Yamaboshi is a monthly English class in Nagasaki.
The class began with adult learners who were interested in the history of the atomic bombing and the sites around the Atomic Bomb Museum. Over time, the topics became wider. We still talk about the bombing and its effects, but Nagasaki has a much longer story than that.
The students are there to improve their English. Nagasaki history simply gives us something interesting to talk about — and, fortunately, this city never seems to run out of stories.
How the class works
We usually start with one person, place, event, or idea from Nagasaki history.
Students read the story, look at useful vocabulary and phrases, and then talk about the topic together.
The goal is not to memorize a script and repeat it word for word. I want students to understand the story well enough to explain it in their own words, ask questions, share opinions, and connect it with things they already know.
Sometimes the most interesting part of the class starts after we move away from the original story.
A workshop, not a lecture
I think of Yamaboshi as a workshop.
The students have different levels of English and very different backgrounds. Some are strong speakers. Others need more support. That is fine.
My job in class is usually to be a discussion leader and language coach. I bring in the material, help with the English, and then try to get out of the way enough for people to actually talk.
The class is a place to practice, make mistakes, try again, and learn from other people. The website can help with preparation, but the class is where the English gets used with real people.
Why Nagasaki?
I have lived in Nagasaki for more than twenty years. Most of my adult life has been here.
I studied Japanese history at university, and I have worked as an English teacher for many years. I have also helped translate video testimony from atomic bomb survivors.
I am not a professional historian. I am simply someone who has lived here a long time and still keeps finding people, places, and connections I had never heard of before.
That is part of the fun.
There is Dejima, the Portuguese and Dutch traders, the spread of Christianity, the Hidden Christians, the opening of Japan, Meiji-period change, industry, war, rebuilding, and all sorts of smaller stories in between.
The atomic bombing is an important and tragic part of Nagasaki’s history. It is also part of the reason this class exists. But it is not the whole story of the city.
Why this website exists
I wanted to make these stories available outside the classroom.
The public stories are for anyone who wants to practice English while learning more about Nagasaki. You can read at your own pace, choose the topics that interest you, and hopefully find something you did not know before.
For local readers, I hope the stories also give you a reason to look at familiar places a little differently. You can live in the same city for years and still walk past a place without knowing what happened there.
If one of these stories makes you curious enough to visit a site, look something up, or tell someone else about it, I would love to hear about it.
And if you notice an error, know a useful source, or have a story you think I should look at, please get in touch.