Japanese traditional culture ~21~ Yuinou 結納（ゆいのう）

  What tradition do you have in your culture before
get to marry? In Japan, there is a tradition, called Yuinou.
This ceremony is held before you get married.
  The man and woman get together at one place with their
parents. Maybe it will be held at women's house.
Or the bridal company may prepare for the ceremony.
The man gives money to woman's family. It is said that
the amount should be about 3 times of his salary in my area.
  And the other day, woman gives a present for the man.
That's the return by woman. As I introduced here, Japanese
people often exchange gifts in various situations in our
daily life.
  But I guess there are many kinds of customs in Japan.
It would depends on the district where he or she live in.
  This tradition may be held so that the couples would
not divorce easily. This kind of tradition may be lost in some
places in modern age although.

Japanese education ~5~ manuscript paper 原稿用紙（げんこうようし）

  I  guess this manuscript paper is peculiar to Japanese culture.
There is common manuscript paper in our culture. On this manuscript
paper, there are four hundred squares to write Japanese characters.
  And there is a rule to write sentences.
  As you may know, sometimes we write letters from top to down.
This way must be unusual for other cultures.
And if you read on this way, you may feel uneasy.

  I've started to use this manuscript papers to write my work.

Japanese expression ~13~ borrowed words and English made in Japan 外来語（がいらいご）と和製英語（わせいえいご）

In Japanese, there are many "gai rai go".
Gairaigo means borrowed words.
For example, these words below are ones which were imported
directly from abroad.

ドア　（doa）= door (from English)
イエロー（ierou）= yellow
アルバイト Arubaito = Arbeit (from Germany)
カステラ　= Castela (from Portuguese)
Each words are pronounced so Japanese can pronounce easily.
These borrowed words are written in Katakana.

  But there are words, called Wasei eigo (English made in Japan)
Wasei = made in Japan
Eigo = English
  These words are written in Katakana. So those seem to look like
borrowed words. But, they are not.
  For example....
  We call a modular bath "Unit bath(ユニットバス)".
  We call outlet "consent（コンセント）"
　We call windshield or windscreen "frontglass(フロントガラス)".

  Japanese people misunderstand those words as borrowed words
if words are written in Katakana. So they get surprised when they
know that those words are made in Japan.

  It is said that Japanese culture absorbs various cultures of abroad
and arranges those cultures by mixing our own cultures.
That's the history of Japanese culture. We imported various
religions, clothes, lifestyle, foods, music, paintings, theater play,
books....and so on.
  In my impression, there are "not" so many people who are highly pride of
our own cultures. Japanese's self-evaluation toward our cultures is not so high.
Maybe that may be because our culture strongly focuses on the sense of
modest. So, foreign people get surprised to know Japanese people
don't have a lot of knowledge about our own cultures.

My story(children's story) ~10~ A white cat

  This work I wrote the story has passed the first judge of
Kamishibai contest!
  As a drawer, my father entried this work in the Minoo Kamishibai competition
in Osaka. I am just pleased.
  At the second judge, the tntrants need to play the performance of Kamishibai.
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Japanese lifestyle ~63~ language lessons on radio and TV

  What kind of languages are learned on radio or TV in Japan?
In Japan, we have radio or TV program of English, Chinese, Korean,
French, German, Russian, Spanish, Arabic and Italian.
  I have listened to the radio program of English when I go to my
workplace in my car. Some Japanese businessmen have interest
on business English. So, there are some kinds of English radio program.
And recently, Chinese learners are getting more and more.
I sometimes learn Chinese. There is a Chinese restaurant in front of my
house. So, I sometimes go there and learn some words or phrases
from the owner.
 

Japanese expression ~ 12 ~ weeds

  They are  as tough as weeds.
Do you call the person who is very tough "weeds"?
  Japanese culture basically has the idea, Life is hard to live, I think.
So, we sometimes train people to live like weeds.
And when people say, I want to live like weeds, that means,
he  wants to live strongly even if he is not known his effort by
many people.

  I just wondered if there is this kind of expression in your culture.

Japanese saying てte

Japanese saying that begins from てte is...
てつ(iron)は　あつい(heated)　うちに　うて(strike)
You have to strike iron before it gets cold.

  This saying tells you have to train yourself
before you are willing to do something. Otherwise, you
may lose your interest in a while.
  If you decide to train yourself, maybe it would be the
best chance to do that. Or you may forget to do that.

  When I write a story, I try to write sentences as much as
possible so that I won't lose my idea. I keep writing a story.