There's a way.

"alan", who comes from Tibet, is one of the promising singers. She sings this song in two languages: Chinese and Japanese. Her Japanese is amazingly clear, but I can tell she is not Japanese from her accent here and there. Well, it doesn't bother me a bit. Just keep listening to her. She has a miraculous voice like Mariah Carey does. She sounds like a bird, I think.

When I was 14, I loved the film titled "Satomi-Hakkenden." Around that time, I was a fan of Hiroko Yakushimaru, who played the leading part in the film. The story was based on "Nansou Satomi-Hakkenden" written by Bakin Takizawa in the Edo period. In the story, there were eight samurai who fought againt evil to allow the family of Satomi to regain its power.
Other than Hiroko Yakushimaru, we can see another wonderful young Japanese actor in this film. His name is Hiroyuki Sanada, who played in "The Last Samurai" with Tom Cruise and Ken Watanabe. He was a talented action star in Japan, and today he is one of the hottest actors who has been active internationally,
Oh, by the way, do you understand the Japanese lines in this trailer? Let me show you.

Sizu : Shinbei.

Shinbei : Nandai?
(What?)

Sizu : Naze watashi wo turete nigeta?
(Why did you escape with me?)

As for the last line, I'd say we have other ways to translate. For example, we'd say "Why didn't you adandon me?" or "Why did you help me out?" or "What made you decide to take me?" Translations allow us to have some options, and I think these options make us confused. To make a wonderful translation, we need to have the sense, don't you think?

This is my son's calligraphy. "KOME" means rice that most Japanese live on. My daughter and son have been taking a class of calligraphy, but he's never been taught how to handle of brush.
"I can't!"
At first, he said.
"Let me try it again!"
At last, he replied.
I used to learn calligraphy when I was 7 or 8, but I gave up continuing because I found it a bit boring. I shouldn't have done that. I want my kids to keep at it as long as they can. Now I know that beautiful writing goes a long way in our lives.

「人のふり見て、我がふり直せ」
"Hito no furi mite, waga furi naose"


This is my father's favorite saying and it means, "You should learn from other's attitudes irrespective of rights or wrongs."

1) 人 ... others
2) ふり ... attitude or behaviour
3) 我（わ）がふり ... my attitude or my behaviour
4) 直（なお）せ ... to change or to think it over

When you feel much annoyed with someone's act, all you need to do is just to avoid to be alike. Although we perfectly understand "Easier said than done," I believe the true meaning of my father's pet phrase lies in aiming for.

I'll try to introduce some Japanese expressions, adages and wordings to you in order to improve my English language skills and deepen my knowledge of Japanese.



「四面楚歌」　～Shimen-soka

1)　to be blamed from all side
2)　to be under siege

frequency of usage in daily life .... ★★☆☆☆






We got bowled over by Neo(Keanu Reeves)'s artistic actions in "Matrix." I totally enjoyed it. Actually, I like the idea of unknown powers which people might have deep down inside. It sounds thrilling, doesn't it? If you have trouble being assailed from all sides, you'd be able to get away with it like Neo did!