japanska

The pictures are NOT mine and I don't- always- know WHERE to find them! Sorry!

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Japan’s population split roughly in half. While major metropolitan areas like Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya dominate economically and culturally, they account for just over half of the population (51%), with the remaining 49% spread across the rest of the country.

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Le Bonbori Matsuri (festival des lanternes) se déroule chaque année au mois d'août (généralement du 6 au 9) au célèbre sanctuaire Tsurugaoka Hachimangu à Kamakura. Environ 400 lanternes en papier peintes à la main par des artistes et personnalités illuminent les allées du site à la tombée de la nuit.

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NARA - Le Grand Bouddha - Temple de Todai-Ji

7 août Dépoussiérage du Bouddha du TodaiJi à Nara tradition annuelle depuis 1964

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Totoro bonsai fountain ASMR #review #asmrsounds #waterfall #totoro #fyp ...

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pour marquer une frontière entre l'extérieur et l'intérieur. Au 10ème siècle, le commerce se faisait surtout lors de marchés organisés à dates fixes, il y avait peu de boutiques permanentes. Les magasins fixes deviennent plus courants vers le 15ème siècle. On commence alors à suspendre des noren devant les boutiques pour indiquer que le magasin est ouvert. Pendant l'époque d'Edo les noren évoluent on y imprime des noms de boutiques, des blasons ou des produits. C'est aussi à cette période qj'apparaît la pratique du "noren wake" où un commerçant transmet son nom et sa réputation à un apprenti indépendant. Le noren devient alors un symbole de confiance et de tradition. Aujourd'hui encore on le retrouve souvent devant des restaurants réputés des établissements traditionnels ou des commerces haut de gamme comme signe d'authenticité et de prestige.

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Ochugen 御中元 (summer gift giving)

Gift giving is ingrained in Japanese culture and there are two major seasons for it. Ochugen, which happens aroung mid-July, is one of them (while the other is Oseibo, at the end of the year).  Ochugen is derived from the ceremonial day of Taoism on July 15th, a tradition that merged with Buddhism to create what is a show of appreciation to those who helped or supported you during the first half of the year.

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The violent backstory of how to write the word “take” in Japanese

Commonly used kanji’s components don’t make a lot of sense nowadays, but once upon a time…

The Japanese language has three types of writing, and kanji are by far the most difficult. There are more than 2,000 kanji characters to remember, and that huge number is a daunting goal not just for foreigners learning Japanese as a second language, but for kids growing up in Japan as well.

But while learning kanji is always going to be a challenge, there’re a few ways to make it more manageable, and one of the best is to look for ways to break a single kanji down into its component parts. For example, the kanji character for “rest,” seen here…

…becomes easier to remember if you already know that 木 is the kanji for “tree,” and the left portion of 休 represents a person. In other words, the kanji for “rest” is a picture of a person leaning against a tree, taking a break and relaxing in the shade.

So, kanji can be tough, but the more you learn, the easier they get…at least that’s usually how it goes. However, you might find yourself scratching your head when you come to the kanji for “take…”

…since the left half is pretty much the same as the kanji for ear.

But maybe things instantly make sense when you add in the right half of 取? Not really, since the right portion means “hand,” making 取 a visual representation of “holding an ear.”

And it’s not like the metaphor is “grab someone by the ear to take them somewhere with you” either, since that meaning for the English word “take” (i.e. forcibly leading someone somewhere) is a completely separate word/kanji in Japanese (連). No, 取 is strictly for the idea of willfully obtaining something, but why is it the concept connected to ears?

Because long ago, if you were a soldier on the field of battle, and you wanted to bring proof back to camp that you’d killed a bunch of dudes, you’d cut off the ears of your fallen foes.

▼ It was, after all, an age where far more people had swords on them than camera-equipped phones.

With “take” being such a necessary, fundamental communication concept, and kanji having been in use for centuries, originally in China and later in Japan, 取, and the reason it’s written the way it is, aren’t new linguistic developments. 取 is one of the most commonly written/typed kanji, though, and with its components themselves being fairly simple and easy to remember, many Japanese people haven’t really bothered to dig into its conceptual origins. Recently, though, Japanese Twitter user and linguistics tutor @tutor_gonta brought the violent backstory to people’s attention while sharing that he himself only learned about it recently when a third-grade pupil asked him why 取 is written that way, and both of them were shocked when he looked into the reason.

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Here are eight great words for talking about summer in Japanese.

1. natsu

We’re starting off with the obvious one, since you can’t talk about summer without the Japanese word for “summer:” natsu, written in kanji as 夏.

Speaking of kanji, because of the modular nature they give to Japanese vocabulary, there are all sorts of other words that contain natsu, such as natsuyasumi (summer vacation), natsufuku (summer clothing), and even natsubate (feeling exhausted from the summer heat).

2. umi

Another fundamental building block of conversations about summer, umi is the Japanese word for “sea” or “ocean.” Its meaning is a little more expansive than those aquatic English equivalents, though, since umi is also used in many situations to mean “beach.”

Though there are Japanese words specifically for sandy shorelines (hama or tsunahama), they aren’t usually used in talking about plans for summer fun. Even if the plan is just to stroll, sunbathe, or otherwise hang out on the sand, if someone wants to say “Let’s go to the beach!” in Japanese, they’ll say “Umi e ikou yo!”, using umi to describe their desired destination.

3. suikawari

Speaking of ways to have fun at the beach, one of Japan’s most iconic seaside activities is suikawari. This one is actually two vocabulary words in one, with the first being suika, the Japanese word for “watermelon,” the fruit that, by far, is the most strongly associated with summer in Japan.

Wari comes from waru, the Japanese word for “split” or “break into pieces.” All Japanese words end in U, but doing some grammatical tinkering lets us change it into a noun, wari, and that’s how we get suikawari, or “watermelon splitting,” a game that’s sort of like Japan’s version of a pinata. In suikawari, a whole watermelon is placed on the ground, and a player is given a heavy stick and blindfolded. After being spun around to make them dizzy, the blindfolded person then tries to swing the stick down onto the watermelon and crack it open so everyone can then scarf down on the fruit.

Suikawari could be played anywhere, but having a soft, sandy surface helps prevent any injuries should the blindfolded player stumble or miss with their swing, and also makes for easier cleanup after the watermelon has been cracked open, so its been a popular beach activity in Japan for generations.

4. hiyake

Another two-parter, hiyake starts off with hi, meaning “sun,” and yake is the noun-form of the verb yaku, meaning “burn.” So, pretty obviously, hiyake means “sunburn,”

Yeah, but it’s a little more complex than just that. In everyday conversation, the Japanese language doesn’t really differentiate between a painful crimson sunburn or a fashionable mocha suntan. Hiyake is used to describe both conditions. Those suntanned Sanrio characters, for example, are referred to as their hiyake versions in Japanese. Hiyake, by the way, also shows up in the Japanese word for sunblock, hiyakedome (literally “sunburn stopper”).

5. kiin to suru

Sunburns aren’t the only potential pain that can come from overindulging in summer fun. Even if you’re relaxing in the shade, you might hear someone suddenly shout “Kiin to suru!” in a voice wrought with alarm and regret, as they’re having a brain freeze.

If you want to be technical about it, the full phrase for “having a brain freeze” is “atama ga kiin to suru,” (“[my] head is going ‘kiin’”) but as you can imagine, phrasing tends to be a little less rigid when it feels like your synapses have just been coated in ice. The key part here is the onomatopoeia kiin, describing a sharp pain and with the middle part (pronounced like a long E vowel sound) drawn out in proportion to how badly your head is hurting because you were chowing down on your ice cream or shaved ice too quickly.

6. semi

Though not the only sound associated with summer, the most difficult to ignore is the sound of the semi, or cicadas. If you happen to live in a part of the world that doesn’t have these seasonally active insects, the sound they make can best be described as a high-intensity buzzing, so strong that if you didn’t know otherwise, you might mistake it for some sort of electrical equipment that’s having problems.

And yet, you’d be very hard-pressed to find someone in Japan who doesn’t love the sound of semi. Japanese are unanimous in their positive feelings about it, and you can find all sorts of summer-sound background noise videos on YouTube from Japanese posters where the cicada buzz has a prominent presence.

Though they produce this sound by rapidly vibrating a part of their body near the abdomen, cicadas making noise in Japanese is described with “semi ga naku,” using the verb naku, meaning “cry,” “call,” or “bark,” that’s used when animals such as birds, dogs, or cats make noises with their throats. Oh, and while pretty much everyone in Japan like semi, no one likes coming across a semibakudan, “cicada bomb,” an almost-dead cicada that’s collapsed on the ground in a park or on a sidewalk but springs noisily back to life when someone approaches, often starling the person half to death themselves.

7. nyudogumo

“Cumulonimbus clouds” probably isn’t going to help most non-meteorology enthusiasts form a mental picture, and calling these cloud formations “thunderheads” might have your in-English listener assuming you’re talking about a forgotten team of comic book superheroes or obscure 1980s barbarian fantasy movie. Mention nyudogumo to people in Japan, though, and they’ll immediately know what you’re talking about, since the high temperatures and high humidity that practically all of the country experiences during this time of year make these cloud formations a common sight and telltale sign that summer is in full force.

The back half of nyudogumo comes from a softened-pronunciation variant of kumo, the Japanese word for “cloud,” but the first part of the word is less immediately intuitive. Nyduo is a shortened version of onyudo, which is a kind of yokai monster depicted in Japanese folktales as a giant with a shaved head like a monk’s. To imaginative eyes, cumulonimbus clouds bring to mind the stature of these towering terrors, giving them their name.

8. hanabi

And finally let’s stay in the sky with hanabi, a combination of hana, meaning “flower,” and bi, an alternate pronunciation of hi, or “fire,” giving us the fiery figurative flowers that light up the night sky, “fireworks.”

Fireworks are a very big deal in Japan, and have been so for a long time. The history of Tokyo’s largest fireworks event, the Sumidagawa Fireworks Festival, stretches all the way back to the 1700s. Though Japan’s largest fireworks events will fire off ten thousand or more rockets, funded with backing from major corporate sponsors, there are also smaller local-community fireworks shows. In terms of scheduling, though, fireworks festivals, called hanabi taikai, tend to be clustered between mid-July and early-August, so if you want to experience this quintessential part Japanese summer culture, now’s the time.

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Defacing the Japanese flag is a crime, says government, punishable by up to two years in jail

Under the law, public damage or destruction, defacement, or removal of Japanese flags in a manner that causes “extreme unpleasantness or disgust” can be punished by forced imprisonment of up to two years or a fine of up to 200,000 yen (US$1,235).

As for what the threshold is for “extreme,” that appears to be something politicians championing the law feel confident that the courts can judiciously determine.

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Japan has invented personal refrigerators for fat people to cool down

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Could this be the way of the future as people around the world adapt to rising temperatures?

With summers becoming ever hotter in Japan, companies are increasingly thinking outside the box to come up with new and better ways to help people cope with the oppressive heat.

One company is making waves for an unusual new invention which it proudly describes as a “human refrigerator“. Called the Do Hiemon Box, this one-person cooling booth looks like a giant refrigerator, but it’s designed to cool just one thing – the human body.

Developed by Japanese refrigeration and vending machine manufacturer SDRS, and sold by industrial equipment supplier Trusco Nakayama, the booth was inspired by the refrigerated vending machines commonly seen throughout Japan.

The Do Hiemon Box maintains an interior temperature of 15 degrees Celsius (59 degrees Fahrenheit) so it’s already cool from the moment you step inside. When you sit on the built-in chair, air that’s been chilled to around 5 degrees Celsius blows out towards the head, neck, shoulders and back, instantly surrounding your body with cooling relief.

The company says users can feel noticeably cooler within around five minutes, and spending about 10 minutes inside may help to relieve symptoms of heat exhaustion by rapidly lowering body temperature. This is particularly helpful for people who work in hot environments such as construction sites, factories, warehouses and outdoor event venues.

The booth offers three airflow and cooling settings, automatically switches off after 20 minutes to help prevent overcooling, and consumes roughly half the electricity of a typical spot air conditioner. It requires no installation work, can be used both indoors and outdoors, and is mounted on wheels so it can be moved around where needed.

The product went on sale in April and has already begun appearing in public spaces. Earlier this year, one unit was donated to Maebashi City Hall in Gunma Prefecture, where visitors can use it free of charge during opening hours if they need to cool down.

With Japan recently introducing new terminology for days when temperatures exceed 40 degrees Celsius, the human refrigerator comes at a crucial time. As summers become hotter and heatstroke cases continue to rise – 48 people were taken to hospital for heatstroke in Tokyo on 15 July 2026– businesses and local governments are increasingly looking for new ways to protect workers and the public from dangerous temperatures.

The Do Hiemon Box is now on sale in Japan through industrial equipment distributors, with the standard model priced at a cool 1.5 million yen (US$9,326.25) plus tax. Though currently aimed primarily at businesses and organisations rather than home users, if Japan’s summer temperatures continue to rise, we may soon see the human refrigerator becoming a more common fixture in public spaces, and perhaps one day as common as a Japanese vending machine.

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The Wind and Thunder Gods: Secrets of Japan's Most Iconic Screens

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Iconic instant ramen brand now has a cold-water-only version designed to beat the heat.

Japan’s most famous instant noodle brand is getting a very cool makeover this summer, with Nissin releasing its first-ever chilled Cup Noodle.

Unlike a regular Cup Noodle, which is made with boiling hot water, this version is specifically designed to be made with cold water, creating a whole new way to enjoy the classic instant ramen during Japan’s hottest months.

Called Hiyashi Cup Noodle, (hiyashi means “chilled”) this is an exciting new development for Nissin, proving that the company, who first invented instant noodles in 1958, is still at the top of its game when it comes to noodle innovations.

The new noodles were in development for five years, with Nissin adopting a new noodle-making technology that allows the noodles to rehydrate using chilled water. The patented “Cold Rehydrate” process was developed specifically for the chilled Cup Noodle range

To enjoy the noodles, all you have to do is add chilled water from the fridge, wait five minutes (slightly longer than the three minutes required for a regular Cup Noodle), and like magic, the noodles are said to become firm, smooth and ready to eat.

Spicy Kimchi combines a chicken-based broth with kimchi, creating a rich flavour that lingers with a satisfyingly sour and spicy finish. It comes topped with Nissin’s famous “mystery meat” (processed minced pork), alongside ingredients like egg, green onions and sesame seeds.

Chicken Salt Lemon offers a lighter option, combining chicken, bonito, dried sardines and lemon in the broth for a refreshing finish. The topping contains steamed chicken, egg, green onions and red bell peppers. Central to both varieties is the new, specially developed chilled noodles, which are designed to remain springy and delicious with nothing but the addition of chilled water. While they look set to become bestsellers in summer, they could also prove to be useful in emergency scenarios, given that they only require cold water to prepare and can be stored at room temperature.

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トランプ大統領「ジャパン・イスラム共和国…」と言い間違い　隣のゼレンスキー氏には「プーチン大統領」…バイデン氏の“同じミス”を揶揄した過去も｜T...

There are actually three things wrong with the U.S. president’s statement that the Islamic Republic of Japan attacked an American aircraft carrier.

U.S. president Donald Trump is currently in Ankara to attend a NATO summit, and among the topics he’s been asked about by reporters is the United States’ continued war with Iran, which began at the end of February and has been disrupting the global economy ever since. In justifying the protracted military operation, Trump alluded to continuing aggression on ships in and around the Strait of Hormuz, claiming that the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier had been a major missile attack target. How major? To directly quote the American president:

“We had a hundred and eleven missiles shot by the Islamic Republic of Japan.”

Now, those who don’t spend a lot of time musing about such matters might not realize that Japan is not, in fact, a republic. Because of its ceremonial emperor and parliamentary system of government, in which a prime minster is elected by members of the Diet who are themselves chosen by the people, Japan is classified as a constitutional monarchy. However, you don’t have to be a geopolitical scholar to know that Japan is not an Islamic nation, neither in terms of the religion’s prevalence within the country nor through any codification of it into Japan’s legal systems. As a matter of fact, politics in Japan tends so stay pretty separated from religion, thanks in no small part to the country’s post-World War II governmental reforms, which were spearheaded by none other than the U.S.

To be fair, Trump having a particularly pungent brain fart and mixing up “Iran” and “Japan” is a more likely explanation for the gaffe than him actually believing that Japan is an Islamic republic with both motive to start firing missiles at one of its closest allies and also the sort of long-range weapon systems to strike the Arabian Sea all the way from Japan. That said, properly articulating the name of the country you’re at war with doesn’t seem like an unreasonably high standard, nor does not referring to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was present when Trump made his “Islamic Republic of Japan” remark, as “President Putin,” the leader of Russia, the country that’s been invading Ukraine for the past four and a half years.

“You have a, a question for President Putin here?” Trump asks the press, while gesturing towards Zelenskyy.

In Japan, online reactions have, understandably, been very negative, though leaning more towards exhausted exasperation than seething anger.

“’Iran’ and ‘Japan’…well, when you think about it…they’re totally different.” “For a second, I thought maybe their spelling is kinda similar, but their pronunciations aren’t alike at all.” “Cognitive abilities slipping.” “That’s a red card.” “The People’s Republic of America is scary.” “This has got to be a sign of senility.” “Is senility a prerequisite to becoming president in America?” “Three terms of senility in a row.” “They really gotta start putting age limits on holding political office. We could use them in Japan too.” “So is this some signal that Japan is going to be his next target?” “Looks like Japan is next on the list.” “Hey dude, don’t go getting confused and firing a bunch of missiles at Japan!” “I think it’s worse that he called Zelenskyy ‘Putin.’” “Zelenskyy: ‘It happened AGAIN?’” “It’s pretty easy to see what Trump’s image of Japan is. That 1980s image of Japan as an adversary to the U.S. is ingrained in his brain.”

Considering Trump’s penchant for brining up Japan’s 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor when speaking with Japanese prime ministers (something he did with both Shinzo Abe and current prime minister Sanae Takaichi), it does seem odd that he wouldn’t be more conscious of when he’s linguistically insinuating that there’s been a new wave of strikes from the country, but these are strange times we’re living in.

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Japanese farmers create giant artworks by planting different coloured rice varieties in precise patterns. The tradition began in 1993 as a way to attract visitors and celebrate agriculture, with the designs changing every year and becoming visible from special viewing platforms.

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Jelly Punch Float

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