issue 15

iJapanese Newsletter
25th August 2014

道 Do – the way of art form
There are some traditional Japanese arts such as "柔道"(Judo), "剣道"(Kendo), "茶道"(Sado), "華道"(Kado), and you can see a Chinesecharacter "道" in them, that literally means ‘the way’.
(“道“ pronounced like ‘Dough’.)
In Japanese culture,
many activities are
considered a “way of”
art form, for example,“茶道“(sado) means tea ceremony andWay of Tea, or “剣道"(Kendo) is Japanese
fencing, Way of the Sword.
However, “道”(Do) doesn’t just indicate‘the way of doing’ or ‘sporting’, it also
includes the philosophical and correct
moral discipline intrinsic to it - ‘what ahuman should be’.
Therefore, “道”(Do) is the fundamental
system of thought and skill. It is also theprimary principles of the entire body andskills that constitute an art. These arerelated to a manner forming an attitude
towards one’s life.
Here is some Japanese arts with ‘Do’SHODO (Calligraphy; the Way of Writing)
Shodo, Japanese calligraphy, is a
specialised art using a brush and black ink
to write Japanese characters, Kanji andHiragana. In its simplest understanding,calligraphy is the art of writing beautifully.
However, this method of writing beautifully
also mirrors a philosophical truth in humanliving.
SADO (Tea Ceremony; the Way of Tea)
The activity involving the ceremonial
preparation and presentation of matcha, apowdered green tea. The simple everyday
acts of building a fire, boiling water, serving
tea, and receiving it with gratitude forms
the basis of this discipline.

JUDO (the Way of Flexibility)
Being one of the martial arts; Judo teaches
the principle of flexibility in the applicationof technique. This is the flexible andefficient use of balance, leverage, andmovement in the performance of Judo.
The ultimate goal in Judo is to leverage
oneself to the maximum extent possible;
always striving for perfection so that you
can contribute something of value to theworld.
KENDO (Fencing; theWay of the Sword)
Kendo is a dynamic,
life-long activity,
based on traditional
Japaneseswordsmanship, thetechniques of the two-handed sword of
the samurai that encourages both physicaland mental development.
The concept of Kendo is to discipline thehuman character through the applicationof the principles of the Katana (sword).
‘Start with a bow and end with a bow’ isalso important for all of the arts, which liesat the heart of Japanese daily life.
Not only the arts, but this is a highly
philosophically mind set.
武士道 Bushido (Way of the Warrior), thecode of conduct of the samurai class ofJapan. Bushido made the basis of ethicaltraining for the hierarchy of society, withthe emperor replacing the feudal lord, asobjects of loyalty and sacrifice.

T
22nd Sep - 6th Dec E( 11 weeks )RM4Term 4INFO

Public Holiday Replacement

We all love our holidays but welove our Japanese classes more.
Please see below for replacement
dates.

*Tuesday Class
4th Nov

9th Dec

LanguageExchange
Meeting& Dinner

Saturday 20th Sep
Language Exchange Meeting
Time : 4:00pm - 6:00pm
Place : iJapanese
Cost : $5
Dinner Party
Time :
Place :
Cost :

Let’s enjoy a fun evening of
language exchange andJapanese cuisine!

Therefore Japanese society these days
sometime use ‘do’ when they have a‘strong commitment’ to something, such as“ゲーム道” Geemu do (the way ofcomputer game) or “サポート道” Sapooto
do (the way of support) which is used forcustomer service.
Would you be doing “日本語道“Nihongo do(the way of Japanese language)?

By Noriko

RSVP: 12th Sep

iJapanese Newsletter issue 15

Page 2 of 4Student from iJapaneseCarl and Jeannette Stevenson san
We are retired
grandparents,
travelling theworld andplaying golf.
This year wetravelledaround theworld in 81
days, visiting 13 countries. Our first stop was Japan, as it often
is. We have visited Japan 6 times in the last 7 years, always
spending at least a week in Nagoya, where our son Ryan lives
with his family and works for Toyota.
Our first trip to Japan to visit Ryan was in 2007, during cherry
blossom time. We made good use of a Japan Rail Pass taking
shinkansens to Osaka, (Kyoto and Nara), Hiroshima, Himeji,Kamakura, Hakone and Tokyo. During our 2009 trip we climbed
Fuji-san (Carl reached the icy summit but Jeannette couldn’t
manage the last 100 metres). During that trip we also went toNagasaki and Fukuoka on Kyushu. The memorials at Hiroshimaand Nagasaki were very touching and left a huge impressionon us. Another fascinating town was Takayama, inland fromNagoya. It is so easy to get around on the buses and trains inJapan and lots of lovely historical sites to visit.

Japanese in his speech at the wedding in August of that year.
The Japanese guests were appreciative of his efforts.
Lots of our family joined us in our travels around Japan thatyear. August in Japan is hot and humid so it was great to go
into the mountains on the Alpine Route and trips to Shirakawago, Matsumoto and the Nakasendo way. It was like travellingback in time at Shirakawa-go and along the Nakasendo way.
In 2012 our main reason for continuing to study Japanese wasborn – a beautiful grandson named Kai. So we had to go andmeet him! Then we had to return for his first birthday in 2013and his second birthday this year (although we were a bitearly). He’s been attending Kumon Japanese classes since
before he turned one, and his language learning is much
faster than ours.
Our trips to Japan may soon be
unnecessary, as Ryan, Tsukasa andKai will be moving back to Australia tolive later this year, but our reason forlearning Japanese continues withgrandchildren learning Japanese as
their first language.

2011 was a big year as Ryan married a Japanese girl, Tsukasa,
and we started learning Japanese. Carl used his rudimentary

HONNE or TATEMAE ?
Have you thought about Japanese people and theircharacters? Have you had a doubt as to what they aresaying?
For example, when you are speaking to a Japanese person,
they often say ‘sugoi!!’(awesome) and ‘kawaii!!’(cute) toeverything. Do you think they say it sincerely?
I would like to write about the Japanese spirit and hopefully
you will understand why they speak in this manner.
和 (WA)
Harmony‘Wa’, which is one of the concepts of making Japanesementality, represents the idea of respecting and accepting
other people’s thoughts and feelings. In human relationships,‘wa’ is considered to exist when you decide to be in harmony
with others. However, today, ‘wa’ is sometimes criticized as
preventing the development of individuality and independent
thought.
本音・建前 (HONNE・TATEMAE)
True feelings and the public face
‘Honne’ is one’s true inner feelings or desires and ‘tatemae’ isthe behavior or opinion that one shows in public in

consideration of other people. It is said that the Japanesevalue ‘tatemae’ is more than ‘honne’. Based on the conceptof ‘wa’, Japanese try not to hurt or anger others by telling‘honne’.
I hope now you may understand Japanese people better, andof these two spirits, we do not usually say negative things.
However it doesn’t mean that we do not have our opinion ortell lies to you. Overall, we would prefer to keep good
harmony with people around us and to people we know.
Now I can see some of youmay have doubt if sensee
speaks to you with HONNE orTATEMAE :PBy Ayano

www.iJapanese.com.auPage 3 of 4

Kisai heading off to Japan
Coming to Australia for the first time in August 2012, I spokevery little English, and had no friends or family around.
In working alongside the wonderful staff and students atiJapanese, I have never regretted my decision to come toAustralia. I found my family at iJapanese.

It is not a goodbye but see you later!
I will be going back to Osaka for a while. If any of you happen
to visit Japan, make sure you slip in Osaka in your itinerary. If
you do, please contact me and I will bring you to eat exotic
local foods. :)As a teacher, there was nothing that could give me moresatisfaction than knowing the students have succeeded in not
only conversing in Japanese, but also understanding theculture.

ありがとうごさいました。
またすぐにあいましょう！！

Kisai

Your achievement is reward for all your hard work anddedication that you put in, drawing a smile on our faces.
Learning is not only about hard work, it is also about having fun
and a genuine desire to improve. Above all, it is about making
many mistakes, which is how we all learn effectively.
Never be afraid of making mistakes. The more mistakes you
make, the better you will become.
I have enjoyed my journey and endeavour to do so during mystay here.
It has been an experience to remember and an eye-opener
where I have learnt so much more than I initially thought.
I have become a more confident, understanding and relaxed
person; all thanks to you.
I will never forget these fantastic experiences.

[June 2014]

However, after a wonderful and unforgettable 2 years, it is now
time for me to leave Australia as you may already know.
I would like to thank Phil, Noriko-san, Ayano-san and mostimportantly the students that I have met throughout theseyears.

[End of Year BBQ 2012][End of Term 2 Party 2013]

数独

Thank you Kisai san, we look forward toseeing you again very shortly!

SudokuTry this Sudoku and exercise your brain !

Place a Number in the empty boxes in such a way thateach row across, each column down and each 9-box
square contains all of the numbers from one to nine.
Solution Page 4

www.iJapanese.com.au

Page 4 of 4

3 Interesting Aspects of Japanese Culture
Japan…… some say it's a unique place, a place to find theunexpected. A place that creates, invents and refines. Japanis a place full of history and culture like no other. It’s where thenew meets the old, a country so entangled with technology
and traditions that it creates a very diverse culture. However it
can be misunderstood by those unfamiliar with the east.
See below for an array of interesting, yet perhaps the moststrangest aspects of the Japanese culture.
Hikikomori
Have you heard the term “Hermit”? ‘Hikikomori’ is Japans
version of the hermit but completely withdrawn from society.
They live within the confines of their own bedrooms, not evenspeaking with family members. Known contributing factors tothis reclusive behaviour is the Internet, the academic pressuresof success and parents who allow this continuing way of life. In
some cases they can be stricken with mental illnesses such as
depression and agoraphobia. Psychiatrists refer to theseyoung teens as “The Missing Millions”.
Nonimication
Nominication is a combination of ‘nomimasu’ (to drink) andthe English word ‘communication’, the common practice ofgoing out to drink with your colleagues or clients after work.

We know that Japanese culture prides its self on a strong work
ethic, yet behind the scenes, beyond the confines of the officecorporate, relationships are forged over a bottle of Sake ortwo. These drinking sessions are fundamental cultural building
blocks of the Japanese business model, and perhaps explains
why the perpetuating stereotype “the stumbling businessman”,
continues to find a place in Japanese corporate culture.
Yaeba
Beware of the blood sucking‘Yaebas’ in Japan! Without adoubt, we all strive to haveeven and perfectly straight
teeth, however, ‘Yaeba’translates into “vampire tooth”
to create a crowed
appearance, popular withyoung woman of Japan. Here I
was worrying about my teeth
all this time! Just smile, I say.

By Phillip

Onigiri - Rice Ball
Sushi is very popular in Australia and you can buy sushi rolls anywhere, but what about Onigiri?
おにぎり(onigiri) is a rice ball made from plain steamed rice formed into triangular or oval shapes and often wrapped in nori(seaweed). An onigiri is filled with umeboshi (pickled plum), shio-jake (salted salmon), katsuobushi (bonito flake), tarako (saltedcod egg), or any other salty or sour ingredients.
Japanese people eat onigiri for lunch or snacks and can be home made but you can also buy them at convenience stores orsuper markets in Japan.
It is hard to find onigiri in Melborune, so why don't you try making it yourself!
Ingredients
 4 cups of cooked rice. (short grain rice) Nori (seaweed)
 Salt Fillings. (Any! Of various types such as; pickled plum, Bonita
flakes with soy sauce, cooked salty cod roe, or canned
tuna with mayo.)
Method
1. Prepare your rice. It must be warm/hot.
2. Wet your hands, sprinkle with salt and take a handful of rice(not too much) make a little dent in the rice and put in someof the filling (again not too much).

3. Work quickly and wrap the rice around the filling, and getshaping. To make the triangular shape you just cut your hands
sharply to make each corner, keep going till you get the shape
you want.
4. Wrap the rice ball with some nori.
[Youtube]
How to make onigiri
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=9EoQS2BjeKwuSuudok
独数Answer:iJapanese Language & Culture School
Suite 3 Mezzanine Level, 257 Collins Street
0401 886 629
Info@ijapanese.com.au