Uchikura & Co Blog
2026-06-08
We were saddened to hear about the powerful earthquake that struck the Philippines. On behalf of PSPINC and myself, I would like to extend our thoughts and prayers to everyone affected. We hope for...
2026-06-08
Hiding Your Head, But Not Your Tail One of my favorite Japanese sayings is “Atama Kakushite Shiri Kakusazu” (頭隠して尻隠さず), which literally means “Hiding your head, but not your tail.” The expression...
2026-06-07
Forgotten Car Company of Japan When people think about Japanese automobile manufacturers, names like Toyota, Nissan, Honda, and Mazda usually come to mind. Few people today remember Prince Motor Co...
2026-06-07
Getting Ready for My Trip to Japan I am getting ready for my trip to Japan, departing on June 8. Even after many trips, I always find it helpful to make a checklist before leaving. There is nothing...
2026-06-06
Miyamoto Musashi's Five Scrolls and Lessons for Life Most people know Miyamoto Musashi as Japan's greatest swordsman. Near the end of his life, he wrote The Book of Five Rings (Go Rin No Sho), a gu...
2026-06-06
"Kiku wa ittoki no haji, kikanu wa isshō no haji."(聞くは一時の恥、聞かぬは一生の恥) In English, it means: "To ask is a moment's shame; not to ask is a lifetime's shame." The proverb teaches us that there is no shame...
2026-06-05
When Rules Apply Equally Recently, a mosque in Kawagoe, Saitama, has been in the news because local authorities say it was built without the permits required under Japanese building and urban plann...
2026-06-05
The Double-Edged Meaning of a Japanese Proverb One of my favorite Japanese proverbs is: 「喉元過ぎれば熱さを忘れる」(Nodo moto sugireba atsusa wo wasureru) Literally, it means, “Once hot food passes your thr...
2026-06-05
Do You Know What “円” Is? If you have studied Japanese or visited Japan, you probably know that 円 (en) means the Japanese currency, known in English as the yen. But did you know that the historic ...
2026-06-04
Tank Man: One Man, Four Tanks, and a Lasting Symbol Every year on June 4, the world remembers the events surrounding the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests in Beijing. While many images emerged from thos...