Tag Archives: culture

Some thoughts on “aisatsu” (挨拶): greetings that make relationships smoother

If you pick up a Japanese textbook, for example the popular Genki series, you’ll find a chart of “aisatsu” (挨拶). This is a list of formalized expressions that are used in daily life and include things like: こんにちは   (konnichi wa) おはようございます (ohayou gozaimasu) こんばんは (konban wa) はじめまして (hajimemashite) いらっしゃいませ  (irasshaimase) よろしくお願いします (yoroshiku onegaishimasu) Fortunately… Read More »

Japanese novel translation: “The Rainlands” by Haruka Asahi [Translator’s Afterward]

While I have translated many chapters from a variety of works, its pretty rare that I translate a series to the end. This can be due to its length, a lack of reader interest, or I may have just intended to do a single chapter as an experiment. The fantasy story  “The Rainlands” (雨の国) by… Read More »

Japanese novel translation: “The Rainlands” by Haruka Asahi [Chapter 10]

This is the 10th and final chapter of the fantasy novel “The Rainlands” (雨の国) by Haruka Asahi (朝陽遥) which I am translating from Japanese with the author’s permission. It is about a man’s journey to a mysterious land where he has a ideological conflict with the indigenous customs there. You can see a synopsis and table… Read More »

Japanese novel translation: “The Rainlands” by Haruka Asahi [Chapter 9]

This is the 9th chapter of the fantasy novel “The Rainlands” (雨の国) by Haruka Asahi (朝陽遥) which I am translating from Japanese with the author’s permission. It is about a man’s journey to a mysterious land where he has a ideological conflict with the indigenous customs there. If you enjoy this story and want to read more,… Read More »

Japanese novel translation: “The Rainlands” by Haruka Asahi [Chapter 8]

This is the 8th chapter of the fantasy novel “The Rainlands” (雨の国) by Haruka Asahi (朝陽遥) which I am translating from Japanese with the author’s permission. It is about a man’s journey to a mysterious land where he has a moral conflict with the indigenous customs there. If you enjoy this story and want to read more,… Read More »

Japanese novel translation: “The Rainlands” by Haruka Asahi [Chapter 7]

This is the 7th chapter of the fantasy novel “The Rainlands” (雨の国) by Haruka Asahi (朝陽遥) which I am translating from Japanese with the author’s permission. It is about a man’s journey to a mysterious land where he has a moral conflict with their indigenous customs.  While I had taken a break from this series for a… Read More »

Oregon Monogatari: One year living in Portland, Oregon (with notes on Japanese culture there)

It’s been a little over a year since I’ve moved with my family to Portland, Oregon. It’s no exaggeration to say that one of the main reasons we chose this area because of the relatively large proportion of Japanese people, at least compared to South Florida where we came from. I’ve already written a few articles… Read More »