maiko-san

As you know , my subject this morning is a pronunciation practice. In a few seconds I'm going to explain to you about  a pronuncation tip on "i" and "i:". But first, I'd like to give  a talk on my summer school when I was a child. So, I would like you to see a photo that shows a sumo-wrestling match on the beach.  At that time I was a pupil at Seikei Elementary School in Tokyo. In July, 1958 I went by ship to from Takehashi Pier to Tateyama, Chiba Prefecture with my classmates and Seikei University students as swimming trainers. In accordance with the school rules we had to wear a red swimming cap and a red loincloth. The disadvantage of the red loin cloth was that of course I was ashamed to wear it, because I didn't want my puberty hair to be seen. On the contrary the advantage of it was that the red color is so conspicuous that the trainers could grasp the loin cloth easily and save pupils when they were about to be drowned. Inc...

Today I'd like to talk about my embarrasssing experience Ｉ had last week. My wife was proud of her healthy teeth. As a matter of fact she laughs at me every time I go to my favorite dentist in Minoo. She said, " I never kow of somebody who loves a dentist like you," Then she used to open her mouth wide opne and show off her white teeth. For years she had been going to the same dentist nearby for only teeth-inspection and cleaning. All of a sudden she got a warning from him that her engagement was the worst of all. To top that off he gave her a whole set of false teeth made of rubber and ordered her to wear it when she goes to bed. He explained to her that the bad engagement leads to tinnitus. What kind of frame-up is this!? When she came home, she seemed to be disappointed. Hearing her story I got a gut feeling  that the dentist's business is going down because of a cut-throat competition. He wants to make money in every which way. So, I s...

Last Saturday I took part in a German conversation session at Japan Germany Society in Sannomiya. I discussed about  a theme "Summer Vacation" with other 12 members. Especially for this meeting everyone was supposed to bring"Tsumami"(garnish or snack) to the conversation table. I brought "Gliko Pocky" and a small pack of peanuts. I was surprised to see many housewives bringing various feasts, such as Tenpura-Sushi, Onigiri, German potates to the table. In return the host of the club served each member a bier (Asahi Super Dry). I was glad to see the bier, because I usually drink a lower grade bier (Kirin Tanrei).  I was a little bit nervous, when a mature German woman sat next to me. For I was thinking of a compliment to her Tsumami all the time. Her brown-bag turned out to be Onigiri and mini-tomatoes with spicy basil. Compared to my wife's Onigiri her Onigiri was a little bit sweet. When I said so, it seemed she made a face. So I tried to...

Godd morning, everyone. Today my session is divided into two parts. For starters I have a letter from a Japanese poet in ancient times. Let me read out to you. Please guess who wrote this poet. I have a couple of suggestions for you. 1. The writer lived in the Nara Period 2. He was famous for composing love songs when he went on a journey with Emperor Shomu 3 Manyoshu(Japanese Anthology) contains his 13 Tanka and 37 Haiku. Mrs. Inoue, you're right. Answer: Yamabe no Akahito (700-736) Now we're moving on to the second part of the session. Please take a look at the book in my hand. It's entilted "The Complete Letter Writer".  There are so many kinds of writing letters, such as "Invitations and Announcements", "Letter of Condolences", "Thank-you Letters and Acknowledgements" and so on. I thumbed through the book and picked out "Friendly Letters", because it is the easiest way to learn how to write a letter in  English. ...

First of all, I'd like to talk about a friend of my wife's. Her name is Nishida-san. She is as old as my wife since they were at school together. Although Nishida-san married a rich man, she suffered from lung cander for years. When Nishida-san shuddered to think of seeing her doctor alone, my wife went with her to the hospital. They both were in the examining room to hear the results of X-ray inspection. On the 25th of July,  Osaka firework festival by the name of Tenjin-Matsuri was held on the Okawa River in front of my wife's high-rise apartment. It was nice of my wife to invite Nishida-san to her house on that day. Because Nishida-san had confided in my wife that this summer could be  her last chance to see the wonderful firework. It seemed that Nishida-san was pessmisitic about the doctor's prognosis of her disease. When Nishida-san visited my wife with her husband, she gave my wife a nice present.  Actually my wife was taken aback ...

When I was 25 years old, I lived in a company dormitory for singles in a country town, Kashiwara-shi, Osaka. The company also provided another dormitory in Asiya City. The Ashiya dormitory is located in an upscale residential town. So, they gave a party party every weekend. A lot of company girls gathrered around and we sang a song together and danced until late in the evening. The chief of the Kashiwara dormitory committee gave a deep thought about this. He was of opinion that we should launch an attractive event to compete with the Ashiya dorm. After the summer vacation was over, he decided to organize Osaka Bon Dancing Festival in September at the Kashiwara dormitory. Immediately we prepared stalls for goldfish, cotton candies and shooting games and so on. I was responsible for lending a Japanese drum("Wadaiko"). I drove to Kyoto to meet with the president of a small chemical company, our client. It was nice of him to lend us an old "Wadaiko". ...

Welcome home Iida-san. We're very happy to have you back with us. I hope you'll enjoy learning English with us again. I've got an important announcement to make. While you were away from us, we have a newcomer. I'd like to introduce to you Mrs. Fujii. She lives in Ikeda-city and goes to her second house in Sanda with her husband on weekends. But I'm sure you will be hung up on her, because she is one of the most attractive and creati woman in this club. As for other memebers of our club, first, I'd like to thank Mrs. Inoue. You volunteered for an accountant, as Mrs. Kitajima tentatively left the club last April. You've done a good job! Next, Mrs Yamaguchi, I am always grateful to you for reserving the classroom every month. And Shimazu-san, thank you for bringing the cassete tape recorder to the classroom each time our English lessons take place. Lastly, I'd like to thank Mrs. Kashiwagi for booking a Japanese restaurant "Shohei" for today...