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Post by Jembru on Nov 6, 2015 20:04:44 GMT
Jacob suggested this via our Line group yesterday. He thought it might be fun to start a reading group where we all read a short story and then discuss it. I figured it could work, so put forward one of the children's stories from my kokugo textbooks, called きつつきの商売, 'The Woodpecker's Business'. Although basic on the surface, I personally found it very touching. So I was curious to see if other readers would take it this way, or if it was just the way I filtered it through my own perceptions. The textbook it is taken from, is distributed to all state elementary schools in Japan, so this story will have been read by the majority of 3rd year elementary kids! Before I post the images, a quick explanation of how this thread will work; In order to let everyone work at their own pace, and so future members can still join in, I would ask that you post your thoughts and impressions of the story in a spoiler bar.
For questions about vocabulary, grammar, to request a clearer image, or if you just can't see a character clearly enough to look it up, a spoiler bar isn't necessary. This way readers can see our discussions of the text, as it might help them too, but can wait until they've finished reading and forming their own opinions before reading our impressions of the story. With that out of the way, here we go... Page 1  Page 2  Page 3  Page 4  Page 5  Page 6  Page 7  Page 8  Page 9  Page 10  Page 11  |
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Post by Jembru on Nov 6, 2015 20:30:34 GMT
Well, as I have already read the book, I'll go first. I'm actually pretty excited to be doing this, because the book invites you to discuss the story with your classmates.. but I didn't have any classmates ;_; So I just made a video of myself talking about it in Japanese. Now I DO have classmates to discuss it with! Hooray! On the surface, this seems like a pretty standard, 'you should stay still and shut up once in a while' story, aimed at noisy, boisterous children. However, I read it deeper.
I used to meditate in my teens and up to my mid-twenties. Then life just got on top of me and I stopped doing it so often.
One of my favourite things to do, was to sit by an open window on a rainy day, wrapped in a warm blanket, and listen to the rain. The sounds would carry me away, leaving my everyday thoughts as distance memories.
It's no secret that earlier this year I had a panic attack on a bus on the way home from meeting with a Japanese friend. This brought everything to a head and I realised I had high anxiety that had crept up on me gradually over time.
It was around this time that I read this story.
It reminded me of a technique called 'mindfulness' in which you are encouraged to pay more attention to the sounds and sensations of the world around you, to bring you out of your head and into the moment. I decided then, to start using mindfulness techniques to re-gain control of my life.
So then, I began to wonder.. was the story actually meant to be taken on this deeper level? The Japanese have a deep appreciation of the beauty of the natural world (hardly surprising when you consider the natural world that surrounds them on that island!). There is a concept 'shinrin yoku' which is literally translated as 'forest bathing'. The idea being that you go into the woods and allow the energy of the place to wash over you and renew your spirit.
I've noticed, and maybe some of you have too, that as a very general rule, the Japanese appear better at living in the moment than at least I am. I'm talking about the way they can go on weekend trips to Europe on their own, and just enjoy the sights and sounds for a few hours before returning to Japan.. Or how when you go somewhere, an exhibition, a petting zoo.. they want to stop and look at everything, taking their time, enjoying the smaller details.. or how they can deeply appreciate the delicate details of a meal, discussing it for way longer than I feel food needs to be the topic of a conversation. Even the Japanese word 味わう seems to be used much more frequently than our own equivalent 'savour'.
Yes, I'm generalising massively here. I'm sure there are plenty hasty Japanese who are too busy thinking about what they'll do tomorrow to think about what is going on in the here and now.. but this is just the impression I get.
After noticing that 2 years had flown by me without me even noticing, while my nose was too deeply buried in textbooks, I told JP that we should go out more.. attend local events, use local facilities, try new things more often. He agreed, and we have been doing so for a short while now.
This simple story, inspired me to be more like my Japanese friends.. to listen more, to feel, taste and observe. And my life is so much richer for it!
Thank you, きつつきさん! |
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Post by Bokusenou on Nov 7, 2015 5:23:04 GMT
Just finished it: Good pick Jem! I also like the imagery of the mice all listening to the rain, and how the woodpecker was kind of them. The last scene has a sort of haiku-esque quality to it in a way. What was everyone else's favorite part? |
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Post by Jembru on Nov 7, 2015 5:45:56 GMT
Not part of the story as such, but my favourite thing about the story, besides what I mentioned in my spoiler bar, is that derpy looking rabbit! So cute.
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Post by Melidy Jade on Nov 30, 2015 22:34:07 GMT
This is a fantastic idea! As soon as I finish my JLPT study-- (I sit N5 this Sunday ;______;) I'll get stuck into this  --MJ |
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Post by Bokusenou on Dec 1, 2015 4:33:58 GMT
This is a fantastic idea! As soon as I finish my JLPT study-- (I sit N5 this Sunday ;______;) I'll get stuck into this --MJ Good to hear! Good luck with the test! |
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stillstudying
New Member
I'm opening to practicing Japanese with anyone!
Posts: 18 
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Post by stillstudying on Feb 11, 2016 1:03:37 GMT
I just finished reading it! When I starting reading the first page I kept looking things up, and I was worried that it'd end up being too hard for me (I couldn't even find the words I was looking up anywhere) but once I stopped doing that and just read through it I realized it wasn't that bad, and I was able to at least get the main picture of the story. Towards the end especially I was able to understand it better. The grammar is fairly simple, it's the vocab that got me haha. I guess what i described kind of matched up with the story, in that at first I was too caught up in things, but once I chose to relax and just go along for the ride I was able to appreciate it for what it was, and have a better feel for it than if I stuck with the "use a dictionary for everything" approach. I may go back later and ask some questions on some of the words used, as I go back later and reread it at some point, because I'm having a hard time finding some of them for various reasons. ^^; EDIT: In the part "うんと長い時間がすぎてゆきました” I'm not sure what ゆく means in this context... "たちつぼすみれ” From what i can tell すみれ is violet, たち means cut, and those parts make sense in context to me, but I'm not sure about つぼ, unless if I'm breaking the words up wrong. ”おにわのおそうじわ” I'm assuming 掃除, and maybe with the polite prefix in front of it? おにわ polite for 庭?? I'm pretty lost here I was able to pick up a lot more going back with a dictionary, but I feel like it's a good idea to do a preliminary read first. |
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Post by Jembru on Feb 11, 2016 3:49:35 GMT
That's a good skill to develop! I mean, looking at the whole context rather than worrying about unknown words and phrases. I'm glad you didn't give up at the first hurdle! That's a great tip about reading it through without a dictionary first too. I do something similar. When I am studying kokugo material, I write unknown words on a list with 3 columns. I try to guess the meaning in the second column as I go through, then when I'm done I look up the words in my dictionary and put them in the final column. It helps me to engage with the language and think about it more, and at the end, I can fold over the side with the right answers on and test myself. Words I recall at this stage go onto anki. The ones I get wrong go into the vocab lists in my notes, but otherwise, I make no further attempt to memorise them. If they're important, they'll come up again at a later date. In the part "うんと長い時間がすぎてゆきました” I'm not sure what ゆく means in this context... "たちつぼすみれ” From what i can tell すみれ is violet, たち means cut, and those parts make sense in context to me, but I'm not sure about つぼ, unless if I'm breaking the words up wrong. ”おにわのおそうじわ” I'm assuming 掃除, and maybe with the polite prefix in front of it? おにわ polite for 庭?? I'm pretty lost here I've already replied in Line, but for the benefit of anyone else who might not know, ゆく is a spoken form of 行く. So if you reword this line to うんと長い時間がすぎていきました, you should be able to understand better. たちつぼスミレ is a variety of violet with a long stem. The kokugo books have pages of seasonal vocabulary where they introduce varieties of plants and so on, to get the kids to think about the world around them. Personally, I think such vocabulary just wastes brain space unless you have a particular interest in nature, but if anyone thinks those pages could be useful, then let me know and I'll upload some! Oh and you were right about the おにわのおそうじ line. The book in question is for 3rd years, so if you suspect a word, check to see if the kanji is learnt AFTER 3rd year, as that might offer a clue! |
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stillstudying
New Member
I'm opening to practicing Japanese with anyone!
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Post by stillstudying on Feb 13, 2016 3:47:46 GMT
Thank you so much again for helping me with those sticky spots!
That's a good way of doing it, maybe I'll try doing that myself sometime. Sometimes when I read something the first time I come across a word I don't know, and then when I reread it later and lookup the definition I think, "oh yeah I already knew it" but really I'm lying to myself and before looking it up I had no idea, so doing that guessing method would hold be accountable for words I don't know.
Oh! And I'm still interesting in recording myself reading the second half of it, I'll try to do that this weekend but with homework as well as a guest saying in my dorm I can't promise that I'll be able to.
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Post by Jembru on Feb 16, 2016 9:35:20 GMT
Okay, I finally have time to upload the pages that followed this story. They were..   In short, you are asked to perform a reading of a section of the story paying special attention to how you use your voice to emphasise important parts or convey specific feelings.. If you wish to carry out this activity, you could do it in private, or if you're brave, maybe you'd like to share a recording of your reading with the rest of us. I already did a reading but it was a video and I was dressed up, so I will make a new one if people are wanting to share. Thank you so much again for helping me with those sticky spots! That's a good way of doing it, maybe I'll try doing that myself sometime. Sometimes when I read something the first time I come across a word I don't know, and then when I reread it later and lookup the definition I think, "oh yeah I already knew it" but really I'm lying to myself and before looking it up I had no idea, so doing that guessing method would hold be accountable for words I don't know. I think we've all overestimated our knowledge at one time or another... and underestimated too! But yeah, anything that forces you to admit to gaps in your knowledge and thus fill them, has got to be a good thing! The opposite happens too though, where you think you don't know a word, but then when you write it down and start to imagine what it might mean, you remember you already have the word on anki! ^^ |
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