Uchikura & Co Blog
2026-09-12
Noritake: Born from a Desire to Enrich Japan When Japan opened its ports in the nineteenth century, the country was poor and economically vulnerable. Because Japan’s gold-to-silver exchange ratio d...
2026-09-11
道 — The Way Has No End The Japanese character 道 can be read as michi, meaning “road,” or dō, meaning “the way.” We see 道 in many Japanese traditions: jūdō (柔道), kendō (剣道), sadō (茶道), shodō (書道),...
2026-09-11
The Emperor’s 150-Year Visit to Tokyo Tokyo is universally regarded as the capital of Japan—but was the capital ever officially moved from Kyoto? In 1868, Emperor Meiji traveled from Kyoto to Tok...
2026-09-11
Never Let Your Guard Down — 油断大敵 The Japanese expression “油断大敵” (yudan taiteki) means that carelessness is a powerful enemy. Problems often happen not when we are struggling, but when everything ...
2026-09-11
The World’s Slowest Olympic Marathon Took More Than 54 Years At the 1912 Stockholm Olympics, Japanese runner 金栗四三 (Shizō Kanakuri) entered the men’s marathon as one of Japan’s first Olympic athletes....
2026-09-11
“Muri” and “Fukanō”: Are They the Same?The Japanese words 無理 (muri) and 不可能 (fukanō) are similar, but they are not exactly the same. Fukanō means “impossible.” It describes something that simply ca...
2026-09-11
What Does “One Minute from the Station” Mean in Japan? Japanese real estate advertisements often describe a property as “five minutes from the station” or “ten minutes on foot.” But did you know th...
2026-09-10
Miren — When Good Memories Hold Us Back The Japanese word “未練” (miren) describes an emotional attachment to something that has already ended. It may be a relationship, a job, a business, or a period ...
2026-09-10
Komorebi — Sunlight Through the Leaves The Japanese word komorebi (木漏れ日) describes sunlight filtering through the leaves of trees, creating shifting patterns of light and shadow on the ground. It i...
2026-09-09
I Published a Book on Amazon Over the years, I’ve shared various Japanese words and philosophy that I hold close to my heart. However, newer posts quickly push blog posts and social media content down...