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

peach boy taro hits the roada

"TOPPY"
February 2008 No. 212
by andrew dahms
until_eternity@hotmail.com

lmost an entire year
has passed now since
the final performanceof Pinnochio, theme
for last year's AJET musical.
And with less than a month
until the arrival of March,p r o d u c t i o n o f t h i s ye a r ' s
musical is fully underway!

Millions of Peaches...
The AJET musical traditionallyfocuses on western fairy tales,
tales made famous by disney,and other stories commonly
known by children in the west.
However, after much prodding
and hint-dropping from thelocal community, this year thestory is that of Momotaro, avery famous and well-known
fairytale in Japan.
In the story, an old man
and woman come across ayoung boy who is born froma giant peach, and decideto raise him as their son.
However Momotaro, or 'peachboy' in English, is no ordinary
child, as he is born with thestrength of ten men. Whenpractice for a ﬁght scene in which the hero momotaro
comes face to face with the evil akaoni

he grows up, he heads off to
rid the land of the evil demonsliving nearby, along the way
befriending various animals
who tag along to help. But, willbrute force be enough to get
the job done?
The Travelling PlayAs is tradition, the musicalwill be once again be held inseveral different locations
throughout the prefecture.
T h i s ye a r, t h e s t a g e s a reat the Hiwasa Community
Hall, Tokushima Hall, Ishii
Chuo Kominkan, the General
Education Center in Itano,and the Wakimachi Odeonza. Check out the memoranda
section for more details on
dates and times!

inside awa life this monthpeach boy taro hits the road - 1 ... coming of age - 3 ... big hina matsuri - 4
having a heart - 5,6 ... the new year numbers - 5
martin's manga corner - 7 ... becky's awa-ben, letter from suketo hoikuen - 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)
Editors:
Andrew Dahms & Mario Dammann
Contributors This Month:
Rebecca Closner, Andrew Dahms, Mario
Dammann, Kazue Inoue, Kam Lie, Martin O'Brien,
Amy Sturgeon, and Akiko Tsuji

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 editorsftebruary is always a very busy time ofyear for me. Not only at work, but in mypersonal life as well. I guess it's not too
much of a surprise, however, as there is somuch going on at this time of year! Not only is
the AJET musical peeping over the horizon with
its arrival in March, but there is also the comingof Valentine's Day, along with a whole host ofother events. February and March are also atime for some very interesting events here inTokushima, such as the Big Hina Matsuri in
Katsuura. Check page four for more details!
Also this month, we take a look at how to help
stray animals, and Rebecca Closner continues
her monthly look at the local dialect, and thecoming of age ceremony as well.
Cheers, Andrew

otally cold. Busy or not, when I come home
after eight hours in the warm ofﬁce, I wish
I could go back and sleep there. Why is
it so cold in my appartment? Hopefully
the summer comes soon. However, it is thefirst winter in my life without snow! I can't
believe it. It is cold, but no snow? It is colder
in Germany at this time of winter and it rains
often. But sometimes we have snow andeverything is ﬁne. I love it. Anyway, I hope you
are good. Please come to the musical in march,
if not for yourself, then for all the people whohave worked so hard for it to make it run.
However, it is not to late to save our planet!
Start with 'My Chopsticks' and 'My Bags'! We
Danke! Mariocan make a difference!

mountains of chocolate adorn the isles of local supermarkets in preparation forvalentine's day (photo by kam lie)-2-

coming of age

by rebecca closnerrebecca.closner@gmail.comte c h n i c o l o r E l v i s . We l l ,that's what I thought
when I saw them walking
toward me. TechnicoloredElvis in a bright pinkish purple
hakama and a helmet ofoutrageously bright orange
hair. Unlike a mullet, his hair
was a party from front toback. My friend in his formal
business suit was fidgeting
restlessly next to me.
Seijin Shiki (Coming of Age
Ceremony) ofﬁcially marks the
beginning of adulthood. Any
young person who will become
20 within the school year andis a registered member ofthe community is invited tothe ceremony. The ceremony
itself consists of speeches byprominent members of thecommunity, explaining therights and responsibilities
of adults followed by abanzai (hip-hip-hooray) the
presentation of a small gift
and a group photo.
The ceremony is supposed
to be a serious and somber
occasion reminding 20
year olds of their right andresponsibilities as new
adults. Several speeches at
the Seijin Shiki in Aizumi
called for these new adults to
get out there and make theeconomy great. In actuality,
the ceremony has the air of aclass reunion, as most of theparticipants haven't seen eachother since their junior highschool graduation. Nowadays
many young people don't takethe ceremony seriously andview it as an excuse to get all
dolled up and celebrate.
Everyone dresses to impress
on this special day. Most young
men buy and wear new suits
but some also choose to wear

rebecca, surrounded by a ﬂashy display of 'traditional' japanese clothing

Japanese hakama. These area type of traditional Japaneseclothing worn generally on
formal occasions by men andsometimes women. Generally,
fo r m a l H a k a m a c o m e i ndark, subdued colors but
some men chose to break withtradition and inject their own
style, preferring bright andfancy colors. The yankees in
the picture are an example ofthis new trend (in Japanese
yankee denotes this kindof flashy social delinquent).
However, the vast majorityof men show up looking likesalarymen, and not East
meets West pop-art.
Japanese women go toconsiderably more expense.
Almost all women wear
furisode on this occasion. A
furisode is a type of kimono
with long flowing sleeves.
They usually come in brightcolors and traditionally signifythat a woman is young, alegal adult and eligible form a r r i a g e . T h e y a re w o r nalmost exclusively by young
women in their twenties onformal occasions. It would be
strange to encounter a womenin her mid-thirties opting to-3-

wear this type of kimono.
Almost every woman will rent
her furisode because the costof buying just one might be as
much as one million yen, while
renting one for the day is far
less expensive. Nowadays its
rare for women to be able todress themselves in kimono,
and as a result they have to
go to a salon. Women mightstart the process in the wee
hours of the morning just to
have their kimono and hair set
in time for the ceremony.
Though the ceremony
officially marks the beginningof legal adulthood, many
people interviewed on thelocal cable television channel
did not think or feel that they
were quite adults yet. Some ofthese young women and men
have joined the workforce,but the majority are still incollege or have part time
jobs. This can be reflectedin the contrast between theserious somber atmosphereof the speeches and the lively
banter of the participants.
Nevertheless, it is one more
step toward adulthood forthese Japanese youth.

the big hina matsurieby andrew dahms
until_eternity@hotmail.com

very year in march, allacross Japan people arecelebrating girl's day
on March 3. The day
is marked by the decorationof hina doll displays - large
and elegant displays of dolls
fashioned to look like membersof royalty from ancient Japan.
However, as you've likely
guessed by reading thus far,Tokushima takes a somewhat
different approach to thistraditional festival.
The Big Hina Matsuri
Katsuura in the middle southwest of Tokushima is home to
the Big Hina Matsuri, a longstanding festival in which hina
dolls are collected from all
across the country to be put
on display. The ningyo bunka
koryukan, home to the festival,
now holds over 15,000 dolls
and puts them on display eachyear during late february andon into march. As you can see
in the photo (top right) the
scale is really something, andyou won't regret going to takea look! I promise!
To those who fear that goingto look at pilles upon pilesof dolls might not be very
interesting, have no fear. The
dolls may take the main stage,
but there are other activities
going on as well. Last year
when I went to take a look,there was also traditional
Japanese tea and sweets onsale, and a display by the local
cheerleading team, amongst
other performances from thelocal area.
And of course, the dolls
themselves are interesting
too. Due to the collection's
growth over a very long
period of time , t he re are

the main display, sporting thousands of dolls arrangedin the shape of a pyramidmany different kinds of dolls.
Some are very new, whileothers are very old and havebits and pieces missing (oneor two dolls sport very wild
and interesting hairstyles).
It is interesting to see how
the style of the displays havechanged over the year, as well
as see the amount of detailand personality put into theconstruction of each doll.
Each and every single dollis different in some way or
another, which is almost hard
to believe considering how
many there are on display.
Size, too, differs from doll
to doll. While the majority
are quite small, there arealso some large dolls as well,including some around one
meter high that are sure to
give anyone with a doll phobia
nightmares for the rest of theweek.
A Reason for Everything
The Big Hina Matsuri didn't
simple come about throughthe desire to collect hordes
and hordes of dolls, however.
In fact, the reason that dolls-4-

are sent here from all overJapan as opposed to simply
being disposed of is partsuperstition and part respect
for the craftsmanship put into
making them.
Simply put, people find it
difficult to throw away thedolls. They are not only
expensive, but it is consideredjust cause for bad luck to rain
down from the heavens on theoffending person/s.
Hina Matsuri - The SongYou guessed it - the hina
matsuri is no exception whenit comes to traditional festival
songs. Listen close next time
you're out shopping and you
might just hear it!

"Akari o tsukemashou bonbori
ni, ohana o agemashou momono hana, go-nin bayashi nofue taiko, kyo wa tanoshii
Hinamatsuri""Let's light the lanterns, let's
set peach flowers, five court
musicians are playing flutes
and drums, today is the joyful
Dolls' Festival"

having a heartever marvelled at theresourcefulness of thatmotley crew of strayanimals managing
to eek out an existence inyour neighbourhood? If
you've not seen any stray or
abandoned animals in andaround your neighbourhood
there are two possible
reasons. They’ve either beenrounded up recently by the
local hokenjo and 'disposedof ' or it's time to visit theeye doctor. To put no finer
point on it, Japan is crawlingwith stray and abandoned
animals. Tokushima prefectureis ranked third on thegovernment's animal control
worst three list, so it's highly
unlikely any neighbourhood,
however rural or urban, is
without at least a few strayby amy sturgeon
awalife@gmail.com

cats and dogs.
There are many reasons
contributing to the large
and constantly replenishedpopulation of stray andabandoned animals. Japanis said to be the land of the'boom' and this extends toanimals, too. When the latest
pets cease to be fashionable
they often end up dumped in
the countryside, 'returned tonature' as their abandoners
would put it. Also there isresistance to the spaying andneutering of animals and many
vets even consider it unnatural,so basically all animals areabandoned without being
spayed or neutered.
What of shelters andpounds? Each prefecture has
one or more doubutsu aigo
centres, but they operate quite

differently from what may be
assumed and emphasis is notplaced on public education, rehoming / adoption, basic vet
care and spaying / neutering.
The methods of euthanasia
employed also differ quite
significantly to what might
be expected. Last year 7,421
animals were euthanized inTokushima, more than 20 aday. A full 81% of the catswere kittens and 33% of thedogs were puppies.
At present, Japanese animal
welfare and control laws andthe doubutsu aigo centres
are geared towards the controlof rabies, which hasn't been aproblem for a long time. Thereis also little legislation forcing
people to be responsible forthe welfare of anima ls intheir care. This extends tohaving a heart ... con't on page 6

the new year numbers!

hsubmitted
awalife@gmail.com

ow were your pickingsfor nengajo new
year's cards this year?
Do you still have them?
I hope so, as those little
pieces of cardboard containnot only the good wishes offriends and neighbours, but
are also adorned with lotto
numbers as well! And guess
what! The numbers for thisyear's lotto have been drawn,
and the prizes are waiting to
be collected!
Let's take a look at thisyear's winning numbers andthe selection of prizes:a 37 inch television or MacBook
and iPod.
Second Place - 957358,
769466, 397940
Prizes include an iPod Nano,
Nintendo Wii, IXY etc.

700871
An original Nintendo DS Lite

Third Place - last four
numbers aligned as 9660
Assorted food items andspecialities from across thecountry.

First place - 574578
Prizes include a trip overseas,

The Nenga Original Prize 935473, 588104, 520056,

If you have won a prize, all
you have to do is bring thewinning card to your local post
office and present it at thecounter. Furthermore, prizes
can be claimed from now up
until July 28 this year.
The lotto numbers on yournengajo can be found on
the bottom right-hand cornerof your card. However, they
may not appear on personalnengajo.

Fourth Place - last two
numbers aligned as 37 or
64
Special New Year Stamps-5-

C Rank Special Prizes 812751, 561101
Bicycle sets, etc.

having a heart ... con't from page 5
animal breeders and pet shop
operators, too. Micro-chippingis also not common, so
animals cannot be traced backto owners if abandoned.
The situation may seem
hopeless, but the animal
welfare non-proﬁt organization
HEART Tokushima is blazing
a trail. Established recently
by local foreign resident
Susan Mercer and a groupof concerned locals, HEART
is the only animal welfareorganization of its kindi n To k u s h i m a . H E A R T i s
an acronym for Humane,
Education, Animal, Rescue/
Rehabilitation and Tokushima,
which accurately sums up
its work. It also facilitates
TSNR (trap, spay/neuter andrelease) which is proving tobe the most humane andeffective method for the longterm reduction of feral animal
populations around the world.
HEART works in cooperation
with local Tokushima vetsand relies exclusively on
public donations. It also holds
various public fundraising andre-homing / adoption events,
details of which can be foundon their website. HEART’s
latest project is the rescueof 48 dogs kept in inhumane
conditions on a mountainside
in Anan city. Thanks to local,
national and international
donations HEART is in theprocess of rescuing the dogs
and getting them the vet carethey desperately need.
So, what can you do to help
animals? Given the above
euthanasia statistics on kittens
and puppies, the spaying /neutering of as many animals
as possible is crucial. Visit the
HEART Tokushima website tosee how you can get involvedin TSNR work in your area.
Stray kittens and puppies
face very bleak survival odds
and once surrendered to orcollected by the authorities
have no chance at all. It's
all about prevention andminimizing unnecessary killinga n d s u f fe r i n g . I f y o u a r einterested in sharing your life
with an animal and have thetime, means and situation toaccommodate it, then HEART
Tokushima has the pet for you.
Visit their website to see theanimals currently available forre-homing / adoption.
As for Tokushima's short term
foreign residents, or everyone
for that matter, HEART hassome solemn advice. It's notenough to just to give strayanimals food and affection they must be spayed orneutered ASAP. Also, if you
are prepared to shelter andfeed animals and foster theirde pe ndence on you, thenyou’d better take this seriously
and take him / her / them on
as your pet(s). That includes
spaying / neutering and all vet
care costs and taking themhome with you when thetime comes. If you don’t dothese things, you have merely
re-abandoned the animal(s).
There will always be feral
cats and dogs and a few are
not the problem - in fact they
can become local treasures.
However, a prefecture crawlingwith feral / abandoned animals
with over 20 being needlessly'disposed' of everyday is. At
present HEART is struggling
with the sheer number ofanimals in need and limited
funds and resources. HEART
Tokushima’s ability to put
future TSNR, animal rescue
and rehabilitation plans into
-6-

action depends on us. Please
visit the HEART Tokushima
website to make a donation.
It is fast, easy and safe andeven a small amount canmake a big difference in the
lives of Tokushima’s animals in
need.
HEART Tokushima
WEBSITE:w w w. h e a r t-

tokushima.com/index_en.html

TEL:088-635-5558
E-mail:susan@hearttokushima.com"We must fight against thespirit of unconscious cruelty
with which we treat the
animals. Animals suffer as
much as we do.
Tr u e h u m a n i t y d o e s n o tallow us to impose suchsufferings on them. It is ourduty to make the whole world
recognize it.
Until we extend our circle ofcompassion to all living things,
humanity will not ﬁnd peace."- A l b e r t S c hw e i t ze r, ' T h e
Philosophy of Civilization'「人間は無意識のうちに動物を虐待しているが、我々は、
この醜い心と闘わねばならない。動物も人間と同様に苦しむもの。
真の人間性は、彼らに苦しみを課することを断じて許さない。我々の責務は、全世界にそれを周知させること。生きとし生けるものすべてに憐れみの輪を広げてこそ、初めて、人類に平安が訪れるのだ。
」- シュバイツァー博士（「文明の哲学」から）martin's manga corner
Title:
Manga-ka:
Publisher:First published:
No of volumes:l

CESARE ( チェーザレ )Fuyumi Souryo
Kodansha2006
Four

ast February, I reviewed
Hitoshi Iwaaki's Heureka
which was loosely based on
the life of the famous Greek
mathematician Archimedes.
The appeal of Iwaaki's
Heureka is his remarkably
detailed conceptualisation of
how the actual battles of theSecond Punic wars would havepossibly taken place. Similarly,
this month we see history
brought to life in Fuyumi
Souryo's CESARE, which
provides us with an accountof the life and times of thenotorious Cesare Borgia. Also
known as the Black Prince,
Borgia was an Italian aristocrat
who was once one of the mostfeared and corrupt rulers ofRenaissance Italy in the 16th
century. Borgia was the man
who was said to have inspired
N i c c o l o M a c h i a ve l l i ' s T h e
Prince: the famous treatise on
power and politics which has
influenced the good and not
so good throughout the ages.
In CESARE, Souryo
endeavors to seek out the man
behind the myth, and takethe actual factual basis of his
endeavors and then use this tocreate a fictionalized accountof his early years where he
cut his skills as a feared andruthless leader as a student in
the University of Pisa. Souryo
portrays Borgia as being morewilful and pragmatic rather
than malicious, with any
ruthlessness he demonstrates
being a product of theenlightened yet relentlessly
cutthroat Renaissance era

where poisoning or stabbing
someone who looked at you
sideways was all the fashion.
In the University of Pisa, theyoung Cesare is the leaderof the Spanish student grouporganization. He befriends
Angelo de Canossa, a naive
young man who has recently
arrived at the university andis assigned to the Fiorentina
group of student noblemen
whose head is Giovanni, theson of Lorenzo de Medici.
These student groups are
essentially regional groups thatstudents join based on wheret h e y c o m e f r o m . A n g e l o,being a country nobleman,is not that familiar withthe manners and etiquettedemanded by his group peers
and soon starts to makeenemies. Cesare, however, by
virtue of his diplomatic skills,
manages to soothe tensions
between Angelo and someof the other students, thus
gaining his friendship andloyalty. Angelo manages torepay the favour when hehelps prevent a masked manfrom assassinating Cesare
and thus their fates become
intertwined. To some degree
Angelo represents Cesare's
conscience as he traverses theline between good and evilin his quest for wealth andpower.
Cesare introduces Angelo to
the world from which he hascome where his father Rodrigo
Borgia has used money andpolitical pressure to rise within
the ranks of the catholic church-7-

martin o'brien
martinobrien2004@gmail.com

to become a Cardinal. Not
to mention the fact that his
mother gave birth to him while
Rodrigo was an Archbishop.
Like his father, Cesare intends
to use money and influence
to rise through the ranks ofthe church hierarchy and thus
it isn't long before the naivea n d g o o d - n a t u re d A n g e l o
is drawn into the hideous
intrigues and politics of thecity of Pisa, which in turnaffect life in the university.
There are three factions in thecity - Angelo's patrons, the De
Medici's and there is the familyof the Archbishop of Pisa, theRiario's. The third faction iscompromised of Dominicanzealots. Each controls different
territories in and around Pisa.
Souryo's research into the
dynamics of the various
power struggles that defined
the Renaissance era is quite
meticulous and she maintains
a sense of authenticity
throughout the story. She
manages to capture the senseof tragedy of educated menof the church, who are meant
to be representatives of God
constantly perpetrating actsof evil. CESARE also manges
to excellently capture theopulence of the Catholic
church and the artisticfeatures and architecture of
the time, with many of thefamous sights and monumentsof Florence and Pisa being
excellently rendered. CESAREwas first serialized in Morning
magazine, with four volumes
now available. CESARE is not
Souryo's first manga with
Kodansha Morning, before theserialization of CESARE she
was the author of the popular
Eternal Sabbath series.

Becky's Awa-ben!
A friend of mine went off to Tokyo for university. On the way to class one day she slipped andfell. Worried that she might be hurt her friends asked, "Are you ok?" She replied "ikeru, ikeru."
Now confused her friends asked "Where to...?"
Most people who know that I am interested in Awa-ben have told me this story if not once thanmultiple times. Its a folk story about Awa-ben and plays on the fact that "ikeru" means "I amable to go" in Standard Japanese but in Awa-ben it means something like: it will do, alright,
safe. Unlike 大丈夫 daijyoubu (the standard Japanese equivalent) いける ikeru is a verb andthus conjugates like a normal る ru verb.
いける、いける。
Ikeru, ikeru.
I'm alright, I'm alright.

いけますか？
Ikemasu ka?
Will it do?

A: いけた？
A: Iketa?
A: Was it alright?

*more formal than the normal form いける
ikeru but still used quite often.

B: うん、いけた。
B: Un, iketa.
B: Yeah, it was alright.

letter from suketo hoikuen

in J a p a n , Fe b r u a r y 3 rdmarks the occassiono f s e ts u b u n ( a b e a n throwing-festival) which isalso known as the ﬁrst day ofspring. But if you look at thecalendar you will ﬁnd that it isalready spring! The cold days
are not over yet, though, so
be especially careful to takecare of your health over the
coming weeks!
This month I am going totalk about how to introduce
your child to blowing theirnose properly. When children
grow older then ten months, it
happens that they sometimes
play with their nose and sniff.
And when grown ups show
them this manner, children
tend to imitate it. You can use
this habit to teach children
how to blow their nose
properly. First, rip a tissue insmall strips and moist thema little, then stick them atyour tip of the nose as in the
picture (above center). If you

now breath the tissue will
move and your child will soon
try to imitate the movement.
It depends on the child, but
usually from three years on,
children learn how to blow
their noses well. Until thistime, please help your childto learn. First, let them close
their mouth, then hold one
side of their nose and say ‘haa’
until they breathe. But be
careful, as if your child blows-8-

by kazue inoue
suketo hoikuen staff

to hard then its ears may start
to hurt. The nose works also
as a filter to protect oneself
from viruses and bacteria that
may cause your to catch cold.
It is important to blow yournose properly to help prevent
catching cold.
This month’s toy:
1. Cut a milk carton 5cm fromthe top.
2. Insert cutlines to the 4
corners, fold them over andcut them round.
3. Add a face, hands and legsand voila! Now hold it frombehind and you can move it
up and down for fun.

japanese lessonby akiko tsuji
jtmtoku-lesson@mbk.nifty.com

in spoken language there are expressions that follow standard grammar rules, and less formal
expressions that do not. Such informal expressions are commonly used when talking to closefriends or informal situations to help the conversation move along more smoothly. This month,
let's take a look at contractions, one of the common elements of informal speech.

First, let's takea lookat the following conversation as an example:
しごとおA：やっと仕事が終わった。B さんは？
すこ
あした
かいぎ
しりょう
さき
よ
B：わたしはあと少し。明日の会議の資料、先に読んどきます。
①
しつれい
A：そう。じゃ、わたしは先に失礼しますね。
つか
B：ええ、お疲れさまでした。
あめふ
A：あっ。雨が降ってる。
②
かさも
B：傘、持ってますか。
②
き の う こわ
A：いえ、昨日壊れちゃったんですよ。どうしよう…。
③
もほん
B：じゃ、どうぞわたしのを持ってってください。２本ありますから。
④
か
A：すみません。じゃ、お借りします。
①
②
③
④

か

か

よ

よ

書いておく→書いとく読んでおく→読んどく
ふ
ふのの降っている→降ってる
飲んでいる→飲んでる
こわ
こわ
よ
よ
壊れてしまった→壊れちゃった 読んでしまった→読んじゃったもも持っていく→持ってく

Let's Practice!
Each of the expressions in brackets below represents a sentence in Awa-ben, the dialect used inTokushima. Use one of the contractions in 1-4 above to change these expressions into contracted
informal speech. You can use the same form of contraction several times if needed.
げんき

1. A：どうしたんですか。元気がないですね。
さいふお
B：けさ、財布を（落としてしもうた→
2. A：C さんはどこ？
いま
かいぎしつ
かちょう
はな
B：今、会議室で課長と（話っしよる→
ほんかえ
3. A：もう本返すの？
ぜんぶよ
B：うん、ゆうべ全部（読んでしもうた。→
でんわ
4.（電話で）ばんた
A：もう、晩ごはん食べた？
いまた）。
B：まだ。今（食べよる→

）んです。
）よ。
）から。

Answers:
１．落としちゃったお２．話してるはな-9-

３．読んじゃったよ４．食べてる。
たmemoranda
The 14th AJETMusical

第１４回徳島 AJET
ミュージカルThis year, the Assistant Language Teachers of Tokushima

徳島県で活動している外国語指導助手（ALT）たちが毎年will be performing the story of Momotaro. The play is

行うミュージカルです。今年は日本でよく知られている

based on the famous story of a boy who is found inside a

童話の「桃太郎」を現代風にアレンジした劇を演じます。

giant peach, and grows up to ﬁght off evil demons living
nearby. However, as usual the Tokushima AJET musicaltakes this traditional fairtale and gives it a bit of a twist!
Come along and see what happens to Momotaro on his

分かりやすい英語を使って、踊りや歌いっぱいで演じますので、どなたでもお気軽に楽しめる劇です。徳島県のALT から県民の皆さんへの贈り物。

adventures!
入場無料
Performances last for around two hours, with a ten to

上演は 2 時間ぐらいで、途中で 15 分程度の休憩が入りまﬁfteen minute break in between.

す。

Performance times:
March 1

3月1日

Hiwasa Community Hall

日和佐コミュニティホール
18:00 ～ 20:15

18:00 PMMarch 2

3月2日

Tokushima Hall徳島ホール
14:00 ～ 16:15

14:00 PMMarch 8Ishii Chuo Kominkan

3月8日

石井中央公民館

18:00 PMMarch 918:00 ～ 20:15

The General Education Center

3月9日

徳島県立総合教育センター

14:00 PMMarch 15

14:00 ～ 16:15

Wakimachi Odeon-za

3 月 15 日

18:00 PM脇町オデオン座
18:00 ～ 20:15

Admission to all performances is free!
For more information, contact Andrew at TOPIA –お問い合わせは徳島県国際交流協会（TOPIA）のアンド

088-656-3303

リューまで電話 088-656-3303

薬王寺のThe Yakuoji
Temple Shokaishiki 初会式
This event represents the first time in the new year in

当日には大護摩を焚いて、薬王寺傘下 30 数人のお坊さん

which visitors can come to the temple and see the temple

による大般若経の転読が行われます。また、寺前には露monks. There will be festival stalls outside the temple on

店が出て、多くの参拝客でにぎわいます。

the day, and you can also see the monks reciting sutras.
When: Monday, February 11 and Tuesday, February 12
Where: Yakuoji Temple, ﬁve minutes walk from the JR
Cost:

日時：

2 月１１日（月）と２月１２日（火）場所：

薬王寺、JR 日和佐駅から徒歩５分

Hiwasa Station

入場料： 無料

Free!

問合せ： 薬王寺まで電話

Contact: Call Yakuoji Temple

0884-77-0023

at 0884-77-0023-10-

memoranda
The Big Hina
Matsuri

ビッグひな
祭り

Once again this year Katsuura's Ningyo Bunka Koryu-kan

今年も勝浦の有名なビッグひな祭りが人形文化交流館で

opens up for the very large Big Hina Matsuri! Come and行われます。ぜひこの機会に何千体ものひな人形のディ

see displays of thousands of hina dolls ahead of the girl's

スプレイをご覧ください！そのほかにもお茶の販売や地

festival on March 3, and have a sip of green tea while

元の芸能の上演もあります！

enjoying the local festivities! You can't miss it!

日時：

When: Sunday, February 17 to Thursday, March 20
9:00-16:00
Where: The Katsuura Ningyo Bunka Koryu-kan, on the

場所：

main road through Katsuura.
Cost:

2 月 17 日（日）～３月 20 日（木）9:00-16:00
勝浦町の人形文化交流館

入場料： 大人 300 円

The cost is 300 yen for adults, and 100 yen for

小人 100 円

children to enter.

問合せ： 人形文化交流館まで

Contact: Call the Ningyo Bunka Koryukan for more

電話 0885-42-4334

information at 0885-42-4334

The Misato Ume
Flower Festival

美郷の梅の花まつり

With the end of February comes the blooming of the

２月が終わりを告げると梅の花が咲き誇ります。梅の花

beautiful ume, or plum, flowers, and you can see aを見るなら、美郷のふれいあい公園のイベントにいらしbeautiful display in the village of Misato. There will also beてください！物産品の販売やフォトコンテスト、ツアー

stalls, a photo contest, tours and more during the event.

などが行われます。

When: Late February through to early March

日時：２月下旬から３月上旬にかけてof the Yoshinogawa City district.

場所：

吉野川市美郷村、美郷ふれあい公演

Free!

入場料： 無料

Where: The Misato Village Fureiai Park in the mountains
Cost:

Contact: Call the Misato Ume Flower Festival Executive

問合せ： 美郷梅の花まつり実行委員会まで電話

Committee at 0883-43-2505.

0883-43-2505

Announcements

お祝いメッセージ

A new birth in the family? Have you recently gotten

最近、結婚・出産などのおめでたいニュースがあった方、

married? Then good news! Awa Life is looking for阿波ライフではあなたの家族のお祝い事を読者の皆さん

submissions from readers to help you get the word out!

に発表したいと思います！ 100 文字程度の文章と（もしSend us the details and a short blurb, accompanied by aあったら）写真を阿波ライフまで送っていただけたら次

picture if you have any on hand, and we will post it foryou in the next issue of Awa Life!

号の阿波ライフに掲載いたします。

Send any submissions to the awalife email address at:

阿 波 ラ イ フ の メ ー ル ア ド レ ス ま で お 送 り く だ さ い：

awalife@gmail.com.

awalife@gmail.com-11-

memoranda
The Shirahito Shrine

Oteki

白人神社
御的祭り

A display of traditional Japanese archery will be held at

災厄を払い、五穀豊穣を祈願する伝統行事です。弓矢がthe Shirahito Shrine to ward off bad luck for the new year.

奉納されたことを記念して、毎年氏子により開催されてCome and see!

いるものです。

When: Wednesday, February 20

日時：14:00 - 16:00

14:00 - 16:00

Where: The Shirahito Shrine in Anabuki, Mima City
Cost:

２月 20 日（水）

場所：

Free!

Contact: Call the Mima City Industry and Tourism

美馬市穴吹町、白人神社

入場料： 無料

Division at 0883-63-3114

問合せ： 美馬市商工観光課まで電話
0883-63-3114

Living inTokushima

徳島県生活情報
ウェブサイトIn need of information for daily activities? Come and日常生活において情報をお探しですか。ぜひ、徳島県のtake a look at the Living in Tokushima website hosted

生活情報ウェブサイトをご覧ください！このウェブサイ

by Tokushima Prefecture, home to information such as

トから地震・台風についての情報、テレビや映画のガイド、

earthquake and typhoon-related messages, tv and movie
guides, events, contact numbers and more.

イベント情報などにアクセスできます。パソコン・携帯版両方提供しています！

Living in Tokushima Computer Website
パソコンサイトhttp://our.pref.tokushima.jp/e_living/index.php

http://our.pref.tokushima.jp/e_living/index.php
Living in Tokushima Mobile Website

携帯サイト

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

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

Counselling Service at TOPIA
トピアの相談窓口

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)

受け止めていますか人権の重み-12-