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By Rick Ambrosio (Ibaraki-ken, 2006-08) and Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken, 2000-03)

Sunshine Cinema is now showing the movie Tokyo!, a compilation of three short films from the French directors Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) and Leos Carax (Lovers on the Bridge) and the Korean director Bong Joon-Ho (The Host). Gondry himself made an appearance at two showings of the film when it debuted last weekend, for a Q&A session after the 7:30 show and introducing the movie at the 10:30 show. He spoke in his typically quirky way about his time shooting in Tokyo, and how things like the spaces between buildings and how Japanese people falling asleep on each other on the train fascinated him. Before starting the show, he expressed relief that his Japanese producers weren’t there so he wouldn’t feel bad about forgetting to thank them.

Tokyo! kicks off with his contribution of “Interior Design,” a Kafkaesque story about trying to find your place in the world. The story revolves around a young couple that comes to live in Tokyo together and stays with a friend from back home until they can get on their feet (A bonus feature of the movie is the brief appearance of current Japanese “It” boy Satoshi Tsumabuki, star of the 2009 NHK Taiga drama Tenchijin, as the friend’s visiting boyfriend). The guy (Ryo Kase of Sore de mo Boku wa Yatte Nai fame) is an aspiring young filmmaker looking for his big break. His girlfriend (Ayako Fujitani) is portrayed as less ambitious, failing even to make the cut for a gift-wrapping part time job which her boyfriend ends up getting. Over time the big city takes its toll on her and she undergoes a literal transformation, causing the film to look at identity and purpose from an interesting perspective.

The second feature “Merde” from Leos Carax is clearly the most bizarre and dense of the three, an onion whose layers takes some time to peel away. It is heavy-handed on the symbolism, with a Godzilla-like monster played by Denis Lavant rising from the sewers to terrorize Tokyoites. He only eats a certain species of chrysanthemum, and during his reign of horror the story explores themes ranging from the Rape of Nanking to the death penalty. The addition of an invented language that is interpreted via another foreigner, Maître Voland, adds but another layer to a complex piece. At one point, Merde speaks in his odd dialect, which is then put into French by his interpreter, which is then interpreted into Japanese by another female interpreter for the court audience while it is subtitled in English for the “real” audience to read. Get all that? Neither did we. Along with the issue of sensationalism of foreigners in Japan that is also dealt with, this part of the film likely requires another viewing to tease more out of it.

The closing entry of this trio is Bong Joon-Ho’s “Shaking Tokyo” that narrows in on the issue of hikikomori, or shut-ins, that live in Japan. We are introduced to actor Teruyuki Kagawa’s nameless character as he painstakingly but humorously acts as our guide through what his life has been like living alone in his house for a decade. With his only contact with the outside world reduced to taking food from delivery people, we slowly begin to realize a lot has changed since our new favorite hikikomori shut out society. It is during one of these “interactions” that the best scene plays out: the awakening of the delivery girl after an earthquake. It is a great combination of concept, acting, editing and sound that really pulls you closer to the characters. What comes next is both surprising and touching as Joon-Ho shows us how a man overcome by society takes himself to task to help another human being. Or not a human being? You’ll just have to see for yourself.

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Kagawa can also be seen in another film about Tokyo opening this Friday at Lincoln Plaza Cinema and the IFC Center. It is called Tokyo Sonata, and was also screened at the Ziegfeld Theatre last October as part of the 46th New York Film Festival. Directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa (no relation to Akira), this film tells the story of a family coming apart at the seams. Kagawa plays the father who gets downsized but is unable to tell his family, so he spends his days receiving handouts with another unemployed friend. He and his stay-at-home wife (Kyoko Koizumi) have two sons, the older of whom declares his desire to join the U.S. Army. The younger son wants to take piano lessons but is refused by his father, so he goes to class on his own. All of these secrets come to a head at the end of the movie, and the meaning of family is rediscovered. The movie is worth seeing just for the hilarious turn Kurosawa perennial Koji Yakusho (Shall We Dance) takes in an uncharacteristic role.

WITLife is a periodic series written by professional Interpreter/Translator/Writer Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken, 2000-03).  Recently she’s been watching Fujisankei’s newscast in Japanese and sharing some of the interesting tidbits and trends together with her own observations.

For those of you who didn’t tune in to the Academy Awards last night, Japan cleaned up in all the categories in which it received nominations.  Going against heavily favored Waltzing with Bashir from Israel, Director Yojiro Takita’s Okuribito (Departures) took the award for Best Foreign Language Film.  Since the establishment of this award in 1957, Japan has been nominated in this category 11 times but this was its first win.  This movie grossed 3 billion yen in Japan and took the top price at the Montreal World Film Festival last year.  It will have a limited release in North America theaters this May.  Takita gathered on stage with his cast and after giving his thanks to the Academy asserted that they would be back on the Oscar stage again (“I hope”).

In addition, Kunio Kato’s 12-minute fantasy film Tsuniki no Ie won for Best Animated Short.  In halting English, Kato notably offered his appreciation to his pencil before thanking the Academy.  These unexpected victories, Japan’s first since Spirited Away won in 2003 for Best Animated Feature Film, serve as a much needed boost to a country struggling with both a recession and political turmoil.

Regarding the latter, Prime Minister Taro Aso’s current approval rating is 11.4%, a number that many joke is lower than his body fat percentage of 15.7%.  In a recently conducted survey of who would be most appropriate to replace him, sadly enough the largest percentage of respondents, 26%, said that no suitable candidate existed.  Coming in first with 13.4% was opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) leader Ichiro Ozawa, and former Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Prime Minister and still beloved Junichiro Koizimu ranked second with 7.9%.

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Roland Kelts (Osaka, 1998-99), author of Japanamerica, has reviewed all haiku submissions containing the designated word “pop“ for Haiku Challenge #3 and has selected a winner to receive a free copy of Japanamerica + Susan Napier’s Anime:  From Akira to Howl’s Moving Castle.

Says Roland:  “As a half-Japanese drummer and writer, I can’t resist finding a paradiddle and bubble-blowing carp in a haiku. Congratulations, Julie Matysik–and thanks to all for stellar contributions.”

THE WINNER

A paradiddle.

The sticks connect, pop, bounce,

like koi blowing bubbles.

–Julie Matysik (Yamanashi-ken, 2006-07)

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Click “Read More” to read the rest of the haiku submissions…

With a pop of light

Night becomes a summer day

Flowers bloom in sky

–Jonathan Trace (Fukuoka-ken, 2005-08)

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New Year is now here
Filled with hope for Obama
Ready to pop with change!

–Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken, 2000-03)

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Rising sun blazing
Pop goes my Pocari Sweat
Brow wiped by hanky

–Randall David Cook (Fukui-ken, 1991-93)

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I landed a part
With five other handsome guys
I’m a pop star now.

–Rick Ambrosio (Ibaraki-ken, 2006-08)

Design destruction,
Wasted ink on fine Paper,
This pop art stuff sucks.

–Rick Ambrosio (Ibaraki-ken, 2006-08)

Gundam-mania
Harajuku Cosplay Fun,
I Love Pop Japan

–Rick Ambrosio (Ibaraki-ken, 2006-08)

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Pop from childhood dreams
To my daughter’s nursery walls
Good night, Totoro.

–Meredith Hodges-Boos (Ehime-ken, 2003-05)

Deadline:  Thursday, January 8, before 5:00p.m. EST

Welcome to the JetWit Haiku Challenge! The challenge is to submit one or more haiku using the designated word.  The best haiku submitted wins the prize.

This challenge is courtesy of Roland Kelts (Osaka, 1998-99), author of Japanamerica:  How Japanese Pop Culture Has Invaded the U.S., published by Palgrave Macmillan. You can also follow Roland on his blog japanamerica.blogspot.com.

• Designated word:  “Pop” (you must use this word in your haiku; multiple submissions welcome)
  

• Deadline:  Thursday, January 8, before 5:00p.m. EST
  
• Prize:  Free copy of Japanamerica + Susan Napier’s Anime:  From Akira to Howl’s Moving Castle mailed to you.
• Form: Haiku are typically 5-7-5 and have a seasonal reference.  (Though the form actually has a fair amount of flexibility.)
• E-mail responses to:  jetwit /atto/ jetwit /dotto/ com

Welcome to the JetWit Haiku Challenge! The challenge is to submit one or more haiku using the designated word.  The best haiku submitted wins the prize.

This challenge is courtesy of Roland Kelts (Osaka, 1998-99), author of Japanamerica:  How Japanese Pop Culture Has Invaded the U.S., published by Palgrave Macmillan. You can also follow Roland on his blog japanamerica.blogspot.com.

• Designated word:  “Pop” (you must use this word in your haiku; multiple submissions welcome)
  

• Deadline:  Thursday, January 8, before 5:00p.m. EST
  
• Prize:  Free copy of Japanamerica + Susan Napier’s Anime:  From Akira to Howl’s Moving Castle mailed to you.
• Form: Haiku are typically 5-7-5 and have a seasonal reference.  (Though the form actually has a fair amount of flexibility.)
• E-mail responses to:  jetwit /atto/ jetwit /dotto/ com

This challenge is courtesy of Roland Kelts (Osaka, 1998-99), author of Japanamerica:  How Japanese Pop Culture Has Invaded the U.S., published by Palgrave Macmillan. You can also follow Roland on his blog japanamerica.blogspot.com.

• Designated word:  “Pop” (you must use this word in your haiku; multiple submissions welcome)
  

• Deadline:  Thursday, January 8, before 5:00p.m. EST
  
• Prize:  Free copy of Japanamerica + Susan Napier’s Anime:  From Akira to Howl’s Moving Castle mailed to you.
• Form: Haiku are typically 5-7-5 and have a seasonal reference.  (Though the form actually has a fair amount of flexibility.)
• E-mail responses to:  jetwit /atto/ jetwit /dotto/ com

Robert P. Weston (Nara-ken, 2002-04), author of Zorgamazoo, has reviewed all haiku submissions containing the designated word “prose“ for Haiku Challenge #2 and has selected a winner to receive a free copy of his book. Read on for his decision and rationale.

Following in the footsteps of James Kennedy (Nara-ken, 2004-06), I feel obliged to assemble a short-list of honourable mentions.  I make no claims, however, as to having any insightfulness when it comes to properly appreciating haiku…

Second runner-up, for its tenderness and topicality (’tis the season, after all), we have Justin Tedaldi’s entry:

The gift was thoughtful
The letter’s prose delightful
Happy holidays

–Justin Tedaldi (CIR Kobe-shi, 2001-02)

First runner-up, for it’s gritty natural realism, is Alexei Esikoff’s ode to the grim weather of the Midwest:

The temperature drops
Buried under slushy prose
Minneapolis

–Alexei Esikoff (Fukushima-ken, 2001-02)

Finally, the winner this week is Meredith Hodges-Boos (who had an honourable mention in the previous contest, incidentally). Her haiku appeals to my love of word play — and even manages a nifty metaphor in the meantime. Congrats, Meredith!

Take roses with ‘P’s
Mix in the ordinary
Watch word gardens grow

–Meredith Hodges-Boos (Ehime-ken, 2003-05)

Click “Read More” to see the other haiku submitted.

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I don’t have to rhyme

My everyday words are fine

Oops, oh well, that’s prose.

–Meredith Hodges-Boos (Ehime-ken, 2003-05)

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Prose?  Quick to Google

Remembering old English

Terms is way too hard.

–Meredith Hodges-Boos (Ehime-ken, 2003-05)

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Christmas season songs

Ringaling ting tingaling

The worst kind of prose

–Alexei Esikoff (Fukushima-ken, 2001-02)

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My student opined

Eat Kurisumasu keki

Such beautiful prose

–Alexei Esikoff (Fukushima-ken, 2001-02)

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The temperature drops

Buried under slushy prose

Minneapolis

–Alexei Esikoff (Fukushima-ken, 2001-02)

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The cars make snow gray

Full of grit and city grime

My prose fails me so

–Alexei Esikoff (Fukushima-ken, 2001-02)

This week’s challenge will be judged by Robert P. Weston (Nara-ken, 2002-04), author of Zorgamazoo, a “rhyming, rhythmical tale of Katrina, a girl with a big heart and an even bigger imagination” published this year by Penguin Books and available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Powells. You can also follow Robert on his blog wayofthewest.wordpress.com.

• Designated word (chosen by Rob):  “Prose” (you must use this word in your haiku; multiple submissions welcome)
  

• Deadline:  Thursday, December 18, before 5:00p.m. EST
• Prize:  Free copy of Zorgamazoo mailed to you.
• Form: Haiku are typically 5-7-5 and have a seasonal reference.  (Though the form actually has a fair amount of flexibility.)  Ultimately, Robert is the judge.  If you look at his website or read a page from his book, you’ll get a pretty quick read on his sensibilities.
• E-mail responses to:  jetwit /atto/ jetwit /dotto/ com

Note:  The winner of Haiku Challenge #1 will be announced later today.  Stay tuned!

From www.fewmets.net

James Kennedy (Nara-ken, 2004-06), author of The Order of Odd-Fish, has reviewed all haiku submissions containing the designated word “fewmets“ for Haiku Challenge #1 and has selected a winner. Read on for his decision and rationale.

I was blown away by the quality of the fewmets haiku I received. I can state with absolute conviction that these are the best haiku about fewmets that I have ever read!

First, the honorable mentions. Meredith Hodges-Boos (Ehime-ken, Yoshida-cho, 2003-05) wrote an appropriately grim, medieval-epic haiku that ends with a wonderfully forbidding promise of violence:

Fewmets steam on bleak
Frost-covered leaves, hunter stoops
Soon blood will melt ice

Chillingly beautiful! Worthy of Beowulf! I can almost imagine Ms. Hodges-Boos is the kind of woman who makes her own chain mail.

Rick Ambrosio (Ibaraki-ken, 2006-08) put a decidedly modern spin on fewmets:

The fewmets of love;
lipstick wine glass, lost overcoat . . .
painful cotton swab nurse!

Every man who has endured a gonorrhea test will find the last line poignantly evocative. Mr. Ambrosio is clearly a gentleman about town, a chap of wide and varied experiences, a man who almost certainly has chlamydia. He came very close to winning, except that the second and third lines each have one more syllable than a fastidious interpretation of the haiku form allows. As sloppy as a tart’s kiss, Mr. Ambrosio!

Finally, we come to the winner, from the talented Ilya Blokh:

A French truffle, on the
Tongue, melts, but how I was wrong
It was a fewmet

True, the first line might has one more syllable than usual, but Mr. Blokh’s brilliance trumps formal quibbles. The imagination is set giddily free. How did the poet come across this spurious truffle? On what pretext is he eating it? From what beast does this fewmet issue? What does the fewmet taste like? Mr. Blokh creates an entire world for me to inhabit.

And thither shall I now flit, to freely and sportively bombinate among the flowers of his soul.

Click “Read More” to see a couple more haiku submissions.

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Run!  Neither hail nor snow!

‘Tis fewmets, falling from above,

Onto the heads below.

–Ilya Blokh

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Malodorous wind
Wafts in from o’er yonder.
‘Tis the dog’s fewmets

–Joel Dechant (CIR, Kagoshima-ken 2001-2004)

Difference of opinion with the judging?  Post a comment and share your thoughts.  Do it in haiku form if you want.

This week’s challenge will be judged by Robert P. Weston (Nara-ken, 2002-04), author of Zorgamazoo, a “rhyming, rhythmical tale of Katrina, a girl with a big heart and an even bigger imagination” published this year by Penguin Books and available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Powells. You can also follow Robert on his blog wayofthewest.wordpress.com.

• Designated word (chosen by Rob):  “Prose” (you must use this word in your haiku; multiple submissions welcome)
  

• Deadline:  Thursday, December 18, before 5:00p.m. EST
• Prize:  Free copy of Zorgamazoo mailed to you.
• Form: Haiku are typically 5-7-5 and have a seasonal reference.  (Though the form actually has a fair amount of flexibility.)  Ultimately, Robert is the judge.  If you look at his website or read a page from his book, you’ll get a pretty quick read on his sensibilities.
• E-mail responses to:  jetwit /atto/ jetwit /dotto/ com

Note:  The winner of Haiku Challenge #1 will be announced later today.  Stay tuned!

This week’s challenge will be judged by James Kennedy (Nara-ken, 2004-06), author of The Order of Odd-Fish.

• Designated word (chosen by James):  “Fewmets“ (a Medieval English word that means the droppings of an animal, by which the hunter identifies the prey.  Mentioned in Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wind In The Door, specifically as dragon droppings.)
• Deadline:  Thursday, December 11, before 5:00p.m. EST
• Prize:  Free copy of The Order of Odd-Fish mailed to you.
• Form: Haiku are typically 5-7-5 and have a seasonal reference.  Though the form actually has a fair amount of flexibility.  Ultimately, James is the judge.  If you look at his website or read a page from his book, you’ll get a pretty quick read on his sensibilities.
• E-mail responses to:  jetwit /atto/ jetwit /dotto/ com

This week’s challenge will be judged by James Kennedy (Nara-ken, 2004-06), author of The Order of Odd-Fish.

• Designated word (chosen by James):  “Fewmets“ (a Medieval English word that means the droppings of an animal, by which the hunter identifies the prey.  Mentioned in Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wind In The Door, specifically as dragon droppings.)
• Deadline:  Thursday, December 11, before 5:00p.m. EST
• Prize:  Free copy of The Order of Odd-Fish mailed to you.
• Form: Haiku are typically 5-7-5 and have a seasonal reference.  Though the form actually has a fair amount of flexibility.  Ultimately, James is the judge.  If you look at his website or read a page from his book, you’ll get a pretty quick read on his sensibilities.
• E-mail responses to:  jetwit /atto/ jetwit /dotto/ com