Thursday, January 31, 2013

Japanese lifestyle ~26~ Post

What does the post in your country look like?
In Japan, the post is like this.
郵便(yuubinn) means "post".
I think most of the post in Japan is like this red colored box.
When I went to Germany, the post was yellow colored box.
Frequency of collection an delivery depends on the location of post.
Usually, they collect 4 times a day,. maybe.
This post system in Japan started in 1871. We imported the system
from Britain.
  Well, when you see post or post office, you would see the symbol,
「〒」
 Can you see it on the photo?
 This is the symbol of post in Japan.
 I did not know that this symbol is individual in Japan.
I heard that people started to use this symbol when Japan imported the
post system. I thought this symbol is common all over the world.
But it was not true.

 Thanks for reading!
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Japanese habit/custom ~26~ Daruma

Now, it is  the season of examination.
School children have examination to enter high school or university.
Some of students have examination to enter junior high school.
I introduce a "daruma" that is related to entrance examination.
You see 合格(goukaku) below of this ornament.
It means "pass the examination"
Do you see 大願成就(taigann jyouju). It means big dream would come true.
taigann jyouju is kind of difficult word. We seldom use this word in our daily life.
  When you prepare for the test, you just paint black on one eye.
And after you passed exam, you paint the other side of eye.
  When I was in junior high school, I used to use this daruma.
Fortunately, I passed the exam to enter high school.
  We often see red color daruma. I think red daruma is more common in Japan.
I guess this white color daruma is used for examination.
  And people use daruma at election. If the candidate is elected to the Diet,
he or she paint the eye of daruma. We sometimes see the scene on TV.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

The price in Japan ~4~ sweets

When you can go to supermarket, shop, or convenient store
(small supermarket that is open for 24 hours) you can see various
kinds of sweets there. I introduce one of them today.

  The name of this sweet is なだまん nada man Nadaman is the name of company.
I have never heard of the name. I don't know if it is famous.
This is a pudding. The taste is "Houji cha". Houji cha is roasted green tea.
This is my first time I bought this sweet. I got tired of my work today. So I bought
this to have fun. It is a present for myself. Hahaha.
 The size is small.  But the price was 126 yen. (1.03 Euro 41.81 RUB 1.39 US dollar)
I don't need a lot. I get satisfied if only I can taste a little bit. So, I think it is worth.
  There are various kinds of sweets at supermarket. The price is from 100 yen to
400 yen. It is more inexpensive than the sweets you eat at restaurant.

Thanks for reading!
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Monday, January 28, 2013

Japanese saying ~5~かka

Today, I write about a saying that begins か(ka)
かわいい こ には たびを させよ kawaii ko niwa tabi wo saseyo

Meaning:
If your son or daughter is so cute, you should let him or her out.
Do not indulge him or her too much.

kawaii means "cute"
ko means son or daughter
tabi means travel
wo saseyo means "you should do---"

I think this saying also has the meaning "it is good thing to let young people
experience hardships when they are young."
I think many Japanese people believe that it is important to experience
hardship when people are young. Because that experience would be useful
for whole of your life.
Do you have saying in your culture?



Sunday, January 27, 2013

Japanese food ~25~ Ozen ryouri

  You may have had Japanese food at Japanese restaurant
in your hometown. But You may not have had Japanese food at
Japanese restaurant in Japan. Today I post the pictures of
Japanese dishes at Japanese restaurant here.
  What is Ozen ryouri?
  Zen means "a plate". When you call something politely, we sometimes
say "O" before the word.
 Ryouri means "dish"







 You can eat this ozen ryouri at Japanese restaurant where I am working now.
It costs about 3000 yen. And it is discounted to about 1700 yen!
(13.88 Euro, 18.69 US dollar, 561.33 RUB)
  If you eat this kind of dish in Tokyo, I guess it costs more than 3000 yen.
Maybe it costs about 3500 yen.

Thanks for reading!
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Saturday, January 26, 2013

Japanese expression ~8~ Irassyaimase

  Maybe it is hard for foreign people to pronounce "Irassyaimase".
When you go to Japanese restaurant, store, or supermarket, the staff
will say "Irassyaimase!"
  I have never heard of this kind of phrase in the other countries.
So, I guess there is no translation of this phrase. You would not know the
meaning of this phrase.
  If I translate this phrase, "Thanks for coming to our shop(or restaurant)".
or "Welcome to our shop". It is hard to translate directly.
  This is kind of greeting when staffs welcome to the customers. And
it sounds polite for Japanese people.
  You should not say this phrase when you welcome your friends to your
home. I think I hear this phrase at business scene.
  When you go to Japanese restaurant in your country, the staffs may
say this phrase.

Thanks for reading!
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Friday, January 25, 2013

Japanese saying ~4~ おo

I tell you a Japanese saying that begins from お(o)
That is Oni ni Kanabou おに に かなぼう

Maybe I need to explain well.
Do you know "Oni"? Traditionally, people have the sense of fear to "Oni".
If you go to hell after death, there would be a lot of oni ther.
I guess there are a lot of old drawings that describe this oni.
You know, there are horns on the head. And there are fangs on the mouth.
His eyes look angry.
And I explain the Kanabou かなぼう
Kanabou means an iron rod. (you can see obove)
This saying means, "that will give you a double advantage".
When someone who is strong get something advantage, you use this saying.

Thanks for reading!
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Thursday, January 24, 2013

Japanese expression ~7~ Okage samade

I tell you the phrase Okage samade.
This phrase reflect the Japanese way of thinking.
When people are said, "Congratulation" by someone, he say "Okagesamade".
Or if he or she had good thing, he or she would say Okagesamade to the person
who supported him or her.
I think this phrase has the meaning of thanks for person. But this phrase
also has the meaning "I appreciate for your cooperation.".
I think a lot of Japanese people like the idea of "cooperation".
As you may know, Japanese people focus on the harmony of group in our daily life.
Maybe a lot of Japanese people strongly believe each person can't make a living
or make a success without the other person's cooperation.
When we become adult and start to make a living, we sometimes realize that
we can't live without the other person's help.
 Most of Japanese people would not thank for God when we make a success.
Maybe most of people would thank for the people who supported him or her
such as family, co-workers, friends and so on.
I sometimes see the sport player pray for God when he make a success.
I guess Japanese people feel the cultural difference.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Japanese saying ~3~ えe

I introduce the Japanese saying that begins from え(e)
That is...えんのしたのちからもち Ennoshita no chikara mochi
Ennoshita means, "under the floor of house"
Chikara mochi means, the person who have a lot of power.
This saying means, there is a person who dedicates to something
although he or she is not known by people.
  As you know, you can't see under the area of the floor.
Actually, I sometimes hear someone say this phrase in my daily life.
So, I think this phrase is not death word.

Thanks for reading!
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Japanese habit/custom ~ 18~ Nyuuyoku zai

  When we take a bath, we sometimes put Nyuuyokuzai into the bathtub.
Nyuuyoku means "taking a bath". zai means "powder".
  Japanese people have the custom of taking a bath. People take a bath
everyday or every two days(maybe). I guess most of people take a bath
everyday if they have a time nowadays. I guess, if you don't take a bath for more than
three days, people may say "you are dirty." When you see the explanation of Nyuuyokuzai,
you will see "it is effective to get warm your body and it is healthy"
  Nyuuyokuzai is produced to enjoy the time of taking a bath.


Sunday, January 20, 2013

Japanese lifestyle ~25~ Eiyou dorink

I finished my work right now. I got so tired.
When you get tired so much, some of Japanese people would drink
eiyou drink.
Eiyou means "nutrition".
  I have no idea how much is common to drink this kind of the vitamin drink.
This drink above says there is royal jelly in it. 
I have seen a "Red Bull" when I went to Germany last summer. I think this 
kind of drink must be sold all over the world. I guess you would know that.
  By the way, if you go to supermarket in Japan, you would see various kind
of vitamin drink. Maybe there is more than 15 kind of drink at supermarket.
I don't know how much it is effective.
  I Thanks for reading!
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Saturday, January 19, 2013

Japanese saying ~2~ う(u)

  Today, I introduce Japanese saying. I introduce the saying
according to the order of hiragana. If you are Japanese learner, you might know
the order of hiragana. あいうえお、かきくけこ、さしすせそ・・・・
 I use the karuta(.かるた) Do you remember it? I introduced on this blog.
 うま の みみ に ねんぶつ = uma no mimi ni nenbutsu
うま(uma) =horse
みみ = ear
ねんぶつ = pray to Amida Buddha
The meaning is... He will turn a deaf ear to your advice.
If he doesn't hear your advice at all, it is nonsense to give him your advice.
The horse can't understand the pray to Amida Buddha.
In this situation, I think this saying tells that the pray to Amida Buddha is very
valuable words. The horse can't understand how much the pray is valuable.
 

Friday, January 18, 2013

Japanese food ~25~ Yakimanjyu

This is called Yakimanjyu.
Yaki means "bake"
Manjyu is a kind of Japanese sweet.
This Yakimanjyu is one of the local specialty in my hometown.
So, I guess all Japanese people don't know this sweet.
The taste is sweet and salty.
I really don't like Yakimanjyu.
By the way, there is a stick like above.
Do you eat any foods that use a stick in your culture?
I guess you use a stick when you cook barbecue.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Short trip in Tochigi(not Gunma) ~4~ Ashikaga flower park

  I went to Ashikaga flower park. Ashikaga is one of the city in Tochigi prefecture.
The illumination in this park is very famous.
There are three big illumination parks in the Kanto area.
Here is one of the illumination parks. Actually, here was very big park.
And everything was fantastic and dreamy.












 Look!! This is Torii. I introduced Torii on this blog.
あけましておめでとうございます。
Thanks for reading!
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Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Japanese food ~24~ Ama zake

I tell you something about Ama zake.
Ama means "sweet". And Zake means sake. That is, Japanese alcohol.
  As you see above, amazake is white color drink. It is cloudy sake.
I looked up amazake on internet. It says the origin of amazake goes back to
the Tumulus period!! I didn't know about that at all.
It is popular to drink this amazake in winter. Usually, we warm this drink.
I heard that this drink has various nutrition, such as Vitamin B1, B2, B6,folic acid,
and so on. This amazake is made from rice and malted rice.
This drink is named "sake". But a minor can drink this amazake.
  I heard that there is amazake cafe in Japan.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/Amazake-cyaya_01.jpg
  I think this drink is not alchole so you can drive after drinking amazake.
  Sometimes you would see the shrine give this amazake to visitors when you
go to "Hatsumoude". It is free service.

 Thanks for reading!
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Tuesday, January 15, 2013

My work(children's story) ~1~ A wild boar on the rock

Today, I don't write about Japanese culture.
Personally, I am writing a short story when I have time.
I am thinking that I ask someone to read my works for children in the future.
I want to do such activity in the future.
I wrote the first draft in Japanese. And I am not native at English. So, I think
made some mistakes.

I just show it here. It is kind of long. So, if you don't have time,
please skip it. ^^;


A wild boar on the rock

  A man, whose name is Sugitaro, was living in a small village. Sugitaro looked shabby because he always wore brown patched clothing. Everybody in the village could recognize Sugitaro in the distance because of his clothing. When people found Sugitaro, they always tease him.
  Sugitaro made a practice to clean around a big stone that is located at the end of the village. That rock was called “Bear’s stone”. Bear’s stone was named by people of the village. Bear’s stone looked like a big bear standing. And it was said that the bear’s stone was the God of the animal in the mountain near the village. But the shape of the bear’s stone looked so weird. Nobody but Sugitaro came near to the bear’s stone.
“After I was dead, who clean this bear’s stone? What can I do…?”
 Sugitaro cleaned around the bear’s stone and laid a yellow lily on the bear’s stone as usual.  And he went to work to his field in the mountain. He spent days like that way.

 By the way, there was a man, whose name is Tasuke, was living in the village. He was very great hunter. He always hit game. As soon as he found a hare in the distance, he aimed at it. He could hit it immediately. His skill of hunting was excellent and known well not only in the village but also in the neighbor’s village. All people praised his skill. All people respected for him.

 One day, Tasuke went hunting at the mountain near the village. The day was special day. Because Tasuke kept hitting 95 times without any mistakes until that day. He got excited to imagine what kind of animal he hit at the 100 attempt. A lot of people followed him to see his hunting. They wanted to see until when Tasuke kept breaking the record of hunting.
 His hunting started. He immediately hit 4 rabbits one after another.
“Wow!! Great!!”
 All audience got excited.
 Tasuke was inflated with pride.
“You see!? I am the best hunter in the world! ”
“How great!”
People got excited again.
 Tasuke found a wild boar on the rock. The wild boar has a fine bristle. The color of the bristle was golden and shining.
“That’s my game. Look!”
 Tasuke run up the path of the mountain. And he hid behind the bush. He approached to the golden wild boar and got his bow and arrow ready. It became quiet. Everybody watched at Tasuke. The moment Tasuke were going to shoot, people heard a sound.
Peeeh peeeeh peeeh!!
It was a whistle. The wild boar got surprised and run away. Tasuke shot an arrow toward the target. The arrow seemed to hit the hoof, but the wild boar run into a bush. He has gone to somewhere.
People sighed with disappointed.
Tasuke looked at the audience and shouted.
“Who did it!?  I’ll push him over the cliff!”
The audience became quiet with fright.
Tasuke was mortified because he could not find the nuisance. He could not help but going back to his house in the village. But when he was walking on the path, he found a man standing near the rock. It was Sugitaro. Sugitaro was on the way to his home from his work at the field.
 “Hey, you did it, right!?”
 Tasuke shouted.
“ Tasuke, the golden wild boar has some babies. You shouldn’t kill it.”
 Tasuke got mad and shouted again, hearing what Sugitaro said. But Sugitaro did not mind about that and he went back to his home.
 Since then, people in the village became to ignore Sugitaro. It was said that once Tasuke got to know someone were talking with Sugitaro, he or she would be left out of people in the village. Sugitaro was in a fix. When he tried to talk to someone, he or she always run away. But he did not find a good way. He just keeps working in his field as usual.

 A few days later, Sugitaro found a golden wild boar lay in front of the bear’s stone.
“Oh, here you are. Are you OK? You hurt your hoof.”
 Sugitaro heard a small sound in the bush. When he saw in the bush, there were four babies of the wild boar.
“Yeah, you rear babies. I thought you had babies. I was right. Hey, wait a minute.”
 Sugitaro tore his clothing and treated injured hoof.
“You must be hard to find foods for a while.”
 Sugitaro gave the half of his lunch to the wild boar.
“You shouldn’t come to village. People like the hunting. It is dangerous place to you.”
  Sugitaro went to his field to work.

 Many days have passed since then. It was the beginning of winter.  A man, who ate a rabbit, died. The rabbit was hunted at the mountain near the village. Since the incident, terrible things happened occasionally. A lot of people died in succession. People feared of the mysterious illness. A lot of old man and children died. The grandfather and grandmother of Tasuke died of the mysterious illness. Besides that, Tasuke’s child caught the illness. Because of this affair, people lost the time for hunting. There were no people who go to mountain for hunting.
“It’s awful…our village will collapse soon.”
 All people in the village got lost. All people looked absentminded. The village became silent.
  One night, there was a sound outside the house. People in the house heard the hurried footsteps. He was walking with light steps.
  Rumor had it that some deer came to the village in order to seek for their foods. But someone saw a wild boar running on the lane of the village.
 After that night, the mysterious illness seemed to be disappeared miraculously. Tasuke’s child did not die because of the mysterious illness. 
 People said that the wild boar someone saw at the night was the golden wild boar. People said that the golden wild boar is God and he came to our village to get rid of the demon.  

  The spring has come. It was a good season for hunting.  Tasuke was so excited about the season. And he departed for the mountain as usual. A lot of audience followed to see his great hunting.
  When he tried to look for the first game to hunt in the mountain, he saw something running up to the rock. That was the golden wild boar. Tasuke and the audience became silent.
“That’s the wild boar, he helped our village.”
“Tasuke, he must be God. We had better not hunt him.”
People made noisy.
Tasuke did not aim at the golden wild boar.
The golden wild boar on the rock viewed the bushes, which are extended to the valley.
The bristle on his back was shining.
“He has a bandage over his hoof.”
“Is that Sugitaro’s clothing?”
People thought Sugitaro treated the wild boar when Tasuke hit the hoof.
 Since then, people have never teased Sugitaro. People invited Sugitaro to the festival of the village. Tasuke gave Sugitaro foods and new clothings in apology for his behavior.
People found that the bear’s rock was great God of the mountain. And people kept the rule to clean it every day. Now there are a lot of people who give the offering for the bear’s stone. All people in the village became to respect for God of animal and stopped the rough hunting.

(copyright reserved) 



Monday, January 14, 2013

Japanese lifestyle ~25~ Seijin shiki

  Today is the national holiday. It is a coming-of-age celebration.
Seijin means "becoming adult" Shiki means "a ceremony".
A lot of young people who became 20 years old get together at city hall
and celebrate this day.

  I wrote that Japanese people don't have many chances to were kimono nowadays.
This is special day.So most of woman wear kimono at the ceremony.

  By the way, it is also true that there are a lot of rude young people.
They speak loudly during the ceremony. ^^;
Sometimes, the situation is broadcasted on TV.
And newscaster blame for their attitude.

  Today' news paper reports on the coming-of-age celebration at Fukushima.
One of the city that had the tragedy at 3.11,2011, called Rikuzentakata city
had the young victims of earthquake. The news paper says, there were 277
young people who would be 20 years old today. But, unfortunately, 11 young
people died of the disaster. I feel sorry about that. I sometimes hear that
a person who is much younger than me dies because of some reasons.
 
  When I was 20 years old, I could not join this ceremony because
I was in Canada for studying.

Thanks for reading!

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Japanese habit/custom ~17~ Tsumekiri

This is my nail clippers.
How do you care your nail? Do you have this kind of stuff in your country?
I am not sure how the other country people care their nail.
Is the shape same? Or do you use any different tool to care your nail?



By the way, it is very popular to decorate the nails between woman.
Woman ,especially young woman decorate the nails like this. It is called  "Nail art"
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/Nail_art.jpg
A lot of Japanese man hope to get married with woman who like to cook
the meal. When Japanese man look for the woman to get married, he may check
if woman  decorate the nail like this. Because, if you do nail art, you would not
be able to wash rice. Of course I can't say generally.^^;

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Japanese saying ~1~ あ(a)

From this posting, I will introduce the Japanese sayings from time to time.
(I don't write about it everyday)
I use the karuta that I showed you at the last posting.
Today's saying is....
あたまかくして しり かくさず。
If I translate it directly, it means
you hide the head but you don't notice that you couldn't hide your hip.
Atama(あたま)=head
kakusu(かくす) means "hide". かくして かくさず is variation of kakusu.
It is hard to explain about grammar for native Japanese...
Siri(しり)= hip

  I explain the meaning of this saying.

  Even if you think you could hide something, people would know about it.

  Yes, you can't hide all of the bad things. God knows everything...




Friday, January 11, 2013

Japanese traditional culture ~17~ karuta

I introduce a Japanese plaything, called "karuta".
Do you know "hiragana"?
Hiragana is one of the Japanese characters. There are 50 kinds of hiragana.
Some of you would know あいうえお...
Traditionally, we have a plaything that uses the hiragana.
The name is "karuta". Here is the photo.
I explain how to play it.
There are 50 kinds of cards that have picture and hiragana.
And there are 50 kinds of cards that is written a sentence on it.
Someone read aloud the sentence.
And the players find the card someone read as quickly as possible.
Players have to listen carefully what was the first hiragana of the sentence.
You repeat this until players take the all cards.
The winner is the person who got a lot of cards.
The sentence depends on the kind of karuta.
A Japanese saying is written on this karuta.
いしのうえにもさんねん means, "you have to stand something at least
three years to achieve it".
Cold stone would get warmer if you sit down on it for three years.
In this sentence, getting warmer the stone means you "achieve something"

Thanks for reading!
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Thursday, January 10, 2013

Japanese lifestyle ~24~ Juken

  Now it is the season of juken in Japan.
What's juken? It is the examination of high school or university.
In Tokyo, there are many junior high schools that require juken to enter.
I personally experienced juken of high school and university.
  On 19th, and 20th January, many high school students have the "center shiken".
It is the biggest examination for entering university. Most of the national university
ask students to have this center shiken. Many private university also asks students
to have this shiken. Shiken means "examination".
So, a lot of students challenge this center shiken. Nowadays, a lot of
students go to university in Japan. Last year, the number who apply for this
examination was 555,537. But the number is decreasing because of
declining number of children.
 And after finishing this examination, students challenge the test of
each university. The result of the examination depends on the total score of
both examination.
 Private university holds each own date of examination. So students can try
as long as the date is different and you have money.
  About national university, they have first-term examination and  the latter examination.
The date is same among national university. So student can't more than two examination
at the first-term examination.
  Students who have center shiken in this year would have stressful days now.
I used to spend such days...^ ^;
  Some people say, you should not go to skiing or use the word "suberu".
Suberu means "ski". Because in Japanese, when you fail the exam, you say
"suberu". People take care not to use the inauspicious word.

Thanks for reading!

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Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Japanese traditional culture ~16~ Otoshidama

  I introduce the tradition of otoshidama. おとしだま(お年玉)
There are many traditions to introduce you in this Osyogatsu season.
  At the beginning of the year, Japanese people gether at the house with
relatives. And they have a lunch or diner together. It is good chance
to meet your relatives.
  Children look forward to this event because they can get some otoshidama.
Otoshidama is money that is given from older people to children or younger
people. They put money into a bag and give children. The amount of money
depends on children's age. If he or she is older, the amount would be more
higher. Normally, he sum of the otoshidama is from 1000 yen to 3000 yen (?)
Usually, the money is given by paper money, not coin.

 Thanks for reading!

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Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Japanese traditional culture ~15~ Hatsu yume

  What did you see a  dream at the beginning of the year?
In Japan, we have a tradition about the dream you see at the beginning of the
year. People foresee the luck of the year from the dream.
  There is a word.
"Ichi(1) Fuji
  Ni(2) Taka
  San(3) Nasubi"
For Japanese, this phrase sounds rhythmical.
The first is Mt. Fuji. It is the best one.
The second is Taka. Taka is a hawk.
The third is an eggplant.
 It is interesting that the eggplant comes thirdly. It seems to be wired.
I looked up the origin of this phrase. There may be various views.
I introduce one of them.
It is the phrase that say the feature of Shizuoka prefecture.
Shizuoka is located in the west of Tokyo. You can see Mt. Fuji there.
 Do you have this kind of tradition in your culture?

Monday, January 7, 2013

Japanese traditional culture ~14~ nanakusa gayu

  On 7th January, Japanese people eat nanakusa gayu in the morning.
It is one of Japanese traditions. But I don't think a lot of people keep this tradition.
I don't keep that tradition.
Nanakusa means "7 kinds of grass"
Gayu is a variation of rice. You put in a lot of water when you cook rice.
It  is mushy rice.
 7 kinds of grass are below.
Seri  = Water dropwort
Nazuna = Shepherd's Purse
Gogyou = Cudweed
hakobera = shickweed
hotokenoza = Nipplewort
suzuna = Turnip
suzushiro = Radish
 I used to remember these grass. It is a nice question for a quiz.
 People eat this Nanakusa gayu for their health.
Nowadays, it is not easy to get these kind of stuff in nature.
I guess it was so easy in old days. Now you can buy the packed nanakusa gayu
at supermarket.

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Sunday, January 6, 2013

Japanese traditional culture ~13~ jyuuni shi

I explain what "jyuuni shi" is.(十二支 じゅうにし)
In Japanese culture, each year has each animals called "jyuunishi.
Every year, the animal changes according to the order.
Jyuuni means twelve(12).
12 kinds of animals are here.
1 mouse
2 cow
3 tiger
4 rabbit
5 dragon
6 snake
7 horse
8 sheep
9 monkey
10 chicken
11 dog
12 the wild boar
For example, 2013 is the year of snake.
Last year was dragon. 2014 is the year of horse. After the year of the wild boar,
the next year begins from the mouse.
I got some nengajou(postcard) from my friends. Can you see the picture of snake?

This tradition came from China in the old days.
Sometimes we ask someone what kind of the year he or she was born.
I was born in 1978. It was the year of horse. So I answer "Uma doshi".
Uma means horse. Doshi means "the year"

Saturday, January 5, 2013

Japanese traditional culture ~12~ Hatsumoude

  I went to Hatsumoude on 2nd January.
Hatsumoude means like "visiting a shrine firstly"
This is traditional event. A lot of japanese people got to shrine or temple
to pray so that they would be able to live safely in the whole year.
Or they pray so that they would have good things in the year.
  I went to Tamamura hachimangu, where I have introduced on this blog before.
I saw a lot of people there. I heard this shrine has been religious important place.
There was a worshiper from Knagawa prefecture,(it is located in the south of Tokyo)
for long years ago.
  Anyway, I attach some photos here. Please feel the atmosphere of Hatsumoude.





 I saw a lot of carps.



 You pray here.
You put in a coin. It should be 5 yen.
We pronounce 5 yen "ごえん(go en)" It means you have good luck to meet good person.
There is a way to pray.
1 put in a coin in a box
2 ring the bell
3 bow two times
4 crap two times
5 bow one time
This is my way. I guess all people do like this in Japan



This is Omikuji.(おみくじ) You can see the luck.


The luck is 吉(kichi) It means"even".

I got this sea bream. Sea bream is good fish in Japan.

The hope : you would achieve it but it would be late.
The person you wait : he or she would come
The things you lost : you would not find it soon
The travel : no benefit you should not go
Business : even
study : it would be better if you make an effort
The stock quotation : the price would move. Make an action.
conflict : even if you are calm
love : watch out the rival in love
moving your house : not good
childbirth : an easy delivery
disease : don't worry
The marriage : it would go well if you don't change your mind




 Thanks for reading!
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