By Gavin Marr, Intern Summer 2026 Photo of Shuetsu Sato at Shinjuku Station in front of two of his signs: Satou, Hidenori [佐藤英典]. "新宿駅の「ガムテープ案内表示」を作りだした佐藤修悦さんインタビュー ！『修悦体』はこうして生まれた" RocketNews24, September 13, 2016. https://rocketnews24.com/2016/09/13/798848/ Whether encountered through broad-stroke research before a trip or experienced firsthand in the herd-like nature of Tokyo rush hour, navigating Shinjuku Station is, to put it lightly, a daunting task. Its labyrinthine nature can leave...

By Danielle Cochran, Volunteer Kobayashi, Kiyochika. Lady Sei Shōnagon, 1897, Triptych; color woodblock prints, embossing. Written around the same time as The Tale of Genji, The Pillow Book is often considered its companion that details court life during the Heian Era (794 to 1185 CE). While the former is a work of fiction that one is to make inferences about the time it was written, the latter was written almost like a diary and gives a firsthand viewpoint of its author, Sei Shōnagon. Little...

Please introduce yourself and your connection to Japan. Have you noticed how much harder it is to learn Japanese once you're working full time? I built JapaneseCircle.com so JET alums and other professionals can make every learning hour count, improving their Japanese in outcome-oriented sprints. My interest in Japan started in third-grade social studies and hasn't let up in 30 years. A high school trip pushed me to study Japanese seriously, first in college, then a summer of intensive...