Nanika Atta? -- Basic Japanese for the Easily Confused

What I said up there is the Japanese way to ask, 'What's Up?'. Some Japanese is easily pronounced, like above, but some isn't; so I plan on adding how to pronounce the word as well their corresponding translations.

When I said basic, I meant basic. The first thing I'm going to tell you about is how to simply say, 'yes' and 'no'. 'Yes', in Japanese, is 'Hai'. I'm sure you've heard it before in some cheesy ninja movie? Either way, I'm sure the pronunciation is a tad bit self-explanatory. The Japanese word for 'no' is 'Iie'. It's pronounced like, 'ee-eh', the two 'I's meaning for the 'e' sound to be stretched.

Before I get into words and simple phrases, though, I'm going to explain how to pronounce certain sounds in the language. 'R's in Japanese are a lot like in Spanish, but not quite rolled. When you first start to learn Japanese (this is what I did), you say all of the 'r's as a 'd' or even an 'l' sound, and while you learn and get better, they start sounding a bit more like an 'r' as well, if that makes any sense. Also in the Japanese language, when a word ends in an '-su', like '-masu' or '-desu', the 'u' is silent. Like I said above, when a word also has two 'I's in it, you either stretch the 'ee' sound the 'I' already makes, or you say it like, 'e-ee' (with the first 'I' said quicker). This one isn't too important, but when a word ends in '-ou', it's said simply like, 'o'; with the 'u' being silent again. And finally, most 'w's are said slightly like 'v's. I know I'm no 'For Dummies' book when it comes to explaining things, but bare with me.

Possibly one of my favorite words in any language, is the word 'Oi'. 'Ne', pronounced 'neh', and 'Oi' are both Japanese for the word, 'Hey'. For example, if you yell out 'Hey!' to get somebody's attention, it's the same thing as, 'Oi!'. 'Ne' is usually used when you're casually trying to get somebody's attention, like, 'Hey, did you get the homework question?' it's, 'Ne, did you get the homework question?'.

In Japanese you can greet somebody the same way you would somebody in English; language-wise anyway. You can say, 'Good Morning', 'Good Afternoon', 'Good Evening', and 'Good Night'. 'Good Morning' is 'Ohayou Gozaimasu'; remember that the 'u's in Japan are rarely said. 'Oh-ha-yo go-zai-mas' is the pronunciation. 'Good Afternoon' is the well-known 'Konnichiwa', which you hopefully already know how to say. It's a common mistake in Western countries (or in America, anyway) for people to think that the words simply means, 'hello' so you can say it any time, but that's not the case. 'Good Evening' is 'Konbanwa'; the 'o' makes an 'oh' sound, and the 'a' makes an 'ah' sound. Finally, 'Good Night' is 'Oyasumi Nasai'; again, so problem there. Over the telephone only, you can also say hello to somebody by saying, 'Moshi Moshi'.

To say 'Thank You' in Japanese you say, 'Arigatou'; and I personally find this word to be great for practicing your 'r's. The reply to that, 'You're Welcome', is 'Doitashimashite'. The pronunciation, 'cause I know you probably need it, is 'do-tashi-ma-shi-teh'; the first 'I' (and sometimes the second 'I' too) is usually silent. 'Please' is 'Onegai Shimasu', or sometimes just 'Onegai'; '-shimasu' of course applies to the rule about silent 'u's again.

For some random words you may use often, I'll tell you how to say 'But', 'What', 'Okay (I understand)', 'Wait', and 'I'm Sorry'. The word 'But', is 'Demo'. Not like 'Demo' in 'Demonstration', but 'deh-moh' (emphasis on the 'e' sound a bit). 'What' is 'Nani', not 'Nanny', 'nah-ni'. 'Okay', said like 'I understand', is the word 'Wakata'; 'wah-kah-tah'. Almost last, you say 'Wait' like 'Matte'. The pronunciation being, 'mah-teh'. Finally, a klutz's favorite phrase, 'I'm Sorry'. It actually has two ways to say it; the first is, 'Summimasen', said like 'su-me-mah-se(n)' *in Japan, when you say a word that may end with an 'n', it can sometimes be silent; not all the way, but pretty much*. The second way is, 'Gomenasai', sometimes shortened to 'Gomene'. They're pronounced like, 'go-men-ah-sah-ee' and 'go-men-eh'.

I think the last thing I'll tell you about are Japanese honorifics, considering I really don't want to get into Japanese sentence structure. Let's just say it's different than western sentence structure...

In Japan, everybody addresses or refers to each other by a name or a suffix added to their own name, called an honorific. If you refer to someone without an honorific, you must be very close, or else it's rude not to. Also, in Japan, the surname comes before the given name; and you'd be referred to by your last name for the most part.

-chan
Mostly added to the end of a girl's name (or a girl's boyfriend), it's informal and usually used just to be cute. For example, I could call my best friend 'Kai-chan'.
-kun
This is also informal, and mostly used to address guys. It's usually used by a girl when addressing a guy who she likes, or has known for a long time. It can also be used by people of a senior status when referring to someone of a junior status, etc. An example would be me calling my friend, 'Josh-kun'.
-san
Formal, and the all-purpose honorific. It's basically the equivalent of 'Mr.', 'Mrs.', 'Miss', or 'Ms.'. It can also be used in a variety of other ways, like to address pet names or inanimate objects. For example, my dog would be addressed as, 'Sparky-san' (he could also be addressed with -kun too, or if he was a girl, -chan)
-sama
This one is very formal, and kind of like the extreme form of -san. It's used mainly to address people of a higher status if one's self, or even somebody one greatly admires. Example; I'd call Albert Einstein, 'Einstein-sama', because I admire him. Like a nerd.
-sensei
This is used to refer to a teacher or a doctor of some sort, somebody who has a chieved a high level and also respect. So I would call my techer, 'Brown-sensei'.
-sempai/senpai
These are used by someone of a lower class to an upperclassman; for example, I would call my friend a year ahead of me in school, 'Alex-sempai'.
-ka
This is to refer to a master of a profession; like a Manga artist would be a 'Manga-ka'.

Well, I hope you enjoyed your lesson.
~Jess'ka

Catchier Than You Think~! -- Popular Music of Japan

In Japan, music is just as popular as it is here. Of course, they also regularly listen to American music, while Japanese music is known as J-Pop, J-Rock, etc.

Music in Japan is also tied to Anime, which have openings and endings in episodes featuring a different song by a Japanese artist, and rarely an American one (if so, it's doubtful you've heard of them; undiscovered talent, if you will). An example would be Bleach or Naruto, who've had a number of seasons, and for every new season there's a new opening and ending; each possessing a new song.

Let's start with J-Rock, just because I can think of them off the top of my head. There are a lot of popular Japanese bands like those in the States, and the same goes with other countries. Two well-known Japanese Rock bands are Nightmare and Maximum the Hormone. Nightmare is known for the opening, 'The WORLD', and ending, 'Alumina' from the Anime Death Note; and Maximum the Hormone for the opening, 'What's Up, People?!' and ending, 'Zetsubou Billy' also for Death Note. Another popular band is FLOW, known for their three contributions to the openings of the Anime Naruto and Naruto: Shippuuden, and also for the opening of the Anime Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion. In order, the songs were, 'GO!!!', 'Re:member', 'Sign', and 'COLORS'. But I think out of all of them, one of the most popular and influential of Japanese rock bands has to be L'Arc~en~Ciel ('The Rainbow' in French), shown below, who were formed in 1991. Their song, 'Ready Steady Go' was featured as the first opening to the Anime Fullmetal Alchemist, and their songs, 'Link' and, 'Lost Heaven' were the opening and ending themes to the Fullmetal Alchemist Movie.



Next is J-Pop, my second favorite J-Music genre. Dubbed, "The Empress of Pop" in Japan, is one of my favorite artists, Ayumi Hamasaki. I like to call her the Japanese Lady GaGa, because she debuted in 1998 with her Single, 'Poker Face'. Ironic, no? Regardless, she is one of the most popular Pop singers in Japan, and many of her songs have been featured in Japanese Ads and Commercials. Another popular artist, and one of my favorites, is Ai Otsuka. Her name, Ai, means Love in Japanese. She is best known for her song, 'Sakuranbo', and my personal favorites, 'Planetarium' and 'Cherish' are also well-known. The last J-Pop artist I'll talk about is a two-person band named Do As Infinity, who are known for two ending themes and an opening theme for the Anime InuYasha.

Finally there's J-Hip/Hop. A popular group of said genre is HOME MADE Kazoku (Kazoku meaning, 'family' in Japanese). This trio is best known for their song, 'Nagareboshi Shooting Star', which was also featured as the first ending theme for Naruto: Shippuuden; and their song, 'Thank You!!' used as the second ending theme for Bleach. Another Hip-Hop group from Japan is nobodyknows+, whose recent single, 'Hero's Come Back!!' was chosen as the first opening theme to Naruto: Shippuuden.

One last genre of J-Music (that I almost forgot about...) is Japanese Electronic, which I affectionately dubbed J-Tech. I can only tell you about one artist from this genre, which is Aural Vampire; seen below. It's made up of two members, and have extremely catchy songs. I recommend their songs, "Darkwave Surfer" and, "Freeeze!!" if you're a fan of Daft Punk.



Honestly, even if you don't quite understand what they're saying off the top of your head, Japanese is a great music to get into. I recommend all of the artists I wrote about above, and luckily most of them are available on iTunes.

Anyone Up for Sushi? -- Common Foods of Japan

Okay, this post is about the tasty foods of Japan~! So if I were you, I'd go eat before you picture your computer monitor as a big piece of spicy tuna. First off, before learning about the actual food, I'm going to give you a bit of education on the language. In Japan, it is customary before one eats to say, 'Itadakimasu', pronounced as, 'Ita-da-ki-mas'. It lacks an English meaning, but is just meant as something to say before you eat. Of course, the Japanese also use chopsticks to eat, and I warn you now, if you learn how to use them you will never pick up a fork and spoon again.

Now, onto the food. I'm sure someone reading this must know what Ramen is; that Asian noodle stuff that comes in the orange packet and takes three minutes to cook? Yes. That. It comes from Japan. If you've ever eaten authentic Japanese Ramen, then you'd know that the stuff you buy at Wal-Mart is nowhere near the same. Shown in the picture above, Ramen is a wavy noodle cooked in broth, usually flavored as chicken, beef, Miso, etc. It can come in many different flavors, but is also served with slices of meat, vegetables, hard-boiled eggs, and in some cases, Naruto; and I do not mean the Anime, I mean the slice of fish-paste. It sounds gross, but it's very good. Naruto is almost a flower shape, white, and has a red swirl in the center.

Besides Ramen, Japan is also well-known for Sushi; something my older brother entertainingly has a fetish with (well not really, but it's hysterical to watch him eat it). Sushi is usually raw fish wrapped in a layer of seaweed, with a layer of white rice (known simply as, 'sticky rice' in Japan), wrapped in another layer of seaweed, and finally a last layer of sticky rice. It can be served other ways as well, but that is the most common. All different types of fish can be made into Sushi, including squid and eel; and if you want my opinion, the eel is good, but difficult to stomach at first.

Next food is the Rice ball; probably the only food item in this post I haven't eaten, unfortunately. A Rice ball is, obviously, a ball of sticky rice, usually filled with a meat or vegetable in the center.

Our final food to talk about is...-drum roll-...Pocky. Pocky is a desert item in Japan; a sort of cookie-like bread stick coated in chocolate, strawberry, or chocolate and almonds. You can get them in the Asian aisle in Wal-Mart, or the Manga section in Borders if you plan on trying some.

Okay, hope I made you hungry~!
~Jess'ka K.

Ninjas, Alchemists, and Vampires -- the Anime of Japan

I'm sure if you're reading this blog, you must know about Anime and Manga. They're significant in Japan's culture, and are extremely enjoyable if you ask me. Manga are basically graphic novels thought up and drawn out by people known as Manga-ka, or Manga Artists. They're read from right to left, or in the west, backwards. We read our books from left to right in western countries, and when you start reading Manga, it's amusingly hard to go back.

Anime is really just the animated version of Manga, though one can exist without the other. It can also be called Japanimation, hence the title, which I personally find very fun to say. In Manga and Anime, there are different styles when it comes to the art. There's Shoujo, which in Japan means, 'girl'; and there's also Shounen, which in Japan means, 'boy'. There are many, but those are the main two.

Shoujo is more of a, dare I say, girly style of Manga/Anime. By that, I just mean that it's a little less realistic; usually meaning bigger eyes, smaller noses, and could be a little less proportional (in, well, head-to-body ratio if you know what I mean). For those of you that know them, Anime that could be examples of this are Vampire Knight, Full Moon wo Sagashite, and Ouran Highschool Host Club.

Shounen is more of a realistic style of Anime, aimed more towards boys (but we all know that doesn't work); usually meaning realistic-looking eyes, normal noses, and more proportional and less exaggerated bodies. Anime that could be examples of this are Death Note, Bleach, and maybe Fullmetal Alchemist.

Manga and Anime are a very important part of Japanese culture, and when a good amount of people think of Japan, they think of Anime. Two of the first examples of Anime to appear in America would have to be Speed Racer and Astroboy; if go ask your parents, I'm sure they used to watch them (both of which, by the way, have been made into Major Motion Pictures; I haven't seen Astroboy, but I highly suggest Speed Racer).

Now, if you've never heard of these following Anime...I can't help you. Anyway, I hope all of you have heard of POKeMON and Sailor Moon. If you're my age, then you might know them very well. Sailor Moon is a good example of a Shoujo Anime, and a significantly well-known (and old) one. POKeMON, (and just for the record, I can't find the 'make the dash above the e' button on here, so bare with me) originally started out as a video game, later made into an Anime, then a Manga. I think POKeMON is one of Japan's crowning achievements when it comes to Animation, and I figured I'd mention it because it played a big part in their culture...other than that, all I have to say about it is that the new game is REALLY fun.

Well, that's all for this post, hope you enjoyed and learned something new...
~Jess'ka K.

A Little Biography of Me

Well, hey. My name's Jess'ka, I'm fourteen, I need a life outside of computers and books, and I wear too much grey and black. I decided to blog about Japan and its modern culture because I hold a high interest in them, plus it was an assignment...anyway, I feel qualified to do my blog on Japan and its culture because I'm knowledgeable about the topic and know a fair amount of the language. The blog itself will consist of posts such as Anime and Manga, food, music, architecture (i.e. Tokyo, etc.), media such as video games and video game systems, the basics of the language, etc. I hope you enjoy my blog, and don't find it boring. I'll remember to throw in some humor here and there. ;D
~Jess'ka K.