31st March – 弥生 Sakura ebi – named afterits color, just like a pretty pink color, cherry blossom (桜=Sakura). Moreover, Sakura ebi can be taken the most in spring when sakura blooms, this is why it is called Sakura ebi. Sakuraebi lives only in Tokyo bay, Sagami bay and Suruga bay, however the area onlyContinue reading “桜エビ (Sakura ebi) – Sakura Shrimp”
Category Archives: #March
河童 （Kappa）
30th March – 弥生 Less than 150cm height, looks like children but green skin, wearing a dish on the top of the head, and having turtle shell at the back… this strange monster is called 河童 (Kappa) and is believed to live in the river. This creature can stay inside and outside the water andContinue reading “河童 （Kappa）”
柚子 （Yuzu）
29th March – 弥生 Yuzu, is the mandarin or lemon look-alike fruit, and Japan has the highest rate of its bith production and consumption. compared to the other citrus fruits, Yuzu has very strong acidity therefore it cannot be eaten raw like mandarin. However, Japanese love to use Yuzu for condiments as an accent inContinue reading “柚子 （Yuzu）”
日本人の考え方 （Nihonjin no kangaekata）－Stereotype Japanese thinking
28th March ‐ 弥生 Behind the history of being islander and not much connection with people from other countries, Japanese has established their own way to build relationship and communication method. Today’s topic is the stereotype of Japanese thought- It is of course not applicable for every single person in Japan, but it can beContinue reading “日本人の考え方 （Nihonjin no kangaekata）－Stereotype Japanese thinking”
日本の怪談 （Nihon no Kaidan）ーJapanese ghost story
27th March – 弥生 The theme for 27th every month is Japanese ghost story, today’s topic is about good ghosts believed in Japan. 1. 座敷童 (Zashikiwarashi) Little kids ghosts seen often in Iwate prefecture. This ghosts come to the old houses and storage then stay that places. Zashikiwarashi do mischief to people in order toContinue reading “日本の怪談 （Nihon no Kaidan）ーJapanese ghost story”
舞妓 - Maiko
26th March – 弥生 Guess most of the people already have heard the word “舞妓 – Maiko”. But do you know much about this? Maiko is the girls who work for the 宴会 (Enkai)=party in Kyoto, 五花街(Gokagai). They dance and sing in the party, talk with the customers, pour liquor and so on. Those girlsContinue reading “舞妓 - Maiko”
日本人のメイク (Nihonjin no meiku) – Makeup in Japanese style
25th March – 弥生 Have you ever wondered which country the person on the street, or sitting next to you on the train, is from? Sometimes it is pretty hard to tell the difference until listening to the language they speak. Nowadays, the world is becoming international and many different nationality people live in theContinue reading “日本人のメイク (Nihonjin no meiku) – Makeup in Japanese style”
魚の漢字 (Sakana no Kanji) – Fish in Chinese Character
23rd March – 弥生 From the old time, 魚(Sakana=Fish) has been popularly eaten by Japanese. There are heaps different fish species exist in the ocean and Japanese enjoy tasting many different kinds of Sakana. It is interesting that each Sakana has its own Chinese Characters and many of them include 魚! -鮪 (Maguro): Tuna 有Continue reading “魚の漢字 (Sakana no Kanji) – Fish in Chinese Character”
団扇 (Uchiwa) Japanese round fan
22nd March – 弥生 Rounded fan – Uchiwa, making wind manually, was introduced to Japan in Kofun era (around 1700 years ago)from China. In the older time, it was made of wood and rather used by higher positioned people for hiding their face than used for creating wind, intercepting sunshine like now. Or even itContinue reading “団扇 (Uchiwa) Japanese round fan”
着物 Kimono
21st March – 弥生 The real meaning of 着物 (Kimono) in Japanese is clothes itself. Nowadays, the Japanese traditional wear is known and called as Kimono. This style was born in Heian era and generally considered as typical Japanese clothing style. In the old time back in thousands years ago, Japanese used to wear simpleContinue reading “着物 Kimono”
Little Japan Dictionary 