How do you live? or Kimitachi wa dou ikiru ka? (君たちはどう⽣きるか) in Japanese, is a story written by children literature author Yoshino Genzaburou (吉野 源三郎・よしの げんざぶろう). It depicts the story of a second year middle school student as he is confronted with questions of growing up and becoming part of society. In other words, what it means to be human and how to live as one in our world.
After Your Name (君の名は。), will ‘Kimitachi wa dou ikiru ka?’ be the next Japanese novel to receive an anime adaption?
A work-related story from Japan I came across that I like to write about out of personal affinity. It’s about regular full-time employment known as Seishain (正社員・せいしゃいん) or Seishokuin (正職員・せいしょくいん) and part-time employment, referred to with the English loanword Paatotaimu (パートタイム) or its abbreviated version, Paato (パート).
Having some working experience under my own belt in the country, I’m always interested in topics related to work and developments, even though there are obviously more fun activities to do in Japan 😉.
I didn’t Aim For Gods, but sometimes I caught myself playing with the thought of becoming a ‘Japanese’ salaryman (サラリーマン) 💼. It’s not an easy thing to accomplish though, not for a native Japanese, not less so for a foreigner as the story will show. So I had to stick to ‘full-time’ part-time jobs during my stay. What this means and what’s it all about with the part-timers (パートタイマー; パートさん; 短時間で働く人; 短時間労働者) in Japan anyway? Well, here is my latest article:
Are you a budding student of Japanese, looking into ways to get your Japanese learning routine off the ground?
A few months ago, back in October 2016, I posted the first version of this article, however, a change corrupted some of the settings😤 and it’s no longer appearing properly on Google (sigh, technology 😩!), which lead me to post this again. Might have been a WordPress glitch, but I hope the new article stays unaffected. The former article I left as is though, as some visitors might still strand there (see Edition History on the bottom⬇). The main content remains mostly the same except for some minor editing. Well, here we go again🏃💨!
Originally I had planned a mini series for October, unfortunately though this drowned in work and I had to give it up. Still on my ‘Creative Break’ and finding myself with not enough time at hand for research and translations in recent months, there is something I like to make a quick post about today.
English Title: Everything I know about Japan I learned from Manga and Video Games
Publisher: 小学館
ISBN-10: 4093883955
ISBN-13: 978-4093883955
Language: 日本語・Japanese
Pages: 143
Price Tag: 1188 JPY
While in preparation for a next extensive research project of mine, I took the time to check out another COMIC ESSAY. It is the one of BENJAMIN BOAS, which I announced in my previous post of NORDIC GIRL ÅSA DISCOVERS THE MYSTERIES OF JAPAN VOL. 2 ・北欧女子オーサが見つけた日本の不思議 2, in which he has a quick entry.
English Title: Nordic Girl Åsa discovers the Mysteries of Japan Vol. 2
Publisher: 株式会社Kadokawa
ISBN-10: 4040679105
ISBN-13: 978-4040679105
Language: 日本語・Japanese
Pages: 157
Price Tag: 1080 JPY
I am happy to announce the second in my series of book introductions for COMIC ESSAYS (see also FUN WITH COMIC ESSAYS side page). After enjoying the first volume of Nordic Girl Åsa discovers the Mysteries of Japan・北欧女子オーサが見つけた日本の不思議 (see post) quite a bit, I got myself also the sequel, which was published back in September. Whereas I was about 6 months behind the release for the first book, for the second volume I have miraculously managed to post slightly more opportune. Then I shall get started right away with the latest book introduction of mine, with which I hope to tempt you in reading the book yourself. Continue reading
English Title: Nordic Girl Åsa discovers the Mysteries of Japan Vol. 1
Publisher: 株式会社Kadokawa
ISBN-10: 4040674235
ISBN-13: 978-4040674230
Language: 日本語・Japanese
Pages: 140
Price Tag: 1080 JPY
This is my first book introduction ever, or perhaps I shall say Manga introduction 🤗 It is an independent one, I just read the book, thinking to myself, this is something I want to share with other readers interested in Japan and learners of the Japanese language.
The book goes under the genre comic essays and comes in the FOUR PANEL COMIC-STRIP format (also 四コマ; Yon koma). It was published in March 2015 and somehow picked it up from the shelves some months back to keep my Japanese going, while no longer in the country. While there are no kanji readings (furigana or ruby characters) provided, the stories are not too hard to follow. I suppose that everyone with a JLPT 2 level will read through fairly smoothly.
I had to pull out the dictionary a couple times, but it didn’t hinder me from reading it all the way … やる気さえあれば (if only one has the motivation to do so). Even though there is no version other than Japanese (not yet), I think it is probably the most fun to read it in the one language because certain references and nuances of contents just come across best.
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Since April I follow this anime show, which is in fact one in many years for me. It officially airs fortnightly on DAISUKI.net online streaming service, the Japanese counterpart of CRUNCHYROLL. Contents are available for free during the two weeks, until the next show is up and running.
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MyLittle Dejima 