Uchikura & Co Blog
2026-06-17
Why Is 大和 Read as “Yamato”? I was recently asked why the Japanese characters 大和 are read as Yamato. At first glance, it seems strange. The character 大 is usually read as dai or ō, meaning “great,” an...
2026-06-16
The Man Behind Japan’s 10,000 Yen Bill — Who Is He? If you visit Japan today, you may notice a new face on the 10,000 yen banknote. The man featured on the bill is Eiichi Shibusawa (渋沢栄一), often call...
2026-06-16
Lost in Translation: A Permanent ChoiceMany years ago, I saw a woman with the Japanese characters 「無料」 tattooed across her lower back. PS: This is an AI generated image. https://en.bloguru.com/ken...
2026-06-16
The Names of Yamato, Musashi, and Shinano — What Do They Mean? The three great warships of the Yamato-class carried names that came from ancient provinces of Japan. In the Imperial Japanese Navy, b...
2026-06-16
A Peaceful View of Tokyo: Sumida River and the Sky Tree Yesterday, on my way to a business appointment in Tokyo, I came across this beautiful view and could not resist taking a picture. It is a sce...
2026-06-16
A Reminder That We Live in Earthquake Country Around 7:50 this evening, an earthquake measuring around magnitude 5.9 was reported near Tokyo. I was staying in Tokyo and experienced the shaking firs...
2026-06-16
PM Takaichi’s Strengths and the Challenges Ahead Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has shown strong leadership in building relationships with other world leaders and maintaining a firm posture against ...
2026-06-15
Mogami-Class Frigates: Japan’s Toyota Strategy for Defense Japan’s Mogami-class frigate export is more than an arms sale. It may become Japan’s first major defense export model: build a world-class...
2026-06-15
Suidobashi: Where Water Engineering Meets the Railway Age Most visitors know Suidobashi as the station for Tokyo Dome, but its name and structure tell two different stories about Tokyo's developmen...
2026-06-14
Iki and Yabo: Two Opposite Ways of Living in Japan When people think of traditional Japanese values, words like samurai, zen, or wa (harmony) often come to mind. But in old Edo (modern-day Tokyo), ...