Apr 2

Justin’s Japan: Nippon in New York – Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, Sakura Matsuri and More

Article/Journalism, Events, Justin's Japan

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J-pop star Kyary Pamyu Pamyu makes her Big Apple debut at the Best Buy Theater April 14.

By JQ magazine editor Justin Tedaldi (CIR Kobe-shi, 2001-02) for Examiner.com. Visit his Japanese culture page here for related stories.

Spring has sprung in the Big Apple, and that means one thing: a new season of sounds, colors, and spectacular performing arts to match the blossoming sakura trees throughout the city.

This month’s highlights include:

April 5-6

Hikobae

BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center Theatre 2, 199 Chambers Street

$50 general admission, $15 students (use discount code STU at Smarttix page)

A story of courage and personnel sacrifice of an American doctor and the Japanese medical staff who risked their lives following the devastating earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disasters that struck Japan on March 11, 2011, Hikobae is a fictionalized story based on recorded interviews with physicians and nurses from Soma City Hospital, a medical center in the Fukushima evacuation zone. Supported by the Tribute WTC Visitor Center, proceeds from the production will benefit the Momo-Kaki Orphan Fund, which supports children who lost their parents in the disaster. The theater piece will be performed in English and Japanese, with subtitles projected behind the actors.

April 5-14

Miyazaki

BAM Rose Cinemas, 30 Lafayette Avenue

$13 adults, $9 children and matinees, $8 members

Part of BAMcinématek. For nearly three decades, the films of Hayao Miyazaki and the company he founded, Studio Ghibli, have revolutionized the art of animation. Miyazaki’s indelible style—which weds the uncanniness of Lewis Carroll and the epic grandeur of Akira Kurosawa—stands as a testament to the beauty and imaginative power of hand-drawn animation, conjuring richly realized worlds replete with mystical spirits and shot through with an abiding concern for the relationship between humans and nature. All films directed by Hayao Miyazaki and in 35mm.

Sunday, April 14, 7:00 p.m.

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu

Best Buy Theater, 1515 Broadway

$25, $100 VIP meet and greet

Born in 1993 in Tokyo, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu attracted attention with her individual blog, and has been active as a model in Japan. A charismatic personality that represents the youth fashion of Harajuku, her smash single “PONPONPON“—released on her debut album shortly after she finished high school—became a big hit around the world, racking up over 46 million views on YouTube to date. Receiving plenty of attention as the symbol of kawaii (or “cuteness” in Japanese), Kyary Pamyu Pamyu makes her New York concert debut as part of her ambitious 10-country “100%KPP” tour.

For the complete story, click here.

Mar 20

WIT Life #228: Japan Week!

Events, Food & Drink, Translating/Interpreting, WIT Life, Writers

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WIT Life is a periodic series written by professional Writer/Interpreter/Translator Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken CIR, 2000-03). She starts her day by watching Fujisankei’s newscast in Japanese, and here she shares some of the interesting tidbits and trends together with her own observations.

Yesterday began the second annual Japan Week here in NYC, a bit of a misnomer as it only goes for the three days of March 19-21. The venue is Grand Central Terminal’s Vanderbilt Hall, where you can find 18 booths featuring Japanese food, drink and culture. Last night I was lucky enough to attend a kick-off event at the Japanese ambassador’s residence that highlighted Japan’s unique food culture and traditional arts.

One of the guest speakers was Michael Romano, director of culinary development for Union Square Hospitality Group, whose restaurants include Union Square Cafe and Gramercy Tavern. Romano was also instrumental in the creation of Union Square Tokyo in 2007. He spoke of his love affair with Japan which began later in life, but has become a full-fledged passion. Romano espoused his devotion to Japanese knives, and shared how a craftsman in Sakai, a city once known for samurai swords but now famous for its kitchen knives, made him a Read More

Mar 2

Justin’s Japan: Nippon in New York – From ‘Edo Pop’ to ‘Poppy Hill’

Article/Journalism, Events, Film, Justin's Japan, Music

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"From Up on Poppy Hill," the latest film from Studio Ghibli, premieres in New York March 16.

By JQ magazine editor Justin Tedaldi (CIR Kobe-shi, 2001-02) for Examiner.com. Visit his Japanese culture page here for related stories.

Tucked between Oscar and cherry blossom season, March offers an unmissable array of concerts, performances and film premieres, along with a special gathering to mark the two-year anniversary of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.

This month’s highlights include:

Sunday, March 3, 6:45 p.m.

Exploring the Road of Shamisen – Koto Workshop and Concert

Still Mind Zendo, 37 West 17th Street

$15 advance, $18 at the door

For reservations, email contact[at]marcreation.com or call 917-400-9362

In the latest workshop of the Spring Traditional Japanese Musical Instrument Series, shamisen specialist Yoko Reikano Kimura will demonstrate the vast 400 years of shamisen repertoire and explore the infinite possibilities of the instrument. Shamisen was brought to Japan through the Silk Road and since then it was popularized among samurai to ordinary citizens. But in today’s cosmopolitan age, new shamisen music continues to thrive.

March 6-9

The Bach Variations: Bach and Mendelssohn

Avery Fisher Hall, 10 Lincoln Center Plaza

$41-$123

In its first-ever Bach Festival, a kaleidoscopic three-week celebration of the depth and breadth the man the New York Times named the greatest composer of all time, Kobe-born conductor and harpsichordist Masaaki Suzuki leads five vocalists along with his own Bach Colleguim Japan and Yale Schola Cantorum with his own unique approach, combining his perspective with the virtuosity of the New York Philharmonic. On the program are Bach’s “Motet No. 1: Singet dem Herrn” and “Magnificat,” along with Mendelssohn’s :Magnificat in D Major” and “Christus.”

March 9-June 9

Edo Pop: The Graphic Impact of Japanese Prints

Japan Society, 333 East 47th Street

$12 general admission, $10 students and seniors, Japan Society members and children under 16 free

Edo Pop playfully juxtaposes classic ukiyo-e prints from such masters as Katsushika Hokusai and Utagawa Hiroshige with contemporary works inspired by these artists and their works. Delve into alluring worlds created by the power of Edo period and contemporary popular culture in which change is the only constant. Organized by the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, with the contemporary art selections curated for the New York presentation by Miwako Tezuka, Ph.D., Director, Japan Society Gallery.

For the complete story, click here.

Feb 22

JQ Magazine Seeks Writers for Spring 2013!

Article/Journalism, Events, JQ Magazine

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Visit JQ magazine online at http://jetaany.org/magazine

As we slide into spring, JETAA New York’s JQ magazine continues to provide content with an ever-expanding array of articles, interviews and features (see our recent stories here). We’re now looking for new writers, including recent returnees and JET vets, from all JETAA chapters worldwide for posting stories via our host at the global JET alumni resource site JETwit.com. (Scribes are also encouraged to join the JET Alumni Writers group on LinkedIn.)

Below are story ideas grouped by JET participants and alumni (JET World) and those more on Japanese culture (Japan World). And if you’re a JET or JETWit contributor from anywhere in the world with a story idea of your own, let us know!

Click “Read More” below for our spring 2013 ideas pitch package, and contact JQ editor Justin Tedaldi (magazine [at] jetaany [dot] org) to sign up for stories.

Feb 15

JETAA Northern California Career & Networking Forum – Eventbrite

Academic, Events, Uncategorized

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The JET Alumni Association and the University of San Francisco Center for the Pacific Rim will host the 2013 Career and Networking Forum. JET Alumni and MAPS graduates are invited to attend the event, network with their peers and meet organizations looking for employees, interns and volunteers.

For more information please visit: https://2013cnf.eventbrite.com/

Feb 10

JQ Magazine: JQ&A with Bruce Feiler on ‘The Secrets of Happy Families’

Article/Journalism, Books, Celebrity, Events, Interview/Profile, JQ Magazine

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“One big idea in my book is that families should adapt all the time. The single best thing we’ve done is to add a weekly family meeting. We ask three questions, based on a popular program called ‘agile families.’ And no surprise: that idea was born in Japan in the culture of real-time change.” (Courtesy of HarperCollins Publishers)

By Sharona Moskowitz (Fukuoka-ken, 2000-01) for JQ magazine. Sharona is interested in fresh, new voices in fiction and creative nonfiction.

New York Times bestselling author and columnist Bruce Feiler (Tochigi-ken, 1987-88) has written a range of books dealing with topics as varied as life in Japan (depicted in 1991’s Learning to Bow), religion, and his own diagnosis with cancer.

His latest book, The Secrets of Happy Families, is a playbook for today’s family with tips and advice for increasing overall happiness and strengthening the family unit. Unlike other family-related books, Feiler does not advocate one particular method or philosophy over another; rather, he has done a thorough investigation of what happy families have in common and offers readers a slice of the pie.

In this exclusive interview, Feiler shares how his experience in Japan has given him insight into family life across cultures, as well as his take on the modern family’s trials and tribulations.

It seems the book market is already glutted with all sorts of self-help books about families. What sets your book apart and why do you feel that it is particularly timely?

In many ways, I was motivated by the deluge of self-help books. They’re boring, tried, and out of fresh ideas. As a parent, I was completely frustrated and had tons of questions about how to make my family function more effectively, and the only books out there were from “family experts.” Meanwhile, in every other arena of contemporary life—from Silicon Valley to elite peace negotiators, from championship sports teams to the Green Berets—there are proven new ways to make teams and groups run more smoothly. I wanted to know what those people were doing with their own families, then test their ideas with mine. Not every idea worked. That’s why I put over 200 new ones in the book, because what clicks with your family may be different from what clicked with mine. But my hope is that if you take three ideas, you’ll have a happier family in a week.

In the chapter about the agile manifesto, you talk about the importance of “being part of the family team.” In writing about the importance of teamwork within the family, were you inspired at all by your experience in Japan, a culture which valorizes the group above all else?

I think it may be more the other way around, in that I was attracted to Japan because I’ve always been interested in tight groups and well-run teams. At the time I lived in Japan, in the late 1980s, Americans still believed that the individual mattered above all else. But one thing we’ve learned from the Internet is that we all have a natural inclination toward groups, social networks, and other gatherings of people. The first generation of happiness research has shown us that relationships matter above all else. Happiness is other people. And the people who matter most to us are our family. Yet there have been almost no books that tell us how to do that.

Are there other cultural practices you observed in your time in Japan which you believe could benefit American families?

One I learned while in Japan is that being part of a group doesn’t just happen. Japanese schools, in particular, work on it. I remember a school trip I went on where classes were divided into small groups. The number one rule was, don’t be late. The number two rule was, only one person in each group was allowed to have a watch. Guess what! You better stick together. Having a close family doesn’t just happen, either—you have to work on it. Fortunately, there are lots of new ideas out there to do that, which I’ve tried to gather.

Feb 8

WIT Life #226: Rise of the Robots

Events, Translating/Interpreting, WIT Life, Writers

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Last night I had the chance to see my first plays starring both humans and robots, created by the teamwork of two greats minds at Osaka University. One is Dr. Hiroshi Ishiguro, a robotic scientist who directs the university’s Intelligent Robotics Library, which strives to create robots that can successfully co-exist with humans. The other is the playwright and director Oriza Hirata, who works as a professor at the University’s Center for the Study of Communication-Design and who founded the Seinendan Theater Company behind these plays. Both were in attendance at this event held at Japan Society, and stayed after to mingle with fans at the post-performance reception.

The first play “Sayonara” (which debuted in 2010) features a female human actress and a anatomically-correct female android (made to look like the person it was modeled after) called Geminoid F. The girl has a terminal illness and Geminoid F has been hired to comfort her by sharing her encyclopedic knowledge of poems. Flash forward to later in the short play when the android has completed this job and is being sent to the affected area of Fukushima. She is told by the man shipping her that Read More

Feb 5

2013 Sakura Festival in Kumejima

Blogs, Events, Photography, Video festival, japan, Okinawa, Sakura

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Posted by Benjamin Martin, a 5th year JET on Kume Island in Okinawa, publisher of the blog MoreThingsJapanese.com and author of the YA fantasy series Samurai Awakening (Tuttle).

January 26th marked the beginning of the 2013 Kumejima Sakura Festival. Sakura (Cherry Blossoms) are an important symbol marking the change of seasons in Japan. As the weather begins to warm, cherry trees sprout beautiful flowers in a range of colors from white to red. Since Okinawa is so far south, cherry blossoms begin to arrive in January. They work their way north through April. During this time, people flock to areas with cherry trees to picnic, drive, and see the beautiful flowers and wildlife.You might have noticed the new header, a compilation of 3 shots taken of a Mejiro (Japanese white-eye) in cherry trees I caught the Friday before the festival along the Ara Forest path.

The Festival

As part of the sakura season, many locals often have festivals to support tourism, create entertainment for locals, and to simply celebrate the beautiful surroundings. This year the Kumejima Sakura Festival took place on January 26th, a day of sun and generally great weather (I got sunburned in January. It was also a little windy.)

On Kume Island, the festival takes place at Daruma Mountain Park in the western/central part of the island. The festival was set up in a clearing surrounded by cherry trees. After an opening ceremony, new cherry trees were planted for the future. Arrayed around the clearing were many tents with local restaurants serving specialty foods. This year, the restaurants competed in a competition to see which one had brought the most popular item.

There were several live performances from local groups including Nankuru Sanshin and the “Super Bridal Band,” as well as karate demonstrations and other entertainment. The band I play with (Super Bridal Band started up a few years ago to play at my boss’s wedding, I joined a bit after moving here) just after the opening ceremony. There’s a compilation video below of our set.

After we finished our set, I quickly jumped over to the 89.7 FM Kumejima radio booth to do my weekly Haisai English! show live from the event. It was a lot of fun despite a few technical snafus from going on location.

For more on Sakura and this year’s Festival, visit MoreThingsJapanese.com

Feb 3

Justin’s Japan: Nippon in New York – A Lunar New Year Kickoff

Article/Journalism, Events, Justin's Japan

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Wakamaru, left, and Hiroshi Ota star in the short play “I, Worker,” part of the Seinendan Theater Company + Osaka University Robot Theater Project at Japan Society Feb. 7-9. (Osaka University & Eager Co. Ltd.)

By JQ magazine editor Justin Tedaldi (CIR Kobe-shi, 2001-02) for Examiner.com. Visit his Japanese culture page here for related stories.Saturday, Feb. 2, 6 p.m.-10 p.m.Stay warm this winter with some hot local events, from retro anime screenings to bilingual robot plays to a J-pop infused Lunar New Year spectacular.

This month’s highlights include:

Feb. 1-15, 9:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m.

NIPPON-JIN Exhibition

Consulate General of Japan, 299 Park Avenue

Free

Presented by J-COLLABO, a unique social network that promotes the Japanese art scene with various collaborating artists, NIPPON-JIN (meaning “Japanese”), will be on view at the gallery of the Consulate General of Japan from Feb. 1-15. Showcasing more than 300 unique portrait photographs taken by Junichi Takahashi, NIPPON-JIN reveals what Takahashi sees as “Japanese people,” opposed to the prototype of stereotypical “Japanese” that others expect and portray. To capture the essence of what makes Japanese “Japanese,” Takahashi decided to approach this project by taking hundreds of samples over a four-year period of Japanese being themselves, letting the accumulation of the subject matter form the answer. The exhibition will go to the gallery of Narita International Airport in Japan this summer.

Sunday, Feb. 3, 3:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.

Salon Series No. 44. Gestures, Mime and Dance

Tenri Cultural Institute, 43A West 13th Street

$15 general, $10 students/seniors

Now in its fifteenth year, the 45th performance of Sachiyo Ito & Company’s Salon Series is titled “Gestures in Japanese Dance and Mime.” From noh theater to today’s baseball heroes, the Japanese have tended to use more gestures than other peoples, particularly compared to those in the west, and in much subtle manner. Why and how we use them in daily life and see any of those are reflected in dance. Featuring guest Yass Hakoshima (who led Yass Hakoshima Movement Theater for 40 years in the USA and Europe), live demonstrations will illustrate how a mime draws gestures from daily life as a comparison and to gain further insight. Excerpts from kabuki dances choreographed by Ito as well as Hakoshima’s ever-popular comic piece, “Fisherman,” will be performed.

Feb. 7-9, 7:30 p.m.

Seinendan Theater Company + Osaka University Robot Theater Project

Japan Society, 333 East 47th Street

$28, $25 Japan Society members

Imagine a time when “robot maids” are commonly found in family households. That’s the much-anticipated setting of these two heartrending short plays by Oriza Hirata, founder of Japan’s celebrated Seinendan Theater Company. In Sayonara (android and human actors), an android is bought to console a girl suffering from a fatal illness, but when its mechanics go awry, the meaning of life and death to humans and robots comes into question. In I, Worker (robots and human actors), a husband’s struggle to cope with the loss of his child is juxtaposed with the malaise of one of his robots, which has lost all motivation to work. This double bill was developed in collaboration with Dr. Hiroshi Ishiguro, a leading international researcher on robotics and Director of the Intelligent Robotics Laboratory at Osaka University. Sayonara will be performed in English and Japanese with English subtitles. I, Worker will be performed in Japanese with English subtitles.

For the complete story, click here.

Jan 19

2013 Career & Networking Forum: University of San Francisco Center for the Pacific Rim Master of Arts in Asia Pacific Studies

Career, Events, JETAA Chapters, Uncategorized

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Posted by Kay Monroe (Miyazaki-shi, 1995 -97). Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even
sooner by email.
————————————————————————————————————

University of San Francisco McLaren Conference Center
2130 Fulton St
San Francisco, CA 94117
Friday, February 22, 2013 from 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM (PST)

Details here: https://2013cnf.eventbrite.com/

Jan 7

JETwit seeks new JETAA Chapter Beat Curator

Article/Journalism, Events, Uncategorized

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Posted by Kay Monroe (Miyazaki-shi, 1995 -97). Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.
————————————————————————————————————
JETwit is seeking a new person to curate the periodic JETAA Chapter Beat posts on the site. If interested, please email me directly at jetwit@jetwit.com. Here’s a link to previous JETAA Chapter Beat posts: http://jetwit.com/wordpress/category/category/category/category/category/category/category/category/category/category/category/category/category/category/category/category/category/category/category/category/category/category/category/category/jetaa-chapter-beat/

The role involves subscribing to as many JETAA chapter email lists/groups as possible. Then once a week (or periodically) putting up a post on JETwit with a small sampling of interesting items that you see. And the goal is to give a sense of what’s going on in the JETAA world. You can be as straightforward or creative as you’d like with the posts. There are also certain strategic elements to the JETAA Chapter Beat posts that I’ll explain when we get to that point.

You’ll be replacing JET alum Jonathan Trace, the first and only JETAA Chapter Beat poster to date. He did a wonderful job for several years, and you’ll have the benefit of his experience via email should you need any help. (I’ll be available to help too, of course.)

Yoroshiku onegaishimasu,
Steven

Dec 17

Local Industrial Festival Reveals a Wealth of Culture

Events, Food & Drink, Japan Local festival, Food, japan, Local, Okinawa, Video

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Posted by Benjamin Martin, a 5th year JET in Okinawa, publisher of the blog MoreThingsJapanese.com and author of the YA fantasy novel Samurai Awakening (Tuttle).

The industrial Fair, or sangyo matsuri in Japanese, is a fixture in the annual event calendar on my island. From the English translation you might think of cars, heavy manufacturing, and other well-known industry. In Japan, though, many products are made by very small local companies rather than in large factories. Even when big factories are necessary, there are often many small shops acting as suppliers. Taken to a further level, small rural communities without those major industries often have a vibrant industrial community supporting local needs. You might be surprised to learn about all the things going on around you in small local Japan.

Recently, our island had its yearly sangyo matsuri, and event designed to inform locals about the various products made on Kumejima and also to sell those products. One of the local kaizen (community) centers was taken over by scores of tables and activities for everyone to enjoy.

Checkout MoreThingsJapanese.com for more photos and a video on the Agricultural, Oceanic, and Cultural sights at this unique event.

Dec 14

WIT Life #222: Japan’s Global Leadership

Books, Events, Translating/Interpreting, WIT Life, Writers

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Earlier this week I went to a lunchtime 座談会 (zadankai, or round-table talk) at Columbia Business School’s Center on Japanese Economy and Business (CJEB) entitled “Global Leadership Challenges for Japanese Companies.” The discussion was led by Sheena Iyengar, the S.T. Lee Professor of Business at the school and moderated by Hugh Patrick, the Center’s Director. Some of the themes explored during the course of the hour and a half session were how to stimulate entrepreneurship, the issue of global leadership being thought of as equivalent to English ability, and the cultural fear of making mistakes as hindering innovation. There was an interesting characterization of America as being on the promotion side of the spectrum (risk-taking), and Japan falling on Read More

Dec 10

DISCO International Career Forums

Career, Events, Uncategorized

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Via JETAA PNW. Posted by Kay Monroe (Miyazaki-shi, 1995 -97). Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.
————————————————————————————————————

Position: Career opportunities for Japanese-English bilinguals
Posted by: DISCO International, Inc
Type: Career Forum 2012
Location: Tokyo 2012 & New York 2013
Salary: N/A
Start Date: N/A

Overview:

—Tokyo Winter Career Forum 2012—
Date: December 19 & 20, 2012 (Wed. & Thurs.)

http://www.careerforum.net/event/tkw/index.asp?lang=E

Some of the companies participating are:
ABERCROMBIE & FITCH / BLOOMBERG L.P. / COSTCO WHOLESALE JAPAN / ELI LILLY JAPAN / MITSUI CHEMICALS, INC / OTSUKA CORPORATION GROUP /
TAKEDA PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANY LIMITED and many more! Read More

Dec 9

WIT Life #221: MoMA’s Avant-Garde Tokyo

Events, Film, Translating/Interpreting, WIT Life, Writers

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Last month MoMA introduced an exhibition called Tokyo 1955-1970: A New Avant-Garde, which looks at the creations that emerged from this tumultuous period. It features around 200 works of various media, such as paintings from Yayoi Kusama and photographs from Daido Moriyama, as well as pieces from lesser known artists. They all offer social commentary and many are confrontational, some via explicitly sexual themes such as Tetsumi Kudo’s “Philosophy of Impotence” installation, which occupies a large section of the exhibit.

Another interesting work is Hiroshi Nakamura’s “Circular Train A,” which features uniformed schoolgirls as cyclops, further fetishizing this symbol of sexuality in Japanese society. In this painting and others, the influence on modern manga and anime is undeniable. Fun fact is that Yomiuri Shimbun had served as the sponsor of a Tokyo exhibition of post-war artwork, but withdrew the following year as the content had become too controversial. The exhibition will run through February 25 and various lectures and gallery talks are offered, so make sure to check it out.

In conjunction with this exhibition, a film series called Art Theater Guild and Japanese Underground Cinema: 1960-1986 is taking place. On Friday night I had the honor of Read More

JETwit.com

Justin’s Japan: Nippon in New York – Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, Sakura Matsuri and More

WIT Life #228: Japan Week!

Justin’s Japan: Nippon in New York – From ‘Edo Pop’ to ‘Poppy Hill’

JQ Magazine Seeks Writers for Spring 2013!

JETAA Northern California Career & Networking Forum – Eventbrite

JQ Magazine: JQ&A with Bruce Feiler on ‘The Secrets of Happy Families’

WIT Life #226: Rise of the Robots

2013 Sakura Festival in Kumejima

The Festival

Justin’s Japan: Nippon in New York – A Lunar New Year Kickoff

2013 Career & Networking Forum: University of San Francisco Center for the Pacific Rim Master of Arts in Asia Pacific Studies

JETwit seeks new JETAA Chapter Beat Curator

Local Industrial Festival Reveals a Wealth of Culture

WIT Life #222: Japan’s Global Leadership

DISCO International Career Forums

WIT Life #221: MoMA’s Avant-Garde Tokyo

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