５．Participated in Japan-China Youth Culture Exchange Event

I went to Shanghai from October 27 to October 30 as a member of Japan Youth Delegation for Shanghai EXPO. The delegation was once canceled due to an incident of Chinese fishing boat. Then, it was suddenly resumed. As such, I was a little depressed. But, I was recommended by Handa International Association. I rather thought this was the time for me to work on a friendship promotion between Japan and China. I know there are many people who were not selected in the delegation. So, I decided to go to Shanghai

When I arrived in Shanghai in the evening, what I saw through the windows of a bus were numerous lights which spread all over the EXPO site. The EXPO site has twice an area of Aichi EXPO site. The lights which were shining all over the EXPO site were very impressive with me. I had an impression that it came from the famous Shanghai night view. On the second and third days, we visited Shanghai Communication University where Professor Noyori who was awarded a Nobel prize and listened to a person of Toray in a industry/university joint development zone besides visiting EXPO. I realized that we had a deep cooperation in many areas.

Chinese student volunteers who were assigned to each bus were our main counter part. They were the students of Japanese department in famous universities. They became friendly to us immediately. Although we met the limited people who had a good understanding about Japan, I did not see any anti Japan movement which was reported in Japan. Though they were the young people called 80’s and 90’s and belong to the generation of one child policy, they were joking and struggling at job hunting just like Japanese young people.

 This trip reminds me that it is the best way to directly meet the people to promote a mutual understanding. If we know that there are many people who are interested in Japan, our impression on that country should be changed. In front of Japanese Pavilion, there was a long line of the people who waited for 4 hours to enter.　（N.I）
　

Memory of Bhutan

Handa-Bhutan Youth Friendship Association is actively supporting a healthy growth of young people through their culture exchange activities between Bhutan and Handa. Last year, the association hosted three middle school students in Handa. They attended a class in Narawa middle school for a short term study.
This year, the association sent three middle school students and an official Handa delegation to Bhutan for culture exchange. （Toshisada Takagi）

★True happiness

I learned two things when I went to Bhutan and experienced a home stay.

The first thing is “study”. In this modern world, it is very useful to the future if I can understand and speak a foreign language. I have been studying English everyday, but, I could actually speak English very little once I went to a foreign country. So, I commit myself to study English more so that I will be able to speak English more at a next chance to speak English.

The second thing is “a true happiness”. It is what we are unaware of in an ordinary life. I met many people including my host family, school mates and teachers while I was in Bhutan.

They gave me a lot of love. When I had a problem, they helped me right away though there was a language barrier. On the top of those things, I want to thank to my mother, my father and the members of Handa-Bhutan Youth Friendship Association.

 I am very glad that I went to a new world and could find what I had never found in my ordinary life. “A true happiness”, it is for us to be sometimes in a trouble and sometimes in a joy. It is my answer. I suppose that a different person has a different answer. I think “a true happiness” is not always feeling a joy, but, feeling sadness and a pain as well.

 I have two favorite poems.

One is:
If we do not have a severity of a winter, we are not aware of a tenderness of a spring.
If we do not have a severity of people, we are not aware of a tenderness of people.

The other is:
What happiness have you had recently?
You may be unable to remember it as you are too fortunate.
You should realize that it can be even a miracle for you to be here and be breathing.

I like the first one very much since it is just what I think about happiness. The second one can provide me with a number of answers about happiness. I could understand the meaning of the poem while I experienced many things in this trip.
I was assigned as a leader of a school club. The role a leader is very important and difficult.

 I have to work very hard everyday. It is still difficult for me to balance several activities and keep a time schedule and facilitate club members to make a piece of music. But, I will apply what I learned in Bhutan so that I can learn and cooperate together with them.

Miki Amakusa

★Many tenderness

It was good for me to be able to go to Bhutan for a short oversea study program. Because, I could meet many people and had many experiences there. Although I sometimes could not understand English, they were tender to me and I enjoyed a lot. We had a welcome party in the evening. Ministers came to the party. We enjoyed to see a dance while we had a dinner. Bhutanese dance was interesting. They put Bhutanese traditional costume on me. The costume was not so tight as I expected. I was given many gifts at a tea party held at Changangkha Lower Secondary School.
I experienced many things while I was in Bhutan for 7 days. I never forget all of them. I could touch tenderness of many people. If I can have another chance, I want to go there again.

Ｓａｔｓｕｋｉ　Ｈａｓｈｉｂａ

★Various experiences

I experienced many things when I went to Bhutan.
After we arrived in Bhutan, we went to a museum. A school class was enjoyable, but I did not know what I should do, since English was used in the class. I just copied what a teacher wrote on a black board, on my notebook. It was good that I could make many friends. Even though I stayed for only 9 days, it is a very nice memory. It was good that I experienced various things.

Ryo Kobayashi.

Concert tour in Australia

Friendship visit and music concerts in Australia

Get the circle of Music and the circle of Friendship bigger

Junior Brass Band left Chubu International Airport on August 13 for Australia to conduct the 3rd friendship visit and perform music concerts. We had wonderful experiences in Port Macquarie including a home stay with a host family and meeting with many citizens.
I really appreciated a fun of culture exchange through music and realized that music is a common language in the world.
We stayed at a farm in this trip. We have never done it before. It was an enjoyable and great experience to us.

Yasuaki Shimizu
Leader of Handa Junior Brass Band

★I could not understand what they said.
They did not understand what I said. I was embarrassed very much. But, because of that, I could feel more strongly that music was common in the world. (S.N)

★I learned the technique of music, the warmth of music from Australian people, the pleasure of music from the leader and Ms. Patricia, and the strength of music from our music play. I am sure those will be helpful for my future life. (S.T)

★As the audience in every concert enjoyed our music performance, we could relax to play music. In this trip, I could not only meet with Australian people, but, I could make the friendship with the members of Handa Junior Brass Band stronger. I am glad that the children who are different from my age and my school became good friends to me through music. (A.T)

★I have found in this trip that I could make friends if I tried hard, even though their language and culture background are different. (H.S.

★I feel one thing in every concert. That is music crosses a country border.
What I felt during this trip was the warmth of the people. Needless to say the people in Port Macquarie, I am grateful to the shop staff, the passengers in the same train, the hotel staff and many other people for their kindness. (R.K)

★It was difficult for me to communicate with a host family. I thought I should have studied English more seriously. But, I could somewhat communicate with a body language. (N.U)

★I could touch a different culture. I could improve my English a little. On the top of those, I understood a beauty of Japan while I was away from Japan. I will keep remembering it and make use of it a little by little for my future life. (M.W)

★I was about to cry at the farewell to Michelle. I could only say “Thank you”. I tried hard to express my appreciation to her. I hope she could understand it. (N.E)

Japanese class for daily life

Don’t you have any problems in a daily life?
The below pictures are some examples which you can learn in Japanese class for daily life.

Japanese class for daily life teaches you Japanese words and phrases necessary for daily life. The curriculum of the class is designed to eliminate your uneasiness over a language in a daily life and make your daily living more comfortable. You learn about school system, families, ceremonial occasions, local communities, etc. You can consult your problems in the class as well.

We do not classify garbage in my country. I fully understand it. I think I will be able to classify garbage from now on. (Chinese)	Lock a key firmly!
I was terrified with seismic intensity 7. I could not stand. I was afraid if it actually happened. (Chinese)
★Visited Handa Fire Department and experienced seismic intensity 7 20 people including 11 foreigners visited Handa Fire Department. We learned that we should tell an address at first when we make an emergency call. At the end of tour, we rode a seismic car to experience a shaking of seismic intensity 4 to 7. Everybody understood a scariness of an earthquake. They told us that we should go under a table quickly when we felt an earthquake. ★Other Japanese class “Sakura” class: 10 am to noon on every Sunday, For all foreign residents “Tsubasa” class: 10 am to noon Monday thru Friday, For all foreign residents “Usagi” class: 14 to 16 on every Saturday For Foreign students in an elementary school or a middle school. All classes are free of charge and may be joined at anytime.

The history of Handa with foreign countries

Handa has 130 year history of a relationship with foreign countries

★The first ranch in Chita peninsula

The 4th generation resident of Mitzkan company imported cows from UK and began to drink milk for a health of his family. Later, he had a ranch in front of the current JR Handa station and sold bottled milk. It was very popular. It was the first dairy firming in this area. That ranch, Aiyousha, still exists near the station as a café.

★Opening of Taketoyo line

Taketoyo line opened in Meiji 19 and the first train ran between Handa and Atsuta. The locomotive which ran between Shinbashi and Yokohama at the first time was used in that train. The fee for between It is said that Taketoyo and Handa was very high and was equal to the wage for a day.
W. Bitz, an English man, consulted the design of the construction. The materials such as rails, iron bridges, a locomotive which were necessary for the construction were imported from UK. Bitz married a Japanese woman. Their descendant is still living in Taketoyo.
The existing Kamezaki station building is the oldest station building in Japan. The bridge over Handa station is the oldest in JR.

★Morrison Incident

Houjun-Maru, a ship from Noma, was wrecked in Enshu-Nada in 1832. Three sailor trainees, Otokichi, Kyukichi and Iwakichi, survived and drifted to Flitter point in Canada. They were rescued by an English captain and went to London as the first Japanese there. Then, they were transferred to Macau where they assisted to translate the New Testament into Japanese. They tried to go back to Japan on American ship Morrison. But, it failed. This incident stimulated liberal people who wanted to open up the country. Even though it was invisible, it helped the opening of the country a lot. Otokichi went to USA in that ship as a sailor. He worked on a trading business and married with an English woman. Once, he came to Japan as an interpreter, but, he could not enter Japan. Later, he settled in Singapore and succeeded.

★Owari's measures against Black Ships

At the end of Tokugawa era, the domain of Owari built a fort at Utsumi in 1850 to prepare for black ships. They planned to inform to Nagoya Castle by a signal fire. One day, they found back ships. They relayed a signal fire from Ohi village, Futo-Matsuriyama, Taketoyo-Nagaoyama, Kamezaki-Takaneyama to Nagoya Castle. Before that, when they found black ships in Ise Bay, they fired a canon from Utsumi-Issiki Fort as they were trained. But, it is said that a cannonball did not reach black ships.

★Touzin Okichi

Touzin Okichi, Ms. Okichi Saito, was born at Utsumi in 1841. (There is a monument near the mouth of Utsumi river.) When she was 4 years old, the family moved to Shimoda. Later, she was trained social manners and dancing in a foster family and became a popular “Geisha”. When she was 17 years old, she was sent to the first consulate general Harris in order to make Japan-USA trade agreement (1856) favorable to Japan. But, as she had a swelling, she was returned in three days. After that, she worked as “Geisha” and a hairdresser. She died at the age of 51.

Story by Mr. Katsumi Kawai

参考資料　「知多半島歴史読本」「ご当地検定」「武豊線物語」

The 8th KonnichiWorld festival

The festival was held at Handa sports park on November 14, 2010 jointly with Handa Industrial Festival.

1000 cards were gone in a moment at a stamp rally.

We have more nice pictures.   Please click here.

Report country booths

★Australia
They introduced beautiful natural landscapes in Australia.
Nepal
Colorful handcrafts were exhibited. They were purses, hand-knitted caps, cute handkerchief, etc. Everything was very beautiful.

★Turkey
They introduced a famous accessory, “Nasaak”.
Peru
They wore colorful traditional folk costumes to welcome visitors. They displayed folk music instruments such as Sanbonia and maracas. A picture of Machu Picchu which was a world heritage was also displayed.

★Indonesia
Visitors were served a dessert which was made from green pees, coconut and ginger. It was nice and sweet.

★Thailand
They displayed and sold Thai products including Thai silk mufflers. They said some children in Thailand still can not go to school because of the recent flood disaster.

★Sri Lanka
The booth was crowded with visitors. Visitor were welcomed with a Sri Lankan greeting, “Ayu Porn”. It means “Please live long”.

★Vietnam
Visitors ere welcomed by a beautiful lady who wore “Ao dai”. Please visit Vietnam which is famous for beautiful landscapes.

★Bhutan
It is a peaceful country located at 2000m elevation. They love all living creatures. Even street dogs do not bark since they are loved by people. They even do not kill mosquitoes. The miniature of their traditional costumes, “Kira (female costume)” and “Goh (male costume)”, were displayed.

★USA
Visitors got candy if they won a game.

The festival was crowded with many visitors.

Street performance by the students of Nihon Fukushi University
Foreigners singing "Siwasenarateotatakou" with Japanese
Each 300 dishes were very popular!    Forming a long line
We, volunteer staff, are working in various areas. Please join us!

〜Ｎｅｗｓ〜

International Potluck Party

Date & Time : March 6, 2011 (Sunday)
Place: Auditrium in Handa Fukushi Bunka Kaikan
Please bring a dish and enjoy meeting the people from various countries.

Please join Handa International Association.

Annual member fee
Individual member 2,000 yen
Group member 2 units or above (1 unit is 5,000 yen)
Company member 1 unit or above for the number of employees 1 - 29
2 units or above for the number of employees 30 – 49
4 units or above for the number of employees above 50

 Please buy an advertisement
on the bulletin of Handa International Association.

Price of Advertisement: 12,000 Yen /section – size 45mm x 83mm
Next bulletin will be published on March 15.
Note: You can have a discount from the second time.