aWa life
Tokushima’s Bones:
Symbols of Death or
Artifacts of Life?

Life in France

Gairaigo Galore:
シルバー
Awa Shoku: A Brewing
Conversation about
CoffeeNovember 2021
# 373

1

Awa Life is a Monthly Publication of the Tokushima
Prefectural International Exchange Association

Looking for some fun activities to do outside? Why not go and see the autumn leaves?! We’ve included
an autumn leaves map in the Events section so you can easily find a place to visit. Or you could justenjoy reading this issue of Awa Life! There are many interesting articles, such as one about bones andanother article about life in France. You can also learn some more about Japanese culture with our
Reading Corner and Gairaigo section.
For all of those who like writing, please feel free to submit an article to us at any point in time aboutbasically anything. There are a few limitations though, such as you can’t write about religion, politics,
commercial activities or businesses or anything that we deem inappropriate. But, other than that, we
would be more than happy to receive articles about anything and everything including but not limited
to concerts, lectures, other events, culture, sports, community group information or anything cool that’s
happening in your local community.
We highly appreciate all of your articles and we love reading them. So if that writing bug of yours isbuzzing about, grab a pen or a computer and write and send away! Please send all submissions to ouremail:Your editors,
Sydney and Nicoawalife@gmail.com
Tokushima Prefectural International Exchange Association (TOPIA)
1-61 Terashima Honcho Nishi, Tokushima City 770-0831 JAPAN, Clement Plaza 6F
Tel: 088-656-3303 Fax: 088-652-0616
http://www.topia.ne.jp/
Download a PDF file of awa life or view the online version by going to TOPIA's website!

Editors:
Sydney Bartig and Nico Bohnsack
Contributors This Month:Isreal Lutes, Mako Kobayashi, Kinuyo Yoshimoto, Lance Kita, Fusa Tamaki and Kazue Inoue

2Contents

Pg. 2-3: Tokushima’s Bones: Symbols of Death or Artifacts ofLife?
Pg. 4:

Life in France

Pg. 5:

Japanese Culture and Reading Corner: 七五三

Pg. 5:

Gairaigo Galore: シルバーPg. 6:

Awa Shoku: A Brewing Conversation about Coffee

Pg. 7:

Japanese Lesson

Pg. 8

Letter from SUKETO NAKAYOSHI

Pg. 8-9: Events and Memoranda
Tokushima’s Bones: Symbols of Death or Artifacts of Life?
By: Isreal Lutes

I

n Japanese mythology, two of the major figures
are Izanagi and Izanami. Among other things,
their story introduces death through a mythicallens. Like Orpheus in Greek mythology, Izanagi
follows Izanami to the underworld after she dies.
Also like Orpheus,
Izanagi makes the
mistake of looking
at her while in theunderworld, only tofind she has becomea rotting corpse.
Scholars believe thisstory demonstrates
the ancient Japanese
discomfort with deathand corpses.
Yet death, particularly
its manifested
through skeletal remains, has not merely beena source of dread. Japanese Zen master Ikkyu
writes: “Who will not end up as a skeleton?” He
speaks about the importance of contemplating
our own skeletal structure. His writing was so
provocative because of its uncompromising useof the skeleton as a reminder that all beings areunited in and through our mortality. As Ikkyu
writes, “Have a good look - stop the breath, peel
off the skin, and everybody ends up looking thesame.”
Ikkyu is not being
morbid. His focus ison recognizing life’s
temporality as aprerequisite to living
a liberated life.
With this culturalcontext in mind, I
would like to share myown experience withanimal skulls found in
Tokushima. Following
Ikkyu, I believethese “symbols ofdeath” have enhanced my appreciation of theliving, breathing inhabitants that they originatedfrom. These remains opened up a new avenueof learning for me. Before moving on, I want toclarify that all the skulls were from animals thatdied naturally. No animals were harmed in thewriting of this article.

3

Tokushima’s Bones: Symbols of Death or Artifacts of Life?

Exploring Tokushima’s nature, I have come acrossa number of deer skulls. It is quite easy to tell
the male from the female because the male skull
has two raised protrusions called pedicles, where
antlers attach to the skull. Japanese male deer
shed their antlers every winter and regrow them inspring. Growing antlers requires a lot of nutrientsand energy; theantlers can grow up
to 2 inches a week.

younger since suture lines generally fuse later onas the skull reaches its full size. Another clue thatmy specimen was a juvenile was that its horns
remained completely white. Unlike deer, both
sexes of kamoshika grow horns, and they growthem throughout their lives. As the animal getsolder their horns darken so that younger animals
will have lighter horns
while adults will havedarker ones.

What distinguishes
deer skulls? First,
the size. Apart fromboars and bears,
deer are the largest
wild mammals on
Shikoku. Second,the eye sockets
are located on thesides of the head,a common featureof prey animals allowing for a wide field of vision.
Third, deer have 24 teeth in groups of six for their
upper and lower sets of jaws. Finally, for males,
there are the previously mentioned pedicles.

Another skull I cameacross while walking
along the river had
sharp teeth and eye
sockets in the front.
This indicated that it
was a predator. The
skull was too large to
be a weasel’s and too
short and rounded to
be a badger ’s. Thatleft fox and tanuki as the likely suspects. From
pictures online and from the fur that was still
attached when I found it, I concluded it was atanuki’s skull.

While exploring with some Japanese friends, oneof them spotted a horned skull in the guard fence
hugging the side of a mountain. This skull looked
like a deer’s skull, but there was something off
about it. Upon further research, I have concluded
that it belonged to a kamoshika, or Japaneseserow.

Tanuki are native to Japan. Despite being called“raccoon dogs,” they are actually more closely
related to foxes than dogs or raccoons. They playa large role in Japanese folklore as shapeshifters,
along with foxes. While they are mischievous, they
are generally portrayed as jolly and gullible (e.g.
Pom Poko) as opposed to clever, as is the casewith their cousin, the fox.

The first thing that gave it away was that, while it
had horns, it lacked pedicles. Second, the horns
were small and bent backward. Since the only
other horned mammal I knew of on Shikoku was
the kamoshika, I looked for pictures online. To mydelight, the pictures matched the skull my friend
had found.
I guess the kamoshika died young because thesuture lines (cracks between the cranial plates)
were very clear and appeared looser than theother larger skulls. This suggested the animal was

Bones are a treasure trove of information about
the living animals that we are and that we are
surrounded by. Far from merely a symbol of death,
I believe that they offer us a means for a greaterappreciation of the life that they are evidence of.
**Illustrations credit to Ryan Esch

4Life in France
By: Mako Kobayashi

While studying abroad in France, I noticed
some differences between life in France
and life in Japan. Those differences were
extremely interesting to me, and I had a fun timeliving in France. Among those differences, thedifferences between food and food customs were
especially fun to discover.
[Apéro]I believe thisis a cultural
custom unique
to France,
but in France
there is a time
known as
“Apéro”. It is
before eating
and similar to“happy hour”.
Before eating, everyone enjoys alcohol and has
a fun time talking with one another. Among young
people, before heading to night parties, they
spend this Apéro time to drink and talk with theirfriends and then head to the party (Soirée). It’s
not just friends who partake in this, but family andlovers as well. While drinking alcohol they enjoy
light snacks, such as fresh vegetables, cheese, or
potato chips.
Additionally, this word stems from the Latin
word “Aperire”, and in French this word means“ouvrir” (to open). It’s said that its roots come fromenjoying alcohol with herbs and a good aroma
before eating to help with digestion.
[Fromage]
One food famous in France and that Frenchpeople can’t live without is cheese. French people
know about many kinds of cheese, and they are
well versed in many different ways to enjoy eating
cheese. One example is “Raclette”. Raclette isa cuisine often eaten in France and Switzerlandand comes from the French word “Racler” (toscrape). The cheese is scraped and warmed

over a fire andthen spread overvegetables, bread,or meat. One foodthat really left an
impression on me
was “Fromage
Blanc”. Fromage
Blanc means“white cheese”,
and like yogurt
it has a creamy and soft texture. I would add
sugar and fruits and eat it as a desert. There aremany delicious foods in France, but Fromage
Blanc is one that everyone should definitely try.
It’s difficult to actually travel to France right now,
so try ordering it online and having a taste! Once
traveling is possible again, definitely head toFrance and try the real cheese for yourself!
[Bon appétit]Have you all heard of the phrase “[Bon appétit]”?
In English this is often translated to “enjoy yourmeal”. The Bon means “good” and the appétitmeans “appetite”. Speaking of food related
phrases, we have the often used “C’est bon”,
which means “it’s delicious!”. “C'était bon”
means “it was delicious”. There are also manyother expressions to express that something is“delicious”. While studying in France I had thechance to try many French foods. Nearly all the
foods were a new and delicious experience forme, and there were many times where I would
end up eating too much. I often said “J'ai trop
mangé!”, which means “I ate too much!”. “Trop”
means “too much”. With all the delicious foods,
it’s hard to control yourself, right?!

Reference Site: Prendre l'apéro : le savoir vivre àla française (mieux-vivre-autrement.com)

5

しちごさん

Japanese Culture and Reading Corner: 七五三
By: Kinuyo Yoshimoto

しちごさん

がつ

かず

されてきたため ,こども

はの日，子供たちは
かめ

か
かめ

鶴も亀も

ぎ

晴れ着を

ふくろ

や亀の描かれた
つる

こども

けんこう

おとこ

でたい数と
ひ

にち

せいちょう

、11 月 15 日に、子供の健康や 成長を

七五三は

はい

こ

男の子は
かぞく

着て

家族と

こうはく

にほん

ちょうじゅ

日本では

長寿の

おこな

ぎょうじ

祈って

行う

行事です。日本では

さい

き

さい

3 歳と

い

神社に
あめ

しょうちょう

こ

にほん
さい

さい

3 歳と 7 歳に

こども

あた

ちとせ

あか

しろ

祝います。こつる

千歳飴という， 鶴
ねん

い

み

意味し，

めでたい色の

組み合

にほんじん

いろ

日本人にとってめ

いわ1000 年を買い与えられます。千歳は象徴です。また、赤と白は

きすう

奇数は

ちとせあめ

行きます。子供たちには

か

細長い飴が

おんな

5 歳，女の子は

じんじゃ

ほそなが

袋に入った、紅白の

いの

く

あ

わせです。

Vocabulary List
けんこう

は

ぎ

晴れ着
かめ

亀

せいちょう

health健康

ちとせあめ

gala attire

千歳飴
こうはく

turtle

しょうちょう象 徴

symbolシルバー (Silver)
By: Nico Bohnsack

紅白
めでたい

きすう

growth成長

奇数thousand year candy
く

鶴
ちょうじゅ

red and white

happy

つる

長寿
あ

組み合わせ

combination

odd numbers
cranelong life
いの

祈り wishes

Gairaigo Galore

Most of you have probably heard the gairaigo シルバー at some point in Japan, but do you also
know the actual meaning? It would be most logical that シルバー means/stems from the English
word “silver“, either describing the metal or the color. There are indeed situations where シルバー
carries this meaning, such as in the case of bracelets or some other jewelry items ( シルバーブレス
レット for example). However, in most cases it actually means “senior” and isoften used in combinations with other words. Examples would be シルバー料
金 (senior discount)、シルバーマーケット (market aimed at senior citizens)、
シルバーホーム (housing with support services for senior citizens)、シルバー
人材センター (employment service center for older people), and such.
But how did it come that シ ル バ ー is used as the meaning of “senior”?
There is a rumor that the color of the hair many senior citizens have is theroot cause since it sometimes appears like silver. Although it is undeniable
that this association played a big role in contributing to the widespread use of the word, it was
actually not the main reason. When Japan Railways introduced new seats for senior citizens in
1973, silver colored seat covers were the only ones available due to budgetary reasons. JR called
the new seats シルバーシート which then resulted in an increased use of the word シルバー toconveniently describe things related to senior citizens.

Awa Shoku: A Brewing Conversation about Coffee
By: Lance Kita

A

fter living in Tokushima for a total of 17
years (1997-99 and 2006-present), I noticed
that many of my Japanese friends serve coffee
automatically when guests visit their house orworkplace. At first, I thought it was because I wasa foreigner, but when I was working in Osaka inthe early 2000s, most companies and schools
served green tea, and coffee was a choice (“Would
you like coffee or tea?”).
Recent household
consumption
statistics reveal that
Tokushima City was#5 in coffee/cocoa
expenditure perhousehold among
50 major cities
nationwide (20182020 average). In
contrast, household
expenditure of tea
was #47 out of 50.
Clearly, a lot of coffee
is drunk at home.

6

luxury.
He referred me to one of the oldest coffee shops
in town, but the 84 year-old owner just shrugged
his shoulders with a smile as he served a glass of
hot cafe au lait. “All I know is we just like coffee.”
I asked an assortment of friends, and thespeculations were fascinating but mostly
conjecture. Maybe German WWI POWs brought
bread making toTokushima earlier thanother areas. Perhaps
people didn’t like bitter
green tea because
many people dranksmoother Awa Bancha
tea. Or that rich families
flaunted their wealthsubtly by embracing theWestern-style drink liketheir urban peers.

No clear answers
emerged from myresearch, so the roots
So why coffee? Iof this coffee custom
talked to Kenjiremain as murky as
S a k u r a i , t h e t h i r d - Hot or iced; black or with sugar, milk, foam, Irish a d a r k F r e n c h r o a s t .
whiskey(!!)… escape to a cafe with a coffee to fit
generation owner for
However, the chats withyour mood.
the first company to
my friends were fueled bysell coffee beans in the prefecture. He said that this caffeinated drink. Many neighborhood cafes,
coffee has been an integral part of Tokushima’s old and new, serve as mini-community centers.
social culture since the 1930s, when the first It’s no surprise that the first Starbucks didn’t makecoffee shops opened up in the city. Although inroads here until 2010, making us one of the last
WWII halted the import of beans from 1941 to prefectures to get one.
1950, there was a resurgence from the 1960s to
the 1980s. In the 1990s, Sakurai’s company made Why coffee? Grab a Japanese friend, find thea push for “office coffee,” encouraging businesses closest cafe, and continue this conversation!
to serve their visitors coffee instead of tea.
Sakurai mentioned that coffee was normally had
with lots of milk and sugar. He noted that thestandard 3-gram packets of sugar today used
to be sold in 6, 8, and even 10 gram amounts!
Sugar and dairy were considered pricey
ingredients, so perhaps coffee was a little cup of7Japanese Lesson

By: Fusa Tamaki

Keigo 3
けい ご

おお

わ

まな

て い ねい ご

そん けい ごけんじょうごぜ ん かい敬語について、まず大きく分けて３つあることを学びました。「丁寧語」「尊敬語」「謙譲語」です。そして、前回
け い ご

つか

たいせつ

かんけ い

ていねいご

かたち

まな

き ょ う

そん けい ごは、敬語を使うときの大切なルール「ウチ」と「ソト」の関係と「丁寧語」の 形 を学びました。今日は、「尊敬語」の
ど う し

へ ん か

かたち

べん きょう動詞が変化する 形 について勉 強 しましょう。
き ょ う

そん けい ご◆今日のトピック「尊敬語」
ぶ ちょう

け

さ

しんぶん

よ

わたし ： 部 長 、おはようございます。今朝の新聞を①読まれましたか。
ぶ

ちょう

部

た な か

しゃ

しゃちょう

しゅうにん

き

じ

長 ： ああ、田中さんが A社の社長に就任するって記事だろ。
ぶ ちょう

いわ

わたし ： ええ。部 長 が、お祝いに②いらっしゃいますか。
しゃ

部

なが

つ

あ

わたし

しゅうに ん就 任：Taking up a postい長： そうだな、Ａ社とは長い付き合いだから、 私 が行こう。
も

いわ

しな

いわ

お祝い：Celebration

よ う い

わたし ： わかりました。では、③お持ちになるお祝いの品を用意します。
そん けい ごしな

品：Item/Thingかたち◇「尊敬語」の３つの 形

かたち

れい

けい

グループ

よ

よ

そんけいご

ます形

つく

尊敬語

き

いそ

き

いそ

だん

聞きます／急ぎます

聞 かれます／急 がれます２

借ります／かけます

借りられます／かけられます

き

こ

か

だん

い段＋ます→あ段＋れますか来ます／します

かた

作り方

１
３

よ

例① ： 読まれました（読 みます→読 まれます）【１】 「～れます・～られます」をつける 形

ます→られます

来られます／されます

けいおぼ＊ 「ない形」の「～ない」をとり、「～れます・～られます」をつけると覚えてもよい。
か の うけいかたち＊ 「できる」「わかる」や可能形は「～れます／～られます」の 形 をとらない。
と く べつかたち

そん けい ごれい【２】特別な 形 の「尊敬語」

例② ： いらっしゃいます
そんけいご

そんけいご

い

き

た

の

行きます・来ます・います

め

言います

あ

けい

き

ご存じです

らん

見ます

ご覧になります

します

なさいます

も

例③ ： お持ちになるき

聞きます→お聞きになります

みぞん

知っていますれい

尊敬語

おっしゃいますし召し上がります【３】 「お・ご（V ます形）になります」
きいいらっしゃいます

食べます・飲みます

そんけいご

尊敬語

尊敬語

き

決めます→お決めになります

く

み

まえ

いち も

じ

どう し

＊3 グループ「来る」「する」とグループ２で「見ます」のように「ます」の前が一文字の動詞「いる」
み

き

けい

かたち

おお

・「見る」・「着る」などは、「お（Ｖます形）」になります」の 形 にならないことが多い。
と く べつかたち

そん けい ごば あい

そん けい ごつかおお【２】の特別な 形 の「尊敬語」がある場合は、【２】の尊敬語を使うことが多い。
もんだい

【問題】
つぎ

かい わ ぶんか せん ぶそん けい ごつか

いか

次の会話文の下線部①～⑤を尊敬語を使って言い換えてください。
ぶ ちょう

き の う

よる

み

わたし ： 部 長 、おはようございます。昨日の夜のテレビ、①見ましたか。
ぶ

ちょう

とうきょう

おお

じ し ん

ぶ ちょう

む す こ

部 長 ： ああ、東京で大きな地震があったね。
とうきょう

わたし ： ええ。部 長 の息子さん、東京に②いますよね。
ぶ

にょうぼう

女房：Wife

ちょう部 長 ： ああ、そうなんだよ。
しんぱい

へんこう

で ん わ

わたし ： ③心配して、すぐに④電話したんじゃないですか。
ぶ

ちょうにょう ぼ う

たし

む す こ

す

じ

へん こ う変更：Change
だい じょう ぶ

あんし ん部 長 ： 女 房がすぐにメールで確かめていたよ。息子が住んでいるところは、大 丈 夫だったようで安心したよ。
わたし ： それはよかったです。
き ょ う

かい ぎ

じ かん

し

どころで、今日の会議の時間ですが、10時に変更になったのを⑤知っていますか。
ご存じです
ぞん

①ご覧になりましたか／見られましたか ②いらっしゃいます ③心 配 されて／ご心 配 になって④電 話された／電 話なさった
らん

み

しんぱい

しんぱい

でん わ

でん わ

⑤

Letter from SUKETO NAKAYOSHI

8

By: Kazue Inoue (Center for Early Childhood Education and Care SUKETO NAKAYOSHI)
he weather has finally become more pleasant upset stomach, it is best to avoid milk and dairy
and autumn-like. The COVID-19 situation products, foods with a lot of fiber, foods with a
has also settled down a bit, but we can’t let lot of fat, or foods that are hard digest. It’s also
our guard down! Please continue to practice important to drink fluids to replace the fluids thatpreventative measures and spend your days are lost due to diarrhea.
healthy. Additionally, as the weather continues togrow colder, it becomes easier for people to catchcolds, the flu, or gastroenteritis, so everyone
should be cautious.

T

This month I’ll introduce foods that are good forwhen children get sick or have a stomachache.
- When they have watery stool: diluted ionizeddrinks, bancha, vegetable broth, miso soup(diluted), grated apples, thin rice gruel, etc.
- When they have mushy stool: tofu, vegetablesoup, banana puree, mashed carrots or pumpkins,etc.
- When they have soft stool: rice gruel (water
added to rice and lightly cooked), white meatfish boiled in soy sauce, chicken tenderloin,
vegetables boiled in soy sauce, bread gruel (water
added to bread and lightly boiled down), lightly
boiled udon, etc.
The firmness of the meal should be about thesame as that of the stool. When they have an<Macaroni Abekawa (2 servings)>
1. Mix 10 g of roasted soybean flour, 8 g of sugar,
and 0.2 g of salt.
2. Place 30 g of macaroni into boiling water andboil to your preferred firmness. Strain with acolander to get rid of the water.
3. Cover the cooked macaroni with the ingredientsfrom number 1 and you are done. If you wait awhile, the ingredients from 1 will become moist,
which is easier for children to eat.

Events & Memoranda
国際理解支援フォーラム（オンライン【ZOOM】開催）～多文化共生のまちづくりを推進するために～県内の在住外国人は約 80 か国，6,627 人（令和 2 年 12 月末）となっており，今後もさらなる増加が見込まれる中，多様な背景を持つ人々の活躍は，これからの地域社会にはなくてはならないものです。
「ちがい」を認め合いながら，地域を活性化する多文化共生のまちづくりが求められています。
そこで，今回のフォーラムでは，CINGA（特定非営利活動法人国際活動市民中心）のコーディネーター
新居みどりさんをお迎えし，在留外国人の現状や，彼らが抱える問題，また受け入れ側の体制や配慮することなどについて講演をしていただきます。
日時：12 月 5 日 ( 日 ) 13 時 30 分～ 15 時 30 分
参加費： 無 料（申し込みが必要です。
）① 名前 ② 電話番号 ③ e-mail アドレスを記入の上、メールにて下記までお申し込みください。（申し込み締め切り 11 月 26 日（金））〈お問い合わせ先・お申し込み先〉 ( 公財 ) 徳島県国際交流協会（とくしま国際戦略センター）
FAX：088-652-0616
電話：088-656-3303
E-mail：coordinator3@topia.ne.jp

9Events & Memoranda

Tokushima Fall Foliage Map
徳島紅葉マップ

Rakugo in Simple Japanese
やさしい日本語での落語会【はなし家】桂七福さん【演目】「動物園」【日時】11 月 23 日（火・祝）14:30 ～ 15:45 頃 ( 開場は 14:00)【場所】阿南市ひまわり会館【入場料】無料【お申し込み】：三好
Tel：090-5120-0065
Mail：h.scorpion.m@docomo.ne.jp
要申し込み（定員：28 人）【主催】日本語学習グループ「ハロー日本語」

Counselling Service at TOPIA・トピアの相談窓口
TOPIA provides consultation on everyday life, education, labor, medical institutions, and disasterprevention; and information on sightseeing spots to overseas residents and visitors. When necessary,
we will refer you to the appropriate organization that can assist with your needs.Counselling is available
in English, Chinese, Vietnamese, 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 (closed during the New Year's holidays)
Tel: 088-656-3312 or 088-656-3313 (allows for three-way conversations with an interpreter)