What is your Japan?

We have received 30 excellent videos from a wide range of people since the start of this campaign. Please help us out by sharing a video of Your Japan with us, following the guidelines below:

How to share Your Japan

• Take a one minute video with your phone/video camera.

• Show something that is a symbol of your Japan, or of your memory related to your story.

• Within one minute, tell your story in English.

• Conclude the video saying “This is My Japan”.

• Send your video to us!

• Take a video with your friends and say “This is My Japan!” all together at the end.

• See the example, below.

Shared Videos (New)

The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles will post your video on our Facebook and Instagram.

We look forward to seeing Your Japan!

Contact us: [email protected]

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The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles proudly presents three authentic geisha performers from Kyoto, Japan, along with geisha expert Peter MacIntosh for a series of extraordinary cultural events during their inaugural U.S. West Coast tour. Through dance, music, lectures and film, they will be introducing the beauty and mystery of Kyoto's "flower and willow world." This will be a rare opportunity to meet with real geisha and learn the history and continuing traditions of ancient Japan.

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Every Living Thing: Animals in Japanese Art  celebrates one of the most distinctive and compelling aspects of Japanese art: the depiction of animals. Underpinned by Japan's unique spiritual heritage of Shintō and Buddhism, the Japanese reverence for nature—and the place of animals within that realm—is expressed in sculpture, painting, lacquer-work, ceramics, metalwork, cloisonné, and woodblock prints.

 

This exhibition is co-organized by the Japan Foundation, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the National Gallery of Art, Washington with special cooperation from the Tokyo National Museum. This exhibition is part of Japan 2019, a series of events highlighting Japanese arts and culture in the U.S. throughout 2019.

 

For more information, please visit the  LACMA’s website .

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

September 4 is Yoga day! In this program, 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 *1:30pm and 2:00pm (Note: Special time). No reservation necessary, all are welcome.

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Road movie adaptation of the bestselling novel by author Hiro Arikawa, whose works " Library Wars " and " Evergreen Love " have already been turned into movies.  Evergreen Love  and  Anonymous Noise  director Koichiro Miki depicts the journey of a boy and cat who share a strong bond.

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Mid-week fatigue is a familiar foe to many of us. Why not maximize your relaxation and join us for a Sound Bath at Lunchtime!



The singing bowl used for this program harmoniously combines the healing qualities of the Tibetan singing bowl and its Japanese traditional singing bowl. Relax and feel your stress dissipate into thin air as the sounds of the singing bowl lead you into a meditative state.

There is no charge and no reservation required. All are welcome to come, sit, listen, and refresh!

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Young girls stand up to face a global crisis in this fantasy anime commemorating the sixteenth anniversary of Toei Animation. Miyahara Naoki, who has worked on the  "Pretty Cure"  series among others, directs.

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Godzilla (a.k.a.  Gojira ) is the roaring granddaddy of all monster movies. It’s also a remarkably humane and melancholy drama, made in Japan at a time when the country was reeling from nuclear attack and H-bomb testing in the Pacific.

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Our popular event "Tea Time" is coming to Torrance! Let's get together and chat with native Japanese speakers. All levels are welcome! Japanese language experience is not necessary- this event is open to everyone. After this event, please enjoy  the Japanese cinema screening "MIRAI"  at the same location.

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Torrance Cultural Arts Foundation  & The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles present acclaimed director Mamoru Hosoda's (Summer Wars, Wolf Children)  MIRAI, a daringly original story of love passed down through generations. 2019 Academy Award Nominee for Best Animated Film, and the epic capstone of director Hosoda’s career, MIRAI is a sumptuous, magical, and emotionally soaring adventure about the ties that bring families together and make us who we are.

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Please join us for a special talk event by Hollis Goodall, Curator of Japanese art at LACMA, as she talks about the highlights and insight of their upcoming exhibition Every Living Thing: Animals in Japanese Art which co-organized by the Japan Foundation. 

Study Japanese this fall! Our JF Nihongo Fall 2019 term starts this weekend.  

It’s FUN, it’s INFORMATIVE! Learn ready-to-use phrases!

We offer three beginner-level Japanese-language courses. In each class, students will learn concepts and communication skills which are essential to having a well-rounded understanding of everyday Japanese. 

Look who’s taking our course!

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Application for Performing Arts Japan (PAJ) touring and collaboratrion grants for the 2020 – 2021 fiscal year is now  open .Application deadline is 5:00 p.m. EST, October 31, 2019 .

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Hakuho Foundation is now accepting applications for the 15th Hakuho Japanese Research Fellowship.

The Fellowship invites leading international researchers of the Japanese language, Japanese language education, Japanese literature and Japanese culture to Japan to conduct residential research.

In providing residential research opportunities, the Fellowship aims to further strengthen the base of international research into Japan and to deepen the understanding of Japan.

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The following grants are still available:

1. Japanese Teaching Material Purchase Grant

Deadlines:  9/15/2019



2. Japanese Language Education Project Grant

Deadline:  Two months prior to the project start date

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Last month, JFLA Deputy Director Shimpei and JFLA Grants Specialist Mike Penny once again set out from Southern California and traveled to Kirkland, WA where the annual J-LEAP (Japanese-Language Education Assistant Program) Arrival Training was held on the Northwest University campus over five days.

What is J-LEAP, you ask? It’s a grant program, now in its ninth year, co-administered by Japan Foundation and the Laurasian Institution, which brings young native speakers from Japan on the J-1 visa to co-teach with a US-based Japanese language instructor for up to two years.

Every year 6-12 new Assistant Teachers (ATs) are chosen and brought to the US. They are introduced to their Lead Teachers (LTs) and dispatched to their respective K-12 schools throughout the US to enhance those Japanese programs by teaching fresh, authentic Japanese language and culture. Once the ATs arrive in the US, they participate in the Arrival Training and are then sent to their respective host sites. At this year’s Arrival Training, the AT/LT pairs from last year (Year 8) and this year (Year 9) had a chance to meet and bond while learning invaluable teaching and interpersonal skills from two venerated instructors of Japanese-language, Yoshiko Saito-Abbott and Yo Azama.

Would you like your Japanese language program to have an assistant teacher from Japan? The Lead Teacher application period has officially begun! There are two application phases with separate deadlines, the first of which is November 1 ^st , 2019 .

Check out the Laurasian Institution website for more information and to apply!

Also, starting in October, we will be publishing reports from two Year-9 ATs every month in Your Japan , so be sure to check back and read about these J-LEAPers' unique experiences sharing Japanese language and culture in the US!

This month, we would like to focus on one of the most important tests for Japanese learners called the JLPT (Japanese-Language Proficiency Test). JLPT is a test to measure Japanese language proficiency for non-native Japanese speakers. Since 2011, there have been over 600,000 test takers in more than 60 countries worldwide. In Japan, the test is administered in July and December, but in the U.S., it is only administered in December with 18 locations across the country. The test date is on Sunday, December 1 ^st, 2019 (Registration is from Monday, August 26 ^th to Monday, September 30 ^th) and cost is $60 for all levels. Further information about the test locations will be listed on AATJ (American Associations of Teachers of Japanese) website in October: https://www.aatj.org/jlpt-us.

Currently, there are five levels (N1-N5 with N1 being the highest and N5 being the lowest). The tests assesses the test takers ability to read, understand, and listen to various level of Japanese and could eventually be used for business settings such as working in Japan. The test results do not expire and you can have it reissued by AATJ. Advocacy Coordinator, Lena Kelly, personally took the JLPT before and appreciated that there was a comprehensive exam that measures Japanese ability. It helped her set goals and see where she was at with her language learning and she eventually passed level 1. We hope Japanese learners can also use JLPT to set goals, measure their own Japanese abilities, and see how far they have progressed over the years. We wish this year’s test takers best of luck in their studies to pass the test!

Here are a few sample questions to assess which JLPT level is for you: https://jlpt.jp/e/samples/forlearners.html . Please check it out!