JapanInfo e-Newsletter – March 2009
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The March 2009 edition of JapanInfo is now available online. JapanInfo is published by the Consulate General of Japan in New York/Japan Information Center and is a great source of info for Japan-related things going on in New York and the surrounding area.
Highlights include:
- U.S.-Japan Summit Meeting
- 13th Annual Japanese Speech Contest in Pittsburgh
- Second Annual September 11th Teacher Award Goes to a Japanese Teacher in Long Island
- The World of J-Cinema : Lights, Cameras, and Reality
- From the Ambassador’s Desk
- And plenty of things to do and see on the Events Calendar.
Job: Sanyo Solar, Account Manager/sales – San Jose, CA
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This job listing comes from JETAANC member Robert Zerner (Nagano ’99-’01):
Account Manager/sales position at SANYO Energy (USA) Corporation
Sanyo’s HIT solar technology leads the industry in efficiency and
performance, and illuminates Sanyo’s “Think GAIA” vision of creating
products we need to live in harmony with the Earth.
Based in San Jose, California, Sanyo is seeking to hire an Account Manager /
sales position as we grow in 2009.
Read More
Remember in Japan how the news would show the hanami progressing across the country, akin to a weather forecast? U.S. geography isn’t quite as conducive to that approach, and I can’t really picture any local news channels taking that approach anyway. But now JetWit is providing you with the next best thing:
The JETAA Hanami Forecast
JetWit has the unique, gaijin-riffic superpower to forecast the progression of hanami throughout the U.S. based on the scheduling of JETAA chapter hanami events! Here’s what’s on tap so far. Don’t see your chapter’s event listed? Email jetwit at jetwit dot com and let us know.
Sunday, April 5
- JETAA Northern California – 11:00 am – Garden Gate Park, Speedway Meadow
- JETAA Philly (NY subchapter) – 11:00 am to 4:00 pm – Fairmount Park Horticulture Center (Ambassador Nishimiya, who will be replacing Ambassador Sakurai starting in April, will attend and speak)
Job: Experienced translators of literary works (also seeking financial translators)
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Please include your rates, including volume discounts, additional charges for scans, etc. where applicable.
We also continue to seek competent financial translators, with experience in handling IR disclosures and annual reports. Agencies are also welcome to submit rates and sample projects.
Shortlisted candidates may be subject to a trial, in cases where potential work is available in their field.
Many thanks,
C. Lyall
Modis Design
By translator and writer Jamie Graves (Saitama-Ken 2002-2003)
The Google Honyaku group has a great discussion going on trying to pin down exactly what physical sensation karai (辛い) refers to. The easiest English analogy is “spicy“, and it’s often used to refer to hot foods, but as I learned from a few years of working in restaurant kitchens in Japan, the word can also refer to anything that’s a little too salty, too strong (dark Belgian beer with a high alcohol content) , or strongly flavored (sun-dried tomatoes).
People even provide examples of native Japanese speakers (NJS’s) using karai to describe such disparate flavors as minty Colgate toothpaste or cola.
As Marc Adler ably sums it up, “Anything that is over-stimulative of the mouth gets labeled as ‘karai.’ I think we just don’t have a single word in English that covers all of karai’s lexical bases.”
Case in point, the word used to describe a dry wine is kara-kuchi (辛口), which isn’t by any stretch of the imagination “spicy”. Laurie Berman supplies an excellent and concise theory about this:
My impression is that [karai] 辛い and [amai, “sweet”] 甘い are regarded as opposites, and as a result, [amai] 甘い can be used to mean “not [karai] 辛い,” and [karai] 辛い can sometimes be used to mean “not [amai] 甘い”–which is how I interpret [karai] 辛口.
Does anyone else have an example of an unusual food that they heard a native Japanese speaker refer to as karai?
Writing Opporunity: Write the ending for “The Strange Ship: Part II”
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James Kennedy (Nara-ken, 2004-06), author of The Order of Odd-Fish, has a strangely compelling post on his blog asking readers to help him write the ending to the first book he ever wrote–The Strange Ship.
[A]s a lark, back in November I posted The Strange Ship, the first book I ever wrote (I was seven years old). I mentioned I had written a sequel. Some of the students in Mrs. Vivian’s fifth grade class asked me to put it online. My pleasure!
In The Strange Ship, two nameless space explorers called “moneymen” and their trusty droid 5-0-6 stumbled upon a strange ship full of monsters (including the giants Carziperes, Diploziperes, and Zarzit). The moneymen then proceeded to blow up the ship by making all the monsters simultaneously sneeze.
Clearly a sequel was required, to tie up all those loose ends. So let me take you back to March 13, 1981-almost exactly 28 years ago-and The Strange Ship: Part II.
However, I must warn you-the last couple pages are, tragically, missing! The story breaks off right in the middle of the climax! But America, my carelessness is your opportunity. I propose a contest. Draw / write YOUR OWN ending to The Strange Ship: Part II and send it to me! Let’s make the deadline April 15, 2009. I’ll post the new endings right here on this blog, and there will be prizes!
Click here to read the full post and experience the wonderful drawings in their entirety.
Kirsten’s World: “Shake Up the Picture The Lizard Mixture”
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By Kirsten Phillips (Niigata-ken, 2005-08)
Many things in Japan were my crack cocaine. Tarako, choco an-pan, hijiki, and heated toilet seats all soon became things I could not smile without. I would do lines of kinako dust in the morning just to ease my peanut butter withdrawal. Hon maguro became my sushi requirement. In my rusty little hamlet by the sea there was no shortage of shiokara (salted squid guts) to go with the copious amounts of booze that somehow found me. The stuff was pretty tasty as long as you ate it with a heaping dose of denial.
But of all things Japanese that would make me their bitch, I owe my sanity to one ambrosial substance: 玄米茶。
That’s brown rice tea for those not in the know.
Friends, a steaming cup of genmai-cha on a colorless cold morning feels like a mini three day weekend. It tastes like autumn in a cup, like being hugged by your ample armed mother. Please have some. Read More
Translator’s Corner: Keep Our English Out of Your Japanese Puns!
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By translator and writer Jamie Graves (Saitama-Ken 2002-2003)
The Japanese language is notorious for having a relatively small number of phonemes compared to other major world languages, which can be a hindrance when having to learn new sounds outside that structure (the infamous “L” and “R” distinction), but results in a tremendous number of homonyms. While there are slight changes in emphasis between the words for “hair”, “god” and “paper”, they are all kami. I think we can safely assume that the Japanese have been making linguistic tricks like this into bad puns for centuries, if not millennia.
When the Chinese writing system first crash landed onto the Japanese language around fifteen-hundred years ago no one could have predicted the historical fallout: an explosion of bad puns. As Chinese characters were gradually adapted to Japanese, all of the tones that had previously distinguished words like“mǎ” (“horse”, 馬) from “má” (“hemp” 麻) were flattened out. In a language already rife with nearly identical words, this produced a new explosion of homonyms, the building blocks of puns. (The Chinese also use these for puns. In an effort to mess with government censors the phrase 草泥马, “grass-mud-horse” has gone viral on the Chinese blogosphere because the same sounds with different tones mean… something not really printable here. ( This page explains the whole phenomenon.)
Case in point, the furious Japanese tongue twister “Uraniwa niwa niwa, niwa niwa niwa, niwatori ari”. (裏庭には二羽、庭には二羽、鶏あり). Niwa in Read More
Tokyo As Seen Through the Eyes of Foreigners (film review)
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By Rick Ambrosio (Ibaraki-ken, 2006-08) and Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken, 2000-03)
Sunshine Cinema is now showing the movie Tokyo!, a compilation of three short films from the French directors Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) and Leos Carax (Lovers on the Bridge) and the Korean director Bong Joon-Ho (The Host). Gondry himself made an appearance at two showings of the film when it debuted last weekend, for a Q&A session after the 7:30 show and introducing the movie at the 10:30 show. He spoke in his typically quirky way about his time shooting in Tokyo, and how things like the spaces between buildings and how Japanese people falling asleep on each other on the train fascinated him. Before starting the show, he expressed relief that his Japanese producers weren’t there so he wouldn’t feel bad about forgetting to thank them.
Tokyo! kicks off with his contribution of “Interior Design,” a Kafkaesque story about trying to find your place in the world. The story revolves around a young couple that Read More
James Kennedy “Librarian” essay sets blogosphere atwitter
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Following James Kennedy’s (Nara-ken, 2004-06) recent post of his essay describing the heretofore unpublicized lifestyles and rituals of librarians (a “cult” of which Kennedy’s own wife is admittedly a member) in connection with the American Library Association’s awarding of the “Best Book for Young Adults” to Neil Gaman, author of Coraline, rather than Kennedy’s The Order of Odd-Fish, the blogosphere was atwitter with commentary about Kennedy, who will be appearing in NYC March 22 for the JET Alumni Author Showcase along with Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99) and Robert P. Weston (Nara-ken, 2002-04)).
The Handless Poet’s Maria Alexander said:
I’m buying James Kennedy’s book, The Order of Odd-Fish. I’m buying it entirely because of this blog post. James Kennedy could quite possibly be the funniest man in America. http://www.thehandlesspoet.com/blogger/2009/03/james-kennedy-is-all-growed-up.html
School Library Journal’s Elizabeth Bird wrote:
Bad news for my husband. I have just fallen head-over-heels in love with James Kennedy, author of the YA novel The Order of Odd-Fish. Ladies and gentlemen of the liking men variety, I advise you to be very careful in reading this blog post of his which tells (in a fashion) of his experience with the last ALA Media Awards. He had me at “conniving sidelong lope” and now I feel compelled to read every damn word the fellow has ever written, starting from the early scribbles he scrawled out as a toothless mewling babe. Ba-bump goes my little heart. I also feel inclined to give him a bad review with the sole intention of hoping that he will write about me and do complicated things with my name. As I read through it I almost want to dedicate this entire post solely in the purpose of getting you to read this blog. Go. Now. Read. This. Man. I, for my part, am off to read his book. Even if it is YA. http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/blog/1790000379/post/1130041713.html?nid=3713
Jobs: English Teaching in Japan and Korea – Aclipse
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Aclipse is seeking English teachers for Japan and Korea. More info below. To apply go to: http://www.aclipse.net/apply_now.html
JETAA Chapter Beat 3.10.09
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Freelance writer/editor Jonathan Trace (Fukuoka-ken, 2005-08) takes us on a walk around the JET Alumni community…
- Shinnenkai! – Friday, March 20th, 6:30 to 8:30 at REI Seattle. Ring in the new year in March with PNWJETAA. Bring the family for good food, lively conversation and a quick vote for a new president. Don’t miss this exciting event.
- Seattle Buddhist Temple Spring Bazaar – Sunday, March 15th, 11:00 to 3:00 at the Seattle Buddhist Temple. Come out for some home made Japanese food including sushi, barazushi, curry rice and apple pie.
- Seattle/Kobe Jazz Vocalist Audition – Monday, March 23rd, 6:30 at Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley. The Seattle-Kobe Sister City Association is looking for one high school and one adult female jazz vocalist to perform at the Kobe Jazz Queen Vocalist Contest May 9th, 2009 in Kobe, Japan. Put those pipes to work and try out!
- Teaching ESL Information Sessions – Monday, March 16th, 7:00 at the Seattle University Eastside Center and Wednesday, March 18th, 7:00 at the School of Teaching ESL. If you want to learn more about teaching English either locally or abroad these information sessions are for you.
- Nihongo Dake Dinner – Saturday, March 14th, 7:00 in Hollywood. Brush up on your Japanese and amaze your friends.
- Bowling and Dinner in Fountain Valley (OC Chapter) – March 22nd join the OC Subchapter of JETAASC for some bowling, food and maybe a bit of karaoke. Details are still in the works so stay tuned.
- Quiz Night – Thursday, March 19th, 7:00 at the UWA Tavern. Join in for the ever popular Quiz night. Food, drinks and some trivia. Don’t miss it.
- Annual General Meeting – Friday, March 27th, 7:00 at 43 Below. If you are interested in joining the JETAA committee this year please come by and participate.
- Kaiwa – Thursday, March 12th, 5:30 at 43 Below. Practice your Japanese with old friends and some tasty snacks.
- JETAANC Book Club Meeting – Thursday, March 12th, 6:30 at Cactus Taqueria. Come out and discuss Miyuki Miyabe’s All She was Worth at this month’s book club. Even if you’ve fallen behind in your reading please come by and be a part of the discussion.
- Gardens of Kyoto with Peter Bowyer – Saturday, March 14th, 10:0
0 A.M. at the Cultural Exchange Center. Learn about the elements of Japanese garden design, construction and maintenance. - Santa Clara International Exchange Concert with Okayama Gakugeikan High School – Saturday, March 14th, 6:00 at the Louis B. Mayer Theatre at Santa Clara University. Come see this Internationl Exchange Concert performed by the Ambassadors and the Santa Clara Honors Youth Symphony as well as the Okayama Gakugeikan Symphonic Band from Okayama, Japan.
- Meishi Exchange – Thursday, March 19th, 7:00 at Aja in the West Village. Meet fellow JET alumni, their friends and co-workers , as well as Japan’s Local Government Office and members of the Japanese Consulate in this networking event.
- JETAANY Book Club – Tuesday, March 24, 7:00 at Kat Barnes apartment. This book in question is “In the Shade of Spring Leaves, The Life of Higuchi Ichiyo, With Nine of Her Best Stories,” a collection of short stories by Higuchi Ichiyo. Come and discuss.
- Haru Natsukashii Dinner – Saturday, March 21st, 6:00 at Koume Restaurant. Food, games and prizes to ring in the coming spring. Be sure to join in.
- Japanese Art and Anime Festival – Friday, March 13th and Saturday March 14th at the Orlando Public Library. Information can be found here.
- O-Shaberikai – Wednesday, March 25th, 5:30 at the Holy Grail in Civic. Join in and meet Japanese people living in Canberra and other locals interested in Japan.
What happened at your chapter’s event? If you attend(ed) any of these exciting events, JetWit would love to hear about them. Just email Jonathan Trace with any info, stories or comments.
Roland Kelts on Japan’s News Zero interviewed by Sho Sakurai
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Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99) was recently interviewed by Sho Sakurai on Japan’s News Zero program. Click here to watch the clip on YouTube. (Good opportunity to practice your Japanese a bit as well. :-)
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WITLife is a periodic series written by professional Interpreter/Translator/Writer Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken, 2000-03). Recently she’s been watching Fujisankei’s newscast in Japanese and sharing some of the interesting tidbits and trends together with her own observations.
A little while back I profiled the trend of men and bento making, and it appears to be going strong with advocates receiving the new moniker “Bento Boys.” I was recently doing some copy editing of a market research report which discussed this topic, and though it would be interesting to share as a follow-up. Previously I mentioned the “Oyaji Bento” blog, and this report highlights a blog of a similar nature called “Kyo no Bento.” Below is an excerpt from the report:
“Previously in Japan, frugality was a virtue but stinginess was not welcomed. Now the Japanese do not think someone is necessarily stingy when they are saving money in the process. There are increasing numbers of Read More
Translators Corner: Translating Obama, Audaciously
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Posted by translator and writer Jamie Graves (Saitama-Ken 2002-2003). JetWit invites other translators to post commentary on for Translators Corner as well. Contact translatorscorner atto jetwit dotto com if interested.
While President Obama’s name has proved remarkably compatible with the Japanese language (I wish MY name were that easy to write in kanji), his eloquent rhetoric has proved a little bit more difficult. There is currently an excellent discussion on the Google Honyaku Group about how to translate the now iconic phrase “The Audacity of Hope“. The title of the official Japanese translation of the book conveys only one meaning of the phrase, meaning something like “Revitalizing America, By Embracing Large Hopes”. You can find the discussion on how to accurately render the poetic brevity of “The Audacity of Hope” here.
I thought the first suggestion “あえての希望” (Aete-no-kibo, “daring to hope”) best captured the succinctness of the original phrase. It was followed by many interesting, and occasionally very funny suggestions, as well as some fascinating digressions on what exactly the meaning and feeling of the word “Audacity” are in the original phrase.
Particularly interesting was how people were looking for something to convey the brash feeling of audacity, how the phrase relates to the already popular “Boys Be Ambitious” (青年よ大志を抱け), and the slightly dark (and prescient) joke that “オーダシティ” may soon enter the Japanese language as is.
For those who are interested, Dwight Van Winkle posted an interesting link to a list of official translations of the “The Audacity of Hope” in many different languages.
