By Jack McDonough, 2021 prospective JET

Let’s talk: 2020 has been rough. From Corona Virus to the economic downturn, this year has gone on too long for my liking. For me, and many others, December is a time that is remembered fondly; it’s a break from the monotony of regular life with wassailing, hall-decking, and merry-making. 2020 needs an injection of ‘‘ ’Tis the season” and luckily, for anime fans, we got just that. I’m not talking about Christmas; I’m talking about Attack on Titan.

Attack on Titan originally aired in April of 2013 and is based on the manga Shingeki no Kyojin by Hajime Isyama; it’s one of the most popular manga to ever be released. The first three seasons of the show were produced by Wit Studios and the current season is animated by MAPPA Studios. The anime follows Eren Yeager’s quest for revenge against the human-eating giants that killed his mother and destroyed his hometown… or at least that’s what it used to be about.  My first time watching, I asked a series of questions: “Why are there Titans eating people, why are there giant walls protecting humanity, and how can mankind ever defeat these monsters?” The characters in the show ask themselves those same questions; the story is really a mystery, where the characters know nothing of the giants assailing them, or the cruel world they inhabit. The viewer never knows more than the characters, for the most part, and the viewer and the characters unravel the mysteries together. The “plot twists”  in Attack are unparalleled and take the story from a simple “humans versus monsters” story into something much more dynamic and all-consuming. This, combined with excellent animation, great voice-acting, and an epic soundtrack, creates a fantastic experience.

Attack on Titan: The Final Season couldn’t have come sooner.  The first episode of the season, “The Other Side of the Sea,” was action-packed and conveyed that this season would be the most intense one yet. The new animation by MAPPA does justice to the series. Watching the first episode felt like when the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle finally come together: the mysteries of the world have been unraveled, and all that’s left is to watch and see how Isyama’s characters will react to the truths he has revealed.

I used to say that Attack on Titan was the anime equivalent of Game of Thrones, but this characterization is wrong. While it’s easy to convey the shared dark-fantasy theme between Attack and Game of Thrones, Attack on Titan is so much more than that now: its political, violent, mystifying, and epic. Attack on Titan isn’t just a great anime or a great show, it’s one of the best stories ever told. If you haven’t watched it and you’re a fan of anime, watch it. If you haven’t watched it and you’re not a fan of anime, watch it. Attack on Titan transcends genre and medium and is a must-watch, and it’s all I want for Christmas this year.

As part of the ongoing bilateral forum series U.S.-Japan Subnational Global Young Professionals Forum,we are pleased to invite you to attend as an observer to the City of Honolulu and City of Hiroshima Young Professional Forum, internationally organized by the Koyamada International Foundation (KIF) America, KIF Japan and Junior Chamber International (JCI) Japan andlocally hosted by the JCI Hawaii, JCI Honolulu, JCI Hiroshima, Japan-America Society of Hawaii.

TOPIC:Post COVID-19: Rebuilding Sustainable Business Community Through Sister Cities

WHEN:HST:2pm-4pm on Monday, December 14^thPST: 4pm-6pm on Monday, December 14^thEST: 7pm-9pm on Monday, December 14^thJST:  9am-11am on Tuesday, December 15^th

WHERE: The Forum will be held privately by the Zoom Meeting platform with its interpretation option.

HOW: To register, please click this link – http://kifusa.org/register/ypf and you will be given a Zoom link to attend the forum once your registration is completed.

WHO:

Welcoming remarks

• United States Congressman Ted Lieu (a bipartisan bill “City and State Diplomacy Act”)
• United States Consulate General Osaka Richard Mei
• Mayor of Honolulu Kirk Caldwell
• Mayor of Hiroshima Kazumi Matsui
• Hollywood celebrity Shin Koyamada (movies from “The Last Samurai” and Disney Channel’s “Wendy Wu Homecoming Warrior”)
• Japan-America Society of Hawaii Reyna Kaneko
• Junior Chamber International Japan

American Speakers

• Ms. Delle Tanioka – Senior Account Manager for Automated Healthcare Solutions (AHCS), President of JCI Hawaii 2020
• Mr. Cosmo Hirai – Bishop of Todaiji Hawaii, Vice President of International Development of JCI Honolulu 2020
• Ms. Natalie Millon – State Board member as Community Development of JCI Hawaii
• Mr. Trung Lam – Co-Owner of La Tour Cafe and La Tour Bakehouse, Lifetime Member of JCI Hawaii
• Mr. Tyler Hiranaka – Business Owner, 2018 State President of JCI Hawaii

Japanese Speakers

• Mr. Ryo Sugikawa – Director of Daiichi Building Service Co., Ltd, 2021 President of JCI Hiroshima (Japan),
• Mr. Kazuyoshi Shibuya – Director of Shibuya Co., Ltd, 2021 Permanent member JCI Hiroshima (Japan),
• Mr. Hideki Hayashi – President & CEO of Yamasaki Honsha, Ltd., Chairman of Planning the Next Era City Committee of JCI Hiroshima,
• Ms. Hiromi Ikeda – Waseda Shrine, Chief Priest, 2021 Vice Chairman of the Regular Meeting Committee of JCI Hiroshima (Japan),
• Mr. Hiroshi Michiue – JTB Corp. Competent, 2021 Designing the Next Era Peace Committee of JCI Hiroshima (Japan),

 WHAT: In the beginning of the Forum, elected official and city officials, organizers and special guests will provide brief remarks, welcoming messages and their city’s video presentations. During the forum discussion, each of five wonderful American young professional speakers from Hawaii and five Japanese young professional speakers from Hiroshima will briefly introduce themselves and then exchange dialogue and share their views and personal experiences and stories in response to ten questions prepared by both cities on “Post COVID-19: Rebuilding Sustainable Business Community Through Sister Cities”. In this initial forum series, the Forum has paired six different U.S. and Japanese cities to host forums highlighting American and Japanese young professional speakers from their respective cities. The first Forum was officially launched with the City of San Jose, CA and City of Okayama, Japan. The second installment was executed with the City of San Antonio, TX and City of Kumamoto, Japan. This Honolulu-Hiroshima Forum will be our third installment one.

ABOUT USA-JAPAN SUBNATIONAL GLOBAL YOUNG PROFESSIONALS FORUMAs part of Subnational X Initiative of the Koyamada International Foundation (KIF), the Forumis a public-private partnership (PPP) in a forum series held virtually and organized internationally by the KIF America, KIF Japan, and Junior Chamber International (JCI) Japan in partnership with American and Japanese subnational governments, business organizations and sister cities organizations. The purpose of the forum is for American and Japanese young professional leaders to deepen bilateral economic and cultural people-to-people relationships to foster mutual understanding, as well as to create an international cooperation between communities in the United States and Japan at a subnational level. The final report of the Forum will be presented by JCI Japan as a bilateral recommendation to the United States-Japan Conference on Cultural and Educational Interchange (CULCON) in Japan, which will ultimately present it to the Prime Minister of Japan.

What’s Next?The next forum will be the Omaha – Shizuoka Forum at the end of January.

Interested in hosting your forum with us for your city and Japanese city?Please contact Mike Holland, a board member of KIF Japan at holland@kifjapan.org to give you more information!.

The Japan Foundation, New York (JF) and The Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership (CGP) has launched “Mask Up 2020,” an original face mask design contest open to all U.S.-residing amateur artists – from children to adults – and participation is free. Winning designs will be printed on masks, winners will receive 25 masks; the rest will be distributed. Winners will be announced during a live event on our YouTube channel. For more details: https://cgp.org/news201201

Here is a brief outline of the contest:  

• Deadline: Friday, January 22, 2021 by 6:00pm (EST)  
• Voting: February 8-17, 2021
• Winners announced: March 1, 2021  

Thanks to USJETAA’s Executive Director and JET alumna, Bahia Simons-Lane (Gunma-ken, 2005-2007) for passing along this fantastic opportunity!

JETs on Japan Forum

Submissions are open for article abstracts for the JETs on Japan Forum. The forum is a new partnership between USJETAA and Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA (Sasakawa USA). It will feature selected articles of JET alumni perspectives on U.S.-Japan relations and provides a platform for JET alumni to contribute to deeper understanding of U.S.-Japan relations from their fields.

Authors will receive an honorarium of between $250 and $500 (depending on word length, amount of research, etc.) from USJETAA upon the article’s publication.

Submissions are encouraged from mid-to-senior level professionals who are established in the current fields OR current/recent graduate degree students in both masters and doctoral programs. Submissions should provide in-depth commentary or analysis from the JET alumni perspective of political, economic, or diplomatic ties between the United States and Japan. It should highlight the positive impacts of U.S.-Japan relations on both U.S. and Japanese communities.

Interested authors should submit an abstract of up to 300 words on your proposed topic, your bio, and a writing sample to USJETAA via email to director@usjetaa.org, Subject: JETs on Japan. Abstracts will be accepted until February 1, 2021 and articles are published on a rolling basis from now until the end of February. More info at https://bit.ly/JETsonJapan

*********By Makoto Shirai, secretary, Japan-Insights Research Institute (Non-profit organization in Tokyo)

Dear Friends,

Have you visited the gardens in Tohoku?

Let me introduce an essay from Japan-Insights archives.

The fifth one is on the gardens and landscape of Tohoku by Fran and Jake of KEW.

https://doc.japan-insights.jp/pdf/JIN_TOPIC_20200511153448.pdf

Please share this expert’s experience!

Japan-Insights is a nonprofit open database compiled by leading experts in Japanese studies. The posts present a broad range of historical and contemporary topics that encourage visitors to engage with the real Japan through immersive experiences. Follow the Facebook page and website to learn about and share these insights from around the country!”

#japan #japaneseculture #tohoku

Congratulations to JET alumna, Elena Kamenetzky for winning the United States National Language Teacher of the Year award! Elena was an ALT at two middle schools in Aichi-ken from 2006-2009. She is currently a Japanese teacher at Eastern High School in Louisville, KY. Read more about Elena’s accomplishment here.

The Global Script Regime: Writing Systems and Writing Technologies in Modern Japan

Monday November 30, 8PM (EST)YouTube Live

The second lecture in our “Illuminating Japanese Studies” series is coming up! Join us with JF Former Fellow Raja Adal, who will discuss his research on the relationship of writing and technology, by focusing on the Japanese 3,000-character typewriter. Why was this typewriter unpopular in other parts of Asia but such a huge success in Japan? And how have scripts around the world, aided by such technologies, survived into the modern era? Live Q&A moderated by Kay Shimizu, Research Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Pittsburgh, will follow.

We hope that this series will illuminate what exactly Japanese Studies can teach us, not only about Japan but about the world.

Send us your questions through Eventbrite: https://globalscriptregime.eventbrite.com/ or in the YouTubeLive chat

************
JETwit’s JET Alum Movers & Shakers is produced by Ryan Hata (Tottori-ken, 2014-2017), Margie Banin (Kochi-ken, 2005-2007), and Jim Walsh (Fukushima-ken, 2018-2020). Want to be featured next? Submit your information here.

M.T. White, Hiroshima-ken (2003-2005)

Accomplishment:
Author

More Information:
I was a JET from 2003-2005 in Hiroshima-Ken (on the island of Etajima adjacent to Hiroshima-shi and Kure). Some of that experience was put into my novel CONTENT which is a mixture of Bret Easton Ellis, Michel Houellebecq, and Ryu Murakami…kind of. I’m also a columnist for the online publication PunchRiot. Here is the first issue from PunchRiot, which also contains an excerpt from CONTENT.

*********By Makoto Shirai, secretary, Japan-Insights Research Institute (Non-profit organization in Tokyo)

Dear Friends,

Have you visited Sendai, Japan? Let me introduce an essay from Japan-Insights archives. The fourth one is on Sendai’s legacy of Architecture and Art by Dr. Anton Schwizer.

https://topics.japan-insights.jp/#sendaiarchitecturelegacy

https://topics.japan-insights.jp/Public/pdf/japan-insights_jp/topics/JIN_SendaiArchitectureLegacy.pdf

Japan-Insights is a nonprofit open database compiled by leading experts in Japanese studies. The posts present a broad range of historical and contemporary topics that encourage visitors to engage with the real Japan through immersive experiences. Follow the Facebook page and website to learn about and share these insights from around the country!

#japan #japaneseculture #sendai

By Jack McDonough, 2021 prospective JET

Have you ever had Hokkaido milk bread? If you’ve ever watched the Youtuber Emmy Cho, who runs the channel emmymadeinjapan, you might be aware of this Japanese bread. My sister is a fan of Cho, and so we decided to try our hand at baking the bread. Not being a baker myself, I was skeptical about our ability to create anything resembling food, but our bread actually turned out to look and taste delicious. The bread was light, fluffy, and had a sweet taste; it was great in the morning with coffee for a nice breakfast. The baking of the bread proved to be surprisingly easy, as most of the process was spent waiting for the dough to prove and bake. 

While we baked the bread, we decided to watch the movie Wolf Children by Mamoru Hosoda. My younger sister Grace considers Wolf Children to be one of the best movies ever made; with a recommendation like that, I knew I had to give it a try. The film is about a young, single mother named Hana, who must raise her two children alone after the death of their father.  The children have inherited from their father the ability to transform into wolves. The boy Ame and the girl Yuki must decide whether they want to live life as humans or wolves. For Hana, she not only has to raise the children without their father, but she must also keep their ability secret so that Ame and Yuki can grow up safely. Most of the film is carried by the incredible animation: a style that is cute but realistic enough to give weight to the characters’ decisions. One scene in the film stands out: Ame and Yuki play in freshly fallen snow, where they transform between their human and lupine forms while enjoying themselves. While the animation is spectacular, I can’t say that I loved the film: the ending of the film stumbles a bit and fails to really give the story of Hana, Ame, and Yuki the send-off it deserves. I still recommend watching Wolf Children, especially to someone who enjoys great animation and heartfelt stories.

Mixing Wolf Children and baking Hokkaido milk bread made for a fun evening. I never expected to bake something delicious while watching a movie about children who can turn into wolves, but I would highly recommend combining baking and anime; you never know what you might get. 

The Tumbleweed Christmas Tree was written by JET alumna, Bridget Thomas (Yamaguchi-ken, 1994-1997).

The Tumbleweed Christmas Tree is based on a true story and is available for purchase in both paperback and Kindle versions on Amazon.

Inaka life is something special, and Camphor Press is celebrating it with an anthology that it calls “an affectionate but unsentimental taste of authentic rural living.” I’m happy to be among several JET alumni authors who contributed work to this collection! Sarah Coomber – writer

Kokoro Care Packages offers hand-crafted Care Packages filled with premium-quality, artisanal Japanese foods delivered straight from Japan to your door. Each item (including noodles, cooking essentials sauces, spices, snacks, soups, teas and more) is carefully selected for its quality, ease of use and of course, great taste! All products are free from chemicals and many cannot be found outside of Japan. They work closely with local producers who share their values and are passionate about the foods they create, while connecting you to their stories and their communities. They also include all the English translations making it easy to enjoy all these Japanese tastes and flavors.

Their Care Packages are available in two options: Subscriptions and Collections

• Subscription Care Packages: available monthly Nourishing Essentials Care Package and quarterly Seasonal Delights Care Package. One time gift purchases are also available. 

• Collections Care Packages including their Creative Beginnings: Redefining “Wa” Care Package of Japanese cooking essentials, a curation of Japan’s best noodles in their Zuru Zuru Noodles: “Yui” Care Package, their Japanese Green and Specialty Teas: “Ryu” Care Package of hand-picked, authentic Japanese teas and their newly released Japanese Snacks and Sweets: “Raku” Care Package full of traditional Japanese treats.

Just in time for the holidays, their upcoming December Nourishing Essentials and Winter Seasonal Delights Care Package theme is Oshogatsu – Japanese New Year Celebrations where they’ll be featuring their favorite New Years inspired foods from Japan. Order yours or as a gift by Nov 30th and use discount code JETAA for 10% off your first order of a subscription purchase.

The Japan Foundation, New York launched a monthly online series delving into Japanese pop culture from academic and professional perspectives!

For our third session, three musicologists in U.S academia will unravel the power of music in anime. You may love anime soundtracks as much as the anime itself, but have you ever thought about the role of music in storytelling, how the music affects the work itself, and what meanings might be hidden in the music?

Come join the panel discussion with Stacey Jocoy, Kunio Hara, and Rose Bridges as they discuss how directors and composers collaborate to create the music, explaining the role of music in storytelling, and the uses of music in beloved anime such as My Neighbor Totoro (Tonari no Totoro), Grave of the Fireflies (Hotaru no haka), Cowboy Bebop, Your Name. (Kimi no na wa.), and other animes.

The discussion will be followed by a live Q&A. If you have any questions about music and soundscapes in anime, now’s your chance to ask the musicologists! Please feel free to post it on the Eventbrite page when you register. Live commentary will also be enabled on the YouTube stream, so you can participate in the Q&A session.

This is a free event. Registrants will receive the link to the stream via email.

Eventbrite link:https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ep3-the-power-of-music-in-anime-tickets-125762034631?utm-medium=discovery&utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&aff=escb&utm-source=cp&utm-term=listing
Twitter post: https://twitter.com/JF_NewYork/status/1321149344674963459?s=20

*********By Makoto Shirai, secretary, Japan-Insights Research Institute (Non-profit organization in Tokyo)

Dear Friends,

Have you met with Yokai in Japan?
Let me introduce an essay from Japan-Insights archives.
The third one is on exploring the folklore and yokai of Iwate, Akita and Tottori prefectures.
Dr. Michael Dylan Foster introduces the spirits of the countryside of Japan.
https://topics.japan-insights.jp/#spiritsofcountryside
https://topics.japan-insights.jp/Public/pdf/japan-
insights_jp/topics/JIN_SpiritsOfCountryside.pdf

Japan-Insights is a nonprofit open database compiled by leading experts in Japanese studies. The posts present a broad range of historical and contemporary topics that encourage visitors to engage with the real Japan through immersive experiences. Follow the Facebook page and website to learn about and share these insights from around the country!”

#japan #japaneseculture #iwate #akita #tottori