Play some games and practise your Japanese.
http://www.digitaldialects.com/Japanese.htm
The Boy Who Drew Cats 21/10/2012
A Tale of Japan
Told by Aaron Shepard
Printed in Australia’s School Magazine, Sept. 1998
Once there was a boy who loved to draw. His name was Joji.
Joji grew up on a farm with lots of brothers and sisters. The others were a big help to their father and mother. But not Joji!
He did nothing for hours but draw in the dirt with a stick. And what Joji drew was just one thing.
Cats.
Cats, cats, and more cats. Small cats, big cats, thin cats, fat cats. Cats, cats, cats, cats, cats.
“Joji,” his father told him, “you must stop drawing all those cats! How will you ever be a farmer?”
“I’m sorry, Father. I’ll try to stop.”
And he did try. But whenever Joji saw one of the farm cats go by, he forgot about his chores and drew another cat.
“Joji will never make a farmer,” said the farmer sadly to his wife.
“Maybe he could be a priest,” she told him. “Why don’t you take him to the temple?”
So the farmer brought Joji to the priest at the village temple. The priest said, “I will gladly teach him.”
From then on, Joji lived at the temple. The priest gave him lessons in reading and writing. Joji had his own box of writing tools, with a brush and an ink stick and a stone.
Joji loved to make the ink. He poured water in the hollow of the stone. He dipped the ink stick in the water. Then he rubbed the stick on the stone. And there was the ink for his brush!
Now, the other students worked hard at their writing. But not Joji! With his brush and rice paper, he did nothing for hours but draw. And what Joji drew was just one thing.
Cats.
Cats, cats, and more cats. Small cats, big cats, thin cats, fat cats. Cats, cats, cats, cats, cats.
“Joji,” the priest told him, “you must stop drawing all those cats! How will you ever be a priest?”
“I’m sorry, honorable sir. I’ll try to stop.”
And he did try. But whenever Joji saw one of the temple cats go by, he forgot about his writing and drew another cat.
That was bad enough. Then Joji started drawing on the folding screens of the temple. Soon there were cats on all the rice-paper panels. They were everywhere!
“Joji, you’ll never make a priest,” the priest told him sadly. “You’ll just have to go home.”
Joji went to his room and packed his things. But he was afraid to go home. He knew his father would be angry.
Then he remembered another temple in a village nearby. “Maybe I can stay with the priest there.”
Joji started out walking. It was already night when he got to the other village.
He climbed the steps to the temple and knocked. There was no answer. He opened the heavy door. It was all dark inside.
“That’s strange,” said Joji. “Why isn’t anyone here?”
He lit a lamp by the door. Then he saw something that made him clap. All around the big room were folding screens with empty rice-paper panels.
Joji got out his writing box and made some ink. Then he dipped in his brush and started to draw. And what Joji drew was just one thing.
Cats.
Cats, cats, and more cats. Small cats, big cats, thin cats, fat cats. Cats, cats, cats, cats, cats.
The screen he drew on last was almost as long as the room. Joji covered it with one gigantic cat—the biggest and most beautiful cat he had ever drawn.
Now Joji was tired. He started to lie down. But something about the big room bothered him.
“I’ll find someplace smaller.”
He found a cozy closet and settled inside. Then he slid shut the panel door and went to sleep.
Late that night, Joji awoke in fright.
Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
It sounded like a large, fierce animal in the temple! Now he knew why no one was there. He wished he wasn’t there either!
He heard the thing sniff around the big room. It halted right in front of the closet. Then all at once . . .
Yowl!
There was a sound of struggling, and a roar of surprise and pain. Then a huge thud that shook the floor.
Then a soft padding sound. Then silence.
Joji lay trembling in the dark. He stayed there for hours, afraid to look out of the closet.
At last, daylight showed at the edge of the door. Joji carefully slid the door open and peered out.
In the middle of the room lay a monster rat—a rat as big as a cow! It lay dead, as if something had smashed it to the floor.
Joji looked around the room. No one and nothing else was there—just the screens with the cats. Then Joji looked again at the one gigantic cat.
“Didn’t I draw the head to the left and the tail to the right?”
Yes, he was sure of it. But now the cat faced the other way—as if it had come down off the screen and then gone back up.
“The cat!” said Joji. His eyes grew wide. Then he pressed his palms together and bowed to the screen.
“Thank you, honorable cat. You have saved me. For as long as I live, no one will stop me from drawing cats.”
* * *
When the villagers learned that the monster rat was dead, Joji became a hero. The village priest let him live in the temple as long as he liked.
But Joji did not become a priest. And he did not become a farmer.
He became an artist. A great artist. An artist honored through all the country. An artist who drew just one thing.
Cats!
About the Story
This Japanese tale is retold from “The Boy Who Drew Cats” in Gleanings from Buddha-Fields, by Lafcadio Hearn, Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1897. Joji is pronounced “JO-jee.” The temples and priests in the story are Buddhist. My thanks to storyteller Grace Megumi Fleming for her suggestions and help with cultural details.
School Sports Days in Japan 07/08/2012
Japanese primary schools have a special “Sports Day” during Autumn. This school’s Sports Day is very traditional both in the events and style. There are a variety of dances, races, relays, and other performances with a competition between two halves of the school divided into red and white teams.
THIS is what really happens on Sports Day in Japan…
kaeru no uta 30/07/2012
kaeru no uta ga
kikoete kuru yo
kuwa, kuwa, kuwa, kuwa,
kero, kero, kero, kero, kuwa, kuwa, kwa
This is the frog’s song
croak, croak, croak, croak
ribbit, ribbit, ribbit, ribbit, croak, croak, croak
16/04/2012
The Japanese alphabet consists of 99 sounds formed with 5 vowels (a, e, i, o, and u) and 14 consonants (k, s, t, h, m, y, r, w, g, z, d, b, p, and n), as is shown in the hiragana chart.
Long vowels
“
” is sometimes used to create long vowels. In 
, for instance, the last letter is not pronounced “u” but as a long “o.”
Double consonants
In 
, there’s a pause between “
” and “
.” The little “
” has a function of creating a pause, so has six syllables.
Particles
When “
” and “
” are used as a particle (particles will be explained later), they are pronounced as “wa” and “e”: 
and 
.
Christmas Origami 04/12/2011
Christmas in Japan
http://tanutech.com/japan/jxmas.html
Prep – Christmas Santa 
Grade 1, 2, 3 & 4
Grade 5 & 6
Christmas Letter!!
[Name] へ、
メッリ クリスマス！
[Name] より
http://www.instructables.com/id/Turn-Your-Letter-into-it%60s-own-Envelope./
Animals 27/11/2011
Task – Create a poster with a picture of one of the animals you have learned about. Include the name of the animal in Japanese and the sound it makes if you know this.
nan nen sei desuka 22/11/2011
ジャスミンさんなんせいですか。Jasmine, what year are you in?
jasumin san nan nen sei desu ka
しょうがっこうさんねんせいです。At primary school, I am in year three.
shougakkou san nen sei desu
Family 14/11/2011
ojiisan (Grandpa)
obaasan (Grandma)
otousan (Dad)
okaasan (Mum)
oniisan (Big Brother)
otouto (Little Brother)
imouto (Little Sister)
akachan (Baby)
itoko (cousin)
Example:
watashi no kazoku wa go nin desu
There are five people in my family.
otousan to okaasan to oniisan to otouto to watashi ga imasu.
There is dad, mum, big brother, little brother and me.
Japanese Quiz 31/10/2011
Click on the link below to access the quiz and see how much you know about Japan!
himanatoki 16/10/2011
himanatoki nani o shimasu ka
ひまなときなにをしますか
What do you do in your sparetime?
himanatoki ni…
…o shimasu = to do
…o asobimasu = to play
…o yomimasu = to read
…o mimasu = to watch/look
aimasu = to meet (tomodachi ni)
…o tabemasu = to eat
…o nomimasu = to drink
etc.
konpyuutaa geemo o asobimasu = to play computer games
inu to sanpo o shimasu = to walk with the dog
tomodachi to hatsumeishimasu = to invent with a friend
rego o tsukimasu = to make lego
haru yasumi 10/10/2011
はるやすみはなにをしましたか
haru yasumi wa nani o shimashitaka
What did you do for the Spring holidays?
うみにいきました
umi ni ikimashita
I went to the beach
キャンプをしました
kyanpu o shimashita
I went camping
ほんをよみました
hon o yomimashita
I read a book
かいものをしました
kaimono o shimashita
I did some shopping
メルボルンにいきました
meruborun ni ikimashita
I went to Melbourne
ジイロングにいきました
jiirongu ni ikimashita
I went to Geelong
ともだちのうちにいきました
tomodachi no uchi ni ikimashita
I went to my friend’s house
えいがをみました
eiga o mimashita
I watched a movie
わたしのいとことあそびました
watashi no itokoto asobimashita
I played with my cousin/s
おばあさんとやきました
obaasan to yakimashita
I baked with Grandma
おじいさんとつりにいきました
ojiisan to tsuri ni ikimashita
I went fishing with Grandpa
ホリデイプログラムをしました
horidei puroguramu o shimashita
I did the holiday program
ひこうきでバ–リにいきました
hikouki de baari ni ikimashita
I went by aeroplane to Bali
コンピューターゲームをあそびました
konpyuutaa geemu o asobomashita
I played computer games
スクターにのりました
sukutaa ni norimashita
I rode my scooter
およぎました
oyogimashita
I went swimming
I don’t like… (food) very much 11/09/2011
Do you like strawberry pie?
Watashi wa strawberry pie ga amari suki janai desu.
(I don’t like strawberry pie very much).
Watch the video below and then practise saying which foods you don’t like very much,
okonomiyaki 05/09/2011
Click on the photo below to see some examples of okonomiyaki
Okonomiyaki is a Japanese savoury pancake containing a variety of ingredients. The name is derived from the word okonomi, meaning “what you like” or “what you want”, and yaki meaning “grilled” or “cooked” (cf. yakitori and yakisoba). Okonomiyaki is mainly associated with Kansai or Hiroshima areas of Japan, but is widely available throughout the country. Toppings and batters tend to vary according to region. Tokyo okonomiyaki is usually smaller then a Hiroshima or Kansai okonomiyaki.
Source: Wikipedia
Now watch ‘Cooking with Dog’ to see how to make your own okonomiyaki!!
Jasmine san sukina tabemono wa nan desuka
watashi no sukina tabemono wa pizza desu
jasminesjapanese 
