After receiving a heartwarming video from Ota City in Japan (see our last newsletter if you missed it!), community members in Salem, Massachusetts have sent a video to Ota in kind.

The two cities have maintained a partnership for almost 30 years, the strength of which has been demonstrated by their solidarity in this time of crisis. Each of these communities has gone above and beyond to send positive thoughts and words of encouragement to the other in their efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

We share these videos in the hope that everyone can find strength and a sense of community from them. As always, we hope everyone is staying safe and well, and we will continue doing our best to provide positive community resources.

Coming up in August

Baseball, or yakyū (野球), has become Japan’s most popular sport, and the summer Kōshien (national high school baseball championship tournament) is an important summer tradition for many Japanese, just like the famous Gion Fesitval in Kyoto.

Speakers Mikio Yoshimura, Development Specialist at Fenway Sports Management, and Yoshinobu Sawai, Representative Director of Sportsbucks, a Japanese athlete management agency, will discuss Kōshien's significance to Japan. Learn from Sawai, himself a runner-up in Kōshien in the summer of 1988 and Kansai Student League Best Nine at his university baseball club, why baseball is more than a simple sport for him but a way of life. 

Baseball was introduced to Japan in the Meiji period and promoted by American soldiers occupying Japan after WWII. It took off in popularity and has become deeply entrenched in Japanese culture. The sport relies heavily on teamwork, perseverance, and discipline, qualities highly valued in Japanese work ethic. In Japan, winning is second to one’s character and honor, and the process of training is more valued than the final result. Some even refer to the Japanese approach to baseball as “Samurai baseball,” given its focus on rigorous training, self-sacrifice and submergence of ego, and development of inner strength, principles adopted from the samurai warrior code of bushidō (武士道). 

These philosophies extend not only to professional athletes, but to high school players as well. High school baseball in Japan, or kōkōyakyū (高校野球), is highly revered by the nation as a representation of Japan’s values, not just a popular event. When the summer Kōshien (national high school baseball championship tournament) was cancelled this year due to the pandemic, all of Japan felt the disappointment. 

We hope to pay tribute to the kōkōyakyū players who were unable to compete this year, and honor their dedication to their sport, their teams, and their development of spirit. This will be an enlightening topic for those interested in Japanese culture and sports fans alike.

More details about date and time will follow in our next newsletter!

Virtual Japanese/ English Language Exchange

Friday, July 24th

6:00 to 8:00 PM EDT

Hosted online via Zoom Meetings

(you will be sent the meeting code after registering)

Our language gatherings have become so expansive that we now have participants all the way from Japan! We hope you will take part in our community, as we strive to bridge Japanese and American cultures.

Please join us for two hours of conversation, where you will be grouped based on your proficiency level. This week's theme will be music!

Hosted online via Zoom

(you will be sent the ingredient list a few days before the event)

Okonomiyaki ( お好み焼き) is a savory pancake and an iconic Japanese street food. It is made primarily of shredded cabbage, flour, eggs, and water, and is sometimes referred to as Japanese pizza!

Feel free to get creative with the toppings, as there are many variations of the recipe. " Okonomi " means "choice" or "preference" and " yaki " refers to cooking. The batter and toppings differ between regions, but the three main styles are Tokyo, Hiroshima, and Kansai (or Osaka). We'd love to hear your favorites!

Please join us as one of our newest interns, Emily Knick, teaches her favorite okonomiyaki recipe! Emily is currently a student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, majoring in Linguistics and Japanese.

Be sure to bring your appetites for this next installment of our Easy Japanese Home Cooking series! We look forward to seeing you there!

We'd love to hear which recipe you'd like to learn next!

Send us your choice out of the following:

Please send your vote to [email protected]!

Friday, July 24, 6:00 - 7:00 PM EDT

Experience and learn about Japanese tea ceremony with Jennifer Swanson!

The workshop will include a brief history of tea ceremony, a demonstration, as well as lessons on the culture and traditions associated with tea. You will also learn how to whisk your own bowl and how to “be a guest” at a tea ceremony.

Tuesday, July 28, 8:00 - 9:00 PM EDT

( 2:00 - 3:00 PM HST )

Join us as we share the stories of two extraordinary women who are successfully leading their companies through the COVID-19 crisis. Learn how they are managing to persevere and rise above challenges that many of us are all facing today. Don’t miss out on this inspiring webinar!

Festival from Friday, July 17 until July 30

Tickets on sale: Friday, July 10

JAPAN CUTS, North America’s largest festival of contemporary Japanese cinema, returns for its unprecedented 14th edition as an entirely online experience. Featuring a diverse slate of 30 feature films and 12 shorts—including studio blockbusters, independent productions, documentaries, restored classics, animation and avant-garde works—

JAPAN CUTS 2020 offers unique access to the best new films from Japan with filmmaker video introductions, live virtual Q&As and panel discussions.

Friday, July 31, 12:00 - 1:00 PM EDT

( 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM CDT )

Hanaiku (花育) is Japanese education for kids to foster a sense of beauty and appreciation of life through experiences with plants and flowers. All you need is your favorite flowers, empty plastic bottles, and scissors!

Motoko Ishihara, Japanese Culture Consultant at Motoko Japan LLC, will teach us the beauty of flowers and show us how to enjoy simple flower arrangements at home. This is a perfect event for K-12 students to attend with their parents.

Thursday, August 6 - Sunday, August 9

7:30 - 9:00 PM EDT

The 4th annual Hiroshima-Nagasaki Peace Memorial in Boston 2020 will be held virtually on the event's YouTube Channel. This year makes the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and is the year that, more than ever, we believe in building a peaceful world together. The program features the visual art, theater, dance, and music as well as the Hibakusha Testimony -- peace messages from the mayors of Hiroshima & Nagasaki. We hope you can join us!

Saturday, July 25, 1:00 - 3:00 PM EDT

( 10:00 AM -12:00 PM PDT )

Tsuru for Solidarity will be offering a series of Community Conversations beginning July 25.

The first session will be on Japanese American Identity and will feature Dr. Donna Nagata, psychologist and Professor at the University of Michigan; Dr. Satuski Ina, co-organizer Tsuru for Solidarity; and moderated by Brian Niiya, Content Director, Densho.

Registration opens on Wednesday, July 15 at 9 am (EDT). Registration will be limited.

Thursday, July 30, 8:00 - 9:15 AM EDT

Alumni panel including Hiroyuki Akita (2006-07), Foreign Affairs and National Security Commentator, Nihon Keizai Shimbun; Mireya Solis (2000-01), Director, Center for East Asia Policy Studies and Phillip Knight Chair in Japan Studies, Brookings Institution; Yoshihisa Masaki (2005-06), Director, Social Communications Bureau, Keidanren (Japan Business Federation); Noriyuki Shikata (2019-20) Assistant Minister/ Director-General, Economic Affairs Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). Moderated by Christina Davis (2001-02), Director, Program on U.S.-Japan Relations; Professor of Government; and Susan S. and Knneth L. Wallach Professor, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University.

第5回リーダーズ from JWLIは、7月30日（木）20時に開催いたします。テーマは「ビジネスにおける　個を尊重するコミュニケーションリテラシー　『先方のパートナーをなんて呼ぶ？』」です。

The 5th Leaders from JWLI session will be held at 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, July 30, featuring the following female leaders. The theme of this session is "Gender-sensitive Communication at Work".

登壇者は、

The speakers are:

※これはオンライン開催のイベントです。当日飛び入りでもOKですが、アクセス方法などの詳しい情報を得るために事前に登録をすることをお勧めしています。

※This is an online event. You can drop in the session, but we recommend that you pre-register to the events to make sure you have access to the event URLs.

Thursday, August 6, 5:00 - 6:00 PM EDT

( 2:00 - 3:00 PM PDT )

Mix together the magic and superstitions of the Hawaiian Islands with the history of Japan and Korea and you get finely-spun stories from a man rooted in a very unique culture and a one-of-a-kind perspective. All of this is combined and delivered with a deep sense of reverence and authenticity. 

Not only does Alton Chung breathe life into traditional Asian folktales with sensitivity and deep connection, but he can also touch into the fire of ancient Hawaiian legends and tell them with passion and respect.

Tokyo Tower is a communications and observation tower in the Shiba-koen district of Minato, Tokyo, Japan. At 332.9 meters, it is the second-tallest structure in Japan. The structure is an Eiffel Tower-inspired lattice tower that is painted white and international orange to comply with air safety regulations.

Tokyo National Museum

The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo

Kyoto National Museum

Fukuoka Asia Art Museum

Yamatane Museum of Art

Adachi Museum of Art

Tae Kim's Guide to Learning Japanese

Aozora Bunko (in Japanese)

Learn Japanese with Erin

NHK-World Japan: Easy Japanese Grammer

NHK-World Japan: Easy Japanese Conversation

NHK-World Japan: Japan Easy

NHK-World Japan: News Web Easy

How to Read and Write Hiragana