aWa life

Singles' Day in China

Awa Shoku:
Holy Mackerel!

Interview withRasheed Abdul

Letter fromSUKETO NAKAYOSHI

November 2020
# 361

Gairaigo Galore:
ジビエ1

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

We hope you all enjoy the peak of the fall foliage season and the two public holidays November has tooffer: Culture Day ( 文化の日 ) and Labor Thanksgiving Day ( 勤労感謝の日 ). In many countries, theInternational Worker’s Day on May 1st is a public holiday. However, in Japan, Mayday is usually only
celebrated by labor unions and such and is not a public holiday. Instead, Japan introduced the Labor
Thanksgiving Day on November 23rd which has its roots in an ancient harvest festival. School children
sometimes prepare cards or gifts for police officers and others. We wish you all a happy Labor Thanksgiving Day and hope you get a good rest from your daily duties.
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:

awalife@gmail.com

Your editors,
Sydney and Nico

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:
Qing Liu, Kazue Inoue, Kayo Miyoshi, Lance Kita

2

Contents

Pg. 2:

Singles' Day in China

Pg. 3:

Letter from SUKETO NAKAYOSHI

Pg. 4:

Interview with Rasheed Abdul

Pg. 5:

Japanese Culture and Reading Corner: 文化祭

Pg. 5:

Gairaigo Galore: ジビエ

Pg. 6:

Awa Shoku: Holy Mackerel!

Pg. 7:

Japanese Lesson

Pg. 8-9: Events and Memoranda
Singles' Day in China
By: Qing Liu

In China, November 11th is known as “Singles’
Day”.

The ratio of single men to women born in the
1970s is over 2:1, which has become a serious
issue. In 2020, there will be 30 million ~ 35 million
bachelors who are unable to find a wife.
There are a myriad of theories about the origin ofSingles’ Day, but the widely accepted explanationis that it originated in the dorms of Nanjing
University. 4 male students would hold nightly
talks, primarily about how they wanted to escapebeing single. The 4 students then decided thatthey would celebrate "Guang Gunjie" (One's Day)on November 11th.
Afterwards, this became a fun part of college
culture at not just Nanjing University, but
universities across China. As a number ofstudents bid farewell to the university campus,
this holiday steadily began to enter society. It
also gained popularity thanks to the internet andmedia, and the Singles’ Day culture eventually
took formation.
Nowadays, the number of people who get marriedon Singles’ Day is increasing. However, it’s also
a day for single men and women to join in on
parties in the hopes of finding a partner, and it isalso called "Tuo Guang".
At the same time, many large companies haveused this as a reason to conduct sales. On
Singles’ Day in 2019, Alibaba’s online sales
reached 268.4 billion yuan.
As for marriage and singleness, there is a famousline from Qian Zhongshu’s (1910 – 1998) novel“Fortress Besieged” that goes “Those inside
the fortress wish to escape. Those outside thefortress wish to enter. Marriage, work, and humandesires are largely the same.” At that period intime (the 19th century), when the easiest path tolove was to ask a girl if you “could please borrowa book”, it seems that the secrets to love hadalready been discovered.
The sales on November 11th allow those both
inside and outside of the fortress to enjoy a festive
atmosphere.

3

Letter from SUKETO NAKAYOSHI
By: Kazue Inoue (Center for Early Childhood Education and Care SUKETO NAKAYOSHI)A

s we get further into autumn and it starts
to get darker earlier, there are probably
more people who are spending time at home.
During these kinds of times, why don’t all of
the parents out there spend time with theirchildren and enjoy some picture books together?
Picture books are not only a way for children to
improve their vocabulary, but they help to foster
children’s expressiveness and imaginative power.
Furthermore, they aid in improving a child’s
curiosity, ability to think, and ability to concentrate.
Having their beloved mother or father read tothem is also a great opportunity for children to feelthe warmth and love of their family.
For children of the 0-1 age group, I recommended
picture books that focus on foods, animals,
vehicles, etc. Pop-up books and other books
that they are able to interact with are also good
choices. For children age 2-3, they tend to enjoy
books that are based on everyday life, those withrepetition, legends, simple stories, etc.
How to spark a child’s interest in picture books:
1. Place picture books in a location where children
can always see and read them whenever theywant.
2. Read to your children whenever they ask you
to do so.
3. When there is a picture book that theyespecially seem to like, read it to them multiple
times.
4. Do not have excessive expectations when it
comes to children learning new words, numbers,manners, etc.
Autumn is the best time for reading, so find agood book and enjoy the time together with yourchild.
********************************************************
Homemade Sweets (Sweet Potato Mochi)
Ingredients (For 16 pieces):
1 Sweet Potato (200 g)

1 ~ 2 Tablespoons of Sugar
1 Teaspoon of Sesame Oil
1 Cup of Refined Rice Flour
1/2 ~ 1 Cup of Lukewarm Water
Oil as Needed

Instructions:
1. Peel the skin off of the sweet potato. Cut into 2
cm pieces and soak in salted water.
2. Boil the sweet potato in water until it softens.
Drain the water and shake over the flame toremove the moisture. While it’s still hot, add thesugar and sesame oil. Quickly mash and mix
together.
3. Add the refined rice flour to the lukewarm waterand knead until it is as soft as your earlobes. Add
to the sweet potatoes and mix.
4. Mold into a round shape with a radius of 5-6
cm and then flatten into dango. Boil until it floats
to the surface. Remove from the boiling water andplace in cool water.
5. Oil the frying pan and set to medium heat. Lineup the dango (which should have the moisture
removed) and grill them. Once they have grillmarks on them, turn the heat to low and finish
cooking.
*They are especially delicious when you
add some tare sauce (boil down 1 and a 1/2
tablespoons of soy sauce and 1 tablespoon ofsugar in a pot).

Interview with Rasheed Abdul: Pakistan Native
By: Kayo Miyoshi, Qing Liu & Sydney BartigT

he other
day wem e t w i t h
R a s h e e d
Abdul whocame to Japan
all the way
from Pakistan.
We took thisopportunity to
ask him about
his life and his
impressions ofJapan.
R a s h e e dcame to Japan last year in December for work.
The first thing that surprised him about Japanwas how, even though he had arrived at theKansai International Airport, there weren’t many
people who could understand English. He wasshocked as he had heard that Japanese people
study English in school. In Pakistan, those who
attend school learn English, so they are all able tounderstand and converse in English.
The national language of Pakistan is actually
Urdu. The pronunciation is similar to Hindi, but thewriting is different. The writing is similar to Arabic,
but the pronunciation is different.
Before he arrived, the only real image he hadof Japan was that of old samurai movies.
However, after arriving he realized Japan was
indeed a developed country. In Pakistan, tickets
are sold by a living person, and in Japan they
are sold by a machine. Even if you want to buy
something simple like water, you often buy it froma vending machine. The huge bridge connecting
to Tokushima was also a shock. He was quite
troubled as he didn’t understand anything about
Japan, and there were few people who were able
to help him out.
Before studying Japanese, he thought ofJapanese, Chinese, and Korean as all being
quite similar. However, after he began to study

4

Japanese he realized how, even though Japaneseis one language, it has three different writing
systems to learn: hiragana, katakana, and kanji.
While the Japanese language proved troubling,
he also had issues with food. In Tokushima, it ismuch more difficult to find Halal food. With all ofthese troubles, he felt quite lonely.
However, he enjoys going to the mosque every
Friday. In Tokushima, there is only a single
mosque. Believers from Indonesia, Malaysia,
Turkey, Egypt, Bangladesh, etc. all gather
there. Everyone is on good terms and they
pray together, as well as sometimes eat meals
together. (Married couples will bring food fromhome for these feasts.)
When children are 12 years old, they begin toparticipate in the month of Ramadan. Eating
and drinking (even water) are prohibited.
However, Rasheed is already used to this andit isn’t particularly an issue. During Ramadan
in Pakistan,schools andbusinesses
shorten theirhours. During
this time,
everyone takes
time to relax orspend time with
their families. In
Islam families,
brothers alllive in thesame house
alongside thegrandfather
and grandmother. Men are allowed to marry up to
4 women, so families are often quite large.
At the end of the interview, Rasheed stated that,“I want to see my family again. The most difficult
part of being in Japan is being separated fromthem.”

5

Japanese Culture and Reading Corner: 文化祭
By: Kayo Miyoshi

がつ みっ か

ぶん か

ひ

へい わ

あい

ぶん か

ひ

に ほん

しゅく じつ

に ほん

がっ こう

１１月３日は“文化の日”【平和を愛し、文化をすすめる】日で、日本の祝日です。日本の学校では
ぶん か さいひら

さいがっこう ぎょう じ

がっこうさいがくえんさい“文化祭”が開かれます。
“祭”は“おまつり”ですが、学校の行事です。学校祭や学園祭、オープンスクー
よ

せいかつ

がくしゅう

せい か

はっぴょう

ちゅうがっこうこうこうげき

ルとも呼ばれます。生活や学習の成果を発表します。中学校や高校では、コンサートやダンス、劇な
たいいくかん

おこな

きょうしつ

も

ぎ てん

ば

や しき

ひら

ほ

ご しゃ

しんにゅうせい

がっこう

とくしょく

こうふう

どを体育館で行い、教室で模擬店やお化け屋敷などを開きます。保護者や新 入 生に学校の特色や校風
し

もくてき

げいじゅつ

あき

しょくよく

あき

あき

よ

を知ってもらう目的もあります。
「芸術の秋」、「食欲の秋」や「スポーツの秋」と呼ばれますが、みな
とくしま

あき

たの

さまも徳島の秋を楽しんでください。

Vocabulary List
ぶん か さいSchool Festival
文化祭
ぶん か
ひ
Culture Day
文化の日
しゅくじつ
National Holiday
祝 日
ぎょう じ
Event
行 事
せい か
はっぴょう
成果を発 表 Showcase their Achievements
げき
Play
劇
も ぎ てん
Refreshment Booth
模擬店

ば

や しき

お化け屋敷
ほ ご しゃ
保護者
しんにゅうせい
新入生
とくしょく こうふう
特色や校風
もくてき
目的
しょくよく
食欲

Haunted House
Parent/Guardian
New Pupils(School) Features/Atmosphere
Purpose/Goal
Appetite

Gairaigo Galore

ジビエ (gibier; game meat)
By: Nico Bohnsack
Have you ever eaten game meat in Japan? While Japan is best known for seafood due to its
oceanic environment, about 73 percent of Japan is covered with (often wooded) mountains.
These mountains are habitats for lots of wild animals, such as deer, wild boars, bears, etc. Someof these wild animals are used for consumption, and often the number ofrestaurants serving game meat will increase as you enter mountainous
areas. By the way, Tokushima also has a lot to offer in terms of game meat.
Game meat in Japan is usually deer or wild boar, but other animals, suchas bears, rabbits or wild birds, occasionally find their way onto the plate
as well. Game meat is called ジビエ (jibie) in Japan which stems from the
French word “gibier” of the same meaning.
Japan doesn’t have a long tradition of eating and selling game meatcommercially, and in the past this kind of meat was mainly consumed by hunters and their families.
However, small-scale consumption in other parts of the population began during the Meiji Era due
to Western influences. From the 1990s, various kinds of game meat were imported from France
since game meat cuisine already had a long tradition in France and other European countries andwas seen as a specialty. This is why the word “gibier” became part of the Japanese language.
After that, and also due to problems with population overabundance, the local game meat cuisine
industry developed rapidly and is now present in almost every part of Japan.

Awa Shoku: Holy Mackerel!
By: Lance Kita

As autumn chills down, my tastes in seafood
warms up. Fish fatten up for the upcoming
winter, and so any fish caught now has a higher
fat content and richer flavor. The king of oily fall
fish is definitely mackerel (saba 鯖 ), and Japanis one of the top catchers of saba in the world.
Mackerel migrates along the Pacific Oceanside, and is caught during the autumn here inTokushima.

Saba can be easily recognized by the silverblue striped pattern on its dorsal side.
Mackerel fall into a category unique to Japaneseclassification called “blue fish” (aozakana 青魚 ), a
third group after the usual red-meat fish (like tuna)
and white-meat fish (like cod). Blue fish include
mackerel, horse mackerel (aji 鯵 ), saury (sanma
秋刀魚 ), Pacific herring (nishin 鰊 ), and sardines(iwashi 鰯 ). The kanji for mackerel is made up
of two characters, “fish” 魚 on the left and “blue”
青 on the right, so it could be said that saba is
the king of blue fish as well, and it is one of thelargest among them.
Saba loses is freshness quickly due to the highfat content, but it responds very well to curingand marinating. Sushi restaurants will usuallycure mackerel in salt overnight to draw out the
moisture, then marinate it in vinegar to preserve
it. This method is called shimesaba 〆さば , andwill sometimes involve sandwiching the fish filets
between sheets of konbu 昆布 seaweed to boost
the umami (kobujime 昆 布 締 め ). This can besliced and served on little blocks of rice in classic
nigiri-sushi 握 り 寿 司 style, but Western Japanloves to eat the shimesaba using the whole fillet
pressed over a long rectangular block of sushi
rice, then sliced into bite-sized pieces. This iscalled saba-zushi 鯖 寿 司 , and is often searedon top, which crisps up the skin and releases thefragrant oils.
As for home cooking, there really are two

6major ways to enjoy this fatty fish: grilling andsimmering.
Grilling is the simplest method, especially saltgrilling (shioyaki 塩 焼 き ). If you’re not used to
the fishy smell, splash some sake over the filets,and pat dry after about 5 minutes. Sprinkle salt
on both sides and grill over open flames or highheat until the skin is bubbly, crispy, and roasted.
Serve with a little soy sauce, a squirt of sudachi,
and maybe some grated daikon to cut through theoiliness. The fish flakes off the bone easily andthe fat keeps it moist.
Simmering (nitsuke 煮付け ) is a classic Japanesemethod, where the saba filets are covered in a
cooking liquid (soy sauce, mirin cooking wine,
sugar, ginger and water) and simmered until
the fish is tender. The key is to let it cool down
naturally, which will cause the flavors to permeate
the flesh. Saba is also popular simmered withmiso (miso-ni 味 噌 煮 ) and is a regular offeringon most set meal menus. There is nothing more
comforting on a chilly evening than a warm dish of
reheated saba and a hot bowl of rice.

Saba simmered in miso warms you up on
an autumn evening.
Too busy to cook? Recently, there has been arising popularity in canned saba (saba-kan サ
バ 缶 ), and the packing liquid is either nitsuke
or miso-ni, so just open the can, heat in a
microwave-safe bowl, and enjoy! These havebeen cooked so long that even the bones are
edible (chew well). I often add the canned fish toeggs before scrambling and serve over rice withsome of the cooking liquid for a quick donburi 丼(rice bowl).
Sushi or simple, mackerel is not only versatile, buttasty and rich and perfect for cool autumn nights(or days, it’s great for lunch too). Enjoy!

7Japanese Lesson

By: Kayo Miyoshi

Using「おめでとう」&「おめでとうございます」.
Words of encouragement, whether you're the one giving them or are on the receiving end, always
make one happy. This time, I've made a list of occasions when you can use these words.
き ねん びいわ記念日のお祝い ･･･「〇〇〇おめでとうございます」**「お」or「ご」are added before the word.

しょうがつ

しんねん あお正月には ･･･「新年明けましておめでとうございます」
Phrases to Express Congratulations & Joy
やったね！うまくいってよかったね！
ほんとう

し

にゅ

ー す

よかったです。本当にいい知らせ（ニュース )）ですね。
じ ぶん

自分のことのようにうれしいです。
こころ

いわ

よろこ

もう

あ

心よりお祝い（お慶び）申し上げます。

Events & Memoranda
Tokushima Fall Foliage Map
徳島紅葉マップ

8

Autumn in Unpenji Temple
秋の雲辺寺
The end of October marks the start for the best
time to the see the autumn leaves at Unpenji
Temple. Along with limited edition autumn seal
stamps and omamori (charms), the limited time
“Café Rupo Unpenji” will also be open!

例年 10 月下旬頃～が紅葉の見頃の雲辺寺。

Make sure to come fully experience the season at
Unpenji Temple!

これからの季節、ぜひ雲辺寺へお出かけしてみて

When: 7:20 – 17:00 (Ropeway Hours of Operation)
Where: Unpenji Temple
Info: Unpenji Temple
TEL: 088-374-0066
Café Rupo Unpenji: October 15th –November 23rd
Kanonji City, Kagawa Prefecture (Ropeway/Cafe)
TEL: 087-54-4968

日時：7:20 ～ 17:00（ロープウェイ運行）

季節限定の紅葉の御朱印＆お守りの頒布に合
わ せ、2020 年 秋 は、 期 間 限 定 で「 カ フ ェ ル ポ
UNPENJI」も OPEN いたします☆

は♪

場所：雲辺寺
問い合わせ：雲辺寺
TEL：088-374-0066
カフェルポ UNPENJI：10 月 15 日～ 11 月 23 日
カフェ＆ロープウェイ（香川県観音寺市）
TEL：087-54-4968

9Events & Memoranda

Picture Book: “Yusanbako Traditional Lunch Boxes ofTokushima, Japan” Publication Anniversary Event
絵本「遊山箱もって」英語版 出版記念イベント

Contents:- An original Ningyo Joruri performance:“Yusanbako Sagete”
This is the first time to have Osuru and Oyumi
star in a performance about yusanbako. (Script by
Martin Holman)- The author will read a line from the book, andthen Martin Holman will read that line in English.
(Comparison between the Japanese and English)- Book signing by the author Junyo Yamasaki.

内容：When: November 29th (Sun.)
11:45 AM – 12:30 PM*The regularly scheduled performance, Keisei
Awa no Naruto by Naruto-Za, will be performed
from 11:00 AM – 11:30 AM.
Where: Awa Jurobe Yashiki

日時：11 月 29 日（日）- 新作人形浄瑠璃「遊山箱さげて」上演。
お鶴とお弓が、遊山箱をさげて演じるのは初めてです（脚本・マーティン氏）- 著者が日本語を一文読んだ後、マーティン氏がその英文を読みます。
（日本語と英語の違いがわかります。
）- やまさきじゅんよ作営本のサイン会

11:45 ～ 12:30*（11:00 ～ 11:30 は鳴門座の「傾城阿波の鳴門」が上演されます）
場所：阿波十郎兵衛屋敷

Free Bus "Awa Tokushima"!!
無料バス「アワーとくしま」運行！！
For a limited time, the free bus "Awa Tokushima"(reservation required) will run between Nishi Awa(Kazurabashi Yumebutai) and Naruto (Naruto
Park).
Days of Operation: November 1st (Sun.),
3rd (Tue.), 7th (Sat.), 8th (Sun.),14th (Sat.), 15th (Sun.),21st (Sat), 22nd (Sun.),23rd (Mon.)
TEL：088-372-2171
URL: https://yonkoh.co.jp/freebus-ourtokushima* Reservations are required and must be made by
4:00 PM on the day prior.

にし阿波（かずら橋夢舞台）と鳴門（鳴門公園）を結ぶフリーバス「アワーとくしま」（事前予約制）を期間限定で運行します。
運転日 : 11 月 1 日（日）、3 日（火）、7 日（土）、
8 日（日）、14 日（土）、15 日（日）、
21 日（土）、22 日（日）、23 日（月）TEL：088-372-2171
URL: https://yonkoh.co.jp/freebus-ourtokushima* 完全予約制で運行いたします。ご予約は前日の16:00 まで。

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)