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UKIYO-E WOODBLOCK PRINTS: Postcards featuring the works of Utagawa Hiroshige
Read time: 2 minutesUtagawa Hiroshige ‘s Ukiyo-e prints are well known for his ‘Hiroshige blue’ – here are some postcards featuring his works. The Sea at Satta in Suruga Province1858 The Sea at Satta in Suruga Province 駿河 薩多海上 (Suruga Satta Kaijo) 1858 Fom the series “Thirty-six Views of Fuji” Mount Fuji is depicted as […]
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UNBOXING: GUNDAM – Destiny ZGMF-X42S Z.A.F.T. Mobile Suit Bandai Gunpla
Read time: 1 minutes1/144 scale model HG Cosmic Era – Destiny ZGMF-X42S Z.A.F.T. Scale model of the ZGMF-X42S Z.A.F.T. SEED Destiny mobile suit from the series, Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny, piloted by Shinn Asuka. Booklet cover: Box detail: Instructions detail: Assembly parts:
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LANGUAGE: How to express degrees of hope with ように・てほしい・いのる and 〜といい JLPT N4
Read time: 2 minutesように in combination with てほしい and いのる, and 〜といい can be used to express varying degrees of hope: Let’s see how ように・てほしい・いのる and 〜といい can be used to best convey our ‘hopeful’ sentiments: 〜といい I hope, It would be good You can use this when you’re just hoping that something good in […]
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BOOK: The Art of Kabuki – Famous Plays in Performance
Read time: 1 minutes“The Art of Kabuki – Famous Plays in Performance” by Samuel L. Leiter 7 well known scenes from 4 famous plays are presented in this book. Alongside transcriptions of each scene, translated into English with movement and musical co-ordination directions we are immersed in the enthralling entertainment these plays bring. With photographs […]
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UNBOXING: Gakken SX-150 Analog Synthesiser with 「シンセサイザークロニクル」
Read time: 2 minutes「大人の科学マガジン別冊 シンセサイザー・クロニクル」 “Adult Science Magazine Special: Synthesiser Chronicle” magazine with Gakken SX-150 Synthesiser The Gakken SX-150 Analog Synthesiser came packaged with 「大人の科学マガジン別冊 シンセサイザー・クロニクル」 “Adult Science Magazine Special: Synthesiser Chronicle” magazine, published 30th July 2008. The Japanese ‘Adult Science Magazine’ series has featured scientific learning content since 2003 and this ‘Synthesiser Chronicle’ special edition explains […]
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LANGUAGE: How to use ‘It has been decided’ and ‘I decided on’ – 〜ことになる | 〜ことにする JLPT N4
Read time: 2 minutes〜ことになる and 〜ことにする both express that something has been decided on however the former can be used when factors outside of the speaker’s control made the decision, whilst the latter can be used when the speaker made the decision. They have similar grammar constructions but are subtly different in meaning. How to […]
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UNBOXING: Nanoblock NBH. 108 世界最小最ブロック Inari Shrine
Read time: 1 minutesKawada Nanoblock Inari Shrine scale model The nanoblock concept brings model building to a micro sized block level! With these micro sized Lego bricks the finished model resembles a pixelated image in 3 dimensions! Here I present the nanoblock NBH_108 Inari Shrine – check out those Inari foxes standing guard at the […]
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BOOK: Saigo Takamori – The Last Samurai – The Life and Battles
Read time: 2 minutes“The Last Samurai – The Life and Battles of Saigo Takamori” by Mark Ravina This detailed and insightful study of the great Saigo Ichinosuke/Takamori chronicles his beginnings as the eldest sibling of a Samurai family, where he studiously absorbed the writings of Confucius as well as mastered the Samurai martial arts. Possessing […]
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LANGUAGE: Express uncertainty – ‘Might’ and ‘May or may not’ – 〜かもしれない｜〜かどうか
Read time: 1 minutesかもしれません・かもしれない and かどうか are 2 ways to express uncertainty in Japanese. かもしれません・かもしれない has the nuance of something ‘might’ be whilst かどうか has the nuance of something ‘may or may not’ Here are a couple examples to express uncertainty using かもしれない and かどうか: かもしれません・かもしれない・Might JLPT N4 走れば終電に間に合うかもしれない。 はしればしゅうでんにまにあうかもしれない。 If I run I might make the last train […]
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BOOK: Japanese Architecture – An Exploration of Elements and Forms
Read time: 1 minutes“Japanese Architecture – An Exploration of Elements and Forms” by Mira Locher | Foreword by Kengo Kuma A beautifully detailed book organised by sections of a traditional Japanese building. We found about how traditional architecture came about through influences of nature and by osmosis, Shintoism. Guided from materials, construction techniques to room […]
