Mistakes
Recently, I often fail. For example, to sleep late morning, to sleep in class, and to go shopping. When I slept late morning, I thought that I wasted my time. And when I slept in class, I felt regret that I didn’t listen to teacher during week of tests. Besides when I went shopping, I thought that I wasted my money.
The other day, I bought a hat. But the color was deep, deep brown, though I thought that the color was deep green. The cause of the mistake was the store’s light. That light’s color was orange. So I mistook the color.
I think that I will make use of this experience next!
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Interesting book
The day before yesterday I read a book, Hakase no aisita su-siki (loved formula by Doctor) by Ogawa Yoko. As soon as starting to read it, I was deeply absorbed; it is a funny and impressive story. The Doctor has a special memory trouble. He can’t keep anything in his memory . He can remember things for only 80 minutes. However, he has always loved mathematics. He is a Doctor of math before he gets into trouble. He is absolutely fascinated with math, which is his only friend in his mind.
One day a woman, a housekeeper, comes to his house. When she meets him, he says evey day, “Nice to meet you! Who are you?” Because he forgot her. At first is embarrassed, plus she is poor at math. But his number stories are easy to understand and mysterious. She loves them. He always talks about numbers during dinner. Except for eating, he lives only in his world where he thinks about math problems.
The housekeeper has one child. When she works in his house, her kid has to be by himself. The Doctor knows that and allows her to come with her kid. Next day the boy comes and the Doctor is happy because he likes children. He nicknames him Root and teaches him math. When Root can figure out the homework, he praises him a lot. He admires Root. His mother likes to see this scene. Although he forgets them every day, they become friends. Root and his mother love the Doctor deeply.
I think the Doctor is a very wonderful and cute man. He is in a hard situation but he does his best every time. His love is very deep. Root and his mother found it, so they like him. The Doctor taught me that it is not important to remember the past, the most imprtant thing is today. I was impressed by him.
This story has been turned into a movie—I want to see it.
Comment [1]
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Utamaro
Utamaro is a healing folk Duo which consists of two 20-year-old men, Kazuteru Kato and Tsutomu Kobori, living in Tsu-shi. They sing to their own acoustic guitars, like Yuzu or Kobukuro. “Utamaro” means “a singing (uta) man (maro)”. It also refers to Utamaro Kitagawa. As the printmaker became famous for his pictures, the band’s name includes a wish to become famous for their music. The other day, they had a major debut that released the third piece single Itsuka ha waratte utaeru kanasi uta (sad song to be able to sing laughingly someday). They are supported very much by female high school students. I think that they are the most famous artists and certainly the most famous 20-year olds in Mie.
I first met them in October 2004 at Tsu Festival, where I went with my friend. At the time, we didn’t know Utamaro. I went to see them just because Kazu is an older brother of a certain person that I and my friend were fans of. But the moment when I heard their performance, I became a fan of theirs. The singing voice of Kobo was very transparent, and the guitar which Kazu played affected the heart. Then I went to live broadcasts after school. I went to visit the underpass of Tsu Station and Yokkaichi Station with a friend to listen to them. They think of fans very much, and they are good friends with their fans. I like not only their performance but also their personality. Both of them are tender and are interesting.
Though it is very nice that Utamaro had a major debut, I feel a bit lonely when I think that they won’t be doing any more street live broadcasts as before. There were a few people who gathered in those days, but a lot of people will come now. But I want a lot more people to hear Utamaro and hope they will come to like them. I believe that the band will become absolutely famous. They have many songs of sad lost love, but there are also songs of happy love, a chocolate song, etc. As well as this single, two singles were released so far, too. I recommend all of them. Please try to listen to them by all means. If you are interested in Utamaro, look here. I’m sure you’ll like them.
Comment [4]
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Coming of Age Day
The second Monday of January is Seijin no Hi (Coming of Age Day) in Japan. People celebrate this day to welcome the young men and women who have turned or will turn twenty years old during the current year, as new members of society! Ceremonies are held in every city, town and village. The people who have reached the age of twenty get the right to vote and also allowed to smoke and drink.
I got twenty years old on November 29 last year. So I wore furisode and attended a coming of age celebration.
The day before the celebration, I went to a nail-art salon in Sakae. I experienced nail-art for the first time! I had an professional artist painted my fingernails. The artist painted in detail and attached line-stones to my fingernails. I admired her facility.
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The Winter Olympics in Torino
I like playing sports very much. I play table tennis five times a week and play soccer in the physical education class. Playing sports is good for our health and for a change of pace, I think.
And I also like watching sports. Athletes who try their best always encourage me; I am impressed by their performance on such a big and great stage. Doing the same would be very difficult for most of us.
This winter, the Olympic Games will be held in Torino, Italy, from February 10 to February 26. The current Olympic Games program includes 35 sports and nearly 400 events, for example Alpine skiing, bobsleigh, figure skating, ice hockey, ski jumping, speed skating and so on.
Among all those many winter sports, I’m most interested in Snowboarding.
There are two reasons. First , Snowboarding is a new winter sport. For the first time in the history of the Olympic Winter Games, it was introduced at the Nagano Games in 1998. Second, two Japanese snowboarders are going to participate. Their names are Dome Narita, 20 years old, and Mero Imai, 18 years old. Because I am about their age, I particularly want to cheer them on.
Of course, to win the medals is important for players, but to take enjoyment in their play is important too, I think. All the players will do their best and give us excitement. I just can’t wait for the Games to start.
Comment [4]
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The man who is money-mad
On Monday last week the president of Livedoor, Takafumi Horie, was arrested. Hearing that, I was very surprised. The Japan times said that:
Livedoor’s aggressive style apparently had a dark side, prompting business leaders to raise questions of ethics after the arrest of Horie and other Livedoor executives.
“What Livedoor has been doing is extremely unique to that company. It was OK for them to act illegally if they were not found out,” said economist Takuro Morinaga, author of the best-seller “The Economics to Survive the Era of Annual Income of 3 Million yen.”
Shigeru Nakajiｍa, an attorney specializing in M&As, said that ideally, companies take over other entities because of the synergic spinoffs of such integration, but Livedoor pursued takeovers without clear synergy.
“The relevancy and necessity of mutual business should come first in doing M&As,” he said.
Before the executives got arrested, I thought that Livedoor was a very smart and great company. Livedoor planned and spread their business not only on the Internet, but also into used cars and real-estate development, amongst other things. Maybe everyone thought that Livedoor is today’s most powerful company. Actually, millions of people use Livedoor’s internet service, and I am one of them. But now that Livedoor’s executives have been arrested, I don’t want to use their Internet service very much; I have a little aversion.
About the former president of Livedoor, Horie Takafumi: I think he is very smart, but sly. It is a well known fact, he said, that “a person’s mind can be bought with money.” Maybe he thought if only there is enough money, it can do everything. Generally, his way of thinking will be disliked and form many enemies. I think he should show some modesty. If so, he might get up and be successful again.
Comment [1]
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Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Have you ever read Harry Potter? Maybe you have because the series is really famous all over the world.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling, the sixth book in the bestselling series, was released on July 16, 2005, in the United States, Britain, Canada , Australia and Japan so on. But regrettably, if we want to read the Japanese version of this novel, we must wait until May 17, 2006. It’s too long for me, for everyone who lives in Japan and likes Harry Potter.
Do do you think I could wait so long? No, no and no. I couldn’t wait. So I started reading this book last summer and finally managed to finish reading just two days ago. Of course, it was really difficult for me to read a foreign book like this perfectly, even though it is aimed at children aged ten to twelve. I managed to understand most of it, though. How come? It was because I had some straight tips from a book by Christopher Belton which helps Japanese readers understand Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince .
Overall, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is really fun! It may be the best book I’ve ever read; it certainly has all the excitement and wonder of Rowling’s bestselling previous Harry Potter novels. If you want to read this excellent book as soon as possible, I recommend that you try to read it now rather than wait until May 17. I’m sure this book is worth reading.
Comment [5]
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New Year's custom in Japan
I first posted this article as a comment on Guoping’s Blog but I want everyone to read it so, I’m re-posting it here.
Let me introduce a Japanese New Year’s custom to you. In Japan, there are quite a few of these customs; for example, osechi ryouri, kagamimochi, hatsumode, motituki, and shimenawa. Do you know these customs?
Especially, I examined osechi ryori. The tradition started in the Heian period. Osechi are easily recognizable by their special boxes called jubako, which resemble bento boxes. Like bento boxes, jubako are often kept stacked before and after use.
Osechi have black soybeans, herring roe, tazukuri dried sardines cooked in soy sauce, kombu, sweet roasted chestnuts, red sea-bream, Japanese bitter orange, taro, kamaboko, kurikinton, mashed sweet potato with chestnut, rolled eggs and so on.
The dishes that make up osechi each have a special meaning celebrating the New Year. Let me give some examples. Black soybeans mean that everyone will keep their good health in the new year. Herring roe means “child”: it symbolizes a wish to be gifted with children in the new year. Taro have almost the same meaning because taro have many children. Kombu is associated with the Japanese word yorokobu, meaning “joy,” and red sea-bream, tai is associated with the Japanese word medetai, meaning an auspicious event. kamaboko, which is slices of red and white fish cakes alternated in rows or arranged in a pattern. The color and shape are reminiscent of the rising sun, and have a celebratory, festive meaning.
I don’t know how each food got to have each meaning, but I think it is interesting.
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Traditional Japanese activities on New Year's Day
In Japan, many people visit shrines on New Year’s Day to pray for happiness in the New Year. And there people draw lots called omikuji to learn their fortune. On New Year’s Day, Japanese people eat rice cakes boiled with vegetables called zouni.
Children also enjoy kite-flying. This is called takoage and is the traditional Japanese children’s activity on New Year’s Day. Takoage was introduced from China during the Heian Period (794 to 1192) and developed in the Edo Period (1603 to 1867) as a children’s activity.
Kite-flying was originally an event for adults on Tango no Sekku (which means Boy’s Festival). And it is said that the origin of kite- fling goes back to ancient Greece, around 400 B.C.
Children used to enjoy kite-flying in a dry riverbed or open field, but there is less space for it in contemporary cities as there are so many buildings. When I was a child, I couldn’t enjoy kite-flying because there wasn’t enough space near my house.
Japanese kites are made of paper glued on to a thin bamboo frame. They are pulled with strings and flown high up in the sky using the force of the wind. Many kites have letters or pictures on them. Pictures of a samurai or a kabuki actor, or the face of an ogre are popular. Square kites, hexagonal ones and yakko-dako shaped kites are popular. In China, kites in the shapes of animals are flown. In England or Brazil, kites in the shape of birds are flown. In Europe, kites were used in practical ways such as in the study of lightning.
There are so many kind of kites all over the world and in Japan. Isn’t that really something? Some day, I want to enjoy kite-flying on New Year’s Day.
Comment [2]
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Do you like zouni?
In Japan we have the custom of eating zouni on New Year’s day. Zouni is rice cakes boiled with vegetables. As I like it very much, I have done a little research about it.
It is said that the beginning of zouni was in the Azuchi-Momoyama period (approximately 1568 to 1600). People ate zouni on New Year’s Day and prayed to god for a perfect state of health.
Generally, in the north and east of Japan, square rice cakes are eaten and in the west of Japan round rice cakes are eaten.
The ways of making zouni differ from place to place. For example, in Iwate prefecture, people eat zouni with walnut sauce. In Fukui prefecture people put a turnip into zouni; the turnip is a good-luck token in Japan. In Hokkaido people eat very splendid zouni. People put crab, salmon, and salmon roe into it. In Tottori prefecture, very sweet zouni is eaten. People put round rice cakes into adzuki (red soy bean) soup. It is called zenzai in other prefectures. In Okinawa prefecture people don’t have the habit of eating zouni.
Though I said that the ways of making zouni differ from place to place, it is not decided strictly. Actually, people often get married to a person who is from another prefecture, so the ways of making zouni are united there. And new original zouni are born.
By the way, I put green laver in zouni. What kinds of special zouni do you know? I want to know about your home’s original zouni. And I want to eat every prefecture’s special zouni.
Comment [2]
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