The concept of culture is multifaceted and includes the language we speak, the food we eat, the values we share, and even the clothing we wear. If you are planning to interact with a new culture,…
Recommended Articles |
Shinji Tsuchimochi: Drawing Tokyo’s Nostalgic Towns and Reviving Ukiyo-e
Maybe you do not know his name, but if you like Japan or cute illustrations, then you probably have already seen some of his works online. Shinji Tsuchimochi is a Tokyo-born illustrator who started drawing scenes…
The Basics of Kansai-Ben
The Japanese learned in school, in books, or other materials is what the Japanese call hyoujungo, or standard Japanese. Each region of Japan actually has its own dialect, hougen in Japanese, which still exists today more…
Japanese Pop Music Priest Explains Shinto in a Fun Way
Soushi describes himself as a pioneer among Shinto priests. During the day, he performs his duties at 17 different shrines. At night, he becomes the “Singing Shinto Priest,” a pop musician whose mission is to make…
Updates: Discover our Online Farming Project
Dear readers, Since we received good feedback and signs of interest following our interview with Higa Farm, we have decided to collaborate with Masamichi and Sara Higa to offer you a new kind of experience: online farming! …
A Happier Life with Greens
As explained in this article, Kokoro Media has created a remote farming project which involves you readers. Here is what we are going to grow on the farm, and some answers to the comments you left…
Is there a Rule to Reading Kanji or is it Totally Random?
Are you an intermediate Japanese learner struggling with reading kanji? In this article, I go over a simple but important sound change that occurs when kanji are used together in compounds, and a rule that can…
Narrowing the Gap between Japan and the Rest of the World: An Interview with Rochelle Kopp
Anyone with even the slightest interest in cross-cultural communication in Japan has likely read an article, liked a tweet, or watched a video featuring Rochelle Kopp, founder and managing principal of Japan Intercultural Consulting. Before founding…
Senryu, Short Poems Full Of Japanese Humor
Having discovered these pearls of humor recently myself, I think it is a shame that senryu is not as well known as haiku, another sort of Japanese poem. Here is an introduction to senryu and its…
What Learning to Cook Taught Me about Studying Japanese
To say that my culinary tastes are unrefined would be an understatement. I’ve never been one to enjoy cooking. However, when it comes to being healthy, exercise can only get one so far. So eventually, I…