Event: JET alum author Roland Kelts to speak in London April 14
Books, Celebrity, Cultural Outreach, Events, Japan Trends, JETAA Chapters, Notable JET Alums, Roland Kelts, Writers 
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Attention JETAA UK! Join Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99), author of Japanamerica, at The Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation in London on Thursday, April 14 for a talk on “Pop culture from a Multipolar Japan.” Talk is 4-5 pm followed by drinks reception to 6pm.
Note: If you plan on attending, please register for the event at http://www.dajf.org.uk/events/booking-form
Has your JETAA chapter had its hanami gathering yet? If so, please send a couple photos (or link to photos) to Gail Meadows at gail [at] jetwit.com so we can start sharing some of them with the alumni community on JETwit.
Yoroshiku onegaishimasu.
The April 2011 issue of the Sake World e-newsletter by JET alum and the leading non-Japanese sake expert in the world, John Gauntner (a.k.a. “The Sake Guy”), is now available online.
In this issue:
- Greetings
- Good rice? Bad rice?
- The Current Situation in Japan
- Announcements and Events: Sake Professional Course in NYC
- Did you Know?
- Sake Basics
- Sake Education Central
Sake Dictionary iPhone app unveiled by JET alum John Gauntner (“The Sake Guy”)
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Via JET alum John Gauntner (a.k.a. “The Sake Guy”):
Get your copy of The Sake Dictionary iPhone app for $0.99: http://itunes.com/apps/ sakedictionary
In John’s words:
“The Sake Dictionary is a concise little package of all the terms you might ever come across when dealing with sake. Almost 200 of them – including sake grades, rice variety names, seasonal sake terms, special varieties, rare types, post-brewing processing words and the myriad terms used in sake production – many of which are not even familiar to the average Japanese person on the street – are listed up here with concise, useful and clear definitions and the written Japanese version as well. And now, with the new audio component, you can listen and learn just how to pronounce those terms properly. Start to toss around Japanese sake terms like you were raised knowing them! Gain a level of familiarity hitherto unimaginable! Avoid frustrating paralysis when faced with a sake-related purchase!”
After his hometown of New Orleans was ravaged by Hurricane Katrina the Japanese government offered material and monetary assistance that surpassed $1 million and that included tents, blankets, power generators and portable water tanks. Japan also provided $200,000 to the American Red Cross to aid hurricane victims. Now former Fukushima Prefecture, Iwaki City JET from 2007-2010 Doug Tassin is on a mission to help his former home in Japan.
The New Orleans Japan Quake Fund is currently in the process of being established. It is being formed by a coalition of New Orleans-based, Japan-related groups: Japan Club of New Orleans, Japan Society of New Orleans, jetaaNOLA (JET Program Alumni Association, New Orleans Chapter), and Japanese Garden Society. With the full support of Honorary Consul General of Japan Donna Fraiche and hopefully the endorsement of the govenor of Louisiana and mayor of New Orleans, we are creating this fund as a means for all of New Orleans to repay the generosity and care that Japan showed us in our time of need. This donor administered fund will be created through the Greater New Orleans Foundation (GNOF), and we plan to raise money in the fund and give it directly to an organization in Japan. GNOF has a long history of successfully administering funds, and we will still be able to direct where the money goes.
Click below to read the full story by Doug and see how you can make a difference. Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu.
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150159551445306
This post was written by Sam Frank, an ALT who taught English in Hiraizumi-Cho, Iwate Prefecture from 2002-2004 and worked in Shirahama-cho, Wakayama Prefecture as a JET from 2004-2006. He currently manages the New York Division of UnRated Magazine (http://unratednyc.com) and works as a Project Manager at Arrow Root Media (http://arrowrootmedia.com).
Art in the (Japanese) Social Sphere
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Thien-Kieu Lam is an artist who is producing Bound in Japan. Bound in Japan is a community book art project that aims to promote awareness about diversity in Japan and enhance intercultural understanding by engaging native and non-native residents in the creation and sharing of book art.
Here, Kieu discusses the motivation behind Bound in Japan. To read the full article, which includes her insights on the power of the individual and a guide to turning a personal vision into reality, check out the blog Shinpai Deshou.
Japan, quite frankly, was an unexpected twist in my life. As an ethnic Vietnamese American who graduated with a degree in fine arts and a second major in Mandarin Chinese, I certainly had my sights on Asia, but Japan was always on the periphery. Japan didn’t really register on my radar until I was a college senior facing that daunting question mark: THE FUTURE. I had always dreamed of living abroad, and one day a friend suggested that I apply for the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program. I did and it was a fateful decision. It was the beginning of a lifelong relationship.
After three years of teaching English in Kagoshima and four years of working at the Embassy of Japan in Washington, DC, I’m ready to take this relationship to a different level. I’m going back to my roots—the arts—and crossbreeding it with social activism.
My parents are immigrants. I know very well the kind of challenges my parents have faced and continue to face during these thirty odd years. I myself have faced similar challenges while living in Japan. I had never expected to fall in love with Japan. It made me think about what it would be like if I chose to settle there, to make Japan my new—and permanent—home.
Every time I go to Japan, it doesn’t feel like I’m traveling. It feels like going home. I have numerous Japanese friends, and for the most part, I can confidently navigate the physical and social geography. But that doesn’t mean it’s easy to live in Japan.
Japan has been a mostly homogenous society for centuries. It hasn’t had to think much about the less than 2% of the population who are non-native residents. And it shows. There’s a lack of integration. A lack of infrastructure. Even now, immigration policy continues to take a backseat despite the steady increase in immigration over the years. Despite the fact that opening up immigration is one of the few viable solutions to the current challenges presented by Japan’s changing demography. Lots of words are being said, but where’s the action?
Local communities are taking matters into their own hands. There are many organizations whose mission is to assist foreign residents with language, culture, and legalities and who seek to enhance intercultural understanding. This makes me very hopeful. I believe that any sort of social change will begin locally at the grassroots level. It has to begin with public consciousness.
Art can play a role in this. Art, after all, is about expression. It’s a way to communicate. This is the goal of Bound in Japan. Participants will be able to engage in an educational and enjoyable activity that allows them to share their stories with others. Through the process of creating art about their experiences in an adopted homeland and the act of sharing it with others, there are many opportunities to learn about each other, to start new dialogues, and to engage in community building.
Bound in Japan is a collaborative art project. Its success depends on the active participation of the community. This success can be defined as the personal enrichment of individual lives as well as the enrichment of an entire community.
I know that there are many people like me, who love and consider Japan a home. There are many ways you can support Bound in Japan. A project like this requires a significant budget. Consider making a donation to the Bound in Japan IndieGoGo campaign. Know of an organization in Japan that would like to participate in the project? Let me know. Are you living in Japan right now and would like to take part in Bound in Japan? I would love to hear from you.
Learn more about Bound in Japan: http://boundinjapan.com
Contact Kieu: tknlam@gmail.com
Follow Kieu and Bound in Japan on Twitter: @KieuLam
Sake World e-Newsletter by John Gauntner (March 2011)
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The March 2011 issue of the Sake World e-newsletter by JET alum and the leading non-Japanese sake expert in the world, John Gauntner (a.k.a. “The Sake Guy”), is now available online.
JapaneseLondon Round-up – March 3, 2011
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Thanks to JETAA UK Communications Director Vanessa Villalobos for sharing this with JetWit. Vanessa is also the publisher of JapaneseLondon.com:
Featured article: March 2011 Round-Up Part One
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN JAPANESE LONDON?
From Norwegian Wood, Tran Anh Hung’s film, based on Murakami’s book. What was that? *Head spins on neck*. Erm, that was the first one-sixth of 2011, passed already. But fear not, now spring has most definitely sprung it’s the perfect time to get out and appreciate Japan… in London!
Japanese Literature
Fans of Japan-related scribblings are in for a treat this month. Tran Anh Hung’s highly-anticipated screen version of Haruki Murakami’s bestselling novel, ‘Norwegian Wood’, will open at UK cinemas from 11th March. British author David Mitchell’s newest offering, ‘The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet’ isn’t due for release until March 17th, but has already racked up 96 rave reviews on Amazon. If you fancy a literary chinwag, Japan Society book club members will be vociferously discussing ‘Silence’ by Endo Shusaku next Monday March 7th – Japan Society members shouldregister their attendance: events@japanesociety.org.
Madame Butterfly
The enduringly popular Madame Butterfly is on at the Royal Albert Hall only until March 13th, so you’ll need to be quick to catch it. Set in an ‘enchanting’ Japanese Water Garden, an extra show has been already been added to meet ‘huge popular’ demand. If you can’t make it, why not order Angela Gheorghui’s CD recording, lie back and think of Japan? Or, if you’ve seen the opera and you crave more of the same, pre-order a copy of Lee Langley’s Butterfly’s Shadow – a novel in the style of Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea, that takes Puccini’s Madam Butterfly as its starting point.
HIBIKI – Japanese Music
Continuing on a musical note (!), HIBIKI: Resonances from Japan at King’s Place will run from today 3rd March, until 5th March 2011. This eclectic event; ‘A 1000-year journey through the rich heritage of Japanese music’ features collaborations with London-based musicians and an exploration of ‘Music in Mange’ with Helen McCarthy. Promisingly, there is also set to be a Suntory Hibiki whisky tasting in the bar.
Bunka-Sai – Japanese Cultural Festival
And finally – a new Japanese Culture Festival: ‘Bunka-sai’ will take over Conway Hall for one day only, this Saturday 5th March, to bring together Japanese culture, language, food and drink. Organised by Akemi Solloway.
JapaneseLondon.com‘s Round-Ups are bi-weekly. If you want to see more Japan-related events in London, check out the JapaneseLondon.com Events Calendar.
Japan Foundation NY/Center for Global Partnership: Newsletter Vol. 12 (Feb 2011)
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NEWS FROM THE JAPAN FOUNDATION NEW YORK AND CGP
//// VOL. 12: February 23, 2011 ////
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2011 J-Initiative Grant Program RFP (Concept paper deadline: March 10)
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The Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership (CGP), New York is pleased to announce that we are continuing with the J-Initiative launched last year in 2010 in order to promote networking, capacity building, and innovative program development for US-Japan exchange and outreach. We welcome innovative and future-oriented proposals from every field.
Grants of up to $100,000 per year and up to three (3) years will be awarded. The deadline for concept paper submission is March 10, and if invited after the concept paper review, the full proposal will be due by May 31.
For more details on the J-Initiative, please visit the link below.
[ http://cgp.org/index.php?option=article&task=default&articleid=397 ]
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Japan Travel Program for US Future Leaders 2010 Report Publication
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CGP in collaboration with the Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs (APSIA) inaugurated the Japan Travel Program for US Future Leaders in 2009 with the goal of fostering a new generation of future leaders in the US who are interested in achieving a greater understanding of Japan.
The report is based on their experiences in Japan and was compiled by the students following the conclusion of the program.
[ http://www.jpf.go.jp/cgp/fellow/apsia/pdf/APSIA_2010.pdf ]
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Upcoming Events & Announcements
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Researcher needs JET alum help with interesting survey
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I recently had an interesting conversation with Justin Kraemer, a PhD student at Rutgers University, who is conducting research on how Japanese and local employees in the U.S. build trust within Japanese companies. Justin needs more respondents, so if there are any JET alums out there who work for Japanese companies in the U.S., please get in touch with him. It’s a very worthy research topic, and it would also reflect nicely on the JET alumni community to play a helpful role.
Japanese-American Research with JET Alumni in Mind
Trustful relationships at work are the foundation on which performance is achieved. However, building such relationships may be particularly complex when employees come from different national cultures. To better understand intercultural relationship-building and to highlight Japan in the conversation about East and West, cross-cultural researchers from the Business School at Rutgers University are studying how Japanese and local employees build trust within Japanese companies in the USA. JetWit is enthusiastic about this partnership as the work of these researchers has been endorsed by the Honjo International Scholarship Foundation, the Japanese-American Association of New York and the Japanese-American Association of Kentucky (JASK).
These researchers are now seeking Japanese firms in the USA to supplement the number of Japanese firms which have already agreed to participate. Though certain things must be included in this Japanese-local “matched-set” survey, this would be a great opportunity to better understand the opinions of employees in your Japanese firm. As it stands, the survey takes about 15 minutes to complete. Though a traditional paper-and-pencil deployment would be preferred, online deployment can be arranged. In any case, there will be no direct costs for participation as all expenses related to the research will be paid by the researchers.
With at least a handful of individual participants, each participating firm will receive anonymous data from its own employees as well as select aggregated data from all participating companies. An in-person presentation of results can also be organized. We look forward to discussing how this research project can benefit your company.
Please direct inquiries to:
Primary Researcher: Justin Kraemer
Email: jkraemer@andromeda.rutgers.edu
New JET Alum China-Chinese Connection group on LinkedIn
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With the economic rise of China, there are an increasing number of JET alums who live in China, do work related to China, have an interest in China or speak or want to learn Chinese. On top of this, there are already a number of JET alums who have a connection to Chinese culture.
As a way to connect JET alums and friends of JET who share this connection, there’s now a new LinkedIn group you can join called:
“JET Alum China/Chinese Connection.”
http://www.linkedin.com/groups?mostPopular=&gid=3691966
This admittedly awkwardly-named group is an attempt to encompass all of the above and create a way to help each other out in various ways. For example…
- You’re planning a trip to China or want to work in China and want to find other JET alums there to talk to in advance.
- You live in China and want to link up with other JET alums, or better yet, start a JETAA chapter there
- You want to learn Chinese and learn about creative study approaches for people who aren’t intimidated by the whole “kanji” thing
- You’re just curious about the intersection of JET alums and China
Culture Spreader: John Gauntner – The Sake Guy
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Culture Spreaders is a new feature intended to shine a spotlight on JET alums involved in spreading and sharing Japanese culture in their home countries. If you know of a good JET alum for a future post, just e-mail jetwit [at] jetwit.com tell us why you think that alum is a Culture Spreader. (Self-nominations welcome too.)
JET alum and leading sake expert John Gauntner (aka “The Sake Guy“) has established himself as the leading non-Japanese sake expert in the world. See, e.g., this 2009 Japan Times article titled, “Nihonshu evangelist preaches heady mix of culture, taste.”
Not only does John spread the sake gospel through numerous appearances and events in the U.S. and elsewhere, but he also offers a Sake Professional Course in various locations to teach others how to be sake experts and evangelizers. As a result, there are now four sake-only specialist shops in the U.S.–True Sake (San Francisco), Sakaya (NYC), SakeNomi (Seattle) and The Sake Shop (Honolulu)–and the owners of all four attended John’s Sake Professional Course for the purpose of starting their respective businesses.
For his work spreading Japanese sake culture around the globe (and helping the Japanese sake industry expand its markets), John Gauntner is hereby recognized by JetWit as a serious “Culture Spreader.”
Editor’s note: In the “JET’s a small world” department, it turns out that both John Gauntner and last week’s “Culture Spreader” Bruce Rutledge are both originally from Cleveland and previously have met at SakeNomi in Seattle, where Bruce currently lives.
Japan Foundation NY Newsletter (Nov 18, 2010)
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NEWS FROM THE JAPAN FOUNDATION NEW YORK AND CGP
//// VOL. 9: November 18, 2010 ////
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CGP Grant Program (Deadline: December 1)
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This is a reminder that the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership’s (CGP) Intellectual Exchange program open competition deadline is December 1, 2010.
[ http://cgp.org/index.php?option=section&id=3 ]
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JAILA: “An Evening of Japanese Jazz” in Jamaica (Nov 27-Dec 1)
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As part of the Japanese Arts in Latin America (JAILA) program, the Japan Foundation, New York will dispatch flutist YUKARI and pianist Ms. Eri Yamamoto to Jamaica to give a concert and workshop to local audiences and music students. They will be performing their own compositions as well as well-known Japanese songs in a jazz style. They will also be joined by local musicians for collaborative performance.
About YUKARI: [ http://www.yukariflute.com/Site/Welcome.html ]
About Ms. Eri Yamamoto: [ http://www.eriyamamoto.com/ ]
[ http://www.jfny.org/arts_and_culture/jaila.html ]
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Call for JFNY Grant for Arts and Culture Applicants
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We are accepting applications from nonprofit organizations for the JFNY Grant for Arts and Culture. This grant aims to support projects that will further
understanding of Japanese arts and culture. Applicants must be from the 37 states east of the Rocky Mountains.
Successful candidates may be granted up to $5,000 for projects conducted in the 14 Southern and 12 Midwestern states, and up to $2,000 for all other states.
[ http://www.jfny.org/arts_and_culture/smallgrant.html ]
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CGP US-Japan Journalism Fellowship Program
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10 graduate journalism students from across the US will embark on a 13-day study-tour of Japan starting on November 20, 2010. This second cohort of students, along with Emerson College and CGP staff, will visit Tokyo, Okinawa, Kobe and other cities during their stay in Japan.
[ http://journalism.indiana.edu/news/bomersback-headed-to-japan-as-postgrad-fellow/ ]
[ http://www.merrill.umd.edu/deadline/index.php/2010/11/10/two-merrill-graduate-students-receive-fellowships-for-travel-to-japan/ ]
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Sake World e-Newsletter by John Gauntner (November 2010)
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John Gauntner: JET alum and leading sake expert
The November 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. Greetings
2. “I’m from the Gov’t”
3. The 18 Nihonshu Samurai Tasting
4. Did You Know?
5. Sake Basics
6. Announcements and Events: Sake Professional Course in Japan
7. Sake Education Central
Additional Links:
Culture Spreaders is a new feature intended to shine a spotlight on JET alums involved in spreading and sharing Japanese culture in their home countries. If you know of a good JET alum for a future post, just e-mail jetwit [at] jetwit.com tell us why you think that alum is a Culture Spreader. (Self-nominations welcome too.)
Seattle-based Bruce Rutledge (MEF Program Chiba-ken, 1985-87) is the Editor-in-Chief of Ibuki, the “Japanese Inspired Food and Lifestyle Magazine” for the Seattle/Bellevue/Portland area. (www.ibukimagazine.com)
I was in Seattle this past weekend and (thanks to JETAA Pacific Northwest President Sandra Sakai) was able to pick up a copy of the “I Love Kawaii” issue, which featured “6%Dokidoki Brings Happy Anarchy,” “Your Slice of Japan on the Eastside,” a recipe for green tea sweets, a travel article titled “Kanpai in Tokyo” and a sake article titled “Food pairing hints.” The magazine also includes an extensive Japan-related business directory for the area, including restaurants, galleries, grocery stores, etc.
In addition to his work with Ibuki, Bruce is also the founder of Chin Music Press, which has put out a number of Japan-related books and takes pride in book design.
For all his work with Ibuki and Chin Music Press, Bruce is undoubtedly a major JET alum “Culture Spreader.”
