Sanin region consist of two prefectures, Shimane and Tottori, and located along the Japan Sea side of western Japan. In the center of Sanin region, five cities, Matsue, Izumo, Yasugi, Yonago, and Sakai-minato are working closely to create ”Nakaumi- Shinjiko -Daisen” area as an one city with about 660 thousands populations.

This area is blessed with a diversity of natural environment treasures and historical remains. About 80% of the land is occupied with mountains and forests. We also have a beautiful costal lines and clear water. World heritage Iwami Silver Mine, Izumo Great Shrine, and Matsue castle etc. are popular remains for sightseeing. On the other hand, there are many direct flights to Tokyo, Osaka, and international flight to Seoul, Korea from two airport Yonago airport and Izumo airport. Sea routes to Shanghai, Pusan Korea, and Vladivostok Russia from Sakai-minato port and Hamada port. Highways network connect to large city Osaka, Kobe, and Hiroshima etc.

With this circumstances, the Sanin India Association was established in June 2013 with the pleasure of Her Excellency Deepa Gopalan Wadhwa`s presence. Before that, we seat up the Nakamura Hajime Memorial Hall in Matsue city in October 2012 to celebrate Dr. Nakamura`s great work of Indian philosophy. With this case as a start, business communities in “Nakaumi- Shinjiko -Daisen” area seek the possibility of business exchange and cultural exchange with India.

We have more than 180 members now. They are from IT companies, constructors and builders, environmental business, process food manufacturers, machines and parts manufacturers, renewable energy business, individuals and so on. The Association is supported by the governor of Shimane and Tottori, Diet members, Prefectural assembly members, Mayors from five cities, President of the university, and Chairman from each chamber of commerce and industries etc.　

We start our activities to open our website and send newsletters “Namaste Sanin”. We held the first business seminar related to India in July, and send the first business delegation to India in November 2013.　We are keen to promote friendly but practical business exchange and cultural exchange between Sanin region and India. We hope to contribute to mutual understanding and friendship between Japan and India and develop and improve the economy and community of Sanin region.

2012 Oct.
The Nakamura Hajime Memorial Hall was established
in Matsue City, Japan, to honor the late Doctor Hajime Nakamura (1912-1999), an internationally respected authority on Indian Philosophy and Comparative thought.
Then ambassador of India to Japan at that time remarked that the hall is “an embodiment of Indo-Japan exchange.”

2013 Jun.
With the establishment of the Nakamura Hajime Memorial Hall, San-in India Association was established to promote economic exchange between India and San-in Region, Japan.

2013 Nov.
The 1st Delegation from leading San-in business persons was dispatched to India, and the delegation has been dispatched 7 consecutive years until 2019.

2014 Nov.
The 2nd Delegation from Lake Nakaumi, Lake Shinji and Mt. Daisen Area Mayors’ Association, Lake Nakaumi, Lake Shinji and Mt. Daisen Block Economic Council and San-in India Association including 5 Mayors of this region was dispatched to Kerala and met with Hon. Chief Minister of Kerala State and Hon. Mayor of Kochi City.

2015Dec.
Kerala State and Lake Nakaumi, Lake Shinji and Mt. Daisen Area Mayors’ Association, INJACK and Lake Nakaumi, Lake Shinji and Mt. Daisen Block Economic Council have signed Memoranda Of Understanding (MOU) in New Delhi. 4 signers made a report to Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe on the conclusion of the MOUs. Conclusion of the MOUs was contained in a joint statement as a result of the summit meeting between the PMs and was also described in the “Fact Sheet”, which complement the joint statement. And therefore the MOUs were officially adopted by the Government of India and Japan.

2017.Jan
An inauguration ceremony for Global Ruby Training Centre Project was held at Nippon Kerala Centre in Kochi in the presence of Mr. Yukihiro Matsumoto (as known as “Matz”), the chief designer of the Ruby programming language and an honorary citizen of Matsue City.

2017Feb.
A delegation from San-in Region attended “Kerala Business to Business Meet 2017” to commemorate the 1st Anniversary of conclusion of the MOU .

2018. Jun.
MOU between JETRO(Japan External Trade Organization) Matsue office and San-in India Association has been signed to promote business exchange between India and Japan.

2018. Sep.
Lake Nakaumi, Lake Shinji and Mt. Daisen Area Mayors’ Association dispatched a Japanese language teacher to Kerala State.

2019. May.
With the expiration of the chairman’s term, Mr. Norio Matsuo, President of San-in Chuo Shimpo Newspaper Co., Ltd., assumed the chairman of San-in India Association.

2019. Nov.
A delegation of Kerala State Government led by Hon’ble Chief Minister of Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan visited San-in region. Kerala State and Lake Nakaumi, Lake Shinji and Mt. Daisen Area Mayors’ Association signed a MOU to promote business and cultural exchange in 2015, but it was the first time visit to San-in region of the delegation from the State.

2020. Mar.～
Many of India related projects of San-in region including Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) funded projects has been suspended because of the global spread of COVID-19.

San-in India Association starts a series of articles on our web-site entitled “Have a Nice Day”, written by Mrs. Madhuri Kasibhatla, who is Hindi language teacher certified by Indian Government, living in Matsue City, with support from Nakamura Hajime Memorial Hall from this June.

Mrs. Madhuri has moved to Matsue two years before with his husband. She is a Indian Government certified Hindi language teacher and her ability is valued by Mr. Armstrong Changsan, Consul General of India, Osaka-Kobe.

Mrs. Madhuri wish India and Japanese will deepen their mutual understanding and interaction. She will introduce Hindi language, proverbs, custom, tradition and wisdom of India in her column. Her column will be carried on our web-site.


NO.3　“ Languages of India”
Indian languages and culture have long been influenced by socio economic exchanges through the centuries. It is the second most linguistically diverse nation with a few hundred different languages being spoken. It is estimated that around 450 languages and 1500 dialects are spoken in India with at least 65 different scripts. Due to the ambiguity between the terms language and dialect, the number is an estimate and not a perfect figure. The constitution of India recognizes 22 regional languages with an official status and they are referred to as scheduled languages. These languages are used at the state level. For example, Hindi in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, Bengali in West Bengal, Telugu in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Tamil in Tamilnadu, Malayalam in Kerala, etc.
Despite the misconception that Hindi is the national language of India, it is only an official language and the primary language used for official and administration purposes at the central level. Hindi is the most widely spoken language in India especially in North India. The status of “National Language” is not given to any language by the Constitution of India.
English is given the sub-official language status and is used all over the country for official and higher-education purposes. Most of the foreign tourists manage just fine by communicating in English when they visit popular tourist destinations.
Tamil spoken in the state of Tamilnadu is believed to be the oldest surviving language with a history of at least 2000 years. It is also an official language in Sri Lanka and Singapore.
Most of the Indian languages are influenced by Sanskrit, the classical language that is believed to be 3500 years old. Sanskrit is also seen as a sacred language as ancient Hindu religious scripts such as Vedas, Ramayana, and Mahabharata are written in it and most of the Hindu rituals are performed in this language. Though it is spoken by only a tiny number of people, it is interesting to note that most of the Hindu rituals are performed in Sanskrit even today.
Please visit India to experience this linguistic diversity and you would be surprised to see for yourself that the strength of India is indeed “Unity in Diversity”. （Kasibhala Madhuri）

No.2 “Yoga”
The word Yoga comes from Sanskrit, the root word Yug means “to combine” or “to connect”. Hence it is ultimately understood that by practicing various forms of yoga one can connect with the supreme power (be it God or the supreme power that lies within oneself).
Though there is no conclusive report about the time of origin, it is suggested that Yoga originated in ancient India and is as old as 3300-1900 BCE which was most likely developed during 5th and 6th centuries BCE. Yoga has been gaining international popularity since late 19th century. Yoga it is not just a physical form of exercise as perceived by the modern world today. Yoga is a group of physical, mental and spiritual practices which aids in overall health and not just physical health. According to “Yoga sutras of Patanjali” (the yoga principles by sage Patanjali), there are 8 components of yoga.

1.Yamas: Yamas are ethical rules like truthfulness and non ?violence

2.Niyama: Niyama includes various habits and behaviors like cleanliness, happiness and persistence.

3.Asana: Asana can be understood as a posture that can be held for a period of time, being motionless and staying relaxed. Most of the yoga taught in Yoga schools today comes into this category.

4.Pranayama: Pranayama is a practice related to breathing consciously which means regulated inhaling and exhaling.

5.Pratyahara: Pratyahara means to shut one’s mind and body from external world and looking for knowledge, freedom and peace from one’s inner world.

6.Dharana: Dharana is to control one’s mind from jumping one topic to the other. It is about totally concentrating one’s mind on a mantra, breath or object.

7.Dhyana: Dhyana means profound meditation. Dhyana and Dharana are related in a way that Dharana is a state of mind and Dhyana is the process of mind.

8.Samadhi: Samadhi can be understood as “oneness” in the sense there is no difference between the thinker, the thought process and the subject of thought. This is the ultimate state of yoga which is not easy to be achieved.

　Someone who practices yoga with utmost commitment is called a yogi (both man and woman) or yogini (used for women). The benefits of yoga have been widely praised by the rest of the world and yoga is regarded as one of the best gifts from India to the world.

　Yoga and meditation are designed to go hand in hand. Meditation helps the mind to concentrate and gets the body ready for yoga while yoga strengthens the body to gets it ready for long meditation process. In India, Yoga has never been an alien, it is seen as a way of life. Yoga is deeply penetrated and practiced by many Indians that they enjoy doing yoga in parks also. International yoga day is celebrated on June 21st and this occasion is widely celebrated by yoga lovers all over the world.
　There are different kinds of yoga like Hatha yoga, Ashtanga yoga, Bikram yoga etc., which are differed by styles of practicing yoga and the kind of effects they have. To understand briefly, a few types are explained below.
Hatha Yoga: It refers to basic yoga where certain postures are performed linked to breathing exercises. Each posture will be held for a few moments and this type of yoga doesn't include sweaty or severe physical movements instead the person feels relaxed.
Ashtanga yoga: This is pretty rigorous style of yoga which concentrates on specific sequence of postures linked to breathing exercises. The exact same poses are performed in exact same order.
Bikram Yoga: This kind of yoga is practiced in artificially heated rooms. This results in heavy sweating as the fixed sequence of 26 postures is performed.
Prenatal Yoga: This is pretty new style of yoga designed for pregnant women of all trimesters. This helps pregnant women develop strength and flexibility and also helps to reduce physical and mental stress through the pregnancy.
　Yoga is popular worldwide and there are many schools and universities that teach Yoga for all age groups from beginner to advanced certificate levels. There are many yoga events and schools in Japan as well. Many people in Japan practice yoga to control breathing and to reduce stress. A few corporate companies include yoga in their daily routine to take care of employees’ wellbeing and health. （Kasibhala Madhuri）

No.1 “Namaste”
‘Namaste’ is commonly used word for salutation and valediction in Indian subcontinent. It is derived from Sanskrit and literally means “bowing to you”. Analyzing the word more carefully, it means "I bow to the God within you", or "The divine essence within me salutes the divine essence in you" - a knowing that we are all made from the same One Divine Consciousness. This greeting is usually spoken along with palms pressing each other in front of the chest and sometimes with a brief bow. ‘Namaskar’ and ‘Pranam’ also used and convey same meaning.（Kasibhala Madhuri）

The Nakamura Hajime Memorial Hall is an institution honoring the lifetime achievements of Dr. Nakamura Hajime, an illustrious citizen of Matsue who was a worldwide authority on Indian Philosophy, Buddhism, and comparative thought. With the extensive support of the City of Matsue, the memorial hall was opened in October of 2012, commemorating the 100th anniversary of Dr. Nakamura’s birth. Ambassador of India to Japan Smt. Deepa Gopalan Wadhwa visited the memorial museum and was moved, and remarked that the hall is an embodiment of Indo-Japan exchange.

Dr. Nakamura deepened and advanced the study of Indian thought by clarifying Indian culture in historical and ideological ways. In the field of the study of Buddhism, he contributed a biography of Gotama Buddha based on his investigation of early Buddhist texts. Furthermore, he developed the field of comparative thought focuses on comparing the philosophy of the cultural sphere of India with other cultural spheres.

In 1966, Dr. Nakamura was awarded the Honorary Degree of Vidya-Vacaspati by the second President of India, Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, in recognition of his achievements. In 1973, he was also awarded an honorary degree from the University of Delhi.

The memorial hall has a library of 30,000 of Dr. Nakamura’s books and academic documents, and displays a number of his personal belongings. The Nakamura Hajime Memorial Hall Eastern Thought and Culture Institute, in connection with the Nakamura Hajime Eastern Institute in Tokyo, hosts cultural lectures and promotes cultural and economic exchange between India and the Nakaumi region.


【Memorial Hall Information】
Location:Matsue City Hall Yatsuka Branch, Yatsuka-cho, Matsue-shi, Shimane-ken／Admission:10:00～18:00 (Closed on Mondays)　Free Admission／Telephone:　0852-76-9593

Ookuninushi (a.k.a Daikoku-sama, Dai-Kokuten), who is enshrined at Japan’s Izumo Taisha Grand Shrine, is said to have a connection with Shiva, the chief God of India’s Hindu religion. Shiva is said to be the deity of destruction and creation, and takes on an all-black form called Mahakala when he comes to terrorize the world, and when the myth came to Japan it is said that he became equivocated with Ookuninushi, based on a sort of world play between Daikoku (大黒) and Ookuni (大国).

Shiva is also the god of kitchens, and has been the deity to bestow grains unto people so that they do not suffer through famine. Shiva is also well known as the god of fortune, virtue, and wealth due to his status as a symbol of infinite wealth and his gavel, large pouch, and straw bag.