The Iroha Project Blog

About

irohaproject@projecth2o.org (sanamimorrill) — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 22:05:39 +0000

I am a potter, photographer and linguist. I speak Japanese, Mandarin, French, English as well as other dialects in each. I am interested in the language of minority speakers including Inuit, the...

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Koushin （庚申塔）-Photos

irohaproject@projecth2o.org (sanamimorrill) — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:17:19 +0000

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Eat bitterness

irohaproject@projecth2o.org (sanamimorrill) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 22:33:42 +0000

I’ve been reading Blithe Tomato by Mike Madison. A compilation of a series of short stories it is an insider’s look at farmers’ market society. I particularity like the section...

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The differences between Japanese and Chinese characters

irohaproject@projecth2o.org (sanamimorrill) — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 22:41:13 +0000

Although kanji (Chinese characters) originally came from China there is a tendency to think that meaning will be the same in Japan and China. In fact there are fewer than 1400 words whose meaning and...

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「庚申」 “Koushin” (1)

irohaproject@projecth2o.org (sanamimorrill) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:09:00 +0000

Koushin is one of the twelve horary signs. An ancient Chinese idea of the origins of all the things in the universe. The five elements: wood (木, Moku), fire(火, ka), earth(土, Do), gold(金, Gon), and...

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Question: Urashima Taro story

irohaproject@projecth2o.org (sanamimorrill) — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 22:53:31 +0000

この前質問をいただきまして、本文：浦島が「そんなかわいそうなことをするものではないよ。」といいましたが、子供らは「何かまうものか、僕たちが捕まえたもだもの」。その「何かまう」の「まう」の意味がなんですか、教えてください。これで「まう」の意味なんですが、浦島太郎のまうではないかも知れません。「まう」の意味：＞気持ちが悪かったり忙しかったりして、目の前の物がぐるぐる＞回るように感じる。浦島...

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Arts: A symbol of wealth or culture?

irohaproject@projecth2o.org (sanamimorrill) — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 23:03:59 +0000

I came across a rather stupid comment the other day on YouTube about buying an Erhu. ” $40-50 will get you a very poor quality instrument. Even in China.” This a typical upper class...

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What is that? What’s it for?

irohaproject@projecth2o.org (sanamimorrill) — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:00:16 +0000

While I am working, I find that there are two questions at really bother me. This is the situation: Someone walks into my studio and sees me working (or relaxing) and picks up an item that I have...

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Homelessness

irohaproject@projecth2o.org (sanamimorrill) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 22:54:27 +0000

One big difference between Yulin when I was back there teaching in 2007 and three years earlier is not only the increase in development but also the increase in homelessness. Three years ago there...

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Long finger nails

irohaproject@projecth2o.org (sanamimorrill) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 22:27:18 +0000

One thing I find quite annoying is how many Chinese men like to grow at least one finger nail longer than the rest. Although I am not sure why this is but I thought I would write a bit on this...

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