Japonicaland

  Do you know what today is? I'll explore intriguing Japanese reactions to this question. Someone well-versed in historical events and public anniversaries might craft an intelligent and witty answer. However, most people lack awareness of date-related events or anniversaries, leaving them puzzled when asked abruptly and without context. In my case, I attempt to play with the answer before conceding. Why does this thinking work? The key lies in how numbers are pronounced in dates. Japanese employs wordplay, known as mnemonic goroawase, using the reading of numbers to create new phrases and meaningful words. Since many Japanese, including myself, have engaged in goroawase since childhood, we often try to find answers using this word game. Variety of Number Readings To enjoy goroawase, you need to understand how to read numbers. For instance, the standard readings from 0 to 10 are as follows: 0: rei (or zero) 1: ichi 2: ni 3: san 4: shi (or yon) 5: go 6: roku 7: shichi (or nana) 8: h...