Seattle-based Kevin Kajitani (Kyogo-ken, 2006-07) just let us know about his blog, iSpeakJapanese.net, which features current events as well as videos and other tools for learning or improving your Japanese. Kevin, who was featured in the Winter 2009 issue of JQ (JETAA NY Quarterly) Magazine, is the co-founder of Speakit LLC along with his partner Aaron.
As you’ll notice, Kevin and Aaron have a rather unique and creative approach to Japanese language and culture learning.
Zorgamazoo wins 3rd prize at New York Book Show
Books, Cartoon/Illustration, Uncategorized, Writers 
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Good news to report from Rob Weston (Nara-ken, 2002-04), author of the rhyming novel Zorgamazoo:
One reason I travelled to NYC last week was because my book was up for a design award from the Bookbinder’s Guild of New York, presented at the New York Book Show.
…I’m very pleased to announce that Zorgamazoo won 3rd prize in the Young Adult Hardcover category! The book was beaten out by two other impressive entries, Moribito by Nahoko Uehashi, which took 2nd prize, and Ghostgirl by Tonya Hurley, which claimed the category.
(Click here to read the rest of Rob’s post)
(Click here to watch a video clip of Rob reading reading a selection from Zorgamazoo at the recent JET Alumni Author Showcase.)
J-News Mini-Roundup: The Economic Downturn
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J-News Mini-Roundup is a recurring feature written by Friend Of JET, Jon Hills, founder of Hills Learning (www.hillslearning.com). Hills Learning is a NY-based language learning services company offering customized and personal Japanese language learning options.
The Economic Downturn and its Effects: Most Pessimistic to Most Optimistic
4 – NHK: The biggest news on economic glum came from the NHK news station today. Within the financial community the highly anticipated “Tankan Survey” done by the Bank of Japan stated record pessimism amongst company executives. 61% stated their companies were doing poorly, while only 3% stated they were doing well. This measure is the worst it’s been since the survey’s inception, about 30 years ago.
3 – Nikkei: Not to be outdone, the Nikkei then reported that bankruptcies from listed companies in 2008 had reached 45. This is the highest rate of bankruptcies since WWII. To underscore this point, the second worst year of bankruptcies in Japan was 2002, with only 22 bankruptcies.
2 – Asahi: The Asahi ran a headliner this morning about how lay offs and the economic downturn are good for some companies. Reporting from within the headquarters of a recruiting agency that hires part time workers ( a company called あず) executives were rejoicing on how this is their chance to get more recruits for part time work than ever before. They referred to the “フリーター魂” the furi-ta- or “seasonal worker” spirit!
1 – Yomiuri: The headlines at Yomiuri this morning topped the optimism radar. They made no mention of an economic downturn, but instead decided to focus on North Korea. So you’re probably expecting some kind of article regarding missile launches accidently dropping missiles on Japan? Nope, the headliner read: Kim Jong Ill’s thinness is due to dieting, he’s getting thin due to health reasons.”
JETAA DC Book Club to read “An Artist of the Floating World”
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Via JETAA DC:
Hi Everyone,
JETAADC’s very own book club – with the working name of JBook – is up and running. This month we’ll be reading An Artist of the Floating
World Kazuo Ishiguro. We’ll meet on Monday, April 20 at 6:30pm at the Penn Teaism (in the downstairs area). New members are welcome! Just RSVP a little ahead of time so we know how many tables to push together.
Happy Reading,
-Dan
In case you missed it (or enjoyed it so much you want to relive it), below is a highlights clip from the JET Alumni Author Showcase along with clips of each of the three author readings, all of which took place March 22 in NYC. (Bonus tip: Try to picture each author teaching an English class in a Japanese high school as you watch them do their readings.)
Highlight Clips
James Kennedy (Nara-ken, 2004-06), author of The Order of Odd-Fish
Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99), author of Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture Has Invaded the U.S.
Robert P. Weston (Nara-ken, 2002-04), author of Zorgamazoo
Review: JET Alumni Author Showcase
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JETAANY Hosts First Author Showcase
By Gina Anderson (Nara-ken, 2003-05), former JETAA DC newsletter chair and Justin Tedaldi (CIR Kobe-shi, 2001-02), editor of JQ (JETAA NY) Quarterly Magazine
New York City’s Holiday Inn hosted a summit for published JETs as JETAANY launched its debut JET Alumni Author Showcase on March 22. The panelists included pro writers Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99), Robert Weston (Nara-ken, 2002-04) and James Kennedy (Nara-ken, 2004-06). (Click here and here for photos and here for video clips.)
Drawing over 60 JET alums, friends and family, the event kicked off with some words from Akira Sugiyama, director of the Japan Information Center of the Consulate General of Japan in New York. Moderator and playwright Randall David Cook (Fukui-ken, 1991-93), creator of the critically acclaimed Off Broadway plays Sake with the Haiku Geisha and Fate’s Imagination, asked each author to share a favorite selection of their works with the crowd.
A professor at three different universities including Tokyo University, a writer and editor for two magazines and a columnist for the Yomiuri Shimbun, Kelts spoke about Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture Has Invaded the U.S., his non-fiction book about the eponymous subject. He began by Read More
A fond farewell to JETAA Liaison Shinya Bando
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Today is Shinya Bando’s last day working at the Japan Local Government Center (aka CLAIR) in New York City. He is returning to Tokyo in two days and then on to his home prefecture of Wakayama for his next assignment after spending the last two years in New York. His first year he served as the JETAA USA Liaison (among other roles), and this past year he served in an overseer role for both JETAA USA & Canada.
In addition to all of his support and encouragement for JETAA, JET alums who know him and had a chance to interact with him always appreciated his easygoing style, ever-present smile and warm nature.
The always-ganbatte-ing Taichi Hanzawa will take over Bando-san’s role as the JETAA USA & Canada overseer and will also serve as the JETAA Canada Liaison. Also pictured below is the wonderful and talented Ryoko Kobayashi, who served this past year as the JETAA Canada Liaison and will provide additional support to JETAA USA and Canada. Arriving May 6 will be Kawamura-san who will serve as the new JETAA USA Liaison.
O-tsukare sama deshita, Bando-san!
Taichi Hanzawa, Shinya Bando and Ryoko Kobayashi
Many thanks to JET alum Vlad Baranenko for capturing the JET Alumni Author Showcase in photographs. Click “Read More” below to see all the photos.
I just heard from JETAA Northern California’s President and am sad to report that JET alum Daniel Sakai, a police officer in Oakland, was one of the officers killed in the police chase in Oakland on Saturday.
You can read the San Francisco Chronicle article about him here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/03/23/MNRF16L6DO.DTL&hw=japan&sn=006&sc=188
If any readers knew him, please feel free to share any memories or stories of him in the comments section of this post.
JETAA Hanami Forecast (updated)
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The JETAA Hanami Forecast (updated)
The Consulate-General of Japan in New York has a listing of all of the NY and Philly area upcoming hanami festivals, so let’s add those to the mix from the original post. (Email jetwit at jetwit dot com if you have other events to add to the list.)
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)
Sunday, April 19
- Essex County Cherry Blossom Festival – Bloomfest -Sunday, 4/19, from 11AM to 5PM -The Cherry Blossom Welcome Center in Essex County Branch Brook Park, Newark – List of more event, please visit www.essexcountynj.org/ or call at Essexy County Park Department 973-268-3500
Saturday, April 25
- Flushing Meadows Corona Park (Queens) 5th Sakura Matsuri – 11am – 2pm – For more information, please call Japanese American Association at 212-840-6942
Saturday, May 2 & Sunday May 3
- Brooklyn Botanic Garden Sakura Matsuri – 10am – 6pm (Note: Hanami will officially run there from April 4 – May 10)
- 10th Annual Cherry Blossom Festival – Sunday, May 3, 2009, noon to 5PM – Turnure Park – 20 Lake Street, White Plains, NY 10603 – For more information, please contact 914-774-3187
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?
