Uchikura & Co Blog
2026-10-05
Shogun: The Real Story of William Adams The story of Shogun was inspired by the life of William Adams, an English sailor who reached Japan in 1600. But the novel and television series are fiction. Ad...
2026-10-05
Can You Read This Kanji?How many of you can read 海月 without reading the rest of this post? The first character, 海, means “ocean.” The second, 月, means “moon.” You might imagine moonlight shimmering...
2026-10-05
Atama Dekkachi (頭でっかち): Too Big a Head Literally, atama dekkachi means “too big a head.” Figuratively, it describes someone full of information, knowledge, and opinions, but whose actions do not matc...
2026-10-04
Koharubiyori: A Little Spring in Autumn Today, the temperature here in Seattle, Washington, reached 20°C (68°F). It was a warm autumn day with a clear blue sky—not a single cloud in sight. The we...
2026-10-04
Hara o Waru (腹を割る) — Speak Openly and Honestly In Japanese, hara o waru means to speak openly and honestly, without hiding your true feelings. Its literal translation is “split open your belly.” It...
2026-10-04
Nara: Tōdai-ji and the Deer Some places in Japan make history feel close. Nara is one of them. Tōdai-ji (東大寺) is home to the famous Great Buddha, a statue approximately 15 meters tall. The temple...
2026-10-04
後の祭り — Ato no MatsuriToo Late The Japanese expression ato no matsuri literally means “after the festival.” Imagine arriving when the celebration is already over. You may be ready to participate, bu...
2026-10-04
Japan’s Ōedo Line: Moving Through Tokyo by Magnetic Force Did you know that Tokyo’s Ōedo Line（大江戸線）moves differently from most trains? On a conventional electric train, motors turn the wheels to ...
2026-10-04
A page from my book, 88 Japanese Wisdom, available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle editions. 引き算の美学(Hikizan no Bigaku)Less Is Often More Hikizan no Bigaku (引き算の美学) is the art of subtraction—rem...
2026-10-04
What You See Is Not What You Get. Really? In Japanese, suppin（すっぴん） means a face without makeup. It is how someone looks before adding the finishing touches. I wonder what a business would look l...