aWa life
Interview with2020 JapaneseSuzanne Kamata

Buzzwords

Awa Shoku: Kampai the
New Year with Sake

Gairaigo Galore:
バッテラ

January 2021
# 363

1

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

あけましておめでとうございます！ Happy New Year, everyone!
Welcome to the year of the ox. We hope you had a relaxing end of the year and hopefully also a few
days of vacation. From January we will enter the coldest time of the year in Tokushima, but it probably
won't be too cold to enjoy some time outside. How about going strawberry picking（いちご狩り）, forexample? The strawberry season in Tokushima usually starts in January, and most of the strawberry
farms will be open then. These little red treasures will certainly warm your heart even on cold days.
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, Junko Kimura, Lance Kita, and Kayo Miyoshi

2Contents

Pg. 2-4: Interview with Suzanne Kamata
Pg. 5:

Japanese Culture and Reading Corner: 成人の日

Pg. 5:

Gairaigo Galore: バッテラ

Pg. 6:

Awa Shoku: Kampai the New Year with Sake

Pg. 7:

Japanese Lesson

Pg. 8:

2020 Japanese Buzzwords
Events and Memoranda

Pg. 9Interview with Suzanne KamataInterview By: Qing Liu, Nico Bohnsack, & Sydney BartigT

his month we had the opportunity to meetwith Suzanne Kamata, a teacher and writer
living here in Tokushima. We asked her about her
novels, her life, and her thoughts on Japanesesociety.
Could you tell us a little about yourself?
I was born in GrandHaven, Michigan,
and I came to Japan
in 1988 on the JET
Programme where
I worked as an ALT
in Naruto. My baseschool was Naruto
Senior High School,
but I visited many
schools such as
those in Kamiyama.
In my second year
I met my then-to-behusband, and that was a trigger for me wanting tostay in Japan. After the JET Programme I worked
in Matsushige for about 12 years teaching English
at elementary schools, and during this time I
got married. I eventually gave birth to twins who
were born prematurely, so I had to quit working
for a while in order to take care of them. Duringthat time, I put a lot of effort into writing andwrote my first novel. I also entered the All Nippon

Airways/Wingspan Fiction Contest, and twice I
won plane tickets to go abroad which allowed
me to visit Australia and America. I also wrote fornewspapers and newsletters such as the Japan
Times and even Awa Life. I was fortunate enoughto get a job working part-time at Naruto Universityof Education, worked for 3 years at Tokushima
U n i v e r s i t y, a n d a m
now back at Naruto
University of Education
working as an associate
professor.
What themes do yournovels typically focus
on? What are yourinterests?
I would say the main
themes of my novels
are intercultural andcross-cultural meetings,
especially between American and Japaneseculture. A lot of the characters I write about areforeigners living in Japan or Japanese people inother countries. There are many people who write
about Tokyo, Kyoto, and Hiroshima, but there
aren’t many people who write about Tokushima
in English. I’d like to introduce Tokushima to theworld.

3
My children are bi-racial so I also write about “half”
characters, and my daughter has cerebral palsy
so I write about characters with disabilities aswell. One of my books is about traveling with mydaughter. I wanted to write to show people thatbarriers still exist, but I wanted to do so in a waythat was accessible, fun to read, and not preachy.
What made you decide to travel the world withyour daughter?
When my daughter was 10 years old, she said
that she wanted to go to Paris. However, I had tofind some way to get the money for the trip. There
was a grant for artists with children, so I decided
to apply for it with the intent of traveling to Paris
with my daughter and writing a book based on
our travels. I ended up receiving the grant and wewere able to visit Paris.
How were your experiences with certain
countries? Were there any countries that you
would say could be a role model for support
for people with a disability? What were somebad examples? How is the situation in Japan?
Everywhere had places that were accessible andinaccessible, and they were different in their own
ways. For example, in Europe there are manyold buildings that people don’t want to change or
add elevators to. The metro in Paris also was not
100% wheelchair accessible.
In America, due to the Americans with Disabilities
Act, people have this expectation that they will beable to get into and out of buildings easily. Evensmall stores tend to have a ramp. However, I
haven’t actually lived in America with my daughter,so I can really only comment on our travels.
In Japan, there are issues such as the genkan(entryway) being difficult for wheelchairs. The
cities in general tend to be more accessible, butthere are still many places that are inaccessible.
However, due to the Paralympics there is a
growing consciousness and changes are slowly
happening.

Interview with Suzanne Kamata
In Japan, not many people want to go abroad
since they have a comfortable life in Japan.
What would you tell those people? What can
you learn from going abroad?
From going abroad, one learns to open their mind.
You can make new friends, find new opportunities,
and maybe even fall in love. You travel to havenew experiences and to learn new things.
Many of your books are about being aforeigner in Japan. How do you feel about
being here as a foreigner right now?
I’ve been here for over 30 years and I never
expected nor wanted to become Japanese. I’m
comfortable being different, and I don’t expect
anyone will ever accept me as Japanese.
However, I do feel like I am always in-between,
because even when I go back to America, I feellike I don’t really fit in there either. I guess you
could say I’m a citizen of the world.
What do you think are some pressing, social
issues in Japan, especially related to foreign
residents?
One thing, at least for me and my family, isthe issue of passports. My children have two
passports, and according to the Japanese law
they will have to choose just one. I wish theywould be allowed to keep both and have dual
citizenship. I think that would be good for Japan
too, because there would be more people living
between cultures and more people would want
to stay in Japan. Currently, many people give up
their citizenship and move to America.
I also wish there were more opportunities for men
and women. This is an issue in other countries
too, but there is still a gap between men andwomen in the workplace. When I worked at
Tokushima University, I was the only woman in thedepartment.
What do you think about Japanese schools
and the Japanese education system?

Interview with Suzanne Kamata
There is the issue of conformity in Japan where
everyone is supposed to be the same, so there is
not a lot of tolerance for differences or chances
for creativity. Americans tend to value creativity,and in school they spend a lot of time doing
creative writing, reading books, etc. Those who
graduate from college especially tend to be good
writers. However, my son never really wrote muchin school nor did he read a lot of books. Whenthey read something in Japanese schools they
just tend to read an excerpt, while in American
schools they read the entire book.
It’s also very test
based in Japan.
There is only one
correct answer,
but in America,
students spend
a lot of time
discussing things.
They learn to
ask questions
and realize that
there are many
possibilities.
In my case,I also felt that the teachers didn’t respect myopinion because I was a foreigner. When it cameto my daughter, I pushed for her to be able tolearn English. I was told to wait until she was injunior high school, but when she entered juniorhigh school, I was told that life skills were more
important than English. The teachers also didn’t
want me to speak English with her because she isdeaf and they thought it would be difficult for her.
It definitely made me sad not being able to speak
English with her.
What do you enjoy about your life in Japanand Tokushima?
I really like my current job and I am happy
teaching. I get to teach a lot of foreign students
in the graduate program, so even though I am in
Shikoku, I have a connection with the world. I also

4
love the nature of Tokushima, it’s very beautiful.
The changing of the seasons is great with thesakura in the spring and momiji in the fall. It’s alsoa very peaceful place to live and the people areall very friendly.
What are your future plans? Are there any
places you would like to go? What books areyou planning to write?
I’d like to go to Scandinavia. I’ve heard that it’svery liberal and a good place for people withdisabilities, so I want tosee for myself if that istrue. I’ve also never been
there and it just seems
like an interesting place.
As far as books go, mybooks are all published in
America, and in America
there is this new kind ofmindset that if you publish
a certain book, you can
only do so if you are apart of that group. WhatI mean is that, because
I am not Japanese but I
write about Japanese characters, or because I am
not disabled but I write about disabled characters,that kind of writing isn't as accepted right now.
I want to write more about Japan, but I feel like
American publishers are not as open to thosekinds of stories right now, so currently I’m working
on a historical novel about a spy that is set duringWW2. It has no connections to Japan.
In general, I want to continue teaching at theuniversity level and travel with my daughter andfamily. One of my big dreams is to have one of
my books made into a Netflix series or somethingsimilar. It would also be great to see one of themtranslated into Japanese.

5Japanese Culture and Reading Corner: 成人の日
By: Junko Kimura
くに

なんさい

せいじん

に ほん

げんざい

はたち

せいじん

ねん

みなさんの国では 何歳から 成人ですか。日本では 現在、 20 歳から 成人です。しかし、2022 年 4
がつ

ついたち

じん

いわ

じゅうはっさい

せいじん

がつ

だい

げつよう び

せいじん

ひ

しゅくじつ

しんせい

月 1 日からは 18 歳 から 成人となります。1 月の第 2 月曜日が「成人の日」という祝日です。新成しきせいじんしきいとくしまけん

ち いき

こうみんかん

たいいくかんなど

かいさい

せいじんしき人を 祝う式を「成人式」と言い、徳島県では 地域の公民館や体育館等で 開催されます。成人式は、
じゅうみんひょうち いき

いわしょうがっこう ちゅうがっこう

とき

どうきゅうせい

あ

ば あい

むかし

住 民票が ある地域で お祝いをし、小学校や中学校の時の 同 級 生に 会える場合があります。昔の
はなし

はな

さ

とう じ

おも

だ

なつ

おんな

ひと

ふ

そで

き

おとこ

ひと

話に 花が咲き、当時を思い出し、とても懐かしくなります。女の人は 振り袖やスーツを着、男の人
はかま

き

に ほん

せんきょけんじゅうはっさいねん

せいじん

は スーツや袴を 着ます。日本では 選挙権は 18 歳 からあります。また、2022 年からは 成人になねんれいじゅうはっさい

す

さけ

の

はたち

る年齢も 18 歳 になりますが、たばこを吸ったり、お酒を飲んだりできるのは、これからも 20 歳か
くに

せいじん

いわ

らです。みなさんの 国では 成人になったときに どのような お祝いをしますか。

Vocabulary List
せいじん

成人
げんざい

現在
しゅくじつ

Adult
Currently

祝 日 National Holiday
いわ

祝う
しき

式
ち いき

地域

Celebrate
Ceremony
Area

バッテラ (bateira)
By: Nico Bohnsack

こうみんかん

公民館 Community Center

たいいくかん

体育館
かいさい

開催
じゅうみんひょうGym
Hold/Host

住 民 票 Certificate of Residence
どうきゅうせい同級生
はなし はなClassmateさ

とう じ

Those Days

当時
なつ

懐かしい
ふ

そで

振り袖
はかま

袴
せんきょけん

選挙権

Nostalgic
Long-sleeved Kimono
HakamaRight to Vote

話に花が咲く To Reminisce

Gairaigo Galore

One famous kind of sushi in Japan, especially in the Kansai region, is バッテラ , a type of so-calledoshizushi (pressed sushi). バッテラ are pieces of mackerel on top of vinegared rice and are widely
available at supermarkets in Tokushima. I often buy this kind of sushi since the taste reminds me ofa fish cuisine we eat in Northern Germany, but more than once I wondered
why it is actually called バ ッ テ ラ while always connecting the name withsome sort of ship. Indeed, the Japanese expression seems to stem from theword bateira which is Portuguese and means “boat”.
Since Japan came into contact with Portugal in the 16th century, many
Portuguese words found their way into theJapanese language, including bateira or バ ッ
テ ラ . However, the word was first used with its original meaning(boat) which only changed in the year of 1893. It is said that a sushi
restaurant in Osaka actually invented this style of sushi and gave it thename バッテラ since its shape looked similar to that of a boat. At first,
spotted sardines were used, but because the price of spotted sardines
increased rapidly they were replaced with mackerel in the end. If you haven’t eaten one of thesedelicious “boats” I can definitely recommend you try it when you visit the supermarket next time.

Awa Shoku: Kampai the New Year with Sake
By: Lance Kita
appy New Year!! On the first morning of the
new year (during my homestay in college, it
was just after midnight), a sip of a special spiced
sake (otoso お 屠 蘇 ) is drunk by every memberof the family to wipe away the ills of the old year
and promote long life. Since ancient times, sake(nihonshu 日本酒 ) has been used in ceremonies
at Shinto shrines, making it the spirit of the spiritof Japan.

H

Sake is quite simple and pure at its core: rice,water, and koji-kin 麹菌 (a fungus that drives thefermentation). All three are mixed together to forma mash called moromi 醪 and traditionally poured
into sacks and fermented in a large wooden vat.
After the fermentation process is finished, thesacks are pressed and the sake is processed andbottled.

6

grade sake because the aromas and flavors canbe better savored. One traditional cup is the masu
升 , a wooden box that imparts the fragrance of
cedar or cypress to the sake. Some restaurants
will place a glass in the box and pour the sake inthe glass until it overflows, a sign of generosityand hospitality.
Sake can also be eaten. Clams and other shellfish
can be steamed in sake (like the French mussels
in wine). Try adding a couple of tablespoons toyour hotpot broth to enhance the flavors of thevegetables. There are even saka-manju 酒饅頭 ,bean paste cakes flavored with sake! The leftoverdregs after the sake is pressed in the sacks iscalled sakekasu 酒 粕 , and makes a great soup(use half miso and half sakekasu) with salmon,
chicken, mushrooms, or dark greens. If you want
it at a restaurant,
ask for kasujiru
粕 汁 (may be aseasonal dish).

T h e r i c e
is usuallypolished toremove theWinter is theouter part of
traditional season
the grain, sincefor sake, as thethe center ofcold weather isthe grain isnecessary for
No matter the temperature, container, or cup... sake is a great consistent, stable
mainly starchand produces a
way to ring in the new year!
fermentation
cleaner tasting
temperatures.
sake.The more you polish off, the higher the Often, breweries will hang a large ball made ofgrade (Honjozo 本醸造 , ginjo 吟醸 , and daiginjo fresh cedar leaves out in front. As the leaves
大 吟 醸 from low to high). Lower grade doesn’t brown, it symbolizes the maturing of the sake,necessarily mean lower quality, as the minerals and once it’s entirely brown the sake is ready to
and fats in the outer layers can give an interesting drink. In Tokushima, sake breweries are clusteredcomplexity of flavor. Sometimes, additional in Naruto City and in Miyoshi City, and somealcohol is added to the sake. If you want sake that have retail corners in their historical buildings.
only has the alcohol that came from the natural Visit these breweries this winter. Some of themfermentation process, look for the word junmai 純 will even have special tasting and sales of the
米 next to the grades mentioned before.
new sake (shinshu 新酒 ) in late winter and early
One of the beauties of sake is that it can be drunkat a wide range of temperatures. In the winter,ask for atsukan 熱燗、and the sake will come hot
in a slender bottle (tokkuri 徳 利 ) for you to pourinto tiny cups (choko 猪口 ) and sip. You can alsochoose room temperature (jo-on 常 温 ) or chilled(reishu 冷 酒 ), which often is good for higher

spring, with rare variations like unpasteurized(namazake 生酒 ) or fresh pressed (shiboritate 搾りたて ).

So here’s a toast to 2021, and the hope for aclearer and crisper year with a better finish than
2020!! Kampai!

7Japanese Lesson

By: Kayo Miyoshi

め うえ

ひと

つか

けい ご

目上の人に使いたい敬語
Keigo Phrases to Use With Your Superiors
め うえ

ひと

目上の人 refers to people who are older than you, your boss/senpai at work, your teachers at school,or other people who you are indebted to. We use keigo to show respect to these people. If you canproperly use keigo, you can convey to that person that you value them. It's difficult to get it right at first,
but don't you want to be able to use keigo phrases naturally?

Keigo

Phrases You Often Use
わ

しょう ち

「はい、分かりました。/ OK です。
」→「かしこまりました。
」「承知しました。
」
つか

せ わ「こんにちは」→「お疲れさまです。いつもお世話になります。
」
おそい「すみません。」→「恐れ入ります。
」
もう

わけ

「ごめんなさい。」→「申し訳ございません。
」「いっていらっしゃい。
」→「いってらっしゃいませ。
」
いっしょ

とも

「ご一緒します！」→「お供します。
」
い

じゃ ま

「行きます。」→「うかがいます。/ お邪魔します。
」「どうしますか。」→「いかがなさいますか。
」
く ろうさまつか「ご苦労様。」→「お疲れさまでした。
」
いそが

い

もう

わけ

よ てい

はい

「忙しいので行くことができません。
」→「申し訳ございません。予定が入っておりまして…。
」
みず

みず

ねが

「水をください。」→「お水をお願いします。
」
しつもん

しつもん

「質問いいですか？」→「質問してもよろしいでしょうか？」
ほんとう

たす

「ありがとう。」→「本当に助かりました。おかげさまで、･･･。
」わおし「分かりません。」→「教えていただけませんか。
」
がん ば

ど りょく

まか

「頑張ります。」→「努力いたします。/ お任せください。
」
しぞん「知らない。」→「存じません。
」

When You Give a Present
き も「気持ちばかりですが…、」
When You Receive a Present
き づか「お気遣いいただきありがとうございます。
えんりょ

ちょうだいいた

遠慮なく頂戴致します。」

2020 Japanese Buzzwords
By: Qing Liu

A
•
•

•

8

s we enter a new year, the buzzwords of the previous year always become a hot topic. The words
expected to be crowned top buzzwords for 2020 include:
あたら

せいかつ

Words
that were born or gained popularity
due to the coronavirus pandemic such as “ 新しい生活
ようしき
みつ様式 ” (new lifestyle/new normal), “ ３密 ” (the 3 C’s), “ ウーバーイーツ ” (uber eats), etc. き め つ やいば
New words that were born from popularあいmovies,
Korean dramas, and games such as もり“ 鬼滅の刃 ”
ふ じ ちゃく(Kimetsu no Yaiba – Demon Slayer), “ 愛 の 不 時 着 ” (Crash Landing on You), “ あ つ 森 ” (Animal
Crossing: New Horizons), etc.
かつどう
Societal issues that captured
the attention of people worldwide such as “BLM 運 動 ” (Black Lives
こMatter Movement), “AI 超え ” (AI surpassing humans), etc.

You have probably heard some of these words before. In order for everyone to have a deeper
understanding of these words, I’d like to explain the meaning of some of these buzzwords.
ソーシャルディスタンス (Social Distancing)This word has been used a lot recently in regards to the novel coronavirus, and it means to keep a safe
distance from other people. Even those who don’t have any symptoms may have the virus. Without
knowing, you could be the reason that a cluster forms. The word social distancing has been a popular
word used to prevent not only yourself, but other people, from getting infected.
ざいたく

き ん む

在 宅 勤 務 (WFH) (Work From Home), モ バ イ ル ワ ー ク (Mobile Work), リ モ ー ト ワ ー ク(Telecommuting)
A variety of words have been used to express people working from home rather
than at the traditional office setting. This work-style gained popularity as a method
to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus and to make it so people can moreeasily avoid the three Cs (closed spaces, crowded places, & close-contact settings).
もりもりあつまれどうぶつの森 / あつ森 (Animal Crossing: New Horizons)
A Switch game released on March 20th, 2020 by Nintendo. The story revolves around you living on adeserted island alongside animal villagers. You can use the resources you gather on the island to makenew items, and you can also play the game together with 4 other people at the same time.
きめつ

やいば

鬼滅の刃 (Kimetsu no Yaiba – Demon Slayer)
The movie is currently airing in theaters and has seen an explosive boom in popularity.
Set in the
おにTaisho era, this Japanese-style story features a protagonist fighting against demons ( 鬼 ) that killed his
family as he searches for a way to turn his demon-turned, younger sister back into a human.
かつどう

BLM 運動 (Black Lives Matter Movement)
A movement that seeks to end racial discrimination, the Black Lives Matter movement was created in
the wake of police brutality against African Americans in the United States.
こAI 超え (AI Surpassing Humans)
There has been talk of AI in the future surpassing humans and doing work in theirplace.

9

Events & Memoranda
Awa Ningyo Joruri Performance
阿波人形浄瑠璃芝居公演

Come and enjoy Awa Ningyo Joruri performances,a local treasure, at Yume Hall.
Performing Group (Za) : Nakamuraen Tayu Za
When: January 31st (Sun)
Doors Open: 12:30
Performance Starts: 13:00
Where: Anan Bunka Kaikan Yume Hall
Fee: 200 Yen for Adults, Free for High SchoolStudents & Younger
Info: Anan Culture Promotion Division
Anan Bunka Kaikan
Tel: 0884-22-1798
0884-21-0808

郷土の誇り「阿波人形浄瑠璃」の舞台をホールでお楽しみください。
座：中村園太夫座
日時：1 月 31 日 ( 日 )12:30 開場 13:00 開演
場所：夢ホール・阿南市文化会館
料金：200 円小中高生無料
問い合わせ：阿南市文化振興課
阿南市文化会館
Tel: 0884-22-1798
0884-21-0808

Mochi Strength Competition at Taisanji Temple
大山寺の力餅This event is held on the 3rd Sunday of January
at Taisanji Temple as the first event of the newyear.
*This year, due to coronavirus prevention
measures, the competition will be cancelled. The
mochi offering will be presented by 1 female and1 male representative.

正月の初会式の行事として毎年 1 月第 3 日曜日に

When: January 17th (Sun.)
Where: Taisanji Temple Shrine Grounds
Info: Taisanji Temple
Tel: 088-694-5525
URL: http://taisanji.jp/?page_id=10

場所：大山寺境内

大山寺境内で行われます。
※今年はコロナ対策のため大会は中止、奉納力餅として男女の代表が１名づつ実施します。
日時：1 月 17 日（日）問い合わせ：大山寺
Tel: 088-694-5525
URL: http://taisanji.jp/?page_id=10

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)