JQ Magazine Seeks Writers for Spring 2013!
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.
JETAA Northern California Career & Networking Forum – Eventbrite
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.
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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/
JQ Magazine: JQ&A with Bruce Feiler on ‘The Secrets of Happy Families’
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.
WIT Life #226: Rise of the Robots
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.
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
2013 Sakura Festival in Kumejima
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
Justin’s Japan: Nippon in New York – A Lunar New Year Kickoff
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.
2013 Career & Networking Forum: University of San Francisco Center for the Pacific Rim Master of Arts in Asia Pacific Studies
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.
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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.
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/
JETwit seeks new JETAA Chapter Beat Curator
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.
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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
Local Industrial Festival Reveals a Wealth of Culture
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.
WIT Life #222: Japan’s Global Leadership
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.
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
DISCO International Career Forums
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.
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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
WIT Life #221: MoMA’s Avant-Garde Tokyo
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.
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
JETAA Ottawa: Elections 2013
*************** Posted by Gemma Villanueva (Fukushima-ken, 2008-11), editor for the JETAA Ottawa Newsletter. Visit the Canadian chapter’s website here for more stories. Written and photo submissions are always welcome. Please contact us at newsletter[at]jetaaottawa[dot]ca.
Elections 2013
We are pleased to announce that we are looking for the 2013 JETAA Ottawa Board of Directors! If you are interested in getting actively involved with JETAA Ottawa, now is your chance. Detailed information about platform submissions and each position’s responsibilities can be found here on our website. The JETAA Ottawa bylaws are posted here on our website.
Please join us on Monday, December 10, 2012 at The Exchange Pub & Restaurant in Rideau Centre. (Please note that the Annual General Meeting is scheduled to run from 6:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. and is open to alumni only. Voting open to JET alumni, so we hope to see you there! We will be discussing the year’s events, budget, elections and other JETAA Ottawa business. From 7 p.m. onwards, the party is open to all alumni friends and family.) Please send your RSVPs for the “Annual General Meeting/Bonenkai” to current Event Organizers Ferra-Lynn and Ala [ events [at] jetaaottawa [dot ] ca ]
Gemma Vidal (Okayama-ken, 2010-12) is a recently returned JET seeking work in licensing/merchandising (if it’s within the publishing industry, even better!). You can usually find her in her little web spaces Gem in the Rough and Peachy Keen (her JET adventures) or training with San Jose Taiko. If you know of any authors/aspiring writers you’d like to see featured in JET Alum Author Beat, just contact Gemma at gem.vidal [at] gmail.com
- Congratulations are in order to Will Ferguson (Nagasaki-ken, 1991-94), author of Hitching Rides With the Buddha (f/k/a The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Japan), who was awarded the esteemed 2012 Scotiabank Giller Prize for his novel 419. You can check out the announcement on the Scotiabank Giller Prize website and read more about his novel and other works on Will’s own website. Congratulations again, Will!
- What better way to warm up from the cold weather than a cup of sake! If you’re a fan of sake and live in Japan, check out John Gauntner’s (author of The Sake Handbook) annual Sake Professional Course 2013. It is a 5-day educational course which includes classroom sessions and visiting sake breweries in the Osaka/Kyoto/Kobe area. For more information about the schedule and registration, please visit the SPCJapan website. You can also download a free version of Sake: The Least You Need To Know, a quick start guide to sake here
- Suzanne Kamata (Tokushima-ken, 1998-90), author of Losing Kei and fiction editor of Literary Mama announced that her latest Young Adult novel, Gadget Girl: The Art of Being Invisible will be published by GemmaMedia (cool name) in May 2013! Gadget Girl follows the life of 14-year old Aiko Cassidy and her dream to become a manga artist. The story won the SCBWI Magazine Merit Award in Fiction. You can check out the book on her website or through Amazon, Powells, and Indiebound.
- Japanamerica’s Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99) will lead a presentation titled, “Japan’s New Anti-Piracy Law and the Online Media Debate” with media lawyer David B. Hoppe and music journalist Steve McClure on November 14th.
- Attention NY residents! James Kennedy (Nara-ken, 2004-06), author of The Order of Odd-Fish is holding a signing on November 27th at the Pittsford Barnes & Noble in Rochester at 7PM and presenting new material on November 28th at Writers and Books (also in Rochester with a $5 fee). Details can be found on James’ website and this site for the November 28th event. Go and show your support!
- Want a chance to win a free book written by one of our own? Benjamin Martin (Okinawa-ken, 2008-Present), publisher of the More Things Japanese blog is giving away two personalized copies of his new book, Samurai Awakenings which was just released last month! The giveaway ends on November 30th, so go to Goodreads and sign up! You can read JETwit’s own brief interview with Benjamin about his book.
- Mie-ken JET alumni Laura Popp’s fantasy novel, Treasure Traitor is out! Here’s the summary on Amazon’s website to give you a taste of the story:
“In a universe torn by war, two governments vie for power: the elemental Kingdom and the telepathic Hierarchy. Hierarchy women with animal bonds think nothing of sacrificing their beasts’ lives to protect themselves. Except sixteen-year-old Renagada. The bond with her carrion-eater bird Acha is two-sided, and she knows his mind as much as he knows hers. When Rena overhears her parents plotting to kill Acha because of superstition, she must leave her fiancé and home of sheltered luxury to flee with Acha into the desert. Peril awaits them at every turn, and someone is tracking them…”
And that’s all for this round of the Author Beat!
Justin’s Japan: A Whole Month of Arts, Events, Music
By JQ magazine editor Justin Tedaldi (CIR Kobe-shi, 2001-02) for Examiner.com. Visit his Japanese culture page here for related stories.
Hurricane Sandy may have wreaked havoc on the Eastern Seaboard, but New York is holding strong in November with a bounty of Japan-related events from MoMA to Madison Square Garden.
Nov. 6
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind Box Set
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind is an epic fantasy tale written and illustrated by legendary Studio Ghibli director Hayao Miyazaki, creator of My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle and Ponyo. A modern masterpiece (made into its own classic film adaptation in 1984), the entire series is now available in this deluxe box set containing two hardcover volumes with interior color pages and full-color double-sided poster in a special slipcase.
Nov. 9-11
The American Dream Japanese Network (JaNet) was originally created in 2001 following the 9/11 attacks to cheer up and unite the Japanese community, which lost many of its prominent members working in the World Trade Center. An annual Japanese music and performing arts showcase, this year’s three-night event features such diverse acts as Taka Kigawa, Taiko Masala, and Yosakoi Dance Project – 10tecomai, last year’s Talent Night winners!
Monday, Nov. 12
Geisha: The Golden Years 1870-1890 Opening Reception
This Long Island City gallery is proud to present an exhibition of 19th century hand-colored photographs of Geisha and Maiko from the Burns Archive. These photographs are the original images used by Dr. Stanley Burns and his daughter Elizabeth to create their noted book, Geisha: A Photographic History 1872-1912. The images in this exhibition showcase the best of Japanese photographs that were made to show the perceived exotic nature of Japan to the West. Several of the great early photographers’ studios are represented, including Kusabi Kimbel, Ogawa Kazumasa and Baron von Stillfried.
For the complete story, click here.