Welcome to "Learn Japanese from the News."

Join us as we learn Japanese and about the country through Japanese news stories.

Our headline for today is:

Historic Gifu Castle Recreated in the Metaverse.

Metaverse - now this is a buzzword we've heard a lot recently.

Yes.

In Japanese we say "metabaasu."

It refers to an internet-based, virtual 3D space.

Users move around that space

through representations of themselves called avatars.

Now, before we listen to the news story in Japanese, let's go over some key terms.

"shi."

city.

"shiro."

castle.

"bushi."

samurai or warrior.

OK, try to follow along.

There is a castle called "Gifu-joo" on a mountain near Gifu Park in Gifu City.

The city has (re)created part of the castle from the era of a samurai named Oda Nobunaga for the metaverse.

They have made it possible to view it on the city’s website and in an online game.

On the city’s website,

you can see computer-generated versions of the building where Nobunaga lived and his garden.

In the globally popular online game called "Fortnite,"

you can move through and look around the inside of buildings and more.

Gifu City also plans to (re)create the mountaintop castle (tower),

the view of the town, and more in the metaverse.

People who love Japanese history and castles must be so excited!

That's so cool, you can explore this iconic castle like it was all of those years ago.

That is very interesting.

OK, now let's review the following phrase from the story.

(The city has) (re)created part of the castle for the metaverse.

Now read along with me.

"shiro no ichibu o intaanetto no metabaasu ni tsukurimashita."

We heard the phrase "shiro no ichibu."

"Ichibu" refers to one part of the whole.

The word "bu" means "part" or "portion."

We can place another kanji in front to indicate a specific part.

Now, what part does this kanji refer to?

Ah, so this is "Naibu."

That "nai" means "inside" or "within."

That’s right.

For example:

You can view the "interior" of the castle.

"Oshiro no 'naibu' o miru koto ga dekimasu."

Our story contained the phrase:

"Tatemono no naka nado o ugoite 'mite-mawaru' koto ga dekimasu."

"Mite-mawaru" is a combination of the verbs "miru" and "mawaru."

Now, "Mawaru" by itself usually means "to turn" or "to rotate," right?

Right.

It describes "going around in a circle."

So it can also refer to "moving around within a space."

We can attach "mawaru" to other verbs to make a variety of expressions.

Yes. For instance,

"ie no naka o sagashi-mawaru" means "'to search all over' the house."

"ie no naka o 'sagashi-mawaru.'"

There are many words that end in "-mawaru."

Look them up!

Bite-Size Japan.

The Gifu Castle project is just one of many efforts across Japan to attract tourism

and preserve heritage by bringing castles and other historic sites to the metaverse.

Some municipalities have even recreated entire townscapes.

In 2023, Kameoka City in Kyoto Prefecture unveiled a metaverse adventure game

to encourage more locals to experience the historical heritage lying dormant in the area.

They digitized cultural assets in the city's collection and populated their world with them.

Players learn about local history as they go around completing missions.

Along the way, they take in the townscape of Kameoka circa the 18th and 19th centuries,

and explore sites like Tanba Kameyama Castle.

The project was led by curator Asukai Taku.

He says that old materials gave him a sense of the size of the castle, but reproducing it yielded new insights.

We realized, for example,

that the castle was even larger than we imagined.

Drawings and old documents can only tell us so much.

By recreating it for the metaverse,

we got to see with our own eyes what it must have been like.

How cool! In a way they're kind of bringing these spaces back to life.

There must be so much to learn.

Metaverse projects are being developed across Japan.

It's exciting!

Now the gloves come off!

Lastly, we'll be going over some common expressions that were coined back in the days of the samurai.

I love this. This is perfect.

You should wear this all the time! It's great!

Yoshikawa-san just said "shinken-shoobu,"

an expression that originated about 300 years ago.

"Shinken" refers to a "real sword" as opposed to a bamboo or wooden one.

"Shoobu" is a "match" to determine a winner.

So "shinken-shoobu" refers to a "serious match" or "playing for keeps."

Oh that's really cool, because "shinken" is a word you hear all the time, even now.

For example, you can use it as:

I'm thinking "seriously" about my future.

"Shoorai ni tsuite 'shinken' ni kangaete imasu."

There’s another word similar to "shinken" from the 18th century.

Yes, you're talking about...

"maji."

Hold on, hold on, hold on, I thought "maji" was a recent term that young people use!

...But it's not? It's older?

It’s said entertainers at the time used it as an abbreviation for "majime."

In other words, it was industry slang.

Now Yoshikawa-san, what do we say at the end of a meal?

"Gochisoosama deshita."

Wait, so "Gochisoosama deshita" is also from that era?

That’s right.

The "chisoo" in "gochisoosama" is written like this.

"Chisoo" literally meant "to run around on a horse."

They’d run around procuring ingredients

so they could serve guests a "feast," that is, a "gochisoo."

Over time it became a way to offer thanks for a meal.

That is so fascinating.

I had no idea that so many words we still use date back from the time of the samurai.

Oh, I just love it!

It shows how much language can tell you about the history and culture of a country.

All right. That's all for today.

I bid you goodbye!

We'll see you next time.

"Mata oai shimashoo."
(See you soon.)