News 

The JSSC first event for 2011 will be the AGM on Thursday March 24th.

Japanese fun day becomes fund-raiser

A popular Japanese activity day, planned for 2^nd April by the local “Kowasabi” group, will still go ahead despite the awful news of the earthquake and Tsunami that hit Japan last week. The Japan Society will help on the day by running a dedicated donation table, 100% of which will go to the British Red Cross (Japan Tsunami Appeal)  to help Japan  recover from the aftermath of the disaster.

This is the second year that the “Kowasabi” activity day is being held, from 2.00pm until 5.00pm on Saturday, 2^nd April at Petersfield Community Centre, Love Lane.

Adults and children alike will be encouraged to try hands-on activities such as the delicate art of calligraphy, under the careful tuition of their Japanese hosts. You can have a go at origami and dress up in authentic Japanese kimono (bring a camera to capture the moment).

Visitors can take part in a traditional Japanese tea ceremony. Hand-made Sushi, tea and Japanese sweet treats will be available to buy. There will be a shop selling genuine second-hand Japanese language books, comics and all sorts of other things. A percentage of all purchases will be added to the main donation box for Japan.

“Kowasabi” is a kiddies’ Japanese study group, run by Japanese parents married to British partners, as a means of handing on their language and culture to their children. It started in South Harting 13 years ago and moved to Petersfield in 2010. “Kowasabi” was chosen as a name because it is a play on the word “wabi-sabi”, a Japanese phrase about the country’s culture of beauty and simplicity, with Ko referring to little children. www.kowasabi.com. 

Our sister Japanese Society at Southampton University has created a Japanese Library.

N.B. If anyone wants to have a delicious professional Japanese meal in their own houses, Jeffery and his wife bring all food and plates etc, cook, serve and wash up. Usual charge £40.00 upwards per head, and I think probably a minimum of 6 people. No maximum!!!! Information from Wendy

1) For anyone needing house decoration, and remembering nostalgically the excellence of Japanese workmanship, you are in luck! Rhoda Bevan’s husband Takeshi Yasuda is a trained interior and exterior house painter, contact him or Rhoda on Tel: 07854 445957.        

2) Glenna Livermore has kindly agreed to start a Japanese Conversation Group,

Starting a Japanese Conversation Group  

A message from Glenna Livermore who is studying Japanese, already is part of a very successful Spanish conversation group, and is willing to start up one for Japanese.  

For those who feel they would like some opportunity to practise some Japanese conversation, sometime soon I am going to try to start a group. There are two Spanish conversation groups operating in the general Midhurst area which use the same method, and both work really well.

When everyone arrives, names are put on a list. The organiser/host will call out pairs who go off and chat together for 5-10 minutes. Then the pairs are re-arranged again – and so on until everyone has spoken to everyone or time runs out (usually 7.30-9pm).  Then, in the case of Spanish, everyone finishes off with some tapas. The person who is hosting the group provides the drinks and everyone else brings along a snack to be put on the table if they can.

There is a notebook with all the emails or phone numbers of all interested people and so whoever offers to host the next conversation (in a month or so’s time) picks up the book. They send out a block email/ phone round to announce the next date which suits them (usually discussed at the end of the previous meeting).

This is a very low-maintenance way of running a group. No-one is in charge and it is self-perpetuating so there is no work to be done, you just need a little core of interested people. Obviously nobody needs to turn up to ALL of them so there is no real commitment required. There is no obligation to host meetings so do not be put off if you live in a bedsit! If people would prefer to meet in a pub or hall, this can be discussed.

There are all levels of Spanish in the existing groups, some have only just begun to learn it – others have lived and worked in Spanish speaking countries, sometime Spanish/Latin American nationals attend.  Provided the fluent people are willing to help out beginners to say bits and pieces, it works well because they do get round to having their own fast paced conversation with others in the course of the evening.

My only reservation is that Japanese is such a difficult language and the people I know so far are at a very low level (including myself)  and I am not sure how frustrating that will be for the good ones? I think it is invaluable for us low-level ones just to have the chance to say anything, so I think it’s worth a try. Maybe we will improve, maybe kind fluent speakers/ Japanese friends will come along and help us?

To start off I am happy to have the first one in my home (in Midhurst) If nothing else, judged by the Spanish experience, it will be a jolly and sociable evening anyway!

If you are interested, please ring Wendy Arnold on Tel 012730 266992 or email wendy.arnold1@ntlworld.com If there is enough interest we will start a group.