Japanese Culture and Traditions– category –

【Make life happy without money】 Do you believe money can't buy you love? I may be too old to believe in such a naive world as the Beatles song went. According to Daniel Kahneman, a genius winning a Nobel Prize in 2002, money can buy yo...

We, Japanese people take off shoes inside the house to keep the floor clean because we sleep on the floor, which arises another question: why we sleep on the floor? The answer was very simple, as is common with everlasting truth.

Japanese school lunch (Kyushoku) is the biggest thing I want to be proud of in the Japanese social system. In most elementary and junior high schools in Japan, lunch is served fresh off each school kitchen. Of course, professional dietitians prepare the menu. It's good not only in taste and nourishment but also as a learning opportunity.

【Necessity is the mother of geographical characteristics】 As you can see it in the image below, Japan is a country of backward parking. Even speeding drivers follow the rule. Do you know why that is? Some people outside Japan may think...

【Can we free ourselves from other people's values?】 Martin Luther said "Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree." The words first reminded me of wall paintings in Lascaux Cave where ...

Japanese people are growing under strong peer pressure. It's like a dystopia created by George Orwell. Let's see the bright and dark sides of the Japanese society.

Kyoto, the ancient capital of Japan, is well known for its rich history and culture. The language of Kyoto people is sometimes difficult to understand even for Japanese people living outside Kyoto. Let's see the points we have to be careful about in communication in Kyoto.

【Using a chainsaw to cut butter】 The above words are a wise saying by Barry Commoner, an American biologist, to express the inefficiency of nuclear power generation. By the way, the topic of this article is not about energy policies; N...

Horyuji temple in Nara prefecture is the world's oldest wooden building. It has the history of more than 1,400 years. How do you think that happens in this earthquake country? As you can imagine, it's a very harsh environment especially for wooden buildings. The average lifetime of current residential buildings is about 30 years in Japan.