Model United Nation Class 11

Foreign Affairs --- Country Report (Round 1)
(Revised)
I Schedule
May 2nd No "Foreign Affairs" Class
May 9th Brazil France
May 16th India Kenya
May 30th Korea (South Korea) Malaysia
June 6th Saudi Arabia Sweden
June 13th U.S.A.

II Five Points to Cover
1) Brief History
2) Ethnicity / Language
3) Religion
4) Weather
5) Fisheries / Agriculture / Industries

III Roles
1) Speaker
2) Handout
3) Display

Model United Nation Class 10

What have you eaten? ---The Last Local Food (Ingredient)---
1 What food(ingredient) did you eat last, which had been grown in Osaka Prefecture? (Your Own)
2 What food(ingredient) did you eat last, which had been grown in Japan? (Your Own)
Name
Osaka Food
When
Japanese Food
When
3 Can you feed your own people with your own local foods(ingredients)? (Your Country's)
If not, what makes it impossible?

Model United Nation Class 9

Let's make up "Today's Topic"!
Your Country's Name:
What category have your country got?
What topic will your country offer?
Why?

Model United Nation Class 8

Are they terrorists?
I Quickly check if the following groups or individuals are terrorists:

1 Musashi Yes No
2 Shinsen-gumi Yes No
3 Ohm Shinri-kyo Yes No
4 the Red Army (in the former Soviet Union) Yes No
5 the Red Army (in Japan) Yes No
6 Kim Hyonhi Yes No
7 PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) Yes No
8 Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine Yes No
9 FRETILIN (Revolutionary Front of Independent East Timor) Yes No
10 the Indonesian Army Yes No
11 Tamil Tiger Yes No
12 al-Keida Yes No
13 the US Army Yes No
14 the Iraqi Army Yes No
15 the Taliban Yes No

II Should the international court decide who are the terrorists?

Model United Nation Class 7

Foreign Affairs Examination
Fri. December the 10th, 2002
Part II: Chose the most suitable information for each country in each field.
I 1) 7741000㎢ 2) 2430000㎢ 3) 9970000㎢ 4) 9596960㎢
5) 6) 7) 17075200㎢ 8) 618㎢
9) 1223410㎢ 10)

II 1) 18400000 2) 59415000 3) 30280000 4) 1284303705
5) 6) 7) 145470197 8) 4453000
9) 43340000 10)

III 1) Canberra 2) London 3) Ottawa 4) Beijing
5) 6) 7) Moscow 8) Singapore
9) Pretoria 10)

Australia
Britain
Canada
China
Egypt
Mexico
Russia
Singapore
South Africa

Model United Nation Class 6

1 YOUR FAVORITE!?( Answer from your own viewpoint.)
What is your favorite sport?

Who is your favorite player in the sport?

Where is he or she from?

2 NATIONAL SPORTS!?( Answer from your country’s viewpoint.)
What is your country’s popular sport?

Who is the best-well-known player in the sport?

Where is he or she from?

Your Country: Your Name:

Model United Nation Class 5

Trading the Culture
1 Name 3 countries and its cultural “goods” which your country imports from the countries. (Be as specific as possible.)
2 Name 3 cultural “goods” which your country exports.

Model United Nation Class 4

Today's Topic: Environment
1 Warming you up: Give the priority to....!
defense ( )
education ( )
employment ( )
global warming ( )
health ( )
welfare ( )

2 What expenditure can you cut? Why can you cut it?

3 Should each country spend 5% of its budget to stop global warming?

Model United Nation Class 3

"101 or less Reasons Why I Eat or Waste Meat"
1 Is it possible to reduce the amount of meat you consume at home?

2 How much meat and other food do you waste a day? Is that equivalent to the amount to feed another person?

3 Do you think importing agricultural products from developing countries help people there, or not?

Model United Nation Class 2

Foreign Affairs Class Idioms
dialect
tourism
industry
destination
domestic
depression
trade barriers
protect industries
competiton
the World Bank
the International Monetary Fund
free trade zone
tropical rain forest
ecosystem
acid rain
air pollution
pollutant
radiation
ozone depletion
cholorofluorocarbon
ethnocentrism
ethnic group
tribe
monotheism
Hindus
Judaism
humanitarian
the Security Council
the General Assembly
the International Court of Justice
treaty

Model United Nation Class 1

Foreign Affairs Examination
Part I: Chose two questions. Answers should be from the perspective of the country you represented this term. Write the name of your country, and the numbers of the questions you have chosen. You must answer Pro or Con and justify your stance. You are supposed to write ten sentences for each the question you have chosen.
1) Should the UN require developed countries to pay for environmental protection in developing countries?　　※
2) Should the UN support the creation of a Palestinian state in the Middle East?　　※
3) Should the UN establish English as the international language?
4) Should the UN ask the developed countries to forgive the monetary debt of poor developing countries?　　※
5) Should the UN require democratic elections in all countries?
6) Should the UN work to eliminate all nuclear weapons?
7) Should the UN change its one country one vote system to a system of proportional representation based on population?
8) Should the UN impose economic sanctions on countries that have large numbers of terrorists?
※ DIFFICULT QUESTION: EXTRA POINTS

Part II: Chose the most suitable description for each vocabrary.
1) A dialect is (①a local or regional variety of language distinguished by features of vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation from other local or regional varieties and constituting together with them a single language of which no one variety is standard ②proceeding from one point to another in time or space without deviation or interruption ③a territorial division (as of a nation, state, county, or city) marked off or defined for administrative, electoral, judicial, or other purposes).
2) Tourism　is (①the government of Russia under the czars②the guidance or management of tourists as a business or a governmental function③a building or structure designed primarily for elevation that is higher than its diameter and high relative to its surroundings).
3) (①Cosmetic, ②International, ③Domestic) travelers are who move within a country.
4) A depression is (①a contraction in the volume of available money or credit resulting in a decline of the general price level ②a place which is set for the end of a journey or to which something is sent ③a period of low general economic activity marked by mass unemployment, deflation, decreasing use of resources, and a low level of investment
5) (①The Great Wall, ②A land mine, ③A tariff) is one of trade barriers.
6) Many countries try to protect their industries from (①constitution, ②competition, ③congratulation)
7) IMF stands for (①the International Monkey Fund ②the International Momentary Fund ③the International Monetary Fund).
8) We can (①change our trades②sell and buy commodities③travel) between countries almost freely within a free trade zone.
9) Land development, mining, and logging are the main causes of the destruction of (①tropical rain forests ②Forest Gump ③tapioca rain forests).
10) A community of plants and animals and the environment in which they live is called (①an economy ②an egosystem ③an ecosystem).
11) Acid rain is rain that has high levels of acid caused by (①air ②sea ③land) pollution from factories, automobiles, and other sources.
12) A pollutant is (①one that pollutes②a polluting substance③the action of polluting or the state of being polluted).
13) Ozone protects human life from harmful radiation from (①the sun ②the moon ③the sea).
14) Chemicals such as (①cholorofluorocarbon ②carbon dioxide ③choloroform) destroy ozone.
15) Ethnocentrism is the emotional attitude that one’s own ethnic group, nation, or culture is (①related to ②separate to ③better than) all others.
16) The beginning of ethnocentrism dates back many centuries, to a time when people lived in small groups called (①tribes ②nations ③races).
17) (①Hinduism ②Judaism ③Islam) is not monotheism.
18) (①Daoism ②Shintoism ③Christianity) is not polytheism.
19) WHO was formed to improve (①heaths②health③heating) throughout the world.
20) (①Japan ②Germany ③France) is a permanent member of the Security Council.
21) In the General Assembly of UN, each country has (①votes proportionate to the size of its population ②a vote ③a veto).
22) WTO was formed to promote and regulate international (①tide ②treaty ③trade).
23) The highest court for international law is called (①the International Court of Juice ②the International Court of Justice ③the International Coat of Justice).
24) A treaty is (①a contract in writing between two or more political authorities (as states or sovereigns) formally signed by representatives duly authorized and usually ratified by the lawmaking authority of the state ②a rule or mode of conduct or action that is prescribed or formally recognized as binding by a supreme controlling authority ③an entertainment of food and drink freely provided).
25) The “Law of the (①Liquid, ②Water, ③Sea)” governs the use of international waters.

Rapid Reading Class

From my experience with rapid reading class, I think it's much betterto take on a larger book to read over the course of the semester.
As long as each class is well organized and the students know what to expect - the experience is much more rewarding.
For example: with Huckleberry Finn I was able to encorporate rapidreading, question and answer, cartoons, explanation, reading aloud and a quiz in every lesson. I think the students enjoyed the class too.
The other method is too similar to language lab (at least how it was taught when we were around). Perhaps a slightly more boring version of language lab.
Those are my thoughts.

Internet Project-Oriented Class

to team up geographically dispersed staffs to pass or share a job round-the-clock
In this project we are going to train our students how to collaborate or team up with the other geographically dispersed staffs, and how to pass or share a job in a round-the-clock manner.

A School Trip to Yaeyama Islands

I thought I dreamed a dream of a southern island. I saw a white beach whose sand is like white powder. The beach descends to emerald-green shallows which is divided across with a white sandbar. Beyond them, there lies a brilliant blue sea. The gradation is just like a dream.
In the morning, I was in front of a washer. A pair of trousers had dirt of the island.
So it had not been a dream that I had been to southern islands as a school trip.

The DEVELOPMENT of CAPITALISM in EDUCATION

The DEVELOPMENT of CAPITALISM in EDUCATION
These days schools or the school system is under the strong pressure. The pressure forces schools and teachers to change. The change seems to have some similarity with the change Russian agriculture met in Lenin's days. Here I tried to paraphrase some lines in "The DEVELOPMENT of CAPITALISM in RUSSIA", which was written by Lenin.

It goes without saying that the above-mentioned separation of the manufacturing
from the raw materials industry, of manufacture from agriculture, transforms
agriculture itself into an industry, into a commodity-producing branch of
economy. The process of specialisation that separates from each other the
diverse varieties of the manufacture of products, creating an ever-growing
number of branches of industry, also manifests itself in agriculture, creating
specialised agricultural districts (and systems of farming)[1] and ? giving rise
to exchange not only between the products of agriculture and industry but also
between the various products of agriculture. This specialisation of commercial
(and capitalist) agriculture manifests itself in all capitalist countries, in
the international division of labour; this is true of post-Reform Russia as
well, as we shall show in detail below.

It can be easily conjectured that the education was conducted within any form of the family or community in the prehistoric days, or even in the pre-modern ages for most of the people. The separation of the education from the family or community transforms the education itself into an industry, into a commodity-producing or service-providing branch of economy. The process of specialisation that separates from each other the diverse varieties of the manufacture of products or services, creating an ever-growing number of branches of industry, also manifests itself in education, creating specialised educational districts (and systems of teaching) and giving rise to exchange not only between the products or services of education and those of industry but also between the various products or services of education. This specialisation of commercial (and capitalist) education manifests itself in all capitalist countries, in the international division of labour; this is true of post-World-War-II Japan as well.

the categorical assertion is bluntly made here that there is no social division
of labour in Russia! The Narodnik theory of the “artificial character” of
capitalism in Russia could only have been evolved by rejecting, or proclaiming
as “artificial,” the very foundation of all commodity economy, namely, the
social division of labour.

As schools has started changing, some teachers are against the change and stick to the present or past system. They are, ironically, "progressives". They feel nostalgia for the past, their good old days, when education used to be "collective" or patriarchal, when they used to be patriachs at school and in class. They blutaly make the categorical assertion that there is no social division of labour in education! The Narodnik education theory of the “interference (artificial character)” of capitalism and commercialism in education could only have been evolved by rejecting, or proclaiming as “interfering (artificial),” the very foundation of all commodity economy, namely, the social division of labour.

The population of a country in which commodity economy is poorly developed (or
not developed at all) is almost exclusively agricultural. This, however, must
not be understood as meaning that the population is engaged solely in
agriculture: it only means that the population engaged in agriculture, also
process the products of agriculture, and that exchange and the division of
labour are almost non-existent.

In the past, there used to be no division of labour in education. The people concerned in education in which commodity economy is poorly developed (or not developed at all) are almost exclusively teachers. This, however, must not be understood as meaning that the people are engaged solely in teaching: it only means that the people engaged in teaching, also process the teaching materials, and that exchange and the division of labour are almost non-existent.
The conversion of the small producer into a wage-worker presumes that he has lost the means of production?land, tools, workshop, etc.?i.e., that he is “impoverished,” “ruined.”
Before the division of labour was introduced into the education, a teacher used to be a kind of a small producer, or an independent enterprise. The conversion of the teacher into a wage-worker presumes that he has lost the means of education --- teaching materials, curriculums, evaluation, workshop, etc. --- i.e., that he is “impoverished,” “ruined.”

It is forgotten that the “freeing” of one section of the producers from the
means of production necessarily presumes the passage of the latter into other
hands, their conversion into capital; presumes, consequently, that the new
owners of these means of production produce as commodities the products formerly
consumed by the producer himself, i.e., expand the home market;

Not all the peple in the educational society became wage-workers. Some formed bureaucracy, and some others became entrepreneurs. The “freeing” of another larger section of the teachers from the means of education necessarily presumes the passage of the latter into other hands, their conversion into capital; presumes, consequently, that the new owners of these means of education produce as commodities the products or services formerly productively consumed by the teacher himself, i.e., expand the educational market.

the decline in the well-being of the patriarchal peasant, who formerly conducted
a mainly natural economy, is quite compatible with an increase in the amount of
money in his possession, for the more such a peasant is ruined, the more he is
compelled to resort to the sale of his labour-power, and the greater is the
share of his (albeit scantier) means of subsistence that he must acquire in the
market.

It is, however, not surprising that the wage-worker teachers are controling more money than their ancestors. The decline in the prestige of the patriarchal teacher, who formerly conducted mainly natural or communal education, is quite compatible with an increase in the amount of money under his control, for the more such a teacher is ruined, the more he is compelled to resort to the purchase of teaching materials and services in the market.
the ruin of the small producers in a society of developing commodity economy and capitalism means the very opposite to what Messrs. N.?on and V. V. want to deduce therefrom; it means the creation and not the shrinkage of the home market.
Therefore, the ruin of the small teachers in an educational society of developing commodity economy and capitalism means ... the creation and not the shrinkage of the education-related market.

The basic process of the formation of a home market (i.e., of the development of
commodity production and of capitalism) is the social division of labour. This
consists of various forms of processing raw materials (and various operations in
this processing) separating from agriculture one after another and becoming
independent branches of industry, which exchange their products (now commodities
) for the products of agriculture. Thus, agriculture itself becomes industry
(i.e., produces commodities), and the same process of specialisation takes place
in it.

The basic process of the formation of an education-related market (i.e., of the development of education-related commodity production and of education-related capitalism) is the social division of labour in education. This consists of various forms of processing teaching materials and teaching services (and various operations in this processing) separating from teaching one after another and becoming independent branches of education-related industry, which exchange their products and services (now commodities ) for the education-related budget and for the family educational expenses. Thus, education itself becomes industry (i.e., produces commodities), and the same process of specialisation takes place in it.

The separation of the direct producer from the means of production, i.e., his
expropriation, signifying the transition ? from simple commodity production to
capitalist production (and constituting the necessary condition for this
transition), creates the home market. The process of this creation of the home
market proceeds in two directions: on the one hand, the means of production from
which the small producer is “freed” are converted into capital in the hands of
their new owner, serve to produce commodities and, consequently, are themselves
converted into commodities. Thus, even the simple reproduction of these means of
production now requires that they be purchased (previously, these means of
production were reproduced in greater part in the natural form and partly were
made at home), i.e., provides a market for means of production, and then the
product now produced with the aid of these means of production is also converted
into a commodity. On the other hand, the means of subsistence of the small
producer become the material elements of the variable capital, i.e., of the sum
of money expended by the employer (whether a landowner, contractor,
lumber-dealer, factory owner, etc., makes no difference) on hiring workers.
Thus, these means of subsistence are now also converted into commodities, i.e.,
create a home market for articles of consumption.

The separation of the teacher from the means of education, i.e., his expropriation, signifying the transition from simple education to capitalist education (and constituting the necessary condition for this transition), creates the education-related market. The process of this creation of the education-related market proceeds in two directions: on the one hand, the means of education from which the teacher is “freed” are converted into capital in the hands of their new owner, serve to produce commodities and, consequently, are themselves converted into commodities. Thus, even the simple reproduction of these means of education now requires that they be purchased (previously, these means of education were reproduced in greater part in the natural form and partly were made at school), i.e., provides a market for means of education, and then the product now produced with the aid of these means of education is also converted into a commodity. On the other hand, the means of subsistence of the teacher, i.e. on-the-job trainings, become the material elements of the variable capital, i.e., of the sum of money expended by the employer (whether a government, educational foundation, noodle-restaurant owner, etc., makes no difference) on hiring workers. Thus, these OJTs are now also converted into commodities, i.e., create a education-related market.

in capitalist production the basis for the formation of a home market is the
process of the disintegration of the small cultivators into agricultural
entrepreneurs and workers

In capitalist education the basis for the formation of a education-related market is the process of the disintegration of the teachers into educational entrepreneurs and workers. Then what does the disintegration base on?

The Zemstvo statisticians of Taurida have grouped the peasant households
according to area under crops?a very sound method, one that renders it possible
to form a precise judgement of the economy of each group due to the predominance
in that locality of grain cultivation with extensive farming.

What might be "a sound method" to group teachers? According to working hours? According to their goals and the accomplishment of them? According to the contribution for the team? According to the number of papers? One possible answer might be how richly they are networked.

the “home market” grows as a result of the conversion into a commodity of the
product of commercial, entrepreneur farming, on the one hand, and of the
conversion into a commodity of the labour-power sold by the badly-off peasants,
on the other.

Richly networked teachers might process more Intelligent Property: teaching materials, teaching knowhows, information sources, etc. The education-related intelligent property market grows as a result of the conversion into a commodity of the product of commercial, entrepreneur educating, on the one hand, and of the conversion into a commodity of the labour-power sold by the poorly-trained teachers, on the other.
the well-to-do peasants, not withstanding the fact that they are best provided with allotment land,[20] concentrate in their hands the bulk of the purchased and the rented land and turn into small land owners and capitalist farmers
The well-to-do teachers, not withstanding the fact that they are best provided with allotment education-related intelligent property, concentrate in their hands the bulk of the purchased and the rented education-related intelligent property and turn into small education-related intelligent property owners and capitalist educators.

It is quite natural that the well-to-do peasantry also employ a farming
technique much above the average (larger size of farm, more plentiful supply of
implements, available financial resources, etc.); that is to say, the well-to-do
peasants “do their sowing faster, make better use of favourable weather, sow the
seed in more humid soil,” and reap their harvest in proper time; they thresh
their grain as it is carted in from the field, etc.

It is quite natural that the well-to-do teachers also employ a teachng technique much above the average (larger size of teaching staff, more plentiful supply of teaching materials, available financial resources, etc.); that is to say, the well-to-do teachers do their planning faster, make better use of favourable timing, give the lessons to more well-prepared students, and reap their feedback in proper time; they report their gain as it is feedbacked from classrooms and/or schools, etc.

It is also natural that the expenditure on the production of agricultural
produce diminishes (per unit of product) as the size of the farm increases.

It is also natural that the expenditure of working hours on the production of any educational activity diminishes (per unit of product) as the size of the team increases.

The further the penetration of commodity production into crop cultivation, and,
consequently, the keener the competition among the agriculturists, the struggle
for land and for economic independence, the more vigorously must this law be
manifested, a law which leads to the ousting of the middle and poor peasants by
the peasant bourgeoisie.

The further the penetration of commodity production into education, and, consequently, the keener the competition among the teachers, the struggle for education-related intelligent property and for educational independence, the more vigorously must this law be manifested, a law which leads to the ousting of the middle and poor teachers by the education bourgeoisie.

Hence, the argument of Mr. Karyshev, for example, that the relation between
community renting and individual renting expresses a “conflict between two
principles (!?),the communal and the individual” (p.159, loc. cit.), that
community renting “is characterised by the labour principle and the principle of
even distribution of rented land among the community members” (ibid., 230)?this
argument belongs entirely to the sphere of Narodnik prejudices.

Old patriachal leftists argue that the relation between collective education and individual education expresses a conflict between two principles, the communal and the individual, that collective education is characterised by the labour principle and the principle of even distribution of educational authority among the community members, that is teachers. This argument belongs entirely to the sphere of Narodnik prejudices.

Both Mr. V. V. and Mr. N.?on began with highly serious air to “refute” Mr.
Postnikov’s absolutely unserious “projects” (Mr. V. V. in Russkaya Mysl[Russian
Thought ], 1894, No. 2; Mr. N.?on in his Sketches, p. 233, footnote), accusing
him of the evil intention of introducing capitalism into Russia, and carefully
avoiding the data which revealed the prevalence of capitalist relations in the
countryside of South Russia today.

The old patriarchal leftists accuse liberalists of the evil intention of introducing capitalism into education, and carefully avoid the data which reveal the prevalence of capitalist relations even in public schools today.

the wealthier the peasants the more they rent land, despite the fact that they
are better provided with allotment land.

The wealthier the teachers the more they rent Intelligent Property, despite the fact that they are better provided with allotment Intelligent Property. Then what does rentable Intelligent Property mean to teachers? It is what rich networks they have, that is how richly they are connented with other education-related personnel or talents.
significance of the way rentable land is grabbed by the rich peasants
So the way rentable Intelligent Property are grabbed by the rich teachers is significant. That is how well and with whom they are networked or connented.

The concentration of land renting in the hands of the well-to-do peasants, its
industrial character, its connection with land leasing by the bottom group of
the peasantry

The concentration of Intelligent Property renting in the hands of the well-to-do teachers, its industrial character, its connection with Intelligent Property leasing by the bottom group of the teachers. It does not mean that the former teachers exploy the latter, but means the former will be more richly networked through the latter.
Labour hours used to concentrate to the well-to-do teachers. They used to work longer than others. Though they still work longer, what concentrate in the hands of the well-to-do teachers now is Intellectual Property. Intellectual Property here is education-related knowledge, teaching know-hows, or connections with the informative people. Knowledge itself is the result of the connections with the past intellectuals. That is, the concentration of connections is essential to be a well-to-do teacher.

When the peasantry combine agricultural and industrial occupations on a large
scale, a combination of the two systems of classification is necessary, i.e., of
classification according to the scale and type of agriculture, and of
classification according to the scale and type of “industries.”

When the teachers combine educational (or teaching) and education-related industrial occupations on a large scale, a combination of the two systems of classification is necessary, i.e., of classification according to the scale and type of teaching, and of classification according to the scale and type of education-related industries.

Taketomi-jima Island

Taketomi-jima Island is a fifteen-minute cruise from Ishigaki-jima Island, and is known with its effort to preserve its culture as well as its neghbourhood and scenery. Walk from the port for 5 minutes, and you will find yourself at the center of the township, where you can rent a bicycle to see the sights. The neighbourhood of Taketomi, or Takidoom in the local pronunciation, however, is worth walking around. Another step will give you a new look of the traditional houses surrounded by stone hedges. Another turn at a corner may provide you a refreshed look of the village and an encounter with other people who will welcome you. Any beach is a several-minute ride from the edge of the township. If you visit Kaiji Beach, you can find star-shaped sand. A guide for another group warmly and enthusiastically taught us how to search for the sand, and even told us that sometimes you are lucky enough to find sun-shaped sand. The word hospitality is much consumed or wasted in brochures for sightseeing, but you can find it alive here in Takidoom. When I had been given a small bottle of star-shaped sand as a souvenir, I used to put it aside with no interest in it. Now I feel ashamed of my deed. What my friends wanted to give me was not only the sand but what they felt in Okinawa Islands.

Terminal

Getting off the bus, I found myself stand at the end of the road in a small port town, Shirahama. "There live around 100 people in this town," said the bus driver, "and they even have an elementary school." "There is another village westward, and you should take a boat to get there. The village is inhabited by about 50 people." "There used to be another hamlet beyond the village, but it has been abandoned." I wonder if we can tell where Kishiwada City ends and where Kaizuka City starts. The border seems somewhat artificial. Here, at the end of Iriomote-jima Island, we can find borders clearly, not only borders between towns and villages but also the border between the human civilization and the nature. In the port, corals grow on the wharf, and tropical fish gather around them. This is the border.

The Taxonomy of OKONOMI-YAKI

OKONOMI-YAKI in a wide sense can be divided into MAZE-YAKI and BETA-YAKI. Today, when you order a sheet of OKONOMI-YAKI, you are most likely served with MAZE-YAKI. MAZE means to mix. We mix flour, water, shreded cabage, and others before we bake MAZE-YAKI, or OKONOMI-YAKI in a narrow sense. BETA means being flat. We mix only flour and water, and bake a crepe-like sheet, which will be topped with shreded cabage and others. Some paste with flour and water is added later to fix the toppings. BETA-YAKI is sometimes called YOSHOKU-YAKI. To make the situation more complicated, in Kishiwada OKONOMI-YAKI and YOSHOKU-YAKI, or YOSHOKU in short, used not to be distinguished. MAZE-YAKI has its local versions such as HIROSHIMA-YAKI, as TAKO-YAKI has its local version, AKASHI-YAKI. OKONOMI-YAKI and TAKO-YAKI have their higher category, KONA-MON. KONA means flour. MON means a thing or things, or foods here.

KASHIMIN---A Type of Okonomiyaki

S and I walked down along "Kawai no Tanisuji", with which name the street which runs in front of Izumi High School used to be called decades ago. We crossed Shiro-mi Bashi crossroads. If you turn left there, you will get to Kishiwada High School. We went through Sakai-machi crossroads, and turn into the left at Uoya-machi crossing. We soon took a right turn into a narrow back alley. A banner "KORI (ice)" indicated there should be a junk food shop. We walked into "Torimi", an OKONOMIYAKI shop. The iron plate counter was thronged with middle-aged men with beers in their hands. A young couple were compactly waiting their turn to sit in front of the plate. A drunken flock bumped out of the shop. We could finally occupy small chairs surrounding the counter. At the corner, a shopkeeper cooked KASHIMINs. She first baked crepe-like things, and then put shredded cabbage and chicken mincemeat on them. So, KASHIMIN is one kind of YOHOKU-YAKI, not OKONOMI-YAKI. Its name KASHIMIN comes from KASHIWA (chicken) and MINTI (mincemeat), but chicken meat is rather chopped than minced. We wlked out of Torimi. "Shall we try another one?" "I'm afraid I'm full." We kept walking to the next KASHIMIN restaurant. The next shop, Yamato, is said to be the originator of KASHIMIN. We walked down toward the sea side through one of the old neighbourhoods of Kishiwada. In the old town, we found an old sweets shop, old warehouses along with old houses. Finally, we came to see an old embarkment. There must have been a sea shore some time ago. From the main street along wich we were walking, some alleys reache the embarkment. At the end of one alley, near a part of the old embarkment, we saw an old OKONOMI-YAKI shop. Its lantern writes "Okonomi-yaki." Its shop curtain reads "Okonomi-yaki." Nothing tells us its shop name. "Hello. Is this shop's name Yamato?" "Yes." answered a young woman, baking something on the iron plate. "Is KASHIMIN available here?" "Of course." She turned to the door to the back room, calling, "We've got guests!" An old man appeared through the door. The woman started cooking. I wondeed what did she call him for. She baked two crepe-like sheets. She turned them over a couple of times till they became crisp. This crispness gave KASHIMIN here unique taste. They were topped with shreded cabage and chopped chicken. Here KASHIMIN is YOSHOKU-YAKI, too.

The Davinci Code

I finished reading "The Davinci Code" after a quite long absence. It unabled me to keep reading the story that I should go to Yaeyama to prepare for the next school year's school trip and that I should organize a students' trip to Australia in the next spring. Anyway, "This is pure genius." said New York Times? That I doubt. The most disappinting part is Bishop Manuel Arigarossa's behavior, or rather how the author, Dan Brown, describes the man. Arigarossa bargains first with 'the Teacher' and then with Captain Bezu Fache too easily. As for the first dealing, I can hardly understand why separating Opus Dei from Catholic Church meant so much to him. For instance, in real Japanese society, Soka-gakkai get independent, or was forced to get independent(?), Nichiren-shu. That looks to have caused almost no serious damages or difficulties on Soka-gakkai. It may be because I am not a Christian that I cannot sense the stress or pressure Arigarossa has got. A Christian member of this group could help me understand that.

Hagi & Tsuwano

Another typhoon was aiming at Japan last weekend. In December! Although it ceased to be a typhoon before crossing Taiwan, its effect brought Japan another disaster. It was the worst weekend to have a trip, but we had a "workplace comfort trip" in Hagi and Tsuwano. I hope you don't remember the phrase "comfort woman" for the trip. It has nothing to do with the sort of it. It rained for 2 days, and it was from the window of the train to go back to a Shinkansen station in Yamaguchi Prefecture that I could finally see the sun, although it was setting at the time. However beautiful the sunset was, the scene left some unsatisfied feeling in me. Hagi & Tsuwano tours used to be popular among young women, and my wife had visited there with her friends some years ago. No wonder I found some cute shops and cafes there, especially in Tsuwano.
Hagi Yaki Entering a Japanese-style cafe, I found a cozy garden and a tea ceremony hut. A lady owner appeared in Kimono, and offered me Japanese green poudered tea in a cup made by a famous potter. After a while, I had a chance to ask her about the potter, Hagi-yaki and so on. It was a luxuary one-to-one tea ceremony and a lecture.
Yoshida Shoin "OYA WO OMOU KOKORO NI MASARU OYA-GOKORO. KYO NO OTOZURE IKANI KIKU RAMU." (I think of you, my parents. However, you, my parents, think of me more deeply. As such, how do you find the news that I should be executed today?) I read the original letter with the message above. It was written by Yoshida Shoin himself, who was a harbinger of modern Japan, and died at the age of 29 without seeing even the beginning of Meiji Restoration.
Toko-ji Temple Toko-ji Temple is the third largest Obaku-shu temple in Japan. Obaku-shu is one of Zen denominations. The biggest one is in Uji, Kyoto, and the second is in Nagasaki, which were both established by the founder of Obaku-shu, Ingen Zenji. In one sense, this temple is the largest branch of the sect in Japan.
An'no Mitsumasa My most favorite painter, who have drawn and painted many pictures for many picture books with lot of imagination and unique sense of humor.
Urakami Christians When I visited Nagasaki, I learned that some Christians captured at the end of Edo period were sent to Tsuwano. Today I was lucky enough to have a chance to visit the very place where they were imprisoned till the death of some of them. Rather than having sympathy to them, I feel embarassed or ashamed to realize how cruel human beings can be.
Mori Ogai's grave Mori Ogai is one of the two biggest novelist at the beginning of Modern Japan, along with Natsume Soseki. Although I prefer Soseki, I although enjoyed reading some of Ogai's novels too. While Soseki was born, was raised, and died in Tokyo, the center and capital of modern Japan, Ogai was born and raised in Tsuwano, a tiny mountain town, until he went to Tokyo to attend a university there and to make a doctor for the Army later. The fact that he rather prefered to burried as a local Iwami persona at his death is a little bit mazing.

Hokkaido

We took the 7:07 bus from the bus stop just across the corner to Mozu Station. We changed trains at Otori Station and arrived at the Kansai Airport 30 minutes before the planned meeting time. It enabled my daughters to have breakfast at a cafe. They had come to dislike eating on board from their last flight experience to Los Angeles. At 8:35, we finished check-in and forwarded to a gate to be stopped at a security check. I had a "Swiss Card", which contained a tiny knife. The flight took us about 2 hours, and was, for our luck, not long enough for my daughters to have airsick, although it bored them. The Memanbetsu Airport was a tiny one. It does not have either mouthwatering restaurant or cute shop. We had some time before getting rantal car, and difficulty killing the time. Some depressing start. The arrival at Meruhen-no-Oka (Marchen Hill) after driving a while changed our feeing. We felt very Hokkaido-like. We felt happy to have come to Hokkaido. Waving hills and fields, waving to the end of our sight. A small red-roofed hut is dotted among in a broad sun-flower fields. It's really as if we were in a Marchen (a fairy tail). My daughters felt saticefied at last. We drove across a plain to get to Abashiri, where there are lakes and hills, and drove up a hill to find Okhotsk Floe Museum, which is at the top of Mt. Tento near the town of abashiri. Experiencing drift ice is very cool. We explored the exhibitions, with so many Chinese speaking people walking about. They keep chatting and shouting in Chinese, and even a group asked me in Chinese to take their pictures in a virtual floe room. At the cafeteria in the museum building, we had our first meal in Hokkaido, "Omoide Rahmen." The noodle had pieces of crabmeat, a cuttlefish and a scallop, and its soup was delicious, alittle bit salty though. Our next destination ws Abashiri Prison Museum. Dummies were so real that their impression led us to feel that we are just watching dummies when we see real human beings at other sight-seeing spots. At the rest room here, we enjoyed our first potato junk foods in Hokkaido, "Imo Mochi." When we find "Imo something" in Osaka, they are usually made of sweet potatoes, while in Hokkaido, those called "Imo something" are made of potatoes. Imo Mochi somewhat tasted like Mitarashi Dango, although its potato dumplings were fried. Tonight's stay is at Abashiri Grand Hotel. It is located at the joint of Yobuto Peninsula along Abashiri Lake. The hotel's disposable toothbrush is very easy to use.
We wake up next morning to find the hotel embraced softly with mist. So told, Hitomi cleared the window, and said, "I can see nothing as the windowpane is clouded." It was not the clouded glass that diturbed your sight, but mist. We drove along lake Abashiri, ran through the town of Abashiri, and went over the open field to Ko-Shimizu Natural Flower Garden to find a sign which said, "The bloom season is over. Please visit us in June or July next time." Flowers were scant. We consoled ourselves with the idea that we came to see Okhotsk Sea. My two daughters were playing at the sea shore innocently. We ran straightly eastward, turned in a right-angled manner to the south, and went down straightforward to Yuri-no-sato Lily Park. The rich variety of lily flowers surprised us a lot, and the sight of the park made up for what we could not experience in Ko-Shimizu Natural Flower Garden. The park also gave us an opportunity to have our second junk food in Hokkaido, sweet corns. They surely tasted good. After leaving Yuri-no-sato Lily Park, the road started winding after a while, and led us to the maountain pass between the Okhotsk Coast and Lake Kussharo. The area around the pass is called Highland Ko-Shimizu, which commands the lake, as well as even Mt. Shari-dake, Shiretoko Range of Mountains, and the Okhotsk Sea. The resthouse there provided us junk foods made of potatoes in a cool breeze: Imo Mochi, Imo Dango, Pote Rosu. Takako and Hitomi enjoyed siphon cakes, and Yuri had her favorite Shiruko. In front of the house, Chomei-no-mizu (Long Life Water) was fountaining. We left Ko-Shimizu Pass down to the basin of Lake Kussharo, and visited the foot of Mt. Io first. "Io" is the japanese word for the english word sulfur. The area was full of sulfur springs. The air smelled like boiled eggs, and the tempreture was a lot hotter than that of "normal" Hokkaido. We ate eggs steamed with the vapor from spiracles on the ground. The heat and smell was nearly knocking us down. We checked in Shizen-juku, an outdoor resort. We stayed at Suomi, a sweet lodge with a bath and toilet. We dined out for supper, out to an Ainu-flavored restaurant. There were several Ainu folkcraft shops around it. We also found Ainu Ethnic Museum near there, but it was closed at the time.

Concept

I wonder if concepts are translatable in our minds.the Transformation of ConceptsCan concepts be shared among different languages in our minds?

Mt. Hiei

Saicho, Honen, Shinran, Dogen, Nichiren.... A galaxy of well-known names of Buddhist priests in Japanese history could be found here and there on Mt. Hiei. In the mountain, Enryaku-ji Temple was founded by Saicho. He was contemporary with Kukai, who founded Kongobu-ji Temple in Mt Koya. They went to Tang Dynasty China together. Saicho came back to Japan after several months, while Kukai stayed there about 2 years. Kukai concentrated himself on studying and mastering esoteric Buddhism, while Saicho brought back various new information on contemporary Chinese Buddhism. That enabled, it seems, Mt Hiei to provide so many important priests later in the history.

Teaching and Theories

I appreciate the theoretical way of coping with our teaching process, to employ a theory to guide our procedures. That will give us tools to plan the procedures beforehand and evaluate them afterward, and save us either from randomness or from stagnation. The practice guided by the theory enriches the theory in turn. Which theory or theorist is correct? "Infinite are the arguments of mages."(Ursula Le Guin)

World War II Memories

From around August 6th to around August 15th, we have a kind of a series of World War II memorial days. TV broadcast many memorial programs. Memorial gatherings are organized by leftisits and rightists as well. Memorial feelings come to its uplift during this time of the year. The latter half of the season overlaps with the Bon Festival, Buddhist All Souls' Day, during which we visit our family tombs and invite the spirits of our ancestors to our homes. After the celebration is over, the spirits are sent back to the yonder world. The custom helps highlight the memorial feelings. Another reason why we prefer looking back to the past during the season might be that memories of persecutions are less bitter than those of assaults.

Teaching Writing

As English being the top business language in the current world, mastering it is one of top priorities for many business people. In Japan, many workers are pressed to take TOEFL, and English conversation schools are flourishing. Things are much the same in other East Asian countries such as China and Korea. There ought to be potential needs for writing proper English. They, however, have been paid scandalously little attention to. Some business people are making the best of Words' templates. I still believe niche marketing of teaching English writing through Internet is possible all the same, and ex-exchange-students are on a good position to provide the service. The problem might be how to organize the whole process of teaching-learning, and, of course, to find prospects.

Iraq and so on

Last night, when I was watching the news on TV, I've got an interesting idea. A reporter from Bangladesh, who was attending the World Water Forum, was interviewed on the Iraqi issue, and said that the Husein Regime should be ousted by the Iraqi people, not by the outsiders. I agree with him. Unless the people get ready enough to govern themselves democratically, they will have another Husein after the war, as we had another emperor, Douglas MacArthur, after World War II, as North Korean people have their second Kim Il Sung, as Chinese people have their fourth generation of Mao Zedong's, and so forth. By the way, although it seems all the eyes in the world are stuck on Iraq, I myself am rather interested in East Asian affairs. It looks, in China, the 'abdication' from the third generation to the fourth has been smoothly done. The difference between the preceding generations and the fourth is that the formers are 'revolutionary' generations, while the latter is not. The leaders who lack the experience of the revolution, or the civil war between the Communist Party and the National Party, might loosen their grip, which leads China to rather open and democratic society. What we must keep in our mind is the shadows of the Great Cultural Revolution and the Tian'an-men Massacre. Do they brake the change or hasten? Anyway, multiparty system will be unevitable, history teaches us, even in China. The system will certainly give birth to parties like the Tibetan *** Party, the East Turkistan *** Party, and such. The bigger problem is if we will see such as the Kantonese (or Yue) *** Party, the Fujian (or Min) *** Party, the Shanghai (or Wu) *** Party, in addition to the Democratic Prgressive Party of Taiwan(if we count Taiwan among provinces in China as the Beijing Administration hopes), the Hongkong Democratic Party etc. Those provincial parties might split China into 5 or more pieces.... either with or without civil wars.

Western Science Fictions and Fantagies

I'd like to find Harry in Vol.6 to be more grown-up. In Vol.5, he lost his temper so easily that he should have been swallowed by the dark side if he were in Star Wars, like Anakin. In "Wizard of Earthsea" the hero boy wizard, Ged, is so passionate and proud that he releases s shadow from the dark side of the world. A boy with a quick temper might be one of popular figures in Western fantagies, while, in Japan, Pikachu's master is a childish carefree boy who is almost always being taken care of by his friendly fellows. One of the most popular figures in Japanese history is Yoshitsune of the Genji clan. He is said to have been a genius in battle fields but a poor or childlike (childish?) politician at court. He is often taken care of by supporting players such as Benkei. Do you know the Japanese phrase "Hogan Biki", the sympathy for the weak or a tragic hero? Hogan is Yoshitsune's position in the Imperial Court. A matured statesman could hardly make a tragic hero. Laws to privatize Japanese post offices are on the House of Councillors now. I wonder if Prime Minister Koizumi is trying to be a winner or a tragic hero.

Dualism in the East and the West

It has been a while since Onmyo-Do, Yin-Yang-ism, gained some popularity among young Japanese. Onmyo-Do, or at least its roots, is said to have come to Japan around the 5th century. Yin-Yang-ism surely belongs to dualism. Another member of this mailing list may have more information on the issue. What, however, interests me most is how dualism, or dualisms, has ranged from one place to another in the world. Zoroastrianism was born in the -6th century. It affected Manichaeism, which was born in the 3rd century, and later moved to China in the 7th century.Zoroastrianism had reached China a centry earlier. In Europe, from the 10th century to the 14th, there used to be Cathari Christians, whoes belief, according to what I learned in my high school days, has some dualism. Yin-Yang-ism dates back to Lao Zi in China, who is said to have lived in the -5th century. He is supposed to be one of founders of Taoism. All the ancient Chinese isms came to Japan around the 5th century. Onmyo-Do is said to have its origins among the imported knowledge. I wonder if all the distributed dualisms over the Eurasian Continent originated from one, or human beings have cognitive bias to conceive things in the dualism manner. Queerly enough, President Bush, who cannot be a heretic Christian, is seeing the world in a dualism way, and is distinguishing good countries from evil ones.

The Question is if We Can Export the Revolution or NOT

The U.S. government seems to have an intention to make Iraqi regime into a democratic one. The question is if the revolution, either of the democracy or of the socialism, can be exported, or not. Obviously,the history tells us we can't. Only when, I believe, a certain society is ready to transform itself on its own, the different outer societies can influence it by providing new ideas. Japan had, some argues, walked more than half way from physiocracy to mercantilism by itself during the Edo Era, which made it possible modernize, or Westernize itself after the Meiji Restoration. Even as for the democratization after World War II, we can claim Japanese people at the time had a certain degree of readiness to democratize themselves. The certain degree also explains why the democratization suffered a severe setback after the Korean War. The Japanese were not ready enough to be so democratic as some American people had hoped. What about Iraq? Everything is according to the will of Allah, at least there, not of the Lord, nor of the 8 million Japanese gods in the least.

Kishiwada Castel

We crimbed the stairs in Kishiwada Castle, or precisely speaking, of its donjon. The stairs are made of concrete, the windows have glasses, and a part of the castle even is air-conditioned. The third floor exhibits articles left by the owners of the castle, a warlord clan, Okabe. One of the exhibits dates back even to the Sengoku period, a turbulent age in Medieval Japan. The Okabe clan worked for the Imagawa clan in today's Shizuoka, who were defeated by the Takeda clan, which in turn was destroyed by Oda. One of Oda's alliances opened the Tokugawa Shogunate later. The exhibition tells only a little about how the Okabes hopped from one lord to another to survive. The fourth and top floor commands 360 degrees wide views of the Osaka Bay and Izumi-Katsuragi Mountains. The cool sea breeze let us forget the hotness below. Beneath, you can find a large rock garden. According to the castle's brochure, the garden shows "eight battle formation." Young princes might have learned how to make war. Kishiwada Castle is, with no doubt, the nearest one from Kansai Airport. Yet, it doesn't seem they are trying to attract sightseers from abroad. 15 minutes drive from hotels around the airport, it might be a last-minute chance for visitors who missed an opportunity to vist Japanese castles. It is closed at 5p.m. "No entrance after 4p.m." the brochure says. Why did they refurbrish it then? I miss the creaking wooden stairs.

Cross-Cultural Experience and the Development of Students' Cognition

School trips abroad became popular among Japanese high schools during the bubble economy in late 20th century, and are no less so even during the recession afterward. Countless reports and essays have been written either by the teachers or by the students who took part in the school trips abroad. Yet the argument has been neglected: how the trips works on students' development, or, even, if they works at all or not. The situation which caused the lack of the argument is very easy to understand. Under the pressure and stress from cons, who outnumbered pros in the closed Japanese society, the pros had no choice but to praise the trips. It is usually the case that pros try to praise one idea to the skies while cons try to beat the hell out of it. No reasonable argument. Yet, this is high time, I believe, we started arguing reasonably.
There may be 2 ways which may enhance students' cognition by encountering another culture. One is caused by moving one's view point: the other is learned through communication with another culture. First, we enrich our cognition by seeing things from different view points. When you move, your viewpoint moves. It is obvious that if you move your viewpoint physically, your object looks in a different way. If you move one step aside, what you see shows you another facet. What happens, if you move your viewpont culturally? When you move geographycally, you may see different nature and culture. Seeing another culture doesn't mean you are seeing things in a culturally different way. Stay in another culture for a while and go back home afterward, and you may see your own culture in a new way. This is what I want to call moving one's viewpoint culturally. It should be an aftermath to see things in a culturally different way. You must have moved your viewpoint culturally during the stay in another culture. The question is how the process have made its way. That is how your cognition has been changed. We see things in a culturally biased way, and would never realize our bias unless we encounter another culture.
Second, other people's cognition might enrich our way of cognition. Each culture provides its members with certain cultural schemas to help its members cognize their surroundings efficiently. In other words, we become members of some culture by learning corresponding cultural schemas from the earlies stage of our lives. We may be able to import other cultures' schemas by communicating with the people from other cultures, and to enrich our recognition. The question is whether the number of schemas will increase or the number of the sets of schemas will increase. People from different cultures cognize their surroundings with different schemas. If we can import schemas other than ours, we can increase the number of schemas we have. That is so called "to widen our perspective."

Cultural Viewpoint

When you move, your viewpoint moves. It is obvious that if you move your viewpoint physically, your object looks in a different way. If you move one step aside, what you see shows you another facet. What happens, if you move your viewpont culturally? When you move geographycally, you may see different nature and culture. Seeing another culture doesn't mean you are seeing things in a culturally different way. Stay in another culture for a while and go back home afterward, and you may see your own culture in a new way. This is what I want to call moving one's viewpoint culturally. It should be an aftermath to see things in a culturally different way. You must have moved your viewpoint culturally during the stay in another culture. The question is how the process have made its way. That is how your cognition has been changed. We see things in a culturally biased way, and would never realize our bias unless we encounter another culture.

Zen, Why in Japan

Buddhism was born in Northern India. Oddly enough, it is not prosperous in today's India. Zen was said to be started by Bodhidharma, a high priest in India who later moved to China. Queerly enough, Shaolin-si Temple in China, where Bodhidharma stayed until his death, is rather related to Kung Fu. Zen, a sect of Buddhism, is rather Japanese. It is still popular in Japan, and has been exported to the Western world via Japan. The truth is something to be felt while you are just sitting. It is implicit. That might have been sympathetically vibrating with the everyday feelings Japanese people have had. Friendship is something to be felt while you are just mingling together. Even love between lovers, not to mention between spouses, may be something to be felt while you are staying together, and is sung that way in some Japanese love songs too. They are all implicit. At least, so have they been until lately. The way friendship is taken in Japan has caused some problems. If you are not spending enough time with your friends, you can be supposed you are leaving them. That makes young Japanese hardly leave their Keitai, a cellular phone. They are always either sending e-mails or making phone calls. The relationship among Japanese people is getting more and more explicit. Yet, a peer pressure that you are supposed to spend unreasonably long time together is still alive. You may find it very UZAI.