KIFA news

"DEMONS OUT! LUCK IN!": If you come to visit Japan in January and early February, you would probably find the masks of demons in the supermarkets and the convenience stores and also flyers about sushi rolls. They are for the “Setsubun” ceremony.

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THE ENGLISH FESTIVAL OF KAWACHINAGANO: The 4th Annual English Festival of Kawachinagano was held on November 18th at City Hall. The Festival is jointly sponsored and supported by the City of Kawachinagano and Kawachinagano High School. The Festival gives students in the city the opportunity to present their English language skills on a stage in front of an audience.

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FESTIVALS IN JAPAN: There are many festivals in Japan all through the year. Many of them started as part of religious events or activities. But this meaning has been almost lost or at least become vague nowadays and people enjoy the festivals simply as entertainments in their lives.

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JAPANESE NEW YEAR : The two of the typical decorations for New Year are “Shimenawa” (photo1) and “Kadomatsu” (photo2).  Shimenawa is made of rice straw and Kadomatsu is a kind of ornament made with bamboo and pine branch.
We usually drink “Otoso” (photo3), a kind of sake, to celebrate New Year on January 1st, and have “Zohni” and “Osechi”.  Zohni is vegetable soup containing rice cakes. There are a lot of different kinds of recipes in different districts in Japan.

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