issue 22

iJapanese Newsletter

13th June 2016

HANABI - Japanese Fireworks
We can see fireworks on special occasions such as New Year’s or national holidays,
concerts or entertainment events in Australia.

TERM 2 EVENT

While in Japan, Firework shows (Hanabi
taikai) is a seasonal tradition and held
mainly during summer in July, August and
September. More than 5,000 fireworks
evens are held throughout the country
during that time every year. The display offireworks in the night sky is one thathighlights the Japanese summer.
The firework shows themselves typicallystart from after sunset and last for one totwo hours. You can see many types often
ending with a grand finale consisting of
hundreds of shells launched simultaneously.
The fleeting moments of beauty never failto captivate the crowds.
Usually 5,000 -10,000 shells are lunched ateach firework event. The biggest is in
Nagano Suwa Lake that has beenreported to launch 40,000 shells in thenight.
Food stalls crammed side by side on thestreets, people arrive dressed in yukata(cotton kimono) soaking up the relaxed
and playful atmosphere of the traditional
summer festivals.
The big fireworks at the events is called‘Uchiage Hababi (fireworks display)’, on
the other hand small stick fireworks are

DATE:
TIME:
PLACE:COST:
n evening ofLet’s enjoy a fue!
Japanese cuisin

called ‘Temochi hanabi (hand-held firework,
sparklers)’.
Unlike Australia, temochi hababi is legal in
Japan and you can buy them everywhere,
such as convenience stores, supermarket,
even 100yen shops during the summer
season. They cost around 1,000yen ($10).
Letting off the small
fireworks with yourfamily and friends isjust as much asymbol of summer inJapan as the big
displays. People
enjoy the temochi
hanabi in theirbackyards, on beaches and at camping
sites, especially for kids, it is quite a high-lightduring summer.
Firework for Japanese people is probably thesame feeling as ‘sakura (cherry blossoms)’ in
spring, the sense of beauty of Japanesetraditions.

By NorikoiJapanese Newsletter issue 22

Page 2 of 4Student from iJapanese
Zarina Pooley sanFirst time I went to Japan in 2006 to conduct media research.
Back then I was 24 and single. I did not speak a single word ofJapanese. I was quite nervous thinking how I would get aroundand do my research just with English. But I started getting help
from Japanese people as soon as I landed in Narita airport.
A man approached me and offered his phone to use it when
he saw me struggling to use the phone booth to call myparents back home (My plane was delayed for 24 hours and I
wanted to let my parents know that I was ok). That man
became the best friend of my family since then. His name isNakamura-san.
Nakamura san and his family helped me enormously during mytime in Japan. I could write a book about Nakamura san andhis family; the warmest, hospitable, friendly and welcoming
people on earth.
Everybody in Japan is tourist friendly. The country has a long
history, great culture and delicious food. It is so different to therest of the world.
This is the culture where people respect each other; givechange to customers with both hands, constantly bow,
apologise, do not psychologically push customers to buy items
in stores, talk quietly, help tourists to find their address and getaround in the country. Japanese people are very polite andcaring. This is the country where looting does not happen
during chaos and no queue jumpers in the society.
During my first visit, Nakamura-san showed me the Edomuseum. It is in Tokyo and a place to go if you want to see
how Japanese people lived in old times.
Everything in Japan is amazing. Apartment rooms are smaller
comparing to other countries' apartments. Remember, theisland has more than 127 million people. And it needs to fit us,
the coming tourists, and its growing population. But at thesame time everything in apartments is so practical, functionaland built smartly. I loved their little bath tubs which is the half
size of the western bath tubs, but it is deep and cute. Their
toilets are fantastic. The seat is always heated. You can doyour “business” while listening to Zen or classical music. It also
washes you after you finish using their toilet.

I stayed in Tokyo for more than amonth and left it making bestfriends and memories.
After I got married, Japan has
become our favourite
destination. Or we got married
since both of us had a common
interest-Japan. Now we visit it forskiing, for sakura, for seeing shows, sumo- festivals, for going to
Moi dix Mois' concert and/or just to see “kawaii” things.
One of my favourite places is Kyoto which is full of history andtemples. The golden Zen Buddist Temple is impressive. It’s
located among green trees next to the pond. It is quite andrefreshing. The golden temple creates reflection on the pond
when the sun shines.
I love Japan's railways, starting from their train station music,
taking Shinkansen (bullet trains) to a different town, taking theircute lunch sushi, tempura boxes away and eating them on the
train.
I love their noodles especially slurping. Slurping noodles inJapan means you like the chef's food, so it is ok to slurp unlike
in other countries.
Oh and the Ginza area, Takashimaya
stores! The best thing to do forwomen. The shopping! I like whensales assistants don't bother you trying
to be helpful or pushy. They do let you
browse in the store and do not
approach you unless you ask for help.
Once you buy, they hand yourmoney/card back to you with both
hands bowing nearly “90 degrees”
and carry your goods until the door
for you. That's customer service!

I’m back! Kisai
Hi everyone, long time no see! Hisashiburi. My name is Kisai and I previously worked at
iJapanese as a teacher back in 2013 and 2014. I then went back to Osaka for my wedding in2015 before coming back to Melbourne in January this year.
I am glad to be back in Melbourne to see iJapanese has grown with so many new students
while most of the previous students remained.
For those who do not know me well, here's a little bit of an introduction about me. I have beenteaching Japanese for about 7 years. I taught in Korea for two fun years before coming toAustralia. In Australia, I worked at MacRobertson Girls High School as a Language Other Than
English (LOTE) assistant and most memorable one was working at iJapanese.
I also like Japanese culture like anime, manga and dramas which I'm keen to share with you all.
So if you have any questions about anything, please feel free to ask me. I am looking forward
to meeting and sharing good experiences with you all.

www.iJapanese.com.au

Page 3 of 4

MUJI’s largest product – HOME!
For MUJI fans, one place that can not be missed when
visiting Tokyo must be Yurakucho, where the world’s largest
MUJI emporium is located. Since MUJI’s start in 1980, thenumber of products has grown from 40 to 7,500, and all ofthem can be found at Yurakucho. Amongst numerous MUJI
stores all over the world, what is special with this one is that,
there are models of the largest products of MUJI here, that is,“MUJI’s home”(無印良品の家).
“Wooden home(木の家)” is introduced in

2004, designed byarchitect Kazuhiko
Nanba, professor ofTokyo university. The
design considered 20
different sizes of
constructing and 80
different ways to
Wooden home 木の家
segment the area. As
the first type of “MUJI
home”, wooden home is mainly designed for countryside.

designed in a simple
shape, which makes
them work like frames tocapture the view
outside.
Introduced in April 2014,“Vertical house(縦の家)” isparticularly designed fornarrow city spaces that
Window home 窓の家
are difficult to utilize. In
order to proficiently use
the limited yet expensive land of modern cities, vertical houseaims to make use of spaces “in the air”. Since Japanesehouses are normally not highly built,
this idea is really innovating, as
MUJI’s promotion: “誰もみたことのない家です.” (A household that nobody
has ever seen before.)“Window’s home(窓の家)” is introduced in 2007, design ofarchitect Kengo Kuma, also professor from Tokyo university.
Compared with wooden home, window’s home is smaller insize, as it is mainly designed for city areas. As the name is, thishouse’s design features on its window. Windows are

Vertical home 縦の家

By Yueeie

New teacher – Keiko Arita
Hajimemashite. My name is Keiko Arita and I am from Osaka.
Osaka people are famous for being friendly and having a great sense of humour. In that Osaka spirit, I
would like to share my top 3 favourite things about Japan with you. They are Japanese History, theShiba Inu and Arashi.
Japanese History – There is so much history in Japan. I could write about it for days! Have you heard of
Sakamoto Ryoma? He was the key in overthrowing the Tokugawa Shogunate during the Bakumatsu
period in Japan. He united Japan into a single country and changed the world! I am inspired to thinkthat one person had such an influence over the future of a country. Unfortunately, he was attacked
and murdered in an inn when he was only 31 years old. If you ever visit Kyoto, there are many
interesting places of historical significance related to Sakamoto Ryoma’s life and achievements.
Shiba Inu – Much Doge. What makes the Shiba Inu different from other dogs is their independent nature, intelligence and curly tail.
Do you walk your dog without a lead? You can’t do this with a Shiba Inu, they always need to be kept on a lead or you will spend
the next hour trying to catch your Shiba unless he/she decides you can put their lead back on. They have two coats, during
summer the outer coat will shed and in winter it will grow back. I own 2 Shiba Inus. When I take them walking they are often
confused for foxes or dingos which makes me think the Shiba Inu breed is not very common in Australia.
Arashi – I saved the best for last! Arashi translates to ‘Storm’ and is the name of a popular boy band in Japan. It is made up of 5
members that can sing, dance and act. It is nearly impossible to buy tickets to their concerts in Japan, you need to join a special
fan club and be randomly selected to even have a chance of buying a ticket. In Japan they currently host a variety show every
Saturday night. They also had a program called ‘Vs Arashi’ in which they would team up with the Arashi team against anotherpopular Japanese team (usually another band, a TV show cast or comedians) to compete in some crazy challenges. ‘Vs Arashi’was shown on SBS, you may even find clips on YouTube.
I am really excited to be joining the team at iJapanese and I look forward to meeting you all. If you see me at school, feel free tocome and speak with me about my top 3 (or anything else about Japan).

www.iJapanese.com.au

Page 4 of 4

Japanese family style
How long do you spend time with your family?
Japanese families have changed a great deal in the past few decades; they tend to be large, extended families, housing many
generations under the one roof. Majority of modern families are straying from this tradition, opting for much smaller families.
When I was a child, I used to watch an anime named “Chibi Maruko Chan”(1990 - present). The main character is a 9 year old
girl whose name is “Momoko Sakura”. She is called “Chibi Maruko Chan” since “Chibi” is Japaneseslang meaning “small child” and “Chan” is a title referred to as small girl. She lives with her parents,
grandparents and her older sister in Shizuoka. This anime portrays the simple things in their lives; it isvery funny and enjoyable to watch.
Maruko is a primary school student raised in relatively poor family of six. She is lazy anddisorganised. She tries to avoid doing homework and chores. She loves reading comics instead of
doing her homework, but she has a kindness to people and animals.
Maruko has dinner with her family every evening. They talk about what they did during the day.
Although their conversation is nothing special, their attentiveness to listen to each other is
comforting and interesting.
Chibi Maruko chan

Atashinchi“Atashinchi”(2002 - 2009) was also a popular anime in Japan. “Atashinchi” means ‘myhome’. This anime is about an outrageous misadventures family with a housewife, herhusband, and their two kids Yuusuke and Mikan. This stands for nuclear family. The wacky
humor of this weird family daily life is what made it a success.
The main character prides herself on a clean home, a balanced budget, and tasty meals.
She is also a very strict mother to her two children and tries to have them waste lessmoney, electricity and food. She is always thinking about her family, worrying about her
children and also her husband.

Although Japanese family structure is changing, I think the most important thing is to have a good relationshipwith your family, think about them and try making conversation. Whenever I watch both of these animes,
I miss my family. Please watch and remember to talk with your family.

By Tomoe

Yamaguchi - The Center of Politics
Do you know who the prime minister of Japan is, now?
His name is Shinzo Abe who is the youngest prime minister (52years old) after the war. He is from YAMAGUCHI! Actually eightprevious prime ministers were from Yamaguchi making it thehighest amongst all other places in Japan.
The first prime minister was also from Yamaguchi. His name isHirofumi Ito who became prime minister four times in his life
(1855, 1892, 1898, 1900). He used to be a samurai in Choshu(Yamaguchi was Choshu and Suoh in the past) and studied
under Shoin Yoshida (1830-1859) who was the main person of
Meiji ishin (Meiji Restoration1868 - 1912).
Samurais in the Edo period became stronger then the Emperor
thus acquiring political power (Tokugawa Shogunate 1603 1867). However Shoin Yoshida respected the Emperor andattempted to give political power back. We call this “Meiji
Ishin”.
Hagi city in Yamaguchi was developed by Terumoto Moori as
the political center of Choshu over 250 years during Tokugawa
Shogunate. Then it became the important base for great
historical significance, Meiji Ishin.

It was believed because Choshu had well-developed
education, military affairs and economy.
So probably no wonder there are so many Japanesestatesmen and Prime Ministers born and brought up in this city?

If you ever plan to visit Hagi enjoy the amazing Samurai
architecture, learn about the samurai history, make Hagi-yaki(Hagi pottery) while you enjoy eating Natsumikan (Orange),
and after all that enjoy a relaxing onsen!!

By Mihono

iJapanese Language & Culture School
Suite 3 Mezzanine Level, 257 Collins Street
0401 886 629
Info@ijapanese.com.au