On May 20, four new traffic safety slogan signs in the Tsugaru dialect were installed at Hirosaki Municipal Joto Elementary School (Okubo Nishida, Hirosaki City).

The traffic safety slogan written in the Tsugaru dialect is an initiative started by the Hirosaki Traffic Safety Association's Watoku Branch. It all started when I asked a 6th grader from Joto Elementary School to write a "traffic safety caring haiku". This year, 50 students were invited to submit works, and 4 works were selected.

This year's motto is: "Itomaga stop and chosana na no smartphone (If it's a little time, please stop and fiddle with your smartphone)" "Green light, wait a minute, but it's flickering If you don't know what you're doing", "Heguwader if you don't go, you'll get red" You can't look away from your car, right?"

Haruto Akimoto, a 6th grade student who came up with "Ittomaga~," said, "I thought it would be dangerous for high school students and adults who had smartphones to fiddle with them while walking." Sawa Tanaka, a 6th grade student who came up with the idea for "Aoshin~," says, "Flickering isn't a Tsugaru dialect, but it expresses a flashing traffic light."

Soshi Odagiri, a student in Class 2 of the 6th grade, who came up with "Heguwadare," said, "I came up with this slogan based on my own experiences." Mirei Akiyama, a 6th grade student who came up with "Ashichanzu," said, "I don't speak the Tsugaru dialect, but I listened to my mother's Tsugaru dialect when I made the piece."

Yukihito Sakamoto, who is in charge of Class 1 of the 6th grade of Joto Elementary School, said, "While the number of children who speak Tsugaru dialect is decreasing, we want parents and children not only to think about traffic safety, but also to have an opportunity to learn the language of their hometown." and smiled.