The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles Newsletter
Director's Greeting
Greetings!

We have come very close to collecting 100 video clips of ‘This is My Japan’ testimonial from our friends in and out of country. I would like to thank all of you who have contributed to this project with your creative and articulate opinions. The results were more diverse and interesting than we expected at the onset of the project, and just watching through those clips gives me a lot of inspiration for our future programming. I am truly glad we did this as it has been a great opportunity for us to listen to what you have to say about Japan, rather than to tell you what we like about Japan. That is the beauty of cultural ‘exchange’ and we will continue to promote two-way (or sometimes multi-way) communication with our audience!
 
Sincerely,
 
 
Hideki Hara
Director
“This is My Japan” Video Project
What is your Japan?

We have received over 90 videos from a wide range of people since the start of this campaign and we look forward to receiving more videos from all corners of the United States! This month, we will be featuring videos from the individuals below.

Shared Videos (New)

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.

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

We look forward to seeing Your Japan!

Contact us: jflainfo@jflalc.org

Grants
NEW! 2020-21 JAPANESE-LANGUAGE GRANTS NOW AVAILABLE!
We are pleased to announce the start of our Fiscal Year 2020-21 grant programs that we organize annually to support Japanese-Language Education in the United States.
 
These include the following:

Grants for Nationwide/Statewide/Regional-level Events and Projects

Deadlines:  March 1 & September 1, 2020

Deadline:  Two months prior to the project start date

Grants for Individual Japanese Language Programs

Deadline:  April 10, 2020

Deadlines:  March 15 & September 15, 2020

Events
JFLA EXHIBITION EXTENDED
MELODIES OF SHINING SILK: JAPANESE EMBROIDERY BY SHIZUKA KUSANO

Through March 21
Monday - Friday: 10:00AM - 7:00PM
Saturday 12:00PM - 5:00PM
Closed on Sundays

FREE ADMISSION
Shizuka Kusano, one of the most admired and recognized textile artists in Japan today, showcases contemporary art pieces based on 1500 year-old traditional embroideries inspired by Japanese poetry, literature and art .

WELLNESS WEDNESDAY
BILINGUAL YOGA AT LUNCHTIME
Wednesday, March 4
12:30PM & 1:00PM (20 Minute Sessions)
Free Admission
Wellness Wednesdays: We offer Wellness programs on Wednesday at lunchtime!

March 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 12:30pm and 1:00pm. No reservation necessary, all are welcome .

FREE JAPANESE CINEMA SCREENING
THE WONDERLAND
Wednesday, March 11 @7:00PM
Free Admission
In Japanese With English Subtitles
Akane is a shy, young girl. On the day before her birthday, Akane meets the mysterious and fabled alchemist Hippocrates along with his apprentice Pipo who bring her through a basement and into a fantastical world full of magic and color. He reveals that this world is in danger, and as the "Green Goddess" it is her destiny and responsibility to save this world .

WELLNESS WEDNESDAY
MEDITATION WITH JAPANESE SINGING BOWL
Wednesday, March 18
12:30PM & 1:00PM (20 Min Sessions)
Free Admission
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!

UPCOMING JFLA EXHIBITION
NOBUO ANZAI: HOMAGE TO A NOMADIC STORYTELLER

March 25 - April 25
Monday - Friday: 11:00AM - 5:30PM
Saturday 12:00PM - 5:00PM
Closed on Sundays

FREE ADMISSION

PRE-OPENING NIGHT:
Tuesday, March 24 @7:00PM
Two years after hosting the MIGRATING DREAMSCAPES: NOBUO ANZAI exhibition here at JFLA, we are honored to showcase Anzai’s later paintings this time as we celebrate his infinite creativity and beautiful life.
FREE JAPANESE CINEMA SCREENING
THE NIKAIDOS' FALL
Wednesday, March 25 @7:00PM
Free Admission
In Japanese With English Subtitles
After losing his son, Tatsuya is anguished by the danger of his ancient family line coming to an end. His mother Haru urges him to embark on a loveless second marriage, and meanwhile he secretly hopes that his daughter Yoshiko will marry a husband willing to adopt the Nikaido name and follow in his footsteps .

LET'S CHAT IN JAPANESE
JAPANESE CONVERSATION CAFE: TEA TIME
Saturday, March 28 @10:00-12:00PM
Free Admission,  RSVP NOW   !
Our popular "Tea Time", conversation cafe is coming back! We will have it Saturday morning this time. Come enjoy Japanese snacks and tea while you chat with native Japanese speakers. All levels are welcome! Japanese language experience is not necessary—this event is open to everyone, ages 18 and up!

JF Nihongo Spring 2020
April 18 - June 20
Online registration starts March 3!
If you missed to take our winter term, we got you covered. Our popular Japanese language classes will be back for Spring term. Register online soon because our beginners class, Everyday Japanese 1 seems to sell out quickly every term.

 

News
JF GRANT ANNOUNCEMENT
GRANT AWARDED TO UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA, BIRMINGHAM
On January 28, 2020, Consul-General Kazuyuki Takeuchi visited the University of Alabama, Birmingham and kindly presented our grant check to Dr. Bob Palazzo (Dean, College of Arts and Sciences) for the expansion of their Japanese language program!


Japanese Language Education Update 76
I had a great opportunity to attend CAJLS: California Association of Japanese Language Schools workshop which was held on Saturday, February 15 th. For this workshop, the guest speakers were LA Moriage-Kai officers. The LA Moriage-Kai officers who have visited the Japan Foundation, Los Angeles (JFLA) office to hold meetings with other Japanese language teachers to strengthen the community between Japanese language teachers in Los Angeles. The focus of the workshop was to change ideas and perceptions towards traditional Japanese language learning and making language learning more visually and physically approachable for students. It was a great experience for me to learn about TPR (Total Physical Response), which implements visual and auditory learning through physical movement. For example, to teach the verb to read, which is “Yomu” in Japanese, the teacher would use his or her hands to flip open a book. Another way the teachers suggested teaching is teaching Japanese sentence structure and words as simple as possible and using katakana (foreign loan words) they may already know in their daily lives. Having a workshop for teachers to gather, update, and focus on improving Japanese language learning within the classroom is the best way as it shows that teachers are willing to grow with their students to make the classroom better! Everyone who participated were very enthusiastic and the turn out rate was great!

Also, we are working with American Association of Teachers of Japanese (AATJ) to gather more information about Japanese heritage learners all over the United States. Our Japanese language surveys generally focus on how many learners, teachers, and institutions but we do not fully understand the state of heritage learners. It’s important for JFLA to understand not only one type of learner but various types of learners who continue to study Japanese. If you could answer our surveys in Japanese or English, we would greatly appreciate the help! Thank you to all of those who have been participating in our surveys and without everyone’s help, these surveys would not be possible.