真 (makoto, shin, ma) means truth. This kanji character is in the form of a person who is upside down, which indicates that the person is dead. The truth is that all of us will die someday. Like the saying goes, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” […]
Zen living in Oakland
August 20, 2015 by Leave a Comment
OAKLAND, Calif. — Aside from running the renown jazz club and Japanese restaurant Yoshi’s in Oakland, Calif., the club’s owners and former married couple Yoshie Akiba and Kaz Kajimura share a uniquely Japanese home in the Rockridge neighborhood of Oakland. The home, built in the early 1960s next to a great brick Catholic priory, features […]
Japanese cultural arts classes
April 3, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Editor’s Note: Don’t see your cultural group listed? Contact us at cbfguide@nichibeiweekly.org to add your group to our cultural arts class listings. Daion Taiko Location: Orange County Buddhist Church, 909 S. Dale Ave., Anaheim, Calif. Contact: (714) 827-9590, daion78@gmail.com, ocbuddhist.org Drum Revolution Location: Belmont, Calif.; Orinda, Calif. and El Cerrito, Calif. Contact: (510) 926-9780, info@drumrevolution.com, […]
THE HEART OF KANJI: Beautiful heart
January 1, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Happy new year! I would like to talk about a “beautiful heart.” 美しい (utsukushii) means “beautiful or attractive,” which consists of two parts. The top part represents the form of a beautiful ram and the bottom part is a person who is standing. Together, utsukushii is a beautiful or attractive person. 心 (kokoro) means “heart,” […]
THE HEART OF KANJI: Thank you, for both good and bad times or situations
October 2, 2014 by Leave a Comment
良し (yoshi or yoi) means “good,” and represents to put something in or to take it out of a major box and adjust it to keep a good or correct amount in the box. 悪し (ashi or aku) means “bad,” and consist of two parts. The top part represents a bad shape and the part […]
THE HEART OF KANJI: Golden light
January 1, 2013 by Leave a Comment
金 (kon or kin) means “golden or gold,” which consists of two parts. The top is the shape of a mountain and the bottom represents gold in the soil. 光 (ko or hikari) consists of two parts. The top represents fire flames, and the bottom represents a person’s legs. Looking back at 2012, many things […]
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THE BEAUTY OF BRUSHSTROKES: Akie Karahashi and the art of shodo
Akie Karahashi, a Bay Area Japanese language and shodo teacher, organizes a display of select works of calligraphy at the festival. Karahashi talks about her passion for the art and the beauty that she sees in the characters. Nichi Bei Weekly: What do you find beautiful about calligraphy? Akie Karahashi: We write on white paper […]