Uchikura & Co Blog
2026-08-04
"Eat the Poison, Then Eat the Plate" — 毒を喰わば皿まで One of Japan's most vivid proverbs is 毒を喰わば皿まで (Doku o Kurawaba Sara Made), literally translated as "If you eat the poison, you might as well eat the...
2026-08-04
Who Is “Kimi”? — 君が代 and 君の名は The Japanese word 君 (kimi) is usually translated as “you.” But its meaning has changed considerably over Japanese history. Consider two famous examples: 君が代 (Kimigayo)...
2026-08-03
Who Owns a Pattern? Louis Vuitton and Japan’s Ichimatsu Moyō Louis Vuitton is famous for its Damier checkerboard pattern, introduced in 1888. But an interesting trademark dispute in Japan raised a ...
2026-08-03
Why Japanese Children Draw the Sun Red Ask a child to draw the sun, and you may notice an interesting cultural difference. In many Western countries, children usually color the sun yellow or orange...
2026-08-03
A Private University in Japan That Took Over 300 Years to Build Some ideas take years to become reality. This one took more than 300 years. In 1549, the Catholic Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier ...
2026-08-03
Rakugo (落語): A Story That Saves the Best for Last Rakugo (落語) is one of Japan's oldest performing arts, dating back to the Edo period (1603–1868). The word literally means "a story with a fall," re...
2026-08-02
Why Are There So Many “Mitsuke” Places in Tokyo? If you look around Tokyo, you may notice place names containing 見附 (Mitsuke), such as Akasaka-mitsuke (赤坂見附). Historical names such as Yotsuya-mitsuke...
2026-08-02
Bushi and Samurai: Are They the Same? The Japanese words 武士 (bushi) and 侍 (samurai) are often treated as synonyms, especially outside Japan. Historically, however, they did not begin with exactly the...
2026-08-02
Kishōtenketsu: A Better Way to Tell a Story A traditional storytelling structure widely used in Japan is called 起承転結 (kishōtenketsu). It is a simple four-part structure that can make stories, speec...
2026-08-01
The Man Who Built Hotel New Otani Hotel New Otani, one of Tokyo’s landmark hotels, was founded by an extraordinary businessman named Yonetaro Otani (大谷米太郎). Born in Toyama Prefecture in 1881, Otani...