ayamochi

お辞儀 (Ojigi) – Bowing

11th July – 文月 (Fuzuki) お辞儀: bowing action. Japanese generally bow in the situation of greeting, thanking, apologizing, asking favor and worshipping at the temples, shrines. Perhaps, you might have seen some movie scenes that Japanese person bows when calling, or all the kids in the class bowing at the same time when the classContinue reading “お辞儀 (Ojigi) – Bowing”

お知らせ (Oshirase) – Announcement

10th June – 水無月 As you might have realized, I was absent from this blog for a couple of days recently for the first time – I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience. (ご迷惑をおかけいたしました= Gomeiwaku wo Okakeitashimashita) I post the ones that I was supposed to post on 8th and 9th now, it’s short ones butContinue reading “お知らせ (Oshirase) – Announcement”

回文 (Kaibun) – Palindrome

9th June – 水無月回文 (Kaibun) – is the wording (sentences) that are the same when you read from the top to bottom, and bottom to top. For instance, there are Kaibun in English as well; -Now I won -Borrow or rob? If you read this from the end letter to the first, it isContinue reading “回文 (Kaibun) – Palindrome”

蛙 in ことわざ (Kaeru in Kotowaza) – Proverbs with frogs

8th June – 水無月梅雨 (Tsuyu = rain season) has started in western to middle mainland and I can hear many frogs are singing outside. There are various proverbs in Japan but today I would like to introduce the ones with frog in it. 蛙の子は蛙 (Kaeru no Ko wa Kaeru) Frogs’ kids are frogs Meaning:Continue reading “蛙 in ことわざ (Kaeru in Kotowaza) – Proverbs with frogs”

紫陽花 (Ajisai) – Hydrangea

７th June – 水無月紫陽花 (Ajisai) -the beautiful and huge flower that blooms in June to July in Japan, is from Japan and it went through breed-improvement in Western countries. Now　some says there are around 2000 species exist in the world. In this season, many tourists go to the temples to see the colorful Ajisai,Continue reading “紫陽花 (Ajisai) – Hydrangea”

本音と建前 (Honne to Tatemae) – real meaning and public face

6th June – 水無月本音と建前: 本音 (Honne) means honest and real meaning that the person says, on the other hand, 建前 (Tatemae) is the public face that the person who talks does not truly mean the words. Many countries have its own way of 本音と建前, however Japanese use this quite often – and many ofContinue reading “本音と建前 (Honne to Tatemae) – real meaning and public face”

日本のことわざ (Nihon No Kotowaza) – Japanese Proverbs: Positive

5th June – 水無月 Kotowaza – as you might have known from blogs before, is the sentence of knowledge and lessons from the past. Today’s blog is about positive proverbs that might help people, in order to overcome hard time of life. 雲の上はいつも晴れ (Kumo no Ue wa Itsumo Hare) English: Upper sky is always sunnyContinue reading “日本のことわざ (Nihon No Kotowaza) – Japanese Proverbs: Positive”

蛍 (Hotaru) – Fire fly

4th June – 水無月蛍 (Hotaru = Fire fly) lives in the clean river, appears up the air in the mid May till mid June (able to see in some places till mid July). They fly slowly and illuminate green-yellow lights, the view of them flying is magical. In Japan, there are 2 famous kindsContinue reading “蛍 (Hotaru) – Fire fly”

梅酒 (Umeshu) – Plum Wine

3rd June – 水無月 Have you ever tried 梅酒(Ume shu) before? It is a type of sake, soaking hard plum in the liquor for a while. 梅酒 uses plums which are picked in June, the green hard ones, Therefore now is the perfect time for making your own 梅酒 at home! How to make 梅酒Continue reading “梅酒 (Umeshu) – Plum Wine”

豆腐 (Tofu)

2nd June – 水無月 Nowadays, 豆腐 (Tofu) has become well-known all over the world. Tofu is made by going through the following process: Soaking soy beans into the water and then crack the soy Boil the soup from it and squeeze the water, divide into 豆乳(Tounyu＝soy milk) and おから(okara, the crumb part) Harden 豆乳 byContinue reading “豆腐 (Tofu)”