Chanson Vocal, June 18
Topic: Music
Singer and vocal instructor Hiroki Konno of Gardena presents the sixth annual Pari Sai music concert featuring French songs chanson on Sunday, June 18 at 2 p.m. at El Camino College Campus Theatre, 16007 Crenshaw Blvd. Torrance, CA 90506.

Guest artists are Yuki kaiyama from Tokyo for vocal and Harumi Baxer from New York for piano. Proceeds will benefit Nikkei Accessible Information and Services in Torrance.

Tickets are $35. For seats call (310) 415-3161 or e-mail info@konnohiroki.com.

Japan Art Now featuring three Japanese painters, Jun. 3 - 30
Topic: Art
The Henken Gallery presents three Japanese artists in the exhibit, Japan Art Now, at the Henken Gallery located inside New Otani Hotel in Little Tokyo, from June 3 to June 30. This exhibition features works that showcase the artists’ unique personality:

Dr. Letsu Sugiyama (1925- ) Born in Fukuoka. He is an artist beyond explanation who has established a unique style that has been widely recognized throughout the art world. Sugiyama has said, “There is no past and no future of my art. Only the present work to express my history, my value and my career. The painting is an expression of my self.”

Mas Kawamoto (1943- ) Born in Whittier, California. Kawamoto’s interest in abstract art has always been present through his life. His creativity flows freely but occasion after several false starts. Recent his works integrating vibrant colors and powerful brush strokes, allow him to express himself at every aspect of his life.

Kiyokazu Itou (1952- ) Born in Mie. He is a renowned artist who primarily works in oil and watercolors. His style originated from a traditional Japanese art. His style is still seen, not only through his works, but also from the works of his art students. His paintings depict a new style of Japanese art in which he presents his subjects in sharp lines and harmonious colors.

The Henken Gallery is located in the grand floor in the New Otani Hotel, 120 South Los Angeles Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012, (213) 626-2505. www.thehenkengallery.com.

(Photo)
“Yawaragu toki” by Kiyokazu Itou, oil and gold leaf on canvas.

Bonsai shows, sales scheduled at Descanso Gardens, Jun. 16-18
Topic: Bonsai
The Descanso Bonsai Society’s 36th annual three-day Bonsai Show, one of the largest of its kind in Southern California, will take place during the weekend, Friday, June 16, through Sunday, June 18 at Descanso Gardens at 1418 Descanso Drive, La Ca?ada Flintridge.

Carefully sculpted trees, shrubs and other plants will star at this event and experts will explain how to create and care for bonsai. The show will be open 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day. Demonstrations are scheduled at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Raw and completed bonsai plants, tools, pots and related items will be for sale, and an opportunity to win bonsai items will occur at 3 p.m. Sunday.

For information call (818) 949-4200 or visit www.DescansoGardens.org Descanso Gardens is accredited by the American Association of Museums.

Jazz Koto Artist Kuramoto in free concert, June 18
Topic: Koto
June Kuramoto, whose jazz koto has been heard on major motion picture soundtracks and as key component of the legendary Hiroshima band, will present a free concert on Sunday, June 18, at the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center Plaza.

June Kuramoto and Friends are featured performers in the day-long Little Tokyo Food Fair and Concert taking place on Father’s Day from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Also appearing will be Latin jazz artists Soul Sacrifice, Opus fusion quartet, D.J. Hideo of radio station 98.6 The Beat, and singing artists Kiyoshi Graves and Miyuki Matsunaga.

In addition, cuisine from Sohoju, Chop Suey at the Far East, the New Otani Hotel, Capperi Italian Ristorante, Mikawaya, and other restaurants will be available for purchase.

Fathers who attend will each receive a free gift.
Sponsored by the Little Tokyo Business Association, the event will benefit the LTBA’s ongoing efforts to promote Little Tokyo merchants and preserve the area’s unique cultural identity.

Admission is free. For further details or booth information, call (818) 906-2161.

Re-creation of Tang Dynasty tea ceremony by an expert from Kyoto, Jun. 25
A re-creation of a tea ceremony from the Tang Dynasty (618-900 AD) will be conducted by Chinese culture expert Mr. Kouhou Tanahashi of Kyoto, on Sunday, June 25 at 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. at the New Otani Hotel in Little Tokyo.

Tanahashi will demonstrate the tea ceremony of the Tang dynasty when Chines tea ceremony originated. The demonstration will use tea Tanahashi produced from methods of that era along with his reproduction of original utensils.

His lecture will also include historical background about China and how people enjoyed tea in Tang period.

In 1987, Chinese archeologists unearthed approximately 900 valuable cultural icons of the Chinese Court from Famen-Si Temple, including Buddha’s ashes and gold and silver utensils. The tea utensils were dedicated at Famen-Si Temple in 873.

Famen-Si Temple, located near Xian City in Shaanxi province, was originally constructed during the Eastern Han Dynasty (25 – 220 AD). It became the prayer temple of successive emperors and led a wave of prosperity. It was destroyed and rebuilt multiple times.

The excavated tea utensils were used at the court and provided the key to proving the origins of the Lu Yu tea ceremony of the Tang dynasty.

Tanahashi, who established the International Certification of Culture of Chinese Tea and the Organization of Chinese Tea Ceremony, has given lectures and demonstrations across Japan. June 25 event is his first lecture and demonstration outside of Japan. English translation will be provided.

“Much mystery remains regarding the art of Tang Dyasty tea ceremony. But I hope that more people will be able to learn more about and come to appreciate Chinese tea ceremony,” Tanahashi said. “I think Japanese tea ceremony may have its roots in Chinese tea ceremony.”

Tickets are $30 per event. For further information, call Okumura at (323) 728-1990 or Kichimi at (818) 547-1122. This lecture and demonstration is presented by Okyu Chinese Poem Association, 1033 Yorktown Ave., Montebello, CA 90640.

(Photo)
Chinese culture expert Mr. Kouhou Tanahashi of Kyoto will demonstrate the tea ceremony of Tang dynasty in Los Angeles.

Japanese vocal and shamisen music Yamatogaku workshop, Jun. 10, 13
Topic: Yamatogaku
Yamatogaku was created by entrepreneur and philanthropist Baron Kishichiro Okura in Tokyo to harmonize Japanese tradition and Western music in 1930s.

Second headmaster (iemoto) Hisamitsu Yamato will visit Los Angeles to present lectures and demonstrations: June 10 (Sat) at 7 p.m. at Nishi Hongwanji Temple, 815 E. First Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012; June 13 (Tue) at 7 p.m. at Konko Church, 15722 Normandy Ave., Gardena, CA 90247.

One-hour lecture and demonstration is free of charge. The group lesson after the lecture and demonstration will be held for $30 per person. English translation will be provided. Call (310) 404-9622.

Mme. Wakana Hanayagi?s Classical Dance Workshop Graduation Program, June 10
Topic: Buyo
Mme. Wakana Hanayagi presents 2006 Los Angeles Regional Grant – Artist-in-Residence Japanese Classical Dance Workshop Graduation Program on Saturday, June 10 at 1:00 p.m. at Maryknoll Catholic Center, 222 South Hewitt Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012. Special guests are Masakazu Yoshizawa and Narumi Nakamura. Open to public. Admission free. For more information, call Mme. Hanayagi at (310) 822-9193.

Reflections of Beauty: Women from Japan's Floating World at Pacific Asia Museum, Pasadena, Mar.10 - June 18
Topic: Art
Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena will present the exhibition Reflections of Beauty: Women from Japan’s Floating World, curated by Kendall H. Brown, Associate Professor of Art History at California State University, Long Beach, from March 10 through June 18.

The exhibition consists of nearly 75 works that explore how representations of these artistically accomplished and aesthetically enticing women have been utilized not to capture the reality of their existence but to express a range of attitudes towards sex, culture, class and nation.

The exhibition features paintings, woodblock prints, ceramics, textiles and personal ornaments, most coming from the museum’s large but rarely seen collection of Edo-period (1616-1868) art. It also features rare objects and photos from private collections as well as paintings by contemporary artists that play with now stereotypical ukiyo-e forms.
At the broadest level Reflections of Beauty invites the audience to question its own assumptions about Japanese art, female identity and even Asian culture at a time when Westerners are confronted with appealing but potentially misleading images in popular culture.

In most cultures, images of women are laden with symbolism and associations far beyond those of men. In Japan, beginning in the Edo period (17th century), depictions of women were particularly complex in their meanings as bijinga (“pictures of beauties”) and comprised the most popular and dynamic subject in ukiyo-e, “pictures of the floating world.”

Paintings and woodblock prints alike express the values and fantasies of a society in which women, particularly courtesans (y?jo) and artistic entertainers (geisha), were veritable cultural heroes. These images have accumulated layers of significance in Europe and America where, from the publication of Madame Butterfly in 1898 to Memoirs of a Geisha a century later, Westerners have been fascinated with the mystique of Japanese femininity.

Distinguishing between painted ladies and painted lads

The first part of the exhibition elucidates the basic physical and functional differences between various beauties, first distinguishing between painted ladies and painted lads—the latter including young male prostitutes and onnagata, the kabuki actors who played female roles.

One critical goal of the exhibition is to educate viewers about the differences between the appearance, activities and cultural roles of courtesans, geisha, apprentice geisha (maiko), and even the merchant-class married women who often adapted elements of style from women of the floating world. This introductory display also shows the standard dress, hairstyle and ornament of courtesans and geisha, providing an introduction to the aesthetics of feminine beauty and suggesting how pictorial images provoked new fashion trends.

The show’s second section examines various themes in the representation of women that disclose in part the physical and psychological lives of these women as well as their social roles, both actual and symbolic.

Themes range from the descriptive and poetic—including “Celebrating the Seasons”(flower viewing), “Auspicious Performances” (dance), “Beauty on Parade,” (processions), “Entertaining Clients” (eating, drinking and carousing) “Private Moments”(bathing, resting, sewing, raising children), and “Thoughts of Love” (reading and writing letters)—to the political, where the satirical transpositions and juxtapositions between these merchant-class Japanese icons and Chinese patriarchs are evident in themes including “Literature and Lore” (transpositions of geisha into fiction and history), and “Subverting the Patriarchy” (parodies of establishment themes).

A diverse program of films, lectures and gallery talks will accompany the exhibition and expands upon the core concepts of the show.

Pacific Asia Museum is located at 46 North Los Robles Avenue in Pasadena. Hours are Wednesday through Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and until 8 p.m. on Fridays. Free parking is located adjacent to the museum. Admission is $7 for adults and $5 for students and seniors. Children under 12 are admitted free. For more information call 626-449-2742 or visit www.pacificasiamuseum.org.

(Photo)
Anonymous, Meiji-era photo of Geisha writing, Dawn Frazier Collection, dimensions 991 x 1724. (Courtesy of Pacific Asia Museum)

Surface, Line and Color: The Spirit of Design in Japanese Art, April 4 - July 29
Topic: Art
HANFORD, California - Although the Lee Institute collection is famous for its rich Edo period paintings, the collection also includes Japanese art objects from a variety of periods and medium. The upcoming spring exhibition “Surface, Line and Color: The Spirit of Design in Japan,” will be a perfect opportunity to acknowledge this fact, where the viewers will find a selection of art works highlighted by their design quality rather than their categories.

Over the years, Japanese artists have established a reputation for their acute sense of design in enhancing any surface, whether large or small, two- or three-dimensional, and no matter how banal or regal an object. Art connoisseurs have also long discussed issues surrounding design in Japanese art. Design can be regarded as an overall plan for something, a basic scheme or pattern, or the elements to organize a work of art.

This exhibition focuses on three elements of design in Japanese art—surface, line, and color—as they are expressed in a selection of paintings and sculptural ceramic and bamboo works from the Lee Institute collection.

“Surface” can constitute the composition of a painting or the textural aspects of a three-dimensional object. “Lines” are powerful expressions of the inner spirit, but they also create rhythm, movement, patterns, and designs in art.

And “Color” is the essential element in Japanese art; it not only compliments linework, but it actually embodies Japanese aesthetics.

This exhibition will illustrate how the spirit of Japanese design can be observed in many situations, sometimes bold and clear and other times in more subtle manners. It is the curator’s hope that students and visitors from all walks of life will visit and discuss what they see while learning something new about Japanese art.

For this particular show, the institute welcomes Midori Oka, museum educator at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts, as guest curator. In 1997, Midori came to the institute as its first curatorial intern and was subsequently hired by the institute, on completion of her internship in 1998, as its first curator. Interestingly, most of the objects she has chosen for this exhibition were acquired after she left the institute in 2000.

The Lee Institute is a public museum gallery and library study center dedicated to Japanese art located 6 miles south of Highway 198 in Hanford between Jackson and Jersey Avenues at 15770 Tenth Avenue.

The gallery hosts regular exhibitions of Japanese art of various styles and media ranging from the 12th to the 21st centuries. Regular gallery hours are Tuesday to Saturday 1-5 p.m. with a docent-led tour every Saturday at 1 p.m.
For more information, visit the website at www.shermanleeinstitute.org or call (559) 582-4915.


(Photo Caption)
Ueda Kōchū (1819-1911), Boys on a Bull, hanging scroll, ink and colors. Lee Institute Permanent Collection.

(Photo Caption)
Mimura Chikuhō (b.1973), Hope, bamboo sculpture, lacquered madake bamboo and rattan. Clark Family Collection, on loan to the Lee Institute.

Out of ordinary/extraordinary, May 13 through June 18
Topic: Photo
Out of ordinary/extraordinary: Japanese contemporary photography at the JACCC Doizaki Gallery, May 13 through June 18

The Japanese American Cultural and Community Center and The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles, present Out of ordinary/extraordinary: Japanese contemporary photography, an exhibition featuring the work of eleven different exciting Japanese artists.

The exhibition, which is sponsored in part by The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles, will be in the George J. Doizaki Gallery, on the main floor of the JACCC from Saturday May 13 and runs through Sunday June 18.

The exhibit’s opening on Saturday, May 13, also marks the 23rd Annual Children’s Day or “Kodomo no Hi” Celebration. The Family FunFest features free performances, games, crafts, delicious food, hand-crafted items for sale. This year will offer Discovery Workshops series, designed to give children and adults special hands-on cultural experiences led by professional artists and cultural teachers.

Out of ordinary/extraordinary features images that are fun, insightful, sometimes disturbing and intriguing: Out of the ordinary/extraordinary: Japanese contemporary photography shows a new collective voice by examining cultural and societal norms.

An opening reception is scheduled for Saturday, May 13, 2006, 2 p.m. - 4 p.m.
The Exhibition runs Saturday, May 13 through June 18, 2006.
The gallery is open Tuesday-Friday 12 noon to 5 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Admission is free. For information call the Aratani/Japan America Theatre Box office at 213. 680-3700, open Monday - Saturday from 12 noon to 5pm. The George J. Doizaki Gallery is located in the JACCC is located at 244 S. San Pedro Street in Little Tokyo in downtown Los Angeles. Convenient parking is located on San Pedro Street across from the JACCC.

This is an API/2 event, which is supported by grants from The James Irvine Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Arts Commission.

The JACCC launched the Asian and Pacific Islander Artist Presenting Initiative (API/2) in Fall 2003 to support the creative process of API performing and visual artists who are developing work for presentation to the public. With initial three-year funding from The James Irvine Foundation, the goal of API/2 is to strengthen the artistic capacity of exemplary Asian and Pacific Islander artists, and to deepen public understanding and appreciation of API arts and cultural heritage.

UCLA Center for Japanese Studies, Calendar of Events 2006
Topic: University Programs
Colloquium talks are held 3-5 pm Mondays at Hacienda Room at the UCLA Faculty Center unless otherwise noted.

WINTER 06

Jan 9: Colloquium with Janet R. Goodwin, Independent Scholar
Selling Songs and Smiles: Sexual Entertainment in Heian and Kamakura Japan.

Jan 30: Colloquium with Carol Gluck, History, Columbia University
After the Shipwreck: New Horizons in History Writing

Feb 6: Colloquium with Mizuko Ito, Communication, University of Southern California
Anime Fandom and Amateur Cultural Production

Feb 13: Colloquium with Thomas Rimer, 2005-2006 Paul Terasaki Chair, UCLA
Berlin in Tokyo: Senda Koreya, Brecht, Shakespeare

Senda Koreya (1904-1994) during the span of his long and active life, witnessed every vicissitude in the growing pains of the modern Japanese theatre, and his contributions did much to insure its ultimate success. His years in Germany in the 1920s led him to Marxist commitments and imprisonment in Japan during the war years, and his postwar company the Actor?s Theatre (the Haiy?za) remained in the forefront of theatrical experiments in the early decades of the postwar period.


Feb 27: Colloquium with Akiko Hashimoto, Sociology, University of Pittsburgh
Japan in the Shadow of War Memory

Mar 13: Colloquium with Max Moerman, Asian and Middle Eastern Cultures, Barnard Coll.
Cartographic Piety: India in the Japanese Buddhist Imagination

Mar 20: Colloquium with John Maraldo, Asian and Comparative Philosophy, University of North Florida
Philosophy in Traditional Japan - Is there Such a Thing? The Early Meiji Debate and Beyond

SPRING 06

April 3: Colloquium with Michael Como, Religion, Columbia
Disease and Astrology in Heian Japan

April 10: Nikkei Bruin Workshop “Japanese Colonial Sensibility: Bodies, Style, Korea”
9 am – 4 pm. Organized by Miriam Silverberg. Details to be announced

April 21 at Royce Hall: International Conference “ The Making of an Ancient Capital: Nara”
9 am – 5 pm. Organized by Michael Marra. Details to be announced.

April 22 at Covel Common: 12th Annual Graduate Student Symposium in Japanese Studies “Transcultural and National Signifiers: ‘Japan’ In, After, and Via Diaspora and Return” 9 am – 5 pm.

May 1: Colloquium with Alexis Dudden, History, Connecticut College
"Illegal Korea: Code to Empire"

May 8: Colloquium with Ethan Scheiner, Political Science, UC Davis
"Democracy Without Competition in Japan: Opposition Failure in One-Party Dominant State"

May 22: Colloquium with Melissa McCormick, Japanese Art and Culture, Harvard University
"Pictorial Commentary and the Medieval reception of The Tale of Genji"

June 5: Colloquium with Aaron Gerow, Film Studies, Yale University
Framing the Clown: Manzai, Violence and the Nation in Kitano Takeshi

June 12: Colloquium with David Matsumoto, Psychology, San Francisco State University
Recent Psychological Research on Japanese Culture and Personality

Vintage photographs capturing post-war Japan at Hammer Museum, Mar. 5- Jun. 4
Topic: Photo
A Letter from Japan: The Photographs of John Swope (1908-1979) on view at the UCLA Hammer Museum in Westwood from March 5 through June 4,
is the first in-depth presentation of vintage prints from the late Los Angeles photographer’s 1945 journey through post-war Japan. Shot during a three-and-a-half-week period, Swope’s photographs vividly document the impact of World War II on the local population of Japan as well as on the Allied soldiers and prisoners of war.

The exhibition presents over 115 prints, and gives insight into Swope’s larger pursuit of capturing the universal human experience by also including highlights of his work as a renowned Hollywood photographer and his international travels from the 1930s through 1970s.

Early on, Swope became best known for his insider views of Hollywood in which he captured both the glamorous and the mundane sides of life through intimate portraits of celebrities and behind-the-scenes views of movie and theatrical productions. He went on to have a successful career as a freelance Life magazine photographer, where he frequently covered similar stories on Hollywood.

The exhibition includes significant loans from the John Swope Trust, Kiyosato Museum of Photographic Arts in Yanamashi prefecture, Craig Krull Gallery, Ben Stiller, and other private collections.

Capturing post-war Japan

In 1945, John Swope was chosen by the influential photographer and subsequent Museum of Modern Art curator Edward Steichen to join an elite group of U.S. Navy photographers assigned to tell the story of World War II from the perspective of the average sailor.

The photographs, which would ultimately be disseminated in military and popular national publications, were intended to reinforce American patriotic ideals.

Swope’s three-and-a-half-week Japan assignment lasted from August 28 through September 19, 1945—a time of limbo between war and peace—during which Swope was assigned to document the release of Allied prisoners of war on a journey throughout Japan.

Challenging the Navy’s rules about fraternizing with the Japanese civilians, Swope widened his artistic focus beyond his official assignment to explore another side of the military struggle—the personal, moving moments of individuals and families struggling in the aftermath of war.

His poignant photographs of Japanese people going about their daily lives in harsh post-war conditions include timeless, poetic images capturing such moments as a mother pushing her child in a carriage through a desolate street, a farm worker wearing a typical bamboo hat walking in the rice fields, and the beautiful landscape of Ohashi reminiscent of traditional Japanese woodblock prints.

Throughout Swope’s Japan tour, he wrote an emotional and insightful 144-page letter to his wife, Dorothy McGuire. In his letter, he articulates his conflicted feelings about the war and his position as a representative of the victors.

Swope was particularly sensitive to how much the war had impacted the local population as he had visited Japan 15 years earlier as a young man. His letter notes these changes and tells personal stories about the prisoners and Japanese people whom he encounters and photographs. Swope begins the letter on August 30, 1945 while anchored in Tokyo Bay:

Public programs

The Hammer Museum presents several free public programs related to A Letter from Japan, including gallery talks, screenings, discussions, and lectures: Discussion on WWII Prisons of War, Date to be determined, John A. Glusman, editor-in-chief and executive vice president of Farrar, Straus & Giroux, with William Barrette, artist and writer; Propaganda Film Night, Thursday, April 6, 7 p.m., Screenings of Japanese and American World War II propaganda films; Lecture, May 4, 7 p.m., Anne Wilkes Tucker, curator of photography at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Gallery Talk, Saturday, June 3, 2 p.m., Carolyn Peter, Letter from Japan exhibition curator.

The Hammer Museum is located at 10899 Wilshire Boulevard, at Westwood Boulevard. Parking is available under the Museum. Rates are $3 for the first two hours with the museum validation, $1.50 for each additional 20 minutes.

For current museum information, visit www.hammer.ucla.edu or call (310) 443-7000. Museum hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, 11a.m.–7 p.m.; Thursday, 11 a.m.–9 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m.–5 p.m.; closed Mondays. General admission is $5. The Museum is free for everyone on Thursdays.

(Photo)
John Swope. Arai, September 5, 1945. John Swope Collection, ? John Swope Trust.

Temecula to present Children's Matsuri, Jun. 4
Topic: Festival
The Temecula Sister City Association proudly presents its Fourth Annual Children’s Matsuri, Sunday, June 4 from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Temecula Community Recreation Center on 30875 Rancho Vista Road in Temecula.

The theme is "Food & Family." In addition to the usual excitement of traditional Japanese dance, music, taiko and martial arts, there will be a Family “Iron Chef” Contest” where contestants will make creations based on Japanese food ingredients.

In addition, gyotaku (fish painting) the art where dead fish are creatively painted and then placed on paper to make a work of art, will return due to popular demand.

Children will learn about Japanese culture, traditions, and way of life through activities and games. Now a tradition, a number of guests from the sister city, Daisen-Nakayama, Tottori prefecture, will make a trip to Southern California and participate in the festival.

Admission is free and there will be plenty of prizes from the games and drawing opportunities.

The Temecula Sister City Association established the “Children’s Matsuri” in 2003. Due to the uniqueness of this event, the number of attendees has surpassed all expectations to well over 1400 in three short years. People have traveled from as far as Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside, Los Angeles and San Diego counties.

Mervyn’s is the presenting sponsor with Target and Tenkobushi Temple Martial Arts as other major sponsors. Kirin has been the Haiku Contest sponsor since 2004.

For more information about the festivities, visit the website at www.TemeculaSisterCityAssociation.org.

Photo: Mr. Munetaka Miyagawa of Daisen-Nakayama, Tottori prefecture, teaches the calligraphy Sheldon Reynolds. (Photo courtesy of Temecula Sister City Assoicaton)

Annual Okinawan variety show, May 21
From the delicate, graceful movements of elegant court ladies in luxuriant bingata kimonos, to the lively, joyful drumbeats of the young exuberant taiko dancers, this annual Okinawan variety show will entertain the audiences with the beauty and charm of the Okinawan performing arts.

The Okinawa Association of America, Inc. Geino-Bu (Performing Arts Division) presents its 14th Annual Utayabira Wuduyabira (Let’s Sing, Let’s Dance) at Armstrong Theater, 3330 Civic Center Drive, Torrance on Sunday, May 21 at 2:00 p.m.

The 2 hour program will showcase the talents of dancers, singers and musicians representing 25 schools of Okinawan music and dance in southern California. Koten ongaku (classical sanshin), minyo (folk) sanshin, koto, taiko, and Ryukyu buyo (dance) will be featured, from the traditional to the contemporary style.

Tickets are on sale for $15. This popular event was sold out last year. For purchase tickets, call the OAA Center at (310) 532-1929.

Yukiko Matsuyama Koto Concert, May 20
Topic: Music
Koto artist, Yukiko Matsuyama, will perform in concert on Saturday, May
20 at 7:30 p.m. at the Sozenji Buddhist Temple in Montebello. The
concert theme is “Universe”.

Osaka-born, Ms. Matsuyama was classically trained in the Ikuta School of Koto from age 9 and received her professional certification teaching credential in 1986. She came to Los Angeles in 1993 and began composing original music, blending the traditional sound of the koto and contemporary music. The results were a unique combination jazz, new age, and world music. Ms. Matsuyama has performed at the Japan America Theatre, John Anson Ford Theatre and many music festivals, cultural and community events, universities and schools.

Also performing in the concert with Ms. Matsuyama are John York on guitar, vocals and shakuhachi, Diana Dentino on keyboards, Gary St. Germain on drums and Rev. Tom Kurai on the taiko.

John York is a singer, composer and instrumentalist welll known as a former member of the 1960’s rock band, the Byrds. Diana Dentino has performed with recording artists such as James Ingram, Jeffrey Osborne, Daniel Ho and Kitaro. She is currently the lead keyboardist for the Grammy Award winning vocalist, Peabo Bryson. Gary St. Germain is a music teacher in the San Bernardino School District and a member of Satori Daiko. Rev. Kurai is the director of the Taiko Center of Los Angeles.

Ms. Matsuyama will perform original contemporary songs from her previous recordings “Blossom” and “Koto” as well as other new collaborative compositions at the concert. Her last concert in February of 2004 sold out, so please order tickets early.

Sozenji Temple is located at 3020 W. Beverly Blvd. in Montebello near the corner of Beverly Blvd. and Garfield Ave. Tickets are $15.00 in advance and $18.00 at the door. For tickets and information, call (626) 307-3839 or (323) 724-6866. Log on to Ms. Matsuyama’s website at www.kotoyuki.com

2006 US National Sumo Championships, Jun. 10
Topic: Sumo
The United States Sumo Federation presents the 2006 US National Sumo Championships on Saturday, June 10 at 11:30 a.m.at Pomona College.

Where: Rains Center Memorial Gymnasium in Pomona College, 220 East 6th Street, Claremont, CA 92841.

Cost: All seats $15, non-reserved.

Contact: Harry "Tonkatsu" Dudrow at hdudrow@aol.com,
(562)428-3831, www.sumoshimpo.com

West Covina Cherry Blossom Festival
Topic: Event
Saturday, May 6, 2006
12 noon to 7:00 p.m.

Presented by the East San Gabriel Valley Japanese Community Center

West Covina Civic Center Courtyard
1444 W. Garvey Ave.
West Covina, CA 91793
Free Parking at Civic Center

For more information, please contact the East San Gabriel Valley Japanese Community Center at 626-960-2566.

LA as Offshore Japan, May 12, 13
Topic: University Programs
LA as offshore Japan
Transnational Networks and Cultural Entrepreneurship across the Pacific Rim

A two-day event to launch the project
?Made In Translation: LA-Tokyo Mobility Networks and the Emergence of Offshore Japanese Cultural Industries in Art, Fashion and Food?

Funded by SSRC/Japan Foundation Abe Fellowship, UCLA Center for Japanese Studies, and International Institute

Info: Adrian Favell (afavell@soc.ucla.edu) or Misako Nukaga (mnukaga@ucla.edu)
http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/soc/faculty/favell/TokyoLA.htm



Friday 12th May LECTURE
11am-1pm Bunche 10383 (International Institute)
LAURA MILLER, Anthropology, Loyola University Chicago
?Writing Gone Wild: Japanese Girls' Orthographic Rebellion?

This talk will introduce contemporary Japanese "Girl Characters" (gyaru moji), a writing practice that originated in cell phone text messaging and email, but is now found in other girls' media. Girl Characters are a straightforward syllabic graph substitution system combined with the use of deconstructed characters. Girls are awash in script overabundance, but rather than be overwhelmed by it, it is technological bounty they exploit and embrace.

When girls play with their writing system in this way, they are doing three things. One, they are refusing to be the caretakers of beautiful calligraphy and are rejecting their role as custodians of "correct" language.

Two, their use of Girl Characters also extends the boundary of what is considered written Japanese, thereby challenging the notion of written language as a standardized and shared system.

Last, by redefining the borders of linguistic possibility, girls are demonstrating resistance to the uniformity and predictability of standardized writing and print media.

Open to public




Saturday 13th May
PROJECT WORKSHOP
"LA as Offshore Japan"
Public Policy 5391 (5th Floor Lounge)

9.30 Coffee & Donuts
9.45 Welcome
10.00 Introduction to Project ADRIAN FAVELL & MISAKO NUKAGA
10.30 Japanese LA: Demographic & Social Profile MISAKO NUKUGA
11.00 Hypotheses and Methods ADRIAN FAVELL

12.00 Lunch
2.00 The New Young Japanese LA FUMINORI MINAMIKAWA, American Studies, Kobe City University
2.45 Tea and Gender in Translation KRISTIN SURAK, Sociology, UCLA
3.30 Japanese Children in LA Schools MISAKO NUKAGA, Sociology, UCLA

Afternoon Discussants:
LAURA MILLER (Anthropology, Loyola), MIZUKO ITO (Communication, USC), TAKEYUKI TSUDA (Political Science, UCSD)

4.30 Close

All interested welcome, but please register with afavell@soc.ucla.edu

In conjunction with the International Institute Working Group: The Human Face of Global Mobility: International Highly Skilled Migration in Europe, North America and the Asia-Pacific

Now out as a book edited by Michael Peter Smith and Adrian Favell (New Brunswick: Transaction 2006)

Japanese art-theme festival in Central Valley, Apr. 30
Topic: Festival
HANFORD, California - The Ruth and Sherman Lee Institute for Japanese Art invites the public to its sixth annual Spring Festival on Sunday, April 30. The event will feature a wide variety of activities including tours of the new exhibition, Art Show & Sale featuring 18 California artists, bonsai demonstration by Bonsai Master Kenji Miyata, music performance by the Japan America Chamber Ensemble of Southern California.

There will also be a number of special ticketed activities including tours of the private garden, Japanese tea ceremonies, bonsai workshops by Hanford Bonsai Society, sushi demonstration by Chef Andy Matsuda, founder of Sushi Chef Institute in Los Angeles, sashiko (Japanese embroidery technique) workshops by mixed media artist Lucy Arai, and a lecture by internationally acclaimed Fresno architect Arthur Dyson.

Refreshments and bento box (picnic style) lunches will be available for purchase (reservation recommended).

Starting at 10 a.m. and running through the afternoon until 5 p.m., the institute gallery, library, and outdoor courtyard will be bustling with Japanese cultural activities. Admission to the Spring Festival is $7 per person for non-members in advance and $10 on the day of the event. Lee Institute members and children under 12 are admitted free.


Special ticketed activities: Reservations are required.

Sashiko (embroidery technique) Workshop
2 sessions: 10:15 a.m. and 3 p.m. in Tent A
Sashiko is a traditional Japanese embroidery technique based upon running-stitch designs of geometric patterns, and it flourished among the agrarian commoners during Edo period (1615-1868). The hand-sewn designs are complex geometric patterns borrowed from nature: waves of water, flowers, and birds. Participants will create two coasters using this sashiko technique. (120 minutes)
$20 for members: $25 for non-members (Fee includes material.)

Bonsai Workshop for kids
Noon in Tent B
Hanford Bonsai Society will conduct a bonsai workshop just for kids, ages 6 to 12. Explore the art of bonsai! (60 minutes)
$15 for members: $20 for non-members (Fee includes a bonsai tree.)

Bonsai Workshop
2 sessions: 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. in Tent B
Participants will learn the fundamentals of bonsai and leave the workshop with an actual bonsai they have created. Hanford Bonsai Society will conduct this workshop. (90 minutes)
$20 for members: $25 for non-members
(Fee includes a bonsai tree.)

?Drinking from the Cup of Humanity? Lecture by Arthur Dyson
4 p.m. in the Gallery
Internationally acclaimed Fresno architect Arthur Dyson who has received over one hundred and thirty professional design awards and honors, will share his distinctive approach to creative architecture for the 21st century. In this talk Dyson discusses the influence of Japanese aesthetics and philosophy, and traces the evolution of his work. Dyson makes a compelling case for multi-cultural modernism as a vital and flexible architectural language for our time. Always controversial, Dyson?s work was recently described as a ?fusion of Japanese Zen artistry and Star Wars technology?. (60 minutes)
$5 for members: $7 for non-members

?Art of Sushi and Japanese Cuisine?
Demonstration by Chef Andy Matsuda
2 sessions: 11:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. in the Library
Chef Andy Matsuda, founder of Sushi Chef Institute in Los Angeles will demonstrate how to make sushi and talk about Japanese cuisine. This is a great opportunity to gain knowledge in Japanese food. (60 minutes)
$7 for members: $10 for non-members

Tea Ceremony
2 sessions: Noon and 3:15pm
Enjoy the art of tea in the private garden. Kay Tokumoto, a master of the Ura Senke School, will perform a tea ceremony. Observe the graceful movements of Mrs. Tokumoto preparing and serving the tea in the serene setting of the Japanese garden. (45 minutes)
$5 for members: $7 for non-members

Garden Tours
8 tours: 10:15 a.m., 10:45 a.m., 11:15 a.m., 1 p.m., 1:30 p.m., 2 p.m., 2:30 p.m. and 4:15 p.m.
Landscape architect Bob Boro and docents will take you on a tour of the beautiful private Japanese garden. (30 minutes)
$7 for members: $10 for non-members


For more information, visit the website at www.shermanleeinstitute.org or call (559) 582-4915.

This event is sponsored by Land O'Lakes Foundation, The Bertha and John Garabedian Charitable Foundation, and Valley Public Television.

The Lee Institute is a public museum gallery and library study center dedicated to Japanese art located 6 miles south of Highway 198 in Hanford between Jackson and Jersey Avenues at 15770 Tenth Avenue.

(Photo)
Bonsai displays by Hanford Bonsai Society (Photo courtesy of Lee Institute)

Renowned Japanese Biogeneticist to Speak: Your Hidden Potential Lies Within Your Genes, May 17 & 18
Topic: Lecture
Dr. Kazuo Murakami will hold two public speaking events in Los Angeles as part of a U.S. tour in support of his new book, “The Divine Code of Life.”

Dr. Murakami is one of the top geneticist in the world, and Professor Emeritus at Tsukuba University, one of Japan’s leading research universities.

May 17 at Mokichi Okada Association
8564 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood, CA 90069
(310) 657-7200
Free admission
Time: 7:30 – 9:00 p.m. (doors open at 6:30)

May 18 at Tenrikyo Mission Headquarters in America
2727 East First Street, Los Angeles, CA 90033
(323) 261-3379
Free admission
Time: 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. (doors open at 6:30)