SEARCH

Contact Us

Site Map

BREEZE #85

NOVEMBER, 2014: BREEZE ISSUE #85
Like 0ShareA Free E-Newsletter for Friends of Japan & Teachers of Japanese

GREETING FROM THE DIRECTOR

初しぐれ 猿も⼩蓑を ほしげ也 （芭蕉）
hatsu shigure saru mo komino wo hoshige nari (Basho)(First winter shower; a monkey is looking at me, wistfully, wanting to have a small straw rain-coat of hisown.)
There are many beautiful Kigo (words that are used in Haiku to refer to a particular season) for November
in Japan such as 初時⾬ ( hatsu-shigure : first scattered shower of winter), 初霜 ( hatsu-shimo : first frost), ⽊枯らし( kogarashi : cold bitter wind) and 冬構え( fuyu-gamae : getting ready for the coldness of winter). They
make us poetic and quite melancholic with a feeling of decline towards the end, but also with an
anticipation of rebirth. I love Basho’s sense of humor in his Haiku above; how he vividly visualized themonochrome beauty of the cute monkey.
This month, in addition to our bi-weekly Japanema screenings, we have Kiyoto Kuge’s KIRIE Exhibition in
our auditorium through November 8. Do you know KIRIE? I personally nicknamed it “3D Ukiyo-e.” As youmay know, Ukiyo-e is the multi-colored wood printing that one prints with ink in as many different colors as
there are in the tableau. KIRIE is also the layering of colors finely nuanced, not by ink but rather by paper,
surprisingly minimally cut and layered in each form. The artist, Kiyoto Kuge, is one of the foremost KIRIE
artists whose works have never been exhibited abroad. He uses eye-catching colors and designs, creatinga beautiful blend of traditional and pop much like L.A.’s Mid-Century Modern designs. Please do not missthis unique occasion that lasts through November 8!
We are also very happy to report that the 2014 JLPT registration closed last month to a record number ofapplicants in the US. We are now planning to host the test in Los Angeles and look forward toadministering the test on December 7. I wish all of the test-takers the best of luck (Gambatte-Kudasai)Privacy. - Terms

Finally, we will be at the ACTFL Annual Convention in San Antonio, TX, from November 21-23 so please
make sure to visit our booth #9043 to support Japanese language education.
With Thanksgiving around the corner, many of you will be gathering soon with friends and family to sharewarm feelings of sympathy and gratefulness which resonate consecutively with Christmas and the New
Year. We also want to take this opportunity to say thank you to all our supporters. We look forward toseeing you soon, through our remodeled main entrance and bathrooms surrounded by flowers!
Naomi Takasu, Director

KIYOTO KUGE: KIRIE EXHIBITION
THROUGH SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 8 (JFLA AUDITORIUM)
Kiyoto Kuge, award-winning KIRIE (Japanese traditional paper-cutting art) artist from Japan has an
exhibition at JFLA. He uses an amazing technique of cutting and layering paper to depict the beauty ofvarious landscapes and persons. He is one of the foremost KIRIE artists whose works have never been
exhibited abroad.
Read MoreJAPANEMA: FREE JAPANESE CINEMA SCREENING
AUTUMN AFTERNOON (秋⼑⿂の味) (113MINS, 1962)
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 12 @ 7PM (JFLA AUDITORIUM)
An Autumn Afternoon (Sanma no aji) is the gently heartbreaking story of a man's dignified resignation toboth life's ever-shifting currents and society's gradual modernization. Though widower Shuhei Hirayama(Chishu Ryu) has been living comfortably for years with his grown daughter (Shima Iwashita), a series ofevents leads him to accept and encourage her marriage and departure. As elegantly composed andachingly tender as any of the Japanese master's films, this is one of cinema's fondest farewells.

Privacy - Terms

JAPANEMA: FREE JAPANESE CINEMA SCREENING
KAGEMUSHA (180MINS, 1980)
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 26 @ 7PM (JFLA AUDITORIUM)
When a warlord dies, a peasant thief is called upon to impersonate him, and then finds himself haunted by
the warlord's spirit as well as his own ambitions. In his late, color masterpiece Kagemusha, Akira Kurosawa
returns to the samurai film and to a primary theme of his career—the play between illusion and reality.
Sumptuously reconstructing the splendor of feudal Japan and the pageantry of war, Kurosawa creates ahistorical epic that is also a meditation on the nature of power.

JFLA ACTIVITIES AT ACTFL 2014
No less than seven JFLA staff will be attending the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign
Languages (ACTFL) Annual Convention and World Language Expo 2014 from November 21-23 in San
Antonio, Texas. We've got our hands full this year!
Before ACTFL's official start, staff from the Japan Foundation and the Laurasian Institute will be holding
three days of follow-up training for participants of the Japanese Language Education Assistant Program (JLEAP).
Read More2015 NATIONAL JAPAN BOWL REGISTRATION NOW OPEN!

Privacy - Terms

The 2015 National Japan Bowl will be held on Thursday-Friday, April 9-10, 2015 at the National 4-H YouthConference Center in Chevy Chase, Maryland. The Sakura Matsuri - Japanese Street Festival, the largest
Japanese cultural festival in the US, will be held on Pennsylvania Avenue in downtown Washington DC onSaturday, April 11, 2015. Early bird registration ends on December 5, 2014. If a team applies before
December 5, the $55 for one teacher per school will be waived. The application deadline for the National
Japan Bowl is on January 16, 2015. Make sure to apply early!

GROUNDSWELL: GUERILLA ARCHITECTURE IN RESPONSE TO THE GREAT EAST JAPAN
EARTHQUAKEMAK CENTER FOR ART AND ARCHITECTURE AT THE SCHINDLER HOUSE
THROUGH JANUARY 4, 2015
This exhibition presents a selection of architects' efforts as it engages the ongoing conversation of howarchitecture can serve communities following a natural disaster. The exhibition features works by artist
Hiroyasu Yamauchi, and architects Hitoshi Abe, Manabu Chiba, Momoyo Kaijima and Yoshiharu Tsukamoto(of Atelier Bow-Wow), Senhiko Nakata, Osamu Tsukhashi, and Riken Yamamoto.
Read MoreSAMURAI LIFE DURING THE EDO PERIODLACMA, BROWN AUDITORIUM
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 9 @ 2PM
Luke Roberts, professor of Japanese history at the University of California, Santa Barbara, introduces thelives of a number of average samurai from the Edo period, focusing on military skills and cultural activities
in their lives. This lecture is held in conjunction with the exhibition Samurai: Japanese Armor from the Ann
and Gabriel Barbier-Mueller Collection.

Privacy - Terms

SUPERPOSITION BY RYOJI IKEDA
ROYCE HALL, UCLAFRIDAY, NOVEMBER 7 @ 8PM
Superposition is a performance created by sound artist Ryoji Ikeda exploring the way we understand thereality of nature on an atomic scale— inspired by the mathematical notions of quantum mechanics.
Employing a spectacular combination of synchronized video screens, real-time content feeds, digitalsound sculptures and—for the first time in Ikeda's work— human performers—superposition explores thethrilling conceptual world opened up by quantum theory.

2015-2017 J-LEAP
NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONSDEADLINE: WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2015
Invite a Japanese Assistant Teacher (AT) into your K-12 classroom for up to two consecutive academic
years to give your students an opportunity to hear and learn Japanese from a native speaker. This
program was started in 2011 with the help of the Laurasian Institute (TLI) with the goal of nurturing a newgeneration of highly qualified Japanese language teachers in the United States. We currently have a totalof 23 ATs in 19 different states nationwide.
Read MoreFISCAL YEAR 2015 PROGRAM APPLICATION DEADLINES - COMING SOON!
Arts & Culture: "Support Program for Translation and Publication" is due on November 19th and "Exhibitions
Abroad Support Program" is due on December 1st. Please visit our website with additional information onthe JF world-wide website and don't miss this annual deadline.
Japanese Language: Teacher Training Program at the Japanese Language Institute, Urawa, and Japanese
Language Program for Specialists in Cultural and Academic Fields at the Japanese Language Institute,Kansai are both due on December 1st.
Read MorePrivacy - Terms

2014 JLPT UPDATETEST DATE: SUNDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2014
This year, we received the most number of applicants for the JLPT in the US with over 4400 applicants at
15 test sites nationwide. With the addition of two new test sites in Columbus, OH, and Denver, CO, wewere able to reach out to Japanese language learners in new sites in the midwest. AATJ is now preparing
to send out test vouchers and information sheets to all registered test takers so please keep an eye outfor this by the middle of November.
Read MoreJAPANESE LANGUAGE EDUCATION UPDATE #12: LANSING'S EXPANDING JAPANESEPROGRAMS
Michigan has a rich connection with Japan thanks in part to its sister-state relationship with Shiga
Prefecture. The respective capitals Lansing and Otsu have been sister-cities since 1968, and though they
once had a handful of Japanese programs in their school district, the number was significantly reduced
when a Foreign Language Assistance Program (FLAP) grant from the federal government was cut.
Read More2014 JET MEMORIAL INVITATION PROGRAM: PARTICIPANT ESSAYS PART 3/8
Privacy - Terms

In July of 2014, 32 US high school students participated in the JET Memorial Invitational Program (JETMIP). They travelled to Japan for a two week study tour of the Tohoku region, focusing on the cities ofRikuzentakata and Ishinomaki (Due to Super Typhoon Neoguri, the trip to Rikuzentakata was cancelled).
These were the cities that Montgomery Dickson and Taylor Anderson were assigned during their tenure as
JET Assistant Language Teachers. Sadly, they lost their lives during the Great East Japan Earthquake andTsunami in March, 2011 and JET-MIP was created to commemorate their work. Participants took part inexchanges with local elementary and high school students as well as local community groups with thepurpose of fostering friendship and goodwill between both countries. Each month, we will feature four
essays written by the participants describing their experiences in Japan. Click below to read about theirunforgettable journey.
Victoria Lockhart
Jenna Louie
Tristan Lundy
Lovely MatiasJ-LEAP REPORTS PART 2/5
For the 2014-2015 school year, we invited nine assistant teachers (AT) to various schools around thecountry as part of the Japanese Language Education Assistant Program (J-LEAP). This is the fourth year of
this program where schools around the country are given the opportunity to invite an AT for up to two
years to aid in strengthening their Japanese language program. This month, we will feature the reports
from the following ATs detailing their experiences at American schools.
Kiyomi Tadokoro, El Marino Language School (Culver City, CA)
Yoko Nishikawa, Downingtown East High School (Downingtown, PA)

JF AWARDS SALARY ASSISTANT GRANT TO WEST DES MOINES COMMUNITY SCHOOL
DISTRICT (IOWA)On October 18, 2014, Mr. Shinju Karasawa, Advisor at the Consulate General of Japan in Chicago,presented a Japan Foundation grant check in the amount of $20,000 to Ms. Steph Wilson, Curriculum
Director at the West Des Moines Community School District in Iowa. Our "Salary Assistance Grant forJapanese Language Courses" will be used towards resuming a Japanese-language program at Valley
Privacy - Terms
Southwoods Freshman High School in the West Des Moines Community School District.

JF AWARDS SALARY ASSISTANCE GRANT TO WASHOUGAL SCHOOL DISTRICT (OREGON)
The Washougal School District (WSD) received a “Salary Assistance Grant for Japanese LanguageCourses” from the Japan Foundation to help sustain the popular program at Jemtegaard Middle School.
Hiroshi Furusawa, Consul General of Japan in Portland, presented a check for $21,855 to Washougal
Superintendent Dawn Tarzian, on October 6, 2014.
Read More

NEW LIBRARY ACQUISITIONSThis month, we have several new books and audio books in English as well as some books in Japanese.
Make sure to drop by and apply to become a member if you haven't already done so. Our annual library
membership fee is only $2 and you get a free cloth book bag.

BUILDING RENOVATION UPDATE: GUEST ENTRANCE NOW OPEN
We are happy to announce that construction in our courtyard has reached a milestone and our guest
entrance is now open to our patrons. Starting on Tuesday, November 4, please enter through thecourtyard instead of the employee entrance in the back. The renovation on both the men's and women'sbathrooms on the first floor is also complete so you will no longer have to use the bathrooms on thesecond floor. Construction is still ongoing as they renovate the center island on Courtyard Place and weappreciate your patience for a little bit longer.

Past Issues (2020)

Past Issues (2019)



Privacy - Terms

Past Issues (2018)



Past Issues (2017)

Past Issues (2016)



Past Issues (2015)



Past Issues (2014)

Breeze #86

Breeze #85

Breeze #84

Breeze #83

Breeze #82

Breeze #81

Breeze #80

Breeze #79

Breeze #78

Breeze #77

Breeze #76

Breeze #75

Breeze Past Issues

Breeze Issues #1-#36 (PDF)

Privacy - Terms

Headquarters

New York Office

Center for Global PartnershipJapan Related Links

Volunteer

ボランティア募集

Job Openings (Updated)

5700 Wilshire blvd, Suite 100
Los Angeles, CA 90036
P. 323.761.7510

Annual Report© 2019 The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles
Web Design.

Privacy - Terms