Muji, known as Japanese in 無印良品 (literally “good unbranded products”), is a Japanese store that sells a variety of goods: clothes, skin care, sandals, containers, etc. Around a year ago Muji opened their first store in Portland, and the combination interesting products, beautiful interior design, and the Japanese element makes this one of my favorite… Read More »
I’ve decided to start a new series called “TransLiterary Lab” (文学翻訳ラボ) where I do analysis and translation of short excerpts of Japanese literature. You can see more information about this series in this post. In this second episode I will continue where I left off in episode one, and translate a little more of Akutagawa… Read More »
I give special value to vocabulary words or expressions that I have learned through interaction with native speakers. No matter how much you read or watch forms of Japanese media (books, manga, movies, etc.), it just seems there are some things you have to experience yourself by using Japanese in daily life. In this post,… Read More »
This it the 11th chapter of a novel I am translating and publishing on this blog. See this post for the first chapter and more details about the novel. I want to thank the author, Yuki Hoshizaki (星崎ゆうき) for giving me permission to translate and publish this chapter here. You can find the original Japanese… Read More »
I enjoy writing articles on this blog as well as doing translation of various Japanese works, and was considering writing more articles where I analyze passages and talk about translation details. However, some time ago I hit upon an idea that would be much more fun and potentially more educational than a simple article. Now,… Read More »
The more I study Japanese the more I am attracted by Japan’s literature that boasts a certain mystique hard to find in western fiction. In addition to the many differences between the English and Japanese languages themselves, Japan has a culture that goes back several thousands of years, giving an extra depth to its literary… Read More »
When studying a foreign language, it’s natural for all sorts of questions to come up––how to pronounce words, how to use grammar correctly, and (perhaps the hardest) how to speak or write natural sounding language. For those taking a formal language class, generally there will be some time either after or during class to ask… Read More »
This it the tenth chapter of a novel I am translating and publishing on this blog. See this post for the first chapter and more details about the novel. I want to thank the author, Yuki Hoshizaki (星崎ゆうき) for giving me permission to translate and publish this chapter here. You can find the original Japanese… Read More »
After struggling to find a good job after graduating college, Ryota hits upon the idea to become a high-rise window cleaner, a dangerous job with poor pay. One of the job’s perks is being able to spy into other people’s lives and see moments that would otherwise be unknown to the rest of the world,… Read More »
Watching videos in Japanese on YouTube is one great way to practice your listening skills, as well as a pick up a lot of new words and expressions, although it’s best that you have strong fundamentals of Japanese grammar and core vocabulary before getting too deep into this. Sometimes I like to search in Japanese… Read More »