The Article Home

These days, both Japanese and the Korean languages are popular foreign languages to study. Japanese language has been popular for many years, especially with the rise of popularity of Japanese culture including Japanese food, manga and fashion. At the same time though Korean has also become considerably more popular, due partially to the improved economics conditions in the country. More and more foreigners are spending time in Korea, both for business purposes and for learning about Korea and the Korean language.

Japan was once the most popular Asian country to go to teach English. Not only could you teach English, you could also learn the language and return to the home country with an appreciation of a foreign culture and language skills. These days however, although Japan is still popular, it is now joined by China and Korea as competing destinations for those looking for an adventure abroad and to learn a useful language for the future. If you are thinking of going to Japan, Korea or China, one of the considerations ought to be if you will be able to learn the language in the time you have there. The most popular period to stay in one of these countries is one year, often a school year. If you are not able to speak, read and write the language after spending the time there, you may be disappointed and think you have wasted your time.

If reading is important to you, then you would only consider Japanese or Korean, as attempting to master Chinese to the point of being able to read would be very difficult in just one year. After all, if you cannot read the language, it makes life much more difficult. If you are not capable of read signs, directions, a newspaper or a book, you may get disheartened.

The Japanese and Korean languages are actually quite similar. That makes sense, as both Korea and Japan are close to China and both languages have elements derived from the Chinese language. In general though, the Korean language is simpler than the Japanese language. It is easier in both grammar and honorific structure which can get quite difficult in Japanese. Japanese also has three different writing systems, whereas Korean has only one.

The three writing systems in Japanese are hiragana, katakana and kanji. The reason it is so difficult to learn Japanese is that you must be able to read using the three alphabets to be able to understand a sentence.Sentences usually are made up of all three alphabets, as they are used for different purposes. Katakana is used for foreign words, words that have been adapted from other languages as they did not exist in the Japanese language. Kanji are Chinese characters that have been simplified for use in the Japanese language, but generally have the same meaning as they did in Chinese to represent objects, things  or concepts. Lastly there is hiragana that is used to complete sentences and for grammatical purposes. The best way to learn Hiragana is to get a Hiragana Chart.

For a culture that has made an art of brewing, sipping plus serving tea, it was inevitable that Japan would additionally become a nation of folks fascinated by the beauty of the pot in that it’s served. Despite not being the innovator of tea drinking (the honor goes to China), once Japan adopted the drink as its own, a outstanding history of teapot design was launched which continues to the present day. Epicenters of teapot style and production grew because the drink became the country’s preferred beverage plus eventually, teapots became status symbols. Nowadays, antique Japanese teapots are prized collectibles| much more suited to show on a secure shelf than as a repository of boiling water plus tea leaves.  Find out more about china tea set here.

The tradition of tea preparation plus consumption began in China round 200 B.C. It took over 900 years for the drink to travel to Japan. Had a book concerning the magic of tea not found its way into the hands of Zen Buddhist missionaries, tea may never had been introduced to Japanese culture. Similar to a good amount of innovations from different lands, tea drinking did not become well-liked overnight. It took the Imperial Japanese court’s fascination with Chinese tea ceremonies to ignite the imagination of society. Before long| tea took on a position of prominence in Japanese culture. Therefore, too did teapot design plus manufacture.  

The Japanese word for teapot is dobin. The oldest dobin designs on record featured globe-like bodies accented with disk-shaped lids and durable handles. A knob attached to the lid gave the water-pourer access to the interior. A few pots were designed with two handles. These are known as kyusu plus originated within a pottery-producing region south of Nagoya. To set this space’s teapot designs other than different regions, the pots were finished along with a red burnish to identify their place of origin.  

Alternative regions of Japan became creative centers for teapot design. Japan was home to a wealthy variety of clays plus native studios began applying designs popular in their regions to establish distinct designs| color variations| incised and excised features| unusual handles and elaborations distinctive to the area. One sort of favored dobin used only [to make] green tea was made from heavily glazed white ceramic materials which, over time, changed the color of the pot to a bright green. Pots were made from materials which conducted heat so well| they can be held with the bare hands. Others were crafted to look and feel delicate plus fragile| so cloths and different protection were needed to hold them.