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Uniforms in Japan

July 6, 2020

Uniform maintains disciplines

By Ryosuke Tanaka

What kind of clothes did you wear when you were high school students? In Japan most students wear uniforms. A typical high school uniform for a boy looks like this. A male student wears a white shirt and a tie, trousers and a blazer.

Wearing school uniforms is a Japanese school tradition. When we go to school, we can’t go in any clothes. We need to wear uniforms that is decided by each school. Basically, we wear uniforms from elementary school to high school.

By wearing the same uniform, the school’s discipline is maintained. There are a lot of rules regarding the dress codes. Students always need to wear uniforms properly, especially, on special occasions such as graduation and entrance ceremonies.

I think it is a good idea for students to wear school uniform, because the school is a place to study. Wearing proper clothes helps students focus on study. If students wear anything they want to wear, they will wear inappropriate clothes and that will be distracting.

Uniforms gives a sense of belonging

By Chio Yamamoto

The school uniform is adopted by most Japanese schools. Students wear it in junior high school, high school, and even elementary school and kindergarten. I think school uniform gives a sense of belonging to their schools.

The school uniform has a different design depending on the school. So, wearing that school uniform represents you as a student of the school. Also, the school will be a memorable item for students.

By looking at their uniforms after graduation, uniforms become a reminder of their student life. Thus, the school uniform is plays important fuctions for high school students.

Photo by Ryousuke Tanaka and Chio Yamamoto

Celebration of First Birthday

Celebration of First Birthday

July 6, 2020

By Saki Suyama

The Japanese first birthday celebration is unique. It is called “isshyou mochi.” On the first birthday,a baby is humped with a very big rice cake on her back and encouraged to stand up.

The rice cake is made from an isshyo of rice, which is about two liters of rice, so it is very heavy for a one-year old baby. Some babies and stand up others fall down by the weight of the rice cake.

Ishyou has double meanings: a volume of rice which is approximately two litters, and “as long as one lives.” Parents and grandparents make a wish so that their children will be able to eat rice as long as they live.

After the celebration, parents distribute the rice cake used in the event to their relatives. Proud parents let many people know that they have a healthy child in their family. This event symbolizes the love of parents, and I think we should continue to celebrate the festival in the future.

Photo by Saki Suyama

Traditional Umbrella to Pray for Rain

Traditional Umbrella to Pray for Rain

July 6, 2020

By Reina Yamane

This traditional umbrella was used to pray for rain in Tottori Prefecture in the Edo Period. This umbrella is called “shan-shan gasa’’ because of a lot of bells are attached on the umbrella and it sounds like ting-a-ring. At end of the Edo Period, villagers in the Tottori region experienced a record drought.

So, one man started to dance to pray for rain. His name was Gorosaku. This incident is believed to be the origin of the traditional umbrella. Being passed down to the current generation, this umbrella reminds the connection between gods and the people in Tottori Prefecture.

For example, children in Tottori Prefecture dance spinning this umbrella in summer. Children make their umbrellas themselves by using glue stick, paper, and wire. The umbrellas in the photo are made of bamboo and cardboard.

Once their decorative umbrellas are made, they dance for fun. There is a big festival, called Shan-Shan Festival, has been held every year in Tottori since 1965. The festival is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s biggest umbrella festival.

Photo by Reina Yamane

Mirror rice cake and Japanese Spirituality

Mirror rice cake and Japanese Spirituality

July 6, 2020

By Masato Kusakari

Japanese families display enormous rice cakes called kagami-mochi, namely, mirror rice cake, during the New Year Holiday. The kagami-mochi is as large as a volleyball, but it is flat like a pie.

The kagami-mochi is a sacred food for Japanese. The New Year Holiday is for Japanese to welcome the god of the incoming year, and the god must be welcomed to their houses and entertained by the special rice cake.

The incoming year god is called Toshi-gami-sama, namely, Mr. God of the Year. The god visits everyone’s house on January 1, and after a few days the god leaves back to the mountain. Then people are allowed to eat the rice cake. People eat it on a certain day, which is called “the day to open the mirror.”

They believe the rice cake has special powers: they will not get sick and can avoid disasters by eating the mirror cake on the mirror opening day. To sum up, kagami-mochi represents traditional beliefs that have been passed from generation to generation.

Photo by Masato Kusakari

Meaning of Osechi

Meaning of Osechi

July 6, 2020

By Kotone Muraki

Osechi a dish that can be eaten during the New Year in Japan. There are 20 to 30 types of side dishes in osechi. I think osechi is a gift from ancestors who have wished for good health. The reason is that each side dish in the osechi has its own meaning.

For example, shrimp symbolizes longevity because a shrimp is bent, which is similar to the back of an old man who lives long until the waist is bent. Black beans have the meaning that they work hard until they get a black tan. In addition to this, osechi also has wonderful meaning that each side dish can be healthy for one year this year.

Also, osechi has a very long history of 1000 years. These are inherited from the generations of ancestors. Therefore, osechi is a present from forefather who is connected to the past and the future.

Photo by Kotone Muraki

Craftmanship in Stone Walls

Craftmanship in Stone Walls

July 6, 2020

By Kohei Nozaka

Japanese castles are built on stone walls, called Ishigaki, namely, walls made of stone. Although a lot of Japanese wooden castles are destroyed, the stone walls are still standing proudly on mountain tops overlooking downtown areas in many cities in Japan after being constructed during 10th century.

The magnificent ancient stone walls give modern people a glimpse of craftmanship: passion, expertise, and creativity. In order to build stone walls, a tremendous number of heavy stones must be carried from various parts of Japan. Unlike today powered by modern machinery, they needed to procure materials by sea.

Only passionate lords and dedicated servants were able to accomplish such a difficult task. Another amazing thing about the stone wall is how stone wall builders figured out the combination of variously shaped stones into a perfect wall.

The stones had various shapes and sizes, and some were good for the top and others were good for the bottom part of a wall. The builders were able to find out how to balance the pieces like solving a difficult puzzle.

In addition, the ancient builders developed a creative solution for water to flow through the gaps between stones. That is why the ancient stone walls remain unchanged even today. Thus, the stone walls of Japanese castles are filled with the wisdom of old architects.

Photo by “Matsue Castle” by Clay Gilliland is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

Calligraphy in Japanese education

Calligraphy in Japanese education

July 6, 2020

By Ryuya Nozaki

This is a calligraphy set which I used when I was an elementary school child. In this bag, there are brushes, ink, paper wait, pieces of thin paper, and felt mat. This smells like the ink that reminds me of my calligraphy experiences.

Calligraphy was brought to Japan from China in the 11^th century and Japanese started to learn how to write. Since then calligraphy has been an important subject of education. Japanese children take calligraphy lessons in elementary school and junior high school as a required subject.

Currently Japanese do not use brushes and ink for regular writing, but letters drawn by a brush has special meanings. For example, Japanese perform kakizome, the first writing of the year, to show their new year resolutions on long sheets of paper in January.

Such letters are displayed on the wall because Japanese feel something spiritual in the brush drown letters. There are so-called a shodo performance, an exhibition where writers wearing white kimono and traditional black trousers draw powerful letters using an enormous brush on a sheet as big as a carpet, among calligraphy clubs at high schools.

The audience enjoy watching the exciting process of brush-drawn lines and dots turning to something spiritual. I am glad I took calligraphy lessons because I am able to admire the beauty of calligraphy.

Photo by Ryuya Nozaki

Carp streamers, symbol of Japanese family

Carp streamers, symbol of Japanese family

July 6, 2020

By Tatsuya Hironaka

Tourists who travel in rural areas of Japan in May can watch colorful fish-shaped objects fluttering in the wind. They are called koi-no-bori, namely, carps climbing upstream.

The fish objects are carps because carps are considered strong and beautiful fish in Japan. The carp streamers are a symbol of the ideal Japanese family. There are usually more than three fabric carps displayed, symbolizing the nuclear family.

The set should have the biggest one, the second biggest and the smallest. The biggest one on the top, usually painted in dark colors, represents the father. The size is usually seven meters long. The second one painted red, represents the mother, whose size is about five meters long.

The smallest one shows the child, whose size is about three meters long. If a family has more children, they should add the number of the small one. Since they are enormous, it is rare for families living in cites show off traditional carp streamers, but they hang smaller sets made of paper in their balconies, hoping that their children will grow up healthy and strong just like the carp streamers.

Photo by “Apr09(2009-04-30)308” by giu205 is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Watermelon and Grape Paradise in the World

Watermelon and Grape Paradise in the World

July 6, 2020

By Xie Yanan

What fruit can you buy with 50 yen in Japan? A small tangerine, maybe. In my hometown, you can buy a whole watermelon!

Hi. My name is Xie Yanan. I am a graduate student studying laws at the University of Shimane. My hometown is in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in China. Ningxia is famous for watermelons and grapes. The climate of Ningxia is perfect for growing fruits. It is very hot during day and very cold during night. So the fruits become very sweet.

China is the country with the most watermelons planted in the world. In summer, watermelons become very cheap in China. In my hometown, when watermelons are the cheapest in summer, it only costs a few yuan per kilogram. If exchanges it into Japanese yen, it may be less than 50 JPY for a whole watermelon. Even in winter a whole watermelon is only 600 Japanese yen.

My family usually stores a lot of watermelons in the warehouse in summer up to the point that they can cover the ground of the storeroom. After returning home from the outside, my family and I used to cut a watermelon in half, and everyone takes a half and eat it with a spoon. The cold sweet juice is better than the air conditioner.

In addition to watermelons, grapes are also famous in my hometown. The latitude of Ningxia is the same as that of France, which is a very suitable condition for growing grapes. Because of this, wine production is flourishing in Ningxia. In recent years, more and more international tourists, including Japanese, are coming to Ningxia. Some of them come here are to attend international conferences, others are for cultural exchange activities. I have also participated in many of these activities as a volunteer. Then I found that many overseas guests choose to buy a bottle of wine as a souvenir when they leave Ningxia.

Although my hometown is generally known for the ancient city of Xixia Dynasty, it is also famous for sweet watermelons and grapes. I hope someday you can visit Ningxia and enjoy a great feast!

Photo by “June 7, 2013” by osseous is licensed under CC BY 2.0

2020 Entrance Ceremony held at the University of Shimane

2020 Entrance Ceremony held at the University of Shimane

April 3, 2020

With Shimane prefecture’s being one of the three corona virus free prefectures in Japan, the University of Shimane held the entrance ceremony on April 2, 2020 as scheduled.

In welcome address, the University Shimane’s President, Dr. Masayoshi Kiyohara congratulated the 248 undergraduate and graduate students, wishing a fruitful and enjoyable student life ahead. He stated the college experiences form the foundation of an individual as it is the time to foster various abilities such as creativity, understanding, cooperation, overcoming difficulties through meeting a variety of new people.

Dr. Kiyohara encouraged the new students to play an active part in various fields of the campus and community as the “anchors” of the Faculty of Policy studies, as they are the last cohort of the faculty, which will be reorganized into the Faculty of International Relations and the Faculty of Regional Policy Studies in 2021.

Miss Momone Kakita made an oath on behalf of the new students, promising that they would like to acquire foreign language and communication abilities as well as expert knowledge on policy studies to contribute to the development of society.

The entrance ceremony was shortened this year for 20 minutes with health authorities recommending social distancing in order to prevent the corona virus from spreading across Japan.

Announcing all the students’ names, speeches by guests, singing songs and photo shooting were cancelled.

The mother of a freshman, who waited outside of the auditorium, said that she was very pleased at the fact the University of Shimane did not cancel the entrance ceremony, as it is a very memorable day for parents.

Mr. Takenao Masuda, a male student, said he liked the short ceremony. For him the most memorable part of the ceremony was the song Dr. Kiyohara offered: The breeze of spring across the hills, to tell the start of new learning. He would like to learn a lot of new things so that he can become someone who can make people smile.

Despite the request of social distancing, the freshmen hung out in front of the auditorium. They took photos and discussed what to do for a week, because the orientation programs and classes will be cancelled next week. They will have nothing to do until Monday, April 13.

Students were wondering when they would receive their PC’s, how to log on the University’s wifi network, which courses to register, etc. A lot of students were at loss because face to face orientations were cancelled, and they must read written documents with college jargons to navigate the first few weeks in a new environment.