Sagicho, Dondo-yaki, Dondon-yaki

Our culture is filled with many traditions, especially around New Year’s. In Japan, all the items related to toshigami such as the New Year Decorations or the lucky charms are never thrown away but are collected at shrines and burned at the beginning of January, in a ritual fire. Households with children decorate Bamboo grass with colorful strip of paper. They burn Bamboo around their community from the evening of Jan. 14th through the morning of Jan. 15th. They make Adzuki-Bean gruel with Bamboo charcoal and eat　it to wish a safe and healthy new year. Please take some time to talk with your children about New Year Traditions and fun games of your hometown. 続きを読む…

A Happy New Year!

We are now at the beginning of a new year! It is interesting how an artificial construct like the New Year reinvigorates us with renewed enthusiasm and goals. However, I believe that it is important not to just freshly start from scratch but to also to take the past into consideration. Learning from the past is not just about reminiscence. It is important to come up with concrete steps to achieve your goals for the New Year. In other words, using your past experiences as a foundation, it is important to clearly establish what is necessary for the successful accomplishment of your goals. With persistent hard work, I am sure that all of you will have a bright future ahead. 続きを読む…

Reflecting back for steady advancement…

The semester is about to end with two more classes left. I praise the students for attending both their local school and JLSP every Saturday. I also thank the parents for their continual support by driving them to school and aiding them at home. I also wrote last week but reflecting back is very important for our growth and to keep advancing forward. Please take a moment to check your everyday lifestyle and your study patterns. It may be a little step, but we need to keep moving forward. 続きを読む…