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April 28, 2024
 

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Mary Sisk Noguchi
For Mary Sisk Noguchi's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
LIFE / Language / KANJI CLINIC
Apr 15, 2009
These kanji have literally all gone to the dogs
Despite tough economic times, many dog owners in Japan still shell out big yen to pamper their pooches: Delectable ドッグおやつ (dogguoyatsu, dog snacks), perky 犬洋服 (inuy ōfuku, dog clothing), and outings to the 犬の美容院 (inu no biyōin, dog beauty salon) are de rigueur for the coddled 愛犬 (aiken, beloved dog).
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Feb 18, 2009
A rainbow of kanji brightens Japan's palette of colors
Guys who received Valentine's chocolates from female friends or coworkers last Friday are expected to reciprocate with small gifts on ホワイトデー (howaitodē, White Day) on March 14. ホワイトデー is one of many color-related gairaigo (foreign loan-words, mostly English, written in katakana) now firmly established in Japanese. Others include レッドカード (reddokādo, red card), ブラックフォーマル (burakkufōmaru, black formal, i.e., black formal suit), グリーン (guriin, green, i.e., environmentally friendly), グレー (gurē, gray), and カラー (karā, color — as in ボディカラー, bodikarā, automobile-body color).
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Feb 18, 2009
A rainbow of kanji brightens Japan's palette of colors
Guys who received Valentine's chocolates from female friends or coworkers last Friday are expected to reciprocate with small gifts on ホワイトデー (howaitodē, White Day) on March 14. ホワイトデー is one of many color-related gairaigo (foreign loan-words, mostly English, written in katakana) now firmly established in Japanese. Others include レッドカード (reddokādo, red card), ブラックフォーマル (burakkufōmaru, black formal, i.e., black formal suit), グリーン (guriin, green, i.e., environmentally friendly), グレー (gurē, gray), and カラー (karā, color — as in ボディカラー, bodikarā, automobile-body color).
LIFE / Language / KANJI CLINIC
Dec 16, 2008
A judgment on Aso in the negative . . . kanji-wise
Prime Minister Taro Aso is notorious for making insensitive off-the-cuff remarks to the media, and on more than one occasion recently, he has also raised eyebrows for mispronouncing kanji in his scripted speeches. Last month, speaking at prestigious Gakushuin University about the earthquake in May in Sichuan, China, Aso tripped over the pronunciation of the third kanji in 未曾有 (mizo-u, unprecedented), morphing it into the nonword "mizō-yū." (YU is a possible reading for 有 in other compound words — but not 未曾有).
LIFE / Language / KANJI CLINIC
Oct 28, 2008
Take the first step to writing home in kanji
A friend in North Carolina recently showed me a yellowing nengajō (年賀状, New Year's card) I had sent her soon after first arriving in Japan back in the early 1980s. The return address, penciled in my best effort at the time — a childlike, uneven scrawl of kanji — reminded me of the intense determination I felt then to become proficient in Japanese.
LIFE / Language / KANJI CLINIC
Aug 19, 2008
Cache of weapons concealed in kanji
By 200 A.D., Chinese scholars had already created the 50,000-kanji prototype for the modern written languages of China and Japan. Many Sino-Japanese characters still in use today feature components picturing objects from everyday life in ancient China, including weapons for battling other humans or confronting wild animals.
LIFE / Language / KANJI CLINIC
Jun 17, 2008
King Kojien dictionary knights new words
The four writing systems utilized in Japanese (>kanji, katakana, hiragana and the Roman alphabet, known as romaji ) provide Japanese advertising copywriters, journalists and young people with an abundance of raw material from which to create new words. The great majority of these neologisms fade away after having served an ephemeral usefulness, but a select few earn a permanent place in the Japanese vernacular through inclusion in the authoritative Japanese dictionary Kojien (蠎・ｾ櫁拒, Iwanami Shoten Publishing).
LIFE / Language / KANJI CLINIC
Oct 16, 2007
Self-study sites welcome you to the world of kanji
When I first suggested in this column using Internet resources for learning kanji in 2001, a Yahoo search yielded 12,700 hits for "kanji learning." That number has now reached a staggering 1.4 million. New, sophisticated online kanji self-study resources are increasingly enabling foreign kanji learners to take charge of their own learning at home.
LIFE / Language
Nov 22, 2005
TV shows confront decline of Japanese language
Beginning this fall, four of the major commercial television networks began broadcasting variety programs aimed at rehabilitating Japanese television viewers' inability to correctly utilize their native language. Why the sudden flood of kokugo (national language) programs?
LIFE / Language / KANJI CLINIC
Nov 4, 2004
Thinking of naming your baby 'Spiderman'? Think again
Unlike that of many countries, the Japanese government has the legal authority to prevent parents from giving their children certain names -- say the kanji incarnation of "Spiderman."
LIFE / Language / KANJI CLINIC
Oct 14, 2004
New options raise the stakes in the 'Name that Baby' game
Since middle names are not used in Japan, the parents of a newborn need only agree on one name for their offspring. This is probably just as well: Choosing a kanji name involves a whole host of complex considerations, and while some couples settle on a name written in kana (Japan's phonetic script), the majority opt for a moniker of one to three kanji for their little bundles of joy.
LIFE / Language / KANJI CLINIC
Nov 20, 2003
What's the point in learning how to write kanji?
Joe Lauer, a long-term American resident of Hiroshima, sent the following feedback on a workshop I conducted to promote the Kanji Proficiency Examination (Kanken), a standardized test that measures both kanji reading and writing ability:
LIFE / Language / KANJI CLINIC
Oct 9, 2003
Kanji tattoos are primarily for Western eyes
Tattoo culture in Japan, especially among Japan's gangster element, has a rich history. While some young Japanese are breaking the traditional taboo and obtaining discreet tattoos, they almost never opt to have Chinese characters etched permanently on their bodies. Kanji tattoos are a Western phenomenon.
LIFE / Language / KANJI CLINIC
Sep 18, 2003
A trove of kanji-learning treasure in cyberspace
Vacation is over and kanji learners at schools around the planet are once again cracking the books. Increasingly, they and their teachers -- as well as self-directed English-speaking kanji learners of all ages -- are supplementing paper-based publications with online learning resources. Today, Kanji Clinic invites you to join its Third Annual Cyberspace Treasure Hunt, a quest for kanji-learning gems on the Web.
LIFE / Language / KANJI CLINIC
Mar 20, 2003
Katakana-happy Japan must again look to China
During times of friendly relations with Western nations, the Japanese have laid out a linguistic welcome mat to foreign vocabulary items, particularly English.
LIFE / Language / KANJI CLINIC
Oct 11, 2002
Kanji power unlocks the secret room of Japanese literature
Surely many of you, including overseas readers of The Japan Times online, live within 100 km of a Japanese-language bookstore or a university with a collection of Japanese books. Japanese literature is available, but confronting the sheer volume of offerings can be overwhelming.
LIFE / Language / KANJI CLINIC
Aug 30, 2002
Cyberspace -- the final frontier of kanji-learning
Last fall, I reported the results of my search for kanji-learning gold in cyberspace. Today, in this second report, I am happy to inform you that the panning has never been better.
LIFE / Language / KANJI CLINIC
Apr 26, 2002
Forget the textbooks and discover the pleasure of real books
At the start of each new school year, I would confidently advise my university students: "Becoming a fluent reader in English is like learning to play the piano -- it requires constant practice.
LIFE / Language / KANJI CLINIC
Mar 29, 2002
Seize the reins and blaze your own kanji-learning trail
Dear Dario Simunovic,
COMMUNITY
Jul 27, 2001
Tips on how to make your kanji garden grow
TO: Diane Grace Shimizu RE: Your Kanji Dream
Town to block view of Mount Fuji in response to overtourism
The town government of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, decided to set up a 2.5-meter-high screen to prevent tourists from taking pictures of Mount Fuji looming behind a convenience store.
In Japan, regional revitalization fails to halt population decline
Sakiyama elementary school in Tamba, Hyogo Prefecture, in March .Over the past decade, the government has directed efforts toward policies designed to give young people incentives to base themselves in rural areas.
Number of homeless in Japan hits record low
Homeless people sleep on the street in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward in August 2021.
Ukraine is far from doomed
When comparing Ukraine’s military situation in 2024 to Europe’s in 1941, Russia’s defeat seems entirely possible.
Japan wants you to spend more with ‘luxury tourism’
Performers play a traditional drum unique to Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, in the prefectural capital of Kanazawa on March 16 to mark the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line to Tsuruga Station in Fukui Prefecture.
Tokyo's Koto Ward by-election a race unlike any other
Natsumi Sakai, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan’s candidate and one of four female candidates running in the by-election, touts her experience as a cancer survivor and midwife as having prepared her to tackle issues that women currently face.
Theaster Gates’ ambitious ‘Afro-Mingei’ brings Black Chicago to Tokyo
Theaster Gates' “A Heavenly Chord” lines up church pews before seven speakers and a Hammond B3 organ, a type of electric organ prevalent in Black American churches.
Japan wants you to spend more with ‘luxury tourism’
Performers play a traditional drum unique to Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, in the prefectural capital of Kanazawa on March 16 to mark the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line to Tsuruga Station in Fukui Prefecture.
Casa del Cibo: A thriving jewel born from Tohoku’s harsh past
When chef Ryohei Ikemi moved to Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, and opened Casa del Cibo in 2011, it was the first proper Italian restaurant in the city.
Town to block view of Mount Fuji in response to overtourism
The town government of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, decided to set up a 2.5-meter-high screen to prevent tourists from taking pictures of Mount Fuji looming behind a convenience store.

Podcast

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[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Longform

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The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores
By Alex K.T. Martin

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