January 7, 2019 --　Tuesday
ワームアップ     令和2年1月7日  　　火曜日　　火＝Fire

下の日本語を3X書いて下さい。　　Jpn 3-4                     Jpn 5-6

"The new year brightens and it is auspicious." (i.e. Happy New Year)

新年   　　　 明けましておめでとうございます。

しんねん   　 あ

"This year is the year of the mouse/rat." 

今年       は        子年です。

ことし                ねずみどし

Kakizome (書き初め, literally "first writing") is a Japanese term for the first calligraphy written at the beginning of a year, traditionally on January 2. Other terms include kissho (吉書), shihitsu (試筆) and hatsusuzuri (初硯).

Traditionally, kakizome was performed using ink rubbed with the first water drawn from the well on New Year's Day. Seated facing a favorable direction, people would write Chinese poetry containing auspicious words and phrases such as long life, spring, or perennial youth. These poems were then often burned.

In modern times, people often write out auspicious kanji rather than poems. School pupils up to senior high school are assigned kakizome as their winter holiday homework. Each year on January 5, several thousand calligraphers gather at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo's Chiyoda-ku for a kakizome event that is widely covered by media.

The kakizome paper is usually burned on January 14 in the Sagicho festival. If the burning paper flies high, it is said that the person will be able to write a more fair hand.

The first time we meet people in the New Year, we can say.:

今年　初めて　です　ね。
ことし　はじめて
It's the first time (we meet) this year, isn't it?




Japanese 3-4、Japanese 5-6


年賀状　　Article      Postponed until Wednesday

Writing　年賀状



宿題　　　しゅくだい　　Homework

Work on the 年賀状ねんがじょう　which is due 金曜日に

See separate blog entry for this project.



Postponed until 水曜日

Points to review from 1st semester


ある・あります　Vs.　いる・います

Conjugations of adjectives,　い、な

Relational particles

　　　Destination　に　行く
　　　Specific time with name or number に
　　　Place where active verb happens　で

　　　Place where things exist　に
　　　Direct object (of an active verb)　を
　　　Topic/subject　は
　　　”And" between nouns　　と、や
　　　”But" between complete clauses　が
　　　After quoting someone's speech or writing　＿＿と　言いました
　　　Here, there, way over there:   どど、そこ、あそこ
　　　Do not use の between an い adjective and its noun


Counters
　　　がつ。にち、人
　　　一つ、二つ、三つ（Indigenous numbers)
　　　Days of month
　　　Days of week
　　　さつ　　Volumes,　本　Long-thin things,   まい　Flat things

Placement of counters in sentences


Comparatives
　　A のう　ほう　が　B  より　Adjective　です。

Superlatives
　　Category　の　中　で　Noun　は　いちばん　Adjective　です。

Clothing vocabulary

　　　セーター、おぼうし、めがね、ようふく、Etc.

Verb groups