Face To Face

The latest edition of Kojien, the most authoritative of Japanese dictionaries, hit the stores in January 2018. A team of 220 wordsmiths spent 5 years tracking words in the media and on the Internet before deciding on the 10,000 or so new entries that reflect Japan today, such as "jidori" (selfie) and "moe" (passion). Chief editor Yasunari Hiraki believes that words evolve with the times. We'll ask him about what goes into the making of a dictionary and what he feels is its role today.

All Episodes - Season 4

Episode 1

Masahisa Kogure: Serving Both Sides of the Table

Episode 2

Yasunari Hiraki: Word by Word

Episode 3

Yachiyo Inoue: Tradition in Full Bloom

Episode 4

Kyoko Fukuchi: The Tsukiji Legacy

Episode 5

Kiyomi Mikuni: Japanese Cuisine at the Olympics

Episode 6

Yoshinori Kaneko: Bringing Back from Extinction

Episode 7

Yasuji Hirasawa: The Unheard Voices of Leprosy

Episode 8

Eiko Kadono: Weaving Magic with Words

Episode 9

Eiichi Saitoh: Resilience and Recovery Come in Pairs

Episode 10

Takafumi Tsuruta: Eliminating Borders through Fashion

Episode 11

Hitoshi Kuninaka: Never Say No to a Challenge

Episode 12

Chieko Kuribayashi: Saving Communities One Meal at a Time