I haven't updated this in a while.

At the moment I am finding university very very hard. Most of this is to do with the fact that I am not allowed to take my medication until after tuesday, when I have my Endoscopy. I'm quite stressed out about it as well. Part of it as well is that in general I'm struggling with Japanese. I do work very hard at it, but nothing is really sticking. Vocab is generally okay, though I have an issue where any time I feel underconfident, I know what I want to say in my head, but my mouth sticks together, and by the time I get my mouth to open, I have panicked and everything has left my mind. Not good when you are put on the spot in a language lesson. Kanji is an area that I am really struggling. I don't know whether my being left-handed has a bearing, but I can read the Kanji I am told to learn, but I can never remember the stroke order, or what they look like when it comes to write them. It doesn't come naturally to me, and I'm breaking my pens by going against the grain. I knew it was more difficult for a left-handed person to write Kanji, but to be honest I didn't think it would have that much of a bearing.
I'm tempted to force myself to write them with my right hand, my kanji is atrocious anyway, and I used to be ambidextrous once upon a time.

Another thing I learnt while looking it up online is that it is actually considered rude in Japan to hold your chopsticks with your left hand. So I will have to teach myself how to eat all over again. It is just like being in a second infancy!

I spoke to Weste Sensei about my concerns to do with Japanese, and he agreed with me that my Kanji was a bit of a problem, but that we have a midterm in week 8, and after that he will talk to me about it, depending on how well I do. In the first year of uni we just need to pass with 40% anyway, but even that will be a struggle. I have never had a problem with languages before so this has come as a bit of a shock. I just need to pass with the 40% this year, and if I can do that I will get my year abroad in Japan...and if it still hasn't "clicked" by then, I shall have to try and convince the english department to let me switch to a single honours degree, which I really don't want to do. If I fail my january exam, I'm basically screwed, unless English will have me then, and that is dependant on exceptional exam results.

I think English is going pretty well though. I've just handed in my first essay and I'm waiting for the marks.


We had our first proper anime society meeting last night. Apart from a few small problems it went pretty well. Thomas (my little brother) has been staying with me, so I brought him along too. We showed Fruits Basket, Full Metal Alchemist, Scrapped Princess and Azumanga Daio. Scrapped Princess was voted out though. I didn't get to go out to the social afterwards because I had to take Thomas home.

This week hasn't been great. Thing about medication is that it misleads you into thinking that you are actually ok. Then when you can no longer take it, you are unused to and not expecting the level of pain you actually feel. It gets worse every day. I get these burning shots of acid all the way into my chest, which makes it hard to breathe, and it hurts sooo much. I feel nauseous all the time, and yet hungry. Then I can actually feel a seperate, deep throbbing muscular pain in my stomach all the time. I took a day off at the beginning of the week but then I thought "I shouldn't do this" and I've turned up every day since, regardless of how bad I feel. I haven't taken much in though.

Also, this week Rosie (my housemate) really scared me by saying that she wants to drop out of uni and the house, and move back home. This is bad on so many levels. I understand her point of view and only want the best for her, but I don't want her to leave! She told me she felt really lonely up here, and I felt so bad. I haven't really been the best friend recently, I've been so wrapped up with worrying about my health and my immenant academic failure that I haven't really had much time for her, even though we live in the same house. But she is my friend, and I will miss her. Also, it would be so much hassle if she moved out, because I'd have to live with a stranger and we'd have to advertise, and be penalised by our landlord.

But here is the good, happy thing that's happened...Shaun is taking me to Dublin for our 3 year anniversary! We are going in my reading week, which is the week after next. It's for 3 nights and I am really really excited. We've never been away on a holiday before, and I could really do with a break right now. I am so lucky to have such a considerate boyfriend.

So I'm trying to think about that, rather than going into hospital. Bleh.

I'm currently reading Geisha, so I will post up my impressions of that soon, along with Norweigan wood. Oh and our culture lessons. I've neglected this blog somewhat. But for now, at 22.51, it's vocab learning for me. Such is the life of a Nihongo-Benkyoshi student (and yes, I'm aware that's probably not right).

ANOTHER PERSONAL ENTRY OF SORTS

It is midnight and I can't sleep. A bit strange really, considering I have had no sleep in the past 24 hours due to serious throwing up. I have a rather nasty tummy bug, and I spent the whole day in bed feeling rather sorry for myself.

The English side of my degree is running relatively smoothly, I know I don't write of it often on here, but it is fairly straightforward. Read a book a week, summarise it, look for some resemblance to a Freudian theory, read a couple of essays, sit in a lecture theatre and listen to a lecturer go on about it for an hour or so...yadda yadda ya. This week I have an essay question I have to answer, on top of my haystack workload, normally it would be nothing, but due to everything else, it feels like an ominous weight, because I doubt I will be able to give the question justice.

The Japanese side of my degree - *sigh*. One thing I will say is that if you are considering a Japanese degree don't expect it to be easy and don't expect to have a lot of free time. Those who have done it before are having a pretty easy ride so far, while I sit and do at least four hours a night revision. Today I sat in my bed for 8 hours straight, reorganising my notes into a legible form and forcing myself to learn vocabulary. I have a lot of Kanji I have to have learnt in time for the test we have every week on a Tuesday, and to be honest I haven't even started, I'm that behind. With all this work, I'm not even in the top half of the class. I'm just struggling to keep up. It's something like one third of the students doing Japanese either drop out or fail their January exams the first year, and although I'm finding it so hard, I'm determined that I will not be one of the people in that third. I will get to Japan, even if it kills me!

At the same time, even though my social life is pretty much non-existant (I haven't even seen my housemates in days) it is strangely fascinating and addictive to know that you are persevering with something and making headway.

Shaun has taken on all the chores more or less, he has to cook for me, otherwise I wouldn't eat or would just eat whatever I find to hand in the cupboard.

Interesting things in my life. Hmmm:

I saw Laputa: Castle in the Sky with the Anime Society on Thursday. I went in and sat with Denise and Sophie. At first the movie was a little slow, and the dubbing was woeful, but despite this I soon got into it, especially when they actually got to the floating island of Laputa. I loved the Robot with the birds, I just thought that was so cute! The message of man not being able to live on science alone was very astute as well, I think. But most off all, cute robots!

The blatent sexual references were hilarious though. The people who dubbed it must have been taking the Mick. Examples:
1. "I'm so glad you are a human and not some angel who fell from the sky"
2. "When you fell from the sky and I saw you, my heart skipped a beat"
3. The boy has become a man!" when Pazu disappears from between Dola's legs.
4. "Don't worry Shita. We can go all the way!" as they fall down the mine-shaft.
5. "When you came in the sky it made me excited"
6. "I would like to come and see your Yak" (Random Yak pops up on screen)
7. Silence...Silence..."Birds make me happy" (in the most depressed voice I've ever heard)...silence...silence

Afterwards I went to Japanic with a few of the others and had a few drinks. And now I'm events Secretary of the Society *Smile*

Tonight Shaun and I went for a drink at the Cafe place in Hyde Park. It is actually really nice in there, a case of making the best of what you have. It had cosy settee type things to sit on, with cushions and the whole place was lit by candles. Shaun had a Mocha and it came in a pretty glass.

MORE ON ETIC AND EMIC THOUGHT (From Modern Japanese Culture: The Insider View, Leith Morton (Oxford Press 2003)

(PP11) Sapier: "No two languages are ever sufficiently similar to be considered as representing the same social reality. The worlds in which different societies live are distinct worlds, not merely the same world with different labels attached".

There is the idea of the dual system in the Japanese language - that there are insider and outsider discourses. It is made up of a dominant system of meaning (PP18)


MINAMI HOROSHI

He wrote a study in 1980 called "Nihonjinron no keifu". He believed that language reflected the split between the body and mind, and therefore a lot of the Japanese culture could only be grasped through intense study of the language.


HAMAGUCHI

He wrote a study that said that "Japan is an outside in Country", the culture is formed from a socialisation process that reverses the ego formation mechanism of Western Societies, which are "inside-out". (Hamaguchi, 1998:311-16, The rediscovery of Japaneseness)

JAPANESE CULTURE LESSON

The fundamental difference between Western and Japanese cultures is basic ideas of Time and Space. In Western society we see time as a linear model, and therefore it becomes a measurable resource, a useful commodity. This is where the idea "Time is Money" comes from. But in Japan, influenced by Buddhism, the Japanese are more likely to see time as cyclical; where you can be born and re-born. The average Japanese person always lives in the present - a good example of this is the fact that promotions are determined by seniority within the company and not by initiative. However this assumption is now being challenged because the average Japanese businessman can be seen to be "Extratemporaneous" - able to switch between the western linear idea of time, and the Japanese cyclical view of time.

We also learnt that the Japanese have a very clear idea of self, and see themselves as unique from other societies. They believe that if you have not been born into a Japanese family, you are not Japanese. This is a contrast with how we feel about citizenship in the UK. A common theory of the Japanese is the idea of "Giri" as well; that all Japanese emphasise the group and see themselves as part of a group at all times. This of course has an implication on their behaviour as they always have to think about others...it can be traced back to the old ideas of confucianism in Japan. It is contrast to the West in that Western thinking and psychology is always concerned with the thinking of self as an individual.

In Japan things are changing. According to my lecturer, a lot of the Japanese no longer believe in economic growth and technology as a form of defining a cultural identity. There is also an increase in single lifestyles as it has become more acceptable to leave home, and there have been changes in employment systems to make it fairer for women. Also, it used to be the case that once you became an employee at a company you were there for life, and it shaped a large part of your identity. Nowadays however, this is no longer the case and less and less employees see themselves as being part of a company "family".

The question we have to ask ourselves as outsiders is that will we ever be able to completely understand the Japanese society? There are two lines of thought on this. One is Emic thinking - that only the Japanese will ever be able to understand the Japanese. The other is Etic - that foreigners can have a realm of understanding about Japanese culture.

RULES FOR WRITING KANJI (FROM A BASIC KANJI BOOK)

1. Every Kanji is the same size
2. You always write left to right
3. You write downwards instead of upwards
4. When there is a figure in a square that you have drawn, the line which closes the square is
drawn last.
5. When a stroke line passes through a square, draw that stroke last.
6. There are 3 ways to end a stroke: Stop, Stretch or Hook.

MORE VOCAB

Ima - now
-Ji - o'clock
Fun or Pun - Minute
Han - half
Nan Ji - What time?
Nan pun - What minute?
Gozen - A.M/ Morning
Gogo - P.M / Afternoon
Asa - Morning
Hiru - Daytime/noon
Ban - Evening/Night
Ototoi - The Day before yesterday
Kinou - Yesterday
Kyou - Today
Asate - The Day after tomorrow (thanks to anonymous for the correction!)

Kesa - This Morning
Konban - This evening/Tonight
Yasumi - Rest/holiday/day off
Hiruyasumi - Lunchtime
Maiasa - Every morning
Maiban - Every Night
Mainichi - Every day

Getsuyoubi - Monday
Kayoubi - Tuesday
Siuyoubi - Wednesday
Mokuyoubi - Thursday
Kinyoubi - Friday
Doyoubi - Saturday
Nichiyoubi - Sunday
Nan youbi - What day of the week?

Bangou - Number
Nan Ban - What number?
-Kara - From
~Made - Up to, or until
~To~ - And (Used to connect nouns)
Sochira - Your place
Taihendesure - That's tough isn't it? (used to express sympathy)
Kashikomarimashita - Certainly
Otoia wa seno bangou - The number being enquired about

JAPANESE VOCAB WORDS - WEEK 3


Donata desu ka - Who is this? (Polite)
Dare - Who is this? (Informal)
Igirisu Karakimashite, dozo Yoroshiku - I come from England, pleased to meet you
Watashi wa Christie desu - I am Christie
lie,...J'Arimasen...desu - No (enter wrong assumption here) isn't right. (Insert correct answer)
...-san wa ... desu ka - Question about a person

No means belonging to or from. It can be used to connect two nouns together. For example:
Daigoku no Gakusei (University Student)
Igirisu no Leeds (From Leeds, England)

Sai desu - ...Years old
Watashi wa Jukyusai desu - I am 19 years old

Kore - Near Speaker
Sore - Near Listener
Are - An item far from both the speaker and the listener

...wa....desu ka - Is this ... or ....?
Answers to this could be:
lie, J'Arimasen ... desu
lie, kore wa...desu


Koko - Here, this place
Soko - There, that place near you
Asoko - That place over there
Doko - Where? What Place?
Kochira - This way, this place (polite version of Koko)
Sochira - That way, that place near you
Achira - That way, that place over there
Kiyoushitsu - Classroom
Shokudou - Dining hall/Canteen
Jimusho - Office
Kaigishitsu - Conference room
Uketsuke - Reception desk
Robi - Lobby
Heya - Room
Toire - Toilet
Kaidan - Staircase
Erebeta - Elevator/lift
Esukashita - Escalator

Kuni - Country
Kaisha - Company
Uchi - House/Home
Denwa - Telephone
Kutsu - Shoes
Wain - Wine
Uriba - Department/Counter
Chika - Basement
Kai - -th floor
nan gai - What Floor?
Ikura - How much?
Hyaku - Hundred
Sen - Thousand
Man - Ten thousand

...misete kudasai - Please show me...
Ja - Well, then
Kudasai - Give me...Please

Okimasu - Get up/Wake up
Remasu - Sleep/Go to bed
Hatarakimasu - Work
Yasumimasu - Take a rest/Holiday
Benkyoushimasu - Study
Owarimasu - Finish

Depato - Department Store
Ginkou - Bank
Yuubinkiyoku - Post Office
Toshiyokan - Library
Bijutsukan - Art Mueseum

More tomorrow, sleepy Christie now...

Yesterday was Shauns 21st Birthday, but we were both still feeling slightly ill so we didn't do a lot. We went to town and did a little shopping, I have nothing that fits for winter so I bought a pink Ripcurl jumper, and a navy cord, lined coat with a furry eskimo hood from Topshop. I don't really have the money for any of it, I am so skint because I put half of my student loan this term into a savings account I can't touch until April, but otherwise I would freeze to death!

(However I can't really have any excuse for my one impulse purchase - a toy christmas stitch from the Disney Store: he has a little reindeer suit and everything! When you press his hand his nose lights up red and he hums "Jingle Bells"!)

From now on though, I shall have to live lean - 9p packets of noodles are nutritious right? I could do with losing a little more weight anyway...

...I put on a pound while I was ill, probably because as I was so bunged up with flu I couldn't move, let alone go to the gym.

Later on Shaun and I went out for dinner for his birthday, to a resteraunt near the Corn Exchange called Iguanas. It was this authentic South-American resteraunt; the atmosphere was pretty good, there was Latin music playing and it was dim but cheerful. I'm not a huge fan of Latin or Spanish food usually (it was Shaun's choice) but the food was beautiful overall. We decided to go all out and had three courses, mine being washed down with a fresh orange and passionfruit cooler, while Shaun had Brazilian Beer. My starter was a tortilla parcel filled with brie and fresh mango and it is one of the tastiest things I have ever had. I wasn't as impressed with my main course, of duck enchilada, although I could tell the ingredients were fresh...it was a lot spicier than my stomach can take, and I'm not sure that duck lends itself well to Spice. Shaun had some seafood thing in a bowl and it almost made me heave to look at it - it was like a floating graveyard of various dead things. Pudding was great - Shaun had the Ipanema mess (a very gay looking desert) and I had banoffee pie, with real soft homemade fudge. It was heaven.

Then we went home and watched End of Evangelion. The Evangelion series is very confusing to someone who isn't A) very sharp or B) Isn't clued up on their theology because I find that the series relied a lot on it's religious imagery. I'm not sure that I would have followed it half as well if I had been watching it on my own. Also, I didn't watch Death and Rebirth but I can't see how a series as complex as Neon Genesis Evangelion can be summarised into an hour long film. I won't talk about it in detail in case it spoils it for someone, but it is definately one to watch, but you have to concentrate to understand it. It has to be one of my favourite anime series now - though Fruits Basket and Full Moon are still undisputed favourites!

Quotes of the Day:

1. I picked out a book randomly from a shelf in a charity shop and the blurb started with something like "I lost my virginity at fourteen to a twenty-seven year old man" and I show it to Shaun. Shaun then points to the Boy George autobiography on the next shelf and goes "Isn't that the same book?"

2. We are in Headingly and we see that there are people collecting for the blind. I then notice that the people collecting, are in fact visually impaired and have white sticks and dogs.
I remark to Shaun "It's quite effective having them collecting money. I feel guilty walking past them and not giving money, don't you?"
Shaun says "Why? It's not as if they notice you, is it?'

3. We were walking home after the meal and there were three drunken homeless people at the "John Peel" memorial in Hyde Park. It looked from where we were standing that one of them was being forced to do a sexual act on another homeless person, and was emitting a loud long wail. I say to Shaun "Do you think they are being forced to do something?"
Shaun says thoughtfully "No. If I was sitting there, and thought "I wish I was at home now - wait, I have no home...I'd be crying too". I laughed all the way home.

Ok, I have a sick sense of humour.

A personal blog this time...

Well last week I went to Little Tokyo and had yet another great meal. Little Tokyo has to be my favourite resteraunt now, some may say that it is a little expensive but you definately get what you pay for. The most expensive meal on the menu is approximately £12.50, but that is a four course Bento Box, which I can never finish. This time I had Chicken Wheat Buck Soba; I was a little sceptical as to how they would make noodles taste exceptional, but once again I was proved wrong. Not only did I get marinated noodles, i also got a mountain of fresh oriental vegetables and Japanese mushrooms, with large lumps of fresh teriaki chicken at the bottom. This only cost me £6 and I almost couldn't finish it, the bowl was so large. Shaun had seafood Ramen and I almost gagged because it had baby octopus in it...that actually looked like baby octopus with eyes and everything!

Shaun ordered a Sake Bomber with his meal, and the waitress showed him how to do it. He got a glass of ice-cold Kirin, and a small cup of hot sake. You place two chopsticks on the top of the glass and balance the cup on top. You then bang the table so that the cup falls in and tips the sake into the beer. You then down it as quickly as possible. It really went to Shaun's head.

I've realised, now that I've been to the third anime society meeting, that I didn't even describe the second. I have to share the wonders of Hentai boy, with his stomach coming out of his t-shirt, and his loud piercing voice! (In fact I already think I've shared this story with half the members of the anime society!) Here are actual quotes from Hentai boy:
"I think it's great that so many girls have joined such an adult society!"
"I didn't know what anime was until it popped up on my screen and then I was like "Oh! So this is what anime is!" So much tits!!!"
I didn't see him this week though, so hopefully someone set him straight.

This week was actually pretty good. The University screwed things up though and we didn't have a room, so about 20-30 of us went to Japanic, losing the other 40 or so on the way. I got talking to some pretty cool people, and we watched Full Metal Panic, which is now on my must-see list, and The CowBoy Bebop movie, which I didn't really like.

Oh, I have had news about my Endoscopy. It's the 1st of November at Leeds General Infirmary, at 5.30pm. I am really not looking forward to it, and I'm actually a little scared. First of all, on the day, I can't eat or drink past 11am. I have to sign a consent form, and so does my escort. Because I will be sedated during the procedure, I have to have a friend or family member escort me to the hospital, back from the hospital and stay with me for the full 24 hours until the sedation fully wears off. They are going to put a tube down my throat, about the size of my little finger, and apparantly afterwards I will have a sore throat for a few days. They are going to look and see what they can see in my stomach and they are going to take samples of my stomach lining. It warns that the procedure may also cause damage to dental work. I swear to god, after three years of braces...if they do anything bad to my teeth I shall personally maim them!

Amid all this, Japanese class, yes. I really need to get over my nervousness. I always know the answer to all the sensei's questions...until it comes to my turn to stand up and speak to the class. I just notice all these eyes on me, all these students who obviously know more than me, and I freeze and forget everything. When I forget I just do a stupid giggle and think afterwards "God Christie, why did you do that? You are such a PLEB!" There is just so much work as well, so much vocab to learn. My housemates are in the second year and they are out every other night, and granted, they are doing french so it's not a language from scratch, but I look at them and wonder how they manage it.

English is going okay I think though, we'll see when it comes to essay time.

Oh...I got a pink DS today, Shaun swapped it for my silver DS. So we now have two copies of Nintendogs so I have lots of doggies! And I got a toy dog with the DS because it was pre-ordered, so he is now on my shelf. It would be a good day if it wasn't for the fact that I have freshers flu.

Tomorrow is Shaun's 21st Birthday.

LIST OF THINGS THAT NEED TO BE DONE:



BY TOMORROW:

1. Sort out and organise my timetables
2. Tidy, clean and Hoover my room
3. Check my bank balance
4. Return Library Books
5. Read The Tale of Genji
6. Read through Turn of The Screw making summaries of each chapter, looking for themes and selective use of language.
7. Read Henry James's Essay The Art of Fiction
8. Read most of Great Expectations
9. Make notes on the ideas from last weeks lecture

BY MONDAY:

1. Buy books/find in the Library for my development elective.
2. Learn the vocab for Mina no Nihongo lesson 1-4, approx 50 words
3. Practice Japanese sentences
4. Practice foreign pronounciation symbols for Japanese
5. Read Katie Willis's book "Theories of Development"
6. Look up The Marshall Plan and Print out Development notes.
7. Look through the other development book
8. Watch "The Others"
9. Look up and make notes on the English literary crises of the 19th century
10. Read Barthes "Death of an Author"
11. Read Wimsatt Beardsley's "The Intentional Fallacy"

BY NEXT WEDNESDAY:


1. Buy beginners Kanji books.
2. Learn Kanji, including Japanese pronouncation.


ONGOING, OR HAS TO BE DONE IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS:

1. Read Endo's "Silence".
2. Read "Kokoro"
3. Read "Geisha"
4. Read and make notes on Japanese Culture

A BRIEF OVERVIEW ON JAPANESE HISTORY 1700-1895
based on my notes on "Inventing Japan" by Ian Buruma

After Japan was "closed" to the Western World in the 17th century it is assumed that Japan itself had no knowledge or contact with the West at all. Ian Buruma argues that this is not the case because in Japan at the time there were the "RangaKusha" who were students of Dutch learning. From the 17th century students and some merchants in Nagasaki and Edo (Tokyo) learnt how to read Dutch without the help of dictionaries and grammers, and physicians studied Western Medicine.

Once a year Dutch merchants were summoned to Edo, where the Shogun would ask them questions and ask them to perform for him, a bit like a novelty! In 1720 the ban of Western books was relaxed slightly as well because the shogun Tokugawa Yoshimuno was interested in the Western Calander. Under his instruction, the authorities at the time tended to believe that things could be learnt from Western science, but foreign thinking should be kept away from politics and the common minds. This was backed up by the ideology of Tokugawa Bakufu who believed in neo-Confucianism, stressing the importance of national order and absolute obedience to authority.

The Japanese had borrowed a Chinese concept of statecraft based on cosmic principles: the natural order of human society follows the natural order of the cosmos and a rulers role is to makes sure that they remain in harmony. This meant that Dutch learning became very unpopular with the authorities because if principles of nature can be analysed through reason and cosmology disproved through science - isn't this a challenge to the authorities political legitimacy as well?

The Japanese, although fearing of Christianity as a disruption to church and state, borrowed some general principles. Aizawa Seishisai wrote a "new thesis" in 1825 which argued that although christianity was evil, it made European subjects naturally obediant to their rulers. "Belief in one God created unity". This thesis caused ripples among the Japanese authorities and soon after Shinto began to be promoted as a national faith, with the Sun Goddess (Aramasu?) worshipped like the Christian God. The merge of the church and the state helped found Japanese nationalism later on.

The Japanese borrowed another Western idea, Buruma argues - that of colonialism. There was a philosopher at the time called Honda Toshiaki who used Britain as an example, saying that without a colonial empire a small island nation could not achieve greatness. Honda's ideas became popular in the 1920's with the rise of nationalism.

Japan was "Opened Back up Again" at a critical period of political unrest. Some Japanese welcomed the West and started arguing that to progress Japan needed to imitate the west to achieve success. Others were violently loyal to the old way of life. There was even a civil war in 1868-1869 between the bakafu loyalists and the imperial armies. The Western way of doing things was soon implented in the capital, now renamed Tokyo. On February 11th, 1889, the anniversary of the date when Japans first emperor founded the imperial line, Japan got it's first constitution. Japanese democracy was based on German guidelines, being similar developing nations. Japan's industrial revolution ended up only being a couple of years after Germany's.

Japan suppressed a lot of it's own culture in a bid to be more westernised and encourage more visitors from the west. They started promoting Kabuki theatre as a cultural past-time, rather than Noh, which was seen as "too Japanese". They started putting on their own adaptations of western theatre (a favourite was Hamlet). They started eating meat, like pork and beef (a big no-no if you are Buddhist) and they prohibited public nudity. A good example of westernisation is that famous failure of the Rokumeikan (Deer Cry pavilion) of 1885. It was built by Inoue Kaoru, who was the foreign minister at the time. He hoped that Westernisation would make foreign powers see Japan as an equal and relinquish the unfair treaties that they were forcing upon the country. A university was also built for Western thinking (Keio university).

A Little About the Geography of Japan

The most Southern Islands of Japan are called the RyuKyu islands. Japan is made up of hundreds of islands, and this obviously is a consideration when thinking about cultural and national identity. Even now there are still disputes over Islands near Japan, dating back to World War II, the most notable example being the disputes over islands near Hokkaido between Japan and Russia.

There are 43 Ken (Ken being the equivilent of a British county) , 2 Fu - Osaka and Kyoto (fu meaning places of great importance, I'd presume this is a cultural title), 1 to - Tokyo (which is the capital of Japan obviously) and 1 do, which is Hokkaido. I don't know what Do means, but it might just be a special title, seeing as Japan seems to see Hokkaido as being off on it's own anyway (ref: history of Japan).

The currents of Japan are:

1. Kuroshio: meaning black current, apparantly it's black because of the plankton that are carried by it, swooping up from the south. The plankton means that the coastlines down south are very fruitful for fish and suchlike. The current is also a warm current.

2. Oyashio - This is the Northern Current (literal translation meaning parent current). It is a cold current.

Where the two currents meet there are repurcussions of the climate. An example is that this geographical area usually gets earlier snow than the rest of the country.

Japan is on the tip of three tetonic plates, which makes it very prone to earthquakes, especially in the Kanto region where they occur roughly every 70 years. The last big earthquake was in Tokyo in 1923 and it pretty much devasted the capital, and the national economy at the time.
This means there is a big earthquake overdue in that region!

Japan also has a lot of volcanoes, most of them caldera volcanoes. The most famous Japanese volcano is of course Mount Fuji. 80% of Japan is mountainous as well so there is a geographical concentration of people towards the coastal regions and the plains. Japan is really split into two sections - East and West, seperated by the Japanese Alps. Kanto is East of the Japanese Alps and Kansai is West of the Alps. There is a general concentration more towards the Pacific sea, as opposed to the Japanese sea, facing China.

And of course there are the Typhoons, or Hurricanes...with some having visited the Kyushu area this summer...

I'm actually surprised my geography lesson didn't explain that a lot of Japanese cultural identity comes from the fact that because it is a series of islands, Japan as we know it didn't develop really until the 19th area. Places like Hokkaido developed their own values and cultures on their own and has only recently been considered a part of Japan. It was because Japan was an island that it was able to be "closed up" between the 15th century and 1853 when Perry came and forced Japan to "Open up".

Also, Japan has no natural resources at all, which has led to problems and explains a lot about Japans past. It is the number one importer of raw materials in the world, yet one of the biggest exporters of manuafactured goods. A lot of Japans territory disputes, and even partly their role in WWII can be explained by their desire to be a self-sufficient empire, and a need for commodities such as Iron and Steel.

Notes From Core and Script Classes

The Japanese always put verbs at the end of the sentence.
Desu is always the same regardless of context - is, am, are
Wa shows the topic of the sentence, therefore Watashi Wa shows that the sentence is about yourself.
Ka always indicates a question.
The negative form of desu is Jarimasen.
Mo means also or too, and moves the topic to another subject.
No means belonging to someone or something. Example: Kore wa Micheal-san no pen desu means there is Micheal's pen.
No-hito means person of (nationality)

Each symbol in Kanji has more than one meaning, depending on the context.
We use Nihon now to say Japan, rather than Nippon because Nippon has overtones of "The Great Nippon empire" hearkening back to WW2. It is seen as the more nationalistic way of saying Japan, and as there are negative connotations associated with that, the younger generation of Japanese say Nihon instead. However, in Japan occaisonally older men will call Japan Nippon.

Months of the year are numeral, with January being ichigatsu, february being nigatsu and so on.

I have to memorise the stroke order for all the Kanji I learn because if I do it in the wrong order, the symbol will look slightly different and wrong. This week I have to learn the Kanji for the months of the year, the numbers 1-10, the days of the week and the kanji for mountain and river.

Gatsu = month
Youbi = day of the week

VOCABULARY LIST FOR JAPANESE WEEK 2

Hajimemasho - Let's Start
Owarimasho - Let's Finish
Yasumimasyo - Let's have a break
Wakarimasuka - do you understand?
Hai, Wakarimasen - Yes, I do understand
Iie, Wakarimasen - No, I don't Understand
Moichido - One More Time
Moichido, onegaishimasu - One more time, please
Ke-koudesu - That's fine
Iidesu - Good
Chigaimasu - That's different/That's Wrong
Namae - Name
Shiken - Exam
Shukudai - Homework
Kotae - Answer
Rei - Example
Moichido, Ittekudasai - Could you say it again please?
Sitsumonga Arimasu - I have a question
.... te nan desu ka - what is ...?
... wa nihongo de nan desu ka - what is ... in Japanese?
anata - you
anohito - That person, he, she
Minasan - Everybody
San - Mr, Mrs
Chan - Used as a term of affection, usually for girls, also for small children and when you want
to be patronising to someone
Kun - Used for boys the same age as you, or up to the age of about 18 if you know them well
Sensei - Teacher/Instructor
Gakusei - Student
Kaishain - Company employee
Ginkouin - Bank Employee
Isha - Doctor
Kenkyuusha - Researcher/scholar
Enjinia - Engineer
Daigaku - University
Byouin - Hospital
Denki - Light/Electricity
Dare - Who
-sai - ....years old
nansai - how old?
shitsurei desu ka - Excuse me, but...
kochirawa .....-san desu - this is Mr/Mrs....
..... kara samashite - I come from....
Amerika - America
Igirisu - UK
Indo -India
Indoneshia - Indonesia
Kankoku - South Korea
Tai - Thailand
Chuugoku - China
Doitsu - Germany
Nihon - Japan
Furansu - France
Burajiru - Brazil

Kore - This
Sore - that (thing near you)
Are - that (thing over there)
Kono - This here
Sono - That near you
Ano - That over there

Hon - Book
Jisho - Dictionary
Za-shi - magazine
Shinbun - Newspaper
Noto - Notebook
Techou - Pocket notebook
Kado - Card
Terehonka-do - telephone card
Enpitsu - Pencil
bo-rupen - ballpoint pen
kagi - key
tokei - clock/watch
kasa - umbrella
kaban - bag/briefcase
te-pureko-da : tape recorder
terebi : television
jidousha : car
tsukuu : desk
isu: chair
chokore-do-: chocolate
ko-hi : coffee
Eigo: English
Nihongo: Japanese
Nan: what
Sou: so
Sou desu ka : I see/Is that so?
Anou - Well (used to show hesitation)
Wonnokimochi desu: It's nothing/ It's a token of my gratitude
kochira koso yoroshiku: I'm pleased to meet you (response to dozo yoroshiku)


Of course, I need to know all these off by heart in Hiragana as well. I've actually found my Hiragana has come forward in leaps and bounds since I started reading words. However, my Katakana has suffered. I know most of them to write out, but a couple don't come to me straight away and I have to think about it.