|
- 2011/05/23 11:46Samurai warrior dolls☆五月人形
- These are kinds of samurai warrior dolls on the flier (armor's flier☆鎧兜(の広告)) on the other day (not exactly the same ones, though).A suit of armer and a helmet. So cool, so samurai, aren't they? [続きを読む]
-
|
- 2011/05/06 21:05armor's flier☆鎧兜(の広告)
- Speaking of Boys' Festival, which was recently renamed Children's day,
this kind of flier is distributed in Japanese morning newspapers as t
he day approaches. "Kabuto" helmet and "Yoroi" ar
mor ads!Do samurai warriors still exist in Japan? Then, are they looki
ng for a new suits of armor? No. They are miniatures.The helmet and ar
mor symbolize strength and courage of samurai warr [続きを読む]
-
|
- 2011/05/05 23:50carp streamers☆鯉のぼり
- It's Children's Day. You might see a lot of big carp streamers, called
koinobori, flying in front of the house during this season.Why carp?
In Japan, unlike in America, carp are considered to be symbol of stren
gth and courage because they often swim up river. So, families with bo
ys fly carp-shaped streamers outside their house, in the hopes that th
eir son will grow up to be strong and brave. By th [続きを読む]
-
|
- 2011/05/02 20:01bamboo shoot☆タケノコ
- It's time to enjoy delicious bamboo shoot!The bamboo shoot of the phot
o grew too tall to eat, though...This is homemade "takenoko zushi
", a kind of sushi dish mixed with boiled bamboo shoot and other
ingredients.タケノコシーズンまっただ中☆たけのこ寿
司なりー♪ [続きを読む]
-
|
- 2011/04/12 23:10What a PANDAful news!!
- Pandaaaaa!! What a PANDAFUL news! Two giant pandas of Tokyo's Ueno Zoo
finally went on public display on April 1. The two pandas, "Ri R
i" and "Shin Shin", arrived in Japan from China in Feb
ruary. They experienced the Great Sichuan Earthquake in 2008 in China
and also the Great Tohoku Kanto Earthquake one month ago in Japan...We
ll, let's talk about business. The annual rental f [続きを読む]
-
|
|
|
- 2011/04/07 20:34Pray for regeneration...
- Pray for Tohoku. Pray for Japan. And, pray for ... This is a sacred gi
nkgo tree which used to stand at a height of 30 meters and about 6.8 m
eters in circumference next to the steps to the main hall of Tsurugaok
a Hachiman shrine of Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture. The about 1,000-ye
ar-old ginkgo tree was knocked down by strong winds on March 10, 2010.
Its stump is still alive and surrounded by shimen [続きを読む]
-
|
|
|
- 2011/02/22 01:11近況☆
- ここのところ仕事がたてこんでいてドタバタしていたら、うっかり風邪をひき、これまた長引いておりまして…すっかりブログをお休みしてしましました。病んでいるにも関わらず、本日は終業後にとある会社の方がセッティングしたミーティングに参加☆会議室で打ち合わせには、日本語のエンターテイメントガイドさんも同席。おもしろかった！詳細は後日☆ [続きを読む]
-
|
- 2011/02/03 23:38rakugo☆落語
- I went to a rakugo theater today. Rakugo are funny stories talked by p
rofessional storytellers. Today's stories were traditional ones based
on people's life during the Edo period (1603-1867). I've heard them ma
ny times, though they are still funny and sound slightly different acc
ording to the storytellers! There are also modern style rakugo and Eng
lish version that I've never tried. By the way, it [続きを読む]
-
|
- 2011/01/25 23:58yuru kyara☆ゆるキャラ
- I got this free pocket tissue (In Japan, pocket tissues are often dist
ributed free because they are used as a tool of advertising.), on whi
ch characters are printed. "Belrick", "Popock", an
d "Kimick". I wouldn't think they are cute, but they must be
some meanings.Recently, creating those kinds of characters has been p
opular among companies, local governments, and so [続きを読む]
-
|
- 2011/01/23 20:49Japan's national icons☆キャラクター
- I found a commemorative stamp sheet of "PHILANIPPON 2011", s
howing Japan's national icons!Photo : From left to right, Astro Boy(TE
TUWAN ATOMU) , Doraemon, Hello Kitty, and a cropped scene of Chōj
ū-jinbutsu-giga (Animal-person Caricatures) scrolls.Note : PHILAN
IPPON 2011 (Japan World Stamp Exhibition 2011) is scheduled to be held
July 28 - August 2, 2011 at Pacifico Yokohama of [続きを読む]
-
|
- 2011/01/21 22:48Narcissus☆水仙（スイセン）
- This is one of my favorite flowers! Narcissus blossoms can be enjoyed
around this season in Japan. Actually, Narcissus has quite a lot of va
rieties. It is a perennial plant and a family of higanbana. 水仙の
季節到来☆ ヒガンバナ科の多年草。左の写真はニホ
ンズイセンです。 [続きを読む]
-
|
|
|
- 2011/01/19 23:14manryo☆マンリョウ（万両）
- This is manryo. Manryo is also considered as a lucky plant along with
senryo. Unlike senryo, manryo is characterized by a single stem with g
reen leaves on top and red fruits.Man means ten thousand in Japanese,
and the name is traditionally associated with a huge amount of money.I
n English, it is called ... coral bush, coralberry, coralberry tree, h
en's-eyes, spiceberry, and so on.一、十、百、千、 [続きを読む]
-
|
- 2011/01/18 22:45Senryo☆センリョウ（千両）
- The plant characterized by its small red fruits is called senryo. In J
apanese, sen means thousand and ryo (両) was the former Japanese curr
ency unit before yen (円). Thousand ryo must have been a lot of money
for the people of the time. Therefore, senryo is regarded as a kind o
f good luck plant.センリョウ。そう。千両箱の千両☆ っ
てったら、大金だー! お金がたまりそうな名前と慶
事のラッキーカラーであ [続きを読む]
-
|
- 2011/01/17 23:58winter peony☆冬牡丹
- I found these planters of peonies at JR Kamakura station to inform tha
t winter peony blossoms are at their best at Trugaoka Hachimangu Shrin
e of Kamakura. The peony garden is open to the public for 500 yen unti
l the end of February. It opens from 9:00 to 16:30.I think you can als
o enjoy them at Hase-dera temple of Kamakura, nearby Daibutsu, or a st
atue of Great Buddha.寒さ厳しい昨今。JR鎌倉駅構内 [続きを読む]
-
|
- 2011/01/16 23:29tenugui☆手拭い
- Tenugui is a kind of traditional Japanese towel made of cotton. (Te m
eans hand and nugui (or nuguu) means to wipe in Japanese. )The size of
tenugui is about the same as a face towel, but very thin.One of the c
haracteristics of tenugui is the edges. Since they are not sewed, it g
ets dry easily. You can also tear it to pieces easily and use it as a
bandage of first aid.Tenugui can be used not only [続きを読む]
-
|
- 2011/01/15 23:53ashiyu☆足湯
- Ashiyu means a public foot bath, which sometimes can be found in front
of the station of hot spring resorts and it's usually free. This one
is in front of JR Atami station, Shizuoka Prefecture. The sign says it
opens from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.. It's a geyser!Towels are available for 1
00 yen at a vending machine next to the ashiyu. You can warm you up by
soaking your feet and get refreshed, after hiking [続きを読む]
-
|
- 2011/01/14 22:11komomaki☆こも巻き
- What is komomaki?(I heard that this question was actually asked on the
real Guide exam a few years ago.)Komomaki is a method of wrapping the
trunk of pine trees with a straw mat in winter. This is a kind of ins
ect-proof, not winter-proof. Harmful insects to pine trees are lured i
nto the straw mat and spend there during winter. In spring, the straw
mat is removed and burned to exterminate the insec [続きを読む]
-
|
- 2011/01/13 21:51New sake is ready!☆酒林
- One day I was asked about a ball of cedar leaves (see photos) by a fri
end at Izakaya (Japanese style pub).Well, I've seen it before probably
many times, but I wasn't quite sure what it was, rather than that, I
didn't pay any attention to the object throughout my life. So, I check
ed it.It's called sakabayashi or sugidama, which literally means a bal
l of cedar leaves. Sake brewers traditionally [続きを読む]
-
|
- 2011/01/12 23:07kagami biraki 2☆鏡開き2
- ThreeTwoOne!.This is another kagami biraki done on happy occasions, no
t only during New Year holidays but also through out the year. In this
kagami biraki, sake barrel is indispensable. The organizer of the eve
nt and special guests hit the lid of the barrel with a wooden hammer t
o a shout and open the lid of sake barrel, which is called kagami in J
apanese. Here, kagami biraki literally means openi [続きを読む]
-
|
- 2011/01/11 23:21kagami biraki 1☆鏡開き1
- Kagami biraki is a day to eat kagami mochi as oshiruko or o-zoni, whic
h is a soup with mochi (rice cakes). Kagami mochi is a kind of ornamen
tal mochi, which is placed at Kamidana (a household Shinto altar) or t
okonoma (altar that can be found in a traditional Japanese room) as an
offering for the god of the year during New Year holidays (See the ph
oto).On Jan. 11, which is today, Kagami mochi is b [続きを読む]
-
|
- 2011/01/10 21:38oshiruko☆お汁粉
- Before attending my Seijin-no-hi (Coming of Age day) ceremony ...Shoul
d I say "aged" ? Aged one more year? One more year again...
Whatever...Anyway, I brought Oshogatsu kazari (New Year's decorations
) to a local shrine, where sagicho was held this morning. (This event
used to be held there on Jan. 15, which was the same day as the former
Coming of Aged day. But since Coming of Age day w [続きを読む]
-
|
- 2011/01/09 21:26sagicho☆左義長
- Let's forget about global warming caused by a bonfire today, although
I'm kind of green usually, believe it or not. It's time to build a bi
g bonfire by using oshogatsu kazari (New Year's decorations). This is
called sagicho/saito-yaki/dondo-yaki, held usually at a Shinto shrine
grounds around Jan. 15 (actually, the name, place, and date differ fro
m region to region). Old omamori and ofuda (a pape [続きを読む]
-
|
- 2011/01/08 22:40an expiration date of omamori☆お守りの有効期限
- It is said that the benefit of "omamori" keeps one year. Aft
er a year has passed, the omamori should be renewed. Then, what should
we do with not only an old omamori but also other good luck charms so
ld at shrines and temples, such as "ofuda," or a paper or wo
oden talisman, "ema," or a wooden tablet, "kumade,"
; or a bamboo rake, and so on?There is a graveyard [続きを読む]
-
|
