家紋（かもん Kamon）means “Family Crest” in Japanese. Let me talk about Japanese Kamon in this article. Kamon is hardly used in modern Japan, but in Samurai Era, each 武家（ぶけ Buke = samurai family) had their own Kamon. Tokugawa’s Kamon One of the most famous Kamon in Japan is 三つ葉葵（みつばあおい Mitsuba Aoi）. It was the Kamon by […]
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Too Old To Learn the Japanese Language?
Do you think you are too old to learn the Japanese language? I sometimes receive emails from older learners asking if they are too old to start learning Japanese. The answer is “No.” Never Too Old To Learn You are never too old to start learning something new. We are all lifetime learners until the day […]
日本語のラブレター Japanese Love Letters by Married Couples
I want to share with you a few Japanese love letters by married couples. They are real Japanese people who are married for many years. And the letters are for their spouses. Some of them are still alive. Others are now in heaven. These letters are from the book I bought about 10 years ago. […]
Learn Kanji – Honest Review of the Books I Recommend
Do you plan to learn Kanji soon in the future? Are you looking for a good Kanji book to study? In this post, I’m going to share my honest reviews of three books. These are the Kanji books I personally feel are good and helpful. Good Books to Learn Kanji No book is perfect. Each […]
Difference between Hiragana and Katakana
The difference between Hiragana & Katakana is one of the questions I most frequently receive from my students, so I’m going to touch base with it in this post. Hiragana & Katakana – What’s different? Both Hiragana and Katakana are derived from Chinese characters (Kanji). They are both phonetic letters, meaning they tell you how […]
Say your age in Japanese
Do you know how to say your age in Japanese? Can you tell me how old you are? In this lesson, let’s learn how to say your age in Japanese and what you need to be careful with when you say “years old.” Learn Numbers 1 to 10 First you need to know how to […]