inscrutable/measured

Koreans are hot, aggressive, energetic, emotional and upfront; while Japanese are cool, polite, measured, calm and inscrutable.

inscrutable   /ɪn'skruːtəbl/   adj)人の表情などが不可解な

★ (especially of a person's expression) impossible to understand or interpret

・He was wearing that inscrutable look again.

・Her face had become inscrutable.

・inscrutable to somebody   Unfortunately, this language is largely inscrutable to non-specialists.

measured   /'meʒərd/　adj)慎重な・控えめな

★ slow and careful; showing control

・She replied in a measured tone to his threat.

・He walked down the corridor with measured steps.

upfront   /,ʌp'frʌnt/　adj)率直な･ざっくばらんな

★ upfront (about something)   not trying to hide what you think or do

・He's been upfront about his intentions since the beginning.

threat   /θret/   n)脅迫

intention   /ɪn'tenʃn/　n)意図･意向･目的

弁当

There's a wide variety of Japanese-style bento boxes here.

Ingredients

100g freash Edamame in the pods (or frozen soya beans)

Teach English to Japanese People

shy

We Japanese feel shy sometimes to speak up English.

unusual custom

You've already realized that ...

Japanese people don't express their thoughts very well, even "Yes" or "No".

speak up  声に出して

express　ｲｸｽ プﾚｽ

thought  ソ- ﾄ   n)考える事･思考、意見　v) think の過去･過去分詞

Bowing

You know, I guess Japan's most unique custom is blowing.

Have you seen it?

Blowing is something like instead of shaking hands.

Blowing is something we can only see in Japan.

unique  ﾕ ニ-ｸ　adj)独自の、ただ一つしかない

peoples 諸国民

 

literate リﾀｱﾚｯﾄ adj)読み書きができる、教育を受けた、学問のある

technically テｸﾆｶﾘｰ　adv)工業･科学技術的に、単に技術的に

advanced ｱﾄﾞヴァﾝｽﾄ　adj)進んだ、前にある、先進的な

nation ネｲｼｮﾝ n)国、国家、国民《単数:集合体と考えた時　複数:構成要素を考える時》

 the British nation 英国民　the Western nations 西欧諸国

archipelago ｱｰｷペﾗｺﾞ n)列島、群島、多島海

Overview of Japan

Japan, one of the world’s most literate and technically advanced nations, is an East Asian archipelago country made up of four primary islands and more than 6,800 others. While most of Japan is covered by mountains and heavily wooded areas, the country’s people lead a distinctly urban lifestyle. Long culturally influenced by its neighbors, today the country blends its ancient traditions with aspects of Western life.

The country can trace its political unification to the late fourth and early fifth centuries B.C. Civilization flourished in the late eighth to the late 12th centuries, followed by even more centuries of military rule. The country was isolated from the early 1600s to the mid-19th century, at which point its ports opened up to the West. Japan had grand territorial ambitions in the 1900s, invading several countries, only to be defeated in World War II.

Japan has a parliamentary government with a constitutional monarchy. The emperor still holds his title as a symbol of national unity, but elected politicians hold actual decision-making power.

The nation with the third-largest economy in the world, Japan has largely bounced back from the manufacturing disruption caused by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster. The country is among the world's largest producers of motor vehicles, electronic equipment and steel. The service sector makes up the highest percentage of the economy in terms of gross domestic product and employment.

[Explore the top universities in Japan]

Japan is known worldwide for its traditional arts, including tea ceremonies, calligraphy and flower arranging. The country has a legacy of distinctive gardens, sculpture and poetry. Japan is home to more than a dozen UNESCO World Heritage sites and is the birthplace of sushi, one of its most famous culinary exports. The country has developed many forms of martial arts. Its most famous traditional sport is sumo wrestling, which can trace its origins to the 8th century.

Escalating tensions with North Korea over its nuclear missile program have caused some Japanese politicians to call for amending the country's postwar pacifist constitution. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's continued nuclear tests and threats in East Asia has led Tokyo to seek assurances from Washington that America is committed to its defense. Domestically, Japan grapples with the economic consequences of having the world’s oldest population and declining birth rates.

Japan is a member of several international organizations, including the United Nations, the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank.

It may surprise you that...

It may surprise you that making noise when you eat noodles isn't rude in Japan.

slurp スﾗｰｧﾌﾟ　v)大きな音を立てて食べる

It may surprise you that bowing politely to each other is very common in Japan.

It may surprise you that fancy toilets have been set up at mostly our homes even public amenitis.

This is Japan

The world behold "This is Japan"!!

behold　ﾋﾞホ－ﾙﾄﾞv)...を注視する

Waht's your religion?

Do you believe in any religion? 

religion ﾘリｼﾞｮﾝ　n)宗教

religious adj)信心深い

atheist エｲｽｨｴｽﾄ n)無神論者

agnostic ｱｸﾞナｽﾃｨｯｸ　n)不可知論者（神をいるともいないとも言わない立場をとる人　adj)明確な見解のない

It refers to gift

お中元
Consequently, Chugen today principally refers to gifts that individuals and businesses send from early in July to July 15th to people to whom they are indebted.
したがって、現在の中元は、7月の初旬から15日にかけて、個人や会社が世話になった人に送る進物のことを主に意味します。
consequently コﾝｾｸｴﾝﾄﾘｰ adv)その結果として、したがって ＝as a result, therefore
principally ﾌﾟリﾝｼﾊﾟﾘｰ adv)主に、たいてい
refer ﾘファｰ v)あてはまる、差し向ける
individual ｲﾝﾃﾞｨヴュｼﾞｭｱﾙ adj)個の、個人の　n)個人
indebted ｲﾝデﾃﾞｨｯﾄ adj)恩義がある

What is it like living in the city of Japan so far?
Don't you think everything here is tiny?
 It feels cramped.（物理的に窮屈な）
　cramped ｸラｧﾝﾌﾟﾄ adj)窮屈な、けいれんした　cramp n)けいれん、ひきつり
 It feels stiff. （精神的に窮屈な）
　stiff ｽテｨｯﾌ adj)堅くて変化しにくい、堅苦しい
 I feel uncomfortable.
You know, some people from other countries say "uncomfortable".
Yes, I also feel cramped.
Our houses tend to be rather miniscuke. (minuscule)  miniscule ミﾆｭｽｷｭｰﾙ adj)非常に小さい
Many Tokyoites live in closet(shoebox) appertments.
 Tokyoite ﾄｰｷｮｰアｲﾄ　Tokyoites ﾄｰｷｮｰアｲﾂ  n)東京に居住する人   shoebox 靴箱、狭い部屋 

The same goes for our food: We like it bite-sized. Everything from grilled meet to fried chieken tend to be served in a way that is chopstick-friendly, but the most perfect morsel of food has to be sushi. One bite and you're done.
 morsel モーｧｻﾙ n)[食べ物が]一口
 has to be...　...に違いない

drinking too much

We often see
On friday night at the station, we meet a man drinking out of desperation.

Japanese employee(Japanese salary-man)

overwork death
death from overwork
One of Japanese company even constructed a public tomb in Kyoto for thier employees who wish to be buried with thier colleagues.
tomb 「ﾄゥｰﾑ」n.墓　　bury「ﾍﾞェﾘィ」v.埋葬する　

Playing Sports in School Days

I played baseball in school days
Japanese high school baseball, comparable to American colleage football, is very popular.
The nation-wide tounament takes place (is held) twice a year.
When it comes to baseball, I played in school days. I belonged to the baseball team at junior-high.
Long long time ago, when I was a junior-high student, the beaseball was the most populor sports in Japan. Student players without exception including me had to get a haircut with buzz cut.
It was so rigid here at that time in Japan. Then, there were a lot of strict hierarchy in school sports team.




How about you? Did you play any sports?





buzz cut

WOMEN

on the train
I sometimes see women who are wearing make up on the train.

Japanese culture

national isolation/national seclusion
Japan closed the country to foreign commerce from the 17th to the 19th century.


an island country
Japan is an island containing an almost monocultural population.


Japanese do not clearly express thier opinions
I cloud say, it's Japanese custom to expect that the other person will realize what one wants to say.
So, strong assertions are avoided.