675 Posts Found

This site offers an excellent assortment of free-to-use online study materials, including:
– Japanese-English Quizzes in Romaji
– Japanese Kana Quizzes
– Kanji Study
– Words from Japanese Newspapers in Order of Frequency
– CGI Flashcards: Randomly Chosen Japanese Words for Reading Practice
– Matching Quiz: Words You Should Know
– Reading Japanese Signs
– Japanese Language … [ Read more ]

Source: Charles Kelly | Subject: Online Lessons

An “account of a Christmas unknown to Westerners – and to most Japanese too! Including an amusing account of Santa dressed as a Samurai.” This article follows the observance of Christmas in Japan from 1549 to the present day, with examples of “mirror customs of European traditions.” Originally written in Japanese by a writer for the Felissimo Christmas Museum in Hokkaido, Japan.

Source: Felissimo Christmas Museum / Mariko Okawa | Subject: Culture

This site presents articles and information about the Japanese tea ceremony. It features sections on the history of the tea ceremony, the tea room, traditional Japanese fabrics, and philosophy. Also includes a directory of tea ceremony classes and related links. From “a group of people in London and in New York who are interested in Japanese tea ceremony.” In English and Japanese.

Source: TeaHyakka | Subject: Culture

This is one of the free areas of the larger YesJapan.com site and it offers quite useful short cultural overviews on the following topics:
– Bed and Bath
– Currency
– Eating Etiquette
– Festivals
– Hot Springs
– Hotel Etiquette
– House Rules
– Links
– Pachinko
– … [ Read more ]

Source: YesJapan.com | Subject: Culture

This is one part of the immensely useful Jim Breen’s WWWJDIC Server. Here you can quickly look up kanji by radical(s). Sometimes this is a very useful method of finding kanji…

Source: Jim Breen | Subject: Kanji

Many of you may already know about Engrish.com, a parody site that highlights improper (and usually funny) use of English in Japan. This is a powerpoint slideshow of some of the examples found on that site. I received it via email and am not certain who created it exactly…

Source: Engrish.com | Subject: Humor / Amusement

Provides detailed information about Japanese government and diplomacy, technology and science, and culture.

Source: Japan Information Network | Subject: Comprehensive

Meetup is an online service that allows people with similar interests to find each other and “meetup” to share those interests. This is the Japanese language page. Use it to find others interested in studying and practicing Japanese in your town.

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

The forums section of The Japanese Page. Current topics are:
General
Language Questions / Answers
Things To And Not To Do

Source: The Japanese Page | Subject: Connecting (Groups, Forums, Language Exchange, Meetups, etc.)

This volume is one in a continuing series of books prepared by the Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress under the Country Studies/Area Handbook Program sponsored by the Department of the Army. It describes and analyzes the political, economic, social, and national security systems and institutions, and examines the interrelationships of those systems and the ways they are shaped by cultural factors. The … [ Read more ]

Source: Library of Congress | Subject: Comprehensive

This is the Japan country section of the World Factbook by the CIA. This is truly one of the most useful resources for quick information on any country, including in this case Japan. Categories covered include:
– Introduction
– Geography
– People
– Government
– Economy
– Communications
– Transportation
– Military
– Transnational Issues

Source: U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) | Subject: Comprehensive

This site features a new Kanji each weekday (and a randomly selected kanji from the prior week on weekends). Unfortunately, the site doesn’t offer an email newsletter so you have to actively remember to visit the site each day. Also, though there is a section for examples, the few times I have visited none were actually available.

Source: Incors | Subject: Kanji

This is a discussion list designed for Japanese teachers and students to discuss different textbooks. The books are segregated by level and some important ones are missing while others don’t have many comments. Still, it is a good idea and I recommend you use and contribute to it.

Source: Alliance of Associations of Teachers of Japanese | Subject: Books

As you may know, MIT has committed to putting all of their course materials online. To benefit from that, visit their Japanese materials site, which is navigable by year/course#

Source: MIT | Subject: Online Lessons

The kimono is the traditional clothing of Japan. Kimono styles have changed significantly from one period of Japan’s history to another, and today there are many different types of kimono worn by men, women, and children. The cut, color, fabric, and decorations of a kimono may vary according to the sex, age, and marital status of the wearer, the season of the year, and the … [ Read more ]

Source: JP NET | Subject: Culture

An illustrated guide to Japan’s holidays and cultural events. Just click on the month for details of all events and holidays during that month.

Source: JP NET | Subject: Culture

A basic overview of the characteristics, history, and varieties of the Japanese language.

Sources: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Shigeru Miyagawa | Subject: General

Tanabata is an online supplement to the Star Festival CD-ROM. By using the internet and its multimedia functions, Tanabata provides you with an interactive graphical interface to learning Japanese.

Tanabata was originally intended for students with at least two years of Japanese, but English translations and Furigana are provided for all of the text, so the most important element should not be skill, but rather … [ Read more ]

Source: StarFestival Inc. | Subject: Online Lessons

This happens to be my current professor and her site has some good content, especially on the course materials page. Most of the content is in .pdf files that you can download. Some examples, balnk kanji and sakubun practice sheets (genkooyooshi), tutorials on how to use different classroom materials, a description of Oriental Zodiac (with associated personalities) and the horoscope in Japanese, tongue twisters, reviews … [ Read more ]

Source: Naoko Suito | Subject: Professor / Course

English speakers who study or use Japanese acutely aware of the lack of good, comprehensive Japanese-English dictionaries. The best paper dictionaries either are intended for native speakers of Japanese or list only words written in kanji. Free online dictionaries such as EDICT and Eijiro offer a good alternative, but because they provide only word equivalents, not explanations, their usefulness is limited.

In May 2000, a … [ Read more ]

Source: jeKai | Subject: Translate