Passwords for the Month of August

合言葉（あいことば）

夏だ！祭りだ！神輿だ！ワッショイ! 

 （なつだ！まつりだ！みこしだ！わっしょい！）






夏（なつ）= summer
祭り（まつり）= festival
神輿（みこし）= portal shrine
ワッショイ（わっしょい）= heave-ho

The Image of Matsuri and Mikoshi

Vegetable Names in Japanese

      
I made a learning Japanese video using Windows Movie Maker. I hope that this video helps you learn Japanese.

      

Eigo de Nihon Eiga Part II

    

Last year in 2009 was the 80th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Canada and Japan. To mark the occasion, Compusult Limited (www.compusult.net/) and Ohara Consulting (www.oharaconsulting.ca/) co-hosted the event, Eigo de Nihon Eiga (Eigo – English, Nihon - Japan, Eiga – Movie/ watching a Japanese movie in English). 

www.oharaconsulting.ca/JapanCanadaCelebration.html

Compusult is a Newfoundland company that does business in Japan. As a part of this event, Compusult donated 32 DVDs to the Newfoundland and Labrador Public Libraries (www.nlpubliclibraries.ca/).

This year (2010), Compusult is going to offer other Japanese DVDs to the libraries. Currently, I am picking out the DVDs for this list of the donation. Please let me know by e-mail or commenting on my blog if you have any suggestions. I would really appreciate it.  Please suggest movies other than the following.

The DVDs donated in 2009 by Compusult Limited

1953 - Tokyo Story / 東京物語（とうきょうものがたり）

1953 - Ugetsu / 雨月物語（うげつものがたり）

1954 - Seven Samurai / 七人の侍（しちにんのさむらい）

1954 - Twenty-Four Eyes / 二十四の瞳（にじゅうしのひとみ）

1956 - Burmese Harp / ビルマの竪琴（びるまのたてごと）

1962 - An Autumn Afternoon / 秋刀魚の味（さんまのあじ）

1962 - Harakiri / 切腹（せっぷく）

1974 - The Castle of Sand / 砂の器（すなのうつわ）

1980 - Zigeunerweisen / ツィゴイネルワイゼン

1983 - The Ballad of Narayama / 楢山節考（ならやまぶしこう）

1984 - Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind / 風の谷のナウシカ（かぜのたにのなうしか）

1984 - The Funeral / お葬式（おそうしき）

1985 -Tampopo / タンポポ

1987 - A Taxing Woman / マルサの女（まるさのおんな）

1996 - Village of Dreams / 絵の中のぼくの村（えのなかのぼくのむら）

1996 - Shall We Dance? / Shall we ダンス?

1997 - Princess Mononoke / もののけ姫（もののけひめ）

1997 - The Eel / うなぎ

1998 - Ring / リング

1998 - After Life / ワンダフルライフ

1999 - Kikujiro / 菊次郎の夏（きくじろうのなつ）

2000 - Battle Royale / バトル・ロワイアル

2000 - Boy's Choir / 独立少年合唱団（どくりつしょうねんがっしょうだん）

2002 - Dark Water / 仄暗い水の底から（ほのぐらいみずのそこから）

2002 - The Sea Is Watching / 海は見ていた（うみはみていた）

2004 - Nobody Knows / 誰も知らない（だれもしらない）

2004 - The Twilight Samurai / たそがれ清兵衛（たそがれせいべい）

2004 - Blood and Bones / 血と骨（ちとほね）

2005 - The Book of the Dead / 死者の書（ししゃのしょ）

2006 - Love and Honor / 武士の一分（ぶしのいちぶん）

2006 - Hula Girls / フラガール

2006 - The Girl Who Leapt Through Time / 時をかける少女（ときをかけるしょうじょ）

Compuslt Limited

 Ohara Consulting

 

Star Festival (Tanabata Festival) - Wishes - July 7th, 2010

    

Tanabata Festival (Star Festival) is a Japanese tradition.  People write their "wishes" on tanzaku papers and hang them on bamboo branches.

Tanabata originated more than 2,000 years ago with an old Chinese tale called Kikkoden.

Once there was a weaver princess named Orihime（おりひめ）and a cow herder prince named Hikoboshi （ひこぼし）living in space. After they got together, they were playing all the time and forgot about their jobs. The king was angry at them and separated them on opposite sides of the Amanogawa River (あまのがわMilky Way). The king allowed them to meet only once a year on the seventh day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar.

Tanabata（たなばた）literally means the night of the seventh, and it's also known as the star festival. It's believed that Orihime and Hikoboshi can't see each other if the day is rainy, so people pray for good weather and also make wishes for themselves.  (from About.com)

Make a Wish in Japanese

七夕 = たなばた =  Tanabata = Star Festival

願いごと = ねがいごと= Negaigoto = Wish

ねがいごとは  なんですか。
Negaigoto wa nandesuka = What is your wish?

My wish is... 　わたしの ねがいごと は・・・

もやもやが  すっきりしますように　　スチュアート

日本でたのしく  すごせますように　　ステファニー

びじゅつとスポーツがもっと  たのしめますように　　ジョーダン

いつもしあわせで  ありますように　　ジョン

アイビープログラムを  落としませんように　　トム

てぃむほおとんずでくるまが  あたりますように　でぃあな

たのしいなつやすみに  なりますように　　えま

べんあだむすに  あえますように　　ろくさん

くるまのめんきょが  とれますように　　ぶれっと

アルバイトがみつかりますように　　ジェイ

  くろのストライプのあかおびが  とれますように　　エベリーナ

めきしこわんがきれいに  なりますように　　きゃさりん

ギターがじょうずに  なりますように　　ティファニー

平和　　ダニエルペイン

かっこいいふくを  かってもらえますように　　モリー

Onigiri Workshop

       
It’s an Onigiri workshop's day. Seven students participated in this event.

What is onigiri about?
Onigiri is a rice ball which is a Japanese food made from cooked short grain rice formed into triangular (Sankaku) or oval shapes (Tawara) commonly rapped in seaweed. Traditionally, an ongiri is filled with umeboshi, salted salmon,  shio konbu or any other salty ingredients as a natural preservative.

Today's Agenda

1. Self-introduction (Jiko-shoukai)

2. Learning Japanese words

いただきます = Itadakimasu = Thank you for the food (before eating)

おいしい = Oishii = yummy

おいしくない= Oishikunai = not yummy

塩辛い = しおからい = Shiokarai = salty

甘い = あまい = Amai = sweet

お腹一杯 = おなかいっぱい = Onaka ippai = I’m full

ごちそうさまでした = Gochisousama deshita = Thank you for the food (after finishing)

3. Talking about Tanabata (七夕 = たなばたStar Festival on July 7th) and discussed wishes (願いごと = ねがいごと= negaigoto).

4. Making and Eating Onigiri
Ingredients:
Takuan pickles, Takana pickles, cooked rice, nori (seaweed), umeboshi
Furikake (sardine, yukari, chicken, tarako, aona, ume, aona)
Tuna & mayonaise

Students’ Comments:
 Onigiri is good and pleasant to make. The sardine seasoning was particularly welcome.
     - Stuart
 I'd just like to say I really enjoyed the workshop, and the onigiri was very おいしい!
     - Leah
It was a wonderful experience, cooking and eating and discussing japanese cooking and culture with my peers.
     - Jordan
I loved onigiri a lot, it's great. I wanna make it with my friends sometime this summer.
     - John
I really enjoyed making the onigiri and it was oishii , I also enjoyed the time to interact and and do our introductions in japanese which was good practice. Overall It was a very good time, and I hope now I can make onigriri for my family (which my sister loves a lot)
     - Deana

       

The Word of the Month for July

        
今月の単語（こんげつ  の  たんご/ kongetsu no tango)

でも  (demo) ＝ but, however


e.g.)

1. たべたい でも たべない　(Tabetai demo tabenai)
I want to eat, but I will not eat…..because I want to lose weight.

2. てれび  を みたい でも みない (Terebi wo mitai demo minai)
I want to watch TV, but I will not watch…. because I have an exam tomorrow.

3. にそく でも さんだる (Nisoku demo Sandaru)
It’s two pairs, but they are sandals.
にそく (Nisoku) ＝２　　さんだる (Sandaru)＝３