Ikebana (生け花), literally “live flowers,” is the traditional Japanese art of flower arrangement. Its deceptively simple name hides years of history and cultural upheaval that began during the Meiji Restoration. … [Read more...]
Kawaii (かわいい), most commonly translated as “cute,” is practically everywhere in Japan – and I do mean everywhere. To paraphrase author Mary Roach, the Japanese save money with cute, pray with cute, and even … [Read more...]
Rajio taiso (ラジオ体操), or “radio exercises” is an integral (if slightly dorky) part of Japanese culture. You’ve probably come across it even if you don’t live in Japan – it pops up all the time in … [Read more...]
When I write for Tofugu, I ask myself a lot of questions to make sure I'm writing a good post. Is this topic interesting to me? Will this be interesting to other people? Is the post too short? Too long? Is the title … [Read more...]
In Japanese and Asian cultures, there are many physical traits that are considered to be attractive. A lot of the attractive traits are universally true across most cultures, but there are a few that are more specific to … [Read more...]
It may come as a surprise to many of you that Japanese doctors generally don't tell the truth. You are probably asking yourself, what does this author mean? It means exactly as how it sounds. Japanese doctors have a … [Read more...]