Vol. 6 No. 6 - June 2011 |
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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. |
- Stories in the Wake of Disaster: Heartwarming Events in the Midwest
- Application Deadline for MEXT Scholarships!
- June 4: The Japan Information Center's First Annual HaikuFest
- June 16: The International Voices Project Presents Playwright Toshiki Okada's Enjoy/Enjoi
- June 17: Japan America Society of Indiana's Annual Gala
- June 26: Manga Showdown in Chicago
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- Beginning May 27: Takashi Miike's 13 Assassins at Chicago's Music Box Theatre
- Beginning June 5: Chicago Botanic Gardens' Malott Japanese Garden Family Sundays
- June 9: Japan America Society of Chicago's 81st Anniversary Dinner
- June 16: The Art Institute of Chicago Highlights Japanese Kimono, 1915-1940: From Tradition to Ready-to-Wear
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- Monthly Economic Report (May, 2011)
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- News from the G8 Summit in Deauville, France (Japanese only)
- Address by H.E. Mr. Naoto Kan, Prime Minister of Japan, at the Commemoration Ceremony of the 50th Anniversary of the OECD
- Messages of sympathy from Prime Minister Kan and Minister Matsumoto to the Victims of the Tornado in Missouri, U.S.A.
- APEC 2011 USA: Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting (Montana, 19-20 May, 2011)
- Press Conference by Minister for Foreign Affairs Takeaki Matsumoto, 20 May 2011 – Including US President Obama's Speech on Situations of Middle East and North Africa
- Statement by the Prime Minister of Japan, on the death of Usama Bin Laden
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- Last Month in Japan
- Upcoming School Visits
- Website Highlight
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 Minazuki, the old Japanese name for the month of June, means "water month." Considering the 6.5 inches of rain that typically fall on Tokyo this month, Minazuki certainly seems appropriate.
There are no official holidays in June, but June 4th is Cavity Prevention Day ( Mushiba no hi ) and kicks off Dental Hygiene Week. During this time, dentists visit schools to talk about proper care of the teeth. Also, the 3rd Sunday of June is celebrated as Father's Day, though it's not as widely observed as Mother's Day. |
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June is Haiku Month at the JIC!
The Japan Information Center launched our first annual HaikuFest with cooperation from Chicago Public Schools this May and June. Haiku is a style of poetry that originated in Japan. By tradition, a haiku poem has only three lines, with 5, 7, and 5 syllables per line, respectively.
The twelve winning entries from our student haiku contest will be on display at the JIC through mid-June, with a poem reading on June 4th. While you’re here to see the exhibit, why don’t you check out the haiku books and magazines we have in our library as well?
All books and magazines related to haiku can be found under call #554. We carry three haiku magazines: Haiku International, which is published in Tokyo and features haiku from around the world in Japanese and English; Modern Haiku, which is published in Evanston, IL and features haiku mostly by American authors, as well as essays and contest listings; and Mayfly, which is a small magazine featuring work by American poets, published in Decatur, IL. As you can see, the Midwest is the center of a lot of haiku activity in the United States!
If you’d like to get started with traditional Japanese haiku, you can check out The Classic Tradition of Haiku at call #554004. This slim volume presents works by many of the great Japanese haiku Masters, such as Matsuo Basho and Kobayashi Issa, and is good as a general survey of classical haiku.
Interested in reading some contemporary American Haiku? Lee Gurga's Fresh Scent at call #554008 won first place for the Haiku Society of America’s Merit Book Award. Lee Gurga is a Chicago native based in Lincoln, IL, and he has been extremely active in the Midwestern Haiku Community.
Ready to try your hand at writing some haiku yourself? William J. Higginson's The Haiku Handbook: How to Write, Share and Teach Haiku at call #554003 will teach you everything you need to know.
Happy reading and writing!
What's New in the Library is a monthly feature by esteemed JIC librarian Bianca Jarvis. Stop by the JIC anytime to ask for book recommendations! |
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This month, as related below, the Japan Information Center is holding our first annual HaikuFest. The HaikuFest is a collaboration with Chicago Public Schools to teach students from K-12 about Japanese poetry, and after much classroom work and many weeks of deliberation at the JIC, we selected 12 of our favorite haiku written by the students and put them on display in our offices. So, starting this month, we will be featuring one of the winning poems in each issue of the webletter.
This month's poem was an Honorable Mention for the 3rd-5th grade category, and it was written by Miranda Rodriguez of Decatur Classical. We selected it for its smart juxtaposition of images, lilting language, and the poet's oneness with nature, in the true spirit of a haiku.
Lilac oh so nice,
so delicate and light
I try not to fight. |
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 Since the Great East Japan Earthquake, we have received support and condolences from more the 130 countries, about 40 international organizations, and countless non-governmental organizations and individuals. We offer our deepest thanks for these kindnesses.
In this month's e-Japan Journal, we would like to highlight the extraordinary work done by one of these individuals, 11-year old Ashlyn Neader from LaCrosse, Wisconsin.
After hearing about the plight of the victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake, Ashlyn decided she had to do something. First, Ms. Neader took the 15 dollars she had in savings, and together with donations from her parents and relatives, she started a fundraiser. Through persistent effort going door-to-door around town, and with a little local media exposure, Ms. Neader’s cause was soon known to everyone in the city, and she came to raise $6671. That money will be forwarded on to Japan through the American Red Cross, and go to relief efforts for the areas affected by the disaster. And so, one American girl’s heartfelt sympathy, and her call to others, became a big show of support and a heartwarming story.
Sources:
Girl on a mission to raise funds for Japan
Girl raises $5,768 for Japan relief |
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We at the Consulate continue to be amazed and grateful at the outpouring of support, charity, and kindness for Japan following the earthquake. In the Midwest alone, thousands of people have stepped forward and donated money for disaster relief. There is not enough space in this webletter to mention all of them, but Consul General George Hisaeda has spent much of the last two months meeting with and thanking individuals and organizations who have generously contributed to Japan. Please click here to visit the Consul General's Activities Page to see pictures and stories about some of the many, many people he has met.
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This is just a reminder that applications for the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) scholarships to study in Japan are due June 15. They must be in the Consulate's offices that day, so send them soon! Go here for more information.
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This year, in conjunction with Chicago Public Schools, the Consulate has inaugurated a new annual tradition: The HaikuFest!
We put out an open call for haiku poems from Chicago Public Schools students, held workshops for the teachers about the art of haiku, and selected our twelve favorite poems from the many wonderful submissions we received. So, through June 13, these twelve poems will be on display in the Japan Information Center's main hall for all to come admire.
Additionally, at 11:00 AM this coming Saturday, June 4th, the JIC is hosting a public reading of the winning haiku. Each poem will be read aloud by its author. Friends and family are invited, of course, but anyone interested in Japanese poetry should make the trip to the Consulate to hear these beautiful verses. To prepare yourself, look above for one of the winning entries!
| Saturday, June 4, 11:00 AM |
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Japan Information Center
737 N. Michigan Ave. Suite 1000
Chicago, IL 60611
(Map)
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Event Flier
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Premiere Theatre and Performance's International Voices Project is back this summer, and once again the Consulate is teaming up with the troupe for a staged reading of a Japanese play, Enjoy/Enjoi.
The International Voices Project is an initiative to bring new, global theater to Chicago with a series of concert readings (in English translation, don't worry!) with Consulates across the city. We at the Japanese Consulate are excited to help stage playwright Toshiki Okada's Enjoy/Enjoi, a comedy about the uncertain futures facing a group of young employees at a Tokyo Manga Cafe.
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The Japan America Society of Indiana will be having their annual gala just in time for the beginning of summer, and appropriately for an event on a roof ballroom, the featured speaker is JAXA astronaut Dr. Koichi Wakata, who will be journeying to the International Space Station in 2013 to assume the role of commanding officer. The evening will also feature musical entertainment from the Ohio-based The Genki Band and professional orchestra musicians under the direction of Hidetaka Niiyama.
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Manga Showdown, a popular comic event series with prominent Japanese comic writer Rieko Saibara, is coming to Chicago!
This time, Rieko Saibara will have a "comic match" with Mari Yamazaki, another prominent Japanese comic writer who lives in Chicago.
The event will be only in Japanese without English translation, but any manga fans are welcome to join!
There will be a photo session with the comic writers at the end of the event.
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| Following are some of the upcoming events taking place in our 10-state jurisdiction. For a complete listing of all events known to the JIC, see the Calendar of Events on our website. |
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Famed director and, oh, let's just say it, provacateur Takashi Miike brings his distinct, bloody sensibility to the samurai film in his latest, 13 Assassins, playing now through June 2nd at the Music Box Theatre. In the grand tradition of Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, 13 Assassins tells the tale of unemployed samurai recruited to depose a tyrannical warlord. In the grand tradition of all of Miike's films, this will probably be very bloody, and very stylish. You've been warned.
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The Chicago Botanic Gardens' Malott Japanese Garden Family Sundays (CBGMJGFS?) are back! These Family Sundays are a great opportunity to experience Japanse culture in a Japanese setting. The opening event, on Sunday, June 5th, will be a carp-shaped kite-making workshop, an annual summer tradition in Japan. Look at the below link for a full schedule of events.
| Sundays from June 5 to September 18, 11:00 AM - 4:00 PM |
A Japanese White Pine (Pinus parviflora) bonsai on display at the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum at the United States National Arboretum.
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Malott Japanese Gardens
Chicago Botanic Garden
1000 Lake Cook Road
Glencoe, IL 60022
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Chicago Botanic Garden Family Programs
Free with admission to the gardens |
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On Thursday, June 9th, the Japan America Society of Chicago will be holding their 81st Anniversary Dinner at the Union League Club of Chicago. This annual dinner is always a great chance to converse with the movers and shakers of the Japan-American community in Chicago, to hear new ideas about Japan-American relations, and to eat great food. This year's Keynote Speaker is Ambassador Robert M. Orr, former president of Boeing Japan and current United States Executive Director to the Asian Development Bank.
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Like any article of fashion, the Japanese kimono has not been fixed in time, but instead been interpreted and reinterpreted every generation, going through countless variations in style and color that all somehow indicate the same garment. Beginning on June 16th, the Art Institute of Chicago will be exhibiting kimono that straddle a particularly tumultuous period in Japanese history, the transition from the Taishô era (1912-1926) to the Shôwa era (1926-1989). This exhibit promises to be a fascinating glimpse at the change in kimono styles that accompanied Japan's rapid industrialization and its entry into the international political scene.
| Thursday, June 16 - Sunday, November 13 |
Hitoe, late Meiji/early Taishō period, c. 1900/1916. Gift of Mary V. and Ralph E. Hays. |
Art Institute of Chicago
111 S. Michigan Avenue
Chicago, IL 60603
(Map) |
| Art Institute of Chicago Exhibit Listing |
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Monthly Economic Report (May, 2011)
http://www5.cao.go.jp/keizai3/getsurei-e/2011may.html |
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News from the G8 Summit in Deauville, France (Japanese only)
http://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/gaiko/summit/deauville11/skwd_0526.html
Address by H.E. Mr. Naoto Kan, Prime Minister of Japan, at the Commemoration Ceremony of the 50th Anniversary of the OECD
http://www.kantei.go.jp/foreign/kan/statement/201105/25oecd_e.html
Messages of sympathy from Prime Minister Kan and Minister Matsumoto to the Victims of the Tornado in Missouri, U.S.A.
http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/announce/2011/5/0524_02.html
APEC 2011 USA: Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting (Montana, 19-20 May, 2011)
http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/economy/apec/2011/index.html
Press Conference by Minister for Foreign Affairs Takeaki Matsumoto, 20 May 2011 – Including US President Obama's Speech on Situations of Middle East and North Africa
http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/fm_press/2011/5/0520_01.html
Statement by the Prime Minister of Japan, on the death of Usama Bin Laden
http://www.kantei.go.jp/foreign/kan/statement/201105/02danwa_e.html
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Here are three new questions about current events in Japan. The first person to answer the most correctly will receive a bit of Consular merchandise!
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Why might families not want to dine at Ueno Station's new Yakitori Hitori restaurant?
- What record from the Guinness Book of World Records did 603 dog owners just break in Roppongi?
- How does 12-year-old Yuichi Yoshioka have a "presentient" feeling abotu going to Washington, DC?
To submit your answers by email, click here: jic@japancc.org
and write "Japan News Quiz" in the subject line.
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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.
- June 3: At Gary Comer Preperatory
- June 9: At Mayer Elementary School
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 Ikebana International
Since 1956, Ikebana International has been one of the preeminent global ikebana organizations, serving as a resource, a school, a forum, and more for thousands of flower arranging practitioners, professionals, amateurs, and students.
Their website reflects the breadth and depth of their mission. As an organization, Ikebana International doesn't limit itself to any one school of flower arrangement, and their website, likewise, offers information on all of the schools' particular strengths and histories. Additionally, there are handy sections on the history of the entire discipline, a glossary of ikebana terms, information to get the novice started, and plenty of contact information to help you, the prospective flower-arranger, find a local organization of like-minded artists. |
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Happy June,
This month, feeling a little poetic and a little beholden to the whispering whims of weather, the e-Japan Journal gave over a good deal of its real estate to haiku events. After reading through scores of wonderful haiku compositions by precocious children and teenagers (go here for context), I think our whole office has started thinking in three-line stanzas. So,
This editor's note
Is going to end with a
Humble haiku. K?
Thank you,
Daniel Drake, Editor |
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Minazuki, the old Japanese name for the month of June, means "water month." Considering the 6.5 inches of rain that typically fall on Tokyo this month, Minazuki certainly seems appropriate. 
