Bi-Weekly Newsletter: Upcoming Japan Events
February 4 - 18, 2020
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Now open for registration!
2/4 First Japanese Language Class
2/11 Thayer Award Reception
2/22 NEJETAA Kyushoku Bento Workshop
Save the Date!
3/27 Tamagawa Taiko
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The John E. Thayer, III Award was established in 1991 to commemorate the work and commitment of John E. “Jack” Thayer, III, to recognize the achievements of individuals, groups of individuals or organizations that have made outstanding contributions to the progress of the understanding and friendship between the people of the United States and Japan.
Do you know anybody who works tirelessly to establish stronger understanding or serves as a bridge between the US and Japan? Is so nominate them for the
Thayer Award
!
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Japanese of the week:
受験 (じゅけん): "Juken"
University Examination
Every January in Japan, hundreds of thousands of students across Japan are busy preparing for and taking entrance exams: "juken". Education is compulsory for only 9 years (6 years of elementary school and 3 for middle school) so many "juken" for college and high school but some even "juken" for middle and elementary school. The actual preparations for juken can take months, or even years, as this one time test will determine which school will accept you, and which will not. The pressure leading up to the exam is immense, so you might hear it referred to as 受験地獄 (juken jigoku), exam hell. It isn't uncommon for students to attend 塾 (juku), cram school, for years to prepare for the exam. To all of the students preparing for juken, 頑張って(ganbatte), do your best!
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Keep up with JSB on social media!
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Japan Society of Boston Events
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Tuesday, February 11, 2020 from 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Pucker Gallery
240 Newbury Street, 3rd floor, Boston, MA 02116
Join us to hear from the Japan Society of Boston's 2019 John E. Thayer, III Award recipients Barry Frechette, Executive Producer and Co-Director of "Paper Lanterns" and Professor Allan Sosei Palmer, Teacher and Student of Chanoyu.
The John E. Thayer, III Award was established in 1991 to commemorate the lifelong commitment of John E. “Jack” Thayer, III to furthering US-Japan relations. Jack Thayer was a vibrant, passionate, and beloved member of the Japan Society of Boston, who served for many years on the organization's Board. This award was established to recognize the achievements of individuals, groups of individuals or organizations that have made outstanding contributions to the progress of the understanding and friendship between the people of the United States and Japan.
We are now accepting applications to the 2020 Thayer Award. To learn more and to submit an application, click
here.
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Wednesday, January 8th
6:00-8:00pm at CIC Boston
50 Milk St, Boston
Free for all!
Join us for a Japanese/English language exchange with native Japanese speakers! This monthly event begins with a half an hour of speaking in Japanese, followed by a half an hour of speaking in English, and alternate until we hit 8 PM. We hope that our guests will meet others and find new paths for improving and enjoying their Japanese and English language skills. We expect all guests to come with a friendly disposition to learn and help others learn!
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CIC Boston
50 Milk St, 18th Floor Kitchen
Saturday, February 22, 2020
1:00 - 3:30 PM
~ Free Event ~
Space is Limited, Register Today!
To kick start a healthy diet and our appreciation for Japanese culture, New England JETAA and Japan Society of Boston will co-host a hands-on workshop on healthy bentos (box lunches) and kyushoku (Japanese school lunches). Our workshop will include a discussion on Japanese cuisine and it's historical and cultural influence on US-Japan relations, a hands-on demonstration on how to prepare a healthy and delicious Japanese bento, and the premiere of "Nourishing Japan," a new documentary on school lunch and food education in Japan. Attendees will assemble and eat bentos during the event.
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Have We Reached Peak Globalization?
A Conversation about the Evolving Trade and Security Relationship between the US and Japan
Friday, March 6, 2020 11:30 AM
Mintz Boston Office - One Financial Center, Boston, MA
Lunch will be Served
Since the 1950s, global security and economic interests have been pursued largely by promoting "globalism", institutions seeking the increasingly frictionless flow of labor, goods and capital. The recent emergence of trade wars, national security considerations impacting private companies and public markets combined with rising pressure on immigration point to a new environment of "turning inwards." Have we reached "Peak Globalism?" If so, what is the potential impact to the "man on the street" from Kansas to Kumamoto?
Speakers:
Mireya Solís
Brookings Institution
Director – Center for East Asia Policy Studies, Senior Fellow – Foreign Policy, Center for East Asia Policy Studies Philip Knight Chair in Japan Studies
Takako Hikotani
Columbia University & Weatherhead East Asian Institute
Gerald L. Curtis Associate Professor of Modern Japanese Politics and Foreign Policy, Dept. of Political Science
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This event is made possible by our generous co-sponsors
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Other exciting JSB activities to stay tuned for
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March 20, 2020
JSB Jazz Series Presents: Boston Higashi School Jazz Band with art from "Tokyo Jazz Joints" at CIC's Venture Cafe
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March 27, 2020
Tamagawa Taiko
at First Parish Church, Arlington, MA
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Other Japan Events Around Boston
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January 30th - February 23
Museum of Fine Arts Boston
Avenue of the Arts
465 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA
For the third year, MFA Film is thrilled to present a vibrant showcase of the very best recent films produced in Japan. This year, the festival opens with a free screening of Okko’s Inn, the latest feature from famed anime studio Madhouse and director Kitarō Kōsaka, a key animator on numerous classic films at the venerable Studio Ghibli. Seamlessly blending immersive, idyllic landscapes with storybook charm, Okko’s Inn delivers a rare ghost story that is firmly grounded in the trials and joys of humanity. Don’t miss other incredible films throughout the festival!
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January 10th & February 7th
6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Fox Library
175 Mass Ave, Arlington MA
Boston Shogi Club is hosting a Shogi night for all level players. Don't be afraid, come put your skills to the test.
No need to pre-register!
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Saturday, February 8th
3:00 - 6:00 pm
Pucker Gallery
240 Newbury St, 3rd floor
Boston, MA
Izinkamba and Onda Yaki pairings engage two cultures of utilitarian, community pottery, and Andrea Dezso's prints express bold imagination.
Izinkamba and Onda Yaki are able to engage in an inter-cultural dialogue. Both embody utilitarian beauty transmitted between a limited number of potters using natural materials near at hand, who leaven creative expression with the ballast of restraint and proscribed limitation to ensure the maintenance of formal integrity and the perpetuation of group identity.
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February 14th - July 26th
3
2 Quincy St, Cambridge MA
Painting Edo — one of the largest exhibitions ever presented at the Harvard Art Museums — offers a window onto the supremely rich visual culture of Japan’s early modern era. Selected from the unparalleled collection of Robert S. and Betsy G. Feinberg. More than 120 works in the exhibition connect visitors with a seminal moment in the history of Japan, as the country settled into an era of peace under the warrior government of the shoguns and opened its doors to greater engagement with the outside world.
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Saturday, February 8th, 2020
4:00 PM
24 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA
$5 Weekend Matinee Admission or Free with Cambridge Public Library Card
The unjustly little-known Whisper of the Heart is one of the most emotionally complex and convincing coming-of-age stories. Based on Aoi Hiiragi’s manga and adapted for the screen by Hayao Miyazaki. The entire movie is presented from the perspective of a twelve-year-old Shizuku, a bookworm who longs to be a writer when she grows up. Shizuku notices that her library books have previously been taken out by a boy named Seiji. With the help of a mysterious cat, an antiques dealer and The Baron—a statue of a well-dressed cat who comes to life at night—she aims to find Seiji, who could, after all, be her soulmate.
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February 21-24
24 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA
The Harvard Film Archive is pleased to welcome Tetsuya Mariko, now an artist-in-residence at Harvard’s Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies, for three evenings of screenings and conversations, together with producer Eisei Shu.
Japanese filmmaker Tetsuya Mariko (b. 1981) has directed a series of arresting and subversive films centered on characters locked into cycles of extreme antisocial behavior. Whether loners who have long abandoned any desire to engage except by their absolute but anarchic rules, or lovers set out on stark revenge, Mariko’s self-absorbed antiheroes inhabit an alternate zone that inverts quotidian reality by sparking cycles of dark violence in broad daylight and transforming banal domestic and everyday spaces into unexpected stages for bleak, brooding yet also darkly humorous theatrical performances.
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