Welcome to our Japanese lesson blog. Every week or so, a JOI teacher posts a new entry,
covering a range of Japanese and Japan-related topics. Try reading the Japanese version first,
then scroll down to check your understanding with the English translation.
New Japanese vocabulary, phrases, and usage patterns appear in blue,
with translation and usage notes at the bottom of the text. For a Kanji reading challenge, click the
blue icon below to turn off furigana (the small hiragana above the Kanji). Please enjoy, and check back often
for the latest topic.
Sitting Seiza : kneeling with feet bent flat on the floor I'm not good at sitting Seiza. If I sit in this position for a long time, my feet get pins and needles.
Sitting Seiza, as the picture above shows, is the sitting position where the instep or tops of the knees and feet are lain onto the floor, with your bottom placed on top of your heels.
It is the traditional way of sitting in Japan but, because the use of tatami flooring in rooms is decreasing and people have become used to a lifestyle in which chairs are commonly used, the opportunities to sit in a Seiza position are becoming rarer.
That said, there are still some situations when you have to sit Seiza. These include tea ceremony practices, funerals and when you visit a place with a traditional Japanese room.
Even when I try certain methods which apparently help your feet from getting numb, like spreading your ankles wider and interlocking your big toes, I can still only sit like that for 20 minutes tops.
Even though I am not good at sitting Seiza, I have taken up learning the tea ceremony ! And because I am always worried about my feet getting numb, my tea ceremony serving procedures are a little rushed. So my teacher constantly scolds me, 'This isn't a kitchen chore, you know !'
Have you ever tried sitting Seiza in a traditional Japanese style ? Add a comment in English or Japanese below.
今週の語彙 This week's vocabulary
■しびれるto get numb, have pins and needles ■かかとa heel ■甲an instep ■畳 Japanese straw floor coverings ■機会 an opportunity, a chance ■和室 a traditional Japanese room ■稽古practice , training, or study ■親指a big toe ( or thumb ) ■限界a limit ■工夫a trick to improve something, a device or method to figure out something or make something better or easier ■点前a tea ceremony procedure or tea ceremony etiquette ■台所a kitchen
To post your comment, click here (current students only—login is required).
To post your comment, 