Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with japanese

Help me find winter haiku with translations

Cogito — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 23:29:47 -0800

俳句フィルター：Help me find great winter haiku in their original Japanese, but with English translations. I'd like to make a Christmas card for my girlfriend with a more personal sentiment than something pre-made. I used to study Japanese, and I took a calligraphy course, so I thought a taking a blank card and doing a winter haiku on one would be nice.

The problem is, I'm having trouble deciding which one to use since it seems most of the English translations lack the original Japanese and vice versa. My Japanese is good enough to translate on my own, but it's far from effortless, so if there's a good resource of haiku with translations that would be best.

Also, if there are particular poems that people think would be good for this, I'd like to hear them. I particularly like Basho and Buson, but I'm open to that would work well for the purpose.

Spectacular Japanese Vegetarian Feast!

Cygnet — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 12:21:47 -0800

My family isn't doing presents this year. Instead, each of us will cook a spectacular feast for the others during the upcoming holiday break. I want to cook a Japanese feast!! Difficulty: must be vegetarian. I'm really really excited about this. I have some experience attempting traditional Japanese food - I've done pickled cabbage, carrots and plums, onigiri, vegetarian soba broth (with kombu), sushi, and hand-made udon noodles. I'm looking for more suggestions of awesome vegetarian Japanese food that will be totally delicious and beautiful to look at.

I'd enjoy trying to make my feast as traditional as possible (I know it's impossible to make it 100% authentic). What makes for a complete Japanese meal? Should I serve green tea with dinner, and if so, what kind? Table decorations? Any other suggestions?

I will have lots of free time to prepare the food, so, short of recipes that take days to ferment or pickle or whatever, I'm up for anything. I have access to a great co-op that sells some Asian vegetables and condiments, but I may not be able to purchase something that's really only grown in Asia - I don't know of any Asian markets in rural VT where my family lives!

Lastly, I know that dashi containing bonito flakes is much-used in Japanese cooking, and no, I will not be using it, or any other product containing fish (or any other meat). Sorry!

I want to make Asian noodles from scratch. Can you help me?

flibbertigibbet — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 23:07:49 -0800

I really really love all types of Asian cooking that involves noodles (banh pho, udon, ramen, whatever!). Problem: kosher asian noodles are crazy hard to find in my neck of the woods. Could you help me out by suggesting cookbooks or websites with great make-it-from-scratch noodle recipes? I found this, and there's a book on Amazon--somewhere!--that has a recipe for udon noodles. Other than that, I'm lost and alone.

Yes, I realize this will take me a long time to master in some cases.

Without Maru the cat, I am nothing.

chez shoes — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 23:09:41 -0800

How to display Japanese text in Win7? Just upgraded my netbook to Win7 Professional. Then discovered this version of Win7 does not support language packs anymore. I only need to display Japanese language in a browser, not for local pps.

Does anyone know of a workaround? I've tried monkeying with the character encoding in FF, with no luck.

Would be fine using a different browser if that would work - I'm not familiar enough with Chrome etc to know what my options are.

Best wishes in Japanese?

Skyanth — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 02:55:27 -0800

Japanese speakers: please help? I need to convey best wishes to a dying person. Our japanese martial arts teacher is in hospital in Japan and it is feared that he won't live much longer. We, his students, want to send him a picture book of us to show him we're thinking of him. I'm assembling the pictures and would like to put some text on it. The thing is, it can't be "get well soon", for obvious reasons. I'm thinking something like "Best wishes from your Dutch and Danish students". You know, something that says "all the best, we're thinking of you". How do you say something like that in Japanese?

Thanks very much in advance.

I like-o the taiko?

DolorousEdd — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:19:18 -0800

Introduce me to some great taiko drumming! I've discovered Kodo, but I'm sure there are many more fantastic groups out there. Hook me up!

What is the REAL name of the Japanese pranks show people are calling "Panic Face King"?

phonepimpster — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 07:19:57 -0800

There is a video making the rounds that is supposedly from an extreme Japanese pranks show called "Panic Face King." I have been unable to find any additional information on this show, which leads me to believe this is not the real name (or not the correct translation). There is often a picture-in-picture of people in the studio audience laughing while the prank is being shown. I do not know if this is a device used on many Japanese prank shows, or if it's unique to the show I'm asking about (for instance, this article on Japanese Prank Shows seems to all be from this same show -- but they may be different).

At any rate, I'm trying to find the name of the show that aired this clip. Any help you can give would be appreciated!

Japanese language podcasts for native speakers?

mjg123 — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 15:26:48 -0800

Where can I find Japanese podcasts? For Japanese people, not people who are learning Japanese. I'd love to find some Japanese podcasts for my (Japanese) wife to listen to here in England. My Japanese internet skillz are limited, and I'd like to load up a few onto her iPod before I give it to her as a present. I am absolutely not looking for teach-yourself-japanese podcasts, but for podcasts that Japanese people might listen to for education and amusement, news, politics, music, comedy, arts etc etc

Your recommendations please. I can see a few on iTunes, but I have no idea what is good or bad... She really loves manzai-style comedy, jazz, and if there is anything you know of with Japanese people talking about living abroad, that'd be awesome. Thanks in advance, metafilterians.

I guess I'm a 400 year old otaku.

lilnublet — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 17:16:21 -0800

There's something about an Edo period setting. Recommend to me some [more] books/movies/anime/video games. I don't even know what it is... the clothing? The artwork? Music? Social rules? General atmosphere? The romance of it all maybe? There's a certain look and feel that goes along with media set in this period and I can't put my finger on it but I love it. Maybe "Edo period" isn't even describing what enchants me... maybe the hive mind can help?

Here are things that I've liked that all seem to fall into this category:

Seven Samurai
Yojimbo
Zatoichi (the recent-ish movie)
Okami
Muramasa Demon Blade
Samurai Champloo

I'm a huge reader (although you'd never guess it from this list), so book recommendations are particularly appreciated. If there are any other games with this kind of feel I have access to a wii, 360, ps2, and a mac.

postscript: In reading this before posting I'm wondering if what I like is that setting with a modern spin? Example: I can casually appreciate ukiyoe but I have this kozyndan print hanging in my hall because I love love love it.

Translate the Razzleberry Jam?

slowcat — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 22:05:08 -0800

Can someone translate the Japanese in this song for me: The Razzleberry Jam, the theme song of the Razzleberry frozen yogurt franchise in Tokyo. If you don't already have it, you can download it here: http://razzleberry.jp/ Under Special Download near the bottom. Thanks!

What anime did I watch as a child?

doctor.dan — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 02:56:54 -0800

Some time around 1992-1995 I watched a japanese cartoon on German TV that I'm trying to hunt down again. I can't remember what its called, or all that much about it, so it's been somewhat impossible to hunt it down. I remember that it centred around a girl who is not human in some way (either by being an alien or artificially created or supernatural or something like that). She has some magical blue crystal/gem that the bad guys want and are prepared to fight for. The thing with the blue crystal is that it is very powerful in some way, but if a normal human were to touch it, they turn to salt.

I don't remember much of the actual plot, but one thing I remember is that one of the bad guys gets the crystal, at which point he figures out that he's a stock-standard human (as opposed to whatever the protagonist is) and turns into salt. The only other thing I remember is that in the prologue it is revealed that some of the good guys (the protagonist and her friends) get married.

Anyone have any ideas what this show might have been?

Are there audiobooks for manga (in Japanese)?

dbooster — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 18:48:40 -0800

Does anyone know of any web sites that provide you spoken manga? Specifically what I'm looking for is audio files for manga, read in Japanese, so I can listen to it and follow along in the manga I already own. Sometimes I have my Japanese wife read a manga to me, but often she is too busy or unwilling. I can read it myself, of course, but my Japanese is not yet good enough to know proper pronunciation, intonation and rhythm, and so on, so I find it helpful if someone reads to me. Anyways, any ideas?

What does the name "Yukichi" mean?

HopperFan — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 12:14:06 -0800

What is the literal meaning of "Yukichi?" ( 諭吉) It's kitten naming time... We're thinking of naming our kitten after the baby snow leopard that was born two months ago in Japan, Yukichi. (Our kitten is a blue mackerel tabby, he sort of looks like a snow leopard.)

I tried to find out what the literal meaning of the name is, and I assume it's the diminutive of his mother's name, Yuki - but there's also Fukuzawa Yukichi (福澤諭吉).

Plus, this translation gave me pause:

"Omae no yukichi ga naiteiru
お前の諭吉が泣いている
Don’t Let Your Money Down / Your money is crying"

So is this an auspicious name for a little 8 week old male kitten? Also, his brother's name is Kipling, so I like the "k" commonality.

Learn to speak and read, but not write, Japanese?

Mwongozi — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 03:19:29 -0800

What's the best way to learn Japanese, if you don't care about being able to write it? My extended family includes a family who was born in Japan but now lives in the USA. I am therefore semi-regularly exposed to spoken and written Japanese, and I'd like to be able to speak it back, and hopefully, read it as well.

I am aware that this is a monumental undertaking, but I don't have deadline and I'm not doing it for school, so I figure I can take as long as I want. I'd prefer to teach myself, rather than go on a course.

What would you recommend? Books? Mac applications? iPhone apps? CDs or DVDs?

All suggestions welcome, with the proviso that I have a Mac and no Windows PCs.

Gaming in Foreign

mippy — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 05:14:53 -0800

Help me identify these Japanese Gameboy Advance games. I bought a box of GBA games from a local charity shop for £1.50 yesterday as it had Yoshi's Island - they were in Japanese, but I figured that would be easy enough without translation. However, there were three other games in there I don't recognise. One of them is an RPG and quite text heavy. The second has some kind of tilt mechanism where I need to tilt the console to get things to line up (but as it's Japanese I can't work out what or why). The third (the cart only) seems to involve a boy going to school and talking to his friends about a PET. I have no idea what these are or whether they are unusual - I've told a friend I know who writes for ONM to head down there to get some games, but I wonder if these are well known at all. If you can read Japanese and can at least tell me the names that might help!

Help me torture my friends!

wile e — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 06:41:17 -0800

YES! You have been waiting for this question ALL year! Last year you all helped me come up with ideas for the super successful Scavenger Hunt! Now we're back to try something new. Japanese Gameshow Olympics! I am REALLY in the beginning stages of this. Trying to come up with ideas of how to orchestrate it as well as the events themselves. Any one put together an event like this? Thoughts?

So far I have deduced it to be a decathlon. 10 events, with teams vying for the ultimate prize....which I haven't figured out what it is yet.

The events I have found so far that I thought would be easy to do, competitive and cheap to make are listed below with videos to accompany. Any thoughts, ideas, comments are all duly appreciated. Sadly, I can't add much more as I haven't thought this thing through at all.

The group will be 20 and 30yr olds, and hopefully they will have no shame. I'll try to add more info as it comes to me.

the event ideas so far:

Silent Fear Factor

Marshmellow, pantyhose, and dizzy spin

So those are my 4 thoughts so far...

Help me find this delicious dressing.

KateHasQuestions — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 16:31:26 -0800

Japanese Salad Dressing - where can I get more of this delicious dressing? http://beniotome.co.jp/shopping - This is the website (and the only English writing) on the bottle. It's the lighter colored one that I tried and loved.

I tried it once and it was a friend of a friend of a friend whose relative brought some from Japan - there's no way for me to ask them where they got it or to get more from them.
1. Where can I buy some? I don't speak Japanese so ordering from that website wouldn't work. I also haven't seen it at Mitsuwa or any of the other Asian stores near me (NJ/NYC area). Ordering online OK too, if it's in English.
2. What kind of dressing is it and are there alternative brands very similar that are available in major Asian stores near me? What do the bottles look like if they're not in English?
3. How can I re-create this myself? I love making dressings instead of buying them, so while buying it would be great, if anyone knows what is in there that makes it so amazing and unique tasting, it would be awesome to be able to make such deliciousness myself. All I can pick out in it is sesame, but no sesame dressing I've made came close, and no sesame dressing I ever bought tasted similar. There's something very different about this dressing.

I will be so incredibly happy if someone can help me out with this!

How do I grow rosa rugosa indoors?

Salvor Hardin — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 15:27:18 -0800

Oh hive mind: wield your mighty collective horticulture-fu to help me bring the seashore to my apartment! Help me figure out how to grow Rosa Rugosa inside and make my sweetheart happy! The beach rose is my SO's (mefi's own Cygnet) favorite flower in the world, largely because of the smell. However, I can't find any resources for learning how to grow it inside. I know it's a little crazy, and that it isn't the sort of plant that one usually grows inside. But is it totally impossible? What will it take?

I have read that it requires well-drained sandy soil, that it doesn't tolerate fertilizer, and that it needs partial to full sun. I've found companies that will sell me either seeds or bare-root plants. I'm pretty good with plants, but I'm no expert, so I'm not very confident in my ability to improvise this.

My Cambridge, MA apartment gets some sun, but not a lot. We have windows with southeastern and southwestern exposure, including one bay window.

I would also appreciate any other general gardening tips regarding Japanese roses. Thanks!

What vegetables can I try in Japanese Curry to replace potatoes?

matildaben — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 13:14:30 -0800

What vegetables can I try in Japanese Curry? We usually make it with chicken, carrots, potatoes, and green pepper. I am looking for a way to cut the carbohydrates so would like to replace the potatoes with a lower-carb option. Please only make suggestions that you have tried and tasted good, no idle speculation.

Blank walls, empty frames

embrangled — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:31:25 -0800

Where, online, can I find photographs and scans of classical Asian and Middle Eastern art? Specifically, where can I find images that I could ethically and practically print and hang in small frames above my desk? I'm no expert and I realise this is a big field, but I really love Islamic and Asian art. Mughal miniatures, Chinese brush paintings, Japanese woodblock prints - they remind me of my globe-trotting grandmother's house.

There's no room in my budget for actually buying art right now, but I do have a printer and some good paper. Can you recommend a source for out-of-copyright art that I can print?

I really don't want to infringe copyright or commit glaring cultural gaffes, so please don't jump on me for wanting to do this. I'd prefer sources where the art is presented in context so I can learn about its history as I search.

Small, culturally appropriate Japanese gifts for Japanese people?

dubitable — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 20:24:53 -0800

What are appropriate smalls gifts from Japan, for Japanese acquaintances in the U.S.A.? Hi folks, I am heading to Japan in about two weeks. I have been studying Japanese here on my own for about three months, and through that I've gotten to know...not deeply, but enough to feel a connection with...some Japanese folks who I see on a semi-regular basis.

Since I am going to Tokyo soon, I'd love to bring back some small gifts to show them my appreciation for all the help they've given me in learning the language so far. I don't want to give them anything that would be weird or awkward or overstated, but I'd love to show my appreciation somehow for what I view is some serious patience and kindness on their part. Also, perhaps presumptuously, I assume there may be something in Japan that is hard for them to get here that I could give them that may fit the bill. What would be appropriate?

If it matters, this collection of people includes 1) one--older middle-aged male--sushi chef who I've interacted with somewhat and whose restaurant I've patronized many, many times, 2) the mid/late twenties female waitress of aforementioned restaurant who I've interacted with more (she's actually written out sets of vocabulary for me on multiple occasions!), 3) my 2-months-new-to-the-U.S. language exchange partner (mid-twenties/early-thirties male), 4) my Japanese/American tutor (mid-twenties, I think). Acquaintance #4 is half-Japanese, half-American, so--he "gets" it from both sides...maybe doesn't matter as much to him, but I believe he'd appreciate it if I gave him something that showed I was sensitive to his "Japanese half."

Anyways, if you can, let me know if this is a crazy/foolish/silly idea, or not, and thank you for any advice you can give!

Translate "How was your first Japanese class? What did you learn to say in Japanese?" into Japanese.

23skidoo — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 21:15:44 -0800

I want to send a text to someone who is having her first Japanese class tomorrow that says "How was your first class? What did you learn to say in Japanese?" except in Japanese. Okay, maybe not Japanese I guess, but the roman phonetic version of Japanese that I can type into my phone. I'd love the translation before tomorrow at 1:00 PM (Austin time), because that's when her class lets out. Thanks.

Quirky Japanese DS Games

Caravantea — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 11:02:14 -0800

What are some fun, unusual Japanese-only DS games? My coworker is headed back to Japan on vacation and has offered to pick up some things for me while he's there. My Japanese is fairly good, though not nearly native. Last time I picked out a Cooking Master game(しゃべる！DSお料理ナビ), which I loved, and a Kanji practice game which I have mostly ignored. I'd like to get something fun and quirky. Like Face Training or the Sommelier game. Any suggestions?

Recommend some older Japanese fiction.

Ookseer — Sun, 31 May 2009 20:09:06 -0800

Looking for Japanese novels both written in, and taking place in 1950's and 1960's Japan. I'm looking for good Japanese fiction that covers life in post-occupation Japan, ideally both written in that time as well as set in it. The actual subjects and stories aren't as important to me as the setting.

My Japanese reading isn't great, so a parallel text would be most appreciated, or a text where I can buy both Japanese and English translations and read them side by side. But if there's something amazing out there I'll struggle through a Japanese-only version.

A romantic nuclear bomb couple movie?

Phyltre — Wed, 27 May 2009 05:04:54 -0800

Identifilter: A modern-day east-asian movie about a girl who was apparently built as some kind of bomb or war weapon? Roughly 3 years ago, I saw a commercial spot on television for a movie involving a girl in a romantic relationship, but apparently she wasn't entirely human because she was changing into some kind of war weapon or bomb or something. I think the promo might have run on G4. It was live action, and was NOT Machine Girl. I originally assumed the movie was Japanese, but it could have been Korean I suppose. The two images I most strongly remember from the promo are the asian couple sitting on a park bench, with lots of city skyline scenery, and a large explosion (possibly nuclear.) Maybe the girl was some kind of nuclear bomb?

Around once a month I google the odd keywords but always come up empty. Does anyone know of any movies that sound similar to this?