🎓 Entrance Exams
大学入試の自由英作文・長文で出る日本文化のテーマ
365 entries (page 1 of 7)Tap a title to open the full entry: three lengths of English explanation, the questions people actually ask, ready-made phrases and audio.
- ArtsEssential haiku俳句the seventeen-syllable poem
- ArtsEssential ukiyo-e浮世絵woodblock prints
- BuddhismEssential ohakamairiお墓参りvisiting the family grave
- BuddhismEssential Zen禅a school of Buddhism built on seated meditation
- BuddhismEssential daibutsu大仏the great Buddha statues
- BuddhismEssential nihon no bukkyo日本の仏教how Buddhism arrived, changed, and ended up handling funerals
- BuddhismEssential butsuzo no miwakekata仏像の見分け方the four ranks of Buddhist image and how to read them
- Martial ArtsEssential kiai気合the shout that focuses breath and energy into a technique
- Martial ArtsEssential kata型a prearranged sequence of moves practiced alone or against an imagined opponent
- Martial ArtsEssential judo柔道the martial art that became an Olympic sport
- Martial ArtsEssential sumo相撲Japanese wrestling with Shinto roots, often called the national sport
- ConceptsEssential omotenashiおもてなしJapanese hospitality
- ConceptsEssential ganbatteがんばってthe encouragement that is not quite good luck
- ConceptsEssential tadaima and okaeriただいま・おかえりthe greeting exchanged when someone comes home
- ConceptsEssential mottainaiもったいないwhat a waste
- ConceptsEssential yoroshiku onegaishimasuよろしくお願いしますthe phrase with no English equivalent
- ConceptsEssential isshokenmei一生懸命with everything you have
- ConceptsEssential kanji hiragana katakana漢字・ひらがな・カタカナwhy Japanese is written with three writing systems at once
- ConceptsEssential omoiyari思いやりimagining how the other person feels
- ConceptsEssential nanakorobi yaoki七転び八起きfall seven times, get up eight
- ConceptsEssential deru kui wa utareru出る杭は打たれるthe stake that sticks out gets hammered down
- ConceptsEssential josushi助数詞the counters Japanese puts after a number
- ConceptsEssential ishi no ue nimo sannen石の上にも三年three years sitting on a stone
- ConceptsEssential meiwaku wo kakenai迷惑をかけないnot causing trouble for others
- ConceptsEssential wasei-eigo和製英語English-looking words made in Japan
- Annual EventsEssential oshogatsuお正月the Japanese New Year
- Annual EventsEssential obonお盆the summer festival for returning ancestors
- Annual EventsEssential hanami花見cherry blossom viewing
- Annual EventsEssential nihon no shukujitsu日本の祝日the national holiday calendar
- FolkloreEssential Urashima Taro浦島太郎the fisherman who spends three days under the sea and returns three hundred years later
- FolkloreEssential senbazuru千羽鶴a thousand folded cranes, given as a wish for recovery or peace
- FolkloreEssential Momotaro桃太郎the boy born from a peach who goes to fight demons
- FolkloreEssential nihon no mukashibanashi日本の昔話the handful of stories every Japanese child grows up knowing
- Food & DrinkEssential itadakimasuいただきますwhat we say before eating
- Food & DrinkEssential ichiju sansai一汁三菜one soup and three dishes, the standard shape of a Japanese meal
- Food & DrinkEssential kome米rice as the center of the meal
- Food & DrinkEssential bento弁当a packed meal in a box
- Food & DrinkEssential misoshiru味噌汁the soup served with almost every Japanese meal
- Food & DrinkEssential washoku和食traditional Japanese cuisine
- Food & DrinkEssential donburi丼ものa bowl of rice with something cooked served on top
- HistoryEssential gengo元号the Japanese era name
- HistoryEssential samurai侍the warrior class of old Japan
- Life EventsEssential iei遺影the portrait photograph displayed at a funeral
- Life EventsEssential nengajo年賀状New Year greeting cards
- MannersEssential ojigiお辞儀bowing
- MannersEssential sanzukeさん付けwhy names always have something attached
- MannersEssential retsu ni narabu列に並ぶwhy Japanese queues are so orderly
- Modern JapanEssential gomi bunbetsuゴミの分別sorting your garbage
- Modern JapanEssential masukuマスクwhy people wear masks in Japan
- Modern JapanEssential shoshi koreika少子高齢化a falling birth rate with an aging population
- Modern JapanEssential shinkansen新幹線the bullet train
- Modern JapanEssential manin densha満員電車the packed commuter train
- Seasons & NatureEssential kazan to jishin火山と地震living on an unstable archipelago
- Seasons & NatureEssential shiki四季the four seasons, as Japan talks about them
- Seasons & NatureEssential tsuyu梅雨the rainy season
- PlacesEssential kyoto京都the capital for a thousand years, and how to explain it
- PlacesEssential Hiroshima to Heiwa Kinen Koen広島と平和記念公園the park in the middle of Hiroshima built where the city was destroyed
- PlacesEssential osaka大阪the merchant city, and how it differs from Tokyo
- PlacesEssential Todaiji東大寺と奈良の大仏the Nara temple housing a 15-meter bronze Buddha in a vast wooden hall
- PlacesEssential Himejijo姫路城the white castle in Hyogo, the best-preserved original keep in Japan