It has finally gotten cold, but typical of Japan it doesn't do it in half-measures. It was so hot we were using air conditioning only a month ago and now it is time to get out the gloves and sit under the kotatsu (a table that is heated underneath to keep your feet warm). I do love the fall in Japan- the leaves are changing colors, the typhoons are finished and it hasn't started snowing yet!
I've been taking Japanese lessons in preparation for the Japanese proficiency exam I am taking in December. It is amazing but I think that I have forgotten more than most people ever learn in Japanese. Everything my teacher has covered in the last 4 lessons I know that I learned at some point but have since forgotten. I suppose that makes it easier on her because she is just refreshing my terribly memory and not teaching from scratch. Gambatte though (gambatte means good luck and I will try my hardest).
The cold weather inspires me in a way that summer and winter can't. For some reason everytime I go outside at night and feel the frost in the air I have an overwhelming desire to go trick-or-treating. Considering they don't trick-or-treat in Japan (and I am certainly too old anyways), I am making up for it by teaching my students about Halloween. They all particularly like the part about getting candy (children all over the world are exactly the same, you say candy and their ears perk up).
I was doing some reading on ghosts in Japan though and thought there were some interesting differences. Some Japanese ghosts are scary, but for the most part people look at them as just spirits coming back for a visit and not evil beings bent on destruction and terror (thanks Hollywood). Usually ghosts in Japan come back to visit earth during the summer (Oban is a national holiday to welcome back ancestors spirits). There are a few exceptions though: According to Shinto beliefs, all people have a soul called "reikon." When a person dies, the reikon leaves the body and joins the souls of its ancestors. However, when a person dies suddenly by murder, is killed in battle, commits suicide, or hasn't received an appropriate funeral, the reikon may become a "yuurei" to seek revenge. Many yuurei are female ghosts who suffered badly in life from love, jealousy, sorrow, or regret. Yuurei usually appear in a white kimono (katabira), and have no legs. They also wear a white triangular piece of paper or cloth (hitaikakushi) on their forehead. They usually appear between 2 and 3 a.m. (note to self: don't wander in forests at 2 am).
I've been taking Japanese lessons in preparation for the Japanese proficiency exam I am taking in December. It is amazing but I think that I have forgotten more than most people ever learn in Japanese. Everything my teacher has covered in the last 4 lessons I know that I learned at some point but have since forgotten. I suppose that makes it easier on her because she is just refreshing my terribly memory and not teaching from scratch. Gambatte though (gambatte means good luck and I will try my hardest).
The cold weather inspires me in a way that summer and winter can't. For some reason everytime I go outside at night and feel the frost in the air I have an overwhelming desire to go trick-or-treating. Considering they don't trick-or-treat in Japan (and I am certainly too old anyways), I am making up for it by teaching my students about Halloween. They all particularly like the part about getting candy (children all over the world are exactly the same, you say candy and their ears perk up).
I was doing some reading on ghosts in Japan though and thought there were some interesting differences. Some Japanese ghosts are scary, but for the most part people look at them as just spirits coming back for a visit and not evil beings bent on destruction and terror (thanks Hollywood). Usually ghosts in Japan come back to visit earth during the summer (Oban is a national holiday to welcome back ancestors spirits). There are a few exceptions though: According to Shinto beliefs, all people have a soul called "reikon." When a person dies, the reikon leaves the body and joins the souls of its ancestors. However, when a person dies suddenly by murder, is killed in battle, commits suicide, or hasn't received an appropriate funeral, the reikon may become a "yuurei" to seek revenge. Many yuurei are female ghosts who suffered badly in life from love, jealousy, sorrow, or regret. Yuurei usually appear in a white kimono (katabira), and have no legs. They also wear a white triangular piece of paper or cloth (hitaikakushi) on their forehead. They usually appear between 2 and 3 a.m. (note to self: don't wander in forests at 2 am).
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