Explore the strange case of "I-da-no", a phantom island that appeared on Japanese maps for decades. This wasn't a sailor's…
Before Japanese script was standardized in 1900, writers used a vast and beautiful array of variant cursive characters known as…
How do you build a crossword in a language with three writing systems and no spaces? This piece explores the…
Korean and Japanese share similar grammar, but their writing systems and pronunciation offer very different challenges. Korean's alphabet is famously…
Go beyond textbook grammar and discover the soul of the Japanese language: onomatopoeia. This guide breaks down the essential "sound"…
Why do we call the "Land of the Rising Sun" Japan instead of its native Nippon? This linguistic puzzle opens…
Learning to count in Japanese means mastering counters, and the one for people holds a fascinating secret. While most numbers…
In Japanese, a single word like `hashi` can mean 'bridge' or 'chopsticks' based on a subtle change in melody. This…
Many writers know the 5-7-5 syllable count of haiku, but this is merely the surface. The true grammar of the…
For over two centuries, Japan was sealed from the world. Yet, on the tiny island of Dejima, a single language—Dutch—became…
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