I’ll Make It Myself!: Raspberry-Almond Mini Baked Oatmeals


L.M. Zoller (CIR Ishikawa-ken, Anamizu, 2009-11) is the editor of The Ishikawa JET Kitchen: Cooking in Japan Without a Fight. Ze also writes I’ll Make It Myself!, a blog about food culture in Japan and the US; curates The Rice Cooker Chronicles, a series of essays by JETs and JET alumni on the theme of cooking/eating and being alone in Japan; and admins The JET Alumni Culinary Group on LinkedIn.
New Rice Cooker Chronicles submissions always welcome. Just e-mail it to jetwit [at] jetwit.com.
Note: if you’re in Japan and sans raspberries, never fear! There are plenty of seasonal and local adaptations.
One of my go-to breakfast recipes is Heidi Swanson’s baked oatmeal (via Lottie & Doof). Extremely versatile, you can swap in any seasonal local fruit you like–in Japan, I often used persimmons, apples, or figs instead of bananas on the bottom; diced apples, raisins, or mikan mixed in when blueberries were out of season; and, best of all, it fit in a moven in a 20×20 cm (8×8 in) pan. The recipe will always remind me of my Kanazawa kitchen.
New JETAA UK Mentoring Scheme


Via the extremely wonderful JETAA UK website:
New JETAA Mentoring Scheme
JETAA UK is keen to find new ways to help returning JETs with their job search if/when they return to the UK. One popular idea is to set up a mentoring scheme to link returning JETs with other ex-JETs that have already established their careers in the UK.
We are looking for mentors from various working sectors with (in principle) five years work experience post-JET. This is a chance for you to build your leadership skills while giving back to the JET community. Please, please get involved, and pass this on to other ex-JET friends that might be interested.
For possible mentors:
You can sign up to the scheme here:
***Please note your personal information will not be used for any purpose other than the administration of the Mentor Program.***
For returning JETs:
We have a separate sign up sheet for you here:
The deadline for mentor sign-ups is August 30th, 2013. We plan to assign mentors and mentees within two weeks of that date.
*****Also from the JETAA UK website**********
Questionnaire for Careers Networking Events
JETAA UK wants to support JETs with their post-JET careers and provide nationwide professional networking opportunities and JET connect events for its members. In order to do this, we want to know what professional and regional areas you would be interested in and whether you would be willing to help out in any way.
Please fill in this quick questionnaire to help us help you!
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1-Noev_dsw9Q-NeDAcxQPIOJgf_3QsVTUTP02idrQLmc/viewform
Contact Sarah Parsons, National Careers and Networking Coordinator for more info. on careers@jetaa.org.uk.
Around Japan in 47 curries: Iwate cheese


Tom Baker (Chiba, 1989-91) is writing a 47-part weekly series of posts on his Tokyo Tom Baker blog, in which he samples and comments on a curry from a different prefecture each week. Here’s an excerpt from his ninth installment, about Iwate Prefecture.
When I first came to Japan, I found some Koiwai cheese in a supermarket and mistook it for an American product. After all, Kiowa – as I initially misread the name – has an American ring. (The Kiowa are a Native American tribe.)
However, I now know the history of Koiwai cheese – and its unusual name – goes all the way back to the adventures of the Choshu Five, a group of young men who secretly left Japan in 1863 to study in Britain. After their return, they became leading figures in the country’s rapid modernization. One of them, Masaru Inoue, is remembered as “the father of the Japanese railways.”
In 1888, Inoue visited Iwate to inspect the progress of railway construction there. According to the Koiwai website, the volcanic soil and barren-looking windswept terrain struck him as a promising area for ranching…
WIT Life is a periodic series written by professional Writer/Interpreter/Translator Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken CIR, 2000-03). She starts her day by watching Fujisankei’s newscast in Japanese, and here she shares some of the interesting tidbits and trends along with her own observations.

Director Toshiaki Toyoda (center) with Japan Society Senior Film Program Officer Samuel Jamier (left).
Japan’s Society fabulous film festival Japan Cuts is back and better than ever! The 2013 lineup includes 24 films, some new and some older, all depicting Japanese society in the way that only Japanese cinema can. This year’s festival kicked off last Thursday night with the movie I’M FLASH from Japan Cuts favorite Toshiaki Toyoda. This director has attended previous festivals (2010’s Hanging Garden, 2012’s Monster’s Ball), and he was on hand this year as well to receive an award from Japan Society Senior Film Program Officer, Samuel Jamier (who announced this will be his last year with the festival. His unique, witty introductions to each film will be missed).
Toyoda’s film stars Tatsuya Fujiwara, who appeared in the film Parade featured at Japan Cuts 2010, as the leader Rui of a religious sect called “Life is Beautiful.” Rui has inherited the family business but is becoming disenchanted with it, and his bad behavior leads to a wild night with grave consequences. The film takes place in Okinawa, and the presence of the sea is so prominent that it is almost an additional character. Aside from Rui, we get to know Read More
Job: SNYS Editor (NYC)


Thanks to JET alum Paul Benson for sharing this jet-relevant job listing. Posted by Kim ‘Kay’ Monroe (Miyazaki-shi, 1995 -97). Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.
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Position: SNYS English Page Editor
Posted by: Shukan NY Seikatsu (週刊NY生活)
Type: N/A
Location: New York City
Salary: See below
Start Date: N/A
Overview:
JET alum freelance translator and journalist Paul Benson is seeking a replacement for himself at Shukan New York Seikatsu as he prepares to move on to grad school.
New York Seikatsu Press is looking for an English page editor. The Shukan NY Seikatsu (週刊NY生活) paper has broad readership in the United States and Japan. This position is ideal for someone interested in journalism, editing, and Japanese-English translation. The applicant must be able to commute into New York City once per week.
* Prior professional translation and journalism experience is recommended, but not required. Read More
Job: Assistant News Program Director Japanese TV (DC)


Thanks to JET alum Nancy Ku for sharing this jet-relevant job listing. Posted by Kim ‘Kay’ Monroe (Miyazaki-shi, 1995 -97). Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.
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Position: Assistant News Program Director
Posted by: Fuji Television
Type: N/A
Location: Washington, DC
Salary: N/A
Start Date: N/A
Overview:
Fuji Television, Japan’s largest commercial television network, through its US subsidiary, Fuji Sankei Communications International, seeks an Assistant News Program Director to assist with daily news coverage in our Washington, DC bureau.
The successful candidate will have a keen interest in international relations, US-Japan relations, the domestic politics of both the United States and Japan, and Japanese culture. He/she will also possess intermediate proficiency in speaking and reading Japanese. In addition, we seek a curious, forward-thinking individual who is able to work effectively under deadline, can digest significant amounts of information quickly, and works well with others. Read More
New website for JETAA New South Wales (formerly JETAA Sydney)


Posted by Eden Law to the JETAA New South Wales (formerly JETAA Sydney) Facebook group:
So, at long last, we’ve redesigned our website, and it comes with a brand-spanking new URL: www.jetaansw.org (it was www.sydneyjetaa.org before). There will be a lot of cross-promotion and sharing of information between our Facebook Group and our website, including some content that’s exclusive only to either.
We’d love to hear what you think and suggestions about what you’d like to see in the future. Thanks!
JQ Magazine: Book Review – ‘From Postwar to Postmodern, Art in Japan 1945-1989: Primary Documents’



“What emerges from the multitude of ideas here is that art in Japan from this period is a visual record of repercussions that are still being felt today.” (Duke University Press)
By Jessica Sattell (Fukuoka-ken, 2007-08) for JQ magazine. Jessica is a freelance writer and a graduate student in arts journalism. She was previously the publicist for Japan-focused publishers Stone Bridge Press and Chin Music Press.
The abstract and avant-garde sculptor, painter and all-around revolutionary Japanese artist Tarō Okamoto famously said, “Art is an explostion” (geijutsu wa bakuhatsu da).
“Explosive” barely describes the energy and innovation in Japanese art in the latter half of the twentieth century. As From Postwar to Postmodern, Art in Japan 1945-1989: Primary Documents discusses, the decades between the end of World War II and the end of the Cold War marked an intensely fruitful period of groundbreaking creativity in Japan. The excitement, anxiety, and electricity that surged against the rigidity of old structures propelled Japanese art and artists into a much greater international conversation.
Published earlier this year by the Museum of Modern Art in New York and distributed by Duke University Press, this hefty tome accompanied the fall 2012-winter 2013 MoMA exhibition Tokyo 1955-1970: A New Avant Garde. There’s been a huge wave of both popular and scholarly interest in Japanese modern and contemporary art and dozens of high-profile shows at major North American museums and galleries, but the MoMA exhibit was the first to examine the “postwar” period that had been previously underrepresented. Part of this may be that the term “postwar” is tricky to define; the effects of WWII are undoubtedly still felt today and many argue that Japan is still “postwar.”
This book provides a solid foundation for an exploration of the issues and precedents leading up to the transformation of “postwar” art into the “postmodern” time. But, rather than simply rehash existing scholarship about Japanese history from 1945-1989, the book’s co-editors allow the artists, philosophers, critics and curators of this historical time to speak for themselves. The bulk of From Postwar to Postmodern includes a huge and multifaceted collection of primary source materials—personal essays, artist statements, interviews, magazine articles, interviews, critiques and manifestos—many of which have been translated into English for the very first time.
Job: Admin Asst for Japanese Co. (D.C.)


Via JETAA DC. Posted by Kim ‘Kay’ Monroe (Miyazaki-shi, 1995 -97). Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.
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Position: Administrative Assistant
Posted by: N/A
Type: N/A
Location: Washington, DC
Salary: N/A
Start Date: N/A
Overview:
A major, multinational Japanese company is seeking an administrative assistant in their 10-person Washington, D.C. office. Job responsibilities include, but are not limited to: accounts payable clerical work, coordinating the logistics for receiving guests to the office, and maintaining the schedule of the General Manager. Minimum requirements include a Bachelor’s degree, attention to detail, and experience with the Microsoft Office suite of products. Although Japanese is not required, it is preferred. Participation in the JET Program also a plus.
JET Alumni are being given preference in the recruitment process.
Interested candidates should send their resume and cover letter to:
JETAADC
Outreach Chair, Joy Young, at
outreach@jetaadc.org
Job: ESL Assistant lecturer position at Texas A&M


Via Hinter College tesol list serve. Posted by Kim ‘Kay’ Monroe (Miyazaki-shi, 1995 -97). Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.
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Position: Assistant lecturer
Posted by: Columbia University East Asian Language and Culture
Type: Part-time
Location: Texas A&M
Salary: N/A
Start Date: N/A
Overview:
The English Language Institute (ELIN) at Texas A&M University is seeking applications for one part-time non-tenure track Assistant Lecturer benefits-eligible position beginning fall 2013.
A Master’s degree in Teaching English as a Second Language or a Master’s degree with relevant teaching experience is required. The fall semester begins August 27, 2013.
Responsibilities: include teaching courses if requested by the Director; performing any faculty functions with the guidance and supervision of veteran Lecturer(s); substitute teaching, as necessary; tutoring students whom Lecturers identify as having English skills below program’s typical entry level or consulting with students on writing and developing English skills; assisting in the administration of standardized and diagnostic examinations; participating in faculty and committee meetings, student assessments, program events, maintaining office hours, meeting with students and colleagues as needed, working in a cross-cultural environment.
ELIN at Texas A&M University, established in 1974, and administratively housed in the College of Liberal Arts, is on the main campus in College Station, Texas. Accredited by CEA and holding memberships in UCIEP, and AAIEP, ELIN serves approximately 600 students annually. Read More
Job: Asst Director – Columbia University East Asian Language and Culture


Thanks to Fernando Rojas for sharing this listing. Posted by Kim ‘Kay’ Monroe (Miyazaki-shi, 1995 -97). Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.
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Position: Assistant Director
Posted by: Columbia University East Asian Language and Culture
Type: N/A
Location: New York, NY
Salary: N/A
Start Date: N/A
Overview:
Directly reports to the Director of the Institute for Medieval Japanese Studies (lMJS), and the EALAC Chair with oversight from the Academic Department Administrator, the Assistant Director manages all existing and new programs of the lMJS and supervises the day-to-day administration of the Institute and its staff. The Assistant Director oversees the Institute’s budget and grants; manages reconciliation in ARC and prevention of overdrafts; monitors all expenditures and ensures compliance with the policies of Columbia University and grant-making organizations; and has signature approval of all financial transactions and paperwork to the Office of the Controller and the Purchasing Department. The Assistant Director is in charge of purchasing all supplies, materials, and services, with signature approval of payments processed to Purchasing and the Office of the Controller. He/she is responsible for the maintenance of the Institute’s office in Kent Hall (Room 509), ensuring that security and upkeep are maintained. The Assistant Director is responsible for the recruitment, selection, and hiring of the institute’s part-time student staff throughout the year and for compliance with immigration laws when relevant. Read More
Job: Middle School Japanese Language Instructor (Milton, GA)


Thanks to Nico Moorman, Kawasaki (1990–1993), a Fulton County Japanese teacher, for sharing this listing. Posted by Kim ‘Kay’ Monroe (Miyazaki-shi, 1995 -97). Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.
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Position: Middle School Japanese Language Instructor
Posted by: Fulton County Schools
Type: Part Time (60%)
Location: Milton, GA
Salary: $23,400-$30,000 (health insurance, pension, and other benefits)
Start Date: August 1, 2013
Overview:
Excellent North Fulton Middle school is seeking an enthusiastic Japanese teacher for 3 classes. This is an opportunity to grow a new Japanese Language program in one of the best middle schools in Georgia. Teaching experience required. Certification preferred. Send resume to himoormansensei@gmail.com.
USJBF selects JET alum Laurel Lukaszewski for new “Strengthening the JETAA USA Network” initiative


Remember the job listing for the Part-time Project Director with the US-Japan Bridging Foundation (USJBF) to support JETAA USA growth? The USJBF has announced that it has selected Laurel Lukaszewski (ALT Kagoshima-ken, 1990-92) for the position for its new initiative “Strengthening the JETAA Network and Connecting Next Generation Leaders.”
Shojiki ni itte, it’s hard to imagine anyone better suited for the role. Laurel has maintained a strong connection with Japan and the Japan-US community since here time on the JET Program by previously serving on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Japan-America Societies (NAJAS), as the Executive Director for the Japan-America Society of Washington, D.C, and as a Program Director of the Japan-America Society in Seattle. She currently lives in Washington, D.C. where she actively participates on the Board of the National Cherry Blossom Festival and JETAADC. You can see her in this panel discussion with fellow JET alums Jim Gannon (Ehime-ken, 1992-94) and Anthony Bianchi (Aichi-ken, Inuyama-shi, 1988-89) from the 2011 JETAA National Conference in D.C.
Laurel (who is also a sculptor–see her work here) officially started working Tuesday, July 9. Here is the official announcement from the USJBF:
July 11, 2013
The U.S.-Japan Bridging Foundation (USJBF), is pleased to announce that Laurel Lukaszewski has been hired as Project Director for its new initiative “Strengthening the JETAA Network and Connecting Next Generation Leaders.” Funded by the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership (CGP), the purpose of the project is to build infrastructure in support of the Japan-Exchange and Teaching Program Alumni Association, United States of America (JETAA USA) and enhance its impact promoting U.S.-Japan relations.
Laurel is an alumna of the JET Programme (Kagoshima-ken, 1990-1992) and has a solid understanding of U.S.-Japan relations, the U.S.-Japan community and how nonprofit and membership organizations are governed and run. After completing the JET Programme and receiving an M.A. in Asian Studies, Laurel embarked on a nine-year career with the Japan-America Societies in Seattle and Washington, D.C.. In 2005, Laurel left her position as ED of the JASW to pursue a career as an artist. She has maintained her ties to the JET Programme and U.S.-Japan community by serving as an active member of the JET Application Review and Interview committees for over thirteen years. Laurel served on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Japan America Societies (NAJAS), and has been on the National Cherry Blossom Festival Board of Directors since 2002. Paige Cottingham-Streater, Executive Director of the U.S.-Japan Bridging Foundation said, “Laurel is a valuable addition to our team and will bring a unique understanding about the JET community and its potential to promote a strong U.S.-Japan relationship.”
The U.S.-Japan Bridging Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, awards scholarships to U.S. undergraduate students to study for one semester or academic year in Japan. The Foundation grows global leaders to help prepare America’s young people to assume future leadership roles in business, education, international and public affairs and other professions.
URL: http://www.bridgingfoundation.org/news/new-project-director-to-facilitate-jetaa-capacity-building
Justin’s Japan: Nippon in New York — JAPAN CUTS, Lincoln Center and Aerosmith Rock the Rising Sun



Live Your Dream: The Taylor Anderson Story premieres at Japan Society in New York July 16 as part of their annual JAPAN CUTS summer film festival. (© 2012 Global Film Network. All rights reserved.)
By JQ magazine editor Justin Tedaldi (CIR Kobe-shi, 2001-02) for Examiner.com. Visit his Japanese culture page here for related stories.
After you’ve seen the outdoor fireworks, enjoy some summer events in the cool indoors, whether it’s catching one of 20 films in Japan Society‘s annual festival or firing up the newest home video release from Aerosmith that documents the band’s triumphant return to Japan following the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.
This month’s highlights include:
July 11-21
Japan Society, 333 East 47th Street
$12 general/$9 Japan Society members, seniors and students. I’M FLASH! prices $15 general/$12 Japan Society members
Now in its seventh season, with 10 days of screenings and over 20 titles, JAPAN CUTS 2013 presents the roughest, sharpest, and smoothest of today’s cutting-edge Japanese film scene, encompassing bigger-than-life blockbusters, high-concept art house titles, moving and provoking documentaries, delirious rom-coms, refined melodramas and a handful of UFOs—unidentified film objects. Dovetailing with the New York Asian Film Festival, this year’s highlights include the smash-hit samurai blockbuster Rurouni Kenshin; Eiki Takahashi’s absorbing glimpse into the glitzy world of Japanese pop music, DOCUMENTARY OF AKB48: Show Must Go On; the winner of the 36th Japan Academy Prize for Best Picture and Best Director, The Kirishima Thing; plus the new film from the wildly prolific auteur Takashi Miike, the psycho killer-teacher horror film Lesson of the Evil, a return to the director’s signature gonzo schlockmeister approach.
July 18-20
Lincoln Center Festival presents Matsukaze
Gerald W. Lynch Theater, 524 West 59th Street
$35-$75
Harmonious sounds and haunting songs converge in this exquisite production of Matsukaze (Japanese for “wind in the pines”). Inspired by a popular 15th-century play crafted in part by Noh master Zeami, the opera features a spare, ethereal score by Toshio Hosokawa, one of Japan’s most prominent living composers of contemporary classical music. Matsukaze tells the story of two sisters, two lingering spirits, who wander the porous boundary of the living and the dead in hopes of being freed from a former mortal lover. John Kennedy conducts the Talea Ensemble and a cast of soloists and chorus in this arresting, dreamlike performance set in the shadowy place where the wall between the ephemeral and the corporeal disappears. Sung in German with English supertitles.
For the complete story, click here.
Around Japan in 47 Curries: Toyama water


Tom Baker (Chiba, 1989-91) is writing a 47-part weekly series of posts on his Tokyo Tom Baker blog, in which he samples and comments on a curry from a different prefecture each week. Here’s an excerpt from his eighth installment, about Toyama Prefecture.
The Kurobe River is short but steep. It runs only 85 kilometers from Mt. Washiba in Toyama Prefecture, but it falls nearly 3 kilometers over that distance. Where it empties into the Sea of Japan, it has created an alluvial fan where the town of Kurobe stands. Because of its steep fall, the river was a good candidate for a hydroelectric project. The Kurobe Dam, Japan’s tallest at 186 meters, was built across it in a major postwar construction project from 1956 to 1963.
Although most famous as the site of an engineering feat, the Kurobe River is also known for the quality of its water, especially the cold springs that bubble up in the coastal town of Kurobe after filtering through the alluvial fan. It’s called Kurobe Meisui—literally, Kurobe’s famous water.
Today, I tasted one of several varieties of Kurobe Meisui curry – a black “soup curry” made with the famous water…