Vol. 32
Mar. 2022

2022-2023①General Meeting Info④

This will be SIEA’s 2nd year as a non-profit organization.
We’d③like to take the opportunity to thank you all for your support.
The next general meeting will be held on 5/14.
There will be a guest lecture after the meeting.
This will be our first in-person meeting in 2 years, so please attend.

5 /1 42022(Sat.）

General Meeting: 1:30 pm -1:50 pm （Open at 1:20 pm）
Guest Lecture: 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm

2021-2022
Events・Language Courses (ZH/VI/EN)
・English Writing Camp （8/9 - 8/31）
・From Saijo to the World （8/4 - 9/30）
・Family Trivia Night（9/25）

Venue

City Hall, Main Building 5F
Large Meeting RoomEligibility

General Meeting: Members-only
Lecture: Open to the publicLecture

Lecturer: Ruth Vergin

Contact Info.

Former Prof. at Ehime University
Institute for International Relations

Saijo International Exchange Association
TEL: (0897)56-5151 EXT:2292

Topic: Int’l Cultural Exchange
Table of Contents
GeneralMeeting Info1

Event Info2

Int’l Understanding:
2Indonesia
Vietnamese Lunar
2
New Year
SDGs Workshop

2

Brimming withVitality: Japan’s
3
Yokai by Emma S.
International4Relations INFO・Int’l Understanding: Indonesia （12/19)
・Vietnamese Lunar New Year （2/20）
・SDGs Workshop （2/27）

Become an SIEA Member for 2022-2023!
Thank you to the SIEA members of 2021-2022!
SIEA would like to thank you all for your support.
Membership dues go toward the operation of SIEA and its events.
We look forward to your membership in 2022-2023!
【Yearly Dues】Individuals: 1,000 yen, Students (up to HS) 500 yen, Groups 10,000 yen【Membership Length】April 1, 2022 - March 31, 2023
【Application Process】 After filling out the Member Application Form, please submit it to the
SIEA office.
（Download the form from the official website of City Hall, every Branch Office, or every
Community Center, or the SIEA homepage.)※ Members receive information on SIEA activities, the SIEA newsletter, anddiscounts on SIEA events. For more information, please contact the SIEA office.
International Relations SAIJO is a newsletter published by the Saijo
International Exchange Association (SIEA). Feel free to contact us withyour comments, questions, and submission requests.

NPO Saijo International Exchange Association (SIEA): 164-1 Akeyashiki New Bldg. 2F, Saijo, Ehime 〒793-8601
TEL:(0897)56-5151 EXT:2292 FAX:(0897)52-1386 E-mail: info@saijo-iea.jp URL: http://www.saijo-iea.jp/

2International Relations SAIJO

Event Information
Here are all the events held between December 2021 and February 2022. Due to the spreadof COVID-19, one event was cancelled. We can only hope for a swift return to normalcy.

12

Republik Indonesia
12/19/21
Int’l Understanding: Indonesia

2

2/20/22V i ệ t N a m Meow! Meow!
Vietnamese Lunar New Year

Me? I still believe in paradise.

For the first time in several years, SIEA invited
Cantika Pello, who hails from Indonesia, tospeak at its International Understanding Lecture
on Indonesia. The lecture opened with anintroduction to the origins of Indonesia, anddiscussed its distinctive red and white flag akin tothat of Japan, its more than 700 languages, its
beautifully vibrant tourist attractions, and its
abundance of gourmet dishes.
The post-lecture Q&A session was a hit, andthere were many nice comments from theattendees, like “I miss Indonesia!” and “I want tolearn about the Indonesian language!” I for one
want to watch Earth’s beloved “living dragons,”
the Komodo monitor lizards, from a safe distance.

The Vietnamese Lunar New Year event held in acorner of the Konyamachi Shopping Street was alively event with over 50 participants. Planned by
local Vietnamese resident, Tran Thi Hong, it
showcased Vietnamese culture and began witha fashion show of Vietnam’s traditional dress, theáo dài. It also featured a gorgeous danceroutine, various Lunar New Year games, and azongzi-making session that came with free zongzi
samples.
Thank you all for attending the event andpracticing infection countermeasures.
I’d like to try some fresh zongzi
once COVID-19 settles down.
THE COLD NEVER BOTHERED

2 2/27/22“SDGs Through LEGO® Blocks” Workshop
Do I reallyneed this?

Hmm...

ME ANYWAY.

Sustainable Development Goals

This workshop was designed by the International
Relations Promotion Team for students from upper
elementary through high school, and, including thetrial teachers, 19 people were in attendance.
The LEGO® block presentation format madeexpressing one’s ideas much simpler and bolder incomparison to the usual oral format.
“Realizing one goal has a positive effect on the othergoals.” That phrase left a lasting impression on me. I
want humanity to take steps toward a bright future,with the hope that we can eventually solve the world’s
biggest problems by just doing our part.

NPO Saijo International Exchange Association (SIEA): 164-1 Akeyashiki New Bldg. 2F, Saijo, Ehime 〒793-8601
TEL:(0897)56-5151 EXT:2292 FAX:(0897)52-1386 E-mail: info@saijo-iea.jp URL: http://www.saijo-iea.jp/

International Relations SAIJO

Brimming withVitality: Japan’sYokai
バイタリティ溢れる日本のYO-KAIThe Onamazu
of the Abyss Stirs...

3I experienced my first earthquake on May 17, 2019. As theground shook, I reflected with regret on every time I wasungrateful toward my parents, telling myself that if I got
By: Emma Steiner
Edited by: Kondo
home alive, I would treat my dad better. With my heart
purer than ever before, I was ready to accept myfate. My father whispered the bolded words above
to me, with my face still pale long after the tremors
stopped. In response, I demanded the immediate
extermination of the beast. “It’s a yokai, you know,”
my dad replied simply. The fear in me flashed to anger
when, for the first time, I saw the resigned look on his face. For thesake of my family, the extermination of the onamazu and, byextension, all yokai, was unnegotiable. I left my dad behind in my homecountry, discarded my filial piety for him, and took an army knife with me forgood luck. And so, Reiwa’s own monster slayer was born.
“Alright, time to kill some yokai!” I thought, but one fundamentally important question remained:“What are yokai?” My Japanese teacher had told me to look up unfamiliar words I encountered in thedictionary, but being a digital addict of the modern age, I immediately lifted my ban on using thedivine tool that is Google. According to Google, yokai are mysterious phenomena or thesupernatural beings that cause them, and they transcend human understanding. In other words,
they’re in the same league as the West’s ghosts and monsters. As the physical sciences develop
and the world’s unexplored frontiers disappear at a quickening pace, ghosts and monsters are
rapidly losing their place in their home countries. Surely, Japan’s yokai are no exception, and unable tocompete in a world that is becoming more concise and clear with every passing day, their time too will cometo pass and they’ll go the way of the dinosaurs. With that conclusion, Reiwa’s Monster Slayer retired without
seeing combat, their good-luck army knife safely joining the ranks of assorted camping equipment.
“He’s become a tengu!” I could hardly believe my ears. My friend called me in the dead of night tocomplain about their sweet and sour love life when they suddenly disclosed that their boyfriend had
become a yokai. Just imagining it, I began to panic and nearly fainted, but my friend showed no sign ofdistress. Every word that came out of their mouth showed only compassion for their beloved. Having
witnessed their undying love and resolution to never abandon their partner no matter his appearance, myeyes began to water. I got back home feeling like I had watched a movie and wanted to share my feelings
with someone, so I shook my mother awake. “Could you still love your partner if they became a tengu?” Mymother stared at me wide-eyed for a moment and then burst out laughing. “Back when I was just a younggirl, I was called a yamanba,” she confessed, to my bewilderment. I didn’t get a wink of sleep that night. Assoon as I got out of bed the next morning, I grabbed my older sister and told her our mother’s secret. “I’m anoppera-bo when I don’t have my make-up on,” she said. It felt like I was hit with a double whammy.
Incidentally, a yakubyogami is said to haunt her workplace, and it is supposedly the source of abnormal
surges in complaints. Is it possible that the yokai hadn’t gone the way of the dinosaurs? I was afraid — ifyokai could blend so naturally into everyday life, what’s stopping them from attacking?

For a while after that, there were no particularly alarming movements made by the yokai, and I
became more willing to accept their existence, so long as they stuck to the shadows. Then, in April 2020,
they were back. While Japan struggled against the COVID-19 pandemic, one yokai made a spectacular
debut. I’m talking about the amabie. Even in these strange and uncertain times, I’d neverheard of a ghost or monster being showered with high praises. I shuddered to think that
this was another example of Japan’s infamous Galapagos syndrome.
Unlike their foreign brethren who find themselves at a dead end, Japan’s yokai
had a truly innovative survival strategy. There must be other yokai that have choseneven more clever means of survival that I’m simply not aware of. Even as thephysical sciences keep advancing, Japan’s yokai will probably continue to live
robustly by exquisitely altering their forms and modes of life. Geez… how much vitality
do you yokai have?
— Emma Steiner 4/4/22
NPO Saijo International Exchange Association (SIEA): 164-1 Akeyashiki New Bldg. 2F, Saijo, Ehime 〒793-8601
TEL:(0897)56-5151 EXT:2292 FAX:(0897)52-1386 E-mail: info@saijo-iea.jp URL: http://www.saijo-iea.jp/

4International Relations SAIJOInternational Relations INFOSIEA has its own
YouTube channel!

https://www.youtube.com/
channel/UCmaXEqVbFPYyuZuWhjwfHHQ

SIEA-Tube
SIEA now has its own YouTube channel: 西条市国際交流協会!
With COVID-19 still looming and the future of inperson events up in the air, SIEA started uploading
event videos starting from last year. We’re planningon uploading other videos too, so please checkthem out! Give us a like and subscribe!
TIA-Thanks in advance.

【Location】 Saijo City Welfare Center【Eligibility】 City Residents, Commuters, and SIEA Members
People able to attend at least 70% of the classes【Fees】 6,000 yen (4,000 yen for SIEA members) ※Textbook fees not included.
【Term Length】 Jun. 2022 - Jan. 2023 (15 total classes, 3 times/mo.)【Date and Time】〇Elementary Wed. 7 pm - 8 pm
〇Intermediate Wed. 8 pm - 9 pm
【Application Period】 5/6 (Fri.) ～ 5/20 (Fri.)【Contact Info】 Saijo International Exchange Association

Want to Learn
Chinese?

TEL: (0897)56-5151 EXT:2292※This is not a professional course. It may be changed to an online format at any time.

We’re taking
event
suggestions for2022-2023!

★ I want an English business e-mail lecture!
★I want to hold a Bhutanese cooking class!

★I want to talk about world heritage sites!
...and so on!
Tell us about international exchange events you want to attend or hold!
Ideas are also welcome! Let’s make this year’s events a blast!

Eligibility: SIEA Members (Groups/Individuals/Students)
Description：Int’l exchange event suggestions in Saijo
Procedure：Please consult us via telephone or e-mail!
Editorial
Note

Here’s to another fruitful year for SIEA!

International Relations SAIJO
Staff:
Readable inMinoru Tokumasu
Full Color!
KondoFNPO Saijo International Exchange Association (SIEA): 164-1 Akeyashiki New Bldg. 2F, Saijo, Ehime 〒793-8601
TEL:(0897)56-5151 EXT:2292 FAX:(0897)52-1386 E-mail: info@saijo-iea.jp URL: http://www.saijo-iea.jp/