All, please note we have had a new blog up since January 2010 and it will be our new official blog.
Official link here. Thank you for your support and hope to see you on the new blog!
NEW JAPAN YOUNG PROFESSIONALS GROUP BLOG
Friday, February 19, 2010
Monday, October 19, 2009
Women in Noh Theater
Newsweek had a great article about the changing face of Noh theater in Japan. Like kabuki, the actors are traditionally men only - even so far as some Noh actors claiming, "if women are in Noh, it's not Noh theater."
What was surprising to me, was that the practice of Noh by registered professionals is genealogical, with actors beginning as early as age 4. There are over 30 to 50 "patrilineal family troupes" that compose five Japanese schools for Noh theater. There are currently 1,200 registered male and 200 registered female professionals.
Why the trend? The article says that many male performers are opting for office jobs that are more stable given the current economy. Noh theater has seen this trend in the past during economic crises and social. "During the Edo period (1600–1868), when Noh flourished with the support of the Tokugawa shogunate, women were banned from publicly performing Noh as part of a government crackdown on individual freedom and morality. But during the Meiji Restoration in the late 1800s, when Noh actors were stripped of their patronage, women returned to the stage. Finally, in 1948—newly defeated in World War II and reeling from Western pressures—Japan allowed its first officially recognized professional woman Noh actor, Kimiko Tsumura."
Regardless of what side of tradition you may rest on, you have to agree that this is an exciting time to see this much attention drawn to traditional Japanese performing arts. In many ways, this could ensure the sustained popularity of Japan's oldest performing art.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Upcoming JYPG event!-Sept29th
Blue C Sushi website Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Japan Young Professionals Group Business Event
“Adapting a Japanese Idea to American Tastes and
Making it a Successful Model”
Guest Speakers:James Allard, Founder and CEO of Blue C Sushi
&
Steve Rosen, Founder and CMO of Blue C Sushi
Featuring: Enfu
The Japan Young Professionals Group (JYPG) is excited to announce our third business event of the year! Mr. James Allard and Mr. Steve Rosen will speak about their personal experiences founding Blue C Sushi and what it took to overcome the challenges they faced adapting the Japanese idea of kaiten zushi or “conveyor belt sushi” to a successful American model. Enfu, who's art is on display at Blue C Sushi, will also speak briefly about "Art & Nikkei Identity." Join us for this fun and informative event!
DATE: Tuesday, September 29, 2009
TIME: 6:30 p.m. Registration
6:45 p.m. Dinner begins
7:00 p.m. Presentation, Q & A
7:45 p.m. Networking
8:30 p.m. Event concludes
LOCATION: Blue C Sushi, 2nd Floor Nomu Izakaya Lounge
505 Bellevue Square
Bellevue, WA 98004 Map
COST: $25/person for JAS members
$35/person for non-members
Includes dinner ~Cash bar~
Register here!
Registration Deadline: Sunday, September 27.
Prior to founding Blue C Sushi, Mr. Allard served as Senior Vice President of Operations at Go2Net, where he led groups totaling 500 employees responsible for all key operational and human resource functions. Previously Mr. Allard was Senior Business Manager for Worldwide Operations at the Microsoft Corporation. Prior to joining Microsoft, Mr. Allard served as an attorney for the U.S. Department of Treasury and also as a corporate and international trade attorney with the international law firm of Graham & James. Mr. Allard has studied Japanese language and culture extensively and lived in Japan on two separate occasions. Mr. Allard received his M.B.A. from Columbia University, his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and a B.A. in Economics from Columbia University.
Prior to founding Blue C Sushi Mr. Rosen was Vice President of Creative Services for Go2Net responsible for the front-end web development, design and user interface for the Go2Net network. Mr. Rosen was also responsible for the company’s technical writing, editorial, marketing copywriting and collateral. Prior to Go2Net, Mr. Rosen was President of Breakaway Productions, a film and video production and postproduction facility which included directing and editing services for high-end retail clientele. Mr. Rosen was previously President of Logos Enterprises, a collegiate product-marketing firm that sold specialty items to over 250 University and independently owned retail stores. Mr. Rosen received his B.A. in Philosophy from Occidental College.
Artist Statement: Enfu is a sushi & hamburger eatin’ samurai cowboy. He grew up watching Dragon Ball and G.I. Joe, playing jan-ken-pon and rock paper scissors, and collecting Bikkuriman and Garbage Pail Kids. Enfu does not associate Japanese American identity as geishas, pagodas, & Bon Odori. Rather observes a culture steeped in anime, video games, & manga. Enfu explores this bicultural paradigm; not east vs. west, but east meets west. Welcome to Hybrid Nippop, a world of mash ups, remixes, & interpretations of the resurgence of exported Japanese consumer pop culture.
Sponsorship opportunities are available. Please contact Rebecca Retzler at rretzler@us-japan.org or call the JAS office at 206-374-0180.
Monday, July 13, 2009
NYT features Seattle's Zoka in Tokyo
Given Seattle's affinity for coffee, it is no surprise that Seattle continues to influence the cafe culture in Tokyo. 10 years ago you'd be hard pressed to find a Starbucks or a Tullys beyond the smoke-filled Doutour or the bottomless cup at Mister Donut. Now, you are equally cursed and blessed to have ample access - which has lead many to dive deeper to find a more meaningful cup of coffee.
The New York Times recently published an article, "Where Tokyo Grabs a Cup of Coffee" that featured a listing of a number of great places to grab a cup on your next visit, including aged Havana coffee from 1974. Seattle's own Zoka's was also featured, as presenting an alternative to Seattle's gigantic footprint on Tokyo's cafe culture.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Uniqlo Brings You Japan Like You've Never Seen
Warning: don't open this unless you have hours to spend gazing. Tilt shift photography has seen quite a resurgence recently. Combined with time lapse, it creates some amazing shots as Uniqlo has treated us to. Check out the weather in Seattle at the same time! Click here for the Uniqlo Calendar Widget.
Shout out to our friends at Blue C Sushi for posting this on their blog!
Book Review: Oh! A mystery of mono no aware
When one says "Japan" a variety of thoughts come to mind: Sushi, karaoke, Akihabara, video games, anime. However the cherry blossom, or sakura, is the quintessential symbol of Japan to many. Why is the sakura so iconic? Of course, it is a beautiful tree. But why is it beautiful?
Picture the sakura in the Spring: You see the buds open one day; sitting under its full blossoms the next with company, food and drink. And then the blossoms wilt, seemingly in the blink of an eye. When one considers this cyclical act of the sakura, what is felt? Can it really be described? Is the feeling the result of pretty petals, or something else?
In Oh! A Mystery of Mono no Aware, by author Todd Shimoda and published by Chin Music Press, the reader is introduced to character Zack Hara, a third-generation Japanese-American living and working in Los Angeles. A very logical person, Zack can realize that other humans feel emotions, but he himself has a difficult time experiencing them. Leaving his "girlfriend" and his job behind, he sets off to the land of his grandfather, Japan.
Zack is the kind of fellow who looks at the sakura and understands its significance to other people, but it cannot evoke the same feelings in himself. At a hanami, or cherry-blossom viewing party, Zack is acutely more aware of his fellow participants preferring food and drink while under the sakura, to actually admiring the blossoms and their significance.
He does not deal in prose and long-winded sentiment, which is helpful as the book reads from the first person perspective and so this is useful for keeping the chapters short and the story flowing. Ironically, this means that the interjection of poetry, another key element in the novel, is at odds with the main character's straightforward manner.
The key solution to all this is a convenient one, as the Japanese poetry forms such as the haiku, can be as brief as they are deep. Poems are interspersed throughout the chapters as the main character attempts writing them to elicit his own emotional response to the world around him. In effect, this creates for the reader a real sense of becoming Zack, seeing and analyzing events logically while dealing with or writing poems which are at times vague, sometimes quite amateurish.
This concept of the logical versus the emotional meshes well with the third theme of the book, the suicide club. Questioning the motives of the Japanese people who join into groups in order to commit the act in tandem, Zack finds himself inexorably drawn towards them while on his path of self-discovery.
Will he unravel the mystery of the sakura? Or was it ever a mystery at all?
-The reviewer read the book to its completion and wanted to say a lot more, but wanted to avoid spoiling the great story. Oh! A mystery of mono no aware 's website is http://ohthenovel.com/. The hardcover version retails at Chin Music Press' website, here: http://www.chinmusicpress.com/. You can currently enjoy free shipping anywhere in the US or Canada.
Picture the sakura in the Spring: You see the buds open one day; sitting under its full blossoms the next with company, food and drink. And then the blossoms wilt, seemingly in the blink of an eye. When one considers this cyclical act of the sakura, what is felt? Can it really be described? Is the feeling the result of pretty petals, or something else?
In Oh! A Mystery of Mono no Aware, by author Todd Shimoda and published by Chin Music Press, the reader is introduced to character Zack Hara, a third-generation Japanese-American living and working in Los Angeles. A very logical person, Zack can realize that other humans feel emotions, but he himself has a difficult time experiencing them. Leaving his "girlfriend" and his job behind, he sets off to the land of his grandfather, Japan.
Zack is the kind of fellow who looks at the sakura and understands its significance to other people, but it cannot evoke the same feelings in himself. At a hanami, or cherry-blossom viewing party, Zack is acutely more aware of his fellow participants preferring food and drink while under the sakura, to actually admiring the blossoms and their significance.
He does not deal in prose and long-winded sentiment, which is helpful as the book reads from the first person perspective and so this is useful for keeping the chapters short and the story flowing. Ironically, this means that the interjection of poetry, another key element in the novel, is at odds with the main character's straightforward manner.
The key solution to all this is a convenient one, as the Japanese poetry forms such as the haiku, can be as brief as they are deep. Poems are interspersed throughout the chapters as the main character attempts writing them to elicit his own emotional response to the world around him. In effect, this creates for the reader a real sense of becoming Zack, seeing and analyzing events logically while dealing with or writing poems which are at times vague, sometimes quite amateurish.
This concept of the logical versus the emotional meshes well with the third theme of the book, the suicide club. Questioning the motives of the Japanese people who join into groups in order to commit the act in tandem, Zack finds himself inexorably drawn towards them while on his path of self-discovery.
Will he unravel the mystery of the sakura? Or was it ever a mystery at all?
-The reviewer read the book to its completion and wanted to say a lot more, but wanted to avoid spoiling the great story. Oh! A mystery of mono no aware 's website is http://ohthenovel.com/. The hardcover version retails at Chin Music Press' website, here: http://www.chinmusicpress.com/. You can currently enjoy free shipping anywhere in the US or Canada.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Japanese Cinema Continues Big Seattle Draw at SIFF
Japanese film has a market with Seattle. Each year, the Seattle International Film Festival shows off some of the best of what Japan cinema has to offer. It is great to see more Japanese actors visit Seattle for their theatrical releases as well, evidenced by SMAP superstar, Kimura Takuya, visiting for the screening of the samurai movie Love and Honor last year.
This year, Academy award winning moving, Okuribito is seeing an extended release following its splash at the Seattle International Film Festival at Seattle's Landmark Seven Gables Theatre. Plus, the film Manhole Children by Yoshio Harada was awarded Special Jury Prize out of 54 documentaries that were screened at this year's festival. Having seen the movie, it plays like the NHK documentary it was made for. Great camera work. Amazingly set in a backdrop this is so new, that you can't help but soak it all up. The city. The desert. The wind. The cold. That "one guy" doing the same narration for every documentary you have ever seen on NHK (and didn't pay for when the NHK person came to your door, too. Right?) Incredibly powerful, gut wrenching movie.
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