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

i left my art in kamiyamat"TOPPY"
December 2004 No. 174
by martin o'brien

Norbert Attard's installation piece,+ 1.618034

his year, as part of the Kamiyama Artists
In Residence Program (KAIR) three artists
came to Kamiyama hoping to create works
of art that would in some way reflect theirexperience in this rural, mountainous partof Tokushima. I spoke to the three artists inquestion Ai Kitahara, Norbert Francis Attard andCharlotte McGowan-Griffin about the pieces they
had created and how their stay in Kamiyama
had affected them as artists.
The first artist I talked to was Charlotte.
Before coming to Kamiyama, Charlotte’s artwork
was heavily based around paper cutouts, whichwere influenced by Eastern European fairy
tales. Charlotte wanted to use her experiencein Kamiyama to work with shadow projection.
The desire to work in this way was influenced
by seeing an Indonesian shadow puppetry
performance in London.
Charlotte created one piece entitled "You
Can't Take it With You". In the piece a woman

is visible, she is seated in a bamboo surroundedby various elements of traditional Japaneseculture. The woman represents Charlotte
herself trying to make sense of the newenvironment in which she was placed. Thickbamboo encircles the woman, and the ideathat nature is always dominant predominates,reflecting the ephemeral nature of our own
creations and experiences. The piece mixes
a traditional European style used in previous
works with an obvious Japanese aesthetic.
The second artist on the residency program
was Ai Kitahara. Ai created two installation
pieces "Stronghold-Kaminakaya" and "Moving
Territory." According to Ai, "StrongholdKaminakaya" was an exploration of how borders
affect and influence us. Due to the ease at withwhich we can communicate due to the Internet
and other technologies it seems sometimes as
if geographic borders and the like are becoming
increasingly irrelevant. This is true to some

i left my art... con't on page 8-1-contents
i left my art in kamiyama - 1, 8 ... hidden book paradise discovered - 3teaching japanese in sydney - 4 ... early winter mornings - 5
footy fever - 6 ... tastes of awa: purple soy sauce - 7
alien alert - 9 ... japanese in the news - 10
japanese lesson - 11 ... memoranda - 12~15
tv movie guide - 15 ... cinema guide - 16from the editorsw

ell, thanks to a pending winter holiday
in Canada, I've made a good headstart on my New Year's Cards already.
In fact, I think I've made too many!
This led me to thinking... I wonder if the readers of Awa Life would like a special Awa LifeNew Year's Card delivered to their door on
January first? If you'd like me to send you anengajō, let me know before December 17th
by writing to awalife@gmail.com with yourmailing address, and I'll fire one off. I'll have tostop sending them when I run out of cards - I
think I have about ten to spare - so act quickly
if you want one! This month's Awa Life is fullof treats - including the long-promised library
article! Take a look on page 3. Also, Don Weisshas reached the end of his sushi odyssey (page7) - what will he write about next month???
We'll have to wait and see.
Love, Clairet

his month, my travels took me to Kamiyama where I was able to see the various art
works created by the members of this years
Kamiyama Artist in Residence program. It
was surprising to see that they had created somuch wonderful artwork in such a short time.
According to the artists, this was made possible
due to the huge amount of support and assistance that they received from the people of
Kamiyama. Creating a piece of artwork can bea hugely personal thing so allowing people toget involved on one hand can be difficult, buton the other bring obvious advantages. Seeing
the art and talking to the artists not only gave
me a greater appreciation for contemporary art
but was also an important lesson in the powerof teamwork. Until next time.
Peace, Martin

awa life

Tokushima Prefectural International
Exchange Association (TOPIA)
Clement Plaza 6F.
1-61 Terashima Honcho Nishi
Tokushima City 770-0831 JAPAN
T: 088.656.3303
F: 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)
Editors:
Claire Kinder & Martin O'Brien
Contributors This Month:David Cowland-Cooper, Junko Kimura,Claire Kinder, Kevin McDowell,
Martin O'Brien, Suga Shiota,
Sumika Tamura, and Don Weiss

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

awa life welcomes announcements, articles,

English Information on FM Tokushima:"Talk Up Tokushima" Thursdays @ 9:15am
Tokushima City 80.7 Ikeda 82.3
Anan 78.4
Hiwasa 77.7

opinions, letters, art and photographs. Please
send contributions to the editors at TOPIA. You
can also write (or call in!) for a free subscription.

-2-

hidden book paradise discoveredleaving Shikoku in a keicar, we crossed the Naruto
Bridge linking Shikoku
and Honshu, heading for
Kyoto.
Traveling on back roads to
avoid toll booths, we weregoing to collect books for
the TOPIA library with Derek
Henson at the wheel, me
riding in the shotgun seat, andJane in the back, the navigator,
the pilot.
Wending though theclogged, rush-hour downtown
streets, we got to our hotelaround five, cleaned up, andgot ready for the meeting with
the Kyoto professor.
The professor, a FrenchCanadian, learned of the
TOPIA project througha posting on an online
discussion network, H-Japan.
With an eye towards lightening
her possessions, and possibly
returning to Canada, shewanted to pass her books
along to an institution thatwould maintain the collection
intact and circulate the books
to a large number of users.
She contacted us over thesummer and we arranged tomeet her in September.
The books we collected there
consisted mostly of Japanese
history and sociology books
written in English and French,and some French novels.
The trip to Kyoto was partof an on-going, double-sided
effort to upgrade the TOPIA
book collection: a projectthat is both technical andqualitative.
On the technical side, wehave gone through all of
the books in the collection,
creating files and searchingfor records in online databases

Sudachi-kun guards the new aquisitions
at TOPIA's libraryin order to rearrange
all the books according
to conventional libraryclassification standards.
This has meant physicallyprocessing each book,
inputting International
Standard Book Numbers(ISBNs) into a database, andcreating an overall recordof the books in the TOPIA
collection. While laborious,
this process offered thechance to sort and siftthrough the books, removing,culling, deselecting along
the way duplicate books andoutdated materials. Damaged
books went into the free box
or the incinerator.
Soon, newly acquired,higher quality books will beon the shelves to replace thediscarded books - a collectionof books cobbled together
through donations, purchases,
trading, and bartering.
In Arizona, this summer again through the mediumof the H-Japan discussionn e t w o r k - I m e t s e v e ra llibrarians interested in the
T O P I A p r o j e c t . Ta p p i n g-3-

by kevin mcdowell

into a (for me) unknown,
underground flow of bookdepositories, I gathered ajumbled together group ofbooks on a variety of topics.
Looking to lessen the heftand volume of the books, andalso hoping to gather a more
coherent selection, I took thebooks to a used bookshop andtraded the hardbacks in for
paperbacks on Japan/Asia andgeneral non-fiction, thinking
to bolster the outdated andmeager non-fiction section at
TOPIA.
Waiting in boxes at TOPIA
for processing and soon to hit
the shelves: "New Japanese
Voices," "Beer Blast: The
Inside Story of the Brewing
Industry's Bizarre Battles foryour Money," "A History of
Civilizations," "The Potato:
How the Humble Spud
Rescued the Western World,"
and "Migrations and Cultures:
A World View." These, alongwith a small selection of
new Chinese books, arerepresentative of the types of
newly acquired books that will
be available soon. They are
indicative, too, of the kinds ofbooks that TOPIA is looking
for in donations.
Comments and questions:email mcdktm@yahoo.com
For technical issues:
email Derek Henson at
dhprc2@yahoo.com
Editor's note:
TOPIA's library does not currently
charge a fine for books returnedlate, so feel free to come byanytime with those novels you
borrowed last summer - wedon't mind if they're a little late,just as long as they come back
eventually!

teaching japanese in sydneyi

had a chance to teachJapanese as an ALT at ahigh school in Sydney lastsummer for 3 months.
M y s c h o o l wa s a m i d s i ze
public school with about 900
students of which 100 students
were studying Japanese. In
Australian high schools, it iscompulsory to study a second
language. Japanese is very
popular. From Grades 7 to
9, they study mainly daily
conversation, hiragana,katakana and easy kanji,
and practice listening a lot.
From Grade 10 they learn
grammar. Reading and writingis also emphasized.
I prepared lessons with anAustralian Japanese teacher,made tests and marked them.
After school I had special
lessons for the students who
were going to travel to Japanon a school trip and homestay
with high school students in
Osaka.
There are some differences
between Japanese schools andAustralian ones. In Australia,
students don’t have their own
classrooms, so they haveto move from classroom toclassroom for every period.
From Grades 10 to 12, thenumber of students in one
class is small; less than 20.
They often discuss topics
with their teacher and givepresentations in front of theirclassmates. They’re trained
to voice their own opinions
in public. It’s quite different
from class in Japan, in which
students just listen to a boring
lecture in a doze.
I had wanted to introduce
Japanese culture, so I
d e m o n s t r a t e d t h e Te a
Ceremony. For all the students,

by suga shiota

Seventh Grade students at Mosman High School in Sydney, Australia

kneeling upright on the floor
and having green powderedtea (matcha) was a newexperience, but they wereinterested in it. They especiallyliked Japanese sweets. I was
glad that they enjoyed it.
Though Japan has muchrainfall throughout the year, inAustralia it rains very little, sowater is a valuable resource.
People never waste water.
On the day I arrived, myhost mother told me to takea shower quickly and not torinse the dishes. After dinner,
she soaked them in the
kitchen sink with detergent,
and after washing she justwiped them. That's it. Neverr i n s i n g t h e d e t e rg e n t o ff
the dishes!! At first I was so
surprised and uncomfortablewith it, but I couldn’t help
doing ‘as the Romans do.’ I
probably swallowed a lot of
detrimental chemicals. Luckily,
I survived.
In Sydney there are various
foreign restaurants. Chineseand Japanese restaurants arevery popular. Though sushi
is popular, it’s expensive.
People often buy take-out
sushi or eat it at a turning
table counter - kaitenzushi.
-4-

Recently Japanese food has
got into the limelight, because
Australians have realized it’s very good for their health.
For Sydney citizens, eating at
a Japanese restaurant called
Te t s u ya ’s i s t h e i r d re a m .
All the tables are booked 6months in advance. Even the
U.S movie star Tom Cruise wasrespectfully refused dinner
because all the tables werealready booked when he calledfrom the U.S. The owner
Tetsuya didn’t want to cancel
an earlier customer’s booking.
I think this is very Japanese...
I hear one in five Australians
are overweight. They sufferfrom an unhealthy diet; toomuch meat! It’s only recently
that fish has become a regularpart of their diet. They’relearning to pay attention to
Japanese food. After living inAustralia, I now realise howhealthy Japanese food is.
I had valuable experiences
and could think better of myJapanese life style during stay.
I bet a day when Japanesefood is known all over theworld will come, closely
followed by the Japanese
language!!!

early winter morningsw

inter is here! Are
you getting readyfo r C h r i s t m a s a n d
the New Year? Did
you finish your Christmas
shopping and your New Year’s cards? On New Year’s Eve I
imagine that I will be sitting
in my living room writing thecards at the very last minute.
A lot of people in Tokushima
will mourn the loss of summer
due to the fact that manysummer activities such as
surfing, swimming and hiking
are now not really possible. I’
m not saying there is nothing
to do in winter, you can go
snowboarding, skiing, orwork out in a gym that has
central heating. Traditionally
winter is the time whenpeople tend to gain the mostweight since everyone stays
indoors. In order to survive
the cold winter, your body is
programmed to tell you to put
on fat at a time when you canreally do without it.
There is a shrine rightnext to Awa Odori Kaikan
i n To k u s h i m a - c i t y c a l l e dTenjinsha Shrine . If you go tothere at 6:30 in the morning,
you can join radio taisō. Do
you know this taisō? It means
exercise. Japanese people
know this word as we are
required to do such exercises
in elementary school. Everysummer vacation during
elementary school, I had to
go to a park near my houset o do t hi s a t 6 : 3 0 i n t h emorning for two weeks or so.
I got a stamp sheet from myschool teacher before summer
vacation; I had to bring it
everytime when I went to apark for radio taisō and get astamp from someone’s mum.

Radio Taisō statue on Mt. Bizan

I had to hand out this sheet
to my teacher to prove that I
wasn’t lazy while I was awayfrom school. When I think ofthat now, I don’t understand
why I was serious about it.
However, I believed I had
to do it; otherwise, I’d be inhuge trouble.
Anyhow, I truly understandthat you do not like getting up
in the early morning especiallyin winter. Yes its true we want
to feel the warmth of thefuton as long as we can, but
it is worth it to be there when
you can do radio taisō withall the “young” people. One ofthose “young” people might
be around seventy-five years
old. That seventy-five year
old man always wears such abright yellow cap and jacket.
He is always nice to everybody
and very genki at 6:30 in themorning. Even if you don’t know how to do this taisō,
it is ok. Everytime someone
will be facing you and will give
you instructions on how to doit. The 10th and 25th of every
month are tea days. They
serve you a cup of green tea
with sweets after radio taisō.
There are some pictures thattell stories in this shrine. On-5-

by junko kimura

the tea days, a monk and Mr.
Yellow Cap Man sing songs
together about those pictures.
I was invited once; however,I didn’t understand the words
that they were singing about
since it was old Japanese.
After doing exercises to
instruction on the radio, yourbody is warm enough to go
hiking. You go up the stairs
from the right side of theshrine. You will find one of thehiking routes of Mt. Bizan. If
you are in shape, it might only
take fifteen to twenty minutes
to get to the top, but it takes
me twenty five minutes ormore than that. There arearound ten hiking routes to
get to the top; this route isone of the hardest routes. No
wonder why my shirt is always
soaking wet and I cannot
breathe well. When I do this, I
always think, why I am stupid
enough to do this in this earlymorning?? It is very tiringand my legs are often too
heavy to go any further but I
persevere. I loathe myself fordeciding to do the hike, but I
tell myself that since I started
it I will see it through to theend, if only to show I’m not aquitter. When I reach the top,
I look at the beautiful view ofTokushima-city and Yoshino
River. Suddenly, I become
my usual genki self and takethe same route down themountain. I usually go hiking
on weekdays before work.
When I get back home fromhiking, I step on the scales
to check if I lost any weight
which never happens. Even if,
like me, you are unsucessful
at losing weight I think that
it is still a good idea to go doradio taisō and hiking.

footy fever

by dave cowland-cooperin different parts of theworld, “football” means
many di ffe re n t t h i n g s .
In Europe, for example,
it usually means the gameplayed on a rectangular fieldwith a small round ball. In
America, you’d be talking
about the game played witha small pointed ball, by lotsof big guys wearing helmets
and padding. In the southernhemisphere, you could betalking about any of rugby
union, rugby league or Aussie
Rules football. With so manydifferent codes, talking about“football” can be confusing!
Still, that hasn’t stopped yet
another version of football
is a sport everyone canfrom gaining popularity in Touch rugbyenjoy
together!
the last decade or so. Even
here in Japan, where anything placing the ball in the goal
except soccer and baseball area. You have six tackles
t e n d s t o b e s i d e l i n e d i n to do this - if you can’t get
mainstream sports discussion, past the other team in six
t h e r e ’ s a n e w f o o t b a l l tackles, you have to hand thephenomenon that’s attracting ball over and take your turnplayers of all ages, and it’s at defending your own goal
easily played by both men and area. Also, just like rugby,
women alike. It’s called Touch you can’t just throw the ball
Rugby and Tokushima-ken is forward - you have to passplaying a big part in its growth the ball backwards if you want
as a recreational sport in the to give it to a team mate, andotherwise make ground byland of the rising sun.
Touch Rugby is a game running up the field. Beyond
played widely around the these basic rules, there areworld. Based on the rules of lots of techniques used byrugby, it is a flexible game elite players to outwit thewith many variations, played opposing team. And moston a rectangular field with importantly, whatever yourteams of about six players. skill level, it’s lots of fun!
In Tokushima, Touch Rugby
Fundamentally, since a tackle
hasbeen cultivated over theis effected simply by touching
past
couple of years by athe player with the ball,Touch Rugby is not a game dedicated group of locals, ledof strength, but of speed and by Mr Daisaku Oya. Growing
from a small team of regulars
skill.
Just like rugby, each team who show up to practicew a n t s t o s c o r e g o a l s b y and play at the Yoshinogawa
running down the field and Rugby Fields every Sunday-6-

morning, this year has seen
the establishment of theTokushima Touch Associationand the hosting of two large,
successful tournaments in
April and September. Manym e m b e r s o f To k u s h i m a ’s
foreign community have alsojoined the group and we’relooking forward to anotherlarge tournament in April,welcoming teams from around
Japan to our venue in Naruto.
On the field, Tokushima isn’tvery strong yet - teams from
elsewhere in Japan, mostly
in large cities, usually havemore people to draw on - butwith the Tokushima Touch
Association getting started,
it shouldn’t be long before
we’re a force to be reckoned
with on the Touch Rugby field.
The first step is to encourage
more local residents to join injust for fun, so we can have aregular local competition. It
would also be nice to see a
few elementary schools andhigh schools fielding teams inspecial competitions. Since
Tough Rugby is a mixed sport,
girls and women are especiallywelcome to play.
Anyone interested in playing
Touch Rugby is welcome tocome to practice on Sundays
from 10am to about lunch
time, at the rugby field on thesouth bank of the Yoshinogawa
between the Route 11 andRoute 30 bridges. Beginners
are especially welcome.
It’s easy and we will teachyou how to play. If you wantmore information, please getin touch with Daisaku Oya at
090-9557-3390 or by email at
di072thewinger@hotmail.com.
Come on and catch the footy
fever!

tastes of awa : purple soy sauceif you want to go beyond
pointing to what you
want on a conveyor belt,
you've got to learn somewords, some vocabulary, someterminology, some technicalterms, and maybe even aword or two of argot.
Which brings us to the titleof this final (you were hoping
I was going to say that, admitit!) installment of the sushi
odyssey. In sushi shops, soysauce is called murasaki -the Japanese word for thecolor purple. Maybe that's
what it looks like if you haveenough shōchū (a.k.a.
"firewater").
First, class, let's review.
Repeat after me, "Thedifferent kinds of sushi havedifferent names and theirnames are . . ."1. Nigirizushi -- The standard
kind, a rice lump topped withsomething.
2. Makisushi -- Nori-wrappedsushi rice wrapped around fish
and/or vegetables.
3. Gunkan makisushi-- Short, squat, bolt-style
makizushi.
4. Temaki sushi -- coneshaped makisushi that you
usually make yourself.
5. Chirashizushi -- sushi ricewith fish and/or vegetables
scattered on top.
6. Oshizushi -- A rectangularlog-shaped mass of sushi ricewith the topping pressed into
the top.
7. Inarizushi -- sushi ricestuffed into aburage.
Some other words you needto have a great meal at asushi shop, in no particularorder:

aji -- horse mackerel
neta -- the stuff on top of thenigirizushi
gū -- the stuff in the middle ofthe makizushi
aburage -- thinly-sliced, deepfried tofu. [Note: This is called
inari-zushi because Inariis the Japanese god of therice harvest. His companion
animal is the fox (kitsune inJapanese), which is why you
see so many fox statues at
Inari shrines. The fox likes to
eat aburage. That's also whyudon with aburage is calledkitsune-udon.]akagai -- ark shellama-ebi -- raw shrimp
anago -- conger eel
awabi -- abalone
negi-toro -- chopped tuna
belly meat mixed with chopped
onions (gunkan-makizushi)
ebi -- shrimp
hokkigai -- surf clam
hotategai -- scallop
ika -- squid
ikura -- salmon roe (gunkanmakizushi)
kani -- crab
kanibō -- fake crab
maguro -- tuna (the red stuff)
saba -- mackerel (definitely
best in spring)sake -- salmon (mostJapanese salmon is chumsalmon)shako-ebi -- mantis shrimp- - T h i s l o o k s a b i t l i ke acentipede but, if you can get
if fresh rather than frozen, it's
delicious. If it seems watery, it
was frozen.
suzuki -- sea bass
tai -- sea breamtako -- octopus (almost always
served cooked. I once tried to
choke down raw, baby octopus
and ended up reaching into
my mouth and painfully pulling-7-

by don weiss

it out, including the two legs I
had managed to get down mythroat.)uni -- sea urchin roe(gunkan-makizushi)
tekka-maki -- tuna-filled
maki-zushi
kappa-maki -- cucumberfilled maki-zushi
negitoro-maki -- scallionand-tuna rollfuto-maki -- fat makizushi
nattō-maki -- exactly what it
sounds likekurukuruzushi -- same as
kaitenzushi -- conveyor belt
sushi like Kintarō
gari -- pickled ginger (a.k.a.
shoga)
kaitenzushi -- same as
kurukuruzushi -- conveyor
belt sushi like Kintarōo-makase -- Your choice (or"chef's special") Sometimes on
the menu or posted over thecounter you'll see o-makase
listed. It means you want thechef to choose what he thinks
you'll like best today. you canalso simply ask for o-makase
when they ask you what you
want.
itamae-san -- Ita is board,
shelf or counter. Mae is in
front of. San you know. Ita Mae - San is the the person
in front of the counter (or,from the customer's point ofview, the person behind thecounter.)
And finally, perhaps mostimportant, learn this phrase:
Oaiso onegaishimasu.
It's what you say at a
kurukuruzushiya-san (akurukuru sushi restaurant)
when you're done and you
want them to add up theplates and give you the bill.

i left my art... con't from page 1
extent however the ability ofborders to influence behavior
is still evident. if one lives
in town, the borders of thisnarrow geographic area define
ones identity. The area definedby borders offers a sense of
security, if you live within thegeographic boundaries you
are defined as a citizen. The
borders themselves promote a
sense of identity. The influenceof Kamiyama is clearly evident
in the piece both in the title
and in the physical realizationof the piece. Kamiyama, likeother towns, has a sense ofclosing things out as a resultof its geographic borders
but on the other hand being
welcoming and openhearted.
"Stronghold-Kaminakaya" ispart of a project series known
as Place Forte, which meansstrong or fortified place.
Ai’ s second piece, "Moving
Territory" is representative ofboth dreams and nightmares.
O n a p l a t fo r m t h e s h a p eof Kamiyama there are 42
different casts. The casts canbe freely moved around. ThisAi Kitahara's take on the borders of
Kamiyama

Charlotte's massive paper cutout opus, 'You Can't Take it With You'
photo by Hajime Aihara

represents the dream, where
freedom exists, where borders
do not bind us. However it
also represents the nightmare
because in order to break freefrom the borders that control
us we must also cast aside
what we have come to know
and love.
The last artist interviewed
was Norbert Francis Attard.
Norbert created eight different
and separate works. This
series of work was known as"Between Earth and Sky." I
had the pleasure of seeing
four of these pieces. The firstone I saw was + 1.618034.
This work consists of a seriesof shallow pools whose layout
and relationship to each otheris related to the Fibonaccisequence. Before learning of
the principles inherent in thepiece I drew an immediatelink between the piece and afamous Japanese work known
as "The Great Wave" done in
the 18th century by Hokusai
where a series of similar
shapes were arranged to form
the whole picture which itself
resembled the shapes used.
The growth of populations
and other naturally growing
things such as seashells ands u n fl o w e r s a r e g o v e r n e d-8-

by mathematical properties
exhibited in the Fibonaccisequence. The Fibonaccis e q u e n c e h a s i n fl u e n c e dother works in the series suchas "Golden Sudachi" where
the architectural structure
represents a three-dimensionalversion of the Fibonacci
numbers. Hundreds of Sudachi
formed a quarter of a circle
in each square making up aspiral. The spiral approximateswith the kind of spiral thatappears in nature. Another ofNorbert’s works that involved
spirals was "Double Spiral."
The installation consists of twolarge interconnected spirals
created with slippers. Foursmaller spirals, representing
the four seasons were createdby combining slippers andbluestone (Summer), Dry
Leaves (Autumn), Sudachi(Spring) and Rice (Winter).
Other works in the series
included "Food Cycle", "Sacred
Geometry" "Bluestone River"and "Earth Galaxy" "Earth
Mother". Norbert like the otherartists spoke of the wonderfulsupport that the people of
Kamiyama gave to them andhow this assisted them increating works of art that will
hopefully inspire others.

alien alerton December 2, 2004
the newly amended
Immigration Control andRefugee Recognition
Act will begin to be actively
enforced. The intended
purpose of this act is to
reduce the number of illegal
foreign nationals overstaying,
and also to reform the systemof refugee recognition. A great
deal of the people who enter/
reside/work in Japan illegally,
are already aware of theirillegal status. However every
year there are incidents where
people violate immigration law,
not because they intended
to break the law but because
they were ignorant of the laws
and regulations in place. The
purpose of this article is todraw attention to the laws thatare in place and/or are in theprocess of being implemented.
The newly amended act canhave multiple implications
for those who illegally residein Japan. The period during
which an alien can be denied
permission to land in Japan
has been revised. If someone
has multiple past records ofdeportation, or departure
under a departure order, thenthe period of denial of landingis 10 years. If someone has
departed from Japan under adeparture order the period is
1 year. Finally, if an individual
has been deported from Japan
once, but has no other pastrecords of deportation or
departure under a departureorder, the period is 5 years.
The amendment has also
resulted in the raising of fines
for illegal entry and otherviolations. Where an alien hasentered Japan with a forgedor altered passport, or has

by martin o'brien

Don't let this be you!

entered secretly then the alien
will be required to pay a 3
million yen fine. The fine forthese offences was previously
300,000 yen. Alien’s that staybeyond the authorized periodof stay can also be issued withthis fine.
Persons who have had analien, who is illegally staying
in Japan who is not allowed
to work under the status ofresidence issued, engage inillegal work, or procured suchaliens for employment in otherc ompanies or workplaces
can be fined 3 million yen.
Previously the fine for thisoffence was 2 million yen.
An alien staying in Japan
under the status of pre-college
student that has worked
part-time without obtaining
permission for engaging in
activities other than thoseauthorized under the statusof residence can be fined 2
million yen. Previously the finewas 200,000 yen.
An alien who stays in Japanbeyond the authorized periodof stay may depart fromJapan voluntarily if the aliensatisfies all of the following
requirements:
1. The alien has appeared-9-a t a n i m m i g r a t i o n o f fi c evoluntarily with the intentionof departing from Japan
immediately
2. The alien does not comeunder any of the grounds
for deportation other thanoverstaying.
3. The alien has no past recordof deportation, nor that ofdeparture under a departureorder.
4. The alien is expected todepart from Japan immediately(To satisfy this requirement,
the alien must have a valid
passport and sufficient travel
funds).
If someone is staying inJapan and certain facts cometo light with respect to theirstatus of residence, thenstatus of residence may be
revoked. Status of residence
may be revoked if…
1. The alien has made a false
statement that he/she does
not fall under the grounds fordenial of landing.
2. The alien has made a false
statement regarding theactivities to be undertaken
while staying in Japan.
3. The alien has made a
false statement on matterssuch as academic records or
qualifications.
4. A person other than theapplicant has submitted adocument that is not based onfact.
5. The alien staying in Japan
under any of the statusesof residence prescribedby annexed table 1 of the
Im m i g ra t i o n L aw h a s n o t
engaged in the activities
corresponding to those of thestatus issued for three months
or more without justifiablereason.

japanese in the news - new yeart

he New Year's holiday is atime filled with tradition,
when Japanese people
take a few days off fromwork to rest, reflect on thepast year, and get ready for a
fresh start. Almost all shops
are closed at this time of year.
Only the postman is called into
service so that everyone canget their nengajō (New Year's
Cards) on time. This month, I
surveyed my workmates to findout what Japan's oshōgatsu(New Year's Holiday) is really
all about.
ぎ た い ご擬態語 - gitaigo
Onomatopœia
ごろごろ - gorogoro
This word describes a sort of'rolling around on the floor'
action - in other words, oneof those days spent lying in
bed until noon, and then therest of the day sitting aroundreading or watching TV.
だらだら - daradaraThis is similar to gorogoro
except you don't necessarily
h a v e t o b e o n t h e fl o o r.
A daradara day is a day
spent doing nothing much ofanything.
ほのぼの - honobono
Murasawa-san says this iswhat it feels like to have yourfamily all around you at New
Year's - a sort of warm, fuzzy
safe feeling.
ぶくぶく - bukubuku
This is how you feel after
you've spent all your holidays
doing nothing but eat andsleep - fat and sloppy.

しょうがつ

た

もの

お正月の食べ物 -oshōgatsu no tabemono

New Year Foods
ぞう に

お雑煮 - ozōniThis is a kind of vegetablesoup with mochi in it thatpeople eat on New Year's Day.
In Tokushima, and in mostof the Kansai area, the soupis made from white miso. In
the Kantō area, the soup is a
simple shōyu broth.
お せち

御節 - o-sechi
In department stores thistime of year, you'll find squareboxes full of shrimp, beans,pink fish paste, lotus root,and other foods available for
special order. This is o-sechi.
It's there so mom doesn't
have to cook during theholidays. Each food has it's
own good luck properties. For
example, the kazunoko fish
eggs are there to make sure
you have lots of babies in the
coming year!
もち - mochi
People used to use a little
shichirin barbecue to toast
their mochi before they ate it- these days most people use
the toaster oven. There arealways several stories every
year of people who choke todeath on this sticky rice cake'treat,' so sure to take small
bites and chew your mochi
well before swallowing!
カップラーメン - cup ramen
カレー - curry
My co-worker tells me thatthree days of a steady diet of
special New Year foods leads
to inexplicable cravings forcup ramen and curry.
-10-

きま

by claire kinder

もん く

決り文句 -

kimari monku

Common Sayingsとし

よいお年を - yoi o-toshi oThis means basically "Havea good New Year" - you cansay it as a farewell greetingto people who you probably
won't see until next year.
あけましておめでとう akemashite omedetō
Tack a 'gozaimasu' on theend if you are feeling fancy or
shorten it to just 'omedetō.'
Say this to people the firsttime you see them in the New
Year.
こ とし

ねが

今年もよろしくお願いします- kotoshi mo yoroshiku
onegaishimasu
While you're exchanging yourfirst greetings of the New Year,throw this one in to ask thatthey continue to be kind to
you that year.
きゅうねんちゅう

せわ

旧 年中はお世話になりました- kyūnen chū wa osewa ninarimashita
This works as a pair with theone above - it means 'thanks
for everything you did for me
during the past year.'
ね しょうがつ

寝 正 月 - neshōgatsu
The 'o' in oshōgatsu isreplaced with the kanji forsleep - a New Year's holiday
spent sleeping. This is what a
lot of my co-workers told melast year when I asked them
how their holidays went. Is it
true? Or are they just toning
it down so I won't feel jealous
about all the fun they had
without me??

japanese lesson: 'no' and 'koto'iby sumika tamuran a lot of cases, no and koto can be used interchangably.
★「の」と「こと」は

おお

多くの

ばあい

場合、つぎのように

どちらでも

つか

使えます。

For example:
Eating delicious things
is a hobbyof mine.
たしゅみ
おいしいものを 食
べるのが
趣
味です。
た
しゅみ
おいしいものを 食べることが 趣味です。
However, there are cases where only 'no' can be used, and also cases where only 'koto' can beused. It all depends on theverb. ば あ い
つか
つか
ばあい
★しかし、「の」しか使えない場合、「こと」しか
使えない場合が あります。
つか
つか
どうし
「の」を 使うか、「こと」を 使うかは 動詞が きめます。
In the following
examples, only no
can be used.
ばあい
つか★ つぎの 場合、「の」しか 使えません。
The children canbe seen running.
はしみ○こどもが 走っているのが見えます。
はしみ×こどもが 走っていることが 見えます。
Here are someverbs
which require no:
つかどうし「の」を 使う 動詞
～のが
～のを
～のを
～のを
～のを

み

き

見
えます - can be seen～のが 聞
こえます - can be heard
みま見ます - see it～のを 待ちます - wait for it
てつだ
手伝います - help it～のを じゃまします - get in the way of it
うつ写しますtake a picture of it ～のを やめます - quit itと止めます - stop it

In the following
example, only koto canbe used.
ばあい
つか★ つぎの 場合は 「こと」しか 使えません。
I'mはやprayingthat you get well いの
soon.
げんき
○早
く 元
気になることをいの祈っています。
はやげんき
×早く 元気になるのを 祈っています。
Here are someverbs
which require koto :つかどうし「こと」を 使う 動詞
いの～ことを 祈ります - pray for it
つた～ことを 伝えます - tell it
めい～ことを 命じます - call for it～ことができます - can do it～ことにします - decide it

はな～ことを やくそく話します - talk about it～ことを 約
束します - promise it
きぼう～ことを 希望します - hope for it～ことがあります - have it～ことになります - become it-11-

memoranda
Japanese Lessons
in Anan City

Tastes of Awa
阿波の味

Wondering what to do with all that brick-like mochi that

阿南市 日本語講座

seemed like such a good deal when you bought it? Trying
to come up with new, inventive ways of eating mikan?

If you live in southern Tokushima and are looking for a

Curious about how natto came to be thought of as away to study Japanese without coming all the way tofood? Ask Don! Don Weiss, author of 'Tastes of Awa,' (pageTokushima City, try Anan's Japanese class for foreign7) is looking for reader's suggestions for future columns.

residents. They use the textbook "Minna no Nihongo I."

What aspects of Japanese food interest you? What would

Classes are taught by Madoka Mori.

you like to know how to cook? Send Don a message withyour thoughts and impressions:

when: starts Nov. 21 - Sunday mornings 10:00 - 12:00am

e-mail: woosongdonald@yahoo.com

where: Tomioka Kominkan
cost: \1000
for more info: Anan City International Associatione-mail: etonne@stannet.ne.jp

Japanese Lessons
in Aizumi-cho

fax: 0884.23.6323

藍住町 日本語講座
This class uses the textbook 'Minna no Nihongo I." Classes
are taught by Aizumi International Exchange Association
Members Akiko Tsuji and Kaori Tamada.
when: ongoing - Thursday nights 7:00 - 8:30pm
where: Aizumi Welfare Center, near Aizumi Town Officecost: \1000

Iwamura Kazuo
Picture Book
Exhibition
いわむらかずお
絵本の世界展Special exhibit of illustrations from the children's picture
books of Iwamura Kazuo, known the world over for stories

for more info: e-mail: aizumi_kokusai@garnet.nmt.ne.jp

such as the "Fourteen Forest Mice" series.

tel. 088.692.9951
fax. 088.692.1626

when: On now, until December 19th
where: Bunka no Mori Modern Art Museum
cost: \600 for adults, with discounts for students

TTC21 Ping Pongfor more info: tel. 088.668.1088

卓球クラブ

Come join this casual table tennis club and meet
Tokushima residents and local University students! Bring
indoor shoes and wear comfortable clothes - if you don't
have a racket, there are extras available.

On Sale at TOPIA
トピアで買えます

Postage stamps, revenue stamps, and postcards can bepurchased at TOPIA. Please inquire at the counter. Re-

where: Tokushima City Gymnasium (taiikukan)

ciepts available upon request.

when: Monday and Friday, 6:00 -9:00pm(first timers: come at 7:30 and ask for Mr. Okayama participation fee is waived until the second visit)
cost: \1000 to join, \1500 per month
homepage: http://www.geocities.jp/tokushima_ttc21-12-

memoranda
Shikoku "Yuki
Gassen"(snowball fight)
Tournament
四国雪合戦大会

Teams of 7 to 10 people, Adult and Junior Catagories.
Fun! Easy! Everybody welcome!
Winning adult team gets ￥25,000 and FREE trip to
Hokkaido to play in National Tournament! (Feb 26-27)
Junior team wins ￥10,000
when: January 23 (Sun) 8:30 - 15:30
where: Iyashino Onsen, Higashi Iya Village
cost: free to participate, free to watch too!
for free entry form and rulebook,contact: Mr. Nakanishitel. 0883.88.2211
fax. 0883.88.2166

Your Message Here
このスペースを利用しせんか？
Let the International Community know about your eventor announcement! Submit your text (in Japanese or
English) by the 20th of the month to get it printed innext month's edition. Drop off your message in person at
TOPIA or write to: topia@fm.nmt.ne.jp

Moving Sale
引っ越しセール* Crockery (sets and singles), mostly blue and white
dishes, bowls plates (large & small)* Cutlery (sets and odds)* Cookware
utensils, appliances, pots and pans

Entry deadline is January 14 (Fri).
Team numbers are limited, so act fast!

(metal, corning-ware, casserole, nabe)* Electric appliances
vac., blender, refrigerator (medium-sized), VCR,

Ikeda Winter Objéts
池田冬オブジェ

deep fryer, decorative lamp, rice cooker, stereo unit
with 2 karaoke mics, 2 steam irons, 2 heaters,
medium oven, teflon-coated grill plate, elec. blanket* Furniture and Furnishings- SET:extending table with 2 swivel chairs, a bench

The streets and homes of Ikeda are lit up withseat and 2 stools (pine)

illuminations and decorations throughout the month of- folding table with raised shelf and 2 chairs

December.

- armchair- 2-seat sofa

when: December 1 - early January 17:00 - 22:00- 2 full-length mirrors

where: Awa-Ikeda JR Station area

- 2 wicker/cane shelf/storage units

cost: free- large dining/display cupboard (wooden)

for more info: Ikeda Commerce and Tourism- outdoor metal table and 2 chairs (set)Department - tel. 0883.72.7620- assorted linens- fish tank with hardy fish and accessories

Cooking Pictures
料理教室の写真- garden hose and fittings
when: All available now - come and look!
where: Seiko Gakuen, just over Yoshino River,near Yoshinari Station

Photos taken at the October 17 HIROBA Cooking Class arefor more info contact: Estelle
tel. 090.9457.3748

now available for viewing at TOPIA. You can also ordere-mail. estelle@vodafone.ne.jp

copies for yourself. Come in to TOPIA anytime and ask at
the counter.

,

-13-

estellembell@yahoo.com.au

memoranda
Atelier Dream
Exhibition

Japanese Salon
土曜にほん語サロン
A free Japanese conversation salon is now available at the
Seishonen Center in downtown Tokushima City, near City
Hall. Volunteers will help students of Japanese to improvetheir converstion skills

アトリエ夢展This exhibition contains school children's artwork, crafts
display, watercolours, acrylics, oil paintings and accessoryart.

when: Every Saturday from 7.00pm to 8.30pm
where: Seishonen Center 青少年センター (5F)

when: December 23 (Thu)- 26 (Sun) 10:00am to 5:00pm.
The last day of the event finishes at 3:30

cost: freewhere: Yonden Plaza Tokushima, 2nd Floor Gallery

for more info, contact: Minami-san 090.4506.5296

cost: free
for more info: 088.625.1161

Counselling
Service at TOPIA

TOPIA's Library

トピアの相談窓口

トピアの図書室

TOPIA offers a counselling and advisory service to all

If you are a Tokushima resident (regardless of nationality)

foreign residents to help with issues involving accidents,

you can get a library card for TOPIA's library, and borrowworking conditions, housing, visas, international marriage,

books free of charge! The library has mostly English, Chi-and more. Counselling is available in English and Japa-

nese, and Japanese books, with a small section of novels

nese. Please note that although every effort will be made,written in other European languages.

we may not be able to deal with all cases.

Books that have been culled from TOPIA's library areavailable for people to take home for free. Come to TOPIA

Monday to Thursday

anytime and take a look in the big boxes marked free.

10:00 - 17:00

Donations of books are also accepted year-round!

tel. 088.656.3303 or 088.656.3320 (allows three way
conversations with an interpreter)

Postcard Design
Exhibition

X-mas Market Fair
クリスマス

マーケト

小学生によるデザインはがき展

フェア

An exhibition of German Christmas Goods at Naruto German House.

An exhibition of Elementary school children's postcard
designs, at Yamakawa's fascinating traditional Japanese
paper factory, Awagami Factory

when: December 26 (Sun)when: January 19 (Wed) - February 1 (Tue)where: Naruto German House (Doitsu-kan)

where: Awagami Factory, Kawahigashi, Yamakawa-cho,

cost: free

Yoshinogawa City

for more info: 088.689.0099

cost: free
for more info: 0883.42.6120.

-14-

memoranda
TOPIA's New Year's Holiday
年末年始の休館日

From December 29 (Wednesday) until January 3 (Monday), TOPIA will be closed. Regrettably, January's Awa Life will also
be released a little later than usual. Hang in there! And enjoy the holidays.

地域日本語指導ボランティア養成講座
徳島会場 :（徳島県青少年センター）土曜日･･･ 10:00 ～ 16:40

日曜日･･･ 9:40 ～ 16:20

後期講座：Ｈ 17 年 1 月 15,16 日（土、日）,22,23 日（土、日）プログラム：前期講座：日本語の基本的な教え方についてのワンポイントレッスン
参加資格：前期講座：初心者／後期講座：前期講座「みんなの日本語Ⅰ」を修了した人
参加費：無料
定員：各会場約 30 名
講師：神戸 YWCA 学院専門学校より
テキスト：前期講座：ｽﾘｰｴｰﾈｯﾄﾜｰｸ発行「みんなの日本語Ⅰ」（2,500 円）およびその訳本Ⅰ（2,000 円）／後期講座：同
上の「みんなの日本語Ⅱ」等を購入。それぞれの協会を通じて購入する場合は、はがきにその旨を必ずお書き添え下さい。
（訳本は言語名を明記してください）
申込み：往復はがきまたはＦＡＸにてレス ⑤性別①名前⑥年齢（40 代等）⑦希望会場②郵便番号

徳 島 会 場 問 い 合 わ せ：（ 財 ） 徳 島 県 国 際 交 流 協 会
TEL:088-656-3303

FAX:088-652-0616③住所④電話（携帯もあれば）＆ FAX 番号＆メールアド⑧日本語教授法の勉強年数および教えた経験など記入のこと。

〒 770-0831 徳 島 市 寺 島 本 町 西 1-61 ク レ メ ン ト プ ラ ザ 6F

担当：野水

tv movie schedule・december
DateTime Place

Nat.

タイトル

Title

ワルド・イズ・ノット・
The World Is Not Enough
USA/UK ’99
イナフSun. 5

9:00

⑥ ABC

Thu. 9late night⑧関西

IND ‘97

愛と復讐の炎Fri. 10

8:00⑩読売

JPN '01

M

Koyla

J

千と千尋の神隠し

Spirited Away

L

Lord of the Rings:
The Pianist

LSat. 118:03⑧関西

USA ‘02

ロード・オブ・ザ・
リング 二つの塔

Sun. 12

9:00

⑥ ABC

POL/FR ‘02

戦場のピアニスト

Sat. 17

9:03⑩読売

USA ’86

コブラ

Cobra

M

Sun. 19

9:00

⑥ ABC

USA ’97

フェイス／オフ

Face/offM

Thu. 23late night⑧関西

USA '98

母の眠り

One True Thing

L

Fri. 24

9:03⑩読売

JPN ‘86

天空の城ラピュタ

LaputaL

Nhorror ? mystery

Nsuspense

J comedy

LdramaTwo Towers

Maction ♥love & romance SF science fiction

This schedule is subject to change.

-15-

M

cinema guide
TOKUSHIMA HALL 徳島ホール(Saiwai-cho - near the Central
Post Office)088.653.1802

Collateral【USA】コラテラル

untill 12/17

The Terminal【USA】ターミナル

from 12/18

TOKUSHIMA TOHO 徳島東宝
(Kagoya-machi - in Higashi
Shinmachi Arcade)088.625.5311
TOHO CINEMA 東宝シネマ(Kagoya-machi - in Higashi
Shinmachi Arcade)088.625.5311
ATTACK HEIWA アタック平和

Godzilla Final Wars【JPN】ゴジラ(Kuramoto 2 cho-me - near
Kuramoto Station)
088.631.6490
HEIWA DOLBY 平和ドルビー(Kuramoto 2 cho-me )088.631.6490
KITAJIMA CINEMA SUNSHINE*FUJI GRAND*

1st of each month → \1000
Men’s day / Friday → \1000

Ladies’ day Tuesday → \1000
Final Wars (in Japanese)

1st of each month → \1000 Ladies’ Day / Wednesday → \1000
Men’s Day / Thursday → \1000
Howl's Moving Castle【JPN】ハウルの動く城 (in Japanese)
1st of each month → \1000 Ladies’ Day / Wednesday → \1000
Men’s Day / Thursday → \1000
Polar Express【USA】ポーラー・エクスプレス (in Japanese)
1st of each month → \1000 Customer Appreciation Day/ Wednesday → \1000
The Incredibles【USA】Mr. インクレディブル (in Japanese)
1st of each month → \1000 Customer Appreciation Day/ Wednesday → \1000
Kakushi no Ken Oni no Tsume【JPN】隠しの剣(in Japanese)

鬼の爪

Collateral【USA】コラテラル

北島シネマサンシャイン（Kitajima-cho Tainohama）
088.697.3113
088.697.3111（24 時間テープ案内）

until 12/17
from 12/22

Alien vs. Predator【USA】エイリアン VS プレデター
ULTRAMAN【JPN】ULTRAMAN (in Japanese)from 12/18

The Incredibles【USA】Mr. インクレディブル
Man on Fire【USA】マイ･ボディガード
The Terminal【USA】ターミナル
from 12/23

Inuyasha【JPN】犬夜叉 (in Japanese)

The 1st of each month → \1000
Howl's Moving Castle【JPN】ハウルの動く城 (in Japanese)
Ladies’ Day / Wednesday → \1000
Godzilla Final Wars【JPN】ゴジラ

Final Wars (in Japanese)

The Incredibles【USA】Mr. インクレディブル
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow【USA】ｽｶｲｷｬﾌﾟﾃﾝ～ﾜｰﾙﾄﾞ･ｵﾌﾞ･ﾄｩﾓﾛｰ～Windstruck【KRN】僕の彼女を紹介します (in Korean)
Polar Express【USA】ポーラー・エクスプレス
Anyone Has a Secret【KRN】誰にでも秘密がある (in Korean)
Lady Joker【JPN】レディー･ジョーカー (in Japanese)coming soon:
At Kitajima Sunshine Cinema in Fuji Grand this January:
House of Sand and Fog - starring Jennifer Connelly

受け止めていますか

人権の重み

Kung-fu Hustle - starring Chiau Sing Chi-16-