On the one hand, many Americans have a sense of lacking history because they are either not very familiar with their own, or only two hundred years as a country makes them feel inferior. They yearn...
Type: Posts; User: J. A. Crippen; Keyword(s):
On the one hand, many Americans have a sense of lacking history because they are either not very familiar with their own, or only two hundred years as a country makes them feel inferior. They yearn...
You should make one, even if it's just a junky Geocities page or whatnot. People look for information and contacts for koryu outside of Japan all the time, and you'd probably find your little page...
Oxy-clean! It actually works pretty well on most organic stains. Combine a little with water and mash until it becomes a homogenous paste, then apply and scrub with a fingernail brush. It doesn't...
There are five vowels in standard Japanese (Tokyo) as well as in Kansai Japanese (Kyoto-Osaka-Nara-Kobe). There are a couple of dialects that have only three (e and i merged, u and o merged), and I...
There are a handful of Take(no)uchi Ryu people here on E-budo, but only a few of them read or post with any regularity.
Are there particular varieties of bo used in koryu bojutsu or do most ryuha just use whatever six shaku stick happens to be handy? Are there ryuha out there that use the tapered bo commonly found...
Dave Lowry wrote of one instance in his book Persimmon Winds. It details a secret method of sneaking into a traditional Japanese house by urinating into the tracks of the outside sliding shutters....
Don't forget about Teaching English as a Second Language. That's honestly your best bet with the correct qualifications.
PM is going to be viewed by the Japanese as inferior to their own, in the...
In general Shinto is very concerned with both physical and spiritual cleanliness. So it's possible that this may be from an idea of the floor being dirty. But if you consider the fact that the...
Having the TESOL certification should get you a job which pays enough to live off of. Not a great living, but if you're there for something else like budo then you'll be distracted enough not to...
OT for this thread, but if you want to teach English in Japan and are still in college then it's in your best interest to get some schooling in Second Language Education or Teaching English as a...
Like so many other facets of Japanese, it depends on context. If you're talking about samurai, or you're watching chanbara, or you're dressed up in yoroi, then it would be superfluous to say "samurai...
Yes, hastily scribbled in magic marker on a napkin.
I actually have no idea why I wrote that. I own a couple kimono myself, and of all things, I actually know how to tie my own obi (many Japanese people need help to do this nowadays). The only...
I don't know if I've ever mentioned my dashi recipe before, but I've gotten many compliments on it from Japanese people so I figure I ought to share it.
Dashi is the broth used in a large number...
I know, having seen Hyakutake Colin's website, that Miyamoto Musashi's bokken still exists and is enshrined at a temple or shrine somewhere. It seems to be a pretty ordinary but large bokken with the...
"omakase shimasu" literally means "I leave it to you", or such is my impression. I think I've heard that elsewhere, actually. Intriguing. I'll try that at my local sushiya next time.
However it...
The 'ng' sound is actually a regional variant of 'g', and has a special kana (k with handakuten, instead of dakuten like g). It's more common in Western Japan, from the Kinki area west. Some people...
For those of us who aren't nearly so erudite in matters of Japanese cuisine, would you care to mention the modern phrase? At least do so before the thread is over...
BTW, the hakama is strictly a man's article of clothing. The only occasions I know of where women wear hakama are in the dojo or demonstration, and as the miko at a Shinto shrine. In some more...
The only article of clothing that is specifically knotted in the back that I know of is obi of the women's kimono and the variant furisode kimono for young (unmarried) women. The knot is a huge bow...
Now you know what that hot Japanese girl is looking for next time you run into her at the ramen stand.
Seriously, this is not a terribly surprising effect of the depression that Japan has been in...
From the Japan Times:
I've never heard of such a thing. I'm guessing you'll have to make one for yourself. Check with your local copy shop for information on how to fold it into shape and cut the edges before stapling.
I've read in several places and have had a few people tell me not to iron hakama. I understand that for the ones made of synthetic or silk, but I don't understand why people are adamant about...