Friday, June 28, 2013

Niyodogawa Tea Pudding

Refreshing flavors that go well with a cup of tea
   Niyodogawa Town, located near the source of the beautiful Niyodo River, is well-known for its production of tea. Recently, the desserts made from the tea here has been attracting attention from near and far, so we traveled from Kochi City on train and bus to where these desserts are manufactured to discover the secret of their popularity.

Manten-no-hoshi Daifuku

 
Manten-no-hoshi Daifuku is popular with females aged 20-40!
  Located near the source of the Shimanto River, the last pristine river in Japan, Tsuno Town is looking to put itself on the map by using its locally-grown hojicha (roasted) tea in a variety of desserts, including the recently introduced Manten-no-hoshi Daifuku.

   Manten-no-hoshi Daifuku is the brainchild of Ichiro Ohara, a “Food Producer” from Kochi who is famous for his “Aguri Kubokawa Meat Bun”(Shimanto Town) and his café “Kaze Koubou”(Kure, Nakatosa Town). Manten-no-hoshi Daifuku strikes a delicate balance between the bitter taste of hojicha and the sweet flavors of bean jam and fresh cream.

Yasuda Town’s Mango Daifuku

 
Yasuda Town’s new dessert,
Mango Daifuku
  Mango Daifuku (named Anta-no-shiroi-yume) is a new dessert being sold to represent Yasuda Town. We interviewed the head of the Yasuda Town Office’s Economic Development Department, Kazunori Teshima, and asked him about Mango Daifuku and the process of growing mangoes.

Why did you choose to sell mangoes in Yasuda Town?
   Yasuda Town is known as the birthplace of greenhouse horticulture, and for a long time we were very successful with the harvesting and selling of eggplants. However, in recent years the market price of eggplants has waned, and the price of fuel has seen a marked increase. Due to these tightening economic conditions, we decided to grow something in addition to eggplants-our old mainstay-and in 2009 we started a trial growth of mangoes, which have a relatively high market value.

International Exchange Column

Kemper Johanson
   5th-year Kochi City ALT

   An extended stay in Japan is all about overcoming the little things before they add up. It’s like having a bad day. It isn’t just a disappointing breakfast, an annoying boss, a traffic jam, or a family emergency. It all just adds up as I remind myself over and over, I’m having a bad day.

Kinkon Tosanikki ⑩

A series of four-panel comics called Kinkon Tosanikki appears the evening edition of the local Kochi Shimbun newspaper.




Takumi : Dad bought an iPad!
Dad : You know, to keep up with the times.
Grandpa : I what?

Dad : Using this board, you can check the Internet, email, take photos… You can even read books!

Grandpa : How do I get to the next page?
Dad : Try turning the page like you normally would with a book.

Grandpa : *lick* Whoa! It flipped!
Dad : Ack! You don’t have to lick your finger!



● Tosaben Tidbit ~ shitemiiya ~
   When the dad encourages the grandfather to turn the page, he says, “…shitemiiya.” This amounts to “shitemite” in standard Japanese, and is a casual command. In Tosaben, the imperative form becomes an i-ending for standard e-endings (drink: nome>nomi, go: ike>iki) and “-i” for “-ro” endings (look: miro>mii, do: shiro>shii), and verbally often ends with -ya.

Monday, June 24, 2013

Lecture "Commodore Matthew C. Perry's Expedition to Japan: His Life as a Sailor and a Diplomat"

A Public Lecture By Dr. Matthew C. Perry
Descendant of the Commodore
 
English with Japanese interpretation

The lecture will be held at 6:30pm - 8pm on July 12 (Fri.), at the Eikokuji campus of the University of Kochi.
** Participation is free. **

Inquries: 088-873-2152
University of Kochi Fac. of Cultural Studies
More info (PDF)

Monday, June 10, 2013

Lecture "Africa & Japan: History"

A public lecture by Roger NgatU Nlandu MD, PhD
Democratic Republic of THE Congo
English with Japanese interpretation

The lecture will be held at 6:30pm - 8pm on June 21 (Fri.), at the Eikokuji campus of the University of Kochi.
** Participation is free. **

Inquries: 088-873-2984
University of Kochi Fac. of Cultural Studies