Uchikura & Co Blog
2026-07-23
The Japanese character 満 (man / mitasu) carries the idea of being "full," "complete," or "filled to the proper amount." It appears in many everyday words. A full moon is 満月 (mangetsu), a perfect scor...
2026-07-23
Kendō Sanbai — Never Fight the Wrong Battle In Japanese martial arts, there is an old saying: 「剣道三倍」 (Kendō Sanbai). It is often misunderstood as meaning that a kendo practitioner is "three times...
2026-07-23
A Bolt That Refuses to Loosen: How a Small Factory in Osaka Earned the World's Trust When people think of world-changing technology, they often imagine computers, rockets, or artificial intelligenc...
2026-07-22
Mairimashita (参りました) — Admitting Defeat by Respecting the Other Person In Japan, when someone loses a contest, they may say, “Mairimashita,” meaning, “I concede” or “You have defeated me.” What m...
2026-07-22
Do What You Can Do One piece of advice has guided successful people for generations: "Do What You Can Do." Many people spend enormous amounts of time worrying about things they cannot control—o...
2026-07-22
Thinking About "Japanese-Style Management" What exactly is Japanese-style management? Is it treating employees like family, guaranteeing lifelong employment, or waiting for a complete consensus in mee...
2026-07-22
Hachamecha (破茶滅茶): Complete Chaos If you've ever watched a Japanese comedy, action movie, or even a family gathering that got completely out of control, you may have heard the word hachamecha (破茶滅茶...
2026-07-21
Funeral for Needles? The Japanese Tradition of Hari-Kuyō (針供養) What do you do with a sewing needle after it has served you faithfully for years? In most countries, you simply throw it away. In Japa...
2026-07-21
Don't Ask for Trouble: The Japanese Expression 「藪蛇 (Yabuhebi)」 Have you ever heard the English expressions "Don't look for trouble" or "Don't ask for trouble"? They carry the same basic idea as the...
2026-07-21
Not Bad If you study Japanese, you'll eventually hear someone say 「まんざらではない」 (manzara de wa nai). If you translate it literally, it means "not entirely bad." But that's rarely what it really means....