Michigan based documentary film and photographer [excerpt from July 26, 2017 screening announcement in Ypsilanti, Michigan]
| | vimeo.com Threshold: Whispers of Fukushima trailer vol. 2 - Music Edition. This documentary film illuminates how several individuals have decided to live in the wake of the ... | |
"The issues of Fukushima are very complicated and delicate, and there is no easy way to explain what the problem actually is. The mass media especially tends to create TV programs which are unnecessarily sensational, and they consciously edit those programs to make viewers emotional. So, now, I refuse the offer to do interviews for those programs. Also, Fukushima has changed much since the disastrous events occurred. Locals hesitate to speak about it. It's because of resignation to the unchanging conditions, or fear of exacerbating the situation within the community by speaking to outsiders. It seems better not to talk about anything.
In such conditions, I think 'Threshold: Whispers of Fukushima' became a very unique work. Toko omitted explanations, as much as possible, and connected people's calm honest talk (like they're speaking to themselves) and live music performances by the interviewees, to allow them to tell their life stories. Perhaps this is not even really a movie about "Fukushima". Even if she shot it in Fukushima, the theme of the film is not "the accident" nor "lost home", rather, it is a fundamental human theme: "what is 'living one's own life?'". Each individual has their own purpose in life, joy, and goal. Everyone is different from each other. Therefore, no one can truly say "my way of living is right or yours is wrong." After experiencing the confusion created by the accidents in Fukushima, I deeply feel this. How interesting that everyone in this movie, including me, said this same thing, although by coincidence.
 | youtu.be "Kazane" (Sound of Breeze) - a letter from our village... composed by Genki Endo "風音" 故郷のから吹く懐かしい風が今を教えてくれる。強く優しく懐かしい風の音… アメリカ・ミシガンのBlissfestのセカンドステージでの最終日の演... | |
https://youtu.be/TuL4XLQLJmU
And lastly, here is the message clip from the leader of the clip about the movie: https://www.facebook.
http://thresholdfukushima.com
October Babies: http://octoberbabies.
2017-07-13
recent blogs - visual and language materials for Japan; Japanese language
| abritishprofinjapan.blogspot.jp A blog about life in everyday Japan written by a British professor |
| rej.lib.rochester.edu Re-Envisioning Japan is an open-ended recuperative project based on an original collection of tourism, travel and educational ephemera in a wide range of media. |
Synopsis: Creative digital curation of an original physical collection of travel and educational ephemera about Japan
Content type: High resolution images, moving images, audio materials, interactive timeline
2017-06-22
film - So Long Asleep: bringing some of the 1940s forced laborers' mortal remains back to Korea
---[Pr. David Plath writes, 6/2017]
So Long Asleep (60 minutes) follows an international team of East Asian volunteers as they excavate, preserve and repatriate the remains of Korean men who died doing slave labor in Hokkaido during the Asia-Pacific War. On the 70th anniversary of the end of the war we travel with them as they carry 115 sets of remains on a pilgrimage across Japan and over to Korea for reinterment in the Seoul Municipal Cemetery. Using a dark past to shape a brighter shared future the project offers an upbeat model for remembrance and reconciliation that could be adapted widely.
The film and the repatriation project are featured in a 4-page special segment of the Spring 2017 issue of Education About Asia.
See the DER website to view a trailer. Dialogue is in English, Korean and Japanese; in the DER edition the dialogue carries English subtitles. Separately, project participants have prepared editions with subtitles in Korean and in Japanese. For the Korean version, contact Professor Byung-Ho Chung (bhc0606at gmail) and for Japanese contact Professor Song Ki-Chan (kichans at hotmail).
An extended essay by Pr. Chung about the project appears in Asia-Pacific Journal; Japan Focus online magazine, as well, http://apjjf.org/2017/12/Chung.html
 | apjjf.org 1. Excavation. A chance encounter drew me into the work of excavation and repatriation of the remains of Korean forced labor victims in Hokkaido. | |
2017-04-02
documentary forthcoming about two Ainu families in Nibutani
Story from March 12, 2017 at Japan Times
2017-02-22
peformance art - New Sumie, dancing brush with live music
The artist, Ueda Miyuki (site requires Flash support, so IE browser), uses traditional materials (ink, brush, washi Japanese paper) for today's themes with her dancing sumi-e brush performance event - meaning very large pieces of Japanese paper and live music to motivate the artist - note that she paints with left hand but later was writing address information with right! Among the collected video clips, below, the last one with Tibetan singing bowls is particularly riveting.
 | vimeo.com For more than a decade Miyuki Ueda has combined live music and innovative visual art made from traditional materials (Japanese washi paper, ink and brush; surfaces… | |
2017-02-17
Sonic Japan - audio recordings around the society
Sound recordings bring listeners up close to the immediacy of the context and events at hand. The Sonic Japan project has collected a variety of settings to let you explore the many cultural places around the society and language of the Japanese islands. Thanks to the initiative of colleagues in Australia, Japan, and the USA, this project has taken full form. Details of method, funding, contributors and links to follow via Twitter, Facebook, or the collection itself at Soundcloud can be found at http://sonicjapan.clab.org.au/
 | soundcloud.com Sonic Japan is a collection of sound recordings made in Japan that enables listeners to traverse an array of themes pertaining to everyday life through a ... | |
2017-02-08
documentaries in Japan, Kazuhiro Soda's filmography
The current scholar-in-residence this year at U-Michigan is Kazuhiro Soda. His Feb. 9, 2017 lecture will probably be video recorded (in English mostly).
The Power of Observation: How and Why I Make "Observational" Documentaries
Kazuhiro Soda, Toyota Professor in Residence
[guiding principles]
2 No meetings with subjects.
3 No scripts.
4 Roll the camera yourself.
5 Shoot as long as possible.
6 Cover small areas deeply.
7 Do not set up a theme or goal before editing.
8 No narration, title, or music.
9 Use long takes.
10 Pay for the production yourself.
His filmography includes "Campaign" (2007), "Mental" (2008), "Peace" (2010), "Theatre 1" (2012), "Theatre 2" (2012), "Campaign 2" (2013), and "Oyster Factory" (2015).
2016-12-02
airplane - predeparture safety instructions
2016-09-23
putting archaeology online - "virtual tudors"
A skull, the team add, can offer a number of insights. "You can estimate the sex of an individual, you can estimate the ancestry of an individual and you can certainly diagnose the pathology of an individual: things like scurvy and a number of other conditions," said Nick Owen, a sport and exercise biomechanist also from Swansea University.
At the heart of the project is a technique known as photogrammetry. For each of the skulls, around 120 high resolution photographs were painstakingly taken from many different angles, with the in-focus sections digitally stitched together to produce the final, state-of-the-art, 3D models.
2016-09-18
New J.E.T. Program (Japan English Teacher) video 2016
2016-09-02
annual enrollment for high schoolers - Reischauer Program (online)
The Reischauer Scholars Program (RSP) http://spice.fsi.stanford.edu/fellowships/reischauer_scholars_program is an online course for high school students sponsored by the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE) at Stanford University. Named in honor of former Ambassador to Japan Edwin O. Reischauer, the RSP annually selects 25~30 exceptional high school students from throughout the United States to engage in an intensive study of Japan. Selected students will participate in this online course on Japan from February to June 2017.
Currently entering its fourteenth year, the RSP is an intensive and engaging course. Students are introduced to a broad overview of Japanese history, literature, religion, art, politics, economics, and contemporary society, with a special focus on the U.S.・€・Japan relationship. Top scholars and diplomats interact directly with students in online virtual classes, and offer both American and Japanese perspectives on many historical and contemporary issues. The RSP also provides students with a chance to meet like-minded peers with an interest in Japan, U.S.・€・Japan relations, and/or global perspectives. As a student-centered course, a strong emphasis is placed on encouraging students to share and appreciate the diverse perspectives that each student brings to the RSP learning community. RSP students also connect directly with the Japanese high school students of the Stanford e-Japan program, which is an online course that SPICE offers on U.S.-Japan relations and U.S. society to students in Japan.
Students who successfully complete the course will earn Stanford Continuing Studies Program (CSP) credit and a Certificate of Completion from SPICE, Stanford University. The RSP equips participants with a rare degree of expertise about Japan that may have a significant impact on their choice of study and future career. Students do not need to know the Japanese language to participate in this course. There is a student fee for books and the Stanford Continuing Studies credits.
The 2017 Reischauer Scholars Program is currently accepting applications from all current high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors (Classes of 2017, 2018, and 2019) in the United States.
For more information and to download the 2017 Reischauer Scholars Program application, please visit http://reischauerscholars.org http://spice.fsi.stanford.edu/fellowships/reischauer_scholars_program. The application deadline for the 2017 RSP is October 14, 2016. All applications must be postmarked by this date.
Please visit us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/reischauerscholars https://www.facebook.com/reischauerscholars/.
Thank you for your interest in the RSP. Please contact Naomi Funahashi, RSP Manager and Instructor, at nfunahashi [at]stanford.edu with any questions.
2016-07-25
kyara Ben (character Bento)
Packing your child's lunch calls for a whole different level of preparation in Japan. There, moms often shape ordinary lunch ingredients like ham or rice into cute little pandas, Pokemon or even famous people's faces.
It's called character bento, and there's considerable pressure to produce these cute food creations. Tomomi Maruo has been teaching how to make character bentos, or "kyaraben" for short — at her home for the past 13 years.
"My kid brought kyaraben to the kindergarten and his friends saw the bento and moms started asking me how to make kyaraben so that's how I started teaching," Maruo said.
[related story-1] These Parents Make Lovely Lunch Bag Art. Not Everyone Is Pleased
[related story-2] In Japan, Food Can Be Almost Too Cute To Eat
2016-07-14
visual essay - Japan's exclusion zone around Fukushima reactors
Compare the interactive media essays at Magnum Photos,
Walking Kesennuma after the 2011 tsunami, part 1, http://inmotion.magnumphotos.com/essay/tsunami-streetwalk-1-kesennuma
Kesennuma streetwalk, part 2, http://inmotion.magnumphotos.com/essay/tsunami-streetwalk-2-kamaishi
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Keow Wee Loong, a Malaysian photographer currently based in Thailand, snuck into the zone with his fianceé to document the current state of Fukushima's abandoned towns – and what was left behind. From a supermarket picked over by wild animals, forgotten laundry at a laundromat and a wall calendar forever frozen on March 2011, his photos show the eerie remains of daily life brought to an abrupt halt.
You can see more of his Fukushima photos and his photography on his Facebook page.
2016-06-25
easy news in Japanese
2016-06-02
learning Japanese with music
URL： http://nihon-no-uta.jp<http://nihon-no-uta.jp/>
The site is made for Japanese Learners or anyone who is interested in Japanese songs, language and culture all over the world.
--"Listen Together : The Songs of Japan" is a site where you can search for and listen to Japanese songs that suit your interests and the level of your Japanese language ability.
--Target audiences: Students of Japanese language who wish to experience the language and culture of Japan through Japanese songs.
People from around the world who are interested in Japanese songs, language, and culture.
Site features Japanese songs can be searched for using various methods such as genre, theme, level of Japanese language difficulty, title, view ranking, and so forth.
Pages can be browsed and music videos played using not only PC's but also tablets or smartphones. You can listen to Japanese songs anywhere, anytime.
Lyrics subtitles are available on the pages where songs are played, and can be displayed in hiragana, katakana, or romaji. Even people who find Japanese kanji and the written characters difficult can still enjoy Japanese songs. Also, lyrics cards are available to be downloaded.
Any questions should be addressed to the Kansai Center: http://www.jfkc.jp/index_en.html
2016-05-26
visual culture - exhibit & outdoor art
http://www.sieboldhuis.org/tentoonstellingen/detail/te_mooi_om_weg_te_gooien._verpakkingsdesing_uit_japan
Title translates "Too beautiful to throw away - package design in Japan"
Seen this week at Atlas Obscura, where the search word 'japan' brings up a variety of curious photo stories.
http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/konagai-japan-fruit-shaped-bus-stops
2016-05-19
visual treat - cultural landscape
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theme, "typology" (sets of related images)
[kanban, stall signs at festival time]
Many festivals are held in summer in Japan. There are lots of street stalls, and each shop has colorful shop curtain. --Kotoko Nomoto
https://www.flickr.com/photos/141902803@N02/26483406363
[kamon, family crests]
Japanese family emblems. --Hikaru Kokami
https://www.flickr.com/photos/141814370@N02/26481713914
[kinpu, money envelops]
This envelope is used celebrating event. For example wedding ceremony. If you use them, you have to follow the manners. --Minami Takagi
https://www.flickr.com/photos/141842068@N06/27053979456
2016-04-19
popular songs to teach beginning high school students
"Yosaku" 与作 is a good one for students. Each single line or two lines is a full sentence (but in informal/plain form) with basic grammatical structure. The song is sung slowly enough, with echo lines "hei, hei, ho" and "ton. ton, ton" in between each line of the verse, that it's easy to think ahead to the next line.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYTiffYu4JI
Many Japanese think "Yosaku" is a traditional folk song. It is not. It came out in the late 1970s, written by Nanasawa Kiminori 七沢公典 with the most popular version being the one by Kitajima Saburo 北島三郎.
--- thanks to Elena Yoo:
an old song, but contemporary enough, I think. The song includes lots of good vocabulary words and grammar rules, too. My students won't stop singing... http://youtu.be/C35DrtPlUbc
2016-03-24
teaching materials - theme of 3.11 disasters
Subject: I.U.C. 311 project update -- please share the news!
The IUC is pleased to present new Japanese teaching materials for the advanced high school level, themed around the disasters of March 11, 2011.
The materials, which use manga, are available for FREE download at http://www.iucjapan.org/html/
Special thanks to the U.S.-Japan Foundation and Norman Masuda for making this project possible.
2016-01-13
online supplemental sources for learning language(s)
General Webpage (46 languages referenced), http://www.openculture.com/freelanguagelessons
Japanese collection of resources,
- Foreign Service Institute Japanese – Web site
- Student guide, textbook, glossary, flashcards (PDF) and nine audio lessons (MP3).
- JapanesePod101.com – iTunes Free – Feed
- Over 100 quality lessons aimed at the beginner. Users give it high marks.
- Kanji Characters – iTunes Free
- Learn the proper form and stroke for several important Kanji characters. From Emory University.
- Learn Japanese Symbols – iTunes Free – Feed – Web Site
- These lessons teach students how to work with Japanese symbols, such as Kanji, Hiragana, and Katakana.
- Let's Speak Japanese Basic – YouTube
- 26 video lessons produced by the Japan Foundation.
- Let's Learn Japanese Basic II – YouTube
- 25 video lessons produced by the Japan Foundation.
- Survival Phrases iTunes Free Feed
- Learn the must-know phrases for traveling in Japan.
Bookmark our free Japanese lessons section.
2015-11-29
songs to practice Japanese; aid memory; have fun
You can view the Table of Contents and hear 3 audio samples at http://www.jessiplus.com/jessi/book.list.of.songs.html
The home page is http://www.jessiplus.com/jessi/
A book review from Oshirase, Volume 12, No. 1: Winter 2004 is available at http://www.jessiplus.com/jessi/book-review.html
2015-11-02
long video - Tokyo & student protests
2015-10-28
high school summer Japanese support
scholarships to study in Japan this summer.
Links to the scholarships are below. Note the first two on this list
require a $3,000 contribution towards tuition but the Kikkoman Scholarships
are full scholarships (student pays Visa fees and needs personal spending
money). There are 3 Kikkoman National full scholarships and 14 Kikkoman
FCCLA full scholarships (students must be dues-paying members of Family
Careers and Community Leaders of America).
Please let me know if I can provide any additional materials for you or
your organization. We do have brochures, posters, flyers, etc. and I am
happy to have them sent to you. Please let me know if you are interested. I
would greatly appreciate any thoughts you may have on how to recruit high
school students of Japanese for these scholarships.
Japan-America Friendship Scholarship ($3K contribution by student)
http://yfuusa.org/scholarships/japan-america-friendship-scholars-jafs-17.php
Japan-US Senate Youth Exchange ($3K contribution by student)
http://yfuusa.org/scholarships/japan-us-senate-youth-exchange-jusse-18.php
Kikkoman National Scholarship - Full Ride (3 in total)
http://yfuusa.org/scholarships/kikkoman-national-scholarship-20.php
Kikkoman FCCLA - 14 full ride scholarships for members of FCCLA
http://yfuusa.org/scholarships/kikkomanfccla-scholarship-11.php
Field Director - Illinois
Youth For Understanding USA
(p) 815.274.5253 (f) 989.777.3270 | yfuusa.org
2015-06-10
summer & Japanese Garden in Grand Rapids, Michigan
2015-01-27
renting cellphones in Japan (short stays)
(1) SIM for 30 or 60 days, http://www.so-net.ne.jp/prepaid/en/index.html
(2) SIM for 7 days or 14 days, http://service.ocn.ne.jp/mobile/one/visitor/en/
(3) App for Free WiFi Search, http://www.ntt-bp.net/jcfw/en.html
comparing several companies in 2014 this one seems to have one of the most competitive prices:
http://en.wifi-rental-store.jp/
2015-01-14
Tables of Joyo Kanji; advice for study
2014-12-26
oral narratives - Tohoku
Voices from Tohoku, http://tohokukaranokoe.org/
Over the past 3+ years, we have collected video oral narratives from more than 10 communities in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima. We have more than 500 hours in total, making it one of the largest such archives we know of. Most of the interviewing has been done by undergraduates at the Faculty of Liberal Arts, Sophia University, Tokyo.
"Voices of Tohoku" is a Japanese website that features a collection of clips taken from our full archive, each with Japanese transcriptions and thematic tags. These clips were first provided to our primary audience--the Tohoku informants themselves--as some record of how people felt during the unfolding of events within community life in post 3.11 Tohoku. The stories are not always happy but one informant suggested that we make them available to the public. "After all," she said, "we only told you these stories so you would tell the world what really happened." The website is not fancy but it is functional, a work in progress. (Of course, we have full release forms for all material.)
During the data collection, we returned to each site for repeated visits for at least a year, always doing volunteer work to better understand the specifics of the community. Rather than focusing on the often horrific tales of destruction on "the day of," we tried to give our informants a more expansive chance to talk about their lives in more detail. Wanting minimal interruption, we often asked only three questions during our interviews: what was your community like before 3.11; how has it been from the disaster until today; what is your vision of the future?
We are not collecting any more Tohoku narratives, not because the situation is in any sense "over"--it is not--but because we do not have any more money to send people into Tohoku. We are currently translating the interviews into English and looking for a way to make the full archive open to other scholars in a responsible and effective way.
We gratefully acknowledge support from Sophia University, the Toyota Foundation and a JSPS grant from the Japanese government. Also, we thank the many graduate students, post-grad scholars, colleagues, NPO leaders and of course, our many interviewees and collaborators in Tohoku, who have helped us make the archive what it is so far.
[cross-post from H-Japan, 26 Dec 2014; D. Slater]
2014-12-13
annual Trend Words in the Japanese language
2014 流行語大賞 http://singo.jiyu.co.jp/
2014 流行語大賞 with more explanation http://matome.naver.jp/odai/2139591219654639001
Interesting 壁ドン examples
カップヌードルＣＭ壁ドン編, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FLY8xeW3Ps
壁ドン プロモーション at GU, http://www.japantrends.com/gu-kabe-don-ginza-event/