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“I was surrounded by
“I was surrounded by monsters and they were scary,” Mike was telling Katie. “But I took out my Henway and they all ran away.” Katie, who’s in the second grade, was incredulous. “What’s a Henway?” she asked. “About six pounds,” Mike answered. Katie just looked confused. She doesn’t always get the jokes she might if…
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Nanakusa-gayu is a rice
Nanakusa-gayu is a rice porridge with seven spring herbs. If you live in the country, you can pick the herbs (which are really just weeds) along the edges of fields and roads. Here in the city, we buy them in plastic containters at the supermarket. The combination of herbs and rice is thought to cleanse…
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Yakudoshi is an unlucky
Yakudoshi is an unlucky year for people of certain ages. Everyone has three yakudoshi during their lives. Women’s come at 19, 33, and 37. Men are 25, 42 and 61. But the Shinto way of counting birthdays adds a year to your age, so the Western ages are 18, 32, 36, 24, 41, & 60.…
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It’s nice to know
It’s nice to know that foreigners aren’t the only ones with bad handwriting. A friend called Aizawa filled in her commuter train pass form. A machine scanned the handwriting and printed the name on the pass. Her new name is Fizaku (the bottom line in the example). Close. Very close. Fortunately, Fizaku is just a…
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I’m so caught up
I’m so caught up in my work now it seems like there was never a holiday at all. I spent all day yesterday writing, producing web sites and catching up on my DigitalEve work. And I’m at it again today, see?
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Oshogatsu is over. We
Oshogatsu is over. We now return to our regularly scheduled life. I skipped the traditional festivities and just rested. It was six tranquil days for me. I made no temple visit, no trip shout “banzai!” to the Emperor. I didn’t even buy a fukubukuro–a lucky grab bag. New Years can be dangerous. Six people were…
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Kakizome is the first
Kakizome is the first calligraphy of the new year. It’s traditionally done on January 2nd and the department stores and shops around Tokyo prepare for this day with enormous displays of writing tools for sale–brushes of many sizes, inkstones with different shades of black ink, traditional papers, scrolls, and decorative plaques. Shodo (the art of…
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Bunkyo-ku is famous for
Bunkyo-ku is famous for its universities and literary sons. Natsume Soseki, a 19th century novelist is pictured on the 1000 yen note and the site of the house where he wrote I Am A Cat is not too far from our own. When we first visited it, there was an old stone monolith carved with…
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Akemashite omedetou gozaimasu!
Akemashite omedetou gozaimasu!
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Tradition, faith, and superstition
Tradition, faith, and superstition send everyone to the temples and shrines at midnight tonight to make the first homage of the year. Clapping hands or ringing bells, you capture the attention of the enshrined spirit, then toss some change in the offerings box and bow. On the way out, you might make a purchase of…
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