2019年（令和元年）11月9日（土）週刊NY生活THE

SHUKAN NEW YORK SEIKATSU[English Edition］(18)

JAPAN VOICECOOL JAPAN from New Yorkers’ Viewpoints

YAYOI KUSAMA'S LOVEFLIES UP TO THE SKY

AT THANKSGIVING
The art magazine “ARTnews”
announced that a collaboration balloon by Macy’s balloon specialists
and Yayoi Kusama will soar over
New York City as part of the annual Macy’ s Thanksgiving DayParade.
Kusama’s balloon “Love Flies
up to the Sky” recalls some of her
recent ebullient paintings, taking
the form of a personified sun, withan open mouth. Attached to theface are numerous red tentacles
that are covered with more than
300 white polka dots, another
Kusama trademark. This design
comes from her art work series“My Eternal Soul” which started in2009. In terms of size, the artist’s
balloon will be in the middle of thespectrum, measuring 5 taxies long,
5 bicycles wide, and three stories
tall. And it has 40 handles to carry.
The project is part of the parade’sBlue Sky Gallery program, begun
in 2005, which has invited artists
like Jeff Koons, Takashi
Murakami, and Keith Haring toparticipate.
Macy’ s Thanksgiving Day
Parade will start at 9am on
Thursday November 28th.
(Miyako Hamazaki/ Translated byChikako Iwasaki)

JASSI Support the Japanese Community
Held 38th Annual Dinner
Japanese American Social Service
Inc.(CEO Ryoko Mochizuki) hosted
the annual 38th dinner party in
October 24th at the Yale Club in
New York. The party started with thechorus from New York Mix Chorus,or NYMC. A gathering that will beheld in November 8th at the JapaneseClub for Hiroshi Aoki, the last CEO
that passed away in December lastyear, was introduced. Distinguishedservice award was presented to Anita
Guyana and Vanessa Lang of CACF.

Rie Katayama , the senior program manager explained last year’s
activities of the company. According
to Katayama, they helped 1,188 people 4,806 times and 90 percent ofthem needed Japanese assistance.
480 of them were elders, and 80 percent of them were in a poor financial
condition. She explained how theyneed the support from the Japanesecommunity. Hikaru Aono, who has
been volunteering mainly with food,talked about taking care of a former

Ryohei Kanokogi(3rd from the left )and Jean Kanokogi next to him

Coney Island Street Named for
Rena “Rusty” Kanokogi ,The Mother of Women's JudoThe corner of Coney Island’s
Surf Avenue and West 17th Street
became Rena “Rusty” Kanakogi
Way to posthumously honor theBrooklyn native who has been
known to those in the national andinternational judo community as“the mother of women’s judo”.

Japanese sushi chef. Aono said “Atlast, it's about what you want to eat”
was the most interesting thing helearned.
At the party, New York consul
general Kanji Yamanouchi and
Monday Michiru appeared without areservation and pumped up the party
performing “Imagine”.
(Ryoichi Miura/Translated by KantaHakamata)

The co-naming ceremony took
place Sunday, October 27, from 11am –12:30pm at 1904 Surf Avenue, Brooklyn,
In the event of rain, the ceremony moved
indoors to the Gallery Meeting space in
MCU Park, located directly across thestreet. The dedication came one day
before World Judo Day, which is annually celebrated on October 28th in honor of
the birthday of the founder of the sport ofjudo, Master Jigoro Kano. VIPs and guest
speakers at the ceremony include:Mr.
Mark Treyger, NYC Council Member,
47th District oHon. Devin P.
Cohen – Master of Ceremonies, Memberof USA Judo’ s Board of Directors,
Student of Rusty Kanokogi ,Mr. Kenju
Murakami, Deputy Consul-General ofJapan in New York & Director of theJapan InformationCenter oMr. Oscar
Cassinerio – President, Confederacion
Argentina de Judo and Executive
Committee Member of the International

Judo Federation and the Pan
American Judo Confederation,Mr. Keith Bryant – CEO of
USA Judo ,Mrs. Eve AronoffTrivella – 1988 US Olympianand Student of Rusty Kanokogi,Dr. Jean Kanokogi – Former
Member, US National Judo
Team, ,Daughter and Studentof Rusty Kanokogi.
Born in Coney Island, Rena
“Rusty” Kanokogi was a fighter from birth. By taking her
fight from the streets ofBrooklyn to the mat, Kanokogi
found her true passion: Judo. It
was the sport that brought her
to the 1959 New York StateYMCA Judo Championships as amember of the Brooklyn Central
YMCA team. However, after winning,
the judges forced her to forfeit her
gold medal when they discovered that
she was a woman competing in disguise as a man.
In 1980, Kanokogi organized thefirst women’s Judo world champi-

https://www.yomiuri-info.jp/daily_yomiuri/nys/onship in what was formerly Madison
Square Garden’s Felt Forum, sponsoring it by mortgaging her own home.
Having a world championship was aprerequisite for women’s judo to beconsidered as an Olympic sport. She
was the driving force behind the inclusion of women’s Judo at the 1988
Olympic Games as an exhibition sport,
subsequently becoming a fully vetted
Olympic sport in 1992. Women’s Judowould not be where it is today without
her relentless efforts.
(Photo by Ryoichi Miura)

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