25th March 2013
issue 9iJapanese Newsletter

Published by iJapanese Language & Culture School

WE AREMOVING !
From Term 2 onwards,
beginning on 8th of April
Our school will be located at

Suite 3, Mezzanine level
Emirate House
257 Collins Street.
Between Swanston and Elizabeth St

Term 2 Info
Start Date : 8th April
Finish Date : 22nd June
Public Holidays replacement:*Monday Class
10th June (Queen’s Birthday)→24th June
*Thursday Class
25th April (Anzac day)→ 27th June
In order to organise our newterm schedule we ask that you
please confirm your next termscheduling with your teacher.
If you have any questions regarding
the above dates please contact us.
Contact Details: 0401 886 629
info@ijapanese.com.au

Japanese Table Manners -お箸 (Ohashi) Chopsticks
Enjoying a variety of food is one of the most exciting things to do when visiting Japan.
However, you might be little nervous about Japanese table manners. You may find it
helpful to remember some basic dining etiquettes.
How to use chopsticks is the mostimportant thing to know about Japanesetable manners since chopsticks are usedto eat most kinds of Japanese foods.
Chopsticks were introduced to Japan from
China in the Nara period and were firstused by aristocrats.
Though many other East Asian countries
use chopsticks, Japan is the only one touse them traditionally, and without aspoon.
It is not easy to use chopsticks perfectly
even for Japanese people and they taketheir chopsticks seriously. So knowing
these few basic rules will get you thought
most formal evening without
embarrassment.
There are some taboos when using
chopsticks in Japan commonlyreferred to as ‘Kirai bashi’.
1. Tsuki bashi, Sashi bashi :Sticking 2 chopsticks into yourfood. Especially into a bowl of rice, whichis called ‘Hotoke bashi’ the way to offer
dead spirit some rice during the Buddhist
funerary ceremony.
2. Awase bashi: Passing food directlyfrom your chopsticks toanother’s chopsticks.
Transferring directly is how
bones are passed as part ofa Japanese funeral rite.

End of Term 1 Event 2013
Please come along and join us for the end of term event.
Let’s enjoy home made Japanese food!
We also appreciated any students
volunteering to help provide food :) !
All students are welcome to bring friends!

DATE : Saturday 6th April
TIME : 4:00pm - 6:00pm
PLACE : iJapanese
COST : $10 (BYO)
RSVP : 1st April

3. Jika bashi: Foods taken directly from
common dishes with your chopsticks,
rather than using the chopsticks provided.
4. Yose bashi: Pulling dishes closer withyour chopsticks.
5. Sashi bashi : Pointing at people orobjects with chopsticks.
6. Tataki bashi: Making a noise by striking
dishes with chopsticks. It is believed thiswill draw gaki ( little hungry ghost) to yourtable.
7. Neburi bashi: Licking your chopsticks.
Ever thought about your other hand which
is not holding chopsticks? You should beholding your plate, otherwise place it on
the table and remember it is rude to put
your elbows on the table as well.
Japanese people say traditional phrases
before and after meals. Before starting to
eat we say "itadakimasu" ("I’m gratefullyto receive") and after finishing eating theysay "gochisosama (deshita)" ("Thank you
for the meal"). It is an important etiquetteto say these phrases when you are invitedfor a meal or someone has cooked foryou.
If you follow these few basic tablemanners you will be able to enjoy asuccessful meal with Japanese people!

Page 2 of 4

Try cooking
Japanese food!

ChickenMayo Pon
Serves 4
Ingredient:2 pieces Chicken (breast or thigh)salt and pepper
A 1 tbs sake (rice wine)
1 tbs soy sauce
2-3 tbs potato starch
3 tbs mayonnaise
20g thinly sliced spring onion
2 tbs ponzu sauce(soy sauce containing citrus
juice or vinegar)
Method:1. Cut chicken into bite-size pieces.
Marinade with A for 10mins. Coat itwith potato starch.
(using a plastic bag makes it easier)
2. Put 2tbs mayonnaise into pan.
When it has melted, add thechicken.
3. Cook until golden brown (Do notmove or flip too often)
4. Turn the heat down and put a lid
on until cooked.
5. Add 1tbs mayonnaise, ponzu andspring onion, mix and serve
immediately.

iJapanese Newsletter
Student’s Story - Catherine Watts
こんにちは！私はCatherineです。
(Hello! My name is Catherine.)
I am 22 years old and currently studying
my Bachelor of Early Childhood Studies atMonash University.
I first learnt about Japan and their culture
when I watched ‘Sailor Moon’ anime as achild. When I was older I began to learn
more and my interest grew. I fell in lovewith a Japanese band called KAT-TUNand I wanted to understand them more.
I have many friends and I was inspired tolearn Japanese and travel to Japan.

They took me to eat
traditional Japanesefood such as Sushi,
Shabu Shabu and Miso
Soup, which wasdelicious! Whilst I wasin Japan I also loved tovisit many temples andcastles. Nagoya Castle and Kinkakuji,
Temple of the Golden Pavillion in Kyoto,were my favourite. Shopping in Shibuyaand Harajuku were also some of myfavourite things to do in Tokyo!

I was able to go to Japan for the first time
last year. I first went in March and thenagain in June. In March I went toKAT-TUN concerts, where I loved theatmosphere and energy of the Japanesefans. The fans made fan-shaped signs
called an Uchiwa, where they write
special messages to their favourite singer,
which I thought was unique. When I wasin Japan in June I was able to stay withmy Japanese friend and her family inOsaka. I was able to see how a typicalJapanese family lived and learnt somelocal knowledge about Osaka.

At iJapanese, I love the environment
within the classes. The relationshipbetween my peers and teacher isfantastic. Not only do I get to learn andpractice speaking Japanese, but I also geta taste of Japanese culture. I even tried
Natto in one of my classes! Although I am
still a beginner, through the classes atiJapanese, I have become more confident
in speaking and interacting with Japanesepeople. It is my goal to be able to hold agood conversation with my Japanesefriends and maybe even work in Japan
one day!

From Nana ななよりKonnichiwa!! My name is Nana Morizono. I taught Japanese at iJapanese Language & Culture School during January.
I enjoy teaching classes very much and I like iJapanese very much.
Noriko sensei, Phillip san and all the students at iJapanese welcomed me warmly. I felt very happy and comfortable to spend
my time at school.
Teaching Japanese was fun but challenging for me and I am glad when my students enjoy my classes!
Though I stayed in Melbourne for only 3 and half months, I consider it to be my second home. Its nature, weather and food wasgreat!
What I was most happy about was getting to know many kinds of people. Learning andunderstanding cultural differences help me to broaden my horizons.
My home-stay family (one of my friends family) were very kind and always treated me likeone of their own family members. I got to experience a summer Christmas with them andenjoyed gourmet foods for the first time.
Now I live in Fukuoka which is located in southern Japan, famous for ramen (noodle soup).
I hope I can see you all again in the near future. Arigatou gozaimasu!!!!!

Nana sensee was only with us for a very short time. She was a great help and we wish her all the bestin her future endeavors.

iJapanese Newsletter

Page 3 of 4

From Phillip - Three types of beers in Japan?!
This summer we had a continues stream of hot weather. There is nothing better than an icy cold beer on a hot day!!
ビール (Beer) is also very popular alcoholic drink in Japan.
According to research in 2010, beer consumption in Japanwas 5,850,500 litters for the year; the 7th highest
consumption in the world.
Beer was introduced by the Dutch in the early 17th century
during the Edo Period. In 1853 it is said that beer was firsttested-brewed in Japan by Koumin Kawamoto, a doctor ofDutch medicine - by following a description in a Dutch book.
Japanese have been making beer since the 1870s and in theearly 1900s, beer became more popular. This is when thefour major Japanese breweries – Sapporo, Asahi, Suntory
and Kirin – emerged.
In Japan they have a strict
beer tax and divides it into
3 categories based on thepercentage of malt inalcohol. If there is 67%
malt the government defines this as beer.
So Japanese brewery companies ‘invented’ a lower malt
level called ‘発泡酒’ happoosu (sparkling alcoholic drink) soto avoid the tax and provide the people with enjoyablecheaper ‘beer’.
Since it was produced in 1994, the happoshu has been very
popular and started taking over the shelves instead of yournormal beer.
Then what happened? Alcohol tax revenue in Japan
dramatically decreased and Japanese governmentchanged the beer tax conditions in 1996 which happoushu’scategory then become the same as beer.
Brewery companies did not give up. They developed a new
type of happoshu that could provide much cheaper beer
once again.
It is a cat-and-mouse game between the government andbeer companies. Japanese government changed the beer
taxation system in 2004 once again, resulting in brewerycompanies switching development to a new products.
Beer flavoured alcohol, not categorised as happoshu’ is now
know as ‘第3のビール’ dai san no biiru (third beer).
Therefore the differences of the price of beers
is not because the companies use cheaperingredients but because of the difference in tax.
The reason there are 3 types of beers in Japan is
because of fighting alcohol tax between government andcompanies!
In 2009, the four major brewers also began to releasenon-alcoholic beer due to stricter driving laws.
This has also becoming popular. (In Japan if you drink evenone drop of alcohol, you cannot drive at all.)
But wait! Do you want to drink ‘non-alcoholic’ alcohol?
How do you enjoy your beer? The feeling of alcohol or thetaste of beer? Well, if I am not supposed to drink, I’d rather
choose a soft drink.

sen’aIf you have been to Japan, you must have heard ‘Sumimasen’ lots of times.
mimuS‘
源
Not surprisingly it has four meanings and all very useful to use in a number
fo
語
niのg」
of situations.
Ori
せん
ま「すみMeanings are... 1. Excuse me.
2. Pardon?
3. Sorry.
4. Thank you.
But did you know the origin of the word ‘Sumimasen’?
The word ‘Sumimasen’ comes from the verb ‘sumu’ and ‘sumimasen’ is a polite negative form of it.
It can be written with Kanji ‘済む‘.The word is the same root as the Kanji ‘澄む’(sumu), and this means
unclouded’ and ‘clear’. So ‘済む’ means ‘to be ended’ and also means ‘calm down’ and ‘feel better’.
‘Sumimasen’ is the negative form so it represents… ‘It has not finished yet’ ‘My feeling is not clear’.
Therefore when you apologize to someone and use ‘sumimasen’, it represents ‘If this goes on I cannot have aclear conscience because I was rude to you or I am troublesome to you.’
When you use ‘sumimasen’ for appreciation, it means ‘I am sorry to not return a favour to you so I cannot beeven-minded.’iJapanese Newsletter
From Kisai

Page 4 of 4

きさいよりKonkatsu is a Japanese term for 'marriage hunting'. It isderived from kekkon (marriage) and katsudo (activity) and it
is definitely a different meaning from Tonkatsu.
So, what actually is Konkatsu? It is a very popular activity
among Japanese who are ready to tie the knot and are in thesearch for their Mr or Mrs Right. These 'marriage-ready'Japanese are usually involved in different konkatsu activitiessuch as parties, cooking classes, golf lessons and manyothers for a chance to get a glimpse and introduction to theopposite sex. What makes it easy right now is konkatsu
activities have gone online. There are many marriage
arrangement companies which act as hosts in setting up
various activities and meetings based on members’
requirements and characteristics. The more interesting thingis, these activities are usually grouped based on various
criteria requests. The most commonly requested groups arebased on occupation, salary level, educational backgroundand physical characteristics.

In Phil’s article about beer
consumption, Australia
consumes 1,794,000 littersper year. That doesn’t soundlike much, but actual
consumption of beer perperson is 83.4 litter bycontrast to 45.4 litters inJapan!

From Noriko

The range of konkatsu activities to find the perfect spouse isever-widening considering the average marriage and fertility
rates have been falling, hitting an all-time low since mid
1970s.
Many singles prefer to leave it up to fate to find a life partner,in particular men, which are known as Soushoku danshi. The
existence of the “herbivore” men is mainly due to fear of
responsibility for today’s financial pressures in marriages.
They prefer to enjoy their time with friends or family whileneglecting the importance of romance or marriage. This has
resulted in the evolution of Nikushoku joshi, “carnivorous”
women to balance the romance world. These women are
more active and aggressive in searching for romance andrelationships.
Therefore, if you are at a critical marriage-ready age andare looking for Mr or Mrs Right, don’t deny yourself of any
chance of konkatsu. Cupid angels are searching for you.

のりこより

One year ago we made a decision toswitch the textbook from ‘Minna no
Nihonogo’ to ‘Genki’.
‘Minna no Nihonogo’ is the most popularand widely used textbook in the world forJapanese Study.
On the other hand, ‘Genki’ is adopted by

Statistic
According to 2010 statistics from
the Ministry of Health, Labour andWelfare, the average age tomarry for the first time for men is
at 30.5 years and for women
28.8 years.
Compare to statistics in 1995, formen was 28.5 years and for
women 25.9 years and in 1980
for men was 28.5 years and for
women 25.9 years.
The age of first getting married in2010 is higher than 2 years formen and 2.9 years for women,higher than 30 years ago.
In Australia the median age atfirst marriage in 2011 was 29.7
years for males and 28.0 years
for females.

major universities in Australia as theirmain textbook for delivery of Japanese
courses.

comes with an audio CD to help you.
Textbooks are only one of many materials
to help you study, the most important
thing is to be able to use the language invarious situations by using what you havelearnt.
Practice! Practice! Practice!
Talk! Talk! Talk!

We believe ‘Genki’ is more suitable forour students because of English grammar
explanation, various exercises and evenThanks ご挨拶
Thank you all for learning with us at iJapanese. We are excited to be relocating
iJapanese to a popular and more convenient area of the CBD.
We wish you all a safe and sound Easter holiday !!!
iJapanese Language & Culture School
Suite 3, Mezzanine floor
257 Collins Street
0401 886 629
Info@ijapanese.com.au
www.ijapanese.com.au