Posts in March 2009

Japanese Baby Names

Posted by Ginny
Mar
31
2009

You’ll find that Japanese names that end in certain syllables tend to be names for boys while others tend to be names for girls.

Take for example, names that end in roo (郎).  Names that end in roo (郎) tend to be names for baby boys.

Taroo (太郎) = eldest son. Ta (太) = big.  Roo (郎) = son.

Jiroo (二郎)= second son.  Ji (二) = two.  Roo (郎) = son.

Names that end or begin with ta (太) tend to be boy names as well.

Kenta (健太).  Ken (健) = strong.  Ta (太) = big.

Yuuta (勇太).  Yuu (勇) = brave.  Ta (太) = big.

Names that end in ko (子) tend to be female.

Akiko (明子).  Aki (明) = bright.  Ko (子) = child.

Keiko (慶子).  Kei (慶) = celebration.  Ko (子) = child.

Names that end or begin with mi (美) tend to be female as well.

Michiko (美智子).  Mi (美) = beautiful.  Chi (智) = wisdom.  Ko (子).

Yumi (由美).  Yu (由) = reason.  Mi (美) = beautiful.

In general flower names like sakura (桜) = cherry blossoms, tend to be female while masculine names like takeshi (武) = warrior, tend to be for males.

 
Posted under Uncategorized
Tagged with 		0 Comments | Post a Comment

Japanese Castles

Posted by Ginny
Mar
30
2009

Like the medieval castles of Europe, the castles of Japan were meant to be a fortress against attacks.  The general term for castle is shiro (城), but when the word for castle is a proper noun, the word castle is pronounced as joo (城) is attached.  For example Chihaya castle would be pronounced as chihayajoo (千早城) not chihayashiro (千早城).  Some of the castles reflect a military sensibility rather than a mansion built for royalty.  Some of the most famous castles in Japan are located in harsh terrain.  Castles located in the mountains were called yamashiro (山城).  Castles surrounded by water were called mizuki (水城), while those hidden by low elevation are called hirayamashiro (平山城).

Some of the many impressive castles contained the yagura (櫓), which were towers used to view the enemy from below.  There were tiny slits called yasama (やさま), where arrows could pass through, and even bigger holes for taihosama (たいほさま), where cannons could be shot through the air. 

If the daimyoo (大名) was especially rich and powerful, he had smaller castles called shijoo (しじょお), in which lower ranking samurai (さむらい) lived.  The daimyoo (大名) or lord lived in the honjoo (ほんじょお) or the main castle.  That way, if the daimyoo (大名) was attacked, he had the convenient disposal of warriors ready at all times.  Some of the castles that remain today stretch for many miles on end, and from a bird’s eye view you can see the main castle surrounded and protected by the smaller castles.

Although many castles are being restored and preserved for future generations, there are many castles are only survive in bits and pieces of stone.  Many of the castles were destroyed in WWII and only the stone bases remain.  Despite that, archaeologists have been able to see and learn what specific castles looked like by the records left by the previous residents of the castle.  Luckily today, the castles are used as museums and for sight-seeing, not for military purposes.

 
Posted under Culture
Tagged with 		0 Comments | Post a Comment

Japanese Literature

Posted by Ginny
Mar
28
2009

I’m going to recommend a classic piece of Japanese literature from the Heian (平安) period.

Genji Monogatari (源氏物語) or the The Tale of Genji, is a famous and renowned novel about a prince and his romantic dalliances.  As much as Shakespeare is respected and praised all over the world, so is the author of Genji Monogatari (源氏物語) in Japan.  Her name is, or I should say was, Murasaki Shikibu (紫式部).  You can find translated versions of The Tale of Genji in English so there’s no excuse not to read it!

If you want to take the challenge and try reading it in Japanese, I’m going to warn you that it’s not an easy task.  The language is written in the old Heian (平安) court style of Japanese, which is highly refined.  On top of that, Murasaki (むらさき) has an unusual naming convention for her characters.  In Heian (平安) times, it was considered rude to call someone directly by their name.  For example, if I were to address the person next to me with a simple “Hello Jonathan” I would be committing a grave social mistake.  In The Tale of Genji, you’ll find many characters with a title such as “the beautiful princess of the east”.  This is not to say that the lady was an actual princess, but it’s just a polite title attached to the region from whence the person came.  In the same vein, some of the men are referred to as “his excellency” or by the role or occupation the man serves in court.

It gets confusing when there’s a dialogue between several women and you have to sort out which “princess” is doing the talking and which “princess” is being refered to in the conversation.  On top of that, some of the conversations are not direct, but involve some deductive thinking.  For example, it’s not unusual to see a character recite a poem in place of an actual conversation.  Some of the words have double meanings, which adds to the complication.

Before I go, I just want to add that the Tale of Genji is really a fun read.  Once you get the characters down (which number in the hundreds), you’ll find some intricate and fascinating details about the life of upper class women, courtlife in general, and the workings of the Heian (平安) etiquette and social status system.  One more thing that I’ll add is that you might find some of the moral codes of the Heian (平安) society distateful.  In fact, if we were to judge the behavior of Genji (源氏) in a modern court of law, he would probably be sentenced to some MAJOR jail time.  However, despite that, the book is interesting, so if you get a chance read it anyway.

 
Posted under Uncategorized
Tagged with 		1 Comment | Post a Comment

Japanese Cuisine: Hina Matsuri Food

Posted by Ginny
Mar
26
2009

Hina Matsuri (雛祭り) is a doll festival in which multiple dolls are displayed and presented to young girls as gifts.  This tradition goes back to the time when Japanese people believed that dolls had the power to contain evil spirits within the doll, so that the young girl would not be harmed by the evil spirit.  In traditional times, when child mortaltity rates were high, parents believed that presenting these dolls would prevent illness and other misfortune from befalling the child.  However, the dolls had to be taken down from display no longer than a week of the festival.  The superstition is that the young girl will have difficulty getting married if the dolls are displayed in public for too long.

One of the things I looked forward to as a young child was the food served at the Hina Matsuri (雛祭り) festival.  Hishimochi (ひしもち) is a tri-colored rice cake in the shape of a diamond.  The diamond shape of the cake is supposed to represent fertility.  The usual colors for hishimochi (ひしもち) are pink, white and green.  The pink dye comes from crushing plum flowers and the white dye derives from crushing water chestnuts.  The green dye is made from shrubs.

I’m a picky about sushi, but I happen to like the chirashizushi (ちらし寿司).  Chirashizuki (ちらし寿司) literally means “scattered sushi”.  It’s fast and easy to make.  Just get some rice mixed with vinegar and sugar and mix in some vegetables.  It’s not your typical sushi (すし) in the sense that you wrap the rice and vegetables in seaweed.  Like the name implies, chirashizuki (ちらし寿司) is literally a bowl of rice with some raw fish and vegetables.

For drinks, you’ll find people sipping shirozake (白酒), which is a sweet, white colored sake (酒).  Shirozake (白酒) is made from malt rice and liquor.  It’s really pulpy, so sometimes you’ll see people scoop it up with a scoop instead of drinking it.  Shirozake (白酒) is meant to symbolize the desire for purity and health of the young girl.  Of course, the child isn’t supposed to drink it, but the parents and grandparents often do so.

I dedicate this post to all the young girls out there who are trying to reach their highest potential and fulfill their dreams.  Keep at it or in Japanese, Ganbatte! (がんばって)

 
Posted under Cuisine
Tagged with 		0 Comments | Post a Comment

Japanese Holiday: Hina Matsuri 2 (雛祭り)

Posted by Ginny
Mar
23
2009

Alright, so here are the remainder of the dolls:

The third platform contains five figures of musicians called go nin bayashi (五人囃子).  There are three drum players, one of them holds a drum called taiko (太鼓) and is seated.  The other two drums players are both standing.  There is also a flute player with a fue (笛) or flute and a singer or utaika (謡い方) carrying a fan called sensu (扇子).

 

The fourth platform contains two government officials.  The minister of the right is called the udaijin (右大臣).  The minister of the left is called the sadaijin (左大臣).  The ministers are separated by tables called ozen (お膳). 

 

The fifth platform is the funniest platform.  (At least to me it is.)  There are three samurai (さむらい) of various temperments in drinking.  For example the sad samurai drinker is called nakijougo (泣き上戸) and the grouchy drinker is called okorijougo (怒り上戸).  Lastly the cheerful drinker is called the waraijougo (笑い上戸).  I wonder how appropriate this is for a present to a child, but I think most kids don’t pay attention beyond the second platform, so it may not matter in the end.

The sixth platform contains various chests or storage boxes. For example there’s a nagamochi (長持) which is a storage box for kimonos (きもの).  There’s also a sewing kit called haribako (針箱) and a tea utensil kit called a daisu (台子).

 

The seventh platform contains a bunch of items used for transportation.  For example there’s a palanquin called a gokago (御駕籠) and an ox cart carriage called a goshokuruma (御所車).

Stay tuned for more on the Hina Matsuri (雛祭り)!

 
Posted under Holidays
Tagged with 		0 Comments | Post a Comment