Key Concept
We talked about the importance of doing warm-up activities as a way to begin your study sessions each day. This continues to be essential for your continued success in a foreign language class. Continue to do some kind of warm-up activity as you begin each day. Please stay in contact with your teacher so that if you cannot think of some activity to do, your teacher can help and provide suggestions.
Writing Practice: Family Members Birthdates おかあさんの たんじょうびは いつですか。
Let's see if you can give the dates of your family members' birthdays in Japanese. For the purpose of this activity, imagine that the birthdates are the dates shown. Answer the questions in Japanese and then click on the question to see the correct answer.
| おかあさん / 7 / 20 | |
| おにいさん / 1 / 5 | |
| おとうさん / 5 / 16 | |
| いもうとさん / 12 / 2 | |
| おとうとさん / 9 /10 | |
| おねえさん / 2 / 1 |
せいじんの ひ: Coming of Age Day
せいじんの ひ (Coming of Age Day), the second Monday of January, is a national holiday in Japan. This holiday honors people who turned 20 years old anytime between April 2 of the previous year and April 1 of the current year. The Japanese Civil Code specifies this age as the attainment of adulthood. Prior to 2000, this holiday was celebrated on January 15.
Twenty years old has a special name, はたち, in Japanese. It is irregular, compared to other age expression which you will learn soon.
Many women celebrate this day by wearing ふりそで, a special kind of kimono. Most women can't put on a kimono by themselves, so they go to a beauty salon or other facilities to dress and to set their hair. Many people rent their ふりそで due to the great expense, but some wear hereditary ふりそで. On the other hand, a majority of young men wear business suits, although some are seen wearing dark-colored kimonos or はかま a long, wide skirt-like type of clothing.
Read the following short article on Seijin no Hi: http://www.tanutech.com/japan/seijin1.html
A woman wearing ふりそで(Source: The Japan Forum)
Graded Assignments
Please return to the Section 1 Tasks & Assignments folder to complete the graded assignments for Section 1, Part D.
