awa life
A monthly newsletter for international residents of Tokushima, produced
by TOPIA, the Tokushima Prefectural International Exchange Association.

journey through joruritokushima was once a
wealthy province, and it
has the puppets to prove
it. Awa (as Tokushima wasthen known) prospered from
salt, indigo, sugar and tobacco
shipped out from its river andsea ports. According to Mr.
Matsushita of the Matsushige
Town History and Folk Museum( 松 茂 町 歴 史 民 俗 資 料 館 ),this affluence nurtured a richmerchant class who dabbled
in arts like shamisen andclassic narration, often hosting
puppet troupes from Awaji
Island that toured along the
Yoshino River and the coast.
Makeshift outdoor stages
were constructed just for theoccasion, and larger puppets
were used compared to theintimate Bunraku Theater.
Awa Ningyo Joruri 阿 波 人
形 浄 瑠 璃 , as the traditional
puppet theater is called,
combines the dexterity of
t h re e p u p p e t e e r s fo r e a c hcharacter, the tayu 太 夫 whonarrates and voices all parts,"TOPPY"
November 2009 No. 232
by lance kitaoyumi (right) is torn between giri (obligation) and ninjo (feelings) as she sends off
her daughter in the climactic scene of keisei awa no naruto, act VIII

and the shamisen 三味線 player
whose musical accompaniment
provides dramatic flourishes
and sound effects. Matsushige's
museum provides a brief yet
thorough display of puppetrelated materials collectedby Mr. Nichio Nakanishi, andprovides a basic overview of thesubject.
Though over 100 plays exist,
the most popular is the tragic

Keisei Awa no Naruto「 傾 城 阿
波 の 鳴 門 」of which Act VIII is
most commonly performed. A
samurai named Jurobei and hiswife Oyumi leave their young
daughter and search for his
master's stolen sword. In the
famous scene, the daughter
Otsuru, now a young pilgrim,
unknowingly visits her fugitiveparents' Osaka house. Oyumi,
in a heart-wrenching moral

wander-ful tabi - journey through joruri ... con't on page 5

inside awa life this monthwanderful tabi - journey through joruri - 1, 5 ... life of a foreign wife - 3
money, money, money - 4 ... loanwords in japanese - 6 ... martin's manga corner - 7
daily disaster preparations/ letter from suketo hoikuen - 8
japanese lesson - 9 ... memoranda - 10, 11, 12

awalife

Tokushima Prefectural International
Exchange Association (TOPIA)
Clement Plaza 6F
1-61 Terashima Honcho Nishi
Tokushima City 770-0831 JAPAN
Tel: 088-656-3303
Fax: 088-652-0616
topia@topia.ne.jp
www.topia.ne.jp

is a monthly publication of the Tokushima Prefectural International Exchange Association (TOPIA).
Editors:
Andrew Dahms & Mario Dammann
Contributors This Month:
Andrew Dahms, Mario Dammann, Anja Hankel,
Kazue Inoue, Laura Kawaguchi, Lance Kita,
Yoshimo Morita, Martin O'Brien, Fusa Tamaki,
and the Tokushima Prefectural Disaster Center.

Download a PDF ﬁle of awa life or view theonline version by going to TOPIA's website!
www.topia.ne.jp/e_index.htm

from the editoras they say, time flies like an arrow, andhere we are again with only one month
until the end of the year. But speaking oftime ﬂying, did you know that the English
and Japanese versions of this well-known saying
are almost exactly the same? In Japanese, it
is 光陰矢のごとし , or kouin, ya no gotoshi.
The term was created by a Chinese poet in theT'ang Dynasty (618-907) and later came to
Japan where it gained popularity during the Edo
Era. The first two characters of the Japanese
adaptation, 'light' and 'shadow', are said torepresent the sun and moon, and therefore thepassage of time. The last half can be translated
simply as 'like an arrow' and is construed as awarning that since the passage of time is quick
like an arrow, it should not be wasted.

And there really is no time to waste as thismonth we have an interesting assortment ofarticles. Lance Kita writes to us about one ofTokushima's traditional performing arts while
Laura Kawaguchi of the Association for Foreign
Wifes of Japanese sends us a satirical piece
about the life of a foreign wife, and Yoshimi
Morita provides us with the winning speech
for this year's Prefectural Senior High School
English Competition. Also, German CIR Anja
Hankel provides us with a quick look at thehistory of loan words in the Japanese language
in what will become an ongoing series exploring
the origins of some well-known terms fromabroad. For now, happy reading and I hope you
make the best of this November.
Cheers, Andrew

matsushige folk history museum/awa puppet museum displays the puppet-related collection of
mr. nichio nakanishi (photo by lance kita)-2-

life of a foreign wifeireally must explain how
lucky I am in my daily life
here, for I do feel blessedthat my husband can tie his
own topknot and wrap his own
obi.
I am also not expected towake before him, although
there was one time when thisalmost changed... I remember
the incident fondly though, forit was the one and only time I
had jewels in my crown - thecrown of my head bumped
into his honourable family
jewels when I woke with astart at the very moment hewas stepping over my headas I was sleeping on the matin the entrance way! As aresult of this folly, I spent theremainder of the morning
standing in the garden, metal
pails filled with water in eachhand while contemplating
my carelessness. But as I
stood there, I noticed two
crows jumping about in thepersimmon tree; a sight which
moved me to compose a haiku.
While waiting for my turnto eat, I am fortunate enoughto be able to pursue my own
hobbies. I enjoy cooking,but preparing the five-course
meals each evening can betedious. My favourite meals areon the evenings my husband's
mistress comes to dine she is a modern lady whowears Western clothes! Sheinsists upon a simple tea withcucumber finger-sandwiches,
and the colours of her red
painted fingernails contrastingwith the white and light greenof the sandwiches inspire me
to yet more haiku.
My husband is kind enoughto remove the slivers fromby laura kawaguchi

the author and shikoku representative for the association for foreign wives ofjapanese, laura kawaguchi

my fingers which I get fromchopping wood to heat thebath; I suspect that he has
selﬁsh motives for this because
he often scolds me for having
rough hands which tickle andprick when I give him his footmassages.
I do become annoyed when
he asks me to clean his ears,
for he always chooses themost inopportune moments forme to do this, like when I'm
scaling fish. Oh well, it does
give me time to let my mind
wander and stringing together
seasonal expressions for haiku.
And I muse over how
fortunate I am in this life andfor all of the freedoms I do
have (at least that's what myhusband tells me).
My husband does take aninterest in my work by asking
questions concerning it suchas, "Why don't you hurry up
a n d s c r u b my b a c k ? " a n d"How come there are carrots
shaped like cherry blossoms-3-

in my stew when they shouldlook like maple leaves? Haven't
you enough sense to knowwhat season it is?" (Thattime I quickly deep fried his
favourite white fish to makeup for my insolence, and hesoon returned to affectionately
calling me "the thing in theback of the house that smellsof bran".)As I pull in our rickshaw
this generous man (whotook in a barbarian reekingof butter) to and from his
business appointments, mychest selfishly fills with pride,for I am witness and wife to
but one of the human cogs inthis great machine that is ournation.

Laura Kawaguchi is the
Shikoku Representative for the
Association for Foreign Wivesof Japanese. You can find out
more about the organisationfrom their website: www.afwj.
org/money, money, moneyw

hat do you think themost important thingin your life is ?"Each of you have a
different answer, don’t you?
For example, some may
answer love, friendship, ork i n d n e s s . O r, o t h e r s m ay
answer family, friends, orlovers.
As for me, I had thought
it was to meet many kindsof people in the world until I
encountered a book writtenb y R i e k o S a i b a ra . I n t h ebook, she says that the mostimportant thing in our life is'money'. Of course we needmoney to live in the world,
everybody knows this. But
I was astonished because
her idea was so realistic, so
practical. Since then, in mymind, I've constantly asked
myself, "How can money bemore important than love or
family in our lives?" I thought
about it every day, "Money,
money, money…"
Of course now I live
without worrying about money
because my parents support
me. But in a few years, I
will have to support myself
without their help. So I have aquestion for you. How can we
make money?
When I asked my friends,
one of them said, "Buy lottery
tickets." Another friend said,"Marry a rich man." Hey!
Think seriously, friends! It is
unrealistic to dream of making
a fortune in one scoop. The
lottery is always disappointing,
isn't it? And you can't depend
on husband's salary, especiallyin today’s economy. Do you
agree with me?
Ms. Saibara was born into avery poor family. Unfortunately,

by yoshimi morita

yoshimi morita (center) with the other prize-winners of the 2009 prefectural
senior high school english competition

her father died of alcoholism
because of his poverty. Her
father in law committed
suicide because of big debts.
Her mother struggled very
hard to support her family.
Through her unhappy
childhood experiences ofpoverty, Ms.Saibara realized
the importance of money.
She found that people should
work and earn money bythemselves. They should notdepend on others. And that's
why her philosophy became"working is living".
I've never known poverty
like that. But I do know about
working hard. I belong to amusical school. We produce
and perform an original work
every year and a lot of people
come to see our performances.
It's very hard work. Four years
ago, I played the lead in a playabout bullying. Afterwards
an older woman told me myperformance gave her courage
to live and thanked me verymuch. My performance madea deep impression on her. It
made me very happy to makeher happy.
My mother has also read
-4-

Saibara's book and we havetalked about "Working" and"Money." One day, my mothersaid to me in Japanese, "towork is 'hataraku'". 'Hata'
means 'the people around us','raku' means 'comfortable'.
So 'hataraku' means 'to
make people around us
comfortable'."Then an idea ﬂashed in mymind! I’ve got it! I can work to
make money and at the sametime I can work to make otherpeople happy! So, I could
work as a member of UNICEF
to help the needy in theworld, or I could be a dancer
in Broadway or Las Vegas toentertain audiences! I could
also do service like helping
older people. I will be working,making money, and making
people happy. This way I cankill three birds with one stone!
While we need to makemoney by working, the goal is
to live a happy life. But in theend, it is the work we do forthat life that will last and beshared.
Thank you for listening.

wander-ful tabi - journey through joruri ... con't from page 1
dilemma, keeps her dangerous
past anonymous and sends
Otsuru off.
I recently watched a daily
performance of this drama
at the Awa Jurobei House 阿
波 十 郎 兵 衛 屋 敷 , the former
residence of an superintendent
named Bando Jurobei, who was
executed in 1698 for illegally
stockpiling rice on behalf ofthe province. Despite popularbelief, this person is unrelated
to the drama, though his namemay have been borrowed by
the playwright. The performers
on that day were local citizens
in a group called Otani Asahi
Gennojo 大 谷 旭 源 之 丞 , whohave perpetuated ningyo joruri
since the 1800s. According
to the house's tour guide,
each rural town and village
had a community group
who performed on festive
occasions.
Puppet makers like thelegendary Tenguhisa 天 狗 久(Tenguya Hisakichi) carved thewooden heads and assembled
the puppet's intricate
inner workings. For a lively
demonstration of the craft, Mr.
Tada Kenji runs his private Awa
Deko Ningyo Kaikan 阿 波 木 偶
人 形 会 館 with an astounding
variety of puppets on display(including a three meter ogre!)and entertains guests from allover the world.
The group performs at the
Jurobei House because theirdistrict no longer has a nosonbutai 農村舞台 , or rural stage.
Only a few working ones exist.
Inugai Stage 犬 飼 農 村 舞 台 ,in the mountainous southernoutskirts of Tokushima City,
sits on the precincts of Go-o
Shrine 五王神社 surrounded bytall cedars. Who knew that the

Matsushige Town History and Folk Museum/
Joruri Puppet Museum
松茂町歴史民俗資料館・人形浄瑠璃芝居資料館
joruri.jp (Japanese only)
Awa Deko Ningyo Puppet Museum
阿波木偶人形会館
www3.tcn.ne.jp/~awadekoningyokk/ (Japanese only)
Inugai Rural Farmhouse Stage
犬飼農村舞台Annual performance on Nov. 3 (Culture Day)
Excellent bilingual reference book (Japanese/English)
A Bilingual Introduction to the Puppet Theater ofTokushima「日英対訳 阿波の人形浄瑠璃」(published in 1995 by Shikoku University's Awa no Bunka
Kenkyukai)
unpainted wooden structure
would reveal a complex arrayof walkways, pulleys, andkarakuri fusuma, decorated
panels that swivel on its
corners to change scenery. Mr.
Go-o of the local association
explained that these stages
entertained generations offarmers, whose lucrative indigo
or tobacco trade allowed forsome leisure time. One canimagine villagers having apicnic on the grass clearing infront while watching a play bytorchlight or oil lamps.
I couldn't help noticing thescattered leaves and branches
at the back of the playhouse.
M r. G o - o h q u i p s t h a t t h e
20th century brought radio
and television, and shrines
no longer were the center ofattention. Only a handful ofvolunteers maintain the stage,
and one yearly performanceis all they can muster withthe government arts subsidy
they receive. Asahi Gennojo
almost folded when theirleader passed away in 1988,
but decided to pull together-5-

in 1999 and keep their local
tradition alive.
Last month was Ningyo
Joruri Month, with over 100
performances at venues
a l l o v e r To k u s h i m a , l i k e
Matsushige's museum, the Awa
Jurobei House, and nosonbutai in the Naka-gun region.
In addition to Keisei Awa no
Naruto, new plays have beendeveloped and collaborative
projects with jazz, rock, andalternative singer UA bringa fresh perspective to theart. As I watched Okinawan
singer Koja Misako narrate
the sad tale of young Chiruu,
the puppet dies in her arms
and is cradled by her as she
sings a lullaby. Not a dry eye
was left in the theater. Just
wood and string and brocade,the puppet conveyed emotion
transcending human acting.
Though the former glory ofTokushima may have faded
into history, a Ningyo Joruri
p e r fo r m a n c e i s w o r t h t h eglimpse into that past.

loanwords in japanesethe Japanese language is
one of the languages in theworld that uses remarkably
m a ny w o r d s b o r r o w e dfrom another one. Nearly 10%of the Japanese words havetheir origin in a European
language. The reason for thatlies in Japan's history and its(interrupted) exchange withforeign countries.
The first flood of foreign
words came to Japan in the
5th and 6th century when it
actively interchanged with the
Chinese mainland. At that time
many words from Chinese,
Korean and Sanskrit wereborrowed.
Japan's exchange with
European countries started
with the landing of a Portugese
ship at Tanegashima in 1542,
followed by the Spanish andthe Dutch. Until 1639, Japan
predominantly made exchangewith Portugese missionaries
and merchants. This is why
many Portugese words arestill used in Japanese today,
e.g. pan - パ ン , from thePortugese word pão ('bread'),botan - ボ タ ン , from thePortugese word botão
('button') or tempura - テ ン
プ ラ , from the Latin word
tempora ('period of fasting').

During Japan's 200 years
o f s e l f- i m p o s e d i s o l a t i o nfrom the 17th to the 19th
century, foreign words could
hardly find their way into
the Japanese language. This
policy, called sakoku, statedthat no foreigner could enternor could any Japanese
leave the country. The only
influence permitted was the
Dutch trading post at Dejima
in Nagasaki. Trade with foreigncountries was made only in
Dutch, and that's why many
Dutch words are still used inJapanese even today (e.g.
kōhī - コ ー ヒ from the Dutch
word kofﬁe, means 'coffee').
After Japan was forced
to revive trade with foreigncountries under the pressureof western delegations in thelatter half of the 19th century,
its interchange with othercountries increased and so thesecond flood of foreign words
came to Japan. Especiallyduring the turn of the century,
when Japan was eager tolearn from western countries,
many German words wereborrowed, namely from thefields of medicine, philosophy,
e.g. geshutaruto - ゲ シ ュ タ
ルト ('ﬁgure') or idē - イデー('idea'), judiciaries and alpine

by anja hankel

sports, e.g. shutaikuaizen シュタイクアイゼン 'climbing
iron' or ēderuwaisu - エ ー
デ ル ワ イ ス ('edelweiss').
But also words from the ﬁelds
of politics, economics andtechnology were borrowed.
Those new words were needed
to name the new things andtechniques adequately.
From the middle of the
19th century until the 20th
century the Japanese medicine
oriented itself to the German
medicine so that this field
was swarmed with German
terms and vocabulary. For
example, medical reports werecompletely written in German
and many of the words usedin this time are still used, e.g.
karute - カ ル テ ('medical
report'), essen - エッセン ('toeat lunch').
Fo r e i g n w o r d s u s e d i nJapanese are still increasing
constantly, whereupon English
words are by far the mostof them (80% of the foreign
words used in Japanese havetheir origin in English, 5% in
French and 3% in German).
But although there are not asmuch German words used inJapanese than English ones,
they are an inherent part of it.
But see for yourself!

German Loan Words in Japanese - Part 1
Most of the words that have been borrowed from German and are now used in Japanese canbe attributed to a speciﬁc topic, for example medicine, philosophy, alpine sports, music, foods
etc. Some are also used in different contexts. To begin with, let's have a look at some culinaryinteresting things:
For example one of the most popular pastries in Japan is the so called バ ウ ム ク ー ヘ ン Baumkuchen. The Baumkuchen is a kind of layered cake. So, when cut, it reveals thecharacteristic golden rings that give it its German name, Baumkuchen, which literally translates
to 'tree cake'. It was ﬁrst introduced to Japan by a German WWI prisoner of war Karl Joseph
Wilhelm Juchheim in 1919. Today it is a popular return present in Japan for wedding guests
because of its' ring form.
-6-martin's manga corner
Title:
Manga-ka:
Publisher:First published:
No of volumes:iPluto ( プルートウ )Naoki Urasawa
Shogakkokan
2003
8n recent editions of Martin's
M a n g a C o r n e r, I h a v ereviewed comics by Tezuka
Osamu (Blackjack) andNaoki Urasawa (Billy Bat). This
month's issue is essentially areview between what is a kindof collaborative work between
these two renowned manga
authors. Truth be told thismonth's manga Pluto is moreof a homage to Osamu's most
famous work Astro Boy.
"Pluto" is set in the near
future where men and robots
live in apparent harmony. It'sa detective story set amid
a futuristic techno-thriller
backdrop. In this world, robotict e c h n o l o g y h a s a d va n c e dto the stage where Artificial
Intelligence (AI) has beenrealised, allowing robots tofulfill various tasks along withhuman beings. The dawn of A.I
has also lead to the emergenceof what one might describe
as celebrity robots that are
famous throughout the world
because of their unique traits
and their achievements. In thisrespect people live in harmony
with robots and many people
have grown to love them andform an emotional connection
with their lives as they would
do with fellow humans.
In the story a German
Interpol detective Gesicht(also a robot) is investigating
the death of Mont Blanc, aSwiss robot who has involved
himself in protecting theenvironment and promoting

his home country as tourist
destination and also of a robot
rights activist. These murders
are followed by the murder (ormalicious destruction if youwill) of many of the world's
famous robots and roboticists.
All are found with metal bars
stabbed into their heads in agruesome mimic of the hornsof a stag. Gesicht ﬁnds out that
there is a common link between
all the victims: all weremembers of the "Bora Mission"an anti-terrorist initiative in
the Middle East where robots
and roboticist from Westerncountries were searching for
robotic technology createdby terrorists. The evidence
that Gesicht uncovers reveals
that a robot is responsible forthe deaths. In volume one,
Gesicht pays a visit to the lastrobot known to have violated
this prohibition who is heldin captivity. It is here thathe learns of the name Pluto,
seemingly an advanced robot
who becomes suspect number
one.
Amid the investigation weare introduced to the various
moral themes that inevitably
emerge in a situation where
human beings live and work
w i t h a d va n c e d r o b o t s . I n
U ra s a w a ' s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n ,robots have intelligence andfeelings and thus legal andsocial rights. Inevitably thismakes for an interestingsocial dynamic between not
only humans and robots but-7-

by martin o'brien

between the myriad of types ofrobot that have been created.
Urasawa's interpretation allows
us to see robots from a very
different perspective to that of
the original work by Osamu.
For example, we are
introduced to the robot North,
who was involved in the
Bora mission. After his role
as a military robot ended, heundertook a service role for an
aging recluse, the angry andbitter Duncan. Although North
is kind and compassionate
towards Duncan, he is treatedwith contempt and anger. Soonenough, after time Duncan
begins to see the futility andinhumanity (a loaded word inthis case) and returns North's
offers of friendship. Clearly
one c an s e e t hat l ike t heoriginal Astro Boy, Urasawa's
manga deals with the themeof social and racial tension ina subtle manner. Like in real
life, the interactions between
the characters challenge us
to examine the constrainedmanner that we can regard
other people who are from adifferent culture or background.
In this regard, Pluto is ahugely accomplished work as
it avoids the usual humans vs.
robots cliche that is prominent
in a lot of contemporary ﬁctionand explores a realistic visionof what a future with AI might
actually be like and the various
ways we might have to cometo terms with the associatedtechnological changes.
There are currently 8volumes of the manga
published to date. Urasawa
w a s a w a r d e d t h e Te z u k a
Osamu Cultural Prize in 2005
for the series.

daily disaster preparationsw

here should you
evacuate to when adisaster strikes andthe call for evacuation
is sounded? Each village, town
and city has its designatedevacuation centers. Make sure
you know them! Also, always
evacuate on foot.
It is a good idea to walkthe route to your nearest
evacuation location, as there
are many things along theway you might take note ofthat are easy to miss whiled r i v i n g . Fo r e x a m p l e , t h evending machines you see inthe streets weigh over 300kg.
If they fall over during anearthquake then they are noteasy to move, and they cancause quite a lot of damage as
well. Electric power cables are

signs such as these can be seen instreets near you to show you where toﬁnd the nearest evacuation centre

also dangerous. Avoid fallenlines at all costs. And what if
brick walls or buildings havecollapsed and make a certain
road impassable? Having asecondary route in mind isalso a good idea. Next time
you go for a walk aroundyour neighbourhood, keep anletter from suketo hoikuenhere in Japan, there
is an ever increasingawareness for subjects
such as environmental
protection and the reduction of
Co2 emissions. In our age ofplenty, it is up to us to reduce
garbage and take care of thethings we already have, andthen show our children how to
do the same.
In Japan, we have a word'mottainai' to describe times
when something is wasted,
and it is used to express thewish for things to be taken
more care of. If you are carefulin your use of things such as
tissues and water in daily life,
you will be surprised how muchyou can cut down your usage.
You can also recycle clothes
or fix broken items in yourhouse. Why not try look forthings going to waste in yourown home and try put them to
new use again together withyour children. It is important
to work together to protect ourplanet for the future.
This Month's Toy: A Natural
Mobile* When you go out for a walkor out into the mountains,
look for twigs, nuts and fallen-8-

tokushima prefectural
disaster centereye out for things that might
become important to you in atime of trouble. Here and now
should be the beginning ofyour preparations against theunthinkable.
* Identify local evacuation
shelters (a map is available
at your local municipal
ofﬁce).
* Walk out the route to them
* Keep several paths in mind.
* Look for potentially
dangerous spots along theway.
Translated with permission
from the Tokushima Prefectural
Disaster Center Homepage:a n s h i n . p re f. t o k u s h i m a . j p /normal/disaster_center/by kazue inoue
suketo hoikuen staff

leaves.
* Tie the nuts and otherleaves, etc. to the twigs withstring. You will also find it easy
to attach objects to the twig
such as the leaves by usingglue.
* If you hang the end result
from the ceiling in your
bedroom or elsewhere, you
can surround yourself withlittle pieces of nature.

japanese lessont

by fusa tamaki

his month we're going to take a look at the words「くらい・ぐらい」and「ほど」that quantify
degrees. First, try reading the ﬁve sentences below. Did you notice something about them that
seems a bit off? How can you re-word these sentences to make them sound more natural? The
words「くらい・ぐらい」have the same meaning and can be used interchangeably.
なつやす

しゅくだい

な

おお

（１） 夏休みの宿題は、泣きたかったぐらい多かった。
Iにhad
so much homeworkover
the summer holidays that I almost wanted to cry.
ほんくにちい（２） 日本は、わたしの国くらい小さくないです。
Japan
is not as small
asおなmy homecountry.
に ほん
くにあつ（３） 日本は、わたしの国と同じほど暑いです。
Japan is about
as hotごasご さん
myじhome country.
しゅう り（４） パソコンの修理は、午後３時ほどに、できあがります。
The computerrepairs
will be done
byいabout 3:00pm.
すこ
ある
つか
なん ど
（５） 少し歩いたほどで疲れたって何度も言わないでよ。
Stop keep saying you're tired after walking only just a little.

Answers and Explanations
なつやす

しゅくだい

な

に ほん

わたし

くに

に ほん

わたし

くに

おお

（１）夏休みの宿題は、泣きたいぐらい多かった。
In this sentence we want to express the amount of homework we had by using the phrase 'somuch ... I almost wanted to cry' but in this case it is common to use the present tense form「なきたいぐらい 」. しゅく
Theだいmeaning
and usageお is almost exactly the same as「 ほ ど 」such as in the
なつやすなsentence " 夏休みの宿題は、泣きたいほど多かった。"
ちい（２）日本は、私の国ほど小さくないです。
わたし くにIn this case we want to say that while Japan is small, it is not small to the same degree as「私の国」,
and so we use the form「～は～ほど～ない」instead. The form「くらい」cannot be used here.
おなあつ（３）日本は、私の国と同じくらい暑いです。
In this case, the word「ほど」is not being used to express
degree with the form「～は～ほど～な
おな
てい どい」such as in（２）and is instead used to mean「同じ程度」, meaning that the word「くらい」
should be used and「ほど」.
しゅう り

ご

ご さん じ（４）パソコンの修理は、午後３時くらいに、できあがります。
The words「くらい・ぐらい」and「ほど」can be placed
after
measurements to mean 'about that
しゅう り
さん じ かんmuch' such as in the example sentence " パソコンの修理は 3 時間（くらい／ほど）かかります。"
However, when talking about times and dates such as in（４）the correct term is「くらいに」and
not「ほど」, which cannot be used here.
すこ

ある

つか

なん ど

い

（５）少し歩いたくらいで疲れたって何度も言わないでよ。
In this case the phrase in front of「… くらい」is used to mean that something is nothing much atall. In cases like this, the word「ほど」cannot be used.

Reference:

中級日本語文法と教え方のポイント・日本語文型辞典-9-

memoranda

Awa Ningyo Joruri:
A Message to theWorld

徳島の人形芝居とパネル・
ディスカッション

Held with the theme of exploring how Awa Ningyo Joruri

外国人から見た阿波人形浄瑠璃をテーマに、海外公演のis perceived overseas, this event showcases a display of

報告や県内で活動している外国人にも参加して頂いたパ

the theater as well as a panel discussion and explanation

ネルディスカッションを実施するとともに、古典物、新of various aspects of this traditional art.

しい試みの浄瑠璃をわかりやすく分類して上演します。

When: November 21 (Saturday) and 22 (Sunday)

日時：10:00 – 17:00
Where: Awa Jurobei Yashiki,
Cost:

Tokushima City

場所：

Special free admission for foreigners (Regular

入場料： 無料（但し、阿波十郎兵衛屋敷入館料は必要）

阿波十郎兵衛屋敷
外国人の方は入館料も無料

fee: 400 yen)Info:

11 月 21 日（土）～ 11 月 22 日（日）10:00 ～ 17:00

問合せ： 阿波十郎兵衛屋敷まで

Call the Awa Jurobei Yashiki at
088-665-2202

電話 088-665-2202

The Classic
Buskers Family
Concertバスカーズのクラシックファミリー
コンサート

Come and enjoy a concert for young and old alike

この機会に、大人から子どもまで楽しめる、爆笑ありのfeaturing the amazing Michael Copley and Ian More and a

クラシックコンサートをお楽しみください！

range of classical music.
日時：

When: Saturday, November 28

14:00 ～

14:00 場所：

Where: Awagin Hall (Kyodo Bunka Kaikan),
Tickets are 2,000 yen for adults and 1,000 yen

金額：

for children. All tickets cost an additional 500

一般 2000 円、子供 1000 円。全てのチケットは
当日 500 増となります。

yen if bought on the day.
Info:

あわぎんホール、
徳島市

Tokushima City
Cost:

11 月 28 日（土）問合せ： あわぎんホールまで電話 088-622-8121

Call Awagin Hall at 088-622-8121

Japanese Lessons
at Suketo Hoikuen

助任保育園の日本語教室

When: Every Thursday

日時：11:00 - 12:00
Cost:

Free for nursery students!

Info:

Call TOPIA at

毎週木曜日
11:00 ～ 12:00

金額：

託児付き（無料）

問合せ： トピアまで

088-656-3303

電話 088-656-3303-10-

memoranda

Matsushige Culture 松茂町
文化祭
Festival
Come along to this town festival featuring an exhibition of

松茂町文化協会の会員による作品展示や芸能発表が催さ

local artwork, musical performances and more.

れます。

When: Saturday, November 14

日時：

Sunday, November 15

11 月 14 日（土）、9:00 ～ 21:00
11 月 15 日（日）、9:00 ～ 16:00

9:00 - 21:00 on Saturday and 9:00 - 16:00 on
場所：

Sunday.

松茂町広島、松茂町総合会館

Where: Matushige-cho, Hiroshima, at the Sogo Kaikan

入場料： 無料！

Cost:

Free

問合せ： 松茂町教育委員会まで

Info:

Call the Matushige Board of Education at

電話 088-699-8719

088-699-8719

Otani Pottery
Festival in Naruto

鳴門市の大谷焼窯まつりEvery year on the second weekend of November this

毎年 11 月の第 2 土・日曜日に、東林院境内で大谷焼の窯

market is held in Naruto, selling the classic Otani pottery

もとが合同で行う陶器市です。普段の２～３割引で販売

of Tokushima for up to 30% off! There are also workshops

されます。また、会場では大谷絵付け教室、盆栽展・絵and an art display.

画展なども同時に開催されます。

When: Saturday and Sunday, November 14 and 15
日時：

9:00 - 16:00
Where: Naruto City, Oasa-cho, Aza Yamada

11 月 14 日（土）11 月 15 日（日）9:00 ～ 16:00

on the grounds of Tourin-in.

場所：

鳴門市大麻町字山田東林院境内

Cost:

Free!

金額：

無料！

Info:

Call the Otani Pottery Association at

問合せ： 大谷焼陶業協会まで

088-689-0204

電話 088-689-0204

Komatsushima
Umai Mon Matsuri

こまつしまうまいもん
祭り

Come for a range of local produce and crafts on sale,

小松島市で採れた旬の農林水産物や加工品等を販売いた

including a selection of specialities from Komatsushima.

します。

When: Sunday, November 29, all day.
Where: The Komatsushima Minato Kouryu Center, 10
minutes walk from the JR Minami Komatsushima

日時：

11 月 29 日（日）、10:00 ～ 15:00

場所：

小松島市みなと交流センター
JR 南小松島駅から徒歩 10 分

Station.
Cost:

Free!

入場料： 無料！

Info:

Call the Komatsushima City Industry Promotion

問合せ： 小松島市産業振興課まで

Division at 0885-32-3809

電話 0885-32-3809-11-

memoranda
藍住町国際交流協会
I's JapaneseClasses for Foreign 2009 年度後期
Residents in Aizumi 外国人対象日本語教室
When: Every Thursday, from 19:00-20:30

時間：毎週木曜日

19：00 ～ 20：30

A.Elementary - Intermediate Course

A. 初級～中級コース、

B.Beginners - Elementary Course

B. 入門～初級コース

Courses held in weekly rotation.

隔週で開催※ 11 月の開催日

Dates for November:

11 月

5 日、19 日

初級～中級コース

Course A - 5, 19

11 月 12 日、26 日

入門～初級コース

Course B - 12, 26
場所：藍住町福祉センター２F
Where: Aizumi Fukushi Center 2F

内容：各コース 10 回

Details: Each course includes 10 lessons.

＜ A. 初級～中級コース＞

Course A

基本的な日本語を習得した方対象。

For those with basic knowledge of Japanese. The

生活に役立つ豊かな表現力を身につけます。

course will teach useful expressions for daily life.
＜ B. 入門～初級コース >Course B

日本語を初めて習う方対象。

For those with no prior knowledge of Japanese.

基本的な日本語を初歩から学習します。

The course will teach the ﬁrst steps in learning thelanguage.

講師：

I's（藍住町国際交流協会）
辻 暁子／玉田 香織

Teachers: Aizumi Town International Exchange Association

Cost:
Text:

(I's) Staff Tsuji Akiko and Tamada Kaori.

資料代：各コース￥500

Both courses have a materials fee of 500 yen.

テキスト：初級～中級コース

Course A「新日本語の中級」\2,700

Shin Nihongo no Chukyu - 2,700 yen
入門～初級コース
Course B「みんなの日本語初級Ⅰ」\2,500

Minnna no Nihongo Shokyu 1 - 2,500 yen

Counselling Service at TOPIA
トピアの相談窓口

TOPIA offers a counselling and advisory service to all foreign residents to help with issues involving accidents, working conditions, housing, visas, international marriage, and more. Counselling is available in English and Japanese.
Please note that although every effort will be made, we may not be able to deal with all cases.
Monday to Friday, 10:00 - 16:30
Tel. 088-656-3303 or 088-656-3320 (allows three-way conversations with an interpreter)

受け止めていますか人権の重み-12-