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I finished the above two issues of Nihongo Journal this past week. We are leaving for Japan in about 10-12 weeks and I have about 20 unread issues to still get through so I need to keep up my pace of about 2 a week. Nihongo Journal is very enjoyable to read. It’s probably about the best method of studying Japanese on your own out there. Too bad they no longer publish new issues. It was a great run while it lasted though.
Today is 昭和の日 (Showa no hi — or the day to remember the Showa Era which ran until 1989). The reason for it being today is that Emperor Hirohito, who was the emperor during the Showa Era, was born on this day.
Emperor Hirohito died on January 7, 1989. I remember the day well because I was living in Japan at the time–Kawasaki, just south of Tokyo, to be exact. My apartment was very close to the Mizonokuchi train station.
Foreigners living in Japan at the time didn’t know what to expect when the emperor died. Hirohito had been emperor for so long and had such a controversial reputation, given that WWII happened during his reign, that we didn’t know what would happen. Would people celebrate? Mourn for an extended period of time? What should we foreigners do? Keep a low profile? How should we refer to Hirohito when talking to Japanese people? More honorably than normal? Were there new, special terms that we should use now that he was dead rather than living? So many questions and confusion confronted foreigners in Japan at the time.
As it turned out, the Japanese were equally confused. They didn’t know what to do, what was proper, or how to react either. So, it seemed, we were all in the same boat.
These are the ema (prayer plaques discussed here previously) at the Golden Pavilion in Kyoto. The god that grants these desires is 不動明王 who you can also gain favors from across town at Fushimi Inari Taisha.
This is my second to last Mangajin cover post. I have only four more issues to read before I have finished them all. There is no indication in the contents, yet, that they are about to go out of business. In fact, the issues pictured here talk more about growth and expansion than probably any other issues. Maybe that’s the warning sign? In any event, you’ll see the final four issue covers right here, including the last issue–No. 70, when I finish them in a week or two.
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