ウォーキングツアーで学校の周りをじっくり堪能その①/Deep Cultural Walking Tour Around the School Vol.1

昨日18日、2020年初となる日本語学校さんの生徒様向けウォーキングツアーを担当させていただきました。

We enjoyed the first walking tour in 2020 with Japanese learners.

皆さんとても熱心に日本語を勉強しておられ、通りの名前や京言葉など、日本語を勉強しながらツアーが進みました。

They all were very eager to learn Japanese, so the tour was mixed with easy JA and EN. We also learned how streets in Kyoto named, and the special dialect in Kyoto.

当日、まずは六角堂へ。

First, we visited Rokkakudo Temple.

六角って何？「？？？？？」ですが、角が4つだったらどうでしょう？のクイズに「四角！」

3つだったら？「三角！」

Here was a quiz that I (the guide) asked; why we named this temple "Rokkakudo?"

Was a difficult question...

What do you say four cornered shape? "shikaku (square, literally means four cornered in Japanese)!" How about three? "sankaku (triangle, same as above, three cornered)!"

ではもし角が5つだったら？「五角…？」

Then now I asked what if it had five? "gokaku (five cornered)?"

100個あったら？「百角！」、と楽しみながら覚えていきます。

Then one hundred? "Hyakkaku (hundred cornered) !!"

ゆかりのある場所で日本語で日本語を勉強できることに大興奮です。

It was very exciting to learn something new in Japanese in Japan in a special location.

そしてついに、六角堂がなぜ六角なのかの謎を探るべく、上から眺めてみます。

「おお～！！」の歓声でした。

A new question here. Why on the earth we say this temple is "Rokkaku (six cornered)." We went up to see from the top.

All of us said "WOW"!!

六角堂はとても奥深いお寺で、「へそ石」の伝説や、往時の防災システムを学びました。

Rokkakudo Temple is very interesting with lots of stories. Here in this photo is what is called belly stone, showing the center of the city, and used for a sign to evacuate in old times.

そしてお若いみなさんなので、恋愛祈願。このお寺には柳の木にまつわる伝説があり、おみくじを結びます。

They were lovely young ladies and boys and those people often wish for their love fortune. The temple has a big willow tree with a sweet legendary love story. People coming here take a slip of a piece of paper which tells you all about your future.

「結ぶ」という日本語が「ご縁を結ぶ」につながり、パートナーを見つけられるかも！などとお話ししながら、日本語のおもしろさを味わっていただきました。

And they tie the slip to the tree. The word "tie" in Japanese language "musubu" is not just used for tying something like paper or rope, but also for relationship (like blood tie in English).

If you "musubu" a fortune telling paper slip, good relationship will be "musubu" with your partner.