce I’ve formally established “Arigatai Books”, a publisher focused on Japanese literature and other related material. In this post I’ll go over some of my reasons to create a publisher and introduce our new website.