This Month in Japan
Yayoi is the lunar calendar name for March meaning "new life," symbolizing the coming of spring.
The only national holiday this month is
Shunbun no hi, or Vernal Equinox Day, on March 20th or 21st. This is the official mark of the spring season as well as the unofficial start of the
sakura cherry blossom season in much of Japan.
Girls' Day, or Hina Matsuri, falls on March 3rd and is one of the most popular celebrations this month. In mid-February, it is customary for families with young daughters to set up doll displays of the imperial court. Families enjoy tasty delights like
chirashi sushi and strawberry
daifuku while offering prayers for good health, fortune, and happiness for young girls.
Announcements
Holiday the Consulate is Closed
The Consulate will be closed the following day:
Thank you for your understanding and please
visit our website to see other days our offices are closed throughout the year.
Featured Interview: Yoko Noge Dean
For the March 2016 issue of the JIC's monthly newsletter, I interviewed Yoko Noge Dean. In this interview, Yoko talks about her life and the upcoming Kizuna 5 program series. An Osaka native, Yoko is
co-chair for the Osaka Committee of Chicago Sister Cities International, a
blues/jazz musician, and
a news correspondent for Nikkei America Incorporated. She is an ambitious woman with a unique background and perspective on life with a compassionate drive to positively impact the world. She hopes to see you at the Kizuna 5 opening ceremony or any other related events during the series in March!
Read her full interview.
AK: What are you planning this year for Kizuna 5?
YN: It is an interesting year because it is the fifth year and a milestone of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. So we decided to do a grander scale for the event programs. The size is probably three times larger than it was for past Kizuna series (Kizuna 1-4). We decided to focus on youth and the future of Tokoku this year. Chicago is a rare city because we have had an event like this for the past five years. Not many cities are doing this and we are definitely the leading city in the US. It's difficult to continue as memories and interest continue to fade, but we keep meeting new people along the way who want to help, have connections to Japan and have passion for the event series.
(Video Messages)
The theme of “Voices of the Youth” this year came from Aki Tohei, an English teacher and JET alumni in Fukushima. He went through the 2011 disaster while he was teaching there.
Last year, before Kizuna 5 started, Aki asked me "Can we send the messages of my students in Fukushima to Chicago?" We also decided it would be a good idea for students to speak in English so that the students have a trigger to study and use English. And that was the idea we used for the Kizuna 5 Video Message Project. We also quickly realized it was difficult to just receive messages from people in Fukushima City, so we made connections elsewhere with different people in the Tohoku area. While the two Kizuna team volunteers were traveling, they were able to get 20-30 messages while they were there. That was a start! And now we have 250 video messages.
(Photo Exhibition)
This is the main program we have been focusing on in past years and this year it is combined with the Video Messages. In other words, we asked Kiyotaka Shishido, a native of Tohoku who lives in Sendai and a documentary photographer, to do portraits that coincide with the video messages. We decided to link the photo panel with a QR code so people can view the video messages while looking at a person's portrait. The exhibition also contains an archive of Nikkei photographs which is what we started with. Jamason Chen, the curator, traveled to Tohoku for the 2014 exhibition and some of his photos are included as well this year.
(Ceremony)
The ceremony at the Chicago Cultural Center’s Preston Bradley Hall and is a very ambitious size. We wanted the ceremony to be visually rich so one of the video editors is working to make a video mosaic of 250 faces from the video messages that will be projected on a screen. Miyumi Aoki from Tsukasa Taiko will play a Japanese flute, called
yokobue at the start. Buddhist monk Rev. Patti Nakai will also perform a Buddhist ritual for the occasion. We will then move on to special remarks, followed by a flower presentation by young children. About 50 pre-kindergartners living in Chicago will come on stage and sing "Dream" for the children and people of Tohoku. Additionally, we will show a video of elementary school students from Japan singing in a choir which is very well done. After the video, the ceremony will end with children from Kesennuma singing "Hana wa saku" (Flowers bloom). We will then ask the audience to join in and sing together with the video.
Read her full interview.
Kizuna 5: Voices of the Youth
Kizuna 5: Voices of the Youth is a series of events to remember the victims, celebrate the reconstruction of the Tohoku region and show continued support from the people of Chicago to those affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami of 2011. The Kizuna 5 series will consist of the commemoration ceremony, a photo exhibition, a short documentary film screening, a panel discussion and an economic seminar. Attend one or all of the following events in the series from
March 6 - 25 to reflect on the resiliency of people and rebuilding efforts over the past five years:
Bibliobattle
Surround yourself with mystery at Bibliobattle on
Saturday, March 12! For this session, all books for the presentations are mystery themed and we will be welcoming five participants.
Bibliobattle is an intellectual entertainment competition, founded by Kyoto University, that is growing in popularity in Japan for its simple rules and easiness to host. All contestants must bring a favorite book and talk about it during a
5 minute presentation. Each presentation is then followed by a
3 minute Q & A session. At the conclusion of the event, the winner will be chosen by the audience based on a vote that determines which book they are interested in reading the most.
View our infographic or access our
Facebook Event Page to learn more information and RSVP today.
Rikyuki: Memorial Tea Gathering to Honor Sen Rikyu
On
Saturday, March 19 the Urasenke Chicago Association and the JIC will host a special tea gathering to honor the life of
Sen Rikyu (1522-1591), one of the most influential and innovative tea masters in the history of
Chado, the Japanese Way of Tea.
At this special tea gathering, a bowl of
matcha, green powdered tea, will be offered in memory of Sen Rikyu. Following this, members of the Urasenke Chicago Association will present the preparation of a bowl of thin tea, after which all attendees will be served a special sweet called
Rikyu manju and a bowl of
matcha.
Please visit the
Facebook Event Page to RSVP and learn more about this unique experience!
30th Annual Japanese Language Speech Contest
The Consulate will be hosting the 30th Annual Japanese Language Speech Contest at the JIC on
Saturday, March 26! The contest is a fantastic opportunity for students studying Japanese to put their Japanese skills to the test and to demonstrate their perseverance in perfecting the language to the audience. It is also a great chance to win an assortment of great prizes, including round-trip tickets to Japan.
Visit our Speech Contest Page to find out more details and RSVP on our
Facebook Event Page.
The speech submission period for 2016 is now closed, but the event is free and open to the public. So please come to cheer on the speakers! Parking is available at the Olympia Centre Parking structure and discounted with validation.
Japanese Language Contests
The dates for Japan Bowls and Japanese Language competitions in our jurisdiction are fast approaching! Check each individually for more information:
Japan Foundation Grants and Other Programs
Every year, the Japan Foundation and other organizations offer several scholarship and grant opportunities that our readers can apply for. The following deadlines for applications are fast approaching this winter and spring:
Cultural Events
View our Monthly Calendar here to see all events coming up this month within our 10-state jurisdiction! If there is a Japan-related event that you would like to have added to the calendar for this month or future months, please contact
Amy.
JIC Library
Highlighted Resources
This month's Highlighted Resources was written by JIC Librarian Ella McCann and features a notable library item we are recommending this month.
This month will be the 5th anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake. Marie Mutsuki Mockett’s memoir,
Where the Dead Pause and the Japanese Say Goodbye, looks at the aftermath of the earthquake and how it affected the many residents living in the Tohoku region. Mockett has a personal connection to the area as her family owns a temple in Iwaki, about eighty-five miles from Sendai in Tohoku. When the earthquake struck, their temple was slightly affected. However, it wasn’t just the earthquake that brought grief to her family in Tohoku. At the same time, her father in America passed away unexpectedly. Throughout the book, she wrestles with the idea of identity, her family’s history, the history of Buddhism and Shintoism in Japan and the effects of a natural disaster on a country whose culture is so closely tied with nature.
Mockett’s memoir is an educational journey for the reader and a personal journey for the author. She does an exceptional job of explaining Buddhism to the reader, describing the various sects and how they all developed.
Read the full March 2016 Highlighted Resources article...
New Additions
New Additions, compiled by Ella McCann, showcases the latest materials we have received in the JIC collection.
A complete list of our March 2016 New Additions
Fun Features
Last Month in Japan
This section of our newsletter asks questions about current events in Japan that happened in the previous month.
Email your answers now for a chance to win a small prize! The first person who answers all of the following correctly will be selected as this month's Japan News Quiz Champion:
- Who is the Japanese composer who was awarded a Grammy in February?
- How many regional events is Japan seeking to be recognized on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list?
- Which Japanese automotive company has created the world's first automated "intelligent parking chair"?
Congratulations to
Jerry Rankin, the Champion from our February issue! Here are the answers:
- Who was the world’s oldest man that passed away this month at the age of 112?
- What is the name of the newly released McDonald’s Japan french fry product?
- Which Japanese animated film is nominated for the 2015 Oscars? (*A reader pointed out that this question was phrased incorrectly. This film has been nominated for the 2016 Oscars, not the 2015 Oscars.)
Website Highlights
Sakura Map
Did you know that every spring, the Weather Map Company in Japan issues a sakura forecast? Their website provides details on when the projected first bud of the sakura flowers is until when the flowers will be in full bloom (when at least 80% of buds have blossomed) for each prefecture in Japan. For instance, in Tokyo Prefecture it is projected that the flowers will begin to bloom on March 26 and will be in full bloom April 2 while in Fukushima Prefecture, which is located in northern Japan, first bloom will be around April 8 and the flowers will be in full bloom by April 12.
Geographic and regional differences account for the variations in bud opening and full bloom dates. Speckled throughout the United States are cherry blossom trees that have been given as tokens of friendship, with the most well-known location being
Washington D.C. The breath-taking beauty of witnessing fully bloomed cherry blossom trees is a memory you'll cherish forever.
Editor's Note
March is here which means spring in near!
While there are many events in Japan and the Unites States in March, one notable series is known as the
Sumo Spring Basho or the Grand Sumo Tournament that takes place annually in Osaka. This year, the tournament is from March 13 - March 27. As the only opportunity for fans to see professional sumo in Osaka, it's a time for fervent sumo supporters to gather in mass numbers and cheer on their favorite athletes. Each day is like a marathon in the sense that matches take place one after the other from early morning until dusk with the highest ranking wrestlers scheduled last each day. If you've never seen a sumo match, consider traveling to Osaka this month to be a part of the action yourself!
*Please continue to pardon the mess in upcoming months while I work on perfecting this newsletter design!
Best,
Amy Klouse
(Editor, IT Coordinator)
Yayoi is the lunar calendar name for March meaning "new life," symbolizing the coming of spring.
