Welcome To Japan - 日本 -- ようこそ -

Before getting started I would like to start my first post off with some basic information about Japan. Japan is an island nation situated in the Northern Pacific Ocean (JNTO 1). Japan is made up of four major islands and is surronded by about four thousand smaller islands (JNTO 1). The four main islands are Hokkaido (northern most island), Honshu (mainland), Shikoku (smallest island), and Kyushu (southern most island) (JNTO 1). Japan's population is over 126 million and its capital city is Tokyo (JNTO 1).

The official language of Japan is Japanese. In the Japanese language there are three alaphabets, Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji. There are a 46 different Hiragana and Katakana symbols and hundreds of Kanji symbols. Kanji are left over Chinese symbols. Hiragana is used to write Japanese words. For example, if you want to write the word Sushi (すし), you would write it in Hiragana because it is a Japanese word. Some other Japanese words that would be writtien in Hiragana are Samurai (さむらい), Sumo (すも), and Geisha (げいしゃ). Katakana is used to write Western words. For example, if you wanted to write Basketball (バスケトボル), you would use Katakana since it is not a Japanese word. In the Japanese language many words are borrowed from English. Words like Hamburger(ハンバーガー　han ba ga), TV (テレビ　te re bi), and Ice Cream (アイスクリーム　aisu kurimu) are some examples. Kanji is the most difficult to learn. Even native Japanese speakers spend most of their life learning Kanji. Kanji is normally used along with Hiragana. For example, if you wanted to say "Lets Eat," in Japanese, you could write it two ways. One way to write it would be with Hiragana only, たべましよう(ta be ma shi you, pronounced ta be ma sho). Another way to write it would be in Kanji, 食べましよう, which is pronounced the same exact way as when written in Hiragana becasue each Kanji symbol has a Hiragana equivalent. Other words written in Kanji include, Tokyo (東京), Love (愛), and Tea (茶).

I have studied Japanese for about four years now and I love it. I know all the Hiragana and Katakana but I too struggle with Kanji. It will take me many more years to learn all the differnt Kanji characters. Japan is really a very interesting country and I hope to show you all the fun and wild things I have learned about the Japanese culture. Japan is definitly a 21st century country full of wonders and suprises and yet has not forgotten its traditions and values.


わかりますか？


Works Cited:

1. "About Japan." Japan National Tourist Organization. 2006. 25 Oct. 2008.
< http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/indepth/about/overview/index.html > .

About Me -原宿-

My name is Melissa and my passion is Japan, Japanese Culture and the Japanese language. I have studied Japanese for 4 years and I currently volunteer in an ESL department at a nearby school. I am undecided on my major but I am thinking about becoming an ESL teacher and my blog is going to be about Japanese Culture. Please enjoy!

可愛いね～