January 4, 2010 An Eight Period Day

Monday, January 4, 2010 An Eight Period Day

________________________________________
New York Times Article published January 3, 2010
Heads Up
Happy 1,300th to Nara, Japan
By HIROKO TABUCHI
THE ancient city of Nara has lived in the shadow of its neighbor, Kyoto, for centuries. So this year, as Nara marks the 1,300th anniversary of its ascension as Japan’s imperial capital, the city might be forgiven for going over the top.
Nara was a splendor in its time — a world of silks, Chinese scripts and Buddhist culture set in a sleepy landscape. Built by the emperor Shomu, a convert to Buddhism, Nara played an important role in the spread of that religion in Japan, as evidenced by the ancient temples that still dot the city. Now it is celebrating that history in style.
After a $100 million investment, the eighth-century palace that once anchored Heijyokyo (Nara’s ancient name), only to be razed following the transfer of the capital to Kyoto in A.D. 784, has been painstakingly rebuilt and is scheduled to open on April 24. To celebrate the cultural diversity of the Nara Period, when the city reigned as the capital, Nara has built a life-size replica of a ship that carried Japanese envoys to and from Tang China.
But the restored palace and ship are just stage-setters for a yearlong festival (300.jp/foreign/english) to celebrate the city and its history. In the works are carnivals, fairs and musical performances drawing on an era that saw the rise of Buddhism in Japan, as well as the increased influence of the Tang Dynasty.
A highlight, officials say, is the “Corridor of Light” festival from Aug. 20 to 27, when the palace will be illuminated with candles and LED lights.
At the recreated palace, a 15-minute walk or short shuttle bus ride from Kintetsu Yamato-Saidaiji Station, guards in period armor will re-enact something akin to an ancient Japanese version of Buckingham Palace’s changing of the guard three times a day, between April 24 and Nov. 7.
At the heart of the city is Nara Park, and nearby is the Todaiji Temple, and home to Japan’s largest Buddha statue, erected in 752.
The city’s modern-day charms, however, lie in Naramachi, a historic merchant area in the heart of the city, which is now home to small museums, traditional town houses and a scattering of quaint cafes and restaurants. Ryo Yonehara, a Nara native who recently started an English language magazine, Nara Explorer, recommends taking at least an afternoon to explore Naramachi’s mazelike paths. “Strolling through Naramachi is when you’ll really fall in love with Nara,” he said.
In Naramachi, the restaurant Awa (1 Shonami-cho; 81-742-24-5699), set in a town house with pretty courtyard, offers a kaiseki, an elaborate seasonal meal with many courses, distinguished by Italian flourishes: think chilled eggplant with a sorghum and tomato sauce.
Mr. Yonehara’s favorite hangout is the more casual Mangyoku (9 Ganrin-cho; 81-742-22-2265), which occupies a former geisha house and offers tapas-style dishes like octopus marinated in Japanese vinegar and chili.
Locals will also tell you to stop by the Harushika “Spring Deer” sake brewery (27-4 Imamikado-cho; 81-742-23-2255) for a taste of the area’s famous rice wine. For just 400 yen, $4.50 at 89 yen to the dollar, a brewer will pour a sampling of five sakes. Don’t miss a Harushika blend prepared especially for the anniversary celebrations, which Shin Kamemura, a brewer, said is heavenly when taken chilled.


Haiku for “first writing of the New Year” 試筆 しひつ
"Even the mist
Rises in stripes
This Year of the Tiger"
by (Donald?) Keene

霞さえ
まだれに立つや
寅の年

Kasumi sae
Madare ni tatsu ya
Tora no toshi

Published in
"The Poetry of Netsuke" by Robert O. Kinsey
Perpetua Press
Santa Barbara, CA




JAPANESE 3 -- First period

Homework:
1. write POI for article about 1300th anniversary of Japan’s first capitol city, Nara
2. finish writing beautiful version of Year of the Tiger haiku, above

We will be performing original dialogues this year during the official exam period. Think about who you might like to work with. Performance will be in pairs, with each person handing in a copy of the dialogue in both Japanese and English translation.


Don’t forget that we are learning about the following:
Ｃｏｌｏｒｓ　ａｎｄ　ｐａｔｔｅｒｎｓ
いろ　Ｃｏｌｏｒ　（Ｎｏｕｎ）
いろいろな　Ｖａｒｉｏｕｓ　（ａｄｊｅｃｔｉｖｅ）
いろっぽい（Ｓｅｘｙ）

Be sure to remember about nominalization of adjectives
Ｅｘａｍｐｌｅ：
あかい　ソックス、Ｒｅｄ　ｓｏｃｋｓ　を　きました。Ｉ　ｗｏｒｅ　ｒｅｄ　ｓｏｃｋｓ．
あかい　の　を　きました。　Ｉ　ｗｏｒｅ　ｒｅｄ　ｏｎｅｓ．

REMINDER:
Sentence-ending conjugations for い adjectives：
――い　です、――よくない　です、――かった　です、　――くなかった　です。
Sentence ending conjugations for な　adjectives ：　
――です、――じゃない　です　｛Or　で　は　ありません｝、――でした、　――じゃなかった　です　｛Or　で　は　ありませんでした｝

｛Explanation for talking about kanji:
｛Kanji compound example –人口
｛えい語　で　いみ　は　Population　という　こと　です。
｛かんじ　は　「ひと」　の　じん　と　くち　の　「こう」　です。｝







JAPANESE 1 – Fifth period

Handed out article on Nara (showing slides from NY Times website) and projected haiku for Year of the Tiger (see above)

Homework:
3. write POI for article about 1300th anniversary of Japan’s first capitol city, Nara
4. finish writing beautiful version of Year of the Tiger haiku, above—you don’t need to write the kanji, just the ROMAji in hiragana

We will be performing original dialogues this year during the official exam period. Think about who you might like to work with. Performance will be in pairs, with each person handing in a copy of the dialogue in both Japanese and English translation.


Collected homework assignment for vacation – due Jan 4
● The Nengajo must be on 4x6 inch white, unlined, index card.
(年賀状は４ｘ６インチの無地のインデックスカードに限る)

● The student must write his/her name in ink vertically on the bottom left-hand side of the card, relative to the direction of the design. It is preferable to write the name in Katakana, but names written in English are acceptable. Students with names that can be written in Kanji may use either hiragana or kanji as appropriate.)

● The Nengajoo design must include: the year 2010 and either GANTAN (元旦) or TSUITACHI (一日) written in kanji. Students may include other appropriate phrases or best wishes in Japanese, but those mentioned above are mandatory.

● The design theme must focus on the up-coming 2010 New Year, Year of the Tiger: 寅. The design should also creatively focus, in some manner, on how the New Year is celebrated in Japan. The card design should be related to the animal of the year represented in socially acceptable manner.

デザインされたカードの裏側（on the back of a designed card）
生徒の名前 (Student’s Full Name)
生徒の年齢 (Student’s Age)
学年と学校 (Grade Level and Division): Elem_________ MS_________HS_________
先生の名前 (Teacher’s Full Name)
先生の電子メールアドレス (Teacher’s e-mail address)
学校の名前 (School Name)
学校の住所 (School Address)
学校の電話番号 (School Phone Number)
カテゴリー (Category Entered): Comical Original Artistic

JAPANESE 2 Sixth Period


Handed out article on Nara (showing slides from NY Times website) and projected haiku for Year of the Tiger (see above)

Homework:
5. write POI for article about 1300th anniversary of Japan’s first capitol city, Nara
6. finish writing beautiful version of Year of the Tiger haiku, above—kanji for mist, stand/rise, astrological tiger, and year written large on board

We will be performing original dialogues this year during the official exam period. Think about who you might like to work with. Performance will be in pairs, with each person handing in a copy of the dialogue in both Japanese and English translation.


Collected homework assignment for vacation – due Jan 4
● The Nengajo must be on 4x6 inch white, unlined, index card.
(年賀状は４ｘ６インチの無地のインデックスカードに限る)

● The student must write his/her name in ink vertically on the bottom left-hand side of the card, relative to the direction of the design. It is preferable to write the name in Katakana, but names written in English are acceptable. Students with names that can be written in Kanji may use either hiragana or kanji as appropriate.)

● The Nengajoo design must include: the year 2010 and either GANTAN (元旦) or TSUITACHI (一日) written in kanji. Students may include other appropriate phrases or best wishes in Japanese, but those mentioned above are mandatory.

● The design theme must focus on the up-coming 2010 New Year, Year of the Tiger: 寅. The design should also creatively focus, in some manner, on how the New Year is celebrated in Japan. The card design should be related to the animal of the year represented in socially acceptable manner.

デザインされたカードの裏側（on the back of a designed card）
生徒の名前 (Student’s Full Name)
生徒の年齢 (Student’s Age)
学年と学校 (Grade Level and Division): Elem_________ MS_________HS_________
先生の名前 (Teacher’s Full Name)
先生の電子メールアドレス (Teacher’s e-mail address)
学校の名前 (School Name)
学校の住所 (School Address)
学校の電話番号 (School Phone Number)
カテゴリー (Category Entered): Comical Original Artistic




Don’t forget kanji:
日、月、木、本
本　As “tree” plus mark indicating root or origin
Japan as “sun’s source” – 日本
にほん　日本
にほんご　日本語


Study!


The following students still have not made their presentations:

Jason D. will speak about Hong Kong.
Dashona J. will speak about Strasbourg.
Zack A. will speak about Geneva.
Ray T. will speak about Seattle.
Betty N. will speak about New York.
Martina C. will speak about Paris.
Quinton H. still has not handed in his weather poster.


Remember these kanji:
目　め　Eye; 耳　みみ　Ear
大きい　Big おおきい; 手　て　Hand　　　　　　　　　　　
口　くち Mouth; 足　あし Feet/legs
Reminder: We all must be polite in the Japanese language classroom. Not only is it important in our lives in general – it is an essential part of Japanese culture. ください、おねがい　します、ありがとう、すみません　Are the most important words and phrases in Japanese.






JAPANESE 4 and AP – Seventh period


Handed out article on Nara (showing slides from NY Times website) and projected haiku for Year of the Tiger (see above)

Handout about 日本の一月・お正月　 in Japanese from 日本のくらし１２か月：Moons, Months, and Seasons, an Intermediate Japanese Reader

Homework:
1. write POI for article about 1300th anniversary of Japan’s first capitol city, Nara—must add 8 sentences in Japanese on content of this article
2. finish writing beautiful version of Year of the Tiger haiku, above—kanji for mist, stand/rise, astrological tiger, and year written large on board
3. Read “January” handout, write quick-and-dirty translation in English (not to be collected) and prepared to speak in Japanese about that and about your 冬休み（ふゆやすみ）


Collected homework assignment for vacation – due Jan 4
● The Nengajo must be on 4x6 inch white, unlined, index card.
(年賀状は４ｘ６インチの無地のインデックスカードに限る)

● The student must write his/her name in ink vertically on the bottom left-hand side of the card, relative to the direction of the design. It is preferable to write the name in Katakana, but names written in English are acceptable. Students with names that can be written in Kanji may use either hiragana or kanji as appropriate.)

● The Nengajoo design must include: the year 2010 and either GANTAN (元旦) or TSUITACHI (一日) written in kanji. Students may include other appropriate phrases or best wishes in Japanese, but those mentioned above are mandatory.

● The design theme must focus on the up-coming 2010 New Year, Year of the Tiger: 寅. The design should also creatively focus, in some manner, on how the New Year is celebrated in Japan. The card design should be related to the animal of the year represented in socially acceptable manner.

デザインされたカードの裏側（on the back of a designed card）
生徒の名前 (Student’s Full Name)
生徒の年齢 (Student’s Age)
学年と学校 (Grade Level and Division): Elem_________ MS_________HS_________
先生の名前 (Teacher’s Full Name)
先生の電子メールアドレス (Teacher’s e-mail address)
学校の名前 (School Name)
学校の住所 (School Address)
学校の電話番号 (School Phone Number)
カテゴリー (Category Entered): Comical Original Artistic

The week after Christmas break, the speakers will be Elizabeth A. and Tommy Y.


Re-iterating AP speaking assignment:
日本との出会い：第三、四課
APの祭り（まつり）の　発表（はっぴょう）

１． 好きな　日本　の　まつり　を　選びなさい（えらびなさい）。
２． まつり　の　名前　を　先生　に　教えなさい（おしえなさい）。
３． インターネット　や　本　や　ざっし　で　調べなさい（しらべなさい）。
４． カード　で　みじかい　ノート　を　書きなさい。
５． あたらしい　ことば　の　リスト　を　作って　みな　に　出しなさい（だしなさい）。
６． ノート　を　見ながら、みな　に　まつり　の　こと　を　話なさい。

長さ：　五つ　の　段落（だんらく）、三分
Practice your speech so that you can speak comfortably and clearly and with a natural rhythm. Before speaking, you must hand out a list of unfamiliar vocabulary so that everyone can understand your speech. This assignment will be graded as an oral performance, not as a written project. The other students will take notes as you speak and will contribute to the evaluation. You will hand in the (legible) notes (information items, not sentences) to Sensei at the end of your speech. You will see a rubric for speeches/presentations on the other side of this page. Thinking about these criteria will be useful when getting ready to talk about the matsuri you have chosen.

Alexander Hana-matsuri
Yu Ｏ－Ｓｈｏｕｇａｔｓｕ