Post Japanese-related YouTube links here
- Thread starter Buntaro
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- 27 Dec 2003
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- #402
I suddenly realized some people may not know where Shikoku is. Here is a children's video on Shikoku geography. Take a look at Shikoku at 2:58 and from 3:51 to 4:40
In the following children's video, the word ken (けん) (県) means prefecture, so Tokushima Ken (とくしま けん) (徳島県) means Tokushima Prefecture. (If the video does not appear in your browser, click on the words "Watch on YouTube.")
In the following children's video, the word ken (けん) (県) means prefecture, so Tokushima Ken (とくしま けん) (徳島県) means Tokushima Prefecture. (If the video does not appear in your browser, click on the words "Watch on YouTube.")
- 27 Dec 2003
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- #403
One of the most amazing tourist spots in Japan is the city of Nikko, a couple of hours north of Tokyo. Tokugawa Ieyasu was the Shogun who united all of Japan in the early 1600's, and he is buried in Nikko. Take a look at his unusual 'grave' from 7:18.
One thing that really surprised me when I visited Nikko is the three wise monkeys (hear no evil, see no evil, say no evil) are there. That's right, the original three wise monkeys. Take a look in the following video from 2:48.
One thing that really surprised me when I visited Nikko is the three wise monkeys (hear no evil, see no evil, say no evil) are there. That's right, the original three wise monkeys. Take a look in the following video from 2:48.
- 27 Dec 2003
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- #404
'Swastikas' on temples in Japan
Westerners are sometimes shocked to see 'swastikas' on maps and on Buddhist temples in Japan. (I heard one story of a group of American toursits who visited a temple in Japan, saw a 'swastika' on the temple, and demanded the people in charge of the temple immediately take the 'swastika' down.)
If you pull up this Google map, you will see two 'swastikas' on the map (three, depending on your screen resolution). The 'swastikas' are used to mark Buddhist temples on the map,
www.google.com
First we need to distinguish a swastika from a 'manji'. Take a look at the following video at 2:23 and you will see both a manji and a swastika. A manji (まんじ) (卍) mark is a kanji and is also an ancient Buddhist symbol used nowadays to mark Buddhist statues and temples in Japan. It is also used to mark temples on a map (as seen in the Google map linked to above). A manji is also writen 'straight' whereas a swastika is written on a 45-degree angle. Westerners think the manji was 'stolen' from the Nazi swastika, but the truth is, the swastika was 'stolen' from the manji. The manji is a Buddhist symbol that is thousands of years old.
The reality is that most young Japanese people do not make a connection between a manji and a swastika and do not see a manji as a symbol of Nazi Germany. In addition, many young Japanese people do not even know what a swastika is or that it has a Nazi meaning. Also, saying the word 'manji' at the end of spoken sentences has become popular with young people in Japan, as described in the video. In the following video, an elderly Japanese man at 4:22 knows the meaning of swastika but the rest of the young Japanese people do not.
(I am also trying to find a video or photo of a manji on the chest of a Buddha statue. If anyone has one, please post it.)
Westerners are sometimes shocked to see 'swastikas' on maps and on Buddhist temples in Japan. (I heard one story of a group of American toursits who visited a temple in Japan, saw a 'swastika' on the temple, and demanded the people in charge of the temple immediately take the 'swastika' down.)
If you pull up this Google map, you will see two 'swastikas' on the map (three, depending on your screen resolution). The 'swastikas' are used to mark Buddhist temples on the map,
Google Maps
Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.
First we need to distinguish a swastika from a 'manji'. Take a look at the following video at 2:23 and you will see both a manji and a swastika. A manji (まんじ) (卍) mark is a kanji and is also an ancient Buddhist symbol used nowadays to mark Buddhist statues and temples in Japan. It is also used to mark temples on a map (as seen in the Google map linked to above). A manji is also writen 'straight' whereas a swastika is written on a 45-degree angle. Westerners think the manji was 'stolen' from the Nazi swastika, but the truth is, the swastika was 'stolen' from the manji. The manji is a Buddhist symbol that is thousands of years old.
The reality is that most young Japanese people do not make a connection between a manji and a swastika and do not see a manji as a symbol of Nazi Germany. In addition, many young Japanese people do not even know what a swastika is or that it has a Nazi meaning. Also, saying the word 'manji' at the end of spoken sentences has become popular with young people in Japan, as described in the video. In the following video, an elderly Japanese man at 4:22 knows the meaning of swastika but the rest of the young Japanese people do not.
(I am also trying to find a video or photo of a manji on the chest of a Buddha statue. If anyone has one, please post it.)
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- 6 Mar 2003
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- 27 Dec 2003
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- #408
I have previously posted a link to a video that shows a yo jou han (よじょうはん) (四畳半) room, which is a room with four and a half tatami (たたみ) (畳) mats. Here is a video that shows how the floors of tatami rooms are constructed. (In Japanese with no English) In the video, the wooden planks supporting the tatami mats have rotted out and are being replaced. This video also shows how thin wooden planks are placed under each tatami mat. Watch from 0:35 as the tatami mats are removed.
- 27 Dec 2003
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- #409
Prepare to have your mind blown. Using a non-electric, pre-digital, pre-computer 'manual' kanji typewriter.
The typewriter consists of a tray of maybe 2,000 pieces of type, with one kanji on one piece of type. From 1:03 look at pieces of type contained in a tray. From 1:11 you can see how the lady moves the mechanism to and fro, positioning the pointer over the desired kanji. From 1:28 she presses a lever, the machine grabs a type, presses it to the paper and types it. The piece of type is then quickly returned to its place in the tray. (It seems moving the mechanism while pressing the lever would be disastrous.) I have never personally operated such a manual typewriter, but I have seen one in operation in person.
Can you imagine trying to find a particular kanji, and finding it quickly? Yikes! (And no Liquid Paper either, for those of us old enough to know what Liquid Paper is.) And the kanji on the type are backwards, making them even more difficult to read.
It is said the kanji typewriter was the number one technical invention of the first half of the twentieth century in Asia. (I think it was invented in Japan. I doubt it was invented in China, as China was in constant civil war during that time.)
The typewriter consists of a tray of maybe 2,000 pieces of type, with one kanji on one piece of type. From 1:03 look at pieces of type contained in a tray. From 1:11 you can see how the lady moves the mechanism to and fro, positioning the pointer over the desired kanji. From 1:28 she presses a lever, the machine grabs a type, presses it to the paper and types it. The piece of type is then quickly returned to its place in the tray. (It seems moving the mechanism while pressing the lever would be disastrous.) I have never personally operated such a manual typewriter, but I have seen one in operation in person.
Can you imagine trying to find a particular kanji, and finding it quickly? Yikes! (And no Liquid Paper either, for those of us old enough to know what Liquid Paper is.) And the kanji on the type are backwards, making them even more difficult to read.
It is said the kanji typewriter was the number one technical invention of the first half of the twentieth century in Asia. (I think it was invented in Japan. I doubt it was invented in China, as China was in constant civil war during that time.)
- 27 Dec 2003
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- #410
The next kind of kanji typewriter was easier to use because it included a printed chart of all the kanji. You positioned the pointer over the kanji on the chart, not over the actual piece of type. It also included an 'alphabetical order' of kanji, making them easier to find. (It seems this version allowed typing to go a lot faster.)
- 27 Dec 2003
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- #413
Typing Japanese on an English keyboard can be a real pain in the neck (mendokusai) (めんどくさい). Take a look from 2:01. The hard part is that there are several kanji combinations for many words written in hiragana. In the video, at 2:22 Yuta-sensei types こうしょう but he gets at least nine kanji combinations for those hiragana! He can then tab, tab, tab down to get to the right kanji, or he can push the number next to the kanji to get that kanji.
- 6 Mar 2003
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Pain in the neck compared to what? I'd say it's heaven compared to those typewriters you just showed.
- 27 Dec 2003
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- #416
Many people have heard the word rickshaw but don't know the word is actually a word from Japanese. The word in Japanese is jinrikisha (じんりきしゃ) (人力車) or human-powered vehicle. (The first syllable — jin — was dropped when the word was absorbed into English.)
Regular rickshaw's are no longer used in Japan, but you can see one at a tourist spot such as Asakusa in Tokyo. Here is a video of a female rickshaw driver in the tourist area Asakusa, Tokyo.
Regular rickshaw's are no longer used in Japan, but you can see one at a tourist spot such as Asakusa in Tokyo. Here is a video of a female rickshaw driver in the tourist area Asakusa, Tokyo.
- 27 Dec 2003
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- #417
Here is a video entitled "Moss in Japan Japanology." I had no idea that "for more than a thousand years, moss has been a cherished symbol of eternity" in Japan. There is also a surprise in this video, in that Japan's national anthem mentions the word moss. Check out the words to Japan's national anthem translated into English (including the word moss) from 3:50.
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- 27 Dec 2003
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- #418
Japan has some amazing gardens, but they are quite different from European-style gardens that have lots of flowers, long straight paved sidewalks, and geometrically-shaped trees and bushes. Here is a video from the Japanology series, explaining the three types of Japanese gardens. It is quite a treat to sit on a spacious veranda and look out upon one of these gardens (perhaps while having a cup of tea).
- 27 Dec 2003
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- #420
One of the most interesting types of Japanese garden is the rock garden (also called a dry garden because there is no pond of water). Japanese rock gardens are usually part of a Zen Buddhist temple. It is common to make circle patterns in the gravel, as seen from 1:22.
- 27 Dec 2003
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- #421
Japanese carp (koi) (こい) (鯉) are a type of fish that is very popular in Japan. More specifically, the name is Nishikigoi (にしきごい) (錦鯉).
en.wikipedia.org
Look at the large number of koi in this video.
Koi - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
Look at the large number of koi in this video.
- 27 Dec 2003
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- #422
Ramen (ラーメン) is a dish of noodles that is one of the most popular meals in Japan. The word ramen comes from the Chinese word lāmiàn (拉面) which means noodles that are made by pulling or stretching. Here is a video of a Chinese man showing how noodles are made by continually pulling, folding over, pulling, folding over, etc. (I tried to find a video of someone doing this in Japan, but I couldn't find one. I don't think anyone in Japan uses this method.)
I have watched this done many times at a Chinese restaurant, but I think all ramen restaurants in Japan order their noodles from a noodle factory. If anyone knows of a restaurant in Japan that makes their own noodles by pulling or stretching, please let me know.
Watch as the man pulls the dough into two, four, eight, 16, 32, 64, etc., strands from 4:26
I have watched this done many times at a Chinese restaurant, but I think all ramen restaurants in Japan order their noodles from a noodle factory. If anyone knows of a restaurant in Japan that makes their own noodles by pulling or stretching, please let me know.
Watch as the man pulls the dough into two, four, eight, 16, 32, 64, etc., strands from 4:26
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- 27 Dec 2003
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- #425
Watch noodles being made mass-production style at a noodle factory. Watch from 2:38 as the dough gets flattened six times by six rollers. (We get a good view of the six rollers from 2:52.) Strands of finished noodles appear at 3:04.
