osakini

[osakini]

Takehisa Yumeji 竹久夢二 (1884-1934)

Shōnen Sekai 少年世界, New Year Issue and Nihon shōnen 日本少年 magazine covers - Japan - January 1913

[osakini]

Hidarugami: "Hitting The Wall"

Illustration of Hidarugami by Shigeru Mizuki [水木 しげる]

Hidarugami [ヒダル神] (sometimes referred to as Daru [ダル] or Dari [ダリ]) is a type of entity called Yukiai/Ikiai-gami [行逢神] that roams around mountain paths and plateau mostly recorded in Western Japan ①. Encountering this entity is said to cause the victim (both human and animal) to suddenly experience extreme hunger and exhaustion which may at times lead to the subject's termination ②.

In Wakayama Prefecture, Hidarugami is said to the wraiths of people who died from starvation that frequently appear on the archaic paths of Kumano-kodō [熊野古道] (below) leading to the Grand Ise Shrine in Mie Prefecture, but the way to repel them is rather easy where possessed travellers may eat a single grain of rice or trace the Kanji character of rice (米) on the palm of their hand with their finger tip then lick it in order to get away from them ③.

While in Uda Dist. [宇陀郡] (Nara Prefecture), there were few check points on a path marked by venerative statues established in 1863 where Hidarugami are said to possess anyone who walks on it without carrying any food or on an empty stomach ④.

Though in most places such as Kōchi, Nagasaki, and Kagoshima Prefecture, there are deities called Shibaori-sama [柴折様] (like this Shibaori-jizō [柴折り地蔵] below within Mt. Yuzuruha [諭鶴羽山] in Hyōgo Prefecture) who guards entrances of mountain paths that protects travellers from Hidarugami if the travellers leave a branch from a thicket or green grass as votive offerings ⑤.

(sources):

1. "Nihon-wo-shiru-shōjiten" [日本を知る小事典] (1980) by Tatehiko Ōshima [大島 建彦] (1932-present)

2. "Yōkai-jiten" [妖怪事典] (2000) by Kenji Murakami [村上 健司] (1968-present)

3. "Minkan-denshō: Kumanoro-no-genjō" [民間伝承: 熊野路の現状 (一)] (1948) by Hiroji Naoe [直江 廣治] (1917-1994)

4. "Minzoku: Hidarugami-no-koto" [民族: ひだる神のこと] (1925) by Kunio Yanagita [柳田 国男] (1875-1962)

5. "Nihon-no-yōkaihyakka 1..." [日本の妖怪百科 1 山の妖怪 絵と写真でもののけの世界をさぐる] (2000) by Hiromi Iwai [岩井 宏實] (1932-2016)

[osakini]

Last time, you learned how to express change in Japanese, e.g. “先生になる: I will become a teacher,” and “子供を先生にする: I will make my child a teacher”. Furthermore, there may be times when you want to say “I can become a teacher.” In this lesson, you will learn how to express potential.

[osakini]

A writer only begins a book. A reader finishes it.

作家は本を始めるだけである。読者が本を終わらせる。

ー サミュエル・ジョンソン

[osakini]

You will start learning Japanese tenses and aspects. In the previous sections, we didn’t mention them, and generally used future tense. By understanding the usages of tenses and aspects, you will be able to communicate with people more accurately. Here, you will learn both present and future tense.

[osakini]

Today’s featured word is しも（shimo） which means frost. Is it cold enough for frost where you live?

[osakini]

In the last two lessons you learned the Japanese counting system in terms of pronunciation and counters. Although it will take some time to memorize all of them, we think that you have the basic knowledge now. In this lesson, let’s learn how to use numerals in a sentence.

[osakini]

Today’s featured word is 落葉（Rakuyou） which means “fallen leaves”. It’s a Kanji combination of “to fall” and “leaves”. It usually refers to colourful leaves falling down in late autumn. Are the leaves starting to change colour or already falling down where you live?

[osakini]

Today’s featured word is 懐かしい（なつかしい・Natsukashii） which is an adjective describing something as nostalgic, fondly-remembered and maybe currently missed.Is there anything, e.g. a memory or object, that is なつかしい for you? I always feel this way when I see the Manga I read as a kid!

[osakini]

勉強とは自分の無知を徐々に発見していくことである

ー ウィル・デュラント

[osakini]

Would you happen to know if there's other types of job opportunities for someone who wants to work in Japan but has no interest in teaching yet isn't fluent in Japanese for any Japanese-speaking jobs?

Before I get into it, how many of you are interested in this kind of info such as moving to Japan, visas, job searches, etc? I was thinking of doing a podcast for this kind of thing since I clearly like talking so much. Drop me an ask! And I've done a lot of research on visas so feel free to ask me about more details.

This response is kind of for everyone so there might be some info that doesn't really apply to you, anon. I'm assuming you're from the US or for some other reason can't get a working holiday visa in Japan, in which case, I sympathize.

Unfortunately there's nothing I can tell you that you're gonna like. If you're searching from overseas, you'll have to be extremely, extremely lucky to find a non-teaching job that will hire you from outside Japan. Of course, if you have experience in something like programming or engineering, that might be a different story--search in your own field if you have one (I'll link some job search sites I've used below but I can't help too much with info for specific fields). The trick is still going to be getting hired from overseas--sponsoring a visa for a foreign worker is a hassle for a company, and, if the rumors I've heard are to be believed, quite expensive. The good news is that you only have to get sponsored once. After that, you can renew or change jobs much more easily, even if your new job is in a different visa category.

If you're like I was a few years ago and you aren't living in Japan and don't have experience in a highly sought-after field and you don't have another road to a visa (such as a Japanese grandparent), here are the best two options.

Option one

suck it up and get an English teaching job, since it's the only industry I know of that's likely to sponsor your visa. Once you get hired, start looking for another job and leave asap. Like ASAP. Here are some options if you're desperate enough to try teaching:

the JET programme--first just because it's widely known. The application process is lengthy and a huge pain in the ass, as well as quite competitive, and working conditions are supposedly hit or miss but I've heard far more less-than-favorable stories.

Nova--the company I worked for for a year. Offered me a job within a week of the interview with very little teaching experience. Unquestionably the worst job I have ever and will ever have. Unfortunately other private eikaiwa are not rumored to be much better.

Gaba--slightly longer interview process and I guess a bit more competitive since I applied twice, once with no experience and from outside Japan, once with 1 year experience and from inside Japan, and was not offered a job either time. However they will hire English teachers who are not necessarily native speakers, for anyone out there who this might apply to.

Interac, ECC, Berlitz, etc., there's tons of other big eikaiwas.

option two

get a student visa, which obviously requires a bit of money. I imagine a university student visa is not likely to be in your plan, anon, but you can also get the other category which includes technical schools and language schools. If you're interested in learning Japanese, try gogonihon--they have a variety of Japnese schools and if I remember correctly will give you some amount of support. If you're interested in some other vocational school, you might have to do it on your own. You can legally search for a job once you're in japan with a student visa. You can also work most part-time jobs with a student visa as long as you apply for the permit at the airport when you land in Japan (applying later is still possible but takes a few weeks). I would highly recommend a hotel job or something else that might be able to sponsor a visa--I know a person or two that was offered a full-time job after working at a hotel part time for a while, but idk how common it is.

If you do go one of the two above routes, the best industry to get a job in from within Japan without much Japanese, and assuming no other marketable experience (in my opinion), is tourism, specifically hotels and guesthouses.

Some sites I used when job searching:

Gaijinpot--well-known, has support for jobs as well as apartments and such. Some jobs may offer visa sponsorship.

Yolojapan--another fairly well-known one

indeed--tons of jobs but a bit of a tossup. Includes all jobs so you'll have to search for ones that don't require Japanese.

gogonihon--another kind of catch-all service that will help with housing as well. I didn't personally use them for job searching but I attended a language school through them.

jobsinjapan--don't remember much about them but I did search on there occasionally

nipponshigoto--the website seemed to have changed hands halfway through my job search so I don't know if this is still true, but they had the most non-English-teaching options that I can remember. I ended up getting my current travel agency job through them.

Keep in mind

a job visa requires a 4-year degree (or equivalent?) That's a requirement for the visa, not the job. You might not be totally out of luck if you don't have a 4-year degree though, so just do some research.

a non-university student visa is good for two years total, in your whole lifetime. Not two years at a time, two years, ever. Don't dilly-dally if you go this route!

finally, a warning

I doubt I'm the first person to tell you how difficult it is to move to Japan, but it's really something you need to keep in mind. There's a lot of processes and laws you have to know about that no one is going to help you with--not even the company that hired you or the school you're enrolled in. Not even the services that claim they will. These processes and laws are not just when you first move to Japan, but will haunt you as long as you live here. Staff at the immigration office don't even seem to speak much english, let alone local city and tax offices. Really think about why you want to live in Japan and make sure you aren't going to regret it when you're sitting outside the tax office in tears because you've explained your situation six times over two visits, both of which you had to take time off work for, but they still can't help you and can't even point you in the right direction but if you don't figure it out you're in trouble. Yes, that did happen to me and I speak N2 level Japanese (if your eikaiwa has a direct hire contract and an independent contractor contract like nova does, do NOT pick the Independent one even if you'll get paid more, please I'm begging you, I promise it is not worth it and also its legality is questionable.) I cannot stress enough how much you need to really think about this.

If none of these options appeals to you

don't give up! These are only the options that I personally know of. Also, Japan has a population time bomb on their hands, so they're more motivated to let in foreigners so that the country doesn't just collapse when they don't have any young people left. it's gotten easier in recent years to get certain types of visa and it's not unlikely that it will continue to get easier in the future.

Good luck anon! Tell me how it goes and feel free to ask me any more questions!! I didn't go through moving to Japan to not help others have an easier time than I did!

[osakini]

Words I definitely never use

ほろ酔い（ほろよい）tipsy, slightly drunk

酔っている（よっている）drunk (broad meaning in terms of level and cause of intoxication)

酔っ払っている（よっぱらっている）drunk (specifically for alcohol and specifically a pretty high level of intoxication)

泥酔（でいすい）super drunk

[osakini]

Another useful phrase

並んでいますか?・ならんでいますか？

Are you in line?

While there is a word for "line" as in "queue" (行列・ぎょうれつ), 並ぶ is more commonly used for "get in line," "wait in line," "form a line," etc.

[osakini]

[osakini]

[osakini]

[osakini]