English Diary 2026
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April 3
Yesterday, I was able to rest well while still doing some listening and reading. As a result, I can fully focus on my studies today.
I find it striking that Toyotomi Hideyoshi encouraged people to settle in Kyoto by effectively subsidizing housing.
It resembles the efforts to support people's lives and farmland in Futaba District after the evacuation order was lifted, where subsidies are used to help restore the community.
When I enter a deep state of concentration, I can read a lot. Today, I will persevere without giving up.
April 2
The AI generated video where cats give their colleague part of their bento food when the colleague couldn’t find any dish in their bento box except for some cabbage leaves is so cute.
https://x.com/nec358/status/2039190060474716189?s=20
It's a good idea to rest and enjoy reading a book on a rainy day. An essay collection by a British author comparing America to Japan and the UK sounds like a great way to deepen your understanding of different cultures and societies.
I think the final disposal won’t be that difficult. This is because the volume reduction process will likely have progressed significantly, making the waste much smaller compared to the original state.
However, if I were to say this, I feel like I would be met with jeers like "Then you do it," so I will refrain from attaching links. I believe that fostering understanding is more important than simply preventing the spread of the waste or so.
I did a lot of exercise yesterday, so rest is needed. It’s raining this morning. My cat accidentally got out of its harness but came back right away, which was really good.
The competition among leaders in the automobile industry at the time, such as Ford, Chevrolet, and Chrysler, is said to have been so intense that it could be described as a war within the country.
Shohei Ohtani is a long sleeper, and I am one as well. While I don’t find joy in the shortness of the day, the quality of my time is very high.
April 1
Carpe diem. Seize the day.
I will cherish today.
Dom Pérignon tasted sparkling water and exclaimed, "Come quickly, I am tasting the stars!"
The primary reason many Japanese struggle with English is not a lack of ability, but a lack of necessity and usage.
March 31
Discipline is choosing what you want most over what you want now.
I only go for safe bets when it comes to finance.
I am evolving once again, and it makes me genuinely happy.
Among all the moments when I solve my own problems and grow, I feel especially delighted.
I feel that I cannot live in the same way as an average person. In a sense, that might be seen as a weakness.
However, precisely because of that, I have been striving to understand myself deeply and to pursue the best possible path for my own life.
Since we all live by taking other lives, perhaps we are all like mindless titans. Yet, do we aspire to be advancing ones? Metaphorically.
I have received exceedingly good news. The happiness of those with whom I shared a pleasant conversation becomes my own happiness.
Since I already have a solid command of English, I changed the settings so that posts in English would not be automatically translated into Japanese. However, they are still occasionally translated.
March 30
Life is arduous for many. Seeing that, I am resolved to persevere in my own way.
March 29
I have completed an entire notebook of my English diary. Although I used to write only sporadically, I now maintain a daily routine, so I anticipate that the next one will be filled in no time.
For now, I use the larger notebook for rough, throwaway writing, but I feel it is time to improve the quality of my English sentences.
As for my English diary, I also have a smaller notebook. That one is mainly based on my main Japanese diary, which already exceeds 100 volumes, and I am gradually converting important entries into English. I sometimes mix in Japanese, but the content itself is important.
The customer in front of me at the register was going to buy a replacement light bulb.
Trying to turn even a single, simple fact into an English sentence often results in a surprisingly elaborate expression.
When the mind is at ease, cognition becomes streamlined.
My thinking becomes streamlined under pressure.
"The average attention span for the notoriously ill-focused goldfish is nine seconds, but according to a new study from Microsoft Corp.,people now generally lose concentration after eight seconds, highlighting the affects of an increasingly digitalized lifestyle on the brain."
You Now Have a Shorter Attention Span Than a Goldfish
https://time.com/3858309/attention-spans-goldfish/
March 28
It seems that students from International Christian University (ICU) come to Fukushima for study tours and field visits.
https://x.com/NoContextBrits/status/2037495319118619052
Well, British accents do have a distinctive intonation, after all (laugh). They can be oddly addictive. Not that I would imitate them.
Naturally, if I did not already have a preferred American English speech pattern of my own, I would probably adopt a British manner of speaking.
These are in apposition because
green washing, which is a term that refers to attempts to deceive...
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green washing, a term referring to attempts to deceive...
This is a with phrase indicating attendant circumstances.
... it is all too easy to take existing practices,..., with the ambiguous wording of the SDGs making them highly susceptible to this practice.
A post claiming that it is impossible to become fluent just by living abroad for a year went viral.
Indeed, there are many people for whom that holds true.
In fact, even after twenty years, some people still fail to attain fluency.
However, none of these claims are absolute.
There must also be people who become fluent without ever going abroad.
That said, there is a significant difference between those who are genuinely fluent and those who merely give the impression of fluency.
It appears that the first landfill disposal has finally been carried out. I hope that a deeper understanding will gradually take root, although a certain degree of aversion is, of course, inevitable. Human beings must engage in deliberate and rational thought.
Iwate, Ibaraki, decontamination soil, news.
It is likely that it is related to embankment work for road construction or something similar. Such projects often entail the reutilization of materials, rather than mere disposal.
In any case, I have no choice but to persist in close reading. That is the real breakthrough.
On X, some people say that those who merely possess English proficiency are considered ordinary in English speaking countries.
While there is a grain of truth in that assertion, I believe it is an oversimplification.
Those who command English are far more likely to integrate into communities as insiders rather than remain mere outsiders or guests.
Moreover, through exposure to high quality discourse and a vast corpus of English texts, they tend to cultivate intellectual sophistication.
For that reason, it would be untenable to dismiss them as "just ordinary people."
However, I prefer to describe myself modestly as an "ordinary person."
Given that there is an overwhelming disparity between myself and thinkers such as David Hume and John Locke, I can only regard myself as an ordinary person.
When I mention that I am studying English, I have noticed that some friends ask me to take them along when I travel abroad.
It almost feels as though they are relying on me in the same way people might have depended on John Manjiro or Americans during the Edo period.
While I take it as a sign of trust, I also recognize that my pursuit of English is ultimately for my own intellectual development rather than merely to serve as a guide for others.
If you're studying English, you'll soon come across sentences like this, which I find thought provoking because they reflect real world phenomena.
Some have been attempting to make it appear that things they were already doing are part of their efforts to comply with the SDGs.
That is to say, studying English means that learners are constantly coming across excellent sentences in daily life and analyzing them from a grammatical perspective. I believe this is an inherently intellectual activity of human beings.
That has elevated the discussion to a universal level.
However, I tend to confuse the noun "elevator" with "escalator." Holy cow.
A capybara’s legs are so long that it almost looks like it could stand upright and start running, haha.
https://x.com/hujimari/status/2037514583464903026
I’m not sure if I’ll make it in time for the end of May, but even if my progress is slow, I will continue at the highest possible quality without overexerting myself.
Do you know the local seafood delicacy of the coastal Hamadori region in Fukushima? It is the deep sea fish called "mehikari." It is exceptionally palatable. I highly recommend it.
The verbal abuse directed at evacuees from the nuclear accident still has not ceased. It is terrifying to think that I might become a victim of a crime at any moment.
March 27
Many people seem to have their perception frozen at the time of the accident, but the effects of decontamination and natural attenuation have been remarkably substantial.
While having lunch, I watched a little of the movie Lincoln, and then I watched Ikiru. It is a story about a man who, after working as a civil servant, learns that he will die from an illness. It raises the question of how people ought to live.
Cats are cooking.
https://x.com/nyantamach222/status/2036955974481961328?s=20
Back when I focused on speed reading, my reading was not this high in quality. It seems that all the intensive close reading I have done is now having a significant impact on my current reading ability.
I did a thorough job of cleaning my entire house today, and it felt refreshing. It was a pleasant evening. Cleanliness is next to godliness.
e. g. His ideals were on a collision course with reality.
March 26
After reading the article, I felt that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi might risk her health if she does not quit smoking. I also wonder whether she has any close friends who would admonish her with sincere advice.
While I enjoy reading English grammar books, it is imperative that I also acquire other essential skills swiftly, as is widely recognized.
Grammar is essential, but if you become too preoccupied with it, your other English skills will not develop.
I ended up sleeping a lot again today.
Ever since I had a breakthrough in the Eiken Grade 1 reading section the day before yesterday, I have been feeling unbearably sleepy whenever I try to read the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary.
Still, I want to manage to read ten pages slowly every day.
Young as I still am, I sometimes feel an urge to arrest the flow of time, yet, paradoxical as it may seem, I am in haste to acquire English proficiency day by day.
It makes me happier to be trusted by people in my local community. I am grateful. After all, the population there had once fallen to zero.
Collage is an artistic technique that was pioneered by Pablo Picasso in the twentieth century.
However, in Japan, Hiroyuki Moritani is said to have independently developed collage therapy, drawing inspiration from Hayao Kawai’s sandplay therapy.
That also reminds me of the concept of "bricolage" as proposed by Claude Lévi-Strauss.
March 25
English is difficult, and so is mathematics. No one is Ramanujan or Newton.
I will take a day off today. Unless I learn to rest properly, my body will sustain damage, it is, after all, inevitable.
Rage baiting seems to be part of the work of some writers in Fukushima, but please do not forget that there are many others who do not engage in such practices.
It is understandable that many people, even those who have lived in the United States for a long time, have not obtained Eiken Grade 1. This is because the vocabulary and reading sections are extremely demanding. There is a considerable gap compared to Pre 1.
Even though I have the stamina to run vigorously, I now realize that rest is precisely what I need. Otherwise, I would collapse after repeatedly suffering injuries.
My recent breakthrough in reading ability took a considerable amount of time, about a month and a half. However, for someone working full time, it would ordinarily take several years of sustained concentration every day.
A frightening oil crisis is unfolding. An energy crisis is directly linked to a threat to human life. Is this really the time to be arguing that there are too many solar panels in disaster affected areas? What Japan needs first and foremost is safety and security.
However, solar power generation is not expanding because the purchase price for electricity is too low.
How slow this old moon wanes.
March 24
I believe that when studying English composition, one should make full use of any available resources, whether a dictionary or AI.
However, it goes without saying that translation apps and AI tools should be used only for one’s private practice. Otherwise, it would be counterproductive, as one would gain nothing from such an approach.
If one were to rely entirely on AI to complete assignments such as reports, it would be tantamount to throwing away one’s tuition fees. Therefore, tasks should be designed in such a way that they cannot possibly be handled by AI.
However, when tuition fees are high, one may not have the luxury of learning at a leisurely pace.
Instead of having students submit assignments, it would be better to have them present their work on the spot without looking at anything.
However, it seems to me that many English instructors post only in Japanese, so perhaps they, too, are not very comfortable with speaking English.
This slim booklet contains sentences that are quite simple in themselves, but the explanatory sections are essentially those of "Royal English Grammar," so it is highly useful for reviewing the fundamentals.
Therefore, I think I will go through it several times, reading it aloud as I do so.
I jumped rope one hundred times.
Recently, I go to bed around 10:30 p.m. and wake up at about 6:20 a.m., which means I sleep for eight hours, and then I take another two hour nap during the day.
Sleeping as much as ten hours every day feels like a waste of time. Even though I try to fend off sleepiness by skipping rope, reading aloud, standing, and exercising, I still end up sleeping around noon.
Well, I hear that Shohei Ohtani does something similar, but it is still a bit disappointing that I effectively have only fourteen waking hours each day.
If I think about it that way, my lifestyle might be a bit too demanding. So I think the only option is to go to bed earlier and reduce my exercise a little.
I might be exercising too much again. Even though I always tell myself to cut back, I still tend to overdo it.
It might also be that, since it is spring, my body is adjusting my autonomic nervous system.
Spring can unexpectedly disrupt the autonomic nervous system due to fluctuations in temperature, so I should remain cautious.
I used to have a biased approach, but now I study all areas of English in a well balanced way every day.
I make sure to practice Eiken Grade 1 listening every day. I also always study reading, memorize vocabulary, and work on writing and grammar.
The only thing I do only twice a week is speaking, so I should make it a daily habit as well, even if it is just for ten minutes.
I find the English conversations between Atsu and Nick very interesting. I also occasionally speak in English with my British and American friends, which helps me improve my skills.
It looks like the stock market has recovered. That's a relief. Just stay the course.
But actually, when prices are decreasing, it means it's a buying opportunity.
I find the atmosphere of a bookstore truly exciting.
I’m delighted that I made a breakthrough in my Eiken Grade 1 reading study today.
March 23
I've been studying all day today. I took a two hour nap to make up for yesterday's lack of sleep. This approach is both pragmatic and sustainable, and it will undoubtedly contribute to steady progress over time.
Pomelo tastes delicious again today. I’ve heard that citrus fruits contribute to improving mental health and preventing aging. Such a habit is conducive to long term health and resilience.
I aim to read passages aloud 500 times in one month.
Recently, I’ve been taking naps for more than an hour every day. It may be because I want to recover my legs, but I think I’m a long sleeper precisely because I stay focused on something all day.
The meals and fruit were delicious again today. Despite various hardships, I have basically been able to live like a prince every day since I was born, and I am grateful for that, the disaster is irrelevant.
Speaking of a prince, I remember that before the earthquake, I studied the grammar of "The Happy Prince" by Oscar Wilde thoroughly. That was, for me, almost like a paradigm shift.
I haven't been studying English continuously, but from time to time, I would suddenly become highly focused, as if a switch had been turned on, and study intensively for short periods.
That was about 15 to 20 years ago.
I was mostly studying law in order to graduate from Chuo University. The Faculty of Law is probably especially demanding, since it is the university's flagship faculty.
I spent some time doing things like playing and singing with a guitar, and then I entered university later than usual.
Since Chuo University is rooted in the British legal tradition, studying English suits it well. Of course, there is also a culture of studying French and German.
Chuo University was founded by professors who had been at the University of Tokyo. Therefore, our rival is the University of Tokyo. (laughs)
We are the center. We won’t lose to Tokyo. (laughs)
I take care of my British leather shoes and wear them when I go out. I use sneakers for jogging and everyday use, and since they wear out quickly, there is no need to throw them away unnecessarily in the name of minimalism.
I have been wearing a pair of blue purple Nike sneakers with a red swoosh for many years, taking care of them as I use them. As for jogging shoes, I wear out many pairs, so I usually buy them at discount stores.
Since I hardly go out, I am still wearing a pair of Nike sneakers from about 15 years ago. That's amazing. (laughs)
Anyway, time passes quickly. No matter how much I struggle, it still goes by. All I can do is laugh.
Today, all I did was study listening, grammar, writing, speaking, a little reading, and a little vocabulary. I feel pathetic. Little by little, one travels far..
A large drugstore has opened in my town, in Iwaki. It has become a strong competitor to the existing stores. Now, laissez faire has begun.
Although our area is rural, nearby urban districts have high land prices, so it has recently been chosen as a suburban bedroom community where relatively affluent families build new houses, drive luxury cars, and raise their children.
However, there are also cases where newly built houses suddenly become vacant along with an Alphard purchased on a residual value loan, probably due to divorce or unemployment.
Just the other day, that Alphard had disappeared. In life, no one knows what will happen even a moment ahead.
Thus, someone will eventually acquire that house at a low price. It almost seems as if it had been bought to be handed over to someone else.
How ruthless capitalism can be. In the end, the real question is whether one can keep paying for it, I am reminded of what Bumpei Shirasu (白洲文平) once said in the NHK drama.
Of course, it could also be seen as a kind of eco like economic system that, through money as a medium, reallocates assets and reduces waste. Every coin had two sides.
Speaking of money, I am reminded of a peculiar Japanese word, "jeni." Through that, it can be seen as evidence that there is a connection between our domain and Jiro Shirasu (白洲次郎). It may not be a big deal, but it is a story about the link between me and the young lord.
I have no intention of going to the next world until I write down all my memories and experiences.
I am glad that there are people like brilliant stars in my world. I will continue to observe this world from now on.
Per ardua ad astra.
It seems that there are many countries that are on bad terms with each other among certain factions, and recently many people have come to realize online that if such groups were to seize political power, it might lead to war.
I feel as though I have friends all over the world, so above all, I sincerely hope for peace.
Einstein, being a native speaker of German, was likely predisposed to handle inversion and auxiliary based constructions in English with relative ease.
In affirmative sentences, no inversion occurs, and the subject precedes the auxiliary verb in the standard word order.
March 22
Of course, I study English in the morning as well. In fact, it would hardly be an exaggeration to say that there is scarcely a moment when I am not engaged in studying.
We visited a cafe Tsukimitei in Iwaki.
March 21
First of all, obtaining the top grade of Eiken in Japan is incredibly important for me to demonstrate my English ability to others.
Especially when I aim to work as the head tutor of my private cram school, it is one of the most effective ways to showcase my competence to parents.
I am truly committed to learning English, especially by listening to and reading Eiken materials every day.
When I browse political topics in my news feed, I find that each side holds steadfast convictions, and society remains in a state of deep polarization, perpetuated by filter bubbles and echo chambers.
Nothing has really changed. Getting involved in such matters could jeopardize friendships, so I choose to refrain from engaging in them.
I'm tired, but after dinner, I transcribed an Eiken Grade 1 reading passage even though it was already nighttime.
Writing gives my brain strong stimulation and helps me improve various aspects of cognition, including my ability to write in English.
Next, I’m going to transcribe example sentences from my vocabulary book.
True growth comes from enduring and accepting negative capability.
March 20
Some Japanese people who enjoy English and movies might recognize the phrase "you people." In "The Irishman," when Al Pacino uses it, the other person reacts strongly, and the situation ends up turning into a physical confrontation.
A meticulous analysis of Eiken Grade 1 passages is inevitably time consuming.
I’ve heard that it’s good to read 500 passages in a year. At this rate, I might only reach 30 or 100 by the end of May. Apparently, I need to start reading more quickly again.
It might be the case that Prime Minister T’s limited command of English actually worked to her advantage when faced with somewhat provocative remarks from President T.
Had she fully understood them, there is a non negligible chance that her reaction might have inadvertently shown on her face.
Given that maintaining a poker face is often regarded as a virtue in Japanese diplomacy, many Japanese people might share this perspective.
In the first place, it seems that segments of the American conservative base are inclined to favor such confrontational and provocative exchanges in their everyday discourse.
In any case, there certainly exists a considerable number of people who are inclined to relish provocative, back and forth exchanges.
However, it is equally true that those very individuals often find themselves becoming indignant in the midst of such interactions.
In any case, what truly matters is a firm commitment to non engagement.
My idea is to first go through a large number of passages rapidly, then analyze them carefully, and finally reread the ones I have already studied to reinforce my understanding.
I’m starting to feel motivated again. I guess I was getting exhausted from focusing solely on intensive reading. Still, since careful and repeated analysis is extremely effective for improvement, I will continue to devote myself to it with persistence.
Of course, there is no day when I do not engage with English. I always have listening practice and think in English, and I can at least manage some light reading as well.
In the end, the only way forward is to relentlessly engage in both intensive and extensive reading.
Even in what we call adult society, everything seems to be reduced to binaries: right or left, up or down, forward or backward, English or one’s native language,
whether someone was condescending or not, whether one is intelligent or not, who said what, and endless back and forth arguments.
In the end, how is any of this truly different from children’s quarrels or petty disputes between couples?
Much ado about nothing.
A certain philosophy might suggest that everything would be resolved if everyone simply fell silent. However, in the case of democracy, that does not seem to be feasible.
It seems that Wittgenstein’s proposition, that one must remain silent about what cannot be spoken of, operates contrapositively within a democratic framework.
In democracy, however, even inarticulate or emotionally charged expressions are often tolerated, as the very act of articulation constitutes a fundamental pillar of the system.
This inevitably engenders a paradox, while silence may preserve order, it simultaneously undermines democratic participation, conversely, unrestrained discourse sustains democracy, yet it can also precipitate disorder.
This seems to be the quotation in English.
Ludwig Wittgenstein
"Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent."
I'm tired from doing side-to-side squats for farm work and from jogging, so I'm going to give my body a good rest. I'm massaging my calves. A good rest is half the work.
When it comes to close reading, academic papers are easier to comprehend than novels in a foreign language, as they do not require sensitivity to ambiguity or profound philosophical nuance.
However, if one merely skims through a text despite encountering numerous incomprehensible passages, novels are more accessible, since they do not contain specialized terminology.
When dealing with a domineering type of person, it may be better to keep a certain psychological distance, almost as if you can barely hear what they are saying, in order to maintain a calmer and more composed negotiation.
I ended up sleeping for about an hour while doing some reading and massaging myself. Now all that's left is to take a bath, do some more reading, and go to sleep. The day went by in the blink of an eye. I wonder if I can manage to do two intensive readings in a day, haha.
Having already read around 200 passages through intensive reading on the past Eiken grade 1 exams, I have definitely become faster.
However, there are still plenty of difficult sentences, so I will continue with intensive reading itself. That said, my intensive reading has become faster than before.
March 19
"Both the public and private sectors are urged to return to the starting point of the Fukushima disaster and carve out a new future for the country's energy policy."
"Editorial: Lessons from Fukushima disaster must not fade as Japan returns to nuclear power March 18, 2026 (Mainichi Japan)" https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260318/p2a/00m/0op/018000c
I heard the word "Showa" for the first time in a while, haha. Yes, I was born in the late Showa era, and I spent most of my childhood in the early Heisei period.
The world back then was quite different from today. There was no such thing as the attention economy like we have now.
I guess I’m from the Showa generation. I was never formally taught cursive (筆記体), but since it was included in my notebook, I taught myself how to write it when I was in elementary school. Even when I write in block letters, it somehow ends up looking like cursive.
However, since it would be problematic if my writing were not properly evaluated by AI in English composition tasks, I need to consciously write in block letters.
My abilities are nothing out of the ordinary, but that is precisely why I am grateful for them.
My friend's happiness is my happiness.
Of course, I’m not well versed in this area, and I didn’t want to risk spreading a misunderstanding of the statistics, so I retracted the post I shared earlier.
Sometimes I wonder how much I need to read before English starts to feel effortless. But perhaps, if that day ever comes, it would actually be a sign that I am no longer challenging myself. In that sense, the journey is endless.
Having already read around 200 passages through intensive reading on the past Eiken grade 1 exams, I have definitely become faster.
However, there are still plenty of difficult sentences, so I will continue with intensive reading itself. That said, my intensive reading has become faster than before.
March 18
Now, let me commence the day ahead.
The words mentors told in university days truly sink deep into the one's heart.
Even if your English proficiency is low or high, what you do is the same, you either study or you don’t, that’s all there is to it.
March 17
Of course, I still need far more listening experience. When I hear something like "traveling to Bristol," I sometimes misperceive it at first as something like "travel in to."
Even though such an interpretation makes little sense, it still occurs momentarily. This probably indicates that the contextual framework of the language has not yet been fully internalized in my mind.
Recently, I’ve been focusing almost entirely on listening and reading, so I haven’t been studying vocabulary sentences at all. I wonder if that’s okay. I suppose I should at least do a little.
I tried drinking some decaffeinated British tea for the first time in a while, and it reminded me that high quality tea truly tastes exquisite.
Life is long, and there will undoubtedly be many things ahead. Overcoming them all is truly arduous, but there is no other path.
I’m going to do a lot of strength training that combines squats with lateral movements, as it’s necessary for my work soon.
We will build a joyful everyday life together, and I will be the linchpin who sustains and propels it forward.
It’s hot today. At first glance, I may look almost skeletal, but my leg muscles are well developed. Of course, even those with a bulkier, more solid physique can be perfectly healthy. Health is not so much about body weight.
My current level of concentration is exceptionally high, and I may be sustaining the best performance of my life. I’ll keep going at this pace.
Of course, my weaknesses are not zero, but even so, I am in an excellent condition. I will move forward, aiming for further improvement.
Even though such an interpretation makes little sense, it still occurs momentarily. This probably indicates that the contextual framework of the language has not yet been fully internalized in my mind.
Of course, I still need far more listening experience. When I hear something like "traveling to Bristol," I sometimes misperceive it at first as something like "travel in to."
I tried drinking some decaffeinated British tea for the first time in a while, and it reminded me that high quality tea truly tastes exquisite.
Life is long, and there will undoubtedly be many things ahead. Overcoming them all is truly arduous, but there is no other path.
I’m going to do a lot of strength training that combines squats with lateral movements, as it’s necessary for my work soon.
'This is often described as “code-switching,” or adjusting your behavior depending on the social environment. …… that emerge across different roles and contexts.' https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-architecture-of-identity/202603/why-you-dont-have-to-choose-just-one-version-of-yourself
Not all that glitters is gold
I am a minimalist. Of course, I do own things. As a writer and a diligent learner, I have a library. Yet I do not keep anything superfluous. Even my complete works of Sherlock Holmes are reduced to a single volume, everything is curated to an optimal level.
Of course, my family home is still in the midst of being organized. So whenever I go back, I find myself busy with it.
Interpreters and native speakers use fundamentally different cognitive circuits.
Lincoln’s words illuminate the essence of humanity even across time, encapsulating unwavering conviction and historical gravity within a single sentence.
If you subscribe to many email newsletters on the Science website by the AAAS, you’ll receive a lot of scientific emails, and just reading them becomes a great way to study. The key is not to unsubscribe from the notifications(laugh
14 When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:
15 And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.
Even some well educated psychiatrists who speak with a certain authority seem unaware of their own physical condition. Physicians, heal thyself.
March 16
It is only natural that there are people who are superior to me. So what? I would simply laugh it off and say that I will surely overtake them all in the end.
Because I woke up early at 5:30 a.m. and did one hour of listening practice, I felt sleepy in the morning today and took a 30 minute nap.
In the afternoon, I’ll get back to studying English energetically.
After I make good progress with vocabulary, I plan to do listening training and close reading.
I sometimes wonder whether this kind of intensive, focused study might actually be more effective than studying abroad.
Studying abroad probably provides an enormous amount of listening exposure, though.
Today I did four passages for listening training.
However, I felt sleepy during the fourth one, so it took about an hour and a half in total.
I also did around three hours of listening practice using Eiken materials.
I read five English news articles that my smartphone recommended to me.
We moved to Japan after nearly a decade of careful planning. Living here is still nothing like we expected. https://www.businessinsider.com/moving-to-japan-not-what-we-expected-despite-planning-2026-3
64% of unmarried young women in Japan don't want children, exceeding men for 1st time: poll - The Mainichi https://share.google/Jkao9XAhTDbLFUuSN
Train station platform ramen store closes its doors on half a century of history in Tokyo | SoraNews24 -Japan News- https://share.google/8fDdPpP4O4DaDhWMI
Trump, Corinthians white house https://t.co/KG3GpPjCJt
Tokyo police arrest 7 men, including gangsters, in high-profile robbery case | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News https://share.google/Cx1I0s2kTpmG7v2qb
Psychology says people who've drunk black coffee for decades often can't remember if they ever actually liked it with cream and sugar — they just know that somewhere in early adulthood they made a decision to stop needing things to be softer than they were, and the coffee was just the most visible place that showed up https://share.google/P9FIksKIB3ivOQB03
Since my work will increase this year, I want to devote myself to improving my English while I still have the time.
Until recently, I had been studying mostly Eiken vocabulary, doing extensive reading, and practicing close reading at the entrance exam level. So I’m glad that I can now do training at the Eiken Grade 1 level.
Because I woke up early at 5:30 a.m. and did one hour of listening practice, I felt sleepy in the morning today and took a 30 minute nap. In the afternoon, I’ll get back to studying English energetically.
"There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self."
— Ernest Hemingway
However, studying abroad is not a bad option either. One can interact with professors, lecturers, and many native speakers.
I intend to join the group of learners at the Eiken Grade 1 level. In some respects, it may even lead to a higher level than that of students who studied abroad for a while.
When I imagine studying abroad, it seems that it would involve mostly extensive listening and extensive reading, along with a lot of writing. However, I am adopting a systematic method of training that is different from studying abroad.
Make hay while the sun shines.
Since my work will increase this year, I want to devote myself to improving my English while I still have the time.
My shoes are British made. At the end of the day, I enjoy brushing the dust off my leather shoes, applying shoe cream, and polishing them until they shine. I also take care to preserve their shape.
Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.
However, the problem is the guarantee in case such large scale renewable energy facilities suddenly become unnecessary as production equipment due to dramatic advances in science and technology. Some form of contractual protection would likely be necessary in that regard.
Nevertheless, if renewable energy is produced there, it could serve as an extremely beneficial form of infrastructure for the everyday lives of people throughout Japan.
It is unfortunate but inevitable that rice cultivation drastically declined in the former evacuation zones affected by the nuclear accident.
"Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without."
My secondary smartphone is difficult to use, so I’m wondering whether I should buy a used one. But it still works, so maybe I should just keep using it.
The sentence means "The act of wealthy people flaunting their money signifies something." The subject of the sentence is "flaunting." -- Conspicuous CONSUMPTION.
As the issue surrounding the Strait of Hormuz reminded many Japanese, the production of food and energy becomes indispensable in times of national emergency.
For the long term sustainability of Japan, ample financial resources should be invested in the economic development and management of the Tohoku region.
In times of disaster, it was not unusual to have one million yen in cash and still be unable to buy even a single rice ball. Food and energy are what truly matter. In that sense, they may well be the kind of physical currency of the future that Elon Musk talks about.
From now on, a huge number of data centers will probably be built all across Japan.
I read that Eiken Grade 1 reading passage about conspicuous consumption again. I took my time and spent two full hours on it. I have been reading the same passage for a week. With this, I have decided to move on to the next one.
Suddenly today, even though I was reading an Eiken Grade 1 passage, I was able to read one text almost instantly in a kind of flash reading rather than careful close reading.
When I read the next passage, I became slower again, but I was still quite fast. This might mean that the plateau I have been experiencing will eventually end and that another breakthrough could be coming.
For a moment, I was able to read a difficult passage at an astonishing speed. It felt almost explosive compared with my usual pace. Of course, I cannot do it all the time yet, but I was really happy to experience it.
My English ability improved again today. I am happy about it. I would also like to read the King James Bible. I actually have an old bilingual edition written in a very classical style. I even carried it with me during the earthquake disaster, and from time to time I read passages from it aloud.
Date between 1928 and 1929
Source Ludwig Wittgenstein: The Duty of Genius by Ray Monk (ISBN 978-1-448-11267-8)
Author Moritz Nähr (1859–1945)
*
Today I studied diligently, encouraged by Wittgenstein’s words about clarifying the contours of thought. His idea motivated me to refine my thinking and make my ideas more precise.
I actually have an old bilingual edition written in a very classical style. I even carried it with me during the earthquake disaster, and from time to time I read passages from it aloud.
The dolphin's playful intelligence. Adorable!
Jacob begat Judas and his brethren. Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise.
Thanks to Kindle, I no longer have to pile up stacks of books beside my bed, at least before going to sleep, I can leisurely devour whatever English books I like.
March 15
I hadn't seen gasoline this expensive for a while. So I only put in a small amount. I'll wait until prices start to stabilize. Look before you leap.
*
The phrase "gasoline this expensive" uses a structure where an adjective phrase comes after the noun. This is sometimes called a postpositive adjective structure.
In the sentence:
I hadn't seen gasoline this expensive for a while.
the phrase this expensive describes gasoline.
The full form would be:
I hadn't seen gasoline that was this expensive for a while.
Here, this functions as a degree modifier, meaning "to this extent" or "so."
So this expensive means:
"so expensive" or "as expensive as this."
Similar examples
Native speakers often use this structure in everyday English:
coffee this good
→ coffee that is this good
weather this cold
→ weather that is this cold
a problem this serious
→ a problem that is this serious
a car this fast
→ a car that is this fast
*
Even psychiatrists who are usually harsh toward others seem to have their own suffering. If someone kept telling them again and again that their problems might largely come from their diet, they would probably find that rather unpleasant.
My house in Iwaki also feels comfortable because I have far fewer chores to do there than at my family home.
Because I have an extremely tenacious personality, when I start doing close reading, I sometimes keep going until the entire day passes.
My concentration does not break. I can keep it going all day long. The same is true when I read, study, or work.
In the past, I was reluctant to study listening, speaking, and writing, and I was not good at them. Now they have improved dramatically.
From time to time, I encounter people who cannot work properly or communicate in a reasonable manner. Yet such people are not rare in this world. It is often quicker to give up expecting too much from them. After all, life has no lost time.
Even though I eat much less than before, my parents still say that I eat a lot. But look at me, I’m quite skinny. If I reduced my meals any further, I would lose even my skin and end up as nothing but a skeleton. That’s the part where you’re supposed to laugh.
Of course, my legs are lean but quite muscular. If I built up my entire body to be extremely muscular, I would probably die from excessive muscle (laugh)
People with an internal locus of control believe they shape their own lives. Do your duty and leave the rest to fate.
Today I learned a lot from the sentence "the promotion of conspicuous luxury goods affordable to members of lower economic classes becoming a more common occurrence."
It helped me understand how English sometimes places descriptive elements after nouns, and how complex academic sentences are constructed.
Studying sentences like this allows me to consolidate my understanding of grammar and deepen my reading ability step by step.
March 14
☆ Okuma Odyssey
I came because a live concert is being held at Ono Elementary School. This is my second time coming here. I believe this is the third time the concert has been held. I was surprised that Schadarapar showed up. They are the real thing. Though they are different from those days, there is still something that unmistakably connects them to that time.
The linoleum floor, the stair handrails are made of wood, the rotary and the trees, the flowerbeds, the exterior of the school building, the walls outside the classrooms, the arrangement of the buildings, the concrete base of the clock tower, the trees and flowerbeds behind the playground equipment area, the flowerbeds in front of the classrooms, the pool and the gymnasium, the place where the sandbox used to be, the space where the swings stood, everything is still there.
I can still vividly picture my childhood friends and myself running across this place. The fact that the whole area feels smaller than I expected must be because I have grown and my spatial perception has changed. I found myself taking several photos without even thinking. Long ago, during the restricted zone period, I once came here alone because I feared that this place might someday disappear. Back then, I was drinking most of the time.
Time has passed since those days. Before I knew it, thirty years have gone by.
Yet today the sky is blue, perfectly clear. I am walking over the gravel and now sitting by the rotary, typing these words. I wonder where everyone here has come from. It is strange to stand in my hometown surrounded only by people I do not know. It feels as though I alone have stepped into another dimension of the same place. In fact, that is exactly what this is, another dimension. Ordinary sensations were left behind long ago.
For now, I am grateful to my friend who decided to preserve this place. As expected of him.
March 13
Now I'm heading out. Better safe than sorry. Safety first. I'll proceed with prudence. I'll keep a moderate pace.
At last, this year’s tax filing is finished. Now I will make the payment. While chatting casually with the administrative staff. Many a little makes a mickle.
It was extremely cold this morning. My water bottle leaked and soaked my important Eiken past exam book quite badly.
Even though it is an official educational resource, it is expensive. I wish it were cheaper. What a pity.
Well then, since I would rather not readily accept the idea that even Japan’s main intellectual forces, working together, would still be outmatched by native speakers, I will continue to devote myself to improvement, methodically and with a clear plan.
I installed a stone table and stone chairs at the gravesite so that people can sit and rest when they come to visit the grave.
March 12
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. This morning my listening training was relatively easy, so I was able to finish two passages in it. That was encouraging.
I still have a long way to go, but if I keep moving forward and rotating through review again and again, I hope to move on to the next Eiken Grade 1 listening book. Perseverance is indispensable when mastering a foreign language.
I once jogged about 15,000 kilometers over five years in Aizuwakamatsu. I still jog every morning for about thirty minutes. It sharpens my mind, helps me stay youthful, and gives me excellent mental well-being.
Regular exercise has a salutary effect on both the body and the mind.
This book's chapter 4 contains the Part 3 speech passages of the Eiken Grade 1 listening test. Since they are speeches, the language feels slightly easier because it resembles conversation.
The previous section used somewhat more formal wording. For me, Part 2 is still the most formidable part.
At the beginning of February, I listened to the same sentences for several days. It feels nostalgic now.
I watched the media coverage of evacuees on this year’s March 11, and I only saw two stories about evacuees demolishing their homes. I’m sure there must be many other kinds of stories, though.
I'm interested in Theoria of English Grammar and Thinking Grammar. Though I've been working through Practice Royal English Grammar for two years page by page, and once if I finish it, they will probably be very appealing.
Only a handful of people succeed while they are still young. That is why, if you rush, your efforts often end up spinning your wheels.
Yet if you do nothing, you will spend much of your time in idleness. The real question is how you will construe that idleness later in life.
By the time you no longer even have the leisure to ponder it, that is when the start quietly arrives. ("The beginning comes almost unnoticed" is alternative. )
I am already middle aged, and I do not feel the need for a multitude of friends. I already have many, and some of them remain my friends even if we do not meet for years.
No matter how much money I might have, I doubt I would ever drive a luxury car. I do like cars, but I rarely drive anyway. Most of the time I am either at home studying English, or on an airplane going somewhere.
After all, paying ten million yen just to drive a car is simply too expensive. There are countless other ways the money could be used.
Even when the materials and the structure are the same, something is labeled “luxury” simply because it is rare. Yet people may be so captivated by the intricate design and the limited numbers that they forget the fact that the structure and materials are essentially the same.
Take the latest A**i models, for instance. They look almost futuristic, and I have scarcely seen anything like them in Japan. But if I were to ride in one, nothing much would change, I would simply be reading a book as usual.
Of course, even if one passes the Eiken Grade 1 exam, there still remains an interminable road before reaching a truly native speaker level.
Nevertheless, once you pass it, you are generally regarded as one of the top level English speakers in Japan. That endorsement matters. It is necessary.
Perseverance conquers all things.
At this point in my life, I see only two possibilities: either to drift along with English indefinitely, or to persevere with a drastic and sustained effort.
Sometimes it happens. There are moments when I can read with the speed of skimming while still understanding the text precisely.
The acceleration has only started slightly, so I’m still in the middle stage of this careful examination. When the real acceleration comes, that will be the final stage.
First of all, learners of English need to study proper English. After that, they can loosen or adapt their expressions as necessary. If they rely only on informal or broken forms from the beginning, their progress will eventually reach a plateau.
Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.
I plan to record my own free speaking every day, even if I don’t upload it anywhere. The reason is that unless I actually speak, I cannot listen to myself objectively and improve the way I talk.
Invert, always invert. All I want to know is where I'm going to die, so I'll never go there.
Those who cannot handle English fluently simply do not read, listen to, write, or speak it every day.
I'd like to know myself and rectify my weakness. Invert, always invert.
Now I'm heading out. Better safe than sorry. Safety first. I'll proceed with prudence. I'll keep a moderate pace.
At last, this year’s tax filing is finished. Now I will make the payment. While chatting casually with the administrative staff. Many a little makes a mickle.
It was extremely cold this morning. My water bottle leaked and soaked my important Eiken past exam book quite badly. Even though it is an official educational resource, it is expensive. I wish it were cheaper. What a pity.
Well then, since I would rather not readily accept the idea that even Japan’s main intellectual forces, working together, would still be outmatched by native speakers, I will continue to devote myself to improvement, methodically and with a clear plan.
March 11
Yesterday what a small earthquake happened reminded us today's memories in those days. I felt things happened sincerely, praying for the world.
This morning’s listening training finished one full round of the Part 2 questions on an Eiken book by Obunsha, and I moved on to the Part 3 section.
These are the kinds of passages where a bank clerk or a salesperson gives an explanatory speech.
The difficult parts were the opening of the speech, words like “allow,” and function words such as “there” or “at” at the beginning of sentences.
In other words, that was basically all.
"Virtuoso."
The word appears in my vocabulary book, and it reminded me of the film Green Book.
This morning I played the movie again and enjoyed its atmosphere. Don Shirley’s piano performance is magnificent.
My admiration for Italy has never faded since the days when I studied Rome.
Although I only studied Latin and Italian at a beginner’s level, my passion for languages never disappears.
Thinking of this, I devote myself to English again this morning.
I tell myself that unless I become truly proficient in English within this year, I should not yet allow myself to pursue other languages.
The bank is closed for lunch right now, so I’m waiting while listening to some English. Something happened in my life around 2023, so I wasn't able to work on it during that period. Even so, I would read about the life of Aristotle in English, simply as a way to relax my mind.
Perhaps everyone in this world is simply walking their own path. In the empty parking lot of a bank, I listen to English. At one of the two convenience stores in this town, the only ones that are busy every day, some men wearing what looked like baseball uniforms, perhaps on holiday, were slurping cup noodles inside their cars.
March 11. At that time, we believed we would never be able to return. From that perspective, this memorial day called "3/11" is simply a future fifteen years ahead of those days.
What has become of Japan? Perhaps things have improved a little. Let us believe so.
After all, anything that is truly right takes a great deal of time.
So that one day, in the next world, we may tell those who passed away what happened afterward.
Praying in the disaster-stricken region on the anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake…
I happened to be cooking just now, so perhaps my mother briefly dropped by from heaven and said, "Not bad." They say that when you finally wish to show filial devotion, your parents are already gone.
Today's close reading passage was quite challenging. Well, basically, both TIME articles and past exam questions tend to be formidable.
After all, for example, it is difficult to read smoothly a sentence like: "Veblen saw such displays as the manifestation of an innate desire that prompt us to outdo those with whom we are in the habit of classifying ourselves."
All things are difficult before they are easy.
"About five years ago, while we were driving through Fukushima in my Toyota, Toshihiko Yahagi told me about Pierrot le Fou. Influenced by that moment, I of course came to own his novels as well as works like the Nikkatsu noir series and AGAIN." Posted on July 8, 2020
My French is still stuck at the beginner level, almost embarrassingly so. Even now, the only things I can say are 'Why is it so hot?' and 'There is a cat at the doorway.' When I once demonstrated these lines to a handsome French poet at Oma between the sun and the sea, we ended up drinking heavily while he went on at length about how gold had supposedly been brought by extraterrestrials.
Fifteen years on, even the memory of the disaster has become fodder for the attention economy. Time reveals all things.
This is a piece written by Chie Ito, an editor of our magazine, Weltgeist Fukushima. Chie kindly wrote a recommendation for a book that I edited as editor-in-chief. Since the book is filled with the writings of many different people, I feel especially happy about it.
https://ameblo.jp/komugidaisuki/entry-12658252698.html
I happened to find my own name listed near that of Shuichi Kito Prof. if Tokyo University and Seisa University, once Rockefeller. It is probably related to a trip I took to Okinawa long ago. Glad to see that.
On rereading it, I found the style remarkably lucid and easy to read. It has depth without any affectation, true journalism. I, Kuniyoshi Yoshida, also appear briefly in the latter part; in a way, I was something like a Mutsuemon-like figure standing there.
The word 'Mutsuemon' is actually a term I coined myself. By it I mean a person who watches over and protects the region of Mutsu.
Title: 2016 — In a Place That Will Be Forgotten, They Had Already Been Forgotten (Part I) Written by: Eri Oka
https://thisismytradingreport.blogspot.com/2016/02/blog-post.html
I love the sound of the piano. Its resonance evokes a sense of elegance and serenity.
My mischievous virtuoso cat is dashing around the house, stirring everything up. It is delightful. I am watching "Green Book" while enjoying the lively commotion.
Sometimes in the evening, my cat suddenly dashes onto my diary that I have left open and crumples the pages. I can’t help but find the moment irresistibly amusing.
I think university students probably do not have as much time to read books as people imagine.
I sometimes feel that having fewer followers on social media is actually cooler.
Every single day, like the taiyaki in the song 'Oyoge! Taiyaki-kun,' I’m being grilled on the Eiken exam. But once I’ve been grilled enough, I’ll turn out delicious.
March 10
Cleaning the stove makes me feel good. Cleanliness is truly a kind of virtue. It even makes me want to keep my language clean as well. I reduce unnecessary things and feel grateful for the present moment.
I truly love soba. It is light, refreshing, and free from any sense of attachment. It is wonderful. I would like to do work that feels like this.
Personally, I feel that reading aloud and shadowing do not, by themselves, make one suddenly proficient in English. They are not indispensable;
they are simply nice to have. Since there are many other things that deserve priority, I have not been doing them recently. I simply do not have the time.
In reality, study methods do not seem to be entirely free. Depending on a person’s situation, there are often methods that are much more suitable or appropriate.
March 9
When English sentences become more advanced, the American pronunciation known as the alveolar flap /ɾ/ can be particularly difficult to catch. Even in simple phrases like "look at," the intonation of American speakers sometimes makes it unexpectedly hard to hear. Still, it seems that the meaning can often be inferred from the context.
First things first.
In language learning, there is often a stage called a plateau. For a long time, progress feels slow and almost invisible. However, during this period the brain is accumulating patterns of vocabulary, syntax, and meaning.
Eventually these elements begin to connect with each other. When that happens, comprehension suddenly becomes easier. Sentences that once seemed complicated can be processed much more quickly, and unfamiliar words can often be inferred from context.
This sudden improvement is not magic but the result of accumulated exposure and repeated practice.
At first it was extremely tough. I studied for hours every day as if smoke of wisdom were rising from my head while I struggled to understand the texts.
No pain, no gain.
From today, I will reduce the number of English compositions I post on X. Instead, I will record everything on Google Blogger and post only representative pieces or summaries on X.
If there are too many posts, people cannot read them all, and it becomes meaningless. I have already posted a large number of compositions, so I think people understand that I am seriously studying English.
If it is difficult to read my posts on Google Blogger without Japanese translations, please feel free to use an online translation tool. Thank you very much for reading.
I skimmed through Good Housekeeping. In order to understand the shape of happiness in postwar American households, magazines like this—similar to those published by Condé Nast—are indispensable sources. Most of the products featured in it are things that Japanese people also own, but more than half of the dishes are not commonly prepared in Japan. Compared with TIME or The Economist, the amount of text is extremely small.
I signed a contract with Rakuten Mobile and got a router. The device itself cost only one yen, which is incredibly cheap. Now I have unlimited internet access, but since I have already learned how to prevent myself from becoming addicted to the internet, I think it is safe for me to make this contract. This service also feels more reliable than Charge Wi-Fi, so I can use it with greater peace of mind. Besides, I would sometimes like to watch movies on a television screen.
A change is as good as a rest.
Today my work consisted of only one thing: replying to a simple email. It was an extremely easy job. As you know. Of course, I will increase my workload in the future.
Perhaps it is just my imagination, but when I look at X, it seems that English learners are the very people who most strongly desire to share information in Japanese.
It almost makes me wonder whether, for many people, English exists mainly as something to be learned and taught through Japanese.
This resembles the structural contrast between translation dependent learning and immersion based learning.
In other words, Japanese students who study at places like Oxford University are rarely seen on social media.
Or it is somewhat similar to studying abroad but spending the entire period mainly with other Japanese students.
Nevertheless, both approaches probably have their own advantages and disadvantages.
When gasoline prices surge, logistics and manufacturing costs rise, which in turn drives up the overall cost of goods. It is something we should be careful about. Forewarned is forearmed.
In fact, fertilizer prices for rice farming had already doubled long ago, so the recent surge in rice prices almost came too late. Rice farmers have already been declining in number.
One of the strengths of the Eiken Grade 1 reading section is that it presents long passages, questions, and answer choices, all of which are highly abstract, so it really forces you to think deeply.
I read English grammar books because they are interesting. It’s fascinating to learn the range of expressions and how the language works. Of course, extensive reading also helps you learn grammar.
But I’ve already gone through two thick grammar books once, so now I just review them by reading only two to four pages a day. If I have more time in the future, I’d like to read many other grammar books as well.
I have done some of what is often called "comprehensible extensive input," so I understand its effectiveness quite well. I believe there is a substantial difference between learners who have engaged in it and those who have not.
For people who have never tried this approach and are currently hitting a wall in their English studies, I think it could be extremely beneficial.
In other words, people whose lives are rooted in English spend long periods of time learning the language even without deliberately setting aside time to study it.
March 8
I have finished all my morning activities—cleaning, eating, studying, and exercising—so now I’m going to drive to the store to buy some food. Since I try to live entirely in English in every aspect of my daily life, it almost feels like studying abroad while staying at home.
em dash, parenthetical interruption
Silence is sometimes the best answer.
https://x.com/AlysaUpdates/status/2030403211627004349?s=20
I'm starting to feel drowsy, so I'll take a brief nap to restore my energy.
I think Alysa Liu is wonderful. She strikes me as a truly admirable American.
People sometimes claim on X that Americans are overly assertive or disliked because their country is a superpower. Yet such sweeping generalizations are misleading.
In reality, there are countless Americans who are humble, kind, and diligent. That is the America I have come to know.
I have devoted an enormous amount of time to learning English, and I have accomplished most of the things that probably 95% of ordinary learners would have given up on.
Yet the gap between native speakers and me is still immense, and I feel a sense of frustration almost every day. I will remember this feeling. One day, I will achieve a dramatic breakthrough in my English ability.
I hope for a peaceful world. I still believe there is hope for reaching it. There are many decent and good people. In many ways, things have become far better than they were in the past. Yet human beings still make mistakes. Perhaps that is simply what it means to be human.
Of course, I have already experienced many leaps in my English ability. I will surely experience many more in the future. Each one arrives after a plateau that I have struggled through. In that sense, it is very much like life itself.
Hemingway copied newspaper articles, Churchill transcribed great prose, and Samuel Johnson read dictionaries.
All the world's a stage.
Since I cannot compete with geniuses, the only path left for me is to keep training in English and physical exercise like a gritty marathon runner. I will pursue it endlessly.
However, when I was a child, I consistently achieved excellent grades in English and ranked roughly between first and tenth in my entire grade.
In my school, students with the same high scores shared the same rank, so several people could have the same position.
Of course, there were times when my rank dropped to around twentieth as well. When all five subjects were counted together, my overall rank was around that level or less.
There were also two occasions when I fell into a slump because I played video games too much and suffered from lack of sleep. At those times my English tutor looked at me rather coldly, which made me feel quite uneasy.
Although I hardly studied at all in high school, I still managed to graduate. In my late twenties, when I casually took the Eiken tests, I passed both Pre-2 and Grade 2 on my first attempt.
Aside from that, I did almost no formal study, but at the age of thirty I read through the entire book Royal English Grammar and translated Mark Twain’s “What Is Man?” completely into Japanese.
In addition, I spent many years engaged in writing, studying folklore, attending Professor Akasaka’s lectures for about four years, editing and publishing a magazine, and conducting fieldwork.
But to be honest, I only studied right before the tests. Most of the time I was just playing around and having fun. But we had English composition tests every week.
Moreover, the cram school was so strict that if we did not get a perfect score, we were not even allowed to remain seated, and we could even be expelled. Because of that, we, the first group of students, took the tests very seriously.
Our performance gained a good reputation, and I remember seeing many younger students enrolling in the school afterward.
Right now I have finished the Pass Tan Eiken Grade 1 book, and I am studying the Eiken Japan Times EX Grade 1 vocabulary book, since it is more specialized for the exam.
However, I have not actually studied the example sentences in the Pass Tan Grade 1 book or in my IELTS vocabulary book yet. On the other hand, I still repeatedly study the example sentences from the Pre 2, Grade 2, and Pre-1 books.
Right now I am studying the example sentences in the Eiken EX Grade 1 vocabulary book.
After I finish repeatedly reviewing the example sentences from the Grade 2 and Pre 1 books, I will also study the example sentences in the Pass Tan Grade 1 book and in my IELTS vocabulary book.
My daily life is almost like spending all my time at a batting center, constantly practicing. From now on I will also be studying example sentences, so that is exciting. I am really looking forward to it.
With every turn at bat, it feels as if gold coins are raining down on me. Thank you. (laughs)
Of course, in principle I would recommend studying example sentences from the beginning.
However, my life has not always been smooth sailing. During stormy periods, whether late at night or early in the morning, I made sure to study at least vocabulary.
It was almost like clinging to a piece of wood from a shipwreck.
Today I practiced writing English compositions of about 900 words, roughly 4,000 characters. The English I think in is still quite simple, but next year I would like to start challenging more advanced expressions little by little.
I remember that when it was the day to go to cram school once a week, I had no time at all to play with my friends.
I rode my bicycle alone for three kilometers. While everyone else was playing, I was alone. However, there were two classmates in the cram school who were in the same situation as I was, and their overall grades were better than mine.
It feels nostalgic now. I seem to remember that the cram school had something like a fireplace, but I also recall going with the teacher to a gas station to fill kerosene for a kerosene fan heater.
Before I knew it, I had become a private tutor and soon the head of a cram school.
One reason was that there were very few suitable job opportunities for me in the countryside.
In that sense, it could be said that the environment shaped me, but it was my own decision to start attending the English cram school.
However, I had a close friend at the time, and his parent invited me to join. His parent was a doctor. I had already grown tired of calligraphy and the abacus, so I was excited about the path I had chosen for myself.
If I had not studied English, there is a good chance that I would have gone to a technical high school and later joined Tokyo Electric Power Company or another company related to electricity. Alternatively, I might have ended up working only in the real estate industry.
If I had taken an ordinary job that did not involve studying from morning to night, I probably would have wasted my life playing around and died long ago. Since hardship in study is what keeps me alive, all I can do is laugh.
Adversity is the school of wisdom.
https://x.com/Fire_2025_/status/2030433737524269530?s=20
It is said that the average amount of savings in Tokyo exceeds 30 million yen. However, since this is not the median, it is highly likely that wealthy individuals are pushing the average upward.
Moreover, Tokyo has the highest cost of living in Japan, so such savings might eventually disappear after some time.
Money talks, but wealth whispers.
My abilities have been continually stimulated by encounters with people I consider geniuses.
There were many even before the earthquake, but especially after it, the number has been astonishing. I do not use that word lightly, however.
Tonight again, after getting out of the bath, I ate my favorite fruit. It was absolutely irresistible. I'm happy.
Naturally, everyone has their own kind of happiness. And I am simply myself—that is all. Each of us climbs our own mountains or stands quietly by our own lakes, walking along our respective paths. Such is the way of life, my contemporaries.
The greatest thing in the world is to know how to belong to oneself.
(It means knowing how to live according to your own principles instead of being swayed by others.)
I used to communicate with friends from English-speaking countries all the time, but there was also a period when I had many friends in many different countries.
We met online and were study partners. We kept in touch and talked with each other.
It was before Facebook became popular, and I used to communicate with everyone in English all the time. It’s a nostalgic memory now.
Usually my posts get around twenty views, but the one about Haruka received about twelve thousand views. I was really surprised.
I would also like to read many books on English grammar and sentence interpretation, but I am simply too busy reading English itself. I hardly have any time to read Japanese slowly. I look forward to enjoying those books once things settle down a little.
At forty or fifty, you're still just a youngster.
When I was young, I was a minimalist, and now I have returned to that lifestyle again. For about twenty years, I have lived with a beard and long hair.
March 7
"Japan's health ministry has announced formal approval for the domestic manufacture and sale of two products for the treatment of heart disease and Parkinson's disease using iPS cells. It means such treatments will be put to practical use for the first time in the world."
"One of the products subject to Friday's announcement is cardiomyocyte sheet ReHeart. It was developed by University of Osaka startup Cuorips to treat ischemic cardiomyopathy, a serious heart disease."
NHK WORLD-JAPAN News
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20260306_17/
The news about iPS cells is remarkable. They say it may help solve heart disease and Parkinson’s disease. I wonder if it'll benefit me when I become old. I look forward to that future. Of course, I dislike hospitals, so I intend to maintain an extremely healthy lifestyle (laugh).
Prevention is better than cure.
It seems to me that health is a priceless and colossal asset, one that surpasses even ten billion yen in value.
"The greatest wealth is health." — Virgil
One problem remains: the fact that many species are disappearing.
Health is the greatest gift.
Yesterday I jogged about twenty kilometers with ease, so this morning I was terribly sleepy. Although I tried to wake up early, I ended up getting up almost at my usual time.
Nevertheless, I was able to start my activities earlier in the end, because, strictly speaking, I did wake up a little earlier.
The transitional season from winter to spring always makes one drowsy. In spring, the dawn is especially beautiful.
I truly think that justice is always precarious. The very moment one becomes intoxicated with a sense of righteousness, it is probably just right to suspect that one may already be committing some grave error. Justice is something that must be constantly examined and pursued, for it is an enduring inquiry rather than a settled certainty.
It is important to carefully study and copy model answers for the Eiken Grade 1 essay section in order to learn the patterns of writing. I also try to memorize expressions that are difficult for me to use.
Sometimes it is wonderful to spend time at a café with a beautiful view, reading TIME in between conversations.
A passage that I could not understand yesterday became about 80 percent clear today, so I feel that my English ability is definitely improving day by day. I was also glad that I could understand all the questions that required distinguishing subtle nuances.
The claim that people are disliked simply because they belong to a certain nation is far too sweeping. A more accurate observation is that unpleasant individuals exist everywhere, even within one’s own country. To judge people solely by their attributes is shallow and intellectually negligent.
It is by no means true that one must rely on the latest textbooks to learn English. People in the past managed to become proficient without such materials, and even native children grow up mastering their language without them. One should not remain complacent simply by doing what everyone else does.
In the end, exposure is the most important factor. It is probably just as important as training itself. Each ability and each type of English requires a certain amount of exposure. People who have never read about space find it difficult to listen to or read about space.
The same is completely true even in one’s native language. Even in my native language, I often do not understand topics related to computer companies. I can barely follow discussions about cloud computing, but once it comes to cryptocurrency, things start to become unclear.
In other words, I have probably been using this exposure based method of extensive reading and listening since around 2022. That is one reason my English has improved recently, many times suddenly.
On top of that, I have added close reading and careful listening since 2023, maybe, as well as exam preparation since 2026. That is why I am so busy.
March 6
I have long been a person who goes to bed early and wakes up early. No matter how late I sleep, I usually get up around six at the latest. I believe this is one of the fundamentals of excellence.
Yet I sometimes wonder what people who cannot sleep well should do. Their self esteem must decline as well. It is truly a troubling matter.
"Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise." However, giving advice to people is difficult. When I was young, I drank alcohol and smoked constantly, and because of that I could never wake up early in the morning.
What distinguishes me from others is probably nothing more than the difference in resolve when one is placed in extreme circumstances. Even though I am an ordinary man, perhaps it simply means that I still stand, at least to some extent, in the harsh world of men.
Fortune favors the brave. However, courage is entirely different from recklessness or rashness. That distinction is the most important thing. Discretion is the better part of valor.
People who are still developing are often rebellious. At times, it may be because they become aggressive in order to protect their wounded or fragile selves. Of course, this is not always the case.
It can also be said that because they are too strict with themselves and tend toward perfectionism, everything easily collapses. Human beings are truly troublesome creatures.
Studying through some kind of correspondence program is admirable, but many people end up dropping out along the way.
If you are unsure about your own determination, you might first borrow a book from the library that resembles the textbooks used in that program and see whether you can read it through to the end.
Distance learning involves working through a formidable stack of books, yet in reality it deals with nothing more than the very fundamentals.
I served as the head of my cram school for about fifteen years starting at the age of twenty.
Since I grew up in an environment where even reference books were scarcely available, studying on one’s own was simply taken for granted during my childhood. For that reason, doing my studies independently has always seemed perfectly natural to me.
My mother helped me with my studies until about the fourth grade of elementary school.
After that, however, she became busy with work, and my studying turned almost entirely into self study.
Even then, I was made to work on commercially available correspondence style workbooks every day in addition to my regular school assignments.
However, I must confess something rather embarrassing. Once I tried a set of high level correspondence study materials, and suddenly everything in them seemed unfamiliar to me.
Feeling overwhelmed, I buried about thirty of the books in the backyard in the middle of the night. I still remember that incident even now. (laugh)
A friend from the media world invited me out for the first time in a very long while, but unfortunately I couldn’t go this time.
Still, I definitely want to see them again someday. Friendship is not about whom you see every day, but about whom you remember every day.
I never imagined that I would start reading the "Great Books of the World" series while studying English. I had kept those books in the library at my parents’ house because I wanted to read them someday.
In fact, I originally wanted to read the "World History" series first, but for world history I am currently reading Kodansha’s English edition before moving on to the English version of Yamakawa’s World History.
They are the volumes on Locke and Hume. I decided to read them while talking with my friend Robin. I will also read the Bentham volume in the "Great Thinkers of the World" series. They are written in Japanese it's by far easier than in English.
I was just reading the opening section of the Locke chapter in the "Great Books of the World" series and learned about the outline of his life.
He was a member of the gentry belonging to the middle productive class and graduated from Oxford.
He studied medicine extensively and was well versed in it, but before long he advanced into philosophy, particularly political philosophy, for which he later became renowned.
I also remember having encountered his name in constitutional law textbooks.
Concepts such as the social contract and the right of resistance were discussed in class alongside Hobbes.
It seems that he was able to use English, Classical Greek, and Latin.
I can almost imagine what his childhood must have been like.
I myself once studied a little Modern Greek and Latin, and reading about him makes me feel that I would like to try learning them again someday.
To achieve English ability comparable to that of John Locke or Winston Churchill, I feel that I would probably need to go through an English English dictionary about ten times with ease.
However, when I read Eiken Grade 1 passages and TIME as well, even an entire day does not seem sufficient. After all, there are also listening practice, vocabulary study, example sentences, English composition, and grammar to work on.
Intellectual distillation is a wonderful phrase. I will remember it.
"Reading furnishes the mind only with materials of knowledge; it is thinking that makes what we read ours." John Locke
Locke famously argued that the human mind begins as a "white paper," gradually filled by experience and learning.
March 5
I skipped my listening routine two and three days ago, but since yesterday my morning listening training has resumed. Recently I moved my vocabulary study to another time of the day because I am already scoring around 90 percent on those tests.
Because balance is essential in learning English, I am now working on the areas I find most difficult. Listening comes first, and reading will come next. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.
The world is full of lonely people afraid to make the first move. Courage is grace under pressure.
I begin with the tasks that seem troublesome, consider them carefully, and complete them promptly. Well begun is half done.
In English, the word "usury" refers to moneylending at excessive interest. In Japanese, however, "yusuri" means a blackmailer, which somehow sounds similar.
Yet the Japanese verb "yusuru" also simply means "to shake" or "to rock," so it does not necessarily imply a Shylock like figure every time.
And speaking of Shylock, he is the moneylender in The Merchant of Venice, written by Shakespeare, whose name itself begins with the word "shake."
I think that although textbooks for English composition are convenient, learners often end up memorizing them mechanically.
In that sense, they may not be very different from memorizing example sentences in vocabulary books. However, the great advantage of such textbooks is that they introduce sentences and expressions that frequently appear in English composition.
For that reason, the Japan Times Eiken Pre-1 writing book suited me well. I looked at about two other books by a different famous author, but I felt that their examples lacked reproducibility, meaning they were not easily applicable in actual writing situations.
BTW,
"And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate…Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake. I shake it off."
Tailor Swift
Just shake it off.
The following quotes are from X, pop crave
Alysa Liu to Teen Vogue on doing hard things:
“I love pushing myself. There's this thing called the aMCC in your brain, and it's where you say willpower resides. I love doing stuff that I really don't want to do, really hard things. I get a kick out of it, and that's where I'm happy.”
https://x.com/PopCrave/status/2029185018929557971?s=20
When I read English sentences from beginning to end, I can now read them fairly smoothly. However, there are still expressions whose meanings are not easy to grasp even when I read them fluently, and some phrases are easy to forget while reading.
Therefore, I feel that slow and careful reading allows me to understand the text deeply enough to answer questions about it. I believe that I should align my reading speed with the slowest points of comprehension and then gradually increase the speed little by little.
Today I answered all the questions correctly on the easier reading passages, but the more difficult ones took me quite a long time to understand at first sight. Eventually I managed to grasp them, and I realized that there are certain topics that I am not very good at.
These days I feel that spending time on what I am not good at is the royal road to improvement.
The reading passages in the Eiken Grade 1 exam are truly difficult. Sometimes even the questions themselves are challenging. There are certain expressions that I personally find hard to understand.
Topics such as biology, the universe, and abstract discussions are particularly difficult for me. Of course, I am determined to grow accustomed to them from now on. My motivation is burning.
Some people say they read five hundred passages in order to pass the Eiken Grade 1 exam. Others manage with only a few years’ worth of past questions. The fact that some people need five hundred or even a thousand passages suggests that the rate of improvement differs from person to person.
It seems far more efficient to start with past exam questions or Obunsha’s reading problem collections, where you read a passage and then answer questions about it. I had mostly just been reading passages before, and now I clearly understand the drawbacks of that approach.
I still think that reading an English–English dictionary is effective. Understanding definitions is abstract work. What is not very helpful is simply reading things without connecting them to exam preparation. When it is linked to exam study, even ordinary reading becomes effective. In other words, should we always be preparing for an exam? (laughs)
A long time ago, I began extensive reading with low level graded readers such as the Ladder Series. Even those were quite difficult for me at first.
After that, I read Murakami Haruki’s "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle," entries in an English English dictionary, and probably about 300 university entrance exam passages.
In addition to that, I read roughly 700 passages from Obunsha’s Eiken preparation books. The Wind Up Bird Chronicle had about six hundred pages printed in very small type.
I also read through the Mini Oxford English English Dictionary from beginning to end.
Because of that, there are times when I feel I can read the Eiken Grade 1 passages extremely quickly. However, when I try to solve them very carefully, they end up taking a lot of time. If I read them in the same way as I do during extensive reading, the content still does not sink in easily for me.
At the moment, I study directly for the exam, and I also read TIME, National Geographic, and an English English dictionary. And of course, because I like them, I read novels as well.
So I study English every single day. I feel that there is simply not enough time.
I believe that only by making ten times the effort of others can I finally become an ordinary person.
I hope that within the next hundred days I will be able to read through the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary as well.
Today I made a post of five thousand characters in a single day. It was counted in characters, not in words, though.
The content is mostly about everyday matters, but if I convert it into the format of Eiken essays, it would amount to roughly fifty of them.
March 4
Though sleet fell this morning and the chill of early spring lingered in the air, my heart is steadily drawing nearer to spring. So, sweet are the uses of adversity, As You Like It.
Others are others, and I am myself. Only I can walk the path of my own life. There is no point in making comparisons. In the end, we are all bound for the next world anyway.
You will never reach your destination if you stop and throw stones at every dog that barks.
If you want to learn English, I recommend posting on social media in English. It is very effective. You do not need to aim for perfection from the beginning. In fact, in English composition exams, perfection is almost nonexistent anyway. Practice makes perfect.
The reason English does not come to mind during English composition is simply that people do not usually write in English. There is no other explanation. The proof of the pudding is in the eating.
Open University courses are good, but what is even better is ordinary books, junior high and high school textbooks, and qualification exam books. University texts are written on the assumption that readers already know those basics. Well begun is half done.
Museums and art galleries are indicators of a nation's cultural strength, so they should not be recklessly commercialized. Rather than focusing on profitability, it might be better to incorporate them more actively into school trips and educational programs.
Today, on the highway, a truck came very close behind me, and I almost said "sugar" out loud. After that, I kept talking about how important safe driving is for a gentleman.
The road after sleet can be dangerous because hydroplaning makes it slippery. I could not help feeling dissatisfied with how poorly that truck driver was driving. On a one lane highway, a chain of traffic like beads is simply too dangerous.
I even suspected that they might have been glancing at their smartphones while driving. Sometimes there are drivers who drift over the center line as well. If someone cannot drive properly, they should get out of the car. Better safe than sorry.
People in Fukushima Prefecture apparently drink more sparkling water than anyone else in Japan. I suppose I am one of the people contributing to that statistic. I’ve just finished a piece of work, so cheers with a glass of sparkling water.
I happened to come across a foul mouthed doctor on X just now. I certainly wouldn’t want to be treated by someone like that. One never knows what such a person might do. Personally, I would rather be examined by a female doctor just in case. Manners maketh man.
Recently, one of my American friends has been inviting me to visit Kyoto and also to come to the United States, so I have started thinking that I might travel to America someday.
Come to think of it, when I went shopping today, I was surprised to see 311 yen printed on the receipt. March 11 is already approaching.
I finished a ten kilometer jog and studying Eiken English, no problem. Slow and steady wins the race
Although I now have two bases, I still feel far more at ease in Iwaki. The other place is new, but the showerhead needs to be replaced. I dislike weak water pressure. East or west, home is best.
After a long jog, studying for the exam, taking a bath, and having dinner, I suddenly feel extremely sleepy now that things have settled down. What should I do? I think I’ll listen to the radio for fun.
Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested.
Walk your own path.
If you wait to buy until the chart falls, you lose the gains that could have accumulated during that time. Therefore, it may be wiser not to worry about timing the market at all.
It is truly admirable that so many people study English every day. Persistently working on a language that takes such a long time to master is not something modern people, constantly surrounded by smartphones, can easily do. Moreover, English is particularly difficult for Japanese learners.
I enjoy studying both grammar and vocabulary. By now, I have even come to like exam preparation itself. However, I am always somewhat dismayed by my own rate of progress. I still hope to keep making leaps and bounds for a long time to come.
In my view, Japanese people often love their own language so much that they have not yet firmly resolved to become truly international individuals who actively use English. We should seriously consider when we are actually going to start using English.
For modern Japanese people, who have rarely experienced inconvenience in their own language, using English often feels quite restrictive and uncomfortable. That is one reason many people are reluctant to use it.
Yet precisely because of that distance, there is also a certain yearning for English, much like the feeling many people have toward classical Japanese or Chinese texts.
For example, many people learn Japanese in order to enjoy their favorite anime or manga in the original language. However, when it comes to English, most novels are already available in Japanese translation.
Because of this, many Japanese people do not really have a clear purpose beyond learning English itself.
March 3
I want to live like nagashi somen, drifting lightly along the current without resistance. Go with the flow. Still waters run deep.
With a subtle, quiet empathy in my heart. All things flow and change. A prayer. All things must pass.
"Reason is, and ought only to be the slave of the passions, and can never pretend to any other office than to serve and obey them."
"Custom is the great guide of human life."
"Truth springs from argument amongst friends."
After all, radio is great because it allows me to absorb a large number of English proper nouns all at once. Because I took a short break from listening for the past two days and let my ears rest, everything sounds clear to me now.
I sometimes think that marathon running is not inherently harmful simply because of the long distance, nor is it inevitably injury prone. It depends on somethings important.
No matter how much I talk, the core remains within me, carefully cultivated and quietly enshrined.
Someone from Aizu once said to Haruka Ayase after she lost a game of rock-paper-scissors, "People in Aizu are kind to those who lose." I suppose it is through losing that a person deepens the flavor of life.
March 2
I am doing clerical tasks today. As the saying goes, preparation accounts for eighty percent of the work, so once the arrangements are in place, the rest is relatively easy.
Interestingly, I find the work itself easier than the clerical procedures surrounding it. In fact, I find working easier than studying. Work gives me a tangible sense of fulfillment, whereas studying is more cognitively demanding, even though it is equally important.
By the way, why has my path been so uneven and full of ups and downs? Perhaps it is simply a reminder that I am meant to enjoy it. My journey has never been linear.
Do not dread change, it is often the catalyst for growth. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
March 1
I was delighted to spend an enjoyable time with my American friend, whom I have known for fifteen years.
We were able to share memories related to Shakespeare. She apparently likes The Merchant of Venice and Hamlet. So do I; in addition, I am fond of Macbeth and Richard II as well. I can truly relate to her taste.
Owing to my recent intensive concentration training, I can understand native conversations far better than before.
Nevertheless, I keenly realize that without familiarity with idiomatic expressions peculiar to native speakers, my comprehension is still limited. Since she is experienced and capable of speaking slowly and teaching patiently, I feel genuinely supported.
https://x.com/Ger81opi46/status/2027942189528191033?s=20
February 28
I have heard that the reading section of the Eiken Grade 1 exam is highly regarded for its quality, and I completely agree. It is remarkably adept at targeting the optimal level of difficulty. It can be extremely challenging if one is not accustomed to processing abstract English, and therefore I will continue to train myself rigorously.
I feel almost ashamed to think that my abstract thinking in English is still weak, especially since I once studied logic, but it was in Japanese. It makes me want to read through my mini English English dictionary all at once again.
My friend tells me that it's probably because I listened to English for more than five hours today. Still, I'm embarrassed by what feels like my lack of stamina. However, it may well be due to the fact that I didn't get enough sleep last night and got a little frustrated.
I’ve gotten some sleep now, so I feel fine, but it’s already time to go to bed again. How fast a day passes. A single day feels like life itself.
I went for a walk earlier. It was cold. Still, there were many people out walking their dogs. The plum blossoms and cherry blossoms were there.
As another year passes, it feels painful, and I almost do not want to look at them. Yet they are beautiful, joyful, and heartbreaking at the same time. Nothing gold can stay.
You there, watching from the gaps in the shade of the trees, are very clever. Do come and speak to me. Today we exchanged greetings and even shook hands. It was someone else’s cat, though.
Even other people’s cats come to play in my garden, and every year the flowers bloom. It is a marvelous thing. I do not wish to become a selfish giant. Where there is love, there is life.
I am so happy. I finally understand how to type the hyphen, the en dash, and the em dash. Connection, range, and leap. Little strokes fell great oaks.
I was happy to meet Augustine again within the words. Let us meet again.
"You have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you."
Great.
A friend shared these short reflections with me today. They made me pose for thought.
"We do not merely live in time; we are constituted by it. Memory does not preserve the past intact but reconstructs it in accordance with the needs of the present, thereby shaping our identity in ways we scarcely perceive."
"Power is rarely malevolent in its self-understanding; it tends instead to justify itself as necessity. The peril lies not in overt tyranny alone, but in the gradual normalization of what once would have been considered unacceptable."
"Intelligence is not merely the accumulation of information but the disciplined capacity to discern patterns, tolerate ambiguity, and suspend premature judgment in the face of incomplete evidence."
In just a few days, it has already become enormous. Each month will likely turn into a very long blog entry. Instead of updating the page monthly, I would prefer to organize it by year. Blogger is lightweight, so it should be fine even if it becomes very long.
Order is the shape upon which beauty depends. I prefer to be able to look back at my past posts easily whenever I want.
I quietly muttered to myself, "I can read a little poetry too," with a smile.
https://x.com/Cristoforou/status/2027549624832324003?s=20
This is the sentence to translate into Japanese.
"Before she can tell him no, he should please read his paper, the man takes two corners of the blanket and flaps it over the mattress."
I was able to understand the question, yet I still found it challenging. It is truly formidable that high school students are expected to solve such a problem.
Although I can comprehend the sentence, explaining it grammatically in a systematic way is genuinely difficult.
I don’t like something like grammar hell. I wish there were some way around it. For now, I’m studying Practical Royal English Grammar unit by unit, going over each section several times.
Eventually, I want to return to Royal English Grammar again and go through it a few more times before moving on to another grammar book. The journey is long.
But the orange grammar book was useful.
https://x.com/Cristoforou/status/2027549624832324003?s=20
https://x.com/Nao_TESOL_CELTA/status/2027701431592227247?s=20
https://x.com/najapan/status/2023368790172434720?s=20
Japanese English grammarians are truly impressive. They must think about nothing but grammar all the time. I wonder what I think about. Nothing in particular, perhaps. I like meditation.
If I had to say, I often find myself thinking about minimalism, my cat, and Anglo American philosophers and novelists. I am not reading them at the moment, but I do hope to read them in the near future.
February 27
I was profoundly moved today when I realized that I could clearly comprehend English and American online radio programs, such as BBC Radio 4, which had eluded my full understanding for so long.
For 2 months, I've been practicing English composition on X, but moving all my posts to a blog is too labor intensive, so I have decided not to do it for now until X’s services become more advanced. From today, I suppose I have no choice but to transfer them manually to my blog.
I study for the exam every day. My listening ability has improved, yet it remains formidable. My reading has also improved, but it is still demanding. Rather, I have come to realize that both require essentially the same fundamental capacity at their core.
Although it should still be far from the cherry blossom season, the faint premonition of spring seems to be emerging, perhaps because of global warming. As always, time continues to accelerate.
I'm glad it is not raining today. It feels slightly cold against my skin, yet I can say it is not cold enough to be uncomfortable. The time to talk with my American friend is gradually drawing near.
I used my brain intensely. This is of paramount importance. It is always the case, but from time to time my concentration suddenly wanes. That, in its own way, also has a certain necessity.
For some reason, these few hours are always the most important part of my day. Perhaps because this is when I most feel like relaxing. That is precisely why I must aim for the goal of the day during this time and turn it into something concrete.
I deliberately tilt the balance between work and study as much as I can, and that is why I am able to do things that others cannot. There are risks involved, of course. But everyone has their own way of living, that is life.
I found it fascinating how different the words "arrest" and "arresting" are. They almost feel like completely separate words.
He literally never neglected even the smallest fundamentals. Even after team practice was over, Ichiro kept standing alone in the batter’s box for years. I want to be like that too.
I am also reading the mini Oxford Thesaurus, and I can already feel that it will be highly effective. It really helps expand the imagery and conceptual network behind each word.
I have started reading my mini Oxford English English dictionary again. I can understand it much better than when I read it from cover to cover before.
February 26
The video suggests that the internet and smartphones have greatly influenced people’s attention and reading habits.
The internet is useful because it provides immediate information, but on the other hand it makes it harder for us to think deeply and focus for long periods.
This video on Youtube by Jared Henderson
By the way, I failed to notice an email from an old classmate today, and my reply ended up being extremely late. I feel genuinely sorry about that. Lately, I have been somewhat secluded in a kind of "virtual overseas" world, hardly emerging into Japan at all.
I am beginning to see, little by little, what I truly want to do, and I feel a sense of relief. Now, after my bath, I will enjoy some buntan grapefruit.
I appreciate Locke and Hume, but what I truly want is to read Bentham in English.
He wrote books in English, and I own them. Since they are in English, I feel that I might be able to read them, yet his world is profoundly difficult. I once read the Japanese translation of Wittgenstein’s Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus. At that time, I was also studying logic.
Wittgenstein was such a genius that, despite being a German speaker, he became a professor at Oxford University and even obtained British citizenship. He was highly regarded by Russell and deeply respected by Keynes.
At that time, I was not studying very seriously. Even so, I was learning a little Greek. Even now, I would like to study at least some Greek and Latin someday.
As for German, French, and Italian, I do not know when I will be able to resume them. I am now completely immersed in English, and I suppose this will continue until I finish reading Locke and Hume.
Alternatively, gatherings of people who are learning Japanese are also wonderful. I once participated in something like an international community in Tokyo. It feels nostalgic now.
That was right after the earthquake, and even at such a time, I was fundamentally someone who loved languages.
Abroad, people tend to form groups based on their nationality. Of course, a closed society is not desirable, but having a small community where people can support one another is probably a good thing.
Of course, I do not need many close friends, however, I would like to live with the mindset that anyone kind hearted whom I have met or interacted with in some way is, in a sense, an acquaintance of mine.
Even Japanese people who can speak just a little English are all comrades to me. When we go abroad, what truly matters is that we survive.
I run for several hours every day and continue learning all day long, if possible. I can sustain self study for years without relying on any formal institution. The only thing I lack is time. I still strive for further refinement and growth.
I am the stellar type, and it is all thanks to my surging, inexhaustible vitality. I am deeply grateful to my parents for that gift.
I almost never experience burnout. I keep advancing with relentless momentum. Now that my health is recovering, I feel even more powerful and alive. I am the stellar type.
Recently, I have begun to feel that the gap between intensive reading and extensive reading is narrowing. It is as if the distance between careful analysis and natural flow is shrinking.
Ideally, I would like to finish a thin magazine in a single day, such as Time or National Geographic. After completing my listening and reading training, I will continue striving so that I can also finish Time within the same day.
Important article, quotation:
‘We’re losing accessibility’: America says goodbye to the mass-market paperback
The so-called ‘pocket book’ sold in supermarkets is being phased out across the US, the latest sign of an ongoing shift in how people are choosing to read
David Smith in Washington
Tue 24 Feb 2026 10.03 GMT
Shelly Romero has early memories of going to her local supermarket and picking pulp fiction off the shelves. “We were very working class; my mom was working two jobs sometimes,” she recalls. “The appeal of books being cheaper and smaller and able to be carried around was definitely a thing.”
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/feb/24/america-says-goodbye-paperback
Tokyo is expensive in part because it houses major corporations, wealthy elites, universities, and central government institutions.
As capital, power, and talent concentrate there, property prices and service costs inevitably rise. Consequently, even lower income residents must bear the elevated cost structure shaped by high earners.
Yet where people, wealth, and authority converge, opportunities likewise multiply. In that sense, the city’s high costs reflect not only inequality but also density of possibility.
It may simply be that the cost of living in Tokyo is disproportionately higher than in most other regions of the country, making economic comparisons misleading at first glance.
Therefore, even those who appear fulfilled and prosperous on the surface are not necessarily leading carefree lives.
However, one should also bear in mind that a large proportion of Japanese households do not possess substantial savings.
https://x.com/aaya_01/status/2026293648514846994
It seems that many people on X are eager to talk about the so called "low income countryside brother" whose economy appears to function quite smoothly.
One begins to wonder what kind of social status these commentators themselves occupy.
In reality, what looks like financial ease is often not about income level but about structural costs, ownership, and lifestyle design rather than mere salary figures.
I bought some Arab dates today. In English the brand is called "Date Crown." In Japanese, they are the fruit of the date palm (natsumeyashi). They are often referred to as the jewel of the Middle East and have been eaten for thousands of years.
Perhaps this is a reunion after ten thousand years, who knows (laugh). The importer is Idemitsu Shokai Co., Ltd., and the country of origin is the United Arab Emirates.
To me, the taste resembles prunes with a caramel like richness. They are truly delicious.
※Idemitsu (出光商会)
When I think of power, I am reminded of the Corleone family and Machiavelli. Yet they also teach us that power does not necessarily bring happiness. Today again, let us strive to make our lives beautiful.
I have finally started reading 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami in both Japanese and English. The Japanese edition was a gift from a close American friend of mine.
I own both the hardcover and paperback versions, while the English edition is a massive single volume of over a thousand pages, almost twice as long as The Wind Up Bird Chronicle.
For a long time, I was distracted by the internet and couldn’t bring myself to read it, and in a way I feel as if I am apologizing to the book, thinking, I’m sorry it took so long.
But now it feels like I have finally reunited with it. Of course, I also have TIME reading to do, so I can only proceed little by little each day, but that, too, feels meaningful.
From the perspective of native speakers in the UK or the US, here are still areas where my ability is even below that of a child. That is precisely why I want to work desperately hard. Of course, I’d be happy to be friends with native kids though (laugh).
I’m overwhelmed because I have too much to do every day, but I refuse to lose. I keep charging forward at full speed. I will break through my own limits. As Oda Nobunaga would say, live desperately.
People’s voices and speaking styles vary, of course, and there are still many parts I can’t catch instantly. So I want to keep training intensively
February 25
The colors of the blossoms have faded away, while I have passed my days in idle contemplation.
What if time is short? Even if time is short, I will sharpen myself.
Clarity arises when reaction subsides.
Discipline creates freedom. But freedom without restraint invites ruin.
The mature man has the composure of one who has found himself.
Life is nothing but successive impressions. Custom is the great guide of human life. But, reason is, and ought only to be the slave of the passions.
While we are postponing, life speeds by.
You could leave life right now. Let that determine what you do and say and think.
Life is short. We must do what we truly want to do.
I have always been more of a generalist, but I am excited to become a specialist by taking the English I was good at as a child and refining it to the highest level I can reach.
I also solved 25 vocabulary questions. I made only one mistake in each section. I have already finished fully understanding the content. Now, I’m going to skim another Eiken Grade 1 reading passage to train my rapid reading skills.
Today, I read a long passage from the Eiken Grade 1 reading section and answered four questions. The topic was about Fernand Braudel of the Annales School, so I found it intellectually stimulating.
The main keep has not even stirred yet. Then waste no time, climb the stone walls.
This is nothing, a mere trifle, child’s play, something to be accomplished before breakfast.
To say that I am not proficient in English, that is an issue even prior to scholarship. Let me give it everything I have.
It is genuinely true that it is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste much of it.
Seneca would urge us to live desperately, to seize those hours with intensity. Well then, I am a modern man equipped with the instruments of civilization. I cannot afford to lose to Seneca of ancient Rome, respecting him deeply.
The day is already drawing to a close.
It passes in the blink of an eye, far too quickly. I sometimes feel that within the first six hours after the day begins, the score of that day is almost determined.
The day is already drawing to a close.
It passes in the blink of an eye, far too quickly. I sometimes feel that within the first six hours after the day begins, the score of that day is almost determined.
It’s raining today. The air, which had begun to feel warmer, has turned slightly chilly again. I’m going to continue my listening practice now. Constant dripping wears away the stone.
"American History in Simple English"
by Prof. James M. Vardaman
I woke up early this morning and listened through this book once. It was easy to follow and genuinely enjoyable.
February 24
If I write at least ten English posts of twenty words each every day on X, after three months it will amount to roughly one hundred Eiken Grade 1 essays, or about seven 3,000 word term papers, the kind native speakers write at university. It is unquestionably worth continuing.
Over the past few years, I have studied Obunsha’s Pass Tan series from Pre-2, Grade 2, Pre-1, Grade 1, and even the Grade 1 EX by Japan Times. Because of that, I now feel I can roughly tell which expressions belong to which level.
Incidentally, I went through a vocabulary book for IELTS, too, many times.
I find it fascinating that some expressions appearing in the Eiken Grade 2 vocabulary book actually exceed the Pre-1 level and even show up again in the Grade 1 vocabulary lists.
This old scholarly history book has no Japanese translation, but since it is published in Japan, it includes Japanese annotations, which are very helpful. For example, what is astonishing expansion?
Some people claim to go through a vocabulary book tens of thousands of times, but sometimes I wonder whether each round is simply too shallow. Repetition is important, of course, yet mechanical repetition alone does not guarantee true retention.
I don’t cover my vocabulary books with countless sticky notes. Sometimes I feel that can become a subtle form of procrastination. (laugh)
Perseverance is strength. To CEFR C1 level. I've gone through this vocabulary book about ten times.
Recently, I have memorized most of the entries, and they have become part of my passive vocabulary. My next goal is to refine them into active vocabulary that I can use freely and precisely. I will continue striving toward that end.
Learning is action. To be strong in the modern world, we must integrate everything, intellect, discipline, strategy, and execution. In my humble opinion.
Of course, Salinger’s novels are fascinating as well. I can clearly understand why readers said to him, "You are writing about me."
Of course, there may be many people who exaggerate, but fundamentally, traditional Japanese people might actually have an unexpected affinity with British culture.
It seems that British culture values understatement, and I was amused to find that it closely resembles my own way of expression.
I am able to pursue what I truly want to do, so even if I am busy, I refuse to call it "busy." Around the world, perhaps ten percent of people are constantly engaged beneath the surface. It is simply the natural state of those who strive.
Like a water bird, I want to remain graceful above the surface, even while paddling fiercely underneath. That, perhaps, is what opera is all about.
Every small piece of writing accumulates. Many a little makes a mickle. In other words, it feels like digging up gold coins, one after another, in a joyful way.
Every small piece of writing accumulates. Many a little makes a mickle. In other words, it feels like digging up gold coins, one after another, in a joyful way.
From the moment I wake up until I go to bed, I stay active all day. I do not use X for browsing; I use it to practice English composition. I do not use other social media either.
It has always been my principle, much like a movie actor, not to stick my nose into other people’s business.
Some of my English posts may contain rather stern words, but if anyone happens to read them, I sincerely hope they won’t take them personally.
There are three kinds of people in this world:
those who want to worry,
those who do not want to worry,
and those who have no choice but to worry.
Self restraint is power. Master yourself. You can make it. Through discipline comes from freedom. He who conquers himself is the mightiest warrior.
I am growing day by day because I devote myself to steady effort every single day. I am constantly studying, living between composure and passion.
February 23
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