March 31, 2021 at 8 PM EDT / Japan Time: April 1, 2021 at 9 AM

Register: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/1816153914492/WN_s3uAB54vTaykEOnmbToJhg

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/3803751933045660

Join USJETAA, U.S. JET Alumni Association, and NABEA, National Association for Black Engagement with Asia, for a conversation with author Karen Hill Anton. This event celebrates the publication of Karen’s latest book, The View from Breast Pocket Mountain. It will feature an introduction to the book, Karen reading a book excerpt and a Q&A session. We encourage anyone who is interested in learning more about her experiences and the book to attend. The View From Breast Pocket Mountain just won its first award from the Book Readers Appreciation Group (B.R.A.G.) Medallion. This competitive award for independent authors rated the memoir “Excellent” in all categories.

The View From Breast Pocket Mountain is a unique and previously untold story, a treasure trove of experiences crossing borders and cultures, creating a life, and finding contentment in a far-off country. To those who’ve ever wondered what their lives would be if they’d taken that road without a map, this is the book you need to read. The book gives us a glimpse of a life not designed or even imagined. To find out more visit: https://www.karenhillanton.com/book

Speaker

Karen Hill Anton wrote the popular columns “Crossing Cultures” for The Japan Times and “Another Look” for Chunichi Shimbun. As a consultant and coach, she works in the area of cross-cultural competence. She served on the Internationalization and Society Advisory Council of Prime Ministers Keizō Obuchi and Ryutaro Hashimoto. She is Emerita: Board of Governors, Temple University Japan, Shizuoka Human Rights Association, and the Jun Ashida Educational Foundation.

Karen has been an enthusiastic supporter of the JET Programme since its inception, and spoken to JETs on numerous occasions. Her daughter Mie was a CIR in Mie prefecture (smile), and her son Mario was assigned to Oita prefecture, where he now makes his home. Karen studied Japanese calligraphy for 25 years and attained second-degree mastery. She has taught modern dance and is now a devoted student of Hula. Originally from New York City, she has lived with her husband William Anton in rural Tenryu, Shizuoka prefecture since 1975.

Friday, March 19, 2021, 3:30 pm (US / HST)
Friday, March 19, 2021, 5:30 pm (US / PST)
Friday, March 19, 2021, 8:30 pm (US / EST)
Saturday, March 20, 2021, 9:30 am (JAPAN / JST)
Language: English & Japanese

How do we begin again? 10 years after the Great East Japan Earthquake and in the midst of a global pandemic, learn how Oakland-based artists marksearch (Sue Mark + Bruce Douglas) and Tokyo-based artists Hiroyuki Abe and Natsuka Endo creatively approach community-engaged art when it is not safe to gather. Join a participatory conversation about their new work 旅はすみか/ Journey Itself Home, a memorial to the Tohoku region. Launching with the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, these interactive sound monuments feature the voices of young adult 3.11 survivors. Honomi Ijima, environmental scientist and cultural translator for the artist team joins. Miho Walsh, former Executive Director, Asian Cultural Council, facilitates this dynamic round table.

This event is hosted by Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission (JUSFC) in collaboration with East West Center and International House of Japan.

English: https://www.nichibei-artists.org/en/report/933

Japanese: https://www.nichibei-artists.org/report/931

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

Dear Friends,

Have you met story tellers in Tohoku?

Let me introduce an essay from Japan-Insights archives.

The tenth one is on Kataribe: 2011.3.11-Future by Mr. Goto and Mr. Onodera.

https://doc.japan-insights.jp/pdf/JIN_TOPIC_20200228161825.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

Meet the students, staff, and faculty from all over the world that make up our community, and find out how a degree from the Institute can give your career plans a meaningful boost. Attend program meetings, sit in on a class and participate in panel discussions. Learn more and sign up today!

10 years have passed since the March 11. 2011, Great East Japan Earthquake. CLAIR NY will be hosting online screenings of documentary films about this disaster, along with panel discussions and other events. Many of these films are by or about JET Program participants, and all deal with various aspects of JET and other foreign support for Japan, sister city and exchange relationships, and recovery efforts in Tohoku.

Date
March 5, through March 11, 2021
7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) each day

There are real-time live-streamed film screenings and Live Q&A sessions with the directors each night. We have three panel discussions about “Sister City Relationships”, “Japanese Food Culture and Health” and “The Future of Tohoku”. You can also access each film anytime from March 5th at 7 PM to March 14th at 9 PM (EST).

*Panel discussions will be held in English. It’s open to the public. Feel free to join with your friends.

Register here (Free):
https://watch.eventive.org/ff311tohoku

We will keep you updated through our FB page.
https://www.facebook.com/Footprints-Footsteps-311-and-the-Future-of-Tohoku-103744258354561/

Passing along info about short-term, low-cost creative workshops for adults of any age, sponsored by Wilkes University, a low-residency MFA program:

Enjoy inexpensive non-credit 5-6 week creative writing workshops in poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and screenwriting. Workshops are open to adults of any age or education level and are conveniently held online via Zoom.

A highlight of the series is a weekend session on screenwriting, presented by Wilkes creative writing faculty member and screenwriter of Tigerland Ross Klavan.

https://wilkes.edu/writingworkshops

************
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.

Accomplishment:
New Eikaiwa Podcast for Japanese English-learners

More Information:
After returning from her 3 years as a high school ALT in Toyama, Emmalee returned to Nashville, Tennessee where she currently works at the Consulate-General of Japan in Nashville sharing Japanese culture through social media. After struggling to keep growing her Japanese-language learning while in the U.S., Emmalee discovered the power of Japanese conversation podcasts in keeping her immersed in the language. Seeing the need for similar resources for Japanese English-learners, Emmalee decided to put her teaching experience and connections to use by creating a podcast that focuses on casual English conversation.

Public Information:
Podcast: https://yoppareikaiwa.buzzsprout.com
Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yoppareikaiwa/
Consulate Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/japaninnashville/
Email: emmaleemanes@gmail.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emmaleemanes/

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

Dear Friends,

Have you heard the lives of Tohoku?

Let me introduce an essay from Japan-Insights archives.

The ninth one is on Kataribe: A keyword to Recovery by Dr. Flavia Fulco.

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

By Jack McDonough, 2021 prospective JET

Rom-coms: the classic “will they or won’t they” story that has been done to death. Think Ross and Rachel from Friends or Harry and Sally from When Harry Met Sally and you’ve got perfect examples of this trope. You’ll binge an entire show on Netflix just to see whether your two favorite characters finally get together, and once it’s over, you’ll probably forget about the chase and only remember the finale. I bet you didn’t even laugh along the way. Kaguya-sama: Love is War is the remedy to the classic rom-com letdown:  it’s a show that’s actually funny and makes the pursuit the thing worth watching.

Kaguya-sama is an anime based on the manga Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai – Tensai-tachi no Ren’ai Zunōsen: “Kaguya Wants to Make Them Confess: The Geniuses’ War of Hearts and Minds.” The show features an epic, romantic “game of chess” wagered by Kaguya Shinomiya and Miyuki Shirogane. Kaguya is the heir to the Shinomiya Group, a business conglomerate that holds enormous power over Japan: she flips between being a naive, love-sick girl and an imperturbable master of deception. Miyuki is the broke genius who earned a scholarship to join Kaguya as a student at the prestigious Shuchiin Academy. While they serve as the heads of the student council, they rarely concentrate on school matters:  all of their time is spent trying to get the other to confess their love. Neither can back down; the stakes are too high.

To Miyuki and Kaguya, confessing is tantamount to losing and becoming subservient to the object of your affection: Miyuki won’t confess as he believes he would appear like a poor peasant, while the Shinomiya idea of “winning no matter what” keeps Kaguya silent. Since neither can confess, a hilarious war of schemes and ploys ensues as these teenage geniuses try to catch the other slipping; their daily battles are bolstered by a narrator who informs the audience of exactly what Kaguya and Miyuki are thinking when their machinations blow up in their faces. The proverbial “wrench” in their plans is their classmate Chika Fujiwara, the happy-go-lucky secretary of the student council who is always down for mischief. They are also joined by Yu Ishigami, a dower boy who would rather stay home and play video games; he is often the only character to see Kaguya’s “ice-queen” nature and promptly runs from her sight when he can. There’s a great chemistry in this group of four that keeps the antics from getting stale and provides Kaguya and Miyuki outlets for their frustration.

The genius (get it?) of the show is its premise: people are geniuses in life and dumb in love. Equal parts are devoted to the romance and to the comedy that creates a real romantic-comedy. The story develops as Kaguya and Miyuki try their best to trick the other; all the while missing out on a great relationship because of their inhibitions. In fact, Miyuki only became the president of the student council and the number one student at Schuchiin just to be worthy of Kaguya’s affection.  Both of these characters are so worried about social appearances and losing face that they’d rather spend all their time trying to checkmate the other than just say “I love you.” In a way, it’s actually pretty sad: Kaguya and Miyuki only have a limited time together as they’ll eventually graduate from high school. The juxtaposition between the side-bursting shenanigans and the saddening thought that they might actually never confess leaves the viewer with a mix of elation and despair. What’s even better, is that Kaguya, Miyuki, Chika, and Ishigami quickly go from one-note characters to having deep emotions and fulfilling motivations for their actions and fears. While their circumstances are certainly unrealistic, their emotions are relatable and you’ll find yourself compelled to keep watching for both the laughs and the attachments you make with the cast.

I first watched Kaguya-sama by accident when searching Hulu for a new show to watch; I was hooked by the show before I even realized my mistake. Kaguya-sama does have a lesson buried beneath the escapades: go for it. Do the thing that’s embarrassing; you might lose face or be laughed at, but it’s better to go for it and miss than to never take a chance at all. Kaguya and Miyuki might run out of time before they realize that it’s better to take the leap of faith: don’t be like Kaguya and Miyuki. You’ll find yourself outsmarting these geniuses by just listening to your heart.

Please share this FREE conference with any potential study abroad students, especially underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, students with disabilities, students in the LGBTQI+ community, and students from low-income backgrounds. The conference helps to bolster their participation in applying for study abroad scholarships as the Gilman, Critical Language, Fulbright, and Boren programs. This is a great opportunity and it is free!

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/we-represent-2021-virtual-international-exchange-conference-tickets-136340830093https://werepresentconference.com/conference

This is a FREE conference to bolster participation in Gilman, Critical Language, Fulbright, and Boren programs for students from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, students with disabilities, students in the LGBTQI+ community, and students from low-income backgrounds. 

WeRepresent is led by:
1. Pandora White, PhD, MPH – former Fulbright and Gilman Alumni Ambassador
2. Vanessa Diaz – former Fulbright alumni ambassador, co-founder of Fulbright Latinx
3. Ashleigh Brown-Grier – founder of Fulbright HBCU, Fulbright alumni ambassador
4. Sean Funcheon – Gilman Alum

They are supported by a grant from the Citizen Diplomacy Action Fund for U.S. alumni of Department of State exchange programs.

**************************

We recently learned about the National Association for Black Engagement with Asia (NABEA) which seeks to connect Black Asia specialists in both the public and private sectors. They also hope to increase the representation of Black Americans engaging with Asia. Through their programming, they work towards building a mutually beneficial economic, political, social, and cultural relationship between Black America and the Indo-Pacific region.

There seems to be a natural connection between the JET alumni community and NABEA. And in fact, we’re currently aware of four JET alumni who are also members of NABEA:

• Jennifer Butler (Shizuoka-ken, 2001-2004) – Manager of Student Relations for the Ashinaga Foundation and former JETAA USA Country Representative and JETAA chapter president
• Mya Fisher (Kanagawa-ken, 2000-2002) – Founder of Global Equity Forward, a strategic consulting and advisory company for international inclusion, diversity, and racial awareness.
• Jody Dixon (Yamanashi-ken, 2009-20014) – Program Manager for the American Association of State Colleges & Universities overseeing their China-US Rising Star Study Program
• Savannah Williams (Shizuoka-ken, 2018-2020) – a Community Manager and Event Coordinator for Startup Lady Japan

According to Fisher, “NABEA is an important and growing community of Black Americans who are specialists actively engaged in Asia. Their publicly accessible and searchable database of Black, Indo-Asia experts is a great addition to the continued work of increasing representation and inclusion in the U.S.-Japan community specifically, and the Indo-Asia region more broadly.”

If you are interested in joining NABEA, go to their website for more info: http://usnabea.org/

And if you’re already a member, feel free to post in the comments section below and let everyone know!

…………..

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

Dear Friends,

Are you interested in clocks in Edo period?

Let me introduce an essay from Japan-Insights archives.

The eighth one is on Time of the Tokugawa Period by Mr. Ashley Strachan.

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

Laurasian Institution Presents: Japan and the Midwest – A networking event connecting Japan and the Heartland

Connecting Japan and the Heartland, this is a casual networking event for professionals. Whether you have a connection to the Midwestern U.S. or Japan, join us to nurture connections between both.

laurasian.org/register

〜アメリカ中西部と日本を結ぶ交流会〜
日本と中西部に関係がある方々を集め、国を超えてオンライン交流会を開催します。中西部での思い出でを語ったり、新しい中西部とのつながりを作りに、お気軽にご参加下さい。
参加費無料・抽選あり

Saturday, February 20th at 8pm (ET) / 7pm (CT)
日本時間2月21日 (日) 午前10時

laurasian.org/register

The Japan Foundation, New York have recently launched JFNY Literary Series. For this new talk series, we will be inviting notable writers in Japanese literature and their translators to discuss their work, speak on the art of translation, and touch upon the current literary scene in Japan. 

For our inaugural session, we have invited Yu Miri and her translator Morgan Giles. Yu’s novel Tokyo Ueno Station, which was translated by Giles, won the 2020 National Book Award for Translated Literature. They are joined by moderator Dr. Stephen Snyder, interpreter Bethan Jones, and curator Allison Markin Powell from the collective, “Strong Women Soft Power”.  

The event is now available to watch on our YouTube channel! Watch the event here: https://www.jfny.org/event/jfny-literary-series-yu-miri-x-morgan-giles/ 

************
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.

Accomplishment:
New Book on Japan
Walking in Circles: Finding Happiness in Lost Japan

Book Description Guided by a wandering ascetic hiding from the Freemasons; naked Yakuza; a scam artist pilgrim; and a vengeful monk, Walking in Circles is a fun, inspirational travel memoir set in a Japan few outsiders ever get to see.

Award-winning writer Todd Wassel draws on over twenty years in Japan to retell his epic journey through the contradictions of a contemporary yet traditional Japan while trying to overcome the barriers to happiness modern life throws up.

Over half a decade after first landing in Japan Todd is lost, unable to go home, or move forward. Convinced there is more to life, he risks everything to return to the one place he found answers years before: the ancient Shikoku Henro pilgrimage. Walking the 750-mile henro path, sleeping outside each night, Todd is armed with only a Japanese map and the people he meets along the way.

Can he find what he’s looking for before the path, or his new friends, break him?

More Information:
After the JET program I continued living and teaching for 5 years. From there I switched professions to international development working in and visiting over 45 countries. I’m now the Country Representative for The Asia Foundation in Laos. I still get back to Japan at least once a year to visit my wife’s family, and explore the mountains with my family.

Public Information:
Buy the Book: mybook.to/WalkingInCircles-AJET
Website: https://toddwassel.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/toddwasselauthor
Email: todd@toddwassel.com