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.

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December 23 marks a time of festivity and celebration in Japan for the Emperor's birthday: it is a national holiday, and one of only two occasions each year that the public is allowed into the Imperial grounds. There, crowds can admire the pristine gardens from up close while they are greeted by the Imperial family. Typically, the Emperor also gives a brief address.

For more information on the Royal Family, and to wish the Emperor a happy 79, please visit The Imperial Household Agency.

It is too late to register (and if we're being honest with ourselves, too late to start studying), but remember: the Japanese Language Proficiency Test is this coming Sunday, December 2. So if you registered in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Honolulu, Atlanta, San Francisco, Washington D.C., Seattle, Fayetteville (Arkansas), Philadelphia, Boston, Houston, or Ann Arbor, don't forget to arrive on time and well-rested. Good luck!

Go here to find information about your testing site.
Go here for last-minute studying.

K-12 teachers, take note: the Japanese Language Education Assistant Program (J-LEAP) is a great way to invigorate your Japanese language programs. Funded and administered by the Japan Foundation and the Laurasian Instiution, J-LEAP sends college-graduate, native Japanese speakers to American schools to act as assistant language teachers for two years. The J-LEAP TAs live in the community, and in addition to helping in the classroom, can also serve as Japanese cultural ambassadors at events and activities in the area. The most important part: the position is fully-funded by the Japan Foundation, and will present no cost to the hosting institution.

If you would like to strengthen your Japanese language program with a native speaker, applications are due on January 31. However, it is best to notify the Laurasian Institution of your intention to apply now, so as to get the process started. More information and application materials can be found here:
http://www.jflalc.org/jle-j-leap.html

Meanwhile, if you'd like to read about the work of the 23 current participants in the program (3 of whom are in the Midwest, in Indiana, Iowa, and Minnesota), click through to these reports from three current teachers:
http://www.jflalc.org/pub-breeze50.html
http://www.jflalc.org/pub-breeze54-so.html

For the month of December, Navy Pier will be the center of Chicago's holiday and seasonal festivities as it once again hosts the Winter WonderFest. As in years past, many of Chicago's foreign consulates will be sponsoring activities and decorating trees that are displayed throughout the pier. And the Consulate General of Japan at Chicago is no exception: a Japanese-themed Christmas tree will be on display through Sunday, January 6. The tree is bedecked with ornaments made of origami figures folded by the participants in an Origami Workshop held by the Consulate last month.

Moreover, at 4:00 PM on Saturday, December 22, St. Matthew's Japanese Preschool and Chicago Okinawa Kenjinkai will be entertaining audiences with a program of Eisa Okinawan music and dance.

Date	Performance on Saturday, December 22, 4:00 PM
Place	Navy Pier 600 East Grand Avenue Chicago, IL 60611 (Map)
Info	Winter WonderFest at Navy Pier

• Through March, 2013: Dance Works III: Merce Cunningham/Rei Kawakubo at Minneapolis' Walker Art Museum
• December 1: Akira to Screen at Washington University at St. Louis
• December 1: Japan America Society of Minnesota and the JET Alumni Association Host "Japan Career Day" at Macalester College
• December 6: Scientific Foundations of Avant-Garde Architecture and Urbanism in Modern Japan: Seminar at Washington University at St. Louis
• December 7-8: The 17th Annual Chicago Asian American Jazz Festival
• December 9: Spirited Away to Screen at U Chicago's Doc Films
• December 13: Japan America Society of Chicago's End of Year Celebration and Bonenkai
• December 15: Mochitsuki at Chicago's Midwest Buddhist Temple
• December 18: Japan America Society of Indiana's End of Year Bonenkai with Guest of Honor Governor Mitch Daniels
• December 21-22: Tsukasa Taiko: Taiko Legacy at Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art
• December 31: Join the Japan America Society of Iowa to Ring in the New Year at the Yamanashi Peace Bell in Des Moines

Monthly Economic Report (November, 2012)
http://www5.cao.go.jp/keizai3/getsurei-e/2012november.html

"Japan-China Relations at a Crossroads" by Koichiro Gemba, Foreign Minister of Japan, Published in the International Herald Tribune (November 21, 2012) [PDF]
http://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/annai/honsho/gaisho/gemba/pdfs/iht_121121_en.pdf

Press Conference by Minister for Foreign Affairs Koichiro Gemba 16 November 2012 – Including 3. Realignment of U.S. Forces Japan
http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/fm_press/2012/11/1116_01.html

Press Conference by Minister for Foreign Affairs Koichiro Gemba 9 November 2012 – Including 3. Japan-U.S. relations and 4. Crime committed by a U.S. serviceman in Okinawa
http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/fm_press/2012/11/1109_01.html

Press Conference by the Deputy Press Secretary, 8 November 2012 – Including 2. Reelection of US President Barack Obama
http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/press/2012/11/1108_01.html

Press Conference by Minister for Foreign Affairs Koichiro Gemba 7 November 2012 – Including 2. U.S. Presidential Election and the “Central Asia plus Japan” Dialogue, the Fourth Foreign Ministers’ Conference and 5. Japan-U.S. relations
http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/fm_press/2012/11/1107_01.html

Press Conference by Minister for Foreign Affairs Koichiro Gemba 6 November 2012 – Including 3. Japan-U.S. Bilateral Joint Exercise, 4. A U.S. marine breaking into a house in Okinawa, 7. U.S. presidential election, and 8. Prevention of crime by U.S. servicemen
http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/fm_press/2012/11/1106_01.html

Press Conference by Minister for Foreign Affairs Koichiro Gemba 2 November 2012 – Main topics include Home invasion incident by a U.S. serviceman in Okinawa and U.S. Presidential Election
http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/fm_press/2012/11/1102_01.html

Press Conference by the Deputy Press Secretary, 1 November 2012 – Including 1. Messages of condolence for the damage caused by Hurricane Sandy
http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/press/2012/11/1101_01.html

Shiwasu, the old Japanese name for the month of December, means "priests run around." It is so-called because priests (along with everyone else) are so busy this month preparing for the end of the year and the New Year festivities.

The National Holidays in Japan this month are the birthday of the current emperor, which is December 23, and the End of Year holidays on December 29, 30 and 31.

Another important observation in December is New Year's Eve - called Omisoka in Japan. Families busily clean their house and make final preparations for the all-important Oshogatsu - the first 3 days of the New Year. As midnight approaches on Omisoka, Buddhist temples around the country begin ringing out the old year - sounding the temple bell 108 times. This practice is based on a belief that humans have 108 earthly passions they have to overcome in order to attain enlightenment, and each ring is thought to drive away one such passion.

Happy winter! Here in the United States, most people are anticipating the December festivities, but in Japan the main winter celebration is the arrival of the New Year. Even though it's still a month away, now is the time to start preparing! So, in honor of the holiday, this month's featured books will focus on oshōgatsu.

If you'd like an overview of the Japanese New Year, Japanese Celebrations by Betty Reynolds (Call Number 510089) is a great place to start! Filled with bright water-colored paintings, short descriptions, and even some crafts, this book creatively introduces the many symbols, terms, and practices used not only in oshōgatsu but in many of the major Japanese holidays and celebrations.

If you are interested in incorporating Japanese New Year traditions in your own winter celebrations, check out Brush Writing: Calligraphy Techniques for Beginners (Call Number 131004). After practicing the basics of Japanese calligraphy, you will be ready to try your hand at writing Japanese New Year's postcards, known as nengajō. Brush Writing also provides aesthetic directions to help you make beautiful and balanced characters. So if you feel really adventurous, you can even try writing kakizome – the first calligraphy of the New Year!

For the more culinary-minded, Osechiryōri (Call Number 141043) is a cookbook of traditional New Year foods. While the step-by-step color photos make the directions relatively easy to follow, the entire book is written in Japanese so basic language skills are a necessity. But even if you don't cook (or read Japanese), the book is worth checking out for its sumptuous pictures that illustrate the attention to detail that is famous in Japanese cuisine.

Lastly, for those of you who are just interested in curling up with a good book, check out Once Upon a Time in Japan (Call Numbers 510080-510084). Each book in this five-part series has between seven to ten popular short stories including "Snow Woman" (Yuki Onna – Book 2), "The God of Poverty" (Binbou Gami – Book 5), and my personal oshōgatsu favorite, "Bamboo Hats for Jizō" (Kasa Jizou – Book 1). While all of the stories are wonderful, there is just something magical about having six little jizō show up on your genkan with gifts of omochi!

No matter how you decide to celebrate, may you have a wonderful December and fabulous oshōgatsu! Who knows, you might even find a surprise waiting on your doorstep...
Emily Toelcke

What's New in the Library is a monthly column written by JIC librarian Emily Toelcke.

Here are three questions about current events in Japan. Email your answers for the chance to win a small prize!

1. How is Honda's Hearbo Robot listening differently?
2. What is the name of the taiko troupe composed of intellectually-disabled drummers currently starring in the documentary Inclusion: The Joy of Drumming?
3. What's glimmering in the Christmas tree at the Ginza Tanaka jewelry store?

Answers from the November Quiz:
Congratulations to Jennifer Tsang with three correct answers!

1. How have Japanese Burger Kings been sprucing up their regular burgers for autumn? They have been serving kabocha burgers. (BK Pumpkin Burger).
2. What prefecture does 6-foot-4 baseball phenomenon Shohei Otani hail from? Iwate prefecture
3. Who filmed the documentary "Japan in a Day," which just opened at the Tokyo International Film Festival? It was filmed by over 8,000 amateur filmmakers who submitted their glimpses of a day in Tokyo to the producers.

Japan Exposures: A Personal Introduction to Japanese Photography

In addition to dominating the camera manufacturing market, Japan has also produced some incredible photographers and photographs. This handsome, newspaper-esque website is designed to document and share the past and present of the art form in Japan, with accessible gallery reviews, featured photographers, philosophical essays, and more.

As 2012 slowly trundles to a close, Japanese people everywhere prepare themselves for the annual wave of bonenkai, or end-of-year parties. Bonenkai are traditionally a time for Japanese workers and their indulgent offices to party away the stress of a long year now behind them. For one glamorous, boozy, and too-brief night the inhibitions fall and boss, employee, and intern alike mingle and sing and occasionally air grievances, with the understanding that all will be forgiven come 2013.

This is not, of course, a hard-and-fast cultural rule. Certain gripes and inequities will remain buried, not everyone attends, and the parties can get quickly expensive. But as an ideal, the Japanese year-end office spirit-cleansing sure is nice.

So throw your own! Take your boss and co-workers out, liquor them up, and stay out all night alternately berating each other and singing karaoke. You'll never have a better chance to bellow Journey and Utada Hikaru to your HR director.

Daniel Drake, Editor