#275

july 2013
shinobu watarimoraes' museum on the top of mt. bizan (bernd luehmann)

Tokushima city has threesister cities overseas. Oneis Saginaw in Michigan,
USA, which whom wecelebrated
our50thanniversary two years ago
in 2011, The second is
Leiria in Portugal, and thethird is Dangdon, in China.
We have exchanged talent,teachers, students, friendshipand goodwill delegations,and deepened culturalexchange, mutual understanding and friendships
withmanycountries

through with these threecities.
Wenceslau de Moraes
used to be a Portugalconsul stationed in Kobe.
After his Japanese wife
Oyone died, he moved to100th anniversary of moraes’ arrival in tokushima

inside awa life this monthpage 2: TOPIA new president
page 1, page 3-4: 100th anniversary of moraes’ arrival in tokushima (con't)
page 5-6: japanese lesson; page 6-7: irene's recipe corner
page 8: a letter from suketo hoikuen
1

is a monthly publication of theTokushima Prefectural International
Exchange Association (TOPIA)

Emma Boardman & Martin Rathmann
Shinobu Watari, Bernd Luehmann, KyokoKamura, Irene Wachuga, Kazue Inoue

Clement Plaza 6F1-61 Terashima Honcho Nishi
Tokushima City 770-0831 JAPAN
tel: 088.656.3303
fax: 088.652.0616
topia@topia.ne.jp
http://www.topia.ne.jp/Download a PDF file of awa life or view theonline version by going to TOPIA's website!

TOPIA new president: katsuyoshi ebisuda
My name is Katsuyoshi Ebisuda and it has come to be that I am the new presidentof the Tokushima Prefectural International Exchange Association (TOPIA).
I am of the belief that however different our languages
and cultures may be, and no matter how frustrating
communication can sometimes seem, that on a grander
scale we are all fellow human beings and as such we all
share the same emotions. Without good command of asecond language, I often find myself holding back in thepresence of foreigners, but I believe that our sharedhuman emotions are evidence that “unspokenunderstanding”, a typically Japanese concept, isapplicable worldwide. (Although I can’t help but wonder if
things would be a little easier with some of Doraemon’s
gadgets…)

katsuyoshi ebisuda

I myself am a huge football fan, frequently watching not just the Japanese Leaguebut European games on television. The common rules of the game allow me toovercome the barriers presented by language and enjoy the world. Reality has it thatcertain situations require verbal communication, but in these trying situations I am
reassured in the knowledge that TOPIA’s talented team of staff are on hand toassist.
However you came to reside in Tokushima, I can imagine you face a multitude ofsituations which differ from your home country. I sincerely hope that TOPIA can help toturn these experiences into something fun, and assist you on your way to a productive lifein Tokushima. Please don’t hesitate to come to us with any questions, or problems you mighthave.

2

100th anniversary of moraes’ arrival
in tokushima (con't from page 1)
Tokushima, Oyone’s birthplace. While he was in
Tokushima, he wrote about
people’s lives in Tokushima,culture,customsandnature. He sent thesewritings to Portugal andEurope.
This year, 2013, is the 100th
anniversary of Moraes’
move to Tokushima andthe 470th anniversary of aJapan & Portugal treaty ofamity.
To celebrate the 100thanniversary, we have many
events this year.
May 17-24 Joao Carvalho’s
works exhibition & Readingbooks on Moraes at AwaOdori Kaikan. May 26 throughJune 26 Joao Carvalho’s
works exhibition at Moraes
Hall at Bizan. May 30 Moraes’
birthday Party.
June 28 Jose Junca deview on mt. bizan from the yoshino river (bernd luehmann)Morais (PhD) and his wife
Regine Kolinsky (PhD) also
their daughter Ava Junca
de Morais visit Kyoto. June
29 the Morais visit Kobe
Literature Hall. June 30
they will come to Tokushima.
July 1 They hold a Buddhist
Memorial Service of Moraes
at Anjuji and to visit Moraes
grave at Cho-on-ji. July 4MoraesHaiku
poem
composition meeting atAwa-gin-hall.
July 6-7 to visit places which
are closely connected withMoraes and presentationof Portuguese Cstellasponge cake and Egg
Tarutoat Awa-Odorikaikan. July 1-7 exhibitionof Moraes puppet doll andpictures drawn by children
at Awa-Odori-Kaikan. July2, 3, 5, reading on Moraes
at Awa-Odori-Kaikan. The
distribution of books “Moraesand boys” and “JapaneseSpirit” to elementary schoolsand Middle schools andLibraries.
July 27 Tokushima andKobe joint Moraes researchmeeting held in Tokushima.
The research presentationby Ms. Fumiko Kondo andMr. Kamiki “Lafcadio Hearnand Moraes”. December 1Moraes symposium cosponsor Meiji Universityand Tokushima Prefecture
held in Tokushima.

scenery from mt. bizan (bernd luehmann)

Forty years ago students
from Leiria and Bhutan andHong Kong were invited.
3

100th anniversary of moraes’ arrival
in tokushima (con't from page 1)
Ms.
MariaAlexandra
Confraria, a Leiria highschool student was invitedby Mayor Yamamoto toTokushima. I was in chargeof taking care of her, I tried
to make her life in Japan apleasant one. Maria learned
much about oriental culture
and custom.
To have Leiria students
understandJapaneseculture, I personally invited
Ms. Ines Santos and Ms.
Sara Alves in the summerof 2010, took them toOsaka, Kobe, Kyoto, Nara,Hiroshima, Miyajima, andplaces in Tokushima, Kochiand Awaji.
In January of 2011 I invited
Bhutanstudents,Ms.
Augyen Zangmo and Ms.
Sonam Choden to Osaka,Kobe, Nara, Tokushimaand Tokyo.

shinmachi river area viewed from mt. bizan (bernd luehmann)

In the summer of 2012,
Leiriastudents,Luis
Santos and Joao Ferreira,and Hong Kong student
Edward He, to Osaka,
Kobe, Kyoto, Nara, Tokyoand Tokushima.

I have been a director ofTokushima International
Association (TIA) for nearly
fifty years. I would like todeepen international relations
with many countries.

This year I have alreadysent the invitation letter toLeiria City Office for twopeople.

small buddhist figure in a tree (martin rathmann)

4japanese lessonby kyoko kamura

5japanese lessonby kyoko kamura

irene's recipe cornerby irene wachugaExotic Verrines
For this month, I thoughta trip down to the tropics
should cool us down.
Verrine is a French word
meaning small portions oflayered food served insmall glass casings.
Usually this dessert orappetizer is presented cold/
chilled. The transparency of
the glass makes for abeautiful presentation andlets you play with different
combinations of colours
and textures, and whatscreams the tropics likemango and coconut? At thesame time, pumpkin is a6

common summer
veggie and isin abundancein Japan, so
whip up somesummer fun. It
only takes afew minutes.
coconut milk/ mango pudding

Ingredients for coconut
milk / mango pudding (4-6servings):
Coconut milk (200ml),condense milk (150ml.),sugar (1 tbsp. to adjust topreferredsweetness),
powder/ gelatin (2.5g =half a packet), mangopuree(asneeded)

How to make
1. In a bowl add 1 tbsp ofwater and sprinkle thegelatin on top. Mix lightly.
Let stand for about 5
minutes.
2. In a cooking pot, add thecoconut milk, condense
milk and sugar. Put on
medium low heat until thesugar dissolves (don’t let itirene's recipe cornerby irene wachugaboil).
3. Add the warm liquid into
the gelatin and stir until
dissolved.
4. Set the bowl on top of ice
water and continue stirring
as it cools.
5. Pour into the glasses andchill. (3 hours to overnight.)
6. Meanwhile puree freshor canned mango (withoutthe liquid) and chill.
7. When the pudding sets,take out and add the mango
puree.
8. Chill until serving time.
- This can be topped withwhipped fresh cream for
extra
creaminess
andenjoy.

Ingredients for chilled
pumpkin soup (serves 4)
Pumpkin (200g, peeledand cut into chunks), water(300ml), soy milk (100150ml), Salt n pepper (totaste), fresh cream (5080ml, whipped cream),
mintleaves(optional)
How to makechilled pumpkin

1. In a pot add the
pumpkin and water andcook on medium low till
just done. (should not bemushy)
2. Puree in a blender.
3. Add the soymilk and stir
to mix.
4. Add salt n pepper(should be a lighter taste).
5. Pour into the glassesand chill.
6. Meanwhile, beat thecream fresh to soft peaks.
Pour on top of thepumpkin
andchill.
7. Serve chilled with mint

leaves on top.
8. Enjoy.

- Both of these recipes
can be made for thelactose
intolerant
bysubstituting the condense
milk with sweet soy milk.
Just add a little moresugar.
- Skip the cream fresh forthe pumpkin soup.

the green of the rain season (martin rathmann)7letter from suketo hoikuen
by kazue inoue
Inpatientinformation
released by the Tokushima
City Doctors Association, inrecent years (with theexception of the East JapanEarthquake),chokingaccounts for more accidental
deaths than traffic accidents.
Furthermore, over half ofthese are caused by foodand occur in the home.
Choking effects not only
the elderly, who’s ability toingest is reduced, but isalso a problem for young
children whose teeth are
yet to grow in, and arebusy playing with theirfood and crying. When
you’re feeding your child,be sure to take appropriate
care.
Foods which can cause
choking: Nuts, round sweets,
grapes, baby tomatoes,
mochi (rice cakes), chikuwa,
takuan, devils tongue jelly,sausages,
halfmeat,baby sweets and more.

8Things to take note of to
avoid choking:- Do not give small bean
likefoods
suchaspeanuts which can easily
enter the esophasgus tochildren
under3.
- Do not allow the child to
eat in unstable environments
such as the car or a plane
during turbulence.
- Do not allow the child to
eat whilst lying down,walking,orplaying.
- Do not allow talking
whilst eating, or eatingwhilst watching the TV.

Handicraft(tumbling animal)

Materials:
Bottle lid, drawing paper,
sellotape/Glue, side of a
cardboard box, marble(1.5cm diameter is best)

How to make:
1. Make the animals ears,eyes and mouth etc out ofdrawing paper, and stickthem to a bottle lid.
2. Create a slope using
the cardboard box side
3. Place the marble inside
the bottle lid and roll it
down the cardboard slopeevents & memoranda
Apply to participate in the Arasowa-ren dance troupe!

9events & memoranda
The Start of the Swimming Season!
Starting with the opening of Tainohama
Swimming Beach on June 30th, Julymarks the opening of swimming areas
across the Prefecture! The sandy
beaches will also play host to a varietyof events. The official start of beachseason is a time when we hope for anaccident free swimming season, andshow our respects to the gods of theseas. Be sure to enjoy swimming with
our many seaside resorts, including
Komatsu Swimming Beach (TokushimaCity),Tsukimigaoka Swimming Beach(Matsushige Town), Ozuna Swimming
Beach (Kaiyo-cho).
Swimming Beach Season:
Late June to around mid August
URL:
http://www.awanavi.jp/genere/kaisuiyoku/

http://www.awanavi.jp/genere/kaisuiyoku/

The 14th Hiwasa Sea Turtle Triathlon
Minami Town, a coastal area overflowing
with southern-style hospitality, plays hostto this Triathlon, and the course takes its
name from the sea turtles who comeashore to nest on Minami Town’s
beautiful sandy shores. Participating
triathletes will swim the Ohama coast,pedal adjacent to the Pacific Ocean
along the South Awa Sunline, and race
alongside the banks of the Hiwasa
River’s clear waters.
The Hiwasa Sea Turtle festival is held
the night before the event, complete withAwa Odori performances and earlysummer fireworks.
When: July 17th 2013 (Sun)
9:00am start
Where: Minami Town, Kaifu-gun
Period: May 7th (Tues)–May 31st (Fri)Info:Minami Town Hall
TEL: 0884-77-361710)

events & memoranda
Celebration of Japan’s qualification for the FIFA W-CUP in
Brazil with Tokushima Brazil Friendship Association
Tokushima Brazil Friendship Association (TBFA) recruits participants in the Mini Soccer W-Cup
Festival! In celebration of Japan’s qualification for the FIFA W-CUP in Brazil.
Date and time:
Place:Tel:
URL:
Format:Game duration:
Deadline for application:
Shoes:
Prize:
Application fee:
Attention:

Sunday, August 4, 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Tokugin Tomony Plaza (Indoor Ground)
770-0851 2-1 Jounai Tokushima-cho Tokushima-Shi
088-625-3852(http://www.tokuginplaza.com/own/index.asp)
5×5 at indoor soccer court.
15 minutes
Saturday, July 6
futsal shoes (sports shoes)
awarded for the top 3 teams.
freePlay at your own risk.

How to apply:
Please contact TBFA secretary with the following information: Team name, leader’s name,number of participants, E-mail address and telephone number
Contact:
E-mail:Telephone & Fax:
Cellular:Tokushima Brazil Friendship Association (TBFA) Secretary Officehachiro-hagiwara@shikoku-u.ac.jp
088-665-9654
090-1577-2743.

11events & memoranda

11 foreign participants from 9 countries
will make a speech. Please feel free tocome and listen.
Date:
Place:

July 21th, 2013 (Sunday)
Awagin Hall
(Pref. Kyodo Bunka Kaikan)
Programme: 13:30 - 16:30
Speech Contest (Small Hall 5F)
16:30 - 17:30
Chat (Conference Hall 5 4F)
Fee:
freeInfo:
TOPIA

5F
4F

Counselling Service at TOPIA
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.

Everyday, 10:00 - 18:00
Tel. 088-656-3303 or 088-656-3320 (allows three-way conversations with an interpreter)12