This week I stumbled upon the concept of prefectural flags for the first time. Ordinarily that wouldn't excite me, but because most of Japan's prefectural flags feature kanji or kana, I per...
Sometimes the most basic things trip us up the most, particular with language learning. So it was this week when I encountered this word:
一丁
In the kanji universe...
Let's start with a quiz. Consider these terms:
片付ける (かたづける: to put in order, tidy up)
根っ子 (ねっこ: root; stump; stub)
Given these defi...
Before writing essay 1187 on 隅 (corner) this week, I did not expect to find a bumper crop of books with beautiful covers. I can't keep that much beauty to myself, so I'll share several of t...
When I spotted this arresting image on Facebook, I was sure I was seeing a grand collection of sumi-e painting:
Last night I had the chance to consider a beautiful word:
陰膳 (かげぜん: tray for absent one)
I was doing preliminary research for essay 2049 on 膳 (four-legged tray) a...
Let's start with sample sentences from various essays. For the moment, I won't supply clues, but that'll change as we progress:
家々の軒先には旗が掲げられていた。 ...
When I was writing the forthcoming essay 2031 on 羞 (to be shy; feel ashamed), I decided two things about the following sentence:
大切なのは教養に裏付けられた含羞ではないだろうか。 I thi...
Saying "Happy New Year" feels farcical to me right now. It truly hasn't been very happy so far. For all those in my household, it started with a bad car accident in the middle of nowh...
This is the time of year to think about numbers. Last weekend, some people took note of the time 10:11 on 12/13/14. Others are counting down the days till Christmas or vacation. Soon we'll...
A few years ago I read a fascinating article about Oliver Sacks's work with synesthesia. For those with this condition, it's as i...
When was the last time you saw wordplay at the grocery store? I may have encountered some cute product names, but I'm quite certain I've never seen the level of playfulness presented on thi...
Let's start with a quiz. See if you can match the compounds with the definitions:
One of my pet peeves is when people say, "Japanese is easy to learn!" I've heard this several times, once from a native Japanese speaker (a teacher, no less) who kept saying...
It's been an ugly week. Tuesday's election results disappointed millions of us, and I sense the angst still hovering in the air. Arguments about all sorts of things are breaking out on Face...
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