awa life

#271

"TOPPY"
February 2013

raise a glass to miyoshi’s breweries
by lance kita

"Booze ands m o k e s " - hardly anillustrious way to describe Miyoshi
City 三好市 in western Tokushima,
but both of those things play arole in its prosperity. A recent
stroll around JR Awa-Ikeda 阿
波 池 田 Station revealed peeks
into the town’s past and hopefulsigns for its future.
Walk through the nostalgic
shopping arcade and hangright onto Motomachi Street 本
町 通 り . Many of the houses
have distinctive plaster eaves
called udatsu 卯 建 topped withornate roof tiles, which are not
only decorative but also serve
as a firebreak. The fancier
the udatsu, the richer you
appeared. Though Wakimachi’s udatsu-lined street is morefamous, Ikeda’s udatsu arealso fine examples of this late
Edo-period architectural status
symbol.
So what was the source of thiswealth way up in the mountains?
Ikeda and the surrounding
communities were producers of
tobacco. Awa Tobacco washighly regarded and a bustlingThirty-eight breweries from around Shikoku will show off their libations at the
Shikoku Sake Matsuri. Those who like sweeter, heavier sake will enjoy this region's

merchant trade grew from the18th century. Today, the Awa
Ikeda Tobacco Museum 阿波池
田たばこ資料館 , in an old udatsu
residence, illustrates the processof preparing the tobacco fromdrying to shredding the leaves
and packaging.
The Meiji government cracked
down on tobacco monopolies,

and many Ikeda merchants
started to look for otherbusiness opportunities.
Some, like Hosui 芳 水 andIma Komachi 今小町 , looked
to another adult indulgence:
rice wine, or sake 酒 . Ikeda
soon became a hotbed for
breweries. Unlike the Naruto
area which sold their productin bulk to larger labels inraise a glass to miyoshi’s breweries ... con't on page 3

inside awa life this monthpage 3: miyoshi's breweries con't; page 4: tokushima & lower saxony (part 2);
page 5: hands-on cultural exchange - the kimono;
page 6-7: cultural lessons in love; page 8: irene's recipe corner;
page 9: letter from suketo hoikuin; page 10-11: japanese lesson;
page 11-12: events & memoranda
1awa life

is a monthly publication of the Tokushima Prefectural International Exchange Association (TOPIA)
Editors:
Emma Boardman & Martin Rathmann
Contributors This Month:
Lance Kita, Junko Kimura, Martin Rathmann,Kazue Inoue, Irene Wachuga, Yoshie Motoki,
Yukari Sakabe, Taku Mori.

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@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: awaglotT

he literary corner of
Awa Life, Awaglot, is acombination of the words"awa" and "polyglot", whichmeans multilingual. Be it
fiction, non-fiction, 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!

The following will not be
posted: Religious, political,
or commercial activities,businesses searching forclients or employees, things
the Awa Life editors deem
inappropriate.
BUT, you can totally submit
this stuff: offers to sell or
exchange personal goods,
concerts, lectures, andother event information,
cultural, sporting, andother community group
information, etcetera.

If you have something you
would like to share with
the Tokushima community,
email the editors at
awalife@gmail.com!

Coralberry in the Zuiganji Temple Gardens, Tokushima City (photo by Taku Mori)

2raise a glass to miyoshi’s breweries... con't from page 1

Kansai, Miyoshi’s breweries
were too far upriver andrelied on their own brandpower to sell. As a result,many of the recognizedTokushima sake labels comefrom this area.
Why sake? Mr. Mamiya,president of Miyoshikiku 三 芳
菊 Brewery, says that weather
was a big factor. With a crisp
cold winter similar to sakemecca Niigata, Miyoshi’s
climate is ideal for controlled
fermentation. Western Japanis also a major producer ofsake-speciﬁc rice, and clean
spring water is plentiful in thismountainous region of theprefecture. Many breweriesin Shikoku use soft water,
so the sake generally has
a sweet o v e r t o n e . F r o msmokes to sake, Ikeda’s
economy shifted at the startof the 20th century and ricewine boomed after the war.
However, the recent
popularity of shochu 焼 酎 (adistilled liquor made of rice,barley, or potatoes) andchanging drinking habits
among younger people(more wine and cocktails)
have hit the sake industry
hard. Sake sales andconsumption are only 1/3
what it was in the 1960s.
Two breweries are taking
very diffe re n t d i re c t i o n s .
Hosui Brewery is sticking withwhat it does best: making
a slightly dry sake from thehard water that flows in
its wells, using traditional
methods. According tochief of production Yasuharu
Takeuchi, trends will comeand go, so it’s best to workon his core product and wait
for the market to recover.
Reacting to trends does not
ensure long-term stability forthe company.
On the other hand,
Miyoshikiku is experimenting
with a wide range of sakeﬂavors. They use softer waterF r o m h a r v e s t t o d r y i n g t o p a c k a g i n g , t h e A w a I k e d a To b a c c o
M u s e u m d i s p l ay s t o o l s a n d a r t i fa c t s i n c l u d i n g t h i s t o b a c c o s l i c e r

to develop the sweetness
in the sake and create
varieties reminiscent of fruitliqueurs and wine. Theirlabeling incorporates pop
art and are even working
on a sparkling sake. Mr.
Mamiya says he wants to"reach out to people who
don’t usually drink sake.”production, so explore Ikeda
and savor its libations before
the pine leaf ball turns brown!

With Miyoshi centrally
located, the "bellybutton of
Shikoku” will be hosting its
annual Shikoku Sake Matsuri
四 国 酒 ま つ り on Saturday,
F e bruary 23. For a one
time fee, you can freely
sample from 38 Shikoku
breweries. The threebreweries mentioned in thisarticle will also have special
open houses, including tours
and free samples of freshsake. Winter is the peak of- www.awanavi.jp :[Check the English pagefor info on the Tobacco
Museum]Information on Miyoshi City:- www.miyoshinavi.jp:[An extensive English page
with downloadable maps]

Many thanks to Mr. Ryoichiro
Mamiya of Miyoshikiku and
Mr. Yasuhiro Takeuchi of Hosuifor their invaluable insights
and information about thehistory and process of sakebrewing in the Miyoshi
area!

3

tokushima and lower saxony (part 2)by Martin Rathmann

H e l l o a g a i n ! In

January’s issue of Awa
Life, I told you all about
the cultural exchanges
between Tokushima
Prefecture and Germany’s
Lower Saxony that occurred
last Spring and August. The
Winter was equally busy, so
I’d like to share a little bit
about that with you too!
The winter was constantly
busy, and full of manydifferent events. First of all,there was a Judo Exchange
spanning 9 days with 9
German Judo athletes.
Historically, Tokushima andLower Saxony have alreadyconducted numerous Judoexchanges. Last year theTokushima Judo Association
went to Germany, (a trip
which I also attended) andthis year Tokushima hosted
guests from Germany. The
focus was the study of
Judo practice in Japan,
seemingly different to our
European approach. These
differences concern notjust technique, but also

the way of thinking. Our
German guests learned a
lot and engaged in plentyof dialogue with Japanese
residents and athletes especially over a beer inthe evening!
Last but not least, the 27th
National Culture Festival
was held in Tokushima. The
National Culture Festival is
the biggest culture festival
in Japan, held in Kyoto in
2011, and scheduled tobe held in Yamanashi in
2013. Tokushima is the only
prefecture to have hostedof this big event twice.
The first time was 2007,
after signing the friendshipagreement with Lower
Saxony and the second
time was last year, 2012
(the 5th anniversary of
the official friendship). Thisshows the importance ofJapanese-German relations
as a deciding factor invenue selection.
The main event was theworld dance festival. 4groups from 4 countries
had been invited to thisevent, a Spanish ﬂamenco
team, a Korean traditional
dance group and a
Awa Dance group. From
Germany there were 2
groups with 24 people.
One was a traditional
folkdance group and theother was electro hip-hopgroup, and so there was
the opportunity to see
modern and traditional
German dances.
Both groups had an
unforgettable experienceas they performed theirdances in front of so many
people, (around 2000
guests) and were able
to dance the Awa Odori
with all the other groups.
Culture exchange wasachieved not throughlanguage, but throughdance, and it truly wasa wonderful, once in a
lifetime experience.
All in all 2012 was a busy,
but very nice year!

The German Judo Delegation does some hands-on learning at Awa Jurobe Yashiki

4interactive cultural exchange:
the kimono

by Yukari Sakabe

Models display kimonos from different eras (photo by Yukari Sakabe)"The Kimono is areﬂection of theJapanese lifestyle,culture, andaesthetic sense"
On December 8th 2012,
Tokushima University’s
International Salon held an
event introducing the historyof the Japanese kimono.
The event was held inJapanese, and welcomed
approximately 60
participants, including local
residents and international
students from regions suchas The Americas, Europe,and Asia.
The first half of the event
saw Mrs. Seo, Director of the
Seoshizuko Kimono School,
discussing the history of
the kimono, and models
donned a variety of period
outfits rarely worn today.
Explanations were offered
for each of the respective
attires, and the chance to
see the outﬁts from different
eras side by side gave theaudience a great insight
into how the style of thekimono has changed
throughout its history.
In the past, clothes andhairstyles were carefully
styled to reﬂect one’s age,
job and more. Individual
circumstance and status
could be indentiﬁed at justa glance. It is said, that so
important was fashion in
identifying one’s position,that worker’s sportingan ‘Eboshi’, (an old style
Japanese hat), had toleave the hat on from themoment they woke up,
until they went to bed atnight - even when theybathed! Long hair wasconsidered to be a sign ofbeauty, and some womenare said to have boasted
locks of 5 meters in length.
The second half of theevent brought with it the
chance for participants toactually try on a kimono.
Director Seo and her
students made quick workof helping the international
students into the traditional
garments. For many
participants it was their ﬁrst

time, and they awaited
their turn with greatinterest. The experienceof actually wearing
the kimono - feelingthe fabrics weight andtexture, the craftsmanshipof the outfit, and theshapes and feel of the
footwear – deepened
their understanding of
the outfit. Once dressed,
they enjoyed posing forphotographs.
The event ended withparticipants asking
questions to the teachers
who had assisted at
the event, conversing
with local residents, andsharing their thoughts on
the kimonos they had
worn with their friends. It
was a high note to end
on, and it seemed like thelocal residents and theinternational students had
grown closer because of
the experience. The event
provided a truly engaging
platform in which to learn
about the history of thekimono.

5

cultural lessons in loveby Junko Kimura

What's your planfor Valentine's
D a y ? Many of you

know that Valentine's Day
in Japan is the day that agirl gives a chocolate to aboy whom she likes. It wassuch a nervous day for me
when I was in the 5th grade.
I wonder if school kids arestill like that nowadays? In
Western Culture, as far as
I remember, a boy gives
presents such as cards,
flowers, or chocolates to a
girl. When I found that out,
I knew I preferred Western
style without a doubt.
Even the same event, such
Valentine’s Day, differs
greatly between Japanand Western styles. So how
about other events?
I was invited to friends’
weddings in the Bahamas
and Australia last year.
Luckily I was able to attend
both. The weddings wereamazing and I was happy
to see my friends getting
married. I had been to
several weddings in Japan
before, but I made sureto find out about western
weddings manners, rules,
and customs before
attending.

"It struck me thatmany foreign Awa
Life readers may
get a chance toattend a weddingin Japan, and I
thought I could
6

introduce you tosome wedding
manners, rules
and customs inJapan."
I went shopping to get mydress for the wedding in
the Bahamas. I picked up
a black dress. As soon as Ibought it, I told my friend in
the Bahamas that I boughta black dress. She was "Oh
No. You cannot wear any
black dress to my wedding.
If you wear that, it meansthat you are saying 'NO'
to my wedding." In Japan,

women often wear black
dresses to weddings, andmen wear black or darkcolored suits.
My dress color ended up
being purple. I asked atleast 5 of my friends fromoverseas if purple would be
ok for wedding, to makesure not to be rude.
Wedding gifts werealso something I had toresearch on the Internet
and from friends. If you areinvited for a wedding inJapan, you bring 30,000yen
as a wedding gift. It is
important that you put

the money in a special
envelope called ご 祝 儀
袋 (go shugi-bukuro) thatyou can get at stationary
stores. It’s customary togive new, un-creased bills.
You can get new bills at
the bank. If it's 会費制披露
宴 (a reception where theguests foot their own bill),then you can just bringthe amount indicated onyour wedding invitation.
For that, you do not needto get shugi-bukuro or
new bills.
I heard about wedding
registry in the U.S.
Wedding couples
make a list of what theywant to get and guests
check the list and gives
something from the list.
My Australian friends told
me that now it's popularfor young couples to ask
for donations for theirweddings/honeymoons.

usually takes three hours.
During those 3 hours, thecouple changes outfits
2-3 times. Checking out
what my friend picks out
for her outﬁts is always fun.
Japanese people usuallyrent wedding dresses fromstores.
Only people who get an
invitation can go to thewedding in Japan – there
is no “plus 1”. Usually thebride invites her female
friends, the groom invites
his male friends, and boththe bride and groom
invite colleagues andrelatives.

After the wedding and thereception there is usuallya second party to which
they invite their friends whothey couldn’t invite to thereception. The second
party usually is for friends
rather than relatives orcolleagues. The dress codeis usually smart-casual.
Being able to attending
weddings not just in Japanbut abroad was good a life
experience. The customs
may differ, but my wish tosee my friends live out theirlives in happiness remained
the same.

During a wedding
reception in Japan, themarried couple sits ona stage and enjoys theguests’ speeches andperformances. Usually
the couple’s friends do
performances. I believethat many of them singsongs that relate toweddings, or love songs.
If bride or groom belongs
to an Awa dance groupin Tokushima prefecture,they usually invite them tothe wedding to performthe Awa Odori.
The wedding reception7

irene's recipe cornerby irene wachugaa gift for you"On Valentine’s Day, we thinkof those people who havecheered and encouraged us,
those who’ve gone out of their
way to be kind and caring,those who have enriched ourlives - the people that we love
and adore.
If Valentine’s Day did not exist,
there would be no flowers, gifts
or cards, but I’d still find a way
to show you my appreciation.
On Valentine's Day, I comebearing gifts because youcolor my life.”

Happy
Valentine's Day!
Ingredients:(makes 3 dozen)
1 cup of unsalted butter
1 cup of sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp of vanilla
3 cups of flour
2tsp of baking powder
1 tsp of salt
Preparation:
1. In a bowl, cream butter
and sugar.
2. Beat in the eggs andvanilla.
3. In another bowl, sift theold fashioned cookies
flour, baking powder andsalt.
4. Stir flour into the butter
mixture 1 cup at a time. For
the last cup use hands toknead softly to a ball.
5. Chill dough for 2 hours orovernight.
6. Roll out dough on a lightly
floured surface. Use cookie
cutters and cut to desired
shapes.
7. Brush with milk.
Baking:1. Bake on an ungreased

英国文学紀行

sheet pan for 8-15 minutes(depends on thickness
and size of cookies) at 170
degrees.
2. Cool for about a minuteon the sheet pan thentransfer onto a wire rackand cool completely. Storeremaining cookies in a
cookie jar or any container
with a tight lid. Enjoy!
Note: Sift 3/4 cup cocoa
powder and 2 1/4 cups flour
for chocolate cookies.

2013 年 3 月 20 日 ( 水・祝日 ) ; TOPIA

英字新聞デイリー読売元編集長、那須省一氏が 2012 年に６ヶ月間に渡って英国の有名作家ゆかりの地を旅した文学紀行を英語で講演します。（シェークスピア、ルイス・キャロル、グラハム・
グリーンなど 20 名）。
詳しくは http://www11.plala.or.jp/hiroba/

Travelogues on UK Literature

March 20 (Wed. national holiday) ; TOPIA

This event features lecturer Shoichi Nasu, former chief editor of the English Daily Yomiuri,
who traveled around the U.K. for six months last year visiting locales related to 20 great
artists of English literature such as William Shakespeare, Lewis Carroll, Emily Bronte, Graham
Greene, etc. He will be sharing his insights (in English!) gained from his trip & his experience.
Details: http://www11.plala.or.jp/hiroba/8letter from suketo hoikuen
The seasons roll on,
and the last day
of winter marks
the emergence ofspring.
February 4th is considered
the first day of spring inJapan, yet February remains
a bitterly cold month, andbrings with it allergies andcolds. Runny noses broughton by these ailments may
be unavoidable, but theredness around your child’s nostrils (brought about by
repeated wiping) can beprevented.
With the correct technique
you can help your childavoid this irritation andcontribute to their defense
against viruses. Why notengage them in some funactivities to teach them how
to blow their own noses,
and how to do it correctly?
Children become consciousof - and experimental with- inhaling and exhalingaround the age of 1. At
this age they are also able

to imitate adults. Turn thisimitation into a fun activity
by placing a strip of tissue
on your nose (dampen
the end so it sticks to thetip of your nose, hanging
down over the nostrils), andblow in and out to makethe tissue dance up anddown with the movementof the air. This movementof the tissue should engage
your child’s interest and indoing so, encourage theirimitation of your actions.

by kazue inoue
suketo hoikuen staff

Kaleidoscope
Materials:- Toilet Paper tube
- Aluminum Foil
- Transparent plastic bag(cut into a square)- Permanent Markers(assorted colours)- Sellotape- Wrapping paper
Instructions:
1. Scrunch up the aluminum
foil, and then open it back up.
It should be creased. Use thisto line the inside of the toilet
paper tube. Fold the excess
foil over the outside at bothends.

2. Use the permanent markers
Individual circumstances to create a colourful pattern
on your square piece ofm a y v a r y , b u t c h i l d r e n transparent plastic bag

generally become able
to blow their own nose ataround the age of 3. Be
sure to lend them a helping
hand in the meantime.
Once they have become
able to breathe throughtheir nose, repeat the taskwith one nostril closed, andhave them try each nostril
individually,

Note: Blowing too forcefully
can lead to nosebleeds,
ear infections and otherproblems, so take care to
not overdo it!

3. Cover one end of the
toilet paper tube withthe decorated square oftransparent plastic (Step 2),
and holding it tightly aroundthe tube fasten it in place withsellotape.
4. Wrap wrapping paper
or a similar product aroundthe outside of the tube, andsecure this with sellotape.
How to Use:
Face a bright direction (i.e.
towards a window, facing
outward), and look throughthe tube whilst rotating it. The
colours from the transparent
film at the opposite end will
refract off the foil to create abeautiful pattern.

9japanese lessonby yoshie motoki

10japanese lesson

memoranda
災害時ボランティア研修
災害時、避難所では様々な情報提供があります。しかし、外国人の方たちは、言葉の壁により、適切な情報を得られないことがあり、災害弱者になってしまいます。そんなとき、情報提供者と外国人を「言葉」でサポートをしたり、掲示物をわかりやすく翻訳したり、わかりやすい日本語にするのがボランティアの方々です。ワークショップをしながら研修しませんか。（ただし、語学研修ではありません）★本講座は徳島県総合大学校「まなびーあ徳島」の生活環境学部の講座です。（３単位）
日時 : 平成 25 年 2 月 17 日（日）13:30 〜 17:00
開催場所： （財）徳島県国際交流協会
参加料：無料
参加予定人数：30 名
内容：
講演・ワークショップ
講師：
特定非営利活動法人多文化共生
リソースセンター東海
代表理事土井 佳彦 氏
郵便、FAX、E-mail のいずれかで、２月１２日（火）までにお申し込みください。

■郵便でのお申込み先〒 770-0831 徳島市寺島本町西 1-61
クレメントプラザ６階
財団法人 徳島県国際交流協会
災害時ボランティア研修担当 宛■ FAX でのお申し込み先
FAX：088-652-0616■ E-mail でのお申込み先
coordinator1@topia.ne.jp

11memoranda

Counselling Service at TOPIA
トピアの相談窓口

TOPIA offers a counselling and advisory service to all foreign residents to help with issues involving accidents, working
conditions, housing, visas, international marriage, and more. Counselling is available in English and Japanese. Please notethat although every effort will be made, we may not be able to deal with all cases.
Monday to Friday, 10:00 - 16:30
Tel. 088-656-3303 or 088-656-3320 (allows three-way conversations with an interpreter)

受け止めていますか人権の重み
12