History Lesson on the Mitsubishi Zaibatsu
One concept you get used to when living in Japan is the ubiquitity of certain famous companies in many different ...
Tag: history
History lesson: Japan’s First English Teacher
It's interesting, looking at Japan through some of the "firsts" in its history. Like John Kendrick, the ship's captain who ...
Site Improvement Announcement
We're happy to announce some new features on the site. In the upper left hand corner of the J-List and ...
Thoughts on the Japanese fascination with Europe and the U.S.
Just as many in the U.S. and Europe have a fascination with all things Japanesque, the Japanese have their own ...
Japanese People think Americans Know Every English Word Ever Made
Before I started J-List, I taught English as a Second Language (ESL) to a wide range of Japanese students, including ...
A useful word of Japanese, Japan’s seasonal nature, and how to teach an 80 year old Japanese war veteran about the Internet
I've got a bit of a problem. On January 1st we did what we always do, visiting my wife's family, ...
The joy of “onigiri” rice balls, observations on cooperative elements of Japanese language, and man, that’s a really Nice Boat!
If you were to plan a picnic, you might pack a basket containing things like sandwiches, potato salad or maybe ...
All about Japanese swords, thoughts on the “horse with a heart mark” and government, and, can you ski?
Japanese swords are famous around the world, up there with ninjas and Hello Kitty as a symbol of the country. ...
A useful Japanese slang word, changing in the Japanese savings rate, and one “key” to understanding Japan and America (?)…
Recently we took our daughter to a resort hotel in Kusatsu, a hot springs town in the mountains with more ...
Thoughts on biculturalism and Halloween, types of ramen you should try, and my fascination with Japanese females
Happy Halloween from J-List. Halloween is one of those "American" holidays (although originally Irish and Scottish) that has a way ...
All about the Japanese and shoes, the benefits of living in another time zone, and understanding the world through its taxis…?
You probably know that the Japanese take their shoes off when they enter a house. Shoes are considered to be ...
Nuances of how you call people in Japanese, writing systems in Japanese and how they’ve changed, and gaijin fingerprinting
First, we apologize for an outage on the J-List and JBOX.com websites, which was caused by a bad router at ...
Learning about Japan through first- and second-person pronouns, the relationship of Japan and Hawaii, and more fun with Japanese superstitions
Strangely enough, you can learn a lot about Japan through its first and second person pronouns: there are several of ...
You’ve been in Japan too long when you ‘teach’ someone your phone number, all about the history of Panasonic, and fun with English phrases in Japan
"You've been in Japan too long when you 'teach' someone your phone number." Of course, we all use different words ...
The next Prime Minister of Japan is decided, more thoughts on how the Japanese keep their politics peaceful, and things to do in Tokyo
Well, the race for the leadership of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party is over, and the calm, moderate Yasuo Fukuda has ...
“Respect for the Aged Day” in Japan, various ideas about the grammar of Japanese, and the joy of shared popular culture
Today is a holiday in Japan: Keiro no Hi, or Respect for the Aged Day. Celebrated nationally since 1966 -- ...
Frustration at teaching English in Japan, “sorry” to see Prime Minister Abe go, how to pronounce Japanese, and “see you later, bald person”
My wife has decided to volunteer at my daughter's elementary school as an assistant in the English classes they have ...
My weekend trip to Akiba, times when Japanese do or don’t apologize, and the history of the stapler in Japan
I took the train into Tokyo on Sunday to meet a friend in Akihabara, the area of Tokyo famous as ...
On psychology and jealousy of gaijin living in Japan, thinking about Japanese grammar while in the bath, and using the Far Side in English class
I've written before about the psychology of ex-pats living in Japan, such as the the Three Stages of Eye Aversion ...
Large and small forms of taste-related culture shock, why do the Japanese live so long, and how you can come live in Japan
There are naturally many large and small forms of culture shock a person experiences when they go go live in ...
Thoughts on e-books and other “revolutions,” the worst-run government program in history, and why you don’t want to be in a car in Japan now
Imagine what would happen if a quarter of all Americans lived in the Washington D.C. area instead of spread out ...
Otakon wrap up, Japanese election results, and various thoughts about the “Founding Fathers” of modern Japan
Well, Otakon is over, and it was a real blast. As the premier anime convention on the East Coast, it's ...
More thoughts on Hiro from Heroes (yuk yuk), comparing Maryland with Japan, and all about a great remapping in Japan’s history
I'm enjoying my time here in Annapolis, as we get ready for Otakon, the wildest anime convention on the East ...
The lack of patriotic songs in Japan, what happened in our prefecture during WWII, and a useful word for Atari fans
The Fourth of July celebration was a lot of fun, a rare treat for me since Anime Expo usually falls ...
