Unlike the “-s” suffix in English, Japanese doesn’t have an all-purpose way to make words plural. But that doesn’t mean there are no plural words in Japanese; in fact, there are quite a few, and a few patterns that are helpful to learn. In this post I want to talk about expressing plurality in Japanese… Read More »
A discussion about “ukemi” (受け身), a core part of aikido and one of the things I really enjoy about this traditional Japanese martial art.
I’ve been a fairly avid reader all of my life, but I’ve found that after a few months has passed I tend to remember only a small fraction of what I read––perhaps because of my reading speed. Or maybe it’s just how my mind works. While a majority of my reading time has been devoted… 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 »
In this article I give a detailed overview of Oregon Ki Society, an organization dedicated to spreading the teachings of Koichi Tohei that include Ki-Aikido and Ki principles. While Ki-Aikido is a martial art, the principles learned at OKS can be applied in many areas of your daily life, promoting things like mindfulness and self-control.
My reasons for purchasing Takahiro Ueda’s novel “Nimrod” are pretty typical: I liked the cover, liked the title, plus I liked the vague but significant-sounding marketing description on the obi (paper band used for marketing). Also, the book was relatively short, and (last but not least) the book was a winner of the Akutagawa prize,… Read More »
I was fortunate to talk with translator and author of “Cash Crash Jubilee”, Eli K.P. William on a bunch of interesting topics including translation, Japan, and studying Japanese. Find out why Eli doesn’t particularly like the term “augmented reality” –– and what he prefers instead.
The other day I wrote a post about how one of the science fiction stories I translated was published on a site that deals with various historically-relevant pieces of literature and other historical information. But it turns out that the main focus of that website is actually a radio station which streams historically relevant content… Read More »
I reviewed “Cash Crash Jubilee”, a dystopian SF novel I found terribly entertaining that’s set in an all-too-realistic Japan.
I finally decided to share some of my spontaneous piano pieces in the form of a new YouTube channel: “J.D.’s Piano of the Moment”.