JapanLocal: Tottori JET Anthony Lieven’s latest Misasa video – November 2012
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Tottori JET Anthony Lieven has been creating new videos each month as part of a project that introduces his JET town of Misasa to the world. With Anthony’s permission, here is his latest video:
Misasa Monthly Video 08 (November 2012) – Mount Mitoku Sanbutsuji’s Fire Festival from Red T-Shirt Guy on Vimeo.
An Emperor’s Visit
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Posted by Benjamin Martin, a 5th year JET in Okinawa, publisher of the blog MoreThingsJapanese.com and author of the YA fantasy novel Samurai Awakening (Tuttle).
On November 20, 2012 The Emperor of Japan Akihito and Empress Michiko visited Kumejima as part of a four-day visit to Okinawa. Preparations were long in the making, but it was still extraordinary to see the spectacle of a visit lasting less than 5 hours. Luckily, I was asked to help photograph on behalf of Kumejima Town and was able to stand with television and newspaper camera people in designated media areas.
The Emperor and his wife arrived around 10:30 JST on a plane from Okinawa-honto. Since Kume Island has only a small airport, they used a JAL Express plane instead of the usual flying fortress. There they greeted a group of students and dignitaries and then drove to the Deep Sea Water Research Institute to tour its grounds. One of the major reasons for the visit is the proposed OTEC power plant. Along the way Kumejima Townspeople greeted the Emperor by waving Japanese flags (a rarity in Okinawa), shouting “Thank you for coming” and “banzai!” After the tour, the motorcade arrived at the Town Hall just before 13:00 to rest and talk with Mayor Taira. There they discussed Kumejima’s many natural resources such as Kuruma-ebi, Umi-budo, and Deep Sea Water while eating lunch. They talked so much they didn’t have time to finish!
For more on the Emperor’s visit and plenty of pictures visit More Thing Japanese!
Rikuzentakata now a hit on Facebook
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Thanks to Vancouver-based JET alum Alison Dacia Brown (Iwate-ken, Rikuzentakata-shi, 2005-08) for posting about this to Facebook. From a JET perspective, it seems to offer a communications model for Japanese local governments in which perhaps JETs and JET alumni could play a helpful role:
Update: Here’s the Rikuzentakata Facebook Page
Saturday, Nov. 24, 2012
Tsunami-hit city a hit on Facebook
Kyodo
MORIOKA, Iwate Pref. — The coastal city of Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture, devastated by last year’s earthquake and tsunami, has gotten global attention thanks to its use of Facebook.
In July, the city set up an official page in both Japanese and English on Facebook, the first municipality to do so among those on the northeast coast that bore the full brunt of the March 2011 catastrophe.
Since then, officials have been updating the page to display and keep the world updated on the reconstruction process, an unusual move for a municipal government. The posts, mostly written in Japanese, include articles on Rikuzentakata from Japan and around the world, advisories on earthquakes and floods, and the mayor’s participation at a local festival.
When Rikuzentakata’s officials made a fundraising page in English to help preserve the city’s famed “miracle pine tree,” donations came in from around the world. Read More
JET alum Asia Security Expert Michael Auslin in the Wall Street Journal
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Here’s a recent article in the Wall Street Journal by JET alum Michael Auslin, Director of Japan Studies at the American Enterprise Institute:
Michael Auslin: Asian Pivot, Take Two
President Barack Obama is celebrating his re-election by trying to make good on his promised pivot to Asia. Not only is the President in the region for the East Asian Summit in Cambodia—he has also dispatched his Secretaries of State and Defense on extended visits as well.
Showing up may constitute 90% of diplomacy. But at a time of numerous territorial disputes and leadership upheavals, Mr. Obama may have bitten off more than he can chew over the next four years.
The Administration’s agenda this month is an unusual start. Unlike traditional trips that include old allies like Japan or …
Click here to read the article (subscription required).
“Privy to Mysterious Loos” by New Zealand JET Tania Butterfield
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A recent blog article by current JET Tania Butterfield that recently appeared in New Zealand publication Marlborough Express. (Thanks to Jessica Tisch for posting on the JETAA South Island Facebook group):
Last weekend I discovered something I should have known since I arrived here – toilets are not my friend.
If you know anything about Japan, you know it has some unusual toilets.
No, I am not referring to the squat toilets, which I quite happily use at school.
I am referring to the insanely automated toilets with a billion buttons that do everything under the sun so you never have to touch that part of your body again.
Some of the buttons make sense – like the button to ….
Click here to read the full article.
JETAA Chicago Career Forum Videos
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Here are a couple videos from the recent JETAA Chicago Career Forum. (Thanks to JETAA Chicago Treasurer Thomas Osugi and Jobs/Social Activities Coordinator Dan Martin for making this available.):
Now in Paperback: “For Fukui’s Sake: Two years in Rural Japan” by JET alum Sam Baldwin
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JQ Magazine: Book Review – ‘Professor Risley and the Imperial Japanese Troupe: How an American Acrobat Introduced Circus to Japan—and Japan to the West’
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“Chock-full of illuminating illustrations and gorgeous printed ephemera that would make any contemporary typographer swoon, Professor Risley and the Imperial Japanese Troupe is a jet-set adventure in pop culture scholarship sure to appeal to anyone interested in Japan’s history on the world stage.” (Stone Bridge Press)
By Jessica Sattell (Fukuoka-ken, 2007-08) for JQ magazine. Jessica is a freelance writer, and was previously the publicist for Japan-focused publishers Stone Bridge Press and Chin Music Press. She is interested in the forgotten histories of culture, and has often considered running away and joining the circus.
We’re still riding the “Cool Japan” wave that crested at the turn of the millennium, but our fascination with the country and its culture didn’t quite stem from just anime, Harajuku fashions, or J-pop. In Professor Risley and the Imperial Japanese Troupe: How an American Acrobat Introduced Circus to Japan—and Japan to the West, award-winning author Frederik L. Schodt argues that contemporary interest in Japan’s popular culture has its roots in the travels and cross-cultural interactions of a band of 19th century Japanese circus performers and a colorful American impresario.
Published in November by Stone Bridge Press, Professor Risley explores a critical and exciting time in history, when an interest in foreign cultures was rapidly expanding beyond the privileged parlors of the upper class and Americans and Europeans were greatly fascinated by anything Japanese. Schodt offers an intriguing case study of both early Japanese conceptions of the West and the West’s first looks at modern Japan, but it is also a mystery of sorts: Why did a group of acrobats that were incredibly popular with international audiences in the 1860s fade from the annals of performing arts history? How was the life of “Professor” Richard Risley Carlisle, arguably one of the most extraordinarily talented and well-traveled performing artists in history, buried in the folds of time? Schodt suggests that we may never know the answers, but we can sit back and enjoy the show as their histories unfold.
This story begins, fittingly, with the question, “Where Is Risley?” Schodt artfully traces “Professor” Risley’s early travels and performance history like an elusive game of connect-the-dots, piecing together itineraries, publicity notices and press clippings until a clear pattern of a fascinating life emerges. Risley seemed to be everywhere and nowhere, and led a full life of jet-setting and adventure-seeking at a time where transcontinental travel was only beginning to open up to those outside of the diplomatic realm. We follow him on a decades-long journey across the United States, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia, China…and finally to Japan.
Risley arrived in Yokohama in early 1864 and immediately went to work setting up a fantastic Western-style circus to delight foreign residents and Japanese locals alike. As the country had re-opened to the world just five years earlier, it was a risky time to be in Japan, and non-Japanese residents lived with underlying worries of Shogunate-dictated expulsion and violence from disgruntled ronin. That didn’t quite stop Risley’s entrepreneurial spirit, but he did eventually run into a series of difficulties with his shows—and a stint in dairy farming, which, in the process, led him to introduce ice cream to Japan. He hadn’t originally intended to stay in Japan for long, but most likely due to the Civil War raging back home in America, he bided his time and explored his options. Thankfully, his stay there—paired with an almost desperate talent for improvisation—would lead to the world’s first taste of Japanese popular culture.
Via JETAA UK. Posted by 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: Interpreter
Posted by: Peace Boat
Type: Volunteer
Location: UK
Salary: N/A
Start Date: N/A
Overview:
We are looking for potential EJ bilingual speakers who would be interested in coming on board as volunteer interpreters. If you speak both Japanese and English (and/or Spanish) then take this chance to sail around the world for three months, for free!
The deadline for applications is December 14th.
Info on the voyage can be found here http://www.peaceboat.org/english/?page=view&nr=104&type=4&menu=64
Info on the position/how to apply is here http://www.peaceboat.org/english/?menu=113
I’ll Make It Myself: The Word of the Day is Spatchcock: Thanksgiving 2012
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L.M. Zoller (CIR Ishikawa-ken, Anamizu, 2009-11) is the editor of The Ishikawa JET Kitchen: Cooking in Japan Without a Fight. A writer and web administrator for The Art of Travel, ze also writes I’ll Make It Myself!, a blog about food culture in Japan, and 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.
New Rice Cooker Chronicles submissions always welcome. Just e-mail it to jetwit [at] jetwit.com.
“I’m going to spatchcock the turkey.” “Excuse me?”
“If I spatchcock the turkey–WHY ARE YOU BLUSHING?”
“So, I’ve decided to spatchcock the turkey.” “Is that some sort of fandom thing about Benedict Cumberbatch?”
Despite its unfortunate name, spatchcocking is simply a way of butterflying a turkey so it will cook faster…
Click HERE to read more.
JETAA Ottawa: Elections 2013
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*************** Posted by Gemma Villanueva (Fukushima-ken, 2008-11), editor for the JETAA Ottawa Newsletter. Visit the Canadian chapter’s website here for more stories. Written and photo submissions are always welcome. Please contact us at newsletter[at]jetaaottawa[dot]ca.
Elections 2013
We are pleased to announce that we are looking for the 2013 JETAA Ottawa Board of Directors! If you are interested in getting actively involved with JETAA Ottawa, now is your chance. Detailed information about platform submissions and each position’s responsibilities can be found here on our website. The JETAA Ottawa bylaws are posted here on our website.
Please join us on Monday, December 10, 2012 at The Exchange Pub & Restaurant in Rideau Centre. (Please note that the Annual General Meeting is scheduled to run from 6:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. and is open to alumni only. Voting open to JET alumni, so we hope to see you there! We will be discussing the year’s events, budget, elections and other JETAA Ottawa business. From 7 p.m. onwards, the party is open to all alumni friends and family.) Please send your RSVPs for the “Annual General Meeting/Bonenkai” to current Event Organizers Ferra-Lynn and Ala [ events [at] jetaaottawa [dot ] ca ]
WIT Life #220: Wonderful Single Life/Going My Home
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WIT Life is a periodic series written by professional Writer/Interpreter/Translator Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken CIR, 2000-03). She starts her day by watching Fujisankei’s newscast in Japanese, and here she shares some of the interesting tidbits and trends together with her own observations.
As I shared in my last post, one of the best parts of being here in Japan is the chance to catch up on dramas when the work day is done. When I’m at home I try to keep up to date on them via the Internet, but it’s just not the same as watching them in prime time. Two of my current favorites are tonight’s ｢ゴーイング・マイ・ホーム」 (Going My Home) and Thursday night’s 「結婚しない」 (Wonderful Single Life; literally Won’t Get Married).
I greatly enjoy the latter as the main character is a 35-year old woman whose single status is a source of both stress and liberation. The supporting roles feature her female contemporaries as well as younger and older friends, all in various work and personal situations. It is an interesting commentary on the lives of women in modern Japanese society, and I am eager to see Read More
JET alum seeks help contacting Japanese Antarctica residents for research project
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New Zealand JET alum Jacinta McKenzie is working on a research project (see details below) and is seeking help from anyone who can help her get in touch with Japanese people who have been to Antarctica, especially to Showa Base. Jacinta says:
Individual Project Proposal – Group adaptation and individual adjustment of (prolonged) isolation of Japanese people in Antarctica
はじめまして。私はジェシンタ・マッケンジと申しまして、現在ニュージランドのカンタベリ大学で日本語と南極を専門にしている大学院生です。
私は日本人と南極との関係について非常に深い興味を持っており、カンタベリ大学で南極の研究をしています。私は現在、南極における日本人の文化人類学と社会学に関するプロジェクトを行っており、「南極の厳しい自然と孤独な生活に対する日本人の集団的、あるいは個人的順応について」というタイトルの研究論文を書いています。私のこの論文のためにあるデータが必要であり、そのデータを集めるために、南極（昭和基地）で滞在している、あるいはしたことのある日本人と連絡をして、アンケートを行いたいと思っています。
そちらの研究所所属の研究者で南極に行ったことのある（あるいは今現在滞在している）日本人の連絡先（電子メールアドレスなど）を教えていただくことはできませんか？ もしくは、私がそちらにアンケートを電子メールで送信するので私のアンケートに協力して頂けそうな人に転送していただけませんか？
アンケートの内容は、丸かバツで答えるものがいくつかと、自分の経験を短く書いて頂く簡単なもので、20分ほどで終わると思います。ご迷惑をおかけしますが、宜しくお願いいたします。
Jacinta McKenzie jacy19@gmail.com
http://www.anta.canterbury.ac.nz/courses/gcas/
My name is Jacinta McKenzie and I am a student at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand studying Japanese Language and Antarctic Studies. I am very interested in Japans relationship between the polar regions, hence I am taking an Antarctic Studies course at Canterbury University.
I am currently do my individual project which concentrates on anthropology and sociocultural aspect of being in Antarctica, titled Group adaptation and individual adjustment of (prolonged) isolation of Japanese people in Antarctica.
I am seeking to get in touch with the Japanese people currently down at Showa Base or have been in the past, in order to do a survey regarding this topic.
Is there any one at the Institute of Polar Research who has been to Antarctica and would be willing to take part in my research survey? The survey will be a series of yes and no questions with a few places to write down your experience.
Any information would be much appreciated.
Kind Regards
Jacinta McKenzie jacy19@gmail.com
http://www.anta.canterbury.ac.nz/courses/gcas/
JET alum seeks members for new taiko club in Atlanta
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Posted to the JETAA Southeast Facebook group by Melanie Davenport (Gifu-ken, 1991-92):
“Hello everyone! I’m working with a young woman, Sarah Choy, who plays Taiko to try to form a Taiko Club here in Atlanta! If anyone is interested in becoming involved or just wants to be kept in the loop about our progress, please let me know! What fun will this be?! Ikimasho! Tanoshii!”
If interested, check for updates on the JETAA Southeast Facebook group and get in touch with Melanie there.
Posted by Benjamin Martin, a 5th year JET in Okinawa, publisher of the blog MoreThingsJapanese.com and author of the YA fantasy novel Samurai Awakening (Tuttle).
Chahan is an Okinawan take on fried rice. Like many Okinawan dishes it is heavily influenced by Chinese cuisine. Like Chanpuru, a similar category of Okinawa cuisine, Chahan’s basic flavor comes from a combination of soy, garlic, and dashi. Since there are many ways to make or buy dashi, the final flavor of the dish, and the ease of its recipe can be changed depending on your approach. Modern Chahan also often has an American influence in the addition of spam. Below is a modern, yet quick take on this Okinawan dish. It is by far my most popular post on MoreThingsJapanese.com. I hope you enjoy my take on a classic Okinawan favorite.
Ingredients
- 3 servings cooked white rice
- 1 piman (green pepper)
- 1 tamanegi (onion)
- 1 package frozen vegetables
- 2 large eggs
- 170g meat (sausage, pork, chicken, spam, whatever)
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil or no-stick cooking spray
Seasoning
- 1/4 tsp ginger
- 2 tsp hachimitsu (honey)
- 1 pkt dashi (5g)
- 1 tbsp powdered or minced garlic
- 4 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sake (cooking, mirin, awamori, nihonshu, etc)
