Japanese Culture

James at Japanprobe posted this vid from the latest Kasou Taishou contest held a few days ago.
Pretty cool.

Sore ja.

This time of year always reminds me of the Gin-chan Kasou Taishou. (”Gin-chan” is the name of the entertainer who hosts the show).
Here’s a treat (at least it was for me):
The Top 20 Skits (仮装/ kasou = costume, but these are really skits) of all time. You might not agree, but there are quite a […]

三味線
しゃみせん
shamisen.
Nothing particularly tied to the New Year (shin’nen), but the shamisen always makes me feel “new yearsy,” if you know what I mean.

Sore ja.

明けまして、おめでとうございます。
Akemashite, omedetou gozaimasu.
Happy New Year.

Traditional ringing of the temple bells on New Year’s Eve.
“Jyoya no kane”
Sore ja.

Since we were talking about Japanese tea houses the other day, I thought I’d share this vid. It’s another tongue-in-cheek “Japanese Tradition” segment from the Ramens comedy team.
This time, it’s how to do “tea” in Japan.

The funny thing about this series of vids is that if you’ve been to Japan, you’ve probably run into […]

I don’t look like it, but I’m a fan of tea houses. This vid is about the Jo’an tea house, currently located in Inuyama City (by Gifu).

織田有楽斎は信長の実弟で茶の湯の創生期に尾張が生んだ大茶匠である。晩年、有楽は武家を棄て京都建仁寺の正伝院に、隠棲した。如庵はその境内に1618年ころ建てた茶室であり現存する国宝茶席三名席の一つになっている。また隣接する旧正伝院は重要文化財に指定されている。遺構は各地を転々としたが、安住の地を犬山に得て「有楽苑」として公開されている。
Oda Urakusai ha Nobunaga no jittei de, cha no yu no souseiki ni Owari ga unda daichashou de aru. Bannen, Uraku ha buke wo sute, Kyouto Kenninji no Shouden’in […]

Yesterday I was on deadline for a translation job, so today…more chopsticks fun.
And again, a mild content warning.
I’ll post the vid again, and then the second half of the script.
Remember…it’s tongue-in-cheek…a joke…so don’t take everything as gospel, here, OK?

上級篇
Joukyuuhen
Advanced Series
仕事人
Shigoto-nin.
The “Go-Getter” (shigotonin = worker/ work-focused)
オカマ割り
Okama-wari.
The Gay Break.*
空手
Karate.
Karate.
ダイナマイト
Dainamaito.
Dynamite.
とも割り
Tomo-wari.
Mutual Break.
イッツ　ア　スモール　ワールド
Ittsu a sumooru waarudo.
It’s a Small World.
持ち方
Mochikata.
Holding the […]

…and a mild content warning.
Remember, this is tongue-in-cheek. One of the “Japanese Tradition” series by the Rahmenz comedian team:

I’ll do the first half of the script here, and the second half in a later post:
箸
Hashi.
Chopsticks.
刺す
Sasu.
Stab.
挟む
Hasamu.
Pinch.
切る
Kiru.
Cut.
混ぜる
Mazeru.
Mix.
そんな便利な食器。
Sonna benri na shokki.
A convenient utensil [that can do all that].
ナイフでも、フォークでもありません。
Naifu demo, fuoku demo arimasen.
It’s not a knife or a fork.
箸です。
Hashi […]

Inemuri
居眠り
To take a nap/ catnap
From Kirai.net.
I have to admit to my own guilt here, but the gentle rocking motion of the train just gets me.
OK, the dude in the scooter has no excuse.
UPDATE: Mea culpa. (That’s Latin for “my bad”)
I should have said “inemuri suru” since you add suru to this word to make it […]

…the way God intended.

Here’s the script for the first part of the vid
スイカの話題です。
Suika no wadai desu.
[Next] is a story about watermelons.
でも、ちょっと変なんです。
Demo, chotto hen na n desu.
But, it’s a strange story.
香川県善通市では、四角いスイカの出荷が今日から始まりました。
Kagawa-ken, Zentsuu Shi deha, shikakui suika no shukka ga kyou kara hajimarimashita.
Today, shipments of square watermelons began in Zentsu City, Kagawa Prefecture.
縞王という品種を、およそ2ヵ月間、強化ガラスの箱の中で育てました。
Shimao to iu hinshu wo, […]