Il recente terremoto in Giappone, con tutte le sue nefaste conseguenze, nucleari e non, ha colpito l'attenzione di tutto il pianeta. Dopo i primi momenti di sconforto, in molti non sono rimasti a guardare e si sono attivati per organizzare iniziative di supporto e solidarietà a favore delle popolazioni colpite.

Tra queste iniziative, ci piace segnalare quella di Lara Manni, blogger e scrittrice (il suo romanzo Esbat è uscito nel 2009, per Feltrinelli). L'idea di base è semplice, diretta ed efficace: un gruppo sempre crescente di artisti – per professione o per diletto – invia a Lara un'illustrazione, una poesia, un racconto, un capitolo di libro…. I materiali ricevuti vengono caricati su un sito internet, dove chi accede può gustarsi gratuitamente queste pillole: in cambio, si chiede ai visitatori di cliccare sul banner di Save the Children Italia e inviare un'offerta libera.

Risultato: il sito Autori per il Giappone, che pur essendo online solo dal 21 marzo ha già superato le 10000 visite!

Così Lara ha risposto alle nostre domande in merito alla sua iniziativa.

Com'è nata l´idea di Autori per il Giappone?
Per puro caso. Navigando in rete e scoprendo che in Francia e Inghilterra scrittori e illustratori avevano dato vita a iniziative di questo tipo.

Chi ti ha aiutato a sviluppare il progetto?
Valberici, un amico di rete, che ha realizzato il sito in due giorni, e tre altri amici di rete, Diana, Vincent e Luciana, che tuttora stanno postando le storie.
Che risposta hai ricevuto in termini di partecipazione degli autori e di visite al sito?
Siamo a quasi quattrocento lavori, fra racconti, poesie e illustrazioni e circa diecimila visite, ma saremo più precisi fra breve.

Come mai hai scelto di appoggiarti a Save the Children Italia?
Abbiamo pensato di invitare a devolvere a Save the Children perchè sono fra le organizzazioni più attive e concrete e soprattutto sanno ragionare anche a lungo termine.

La tua iniziativa è un progetto a tempo determinato o Autori per il Giappone sarà un luogo di arte senza “data di scadenza”?
Non avrà data di scadenza.

E voi lettori, siete ancora qui? Un consiglio: correte su www.autoriperilgiappone.eu, leggete e donate!

[English]

The recent earthquake in Japan, with all its tragic consequences, nuclear or not, has deeply shockec the whole world. After the first moments of despair, many people started to take the initiative and arrange actions or projects in order to help the Japanese population.

Among these projects, we are glad to mention the one created by Lara Manni, blogger and writer (her novel, Esbat, was published in 2009 by Feltrinelli). Her idea is quite simple, but direct and effective: a group of artists – both professional and not – sent Lara a picture, a poem, a short story, a chapter from a book… All the material received has been uploaded on a website whose readers are able to enjoy these “art pills” for free: in return, they are asked to click on the banner of Save the Children Italy and donate as much as they can – even one euro makes the difference.

The result achieved by Lara is the website Autori per il Giappone (Authors for Japan), which is online from March 21st, with more than 10000 visits so far!

We managed to interview Lara Manni: here are her answers to our questions about the project.

How did you get the idea of creating something like Autori per il Giappone?
By chance. I was surfing the web when I noticed that in France and UK some writers and illustrators had launched similar projects.

Has anybody helped you to develop the website?
Yes, Valberici, a web friend who built the website in two days, and three other web friends, Diana, Vincent and Luciana, who are still posting the stories.

What feedback have you been receiving as regards the participation of the authors and the visits on the website?
We have already received four hundred works and 10000 visits, in some days we will provide more precise numbers.

Why did you decide to rely on Save the Children Italy?
We decided to contribute to Save the Children campaign because they are one of the most serious and active organizations and they have long-term projects too.

What about the future of Autori per il Giappone: is it a fixed term project?
No, there is no expiration date.

Are you still reading this article? Tip: click on www.autoriperilgiappone.eu, check it out and donate!

[Italiano]

Last weekend I went to a Japanese restaurant in Hamburg and had a Japanese beer there. My favorite Japanese beer is the so-called Asahi beer. It’s pretty popular among young people in Japan. The elderly prefer Kirin beer, though. Any way, it was really good to have a Japanese beer because the weather here in Hamburg right now reminds me of the Japanese summer, with high humidity levels. Japanese beer is perfect for such sweating weather in my opinion.

The Japanese love beer, even if there are many who can’t hold their drink – their cheeks become redder than usual. I think many of them just don’t drink because of this and they are embarrassed to show their red faces in front of people.

According to this Japanese article, the annual average beer consumption per person in the whole world is 49.2 liters. Furthermore, a study from the Kirin Beer Company 2002 revealed the average beer consumption per person in 28 countries: the Czech Republic ranked first with 250 bottles (633ml/bottle), the second and third places were taken by Ireland with 230 bottles and Germany with 192 bottles respectively. Japan was in the 21st place with 86 bottles.

The reason why the Japanese drink much less than the Germans might be explained by the Japanese alcohol tax. It is 45,2 percent, very high in comparison with the German alcohol tax of 20, 4 percent. It also plays a big part in the Japanese tax revenue, so I don’t think that the tax rate will be changed in the future.

Recently, many beer brands with low malt have been launched on the Japanese market to sell more beer at a reasonable price. As beer is taxed according to its malt content, low-malt beer is cheaper. For example, many companies are creating beer using less malt and more soya beans instead, so that the price is lower. This low-malt beer has become more and more popular in Japan. In addition to low-malt beer, there are also many kinds of diet beers brewed in Japan and also imported from foreign countries. By the way, my grandfather’s favorite beer is one of the diet beers from the Netherlands. I think such a beer is an alternative to usual beer, and also healthier and cheaper.

[日本語]

先週ハンブルクの日本料理屋でご飯を食べた時、久しぶりに日本のビールを飲みました。このところドイツ国内中、おそらくヨーロッパ全域で猛暑が続いており、湿度も高く日本の夏を思い出させるような気候です。日本のビールはこんな暑いじめじめした時に飲むとおいしいです。私が注文したのはアサヒビールですが、キリンやそのほかのビールもおいてありました。なかなか日本料理屋で食べる機会がないので、そのせいもあり、ハンブルクにいながら日本を味わえて嬉しいひと時を過ごせて良かったです。

日本人は全体的にビールをよく飲む国民だと思います。私自身、日本にいた頃はあまりビールを好んで飲みませんでしたが、ドイツに来て以来ビールも飲む回数が増えて今では大好きとまではいきませんが、ビールがおいしいと思えるようになりました。私の父親のように、すぐに顔が赤くなってしまう人たちはそれを気にして飲まない場合もよくあるような気がします。

そこの日本料理屋でビールについて興味深い記事を見つけました。その記事によると、世界中での年間ビール消費量は一人あたり49.2リットルだそうです。さらに、2002年にキリンビール株式会社が行った統計によると、28カ国の中で、チェコスロバキアが250本(大瓶一本633mlで換算)で1位、アイルランドが230本、ドイツが192本でそれぞれ2位、3位をしめています。日本はというと、21位の86本という結果が出ています。

なぜ日本人はドイツ人と比べてこんなにもビールの消費量がすくないのでしょうか。おそらく皆さんももうすでにご存知のように、酒税によるものです。ドイツの酒税は20.4%ですが、日本の酒税45.2%でドイツの酒税と比べて2倍以上もの税金がかかります。また、この酒税は日本の歳入面で大きな役割を果たしているので、将来この税率が低下する可能性は低いかもしれません。

最近では麦芽使用率をおさえたビールが日本市場に出回っています。酒税は麦芽の含有率によって決まるので、麦芽使用率が低いビールはお手ごろ価格で買うことが出来ます。麦芽と大豆のコンビネーションのビールなど様々な新しい形のビールが登場しています。その他、カロリー控えめのビールで日本で生産されたものから海外から輸入したものまでいろいろあります。ダイエット中の私の祖父はカロリー控えめのオランダ産ビールがおいしいと最近ではよく飲んでいるようです。

[English]

日本では7月から8月にかけて日本の至る所でお祭りが開催されます。七夕祭りはその中でも有名なお祭りの一つです。七夕の行事は、中国から伝来したもので日本では7月7日に通例お祭りが開催されます。ところで有名な仙台七夕祭は旧暦の7月、つまり8月に行われています。

皆さん、七夕の由来をご存知ですか。7月７日は、こと座の一等星ベガ（織姫）とわし座のアルタイル（彦星）が一年で一度出会うことが出来る日です。中国の伝説によると、この愛し合っている二人はその日以外は天の川を堺に離れ離れで暮らしています。詳しいお話は次のようになります。天の川のほとりに、天王の娘である織姫がいました。彼女はよく働き、みごとな布を織りました。明けても暮れても働いていた織姫は恋人をつくる暇もないくらい懸命に働いていました。そこで心配になった彼女の父親は、天の川の向こう側で一生懸命働く牛飼いの彦星と自分の娘を一緒にさせようと二人を会わせました。二人は会ったとたんすぐに恋に落ち、その後間もなく結婚しました。しかし、結婚してからの二人は仕事をさぼるようになり、織姫は布を一枚も織らなくなり、彦星は家畜の世話をしなくなりました。そんな二人を見て、天王は二人に年に一度だけ、7月７日に再会することを許すことにしました。

今日、日本ではこの日に短冊に願い事を書き、それを笹に他の折り紙で作った飾りと一緒に飾ることが習慣になっています。この短冊などで飾り付けられた笹は近くの川へもって行き願いが叶うように祈ります。これは学校の行事の一つにもなっています。

話しが少しそれますが、祭りといえばやはり浴衣・甚平ですよね。猛暑が続いているとは思いますが、夏ばてに気をつけながら、夏を思いっきり楽しみましょう！

[English]

From July to August, there are many festivals in Japan. Tanabata festival is one of the most famous festivals among them. It is a Japanese star festival and has its origins in the Chinese legend Oxil. There are some big Tanabata festivals in Japan which take place in August, such as the Sendai Tanabata Festival, according to the lunisolar calendar (in which the seventh lunar month is August).

On 7th July, the two stars, Vega and Altair, face each other in the sky. According to the Chinese legend, these stars are lovers which are separated by Amanogawa (the Milky Way), which is between them for the rest of the year. The story is as follows: Orihime (Weaving Princess), the daughter of the sky king, was a hard-working weaver and wove beautiful clothes on the west side of Amanogawa. However, she worked so hard that she barely had time to meet someone and fall in love. So her concerned father, the Sky King, arranged for her to meet Hikoboshi (Cow Herder Star) who lived and worked nearby, feeding and washing his cows on the other side of the Amanogawa every day. The Sky King came up with an idea to bring them together. It turned out just as he wished as it was love at first sight and they married shortly afterwards. After their marriage they were together all the time and forgot about everything else. Orihime neglected her weaving and Hikoboshi didn’t take care of his cattle anymore, so the Sky King decided to separate them and to allow them to see each other by crossing the Milky Way just once a year, on 7th July.

Today, the Japanese celebrate this day by writing wishes on small pieces of paper called Tanzaku and hanging them on bamboos with many other different paper decorations made from Origami papers. The decorated bamboos are often brought to a river next to where people live to make their wishes come true.

Furthermore, it is also the best opportunity to enjoy the hottest season by wearing a summer Kimono such as a Yukata for women and a Jinbê for men.

[日本語]

一般的に日本人（特に大人）は他の国とは違い誕生日を祝いません。しかし誕生日には家族や友達からプレゼントをもらうことはあります。欧米でよく見られるように、誕生日パーティを開いたり、友達を自分の家へ招いて楽しいひと時を過ごすのはいいことですが、私たちにはそのような習慣がありません。なぜでしょうか。子供たちにとって自分の好きなプレゼントがもらえるので誕生日は一年の内で大切な日です。私も小学校の頃は、クラスメートの誕生日はきちんと覚えてプレゼントを買って学校へ持っていきました。たいてい子供の誕生日会を開くのは母親の役目で、私の経験からですと、誕生日会をする家があったりなかったりで特に誕生日会をする習慣はなかったように思います。誕生日といえばケーキがつき物で日本では特にイチゴショートケーキが人気です。一体いつからこのイチゴのショートケーキが有名になったのでしょうか。また、最近の子供たちはハローキティなどのキャヤクターケーキを注文する傾向があるようです。

ドイツでは（おそらく他の国もそうだと思いますが）、自分の誕生日パーティを開く場合、自分でパーティの準備をしなければなりません。個人的に自分の誕生日に誕生日の主役が何もかも準備をするというのにはどうもふに落ちません。私もドイツで何度か誕生日パーティを開き、楽しい誕生日を過ごしました。その反面、ゲストの世話を一晩中したおかげですごく疲れたというのも事実です。今では誕生日パーティをするならこじんまりとしたもので、どこかレストランなどで気楽にパァッと騒ぐ方が私的には楽で好きです。

誕生日にたくさんの人から電話がかかってきたりするのを見ていると、私にはヨーロッパでは誕生日というものがいくつになっても何か特別なもののように思えます。誕生日を祝うというのは良い習慣だと思いますが、正直この習慣になれるのに大変時間がかかりました。なにが理解できないかと言いますと、友達の誕生日に電話をかけるのを忘れてしまった時に、相手から気を悪くされることです。日本では、大人になると誕生日はあまり大事ではなくなりついつい家族の誕生日でも忘れがちになります。育った家の環境でそういう習慣もまちまちだとは思いますが、皆さんもそんな経験をされたことがあるのではないでしょうか。

もちろん自分の誕生日に友達から電話がかかってくると嬉しいです、しかしこれが当たり前のことになるのは少しおかしいと私は思います。ドイツ生活も長くなってきて、友達の誕生日に電話をするという習慣もだんだんついてきました。しかも、近くに住んでいない友達や普段あまり会うことのない友達に電話をするいい機会になってきたりしています。

最後に、友達や家族の誕生日に電話をかけ忘れるのは私のせいではなく、文化の違いによるものです。一方で、郷に入っては郷にしたがえということわざにもあるように、たとえ納得がいかなくても、その国々の文化に自分を合わせる努力をする必要はあると思います。

[English]

Generally in Japan we grown-ups don’t celebrate our birthday as people do in other countries. For your birthday, you usually get a present from your close family and friends. Throwing a party at your house, inviting many friends of yours and having a nice time together at your place is actually a nice thing, but we don’t have such a custom. Why? For kids, a birthday is a pretty important occasion because of presents. I used to remember all of my classmates’ birthdays and give them presents at school. Some parents, usually mothers, would organize their kid’s birthday parties at home. Actually, it’s somehow very common to have a cake with strawberries on the top as a Japanese birthday cake, which is called „shôto kêki“, I don’t know why but it’s a part of the Japanese birthday ritual. However, kids increasingly ask for cakes decorated with their favorite cartoon characters, like „Hello Kitty“.

In Germany, and probably in many other countries, if you want to have your own birthday party, you need to prepare it on your own (except for surprise parties of course). In my opinion, you are the birthday boy or girl and it’s your special day so you don’t have to do anything! I’ve thrown a couple of birthday parties here and it was a lot of fun, but at the same time I was really exhausted taking care of my guests all night. After a couple of my birthday parties, I now prefer having a small party at a restaurant instead of my place.

To me, birthday parties seem very special for people in European countries, as you can get many phone calls on your birthday. It’s quite a nice custom, but honestly it took me a while to get used to remembering my friends’ birthdays and making phone calls to congratulate them on their birthdays. What I can’t really understand is that some get in a huff if you forgot to make a phone call and wish them a happy birthday. In Japan, I would say it’s not so important to remember the birthdays of your family or friends, except for your boy- or girlfriend. I personally try to make an effort not to forget my parents’ birthdays, but I often do.

Of course it’s a nice surprise to get a phone call from your family or friends on your birthday, but it should not be expected, I think. I’m getting better at making birthday phone calls to friends here in Germany every year. It’s because many of them are now my good friends and I know them well. Therefore, it turns out a birthday call is a way to stay in contact with friends.

As a conclusion, it’s not my fault that I don’t like making calls on birthdays because it’s a part of the Japanese culture. On the other hand, sometimes you need to adapt to other cultures - as the proverb goes, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do”. That is especially true if you are in a foreign country – even if you don’t share their view.

[日本語]

However, I also like cats now but I would say my favorite animal is still the dog. It might have to do with my very first dog named John. John was found and then caught by my grandfather somewhere on a street in my town. Unfortunately, it was always kept in our garage, outside the house. It was really sad for me to see him freezing outside, especially during the winter. Unfortunately I couldn’t do anything against it because my brothers and I were just too small to have any kind of influence on family rules.

I guess dogs were classed as watchdogs in Japan. However, the way the Japanese take care of their pets has changed a lot after the Japanese economic upturn in the 1960s and 1970s. Now pets are mostly kept indoors and people feel closer to them as they share their living environment.

According to the survey from the Japan Pet Food Association 2006, 12,000,000 dogs and 9600,000 cats are kept in Japan. So there is a total of more than 20,000,000 dogs and cats in Japanese households.

If you compare it with the total number of Japanese children aged under 15, it might help you better understand the pet situation in Japan. Japanese government statistics from 2007 tell us that there are 17,380,000 children under 15 years old, so less than the number of dogs and cats! Besides, Japan has been struggling with its low birthrate. Hence, married couples tend to have more pets than to start a family. It might be one of the reasons for it.

You can say that the pet market has been taking over the market share for children’s needs, give or take. Business related to pets has been spreading, especially for the daily care products, for example dog shampoo, hair conditioner and paper diapers etc. You can now find a wide range of offers for pets.

To conclude, we all know that pets are good to have around us. But due to increasing problems related to pets, we should really consider whether we can take responsibility for them or not before deciding to welcome a pet in our homes.

[日本語]

ドイツで好きなことの一つが公共の場でのドイツ人のペットへの理解です。初めて旅行でドイツを訪れた時、一般的にドイツ人は日本人よりもペットを家族の一員とみなしているのに気づきました。あるカフェでお茶を飲んだときの事ですが、隣のテーブルの下にゴールデンレトリバーが普通に、しかもなんの音も立てることなく行儀よく座っていたのです。辺りを見渡しても周りの人たちも普通にカフェを飲んだり新聞を読んだりしています。犬がカフェにいることは、日常茶飯事な事で驚くようなことではありません。日本とは違ってどこへ行くのにもペットを連れて行くというのがドイツでは当たり前のようです。実際、スーパー内への犬の持込は禁止しているところが一般ですが、レストランやカフェまたは電車などで犬を見かけることはよくあります。ここでおもしろいと思ったことが、よくスーパーの入り口の窓に小さいサインのようなものが貼ってあり、そこにはドイツ語で“Hunde müssen draußen bleiben (犬はお断り)”と書いてあったりすることです。日本人なら(このような習慣がない他の国の方々も含め)、犬をスーパーに持ち込まないというのはわざわざ看板のようなものを用意しなくてもあたりまえのことです。

猫が好きになった今でも、私の大好きな動物はやっぱり犬です。これはおそらく、私の家族が初めて飼った犬のジョンと関わりがあると私は思います。ジョンは私の祖父にどこからか拾われてきた野良犬でした。残念なことに、ジョンは常に家の裏の小屋につながれていて、特に冬場はさむくて凍えていたのにはとてもかわいそうでした。毛布をもっていってあげたりしたのを覚えています。私の兄弟もどうにかジョンを家の中へ連れて行きたかったのですが、家族のルールを敗れるほどの力がなくあきらめました。

今思えば、昔の日本では犬は番犬としてしか見なされてなかったのではないかと思います。日本が経済成長を向かえた60年、70年代から犬も家の中で飼われるようになり、生活空間を共有するようになったため、ペットとの密着感が増し、ペットへの愛着が一層増えていきました。

2006年に行われた ペットフード工業会の調査結果 によると、1200万匹の犬と960万匹の猫が日本国内で飼われていると発表されました。つまり、合計で2000万匹以上の犬と猫が飼われていることが推測されたのです。

さて、ここでこの数を15歳以下の子供の数と比べると、日本のペット状況について理解し易いのではないでしょうか。日本政府の統計によると、2007年の時点で15歳以下の子供が1738万人いると発表されています。ということは、子供の数は犬と猫の合計数よりも少ないということになります。その上、日本は少子化という問題を抱えており、いまだに解決されていません。結婚したカップルが子供を持たずにペットを飼うという例もすくなくありません。これは少子化を進行させる原因の一つかもしれません。さらに少子化で子供ビジネス市場が縮小した代わりにペットビジネスが拡大しているのも事実です。特に、ペットビジネスの拡大分野は、犬用のシャンプー、リンス、紙おむつなどの日常ケア用品です。

最後に、ペットを飼うと心が和みますがこの一方でペット問題も増加しています。ペットを飼う前に本当に世話が出来るのが、責任がとれるのかなどを十分に検討する必要性があることを忘れないようにしないといけないと思います。

[English]