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    How Australian Plants Found A Home At A Century-Old Japanese Nursery

    日本の老舗園芸店が育てるオージープランツの魅力 Japan’s love affair with Australian plants is growing, and one of the nurseries helping it flourish is 沼ノ上農園 (Numanoue Nouen) in Minami-Urawa, Saitama. We visited the nursery’s pop-up shop earlier today at Urawa PARCO, where we met Jun-san, the flower shop owner’s son, and Ryota-san and discovered more about their enthusiasm for Australia’s distinctive botanical treasures. Established in 1912, 沼ノ上農園 has spent more than a century serving local gardeners. Today, alongside seasonal flowers and houseplants, it has developed a particular interest in オージープランツ (Oji Plants), the Japanese gardening term for Australian native plants. Banksias, grevilleas and kangaroo paws offer something different from the familiar flowers of Japanese gardens. Their…

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    ‘Single Men Only?’ – Early Japanese Migration to Oz 日本人の豪州への初期移民は「独身男性限定」？

    知られざる日豪関係のルーツ What You Didn’t Know about Australia-Japan Relations Japanese immigration to Australia in the 19th century differed to other parts of the Japanese diaspora. １９世紀、豪州への日本人移民は他の国での日本人移住と比べて少々違っていた。

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    AFL – Modern Australia’s Religion and Failed Proselytizing in Japan

    If post-European colonization Australian has any sort of religion, there’s a good argument to be made that it could be the indigenous code of football, known as Australian Rules. For most Australians in the southern part of the country, footy provides them with the closest opportunity they will have to a tribal allegiance and generally loyalties toward their team are fervent and frequently location based even now (and almost exclusively the further you go back into the past). The Australian Football League (AFL), administer of the sport, to this day tries to spread the Aussie footy message overseas, but the reality is that the game remains local. Nonetheless, its impact…

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    What Happened When Japan Took On The Melbourne Cup?

    日本馬がメルボルンカップに挑んだら、何が起きた？ The Melbourne Cup has always attracted horses from overseas, but Japan’s relationship with Flemington is an unusually dramatic one. Japan’s first Japanese-trained runner appeared only in 2005. A year later, two Japanese horses finished first and second. Then a disease outbreak and Australia’s quarantine rules effectively shut the door for several years. When Japanese runners eventually returned, there were heartbreaks, near misses and one extraordinary second place. And now, 20 years after Japan’s greatest Melbourne Cup triumph, another Japanese stayer is coming to Melbourne. メルボルンカップには昔から海外馬が参戦してきましたが、日本との関係はかなりドラマチックです。日本調教馬が初めて出走したのは2005年。その翌年には日本馬が1着と2着を独占しました。ところが、その直後に馬インフルエンザが発生し、オーストラリアの厳しい検疫措置によって日本馬の参戦は事実上ストップ。その後も再挑戦、悲劇、そして惜しい2着が続きました。 そして2026年。日本のメルボルンカップ初制覇から20年、また1頭の日本馬がフレミントンへ向かおうとしています。 The first Japanese challenger 最初の日本馬 Japan’s first Japanese-trained Melbourne Cup runner was Eye Popper (アイポッパー) in 2005. He arrived in Australia having already…

  • Kangaroo Words Put Power In Pouches

    カンガルー・ワードで英語を楽しく学ぼう！ A kangaroo word is a word that contains all the letters of one of its synonyms (joey words) inside it. The letters may be in the same order or in a different order.For example: MAsculinE (male), BLOssOM (bloom), cHickEN (chicken), hoNOurabLE (honorable). 「カンガルー・ワード」とは、その同義語（ジョーイ・ワード）のすべての文字を中に含む単語のことです。文字の順番は同じでも、違っていてもかまいません。たとえば、MAsculinE（男性）、BLOssOM（花が咲く）、cHickEN（鶏肉）、hoNOurabLE（名誉ある）などがあります。 Why kangaroo? Kangaroos carry their young, called joeys, in a pouch. The term kangaroo word comes from this idea. なぜ「カンガルー」なのでしょう？カンガルーは赤ちゃん（ジョーイ）をおなかの袋で育てます。「カンガルー・ワード」は、このイメージから生まれた言葉です。 big → biGgest (big), beginNing (begin)kind → kinDness (kind), kinDergarten (kindergarten) Strine Dictionary | 考えRoo