Japanese Culture

A Japan Guy 15 Kanji Quiz

May 13, 2012
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A Japan Guy 15 Kanji Quiz

I remember eating out with my friend Abasa in the early part of my Japan stay and was so impressed by this guy. I knew so little Japanese, but he was speaking fluently, effortlessly. We talked about life in Japan and how he didn’t follow the normal teaching route. Abasa went the business route, instead. He’d lived in Japan for quite some time, and life seemed so good for him. Running into people like him who were so positive about being here, really had a big influence on me. I wanted to be able to experience Japan the way Abasa was. I wanted to be able to converse easily with the people around me....

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How to Play Kendama (けん玉), Part 2

May 1, 2012
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HowToPlayKendamaP2

This is just is follow-up to How to Play Kendama, Part 1.” I guess I needed to prove that I’m not all talk . You’ll see from the video that I’m not an expert at this game, just a mere beginner actually. But this will show you the basics in action. Enjoy! Thanks for watching! Donald

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How To Play Kendama (けん玉), Part 1

April 29, 2012
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How To Play Kendama (けん玉), Part 1

Japanese bilboquet or Kendama (けん玉) is a game that’s been around for ages…in some way, shape or form, all over the world. Some people call it bilboquet, or the Bilbo Catcher, the cup and ball game, or the ring and pin game**. Since the origins of the game are unclear, I figured it’s a good time to make up a Japan Guy story as to how kendama began, so here it goes: **I’ve heard this called bilboquet and the cup and ball game, but not the ring and pin or Bilbo Catcher. Thanks Waterloo University =============================================================================== In the beginning, the earth was a place of harmony, and land of blue seas and green trees....

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Ichinensei Ni Nattara, A Catchy Elementary School Song

April 28, 2012
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Ichinensei Ni Nattara, A Catchy Elementary School Song

Yes, school is in session! Being at a Japanese shogakko means a new year of being  kanchoed (the finger enema game), meeting some awesome kids, and experiencing more of the Japanese culture. Songs are a big part of a country’s culture, and a can think of few places that sing more than a Japanese elementary school. Well I guess if you’re in a church choir, or if you’re a recording artist, or you’re in a band…OKAY, OKAY! There are better examples of places where people sing songs. However, they do sing quite a bit at my elementary school. For example, they sing their school song every morning at the school. Did my elementary school...

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Mt. Tsukuba Plum Blossom Viewing, Umemi

April 9, 2012
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I'm not exactly sure what the pink plum blossoms are called in Japanse, but they sure look nice.

It’s always makes me happy to know that spring is coming. Spring is one of my favorite seasons. I recently had a chance to go outside without having to wear a heavy coat, and I was ecstatic. It means that the cold winter chill is starting to break. It means running at night, it means no more cold toes, it means I can turn off that blasted heater and save myself a small fortune in energy costs. Yes folks, spring is on the way! You know, I feel like I haven’t done a picture post in a long time, and I can’t hold it anymore! Today, I have to make a picture post! It’s...

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Do You Remember Your Elementary School Graduation Song?

April 3, 2012
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tomorrow

You know, one interesting similarity about American and Japanese elementary school graduations is that there is a song that the students have to sing. I must be getting old or something because I can’t remember what my 7th grade, elementary school graduation song was**. I want to say it was Michael Jackson’s “Heal The World,” but I really don’t remember. My Dad was also a teacher at one point and I do remember what his elementary school kids were singing at his school for one of his graduations. I remember because I want to say my Dad practicing the piece on his saxophone at home (remember when saxophones were cool?). That song was Tevin...

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Japanese Elementary School Graduation Ceremony 2012

March 26, 2012
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Japanese Elementary School Graduation Ceremony 2012

March 16, 2011. Today I saw my first Japanese Shogakko graduation ceremony, or そつぎょう(sotsugyo), in Japanese. I had heard that Japan really values ceremonies, but hearing about it and seeing it first hand are two totally different things. THE CROWD It was incredibly cool to look into the crowd and see some of the mom’s dressed in traditional hakama. Dad’s in suits, grandmothers in dresses, video cameras out in full support of their children, children who have an entire future ahead of them. THE CEREMONY The ceremony began with everyone standing in unison, bowing. After being seated, parents, other students, and teachers looked on in awe as the graduating 6th graders ceremonially walked in...

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Setsubun 2012

March 4, 2012
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Setsubun 2012

This is a retro post that I did on Setsubun. Before I put the video in it’s proper place, I’ll let everyone see it first. ENJOY It’s that time again. It’s time for the bright red and bright blue oni (demons) to rear their evil heads only to be relentlessly attacked with roasted beans! If you’re not familiar with this custom, it’s Setsubun! Setsubun is a one Japan’s famous traditions that happens every February. I’ve only really participated in it one time while working at Aeon. My manager had us do that part of the ceremony that’s most common among adults. You take dried, roasted beans known as fukumame (副豆) and you throw them...

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Power Rangers My A**!

February 7, 2012
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Power Rangers My A**!

You know what I love about YouTube? It’s the fact that if you’re not careful with your browsing, you could end up on the site for hours at a time. One of the main reasons I think that can happen is because YouTube has that dag-blasted related videos feature, that shows you all types of videos that are similar to the ones that you just browsed. I fell victim to the YouTube trap the other day, when I took a minute to look at some clips of the original Power Rangers show. It was one of those guilty pleasures I had in very early high school (which was 8th grade and part of my...

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Japanese Ekiden, The Ultimate Relay Race

January 12, 2012
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Japanese Ekiden, The Ultimate Relay Race

Have you heard of Ekiden before? If not, it’s a race that’s very much a part of Japanese popular culture. Ekiden is what I like to think of as a relay race with a twist. The twist is that each runner runs a half marathon. At the collegiate level (I think that’s the one that’s shown on TV) there are six members to a team. The entire team runs for a total of about people at 43 kilometrs or just under 27 miles. Running the Ekiden would be like a bad dream for me. I would get all suited to run the 4 by 400 relay, and then the coach would walk over to...

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