Category Archives: Manga

The Resilience of the Japanese People

A Nation United by Disaster The March 11 (“3/11”) earthquake and tsunami disaster striking Japan has brought into sharp relief the basic resilience and sense of unity of the Japanese people. Whatever the faults of Japan, this is one of … Continue reading

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On Japanese Popular Culture

Rejecting A Restrictive View In reading an article in the Japan Times about popular culture in Japan, the article takes a position that is overtly or covertly taken by many purported conveyors of wisdom about Japan: the position that popular … Continue reading

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Japanese Culture: Duties, Roles and Parts to Play

Yakuwari (役割、やくわり) A yakuwari can be a duty, a role, or a part to play. The first kanji can be read as “of use,” which is a concept used in service (for if you are of use to the Emperor, … Continue reading

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So You Want To Read Manga In Japanese

Try This. I only just saw this, but try this link and take a look. It’s by the Japan Foundation and well, I can’t draw and I can’t program in Flash by myself, so I don’t want to repeat anything … Continue reading

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Japanese: “Right Where I Want To Be”

望むところです The above, and variations thereof (which differ in how they end), combine nozomu (望む,のぞむ), which is to desire, to want, and tokoro (所、ところ), which simply means place. (This tends to be a figurative place, more often than not.) That … Continue reading

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Why We Watch Anime, Part 3: Visual Art

Creativity + Visual Art While other nations have no lack of artists, it is Japan’s mix of creativity and visual art involved in the cel (celluloid) animation used for anime. While hard economic times and an improvement in technology have created … Continue reading

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J-Comi: Can It Overcome Growing Pains?

Some Unrequested Advice 日本語版は英語の後 (Japanese version below English) So, I was speaking to my Japanese culture interested friends about J-Comi. I had asked for an update if the site went up, and apparently it did. Also, it apparently has some … Continue reading

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Japanese Culture: Sakura Shinguji

真宮寺さくら In Japanese, the family name is said first. Also, while romanized as Shinguji, a word processor would want “shinguuji.” Sakura means cherry blossom (though it can also refer to the cherry tree). Shinguji here uses kanji at variance with … Continue reading

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Education Through Naruto: Yudan Taiteki

I decided to use something out of Naruto manga for educational purposes. I mean, why not? It may not be high literature, but it can be used to show little pieces of the Japanese language. Audio Version [audio:https://jp.learnoutlive.com/media/Naruto%20Yudan%20Taiteki.mp3]download mp3 油断大敵 … Continue reading

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The YouTube of Manga? For Real?

Above: “Absolutely not!!” (ironic promo image used for the subject of this post by Ken Akamatsu, creator of Love Hina, and thus the actual holder of the intellectual property thereof.) いいえ、本当かも (It Really Might Be For Real!) The Gist: Ken … Continue reading

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