WIT Life #289: NY Asian Film Festival
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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 along with her own observations.
This year’s NY Asian Film Festival is showcasing 11 films as part of its focus on new cinema from Japan. I had the chance to catch two of them, Permanent Nobara (パーマネント野ばら) and Chasuke’s Journey (天の
茶助).
The former flick stars the drama and film fixture Miho Kanno and the seemingly non-aging Yosuki Eguchi in a story set in a small fishing village in Shikoku (with dialogue in the regional dialect). Kanno’s character Naoko has returned to her hometown with her daughter, after divorcing her husband and leaving her life in Tokyo. Her mom runs the only town’s beauty salon, whose signature service is perms. The regulars gather there to snack and gab while getting their hair done, and this convivial and often raunchy atmosphere reminded me of the relationships between the women in Steel Magnolias.
Various aspects of Naoko’s life growing up in the village are revealed via flashback, including Read More
WIT Life #288: おわハラ and other Japanese harassment
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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 along with her own observations.
I had the chance to go back to Japan on business this month and will be going again next month to interpret for the same project, so I’m excited to be able to visit on such a regular basis. Being back in a Japanese workplace reminds me of the different styles our two cultures have when it comes to this environment, whether it is the uniforms worn by OLs or the wide open floor plan consisting of endless islands where people sit. Another striking aspect is the specific categorization of various types of potential harassment in the workplace. I’m sure most people have heard of セクハラ (sekuhara which is short for “sexual harassment”) and maybe パワハラ (pawahara which is short for “power harassment,” when a superior uses his/her power to influence a subordinate), but lately there are some new versions of harassment in Japan to
take note of.
For example, マタハラ (matahara or “maternity harassment”) describes when a pregnant woman is bullied because of her physical state, and usually the perpetrator’s motivation is trying to get her to quit. A newer term which was just coined this past March is おわハラ (owahara, coming from 就活終われハラスメント or “job search termination harassment”). It refers to when potential employers pressure their university student recruits to stop considering offers from other companies by offering them a guaranteed position in their own.
This article, though a bit dated, offers a humorous take on the “hara” phenomenon. I like his suggestion of adding “hara hara” at the end!
One other Japanese suffix that might rival “hara” in usage is “活”, or “katsu” which is used to refer to Read More
I’ll Make It Myself!: Ful Medames with Fresh Fava Beans
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L.M. (CIR Ishikawa-ken, Anamizu, 2009-11) is the editor of The Ishikawa JET Kitchen: Cooking in Japan Without a Fight. Ze works in international student exchange; writes I’ll Make It Myself!, a blog about food culture in Japan and the US; 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.
Fresh fava beans one of the delights of spring in Japan. Learn how to measure and prepare them in this Japan-friendly recipe!
WIT Life #287: 猫マニア！
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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 along with her own observations.
Can’t believe it’s been almost a month since I’ve written here, but two weeks of that time was my amazing trip to Japan! I wasn’t sure how spending Golden Week in Tokyo would be, but it was actually quite nice as people tend to leave town to travel both domestically and abroad. Most of my friends stuck around, so it was great to catch up with them without the usual work and other obligations cutting into our time together. Thanks to them, I was able to explore some new neighborhoods and local parks I had never been to and to just enjoy taking it easy in Tokyo, a rarity when things are in no
rmal operation.
During my second week I began to miss my cats at home, so I decided to go to a cat cafe. For some reason I have never thought to visit one during my previous visits to Japan, but part of why I wanted to go this time is that we now have our very own cat cafe in NY so I wanted to check out the original version. I picked one in Kichijouji as it was close to the station, but when my friend and I went upstairs we were told the wait would be a few hours. We had plans later in the day, so I made a reservation for another day that week.
I returned to the cafe at the appointed time and was given a lanyard upon which my start time and other information was marked, and was asked to wash and disinfect my hands. It cost Read More
I’ll Make It Myself!: Add a Dash of Cultural Imperialism: Japanese Food and Cooking (1956), Part 5
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L.M. (CIR Ishikawa-ken, Anamizu, 2009-11) is the editor of The Ishikawa JET Kitchen: Cooking in Japan Without a Fight. Ze works in international student exchange; writes I’ll Make It Myself!, a blog about food culture in Japan and the US; 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.
Part 5 on a series about Stuart Griffin’s Japanese Food and Cooking (1956).
If sushi is the engagement, sashimi, or raw fish, is the wedding. Now is the time to stop dabbling an plunge bolding into what may be regarded as the pièce de résistance, in the accepted French sense, and what some may regard as just the piece to resist, other will regard as the one they cannot resist.
Raw fish, to many foreigners, spells trouble.
“Raw fish!” one can hear them scream, “how could anyone think of eating such a thing?” (36)
I’ll Make It Myself!: Add a Dash of Cultural Imperialism: Japanese Food and Cooking (1956), Part 4
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L.M. (CIR Ishikawa-ken, Anamizu, 2009-11) is the editor of The Ishikawa JET Kitchen: Cooking in Japan Without a Fight. Ze works in international student exchange; writes I’ll Make It Myself!, a blog about food culture in Japan and the US; 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.
Part 4 on a series about Stuart Griffin’s Japanese Food and Cooking (1956).
We’ve made it to the sushi chapter, readers!
I’ve spoken with several people about Griffin’s choice to describe sushi (well, nigiri sushi) as “rice sandwiches.” While I think most Americans in 2015 have some idea of what sushi is, in the 1950s, outside of Japanese-American communities, some explanation may have been required. Reactions to “rice sandwiches” have ranged from “no, that makes sense” to “aren’t they more like hors d’oeuvres?“* to (my favorite) “Do you know how sandwiches work?”
“By dramatizing some of the people who were on the receiving end of that racial hatred, I think the book might give a concrete sense of what American power can do when it is unleashed against people in other parts of the world. I hope the experiences of Jiro and Mitsuko make readers think twice about that.” (Louis Templado)
By Julio Perez Jr. (Kyoto-shi, 2011-13) for JQ magazine. A bibliophile, writer, translator, and graduate from Columbia University, Julio has had experience working at Ishikawa Prefecture’s New York office while seeking opportunities with publications in New York. Follow his enthusiasm for Japan, literature, and comic books on his blog and Twitter @brittlejules.
A Professor Emeritus of Harvard University, Jay Rubin has also served as a distinguished translator of Japanese literature for more than a quarter century, most notably on the works of Haruki Murakami. June 2 marks the release of his debut novel The Sun Gods (Chin Music Press), which is set in Seattle during World War II and explores the relationships between a Seattle-based Japanese national named Mitsuko and her young adopted American toddler, Billy, who are both interned by the U.S. government at the beginning of the war. Years later, Billy begins a journey to newly reconstructed Japan to find his Japanese mother and learn the truth about their shared past.
As part of the book’s launch, Rubin will be making live appearances from coast to coast, starting with Japan Society in New York on May 7 for an event titled The Magical Art of Translation: From Haruki Murakami to Japan’s Latest Storytellers, featuring other guest authors and moderated by JET alum Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99).
In this exclusive interview, Rubin shares with JQ the legacy of the war on his own writing, the attention to historical detail that went into The Sun Gods (with a few liberties taken), and what makes translating Japanese such a liberating experience.
JQ magazine readers are primarily JETs, JET alumni, and others who have worked and resided in Japan or have a strong interest in the country. Could you tell us about what inspired you to study Japanese language and culture and about any time you spent living in Japan?
In my second year at the University of Chicago, I was going to take one course on something non-Western for the fun of it, and one of the courses that happened to be available was an introduction to Japanese literature (in English translation, of course). I was so fascinated by the literature and by the professor’s remarks on the original language that I immediately started studying that language. I sometimes wonder what would have happened if the course I stumbled into happened to be Chinese history. I spent four years studying the language in Chicago before going to the country itself on a Fulbright fellowship. My spoken Japanese was so bad, all I could say to the young woman bartender at the first bar I wandered into was, “Do you realize you just used the word ‘wake‘ (わけ) three times?” I studied in Tokyo for two years, often wish I had made it four. I’m still remarking on how many times people use wake in sentences. I studied mostly Meiji literature while I was in Tokyo, not Noh drama like The Sun Gods’ Bill, though Noh was a side interest, and I did a lot more work on it in later years.
To start off talking about The Sun Gods, how would you describe your new book to potential readers?
This may sound like ad copy, but I’m comfortable with the summary on the book’s front flap:
Opening in the stress-filled years before World War II, The Sun Gods brings together a white minister to a Seattle Japanese Christian church, his motherless young son, and a beautiful new arrival from Japan with a troubled past. The bombing of Pearl Harbor intrudes upon whatever happiness they might have had together, and the combination of race prejudice and war hysteria carry the action from Seattle to the Minidoka Internment Camp in Idaho. Nearly two decades later, the son is ready to graduate from college when memories of Minidoka and of his erstwhile Japanese mother begin to haunt him, and he embarks on a journey that will lead him from Seattle’s International District to war-ravaged Japan in his attempt to discover the truth about his past.
The internment of people of Japanese ancestry in America that occurred during World War II is rarely dwelled on as much as other events of the war, how would you explain the internment and the reasons it warrants further attention to someone unfamiliar with the topic? What is the most important message you hope to get across?
If there’s a “message,” it’s to convey a historical moment, central to which was the fact that our government established concentration camps within its borders in order to lock up members of a particular racial group, and that this was supported by both public opinion and the Supreme Court with no constitutional justification whatsoever. The government has since apologized openly and eloquently, thus making a repeat performance highly unlikely. Japanese-American organizations, it should be noted, were among the most outspoken against anti-Muslim racism following 9/11.
Justin’s Japan: VAMPS, ‘Monkey Business,’ AKB48 at Japan Day @ Central Park
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J-pop superstars AKB48 return for their first New York performance since 2009 at Japan Day @ Central Park May 10. (@AKS)
By JQ magazine editor Justin Tedaldi (CIR Kobe-shi, 2001-02) for Examiner.com. Visit his Japanese culture page here for related stories.
As spring continues and the weather continues to warm, New Yorkers can enjoy activities all over the city both indoors and out.
This month’s highlights include:
Friday, May 1, 8:00 p.m.
Best Buy Theater, 1515 Broadway
$35
Japan’s most daring rock band, VAMPS is fronted by vocalist hyde of L’arc~en~Ciel and guitarist K.A.Z of Oblivion Dust. Now touring in support of their latest album, Bloodsuckers (available on iTunes), VAMPS returns to take another bite out of the Big Apple for their first area performance since 2013.
Monday, May 4, 6:30 p.m.
Monkey Business: Japan/America Writers’ Dialogue in Words and Pictures
Asia Society, 725 Park Avenue
$15, $10 Asia Society members, $12 students/seniors
Join this annual conversation between contemporary Japanese and American authors in which Asia Society hosts an international dialogue, curated and moderated by the co-founders and editors of the Tokyo-based literary journal Monkey Business with writers who are featured in the latest edition of Monkey Business (#5), a unique, cutting-edge annual literary journal which showcases newly-translated Japanese as well as contributions from contemporary American and British writers.
Thursday, May 7, 6:30 p.m.
The Magical Art of Translation: From Haruki Murakami to Japan’s Latest Storytellers
Japan Society, 333 East 47th Street
$12, $8 Japan Society members, students/seniors
Since 1989, Jay Rubin has translated many of Haruki Murakami’s most successful and prize-winning novels, including The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Norwegian Wood and 1Q84. In this program, he is joined by Ted Goossen, translator of Murakami’s most recent U.S. publications, The Strange Library and Wind/Pinball: Two Early Novels, and co-editor of Monkey Business literary magazine, which showcases the best of contemporary Japanese literature for an international audience. They will discuss the unique challenges of translating modern Japanese literary works into American English, and vice versa. Rubin will also talk about his transition from translator to novelist vis-à-vis his debut novel The Sun Gods. Joining the discussion from Tokyo will be authors Aoko Matsuda and Satoshi Kitamura, and Motoyuki Shibata, friend and translating partner of Murakami. Author Roland Kelts, co-editor of Monkey Business, moderates the discussion. Followed by a reception.
For the complete story, click here.
WIT Life #286: 和食
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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 along with her own observations.
This weekend I had the chance to check out the documentary Washoku at Cinema Village, where it will be playing through the end of the month. It features interviews with sushi chefs and other Japanese food proprietors, and asks them about their philosophy, preparation and overall view of Japanese food. Many of them in talk in detail about the sacrifices they make for their craft, and how much pride they have in their work. This film is truly a must see for all washoku lovers.
One of the tidbits I found interesting was the discussion of “umami,” or the fifth taste. In one part, they were talking about the “aku” or scum that appears on the top of soup when it is being cooked, and how in Japan Read More
WIT Life #285: Japanese Stars in Recent American Cinema
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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 along with her own observations.
Lately there have been a bonanza of films being screened here in the city made by American directors starring Japanese actors.
One is Kumiko the Treasure Hunter, currently playing at IFC, Nitehawk Cinema and BAM. It features the ever fabulous Rinko Kikuchi as a discontent OL who is dealing with a harassing boss, insipid colleagues and a mother who is nagging her to get married. She is totally disconnected from the world around her, with her only salvation being her pet bunny and her worn out VHS tape of the movie Fargo.
She watches the scene where Steve Buschemi’s character buries the money over and over while taking meticulous notes, and is convinced that the treasure is still there and she is the Spanish conquistador who must find it. Kumiko eventually makes it to the Midwest, but linguistic and other challenges Read More
WIT Life #284: Durham’s Dashi Ramen & Izakaya
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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 along with her own observations.
I was in Raleigh, NC this past weekend for an interpreting conference (hosted by the fabulous Carolina Association of Translators & Interpreters), and I wanted to check out the new Japanese influences as it had been a while since I had visited the area. After going to see a band in downtown Durham, I was looking for a place to grab a drink. I hoped to come across somewhere promising close to the venue, so was thrilled when I saw a sign for Dashi Ramen Shop & Izakay
a.
Unfortunately the downstairs ramen shop had closed at 10:30 (on Saturday night?!), but the upstairs izakaya was still open with a limited menu. I was happy to find a wide selection of Hitachino beers, including an Espresso Stout I had never tried before. Of course I needed some Read More
I’ll Make It Myself!: Recipe: Pear-Almond Cake [Dairy-Free]
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L.M. (CIR Ishikawa-ken, Anamizu, 2009-11) is the editor of The Ishikawa JET Kitchen: Cooking in Japan Without a Fight. Ze works in international student exchange; writes I’ll Make It Myself!, a blog about food culture in Japan and the US; 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.
This “cake” occupies a nebulous area somewhere between dessert and cornbread. Almond meal, whole-wheat pastry flour, and cornmeal add a toothsome bite to the soft, sweet pears. I brought this to a potluck as dessert, but I liked it even better when I served it for brunch alongside a frittata and baked oatmeal.
Western pears (yônashi, 洋なし) can be a little tricky to find in certain regions and are not available year-round; the biggest producing regions are Tohoku and Koshinetsu, especially Niigata. Almond flour, whole-wheat pastry flour, corn meal are usually available in the baking section of supermarkets. (See notes for the translated ingredient list.)
I’ll Make It Myself!: Add a Dash of Cultural Imperialism: Japanese Food and Cooking (1956), Part 3
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L.M. (CIR Ishikawa-ken, Anamizu, 2009-11) is the editor of The Ishikawa JET Kitchen: Cooking in Japan Without a Fight. Ze works in international student exchange; writes I’ll Make It Myself!, a blog about food culture in Japan and the US; 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.
Part 3 on a series about Stuart Griffin’s Japanese Food and Cooking (1956).
Ch. 2: Rice Dishes
Griffin’s writing style reminds me of culinary gaslighting. He bounces between extolling the deliciousness of Japanese food and calling it gross; he urges his fellow expats (or, rather, their wives) to keep an open mind and expand their palates while simultaneously telling them that foreigners don’t like this food or that food, implying that American cuisine is normal and Japanese cuisine is a curiosity.
I’ll Make It Myself!: Add a Dash of Cultural Imperialism: Japanese Food and Cooking (1956), Part 2
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L.M. (CIR Ishikawa-ken, Anamizu, 2009-11) is the editor of The Ishikawa JET Kitchen: Cooking in Japan Without a Fight. Ze works in international student exchange; writes I’ll Make It Myself!, a blog about food culture in Japan and the US; 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.
Part 2 of a series on culinary cultural imperialism in Stuart Griffin’s Japanese Food and Cooking.
Yet, in the fifth paragraph, he goes right back into making the sort of judgments that put people off trying new foods:
Foreigners make wince at the first reading of the following paragraphs, but this a mistake correctable in the eating (1).
While he’s right that trying new foods prepared well is often the way to throw off squeamish assumptions about their perceived foreignness and potential unpleasantness, presenting these types of fish as “this is kinda gross but try it, you’ll like it!” a rather ineffectual way to go about it.
I’ll Make It Myself!: Add a Dash of Cultural Imperialism: Japanese Food and Cooking (1956), Part 1
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L.M. (CIR Ishikawa-ken, Anamizu, 2009-11) is the editor of The Ishikawa JET Kitchen: Cooking in Japan Without a Fight. Ze works in international student exchange; writes I’ll Make It Myself!, a blog about food culture in Japan and the US; 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.
My friends, knowing I love food history, gave me a copy of an English-language Japanese cookbook as a parting gift. It’s been quite some time since I’ve written about SCAP (Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers), the US presence in Occupied Japan from 1945-52. In grad school, I wrote about SCAP decrees regarding film, and the micro-management of Japanese media to “promote democracy.” This is a bit of a different look–not a government decree from above but a cookbook created by and for the post-Occupation (1956) expat who wants to make Japanese food at home in Japan. Griffin’s cookbook is a very telling sociological text in that it captures the general colonialist attitudes of the expats toward Japan as an occupied nation and of gender norms (for both Japanese and American women). Additionally, the book provides insight into the introduction of Japanese cuisine to Americans and to the US through its explanations of ingredients and dishes as well as the translations of some of the terms used.
Join me on this multi-part descent into the bowels of cultural imperialism in the kitchen!
