Frankston Susono Friendship Association
Bulletin No. 12
February 2020
Dear Members (Friends of
FSFA),
Welcome to our old friends and
new found friends to the FSFA monthly bulletin. It is a snapshot of our
happenings and interesting things about Japan.
Don’t forget you are most
welcome to attend our monthly FSFA Executive Committee meetings. They are held
at 6.30 p.m. on the first Tuesday of the month. Location is the Acacia Room in
the Frankston Council Offices. Enter off Young Street. Our next meeting will be
held on 3 March 2020.
2020 is underway
As mentioned in our January
Bulletin, we have many exciting events organised for 2020. Planning is well
underway for many of these, including the delegation visit from Susono and the
Japanese Festival to be held on Sunday 29 November at Frankston High School’s
Senior Campus. We will again be relying on the support of many to assist us
with these important events so please keep us in mind and note the date on your
calendar. After our March meeting we will be send out Expression of Interest
forms to our performers, stall holders, schools, exhibitors, food trucks and
others.
A calendar of events appears
at the end of the bulletin.
 |
| Wadaiko Rindo Taiko Drumming Group performing at the 2018 Japanese Festival |
FSFA Chairperson Julie D’Arcy
on the mend
We are very pleased to report
that our Chairperson Julie D’Arcy is making great progress as she recovers from
her recent hip replacement. After her Wednesday operation she spent several
days recovering at Beleura Private Hospital before heading home the following
Monday. Julie is moving well with the aid of crutches and is looking forward to
attending our Proclamation Anniversary event.
Former FSFA Chairperson – 2020 Frankston Citizen of the Year!
Our former Chairperson Peter
Patterson was recently awarded 2020 Frankston Citizen of the Year by Mayor
Sandra Mayer at a ceremony held on Australia Day. Peter has made a significant
contribution to the Frankston community over many years with his service to
FSFA and many other community organisations. Under Peter's leadership, FSFA was transformed into one of the most innovative and robust sister city organisations in Australia. Congratulations Peter on receiving this most prestigious
and well-deserved honour!
FSFA Committee member David
Cross’s article posted on our website can be viewed HERE.
Emperor Naruhito’s 60th
Birthday
Emperor Naruhito will
celebrate his 60th birthday on 23rd February but local
celebrations will take place at the residence of Japan’s Consul-General Kazuyoshi
Matsunaga on Thursday 13th. FSFA Vice-Chairperson Simon Hast and
Executive Committee member Therese Sakamoto are looking forward to representing
FSFA at this function and will provide a report in the March Bulletin.
Japanese Summer Festival
The Melbourne Japanese Summer Festival returns again in 2020
at Federation Square to delight Melbourne with all that Japan has to offer.
Come down to Federation Square on Sunday 23rd February 2020 from 11:30AM to 5:30PM. The 2020
Festival will bring you all of the traditional performances, food and
activities that you have come to love – and introduce a new generation of young
performers who love to sing, dance and cosplay. The whole family is welcome!
For more information please visit the Festival website: https://www.jcjsm.org.au/fest/
Cat Café Melbourne
Cat Café Melbourne is
Australia's first cat café. It offers a calm and relaxing environment where you
can come and play with the cats. There’s a selection of snacks and beverages
you can take in with you to the cat areas. Sit back with a cat on your lap and
enjoy your latte. There’s also a range of cat merchandise and gifts for both
humans and cats.
All the cats are from rescue
shelters. Cat Café Melbourne works with The Lost Dog’s Home and the Geelong
Animal Welfare Society to increase awareness of the benefits of rescue animals.
There is a charge to enter the cat area – bookings can be made online. For
safety reasons, children must be at least 8 years old to enter the cat area.
The café is located at 30
Guildford Lane, Melbourne – www.catcafemelbourne.com
Working in Japan or Planning
an Extended Visit?
For those of you who may be
thinking of working in Japan or perhaps planning an extended visit I was
recently sent information about this official Government of Japan website. It contains
lots of interesting information and a large number of links – particularly at
the bottom of the page.
To visit the website please
click HERE.
Sumo Surprise!
In our
January Bulletin I admitted to being obsessed with sumo wrestling and I always
look forward to each tournament held during the odd numbered months of the year
(6 tournaments in total). The January Hatsu (Opening) Basho is held at the Ryōgoku Kokugikan in Tokyo – this is Sumo HQ
and also stages the May [Natsu (Summer) Basho] and September [Aki
(Autumn) Basho] Tournaments. Each tournament is held over 15 days, usually
starting on the 2nd Sunday of the month.
Rikishi (sumo
wrestlers) in the top two divisions (makuuchi and jūryō)
wrestle once each day and aim for a majority of wins to secure promotion within
their division – a losing record will usually result in a demotion in the
rankings. The wrestler with the most wins after 15 days is declared the
champion – a playoff bout may be required in the event of a tie.
A unique result occurred in
the January tournament where the highest makuuchi division was won by 33-year-old
Tokushoryu (pictured below), the lowest ranked wrestler in the
division! There are usually 42 wrestlers competing, ranked from Yokozuna
through to Maegashira – Tokushoryu started the tournament at West Maegashira 17
and finished with a 14 – 1 record to secure his first ever top division
championship. Upon winning his final bout to secure the victory we saw a rare
display of emotion as the tears flowed probably due to the pressure he had felt
in the build-up to the final day, as well as the loss of his University sumo club
mentor who had died suddenly at the age of 55 on the seventh day of the
tournament. It was an emotional conclusion to what had been an enthralling
competition!
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| January Tournament Champion Tokushoryu |
The next tournament in Osaka will
start on Sunday 8 March – International Women’s Day. You can follow every
tournament’s matches, results, awards and other information by using this link:
Executive Committee Members
Farewell
Bob and Heather Tanner have
recently decided to resign from the FSFA Executive Committee. They joined our
committee in 2018 and were members of the Frankston delegation that travelled
to Japan and Susono for the Australian Fair held in late September 2018. We
thank Bob and Heather for their service and wish them well for the future.
Keeping in Contact
https://www.facebook.com/frankstonsusono/ will
help you stay connected to what FSFA is up to.
Upcoming Events
Event/Activity
|
Venue
|
Scheduled Date
|
|
FSFA Executive Committee Meetings
|
Frankston Council Chambers
|
First Tuesday each month @ 6.30 p.m.
|
|
Proclamation Anniversary 38 Years
|
Japanese Garden Frankston High School
|
Sunday 23rd February 2020
|
|
Tastepoint Fundraiser
|
Frankston High School Senior Campus
|
Wednesday 20th May 2020
|
|
2020 FSFA Annual General Meeting
|
Frankston Council Chambers
|
1st September 2020
|
|
2020 Japanese Speech Contest
|
Monash University, Frankston Campus
|
4th September 2020
|
|
2020 Japanese Garden Hanami Party
|
Japanese Garden Frankston High School
|
18th October 2020
|
|
2020 Susono Delegation Visit
|
Various venues in Frankston
|
Thursday 26th to Monday 30th
November
|
|
FSFA Japanese Festival
|
Frankston High School Senior Campus
|
Sunday 29th November 2020
|
|
Frankston Delegation to Susono
|
Susono, Shizuoka, Japan
|
October 2021 – Dates to be confirmed
|
Feedback
We welcome your thoughts on
the bulletin and things we could include, etc. We all share a passion for Japan
and its culture and traditions. This is one way we are using to share and
spread the love.
Thank You and we look forward
to keeping in touch!
Simon
Hast
On
behalf of the Frankston Susono Friendship Association
