Frequently Once Asked Questions about Japan

Do you have other questions ? (^^)
[Q] Is there a way for learning kanji?? because I think is kind of crazy to learn them without a system... and where can I find a site or any other way to learn how to learn kanji?
[A] I agree with you about difficulty of Kanji. There are 12 grades in Japanese elementary school and high schools, and I had to learn kanji all the time ... So it sounds impossible to learn enough kanji characters without living in Japan. However, if you can learn some basic characters, you'll be able to study other characters for yourself with dictionaries.
I found the following page. I think this will help you :
WWKanji Page
(Jul.25,2001)
[Q] Katakana comes from kanji right?
[A] Yes, hiragana comes from kanji written in cursive style, and Katakana comes from a part of kanji.
(Jul.25,2001)
[Q] Where can I find the rules to follow when writting something in katakana?
[A] To tell the truth, there are no rules on converting foreign words to katakana. For example, Goethe is "ゲーテ (ge - te)" in katakana, but it was "ギョエテ (gyo e te)" about 100 years ago. This is a very extreme example, but similar case may occur.
(Jul.25,2001)
[Q] Do you separate the words when you writte? because i've seen that sometimes you do it and sometimes don't in lyrics and stuff....
[A] No, basically Japanese sentence doesn't need spaces to separate words. It's the same as Chinese and Korean.
(Jul.25,2001)
[Q] Are the Japanese people generally more accepting of homosexuals compared to the American people? Many have noticed that there are numerous gay and lesbian characters in Japanese cartoons; is this for variety or a way of knocking down any existing barriers/grudges? I personally think having homosexual characters in a cartoon would help educate children and teach them to be less ignorant (something North America is really in need of), but does it really work?
[A] It's a difficult question, but I think the answer is "NO". I don't know any gay or lesbian acquaintances (At least, nobody confess). There are many gays and lesbians in "doujinshi (coterie magazine)", but they're nothing but wild fancy.
So we, Japanese people, don't have a proper understanding of homosexuals.
(Mar.21,2001)
[Q] If once girls are married, does their surname need to be replaced with their husband's surname in Japan?
[A] To be exact, the answer is "No".
Japanese civil law prescribes that a married couple must unify their family name. That means it's possible to change husband's family name to wife's. However, husbands seldom change their names.
By the way, this rule is NOT old law in Japan. Before Meiji era, wifes didn't change their family names if they have. ( the general public didn't have family names)
So many people are thinking that it should be allowed to keep their family names after marriage. The bill was proposed in the Diet before, but it was rejected by the conservatives.
(Jul.7,2000)
[Q] Could you give me some information and history about "hanami (Cherry -blossom viewing)" or where I could find more information about it?
[A] History.... It's difficult. Because nobody knows when it started. At least, nobles enjoyed hanami in Nara-era (7th century). But they viewed not sakura but ume then. In Heian-era (8th-12th century), sakura became the leading part of hanami. In Edo-era(17th-19th century), common people began to enjoy hanami as well, and the it's the original style of current hanami in Japan. (Though there wasn't karaoke then (^o^;) )
Here are some hanami pages. (Sep.26,1999)
[Q] I noticed there are the main TV stations like TV Tokyo, TV Asahi, Fuji TV, Nihon TV and TBS, but these stations are only in Tokyo area right? So do they have associated stations in other cities that show the same shows that they do? Like how in America we have networks with associated local stations.
[A] Yes, yes. Your understaning is quite well. Nihon TV, TBS, Fuji TV, TV Asahi, and TV Tokyo are called "Key Stations", and all of them are in Tokyo prefecture. However, they can't broadcast over the country, so there are many local stations in the country, but these small stations can produce few programs by themselves. So most of programs are provided by key stations.
[Q] Is WOWOW a special station?
[A] Yes, there are few sattelite broadcasting stations in Japan, and WOWOW is one of them.
[Q] It seems 50% or more of the anime shown is on TV Tokyo, is anime just their speciality?
[A] TV Tokyo is the smallest key station, so I think they desided to make anime programs their special feature.
[Q] I've seen a funny face that is made with japanese signs. Is somenting like "he" as eyebrow, "no" as eyes and "mo" as mouth. what it means?
Heno Heno Moheji [A] It's "Heno-Heno-Moheji", a famous graffiti in Japan.
He : Eyebrow
No : Eye
Mo : Nose
He : Mouth
Ji : Outline

This face is constructed only by hiragana letters. However, this graffiti does not have a deep sense (^_^;
[Q] What does Akihabara mean?
[A] Akihabara is a town in Tokyo. It literally means "Autumn Leaves Field".
However, it does not have any sense. Ages ago, this place was called "Akihappara (Vacant Land)", but when a station was made on this open field, they named there "Akihabara".
[Q] I saw on your list that sometimes shows get delayed for a shogi match. What is shogi?
[A] Shogi is Japanese chess. The biggest difference between chess and shogi is the treatment of removed pieces. In shogi game, the removed pieces betray the original player, and the opponent can use them as his/her pieces whenever they want to. So, if your hisha(rook) or kaku(bishop) is captured, it'll be your enemy. I think that makes games more exciting. If you want to know more detaled rule, please see Shogi Homepage.
[Q] Can you explain me the rules of the game "GO"?
[A] No. I don't know the rules at all. However, please see the Nihon Kiin Homepage. This is the site of the Society for Igo player, and it has English pages.
[Q] I saw in the anime Moldiver. Captain Tokyo rescues the Hachiko Dog statue from thieves. What is the Hachiko dog?
[A] Hachiko stature is the symbol of Sibuya Station. We often arrage to meet by the stature, so there are a lot of people everyday. Hachiko is famous as "a waiting dog". Okay, I'll narrate the story of Hachiko.
Hachiko was born in 1923, and he was a pet of Dr.Eizaburo Ueno. Hachiko used to go to Shibuya station everyday to meet his master. However, Dr.Ueno died suddenly when Hachiko was 1 year old. Hachiko didn't know his master's death, so he went to Shibuya station everyday to wait his never-coming master. His loyalty impressed people so much, and they made a stature of Hachiko to praise the dog. He continued to wait his master with the stature of himself, but Hachiko also died on Mar.8, 1935.
A thief on manga [Q] I have seen in several anime characters sneaking around with pieces of cloth over their heads and tied under their nose. Is this something that Japanese people do to sneak around?
[A] This is a typical style of Japanese thief. Their symbol is a towel tied under the nose and a green wrapping cloth with whorl pattern. However, no real thieves wear such strange clothes (If they weared, they must be arrested soon (^_^; ). So it's a kind of symbol to express a situation on a story.
[Q] Is it true that Yokohama has a Chinatown?
[A] Yes, there are a lot of Chinese restaurants. It takes less than an hour from Tokyo station. The nearest station is Ishikawa-cho station on Keihin-Tohoku (Negishi) line.
[Q] There is a scene in Tenchi Muyo! Night before the Carnival where Aeka appears wearing two candles on her head. I have seen this in Urusei Yatsura also. What does this mean?
[A] I think that style originates in "Ushi no Koku Mairi", a kind of old curses in Japan. This magic is done at 2:00AM, so some light is required. The first woman who did "Ushi no Koku Mairi" took a torch in her mouth, but it might be so difficult to keep the torch. I think that's why a torch changed to two (or more) candles.
[Q] Women use a pole with a curved blade on the end as a weapon. What is the name of this weapon? (I also saw it on NHK)
[A] NaginataIt's naginata : a kind of Japanese swords. Naginata outranges normal swords, so it was frequently used at old battles. Especially, naginata was effective at naval battles and cavalry battles. However, it became an old-fashioned weapon after the appearance of firearms. In the Age of Provincial Wars, guns became the leading part of Japanese wars, and naginata and spear-fighting declined day by day. In Edo era, naginata was learned by noble women of samurai class, as one of female accomplishments. So, naginata has been regarded as women's martial arts since Edo era.
soundHepburn systemKunrei system
(Nihon system)
-aiueoaiueo
Kkakikukekokakikukeko
Ssashisusesosasisuseso
Ttachitsutetotatituteto
Nnaninunenonaninuneno
Hhahifuhehohahihuheho
Mmamimumemomamimumemo
Yya-yu-yoya-yu-yo
Rrarirurerorarirurero
Wwa----wa---(wo)
Ggagigugegogagigugego
Zzajizuzezozazizuzezo
Dda--dedoda(di)(du)dedo
Bbabibubebobabibubebo
Ppapipupepopapipupepo
KYkya-kyu-kyokya-kyu-kyo
SYsha-shu-shosya-syu-syo
TYcha-chu-chotya-tyu-tyo
NYnya-nyu-nyonya-nyu-nyo
HYhya-hyu-hyohya-hyu-hyo
MYmya-myu-myomya-myu-myo
GYgya-gyu-gyogya-gyu-gyo
ZYja-ju-jozya-zyu-zyo
BYbya-byu-byobya-byu-byo
PYpya-pyu-pyopya-pyu-pyo
[Q]I found in a homepage a drawing of Minako drawn by Fukami Rika. And she signed it Rica with "C". So, apparently she writes the romanization of her name with "C". Maybe Fukami Rika has done a mistake. (???)
[A]Japanese people don't have to write their names in roma-ji(roman letters) at all. Therefore some people write their names in unofficial ways. For example, the author of "Trigun", Mr.Naitou, writes his name as "Nightow". Of course, this expression originats in the English word, "night".
[Q]There is an official way to romanize names?
[A]There are three official ways : Nihon system, Kunrei (instructions) system and Hepburn [Hebon] system. Hepburn is the name of an American doctor, James Curtis Hepburn. He made a Japanese-English dictionary in 1867, and the roman letters he wrote became one of roma-ji standards. Kunrei system is similar to Nihon system, so Japanese people seldom distinguish them .
[Q]Is Hepburn system newer than Nihon system?
[A] Yes. Roman letters were brought by a Portuguese missionary in Muromachi age (1338-1573). Hepburn system is much newer than that.
[Q]When Takeuchi Naoko writes "Kaioh" the last name of Sailor Neptune in her drawings, is she using one particular method?
[A]She should use "Kaiou" or "Kaiô" instead of "Kaioh". However, there are no suitable ways to express long vowels on Hepburn system. On Nihon system, they can put '^'(accent circonflexe) over a vowel character in such a case (so "Kaiô" is the most suitable expression), but they seldom use it because Japanese computer can't display roman characters with accent. Therefore, they use exceptional and unofficial ways to describe long vowels like her.
[Q]Does reverse blade, which appears in Rurouni Kenshin, really exist???
[A]No ! (^o^;
[Q]How much English do most Japanese people know? I've seen a lot of Japanese animation and video games that have little snippetts of English here and there. Not much, but enough to notice.
[A]Most of Japanese people study English for 6 years at least, so we know English basically. However, most of us are weak in conversation (me, too).
[Q]Would you correct my Nihongo on my homepage ?
[A]Of course, I will. Just tell the URL.
[Q]I saw Hyper Police. Gee, it's kind of strange that the title is written in hiragana, isn't it? ^_^)
[A]There are 4 kinds of character sets in Japan.

1. Hiragana
2. Katakana
3. Kanji
4. Alphabet

And every character set has its own nuance.
"Hyper Police" written in hiragana makes some stupid atmosphare.
If this title were written in English, this anime may become hard-boiled story (^_^;
[Q]I know in anime characters are referred to ask Kaicho-san and Shinji-kun, but what's the difference between the -san, -kun, and -chan used in names?
[A]They are all honorifics for Japanese name.


These are the basic usages.
Broadcasting stations formed more strictly for newscast.

However, the all above mentioned are not absolute standard.
For example, they use -chan or -kun for an adult when they are very familiar to each other, and they often use -kun for younger man (rarely woman), especially for their subordinate or junior in their organization even if he is adult. Even -kun can be used for a woman and -chan can be used for a man (but you should not use -kun or -chan on this way, or you will be thougt that "How impudent he is !")

Other honorifics is existing.
[Q]What is the meaning of 'Rurouni' ?
[A]To be exact, the word 'Rurouni' is not Japanese. This word was made by the author. I think this is a compound word of the following two words.
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