The March 2010 issue of the Sake World E-mail Newsletter by JET alum and leading sake expert John Gauntner (aka “The Sake Guy”) is now available online.

Author Suzanne Kamata (Tokushima-ken, 1988-90) who also serves as the Publicity Assistant for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, shared the following:

The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators presents

 

Friday, April 2, 2010

 

Details, Details: The Snap, Crackle, and Pop of Good Writing with author Jane Kurtz

Time:    Friday, April 2, 2010, 6:30-8:00 p.m.

Place:                 Tokyo Women’s Plaza, Conference Room 1 (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

Fee:                    1,000 yen SCBWI members; 1,500 yen nonmembers

Reservations:  Contact info@scbwi.jp by Thursday, April 1, 2010

This event will be in English.

American novelist John Gardner called details the lifeblood of fiction. Many an editor has said the absolute key to a piece of writing she fell in love with was its voice…but what creates the “voice” of a piece other than its distinct details? Award-winning author Jane Kurtz will give ten keys for coaxing vivid, shimmering, gripping details into our drafts and will show why certain mistakes around details are the kiss of death for any piece of writing. Q&A will follow the talk.

 

Jane Kurtz spent most of her childhood in Ethiopia—and now travels the world talking about writing, reading, and the magic of books. Her recent speaking has taken her to all but eleven of the U.S. states, Europe, the Persian Gulf, Indonesia, Cambodia, India, Romania, and East and West Africa. School Library Journal called Jane Kurtz a “superb storyteller.” Her books have gathered accolades, starred reviews, and awards. Since 1994, she has published twenty-nine books: nonfiction books, professional books for teachers, picture books, and novels for young readers that draw on her own childhood memories of growing up in Ethiopia as well as surviving the Red River flood of 1997. Jane has taught writing at the elementary, secondary, and university levels and is currently on the faculty of the MFA in children’s and young adult literature out of Vermont College. Her passion for books and reading and her love of Ethiopia came together in Ethiopia Reads, an organization that is establishing the free libraries for children in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with Yohannes Gebregeorgis, one of CNN’s Top Ten Heroes (www.ethiopiareads.org). For more on Jane Kurtz visit www.janekurtz.com.

 

www.scbwi.jp    info@scbwi.jp

Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99), author of Japanamerica, will be speaking at Kinokuniya in NYC as part of “Ponyo Day.” The event is this Saturday from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm, and Roland will be speaking at 4:00 pm.  (This appearance hot on the heels of his Atlanta book signing on March 4!)

All the JETAA Southeast alums will have a chance to meet and hear Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99), author of Japanamerica, speak at Keenesaw State University in Atlanta, GA on Thursday, March 4 from 6:30-8:00 pm.  If you happen to go and say hi, let him know you heard about the event on JetWit.  Also, email JetWit (jetwit [at] jetwit.com) to let us know how the event was so we can share it with the rest of the JET alum community.

Here’s the flyer with all the relevant info for the event:

***********

I received a wonderful request from author Solmaz Sharif, Managing Director of The Asian American Writers’ Workshop, regarding an event that she thought might be of interest to the JET alumni community:

Matchmaker:
Speed dating hosted by Kavita Ramdya and Jen Kwok

Saturday, March 6, 7-9 PM

• Location: The Asian American Writers’ Workshop16 W 32nd Street, Suite 10A btwn 5th Avenue and Broadway
• Cost: $20 for members / $30 for non-members
• Purchase your tickets here before March 5, 2010 and give us an idea who we should set you up with. For more information you can also visit aaww.org or call 212.494.0061.

Tired of making eyes at readings and not approaching the hottie next to you? Wondering how you can meet people that’ll compliment your bookcase? Interested in hearing more about love in Asian America? Keep it in the family and let the Workshop help you find the one at our first ever speed dating event. The Asian American Writers’ Workshop presents MATCHMAKER, a special event about how we meet, mingle, and marry in Asian America.

Kavita Ramdya, author of Bollywood Weddings: Dating, Engagement, and Marriage in Hindu America, discusses how second-generation Indian Americans get hitched, a tricky negotiation involving arranged meeting, Mom and Dad, and, of course, lots of dancing.

The event will be hosted by stand-up comedian Jen Kwok, the hilarious mastermind behind Date an Asian, her self-described comic ode to “the awesomeness of dating an asian guy.”

You will receive the following premiums:

• A month’s worth of dates squeezed into one night as you move table to table closer to the one
• Finger foods to keep the attention where it counts
• A signature Workshop cocktail
• A horoscope reading to predict your compatibility

Bankruptcy Man and Bankruptcy Bill are cartoons created by Steven Horowitz (Aichi-ken, 1992-94) and Gideon Kendall.  For more cartoons, original bankruptcy haiku and even a bankruptcy country song, go to bankruptcybill.us.

Do you work in bankruptcy or restructuring?  Now you can join the JET Alumni Restructuring & Bankruptcy Group on LinkedIn.

Additionally, if anyone would like to take a stab at translating the cartoon into Japanese for JetWit’s Japanese fans out there, feel free to post in the comments section of this post.  Some cultural explanation might be helpful as well, given that Japanese bankruptcy laws are very different than the U.S.

Are you living in Japan and looking to get into the translation and editing industry?  The Society of Writers, Editors & Translators (SWET), a thirty-year old community of English wordsmiths in Japan, is hosting an event on art translation in March.  If you’d like more information about SWET, please click here.

WHEN: Sunday, March, 7 2010 – 3:00~5:00 p.m.

WHERE: Kobe Centre Plaza Nishi-kan, 6F, Room 11 / http://www.kscp.co.jp/map/map.html

FEE: SWET & JAT members 1,000 yen/non-members 1,500 yen

RESERVE: kansai@swet.jp

ABOUT:
Translating literature related to Japanese art presents unique challenges.  Not only are there issues of origin, as in the case of Buddhist deities, but
the presentation of traditional Japanese art has been targeted at a specific audience up to now, namely one that is educated and Japanese. Since the
language used to describe art can be difficult to read—as can the exhibition title itself at times—an English translation may be helpful not only to English readers but also to some native Japanese. Seen in this light, English translation in the art field can be invaluable tool to reach
new audiences, both domestic and international. This presentation will focus on technical issues related to translation, as well as the wider social
implications surrounding them.

Eric Luong is a full-time instructor at the Kyoto University of Art and Design, teaching English, art, and comparative culture. Originally from
Toronto, Canada, he works as a translator for the Hosomi Museum in Kyoto and as a freelancer specializing in Japanese art history.

Tom Baker (Chiba-ken, 1989-91) is a staff writer for The Daily Yomiuri. A big part of his beat is the Pop Culture page, which covers manga, anime and video games.  You can follow Tom’s blog at tokyotombaker.wordpress.com.

He also writes about food. Here is a recent article about a food science exhibition currently running at Tokyo’s Miraikan museum. The latter half of the story focuses in on the scientific-culinary concept of umami, often called the“fifth taste”:

How many calories are there in a 500-milliliter bottle of a zero-calorie soft drink? If you guessed zero, you might be right. But the correct answer could be as high as 24. This is one of the many fun facts visitors can learn at “It’s a Tasty World–Food Science Now,” an exhibition running through March 22 at the Miraikan science museum in Odaiba, Tokyo. Under Japanese law, according to a display debunking food myths at the show, a drink is “zero calorie” as long as it has less than five calories per 100 milliliters. (A note on vocabulary: A “calorie” and a “kilocalorie” are the same thing.)

Other displays include sniffable containers of food scents, which you can mix to create new aromas; videos of food processing factories, where plump onions comically pirouette on industrial peelers; and a glowing green tank of euglena, a photosynthetic microorganism seen as a promising future food source. Too bad its Japanese name, midori mushi–green bug–isn’t exactly appetizing….

Read the rest of the article here.

Tom Baker (Chiba-ken, 1989-91) is a staff writer for The Daily Yomiuri. A big part of his beat is the Pop Culture page, which covers manga, anime and video games.  You can follow Tom’s blog at tokyotombaker.wordpress.com.

He also writes about movies. Here is his interview with stop-motion animator Henry Selick, whose film “Coraline” is a nominee for best animated feature in the Academy Awards to be presented on March 7:

When the nominees for best animated feature film are read out at the Academy Awards ceremony in Hollywood next month, there will be one computer-graphic animated film (Up), two traditional 2-D animated films (The Princess and the Frog and The Secret of Kells) and two stop-motion films (Fantastic Mr. Fox and Coraline).

“I feel very lucky to have lived long enough to still be making films in this era,” Coraline director Henry Selick told The Daily Yomiuri in Tokyo last week. His two previous features, Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) and James and the Giant Peach (1996) came out before the Oscars introduced an animated feature category in 2001.

Coraline has already won several other prizes, including an Annie animation award for Japanese production designer Tadahiro Uesugi.

Coraline, based on a novel by Neil Gaiman, is the story of a young girl who discovers a secret passage to an alternate universe where all the things that annoy her in the real world have been changed. But like a gingerbread house in a fairy tale, this seemingly delightful place turns out to be a trap from which she must escape.

Read the rest of the article here.

Tom Baker (Chiba-ken, 1989-91) is a staff writer for The Daily Yomiuri. A big part of his beat is the Pop Culture page, which covers manga, anime and video games.  You can follow Tom’s blog at tokyotombaker.wordpress.com.

Here is his latest video game review, of “Uncharted” and “Uncharted 2” which Sony recently released as a box set in Japan:

My pal Nate is such a great guy that he keeps hanging out with me despite the fact that I’ve gotten him killed hundreds of times, usually by explosions, gunfire or plunges from cliffs. It’s a good thing he’s made out of pixels, or this relationship would be a lot harder on both of us.

Digital though he may be, Nathan Drake, the lead character in the Sony PlayStation 3 video games Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune (2007) and Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (2009), is so lifelike and likeable that it is not unusual for players to think of him as someone who really exists.

The two games, re-released Feb. 18 as a 7,980 yen box set, are swashbuckling adventures from the Indiana Jones school in which our hero and a few friends hunt for treasure in exotic locales while fighting off gangsters and pirates who are also after the loot. And also as in Jones’ world, events take a paranormal turn once the treasure is uncovered…

Read the rest of the review here.

Tom Baker (Chiba-ken, 1989-91) is a staff writer for The Daily Yomiuri. A big part of his beat is the Pop Culture page, which covers manga, anime and video games.  You can follow Tom’s blog at tokyotombaker.wordpress.com.

Here is his latest manga review, of Ooku by Fumi Yoshinaga:

With its shrinking population, chronically depressed birthrate and rising average age, Japan is fated for major social changes in the fairly near future. How that will play out remains to be seen, but Fumi Yoshinaga’s manga series Ooku: The Inner Chamber is an example of how popular art can tap into real-world social anxieties.

Ooku is set in an alternate-history Japan that also faces a demographic crisis, but of a different type. In the 1630s, a mysterious epidemic called Redface Pox kills 75 percent of Japan’s men, while leaving women physically unharmed.

The disease lingers, the gender imbalance never rights itself, and Japanese society comes to resemble a colony of bees or ants, in which the large female majority does every kind of work while the male minority are seen as delicate creatures valued only for their “seed.”

With women forced to share the limited supply of men, the institution of marriage largely disappears, as only a rich woman can keep a husband all to herself. The wealthiest and most powerful woman of all is the shogun, who keeps a crowded male harem in the innermost chambers–the Ooku–of Edo Castle…

Read the rest of the review here.

If you’ve been following Toyota’s problems of late, then you may have also noticed JET alum Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99), author of Japanamerica, popping up a lot as a commentator.

He recently appeared on ABC’s World News Tonight.  And even more recently he was commissioned to write an op-ed for the Christian Science Monitor to clarify some of the vast cultural misreadings evident in the Congressional Toyota/Toyoda hearings.

• Toyota and trust: Was the Akio Toyoda apology lost in translation? Stung by Toyota recalls, Toyoda had to convey sincerity – and bridge the gulf in communication styles between Japan and America. http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2010/0225/Toyota-and-trust-Was-the-Akio-Toyoda-apology-lost-in-translation

• Roland is also quoted in this AP article on Toyota:  “Toyota President Battles Crisis in Family Company“ http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2010/02/19/toyota_president_battles_crisis_in_family_company/?page=full

And addressed the topic of Toyota in an interesting way in his recent Daily Yomiuri column on The Super Bowl, Toyota, Anime and Hollywood:

• SOFT POWER, HARD TRUTHS / Anime must eventually transcend Japan ‘national’ brand http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/arts/20100219TDY11003.htm

And if you’re looking for commentary on non-Toyota topics, then you can listen to Roland’s recent appearance on NPR discussing a wild relic of Japanese popular culture, a viral video of Japanese ‘Jazz Opera,’ produced in 1986 by Tamori, the great comedian:

• http://www.theworld.org/2010/02/17/japanese-jazz-opera/

Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99), author of Japanamerica, is interviewed on ABC’s “World News Tonight” with Brian Ross and Diane Sawyer.

Tom Baker (Chiba-ken, 1989-91) is now as a staff writer for The Daily Yomiuri.  We will be regularly featuring his work.  Here is his latest, an interview with the Hawaiian Stan Sakai, creator of the comic Usagi Yojimbo.

“There was the old movie theater down the street from where I lived that showed the old samurai movies, those chambara movies, every Saturday. I’d go to see the old Toshiro Mifune movies. Get-in-for-a-quarter, stay-all-day type of thing,” Stan Sakai, 56, said, recalling his childhood in Hawaii.

Sakai grew up to become a comic-book artist, and in 1984, he launched a samurai epic of his own. Its main character is a wandering ronin with dazzling sword skills, a fierce sense of honor and a network of friends and enemies across Japan. Miyamoto Usagi is one formidable rabbit.

A fluffy bunny wielding a katana sword may sound silly, but Sakai makes it work. His ongoing Usagi Yojimbo series is filled with drama, pathos and well-developed characters. There are also abundant allusions to Japanese culture. The most obvious of these is that Usagi’s long ears are tied together to form a chonmage samurai hairstyle, but others are more subtle, such as a gourd flask that resembles mangaka Osamu Tezuka’s signature Hyotan-Tsugi character.

In Usagi Yojimbo: Yokai (Dark Horse, 63 pp, 14.95 dollars), a full-color hardback graphic novel released in November to mark the character’s 25th anniversary last year, Usagi confronts a grotesque army of Japanese supernatural beings.

“I love the old ghost stories about Japan. That was fun to research,” Sakai told The Daily Yomiuri by phone from California, where he lives. “For a country that’s so small, there’s so much [in the way of] ghosts and goblins and monsters around. The folklore of Japan is so rich. And not only the really horrific stuff, but also the really goofy stuff. It’s fun to draw.”

To read the full story, click here.

The February 2010 issue of the Sake World E-mail Newsletter by JET alum and leading sake expert John Gauntner (aka “The Sake Guy”) is now available online.  In this issue:

1. Special Confusion
2. Did you know?  Moto methodology
3. New section:  Sake basics – daiginjo
4. Sake professional course
5. New!  Japanese for sake lovers
6. New!  iPhone app:  The Sake Dictionary
7. Odds-n-Ends

Additional links:

• Sake World Website
• More About Us
• Archive

Adventures of a Stealth Gaijin

By Ann Chow (ALT, Hyogo-ken, 2007-2009), a New York City-based JET alum currently seeking copy editing/proofreading/production editing jobs in news or book publishing.  Email jetwit [at] jetwit.com if you would like to get in touch with her.

E is for Elementary School

E is for elementary school.

Elementary school in Japan is for students between the ages of 6-12, and they are easily spotted by the backpacks, called randoseru, that they carry. Sometimes, they wear sailor uniforms. Sometimes, they don’t. My students didn’t.

When I first arrived in Japan, the BoE I worked for told me I would be working at 2 junior high schools and 3 elementary schools. It was pretty standard for the ALTs working in my town, and I had no complaints except that one of my elementary schools was clear across town, 35 minutes or so by bike, and I wasn’t the ALT who lived closest to it.

Sometime in December of my first year there, I was told I would have to visit another elementary school. There was already another ALT who visited, but the teachers wanted extra lessons, so they added me on to the roster. On my first visit to that school, I was running late because I realized the main entrance to the school wasn’t on the main road, but on a back street behind the sports field and a construction site for new housing. It really didn’t help that they were Read More

JetWit Blog Beat by Crystal Wong (Iwate-ken, 2002-04) is a recurring item featuring posts from the blogs of various JET alumni.  Crystal is a former English-language writer for Kyodo News. She now works in online marketing in New York and relishes her constant hunt for the best cheap(ish) eats in the city.

Hope everyone had an excellent Super Bowl weekend – I’m sure it was a good one for those rooting for the Saints. Without further ado, let’s get to the much belated first Blog Beat round up of 2010!

- In need of a winter pick me up that you can easily whip up in the kitchen with a few staples? Check out Elizabeth White’s (Toyama-ken, 1995-98), delicious Sausage & Tortellini soup recipe, inspired by her grandma Mary.

- After participating in the JETAA Regional Technology Conference, JETAA NY and JetWit webmaster Lee-Sean Huang (Oita-ken, 2003-06) reports from Portland, Oregon on what he calls some of the “best Thai food I’ve ever had outside of Thailand.”

- Check in on Kevin Kajitani (Kyogo-ken, 2006-07) and his experiences with New Year’s traditions in Japan.

- Learn how Robert Weston (Nara-ken, 2002-04) deals with writer’s block and his obscure novel recommendations in his online interview with WriterGirl.

- Snow in Japan is a very different affair than it is in New York, as you can see in enviable fashion on JET alum Toby Weymiller’s blog.

Here’s the latest SOFT POWER/HARD TRUTHS column in the Daily Yomiuri by Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99), author of Japanamerica, this one whether Japan, like Fonzie in the epic sitcom Happy Days, has “jumped the shark.”

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/arts/20100122TDY11003.htm

Also, fyi, Roland is now down in Miami for the Super Bowl (his sister works for the NFL!) hanging out with his pal Pete Townsend of The Who which will be providing the halftime entertainment.  Here’s the post from Roland’s blog:  http://japanamerica.blogspot.com/2010/02/super-bowl-in-south-beach.html

Benjamin Davis (ALT Chiba-ken, 2006-07, CIR/PA Chiba Kencho, 2007-09) is a freelance writer/researcher, translator, renaissance man and jack-of-all-trades based in rural Chiba-ken.  He can be contacted at davis.benjamin.j@gmail.com and is always on the lookout for new and interesting projects.

“Setsubun, Bean-tossing, and the Old Japanese Calendar”

This February 3rd, when he gets home from work, my friend Mr. Watanabe will be chased out of his own house, by his own children, who will shout at him and throw dried beans in his face.

No, this is not some clever new trick on the children’s part to get back at him for enforcing their bedtimes. On the contrary, it will be something he planned in concert with them days earlier. He himself will be wearing a demon mask, his wife will be encouraging the children on in the background, and the shouts in question will be repeated cries of “Demons out, fortune in!”

You see, this bean-throwing and shouting is actually an ancient Japanese tradition called “Setsubun” (節分). It is a ritual whose objective is to chase out the malevolent spirits that may have built up like dust bunnies in the dark corners of the house over the year and invite in good fortune for the coming year.

To make the experience more symbolically tangible, a male member of the house may dress up as Read More

The latest issue of JQ (JETAA NY Quarterly) Magazine has hit the stands, and now Editor Justin Tedaldi (CIR Kobe-shi, 2000-01) working on the next issue and seeking writers.  Read on for more info.  (It also actually stands on its own as a great list of JET-relevant things and interesting JET alums.)

Hi, Brainstorm Crew!

Hope everyone’s enjoying the start of the new year (a link to JQ’s current issue is here in case you haven’t seen it yet, thanks always for your contributions and ideas and feel to link the new issue to your own sites/blogs to promote us). Below are the story ideas needing takers for our March 2010 issue and beyond. De wa…

Deadlines are as follows:

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5: Registering a story assignment with me at magazine@jetaany.org, or pitching an idea of your own for approval. All suggestions are welcome. We’ve been picking up more new writers with each issue, and I encourage all first-timers whether you consider yourself a seasoned writer or not. (Just mind the deadlines!)

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14: Deadline for submitting a final draft of your story. Extensions will be granted on a case-by-case basis, less so for new writers.

I would also greatly appreciate added assistance with the following:

AD SALES CALLS: More sales means more JETAANY-sponsored events.  It takes under two minutes to get an answer in most cases.  Write for more info.

COPY EDITING/PROOFREADING: For those of you who like reading this thing cover to cover. Multiple times.

YOUR OWN STORY IDEAS: Anything’s fair game! Some of our most interesting material comes from suggestions from our more dedicated readers.

Now the fun stuff. Below are the story ideas. Thanks for reading and providing your support, and e-mail at magazine@jetaany.org with any other questions/ideas.

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

CONSULATE GENERAL JAPAN CARAVAN

This is a decade-plus program run by New York’s Consulate General of Japan that sends consulate staff (American and Japanese) to New York high schools and junior high schools to introduce students to Japanese culture. Earlier this month, I participated as a volunteer and enjoyed taking part in a Q&A with a very enthusiastic anime/manga club and faculty. The purpose of this article will be to increase awareness of the program so more JETAA members can get involved.

ASIA SOCIETY

Earlier this month NYC’s Asia Society held a concert called “Hogaku,” or Japanese folk instruments played with modern flair. We’ve never profiled Asia Society, so this would be a great time to find out more about how they select their Japanese attractions and exhibitions. www.asiasociety.org

TENRI CULTURAL INSTITUTE

Tenri Cultural Institute is a non-profit organization with a mission to promote the study of Japanese language and the appreciation of international art forms. Based in Greenwich Village, it also houses the Tenrikyo Church, which has its own interesting history. http://www.tenri.org/

Japan Nite 2010 at Bowery Ballroom

Annual concert featuring indie acts from Japan. This year’s edition will be held Sunday, 3/21 at Bowery Ballroom. I’m looking for a preview piece con the history of the festival with quotes from either members of one of the groups or the promoters. (Info for all acts at ticket homepage below.

Lineup: Red Bacteria Vacuum / Omodaka / JinnnyOops! / Okamato’s

http://www.boweryballroom.com/event/4053

Japan Society’s Spring 2010 Performing Arts Schedule

This season features kyogen, live theater and music. Am open to profiles/reviews of any of the following listed at the page below.

http://www.japansociety.org/performingarts

Exhibit: Kuniyoshi Monster Prints‏ at Japan Society – PREVIEW OR REVIEW

Graphic Heroes, Magic Monsters: Japanese Prints by Utagawa Kuniyoshi from the Arthur R. Miller Collection, March 12-June 13, 2010, at Japan Society Gallery

Thrashing sea creatures, samurai warriors, and a giant, looming skeleton are among the distinguishing subjects of the brashest of Japan’s Ukiyo-e masters, Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797–1861), whose populist oeuvre is to be presented by Japan Society Gallery from March 12 to June 13, 2010.

Fresh from its spring 2009 showing at London’s Royal Academy of Arts, where it was the surprise smash hit of the season, Graphic Heroes, Magic Monsters: Japanese Prints by Utagawa Kuniyoshi from the Arthur R. Miller Collection marks the first major exhibition of Kuniyoshi’s work in the United States in nearly 30 years.  The exhibition has been organized by the Royal Academy in collaboration with Arthur R. Miller and The British Museum.  The vast majority of the 150 color woodblock prints on display are from the Arthur R. Miller Collection, New York, generously loaned to Japan Society by the American Friends of the British Museum.

ISSHONI LONDON – JET Alum Vanessa Villalobos

London JET alum’s blog: events, news, review and interviews. I met her back in December and this would be a good Q&A piece for any JETs wanting to learn more about how our alumni groups operate overseas.

http://www.isshonilondon.co.uk/

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Isshoni-London/119415767689

http://twitter.com/IsshoniVanessa

Read More

Click here to SUBSCRIBE via PayPal

Editor: Justin Tedaldi – magazine@jetaany.org

JAN/FEB 2010 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page 3……..Letter From the Editor / Letter From the Secretary

Page 4……..Nippon News Blotter / JetWit Baby

Page 5……..Peace Corps Calls Out to JETs by Marea Pariser

Page 6……..Gearing Up for Grad School by Aly Woolfrey

Page 6……..At the ISE Cultural Gallery by Michael Glumac

Page 7……..Harumi Kurihara: The JQ Interview by Yukari Sakamoto

Page 8……..Nihonjin in New York – Featuring Filmmaker Takayuki Tanaka by Stacy Smith

Page 9……..Lisa Katayama on 2-D Love, Japan Pop by Crystal Wong

Page 9……..The Legacy of Tokyo Story by David Kowalsky

Page 10……JETlog – Featuring John Ellis-Guardiola

Page 10……The Language(s) of Love: Wendy Nelson Tokunaga by Nichole Knight

Page 11…….Bridge Building with Filmmaker Aaron Woolfolk by Lyle Sylvander

Page 12……The Funny Page

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

Joshikai SF:  A new meet-up for Japanese women and women connected to Japan

The latest from JET alum Michael Auslin, a professor of Japanese history and politics and currently the Director of Japanese Studies for the American Enterprise Institute in D.C.  This one part of The AEI Outlook Series.

The U.S.-Japan Alliance:  Relic of a By-gone Era?

http://www.aei.org/outlook/100929

by JET alum Michael Auslin

The U.S.-Japan Treaty of Mutual Cooperation was signed in Washington, D.C., fifty years ago this month. Few alliances last half a century. The fact that this one has is a testament to its strength, but it is also the result of East Asia’s failure to develop stable political and security relationships in the decades after World War II. It also reflects Japan’s postwar political realities and the choices successive Japanese governments made to maintain the country’s largely pacifist global role. Yet, the pressures on the alliance today raise questions about how well it can adapt to changes inside Japan, the United States, and throughout Asia. If the alliance is to survive, how should it change to best serve the evolving national interests of Japan and the United States?

Key points in this Outlook:

* The U.S.-Japan Treaty of Mutual Cooperation has helped maintain peace in Asia for the past fifty years.

* Security-related issues regarding North Korea’s nuclear-weapons program and China’s growing military raise important political questions for the future of the alliance.

* Today, the Obama and Hatoyama administrations must decide if they view the alliance as a key element in their security strategies or as an outdated relic of a bygone era.

To read the whole paper, go here:  http://www.aei.org/outlook/100929

After the Walkman and the Prius, Is it time for the West to adopt the Confucianism from the East?  Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99), author of Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture Has Invaded the US, asks that in the latest issue of AdBusters. As a part of the magazine’s Big Ideas of 2010 issue, Kelts challenges the West: “Let’s listen to our neighbors in the East. A culture that prizes quiet contemplation, self-abnegation, community and stability should not threaten us in the West. We can do better if we learn from one another. And with our entire planet threatened by extinction, we need to.”

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

Here’s the latest SOFT POWER/HARD TRUTHS column in the Daily Yomiuri by Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99), author of Japanamerica, this one about hybrid people, hybrid music and hybridization as a trend.

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/arts/20091218TDY11001.htm

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

Elizabeth White (Toyama-ken, 1995-98), the former Media Coordinator for JETAA Southern California, is now a featured writer for WineTimeTv.net.  Have a look:

http://winetimetv.net/home/contributors

BAPCPA Man and Bankruptcy Bill are cartoons created by Steven Horowitz (Aichi-ken, 1992-94) and Gideon Kendall.  For more cartoons, original bankruptcy haiku and even a bankruptcy country song, go to bankruptcybill.us.

Do you work in bankruptcy or restructuring?  Now you can join the JET Alumni Restructuring & Bankruptcy Group on LinkedIn.

Additionally, if anyone would like to take a stab at translating the cartoon into Japanese for JetWit’s Japanese fans out there, feel free to post in the comments section of this post.  Some cultural explanation might be helpful as well, given that Japanese bankruptcy laws are very different than the U.S.

Author, manuscript consultant and blogger Liz Sheffield (Hokkaio-ken, Sapporo-shi, 1993-95) has a great post on her blog Motherlogue about a new book out titled Midori by Moonlight by Wendy Nelson Tokunaga.  Here’s Liz’s explanation of the background:

About a year ago I read Wendy Nelson Tokunaga’s debut novel, Midori by Moonlight. I was thrilled to see that she had a new release out in November — Love In Translation. Both of her books cover topics near and dear to my heart: Japanese culture, the expatriate experience and cross-cultural romance.

Love In Translation intrigued me because the story is told from the perspective of a foreign woman living in Japan, something with which I have personal experience! As I read the book, I had a wonderful sense of being reconnected to my own experiences in Japan — from the visits to a ryokan (Japanese hotel) to eating delicious shu-cream to blunders in communication through a foreign language. I was also reminded of what I learned about myself thanks to the joy and hardship of navigating a culture so different from my own.

In my interview with her at Motherlogue, Wendy offers insight about her experiences in Japan, about publishing two novels and combining her vocal talents with her husband’s musical talents to create an enka song (“Nozomi No Hoshi“) as the soundtrack for Love In Translation. Details about how to request a copy of “Nozomi No Hoshi” on CD, are included in the interview.

• Read the interview with Wendy Nelson Tokunaga, author of “Love in Translation.”
• Read an interview with fellow JET alum Suzanne Kamata about Suzanne’s book Call Me Okaasan:  Adventures in Multicultural Mothering.
• Follow Motherlogue here:  http://motherlogue.wordpress.com

Here’s a nice review of Japanamerica (by Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99) on the blog Fan-to-Pro:  The Blog of Professional Geekery, which describes itself as “a blog about jobs, career and economics for ambitious fans, progeeks, Otariimen and other members of the Modern Literati.”

http://www.fantopro.com/blog/2009/12/book-review-japanamerica.html

Just in time for the holidays, in case you’re looking for that special gift for that special JET friend or Friend of JET!

Just heard from Aaron Woolfolk (Kochi-ken, 1991-93), writer and director of the film The Harimaya Bridge (starring Ben Guillory, Saki Takaoka, Misa Shimizu, and Danny Glover, who is also the Executive Producer), that the film is now available on DVD in Japan.

JetWit would love to have a copy of the DVD for JETAA NY purposes, so if you’re in Japan and can get a hold of a The Harimaya Bridge DVD, let me know.  (jetwit [/at/] jetwit [/dot/] com.)

Meanwhile, the Aaron has continued showing The Harimaya Bridge at film festivals around the U.S. and reports that the film is due out in theaters in the U.S. in the spring.

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

For JetWit readers working in law or financial services, you may be interested to know that attorney Jonathan Golub (Saitama-ken, 1996-97) was a major contributor to a recent article on the topic of hedge funds and a proposed law that would require many hedge fund managers to register with the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC).

Global Note:  House of Representatives to Consider Private Fund Investment Advisers Registration Act of 2009 (November 2009)

http://www.thshlaw.com/documents/DEC_2009/GlobalNote-Private_Fund_Investment_Advisers_Registration_Act.pdf

Jonathan is a senior financial services associate at Tannenbaum Helpern Syracuse & Hirschtritt LLP. He advises investment advisers on a wide variety of matters including private investment fund formation and compliance with securities and commodities regulations.

Here’s a column by Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99), author of Japanamerica, in the Japanese-language travel magazine, PaperSky (http://www.paper-sky.com/blog/).  It’s a “mediation on hybridization and travel” and includes photos of the Tokyo, Sydney and NYC skylines.

BAPCPA Man and Bankruptcy Bill are cartoons created by Steven Horowitz (Aichi-ken, 1992-94) and Gideon Kendall.  For more cartoons, original bankruptcy haiku and even a bankruptcy country song, go to bankruptcybill.us.

Do you work in bankruptcy or restructuring?  Now you can join the JET Alumni Restructuring & Bankruptcy Group on LinkedIn.

Additionally, if anyone would like to take a stab at translating the cartoon into Japanese for JetWit’s Japanese fans out there, feel free to post in the comments section of this post.  Some cultural explanation might be helpful as well, given that Japanese bankruptcy laws are very different than the U.S.

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

Laura Popp (Mie-ken, 2009-Present) is a current JET who writes fantasy and science fiction for children and young adults, and is an occasional playwright/film maker.  Her short work includes a short story titled “In theShadow Realm” and a documentary she made in Malawi.  To read about her amazing adventures all over Japan, go to her blog at laurajanepopp.blogspot.com. (And check out the Authors/Books section of the JetWit Library for a list of more writers in the JET-o-sphere.)

Hello again!  This week I would like to report on the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) conference in Yokohama.  It actually occurred on November 14^th, but, alas, I have been ill with swine flu and other “opportunistic infections” so I was unable to report.  But now you get to hear all about it!

For those of you who don`t know, SCBWI is a great group to get involved with if you write for kids.  They have lots of events, critique groups, contests, and resources.  Here is their website: http://www.scbwi.jp/

A note on transportation. There are many events for writers and translators in Japan, but most are confined to the big cities. For those of you who live in a small town like me, you may be wondering how you will ever get to this wonderful career-building opportunities and still stay within your tight school-teacher budget.  Fear not!

There is a wonderful, often overlooked form of transportation in Japan called the night bus.  It may seem like a pain, but the bus I took from my home in Nabari to Yokohama was very comfortable.  The bus ride was about eight hours, so if I were more accustomed to sleeping on a bus, I probably could have been well rested when we arrived very early in the morning.  The earliness gave me plenty of time for sightseeing before the conference, and since my bus home didn`t leave until 11:00pm.  Plus it cost less than half than taking the shinkansen, and there`s no need to pay for a hotel!

That said, I was very tired when I arrived back in Nabari at 7:00am.  Fortunately it was Sunday, but I would not recommend taking the night bus if you have to go to work the next day.  Also, be warned, not all night buses are created equal. Check to see if the bus you want to ride has reclining seats or not, and if there is a bathroom on board or if they stop ever few hours, turn on the lights, and have people jostling past you trying to get in and out constantly.  If you are interested in taking a night bus somewhere, I would recommend contacting the main bus station in your town.  Most of them don’t speak English, but a Japanese friend helped me get the information and make reservations over the phone.  You may be surprised how many places offer night buses to common destinations such as Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka, etc.

(FYI, Yokohama is famous for its Read More

The November 2009 (#2) issue of the Sake World E-mail Newsletter by JET alum and leading sake expert John Gauntner (aka “The Sake Guy”) is now available online.  In this issue:

Tasting  with Mr. T
Did You Know? Sake Brand Name Characters
New Section: Sake Basics – Junmai-shu
Guided Sakagura Tours
Sake Professional Courses in Japan: Last Call!
Holiday Gift Idea: Announcing The Sake Dictionary!!!
Odds-n-Ends

Additional links:

Sake World Website
More About Us
Archive

Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99), author of Japanamerica, wrote this story about Japan’s unique generation gap for Psychology Today.  According to Roland, “things keep changing, but the fundamentals remain the same.  Japanese youth are enacting a kind of Bartelby Rebeillion–checking out, passively, to check in.”

Here’s the link to the post:  http://japanamerica.blogspot.com/2009/12/psychology-today.html

Here are two videos of Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99), author of Japanamerica, from a keynote speech he gave at the University of Missouri in St. Louis back in October.

In the first, he talks about the connection between manga and anime and traditional Japanese line-based aesthetics–or what Takashi Murakami now calls “Superflat”:

And in the second video, he discusses the fundamental differences between American visual iconography and Japanese sensibilities, with a reference to Pokemon in America and McDonald’s in Japan:

JetWit Blog Beat by Crystal Wong (Iwate-ken, 2002-04) is a recurring item featuring posts from the blogs of various JET alumni.  Crystal is a former English-language writer for Kyodo News. She now works in online marketing in New York and relishes her constant hunt for the best cheap(ish) eats in the city.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving weekend and that you’re all enjoying autumn. Let’s take a peek at what our favorite JET bloggers have been posting lately.

JET alum Suzanne Kamata (Tokushima-ken, 1988-90) at Gaijin Mama shares a decidedly Japanese first in twenty one years of living in Japan, as well as an eye opening take on a day with a wheelchair in Japan.

Kevin Kajitani (Kyogo-ken, 2006-07) over at iSpeakJapanese has moved to Japan – check out the first video from his new home here.

JET alum Lars Martinson finishes up his series on the beauty of East Asian calligraphy. Check out part one and part two.

Here’s another delicious recipe derived from a productive bout of insomnia from Elizabeth White (Toyama-ken, 1995-98), adventure writer.

Just in time for the holidays – JET alum Chen Reichert has new holiday cards at botodesigns.

BAPCPA Man and Bankruptcy Bill are cartoons created by Steven Horowitz (Aichi-ken, 1992-94) and Gideon Kendall.  For more cartoons, original bankruptcy haiku and even a bankruptcy country song, go to bankruptcybill.us.

Do you work in bankruptcy or restructuring?  Now you can join the JET Alumni Restructuring & Bankruptcy Group on LinkedIn.

(Click image above to see larger version.)

Additionally, if anyone would like to take a stab at translating the cartoon into Japanese for JetWit’s Japanese fans out there, feel free to post in the comments section of this post.  Some cultural explanation might be helpful as well, given that Japanese bankruptcy laws are very different than the U.S.

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

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/arts/20091120TDY13001.htm

FYI, images below are 1) Commodore Perry’s bow, 2) Obama’s bow and 3) Political commentary from Perry’s day.

*****

******

JET alum and technical writer David Kowalsky has a nice book review on the book Twitterville:  How Businesses Can Thrive in the New Global Neighborhoods in the latest edition of Sound Views, the newsletter for the Puget Sound Chapter of the Society for Technical Writers.

Here’s the link:  http://bit.ly/3hix5A.

Have a look and feel free to share your thoughts on Twitter as well.  Also, you can follow JetWit via Twitter at http://twitter.com/jetwit.

JET alum Aaron Woolfolk‘s film The Harimaya Bridge, starring starring Ben Guillory, Saki Takaoka, Misa Shimizu, and Danny Glover, is making its New York debut on Sunday December 6 (with Q&A and cocktail reception to follow) and Sunday December 13 as part of the African Diaspora Film Festival.  (See the JetWit post about the upcoming event here for details and ticket info.)

The film had a nationwide theatrical release in Japan beginning in June, and Aaron was involved in a five-week promotional tour in Japan for the film.  What is it like for a former JET to go on a five-week promotional tour in Japan?  Well, Aaron captured much of it in photographs available on Facebook along with informative and entertaining captions.  (FYI, you don’t need to have an account to view the pictures.)

Here’s the link:  http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=124235&id=833564815&l=9d23bf0eb9

And here’s Aaron’s intro commentary on the photos along with a couple samples of what you’ll see:

Five weeks in Japan in May and June of 2009, traveling all around the country doing promotion in the run-up to the June 13th nationwide opening of “The Harimaya Bridge.” Most days were spent doing loads of media interviews and promotional appearances. This here is just a small sampling, as I wasn’t able to come anywhere close to capturing everything with a camera. It was hectic and exhausting…but talking to the media and connecting with audiences only reaffirmed my desire to live my life telling stories via film, television and theater. :-)

*******

***********

Here’s a radio interview Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99), author of Japanamerica, did in Tokyo this past weekend with Tyler Brule, founder and editor of the UK-based Monocle magazine, about manga in Japan and overseas, and Japanamerica:

http://www.monocle.com/The-Monocle-Weekly

The Japanamerica segment is introduced at 1:00 and starts at 22:00

WITLife is a periodic series written by professional Translator/Interpreter/Writer Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken, 20 00-03).  Recently she’s been watching Fujisankei’s newscast in Japanese and sharing some of the interesting tidbits and trends together with her own observations.

Last night I attended the world premiere of Talk Like Singing, the first-ever original Japanese musical to premiere in the U.S.  I had high hopes for this production due to the involvement of several big names in Japan.  The star of the show, Shingo Katori, is a member of the ubiquitous boy band SMAP, and though he is less well-known than heartthrob Kimutaku or recently headline-making Kusanagi he holds his own thanks to his eccentricity.  Back in my JET days, he adopted the persona of “Shingo Mama,” and sang of his cooking skills, eating breakfast together and properly greeting everyone with a genki “oha!”  This abbreviation for ohayou or “good morning” and its accompanying hand motion became all the rage at the workplace and beyond.

This song was composed by Yasuharu Konishi, who is in charge of the show’s music and musical direction.  He was Read More

The November 2009 issue of the Sake World E-mail Newsletter by JET alum and leading sake expert John Gauntner (aka “The Sake Guy”) is now available online.  In this issue:

It Just Gets Worse
Did You Know? Rice Harvest Timiing
Guided Sakagura Tours
Sake and Pottery Seminar
Sake Professional Courses in Japan
Learn More About Sake through  eBooks
Odds-n-Ends

Additional links:

Sake World Website
More About Us
Archive

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

Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99), author of Japanamerica, was interviewed by Japan Society of New York at the New York Anime Festival 2009 which was held September 25-27 at the Jacob Javits Convention Center.  Let’s go to the video tape:

Part 1 of the interview:

Part 2 of the interview:

James Kennedy (Nara-ken, 2004-06), author of The Order of Odd-Fish, is seeking art submissions from JET alumni for his Chicago gallery show in Spring 2010.

To get a sense of James’ aesthetic and sensibilities (or if you just like reading extremely funny and dramatic stories), by all means read The Order of Odd-Fish.  Or watch clips of his over-the-top “speech” to the American Librarians Association as well as his audience-gripping reading performed at the JET Alumni Author Showcase last March.

In JetWit’s humble opinion, if James Kennedy is putting an event together, you will benefit greatly on many levels and attain new levels of happiness by participating in it in any way you can.  Keep reading and you’ll understand.

Exciting news!

For about a year now I’ve been receiving stupendous fan art for my novel “The Order of Odd-Fish.” Artists like these deserve broader recognition. So this spring I’m planning a gallery show / extravaganza of “Odd-Fish” art in Chicago!

Are you an artist? Do you want to make something for the show? Everyone’s invited. Learn more here:

http://jameskennedy.com/2009/11/03/call-for-submissions-odd-fish-art-show/

I’m working with award-winning Chicago theater group Collaboraction to pull this off. It won’t be just an art show — we’re going to convert their space into Eldritch City and throw a Dome of Doom costumed dance party! We’re going to be bringing schools in for performances and writing workshops as well.

Will there be troupes of foppish dancing cockroaches? Will you be able to venture into the very maw of the All-Devouring Mother itself? You’ll have to come and see!

The opening will be sometime in late March or early April, to celebrate the debut of the “Odd-Fish” paperback. The deadline for submission of art is March 1.

I’ve already received lots of great art! Check out Max Pitchkites’ marvelous cut-paper illustrations — he’s doing one for every chapter:

http://jameskennedy.com/2009/10/29/the-odd-fish-art-of-max-pitchkites/

Feel free to pass this on to whomever you think might be interested in doing art for the show. And don’t hesitate to contact me if you have questions!

Click here to read more about the show:

http://www.facebook.com/l/c93ba;tinyurl.com/yl5tjlk

Thanks,

James

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

A story just published in the new December issue of VANITY FAIR chronicles the way Japanese kawaii, or super-cuteness, has conquered America: http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2009/12/cuteness-200912

Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99), author of Japanamerica, is quoted fairly liberally via an interview with Vanity Fair writer Jim Windolf.  Here’s a sample:

“There’s no doubt that cuteness has been a part of the Japanese aesthetic since the postwar years,” says Roland Kelts, the author of the 2006 book Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture Has Invaded the U.S. “One theory, which has been proposed by a lot of Japanese artists and academics, is that, after the humiliation and emasculation of Japan in the postwar years, Japan developed this quasi-queer position of ‘little brother’ or ‘little boy.’ If you become ‘little brother’ or ‘little boy,’ the only way you can get big brother’s or fat man’s attention is by being so cute or puppy-like that he has to take care of you.”

Roland also recently returned to Japan from a book promotion tour in Korea.

Thought I’d share this recent profile about the Bankruptcy Bill cartoons written by South Carolina bankruptcy attorney Russell A. DeMott for the Bankruptcy Law Network, the top consumer bankruptcy law blog.

• “Bankruptcy Bill and BAPCPA Man:  Cartoons come to bankruptcy”

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

Writers and blogger Liz Sheffield (Hokkaio-ken, Sapporo-shi, 1993-95) has a great post on her blog Motherlogue about a new book out titled America Fuji by Sara Backer along with a separate post in which she interviews Backer.

A few weeks ago I finished reading American Fuji by Sara Backer.  From the moment I saw this book on the shelf of my local, independent bookstore, I knew I had to read it. It’s about an American woman, Gaby Stanton, who is living in Shizuoka, Japan and teaching university-level English…that is until she gets fired and begins working for a fantasy funeral company, Gone With the Wind. Stanton meets Alex Thorn, a father who comes to Japan to answer questions about his son’s death while he was a student at the university where Gaby was employed.  Gaby and Alex are just two of the wonderful, creative cast of characters that Backer weaves into this compelling story.

• Read the rest of Liz Sheffield’s post on the book “American Fuji.”
• Read Liz’s interview with “American Fuji” author Sara Backer.
• Read Liz’s interview with fellow JET alum Suzanne Kamata about Suzanne’s book Call Me Okaasan:  Adventures in Multicultural Mothering.
• Follow Liz’s blog here:  http://motherlogue.wordpress.com

Liz has also written the following essays:

• Co-Sleeping Quandary, Seattle Woman (February 2009)
• Dinner Table, The Sun (Readers Write, March 2009)
• What Is The Kanji For Brother, Honorary Mention, JET Essay Contest (August 2009) Note: essay is on page 182
• Harmony at Home, Wilmington Parent (August 2009)
• Stage Fright, YOUMaga (September 2009)

and short fiction:

• Broken Mug, Literary Mama (May 2008)