馬鹿 (Baka) means stupid in Japanese and came from the Sanskrit word "baka" which means for "ignorance" and "illusion." In Japan, the usage of "baka" started at the end of the Kamakura period (1185–1333). Nowadays we use … [Read more...]
Signing my name in Japanese Sign Language (JSL) for the first time was not easy. Even after I figured out the five signs I needed, it took some practice to gracefully string them together. Luckily my JSL instructor was … [Read more...]
Editor's Note: Since Austin wrote about what it's like being East Asian while living in Japan, I thought it was appropriate to follow it up with Lenna's experience joining a club at her university and what she had to go … [Read more...]
Being an ethnic Chinese person living in Japan, I don’t exactly stand out from the typical Japanese person. Sometimes, I get comments from some of my other gaijin friends that it should be easier for me – after all, in a … [Read more...]
I talked about My Japanese education a while back, but wasn’t able to adequately discuss Japanese cram schools(塾/juku). So, why don’t we talk about that today? Cram schools are specialized schools that train their … [Read more...]
So you're at the gym, pumping iron as per usual (looking good by the way) when you look in the gym mirror and notice your face is looking a little soft. WHAT!? This is unacceptable. Japan! Get on this - get me some … [Read more...]