The Bamboo Shoots
A local newsletter quarterly issued

Yamato Takada Lismore Sister City Association, Nara, Japan
Spring Issue, 2012

No.155
Contact :Takada Sister City Association

TEL: 0745-22-1101
http://www.city.
yamatotakada.nara.jp/

We do hope The Bamboo Shoots born out of the soil of Yamato-Takada will grow up and act as a go-between for the citizens in Lismore and in Yamato-Takada.

Australia’s Flowers[State Flower ofNew South Wales: Waratah][Australia’s National Flower: Golden Wattle]

The Golden Wattles, the national flower of Australia,
are very similar to the Sakura blossoms in Japan.
When the flowers begin to bloom, Australians realizethat spring is come. The pattern of the flower is used as
the national crest. In the sport world the yellow color of
the Wattle petals and the green color of the leaves arealso used as the traditional colors for the uniforms ofthe national teams of Australia.
Spring is ushered in by the coming out of Jacaranda.
This flower is called “Purple-colored cherry blossoms”
by Japanese living in Australia.

[National team uniform of soccer][State Symbol of Australia][Mr. Nagaoka’s demonstration ]After the general meeting of Yamato-Takada Sister
City Association on April 17 all of the participants
enjoyed the interesting and instructive talks about thevariety of Australian flowers and also the wonderfuldemonstrations of flower arrangement by a Japanese
guest who is familiar with Australian flowers.
The following is the explanation by the guest named
Mr. Junichi Nagaoka, the first-class flower decorator inJapan.
Among the Australian flowers there are some kinds offlowers with curious leaves and shapely branches,
which are unknown to Japanese. Most of theAustralian flowers have unaffected scents and colors.
In Autumn many flowers, which are often used as
dried flowers, are imported to Japan. Taking someflowers for example they are Rice Flower, Craspedia,
Wax Flower, and so on. Gentians, which are autumn
flowers in Japan, are to arrive in Japan in spring as an
attempt, due to the differences of the seasons between
Australia and Japan. All the flowers are sent to Japanby air and it usually takes the flowers three clear days
to appear at flower shops in Japan.

[Rice Flower ][Craspedia ][Koala fern ][Banksia ][Avenue of Jacaranda in full bloom][Eucalyptus ]Annular Solar Eclipse
On the morning of May 21
the annular solar eclipse could beobserved all over Japan, especiallyalong the Pacific Ocean. The sunw a s h i d d e n b y th e mo o n a n d
the golden ring around the sun was clearly seen.

[Wax Flower ]In Takada the beautiful golden ring could be seen for
only 2 to 4 minutes around half past 7 o’clock in themorning. The eclipse was expected to begin just at thetime of commuting and of attending school, so some ofthe schools decided to change the opening time. InNara prefecture it was observed after an interval of
282 years since the year of 1730. It will be observed in2095, 83 years later.

Revisit to Yamato Takada
This year I have made my second trip to Japan, I love
this country it is so beautiful and the people are verykind. I have been staying with the Kameda family
who I stayed with when I came with the Lismore Sister
City program. The Kamedas have been very kind tome again. They have taken me to many large andfamous temples and shrines in the Nara prefecture.
It’s hard to decide which temple was my favorite, Ienjoyed them all very much, the architecture isamazing.
When we went to Todaiji Temple we tried to feed thedeer some senbei, but there were so many tourists, thatthe deer were all full and none of them want our senbei.
We had to walk around a bit before we found some thatwere hungry.
During my stay I have tried a small selection ofJapanese foods, like mochi. Mochi is very delicious andsticky, I enjoyed it very much and would like to eat alot more.

by Rosemary Murphy

The Kamedas have been kind enough to take me totwo onsens during my stay. They were very refreshingand calming. I liked the outside ones best where they
had music playing and you could just sit and enjoy theatmosphere. The baths with the herbs were nice too,the smell was wonderful.
We went to a strawberry farm which had an all you
can eat buffet, where you walk up and down thegreenhouse picking and eating whichever you want forhalf an hour. The strawberries in this areas are thebest!
At the house we have been playing many games,such as Mario, Pokemon and some card games.
All in all I have enjoyed my time in Yamato Takada
very much, and as a last note I would like to say that
all the Sakura were very, very, VERY beautiful.

Happy 10 days with Rosemary
Rosemary, who stayed at our home as an exchange
student before, came to see us after an interval of 3 years.
She visited the Todai-ji Temple and Nara Park withme and my parents. We went to a hot spring andenjoyed picking strawberries there. She had a lot of fun
picking strawberries because they are her favorite fruit.
She told us that they found no hot springs in Australia
and that they never played strawberry-picking.
We held “Takoyaki Party” at home as she liked Takoyakior octopus flitters very much. She seemed to enjoy
takoyaki turning tako-balls around one by one on theplate. After she tried to do the takoyaki several times,
she became good at baking them.
April 23 is my birthday, so my parents held a birthday
party for me on that day. Rosemary and Mom cooked
the dishes for me. Rosemary gave me a gift. It was a
picture of Pokemon (an animation) together with aframe for photos. She embroidered the picture byherself, which I was fond of. I was very happy.
She taught me English and we played cards andvarious kinds of games.
I hope she will come to see us again some day. ( R．K )I was very surprised to know that Rosemary, who
visited us again in 3 years, had become better atJapanese. She left our home 3 years ago saying, “I will
never fail to come and see you…” I guess she tried her
best to speak Japanese better because she did want tovisit Japan again. I was very impressed with her efforts.
Due to her good Japanese we could communicate withher very well this time.
During her stay in Japan she paid a visit to Tokyo,
Kyoto, Hiroshima and Nara and back to Tokyo again,
and she enjoyed her trip to the fullest. She made astopover in Yamato Takada and without forgetting she
visited us. We were very happy to have spent 10 dayswith her.
I do wish that the student exchange project between
Lismore and Takada will be more and more fruitful.
( N．K )

Place of Interest in Yamato Takada City (11)MIROKU-JI TEMPLE

at Dongo ：Tradition says that Miroku-ji, a temple situated to thenorthwest of Takada, was founded between 1532 and1554 as the temple of the Dongos. The detailed history

has not been obvious yet. The main hall, the campanile(a kind of bell tower) and the Kuri (a kind of templehouse), all of which were built in the Edo period, still
remain there as they are.
The Main Hall of the temple,
in which the seated figure ofMiroku (a future Buddha)
is to be niched, is now underrepair.

MIROKU BUDDHA SEATED FIGURE
designated as National Important Cultural Property
It was newly decided thatMiroku Budda Seated Figure

seen at Dongo in Takada city
be designated as a National
Important Cultural Property.
In terms of ‘national
important cultural property’
this is the second case inTakada next to the Main
Te m p l e o f F u d o - i n .
Miroku Buddha Seated Figure is the image of Buddhaof Miroku-ji temple. The statue is a large sized one.
The main part of it is 147 cm tall and almost the wholebody including its legs is made of only one hardwood.
The good figure of statue full of bodily beauty with afull bust remains grave and dignified, and its roundish,peaceful face and the lines of its clothes as well tell usthat it is dated to about the end of 10th century or toabout the beginning of 11th century.
Among the works of statues of the period it is said to berare to find that the tracery patterns are carved on its
earlobes and that the expression is used that the lines
on the knees are gathered up and reaches its ankles.

The Haloes and the pedestals were added to the statuein the Edo period and its surface was also lacquered inthat period, though there was not so much adaptation
to it. The whole bodies are in good condition now.
In Nara prefecture there remain many old-styled
images of Buddha by wood carving used only one wood,and the Miroku Buddha Seated Figure niched in
Miroku-ji temple has come to be highly appreciated in
the history of sculpture as a spectacular among a few
great works of Miroku Buddha statues.
Miroku Budda seated figure is kept at the Tokyo
National Museum until the end of May, and then it isto be exhibited at the Nara National Museum in which
it is deposited at a time. However, it is now discussed
whether or not it should be held for a several years in acertain special institution in Kyoto in order to repair it.
It is regrettable to say that the original figure cannot
be appreciated now, but it can be said that Takada city
has another heritage she can make a boast of.

School Introduction: UKIANA-NISHI (municipal) Elementary School[English lessons by an Australian teacher]

The school district, behind which Mt. Katsuragi rises,
covers a residential area located in the northwest partof the Nara Basin, that is, it is situated in the southernpart of Yamato Takada City. The school cerebrated the30th anniversary of its foundation last year, and it is
the latest school founded in Takada. 366 pupils (180boys, 186 girls), all of whom are very obedient andfriendly as well, learn there eagerly and cheerfully.
They exchange morning greetings warmly and there
are many who take an active part in the schoolcleaning every day, so the corridors are all clean
because pupils wipe the floors with their damp cloths
very hard.
The playground is the largest (11,680 ㎡) of all in thecity. They play naturally and actively there, doing ballgames, walking on stilts, unicycling, playing tag and soon. Twice a month the school has a special time called“Golden Time” at lunch break for the pupils to play morein the playground. Happily the pupils have 40 minutes then.

The time is longer than usual by 20 minutes, so they
are able to play to the fullest. They are looking forward
to enjoying the happy time.
Taking an event in autumn for example, the school
holds “A Baked Sweet Potato Meeting” as the whole
school assembly. In May pupils plow a field for sweet
potatoes at a corner of the playground and in autumn
they bake them in burned chaff piled up a mountain ofhulls. After that they enjoy eating baked sweet potatoes
all together. At the assembly they invite volunteers inthe school area who helped them with their work likemaking rows of sweet potatoes and who took care ofthem about seed beds and manure or fertilizer, andthey enjoy various games with the volunteers and also
they enjoy the sweet potato contest with them.
The volunteers help pupils with their English
learning and they watch them on their way to school inthe morning every day.
The volunteers’ cooperation or support in many ways
with the school enables the pupils to spend their happydays in a variety of activities.

Grandparents Day
Grandparents Day is celebrated as part of National
Seniors Week. The last day of term one, the 5th April,saw Dunoon Public School holding Grandparents Day.
Students were encouraged to invite their grandparents
to the school for a concert and morning tea. The parents
provide the morning tea. We have two grandchildren
attending the school so have attended the special
function for the last few years.The children performed
an impressive display of songs as well as playing themarimbas, an instrument which plays a big part inDunoon School’s music program. Each year a delegationof students attend the Sydney Opera House and theEntertainment Centre to play the marimbas in concert.

Relay for Life

[Mayor (left) in the event]

Relay for Life Lismore and Surrounding Villages washeld on the 28th April. It is a major fundraiser for theCancer Council.
Lismore managed to raise $116,000. People registerand commit to raising funds for Cancer research by walking
from 3pm on the Saturday til 9am on the Sundaymorning. It is very popular for survivors and carers ofpeople with cancer as well as ones who have lost a family
member or friend to cancer. This years message washope both for the survivors as well as a cure for thefuture. Lismore had a huge effort put in by 100 teams
consisting of about 1,000 people. Cancer fundraising isongoing, later in May many will contribute toAustralia’s Biggest Morning Tea.
Colleen Virtue

What we would like to do in Lismore
The following 5 students were selected to be theexchange students delegated this year by Takada city.
The 5 senior high school students are going to visit
Lismore, Australia, for 14 days from July 25 throughAugust 7, being accompanied by Ms. Hiroko Yokoi, anEnglish teacher at Katashio junior high school.
【 Ms. Hiroko Yokoi, English teacher 】

I’m honored to have this opportunity tosupport them since I always dreamed ofstaying abroad same as they do when
I was their age. I want them to enjoy
cultural differences between Australia
and Japan and I hope they can discover their possibilities
through this project. I will do my best as much as I can.

【 Ms. Mizuki Akai 】

I would like to talk with local people inLismore as much as possible to learn
about Australia a lot. I am sure it will beof great use for my future life. Of course
I will try to tell people in Lismore not only how wonderful
Japan is, but also how nice a place Takada City is.

【 Ms. Honoka Oshikawa 】

I would like to talk with as many people
in Lismore as possible to learn how
important it is for us to join up witheach other in everything and also I
want to know how precious it is to understand each other.
As an exchange student I hope various experience I gain
there will be very helpful in my future life.

News of DeathAll of a sudden sorrowful news came to us that Mr.
Hirohiko Ikeuchi (age 79), the ex-president and present【 Ms. Miduho Hirami 】

Before everything else I would like tounderstand a variety of differences between
Japan and Australia. And at the same time
I want to enjoy learning some differences inLismore. I really hope that I will be able to tell Lismore
citizens about some of the wonderful points of Japan I
love very much.

【 Ms. Kayo Yamano 】

I would like to learn what we call natural
English, which I’ve had no opportunity touse. By using it, if possible, I want to telllocal people in Lismore how lovely it is tosay, “Itadaki-masu” or “Gochisou-sama” before or after
each meal. I want to tell them that these Japanese words
have wonderful meanings in them.

【 Ms. Mana Yamano 】

I would like to deepen the friendshipbetween Lismore and our city Takada. SoI must learn manners and customs of local
people as well as their culture. I want toactively understand them much better. I also want to tellthem the beauty of the Japanese own characters throughcalligraphy. I hope they will be interested in it.
advisor of the Yamato-Takada Sister City Association,passed away on May 7. During his lifetime he exerted
himself to promote goodwill between Takada and Lismore.
All the members of the Association were genuinely
grieved at the loss of him. We sincerely pray our lastrespects to him.