This is super cool site!!. We say "shibui" in Japanese. I wonder what is the closest word for "shibui " please let me know if you know it.
After such great art, I am sorry today's topic is a toilet. I wrote that the Japanese Toilet is rapidly-evolving. At my work, we use walshlet of course. And the water flushes automatically when I stand up from the seat. If I need to give the toilet an extra flush, I hold my hand up to a sensor, that is all. It means that I don't need to touch anywhere. Also they have a deodorizing function, toilet noise-masking machines (to muffle your sound), warm seat. I love those toilet systems.
Today I read the National's news release about the new tiolet in November. This toilet has "a target." For what? It's for guys. The toilet shows the target, it is the point where it works best for splash prevention of your P. Well strange, but I welcome anything that keeps toilets clean. If they say it will work, it's fine.
Hi there
Thank you for your comments. Hmm I understand it's difficult to find English word. Idylic? Hmm I have never known the word. "astringent" or "forgiving sadness"?! Hmm I have never thought like that. Thank you very much, I will use those in next time.
Posted by: Mari | Thursday, September 28, 2006 at 12:23 AM
Hello! well arrive o his blog because I really had nothing to do. Is uite amazing everythin you wrote. even when I did no have an idea of som places you talk aboute. It is not your faukt, jeje is just because I leave in Mexico, and there no way to understand every thi. is like taking to you about Texcoco. well. Have a Good Day. kristy
Posted by: Kristy Cano | Saturday, September 23, 2006 at 12:37 PM
While my understanding of Japanese is insufficient to disagree with Pasq242's definition of 渋い, usually I have seen descriptions such as "astringent" or "forgiving sadness" in conjunction with this word.
Perhaps I used to read too much fiction. In the early 1980s there was an odd novel called "Shibumi," written by an author who called himself only "Trevanian." Definitions for "shibumi" and "shibui" were both part of the story. I wonder: was this novel ever published in Japan?
Posted by: bshock | Saturday, September 23, 2006 at 04:27 AM
There is no single word in English that is analagous to shibui.
"Idyllic" comes close; it implies simplicity and serenity in a natural setting, but it also has a connotation of "quaint" and "charming" which are almost a little patronizing. Because of that, I don't think "idyllic" really describes the site you linked.
Idyllic is also an adjective; it doesn't have a noun form like shibumi or shibusa.
I think shibui is an excellent word; it's worth having a word to describe that idea.
Posted by: Pasq242 | Saturday, September 23, 2006 at 12:50 AM