2012 Kitadaito Festival Day 1
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Posted by Benjamin Martin, a 5th year JET in Okinawa, publisher of the blog MoreThingsJapanese.com and author of the fantasy novel Samurai Awakening (Tuttle).
Every year on September 22 and 23 Kitadaito Village celebrates its largest Festival. These dates mark the beginning of autumn. Kitadaito, also known as north Borodino island, is a place of 12sq kilometers 320 kilometers east of the Okinawan mainland. It is unique in that it was settled by residents of Hachijo Island (near Tokyo) but is part of Okinawa Prefecture. Over the past 100 years the island has become a unique chanpuru (mix) of both cultures.
After graduating from the University of Arizona, I spent three years living and teaching on Kitadaito, and returned this year after more than a year on Kumejima. It was great to re-experience old memories and make new ones as the festival has changed since my time there. Watch the accompanying video for a chance to experience a few bits from this truly unique day.
Read more about the Kitadaito Festival on Ben’s blog — MoreThingsJapanese.com
JETAA: Rocky Mountain JETs Come Out For The Kids
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Via the Japan Local Government Center blog:
The Rocky Mountain JETAA chapter has been busy with two recent events helping out their various Colorado sister cities.
Fujiyoshida, in Yamanashi-ken, and Colorado Springs just celebrated their 50th anniversary in early August, so RMJETAA mobilized their Colorado Springs and Denver JET alumni to participate in the festivities in Colorado Springs and be available to assist with translating, interpreting, and other duties for the 70 visitors from Japan. One main place they helped out was the family event held at America the Beautiful Park on August 4th. Because many JET alumni from Colorado Springs were placed in Fujiyoshida as ALTs and CIRs, the celebration was a great chance for friends and acquaintances on both sides to get together again and reminisce about old times spent together in Japan. As part of the celebration, Mayor Horiuchi of Fujiyoshida and the students presented a check to Colorado Springs for $11,415, raised by the citizens of Fujiyoshida to help their sister city recover from the recent devastating wildfires there. Although Fujiyoshida now directly contracts with Colorado Springs for private CIRs it was wonderful that they could still draw on the resources of their former ties to the JET Program.
Click JLGC link for the full blog post in English.
クリックJLGC リンク 日本語 ブログ.
Japan Society (NY) Event: Local Economic Recovery: Firsthand Accounts from Tohoku
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Thanks to Jim Gannon (Ehime-ken, 1992-94), Executive Director of the Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE/USA), for sharing this Japan Society event with which JCIE is involved.
Local Economic Recovery: Firsthand Accounts from Tohoku
LECTURE: Local Economic Recovery: Firsthand Accounts from Tohoku
Monday, September 17, 6:30 PM
SYNOPSIS
The world’s eyes were on Kamaishi City in Iwate Prefecture a year and a half ago when a large portion of the city was devastated by the March 2011 tsunami. A number of small and mid-sized businesses—the lifeblood of the region—have taken innovative, entrepreneurial approaches that have yielded initial successes in revitalizing the local economy. Local leaders, Akiko Iwasaki, Owner, Horaikan ryokan, Akio Ono, President, Ono Foods Co., Ltd, and Takahiro Sasa, Deputy Manager, Industry Promotion Department, Kamaishi, as well as Takeo Kikkawa, an energy expert and Professor, Graduate School of Commerce and Management, Hitotsubashi University, will give firsthand accounts of how they have restarted their businesses against formidable odds and the challenges that continued to confront their community and others like it throughout the disaster zone.Followed by a reception.
TICKETS
$12/$8 Japan Society members, seniors & students
Buy Tickets Online or call the Japan Society Box Office at (212) 715-1258, Mon. – Fri. 11 am – 6 pm, Weekends 11 am – 5 pm.
Kagura Tours the East Coast; Some Memories of Kagura in Japan
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Posted by JETAA Northern California’s Mark Frey (Kumamoto, 2002-06):
For those of you on the East Coast of the U.S., there will be rare Kagura dance performances at the end of October and beginning of November. If you are in the vicinity, I highly recommend you go to see it:
http://www.japansociety.org/event/kuromori-kagura-folk-music-dance-from-tohoku. As you may know, Kagura is an extremely old shinto ritual dance that relates the stories of ancient Japanese mythology. The stories are told through a series of dances with colorful masks and costumes. The dance cycles are long and performed in full can last 20+ hours. The cycle often culminates in the Japanese Ur-story of how by means of a wild and raucous dance the gods lured the Sun Goddess Amaterasu out of her cave in order to return sunlight to the universe.The overall atmosphere of Kagura on and off stage is one of alternating solemnity, spectacle, and shared mirth, overall an entertaining and life-affirming ritual experience. The music, which is very percussive and uses repetitive pattens, quickly becomes hypnotic, at times lulling you into a kind of trance.
JETAA Ottawa’s 8th Annual Summer Festival/Natsu Matsuri
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*******Via jetaaottawa.ca By Lisa Mallin (Former CIR in Chiba-ken) for the JETAA Ottawa Newsletter
Blessed with perfect weather, JETAA Ottawa’s 8th Annual Japanese Summer Festival attracted hundreds of participants from across the National Capital Region on Saturday, August 18, 2012, at Vincent Massey Park. The day was packed full of Japanese cultural demonstrations, intercultural experiences, and 500+ JETAA dogs!
Mr. Yasir Naqvi, MPP for Ottawa Centre, offered words of support for Japan’s swift recovery from the March 2011 disasters while Japanese Ambassador Kaoru Ishikawa officially kicked off the day’s events by thanking Canadians for their compassion and continued engagement.
Oto wa Taiko attracted people from all corners of the park to listen to their powerful drumming and watch their well-choreographed moves. Tateyama Dojo introduced ancient martial arts of Japan through their lively kendo, iaido and jodo demonstrations. Ottawa newcomer Ryoko Itabashi brought traditional tones to the crowd with each note by playing her shamisen (a three-stringed, Japanese musical instrument). Jordan Lincez, a JET Programme alumnus, won over the crowd with his musical collaboration featuring special guest Hitomi Iwase. For the first time, Ottawa was treated to a taste of Montreal-Japanese fusion with Japanese Folk Dance Group Komachi Montreal’s beautiful performances.
Throughout the day, community partners and volunteers provided great activities such as children’s face painting, calligraphy, and bonsai to introduce different aspects of Japanese culture and tradition. To top it off, JETAA Ottawa gave out more than 500 hot dogs over the course of the festival. (For the curious: Link to JETAA dog toppings recipes).
JETAA Ottawa’s Japanese Summer Festival is the largest Japanese festival in the National Capital Region. We have grown from a small alumni event to an inclusive Japanese arts and culture celebration. We are grateful to all of the participants, volunteers, performers, community partners, local Japanese communities and the Council of Local Authorities and International Relations for making the day’s events possible.
Justin’s Japan: Nippon in New York — B’z, Books, Sake Tastings and Michael Jackson in Yokohama
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B’z, the biggest-selling musicians in Japanese history, will make their New York debut at Best Buy Theater Sept. 30. (Courtesy of Best Buy Theater)
By JQ magazine editor Justin Tedaldi (CIR Kobe-shi, 2001-02) for Examiner.com. Visit his Japanese culture page here for related stories.
After you’ve rested up from Labor Day weekend, enjoy the sights, sounds and tastes of Japan with a whole month’s worth of events, activities and products from musicians to authors to restaurants. It’s all happening here as we welcome another autumn in New York.
Tuesday, Sept. 4, 6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m.
Oze no Yukidoke from Ryujin Shuzo Sake tasting
Sakaya
324 East 9th Street
Hailing from Gunma prefecture, Oze-no-Yukidoke is a well-refined sake that is widely considered to be one of the finest sakes available. Join Mr. Hideki Horikoshi, the head sake brewer of Ryujin Shuzo, for his his handmade signature sake, Oze no Yukidoke Junmai Daiginjo, as well as Ohkarakuchi Junmai. Purchasers will receive a lacquered sake cup as a free gift!
Sunday, Sept. 9, 1:00 p.m.
Cultural Resource – Contemporay Music by Japanese Composers/Musicians
Scandinavia House
58 Park Avenue
“The influences of ethnicity on the musical idioms of contemporary composers” is the research subject of Akiko Asai, Visiting Scholar at New York University. This concert is held as a part of her research project and a wrap-up of her research term at NYU and features Japanese composers and their works. The audience will be able to not only meet these artists’ creativities but also listen to the result of their research through the identical sound of accordion. Tomomi Ota, who will play their pieces, is a one of the promising performers who can show the audience different perspectives vividly.
For the complete story, click here.
WIT Life #212: US Open 2012
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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 I went to the first day of this year’s U.S. Open tennis tournament in Flushing Meadows, and managed to catch some matches despite a long rain delay. I was happy to see that two of the outer courts were featuring Japanese players, Kei Nishikori (nicknamed “Air K” because of the jump he takes to give his forehand a little extra power) and Hiroki Moriya. I had never heard of the latter but am a big fan of the former, having first seen him in an exciting five-setter at the Open several years ago.
When my friend and I arrived, Nishikori was up two sets and leading in the third against Argentinian Guido Andreozzi when the downpour began. We camped out at the side court to insure good seats when the match resumed, which it did a few hours later. Andreozzi showed some strength but Read More
JET alum helps Japan ICU Foundation to hold Tohoku fundraiser event at Japanese Embassy in DC
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Junko Hibiya, President of ICU
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JET Alum Mark Flanigan (Nagasaki-ken, 2000-04) volunteered for earthquake relief efforts in Ishinomaki following 3/11, as a way to give back to the country he has lived in twice now. As a Rotary Peace Fellow at the International Christian University (ICU) in Tokyo, Mark jumped at the opportunity to volunteer in Tohoku after the devastating earthquake struck Japan. He joined a group of international student volunteers, including graduate and undergraduate students of many nationalities, in helping to clean up a small fishing village in Oshika-hanto. Now a graduate of ICU, Mark continues his efforts for ongoing Tohoku relief as a Program Director with the Japan ICU Foundation in New York City.
On Friday, September 14, the Japan ICU Foundation (JICUF) will hold a special Fundraising Dinner and Silent Auction in Washington, DC. The event will begin at 6:00 pm at the Old Ambassador’s Residence, adjacent to the Embassy of Japan on Massachusetts Avenue. Special guests will include the new (and first-ever female) ICU President Junko Hibiya, Dean of International Affairs Shaun Malarney and Mr. Kakutaro Kitashiro, the Chair of ICU’s board of trustees.
Mark Flanigan (Nagasaki-ken, 2000-04)
This Fundraising Dinner and Silent Auction will continue JICUF’s ongoing support for a variety of recovery efforts in the wake of the tragic March 11th, 2011 earthquake and tsunami, with the proceeds from the evening to go towards supporting ICU’s continuing earthquake relief projects in Tohoku. It follows on JICUF’s March Sake Tasting Fundraiser at the Penn Club in New York City, which raised nearly $10,000 to support these efforts. Since the devastating March 11, 2011 earthquake, tsunami and subsequent nuclear accident, JICUF has worked with ICU in Tokyo on key aspects of the ongoing response.
If you would like to attend the fundraiser event on September 14, you can go here for more information: http://jicuf.org/newsevents/fundraising-dinner-in-washington-dc-on-friday-september-14/
Members of the JET Alumni community are welcome and encouraged to join! Special discounts are available for Students, Young Professionals and the Media.
To RSVP for this event, please contact the JICUF at information@jicuf.org.
JETAA Northern California: Pacific Bridge: Fiber Futures: Japan’s Textile Pioneers Opens
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This summer and fall, the Museum of Craft and Folk Art (MOCFA) in San Francisco is proud to present a traveling exhibition co-organized by the Japan Society (New York), Tama Art University (Tokyo), and International Textile Network Japan. Fiber Futures: Japan’s Textile Pioneers explores a new art that is emerging from a remarkable fusion of Japanese artisanal and industrial textile making. Coaxed from materials as old as hemp and as newly developed as microfilaments, a varied array of more than 25 works by artists from multiple generations will be on view in this extraordinary two-part exhibition.
By transcending and cutting across the limitations imposed by the inherited oppositions between art, craft, and design, this two-part exhibition brings together over 20 contemporary Japanese artists who are active at the cutting edge of the global fiber-art movement. These men and women transform fabrics into sculptures, pictures, emulations of nature, and even abstract meditations on memory and identity. The materials range from silk, cotton, recycled cocoons, antique paper scraps, jute, and hemp to stainless-steel wire and weaving and dyeing technology. Ultimately the goal is expressing an environmentally sustainable ethos.
The opening reception of Fiber Futures was on July 20, 6-8pm and offered an exciting opportunity to preview the exhibition and meet several artists and curators visiting from Japan. Special guests in attendance included Joe Earle, Vice President and Director of the Japan Society Gallery, and distinguished artists, Machiko Agano, Akio Hamatani, and Hiroko Watanabe (President of International Textile Network Japan). In addition to a delicious sake tasting hosted by the innovative and contemporary Japanese restaurant, Ozumo, who shared some of Japan’s finest premium and limited edition sakes, entertainment included TOMOSAITO, the guitarist/beat producer of FOTOS. The exhibit runs until the 3rd of November this year.
Nicole Crescenzi, Development and Curatorial Associate
Museum of Craft and Folk Art
51 Yerba Buena Lane
San Francisco, CA 94103
For a print version of the article, click here.
JQ Magazine: San Francisco Hosts Fourth Annual J-Pop Summit Festival
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The 2012 J-Pop Summit Festival will be held in San Francisco’s Japantown August 25-26. (NEW PEOPLE, 2011)
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By Lindsay Martell (Saitama-ken, 1995-1997) for JQ magazine. Lindsay is a freelance writer and a voice-over actor in Oakland, California. Visit her website here.
Whether you have a penchant for hunky Lelouch Lamperouge (the hunky antihero of the anime series Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion) or a serious hankering for Lolita fashion, the pop-y, edgy, dynamic stuff you love is busting at the seams with this year’s J-Pop Summit Festival in San Francisco’s Japantown August 25-26.
With its campy theme of “Cyberpop Overload,” the second annual gathering is a Japanophile’s dream come true—noshing on chicken teriyaki bento or pork katsu curry from a JapaCurry food truck as you bop along to the scores of bands busting out tunes—this mecca of all things related to Japanese pop culture has something for everyone: fashion, film, anime, video games, technology and thumping music. And for JET alums who are feeling particularly natsukashii? Kite-kudasai!
Personally, I can’t wait. Not a day goes by when I don’t miss Japan. I haven’t lived there since the mid-’90s, when I was an ALT in Saitama, and yet, I can still feel the humid summer air, tatami beneath my feet, and the salty perfection of roasted senbei crunching in my mouth. At that time, I couldn’t get enough of the hypnotic pop scene. Most of it was a mere 1.5 hours away in Shibuya—a deliriously crazed hub of all things punk and pop.
And while I am now thousands of miles away from that edgy scene, J-Pop is an easy trip—a place brimming with kawaii-ness around every corner. More than 55,000 people got their pop on at the festival in 2011, and even more are expected to join in the fun this year.
WIT Life #209: The Amazing Yakusho Koji!
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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.
I had an unusually exciting Friday night as I got to meet one of my favorite actors, Yakusho Koji! He was on hand at Japan Society’s wonderful 2-week film festival Japan Cuts to screen his movie The Woodsman and the Rain. He was also presented with the first ever Japan Cuts prize, the CUT ABOVE award for excellence in film. He is pictured here with festival coordinator Samuel Jamier and interpreter Linda Hoaglund during the pre-screening introduction, during which time he humbly thanked the audience for Read More
WIT Life #208: Monsters, Woodsmen and Girls, Oh My!
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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.
It is indeed time again for one of my favorite annual events, Japan Cuts at Japan Society! The lineup of 39 films is more robust than ever, and the focus on fabulous actor Koji Yakusho adds a new dimension to this year’s festival. He will be on hand this Friday night to screen his 2011 award-winning The Woodsman and the Rain, and he will receive the first ever Japan Cuts prize, the CUT ABOVE award for excellence in film. Can’t wait for the screening and to possibly catch an up-close glimpse of this living legend at the reception after.
This event kicked off last Thursday, and many wonderful pieces have already been shown. I haven’t been able to catch as many as I would have liked, but one that really struck me was Read More
Justin’s Japan: Hideo Kojima and Yoji Shinkawa Salute 25 Years of Metal Gear at Uniqlo NYC
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Hideo Kojima, director of the Metal Gear video game series, at Uniqlo 34th Street store in Manhattan, June 9, 2012. (Justin Tedaldi)
By JQ magazine editor Justin Tedaldi (CIR Kobe-shi, 2001-02) for Examiner.com. Visit his Japanese culture page here for related stories.
Japanese retail clothing giant Uniqlo is commemorating a quarter century of Metal Gear—the classic Konami stealth video game series—with a new line of 10 exclusive UT Metal Gear 25th Anniversary T-shirts. On June 8 and 9, series director and game designer Hideo Kojima and artist Yoji Shinkawa made a special appearance at two off Uniqlo’s New York stores with for a special autograph session to commemorate a quarter century of Solid Snake, Big Boss and the eponymous bipedal tank that started it all.
“There were over 2,000 people who attended the UNIQLO Metal Gear event at both Fifth Avenue and 34th Street,” according to Mary Lawton, a spokesperson for Uniqlo. “This is our second event with Metal Gear and we are always thrilled at the level of support we receive from the Konami team as well as the loyal fans of Metal Gear.”
Kojima has made previous appearances at Uniqlo New York’s Soho flagship store in 2008 and 2010.
Fans attending the event who made a $30 store purchase were allowed to have one game-related item signed by Kojima and Shinkawa. Most of the items were related to the Metal Gear Solid series, which began in 1998 on the Sony PlayStation console. (The original Metal Gear was released in the U.S. a decade earlier for the Nintendo Entertainment System.) Most of the fans in attendance were American, attributing to the international influence and success of the Japanese-created game series.
For the complete story, click here.
WIT Life #204: Enka Sensation Jero
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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.
I never thought I would say this, but last night I was captivated by the strains of enka. However this was not your typical enka, it was this style of Japanese music performed by none other than Pittsburgh-born singer Jero. This 30-year old celebrity in Japan learned enka thanks to his maternal Japanese grandmother. As early as five he began singing ballads to entertain her, and from this young age he had a dream of becoming an enka singer. He has achieved this success in spades, debuting with his hit single 「海雪」 (Umiyuki, or Ocean Snow) four years ago. He went on to create numerous other hits, including an original one dedicated to his mother who raised him on her own.
The event I attended took place at Japan Society and was entitled “Let’s Enka! with Jero.” It began with an interview where Jero shared how his childhood dream had became a reality, including how at one point he contemplated Read More
SCBWI Tokyo Illustration Day with John Shelley
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SCBWI-Tokyo Publicity Assistant Suzanne Kamata (Tokushima 1988-90) shares the following:
Sunday August 19, 2012
SCBWI Tokyo Illustration Day with John Shelley:
Breathing Life Into Your Pictures
Power up your pictures! Give your illustrations vitality and zest! This SCBWI Tokyo Illustration Day featuring illustrator John Shelley will focus on techniques that children’s illustrators use to create resonance in their work and will explore how visual psychology works to convey mood, emotion, and movement. The Action and Emotion Illustration Assignment to be completed in advance of the workshop provides an opportunity for illustrators to develop their craft through open critiques at the event.
Time: Sunday, August 19, 2012, 9:00 am-5:00 pm
Place: Tokyo Women’s Plaza, Audiovisual Room, A & B
5-53-67 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo (by the Children’s Castle and United Nations University). For a map see www.scbwi.jp/map.htm Read More
