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 her company, Rochelle accumulated a wealth of experience by working for U.S.-based international consulting firms and the Tokyo headquarters…
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 special humor, as well as a few examples that, I hope, will not miss to make you laugh. (All…
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 had to acquiesce and learn how to cook at least a few nutritious dishes that also have a modicum…
The Essential Books You Need to Master Japanese
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…
Expressing Love in Japanese Culture
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…
How Strange “Japanese English” Is Confusing Me
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….
3 Applications That Will Help You Read Japanese
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…
The Merits of Plain Japanese
In 1995 the Great Hanshin Earthquake devastated the city of Kobe and its surroundings. Over 6,400 people tragically lost their lives during the disaster. According to Kyodo News, the Urban Disaster Research Institute in Tokyo revealed that one out of every 100 Japanese residents in the region suffered injuries. That ratio was nearly double for…
How to Learn Japanese the SMART Way
When learning Japanese, motivation and excitement is highest when you’re a beginner. It’s easy to chart your progress, and your world noticeably expands with every word, grammar point, and kanji character learned. You beam with pride as you start traveling to Japan, using key phrases and sentence structures to order meals, greet the locals, and…
Yuki Nivez: Teaching Japanese with Empathy and Precision
When it comes to learning Japanese, there are deceptively simple questions that most teachers struggle to answer. For example, “What is the difference between the particles wa and ga?” Or, ”Why is this word typed without kanji?” When I saw that Yuki Nivez, founder of Bow & Arrow Language, was succinctly answering some of these…