The Eighth Heritage Japanese Speech Contest

20 Contestants Speak about Their Discoveries and Challenges in Their Multiple Cultures

Twenty contestants, Consul General Yanagi, and judges pose for a commemorative photo after the Speech Contest.

    The eighth annual Heritage Japanese Language Speech Contest was held on February 4 at the Consulate General of Japan in Chicago’s Japan Information Center. Twenty contestants from Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin competed with their Japanese language skills.

   The titles of the speeches were "In Honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.," "History Which Should Never Repeat," "Having Three Mother Languages," "Why I Chose Spanish as My Second Foreign Language," "Common Language of the World," and so on, and the contestants, who have multiple language and cultural backgrounds, already have developed the sense of the global perspective. This year's competition was of a high level, with 20 contestants selected from nearly 40 applicants.

     This speech contest was founded in 2017 to encourage students of Japanese heritage to hone their Japanese language skills. It is co-organized by Consulate General of Japan in Chicago, Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Chicago, Japan America Society of Chicago, and Chicago Sister Cities International Osaka Committee.

     The competition consists of two categories: the first for elementary and junior high school students; and the second for high school and college students.

    After each presentation, a judge asks the contestant a few questions in Japanese. The answers are counted toward the total points for the contestant.

　   In his opening remarks, Consul General Jun Yanagi welcomed the 20 contestants and said the Heritage Japanese Speech Contest has been growing since its inception in 2017 and his office received more applications for the contest than the office used to in the past years. “So congratulations to all the contestants who successfully made it through the first round of the selection,” he said.

      Consul General Yanagi also praised the teachers and parents for their tireless efforts to support the contestants, while acknowledging the sponsors, co-organizers, and judges for their assistance.

   Regarding the circumstance of the places, where heritage learners study Japanese language, he said he has learned that students with Japanese backgrounds learn Japanese language in a variety of settings in the U.S., including Japanese language schools run by community-based non-profit organizations and Kokugo classes in Saturday schools, with no standard way methods such as textbooks or teachers.

    CG Yanagi said, “In this regard, I wish to share that the Japan Foundation has started working on a specific initiative to address such issues. Last November the Japan Foundation of Los Angeles Office launched a new program to support heritage Japanese language education in the U.S. With my sincere hope those efforts will help improve environments or settings for heritage learners.” He encouraged the contestants will continue their Japanese language studies and become a bridge between the people of the two countries in the future.

    All the contestants overcame their nervousness, made good speeches, and answered questions asked by Chief Judge Noriko Taira in Japanese.

   After the speech contest, contestants relaxed and spent a break time with their families and friends and enjoyed having sushi rolls and snacks.

   All the judges got together in a meeting room to select winners, and Consul Tsutomu Shibata announced the results after the break.

Prize-winning Speeches

 Grand Prize

Grand Prize winner Rio Hanazuka (C), Consul General Jun Yanagi (L), and Takeshi Komatani, Director of All Nippon Airways in Midwest Region (R)

     Rio Hanazuka, a ninth grader from Chicago Futabakai Saturday School, won the Grand Prize with her speech titled “Don’t Laugh at Parent’s English.”

   Hanazuka moved to the U.S. at the age of four, and since then English has become her first language while she was talking in Japanese with her family members at her home.

   Living in the U.S., she feels uncomfortable when her mother speaks awkward English, and as most teenagers do, she has a good laugh at the stories of her mother’s English while she is enjoying conversations with her friends. One day, Hanazuka went shopping with her mother and giggled when she saw that her mother's English was not understood in the store. Everyone has had such an experience at least once.

   Hanazuka had an opportunity to change her attitude. She enrolled in a Japanese junior high school for a summer vacation experience. She was confident that she could do well in the high school because she had achieved good grades in the Futabakai Saturday School; however, she faced two unexpected challenges.

   One was a kanji-writing test, and she received a negative for every kanji she wrote. In Japan, the stroke order of kanji is very strict including “tome” and “harai” rules. She cried to her mother in frustration and embarrassment, but her mother gently told her, “You had a good experience,” and offered help writing those kanji characters in the right way.

   Another challenge was writing her name in kanji. She usually wrote her name in hiragana at Saturday School, so she was not accustomed to writing her name by using kanji. She struggled and managed to write two kanji characters, but their balance was bad and inaccurate. Actually, her name “Rio” means dignified cherry blossom, and the kanji was pretty complicated. She was very embarrassed and complained to her father why he had chosen such difficult kanji characters.

   Her father explained, “The Japanese have long loved the cherry blossoms. I hope that wherever you are in the world, you will be the one to give people hope of spring by glooming beautiful flowers that endure the harsh cold of winter.”

   She recognized that the kanji contained such vivid scenes of spring and such strong massages. “My father’s words made me realize the beauty and splendor of the Japanese Language,” Hanazuka said.

   Her parents wanted to share happenings in their family life in their native language rather than correcting slight grammatical errors in her Japanese and wanted to support her in inheriting the beautiful Japanese language. She recalled the moment she laughed at her mother's English and felt as if she had been punched in the face and realized that even though they were parents or friends, it did not do any good to behave badly.

   In conclusion, Hanazuka said, “Those of us who study at Futabakai Saturday schools can express our thoughts and feelings in English and Japanese will be a bridge between the U.S. and Japan. In addition, if we can respect people, we can connect with people all over the world. The language we use can put our soul into the very words we transmit. I would like to continue to further deepen my understanding of Japanese and English, and devote myself to mastering language and developing humanity.”

   Hanazuka received a round-trip ticket to Japan donated by All Nippon Airways.

First Prize in the First Category

Rentaro Ridder (C), winner of the first prize in the first category, Rina Satsutani (R), winner of the second category, and Takashi Watanabe, Vice-Chair of JCCC PR Committee

     Rentaro Ridder, a fifth grader from Minnesota Japanese School, was the winner of the First Prize in the first category with his speech titled “Supporting Lives with Paper Standing Up.”

   On New Year's Day, 2024, a major earthquake hit Ishikawa Prefecture, and Ridder wondered if there was anything he could do in the U.S. Even if he sent food or coats, it would be difficult to deliver them due to the traffic disruptions. Even if he sent origami cranes, he was not sure if they would help the victims who were truly in need.

   Then Ridder thought about origami, which he has loved to fold since he was a small child. One of the most interesting folds is “hiraori,” also called tessellation, which can be transformed from a two-dimensional to a three-dimensional form in an instant.

   For example, a large map can be folded compactly and then quickly unfolded when needed. The zigzag folds make it tear-resistant and easy to open and close. This hiraori is called “Miura Fold” which is used to fold solar panels compactly to load onto satellites.

   While researching the use of hiraori, Ridder found cardboard partitions that can be quickly assembled in shelters. It is sturdy and requires no tool, and he had a feeling that hiraori would be useful when space and materials are limited during a disaster.

   Then Ridder hoped to use the hiraori technique to build a house that is resistant to earthquakes in the future. Nowadays, some houses are made with 3D printers, and he thought that if such technologies were combined, there would be more houses that people could live in with peace of mind, more people would continue to live in their hometowns despite frequent earthquakes, and depopulation would be prevented.

   He concluded his speech by saying, "The prayer of making one thousand folded paper cranes will change its form as the technique of hiraori. Hoping that it will one day become a power that will bring joy to the people in the disaster-stricken area.”

 First Prize in the Second Category

Rina Satsutani

    Rina Satsutani, a ninth grader from James B. Conant High School, was the winner of the First Prize in the second category. Her speech was titled “Sea of Words.”

   Satsutani loves words. She also loves to read and write. In her speech, she talked about four-character idioms and two-character idioms.

　When she is curious about the origins of these idioms or the use of the kanji they are composed of, she "looks them up to the last detail," and before doing so, she tries to guess their meanings or origins. For example, the four-character idiom "一部始終" means "from beginning to end," but why is the antonym "一部" attached to it?

   In Satsutani’s discussion, since an event is part of a life or period of time, it makes sense if it is from the beginning to the end of a certain event. Also, in general, a whole part is not used for a long period of time, such as a life.

　However, upon her research, Satutani's prediction was different. The word "part" in the four-character idiom "一部始終" does not mean a part of a thing or a book, but rather a whole book as "a bound book," and "一部始終" is an idiom meaning the beginning to the end of a book.

   Another interesting example is the use of the color white in words such as "confession (告白)" and "monologue (独白)," which are used to confide something important. Why is this?

   White has the impression of holiness, purity, and innocence, and it is thought that a confession or monologue is an announcement of something that transforms innocence, regardless of whether the meaning is good or bad.

Satsutani quickly looked up the kanji character "white" and found that it was not as she had expected. When the hiragana character "su" is added to the character "white (白す)," it can be read by kun-yomi as "mousu (もうす)," which means to say things. If so, the meaning of "confession" would make sense.

   Satsutani says, "Many meanings lie dormant in the same kanji characters and the same sound. I think of every day as a sea of words, from billboards on the street to news on TV, novels, and manga. It is like a jewel that no one can fully grasp all of them. That is why we should hone words and think about their meanings and origins. After thinking about it a lot, when you know the answer, you will understand it more deeply. I am sure that you will be enchanted by the fascination of being tricked by words in a good way," she concluded her speech.

    Ridder and Satsutani received a $100 gift card donated by Sumitomo Corporation of Americas and a Technics Wireless Earbuds donated by Panasonic Connect North America.

 Other Awardees:

2nd Prize:

Yulia Lizama, Taihei Eastwood

3rd Prize:

Ryoga Hayashi, Senri Ger

4th Pirze:

Anna Sekiguchi, Ibuki Takahashi

JASC Award:

Hugo Strulovici, Mikoto Matsuda

JIC Award:

Kai Senzaki Coughlin, Haruaki Horii, Julia Mitsunaga, Eito Tabion, Nanami Tamura, Louis Burke, Leia Tanaka, Zen Nagao, Nolan Wade