Hello! I'd like to write about Kumagusu Minakata （南方熊楠 1867~1941), a great Japanese naturalist. In Japan, he is well-known especially for his amazing memory.
Yes, his memory was so great. He transcribed several kinds of encyclopedia before he became 12 years old and memorized all of the contents. He loved studying throughout his life and he could use about 20 languages(Wow!!). He knew much especially about biology, folklore, archeology, theology and so on. He was a literal walking encyclopedia.
I'm not interested in him only because of his memory. He is also well-known for his eccentric behaviors. For example, he could vomit anytime he wanted! (They say he often use this "skill" when he got into a fight. I imagine he was so strong...) Although he was poor particularly when he was a student, he didn't care about money. He went to the U.S. and England to study much. When he was 33 years old, he went back to Japan. However, at that time, he had no titles like a master's degree or PH.D at all!
He gradually became famous for his essays and books. (He often wrote essays for "Nature", the famous academic journal, for instance.) He even had an opportunity to lecture Japanese emperor about biology.
Anyway, the most intriguing thing about him for me is his lifestyle. He pursued only what he was interested in, from first to last. I'm attracted to such way. What do you think about it?
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Friday, October 26, 2012
About "Jojo" again
How are you doing? Today's topic is about "Jojo's bizarre adventure" again.
The original manga started about 25 years ago, and I've been a big fan of this manga from beginning. This manga consists of eight parts and the Part 8 is now appearing on a Japanese magazine, "Monthly Ultra Jump." ("Ultra Jump" must be Japanese English and doesn't make sense as English I think, though.)
The distinguishing features of this manga are the exciting story, attractive characters, unusual (in a good way) onomatopoeia and so on. I love whole of this manga, from Part 1 through Part 8, but it's pity for you, I found the English version is only from Part 3. (If you ask me why this is so, I really don't know!)
The main heroes and heroines of this story are different on each part, and I love all of them. The point in common is all of them are from Joestar family. They fight against evil power, like "Dio", who is a important villain in this story.
Well, I can't show you how the story is interesting well, just because of my poor English skills! I'm so sorry! If you are interested in this manga, just read this manga from Part3 or google, please. (There's lots of information about the story also on the Internet.)
This is the end of my 5th post. See you later!
The original manga started about 25 years ago, and I've been a big fan of this manga from beginning. This manga consists of eight parts and the Part 8 is now appearing on a Japanese magazine, "Monthly Ultra Jump." ("Ultra Jump" must be Japanese English and doesn't make sense as English I think, though.)
The distinguishing features of this manga are the exciting story, attractive characters, unusual (in a good way) onomatopoeia and so on. I love whole of this manga, from Part 1 through Part 8, but it's pity for you, I found the English version is only from Part 3. (If you ask me why this is so, I really don't know!)
The main heroes and heroines of this story are different on each part, and I love all of them. The point in common is all of them are from Joestar family. They fight against evil power, like "Dio", who is a important villain in this story.
Well, I can't show you how the story is interesting well, just because of my poor English skills! I'm so sorry! If you are interested in this manga, just read this manga from Part3 or google, please. (There's lots of information about the story also on the Internet.)
This is the end of my 5th post. See you later!
Monday, October 22, 2012
A trailer of a manga
Hi, there! Today, I'd like to introduce a manga a little.
I am a Japanese, and I like Japanese mangas so much as well as books. One of my favorite mangas is "Jojo's bizarre adventure", 「ジョジョの奇妙な冒険」in Japanese. (You can read the English version!)
The animated version has just started this fall in Japan. Unfortunately, I can't watch it right now because I'm out of Japan. I plan to watch it on DVDs after I go back to Japan. Here's the trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LncqRnznspk&feature=youtu.be
I'm sorry it's in Japanese! I hope this animation reflects many good points of the original manga!
I am a Japanese, and I like Japanese mangas so much as well as books. One of my favorite mangas is "Jojo's bizarre adventure", 「ジョジョの奇妙な冒険」in Japanese. (You can read the English version!)
The animated version has just started this fall in Japan. Unfortunately, I can't watch it right now because I'm out of Japan. I plan to watch it on DVDs after I go back to Japan. Here's the trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LncqRnznspk&feature=youtu.be
I'm sorry it's in Japanese! I hope this animation reflects many good points of the original manga!
Friday, October 19, 2012
About a dream
How's it going? Today, I'd like to write about a dream.
Actually, dreams are important subjects in Jungian psychology. Jungian psychologists cure patients interpreting their dreams. Dreams which we have during sleep often reflect our unconsciousness.
Well, real Jungian psychologists may see through dreamer's mind. And, fake Jungian psychologists might misinterpret others' dreams. That's why I hardly talk about my own dreams. So, today's topic is a kind of an exception.
I've had one special dream. I'm a Japanese speaker, but once (just ONCE!) I dreamed in (broken) English. I had it when I studied English in Japan, and I was surprised after I woke up. Here's the content (Note: I changed details of the following contents in case of crazy misinterpretations.)
(Dream:) I was in a shop. I saw a man, who had a scar in his face. He looked like a retired pirate. We talked about something. His English was broken, because his mother tongue was not English. My English was broken, too. He showed me a picture of his family. We talked a lot about the picture, the shop, and so on.
That's it! Have you ever dreamed in foreign language? I think it's a sign which tells you start to think in the different language. I hope I will dream in (good) English, someday.
Anyways, you also should NOT talk about your own dreams easily. Be careful...
Actually, dreams are important subjects in Jungian psychology. Jungian psychologists cure patients interpreting their dreams. Dreams which we have during sleep often reflect our unconsciousness.
Well, real Jungian psychologists may see through dreamer's mind. And, fake Jungian psychologists might misinterpret others' dreams. That's why I hardly talk about my own dreams. So, today's topic is a kind of an exception.
I've had one special dream. I'm a Japanese speaker, but once (just ONCE!) I dreamed in (broken) English. I had it when I studied English in Japan, and I was surprised after I woke up. Here's the content (Note: I changed details of the following contents in case of crazy misinterpretations.)
(Dream:) I was in a shop. I saw a man, who had a scar in his face. He looked like a retired pirate. We talked about something. His English was broken, because his mother tongue was not English. My English was broken, too. He showed me a picture of his family. We talked a lot about the picture, the shop, and so on.
That's it! Have you ever dreamed in foreign language? I think it's a sign which tells you start to think in the different language. I hope I will dream in (good) English, someday.
Anyways, you also should NOT talk about your own dreams easily. Be careful...
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
About "The Lord of the Rings"
Hi, guys! How are you?
Today, I'd like to write about "The Lord of the Rings". The original novel was written by J.R.R Tolkien and published around 1954. The story is really well-known, but here's summary for who knows nothing about it: This is a loooong story to throw a ring away. (Is this too simple?)
However, the characters, backgrounds of the story, description of the details...everything is really really wonderful!! Unfortunately, I've only read the Japanese version. You, English readers are lucky! You can read the original text! (Note: The Japanese version is also good. The translation is a bit old, but actually, it has really unique flavor.)
Anyways, if you are interested in this story and hesitate to read the long text, you should watch the movie directed by Peter Jackson. It also takes several hours to watch this trilogy, but this movie reflect many attractive points of the original text. (Note again: You shouldn't watch the animated version! It's short, but the story suddenly ends on the halfway. The music is also boring... You'll get sleepy.)
I've also played many video games of this story. They are on many platforms. Actually, this very story is the origin of ALL of role-playing games. If you like any of video games, the game you are playing might be influenced by this story.
Anyway, the worldview of this great novel has been attracting many people all over the world. Why don't you try?
(I'm sorry, my English must be broken.)
Today, I'd like to write about "The Lord of the Rings". The original novel was written by J.R.R Tolkien and published around 1954. The story is really well-known, but here's summary for who knows nothing about it: This is a loooong story to throw a ring away. (Is this too simple?)
However, the characters, backgrounds of the story, description of the details...everything is really really wonderful!! Unfortunately, I've only read the Japanese version. You, English readers are lucky! You can read the original text! (Note: The Japanese version is also good. The translation is a bit old, but actually, it has really unique flavor.)
Anyways, if you are interested in this story and hesitate to read the long text, you should watch the movie directed by Peter Jackson. It also takes several hours to watch this trilogy, but this movie reflect many attractive points of the original text. (Note again: You shouldn't watch the animated version! It's short, but the story suddenly ends on the halfway. The music is also boring... You'll get sleepy.)
I've also played many video games of this story. They are on many platforms. Actually, this very story is the origin of ALL of role-playing games. If you like any of video games, the game you are playing might be influenced by this story.
Anyway, the worldview of this great novel has been attracting many people all over the world. Why don't you try?
(I'm sorry, my English must be broken.)
Friday, October 12, 2012
Introducing myself
Hello! Welcome to Tad's World. My birthplace is Nara, Japan and I've been in the U.S. for one year since fall, 2012.
In this blog, I'd like to show you what I'm interested in. For example, I like reading, playing video games and watching DVDs. Actually, I don't like sports and I'm really bad at playing sports! (I'm a kind of homebody. I know I should exercise more, though.)
I'm a university student now and I come to the United States to study English. I've already graduated from a university in Japan, and at that time, my major was psychology. So, I like topics of psychology, philosophy and religion etc. (I don't know much about them, though!)
One of my favorite genres of books is fiction, and I like Haruki Murakami, Franz Kafka, J.R.R Tolkien and so on. Actually, I've read almost all books in Japanese. I hope my English skills improve here and become able to read English books as easily as Japanese books someday!
This is the end of my first post. How about you? Would you introduce me to some English books you like?
(Thank you, my teacher. She has corrected my errors!)
In this blog, I'd like to show you what I'm interested in. For example, I like reading, playing video games and watching DVDs. Actually, I don't like sports and I'm really bad at playing sports! (I'm a kind of homebody. I know I should exercise more, though.)
I'm a university student now and I come to the United States to study English. I've already graduated from a university in Japan, and at that time, my major was psychology. So, I like topics of psychology, philosophy and religion etc. (I don't know much about them, though!)
One of my favorite genres of books is fiction, and I like Haruki Murakami, Franz Kafka, J.R.R Tolkien and so on. Actually, I've read almost all books in Japanese. I hope my English skills improve here and become able to read English books as easily as Japanese books someday!
This is the end of my first post. How about you? Would you introduce me to some English books you like?
(Thank you, my teacher. She has corrected my errors!)
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