School News and recent activity - NILS

Hello, I am Yoshi from NILS Japanese language school. Many of our students are very interested in learning Japanese culture. As we introduced before (Shamisen 三味線), you have a chance to learn Japanese traditional culture here in Fukuoka. Today, we want to introduce 日本舞踊 nihon buyo or Japanese classical dance to you.
For most foreigners, Japanese classical dance means kabuki dance. But Japanese classical dance consists of three different elements, namely
1. Mai 舞い involves circular horizontal movements,
2. Odori 踊り includes vertical movements like jumping, and
3. Furi 振り expresses emotion and situation.
Mai, much older than orodi, is usually used in ceremonial dances of Shintoism and noh, while odori originates in kabuki. Furi was added to odori by female impersonators in kabuki. Today there are more than 100 schools of Japanese classical dancing such as Fujima, Bandou, and Hanayagi schools, most of which were founded in the 19th century by kabuki actors or choreogrphers.
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Hello, I am Yoshi from NILS Japanese language school. I would like to talk about the population of Japan today.
The total population of Japan was about 127 million as of 2008, which puts it in the tenth place in the world after China, India, the United States, Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria and Russia. Approximately 70% of the population is concentrated in the coastal areas along the Pacific Ocean between Tokyo and nothern Kyushu, because of the mild climate. The population in large cities and their metropolitan areas has grown since the 60’s and over 43% of the national population lives in the urban Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya areas. Compared to the Unites States, Japan has about a half of its population in an area which is only one twenty-fifth of its size.
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Hello, I am Yoshi from NILS Japanese language school. Jolene-san from Singapore learning Japanese language in the intensive program wrote a review on the international exchange party on May 12.
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Hello, I am Yoshi from NILS Japanese language school. Some of our students say that they want to climb Mt. Fuji some time in the future. I would like to talk about Mt. Fuji 富士山 today.
Mt. Fuji, the highest peak in Japan, is 3,776 meters in height. It has been worshipped and loved by the Japanese people since ancient times fro its noble and nearly perfect conical shape. It is classified as an active volcano whose last eruption took place in 1707. At that time, three inches of ashes fell on Tokyo—at that time, Edo—about 120 kilometers away from the mountain. The name “Fuji” meant fire mountain in the aborigines’ language and it also means immortality.
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Hello, I am Yoshi from NILS Japanese language school. Many of our new students joined a parth held by the Ogori International Association last Saturday. Our students tried to talk with the local people in Japanese although they also had to use English or Chinese. However, they had a very good time with the members of the Association.
Here is a comment from Guillaume-san ギヨムさん from France. He learned the Japanese language before attending our program, so he wrote about the party both in Japanese and in English.
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Hello, I am Yoshi from NILS Japanese language school.
One of the things that many foreign visitors want to do in Japan is to ride the Shinkansen, otherwise known as teh “bullet train,” which was launched in 1964 as the world’s first high-speed train. Many rival trains have been introduced, including TGV and ICE in the meantime and, as of 2008, the word’s highest speed train record 350km/h is held by the Beijing-Tianjin Intercity Rail (techinically assisted by Germany and Japan). As for the speed, it is difficult for the Shinkansen to compete with them because its routes include many curves and tunnels. The Shinkansen’s top speed remains at 300km/h. But the Sinkansen takes pride in being No.1 in its frequency of daily departures from Tokyo Station, which is every five minutes, and the average delay per day, which is only six seconds!
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Hello, I am Yoshi from NILS Japanese language school. I would like to talk about Japanese traditional martial art, 剣道 Kendo today.
Kendo is Japanese-style fencing. It used be the samurai’s matial art. Influenced by Buddhism and Confucianism, it stresses not only the acquisition of technique, but spiritual refinement. Today, kendo is widely practiced among students, the plice and military officers. Instead of real swords, kendo is performed with bamboo swords. Players wear a kimono jacket and a long, divided skirt. They also wear protectors, face guard and padded mittens. Swords are held in both hands and one must hit the opponent’s designated areas to get points. These area are the face, forearms, chest and throat. A formal match lasts for five minutes and the winner is the one who gets two points first out of three. You can win by only one point if your opponent gets nothing.
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Hello, I am Yoshi from NILS Japanese language school. Many of our students in our programs say that they don’t have any knowledge in the Japanese language before coming to Japan. However, they actally know some of the useful phrases and expressions. I would like to show you some expressions used at restaurants in Japan.
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Hello, I am Yoshi from NILS Japanese language school. Today’s topic is the World Heritages of Japan: 原爆ドーム or Atomic Bomb Dome.
The Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall designed by a Czech architect, with its beautiful dome, was located only 50 meters away from ground zero of the atomic bomb. The whole city was destroyed by the heat blast and shock waves within 30 seconds of the explosion. Therefore, it was miracle that the iron frame of this building could survive. The building, now called the Atomic Bomb Dome, has been preserved for future generations, forever to pass on the horror and misery caused by the weapon of mass destruction used there for hte first time in human history.
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Hello, I am Yoshi from NILS Japanese language school. Did you read the letter written in Japanese? You saw some kanji, so it may be a little difficult for beginners to read it, I think. The following is its English translation.
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