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

the origins of golden weeko l d e n We e k i s t h elongest string of public
holidays in the entire
year. But where does
the name come from? This
time I'm going to write about
the origins of the name'Golden Week'.
It originally began in 1951.
Everbody assumed that the
government was responsible
for naming the holiday period,
but actually it wasn't. Do
you know who it was? It was
the executive director of afilming company. In thosedays, the most popular formof entertainment was goingto the movies. In 1951, a
movie 'Jiyuu Gakkou' thatwas originally shown at
the time became a greater
success than other movies
shown during the New Year's
Holiday's and Obon. So thee xe c u t i v e d i r e c t o r, H i d e oMatsuyama, hoping that many
people would watch movies
during these holidays, named
them 'Golden Week'. But why'Golden'?
The times when audiencegratings are the highest are
known as 'Golden Times'.
Thus the name Golden Week
was taken from this. At the
beginning it was called Ougon
Shuukan which means
golden week in Japanese.
But the name was lacking
in impact so it was changed
into English. We used to have
Silver Week as well, which
also had a holiday and someevents including Culture Day,but never became firmly
established.
Green Day: This day is torespect and give thanks forbeing blessed by nature. Also,
we cultivate warm hearts. April
29 was originally the Showa
Emperor's birthday, but it waschanged to Green Day in 1989
following his death.
Constitution Day: It ison this day we hope for thenation's growth in honor ofenforcement of the Japaneseconstitution. The Japanese"TOPPY"May 2007 No. 203
by hiroko kimura
awalife@gmail.com

constitution was introducedon May 3, 1948. Constitution
is called ॕ ၓ (kenpo) inJapanese, so there were many
babies in that year named withthe character for ॕ such asॕજ (Kenji) or ॕત (Noriko).
People's Day: A holiday
set for people of today
working too hard. In 1985
the government decided theywould make this weekday aholiday between two otherholidays and give the people achance to rest. Now people's
day is on May 4. However, in
2009, there will be anotherpeople's day on September
22, since the 21st and 23rd
are already public holidays(Respect for the Aged Day andAutumnal Equinox Day).
Children's Day: A day when
we value children's personality,and hope for their happiness.
A long time ago, this day was
only for celebrating boys inthe family, but in 1948 thethe origins of golden week ... con't on page 3

inside awa life this month
the origins of golden week - 1, 3 ... yellow sands rising - 4
flying fish and holidays - 5 ... staff introductions - 6
martin's manga corner - 7 ... letter from suketo hoikuen / shin mai mama nikki - 8
japanese lesson - 9 ... memoranda - 10, 11, 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, Jody Godoy, Kazue Inoue, Hiroko
Kimura, Isao Nishitani, Martin O'Brien, Tetsuo
Onishi, Smitha Prasadh, Claire Tanaka, and Noriko
Osaka

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

from the editors
fter a warm winter and a cold spring, it
looks like the seasons are finally getting
on track. Pedalling through the city isa joy, with the scent of flowers and thesound of birds in the air. The May edition of
Awa Life is always sort of a time for reflection
because it's made during April, which is thefirst month of the new fiscal year. You can
see this year's staff introductions on pagesix. As for me, I am in my fourth year in myposition here, and I've only got a few months
left until my contract ends at the end of July.
With the National Culture Festival happening inTokushima this year, it looks like there will bea lot of fun events to get involved with in the
coming months, so I hope to see some of our
Awa Life readers out on the town!
Love, Clairey the time this May edition has arrived,
Golden Week will be over for anotheryear and everything will be back tonormal. Did you go someplace interesting
this year? I've begun to find that while trying
to get out as much as possible, most of mytravelling tends to happen long away fromthe popular holidaying times. I often end up
going out for just the day or a weekend, andonly rarely outside the prefecture. In anotherrealisation I have found that with all my camera
gear I seem to carry more luggage than some
do travelling overseas. Perhaps these twothings are related? To each their own, however- we all have different ways in which we enjoy
spending time, and I hope you've been able to
do a lot of that over the past Golden Week.
Cheers, Andrewab

a view from the beautiful park area and lookout surrounding kawashima castle (photo by andrew dahms)-2-

the origins of golden week ... con't from page 1
government changed the
day to Children's Day and it
became a day to celebrate
both boys and girls.
The government consideredwhich day would be best, andthe ideas came forth to put it
on March 3rd, April 1st or May
5th. In the end they chose
May 5th as March 3rd is toocold in Hokkaido and April 1stis also set aside already for
April Fool's Day.
During Golden Week many
people go abroad or totourist spots and collectively
contribute over one trillion
yen to local economies. Thatmeans some people have days
off but some people haveto work even harder during
Golden Week.
Memories of Golden Week
We all have memories of theholidays, and the adventures
we sometimes find ourselvesin. Here are a few of those...
Noriko: I often used tospend the entire GW at
my grandma's old house in
Miyoshi-shi (west Tokushima).
All my cousins would gather
and we enjoyed fishing eelsand crabs in the small river.
They were eventually doomed
to turn into delicious tempura
by grandma. Tokushima is
blessed with beautiful nature
a n d s c e n e r y, a n d I h o p e
you enjoy staying here in
To k u s h i m a fo r t h e w h o l eGolden Week as much as you
can.
Tetsuo Onishi: Everytime wecome to Golden Week there
is a moment our family looks
back on with a good laugh. Along time ago we went withthe whole family to a pretty

writer hiroko (left) with her elder sister on the fateful walk

town by the sea. At the time
our eldest son was five years
old, and he wanted to go
fishing so much, so we took
him to a nearby fishing pond.
After a while without any
bites, all of a sudden there wa
s a loud splash and I turned
around thinking a fish had
struck the boat. But there in
the water was our son! We
quickly tried to pull him in,but the distance to the water
was too long to reach so we
had no choice by to try andpull him in with the fishing line
back to the shallows, where
we got him safely.
And I have to say, he's thebiggest catch I've ever had!
We gave him some food andnow he's grown up to be an
adult. Everyone, take care if
you go out on the water thisGolden Week!
Hiroko Kimura: When I wasa child, my family decided to
do a walk from #13 to #12
in the 88 temple pilgrimage(#12 is known as being of thehighest altitude for the entire
pilgrimage, and a difficult-3-

climb). My dad told my sisterand I that it would be a longday but it would be fun. So
my sister and I were very
excited. We left home earlyin the morning. I guessed we
could get there at least aroundnoon, but around noon wewere still walking. My sisterand I began to wonder when
we would get there. At somepoint we saw some signs
saying how long we had to
go in kilometers, but we were
too young to understand. My
dad kept encouraging us so
we kept walking, but then it
started getting darker anddarker. On the way we madewalking sticks from what we
found by the roadside, andI almost cried. We couldn't
make it and ended up eating
riceballs we had brought in
the wood.
Yesterday I took a look at
the walk on a map and it
said 10km just to get there,
but over an eight hour walk.
I wonder if my dad did any
research beforehand? But it
was an adventure for me, forsure.

yellow sand rising
he night before my friends
and I left for Seoul, South
Korea during spring break,
I went online to doublecheck the weather forecast
there—and I was shocked tosee that the current weather
condition was listed as“widespread dust”.
It’s this time annually that
Korea, Japan, and much ofeast Asia are subjected tostrong bouts of the weather
phenomenon known askousa ( ‫ ܯ‬਱ ) in Japan,
which translates directly to“yellow sand”, but is known
in English as Asian Dust. Thisphenomenon occurs mostfrequently in spring, startingin March. It originates in China
and central Asia, in regions
such as the Gobi Desert andLoess Plateau. Springtime
weather creates strong windsystems that kick up dust
particles from these arid
regions, sweep them into theatmosphere, and carry themacross the Asian continent.
These eventually arrive ineastern Asia, and they haveannual effects on China,
Korea, Japan, and sometimes
Russia. With especially strong
systems, these clouds moveon to affect the US.
Over the last few decades,
human actions haveaggravated this phenomenon.
Poor agricultural practices
have ruined the land, to thepoint that now 18% of China
is a desert. China burns a
lot of coal but has not been
f i l t e r i n g i t p r o p e r l y, a n d
the dust clouds pick up thepollutants released by thisprocess. Industrialization has
also increased greatly, at theexpense of the environment.

by smitha prasadh
andorus@gmail.comtkousa obscures an overhead view of seoul, south korea

There are some very tellingphotos online of Chinese cities
during severe dust storms
from the past 10 years—the
air was reddish-brown andastonishingly thick, with very
little visibility.
Additionally, besides justdust, these clouds can also
carry bacteria, germs, anda variety of pollutants andcarcinogens. On especially bad
kousa days, it’s probably best
to stay indoors if possible,
since people can catchcolds, have sore throats, oreven experience asthmatic
symptoms.
However, there are efforts
underway to combat the
kousa. The Chinese, Japanese,and Korean governments havebeen doing much research andimplementing plans to reverse
this desertification by planting
trees to prevent soil erosion
through reforestation, andneighboring countries havebeen sending groups to China
to help, including a non-profit
group from Tokushima.
We experienced the kousa
firsthand on our last full day
in Seoul. When we left ourhostel in the morning, we-4-were greeted with a khakicolored sky. It resembleds m o g : i t t o t a l l y o b s c u re d
faraway buildings and madeeverything very hazy. Whenwe went to the top floor of the
63 Building, one of the tallest
buildings in South Korea, we
had barely any view at all.
The dust had a tangible
impact on everything. The air
quality felt different—I could
actually taste the dust on the
air. I also found it tough tobreathe deeply after climbing along flight of stairs outdoors—
this had nothing to do withphysical fitness—but I was fineafter I went inside. In general,the quality of the air felt still
and heavy, like the calm before
a storm, and the sunlight felt
like it was coming through afaint filter. All my photos fromthat morning looked as if I’dapplied a slight sepia tint tothem.
As memorable and interesting
as the kousa phenomenon
was, we were relieved when it
dissipated by mid-afternoon.
We were able to finish the day,and our trip, with a really niceview of the Seoul cityscapeunder real sunlight.

flying fish and holidays

by andrew dahms
until_eternity@hotmail.com

ay 5th in Japan is a
public holiday, andthird in the string of
public holidays thatmakes up the famous Golden
Week. It is called Kodomono Hi (Children's Day) and isclosely related to the traditionof koi nobori - carp-shaped
windsocks.

m

Kodomo no Hi
May 5 was originally a day
to wish for the wellbeing andprosperity of young boys,
and was known by the nameof ൾ ঙ Ѣ ಉ ࣣ (tango no
sekku). In this it is often
paired with the hina matsuri
on March 3, for celebrating
girls. However, shortly after
the end of WWII in 1948
the holiday was changed toChildren's Day and while many
traditionals of the old festival
still remain it is in fact slightly
different.
One thing Kodomo no Hi
has in common with the Hina
Matsuri is the displaying ofdolls and other objects. Morespecifically, families with young
boys bring out dolls wearing
traditional warrior's attire andalso helmets (called kabuto)
to put on display. And, last but
by no means the least, there
are the koi nobori.
Koi Nobori
When set alongside dolls inarmor and samurai helmets,a fish may seem a strange
bedfellow in celebrating
this tradition. However, thereason behind this is thatkoi are a popular symbol ofstrength, admired for theirability to swim upstream ineven strong currents. Taking
after this, families with young

koi nobori over the oboke gorge, miyoshi city (photo by jody godoy)

boys in them sport colourfulwindsocks in the shape ofcarp on the roof of their housefor the duration of the festival.
In Tokushima you can evensee a large collection of thesekoi nobori flying over many
rivers in the prefecture, suchas the Yoshino River pictured
above.
The Koi Nobori SongMany traditional events inJapan and Tokushima haveaccompanying songs, such as
the Hina Matsuri, the Tanuki
Matsuri and many others. Koi
Nobori are no exception to
the rule, and around mid-April
onwards you can hear thesong being played in manydifferent places, from town
-5-

streets to supermarkets.
A short song of only fourlines in length, the lyrics are as
follows:ܴਠѼѾ৸и̛঩ѢѰѾോсиఉ঩ѣ̛о࿙щ҇சщи྄঩ѣ̛ત࢝൥ნ༬ёкџ̛۱ићѿ
Koi Nobori fly higer than therooftops, the large black carp
is the father, the small red carp
are children, enjoy swimmingin the sky.
If you get the chance, why
not try and see if you canfind any koi nobori in yourlocal area! Take a snap, write
down the location in theprefecture and send it on in toawalife@gmail.com !

staff introductionss april comes and goesfor another year, once
again TOPIA welcomesnew members to its
staff. Here is our annual pageof staff introductions.

aNoriko Osaka
Hello everyone, my name is
Noriko Osaka. I'll be working
as a trainee here at TOPIA fora year, starting this April. I likepilates and flamenco. Pleasecome by TOPIA for a chat - I'll
be waiting!
Chiho Miyagi
I'm the advisor in charge of
foreign residents so if you
have any questions about life
in Japan, please feel free tocome talk to me.
Kawakami Toshiyuki
Hello, I'm the director of
T O P I A . T h i s s p r i n g M r.
Noguchi left us to go workat a local Elementary School,
and Ms. Osaka joined us
from Tokushima Chuo HighS c h o o l . We ' l l h a v e s o m eadjustments to make with our

submitted
awalife@gmail.com

staff changes, but I have thefeeling this is going to be agood year.
Yukie Matsumura
A poem, inspired by a present
I got from China: "Always witha peaceful heart, and a lucky
life!" That's what I'll use formy motto for this year's work.
Fumie Murasawa
One year passes by so quickly!
This year I will be in chargeof TOPIA's Japanese lessons
and the volunteer training
program. I'm looking forward
to chatting with you all!
Akira Harada
I've been at TOPIA foreight years now. Lately, mywork has been shifting tomanagement of the internal
workings of the organisation,
so I have less and less
opportunity to talk withvisitors, but please, give mea holler! And if you have
any ideas or thoughts about
TOPIA, please tell me about
them!!

Hiroko Kimura
Hi everyone! Are you enjoying
your time in Tokushima? Is
everything OK? When I went
to America on study a lot of
people helped me out, andnow I'd like to think it's myturn to be the one to lend ahelping hand. If you ever have
any worries then don't hesitate
to ask me!
Wang Xuan
Hello everyone. I'm Wang
Xuan, from Guangzhou,
China. I'm a Coordinator forInternational Relations. If you
have anything you'd like to
ask me, please contact meanytime.
Isao Matsushita
Hello everyone. I work in the
passport center next to TOPIA,
and am now in my third year.
My work is in issuing passportsthat have come to the center,and I hope that through thisI will have the opportunity
to contribute to international
relations in Tokushima.

the staff at topia, left - from the left: noriko osaka, andrew dahms, chiho miyagi, toshiyuki kawakami, yukie matsumura,akira harada, hiroko kimura, and fumie murasawa, right - wang xuan and claire tanaka (absent: isao matsushita)-6-martin's manga corner
Title: Darren Shan ҲӞӥ̠ҩӕӥAuthor/Illustrator: Darren
Shan / Takahiro Arai
Publisher: Shonen Sunday
ComicsFirst published: Japan(2007)
No of volumes: 2
he Darren Shan saga is
one of the more curious
manga releases in recent
times as the series is acollaborative work between
manga author Takahiro Araiand Darren Shan, a successful
Irish writer of popularchildren's horror novels. Suchcollaborative work between
western authors and Japanesemanga authors, has been
traditionally somewhat rare,
however these days there
appears to be a number ofsuccessful children's books
that have been adapted. It's
likely that the Darren Shanseries appealed to its Japanesepublisher primarily becauseof its potential for success.
With sales in the millions, theDarren Shan books are popularwith teenagers all over theworld. This manga adaptation
is mainly aimed at capturing
the attention of the Japaneseyoungsters whose recreational
reading time is solely devoted
to manga comics. The writing
style employed by Shan isin many ways similar to theconventions that exist in the
manga world. In much thesame way that a manga story
will be available in several
volumes, The Darren Shan
Saga series is spread overtwelve books. Shan presents
the narrative in a way thatwill be familiar to readers oftmanga, with an emphasis on
short chapters used to keep
the action rolling forward at a
breakneck pace.
The first comic Darren
Shan: Cirque du Freak is set
in a small village in Ireland.
Darren is a normal soccer
obsessed teenager whose
world is changed forever when
he sets foot into the dark
world of the supernatural thatexists in the Cirque du Freak,a traveling freak show cum
circus which has set up shop
in an old mansion outside
Darren's home town. Being
curious teenagers, Darren andhis best friend Stephen go
to great efforts to sneak out
and see this Cirque du Freak,where they are amazed by
the performances of a hostof terrifying characters suchas the wolf-man, the snakeboy and the mysterious Larten
Crepsley and his giant spider,
Madame Octa. After the show
Darren witnesses a discussion
between Mr. Crepsley andStephen. Darren overhears
Stephen professes his desire
to join the Cirque du Freakand become a vampire. Laterthat night the spider-obsessed
Darren also manages to steal
Madame Octa's Spider so
he can keep her as a pet,an act that will have deadly
consequences for Darren andhis friends.
Shan's macabre vision of ayoung teenage vampire has
gained a great deal of attention
worldwide much in the same
way as that other supernaturalpreteen, Harry Potter. Like theHarry Potter series, the Darren
Shan Saga is popular among
young people as it provides
readers with a sophisticated,-7-

by martin o'brien
martinobrien2004@gmail.com

complicated setting and fills
it with characters embodying
many of the hopes and dreams
that youngsters usually have.
The need to standout and be
special but at the same time
be a normal school kid withlots of friends is somethingthat is evident throughout
the Darren Shan books. Arai's
adaptation doesn't distractfrom this in the slightest.
Arai depicts the charactersin the typical Moe drawing
style most commonly used
by Japanese manga authors.
This means that the characters
are a little too cute andfriendly for a horror series, but
their realization in this way
does obviously make it very
accessible for a mainstream
Japanese audience. Arai's
backdrops are excellent
however; he manages tocapture adequately some ofthe detail of the particularsetting of a small Irish town,
ye t n e ve r t h e l e s s t h e r e i s
nothing too culturally specificthat might confuse or alienate
the Japanese readership.
Originally serialized in weekly
comic Shonen Sunday, theseries is now available intwo compiled volumes ofmanga. These are Darren
Shan: Circus du Freak andDarren Shan: The Vampires
Assistant. As there are 12
books in the series it's likelythat more Darren Shan manga
adaptations will be released in
the months ahead. Hopefully
the success of this series will
pave the way for more worksof this nature, which combine
the talents of Japanese andWestern writers and comicbook artists.

letter from suketo hoikuen
ello everyone! This is agreat season for playing
outside, isn't it! Golden
We e k i s t h e p e r fe c ttime for parents and children
to spend time together out ofdoors. In Japan, May 5th isChildren's Day, a day wherecarp flags and warrior dolls are
displayed in the wishes thatthe children grow up strong
and healthy. We all hope that
our children can grow to bestrong like the carp swimmingin the blue sky. The National
Ministry of Culture, Science,and Education recommends
following these three points toraise a healthy child: 1. Early
to bed, 2. Early to rise, and 3.
Eat a good breakfast.
1. Growth hormones arehproduced while children sleep,
so it is important to go to bed
early.
2. It is sunlight which helps toreset the brain and body every
morning. By getting up early
and taking in the morning
light, the body's rhythm canbe regulated.
3. Breakfast helps to wake upa child's brain in the morning.
It's important to eat a good
breakfast in order to play welland learn well.

shin-mai mama nikki
finally made the leapand got the childrearing
accessory that seems
ubiquitous to every familyin Japan - the bicycle-mounted
child carrier. Now I have toride my bike bow-legged tomake room for the child seatclamped to my handlebars.
Sofie likes it most of thetime, but it is scary trying toride when she has made up
her mind that she wants todisembark NOW, twisting andsquirming in the seat.
Now that we are free totravel further afield without theassistance of an automobile, I
have had to learn an importantlesson about naptime. Last
weekend I tried to take Sofie
along to all my favourite shops
and it was going fine until we
hit 1:30 or so, and then she

iwent into core meltdown andwe had to take a little tantrum
break in the greenhouse of
the local gardening center. As
if my neighbours didn't noticeme enough already, now they
all know for sure I am a crazy
fo r e i g n w o m a n w h o c a n ' tcontrol her child. Well, since
my newly implemented policyof being at home for naptime
between the hours of 1:00 and
3:00, the weekend shopping
has gone a lot more smoothly.
I had the unpleasantexperience the other day of
having to select three of myfellow daycare moms for PTA
committee duty. The namesof all the kids in the class arelisted on a ballot and eachfamily chooses three kids
whose parents they would
like to elect for the PTA and-8-

by kazue inoue
suketo hoikuen staff

I hope this information is
helpful to you.
This month's toy: Spinning
Cat: Make two round cutouts
of a cat's head, and tapethem together, putting achopstick between the two
sheets and stabilising it with
tape.
Draw a cat's eyes and noseon one side, and the mouthon the other. Spin the paperwith your hands to animate
the face.

by claire tanaka
clairish@gmail.com

puts the anonymous ballot
in a box. It's not a matter ofvolunteering - it's more likea conscription system. I'mhoping I will escape thanks
to Sofie's name being written
in hard-to-read kanji - people
tend to think it says "Saki" - somaybe I won't be singled out
out of sheer virtue of being
hard to identify on the list.
Our kanji last name helps to
camoflage me even further.
We went up to the Doitsukan recently to check out their
Easter celebration and I wasreally most interested in thelittle play area up the hill there is a tree fort, a homemade basket swing, and an
old van to play in! It reminds
me of the kind of rough andtumble places I used to play inwhen I was a kid.

japanese lessonby isao nishitanin conversation, the expression ̻ьѷўићэп! is used to seek confirmation from anotherperson about the speaker’s opinion, or to ask for agreement. In this usage, the end of thesentence always carries a rising intonation.

iMale usually use this expression as follows. उѓѕѣఁ໚ౠьѷўип̝жўѓѓѕఁ໚ౠьѷўи / ьѷўиѢ
Female!use this as follows.
These expressions are often used among young people as an colloquial alternative to ̻ћѣўићэп̝For example, жўѓѓѕѣఁ໚ౠћѣўићэп /If this expression is used when a speaker talks tohimself, this means it is his guesswork.̛ And ̻пўж
̈́Maleͅ ̻ п ы ѽ̈́Femaleͅwould be added. In thiscase intonation after ̻пўж̠̻пыѽ usually goes
flat. ΂̛But some people make it go down.
ླྀѽѣఁ໚ౠьѷўи пўж΂̠ླྀѽѣఁ໚ౠьѷўипыѽ΂̝
અโ : жҀѣโඨщ҇ьѷўипўж̝΂̛ ̛̛̛
He would be Mr. Tanaka. I presume.
ᆷცщ̜҇жѢగโඨщ҇ьѷўићэп̝ Say, Suzuki, Isn’t he Mr. Tanaka?
ᆷც : โඨщ҇ѣѶкѕѻїќ༒р৸и҇ьѷўипыѽ̝΂̛
Well, I think Tanaka is a little bit taller?
౸โщ҇ьѷўићэп̝Isn’t he Ishida? What do you think?
In case this expression is used with falling intonation ̻ ь ѷ ў и ћ э п . Meaning changes toaffirmative expression. Connotations also are changed to criticizing others, forcing your opinion toothers and your surprise. Sometimes ̻ћэп̛is abbreviated.
ииѢѼ̛̜શрошѿїњॸїѓьѷўи↑ (Female)ииѼ̛̛̜ၿрошѿїњॸїѓьѷўип̝↓̈́MaleͅDon’t worry; I said I will pay for you. I meant it.
Ѳж̜чѢढഷใᇭ̜ҸӞӅрॣѽҀѿьѷўиѢ̝↑̛̈́Femaleͅк̶̜҃чѢढഷใᇭ̜ҸӞӅрॣѽҀѿьѷўип̝↓̈́Maleͅ
What? We can watch T.V. on this mobile phone? Cool!
Let's practice: are the next questions... ؋ Asking agreement/confirmation̛، Guesswork , or ‫؍‬
criticizing/pushing your opinion? Are they female or male (F/M)? And is the accent rising ↑̛flat΂̛or dropping ↓ ? Mark each with a circle.
1, અโ̡ ਗ๗Ѣࣞᄹ໘ખࣄржѿ҇ьѷўипўж!!!!Your answer̈́؋ ، ‫̜؍‬M F̜↑ ΂↓ͅћѶ‫މ‬ଚ฿їњуҀѿ҇ьѷўипыѽ Your answer̈́؋!،!‫̜؍‬2, ܰჾ̡жѽёк̜M F̜
↑ ΂ ↓ͅ
3, ܰჾ̡ѡм̜ᆷცщ҇ѣଚ฿їњуҀѿ҇ьѷўи Your answer̈́؋ ، ‫̜؍‬M F̜↑ ΂ ↓ͅ
4: અโ̡ўж҇є̜чѢ໘ખࣄѣўиьѷўип!!!!!!Your answer̈́؋ ، ‫̜؍‬M F̜↑ ΂ ↓ͅAnswers

ϧ; ،!N!΂ -!!!Ϩ; ،!G!΂ 0 ↓ ,-9-ϩ; ؋!G! ↑ ,Ϫ; ‫!؍‬N ↓memoranda
Speech Contest໘ႎতုᇪോ‫ݵ‬Participants Wanted!

୞௘଄ျ୆̤

2007 Tokushima Prefectureဓౖ 2: ໩๗‫ޒ‬ਇగџѼѿຝ๥ॡ໘ႎতုᇪോ‫ݵ‬Japanese Speech Contest For Foreign Residents
Around 10-12 contestants will be selected basedon country of origin, ensuring that a wide variety of୿ᆬ௽ਮџњ 21.23 ჎ธ๗҆ರৣыѲэ̝ਇੑ௱ၟпџэѿѓѵϧпਇϧ჎ธ๗̝‫ܤ‬ျ଄рണиਇџјињѣϨ჎ธ

nationalities 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 2: ໩ 8 ै 27 ໘̈́ै̠୙໘ͅ
Date:

Monday, 16 July, 2007 (a public holiday)!

13:30-16:30
Place: Tokushima-ken Kyodo Bunka Kaikan
for: Foreign Residents of Tokushima

24;41.27;41௘̛୸̡ຝ๥ॡࢻ๘ဌ݁‫!ࠛݵ‬!

ഴ̛௉̡ຝ๥ॡ੓୉Ѣ‫ޒ‬ਇగ!

!

Ҹ̶Ӑ̡ਇੑᅫ‫̠ݶ‬ਇੑপᅺ̠ࢤᆛџ࠘эѿѶѢўѽ૛ᄡ!!

Theme: A topic of your choice relating to Japan,
international affairs, international cultural exchange, andૐ̡̛ࠖϭက‫ڒ‬຾!!

cooperation.

ఇ̛ਔ̡̈́੖ͅຝ๥ॡਇੑপᅺࢤ‫ݵ‬Ѳћ̝

Time limit: under 7 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!୸ชѢఇਔᄿસ҆оํыыѲэ̝!

Applications: 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

Joruri & Gagaku
Performance௠ᆨᅬͯၠ޼
র܏

See a display of traditional puppetry and Japanese gagaku٬༂Ѣగछ௠ᆨᅬќၠ޼ѢҹҕҫӉӞҖр஍۠෎Ѣਗࡺ

music in an outdoor theatre located at Katsuura-cho'sఊଂࢩ຾џжѿ໺ഠ࿧ൊћ‫ލ‬пҀѲэ̝

Imamiya Shrine.
When:

໘ૐ̡! 6 ै 2: ໘May 19!

Starts at 2pm
Where:
Cost:

25̡11 ̻The Katsuura-cho Imayama Noson Butai

௘୸̡! ஍۠෎ਗࡺఊଂࢩ຾џжѿ໺ഠ࿧ൊ(Will not be cancelled in the event of light rain.)!

Entry is free.

ࣞ޽̡! Ⴥᆍ

Contact: Call the Hozon-kai Jimukyoku at 0885-42-3275

̈́஛‫ूۑ‬৪ͅჴ৽я̡!ေജ‫ૈݵ‬ჃࣅѲћใᇭ 1996.53.4386-10-memoranda
Doitsu-kan EventsһҖҶࠛҖӋӥҺ

German Wine FestivalһҖҶѢӡҖӥੋѾ

Come along to see a concert and a fair of various Germanҥӥҧ̶Һ̜һҖҶӡҖӥӇҙҔ̶ўѝ̜޼ыщиїѥ

wines!

и̤

When: Friday, May 4 to Saturday May 5

໘ૐ̡! 6 ै 5 ໘̻̈́ࣞͅ 6 ै 6 ໘̈́๘ͅ10:00 - 16:00
Cost:

!

Free!

!

21;11.27;11

ࣞ޽̡! Ⴥᆍ̤
For more details and information on the Doitsu-kan, takea look at the Doitsu-kan homepage for more seasonalһҖҶࠛѢҘҙӈҧҖҺџѶࡆಉѢҖӋӥҺ௜၇ўѝ

event information and other details, here at: http://www.
city.naruto.tokushima.jp/germanhouse/index.html

hfsnboipvtf0joefy/iunm

Awa Connection
Japanese Classesж҃ҥҿҡҩәӥ
໘ႎতࢱ૬

When: Every Wednesday໘ૐ̡ႚୃయᄹ໘

1)ϧͅ୷ࢇҡӛҫ̈́ϫ̡ϦϦ̻Ϭ̡ϦϦͅ

Beginner’s Class (5:00-6:00 p.m.)
Approx. JLPT Level 3-4, J-Test Level E-F

2)Advanced Beginner – Intermediate Class (6:45 –8:15 p.m.)
Approx. JLPT Level 2-3, J-Test Level A-DржѾѲэ̡iuuq;00xxx/djuz/obsvup/uplvtijnb/kq0̛̛̛໘ႎত໷ᆛી५Ϫ̻ϩࢇธ๗̠Ѐ͗ uftu!F.G ӞӋӝϨͅ୷ࢇঝབ̻ඨࢇҡӛҫ̈́Ϭ̡Ϫϫ̻Ϯ̡ϧϫ̛̛ͅ໘ႎত໷ᆛી५ϩ̻Ϩࢇธ๗̠K.uftưB.E ӞӋӝ̛̛̛̛̛̛̛̛̛̛̛̛

Where: Tokushima Communication Center for People with௘୸̡ຝ๥ॡᅵ௏‫ޔ‬଄পᅺӉӛҨ̛ϩϼ̛ж҃ҥҿҡҩәDisabilities (“The Plaza”)ӥૈჃ୸ຝ๥દ۪ӂҫ ) ୩ࠄӂҫ * ๥โ౸ࢲ৪с̛িࣄ

3F, Awa Connection Office৸৑ಶ݀ଆЀЈટਇ̛ആႎ‫̛݀۾‬ଆ๊̛ံϧϫက̛

Take the City Loop Bus (Shimada Ishibashibound), get off at Kougyou Koukou-mae
JR Kuramoto station, walk 15 min.
Fee:2000 yen for 4 lessons**Now taking reservations for the J-Test (June 10) –઄݇ྉ̡̛Ϫ‫̜ݷ‬Ϩ಑‫܅‬ʹʹЀ͗ЊϻЉЊ̛ఇыਔѳଥ࿋ඨ̛ϬैϧϦ໘ᄫช̈́ఇ
ਔนಂϫैϧϫ໘ͅdeadline: May 15ʹைыуѣ̛ж҃ҥҿҡҩәӥૈჃࣅѲћMore Info: Awa Connection Office̛199.744.3353!)GBY*

088-633-2242 (FAX)

̛iuuq;00xxx/hfpdjujft/kq0bxbdpoofdujpo3116

HP:www.geocities.jp/awaconnection2005

̛̈́f.nbjm*̛bxbdpoofdujpo3116Azbipp/dp/kq̛

e-mail: awaconnection2005@yahoo.co.jp-11-

memoranda
Rose Festival in
Aizumiᅣ୉෎ѢୣѢӂӛੋѾ

Come for a display of over 1,000 roses from more thanᅣ୉෎Ѣӂӛ‫܆‬ћѣ 381 ଟᆬѢ 2-111 ߖѢӂӛр੝сঐ

270 varieties in this festival, as well as markets, sale ofѾѲэ̝ёѢഢ̜ӂӛѢྺცѢས༞Ѹຟઌ࿀๷Ѣས༞ўrose seedlings and more.

ѝѶ৪҃ҀѲэ̝

When: Early to mid-May

໘ૐ̡! 6 ै௑୪пѽඨ୪

9:00-17:00
Where: The Rose garden in Aizumi-cho,

!

Cost:

௘୸̡! ᅣ୉෎ӂӛ‫܆‬Free.

:;11.28;11

ࣞ޽̡! Ⴥᆍ

Contact:Call the Aizumi-cho Construction and Industry
Division at 088-637-3120ჴ৽я̡!ᅣ୉෎॔ಇઌࣄ‫ݡ‬Ѳћใᇭ 199.748.4231

Living inTokushimaຝ๥ॡౠߊ௜၇
ҘҚӈҧҖҺ

In need of information for daily activities? Come and໘௛ౠߊџоињ௜၇҆о൷ыћэп̝ѐѦ̜ຝ๥ॡрtake a look at the Living in Tokushima website hosted

ӍҫҺыњиѿ͐Living in Tokushima͑ౠߊ௜၇ҘҚӈҧby Tokushima Prefecture, home to information such as
earthquake and typhoon-related messages, tv and movie
guides, events, contact numbers and more.

ҖҺ҆шᅥуєщи̤чѢҘҚӈҧҖҺпѽඑఖ̠ൊ࿭
џјињѢ௜၇̜ҸӞӅѸۭ‫ݬ‬ѢҞҖһ̜ҖӋӥҺ௜၇ўѝрѢ௜၇џҔҡҭҫћсѲэ̝Ӄүҥӥ̠ढഷཟᆊ

Available from computer and mobile phone alike!

ၑณ࢝ыњиѲэ̤

Living in Tokushima Computer WebsiteӃүҥӥҧҖҺ

http://our.pref.tokushima.jp/e_living/index.php

http://our.pref.tokushima.jp/e_living/index.php

Living in Tokushima Mobile WebsiteढഷҧҖҺ

http://our.pref.tokushima.jp/e_living/m

http://our.pref.tokushima.jp/e_living/m

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-