Like this post? Help us by sharing it! Over the next few months, we will be looking at various fun ways to learn a bit of Japanese. We will start with some of the basics, go on to useful greetings, phrases and continue from there, adding to this page as we go. We know that […]
April 2020
Tempura: the quintessential Japanese, Portuguese dish
Like this post? Help us by sharing it! Tempura is a light, crispy, and delectable Japanese classic that you can make at home with just a few ingredients! But first, a quick lesson on its origins. This culinary staple originated in Japan’s famed Edo period. The Tokugawa Shogunate had the country in Sakoku lockdown for, give or take, 220 years. However, Japan wasn’t completely closed off. Among the Portuguese, Dutch and […]
Sakoku: 220 years of self isolation
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Nagasaki Bay
Like this post? Help us by sharing it! To prevent the spread of Coronavirus, around 20% of the global population are in lockdown with even more social-distancing from others. The last time the world saw an isolation of this scale it was very different in nature: welcome to 17th century Japan, where 30 million people […]
Art of modernisation: Meiji-era woodblock prints
Like this post? Help us by sharing it! Supporting our customers from the Nagoya office, Andrew Sinclair is a keen historian with an eye for art. Here he leads us from the days of the Samurai to the Meiji modernisation through the very Japanese medium of Ukiyo-e woodblock prints… Think of Japanese art, and you’ll […]
The second coming: Amabie
Like this post? Help us by sharing it! Andrew from our Nagoya HQ Customer Support team has been looking into tales of a peculiar Japanese ‘Yokai’ and prevention of the spread of the coronavirus. Yokai are very much part of Japanese culture. They are mythical, mystical and supernatural beings of various powers, shapes and forms […]