#NHK Graph

[jailhouse41]

Tomisaburō Wakayama (若山富三郎)

Scanned from NHK Graph (グラフNHK), 1984 Nov.

[worldofgoo]

figure 1. basically this means that I can read the majority of really common words but the less common they get the more lost I am

figure 2. this one means that I'm theoretically like a japanese 3rd grader in terms of my literacy

first off check out my japanese proficiency. i started august of last year, apparently, using a (paid) course called wanikani, which is focused on drilling kanji using radicals + mnemonics. it also uses a SRS system if you want to look into what that entails (basically the spacing of the reviews for a given item becomes longer and longer & in this case if you get it right after 3 months of not having seen it you don't have to study it anymore)

progress has slowed over time (I work fulltime now...) but I'm still sticking with it. Actually I might as well show off my timeline too (I love charts and graphs...)

The scale of it is janky because of statistics bullshit (I did a lot of levels very quickly, and the slow ones are taking a while to actually effect my median because. they're slow) but you can see where I switched from being obsessed to kind of overwhelmed, I try to take a month per level now which means it'll take me like 3 more years to finish the course (it ends at level 60).

Uhh, other information since I've been asked this, my history with studying Japanese has been

-trying to teach myself with duolingo + online textbooks + anime, this didn't really work but I learned kana

-two semesters (intensive) in college, gave me new vocabulary but I feel like the focus was grammar which I'm sure I'll appreciate if I ever learn to speak it

-wanikani, occasionally translating memes/tweets, reading articles on nhk news easy, uhhh watching/listening to shit in japanese (very limited usefulness on its own, animelon is very good if it has shows youre interested in on it)

-all of the things here besides Wanikani are super sporadic and I would not call any of it much of a routine. but I'm at the point in the course where you need to start applying the knowledge or it starts feeling kind of useless, so my current plan is to combine interests, so I'm now (VERY SLOWLY, hopefully at least weekly progress) watching films with japanese audio and subtitles

-in the future: when reading is less agonizing, I want to translate manga. I'd also like to practice speaking (I don't feel confident to even try right now), possibly with the Tandem app, or even a tutor if it's something I can afford and fit into a schedule eventually

-end goal is going to japan and not seeming like a dipshit in the process

[kennak]

解体現場のバキの絵はゴールデンウィークぐらいまでは掲出予定だったらしいけど、中止かな。けが人でてるし笑い話にはできんよね。https://mainichi.jp/graphs/20250327/mpj/00m/040/101000f/20250327mpj00m040136000p

[B! 火災] 東京 飯田橋 秋田書店本社ビル出火 2人けが 建て替え工事中 | NHK

[fuckyeahmeikokaji]

Press photo for Man Is Courageous (男は度胸), an NHK period drama that aired in 1970 and 1971. Seen here, clockwise from top left:

Minori Terada (寺田農) Meiko Kaji (梶芽衣子) Toru Abe (安部徹) Frankie Sakai (フランキー堺) Yukiko Nagano (永野裕紀子) Taro Shigaki (志垣太郎)

Scanned from NHK Graph (グラフNHK), July 1, 1971.

http://fuckyeahmeikokaji.tumblr.com/

[ayakashibackstreet]

Working your ass off on your thesis for like 3 hours, only to realise that the work you were doing, while useful, also didn't exactly contribute to your word count.......

[doraemonmon]

Graph NHK May1969 - Naoko Otani  大谷直子

[noviceaoiryusei]

Team Handsome! 「NYLON SUPER Vol. 04」 Q&A portion

note: there are parts that I am not sure of so I have encoded it in bold font.

QUESTIONS:

1. Handsome member that you get along the most with

2. Handsome senpai (senior) that you respect

3. A member that you would like to be for a day

4. What kind of existence fans are

5. Most favorite handsome song

6. Who among the members do you like when it comes to fashion

7. Among the members, you are the TOP OF ________

8. What points during the live do you want us to pay attention of

9. Enthusiasm for the live in a word

10. A member that is a "mote otoko" (popular among women)

11. A member that is a beauty boy

12. For you, what kind of existence is handsome

Ishiga Kazuki

1. Kaneko Daichi

2. Takeru-san

3. Kesukecchi

4. Mirror

5. THIS IS THE TIME

6. I think it's Jin

7. TOP OF THE I like sweets

8. A place where you do your best and have fun

9. Absolutely fun

10. Kesukecchi

11. Koudai

12. I can see my new self

• BRAIN GRAPH

about life 50%

it's a very important season/time now so, I'm thinking about it (life) whenever I have time.

sweets 20%

it is impossible without it.

meals 20%

three times a day is my fixed happiness.

meat 5%

a food that will give you the ultimate happiness.

diet 5%

I'm afraid to be asked "did you gain weight?".

Ota Masaki

1. That's hard...

2. Kamiki Ryunosuke-san

3. Shoma. I want to see the view/scenery with that height.

4. The meaning of existence

5. BanG! BANG! Bang!

6. Keisuke-kun or myself

7. I like clothes

8. GAP with the usual Ota

9. Beat

10. Kesukecchi

11. Taiyu boy

12. Will make a place wherein you can give back the gratitude towards the people who supports you

• BRAIN GRAPH

play (stage) 70%

because I like it.

clothes 15%

I unconsciously rushed to the internet.

hot spring 15%

healing. refreshing.

Kai Shouma

1. Taiyu

2. I want to be respected

3. Myself in 10 years

4. (see drawing below)

5. Hou Sere (WHITE SERENADE)

6. Sakurada Dori-san

7. TOP OF THE good luck

8. BAND

9. Song!

10. Sato Takeru-san

11. Aoyagi Ruito-san

12. A training festival

• BRAIN GRAPH

work 35%

the fun of life.

alone time 20%

it is necesarry to switch on and off.

song 10%

thing that I honestly like.

curry 5%

cola 5%

ghibli 5%

black 5%

korea 5%

winter 5%

youtube 5%

Koseki Yuta

1. Watanabe Keisuke. We go out for meals most recently.

2. Uehara Takuya-san. The lyrics that he writes are amazing.

3. Mizoguchi Takuya. He is smart!

4. An existence of being the first one to walk.

5. Mata ne

6. I like Ota Masaki's (fashion)

7. TOP OF THE curiosity. I'm always chasing the excitement but I wanted to take on the challenge and run.

8. During handsome, my hair is usually long and I get sweaty in the latter half of the live so I have trimmed my hair. Please look at it.

9. Unknown future

10. Kai Shouma. As expected, I like his singing.

11. Fujiwara Taiyu

12. Matsuoka Koudai. His compassion and his root of strength always pushes my back.

• BRAIN GRAPH

music 25%

NO MUSIC NO LIFE!

harry potter 25%

I loved it since kindergarten.

photos 10%

I like it as one of (my) searches for myself.

travelling 15%

I like it as a means of taking a break. I like to know about the roots, values and cultures.

nhk special 5%

I like the special programs regardless of the genre.

note: he forgot to list down the remaining 20% so let's count it into the "others" category.

Suzuki Jin

1. Keisuke-kun

2. Everyone

3. Hmm~ I wonder if it's okay to say something.

4. Being a companion. Support.

5. Butterfly

6. Keisuke-kun

7. I like manga. Possesion rate of oversized clothes.

8. A rare figure wherein you sing and dance

9. Have fun!!

10. Koudai-kun

11. Taiyu

12. A place of brilliance

• BRAIN GRAPH

fashion 25%

what kind of items, combinations.

manga 25%

it's my hobby.

photos 10%

I like taking pictures and being photographed!

meals 10%

what should I eat?

sleepiness 5%

health 5%

others 20%

isn't it human to just think of various things? that's it.

Tomita Kentaro

1. Katsumi and Kazuki. I also eat meals with Keisuke, he is a member that you can invite without hesitation.

2. Nomura Shuhei-san. Since we have co-starred in a drama before, I have been well taken cared of him. His fashion and lifestyle is consistent, I think it's cool.

3. Koudai. I want to play as much as I can using Koudai's physical ability. I want to dance sharply and move acrobatically.

4. (The one) Who always supports us from a short distance, a reassuring existence. I'm always looking forward to see your valuable impressions.

5. Kyosou. I like the unpreceded tunes and powerful lyrics. I love it because we also gave our opinions and completed it.

6. Katsumi. He's very familiar with secondhand clothes. Because his style is good, I'm happy when the clothes looks good on him.

7. TOP OF encounters. I think that friendliness is one of my characteristics

8. Amplitude. I want to see various expressions from comical appearance to the unrefined rap appearance.

9. Enough enthusiasm

10. Keisuke. If he's silent, you'll be won over by his visuals. If he talks, it's like you're a hometown friend. I like him.

11. Kai Shoma! He has a solid physique and a cool manly face!

12. Home. Everyone knows their own personality so, you can always stay relaxed.

• BRAIN GRAPH

input 65%

movies, novels, experiential art, hobbies.

output 20%

making things, talking.

aspirations 10%

an objective view of yourself, to achieve your future goals.

body building 5%

gym, kickboxing, sauna.

Niihara Taisuke

1. Koudai-kun. I have been taken cared of him so instead of saying that I get along with him, I feel like I want us to be good friends.

2. I can't choose. The goodness of everyone is shining, it's always dazzling.

3. Shouma-kun. I want to see the world from a high place.

4. Source of energy. There are lots of things that I can do because of the people who supports me. Everyone, thank you as always!

5. A (C). I want to do "zenshin, zenshin~". (laughs)

6. Jin-kun. He wears cool clothes everytime we meet.

7. TOP OF THE lonely person/s

8. It has to be the dance. I want to fascinate you all with a dancers earnestness.

9. Naturally. Will strike hard.

10. Yuta-kun is so kind, really! If I were a girl, I'd loose easily. (laughs)

11. Keisuke-kun. Somehow, I feel like he's sexy. (laughs)

12. New frontier

• BRAIN GRAPH

work 45%

reason to live.

dance 40%

my life.

games 10%

I really like it.

cats 3%

but I'm allergic.

coffee 2%

taking a break. (I can't live without it)

Hyodo Katsumi

1. Tomita-san. We're on the same unit, he's easy to talk to and is nice.

2. Sakurada Dori. He is a senior who have taken cared of me for a long time.

3. Koudai-kun. His word sense is amazing. I want to know what he's thinking.

4. Support of the heart/mind.

5. GET IT BACK. It's the first song that I had participated.

6. Keisuke-san. I like his sense of clothing.

7. Friendliness

8. It is my first live so please pay attention to how I worked hard (for it).

9. Blow of a new breeze

10. Koseki-kun. He is really kind. I think he is popular!

11. Koseki-kun. He has a beautiful heart.

12. Place of challenge/s

• BRAIN GRAPH

work 95%

because I like plays (stage).

chinese 3%

I'm learning.

sake (liquor) 2%

I like drinking sake!

Fukuzaki Nayuta

1. Kanata. He is the best, I'm always with him.

2. Matsuoka Koudai. How he manages his body, his mind, everything will be learned!

3. Kai-san. I want to look down on people with his height.

4. My foundation.

5. PARTY RIDE. You can always feel happy.

6. Jin-kun. He looked good on whatever he wears, he looks invincible because he's cool.

7. Indoor. A withdrawal that is unmatched by others.

8. This time, I am not blonde so I'm glad that you could see it

9. I'll do my best with renewed feelings

10. Tomita Kentaro-san. Funny, cool, a big brother!

11. Taiyu. Even if he has no make-up, he is sparkling...

12. A place where you can do challenges

• BRAIN GRAPH

conversation with people 50%

I like to exchange conversations with people,family, friends, seniors.

cats 50%

I can't imagine without it.

Fujiwara Taiyu

1. Yuuta-kun. His existence is like an older brother (to me).

2. Kamiki Ryunosuke-san

3. Shouma-san. I want to experience his 185cm world.

4. Existence that you never want to let go.

5. Nee, Kamisama Onegai

6. It's me!

7. Positive

8. Growth from the last year!

9. Will have fun!!

10. Koudai-san is popular!

11. Kesuke-san. The sex appeal of adults is amazing.

12. Hometown

• BRAIN GRAPH

future 75%

because I'm 17 years old.

philosophy 5%

I just thought of phenomenon/s that has no answer/s.

movies 5%

because I love movies.

comedy 5%

when I'm tired, I laugh and recover by watching comedy shows.

fashion 5%

because I love clothes, my fashion serialization project had also started in a magazine.

meals 5%

I always looked forward to this happy moment that comes up three times a day.

Hosoda Kanata

1. Fukuzaki Nayuta. I have been with him for almost 10 years now, I have always been taken cared of him.

2. Kamiki senpai. I respect Kamiki-san's otaku degree.

3. Suzuki Jin-kun. I want to hold ny camera from a high point of view.

4. Support. It may be a trivial answer but... it is the starting point and the top.

5. GET IT BACK. I like the lyrics among all of the handsome songs.

6. Koseki Yuta. He even said that he wants to enjoy fashion at Kobe Collection.

7. Sweat. On the contrary, I would be disappointed if it's not the TOP.

8. Second year. Since it is my second year in handsome... I want you to pay attention (to it) or rather, I'll do my best to get your attention.

9. Win!! No matter in what form of live it is, you should not loose your performance with the environment.

10. Tagawa Shunji-kun. It seems that he's popular regardless of gender. Does anyone even hate Shunji-kun?

11. Fujiwara Taiyu. You can tell even by just looking at his skin... It is smooth.

12. Club activities. Where everyone strives for the same goal (live).

• BRAIN GRAPH

basketball 23%

when I'm not thinking.

pokemon 18%

I'm glad that I've encountered it when I was 4 years old.

food 15%

I will eat delicious food no matter what place it is.

solo karaoke 13%

I go whenever I have a free time.

anime 8%

I got hooked in this world (although) I'm a year behind.

report 8%

I'm impatient with "when is the deadline?".

Mrs. GREEN APPLE 8%

it is the first artist that I became a fan of.

others 7%

Matsuoka Koudai

1. Koseki Yuta

2. Yuujiro-san

3. Tomi. I want to prepare lots of gags/jokes.

4. An established existence outside of your family.

5. GET IT BACK

6. Jintan (Suzuki Jin)

7. Worry

8. A minute without performance

9. Immesurable gratitude

10. Keisuke. Choice

11. Taiyu. His skin is squeaky.

12. Be able to convey a life-size gratitude

• BRAIN GRAPH

future 60%

I think about the good and bad things. there are also great delusions. (laughs)

music 10%

music is a tranquilizer.

reading 10%

there are times that I want to run away to the world of prints (books).

idol 10%

male idols, female idols gives me dreams, it will heal you.....

anime 5%

I have a voice fetish, I have been saved by two dimention, I love the voice actors.

movies, theater 5%

I love it, I'm always at the corner seeking for different values.

Mizoguchi Takuya

1. Mr. Koseki Yuta

2. Mr. Hirama Soichi

3. Kai-kun (beautiful voice)

4. Sun

5. Feel The Same.

6. Fujiwara or Ota

7. Talkativeness

8. Growth

9. Pitch with all your strength

10. Mr. Sato Takeru

11. Mr. Watanabe Keisuke

12. Home.

• BRAIN GRAPH

talkativeness 100%

Watanabe Keisuke

1. Suzuki Jin-kun. Tomi

2. Sato Takeru-san

3. Koseki

4. Friend

5. Butterfly

6. Ota-kun

7. Oldest

8. Removal of the long hair

9. Force

10. I don't know.

11. Matsuoka-kun

12. Club activities

• BRAIN GRAPH

man 100%

please don't ask me

note: I actually don't understand the kanji he used for the brain graph but when I looked at the depths of the internet for clues, it's written that it's a rare kanji for "man"

[furaidopotetodesu]

Shibata Yuna’s Blog Translation 2022/05/19

ลมพัด ความรู้สึกสบาย ๆ

สวัสดีค่ะ ชิบาตะ ยูนะเองนะคะ

ฉันคิดว่าเดือนพฤษภาคมใกล้จะจบลงแล้ว แต่ตอนที่เขียน มันก็แค่วันที่ 19 พฤษภาคมเลย ยังพอจะมีเหลือวันอยู่บ้าง

แล้วก็...... ขอบคุณทุก ๆ คนมากเลยนะคะสำหรับ 10th YEAR BIRTHDAY LIVE

วันแรก ฉันรู้สึกกังวลมาก เพราะมีผู้ชมหลายคนเลย ถึงแม้เวลาไลฟ์ปกติฉันก็ไม่ได้รู้สึกกังวลอะไรเท่าไหร่นะคะ

แต่ในไลฟ์ครั้งนี้ ฉันรู้สึกถึงความ “อลังการ” ของโนกิซากะ46 ฉันคิดกับตัวเองว่า ตัวฉันเป็นแค่ส่วนหนึ่งในนั้น ในความยิ่งใหญ่อลังการของโนกิซากะ ฉันคิดถึงสิ่งที่เซมไปช่วยกันสร้าง และสิ่งที่เติบโตขึ้นมาตลอด 10 ปี ในเวลาเดียวกันฉันก็รู้สึกถึงภาระที่จะต้องแบกรับ

ฉันจะต้องปกป้องโนกิซากะที่ฉันรักหมดใจ

ในตอนนี้ ฉันอยากจะให้คนคิดกับฉันว่า “เด็กคนนี้เป็นคนพึ่งพาได้นะ” ฉันเลยพยายามข่มตัวเองไม่ให้ร้องไห้ออกมาตอนอยู่บนเวที แต่เกือบทุกครั้งฉันก็กลั้นน้ำตาเอาไว้ไม่ได้

ครั้งนี้เป็นครั้งแรกที่ฉันได้ยืนบนเวทีใหญ่ ในฐานะของเซมบัตสึเมมเบอร์ มีหลายเพลงและหลายเรื่องที่ฉันจะต้องเรียนรู้ให้มากขึ้น ในตอนนั้นฉันเองก็ไม่แน่ใจว่าจะเรียนรู้ทุกอย่างได้ครบถ้วน แต่พอรู้ตัวอีกทีฉันก็ขึ้นไปแสดงบนเวทีแล้ว

ฉันได้รับแ��งใจเยอะมาก ในเวลาที่เซมไปเรียกฉัน แล้วก็ตอนที่รู้ว่ามีสตาฟติดตามฉันอยู่ ดีใจสุด ๆ เลยล่ะค่ะ ทุกอย่างที่ทุกคนให้ฉันเป็นแรงผลักดันที่ดีมาก ๆ เลยนะคะ ทั้งหมดทั้งมวล ทำให้ฉันลุกขึ้นมาทำสิ่งที่ดีที่สุดค่ะ

ขอบคุณสำหรับช่อดอกไม้จากทุก ๆ คนด้วยนะคะ พอได้เห็นช่อดอกไม้ที่แฟน ๆ ส่งมาอย่างมากมาย ก็รู้สึกถึงแรงสนับสนุนที่โนกิซากะ46 ได้รับมาตลอด 10 ปี ถึงมันอาจจะไม่ใช่ที่ ๆ ฉันจะพูดออกมา แต่ก็ขอขอบคุณจากใจจริง และ ฉันก็จะพยายามต่อไปเรื่อย ๆ เพื่อพัฒนาตัวเองค่ะ

อีกเรื่องคือ แท่งไฟ 70,000 แท่ง เป็นอะไรที่สวยงามตระการตามากเลยค่ะ ฉันจะไม่มีวันลืมภาพนั้นเลยนะคะ

ฉันได้ไปดูไลฟ์ย้อนหลังในวันแรก ฉันก็ยังไม่เชื่อตัวเองว่าได้ขึ้นแสดงเพลง Seifuku no Mannequin ร่วมกับอิโคมะซัง ฉันก็เคยมีโอกาสได้เจอ แต่ไม่มีโอกาสได้ขึ้นแสดงด้วยกันเพราะจังหวะชีวิตมันไม่เอื้ออำนวย ฉันยังคิดยู่เลยว่า “ตัวฉันได้ขึ้นแสดงเพลง Seifuku no Mannequin ร่วมกับอิโคมะซังจริง ๆ หรอ” 555555

แล้วไลฟ์วันเกิดครั้งนี้ก็เป็นเครื่องเตือนใจว่า เซมไปผ่านอะไรมามากแค่ไหน

เอ้อใช่ แล้วฉันเองก็จำได้ว่าไลฟ์วันแรกพระจันทร์สวยมากเลยล่ะค่ะ ฉันอยู่หลังเวทีตอนแสดงเพลง Harujion ga Sakukoro พอมองไปที่เวทีหลักก็เลยคิดว่า “มันคงจะต้องมีอะไรสักอย่าง！！！” พลางมองพระจันทร์ดวงใหญ่ดวงนั้น

มันมีในสตรีมมิ่งด้วยนะ!!!

ฉันเองก็ดีใจมาก ๆ เลยที่อากาศเป็นใจให้ทั้ง 2 วัน ช่วงซ้อม ฝนตกหนักแล้วอากาศก็หนาวมาก ฉันเลยกังวลว่าวันจริงจะเป็นแบบนี้ด้วย

(ชุดนี้น่ารักมากเลยนะคะ)

ขอบคุณสำหรับ���ลฟ์ทั้ง 2 วันเลยนะคะ

มาต่ออีกเรื่องค่ะ blt graph กำลังวางขายนะคะ!!!! เอารูปเบื้องหลังมาให้ดูเล็กน้อยค่ะ

เมื่อวานฉันไปเจอที่ร้านหนังสือ เลยซื้อมาด้วย เพราะไม่รู้ว่าในวันข้างหน้าจะยังมีโอกาสได้ขึ้นปกอีกไหม  ฉันเองก็ทั้งได้รับแรงบันดาลใจและรู้สึกดีใจมาก ๆ เลยนะคะ ที่คนได้อ่านแล้วบอกกับฉันว่าชอบมาก ๆ เลย

ไว้เดี๋ยวรอบหน้าจะเอาภาพเบื้องหลังมาให้ดูเพิ่มอีกนะคะ

ถึงจะยังไม่ได้อ่าน หรือ อ่านไปแล้ว ก็ยังอยากให้ซื้อติดบ้านสักเล่มแล้วอ่านบทสัมภาษณ์ด้วยนะคะ

ฉันเองก็อ่านวนไปวนมา 30 รอบได้ล่ะค่ะ

พรุ่งนี้มีรายการ  花ラジちば นะคะ

รายการวิทยุออกอากาศที่ที่ NHK-FM (เฉพาะพื้นที่จังหวัดชิบะ) เวลา 11.00-12.00 น.ค่ะ มาฟังกันด้วยนะคะ

ขอบคุณทุกคนที่เข้ามาอ่าน ไว้เจอกันครั้งหน้าค่ะ

https://www.nogizaka46.com/s/n46/diary/detail/100275

[holespoles]

The voice actors and dolls who are in charge of the voices of each puppet in "Graph NHK" (1964),

"It looks a lot like <Hyokkori Gourd Island(ひょっこりひょうたん島)>."

[meimae]

19/06/21

Finished the first volume of 本好きの下剋上 司書になるためには手段を選んでいられません yesterday!

感想

I was initially only going to test out reading the first volume since the series is overwhelmingly long (26 parts!), but I quickly realized that it's a pretty good book to practice reading words I already know. Natural SRS, hurrah!

Of course, there are still plenty of words to mine, but if you read my overview last month, I wrote that at the very least I don't have to look up too many words compared to the other stuff I've read, so it's pretty relaxing and I can just concentrate on reading and enjoying the story.

I'm a self-professed bookworm and this book, with its title alone, caught my eye. I've always loved to collect and read books, and would absolutely choose the library or the bookstore over most social interactions, and if I can, whoever's with me is immediately required to check the book selection, too! 笑

The protagonist, マイン, however, is on another level. She does not only throw a tantrum when she could not get her hands on a book, but she's dedicating all of her energy on making all of the materials to make one herself. If that isn't dedication, I don't know what is.

I've heard some mixed reviews about this character; how she is especially whiney in the first volume which turns a lot of people off. But you gotta hand it to her. This poor girl who's only dream is to be a librarian (aside from getting buried and dying under a heap of books), wastes away and gets transported to a bookless world, into a pitifully weak and feverish body, and she constantly has to deal with the inconveniences of an undeveloped world. Of course she's going to complain!

This 異世界 is quite interesting, since it doesn't exactly rely on world-building, but more on showing what common modern things are not available yet. Sometimes, I can't help but think that it can be kind of historically inaccurate, but then I think again and remember that, of course it won't be accurate to real world history: it's literally a different world! 笑

Her effort to take the first steps on making paper and writing materials is very admirable, and I'm excited to see where else it will take her.

STATS

Ah yes, the most interesting part of the process, stats and graphs time! I love making these little edits and graphs at the end of every good reading session. It really reminds me of how far I've come, and shows me exactly where I can improve my approach in immersion. Also, it's a great amount of proof that, yes, I absolutely can read and listen to Japanese media by just, well, reading and listening to media!

I also listened to the audiobook equivalent of 本好き, and it was so fun to listen to since the voice acting was really good, and because I read it first, it was just as comprehensible. Definitely will be doing the same with the next volumes, and with other novels as well!

Total Characters: 161,544

Total Time Read: 18:23:04

Ave. Chars per Hour: 8,807

TIME SPENT READING & SPEED

(Includes everything including the あとがき, because why not)

I was consistently reading anywhere between 20 minutes and an hour (average 38 minutes), which just shows you that the shorter chapters of light novels are easier to consume especially while using the timebox method, and that this particular book (and potentially the rest of the series) is very comprehensible material for me, and is great reading practice to solidify previously mined words. Still intensively reading as always - looking up every word I don't know the meaning or reading of, including the occasional grammar point.

This Characters per Hour graph is shiny and new! I have been holding off from posting it until I finished another book. Was finally able to gather the data I needed (number of characters per chapter/time spent reading) to make it. It was tedious, but the result was worth it since it very clearly shows improvement with every new book I start and finish.

My legend is arranged by start order, my first couple of finishes being NHKにようこそ! and　ノルウェイの森. If I had known back then that I was improving every step of the way, I wouldn't have felt as bad as I did for taking 9 hours to read a 75,000 character chapter (which by the way, is a pretty normal chunk of time for a beginner to consume such an amount). But also, please ignore anything above 10k/hour from the first two books, as I am sure I switched my Yomichan to an English-Japanese dictionary setup instead of the normal J-J-J-E dictionary setup that I use now, since at the time I desperately wanted a book finish, and so the speed I was reading in seems quite unbelievable.

Still, judging from this graph, my speed seems to have settled at around an 8k starting point to a 10k-ish ending point. Not terrible, but definitely indicates that I need to read more, as a better ability to remember readings and meanings on the fly means better comprehension and eventually, better speed.

-☆-

That's all for this update. I'll be either looking into finishing the other books I've put on hold or maybe I'll pick up the next volume of 本好きor a different book instead.

Catch you all later!

[nihongoseito]

雰囲気の正しい読み方は？  What’s the correct pronunciation of 雰囲気?

Recently I was watching some YouTube videos in Japanese when I noticed a speaker was pronouncing a word I knew, 雰囲気 (atmosphere/mood), differently from how I’d been taught. If you look up 雰囲気 on Weblio, it’ll tell you it’s pronounced ふんいき in accordance with the on’yomi of its kanji. However, if you look it up on Denshi Jisho, it’ll tell you there’s also an “irregular kana usage” ふいんき, wherein ん and い swap places. Why does this happen? Let’s see!

(Note: The following discussion is based on Tokyo Japanese and is geared toward intermediate or advanced students.)

Nasality

If you’re not a linguist, this term might sound sort of weird, but you’ve probably at least heard people’s voices described as nasal, like a cartoon nerd on TV. In English, our most obvious nasal consonants are /n/ and /m/, though there are a couple more. So, what does it mean for a consonant to be “nasal”?

This is a diagram of the speech articulators, or the organs used by humans to make sounds. As you can see, I’ve circled the “velum,” the soft part in the way back of the roof of your mouth. (Go ahead, stick your tongue back there, I’ll wait.) The velum has a couple of functions, but for our purposes the most important one is to open and close the nasal cavity from the inside. When the velum is raised, the nasal cavity is closed off from the pharynx, so air can only escape out of the mouth; that’s how we get oral consonants like /b/ and /d/. (If you say “my nose” when you’re stuffed up, it sounds like “by doze” because no air can pass through your nasal cavity.)

However, when the velum is lowered, the nasal cavity is open to the pharynx, so air can escape out of the nose and we get nasal consonants like /n/ and /m/ and, of course, ん. Let’s go back to ん now.

Nasality in (Tokyo) Japanese

Nasality is really important in Japanese, too, which you may have inferred from the very existence of ん, the only free-standing Japanese consonant. ん is suuuuper interesting in a ton of ways (just trust me on this ^^;) but right now, we’re going to look at its relationship to and effect on vowels. (For the sake of ease, I won’t discuss ん’s multiple pronunciations, only the fact that they’re all nasal—send me an ask if you want to know more!)

We’ve looked at what it means to be a nasal consonant (i.e., to be a consonant produced with a lowered velum, through the nasal cavity), but now I want to look at what it means to be a nasal vowel. Unlike oral consonants, vowels can be pronounced in the oral cavity or in the nasal cavity. Since raising and lowering the velum is actually a fairly difficult motion, the velum, once lowered, often stays there until it absolutely must close; or, in preparation for lowering, lowers early. When it “must” close (i.e., to create oral sounds) or when “early” is varies by language, but in any case, many languages experience the phenomenon whereby the presence of nasal consonants nasalizes vowels that would otherwise be oral. Lucky us—Japanese is one of those languages.

In Japanese, ん’s main effect on vowels is to nasalize them. Here are a couple of examples of words whose vowels have been nasalized by ん (nasal sounds bolded):

gaman (がまん・我慢)

shinbun (しんぶん・新聞)

honki (ほんき・本気)

As you can see, each of these examples involves an oral vowel becoming nasal when it precedes ん. This is evidence for the velum lowering earlier than you might expect, in preparation to say ん. What happens, then, when a vowel follows ん?

jun’i (じゅんい・順位)

ken’o (けん��・嫌悪)

zen’aku (ぜんあく・善悪)

Tons of nasalization here! These examples are evidence for the velum staying open because it is simply too much work to close it again. Here’s the key difference between these two sets of examples: vowel nasalization preceding ん must occur, whereas vowel nasalization following ん can occur. (The reason for this has to do with ん’s complexity—again, send an ask for more! I love to talk about phonology!!) Because vowel nasalization following ん is a possibility and not an imperative, the above examples can also be pronounced as follows:

jun’i (じゅんい・順位)

ken’o (けんお・嫌悪)

zen’aku (ぜんあく・善悪)

Ostensibly, it is possible to close the velum swiftly enough to avoid nasalization of the vowels following ん. We are now finally prepared to investigate the instigator of this treatise, 雰囲気. So, let’s get back to it!

雰囲気 and its phonological evolution

Alright, yes, I’ll finally say what you’ve been waiting for me to say: the “correct” on’yomi for the kanji 雰 is フン, not フ; and the “correct” on’yomi for the kanji 囲 is イ, not イン. I put correct in quotation marks because it’s an extremely problematic word in linguistics (and plenty of other academic fields, I’m sure), so I’m not going to spend any more time on it. (Yet again, any questions, please shoot me an ask!) In short, I dispute the argument that ふんいき is the categorically “correct” pronunciation of 雰囲気.

Instead, I prefer to say that ふんいき is ONE OF the OBSERVED pronunciations of 雰囲気. Another observed pronunciation of the word is ふいんき, as you can see in the data below:

This graph from NHK放送文化研究所 shows data on which age and gender demographics are more likely to use which of these two observed pronunciations. As the red line shows, 77% of people polled would only use ふんいき, whereas 22% are comfortable using ふいんき instead of or in addition to ふんいき. So how did nearly a quarter of this population find themselves in use of a pronunciation that Denshi Jisho deems “irregular”?

Well, it’s because of ん, that pesky little kana, and its tendency to nasalize its neighbors! I bet you can totally see where this is going now, but let me drive the point home. Here’s a flow chart I’ve adapted from that same NHK article into rōmaji (nasal sounds bolded, double-spaced for clarity):

f u n ’ i k i  ⇒  f u n ’ i k i  ⇒  f u u i k i  ⇒  f u i i k i  ⇒  f u i n k i

This flow chart shows common pronunciations of 雰囲気 over time. Let’s break down each of these five steps, and be warned that it gets weird:

fun’iki: What we might “expect” from the “correct” pronunciation of 雰囲気. Imperative vowel nasalization preceding ん is observed. Possible nasalization following ん is not observed. (Written ふんいき.)

fun’iki: Nasalization following ん has developed, since it is difficult to close the nasal cavity in time to pronounce い. (Written ふんいき.)

fuuiki: ん has...disappeared? Okay, this is yet another bizarre phonological feature of ん. In short, the vowel in ふ has lengthened and become ふう in order to “mimic” the sound of ん. (Still written ふんいき, or ふーいき for clarity.)

fuiiki: The vowels in ふう and い have switched lengths to become ふ and いい in a process known as quantitative metathesis! This is actually pretty common cross-linguistically. It be like that sometimes. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ (Already written ふいんき, or ふいーき for clarity.)

fuinki: Step 3 is reversed (short vowel + ん changed to a long vowel; now a long vowel changes to short vowel + ん). Notably, nasality is still observed in the vowel in ふ, showing its origins as a vowel which once preceded ん as in Steps 1 and 2. (Written ふいんき.)

According to the NHK graph, 77% of people polled pronounce 雰囲気 at any of Steps 1-3 (ふんいき), and 22% pronounce it at either Step 4 or 5 (ふいんき) because of this natural, even expected phonological process. Now, those two overarching percentages are a big generalization, so I recommend you look more closely at the graph to see the disparities in pronunciation of 雰囲気 within each age group individually, and of course to listen to Japanese speakers in your own life, whether in person or online. 

And with that, this magnum opus of mine comes to an end! Whew—I sure hope this was helpful, or at least interesting. As you know by now, I’m always delighted to chat one-on-one, whether about Japanese or linguistics or niche NHK polls or anything else at all. Thanks for reading, everyone, and happy studying!

[jailhouse41]

Ruriko Asaoka (浅丘ルリ子) on the cover of NHK Graph (グラフNHK), January 1, 1975.

[sugi-cho]

第70回 NHK紅白歌合戦

Development of AR with Unity.

using Visual Effect Graph.

https://github.com/sugi-cho/vfxStudy

[zukalations]

Relaxing Breeze - Kisaki Airi

Relaxing Breeze (Fuwari) was a musumeyaku feature published in GRAPH, where an interview would take place at a cafe. It was focused on offstage topics such as how they destress or what they do on days off.

Kisaki’s was published in the November 2016 issue.

Relaxing Breeze - Kisaki Airi

First, why don’t you order!

Let me see...I love chocolate so much I could die, and I can’t go a day without it so people will keep saying that my blood must be made of chocolate (laughs), but I like shortcake just as much...yes, I’ll have the seasonal shortcake!

And what will you have to drink?

Today is hot, so I’ll have something iced. Oh! It says they have ‘Choco Milk’! Is this heavier on the milk?

(Cafe manager) We’ll make it however you like!

Is that alright? Then, please make it with lots of chocolate… (laughs). Everything that I didn’t have from the chocolate cake (laughs).

What are the main points of your fashion for today?

Autumny! Also, since we’re at a cafe, I thought it would be nice to have something that felt like what I’d wear on a day off, so I picked out something with a relaxed feeling. I went with my hair down. Usually on a day off I’ll have it down. Although if I’m going to be doing something active, I’ll put it all in a ponytail.

That skirt has a really eye-catching design. Do you like those sorts of pieces?

I haven’t really noticed myself, but I suppose I might like them (laughs). I don’t think pastels suit me that well, so I end up selecting flashier colors, I guess. But since I’m a musumeyaku, after all, I think I’d like to find a pastel color that works for me (laughs).

Today we are doing a location shoot at a cafe…

The truth is, I’ve always wanted to visit this place. It’s near my parents’ house, so I’ve often talked to my mother about it. Therefore, I’m really happy about this today. The food looks good too, so I think I’ll come again sometime!

(The cake and Choco Milk arrive)

Ya~y! I’ll start with the drink! ...Ah~ it’s so rich! He really put in a lot of chocolate for me. Hahaha (laughs). It’s so tasty. And then the cake, oh, it has figs in it! You know, I’m from Kawanishi, in Hyogo, and figs are kind of a local specialty, so we’ve had a fig tree in our garden for a long time. I really like them. Alright, I’ll try it~! Hm~! It’s so good! It’s sweet, but maybe because of the peaches, it seems really light. It’s delicious~!

What do you usually get at a cafe?

I try to hold myself back from cake. But if there is chocolate cake...ah, maybe I’m not really holding myself back (laughs). I don’t like coffee, but I love black tea, and I always drink it straight. Ordinarily! Today would be cake and black tea too! (laughs) But I have a real sweet tooth, so I’ll end up going for that (laughs).

You really love sweets (laughs). Do you ever go to cafes alone like this?

In Tokyo, I’ll do that sometimes. But when I’m in Takarazuka, I will relax at home...chilling out is my hobby and also my weakness (laughs).

Do you spend your days off at home too?

I’m the type to stay at home all day (laughs). Ah, but when I’m active it’s really active! I think the difference is really big.

On a day when you are relaxing, what is your usual pattern?

I’ll just watch dramas or movies I’ve recorded—the current show, Samurai THE FINAL, is a Japanese-setting play, so I’m watching a Taiga Drama*—and that’s how I’ll spend the whole time. Or, if it is before a show opens, I’ll gather together all the accessories I have in the house (laughs).

Do you mostly watch things that will help with  your performances?

No, I love dramas, so I’ll tape so many different programs every week (laughs). Therefore, yeah, I’ll watch tons of things that have nothing to do with that (laughs). I tell myself it’s a good way to wind down from working (laughs).

What kinds of dramas do you like?

I like romances, but for some reason I’ve always really liked things about detectives, or about medical work (laughs). I like things that are exciting and suspenseful, maybe. I’ll still tape Detective Conan and things like that (laughs)

Do you get up early on your days off?

Hm~, it depends on the day. I love sleeping in until noon (laughs), but if I do get up early,  it feels really nice. I’ll have a relaxed breakfast and then space out in front of the TV. I’ll watch ‘Yo~i DON!’. Ahaha (laughs). It’s a Kansai region local show, so when I’m performing in Tokyo I miss it so, so much! (laughs) It’s a news variety show, but I like the kind of gentle feeling it has (laughs).

And then, if it’s an active day?

I go shopping the most, I suppose. I’ll go to Osaka. Also, I’ll wander down to Awaji, or to Kobe; they’re close by, but it still feels like I’m travelling. I love Universal Studios Japan too, and watching baseball! I love Koushien**. Recently, [the game I was planning to go to] was cancelled because of rain. Even though I’d been really looking forward to it…

That’s too bad. Although it’s a bit surprising that that is one of your interests.

I hear that a lot (laughs). I was following the Rio Olympics, too (laughs).

Do you like going out with someone else?

Yes, I do. It’s nice to go out by myself once in a while, but when we’re all together it’s more upbeat and fun. I haven’t been doing that much at all lately, but since Hinami-san is going to be retiring with this show, my class and Hinami and the others from the class above us are talking about how we’d like to do a house party. A takoyaki party (laughs). It would be really nice if that could happen.

You had a bit of a vacation after the recent Bow Singing Workshop: Star Troupe, didn’t you.

I did. It was a little over 2 weeks, so everybody went off to different countries (laughs). It seemed like every single day people were posting pictures of various places to the Bow Workshop cast LINE group (laughs). Amazing photos of New York city streets, Las Vegas, Taiwan, Guam… it felt like I was on a world tour (laughs).

Did you go somewhere as well, Kisaki-san?

I went to the Southern hemisphere. Saipan. I sunburn really easily, so I was putting sunscreen on all over every 30 minutes (laughs). Since coming back I’ve been taking lots of Vitamin C and trying to get whiter somehow (laughs). I love southern countries. It was a really fun trip.

If you had another vacation, what would you do?

I think I’d go overseas. That trip was my first in a long time, so it piqued my appetite (laughs). I really enjoyed it. It was a good way to change my mood, and, in a good way, I was able to forget about everything...although I’m not sure that’s actually a good thing (laughs), I’d like to have fun and forget everything else. I would kind of like to go to India next time.

Your next show, Om Shanti Om, is set in India, isn’t it.

It is! That’s why I’m interested. Also, everyone keeps saying I ought to go to New York, so if I had time I’d like to go. I want to see all the musicals I please! Apparently you can also go in and get dance lessons and things, so I’ve been sort of longing to do that.

* Taiga dramas are a long-running series of year-long serialized historical dramas broadcast by NHK.

** Koushien is the yearly highschool baseball tournament that is one of the biggest sporting events in Japan.

[egreyzone-blog]

Updates...?

Well first, I wish Ramadan Mubarak to those who are fasting. I've been doing okay, hiccups here and there like always but I'm still fine. I'm still having trouble being out in the public (I don't have any issues with feeling insecure or what not). I just don't like being in a crowded places or when I don't have my personal space but alas as my mum said " This is a shopping centre, of course it will be crowded " or something like " Its weekends, of course it will be packed with people.". It kinda stress me out whenever I'm around with people. I really don't know how to explain... I wish I could, so I could explain it to people but nah.

Oh yeah, I started studying Japanese. I'm starting with hiragana. Still at hiragana, I'm not liking the pace I'm going at. It's pretty slow but I'm making some progress. I've memorized the first two sets and now moving onto the next two sets. For now, I've been using online resources. It's crazy expensive to get Japanese textbooks >.< . I've been using resources from NHK and an incredible app called 'Write it! Japanese". Also, I'm using graph paper to practice writing. The squares are perfect for me. I can't wait to finish hiragana and move on to katakana :)

[thinkhealthylivecreative]

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