This section provides photos of Japanese society, lifestyle and cultural events. There are four types of photos: ‘Let’s see' (from 'Erin's Challenge! I Can Speak Japanese.’), ‘Photos by Sakura & Musashi’, ‘The Photo Panel Collection’, and ‘Hirogaru, get more of Japan and Japanese’.
Note on Use
(‘Let’s see’ （in ‘Erin’s Challenge! I Can Speak Japanese.’）, ‘Photos by Sakura& Musashi’, ‘The Photo Panel Collection’)
・When using the photos, use them with the copyright indication attached to the image, e.g., (C) The Japan Foundation.
・At the prerogative of the copyright holder, some of the photos are restricted to class material use or for personal, non-commercial use only. Cautionary statements are displayed for these photos.
Let’s see (in 'Erin's Challenge! I Can Speak Japanese.’)
‘Erin’s Challenge! I Can Speak Japanese.’ is a web site for Japanese language study with a story featuring overseas student, Erin, who takes on various challenges using Japanese in, for example, a Japanese high school, host family home, and Japanese town.
Photos in this section are taken from the movies ‘Let’s see’ in ‘Erin’s Challenge! I Can Speak Japanese.’. ‘Let’s see’ introduces Japanese society, culture, events and the everyday life of high school students related to the contents of each lesson. The same pictures can be found in ‘Let’s see’ in‘Erin’s Challenge! I Can Speak Japanese.’ Contents Library.There are also detailed explanations of the pictures on the website.
'Erin’s Challenge! I Can Speak Japanese.’ Contents Library
※You will be directed to a different web site
Photos by Sakura & Musashi
This section offers photos related to Japanese society, culture, nature and Japanese people’s lifestyle. They are divided into six categories: "food and diet," "seasons and events," "travel, transportation and streets," "nature and animals," "daily life" and "health." These are relatively new photos taken for use in Japanese-language learning for the purpose of understanding Japanese culture. They include photos which are difficult to obtain elsewhere, such as photos of the daily life of ordinary people and restaurant kitchens. Please note that the "Photos by Sakura & Musashi" are the teaching materials that were posted as "Sakura & Musashi" contributions in "Forum," and in the "JFS Reading Activity."
| Photographer |
IWASAWA Yoshio, TANABE Mari |
The Photo Panel Collection
This section offers photos of Japan as well as of the lifestyle and cultural events of the Japanese. Some photos and descriptions are taken from The Photo Panel Collection produced by The Japan Foundation. As they were produced in the 90s, some might look out of date. They, however, can be used to show the culture and the society of the time.
About ‘The Photo Panel Collection’
The Photo Panel Collection is a collection of teaching materials compiled by The Japan Foundation Japanese-Language Institute for overseas Japanese language learners. It aims to raise the effectiveness of teaching Japanese and show contemporary Japanese facts through visual presentation of Japanese objects, places, customs, events, and the lives of Japanese people.The collection of photos available in ‘Minna no Kyōzai’ website is as follows.Please be advised that some of the photos from series ‘II. Community Life’, ‘III. Nature and Leisure Time’, and ‘IV. Social Ceremonial Occasions’ are not available in ‘Minna no Kyōzai’ website for copyrights reasons.
| Series |
Topics |
Contents |
# of Photos |
| Clothing, Foods, Beverages, Housing and Tools |
Includes 4 topics: Clothing, Foods and Beverages, Housing, Tools |
'Things' frequently used and seen in Japanese daily life Photos of nouns |
107 |
| Community Life |
Includes 6 topics: Information and Communications, Medical Treatment and Services, Transportation, Administration, Education, Economic Activity |
Photos depicting various services in Japanese society and their associated places |
114 |
| Nature and Leisure Time |
Includes 6 topics: Seasons and Weather, Geography, Animals & Plants, Culture & Amusement, Sports, Tourist Sites |
Photos introducing nature and tourist spots in Japan and Japanese ways of spending leisure time |
49 |
| Social & Ceremonial Occasions |
Includes 2 topics: Annual Events, Major Ceremonial Occasions of Life |
Photos introducing major annual events, festivals and major ceremonial occasions in Japan |
98 |
| Daily Life |
Includes 9 topics: Getting Up and Sleeping, Meals, Beauty and Health, Going to School and to Work, Study, Work, Housework, Social Interaction, Hobbies and Play |
Photos depicting four families as models of family structure Photos of action verbs |
147 |
References Production Committee 
Producer, Supervising Editor,
Chairman of Production Committee: |
YOSHIOKA Hideyuki (Waseda University) |
Producer, Supervising Editor,
Member of Production Committee: |
KUMAKURA Isao (National Museum of Ethnology) |
| Production Committee |
ISHIZAWA Hiroko （Association for Overseas Technical Scholarship）
KATO Kenji (Teikyo University)
KINDAICHI Hideho (Kyorin University)
NISHIGORI Jiro (Tokyo Metropolitan University)
ABE Yoko (The Japan Foundation Japanese-Language Institute, Urawa)
ARAKAWA Yohei (The Japan Foundation Japanese-Language Institute, Urawa)
SAWAI Yasuko (The Japan Foundation Japanese-Language Institute, Urawa)
TSUBOYAMA Yumiko (The Japan Foundation Japanese-Language Institute, Urawa)
MUKAI Sonoko (The Japan Foundation Japanese-Language Institute, Urawa)
(The position titles noted above were current at the time of publication.) |
Hirogaru, get more of Japan and Japanese’
‘Hirogaru, get more of Japan and Japanese’ is a web site where people who are studying Japanese as a hobby and people who are interested in Japan and the Japanese language can enjoy learning various things about Japan and the Japanese language. There are photos, videos and articles about Japan related to twelve topics: ‘Stars and the Night Sky’, ‘the Outdoors’, ‘Martial Arts’, ‘Cafes and Tea’, ‘Sweets’, ‘Supermarkets and Markets’, ‘Calligraphy’, ‘Anime and Manga’, ‘Books and Libraries’, ‘Temples and Shrines’, ‘Music’ and ‘Aquariums’.Photos in ‘Hirogaru, get more of Japan and Japanese’are posted together with the articles on each topic. The photos cannot be downloaded. Please view them on the website.
※Please use these materials in accordance with the site policy for ‘Hirogaru, get more of Japan and Japanese’.
‘Hirogaru, get more of Japan and Japanese’
※You will be directed to a different web site