aWa life
2023 Tokushima Prefecture
Japanese Speech Contest

September 2023

Japanese Culture andReading Corner: 霊山寺

Finishing My Short-Term
Cambodia Japanese Partners
DispatchGairaigo Galore:
クレーム

# 394

1

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

Did everyone enjoy the Awa Odori last month? Unfortunately, the Tokushima City Awa Odori had a lotof rain on the third day and was cancelled on the fourth, but everyone still danced and had a lot of fun!
Hopefully you had a good time too.
Starting from August we have a new editor for Awa Life, Rasmus! He’ll be taking over for Nico as theGerman CIR at TOPIA and the Tokushima Prefectural Office. Look forward to reading his introduction
message in the upcoming Awa Life issue!
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 Rasmus

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 Rasmus Burgmer
Contributors This Month:
Jennifer Shiue, Mako Kobayashi, and Yukiko Watanabe

2Contents

Pg. 2-3: 2023 Tokushima Prefecture Japanese Speech Contest
Pg. 4-5: Finishing My Short-Term Cambodia Japanese Partners
Dispatch

Pg. 6:

Tokushima Culture and Reading Corner: 霊山寺

Pg. 6:

Gairaigo Galore: クレーム

Pg. 7:

Japanese Lesson

Pg. 8-9: Events and Memoranda
2023 Tokushima Prefecture Japanese Speech Contest

O

n July 23rd (Sun.), Tokushima Prefecture
and the Tokushima Prefectural International
Exchange Association held the 2023 Japanese
Speech Contest for Foreign Residents for the34th time at the Awa Gin Hall (Tokushima Arts
Foundation for Culture).

After a preliminary judging, 14 participants from
7 different countries were chosen from among
20 applicants. They passionately presented on
their ideas and opinions regarding cross-cultural
understanding, differences between their country
and Japan, things they have felt from their daily
life in Japan, etc.
With the easing of the COVID-19 pandemic,
we were able to hold the contest without
restrictions on guests, and including presenters,
judges, guests, etc. approximately 140 people
participated. We were also able to hold our
Exchange Party after the contest for the first timein 4 years, where presenters and guests wereable to enjoy themselves.

The Grand Prize winner was Jennifer Shiue, anassistant language teacher from the USA withroots in Taiwan. The winner of the Tokushima
Prefectural Assembly’s Federation of International
Exchange Assembly Members Chairman’s Award
was ARIS SEPTIAWAN, a technical intern trainee
from Indonesia.
We’ve already posted about the contest on
TOPIA’s website, and we will upload a video
sometime soon, so definitely take a look. (Oncethe video streaming date has been decided, we
will post it on TOPIA’s website.)
Check out the next page for a translation of theGrand Prize winner’s speech!

3

You Can Define Your Own CultureL

et me start by briefly introducing myself.
My name is Jennifer, and I’m a TaiwaneseAmerican who is currently working as an English
teacher at Tokushima Municipal High School. It’s
my second year living in Japan.
When you hear the word “culture”, what comesto mind? The first thing that pops into your mind
is probably differences in ways of thinking andcustoms depending on the country or area.
However, what I’d like to talk about today is our“personal attitudes and views” towards culture.
Please allow me to talk about my grandfather’s
story as an example.
My grandfather was born in Taiwan in 1928.
At that time, Taiwan was a colony of Japan, so
he received Japanese education. When mygrandfather was just about to enter high school,
he was unable to continue his education because
World War II broke out and he was drafted into
the navy. He was then sent from Taiwan to the
Koza District of Kanagawa, Japan, where heworked in an aircraft factory making fighter planes
for aircraft carriers.
Following the war, my grandfather returned to
Taiwan and finished his high school and college
education. He then made use of his essentiallynative-level Japanese language skills that hehad gained from his Japanese education during
the colonial period, as well as his experiencesinteracting with Japanese people during histime working at the aircraft factory. He started a
trading business with Japan, becoming quite anaccomplished businessman.
During the war and colonial period, countless
people’s lives and livelihoods have been changed.
Not all of them were able to transform those life
encounters into personal treasures. When mygrandfather was young, he was unable to attend
school or be with his family like a normal highschool student, but he accepted the situation
around him and, while still keeping his own
language and culture, he learned Japanese and
the Japanese way of thinking. My grandfather
turned his circumstances into his own treasure
and created his own identity.
The key factor that ultimately decides if you are

By: Jennifer Shiue (Grand Prize Winner)able to accept othercultures, is “yourattitude”. No matter
what happens orwhom you meet, if
you try to observe,
think about, andunderstand with anopen mind, your own
world will expand
and your way of thinking may even change. With
the rapid progression of globalization, even if we
don’t physically go abroad, our lives will always
be affected by internationalization. What changes
are taking place in your life? How are you dealing
with those changes?
How you feel about or face the things happeningaround you depends on your values and way of
thinking. That way of thinking is then tied to youractions. At first glance, everyone’s individual
behavior may seem like a personal thing, butwhen you look at the group as a whole, people’s
behavior is culture itself. In other words, culture
is something that each one of us can decide forourselves.
My grandfather passed away eight years ago, but
the influence he left on me will never disappear.
For example, when I first came to Japan lastyear and had to deal with things like phone andbanking procedures that were totally different
from my country, I acted under the saying of“when in Rome, do as the Romans do”. Now
that I’m in Japan, I respect the Japanese way of
doing things, and try to objectively understandthe merits of the way things are done, which
has changed my way of thinking a bit. Thanks
to the fact that my ancestors created their own
culture with a good attitude and open mind, I, whowatched them do so, have inherited that attitude
and am able to create my own unique culture herein Japan. Don’t you think this is a positive cycle ofculture?
Ultimately, it is you who decides what culture
you want to adopt, whether that be your local
culture or one from abroad. Everyone is able tounderstand and respect each other; isn’t that whata true multicultural society is? This way, I believe
we can pass on the positive cycle of culture to thenext generation.

Finishing My Short-Term Cambodia Japanese Partners
Dispatch
By: Mako KobayashiF

rom June 13th – 22nd, a total of five people,
including three from TOPIA, were dispatched
to Cambodia by the Japanese Partners Project of
the Japan Foundation (JF).

Short-term Dispatch Team Members(Japan Foundation Phnom Penh Office)E a c h y e a r, t h i s d i s p a t c h p r o g r a m s e n d sJapanese nationals to work as local Japaneseteachers, or as partners, for Japanese learners.
The volunteers work to support local Japaneselearners by using Japanese to teach them about
Japanese culture and the language. The goal of
the project is to increase the number of Japan/
Japanese fans through actual exchange projects,
as well as to share the experiences gained backin Japan.

Chatting Stands Showing what Makes
Tokushima Special(Royal University of Phnom Penh – Japanese
Department )Additionally, this project has both short-term andlong-term programs, and we were dispatchedas the fourth short-term team to Cambodia.
This is due to the fact that Tokushima has long4

since conducted cultural exchange projects with
Cambodia, having served as the host town for
Cambodian athletes for the Tokyo Olympics.

Making Uchiwa Fans Used for the Awa Odori(Prey Veng Friendship School – Middle &High School)
During our time in Cambodia, we visited a varietyof schools, including Phnom Penh University
and the Royal University of Economics, which
both have Japanese departments and courses;
the Prey Veng Friendship School, which wasestablished thanks to the support of many
Japanese citizens and companies who believedin the necessity of education following the 1970's
civil war that ravaged Cambodia; and the Atsu
Elementary School in Atsu Village that wasestablished by the parents of Atsuhito Nakata who
was killed in 1993 while working as a volunteer
from the UN during the Cambodian generalelections. The activities we held at these schools
were discussed, planned, and prepared by themembers of our group at our pre-training that washeld in May.
During our discussions, we decided that, as agroup from Tokushima, we would include not
only Japanese culture in our activities, but also
Tokushima culture. Our main activities included'chatting stands' that showcased the uniqueparts of Tokushima, Tokushima's Awa Odori,making uchiwa fans that are used during the Awa
Odori, nagashi somen (noodles that flow downa bamboo chute) that used Tokushima's famous
Handa somen, etc. Additionally, we interacted with

5

Finishing My Short-Term Cambodia Japanese Partners Dispatch

the local children in a variety of ways, including
singing Japanese songs and playing Cambodian
hand games together.

Nagashi Somen Using Handa Somen(Royal University of Law and Economics –Japanese Course)
Our other activities included round-tablediscussions with specified skill workers who
had worked in Japan, visiting the homes of
locals, exploring the archaeological site of theWorld Heritage Site Sambor Prei Kuk, visits toorganizations that send out specified skill workers,
and a courtesy call to the Japanese Embassy inthe capital of Phnom Penh.

a huge impression on me. When I watched thestudents making the uchiwa fans and writing anddecorating them with Japanese words that they
had learned, it made me feel that I wanted themto develop an interest in Japan, and to definitely
come here to study one day in the future.
Foreigners from a variety of countries, including
Cambodia, come to Japan for a myriad ofreasons. Now that the COVID-19 pandemic
has calmed down, the number of foreigners
visiting Japan for sightseeing purposes has
been increasing rapidly, as was the case prepandemic, and mid and long-term residents,
including permanent residents, who are here to
study or work have increased to a record high ofthree million. With the realization of a multiculturalsociety where foreigners and Japanese citizens
understand one another being an urgent task,
this participation in the Japanese Partners projectmade me once again realize how, through TOPIA,
I want to help create a place that is comfortable
to live for everyone, and to continue to create
opportunities for everyone to come together.

[Irodori]

Awa Odori Lecture(Atsu Elementary School)
Through this project, we were able to observe
classes at educational institutions and hear fromlocals involved in Japanese education about thecurrent state of Japanese education in Cambodia
and the trends of Japanese learners. Personally,
the honest and innocent faces of the students left

The Japan foundation publishes “Irodori”,
Japanese teaching materials for thoseliving in Japan. It's great for both Japaneselearners and those who support them, so
please make use them.

Tokushima Culture & Reading Corner: 霊山寺
By: Mako Kobayashi
とく しま けんか がわ けん

し こく

ゆう めい

徳島県や香川県などがある四国には
まい

たび

てら

か しょ

有名なお寺がし こく へん ろか しょ6

88 カ所あります。その 88 カ所の

へん ろ

おこな

ひと

てら

お寺を

へん ろ

お
し こく

参りする旅を 「四国遍路」とよびます。そして、遍路を行う人を 「お遍路さん」とよびます。四国
へん ろ

いちばんはじ

遍路の一番初めのお寺が

たび

はじ

旅を

始める人が

てら

ひと

し

りょうぜん じ徳島県鳴門市にある

てら

か しょ

霊山寺です。このお寺から

88 カ所の

まい

お参りの

おお

多いです。

りょうぜん じみ どころ

霊 山 寺の見所はに おうもんとくしまけんなる と

へん ろ

むか

おお

２つあります。１つめは、お遍路さんを迎える

おおこんごうりき し ぞう

さ ゆう

この仁王門には、大きくて、たくましい金剛力士像が
ち

ほんどう

とうろう

に おうもん大きな仁王門です。

せっ

左右に設

とうろう

てんじょう

置されています。2 つめは、本堂にある灯籠です。灯籠は 天 井
つ

から
てき

さ

ひか

とうろう

げんそう

吊り下げられており、ぼんやりと光る灯籠は
こう けい

的 な光 景 で
りょうぜん じうつく

へん ろ

ちょう せんとても美 しいです。遍 路 に
い

てら

うつく

とても幻想

まわ

ひと

挑 戦 してみたい人 は、
し ぜん

かん

くだ

まず霊山寺に行って、お寺の美しさや周りの自然を感じてみて下さい。

Vocabulary List
ゆうめい

有名
てら

お寺
へん ろ

遍路

FamousTemplePilgrimage

まい

お参り Temple/Shrine Visit

クレーム (Complaint)
By: Sydney Bartig

ほんどう

本堂
とうろう

灯籠
てんじょう

天井
げんそうてき幻想的

Main Temple Building
Hanging LanternCeiling

こうけい

光景
ちょうせん

挑 戦する
し ぜん

自然

Sight/Scene
To Challenge
NatureWondrous

Gairaigo Galore

For this month’s gairaigo we have yet another case of wasei-eigo!
For those of you who have been reading the gairaigo column eachmonth, I’m sure you’re sick of all these difficult to remember waseieigo words! Unfortunately, all you can do when studying Japaneseis remember the meaning of these words so you don’t actually use
them wrong by using them in the context of the English meaning.
This month’s word is “ クレーム ”, and the meaning is completely
different than the original English word “claim”. While in English
you can use this word to assert something or to state thatsomeone owns/has the rights to something such in the way of, “claim to know something”, “claim to
the throne”, etc., but if you try using this directly in Japanese, you’ll probably get some funny looks.
In Japanese, クレーム is used when someone is making a complaint about something, also used
for complaints where
they are seeking some form of compensation. It can be used in ways such
でん わ
as “ ク レ ー ム の 電 話 ”, which would translate to something like “complaint calls”. Hopefully you
won’t need to use this word much in your daily life, but if you ever happen to need it, make sure to
remember the word クレーム !

7Japanese Lesson
By: Yukiko Watanabe

あ

会えてうれしい【Conversation (At the Tokushima Airport）
】

かんぱい

とくしま

Ａ：乾杯！ようこそ、徳島へ。
かんぱい

きゅう

れんらく

いそが

Ｂ：乾杯！ 急 に連絡して、すみません。 忙 しかったでしょう。
あひ こ う きＡ：ぜんぜん。また会えて、うれしいです。飛行機はどうでしたか。
とちゅう

ゆ

しんぱい

ぶ

じ

つ

Ｂ：途中、揺れて、心配しましたが、無事に着いて、ほっとしました。
ひ こ う きうみみ

Ａ：飛行機から海は見えましたか
まどがわ

せき

け しき

み

ざんねん

B：窓側の席じゃなかったんです。景色が見られなくて、残念でした。

※Notesかんぱい

乾杯 (Cheers!) Said while holding a drink

ゆ

揺 れる＝Shaking, Unstableぶじ

無事 に＝Safely, Without

まどがわ

Incident 窓側＝Window Side (Seat)
The underlined words are “words expressing feelings”. The verbs (indicated with dotted lines) that are used toexpress the cause/reason of these feelings often take the 「〈て形〉(te form) ～て/〈ない形〉(nai form) ～なくて」.
あ

Example: 会えて（Cause/Reason）, うれしい（Feeling）【Practice Questions】
Choose the appropriate phrase from the box, change it to the correct form, and write it in the parenthesis.
いえ

かぎ

か ぞく

あ

む すこ

き

家の鍵をなくしました・家族に会えません・息子からメールが来ました
じ

こ

き

じ

こ

き

りょこう

い

事故のニュースを聞きました・旅行に行けません

事故のニュースを聞いて）、びっくりしました。
あんしん

① （

）、安心しました。

② （）、さびしいです。

③ （）
、残念です。

④ （）
、困りました。

ざんねん
こまAnswers:①息子からメールが来て

れい

例：（

②家族に会えなくて③旅行に行けなくて④家の鍵をなくして8

Events & Memoranda
2023 Term 2 TOPIA Japanese Classes Schedule
Time: 10:30-12:00

Location: Meeting rooms at TOPIA (or online via Zoom)

Fee: Free

Textbook: We will be using the “Minna no Nihongo I” or the “Minna no Nihongo II” (2 nd edition) textbooks (2,750 yen for the bookand audio CD). Please prepare the textbooks on your own. Additionally, there will be themed lessons on various topics suchas seasons and life in Tokushima.
DAY

TEACHERLEVELCLASS DESCRIPTION
We will study various forms and expressions such as potential, volitional,

TUE

Ms.Tamaki

Elementary
2・3

imperative, prohibitive, conditional, reasoning, passive, causative, andhonorific expressions.
Text: Minna no Nihongo II from Chapter 26~50

START
DATE
September
19(25 times)

This is a flexible group study class split up into 3 different groups.
WED

Volunteers

Group Lesson*For parents of young children, a childcare worker will be on hand to look

October 4

after your child during the lesson.

(20 times)(Please make a reservation in advance.)
THU

Ms.
YamadaBeginners

We will take the first step towards learning basic expressions.

October 5

Text: Minna no Nihongo I from Chapter 1~13

(20 times)

We will study a variety of verb conjugations such as te form, nai form,
FRI

Ms. Aoki

Elementary 1

and dictionary form.
Text: Minna no Nihongo I from Chapter 14~25

October 6(20 times)

We will study various forms and expressions such as reasoning,
SUN

JTM

Volunteers

Elementary 3

Group Lesson

passive, causative, and honorific expressions.

October 1

Text: Minna no Nihongo II from Chapter 39~50(20 times)

This is a flexible group study class split up into 3 different groups.

* Please register for Group Lessons at least a day before the class. (If you do not sign up in advance and show up on the day of theclass, we may not be able to find a group for you to study with.) Additionally, as the number of groups are limited, we may not beable to find a group that suits your level.
* If you are unable to attend class, please call and let us know.
* The Volunteer Classes on Wednesday and Sunday will be cancelled if no students show up within the first 30 minutes.

TUE

Ms. Kimura
OthersSpecialA class for those who cannot read or write hiragana or katakana. We

You may

Beginners

will study the basics, such as the Japanese alphabet, greetings,

join at any

Classnumbers, and items. We will also be learning about Tokushima.

time.

*Classes may be cancelled if there is a typhoon, heavy rain, heavy snow, etc.
TOPIA will also post on their Facebook page by 8:30 AM if classes are cancelled, so please take a look.

TOPIA

TEL: 088-656-3303

Email: topia@topia.ne.jp

Japanese classes are also available at the Anan International Association, Aizumi Town International Exchange Association,
Yoshinogawa International Exchange Association, Mima no Sato, Minami Multicultural Coexistence Network "Harmony", the Clubfor Thinking about Multicultural Coexistence "Tomoni" in Tsurugi Town, Awa International Exchange Association, andthe NPO "Attakaiyou" in Kaiyo Town.

Website: https://www.topia.ne.jp/english/

9

Events & Memoranda

Sue Don’s Station Stops Vol.2 -Station Buildings & Gourmet
Locations Near Stations- [Naruto German House]
すえドンの各駅停車 Vol.2 －駅舎と駅近グルメ－【鳴門市ドイツ館】
A pencil art exhibition will be held of Yasumasa
Sue’s (AKA: ‘Sue Don) works. Yasumasa is apencil artist who is active in Tokushima Prefecture.

県内で活躍中の鉛筆画家 ‟ すえドン”こと、須Following in the footsteps of last year’s popularexhibition, railway fan Sue Don’s pieces will
also feature illustrations of station buildings andgourmet cuisines that can be found near thestations.

好評を博した昨年の展示に続き、鉄道ファンのすWe hope you enjoy the beautiful world of thesepencil drawings, made possible through precise
and delicate techniques.

繊細かつ精密なタッチで描かれた、美しい鉛筆画

When: September 1st (Fri.) – October 1st (Sun.)
9:30 – 17:00 (Last admission is at 16:30)*The German House is closed on
September 25th (Mon.)
Where: Naruto German House, 2nd Floor
Exhibition Room
Fee: Adults: 400 Yen,
Children (Elementary/Junior High Schoolers):
100 YenInquiries: Naruto German House
TEL: 088-689-0099
URL: https://doitsukan.com/

日時：9 月 1 日（金）～ 10 月 1 日（日）恵泰正さんによる鉛筆画展です。

えドンが描く駅舎と駅の近くで食べたグルメイラストの作品も展示します。

の世界をぜひご堪能ください。

9：30 ～ 17：00（入館は 16：30 まで）※ 9/25（月）は休館日
場所：鳴門市ドイツ館
料金：大人 400 円

2 階企画展示室

小人（小中学生）100 円

お問い合わせ：鳴門市ドイツ館
TEL: 088-689-0099
URL: https://doitsukan.com/

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.
Japanese, English, Chinese: Everyday, 10:00 - 18:00 (closed during the New Year's holidays)
Vietnamese: Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, 10:00 - 14:00
Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, 10:00 - 18:00 (closed during the New Year's holidays)