About the Author
Hello, this blog is about my life as a father, Buddhist and Japanophile / Koreaphile. Any useful information I can pass along will hopefully make the Internets a better place. Thanks for reading!
Category Archives: Japan
Racism in the 21st Century, old habits die hard
(Another sad example in history when two tribes have clashed and caused needless loss of life) I am a happy follower of actor LeVar Burton on Twitter,1 and recently he posted an interesting article about the movie Hunger Games. Not … Continue reading
Japanese Names Through The Ages
Recently, the Japan Times had an interesting article about how names have changed in Japan to reflect the times. For example, if a new Emperor ascended the throne, many kids would have names that included kanji from the Emperor’s reign … Continue reading
Posted in Buddhism, Family, Japan
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Spring Ohigan 2012: A Look At Its Founder
Once again, we come the twice-yearly Buddhist holiday of Ohigan, which falls on or around the Spring and Fall equinoxes. Instead of the usual sermon, I thought it would be interesting to look at the lives of the man (and … Continue reading
Posted in Buddhism, Japan, Travel
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Hats for Jizo: A Japanese Buddhist Tale
Note: One day last month, my wife asked me to help translate a Japanese children’s book into English for a presentation at my daughter’s pre-school. It is a famous old tale (mukashi-banashi 昔話) in Japan. This is my completed translation, … Continue reading
Japan One Year After The Earthquake
My daughter made this in Japanese preschool last week as the calendar for March. Most years March would be represented by Girls’ Day but March 11th marks the one year anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake. My daughter wrote … Continue reading
Times have changed, and so have peoples’ heights
I saw this article recently on the Yonhap News Agency about the average height of Koreans changing in the last century. From the end of the Joseon Dynasty to now, the average height for Korean people increased by 12cm. The … Continue reading
Happy Girls’ Day 2012
My daughter made this in school to celebrate the Japanese holiday of Girls’ Day, mentioned recently here. Anyhow, to all the young ladies and little “princesses” out there, HAPPY GIRLS’ DAY! Update: My little girl got the flu overnight and … Continue reading
JLPT Care Package!
Having recently taken (and passed) the JLPT N2, I was very happy to receive a cars package from a certain reader. The package contained special-edition Kit-Kat candy from Japan: Notice the Mos Burger logo in the upper right, too. These … Continue reading
A Brief History of Confucianism in Edo-Period Japan
I spent part of last year reading a fascinating collection of essays under the title of Confucianism and Tokugawa Culture by Peter Nosco and other contributors. The book and the essays examine the Edo Period, the Tokugawa Shogunate, and how … Continue reading
Spring Has Come
I always enjoy this time of year. The weather finally starts to warm up and there’s much to look forward to. Recently I saw on NHK news (via cable TV) that plum blossoms, or ume (梅), have started blooming in … Continue reading
