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Thursday, January 11, 2007

Japanese students face chopstick test

TOKYO • It’s no secret that the Japanese are obsessed with education but in addition to the usual reading, writing and arithmetic some students will soon be tested on their ability to use... chopsticks.
Applicants to a private high school for girls in Sasebo in southern Nagasaki Prefecture will be asked to hold and move various small objects including beans and marbles with chopsticks as part of the entrance exam.
“This is simply one factor to assess whether these girls can handle chopsticks correctly, which is really the most basic element in education,” said Katushi Hisata, the vice principal of Hisata Gakuen Girls' High School.
“It's surprising to see how many children don't know how to hold chopsticks correctly, which is a part of the Japanese culture's beauty,” he said by telephone, adding that only 20 per cent of elementary students use chopsticks correctly.
The westernisation of Japan's eating habits means that use of the knife and fork is increasingly common, while a growing number of children with working parents eat alone, leaving them less well versed in chopstick etiquette.
The school's vice principal accused celebrities appearing on television food and cookery shows of using chopsticks wrongly.
The school, built in 1902, has space for 40 students in each grade, and has traditional classes in tea ceremony, kimono-fitting, etiquette and cooking as part of the wider curriculum.
“We are aware that this kind of exam won't make students jump up and come running to us, because this is unlike normal high schools that advertise success rates of students entering prestigious universities,” Hisata said.
“But we do know that education is not only about having brains, but also etiquette,” he added.

Sunday, January 07, 2007

Sword-makers ceremony

Sword-makers ceremony sparks public interest in Gifu

8:19pm Saturday, January 6

SEKI, Gifu -- Hundreds of people gathered to watch sword makers in Seki, a town famous for producing Japanese swords, as the craftsmen showed off their skills in an annual New Year's ceremony expressing hope for safety in the sword-making industry.


A total of 19 sword makers dressed in white gowns and formal headwear took part in the traditional ceremony on Tuesday, working with steel heated to over 1,000 degrees Celsius.
In the ceremony a type of Japanese steel called "tamahagane," which is mainly used to make samurai swords, was heated to 1,200 degrees, and the sword makers took turns beating it with sledgehammers.
While the sword makers worked together in rhythm, spectators cheered as they listened to the sound of the hammers hitting the steel and watched sparks flying from the metal.
During the ceremony the flattened steel was repeatedly folded and layered, a process that is said to remove impurities in the metal and create a strong sword that looks good. (Mainichi)

Saturday, January 06, 2007

Inventor of "Cup Noodle" dies

Inventor of "Cup Noodle" Momofuku Ando dies at 96
3:46pm Saturday, January 6
OSAKA -- Momofuku Ando, inventor of the instant ramen noodle and founding chairman of Nissin Food Products Co., died of a heart attack on Friday evening. He was 96.
Born in Taiwan, Ando initially set up a trading company in Taipei before founding a wholesale company in Osaka in 1933.
Ando decided to deal in food after seeing people suffer from poor diet during World War II. Later, he built a laboratory in the garden of his home in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture, and began developing instant noodles there.
By trial and error Ando found a method to dry noodles using hot oil, and finally succeeded in the development of the world's first instant noodle in 1958, called "Chicken Ramen."
The instant noodle was a big hit, and his company marketed instant "Cup Noodles" in 1971.
Ando opened an instant ramen museum in Ikeda in 1999, where visitors can experience the creation of instant noodles. (Mainichi)