A (Culturally) Stimulating Interview with the Insatiable Asa Akira
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“I think I have a lot of Japanese culture ingrained in me. Just from being from a Japanese family, living in Japan. The whole ‘respect your elders,’ that, to me, is the main thing that’s different between America and Japan.”
Porn porn
By Michael Karns (CIR Kobe-shi, 2001-02) for JQ magazine. Michael is an avid photographer.
The winner of five AVN Awards (like the Oscars, but without Cuba Gooding, Jr.), Asa Akira returned to the East Coast last weekend for a rare promotional trip. In the spirit of intensifying relations between our nation and Japan, we spoke with the scintillating 25-year-old superstar/native New Yorker about her Japanese roots, her favorite anime films, and the deeper cultural points that America and Japan can swap with each other.
Regarding your Japanese heritage, where is your family originally from?
My mother’s side of the family is from Osaka and my father’s side is from Tokyo, but they live in Yokohama.
You went to an American school growing up.
I did, a very prestigious American private school. It was nice.
When Japanese students relocate to America, it can be difficult adjusting. How was it for you relearning the way of life here?
I was born in New York City and I moved to Japan when I was six, so I already had a little America experience, but it was definitely a huge culture shock. Kids in Japan are really good, even American ones. So coming to New York was like, “Oh my God, these kids are 12 years old and they’re doing drugs!” It was definitely a huge culture shock, and I totally bought into it for a little bit (laughs).
You’ve got an incredible personality…
Thank you.
What do you attribute this to?
I grew up around boys; I think that has a lot to do with my sense of humor. Me and this other girl were always the only two girls in this group of boys, so I think we grew up with a really good sense of humor, you know?
So are you kind of like an otemba (tomboy)?
Yeah (laughs).
That’s my type, by the way.
Oh, good (laughs).
Regarding Japanese culture, what things do you like the most about it? Are there any films or other things that you point to as an inspiration?
I think I have a lot of Japanese culture ingrained in me. Just from being from a Japanese family, living in Japan. The whole “respect your elders,” that, to me, is the main thing that’s different between America and Japan. People in America treat old people like [expletive].
I love my grandmother, but I know what you’re talking about.
(Laughs) And they just don’t listen to older people. I think that’s weird. So that would be the main thing.
I’ll Make It Myself! — Travel Checklist: Local Foods in Hida-Takayama, Part 2
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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 and translator for The Art of Japan: Kanazawa and Discover Kanazawa, ze also writes I’ll Make It Myself!, a blog about food culture in Japan.
Travel Checklist: Local Foods in Hida-Takayama, Part 2
To recap– In September, a friend and I traveled to Takayama, about 3 hours from Kanazawa. Located in Gifu near the border of Nagano, the old towns of Hida (飛騨) and Takayama (高山) are a food tourist’s paradise. Since the town is quite small, most of these foods can be found in stands or restaurants near Takayama Station and nearby morning markets.
CLICK HERE to read the full post.
Kirsten Phillips strikes a Yosakoi pose.
By Sierra Soleil (Fukushima-ken, 2000-02) for JQ magazine. Sierra works at an ESL school in Manhattan. He enjoys teaching, writing, and riding his bike.
The first weekend of November marked the ninth annual Japan Arts Matsuri (JAM) in New York, this year at the Theater for the New City in the East Village. With about 30 volunteers and a handful of business sponsors, JAM put on an excellent show for roughly a thousand people over the three exciting days.
The entryway and lobby of the theater was crammed with tables selling everything from okashi and yakisoba to clothes and handicrafts, though most people in the know went directly for the Sendai miso cream puffs, and for good reason. There were even two carnival games: a simple one involving throwing a plastic katana at prizes, and an incomprehensible one where people poked little cookies with needles for some reason. Nearly every table was also raising money for earthquake/tsunami relief.
Every day of the three-day matsuri had music and dance performances, but Saturday was Talent Night, where performers could compete for a special invitation to perform at next year’s JAM. I wasn’t sure what to expect from Talent Night, which was good, because it was as wildly erratic as any cross-section of modern Japanese music and dance should be. The first act I caught was Robin’s Egg Blue, a cheerful acoustic pop group. They were followed by a band called Firesign, which was meant to be metal, though any spell they cast dissipated immediately when, as they left the stage, one of the emcees decided to reassure us that they were all very polite in person. After that there were modern and traditional dances, a gospel singer, a karaoke cover of Cee Lo Green’s smash hit (the “Forget You” version, of course), and a fascinating collaboration between a belly dancer and a beatboxer.
The show was billed as being like Amateur Night at the Apollo, and there was some resemblance. The acts were short, and before each intermission the audience chose their favorite via applause. Looking at the lineup, it occurred to me that JAM’s offering was a lot more diverse than anything I’ve seen at Amateur Night. One of the matsuri’s goals is to share Japanese culture with Americans, and the lesson to take from Talent Night is that culturally, the Japanese really are into everything. It also occurred to me that the power to vote by cheering for a performer we liked meant a lot less without the power to impeach them by booing.
I came to Talent Night specifically to meet with JET alumna Kirsten Phillips (Niigata-ken, 2005-08), a member of the Yosakoi Dance Project 10tecomai. The first impression she makes is everything a JET is supposed to be: energetic, cheerful, with a kind of wide-eyed enunciation that makes everything sound exciting. She went directly from teaching in Japan to teaching special education in New York, and it immediately seems like she would be good at it.
JQ Magazine: Film Review – Sion Sono’s ‘Cold Fish’ an Antisocially Acquired Taste
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“In the end, Sono really does ask us about our humanity, and what life is about. Sure, he takes the bloody, abusive, rape-filled path, but he does touch on some solid stuff. It’s a lot of big questions wrapped in a gory, misogynistic, boob-exposing gift box.” (Courtesy Salient Media)
By Rick Ambrosio (Ibaraki-ken, 2006-08) for JQ magazine. Rick manages the JET Alumni Association of New York (JETAANY)’s Twitter page and is the creator of the JETwit column Tadaima!
I was hungry, real hungry after work and was about 20 minutes early to the New York Museum of Art and Design near Columbus Circle to see the movie Cold Fish 「冷たい熱帯魚」, so I walked a block to Good Burger and grabbed an overpriced hamburger. As I arrived back to the museum, I sat next to Shree (name changed to protect the innocent) who was midway through a burrito. With minutes left before the movie started, we headed into the museum and down some wooden steps to the theater. Walking in I was pretty surprised; we were only accompanied by seven or eight other patrons. Little did I know that it was a blessing in disguise…fewer people to feel awkward around after the movie.
Oh yes, the movie. How do I write about Cold Fish? It’s a little difficult. I suppose I can do it like this:
Cold Fish is a film directed by the controversial Sion Sono (whose month-long, eight-film retrospective wraps this week at MAD) and stars Denden and Mitsuru Fukikoshi. The film is based on real murders that took place in Fukushima. The story begins well enough: A timid man named Nobuyuki (Mitsuru Fukikoshi) with a rebellious daughter (Hiraki Kajiwara) and a hot trophy wife (gravure idol Megumi Kagurazaka) is feeling disconnected and regretful. They own a tropical fish shop. Through an awkward circumstance they meet Mr. Murata (Denden) and his attractive wife (Asuka Kurosawa), both of whom also own a tropical fish shop.
From there, shit just gets weird. That’s the only way I can explain it, folks. And it wasn’t just because the film cut out four times while we watched it. (Apparently, there were Blu-ray issues…through most of the movie. The museum might want to buy a new player before they hold another festival.) Anyway, Mr. Murata decides to bring Nobuyuki on as a partner, but not before hiring his daughter at his shop and sleeping with his wife (who apparently enjoys rough treatment, to put it mildly).
As Nobuyuki is introduced as the new partner, the old partner finds himself exiting the business via a poisonous death. This is where things kick into the next gear, and Murata forces Nobuyuki to assist with the disposal of the body. The whole body disposal process is presented with great detail. I’m serious about this part—after watching this movie, I am fairly confident that anyone could make a dead body disappear.
The plot then dives deeper and deeper into the dark comedy that is Murata’s utter disregard for human life and the director’s utter disregard for your stomach. By the way, did I mention that this film is very graphically violent? If you aren’t into that kind of thing, find another show; this movie revels in its ability to test what you can deal with gore-wise. If you enjoy severed heads and genitalia being tossed around a bathroom, you’ve found your dream movie.
Job: Weekend position at a freight forwarder (Long Island)
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Via Quick USA. Posted by Dipika Soni (Ishikawa-ken, 2003-06). Dipika has recently moved back to London but is interested in hearing about any Japan-related opportunities across the globe.
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***Note: If you apply for this position, please let them know you learned of it from JETwit. Thanks.***
Job Position: Weekend position at a freight forwarder (Long Island)
Job Details:
Job Type: Long-term part time position (2days/week)
Company: An international freight forwarder
Job Title: Import Coordinator
Salary: Min. $14/hr
Shift: Saturday and Sunday. 8 hours per day.
Requirements:
– Must have customer service etiquette
– Must be able to work on both Saturday and Sunday (8 hours per day).
– Prior experience is not required. The training is provided.
– Need to be proficient with PC and MS Word & Excel
– Must be able to commute by a car
Location: Long Island ? Near JFK
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If you are interested in this opportunity, please send your resume to hoshino@919usa.com
I am looking forward to hearing from you.
Shion Hoshino
Recruiting Consultant
Quick USA, Inc.
Job: Product Manager at Yelp – Japanese Products (San Francisco)
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Via JETAA US country rep Mike Shu who works for Yelp. Posted by Dipika Soni (Ishikawa-ken, 2003-06). Dipika has recently moved back to London but is interested in hearing about any Japan-related opportunities across the globe.
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***Note: If you apply for this position, please let them know you learned of it from JETwit. Thanks.***
Job Position: Product Manager – Japanese Products (San Francisco, CA)
Job Details:
At Yelp, we pride ourselves in being a hyper local product. Yelp is already available in nine countries and we’re starting to work on bringing Yelp to Japan. This role will involve customizing the Yelp product to make sure it feels truly local to our users in Japan.
We need a Product Manager who can design beautiful-but-simple features, crank out mockups and is passionate about how culturally unique different countries are. You should be fluent in Japanese and a definite plus is if you currently live in or have spent a large amount of time (at least 10 years) living in Japan.
You will:
Requirements (and we mean it!):
+ Techie Cred: CS or similar degree so you can talk to our enginerds about Python, map reduce jobs, and naive Bayesian algorithms without a translator.
+ i18n Experience: Knowledge of and experience dealing with the challenges that launching a product in multiple languages creates. You will work with our engineering team on optimizing our translation and localization workflows.
+ Passion about the Space: You love the world of social networking, local search and consumer websites.
+ Non-Nerd Empathy: You’re interested in FriendFeed, Twitter, etc. as much as the next nerd, but you also recognize that you’re designing for a non-techie audience.
+ A Conditional Love for Yelp: Like a BFF or a tee ball coach, you should love us but also be able to tell us what we’re doing wrong. You’ll need to be able to dish out the criticism here and take it, too.
+ A Need for Speed: Daily release cycle? Bring it!
Job: Openings at the Consulate General of Japan in Atlanta
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Via JET Program Atlanta. Posted by Dipika Soni (Ishikawa-ken, 2003-06). Dipika has recently moved back to London but is interested in hearing about any Japan-related opportunities across the globe.
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***Note: If you apply for this position, please let them know you learned of it from JETwit. Thanks.***
The Consulate General of Japan in Atlanta currently has the following three openings:
Security Assistant/Japanese Citizen Support Service Assistant
The Consulate General of Japan in Atlanta is seeking security assistant/Japanese citizen support services assistant.
Applicants must either be an American citizen or permanent resident, proficient in both Japanese and English, and possess computer skills, especially Microsoft Word and Excel.
Interested parties should send an email and resume to yoshimura@cgjapanatlanta.org.
Employment Opportunity – Consular Section
The Consulate General of Japan in Atlanta is seeking a full-time Staff for the position of Assistant for Consular Section. The candidate must be a U.S. citizen or a U.S. Green Card holder and need to be fluent in Japanese and English. Computer skills (Microsoft Word and Excel etc. preferred） are also required. To apply for this position, please send us your resume to koike@cgjapanatlanta.org.
Employment Opportunity – Driver
The Consulate General of Japan in Atlanta is seeking a driver to operate the Consulate’s passenger van.
Candidate must be a U.S. citizen or a U.S. green card holder, must be fluent in English, possess computer skills (Microsoft Word and Excel etc.), and be able to use a GPS navigation device. A safe driving record is required.
To apply for this position, please send a resume to isoda@cgjapanatlanta.org.
Job: Instructor for Japanese Course (Miami)
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Via JET alum Abby Mcbain of the Miami consulate. Posted by Dipika Soni (Ishikawa-ken, 2003-06). Dipika has recently moved back to London but is interested in hearing about any Japan-related opportunities across the globe.
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***Note: If you apply for this position, please let them know you learned of it from JETwit. Thanks.***
Job Position: Instructor for Japanese Course
Job Details:
Walter Kozloski at Miami Dade College, North Campus are looking for an instructor for beginner’s Japanese.
The course will begin in the Spring Semester, which starts in January 2012. Most likely, the
course will be scheduled for 9:00-9:50 am on Mon, Wed, Fri. or 8:25-9:40 on Tue, Thurs.
In order to instruct in the credit programs at Miami Dade College, a Masters degree in Japanese or a Masters degree in a related field with 18 graduate credits of Japanese language is required.
How to apply:
If interested, contact Mr. Kozloski at wkozlosk@mdc.edu with an attached resume as soon as possible.
Daily Yomiuri: Study halls opened in honor of “Monty-sensei” in Rikuzentakata
Earthquake Tsunami, Fundraising, Japan Local, JETs in the News, Local Government, Notable JET Alums, Return on JET-vestment Comments Off on Daily Yomiuri: Study halls opened in honor of “Monty-sensei” in Rikuzentakata
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Update 11/07/11: The Ministry of Education has apparently been impressed enough by Youth Empowerment for Iwate to send a team to observe them. And fyi, the group now has a website as well: http://soup1993.com/epatch.html
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There’s a nice Daily Yomiuri article (“Study halls opened in honor of ‘Monty-sensei‘”) on Monty Dickson and the contribution JETAA USA will be making to the Japanese non-profit Iwate Youth Empowerment (which is translated in the article below with a different name).
Though not quoted in the article, JETAA USA Fund Committee members Jessyca Wilcox and Jim Gannon (Ehime-ken, 1992-94) were both interviewed for background. Apparently the program launched on November 1 and they were surprised at the level of demand, receiving 100 applicants and 45 students on the first day.
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Study halls opened in honor of ‘Monty-sensei’
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T111104005277.htm
Takayuki Fuchigami and Kentaro Sugino / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writers
RIKUZEN-TAKATA, Iwate–Special study halls providing self-study sessions to primary and middle school students have opened in Rikuzen-Takata to honor an American assistant language teacher who was killed by the March 11 tsunami.
Montgomery Dickson, a native of Alaska, was scheduled to teach English at 16 primary and middle schools in the city for two years until last August.
Dickson, who was called “Monty” by local residents, gave free English classes to children and had a dream of becoming a Japanese-language teacher. At drinking parties with his coworkers, he sometimes performed manzai comedy and sang enka songs.
Noboru Sato, the owner of a bicycle shop in the city that Dickson bought a mountain bike from, was his close friend. They had dinner and
drank together almost every night.
However, both were killed by the tsunami. Dickson died at the age of 26, while Sato was 69 years old.
Sato’s granddaughter Sayaka, 15, recalled that “Monty was like a member of our family.”
After learning of Dickson’s death, a group of former ALTs (JETwit note: The “group” is actually the JETAA USA Earthquake Relief Fund Committee) decided to use about 20,000 dollars (1.5 million yen) of donations they collected for quake-hit areas for projects to support Rikuzen-Takata.
The group talked with the city’s board of education officials about possible ways to use the donations. They agreed to open study rooms called “Manabi no Heya.”
The study halls, operated by the city’s education board and Empowerment through Participation and Challenge (JETwit note: aka Iwate Youth Empowerment), an Iwate Prefecture-based organization, have been opened at three primary and middle schools.
During sessions at the halls, which are open three times a week in the evening and on weekends, students study on their own and can ask questions to former teachers and cram school instructors. The operators intend to run the sessions for two years.
At the city-run Daiichi Middle School, the first Manabi no Heya study session was held Tuesday. A total of 45 students studied for two hours from 7 p.m. in three classrooms.
Mai Sato, 13, a second-grade student at the school who lives in a temporary housing unit, expressed her appreciation. “I was so depressed by the death of Monty-sensei. But [thanks to him] this study hall was opened. I’m happy,” she said.
Naoko Watanabe, 36, an office worker in Tendo, Yamagata Prefecture,
who was engaged to Dickson, expressed her hopes for his legacy.
“I think Monty is happy [to know about the study halls]. I hope Monty lingers in the memory of children in Rikuzen-Takata for a long time,” Watanabe, who once studied in the United States, said.
On the morning of March 11, Dickson was asked by his friend to translate a phrase from the essay “Koan no Taimatsu” (Ogata Koan’s torch), written by historical novelist Ryotaro Shiba (1923-1996) from Japanese into English.
The English translation was left on a piece of paper: “There is nothing as beautiful as dedicating oneself for a cause.”
The translation was given to Shelley Fredrickson, Dickson’s elder sister, who lives in Anchorage, Alaska.
Referring to the phrase, Fredrickson, 45, said, “Monty always made himself available to anyone who needed him.
“I’m so proud of him and all he had accomplished. I’m finding his inspiration is still flowing and continuing to make an impact on people who knew him as well as those that did not.”
(Nov. 5, 2011)
Hibari-sensei: THE LAST DAYBREAK by exist†trace
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Jen Wang (Miyagi, 2008-09) is a lab tech in Dallas and a staff writer for the Japanese music website Purple SKY. Her love of cosplay and her junior high school students inspired the name for her own Japanese pop culture blog, Hibari-sensei’s Classroom.
Recently I wrote a review of THE LAST DAYBREAK, the latest EP by exist†trace, for Purple SKY. The all-female J-rock band made their major label debut this past June and are now gearing up for a U.S. tour. They will play in Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, as well as Tekkoshocon in Pittsburg, in March.
THE LAST DAYBREAK opens with a primal call from Jyou, but instead of singing in her trademark growling alto, she keeps her voice light and clear in “Daybreak ~Jyusan gatsu no shikisai.” Unexpected moves like these are the highlight of exist†trace’s new album.
Read the rest of the review here.
“The Law School Bubble” – JET alum evolves into authoritative voice with latest AmLaw article
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Matt Leichter (Saitama-ken 2003-05) continues to evolve as perhaps the authoritative voice on the topic of “The Law School Bubble” through his blog (“The Law School Tuition Bubble“) and most recently with his latest article to appear in The American Lawyer (aka AmLaw Daily) titled:
- “Dear Prospective Law Students, Do Not “Reasonably Rely” on Cooley’s “Report One“. http://amlawdaily.typepad.com/amlawdaily/2011/11/dear-prospective-law-students-do-not-reasonably-rely-on-cooleys-report-one.html
- (You can also read his previous AmLaw article titled “Media Outlets Claiming ‘Law Is no Longer a Golden Ticket’ Conceal Decades of a Profession in Decline.”)
Matt’s writing is gaining recognition for not just his thorough yet accessible writing style, but also for his un-lawyerly comfort with statistics and his willingness to push past assumptions.
If any JET alums out there are still contemplating law school, please (I beg you) read some of Matt’s writing first.
JETAA Chicago Job and Networking Fair – Saturday Nov 5
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Thanks to JETAA Chicago’s Elizabeth Gordon (Iwate-ken 2003-05) for sharing this info:
JETAA Chicago will host its annual Job and Networking Fair on Saturday, November 5th from 1pm to 5pm at the Japan Information Center in downtown Chicago.
This is a great opportunity for JETs that have recently returned from Japan, current JET Alumni, friends of JETs as well as professionals looking for new networking and career opportunities.
A lot of JETs return from Japan looking for ways to maintain and even build upon the experiences they made while living abroad and we hope to provide support in helping you reach those goals. This is also a wonderful opportunity for individuals that are interested in pursuing a new career and would like some guidance from current Alumni or other established professionals.
There will be an open table top session with booths from various Chicagoland companies and organizations as well as a wine and cheese reception. We are also planning on having a speaker to kick off the event so please stay tuned as there will be more specific information to follow!
If you have any questions, please feel free to email our Social Activities Officer, Daniel Martin: social@jetaachicago.com
Location: Consulate General of Japan at Chicago (JIC – Japan Information Center), 737. North Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL (map it)
The Rice Cooker Chronicles: “My Rice Ball World” by Meredith Hodges-Boos
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The Rice Cooker Chronicles is a series of essays by JETs and JET alumni on the theme of cooking/eating and being alone in Japan. The brain-child of JETwit founder Steven Horowitz (Aichi-ken, Kariya-shi, 1992-94) (and inspired by the book Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant), this series is curated by L.M. Zoller (CIR Ishikawa-ken, Anamizu, 2009-11), the editor of The Ishikawa JET Kitchen: Cooking in Japan Without a Fight. A writer and translator for The Art of Japan: Kanazawa and Discover Kanazawa, ze also writes I’ll Make It Myself!, a blog about food culture in Japan.
New submissions always welcome. Just e-mail it to Leah at jetwit [at] jetwit.com.
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“My Rice Ball World”
by Meredith Hodges-Boos (ALT, Ehime-ken, 2003-2005). Please visit http://meredithhodgesboos.blog.com/ for more essays on her time in Japan and current literary projects.
I dragged my tired body into the entryway and found just enough energy to pry off my shoes. The door rattled on the track as I slumped into the main room of the house my husband and I shared as Assistant Language Teachers. “I’m home,” I muttered to Greg and I blinked into the bright light of the room. The glare and blare of the used Playstation we’d bought at Hard Off lit up the tatami in a rainbow of colors.
Justin’s Japan: Japan Arts Matsuri 2011 presents amateur night, guest stars, charity showcase
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Japan Arts Matsuri 2011 runs Nov. 4-6 at Manhattan's Theater for the New City. (Kenji Mori)
By JQ magazine editor Justin Tedaldi (CIR Kobe-shi, 2001-02) for Examiner.com. Visit his page here for related stories.
For every Japanese artist and entertainer in New York with a dream to make it big, the ninth annual Japan Art Matsuri (JAM) is the place for their star to shine. Held this year from Nov. 4-6 at the Theater for the New Cityin Manhattan’s East Village, this year JAM 2011 offers its biggest and most diverse lineup to date.
Hosted by Yoshi Amao and Saori Goda and presented by JaNet in association with Faune Dance Troupe, JAM 2011 has established itself as one of America’s largest Japanese art and music festivals, presenting Japan and its unique culture with performances by Japanese artists, musicians and entertainers in a true matsuri (festival)-style atmosphere, and to enhance friendship and communication among New York City’s cultural communities.
More than 1,000 people are expected to attend the three-day event that features, in addition to live entertainment, a variety of street stall-style shops in the theater lobby that sell everything from Japanese food and drinks to artworks and traditional goods. There will also be charity booths to help those in Japan devastated by the 3/11 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami disaster.
For the complete story, click here.
I was emailed today by a JET alum who has a daughter of her own getting ready to apply to colleges. She asked if I have any insights on the Waseda University’s international program and on programs in general at Japanese universities.
So, do any JETs/JET alums/other readers have any insights or perspectives to share for an American student who wants to go off to study at a Japanese university in lieu of a U.S. university?
Please post responses in the comments section of this post. Or feel free to e-mail them to jetwit [at] jetwit.com.
Yoroshiku onegaishimasu!
