#280

december 2013a day at the kawata festival

kawata hachiman shrine festival (emilie foyer)

The autumn leaves had not
yet begun to change inYoshinogawa,buton
October 22nd the Kawata
Hachiman shrine celebrated
its yearly fall festival. The
shrine is located in Yamakawa,at the eastern edge of the
expansive city of Yoshinogawa.

festival until Akao-san, whoworks in the building where I
hold my eikaiwa, asked if I
wanted to go. We share aninterest in photography andhe promised me that not
only would I be able to getgreat shots, but also that thefestival was quite interesting
and famous in and of itself.
I hadn’t heard of the Kawata Indeed, the dance performedat this festival is registered aspart of the intangible cultural
heritage of Tokushima, afact that only the people
who bestowed it that honor
and the locals who participate
in this festival seem toknow. Many of the locals I
talked to in Kamojima do
not know of this festival,
putting into doubt this claim

a day at the kawata festival

page 1, page 3-4: a day at the kawata festival (con't)
page 5-6: sleeping in a sauna; page 6: irene's recipe corner
page 7: lesson from suketo hoikuen; page 8: fitness corner
page 9: japanese lesson; page 10-12: events & memoranda

1

is a monthly publication of theTokushima Prefectural International
Exchange Association (TOPIA)

Jenifer Tanikawa & Martin Rathmann

Emilie Foyer, Junko Kimura, Matt Lindsay,
Irene Wachuga, Kazue Inoue, Clint
Eckstein, Toshiko Yamamizo

Clement Plaza 6F
1-61 Terashima Honcho Nishi
Tokushima City 770-0831 JAPAN
tel: 088.656.3303
fax: 088.652.0616
topia@topia.ne.jp
http://www.topia.ne.jp/
Download a PDF file of awa life or view theonline version by going to TOPIA's website!

show tokushima some love: awaglot
The literary corner of
AwaLife, Awaglot, is acombination of the words"awa" and "polyglot", whichmeans multilingual. Be it
fiction, nonfiction, prose
or poetry; funny, sad, longor short, we want yoursubmissions! If you like towrite, then express yourself!
There is also a classifieds
section for you, our readers,to post ads in, but a few
rules do apply!

Religious, political,
or commercial activities,businesses searching forclients or employees,
things the Awa Life editors
deem inappropriate.

concerts,
lectures, and other event
information, cultural, sporting,and other community
group information, etcetera.

fall colours (junko kimura)2

If you have something you
would like to share with
the Tokushima community,
email the editors at

a day at the kawata festival(con't from page 1)
to fame, but this little
festival is well worth a visit.
The Kawata festival takes
place every year on
October 22nd. The festival
is a typical Shinto fall
festival held to celebrate
the year’s harvest. This
year, the 22nd fell on a
Tuesday. One might thinkthat a rainy Tuesday is not
the best day to hold afestival, but the turnout was
impressive. The one lane –two way road that lead
towards the shrine waslined with cars further
impairing transit. A longalley leads up to the shrine.
It was lined with vendors
selling the typical festival
fare, from takoyaki andbaby castella cakes toshave-ice, as well as the moreseasonal chrysanthemums,
persimmons and mikan.
The crowd was on average
an elderly one, but many
children, some dressed incolorful kimono, dragged
their parents towards thestalls begging for ice creamas they waited for the main
event to start. The alley
ends with 50 steep stone
steps that open up onto theshrine itself. From above,
one could hear the soundof drums and bells, chiming
in unison. Atop the stairs,
locals lined up to pay theirregards to the local deity,
and were greeted by thecaretaker of the shrine and hiswife who warmly welcomed
visitors to the festival as if
welcoming them into hishome.
Parked near the temple were
three large Omikoshi, also
known as ‘portable shrines’,
decorated
with
paper
lanterns. Though ‘portable,’each still weighed between
1 and 1.4 tons. The soundsof drums and bells wereactually coming out ofthese, produced by young

musicians under the age of 12
dressed in colorful traditionalgarb.
All of a sudden, umbrella
dancers, carrying two-meter
polls with flower petals
cascading down from thetip, preceded to the front of
the temple for their dance.
Soon after, the cries of 40
or so men screaming ‘seino’ in unison while heaving
the Omikoshi up to theirshoulders overwhelmed thesound of the drums comingfrom within and they slowly
made their way to the steps
as the crowd dispersed tomake way. They then began
the perilous descent as thechildren kept drumming on.
Onlookers stood at the footof the steps close enoughto attempt to get the perfectshot, while far away enoughto be safe from the potential
disaster should, the bearers
slip and tumble down shrine
and all. Proud parents ran

festival music (emilie foyer)3a day at the kawata festival(con't from page 3)

by pointing out their children.
Friends and family shouted
their encouragements. One,two, three Omikoshi came
down the steps and werethen carried 200 meters to theend of the shrine approach.

just recently come backfrom the Ise shrine, themost holy shrine of the
Shinto religion, and hadlearned a dance called
KamiyoOtakara. This
dance was appointed as
intangible cultural propertyof Tokushima in 1978. Its
purpose is to pray for rain
and a good harvest. It
seemed to have worked asa slight drizzle came down as
they performed the rehearsed
moves while playing a small
drum made with strong paper
from the local traditional
paper factory. Proud family
members had come fromas far as Tokushima City to
see the girls perform.

Once they were all safely
parked, a new procession
started. Local girls between
the ages of 10 and 13 andclad in red and whitefollowed priests back up to
the temple. These girls had

After one last dance elegantly
performed by girls dressedas shrine maidens, one lastprocession paraded a golden
Omikoshi, the smallest but
most important. This lastprocession was led by atengu (emilie foyer)

man dressed as a Tengu –who also happened to be
my kyudo teacher – andmarched back down thesteps and back to the
oppositeend of theapproach,closingthefestival. The rain got
stronger and it was time toleave lest we all get soaked.
The Kawata festival may not
be as famous as the Jidai
Matsuri, or as renowned as
Awa Odori, but to the locals
it is an important festival, asymbol of their coming
together as a community andof their respect for local
traditions. Everyone involved
had a connection to theplace. Some were locals,
some grew up there, somewere visiting friends. That iswhat gave this festival its
intimate feel, and that is
why it has been my favorite
Japanese festival so far.

astringent persimmon (junko kimura)4

sleeping in a sauna
by matt lindsay
bath towel, a pair of boxer
shorts and a gown resembling
something out of an
operating theatre. He directs
me to the clothes lockers
then promptly resumes his
paperwork. Inside I am
immediately confronted bynudity; one guy sits blowdrying his hair while anotherstands in front of a mirror,
picking his teeth. I’m beginningto wonder what I’ve letmyself in for.
hot spring (junko kimura)Upon arriving at my friend’s
place there is no answer tomy knocks on the door
although the lights are on.
Now I am faced with adilemma – where to sleep
tonight? It’s too late to bother
other friends so I inquire at
the nearby budget ‘Super’hotel. The clerk at reception
sympathetically informs methat there are no vacancies.
Exiting onto a side street I
soon stumble upon a ryokan
guest house. Laughter andsinging are audible frominside the old, traditional inn. A
sign by the door advertises
a nightly rate of 3500 yen.
Despite the reasonable
price I feel as though I’ll begatecrashing if I knock on
the door so I continue on.
Nearing the station I recognize
a funky old building that has
dormitory-style accommodation.
As I pop my head in the door
an old lady looks up andcrosses her arms to signal

here too is full. That leaves
me with one last option – abackpackers’ down the road.
The guy at the countergreets me warmly as I
enter. The disappointment
obviously shows on myface when he tells me there
are no vacancies. He tells
me not to worry and reaches
for a map. “You can probably
stay at this sauna,” he kindly
informs me, indicating its
location on the map.
Not knowing what to expect
but desperate to find a bed
for the night I set off to the
nearby ‘sauna’. Accessfrom the street is via anelevator. Upon entering, thereceptionist asks me todeposit my footwear in alocker then informs me that
it will cost 2625 yen to stay
the night.
Once I’ve paid the receptionist
passes me a bundle
containing a hand towel, a

Tired from trudging aroundthe city I decide to headstraight to the sleeping
quarters downstairs. As I’m
about to exit the locker
room a man dressed in agown blocks my way anddirects me back to mylocker. He instructs me tochange into the boxers andgown and deposit all mybelongings in my locker. He
disappears as suddenly as
he appeared without giving
me a chance to thank him.
Having changed into thesauna’s attire, I make my way
back to the stairs. An arrow
points to bathing facilities
upstairs. Downstairs is arelaxation room bathed inbright fluorescent light. An
action movie blares from a
giant screen at the front of
the room. Despite the coinoperated massage chairs it’s
not really my idea of relaxation.
I continue downstairs to thesleeping quarters.
5sleeping in a sauna(con't from page 5)
Apart from an emergency
exit sign and a dim lamp
illuminating the restroom
entrance,thesleeping
quarters are shrouded incomplete darkness. As myeyes adjust, I can make out
three rows of bunk beds.
Doing my best to distancemyself from the snorers, I
locate a vacant bed. As I
clamber onto it I am shocked
to discover that it isn’t evena mattress, just a thin pieceof plywood. Fortunately it’s

not cold tonight so I spreadthe provided blanket overthe board to make my ‘bed’
a little more comfortable.
After expecting to struggle
to sleep, I wake in the morning
surprisingly refreshed. The
only food and drinks available
are from vending machines.
Breakfast will have to wait
until after check-out.

leave. Whilst the sleeping
facilities are spartan, thebathroom upstairs is quite
luxurious in comparison.
Soap,
shampooandconditioner are provided ateach shower. There are anumber of baths to soak in;a jet bath, a mineral bath, a
hot bath and a cold one.
And of course, last but notleast, there is a sauna.

I decide to make use of thebathing facilities before I

irene's recipe cornerby irene wachuga

The merry season is uponus, and who doesn’t like alittle something sweet to gowith that eggnog or cup ofcoffee/tea.
Insteadofbaking a cake or one bitecookies, why don’t you
make your work easier andgive this Giant cookie a go?
Easy to make and takes justa few minutes to prepare;done in under half an hour.
easy chewy giant cookie (irene wachuga)

6 Tbsp. unsalted butter
at room temperature¾ cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1 Tsp. vanilla essence
1 cup all-purpose flour(leveled)½ Tsp. baking soda
¼ Tsp. salt
½ to ¾ cup sweet
chocolate chips…
6

1. Pre heat oven to 160
degrees.
2. In a large bowl, with awooden spoon, cream thebutter and sugar until light (itwon’t become fluffy).
3. Add in the egg and vanilla
and incorporate well.
4. Stir the flour, baking soda
and salt.
5. Add the Choco. Chips andstir just to mix through.
6. Transfer to a shallow
baking dish. Smooth the top.
7. Bake until cookie is goldenbrown and the center is set.
About 20-25 minutes.
8. Let cool a little in the pan
before slicing.
9. Serve warm or coolcompletely.
10. Enjoy.

letter from suketo hoikuen
by kazue inoue
It is that time of year when
the air becomes dry andwhen flu and cold season
begins. Here in Tokushima,
the end of October saw theonset of the flu season. It is
important to take steps toprevent
yourself
fromcatching anything, but it isjust as important to maintaina healthy body to fight off
any impending colds or flu.
<About Influenza>(1) It is important to get
vaccinated before the flu
season hits. Especially forchildren and the elderly,
people with a weak immune
system or heart disease, andpeople with lung disease.
(2) By wearing masks andwashing your hands well, you
can decrease the amount ofviruses that you come incontact with and so it canhelp alleviate some of thesymptoms.

(3) Don’t let your immune
system weaken. In otherwords, make sure you eat
healthy and get lots of sleep
to build up your energy.
(4) If you do catch the flu, tohave enough energy to fightit off, eat healthy and sleep
lots, sleep being particularly
important. As well, makesure your room is wellventilated.
(5) The main symptoms of
the flu includes fever,headache, cough, lower
back pain, fatigue, etc. I
highly recommend taking
your child to see a doctor assoon as you suspect the flu.
December is filled with many
fun year-end activities andevents. By taking care ofyourself wherever you can, I
hope that each and every
day brings you lots of
excitement and fun.

This month’s craft

Materials- Paper cup- Scissors- Pens- Paper
Instructions
1. Cut both sides of a paper
cup and fold up.
2. Cut the top portion of thepaper cup to create Santa’s
head (as shown in the
picture), then draw his facein.
3. Attach arms made frompaper to the bottom half ofthe cup. Grab the two partsof the cup with your fingers
from behind to makeSanta’s head move up anddown.

mt. yamainudake (junko kimura)

7

fitness corner
This workout is a bit of amonster, but as always you
can adjust and adapt it as
you see fit. The workout iscalled 21’s because you
alternate each exercise fortwo minutes and one minute.
All the two minute exercises
are cardio based, and theone minute exercises are allstrength or core based. Onceagain, no equipment needed,just you! Here we go:
2 minutes: run
1 minute: spider push ups:
Do a push up, except
instead of going all the way
down, go down half way,
bring your left knee to yourleft elbow and then pushback up. Do the same thing
on the right side. Repeat.
2 minutes: jumping jacks –arms to shoulders: Do ajumping jack, but instead ofbringing your arms all theway down to your side, justbring them down to levelwith your shoulders making
a “t” before going back up.
This will work your shoulders
more than a normal jumpingjack
1 minute: squat: keep a neutral
spine and squat down,
keeping your knees behind
your toes.
2 minutes: Jump rope: if you
don’t have a rope just simulate
the motion
1 minute: mountain climbers:
get into a push up position
and keeping your backstraight and your arms
under your shoulders, bring8

your left knee in toward yourchest before straightening itback out. Repeat with theright knee. This should almost
look like running, try to keepalternating feet as quickly as
you can.
1 minute: rest!
2 minutes: Burpee: Begin ina squat position with handson the floor in front of you. Kick
your feet back to a push-up
position. Immediately return
your feet to the squat
position. Leap up as high as
you can from the squat
position. Repeat, moving as
fast as possible and maintaina fast pace.
1 minute: Get ups: start in astanding position, then sit
down and roll back on to
your shoulder blades, thenroll back on to your feet andstand up. You can use yourhands to help you stand up,
but try to work up to only
using your momentum andyour core to help you stand.
Repeat.
2 minutes: River hops: Start
on one foot jump laterally
and land on your other foot,balancing on that leg for asecond before jumping
back and landing on theoriginal foot. Pretend likethere is a small creek orriver that you have to hop
over each time so that you
maintain a good distance.
1 minute: Side Planks: Start
in a low plank position, lying
face-down and proppingby clint ecksteinyourself up on your forearms.
Slowly drop your right hip
down to the ground withyour core engaged. Switch
to the left side and repeat.
2 minutes: Standing Climbers:
From a standing position,raise your left hand,reaching as high as you
can, while driving your rightknee up and out in a similar
movement to the floor
Mountain Climber. Switch
by pulling down with yourleft hand and reaching highwith your right hand. At thesame time, let your right footfall to the floor, then drivewith your left knee up andout.
1 minute: Leap Frogs: Beginby lowering yourself into a
low squatting position. Place
your feet slightly wider than
hip-width apart, bend yourknees, and lower your bum
toward the ground. Continue
lowering until your knees
are as close to a 90-degree
angle as possible. Stay in thisposition as you jump forward.
Keep jumping.
1 minute rest!
Try to cycle through thisroutine twice for a total offour sets. If you’re a real
beast do it three times!
Always warm up and stretch!

japanese lesson
by toshiko yamamizo

9events & memoranda
Christmas at the Museum 2013
In celebration of our 15th anniversary, we
will be hosting a heartwarming Christmas
event. You will be able to enjoy all things
Christmas right inside the art museum,
including an art mystery talk, Christmas
concert, Christmas tree, Christmas lunch
and Christmas themed art gallery
souvenirs.
When: December 20 (Fri) – 25 (Wed)*Themuseumisclosedonthe24(Tue)
Where: Otsuka Museum of Art
Naruto City, Naruto-cho, Naruto Park
Cost: General 3,150 yen
University Students 2,100 yen
School Students 520 yen
Info:Otsuka Museum of Art
TEL: 088-687-3737

ANAN Luminous Town Project 2013 X’mas
A winter illumination event will be held in
Anan. Many amazing events are planned
including an “Anan Sky Tree” made ofbamboo and LED, a whimsical LED glass
illumination display, concerts, food vendors,
wedding ceremonies and much more. Manyof the events will take place in Ushiki Castle
Park, known as the sacred place forcouples. Please come out and enjoy thisevent.
When: December 23 (Mon) – 25 (Wed)Where: Ushiki Castle Park
Hikari no Machi Station
JR Anan Station
Info:
Anan Chamber of Commerceand Industry
TEL: 0884-22-2301

10

events & memoranda
Bizan, Nightscape, and Christmas
Mt. Bizan will be adorned in LED Christmas
Illuminations and there will be a specialnighttime ropeway. Enjoy the enchanting
collaboration of Tokushima’s nightscapeand illumination.
When: December 21 (Sat) – 24 (Tue)
17:30 – 21:00
Where: Mt.Bizan
Cost: 600 Yen (night fare for round trip)
Info:
Bizan Ropeway
TEL:
088-652-3617
Christmas at the Zoo
If you come dressed up as Santa, admission
is free! And presents will be given to children
on a first come first serve basis. Come out
and see the staff feeding the animals in theirSanta outfits!
When: December 23 (Mon)9:30 – 16:30 (Last entry 16:00)
Where: Tokushima Zoo
Cost:
Adults 500 yen;
Junior high school and younger: Free
Info:
Tokushima Zoo
TEL:088-636-3215
Santa’s River Cruise
Throughout this event, Santa will comecruising down the river, handing out over3000 bags of presents to children.
When: December 23 (Mon) – 25 (Wed)18:00 – 21:00
Where: Starting from Ryogoku Bridge,
around Hyotanjima
Info:
Shimachi River Protection Committee
TEL: 090-3783-2084
11events & memoranda

Ekimae Labor Consultancy
Date: December 8 (Sun)13:00-16:30 (Registration 12:45- 16:00)
Place: Civic Center 4th floor
Tokushima City, Motomachi 1-24
(Inside Amico)
Organizer:
Tokushima Prefectural
Labor Relations Committee
Consultee:
Lawyers from the Tokushima
Pref.LaborRelationsCommittee
Contents:
Labor related issues including,hiring, unpaid wages, job
position reassignment andtransfer, etc.
Consultation fee:Free
Application: Notrequired.Pleasecomedirectly
tothevenuewithaninterpreter.In
addition,reservationsarealso
accepted.
(untilDecember6,(Fri)TOPIA Closed During New Year's
TOPIA will be closed from December 28 - January 5 for the New Year's holidays.
Please make a note of these days.

Counselling Service at TOPIA
TOPIA offers a counselling and advisory service to all foreign residents to help withissues involving accidents, working conditions, housing, visas, international marriage,and more. Counselling is available in English 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
Tel: 088-656-3303 or 088-656-3320 (allows three-way conversations with an interpreter)12