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, Wesley Julian, at jic@japancc.org.

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The Japan Information Center will have a new email address starting February 19. Please update your address book as our March webletter will be sent from our new address: jic@cg.mofa.go.jp

We also would love to hear from you!

Think you know Japan? Are you a high school student living in Minnesota or Wisconsin? Then challenge yourself this month in the Japan America Society of Minnesota's annual J-Quiz! As a qualifying event for the national Japan Bowl, the J-Quiz offers its grand prize winner a trip to Washington, D.C. in April to compete in the national bowl and observe the Cherry Blossom Festival.

Date	Saturday, February 16, Finals from 12:30PM
Place	Normandale Community College 9700 France Ave S Bloomington, MN 55431 (Map)
Info	Please contact JASM at 612.627.9357 or at jasm@us-japan.org J-Quiz 2013 Summary

On February 16 and 17 the Heartland JET Alumni Association is a hosting a Film Festilval as a fundraiser to continue to support the rebuilding of the Tohoku area of Japan.

The theme will be about WWII, especially the roles of Japanese-Americans given last year was the 70th anniversary of the Japanese-American internment camps. The festival will include a number of documentaries including The Cats of Mirikitani, the three-part nisei series from Suzuki Junichi including Toyo's Camera,442, and MIS. Also the classic film The Burmese Harp and a new documentary called Light Up Nippon.

Date	Saturday, February 16, 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM Sunday, February 17, 12:00-5:00 PM
Place	Nelson Atkins Museum of Art 4525 Oak Street Kansas City, MO 64111 (Map)
Info	Tickets are by donation. Go here for more details

In 2011, Virginian Taylor Anderson and Alaskan Montgomery Dickson both lost their lives during the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami while teaching English in Japan as part of the JET Program. In their honor, the Japan Foundation and the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) are sending around 30 American high school students to Japan every year until 2015 for an intensive, 2-week language training and cultural exchange trip.

The program, which was inaugurated in the summer of 2011, is open to 11th and 12th grade students from across the United States who are studying Japanese and have taken the National Japanese Exam. Applications are not due until April 17, but one of the primary qualifications is that applicants must take the National Japanese Exam, registration for which ends on February 8. More information, including all eligibility requirements and application materials, can be found below:
http://www.jflalc.org/jle-jet-mip.html


Essays from past Midwest participants on JET-MIP can be read here

It's that time of year again! For twenty-seven years now, the Consulate General of Japan at Chicago has held a Japanese language speech contest in late March and awarded one lucky contestant with the grand prize: a flight to Japan! This year's contest will be on Saturday, March 16; however, in order to participate, the Consulate must receive your application packet NO LATER than 5 PM on Thursday, February 15 regardless of the postmark date.

The application form can be found here.The contest is open to all individuals who reside in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North and South Dakota, and Wisconsin and have not: lived in Japan for two or more years in total since 2002; come from homes where Japanese has been spoken regularly; or participated twice in the same category of this contest in the past.

Visit this page for additional information about the requirements and procedures for entry.

• Various Dates: Studio Ghibli Movies Touring the Midwest:
  Nausicaa at Washington University in St. Louis (MO)
  Spirited Away at Film Streams in Omaha (NE)
  Four films at University of Wisconsin-Madison Cinematheque (WI)
• February 2: Yukimi Chakai (snow viewing tea ceremony) at Anderson Japanese Gardens (IL)
• February 3-11: Gene Siskel Film Center presents: Immamura Investigates (IL)
• February 8: Live screening of "Sayonara" and "I, Worker" at UIUC (IL)
• February 13: Premiere taiko ensemble, Kodo, to visit Chicago (IL)
• February 16: Destroy the Picture: Painting the Void at MCA opens (IL)
• February 17: Premiere taiko ensemble, Kodo, to visit Minneapolis (MN)
• February 19: Premiere taiko ensemble, Kodo, to visit Des Moines (IA)
• February 21: Premiere taiko ensemble, Kodo, to visit Milwaukee (MN)
• February 27: Japan Update: Indiana, Asia and the Globe (IN)
• Now through April 14: Chicago's Timeline Theater presents, Concerning Strange Devices from the Distant West (IL)

Monthly Economic Report (January, 2013)
http://www5.cao.go.jp/keizai3/getsurei-e/2013jan.html

Policy Speech by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to the 183rd Session of the Diet, 28 January 2013
http://www.kantei.go.jp/foreign/96_abe/statement/201301/28syosin_e.html

Signing of the Protocol Amending the Convention between the Government of Japan and the Government of the United States of America for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income
http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/announce/2013/1/0125_01.html

Press Conference by the Deputy Press Secretary, 17 January 2013 – Including 3. Question concerning a Visit by the Minister for Foreign Affairs to the United States
http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/press/2013/1/0117_01.html

Press Conference by Minister for Foreign Affairs Fumio Kishida, 15 January 2013 – Including 1. Japan-U.S. Foreign Ministers’ meeting, 2. Deployment of Osprey in Okinawa, and 4. Deployment of the Osprey to Okinawa and the right to collective self-defense
http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/fm_press/2013/1/0115_01.html

Press Conference by Minister for Foreign Affairs Fumio Kishida 9 January 2013 – Including 1. Japan-U.S. Foreign Ministers’ telephone talks, visit to the United States, the Prime Minister’s visit to the United States
http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/fm_press/2013/1/0109_01.html

Press Conference by Minister for Foreign Affairs Fumio Kishida 8 January 2013 – Including 3. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s overseas visits, 3. Realignment of U.S. Forces Japan, and 5. "Comfort women" issue
http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/fm_press/2013/1/0108_01.html

Kisaragi, the old Japanese name for the month of February, is a contracted form of kinu sara gi, which means "wear still more clothes." As most Midwesterners will relate, this is a way of saying winter's not over yet.

Setsubun - celebrated on February 3 - is a favorite annual celebration among Japanese children. On this night, children fill a wooden cup with roasted soybeans and run around throwing them at an oni, or devil, (usually played by the dad) and shouting "Oni wa soto; fuku wa uchi!" This tranlsates as "Out with the devil; in with good fortune!"

The only national holiday in Kisaragi, though, is National Foundation Day on February 11. This is the date calculated to be the day on which Jimmu - the first emperor of Japan - was enthroned, according to the Nihon Shoki (Chronicles of Japan).

In Japan it is customary to do oosoji (end-of-the-year cleaning) around the home or office before welcoming in the New Year. While technically a little late, oosoji in the library has also begun. Currently new materials are being added, older ones removed, and everything in-between is being rearranged. Thanks in part to a recent donation from the City of Osaka Chicago Office, which unfortunately closed at the end of November, this month's article will focus on Chicago’s sister city – Osaka.

For a beautiful pictorial tour, there are two new hardcover guides both aptly named Osaka. The first (Call Number 173044) includes full-page color pictures, general descriptions, and a bilingual section at the end entitled Osaka—Past, Present and Future. The second (Call number 173043) is separated into four sections – Town/machi, Business/mono, People/kurashi, Culture/uruoi – and includes extremely informative descriptions in both English and Japanese. The images in both books accurately capture the beauty and vibrancy of this exciting city and leave you with the desire to book the next flight to Kansai International Airport.

If you are interested in the economic and political growth of Osaka, you should consider reading either Visions of Virtue in Tokugawa Japan or Osaka – Millennium City. The former (Call Number 333006) focuses on the kaitokudou (the Merchant Academy of Osaka) and how this school for a formerly uneducated class of Japanese significantly influenced the city's growth. The latter text, available both in Japanese (Call Number 172042) and English (Call Number 172043), traces the city's urban development across its 1500-year history. With its detailed maps, colorful photographs, and detailed descriptions, this book is far more interesting than one might originally assume.

No highlight of Osaka would be complete without mentioning kansai-ben. To better understand the city's unique dialect, check out Kinki Japanese (Call number 535041). This easy-to-read book not only introduces 60 "survival" words and practical dialogues but it also includes area and cultural variations across the Kinki region. One of these cultural features focuses on cuisine and even includes a recipe for okonomiyaki. Kinki Japanese is definitely a must for those interested in the "earthy, colorful dialects spoken in the Kinki region"!

Well, it’s back to oosoji for me but be sure to stop in and check-out additional Osaka-related books available on our window display. And while you are here, don't forget to check out our "free" shelf as well. You never know what you will find…

Hona, mata ne.
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. What element of Japanese education was praised by American media in recent news?
2. Who came out on top of the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament held in January?
3. What significant celebration was held last month for those born in 1992/1993?

Answers from the January Quiz:

1. Why is the annual Nozawa Festival so hot? Because there is a massive bonfire at the Nozawa festival, one of Japan's "top three fire festivals"
2. What exciting future awaits the Hayabusa 2? The ability to explode a crater into an asteroid and collect valuable information within the crater.
3. What is the name of the 115 year-old Japanese man born while Queen Victoria was still Queen of England? Jiroemon Kimura

64th Sapporo Snow Festival

Winter this year has been unusually warm and snow fall has been lacking--especialy here in Chicago. Across the globe in Sapporo, Japan it's a different story. The city is getting ready to host their 64th Annual Sapporo Snow Festival or yuki matsuri. The website highlight this month takes you to explore the festival from the warmth of your computer chair. You can learn more about the history of the festival, see pictures of the impressive snow sculptures, and even check in on the live video feed!

Hello, and thank you for reading this month's e-Japan Journal. As a frequent reader of the webletter, I was excited to have the opportunity to organize the content in Dan's absence; however, my first edition may also be my last. Since we had so many exceptional applicants for the position of Technology and Information Coordinator, we hope to have a new editor soon. The new person will hopefully be here in early March.

We look forward to welcoming him/her to the Japan Information Center, and hope to see you here, too! Come say "Hi" and enjoy the tranquility of the library, the beauty of the model tea room, and the entertainment of Japanese television.

Wesley Julian
Interim Editor and Media Relations Coordinator