Uchikura & Co Blog
2026-09-29
The Grateful Crane — 鶴の恩返し(Tsuru no Ongaeshi) Long ago, an elderly couple lived in a small house near the mountains. One snowy evening, the old man found a crane caught in a trap. He gently freed it,...
2026-09-29
蚊帳の外 — Left Out of the Conversation A kaya (蚊帳) is a mosquito net placed around a sleeping area. If you are 蚊帳の外 (kaya no soto), you are outside that net, separated from the people inside. Today, t...
2026-09-29
Can You Carry a Small Swiss Army Knife in Japan? A small Swiss Army knife seems harmless. It fits on a keychain, and its blade may be shorter than your little finger. In many places, people carry one...
2026-09-28
“肝を抜かれる”: To Be Stunned The Japanese expression 肝を抜かれる (きもをぬかれる, kimo o nukareru) means to be deeply shocked, astonished, or frightened. It describes a moment when something is so unexpected or impre...
2026-09-28
Hidamari: A Warm Place in the Sun On a cool morning, sunlight enters a room and forms a warm patch on the floor. A cat finds it first. Later, someone sits there with a cup of tea. In Japanese, that s...
2026-09-28
“Dema” Does Not Come from “Demakase” When I hear the Japanese word デマ (dema), I think of false information or a rumor that has spread without anyone checking it. For years, I assumed it was short for...
2026-09-27
Hibachi? You Mean Teppanyaki? When I first heard someone in America say, “Let’s go out for hibachi,” I pictured a small charcoal fire warming a room. Instead, we sat around a large iron griddle while...
2026-09-27
Kitsune no Yomeiri: A Fox’s Wedding In Japanese, 狐の嫁入り (kitsune no yomeiri) literally means “a fox’s wedding.” It describes a sunshower: rain falling while the sun is still shining. The phrase turn...
2026-09-27
“Washing Your Feet” In Japanese, 足を洗う (ashi o arau) literally means “to wash one’s feet.” As an idiom, it means to quit a line of work, leave a group, or turn away from a past way of life—often one...
2026-09-26
Muchū: Being Immersed in Something In Japanese, 夢中 (muchū) describes being so deeply involved in something that you lose awareness of what is happening around you. The word is written with two char...