Tweet of the Week #76: April Supermoon Brings Joy Amongst Uncertainty in Japan

On Tuesday night, the universe graced us with a supermoon—a full moon bigger and brighter than usual. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the moon gave us a chance to look at up the sky and forget earthly matters for a short while.

Moon viewing

Traditionally, Japanese folks hold autumn festivals called 月見（つきみ） (literally “moon-viewing”) honoring this celestial body around September and October. Very much like with cherry blossom viewing, the Japanese like to contemplate the fleeting beauty of the full moon. After all, we’re talking about a culture which translated “I love you” with the graceful expression “the moon is beautiful tonight, isn’t it” (月（つき）が綺麗（きれい）ですね ).

Thirty years from now when I’m asked, ‘Grandpa, what was it like when the state of emergency was announced?’ I’ll be able to say, ‘On that day, there was a beautiful moon.’

Life is beautiful and short, like a passing moon or cherry blossom. And so is a supermoon, an occurrence that happens only a few times per year. During this time, the full moon’s elliptical orbit comes 40,000 km closer to earth, or a mere 356,907 km jump away.

Coincidentally, the first supermoon of the year took place the day Prime Minister Shinzo Abe finally announced a month-long state of emergency for seven prefectures. The next big moon on May 7 should hopefully mark the end of the emergency period.

Maybe you can add stargazing to your stay-at-home activities.

Let us forget for a brief moment

Despite Japan’s urban light pollution, the incredible luminosity and beauty of the supermoon managed to cheer us all up a bit. From bad camera shots to professional photography, people shared pictures of what the moon looked like on social media. It was a way to remind us that not everything is about the pandemic and that life goes on.

Hopefully, decades from now, we’ll remember how beautiful the night was.

30年後くらいに
「おじいちゃん、緊急事態宣言の時ってどんな感じだった？？」
って聞かれた時に
「そうじゃな…あの日は月の綺麗な夜だった…」
って言うために月を眺めてます。 pic.twitter.com/Ftan1o9gXI

— 今日のむいむい (@mui_king) April 7, 2020

30年後（さんじゅうねんご）くらいに

「おじいちゃん、緊急事態宣言（きんきゅうじたいせんげん）の時（とき）ってどんな感（かん）じだった？？」

って聞（き）かれた時に

「そうじゃな…あの日（ひ）は月（つき）の綺麗（きれい）な夜（よる）だった…」

って言（い）うために月を眺（なが）めてます。

=

I’m watching the moon tonight so 30 years from now when I’m asked, “Grandpa, what was it like when the state of emergency was announced?” I’ll be able to say, “On that day, there was a beautiful moon (at night).”

Appearing up to 30% brighter than a regular full moon, the supermoon was a poetic sight to remember during an international crisis that’s left many of us worried about the future.

https://twitter.com/arakencloud/status/1247495295656579072?s=20

夜空（よぞら）を彩（いろど）るスーパームーン

雲（くも）がかかって月光環（げっこうわ）のおまけつき．

=

Supermoon coloring the night sky, clouds cover the moonlight ring.

What’s even more beautiful than a supermoon?

A full moon and cherry blossom combo! We are completely wowed by these incredible pictures that were taken for the Asahi Journal in Oita Prefecture.

https://twitter.com/asahi_oita/status/1247558092255981568?s=20

改（あらた）めて、大分城址公園（おおいたじょうしこうえん）の桜（さくら）と月。ほぼ満月（まんげつ）のピンク&スーパームーンです。観察（かんさつ）されてる方（かた）、ベランダなどからでも冷（さ）えぬよう気（き）をつけ

#スーパームーン #さくら2020

#イマツキ  #府内城（ふないしろ） #大分

=

Once again, cherry blossoms and the moon at Oita Castle Park. The nearly full moon is a pink supermoon. To people watching from their balcony etc., please don’t catch a cold.

#SuperMoon #Sakura2020

#Imatsuki #Funai Castle #Oita

And for the unlucky peeps that couldn’t witness this beauty live, @papeushikaru replayed the scene in Animal Crossing, cherry blossoms included.

パペットマペッ島のスーパームーン。
あの月はDIYで作りました。#あつまれどうぶつの森 pic.twitter.com/5oA0lvvIJ6

— パペットマペット (@papeushikaeru) April 7, 2020

パペットマペッ島（しま）のスーパームーン。

あの月はDIYで作（つく）りました。

#あつまれどうぶつの森（もり）

=

Supermoon on Puppet Mappet Island.

I made a DIY version of the moon.

#AnimalCrossingGathering

Asking “what was it like,” in Japanese

どんな感じ sounds like an easy question to answer. In Japanese, どんな means “what kind”, while 感じ means “feeling,” but there’s probably more nuances to it than you realize.

Roughly translated, どんな感じ can be:

• How is/was it?
• What is/was it like?
• How do/did you feel?
• How is something (a project etc.) going?
• What’s your impression of…?

Let’s say you try on some new clothes and want your friend’s opinion. You’ll ask “どんな感じ,” which in this context means “how do I look?”

By comparison, どうやって, which translates to “how,” is more practical and asks “in what way” (how to go somewhere, do something, etc).

Vocabulary

For more on learning Japanese

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