Bi-Weekly Newsletter
October 9 - October 22, 2020
For JSB members in the Boston area, don't forget to use your member discount at this Japanese restaurant!
Itadaki Japanese Restaurant
269 Newbury St.
Boston, MA

Itadaki is currently offering both dine-in and takeout (pick-up) services. They are taking all the safety precautions to ensure a safe and enjoyable dine-in experience. Enjoy some Japanese cuisine with Itadaki while the beautiful fall weather lasts.

Itadaki offers a 20% discount for JSB members on food for dine in and pick up as well as for Japanese groceries!

For pick-up of food, alcohol or groceries, you can order directly from the website. To receive the JSB member discount of 20% off on food and groceries, please mention Japan Society in the note section when placing the order.

Visit their website to place an order!
Save the date!
Upcoming panel with Dr. Kiyoshi Kurokawa and Dr. Shinya Yamanaka.
US: Monday, November 16 at 7PM EST
JAPAN: Tuesday, November 17 at 9AM

Dr. Kurokawa and Dr. Yamanaka have been working together on the AI Advisory Board for COVID-19 for the government of Japan, with Dr. Kurokawa as chair and Dr. Yamanaka as advisor. Join us as the two doctors update us on the U.S.-Japan collaboration in the fight against COVID-19.

Registration opens October 15th
More Ways to Help
You can contribute to the Japan Society of Boston through your Amazon purchases! Every time you shop through Amazon Smile, a small percentage of your purchase is donated to the non-profit of your choice. Please consider choosing the Japan Society of Boston as your non-profit.
Keep up with JSB on social media!
Japan Society of Boston Online Events
Saturday, October 24, 10:00 AM - 7:00 PM EDT
Hosted online via Zoom - free registration

Anime Boston and The Japan Society of Boston are excited to present Anime祭 (sai), our first collaborative virtual event. Spend the day enjoying Japanese-related activities online, including a Japanese cooking class, a lesson on Japanese slang, anime discussion panels, and more. We'll also be featuring a musical performance by the Japanese rock band, GIRLFRIEND.

Anime Boston will be taking photo submissions for a cosplay showcase video, so start thinking about your costumes while you wait!

Keep up with our social media to get the latest news on the day's events!

Follow Anime Boston

Admission to Anime祭 is free. To help us continue offering exciting events like these, please consider making a donation when you register. All funds will go to Anime Boston and The Japan Society of Boston.
Saturday, November 14 at 5:00 PM EDT

Sukiyaki (すき焼き) is a Japanese hot pot dish that consists of meat and vegetables slowly simmered in a soy sauce & mirin sauce. After cooking, the ingredients are usually dipped in a small bowl of raw, beaten eggs and then eaten.

The term "sukiyaki" comes from "suki," or spade, and "yaki," meaning grilled. The dish became a part of Japanese cuisine at the end of the Edo period in the 1860s, during a time when beef was banned. Edo farmers would cook fish and tofu on their spades, though now the dish is most commonly made with thinly-sliced beef.

We invite you to make your own sukiyaki with the help of our intern, Emily Knick, who will be teaching her favorite sukiyaki recipe. Emily is currently a student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, majoring in Linguistics and Japanese.

Be sure to bring your appetites for this next installment of our Easy Japanese Home Cooking series! We look forward to seeing you there!


Friday, October 16
6:00 to 8:00 PM EDT

Hosted online via Zoom Meetings
(you will be sent the meeting code after registering)

Our language gatherings have become so expansive that we now have participants all the way from Japan! We hope you will take part in our community as we strive to bridge Japanese and American cultures.

Please join us for two hours of conversation, where you will be grouped based on your proficiency level. Get ready to talk about 5 things you can't live without!

The JSB Language Room is currently free for all. To help us continue offering our language exchange, please consider making a donation or becoming a member today!
Other JSB News
Japanese word of the week:
紅葉狩り (もみじがり)
momijigari
autumn leaf viewing

In both the United States and Japan, the fall season is seen in nature as the foliage transitions to bright hues of red, yellow, and orange. The beauty of these leaves is an important aspect of autumn in both countries, leading many to participate in momijigari by taking strolls or having picnics to admire the season's scenery. 

The word itself consists of two parts: 紅葉 (momiji) refers to the autumn leaves, while 狩り(gari) means hunting or harvesting. There are many places throughout Japan, from Hokkaido to Kyushu, where you can "harvest" a glance at the trees' vivid color changes.
JSB Staff Pick of the Week
With more time at home, we've asked our staff to pick some of their favorite Japanese movies and books. Here's the staff pick of the week:

Two complete strangers, Mitsuha and Taki, lives separate lives in a separate time. Suddenly bizarre body swaps happened in random occasions. Adjusting their lives around each other, they get to know each other and build a connection by leaving notes for one another. Eventually they wish to meet up but something beyond their power keeps them apart…

2016 animated romantic fantacy film written and directed by Makoto Shinkai
As a university student and JSB intern who is homesick for Japanese food, I will be exploring what Boston can offer for my ramen cravings. Please bear in mind that this is not a ranked list or endorsement, but rather the opinions of an intern with a ramen addiction!
Entry 4: Ganko Ittetsu

Ganko Ittetsu is a Hokkaido Sapporo ramen style restaurant in Brookline (318 Harvard St). They serve Miso (味噌/fermented soybean paste), Shio (塩/salt), and Shoyu (醤油/soy sauce) ramens. Currently, their options are dine in and take out. I bought the Shio-Paitan ramen, with chashu (チャーシュー/braised pork belly), ma-yu (マー油/black garlic oil), and a soft boiled egg (味付け半熟卵).

The ramen also comes with menma (メンマ/fermented bamboo shoots), hakusai (白菜/napa cabbage), negi (ネギ/green onions), corn(とうもろこし), and nori(海苔/roasted seaweed). The base soup that Ganko Ittetsu uses is a “double soup” of tonkotsu (豚骨/pork bone broth) and torigara (鶏ガラ/chicken broth), giving it a rich and savory taste.

This was the most affordable ramen so far in this diary, and you get a good value meal since it is very tasty. It doesn’t hurt that the Japanese market is right across the street if you want to get dessert and/or seconds!

Read more from Daiki's Ramen Diary here!
Online activities from other Japan Societies across the US
Mon, October 12 - Wed, October 14
7:30 - 9:30 PM EDT (4:30 - 6:30 PM PDT)

The MedTech Emerging Growth Companies 2020 Virtual Roadshow aims to introduce 20+ emerging U.S. medical technology companies to Japanese business, financial, academic, and government experts. Hosted by a collaboration between the Japan Society of Northern California and US-Japan Medtech Frontiers, this year’s virtual conference will feature three days of thematically grouped company presentations followed by virtual networking sessions with presenters.
Wednesday, October 14 at 8:00 AM EDT

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the momentum for ESG globally. In this ESG webinar, our panelists will focus on which elements of the ESG agenda are becoming priorities, best practice communications and reporting, and the factors to consider when setting an ESG strategy.
Wednesday, October 14, 6:00 PM EDT

In 2013, Mitsuru Claire Chino became the first female executive of a major Japanese trading company, known as sogo shosha and are among the largest businesses in Japan. Join us for an engaging discussion with Japan Society Board Member, Mitsuru Claire Chino, on the corporate environment in 2020, the concept of workplace diversity, and how to be an effective leader.
Thursday, October 15, 10:00 - 11:00 PM EDT
(4:00 - 5:00 PM HST)

Join us for our next installment in our “Women Who Lead” talk-story series as we welcome panelists Phyllis Look of Forest Bathing Hawaii and Cristina Moon of Daihonzan Chozen-ji International Zen Dojo to learn about how connecting with our spirit and mind, and focusing on the present can aid us through the difficulties and challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. In this webinar, you'll learn about what these connections entail and how they are practiced from shinrin-yoku 'forest bathing' and Zen Buddhism perspectives.
Tuesday, October 20, 9:00 - 10:30 AM EDT
(8:00 - 9:30 AM CDT)

What is the current political landscape and how will the outcome of the presidential election affect major domestic and international issues, including U.S.-Japan relations? In this webinar, a panel of experts from Japan and the United States zero in on the emerging themes of the presidential election, discussing the possible outcome and its impact on businesses and U.S.-Japan relations.
Thursday, October 22, 8:00 PM EDT

Japanese Comfort Food & American Southern Soul Food have a lot in common! Join us for this one-of-a-kind educational event where we learn about paring Sake with anything but such, taste some amazing Sakes, share some incredible recipes, and compare the culture of deliciousness in Japan to America!!
Non-JSB Online Activities
Tuesday, October 20 at 8:00 PM EDT

We will analyze two of the most iconic animes: Ghost in the Shell and Neon Genesis Evangelion, both of which have been producing new works since their release 25 years ago.

Two experts—Dr. Susan Napier and Dr. Stevie Suan—will help us to unravel these complex and fascinating anime works.
Dr. Frenchy Lunning will moderate the discussion.

Wednesday, October 15, 8:30 - 9:30 AM EDT

Keizo Takemi, Member, House of Councillors of the National Diet of Japan. Former State Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Japan. Former Senior Vice Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan.
Margarita Estevez-Abe, Associate Professor of Political Science, Maxwell School of Citizenship & Public Affairs, Syracuse University.
Aya Goto, Professor of Health Information and Epidemiology, Center for Integrated Science and Humanities, Fukushima Medical University.

Moderated by
Michael Reich, Director, Takemi Program in International Health; Taro Takemi Research Professor of International Health Policy, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Thursday, November 5 at 7:00 PM EST

Join CIE-US and CIE in an unprecedented webinar focused on generations of friendships between the Whitfield and Nakahama families. Co-sponsored by EngageAsia and the American Friends of the International House of Japan (AFIHJ), this webinar will feature descendants of John Manjiro (Manjiro Nakahama) and Captain William Whitfield, as well as a descendant of Commodore Perry to explore the legacy and lasting impact of family ties and friendship.

The HAJAS’s Greater Kansas City Japan Festival, scheduled for Saturday, October 3, 2020, will not be held “in-person” this year. Instead, we have produced a 2020 Virtual GKC Japan Festival. You will find numerous presentations from some of your favorite festival performers and presenters. October 3 will be the date when all performance videos are posted and the 2020 Virtual GKC Japan Festival officially begins. 

Anyone can view the videos for free and as many times as they like. We will leave them up on our website and Facebook sites well into 2021. So, viewers can spread out their viewing of our videos, select their favorite ones and refer them to friends to watch.
Tokyo Tower is a communications and observation tower in the Shiba-koen district of Minato, Tokyo, Japan. At 332.9 meters, it is the second-tallest structure in Japan. The structure is an Eiffel Tower-inspired lattice tower that is painted white and international orange to comply with air safety regulations.
Japanese Art Museum in the Cloud
The virtual IJC Museum in the Cloud allows visitors like you to enjoy modern artworks by Japan’s representative artists.
You can view works from all directions with 360° freedom and get so close
that you can see the subtlest details and even feel the presence of the artists.
Japanese study resources