top of page
Search


How Portuguese "soap" became Japanese "cactus"
A golden barrel cactus, known in Japanese as キンシャチ (kinshachi) or 金鯱 in kanji As the first Europeans to make contact with the Japanese,...
Spencer Low
3 days ago2 min read
1,098 views
0 comments


Weirdest Japanese word borrowed from the Portuguese
As the first Europeans that the Japanese encountered, the Portuguese made a deep cultural impact on the Land of the Rising Sun. Many...
Spencer Low
Feb 232 min read
1,420 views
0 comments


More on Japanese pão de Castela
福砂屋 (Fukusaya) logo incorporates a Portuguese ship. I wrote last year about the delicious Japanese castella cake (カステラ) that originated...
Spencer Low
Feb 23 min read
516 views
0 comments


Jaggery or muscovado sugar, anyone?
I recently made a few trips to India, and drinking chai (tea) was definitely a highlight. [Here's an interesting post about the...
Spencer Low
Dec 7, 20242 min read
350 views
0 comments


The first flight from Portugal to Macau 100 years ago
It is a common lament among Portuguese people living in Asia why there aren't more direct flights to Portugal. Currently one can fly...
Spencer Low
Aug 17, 20244 min read
910 views
0 comments
bottom of page