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

"TOPPY"
June 2006 No. 192

a walk around mt. bizan
ue to its proximity andconvenience to central
Tokushima city, I would
think that most people
have been up Mt. Bizan (alt.
290 meters) either by car,ropeway or foot. For those
who have walked up perhaps
you made use of the very
helpful bilingual guide map
called “Let’s Walk Mt. Bizan”( ྕઅ҆ံчк ) that describes
10 hiking trails that lead up to
the summit. However, insteadof climbing the mountain,
I would like to recommend
a journey that goes aroundthe foot of Mt. Bizan, a routewhich is actually part of the
Shikoku Pilgrimage Routebetween Temple 17, Idojj̈́‫ڮ‬অ્ͅ! in Kokufu and Temple
18, Onzanji ( ܼ અ ્ ) southof Komatsushima. There are
two possible route to follow
after crossing the Akui River
from Temple 17: 1) follow aneastern route along the baseof Mt Bizan parallel to Route
192 through Tokushima city,and then head south alongby david moreton
dc_moreton@yahoo.cadstairs to enlightenment
Route 55, or 2) one can go
south to Jizo-in temple, goover the forested Jizo pass
(Route 203) and come out by
Bunka no Mori and then travel
along Route 55. The walk that
I propose around Mt Bizan
includes both of the above
mentioned trails.
An example route:
Start at Tokushima station or
Shinmachi-bashi. Go the Mt.

Bizan Ropeway station andturn right. Follow the busy
street passing by Teramachi( ્ ෎ ) where many temples
are congregated, and justpast Mishima Shrine ( ં ๥ ఊଂ ) turn left and travel west
along the quiet and remote
streets of Sako, Kuramoto
and Myodo. Along the way,
you will pass many temples
and shrines such as Suwaa walk around mt. bizan ... con't on page 4

inside awa life this montha walk around mt. bizan - 1 - 4 ... yūmei as ume part 2 - 3
animal rescues - 5 ... travel tokushima - open set - 6
martin's anime corner - 7 ... shin-mai mama nikki / letter from suketo - 8
japanese lesson - 9 ... memoranda - 10 - 12

awa life

Tokushima Prefectural International
Exchange Association (TOPIA)
Clement Plaza 6F
1-61 Terashima Honcho Nishi
Tokushima City 770-0831 JAPAN
tel: 088.656.3303
fax: 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)
Andrew Dahms & Claire Tanaka
Contributors This Month:
Andrew Dahms, Kazue Inoue, Yusri Johan, Martin
O'Brien, David Moreton, Yoshie Motoki, Jennipher
Spencer, and Claire Tanaka

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

from the editorss I write, typhoon number one has justmanaged to peter out before reaching
Japan, but there is some talk that thecurrent bout of rainy weather may
seque seamlessly into an early rainy season
this year. If that's not enough to rain on yourparade, check out the information on page 4of this issue for the latest on a new stystem
for fining people who park their cars where
they shouldn't. On page 5, Jennipher Spencer
talks about what you can do if you ﬁnd a strayanimal (out in the rain, perhaps?) who needs
help. In the Letter from Suketo Hoikuen, Kazue
Inoue presents some rainy season-themed playideas too.
Love, Claire.

ahere has been a lot of rainy weather oflate, and as typhoon number one kindly
reminded me, much more to come as well.
However, I have been thankful for the few
days of sunshine here and there and taken theopportunity provided to travel outside of the city,
including a short trip to the open set in Bandofor the movie Baruto no Gakuen (featured inthis month's Travel Tokushima). I wasn't surewhat to expect at the set, but looking at all thework that had gone into designing it, and thetime and energy spent on production of themovie, I was moved to see this piece of local
history being given such attention, and I feelthe both the set and the movie have somethingimportant to say.
Cheers, Andrewt

the rose - symbol of romance and love. the roses of tokushima city central park are now in full bloom, and make for aspectacular sight-2-

cooking - yūmei as ume part 2
n July last year whenmost of my ume fruits
had ripened a bit, I asked
my eikaiwa students towalk me through how to makeumeboshi. The recipe below
is a result of merging threedifferent recipes. Before you
try making this recipe, please
make sure that you have all
the necessary equipment: a
non-reactive pot, weights (two
2 kg weights are needed forthis recipe), and a sudare,or openwork basket (big flatzaru). You can find all ofthese items in your local home
improvement store (Daiki,
Birudo, Nakai, Konan, etc.)
or even local grocery stores,
especially during umeboshi
season. Please read the recipe
and instructions thoroughly
before attempting it.

i

UmeboshiIngredients:
2 kg r i p e n e d o r s l i g h t l yripened ume
300 gr ж ѽ ‫̛ܜ‬/ pickling salt
(15% of ume’s weight).5 cup shochu (optional)
Re d C o l o r i n g I n g r e d i e n t s(optional):
280 gr red shiso leaves
28 gr ж ѽ ‫ܜ‬ȁ/ pickling salt
(10% of shiso’s weight)
Instructions:
1. Wash your ume and soak
them in water overnight.
2. Dry them and remove thecalyxes using a skewer or atoothpick.
3 . W a s h , d r y, a n d t h e nsterilize your pickling container
and weights. You can rub insome shochu to sterilize yourcontainer and weights.

4. If you are using shochu,
mix it in together with theume in a bowl.
5. In the pickling container,
place some salt on the bottom
and then top it with some ofyour ume. Keep alternating
2-3 more times and end itwith the rest of the salt on the
top. Pour in the rest of yourshochu.
6. Weigh down your ume
with a plate and top it withthe weights. Then, cover
the top with several sheetsof newspaper and tie thenewspaper to the neck of thecontainer with a string. Whendone, leave it to stand for 2-3
days.
7. After 2-3 days, you should
see some liquid coming to the
top of the ume. This liquid
is called white ume vinegar.
(Note: if you do not wish tocolor your ume, halve yourweights, cover it, place it in acool dark place, let it stand forat least a month, and then go
straight on to step 15)
8. If you wish to color yourume, wash your shiso leaves
and drain well.
9. In a bowl, mix the leaves
with 1/3 of the salt. Rub them
together.
10. Fill the bowl with waterand then mix. Working inbatches, take out a handfulof leaves and squeeze out
as much liquid as is possible,
then place it in a differentbowl.
11. Take the second 1/3 ofthe salt and repeat step 9 and10. Do this one last time withthe remaining 1/3.
12. Take about 1/2 cup of thewhite ume vinegar and mix itwith the leaves.
13. With the plate and weight-3-

by yusri johanawalife@gmail.com

off, spread the leaves evenly
across the top and then pourin the rest of the liquid.
14. Place a plate and then 2kgof weight on top of the ume.
Replace the cover and store it
in a cool, dark place. Leave it
for at least a month.
15. Before the end of the
1 month mark, check theweather forecast for 3
continuous sunny days. Whenthe ﬁrst of those 3 days arrive,
take out the shiso leaves andsqueeze out as much liquid
as possible. Spread it on yourbasket/sudare. Take yourume out and place them on
the sudare/basket spacing
them evenly. Reserve the red
ume liquid/red ume vinegar.
16. Dry them during the day.
Turn them occasionally to dry
the other sides. At night, bringthem in. Do this for 3 days.
17. At the end of the thirdday, place the leaves withsome red ume vinegar to
rehydrate them.
18. Store your umeboshi in acontainer with or without the
red ume vinegar. Place yourshiso leaves at the top of theume.
At this point, you canconsume your umeboshi or
let it mature even longer. I still
have the umeboshi I madelast year and it is just getting
better. Many Japanese believethat the umeboshi will fully
mature in about a year. Afterall, as with umeboshi andfriends, the older the better.
( ༙߳ќᄕ൥ѣॽиѯѝѼи!
.! "umeboshi to tomodachi
wa furui hodo yoi").

a walk around mt. bizan... con't from page 1
Shrine ( థၞఊଂ ), Shiinomiya
Hachiman Shrinë́ ෧ ࡺ ང ཀఊଂͅ- Hachiman Shrine ( ངཀ ఊ ଂ ), Mine no Yakushi
Hodaniji Temple!̈́ ၊ Ѣ ᄄ ધၓ ൭ ્ ͅ! and others which, if
you have the time, are worth
a visit. Then you will arrive at
Jizo-in ( එ ആ ‫) ۇ‬, where theenshrined deity is Jizo, theprotector of children, living
or dead and of women inchildbirth. In Tokushima, many
pregnant women come here
to say that they are expecting.
The staff will give the motheran amulet and ask that she
keep it close to the baby.
They say that they will pray
everyday for the safe birth ofthe child, but do please callthem when the child was born
so that they can stop praying!
This temple and neighboring

pond might be a good spot tostop for lunch because there isa washroom and small familyrun convenience store nearby.
From here, the route goes
into the woods for a 15-minuteclimb to the summit and a
15-minute walk down coming
out on Route 203 near therestaurant Hana Anzu ( ‫ڑ ݚ‬
ຂ ). Follow this road out tothe Sonose River!̈́ ‫ ్ ܅‬ಖ ͅwhich passes in front of Bunkano Mori to Route 55. Thereis a walking path parallel to
Route 203 so one does nothave travel directly beside thebusy trafﬁc, however there areunfortunately no interestingsites to be seen along thispart and the tranquility andreligious nature of the firsthalf of the trip disappears
to be replaced with large

parking laws get tougher
tarting on June 1,
the system related toparking violations will
get stricter. Here are
the four main things that willchange with this new system:s

1. The car's owner ( ୸ ᄛ ଄shoyusha) will now be finedfor parking violations. Up until
now, the regular user of thecar̈́ ੢ ᄿ ଄ sayosha）had
to pay the ﬁne, but from now
on, the owner of the car will
be fined. This means people
w h o d r i ve c o m p a ny c a r s ,and people who drive cars
owned by other people (ie.
their parents, etc) will haveto answer to the car's owner
whenever they are caught
committing a parking violation.
2. Privately hired parking

agents will begin patrollingfor parking violations. Up until
now, parking violations havebeen handled by the regularpolice force along with theirother duties, which meant they
couldn't devote a lot of time
pursuing parking violations.
From June 1, there will bea dedicated private force ofparking agents whose sole job
will be to look for cars parked
illigally, making it much harderto get away with creative useof sidewalks, etc.
3. People will be ﬁned even for
short-term parking violations.
U p u n t i l n o w, s h o r t- t e r mparking violations comitted
by delivery drivers, people
dropping off and picking
up passengers, and otherinstances where people would-4-

volumes of noisy cars. If you
are not up to walking back toTokushima station along Route136 or 55 or don't want tospoil the quietness of the ﬁrst
part of the journey, you cancatch a bus back to Tokushimaon Route 438 near Seven
supermarket on Route 136
near Bunka no Mori, or catch a
train at Bunka no Mori station.
It is possible to do the route inreverse order as well.
This intriguing one day
journey around Mt. B izan
allows one to observe a variety
of temples, and shrines,
historical neighborhoods,
rice ﬁelds and so on. As well,
one can experience walking
through old neighborhoods,
along a mountain trail, andreturn to modern-day society’s
sights and sounds.
by claire tanaka
clairish@gmail.com

park in a no parking zone
fo r ' j u s t a m o m e n t ' w e r eoverlooked. From June 1,
these short-term violators will
be fined as strictly as longterm violators.
4. If parking tickets go unpaid,
the car in question will not be
permitted to renew its shaken(mandatory automobile safety
inspection).
T h e To k u s h i m a S t a t i o narea, and along routes 11,
55, and 192 will be patrolled
p a r t i c u l a r l y s t r i c t l y. T h e
Tokushima City area as awhole will also recieve special
attention. Agents will bepatroling at all times, but they
will be putting in an especiallystrong effort between thehours of 7:00 and 22:00.

animal rescues
stray cat comes into
your life – what doyou do?

a

Let me tell you what I did.
It might give you some ideas
and some confidence to takeaction. My husband and I havebeen in Japan for almost 3
years, and during this time wehave helped 4 cats.
The first was an adult catthat had been hit by a car andleft to die in the middle of theroad, although it was verymuch still alive. I was on mybicycle on my way to school.
So I moved the cat to the sideof the road and rode home to
get Colin to come and take thecat to the vet.
The cat had only minor
injuries and made a complete
recovery. It was a 6 year old
male cat and unlikely to be
re-housed. However, the vet
eventually found somewherefor it to go (we think it went to
the Kamiyama center).
The second rescue involved
a 3 month old kitten we foundwandering dangerously neara busy road in Tokushima city.
The kitten had a collar so wespent the next hour knocking
on doors to try and find theowner. No luck. Eventually
we took the kitten to our vet
who gave him a checkup andsome medicine. Although heknew we are not allowed tohave pets in our apartment, heasked us to care for it and ﬁnd
a new owner. Fortunately oneof my teachers took it to giveto her nephew. The nephew
named him ‘Lucky’.
Rescue number three wasn’t
really a rescue since the kitten
just walked into our apartment(on the 2nd floor!) one day

by jennipher spencer
awalife@gmail.com

when Colin had left the door
open. She was very dirty andso we figured that she had
been abandoned. Once again
we went to the vet and got
her checked out. This time
we advertised her in theTokushima Shinbun – with apicture. She was re-housedwith a lady who drove all theway from Ishii to get her.
The most recent cat to comeinto our life was a 1 and a halfyear old male cat. He was at
my school for 2 days before hewas ‘re-located’ to the city gym
in the hope of someone taking
care of him. The city gym
also just happens to be near
my house. A week later I saw
him at the local Lawson. Dirty,
hungry and wanting some love.
Once again we took him to thevet, but this time we asked tohave him sterilized. We thenhad to keep him for a week tomake sure his stitches healed.
We advertised him – with apicture, in the newspaper
again. He was re-housed witha family in Tokushima.
Looking after these cats hascost us time and money. Not
to mention stress at having
to say goodbye. But it was all
worth it in the end. I knowthat some foreigners have
kept their stray cats and havetaken or are planning to taketheir pet home with themwhen they leave Japan. Thisis very expensive. The animals
are in Japan and I think the
responsibility should be on theJapanese to care for them.
I have found the animal
welfare system to be vastlydifferent from my homecountry, and I’m still not used
to it. But now at least I knowwhat can be done to help
-5-

stray animals that come into
my life. A lot of stress has
been relieved because I havea course of action that I cantake.
Suggested course ofaction:1 . Ta k e t h e a n i m a l h o m e(particularly if it’s a cat – wetold my supervisor that wewere temporarily looking after
each cat and there was no big
problem. She just didn’t tell
the landlord).
2. Take the animal to a vet fora checkup. (No point giving
someone a sick animal).
3. Advertise the animal witha picture in the newspaper(Tokushima Shinbun – 4,000
yen and the advert will need
to be written in Japanese).
4. S t ay h o m e o n t h e d ayof advertising – preferably
Sunday, to receive phonecalls.
(Be prepared to speak
Japanese and give directions
to your place!).
If you find a stray animal and you
can't take care of it yourself, you canalso call your local hokenjo (healthcentre) and have them take theanimal for you. They will take theanimal to the Animal Welfare Centerin Kamiyama, where they will takecare of it for a short time. If a newowner is not found during that time,
the animal is put down.
Tokushima Prefectural Animal Welfare
Center (located in Kamiyama)
http://ourtokushima.net/aigo/top.php
088-636-6122
Tokushima Hokenjo 088-652-5151-Naruto Branch 088-685-3141-Komatsushima Branch 0885-32-2135
Anan Hokenjo 0884-22-0072
Hiwasa Hokenjo 0884-74-7374
Kamojima Hokenjo 0883-24-1114
Anabuki Hokenjo 0883-52-1017
Ikeda Hokenjo 0883-72-1122

travel tokushima - open set
n a sunny day in May,
I headed out fromTo k u s h i m a C i t y a n d
off to Naruto to checkout the set from the movie
Baruto no Gakuen. Under
the guide of Mattias from the
Naruto Doitsu-kan, we arrived
at the set early afternoon to
be greeted by a very curious
mix of past and present.
In short, the set is areconstruction of a PoW campfor German soldiers thatexisted in Naruto during WWI,
and a main scene for the ﬁlm.
It covers some ten thousandsquare meters in total,and cost over one hundred
thousand, three million yen
to produce! At current, it sees
some 600 customers a day.
Pe r h a p s m o s t s t r i k i n g ,however, was the mix of new
and old present there. Whilevery recently, the attention
to detail and overall feel ofthe set makes it almost easy
to forget it's not the realthing. Taking a look inside thebarracks, and other buildings
on set, it felt more like taking
a walk through history than amovie set.

oWhat to do there
The set has several movierelated features, including ashort trailer for the movie, adisplay of photos and props,
information booths and more.
You can also take a tour of theset, led by a guide dressedin traditional army uniform,or even have a professional
photo of you taken at theentrance for ]1000.
Visitors to the set are also
allowed to freely enter thebuildings (although not allareas of them), so you can geta close look at everything. The
display of photos and movie
props also gives an insight into
the story and shooting of theﬁlm.
If you're going to take thetime to go and see the set,
however, a trip to the Doitsukan makes for an invaluableaccompanyment. Here you
can find more information on
the history surrounding theactual camp and the story, andalso a photographic display
showing photos from themovie compared with scenesthat inspired them.
Entry to the set costs ]500

by andrew dahms
until_eternity@hotmail.com

for an adult, and ]200 yen forchildren. However, if you go
in a group of over 20 people,
there is a 20% discount. The
set is open from 9:30-17:00
everyday, but last entry is at
16:30.
How to get there
The movie set is very
easily accessed by car andpublic transport. If going bycar, simply follow route 12
along to Bando station andrefer to the following map:
http://www.tv-naruto.
ne.jp/barutorokemura/akusesu.htm
If going by public transport,
catch a train out from
Tokushima Station towards
Itano / Takamatsu, and get
off at Bando station (]260).
From here, there is a free
shuttle bus to and from theset, leaving several times
during the day.
Baruto no Gakuen opens
n a t i o n -w i d e o n J u n e 1 7.
Now is the perfect time totake this unique opportunity
before seeing the film, andit certainly does make for arewarding experience.

a row of buildings in the bando set for baruto no gakuen, including barracks, a bath house and even a bakery (unfortunately
for display only)-6-martin's anime corner
Title: Paranoia Agent( სೡ൉ᅫగ )Director: Satoshi Kon
Creators: Madhouse
Released: Japan (2004), US(2005)
No. of episodes: 13

y f a v o u r i t eanime director isundoubtedly Satoshi
K o n . Tw o o f h i sworks "Millennium Actress"
and "Tokyo Godfathers" werereviewed in previous issuesof Martin's Anime Corner.
His latest outing differs fromthe previous two as it nota film, but rather a thirteen
episode series. The change informat has done nothing todampen Kon's creative nous,
however. "Paranoia Agent"is another cerebral thriller
that, like "Millennium Actress"
challenges our somewhat
vague and biased everyday
view of what constitutes
reality, and the manner inwhich we react to the world
around us and the people
within it.
The story begins with a quiet
w i t h d ra w n w o m a n k n o w n
as Tsukiko Sagi. Sagi is acharacter designer responsible
for the creation of Maromi,a ultra cute, character who's
popularity is sweeping thenation. Late one night Sagi
is assaulted by a young
elementary school student
wearing golden inline skates,
and a baseball bat. The attackon this inﬂuential designer byan assailant so young, quickly
captures the attention of themedia, and he is given themoniker "Shonen Bat". The
infamous youth soon goeson to assault Akio Kawazuma tabloid journalist who hasinterviewed Sagi. Unlike Sagi,
Kawazu is seriously injured by
Shonen Bat.
In each episode we are
introduced to a specific setof characters who come into
contact with Shonen Bat. The
character and their lives differ
greatly from each other but
they are inextricably drawn
together by the attacks. The
differences in the character set
keeps things fresh throughout,and despite its length, theseries never wanes in terms ofkeeping the viewer's interest.
The 13 episodes of theseries covers a rich range ofcharacters, ranging from the
popular, narcissistic elementary
school kid who is suspectedof being Shonen Bat to thepoliceman who pays his debts
to the yakuza by mugging
old ladies and breaking into
houses. Through the diverse
cast of characters it is possible
to see Kon's use of social
commentary. Many cultural
trends that exist in Japan are
subtly examined. Peer pressure
and bullying in schools, theoften close relation between
policemen and gangsters,
the obsession with cutenessand the subversive nature ofotaku culture are some of the
topics explored in "Paranoia
Agent".
The idea for this innovative
series came from the detritusof Kon's previous ﬁlms "PerfectBlue", "Millennium Actress"
a n d " To k y o G o d f a t h e r s " .
Many of the leftover ideas
and characters that weren`tincorporated into his previous
works form the basis of"Paranoia Agent". This does
make the film a little bit,
-7-

by martin o'brien
martinobrien2004@gmail.com

disjointed at times, as it's
pretty easy to guess fromwhich film certain ideas comefrom. In this respect theseries dosen't always flowsmoothly but it doesn't detractfrom the overall effect of theseries. "Paranoia Agent" isan often ambiguous, esotericpiece of work. At first glance
it would seem that "Paranoia
Agent" is a simple whodunit
story, yet it is a great deal
more complicated than that.
Kon examines how our life
experiences, our fears, andcultural biases influence how
we construct our own realities.
The action is driven not by ageneral look at the reality ofwhat is occurring but how thedifferent characters perceive
similar things and situations indiffering ways.
The powerful opening credits
are in a sense a microcosm of
the entire series, and help to
explain this intriguing work.
The main characters are placedin the middle of disaster, fire,
earthquake and a nuclear
bomb. For such a complex
drama it does provide a very
simple, enticing metaphor. We
like the characters have very
little control over our lives andthat external factors ultimately
determine how we see things,
how we live and how we die.
"Paranoia Agent" combines
excellent story telling andgreat animation with social
commentary and phliosophy.
Outside of Japan, Miyazaki ofStudio Ghibli fame is regarded
as the greatest living talentin Japanese animation. Whenit comes to breathtaking
innovation, however, I think
Kon is miles ahead.

letter from suketo hoikuen
ummer in Tokushimameans Awa Odori!
We 've now entered theseason where you canhear the sounds of the fluteand taiko drums beind played
here and there in parks.
Summer is now upon us. But
before we can look forward
to summer we have the rainyseason in Japan, called tsuyu.
As the damp, rainy weather
continues you can start to feela bit down, but it's ok! Hereare a few ways for you toenjoy playing in the rain!
When it starts raining:* Go outside. Even by simply
taking out an umbrella andputting on a pair of rain boots,
children can enjoy the rain.
And, in the outdoors in June
there are lots of things for yous

to ﬁnd!
* Rain sounds. If you try
catching the rain falling ofy o u r e a v e s w i t h va r i o u s
objects, they make all kindsof different sounds.
When the rain stops:* Soap Bubbles. Humid
weather makes soap bubbles
less easily broken, andmakes for the perfect play fortsuyu.
* Mud. Children in Japan loveplaying with mud by kneading
it into mud balls. How aboutshin-mai mama nikki
ofie has been learning
lots of new tricks lately.
She can sit up on her
own now, and she rolls
over like a champ too.
Like I mentioned lastmonth, we are trying to get
her to eat a few simple foods
like rice porridge and apple
juice, but she really can't
stand it! She loves to lick andgnaw and chew on all things
non-food however. Given aplate of food, she will always
choose the plate to chew onover the contents. The crazy
kid will hold an empty spoon
and put it in her own mouth,and she'll watch me and her
dad eat and open and close
her mouth like a goldfish,
but if we try to feed her, sheclamps up!
In the past three months,
Sofie has had three DPTs(Diphtheria, Pertussis, andTetanus) shots, a BCG shot toprevent tuberculosis, and herpolio vaccination is scheduled
for next week. After that, wewon't have any more shots,
vaccinations, or inoculations
until her ﬁrst birthday. I hope!
Aside from learning to eat, I
have also started to wonder if
this kid is ever going to learn
English. When we are alone
together, I speak English toher, but when other Japanese
speaking people are around,
I tend to use Japanese. And
the English she hears fromme consists mostly of "hello
my little monkey! my little
pumpkin!! did you have agood sleep?" I always swore
I wouldn't be the type to talkbaby talk to my children, but Iseem to have become one of"those" people. The other day,-8-

by kazue inoue
suketo hoikuen

experiencing the wet feel ofsoft mud?
Make and Play:*Jumping frog. Cut out amilk carton as in steps one
and two below, draw one aface and make the frog as
below. When ready, attacha rubberband to its tail, andplay by stretching the rubber
band, turning the frog overand holding it down, thenwhen you release it, the frog
will jump, but be careful it
doesn't jump into you!

by claire tanaka
clairish@gmail.com

an English-speaking friend
came to visit and Sofie just
kept looking at us both like
we were nuts. I think shefinds it hard to believe that
there are other people in thisworld who understand thenonsense I am constantly
spouting.
While Sofie's English may
not have a chance, myJapanese has definitely
gotten better. I have to write
a little note in her daycare
book every morning to let
the caregivers know what
she has been up to. On busy
mornings, I tend to write thewhole thing in hiragana, butwhen I have time, I try touse kanji where I can. I haveﬁnally mastered the kanji for'nose' ( ྗ )after writing so
often about her runny nose.

japanese lessonby yoshie motoki

npup`mbohvbhfAzbipp/dp/kq

ontinuing on from last month, here is the next installment of Japanese beyond basic
grammar. This month, we are going to take a look at the form # ѓи #-# ѯыи #.want (to!
do)/

c̈́from a Japanese class one dayͅn bbn b s j t bop

j tij t pv

o b l vll j j

e f t v o fЊ̡Ѳж̜ӐӜщ̜҇оиыёкўҡҵҟt ̶ћэѡ̝l p s fl z p v x b u b t i j h b utvlv s j n b t i j u b
f o tivv t f o t f j x b l v l l j j x p i p t i j h b s j n b t i j u bЉ; чҀ̜сѻк҃ѓыр ੢ ѾѲыѓ̝ಐୃಐౠѣҡҵҟ̶҆ѯырѾѲыѓ
l b s bпѽ̝fb b
j u b e b l j n b t v̟̟̟̟жж̜иѓєсѲэ̝
Њ̡мї̜
̛̛̝
̝
̝
̝
̝
̝
̝
̝
̝
̝
̝
̝
̝
̝
̝
̝
̝
tfotfjoboj l b o p n j u b j e f t v l b
l p p i j j
p j s f u f b h f n b t v z p
T;̡ಐౠ̜݃п‫ۃ‬ѳѓићэп̝ҥ̶ӄ̶҆໚ҀњжцѲэѼ̝f f
t p v e f t v o f
e p v n p
U;̾мм̜
̟̟̟ёкћэѡ̜ѝкѶ̟̟̟̟

There isn't anything wrong with the grammar as such, but the teacher seems to feel a bit uneasy.
What could the problem be?
Perhaps it would be better to use honoriﬁcs...?
tfotfj x b l v l

؋!
،!
‫!؍‬

l j

j x p i p tij h b s b s f n b tij u bಐౠѣҡҵҟ̶҆ѯырѽҀѲыѓ̝
oboj l b p o p n j o j o b s j u b j e f t v l b݃по‫ۃ‬ѳџўѾѓићэп̝l p p i j j x p l b u u f t b tij b h f n b t vҥ̶ӄ̶҆༝їњщыжцѲэ̝As it turns out, there isn't really much difference. This is because in Japanese, it is not generally
a good idea to directly refer to what the listerner may be thinking or feeling. In this case we aretalking to a teacher, in other words, someone who is considered as having higher seniority thanoneself, so one should use respectful language when addressing them. So, in what way is it best
to express the above statements?
l p s f

؋!
،!
‫!؍‬
؎!

e p v { pчҀ̜ѝкђ̝l p s fj l b h b e f t v l bчҀ̜ипрћэп̣
oboj l b p o p n j o j o b s j n b t v l b݃по‫ۃ‬ѳџўѾѲэп̝l p p i j j
j l b h b e f t v l bҥ̶ӄ̶ћѶипрћэп̝

Practice: whichis the best way to speak tosomeone who you want to show respect to?
p u f utveb j t i j n b t i p v l bu f utveb u u f i p t i j j e f t v l b؋!
З̟оଚ ฿ иыѲыѻкп̝c/ ଚ ฿ їњѯыићэп̝
utvnf u b j n p o p h b i p t i j j e f t v l b
utvnf u b j n p o p e f n p j l b h b e f t v l b،!
З̟ᆰѓиѶѢрᅍыићэп̝c/ ᆰѓиѶѢћѶипрћэп̝l p s f p utvlb j u b j e f t v l b
l p s f pe p v { pl p s f p
p utvlb j lveb t b j‫!؍‬З̟чҀ҆ ચ иѓићэп̝c̟чҀ̜҆ѝкђ̝̈́чҀ҆о ચ и݀щиͅ

Answers:؋͗З̛̛، .c̛̛‫ ̷؍‬c
Do you ever have any moments when you can understand the grammar and meaning, but are
unsure about quite how to say something? By all means, send me your questions or episodes andI will use them here in the Japanese Lessons.
-9-memoranda
Speech Contest໘ႎতုᇪോ‫ݵ‬Participants Wanted!

୞௘଄ျ୆̤

2006 Tokushima Prefecture

3117 ໩๗‫ޒ‬ਇగџѼѿຝ๥ॡ໘ႎতုᇪോ‫ݵ‬Japanese Speech Contest For Foreign Residents୿ᆬ௽ਮџњ 21.23 ჎ธ๗҆ರৣыѲэ̝ਇੑ௱ၟпџэ

Around 10-12 contestants will be selected basedѿѓѵϧпਇϧ჎ธ๗̝‫ܤ‬ျ଄рണиਇџјињѣϨ჎ธon country of origin, ensuring that a wide variety ofnationalities are able to participate. There will be an event๗ќыѲэ̝ോ‫ݵ‬๴໘ѣ̜ണాѢ‫̠܍ܤ‬౤‫҆܍‬оസѕыњ

following the contest, where contestants will be availableиѲэ̝ཇླ଄ќѢ‫ॣڝ‬প߹‫ݵ‬Ѷо޼ыѳџ "to answer questions from the audience.

໘̛ૐ̡ဓౖ 29 ໩ 8 ै 28 ໘̈́ै̠୙໘ͅ
!

date: 17 July, 2006 (Holiday Monday)௘̛୸̡ຝ๥ॡ౬஛໩ҭӥұ̶!

!

place: Tokushima Seishonen Centreഴ̛௉̡ຝ๥ॡ੓୉Ѣ‫ޒ‬ਇగ!

!

for: Foreign Residents of Tokushima̛̛̛̛Ҹ̶Ӑ̡ਇੑᅫ‫̠ݶ‬ਇੑপᅺ̠ࢤᆛџ࠘эѿѶѢўѽ૛ᄡ!!

theme: A topic of your choice relating to Japan,ૐ̡̛ࠖϭက‫ڒ‬຾!!

international affairs, international cultural exchange, and!

!

ఇ̛ਔ̡̈́੖ͅຝ๥ॡਇੑপᅺࢤ‫ݵ‬Ѳћ̝

cooperation.
time limit: under 7 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!୸ชѢఇਔᄿસ҆оํыыѲэ̝!

apply to: TOPIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!ை੍ѣ๴ࢤ‫ݵ‬Ѳћоჴи৽҃я݀щи̝!!!

Applications accepted while places are available.

!

for more info: TOPIA.

ჴ৽я̡̈́੖ͅຝ๥ॡਇੑপᅺࢤ‫! !ݵ‬TEL: 088-656-3303

UFM;!199.767.4414!!

FAX: 088-652-0616

GBY;!199.763.1727

Chiiori ProjectѕиоѾӉӟҪҙҡҺ

The Chiiori Project in Iya Valley is currently looking forѕиоѾӉӟҪҙҡҺѣॵ੓ӎӛӥҸҕҔ҆ျ୆ыњиvolunteers.

Based in the 300-year-old thatched roofѲэ̝ѕиоѾѣ̜ຝ๥ॡ๪ೊ൭અഠџжѿඝϩϦϦ໩

farmhouse featured in Alex Kerr's book "Lost Japan", ourѢߟ࿮сܴਠѢॽჁ‫݌‬ћэ̝ෙ࠼ӎӛӥҸҕҔѣ਻ฃ 3daily work includes farming, hosting guests, and raisingfunds to rethatch our roof. Positions are: one month asa farmhand, six months as a cook/host, and two years as໩‫ڒ‬௑̜ൽ࠼ӎӛӥҸҕҔѣ̜2 Өै‫ڒ‬௑Ѣ໺੢ࣄஃଚќ
7 Өै‫ڒ‬௑ѢӁҘҫҟ̶Ӄ̶ћэ̝

ofﬁce administrator or caretaker.
For more information on these positions, please see:ைыуѣ

http://www.chiiori.org/visiting/volunteer.en.html

iuuq;00xxx/dijjpsj/psh0wjtjujoh0wpmvouffs/kb/iunm

Awa Connection٬༂ҥҿҡҩәӥ

Awa Connection is a new, vibrant international exchange٬༂ҥҿҡҩәӥѣຝ๥џ୉҇ћиѿިਇѢ‫މ‬щ҇роগorganisation dedicated to deepening mutual understandingиџᅫ‫҆ݶ‬ఆѵѿѼкџࢤᆛэѿਇੑপᅺආല̝୞ఒඑрamong the various nationalities living here in Tokushima.

ѝчћжїњњѶ̜сїќ޼ыѵѿѼкўҖӋӥҺѸߊຌWherever you come from, we're sure to have somethingџ઄݇ћсѲэѼ̤ைыуѣӓ̶ӝѸӍ̶Ӓӌ̶ҪѲћ̡

fun and interesting going on that you can get involved in!
ӓ̶ӝ̡bxbdpoofduAzbipp/dpn

for more info: awaconnect@yahoo.comӍ̶Ӓӌ̶Ҫ̡xxx/hfpdjujft/dpn0bxbdpoofdu

homepage: www.geocities.com/awaconnect-10-memoranda
TOPIA's Library

UPQJB Ѣన୿૬

TOPIA is currently in the process of converting the bookcollection to a standard library classification system andUPQJB Ѣన୿૬ћѣॵ੓̜న୿҆ใત݁щҀѓҹ̶ұӋ̶

creating an online database of book records. The projectҫџಂѾ഼мѿ਻ඨћэ̝чѢ੢ࣄ҆ଚ฿їњуҀѿӎ

involves some computer work and also labelling andӛӥҸҕҔ҆൷ыњиѲэ̝ӃүҥӥѢҹ̶ұ໚ᆛ̜ё

re-shelving books. We are seeking volunteers to help
out with the work. Anyone with some free time and aninterest in taking part can contact Kevin McDowell at
mcdktm2@yahoo.com. Thanks for your help.

Japanese Cooking
Class
Summer recipes: somen, tempura, cucumber & wakameыњన୿џҩ̶ӝѢ฻Ѿ࿋хўѝрଗў੢ࣄќўѾѲэ̝ࢹႳѢжѿၑѣңӅӥ̠ӐҡһҘҚӝѲћшᇌᅛуєщи̝ndelun3Azbipp/dpn̛ѼҁыуоࠪиыѲэ̤໘ႎᆍᅫࢱ૬
݊Ѣᆍᅫ̡ёкѵ̜҇ีѫѽ̜ҟӗҘӜќ҃пѵѢధѢ࿾̜эєѕҮӜ̶

sunomono, and sudachi jelly.
иј̡ϭैϨ໘̈́໘ͅ:;41!.!24;41
when: July 2 (Sunday) 9:30 - 13:30

ѝч̡຾෎ҥӑӗҽҸҕ̶ҭӥұ̶̈́દᄂ୸Ѣࣝуͅwhere: Uchimachi Community Centre (near City Hall)ࢱધ̡࿃ႎທझ

instructor: Michie Hamamoto઄݇ྉ̡ϫϦϦ‫܅‬

cost: 500 yenఇыਔѳ̡ӓ̶ӝ̡!lvzAvtv{vnj/pl2/kq

to participate: send an e-mail to kuy@usuzumi.ok1.jp or
fax 088-692-6289
with your name, nationality, and contact!!!!!!!!!!!!!GBY;!199.7:3.739:
჎ಶ̜ਇ౺̜ᇌᅛಐ̈́ӓ̶ӝҔһӞҫႦѣใᇭ཮ৼͅ

information (e-mail or telephone)
Don't forget to bring an apron!

ҚӉӟӥ҆૏їњуѿчќ҆ၬҀюџ̤!

Beginner's GermanѸщыиһҖҶত

Learn basic German reading and writing from a JapaneseһҖҶতѢ࠰೉ဌၓ҆ລѳ୿сඨ௾џ޺଺ыѲэ̝৬ધѣ

instructor (some English spoken). Take this as an໘ႎగ̝ඨ޺ౠ̻ോగ̜୷௾଄ഴ௉̝࿗ඌѦсчѶѾрѕ

oppoprtunity to get out of the house and try somethingўпѓ̜݃пડѵѿсїпх҆јуїњѳѲя҇п̝

new! This class has just started, so you can still join andcatch up easily.
class fee: 500 yen per class (for room rental)
text fee: 3000 yen (payable at your second lesson)઄݇ྉ̡ϫϦϦ‫܅‬ࢱ੔ྉ̡ϩϦϦϦ‫܅‬

location: Showa Community Centre in Tokushima City௘୸̡நᇬҥӑӗҽҸҕҭӥұ̶̈́রჁࠛͅ

when: Every Monday from 16:00 - 17:00

໘ૐ̡ႚୃैᄹ໘ϧϬ̡ϦϦ̻ϧϭ̡ϦϦ

No need to make contact in advance - just show up!

ఇыਔѳѣྡྷᅅьѷўи̝ёѢѲѲᅖњуєщи̤-11-

memoranda
Doitsu-kan EventsһҖҶࠛҖӋӥҺ

What:ўџ̡һҖҶӡҖӥѢᄪѭ

A German Wine Evening

When: Saturday, June 3, from 19:30

໘ૐ̡Ϭैϩ໘̈́๘̜ͅϧϯ̡ϩϦૐ

Where: Hotel Ad Inn, Naruto௘୸̡ӍҸӝ̛Ҕһ̠Җӥეჷ

Cost:

7,000yenࣞ޽̡ϭ̞ϦϦϦ‫܅‬

Come along for a german wine seminar, with talks onӔ̶ҮӝҨ̶ӝ̠ӝ̶Ӧғ̶ӡҖӥౠઌ଄ࢤ‫ݵ‬Ѣҩӗӑҵ

German wine, and an appearance by the German WineҺ‫ݵ‬ෙѸӡҖӥѢஅ‫҆ܪ‬ணињѢႎެศўӡҖӥҭӑ

Queen. There are 50 places available.

Ҽ̶̝ช‫ڿ‬ϫϦగѲћ̤
What : The second German Soccer Seminar
When: Saturday, June 10, 10:30 - 11:00

ўџ̡һҖҶҧҵҝ̶৬ਸ਼Where: Second level Hall, Naruto Doitsu-kan໘ૐ̡ϬैϧϦ໘̈́๘̜ͅϧϦ̡ϩϦૐ̻ϧϧ̡ϦϦૐ

Cost:௘୸̡ეჷһҖҶࠖϨ‫ގ‬Ӎ̶ӝFree

In commemoration of the 2006 Soccer World Cup, comeࣞ޽̡and learn about soccer in Germany from Coordinator ofӡ̶ӝһҝҵӉ̠һҖҶോ‫ࡋ҆ݵ‬໪ыњ̜ਇੑপᅺ‫ڿ‬ӄInternational Relations Mattias Herschﬁeld. There are 30ӝҩӗӇҙӝһрһҖҶѢҧҵҝ̶҆ா‫ݴ‬эѿ̝ช‫ڿ‬ѣplaces available, so please hurry!

ϩϦగѲћћэпѽ̜೧ѵџш๎ᇩ̤҆
for more info: Call the Doitsu-kan at 088-689-0099
ைыу̡һҖҶࠛѲћใᇭ!199.79:.11::
Take a look at the Doitsu-kan homepage for more seasonalһҖҶࠛѢҘҚӈҧҖҺџѶࡆಉѢҖӋӥҺ௜၇ўѝрevent information and other details, here at: http://ж Ѿ Ѳ э̡iuuq;00xxx/djuz/obsvup/uplvtijnb/kq0hfs.

www.city.naruto.tokushima.jp/germanhouse/

nboipvtf0joefy/iunm

index.html

FireFly Festivalോ൭ѯѓѿੋѾWhat:ўџ ;! ോ൭ಖѯѓѿੋѾ

Otani River Fireﬂy Festival

When: Last weekend of May, ﬁrst of June 18:00 - 21:00

໘૛ ;!! 6 ै݀୪̜7 ै௑୪Ѣ๘̠໘ 29;11 ̻ 32;11

Where: Naruto City Oe-cho Otani Riverside௘୸ ;!! ეჷદോ႕෎ോ൭ಖ

Cost:

Free

ࣞ޽ ;!! ჅᆍInfo:Call the Otani River Fireﬂy Protection Society atைыу ;!ോ൭ಖѯѓѿေജ‫ݵ‬Ѳћ

088-689-0248!

ใᇭ 199.79:.1359

Counselling Service at TOPIAҺӆҔѢ೰ඎೱ঵TOPIA offers a counselling and advisory service to all foreign residents to help with issues involving accidents, working
conditions, housing, visas, international marriage, and more. Counselling is available in English and Japanese. Please notethat although every effort will be made, we may not be able to deal with all cases.
Monday to Friday, 10:00 - 16:30
tel. 088-656-3303 or 088-656-3320 (allows three way conversations with an interpreter)ଥх઱ѵњиѲэпగग़Ѣ୓ѳ
-12-