Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Japan

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Takeo Kimura filmography FLC

Takeo Kimura filmography is currently a featured list candidate here. I generally try to avoid making direct pleas for reviews, however: One, FLC is experiencing a shortage of reviewers (holiday season, I guess). Two, the filmography is drawn almost exclusively from Japanese sources limiting the already limited number of reviewers. And, three, FLC moves faster than FAC and GAN and, without sufficient activity, I've reason to suspect it may be shut down at the candidacy period's 10 day minimum. As of day five, it's had one reviewer who, quite logically, won't support until it's been reviewed by someone who can verify the main sources. Basically, I'm soliciting anyone who can romanize hiragana or better as I'd hate to see it fail because of the language barrier. To make this as painless as possibly I've explained how I compiled the filmography at the candidacy page and if any interested parties would like a further crash course, I'll be happy to oblige. Otherwise, if you could point me to anyone both with said skills and susceptible to begging, I'll take that too. Thanks very much, Doctor Sunshine (talk) 17:56, 25 August 2009 (UTC)

Counter

How do I translate 帖 (counter for paper)? bamse (talk) 10:11, 26 August 2009 (UTC)

Eijiro has it as 'quire.' I've also seen it translated as 'books' or 'scrolls.' Do you have a specific example you could show me?--Cckerberos (talk) 14:33, 26 August 2009 (UTC)

Various entries at User:Bamse/National Treasures of Japan (writings) (taken from [1]) contain this counter. From what I understand, the bunka website uses 巻 as counter for handscrolls and 幅 for hanging scrolls. bamse (talk) 15:48, 27 August 2009 (UTC)

Actually, from looking up the word in a Japanese-Japanese dictionary and looking at pictures of some of the items that use the counter, I think it's only used for items that are folded, like [2], [3], and [4].--Cckerberos (talk) 17:04, 27 August 2009 (UTC)

Thanks. Could I call such items "folding book"? bamse (talk) 17:15, 27 August 2009 (UTC)

Yes, I believe so. You could probably just use "volume" as well.--Cckerberos (talk) 17:25, 27 August 2009 (UTC)

As a counter, a 帖 is unit for counting a fixed number of flat objects. For example, 1帖 of hanshi (半紙) is equivalent to 20 sheets, 1帖 of minogami (美濃紙) is equivalent to 50 (historically 48) sheets, 1帖 of chirigami (塵紙) is equivalent to 100 sheets, 1帖 of western-style paper is equivalent to 12 sheets, 1帖 of seaweed is equivalent to 10 sheets, etc. If you know what kind of paper it is, then you can translate it as "X sheets of paper". Otherwise, a quire is not too bad. 124.214.131.55 (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 17:35, 27 August 2009 (UTC).

Thanks a lot. Not sure what the paper is, so I went with "quire ({{nihongo|folding book|帖|}". bamse (talk) 17:40, 27 August 2009 (UTC)

It can be used as such a counter for flat objects, but that's not the only meaning. Kotobank has "used for counting folding books, folding screens, shields, kesa, etc." as a separate meaning for 帖.[5] That seemed more likely to me.--Cckerberos (talk) 18:04, 27 August 2009 (UTC)

Aquascaping

I would welcome some collaboration at Aquascaping#Nature style from editors with expertise here. There, I've added the terms "iwagumi," "oyaishi," "soeishi," and "fukuseki" in English alphabet renderings of their pronunciations, but it would be very helpful if someone could add their representations in the Japanese alphabet as well (as for "wabi-sabi" in the same section). And, of course, any other additions about Japanese aesthetics would be welcome too. Thanks in advance for your help! --Tryptofish (talk) 18:04, 26 August 2009 (UTC)

I know nothing about the topic I'm afraid, but I did add the Chinese characters for the various Japanese terms.--Cckerberos (talk) 19:01, 26 August 2009 (UTC)

Yukio Hatoyama

Yukio Hatoyama could do with some fixing up in light of the election results tonight, if anyone has some time. Dekimasuよ! 11:47, 30 August 2009 (UTC)

Pageview stats

After a recent request, I added WikiProject Japan to the list of projects to compile monthly pageview stats for. The data is the same used by http://stats.grok.se/en/ but the program is different, and includes the aggregate views from all redirects to each page. The stats are at Wikipedia:WikiProject Japan/Popular pages.

The page will be updated monthly with new data. The edits aren't marked as bot edits, so they will show up in watchlists. You can view more results, request a new project be added to the list, or request a configuration change for this project using the toolserver tool. If you have any comments or suggestions, please let me know. Thanks! Mr.Z-man 01:34, 1 September 2009 (UTC)

It's really sad that Bukkake is #5 in the list, before Anime and Tokyo. Really sad. ···日本穣^? · 投稿 · Talk to Nihonjoe 04:57, 2 September 2009 (UTC)

Awesome, I've been looking forward to these stats. Thanks Z-man! And wow, you are right, that is pretty sad joe. I would have never guessed that either. --Torsodog^Talk 05:59, 2 September 2009 (UTC)

If you find any on the list that aren't assessed, please assess them. I've done down through Mazda. ···日本穣^? · 投稿 · Talk to Nihonjoe 06:04, 2 September 2009 (UTC)

Kyūjō Incident

This article includes a tag which points out a lack of references for sources, but the information on the Kyūjō Incident included in the featured article Surrender of Japan (which is found here) contains many reference citations and appears to contain at least as much information as the standalone article for the Kyūjō Incident. If anyone is interested then maybe the article can be rewritten to include some of the reference citations from the featured article. Of course, the purpose of even having a separate article for the Kyūjō Incident is presumably so it would contain more information than the section embedded in the Surrender of Japan article, so maybe that embedded section could have some information taken out. Rewriting articles about Japanese history is way out of my league, as I know nothing of the topic, so I cannot determine which information is necessary to be included in either of the articles. I decided to point this out here in the WikiProject Japan because it seems oddly incongruous to have such a poorly cited article that contains the same information as part of a featured article. New User^(talk) 02:12, 2 September 2009 (UTC)

Unequal Treaties

Unequal Treaties is up for rename and a relate page is to be deleted. See Talk:Unequal_Treaties#Requested_move

76.66.200.21 (talk) 03:52, 4 September 2009 (UTC)

Merger Proposal.

Talk:Lost_Decade_(Japan) - any commentary on the issue would be more than appreciated. The Squicks (talk) 05:18, 4 September 2009 (UTC)

Taima Mandala

Is the first Kanji in Taima Mandala correct or should it read 当麻曼荼羅? Possibly the article could be interwikilinked to ja:当麻曼荼羅!? bamse (talk) 08:39, 7 September 2009 (UTC)

I think it's correct. Because the official page uses 當麻曼荼羅. [6] I add the ja link. Oda Mari (talk) 09:29, 7 September 2009 (UTC)

Thanks. bamse (talk) 09:43, 7 September 2009 (UTC)

尺

Shaku → Chi (length) - has been requested at WP:RM, see talk:Shaku

76.66.196.139 (talk) 05:01, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

List of National Treasures of Japan (sculptures) at FLC

See Wikipedia:Featured list candidates/List of National Treasures of Japan (sculptures)/archive1; comments are welcomed, thanks. Dabomb87 (talk) 22:35, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Also pictures of statues are welcome and suggestions and/or help with expanding the lead section. thanks bamse (talk) 22:19, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

Where would you like us to put pictures if we have them? I don't see a column for that on the page. Thanks. Also, you're welcome to go through my own photos on Flickr and make use of whatever you would like. If I feel like I have the time, maybe I'll go through them myself and see what I can fit in; but if you feel like taking the time yourself, please feel free. LordAmeth (talk) 22:47, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

Thanks for the offer to use your pictures. What license should I use for them? Please feel free to add to the (newly created) picture column. I went through all the Japanese sculpture pictures on commons and found more than I had expected. Still some space left in that column. Will check my own pictures as well.bamse (talk) 10:22, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

Creative Commons Share-Alike with Attribution is just fine. Thanks! I apologize I haven't had the time today, yesterday, to do this myself with the photos. I continue to wish you good luck with your project! Keep up the good work! LordAmeth (talk) 19:53, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

Uploaded and added some of my pictures to the list (from Sanjūsangen-dō, Tō-ji, Tōdai-ji and Kōfuku-ji). I also looked through your flickr pictures but did not find any statues which did not have a picture on commons already. Also checked some other of your pictures. bamse (talk) 12:24, 14 September 2009 (UTC)

Futamatao Station

I'm currently reading Haruki Murakami's new novel 1Q84, and this tiny country station makes an appearance in it. Right now the article pretty much says "Futamatao is a railway station in Japan". If anybody has any info on the station, maybe they could add some more meat to the article - I'm sure it'll get its share of views at the time the English translation hits the bookshelves. TomorrowTime (talk) 09:02, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

The Japanese article has a bit more information. ···日本穣^? · 投稿 · Talk to Nihonjoe 01:31, 14 September 2009 (UTC)

Translation request

Current FPC

Current FPC with (what I presume to be, recognizing this character as being Japanese: の) Japanese characters on it. Could somebody translate the Japanese text, including the text on the left border? This will be included on the image page. If this is not actually Japanese, slap me, and I'll go to Wikiproject China. Thanks in advance! upstateNYer 03:29, 15 September 2009 (UTC)

• Top border center text:
• Top border right text:
• Left border text:

It's definitely Japanese as the date on the left says that it's September 10 in Meiji 33, and the address given (presumably for the printer or artist) is in Tokyo. I'll let someone else translate it, though, as some of the kanji are older ones I don't know. ···日本穣^? · 投稿 · Talk to Nihonjoe 04:45, 15 September 2009 (UTC)

The translaiton of the top border center text is given in the bottom center text; The Fall of the Pekin Castle The Hostile Army Beating Away From The Imperial Castle By The Allied Armies. The top border right text is 清國戰亂畫報其廿壱, in shinjitai using common numeral 清国戦乱画報其二十一, roughly translates to "Pictorial on War Disturbance of Qing Part 21". The left border text is the dates of printing and publication, the address (of publisher?), the name of the illustrator, printer and publisher and the name of the sales agency. --Kusunose 05:59, 15 September 2009 (UTC)

The left border text translation: Date of printing: September 3, Meiji 33. Date of publication: September 13, Meiji 33 (literally says 13th of the same month in the same year). (Address:) 15 Minami Norimonochō, Kanda Ward, Tokyo City. Illustrator, Printer and Publisher: Torajirō Kasai. Sales Agency: Seiundō. Kusunose 06:23, 15 September 2009 (UTC)

Great; thank you! upstateNYer 11:42, 15 September 2009 (UTC)

NOTICE. Request For Comment: Changes to Naming policies which may affect WikiProject naming conventions.

Following recent changes by some editors to the Wikipedia:Naming conventions policy page, a Request For Comment, (RFC) is now being held to debate the removal of the passage specifying that individual WikiProject and other naming conventions are able to make exceptions to the standard policy of using Common Names as the titles of Wikipedia articles.

This WikiProject is being notified since it operates such a specific naming convention. Editors are invited to comment on the proposed change at this location. Xandar 01:19, 16 September 2009 (UTC)

The above "notification" is a grossly biased misrepresentation of the changes under discussion. The old version of the naming conventions policy tried to lay down binding rules; we don't work that way, so it was necessary also to make explicit exceptions. The new version articulates principles, and allows for consensus to establish how they should be applied. Thus there is no longer any need for exceptions. In fact, making exceptions is nonsense, since there are no rules to make exceptions to. These changes are good for specific conventions. Xandar is trying to induce moral panic in those who stand to gain the most from this. Xandar is only opposed to the new version because he thinks the wording, not the general thrust, weakens his position in a dispute unrelated to this RfC. Don't be fooled. Hesperian 02:42, 16 September 2009 (UTC)

Not to mention the fact that he misrepresents the naming conventions used by this WikiProject. WPJ uses Common Names as the titles of Wikipedia articles. The only real exception to that is if no Common Name can be clearly established, in which case the most common Japanese name for the topic is used. ···日本穣^? · 投稿 · Talk to Nihonjoe 05:33, 16 September 2009 (UTC)

Identification request and license question

Hi! While looking for pictures of Japanese sculptures, I found this collection of photographs of Japanese (mainly 2D) art. They were published 1899-1908, so I believe I can upload them to commons based on their age. Which license should I use in this case? On the same site I found this thousand-armed Kannon (千手観音). Unfortunately I don't know where it is located. Specifically I would like to know if it is one of the National Treasure thousand-armed Kannon statues at Hosshō-ji, Kōryū-ji, Kōfuku-ji, Dōjō-ji (道成寺) or Tōshōdai-ji. It would be great if somebody could identify the statue in the old photograph. PS: I don't think it is the same as the statue at Kōfuku-ji which can be seen here for comparison. bamse (talk) 16:57, 17 September 2009 (UTC)

For the Commons upload, use {{PD-1923}} and {{PD-Japan}} ... but since the originals are non-photographic works, they're only actually in the public domain in Japan if the artist died (rather than published) more than 50 years ago. cab (talk) 00:28, 18 September 2009 (UTC)

Okay, it looks like the artist's date of death is not a problem since the underlying works are from "earliest times up to the end of the Tokugawa Era". As for the photos:

1. For the 2D works, the photos themselves probably can't be objects of copyright (see {{PD-Art}}) since they're just reproductions of underlying works. So it doesn't matter when they were published --- the underlying works (the 2D art) are public domain, so the photos are too no matter if they were taken in 1908 or just last night.
2. For the 3D works, the photos might be objects of copyright, but since they were published more than 50 years ago, the copyright on the photos already expired.

Sorry for the confusion, cab (talk) 01:20, 18 September 2009 (UTC)

Thanks for the reply. I started to upload pictures of some statues under both licenses. I still don't know what this statue is though. It is neither of the thousand-armed Kannons of Kōfuku-ji, Dōjō-ji (道成寺) or Tōshōdai-ji which look like this, this and this. It might still be a thousand-armed Kannon from Hosshō-ji or Kōryū-ji for which I did not find any pictures. Or maybe it is another Kannon (Eleven-faced 十一面観音)? bamse (talk) 13:15, 18 September 2009 (UTC)

New pictures

I've been uploading a bunch of pictures of old (National Treasure) paintings, sculptures and writings/calligraphy. They might be of interest for articles related to Buddhism, Japanese or Chinese art. Feel free to use whatever you like. I will probably continue uploading a few more pictures. First goal is to fill List of National Treasures of Japan (paintings) with as many pictures as I can find. Of course the sculpture list still needs pictures, but it is not easy to find usable pictures since sculptures are 3D... bamse (talk) 11:16, 19 September 2009 (UTC)

Translation or transcription

Just out of curiosity, can somebody decipher the text on the following four pictures I uploaded? File:Exterminationf of Evil Tenkeisei.jpg, File:Extermination of Evil Shinchū.jpg, File:Extermination of Evil Shōki.jpg, File:Extermination of Evil Vaisravana.jpg bamse (talk) 02:10, 21 September 2009 (UTC)

I'm afraid that the images might be copy-righted. [7] Oda Mari (talk) 07:40, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

I hope not. My understanding was that pictures (even recent ones) of old 2D art are in the public domain. See Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_Japan#Identification_request_and_license_question. bamse (talk) 08:30, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

TNM may not hold the copyright to the art, but they certainly hold the copyright for any photographs they have taken of the art. --Torsodog^Talk 13:08, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

You mean this decision. Then could we ignore these? [8]and [9]. I'm not an expert on copyright. It would be helpful to ask at Wikipedia:Media copyright questions. Oda Mari (talk) 15:59, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

Yes, that's what I mean. Thanks for the link, I asked at Media copyright questions. bamse (talk) 17:25, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

The first response wsa positive (no problem with copyright). Also after reading commons:Commons:When to use the PD-Art tag I don't see a problem with copyright in these cases. As far as I understand, pictures are not copyrighted just because somebody (TNM in this case) claims they are. bamse (talk) 08:37, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

Merge suggestion

I think that Hell Scroll (Nara Natinoal Museum scroll) should be merged with Jigoku-zoshi (Tokyo National Museum scroll) as is done in the Japanese article. bamse (talk) 02:33, 21 September 2009 (UTC)

I'd support a merge as Hell Scrolls, as a type or genre within Japanese painting. LordAmeth (talk) 18:17, 21 September 2009 (UTC)

Alternatively we could have Hell Scroll (Nara National Museum) and Hell Scroll (Tokyo National Museum). In any case it does not make sense to have two articles with the same name (one in English, one in Japanese) which deal with different subjects. bamse (talk) 08:44, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

Agree with merging. And I for one will be disappointed if we can't get the wonderfully named Hell of the Flaming Cock up to DYK status by April 2010... Jpatokal (talk) 11:18, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

I'd love to see the cock on the main page. Unfortunately I have neither references nor time to improve the article. Do you? I could provide a picture as soon as this license issue can be considered resolved. bamse (talk) 16:33, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

I decided that it is resolved, so the cock is flaming here now. bamse (talk) 20:35, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Tsubame gaeshi (燕返)

Tsubame gaeshi (燕返) has been prodded for deletion. 76.66.196.139 (talk) 05:56, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

New bio

I just started a stub on Junzo Shono, who passed away two days ago. If someone has a chance could please add name kanji and a link to the ja article? Thank-you. Cla68 (talk) 23:10, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

Calling any/all Tokyo-based photographers

I've been working on List of tallest buildings and structures in Tokyo again by adding images and coordinates for all of the buildings and structures. Unfortunately there are a few I can't find pictures for:

• Shinjuku Center Building (Ja) - It looks like this could be used if I cropped it, but I'd prefer a more dedicated image if possible.
• JA Building (大手町一丁目地区第一種市街地再開発事業) - This is a rather new and bland building, so I don't think anyone has bothered to make an article or take a picture of it yet, unfortunately.
• Park City Toyosu Building A (Ja) - Another new building
• Marcus Island LORAN-C transmitter - If anyone has access to Minami Torishima... haha
• Chūō Incineration Plant - This is actually very close to The Tokyo Towers. Shouldn't be too hard to grab a shot of it if anyone is close!

And that's it! Any help is appreciated. Thanks. --Torsodog^Talk 20:45, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

A-Class review for Tosa class battleship now open

The A-Class review for Tosa class battleship is now open; all editors are invited to participate, and any input there would be appreciated! Thanks! —Ed (talk • contribs) 22:23, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Need help speaking with a Japanese Editor - Translation

Hi, could someone who speaks both English and Japanese help out with this editor: User_talk:Yu_klose. He is active on the JP wiki in hockey stuff and sometimes comes here to update things, unfortunately he rarely provides references or explains his edits. Currently at issue is this edit [10]. He is changing two players nationality to japanese. From his google translation (I think) that he finally replied with on his talk page, it would seem he's saying those two players have been naturalized. I suspected this, but I have no source to back that up. Could someone ask him to provide a reliable source which comments on that and tell us whether those individuals now have dual citizenship or if they've taken japanese nationality only. Also remind him of the need for sources on the english wikipedia and if someone undoes his edits and he can't communicate about them, that he probably shouldn't keep doing them over and over. Thanks guys.--Crossmr (talk) 15:11, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

Hi! I left a message in Japanese on his talk page. I hope these could be used as source. [11] and [12]. And Japan doesn't allow dual nationality. Oda Mari (talk) 18:55, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

Thanks. I don't read any japanese (I had to use google) which article goes with which player?--Crossmr (talk) 23:29, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

The first one, an NHK page, says Darcy Mitani Takeshi was naturalized in 2008 and the second one, an interview page at Pia Corporation, says Chris Yule was naturalized in 1997 and played at Olympic games in Nagano in 1998. Oda Mari (talk) 04:31, 26 September 2009 (UTC)

Thanks, could you check to make sure I got the info right in the cite tags? [13]. I didn't see a date in the second one, and I'm not sure if there were authors listed for these pieces.--Crossmr (talk) 05:59, 26 September 2009 (UTC)

The cite tags are correct. According to this back number list, the date of the interview/the interview page is Oct. 30, 1991. See #95. The first one has no author's name. The second one is interviewed and written by 石田英恒/Hidetsune Ishida and the photographer was 橘蓮二/Renji Tachibana. Oda Mari (talk) 07:23, 26 September 2009 (UTC)

Thanks for the help!--Crossmr (talk) 09:04, 26 September 2009 (UTC)

Introduction, more or less

Hey. I (finally) formally joined the project, so I wanted to do a quick introduction. I've been around here for quite a long time and have been involved with editing Japanese articles for awhile, but I just never got around to signing my name on the participants list. Um.. my main focus here is translating articles from ja.wiki. I usually pick articles that I'm interested in, like food, culture and religion, but I'll take requests from time to time. So, uh, I guess that's it. I look forward to working with everyone. — HelloAnnyong ^{(say whaaat?!)} 05:14, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Welcome to the project, and thanks for all your previous contributions. ···日本穣^? · 投稿 · Talk to Nihonjoe 05:00, 29 September 2009 (UTC)

Yasukuni shrine

Present version of this article was writen the word kami by italic. Certainly, the enshrined people were kami, however they are not called as kami. I think the use of italic is specify the word or express non english word's original pronouncation. I think there are more suitable words. So I propose change kami to more suitable word.

There are some words, deiteies[14] or guardian deities[15] or spirits[16] or souls[17] or heroic souls or heroic sprits. In japanse the enshrined were commonly called as 英霊[18][19] (eirei, literaly means heroic sprits or heroic souls), sometimes also called as 英霊の御霊[20] (eirei no mitama, literaly means departed soul of heroic sprits or departed soul of heroic souls). There is other word 神霊[21](shin rei , literaly means soul of kami or sprits of kami), this word is literary dialect so not common. Please comment.--Bukubku (talk) 13:49, 28 September 2009 (UTC)

I agree with you. The word kami could be interpreted too broadly See [22] and [23]. IMHO, the main definition is an object of worship and things that are beyond human beings' understanding. But the spirits in Yasukuni are different. The shrine was built for the appreciation and the repose of the souls of the people who sacrificed their lives for the country. There should be a more appropriate word than kami to describe them. Oda Mari (talk) 06:40, 29 September 2009 (UTC)

I think with the Yasukuni literature that I have, it uses deities. However, I need to double check on it. User:Zscout370 ^{(Return Fire)} 22:44, 4 October 2009 (UTC)

Question

Are Hikoshiro Hiromitsu and 貞宗 the same person? bamse (talk) 09:46, 30 September 2009 (UTC)

I think they are. Oda Mari (talk) 10:11, 30 September 2009 (UTC)

I think Hikoshiro Sadamune(彦四郎貞宗), Kurojiro Hiromitsu(九郎次郎広光) are correct. See ja:貞宗, [24]　―― Phoenix7777 (talk) 12:01, 30 September 2009 (UTC)

Development of {{Japanese track list}}

Hi all. We are currently discussing the possible development of {{Japanese track list}} at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Anime and manga#{{Tracklist}}. Your input would be appreciated. G.A.S^talk 05:03, 2 October 2009 (UTC)

A working final version is up for input.陣内_Jinnai 19:43, 6 November 2009 (UTC)

Recognised content

Are featured pictures added automatically to Wikipedia:JA#Recognized_content if they are in Category:Featured Japan-related pictures ? bamse (talk) 08:09, 4 October 2009 (UTC)

I don't think so, but I could be wrong. I know I manually added a bunch of those already listed. ···日本穣^? · 投稿 · Talk to Nihonjoe 18:39, 4 October 2009 (UTC)

Joe is correct. They must be added manually. I always update the to-do with new FPC, and as I do that I usually always try to update the recognized content accordingly as well. --Torsodog^Talk 18:48, 4 October 2009 (UTC)

Thanks. I hope I added a picture correctly. What does "When adding a new article or picture to the lists please also add it to the appropriate Portal:Japan archive" (in the commented out source of Wikipedia:WikiProject Japan/Recognized content) mean? bamse (talk) 20:44, 4 October 2009 (UTC)

It means to go ahead and add the picture to the Portal:Japan/Selected picture archive so it shows up as a featured picture on Portal: Japan. Don't worry about it though, I just added it for you! --Torsodog^Talk 21:45, 4 October 2009 (UTC)

Speaking of the Japan portal, I need to finish going through the anniversary pages and formatting them all the same (and creating the pages that don't yet exist). ···日本穣^? · 投稿 · Talk to Nihonjoe 01:02, 5 October 2009 (UTC)

Ya, after I got the portal promoted to featured, I just ran out of gas and gave up on the anniversaries. Then I forgot about them. When I get a little more time I'll try to help you with a few! --Torsodog^Talk 05:28, 5 October 2009 (UTC)

I've standardized the formatting through either the beginning or end of March (so it follows the same format as in the generic date articles). I've also done others scattered throughout the year, as well. ···日本穣^? · 投稿 · Talk to Nihonjoe 00:52, 6 October 2009 (UTC)

@Torsodog: Thanks for adding the picture to Portal:Japan/Selected picture. Where do I add featured lists? bamse (talk) 07:58, 7 October 2009 (UTC) Also, I was trying to figure out how to add File:Zhou Maoshu Appreciating Lotuses.jpg to selected pictures, but without success. Could you take care of it? bamse (talk) 08:07, 7 October 2009 (UTC) One more question: The featured pictures in "Recognized content" are pictures that are featured on English wikipedia only (not commons or non-English wikipedias). Corrrect? bamse (talk) 08:10, 7 October 2009 (UTC)

It used to be both, but I think we're getting enough that are here that were are using only those which are here. I haven't gone through all of them to see, though. ···日本穣^? · 投稿 · Talk to Nihonjoe 14:52, 7 October 2009 (UTC)

I added both the new picture and article to the Portal for you. As for where we get the pictures from, the Recognized Content list only lists FP from the English Wiki. The Portal, however, displays FPs from the English and Japanese Wikis and the commons. I included these just so we can have a little more variety in the portal! --Torsodog^Talk 15:10, 7 October 2009 (UTC)

Thanks. bamse (talk) 15:14, 7 October 2009 (UTC)

Ad

I've made an ad (about a month ago) which will appear in small ad box at the very top of this page if you reload enough times. So we don't overload the server, here it is for your enjoyment. Nothing fancy, but it does the job. ···日本穣^? · 投稿 · Talk to Nihonjoe 00:58, 6 October 2009 (UTC)

I love it! Thank you 日本穣. Oda Mari (talk) 04:28, 6 October 2009 (UTC)

I even included Subaru in it. ···日本穣^? · 投稿 · Talk to Nihonjoe 05:49, 6 October 2009 (UTC)

Fg2

I don't personally have any way to verify this, but an anonymous IP posted (diff) this notice to my talk page. If it is true, Fg2 will be sorely missed. He hasn't edited since August 14, so it may be true. The name matches up to his username, too. Did anyone here know him or meet him personally? ···日本穣^? · 投稿 · Talk to Nihonjoe 14:25, 6 October 2009 (UTC)

Unfortunately I also have no way to verify this news, however I hope that it isn't true... the project will have lost a truly fantastic editor. Again, if true, my heart goes out to his family and friends. --Torsodog^Talk 14:45, 6 October 2009 (UTC)

Fg2 edited every single day. This silence isn't like him. I am afraid he is gone for good. I didn't know even his name, but I feel like I lost a friend. I HAVE lost a friend. Urashima Tarō (talk) 02:25, 7 October 2009 (UTC)

There is further discussion ongoing about this at the Signpost tipline. Cla68 (talk) 23:50, 7 October 2009 (UTC)

A memorial page has been started. Cla68 (talk) 03:26, 9 October 2009 (UTC)

It has been suggested that an article be worked on collaboratively in his memory. Is anyone here familiar enough with his interests to suggest one? Kaldari (talk) 15:19, 9 October 2009 (UTC)

I added the notice of his death to the Commons account and to his Japanese Wikipedia account (both in English) - I also updated the English meta list of deceased Wikipedians, which is located here: meta:Deceased_editors WhisperToMe (talk) 07:55, 17 October 2009 (UTC)

Article for deletion

Input requested at Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Global warming in Japan. Cla68 (talk) 21:31, 6 October 2009 (UTC)

Japanese music videos and staff

What I thought was going to be a quick look with Google has turned into a near-impossible journey of trying to find the directors (or any staff, for that matter) for the music videos of Do As Infinity for use in their discography. I have done some pretty intense searching to only come up with two directors out of 31 videos, and what I was most surprised about was that upon watching the videos, none of the credits are displayed.

I was wondering if anyone knew of a Japanese database of music videos and their staff, or anywhere I could find this information. Just to be clear, I've looked on the band's official website, and on their label's site too (and looked through archives of the former) but still nothing.--十八 01:47, 7 October 2009 (UTC)

Space Shower TV has a list of most of -if not all of their directors. MS (Talk|Contributions) 02:21, 7 October 2009 (UTC)

Oh finally, I was hoping there'd be something like this; thank you! Especially since they look like a reliable source. Though they're even missing some, such as Tangerine Dream, but its a great start.--十八 04:12, 7 October 2009 (UTC)

Little request

I'm wondering if I can get some assistance for [25], due to its organization that I'm trying to read about and include for the English PSB article. The English one's done for a while now, but I think the PSB's a big one since the Japanese one denotes more divisions aside from the ones at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department Public Security Bureau. Thanks. Ominae (talk) 05:37, 7 October 2009 (UTC)

There are nine listed in both the English and the Japanese article. Can you be more specific about what you are needing help with? ···日本穣^? · 投稿 · Talk to Nihonjoe 20:15, 10 October 2009 (UTC)

File:Unit 731.jpg

This file is incorrect, the citing web site is not writen as Unit 731. I don't know how to delete the file, please someone delete the file.--Bukubku (talk) 17:45, 7 October 2009 (UTC)

The image is hosted on Commons, so you'd have to go there. Additionally, the description states, "Picture of Manchurian Plague victims in 1910 -1911 that has been historically mislabeled as "Body disposal at Unit 731" A much higher resolution photo, with Russian text stating that these were "Dead plague bodies held in storage awaiting scientific research" can be seen here: http://hahn.zenfolio.com/p933515793/h2e4b7519#h2e4b7519 " ···日本穣^? · 投稿 · Talk to Nihonjoe 03:17, 8 October 2009 (UTC)

I moved the image from the old name to the correct title. User:Zscout370 ^{(Return Fire)} 18:08, 9 October 2009 (UTC)

Thank you, everyone.--Bukubku (talk) 08:48, 10 October 2009 (UTC)

Takeda Nobumori

Can you guys take a look at this? I don't know if he existed or not, but it seems to me that a source is more credible than an editor without a source. Chris (クリス • フィッチュ) (talk) 05:32, 9 October 2009 (UTC)

Yes, he's real, and I added the kanji for his name. ···日本穣^? · 投稿 · Talk to Nihonjoe 01:50, 10 October 2009 (UTC)

Joe can you weigh in at the talkpage? This user's very insistent. Thanks and sorry. Chris (クリス • フィッチュ) (talk) 13:59, 10 October 2009 (UTC)

The Japanese article for Takeda Shingen, the person named as his father, doesn't mention him at all, so it's possible this person is being confused with someone else. The Japanese article lists two people with the name, though not much is mentioned about them. ···日本穣^? · 投稿 · Talk to Nihonjoe 19:38, 10 October 2009 (UTC)

Google Books returns two hits, one for each of the two people. — HelloAnnyong ^{(say whaaat?!)} 19:59, 10 October 2009 (UTC)

Japan image copyright discussion

Inputs welcome at this discussion. If Wikipedia decides that pre-1950 Japanese images are not public domain in the US, then a lot of Japan-related images will be threatened with deletion. Cla68 (talk) 23:34, 10 October 2009 (UTC)

Talk:Death of Lindsay Hawker

Would you guys weigh in on the talk page? An editor is trying to claim that this is somehow not murder. Chris (クリス • フィッチュ) (talk) 13:18, 11 October 2009 (UTC)

Testing Japanese characters from my userpage

I have added several names written in Japanese characters, so I am wondering if anyone can translate them into Japanese words. If you are in the mood of doing this, feel free to translate them from my userpage. JMBZ-12 (talk) 18:02, 11 October 2009 (UTC)

I'm a little unclear on your request. For example, you have "Carson Annihilator Street Rod (カーソン・全滅させる・ストリート・ロッド)," and the text says "Kaason (Carson) Zenmetsu saseru (to cause annihilation), sutoriito (street) roddo (rod)." What did you want people to do with this? Your request seems a little bit like asking someone to translate "McDonalds" or "Smith" to Japanese, which would simply be Makudonarudo and Sumisu. Konamaiki (talk) 19:59, 11 October 2009 (UTC)

I can write down japanese characters, but not the words itself, since I have no idea how. The character writings may be written in romaji (that's all I can come up with), or any other japanese character types. Also, the reason why they sgould be translated in Japanese words (from my userpage) because I am currently learning japanese. JMBZ-12 (talk) 21:05, 11 October 2009 (UTC)

On your user page it says "This is for users that can translate Japanese symbols into Japanese words (not English)." So you want somebody to translate them into native Japanese words, e.g. ストーム → あらし; ハンター → かりゅうど? --ざくら木 21:37, 11 October 2009 (UTC)

...Or do you want somebody to romanize those words? --ざくら木 22:06, 11 October 2009 (UTC)

Yes, I need someone to romanize those words. I tried installing something that allows me to write down in Japanese then romanizing it, but it did'nt work, so I had to set the language (from my PC) to English. Also, I had to use Google Translate so I can familiarize with japanese characters and started experimenting with them. My english is not pretty well, though. JMBZ-12 (talk) 22:27, 11 October 2009 (UTC)

I can't read or successfully machine translate all the Japanese

Can we get an article for Koichi Haraguchi, 68, Japanese chief of staff, Imperial House of Japan, heart attack. [26] ? Thank you! :) Chris (クリス • フィッチュ) (talk) 08:56, 12 October 2009 (UTC)

Done. I translated this page. Some strange text in there (plenipotentiary? That's how Jim Breen translates 特命全権大使, more or less) but I did what I could. Hope that helps. — HelloAnnyong ^{(say whaaat?!)} 14:09, 12 October 2009 (UTC)

Memorial effort

As many of you might know from having read the most recent Wikipedia Signpost, User:Fg2, a regular and valuable contributor to content relating to Japan, has recently died. There is an effort to comparatively quickly improve the Mount Fuji article to FA status, and to, on completion, add a plaque in his honor to the talk page. Anyone who would like to help us in this effort is welcome to do so. Thank you for your attention. John Carter (talk) 14:05, 13 October 2009 (UTC)

Yushukan sign, Yasukuni Shrine

The file seems illegal. Yushukan museum bans visitors to photograph at the exhibition hall except for entrance hall.[27] The file doesn't describe Yasukuni shrine's permission. Besides, the sign text's copyright seems not expired. This file infringes Copyright. Currently, the file is on Yasukuni Shrine and Controversies surrounding Yasukuni Shrine. Please comment.--Bukubku (talk) 14:19, 20 October 2009 (UTC)--Bukubku (talk) 03:34, 21 October 2009 (UTC)

Yes, a picture of copyrighted text on a sign probably doesn't qualify as an independent creative work which could receive its own copyright, or even as fair use of the text. So at first glance it looks like a copyvio to me.

However, the shrine's ban on photography is a private contractual issue between the shrine and the cameraman. If a cameraman takes a photograph of the shrine, the cameraman owns the copyright, not the shrine. The shrine can eject the cameraman and and sue him for violating their rules, but they don't own his creative work just because it was created in their building. cab (talk) 03:47, 21 October 2009 (UTC)

Certainly, the cameraman owns copyright of the photography. The photograhy is his work.

However, the text on the sign is not his work, Yushukan owns the text's copyright. All I know, uploading of photograhy or movie files from books or theaters are not accepted without pamission. Yushukan get fees from visitors and shows their showpieces including texts on the sign. If this file is accepted, what become piracy?--Bukubku (talk) 09:27, 22 October 2009 (UTC)

Quoting one paragraph as an illustration easily qualifies as Fair use; if you do a Google search, you'll find plenty of other reliable sources (NY Times, FEER, CFR, Seoul Times, etc) quoting the very same text in part or in full. Jpatokal (talk) 10:04, 22 October 2009 (UTC)

Maybe. But Commons doesn't accept unfree materials, period, regardless of any fair use claim. If we want the text, we should quote it in the articles in question and cite it to one of those reliable sources. If the photo of the sign is really necessary in addition to the text, it should be uploaded locally on enwiki and a fair use justification given. cab (talk) 10:19, 22 October 2009 (UTC)

To be equitable here, what this photo is lacking is proof of the shrine's permission. The site does not say that all photography is banned–it says that permission is required: [28]. Dekimasuよ! 11:56, 22 October 2009 (UTC)

Here is the English page. Oda Mari (talk) 15:00, 22 October 2009 (UTC)

I concur with cab. Whatever the museum's photography policy may or may not be, it is not germane to copyright. This image is a derivative work; as such, the copyright of the work being photographed (the prose) needs to be considered. The Commons cannot host any non-free media (save certain Wikimedia Foundation logos). Эlcobbola _talk 21:02, 22 October 2009 (UTC)

Wow, that was deleted ridiculously fast. It didn't even give me a chance to upload it to the en.wiki for fair-use. Anyway I can still do that? --Torsodog^Talk 12:12, 23 October 2009 (UTC)

Another translation request

Battle of Port Arthur

Hey guys! You were so helpful with my last translation request on a Torajiro Kasai image I was working up for FPC, could you help me out again? Any idea what the text in this image translates out as? Thanks! Staxringold _talk^contribs 16:37, 24 October 2009 (UTC)

• Top center text:
• Right border text:
• Left border text:
• Bottom left small text:

Do you need a full translation or just the general idea? The right border is the "roster" of Japanese ships, and the left border is the "roster" of Russian ships. The bottom left has the printing information, and the top text is roughly equivalent to the English at the bottom. Dekimasuよ! 08:24, 25 October 2009 (UTC)

• The more exact the better, but thanks for that info (largely confirms what I figured). Staxringold _talk^contribs 08:30, 25 October 2009 (UTC)

The Russian ships are Retvizan, Tsarevich, Peresvyet, Oslyabya, Pobyeda, Poltava, Petropavlovsk, Sevastopol, Gromoboi, Rossiya, Rurik, Bayan, Domitori, and Donskoi. Oda Mari (talk) 07:10, 27 October 2009 (UTC)

Naming of Japanese government entities - inconsistent with WP naming policy?

A few days ago I was using SPECIAL:RANDOM and came upon one of the articles about a district in Hokkaidō. I noticed that it was fully disambiguated as Katō District, Hokkaidō. This more precise than necessary name caused me to wonder whether there existed another Katō District somewhere, so I checked. Not only was there no other such district, there was no other article named Katō District (at the time it was a red link, like Okushiri District is now). This is a typical problem with categories of names that are "predisambiguated". What happens is that they get created at their predisambiguated name, and the most common name of the topic is neglected. The neglect can mean a lack of anything at the most common name, or a lack of appropriate dab page reference or hat link. I then discovered that this condition applied to apparently all members of Category:Districts_in_Hokkaidō. This is problematic for two reasons:

1. In principle, naming articles like this is inconsistent with Wikipedia naming policy, guidelines and conventions, in particular use the name most commonly used to refer to the topic, be only as precise as necessary.
2. Pragmatically, locating an article at a disambiguated name implies that there is a conflict at the common name, but in these cases there is not. The common names are neglected.

I understand the desire to have apparent consistency in naming for a given group of articles, but when doing so contradicts fundamental Wikipedia principles, and creates practical problems, this is not acceptable.

I started correcting the articles in Category:Districts_in_Hokkaidō, but someone has reverted the corrections and left a note on my talk page indicating that this is part of a "deliberate naming scheme used for all articles about Japanese governmental entities.". Is the "deliberate naming scheme used for all articles about Japanese government entities" inconsistent with WP naming policy? I'm afraid to look. At any rate, the topics listed under Category:Districts_in_Hokkaidō need to be fixed. --Born2cycle 21:21, 24 October 2009 (UTC)

It's done that way in order to be consistent. If there are no other entities with a similar name, though, I agree it's best to use the shortest title and have a redirect from the longer title so people can still consistently find the articles. Also, please be sure to sign your username, not just the date and time. You can do so with using ~~~~. ···日本穣^? · 投稿 · Talk to Nihonjoe 22:07, 24 October 2009 (UTC)

Sorry to be a dick, but I find it amusing that Nihonjoe didn't sign his name... — HelloAnnyong ^{(say whaaat?!)} 22:16, 24 October 2009 (UTC)

I was just giving an example. ;p ···日本穣^? · 投稿 · Talk to Nihonjoe 23:30, 24 October 2009 (UTC)

At least as amusing is that it apparently did not occur that I typed three instead of four tildes by accident.

Anyway, redirecting from the longer name to the shorter name is fine - but each article should be at the shorter name. Titles are supposed to be concise. --Born2cycle (talk) 22:26, 24 October 2009 (UTC)

That's what I wrote. ···日本穣^? · 投稿 · Talk to Nihonjoe 23:29, 24 October 2009 (UTC)

Should the naming of cities also be changed from the present "Name, Prefecture" scheme to just "Name" if it is not ambiguos or should it be done only for districts? bamse (talk) 07:17, 25 October 2009 (UTC)

I don't think it should be done at all. There hasn't been any Wikipedia-wide consensus on this sort of thing despite lots of effort, so to a certain extent the decisions have been made by individual WikiProjects. Cities and towns in the United States almost all are given as "City, State" even when not strictly ambiguous. In previous discussions here only a very small number of designated cities were granted plain titles, which is consistent with that setup in the US. However, the redlinks associated with the plain titles definitely need to be changed into redirects. Dekimasuよ! 08:29, 25 October 2009 (UTC)

"Toaru" versus "To Aru"

I have started a talk section to discuss which makes sense, "toaru" or "to aru," over at Talk:To Aru Majutsu no Index#Requested move. Please stop by if interested. —Tokek (talk) 11:48, 26 October 2009 (UTC)

Yet another translation request

Could someone please translate the text on the sign at the top of Commons:File:Seattle Nihon Go Gakko interior 12.jpg? Please feel free either to edit the description directly or to use the "add a note" feature. - Jmabel | Talk 18:08, 2 November 2009 (UTC)

It's a Chinese phrase. Probably by Han Yu. 一視同仁 means " treat everybody equally". But I cannot understand the rest. It might be better to ask at WikiProject China. Oda Mari (talk) 19:42, 2 November 2009 (UTC)

Really? Because it is in the Japanese cultural center. - Jmabel | Talk 19:53, 2 November 2009 (UTC)

I think so. 一視同仁 is a yojijyukugo and dictionaries say the origin was from the book '原人' by Han Yu. The word 'treat' could be exchangeable for 'love'. Oda Mari (talk) 20:20, 2 November 2009 (UTC)　

If you look at the large version of the upload, you can see the text on the accompanying sign. It translates the calligraphy as "Strive for brotherhood among all mankind". Dekimasuよ! 03:12, 5 November 2009 (UTC)

By the way, the calligrapher is Ito Hirobumi. I guess the next characters are 天道, but I can't be certain. After that may be an old Japanese word for the Philippines. So you've got me. Considering the artist, I could make something up--say, that this was sent to the US to congratulate them after the Spanish-American War. But don't quote me on that. It would be nice to be right, but who knows. Dekimasuよ! 03:49, 5 November 2009 (UTC) Guessing it's actually 天涯比隣, not 天道比とう. That's what happens when you make up a just-so story. But Ito is still the calligrapher. Dekimasuよ! 03:57, 5 November 2009 (UTC)

There is a description in File:Seattle Nihon Go Gakko interior 12.jpg, "The sign reads "一視同仁，天涯比隣", or "Treat all people equally, close in spirit though far away"". See Summary section. ―― Phoenix7777 (talk) 05:02, 5 November 2009 (UTC)

Please see my post on the OP's talk page too. Oda Mari (talk) 05:16, 5 November 2009 (UTC)

Translation help

What does "茶室二畳半台目" mean? Is it a 2.5 mat tea room with raised platform or something completely different? I found the expression in connection with the Joan teahouse (Japanese wikipedia article). bamse (talk) 19:21, 2 November 2009 (UTC)

台目 is a shortened form of 台目畳/daime-datami. It's a 3/4 length tatami mat used in a teahouse. Oda Mari (talk) 20:02, 2 November 2009 (UTC)

I see, so 二畳半台目 is a 2 + 3/4 mat room? What is the meaning of "半" here? bamse (talk) 20:09, 2 November 2009 (UTC)

It's a 2.5 + 3/4 mat room. Oda Mari (talk) 20:11, 2 November 2009 (UTC)

Thanks. bamse (talk) 21:14, 2 November 2009 (UTC)

Nomination for deletion

Please see: Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Toru Goto (religious persecution)Redddogg (talk) 17:56, 4 November 2009 (UTC)

Request for comments/suggestions

I am planning to improve List of National Treasures of Japan (shrines) up to featured list quality and am looking for suggestions on how to improve it. At the moment I am expanding the "remarks" column, wondering if the information of the "Ōsaki Hachiman Shrine" is too detailed and what could be dropped? Maybe it could be written in a more compact form?! Also, is it worthwhile to add geo-coordinates (in the "location" column) to the precise location of the building? Lastly, what does it mean if something is attached to the nomination (see notes section)? Are those items considered National Treasures as well? I'd be grateful for any suggestions or comments. bamse (talk) 10:09, 6 November 2009 (UTC)

A map with the precise locations of the National Treasures would be nice. Someone could edit File:National Treasures of Japan (Shrines).svg to include them, or then create a whole new map. --ざくら木 15:11, 6 November 2009 (UTC)

Thanks for the reply. A map is already on my todo list. I don't mind if somebody else creates one though ;-), preferably in the style of File:National Treasures of Japan (sculptures).png or File:National Treasures of Japan (paintings).png. bamse (talk) 17:20, 6 November 2009 (UTC)

Just put up File:National Treasures of Japan (shrines).png... bamse (talk) 20:15, 6 November 2009 (UTC)

Working my way down the list and adding (architectural) remarks. I'd like to make the "remarks" column sortable but am not sure what property would be most interesting to sort after. By style (irimoya, ryōsage,...), size (=area in ken*ken) or something else. Any suggestions?bamse (talk) 23:58, 8 November 2009 (UTC)

Request for review of Medicinal mushrooms

Can you review this page?Jatlas (talk) 22:58, 6 November 2009 (UTC)

Um, you sure you posted that to the right project? What does that article have to do with Japan? — HelloAnnyong ^{(say whaaat?!)} 00:52, 7 November 2009 (UTC)

Mushrooms grow in Japan? Just taking a stab at it... ···日本穣^? · 投稿 · Talk to Nihonjoe 02:42, 9 November 2009 (UTC)

Adeyto - lecturer or professor?

In the Adeyto article, a comment has been added saying that she is a university professor based on the university staff page which describes her as a "教授" (kyōju). I understand that "教授" is often indiscriminantly translated by Japanese speakers as "professor", but I feel that if this were a university in an English-speaking country, it would be more correct to call her position simply "lecturer". Not being involved in Japanese academia, maybe I'm not sufficiently aware of the Japanese university system. Or am I just being too picky? --DAJF (talk) 14:50, 9 November 2009 (UTC)

You may try asking User:Matt Thorn as he's a professor at a university in Japan. I don't know if he's been active here lately, though. ···日本穣^? · 投稿 · Talk to Nihonjoe 15:15, 9 November 2009 (UTC)

See this. 第四章　教員の資格、第十四条. She seems to be a case of #4. Oda Mari (talk) 16:57, 9 November 2009 (UTC)

Oops. Sorry, not #4, but #5/五 or #6/六. Oda Mari (talk) 01:52, 10 November 2009 (UTC)

I'm also not too clear on how the Japanese university system works, but just be aware that not all English-speaking countries work the way universities in the UK do, making such a strong distinction between lecturer and professor. Here in the US, nearly everyone who teaches at the university level is an assistant professor, associate professor, junior professor, senior professor or simply "professor". We don't do "readers", and I'm pretty sure we don't do "lecturers" for the most part. LordAmeth (talk) 21:50, 9 November 2009 (UTC)

The URL that Mari has posted (and I mean the bit after the "#" in the URL itself, not the page that's there) is awe-inspiring. ¶ I've commented on this matter at the surprisingly disputatious Talk:Adeyto, which might benefit from a greater number of eyeballs. -- Hoary (talk) 00:45, 10 November 2009 (UTC)

I found the English translation of the law, Standards for Establishment of Universities here. See Qualifications of Professors in Chapter Ⅳ Qualifications of Teachers. Oda Mari (talk) 04:20, 10 November 2009 (UTC)

I don't know what the British standards for usage are, but in American academia, "lecturer" suggests a non-tenured, adjunct instructor. A "kyouju" is a permanent, full-time member of the faculty, and, like an American professor, is at the top of the pyramid. "Kyouju" is always translated as "professor," and "助教授 (jokyouju)" or "准教授" as "associate professor." Below that rank, it becomes more complicated, because while an American "assistant professor" is not tenured (though full-time), a Japanese "専任講師 (sennin koushi)" or "助手 (joshu)" can be permanent, but lack the status of an American assistant professor. Matt Thorn (talk) 13:04, 10 November 2009 (UTC)

I think the title "Professor" is more appropriate. While the relevant web page lists her as "教授," it also lists others as "講師," which would be analogous to the position of lecturer in American academia. Konamaiki (talk) 22:41, 10 November 2009 (UTC)

For more information http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%AC%9B%E5%B8%AB_(%E6%95%99%E8%82%B2) The section 概要: #2. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Konamaiki (talk • contribs) 22:45, 10 November 2009 (UTC)

The inflation of title is certainly true in the case of Adeyto, it is because the third rated and emerging universities like U of C need "billboard" to advertise them . In the case of the famous universities, talents like her would be 講師(lecturer or instructor) or at most, 客員教授(guest or visiting professor). Yesterday it is reported that a drug scandal singer Noriko Sakai entered the social work department of the university. She will be another "billboard" of the school. Anyway her English title should be a "professor". ―― Phoenix7777 (talk) 23:12, 10 November 2009 (UTC)

East Asian age reckoning

Someone in New Mexico is adding ages at time to death to infoboxes of the Japanese Emperors. I have posted a message alerting him/her to the difficulties involved in East Asian age reckoning, but a new user may not appreciate or understand my warning:

See User talk:97.123.171.147#East Asian age reckoning

If you are online, please do what you can. In my view, this seems urgent -- no? --Tenmei (talk) 01:58, 11 November 2009 (UTC)

Honestly, I don't really see the problem here. This is an encyclopedia. What is the problem with giving the actual age of the Emperor when he passed away? Maybe I'm missing something obvious here. --Torsodog^Talk 02:45, 11 November 2009 (UTC)

I think Tenmei's concern may be due to the use of the lunar calendar in Japan prior to 1868. Due to this, the "age at death" information may be incorrect on some or all of these articles. ···日本穣^? · 投稿 · Talk to Nihonjoe 03:08, 11 November 2009 (UTC)

Oh, alright. Well, if these ages are questionable or incorrect, then they probably shouldn't be added. --Torsodog^Talk 03:19, 11 November 2009 (UTC)

We each learned many things from Fg2. I did attend carefully; but in some matters, I only learn slowly. I had presumed my concerns were reasonable in the context of Fg2's final paragraph at Talk:Tokugawa Ieyasu#Inaccuracy of dates.

Oda Mari suggests an alternate point-of-view: As long as the arithmetic looks okay, the potentially minor discrepancies can be resolved by someone else at some other time. Implicit in my thinking was an expectation that I would be the one to clean up any serial errors; but it doesn't have to play out that way.

As ever, this becomes something to do with figuring out how to assess the best balance in evolving circumstances. --Tenmei (talk) 08:48, 11 November 2009 (UTC)

Careless of me! Belatedly I noticed the problem. When someone's birth date and death date are known, there's no problem. All we have to do is to check whether s/he died before or after the birthday in the year of death and figure out her/his age of death. But what if one or the both of the dates is/are unknown? Write (aged 60 or 61)for instance? Oda Mari (talk) 15:01, 11 November 2009 (UTC)

There's the {{Death year and age}} template that will handle this for you. — HelloAnnyong ^{(say whaaat?!)} 15:05, 11 November 2009 (UTC)

Oh, I didn't know the template. Thank you, HelloAnnyong. Oda Mari (talk) 15:15, 11 November 2009 (UTC)

The template presents an elegant solution. I'm so glad to discover this -- a "fuzzy logic" shortcut which mitigates the problem without needing to explain in detail. The template's edit history shows that it has been around since 2007, but it simply escaped my notice.

Thanks, HelloAnnYong. It's fortunate that you noticed our thread about a small issue. --Tenmei (talk) 16:30, 11 November 2009 (UTC)

Date entries in tairō article

I noticed that the article tairō has wrong date entries for the terms of the different tairo. The author copied them from a Japanese source, which uses the dates and months of the traditional Japanese calendar, and transferred them 1:1 to the Gregorian calendar without proper conversion. It's easy to verify with the Japanese article ja:大老 and the date of the assassination of Ii Naosuke, which happened on the 3rd day, 3rd month of 7th year of Ansei (安政七年三月三日). This is not March 3, 1860, as in tairō, but March 24, 1860. The article Ii Naosuke has it correctly. Can someone take care of this? It is also necessary to check the biography articles of the tairo to see whether this mistake has spread. --Mkill (talk) 11:32, 11 November 2009 (UTC)

Toshiyuki Mimura

Can someone who can read and translate Japanese help with this one? Thank you! Chris (クリス • フィッチュ) (talk) 14:40, 11 November 2009 (UTC)

Translation help

I am stuck with translating the attached items of shrine National treasures and am looking for help. I'd need translations or at least readings of:

• 非常門, 銅庫門, 東通用御門 (社家門), 銅神庫, 鐘舎, 燈台穂屋, all at Nikkō Tōshō-gū,
• 末社印社本殿, 末社一言社本殿, ..., 末社三言社本殿, at Shimogamo Shrine,
• 玉殿, at Sumiyoshi Shrine (住吉神社), Shimonoseki

Thanks for any help. bamse (talk) 16:19, 11 November 2009 (UTC)