An Online Newsletter Showcasing Our Programs For The Month Of September, 2021!
For the month of September, we are celebrating the Samurai warrior by organizing an special outdoor event at the Shoseian Teahouse in Glendale where you will be able to experience a samurai acting workshop with the Japanese actor group "Burai" followed by a screening of Uzumasa Limelight. If you haven't seen this in our previous workshop, make sure to attend for a lesson you wont forget.

As for Japanese language education, our JF Nihongo classes start this month with only a few seats remaining and we still have a few Japanese language grants available. Check the links below for additional information.

Finally, you will be able to enjoy our regular Japanema and Wellness Wednesday online events as usual. Whether its samurai, Japanese, films, or healthy living, we have something for everyone this month!
Outdoor Screening & Samurai Action Workshop
Venue: Shoseian Teahouse, Glendale
Sunday, September 19th 6:15PM
Admission Free, Registration Required
Join us and challenge yourself in a sword fight performance that you’ve only seen in Samurai movies at the beautiful Japanese Garden in Glendale. Japanese actor group “Burai” will be your instructor. After this 30 minute workshop, enjoy the movie, "Uzumasa Limelight" (2014 ) which focuses on an aging background actor that specializes in being killed. Admission is free and registration is required. Enjoy the special evening with us!

JAPANEMA ONLINE
ZOKKI
(113 mins, 2021)
Wed, 9/8, 7PM - Thur, 9/9, 7PM (PDT)
Click Here to Watch (accessible during screening period only)
Live-action feature film adaptation of the same-named comic by manga artist Hiroyuki Ohashi, whose "On-Gaku: Our Sound" hit the big screen as an animated film. Interweaves multiple episodes. Directed by Takumi Saitoh, actor Takayuki Yamada and actor Naoto Takenaka, who won the FIPRESCI Prize at the 48th Venice Film Festival for “Nowhere Man”. Each director handled casting for his own section, and they co-directed the interconnecting scenes. Screenplay by theater director and playwright Yutaka Kuramochi.

ONLY A FEW SEATS LEFT
ONLINE JAPANESE COURSE
FALL 2021
Our popular Online Japanese Class starts from September 8. Register soon before it’s all gone.

VIDEO SERIES
MY LIFE, MY JAPANESE
Want to learn Japanese but don’t know where to start? Want to know the long-term benefits of learning Japanese? Check out our new video series, “My Life, My Japanese” where we interviewed five individuals who have learned Japanese throughout their lives and how learning Japanese have affected them positively in various ways. Not only has learning Japanese expanded their perspectives but it has helped the interviewees find new career paths and make new friends as well. We hope that these videos encourage you to continue your language journey and if you are interested in sharing your story, please contact us and let us know you’d like to volunteer as an interviewee!

BREAKING THE SILENCE
A CONVERSATION WITH KAZUKI TAKIZAWA & DR. MIWA HITSUMOTO
This is a recording of our conversation about mental health and the benefits of making art with exhibiting Los Angeles-based glass artist Kazuki Takizawa, and Dr. Miwa Hitsumoto, Executive and Clinical Director of the Center for Japanese Mental Health. Learn about how Kazuki uses his artistic practice as a vehicle to speak out and educate about mental health, and as a personal therapeutic process. Also, Dr. Hitsumoto explains how the creative activities positively benefit our mental health and well-being. The conversation was moderated by Andres Payan Estrada, Curator of Public Engagement at the Craft Contemporary.

VIRTUAL KARATE EXERCISE AT LUNCHTIME
Wednesday, September 1st
12:30PM PT (15 Minute Session)
Whether at work or at home, let's refresh yourself for 15 minutes on your lunchtime together with us! Karate Exercise will be offered via JFLA Facebook LIVE!

World class instructors from Kyokushin Karate of Los Angeles will give you a set of beginner’s level exercises from their basic movement with their English instruction.

There will be one 15-minute session starting at 12:30pm. Just go to JFLA's Facebook page. Achieve the unity of body and spirit!

VIRTUAL BILINGUAL YOGA AT LUNCHTIME
Wednesday, September 8th & 29th
12:30PM PT (15 Minute Session)
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!

VIRTUAL MEDITATION WITH JAPANESE SINGING BOWL
Wednesday, September 15th
12:30PM PT (15 Min Session)
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!

2021-2022 Japanese Language Grants Now Available!
Teaching Material Purchase Grant
Deadlines: 9/15/2021

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
Japanese Language Education Update 93
I hope everyone had a good summer and they are able to shift their gears back into going back to school. In-person classes are resuming for many, so I hope you are able to see your friends, classmates, and be able to study together. In terms of our organization, we have been working on preparing for our 2021 Japan Foundation Institutional Survey, which we conduct every three years. We hope to have a better understanding on how many learners, teachers, and institutions there are all over the United States and we hope to receive as much responses as possible. Please email us at jflaeducation@jflalc.org if there’s any email address changes and new institutions that have opened up during 2018-2021. COVID-19 really changed how classroom instructions get conducted and brought different conversations on how language should be taught through online and hybrid methods. It has greatly challenged the idea of how language learning can be achieved and maintained and I’m sure students themselves had to really reassess how they can learn outside of the classroom. But with the strength of teachers and students through this difficult time, Japanese language education really pulled through with so many wonderful Japanese language teachers coming up with ways to educate each other through webinars, conferences, and sharing resources. We are glad that our grants are utilized to make these opportunities possible and that we hope to continue supporting teachers’ efforts through this difficult time and beyond.
STAGE BEYOND BORDERS
The Japan Foundation (JF) has started the project “STAGE BEYOND BORDERS—Selection of Japanese Performances,” which presents outstanding Japanese stage performances online for people throughout the world who are seeking opportunities to enjoy Japanese stage performances amid the spread of COVID-19.

Performing arts is one of the earliest forms of entertainment that through strangers and various environments stirs the imagination about ongoing stories and provides hopes and hints about the real world. The Japan Foundation’s online project “STAGE BEYOND BORDERS—Selection of Japanese Performances” is expected to encourage hope for all people who enjoy performing arts by presenting outstanding Japanese stage performances beyond borders in multiple languages. The Japan Foundation hopes to cultivate new fan bases for performing arts and also approach theater professionals in order to hold performances at overseas theaters once interactions among people are allowed to resume.

Please visit the following website for upcoming performances: https://stagebb.jpf.go.jp

The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles