The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles Newsletter
June, 2018: Breeze Issue #128

Greetings!

Every three years, the Japan Foundation conducts a global survey on the state of Japanese language education worldwide. The last survey in 2015 told us that the number of students in the US was growing steadily while the number of teachers are declining, which prompted us to beef up our efforts to assist teachers as well as our advocacy efforts to the educational stakeholders in the country. We are looking forward to getting in touch with Japanese language teachers and educators once again this year to find out what has and has not changed in the past three years, in order for us to formulate our strategies in the upcoming years. Indeed, it is a tough time for language education as a whole. According to a recent survey done by the Modern Language Association, the overall number of language learners in American higher education has been declining for years. As a cultural organization, language occupies a central place in almost all the exchange programs we organize. Granted that you do not have to be perfectly fluent in a foreign language in order to understand people from different cultural backgrounds, but language offers such abundant points of entry to the hearts and minds of other nations. And just like curiosity is the mother of invention, our kids' curiosity toward foreign languages could well be the mother of world peace. Please help us build an updated and accurate database of Japanese language education in the US this year so we can move forward during this insular time.


Sincerely,
 
 
 
 
Hideki Hara, Director

Bamboo
Exhibit: May 27 - September 9
Craft and Folk Art Museum
$7 | free for members

BAMBOO explores the evolution of Japanese bamboo basketry from a purely functional art form into complicated, distinctly Japanese sculptural forms of variable scale. A major selection of historical and contemporary works from the Los Angeles-based Cotsen Collection are central to the exhibition, as well as a large-scale, interactive bamboo installation by Japan-based artist Akio Hizume.

This exhibition is supported by The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles　国際交流基金ロサンゼルス日本文化センター, with additional support from the Pasadena Art Alliance.

Bilingual Yoga at Lunchtime
Wednesday, June 6
12:30/1:00PM (2 sessions, 20 min/session)
Just Show Up! 

Wellness Wednesdays: We offer Wellness programs on Wednesday at lunchtime!

June 6 is Yoga day!  In this program, there is no need to change clothes or use a yoga mat; you will be seated in a chair receiving relaxing instruction from a bilingual (English and Japanese) instructor. Learn simple Japanese phrases during the instruction and stretch your mind as well as your body.

There will be two free sessions beginning at 12:30pm and 1:00pm. No reservation necessary, all are welcome.
 

Impressions of the Seas: Gyotaku Fish Prints Art Exhibition
in collaboration with LACMA
June 21, 2018 - July 13, 2018

Pre-Opening Event: Gyotaku Lecture & Demonstration
Wednesday, June 20, 2018 7-9pm
Admission Free, Reservation Required

Japanese gyotaku (lit. 'fish rubbing') is the unlikely marriage of fish, sumi ink, and washi paper.  Once used to record the size of an impressive catch, it has been elevated to a fine art through the efforts of gyotaku masters. "Impressions of the Seas: Gyotaku Fish Prints" by Dwight Hwang features a selection of prints depicting freshwater, coastal and open ocean specimens alongside objects which detail the gyotaku printmaking process.

At a pre-opening on June 20, a brief lecture by the curator and live demonstration by the artist followed by a reception sponsored by Sotheby's Institute of Art.


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Lecture: Squids, Our Long-Term Friends Save the World
Thursday June 28, 2018 7pm
Admission Free, Reservation Required

Along with tuna and salmon, squid is one of the most popular, and its presence in Japanese culture cannot be overstated. With its high-protein and rich amino acids, squid has many benefits. Squid also has the potential to be developed as a marine resource and could be ideal in improving the global food shortage which faces us today.

In this lecture, squid lover and biologist Dr. Tomano, who has researched squid both in Japan and US, will talk about the long-term relationship between Japanese and squid, its amazing life, and the benefits of squid as food.

In the following reception, there will be a sample of Japanese delicacies using squids offered to attendees.

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The Third Murder　 (124mins, 2017)
Directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda
Wednesday, June 13 @7PM
In Japanese with English subtitles

2018 Cannes Film Festival, Competition, Palme d'Or winning
director, Hirokazu Kore-eda turns his own original script into this psychological thriller. Making his first appearance in a Kore-eda film, Koji Yakusho co-stars with Masaharu Fukuyama, who reteams with Kore-eda for the first in four years since Like Father, Like Son. 
 
Misumi (Yakusho), who had been previously convicted of murder, is once again indicted for killing and setting on fire the president of the company which laid him off. His lawyer, Shigemori (Fukuyama), begins investigating Misumi in order to file for life imprisonment instead of the death penalty. However, as his investigation continues, an uncomfortable feeling slowly develops within Shigemori.

PARKS　 (118mins, 2017)
Directed by Natsuki Seta
Wednesday, June 27 @7PM
In Japanese with English subtitles

Haru, a high school girl comes to Kichijoji looking for Sachiko, the woman mentioned in a love letter of Haru's late father. Currently living at Sachiko's address is Jun, a female university student who loves playing guitar. Jun becomes interested in Haru's cause, and together they start to search for Sachiko's family house where they meet Sachiko's grandson, Tokio. He tells them that Sachiko passed away just recently. Later, Tokio finds a reel-to-reel tape in Sachiko's belongings. Apparently, Shinpei and Sachiko used to play music together, and the tape contains a song sung by the couple. However, the tape is damaged and they cannot hear the song to the end. Tokio, Haru, and Jun decide to complete the song themselves.

Japanese Conversation Cafe: Tea Time
Monday, June 11 @7-9PM
Free Admission, Register Now

Come join our casual conversation café and meet new friends!  You'll enjoy chatting with native Japanese speakers.  All levels are welcome.  Japanese learning experience is not necessary.  We are open to everyone, ages 18 and up.
 

2018-19 JAPANESE LANGUAGE GRANTS ARE NOW AVAILABLE

We still have grant programs available during our Fiscal Year 2018-19 to support Japanese-Language Education in the United States.

They include the following:
  1. Learners Event Grant previously known as "Speech Contest Grant" (Deadline: 9/1/2018)
  2. Teaching Material Purchase Grant (Deadline: 9/15/2018)
  3. Japanese-Language Education Project Grant (Deadline: 2 months prior to project start date)
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Japanese Language Education Update #55:
Preparation Under Way for the next Japanese Language Education Survey!

We are currently in the midst of preparations for the upcoming Japan Foundation Survey of Japanese Language Education!
 
Every three years we conduct a survey to understand more about the state of Japanese language education in the United States (this survey is also conducted worldwide in other countries). Through this survey, we learn valuable information such as the number of Japanese language learners, language instructors, and institutions in the country.
 
We publicize the results of the survey, which is then used by teachers, researchers, and more to get a big picture view of trends in Japanese language education. In short, we want to provide useful information about Japanese language education. The previous survey results can be found here and here.
 
What are the trends in Japanese language education? How does its future look? What aspects of Japanese education need more attention? These are all questions whose answers would greatly benefit all in the Japanese language education community and beyond.
 
Your help is greatly needed. Please keep in touch with us if your school will have a Japanese program this fall but has not done this survey before, or if your school has done the survey before but there has been a change in contact information. Contact us anyway for any questions about the survey. You can reach out to us at [email protected]. We look forward to hearing from you!

Fiscal Year 2018-2019 Japan Foundation Program Participants

The Japan Foundation offers two training programs, one for specialists in a cultural or academic field at our Japanese Language Institute in Kansai as well as another for Japanese language teachers at our Japanese Language Institute in Urawa. For the current fiscal year, we will be providing four postgraduate students with the opportunity to train in Kansai and one Japanese language teachers to train in Urawa. We hope they are able to make good use of their time in Japan and hope to hear about their experiences in a future issue of Breeze. For information on the 2019-2020 program cycle, please check back in October.

Teacher Training Program on a Specific Theme (May 29 to July 5)
  • Ms. Yoshiko Kishi (Case Western Reserve University - Cleveland, OH)
Japanese Language Program for Specialists (Short-term: June 6 to August 1)
  • Ms. Jinny McGill (Pennsylvania State University)
  • Mr. Eric Funabashi (The University of Kansas)
  • Ms. Chloe Willis (University of California, Santa Barbara)
Japanese Language Program for Specialists (Long-term: October 3 to April 3, 2019)
  • Mr. Yi Shan (Ohio State University)