Explore Nihon 日本

こんにちは。私はサムです。Welcome to Explore Nihon. Lets explore Japan's rich culture, history, and language. 

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Lingodeer Giveaway!!

Hi everyone. I just found out about this giveaway and wanted to share it with you guys. Join with the link below. https://wn.nr/BMhw2z

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I Haven't Given Up on This Blog. I Just Want to Change Things A Bit.

I Haven't Given Up on This Blog. I Just Want to Change Things A Bit. And I've Been Busy.

Hi everyone. It has been a very long time since I last posted on this blog. I would love to continue things but I feel like I need a change in direction and pace from where I first started. Adult life is busy. Busier than I even expected. I’m in my 5th year of college and should be graduating in August 2021 with my Masters in Accounting. After that I plan on sitting for the CPA exam. So I don’t…

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Heian Japan Part 1: The Fujiwara and Uterine Politics

Heian Japan Part 1: The Fujiwara and Uterine Politics

Hello, こんにちは. It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything about history on here. Today’s post is going to be about Heian Japan. Mainly the Fujiwara family and its rise to power through uterine politics. Everything below will be from my Japanese history textbook Premodern Japan: A Historical Survey by Mikiso Hane and Louis G. Perez.

The Heian period started in 794 and lasted till 1185. It began…

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Hiragana and Katakana Tests

Hiragana and Katakana Tests

Hello, こんにちは. I just finished up my last post on kana. So I thought today’s post should test you on how well you know hiragana and katakana. I’m going to include links to a couple of helpful websites that you can use to test yourself. Or you can use the kana charts I created. Feel free to save these charts, print them out, or create your own to test out your skills. What was your most missed…

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Japanese Pronunciation Rules Hi! こんにちは! Since we are nearing the end of hiragana and katakana, I thought I should go over some pronunciation rules.

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Nara Period Japan

Hello, こんにちは! Today’s topic is going to be the Nara period. Nara was a relatively quick period in Japanese history, it lasted only 74 years. This period started in 710 after the end of the Taika Reformsand ended around 784 with the increasing threat from Buddhist monasteries. Nara was mainly a period of cultural expansion and technological improvements. Nara was the first “permanent” capital of…

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Japanese Education System and School Related Vocab

Japanese Education System and School Related Vocab

Hello everyone, こんにちは! Today’s topic is Japan’s educational system.

School starts in April and lasts all the way until March. That’s pretty much an entire year. Students have two breaks in the winter and spring lasting two weeks each, and then a six week break during the summer. A school year is made up of three terms. Students go to elementary school for six years, then junior high and high…

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J-pop – It’s Educational!

J-pop – It’s Educational!

Naturally, I got into J-pop through watching anime. If I found an anime theme song that I liked, then I explored more works by the same artist. This quickly became a fandom in and of itself. Artists like Utada Hikaru (featured above), Hamasaki Ayumi, and Morning Musume were the highlights of my musical interests in high school. While I don’t listen to J-pop so much anymore (K-pop!), all of that…

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100 Japanese Words You May Already Know

100 Japanese Words You May Already Know

Hello everyone, こんにちは! Here is a list of 100 words using katakana. You should be able to recognize these all as English loan words. Some aren’t as easy to guess on the first try like パソコン which means PC. It’s just a shortened version of personal computer.

 Word Definition 1. アイスクリーム Ice…

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The Taika Reforms and the End of the Yamato Period

The Taika Reforms and the End of the Yamato Period

Hello everyone, こんにちは! Sorry for yet another long absence. It was kind of my fault I didn’t post anything this last week. The cable company was taking a while to switch over the internet and I should have gone to the library to post some stuff.

Today I will be going over the Taika reforms. Everything I talk about is from my Japanese history textbook Premodern Japan: A Historical Survey by Mikiso…

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Kabuki

Hello everyone. こんにちは. Today’s topic is going to be Kabuki plays. Everything I talk about below will be from my textbook Premodern Japan: A Historical Survey by Mikiso Hane and Louis G. Perez. and personal knowledge. Kabuki is an incredible art form. It is highly expressive and emotional. Like Bunraku, Kabuki is also a lengthy affair. So, if you ever plan to see one make sure you are prepared to…

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Prince Shotoku, The Table of Twelve Ranks, and the Constitution of Seventeen Articles

Prince Shotoku, The Table of Twelve Ranks, and the Constitution of Seventeen Articles

Hello everyone, こんにちは! I feel back to normal and I am also pretty much moved in. So hopefully there will be no other distractions. I keep saying that but life likes to get in the way. This post I am going to go over an important person during the Yamato Period, Prince Shotoku. Everything I go over is from my Japanese history textbook Premodern Japan: A Historical Survey by Mikiso Hane and Louis…

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Teaching is quite terrifying, actually.

I’ve spoken in front of many people in military awards ceremonies, but that was all from a script with a structure that never changed. Nor was it an interactive environment – nobody ever asked me a question while I was in the middle of giving a speech. While teaching does, of course, include public speaking there are also a lot of variables. Each student is…

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App Recommendations For Beginners!

App Recommendations For Beginners

Hello everyone. こんにちは. For today’s post, I will recommend some apps I have used to learn Japanese and other languages!

By now pretty much everyone knows about Duolingo. I’ve even come across plenty of the Duolingo Owl memes. Keep in mind that I have an iPod and a Windows laptop. I’m unsure what the best apps are for the Google Play Store. If anyone has any suggestions about Google Store Apps then feel free to leave them in the comments. Since I am also learning Korean and dabbling in Chinese and Thai I’m going to include app recommendations for those languages. I’ve included links to all of the apps websites. Most of the apps listed below are free. I am in no way affiliated with any of the apps below.

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Shinto - the Way of the Gods

Shinto – the Way of the Gods

Hello everyone. こんにちは. Everything I go over is from my Japanese history textbook Premodern Japan: A Historical Survey by Mikiso Hane and Louis G. Perez.

I realized I have been talking a lot about Shinto but have never actually gone over it in detail. Shinto can be translated as the way of the gods. As I may have already mentioned, Shinto is a religion that is based on Japan’s origin myth. But it…

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Teaching Asian Studies to Middle Schoolers

Teaching Asian Studies to Middle Schoolers

So, how did you go about teaching these middle schoolers? Well, first I answered the question of why they should learn about other cultures, focusing particularly on intercultural communication. Especially in the fairly recent news, intercultural incidents have been prevalent in the media. The ones that I mentioned to my students were the Olympics in Korea, Logan Paul, and Prime Minister Abe’s…

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Gender and Sexual Relations, and Marriage During the Yamato Period

Gender and Sexual Relations, and Marriage During the Yamato Period

こんにちは. Hello everyone, sorry for missing out on Friday’s culture post and Monday’s history post. I had a terrible cold that I’m finally starting to get over today. But now that I’m feeling better things should start going back to normal here. Today I’m going to go over gender and sexual relations, and marriage during the Yamato period.

Gender relations and such stem from Japans mythological…

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