Who says that manga can’t teach you life lessons? The character of Monkey D. Luffy in One Piece has a habit of coming out with surprisingly wise one-liners, observations and snippets of wisdom. His single-pointed devotion to a purpose. His naive-to-the-point-of-endearment purity. His unwavering belief in himself and unshakeable commitment to all those who have …
The 16 Luffy Quotes with the biggest life lessons! Read More »
What does it mean to be “busu” 「ブス」or “minikui” in Japan?
In a world that worships at the altar of kawaii 「可愛い」, at saucer sized eyes and at double skinned eyelids. What is it like to feel like you don’t live up? And how can you live a life so that it doesn’t overwhelm you.
Twitter writer and Youtuber “Todoron” painfully, graphically and courageously lays bear her experiences of this situation for all to see on Twitter, and later Youtube. Her first tweet was a single Hiragana character. Her third tweet got 150,000 likes and 30,000 retweets.
She seems to having something that resonates with contemporary online Japanese society. She mixes simple-truth observations of the state of the world, and her own inner state. Topics she tackles include her history of cosmetic surgery, concepts of beauty and mental health.
Today I want to have a look at the language she uses around the issues.
Can you learn Japanese by studying Japanese Death Poems? Let’s find out! In the post we have a look at a death poem by Koha 香波 from 1897. We analyse the language, and have a think about what it might all mean.