Description

TV Series Japanese Language and People (BBC Learning Zone)This TV series takes an informative look at the Japanese lifestyle, culture and language. Each half-hour episode covers various aspects of life in Japan and teaches the basiscs of the Japanese language.640 x 480 format Please note: This is not exactly for high resolution freaks.Found this labelled as TVRip but it looks like this stuff has spent quite some time on VHS. The picture is slightly blurry; the colours are pale, and shift at times. Also, episodes 6 and 10 start a bit late, ~1 minute or so.If you decide to grab this, rather do so for its educational value. Episodes:1. Introductions2. All in the familyThe architecture of a traditional Japanese home, and the greetings and set phrases used at different times of the day. We meet two families – one from the Tokyo suburbs and one from a secluded valley on the southern island of Kyushu3. All in a day’s workThis episode spends a day with a young Tokyo marketing executive, Jun Sakai, and his sister Hiroko, an ‘office lady’ with Tokyo Gas. Plus a profile of celebrity entrepreneur Hiroko Minami, one of the few women to make it big in the Japanese business world4. Shop aroundShopping and consumerism in Japan.5. School TimeA look at the Japanese education system, widely regarded as the key to Japan’s economic success6. On The RoadThis episode follows the journey of travel writer Alan Booth as he walks the length of Japan, and responds to some of the stock questions the Japanese love to ask foreigners.7. Eating, Drinking and EntertainingA look at the business of business entertainment, otherwise known as settai, and the importance of cementing relationships – tsukiai – in the process. Tokyo reporter Yuka Nukina explains the language of ordering food and drink, and there’s a profile of the mama-san – the queen of the hostess bars8. Time OutA look at the Japanese at rest – on the golf course, in the ‘pachinko’ parlour or a hot spring, or hiking in the mountains. We also spend a day with one of Japan’s most famous foreigners, Welsh novelist C W Nichol, at his home in the Japan Alps9. Give and TakeThe language and etiquette of gift buying and giving in Japan. A Shino priest talks about Japanese religion, and there are contributions from a sumo wrestler from the south of England and a kimono artist from St Helens, Merseyside.10. Japan TomorrowA look back at the language covered in the series and forward to the changing lifestyles of Japan in the 90’s. Plus a day in the life of Western correspondent William Horsley, who offers the final perspective on Japanese language and culture.