Japan Blog Matsuri: It's all about context

Holy shinola, it's been a while since I've posted. There's a backlog of things I've been meaning to share, but I fear that time has gotten away from me. I've gotten quite a bit busier and posting regularly seems to have fallen by the wayside. These things happen, but I do need to redouble my efforts. Anyhow, moving on - it's also been a while since the last Japan Blog Matsuri. I was contacted last month by Declan of KanaKanji, who's making a move to revive it, and asked if JADJ would submit something. Well, we always do our best here to oblige.

The theme of this month's Matsuri is "Japanese in Context." Specifically I think we're asked to talk about some Japanese that was really solidified for us in a particular context. I'm doing to stretch the theme a little bit, though (申し訳ない！) and talk a bit more broadly.

If you're reading this, chances are you either know first hand or have heard that Japan has a pretty high context culture. This is built into the language. The grammar, conversational style, and vocabulary lend themselves towards subtly and indirectness. This means that without a context, it is extremely difficult if not impossible to understand precisely what's going on in Japanese (written and spoken elements with their own respective challenges). Japanese nouns and verbs normally have no distinction between singular and plural forms. Last names are often used without any kind of gender-indicative title. Subjects and objects are often implied. Take a simple sentence like 「りんごを食べる」. This could presumably be translated into English as "He/she/you/I/it (will) eat(s) (an/the) apple(s)." There are probably dozens of possible meanings for this simple two-word sentence, depending on who the subject is, whether we're talking about now or in the future (or in general), how many apples we're talking about, and whether the apple(s) in question is specific or not.

I've been thinking about this kind of thing a lot lately as I contemplate the practicality of shifting my career goals towards pursuing professional translation.

A good example of the import of context (and this is uniform for any language) can be found in the case of homophones (同音異義語). Three or four weeks ago I started taking another weekly Japanese class, and we've been briefly studying a few of these every class. Just as a refresher, homophones are multiple words that share the same pronunciation but differ in meaning and sometimes spelling. Like "fair" and "fare."

Japanese has a fair share of these that usually have different kanji and sometimes slightly different intonation. Hashi - 橋 (bridge) and 箸 (chopsticks) springs to mind. When you add 熟語 (kanji compounds), there are quite a lot of these. I think this is one of the more difficult but also more interesting elements of learning Japanese - seeing all of the ways that kanji can be cobbled together to create new words. Well, it is for me, anyway.

Get thee to Okinawa

I've intended to write about my trip to Okinawa for a while and wanted to include it in Loco's last summetime get-together, but things got away from me with moving, and I wanted to include some pictures from our snorkeling adventure, but the company hasn't gotten us any (working) photos...

But now that the time for this month's Japan Blog Matsuri has rolled around and our gracious host, Alice of SHAFT, has introduced the theme of Summer Lovin', well...time to show you some pictures, I guess.

Yoshie and I made the trip in early June, which is apparently right before or at the start of typhoon season. Luckily we had beautiful weather for the weekend we were there.

We visited the main island where most of the main attractions are to be found. After getting in, renting out car, and driving to and checking in at the hotel, we explored the main street area a bit and Yoshie shopped for a bathing suit. We had some awesome taco rice and posed with a big stringed instrument.

That night we went to a pretty nice Italian restaurant that was owned by a friend of Yoshie's boss.

The next morning we got up bright and early and headed to the beach for some snorkeling. The water was a little cold, but we warmed up after swimming around a bit. It was a cool experience, although for some reason the suit really seemed to chafe my armpits. When I took it off there wasn't any rash or redness, just hurt like hell when I was wearing it for some inexplicable reason. Anyone ever experience that while wearing a wetsuit?

Next we stopped by this famous confectionery and had some free cake. Our vacation was some package deal, so it came with coupons for free or discounted stuff at all these random places.

At some point we also stopped by the equivalent of a highway rest stop and I had some amazing Mexican food. Man, the Okinawans know how to make a taco.

Next stop was the famed aquarium, complete with 3 whale sharks (and a mess of other stuff) in the same giant tank.

They also had dolphin shows, of course.

Amazing how they still oo and ahh after the first dozen flips.

Oh, and a fish called オジサン. In English, that's kind of like saying "mister."

Not "Mister Fish." Just "Mister."

That night we found a cool Tex-Mex place near the main street area and I had a Mexican pizza, mmmm-mm. I'm telling you, all the good, reasonably-priced Mexican food restaurants in Japan are hiding in Okinawa.

American food: cactus and liquor. Sounds about right.

Our last day before heading out, we stopped by an A&W. Man, it was better than I expected. And the root beer was fantastic. Also the only place I can recall getting free refills in Japan.

Okinawa is definitely worth visiting during your time in Japan if you like beaches and hot weather. And the atmosphere was quite interesting. I felt halfway between Japan and America while I was there (I suppose due to the military influence). The roads and a lot of the foods reminded me of being back home in the States.

If you decide to plan a trip, feel free to drop me a comment or email if you think I might be able to offer some useful advice!


Also remember to check out the other entries in this month's Japan Blog Matsuri.

The comeback

Remember Mello Yello? Growing up I would rarely see it around and always considered it a Mountain Dew knockoff. In recent years I can't recall it being around in any of the places I've lived.

About a month or so ago, it started popping up at all the convenience stores in Japan. Just out of nowhere. Upon my return to the States, I noticed that it's also being sold in grocery stores here, too. Is Coca-Cola giving it another go?

I don't drink much soda, but I tried one a couple weeks ago and it was just as I remembered it: almost exactly the same as Mountain Dew. What are your thoughts on Mello Yello?




This post is an entry for the 2011 July Matsuri, hosted this month over at Nihongo Up.

Why English Teachers Should Study Japanese

 This article is an entry in the April 2011 Japan Blog Maturi, hosted this month by Nihongoup. Thanks to our hosts! For more information, visit the Japan Blog Matsuri FAQ page.


If you're working as an English teacher in Japan, you should probably study Japanese. I know, crazy stuff. Sounds like a reasonable assertion, but I've known people who come to Japan to work and have zero or little effort to learn. I'm not writing this as a finger-wagging at them, though I definitely think it's a good idea to learn the language of the country you're living in. I'm writing this because it will make you a better teacher.

According to the US Foreign Service Institute, Japanese is one of the most difficult languages for native English speakers to learn. This is because on many levels they are very different. Knowing more about these differences will help you better understand the difficulties and challenges that your students may face.

Augmenting your lessons

Japanese doesn't use articles, like "a," "an," and "the." Similarly, there are few ways to distinguish between singular and plural nouns, aside from context. But you don't need to study Japanese to know that. Let's go a little further.

The Japanese language lacks certain sounds, so English pronunciation (both speaking and listening) can be very difficult. The combination of "l" and "r" is pretty widely known. Japanese also lacks a "th" sound. In Japanese "f" and "h" are blended. There is a "wa" sound, but no "wo," "wi," "we," or "wu." And since Japanese characters (with one exception) always end in a vowel, one of the biggest challenges is getting students to drop that extra letter. We call this "katakana-izing" a word. For example, "what" becomes "what-oh." "Name" becomes "Name-oo."

Japanese uses many loan-words from other languages, including English. But upon adoption, many of these words undergo a change in meaning. ジュース (juice) doesn't mean "juice." It means "soft drink," which includes juice but also soda and other beverages. パンツ (pants) generally doesn't mean "pants."* It mean "underwear." And you don't チャレンジ (challenge) yourself to do something; you challenge a thing.

例:   難問にチャレンジする。

While a native English speaker might look at this and think "Challenge the difficult problem," it means "Tackle a difficult problem." チャレンジ doesn't exactly mean "challenge."

* (Update) Good and Bad Japan points out that in the UK "pants" is underwear. I guess the 3 days I spent in England didn't teach me that one! So when in doubt about an English loanword, the meaning may be from a different form of English than you're used to (American English in my case). For example I recently found out that the Japanese OB (stands for Old Boy) is used in Australia.

The more you know about the differences between English and Japanese, the more you can tailor your lessons to avoid these pitfalls and potholes along the road. If there's a particular vocabulary word or grammatical expression that is very dissimilar in the two languages, you can be prepared to explain a certain way or spend more time on that point.

Easing communication

When I was a kid, sometimes when I asked my dad what a particular word meant he would tell me to look in the dictionary. As much of a hassle as that was at the time, I see the value of that now, especially when studying a foreign language. Be that as it may, dictionaries have their place. Writing an essay, doing homework, research - all great times to use an aid.

But when you're trying to speak, it can take too much time and interrupt the flow of conversation. For this reason, I think it's nice when a student can ask a teacher "What is ____ in English?" Of course even if you're studying Japanese you may not know the answer, but there's a much better chance you help the student continue with their flow of thought and save them from getting bogged down for one or two minutes looking through a dictionary while you (and maybe the rest of the class) wait.

Students wait while little Takeshi searches for "pants" in the dictionary. This could have been avoided!

Setting and example

Studying Japanese is an important way that you can show your students that (a) you're interested in them and their culture and (b) you're not just all talk. To them, it shows that you're not only good at making them do challenging classwork and homework, and speak in a language they'll never use; you can walk the walk, too, and learning actually has real, tangible application.

In conclusion

Do you need to study Japanese to be a good English teacher in Japan? Certainly not. In fact, not studying Japanese also has its benefits. You can honestly claim ignorance when students try to speak to you in Japanese, for one. If they don't get frustrated and give up, they'll be more motivated to study English so they can communicate with you.

And if you do decide to study, I'm not saying you have to plunge in and aim to pass the JLPT level 2 within a year. Even learning the basics of hiragana and katakana at a leisurely pace has its benefits.

But I will say that I believe, without a doubt, that studying Japanese will make you a better teacher to Japanese students.

What do you think? For all you English teachers out there, do you study Japanese? If not, do you wish you had or plan to start in the future? Why or why not? I want to pick your brains!

My friend Steve

This post is a submission to the March 2011 Japan Blog Matsuri, hosted this month over at Haikugirl's Japan. Thanks, Ali!


The theme of this month's Matsuri is "Faces of Japan." I thought a lot about who I wanted to write about, and ultimately decided to break the rules of the theme. Sorry, Ali! I was supposed to write about a Japanese person in my life, and while there are plenty of people more than deserving of a blog post, I decided to write about a non-Japanese friend of mine. A friend named Stephen.

I have a knack for photoing people as they blink.

Living in Japan, I've met a lot of amazing people, both Japanese and non. Going through some old photos on my computer the other day, I came across a few of Steve and it jogged some memories. I'm really glad to have met this guy. Let me tell you a little about him.

Steve and I both entered the JET Program in 2008 and were placed in Hyogo-ken, right between Osaka and Kobe. I think we first met at the orientation for new JET ALTs at Yashiro (lovingly called "Yashiro Prison" by all who attend), where we were roommates along with two other guys. Incidentally, one of them was our very own Joe. I remember my impression of Steve was positive right off the bat. He was often grinning, friendly, and positive, though not in the same way that wide-eyed Japanophiles tend to be.

Over the months we met up a few times to either grab a bite or go hiking, and though we didn't hang out often, I felt like the time we did spend together was quality. I know this is sounding more and more like a man-crush, but I just mean he was both a fun guy to hang out with and the kind of person who one can learn from. And no, he's not dead or anything, but I'm gonna keep talking about him in the past tense anyway.

If he were a professional photographer, this would be his bio picture.

Our hikes to Fushimi Inari in Kyoto and Mt. Rokko near Kobe are great memories. He was a big fan of hiking and also into photography, so he set up a number of these scenic hikes and always issued an open invitation to anyone interested. Now that I'm thinking of going hiking once or twice in the spring, I regret that I didn't go with him more often.

931 meters up, baby.

On our hikes we had some good talks. He really was an interesting guy - originally a businessman working for Nike (apologies if I'm mistaken, Steve! I remember it was a footwear company), he decided that he wanted to try something different, something more fulfilling. While a lot of people would (and do) just stay where they are and be miserable (hey, at least they have a paycheck), he decided to go out there and try something different. So he went to go teach English in Japan. I remember him telling me that he used to be a stressed out person, often getting angry and worrying all the time. One day he decided that he didn't want to be that kind of person, and committed to becoming happier and more positive. He accomplished that, but still managed to maintain a somewhat cynical edge, which became evident especially when talking about business or politics. That's what I saw, anyway, and I greatly admired that about him.

Steve only stayed on for one year - his then girlfriend, now wife, was waiting for him back home. Though I wish I had gotten to know him a little better, we do still keep in touch, though infrequently. Regardless, I'm glad to have met him. He's one of the friends I've made here in Japan, and was a kind of mentor to me, as well. If you read this, Steve, thanks for all the advice and friendship. It's a small world - if our paths ever cross again, let's have a beer. It won't be at an udon shop at the top of a mountain, and it may not even be Japanese beer, but it'll be in good company!

This post is also a submission to Budget Trouble's Show Me Japan. Check it out for more posts about Japan! 

December Blog Matsuri!

Welcome to the December 2011 Japan Blog Matusri! I'm very pleased to be this month's host, and would just like to quickly thank Nick of Japan Soc for keeping it going, and all those who participated this month. The theme for this time was "Japan Firsts." All right, let's see what we have.

First off, this is a little unconventional, but it's the holidays so let's not be too nitpicky. Christina wrote in about her first Japan experience, so I'll host that right here:

"I first went to Japan when I was fourteen, and then again at fifteen. The second trip was the time I had...wait for it...ever participated in a giant group dance while wearing a turban. Seriously. I was living in Okinawa and my sister was doing a traditional Okinawan dance, Eisa, for her school festival and I got to be a part of it. It was insane. And I can still do the dance, 3+ years later."

Thanks, Christina!

My First Cooking Class...and It's in Japanese!

Next, a very delicious entry from QQ's Adventures in Japan. Her first cooking class, with a twist. If the pictures are any indication, she has a future in the culinary arts.

Hajimete Desu!

Rene over at Shoujiki Shindoi brings us a collection of her Japan firsts, from TV to JLPT. We wish you luck and safe travels in your trip next year, Rene!

J-RPG or My First Japan Experience

Blog Japon features a post about a topic near and dear to my heart - video games. They can indeed be a good tool (or incentive) for learning the language.

The Western Sentai Invasion of the 1990's

Sanjo-chan over at Centakume gives us a look at her gateway into the realm of J-Land - sentai (戦隊), which is a Japanese word roughly meaning "fighting force." Ah, Power Rangers was just coming into popularity when I was growing up. Meee-mories.

Japan Firsts

Haiku Girl reflects upon some of her own Japan Firsts, along with the reason why she came to be interested in Japan. Can you guess? Shenmue makes a guest appearance but turns out not to be the reason why Haiku Girl came to be fascinated by Japan.

The Purple Sumo of Naeba

Lee-san at LoneleePlanet shares his first time skiing with us. Skiing can indeed be a humbling experience for noobs (I myself have only gone once), but being in a beautiful place can certainly make for an enjoyable and memorable time.

Japan Firsts: Yakuza

 Proudly representing JADJ, Joe weaves a tale about his first (drunken) encounter with Japanese mobsters. The lesson I came away with? That all Yakuza want is your respect...and some beer.

Mt. Fuji Pictures

Finally, Xamuel's submission of his first trip to Mt. Fuji. Some beautiful pictures and some Enrish, too. I still have to get out there one of these days...

Well, that about does it. Another matsuri and another year successfully come and gone (never seen a year that hasn't). We hope you had a great 2010 and wish you a happy and healthy 2011. 良いお年を！Next month's matsuri will be hosted by MarieLo at A Bag of Sweet Delights. Our next matsuri will be held over at Lonelee Planet, by our one and old Reesan. よろしくお願いします！

December Japan Blog Matsuri!

It's December, and this month the pleasure of hosting our Japan Blog Matsuri falls to yours truly. First off, a special thanks to Ashley of Surviving in Japan, the gracious host of November's Matsuri. If you haven't checked that out yet, please feel free - many mouth-watering entries to behold.

So I just got back to Japan last night, as of this posting. I spent two weeks in America with my girlfriend, hanging out at home in Maryland, visiting the alma mater in Pennsylvania, and checking out my old backyard, the center of the universe, New York City. You know, I kind of didn't want to come back this time. It got me thinking about a lot of things, like how I felt the first time I came to Japan, and about that fact that this will be my first Christmas spent abroad without my family (they visited the previous two). A lot of stories came to mind. And that's the inspiration for this month's Matsuri Theme: Japan Firsts. The rules and guidelines for this month are the same as always, but let me break it down for any newcomers who may be interested, or those of you who just forgot (you gotta work on that memory!):

The Theme


Once again, this month's theme is Japan Firsts.
So for December, please share your memories and experiences about Japan-related first times. For example, your first time eating mochi, your first time visiting Japan, or maybe something a little more exciting, like your first time being arrested for international espionage (in or working for Japan, of course). I think this is a fairly broad topic, and I encourage anyone who's interested to make a submission. You don't even have to have ever been to Japan! You can write about the first time you met that creepy Japanese guy who lives across the hall from you. Damn you and your stinky natto, 1B!

No links back to your first J-blog post, please. That's really lame and I can't believe you even considered it. Shame on you!

The Rules


The official guidelines for the Japan Blog Matusri can be found here. In addition, please include at least one picture in your entry. The deadline for submission for this month is December 28th, so mark your calendars!

Submission

Anyone can submit an entry! All you need is a blog of some sort. There are three ways to submit your entry:

1) Post a link in the comments section of this post.
2) The handy Blog Carnival Submission widget.
3) Email me here.

At the end of the month, all the entries will be aggregated and showcased right here! Well, not right here, but on this blog. Anyhow, that's all there is to it! I'm looking forward to reading your submissions. Get to it, and have fun!

Denizens of Japan #7: Kappa (Water Imps)

From the time I was a child, as far back as I remember, I've had a fascination with myths and fables. My parents would read me stories from Mother Goose, the Brothers Grimm, and the like. In elementary school I read collections of Greek myths and the polychromatic Fairy Books (not as fruity as they sound). To my memory I didn't come across very many Japanese folk tales, although there are quite a few interesting creatures and myths to be found here. One of the most widely-recognized, I think, is the kappa.

Kappa (河童) are creatures that fall under the blanket term yokai (妖怪;ようかい), which means a ghost, demon, monster, or goblin. Kappa are sometimes categorized as fairies or sprites, but I think they can safely be called imps. Although their characteristics may vary, they are generally short, human or ape-like creatures with greenish, scaly skin and webbed feet and claws. They sometimes have duck or turtle-like beaks, as well, and wear lily-pad-like bowls on their head. Which is perfect camouflage, since they live in bodies of water.

Like many of the imp-like creatures found throughout the world, kappa are generally thought of as mischievous but not necessarily malevolent. I'm not exactly sure why this is, honestly. Although they do occasionally assist humans and are often only mild nuisances, they also have a reputation for drowning people. Apparently small children are their second favorite meal, behind cucumbers (Mmmmm, drowned child). Not only that, but apparently they suck their victims' entrails out through their rear ends. Oh those mischievous kappa!

As the stories go, the only sure-fire way to escape or conscript a kappa is to exploit its supernatural respect for etiquette by tricking it in to bowing to you. This can often be accomplished simply by bowing and then waiting for it to bow back before running away (sounds like this trick might work on a lot of Japanese people I know, too). Once the kappa bows, the water will spill out of the bowl-thing on its head, which as everyone knows, is the source of its strength. Once it's helpless, you can either beat a hasty retreat, or if you're feeling gutsy, refill its bowl-hat with water and hope that it will be honor-bound to become your life-long servant. I'd probably make it my butler (and we've got a sitcom).

In recent years, kappa have gotten some good PR. Today they are viewed more as friendly, often cute, turtle-like man-creatures rather than pranksters or murderers. They have appeared in various media sources throughout the years (I think I remember encountering one in the Harvest Moon video game series), and even have their own sushi chain! I'd say they've made a pretty good turn around. There are still some signs in Japan that caution against swimming in nearby water, however. You never know when a kappa might get you and suck your guts out your butt.

(Top Image Source: Wikipedia)

This edition of Denizens of Japan was written for and inspired by this month's Japan Blog Matsuri, graciously hosted this month by Mazikeen.

Toilet technology

In honor of this month's Japan Blog Matsuri, hosted by Dumb Otaku, I've decided to revisit a topic that Shadow wrote a little bit about and that I explored back in my vlogging days: toilets.

Interestingly, Japan's toilet population is probably fairly representative of Japanese technology as a whole - they got it all, from cutting edge to simple Simon. I mean, the disparity can be pretty shocking.

First off, this is your basic hole in the ground. And trust me, it's exactly what it looks like. These babies are known here as 和式 (washiki; Japanese style). If the range of toilets in Japan were a Taco Bell (as apt an analogy as it is), this wouldn't even be a menu item. It would be one of those packets of free hot sauce.

When you have to go to the bathroom, these things are scary, especially your first time. I still remember mine vividly. Which way do you face? Is there going to be any...splashage? Is this possible while wearing these pants? When presented with a squatter toilet, these are all valid questions. In fact, your first time using one you may experience a degree of panic. I did. I mean, I had never had to aim to, uh, do that kind of business before. And there's not much time to plan your approach, either - if you didn't really have to go, you wouldn't be using one of these things. Don't even get me started on having to use one while wearing a suit. For now, let's go to the tape. Here's a scene from the 1992 movie Mr. Baseball, in which Tom Selleck demonstrates a perfectly understandable reaction to the squatter:

Once last year I had some students ask me what kind of things surprised me when I came to Japan. I told them that actually not too many things were that shocking to me, but that I couldn't understand why such an advanced country still has so many squatter toilets. One of the boys grinned and told me that these toilets are one reason why Japanese athletes have such strong knees. Kids do say the stupidest darndest things. I suspect they're still being made because of their cleanliness, but I think that's overrated. After all, I've never heard of anyone catching any toilet-borne diseases.

Anyway, I suppose we've dwelt long enough on the squatter. Next, you have your basic toilets as we in West would recognize them - 洋式 (yōshiki; Western style). Bowl, seat, lid, and tank. These are our basic menu items - tacos and burritos. They come in a variety of "flavors," but they do usually have one common water-saving feature. On these models, the pipe that refills the tank doesn't connect to the lower part of the tank, but rather releases water from above, into a little hole, that then flows inside the tank. The point of this is to allow you to rinse your hands with the water that's going to be dirtied anyway. I usually wash my hands afterwards at the sink with soap, anyway, but it's still a thoughtful feature. These models can be found in a variety of places. I have one in my apartment.

Last, we have the top tier; the Mexican Pizzas and Nachos Bell Grande. These bad boys come decked out with all sorts of dials and buttons. Common features include heated seats, sounds to drown out any noise you might make, and nozzles that will squirt you in all the right places. Sometimes you can find thrones with adjustable water pressure and temperature, too. These are usually found in places like hotels and celebrities' houses.

And there you have it. Not all toilets are created equal. It really is interesting, though. Thanks to the inexplicable fact that squatter toilets are still being made (dug?), it's quite easy to observe the evolution of toilet technology in Japan. What's next, you wonder? Crapping into waste cans, perhaps.

Do you have any stories about your own experiences with the thrones or run-ins with the squatters? If so, please share them in the comments section!