The collection of ten thousand leaves The Manyoshu or 'Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves' is an anthology of ancient Japanese poems compiled during the Nara imperial era in Japan. The Manyoshu is often referred to as the oldest anthology of Japanese poetry and the era is regarded as a high point of Japanese poetry. In this blog by a Japanese language teacher, Emi Sakude, she introduces this topi...

Japanese fiscal and school years The fiscal and school years begin in April in Japan. This is the month when schools have their entrance ceremonies and companies welcome new recruits./p> It is also the month when the cherry blossoms bloom all around the country. The image of celebrating the changes in lives and new environments is almost a cliché in Japan. Read this interesting blog by Rie K...

Local cuisine in Japan Japanese people really enjoy traveling and eating. When they travel to a certain area, then love to try the local food that is sold there, and taste the local specialties. There is a lot of TV and magazine coverage on the different cuisine that can be found in each town, city, and prefecture around Japan. And it is rare to switch on the TV and not find at least one program...

Japanese consumer marketing Japanese consumers can be very fickle yet also very loyal customers. They can stick with a custom or create a new habit which continues for decades or even generations, and are apt to jump onto a quick fad that lasts for only a matter of weeks. There are many strategies that are housed in cultural images but are really just a clever marketing ploy by a certain industr...

Japanese traditional local events In Japan, there are a great number of local traditional events held in towns and villages all over the country.The local cuisine and craft specialties are often used and help to make each of the events unique to the area. If you are ever in Japan on holiday, we recommend that you research any local events that might be occurring near where you are traveling. In...