My Awaji Students

Hamasaki Sachiko & PY in the Shizuki room. She worked at the Hokuden Earthquake Center, lived with her parents, and introduced me to the great Okinawan J-Pop band, HY. She spent a university year in America, and her English level reflected this. Looking for an international company job in Osaka.

Okamoto family and Tomohiro. Parents had to accompany their kids to rug classes. Far from a chore, it was a bit of a party. Mr. Okamoto was not the "absent Dad" we often read about in Japan. Saturday in Sumoto.

Tominaga Shoryu, a wonderful clown and second grader, nailed the response "I'm GREAT!" in the Saturday Sumoto floorplay.

Kawabata Tomohiro, a mood swing champion & determined-to-contain mom. Quite a handsome young lad, isn't he? Saturday in Sumoto There are no pads under this rug worth mentioning. I usually sat on two of the well-worn pillows.

Okamoto Ruka, the sprightly lass who loved to sing. Saturday in Sumoto.

Moving on to teenagers, and getting up off the rugs...Hachida Ryoya & Hayaki Irie, 13-year old friends and quite stylish young teenagers with an attractive sense of themselves. They absolutely refused to say a word of English until I lured them into months of playing Monopoly. On our final class, they carefully noted the last positions and holdings and I think they planned to continue with the next instructor. As you might surmise, the gutted apartment turned "classroom" was quite cold in winter despite the oil heaters. Fukura, at the southern tip of Awaji-shima.

Hasagawa Jun the blind student, on his last night of some seven years of private weekly lessons. He started his new life as a university student in Osaka in April, 2006. Do you know how braille works in kanji? Thanks to Jun, I did after he showed me his frankly astonishing machine, with a keyboard unlike any I have ever seen. He wants to be a radio announcer. He lived with his family in Mihara, but his mom brought him to the Sumoto room.

Ito & Hayashi, two best friends, both university bound. Sumoto.I

Hata Yusuke & Tanabe Tomoko. Sumoto late 8:30 p.m.class. He went to a private high school in Sumoto. She worked in a medical office and recently bought a puppy to wreak havoc in her home, her parent's traditional house. Missing is Kuboto, a large man whose lifelong dedication to baking bread was a source of amusement and admiration for us all.

Hamasaki Sachiko. She reminded me of my own sister. Shizuki classroom.

Hamasaki Sachiko as a fashion leopard. Shizuki.

Maeda Yohane, always fashionable, and a born fashion model. He wants to work for NGO organizations, an inspiration from his visit to tsunami-wiped Timor. Shizuki.

Maeda Yohane & PY Just finished high school. He plans to work at Toyota in Nagano making car parts and saving money to go to the USA.

Takabe Fumi. Thursday was her favorite day. She spent the morning with her grandchildren and her afternoon at English class. She knit me a green muffler for my going away present. Sumoto.

Fujimoto Sumiko. She worked in the XIV resort hotel, where I enjoyed a fabulous swim in the indoor faux-Grecian pool. She met her husband while in New Zealand at an English school. In May, 2006, she moved to his home in Nagano, a long way from Awaji. Sumoto.

Matsukawa Yui. Star student of Shizuki and a returnee in danger of losing her English because none of her little friends is as good or as interested in English. She will probably open a business with her friends as she is quite the diplomat, and a balance to the unrestrained energies of her bright yet undisciplined pals. The home next to the bleak Shizuki classroom was full of bonsai and trees, including this riotously pink weeping cherry tree.

Kataoka. He drives around and checks electric meters throughout Awaji. A gentleman of the old school. Sumoto.

Satoe, Ayako, & Mayumi. Usually we met in Fukura but this time we are in a Sumoto izakaya.

Ayako looks at the menu & Mayumi calls the waiter with her usual gracious gestures.

Mayumi, Ayako, PY, & Satoe. This threesome of friends meet every week in Fukura, and twice we met for a evening of fun. Mayumi works alongside her husband in the family run car selling business. She has a really nice new mini-SUV. Ayako is a professional hair dresser and enjoys driving to Kyoto to see her favorite actors. Satoe has excellent English. I last saw her in the Sumoto post office, where she was working part-time. I learned a lot from these women!

Saito-gumi. Part of the 3-4 women and Mrs. Saito. Creative women whose husbands work in Awaji. Many women were in Awaji because of their husbands. Some learned to love the place and others patiently wait the time to leave after the kids are grown and husband retires. At first the isolation was overwhelming. As the years go by, the internet brings online shopping, among other benefits. Ferry services to Kobe is now augemented by bridges at either end, so one can drive (at no small expense thanks to various toll roads and a prohibitive-to-casual-mainland-visiting bridge toll) to Kobe in an hour. For me, I had to take the bus. The company car was verboten to leave the island. Sumoto.

Kotani Mikiko. A 70-something grandmother who, I swear this is true, rode her moped to our 8:30 a.m. class. She braved a mountain pass, rain, snow, and cold to appear promptly on time to a classroom still not warmed by the oil heater. She wants to speak English with her grandson. An Awaji native, she surprised me many times with her pragmatic sense of humor. Sumoto.

Fujii Akiko. Hands down, the most advanced speaker and reader in the school, through years of hard work on her part. Also, my Japanese tutor, and a wonderful, wonderful woman. We enjoyed a resplendent farewell French lunch in a Fukuro seaside hotel.

These three were inseparable and a real team of learners. Aiko may grow up to be quite a good speaker. Fukura.

Yuko worships her sister, Aiko, and struggled valiently with the difficult yet amusing English sounds. Fukura.

Aoki, the oldest, was often mystified, but her good humor kept the two youngest going. I wonder what will happen with these girls. Come to think of it, I wonder how everyone on this page is doing. It's been ten months since I left. Time to get on the email circuit and find out! Fukura.

I thought it was the "Motor City."

"Detroit. Kill City. 1968." Seen in a Tokyo train, April 2008.

© 2008. Comments to Patricia Yarrow
Top of page