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BREEZE #59

SEPTEMBER, 2012: BREEZE ISSUE #59
Like 0ShareA Free E-Newsletter for Friends of Japan & Teachers of Japanese

GREETING FROM THE DIRECTOR

We had a wonderful OPEN HOUSE with over 650 guests in attendance on August 30th. Since we first
opened our doors in 1983 here in Los Angeles, our mission has always been to promote Japanese cultureand language education to further strengthen the US-Japan friendship. More importantly, we are now
dedicating ourselves to making contributions to this already diverse and multi-cultural community of LosAngeles with an interesting and exciting addition of Japanese culture. One of the highlight of that day was
when a group of 35 third graders from a nearby elementary school stopped by and enjoyed calligraphy
and origami lessons!
We also started a new membership system for our library users and we encourage you to sign up for a
JFLA card by paying ONLY $2.00 for an annual membership fee. We will try our best to better serve ourvisitors’ needs and inquiries by updating our catalogue, which currently includes 2,000 Audio Visualmaterials and more than 7,000 books and magazines on Japan.
To our local customers who can visit our center in person, we look forward to offering many kinds ofevents including art exhibits, film screenings, language classes, workshops and more. To our longstanding customers who live far away from Los Angeles, we will be happy to continue our services toreach as far as we can, so please visit our website to see how you can benefit from our facilities andservices.
Misako Ito, Director

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JAPANEMA (JAPAN CINEMA): JFLA FILM SCREENING
We invite you to attend our matinee every Wednesday at noon as well as special showings on selectdates. The JAPANEMA matinee series will be on 9/5, 9/12, 9/19, and 9/26 for the month of September. For
the first JAPANEMA special series, we will be showing Cast Me If You Can on Wednesday, September 26th(7:00PM) at JFLA Hall.

"NIPPON THROUGH MY EYES" PHOTO EXHIBITION
In conjunction with our Open House, we will be hosting the photo exhibition titled "Nippon Through MyEyes." This collection features photos taken by the 32 participants who took part in the 2012 JET MemorialInvitation Program, which was a two week study tour of Japan. For many of the students, this was their firsttime to Japan and experiencing the country whose language they have been studying.
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JFLA OPEN HOUSE
We had our Open House on Thursday, August 30th, at our new Information Center on the Miracle Mile andhad over 650 guests come through our doors. Throughout the day we had a consistent flow of visitorswith some special guests arriving late in the afternoon for a reception including The Honorable Jun Niimi,Consul General of Japan in Los Angeles; Kamilla Blanche, Deputy of Arts & Culture from the Los Angeles
City Council District 4; and Councilwoman Jan Perry from the Los Angeles City Council District 9. We would
like to thank Joe and Etsuko Price for their Showa and Taisho era bamboo basket displays; Kimono
Agency - Suehiro for lending us their Kimono and Obi displays; Mike Penny for his original shamisen
performance; Ikenobo Ikebana Society of Los Angeles, Ohara school of Ikebana Los Angeles Chapter,Shofu-Ryu, and Sogetsu Ikebana Los Angeles Branch for providing the beautiful Ikebana arrangements;and finally for our many supporters who came out to see our new Information Center. We hope you willcontinue to visit us to benefit from our resources and also to learn more about Japan.

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2012 JAPANESE LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY TEST: REGISTRATION START
Registration has started for the 2012 JLPT and will last till Tuesday, October 2nd, 2012 at 5PM PT. The
online registration system will close at that time and any paper applications received after that date will bereturned to the applicant. We have updated the website to reflect new changes to this year's application
process so please make sure to read through everything before registering. If you plan to take the test in
New York, Chicago, or San Francisco, please register early as those test sites tend to fill up quickly. Whena test site reaches capacity, it will no longer be available for selection and we do not offer any waiting
lists, and you will need to select a different test site if you need to take the test this year. For more
information, please visit the JLPT section of our website.
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FALL TERM: JF NIHONGO COURSES!
We are currently accepting applications for the Fall Term of our Japanese languages classes at both ourLittle Tokyo and Miracle Mile locations starting on September 18th. We are also offering two specialworkshops on September 8th, Kana Reunion, for those who have previously taken a Kana class, and Tea
Time, for those who want to enjoy Japanese language conversation with native speakers. Making sushi inJapanese will also be held on October 3rd.
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JF STANDARD FAMILIARIZATION WORKSHOPS
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Japan Foundation’s (JF Standard) for Japanese-Language Education was developed under the principle of“Japanese for Mutual Understanding” as a tool to help think about teaching, learning, and assessment inJapanese-language education in line with 21st century pedagogy. This workshop is compatible withcurrent guiding principles for language education in the U.S. such as thematic instruction and backwarddesigned curricula. The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles will conduct two different types of workshops thisyear to introduce JF Standard.

THE JAPAN FOUNDATION AWARDS: 2012 RECIPIENTSThe Japan Foundation Awards have been presented every year since 1973 to an individual or organization
for significant contributions to the enhancement of mutual understanding between Japan and othercountries through activities in an academic or cultural field. This year Irene Hirano Inouye, President, U.S.Japan Council was selected from the United States. We congratulate her on this tremendous achievement.
Other recipients include Haruki Murakami (Writer/Translator) from Japan and the Department of Japanese
Language and Civilization, National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilizations (INALCO) from France.
Read More2012 J-LEAPFor the 2012-2013 school year, we recruited 10 additional teaching assistance to our Japanese Language
Education Assistant Program. To prepare them for their new lives in the United States, we organized aweek-long workshop in the beginning of August at UCLA with the cooperation of The Laurasian Institute,
who is our partner in this project. They have since travelled to their assigned cities all across the UnitedStates and we will feature essays from them in a future issue of Breeze. For more information regarding JLEAP, please visit the site below.
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2012 JET MEMORIAL INVITATION PROGRAM REPORT PART 2
The first participant arrived in Los Angeles at 11AM and my team and I were assigned to the gates wherethe participants were scheduled to arrive. Earlier in the morning, I received calls from two participants
stating that their flight was delayed, which foreshadowed the many delayed flights we would encounter
stateside. We were at the airport making sure to greet everyone as they exited their terminal to guidethem to the shuttle buses that took them to the hotel. By 3:30PM, the last of the participants werescheduled to arrive, but one was delayed and would not arrive for another few hours. Back at the hotel,
we prepared for the first night of the orientation as 32 high school students, some who just graduated,made their way down to the meeting room to meet everyone face to face for the first time.
Read More2012 JET MEMORIAL INVITATION PROGRAM: PARTICIPANT ESSAYS PART 1
This is the first part of an eight part series that will highlight the experiences of 32 participants of the 2012
JET Memorial Invitational Program. Through this program, participants travelled to Japan in July of 2012 fora two week study tour of the Tohoku area, focusing on the cities of Rikuzentakata and Ishonomaki. Thesewere the cities that Montgomery Dickson and Taylor Anderson were assigned to during their tenure as JET
Assistant English Teachers. Sadly, they lost their lives during the Great East Japan Earthquake andTsunami in March, 2011 and this program was created to commemorate their work. Participants took part inexchanges with local elementary, and high school students as well as local community members with thepurpose of fostering friendship and goodwill between both countries. This month, we will be featuring theessays of the following participants:
Andrew Juarez
Andrew Kim
Anna LeeAnna Mai

2012-2013 JAPAN FOUNDATION TEACHER TRAINING PROGRAM AWARDEES

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We are pleased to announce the awardees for this year's teacher training program at the JapanFoundation’s Japanese Language Institute in Urawa, JAPAN. They include Gloria Montebruno (University ofLa Verne, CA) [Short-Term: July 18 to September 12, 2012], Emmanuel Ergas (Vashon Island High School,WA) [Long-Term: September 11, 2012 to March 8, 2013], and Naoko Nemoto (Mount Holyoke College, MA)[Advanced: October 24 to December 21, 2012].

2012 JAPANESE AMERICAN LEADERSHIP DELEGATIONIn March of 2012 I traveled to Japan with USJC President Irene Hirano Inouye, Counsel Toshio Odagiri andnine other delegates of the Japanese American Leadership Delegation. It was a privilege to have been
selected to join this important delegation. The landscape first revealed itself at the start of our journey as
we set down in Tokyo. The ride from Narita Airport to the hotel gave us a glimpse of the newly constructedTokyo Sky Tree, as it dominated the skyline and symbolized so much of Japan’s upward gaze toward thefuture. Reflecting upon the past, there were signs everywhere down below encouraging Japan topersevere in the struggle of the 3/11 aftermath.
Read MorePERFORMING ARTS JAPAN GRANT
This program is designed to provide financial assistance for non-profit organizations in the US and Canada
that aim to introduce Japanese performing arts to local audiences. PAJ Touring Grants help present
Japanese performing arts at multiple locations in the United States and Canada, with an emphasis onlocations outside major metropolitan areas. PAJ Collaboration Grants help Japanese andAmerican/Canadian artists develop a new work, which will further an appreciation of Japanese culture
when presented to American/Canadian audiences. The grants are made to nonprofit organizations in theU.S. and Canada only. Click on one of the links below for information on eligibility, grant coverage, review
criteria and the application form.
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NAOYA HETAKEYAMA: NATURAL STORIESSCHEDULE: JULY 28 - NOVEMBER 04, 2012
VENUE: SAN FRANCISCO MUSUEM OF MODERN ART
One of Japan's most prominent photographers, Naoya Hatakeyama is known for austere and beautiful
large-scale pictures that capture the extraordinary forces we deploy to shape nature to our will — and, inphotographs made after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, the equally powerful impact of naturalforces on human construction. Whether photographing factories, quarries, mines, or his tsunami-swept
hometown in northeastern Japan, Hatakeyama is a keen observer of landscapes in transition, witnessing
scenes of transformation with calm precision.
Read MoreHISTORY AND CULTURE OF EDOMAE SUSHI-FROM TOKYO TO SEATTLESCHEDULE: SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 23RD (1:45PM TO 5PM)
VENUE: WING LUKE MUSEUM OF THE ASIAN AMERICAN EXPERIENCE
Since 1824 during the feudal Edo period, masters of Edomae Sushi have continued to prepare withprecision and simplicity, a showcase of the local and seasonal delicacies of the sea. Join local sushi
master Shiro Kashiba and his apprentice Daisuke Nakazawa, who stars in the movie "Jiro Dreams of Sushi,"which will also be screened followed by a live sushi demonstration and sake tasting.

KIMONO IN THE 20TH CENTURYSCHEDULE: MARCH 30, 2012 - MARCH 10, 2013
VENUE: PACIFIC ASIA MUSEUM (PASADENA, CA)
This exhibition features a gift in 2008 from the June Tsukamoto-Lyon collection, which provided breadthand further quality to Pacific Asia Museum’s already substantial collection. Kimono in the exhibition run
from the most formal type reserved for very special occasions to children’s clothing, undergarments andlight summer wear.

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HYAKKIMARU'S KIRIE WORLDSCHEDULE: JULY 28 - SEPTEMBER 15, 2012 (TUE-SUN 10AM-5PM)
VENUE: FINE ARTS CENTER, COLORADO SPRINGS
Hyakkimaru’s Kirie World features renowned Japanese artist Hyakkimaru in conjunction with the 50th
anniversary of the Sister City relationship between Colorado Springs and the city of Fujiyoshida.

A TRAVELING EXHIBITION OF THE JAPAN FOUNDATION"GAZING AT THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD: JAPANESE PHOTOGRAPHY FROM THE 1970S
TO THE PRESENT"PART II : SATURDAY, AUGUST, 25 - SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER, 16, 2012
The new traveling exhibition of the Japan Foundation curated by Rei Masuda, curator at the National
Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, “Gazing at the Contemporary World: Japanese Photography from the 1970s
to the Present” is an overview of the diverse photographic expression that has emerged in Japan sincethe 1970s. In its final form, the exhibition includes 76 photographs by 23 photographers.

*DAIDO MORIYAMA, KANAGAWA, 1969

NIKKATSU AT 100: VISIONS AND VOICESFRIDAY, OCTOBER 26 TO SUNDAY, OCTOBER 28
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, UNIVERSITY PARK CAMPUSNORRIS CINEMA THEATRE/FRANK SINATRA HALL
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On September 10, 2012, Japan’s Nikkatsu Film Studio will celebrate its 100th anniversary. One of Japan’soldest and most acclaimed film studios, the Nikkatsu libraries contain approximately 3,300 film titles,
including some of the most important Japanese films from the silent era to the classical period, from thepostwar era to the new wave, and up to the current renaissance of Japanese cinema. Nikkatsu’s collection
includes period pieces, samurai films, melodramas, youth films, gangster films, “pink” movies, horror films
and contemporary blockbusters, with major critical and box-office successes in each of those areas. This
three-day event will draw from Nikkatsu’s library to celebrate 100 years of Japanese cinema, and will
include screenings and discussions with filmmakers, scholars and critics on Nikkatsu’s enduring legacy inJapan and its historical place in the film world.

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