Monthly Archives: August 2009

Web, Japanese and UTF8

Posted on August 31, 2009 by

Getting Japanese text to work on a webpage was something that came up recently at work, so I felt inspired to touch on the subject briefly. This piece is a bit more techinical than other posts, but on the other … Continue reading →

Posted in Bsd, Japanese, Language, Linux, Macintosh, Technology, Windows | 2 Comments

Change in blog schedule, format, again

Posted on August 31, 2009 by

Recently, I thought I’d try a little experiment to change the blog schedule and format to something more friendly to my schedule. That worked out well, and allowed more time for other things, but introduced a few small problems I’d … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Leave a comment

The Four Features of Jodo Shu

Posted on August 30, 2009 by

I found some nice little online books related to Jodo Shu or Japanese Pure Land Buddhism from the Hawaii mission, but I liked one in particular that covered the basics of Jodo Shu practice. This was called “Reading is Believing“. … Continue reading →

Posted in Buddhism, Jodo Shu | 4 Comments

Quotation from Natsume Soseki

Posted on August 27, 2009 by

From one of Japan’s most famous author Natsume Sōseki (夏目 漱石): 知に働ければ角が立つ (Chi ni hatarakereba kado ga tatsu) 情に棹させば流される (Jō ni saosaseba nagasareru) 意地を通せば窮屈だ (Iji wo tōseba kyūkutsu da) 兎角に人の世は住みにくい (Tonikaku ni hito no yo ha suminikui) Translation, thankfully provided … Continue reading →

Posted in Japanese, Literature | Leave a comment

Typing Japanese in FreeBSD

Posted on August 25, 2009 by

Thanks to some helpful guides on the Internets, I managed to finally get my installation of FreeBSD to type Japanese. The technology has definitely come a long way since I last tried this a few years ago, and documentation hasn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Bsd, Japanese, Technology | 5 Comments

Another cool Japanese verse

Posted on August 23, 2009 by

Recently, while watching my daugther’s TV show again, Nihongo de asobo I really liked this one poem they shared by a female poet named Kaneko Misuzu (金子みすゞ). Her life was short, and ruined by her husband’s philandery,1 but she left … Continue reading →

Posted in Japanese, Literature | 2 Comments

Yasukuni Shrine: a childrens pamphlet

Posted on August 21, 2009 by

“Yasukuni Shrine should be kept at a great distance from politics and the frenzy of the media,” -Former Prime Minister Aso, quoted in the Asahi Shinbun Yasukuni Shrine is a Shinto shrine in Tokyo, Japan that memorializes the war dead … Continue reading →

Posted in Buddhism, Japan, Shinto | 5 Comments

Pure Land Buddhism and Yogacara Thought

Posted on August 20, 2009 by

I’ve wanted to share this one for a while, but hadn’t found the time to type it up. A while back, after I lost my temper one afternoon, I suddenly remembered something that Rev Tagawa said in the book Living … Continue reading →

Posted in Buddhism, Hosso, Jodo Shinshu, Jodo Shu | Leave a comment

Segaki

Posted on August 20, 2009 by

In addition to the well-known Obon Season that occurs every year in Japan, there is also a lesser-known Buddhist ceremony often observed in the summer: segaki (施餓鬼). This is a special ceremony that appears anywhere from May to September and … Continue reading →

Posted in Buddhism, Japan, Jodo Shu, Shingon | 4 Comments

Language and memorization

Posted on August 18, 2009 by

More on the subject of language, as taught by that wise movie, Monty Python’s “Life of Brian”: Years ago I had a real strong interest in Latin and picked up an excellent introduction by Professor Peter Jones at a bookstore … Continue reading →

Posted in Japanese, JLPT, Language, Latin | 2 Comments