aWa life

Japanese Reading
and Culture Corner:
浴衣・甚平

Awa Shoku:
What-a Melon!
Suika Surprises

Interview with
Bizan Daigaku

July 2020

Homemade
Mask Collection

Gairaigo Galore:
バウムクーヘン
Letter fromSUKETO NAKAYOSHI

# 357

1

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

It’s now summer in Tokushima, and air conditioners can finally be set on ice cave mode. How will you
spend your summer? Did you know that Tokushima has some nice beaches to offer such as Ohama
Beach in Minami? There are also spots where you can enjoy surfing. For those who like it a bit cooler,perhaps the higher regions in Iya Valley would be a good choice. Maybe you were also thinking about
getting involved in the local community? We had the pleasure to interview the founder of the NGO Bizan Daigaku and two volunteers for this month’s Awa Life. If you are interested in volunteer work, Bizan Daigaku might be a good choice for you.
For all of those who like writing, please feel free to submit an article to us at any point in time aboutbasically anything. There are a few limitations though, such as you can’t write about religion, politics,
commercial activities or businesses or anything that we deem inappropriate. But, other than that, we
would be more than happy to receive articles about anything and everything including but not limited
to concerts, lectures, other events, culture, sports, community group information or anything cool that’s
happening in your local community.
We highly appreciate all of your articles and we love reading them. So if that writing bug of yours isbuzzing about, grab a pen or a computer and write and send away! Please send all submissions to ouremail:

awalife@gmail.com

Your editors,
Sydney and Nico

Tokushima Prefectural International Exchange Association (TOPIA)
1-61 Terashima Honcho Nishi, Tokushima City 770-0831 JAPAN, Clement Plaza 6F
Tel: 088-656-3303 Fax: 088-652-0616
http://www.topia.ne.jp/
Download a PDF file of awa life or view the online version by going to TOPIA's website!

Editors:
Sydney Bartig and Nico Bohnsack
Contributors This Month:
Qing Liu, Kazue Inoue, Chie Suzue, Lance Kita, Yoko Aoki, Miraku Miyachi, Junko Kimura, Volunteers

2

Contents

Pg. 2-4: Interview with Bizan Daigaku
Pg. 4:

Letter from SUKETO NAKAYOSHI

Pg. 5:

Japanese Reading and Culture Corner: 浴衣・甚平

Pg. 5:

Gairaigo Galore: バウムクーヘン

Pg. 6:

Awa Shoku: What-a Melon! Suika Surprises

Pg. 7:

Japanese Lesson

Pg. 8:

Homemade Mask Collection

ゆ かた

じんべい

Interview with Dong Tian Ye - Cameraman to Wuhan
Pg. 9:
Interview with Bizan Daigaku
By: Nico Bohnsack, Sydney Bartig, & Qing LiuT

his month, we had the opportunity to meet
and talk with Hasegawa-san, founder ofBizan Daigaku, as well as two volunteers from
Bizan Daigaku: Inga and Artem. The volunteers
at Bizan Daigaku are involved in a variety ofactivities within Tokushima to help improve thelocal community.
First, we spoke with Inga and Artem.
Why did you decide to volunteer inTokushima? Is this your first-timevolunteering?
This is Artem’s first time volunteering, however, I
have been doing volunteer work for many years
now, including volunteering at the Sochi Olympics.
The reason we chose Japan was because one ofour dreams was to volunteer for the Tokyo 2020
Olympics. Although we’d never been to Japan,
we had an interest in anime and Japanese sports
such as sumo and kyūdō. When we travel, we
don’t like to travel just as tourists. We don’t thinkthat’s a good way to experience a country.
To k y o i s a n i c e p l a c e t o o , b u t w e c h o s eTokushima because it's beautiful and quiet. We
wanted something more remote, quiet, and that
had a local touch. We had also seen Tokushima
before in one of the anime we watched where thecharacter visited the area. From Miyazaki anime,
we had this image of Japan as having a lot of

nature (forests, mountains, etc.) and Tokushima
seemed to fit that description. We came acrossthe Hana Road opportunity and decided tovolunteer here.
What kind of volunteer activities do you do?
What are some of your favorite projects, andwhat are some of the more difficult ones?
We do Hana Road (tending to flowers), help out
at nurseries and elementary schools (such as
helping kids cross the road in the morning), clean
the Shinmachi river, help at Heart Tokushima,assist with boat rides (helping people put on life
jackets and guiding them to the boat), and also doa program with FM 791 Bizan Radio. In addition,
we have put together a fresh English website for
the Bizan Daigaku organization, and have also
started an Instagram and Youtube channel forthem.
One of my favorite activities is the river cleaning.
You get on the boat with a bunch of people, andit’s so nice to feel the wind against your face. We
also sometimes
find some reallyinteresting thingsin the river suchas a keyboard, abag of clothes, abike, pillows, room
dividers, grills, etc.

3

We sometimes see manta rays, fish, and sea
birds as well.
I also enjoy doing the FM Bizan Radio program.
We do it every Thursday from 6:30 to 7:00
PM. We usually talk about Tokushima or otherJapan-related things in a foreign language, andit’s a good chance for locals to listen to foreign
languages. It's also a chance for volunteers to try
out new things.
One of the most difficult projects is Heart
Tokushima, which is an animal shelter, although
the majority of animals there are dogs. There areclose to 200 dogs, and our main job is to help
walk them, as well as sometimes feeding them,carrying things, etc. We start at 10:00 AM, anddepending on how long it takes to walk all of thedogs, we can end
anywhere between
2:00 PM to 5:00 PM.
I do really like dogs,
and they each havetheir own character,but it is quite labor
intensive and verytiring.
What places or things in Tokushima would
you recommend to friends or family?
I personally like Mt. Bizan as well as the local
shrines. It’s nice to climb Mt. Bizan in order to
see the sunrise, and there are often many of thesame locals who do the same thing. From the top
you can look out over Tokushima, and it’s a greatsight.
In China or Thailand, shrines often have many
people visiting at the same time. At the shrines
here you can either come to take photos, pray,
think, or just enjoy the quiet time. The shrines
I had a chance to visit in Tokushima were allfilled with the sounds of nature and had a moreauthentic feel.
What do you plan to do when you returnhome?
We work as English teachers in Thailand, so weInterview with Bizan Daigaku
are planning to continue doing that. We werealso selected as field volunteers for the Tokyo
Olympics (kyūdō), and if possible, we would liketo volunteer when they are held next year.
********************************************************
Next, we spoke with Hasegawa-san, the founderof Bizan Daigaku.
What made you decide to establish Bizan
Daigaku?
Originally, I was a business owner, and in thinkingof ways to attract customers I figured that if wemade the shopping district livelier and more
people gathered there, then it would be good forbusiness. I came to know people working at NPOs
in Tokushima, and realized I could engage in bothbusiness and something beneficial to society, andso one part of my time became business and theother part became volunteer work. This is Bizan
Daigaku.
When and why did you decide to start
recruiting foreign volunteers? How do you
recruit them?
We started recruiting foreign volunteers 5 years
ago. At first, we only had 8 volunteers, but overthese 5 years we’ve had a total of 290 volunteers.
There were too many flowers to tend to, which is
why we decided to start recruiting them. There is
an NPO that helped introduce us to volunteers
from foreign countries.
How many Japanese and foreign volunteers
do you currently have?
We have 2 Japanese volunteers who are studying
for half a year to learn about the management ofNPOs. Additionally, we have 13 foreign volunteers
who are from 5 different countries including
Russia, Belgium, Germany etc. Many of ourvolunteers come from Russia, although lately wehave also had many people coming from Mexico.
Over these 5 years we have had people from 34
different countries come to volunteer.
Has working with foreigners changed yourviews in any way? What things have youlearned?
I’d like to travel abroad, but I’m unable to, and all4Interview with Bizan Daigaku
the people that have come here make me feelvery happy. Working together with foreigners has
opened my eyes to differences in culture andsocietal diversity. My heart has truly grown. I've
become a more curious person, and I always lookforward to meeting new volunteers. I’ve happily
continued with my volunteer work for a long time
now, all the while working together with volunteers
from other countries. I don’t receive any money,
and there is of course a pressure similar to that ofvisiting a foreign country for the first time, but thishas given me confidence, and is the path that I
chose to walk.
Moving forward, do you think there is a needfor Tokushima to change and become moreinternational?
The clothes we are wearing, the fruits we eat,and even the energy used to power our lights allcome from foreign countries. Since many of thethings we use in our daily lives come from foreigncountries, I feel it is unreasonable for people tosay things like “I have no interest in foreigners” or“I have no interest in foreign countries.” People
all around the world are working hard in orderto support our daily lives. I believe keeping
this thought in mind is one of the first steps tointernationalization.
Finally, is there anything you would like to say
to all of the Awa Life readers?
In Japan, meeting someone from Tokushima isjust as exciting an experience as finding a rare
Pokemon. I hope thateveryone can discover
more about thewonders of Tokushima
and enjoy a fulfilling
Tokushima Life.

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

hen children observe butterflies, rhinoceros
beetles, and other bugs, and interact withsmall animals such as rabbits and guinea pigs,
they come to realize that these things are living
creatures. These kinds of formative experiences
help to nurture a child’s heart in various ways. For
example…

* Nurtures a Caring Heart: As children realize that
other people are living creatures, they become
able to guess how others are feelings even whenwords do not get through, and they become
able to understand other’s points of view. Whenconsidering other people’s feelings, they becomea more caring and considerate person.
* Fosters a Curious and Inquisitive Spirit:
Children naturally become more curious andwant to observe the different colours, shapes,
movements, etc. of living creatures.
* Soothing Effects: Just watching cute animals
and their charming movements creates a soothing
effect, and naturally brings a smile to children’s
faces. It’s a good way to bring happiness tochildren when they are feeling lonely or down.
* Causes Children to Think About Life: By

interacting with other living creatures, children
learn how fleeting and important life is.
Try taking your child to the park or other places
where they can experience nature and observe
living creatures!
Homemade Wagashi (Sweet Rice Jelly)
Ingredients (For 1
Person): Rice Flour 8.5g,
Sticky Rice Flour 1.5g,
Table Salt 0.1g, Dry Red
Bean Powder 7.5g, Water
20g, Sugar 10g
Instructions: (1.) Mix the rice flour, sticky rice
flour, and table salt and then sift. (2.) Pour thewater, sugar, and dry red bean powder into apot. On low heat, stir and thicken into a paste for
20 minutes. (Be careful not to get burned.) (3.)
While pouring the ingredients from step 1 into thepot, mix together. (4.) After mixing, spread into a
rectangular shape. Cut into thin rectangles andsteam for 15 minutes at 100° C.

5

ゆか た

Japanese Culture and Reading Corner: 浴衣・甚平

By: Chie Suzueきわ そう
日本には、夏に着る オシャレな和装が
に ほん

なつ

もともと

じんべい

ゆ かた

ふ ろ

あ

ゆ かた

じんべい

あります。浴衣と

き

じんべい

甚平です。

いえ

とき

き

ゆ かた

元々は、浴衣は お風呂上がりに 着ていました。甚平は、家でくつろぐ時に着ていました。浴衣は、

おと な

おとこ

こ ども

だん せい

じょ せい

大人、子供、 男性、 女性
き

さい きん

だれ

じん べい

き もの

おな

じ き

で

じょ せい

はな び たいかい

むす

じんべい

いろ

がら

浴衣と甚平には、色、柄が
なつ

き ぶん

だん せい

この

じんべい

き

こ ども

そで

ひと

こ

おんな

こ

りょう ほう

なつまつ

たもと

ひも

き

イベントに

みな

じ ぶん

両方

そで

なが

に

むす

袂はなくて、紐で

ぼんおど

ほう ふ

ゆ かた

着 る人 もいます。浴 衣 は、袖 が長 く

みじか結びます。甚平は、袖が短く夏の時期に、お出かけ、花火大会、夏祭り、盆踊りなどの
ゆ かた

おと な

着 やすいので、女 性 も好 んでおび袂があり、着物と同じように、帯を
なつ

じん べい

き

が着 ます。最 近 では、甚 平 がたもとき

誰でも着られます。甚平は、大人の男性、子供は男の子、女の子

結びます。

ひと

着ていく人が、たくさんいます。

あ

ゆ かた

豊富にあります。皆さんも、自分に似合う

じんべい

き

に ほん

浴衣か甚平を着て、 日本のあじ

夏の気分を味わってみてください。

じんべい

甚平

ゆ かた

浴衣

たもと

袂
Vocabulary List
オシャレ
わ そう

和装
もともと

元々は
ふ ろ あ

お風呂上り
いえ

Fashionable
Japanese Clothing
Originally
After a Bath

家でくつろぐ Relax at Home
き

着やすい
そで

袖

Easy to Wear
Sleeveたもと

Tamoto袂
き もの

Kimono

着物
おび

Obi

帯
ひも

紐
なつ

じ き

夏の時期
はな び たいかい

花火大会
なつまつ

夏祭り

ぼんおど

盆踊り

Bon-Odori

イベント

Event

がら

Design

柄
ほう ふ

Himo

豊富

Summer Time

自分に似合う Looks good

Fireworks Display

じ ぶん

に あ

Abundant
on youSummer Festival

Gairaigo Galore

バウムクーヘン (Baumkuchen)
By: Nico Bohnsack
How about a piece of baumkuchen? This cake, which literally means "tree cake" in German
because of its tree ring appearance when sliced, and which is also known by its German namein English speaking countries, is widely available in Japan. In Japan it's called バ ウ ム ク ー ヘ
ン , バームクーヘン or just バウム and you can basically find it at any
supermarket or convenience store. It also comes in different flavors,
such as plain, chocolate, matcha, strawberry or caramel. In other words:
people in Japan are crazy for baumkuchen. Indeed, it's actually more
popular in Japan than it is in Germany.

But how did this German specialty find its way to Japan? It all started
when Karl Joseph Wilhelm Juchheim, a German pastry chef, cameto Japan as a prisoner of war during the First World War after Japanand Britain defeated the German troops in its colony in Qingdao, China. After presenting hisbaumkuchen at an exhibition in Hiroshima in 1919, he moved to Yokohama, and then he later
opened a pastry shop in Kobe which was very successful, although the cake was first known as ピ
ラミッドケーキ (pyramid cake). Juchheim died one day before Japan's surrender in WW2, andhis wife had to go back to Germany, but came back after a few years to reorganize the company
which, along with other companies, is still selling baumkuchen under the same name. By the way,
"Baumkuchen Day" is always celebrated on March 4th, the day when Juchheim introduced his
baumkuchen for the first time at the Hiroshima exhibition.

Awa Shoku: What-a Melon! Suika Surprises
By: Lance Kita

Hot summer, cool fruits… and nothing says
summer like eating a big slice of watermelon(suika 西 瓜 ), spitting out the seeds while juice
dribbles down your chin. Of course, there is a lotof water in watermelon (91%), but you can also
get good amounts of potassium and an aminoacid called citrulline, which are said to help withrelieving fatigue. There are a few more surprising
facts about this hefty melon, so read on!
As an American, Japanese watermelons surprised
me because of their shape and color. We’re used
to huge, oval fruits with a light green striped
pattern. There are lots of striped watermelons inJapan, but they’re smaller (think bowling ball),round, and are striped with dark green. There arealso varieties like Densuke that are solid black.
No wonder my kindergarteners grab a black
crayon first when drawing them.

6Japanese also make tsukemono 漬 け 物 with asoy sauce based pickling liquid (sanbaizuke 三杯
漬 ). You can also braise the sliced or julienned
rinds in sweet soy sauce, similar to kinpira gobo
きんぴら牛蒡 (braised burdock root and carrots).
The Japanese even developed a tiny watermelon
variety that is pickled whole in sake lees and mirinlees (Nara-zuke 奈良漬 ) until it turns a beer bottle
golden-brown hue.
One of the most surprising things is thatwatermelon finds its way into savory dishes. If
you order a bowl of reimen 冷 麺 at a Korean
yakiniku restaurant, the chilled noodles and tart
broth will often be garnished with a small slice ofwatermelon along with beansprouts, roast pork,
etc.
Watermelon also goes well with raw seafood, as acrispy juicy accent in a carpaccio. Try white-meatsashimi like Naruto sea bream (tai 鯛 ) with thinslices of watermelon.
Finally, one of my favorite recipes is a Middle
Eastern salad. Top chunks of watermelon withfeta cheese, fresh mint, olive oil, fresh cracked
black pepper, and salt. This is truly an eye opener
to the savory possibilities of this summer fruit.

Small, round, and very dark green... how doJapanese watermelons compare to the ones
in your country?

Enjoy your watermelon culinary adventures!

The second is that we only seem to eat thered part of the flesh, spitting out the seeds anddiscarding the rind (the harder white layer justunder the hard green/black skin. In Vietnam andChina, watermelon seeds are roasted and eaten
as a snack (makes sense since watermelons
belong to the same family as pumpkins, gourds,
cucumbers, melons and zucchini.)
And… you can eat the rind as well!! Don’t throw
it away, just slice off the outer skin and use it
like a hard cucumber. In the American South,
watermelon rind pickles are a kitchen staple, andPepper and olive oil over watermelon?
The recipe for this salad will surprise you.

7

Japanese Lesson

By: Yoko Aoki

Basic Verb Forms

This month, let’s study 4 basic verb forms.
1.) Verbs: 4 Basic Forms (Example:「いきます」＝ “go”)[Non-Past] Affirmative – Negative[Past] Affirmative
いきます
いきません
いきました
(To Go)(Not Go)(Went)–

Negative
いきませんでした(Did Not Go)

2.) [Practice] Using 1.) as a reference, fill in the blanks.
みます(To See)
かいます(To Buy)
ききます(To Listen/To Ask)
たべます
(To Eat)
かえります(To Return)

みました
かいません
ききませんでした

3.) Particles: Placed after a noun. Example: [ みずを のみます ] (To drink water)「～へ」Used to indicate destination:
コンビニへ いきました (Went to the convenience store)(Return to a country)
くにへ かえります「～を」Indicates the object of a transitve verb.
くるまを かいます (Buy a car)
ひるごはんを たべました (Ate lunch)4.)

1. らいしゅう おおさかへ いきます。
2. きのう スーパーへ いきました。
1. I will go to Osaka next week.
2. I went to the supermarket yesterday.
3. ぶたにくを たべません。
4. きのう あさごはんを たべませんでした。
3. I don’t eat pork.
4. I didn’t eat breakfast yesterday.
5. まいばん テレビを みますか。―
はい、みます。／ いいえ、ときどき みます。
5. Do you watch TV every night?
―
Yes, I do. / No, I only watch it every once in a while.
6. せんしゅう スマートフォンを かいました。 7. ごご 8 じごろ うちへ かえります。
6. I bought a smart phone last week.
7. I’ll return home at about 8:00 PM.

5.) Q：こんばん なにを しますか。
＊「それから」= ____________
A：（れい）ごご 7 じごろ うちへ かえります。それから ばんごはんを たべます。
Q: What do you plan to do tonight?
A: (Example) I will return home at about 7:00 PM, and then eat dinner.
Q：みなさんは あした なにを しますか。
Q: Everyone, what do you plan to do tomorrow?
A：_______________________________________。
Chart Answers: みません、みませんでした、かいました、かいませんでした、ききません、ききました、
たべません、たべました、たべませんでした、かえりません、かえりました、かえりませんでしたHomemade Mask Collection

Contributers: Miraku Miyachi, Junko Kimura, Volunteers

8

A collection of everyone's creative
masks!

Tokushima has introduced the "Tokushima Smart Life Proclamation", detailing new lifestyle habits.
Avoid the Three Cs* Maintain a distance of 2m (at least 1m) between yourself and others.
* Avoid close-range conversations.
* Make sure rooms are well ventilated.
Practice Good Daily Habits to Protect Against Infection* Rest or receive medical treatment when you have a fever or other symptoms.
* Promote the wearing of a mask even when one doesn’t have any symptoms.
* Thoroughly wash and disinfect one’s hands, and disinfect places that people touch.
* Minimize the use of shared items.

9Interview with Dong Tian Ye - Camerman to Wuhan PT.2
Interview By: Qing Liu

I

n March, when his work was finished andhe was to return to Shanghai, Dong Tian
Ye remarked that “For some reason, I felt that
I did not want to part with Wuhan.” Having
taken documentary photographs for 11 years,
and having been a professional cameraman
for 3 years, he had a passion for photography.
However, those 58 days in Wuhan had changed
his view on life, and had helped him “understandhis worth as a photographer”. In recent years,
with technological advances, anyone can goout and take photographs. However, actuallyserving witness to such an important event, andrisking one’s life to carefully take photographsthat portrayed the themes he wanted, andexpressed hidden elements, proved his ability
as a cameraman. In order to become a goodnews photographer, he had undergone rigoroustraining, and had studied a variety of composition
techniques. He learned the best ways to utilize
light and shadows to express the themes hewanted. This was a valuable experience, andhelped prove his worth as a cameraman.
While Wuhan was dealing with such a chaotic
and explosive situation, he was able to face
the situation head on and, with a calm mindset,
decide how to frame each photograph as to best
convey the dire situation of the hospitals as they
fought to keep patients alive. Throughout his
58 days in Wuhan, he continued to think andconsider about how to improve his photography.

These moving photographs, taken with careful
thought and consideration, not only provided
information about the situation, but would remain
eternally in documentaries. Dong Tian Ye plans tocontinue taking photographs forever. For him, it isan extremely important task.
After the interview was over, I asked Dong Tian
Ye what he planned to do next. He responded
that he first planned to pay his rent and utilities,
which had been unpaid for over 70 days. He alsoplans to diet as, although his work in Wuhan wasquite difficult, he actually gained weight. Now
that he has returned to his normal life, he is alsoable to do things such as watch movies or read.
Once everything is over, he would like to go visit
his parents. He also expressed interest in visiting
an epidemic sight overseas, such as Italy, to takephotographs, but this is impossible.
What he worries about most now is conflict. Thisvirus has caused a lot of disruption and fear topeople’s lives, and it’s necessary that people
show each other love and kindness. In the faceof this virus, people need to put their strength
together and band together. If they do this, they
will be able to understand each other better, andif they understand each other better, then many
misconceptions will disappear.

After returning to Shanghai, he looked throughthe photographs taken by Fabio Buciarelli, who
had photographed Italy during the epidemic. “We
are lucky. This is because we have a “language”
that everyone in the world can understand just bylooking at these photos.”

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)