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 special humor, as well as a few examples that, I hope, will not miss to make you laugh. (All senryu in the article are…

With more than 2 million subscribers on his YouTube channel and a total of 4 million followers on his various social media, Fumiya is living the dream of many young people these days.  While he was studying in the Philippines, one of his videos suddenly became viral, and a few months later, he joined as one of the participants in…

Never underestimate the value of an excellent book. It may be possible to study Japanese entirely with online resources, however this approach overlooks a major benefit of a well-written book: curation. To craft, publish, and print a quality physical book involves an incredible amount of care and effort before it reaches your hands. Well-curated books are filled with essential content…

When you are interested in a culture and start learning a new language, for some reason, the word “love” and the phrase “I love you” are some of the first people usually want to know and remember. Maybe this is why you are now reading the article. While love may be universal, the ways to express it differ in every…

Aside from writing articles on Kokoro Media, I am also involved in consulting jobs, which has led me to discover the world of business in Japanese. Over the years, I have been learning business words in Japanese, some of which are related specially to my field, and some seem to be reflecting the local trends. Among these words, there is…

Aki Sugiyama and her business partner Lillian Rowlatt have founded Kokoro Care Packages, a unique subscription service that allows customers to be delivered different kinds of Japanese ingredients and food monthly or seasonally. When I first heard of this company, I was intrigued by our common choice for the word Kokoro in our respective brand names and was eager to…

When does a new year in Japan really start? The obvious answer would be January 1, just like many cultures throughout the world. However, there’s another “New Year’s Day” in Japan, and that’s April 1. When spring is in full swing, cherry blossoms bloom and life begins anew. Introducing the Japanese Fiscal Year: Nendo (年度) In addition to the calendar…

After coming to grips with the soul-crushing inevitability of having to memorize over 2000 kanji characters, the next wall of frustration that Japanese learners face is reading the same books, magazines, and blog articles that native Japanese speakers do. Reading is essential for adding context to the constant influx of vocabulary, kanji, and grammar points that learners face and gives…

Last month, a Japanese website raised criticism: its principle was that users could submit meiwaku noise information about their neighborhood. Most of the time, users complained about the sounds of children playing, and the word “meiwaku” was heavily used in the comments. “Meiwaku” can be translated in several ways: trouble, annoyance, annoying. In Japanese, spam mail is called meiwaku mail,…

Akira Yamaguchi is one of the founding members of TEAM Clapton. This construction group does design, renovation, and builds event spaces. Their specialization: their construction sites are open to everybody who wants to help, beginners included. Last year, TEAM Clapton was involved in renovating a small traditional village, transforming it into a small lodging complex with a co-working space. Read…