japanese essay about school

学校 ( = gakkou) : School related Japanese

「何か、文句ありますか？」

=Nanka (or Nanika) monku arimasu ka?

=  “Any objection?” 

I think many of you have taken Japanese or other language classes. Perhaps some of you have had experiences teaching English or other languages in Japan.

But I, Maggie-sensei, am your teacher here!! So please respect me!

So today we’ll learn about school related Japanese vocabulary.

<School>

• 学校   (  = gakkou) school

• 語学学校  ( = gogaku gakkou) language school

cf. 英会話スクール  ( = eikaiwa sukuuru) English school

• 専門学校  ( = senmon gakkou) professional training/ career college

Ex. 私は、語学学校に通っています。

= Watashi wa gogaku gakkou ni kayotte imasu.

=  I go to a language school.

• 保育園   ( = hoikuen) nursery school

• 幼稚園   ( = youchien) kindergarten

• 小学校   ( = shougakkou) elementary school

• 中学校  ( = chuugakkou) junior high school

• 高校  ( = koukou) high school

• 大学   ( = daigaku) university

• 短期大学  ( = tanki daigaku) junior colldege, 2 year colldege

→ short form 短大  ( = tandai)

• 4年制大学  ( = yonensei daigaku) 4 year colldege, university

• 大学院   ( = daigakuin) graduate school

<Degrees>

• 学位   ( = gakui) diploma

• 学士   ( = gakushi) bachelor

• 学士 号  ( = gakushi gou) bachelor degree

• 修士  ( = shuushi) master

• 修士 号   ( = shuushi gou) master degree

• 修士 号を取る   ( = shuushi gou wo toru.) to get a master degree

• 博士 号   ( = hakase gou) Doctor of Philosophy degree

義務教育  ( = gimu kyouiku) compulsory education :

→• 6 years in elementary school (from age 6 to 12 years)

→• 3 years in junior high school (from age 13 to 15 years)

• 3 years in high school (from age 16 to 18)

• 2 years in junior college　or

• 4 years in university

• 予備校  ( = yobikou) cram school for university

• 塾  ( = juku)（ 学習塾   =gakushuu juku） cram school

• 公立  ( = kouritsu) public

Ex . 公 立高校   ( = kouritsu koukou) public high school

• 私立  ( = shiritsu/watakushiritsu) private

• 男女共学   ( = danjo kyougaku) co-education or 共学 ( = kyougaku)

• 男子校 ( = danshikou) boy’s school

•  女子校 ( = joshikou) girl’s school

• 中高一貫教育  ( = chuukou ikkan kyouiku) unified school programs（continuous study from junior high school to high school)

• 教育   ( = kyoiku) education

• 語学教育   ( = gogaku kyouiku) language education

• 幼児教育   ( = youji kyouiku) child education

<Teacher>

• 先生 ( = sensei)   teacher

Note 1): We always address teachers with their name +   先生.

Ex . マギー先生  ( = Maggie sensei) They never call teacher with さん （ =  san） like マギーさん ( = Maggie san) “Miss Maggie” )

Also some other occupations could be called 先生   ( = sensei) such as doctors, lawyers, politicians,novelists and artists, etc.

Note 2): If you are a techer, you are not supposed to address yourself to others ” 先生” because the word sensei has feeling of respect and we don’t use honorific expression for yourself.　So you say or you write in a document 教師  ( = kyoushi) instead of 先生 for your occupation . But we do hear in daily conversation people addressing yourself 先生.

(Ex. If you deal with children, you call yourself, your name+ 先生 ）

• 担任  ( = tannin) teacher in charge/homeroom teacher

←担任の先生  ( = tannin no sensei) homeroom teacher

• 教授   ( = kyouju) professor

• 助教授   ( = jokyouju) associate (assistant) professor

• 講師  ( = koushi) an instructor

• 校長（先生）  ( = kouchou (sensei))  principal

• 教頭（先生） (=kyoutou (sensei)) vice principal

• 学長   ( = gakuchou) president of the university

• 学部長   ( = gakubuchou) dean

<Students>

• 学生   ( = gakusei) student

• 生徒  ( = seito) student

• 小学生  ( = shougaku sei) elementary school student

• 中学生    ( = chuugaku sei) junior high school studen t

• 高校生   ( = koukou sei) high school student

• 大学生  ( = daigaku sei) university student

• 大学院生  ( = daigakuin sei) graduate school student

• 予備校生 ( = yobikou sei) preparatory school student

• 塾生 ( = juku sei) cram school student

• １年生 ( = ichi nen sei) first year grade, first-year student, freshman

• ２年生  ( = ni nen sei) second grader, second-year student, sophomore

Ex. 「彼は高校２年生です。」

 = kare wa koukou ni nen sei desu.

=   “He is a second-grader in high school.”

• ３年生   ( = san nen sei) third grader, third-year student, junior

• ４年生   ( = yo nen sei) fourth grader, fourth-year student, senior

• 留年  ( = ryuunen) to repeat a year (the same grade)

• 留年する  ( = ryuunen suru)

• 浪人生  ( = rounin sei) a student who failed an entrance examination for university

• 浪人  ( = rounin) originally a samurai who doesn’t have their masters and wander around, now refers to students between high school and university — who are studying in order to pass university exams.

Ex. 彼の息子は浪人している。 ( = kare no musuko wa rounin shiteiru.)

• 一浪 ( = ichi rou) first year after you failed 、 ２浪  ( = ni rou) 2nd years after you failed..

Ex. 一浪する。 ( =  ich rou suru.)

• クラスメート ( = kurasu meeto) classmate

• 同級生 ( = doukyuu sei) classmate

• 先輩  ( = senpai) senior, It refers to an older grade student

• 後輩   ( = kouhai) junior It refers to an younger grade student

Cultural note: Traditionally they have to show respect to older people in Japan. They have built this senpai-kouhai (superior-inferior, older-younger) relations in schools, companies and society in Japan. Sometimes it is very strict especially in sports clubs in schools. Kouhai (juniors) have to obey their senpai, seniors.

<To enter or graduate from a school>

• 入学  ( = nyuugaku) entrance、enter a school

• 卒業  ( = sotsugyou) graduate

Ex. マギーは「ワンワン小学校」をやっと卒業した。

= Maggie wa “Wanwan shougakkou” wo yatto sotsugyou shita

=  “Maggie finally graduated “ bowwow elementary school.”

• 入学式  ( = nyuugaku shiki) entrance ceremony

• 卒業式  ( = sotsugyou shiki) graduation ceremony

Culture note : In Japan, they sing as graduation songs, 「蛍の光」 ( = Hotaru no hikari) (“Auld Lang Syne”,a Scottish folk song) or 「仰げば尊し 」 ( = Aogeba toutoshi, which shows gratitude and respect to your teachers.) in graduation ceremonies. They also play 「蛍の光」 ( = Hotaru no hikari) (“Auld Lang Syne” ) when they close department stores.

• 大学卒  ( = daigaku sotsu) college graduate

• 高卒   ( = kousotsu) high school graduate

= Kanojo wa kousotsu da.

=   She is high school graduate.

• 中卒    ( = chuusotsu)   junior-high graduate • 首席   ( = shuseki)   summa cum laude、top of the class

Ex. 首席で卒業する 

 = shuseki de sotsugyou suru.

=  to graduate summa cum laude

Ex. 彼は〜大学を優秀な成績で卒業しました。

=Kare wa ~ daigaku wo yuushuu na seiseki de sotsugyou shimashita.

=  He graduated ~ University with excellent grades.

<Classroom>

• 教室   ( = kyoushitsu) classroom

• 黒板   ( = kokuban) black board

• ホワイトボード   ( = howaito boodo) white board

• 机   ( = tsukue) desk

• 椅子   ( = isu) chair

• ロッカー   ( = rokkaa) locker

• クラス  ( = kurasu) class

• レッスン  ( = ressun) lesson

<Subjects>

• 科目  （ = kamoku) <Subjects>

• 国語  ( = kokugo) Japanese study

• 算数  ( = sansuu) arithmetic

• 数学   ( = suugaku) math

• 理科  ( = rika) science

• 化学   ( = kagaku) chemistry

• 科学  ( = kagaku) science

• 社会科   ( = shakaika) social studies

• 体育  ( = taiiku) gymnastics

<University>

• ゼミ  ( = zemi)　 seminar (Usually you have to make a group under a professor to study or research something in University.

• 専攻  ( = senkou) major

Ex. 「専攻は何ですか？」

= Senkou wa nan desu ka?

=  “What is your major?”

• 学部   ( = gakubu) faculty, department

Ex. 文学部   ( = bungakubu) faculty of letters

Ex. 医学部   ( = igakubu) faculty of medicine

Ex. 法学部  ( = hougakubu) faculty of law

Ex. 経営部  ( = keieigakubu) faculty of business administration

• 文系   ( = bunkei) humanities

• 理系 ( = rikei) science course

= Kare wa rikei da

=   He is in the science ( and engineering) majors

<School events>

• 遠足   ( = ensoku) excursion

• 修学旅行  ( = shuugaku ryokou) school trip

• 運動会  ( = undoukai) athletics meets, sports festival

• 体育祭   ( = taiku sai) athletics meets, sports festival

• 学芸会   ( = gakugeikai) school play

• 文化祭  ( = bunka sai) cultural festival

• 大学祭  ( = daigaku sai)（ 学祭  =gakusai） school festivals in university

• 研修旅行  ( = kenshuu ryokou) study/research tour

• 父兄参観日  ( = fukei sankan bi) the day when parents can observe the class.

• 給食  ( = kyuushoku) school lunch (Mainly for elementary school.)

• 学食 ( = gakushoku) school cafeteria

In Japanese schools (besides universities and cram schools), usually students stand up, bow and sit down beginning of the class all together for . A student on a daily duty is called 日直  ( = nicchoku) and he/she say the followings:

• 「起立 」 ( = kiritsu) “All rise!”

• 「 礼 」 (  =rei) “Bow!”

• 「 着席 」 ( = chakuseki) “Sit down!”

Ex. 「 着席して下さい。 」

= Chakuseki shite kudasai.-

=   “Please sit down!”

• 放課  ( = houka) break time

• 放課後  ( = houka go) after school

• 職員室  ( = shokuin shitsu) teachers’ room

• チャイム   ( = chaimu) bell

Ex. チャイムが鳴る  ( = chaimu) ring the bell

(In many Japanese schools, when class starts or ends, you hear the bell.)

<Grades>

• 成績   ( = seiseki) grades

Ex. よい成績を取る  ( = yoi seiseki wo toru) to get a good grade

Ex. 成績が悪い   ( = seiseki ga warui) bad grade

• オール５  ( = ooru go) A+

(Note: 5 is the best grade in Japanese elementary s c hool. )

• A+ = エープラ ( = ei purasu or ei pura)

<Exams>

 • 試験  ( = shiken) e xams

• テスト   ( = tesuto) test

• 期末テスト   ( = kimatsu tesuto) end-of-term exam

• 中間テスト   ( = chuukan tesuto)　 mid-term exam

• 小テスト   ( = shou tesuto) quiz

• 抜き打ちテスト   ( = nukiuchi tesuto) pop quiz

• 追試   ( = tsuishi) make-up exam

• 入学試験   ( = nyuugaku shiken)（ 入試  = nyuushi short form ）

• 卒業試験   ( = sotugyou shiken) graduation exam

• 受験する   ( = juken suru) to take an (entrance) exam.

• 受験勉強   ( = juken benkyou) studying for entrance exam.

• 受験戦争   ( = juken sensou) entrance exam war、 race

• 受験 地獄 ( = juken zikoku) examination hell

:jjj: Cultural note:

The competicion for entrance exams has been very severe in Japan. If you get in a good high school, there is more chance to get in a good university and get a good job in future. It has spreaded to even preschool ages. 「お受験」 ( =ojuken) is a word for those children who are forced to take an entrance exams for a good elementary school. There is a special school for those lower aged children to pass the exam and they teach social manners and specific knowledges to get in a good elementary schools.

• 合格  ( = goukaku) to pass (the exam)

• 合格する   ( = goukaku suru) to pass (the exam)

• 受かる   ( = ukaru)　 to pass

• 有名高校に受かった。  ( = Yuumei koukou ni ukatta.) “I have passed a famous high school.”

Also パスする ( = pasu suru) to pass

• 試験にパスする   ( = Shiken ni pasu suru.) to pass the exam.

• 不合格  ( = fugoukaku) to fail

• 落ちる   ( = ochiru) to fail

Ex. 試験に落ちる   ( = shiken ni ochiru) to fail the exam.

• 単位   ( = tan-i) credit

Ex.  単位を取る   ( = tan-i wo toru) to get courses credit

Ex.  単位が足らない  ( = tan-i ga tarinai) not earn sufficient credits

Ex.  単位を落とす  ( =  tan-i wo otosu) to fail a class

<Assignment>

• レポート   ( = repooto) report 

• 作文   ( = sakubun) composition

• 論文   ( = ronbun) thesis

• 卒業論文   ( = sotsugyou ronbun) graduation thesis

• 宿題   ( = shukudai) homework

• 予習   ( = yoshuu) prep

• 復習   ( = fukushuu) review

• 研究  ( = kenkyuu)　 study, research

• 研究する   ( = kenkyuu suru) to study, to research

• リサーチ   ( = resaachi) research

<Attendance>

• 出席する   ( = shusseki suru) to attend 

• 欠席する   ( = kesseki suru) to be absent

• ずる休み   ( = zuru yasumi) play hooky

• 「さあ、今日のレッスンを始めましょう。」

=”Saa, kyou no ressun wo hajimemashou.”

= “OK, let’s start today’s lesson”

• 「それでは出席を取ります。」

=”Soredewa shusseki wo torimasu.

= “OK, I’ll have a roll call.”

• 「〜さんは今日は欠席ですか？」

=~san wa kyou wa kesseki desu ka?

= Oyasumi desu ka?

=  Is ~ absent today?”

• 「プリントを配ります。」

= Purinto wo kubari masu.

= “I’ll pass out the handouts!”

• 「繰り返して言って下さい。」

= Kurikaeshite itte kudasai.

= “Please repeat!”

• 「後について言って下さい 。 」

= Ato ni tsuite itte kudasai.

= “Repeat after me!”

• 「〜は日本語（〜語）で何と言いますか？」

= ~ wa nihongo (~ go) de nanto iimasu ka?

= “How do you say ~ in Japanese (other language)?”

~ 語 ( = ~go) language

フランス 語   ( = furansu go ) French 、 スペイン 語   ( = supein go ) Spanish 、 英 語   ( = ei go ) English 、 中国 語   ( = chuugoku go ) Chinese 、 韓国 語 ( = kankoku go ) Korean 、 オランダ 語  =oranda go ) Dutch 、 ドイツ 語 ( = doitsu go ) German

• 「合っています。」

= Atte imasu.

= “It’s correct.”

• 「間違っています。」

= Machigatte imasu.

= “It’s not correct.”

= Mite kudasai.

= ”Please look!”

• 「聞いて下さい。」

= Kiite kudasai.

= “Please listen!”

• 「言って下さい。」

= Itte kudasai.

= “Please say/speak”

• 「読んで下さい。」

= Yonde kudasai.

= “Please read!”

• 「しっかり勉強してきて下さい。」

= Shikkari benkyou shitekite kudasai.

= “Please study hard!”

• 「もう少し大きな声で言って下さい。」

= Mou sukoshi ookina koe de itte kudasai.

= “Please speak a bit louder.”

• 「はっきり発音して下さい。」

= Hakkiri hatsuon shite kudasai.”

= “Please pronounce clearly.” “Please enunciate!”

• 「必ず復習をして来て下さい。」

= Kanarazu fukushuu wo shitekite kudasai.

= “Please be sure to review!”

• 「宿題は３４ページです。/３４ページをやって来て下さい。」

= Shukudai wa sanjuu yon peiji wo yatte kite kudasai.

= Please study p.34 for homework.”

• 「何か質問はありますか？」（ありませんか？」）

= Nani ka shitsumon wa arimasuka?) (arimasenka?)

= “Do you have any questions?”

• 「先週のところで何か質問はありませんか？」

= Senshuu no tokoro de nanika shitsumon wa arimasenka?)

= “Do you have any questions about last week class?”

• 「これで終わります。」

= Kore de owari masu.)

= “Let’s finish here.”

:w: Useful phrases for students:

• 遅刻  ( = chikoku) to be late

Ex. 「遅刻してすみません。」

= Chikoku shite sumimasen.

=　 “I am sorry I am late.”

• 早退 (=soutai) to leave early

Ex. 「今日は、早退させて下さい。」

= “Kyou wa soutai sasete kudasai.

= “Please let me leave early today.”

• 「綴り（スペル）が違っています。」

= Tsuzuri (or superu) ga chigatte imasu.

= “The spelling is wrong.”

• 「綴り（スペル）を教えて下さい。」

= Tsuzuri (or superu) wo oshiete kudasai.)

= “Please tell me how to spell ~.”

• 「綴り（スペル）はどう書けばいいですか？」

= Tsuzuri (or superu) wa dou kakeba ii desu ka?

= “How do you spell ~?”

• 「〜はどういう意味ですか？」

= ~ wa douiu imi desu ka?

= 〜はどういう意味か、教えて頂けますでしょうか？ more polite

= ~ wa douiu imi ka oshiete itadakemasu de shouka?

= “What does ~ mean?” (“Could you tell me the meaning of ~, please?”)

• 「〜の意味を教えて下さい。」

= ~ no imi wo oshiete kudasai.

= 〜の意味を教えて頂けますでしょうか? more polite

= ~no imi wo oshiete itadakemasu de shouka?

“Please give me the meaning of ~. ” (“Could you~ tell me the meaning of ~, please?”)

• 「〜について教えて下さい。」

= ~ni tsuite oshiete kudasai.

•〜について教えて頂けますでしょうか？） more polite

= ~ni tsuite oshiete itadakemasu deshouka?

=  “Please teach me about ~” (“Could you~”)

• 「今週の宿題は何ですか？」

= Konshuu no shukudai wa nan desu ka?

= “What is this week homework?”

• 「どこからどこまでが宿題でしょうか？ 」

= Dokokara dokomade ga shukudai de shou ka?

= “From where to where is our homework? ” • 「すみません。宿題を忘れました。」

= Sumimasen. Shukudai wo wasure mashita.

= “Excuse me. I forgot my homework.”

• 「ノートを忘れました。」

= Nouto wo wasure mashita.

= “I left /forgot my note book”

• 「先生、質問があります。」

= Sensei, shitsumon ga arimasu

= “Mr. /Ms. ~, I have a question! “

• 「質問してもいいですか？」

= Shitumon shitemo iidesu ka?

= “Can I ask you a question? “

• 「質問してもよろしいでしょうか？」

= Shitsumon shitemo yoroshii deshou ka?

= “May I ask you a question?”

• 「発音をもう一度教えて下さい。」

= Hatsuon wo mou ichido oshiete kudasai.

= “Please teach me/us the pronunciation again.”

• 「〜の意味がよくわかりません。」

= ~ no imi ga wakarimasen.

= “I don’t understand the meaning of ~ “

• 「すみません。全くわかりません。 もう一度教えて頂けますか？」

= Sumimasen,. Mattaku wakarimasen. Mou ichido oshiete itadakemasu ka?

=  ”Excuse me. I don’t understand at all. Could you teach me again?”

:maggie-small: says in the picture above:

「何か 文句 ありますか？ 」

= Nanka (or Nanika) monku arimasu ka?

=   “Any objection?” “Any complaints?” ” Do you have something to say?”

文句  (  = monku) complaints

Ex. 文句がある。 （ =Monku ga aru.) I have a bone to pick.

Ex. 彼女はいつも 文句ばかり言っている。

 = Kanojo wa itsumo monku bakari it te iru.

=  She is always complaining (bitching).

それでは今日のレッスンはこれで終わります。何か質問はありませんか？

えっ？「マギー先生は何でそんなに美しいのですか 」 って？それは自分でもわかりません。自然にこうなんです。

= Soredewa kyou no ressun wa kore de owarimasu. Nanika shitsumon wa arimasen ka?

Eh? Maggie sensei wa nande sonnani utsukushii no desu ka tte? Sore wa jibun demo wakarimasen. Shizen ni kou nan desu.

= OK, we will finish today’s lesson now. Any questions? What? How come Maggie-sensei is so beautiful? Well, I don’t know the answer myself. That’s the way I am….

 !heart3! Thank you for being my Patreon. 

I REALLY appreciate your support!  サポートありがとう！ !CHECKHEART! 

My supporters can access an audio file for this lesson on my Pateron page and some mini lessons and quiz.

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Maggie-先生、こんにちは。

I am trying to translate the following: “Due to absences in our student’s group (ゼミ), I could not deliver our research paper earlier.”

My try: 『同級生のゼミ欠勤に付、直ぐに研究論文を終えることができませんでした。』

I have problems with: “some absences in our student’s group”. Is it colloquial to say it so: 『同級生のゼミ欠勤に付』, in Japanese? :-s

I didn’t mention “our” in Japanese, as it is obivious that I am talking about our study group. ;-)

Thank you so much | どうもありがとうございます m(_ _)m

* 付き is usually used in written form and it is too formal. I would use ために・ので

* 欠勤 is for work. 欠席 is for missing the classes.

* deliver → You mean “to submit”? If so, ⇨提出

*some absences in our student’s group You wanted to say a few students were absent? 同級生 is classmate. ゼミ生 a student who belonged to a seminar but you belong to the same seminar, you can say for example

ゼミで欠席者*が数名いた為(or ので) 、研究論文を提出するのに時間がかかってしまいました。 (or 欠席する人が） If you couldn’t make it time to the fixed date 研究論文を（期日までに）終えることができませんでした。

Hello, I was wondering how do you say this in Japanese. ‘I go to school at 9 o’clock’.

You say , ９時に学校にいきます。( くじにがっこうにいきます= Kuji ni gakkou ni ikimasu.)

Hello ~ It’s the first time I write a comment, and want to say that I really love your work and blog. ♡ Also I want to ask if you can do one post about 数学, how to pronounce it because so far I didn’t find much info. About add, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions and decimal point. Thank you so much! Take care.

Hello Ana, 数学=すうがく=suugaku I made a mini lesson on Twitter/Facebook or Pateron but I haven’t posted it here. Since I can’t give you a link here (I don’t remember when I posted..) here is the basic vocabulary.

＊ 計算 = けいさん = keisan = calculation * 足し算 = たしざん = tashizan = addition → 1 + 2 = 3 = 1 足す 2 は、3 = いちたすには、さん = ichi tasu ni wa san  * 引き算 = ひきざん = hikizan = subtraction → 4 – 3 = 1 = 4 引く 3 は、1 = よんひくさんは、いち = yon hiku san wa ichi * 割り算 = わりざん= warizan = division  → 6 ÷ 2 = 3 = 6 割る 2 は、3 = ろくわるには、さん = roku waru ni wa san * 掛け算 = かけざん = kakezan = multiplication  → 2 x 3 = 6 = 2 掛ける 3 は、6 = にかけるさんは、ろく = ni kakeru san wa roku 

** 分数=ぶんすう=bunsuu = fraction

Maggie 先生, When students walk into the 職員室, WHAT do they say? 1.) 失礼します 2.) 名前 & 何年ー何組 3.) something ???????? 先生の名前お願いします.

Everyday, week after week, I hear the same thing but I canNOT understand the 3rd sentence *cry* I’ve asked my Japanese friends and they have NO idea what I’m talking about or can’t remember it…. I’ve heard this thousands of times but still cannot hear it…..

To me, it sounds like… “だれ-だれ先生, いいよっがてきました”？ But those are not words hahahaha…. I already know: “だれ-だれ先生,いらっしゃいますか?” but they are saying something different….

Please help! Thank you so much <3

So they are not saying, (name)先生いらっしゃいますか？ huh?

Guessing from the few words that you heard, I will give you two possibilities.

1) 〜先生に用があってきました。 = 〜Sensei ni you ga atte kimashita. (I am here to talk to ~ sensei.) 用がある I have things to talk to ~

If not 1) 2) ~~先生に呼ばれてきました。 = ~ Sensei ni yobarete kimashita. = ~ Sensei told me to come here.)　 呼ばれて　is a passive form of 呼ぶ （よぶ）to call

I assume they are saying 1). Listen to them carefully again and let me know.

マギー先生, *cry*ありがとうございました！D; You’re absolutely right! “sensei ni you ga atte kimashita” <– this must be what they're saying! I listened to them SUPER closely today at school (haha) And I could hear "~YOU GA atte kimashita"this time!!!

It makes total sense now! :D After all these years, the mystery is finally solved THANKS TO YOU! I can't thank you enough D,x You're the BEST! お世話になります！ <3 ~Ali

Oh great!!! Problem solved! Now you can use the word 用（よう） Ex. When someone asks you to do something together and you are busy,

すみません、その日はちょっと用があります。 = Sumimasen, sono hi wa chotto you ga arimasu. = Sorry. I already have plans that day.

Hi Maggie sensei!, please help me. How should I say this in japanese ” Igraduated in ~~university major in finance and pursue another units for teaching program ” arigatou gozaimasu sensei!

check my job hunting lesson. Click here

I don’t do the translation in the comment section but The basic pattern is university name 大学（department name 学部）卒業 (graduated) or university name 大学（department name 学部） 専攻:+ what you majored in 卒業 (graduated) * additional information in your case→pursue another units for teaching program　 Maybe the system is different but →Does that mean you have a teacher’s license?

We need another 18 units (if your not a 4 yr graduate of education) that covers all the major subjects of teaching for us to qualify in taking licensure exam in teacher. It is actually” certificate in teaching program”. Sumimasen sensei, im not good in english >.< Anyways, thank you very much for prompt response. You are an angel 😇 i'll check the link about job hunting . ありがとうございます😊😊😊

どういたしまして！　Good luck!! 🍀

Hi Maggie Sensei! I was wondering how you would say girl’s school, boy’s school and coeducational school.

Coeducation is as I wrote in the lesson 男女共学 = だんじょきょうがく= danjo kyougaku or simply 共学 = きょうがく = kyougaku = coeducation

I will add the following two. :) 女子校 = じょしこう = joshikou = girl’s school 男子校 = だんしこう = danshikou = boy’s school

Would you have an idea of how to say the subject name Drama? It is mainly acting, I think.

How about 演劇（えんげき）?

Hello Maggie-sensei! 質問があります！

How do I tell someone what subject(s) I studied in college? Specifically, I majored in Math Education (how to teach math effectively to young students).

subject is 課目 and major, 専攻（せんこう）

専攻はなんですか？ 数学教育を専攻していました。

Hi Maggie sensei, How do you Period 1, Period 2, Period 3, Period 4, Period 5, Period 6. ありがとう

1st period = 一時間目 = いちじかんめ = ichijikan me 2nd period = 二時間目 = にじかんめ = nijikan me

So number + 時間目= じかんめ = jikan me

Domo arigatogozaimashita. Oyasumi :)

Douitashimashite! :w:

Konichiwa Maggie Sensei!

I’ve actually been dying to know how you say things in Japanese like “Class 1-2” and “1st Years”, but I haven’t been able to find any reliable sources. Tasketekudasai!

Konnichiwa, Caity 1st year is as I wrote in the lesson, you say 一年生（いちねんせい） Class 1 is 一組（いちくみ）Class 2 二組(にくみ） Class 1 of first year is 一年一組 = 1年２組 = いちねんにくみ= ichinen nikumi

I didn’t notice you wrote how to say 1st year in the lesson (oops). Arigato Maggie Sensei!

You’re welcome, Caity! :)

Konichwa miss maggie,

I am a uni student in Brisbane and find there are quite a lot of Japanese students here as well, most of them speak English but some do not. Unfortunately when everyone is in the library studying for exams and tests sometimes people forget how loud they are being. It’s easy to remind the English speaking students though not so easy to remind the Japanese speaking students that don’t speak all that much English. I was wondering if you would be able to help me out with some very polite ways of asking if the girls would please be able to speak a little bit quieter because I am trying to study. I am asking you because I do not want to google translate something as it could come across as rude and I do not wish to be rude in any way! Any other helpful things to say in this situation would be much appreciated as well. Domo arigatou!

Hello, Holly

I am very sorry to hear the Japanese students are too loud. Please be able to speak a little bit quieter because I am trying to study. is 勉強したいのでもう少し静かにしていただけますか？ = Benkyou shitai node mou sukoshi shizuka ni shite itadakemasu ka?

You can add すみません ( = sumimasen) / ごめんなさい( = gomennasai) when you talk to them.

Hope they get quieter.

こんにちわ マギーせんせい。

ありがとう ございます！！

こんにちは！えりかーさま！

Konnichiwa Maggie sensei. Thnak you for the lesson. Just want to clarify the usage of gakusei and seito, since both refer to students; as well as sensei and kyoushi. Is kyoushi only used to refer to your profession as a teacher and not in any other situations ?

Domo arigatou !

OK, to be more precise, 学生 is used to refer to college students and 生徒 is for younger students who go to junior high and high school, private institutes. 教師 is usually for teachers who work for school besides 家庭教師(=katei kyoushi) home tutors. 先生 is a more general word for people who teach things.

Wow thanks Maggie sensei ! :-D years of confusion have finally ended :kanpai1: !DANCING!

乾杯！！ :kanpai1: !happyface!

Can’t use katakana on my keyboard for some reason, but this is /the/ Hari-chan.

I had a question. In my school, every year they group us up and have us make dance routines. There’s a girl who just transferred from Japan last year and, while I’ve introduced myself, she doesn’t really speak much (but nods or shakes her head) when I say something in Japanese, so I don’t really know how to address her…

Gah, I got off track! Anyway, I wanted to know how I could either explain the dances better (like, “quickly slide back” or “turn to the left”) or ask if she has any ideas. Le help?

It is very nice of you to try to communicate with the Japanese girl in Japanese. I bet she is very happy even if she is not that communicative. Eventually she will get used to the school and opens up more. Actually when you teach someone dancing, you just show the movement but here are some example sentences that you may use

見て！Look! こうして！Do like this こうやって動（うご）いて！Move like this わかる？ Do you understand? 右（みぎ）に動(うご）いて Move towards right 左（ひだり）に動いて Move towards left 右（みぎ）にターンして Turn right 左ひだりにターンして Turn left もっと早（はや）く Do it more quickly もっと遅(おそ）く Do it more slowly 手（て）をこうやって動かして = Move your hands like this

Thank you! I actually tried this– and I guess I said everything right, ’cause she got the steps. Again, arigatou!

You’re welcome! I’m happy to hear she got the steps! ダンスがんばってね！ :l:

Thanks for the lesson. I watched gokusen!! Great drama. If im not mistaken i didn’t watch the gokusen 1 but i watched the other 2 (kamenashi kazuya’s and haruma miura’s). I love gouksen 3 more :) Haven’t have the chance to watch gokusen the movie yet.

There are a lot of school related TV dramas but gokusen is one of most popular dramas. It is fun to learn Japanese through TV dramas!

O.O I am so glad that I found this web site! I’ve been wanting to learn Japanese for 10 years, (And to think, I’m only 17 xD) but there aren’t any places around my home to learn it, or any people who speak it… I have a feeling your site will help me out while I wait for college~

If you don’t mind, I do have one question Maggie sensei. How would a teacher say “listen!”? You know, like if some kid was trying to ask a question and kept rambling on (like me xD) and the sensei finally snapped and said “listen!” or “listen to me!”. I don’t know any command tense xD

I am so glad that you found this site,too! As for your questions, the verb “to listen” is 聞く=kiku. So the command form is 聞いて！=kiite or 聞いて下さい。(=kiite kudasai) (polite) and if it is very strong command 聞け=kike! (mainly used by male teachers) So “Listen to me!” is “先生(or 私）の言うことを聞きなさい！or 聞け!”(=Sensei (or watashi) no iu koto wo kikinasai or kike!) : Some Japanese teachers call themselves, “sensei” . we usually say 静かに(して）！(=Shizukani(shite))! or 静かにしなさい!(=Shizuka ni shinasai!)=Be quiet!/Shut up!= instead of saying Listen!.

FYI here are some rules how to make command form. *to do : する=suru→して!=shite→して下さい。=shite kudasai →(stronger command for men) しろ!=shiro! *to talk : 話す=hanasu→話して!=hanashite→話して下さい。=Hanashite kudasai →(stronger command for men) 話せ!=hanase! *to look : 見る=miru→見て!=mite→見て下さい。=mite kudasai →(stronger command for men) 見ろ!=miro! *to write : 書く=kaku→書いて!=kaite→書いて下さい。=kaite kudasai →(stronger command for men) 書け!=kake! and so on.

Please feel free to ask questions. Matane!

OMG. So much useful information. Got my 2 kids in school and I never know what’s going on. This will help me so much to translate their monthly schedules. 3 years in the dark. Cannot wait until August comes to put these words int use. ありがとう。 Laura T

@Hello, Laura! Thank you for visiting! I am glad to hear you can use this lesson! Please do not to hesitate to ask me any questions. また来てね！

well.. it’s like I thought!

I’m confused… in the romaji is it supposed to say ‘konshuu’? 今週の宿題は何ですか？」(=Kyou no shukudai wa nan desu ka?) “What is this week homework?”

thanks for posting these i really enjoy them, esp. when they supplement what i am learning in class, we just learned some of these words so its like extra review for me ^_^

kagami7-san

Sorry! That was a “うっかり” (=ukkari : careless) typo. (I must have changed the original sentence as always! ) I have fixed it now. Arigatou! I am thrilled to hear that you use this site for your additional study. 学校の勉強もがんばって下さいね！(=Gakkou no benkyou mo ganbatte kudasaine.) Good luck on your study at school as well!

ユカリさん、 うまく説明してくれてありがとう！

私は、たとえすべての、ユカリさんが使う言葉を知らないしても、いつもほとんどが分かっている。

本当にすばらしい先生ですよ！

正しくて自然の言葉にするのはとても難しいです。

だから、もっと頑張りますよ！

ほとんどが分かっている。->ほとんど分かります。is more natural. 自然の->自然な

後は完璧！(=Ato wa kanpeki!!) Peeeeerfect!!!すご〜〜〜い！！Mikaさん、やった〜！！ Mikaさんも素晴らしいですよ！このブログではどんなに日本語が上手い人の日本語も間違いがあると直しちゃいますが、また時間がある時にいろいろな表現を使って文章を作ってみて下さいね！またね〜！

遅くなくて答えて、すみません！

ただ、最近私は時間がありません。

またたくさん教えてくれて、ありがとう！

私はたくさん会得したと思います。

Maggie-senseiの次の授業を見て考えなければなりませんね。

使役動詞と受身動詞は難しいそうです。

いや、私も、本当に難しいことだと思います。

このテーマについてー冊本をよく読みましたが、まだ本当に会得しませんね。

Mikaさん、 お返事ありがとう！使役や受け身は難しいですよね。よかったらまた文章を書いてみて下さい。いつでも直します！ 今回は気になるところはちょっとだけでしたよ。 遅くなくて答えて、すみません！->返事が遅くなってごめんなさい。 あと、「会得」はかなり難しい言葉ですよね。 「たくさんのことを学びました」。or 「習いました。」の方が自然かもしれません。 それから「習得する」(=shuutoku suru）という言葉もありますよ。 長い文章が上手にかけますね。これからもがんばって下さい！

たくさん教えしてくれて、ありがとうございます！

彼が出ていた後で Hm, I wanted to say “after he’d left the school” but actually, that’s not very accurate, because after his suicide attempt he just didn’t go back there. 彼は、自殺を図った後で、学校に返りませんでした。 それから、皆は彼の自殺のことを忘れようとしていました。

新しく来た先生は。。。 sounds good, I mean, I wanted to say “substitute teacher” but I didn’t know the right word, but 新しく来た “who newly came” is really very close to it, but it’s also a better translation for “new teacher”. 。。。生徒達に忘れて欲しくありません。　 Yes, that’s what I meant!

始めのドラマに、ビューアーが、彼をいじめていた生徒達を知りませんね。 終わりに、ドラマを見ていった後で、知ることにあります。 また、あの先生はいろいろ、おかしいことをするね。 だから、見ることは本当に楽しいです。 そうして、ワクワクさせます。

ところで、インターネットでは「青い鳥」を見ることができるのです。

はい、頑張り通します！ After all, one day I want to be fluent in Japanese \(^_^)/

Mikaさん いえいえ、どういたしまして。コメントの返事も読んでくれてありがとう。 a new teacher is also 新任の先生(=shinnin no sensei)

ついでだからこちらも勉強しましょう！

始めのドラマに、ビューアーが、彼をいじめていた生徒達を知りませんね。 ->ドラマの始めに視聴者(or 見ている人は）はどの生徒達が彼をいじめていたか知りません。 終わりに、ドラマを見ていった後で、知ることにあります。 ->ドラマを見ていくと最後に（誰がいじめたか）知ることになります。 また、あの先生はいろいろ、おかしいことをするね。 ->またその先生はいろいろ（な）おかしいことをします。 だから、見ることは本当に楽しいです。 ->だから、見ていて本当に楽しいです。 そうして、ワクワクさせます。->そしてワクワクします。

ところで、インターネットでは「青い鳥」を見ることができるのです。->〜見ることができます。

もうfluentだと思いますよ〜！

教えてくれて、ありがとう！

そう、私は、法学部の学生です

「青い鳥」は学校のいじめのドラマです。 一人学生が自殺を図りました。 彼が出ていた後で、学校にみんなさんは忘れようします。 しかし、新しい先生は忘れて欲しくないです。 I don’t know how to sum it up better, it’s a very recent drama movie with Abe Hiroshi and Hongo Kanata. It was very interesting so I enjoyed watching it ^^

分かりましたの？^^; My Japanese is still kinda bad まだまだね…

こちらこそ！青い鳥のストーリを教えてくれて有り難う！せっかくコメントしてくれたからちょっと一緒に勉強しましょうか！

一人学生が自殺を図りました。 　　->一人”の”学生が…or 学生が一人”

彼が出ていた後で、 　　 ->彼が出てい”っ”た後 You mean after “he has gone”? 　Then you can also say “彼が去った後”(=Kare ga satta ato ) If you meant “to graduate” ”彼が卒業した後”=Kare ga sotsugyou shita ato ”彼が卒業した後” or “彼の卒業後”(=Kare no sotsugyou go)

みんなさんは忘れようします。： 　　みんなさん->みなさん=皆さん(=Minasan) But we don’t say 皆さん when we describe a story. We say 皆(=mina) without “san”. (Minasan is when you talk to or address a group of people.) I would say 皆は（その or 彼の　自殺のことを）忘れようとしていました。(=Mina wa (sono or kare no jisatsu no kotowo ) wasure you to shite imashita.)

新しい先生は忘れて欲しくないです。:　 　->　新しい（or 新しく来た）先生は生徒達に(彼の自殺のことを)忘れて欲しくありません。（でした。）(=”Atarashii (or Atarashiku kita) sennsei wa seitotachi ni (kare no jisatu no koto wo) wasurete hoshiku arimasen.) 分かりましたの？ 　->分かりましたか？

まだまだね… ->そんなことないですよ！！すごく上手です！私もストーリをもっと知っていたらいろいろ直せるんだけど。これからもがんばってね！！

How would you say for example “I’m studying medicine.” or “I’m a medicine student.” in Japanese?

A lot of new vocabulary in this lesson, but highly useful and interesting!

I saw the ritual of bowing before the beginning of the class in the drama 青い鳥 and I’ve wondered what the 日直 (also didn’t know that word ^^) was saying, so thanks for this cutural information!

Hello Mika-san Sorry! I was out of town and I couldn’t answer you back right away. OK, let me answer your questions: *to study medicine = 医学を勉強する　(=igaku wo benkyo suru.) *I am studying medicine =私は、医学を勉強しています。(=Watashi wa igaku wo benkyou shiteimaus.) And I am a medicine student is, 私は、医学部の学生です。(Watashi wa igakubu no gakusei desu.) ついでに…. *department of pharmacy is 薬学部(=Yakugakubu) *department of science and engineering　is 理工学部（rikou gakubu) *department of literature　is 文学部(=Bungakubu)

青い鳥ってどんなドラマだったかなあ… Mikaさんの専攻は何？ I am very happy to hear this lesson is useful!

hey don’t you also not refer to yourself as 先生 a profession i forgot what you refer to yourself as if you’re talking about what you do for a living…

Hello, drewbningen-san,

Good point! I didn’t write about this information but if your profession is a teacher, you don’t usually refer yourself as 先生。You address yourself 教師(=kyoushi) becuase “先生” expresses respect and we don’t use honorific expressions to ourselves.

-ご職業は何ですか？(=Goshokugyou wa nan desu ka?) “What is your occupation?” -教師です。(=kyoushi desu.) “A teacher”

However we do hear people say “学校の先生です。”(=Gakkou no sensei desu.) in our daily conversation. I will add this information in the lesson. Arigatou!!

Konnichiha Maggie sensei ! Arigatou as always for this lesson ^^ I remember I saw a drama about school in Japan, I remember this very severe teacher, I think her name was Maya sensei but I’m not sure… Well, it reminds me about it ^^;

Thanks for the vocabulary & useful phrases :)

Laetitita-san, 今日は！！いつも有り難う！！ The TV drama you saw could be “女王の教室”(=Jouou no kyoushitsu) starring an actress, Miki Maya? There are a lot of TV-dramas about school life and those are called “学園ドラマ”(=gakuen dorama). For example, the long run series, 「３年B組金八先生」(=Sannen biigumi kinpachi sensei). Have you seen “ごくせん”(=Gokusen) ? While “女王の教室” was very serious, “ごくせん” is fun! If you have a chance, please watch it!

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Transition Words and Phrases for Japanese Essays  

  June 9, 2020

By   Alexis Papa

Are you having a hard time connecting between your ideas in your Japanese essay? In this article, we have listed useful transition words and phrases that you can use to help you let your ideas flow and have an organized essay.

Japanese Phrases for Giving Examples and Emphasis

For example,

がいこく、たとえばちゅうごくへいったことがありますか。 Gaikoku, tatoeba Chuugoku e itta koto ga arimasu ka?

Have you been abroad, for instance China?

たぶんちゅうごくへいったことがあります。 Tabun Chuugoku e itta koto ga arimasu.

I have probably been to China.

Japanese Essay Phrases: General Explaining

しけんにごうかくするのために、まじめにべんきょうしなきゃ。 Shiken ni goukaku suru no tame ni, majime ni benkyou shinakya.

In order to pass the exam, I must study.

あしたあめがふるそう。だから、かさをもってきて。 Ashita ame ga furu sou. Dakara, kasa wo motte kite.

It seems that it will rain tomorrow. So, bring an umbrella.

Showing Sequence

まず、あたらしいさくぶんのがいせつをしようとおもう。 Mazu, atarashii sakubun no gaisetsu wo shiyou to omou.

First, I am going to do an outline of my new essay.

つぎに、さくぶんをかきはじめます。 Tsugi ni, sakubun wo kaki hajimemasu.

Then, I will begin writing my essay.

Adding Supporting Statements

かれはブレーキをかけ、そしてくるまはとまった。 Kare wa bureki wo kake, soshite kuruma wa tomatta.

He put on the brakes and then the car stopped.

いえはかなりにみえたし、しかもねだんがてごろだった。 Ie wa kanari ni mieta shi, shikamo nedan ga tegoro datta.

The house looked good; moreover,the (selling) price was right.

Demonstrating Contrast 

にほんごはむずかしいですが、おもしろいです。 Nihongo wa muzukashii desu ga, omoshiroi desu.

Although Japanese language is difficult, it is enjoyable.

にほんごはむずかしいです。でも、おもしろいです。 Nihongo wa muzukashii desu. Demo, omoshiroi desu.

Japanese language is difficult. Nevertheless, it is enjoyable.

にほんごはむずかしいです。しかし、おもしろいです。 Nihondo wa muzukashii desu. Shikashi, omoshiroi desu.

Japanese language is difficult. However, it is enjoyable.

にほんごはむずかしいですけれど、おもしろいです。 Nihongo wa muzakashii desu keredo, omoshiroi desu.

Japanese Essay Phrases for Summarizing

われわれはこのはなしはじつわだというけつろんにたっした。 Wareware wa kono hanashi wa jitsuwa da to iu ketsuron ni tasshita.

We have come to a conclusion that this is a true story.

Now that you have learned these Japanese transitional words and phrases, we hope that your Japanese essay writing has become easier. Leave a comment and write examples of sentences using these Japanese essay phrases!

Alexis Papa

Alexis is a Japanese language and culture enthusiast from the Philippines. She is a Japanese Studies graduate, and has worked as an ESL and Japanese instructor at a local language school. She enjoys her free time reading books and watching series.

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Japanese Writing Practice: Ultimate List of Resources for Every Level

Japanese writing can be one of the scariest aspects of learning Japanese! And there’s no shortcut to success – you simply have to get your Japanese writing practice in . Luckily there are no shortage of tools to help you with this!

Whether you are a beginner looking to practise your Japanese handwriting, or an advanced student in need of Japanese essay writing practice, there are lots of free and cheap resources out there at every level.

Here’s my roundup of the best websites, apps, printables and other tools for Japanese writing practice.

Japanese writing practice apps

Free websites for japanese writing practice online, easy japanese writing practice for beginners, japanese hiragana and katakana writing practice.

If you are new to learning Japanese, you’ll want to get your hiragana and katakana down pat before you move on to anything else.

Spending time on your hiragana and katakana writing practice not only helps you memorise the characters, it will also improve your handwriting and help you become accustomed to correct stroke order, which will be a massive benefit when you move on to learning kanji !

There are loads of free Japanese katakana and hiragana writing practice sheets online for you to download and print at home. Here’s a selection:

Free Japanese hiragana and katakana writing practice sheets pdf workbook

This free workbook from JapanesePod101 introduces all the hiragana and katakana characters and has spaces for you to trace, and then copy them out. The workbook also contains flashcards to practise your recognition. Note: you need to create a free account to access the workbook.

Japanese hiragana writing practice sheets

An alternative source to print out hiragana practice sheets, with grid lines to help your handwriting.

Japanese katakana writing practice sheets

An alternative source to print out katakana practice sheets, with grid lines to help your handwriting.

Free BLANK Japanese writing practice sheets

If you just want blank Japanese graph paper to practise writing out your characters, I have created my own in various sizes/formats for you to download and print!

Kakikata print maker

An awesome website (designed for Japanese parents/teachers to use with their children) where you can design and print your own worksheets with kana or kanji characters of your choice, in various formats. You can even choose to add stroke order! Useful if you want to practise a particular word or set of characters.

Japanese Tools: create your own kana practice sheets

Here is another useful site where you can create your own Japanese practice writing sheets with the characters of your choice, printed with a gradual fade to trace/copy.

Japanese kanji writing practice

If you are studying kanji from a textbook or course and you just need blank kanji graph paper to practise writing on, you can print that out here .

If you are looking for pre-printed kanji worksheets with kanji to copy out, the best resource I have found is this one:

This amazing website lets you download and print kanji writing practice worksheets for kanji sets according to JLPT level, Japanese school grade level, Wanikani level, Kanji Garden app level, or frequency. It’s totally free and so useful!

Easy Japanese sentence writing practice

Once you know your kana and a few kanji, you might start to think about writing out some Japanese sentences.

JapanesePod101 writing practice worksheets 

JapanesePod101 has a selection of free Japanese writing practice sheets, available as pdfs that you can download and print yourself. They currently have 16+ free writing practice workbooks on beginner-friendly topics such as daily routine or ordering food. This is a good way to get used to writing out simple Japanese sentences at the beginner level. 

However, I wouldn’t recommend them for complete beginners because they use kanji – so you should be familiar with some kanji and the basic rules of stroke order before you use them.

As soon as you are able to form Japanese sentences on your own, I recommend you start a Japanese journal and/or sharing your sentences with others using the resources in the intermediate/advanced section below!

When you are learning to write in Japanese, I recommend writing them out by hand as much as possible because it helps you learn by muscle memory and helps you develop neat handwriting! However, it’s also useful to have a great writing practice app or two on your phone so you can study on the go.

There are lots of great apps out there to practise writing Japanese characters. Here are some recommendations:

Skritter is an app for learning Japanese (and Chinese) writing and vocabulary. You can use Skritter to learn kana and kanji from scratch, or simply to review what you’ve learned. It uses handwriting recognition and a spaced repetition system (SRS) to help you learn effectively.

Under the ‘test’ settings section you can choose to focus on writing only, or add in flashcards for reading and definition too.

It works well alongside other courses and textbooks to practise your characters. They have pre-made flashcard decks from various textbooks which is great when you get on to drilling vocabulary.

As with Skritter, you can either use this app to learn kana and kanji as a complete beginner, or just to practise writing the characters you already know. In fact, it’s probably the best app I’ve found if you just want a simple flashcard-style writing practice app with handwriting recognition. It’s a little clunkier to use but once you’ve got it set up, it’s easy. If you already know the kana and you just want to practise, choose ‘Yes, but I need more practice’ during the set-up stage.

The Scripts app from the makers of Drops teaches you kana and kanji (and also has the option to learn other languages’ scripts, such as hangul or hanzi, if you’re doing the polyglot thing). You learn by tracing the characters with your finger on the screen.

It’s a good option if you are learning to write the Japanese characters from scratch. However, I could not see an option to skip the ‘learning’ stage and just review, so if you’ve already mastered your kana it won’t be for you.

Learn Japanese! 

This is a very simple and easy to use app to learn how to write hiragana and katakana. However, you only learn 5 characters at a time and I couldn’t see a way to skip to review only, so again, great for complete beginners but not if you just want to practise.

Intermediate and advanced Japanese writing practice

At the intermediate and advanced levels, you are well beyond copying out characters/sentences on worksheets, and you will be creating your own compositions in Japanese. In fact, I highly recommend doing this as soon as you are able to! 

One popular method to get your Japanese writing practice is to keep a daily diary or journal in Japanese . You can try to incorporate new grammar and vocabulary you’ve learned, or simply write whatever comes into your head just to get used to writing in Japanese.

Even jotting down a few private sentences in your own notebook will be beneficial. But if you want to step it up a notch, use one of the websites/apps below to share your writing with other learners and native speakers and receive feedback.

If you’ve been studying languages for a while you might be mourning the loss of Lang8, a site where you could post journal entries in your target language online and get feedback from native speakers. Here are a couple of Lang 8 alternatives I’ve found:

LangCorrect

LangCorrect is a site where you can practise your Japanese writing online by writing daily journal entries and getting corrections from native speakers. It’s fairly active with the Japanese learning community, and you can usually expect to get a few comments/corrections within a few hours (don’t forget to take the time difference into account!). They also have journal prompts in case you’re feeling the writer’s block. It’s free to use.

Journaly is a similar site I’ve heard, about although I haven’t used it and I have the impression its user base is smaller than LangCorrect. It’s free to use and there is also a paid version which has a few extra benefits, such as bumping up your posts to get more attention.

This is a free website offered by Dickinson College. Its main purpose is for connecting language exchange partners, but they also have a feature where you can post writing samples to receive corrections from native speakers.

r/WriteStreakJP

This subreddit is a forum to practise writing in Japanese. It’s for anyone at any level who wants to practise their Japanese writing. The idea is that you write something every day to build up a ‘streak’ and build the habit of writing in Japanese regularly.

You can write whatever you feel like; many people write diary-like entries about their day, or share random thoughts, or write about something new they’ve learned etc. There are native Japanese speaking mods who drop by to correct mistakes.

There are a lot more learners than native speakers on the forum, though, so unfortunately you’re not guaranteed feedback. But it’s still a great place to practise writing (and reading!) Japanese.

HelloTalk is a language exchange app where you can connect with Japanese native speakers, chat via text, voice or video call and receive feedback on your Japanese. In addition to connecting with people directly, you can also create ‘moments’ (write posts such as sharing journal entries, or pictures of your day) and ask general questions, and receive comments/feedback from other users.

Be warned, recently I hear a lot of users complaining that people use the messaging function like a dating app – but you may have better success using the ‘moments’ function or messaging people yourself first.

Another language exchange app where you can exchange text messages with a Japanese-speaking partner and receive corrections.

HiNative  

On HiNative you can ask questions about language usage and get feedback from native speakers. You can write your questions either in Japanese or English. This question/answer service is free. Premium paid members can also post diary entries to get feedback.

More resources for Japanese writing practice

Here’s a mixture of other useful tools and resources I’ve found for Japanese writing practice that don’t fit neatly into the above categories! This section contains a mixture of free and paid resources.

Japanese water calligraphy practice kits (paid)

Why not go old-school and practise your Japanese characters with a real calligraphy brush! In Japan, students often practise their calligraphy with these nifty ‘magic’ kits, where you paint with water on the special water-activated paper, which fades away after a few minutes so you can reuse it time and time again. This is a fun way to refine your Japanese handwriting while reviewing the characters!

Printable Japanese journals with writing prompts (paid) 

I found this printable Japanese journaling/writing practice kit on Etsy. It contains dozens of writing prompts at the beginner, intermediate and advanced levels, so you’ve got no excuse not to jot down a few sentences in Japanese every day! Check out the other great resources by the same author.

Japanese planner templates (free)

If you want to take daily notes or plan your day/week in Japanese, this site has loads of free Japanese planner templates to print out.

Japanese writing practice notebooks (paid)

The paper used in Japan for school compositions/essay writing practice is called genkouyoushi . There are lots of genkouyoushi notebooks with cute cover designs available on Amazon.

Free printable genkouyoushi (Japanese composition paper)

Alternatively, you can print out your own genkouyoushi-style blank writing sheets here for free.

Japanese sentence/usage databases

These databases are useful tools that I often use when writing in Japanese to check how words are used. You can search for a Japanese word and see it in context of many authentic, native Japanese sentences, to get an idea of correct and natural usage. You can also use them for sentence mining , if that’s your thing.

• Reverso – my favourite. Need to create a free account to see all sentences.
• Natsume – see how often a word is used, and which particles and other words usually follow it
• Sentence search with audio

How to Write Japanese Essays book (paid)

If you are studying Japanese to a very high level, for example to enter a Japanese university or company, you will need Japanese essay writing practice. The book How to Write Japanese Essays comes highly recommended and will train you to write in the formal academic style that is taught in Japan.

Japanese writing practice roundup

Which tools and resources do you use for Japanese writing practice? If you know any I’ve missed out, please share in the comments!

See these related posts for more useful resources to learn Japanese:

• Japanese Writing Paper: FREE Printable Blank Japanese Writing Sheets
• FREE Websites for Japanese Reading Practice (At Every Level)
• 10+ Effective Ways to Get Japanese Speaking Practice (Even if You Study By Yourself!)
• Where to get Your Japanese Listening Practice: The Epic List of Resources!
• The Ultimate List of Japanese Podcasts for Listening Practice (Beginner / Intermediate / Advanced)
• Best YouTube Channels to Learn Japanese {20+ Japanese YouTubers!}

Rebecca Shiraishi-Miles

Rebecca is the founder of Team Japanese. She spent two years teaching English in Ehime, Japan. Now back in the UK, she spends her time blogging, self-studying Japanese and wrangling a very genki toddler.

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Resource Guide for Japanese Language Students: Essays

• Short Stories
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About This Page

This page introduces the variety of essays written by popular contemporary authors. Unless noted, all are in Japanese.

The author, さくらももこ, is known for writing a comic titled 『 ちびまる子ちゃん 』. The comic is based on her own childhood experiences and depicts the everyday life of a girl with a nickname of Chibi Maruko-chan. The author has been constantly writing casual and humorous essays, often recollecting her childhood memories. We have both the『 ちびまる子ちゃん 』 comic series and other essays by the author. 

To see a sample text in a new tab, please  click on the cover image or the title .

中島らも(1952-2004) started his career as a copyrigher but changed his path to become a prolific writer, publishing novels, essays, drama scripts and rakugo stories. He became popular with his "twisted sense of humour."  He is also active in the music industry when he formed his own band. He received the 13th Eiji Yoshikawa New Author Prize with his 『今夜、すべてのバーで』 and Mystery Writers of Japan Aaward with 『 ガダラの豚 』.

東海林（しょうじ）さだお

東海林さだお(1937-) is a well-known cartoonist, but he is also famous for his essays on food. His writing style is light and humorous and tends to pay particular attention toward regular food, such as bananas, miso soup, and eggd in udon noodles, rather than talk about gourmet meals. (added 5/2/2014)

Collection of Essays: 天声人語 = Vox Populi, Vox Deli (Bilingual)

A collection of essays which appear on the front page of Asahi Shinbun . Each essay is approx. 600 words. KU has collections published around 2000. Seach KU Online catalog with call number AC145 .T46 for more details. 

To see a sample text, please click on the cover image or the title .

Other Essays

Online Essay

• 村上さんのところ "Mr. Murakami's Place" -- Haruki Murakami's Advice Column Part of Haruki Murakami's official site. He answers questions sent to this site. He will also take questions in English. Questions will be accepted until Jan. 31, 2015.

Search from KU Collection

If you are looking for essays in Japanese available at KU, use this search box. If you know the author, search by last name, then first name, such as "Sakura, Momoko." Make sure to select "Author" in the search field option.:

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• Last Updated: Feb 1, 2024 11:08 AM
• URL: https://guides.lib.ku.edu/c.php?g=95189

Promotion of Educational Travel to Japan

• ABOUT JAPAN EDUCATIONAL TRAVEL
• arrow_right WHY JAPAN?
• arrow_right Traditional culture
• arrow_right Modern culture
• arrow_right Natural environment
• arrow_right Japanese food
• arrow_right Sports
• arrow_right Made in Japan
• arrow_right Crisis management
• arrow_right Social systems and infrastructure
• arrow_right Peace and friendship
• arrow_right SCHOOL IN JAPAN
• arrow_right JAPANESE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM
• arrow_right SCHOOL LIFE IN JAPAN
• arrow_right PLAN YOUR TRIP
• arrow_right SUGGESTED ITINERARIES
• arrow_right SCHOOL EXCHANGES
• arrow_right TIPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL ONLINE SCHOOL EXCHANGE
• arrow_right IN-PERSON EXCHANGES
• arrow_right ONLINE EXCHANGES
• arrow_right VISITOR'S VOICES

class JAPANESE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM

About Japanese Educational System and Japanese Schools.

Curriculum Outline

The Japanese school system primarily consists of six-year elementary schools, three-year junior high schools and three-year high schools, followed by a two-or-three-year junior colleges or a four-year colleges. Compulsory education lasts for 9 years through elementary and junior high school. School exchanges during Japan Educational Travel are mainly implemented in junior high and high schools. For physically or mentally challenged students, there is a system called “Special Needs Education” to support special students to develop their self-reliance and thus enhance their social participation.

School Education Chart

Introduction to Schools in Japan

Event school timetable.

Public schools in Japan have classes five days a week, from Monday to Friday. There are also schools that have classes on Saturday. In junior high and high schools, there are six class periods each day, typically lasting 50 minutes for each. After classes, students clean the classrooms in shifts and then start their club activities. There are a variety of clubs such as cultural and sports ones.

An Example of School Timetable

event Academic Calendar

In principle, the school year begins in April and ends in March of the following year. Most schools adopt a three-semester system, with the first semester from April to August, the second semester from September to December, and the third semester from January to March. There is also a summer break (from the end of July to the end of August), a winter break (from the end of December to the beginning of January), and a spring break (from the end of March to the beginning of April).

An Example of Academic Calendar

event School Organization

Each school has a principal, a vice principal, teachers, a school nurse, and other administration staff. As the chief executive, the principal assumes all responsibilities of the school, including the courses provided and related administrative work. The vice principal supports the principal to manage administrative affairs of the school and to be in charge of student’s educational activities and curriculum as well. Furthermore, in order to ensure school’s smooth operation, teachers take on various responsibilities, such as taking care of educational activities, students’school life, and employment guidance for students after graduation. Many schools also establish their own committees, for example a International Exchange Promotion Committee, and others.

Related Information

Special Features of Japanese Education

About Features of Japanese Education.

event Regarding the Level of Education

The level of Japanese education is high even by world standards. In OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) aimed at fifteen-year-olds, Japanese students recorded high levels of achievement, particularly in science related areas. Educational activities outside of school also flourish, and programs leading to advanced education are implemented. Enrollment in high schools, the second-half of secondary education, reaches over 90%, and the enrollments in college are also high reaching over 50%. Admission to high schools and colleges is mainly through entrance exams, held from January to March. Source: OECD

location_city Foreign Language Education

English is a compulsory subject in junior high and high schools. There are also elementary schools that introduce English education from intermediate grade classes. In some high schools, apart from English, students are also allowed to take courses in Chinese, Korean, French, German, etc.

location_city Student Clubs

Student clubs are a characteristic part in Japan’s school education. Under teachers’ guidance, students with the same interests in sports, cultural activities, or fields of study voluntarily gather together after classes and on days off. There are also numerous student clubs revolving around Japanese traditional sports and culture, such as judo, kendo(Japanese swordsmanship), sado (Japanese tea ceremony), kado (Japanese flower arrangement), shodo (Japanese calligraphy), etc. Club activities also provide students with the chance to participate in school exchange and friendly matches.

Sports Clubs

• Track and Field
• Kendo (Japanese swordsmanship)

Culture Clubs

• School Band
• School Choir
• Kado (Japanese flower arrangement)
• Sado (Japanese tea ceremony)
• Shodo (Japanese calligraphy)

check 学校交流する場合のポイント

Check_box 1～3月は受験シーズンのため交流は難しい.

海外における教育旅行は、それぞれの国・地域によって特徴が異なると考えられるが、日本で現在受け入れている教育旅行は、日本の修学旅行のように、教師等の引率者と児童生徒で構成される団体旅行として実施されることが多い。

check_box 英語での交流が可能

Check_box 部活動も充実, stories of school exchanges.

Learn About School Life in Japan

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Articles & Advice > Majors and Academics > Blog

My Journey Studying a Foreign Language: Japanese

Naomi discovered that studying a foreign language in college isn't quite the same as high school...

by Naomi Hong Student, Occidental College

Last Updated: Mar 16, 2023

Originally Posted: Nov 26, 2016

Most high schools throughout the United States require at least two years of foreign language in order to graduate, and nearly all colleges require some foreign language experience in their general education. In a fast-paced, globalized world with near constant communication between people of all nations and tongues, the ability to speak a foreign language is already a highly valued skill in the workforce.

I’m a college junior double-majoring in both Japanese and international relations, and nearly all the programs and internships I have applied for or participated in preferred candidates who were “business level” proficient or higher in a second language. Now in my seventh year of studying Japanese, I wanted to take some time to reflect on the journey that has brought me to where I am now, currently studying abroad in Tokyo for the fall semester and entering my second internship in a Japanese business. Hopefully my experience is relatable to others college and even high schools students who have pursued foreign language study as a significant component of their academic career. I also hope to provide some insight to those who are just embarking on their language acquisition journey.

Why I chose to study a foreign language

Growing up I had only spoken English; my parents are Asian American and also do not speak any other language fluently. Unlike many of my Asian American peers, I was not enrolled in a language school from an early age, so my first experience learning a second language started freshman year of high school.

My desire to study Japanese came from my mom’s Japanese American heritage and my previous travels to Japan. Although I had been to Japan several times, I could not fully engage with the culture because I did not understand the language, so I felt that learning it would help me appreciate my experiences more. The opportunity came when a high school in my city offered a waiver program where we could transfer if we committed to take four years of Japanese. I eagerly signed up and was accepted, and thus started my journey studying the foreign language I still am working on today.

My language journey in high school

In the beginning, learning Japanese was a breeze for me. Japanese has a lot of set grammar patterns, expressions, and conjugations that you can easily grasp with just a little bit of practice. The first three years of my in-school classes taught me all the basic grammar I needed to get around Japan, plus the bare minimum phrases and make easy, superficial conversation. The fourth year of high school Japanese emphasized using all of the things we learned instead of teaching us new things.

In addition to my high school language classes, the summer after my junior year I studied abroad in Japan for six weeks and lived with a host family while attending a local high school. Looking back at my high school language journey, I saw a huge improvement relatively rapidly, especially from the first to third year of study. Just like many people when they first start a language, everything is new and exciting, and it is relatively easy to see progress. I was at the top of my classes and people thought of me as the language “expert.” I tried to sound as smart as possible and explain things to my classmates…even though I probably did not understand all the grammar points perfectly myself.

Related: The Experts' Choice: Colleges with Great Study Abroad Options

My language journey in college

Coming into college I was proficient enough to test into the highest level of Japanese, so I was put into a translation class that many seniors often take in order to finish the major. My college classes were quite different from my high school ones. For starters, classes in college are not every day, so instead of having Japanese one hour five days a week, you have it for one hour three times a week. My Japanese college classes also centered on a specific theme, such as translation of essays or reading newspapers, instead of just holistic Japanese learning. The other students in my class ranged from people who studied throughout high school like me to people who spoke it at home and to actual native speakers. I was not the “top dog” anymore, but I still enjoyed the challenge nonetheless.

As my college semesters progressed and I became more involved in other things, I found myself finding less time and motivation to study Japanese compared to when I was in high school. I also experienced “retroactive interference,” where new information learned prevents you from recalling old information. The more concepts I learned, the more my brain felt overwhelmed and it was harder to see a lot of improvement. I often felt envious of my other friends who studied Japanese just like me but moved there after high school who seemed like they suddenly became “fluent.” I frequently fixated becoming “fluent,” without really defining what fluency meant to me; in retrospect I think I just wanted to be the best at something, to go back to being the “expert” like I was in high school.

My sophomore year Japanese classes and my internship in Tokyo this year have truly humbled me and have allowed me to set more realistic foreign language development goals. I have learned to not compare my foreign language journey to others’ or treat it like a competition. Rather, the goal should be to do one’s own best while humbly being able to look to those who are better than you for advice and helping others who are not as advanced as you in a way that you would like to be helped. I have also learned that it is okay to ask questions and to openly express that you don’t understand something, although I still sometimes have trouble admitting that I am completely lost in Japanese class and pretend that I know what’s going on. And there are times when I wish I could just hurry up and improve so I can feel confident while engaging in deep conversations with my friends in Japanese!

These days foreign language fluency for me means being able to enter into almost any situation and feel confident that I can understand and be understood. Or if I don’t understand something for any reason, I am comfortable asking for clarification and then understand the follow-up. Fluency also means being able to keep up the many relationships I have developed with my Japanese friends on a level comparable to how I relate to my native-English-speaker friends. After all, I have to remember that my end goal of studying this foreign language is so I could communicate and appreciate my experiences in the foreign culture I chose to submerse myself in. I recently saw my aunt who is fluent in Japanese and has orchestrated business deals and presentations in Japanese for some language tips, and she said her fluency has been a 40-year long journey. Considering that I am only in my seventh year of my journey, I have a long way to go. I may not be the best, but I am committed to my own personal growth as I study my foreign language.

Did you/are you studying any foreign languages in high school or college? Share your tips for other students in the comments.

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About Naomi Hong

Naomi Hong graduated from Occidental College in 2018 with a degree in International Relations and Japanese and a minor in Economics. She currently works as a concierge/front desk agent at a luxury hotel in Southern California. She's passionate about hospitality and travel and hope to continue my career within the hotel industry. She also enjoys writing articles about career advice, studying abroad, and learning new languages. 

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The Japanese school system 日本の学校制度

• Published on : 29/03/2018
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At the Japanese school

Reputed to be very demanding, the Japanese school system is similar to the western curriculum in many ways, and yet very different. Japanese schoolchildren are known for their famous uniforms, but what about their school lives and curriculum? 

The structure of the studies

The Japanese school system was created during the Meiji era (1868-1912). Today, education is compulsory for all children between the ages of 6 and 15. The division of the cycles is quite similar to that of the western nations: after optional kindergarten ( yochien ) lasting 3 years, comes primary education ( shogakko ), which lasts 6 years (from 6 to 12 years). Students then enter college ( Chugakko ) in 3 years, and finally high school ( Kotogakko  , often abbreviated to koko ) until the year of 18, not compulsory but very followed. There are no tuition fees, however, parents will have to pay up to several thousand dollars a year (for the uniform, lunch, extracurricular activities, etc...). Wearing a uniform is compulsory in the majority of primary and secondary schools.

After completing compulsory education, young Japanese enter general, agricultural, or vocational high school . There is no system of courses in Japan, everyone follows the same subjects. What is being compared to our baccalaureate is the National College Admissions Center test, commonly referred to as the "Senta Test" . It is  very selective and essential to university entrance qualification for high school students who wish to pursue higher education. Once this sesame is in hand, the Japanese enter the university, public or private , or in large schools. The diplomas of the Japanese university are organized in the same way as in the west, on the Bachelor-Master-Doctorate model.

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The Japanese school year

An exception to the northern hemisphere, the Japanese school year begins in April . It is divided into three periods separated by holidays: a first from the beginning of April to mid-July, a second from September to the end of December, and a last from the beginning of January to the beginning of March. In all, the students benefit from ten weeks of vacation in the year .

• Read also: Public holidays in Japan

Japanese students have classes from Monday to Friday , generally from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm as well as two Saturdays a month. However, many students also take evening classes (g akushu juku) to improve their scores. They also take part in  clubs integrated into the school and extra-curricular activities are highly encouraged (sport, music, and art). Among other things such as grammar, arithmetic, science, music, civic education, English, and  home economics .

A rigorous and selective system

Due to the collective mentality of Japanese society in general, the Japanese education system tends to value  competition  and elitism . Discipline is very strong, as well as the notion of hierarchy and respect , especially towards the sensei (teacher). The acquisition of knowledge is mainly based on rote learning , and many exams based on MCQs punctuate the year. In primary school, children must also participate in the maintenance of the school after lessons. Each student, with encouragement from their families, lings to enter the best universities , the best high school, public or private, and finally obtain the best results at Senta  to become accepted at a renowned university.

Thus, the vast majority of students work hard and attend evening classes to improve. Things are changing and students can immerse themselves in a complete college experience. However, the tuition is expensive, ranging from $10,000 to 30,000 plus a year for education at reputable universities.

Finally, after a highly systemized job search process known as shukatsu , most young graduates find a job as soon as they finish their studies.

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First Day of School in Japan

For students in the United States, September is both the beginning and the end. With one last cannonball into a swimming pool or a final sprint to an ice cream truck, the unstructured play of summer comes to a close. In its place, September ushers in the new year of school, complete with sharpened pencils and eager students.

Every year brings a new wave of young learners. A child’s first day of school is a moment of pride for parents in the United States. Parents will dress their child in new school clothes and fill a backpack with a catalog of supplies. Some parents may take a few pictures to mark the occasion, with their child giving a wide-grinned “Cheese!” to the camera. Others may trot their anxious tots to the bus stop for the first time and watch the child take the first (of what will be many) ride on that patent yellow school bus. Hugs and waves conclude the event, and the child enters school without further pomp and circumstance.

While American families do try to make the first day of school a special occasion for the child, schools in Japan redefine the care and attention placed on a student’s very first school experience. Japanese culture holds the first day of school in very high esteem. This moment marks a child’s first step into Japanese society and culture, and the routine and ritual used to celebrate this occasion is suitably special.

To begin, the Japanese school calendar puts a unique spin on education’s symbolism. Instead of beginning school in September as does much of the world, the Japanese school term begins April 1. No “death of summer” symbolism for the Japanese; rather, school begins with a sense of renewal, the beginning of spring, and the blossoms of sakura さくら (cherry blossoms).

The first day of school is a moment of celebration; in anticipation of the first day, family and friends congratulate the student and give gifts to mark the occasion. To mark the first step into school life, the new student receives randoseru ランドセル, a firm, sturdy backpack used by nearly all elementary school children. Personal desks for the home are another popular gift, as parents set their sights early to cultivate studious home habits in their child early on.

Entering school for the first time is a family affair. Parents and students arrive in their best attire. Students are dressed in their school uniforms, if applicable, or wear school jackets or badges. Families gather first for pictures by a school’s entrance or gate (again, typically with the sakura in the background to set the scene). Families are then ushered inside the school for their official welcome.

New students and parents are greeted inside with nyugakushiki  入学式, or Entrance Ceremony. Important members of the Board of Education, school officials, and teachers speak words of encouragement to the new students. The new students are formally named and welcomed by their homeroom teachers and then led in parade around the school premises while senior students sing and applaud in congratulations.

Senior students (usually from grade 5 or 6) then pair with the new students to take them under wing. The senior students escort the new students through the school and to their classrooms (the classrooms are usually decorated in welcome-greetings and cherry blossoms—all handy work of the senior students!). The senior students advise where to store supplies and shoes, and answer any questions the new students pose. This moment of mentorship is seen as a meaningful transition for new student and senior, and to set a tone of trust and camaraderie within the school.

Teaching Tips and Activities

Ask your students if they remember their first day of school. Share with them a typical first day of school in Japan, and ask the students to evaluate the differences and benefits between the Japanese and American systems. Then, enjoy a class activity with a unique feature of Japanese classrooms—origami.

This special origami activity is from the new Adventures in Japanese: Volume 1 textbook. Reimagined for today’s learners, Adventures in Japanese 4th Edition ensures an effective and meaningful study of Japanese language and culture. The next volume in the Adventures in Japanese series is just around the corner: Adventures in Japanese: Volume 2 textbook will be available Summer 2015.

Adventures in Japanese

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650 Words. Limitless Topics. Your Chance to Stand Out from the Rest.

By Yuki Kondo-Shah, Public Affairs Officer, U.S. Consulate Fukuoka

The essay is the single most important part of your college application, because it's the one part that you can truly control at this moment. The grades on your transcript reflect the last three years of hard work in various courses. Your standardized test scores are a snapshot of your test taking ability on one weekend morning. Teacher recommendation letters are their perspectives about you compared to your classmates.

The essay, on the other hand, will reflect how much effort you put into it right now. You should start the draft early, make edits and rewrite it multiple times, and share it with friends and mentors that you trust. While there may be other students who have great grades, test scores, resumes, and letters, there should be only one personal statement that sounds like you wrote it, and that’s the key to a successful application essay. It's perfectly fine to write it first in Japanese and then translate it into English!

In my experience evaluating Japanese student essays in admissions applications, too many students simply answer the essay question being asked. That seems counterintuitive, I know, but the point of the essay questions is to function as a prompt, a starting off point, from which you can explore your background, history, intellectual interests, and future plans. The goal is to have the admissions officer come away after reading your essay knowing you better as an individual, why you are motivated, and why you would be a great addition to the classroom and campus life at their school.

My specific advice to Japanese students would be to NOT be humble, but to think BIG. This is not a time to be shy, as you are competing with American students who have been educated to express their dreams and articulate their plans in their applications. Ask yourself what is motivating you to study in America, and what you think an education there would allow you to do that you cannot achieve if you were to stay in Japan. If you want to read some sample essays, the New York Times does a series every year on essays that move their editors .

Let's look at a short essay question from my alma mater, Dartmouth College, on this year's application: "In the aftermath of World War II, Dartmouth President John Sloane Dickey, Class of 1929, proclaimed, ‘The world's troubles are your troubles…and there is nothing wrong with the world that better human beings cannot fix.’ Which of the world's ‘troubles’ inspires you to act? How might your course of study at Dartmouth prepare to you to address it?”

There are many inspirational young people setting great examples these days by tackling challenges like climate change or bullying. In writing your 650 words, think about the impact you want to have on the world. What makes you stand out from the rest?

Read the other articles in the series:

• American Universities Want YOU!
• Extracurricular Activities: What You Do Outside School Matters
• Six Tips for Getting Strong Recommendation Letters
• Dos and Don'ts for Writing Teacher Recommendation Letters

Click here for more information on studying in the U.S. and EducationUSA programs throughout Japan.

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The Japanese Education System

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• History & Culture
• Essential Japanese Vocabulary
• Japanese Grammar
• B.A., Kwansei Gakuin University

The Japanese educational system was reformed after World War II. The old 6-5-3-3 system was changed to a 6-3-3-4 system (6 years of elementary school, 3 years of junior high school, 3 years of senior high school and 4 years of University) with reference to the American system . The gimukyoiku 義務教育 (compulsory education) time period is 9 years, 6 in shougakkou 小学校 (elementary school) and 3 in chuugakkou 中学校 (junior high school).

Japan has one of the world's best-educated populations, with 100% enrollment in compulsory grades and zero illiteracy . While not compulsory, high school (koukou 高校) enrollment is over 96% nationwide and nearly 100% in the cities. The high school drop out rate is about 2% and has been increasing. About 46% of all high school graduates go on to university or junior college.

The Ministry of Education closely supervises curriculum, textbooks, and classes and maintains a uniform level of education throughout the country. As a result, a high standard of education is possible.

Student Life

Most schools operate on a three-term system with the new year starting in April. The modern educational system started in 1872 and is modeled after the French school system, which begins in April. The fiscal year in Japan also begins in April and ends in March of the following year, which is more convenient in many aspects.

April is the height of spring when cherry blossoms  (the most loved flower of the Japanese!) bloom and the most suitable time for a new start in Japan. This difference in the school-year system causes some inconvenience to students who wish to study abroad in the U.S. A half-year is wasted waiting to get in and often another year is wasted when coming back to the Japanese university system and having to repeat a year.

Except for the lower grades of elementary school, the average school day on weekdays is 6 hours, which makes it one of the longest school days in the world. Even after school lets out, the children have drills and other homework to keep them busy. Vacations are 6 weeks in the summer and about 2 weeks each for winter and spring breaks. There is often homework over these vacations. 

Every class has its own fixed classroom where its students take all the courses, except for practical training and laboratory work. During elementary education, in most cases, one teacher teaches all the subjects in each class. As a result of the rapid population growth after World War II, the numbers of students in a typical elementary or junior high school class once exceeded 50 students, but now it is kept under 40. At public elementary and junior high school, school lunch (kyuushoku 給食) is provided on a standardized menu, and it is eaten in the classroom. Nearly all junior high schools require their students to wear a school uniform (seifuku 制服).

A big difference between the Japanese school system and the American School system is that Americans respect individuality while the Japanese control the individual by observing group rules. This helps to explain the Japanese characteristic of group behavior.

Translation Exercise

• Because of the rapid population growth after World War II, the number of students in a typical elementary or junior high school once exceeded 50. 
• Dainiji sekai taisen no ato no kyuugekina jinkou zouka no tame, tenkeitekina shou-chuu gakkou no seitosu wa katsute go-juu nin o koemashita.
• 第二次世界大戦のあとの急激な人口増加のため、典型的な小中学校の生徒数はかつて５０人を超えました。

"~no tame" means "because of ~".

• I didn't go to work because of a cold.
• Kaze no tame, shigoto ni ikimasen deshita.
• 風邪のため、仕事に行きませんでした。
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• "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" Christmas Carol in Japanese

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Types of Schools in Japan

You can choose to study at a Japanese language school, a vocational school, a junior college, an undergraduate course, a master's course or a doctoral course in Japan. This web site explains admission requirements, admissions schedules, periods of study, and so on. For further details, please refer to each school's information.

Japanese Language School

Japanese language schools are places where you can start learning Japanese from the beginner level. There are courses only for Japanese learning, as well as courses for students to go to higher stage of education, such as at vocational schools, colleges or undergraduate courses. In such preparatory courses, subjects other than Japanese, such as general subjects and science are taught. There are several courses available at each language school, so it is recommended to choose a course which serves your purpose for studying in Japan. A degree will not be awarded upon completion of a language school program. However, the certification of completion of the language school or Japanese language proficiency test results for the N1 or N2 levels will be helpful in your future for getting jobs and going on to other schools.

Vocational Schools

After graduating from senior high school, vocational school will be a good choice to learn the knowledge and techniques related to your future occupation. Completion of 12 years' school education is essential for applying. In most cases, graduation from vocational school is during two years. Classes start in April. 90% of courses in vocational schools grant students a qualification which is called "Senmonshi", which means "specialist". With this Senmonshi qualification, even people who had not completed an undergraduate course in their home country meet the requirements made by the Immigration Bureau for working in Japan. Major fields of vocational schools are: Medical, Industrial, Commercial business, Hygiene, Education, Social Welfare, Fashion, Home economics, Agriculture and Japanese Language.

Junior Colleges

The purpose of junior colleges is to conduct in-depth learning and research in specialized disciplines and to develop the abilities necessary for employment and daily life. The term of study is two or three years (In the field of Medical Techniques and Nursing, it takes three years to graduate) and graduates are awarded an associate degree. With the associate degree, even people who had not completed an undergraduate course meet the requirement made by the Immigration Bureau for working in Japan.

Undergraduate Courses

The purpose of universities, as centers of advanced learning, is to provide students with wide-ranging knowledge and to provide in-depth teaching and research in specialized academic disciplines. The term of study is four years (six years for medicine, dentistry and veterinary medicine). Graduates are awarded a bachelor's degree. With a bachelor's degree, the requirement made by Immigration Bureau for working in Japan has also been fulfilled. Traditionally, departments of Humanities, Education, Law, Economics, Engineering, Science, Medical, Agriculture, and Art have been established in Japanese universities. Sociology and Business departments are also traditionally available. On the other hand, departments with a name including the terms "international", "environment", "human" or "tourism" represent newly established programs.

Graduate Schools

A university may also establish a graduate school offering master's courses (two-year standard term of study), doctoral courses (five-year standard term of study, and four years for medicine, dentistry and veterinary medicine), or professional degree courses (two-year standard term of study; however, depending on the field, in some cases courses can take between one to two years, or more than three years). Those who have completed the graduate course are awarded either a master's, doctoral, or professional degree. Please note that there are no master's courses in the departments of medicine, dentistry or veterinary medicine. Only doctoral courses are available, and the shortest period for graduation is four years. Applicants who completed 16 years' education can apply for master's courses while applicants who completed 18 years' education can apply for doctoral courses. In addition, it is recommended for applicants who do not meet these educational requirements to make inquiries as early as possible. This is because the screening process for those applying on the merits of their practical business experience takes a long time. Foreigners in Japan with a master's degree or doctoral degree can work not only in Japanese companies, but do research work in Japanese universities as instructors or researchers as well.

Graduate School Research Students

There is an original research student system in Japanese graduate schools separate from master's or doctoral courses. Research students register at a graduate school, participate in lectures, accept instruction from professors and make use of university's facilities. However, these research students cannot receive a degree. In most of the cases, the admission for research student is screening candidates by examining their academic records and other submitted documents. Furthermore, it is possible for applicants to use Method C. By using Method C, applicants could come to Japan as research student and learn both Japanese and knowledge of their major field, and then take the entrance examination of the master's or doctoral course. Qualified applicants applying for research student status should have completed an undergraduate course in their home country. Some private universities require that only applicants who have completed a graduate course have the qualification to apply as a research student. The period of a research student course is six months. The period can be extended if permission from an instructor is granted.

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147 Japanese Culture Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

Looking for interesting topics on Japan? Find them here! This list contains plenty of Japanese culture topics relating to the country’s traditions, art, and social phenomena. Check them out!

🔝 Top 10 Japanese Culture Topics to Write About

🔎 culture-related japan research topics, ✅ japanese topics for presentations, 🏆 best japanese culture topic ideas & essay examples, 👍 good japanese culture essay topics, 💡 interesting japanese culture topics to write about, 📌 simple & easy japanese culture essay titles, ❓ research questions about japanese culture.

• The Cultural Impact of Anime
• The Mystique and Roles of Geisha
• Traditional Japanese Arts and Crafts
• Tea Ceremony in Japanese Culture
• The Beauty of Japanese Gardens
• The Art of Japanese Floral Arrangement
• Festivals and Matsuri in Japanese Culture
• The Code of Bushido and Its Influence on Society
• Pop Culture Phenomena of J-Pop and Kawaii
• Sushi, Ramen, and Other Culinary Delights of Japan
• Environmental Sustainability in Japan
• Shintoism and Its Influence on Japanese Society
• Modernization and Transformation of Japan
• Challenges Related to Japan’s Aging Population
• Japanese Video Games and Their Global Appeal
• The Aftermath of the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster
• The Role of Women in Modern Japanese Society
• Ways of Preserving and Revitalizing Traditional Japanese Arts
• The “Japanese Miracle” of Economic Growth and Technological Advancements
• Achievements, Critiques, and Reforms in the Japanese Education System
• Cherry Blossom Season in Japan
• Symbolism of the Iconic Mount Fuji
• The Legacy of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
• Japan’s Ancient Temples and Urban Landscapes
• How Zen Buddhism Impacts Japanese Aesthetics
• The Beauty and Significance of Origami and Calligraphy
• Japanese Bullet Train and Other Transportation Advancements
• Traditional Japanese Performing Arts: Noh, Kabuki, and Gagaku
• Modern Japanese Literature: Haruki Murakami and Yukio Mishima
• Japanese Business Etiquette, Work Ethics, and Corporate Practices
• Ramen Culture as a Vital Part of the Traditions in Japan Studying the history of the transformation of ramen culture and the role it plays in modern Japanese popular culture helps to explore the uniqueness of the phenomenon and understand the origins of its immense popularity.
• Japanese Animations’ Effects on the Japanese Economy and Their Cultural Influence on Foreign Countries These artists incorporate the characteristic anime stylizations, gags and methodology in their piece of work to produce animations that are a bit similar to Japanese anime. The growing interest among foreign artists in anime is […]
• Culture Comparison Between China and Japan In Japan, it can be proved by the fact that the name Japan is written in the Chinese Kanji and not the Japanese Katakana or Hiragana.
• Disneyland in American, Japanese, European Cultures Due to the popularity of the American culture, Disneyland’s representation of American culture that spreading a positive attitude about life has a significant impact on Disneyland in Asian countries, especially in Japan.
• The Influence of Heavy Metal on Japanese Culture In Japan, the association involving the realm of heavy metal music and personal distinctions has been surveyed in a number of studies.
• Hip-Hop and the Japanese Culture The prevalence of soul dancing in Japan in the earlier years also formed the basis for the wide acceptance of the hip-hop culture into the Japanese culture because soul dancing was common in the streets […]
• Process of Modernization and How It Affected the Cultures of China and Japan Among such countries, China and Japan were voted as the most affected nations by modernization process because of the emergent of simple and advanced technologies. This changed gradually with the spread of industrial revolution in […]
• Japanese Anime and Doujin Culture In the 1980’s the anime spread to other parts of the world including the western world where it has continued to grow in popularity.
• Japanese Culture and Identity in the Modern Era I strongly believe that Japanese popular culture might lose its identity due to influence from other cultures, which may lead to a slight modification of the culture.
• Japan After Globalization: Culture and Ethnocentrism The isolated territorial position of the country, geographical and climatic features, frequent earthquakes, and typhoons had a significant influence on the culture and mentality of the Japanese people.
• Conflict Management in Japanese Culture Japan and its culture truly represent the cultural compromise that determines the development of the entire Japanese spiritual tradition.
• Comparing the USA, China, Japan and the United Kingdom Cultures This diversity is evident in their music, fashion, cuisine, visual arts, cinema and literature and due to the propagation of the same through the media; the American culture has today become the pedestal through which […]
• Influence of Japanese Culture in Hawaii From the census, it is clear that the culture and the cuisine Hawaii, which are known today, were created by the history of the migration of Japanese to Hawaii when they settled there to work […]
• Language and Culture: The Honorifics (Speech or System) of Japanese and Korean In Japan, honorific use is determined by the category of the addressee, that is, he/ she might be superior to the addresser, and this corresponds directly to the verb in use.
• Globalization and Japanese Cultures This map is in that book and this course because of demonstrating the movement of goods and people across the world from Afrique to Patagonia and Nouvelle-Guinee.
• Researching of the Culture of Japan As for me, I thought that the Arabic language is complicated but after I heard Japanese, I understood it was really hard to learn and speak it.
• Relationships in Japanese History and Culture The preparation of the obento is not easy, it demands some special skills, and, of course, deep knowledge of the traditions.
• Western Pop Culture and Street Fashion of Japanese Youth The research of the topic needs to be preceded by the explanation of the key subjects and notions used in the current paper.
• Chinese Han Dynasty: Comparing to the Japanese Culture Changing the focus to that one of the daily lives of ordinary citizens, the art of the Chinese culture during the Han Dynasty era allowed introducing a significant amount of diversity into the artistic realm.
• The Japanese Culture and Ecological Interests Many Japanese practices have been adopted in the western world due to the popularity of the culture. Among the many cultural practices of Japan, karate is the most practiced one outside the state.
• Violence and War in Japanese Popular Culture 50 years after the end of the war, the effects of the war have continued to influence the Japanese culture and have also affected its relations with other countries.
• Culture and Customs of Japan After WWII It must be admitted, however, in the interests of truth, that the traditional mode of living and ways of thinking, both good and bad, are deeply rooted in the life of the Japanese people of […]
• Comparing Japanese and Chinese Cultures The main difference between the Chinese and Japanese concept of loyalty is that the Chinese people emphasize their loyalty to their family as a top priority.
• Japanese Popular Culture: Anime, Video Games, and the Film Industry This report will investigate the growth and influence of Japanese pop culture through anime, video games, and the film industry. The game was created by a Japanese studio and is built on the concept of […]
• The Growth of Japanese Culture in the Tokugawa Period The principal factor that benefited the growth and progress of the nation after the ascension of Tokugawa Ieyasu to power is the conclusion of the Sengoku period.
• Japan’s History and Culture on a Global Scale 1868 marked a period of the modernization of Japan, with the Meiji restoration leading to the centralization of everything about the emperor.
• Japanese and Southeast Asia Cultures The activities of the warrior were based on the principle of bushido. Human civilization is the main characteristic of the culture in the continent of Asia.
• Japanese Colonialism Impact on the Korean Culture For instance, Faker and Ryang consider the effects that the Japanese culture has had on the Korean one, while Schmidt and Lim deal with the ways in which Korea accepted colonialism and how the country […]
• Age in the American and the Japanese Cultures In the Japanese environment, elderly people are respected and appreciated, whereas in the environment of American society, old people are viewed as dead weight.
• American vs. Japanese Cultures as Adaptive Systems Since the analysis of these cultures will be done from the perspective of the cultural theory, the paper will also examine how each culture influences the development of people, identity, and personality within it.
• Japanese National and Organizational Cultures So it is mandatory for the organization to work out modalities of avoiding the feeling of one culture domineering the organization while making the other cultures seem inferior by promoting intercultural bonding and communicating the […]
• Zen Buddhism Religion in Japanese Culture The uniqueness of Zen is in rejecting the importance of doctrines and emphasizing the role of the spiritual growth of the person through the practice of meditation.
• Daoism Philosophy in the Cultures of the Koreans, Japanese and Chinese Besides, the treatise explores the orientations of the Daoist tradition and the concepts of sages, deities, hell and heaven, and Confucian discourse.
• General Aspects of Japanese Corporate Culture Analysing the corporate culture in Japan, the essay will classify the companies into two: the large and small companies The Japanese culture of management stands out clearly in large corporations.
• Japanese Culture Analysis: Values and Traditions For a manager working with a person from the Japanese culture, understanding how the cultural dimensions apply to the culture will help the manager to work well with the other individuals.
• Diversity Management and Japanese Culture This is because it requires a comprehensive understanding of the cultural values of both the native country and also that of the foreign country in which you are supposed to carry out your business activities.
• An Aspect of Politics and Culture of Meiji in Japan In mid 1880’s there was a financial crisis in Japan due to the huge expenses on industrialization. The Sino-Japanese war between 1894and 1895 was due to divergence of interests in Korea involving China and Japan.
• Whaling in Japan: Justifiable by Culture? The gap in reasoning when it comes to utilizing the concept of “scientific research” as a means of justifying the hunting of various whale species by Japanese whalers is the obvious fact that you do […]
• Analysis of “Yuri” Manga as a Peculiarity of Japanese Popular Culture Conclusions of the analysis indicate that yuri manga is not limited to lesbian culture, moreover, it is a significant element of Japanese popular culture.
• Japanese Fascist Ideology and Culture In a fascist authority, the issue of taking control over the people is of great significance and fascist leaders know that for them to control the naivety of the people well then they have to […]
• Traditional Culture No Longer Is Prevalent in Japanese Society However with the phasing of the government policies in to the adoption of the 1870s epoch, it was aimed to enhance the exports of lacquerware to Western countries.
• Cross-Cultural Management: Japanese Culture and Its Workplace Practices This is one of the strategies that can be adopted. This is one of the pitfalls that should be avoided.
• Cultural Evaluation of Japan: Beliefs and Behavior Generally, the culture of Japan is characterized by collectiveness where individualism is not usually a key concept in various practices in different sectors of the economy such as the education system, health care, and politics.
• Influence of the Consumption Phenomenon on Japan’s Social Culture The present society in Japan is founded on the concepts of bettering the welfare of people. Another vital aspect that is worth noting is that the Japanese society is exceptional in because of the presence […]
• Political Economy and Culture in Japan A strong work ethic and management culture in the commerce and manufacturing industry has ensured the prosperity of the Japanese economy. A good example of the interaction of political economics and culture is the case […]
• Issues of Japanese Cultural Identity The other way the anime productions deal with the issues of the Japanese and their cultural identity is by presenting the aspects and ideas that define the people of Japan.
• The Japanese Culture of Ukiyo-E and Ikebana Two areas of the Japanese culture that Mori talks about is Ukiyo-e and Ikebana which are Japanese words that are common to the pre-Meiji artistic works of the Japanese people.
• Japanese Culture vs. Chinese Culture: The Loss of Patriotism
• Anime and Its Effects on Japanese Culture
• Impact of Buddhism on the Japanese Culture
• Chinese and Japanese Culture Comparison and Analysis
• Cultural Globalisation Through Japanese Culture
• Did the Samurai Have a Significant Impact on Japanese Culture?
• Differences Between Korean and Japanese Culture
• Eating Disorders and Self-Harm in Japanese Culture
• Gender Roles in the Japanese Culture
• Hip-Hop Impact on the Japanese Culture
• How Does Sushi Reflect Japanese Culture?
• Overview of Japanese Culture and Communication Features
• Japanese Culture Views on Homosexuality
• How Japanese Culture Has Become So Popular
• Japanese Culture and Its Relation to Buddhism
• How Japanese Culture Affects the Economy
• The Parallels Between Japanese Culture and Military Conflict History
• The Relationships Between Japanese Culture and Politics
• How Reliance Will Get Fit Into the Japanese Culture
• Linking Japanese and South African Culture
• Japanese Culture and the Misconceptions Associated With It
• American Culture and Japanese Culture: Comparative Analysis
• Japanese Culture and Western Influence on It
• The Role of Sexuality in the Japanese Culture
• Japanese Culture: Art, History, and Society
• Japanese Culture and Role of Women in It
• Communication Guide Between America Business Culture and Japanese Culture
• Japanese Culture Factors Influenced the Disclosure of Financial Information
• The Link Between Religions and Japanese Culture
• Japanese Culture: From Ancient to Modern Times
• Social and Geographical Aspects of the Japanese Culture
• Japanese Culture Places High Value on Privacy
• The Gender Problems in the Japanese Culture
• Japanese Culture: Producing Japan in the World
• Key Similarities and Differences Between the Japanese and the American Cultures
• Japanese Culture That Reflects Through Their Writing and Art Forms
• Motivation and Organizational Japanese Culture
• The Odd and Fascinating Japanese Culture
• Tracing Back the Japanese Culture to 10,000 BC
• Understanding the Japanese Culture Through the Warrior Codes of Bushido
• What Is the Influence of Anime on Japanese Culture?
• Are Chinese and Japanese Cultures Similar?
• How Is Cultural Globalization Through Japanese Culture?
• Did the Samurai Have a Significant Impact on Japanese Culture and Historical?
• What Are the Differences Between Korean and Japanese Cultures?
• Are Eating Disorders and Self-Harm Inherent in Japanese Culture?
• What Is the Cultural Assessment of Japanese Culture?
• What Are the Gender Roles in Japanese Culture?
• How Has Japanese Culture Become So Popular?
• How Dose Japanese Culture Affects the Economy Cultural?
• What Is the Attitude Towards Homosexuality in Japanese Culture?
• What Are the Features of Communication in Japanese Culture?
• How Reliance Will Get Fit Into the Japanese Culture?
• How Does Japanese Culture Affect Japanese Business?
• What Are Some Misconceptions About Japanese Culture?
• What Is the Place of Women in Japanese Culture?
• What Do You Need to Know About Japanese Culture Before Going to Japan?
• How Did Japanese Culture Change From Ancient Times to Modern Times?
• How Is Japan’s Culture Reflected in Their Writing and Art Forms?
• What Are the Differences Between American and Japanese Cultures?
• How Is Sexuality Interpreted in Japanese Culture?
• How Does Japanese Culture Spread Abroad?
• What Is the Place of Religion in Japanese Culture?
• What Are the Socio-Geographical Aspects of Japanese Culture?
• What Is the Place of Food in Japanese Culture?
• How Can Japanese Culture Be Understood Through the Warrior Codes of Bushido?
• What Is the Uniqueness of Japanese Culture?
• How Does the West Respond to Japanese Culture?
• What Is the Role of Buddhism in Japanese Culture?
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IvyPanda. (2023, December 21). 147 Japanese Culture Essay Topic Ideas & Examples. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/japanese-culture-essay-topics/

"147 Japanese Culture Essay Topic Ideas & Examples." IvyPanda , 21 Dec. 2023, ivypanda.com/essays/topic/japanese-culture-essay-topics/.

IvyPanda . (2023) '147 Japanese Culture Essay Topic Ideas & Examples'. 21 December.

IvyPanda . 2023. "147 Japanese Culture Essay Topic Ideas & Examples." December 21, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/japanese-culture-essay-topics/.

1. IvyPanda . "147 Japanese Culture Essay Topic Ideas & Examples." December 21, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/japanese-culture-essay-topics/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "147 Japanese Culture Essay Topic Ideas & Examples." December 21, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/japanese-culture-essay-topics/.

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Anime and Japanese Culture Essay Ideas

For each topic, I will link an article I’ve written to help you get started. The references at the bottom of each article can give you a solid foundation for your essay. However, don’t copy my articles and try to pass them off as your own. Teachers read this blog and plagiarism checking websites will flag your essay if you try. I also suggest you visit MangaTherapy and Anime Science 101 for more essay ideas.

Personal Essay – The Impact of Samurai Champloo on Your Life.

Parted Roads – The Ending of Samurai Champloo

Samurai Champloo – to Die in the Name of the Samurai

Personal Essay – The Importance of a Video Game in Your Life

You can also take the same idea as Samurai Champloo and apply it to a video game. While it seems silly to say an anime or a video game changed your life (the phrase has become trite from overuse), stories shape who we are. The Legend of Zelda (along with Final Fantasy VI ) shaped much of my childhood and my idea of storytelling. I enjoyed Breath of the Wild because of how it went back to the start of the series with its exploration. I hadn’t had such a fun romp in a long time, and the game reminded me how much I’ve benefited from the series.

Here’s my essay on how The Legend of Zelda shaped me: Stories of Childhood: The Legacy of The Legend of Zelda

Censorship in Anime

Censoring Anime Nudity Increases Its Sexuality

Write about NEETs

NEETs have become a discussion topic in recent years. Perhaps you fall into the category or know someone who does. NEETs have become a focus of anime lately, particularly for isekei stories. You can touch on the problems NEETs pose society or look at the personal cost of the lifestyle.

Recovery of an MMO Junkie and the Dichotomy of Offline and Online Life

What is a NEET?

Sexuality in Manga

Sex in Anime and Manga

Anime’s Breast Obsession Explained

Ukiyo-e and the Importance of Eyebrows

Anime and Teaching Morals

You can explain how anime teaches good morals to children. This type of essay is best reduced to just a few morals, such as friendship, perseverance, or something similar. You can then support your argument with examples from various anime.

Anime as a Teaching Method

Anime Virtues: You Don’t Need a Reason to Help Someone

Anime Virtues: Quiet Confidence

Essay Writing Tips

• Work early. While some people do their best work under a tight deadline, it’s usually better to get your work done early. This gives you time to revise and, in the end, gives you more time to do what you want to do.
• Let your first draft be crappy. My first drafts are ugly; you can’t fix a blank page. Use the first draft to explore your topic and think it through. When you revise you can move sections around to improve the logic. Don’t be afraid to cut and rewrite. That’s why you have to start a project early.
• Take a break. Breaks let you freshen your eyes, allowing you to see mistakes easier.
• Let yourself be imperfect. No work of writing is perfect. Writing is a human endeavor, and imperfections reveal the human hand. This isn’t an excuse for sloppiness. Excellence is imperfect, but excellence isn’t sloppy.
• Have fun. This is perhaps the hardest of my advice. I didn’t have much fun with many of my writing projects in university, but writing goes easier when you can find something enjoyable about an assignment. I always enjoyed bending a seemingly obtuse assignment to my will.
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The Asahi Shimbun

Osaka working to help students maintain their cultural roots

THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

March 27, 2024 at 07:00 JST

Osaka Prefecture leads the nation in working to help students of foreign descent retain their bicultural identity by offering classes in a language their parents speak.

The endeavor comes as it is widely recognized in academia that learning in the language of their parents benefits students not just in establishing their identity, but also in enhancing their ability to think and strengthening their Japanese language proficiency.

In December, three students of Filipino ancestry took a class led by a Filipino teacher in Tagalog, a language spoken in the Philippines, at public-supported Fusekita High School in Higashi-Osaka in the prefecture.

The students, who were in their third year, took turns reading aloud from a book in Tagalog. When they made a mistake, the teacher corrected them.

The students said they use Tagalog when they talk, but reading a book written in Tagalog does not come easily to them partly because it contains old expressions.

Jochelle Ramos , one of the students, came to Japan when she was a fifth-grader.

She speaks in Tagalog with her mother but in Japanese with her brothers.

“I’m gradually losing my grip on Tagalog,” she lamented.

One of the students in the class who came to Japan when he was in his second year of junior high school, teased her, saying, “I don’t understand what you’re saying sometimes.”

In fiscal 2001, Osaka Prefecture introduced a system where language classes would be offered during the regular curriculum at some of its public high schools accepting foreign students with limited Japanese skills.

There are currently eight such schools participating in the program.

There, students with bicultural backgrounds take two classes of Japanese and in their native language every week.

A traditional home to ethnic Koreans, Osaka Prefecture has seen numerous extracurricular activities that teach Korean and the country’s culture to children of that ancestry.

It was aimed at instilling a sense of self-esteem and self-worth among ethnic Korean children as they have often been the target of discrimination and prejudice in Japanese society.

The prefecture then saw an influx of people arriving from other parts of Asia and elsewhere from the 1980s onward.

There was a time that school officials instructed children of diverse ethnic backgrounds to speak Japanese as much as possible even at home.

Their intention was that in doing so, the children would quickly assimilate into their host community and society.

But one essay written by an elementary schoolboy in the 1990s led teachers to question whether their emphasis on Japanese language proficiency was appropriate.

In the essay, a third-grader with Chinese parents wrote about a phone call his family received from his grandmother, who lives in China.

It was the first time for the boy to get a phone call from his grandmother after his family came to live in Japan.

The student wrote that his parents and older brother happily talked with her.

When he was handed the phone, however, he waved his hand to pass, saying, “Because I don’t understand Chinese.”

The boy went on to say that when he looked at his parents, they both had tears in their eyes.

“I thought that my parents cried because I forgot Chinese, but it also occurred to me that they cried because they were delighted to talk with my grandmother,” he said. “I wish I could have talked with her.”

His essay, which is well known among teachers in the prefecture even today, made the teachers at the time realize that their approach might have made children unable to communicate with their relatives who do not speak Japanese.

They now share the view that giving lessons in the language of their ancestry is also important.

In 2021, the Central Council for Education, an advisory panel to the education minister, acknowledged the need for giving more language support to children of foreign descent so that they can learn more about their heritage.

But the central government has yet to lay out any specific programs for it.

Osaka Prefecture is rare in terms of addressing the issue by offering language classes as part of the regular curriculum.

Most efforts elsewhere in the country occur after school with the help of volunteers.

Kimi Yamoto, associate professor of foreign language education at Osaka University, noted that many education officials prioritize lessons on Japanese language and culture while paying little attention to foreign children’s native languages.

“More opportunities should be made available to allow them to appreciate the language and culture of their ancestral countries,” she said.

She added that a shortage of personnel who can assist in their mother tongue must also be resolved.

(This article was written by Takuya Asakura and Chika Yamamoto.)

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Application due March 30 for Japanese Cultural Society of Maui Scholarship

The Japanese Cultural Society of Maui (JCSM) is accepting applications for its annual scholarships to be awarded to graduating high school seniors with a record of involvement in promoting and perpetuating Japanese culture and/or language.

The deadline of March 30, 2024 is closely approaching. Those interested in applying may find the application form and submission instructions at  https://jcsmaui.org/scholarship .

JCSM will award $1,000 scholarship/s and one recipient of the Asa Ellison Memorial Scholarship Award for an applicant who in addition has shown grit in learning and in the perpetuation of the Japanese language – at $1,500. More awards may be given depending on funding. The deadline to apply for the 2024 Scholarship Program is March 30, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. No extensions.

Previous awardees

2023 Winners

The Japanese Cultural Society of Maui is honored three outstanding scholarship recipients in 2023 :

• Asa Ellison Memorial Scholarship ($1,500): Kaitlin Kitagawa, King Kekaulike High School
• Japanese Cultural Society scholarship (1,000): Jaimee Yokoyama, King Kekaulike High School
• Japanese Cultural Society scholarship (1,000): Taylie Teraoka, H.P. Baldwin High School

2022 Winners

The Japanese Cultural Society of Maui awarded two scholarships to outstanding students in 2022 .

• Asa Ellison Memorial Scholarship ($1,500): Teisha Nishimitsu, King Kekaulike High School
• Japanese Cultural Society scholarship (1,000): Payten Shimizu, H.P. Baldwin High School

2021 Winners

The Japanese Cultural Society of Maui awarded four scholarships to high school students who perpetuated the Japanese culture and language in 2021 .

• Asa Ellison Memorial Scholarship ($1,750): Leilah V. Eusebio, King Kekaulike High School
• Japanese Cultural Society scholarship (1,000): Elise Aquinde, Maui High School
• Japanese Cultural Society scholarship (1,000): Teige-Anna Barcoma Suyat, Maui High School
• Japanese Cultural Society scholarship (1,000): Cassidy Hanano, Kamehameha Schools Maui

Application details

Visit the application form for full instructions. For questions, contact Scholarship Chair Brian Nagami at [email protected] .

Eligibility:

• The applicant must be a resident of the island of Maui during the senior year.
• The applicant must be a graduate of the class of 2024 from a high school on Maui.
• The applicant must complete the Scholarship Program Application Form and submit all the requirements by the deadline.
• 50 points – ESSAY. Interest, desire and explanation in perpetuating Japanese culture based on the application questions.
• 30 points – INVOLVEMENT in Japanese culture promotion such as extracurricular events in school or community activities.
• 10 points – RECOMMENDATION. At least 1 letter of recommendation from a non-relative explaining the applicant’s character and potential.
• 10 points – FINANCIAL NEED.

Submission:

Applicants may choose between two ways to submit an application:

• By email to [email protected] , must be received by 11:59 p.m. on March 30, 2024
• Regular mail to JCSM Scholarship Committee at P.O. Box 5090, Kahului, HI 96733 postmarked by March 30, 2024, 11:59 p.m. Late submissions will not be accepted.
• Completed and signed Application Form
• Copy of official High School Transcript or proof of graduation (photo/scan is OK)
• Applicant Profile Photo (selfie OK)
• Recommendation letter (signed and dated)
• (Optional) Supporting photos of no more than five

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Guest Essay

One Way to Help a Journalism Industry in Crisis: Make J-School Free

By Graciela Mochkofsky

Ms. Mochkofsky is the dean at CUNY’s Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism.

Many uncertainties haunt the field of journalism today — among them, how we can reach our audience, build public trust in our work, and who is going to pay for it all. But one thing is certain: as complicated and dark as the world looks today, it would be much worse if journalists were not there to report on it.

Research shows that towns that have lost sources of local news tend to suffer from lower voter turnout, less civic engagement and more government corruption. Journalists are essential just as nurses and firefighters and doctors are essential.

And to continue to have journalists, we need to make their journalism education free.

This might sound counterintuitive given the state of the industry. Shrinking revenue and decreasing subscription figures have led to a record number of newsroom jobs lost. Much of the local news industry has fallen into the hands of hedge funds focused on squeezing the last drops of revenue out of operations by decimating them. Billionaires who appeared as saviors just a few years ago have grown tired of losing money on the media organizations they bought. Public trust in the value of news is at historical lows, while a growing percentage of people are avoiding the news altogether.

Generative artificial intelligence, which is on the verge of reshaping almost everything around us, is bringing yet another technological disruption to the industry. Against this grim backdrop, authoritarian leaders are increasingly targeting journalists as political enemies both at home and abroad.

And yet there are still tens of thousands of jobs in news media in America, with exceptional journalism being produced every day. Some major organizations have even found ways to thrive in the digital age. Prominent foundation leaders have started an effort to pour hundreds of millions of philanthropic dollars into local journalism, and a movement has formed to push for federal and local legislation to direct public funding to news. An initiative to replant local news has founded dozens of nonprofit newsrooms in cities around the country. And a small but growing number of organizations are redefining the way news agendas are set, focusing on rebuilding public trust within small communities.

No matter how the news industry evolves, we will continue to need journalists. Successful business models for media are necessary, but the most crucial element for strong, independent journalism is the people who make it. Given the present stakes in the industry, our society and the world, we need mission-driven, imaginative news leaders who are not bound by the models of the past, who have the motivation and freedom to reimagine the field, and the empathy and commitment to serve the public interest, undaunted by attacks and threats.

We must also move beyond the lack of economic and demographic diversity that has long been a problem in the industry. News has too often been reported by predominantly middle-class, white, male journalists, resulting in coverage that has repeatedly missed the issues that are most important to the people receiving the news, contributing to the public’s lack of trust in the media.

In a resource-starved industry, few newsrooms can offer the type of mentoring, guidance and time that it takes to shape a great journalist. This is now primarily the responsibility of journalism schools. It is the civic duty of these schools to find and train reporters and news leaders, instill in them an ethical foundation, help develop their critical thinking skills, allow them to try and fail in a safe environment, open doors and provide a support network. (Journalism schools should also contribute research in a variety of areas, from the impact of A.I. to new business models to identifying and responding to emerging threats.)

But the cost of a journalism education has become an insurmountable barrier for exactly the kind of people we need the most. And those who, with great effort, manage to overcome that barrier, carry a weight that could limit their professional options.

Reporters burdened with debt are less likely to take professional risks and more likely to abandon the field. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median reporter salary in America is less than $56,000 a year, or about $27 per hour. In low-income areas, where news deserts are more prevalent, annual salaries can be as low as $20,000. A Wall Street Journal report about the debt-to-income ratio of alumni of 16 journalism masters programs found that many graduates leave with debts that exceed their postgraduate income.

As the dean of the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York, I can tell you that half measures won’t solve this quandary. My school was founded in 2006 as a public alternative to elite journalism schools in the city and it remains one of the most affordable in the nation.

Our in-state students pay about a quarter of the cost of an equivalent degree from top-tier schools with which we successfully compete. This year alone, 90 percent of our students are on scholarships, and a record 25 percent are attending tuition-free. We also waived the $75 application fee this admission cycle and saw an increase of more than 40 percent in our applicant pool.

Thanks to these policies, we have succeeded where the media industry keeps failing. Over 50 percent of our students are people of color and from underserved communities. Many couldn’t have attended our school if we hadn’t offered significant scholarship support. But that’s not enough. Though we rank as one of the journalism schools with higher-medium-income and lower-median-debt alumni, our students still don’t graduate fully debt-free.

This is why this year, we began a campaign to go fully tuition-free by 2027. While other schools might face different financial challenges, we hope that many more will follow us.

We need journalists whose only obligations are to the facts and the society they serve, not to lenders; who are concerned with the public interest, not with interest rates; who can make risky decisions and take the difficult path if that’s what the mission requires, free of financial burden. Journalism schools can help achieve that. In tough times, it is natural to mourn the past or lament the present, but what we really need is bold action.

Graciela Mochkofsky is the dean at CUNY’s Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism. She is the author, most recently, of “ The Prophet of the Andes: An Unlikely Journey to the Promised Land .”

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And here’s our email: [email protected] .

Follow the New York Times Opinion section on Facebook , Instagram , TikTok , WhatsApp , X and Threads .

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Japan schools move to protect cheerleaders from upskirting at sporting events

Several schools have brought in shorts for cheerleaders at baseball tournament while another positioned teachers between the cheerleaders and spectators

High schools taking part in Japan’s annual spring baseball tournament are taking action to prevent spectators from taking sexualised photographs of female cheerleaders.

The invitational tournament – and a regular tournament held every summer at Koshien stadium near Osaka – are supposed to be a celebration of youthful sporting prowess and a chance for teenage boys from 32 schools around the country to make their mark and perhaps catch the eye of a professional ball club.

But in recent years the events have been marred by incidences of voyeurism, in which female members of cheerleading groups, often dressed in sleeveless tops and short skirts, are photographed without their consent, with the images posted online in some cases.

In response, cheerleaders from several schools now perform in the stands wearing long-sleeved shirts and shorts, although other schools have retained the traditional uniform.

あすは大会第5日 第96回センバツ高校野球 NHKでは全試合生中継予定！ 放送予定👇 https://t.co/c3s15XszyT 大会第5日第2試合に登場する 大阪桐蔭（大阪）の 「学校自慢」をご覧ください #センバツ #甲子園 pic.twitter.com/ADZWAukP5t — NHK甲子園 (@nhk_koushien) March 21, 2024

Earlier this week, girls from Takasaki high school in Gunma prefecture, north-west of Tokyo, performed in shorts that had been designed to complement the uniforms worn by its baseball team.

Despite complaints by some girls that they preferred to wear skirts, school officials said the group had accepted the costume change.

“Voyeuristic photos can potentially cause lifelong emotional damage to our students,” said Takasaki teacher Kohei Shiozawa, according to the public broadcaster NHK.

Airi Ozawa, the head of the school’s cheerleading team, told the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper: “At first, I thought a skirt would be better, but when I actually wore [shorts] and started cheering, I felt a sense of unity as the outfits matched the baseball team uniforms. And they were easy to move about in. Now I can dance with peace of mind.”

As an additional deterrent, teachers from the school are patrolling the stands at Koshien with signs asking spectators to refrain from photographing students. Earlier this week, teachers from another school positioned themselves between the cheerleaders and regular spectators to block the view of would-be voyeurs.

Concern over secret photography has spread to other sports in Japan , with complaints from women competing in gymnastics, track and field and synchronised swimming, among other sports, that they have been secretly filmed or photographed.

In 2020, the Japan Olympic Committee described upskirting and other forms of secret photography targeting female athletes as “despicable”, warning that it would empower stadium officials to check images taken by spectators during the Tokyo Games.

The sportswear manufacturer Mizuno has developed a special fabric it says will deter voyeurs from secretly using infrared cameras that produce a “see-through” effect.

The firm plans to make the textile commercially available for track and field uniforms, sports bras and swimsuits, according to the Asahi Shimbun.

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Should college essays touch on race? Some feel the affirmative action ruling leaves them no choice

Collin Binkley, Annie Ma And Noreen Nasir

Associated Press

Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved

Hillary Amofa listens to others member of the Lincoln Park High School step team after school Friday, March 8, 2024, in Chicago. When she started writing her college essay, Amofa told the story she thought admissions offices wanted to hear. She wrote about being the daughter of immigrants from Ghana, about growing up in a small apartment in Chicago. She described hardship and struggle. Then she deleted it all. "I would just find myself kind of trauma-dumping," said the 18 year-old senior, "And I'm just like, this doesn't really say anything about me as a person." (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

CHICAGO – When she started writing her college essay, Hillary Amofa told the story she thought admissions offices wanted to hear. About being the daughter of immigrants from Ghana and growing up in a small apartment in Chicago. About hardship and struggle.

Then she deleted it all.

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“I would just find myself kind of trauma-dumping,” said the 18-year-old senior at Lincoln Park High School in Chicago. “And I’m just like, this doesn’t really say anything about me as a person.”

When the Supreme Court ended affirmative action in higher education, it left the college essay as one of few places where race can play a role in admissions decisions. For many students of color, instantly more was riding on the already high-stakes writing assignment. Some say they felt pressure to exploit their hardships as they competed for a spot on campus.

Amofa was just starting to think about her essay when the court issued its decision, and it left her with a wave of questions. Could she still write about her race? Could she be penalized for it? She wanted to tell colleges about her heritage but she didn’t want to be defined by it.

In English class, Amofa and her classmates read sample essays that all seemed to focus on some trauma or hardship. It left her with the impression she had to write about her life's hardest moments to show how far she'd come. But she and some of her classmates wondered if their lives had been hard enough to catch the attention of admissions offices.

“For a lot of students, there’s a feeling of, like, having to go through something so horrible to feel worthy of going to school, which is kind of sad,” said Amofa, the daughter of a hospital technician and an Uber driver.

This year’s senior class is the first in decades to navigate college admissions without affirmative action . The Supreme Court upheld the practice in decisions going back to the 1970s, but this court’s conservative supermajority found it is unconstitutional for colleges to give students extra weight because of their race alone.

Still, the decision left room for race to play an indirect role: Chief Justice John Roberts wrote universities can still consider how an applicant’s life was shaped by their race, “so long as that discussion is concretely tied to a quality of character or unique ability.”

“A benefit to a student who overcame racial discrimination, for example, must be tied to that student’s courage and determination,” he wrote.

Scores of colleges responded with new essay prompts asking about students’ backgrounds. Brown University asked applicants how “an aspect of your growing up has inspired or challenged you.” Rice University asked students how their perspectives were shaped by their “background, experiences, upbringing, and/or racial identity.”

WONDERING IF SCHOOLS ‘EXPECT A SOB STORY’

When Darrian Merritt started writing his essay, he knew the stakes were higher than ever because of the court’s decision. His first instinct was to write about events that led to him going to live with his grandmother as a child.

Those were painful memories, but he thought they might play well at schools like Yale, Stanford and Vanderbilt.

“I feel like the admissions committee might expect a sob story or a tragic story,” said Merritt, a senior in Cleveland. “And if you don’t provide that, then maybe they’re not going to feel like you went through enough to deserve having a spot at the university. I wrestled with that a lot.”

He wrote drafts focusing on his childhood, but it never amounted to more than a collection of memories. Eventually he abandoned the idea and aimed for an essay that would stand out for its positivity.

Merritt wrote about a summer camp where he started to feel more comfortable in his own skin. He described embracing his personality and defying his tendency to please others. The essay had humor — it centered on a water gun fight where he had victory in sight but, in a comedic twist, slipped and fell. But the essay also reflects on his feelings of not being “Black enough” and getting made fun of for listening to “white people music."

“I was like, ‘OK, I’m going to write this for me, and we’re just going to see how it goes,’” he said. “It just felt real, and it felt like an honest story.”

The essay describes a breakthrough as he learned "to take ownership of myself and my future by sharing my true personality with the people I encounter. ... I realized that the first chapter of my own story had just been written.”

A RULING PROMPTS PIVOTS ON ESSAY TOPICS

Like many students, Max Decker of Portland, Oregon, had drafted a college essay on one topic, only to change direction after the Supreme Court ruling in June.

Decker initially wrote about his love for video games. In a childhood surrounded by constant change, navigating his parents’ divorce, the games he took from place to place on his Nintendo DS were a source of comfort.

But the essay he submitted to colleges focused on the community he found through Word is Bond, a leadership group for young Black men in Portland.

As the only biracial, Jewish kid with divorced parents in a predominantly white, Christian community, Decker wrote he constantly felt like the odd one out. On a trip with Word is Bond to Capitol Hill, he and friends who looked just like him shook hands with lawmakers. The experience, he wrote, changed how he saw himself.

“It’s because I’m different that I provide something precious to the world, not the other way around,” he wrote.

As a first-generation college student, Decker thought about the subtle ways his peers seemed to know more about navigating the admissions process . They made sure to get into advanced classes at the start of high school, and they knew how to secure glowing letters of recommendation.

If writing about race would give him a slight edge and show admissions officers a fuller picture of his achievements, he wanted to take that small advantage.

His first memory about race, Decker said, was when he went to get a haircut in elementary school and the barber made rude comments about his curly hair. Until recently, the insecurity that moment created led him to keep his hair buzzed short.

Through Word is Bond, Decker said he found a space to explore his identity as a Black man. It was one of the first times he was surrounded by Black peers and saw Black role models. It filled him with a sense of pride in his identity. No more buzzcut.

The pressure to write about race involved a tradeoff with other important things in his life, Decker said. That included his passion for journalism, like the piece he wrote on efforts to revive a once-thriving Black neighborhood in Portland. In the end, he squeezed in 100 characters about his journalism under the application’s activities section.

“My final essay, it felt true to myself. But the difference between that and my other essay was the fact that it wasn’t the truth that I necessarily wanted to share,” said Decker, whose top college choice is Tulane, in New Orleans, because of the region’s diversity. “It felt like I just had to limit the truth I was sharing to what I feel like the world is expecting of me.”

SPELLING OUT THE IMPACT OF RACE

Before the Supreme Court ruling, it seemed a given to Imani Laird that colleges would consider the ways that race had touched her life. But now, she felt like she had to spell it out.

As she started her essay, she reflected on how she had faced bias or felt overlooked as a Black student in predominantly white spaces.

There was the year in math class when the teacher kept calling her by the name of another Black student. There were the comments that she’d have an easier time getting into college because she was Black .

“I didn’t have it easier because of my race,” said Laird, a senior at Newton South High School in the Boston suburbs who was accepted at Wellesley and Howard University, and is waiting to hear from several Ivy League colleges. “I had stuff I had to overcome.”

In her final essays, she wrote about her grandfather, who served in the military but was denied access to GI Bill benefits because of his race.

She described how discrimination fueled her ambition to excel and pursue a career in public policy.

“So, I never settled for mediocrity,” she wrote. “Regardless of the subject, my goal in class was not just to participate but to excel. Beyond academics, I wanted to excel while remembering what started this motivation in the first place.”

WILL SCHOOLS LOSE RACIAL DIVERSITY?

Amofa used to think affirmative action was only a factor at schools like Harvard and Yale. After the court's ruling, she was surprised to find that race was taken into account even at some public universities she was applying to.

Now, without affirmative action, she wondered if mostly white schools will become even whiter.

It's been on her mind as she chooses between Indiana University and the University of Dayton, both of which have relatively few Black students. When she was one of the only Black students in her grade school, she could fall back on her family and Ghanaian friends at church. At college, she worries about loneliness.

“That’s what I’m nervous about,” she said. “Going and just feeling so isolated, even though I’m constantly around people.”

The first drafts of her essay focused on growing up in a low-income family, sharing a bedroom with her brother and grandmother. But it didn’t tell colleges about who she is now, she said.

Her final essay tells how she came to embrace her natural hair . She wrote about going to a mostly white grade school where classmates made jokes about her afro. When her grandmother sent her back with braids or cornrows, they made fun of those too.

Over time, she ignored their insults and found beauty in the styles worn by women in her life. She now runs a business doing braids and other hairstyles in her neighborhood.

“I stopped seeing myself through the lens of the European traditional beauty standards and started seeing myself through the lens that I created,” Amofa wrote.

“Criticism will persist, but it loses its power when you know there’s a crown on your head!"

Ma reported from Portland, Oregon.

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A woman accuses a schoolmate of raping her at age 12. The school system says she is making it up.

A LEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — A 24-year-old woman told jurors Tuesday that she was repeatedly raped and sexually harassed a decade ago as a seventh-grade student in Virginia, and that school officials reacted to her pleas for help with indifference.

Lawyers for the school system say she is making it up, and she wept on the stand when she was cross-examined about evidence suggesting her allegations were untrue.

An eight-person civil jury in U.S. District Court in Alexandria will have to decide whether the woman — identified in court papers only by her initials B.R. — is telling the truth, and whether school officials should be held liable for their response.

The case is one among several high-profile sexual misconduct cases that have been filed in recent years against northern Virginia school systems. Virginia's Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin has faulted school systems for their responses to issues of student safety.

The case involving B.R. stretches back to allegations she was raped and harassed as a 12-year-old student at Rachel Carson Middle School in Reston, a part of the state's largest school system, Fairfax County Public Schools.

B.R.'s allegations were the impetus for a 2014 settlement with the U.S. Department of Education and the school system, over accusations the district failed to adequately investigate the student’s complaint.

But the school system admitted no wrongdoing as part of that settlement. And in the ongoing civil trial brought by B.R., the district alleges that she fabricated the rape allegations.

In court papers, the district has accused B.R. of perpetrating a “fraud upon the court.”

The school system's lawyers introduced evidence Tuesday of social media posts and text messages back from 2011 that seem to suggest that B.R. and her alleged rapist — a 13-year-old eighth grader — were actually a boyfriend and girlfriend who willingly engaged in sex acts.

In one of the texts, B.R. flatly tells the boy “I love you” at a time when she now says she was being repeatedly raped by the boy after school at a bus stop.

B.R., according to the school system, only claimed the sex was against her will after the boy broke up with her and after her mother discovered a salacious voicemail message on the girl's phone and alerted school officials.

B.R., though, was adamant in her testimony that she was raped multiple times by the student at the bus stop and in some nearby woods, and that other kids routinely surrounded her and fondled her on school grounds at her locker.

She testified Tuesday that she sent text messages purportedly showing a willing sexual relationship only because her attacker threatened her and made her send them so that no one would believe her if she ever claimed rape.

And she denied that she was the author of several other social media posts that seemed to indicate a consensual sexual relationship between the two, despite details in the messages that included her locker number at school and other specifics that correlated directly to her.

The school district also argues that B.R.'s claims have evolved over the years. The first written complaint that she made to school officials in November 2011 makes no allegations of rape or unwelcome physical contact. Instead, it says that she was called names, that she was falsely accused of promiscuity, and that boys were crowding her and giving her “seductive looks.”

B.R. acknowledged in her testimony that she never told school officials about the rape allegations. But she said she told them in conversations that boys at school were touching her breasts and genitalia, and that her complaints were largely ignored over a period of months before she finally withdrew from the school.

“I felt like I lost my voice as a 12-year-old,” she said. “I felt like no one believed me.”

Her allegations have also evolved since she first filed her lawsuit in 2019. In one amended version of her complaint, B.R. said that groups of unknown men gang-raped her multiple times in a school closet, and she suggested in court papers that the attacks were related to gang trafficking. In her testimony at trial, though. B.R. made no mention of those alleged gang rapes.

The trial is scheduled to conclude next month.