Podcasts about tofugu

Today I chat with Noah, a missionary who began self-studying Japanese two years before landing in Japan in early '24. He promptly passed the JLPT N2, and is awaiting his results from taking N1 in December. Noah shares what worked for him, a surprisingly cheap and time efficient system that most missionaries (or any Japanese learners) could benefit from! Noah's suggested resources: Tofugu's resource page: https://www.tofugu.com/japanese-learn... Genki Textbook:   / 791506.genki_i   Minna No Nihongo textbook: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1... Jyoukyuu he no Tobira: https://tobiraweb.9640.jp/ A Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9... Shin Kanzen Master Series: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=kanzen+mas... Anki flashcards (better on phone): https://ankiweb.net/shared/decks?sear... WaniKani: https://www.wanikani.com/ Podcasts for learning Japanese: Haru no Nihongo Learn Japanese With Noriko Yuyu no Nihongo

The MEXT Scholarship deadline is quickly approaching (May 24, 2024 for the Nashville Consulate). But what is a MEXT Scholarship Program? The Krewe is digging into this today. We sit down with returning guest Tye Ebel, JET/MEXT Coordinator for the Consulate-General of Japan in Nashville, & a current MEXT research scholar, William Archambeault. Through both conversations, they share some excellent insight into the application process and the programs as a whole. Don't miss out!------ About the Krewe ------The Krewe of Japan Podcast is a weekly episodic podcast sponsored by the Japan Society of New Orleans. Check them out every Friday afternoon around noon CST on Apple, Google, Spotify, Amazon, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.  Want to share your experiences with the Krewe? Or perhaps you have ideas for episodes, feedback, comments, or questions? Let the Krewe know by e-mail at kreweofjapanpodcast@gmail.com or on social media (Twitter: @kreweofjapan, Instagram: @kreweofjapanpodcast, Facebook: Krewe of Japan Podcast Page, TikTok: @kreweofjapanpodcast, LinkedIn: Krewe of Japan LinkedIn Page, Blue Sky Social: @kreweofjapan.bsky.social, & the Krewe of Japan Youtube Channel). Until next time, enjoy!------ Support the Krewe! Offer Links for Affiliates ------Use the referral links below & our promo code from the episode (timestamps [hh:mm:ss] where you can find the code)!Zencastr Offer Link - Use my special link to save 30% off your 1st month of any Zencastr paid plan!  (00:58:20)------ MEXT Scholarship Program-Related Links ------MEXT Scholarship Information Page (Consulate-General of Japan in Nashville's Page)Embassy of Japan's Consulate Guide (What's Your Consulate)William's Japan Times Articles------ Past KOJ Study/Work in Japan Episodes ------2024 JET Program Tips & Updates ft. Tye Ebel & Jonathan Contrades of Consulate-General of Japan in Nashville (S4B)Find Your Japan Dream Job Today! ft. Kasia Lynch of Ikigai Connections (S4E9)Studying Abroad in Japan (S2E6)Applying for the JET Program ft. Tye Ebel (S2E4)Accepted for the JET Program... Now What? ft. Megan DeVille (S1E17)------ JSNO Upcoming Events ------JSNO Event CalendarJapan Club Crawfish Boil (Sunday, May 11 - Registration Required by May 5)"YOJIMBO" Screening at Margaret Place (Thursday, May 16)

Japanese language programs in a non-university setting are a rarity in Louisiana, but fortunately for some students in the Greater New Orleans area, one school has them covered! The Krewe sits down with Dr. Tara Sanchez to discuss how she established a Japanese language program at Chalmette High School and how that program is providing opportunities not only for language learning but cultural exchange!------ About the Krewe ------The Krewe of Japan Podcast is a weekly episodic podcast sponsored by the Japan Society of New Orleans. Check them out every Friday afternoon around noon CST on Apple, Google, Spotify, Amazon, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.  Want to share your experiences with the Krewe? Or perhaps you have ideas for episodes, feedback, comments, or questions? Let the Krewe know by e-mail at kreweofjapanpodcast@gmail.com or on social media (Twitter: @kreweofjapan, Instagram: @kreweofjapanpodcast, Facebook: Krewe of Japan Podcast Page, TikTok: @kreweofjapanpodcast, LinkedIn: Krewe of Japan LinkedIn Page, Blue Sky Social: @kreweofjapan.bsky.social, & the Krewe of Japan Youtube Channel). Until next time, enjoy!------ Support the Krewe! Offer Links for Affiliates ------Use the referral links below & our promo code from the episode (timestamps [hh:mm:ss] where you can find the code)!Liquid IV Offer Link  to save 20% Off your Entire Order! (00:04:00)Zencastr Offer Link - Use my special link to save 30% off your 1st month of any Zencastr paid plan!  (00:53:30)------ Chalmette High & Kakehashi Project Links ------St. Bernard's Article on Kakehashi Project TripKakehashi Project Information------ Past KOJ Episodes on Language ------Japanese Language Journeys ft. Saeko-Sensei (S1E4)Immersion Learning ft. MattvsJapan (S1E10)Language through Literature ft. Daniel Morales (S2E8)Pitch Accent (Part 1) ft. Dogen (S2E14)Pitch Accent (Part 2) ft. Dogen (S2E15)Language Through Video Games ft. Matt of Game Gengo (S3E4)Prepping for the JLPT ft. Loretta of KemushiCan (S3E16)Heisig Method ft. Dr. James Heisig (S4E5)Learn the Kansai Dialect ft. Tyson of Nihongo Hongo (S4E14)Japanese Self-Study Strategies ft. Walden Perry (S5E4)------ JSNO Upcoming Events ------JSNO Event Calendar2024 Matsue-New Orleans Sister City Exchange Application

Ever wanted to learn Japanese and just not know where to start? The Krewe sits down with Walden Perry, a Louisiana native who prior to 2020 had zero Japanese language experience. What started as a personal challenge during the pandemic became a multi-year self-study language learning adventure. And as with all adventures, there are ups and downs. Tune in here for some tips and suggestions on how to get started tackling language study on your own, what mistakes to avoid, and how to take your Japanese to the next level.------ About the Krewe ------The Krewe of Japan Podcast is a weekly episodic podcast sponsored by the Japan Society of New Orleans. Check them out every Friday afternoon around noon CST on Apple, Google, Spotify, Amazon, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.  Want to share your experiences with the Krewe? Or perhaps you have ideas for episodes, feedback, comments, or questions? Let the Krewe know by e-mail at kreweofjapanpodcast@gmail.com or on social media (Twitter: @kreweofjapan, Instagram: @kreweofjapanpodcast, Facebook: Krewe of Japan Podcast Page, TikTok: @kreweofjapanpodcast, LinkedIn: Krewe of Japan LinkedIn Page, Blue Sky Social: @kreweofjapan.bsky.social, & the Krewe of Japan Youtube Channel). Until next time, enjoy!------ Support the Krewe! Offer Links for Affiliates ------Use the referral links below & our promo code from the episode (timestamps [hh:mm:ss] where you can find the code)!Liquid IV Offer Link  to save 20% Off your Entire Order! (00:01:06)Zencastr Offer Link - Use my special link to save 30% off your 1st month of any Zencastr paid plan!  (01:03:12)------ Self-Study Links ------Walden's Year 1 Benchmark VideoWalden's Year 2 Benchmark VideoWalden's WorldWalden's World DiscordAnkiJapanese from Zero! Website------ Past KOJ Episodes on Language ------Japanese Language Journeys ft. Saeko-Sensei (S1E4)Immersion Learning ft. MattvsJapan (S1E10)Language through Literature ft. Daniel Morales (S2E8)Pitch Accent (Part 1) ft. Dogen (S2E14)Pitch Accent (Part 2) ft. Dogen (S2E15)Language Through Video Games ft. Matt of Game Gengo (S3E4)Prepping for the JLPT ft. Loretta of KemushiCan (S3E16)Heisig Method ft. Dr. James Heisig (S4E5)Learn the Kansai Dialect ft. Tyson of Nihongo Hongo (S4E14)------ JSNO Upcoming Events ------JSNO Event Calendar2024 Matsue-New Orleans Sister City Exchange Application

Rumors of our death have been greatly exaggerated and Cryptidbits is back from inter-dimensional void with an all new season! Kicking things off we get a visit from @Haunzzy from the Monch Hours Podcast to talk about the classic Japanese folklore that inspired some of our childhood faves! #cryptid #yokai #japanesefolklore #pokemon #nintendo #japan #cryptozoology #podcast #cryptidpodcast #cryptozoologypodcast #paranormalpodcast #paranormal Sources “All Pokemon Based on Yokai and Japanese Folklore.” YouTube, YouTube, 15 Aug. 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXhwp2X8lto. Baird, Scott. “Pokémon That Are Just Japanese Yokai.” ScreenRant, 23 Aug. 2021, screenrant.com/pokemon-japanese-yokai-ludicolo-kappa-vulpix-ninetails-kitsune/. By. “Yokai: The Folklore Roots of Pokémon.” M. Lucero, 3 Sept. 2021, mluce.ro/articles/the-yokai-roots-of-pokemon/. Dexter, Kristen. “Who's That Pokémon? Yōkai Edition!” Tofugu, Tofugu, 31 Oct. 2014, www.tofugu.com/japan/pokemon-yokai/. Foster, Michael Dylan, and Kijin Shinonome. The Book of Yokai: Mysterious Creatures of Japanese Folklore. University of California Press, 2015. Laiche, Ilyass. “12 Pokémon Based on Yokai.” Japan Avenue, Japan Avenue, 11 Apr. 2022, japan-avenue.com/blogs/japan/pokemon-based-on-yokai. Nakau, Ei. Something Wicked from Japan = Ukiyoe de Miru! Obake Zukan: Ghosts, Demons & Yokai in Ukiyo-e Masterpieces. Pai Intānashonaru, 2016. Yoda, Hiroko, and Matt Alt. Yokai Attack!: The Japanese Monster Survival Guide. Kodansha International, 2008.

What? Bonus content, already?! That's right! The Krewe is here with a surprise bonus episode to talk about the 2024 JET Program Application Cycle. Returning guest Tye Ebel, JET Coordinator for the Consulate-General of Japan in Nashville, is back, this time with his colleague Jonathan Contrades, Culture Coordinator at the same consulate. Together, they share some excellent insight & updates (along with crucial tips & tricks) to tackling and approaching this year's JET Application.. from Statement of Purpose (SOP) tips to handling referral letters. Don't miss out!------ About the Krewe ------The Krewe of Japan Podcast is a weekly episodic podcast sponsored by the Japan Society of New Orleans. Check them out every Friday afternoon around noon CST on Apple, Google, Spotify, Amazon, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.  Want to share your experiences with the Krewe? Or perhaps you have ideas for episodes, feedback, comments, or questions? Let the Krewe know by e-mail at kreweofjapanpodcast@gmail.com or on social media (Twitter: @kreweofjapan, Instagram: @kreweofjapanpodcast, Facebook: Krewe of Japan Podcast Page, TikTok: @kreweofjapanpodcast, LinkedIn: Krewe of Japan LinkedIn Page & the Krewe of Japan Youtube Channel). Until next time, enjoy!------ Support the Krewe! Offer Links for Affiliates ------Use the referral links below & our promo code from the episode (timestamps [hh:mm:ss] where you can find the code)!Liquid IV Offer Link  to save 20% Off your Entire Order! (00:01:06)Zencastr Offer Link - Use my special link to save 30% off your 1st month of any Zencastr paid plan!  (00:42:40)------ JET Program-Related Links ------JET Program USA Application PortalJET Program USA WebsiteJET Programme International WebsiteJETAA Mid-South (JET Alumni Chapter for New Orleans area, as well as LA, AR, MS) Facebook GroupJETAA Mid-South SiteMemphis Japan Fest (11/05/2023)------ JSNO Upcoming Events ------JSNO Event Calendar11/5/23 - Kwaidan Book Club: Never Let Me Go11/9/23 - JSNO Annual Meeting 202311/18/23 - Ikebana Workshop11/29/23 - Spirited Away Screening @ Margaret Place (Link TBD)

This week on Krewe of Japan Podcast... the Krewe explores the Japanese language in a different way... by studying the Kansai Dialect with Japanese tutor Tyson of Nihongo Hongo! Learn new phrases & words while discovering the differences between standard Japanese & the Kansai Dialect.------ About the Krewe ------The Krewe of Japan Podcast is a weekly episodic podcast sponsored by the Japan Society of New Orleans. Check them out every Friday afternoon around noon CST on Apple, Google, Spotify, Amazon, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.  Want to share your experiences with the Krewe? Or perhaps you have ideas for episodes, feedback, comments, or questions? Let the Krewe know by e-mail at kreweofjapanpodcast@gmail.com or on social media (Twitter: @kreweofjapan, Instagram: @kreweofjapanpodcast, Facebook: Krewe of Japan Podcast Page, TikTok: @kreweofjapanpodcast, & the Krewe of Japan Youtube Channel). Until next time, enjoy!------ More Info on Tyson & Nihongo Hongo  ------Nihongo Hongo on InstagramNihongo Hongo on YouTube

In this episode, the Tofugu crew, Kanae and David discuss why e-books can be great materials for Japanese learners, all their tips for buying Japanese e-books, and their favorite Japanese e-book stores. After listening to the episode, check out: https://www.tofugu.com/japanese/how-to-buy-japanese-ebooks/

よつばと！ (Yotsuba&!) is a Japanese slice-of-life comedy manga series that's become very popular in the Japanese learning community. In this episode, the Tofugu crew, Kanae and Ian talk about how much they love Yotsuba&! and why it's such a great manga series to pick up for Japanese learners, especially beginners. After listening to this episode, check out Ian's review article about "Yotsuba&!": https://www.tofugu.com/reviews/yotsubato/

Norah joins Ben this week to talk about the bodily fluid responsible for oxygen transport to and from the heart.  They each have research to present on the components that make up blood, blood pressure, blood sugar, and blood types.  After those “lectures,” Ben talks about blood type bias in Japan and why blood types appear in old arcade game character bios.  He then moves on to describing the game Code Vein which turns in to a very bold statement about why Elden Ring should not win GOTY 2022. 00:00:53 - “Not much to do in Tucson…” and “blood, let's get into it!” 00:03:00 - Some common phrases involving the word blood 00:04:01 - “Blood from a stone” vs. “Blood from a turnip” 00:05:40 - Ben's tepid take on puns, and other “bad humor” 00:07:21 - Caviar, another pun, and Norah and Ben haven't heard of “blood and thunder”  00:09:49 - “Blood brother” rituals aren't sanitary, and facts about fainting at the sight of blood 00:12:39 - Donating blood to the American Red Cross (listed as Vampires in Ben's phone) 00:15:00 - Bone marrow; Norah explains blood pressure (measured in millimeters of mercury) 00:20:26 - Salt vs. sugar, and the components of blood  00:21:31 - Plasma is a heterogeneous mixture; a colloid is a homogeneous noncrystalline substance consisting of large molecules of one substance dispersed through another. 00:23:20 - The negative logarithm of the molar concentration of Hydrogen ions in a solution 00:24:32 - Erythrocytes, leukocytes, and thrombocytes… “oh my!” 00:27:29 - Norah announces her lipid panel, and then moves on to explaining blood sugar  00:31:33 - An aside about frozen deserts  00:34:15 - A simple sugar may be a mono- or disaccharide.  Monosaccharides are the simplest carbs; the body cannot break them down further.  Disaccharides consist of two sugar molecules (two monosaccharides) bonded together.  The body must break the bond apart (in to  two monosaccharides) before they can be absorbed. 00:42:32 - Ben explains the ABO and the Rh blood group systems 00:46:25 - Ben talks a little about Type O Negative and the origin of their band name 00:49:05 - Why is blood type included in the character bios of old arcade games? 00:52:58 - Using the website Tofugu for learning Japanese language and culture.  00:55:49 - What are Norah and Ben's personalities based solely on their blood type?  00:59:07 - The blood type “descriptive words” are too vague for Two Vague 01:01:21 - Kitty White's blood type, and Hello Kitty blood type identification straps 01:03:48 - Vampires, and Ben explains the story of the game Code Vein 01:07:30 - Ben tries to explain From Software's “souls-like” games to Norah 01:10:54 - Code Vein has been described as “souls-like,” but Ben doesn't find it too difficult 01:13:45 - Ben's Elden Ring 2022 GOTY hot take 01:16:21 - Ben thinks Eric won't sick him, and Norah thinks it was a “bloody good” show

Show Notes This week: SD Gundam returns to theaters and MSB returns to your ears. We're covering the first half of SD Gundam's Counterattack, and we... liked it? Is that possible? While still marred by several of SD Gundam's persistent issues, this short manages to deliver on the series' potential for madcap, irreverent parody in a way prior episodes haven't. Show Notes Yankii, Bousouzoku, and Sukeban: Books consulted for this week's research: Ashcraft, Brian, and Shoko Ueda. Japanese Schoolgirl Confidential: How Teenage Girls Made a Nation Cool. Tuttle, 2014. Cherry, Kittredge. “Sukeban - Boss Girls.” Womansword: What Japanese Words Say About Women, Stone Bridge Press, Berkeley, CA, 2017, pp. 73–74. Kawamura, Yuniya. Fashioning Japanese Subcultures. Bloomsbury Academic, 2013. Marx, W. David. “Damn Yankees.” Ametora: How Japan Saved American Style, Basic Books, New York, NY, 2015, pp. 123–148. Monden, Masafumi. “Ribbons and Lace.” Japanese Fashion Cultures: Dress and Gender in Contemporary Japan, Bloomsbury, London, UK, 2015, pp. 107–134. Wikipedia pages for Bōsōzoku and Sukeban. Tofugu article about bōsōzoku. Vice article about sukeban and the media they inspired. Collection of photographs of sukeban from the 1970s and '80s. Review of the Sukeban Deka manga and OVA from Okazu (blog covering yuri media). Visual aid showing a select few photographs of modified cars and motorcycles (especially with the huge exhaust pipes), and screenshots of the episode that show similar style of exhaust pipes on the Counterattack School's vehicles and mobile suits. Mobile Suit Breakdown is written, recorded, and produced within Lenapehoking, the ancestral and unceded homeland of the Lenape, or Delaware, people. Before European settlers forced them to move west, the Lenape lived in New York City, New Jersey, and portions of New York State, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Connecticut. Lenapehoking is still the homeland of the Lenape diaspora, which includes communities living in Oklahoma, Wisconsin, and Ontario. You can learn more about Lenapehoking, the Lenape people, and ongoing efforts to honor the relationship between the land and indigenous peoples by visiting the websites of the Delaware Tribe and the Manhattan-based Lenape Center. Listeners in the Americas and Oceania can learn more about the indigenous people of your area at https://native-land.ca/. We would like to thank The Lenape Center for guiding us in creating this living land acknowledgment. You can subscribe to Mobile Suit Breakdown for free! on fine Podcast services everywhere and on YouTube, visit our website GundamPodcast.com, follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, or email your questions, comments, and complaints to gundampodcast@gmail.com. Mobile Suit Breakdown wouldn't exist without the support of our fans and Patrons! You can join our Patreon to support the podcast and enjoy bonus episodes, extra out-takes, behind-the-scenes photos and video, MSB gear, and much more! The intro music is WASP by Misha Dioxin, and the outro is Long Way Home by Spinning Ratio, both licensed under Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 licenses. The recap music is Olivia by Hyson, licensed under a CC BY attribution license. All music used in the podcast has been edited to fit the text. Mobile Suit Breakdown provides critical commentary and is protected by the Fair Use clause of the United States Copyright law. Gundam content is copyright and/or trademark of Sunrise Inc., Bandai, Sotsu Agency, or its original creator. Mobile Suit Breakdown is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Sunrise, Bandai, Sotsu, or any of their subsidiaries, employees, or associates and makes no claim to own Gundam or any of the copyrights or trademarks related to it. Copyrighted content used in Mobile Suit Breakdown is used in accordance with the Fair Use clause of the United States Copyright law. Any queries should be directed to gundampodcast@gmail.com

In this episode, Ian Battaglia, a Japanese resource review writer at Tofugu and an enthusiastic Japanese learner who's still actively working his way to the advanced level, discusses all kinds of things he wishes he knew when he was a beginner Japanese learner. Ian covers topics like: - Learning Japanese is not a race! Go at your own “sustainable” pace - A recommended learning order for self-learners to have the foundation for immersion - Reading practice is surprisingly beneficial in general - Focus more on practice, not process - Be okay with not understanding everything in Japanese and more. Make sure to give it a listen for Ian's Japanese learning wisdom!

In this episode, Emily Suvannasankha, a Japan category writer at Tofugu and an enthusiastic Japanese learner of over a decade, discusses all kinds of things she wishes she knew when she was a beginner Japanese learner. Even more, she also shares tips and advice that she got from interviewing her friends who study Japanese. Emily covers topics like: - A little a day adds up to a LOT — make Japanese learning a daily habit - Don't let shame keep you from getting back into a groove after a hiatus - Hiragana, katakana, and some simple kanji are surprisingly easy - Learn a good chunk of vocabulary before starting to study grammar - Kanji writing ability is not as important as you think and more. Make sure to give it a listen for some Japanese learning wisdom from Emily and her friends!

In this episode, David Honeycutt, a Japanese resource review writer at Tofugu and an enthusiastic Japanese learner of over a decade, discusses all kinds of things he wishes he knew when he was a beginner Japanese learner. David covers topics like: - How to follow some sort of curriculum even if you're a self-learner - The power of SRS (Spaced Repetition System) - Using a built-in dictionary on computers or phones - Setting tangible goals with deadlines and more. Make sure to give it a listen for David's Japanese learning wisdom!

Show Notes It's time to start our coverage of the much-anticipated Gundam side story 0080: War in the Pocket! Kind of! Actually, it's time for us to cover Gundam's real first OVA - SD Gundam Mk I Part 3: SD Olympics as we get ready for the first episode on War in the Pocket next week. We research and discuss the history and characteristics of the OVA format, some of what happened in Japan and the world between Char's Counter Attack and 0080, and the influences, references, and gags in the SD Olympics short. SD Olympics Wikipedia pages for the 1988 Summer Olympics, the ABC gameshow Battle of the Network Stars, and the Hanna-Barbera Cartoons Laff-A-Lympics and Scooby's All-Star Laff-A-Lympics. Gundam Fandom Wiki page on Mobile Suit SD Gundam Mk I.  This book discusses the imports of American cartoons to Japan (though mostly it's about the influence in the other direction): O'Melia, Gina. “Introduction.” Japanese Influence on American Children's Television: Transforming Saturday Morning, Springer Nature, Cham, Switzerland, 2019, pp. 23–25. As usual I relied on jisho.org as a Japanese-English dictionary, but I also used The Wisdom English-Japanese Dictionary (digital version for Dictionary app). Articles about the Olympics: Dahl, Tracy. “Award of 1988 Olympics Boosts S. Korea's Effort For Political Security.” The Washington Post, 4 Oct. 1981. Accessed at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1981/10/04/award-of-1988-olympics-boosts-s-koreas-effort-for-political-security/2db0f29f-29cd-4581-8771-2f08c225181f/ Nalewicki, Jennifer. “How the 1988 Olympics Helped Spark a Global Kimchi Craze.” Smithsonianmag.com, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Feb. 2018, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/kimchis-olympic-connection-180968224/. Manheim, Jarol B. “Rites of Passage: The 1988 Seoul Olympics as Public Diplomacy.” The Western Political Quarterly, vol. 43, no. 2, [University of Utah, Sage Publications, Inc., Western Political Science Association], 1990, pp. 279–95, https://doi.org/10.2307/448367. Aw, Gene. “The 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics.” Go! Go! Hanguk, 4 Dec. 2019, https://gogohanguk.com/en/blog/seoul-olympics-1988-memories/. (Includes embedded video of the opening ceremonies for the 1988 Summer Games) Dator, James. “Never Forget That a Flock of Peace Doves Got Incinerated at the 1988 Olympics.” SBNation.com, SBNation.com, 9 Aug. 2017, https://www.sbnation.com/lookit/2017/8/9/16119834/peace-doves-olympic-opening-ceremony-1988-seoul Trex, Ethan. “5 Memorable Moments from Olympic Opening Ceremonies.” Mental Floss, 26 July 2012, https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/31314/5-memorable-moments-past-opening-ceremonies. (Content warning - contains embedded video of the dove incident) Montague, James. “Hero or Villain? Ben Johnson and the Dirtiest Race in History.” CNN, Cable News Network, 23 July 2012, https://www.cnn.com/2012/07/23/sport/olympics-2012-ben-johnson-seoul-1988-dirtiest-race/index.html. Eldridge, Larry. “Too Many `Perfect' Scores of 10 Distort Olympic Gymnastics Results.” The Christian Science Monitor, The Christian Science Monitor, 4 Oct. 1988, https://www.csmonitor.com/1988/1004/prom.html. From the IOC website, articles about the 1988 Summer Olympics and how it boosted tourism, South Korea's international profile, and national pride / feelings of global citizenship. While any content produced by the IOC is of course going to be propaganda for the Olympics, it's an important perspective on the event.  Landing page for the Olympic World Library, part of The Olympic Studies Centre (a resource for official documents related to past Olympics). Wikipedia pages for sprinter Ben Johnson, decathlete Jürgen Hingsen, and the "perfect 10" in gymnastics.  Video about Olympic shot-put, with a good section on men's shot-put 1988. jisho.org page for the kanji 焼, and Cambridge Dictionary entry for 焼ける. Article with photos and video of the "Samurai Trash Collectors" performance artists. Tofugu article with LOTS of Japanese onomatopoeia, including the ワー！(wa-!) that appears over the stadium at the end of the short.  March 12th, 1988 to March 25, 1989 Books and articles: Field, Norma. In the Realm of a Dying Emperor. Vintage Books, 1993. “Hibari Misora, Japanese Singer, 52.” New York Times (1923-), Jun 25, 1989, pp. 26. ProQuest, https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/nathan-zucker-74-film-producer-dies/docview/110368815/se-2?accountid=35927 By, Robert T. "Japan's 'Lark of the Beautiful Sky': Hibari Misora is a chic chanteuse who is the rage of her country's teen-agers. A fishmonger's daughter, she has, at 19, the top income in Japanese show business." New York Times (1923-), Jun 09, 1957, pp. 201. ProQuest, https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/japans-lark-beautiful-sky/docview/113922091/se-2?accountid=35927 Wikipedia pages for 1988 and 1989, as well as 1988 in Japan and 1989 in Japan. Wikipedia page for World Expo '88. An account from an Expo Japan-Pavilion attendant, describing the pavilion (with photos). Informational document from the Expo, scanned to PDF. Wikipedia page for singer and actress Misora Hibari (美空 ひばり).  Short article from the Japan Society about "contemporary Japan" - from the 1989 beginning of the Heisei Era. to the present. This article is mostly a summary of the Heisei Era, and discusses the transition to a new era (written before the Reiwa name was chosen). But it also touches on the previous transition from Showa to Heisei. What's an OVA? Pages defining and describing OVAs, often with additional historical context, from Wikipedia, Anime News Network, and TV Tropes. Explainers on the OVA format and its place in the anime industry from CBR.com and OTAQUEST. "Bandai, the Post-Gundam Wave, and the Year 1985" - by Sean O'Mara for zimmerit.moe, discussing Bandai specifically, including their OVA production and video rental segments, and their efforts to attract new consumers while holding on to aging, hardcore fans. Music The recap music in this episode is "Olivia" by Hyson. Mobile Suit Breakdown is written, recorded, and produced within Lenapehoking, the ancestral and unceded homeland of the Lenape, or Delaware, people. Before European settlers forced them to move west, the Lenape lived in New York City, New Jersey, and portions of New York State, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Connecticut. Lenapehoking is still the homeland of the Lenape diaspora, which includes communities living in Oklahoma, Wisconsin, and Ontario. You can learn more about Lenapehoking, the Lenape people, and ongoing efforts to honor the relationship between the land and indigenous peoples by visiting the websites of the Delaware Tribe and the Manhattan-based Lenape Center. Listeners in the Americas and Oceania can learn more about the indigenous people of your area at https://native-land.ca/. We would like to thank The Lenape Center for guiding us in creating this living land acknowledgment. You can subscribe to Mobile Suit Breakdown for free! on fine Podcast services everywhere and on YouTube, visit our website GundamPodcast.com, follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, or email your questions, comments, and complaints to gundampodcast@gmail.com. Mobile Suit Breakdown wouldn't exist without the support of our fans and Patrons! You can join our Patreon to support the podcast and enjoy bonus episodes, extra out-takes, behind-the-scenes photos and video, MSB gear, and much more! The intro music is WASP by Misha Dioxin, and the outro is Long Way Home by Spinning Ratio, both licensed under Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 licenses. The recap music for Season 3 is New York City (instrumental) by spinningmerkaba, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license.. All music used in the podcast has been edited to fit the text. Mobile Suit Breakdown provides critical commentary and is protected by the Fair Use clause of the United States Copyright law. Gundam content is copyright and/or trademark of Sunrise Inc., Bandai, Sotsu Agency, or its original creator. Mobile Suit Breakdown is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Sunrise, Bandai, Sotsu, or any of their subsidiaries, employees, or associates and makes no claim to own Gundam or any of the copyrights or trademarks related to it. Copyrighted content used in Mobile Suit Breakdown is used in accordance with the Fair Use clause of the United States Copyright law. Any queries should be directed to gundampodcast@gmail.com

The MEXT Research Scholarship is Japan's government-funded program that will let you do a free master's *and* cover living expenses to boot. ...Sounds too good to be true? Well, Emily is living proof that it's not. In this episode, Kanae and Rachel welcome Tofugu's new writer Emily as a co-host and talk about her experience with the scholarship program she just finished in Nagoya a few months ago. Anyone who's curious about MEXT will find some insight into the application process in this chat, as well as a few words of support if you decide to go for it. For more detailed information about the MEXT Research Scholarship, check out Emily's article on the Tofugu blog: https://www.tofugu.com/japan/mext-monbukagakusho-scholarship/

Show Notes On the podcast this week: our final episode of Season 4, Iraj returns to talk about asteroids, nuclear explosions, and capes, Thom names names, and Nina looks at alternative narrative frameworks. Plus we clean up a few ambiguities, answer some questions, and come clean about our favorite mobile suits. Will Thom's controversial takes enrage the MSB fandom?! Names, Names, Names: The Geara Doga _The Nagano designs for a 'Killah Doga' / キラ・ドガ and a サイコ・ドーラ can be seen in this Twitter post by Mark Simmons. _ _The DWDS (Digital Dictionary of the German language) records usages of Killer going back to 1972. _ The assertion that the Geara Doga and its gear was designed to look like a German WWII soldier is from the Japanese Wikipedia page for the Geara Doga, which cites: Yutaka Izubuchi "Yutaka Izubuchi Mechanical Design Works (1)" Movic, August 2000, pp. 16-17. ISBN  978-4896014907. The Alpha Azieru Izubuchi Yutaka explains that he drew the Alpha Azieru without having been asked, and says that the name comes from the Greek letter α and the word アジール, meaning an asylum or refuge. Background on what アジール means in Japanese can be found at the Japanese Wikipedia page. Jisho.org page on アジール which specifies the German derivation from Asyl. The Sazabi Izubuchi Yutaka explains that the prior title for the MS was ザ・ナック and that he thought Sazabi would be hard to trademark. ZeonicScanlations Twitter thread translating excerpts from an old Animedia book and specifying the Sotheby's reference. _ZeonicScanlations page translating a section of B-Club 30 from 1988 about the Sazabi, mentioning Zanac and the conflict with a similarly named Famicom game. _ The video game Zanac, which prevented CCA from using ザ・ナック for the Sazabi. _Japanese Wikipedia page on the Sazabi. _ _Japanese Wikipedia page for The Knack (the band). _ And the Japanese Wikipedia page for "My Sharona," specifically. _A rundown by Zimmerit.moe of musical references included in Nagano Mamoru's Five Star Stories. _ English-language interview with Izubuchi Yutaka in which he mentions the name issues for the Sazabi. Nagano's design for the Naitiengeaile (Nightingale) can be seen on this twitter post by Mark Simmons. Nagano's revision of the Naitiengeaile as the Nahatgall (ナハトガル, Nachtigall) can be seen here, or here. Story Structures, Cross-Cultural Analysis: Masterclass overview of 4 different story structures. Author Kim Yoon Mi's overview of story structures from around the world. Tofugu article about how arguments are structured in Japanese (with reference to how this relates to Japanese story structures. Blog post from art-collective Still Eating Oranges about "plot without conflict." _dbpedia and Japanese Wikipedia pages for kishoutenketsu (起承転結). _ _Articles on kishoutenketsu from Art of Narrative, Book Riot, Mythic Scribes, and Tofugu (Tofugu specifically looking at how this structure is used in Japanese horror). _ Papers and articles: Francisco Vaz da Silva. “Narrative Cultures in the Mirror.” Narrative Culture, vol. 1, no. 1, Wayne State University Press, 2014, pp. 85–108, https://doi.org/10.13110/narrcult.1.1.0085. Matsuyama, Utako K. “Can Story Grammar Speak Japanese?” The Reading Teacher, vol. 36, no. 7, [Wiley, International Reading Association], 1983, pp. 666–69, http://www.jstor.org/stable/20198301. Koenitz, Hartmut & Pastena, Andrea & Jansen, Dennis & Lint, Brian & Moss, Amanda. (2018). The Myth of ‘Universal' Narrative Models. 10.1007/978-3-030-04028-4_8. Accessed at https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329064597_The_Myth_of_%27Universal%27_Narrative_Models Lien, Henry. “Diversity Plus: Diverse Story Forms and Themes, Not Just Diverse Faces.” SFWA, 18 Dec. 2020, https://www.sfwa.org/2021/01/05/diversity-plus-diverse-story-forms-and-themes-not-just-diverse-faces/. Wikipedia page for jo-ha-kyuu (序破急). Mobile Suit Breakdown is written, recorded, and produced within Lenapehoking, the ancestral and unceded homeland of the Lenape, or Delaware, people. Before European settlers forced them to move west, the Lenape lived in New York City, New Jersey, and portions of New York State, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Connecticut. Lenapehoking is still the homeland of the Lenape diaspora, which includes communities living in Oklahoma, Wisconsin, and Ontario. You can learn more about Lenapehoking, the Lenape people, and ongoing efforts to honor the relationship between the land and indigenous peoples by visiting the websites of the Delaware Tribe and the Manhattan-based Lenape Center. Listeners in the Americas and Oceania can learn more about the indigenous people of your area at https://native-land.ca/. We would like to thank The Lenape Center for guiding us in creating this living land acknowledgment. You can subscribe to Mobile Suit Breakdown for free! on fine Podcast services everywhere and on YouTube, visit our website GundamPodcast.com, follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, or email your questions, comments, and complaints to gundampodcast@gmail.com. Mobile Suit Breakdown wouldn't exist without the support of our fans and Patrons! You can join our Patreon to support the podcast and enjoy bonus episodes, extra out-takes, behind-the-scenes photos and video, MSB gear, and much more! The intro music is WASP by Misha Dioxin, and the outro is Long Way Home by Spinning Ratio, both licensed under Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 licenses. The recap music for Season 3 is New York City (instrumental) by spinningmerkaba, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license.. All music used in the podcast has been edited to fit the text. Mobile Suit Breakdown provides critical commentary and is protected by the Fair Use clause of the United States Copyright law. Gundam content is copyright and/or trademark of Sunrise Inc., Bandai, Sotsu Agency, or its original creator. Mobile Suit Breakdown is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Sunrise, Bandai, Sotsu, or any of their subsidiaries, employees, or associates and makes no claim to own Gundam or any of the copyrights or trademarks related to it. Copyrighted content used in Mobile Suit Breakdown is used in accordance with the Fair Use clause of the United States Copyright law. Any queries should be directed to gundampodcast@gmail.com

Hello, kaiju lovers! With this episode, we reach the end of the “Year of Gamera.” Depending on who you talk to (like Nate), it's a bittersweet occasion because, on one hand, many bad movies were endured, but on the other hand, today's subject is 2006's Gamera the Brave. Becky “Bex” Smith from the Redeemed Otaku podcast and YouTube channel joins Nate to discuss what is, as of now, the last Gamera film. It is sadly overshadowed by everything that came before it. It's a shame because this is a Showa Gamera movie—except good! Think of it as a Gamera film made by Pixar. So, it's emotionally honest and will make you cry. Even Nate had to summon all of his manly discipline to keep control. Bex, on the other hand, did not. The Toku Topic, since much of the movie takes place at a restaurant, is Japanese ramen culture. Before the broadcast, Nate was…graced with the return of his pseudo-sister, Jessica. Unfortunately, he didn't appreciate her bone-crunching glomp and told her off. That got him a lecture from Jessica's bestie, Bex. Afterward, Nate is all but forced to indulge Jessica and let her sing a karaoke of a popular anime theme song. You can probably guess which one. Check out the Redeemed Otaku podcast and YouTube channel. This episode's prologue and epilogue, “Jessica Returns,” was written by Nathan Marchand with Becky Smith. Guest stars: Sarah Marchand as Jessica Shaw Additional music: “A weird thing” by Chiro “Waltz of the Wind God” by Laura Platt “Pacific Rim” by Niall Stenson “Sailor Moon Theme Song” (melody by Tetsuya Komoro, lyrics by Andy Heyward) Sound effects sourced from Freesound.org. Listen to Nathan Marchand and Travis Alexander's spinoff podcast, The Henshin Men, on Redcircle. We'd like to give a shout-out to our MIFV MAX patrons Travis Alexander and Michael Hamilton (co-hosts of Kaiju Weekly); Danny DiManna (author/creator of the Godzilla Novelization Project); Eli Harris (elizilla13); Chris Cooke (host of One Cross Radio); Bex from Redeemed Otaku; Damon Noyes, The Cel Cast, TofuFury, Elijah Thomas, and Eric Anderson! Thanks for your support! You, too, can join MIFV MAX on Patreon to get this and other perks starting at only $3 a month! Buy official MIFV merch on TeePublic! This episode is approved by the Monster Island Board of Directors…maybe. Timestamps: Prologue, “Jessica Returns (Part 1)”: 0:00-5:10 Intro: 5:10-16:15 Entertaining Info Dump: 16:15-23:19 Toku Talk: 23:19-1:25:32 Ad: 1:25:32-1:26:58 Toku Topic: 1:26:58-2:10:30 Housekeeping, Epilogue (“Jessica Returns, Part 2”), & Outro: 2:10:30-end Podcast Social Media: Twitter Facebook Instagram Follow Jimmy on Twitter: @NasaJimmy Follow the Monster Island Board of Directors on Twitter: @MonsterIslaBOD Follow the Raymund Martin and the MIFV Legal Team on Twitter: @MIFV_LegalTeam Follow Crystal Lady Jessica on Twitter: @CystalLadyJes1 Follow The Henshin Men Podcast on Twitter: @HenshinMenPod Follow Dr. Dourif on Twitter: @DrDorif www.MonsterIslandFilmVault.com #JimmyFromNASALives       #MonsterIslandFilmVault © 2021 Moonlighting Ninjas Media Bibliography/Further Reading: Buhnn, Jane. “History of Ramen in Japan: Quintessentially Japanese.” Tokyoesque. 14 May 2020. Flower, James. “A Guide to English Language Gamera.” (Arrow Video Gamera: The Complete Collection). Gamera: The Complete Collection, Disc Eight Special Features. Gamera the Brave Commentary by Keith Aikan and Bob Johnson (Arrow Video's Gamera: The Complete Collection). “Ramen in Culture.” Arigato Travel. 10 April 2020. LeMay, John. The Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies Volume 2: 1982-2017. Lombardi, Linda. “The Social History of Ramen: Slurp Slurp Slurp Some Knowledge.” Art by Aya Fransisco. (Tofugu). Macias, Patrick. “A History of Gamera: Gamera the Brave” (Arrow Video's Gamera: The Complete Collection). “Mikimoto Pearl Island.” (Wikipedia).   “Ramen Culture as a Vital Part of the Traditions in Japan Essay.” (IvyPanda). Wiki Articles on Gamera the Brave: Gamera Wiki Gojipedia IMDB Wikipedia Wikizilla

彼 (kare) and 彼女 (kanojo) are Japanese third-person pronouns, meaning "he" and "she." Even though they're the equivalents of these essential English words, Japanese speakers don't really use 彼 and 彼女 in conversation. In this episode, the Tofugu crew, Kanae, Jenny, and Rachel, discuss the history of 彼 and 彼女, what you sound like when you use them, their more common meanings "boyfriend" and "girlfriend" — and even a slangy way of pronouncing them.

On this episode, Ben and Burke look at the Japanese versions of some of their favorite foods from back home. An interesting one that often comes up amongst foreigners in Japan is Japanese pizza, but they also discuss Japanese curry versus Indian curry, Chinese food in Japan, various cheeses are that aren't quite cheese, American breakfasts in Japan, and much more. Granted, a lot of these foods aren't even native to their home countries of the US and England, so are the Japanese versions of these  foods better? Listen to find out now, and be sure to check out the background information for this discussion on Tofugu.com!Voices in Japan sponsors:Bearfoot BarA variety of Japanese made craft bottled beers. A range of whiskeys and basic cocktails also available. Burgers and pub style snacks. Friendly English and Japanese speaking staff. Located in downtown Sapporo, walking distance from the subway station. https://www.facebook.com/bearfootbarThe Red HouseLocated in the heart of Rusutsu Ski Resort, just cross the main road and it's behind the Seicomart Convenience store. The restaurant features a mix of Japanese, Asian fusion, and western Style dishes, including shabu-shabu with wagyu beef and Hokkaido wagyu beef steak. Open winter and summer, 12-3pm for lunch, 5-9pm for dinner, with prices ranging from under Yen 1000 to about Yen 5000. https://theredhouse.jp/Rusutsu LodgesOpen all year round. Located 5 minutes walk to the main Rusutsu Ski Resort Gondola. There are Japanese, Western, and apartment style rooms with breakfast packages available. There's a Japanese sento (public bath), two convenience stores less than a minute walk, ski room and tune up tables, free pick up available from the bus stop, plenty of free parking space, and summer BBQ packages available. Check out the website for more information and availability. http://rusutsulodges.comHokkaido GuideEstablished over 10 years ago, written by locals for locals and international tourists. There's information regarding all things Hokkaido such as sightseeing, nightlife, events, services, food and restaurants, entertainment, outdoor activities, and more. Currently offered in English and Thai, advertising space available. https://hokkaidoguide.comUse our Buzzsprout affiliate link to start your podcast today!Website: https://www.voicesinjapan.com/Follow us and check out our other content:https://twitter.com/voicesinjapanhttps://www.facebook.com/voicesinjapan/https://www.instagram.com/voicesinjapan/Get in touch:voicesinjapan@gmail.comSupport the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/voicesinjapan)

In their first episode, Atomic and Tavarita discuss the origins of their podcast concept, the humble beginnings of video game designer Satoshi Tajiri, and the cultural impact of his Pokémon franchise, and what we can learn from the never-ending journey of Ash Ketchum. [0:00] Episode Introduction [0:52] Why did we start this podcast? [7:54] Host Introductions [12:20] Logo Discussion & "Ganbaru" Etymology [16:19] History of the Pokémon Franchise [31:36] Pokémon in Science & Sociology [49:17] Pokémon: I Choose You Movie [53:00] Pokémon Edgelord Theories [1:04:00] What We Can Learn From Ash Ketchum [1:25:00] Outro - Alexa Guesses That Anime [Show Notes] Suzuki, M. (2018, September 19). Ganbaru (頑張る) –– What it Really Means and How to Use it. Tofugu. https://www.tofugu.com/japanese/ganbaru/ Wikipedia contributors. (2021, August 4). Satoshi Tajiri. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satoshi_Tajiri Joseph Tobin. (2004). Joseph Tobin. http://joetobin.net/ Tobin, J. (2004). Pikachu's Global Adventure: The Rise and Fall of Pokemon. Duke University Press Books. Isaak, M. (2020). Curiosities of Biological Nomenclature: Etymology: Fiction. Curiosities of Biological Nomenclature: Etymology: Fiction. https://www.curioustaxonomy.net/etym/fiction.html Gomez, J., Barnett, M., & Grill-Spector, K. (2019). Extensive childhood experience with Pokémon suggests eccentricity drives organization of visual cortex. Nature Human Behaviour, 3(6), 611–624. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-019-0592-8 Yuyama, K. (Director). (2017). Pokémon the movie: i choose you! [Film]. OLM, Inc. Brackett, C. (2021). 10 Fan Theories That Explain Why Ash Ketchum Never Ages. Ranker. https://www.ranker.com/list/ash-ketchum-age-theories/crystal-brackett Impidimp. (2021). [Illustration]. https://cdn2.bulbagarden.net/upload/f/fb/859Impidimp.png [Art Credit] "Shounen Protagonist" Logo & Design by Jules Riseling https://www.julesriseling.com (thank you Jules!) https://www.twitter.com/julesriseling [Music Credit] Opening Music: "Next" by Gio Navas Intermission Music: "Brave" by Gio Navas https://www.gionavas.com/ (thank you Gio!) https://www.twitter.com/giomaria

In the winter of 1915, a settlement in the Hokkaido wilderness was besieged by a bear that had awoken far earlier than normal hibernation patterns would expect. The resultant carnage was something that left indelible scars on the psyche of Japan. Today's guest is Cassie! You can find her via her Twitter page, or listen to her excellent anime podcast, Shoujo Treehouse! For more content follow me on @hikikomoripodcast on Instagram where I'll be posting photos relevant to this episode! You can also find me on Twitter @sequencepod, or you can listen to my other podcasts Final Fanservice and Not Another Film on any big podcast app. Sources: The article Bear Attack by Verity Jorgensen-Lane, formerly on Tofugu  The Kumamori Society website Picchio Wildlife Research Centre website Injury Patterns of Fatal Bear Attacks, PubMed Bear Attacks in Japan, All About Japan Death of a Japanese Man by a Bear Sparks Conversation, SoraNews24 The Sankebetsu Brown Bear Incident, Vintage News Ursine Terror, The Guardian  Japan Town Deploys Monster Wolf Statues to Deter Bears, The Guardian

The Japanese second-person pronoun, お前 (omae), has different sides to its personality, just like other personal pronouns. This is the third episode of our Japanese second-person pronoun series. In this episode, the Tofugu crew, comprised of Kanae, Mami, and Rachel, discuss the various nuances of お前. This includes how grandpas and grandmas sometimes use it as a way to show affection to kids, especially those hiding in bamboo or peaches in Japanese folklore.

A Japanese second-person pronoun, 君 (kimi) carries different nuances. It could be friendly, poetic, endearing, or even condescending (!). This is the second episode of our Japanese second-person pronoun series. In this episode, the Tofugu crew, which features Kanae, Mami, and Rachel, discuss the various nuances of 君, including how 君 is the perfect pronoun to use when talking to a hundred tamagotchis.

Have you ever wondered if the Japanese second-person pronoun, あなた (anata), is rude or polite? This is the first episode of our Japanese second-person pronoun series. In this episode, the Tofugu crew, Cameron and Kanae, try to clear the myth of あなた being rude or being polite. They also discuss how and where people actually use あなた.

This is the fourth episode of our What Should I Call "You"? series. In Japanese, pronouns for "others" (which includes everything besides "I" — "you" "they" / "she" / "he" ) are not generally used in conversation. In this series, the Tofugu crew discusses different ways to refer to others without using pronouns. In this episode, Kanae, Cameron and Mami talk about back up options you can use when the other methods we've covered don't work, such as using すみません (sumimasen), そちら (sochira), お宅 (otaku), and more! After listening to this episode, check out our article for a more in-depth explanation of the topic: https://www.tofugu.com/japanese/what-should-i-call-you/

This is the third episode of our What Should I Call "You"? series. In Japanese, pronouns for "others" (which includes everything besides "I" — "you" "they" / "she" / "he" ) are not generally used in conversation. In this series, the Tofugu crew discusses different ways to refer to others without using pronouns. In this episode, Kanae, Cameron and Mami talk about using family roles (such as "dad," "auntie") and social roles (such as "sensei," "president") in place of pronouns. After listening to this episode, check out our article for a more in-depth explanation of the topic: https://www.tofugu.com/japanese/what-should-i-call-you/

On this episode of Ichimon Japan we ask: What first person pronoun should I use when speaking Japanese? Topics Discussed The most common first person pronouns used in Japanese The tendency for Japanese speakers to avoid using pronouns The lack of true pronouns in Japanese How choosing which first person Japanese pronoun to use can be confusing even for native Japanese speakers Whether ore is only used by tough guys in Japanese Theories about the history and evolution of the first person Japanese pronoun ore Who uses ore The concept of direct index vs indirect index Whether ore is innately masculine What traits people associate with ore Whether women use ore The evolution and history of boku What traits are associated with boku Whether women use boku About watashi, watakushi, and atashi Using honorific language in Japanese as a way to scare or build a psychological wall with the listener A traumatic experience stemming from someone's reluctance to schoose a pronoun And much more! Sources, Links, Videos, Etc. To learn more about Shoe Murakami, check out episode 45 of Japan Station. The Fascinating Life of Stand-Up Comedian Shuhei “Shoe” Murakami | Japan Station 45 You can find Shoe Murakami on the following platforms. Standup Comedian Shoe Murakami YouTube Channel Shoe Murakami on Facebook Here are some of the main English-language sources used while doing the research for this episode. Japanese Pronoun Adventure: a Japanese Language Learner's Exploration of His Japanese Gender Pronoun This is the article that is about the individual who created an original kanji (that they would later discover existed in Chinese) in order to use it as the written form of their preferred first person pronoun. An 'I’ for an 'I' The semantic development of the first person pronoun in Japanese Here are some of the main Japanese-language sources used when doing the research for this episode. 「私」「俺」「僕」どれ使う？/Which Should You Use "私", "俺" or "僕"? 一人称は僕、オレ、私？　彼が何を使うかで距離感がわかるかも 彼氏の一人称が「ワシ」！ 彼女になったらどうする？https://mdpr.jp/column/detail/2347950 「わたし」「うち」「わい」どれがNG？男性に「女性の一人称」の本音を聞いてみた 江戸時代は男女の言葉に差がなかった!? Here is the Tofugu.com article about Japanese first person pronouns that is mentioned in this episode. JAPANESE FIRST-PERSON PRONOUNS: わたし, ぼく, おれ, and A WHOLE LOT MORE Don't forget to check out the latest episode of Japan Station. What is the Shinsengumi? Examining the Shogun’s Last Samurai Corps w. Romulus Hillsborough | Japan Station 60 To pick up a t-shirt and support the show, check out KimotoDesigns.com KimitoDesigns.com Japanese Vocabulary List Most episodes feature at least one or two interesting Japanese words or phrases. Here’s some of the ones that came up on this episode. All information is from Jim Breen's WWWJDIC. Ore 俺 : 俺(P); 己 【おれ(P); おらあ(俺)(ok); おり(俺)(ok)】 (pn) (male) (rough or arrogant) I; me Boku 僕 【ぼく】 (pn) (1) (male) I; me; (pn) (2) (when addressing young boys) you; (pn) (3) (See しもべ) manservant Watashi/Watakushi/Atashi 私 【あたし(P); あたくし; あたい; あて】 (pn) (fem) (uk) I; me; (P); 【わたし】 ; (pn) (slightly formal or feminine) I; me; (P); : 妾; 私 【わらわ】 ; (pn) (arch) (hum) (fem) I; me; : 儂; 私 【わし】 ; (pn) (uk) (male) (used by elderly) I; me; 【あっし; わっし】 ; (pn) (mainly used by working men) I; me; 【し】 ; (n) (See 公・こう・1) private affairs; personal matter; 【わい; わて】 ; (pn) (1) (arch) (ksb:) I; me; (pn) (2) (わい only) (used toward people of equal or lower status) you; 【わたい】 ; (pn) (arch) (ktb:) I; me; 【わたくし】 ; (pn) (1) (usu. more formal than わたし) (See 私・わたし) I; me; (adj-no,n) (2) (ant: 公・おおやけ・2) personal (affairs, etc.); private; (n) (3) selfishness; partiality; (n) (4) secrecy; confidentiality; 【わっち】 ; (pn) (used esp. by people of low status) I; me Chūboku 忠僕 【ちゅうぼく】 (n) faithful servant Nōto ノート (n) (1) (abbr) (See ノートブック) notebook; copy-book; exercise book We Want Your Questions Is there something about Japan that confuses you? Is there something about Japanese culture that you would like to learn more about? Is there something in Japanese history that you would like us to explain? We're always looking for new questions about Japan to answer, so if you have one, please send it to ichimon@japankyo.com. Special Thanks Opening/Closing Theme: Produced by Apol (YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Fiverr) Ichimon Japan cover art: Produced by Erik R. Follow Japankyo on Social Media Facebook (@JapanKyoNews) Twitter (@JapanKyoNews) Full Show Notes https:///www.japankyo.com/ichimonjapan   Japanese Vocabulary List Most episodes feature at least one or two interesting Japanese words or phrases. Here’s some of the ones that came up on this episode. All information is from Jim Breen's WWWJDIC. Ore 俺 : 俺(P); 己 【おれ(P); おらあ(俺)(ok); おり(俺)(ok)】 (pn) (male) (rough or arrogant) I; me Boku 僕 【ぼく】 (pn) (1) (male) I; me; (pn) (2) (when addressing young boys) you; (pn) (3) (See しもべ) manservant Watashi/Watakushi/Atashi 私 【あたし(P); あたくし; あたい; あて】 (pn) (fem) (uk) I; me; (P); 【わたし】 ; (pn) (slightly formal or feminine) I; me; (P); : 妾; 私 【わらわ】 ; (pn) (arch) (hum) (fem) I; me; : 儂; 私 【わし】 ; (pn) (uk) (male) (used by elderly) I; me; 【あっし; わっし】 ; (pn) (mainly used by working men) I; me; 【し】 ; (n) (See 公・こう・1) private affairs; personal matter; 【わい; わて】 ; (pn) (1) (arch) (ksb:) I; me; (pn) (2) (わい only) (used toward people of equal or lower status) you; 【わたい】 ; (pn) (arch) (ktb:) I; me; 【わたくし】 ; (pn) (1) (usu. more formal than わたし) (See 私・わたし) I; me; (adj-no,n) (2) (ant: 公・おおやけ・2) personal (affairs, etc.); private; (n) (3) selfishness; partiality; (n) (4) secrecy; confidentiality; 【わっち】 ; (pn) (used esp. by people of low status) I; me Chūboku 忠僕 【ちゅうぼく】 (n) faithful servant Nōto ノート (n) (1) (abbr) (See ノートブック) notebook; copy-book; exercise book We Want Your Questions Is there something about Japan that confuses you? Is there something about Japanese culture that you would like to learn more about? Is there something in Japanese history that you would like us to explain? We're always looking for new questions about Japan to answer, so if you have one, please send it to ichimon@japankyo.com. Special Thanks Opening/Closing Theme: Produced by Apol (YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Fiverr) Ichimon Japan cover art: Produced by Erik R. Follow Japankyo on Social Media Facebook (@JapanKyoNews) Twitter (@JapanKyoNews) Full Show Notes https:///www.japankyo.com/ichimonjapan

This is the second episode of our "What Should I Call 'You'?" series. In Japanese, pronouns for "others" (which includes everything besides "I" — "you" "they" / "she" / "he" ) are not generally used in conversation. In this series, the Tofugu crew discusses different ways to refer to others without using pronouns. In this episode, Kanae, Jenny and Rachel talk about using names in place of pronouns as well as the Japanese name system, nick names and name enders. After listening to this episode, check out our article for a more in-depth explanation of the topic: https://www.tofugu.com/japanese/what-should-i-call-you/

This is the first episode of our "What Should I Call 'You'?" series. In Japanese, pronouns for "others" (which includes everything besides "I" — "you" "they" / "she" / "he" ) are not generally used in conversation. In this series, the Tofugu crew discusses different ways to refer to others without using pronouns. In this episode, Kanae, Jenny and Rachel talk about the "zero pronoun," aka simply leaving out pronouns. After listening to this episode, check out our article for a more in-depth explanation of the topic: https://www.tofugu.com/japanese/what-should-i-call-you/

In this episode, Mami, Cameron, and Kanae talk about two sentence-ending particles, よ (yo) and ね (ne). They dive deep into their different nuances and uses, with a lot of examples. Also make sure not to miss a special cameo appearance of a very special holiday guest! After listening to this episode, check out our article on Tofugu.com for more info: "よ and ね: WHAT DO THESE PARTICLES REALLY MEAN TO JAPANESE SPEAKERS?" (https://www.tofugu.com/japanese/yo-vs-ne/)

This is the second episode in our two-part さすが (sasuga) miniseries. The Tofugu crew — Kanae, Jenny and Mami — discuss the "other," overshadowed use of さすが, which is not for compliments. This discussion led to the discovery of Kanae's weird and controversial bathroom habits. After listening to the episode, check our article "さすが Is Not Always A Compliment": https://www.tofugu.com/japanese/sasuga/

This is the first episode in our two-part miniseries about the unique Japanese word さすが. In this episode, the Tofugu crew — Kanae, Jenny and Mami — discuss the nuances of さすが when it's used as a compliment. Listen carefully and you'll even learn about a quirky eating habit of Mami's from her high school days.

On this episode of Ichimon Japan we ask: How do Japanese names work? Topics Discussed How people in Japan normally state their family name before their given name The complicated history of naming practices in Japan Commoners being prohibited from using family names during the Edo Period The Meiji era laws that mandated every Japanese person take a family name The reluctance of some people to take a family name during the Meiji Period The fact that many (most?) people with the surname Satō (佐藤) are probably not descended from samurai The fact that many commoners were given last names based on the geographical features of the area in which they lived The story of how the Furo (風呂) family supposedly got their family name from Minamoto no Yoshitsune The most common family names in Japan in 2019 How many Japanese family names there are The prevalence of rare Japanese last names The regional nature of some Japanese family names The convention of naming boys based on their birth order How it's easy to forget people's first names in Japan Some of the factors people in Japan consider when naming a baby Asking people in Japan about the kanji they use for their given name as a way to spark conversation The phenomenon of siblings having related names Interesting names in anime The practice of picking a baby name based on the way a name is written How much it usually costs to have a shrine pick a baby name for you What a seimeihandanshi is What it might cost you to have a seimeihandanshi pick a baby name for you A list outlining the most popular baby names in Japan of 2019 The Japanese naming convention of tōriji How shorter names have become common in Japan in recent years How female names that end in -ko used to be more common And much more! Note: Just for the sake of clarity, I'd like to point out that the story of the Furo family name did not occur during the Meiji Period (actually it probably never even occurred in the way it is normally told). However, because the story was introduced alongside the changes of the Meiji Period it's possible to be left with the impression that there was a connection there. There is no direct connection. The story was simply brought up as an example of the many interesting ways in which people in Japan acquired last names. Support on Patreon If you enjoy Ichimon Japan and want to ensure that we're able to produce more episodes, then please consider becoming a patron on Patreon.com. You can join for just $1 a month and that comes with perks like early access to episodes, a shout-out at the beginning of a future episode, bonus content, and discounts to Kimito Designs. For $3 a month you get all that plus access to Japanese Plus Alpha, a podcast produced by me (Tony Vega) that focuses on the Japanese language and its many quirks. Whether you are studying Japanese or just enjoy learning about language and linguistics, you'll enjoy Japanese Plus Alpha. And it goes without saying that if you sign up, you'll also get my undying gratitude. Thanks in advance! Support on Patreon Sources, Links, Videos, Etc. Here are some of the main Japanese-language sources that were used when doing the research for this episode. 全国名字ランキング 【名字】風呂 実在する珍しい名字 (5) 通字と偏諱 日本人の苗字はこうしてつけられた 【CGS 日本の歴史 5-9】 NHKネーミングバラエティー日本人のおなまえっ　日本一短い名字「井」 名付けを神社にお願いするには？方法や金額相場や初穂料について解説 名付けはどうやって決めた？先輩ママに聞いてみよう 赤ちゃんの名付け！気をつけるポイントと名付け方法 神社での命名にかかる料金はどれぐらい？手順や注意点を解説します！ Here are some of the main English-language sources used when doing the research for this episode. A Long History of Japanese Names This is the Tofugu article mentioned during this episode. The Japanese Naming System - Morphology and Semantics of Individual Names by Anja Collazo This is the thesis mentioned during this episode. Japan's Name Culture: The Significance of Names in a Religious, Political, and Social Context by Herbert Plutschow Here are the Ichimon Japan episodes mentioned during this episode. Why are school rules in Japan so strict? (All About Kōsoku) | Ichimon Japan 23 What is seppuku? (The Basics of Samurai “Suicide”) | Ichimon Japan18 Here is the latest episode of Japan Station. Yūrei, Ghosts & Yōkai, A Chat w. Zack Davisson | Japan Station 50 If you would like to check out the Kimito Designs shop, then use the link below. Remember to use the coupon code OPENING10 when you check out to get 10% off (valid until the end of 2020). Visit KimitoDesigns.com Japanese Vocabulary List Most episodes feature at least one or two interesting Japanese words or phrases. Here’s some of the ones that came up on this episode. All information is from Jim Breen's WWWJDIC. Myōji 苗字 : 苗字(P); 名字(P) 【みょうじ】 (n) (See 名前・2) surname; family name Namae 名前 : 名前(P); 名まえ 【なまえ】 (n) (1) name; (n) (2) (See 名字) given name; first name; Furo 風呂 【ふろ】 (n) (1) (See お風呂) bath; bathing; bathtub; bathroom; (n) (2) bathhouse; public bath Kenkō 健康 【けんこう】 (n) (1) health; (adj-na) (2) healthy; sound; fit; wholesome Futoi 太い 【ふとい】 (adj-i) (1) fat; thick; (adj-i) (2) deep (of a voice); thick; sonorous; (adj-i) (3) daring; shameless; brazen; audacious Seimeihandan   姓名判断 【せいめいはんだん】 (n) (yoji) fortunetelling based on writing or pronunciation of one's name Iemoto 家元 【いえもと】 (n) head of a school (of music, dance); head family of a school Himawari ひまわり (n) sunflower (Helianthus annuus) Tsumugi 紬 : 紬; 紡ぎ 【つむぎ】 (n) pongee; soft thin cloth woven from raw silk Tsumugu 紡ぐ 【つむぐ】 ; (v5g,vt) (1) to spin; to make yarn; (v5g,vt) (2) to spin (a tale); to assemble (e.g. words); to put together Kotoba o tsumugu 言葉を紡ぐ : 言葉を紡ぐ; 言葉をつむぐ 【ことばをつむぐ】 (exp,v5g) (poet) to express in a refined fashion; to weave a web of words Wa 和 : 和(P); 倭 【わ】 (n) (1) (和 only) {math} sum; (n) (2) (和 only) harmony; peace; (n,n-pref,adj-no) (3) Japan; Japanese-style We Want Your Questions Is there something about Japan that confuses you? Is there something about Japanese culture that you would like to learn more about? Is there something in Japanese history that you would like us to explain? We're always looking for new questions about Japan to answer, so if you have one, please send it to ichimon@japankyo.com. Special Thanks Opening/Closing Theme: Produced by Apol (YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Fiverr) Ichimon Japan cover art: Produced by Erik R. Follow Japankyo on Social Media Facebook (@JapanKyoNews) Twitter (@JapanKyoNews) Full Show Notes https:///www.japankyo.com/ichimonjapan  

Put on your thinking caps, folks! In this episode, the Tofugu crew — Kanae, Cameron, Mami, and Rachel — discuss the differences between 考える and 思う, two Japanese words for "think." After listening to the episode, check our article to do some more thinking about "thinking": https://www.tofugu.com/japanese/omou-kangaeru/

On this episode of the Japan Station podcast, localizer and author Matt Alt stops by to discuss the influence Japanese pop culture has had on the world. About Matt Alt Matt Alt is a localizer of Japanese games and manga. Together with Hiroko Yoda he founded the localization company AltJapan and has authored multiple books on Japanese folklore and history. Matt's latest book was published in June of 2020 by Crown and is titled Pure Invention: How Japan's Pop Culture Conquered the World.Pure Invention: How Japan's Pop Culture Conquered the World. Topics Discussed Localization and how the industry has evolved over the past few decades Matt Alt's experience learning Japanese in high school How Matt almost got to meet Osamu Tezuka Anime in the U.S. in the '70s, '80s, and '90s The kawaii aesthetic of Super Mario and other classic video games from Japan Visiting Sony's extensive archives The popularity and influence of Sanrio's Hello Kitty How it was that Matt came to work on his well-known book Yokai Attack! The increasing adoption of the term yokai over the past couple decades Using one's dissatisfaction with translations as motivation to learn Japanese And much more! Support on Patreon If you enjoy Japan Station and want to ensure that we're able to produce more episodes, then please consider becoming a patron on Patreon.com. For a minimum pledge of $1 a month you'll get access to extra blog posts and additional input on future content. You'd also receive Tony's eternal, profound, and undrying gratitude. Support Japan Station on Patreon Links, Videos, Etc. You can purchase Pure Invention: How Japan's Pop Culture Conquered the World via the Amazon affiliate link below. Pure Invention: How Japan's Pop Culture Conquered the World by Matt Alt If you're interested in any of Matt Alt's other books, please consider using the affiliate links below in order to support Japan Station. Yokai Attack!: The Japanese Monster Survival Guide (Yokai ATTACK! Series) by Matt Alt & Hiroko Yoda Yurei Attack!: The Japanese Ghost Survival Guide (Yokai ATTACK! Series) by Matt Alt & Hiroko Yoda Ninja Attack!: True Tales of Assassins, Samurai, and Outlaws (Yokai ATTACK! Series) by Matt Alt & Hiroko Yoda You can follow Matt Alt on Twitter. @Matt_Alt To learn more about AltJapan, visit their website via the link below. AltJapan Website Here is Matt Alt's Tofugu.com interview article. An Interview with Matt Alt: Translation, Localization, and other Nice Japanese Things To listen to the latest episode of Ichimon Japan, use the link below. What’s so scary about the hour of the ox? (About Ushi no Koku Mairi) | Ichimon Japan 21 Special Thanks Opening/Closing song: Oedo Controller (大江戸コントローラー) by Yunomi featuring Toriena (Used with permission from Yunomi) To listen to more of Yunomi's music, check out his Soundcloud page or YouTube channel. Japan Station cover art: Provided by Erik R. Featured image: Courtesy of Matt Alt Follow Japankyo on Social Media Facebook (@JapankyoNews) Twitter (@JapankyoNews) Full Show Notes Get full show notes at www.japanstationpodcast.com  

Himiko is perhaps the first historical Japanese person whose name is recorded, thanks to the Chinese histories. Check out her story, as Jonathan is joined by Tracy Wiedman.Check out Chelsea Bernard's article over on Tofugu.

In this episode, the Tofugu crew, Kanae, Cameron, and Rachel discuss the word "senpai," its use in Japanese schools and society, and Kanae's lasting trauma surrounding white socks from her senpai experience. After listening to the episode, check more details in our article: https://www.tofugu.com/japanese/senpai/

Did you know there are people who are 先生 (sensei) besides teachers or your judo instructor Sensei Jeff? In this episode, the Tofugu crew, Kanae, Jenny, and Rachel discuss the word "sensei" from their personal experience and introduce many different kinds of sensei beyond teachers. After listening to the episode, check more details in our article: https://www.tofugu.com/japanese/sensei/

Show Notes This week, we recap, review, and provide analysis of Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam (機動戦士Ζガンダム) episode 38 - "Reccoa's Shadow" (レコアの気配), discuss our first impressions, and provide commentary and research on the Dijeh mobile suit, and giraffes. - Articles about sail-backed creatures like the Spinosaurus:Joseph Castro for LiveScience.com, Spinosaurus: The Largest Carnivorous Dinosaur. March 18, 2016. Available at https://www.livescience.com/24120-spinosaurus.htmlReptilis.net, Tall spines and sailed backs: A survey of sailbacks across time. Jun 21, 2014. Available at https://reptilis.net/2014/06/21/tall-spines-and-sailed-backs-a-survey-of-sailbacks-across-time/ The Philippine sailfin lizard: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippinesailfinlizard - Japanese Wikipedia article for the Rick Dias (includes the Dijeh as a subtype). - Article about the djed legend:Joshua J. Mark for Ancient.eu, Djed. March 3, 2016. Available at https://www.ancient.eu/Djed/- Wikipedia and Britannica pages on the qilin/kirin.- More articles about the mythical Kirin (the page from the Tokyo National Museum also addresses the giraffe connection in Japanese art): Meyer, Matthew. “Yokai.com.” Kirin | Yokai.com, 2020, yokai.com/kirin/.Bernard, Chelsea. “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: Japan Edition.” Tofugu, Tofugu, 30 Apr. 2014, www.tofugu.com/japan/japanese-mythological-creatures/.“Mythical Creatures: The Qilin.” Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo National Museum, 2012, www.tnm.jp/modules/rfreepage/index.php?id=1462&lang=en.- Giraffes in China:Eschner, Kat. “The Peculiar Story of Giraffes in 1400s China.” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 21 June 2017, www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/peculiar-story-giraffes-medieval-china-180963737/.Laufer, Berthold. “The Giraffe in History and Art.” Anthropology Leaflet, no. 27, 1928, pp. 1–100. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/41444127. Accessed 25 Mar. 2020.- About the fact that giraffes hum at night:Allison Eck for PBS.org, Giraffes Hum to Each Other Throughout the Night, And Zookeepers Never Noticed. September 18, 2015. Available at https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/giraffes-hum-to-each-other-throughout-the-night-and-zookeepers-never-noticed/ You can subscribe to Mobile Suit Breakdown for free! on fine Podcast services everywhere and on YouTube, follow us on twitter @gundampodcast, check us out at gundampodcast.com, email your questions, comments, and complaints to gundampodcast@gmail.com.Mobile Suit Breakdown wouldn't exist without the support of our fans and Patrons! You can join our Patreon to support the podcast and enjoy bonus episodes, extra out-takes, behind-the-scenes photo and video, MSB gear, and much more!The intro music is WASP by Misha Dioxin, and the outro is Long Way Home by Spinning Ratio, both licensed under Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license. Both have been edited for length. Mobile Suit Breakdown provides critical commentary and is protected by the Fair Use clause of the United States Copyright law. Gundam content is copyright and/or trademark of Sunrise Inc., Bandai, Sotsu Agency, or its original creator. Mobile Suit Breakdown is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Sunrise, Bandai, Sotsu, or any of their subsidiaries, employees, or associates and makes no claim to own Gundam or any of the copyrights or trademarks related to it. Copyrighted content used in Mobile Suit Breakdown is used in accordance with the Fair Use clause of the United States Copyright law. Any queries should be directed to gundampodcast@gmail.comFind out more at http://gundampodcast.com

Show Notes This week, we recap, review, and analyze Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam (機動戦士Ζガンダム) episode 32 - "Unidentified Mobile Suits" (謎のモビルスーツ), discuss our first impressions, and provide commentary and research on the history of ice cream in Japan (part 2), and Yazan's turtle tattoo. - Web resources (in Japanese) about the history of ice cream:“アイスクリームの工業化.”日本アイスクリーム協会, https://www.icecream.or.jp/biz/history/japan02.html“アイスクリーム時代の到来.”日本アイスクリーム協会, https://www.icecream.or.jp/biz/history/japan03.html細野明義. “アイスクリームの日本昔話.” 日本アイスクリーム協会, https://www.icecream.or.jp/biz/history/oldstory.pdf“日本アイスクリーム史 - 昨日、今日、そして明日へ.” 日本アイスクリーム協会, https://www.icecream.or.jp/biz/history/history.pdf- Calculator to adjust past prices for inflation.- Wikipedia page on the three sacred treasures (traditional and "new").- I got population numbers by searching “Japan population [date]” in Google. It cites the World Bank as one of its sources for historical population data.- Article about the mid-1980s luxury ice cream fad in Japan, namely for Häagen-Dazs:Chira, Susan. “AN ICE CREAM WINS JAPANESE.” The New York Times, 20 Aug. 1985.- Paper about an ethnographic study of fast food perceptions and consumption in Japan:Traphagan, John W., and L. Keith Brown. “Fast Food and Intergenerational Commensality in Japan: New Styles and Old Patterns.” Ethnology, vol. 41, no. 2, 2002, pp. 119–134. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/4153002. Accessed 5 Feb. 2020.- Explanation of "indirect kiss," and several other romantic gestures that show up in Japanese media.- Wikipedia page on Japanese tattooing, including notes on the status of tattoos in the modern period.- English-language articles about discrimination against people with tattoos in Japan:Justin McCurry for The Guardian, Mayor of Osaka launches crusade against tattoos. May 17, 2012. Available at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/may/17/mayor-osaka-tattoos.Author unknown, the Japan Times, Supreme Court upholds Osaka city's tattoo check on workers as legal. November 14, 2016. Available at https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/11/14/national/crime-legal/supreme-court-upholds-osaka-citys-tattoo-check-workers-legal/#.Xj2PnGhKiUm- Article by Bryan Ashcraft (author of Japanese Tattoos: History * Culture * Design) for Kotaku about a government crackdown on tattooing:Japan is Trying to Destroy Tattoos, updated June 3, 2016. Available at https://kotaku.com/japan-is-trying-to-destroy-tattoos-update-1747046619- Discogs record for the Japanese release of The Dream of the Blue Turtles, including its release date.- July 1985 Spin Magazine interview with Sting.- The Dream of the Blue Turtles full track and a playlist for the full album.- Review of The Dream of the Blue Turtles album discussing its success:Jeff Giles for Ultimate Classic Rock, REVISITING STING’S SOLO DEBUT, ‘THE DREAM OF THE BLUE TURTLES’. Date unknown. Available at: https://ultimateclassicrock.com/sting-dream-of-the-blue-turtles/- Wikipedia page for the color ao (青、あお) and Jisho.org entry.- Article about traditional Japanese color theory:Sarah W. and Fiona for Tofugu, The Traditional Colors of Japan. September 12, 2013. Available at https://www.tofugu.com/japan/color-in-japan/- Wikipedia page for the blue-green distinction in language. - Japanese Wikipedia page for the Green Sea Turtle (アオウミガメ). Thom accidentally dropped a syllable during recording - he said "aomigame" but it should be "aoumigame.- The music used in the AEUG Broadcasting Channel segment was Gemini (Instrumental Version) by Josh Woodward, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License. The work is available at https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Josh_Woodward/The_Wake_1790/JoshWoodward-TheWake-NoVox-12-Gemini and Josh Woodward's website is www.joshwoodward.com.- The voice of Yugi the AEUG Assistance Aardvark was provided by Adam Black, who encourages you to check out https://oneearthsangha.org/ to help save our planet. You can subscribe to the Mobile Suit Breakdown for free! on fine Podcast services everywhere and on YouTube, follow us on twitter @gundampodcast, check us out at gundampodcast.com, email your questions, comments, and complaints to gundampodcast@gmail.com.Mobile Suit Breakdown wouldn't exist without the support of our fans and Patrons! You can join our Patreon to support the podcast and enjoy bonus episodes, extra out-takes, behind-the-scenes photo and video, MSB gear, and much more!The intro music is WASP by Misha Dioxin, and the outro is Long Way Home by Spinning Ratio, both licensed under Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license. Both have been edited for length. Mobile Suit Breakdown provides critical commentary and is protected by the Fair Use clause of the United States Copyright law. Gundam content is copyright and/or trademark of Sunrise Inc., Bandai, Sotsu Agency, or its original creator. Mobile Suit Breakdown is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Sunrise, Bandai, Sotsu, or any of their subsidiaries, employees, or associates and makes no claim to own Gundam or any of the copyrights or trademarks related to it. Copyrighted content used in Mobile Suit Breakdown is used in accordance with the Fair Use clause of the United States Copyright law. Any queries should be directed to gundampodcast@gmail.comFind out more at http://gundampodcast.com

In this episode, Tofugu's research team answers questions about だ and です from our listeners, such as: "What would be the best translation of です?" "When and how does it make sense to switch between です to だ when meeting somebody new?" After listening to this episode, go check out our article on Tofugu.com for more info: "だ and です : Venturing beyond Textbook Rules into Real-Life Use" (www.tofugu.com/japanese/da-vs-desu-in-real-life/)

In this episode, the Tofugu research team answers questions about だ and です from our listeners, such as: "Is it true that だ isn't just a less polite form of です?" "What are the real differences between だ and です?" After listening to this episode, check out our article on Tofugu.com for more info: "だ and です : Venturing beyond Textbook Rules into Real-Life Use" (www.tofugu.com/japanese/da-vs-desu-in-real-life/)

On this episode of the Japan Station podcast we're talking about learning Japanese, running a business, and a whole lot more with the creator of Tofugu, Koichi. About Koichi For more than a decade Koichi has been helping people learn about Japan, Japanese culture, and the Japanese language via the blog Tofugu and all of its related products and services. Koichi got his start in the public eye when he began uploading Japanese-language videos to his YouTube channel Koichiben during the early days of YouTube. Not long after that, Koichi made the transition to English-language content when he launched the Tofugu blog and YouTube channel. Since then, Koichi has been able to build the Tofugu brand into a  successful company that has become known as a source of great Japan-related content that is both fun and educational. Topics Discussed Why Koichi started making YouTube videos The transition from Koichiben to Tofugu Koichi's connection to Hawaii The difficulties of starting and running a business What motivated Koichi to create the Japanese language textbook TextFugu The kanji learning app WaniKani How pretending to be a cult can be an effective marketing strategy Koichi's appreciation of off-the-beaten path sightseeing spots "Robot Sex Museums" The Retro Space Saka Kaikan (レトロスペース 坂会館) museum in Sapporo The Fushigi Hakubutsukan (ふしぎ博物館) museum in Fukuoka The Sanatorium cafe in Fukuoka What Koichi enjoys about running his own business The hunt for the elusive Bob Sapp Trying to get in touch with prime minister Shinzo Abe And much more! Follow Japankyo on Social Media Facebook (@JapankyoNews) Twitter (@JapankyoNews)

Show Notes This week, we recap, review, and analyze Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam (機動戦士Ζガンダム) episode 25 - Colony Drop (コロニーが落ちる日), discuss our first impressions, and provide commentary and research on women at work in Japan of the 1980s, nuclear pulse engines, seiza, and fortune-telling machines. - Paper about labor force participation of Japanese women:Shimada, Haruo, and Yoshio Higuchi. “An Analysis of Trends in Female Labor Force Participation in Japan.” Journal of Labor Economics, vol. 3, no. 1, 1985, pp. S355–S374. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/2535011.- Wikipedia page on marriage in Japan.- Wikipedia page for Japan’s Equal Employment Opportunity Law.- OECD paper on gender pay gap for full-time workers in member countries.- Japan Times opinion article about the ongoing discrimination Japanese women face in the workforce.- Article from Human Rights Watch about workplace harassment in Japan.- Article from Nikkei Asian Review on the sexual harassment of job-seekers.- CNN article covering a Japanese survey about overwork, office culture, and mental health.- Daily Beast article about recent (2018) sexual harassment and sexual discrimination scandals in Japan.*- Unseen Japan translation of recent HuffPo Japan article about harassment during job-seeking.- Wikipedia article on the JSDF (Japan Self-Defense Force).- Japan Times articles about women in the JSDF.- Graph of mean age at first marriage in Japan from 1955 to 2018, by gender.- Trends of mean age at first birth in Poland, Japan and Sweden.- An article with good statistics on dating, marriage, and childbearing in Japan, but with positions and conclusions I mostly disagree with, by Akihiko Kato, a Professor in the School of Political Science and Economics at Meiji University.- Huffpo article on sexist expressions in languages other than English, including “Christmas Cake.”- New York Times article about the increasing number of Japanese women choosing to stay single (also mentions “Christmas Cake”).- A comprehensive paper on the early history of Nuclear Pulse Propulsion, with diagrams:G.R. Schmidt, J.A. Bonometti, and P.J. Morton of NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville Alabama. Nuclear Pulse Propulsion - Orion and Beyond. Presented at the 36th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference & Exhibit, July 2000, Huntsville, Alabama. Available at https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20000096503.pdf- An article including information on newer ideas for nuclear pulse propulsion:Stan Tacket. Nuclear Pulse Propulsion: Gateway to the Stars. March 27, 2013. Available at http://ansnuclearcafe.org/2013/03/27/nuclear-pulse-propulsion-gateway-to-the-stars/- A declassified report from Los Alamos on nuclear pulse propulsion.Balcomb, Booth, Robinson, Cotter, Springer, Hedstrom, Watson. Nuclear Pulsed Space Propulsion Systems. Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory of the University of California, United States Atomic Energy Commission. 1970. - Background on Freeman Dyson, Stanislaw Ulam, nuclear pulse propulsion, and Project Orion.- Video footage from a 1950s era small scale test of the Project Orion concept.- Wikipedia page on seiza.- Teacher forces 96 students to kneel for 20 minutes as punishment for being late.- Other sources on seiza as punishment:DeCoker, Gary, and Christopher Bjork. Japanese Education in an Era of Globalization: Culture, Politics, and Equity. Teachers College Press, 2013.LeTendre, Gerald K., and Rebecca Erwin Fukuzawa. Intense Years: How Japanese Adolescents Balance School, Family and Friends. Routledge, 2016.- Japan Times article about upcoming changes to law regarding child abuse, including seiza in a list of unacceptable physical punishments.- A brief rundown of some of the most famous fortune telling machines, including the Ask Swami that was "ubiquitous" in 1950s diners.- The Twilight Zone episode with the fortune telling machine and a comparison of the Mystic Seer from the episode with the Ask Swami.- Background on o-mikuji fortunes in English and in Japanese.- Some more readable articles about the practice, with pictures.- An article talking about the o-mikuji vending machines.- Wikimedia's collection of pictures of o-mikuji vending machines.- The roulette wheel omikuji vending machine, and an article about them with pictures that show one on a table in a restaurant.- Tofugu article about Japan's coffee culture that mentions the 1980s coffee boom. You can subscribe to the Mobile Suit Breakdown for free! on fine Podcast services everywhere and on YouTube, follow us on twitter @gundampodcast, check us out at gundampodcast.com, email your questions, comments, and complaints to gundampodcast@gmail.com.Mobile Suit Breakdown wouldn't exist without the support of our fans and Patrons! You can join our Patreon to support the podcast and enjoy bonus episodes, extra out-takes, behind-the-scenes photo and video, MSB gear, and much more!The intro music is WASP by Misha Dioxin, and the outro is Long Way Home by Spinning Ratio, both licensed under Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license. Both have been edited for length. Mobile Suit Breakdown provides critical commentary and is protected by the Fair Use clause of the United States Copyright law. Gundam content is copyright and/or trademark of Sunrise Inc., Bandai, Sotsu Agency, or its original creator. Mobile Suit Breakdown is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Sunrise, Bandai, Sotsu, or any of their subsidiaries, employees, or associates and makes no claim to own Gundam or any of the copyrights or trademarks related to it. Copyrighted content used in Mobile Suit Breakdown is used in accordance with the Fair Use clause of the United States Copyright law. Any queries should be directed to gundampodcast@gmail.comFind out more at http://gundampodcast.com

Show Notes This week, we recap, review, and analyze Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam (機動戦士Ζガンダム) episode 23 - Moon Attack (ムーン・アタック), discuss our first impressions, and provide commentary and research Japanese youth and religion, home shrines and altars in Japan, and a Gundam names round-up that include Buran Blutarch (ブラン・ブルターク), Mouar Pharoah (マウアー・ファラオ), and Siddeley. Plus, the birds laugh at us (a research dead-end!). - From my attempts to figure out "the birds will laugh at me" - a study of Chinese pottery from a specific kiln, includes examples of pottery with poetry painted on and the “I fear flowers and birds will laugh at me” line.- Anime News Network page for Andersen Monogatari, a 1968 Japanese animated film based on the life and stories of Hans Christian Andersen.- Info page and link to watch Ahiru no ko, or The Ugly Duckling, a silent animated short from Japan, released in 1932. This website is amazing, and has lots of early Japanese animated works viewable in their entirety.- Published study about Japanese young adults and their perception of religion:Japanese Youth Confronts Religion, Fernando M. Basabe. 1967.- Wikipedia articles for kamidana and butsudan, as well an article from learnjapanese123.com about them, and one from tofugu.com about butsudan specifically. The Tofugu article has some great historical information on how the practice of keeping a butsudan may have developed.- Book about ceremony in Japanese home-life, including butsudan, kamidama, and the practices around them:Jeremy, Michael, et al. Ceremony and Symbolism in the Japanese Home. University of Hawaii Press, 1989.- Paper about perceptions and use of butsudan in the Japanese diaspora community in the United States, especially among nisei, sansei, and further removed generations:Iwamura, Jane Naomi. “Altared States: Exploring the Legacy of Japanese American Butsudan Practice.” Pacific World, no. 5, ser. 3, 2003, pp. 275–292. 3.- Wired article and creator webpage for a design project to create smaller and simpler butsudan, reflecting modern and minimalist design.- On Buran Blutarch (ブラン・ブルターク), Wikipedia pages for the Buran program, the Buran spacecraft, and the Energia (the rocket booster used with the Buran spacecraft). - NY Times Article about the Soviet Buran program's test flights immediately prior to Zeta's creation:"SOVIET UNION LOFTS A SHUTTLE MODEL IN AMBITIOUS PLAN" by John Noble Wilford, Dec. 20 1984. - NBC Article about the KGB stealing shuttle program documents for the Buran program:"How the Soviets stole a space shuttle" by Robert Windrem, Nov. 4, 1997. - Brief Roscosmos video about the Buran, in Russian but includes video of the craft launching and its fully automated landing.- CNN Article about the Buran being left to rot in Kazakhstan:"Two abandoned Soviet space shuttles left in Kazakh steppe" by Jacopo Prisco, Dec. 21, 2017. - Detailed timeline of the Buran program. - Space.com retrospective on the Buran, including its ultimate fate (destroyed when its hangar collapsed).- Jisho.org entry for Plutarch (プルタルコス).- Wikipedia page for Plutarch.- On Mouar Pharaoh (マウアー・ファラオ): Maua (Kenya), Mauá (Brazil), Maúa (Mozambique), the Maua tree, and the Maua cicada.- Wikipedia and CFA (Cat Fanciers' Association) pages for the Egyptian Mau Cat. And a cute video, "Meet the Egyptian Mau." - Wikipedia pages for Pharaoh (the title and position), and for Cleopatra (the 1963 movie).- Liz Taylor/Mouar side-by-side comparison image (created by Thom).- Wikipedia pages for John Siddeley, the Hawker Siddeley company, and the Hawker Siddeley Harrier (a famous VTOL fighter jet).- 1975 archive footage from inside a Hawker Siddeley plant. - Excessively dramatic mini-documentary about the Harrier with a lot of footage of them in action.- The song for the TNN Marasai advertisement is "Drops of H2O ( The Filtered Water Treatment )" by J.Lang (c) copyright 2012 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Ft: Airtone. You can subscribe to the Mobile Suit Breakdown for free! on fine Podcast services everywhere and on YouTube, follow us on twitter @gundampodcast, check us out at gundampodcast.com, email your questions, comments, and complaints to gundampodcast@gmail.com.Mobile Suit Breakdown wouldn't exist without the support of our fans and Patrons! You can join our Patreon to support the podcast and enjoy bonus episodes, extra out-takes, behind-the-scenes photo and video, MSB gear, and much more!The intro music is WASP by Misha Dioxin, and the outro is Long Way Home by Spinning Ratio, both licensed under Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license. Both have been edited for length. Mobile Suit Breakdown provides critical commentary and is protected by the Fair Use clause of the United States Copyright law. Gundam content is copyright and/or trademark of Sunrise Inc., Bandai, Sotsu Agency, or its original creator. Mobile Suit Breakdown is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Sunrise, Bandai, Sotsu, or any of their subsidiaries, employees, or associates and makes no claim to own Gundam or any of the copyrights or trademarks related to it. Copyrighted content used in Mobile Suit Breakdown is used in accordance with the Fair Use clause of the United States Copyright law. Any queries should be directed to gundampodcast@gmail.comFind out more at http://gundampodcast.com

Adam and Drew are very sorry that it took so long to get this episode to you, but we're back and better than ever. Adam tells Drew, and by extension, all of you, about the most influential player that never actually stepped on a real-life soccer field. Also: because Adam is dumb and forgot to cite his sources in the podcast, here they are. Will Sharp for These Football Times, Wilson Leviano for Remezcla, and Nathaniel Edwards for Tofugu. If you want to learn more about today's episode, check them out!

A podcast episode from Tofugu about White Day: https://soundcloud.com/tofugu/white-day