I’m struggling with what to write, to be honest. I think a part of it is that I’m far more depressed then I usually am, but that’s not all of it. I just feel like I’ve said everything interesting that I have to say, and everything else just seems to be a rehash of some old post from here or there. There are only so many ways to say “Japanese is hard”, and Japanese popular culture, as I’ve mentioned, seems mostly to be a very broad, very shallow sea –… Read More »Honesty
Many words in Japanese are borrowed from other languages. Many from Chinese, and quite a few from English and Portuguese. A smattering from other languages as well. The interesting thing about Japanese, though, as opposed to many other languages, is that the Japanese language doesn’t have the syllabic structure to migrate the loanwords over untouched. So when they migrate a word into their language, even though it’s somewhat recognizable as the word they borrowed, it’s not the same word anymore. For example, “Starbucks”. In Japanese, it’s “sutaabukkusu”, or スターブックス. For… Read More »Loan Words
A part of me feels like I’ve been a bit hard on Japan. I take back nothing, honestly. There is a darkness that runs through their society, and it is a little jarring when contrasted with the beauty of their culture. I am not comfortable with that, honestly. But then I thought about how my country must appear. There are some places in most major cities in which it is not safe to be out at night. There are fewer but far too many places where it is not safe… Read More »America’s Darkness
I tend to annoy my coworkers with discussions of Japanese and all things Japan. Some of them find it interesting. Some just recite “press 1 for English”. But at the end of the day, the discussions can be interesting at times. One of my coworkers made the statement that “the best representation of Japanese culture is anime”. I vehemently disagreed. He then asked me the very fair question, “okay, then, what is it?” After some thought, I answered. But before I tell you what that answer was, let me go… Read More »The Heart of Japan
Western people know many Japanese place names. Osaka, Tokyo, and even for more unsavory reasons, Hiroshima, Nagasaki… But what many western people don’t know is that these are actually very ordinary names in Japanese. Hiroshima, for example, means “Wide Island”, and Tokyo means “Capital City” (or something similar). The fact that the names are in a language we don’t understand makes them sound exotic, but they’re not exotic at all. Just like, for example, “Austin” might sound exotic, but it’s just a random guy’s last name, and “Round Rock” is… Read More »The Other
As all of the symbols in Japanese start coalescing into individual meanings and pronunciations, I can’t help but feel a sense of loss. I mean, there are tons of websites out there breathlessly proclaiming how cool Japanese is, giving you tips on learning different phrases and words, grammar points, etc. There are other sites out there that are breathless commentaries on different aspects of Japanese culture, and all of them seem oriented towards people who think Japanese is the coolest thing ever, and I think partly because it’s so exotic… Read More »Sometimes I Wonder…
I made a little bed for my cat. It consists of a bamboo basket and one of her favorite blankets. She is currently curled up in it sleeping, and I have no intention or desire to change that fact. But I was looking at her, and I realized an important fact: my cat could never be Japanese. She’s not even American. She’s a cat, and she will always be only a cat. She may understand some English words, and even sometimes choose to listen to them (I can only wish),… Read More »There is no such thing as a Japanese cat.
Every now and then I check my site stats to see who’s visiting what and where they come from. In something that is perhaps not a surprise and is totally expected given the crap quality of what I create here, there are not many visitors, though there seem to be a little more lately. Perhaps the most highly trafficked page is one where I call out Akimoto Yasushi for being a bit of a… not so nice person. Perhaps the second most one is the one where I say why… Read More »Visitors
I don’t have any tattoos. In fact, I think tattoos are ugly and I would never intentionally get one. Why one would intentionally blemish their skin like that is beyond me. (and if you disagree, then go ahead, but this is my opinion and I’m sticking to it). I haven’t put a lot of thought into the topic, but lately a particular image has been sticking out at me, about what I would get as a tattoo, if I ever somehow decided to get one. Here it is. 外人 This… Read More »Gaijin
Last night I tool the final exam for the Japanese class I’ve been taking for three months. I learned a lot. I’m pretty sure I passed with an A (or at the very worst a B). I feel like I have a better foundation than I did when starting the class. I am not taking Japanese II for the time being. I have felt uncomfortable in a college setting from the very beginning, and there were many reasons for that. A relatively large percentage of the students there were teenagers,… Read More »Class is over