Category Archives: Family

Understanding Korean Age

I first learned about this years ago when I lived in Ireland. My wife and I were friends with a Korean family that was also working in Ireland, and their kids were similar age to my daughter. My daughter was … Continue reading

Posted in Family, Korea, Travel | 5 Comments

The Trouble With Porn

Kind of a random post, but recently the webcomic, Sinfest, has done a series exploring feminist issues and i wanted to share a few comics in particular. The first one shows the “mental gymnastics” we do in our minds when … Continue reading

Posted in Buddhism, Family | 4 Comments

Tanabata: Worth the Wait

As folks might recall, July 7th is the Japanese festival of Tanabata, and my daughter and I were home that night. My wife was out with her friends. Anyhow, my daughter is 5 and she’s learning about Tanabata in her … Continue reading

Posted in Family, Japan | Leave a comment

Cute Pictures by my Daughter

I just felt like posting a few pictures my daugther made: This drawing is something she made a couple months ago. It is hanging on my wall at work. She is eating a strawberry with her friend and they’re talking … Continue reading

Posted in Family, Japanese, Language | 4 Comments

Happy Father’s Day everyone!

Father’s Day is coming up soon and I wanted to share this diorama my daughter made in school: It is the ocean, complete with octopus, starfish, fish and a treasure chest. That’s a real sand and a shell from a … Continue reading

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Ikkyu-san, the Clever Little Monk

One of the most famous and lovable Buddhist monks in Japan is Ikkyū, affectionately called ikkyū-san (一休さん) in popular culture. Ikkyu-san is a clever, and mischievous young Buddhist monk (kozō 小僧) who often outsmarts adults, and helps his friends. There … Continue reading

Posted in Buddhism, Family, Japan, Literature, Zen | 4 Comments

Domestic Violence in Japan, the world

Recently, I read an interesting, though disturbing article by the Japan Times that shows that domestic violence in Japan affects 1 out of 3 women but that this number may be under-reported. Also, as the article shows, 41 percent of … Continue reading

Posted in Family, Japan | 2 Comments

Yet another new hobby (sort of): Learning Latin

Because studying 2 languages wasn’t enough. Recently, my wife and I were thinking that it would be cool to teach our daughter Latin. Like her father, she likes languages1 and already knows Japanese and English. But also, learning Latin is … Continue reading

Posted in Family, Language, Latin | Tagged | 3 Comments

Happy Mother’s Day 2012

Happy Mother’s Day, everyone! My daughter made this for my wife earlier this week. Mother’s Day is observed in Japan on the same day as haha no hi (母の日, “Mother’s Day”). Since we live in the US, my wife and … Continue reading

Posted in Family, Japan | 3 Comments

Language Exposure is Worth It

I have story to tell. When we first moved back to the US three years ago from Ireland, my daughter was still about 3 years old. We had purchased some Japanese-language Disney CDs and would play them in the car … Continue reading

Posted in Family, Japanese, Korean, Language | Tagged | 7 Comments