Japanese numbers The Japanese language has basically two sets of numbers. The original Japanese system and the Chinese character (or Kanji) based system. Counters are also used with Japanese numbers and these can influence the pronunciation of the words. While Arabic numerals are usually used in horizontal texts,Kanji numerals are often written vertically. In this Japanese learner's blog by Ki...

Japanese onomatopoeia The Japanese language has a range of onomatopoeia, some of which are familiar but others not so much. They are often broken down into 3 categories :- Giseigo, Giongo, and Gitaigo. Giseigo is the most familiar one to English speakers – it is imitating sounds people and animals make (bow wow). Giongo is a wider range of onomatopoeia which includes sounds that things make (the...

Japanese traditional crafts There are hundreds of Japanese crafts, which are separated categories of pottery, textiles, lacquer ware, metal working, doll making, woodworking, paper making. In her final blog before she retires from teaching at Japonin(JOI), Mizuno sensei brings one of the textile crafts to the fore – one that is made in her home city of Nagoya. Please read the blog and learn Jap...

Japanese traditional toys There are various Japanese traditional toys, folk dolls and games. Most of these have a long history which have roots in Imperial or noble court life or in Buddhist rites and beliefs. The toy introduced in this blog by Kamiyama sensei has it's roots in Zen Buddhism. Read the blog and listen to the natural Japanese in the video for some free Japanese language lessons ! ...

Popular Japanese baby names The Japanese language allows for quite a range of naming. With Chinese characters or Kanji and Hiragana as well, there are many variations of the same name. Most people choose to use Kanji for their children's names, but due to stroke number beliefs (some stroke numbers or combinations are said to bring good or bad fortune) or for the sake of simplicity, Hiragana names...