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

japanese speech contest"TOPPY"
August 2006 No. 194
submitted
awalife@gmail.comthe 2006 Foreign
Japanese SpeechCompetition was heldon Monday 17th Julyin the Seishonen centerin Tokushima, with elevenparticipants from eight
countries. This year's winner
was Mr. Tshering Cigay Dorjifrom Bhutan, and below is
an English translation of his
speech.
International Understanding ~interacting with foreigners
winner of the 2006 japanese speech competition, tshering cigay dorji

Good afternoon, ladies andgentlemen. I am Cigay from
Bhutan.
Do you know where Bhutan
is? Bhutan is a beautiful
Buddhist Kingdom locatedin the Himalayas. Its area
is similar to that of Shikoku
and its population is about
600,000. As we consider GNH(Gross National Happiness)to be more important than
GNP (Gross National Product),
people in Bhutan lead happy
lives, although they are notrich economically. In particular,

Bhutan puts emphasis on
human values such as family
ties, culture and environment
while in other parts of theworld the motives to makeprofit and gain more wealthreign supreme.
Today, I am very happy tohave this opportunity to talkon the topic of “internationalu n d e r s t a n d i n g ”. W h e n
w e m e e t a f o r e i g n e r, w eoften think of the language
and cultural barriers. But

overcoming these barriers is
not a big problem. The real
problem that we need toovercome is the barrier of our
prejudice and ignorance. I feelthat overcoming our prejudicewith true understanding andrespect for other peoples
and their culture is the mostimportant thing.
In general, people are full ofignorance and prejudice. But
at the same time, like a beamof light in darkness, there

speech contest ... con't on page 6

inside awa life this monthjapanese speech contest - 1, 5 ... awa odori guide - 3summer vacation memories - 4,5 ... 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, Tshering Cigay Dorji, Kazue
Inoue, Hiroko Kimura, Martin O'Brien, Claire
Tanaka, and Takako Yamada

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 editors
think the best part of Awa Odori is the
distant sounds of people rehearsing in theparks at night in the weeks and months
leading up to the festival. That's Awa Odori
to me - moreso than the gigantic festivalthat brings tens of thousands of people to
Tokushima from all over Japan. The distantpounding of drums, plucking of shamisens, andcalls of the dancers, combined with the soundof the cicadas is the quintessential summer
sound of Tokushima to me. I love riding mybicycle at night, smelling the plants and flowers
in the air, and listening to these sounds. I think
it's the sense of anticipation is what makes it
special.
Love, Claire.

iugust is the month of Awa Odori, and in
this month's edition of Awa Life we havesome last minute information on stages
and how you can join in. There are many
ways you can get involved in the year's most
exciting event, so make sure to find out about
what is going on in your local area so you don't
miss out! August is also the time when typhoons
start to arrive in Japan, and with all the rain
there has been recently, I am rather beginningto wonder if it will ever come to an end. Still,after coming from such a comparitively stableclimate in Australia, it certainly is interesting tosee all this weather, and I have found myself
growing more and more interested in whatmakes it all tick.
Cheers, Andrewaentrance to the bicycle parking lot in front of tokushima station. the signs say: "scooters not permitted" and "danger! please
dismount from your bicycle" (photo by claire tanaka)-2-awa odori guideaugust is here, and alongwith it Awa Odori! It isgoing to be held over fourdays from Saturday, August
12 to Wednesday, August 15, andthere are a lot of opportunities foryou to join in or view the dance.
The map below shows the innerTokushima City area, with theformal dancing stages marked withstars. The... are paid seating areas,
while all other areas are free.
Tickets for paid seating costs
from 800 yen to 1800 yen, with anadditional cost of 200 yen if boughton the same day. These seats
are used during dance displays
from 18:00 to 20:00 and 20:30 to
22:30 on each day of the dances.
Tickets can be purchased at mostconvenience stores. All children
aged under three years old are free.
In case of rain, you can still enjoy
Awa Odori indoors at the Awa Odori
Kaikan, the Kyodo Bunka Kaikan
and the Bunka Center.
Awa Odori Displays
You can catch the action of Awa
Odori all around the prefecture.

submitted
awalife@gmail.com

Wakimachi Udatsu no Michi
August 13, 19:30-22:00
Thirteen dancing groups from inand outside the town will come anddance in the historical streets of
Wakimachi.

Tokushima Airport
August 12, 10:00, 11:40, 14:00
On the first day of Awa Odori, there
will be a display at the Tokushima
Airport to welcome visitors to theprefecture.

Ikeda:
August 13 - 16, 19:00 - 22:30
Thirty dance groups will dance
throughout Ikeda-cho, Miyoshishi. Paid and non-paid seating isavailable.

Naruto City
August 9-11, 19:30 - 22:00
T h e N a r u t o A wa O d o r i i s t h eearliest in the prefecture, with over
30 dance groups dancing in the city
shopping arcards, by the JR Naruto
Station West Entrance, and fixedlocations each day. Cost is 800 yen,or 700 yen pre-paid.

Sadamitsu:
August 14 - 16, 19:00 -22:00
Awa Odori will be held in the
Sadamitsu Shopping Arcade andother places in the city, including
various famous dance groups from
Tokushima City.
Katsuura:
August 16, 18:00 - 22:00
Awa Odori in Katsuura will be held
on Tuesday 16, with performancesfrom dance groups from inside thetown, as well as children's groups.
Free to watch.

Central Park
Tokushima
Station

City Hall

Sh
inm
ac
hi
Ri
ve
r

Mt. Bizan

paid seating

free seating-3-

East Miyoshi
August 14 - 16
Awa Odori will be held all
throughout the town. There is nocost for viewing.
Kamojima
August 14-16, 19:00 - 22:00
O ve r 2 5 d a n c e fa m o u s d a n c egroups and local groups will
be dancing each day along themain road through the town of
Kamojima. Seating is free.

summer vacation memories

hiroko kimura
awalife@gmail.com

ummer vacation iscoming soon! I think
everybody is excited forthat, and I'm sure thateverybody has their own goodmemories or bad memories. I
asked a variety of people how
they felt.

s

Hiroko - 20 years ago
Summer vacation means"homework" for me. I was
always good at planning, so
the first thing I did was plan
how to finish my homework.
But I always gave up straightaway, so I kept on changing
my plan. Then the last thing
I did was ask my mother forsome help. So, the work I did
at home was always better
than the work I did at school.
Yuzo - 45 years ago
Summer always reminds meof the sound of a bell I heard
when I was a kid. When I wasyoung, everybody was poor.
There were only a few families
who had a TV in their houses.
Everytime when the summer
vacation started, a middle
aged man came to my town
by bike once a week to sell ice
blocks. He always rang a bell.
I really wanted my parents
to buy an ice block like theother kids. It cost only 5 yen,
but my parents couldn't afford
it, so when the sound of thebell came closer my parents
pretended that they weretaking a nap. I still remember
the sound of the bell clearly.
Shigeharu - 50 years ago
When I was a kid, there
weren't any special eventsor things to do during thesummer vacations. So I
went to the Yoshino river tomy last day of summer vacation (hiroko)swim with my friends almost
everyday. We caught manykinds of fish, like sweetfish,
catfish, eels and others byusing fishing spears. We picked
tomatoes and watermelons
from the fields near the river.
Of course you're not supposed
to, but nobody cared if wedid. When we were cold, we
jumped into the rice fields
because the water was warm
there. Even though my bodywas all covered with mud, it
felt very warm.
Milton - 35 years ago
When I was a kid, thesummers in South Waikato
w e r e h o t a n d s t i c k y. T h eroads were dry and dusty andyou could tell that cars werecoming over the rolling hills
in the distance by the plumeof dust they threw up behindthem. The roads weren't tars e a l e d i n t h o s e d ay s . O n
our farm it was the time of
nodding thistles. There werelots of other thistles but weonly dug out the nodders,
chopping off the heads andburying them or taking themhome in sacks on our backs
to be burnt. It was hot andsweaty work for kids carrying
the sacks up the steep hills.
The school pool, a few miles
away, was a welcome respite.
We went down there often,
mostly with Mum or Dad in theMark III Zephyr or later theFord Falcon, but sometimes on
our bikes. There were often
long droughts through January
and February broken only by
autumn rain, and then there
were mushrooms everywhere.
My dad called it eczema
season.
Charlene - 15 years ago
I remember the summers inelementary school. Most of thesummers, my mom and dad
were working - so it was justme and my bro at home. We
would just stay in our P.Js allday, watch cartoons and eat
microwavable food. I would

summer memories ... con't on page 5-4-

by andrew dahms
until_eternity@hotmail.com

keeping cool in summer
ere are a few ways tohelp keep you and yourhome cool during thishot time of year.

h

1 : Avo i d u s i n g e l e c t ro n i cappliances such as computers
and television. These produce
a lot of heat, which willcontribute greatly to theoverall temperature in yourhome if used for a long periodof time.
2: If you have pets, you cantry giving them water with ice
cubes in it to keep the watercooler longer and help themstay cool as well.
3: At home, make sure
you keep the air inside
yo u r a p a r t m e n t o r h o u s emoving. Electric fans can beinexpensive to use over a longtime, and can not only help
keep you cool but reduce thehumidity slightly as well. If
you use air conditioning, thenmake sure you clean the unit
regularly to ensure it works
effectively and doesn't use
excess electricity.
4: Wearing light clothing,open-toed shoes and othersuch clothing is preferable toheavy shoes and other wearthat will trap heat. Pay special
attention to your feet - keeping
your feet bare at home canmake a world of difference.
5: When at home, you can use
a cool facecloth or towel tostay cool. Ice packs and frozen
bottles of water can also be
effective.

6: If you have long hair, keep
it tied up and off your neck.
7: If you have a room thatgets a lot of sun, drawing thecurtains during the hotter
parts of the day will help
reduce the heat in the room.
8: Try and take care of alltasks that create heat in thecooler times of the day, suchas cooking and ironing.
9: By closing doors to rooms
you aren't using, you cankeep heat from these rooms
from spreading to other partsof your home.
10: Bathroom and kitchen
exhaust fans can be used toreduce heat and humidity, as
well as helping to increase theairflow through your home.

summer vacation memories ... con't from page 4
talk on the phone with myfriends for hours and I also
really liked to clean andorganize my room and thehouse. But, for the mostpart my parents would be atwork from around 7am until
5pm. When they would get
home, we would eat dinner.
It seems boring, but it was
really carefree. The summers
here were so hot, like almost
100˚F (38˚C)! Also, I played
a lot with my neighbours.
Their parents were at work
also so we played a lot
together. We would makegames and be creative.
Zhao - 23 years ago
When I was a kid, I used toplay outside during summer
vacation. Sometimes with
my friends, and sometimes
alone. I'd wear a straw hat
and sling a water canteen

over my shoulder and walkon the paths between therice fields and in the woods.
I used to go fishing andcatch bugs and pick fruit,and steal sweet potatoes
and carrots from the farmers'
gardens. I also used to playin the stream. The smell of
nature and the free feeling ofabandoning my homework that's my image of summer
vacation.
Jaymie - 15 years ago
I went to a lot of camps
when I was a kid. Brownie
C a m p, G i r l G u i d e C a m p,
Explorer camp... I was quite
the camper. But perhaps
the most memorable campwould have to be the twosummers of band camp. Yes,
being the geek that I am, I
attended the International
Music Camp located in the-5-

Peace Park on the border
between Canada and the US.
I was a flautist and piccoloist.
Other young band geeks justlike me came from all over tobeat, pluck, strum, or blow
into their instruments under
the direction of many talented
and famous musicians. We
practiced together. We ate
bad cafeteria style camp food
together. We performed forour parents and loved ones
on our last day together. Then
had a crazy outdoor dance
to end the intense week ofhearing nothing but Mozart
and Brahms. The best partwas the American candy
which we could buy supercheap at the camp store! Yes,band camp was definitely amemorable part of my life.
I don't play the flute muchanymore, but it's like riding abike... you never forget.

speech contest ... con't from page 1
appear those who are filledwith love and understanding.
First of all, I would like to tell
you the true story of one suchman. His name was Nishioka
Keiji. Have you heard of him?
He was Japanese, of course.
In Bhutan, almost everyone
knows his name. It is due tothis man that Bhutanese knew
about Japan since a long time
ago and even today Bhutanese
have a very good impressionof Japan and the Japanese.
In 1964, the year of the
To k y o O l y m p i c G a m e s ,Nishioka left a fast developing
Japan behind and came to
Bhutan. At first, besides notunderstanding the Bhutanese
language, life in a village
w i t h n o e l e c t r i c i ty, r o a d s
or telephones would havecertainly been very hard forhim. But he soon made friends
with the Bhutanese farmers,
tilled the land with them,sowed the seeds of various
crops with them, and began
to teach them the Japanesetechniques of agriculture.
After his two-year assignment
period as a volunteer was over,he continued to stay in Bhutan
until his death in 1992. By
then he had lived and worked
for Bhutan for 28 years.
In 1980, in honor of his
dedication to the developmentof Bhutan's agriculture, His
Majesty the King of Bhutan
awarded him the honorable
title of “Dasho” which means“the best one”. This title isbestowed only rarely on people
who contribute extraordinarily
to the country’s development.
So far, he is the only foreigner
to receive that title. Since
then, Bhutanese respectfullyreferred to him as Dasho
Nishioka. When he died, astate funeral was held andmany people attended it.
People like Nishioka arerespected in life as well as
death. Their memories live onin the minds of the people longafter they are gone. Doesn’t
this story make us think about
how to make our own short
lives meaningful too?
After completing my highschool in Bhutan, I have
lived and studied in Australia,
India and now, here in Japan.
From all my interaction withforeigners, I have learnt this:“everyone regards himself asa descendent and heir of agreat race and a great cultural
heritage”. Even a person froma poor and war-torn country
has great pride in his or her
race, culture and land. Indeed,
every country or people are
great in many different ways.
We need to understand thisand respect these feelings forevery person we meet. If we
do not have genuine respect
for others’ culture, and if
we think that only our own
country and culture are great
and their's is hopeless, true
international understandinga n d f r i e n d s h i p w i l l n e ve r
result.
Once I had an interesting
experience with a friend from
Nepal. He started to praise
how great Nepal was, and how
developed their capital city
Kathmandu was. I told himthat it was good that they aredeveloping very fast. But he
did not stop there. He began
to talk about how backward
Bhutan was compared
to Nepal. This hurt mysentiments, and I told him that
Bhutan was better than Nepal
in some ways while Nepal may
be better in others. So there-6-

was no need to condemn any
one of them.
I n my f r i e n d ’s c a s e , h eexpressed directly what he felt
about Bhutan. In many cases,
people might hold misinformed
ideas about other peoples
and cultures although they
may not say so out loud. Evenholding these misinformed
ideas that some countries aresuperior and some others areinferior will affect international
understanding adversely.
I love my own country andculture. Having lived in Japannow for nearly one and halfyears, my love and respect
for Japanese culture has
been growing day by day. I
especially admire Japanesecourtesy. For me, Japan is likea precious lotus flower drifting
between the vast mainland of
Asia and the boundless Pacific
Ocean. It continues to bloom
and contribute remarkably to
the world and its civilization.
Today, there is far greaterinteraction between the peopleof the world. Yet, there arestill a lot of wars, disputes
and threats. For instance, at
this very moment, Israel andLebanon are firing missiles
at each other. I feel that
increased understanding will
increase trust among nations
and peoples and betterthe chances of resolving
differences and reaching
agreements.
Lastly, before I leave thepodium, I have one request to
make to everybody. From now
onwards, when we meet aforeigner, let us approach himwith a true understanding that
he is also from a great race,
country and culture just as weourselves are. This approach
will definitely give rise to true
international understanding.

martin's anime corner
Title: Metropolis ( ӓҺӟӏӜҫ )Director: Rintaro
Creators: Sony Pictures
Released: Japan (2001),
US (2002)
Running Time: 107min

nime filmmakers havealways excelled at
fantasy architecture,creating visuallystunning examples ofcityscapes in far off planets
or in technologically complex
fu t u r e s . T h i s w e e k ' s f i l m"Metropolis", as its namewould suggest, is no
exception. The stunningly
lavish design of the endlessmetropolis in which the action
is set are among some of themost opulent and visually
imaginative created.
The script for "Metropolis"
wa s w r i tt e n b y Ka t s u h i r o
Otomo, and was based ona manga comic written in1949 by the progenitor of
the Japanese comic bookand animation style Osamu
Te z u k a . Te z u k a i n v e n t e dmany of the genres and styles
that have become popularthroughout the years. He wasalso responsible for the large
eye style of character thatis now ubiquitous in manga
and anime. He was hugely
influenced by the Disney styleof animation. "Metropolis" is inmany ways a tribute to Tezuka- the characters in the film areaccurate portrayals of the themanga ones.
There are also othernoticeable influences in thefilm is the original "Metropolis"
film made by Fritz Lang in
1929. Although the nameis the same, the originala"Metropolis" manga had very
little in common with Lang's
film, indeed Tezuka claimed
never to have seen it before
writing the comic. The themeof class struggle in a dystopian
futuristic society that made up
the original is prevalent in thisanime. The class struggle thistime is between robots andtheir human masters.
Robots are a fundamental
part of society in the cityof Metropolis. Although
they posses a rudimentary
intelligence, they do not havethe same rights as humans.
The divisions are maintainedby laws that prevent robots
from having names andrestrict them to particularzones in the city. Beneath thisbackdrop, a Japanese detective
Shunsaku Ban and his nephew
Kenichi arrive in Metropolis tofulfill their mission.
The detective and his nephew
a n d t h e i r r o b o t Pe r o a r e
searching for a man known as
Dr Laughton, who is believed
to be involved in the illegal
trading of human organs. Dr
Laughton is secretly working
with a wealthy plutocrat
know as Lord Red to createa super android, which canbe connected to a computer
network. With this in place
he will be able to dispose thecurrent leaders and, y'know,take over the world.
The super android inquestion comes in the guise ofa young girl known as 'Tima'.
The character of Tima allows
the director to explore thequestion often posed by anime
film makers, of where do we
draw the lines between what
is human and what is robot,
between what is real and what-7-

by martin o'brien
martinobrien2004@gmail.com

is artificial.
Ultimately though the story
is somewhat tedious and it
is difficult to actually careabout the characters and theireventual fates.
The really exciting part of
the film is the actual city
itself. Metropolis is a retro
futuristic city that is composedof four very different zones.
Zone one is the undergroundzone. Zone two is the energy
production area. Zone threeis the waste disposal zone.
The wealthy people live above
these zones in towering
skyscrapers. Metropolis isa feast for the senses withscenes of towering skyscrapers
penetrated by monorails to theluxurious elaborate art decointeriors all brought to life andaccompanied by a magnificent
jazz soundtrack.
The final scene of the movie
is the most rewarding, withthe beautifully depicted battle
in the city being contrasted
with the Ray Charles song
" I c a n t s t o p l o v i n g yo u " .
It's just a pity you have toendure the tedious, protracted
action scenes to get to it.
Tezuka himself never wanted"Metropolis" to be made into
a film, as he felt that it wasa mediocre story due to thefact that he wrote it as aninexperienced 21 year old.
Nevertheless, a story such as
this set in a massive futuristic
c i ty h e l d s u c h r i c h v i s u a lpotential, that I suppose thatthe current generation ofleading anime artists coluldn't
pass up the chance to try andmake it into a film.

letter from suketo hoikuen
hope you are all doing wellamidst all this hot weather.
Do you get fatigued by
the heat? Summer inTokushima is very lively, withlots of events such as summer
festivals, fireworks andespecially Awa Odori, whichdraws the most tourists to theprefecture during the wholeyear. While it may not be quite
as large in scale as the Rio
Carvinal, you can enjoy a very
lively and fun time here inTokushima.
This month, I am going toshow you some ways to let
your kids play and get fit at
the same time!
1: Rolling about, and turning
around - becoming used tolooking at things from different
angles. This helps to build aniunderstanding of objects anda child's view of them.
2: By holding onto things,
grasping them and putting
your strength into it, you canbuild up your muscles.
3: Jumping and hopping helps
to build up muscles in thelegs and form a good base forrunning.
4: By moving about on all
fours, you can build up
muscles around the waist, as

shin-mai mama nikki
n last month’s article, I
mentioned that I had just
paid my city resident’s
tax and I’d decided I
was going to try and getm y m o n e y ’s w o r t h . We l lthis month, I found a great
way to do just that. The city
has a program to subsidise
the purchase of electriccompost systems! And whata coincidence, I was juststarting to think how I'dlike to be able to disposeof my food waste in a more
effective manner. So I sent in
my postcard requesting that
I be subsidized for a compost
system. They will pay half thecost up to 30,000 yen! I’mlooking forward to making
good use of our food scraps.
I h o p e G r a m m a Ta n a k adoesn’t mind bringing bagsof fertilizer home with heriafter she comes to visit her
grandchild! We can tell her
it’s our way of showing ourappreciation for all the fresh
vegetables she is always givingus.
It seems that many othert o w n s i n To k u s h i m a a l s ooffer the composter subsidy Yoshinogawa City and Naruto
City do for sure. If you arethinking of getting a compost
system, find out if your town
has this program - you’ve got
to apply for the subsidy before
you purchase it, then get
the store to fill otu a special
reciept. Most town offices callthe subsidy a ใ ࡂ ૠ ౠ Ҧ ӑ୶ ᅫ ࠿ ৮ ໚ း ஃ̛(denkishiki nama-gomi shoriki
konyu hojo) - financial aid
for the purchase of an electriccomposter.
In Sofie news, she sprouted-8-by kazue inoue
suketo hoikuen staff

well as in your arms.
5: Moving your body in tune
with a beat or rhythm helds tobuild your sense of rhythm.
6: By throwing balls, catchingthem and so forth, you canbuild up your coordination.
Pet Bottle Rockets: If you
cut off the bottom of a 1.5l
pet bottle and place a rubberband as below, you can firesmaller bottles from it like arocket!

by claire tanaka
clairish@gmail.com

two bottom teeth a couple
weeks ago. Almost as soon
as they came in, she wassuddenly interested in food!
What a relief. I thought she
would never come around.
It’s good timing too, since
there is so much tasty fruitin season now – I love being
able to share my morning
peaches with her. She has
also started pulling herself up
on things (tsukamari dachi)
and trying to move aroundby holding on to things andwa l k i n g ( t s u t a e a r u k i ) .
This means she is also falling
down a lot! We can’t turnour backs on her anymore.
She loves to hunt around thehouse for the most dangerous
and dirty places to play. All
our wastepaper baskets areabove ground level now!
Soon she'll be walking.

japanese lesson̻͐њиѲэ͑by takako yamada

hen you are asked,
؋Ҫәӥщ̜҇иѲ̜݃҆ыњиѲэп̝John san, ima nani o shiteimasuka.
what do you say? You may say,،ܿ޼҆ැињиѲэ̛̝Ongaku o kiiteimasu.!I’m listening to music.
‫؍‬ҥ̶ӄ̶҆‫҇ۃ‬ћиѲэ̝!Kohi o nondeimasu. I’m drinking coffee.
؋ means ‘what are you doing now?’. However, it can also mean ‘what do you do now?’. In thelatter case, your answer may be,؎۷ত҆ࢱмњиѲэ̝Eigo o oshieteimasu. I teach English.
؏ྖୟ҆ိࢫыњиѲэ̝Bijutsu o benkyoshiteimasu. I study art.
! њиѲэ͑!
For the habitual action which is related to one’s identity, such as occupation or major,͐
is used and͐Ѳэ͑form cannot be used.
Ͱ؎́!۷ত҆ࢱмѲэ̝!Eigo o oshiemasu.
Ͱ؏́!ྖୟ҆ိࢫыѲэ̝!!Bijutsu o benkyoshimasu.
( Ͱ!means ungrammatical)w

However, for every day habits, both forms are acceptable. For example,ؐႚ෋ҪәҠӥҢ҆ыѲэ̝Maiasa jogingu o shimasu. I jog everyday.
ؐ́!ႚ෋ҪәҠӥҢ҆ыњиѲэ̝Maiasa jogingu o shiteimasu.
Thus,!͐ њ и Ѳ э ͑means not only an action in progress but also a habitual action including
occupation, habit, etc. It is also used for verbs that describe the state lasting long such as tolive or to work for.
ؑോਖ਼џ୉҇ћиѲэ̝Osaka ni sundeimasu. I live in Osaka.
ؒЊЅІϿϷџ࣌ѵњиѲэ̝TOPIA ni tutometeimasu. I work for TOPIA.
When!͐њиѲэ͑js used with (1) motion verbs(iku, kuru, kaeru, etc.) (2) verbs of wearing(kiru, kaburu, haku, etc.) and (3) verbs which indicate instantaneous action (kekkonsuru,
shinu, hairu, aku, etc.), it indicates a state which resulted from an action. For example,ؓ၀р໘ႎѬᅖњиѲэ̝Haha ga nihon e kiteimasu. My mother came to Japan and is stillhere.
ؔશѣॅਛыњиѲэ̝Watashi wa kekkon shiteimasu. I got married and am married.
In these cases, words which show the duration, such as 3 nenkan (for three years), cannot be͐њиѲэ͑/!Therefore, you cannot say,used together with!
Ͱؕશѣϩ໩ࠖॅਛыњиѲэ̝Watashi wa sannenkan kekkonshiteimasu.
̻͐њ̜̠̠̠џўѾѲэ͑pattern.
We ‘d rather say as follows, using!
ؕ!શѣॅਛыњϩ໩џўѾѲэ̝Watashi wa kekkonshite sannen ni narimasu.
I have been married for three years
Practice:
How do you change the following sentences using the same pattern?
Ͱ‫ؖ‬ϫ໩ࠖ໘ႎџᅖњиѲэ̝Gonenkan nihon ni kiteimasu.
΅̛̛̛̛̛̛̛̛̛̛̛̛̛I have been in Japan for five years.
Ͱ‫ླྀؗ‬ѣϩ໩ࠖၦуўїњиѲэ̝!!Kare wa sannenkan nakunatteimasu.
!!!!!!̛΅!!!!!!!!!!!!!!̛̛̛̛!!!!!! He has been dead for three years.
!Nihon ni kite gonen ni narimasu.
Answers ‫́ؗ‬໘ႎџᅖњϫ໩џўѾѲэ̝!!!!!!!!‫ླؘྀ́‬рၦуўїњϩ໩џўѾѲэ̝!!Kare ga nakunatte sannen ninarimasu.
-9-memoranda
Awa Odori With
Niwaka-renџ҃пᇌћ٬༂ᅇѾ઄݇ыѲыѻк̤

If you're looking to take part in the action with Awa Odoriຝ๥દћ٬༂ᅇѾџ઄݇ыѓиၑѣџ҃пᇌџ઄݇ыњѳin Tokushima city, why not join up with Niwaka-ren, aѲя҇п̝઄݇ѣ૛ᄡћ࿴೻Ѷў҇ћѶиићэ̤dance group open to all comers and totally free!
When: Saturday, August 12 to Tuesday, August 15

໘̛ૐ̡9 ै 23 ໘̻ 26 ໘

Reception is at 18:30 and 20:30 each evening̛̛̛̛ႚ཭ 29;41 ќ 31;41!

Where: Reception will be held in two places - at the

Info:

̛̛̛̛

entrance to the East Shinmachi Shopping Arcade௘̛୸̡દᄂ୸ಶ̛Ⴆѣ̛๪ఁ෎ஒื‫ޛ‬Ѣ౦୞঵!

by the Shinmachi Bridge, and out front ofჴ৽я̡̈́੖ͅຝ๥ॡਇੑপᅺࢤ‫! !ݵ‬Tokushima City Hall.

UFM;!199.767.4414!!

Call the Tokushima City Tourism Association at

GBY;!199.763.1727

088-622-4010

ҚҡҧҖҸҕӥҢ̠ҧӐ̶̠Җӥ̠ӡҪҟ (17

Exciting Summer
in Wajiki 2006
Come along to this free summer concert, with music froma variety of modern music artists, including Angela Aki,ଓ଄џോగࡂѢҔ̶ҸҕҫҺ̈́ҔӥҪҙӛ̠Ҕҟ̜Ӌҽ̶̠

Bennie K, UVERworld and many more.

ңҖ̜VWFSxpsme ўѝͅџѼѿჾ‫ޒ‬ҥӥҧ̶Һ̝
When: Sunday, August 13
Venue opens at 10:00, performances begin at໘ૐ ;!! Ϯैϧϩ໘̈́໘ͅ

11:30 and run to 16:30!

௘୸ ;! Oblb.hvo-!Oblb.dip-!lpojv!Putvlb!Tfjzblv!

Where: Naka-gun, Naka-cho, koniu Otsuka Seiyaku
Info:‫ލ‬௘ϧϦ̡ϦϦૐ̜‫ލ‬ડϧϧ̡ϩϦૐпѽ

Tokushima Wajiki Factory Outdoors Stage!

Call the Exciting Summer in Wajiki Executiveைыу ;!ҚҡҧҖҸҕӥҢ̠ҧӐ̶̠Җӥ̠ӡҪҟ (17!

Uplvtijnb!Xbkjlj!Gbdupsz!Pvueppst!Tubhf

Committee Office at 0884-62-2700, or take a!

૲৪‫ݵڿڙ‬Ѳћใᇭ 1995.73.3811̜Ѳѓѣҥӥ

look at the concert homepage at http://www.

!

ҧ̶ҺѢӍ̶Ӓӌ̶ҪѲћ̡!iuuq;00xxx/xil/

whk.ne.jp/~exciting/!

of/kq0fydjujoh0

Disaster Study Tourၻ੆¿ÞÁ±̛¾ÁÄß©Ã²±

TOPIA and the Tokushima Prefectural Governmentຝ๥ॡќ UPQJB ћѣॡ຾џ੓୉эѿ‫ޒ‬ਇగѢၑџ੆‫ޔ‬џ

presents a trip to the Disaster Centre! You can experienceഴэѿྏм҆޺҇ћѶѽкѓѵѢ͐ຝ๥ॡᅵၻ੆ҭӥұ̶

simulated earthquakes, strong winds, and more! LearnҫұҹҕҶҔ̶͑҆‫ލ‬ਹыѲэ̝ҫұҹҕҶҔ̶ћѣ̜what to do when a natural disaster occurs.

එఖѣၯ࿭҆࡝ૉല५ћсѿ̤੆‫ޔ‬рࡍсѓѽѝкэҀ
Ѥиип҆޺ѪчќрћсѲэ̝ѐѦш઄݇уєщи̝

when: Saturday, September 23, 13:00 - 16:30

໘ૐ̡: ै 34 ໘̈́๘ͅ24;11 ̻ 27;41

where: meet at Tokushima Station at 13:00 and travel

௘୸̡24;11 џຝ๥‫۾‬ћസѕ৽҃я̜ӂҫћၾ๥Ѣၻ੆ҭ

together by bus to the Disaster Centre in Kitajima.

ӥұ̶џ‫ڤ‬ຌ̝

cost: free઄݇ྉ̡Ⴥᆍ

for more info and to register: Call TOPIA 088-656-3303

ఇыਔѳ̜ჴи৽҃я̡UPQJB Ѳћ 199 ± 767 ± 4414

-10-

memoranda
Anan Marine
Festival٬໊ӐӜӥӇҙҫҸҕӂӝThe Anan Marine festival is the perfect way to get out݊Ѣࡂভ҆޼ыѴѓѵџѨїѓѾѢҖӋӥҺ̜٬໊ӐӜto the sun and sand and enjoy some summer fun, withӥӇҙҫҸҕӂӝ̝Ӆ̶ҳӂӞ̶ോ‫̠ݵ‬ҩ̶ҝӖҵҡbeach volleyball, surf and bodyboarding workshops, a flagҩә̶ҺҶҔ̶̠ҧ̶Ӈҕӥӎҹҕ̶ӎ̶һࢱ૬̠Ӆ̶

race, yacht tours, kid's attractions and much more.

ҳӇӛҵҢോ‫ݵ‬ўѝр৪҃ҀѲэ̝

When: Sunday, August 27, 9:00 to 15:00

໘ૐ̡! 9 ै 38 ໘ :;11 пѽ 26;11

Where: Anan-shi, Nakabayashi-cho Kita no Waki Bathing

௘୸̡! ٬໊દඨᆟ෎ᇰѢ‫ކ‬యᅏ௘

Info:

Area

ைыу̡!٬໊દஒিࠑযᇕ౗‫ݡ‬Ѳћ

Call the Anan City Industry and Tourism Division!

ใᇭ 1995.33.43:1

at 0884-22-3290

The 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 13 - 14

9 ै 24 ໘̻ 25 ໘German 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
Take a look at the Doitsu-kan homepage for more seasonalைыу̡һҖҶࠛѲћใᇭ!199.79:.11::

event information and other details, here at: http://һҖҶࠛѢҘҙӈҧҖҺџѶࡆಉѢҖӋӥҺ௜၇ўѝрwww.city.naruto.tokushima.jp/germanhouse/ж Ѿ Ѳ э̡iuuq;00xxx/djuz/obsvup/uplvtijnb/kq0̛

index.html

hfsnboipvtf0joefy/iunm

Toastmasters Meetຝ๥Å±¾ÅÐ¾Á±¾ßᆯ‫ݵ‬

when: August 6 (Sunday) from 1:30

໘ૐ̡9 ैϬ) ໘ͅঙঝ 2 ૐ 41 ကѼѾ

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

what: Workshop on Humourous Speech. A lecture and຾ᄴ̡Ә̶Ӕӛҫҫӆ̶ҳџјињѢӡ̶ҡҩәҵӉ̝৬discussion led by Brent Rogers (English instructor at
Tokushima Uni. CUE) Both native and non-native speakers
of English are welcome.

ધѣӈӞӥҺ! ӟҪӕ̶Ҭщ҇̈́ຝ๥ോ޺‫ލ‬ၐ૲ಯҭӥұ̶̛̝ͅચᄿॸতѣ۷ত̝໘ႎగࡸѧҿҖҳҕӈҫӆ̶ҝ̶߿स̝!
+!ჴи৽҃я̡!్ྐ݆ત!ใᇭ͝ 1:1/8681/8481 ͞

contact: Ms. Seo: 090-7570-7370

Katsuura Awa
Puppetry Festival٬༂గछӇҙҫҸҕ
ӂӝ஍۠

When: Sunday, August 21

໘ૐ ;!! ϮैϨϧ໘̈́໘ͅ!

starts 13:00

Info:

24;11 ૐпѽ௘୸ ;! ஍۠ऎ஍۠෎໺ഠࠄࢩ‫ނ‬ಷҭӥұ̶Where: Katsuura-gun Katsuura-cho, Agriculture andEnvironmental Centerைыу ;!஍۠෎ࢱ‫ݵڿڙڱ‬ѲћCall the Katsuura Town Board of Education at!

ใᇭ 19965.3.3626

08854-2-2515

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-