Articles by Scott Brady on ArticleSnatch.com

Sakura Time of Year

Tue, 22 May 2007 00:00:00 -0400

The Japanese cherry blossom tree, better known as Sakura, holds a special place in the hearts of Japanese. If you do not already know, Sakura bloom in early spring around Japan starting in Okinawa and run north to Hokkaido. In times gone by the short life of the Sakura blossoms symbolically represented the life of the samurai, meaning that life was beautiful however short. The aforementioned symbolism still holds sway in the heart of many Japanese and throughout Japan there are hanami (flower viewing) parties on a massive scale held at locations with high populations of Sakura trees. Normally quiet Sakura abundant parks around Japan are soon flooded with the masses as those little white flowers begin to bloom. With its name gaining evermore international popularity and fame, people from other countries might be aware of this event in Japan. However, most people will not know that the flower viewing season has two faces: the peaceful and the blurry. During the mornings and early afternoons of flower viewing one can expect the parks to be so crowded with picnickers that it will be hard to find a place to sit down. **End Summary** Topics: sakura]]> cherry blossom]]> drinking]]> beer]]> japan]]> hanami]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Scott Brady works for Samurai Translators and Myer English School . He also manages the Anime-Japan web site.

What Makes Anime Popular

Tue, 18 Jul 2006 00:00:00 -0400

What is it that makes Japanese animation popular, not only to the young but to adults as well? I remember a few years ago when I was a freshmen and sophomore in university I was addicted to the Japanese anime “Dragon Ball Z”. In fact, it even gave the famous American cartoon “The Simpsons” a run for its money in my book. What I find odd is that “Dragon Ball Z” has about 39 episodes per season but if you want to write an overview of the entire season you can do so in just about one paragraph. And I mean you can add all the meat of the entire season into just that one paragraph. Here is basically what I mean... Episode 1-10ish: Bad guy arrives and starts terrorizing the fictional planet. Minor super heroes fight the villain and lose (perhaps one even dies). Main hero who was conveniently not able to combat said villain for whatever reason finally arrives for the ultimate showdown. Episode 10ish – 38: Half of the time verbal fists are being thrown between said hero and villain while the other half goes to physical fists. **End Summary** Topics: anime]]> animation]]> japan]]> japanese]]> cartoons]]> manga]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Scott Brady works for a translation and English teaching company in Fukuoka, Japan. He works under Samurai Translators and has recently started up Anime-Japan as well as a telephone English school Myer English School

A Foreigners Attempt at the Japanese Driverâs License Test

Tue, 18 Jul 2006 00:00:00 -0400

Once upon a time, there was a young American living in a far off world known as Fukuoka, Japan. This American had lived in the exotic world for a few years when he finally found out (refer to “Foreigners Wanting to Drive in Japan”) that the world in which he presently resides does not permit a creature from his home world to drive legally after having lived there for more than 12 months. Seeking to please the leaders of planet Japan, the American sought to remedy the situation by obtaining an actual driver’s license. At first, he attempted to get a Japanese scooter license thinking it would be the easiest of Japanese licenses to get (refer to “Foreigners Wanting to Drive in Japan” to laugh at this poor American). But alas, the test was translated into such horrifically bad quality from Japanese to his foreign tongue that he could not pass the written examination... 4 times. **End Summary** Topics: drivers license in japan]]> license]]> translated]]> drivers license]]> japan]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Scott Brady works for a translation and English teaching company in Fukuoka, Japan. He works under Samurai Translators and has recently started up Anime-Japan as well as a telephone English school Myer English School

Spring Cleaning in the States Vs. End of Year Cleaning in Japan

Mon, 13 Mar 2006 00:00:00 -0500

Ahhh spring. The snow is melting. It’s the time of year when nature brings new life into the world. People’s spirits are refreshed and invigorated. Spring truly is a wonderful season. In fact, is there anything bad about spring at all? Oh yes... Spring cleaning. Cleaning: the bane of fun. As if appeasing my girlfriend’s wrath by throwing my dirty socks into the laundry basket instead of onto the floor wasn’t enough, the American society has decided to dedicate at least one full day (that’s 24 hours or 1,440 minutes or 86,400 seconds) of its citizen’s lives to the horrific act of cleaning. Although I loathe the act itself, I can understand why poor innocent spring has been chosen to be burdened with the negative public relations as the season of cleaning. It’s time to pack up the winter clothes and take out the summer clothes. Switch the glass windows with the screen windows. Spring is a time to throw away all those things that are being outweighed by the dust that has accumulated on top of them. To me, spring cleaning symbolizes a fresh new start. However, spring is not the universal season of cleaning. **End Summary** Topics: spring cleaning]]> end of year cleaning]]> america]]> japan]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Scott Brady works for a translation and English teaching company in Fukuoka, Japan. He works under Samurai Translators and has recently started up Anime-Japan as well as a telephone English school Myer English School

Japanese Pronunciation Vs. Katakana

Mon, 13 Mar 2006 00:00:00 -0500

As a native English speaker hearing non-natives (especially Asians) trying to speak the English language I sometimes can’t help but chuckle, or cry, over the way they slaughter the words. As I presently reside in Japan and understand the Japanese writing system I have come to understand, in one word, why they tear apart the English language... Katakana! Katakana is one of the four Japanese writing systems. The other systems being Kanji (the characters ((not cartoon)) you see on tattoos), Hiragana, and Romaji (the Roman alphabet). The early Japanese written language came from China. This system is called Kanji. Through the development of the Japanese language it became necessary to implement Hiragana which is used for words of Japanese origin and Katakana to help in the pronunciation of Kanji. Still further into the evolution of the Japanese written language, Katakana started being used to help Japanese people pronounce borrowed words from other languages. At this time, the language which has the most borrowed words transcribed into Japanese is English. **End Summary** Topics: japanese]]> katakana]]> english]]> writting]]> language]]> pronunciation]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Scott Brady works for a translation company in Fukuoka, Japan. He works under http://www.translators.jp and manage http://www.samurai-translators.com

Things to do and food to eat in Fukuoka, Japan

Mon, 13 Mar 2006 00:00:00 -0500

Fukuoka isn't that small of a place. Actual numbers bring the population to about the 5 million mark, with the city having roughly 1.3 million people. With that amount of people around, you know there has got to be something to do. On any day of the week if you look you will be able to find something that interests you. There are often festivals in one area or another in Fukuoka city. With a little help from a friend or the domestic foreigner magazines and information centers you will be able to find out where the festivals are being held. The center of Fukuoka city will have to be Tenjin (though others may argue it to be Hakata). It is the shoppers’ haven of the prefecture. Feel you need to do a little shopping for some nice named brands from Italy or France? head on over to Tenjin. Want to blow off some steam and hit a bar (including foreigner bars)? Tenjin is the place to be. Want to meet some new friends? Rainbow Plaza in... you guessed it, Tenjin, is the place to do just that. Right next door to Tenjin is Nakasu. **End Summary** Topics: Fukuoka]]> japan]]> food]]> ramen]]> mentaiko]]> hard rock cafe]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Scott Brady works for a translation and English teaching company in Fukuoka, Japan. He works under Samurai Translators and has recently started up Anime-Japan as well as a telephone English school Myer English School

Online translators can hurt more than help

Mon, 13 Mar 2006 00:00:00 -0500

Online automated translators may be fairly accurate for translating languages of similar origin, but the line stops there. Certainly most of you are familiar with online translators such as Babel fish. 　However, from what I have read, it seems that quite a few people think that these automated translators do the perfect job. 　In some cases this is almost true... Languages of similar origin usually follow the same sentence structure (Romance languages for example), and with Babel Fish you will be able to get a fairly good cross language translation. 　And by this I mean you will still have to go back over the translated piece and re-write it into the proper grammatical form. It is when you try and use automated translators to translate languages of different origins where you can get into trouble. 　Being a native English speaker and working in Japan for a translation company, I often (just for a laugh) copy and paste a Japanese sentence onto such automated translators and then have them translated into English. 　It truly is a scary thought to think that people actually believe this will yield a true cross language translation to any degree. **End Summary** Topics: translators]]> online translators]]> japanese]]> english]]> translation]]> language]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Scott Brady works for a translation company in Fukuoka, Japan. He works under http://www.translators.jp and manage http://www.samurai-translators.com

Foreigners Wanting to Drive in Japan

Mon, 06 Feb 2006 00:00:00 -0500

Driving in Japan legally has recently afforded new challenges to foreigners from China, Brazil and the United States. Released in November 2002 and updated in February 2003, Traffic Act Article 107-2, has begun to create many problems for foreigners. Until June 2002, Foreigners driving in Japan (who held a valid drivers license from their home country) could apply for an international driving permit (IDP) and drive in Japan permanently. Since that time however, IDPs are only valid for one year. If a foreigner stays in Japan for more than one year and decides to reapply for an IDP, they would have to leave Japan for at least 90 days in order for the IDP to be legal upon their return. Those visiting Japan for a short time, of course IDPs are the way to go. They are quite cheap (around $10-20). Beware however there are many sites on the internet that offer IDPs for several hundred dollars. These are scam sites and are to be avoided at all costs. Quite a few countries have a much easier time in obtaining a valid Japanese drivers license when compared to the United States. **End Summary** Topics: drivers license in japan]]> license]]> translated]]> drivers license]]> japan]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> I work for a translation company in Fukuoka, Japan. I work under http://www.translators.jp/ and manage http://www.samurai-translators.com/

Articles by Scott Brady on ArticleSnatch.com

Sakura Time of Year

What Makes Anime Popular

A Foreigners Attempt at the Japanese Driverâs License Test

Spring Cleaning in the States Vs. End of Year Cleaning in Japan

Japanese Pronunciation Vs. Katakana

Things to do and food to eat in Fukuoka, Japan

Online translators can hurt more than help

Foreigners Wanting to Drive in Japan

A Foreigners Attempt at the Japanese Driverâs License Test