(23­­)

Edition］［English­

週刊NY生活VOICES From

THE NEW YORKERS
Coronavirus
Lessons & Ki-kubari
by Kia Cheleen. The current
coronavir us
pandemic has
sent the world
in to a tailspin.
Schools anduniversities areclosed. Bordercrossing restrictions are in place. Workers are quarantined at home. Flights, trains andlarge public events are cancelled. On
social media and in the news, there
are scenes of long lines at the stores,
and empty shelves which used to holdhand sanitizer and alcohol wipes.
In Japan, news about masks being
sold out and home quarantine has
become increasingly common. Compared to American companies, many
Japanese companies are not as used
to allowing their employees to work
remotely from home. There is often
a “we can’t see you working, so you
must not be working” mentality. Thisis a good opportunity for Japanesecompanies to trust their employees,
learn about creating and implementing
work-from-home processes and to be
more prepared for when people need
to work remotely.
On the same note, Americans arehoarding staples such as paper towels,
toilet paper, water and canned goods.
Japan is also in a panic, but many
Japanese can recall what life was likesoon after the 3/11 Tohoku disaster.
Some stores allowed each customer topurchase only 10 items. Rather thanlooting or hoarding, many Japanese
had the mentality of, “If I try to buy
1 extra item, then someone else will
have less, so I will only buy 10 items.”
This Japanese sense of ki-kubari(consideration of other’s feelings) is
something I wish was more instilled
in Americans during these sensitive
times. I hope we will take extra careto think about our neighbors, hungry
children and others who are in need.
Stay safe, everyone!
(Kia Cheleen is an inter-cultural consultant and a Japanese/English writer,translator and interpreter. Visit herat www.gillespieglobal.net or e-mailher at kcheleen@gmail.com)

THE

SHUKAN NEW YORK SEIKATSU

JAPAN VOICECOOL JAPAN from New Yorkers’ View points
much to the global understanding ofJapanese modern art.
3. Cooperation with Art Museums
in Japan and Fostering Mutual Understanding Between Citizens
The development of Japan’s art scene
owes much to Mr. Lowry’s proactive

Portable Japanese Tea Room
Zen-An introduced at IppodoAmbassador Kanji Yamanouchi Awarded
Mr. Glenn David Lowry, Director ofthe Museum of Modern (MoMA),

The Order of the Rising Sun,
Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon for Spring 2019 Decoration
Ambassador Kanji Yamanouchi
awarded Mr. Glenn David Lowry, Director of the Museum of Modern Art(MoMA), The Order of the Rising Sun,
Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon for Spring2019 Decoration from the Governmentof Japan on March 4, 2020 at the Ambassador’s Residence for his outstanding
contributions to promoting Japanesemodern art in the United States.
His achievements are as follows;
1. Introduction of Japanese Modern
Art at the MoMASince having been appointed Directorof The Museum of Modern Art, NewYork, in 1995, Mr. Lowry has presented
many Japan-related exhibitions and Japanese film screenings at the MoMA, andhas continuously offered opportunities
to appreciate Japanese modern art forms
to not only New Yorkers, but also tovisitors from all over the world. Theseexhibitions have included internationally-known artists such as “Love Forever:Yayoi Kusama 1958-1968,” “Yoko Ono:
One Woman Show, 1960-1971,” and also
works by emerging artists in exhibitions
such as “First Steps: Emerging Artists
from Japan.” In these, and numerous

other ways, he has contributed greatly to the broadening of appreciationof Japanese culture worldwide.
2. Promotion of Understanding ofJapanese Modern Art
In 2008, the MoMA, led by Mr.
Lowry, and the Japan Foundation

An easy-to-carry, constructablechashitsu, or tearoom, called Zen-An
was introduced in a workshop on February 21 at Ippodo Gallery (32 E 67thSt). Zen-An was designed by Kuniji
Tsubaki of Tsubaki and Associates,
and is explained as “Keeping the spiritof Zen unbothered while being able tomove the An (Hermitage).” Zen-An wascreated in 2017.
Mr. Tsubaki is traveling around theworld with his suitcase full of Japaneseculture of Zen-An, communicatingwith culture and history through tea.
He lights a candle and constructs Zen-2020 年（令和 2 年）3 月 21 日（土）contributions such as the loans of MoMA’s world-famous collections. For example, the exhibition “Modern Means:
Continuity and Change in Art, 1880 to
the Present, Highlights from the Collection of The Museum of Modern Art,
New York” at the Mori Art Museum inTokyo in 2004 attracted over 200,000
attendees and created a historic chancefor Japanese people to view masterfulartworks and to understand the artistic
values they represented. As a memberof the Mori Art Museum International
Advisory Committee, Mr. Lowry has
shared his knowledge of museum management with the people of Japan.
(Courtesy of the press office of the Consulate General of Japan in New York)An while the candlelight is there. Hestates “Heritage invents new things all
the time, and it only survives if there issomething revolutionary about it.” Last
year at the U.N. peace event “Peace is…”,
Tsubaki showed the construction of ZenAn and surprised the crowd. Kimihiro
Ishikane, U.N. ambassador, and his wife
were also in attendance.
Polly Horne, an interior designer in
Brooklyn studying Zen, said “I love how
he [Tsubaki] is grappling with the question of how to share his tradition in thismodern and global culture. The portability of the structure and the way in which
the ceremony is simplified could maketea more accessible to a larger audience.
I appreciated Mr. Tsubaki’s expressionof the spirit of tea. I really enjoyed thisevent.” (Article by Ryoichi Miura /Translated by Kanta Hakamata)

https://www.yomiuri-info.jp/daily_yomiuri/nys/co-organized the Japan-Americas Art
Curator Exchange Program, which
increased exchanges between art
curators in Japan and the U.S., andestablished relationships and fosteredmutual understanding amongst them.
This program also led to the publication of “From Postwar to Postmodern, Art in Japan, 1945-1989”, published by the MoMA, in 2014. This
book gathered texts that are criticalto the advancement of knowledge ofpostwar Japanese art—the majorityof which were translated into Englishfor the first time—and has added

U.N. Ambassador Kimihiro Ishikane enjoying a tea ceremony at Zen-An
THE JAPAN VOICE is the English Edition of SHUKAN NY SEIKATSU
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Editor in Chief: Ryoichi Miura, Associate Editor: Tiff Ferentini212-213-6069 info@nyseikatsu.com

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