Brushing up your Japanese
From the 63rd (and last) year of the Showa Era (1988) to the fifth year of the Heisei Era (1993), I had the good luck to live in Japan. During that time, I had a love affair with many things Japanese—from uni (sea urchin, often served on sushi rolls) to rotenburoo (the outdoor thermal Springs found throug most of the country).
The biggest love affair of all was the Japanese language. I had started studying it in college, two years before landing. For my first year in Japan, I was enrolled in a graduate program at Kobe University. All the classes and assignments were in Japanese, along with Japanese students. It was rough. I was never able to really follow a class. But over my years in Japan I got to the point where I could express pretty much anything that came to my mind. On the other hand, I was never able to really read the newspaper or fully understand official language such that of speeches or newscasts. I guess Japanese is one of the easiest languages to learn to speak casually, and one of the hardest to learn to read and speak perfectly.
Since leaving Japan, I haven't really had a reason to use the language, so my skills have gone way south. Yet every once in a while, I get a hankering to get back in the game. This hankering may be triggered by the taste of Japanese food, a Japanese gangster movie, or the view of a cherry tree in bloom.
This page is not about learning Japanese. It's for those who, like me, have learned some Japanese and would like to brush up. Over time, I'll add all the great Japanese language resources I come across. If you have some you'd like to contribute, please use the form at the bottom.
Japanese Language Books
Over the years, I must have owned about 50 books about Japanese. Of all the Japanese language books I've seen, this one takes the crown, and I don't even own it. I found it at the public library in Nelson, New Zealand in February 2010. Using the Japanese cartoons called manga, over its 265 pages, this gem gives a full introduction to the language as it is truly spoken. I have never seen a more compelling presentation of Japanese sentence structure. The cartoons are a great way to brush up on the writing system too. The book originated in the page of the magazine Mangajin.
In the introduction, the author says that the book can suit the needs of beginners, students or people who have completed their course of study and want to brush up. I can't speak to the first two claims, but I can fully vouch for the third:
"(…) if it's been a while since you've had opportunities for regular practice or contact with the language, reading this book will provide you with the perfect refresher course for brushing things up, as well as a handbook for ongoing reference any time you feel yourself getting a little vague on some point or other."
Kanji Books
Sometime in 2001, I owned Michael Rowley's Kanji Pict-O-Graphix: Over 1,000 Japanese Kanji and Kana Mnemonics. It got lost in a move from Berkeley, USA to Sydney, Australia. This book intrigued me, and I plan to buy it again someday.
Japanese Language Software
Sometime soon, I plan to try Rosetta Stone's Japanese Level 3. A review will be forthcoming.Movies
To make you want to freshen up your Japanese, nothing like Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation. Bill Murray plays Bob Harris, an actor in Tokyo for a few days to shoot a Suntory commercial. This film will make you so nostalgic of Japan… To me, it is miraculous that a foreign crew managed to capture the feelings of Tokyo in just the right doses, without ever going too far. Of course Bill Murray is a genius, but Sofia Coppola is also a brilliant director. Beautiful photography and perfect casting round off this jewel. (Bill Murray's second best after Groundhog Day.)Wishing you a beautiful day,
Smiles,
Andy
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