675 Posts Found

Lawrence Howell, creator of the Kanji Master Program, has put together this interesting and informative Kanji FAQ.

Source: Lawrence J. Howell | Subject: Kanji

A bookmarklet is a tool you add to your browser nav bar to do some task. In this case, there are two bookmarklets, which are easy to install and will add two small buttons on your links toolbar. Both allow you to do dictionary lookups directly from the page you are on instead of having to open a separate online dictionary page (you do the … [ Read more ]

Source: Patrick Benny | Subjects: Language Study, Translate

Wikipedia (the free encyclopedia) offers this short but informative explanation of what kanji are and where they come from – good for beginners.

Source: Wikipedia | Subject: Kanji

Even if you’ve never viewed Japanese films, you’ve certainly felt their influence. Read this article for a brief history of Japanese cinema as well as a bio on the master director Yasujiro Ozu and a look at the role of Yakuza in Japanese cinema.

Sources: Paste Magazine / Tim Porter, Robert Davis, Tim Sheridan | Subject: Arts & Entertainment

This online dictionary site offers Chinesse, French, German, Spanish, Italian and Russian in addition to Japanese. Unfortunately, the E-J and the J-E pages are separate right now but otherwise it seems to work fast and offers sample sentences where available.

Source: James Erven | Subject: Translate

This exhibit features “some 200 Japanese and American graphics depicting the 1853-1854 mission by Commodore Matthew Perry that led to the opening of Japan to the outside world.” It also includes related visual narratives and “an innovative recreation of a 30-foot-long Japanese ‘Black Ship Scroll’ painted in 1854.” Developed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professors.

Source: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) | Subject: History

Find lyrics to selected songs – mostly current hits I belive. The site is entirely in Japanese.

Source: Interrise Inc. | Subject: Lyrics

Mary Noguchi is a proffessor at Meijiro University who writes a column on learning Kanji for the Japan Times. Her homepage has all of her columns, other articles, reviews of Kanji learning materials, and links to other Kanji-related sites.

Source: Mary Sisk Noguchi | Subject: Kanji

The 214 traditional radicals, arranged according to stroke count, along with their Japanese names and the English names commonly associated with them (with thanks to Prof. David Mosher). Part of the Kanji Clinic site but seemed worthy of its own entry.

Source: Mary Sisk Noguchi / Prof. David Mosher | Subject: Kanji

Established in 1958 by the Japanese government as a special public institution to implement trade policy, JETRO spent its first two decades essentially promoting exports to help build up the Japanese economy. Later, as Japan’s trade surplus grew to unprecedented levels, JETRO concentrated on helping foreign companies enter the Japanese market. In 1998, the organization substantially upgraded its research ability by merging with the Institute … [ Read more ]

Source: JETRO | Subject: Business / Economy

This site offers self-study exercises (requires Japanese input abilities) that correspond to the textbook, ‘Genki – An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese’.

The use of javascript technology for the study exercises is pretty cool, though it may not be obvious that from Lesson 4 on you have to hit the enter key (not enter button) after entering your answers.

Source: Genki Online | Subject: Online Lessons

site has Japanese translations and kanji representations for many personal names.

Source: Takase Studios Inc. | Subject: Vocabulary / Phrases

This is a Japanese learning web site by Reiko Sakaguchi. I will teach you Japanese using my favorite Anime, Yu Yu Hakusho and Magic Knights RayEarth as learning materials. If you are a serious Anime fan and wish to understand what the characters are saying without reading the subtitles, but don’t have the time or the money to hire a tutor or to take Japanese … [ Read more ]

Source: Reiko Sakaguchi | Subject: Anime / Manga

This is probably the best article I have read covering that tricky item the denshi-jisho. You will get an introduction and learn about necessary and nice-to-have features.

This article will be especially useful for those considering the Canon or Sharp series as it breaks down all the models and their features and offers a comparison of the two brands. You will also find the following … [ Read more ]

Sources: BornPlayDie.com / Mark in Kofu, Japan | Subject: Miscellaneous

Studying Japanse is not a trivial task. But it is no mystery either. You need an enthusiastic approach and a long breath.

Note: also check out the Zaurus Otaku Kurabu (Zaurus dictionary project) on this site…

Source: Armin Rump | Subject: Language Learning Tips

For Japanese As a Second Language (JSL) learners, a Japanese-English character dictionary is much more than a reference tool: It is also the most comprehensive self-instructional tool available for learning new kanji and vocabulary. JSL learners in the 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s relied on the “grandfather” of modern Japanese-English character dictionaries, Andrew Nelson’s The Modern Reader’s Japanese-English Character Dictionary, (1962). Owing to the appearance during … [ Read more ]

Source: Mary Sisk Noguchi | Subjects: Kanji, Translate

This penpal/friendship forum specializes in contacts between Japanese and non Japanese people of any age for friendship, inter-cultural communication, language exchange, etc. A free japan-guide.com membership is required for participation.

Source: japan-guide.com | Subjects: Connecting (Groups, Forums, Language Exchange, Meetups, etc.), Language Exchange

The essence of the Japanese tea ceremony is harmony. Every move or every component about the ceremony brings out the serenity of the whole.

Read about the:
– The art and essence of Japanese tea
– How to drink tea
– History, benefits and ingredients
– Equipment for Japanese tea ceremony
– The state of mind
– The founder … [ Read more ]

Sources: Hak Teng, Lim, Tai Wei and Quah | Subject: Culture

“JapaneseLearning.com came on line March 10, 2003. Before that time it was a little site I created in April 2002 during my last year of University called: Aaron Jones’ Japanese Learning Web. Now that I am done University I felt that I should expand and develop this site. So I then registered the name JapaneseLearning.com and started to redevelop the site. My goal behind this … [ Read more ]

Source: Aaron Jones Entertainment | Subject: Comprehensive

Welcome to J-Fan Jpop! This is your source for Japanese pop and rock music information. Interested in this great music and you’d like to learn more? Come on in! Don’t know which CDs you want to buy? Read our featured reviews.

If you’re new to Japanese music, you’re sure to find that it is not necessary to have an understanding of the Japanese language in … [ Read more ]

Source: J-Fan | Subject: Music – General