WIT Life #236: Japanese Influence in Portland
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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.
I’m on the tail end of a business trip in Portland, my first visit to the state of Oregon. Being located on the West Coast I had assumed there would be significant Japan connections, and was happy to find that I was right. One of the first places I went to was the Japanese Gardens, proclaimed to be the “most authentic Japanese garden outside of Japan.” The 5.5 acre grounds are sprawling, and include natural gardens, sand and stone gardens, and a tea garden. The timing of our visit was great, as they were having a special Isamu Noguchi exhibition as part of their “Art in the Garden” series (through July 21). It was neat to see some of Noguchi’s pieces, on loan from his LIC museum, juxtaposed against the backdrop of the Portland skyline.
I also found a J
apan connection when I checked out the local Rogue Brewery one night. One of their many offerings was the Morimoto Black Obi Soba ale, a richer and nuttier version of the brewery’s original Morimoto Soba Ale. They also feature a Morimoto Imperial Pilsner, which is golden in color, floral in taste, and described as a “hedonistic mouthful.” All three are part of the 2003 Morimoto Signature Series, a collaboration between Read More
I’ll Make It Myself!: Yes, You Should Try Soy-Sauce Ice Cream
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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, web administrator, and translator, ze also writes I’ll Make It Myself!, a blog about food culture in Japan; 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; and admins The JET Alumni Culinary Group on LinkedIn.
New Rice Cooker Chronicles submissions always welcome. Just e-mail it to jetwit [at] jetwit.com.
I probably don’t need to mention how much I love “weird” local flavors of ice cream. In fact, I’m not sure I really need to preface this post with an explanation about how soy-sauce ice cream sounds a bit odd to people unfamiliar with Japanese “savory” flavors used in sweet ice cream.
JET alum Roland Kelts column in Time Magazine on Japan’s Identity Crisis and Right-Wing Rhetoric
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A thought provoking article by JET alum author and writer Roland Kelts(Osaka-shi, 1998-99) from the current issue of Time Magazine.
The Identity Crisis That Lurks Behind Japan’s Right-Wing Rhetoric
Here’s a quote:
“Japan is a country whose identity has been bowdlerized, hollowed out by a dream of Western dominance that no longer exists. It may make sense to see its recent surge in nationalism as a dumbed-down version of Japanese adolescence. This is a country spun around by its own single-minded pursuit of progress, and it has no idea who it’s supposed to be today.”
Here’s a link to the full article: http://world.time.com/2013/05/31/the-identity-crisis-that-lurks-behind-japans-right-wing-rhetoric/
I’ll Make It Myself!: Malga Gelato
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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, web administrator, and translator, ze also writes I’ll Make It Myself!, a blog about food culture in Japan; 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; and admins The JET Alumni Culinary Group in LinkedIn.
New Rice Cooker Chronicles submissions always welcome. Just e-mail it to jetwit [at] jetwit.com.
Malga Gelato (マルガジェラート）
Locations (3): Noto-cho, Nonoichi, Kanazawa
AJET Connect Magazine: May 2013
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Here’s the May 2013 issue of AJET Connect Magazine:
(Download PDF) http://ajetnet.s3.amazonaws.com/connect/2013_May_Connect.pdf
FYI, Editor Jim Kemp and his team at AJET Connect Magazine have been putting together some really good content along with appealing layout. In this issue, I particularly recommend Amelia Hagen’s “29 Things I’ve Learned While Travelling On JET.” But there are also articles on surfing in Japan, the evolution of the kyushoku, and the Tokyo Yamathon among other strong writing about “local” Japan.
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.
Last night I saw a concert at Carnegie Hall given by the Hearts and Eyes Choir ( ゆきわりそう合唱団 or Yukiwariso gasshoudan). This choir was established in 1990 by founder Hiroyo Ubayama, who was on hand to offer her greetings to the audience. It is composed of members with physical and mental disabilities, and the origin of its name is because the choir “shares its dreams and expresses its joy with its hearts and eyes.” They travel the world performing with the motto “we will all be sisters and brothers.” This was their second time on stage at Carnegie Hall, following their debut performance back in 2000.
They were joined by local choral groups as well as featured singers, and the pieces chosen were Rhapsody for Orchestra, Four Seasons of Old Home and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D Minor. Happy Doll founder Nozomi Terao was the MC, and during intermission collections Read More
I’ll Make It Myself!: Bamboo Coconut Curry with Kabocha, Lotus Root, and Soy Beans
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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, web administrator, and translator, ze also writes I’ll Make It Myself!, a blog about food culture in Japan; 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; and admins The JET Alumni Culinary Group in LinkedIn.
New Rice Cooker Chronicles submissions always welcome. Just e-mail it to L.M. at jetwit [at] jetwit.com.
I’ve noticed a lot of people find my blog by searching for bamboo shoot recipes. This year, I wanted to develop a new recipe to add to the list and to make something other than bamboo-rice with the shoot I bought. My friend and temporary roommate mentioned that she had seen a bamboo and kabocha curry at a festival over the weekend….
I’ll Make It Myself!: Hug Chai Works: Get Your Bagel Fix in Kanazawa
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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, web administrator, and translator, ze also writes I’ll Make It Myself!, a blog about food culture in Japan; 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; and admins The JET Alumni Culinary Group in LinkedIn.
New Rice Cooker Chronicles submissions always welcome. Just e-mail it to jetwit [at] jetwit.com.
Hug Chai Works (ハグチャイワークス)
Location: Sainen, Kanazawa (Kencho Road/60 near Kanazawa Station)
Type: Lunch, café
Dietary: Meals are not vegetarian-friendly, but bagels and baked goods are.
Language: Japanese
WIT Life #234: Tokyo Rose
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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.
Last night I had the chance to see the play Iva: The Myth of Tokyo Rose at Asia Society. Prior to seeing the performance I had heard of Tokyo Rose, but was not aware of what the story behind this name was. It was actually created by Allied forces in the South Pacific during WWII to describe English speaking female broadcasters of Japanese propaganda, which was intended to disrupt the morale of the Allied force listeners.
The play’s protagonist is Iva Toguri D’Aquino, a Japanese-American who later married a Filipino. She had the misfortune of going to Japan to take care of a sick relative in 1941, and being stuck there once war broke out. When the Japanese government asked her to renounce her American citizenship and she refused, she was forced to work at Radio Tokyo as an announcer. The program was The Zero Hour, which consisted of propaganda-tinged Read More
JET alum journalist Tom Baker presents Yomiuri Shimbun’s “Japan News” videos
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Tom Baker (Chiba-ken, 1989-91) spent many years on the staff of The Daily Yomiuri. On April 1 this year, The Daily Yomiuri became The Japan News. The paper’s website includes a daily video introducing a few sample headlines from each day’s paper, and Tom is one of the presenters. His latest video appears below, and you can see more at the-japan-news.com or The Japan News’ YouTube page.
WIT Life #233: Live Your Dream
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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.
Handmade bookmark distributed in Taylor’s memory
Last month I had the opportunity to interpret for Mr. Hakubun Shimomura, the current Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT or 文部科学省) during his time in Washington, DC. His schedule included a variety of official visits and meetings, including to a charter school and with various U.S. government agencies, but to me the most personally significant part of working with him was when he addressed the local JETAA chapter (In addition to MEXT, JET is carried out by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC or 総務省), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA or 外務省) and the Council of Local Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR or 自治体国際化協会).
Minister Shimomura provided opening remarks at a reception before the screening of a documentary called Live Your Dream, which tells the story of JET Taylor Anderson who lost her life in the tsunami two years ago. Also featured in this film is the other JET who passed away during this natural disaster, Montgomery (Monty) Dickson. Family members of both Read More
Meet Kitadaito Island
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Posted by Benjamin Martin, a 5th year JET on Kume Island in Okinawa, publisher of the blog MoreThingsJapanese.com and author of the award-winning YA fantasy series Samurai Awakening (Tuttle).
Your first question is probably a lot like mine when I got my placement in Kitadaito. Where?
A lot of us on the JET programme end up in interesting locations that we’ve never heard of before. My first JET posting was on a small island, 320km east of the Okinawan mainland with a population of 550 people. I spent three years on Kitadaito and loved every(well pretty much) minute. A lot of what I learned there inspired my first two books Samurai Awakening and Revenge of the Akuma Clan. During my time on the island, I made a video for an event on the mainland.
The video was my first ever and I used school equipment which, combined with my limited experience produced a so-so video. I went back with a bit more practice and re-did the video, upgrading the quality where I could and adding new material from a visit last year. I hope you enjoy this digital look at Kitadaito Island.
JETAA DC May 2013 Newsletter
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This just in from JETAA DC:
JETAADC Community,
The Newsletter for May is up on our website. Check it out:
http://jetaadc.org/may-
A big thanks to Kat for putting this together!
I’ll Make It Myself!: Kabocha Soba Oyaki
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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, web administrator, and translator, ze also writes I’ll Make It Myself!, a blog about food culture in Japan; 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; and admins The JET Alumni Culinary Group in LinkedIn.
New Rice Cooker Chronicles submissions always welcome. Just e-mail it to jetwit [at] jetwit.com.
The more I learn about cooking and food culture, the more I’ve become fascinated with cultural concepts of portable foods. As I’ve written before, Japan’s main example is onigiri, rice balls, but in the Shinshû/Nagano region, it’s oyaki, the steamed buns often made with savory fillings and soba-flour dough. Combine oyaki with another one of my favorite foods, kabocha, and you have a delicious, healthy addition to your bento that is easy to make and transport.
I’ll Make It Myself!: Kitchen Library 2013.04.30 [Coffee Time]
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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, web administrator, and translator, ze also writes I’ll Make It Myself!, a blog about food culture in Japan; 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; and admins The JET Alumni Culinary Group in LinkedIn.
New Rice Cooker Chronicles submissions always welcome. Just e-mail it to jetwit [at] jetwit.com.
In this Kitchen Library: Coffee! (Non-coffee articles and recommended recipes next time!)
