May 11

WIT Life #168: Sake Guy John Gauntner

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WITLife 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.

Last night I had the chance to brush up on my sake skills at the sold out sake tasting event Back to Basics held at Japan Society.  It was led by former JET John Gauntner, known as the world’s leading non-Japanese sake expert.   He currently lives in Kamakura, and is well known among sake brewers and others within the industry as the window to making sake popular outside of Japan.  His presentation gave a comprehensive overview of sake in less than an hour, presenting the audience with the essentials in easy to remember sound bites.  His enthusiastic employment of the phrase “Absolutely!” in punctuating the rhetorical questions that he posed to himself had a particularly great impact.

We learned that translating sake as “rice wine” is a misnomer, as it is brewed in a way more similar to beer.  Gauntner discussed how sake is one of the few products in the world that is Read More

May 11

JQ Magazine: Brooklyn’s Cherry Blossom Festival Turns 30!

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The view from Sakura Matsuri, held April 30-May 1 at Brooklyn Botanic Garden. (Sam Frank)

By Sam Frank, an ALT who taught English in Hiraizumi-Cho, Iwate Prefecture, from 2002-04 and worked in Shirahama-cho, Wakayama Prefecture as a JET from 2004-06. He currently manages the New York  Division of UnRated Magazine and works as a Project Manager/Web Producer at Arrow Root Media.

For three decades the Brooklyn Botanic Garden has been home to the Sakura Matsuri cherry blossom festival, a two-day festival comprised of both traditional and contemporary Japanese arts and culture, including dance, martial arts, manga, costume play (“cosplay”), workshops, demonstrations, and guided tours of the Garden’s Japanese plant collections.

While Brooklynites view this tradition as an authentic Japanese experience, there are many differences between this festival and ones in Japan. When you think of cherry blossoms in Japan, there is one word that comes to mind: Hanami. Hanami usually consists of friends and familes having picnics under the trees, and often involves consuming large amounts of sake (Japanese rice wine). This happens because Japanese law doesn’t crack down on public consumption of alcohol, unlike our friendly officers in Brooklyn. Also, people in Brooklyn are only permitted to eat in certain restricted areas, whereas folks in Japan are not only able to eat wherever they want (or find a spot), but are allowed to bring outside food into the cherry blossom areas.

Although Brooklyn’s version of Sakura has a few more restrictions then its Japanese counterpart, the cultural shows, guest appearances, and unique events that take place at the Botanic Garden in early May add a special flavor to the experience.

Read the rest of the article and more photos, click here.

May 11

JETAA Chicago raises over $7.7K for JETAA USA Fund for Earthquake Relief

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Thanks to JETAA Chicago Treasurer Thomas Osugi for sharing this recent post by JETAA Chicago President Robert Corder:

“On Saturday, April 9, JETAA Chicago held a fundraiser at the Floating World Gallery to benefit the earthquake relief effort. More than 120 people attended and we were able to raise $7,779.47. In addition to the drinks and appetizer, there were three live bands plus a silent auction and raffle.”

“Additionally, a letter from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director-General of Public Diplomacy was sent to JETAA Chicago in regards to the work the JETAA Chicago community has performed by raising relief funds and awareness after the tragedy last month in Japan. Please read the full letter here.”

CLICK HERE to read the full post and more details on the JETAA Chicago website.

May 11

JET alum John Gauntner enlightens, entertains Japan Society audience

Celebrity, Cultural Outreach, Events, Food & Drink, Japan Society Round-up, Notable JET Alums, Return on JET-vestment, Writers Comments Off on JET alum John Gauntner enlightens, entertains Japan Society audience

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Last night was Japan Society of New York’s Anual Sake Tasting:  Back to Basics event with a lecture by JET alum John Gauntner (Kanagawa-ken) (aka “The Sake Guy”), now the leading sake educator in the world, followed by a sake tasting (and mingling) with about 20 sake exporters from all over Japan.  I attended with professional Writer/Interpreter/Translator Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken CIR, 2000-03) (who writes the WIT Life posts on JETwit) and we had a terrific time, learning the basics of sake, running into Tomoko Okuno of Japan Society as well as Alma Jennings (Fukushima-ken, 2008-10) who was volunteering at the event, and of course finally getting to meet John in person.

John will be lecturing at similar events over the next few days in Boston, Toronto and several other cities in North America.  So keep your eyes out and, if you attend, make sure to say hi and let him know you’re a JET alum as well.

Thanks to Japan Society for putting on a great event!

Stacy Smith (CIR Kumamoto, 2000-03) and John Gauntner (Kanagawa)

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Sake tasting: JET alums Stacy Smith, Alma Jennings and Steven Horowitz sample sake with Kensuke Shichida, President of Saga Prefecture-based Tenzan Sake Brewery

May 9

WIT Life #167: Japan and War as Seen Through the Lens of Film

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WITLife 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.

Recently I had the chance to see two films from 2010 that examine the issue of Japan and war.  One was Anpo: Art x War which was screened at Columbia University last week, and the other is Caterpillar currently being shown at the IFC Center through this Thursday.  The former is a documentary directed and produced by Linda Hoaglund, and the latter is a film made by the director Koji Wakamatsu of United Red Army fame (shown at Japan Society a few years ago and coming to IFC later this month).

Anpo uses a mixture of paintings, photos, anime, films and music by Japanese artists to Read More

May 9

Sake World e-Newsletter by John Gauntner (May 2011)

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The May 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.

Note: John will be lecturing tomorrow night at the Japan Society in New York.

In this issue:

• Greetings
• Smooth’em or Let’em?
• Announcements and Events: Sake Professional Course in NYC
• Did you Know?
• Sake Basics
• Sake Education Central

May 5

WIT Life #166: Monkey Business

Events, Roland Kelts, Translating/Interpreting, WIT Life, Writers Comments Off on WIT Life #166: Monkey Business

WITLife 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.

Last weekend aside from going to the glorious Sakura Matsuri at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, I attended a panel discussion at Asia Society about contemporary writing from Japan.  I had heard about the event from former JET Roland Kelts, who in addition to publishing books of his own and lecturing at both NYU and Tokyo University, is a contributing editor to the inaugural issue of the English language version of the Tokyo-based literary magazine Monkey Business (currently available for purchase!).  The magazine is run by award-winning translator Motoyuki Shibata, who served as editor of the English version along with colleague Ted Goossen.

All three were on hand at this event, which was divided up into the two sections of Read More

May 4

JET alum sake expert John Gauntner to lecture at Japan Society Sake Tasting next Tuesday

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JET alum John Gauntner (aka “The Sake Guy”) will be lecturing on “Hot or cold?” at Japan Society of New York’s Annual Sake Tasting next Tuesday, May 10 at 6:30pm.  John is considered the leading non-Japanese expert on sake in the world.

Apr 28

JETAA Florida to provide volunteers for South Florida events this weekend

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Thanks to JETAA Florida President Bahia Simons-Lane (Gunma-ken) for sharing the following:

JETAA Florida is providing volunteers for two events in South Florida this weekend:

1.  Japan Culture Day at Florida International University

2.  Miami Reggae Festival for Japan Relief in Coconut Grove

See Bahia’s blog for full details.

Apr 27

Event: Two Artists, Two Expressions

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

The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators presents

 Two Artists Two Expressions

Colored Pencil Workshop with Katsuya Takahashi and Daniel Schallau

Time:         Saturday, May 21, 2011, 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Place:         Tokyo Women’s Plaza, Audiovisual Room

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

RSVP:        Please reserve by May 20 by sending an e-mail to info@scbwi.jp

This event will be in English and Japanese.

Please join us for an evening workshop led by two master colored pencil children’s book illustrators followed by Q&A.

Katsuya Takahashi will introduce and demonstrate the basic properties and techniques of colored pencils that give his illustrations a unique look and feel. In the second half of his workshop, everyone will have the chance to experiment with the techniques that Takahashi has shared. Please bring a set of twelve or more colored pencils, some paper and an eraser.

Daniel Schallau will focus on the techniques he uses to draw cool winter scenes. Have you ever wondered how to draw snow in night scenes? Just use white? Think again. Schallau’s secrets might surprise you. This part of the workshop will offer the opportunity, for those interested, to try out some of Schallau’s tips. Please bring a range of blue colored pencils and yellow, orange and red pencils. Paper and pencil sharpeners will be provided.

Katsuya Takahashi (http://homepage3.nifty.com/katz-t/) Born in Kyoto, colored pencil artist Katsuya Takahashi studied in the Faculty of Art at Kyoto Seika University. After graduation, he became a freelance illustrator, and his work has been widely recognized in newspapers, books, magazines, and commercials. “Hyper burnishing” is how he describes his colored pencil technique. The rich hues and luminous glow of his illustrations are the result of deep layers of colors. Now a resident of Tokyo, he has held exhibitions every year since 1998. Takahashi works both in Tokyo and the Kansai area and is the author/ illustrator of the picture book, Hora utaga kikoeruyo (Listen, I Hear a Song; Builder Buch).

Daniel Schallau (www.danielschallau.com) After working for various architecture firms in the U.S., Daniel Schallau traveled to Tokyo where he now works as an English teacher and an author/illustrator. People often find it difficult to believe his drawings are actually created with colored pencils, insisting instead that they must be done with a computer. His picture book Come Back Soon (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) was published in 2009. Schallau specializes in intricately drawn worlds inhabited by elephants, penguins, whales, bears, snowmen, rabbits and more.

www.scbwi.jp

Apr 27

Fundraising: JETAA UK

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Via the JETAA UK website:

Thanks to all who have made our ‘Give a Day for Japan‘ scheme and the pub quiz last Thursday such a fantastic success.  We’re all doing that we can in the light of Japan’s terrible losses.  We have extended our invitation to the JETAA Ball this year (which is a fund-raising event and is thus not subsidised, as in previous years) to the wider Japan-UK community in London.  Help us make this a night to remember!

JETAA May Ball in Aid of the Tohoku Earthquake Appeal

Tickets are going faster than limited edition Kate & Will china teacups – so get yours on the double! Check out the amazing conservatory venue – resplendent with fairy-light trimmed palms…

Hosted at the deluxe 4-star Millennium Gloucester Hotel & Conference Centre in the heart of Kensington, London, this year’s JETAA Ball will be raising funds for the Japan Society’s Tohoku Earthquake Appeal, which JETAA UK is also supporting through our Give a Day for Japan scheme.

Date: Saturday 14th May, 19:00 – 23:00

Tickets: £60 (this includes a 3-course buffet dinner with some drinks, a taiko performance from Kaikyo Taiko, music, dancing and a night of fundraising)
Dress Code: Black Tie and Evening Gown
Nearest Tube: Gloucester Road Underground Station (Piccadilly, Circle and District lines)
Overnight stay: Special rates are available for JETAA guests wishing to stay overnight at the hotel, please e-mail for further details.
To Register: Please fill in our online registration form. Read More

Apr 26

Event: 2nd Japanese Heritage Night at Mets Citifield – Tues, June 21

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Via request of the Consulate General of Japan in New York:

2nd Japanese Heritage Night at Mets Citifield

Please let your members, colleagues, friends and family know that the 2nd Japanese Heritage Night at Mets Citifield will be held on Tuesday June 21st, 2011 when the Mets play the Oakland As with  Hideki Matsui in attendance. This is a fundraising event – a portion of each ticket sold through our group will go to Japan relief efforts.

We will be sending out information about Group Sales as soon as the site is set up but this year, seats in three price categories will be grouped together:

• Baseline Box Silver seat =$54.00
• Pepsi Porch seat = $32.00
• Promenade Reserved Infield seat = $19.00

While we understand that not all of you are Mets fans, the Yankees do not provide a Heritage Night and we wanted to have a community event where Japanese and Japanese Americans and all those interested in “things Japanese” could get together and have a good time. We look forward to everyone’s participation again this year.

Last year 400 tickets were purchased. This year, let’s aim for 1,000!

If you are interested in helping out, please contact our organizing committee co-chairs: Ann Harakawa (aharakawa [at] twotwelve.com) or Marianne Yoshioka (mry5 [at] columbia.edu).

Thank you!!

Organizing Committee

Ann Harakawa, Marianne Yoshioka, Gary Moriwaki, Susan J. Onuma, George Hirose

Advisor: Donna Tsufura

Apr 26

WIT Life #164: More notable Nihonjin

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WITLife 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.

Interesting article in the NYT today profiling the new head of the M.I.T Media Lab, a 44-year old Japanese venture capitalist named Joichi Ito.  Ironically enough, Ito attended both Tufts and the University of Chicago in the past, but didn’t graduate from either as he didn’t like their learning styles.  However, his accomplishments include serving on the board of the Internet governance organization Icann and the Mozilla Foundation, and along the course of his career he has invested in more than 12 start-ups such as Flickr and Twitter.  In Japan, he helped establish Read More

Apr 25

Justin’s Japan: This week’s Nippon in NY events: NY Loves Japan, Japan-a-Mania, Sakura Matsuri

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The Japanese Folk Dance Institute of New York joins a superb lineup of peformers at the Sakura Matsuri festival at Brooklyn Botanic Garden this weekend, April 30-May 1. (Jason Gardner)

By JQ magazine editor Justin Tedaldi (CIR Kobe-shi, 2001-02) for Examiner.com. Visit his page here to subscribe for free alerts on newly published stories.

After all those April showers, it’s finally starting to feel like spring. And what better way to welcome those May flowers than with these events, capped off with the 30th(!) annual edition of a Brooklyn Botanic Garden classic.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011, 7:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m.

NY Loves Japan

La Venue

269 11th Avenue (between 27th and 28th Streets)

Tickets: $100 general admission/$175 VIP (click here for VIP details)

The New York Sake and Japanese Food Community has joined together with non-profit volunteer organization Project by Project to organize a fundraising event to support disaster relief in Japan in the wake of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. New York’s leading Japanese food and sake distributors, chefs, restaurants (including Bao Noodles, owned by JET alum Chris Johnson (Oita-ken, 1992-95), who also helped organized the event), food writers, public relations companies, and cooking schools have come together to form NY Loves Japan. Help spread the word through their Twitter and Facebook pages as well.

Saturday, April 30, 12:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.

Japan-a-Mania

Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City

223 E 30th Street (between 2nd and 3rd Avenues)

Free to volunteer. RSVP to Katrina Barnas

Back by popular demand! Join fellow members of the JET Program Alumni Association of New York as they teach NYC kids about Japanese culture in partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters and NY de Volunteer. Step up to show off your origami, katakana or kimono-tying skills, or help with crowd control and meet new friends. Last year’s event drew over 60 kids with their bigs, and even more are expected this year. Also welcome are planners and anyone who can provide contacts for or perhaps lead a karate demonstration.

Saturday, April 30-May 1, 11:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.

30th Annual Sakura Matsuri

Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Enter at 900 Washington Avenue (between Crown and Carroll Streets)

Tickets: $10/$15 general admission; free for children under 12 and BBG members

During this season celebrating its historic relationship to Japanese culture and horticulture, the Garden reflects on the recent tragic events in Japan, and invites visitors to find opportunities for contemplation amidst its flowering cherries, Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden, the bonsai exhibition Graceful Perseverance, and more. Visitors will be invited to make an origami crane that will eventually join thousands of others sent to Japan as a gesture of support and unity.

Click here to learn more about the events.

Apr 25

Sake and Chefs Tasting to Benefit Relief Efforts in Japan (NYC)

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I believe two JET alum sake experts, John Gauntner and Chris Johnson, are involved with the group that is organizing this event — New York Loves Japan:  Sake and Chefs Tasting to Benefit Relief Efforts in Japan — which takes place Wednesday, April 27.