The e-Japan Journal is the electronic webletter of the Consulate General of Japan at Chicago (CGOJ) and the Japan Information Center (JIC). We hope it proves useful, interesting, and exciting as a window into Japanese culture in the Midwest. As always, your feedback, comments, and suggestions are encouraged and can be sent to our editor, Daniel Drake, at jic@japancc.org.

Satsuki, the old Japanese name for the month of May, means "rice sprout month," for this is the traditional time to plant young rice in paddies.

Satsuki is replete with holidays and is a very popular time for travel in Japan. May 3 is Constitution Memorial Day, May 4 is Greenery Day, and May 5 is Children's Day. This forms a string of vacation days known as Golden Week. Golden Week actually begins on April 29, which is currently known as Showa Day.

Although not an official holiday, the 2nd Sunday in May is commonly observed throughout Japan as Mother's Day.

Dr. Ronald Roskens and Mr. Clyde Dickey, longtime Midwestern residents and tireless promoters of Japanese and American cultural, political, and economic exchange, are both soon to be recognized by the Japanese government with Orders of the Rising Sun, one of the highest honors given to foreign nationals by Japan.

Dr. Roskens, once appointed by President George H. W. Bush as Administrator of the U.S. Agency or International Development, has, for the last ten years, been the Honorary Consul General of Japan at Omaha.

Mr. Dickey founded the Japanese International Organization (JIN) in 1980 to help Japanese business students build networks overseas, and later served as president of the Japan America Society of Chicago.

For more information on Dr. Roskens' achievements, please click here, and click here for more information on Mr. Dickey and his work. (Both PDFs)

The image at right shows the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star, which is to be given to Dr. Roskens.

The application period for the 2011 Japanese Ministry of Education (MEXT) Scholarships for Undergraduates, Specialized Training College Programs, and Researchers is now open. From now through June 14, interested students, scholars, and others should visit this part of the Consulate's website, download the requisite forms, and send them in by the deadline. Which is June 14. Good luck!

On Monday, May 10th, Japanese Ambassador Ichiro Fujisaki to the United States will be speaking about U.S.-Japanese relations at a luncheon forum cosponsored by the Minnesota International Center and the Japan America Society of Minnesota.

Date	Monday, May 10 Registration: 11:30 AM; Program: 12:00 - 1:30 PM
Place	Radisson Plaza Hotel, 3rd Floor Ballroom 35 South Seventh Street Minneapolis, MN 55402 (Map)
Info	Cost: $35 MIC members, cosponsors and students, $50 Non-members Advance registration and payment is required. Register online at www.micglobe.org or call 612.625.4421

On May 13, Mr. Walter L. Keats, Executive Director of the Geographic Society of Chicago, will be giving a talk on the state of modern Japan, highlighting where so-called "modern" features of Japan originated, and what persists from the older, "traditional" Japan. His talk will be supplemented by a visual presentation culled from his personal collection of photographs taken on frequent visits to Japan. The talk will be followed by a delicious bento-box dinner.

Date	Thursday, May 13, 5:00 PM
Place	Japan Information Center 10th Floor, 737 North Michigan Avenue Chicago, IL 60611 (Map)
Info	Event Flier [PDF] RSVP using the flier. The event is free; however, those wishing to eat the Bento Box dinner must pay $15 ahead of time. See the flier for more details.

Iowa's 8th Annual Asian Heritage Festival, delightfully known as the "celebrAsian," will be held on Saturday, May 15.  Join an expected crowd numbering in the tens of thousands for a full day of Asian cuisine, art, dance, and countless other activities, including presentations by Japanese cultural groups.

Please join the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) Chicago and the Consulate on Thursday, May 20 at the Japan Information Center for a chance to sample sake from more than ten Japanese microbreweries. Featuring varieties from nearly every region in Japan, the tasting will open with a presentation by an American sake expert. If you've ever wanted to learn more about Japan's national rice-alcohol, or perhaps considered stocking or distributing it, this is the perfect opportunity for you!

Date	Thursday, May 20, 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Place	Japan Information Center 10th Floor, 737 North Michigan Avenue Chicago, IL 60611 (Map)
Info	Event Flier FREE! You must, however, be 21 years of age or older to enter.

Together with Premiere Theater and Performance, the Consulate is proud to help inaugurate the International Voices Project with a staged reading of a new Japanese play, Moonlight Modesty.

The International Voices Project is an initiative to bring new, global theater to Chicago with a series of concert readings. On Thursday, June 10, playwright and actor Ryo Iwamatsu's Moonlight Modesty will be read/performed at the Japan Information Center. Please join us for an exciting English world premiere!

Date	Thursday, June 10, 7:30 PM
Place	Japan Information Center 10th Floor, 737 North Michigan Avenue Chicago, IL 60611 (Map)
Info	International Voices Project Blog FREE!

From May 1 through June 24, the Gene Siskel Film Center will be offering Chicagoans (and visitors!) a very nearly comprehensive look at the oeuvre of one of the twentieth century's greatest filmmakers. Seventeen (17!) of Akira Kurosawa's films are set to be screened, including acknowledged masterpieces The Seven Samurai, Rashomon, and Ikiru, as well as some of Mr. Kurosawa's less-respected (but still worthwhile!) works, like the famous/infamous Russian co-production Dersu Uzala. Also, if you missed Ran last month at The Music Box, now (well, June 20 and 22) is your chance to see it again. Come join me at the Siskel for a great, great series!

Date	Saturday, May 1 to Thursday, June 24
Place	The Gene Siskel Film Center 164 North State Street Chicago, Illinois 60601 (Map)
Info	Akira Kurosawa at the Gene Siskel Film Center: Complete Schedule Prices range from $4 to $7 depending on membership, student-status, and bulk discounts. Details available at the page above.

If you missed him last month in Chicago, don't miss one-named shamisen wonder Agatsuma in Indianpolis this coming Saturday, May 8. Thanks to the Japan America Society of Indiana, he'll be wowing audiences again at the Toby Theatre. The Chicago concert was wonderful, so this is a can't-miss event.

Date	Saturday, May 8, 7:00 PM, doors open at 6:30 PM	Print of a Shamisen Player
Place	The Toby Theatre Indianapolis Museum of Art 4000 Michigan Road Indianapolis, Indiana 46208 (Map)
Info	Japan-America Society of Indiana Presents Agatsuma: Not Your Father’s Shamisen!

This coming Saturday and Sunday, May 8th and 9th, the Bonsai Society of Greater Kansas City will be having their annual spring exhibit at the Powell Gardens in Kingsville, Missouri, just outside of Kansas City. The annual exhibit is a great chance to see a wide variety of bonsai trees up close, and to learn about the art and process of their creation from the growers themselves.

Following the Japan Information Center and JETRO's sake-tasting afternoon, those interested in trying even more sake (and some Japanese appetizers), or those unable to make the earlier event, are invited to join the Japan America Society at Japonais Restaurant and Lounge for the JASC's 17th Annual Sake Tasting. Added Bonus: the restaurant sits along the Chicago River walk, so the drinks will be served outside. It's almost summer!

The University of Chicago Japanese Studies Committee will be holding the Eighth Japan at Chicago conference on the weekend of May 21. The topic this year is a treasure trove for anyone interested in Japanese New Wave Cinema and 1960s pop music: "Engaging Commodities: Crossing Mass Culture and the Avant Garde in 1960s Japanese Film, Music and Art." The schedule promises an in-depth look at Japanese popular culture in the tumultuous 1960s.

The Chado Urasenke Tankokai Chicago Association observes its 50th Anniversary this year, and will be celebrating the landmark on Sunday, May 23rd with a dinner in Chicago. For more information, including questions about cost and how to RSVP, please contact deanraf@sbcglobal.net.

The average Japanese man lives to be 79 years old, and the average Japanese woman to a whopping 86 years. This outpaces the United States by a fair margin. The Japan America Society of Chicago will be bringing Professor Gregory Kasza of Indiana University for a talk about why this might be, focusing specifically (and relevantly!) on the health care market.

Monthly Economic Report (April, 2010)
http://www5.cao.go.jp/keizai3/getsurei-e/2010apr.html

Courtesy call on Mr. Tetsuro Fukuyama, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs, by Mr. Daniel Feldman, Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan of the United States of America
http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/announce/2010/4/0423_01.html

Statement by H.E. Mr. Katsuya Okada, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, at the Open Debate of the United Nations Security Council on Post-Conflict Peacebuilding
http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/un/fm_state1004.html

Press Conference by the Deputy Press Secretary, 15 April 2010 -
* The Washington Nuclear Security Summit
* Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada to visit New York to chair the UN Security Council open debate
http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/press/2010/4/0415_01.html

Statement by Mr. Katsuya Okada, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan on the release of the U.S. Nuclear Posture Review (NPR)
http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/announce/2010/4/0407_01.html

Oh dear! No one answered last month's questions. Let's try again, readers! This month, answer the April questions for a double bonus prize!

1. Why is Eric Stults "Carping"?
   
   
2. What is Mao Asada celebrating these days, after the Olympics?
   
   
3. What is Hidetoshi Nakata so "Xcited" about?
   
   To submit your answers by email, click here: jic@japancc.org and write "Japan News Quiz" in the subject line.

The following is a list of all educational visits the Japan Information Center will make in the next month. For more information, or if you would like to register for a cultural presentation, please visit our website.

• May 13: Chicago Public Library, Garfield Ridge Branch

Japan National Tourism Organization

Returning now to the theme of "Travelling in Japan," this month's Website Highlight is the comprehensive Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) website. The JNTO itself is an internationally-operated association whose mission is "to further international exchange through tourism," and the website is an able, perhaps even exemplary, extension of that goal.

Featuring short, breezy overviews of Japanese culture, language, society, and geography, it is a helpful introduction to Japan for any novice tourist. But beyond the basics, it is an invaluable resource for any level of traveller. Wondering what the weather is going to be like when and where you visit? Check the site's weather map. Need help arranging in-country travel? Use their JNTO Travel Planner to navigate easily from one destination to the next.

If you're planning a trip to Japan, the JNTO website is an accessible, attractive, and very helpful way to start.

Greetings.

I hope everyone's May has dawned with flowers. Unfortunately, we don't have nearly as many sakura to enjoy in the Midwest as they do in Japan, but it has still been a blooming spring so far.

Anyway, weather pleasantries aside, I have received some very good suggestions so far about the future of the e-Japan Journal, including the possibility of a feature on travel and scholarship options for educators and students, something we will consider adding. So keep up the suggestions! I write this for you readers, let me know what you want to read!

Daniel Drake, Editor