A Free E-Newsletter for Friends of Japan & Teachers of Japanese
April marks the beginning of the Japanese academic and fiscal year, which normally arrives at the same time as Sakura (Cherry Blossom) season. To celebrate this occasion, we decorated our Information Center with a new photo exhibit titled SAKURA: A Symbol of US-Japan Friendship of 100 Years. I welcome all our subscribers especially those in Southern California to see this exhibit and enjoy your own Hanami here.
We will also be bringing many new and exciting programs in the coming months to introduce Japanese culture and language (JF Nihongo Courses) coverings themes like Obento, Dance and Make-Up as well as our film series JAPANEMA/JAPANEMA MATINEE.
One of the highlights of April is the HAPA JAPAN 2013 event in Los Angeles, which we collaborated with the University of Southern California. This event is truly unique while being both scholarly, yet entertaining and I hope you have a chance to enjoy this one-week event.
I recently participated in the annual conference for the Association of Asian Studies (AAS) in San Diego, and I felt that the interest in Japanese Studies and Japanese Language Education is certainly strong. We here at the Japan Foundation are happy to support people like you with an interest in these fields and I hope you will continue to come out and support us.
Misako Ito, Director
Along with Spring Term of our Japanese language courses, we will also be offering Tea Time on Saturday, April 6th at 1PM. You will be able to chat with native Japanese speakers while enjoying games and Japanese tea/snacks. If you are interested in our courses, you can also register during the event. This summer, we will be offering Summer Camp for Teens in Little Tokyo, which will run from July 22nd to the 26th. Students will meet from 9:30AM to 12:30PM for various activities to learn about Japanese language and the history of the area. We hope you will learn Japanese with us.
Spring is typically the time of year to view Sakura in Japan and have Hanami or Cherry Blossom viewing parties all over Japan. The Cherry Blossom tree is also a symbol of long lasting friendship between Japan and the United States when 3,800 trees were gifted to the US capitol. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to find these trees in Southern California so we hope you can experience Sakura through our photo exhibition.
Amanda Maddox, assistant curator of photographs at the Getty Museum and Britt Salvesen, curator and head of the photography department at LACMA, talks about their experiences as part of the Japan-US Curator Exchange Program sponsored by the Japan Foundation. Amanda and Britt along with a group of other curators from the U.S. visited renowned museums and participated in presentations at symposiums in Japan. In this lecture, they will share their stories and inspirations from Japanese arts, culture, people and places they experienced during the program. They will also share their analysis of contemporary photographic arts and distinguished trends in both Japan and the United States.
Leslie Helm's decision to adopt Japanese children launches him on a personal journey through his family's 140 years in Japan , beginning with his great-grandfather, who worked as a military advisor in 1870 and defied custom to marry his Japanese mistress. The family's poignant experiences of love and war help Helm overcome his cynicism and embrace his Japanese and American heritage.
Debra Samuels, Boston Globe food writer, cooking instructor and author of the popular cookbook My Japanese Table: A Lifetime of Cooking with Friends and Family will give a presentation on Japanese culinary culture focusing on obento, the traditional Japanese lunch box. She will guide you through the many aspects of obento as well as demonstrate this art highlighting nutrition, aesthetics, colors and balance. All participants will receive Debra Samuels' Matcha (green tea) cupcake and the recipe to make it.
In this lecture we will explore the world of Japanese dance and make-up with Masako and Kirk Nishikawa from the Nishikawa school. This program will cover three major topics including the history of classical Japanese dance & Nishikawa Ryu, a demonstration of traditional Japanese make-up, and a presentation of basic choreography. Please make sure to mark your calendar for this exclusive event.
Come join us at from April 2-6, 2013 in Los Angeles for a concert featuring Hapa artists, a comedy night at East West Players, readings by award-winning authors, a historical exhibit at the Japanese American National Museum, film screenings of great documentaries at JFLA, and a 2-day academic conference at USC.
This is a reminder to all Japanese language teachers that the 2013 JET-MIP deadline is Wednesday, April 17th. Please make sure that your application arrives at JFLA by then. All candidates should complete the National Japanese Exam by April 10th, which is a requirement to apply. If you have any questions, please make sure to contact the 2013 JET-MIP Coordinator at the link below.
In mid-February, we announced the start of several grant programs that we organize annually in support of Japanese-Language Education in the United States. These include the Salary Assistance Grant for Japanese Language Courses (Deadline: 4/10/2013). Japanese Language Contest Grant (2nd Deadline: 9/3/2013), Japanese- Materials Purchase Grant (2nd Deadline: 9/16/2013) and Japanese-Language Education Grant (Deadline: 2 months prior to project start date).
This is the last part of an eight part series that highlights the experiences of 32 high school participants of the 2012 JET Memorial Invitational Program. Through this program, participants traveled to Japan in July of 2012 for a two week study tour of the Tohoku area, focusing on the cities of Rikuzentakata and Ishinomaki. These were the cities that Montgomery Dickson and Taylor Anderson were assigned to during their tenure as JET Assistant English Teachers. Sadly, they lost their lives during the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami in March, 2011 and this program was created to commemorate their work. Participants took part in exchanges with local elementary, and high school students as well as local community members with the goal of fostering friendship and goodwill between both countries. This month, we will be featuring the essays of the following participats:
5700 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 100
Los Angeles, CA 90036
jflainfo@jpf.go.jp
323.761.7510
