昭和の日 Showa Day
04/27/2012
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Hello, I am Yoshi from NILS Japanese language school. "Golden Week" starts from tomorrow, and there are four national holidays during this week. Today, I would like to tell you about one of them.
April 29th is called Showa Day. This day was a national holiday for 63 years to celebrate former Emperor Showa's birthday. After his death in 1989, the Emperor's birthday holiday was moved to Decembe…
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Japanese Spirit: 人情 Ninjo
04/26/2012
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Hello, I am Yoshi from NILS Japanese language school. I talked about Giri in today's school news. I would also like to tell you about Ninjo 人情 which is also important Japanese ethic to keep up good relations.
Nin 人 means human and jo 情 means emotion in Japanese. Ninjo refers to various kinds of human feelings such as love, compassion, mercy, sympathy and so forth. These feelings are consider…
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Japanese Spirit: 義理 Giri
04/26/2012
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Hello, I am Yoshi from NILS Japanese language school. Today I would like to talk about one of the Japanese ethics. It will help you learn Japanese language as well as Japanese culture.
Giri 義理 refers to social obligation. One feels indebted and obligated to return a favor to those who have been helpful or thoughtful. Such feelings of indebtedness are called giri. For instance, the long-stand…
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Golden Week
04/25/2012
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Hello, I am Yoshi from NILS Japanese language school. I would like to talk about "Golden Week." What is "Golden Week"?
"Golden Week" is a Japanese-English word. It refers to successive holidays, starting from the end of April to the beginning of May. THere are four national holidays during this period; these are Showa Day, Constitution Memorial Day, Greenery Day and Children's Day. When Satu…
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Baby あかちゃん
04/25/2012
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Hello, I am Yoshi from NILS Japanese language school. I got a very good news yesterday. My friend bacame a father! He is now a father of a little girl. Today, I would like to talk about one of the customs relating to a baby, "Miya mairi 宮参り."
Miya mairi is a custom to bring and pray for a newborn baby to a Shinto shrine for the first time. it usully takes place between one month and 100 days…
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World Heritage of Japan: 姫路城 Himeji Castle
04/24/2012
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Hello, I am Yoshi from NILS Japanese language school. Today's topic is the World Heritage of Japan: 姫路城 Himeji Castle.
Himeji Castle, known for its beauty and supposed resemblance to an egret was constructed in the Warring States Period. It is noted for the maze like approach to the main castle tower and its various devices for defense. Himeji Castle has miraculously survived while many other …
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Particular to Japan: Kamon 家紋
04/23/2012
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Hello, I am Yoshi from NILS Japanese Language School. Today's topic is Kamon 家紋 or Family Crests which is particular to Japan.
Family Crests first appeared in Japan during the Heian period when aristocrats placed their favorite designes of plants and flowers on clothes and cow carriages. Warriors then began to use family crests with more geometric designs on their flags to idetify themselves on…
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Welcome Ceremony
04/20/2012
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Hello, I am Yoshi from NILS Japanese lanuage school. We held a welcome ceremony for new students starting their study at NILS this month. We have students from the U.S., Canada, France, Spain, Singapore, Hong Kong, China, and Nepal. The ceremony was different from what they had imagined, I guess.
Here are some comments from the new students.
(さらに…)…
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Starting new life in Japan 4
04/20/2012
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Hello, I am Yoshi from NILS Japanese language school. Today, we would like to introduce the "Ogori International Association" to you. NILS students have more oppotunities to join various events and activities with the community than those in other schools. The Ogori International Association offers those opportunities to the students learning Japanese at NILS.
The ogori International Associati…
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Starting new life in Japan 3
04/19/2012
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Hello, I am Yoshi from NILS Japanese language school. Today's topic is "disposal of garbage." Ogori City promotes collection of separated garbage to preserve the environment and reduce waste. Disposal of cans, plastic bottles, trays, cartons, used paper and waste cloth at their respective pickup locations on hte designated dates.
(さらに…)…
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