Honey is a very nice word.
蜂蜜 【はちみつ】 (n) honey
蜂蜜酒; はちみつ酒 --はちみつしゅ-- (n) mead; honey wine; ambrosia; nectar of the gods
蜂蜜入り --はちみついり-- (adj-no- 蜂蜜入りの) containing honey

And there is a very-very nice manga ハチミツとクローバー by 羽海野チカ (Umino Chika) - Honey and Clover.

クローバー (n) clover

With 10 volumes completed and in addition there is a live-movie (DVD box) and anime (there are many DVDs, but for instance -here).

Theater Noh.
能 --のう -- (n) (1) talent; gift; function; (2) noh (theatre
Noh is traditional Japanese theater originating from the 14th century. It is based on the very Japanese concept of procedure typical for many Japanese arts - 序破急 --じょはきゅう-- roughly "beginning, middle, rapid".

• 序 --じょ -- (n) (1) order; ordering; (2) beginning; start;
• 破 --は-- (n) (in gagaku or noh) middle section of a song
• 急 --きゅう-- (adj-na) (1) urgent; sudden; abrupt; (2) sharp; steep; precipitous; (3) rapid; swift; fast; (n) (4) emergency; crisis; (5) hurrying; haste;

The Noh performers are mostly:

• The main character - 仕手--して--(n) (1) doer; performer; (2) protagonist (in noh or kyogen); hero; leading part; main character; (3) (仕手 only) speculator (in trading);

• The support character - 脇 --わき-- (n) (1) (usu. 脇) side; aside;

• The actor(s) performing interludes- 狂言 --きょうげん-- (n) (1) kyogen (farce played during a Noh cycle); play; drama;
• The musicians who play 4 instruments used in Noh  - 囃子--はやし-- (n) Japanese orchestra; band; accompaniment

I would not dare to suggest that I know anything about Noh, but there is plenty of literature describing and analyzing Noh theater.  I just wish to remember the main terms in case I happen to see Noh performance.

Since the release of the movie Saturday Night Fever with John Travolta, in Japanese there is a saying フィーバーする which means "to go to disco/dancing".

The movie in Japanese is called サタデー・ナイト・フィーバー DVD and it is all about the disco.

The Japaneses movie poster with the pretty katakana.

らんぶる
This word derives from French L'ambre as in Café de l'Ambre.

Ranbaru is how coffee-shops are called.  This is a place where they brew some fabulous coffee and labeled as "Coffee only". A must visit.

My favourite picture of Japanese ranburu -THIS.  This old deserted coffee-shop is at Takada-no-baba ( 高田馬場), Tokyo.

Though some kanji and hiragana had fallen down, it is still possible to recognize on the façade- 名曲らんぶる

名曲 --めいきょく --(n) famous music;

Another term for the stylish cafes - 名曲喫茶 (info at wiki)
名曲 --めいきょく --(n) famous music;
喫茶 --きっさ -- (n) tea drinking; tea house

Those used to be the cafes where one could enjoy classical music and coffee.

Connecting the new words to the similar in another language is always fun.  Many Japanese words were originated from English, but not only. Here are few Japanese words that have been derived from German language:

• 石鹸(P); 石けん -- せっけん-- (n) soap;

German - die Seife

• アルバイト part-time job, side job;

German: die Arbeit. Funny enough, this precarious type of work in German is called "der Job" and there is a verb - jobben, jobbte, gejobbt

• メルヘン fairy-tale

German: das Märchen

• メルヘンチック; メルヘンティック    (adj-na) - having a fairy-tale atmosphere

Here is a combination of German - das Märchen and shortening from romantic --tic.

It has been the practice in many Asian empires to give a special name to time eras. In contrast to China and Korea where the era calendars ceased to exist, in Japan this chronological scheme is still in use. Since 1867 (the ascension of the Meiji Emperor) naming of eras are standardize in such a way that with each new Emperor a new era launches.

My favourite era in Japanese history is Taishou 大正時代 --たいしょうじだい --1912-1926.


From my little knowledge about Japanese history [really minuscule knowledge to my shame] Taishou era seems to be the period full of new liberal thoughts, ideas of modernisation and progressive perspectives. It overlaps with Weimar Republic (1919-1933) in Germany; Great Prosperity of the US economy (after WWI till the Black Tuesday, 1929); Mahatma Gandhi’s non-cooperation movement in India (1918-1924); 2 Russian revolutions of 1917; Lost Generation in literature and ragtime in the night clubs. Must have been very interesting time: still innocent before the massacre of WWII, but already poignant with opium of knowledge and freedom.


I really like the atmospheres of mangas that are set in the Taishou era; the mixture of kimonos and old-fashion cars; beautiful suits with bowlers and canes; boys in breeches with suspenders on iron bicycles; and Vienna-alike cafés with chocolate cakes. I adore the feeling of streets pulsation of those stories set in Taishou.

Dragons, dragons! That's an important character for so many Japanese storoes

I collect beautiful title of the Japanese mangas.  There is so much feeling and meaning in the way they title their books - just so extravagant for my non-Japanese mind and so helpful for learning new words and structures.  So two of my favourites with dragons:

• やさしい竜の殺し方 - story by 津守時生 (Tsumori Tokio), art by 加藤絵理子  (Katou Eriko).  This is the manga serialization of the novels with the same title and there is Drama CDs based on the novel.

優しい --やさしい -- (adj-i) tender; kind; gentle; graceful; affectionate; amiable; suave

竜 -- りゅう -- (n) dragon (esp. a Chinese dragon)

殺し -- ころし -- (n) a murder

方 -- かた --  direction; way

The Killing Methods of a Kind Dragon.

• 黒い竜は二度誓う - a novel - story by 英田サキ (Aida Saki),  art by 中村明日美子 (Nakamura Asumiko) and the Drama CD based on the novel.

黒い --くろい -- (adj-i) (1) black; (2) dark

二度 -- にど -- (n)  two times; twice;

誓う -- ちかう -- to swear; to vow; to take an oath; to pledge;

The Black Dragon Swears in Twice.

++

Western dragon is different from the Eastern dragon, hence - a different word:

ドラゴン -  dragon (as depicted in Western myths)

And related expression:

ドラゴンボート  - dragon boat

宝塚歌劇団 Takarazuka Kagekidan is a all-female theatrical troupe in the city Takarazuka (宝塚市 ) in Hyougo Prefecture (兵庫県 - ひょうごけん) that makes fabulous performances in the most glamorous style.

歌劇団 --かげきだん -- (n) opera company; opera troup
劇団 --げきだん -- troupe; theatrical company

It's a pure lush!

湖月わたる, Kozuki Watar - a former member of Takarazuke playing male characters (Otokoyaku)

男役 -- おとこやく  -- (n) male part or role