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

free futon camping
ree Futon Camping. Taking
your futon where it has
never been before - under
your arm, on the ground,
outdoors.
D u r i n g G o l d e n We e k ,Daniel and I decided on anadventure road trip around
Shikoku. Being ill-plannedand very much last-minute,it was a bloody amazing trip.
A trip of exploration that saw
us basically circumnavigate
the island through all four
prefectures and bore witness
to the creation of a new sort ofcamping that is only possible
in Japan - Free Futon Camping
or FFCing. An invention ofnecessity brought about by
our total lack of planning, anda slender budget.
Many people enjoy thethought of camping, but are
deterred by the hard surface
and the odd pebble that grinds
into the small of their back.
This is where the futon fits in,quite comfortably in fact.
Not knowing how our futons
would ultimately be put to"TOPPY"
July 2006 No. 193
by noam katz
hurakan_4@yahoo.com

fbold ffc'ers making camp by the wateruse, we loaded them into
the back of Dan`s Suzuki
Kei-car Deluxe. We headed
off in some direction fromthe mountains of southern
Tokushima (as it turns out,
we were heading kinda north)on Wednesday morning witha vague idea that we would
camp with rented equipment.
When it became apparent in
the late afternoon that the
campground was booked until

Saturday, we were left with
only one real option - FFC`ing.
On our first night in thelittle port town of Tadotsu,
Kagawa-ken, we stayed ina park inhabited by a rag
t a g g r o u p o f s t ra y d o g s .
That night registered one of
the quotes of the trip, "HeyNoam...something just tugged
on my sleeping bag". Thus
the addictive allure of the next
crazy location took hold, andeach day led us to wilder sites.
On the second night - thebest night by far - we ended
up laying out our futons on
a beach promenade on thesmall island of Kashima, nearMatsuyama. Kashima is a 3
minute ferry ride from thetown of Hojo and part of the
Seto Inland Sea national park,
inhabited almost solely bydeer. How hard it must havebeen for Japanese people tosee us carrying futons aroundoutdoors, we can only imagine- baka gaijin!
On our last night enroute toan undisclosed rendezvous

free futon camping ... con't on page 4

inside awa life this monthfree futon camping - 1, 4 ... joining arasowaren - 3
go wild for your vegetables! - 4,5 ... energy saving tips- 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, NoamKatz, Junko Kimura Martin O'Brien, Yoshie Motoki,
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 usual, our July edition is chock-full of
exciting summer event information. We
didn't even have room to fit it all in! The
Yoshinogawa festival is happening on
the last weekend in July at the Yoshinogawa
Ground, at the south end of the Yoshinogawa
Bridge. Apparently they will be using real plates
and cups (instead of paper ones) at the Beer
Garden this year in order to reduce waste.
Cool! There will also be fireworks on eachnight of the festival, starting at 9pm. Thereis also an Awa Odori contest for foreigners
in Komatsushima again this year on July 16.
Contact komatsushima@hotmail.com fordetails.
Love, Claire.

aummer is just around the corner now,
and along with it the famous Awa Odori.
Walking along the streets during theearly evening in the city, you can hear
the sounds of dancing groups at practice, andday by day the temperature continues to rise. I
hope you all have some fun summer activities
lined up, and are looking forward to Awa Odori,
too! This month Junko Kimura tells us how tosave some money on energy during the hotter
time of year, and Noam Katz writes about thebirth of an all new and exciting practice in freefuton camping. There's a lot to do and see thissummer around Tokushima, and I hope you alltake the time and enjoy this lovely time of year!
Cheers, Andrews

Faces made from pebbles by participants at the Zero Ji art workshop presented by Ariel Kontact on June 25th at the old
shoefactory in Shimobun, Kamiyama. For more information on future activities of the Ariel Kontact artists group,
contact Charlotte Brisland: charlotte_brisland@hotmail.com-2-

joining arasowaren

submitted
awalife@gmail.comcome and dance with Arasowaren, the International Awa Odori group. Be sure to get yourapplication in quickly, however, as spaces fill up fast! Awa Odori musicians are also wanted no experience necessary but please come to a few rehearsals!

WHEN:
Sunday, August 13
LOCATION:• Meet at the "Well City Tokushima"
TIME:• Assemble from 3:00pm• Opening Ceremony and pre-dance party
from 4:20pm• Dancing from approximately 5:40pm-9:30pm
PARTICIPATION FEE:• ¥3000 for Japanese,• ¥2000 for non-Japanese participants
APPLICATIONS:• Apply in person at TOPIA or;• Apply with a reply-paid postcard (see below)• On receiving your application, TOPIA will
mail you a post-office deposit form (furikomiyoushi), which you can use to pay theparticipation fee. Or pay at TOPIA.
PLEASE NOTE:
We cannot accept applications by fax ortelephone. You cannot apply on the day ofthe event. Sorry, but we cannot refund theparticipation fee for any reason. In the eventof rain, the party and dance will take place
inside the “Kosei Nenkin Kaikan”. Participants
will be limited to the first 80 applicants.
TOPIA:
Tel - (088) 656 3303 Fax - (088) 652 0616

٬༂ᅇѾ͐жѽё҃ᇌ͑઄݇଄ျ୆̛
̠ҫңҪӗ̶ӝ̡Ϯैϧϩ໘̈́໘ͅঙঝϩૐ̻ঙঝ 5 ૐ̈́ଥ࿋̠ට഼м̛ͅঙঝϪૐ 31 က̻̈́‫ݵލ‬ૠ̛̛ͅ
ঙঝ 6 ૐ 51 က̻̈́ᅇѾ‫ލ‬ડͅ!̛̛ঙঝϯૐ 41 က̛̈́ସᆇ̠ͅ୆৽௘୸̡´«Ú½Ä©±ຝ๥ ) ຝ๥঴ౠ໩ࣞ‫!* ࠛݵ‬!
̠઄݇ྉ̈́ඨ޺ౠ‫ڒ‬௑̡ͅ໘ႎగͩ4-111! ‫ޒ‬ਇగͩ3-111Ͱ‫̈́ีۑ‬ൊ࿭ўѝͅѢ௘৽ѣ̜૬຾ћѢ٬༂ᅇѾќᅵ௳Ӄ̶Ҹҕ̶џಂѾ഼мѲэ̝ఇਔѳၑၓ̡‫ܣ‬࿲ѣрсџњ̜؋჎ಶ،ౕဠ
‫؍‬୉୸؎ใᇭ཮ৼ؏ਇ౺ؐ໩ᆼ̈́31 ੄‫݀ڒ‬ѢၑѢѳ҆ͅঞࡋ໚Ѣ௑ UPQJB Ѳћоఇыਔѳ݀щи̝ўо̜அᅇѾ̈́ಐටϩϦ჎ͅш࠵ၰѢၑѣёѢય҆ѣрсџঞࡋ໚݀щӥ̝́ёҀ‫ޒڒ‬ѢၑѣඍᅇѾќўѾѲэ̝ͅѲѓ̜‫ܤ‬ျ଄џѣဪ௸ᄿѣрсџѼѾ઄݇Ѣཱུ݈҆оඐѽя඙ыѲэ̝઄݈݇໷ўၑџѣᄧာࣅѢఀਔ঵ਸ਼཮ৼ҆оඐѽяыѲэѢћ̜ဪ௸ѣрс๼ටঝϧୃࠖ‫ڒ‬຾џ઄݇ྉ҆оફ࿻и݀щи̝ўо̜‫ڴ‬๗࿻иਔѲҀѓ઄݇ྉѣ̜ипўѿ௘৽ћѶ࿻иჱыћсѲя҇Ѣћшද‫݀ڝ‬щи̝
ʹ! ใᇭ̠GBY ћѢଥ࿋ѣш‫ܙ‬ᆄуєщи̛̝
ʹ!๴໘઄݇ѣ࿊݈໷ћэ̝
ʹ! ျ୆ช‫ ڿ‬91 ჎џўѾ૑ൌนѵಂѾѲэ̝!
ʹ!ეѾ࿾൶๴଄Ѷျ୆ыњиѲэ̝͝ைыуѣшᇌᅛуєщи͞How to apply via return-paid postcard
Front
7 7 0

Back
Write the following

0 8 3 1

information here:୉௸

1. nameဪ௸

2. gender

Tokushima Prefectural
International Exchange
Association (TOPIA)

3. address
leave this space

write your name and4. telephone number

blank

address here

5. nationality
6. age (if under 20)

Clement Plaza 6F

also state if you want a

1-61 Terashima Honcho-

women's style dancing

nishi, Tokushima City

costume (subject toavailability)

Fold the postcard so the address of the intended recipient is facing out and post it like a regular postcard. There is no needto hold it shut with tape or glue. Postage is prepaid so a separate stamp is not necessary either. Return-paid postcards (ofuku
hagaki) can be purchased at the post office and TOPIA for 100 yen.

-3-

free futon camping ... con't from page 1
with an FFCing spot in
Uwajima, and in an ultimate
act of spontaneous rough navi,
we changed course for Cape
Sada. We couldn't pass up theopportunity to stand at thevery western limit of Shikoku,
a stone's throw from the islandof Kyushu...well, not exactly,
but close enough to see her
shores indeed. Although we
tried not to attract too muchattention on our travels (forobvious reasons), it washere at the Cape that wewere spotted by a group ofJapanese college students,
cruising the point in the very
early morning, well before
dawn. Curious, they stopped
their car and approached us
stealthily, when suddenly one
them exclaimed, "subarashii
d e s u ! " H i g h p ra i s e . H i g hpraise indeed.
It was an awesome trip and
one really worth not planningf o r. W e v i s i t e d a m a z i n ggardens, temples, shrines andcastles, including the fertility
shrine in Uwajima, Ehime andthe sex museum next door. We
got to see just how different
all the cities and prefectures

were, how the surrounding
landscape changed. But thehighlight for us, was definitely
the FFC'ing. And what did we
do about washing? Well, this iswhere Japan is just perfect forthis sort of camping - onsens.
In fact we visited some reallygreat onsen, including Kochi's
KumoNoUe Onsen and theoldest onsen in Japan - Dogo
Onsen in Matsuyama (Speakto us for recommendations...
seriously, dude!).
Here follows the mostimportant information fromour recent draft of FFC`ing
for Dummies (2006). Actually,
this is all we have written.
Equipment List:- Car (not always absolutely
necessary...train or bus couldwork),- Futon- Sleeping bag (or blanket)- Pillow (if necessary...you
wimp...you call that roughingit?)Noam and Dan`s top 5 tips
for FFC`ing
1. Don`t give up! Even
though Japan is incredibly
overcrowded, there is always

go wild for your vegetables!
n M ay 2 0 0 5 w h e n myeikaiwa students andI went on a hike up Mt.
Kotsu in Yamakawa, I
saw a strange plant that hada tiny flower growing outof each leaf (see picture).
I asked my students what
the plant’s name was, but
none knew. Several months
went by and I still haven’t
found my answer. One day,
I found myself in Kinokuniya
browsing the books in theoutdoor section. I noticedithe section to the left has
books on mountain flowers
and plants. Out of curiosity,
It i jpicked
up a book titledlplv o p t b o t b jટ ਇ Ѣ અ ੎! published by
Tokushima Shinbun which I
have seen advertised in thenewspaper before. There,
after flipping through several
pages, I found the plant inquestion: ‫ݚ‬ཌྷ (hana ikada).
The book mentioned that
this plant is rather difficult tospace for an extra futon.
2. Be adventurous, be daring,be spontaneous! Just because
you might find yourself
s l e e p i n g i n a p a r k fu l l o fhungry stray dogs, doesn`tmean you should freak out.
Enjoy the wildlife experience.
3. Futons are best suited forsurfaces made for vehicles,
bicycles and pedestrians("Sleeping on the futon outside
was just as good as being
on tatami" - Noam, FCCing
pioneer).
4. Embrace the elements. You
can fart freely in a stiff wind.
5. Bring beer. This will help
you adjust nicely to your new
environment.
Finally, we want you to get
out there and indulge yourself
in the spontaneous art ofFree Futon Camping. Shareyour stories. Find new, wild
locations. And send us yourpictures. You can email Noamat hurakan_4@yahoo.com
or Dan at rogat@mighty.
co.za with stories, pictures
and any stupid questions. No
worries!
by yusri johanawalife@gmail.com

find and it can be used for
tempura, soup, aemono, or
pickles. And thus began myquest to learn more aboutwild vegetables in my area.
Armed with that book,which has indicators of
growing time and place,
I carefully scour my area,
especially around my house,
Kawata river, and school
ground for wild vegetables.
So far, I have identified

go wild for your vegetables ... con't on page 5-4-

go wild for your vegetables ... con't from page 4
many species. Some areeasily recognizable, such asmustard greens (nanohana),
dandelion (tampopo),
and wild onion (nobiru),
but some are harder, suchas purslane (suberihyu).
There are two problems in
identifying wild vegetables:
most are seasonal and manygrow alongside the weeds.
Of course, there is one otherproblem: I don’t know enoughJapanese to understandeverything that is written inthat book. However, the bookgave me enough information,
especially the name, to dosome searches on the internet
for the Latin name and crosscheck it against Plant for a
Future’s (PFAF) database (pfaf.
org).
Many of you may not likethe idea of looking throughthe weeds to find edible
wild vegetables, so as an
introduction, let’s start withsomething easily recognized
for this season: shiso aka
beefsteak or perilla leaves.
No, not the ones growing
in someone’s garden, but
ones you can find growing
by a river, a footpath, or an
unattended field, especiallywhere it has moist soil.
There are two kinds ofshiso in Japan: green andred (or purple rather). Of thetwo, the red variety is easilyfound in the wild. A quick
check in PFAF yields the Latinname of Perilla frutescensnankinensis for purple
shiso. The accompanying
medicinal benefit information
reveals that it is antibacterial,
antipyretic, antispasmodic,
aromatic, carminative,
diaphoretic, emollient,expectorant, pectoral, andstomachic. Simply put, it ishealthy and medicinal, but weare more interested in using it
for eating.
Just like the green variety,
you can use red shiso in
tempura and as a garnish. As
a part of tempura (Need atempura recipe? Check out
Tom Collins’ recipe in April
2006 Awa Life), only batterthe underside of the leaves
and fry it quickly. As a garnish,please don’t use it only forvisual presentation. Eat it aswell. One of its famous uses
is as the coloring agent ofumeboshi which you can findthe recipe for in the June 2006of Awa Life. In the same tone,
you can use it as coloring
agent for other applications.
You can make a purple dye by
simply bruising the leaves by
rubbing them together, mixing
them with a little water, andsqueezing the liquid out. You
can repeat the process several
times to get more dye.
Use it also in your salad. Picksome of the young/smallish
leaves and add them to yoursalad. Also, you can chopped
up a leaf or two and add it toyour salad dressing for flavor.
If you fancy making some redshiso oil, try this recipe:
Shiso OilA handful of red shiso leaves
2 Cups of your favorite oil
Steps:
Prepare an ice bath and placea strainer in it. Wash anddry the leaves. Bring a pot
of water to boil and blanch
the leaves for a minute ors o. I m m e d i a t e l y, t ra n s fe r
the leaves to the ice bath.
Squeeze out the excess waterand transfer it to a blender ora suribachi. Grind or puree it
while adding the oil steadily.
Once it has smoothly blended
together, transfer it to an
airtight container.
I hope this little introduction
to wild vegetables inspires
you to look at the weeds
d i f f e r e n t l y. I f y o u a r einterested in learning more,
go to a bookstore and pick up
a book on the subject matteror talk to your local farmers
about edible wild vegetables inyour area. Happy cooking!

hana ikada-5-energy saving tips
he rainy season is now
almost over. I assume thatyou are all excited about
summer and the great
weather that comes with it.
It is the time for swimming,
camping and more funactivities, but you don’t want
to be outside all the time.
What do you usually do? I canimagine that you stay in yourroom and are relaxing while
the air conditioner is running.
Your summer electricity billwould surprise you. Did you
know that 25.2% out of thebill is for air-conditioner and16.1% for a refrigerator? I
found a good web site tofind out how much you cansave energy and be nice tothe earth, and also get extra
money for your piggy bank.
I am going to list up some ofthings that you could do tosave energy around the home
and in your daily life.

t

Air-conditioner
Aim for setting the room
temperature to 28 degrees
celsius. It will save you 670
yen* while using it 9 hours
per day when outside is 31
degrees celsius. Also, you cansave 410 yen if you reduce air
conditioning usage by an hourper day. If you clean the filter
twice a month, you can save
700 yen. It is also a good idea
to use an electric fan alongside
an air-conditioner.
Lighting equipment
Changing to compact
fluorescent lamps (CFL) fromelectric light bulbs can help
you use less energy. You cansave 1,850 yen if you change
to 12 watt CFL from 54 watt
regular lightbulbs. CFL is also

by junko kimura
snowbird@fastmail.fm

6 times longer-lasting thanconventional bulbs. CFL ismore expensive than regularbulbs, but you save money inthe long run. It is also goodto clean lighting equipment
often.
Television
Tu r n o f f y o u r T V w h e n
you 're not watching it. It
saves 700 yen if you reducewatching tube TV an hourper day. Save 330 yen for
liquid crystal TV and 1640 yen
for plasma TV. It also saves
energy if you turn off the main
power supply.
Computer
Turn off the computer when
you aren't using it. You cansave 690 yen if you reduceusing a desktop computer foran hour each day and 120 yen
for a laptop computer. I always
thought that screen saver
saves energy; however, it
actually does not. It is better if
you set up for system standby
from "set power properties".
Car
Stopping idling for just fiveminutes in every 40km of
driving saves 1,870 yen. You
can also save 6,140 yen inenergy conservation if you
don't carry an unnecessary
load of 10kg and ran 5,000km.
If you don't do sudden
acceleration and sudden
braking in every 10km run
you can save 3,220 yen. You
save 1,580 yen if you run
5,000km while you keep yourtires’ air pressure properly.
You definitely need a car inorder to live in Tokushima
Prefecture. You don’t wantto pay money that you didn’t-6-

need to pay since you arealready spending a lot ofthem for gas.
Electric pot* Tu r n o f f i t w h e n y o u
don’t use it for long hours.
You save 2,360 yen.
Washing Machine* Yo u s a v e 1 3 0 y e n f o relectricity and 3,820 yen forwater if you do your laundrya few times a week thanevery day. Five members
family whom I knew, they
stopped using drying tumbler
one month, they saved
about 45,000 yen. Someone
did laundry at least oncea day. Also putting a lot of
detergent doesn’t mean thatyour clothes are going to getcleaner, so please put theright amount of that.
These are only few that
I picked up from the site.
Please visit http://www.
eccj.or.jp which is theEnergy Conservation Centerof Japan. They have muchinformation both in Japaneseand English. There are also
hundreds of web sites thatyou can visit for getting more
information. I think savingenergy in your house is a
first step to volunteer for theearth and its environment.
You might not be able to see
the result easily by doing it,
but it is important. The earth
is not only for humans. It is
for all creatures.
*the figures listed refer tosavings over the period of
one yearmartin's anime corner
Title: ᇡగ Z
Rojin Z
Director: Hiroyuki Kitakubo
Creators: Tokyo Theater
Released: Japan (1991)
USA (1996)
Time: 80 minn the twilight glow of
the bubble years, theterm koreika shakai
emerged as one of thoseomnipresent buzzwords
that frequent political andsocial commentary in Japan.
K o r e i k a s h a k a i l i t e ra l l ytranslates as 'aging society'or 'greying society'. The
percentage of elderly people
is rising dramatically in Japanto the extent that the over 65
age group will account for 26
percent of the population by
2015 and 30 percent by 2030.
While elderly populations
are rising throughout thed e ve l o p e d w o r l d , J a p a n ' s
growth rate is one of the mostdramatic. This situation will
have a significant effect on thenations economy and social
welfare system.
One of the main problems
facing Japanese society as acause of this, is how to takecare of the elderly. The movie
Rojin Z is the story of how anovel solution to this problem
by the Ministry of Healthquickly spirals out of control.
In Rojin Z, the chief of the
Ministry of Health, Mr Tarada
reveals a device known as theZ-001. It is a biomechanicaldevice, or robotic bed in which
you place an infirm elderly
person. High-tech mechanisms
bathe, feed, exercise andentertain the elderly person
along with closely monitoring
their health. It's a dreamidevice that eliminates the needfor nurses and care assistants,
alowing the elderly to be selfsufficient.
The first person to enter
the Z-001 is Mr Takizawa, avery frail man who is barely
able to talk. He is snatched
one day under the nose of his
care assistant Haruko, who
is somewhat suspicious of
Tarada's ambitious plans for Mr
Takizawa. While the machineis capable of taking care of Mr
Takaizawa's physical needs, his
emotional needs are obviously
unmet. As his brain is wired tothe computer he manages to
get in touch with Haruko, andpleads to be rescued from theconfines of the machine. While
trying to get Takaizawa out of
the machine, late one nightis becomes apparent that it isalmost impossible to free him
as he has become part of themachine. The machine taps
into the nostalgic memories
of Mr Takizawa and it begins
to take on the personality of
Mr. Takazawa's late wife. The
Z-001 then springs to life andbreaks out of the research
fa c i l i ty, l e av i n g a t ra i l o f
destruction in its path.
The purpose of the Z-001 is
simple - to recreate somehow
an old memory of a perfect
day he spent at the beach withhis wife and child. He does thisby heading off to the coastnear Kamakura. On the way,
the police and the army try
to stop him but in a manner
similar to Akira, the Z-001
unleashes cables that allow
the machine to bio-mechaicallya m a l g a m a t e a n d u s e a ny
machines that the authorities
throw at him. Followed closebehind by Tarada and Haruko,-7-by martin o'brien
martinobrien2004@gmail.com

the Z-001 powers itself
underneath a monorail line
to get the old man to the sea
in order to relive the goodold days. While the old man
gets to view the sea again,
there is a lot more in store
fo r t h e Z- 0 0 1 , w h i c h wa s
seemingly developed with amore sinister purpose in mind.
All is revealed in a wonderful
upbeat conclusion where theold man's memories translate
into even more adventure.
Rojin Z is directed by Hiroyuki
Kitakubo, however the main
writer and creative talentbehind the film is Katsuhiro
Otomo of Akira fame. Rojin
Z has undoubtably a lot incommon with Akira, where adifferent kind of mysterious
being rampages through the
futuristic urban landscape ofJapan. It is however morein debt to Stink Bomb which
one of the three short anime
films that made up the Otomo
Katsushiro's Memories film.
Rojin Z is a straight forward
comedy anime which favours
straight foward story tellingover the deep concepts thatare explored in Akira. It does
never the less pose a moral
question regarding how
Japan will deal with the huge
number of elderly people in its
society. Certainly robots andtechnology will solve manyof the physical tasks that theaged are not able to perform,
but they are unlikely to provide
much of the social contact thatis a feature of the work thatcare assistants and nurses
currently do.

letter from suketo hoikuen
nce rainy season ends,
summer is truly uponus. Playing with wateror in a pool is a great
way to ride out the summer
heat. Children can learn a lot
by playing with water during
the summer. They can also
grow big and strong this way.
Benefits of playing in water:
1. Experience the change ofseasons (ie. summer = hot)
2. Exercise with their wholebodies
3. The temperature difference
between the water and the air
can make their skin stronger(helping to prevent colds)
4. They can learn about thedangerous aspects of water(ie. can't breathe in water,
can't move freely, etc)
Near Suketo Hoikuen, there isothe Tamiya Park Pool and theKomatsu Kaisui Yokujo beach( K a w a u c h i - c h o , Ko m a t s u
Kaigan) where you can play inthe water. Why not go there
yourself on the weekend as afamily?
Compared to countries where

Milk carton shower-take a 1 litre milk carton andcut it to the height you want.
-make a handle with a piece ofstring.

shin-mai mama nikki
ofie is really eager tostart standing up andcrawling and generally
being physical. I think
the influence of the older kids
at daycare is partially to thankfor this inclination. She seems
to be putting all her energy
into learning new ways ofmoving. She is like a little
scientist, scurrying around on
the floor investigating things.
She loves to look at herself
in the mirror and then checkbehind the mirror to see
where the other baby is.
Sofie is one of only fourbabies under a year old at
daycare, and the older kids
are quite interested in her –there are two five year-old
girls, Mayu and Mayu, whowait for her to arrive in themorning and play with her
while the teachers set thestables out for morning snack.
I saw them smelling her theother day… I’m not sure whatthat was about.
We have started going to
the Fureai Kenkokan pooloccasionally. It’s never very
full, and the old ladies in
the changeroom like to poke
Sofie’s squishy cheeks andotherwise entertain her while
I’m changing. My husband
and I hold Sofie with her headsticking out of the water ands h e s p l a s h e s a r o u n d . We
haven't tried to teach her any
strokes yet. There is anotherlocal pool that does 'baby
swim' classes, but it's notreally worthwhile to only go
once every week or two, since
they charge a monthly fee.
I just paid my city resident's
tax the other day and now
I am determined to get-8-by kazue inoue
suketo hoikuen staff

it doesn't rain often and wateris scarce, Japan is truly a
blessed country. Because ofthis, we want even more to
use this water in ways to help
our children grow.

-punch holes around thebottom-put water in and you havea shower!
by claire tanaka
clairish@gmail.com

my money's worth, so I'll
probably be spending moretime at public facilities likethe Fureai Kenkokan in
future.
The other day, one of theladies at the pool saw all
three of us together andasked my husband, “Are you
her father? So she’s ‘half’then?” There’s not much you
can say to a nice old lady
asking if your kid is “half,”
so he just said yes. I know
she didn’t mean any harmand I couldn’t be bothered tolaunch into a poolside lectureon racial terminology. I knowsome people like to say
double instead of half, but I
don't like either, personally.
I'd rather people just say
she has a Japanese dad anda white mom and leave it atthat.

japanese lessonby yoshie motoki
moto_language@yahoo.co.jp

ave you ever had the experience where your Japanese is technically correct, yet people
misunderstand, or make a strange face at you? That's what we are here for - it's the "youcan't just learn it from studying sentence patterns" Japanese Usage Series!! This month
we focus on intonation.

h
e

f

t

i

p

ϧ̟͒ћыѻк͓b o p ijup x b eplvtijo e f t i pѢగѣ຤ఒћыѻк̝!.!That person is single, isn't he?
A; жf flfllpotij u f s v e f t i pм̛̣̤ॅਛыњѿћыѻк̝!.!Huh? Surely he is married.
B; мe p dij s b e f t i p!.!Which could it be?
C; ѝѕѽћыѻк̝
desho - if you raise the sound at the end, it means "don't you think so too?" - you are indicatingthat you expect the listener to agree with you.
desho - if you lower the sound at the end, it means "I think so" - you are fairly certain that what
you say is true.
j
j e f t v z p!!!Case Two:!
Ϩ̟͒иићэѼ͓tij u f n p jj!̪ыњѶии!- it's alright, sure!!!Case One:jtij o b l v u f n p j j!и!̪ыўуњѶии!.!it's not necessaryjz pj̛̛̛и̛̛̛̛̛Ѽ̝
!и
e f
t v
j
̛̛̛̛̛ћ̛э̛̛̛иlbjtib e f
e f
t v
Ϩͅ
̈́‫ݵ‬ଂћͅ!(at the office)̛̛̛̛̛̛
̛̛̛̛̛ћ̛эd i p u u p
z p s p tij j e f t v l bz p!Ϸ̡ѕѻїќ̜Ѽҁыићэп̛̛̛̛̛̛̛̛̛̝Ѽ̝f
f
jj e f t v z p
j {blb z b e f!ϸ̡мм̜иићэѼ̝!(at the bar)ϧ̛̈́ͅࢍଢܴћͅt v n j n b t f o h bl p o p tijszp o j n f p u p tij u f
t p s p t p s p lbf s j n b tip l b!Ϸ̡эѳѲя҇р̜чѢૃᆍџწ҆෬ыњ̛Ϸ̡ёҁёҁࡀѾѲыѻкп̝j u b e b l f n b t f o l bff
lbjlfj x b j l v s b e f t v l b!!!!!иѓєхѲя҇п̛̝ϸ̡мм̜‫ݵ‬ऱѣиуѽћэп̝jj e f t v z p
l z p x b x b u b t i j h b ibsb j n b t v!ϸ̡иићэѼ̛̝Ϸ̡ਗ໘ѣ҃ѓыр࿻иѲэ̝jj e f t v z p
x b s j lbo o j tij n b t i p̛ϸ̡иићэѼ̝߆ѾߪџыѲыѻк̝
A: Have you got a minute?
B: Oh, sure.
A: Let's get going home, OK?
A: Sorry, but could you take a look at these
B: Sure, what's the bill?
papers?
A: I'll pay today.
B: Sure.
B: That's not necessary. Let's split it.
Depending on whether the intonation goes up or down at the end, the meaning can change
completely. Ask your Japanese friends or co-workers the following questions and listen to how
they answer:
tvlp t i j zbtv n j n b t

i

p l b

ϧͅ஛ыࡷѳѲыѻкп̝!- Shall we take a little break?
l p o p q b t p l p op utvlb u u f n p jj

e f t v l b!- Is it alright if I use the computer?
ϨͅчѢӃүҥӥ҆ ચ їњѶиићэп̝
If the person you're talking to uses
Awa-ben,you will get a ttotallydifferent intonation pattern. In
tij u f n p jjij o b l v u f n p j j
this case, ask them if they mean ыњѶии!(it's alright) or ыўуњѶии (it's not necessary).
Have you ever gotten into trouble because of mistakes with intonation? If you have any
questions or personal stories about learning Japanese, please contact me!
-9-memoranda
Speech Contest໘ႎতုᇪോ‫ݵ‬

Come watch Tokushima's foreign residents compete in the3117 ໩๗‫ޒ‬ਇగџѼѿຝ๥ॡ໘ႎতုᇪോ‫ݵ‬

annual Japanese Speech Contest!

‫܍ܤ‬џᅖњуєщи̤໘̛ૐ̡ဓౖ 29 ໩ 8 ै 28 ໘̈́ै̠୙໘ͅ24;11 ̻ 27;11!

2006 Tokushima Prefecture̛̛̛̛Japanese Speech Contest For Foreign Residents௘̛୸̡ຝ๥ॡ౬஛໩ҭӥұ̶!

!

ჴ৽я̡̈́੖ͅຝ๥ॡਇੑপᅺࢤ‫! !ݵ‬date: 17 July, 2006 (Holiday Monday) 13:00 - 16:00
place: Tokushima Seishonen Centre

UFM;!199.767.4414!!

for more info: call TOPIA at 088-656-3303

GBY;!199.763.1727

Tokushima Scenery ммतࠑӇқҺҥӥҸҫҺ
Photo Contest
Enter your photo of a Tokushima scene and win fabulousжўѓѢ঻сўຝ๥Ѣत௱Ѹ෎ဖѳ҆ૼఉџыњ̜ѳ҇

prizes! It can be any kind of scene - natural or manmade.
"photo" category: submit a mutsugiri ( ᇥ Ҷ ಂ ) sizeўџॣњѶѽок̝(18cm x 23cm) printҫҼҵӉ࿪ჷ̡M ҧҖҬธ๗Ѣૼఉ"snap" category: submit an L size print‫ܤ‬ျนѵಂѾ̡ဓౖ 29 ໩ 9 ै 26 ໘

submission deadline: August 15, 2006

ᆊ࿪ჷќѶ̜ॡѢ୞ಐ࠿࠘๷џಇ඘ыњиѿျ୆ᅅ৶Ѣ

Application forms are available at photo shops and publicඨѢ‫ܤ‬ျᄿસ҆шᅦᄿуєщи̝ўо̜ྡྷᅅૈ৶̈́ϧ̟

offices around the prefecture or write the following on a੢࿀჎̛̞Ϩ̟୉୸̛̞ϩ̟ળ჎̛̞Ϫ̟ใᇭ཮ৼ̛̞ϫ̟ӇқҺ࿪ჷ̡ᇥҵಂѾҧҖҬѢૼఉseperate page and send with your photo: Name of photo,ౕဠ̛̞Ϭ̟໩ᆼ̛̞ϭ̟ರ҇єᅫᄡ̛̞Ϯ̟ੵ۬௘୸ͅрaddress, name, phone number, gender, age, reason youࡋ੐щҀњиҀѤ̜ഢѢᄿસ҆ᅦᄿыњ‫ܤ‬ျиѓєињ

chose the photo, place the photo was taken.

Ѷ৓иѲя̝҇

Mail your application to: Tokushima Ken Doseibi-bu͵‫ܤ‬ျಐ̡΁ 881.9681̛ຝ๥દႮ൉෎ϧ඼წϧ཮එ

Toshi Kikaku Ka "Arudenaide Ee Keikan" Bandai-cho 1-1,ຝ๥ॡॡ๘ౘྏ࿪๒દऱ‫̛ݡݬ‬͐жѿћўић̛ммत

Tokushima City, 770-8570

ࠑ̤͑ऒ*photos submitted must be unpublished+!੢࿀ѣ̜ႴཇླѢѶѢџॺѾѲэ̝*digital photos must not be digitally altered+!ҹҪұӝҝӓӛѢ௘৽ѣ̜‫ݬ‬ം݇িыѓ੢࿀ѣ࿊݈̝*photos submitted may be published by the prefecture+! ຝ๥ॡࡸѧ࠘ᇌආലѣ‫ܤ‬ျ੢࿀҆૛ᄡџચᄿћсѿѶand related groupsѢќыѲэ̝

*names of the winners will be published+!ଥொ଄Ѣળ჎ѣরླиѓыѲэ̝*submitted works will not be returned+!‫ܤ‬ျ੢࿀ѣဪ࡯ыѲя҇Ѣћшᆇ஡уєщи̝

Toastmasters Meetຝ๥Å±¾ÅÐ¾Á±¾ßᆯ‫ݵ‬

when: July 16 (Sunday) from 1:30

໘ૐ̡ϭैϧϬ) ໘ͅঙঝ 2 ૐ 41 ကѼѾ

where: TOPIA (Clement Plaza 6F)௘୸̡ຝ๥ॡਇੑপᅺࢤ‫̈́ݵ‬ҡӞӓӥҺӉӛҨϬ‫ͅގ‬

what: Expand your communication and leadership skills຾ᄴ̡ҥӑӗҽң̶ҩәӥќӜ̶Ҳ̶ҩҵӉѢ໷ᆛ҆௷Ѥ

by giving speeches in English on a variety of topics andэѓѵ̜ఒࣝў୞ᅖૈўѝщѲъѲўҸ̶Ӑћ۷তџѼѿthemes. Both native and non-native speakers of English
are welcome.

ҫӆ̶ҳ҆޼ыѳѲэ̝໘ႎగࡸѧҿҖҳҕӈҫӆ̶ҝ̶߿स̝!
+!ჴи৽҃я̡!్ྐ݆ત!ใᇭ͝ 1:1/8681/8481 ͞

contact: Ms. Seo: 090-7570-7370-10-

memoranda
Fireworks Festivals ‫ݔݚ‬ോ‫ݵ‬Anan Fireworks Festival٬໊Ѣ݊ѲјѾ‫ݔݚ‬ോ‫ݵ‬Wednesday, July 26 20:00 - 21:30

8 ै 37 ໘ 31;11 ̻ 32;41

Hamanoura Park, Anan٬໊દ̛࿃Ѣ۠র‫܆‬

Naruto Fireworks Festivalეჷ໶ᆏ‫ݔݚ‬ോ‫ݵ‬Saturday, August 12 20:00 - 21:00

9 ै 23 ໘ 31;11 ̻ 32;11

Near the Naruto Bunka Kaikan by the Muya River࿥ᅊಖ܎иეჷદဌ݁‫ࠛݵ‬ମဩ

Komatsushima Port Fireworks Festivalசப๥ৗѲјѾ‫ݔݚ‬ോ‫ݵ‬

Holiday Monday, July 17 20:00 - 21:15

8 ै 28 ໘ 31;11 ̻ 32;36

Komatsushima Port Areaசப๥ৗఁৗࠟဝ‫ڴ‬ഷThe Japanese
Language
Proficiency Test

໘ႎত
໷ᆛી५
૛ကѢ໘ႎত໷ᆛ҆ް໡ыњѳѲя҇п̣чѢી५ѣႚ໩Ѣ 23 ैџ‫ލ‬пҀњиѲэ̝! ର௰ўѝџјўрѿࡌ୓ў

Take this annual test to see how far you've progressed inૃެ̝ိࢫѢѸѾриџѶўѿчѢી५џҳӕӞӥҪы

your language study, or to improve the contents of yourѼк̤resume! Application packs are available at Kinokuniya
Books in Sogo and at Koyama Books in front of Tokushima୞ࠪଥ࿋࠼̡ࠖ8 ै 4 ໘̻ : ै 6 ໘

Station.

ી५໘̡23 ै 4 ໘̈́໘ᄹ໘ͅ
ી५එ̡ఊঅદ̜৸பદ̜ৃ๥દ๷಺ਇѢ๒‫̈́ݵ‬ຝ๥ћapplication period: July 3 - September 5ѣଥхѽҀѲя҇ͅ

test date: December 3 (Sunday)

ࠪ୿̡611 ‫̈́܅‬ຝ๥દћѣࡈ‫ړ‬Ꭲܴ୿ืќசઅஃ޺ࠛႎื

test locations: Kobe, Takamatsu, Hiroshima, and otherћ༝мѲэͅ

big cities nearby

ଥ५ᆍ̡6̞611 ‫܅‬

cost: application pack costs!]500, test fee is ]5,500

ைыу̡xxx/kfft/ps/kq

for more info: www.jees.or.jp

Disaster Prevention
Exerciseຝ๥દೳ৽ၻ੆ऋᇉ
џјињ

Come along to this exercise in preparedness for large-scaleࣝႴᅖџࡍчѿќи҃Ҁњиѿ໊‫ކ‬එఖ҆ೡชыѓೳ৽

disasters such the Nankai earthquake, which is predictedศўၻ੆ऋᇉр૲મщҀѲэ̝to occur sometime in the near future.
໘ૐ̡ϯैϧ໘̈́ࣞͅϧϦ̡ϦϦпѽϧϨ̡ϦϦѲћ
when:

September 1 (Friday) 10:00am-12:00pm

where: Tokushima-shi, Ojin-cho Higashi Sadakata Aza‫ݵ‬௘̡ຝ๥દ‫ܤ‬ఊ෎๪งၑ໊ಖᝨ̜
!!!!!!ຝ๥દჁࡦჾಖၾࠟ

Minami Kawabuchi, Tokushima Shimin!!!!!!‫ۥ‬ຌৃ௘

Yoshinogawa Kitagan Undo Hirobaఇыਔѳಐ̡ҺӆҔѢҝҘӥұ̶Ѳћ

applications to: the counter at TOPIAჴи৽҃я̡ҺӆҔѲћใᇭ 199.767.4414

for more info: contact TOPIA at 088-656-3303-11-

memoranda
Doitsu-kan EventsһҖҶࠛҖӋӥҺ

August 6 - 26

9 ै 7 ໘̻ 37 ໘

An exhibition of drawings by local school children with the޺ౠѓѕрྷиѓ͐ӂӝҺѢ޼‫҆͑܆‬Ҹ̶Ӑџыѓ‫ފ‬Ѣ

movie "Baruto no Gakuen" as the themeึ૘‫̛̈́ݵ‬һҖҶࠛѢ໚௘ᆍрྡྷᅅќўѾѲэͅ(the usual entrance fee to the Doitsu-kan applies)
9 ै 24 ໘̻ 25 ໘August 13 - 14
German Beer and Wine Fest 10:00-16:00

һҖҶѢӅ̶ӝќӡҖӥѢੋѾ!21;11 ̻ 27;11

Entry is free.

໚௘Ⴥᆍfor more info: Call the Doitsu-kan at 088-689-0099

ைыу̡һҖҶࠛѲћใᇭ!199.79:.11::

Take a look at the Doitsu-kan homepage for more seasonalһҖҶࠛѢҘҙӈҧҖҺџѶࡆಉѢҖӋӥҺ௜၇ўѝрevent information and other details, here at: http://
www.city.naruto.tokushima.jp/germanhouse/index.html

ж Ѿ Ѳ э̡iuuq;00xxx/djuz/obsvup/uplvtijnb/kq0̛
hfsnboipvtf0joefy/iunm

Japanese Summer
School݊ࡷѳતѝѶ
໘ႎত¼Ð±¾¹±ÚJapanese class for schoolchildren whose first language is໘ႎত҆၀তќыўиசඨ޺ౠѢѓѵѢ໘ႎত޺଺̝޼

not Japanese. Have fun and make new friends!

ыѳўрѽఁыиᄕ൥Ѷѓущ҇੢Ҁѿ̝

when: July 21, 24, 27, 31 & August 2,4,7,9 from 10:30 toиј̡8 ै 32 ໘̜35 ໘̜38 ໘̜42 ໘̜9 ै 3 ໘̜5 ໘̜8 ໘̜

noon。

: ໘̜
̛ঙಶ 21 ૐབпѽ 23 ૐѲћ

where: TOPIA (Clement Building 6F)

ѝч̡UPQJB̈́ҡӞӓӥҺӅӝϬGͅ

cost: freeparticipants: must be aged 6 to 15 and whose firstഴ௉̡໘ႎত҆၀তќыўиசඨ޺ౠ

language is not Japanese.

ఇыਔѳ̈́ჴи৽҃я̡ͅUPQJB̈́੖ * ຝ๥ॡਇੑপᅺࢤ‫ͅݵ‬for more info: call 088.656.3303, e-mail topia@topia.

ufm/199.767.4414!ӓ̶ӝ upqjbAupqjb/of/kq

ne.jp or drop by TOPIA and fill out a registration form.

৬ધ̡KUN ќуыѲ໘ႎতҿҵҺӡ̶ҡ

Presented by JTM Tokushima.

นѵಂѾ̡8 ै 25 ໘̈́ࣞᄹ໘ͅ

application deadline: July 14 (Friday)

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)గग़ଙїњࡏуა໘
-12-