MET Column

Happy Birthday to the countries!

(We want to say) Happy Birthday to Syria!

2018-04-17

Syrian traditional clothing. *Photo from Wikipedia April 17 is the Evacuation Day, which is Syria’s national day commemorating the evacuation of the last French soldier and Syria’s proclamation of full independence and the end of the French mandate of Syria. Syria, officially known as the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest. French troops occupied Syria in 1920 after the San Remo conference proposed that the League of Nations put Syria under

Happy Birthday to the countries!

Happy South and Southeast Asian Solar New Year!

2018-04-13

A girl pours water at revelers during Myanmar New Year Thingyan Water Festival in Yangon, Myanmar. *Photo from Wikipedia The traditional New Year in many South and Southeast Asian cultures is based on the sun’s entry into the constellation Aries. In modern times, it is usually reckoned around 14 April. The specific New Year observations include: South Asia Bohag Bihu (India), Pana Sankranti (India), Sangken (India), Vishu (India), Bisket Jatra (Nepal), Maithili New Year (India and Nepal), Pahela Baishakh or Bengali New Year (Bangladesh and India), Puthandu or Tamil New Year (India, Sri Lanka and so on), Sinhalese New Year

Happy Birthday to the countries!

Happy Birthday to Senegal!

2018-04-04

A street market in Senegal. *Photo from Wikipedia April 4 is the Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Senegal from France. Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is a country in West Africa. The name “Senegal” comes from the Wolof “Sunuu Gaal”, which means “Our Boat”. On April 4, 1959 Senegal and the French Sudan merged to form the Mali Federation, which became fully independent on June 20, 1960, as a result of the independence and the transfer of power agreement signed with France on April 4, 1960. In commemoration of the day, we introduce you to a great percussionist

MET Column

O-tsukimi

2015-09-25

Yoko Kawakami My Eyes Tokyo E/J Translator   This year’s crazy hot summer seems to be ending in Japan. The calls and sounds made by insects at night tell us that the season is gradually but certainly changing. Now Japanese people are waiting for autumn, looking up at the sky at night, thinking of “o-tsukimi”. Well… What is o-tsukimi? “O-tsukimi (おつきみ/お月見)”, or just “tsukimi (つきみ/月見)”, means “moon viewing” in Japanese. People enjoy watching the full moon in September that is thought to be the most beautiful moon in a year. They prepare special rice dumplings, place them to the moon

MET Column

Obon

2015-08-10

  Yoko Kawakami My Eyes Tokyo E/J Translator   Summer vacation time for Japanese people is approaching. In mid-August, you will see that many people try to go everywhere at the same time, so the Shinkansen platforms are full of people and highways are jammed for miles and miles. Some of them are enjoying traveling, and some of them are heading to their hometowns for obon. Well…     WHAT is obon? “Obon (おぼん、お盆)”, or just “bon (ぼん、盆)”, means the annual event held from August (July in some area) 13th to the 16th to welcome back the ancestors’ spirits to

MET Column

MET Getaway: Company facilities/museums tours in & around Tokyo

2015-08-02

Yoko Kawakami My Eyes Tokyo E/J Translator   Do you know that there are many Japanese companies which open their facilities to the public and have museums about their products? If you don’t, you might be missing a very interesting side of Japan. Unfortunately, however, many companies have facilities/museums tours only in Japanese and not so many Japanese companies prepare facilities/museums tours in English or in other languages for foreign guests. Even if there are tours in these languages, the tour information is somehow not so easy to find on their web pages or other media. We, at MET, are

MET Column

Doyo-no-ushi-no-hi

2015-07-24

  Yoko Kawakami My Eyes Tokyo E/J Translator   Have you ever seen lots of pieces of packed fatty eels, piled at the fish sections of Japanese supermarkets recently? Or you might have seen the TV news showing fresh eels at fish markets in Japan at this time of year? This phenomenon tells you that it’s time for “doyo-no-ushi-no-hi “! Doyo-no-ushi-no-hi (土用の丑の日)”, the midsummer day of the ox, comes on one or two days a year. In this year of 2015, the day is on July 24th and August 5th. “Doyo” (土用) means the 18 days before the first day

MET Column

Natsu

2015-07-13

Taken by Hiroko Sakamoto     Daniel Penso Columnist/Proofreader/Translator   Today, I’m going to reflect on natsu (pronounced kind of like “nuts”) in Japan. People literally go nuts during natsu, or summer, all over Japan. There are a myriad of festivals, fireworks shows, outdoor booths which sell food and a variety of trinkets. As in other cultures, people love the summer in Japan. There are so many positive connotations, even a popular name for girls, Natsuko. You can also hear the word “forever summer (常夏 tokonatsu)”. People of all ages and genders put on yukata (浴衣) to view the fireworks