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

kair 2007 - results"TOPPY"
December 2007 No. 210
by andrew dahms
until_eternity@hotmail.com

he coming of November
once again signalled theend of the Kamiyama Artist
in Residence for anotheryear. Let's see how it went!

t

Uchiumi Satoshi
Uchiumi's work on this year's
residency was realised asa large-scale oil on canvas
painting located in the former
theatre of Yoriiza in the centerof Kamiyama. Comprised oftwelve large canvased boards,
the painting was painstakingly
created piece by piece before
being assembled for display.
The scale of the work itself isimpressive, but it is the small
details that draws the viewers
attention. The painting is
made solely with dabs of paintin varying different shades ofcolour, all patched together
and melded into one another.
However, it is not only theend product of Uchiumi's workthat is the . As was mentionedin Uchiumi's introduction in
the September Awa Life,uchiumi satoshi's grand painting in the former theatre ofyoriiza in central kamiyama

Uchiumi feels that the beautyof an artwork is found not onlyin the finished product, but
in the process, the tools thatare used to create it and thematerial with which it is made.
In this sense, as well, thiswork of art is a great success.
Making use of its surroundings,
the painting dominates thelarge space of the former
theatre. This grand sense ofpresence, combined with theinteraction and communicationof the local people throughout
the construction of thepainting, truly give it successas a living work of art, almost
perfectly situated in the oldtheatre. No matter how many

kair 2007 - results ... con't on page 3

inside awa life this monthkair 2007 - results - 1,3 ... the japanese blues - 4,5
santa on the river - 5 ... niku jaga, awa life needs you - 6
martin's manga corner - 7 becky's awa ben, letter from suketo hoikuen - 8
japanese lesson - 9 ... memoranda - 10, 11, 12

awa life

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 & Mario Dammann
Contributors This Month:
Rebecca Closner, Andrew Dahms, Mario
Dammann, Kazue Inoue, Fumiko Kanematsu,
Junko Kimura, Martin O'Brien 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.htm

from the editors
ear awa life readers, this issue brings us
to the end of 2007 and yet another year.
It has been a busy one for Tokushima,
with the national cultural festival, filmingof yet another movie (Awa Dance) and thistime even a drama as well, based on the movie
Bizan. The summer was cool and then suddenly
hot, and autumn was warm and then suddenly
very cold. Well, to wrap things up this year, wehave our traditional review of the Kamiyama
Artist in Residence Program, a look indigo
dyeing and a recipe for nikujaga as well.
Starting this month, Rebecca Closner of Aizumi
will be starting a monthly awa ben section
here in Awa Life! Take a look on page eight tosee more, and I hope you have a wonderful
Christmas.
Cheers, Andrew

oh, samui! This is what I say nowadays.
I heard the wind in Tokushima is verystrong, but I didn't believe it. Until today.
Just sitting on my bicycle, heading forwork, but can't go in my pace. The wind is
too strong and I pull myself together "I'mstronger than the wind!" and finally arrive
totally exhausted at my workplace. Hello andGuten Tag, welcome back to Awa Life. This is
the last issue of 2007. We are looking forward
to next years exchange between Germany andTokushima. What impact may it have to Awa
Life? Have a nice year-end, see you again in2008 and last but not least, don't forget mymonthly slogan: We have to save the planet!

doDanke! Mariosnow covers the tracks on a cold winter morning in tokushimna (photo by junko kimura)-2-

kair 2007 - results ... con't from page 1

on the left - bell's installation work in josei koko, and right - a kimono decorated by selma gurbuz as one of her artworks
during the residence

times you view the work up
close, you always discoversomething new. I guarantee it!
Vaughn BellInstallation artist Vaughn Bell's
artworks made use of rice
stalks gathered from within
the town and made into large,
flowing rivers.
The first of these is located in
Kamiyama's Josei Senior HighSchool, occupying the entire
gym area. The windows havebeen covered up, the floor
covered with a large black
cloth sheet (stitched together
by hand) and throughout thegym the long river snakes
its way from one end to theother. At either end are large
waterfalls, the rice stalks held
up on the walls and theirshape imitating the rush ofwater over rocks. Meanwhilein the midst of this is a small
bridge, and a pool near theentrance showing a videoof running water while thesounds play gently throughspeakers in the hall. This
combination of the traditional
Japanese countryside andmodern technology cometogether extremely well,and the space occupied by
the artwork is also a veryrelaxing place to sit down.
Much like Uchiumi's work, thisinstallation is best appreciatedthe more time you see it.
The second installation issimilar in design, using thesame grass stalks to createa river. However, this time itwas created outdoors in themountains of Kamiyama. The
serene landscape and the calm
form of the river lies in stark
contrast with the hours of hard
work taken in bringing therice stalks to the mountain,
clearing away the brush to
make a clear path, and laying
everything down just right.
However, the efforts have paid
off well and the artwork is abeautiful contrast of implied
movement and its steady, calm
environment.
Selma Gurbuz
Turkish artist Selma Gurbuz
created a variety of smallerscale artworks during theresidence, with a strong touchof local Kamiyama and Japanin each of them. Despite being
forced to return home during
the program due to health-3-

reasons, some of Gurbuz's
work was displayed at a local
shrine, including several
paperwork pieces showing
dragonflys, and a decorated
kimono.
In Conclusion
As usual, however, it wasn't
just the three invited artists
who were hard at work
during the residence. Local
townspeople came together
to work on a variety of artistic
projects such as decoratinga street in the town withcolourfuly designed cutrains
over their doorways, photo
exhibitions and more. And as a
new touch this year, you could
even see a slideshow of thethree artists' work in progress,
as well as a show on the
Awa Puppet Theatre in a hall
nearby Uchumi's work.
Overall, the schedule for thisyear's KAIR was very tight,
but the artists performed very
well and came out with someoutstanding results. Onceagain the collection of artwork
in Kamiyama has grown thatlittle bit larger, and many more
visitors there are left with newand lasting memories.

the japanese blues
hen I first saw them
I thought someone
had taken a hammer
to that poor man's
h a n d s . T h a t wa s b a c k i nAugust when I had justarrived and didn't know any
better. About a week laterI realized it wasn't just thevolunteer teacher at my school
but the people at the grocery
store, the clerk at Circle K anda whole bunch of little kids
around town. Maybe there's
something in the local dietthat makes their fingernails so
purple, I thought to myself.
That was back in September
when I hadn't yet realizedthat the 'ai' in Aizumi means'indigo'. Now I know that dark
purple fingernails are just thetell-tell sign that someone isa die hard Japanese indigo
fanatic!
I had my first run inwith Japanese indigo (orAwa Ai as it is sometimes
affectionately called) backin August when I had justarrived and was going school
to school introducing myself
to my new co-workers. "Comewith us! There's something
you might find interesting,"
they said. So up I went four
flights of stairs to the home
economics room where about
40 or more pots of water werelying around steaming despite
the heat and humidity. If I
were a comic book characterthe bubble above my head
would have read "???". They
then took me to the workroom where 70 fifth graders
were as surprised to see me
as I was to see them. Isn't itsummer vacation, I wondered.
Maybe I'm supposed to doby rebecca closnerrebecca.closner@gmail.com

w

an indigo dyed handkerchief made at the ai love festival in aizumi
on november 4 2007

my self introduction now.
As I was searching my brain
to come up with interesting
facts about myself and myhometown a kind looking old
man burst through the sliding
doors. "Sorry to have kept you
all waiting." He was carrying
a big bag of what looked liked
dry tea leaves. "So who wants
to dump the sukumo into
the ai game?," he asked theless perplexed looking fifth
graders. That's when I noticed
the large vat off in one cornerof the room. Maybe we're
about to embark on somekind of mass tea ceremony, I
mused. Thinking, as the boys
dumped the sukumo into
the vat that it didn't smell likeanything I wanted to drink.
The fifth graders stirred andstirred the now brackish liquid
until at last the teacher added
some sake. "Now we’ll let
it rest for about 100 days,"
he said as the fifth gradersdispersed.
It was only my first week
in Aizumi and I had alreadymade indigo dye, even if I

didn't realize it. Back thenI couldn't really appreciate
what was going on but now
I understand a little better.
There are a variety of indigo
dyes in the world. Awa Ai
is a natural dye that comesfrom the leaves of the Tadeai
plant (Persicaria tinctoria).
T h e p l a n t i t s e l f i s ra t h e rplain with a tall narrow stem,
relatively small leaves andtiny white or pinkish flowers.
When the Tadeai plants are
harvested, the leaves are
removed from the rest of theplant and set to ferment for
about three months. Whenthe fermentation process iscomplete the Tadeai leaves
resemble ashes or dark driedtea leaves and smell like really,
really strong poppori. This is
the key ingredient for indigo
dyeing and is called sukumo
in Japanese. Sukumo alone
cannot produce indigo dye.
Instead its mixed with lye,
lime and a glucose agent(often sake) in a vat calledan ai game and left to sit for
about 100 days. When the dye

the japanese blues ... con't on page 5-4-

santa on the river
oes your idea of a goodt i m e i nvo l ve p e o p l edressed in santa suits
throwing presents froma moving boat to catch rugbyl i ke w h i l e d i v i n g t h ro u g hcrowds of eager people. Yes?
Well, you're in luck! Every
year on the Shinmachi River in
downtown Tokushima City is
the warm and fuzzy Christmas
event 'Santa comes from theRiver'. While most Christmassy
events tend to capture quaintimages of families gatheringround the Christmas tree withsmiling faces, however, this isdefinitely not one of those.
The premise of the event isvery simple - Santa arrives on
the Shinmachi River to handout presents to the families
and young boys and girls along
the riverside as he travels
about by boat. In theory, very
touching. In fact, the boats
are very, very fast. And what'smore, they're a little ways
out from the edge of water
due to the embankments andthe shallow water. What thismeans for the audience isthat you need to keep a quick
pace along the water's edge,
and have a good catch aswell when the presents start
flying! Some of them evenfall short and land back in theby andrew dahms
until_eternity@hotmail.comdthe santas out on the shinmachi river, preparing to throw presents to the crowds
waiting by the riverside

river to be collected by a boat
following up at the rear.
Santa's Watery Sleigh
For those of you who havebeen on the free river boat
cruise around hyotan-jima in
Tokushima, the boats may
seem very familiar. Indeed,
they are one and the same,but dressed up with more
lights and razzle dazzle thanyour average Christmas tree!
On board, four Santas clamber
about and make their way
around the Shinmachi river
several times playing carols
across the boat's speakers tomake their presence known to
all about.

Presents for Everyone
The presents themselves arevery handy, and contain arandom selection of everyday
goods you can use about thehouse. Overall a total of over
3,000 of them are given out
over the three evenings inwhich santa comes to town.
While it may not be youraverage Christmas time event,
it is a good lot of fun andyou can come out with some
useful goods as well. Even if
you choose not to risk your lifein the pursuit of free goodies,
it sure does make for a grandsight, so why not get yourfriends together and comealong to take a look!

the japanese blues ... con't from page 4
is ready to be used a frothy
circular shape appears on thesurface. This is sometimes
referred to as the 'indigo
flower'. Japanese indigo
produces a beautiful deep blue
color often with green, brownor even purple undertones
d e p e n d i n g o n t h e d ye i n gtechnique.
Indigo has been a mainstay

of Tokushima's local culture
since at least 1585. In modern
times its popularity dwindled
due to the availability andcomparatively low cost ofsynthetic dyes. Due to artisans,craftspeople and designers
recent interest in Awa Ai, it
has recently experiences asurge in popularity. You cane x p e r i e n c e I n d i g o d ye i n g-5-for yourself at Aizumi-cho's
historical museum. Entrance
costs 300 yen and the hours
are 9:00 until 16:00 every
day except Tuesday. A map
and more information can befound at this website: http://

www.town.aizumi.tokushima.
jp/kanko/ainoyakata/index.
html

nikujaga
efore I came to Japan,
I was a vegetarian.
Back in Canada, it
is very easy to be avegetarian because there area lot of other vegetarians,
so restaurants and storesare used to catering to theneeds of people who don't
eat meat. When I moved toJapan I found it very hard to
eat out at restaurants with myfriends without eating meat.
Especially when we had nabe,
where all the food is cooked
together in one pot, or when
we went to eat at an izakaya,
where all the food is shared
between everyone and at theend everyone splits the bill
evenly. Once I gave up on
being vegetarian, it was a loteasier to enjoy nights out with
my friends. For a long time, I
would only eat meat when I
was out with my friends, but
I didn't buy it to eat at home.
Now that I am married andhave a child, I find myself
cooking meat for my family
quite often. One dish that
I cook that everyone likes,
is an old Japanese standby,
nikujaga. Like the nameimplies, this dish is mademostly of meat and potatoes.
Depending on the region in
Japan, this dish is traditionallymade with either beef or pork.
I make mine with beef.

bby claire tanaka
clairish@gmail.com

Nikujaga- 100g thinly sliced beef (Ibuy the ugly little packagesof trimmings. Don't get thecheapest kind because it won't
taste as good, but there is noneed to buy a fancy packageof expensive sukiyaki beef)- 2 potatoes (the round kind,
not the oblong kind)- 1 carrot- 1/2 onion- shoyu- mirin- soup stock powder (or real
homemade soup stock if you
are ambitious!)- sesame oil
There are other things you can
add too, like sweet potatoes,
ito konyaku, snow peas,
mushrooms, and so on. Once
you get the hang of the basics,
you can make it your own.
First, heat the oil in a deepsaucepan and lightly sautethe beef. Once it is about
half cooked, you can add thevegetables. The vegetables
should be chopped into
relatively large chunks. You
can peel the potatoes or leave
the skin on - it's up to you.
Once the vegetables havecooked a bit, add the soup
stock or stock powder andw a t e r. D o n ' t a d d a t o n just enough to cover thevegetables. Add about 2 or

awa life needs you!

three tablespoons of mirin
at this time and let it cook on
medium heat for about ten
minutes. If you want to get
fancy, you can put an otoshibuta on top. This is a special
lid which goes directly on topof the food. Sometimes you
can find wooden ones for saleat the supermarket, or you
can just make one yourself
out of tinfoil. The idea is tolet the liquid evaporate while
keeping the exposed foodmoist.
After you have simmered thefood for about ten minutes,
add about 2-3 tablespoons of
shoyu and cook for anotherfive minutes or so. Ideally,
the liquid will have mostly
evaporated and you will havea relatively dry dish at theend, but if you still have a lotof liquid at the end, don't feel
too bad. It still tastes fine.
Most people add snowpeas
right at the end so they are
just lightly cooked and retain
their bright green colour andjuicy crunch. Add them if you
have them. When I makenikujaga, I only season itwith mirin, shoyu, and soup
stock. However, many people
also like to add sugar to therecipe. This is fine, but I think
it is healthier without thesugar and it still tastes great
to me.
Mario Dammann
awalife@gmail.com

ry it now! New Year, newgood luck! This is what
we Germans say if we geta new chance in a newyear. You always wanted tocontribute in Awa Life? We
are looking for a good article
written by you! Tell us about
your experience in Tokushima,

your life, your friends, favorite
spots, evenings, etc. And witha little luck, your article stands
here next month! So give ita try, encourage yourself andparticipate in this newsletter!
The theme is Awa Life is Our
Life! What are you waitingfor? Send it out now!

t-6-

martin's manga corner
Title:
Manga-ka:
Publisher:First published:
No of volumes:

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure( ҪәҪәѢ࠱Ⴟўၳ३ )Hirohiko Araki
Shueisha(1987)
Eighty-one (82nd due in 2009)

oJo's Bizarre Adventure byHirohiko Araki is a sevenpart series based on theadventures of a numberof different characters whose
lives are connected by a seriesof exciting, unfathomable
events. JoJo's Bizarre
Adventure first debuted in
Weekly Shonen Jump, theinfluence of the series can beseen not just in anime andmanga but in other aspectsof popular culture such asvideo games, Street Fighter II
being a very obvious example.
Araki's visually arresting styleof drawing employing garish
synthetic colours and violent
muscular characters never fails
to catch the eye.
In the first series Phantom
Blood, the quiet, dull existenceof Jonathan Joestar or JoJo isinterrupted by the arrival ofa boy known as Dio Brando
who has been adopted by
his wealthy father Jorge. It
soon becomes apparent that
JoJo and Dio are to become
the bitterest of rivals. The
sophisticated and cunning Diosoon gains the confidence
and trust of JoJo's father andhatches a plot to slowly poison
him and inherit his wealth.
However, it isn't long until JoJo
uncovers his plans.
In trying to remove JoJo
from the equation, Dio turns tothe supernatural. He acquires
a cursed mask that transforms
its user permanently into avampire. A showdown occurs

jin their fathers mansion and
JoJo tries to burn down thehouse, however Dio escapeswith JoJo in hot pursuit. In his
trek across Europe after Dio,
he meets a man called William
Ze p p e l i w h o t e a c h e s h i mabout a strange power known
as the ripple. The ripple allows
its user to focus body energy
into other types of energy todeadly effect.
The hero of the second series
is Jonathan Joestar's grandson
Joseph. The new JoJo ispitted, like his grandfather,against vampire-type creatures
but he also happens uponmysterious type of ancient
entities that exist throughout
the world. These entities havebeen entombed in stone pillars
for thousands of years. Once
freed, it is revealed that they
are Vampire gods known as
Wham, ACDC, and Cars, who
are searching for the Red
Stone of Asia, a mysterious
precious stone that will givethem unimaginable powers.
The third series, Stardust
Crusaders, is the most popularof the series due to the focusof the plot on the various'stands' that the protagonist
and his numerous opponents
use as they battle each other.
The stands are amazing
powers that are in some
way unique to their owner.
For example; the new JoJo's
stand, named Star Platinum,
allows him great precision andstrength in his attacks. The-7-

martin o'brien
martinobrien2004@gmail.com

stand of his opponent Avdol,
which is known as Magician'sRed, allows him to control fire.
The contrivance of 'stands'
was pioneered in JoJo's Bizarre
Adventure, and is now acommon feature in many video
games and cartoons.
The forth series, Diamondis Unbreakable, focuses on
Josuke Higashikata, theillegitimate son of Joseph
Joestar. Joseph Joestar also
m a ke s a n a p p e a ra n c e . In
Diamond is Unbreakable, welearn more about the stands
and the existence of an ancientartifact that causes standability to develop along witha certain person's personality,
and thus is passed on througha family blood line. In otherwords, the special powers thethe various JoJo's possess arehereditary in nature.
The fifth installment sees
JoJo getting knee deep in theaffairs of the Italian Mafia. In
the sixth edition Stone Ocean,
we are introduced to the firstfemale JoJo, Jolyne Kujo, andin the final series stars Gyro
Zeppel and Johnny Joestar,its plot is similar to the film
Cannonball Run.
While the JoJo's Bizarre
Adventure series is ane x t r e m e l y i n n ova t i ve a n d
influential series, it on theother hand uses some very
obvious pop culture referencesthat are evident throughout
the entire series, with acountless number character
personalities being based on
combinations of real life rockand movie stars. JoJo's Bizarre
Adventure seems to suck out
pop culture, digest it and vomit
something out that never fails
to impress.

Becky's Awa-ben!
You may have noticed that many Japanese people take a great dealof pride in where they comefrom. Many people in Japan do not actually speak 'textbook Japanese' among their friends andin their everyday life. Japanese away from metropolitan areas often speak their local dialect.
In Tokushima, many people speak 'Awa-ben'. Using Awa-ben can be a fun way to delight thepeople in your life!
Ккшќ Etoburi
Etoburi is the equivalent of ohisashiburi instandard Japanese. It means something like“its been a long time”.

๝ࡷѳџਇџࡀѿх̠̠̠҇Fuyuyasumi ni kuni ni kaeru ken... (verb)
Because I'm going to return to my country in
winter vacation...

мќѪѾћэѡ̤
Etoburi desu ne!
Long time, no see!

ߨих̠̠̠҇Samui ken... (i-adj)
Because its cold...

мќѪѾџླྀќ‫ݵ‬їѓ̝
Etoburi ni kare to atta.
I met up with him for the first time in a longtime.

ҚӅриѸѸх̠̠̠҇
Ebi ga iya ya-ken... (na-adj)
Because shrimp are disgusting...

̢і̣Уѥ (ya) ken
Ken is the rough equivalent of kara instandard Japanese. Ken can be attached tothe dictionary form of verbs andi-adjectives. Ya-ken is attached to adverbs
and nouns.

શѣଓ଄Ѹх̠̠̠҇
Watashi wa wakamono ya-ken... (noun)
Because I'm a young person...

letter from suketo hoikuen
ecently the temperature
has come down at once
and it has become very
easy to fall ill. But even
if you wash your hands andgargle after playing outside
and are taking the proper
precautions, you can stillcatch cold. This month I will
introduce what you have tocare about at meals in timesof a cold.

r

Make sure you take enoughliquids. I prefer sports drinks
o r j u i c e fo r m i n e ra l s a n dvitamins.

rice porridge (soft rice),
tofu, eggs, udon, white fishm e a t e t c . B u t m a ke s u r e
to eat hot food to prevent
yourself from getting cold. You
should refrain from summer
vegetables like tomatoes,
eggplant and cucumber anddifferent seashells, because
they are good for cooling
down the body.
It is important to take lots ofvitamin c and protein when
you have a fever, because you
will likely feel very exhausted,and vitamin c helps to prevent

Eat food that is good foryour stomach’s digestion.
Don’t force yourself to eat,but rather take food that iseasy to digest. For example,-8-

by kazue inoue
suketo hoikuen staff

and recover from a cold.
Take care in good times andyou will stay vigorous throughthe cold winter.
This month’s toy: Maracas!
1: Cut a hole of approximately
1.5cm in the bottom of anempty milk pack and cut off
the four corners.
2: Draw a picture on thebottom (also on the back).
3: Stick two empty jelly caseswith the milk pack in the
middle with tape together (alsowith 1-3 acorns inside). Ready.

japanese lessonW

by fumiko kanematsu
jtmtoku-lesson@mbk.nifty.com

hat kind of words do you use when you express your opinion? How do you get yourpoint across, especially to a person whose opinion differs greatly from yours? In thismonth's Japanese Lesson we are going to look at ways of expressing your opinion
while paying respect to those of whom you talk to, even if they are very different.

Let’s эtake a lookќattheиfollowing
conversation:пиўпϷ̡୉Ѵўѽ̜๒‫ݵ‬ќโૻќѝѕѽриићэп̝
!
иўп
укс
ѳю
Ѫїп
Ѹэ
ϸ̡҃ѓыѣโૻѢၑриићэѡࣱ̝ࡂѶсҀиєы̜యѶоиыиы̜ёҀџ࿾݅Ѷ‫ڊ‬иы̝
ч
сѻкиу
п҇р
҃ѓы
ќпи
ѯк
оѶ
Ϸ̡ёкћэѡ̝ћѶ̜તѝѶѢࢱ‫ڱ‬Ѣчќ҆ৣмѿќ̜શѣ๒‫ݵ‬Ѣၑрииќ઩иѲэр̝
ч
х҇чк
п҇р
иўп
ѯк
оѶ
ϸ̡ёкпѶыҀѲя҇р̜ыпы̜તѝѶѢौ৅Ѣчќ҆ৣмѿќ̜โૻѢၑрииќ઩иѲ!
̛̛эѼ̝౗౐Would you prefer to live in the city or out in the countryside?
ౘ౐I prefer the countryside. The sky is clear, the water is clean and prices are low.
When expressing disagreement, Japanese usually soften its impact by first acknowledging that theother person’s opinion has some validity to it. The underlined expressions are often used.
Let’s take a look at some other expressions.
уѿѲ

п

ѲѼ

п

єи

ѓп

!
Ϸ̡ଆ҆༝кпѝкпგїѓхѝ̜ѸїѥѾ༝҃ўичќџыѓѼ̝ҞүӜӥ൉р৸иы̜п҇сѻк!!!!ࠄࢩџѶѼуўиы̝
ѓы
уѿѲ
ѭ҇Ѿ
ϸ̡ްпџёкћэр̜ѸїѥѾଆржїѓѯкрာᅦћэѼ̝!
A: After much decision I chose not to get a car. They're expensive and not environmentallyfriendly.
B: Maybe so, but a car can be pretty handy you know.
΀ѸїѥѾ̹ѸѣѾ is used when the speaker is convinced that what he/she initially thought or
judged to be right is correct after thinking it over, or taking others’ opinions into consideration. ѸїѥѾ is commonly used in colloquial conversation, while ѸѣѾ is more commonly used in written
language.
х҇чк

п҇р

щх

!
Ϸ̡ौ৅Ѣчќ҆ৣмњ̜ѓѤчѶоଢѶѸѵѿчќџыѓѼ̝
п҇р
Ѿѻкѯк
э ќ Ҁ эϸ̡ўѿѯѝ̜ииৣмћэѡ̝ћѶ̜ᆊၑќѶѸѵѿќ̜ҫҺӞҫрѓѲѿпѶыҀѲя҇Ѽ̝
A: I have decided to give up smoking and drinking so I can get more healthy.
B: Hmm, that's a good idea. But if you do both at the same time it might add to your stress.
΀ўѿѯѝ is used when the speaker’s question is answered by the other person’s explanation,or as a word of agreement when the speaker is impressed and convinced by the other person’s
explanation. ў ѿ ѯ ѝ sounds like you are evaluating the other person. It is not advisable,
therefore to use this expression with one’s superiors.
What is wrong with the following conversation? Let us know what you come up with!
пупђу

єипђу

оѶ

‫݌‬ഖќѝїѕрииќ઩к̣!
Ϸ̡ޭ‫݌‬ഖќോ
єипђу
ѯк
Ѳиџѕ
ѓѢ
оѶ
໘џтѸпћ޼ыиќ઩иѲэѼ̝ϸ̡҃ѓыѣോ‫݌‬ഖѢၑриићэѡ̝ႚ
пупђу
ѯк
ьѺк
с
ѽу
оѶ
Ϸ̡ёкпўж̣!҃ѓыѣޭ‫݌‬ഖѢၑр૛ᄡћࡂр޼єќ઩иѲэѼ̝-9-

memoranda
Christmas Lights
Display InformationҡӜҫӐҫҖӝӑҿ̶ҩәӥ௜၇

Christmas light displays will be held all across theਗ໩Ѣ 23 ैќ 2 ै௑୪џҡӜҫӐҫ̠Җӝӑҿ̶ҩәӥ

prefecture this December and early January. Why not takeѢҹҕҫӉӞҖрॡ຾ިඑћ৪҃ҀѲэ̝ѐѦчѢ࠿‫ݵ‬this opportunity to head out and enjoy the sights.

џ̜഑҆‫҇ۥ‬ћуєщи̝

KenchopiaҁӃґҷҤѲ

When: Monday, December 17 to Tuesday, December 25

໘ૐ ;! 23 ै 28 ໘̈́ै̻ͅ 23 ै 36 ໘̈́‫ͅݔ‬!

From 17:00 to 23:00 every evening.

Cost:

28̡11 пѽ 34̡11

௘୸ ;! ຝ๥દ̜ңӥҳәӆҔ̈́ॡසಶӚҵҺӁ̶ӂ̶ͅ

Where: Tokushima City, in the harbor in front of thePrefectural Office.

ᆍ̡ࣞ! Ⴥᆍ

Free!

ჴ৽я ;!ຝ๥ӚҵҺҡӛӈ̈́ใᇭ 199.755.1198ͅ

Contact: Call the Tokushima Yacht Club at
088-644-0087
Winter Lights in Ikeda

൳ภ฻рѺҦ҈ѷ

When: Saturday, December 1 to Thursday, January 10,

໘ૐ̡! 23 ै 2 ໘̈́๘ͅпѽ 3119 ໩ 2 ै 21 ໘̈́ცͅ!

2008, from 17:00 to 22:00 every evening.

ႚ໘ 28;11.33;11

Where: Ikeda Town

௘୸̡! ં঻દඕโ෎

Cost:

ᆍ̡ࣞ! Ⴥᆍ

Free

ჴ৽я̡!ඕโ෎ஒিࠑয‫̈́ݡ‬ใᇭ 1994.83.8731ͅ

Contact: Call the Ikeda Town Commerce and Tourism
Section at 0883-72-7620
Once again this year, the streets and houses of Ikeda willਗ໩Ѷඕโ෎Ѣ‫̳݌‬рྖыиҖӝӑҿ̶ҩәӥћ௪ѽҀ

be lit with many beautiful lights.

Ѳэ̝‫݌‬ѢಶѸর‫܆‬ўѝџѶҜӈҪҙр୞Ѳэ̝

Anan LED Display‫ي‬ຨ঍рႢзСќ

When: Saturday, December 22 to Monday, 24

໘ૐ̡! 23 ै 33 ໘̈́๘ͅпѽ 23 ै 35 ໘̈́ैͅWhere: At the JR Anan Station Plaza and surrounds

௘୸̡! ٬໊દ̛ҫҸ̶ҩәӥӉӛҨ̜ࢋ࠴ௗᎮর‫܆‬

Cost:

ᆍ̡ࣞ! Ⴥᆍ

Free!

ჴ৽я̡!٬໊દஒি‫̈́୸ࡢݵ‬ใᇭ 1995.33.3412ͅ

Contact: Call the Anan City Chamber of Commerce at
0884-22-2301
The top of Mount Bizan during the Christmas period is aёѢഢ̜ྕઅѢઅේѶຝ๥દ຾Ѣ჻त҆޼ыѴџѣ਻৸

great place to have a spectacular sight of the city lights!

Ѣ௘୸ћэ̤

AnnouncementsМଷЖұғҋ̔҈

A new birth in the family? Have you recently gotten਻̜ࣝॅਛ̠୞ઌўѝѢоѵћѓиҽӗ̶ҫржїѓၑ̜married? Then good news! Awa Life is looking for٬༂ӛҖӇћѣжўѓѢ‫݌‬ഖѢо୙иૈ҆ລ଄Ѣ‫މ‬щ҇

submissions from readers to help you get the word out!
Send us the details and a short blurb, accompanied by apicture if you have any on hand, and we will post it foryou in the next issue of Awa Life!

џཇླыѓиќ઩иѲэ̤ 211 ဌૌธ๗Ѣဌ஻ќ̈́Ѷыжїѓѽͅૼఉ҆٬༂ӛҖӇѲћ೽їњиѓєхѓѽ૑ৼѢ٬༂ӛҖӇџड੐иѓыѲэ̝

Send any submissions to the awalife email address at:٬ ༂ ӛ Җ Ӈ Ѣ ӓ ̶ ӝ Ҕ һ Ӟ ҫ Ѳ ћ о ೽ Ѿ у є щ и̡awalife@gmail.com.

awalife@gmail.com-10-memoranda
Christmas Lights
CompetitionҡӜҫӐҫѢ
Җӝӑҿ̶ҩәӥോொ

Come along to Kamiyama town to check out some first-ఊઅ෎຾рҡӜҫӐҫҖӝӑҿ̶ҩәӥћ௪Ҁ̜ോொр

class Christmas lighting displays in the streets!

ರѤҀѲэ̝

When: Tuesday, December 18 to Monday, December 31

໘ૐ̡! 23 ै 29 ໘̈́‫ ̻ͅݔ‬23 ै 42 ໘̈́ैͅ17:00 - 21:00 every evening!

28̡11 ̻ 32̡11

The displays will be judged from December 18!

΀̛௽ਮѢ࠼ࠖѣ 23 ै 29 ໘пѽ 32 ໘Ѳћћэ̝to December 21, and results are announced on!

΀̛ॅ‫ݐ‬ཇླѣ 23 ै 33 ໘

Saturday, December 22
௘୸̡! ჎౦ऎ̜ఊઅ෎
Where: Myozai-gun, Kamiyama

ᆍ̡ࣞ! Ⴥᆍ

Cost:ჴ৽я̡!ఊઅ෎ஒি‫̈́ݵ‬ใᇭ 199.787.2343ͅ

Free

Contact: Call the Kamiyama Town Commerceand Industry Committee at 088-676-1232

Santa on the River
Santa will be travelling down the river through the centerಖпѽҧӥұр
Ѹїњуѿ

of Tokushima City by boat, delivering over 3,000 presents
to children from 18:00 to 21:00 each day of the event!

ຝ๥દѢఁ෎ಖпѽಫџ௔їѓҧӥұҡӟ̶ҫрત࢝൥џӉӞҮӥҺ҆༕ѾѲэ̝

When: Sunday, December 23 to Tuesday, December 25
18:00-21:00
Where: Shinmachi river, starting from the Ryogoku
Cost:

໘ૐ̡! 23 ै 34 ໘̈́໘̻ͅ 23 ै 36 ໘̈́‫ͅݔ‬!

29̡11 ̻ 32̡11

bridge and making a full trip around Hyotan-jima

௘୸̡! ຝ๥દఁ෎ಖ̈́ᆊਇࢲпѽડѲѾ̜Ѧѻкѓ҇!!

Free!

!

Contact: Call the Shinmachi River Preservation
Committee at 088-655-1201

๥҆‫ڴ‬ମыѲэ̝

ᆍ̡ࣞ! Ⴥᆍ
ჴ৽я̡!ఁ෎ಖ҆ଙѿ‫̈́ݵ‬ใᇭ 199.766.2312ͅ

Yellowtail Fairᄡ࠴ઌෞ͐ỢѢદ͑

Let's have fresh and delicious stuff on our food tablesоౝैಶћэпѽఁವў௳੔ћᆍᅫ҆ыѲыѻк " ࢙‫ݴ‬

because of New Year! Fresh seafood and Ise Lobster SaleᆬѢഌ༞Ѹ‫ކ౒ړ‬ᇡෙଧ୏̜‫ކ౒ړ‬ᇡෙଧଢѢఀѿ࿧и

and also the Ise Lobster longevity sake dance will be๷р৪҃ҀѲэ̝shown at this Yellowtail Fair in Yuki.
When: Sunday, December 30 from 9am to 1pm

໘ૐ̡! 23 ै 41 ໘̈́໘ͅ:̡11 ̻ 24̡11

Where: Kaifu-gun, Minami-cho, Nishi no chi at Poppo
Cost:

Marin in front of JR Yuki Station

௘୸̡! ‫ކ‬࿪ऎྖ༂෎౦Ѣඑ!KS ᄡ࠴‫۾‬ಶ!ѱїѱӐӜӥ

Free!

໚௘ᆍ̡!Ⴥᆍ

Contact: Call the Yuki Town Commerce and Industry

ჴ৽я̡!ᄡ࠴ஒি‫̈́ݵ‬ใᇭ 1995.89.135:ͅ

Committee at 0884-78-0249-11-

memoranda
Ebisu Festivalмѧэੋ

His nickname is O-Ibessan and it is said, that he is the god෬஺оиѭїщ҇ќॸ҃Ҁ̜ஒ༞ལౡѢఊᄻќѶॸ҃Ҁof prosperousness. Ebisu-san ist sharing the good luckњиѲэ̝͂мѧэщ҇̓џжѸпѾ̜ஒ༞ལౡ҆ࡅࠪэ

and helps florish the people in the prosperous business.
You can buy "Good Luck Candy" and other stuff. There isalso a market for potted plants and garden shrubs.

ѿగ̳ћџт҃иѲэ̝࿵жѵ๷ѢܴൊืѸ௬ცદѶ‫ލ‬пҀѲэ̝

When: Wednesday, January 9 to Friday, January 11

໘ૐ̡! 3119 ໩ 2 ै : ໘̈́య̻ͅ 22̈́ࣞͅ

Where: Tokushima City, Toorimachi,

௘୸̡! ຝ๥દ෬෎̛ૈ൉ଗఊଂ

Cost:

Kotoshironushi Shrine

໚௘ᆍ̡!Ⴥᆍ

Free!

ჴ৽я̡!ૈ൉ଗఊଂ̈́ใᇭ 199.765.4:89ͅ

Contact: Call the Kotoshironushi Shrine at
088-654-3978

Living inTokushimaຝ๥ॡౠߊ௜၇
ҘҙӈҧҖҺ

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

by Tokushima Prefecture, home to information such asҺпѽඑఖ̠ൊ࿭џјињѢ௜၇̜ҸӞӅѸۭ‫ݬ‬ѢҞҖһ̜earthquake and typhoon-related messages, tv and movie
guides, events, contact numbers and more.

ҖӋӥҺ௜၇ўѝџҔҡҭҫћсѲэ̝Ӄүҥӥ̠ढഷཟᆊၑณ࢝ыњиѲэ̤

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)ౝыиඐૡћਭဠ‫ݶ‬ய
-12-