施設の単語 – The institutions

The vocabulary course of the day is about institutions. Also the word 施設 . シセツ in the title means "the institution(s)" whether it is a public or private service.

In this course, we’ll see together several names of institutions that will be very useful in your grammar sentences to say, for example: "I am going to such a place", "I am leaving from such a place", etcetera. There is obviously a very large number of places that we can find in a city and we’ll see more of them later, as we go.

This list has 22 vocabulary words, lots of new kanji to learn. Be brave !

With this introduction done, let’s start :

市役所 . シヤクショ . the town hall; the City Hall
学校 . ガッコウ . the school
学園 . ガクエン . the university
病院 . ビョウイン . the hospital
動物病院 . ドウブツビョウイン . the veterinary clinic, the veterinary hospital
犬猫病院 . いぬねこビョウイン . the veterinary clinic, the veterinary hospital
薬屋 . くすりや . the pharmacy, the drugstore
薬局 . ヤッキョク . the pharmacy, the drugstore
ドラッグストア . the pharmacy, the drugstore
花屋 . はなや . the flower shop
銀行 . ギンコウ . the bank
警察署 . ケイサツショ . the police station
交番 . コウバン . the small police station
劇場 . ゲキジョウ . the theater
歌劇場 . カゲキジョウ . the opera
映画館 . エイガカン . the cinema (building)
図書館 . トショカン . the library (building)
公園 . コウエン . the park
動物園 . ドウブツエン . the zoo (literally: the animal garden)
動物公園 . ドウブツコウエン . the zoo (literally: the animal garden)
ペットショップ . the animal store, the pet shop
駅 . エキ . the train station

Kôban are omnipresent in Japan. These police “outposts” are operated by a team working in rotation, made up of officers from police headquarters. The kôban are located in areas considered more prone to crime: train stations, parks, shopping streets and other public places. They serve to maintain public safety at the local level by acting as a point of contact between police and citizens. They provide important services such as raising awareness of potential safety issues, receiving lost property and handling minor incidents.

For many people in Japan, the sight of a police officer standing outside a kôban is reassuring: it is an effective deterrent to crime. These small posts not only keep the peace, but also help pedestrians, cyclists and drivers find their way. The kôban usually have a large, detailed map of the neighborhood. Many people also do not hesitate to ask the agents for directions, always ready to be of service with their great geographical knowledge of the neighborhood.

Kôban in urban areas typically operate 24 hours a day. Police officers conduct patrols on foot, bicycle, scooter, or car to deal with incidents and criminal activity. Gathering information and listening to citizens’concerns are also important duties of お巡りさん (omawari-san), a term for police officers and meaning "gentlemen doing patrols".

Per a la societat envellida del Japó, aquestes comissaries de policia assumeixen un paper clau en la protecció del benestar de la gent gran. La policia els aconsella contra les estafes telefòniques i altres mitjans dirigits principalment a persones grans. Localitzen aquells que, amb demència, passen per fora o estan desapareguts: aquest és un problema que creix al Japó.

To summarize, the kôban ensure the well-being and safety of people, children and adults, young and old, while watching over everyone and being easily recognizable. Courteous and helpful, the koban police officers, who work tirelessly, help make Japan one of the safest countries in the world.

Residential police stations, 駐在所 . チュウザイショ, are common in suburbs and rural areas. Unlike their urban equivalents, they have accommodation spaces for agents and their families.

In many small kôbans, there may be times when there are no officers on duty. In these situations, a telephone is made available to residents so that they can communicate with the authorities in the event of an emergency. Some kôban in Tokyo have touchscreen information panels displaying neighborhood maps and other essential information.

Some police departments deploy mobile kôban in areas without permanent police stations. These specially designed vans strengthen communication between police and local residents by patrolling neighborhoods and serve as temporary kobans when parked.

Even in cases where there is no kôban nearby, people can contact the police in an emergency by dialing 110. For non-emergency cases, such as discussing neighborhood security concerns, citizens can call 9110.

Since the 1980s, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department have worked together to introduce the koban system to countries in Asia and South America. Singapore was the first nation to do so in 1983, adapting it to its own policing habits and needs under the name "Koban Way". Since 1997, the city-state has also worked with Japan to provide training programs to other countries seeking to establish a koban system.

Brazil, host of the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics, adopted the kôban system to improve public safety in neighborhoods heavily affected by crime. With the help of experts from JICA and the police, the Brazilian kôban program has grown to a level where it is now involved in South-South cooperation with several other Latin American countries.

Kôban continue to become known overseas, with police stations popping up in Manhattan and Waikiki, as well as countries such as South Korea, Taiwan and Indonesia. China has also introduced a similar system. In Japan, kôban, thanks to their accessibility, maintain their important role on the front line of public safety.

Most kôban have an architecture beyond compare. Some dating from the 19th century have been preserved, such as the Sukiyabashi kôban in central Tokyo. With its conical roof and square cement structure, it easily stands out in the urban landscape. There is also the kôban in front of Chiba station famous for its appearance. It is nicknamed « Fukuro Kôban », which means « the owl kôban ». Finally, the kôban in front of the Ueno Zoo in Tokyo with its modern design is literally considered a work of art. Three unique kôban, three examples among thousands of others. In fact, the number of kôban today is estimated between 6,200 and 7,000 throughout the Japanese archipelago.

The manga Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Koen Mae Hashutsujo (こちら葛飾区亀有公園前派出所, literalment "This is the police station in front of Kameari Park in Katsushika Ward"), sobrenomenat Kochikame (こち亀) entered the Guinness World Records as the longest series with the greatest number of volumes to date. It is also therefore one of the best-selling manga with more than 156.5 million copies sold. In addition, the stories in this manga are inspired by a real kôban. This is an example that shows how the kôban maintain a close relationship with the Japanese way of life and to what extent they are anchored in everyday life. In the famous Kameari district of Tokyo, you can still find the kôban from which the manga was inspired, as well as bronze statues of its main character, the policeman Kankichi Ryotsu (両津 勘吉).

Note : the word 警察署 . ケイサツショ designates the large police station, quite important while the word 交番 . コウバン designates a small police station. The word 交番所 . コウバンショ formerly designated small police stations, then was replaced by the word 派出所 . ハシュツジョ before it was itself replaced by the word 交番 . コウバン who seems to have a bright future ahead.

There would still be a galaxy of things to say and anecdotes to tell about schools, universities, hospitals, pharmacies, libraries, parks and zoos. Japanese pharmacies, in addition to medicines, sell bottled and canned drinks, biscuits, cupcakes and other sweets; shampoo, beauty products, combs and makeup kits like in all pharmacies in the world. Libraries are gigantic, majestic buildings, housing hundreds of thousands, even millions of works accessible to the general public. Some mix several concepts combining library, bookstore and café. Another library made of reinforced concrete, glass and wood, the aptly named Iwaki’s Illustrated Book Museum offers a splendid view of the sea. Others are open 365 days a year and 24 hours a day.

But obviously I can’t tell you everything here. So I’ll leave it to you to do some research on your own to satisfy your curiosity. Perhaps I will have the opportunity to tell you some anecdotes during this second season. We will see.

Okay, with that first list, you should be able to walk around town and name the main buildings you walk past. Of course, there are still a large number of places that were not mentioned in this course but, as stated in the introduction, it will be soon.

This vocabulary course is now over. Thank you for reading it to the end. As usual, keep working well, practice writing and speaking and you will keep making progress. Have a good day everyone and do your homework properly.