Discovery Tours all have vacancies - contact Admissions for further information. Tour dates for this year are available at http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/english/programs/discovery_dates.html

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3. THINGS JAPANESE: "Kendo" - Zen and the art of beating people up with sticks

View video clip (.avi format, 7.8MB, 7 seconds)

Kendo is a Japanese martial art derived from sword fighting and is a very popular sport in Japan. It is basically a Japanese form of fencing. Its origins are disputed, with no one knowing for sure whether it came to Japan from China in its current form, or developed from an earlier Japanese form. Modern contemporary Kendo developed from Kenjutsu, which can be dated back around 1000 years. It was the most important part of the training undertaken in daily life by warriors, including renown swordsmen such as Miyamoto Musashi.

Kendo is a one on one, contact sport, with the combatants fighting each other using bamboo swords called shinai. They wear protective armor covering face, chest and arms. It is popular not only for its physical nature, but for the mental training it provides. Japanese warriors (bushi, later known collectively as samurai) practised kendo, with the sport often becoming part of their studies of Zen. It is not particularly meditative. Kendo is loud, it is full contact, it is hot and sweaty, and often appears to involve beating people over the head as much as possible.

Equipment: It is not possible to practise kendo without specialised equipment to avoid (or to be more exact, minimize) injuries. This protective gear is called bogu. The different items include:

Continued at http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/network/english/newsletter/things_japanese_39.html

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STUDENT INTERVIEW: Elizabeth Hahn (AIJP)

Elizabeth Hahn

Declan: Hello. Thank you for the interview.
Elizabeth: You're welcome.
D: Where are you from?
E: The USA.
D: Which part?
E: Kentucky.
D: As in Daniel Boone? What part of Kentucky?
E: Louisville. Where the Kentucky Derby is.
D: That is a horse race?
E: Yes.
D: Is it a steeplechase where they are jumping over those thingamajigs or just a race?
E: No jumps. Its a 1-1/4 mile race.
D: Now what brings you to Japan?
E: To learn Japanese. I want to be able to talk to my Japanese friends in their language, and I'm interested in the culture, particularly kendo
D: You are currently in SILAC?
E: In SILAC. I start March 16th for a 12 week course, and I'm shortening it to 10 weeks and finishing May 25th.
D: 2 weeks refund?
E: Yes. I've been given the opportunity to go to Tokyo to practise Kendo.
D: How long have you been doing kendo?
E: About 2 years now.
D: In Louisville?
E: Yes.
D: Is your sensei....

Continued at http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/network/english/newsletter/student_int_71.html

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5. Japan Guide: Tokugawa Art Museum (Aichi) & Shikabe Geyser (Hokkaido)

Tokugawa Art Museum:

Tokugawa Art Museum in Nagoya

One of the most comprehensive and superb museums in Japan is a privately endowed non-profit museum not far from the center of Nagoya. While there are other private museums throughout Japan, the Tokugawa Art Museum is a gem in many ways as it is basically a collection of family heirlooms - the family in this case being the Owari branch of the descendants of Tokugawa Ieyasu. The family's art collection, painstakingly collected over many generations, was bequeathed to the family run non-profit Tokugawa Reimeikai Foundation in 1935. It is the third oldest privately-endowed museum in Japan.

After Tokugawa Ieyasu won the battle of Sekigahara in 1600 and became shogun in 1603, key family members of the Tokugawa clan were placed in strategic locations to ensure the continuity of the Tokugawa Shogunate. One of the most important locations of all was the Owari district. As with Nijo Castle in Kyoto, Ieyasu was always highly concerned with security. Following the death of two of his sons and a suspicious fire at Sumpu castle believed to be due to arson, he decided to take no chances. From 1610 he built an....

Continued at http://www.yamasa.org/japan/english/destinations/aichi/tokugawa_artmuseum.html

Shikabe Geyser:

Shikabe Geyser

This small geyser is just a few dozen meters from the shore line in the fishing village of Shikabe. It is only about 10 kilometers from Onuma Quasi-National Park and easy to reach by rental car or bike. This particular geyser blows for about 40-45 seconds every 10-12 minutes.

Between gushes of hot water and steam, there isn't much else to do in the park other than to enjoy the Ashiyu. The water is hot, fed directly from the geyser. The bottom of the Ashiyu is thick with large pebbles you can massage the soles of your feet with while you wait for the pressure below ground to build up to the next eruption. Even on a snowy day, with jeans rolled up to just below the knee, the Ashiyu is hot enough to warm the whole body. Definitely worth a soak.

Usually the height of the spout is around 15 meters. Water temperature is about 100 degrees celsius (212 Fahrenheit) heated from vents from the volcano Mount Komagatake in nearby Onuma Koen. This is the only known geyser in Hokkaido.

As it is right next to the coastal road, it has caused quite a few accidents over the years due to rubber necking tourists, to the point where a wall has been built to screen.....

Continued at http://www.yamasa.org/japan/english/destinations/hokkaido/shikabe_geyser.html

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6. ABOUT THE YAMASA INSTITUTE

The Yamasa Institute is compromised of three teaching centers:

The Institute is committed to providing high-quality education in the Japanese language. We are a non-profit organization, a part of the Hattori Group. We are accredited by Association for the Promotion of Japanese Language Education - APJLE, accreditation number B302 - and "the only Institute in the Mikawa region with the appropriate programs, systems, curriculum and facilities required for quality Japanese language education" according to the Ministry of Justice. Further, in recognition of the excellent quality of our programs, we are in the top tier of 'Appropriately Authorized Japanese Language Education Institutes' - in fact, the only school in the Mikawa area with this prestigious recommendation. For full details see the accreditation section on the homepage at http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/english/accreditation.html

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