The Japanese Tutor

The Japanese Tutor

Japanese Suffixes, Part 2

Today we’re continuing our lesson on Japanese suffixes by going over a couple more important suffixes in the Japanese language. Sensei Sensei is a suffix used only with family names as a term of respect. More polite than san, sensei…

Japanese Suffixes, Part 1

In Japan, where politeness in language is so important, suffixes are quite essential. What are suffixes? They’re words that come after other words—in this case, these suffixes are titles of address. A rough English equivalent could be the prefixes “Mr.,”…

Goukon: Japanese Group Dating

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In Japan, a country in which professional matchmaking (called “omiai“) is still a viable method of meeting your fiance(e) (although a much less often used method than in the past), goukon is a popular method of meeting potential boyfriends or…

Japanese Whaling Ends Early This Year

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As we’ve previously covered, Japan conducts an annual whale hunting expedition despite the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling asking that they do not. Japan always insists the whaling is performed for the purposes of “research,” but a lot…

Dealing with an Emergency in Japan

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In the aftermath of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami and the subsequent earthquakes and nuclear power plant issues, the world has gotten a glimpse into the way that the Japanese deal with significant disasters. The fact that there have…

The Japanese Cinema Experience

When it comes to seeing a movie in cinemas, you probably don’t think the experience differs much from country to country. However, seeing a movie in Japan is a bit different than seeing a movie in the US, for example—and…