An Online Newsletter Showcasing Our Programs For The Month Of April, 2021! |
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Statement on Anti-Asian Violence and Racism |
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We have been deeply saddened by the increase in hate-crimes and violence toward the Asian, Asian-American, and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities.
As an organization whose mission is to foster empathy and trust through international cultural exchange, the Japan Foundation respects diversity and continually strives to promote mutual understanding.
We strongly oppose and condemn all forms of racism and prejudice and we reaffirm our commitment to work toward eliminating racism and prejudice.
The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles
The Japan Foundation, New York
Center for Global Partnership, New York
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April is typically known as Cherry Blossom season in Japan with the iconic flowers blooming and observers enjoying the tranquil scenery in a park while eating and drinking their favorite snacks and beverages. Here in the US, Cherry trees in DC have blossomed early due to warm weather and we have also been enjoying the summer like temperatures here in Los Angeles.
This month is also the start of new fiscal year in Japan and we are starting out strong with the first two Music Mondays streaming live from Japan followed by two eclectic performers based in the US. We will be hosting another online Japanema screening along with our usual Wellness Wednesday events and our virtual exhibition that will last till mid-June. Thanks to all our eager Japanese language leaners, our JF Nihongo - Japanese language classes are almost all filled for spring term. We hope you will continue to support us in the new year!
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VIRTUAL CONCERT
EVERY MONDAY
April 5th & 12th
6:00PM (PDT)
April 22nd & 26th
12:30PM (PDT)
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Our virtual concert series Music Mondays continues in April with many more amazing musicians! Bringing some cheer to your lives through music, we will be preforming LIVE via Facebook this month on Mondays.
The theme this month is "Harmony" and we will feature the following artists:
APRIL 5: NORIAKI MITA
Chair of Mita Noriaki Gagaku Academy in Tokyo, Japan, Mita began studying Hichiriki, Gaku-soh, and U-mai at the age of 9 under Suemasa Abe (Ex-chief master of court music of Imperial Household Agency, department of music and dance). He has also mastered the art of Sa-mai (such as "Ranryo-Oh”) under Shogo Anzai, and has danced "Nasori" at the National Theater of Japan and other various stages as a member of Tokyo Gakuso, led at that time by Tadamaro Ohno. He has gained popularity for combining his explanation of Gagaku with performance (Gagaku Lecture Concert), and in 1995, he introduced Gagaku to audiences at New York Carnegie Hall. Throughout his life, many amazing players have influenced and taught Noriaki how Gagaku should be, and these are moments he treasures to this day. On Facebook Live, he will be performing with Harumi Mita, Yoshie Suzuki, and Chihiro Mita. They belong to Mita Noriaki Gagaku Academy. They will be demonstrating Gagaku as well as a traditional dance performance.
APRIL 12: AUN
AUN’s performances are not only amazing musically, but also quite exciting and entertaining as they encompass today's rock n' roll, ambient bass and drum styles, popular with both young and old. Ryohei and Kohei Inoue are twins who explore the potentials of Japanese traditional instruments through Taiko drums, Shinobue flute, and Koto. They joined Japanese troupe specializing in taiko drumming called “Ondekoza (demon drum group)” at the age of 18. They performed over 1000 times in New York, performed in and out of Carnegie Hall for over 12 years, and performed in 28 countries. AUN was formed in 2000 and had multiple CD releases and extensively toured all over Japan. In 2006, they produced Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT)’s “Visit Japan Campaign”. In 2009, they reestablished themselves under “AUN-J Classic Orchestra”. This new unit gathers young Japanese artists to popularize traditional Japanese music and frequently performed overseas. Through this unit, they released “Wa-Gakki de Ghibli” in 2010. They wanted to produce music that connects children to the world of Hayao Miyazaki. www.facebook.com/aunjapan http://wacoustic.com/profile-2/
APRIL 19: TOMOKA NOMURA-JARVIS
Originally from Gifu, Japan, Tomoka Nomura-Jarvis started to play piano at the age of 6 and saxophone at age 17. She earned a Masters in Music from the State University of New York at Buffalo in saxophone performance. Tomoka has appeared on ABC’s "Jimmy Kimmel Live" with Fat Joe, Remy Ma and Ty Dalla $ign, recently released a music video by renowned Armenian singer Arman Hovhannisyan, and toured in Japan and the United states with legendary Japanese blues singer Kenichi Mikawa. She is a member of all female jazz group Jazz in Pink, The Sully Band, and the all-female sax quartet, The Saxations. Tomoka has performed for numerous music festivals, including the Playboy Jazz Festival at the Hollywood Bowl (2019), the Cancun Jazz Festival in Mexico (2019), the Seabreeze Jazz Festival in Panama City FL (2019), the Catalina Jazz Trax festival (2017), and the Long Beach Jazz Festival (2017 and 2019) to name a few. http://www.tomokamusic.com
APRIL 26: ELLIOT KANSHIN KALLEN & PAUL DEAN
Elliot Kanshin Kallen began his musical career playing keyboards for many bands and on many stages. A chance encounter led him to the shakuhachi, the traditional Japanese bamboo flute. He is a long-time student of David Kansuke Wheeler of Boulder, CO, and he also studies with Kawase Junsuke III, the third-generation head of Chikuyu-sha, the largest shakuhachi teaching organization of its kind in Japan. Elliot was given his Shihan (master/teacher certification) and performance name, Kanshin, in 2018. Elliot plays shakuhachi in a wide variety of contexts, from traditional solo Zen pieces and ensemble music with koto and shamisen, to the exploratory sounds of the avant guard. He is the current President of the International Shakuhachi Society (see www.komuso.com). Elliot performs, teaches, and gives lectures on Japanese classical music and the shakuhachi from his home base in Northern California.
Paul Dean is a bassist, songwriter, composer and arranger. He studied jazz at University of Miami and Sonoma State University. From 1996 to 2011, he wrote for and performed with Blusion, an original fusion-funk jazz band. Since that time he has performed and recorded in a wide variety of settings.
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VIRTUAL MEDITATION WITH JAPANESE SINGING BOWL
Wednesday, April 7th & 21st
12:30PM PT (15 Min Session)
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Meditation with Japanese Singing Bowl will be offered this month via JFLA Facebook LIVE!
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 will be one session starting at 12:30pm. Just go to JFLA's Facebook page. Stretch and refresh yourself with us at home!
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VIRTUAL BILINGUAL YOGA AT LUNCHTIME
Wednesday, April 14th & 28th
12:30PM PT (15 Minute Session)
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Bilingual Yoga will be offered this month via JFLA Facebook LIVE!
No need to change clothes or use a yoga mat; you will be seated in a chair at home and receive an instruction from our instructor in bilingual (English and Japanese). Easy and relaxed!
There will be one session starting at 12:30pm. Just go to JFLA's Facebook page. Refresh and recharge yourself with us at home!
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JAPANEMA ONLINE FILM SCREENING
The Nikaidos' Fall
(2019, 105mins)
Start: Wednesday, April 28, 7PM (PDT)
End: Thursday, April 29, 7PM (PDT)
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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.
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VIRTUAL EXHIBITION
NOBUO ANZAI: HOMAGE TO A NOMADIC STORYTELLER
Through June 18, 2021
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Three 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.
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ONLY A FEW SPOTS LEFT
SPRING 2021
ONLINE JAPANESE COURSE
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Spring in blossom and so is our Spring term! All Everyday Japanese 1 & 2 courses have been filled and only a few spots left for Everyday Japanese 3. Register online before it’s all gone.
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2021-2022 Japanese Language Grants Now Available! |
Learners Event Grant
Deadlines: 9/1/2021
Teaching Material Purchase Grant
Deadlines: 9/15/2021
Salary Assistance Grant for Japanese Language Courses
Deadline: 4/10/2021
Language Education Project Grant
Deadline: Two months prior to the project start date
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Advocacy Support Letter
If your Japanese language program is in danger of being cut due to COVID-19, we will send a support letter to stakeholders (Superintendent, Principal, Dean, etc.).
Please contact
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Japanese Language Education Update 88 |
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While there weren’t the same number of weekly webinars we had in February, we were able to experience various virtual spring conferences including the Association of Asian Studies and American Association of Teachers of Japanese’s (AATJ). Given how much content is out there right now, it can be hard to check out every conference, but luckily videos of them stay available online for more than a few days which allows us to appreciate the presentations in our own time. The AAS conference focuses on Japan studies, while the AATJ conference focuses on Japanese language education, and attending both has been a great way to experience and learn more about these two separate fields and how they relate to one another. While it’s important to appreciate and explore various aspects of Japanese language, culture, and further understanding through these avenues, it also reminds me the importance of advocating and ensuring these ideas are discussed in a safe space. With recent events that are causing harm in AAPI communities, it is important than ever to continue advocating, promoting the importance of language learning, and to increase intercultural exchanges and experiences. Language learning isn’t simply about words but growing our minds and allowing us to become globalized citizens. I recently had an amazing experience with high school students learning Japanese via Google Meets. I talked about our organization, what resources and events we have, and opened time for question and answers. The students were all very excited to ask me questions about my favorite anime, and how they can prepare for the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT). These experiences remind me that there are so much we can learn from each other and I would love to continue speaking to students directly. If you ever have any questions about Japanese language, culture, and would love to learn more about our resources, please do not hesitate to contact us at jflaeducation@jflalc.org at any time! We look forward to hearing from you. |
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The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles |
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