What to expect reading together with a child​

This month, I had the opportunity to demonstrate my English-Japanese interpretation skills to Wendy Kroeker, a curriculum developer and educator. I interpreted most of the lectures and workshops in her Japanese program. Working with Wendy made me contemplate the concept of a "happy ending" in children's literature and in real life situations. Being Wendy's voice was a fulfilling experience, and I am eagerly anticipating the chance to work with her again.

The art of translation is not exempt from the passion and eloquence that comes with a love for one's work. Numerous famous translators, such as Haruki Murakami, have published essays that detail the magic and process of translation. However, there are many untold stories that are equally compelling. One such story is shared by Bruce Allen, the translator of Ishimure Michiko's Lake of Heaven and other Japanese-language stories. In his speech, he speaks of the importance of the spirit of words in translation, known as "kotodama" in Japanese.

How I wrote my thesis and felt happy about it​

Warabe uta is a distinct type of Japanese vocal storytelling that is considered a part of Japanese vocal culture. Although it is often classified as a children's song or similar to nursery rhymes, its origins date back to a time when adults would sing these songs to children, who would then dance or move along to the repetitive rhythm. This may have contributed to its association with bedtime songs. While some scholars consider it to be a lullaby or part of Japanese folklore, it is primarily a unique form of vocal storytelling that is beloved by many in Japan. The repetitive nature of the songs made them well-suited for lullabies and bedtime songs, which may be why many scholars have classified them as children's songs.

Recently, with the outbreak of the Novel Coronavirus, Japan has adopted new terminology from English language epidemiology, such as "cluster," "overshoot," and "lockdown." These terms were presented to the Japanese people in Katakana language, which is a way of writing foreign words in Japanese. However, the Japanese Ministry of Defence requested a charactisation of these Katakana terms into natural Japanese language. The Katakana term "cluster" became "集団感染" (shuudan kansen), which means "mass infection." "Overshoot" became "感染爆発" (kansen bakuhatsu), meaning "massive spread of infection," and "lockdown" became "都市封鎖" (toshi fuusa), meaning "city blockade." Most Japanese people seem to prefer these new terms written in characters, which are more natural for the Japanese language, over the former Katakana terms written in the alphabet for foreign words.

If someone had told me about this in advance, I might have had a chance to avoid falling into this pitfall, but who am I kidding? I probably would have still fallen for it and been happy about it.

On February 15th, JR (Japan Railways) announced the release of a new IC card called "Welcome Suica" designed specifically for foreign visitors to Japan who use public transportation for a short period of time.

One of my colleagues recently moved into a new apartment in Japan and mentioned that she had to spend an hour reviewing the contract with the owner. This is typical for Japanese apartment contracts.

When speaking Japanese with my Japanese friends, the inevitable question arises: "What Japanese do you like most?" or, as it is said in Japanese, 好きな日本語はなんですか？ "Suki na nihongo wa nan desu ka?" I am always at a loss for how to respond. After all, the Japanese language is full of different dialects, idioms, characters, onomatopoeia, and levels of politeness, all of which could qualify as "Japanese". So, how should I answer this tricky question?