aWa life
Anan Foreigner

Exchange Plaza

August 2024
# 405

Deepening Relations
with Hunan

Goodbye Message

Nihongo Know-it-all: Monkeys

1

Awa Life is a Monthly Publication of the Tokushima
Prefectural International Exchange Association

The most exciting month for Tokushima is upon us. I can’t wait for the Awa Odori festival to begin andthe streets to be filled with smiling and cheering people from all around the world. Personally I am
mostly looking foreward to just sitting down somewhere on the riverside, watching the perfomances
while enjoying a cold sudachi beer.
I hope to see many of you among the dancers. If you didn’t already sign up there is still the chance tojoin the TOPIA own Arasowaren or even the TIA Dance Troupe. See the last page for more information!

For all of those who like writing, please feel free to submit an article to us at any point in time aboutbasically anything. There are a few limitations though, such as you can’t write about religion, politics,
commercial activities or businesses or anything that we deem inappropriate. But, other than that, we
would be more than happy to receive articles about anything and everything including but not limited
to concerts, lectures, other events, culture, sports, community group information or anything cool that’s
happening in your local community.
We highly appreciate all of your articles and we love reading them. So if that writing bug of yours isbuzzing about, grab a pen or a computer and write and send away! Please send all submissions to ouremail:

awalife@gmail.com

Your editor,
RasmusTokushima Prefectural International Exchange Association (TOPIA)
1-61 Terashima Honcho Nishi, Tokushima City 770-0831 JAPAN, Clement Plaza 6F
Tel: 088-656-3303 Fax: 088-652-0616
http://www.topia.ne.jp/
Download a PDF file of awa life or view the online version by going to TOPIA's website!

Editor:Rasmus Burgmer
Contributors This Month:
Mako Kobayashi, Qin Yao, Yukari Nagata, Takako Yamada

Contents

Pg. 2-3: Anan City Exchange Plaza2

Pg. 3-4: Medical Exchange with Hunan Province
Pg. 5:

Tokushima Reading Corner: Otsuka Art Museum

Pg. 5:

Goodbye Message

Pg. 6:

Nihongo Know-it-all: Even Monkeys fall from Trees

Pg. 7:

Japanese Lesson

Pg. 8-9: Events and Memoranda
Anan City Exchange Plaza to Connect with Foreigners
By: Mako KobayashiOn Sunday the 9th of June, the Anan City
International Exchange Association (AIA)
in cooperation with Miraicle held the “Exchange
Plaza to connect with Foreigners” in Anan City.
About 50 foreign residents living in Anan City as
apprentices, temporal workers, and permanent
residents, as well as about 20 Japanese residentsof Anan City, including high school students,
as well as a number of volunteers from TOPIA
participated in this event.

The purpose was to connect foreign residents
and Japanese residents within the communityand promote exchange between them. The Anan
City International Association actively encouraged
foreign residents who they have not yet met
through Japanese language classes or otherevents to participate.

At the event, food was distributed with the helpof Tokushima Prefecture’s “Livelihood Support
Network” project, and through the cooperation
with the Takamatsu Immigration and Residency
Management Bureau, consultations regarding
living, work and residency status were alsoavailable.
The venue for
the Event was
the “Nuun/
CAFÉ andBar NuuN”
w h i c hprovidesa spacefor thel o c a lcommunitybycombininga café
w i t h achildcares u p p o r t
f a c i l i t y. I n
this friendly
and relaxing
atmosphere,
participants talked
about various topics such as their work and daily
life experiences using “simplified Japanese” while
enjoying drinks. Among the foreign residents
many have never had the opportunity to interact
with their Japanese neighbors and their smilingfaces showed how much they enjoyed talking tothem.
The Japanese participants also reflected happily
on the exchange opportunity saying things like:“It was the first time I could talk to person from
Vietnam”, “They were close in age to me so it waseasy to talk to them”, “It was so much fun to talk3

to many different people. I definitely want to do it
again” and more.
Through this event,
we were able todeepen exchanges
among local
residents of various
generations andfields who do not
usually meet eachother, regardless ofwhether they areforeigners or not.
This might be a firststep towards thevision for community
development in
Anan City, consistingof local exchange that transcends nationality,
language or occupation, while at the same time
locally strengthening the disaster prevention

capabilities.
The number of foreign residents in Tokushima
Prefecture hasrisen to about
8000 people.
T h e To k u s h i m a
International
Association(TOPIA) willc o n t i n u e
t o p r o m o t emulticulturalactivities in which
foreigners andJapanese residents
can overcome
barriers thatmight exist due todifferences in nationality, language, or culture,with the goal to create a community for everyone.

Deepening Relations with China through medical exchange
By: Qin YaoO

n June 28, a medical delegation consistingof nine people from the Hunan Provincial
Health and Sanitation Commission and the Hunan
Provincial People’s Hospital for the Elderly,
including Deputy Director Liu Ping’an, came to
Hunan to exchange information on medical andnursing care for the elderly.
Japan is the world’s leading country wheni tc o m e st o a g i n g population
w h i l e a t t h e sametime
also leading
the world
in nursing
c a r efor thee l d e r l y.
China is a large population country, and while thebirthrate continues to decline, the population is
also rapidly aging. Elderly care, rehabilitation, andelderly diseases have become new challenges forthe country! That is why this Medical Delegationfrom Hunan Province visited Japan. They
wanted to study the technology and know-how ofadvanced medical and nursing care for the elderly
in Japan.
On the morning of the first day, the medicaldelegation paid a courtesy visit to the Tokushima
Prefectural Government, where the Deputy
Director of the Health and Welfare Department
expressed
his gratitude
for thereceptionand stated
his hopethat thisexchange would lead to discoveries that would be
useful for the development of both regions.
After a friendly greeting, both introduced theirrespective regional approaches to “Rehabilitation

of the Elderly” and exchanged ideas, which
proved to be very fruitful. To thank Tokushima
Prefecture for their hospitality, the guests gave
everyone present a piece of traditional Hunan
embroidery, called “Xiangshu”.
The Tokushima Prefectural Government also
prepared uniquely Japanese indigo-dyed
handkerchiefs for the people of Hunan Province.
The presence of traditional culture made thefriendly exchange even more lively.
The purpose of the Hunan medical delegation
was not only to learn about innovative medicalcare, but also to deepen exchanges between
Hunan Province and Tokushima Prefecture in the
medical field in general. In the afternoon of thesame day, Hunan Provincial People’s Hospital
signed a memorandum of understanding forfriendly exchange with Shikoku University. Bothsides agreed to continue to develop humanresources in elder care nursing and to promote
friendly exchange and cooperation in the future.

Also, Professor Kazuya Ogura of Shikoku
University explained to the guests about Japan’s
advanced nursing care philosophy and introduced
the human resource development system thatlinks theory with practice.
With the immense aging of the population, theneed for rehabilitation and care for the elderly
and prevention and treatment of diseases
is considered an integral part of the system.
Tokushima Prefecture itself, had a high prevalenceof diabetes, ranking first in Japan several times
between 2007 and 2020. This is something the4region shares with Hunan as diabetes is a hugeproblem there as well.
The Delegation therefore used this opportunity
to visit the Diabetes Clinical and Research
Development Center of the University of
To k u s h i m a H o s p i t a l t o l e a r n a b o u t t h e i rexperience in diabetes prevention and treatment,
and to tour the “Anti-Aging Medical Center”

On January 29, we visited Kenshokai Heart, afacility for the elderly that utilizes AI. In orderpromote understanding for the feelings ofdementia patients in the general public, VR canbe used to let them experience the daily life ofpeople suffering from the disease.
With the development of technology, methodsof elder care have become more diverse. Using
the newly popularized “digital care” for example,
where the health status and sleep quality of theelderly are monitored in real time, leads to a moreconvenient lifestyle for the patients while also
tackling the problem of understaffing and stress of
caregivers.
The visit of the Hunan Provincial Medical
Delegation was a great success. Since theestablishment of thepartnership,exchanges have been
carried out
in various fields sucha s e c o n o m y,tourism, culture andn o w a l s omedical care. I
hope wecontinue to expand
on thisrelationship and willconduct
many more fruitfulexchanges
like this one.

I

5cannot believe it has already been a year since
I came to Tokushima. Even though it seems likean eternity away, I can very clearly remember the
moment I arrived, stepping out of that plane into
the sweltering summer heat, fully dressed up in
my freshly bought suit and nervously awaiting
what this new life would have in stock for me.
Looking back I cannot imagine I made a goodfirst impression meeting all my new colleagues atthe prefectural government and TOPIA as I wascompletely drenchedin sweat and could
barely string two
sentences together
out of exhaustion. And
yet I was immediately
welcomed in with open
arms by everyone,giving me a first taste of
the famous Tokushima
h o s p i t a l i t y. T h eoverwhelming kindness
and support all mycolleagues have givenme throughout thisyear, made settling into
my new life effortless,and I want to take thisopportunity to thankeveryone from thebottom of my heart.
This year has been an
amazing experiencethat I will definitely not forget for the rest of my life.
My work at the prefectural government allowed
me to peak behind the curtains of international
diplomacy, meet Olympic athletes, experience
the richness of Tokushima’s culture and its many
beautiful sceneries and play my part in GermanJapanese relations. I was able to accompany
delegations both from Germany as well as
Tokushima in a variety of fascinating exchange
projects and had the pleasure of meeting so manykind and interesting people along the way.

Goodbye Message

By: Rasmus Burgmer

With my work at TOPIA on the other hand I
took on the role of an Ambassador of German
culture, sharing my experiences with the peopleof Tokushima from all age groups. I also got to be
an editor on Awa Life, a task that I enjoyed much
more than I thought I would. Everyone at TOPIA isreally committed to making the lifes of foreigners
living in Tokushima as easy and as enjoyable aspossible. I think this work is very important and I
was glad to have been a part of it.
Through my work here
I have been able toimprove my skills intranslating, interpretingand coordinating
projects but mostimportantly I wasable to form so many
connections not justwith the people from
Tokushima, but from allover the world. I hope
you are all ready forwhen I come visit you
in your home countries!
The work load as theGerman CIR was a
lot at times, but I still
managed to explore
almost every corner ofthis beautiful prefecturethat I was lucky enoughto call home for a year
and made many friends doing so.
Hiking the beautiful mountains in Miyoshi, thelate-night adventures of exploring Tokushima’s
many izakaya and immersing myself in cultural
events and musical performances are memories I
will forever cherish.
So once again: Thanks to everyone
who was part of my journey here
in Tokushima. I will miss you all!
Haut rein Leute!

6

Tokushima Reading Corner: 大塚国際美術館
By: Yukari Nagata
とくしま

に ほん

せ かい

び じゅつかん徳島には、日本にいながら、世界の美 術 館を
おお つか こく さい び じゅつ かん

なる と

うず しお

み

もの

やま

物のほとんどが山の中にあり、入口から

いりぐち

かんしょう

とうちゃく

鑑賞のフロアに到着します。

かんない

こ だい

げんだい

せい よう

めい が やくてん

西 洋 の名 画 約 1,000 点 がる場所があります。

なか

たて

鳴門公園の中にあります。建やく

せ かい

館内には、古代から現代まで

ば しょ

体験できる
なる と こう えん

大塚国際美 術 館は、鳴門の渦潮が見られる
なか

たいけん

あ

約 40 ｍのエスカレーターを上がり、か こく

び じゅつかんしょぞう

世界 26 カ国、およそ 190 の美 術 館が

所蔵す

てん じ

とう ばん

展 示 されています。これらはすべて、陶 板 でげんすんだいさいげん

原寸大に再現されています。陶板名画とは、陶器の大きな板に、原画に忠実

しきさい

とうばんめい がおおさくひん

な色彩・大きさで
で き

も

とう き

さいげん

おお

いた

けいねんれっ か

げん が

さくひん

ちゅうじつ

さわ

作品を再現したものです。経年劣化せず、作品に触ること

ち か

がい

かい

こ だい ちゅうせい出来ます！地下 3 階から 2 階までに、古代・中世・ルネサンス・バロック・

きんだい

げんだい

さくひん

近代・現代・テーマの作品をかんしょう

鑑賞することができます。

だい すい れん

まわ

いけ

あい

クロード・モネの「大睡蓮」の周りの池には、モネが愛した
ころ

み ごろ

頃まで

見頃の時期を

じ

き

むか

さく ひん

迎えています。作品と

すい れん

う

がつ ちゅう じゅん

睡蓮が植えられ、6 月 中 旬から

いろ

すい れん

色とりどりの

睡蓮の花を

はな

いっ しょ

がつ

9月

たの

一緒に楽しまれてはい

かがですか？
Vocabulary List
び じゅつかんかんしょう

美 術 館 art museum

鑑賞

とうばん

げんすんだい陶板 ceramic tile

原寸大

しょぞう

てん じ

appreciation

所蔵 possesion

展示 exhibition

さいげん

めい が

full size

再現 recreation

名画 famous work

ちゅうじつ

けいねんれっ か

すいれん

み ごろ

忠 実な true

経年劣化 degraduation

睡蓮 water lily

見頃 best time to see

猿も木から落ちる
Nihongo Know-it-all
By: Rasmus
If you go deep enough into the forests of Tokushima, chances are you are going to encounterwild monkeys. I myself had the fortune to see a bunch of them on my hike to the Todoroki
Falls. As I was watching them escape into the woods, elegantly jumping from tree to tree I
was reminded of the famous Japanese proverb: “ 猿 も 木 か ら 落 ち る ” ( さ る も き か ら お ち る ）which translates into “Even monkeys fall from trees.”
The idea of those nimble creatures that are so effortlessly navigating
the natural terrain, could ever slip up seems so unreasonable...which isexactly what this proverb is based on. It conveys the universal truththat
everyone makes mistakes, no matter their skills and reassures usthat slipups are a part of life. Even Otani Shohei occasionally misses aswing!
Proverbs based on monkeys are a common thing in Japan, as their humanlike behavior leaves a
lot of room for interpretation. Throughout the centuries the animal has been associatedwith a wide range of things, from being sacred messengers of God to becoming ascapegoat metaphor for tricksters and dislikable people.
“ 猿 も 木 か ら 落 ち る ” definitely is the most famous one and often used in Japan, so
please give it a try the next time a colleague of friend makes a mistake. I am sure it will
cheer them up!

7Japanese Lesson

By: Takako Yamada

Japanese adjectives have two types, i-adjectives and na-adjectives. We learn their conjugation at theelementary level. Did you know there are two types of endings in negative and past negative？
Knowing these two types is helpful for creating the casual form. Let’s practice.

けい

ていねい形 formal form

けいよう しい形 容 詞Affirmative

Negative

Past affirmative

Past negative

おお

大きいです

①大きくないです

大きかったです①大きくなかったです

しずかです①しずかじゃないです

i-adjective
けいよう しな形 容 詞めいし②大きくありませんでした
しずかでした①しずかじゃなかったです②しずかじゃありません

na-adjective
名詞②大きくありません

やすみです②しずかじゃありませんでした
やすみでした①やすみじゃないです①やすみじゃなかったです②やすみじゃありません

noun②やすみじゃありませんでした

ふつう形 casual form
When you make casual forms of negative and past negative, delete です of type ①.
Affirmative

Negative

Past affirmative

Past negative

けいよう し大きいです

大きくないです

大きかったです

大きくなかったです

けいよう ししずかです

しずかじゃないです

しずかでした

しずかじゃなかったです

やすみじゃないです

やすみでしたい形 容 詞な形 容 詞
めいし

名詞

だ
やすみです
だ

だった
だった

1)polite A: きょうはあついですか。 B: いいえ、
（1.
casual A: きょうはあつい？

やすみじゃなかったです

B: ううん、(3.

）／（2.
)。

2)polite A: きのうは、いそがしかったですか。B: いいえ、
（4.
（5.

）／

）
。

casual A: きのうは いそがしかった？

B: ううん、(6.

た なか3)polite A: 田中さんはげんきですか。B: いいえ、(7.
casual A: 田中さんはげんき？

B: ううん、(9.

4)polite A: 田中さんは元気でしたか。B: いいえ、(10.
(11.

）
。

)。
)／ (8.

)。

)。
)／

)。

casual A: 田中さんは元気だった？ B: ううん、(12.

)。

解答：4) 10. げんきじゃなかったです 11. げんきじゃありませんでした 12. げんきじゃなかった
3) 7. げんきじゃないです 8. げんきじゃありません 9. げんきじゃない2) 4. いそがしくなかったです 5. いそがしくありませんでした 6. いそがしくなかった
1) 1. あつくないです 2. あつくありません 3. あつくないEvents & Memoranda

8Asian Children’s Eniki Festa
アジア子こども絵日記えにっきフェスタ

The Enikki Festa invites children from 24
countries and regions across Asia to submit Enikki(illustrated diaries) that portrays daily events tobetter understand cultures in Asia.
This years theme is “Here Is My Life.”
Why not submit three diary entries and share yourdaily events and thoughts with friends in Asia?

絵日記で、アジアの国々の生活をともに理解しあうこの催し。
今回も 24 の国・地域から広く募集します。
テーマは「アジアのみんなに伝えたい、わたしの生活」です。
さあ、あなたも 3 枚の絵日記で、アジアの友だちに、自分の暮らしを楽しく伝えてください。

Entry Period June 1st 2024 - January 15th 2025
Eligibility Children Age between 6 and 12

募集期間 2024 年 6 月 1 ～ 2025 年 1 月 15 日
参加条件 6 歳〜 12 歳（応募時点）の子どもたち

For more Details visit:https://enikki.mitsubishi.or.jp/e/

詳しくはこちらへ：
https://enikki.mitsubishi.or.jp

Star Watching from Mount Tsurugi
剣山頂上ヒュッテ天体観測会
The gently sloping summit and it’s distance
far away from the lights of the city, make Mt.
Tsurugi ideal for stargazing.Please come andenjoy the starry sky and night view from the top.
This is the first stargazing event in five years.
Participation fee is only the accommodation fee at
the Tsurugi Summit Hut.
In addition to presentations about star
constellations, we will observe the moon andother celestial objects through a telescope. The
commentary will be given by former membersof the Earth Science Club of Tokushima highschools.
When? Thursday, August 15th
Where? Mt. Tsurugi Summit HutInquiries: Mt. Tsurugi Summit Hut
URL: tsurugisan-hutte.com
TEL: 0886-22-0633

なだらかで市街のあかりの遠い頂上は、降るような星空の観測に最適です。
ぜひ、頂上からの星空と夜景を楽しみにお越しください。
5 年ぶりとなる天体観望会。参加費は剣山頂上ヒュッテの宿泊費のみです。
夏の星座の解説のほか、天体望遠鏡を使って月なども観測します。徳島県内の高校地学部出身のみ
なさんが解説をしてくださります。
日時
場所

8 月 15 日（木）剣山頂ヒュッテ
お問い合わせ 剣山頂ヒュッテ
TEL：0886-22-0633
URL：tsurugisan-hutte.com

9

Events & Memoranda

LET'S DANCE AWA ODORI!

T.I.A.（Tokushima International Association）will organize an Awa Odori group on August
12th. Foreign and Japanese nationals alike are welcome to join us. Your participation will
make for a joyful Awa Odori Dance Festival. Please let us know if you want to join us by emailing or calling us by Aug. 10th.
Let's enjoy a festive summer night in Tokushima.
・Date: August 12, 2024 (Monday)
・Time: Arrive at T.I.A. between 16:00～17:00 for a reception and light meal.
17:30 ～ Practice dance in front of TIA.
18:00 ～ Departure to the dancing site.
We will contact you in case of schedule changes or cancellations.
Please be sure to inform us of your contact information.
・Participation Fee (including light meal) :TIA Members and Foreigners (Elementary students or older) = 1000 yen
Non-members: Senior High school students or older= 2,000 yen

Elementary and Junior high students=1,000 yen*We will not allow unescorted minors to join.
・Dance attire: Original TIA Happi Coats will be available to rentfor 3000 yen (1000 yen cleaning fee ＋ refundable 2,000 yen).
Please inform us if you intend to rent a TIA Happi Coat.
T-shirts, shorts, jeans and Odori tabi (2-toed canvas shoes) or comfortablesneakers are recommended.
To participate, call or e-mail at: 088-622-6066/ E-mail: info@tia81.com
1-88 Shinkura-cho, Tokushima, Tokushima International AssociationCounselling Service at TOPIA・トピアの相談窓口
TOPIA provides consultation on everyday life, education, labor, medical institutions, and disasterprevention; and information on sightseeing spots to overseas residents and visitors. When necessary,
we will refer you to the appropriate organization that can assist with your needs.Counselling is available
in English, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Japanese. Please note that although every effort will be made,we may not be able to deal with all cases.
Japanese, English, Chinese: Everyday, 10:00 - 18:00 (closed during the New Year's holidays)
Vietnamese: Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, 10:00 - 14:00
Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, 10:00 - 18:00 (closed during the New Year's holidays)