Christmas, the season of gift-giving, is less than a month away. Finding the perfect gifts for loved ones is one challenge . . . and then there’s wrapping them. Here’s a great chance to bring gift-wrapping techniques perfected by the creative Japanese. This Christmas, spruce up your gift presentation by following the Japanese style of Read more …
Japanese esthetics
Japan has one of the oldest (starting in 1897), largest film industries in the world. Perhaps the Japanese took to cinema because of traditional frameworks such as the magic lantern (gentō) which works something like the old slide carousels. Gentō are so old that they were first lit by candles or oil lamps. Edal Anthony Read more …
Japanese Culture
The word “keigo (敬語)” generally means “respectful Japanese.” It is one of the three general levels of politeness used in Japanese speech, namely: colloquial, polite, and honorific. These are all differentiated by verb endings and certain words or expressions, and keigo refers to the honorific level of speech. It means speaking very humbly of yourself Read more …
Learning Japanese
Like a lot of people, I’ve watched quite a few Japanese films. But I don’t really have a sense of who the big players are (okay, I know Kurosawa, but . . .) or the path Japanese cinema has followed in its long and illustrious history. So I’ll be doing some hunting around on Wikipedia. I Read more …
Japanese Culture
This August, KCP students had a blast at a seminar on how to draw a popular Gintama manga character. Manga (Japanese comics or printed cartoons) which is almost as widely popular in the United States as in Japan, incorporates drawing techniques that make the characters easily recognizable. They usually have overly big eyes, small mouths Read more …
How To
One of the most popular dishes in Japanese restaurants is the California roll. This sushi roll is usually served inside-out, which means the rice is the outer layer instead of the sheet of edible seaweed, called nori. This delectable sushi is generally composed of crab sticks (imitation crab), cucumber, and avocado, although some people exchange avocado Read more …
How To
Origami designs are in the thousands (probably even millions) and the level of difficulty varies from “piece of cake” to “this is making me go crazy!” The results, however, are always rewarding, especially after diligently folding a flat sheet of paper in different ways and turning it into beautiful artwork that catches everyone’s eye. Last week, Read more …
How To
Onsen refers to hot springs in Japan, although it usually describes the bathing facilities of hot spring resorts. After a rigorous and hectic week (day? hour?), there is no better way to kick back and relax than a soak in a natural hot spring. It is a must-try aspect of Japanese culture if you visit Read more …
Japan Context
2011 has not been kind to Thailand, which is currently experiencing some of the worst flooding in over 50 years. This year’s monsoon season brought on tropical storms and floods in late July and is still continuing. It has resulted in severe property damage and a high death toll in northern Thailand. Worst hit are Chao Read more …
Japan/Tokyo News
The Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme is an exchange program that appoints people from various countries to work in Japan for a year as Assistance Language Teachers (ALT), Coordinators of International Relations (CIR), or Sports Exchange Advisors (SEA). The program is handled by Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications; the Ministry of Education, Culture, Read more …
For KCP Students
| Today | Wednesday | Thursday |
|---|---|---|
 Rain 63°/41° |  Chance of Rain 45°/32° |  Partly Cloudy 43°/32° |
From the Japan TimesWeather forecast by WP Wunderground & Denver Snow Plowing