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

"TOPPY"
January 2006 No. 187

Happy New Year!

⨓⨉
⨕⩀
⨃⨦
⨽ ⨧
⨘⨅
⫝

⨁
⨐
⨽
⨖
⨥
artwork by hisatoyo murasawa

inside awa life this monthcatch-phrase grand prix - 3 ... iya snowball ﬁghting - 4,5
mikan kanten, kanji of the year - 5 ... travel tokushima - wakimachi - 6
martin's anime corner - 7 ... letter from suketo hoikuen, shin mai mama nikki - 8
japanese lesson - 9 ... memoranda - 10 - 12

awa life

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@fm.nmt.ne.jp
http://www.topia.ne.jp/

is a monthly publication of the Tokushima
Prefectural International Exchange Association(TOPIA)
Andrew Dahms & Claire Tanaka
Contributors This Month:
Josef Addleman, Andrew Dahms, Yusri Johan,
Junko Kimura, Martin O'Brien, Kaoru Sakamoto,
Claire Tanaka, and Akiko Tsuji

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

from the editors
appy New Year to everyone! I hopeeveryone is managing to keep warmand dry in this cold season. As I write,
there have been some snowfalls andfreezing temperatures lately which has driven
my husband to leave the taps running (just a
dribble) overnight, since the waterline could
freeze otherwise! He also tells me to watch
for errant cars when I'm out walking, since
Tokushima drivers are not used to theseslippery, icy roads. As a Canadian, I'm quite
comfortable with the cold weather, but I'mlearning that there are a whole new set ofthings to watch out for here in Tokushima when
the temperature drops.
Love, Claire.

appy New Year to you all! Well, 2005
has ﬁnally come to a close, and I hopeit was a productive one for you. Now
is the time for making those New Year
resolutions, and to looking forward to all thatthe coming months will bring. I am going tohave a busy year, myself, and at last my firstever chance to the cherry blossoms in ﬂower!
Kicking off this year in Awa Life, we have anarticle by Josef Addleman on the Yuki Gassenin the Iya Valley, Claire writes to us about the
Kanji of the Year, and Travel Tokushima heads alittle further on from the earth pillars of Dochu
to see the historic streets in Wakimachi. As
always, take care, and I hope you keep warm
as the coldest time of the year rolls around!
Cheers, Andrew.

hhthese pieces of paper are fortunes (omikuji) recieved from shrines - if you draw a bad fortune,
you can tie it to a place within the shrine and pray for the gods to change your luck (photo by Andrew Dahms)-2-

catch-phrase grand prix
appy New Year! H ʊʒ
was your year 2005?
We re yo u ab le t oachieve your New
Year's Resolution? Me? I forgot
what my resolution was, so
I don't know if I ended up
achieving it or not. In theworld, many events happened
during the year 2005, both
good andbad. These eventsʍ ʔ ʐ ʐ ʆ ʊ ʐ ʂ ʊmake ᅺ ৪ ত , or populart e r m s a n d p h ra s e s fo u n d
inthe media. In Japan, theszvvlpvhpubjtipv
ᅺ ৪ ত ോ ொ (Catch-Phrase
Grand Prix) is held every year.
Have you noticed anythingthat your Japanese friends orstudents keet saying
or doing?
szvvlpvhp
Do you know any ᅺ ৪ ত for2005? Here are a few of the
popular phrases that won
prizes in this year's Catchphrase
Grand Prix
lpj{vnjhfljkpv
ȻȻ઀ ஂࠠા (Koizumi Theatre):Ȼh

During the House ofRepresentatives’ election in
September, 2005, ltherewasv o p j d i j
the appearance of у Ѣ и ѕcandidates - high profile
female candidates chosen by
Prime Minister Koizumi in a
campaign to gain popularity
and win out against the Prime
Minister's political opponents,
called Koizumi's Assassins.
Then there came the issue
of privatization of the postal
system - this and otherpolitical
displays earned the
lpj{vnjhfljkpv
சಜऺ௘ .
title
t p v u f j o b jhbjே ೰ ඤ ) ‫(* ٸ‬It's within
expectations):Ȼ Live Doorp r e s i d e n t Ta
k a fu m i ʂ ɼHʄ o r i eʎʊʐʏʀʄʉɼʄ
coined the " ೡ ช ຾ ( ‫ ") ޒ‬inresponse to the media during
during a bid to take control of
Nippon Broadcasting Systemand Fuji TV Network earlier inthe year. The
reverse of the
tpvufjhbj
ช‫( " ޒ‬outsideೡphrase - "expectations)is also used.
l v v s v c j { vȻȻ· Ȝ σ Ϋ Β (Cool Biz):
Cool Biz was a movementfor dressing light during thehotter months of the year,
run under the leadershipof the government. Justby taking off one's tie andjacket and keeping the room
temperature around 28˚C, it
was possible to save energy
on cooling. As you may know,
TOPIA also partook in the
Cool Biz campaign this year.
You might have thought that
TOPIA wasn't all that cool lastsummer - this was because wewere saving energy! However,in consideration of tie
companies’ business concerns,
the government is proposingthat we should wear ties andjackets to keep warm this fallandwinter. Now, it is time forʐ ʊ ʊ ʈ ʐ ɽ ʄ ʕ ʐҘқ̶ӒӅҬ (Warm Biz).
gppȻȻέ ΁ Ȝ ")Foo!):ȻɨɼʎɼʆʄȻ
ɮʐʈʄʏɼʉʄ of comedianʍ ʀ ʄ ʕ ɼ ɼ ʍ ɼ ʈ ʊ ʉpair Ӟ Җ Ҩ ̶ ӛ Ӕ ӥ (Razor
Ramon) disguised himself
as ʍ"Hard
Gay", appearingʀ ʄ ʕ ɼ ɼ ʍ ɼ ʈ ʊ ʉ
as Ӟ Җ Ҩ ̶ ӛ Ӕ ӥ HG on TV
months ago with the catchphrase 'Foo!', and became
really popular. He has his
own unique way of shaking-3-by junko kimura
snowbird@fastmail.fm

his hips that I personally
don't enjoy. Who on earth
would be interested in him?
That's right - elementary
school kids. I believe there
were many kids, one after
another whose parentsslapped them to try and getthem
to stop copying him.
c v s p h v
ȻȻή υΈ (Blog): "Blog" stands
for web-log. They've become
very popular now since they
are much easier, convenientand low-cost (sometimes free)
than before. You can put adiary and pictures on the web.
It is one of the best ways totell your friends or family how
you
are.
n p f
ȻȻཀ ̢ ȡ (Passion):Ȼ It means
to have a special feeling forsomething particular, andis usedo joften
in a web sited i b o o f s v
called ໏ ҳ ӕ ӥ ҿ ӝ (2ch).
This
web site is popular forp u b l v
о ѓ у ("geeks"). However,after thetelevision drama
efotibpuplpඍ ͑(the story͐ใ
series ʊ ʏ ɼ ʆ ଆ
ʐ
of an о ѓ у boy who falls inlove with a beautiful woman
and how he tries to change
himself in order to be liked
by her), this web site becamefamous nandvery popular. The
p fword " ၚм Ƚ has come into amuch more generalized usage.
Ȼ Ȼ I knew English speakers
used quotes from speeches,books, etc., but I also recently
found that we Japanese do
the same. I wonder what or
whose phrases are going to be
popular in 2006?

iya snowball fighting
h, the nostalgic
sensation of a sharp
impact to the back of
the head, followed by
the icy dribble of snow down
one's back. Growing up in
Eastern Canada, this feeling,along with snow-filled bootsand red, numb hands, wasas much a part of winter as
not wanting to get up forschool. When I heard there
would be a snowball fighttournament in Higashi-Iya, I
jumped at the chance to join.
A few weeks later, cut to me,
wearing a crash-helmet, hidingin the snow behind wooden
barriers, clutching my slushy
spheres and preparing myself
to execute "Plan B" on the
Captain’s command. This is
the all-Shikoku Yuki Gassen
tournament, and it's not like it
was on the playground, baby.
I had been offered a placeon the "Iyashishi" snowballin'
team - a ragtag band madeup of Japanese and foreign
people from around thevicinity of the Iya valley. We'dheard that the winning teamof the event would get a freetrip to Hokkaido to participate
in the national tournament
held there. So we decided totake this thing seriously, totrain hard and conquer all who
stood before us with our highvelocity packed snow. When
we arrived at an indecently
early hour at the Iyashi Onsen
in Higashi-Iya where the fun
was to take place, other teams
were showing up andorganizing their affairs at theirdesignated tents.
Between the childrens'
and adults' teams, there
was somewhere upwards oftwenty groups eager to get toasnowball ﬁghting action in Iya

Hokkaido. Many of the teams
h a d i n t e re s t i n g l y t h e m e duniforms, such as thosedressed in baseball outfits,
and last year's champions, therainbow wigged "Afro Five".
Our team wasn't scheduled toplay for a few hours, so we
had some time to observe how
the other teams played.
The first and most importantdifference between aspontaneous snowball fightand the Yuki Gassen isthat there are rules. Rather
a lot of them, really. The
game is played on a field 40
metres long and 10 metreswide, divided into four equalareas and strewn about withsturdy wooden barriers. A
team's snowballs (90 for eachgame, stamped out by snowpresses about a half hour inadvance) are stored in boxesin the back areas, behind therearmost barricade. I canhear the surprise and shockof those reading this: "wait...
pre-made snowballs? Isn't thefield covered in snow?" Well,the field was indeed snowy,

by josef addlemanjosef.ad@gmail.com

and the weather perfect for
the event, but this is one of
the key points of the game.
All snowballs are made ina d va n c e - i f y o u ' r e s e e nmaking snowballs, you'll becalled out by one of the six
judges watching every match.
Also, of the seven teammembers on the field, fourare designated as 'Forwards'
and three as 'Backs.' Only
the Backs are allowed into
the back quarter of the field
where the snowballs are
stored. If a Forward runs outof ammo behind the center
barrier, they're more or lessuseless unless one of the
Backs can carry or toss somemore snowballs up the field. If
a Forward accidentally takesa step into the back area,
it's game over for the team.
Likewise, if more than threemembers of a team cross thecenter line into the opponent's
territory - whistle blows, gameover. You might ask why you
would really want to run into
the opponent's territory. Well,
the answer lies in the lastelement of the field. Towards
the back of the second section(ie. not where the snowballs
are stored), the team's flagis proudly stuck into theground. If a player can grab
the opponent's flag and pull
it out of the ground before
taking a hit, that's a victory
for the team. Most of thetime, this is how games arewon, though it's also a victory
if you can eliminate all youropponents or if you've takenout more enemies after threeminutes. As you might guess,the judges frequently stop

iya snowball fighting... con't on page 5-4-

mikan kanten
ne of the big fads inJapan for 2005 was the
kanten diet. Kanten
is known as agar-agar
in English - it's a seaweed
product that can be used
simply likely gelatin. The fad
was so wide-spread that it was
impossible to find kanten on
grocery-store shelves for sometime due to increased demand
outstripping supply. Kanten
contains no calories in itself,
and is high in fibre. A study
publishing the many healthbenefits of eating kanten
was released this year, anda popular television show,
Aruaru Daijiten, showed asegment where people tried akanten diet and had improved
health and weight loss, said tobe the source of the boom.
At this time of year, mikan(also known as mandarins,
satsumas, or tangerines) areplentiful, so try this simple
recipe using kanten andmikan.

oby yusri johanawalife@gmail.com

Mikan Kanten
0.5 C hot water
1.5 C mikan juice (juice only
if pulp is not preferred in theﬁnal result)
1.5 Tbsp of kanten jelly (ifthe kanten jelly is from a box
with individual packs inside,
each pack is about 1.5 Tbsp.)
1-2 Tbsp sugar (if you like asweeter dish)Peeled mikan segments(optional).
Mix the kanten jelly withsome of the hot water in asmall container to dissolve
it. In a pan, bring the restof the water to a boil. Add
the kanten jelly mixture andsugar into it and let boil for acouple more minutes, stirring
constantly. Take off the heatand pour it into the mikan
juice. Mix well. Transfer into
individual molds and add somepeeled mikan segments if you
wish. When cooled, refrigerate
until set.

kanji of the year
ver since 1995, theJapan Kanji Proficiency
Test Association (http://w w w . k a n k e n . o r. j p /index.html) has sent out ayealy request for suggestions
for the Kanji of the Year.
People all over Japan submit
their suggestions for the one
character that best sums up
the past year. 2004's Kanji of
the Year was ੆ - wazawai- disaster - which was chosen
mainly because of the Niigata
Chuetsu Earthquake and themany strong typhoons that
hit Japan last year. Of course,
2005 has seen its share ofnatural disasters as well, but

iya snowball fighting
con't from page 4...
play to confer, and there areoften tense moments after theaction where both teams wait
to find out who has won.
So in short, there's a lot ofstrategy to the game, and a
lot of furious action. Though
we lost in our second game
due to our overzealous"Plan A" (remember therule about having too many
people over the center line),
we had a great time, andwere quite happy to hit theonsen at the end of it all. My
congratulations to the winningteam, who really wanted toeat some Hokkaido crab. I
hope to see some of you bravesnowball fighters taking thefield in Iya next year!
Catch this year's Yuki Gassen
a t t h e g r o u n d s o f I ya s h i
Onsen-kyo in Miyoshi-gun on
Sunday, 29 January, from 9:00
am to 4:00 pm. For more info,
call 088.388.2983.
by claire tanaka
clairish@gmail.com

eKanji of the Year - 'ai'

it wouldn't do to have thesame kanji two years in a row
now, would it? This year's
Kanji of the Year is much
more optimistic - ‫ ٮ‬- ai love. Among the reasons for-5-choosing "love" for this year's
kanji were that this was theyear that princess Sayako wasmarried, relinquishing her
imperial status and becoming
a commoner, as well as the
Aichi World Expo ('Aichi' iswritten with the kanji forlove). Also among the reasons
this kanji was chosen was that
there were a number of people
named "Ai" in the news,
including golfer Ai Miyazato,
and young Princess Aiko, who
may stand to become Japan's
first Emperess if proposed
legislation passes, making it
possible for women to succeed
to the imperial throne.

travel tokushima - wakimachi
o v i n g a l o n g fr o m
the earth pillarsof Dochu, there isanother place you
can visit that is relatively closeby - the historical streets of
Wakimachi.
The streets of Wakimachi areformed of houses built during
the Edo to Meiji periods inJapanese history (around1700-1900). During the Edo
period, they became the sceneof a variety of markets andstalls on account of heavy
trafﬁc through the region, andeven to this day the streetsare home to a great many
stores.
Perhaps the most notableaspect about the streets,
however, are the udatsu,
which were made as
preventative measures against
fires by raising the edges of
the roofs an extra level above
their standard position. Madearound 1707, the streets of
Wakimachi are the site of
the most udatsu remaining
in all of Japan. In 1988,
they were declared part ofmJapan's national heritage ashistorical architecture, andhave even had a place in the
recent television drama "MitoKomon".
The udatsu are eventhe subject of the proverb,'udatsu ga agaru', meaning
to have become very well to
do. Traditionally, udatsu werevery expensive to acquire,and so they also came to be
known as a symbol of wealth.
What to do there: First of all,take a walk down the streetsand enjoy the atmosphere of
the buildings and the various
architectural styles. There isa great difference in many of
the styles in the udatsu andthe buildings themselves, andin the evenings, the streets
are lined with lanterns thatgive a warm glow to theirsurroundings.
They are also home to agreat variety of stores selling
local specialities, ranging fromfood to indigo dyed products
and much more, so makesure you have the time toby andrew dahms
until_eternity@hotmail.com

do some browsing and taste
some local food. You can alsofind some information for the
recent drama nearby, and you
can also find the Odeon-za
Theatre. There is also the
Friendship Hall, with indigo
dying demonstrations anddisplays, a place to rest andsip some tea, as well as someguide videos, pamphlets andmore.
All in all, there is a range ofdifferent places to visit, andthe streets are a great place
to soak up some local culture.
How to get there: You caneasily access the area by train,
and it is only a 35 minutetrip from Tokushima City to
Anabuki station. From there, it
is a 15 minute walk across theriver and then follow it alongleft until the streets appear
on your right. If going bycar, head off the Wakimachi
IC and follow route 193 foraround 3km, turn right off on
to route 12 and proceed foranother 2km. Public parking isavailable close by for free.

houses in traditional Japanese style in the historical streets of Wakimachi-6-martin's anime corner
Title: Detective Conan) ჎൷ฅҥҼӥ *Series Directors : Kanetsugu
Kodama, Yasuichiro Yamamoto
Creator: Goushou Aoyama
First Aired: Japan (1994) U.S.
(2004)

etective Conan(Meitantei Conan) is
a 17-year-old genius
detective named
Shinichi Kudou who has theunfortunate fate of being
trapped in a 7-year-old body.
This unusual predicament
occured because of an incident
where by Conan was poisonedby two suspicious membersof mysterious undergroundcrime organization he wasinvestigating. The posion
shrank Conan's body to thatof a 7 year old but it didn`thinder his crime solving
abilities. The quickwitted
Conan managed to fool his
girlfriend Ran into believingthat he's just a 7-year-old
boy. The many opportunities
for detective work come his
way b e c a u s e h e g e t s t h echance to live with Ran andher father and work in theirprivate detective agency. Hisabilities are further enhancedby the help of some friends hemakes at primary school (hehas to skip back a few years
unfortunately) who form aclub called the detective boys.
Detective Conan was createdby Goushou Aoyama in 1994,
originally serialized in theweekly magazine "Shounen
Sunday". The success of themanga resulted in an anime
series which further enhanced
the popularity of Conan inJapan. The success of boththe manga and anime havedbeen onging and currently
there are more than 48
volumes of the manga andover 300 episodes of theanime broadcasted. The series
had currently been runningfor 10 years. In this time
there has also been 10 feature
length films produced, all ofwhich have seen nationwide
cinema releases. These are
Timed-Bomb Skyscraper (Tokei
Jikake no Matenro), 1997. The
14th Target (14 banme no
Target), 1998. The Last Wizardof the Century (Seikimatsuno Majutsushi), 1999.
Captured in Her Eyes (Hitomi
no Naka no Ansatsusha),2000. Countdown to Heaven(Tengoku e no Countdown),
2001. The Phantom of Baker
Street (Baker Street no
Bourei), 2002. Crossroad in
the Ancient Capital (Meikyū
no Crossroad), 2003. Magicianof the Silver Sky (Ginyoku
no Magician), 2004. Strategy
Above the Depths (Suiheisenjō
no Strategy), 2005 and thecurrent release Requiem of
the Detectives (Tanteitachi no
Requiem).
My favourite of the Conanmovies is 'Strategy above
the Depths'. The movie is set
aboard the luxury cruise liner
Aphrodite on which Conanand his family and friends
are holidaying. The movie
begins, however, on a different
ship, whose fate is somehow
connected to the Aphrodite.
The ship is seemingly
misdirected by a sinsisterlooking man in a naval
uniform and hits an iceberg.
As the ship is going down, thecaptain is discovered deadin his cabin. The action thenswitches to Conan and his-7-

by martin o'brien
martinobrien2004@gmail.com

former girlfriend Ran and his
detective boys enjoying life
aboard the luxury cruise liner.
They are accompanied on thevoyage by Ran's father, theincompetent but headstrong
Kogoro. However, their playful
life aboard the Aphrodite issoon disturbed by a murder.
The victim is Entarou Yashiro,a wealthy and powerfulcompany president. Like
the good little detective heis, Conan soon begins toinvestigate the crime. Although
Conan's youth is sometimes
a n o b v i o u s d i s a d va n a g e ,being a seven also has a few
advantages as well - namely
the fact that suspicious
individuals are not as likely to
distrust a 7-year old in theirpresence. Conan's attention
is drawn to a writer known
as Hironari Kusaka. Using his
youthful innocence, he tricks
Hironari into letting him into
his cabin, and discovers somevaluable clues in the process.
As mysteries go, Strategy
above the Depths is fairly
predicatable, but I still
enjoyed the film due to the
comedy element brought toit by the bumbling Kogoro.
There are also many deftaction sequences, particularly
the climactic end where weare left wondering whether or
not it is the end for the young
Conan. While Strategy Abovethe Depths is not available oninternational release yet, TMS
have been busy promoting
the series editions of Conanabroad. Detective Conan
goes under the name ofCase Closed in the US due tolegal issues with the Conan
the Barbarian crew. Only in
America.

letter from suketo hoikuen

by kaoru sakamoto
awalife@gmail.com

And what those kids wholove the Christmas time
are looking forward to arepresents from Santa, perhaps?
N o w i s w h e n w e fe e l t h ewarmth and kindness of
exchanging presents with one
another.
However, the gift Santabrings to all of us, regardlessof differences in culture, is thesmile that fills our children’s
faces as we spend time

together in a world ﬁlled withdreams – the pure-hearted
belief in something that cannot
be seen with the eyes.
No doubt, when our children
grow older, these memories
will be treasured by them,and will provide them withthe strength to overcome
difﬁculties that may arise.
Next year will be a wonderfulyear as well! I hope you havea great time.

he cold has come onquickly – how are you all
doing? Are you managing
to stay clear of catching acold this winter?
The passing of the year goesvery quickly, doesn’t it, andnow it is already December. At
this time of the year, here andthere in the streets you hear
the sounds of Christmas songs
and children and adults alike
become excited.

tshin mai mama nikki
he Japanese tradition ofstarting school as well
as new jobs in April also
extends to daycare. And
the application period for
applying to send your child to
daycare is the ﬁrst two weeks
of December.
So, on December second,(it took me a day to get up
the nerve), I bundled Sofie
up and headed down to
my nearest daycare withthe application form from
City Hall in hand. According
t o To k u s h i m a ' s E n g l i s h language child-rearing
handbook "Sampo", fees for
public daycare are decided inaccordance with the family's
income. Apparently, I will
have to wait until my income
is analysed before being told
how much daycare will cost.
I always seem to havetrouble when I have to deal
with the family register
people at City Hall. This time,
when we went to register
Sofie's birth, we were toldthat unless I brought in mypassport showing my new last
name, Soﬁe would have to beregistered with my maiden
name! And they absolutelytthe Tanaka family out for a stroll

needed my passport - my alien
registration card was not goodenough. Apparently I had not
had my name updated on thefamily register when I went into get a new alien card madewith my new last name. Too
bad I will never have to do
this again, because I feel I've
finally gottten the hang if it!
Needless to say, the Childrearing Division of City Hallis a lot more straightforward
and user-friendly - I was able
to apply for the jido teatekin (child-raising allowance)
without any difficulty at all.
This is a program where theCity gives families ￥5000 per-8-

by claire tanaka
clairish@gmail.com

month per child to help withcosts until the child finishes
3rd grade of primary school.
Meanwhile, I am still onmaternity leave, spending
my days at home taking careof my baby, and trying to
get out for some fresh air
every day, despite the cold. I
have both a sling-type baby
carrier and a stroller (known
as a "baby car" in Japanese).
Right now, I prefer using thesling, because it is easier tokeep both she and I warm
when i have her against my
body. Of course, this doesn'tstop the local obasans fromcoming up to me to let meknow "she'll catch her deathof cold!" My husband tellsme this is just their way ofsaying hello. Another way the
locals have of saying "hello"
is to ask "how's your chichi(breastmilk)?" I also learned
from some local Elementary
student-aged boys that her
name, Soﬁe, is also the nameof the lead character in the
recent Hayao Miyazaki film,
Howl's Moving Castle! Having
a baby is certainly a good
way to get to know yourneighbours.

japanese lesson - keigo

by akiko tsuji
jtmtoku-lesson@mbk.nifty.com

his month we will be taking a look at keigo. Keigo is a set form of language used by aspeaker to express respect for another person. There are three types of keigo - honoriﬁc,humble and polite speech. This month we are going to focus on honoriﬁcs - take a look at thefollowing conversation:t

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Tanaka: Ms. Ann, have you
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b

b

b

Ҕӥ̡!ёкћэп̝ьѷж̜
e p v { p t b l j o j!
ѝкђಐџ̛(4)p z p n j l v e b t b jоລѳуєщи̝

!
!
!

Ann:

Ann:

I see. Please read it
ﬁrst.
ͰͰͰ
uboblbb o t b otijszpv p
โඨ̡!Ҕӥщ̜҇ૃᆍ҆
e p v { p
!
ѝкђ̝

o

p

v

oblbnvsbcvdipv

жѢк̜ඨഠ࿪ෙѣ̛n p v
p z p n j o jѶк̛(2) оລѳџ̛
o b s j n b t i j u b l bўѾѲыѓп̣Thank you. Well, has
Mr. Nakamura alreadyreadit?
uboblbi b jp z p n j o jโඨ̡!ѣи̜)3* оລѳџo b s j n b t i j u b z p!
ўѾѲыѓѼ̝

Tanaka: Ms. Ann. Here is the
Tanaka: Yes, he has.
data.
b o
b s j h b u p v h p { b j n b t vҔӥ̡жѾрќкшъиѲэ̝The below diagram shows how honoriﬁcs work. Respect isshown by by raising the person spoken of above oneself.

͔Special verbs͕
t p o l f j h p
Honoriﬁcs ( ё҇хиш )j l j n b t v

The speaker(Ann)the listener or
person beingreferred to(Tanaka,Nakamura)৪сѲэ
l j n b t v
ᅖѲэ
j n b t v
иѲэ!

j s b t t i b j n b t v

иѽїыѷиѲэ

u b c f n b t v

௳ѭѲэo p n j n b t v‫ۃ‬ѳѲэ

ஐы௑рѾѲэ

j j n b t v

p t t i b j n b t v

n f t i j b h b s j n b t v

Verbs
ॸиѲэ
оїыѷиѲэ
t i j u u f j n b t v h p { p o k j e f t v(1)
The same verbs used in the passive are used asඐїњиѲэ шജඐћэn j n b t v
hpsbooojobsjnbtv
respectful
verbs.
po jo b s j n b t vॣѲэшᅥџўѾѲэ
о V Ѳэ -form џ̛ўѾѲэ This pattern is(2)
tijnbtv
o b t b j n b t v
ы
Ѳэ
ў
щиѲэ
considered politer than (1).
l v s f n b t v
l v e b t b j(3)Specialrespectfull vwords.
Look at͔Special verbs͕. уҀѲэуєщиpn b t ve b t b j
о V Ѳэ -form уєщи This is the respectful way Answers:(4)of instructing or inviting someone to do something.

؋иѽїыѷиѲыѓпʊ ʆ ɼ ʆ ʄ ʆ ʐ ɿ ɼ ʎ ɼ ʄ،опсуєщиʈ ʀ ʎ ʃ ʄ ɼ ʂ ɼ ʍ ʄ ʈ ɼ ʎ ʐ ʆ ɼ‫؍‬ѵыжрѾѲэп

Practice
The following is a conversation at a Japanese-style hotel. Put the appropriate
honoriﬁ
c form inp
h p
the parentheses.plvsvnb
Some hnouns
can be turned into their honorifc by attaching о or ш to the front
plb{plv/
of the word.
ex. оଆ̜ш‫݌‬ഖ
vlfutvlf
j s b t t i b j n b t f
plvsvnbef
ଥ࿋̡!иѽїыѷиѲя̝оଆћ̈́؋̛̛̛̛̛ͅ
̝Welcome - did you come by car?
lzblv
i b j
ࡰ̡! ѣи̝Yes.
vlfutvlf
e f x bt v n j n b t f o h bl p l p o j
p o b n b f u p
plvsvnbo b c b b p
ଥ࿋̡!ћѣ̜эѳѲя҇р̜ччџ̛о჎ಶќ̜оଆѢ̛Ҽӥӂ̶҆̈́،̛̛̛̛̛ͅ
̝
!
Well,
please write your name and number of your car here.
lzblv
i b j
ࡰ̡̛!ѣи̝Yes
vlfutvlf
z v v t i p lvxb
obookjoj
̝What time will you have dinner?
ଥ࿋̡!ᄪ௳ѣ̛݃ૐџ̈́‫̛̛̛̛̛ͅ؍‬lzblv
k j h p s p o j
p o f h b j t i j n b t v
ࡰ̡̛!ϭૐшҁџ̛оࠪиыѲэ̝I'd like to have it about 7.
vlfutvlf
x b l b s j n b t i j u b
e f x be p v { ph p z v l l v s j
ଥ࿋̡!҃пѾѲыѓ̝ћѣ̜ѝкђ̛шѺїуѾ̝All right. Please make yourself at home.
ʄ ʍ ɼ ʎ ʎ ʃ ɼ ʄ ʈ ɼ ʎ ʃ ʄ ʏ ɼ-9-memoranda
Nengajo Display

Doitsu-kan Events໩‫ݰ‬௡ึ

һҖҶࠛҖӋӥҺ௜၇

when:

Tuesday, January 23 to Sunday, January 29

There is going to be piano concert by Takeshi Tanaka and9:30 to 16:30

Misuzu Kaneko's poems, recited by Akiko Kaneyama. (1stpart: piano solo, 2nd part: lecture (Japanese) 3rd part:

where: The Aioi Shinrin Museum of Art in Naka-cho]300 entry
cost:

concert with piano music and recital)

for more info: Call the Aioi Shinrin Museum of Art at
088.462.1117
Come along and see a display of nengajo artwork from

When: Sunday, Jan 8th, 14:30
Cost: Adults ]1500, children ]500

all across the country!
The Naruto Mardi Gras "Helping Hands to New Orleans"- taiko drumming, classical and jazz music. Part of therevenues goes to support for the Katrina Hurricane victims.

Outdoor JapanҔҘҺһҔ̠ҪӕӃӥ

When: Saturday, Jan 28, 17:00 ~Cost: Adults ]2500, children ]1500, including a light meal

OutdoorJapan.com is a site (in English) dedicated to thosein bando style.

seeking fun outdoors in Japan. Whatever you want to do,
if it's outdoor you'll ﬁnd it at OJ.

for more info: Call the Doitsu-kan at 088.689.0099

contact: Matt Lindsay @ surfmatt@outdoorjapan.com

Hey International
Japanese Lessons - Families!
Ѹе̜ਇੑ‫݌‬ഖѓѕ̤
Ongoing໘ႎতࢱ૬Tokushima City's Suketo Hoikuen and TOPIA present

JTM Tokushima's "Nihongo Salon"

International Child-rearing Salons. Please come and meet

Practice speaking Japanese conversation.

other international families like yours! There is no fee for

Mondays 10:30 - 12:00 at TOPIA

participation.

Saturdays 19:00 - 20:30 at the Seishonen Youth Centre
at TOPIA
Watari-sensei's free class at TOPIA:(Tokushima City, Clement Building 6F)

Wednesdays - beginner

when: every 3rd Sunday from 13:00 - 15:00

Every ﬁrst and third Thursday - people with one year of

cost: freeJapanese study experience

for more info: 088.656.3303

Every second and fourth Thursday - people with two years
of Japanese study experienceat Suketo Hoikuen

Classes run from 16:30 - 17:50(Tokushima City, Nakayoshino-cho 1-61)
when: every Thursday from 10:00 - 14:00

The following international associations holdcost: freeJapanese lessons. Call for more information:

for more info: 070.5681.1230

Tokushima City: 088.622.6066
Yoshinogawa City: 0883.24.5112

also...

Komatsushima: 08853.2.0454

Contact Ms. Murasawa at TOPIA for information regarding

Aizumi: 088.692.9951

Japanese lessons for parents with small children, andAnan: 0884.23.6323

Chinese and English language child-rearing consultation

Mima: 0883.63.4527

services.

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memoranda
Woodwork Display
ცিषѢึᅥ‫ݵ‬
When: Sunday, January 8 to Sunday, January 29

Counselling
Service at TOPIAҺӆҔѢ೰ඎೱ঵

9:30 - 17:00

TOPIA offers a counselling and advisory service to all

Where: Tokushima City Museum

foreign residents to help with issues involving accidents,

Cost:

Free

working conditions, housing, visas, international marriage,

Info:

Call the Tokushima City Museum at 088.638.3636

and more. Counselling is available in English andJapanese. Please note that although every effort will be

There is going to be a display of a wide range of artworks

made, we may not be able to deal with all cases.

made from wood, as well information on the craft andtools this January. One of Tokushima Prefecture's local

Monday to Friday, 10:00 - 16:30

specialities, the art and craft of woodworking holds a longtel. 088.656.3303 or 088.656.3320 (allows three way

tradition.

conversations with an interpreter)

Now is the perfect time to come along and sample someof the art, as well as learning more about this tradition.

Cross Country Race
New Year Concertҡӟҫ̠ҝӥҺӜ̶ോ‫ݵ‬ҽӗ̶̠ҖӖ̶̠ҥӥҧ̶Һ

When: Sunday, February 5 (in case of rain, it wll be

When: Sunday, January 29

Where: Tokushima City Track and Field Sports Arena

Doors open 13:30, concert starts 14:00
Where: Tokushima City Municipal Culture Hall
Cost:
Tickets are ]1500 with a ]500 discount for highpostponed to Sunday, February 12), 8:30
Cost:

Free

For more Information: Call the Tokushima City Hall
Physical Education and Health Section at
088.631.1477

school students and below. Tickets cost an extra]500 if bought on the day.
For more Information: Call the Tokushima City

Come along for the Tokushima 41st Cross Country Race.

Municipal Culture Hall at 088.653.2185

All ages can participate, with different race lengths fordifferent age groups!

Come along for a New Year performance by the Tokushima
Symphony Orchestra. They will be playing a variety ofPrimary School 5/6 years - 1.5 km

musi, including Mozart's 'The Magic Flute', as well as

Middle School and those aged 36 and above - 3 km

pieces by Mussorgsky and more.

Ages 15-35 - 4km

TV and Cinema
Your Message Here Listings?
чѢҫӌ̶ҫ҆ચиуєщи

UW ќۭ‫ݬ‬௜၇ѣѝкыѓѢ̣

If you have a non-proﬁt activity that you'd like to promote,let us know and we can print it here. Awa Life is one of the

You can now find up-to-date TV, cinema, and local

best ways to spread information to the English-speaking

sports listings in English at the new Living in Tokushima

international population of Tokushima.

website produced by the Tokushima Prefecture Culturaland International Affairs Division, as well as informatione-mail: awalife@gmail.com

on various aspects of daily life. Check it out at: http://

tel: 088.656.3303

ourtokushima.net/e_living/index-11-memoranda
Photographic
Exhibition

Temple Visits Information Sessionૼఉึఊଂ઄ѾѢಊა

When: Thursday, January 12 to Sunday, January 15

When: Saturday, January 28
10:00 am to 11:00 am

9:30 to 17:00

Where: Ebisu Shrine (see map below)

Where: Bunka no Mori, Tokushima 21st Century Culture
Information Center, Multi-purpose hall

Cost:

Free

Cost:

Free

Info:

Contact HIROBA International.

Info:

Call the Tokushima 21st Century Culture

Ph: 088.656.0669

Information Center at 088.668.1111

E-mail: meyamada@mb3.tcn.ne.jp

Come along to see an exhibition of photographic artwork

If you have been interested in learning more about visiting

at Bunka no Mori.

temples and shrines in Japan, now is the perfect time toget some extra information.
The information session will be held inside a shrine,

Cooking Columnist
WantedᆍᅫҥӛӒҽҫҺျ୆ඨHave a good recipe you want to share? We are looking
for columnists to write for Awa Life on the topic of cooking with local ingredients. Send an email in to Awa Life at
awalife@gmail.com if you would be interested in writing an article or two on this theme.

and you will have the chance to hear about the various
aspects of temple visiting. At the end, participants recievea decoration as a gift, and you also have the chance toparticipate in a traditional observance for good luck. Be
sure to bring along a ]1, ]5 or ]10 coin so you can takepart!
There are a total of twenty places available, and toregister your interest, contact HIROBA International at
the details above with your name, contact details andnationality. Children are most welcome.

Calenders Wanted!
ҝӞӥҲ̶ျ୆ඨ̤

As part of our international relations, TOPIA is currently
looking for calenders for the year 2006 as gifts for foreign
guests to the prefecture. If you have any calenders fromin Japan or abroad that you would like to donate, pleasebring them in to TOPIA on the 6th floor of the Clement
Plaza.
ਇੑ࠘ऒѢ‫ڴ‬࿪ќыњ̜UPQJB ѣॵ੓̜‫ޒ‬ਇగѢࡰѢѓѵѢഇѾ࿾ќыњ 3117 ໩ѢҝӞӥҲ̶Ѣ࠳࿋҆ျ୆ыњиѲэ̝໘ႎ̜Ѳѓѣ‫ޒ‬ਇпѽѢҝӞӥҲ̶҆࠳࿋ыѓи௘৽̜ѐѦЊЅІϿϷ̈́ҡӞӓӥҺ̠ӉӛҨѢϬ‫ͅގ‬Ѳћ҆ш૏઄уєщи̝గग़ଙїњࡏуა໘
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