Japanese Eras
From Taika to Reiwa, With Some Lasting Months
Japan has used around 250 era names since 645, several of them under a year because a fire or a comet forced a reset. Showa is the long outlier.
Japan Know How archive
Author: Megan Rothwell
Japanese Crafts
Long Fibers, Cold Water, and a Thousand Years
Washi is made from bark fiber, not wood pulp, which is why conservators patch old books with it. Three papers hold UNESCO status; here is what differs.
Your Name in Japanese
When the Ticket Name Does Not Match the Passport
Flights, rail pass exchange and hotel reservations are all checked against the passport. Which mismatches get fixed at the counter and which cost money.
Writing & Language
Three Scripts Doing Three Different Jobs
Japanese puts no spaces between words, so the switch from kanji to kana is what marks where a word starts. The division of labor, in real sentences.
Japanese Eras
Six Tests Before Two Kanji Are Approved
Two characters, easy to write, never used before, no clash with a famous name, and no repeat of the initials M, T, S, H or R. The shortlist Reiwa beat.
Japanese Crafts
Two Crafts Built on the Same Geometric Grid
Cotton was scarce in the north, so cloth was stitched back together and thread scraps became balls. The regional styles, the grid logic, and what boro was.
Your Name in Japanese
Japan Has No Field for Your Middle Name
Japanese forms have two name fields and your passport has three names. Where the middle name goes, when to drop it, and when dropping it breaks a booking.
Writing & Language
What Breaks When You Write Kanji Out of Order
Handwriting recognition, dictionary lookup and legible fast writing all depend on stroke order. Where it matters and where nobody will ever know.
Japanese Eras
The Statute Written for a Single Emperor
Japanese law had no route for an emperor to step down, so the Diet passed a statute covering one man only. The first abdication since 1817 needed it.
Japanese Crafts
Lacquer, Weeks of Curing, Then Gold
Real kintsugi is urushi lacquer that hardens in humidity over weeks, not glue with gold paint. What the kits skip, and when the bowl stops being food-safe.