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事項 and Kobe Recommendations
The newsletter is online, and the podcast is live: This month, I wrote about 事項 (jikō) and about how it’s essentially meaningless on its own. Because it combines…
初めて言われました
The newsletter is online! This month I wrote about the nice, efficient phrase 初めて言われました (Hajimete iwaremashita, That’s the first time anyone has said that about me). I think…
御社・弊社
Happy New Year, all! As you might have gathered from last month’s post, 2025 was an eventful year, and fortunately it ended as smoothly as I could have…
育休
The newsletter and podcast are online: Take a look at the newsletter for more details, but I’m taking the month off. I wrote about some of my favorite…
当日
The newsletter and podcast are online: This month I wrote about a word that was rattling around in my head earlier this year. 当日 (tōjitsu, the day it…
謎
The newsletter is up, you’re on the blog, which means the podcast is directly below: I wrote about a funny Japanese word: 謎 (nazo, mystery). I was inspired…
London (and Castle Combe)
See previous Murakami Fest posts here. The next chapter (and the final post for this year’s Murakami Fest) is titled “London” (ロンドン), and it’s one of the most…
いただき
The newsletter is out, and the podcast is online: This month I wrote about いただき (itadaki). Yes, just いただき. I had this bizarre internal sense that いただき was…
Mix Tapes
Week 4 of Murakami Fest 2025. See past posts here. In the last chapter, we got an episodic look at a few days before Christmas in Rome. Next…
Ponte Milvio Market
Week 3 of Murakami Fest 2025. Check out the previous entries here. The next chapter is a very short essay titled ポンテ・ミルヴィオの市場 (Ponte Milvio Market). It’s December 22,…
奇数・偶数
Well that's odd, or even? - How to Japanese - July 2025
例文
Finding and authenticating novel Japanese - How to Japanese - April 2025
Kyoto Recommendations
I thought I was all done with tourism for a while, but I had another friend in town this past month, and I showed her and her brother…
Osaka Recommendations
I just got finished with a family visit to Japan and I haven’t put up a post of random Japan travel recs in a long, long time, so…
あとになってわかったこと
Collector's Mindset - How to Japanese - February 2025
Collector’s Mindset
I just sent out the February newsletter and podcast. This month I wrote about a phrase I encountered last summer while prepping for my annual Murakami fest. Give…
状態・状況
The January newsletter is out, which means the podcast is also out! I wrote about another Impossible Pair, this time 状態・状況. Give the newsletter a read and the…
のです
Mixing direct and distal styles - How to Japanese - December 2024
のです and Economic Conditions for Writers in Japan
The podcast is online! This month I wrote about のです (no desu) through an examination of some of Kakuta Mitsuyo’s writing that nicely captures two ideas that I…
修飾
Modification Complications - How to Japanese - November 2024
Asking for Someone’s Name in Japanese
I am beside myself. I forgot to include one of the most important and most useful examples of 伺う (ukagau, ask/hear/visit) in daily Japanese. I wrote about 伺う…
The City and Its Uncertain Walls – Review Redux
The English translation for Murakami Haruki’s latest novel The City and Its Uncertain Walls will be published on November 19, and reviews are starting to trickle out, so…
The Various Forms of うかがう
The newsletter and podcast are online: This month, the core topic I looked at was how easy and broadly useful is 伺う (ukagau) is, especially for folks struggling…
The Move
Well, Murakami did not win the Nobel Prize this year. But I’m back on my Murakami bullshit anyway. (Brief aside to note that I missed out on purchasing…
Petra
Year 1: Boobs, The Wind, Baseball, Lederhosen, Eels, Monkeys, and Doves Year 2: Hotel Lobby Oysters, Condoms, Spinning Around and Around, 街・町, The Town and Its Uncertain Wall, A Short Piece on the Elephant that Crushes Heineken Cans Year…
確か・確かに
You sure about that? - How to Japanese - September 2024
Impossible Pairs
The newsletter is online, which means the podcast is also here: The core of the newsletter is about “impossible pairs,” in particular 4日 and 8日. Do you know…
Vibes-cation
Year 1: Boobs, The Wind, Baseball, Lederhosen, Eels, Monkeys, and Doves Year 2: Hotel Lobby Oysters, Condoms, Spinning Around and Around, 街・町, The Town and Its Uncertain Wall, A Short Piece on the Elephant that Crushes Heineken Cans Year…
Black Monday
Year 1: Boobs, The Wind, Baseball, Lederhosen, Eels, Monkeys, and Doves Year 2: Hotel Lobby Oysters, Condoms, Spinning Around and Around, 街・町, The Town and Its Uncertain Wall, A Short Piece on the Elephant that Crushes Heineken Cans Year…
Infinite Appetites
Year 1: Boobs, The Wind, Baseball, Lederhosen, Eels, Monkeys, and Doves Year 2: Hotel Lobby Oysters, Condoms, Spinning Around and Around, 街・町, The Town and Its Uncertain Wall, A Short Piece on the Elephant that Crushes Heineken Cans Year…
Athens Marathon 1987
Welcome back to Murakami Fest. This is our 17th year doing this activity, and this year I’ll continue to look at Distant Drums (遠い太鼓), Murakami’s travel memoir written…
確認
The most useful kanji compound - How to Japanese - August 2024
Airbag Expressions – 確認
This month in the newsletter I wrote about 確認 (kakunin), a really useful word in so many different ways. Give the podcast version a listen here: While writing…
How much did Norwegian Wood weigh?
In the newsletter this month I did a check-up on my kanji study. The prognosis? DOA. I haven’t done a serious kanji repetition for over a year now.…
Holy Rollers
The June newsletter is up over at Substack. I wrote about 聖地巡礼 (seichi junrei), a word that means “pilgrimage of holy sites” which has been largely taken over…
文壇
Exploring the literary world - How to Japanese - May 2024
The State of 文芸誌
The newsletter is online, which means so is the podcast: This month I wrote about the 文壇 (bundan, literary world), which is most easily accessible in monthly literary…
Sentence Diagramming
I just sent out the newsletter for April. This month I focused on diagramming Japanese sentences. This is something I’ve been trying to do recently to get a…
お湯割り
In the newsletter this month I wrote about 角ハイ (kakuhai). This is a combination of 角瓶 (kakubin), Suntory’s flagship whiskey, and ハイボール (highball), a mixed drink made from…
まとめる
Bringing things together - How to Japanese - February 2024