Statistics about the number of people reading this blog are a good confidence booster, but readers who interact directly with me are really the lifeblood of Self Taught Japanese. That’s why I do my best to answer all questions that I receive via comments or email, sometimes in the form of long articles. Earlier this… Read More »
Words generally have an explicit meaning (what it says in the dictionary) in addition to an implicit meaning, also called the nuance or atmosphere of the word. When learning a foreign language it is good to understand both, and sometimes there is much more to the nuance than the explicit meaning. “Meccha” (generally written in… Read More »
In this post I want to cover two Japanese scientific terms I have come across: “chidousetsu” and “tendousetsu”. These are generally written in kanji as 地動説 and 天動説, respectively. Chidosetsu is used to describe the astronomical model whereby the Sun is at the center of the solar system, with planets (including the Earth) revolving around… Read More »
When reading a Japanese novel recently I came across the following phrase: うまくやんなよ (umaku yan na yo) At first I was a little confused as to the meaning here, but eventually I figured it out. In this article I’ll go over this phrase in some detail. First is the word うまく (umaku), which is the… Read More »
After coming across a video of author Fuminori Nakamori talk about literature and his writing process (details), I became interested in reading one his books. In preparation for a recent trip to Japan with a lot of plane time, I decided to look for an audiobook on audiobook.jp (review). The selection on this site is… Read More »
It’s been around a year and a half since I’ve started training in a martial art informally called “Ki Aikido” that was created by Koichi Tohei (藤平光一). It is formally named “Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido”, and written in Japanese as 心身統一合氣道, which literally means “Aikido of Mind and Body Unification”. The casual term “Ki Aikido”… Read More »
(This is part of a series about my recent trip to Japan. See this page for other articles in it.) Furitakiya Onsen Hotel We stayed for several days in the Furutakiya Onsen Hotel (古滝屋) that resides in Iwaki city (岩城) in Fukushima prefecture (福島県). This is a historically significant place that has been around since… Read More »
(This is part of a series about my recent trip to Japan. See this page for other articles in it.) Hato Bus Tour I’d say that less than half of our trip this time involved touristy stuff (like visiting Tokyo Tower), but we did go on a day tour (日帰りツアー) run by the Hato bus… Read More »
Ever since I began training in the martial art of Ki Aikido (more formally known as 心身統一合氣道, shinshin touitsu aikido) in Oregon, I was always curious what it would like to train in a dojo in Japan where the training (稽古、keiko) was done in Japanese––though rather than merely a curiosity, I guess you could say… Read More »
(This is part of a series about my recent trip to Japan. See this page for other articles in it.) Sakura, Sakura We planned our trip this time to coincide with the blooming of the sakura (cherry blossom, 桜) trees around Tokyo. This is really a wonderful time because the amazing natural beauty of the… Read More »