#286

May 2014
1200th Anniversary of the Shikoku Pilgrimage
Temple 2 Gokuraku-ji
By David C. Moreton

Temple 2 Gokuraku-ji taken by Alfred Bohner in 1927

At about the midway point
along the quiet route
between Temple 1 to 2 is areconstructed World War I
German POW camp thatwas used as a set for themovie, Baruto no Gakuen(2007). The set, which
was on a much larger lot
located beside Oasa Hiko

Shrine, north of Ryozen-ji,
had to be dismantled andremoved after the threeyear land lease expired;
yet local people wanted toPage 1, 3-4: Temple 2 Gokuraku-ji
Page 4-5: Introducing the New Staff at TOPIA; Page 5: Fitness Corner
Page 6: Japanese Lesson; Page 7: Letter from Suketo Hoikuen
Page 8: Irene's Recipe Corner; Page 9: Tis the Season for Strawberries!
Page 10-12: Events & Memoranda

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

Jenifer Tanikawa & Martin RathmannDavid C. Moreton, Mio Morimoto, Fushi Cui,
Clint Eckstein, Yoshie Motoki, Kazue Inoue,
Irene Wachuga

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

Show Tokushima Some Love: Awaglot
The literary corner of
AwaLife, Awaglot, is acombination of the words"awa" and "polyglot", whichmeans multilingual. Be it
fiction, nonfiction, prose
or poetry; funny, sad, longor short, we want yoursubmissions! If you like towrite, then express yourself!
There is also a classifieds
section for you, our readers,to post ads in, but a few
rules do apply!

Religious, political,
or commercial activities,businesses searching forclients or employees,
things the Awa Life editors
deem inappropriate.

If you have something you
would like to share with
the Tokushima community,
email the editors atconcerts,
lectures, and other event
information, cultural, sporting,and other community
group information, etcetera.

Koi Nobori - carp streamers swaying in the wind2

Temple 2 Gokuraku-ji(Con't from Page 1)

somehow preserve it andmake it open to the public.
As a result, it was rebuiltwith fewer buildings at thisnew and smaller location.
Admission is 400yen andthe tour starts with a fiveminute clip from the movie.
A Japanese guide shows
you around and explains
what seemed to be veryrelaxed camp conditions.
Included in the price ofadmission is a coupon fora free cup of tea or coffee
at the canteen where theyalso sell fresh bread madeusing a stone oven onsite. If have you moretime and are interested inseeing the site of theoriginal POW camp, headnorth from the movie set
for about three minutes.
Back on the pilgrim path
you will soon reach Temple
2 and after passing throughthe red temple gate you
will see the wonderfulgardens called Unkai no
Jōdo or “the Pure Land on
a field of clouds.” Lookcarefully for among thebushes and rocks, are someold short stone pillars,
which are actually very
old henromichi (pilgrim
path) markers that havebeen moved from their
original site. Follow theconcrete path along thegarden and you will cometo a short flight of stairs.
To the left is the gigantic

chōmei sugi (cedar of
longevity) said to have beenplanted by Kobo Daishi inthe 9th Century. There isa rope on one side of thetree, which according to
the accompanying sign inEnglish states that you will
feel a strange power when
you touch it because you
are indirectly touching thisrevered tree.
Proceed up the steep flightof stairs to reach the main
hall and Daishi hall. The
main hall contains a statueof the main deity, Amida
Nyorai, said to have been
carved by Kobo Daishi.
For hundreds of years
pilgrims have believed in
the power of Amida Nyorai
and have offered words ofthanks to Amida for illnesses
and disabilities cured. In fact,
an American anthropologist,
Frederick Starr, who visitedhere in 1921 wrote in hisdiary, “Here we noticed
crutches left by [the] lame
[who had been] miraculously
cured.” One example of amiracle tale that occurred
here is noted in “Shikoku
Reigen Kioki”, a 3-book set
containing 100+ stories
published in 1825:“During the summer of1808 at Gokuraku-ji a
man called Haiya Benzōfrom Kajiyamachi town inWakayama prefecture andhis nine-year-old son called

Kamekichi were on the
Shikoku pilgrimage. Fromthe port of Muya in
Tokushima, Kamekichi came
down with a high feverthat gradually got worse.
The inside of his mouth
turned black and it seemed
like his life was in danger.
Benzō prayed with all of
his heart to Amida Nyorai
at this temple, soaked his
miei (a paper slip with animage of a Buddhist deity)in water and gave thewater to Kamekichi to drink.
Strangely, after doing so,
Kamekichi said that hewanted to eat chazuke(green tea poured overcooked rice and toppings).
Until now, he could only
digest soft food like gruel,but now, his wishes cametrue and he could eat
chazuke. Gradually his
condition improved and heand his father were full ofjoy. They shed tears ofhappiness and with heartfelt
thanks expressed words ofgratitude to Amida Nyorai.”

Beside the main hall is thesame statue that Bohnertook a photograph of backin 1927. Beside it you can
see a very small statuethat you can pick up andmake a wish. If it feels
light then your wish will
come true. There is also aboard of many ema (votive
tablets) that some mothers3Temple Gokuraku-ji(Con't from Page 3)

have hung here wishingfor safe childbirth. Beside
it is a statue called Anzan
Koan Daishi (safe childbirth,safe childhood) that waspresented by a womanfrom Osaka during the
Meiji period (1868-1912).
It is believed that despite
being very sick she became
pregnant and when she
prayed for a safe childbirth,

Kobo Daishi appeared inher dream and said, “Go on
the Shikoku pilgrimage.”
She made it to Gokuraku-ji
and began to feel labor
pains. When she eventually
returned home, she safely
gave birth to a boy and in
gratitude presented thisstatue, which has attracted
many people from aroundthe country ever since.

To commemorate your trip
here you can have yournokyo-cho (pilgrimage book)signed and stamped at
the pilgrim goods store by
the parking lot and thenyou are ready for the
2.5km walk to Temple 3,
Konsen-ji.

Introducing the New Staff at TOPIA
By Mio Morimoto and Fushi Cui

Mio Morimoto (left) and Fushi Cui (right)

Self Introduction
By Fushi Cui
My name is Fushi Cui, it isvery nice to meet you all. I
am from Hunan Province,
China. I felt an affinity to theJapanese language as it was
similar grammatically to mynative language Korean, andI started studying Japanesein high school. Thereafter,
I became more and moreinterested in Japan and in
4

university I majored inJapanese and pursued mystudies of the language.
During my third year of
university, I had the opportunity to do a one year
exchange in Japan.
After graduating university
and up until now, I worked
for the Foreign Language

Department at the Hunan
Province Agricultural University
in China as a professor,
teaching both Japaneseand Korean. As well, I
also worked at the Hunan
Province Japanese Cultural
Research and Exchange
Center to help further the
Chinese-Japanese relations.
It is an honor to have thisIntroducing the New Staff at TOPIA(Con't from Page 4)
opportunity to work for thePrefectural Government
as a Coordinator forInternational Relations. I
believe that it is very
important to meet and be
exposed to various people.
I will take this valuable
opportunity to tell more
Japanese people about

Chinese culture, society
and the way of life. As well,through meeting and interactingwith many Japanese people
and through experiencing
various things, I hope tofurther increase my Japanese
language abilities and hope
to further my understandingof Japanese culture andsociety. I will work hard to
become the bridge thatconnects Tokushima Prefectureand Hunan Province, andwork towards fosteringstronger ties between the
two areas.

Starting my Internship at TOPIA
By Mio Morimoto
Hello, my name is Mio
Morimoto. I'm an elementary
school teacher. But I had
taught at junior highschools for a long time.
Communicating with people
from overseas countries

is really interesting. I want
to be a bridge between
the Japanese people andforeign people. I'd love tohave a lot of experiencesthat I can only get whileworking at TOPIA. My

hobbies are both playing
and listening to music,
watching movies,
andtravelling. I want to use
my passport to go abroad
this year. Nice to meetyou!

silly safety regulations likein America, so they arealmost universally awesome.

on anything that makes
you push, pull, climb,
jump, or run. Throw insome push-ups, pull ups,
and spend some timegoing back and forth on
the monkey bars. You getbonus points for riding
your bike to the park.

Fitness Corner
By Clint Eckstein
Living in Japan as a part of
the JET program provides
an amazing opportunity
for play and exploration.
Our jobs keep us busy,
but give ample space forgetting out in the community
and around Japan. Springis here, and the weather
is beautiful. This fitness
corner is all about taking
advantage. So here’s what
I want you to do for thismonth’s workout.

There are giant playgrounds
all over Tokushima. Get
yourself to one of them!
They aren’t burdened with

Get back to being a kid.
Climb ropes, ladders, andother playground equipment.
Flip around the bars. Play
hopscotch. Jump on andover benches. Play tag.
Duck under and jump overobstacles. The more you
play and the more different
equipment you use, thebetter your workout isgoing to be!
If you need something
specific to make it seem
more like a workout, focus

As it continues to heat up,
make sure you are drinking
lots of water, and enjoy
the spring!
As always, questions orcomments can be directedto:clinteckstein@hotmail.com

5Japanese Lesson
By Yoshie Motoki

6Letter From Suketo Hoikuen
By Kazue Inoue
Children's Day is a holiday
that takes place in May.
This day is dedicated tocelebrating the health andwell-being of children as
they grow. Families with aboy will celebrate bydisplaying warrior dolls.
Other famillies will celebrate
by attaching a koi-nobori,which is a carp streamer,
to a tree or to a pole andlet it drift or “swim” in thewind. Just as the carps
will swim about with muchenergy under the big bluesky, this is the season
when we encourage children
to go outside and playabout outside in the sun.
This month I would like totalk to you all about
breakfast, which is very
important to fuel yourchildren for the day sothat they have enoughenergy to play.

get you warmed up so
your body temperature
will increase and you will
feel more awake3) By eating breakfast ona regular basis, it will help
set a schedule for yourbody.
4) The food you eat in themorning will help stimulate
your intestines, thereby
improving your bowel
movement.
*Tip: Apparently adding
carbohydrates into yourbreakfast is good for yourbody. Rice, a big part ofJapanese food, and is a
great
way
to
add
carbohydrates to yourmeal. If you don't havevery much time, a quick
and easy alternative is toshape rice into onigiri or
rice balls.
***

1) Breakfast will act asfuel for the brain so it canstart working.
2) Eating breakfast will

Materials
Flyer (back of the flyer
should be white/blank)

Scissors
Coloring pencils, markers,
crayons, etc. (Anything thatcan be used to decorate
your kite)
Tape
String (about 30 cm long)
Milk carton or any otherthick paper or cardboard
Instructions
1) Take a flyer (anything
as long as the backportion is blank) and cut
out a circle from it. Colorin that circle with the colorof your choice.
2) Take a scissor and cut
in a spiral (refer to picture)3) Tape down a string (atleast 30 cm in length) tothe center of the kite.
Attach a milk carton or
any thick cardboard to theend of the string to createa handle.
How to Play
While holding the end of
the string, if you run aboutoutside, the wind will catchthe spinning kite and will
make it spin around in theair.

7Irene's Recipe Corner
By Irene Wachuga

Easy strawberry jam (Irene Wachuga)

it, use it within a few days
to a week in the fridge.
Pectin, extracted from citrus
fruits is usually used as agelling agent especially injams and jellies. But, few
of us, usually have it athand at most times. Well,
strawberry season is still
upon us and lack of pectinshould not stop us fromenjoying this soft anddelicious spread. If you’ve
never made jam, try this,you’ll be amazed at howeasy it is.
Since we are not canning(Makes 2 cups)
1 pound (450 grams)
strawberries, wiped clean
and hulled.
1 cup sugar, about (200grams) sugar, use lesssugar if you don’t like too
sweet.
2 Tbsp, lemon juice

2. In a heavy sauce pan,add the strawberries, sugar
and lemon juice.
3. Melt the sugar over low
heat then increase the heatto high and bring to a fullrolling boil. Boil, stirringoften, until the mixture
reaches 100-110 degrees C.
about 5 minutes. Reduce
the heat to medium low andsimmer, stirring, occasionallyfor about 10 minutes oruntil it thickens to a syrupy
consistency. It should coat
the back of a wooden
spoon without running.
4. To test, cool a small
plate in the fridge andspoon a teaspoon of jam
onto the plate. Let rest aminute. If it jellies, it’sdone. It will thicken as itcools so it shouldn’t be
too thick when you take it
off heat.
5. Let cool to room
temperature and enjoy.

1. In a big bowl, crush thestrawberries or quarter them
if you don’t mind chunks
in the jam.

Spring flowers shining under the sun

8Tis the Season for Strawberries!
Strawberry-picking locations in Tokushima
Like every year, with thearrival of spring comesstrawberry season.
There are many locations
across Tokushima Prefecture
where you can go strawberry

picking, fun for children
and adults alike.

heart’s content!

Why not spend a day
munching on delicious
juicy strawberries to yourEastern Tokushima
At this farm they put their best footforward in growing the high quality
strawberry, beni hoppe (rosy cheeks). As
the planters are set high above theground, it receives more sunlight,
producing delicious tasting strawberries.
If you bring the strawberries that you pickto the on-site cafe, they will make parfaits
and smoothies with it for you.

There are eight greenhouses, and thestrawberries grown here are as big as achild’s fist. These large, fragrant strawberries
are characteristic for being very juicy. You
can borrow the fondue set for free (youwill have to pay for the chocolate) andenjoy eating the strawberries in a
multitude of ways.

Where: Komatsushima City, Tatsue-cho
Miyamae 40
Where: Naruto City, Otsu-cho, Oshiro 642-1
When: Until the end of May (10:00 – 17:00)
When: Until May 31 (10:00 – 17:00)
Reservation: Needed (at least 5 days before)
Reservation: Needed
The three different types of strawberries
are grown on the ground with plenty ofsunlight and water, giving it a deep richsweetness.

As you can pick the strawberries fromspring to summer, you can enjoy thechanging strawberries as they changewith the season.

Where: Naruto City, Oasa-cho, Ushiyajima,
Aza Naka kita 16-2
When: Until late May (10:00 – 16:00)
Reservation: Needed

Where: Itano-gun, Matsushige-cho, Hiroshima,
Aza Kitagawa
When: Until May 25 (10:00 – 16:00)
Reservation: Needed

Eastern Tokushima con't

Southern Tokushima

The Sachinoka strawberry grown in thisfarm has a perfect balance of sweet andsour. If you would like to celebrate a
special event, let them know, and they
can arrange something for you.

A computerized hydroponics system that
releases fertilizer depending on thetemperature and amount of sunlight isused. They are safe to eat without evenwashing them.

Where: Itano-gun, Kamiita-cho, Kanyake
Daiyama 70
When: Until the end of May (8:00 – 18:00)
Reservation: Needed (at least 3 days before)

Where: Miyoshi-gun, Higashi Miyoshi-cho,
Hiruma Tsukuda 2401-2
When: Until the end of May (10:00 – 16:00)
Reservation: Needed (at least 3 days before)
9Events & Memoranda

10Events & Memoranda
TOKUSHIMA PREFECTURE
2014 JAPANESE SPEECH CONTEST*Note: We have made updates and changes to the prizes. We apologize for the misinformation.

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Events & Memoranda
Oboke River Festival 2014
Many participants, including world champions,will be racing down the rapids in thisworld class race. We have many eventsplanned for everyone to enjoy, including
a rafting tour, supernatural yokai creatures
parade, farmers market and much more!
When: May 24 (Sat), May 25 (Sun)
Where: River Station West-West
Yoshino River
Info: Oboke River Festival Office
TEL: 0883-76-0745

Takegashima Shrine Summer Festival
This summer festival is famous for the
mikoshi event where they run throughthe ocean with the mikoshi on theirshoulders. At night, there will be many
stalls and events, such as the children’s
mikoshi and fireworks.
When: May 13 (Tue), 14 (Wed)Where: Takegashima Shrine
Kaifu-gun, Kaiyo-cho
Info: Kaiyo-cho Tourism Association
TEL: 0884-76-3050

The Mt. Tsurugi hiking routes are now open
On April 29th (Mon), Mt. Tsurugi had their official opening ceremony for the year.
Now that the hiking trails, chairlift, and businesses are open, enjoy a fun day of
hiking and take in the beautiful view as you climb.

Counselling Service at TOPIA
TOPIA offers a counselling and advisory service to all foreign residents to help withissues 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 (closed during the New Year's holidays)
Tel: 088-656-3303 or 088-656-3320 (allows three-way conversations with an interpreter)12