We spoke to two foreigners who were staying in Hirosaki as ALTs (assistant foreign language teachers) about the pair of Tsugaru dialect tattoos they got.

The pair of tattoos were done by Americans Jackson Peach and Matt Bernstein. The two met in 2013 (Heisei 25) when they were assigned to Hirosaki as ALTs. It was their first time abroad, and the two, who both loved Japan, hit it off right away, and a friendship was born while living in a foreign country. After returning to the United States, I decided to get a pair tattoo to commemorate the time I spent in Hirosaki.

The tattoos I got are "Dosa" and "Yusa" in Tsugaru dialect. Bernstein said the phrase, which means "Where are you going?" and "Going to a hot spring," is widely known as the shortest conversation in the Tsugaru dialect, and was "perfect" for the pair tattoo.

Peach, who loves Japanese anime and already had a tattoo with her favorite anime line, ``Believe in who you believe,'' said, ``When I thought about getting a pair tattoo, I was honestly hesitant. I was worried that people would think I was too much of a Japanese nerd.'' I thought about it, but the Tsugaru dialect is a symbol of Hirosaki, which we love. ``Keyagu'' (meaning friend in Tsugaru dialect) might have been fine, but ``Dosa'' and ``Yusa'' have rather plain meanings. But it was a famous conversation, and I felt it was a good fit in the sense that the two of us were one."

The two got a pair of tattoos on August 16th in Los Angeles. Although some Japanese people who don't know ``dosa'' and ``yusa'' might think that the hiragana characters were randomly arranged, the reaction from friends and former colleagues in Hirosaki was more positive than expected.

``We lived in adjoining rooms, so we would often drink beer and play Mario Kart on snowy winter nights,'' said Peach, looking back on her memories with Bernstein. ``Even after returning to the United States, we still see each other from time to time,'' he said of his current situation.