Cultural News will present “Special Meeting for Western Japan Flood Damage: First Hand Reports by Cultural News Editor Shige Higashi” on Wednesday, Aug. 22 from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm at the Japanese Community Pioneer Center, Room 301 of the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center building, 244 S San Pedro Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012. Cultural News Editor Shige Higashi visited his home town Kure from Aug. 3-9 for fact finding of the damages of the July Heavy Rain Disaster. The July 6-8 Heavy Rain caused damages over extended areas of western Japan including Hiroshima and Okayama prefectures....
Read more »

LACMA Talk: Collecting Japanese Lacquer in Eighteenth-Century France and the Taste for Incense Utensils Los Angeles County Museum of Art Friday, August 24, 2018, 2:00 pm Brown Auditorium Free and open to the public Talk by Monika Bincsik, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City This lecture will examine the eighteenth-century market and reception of Japanese lacquer in France. During this time, the lacquer market in France was governed primarily by the need for large-size panels, but there was also great demand for smaller, delicately executed Japanese lacquer objects. In the mid-late 18th century, Madame de Pompadour and Queen...
Read more »

Go For Broke National Education Center in Los Angeles presents special sword exhibition “Nikkei Samurai: Japanese Swords and the Military Intelligence Service” from July 24 – August 26, 2018. “Nikkei Samurai” sword exhibition is held within the permanent exhibition “Defining Courage” located in the historic Nishi Hongwanji Buddhist temple on the west side of the plaza at First Street and Central Avenue in Little Tokyo. For over seven centuries, Japan was ruled by its military elite – the samurai. Though the samurai class was abolished 150 years ago, their elegant swords, the perfect fusion of form and function, still...
Read more »

    The 13th Japan Film Festival Los Angeles announced “One Cut of the Dead” was selected at the Best Film of the year 2018 at a screening facility of the Japanese American National Museum in Little Tokyo in the evening of Aug. 19, the last day of the film festival. Following are all awardees: Appreciation for Objective and Impartial Documentary: “Behind the Cove” by Keiko Yagi Appreciation for Emotionally Moving Film: “Bridge Over Troubled Water” by Takafumi Ota Appreciation for Advocating Japanese Soul Food: “Lost in Ramen” by Yuki Kumagai Appreciation for Kumamoto Reconstruction Activities after 2016 Earthquake:...
Read more »

Alice Marina Amano, 22-year old, of Orange County, was selected as 2018 Nisei Week Queen at the 78th Annual Nisei Week Coronation held at the Aratani Theatre in Little Tokyo in the evening of Saturday, Aug. 11. Amano who represents the Orange County Nikkei Coordinating Council, is one of six candidates who are sponsored by Japanese American community centers and organizations in Los Angeles and Orange County. The Nisei Week Queen and Courts programs will send six women to various Japanese American community events and major events, and San Francisco, Honolulu, and Nagoya, Japan as goodwill ambassadors in the...
Read more »

The 13th Annual Japan Film Festival Los Angeles August 18-19, 2018 Japanese American National Museum (National Center for the Preservation of Democracy building) at Little Tokyo, Los Angeles Forwarded for the Japan Film Festival Los Angeles “The movie is an adventure!” We have invited films that push the boundary of Japanese filmmaking. The 2018 Japan Film Festival screens films that reflect on contemporary Japanese culture and the tradition. We will be screening 7 feature films and 9 short films including submission movies that were offered by the general public in both Japan and the United States. Our mission is...
Read more »

The Japanese American Cultural & Community Center in Los Angeles celebrates the Nisei Week Japanese Festival with cultural exhibitions, entertainment, and activities throughout the two weekends. View Japanese prefectural displays as well as artisans skilled in ikebana, bonsai, Japanese dolls, calligraphy, tea ceremony and more. Check out the schedules below for events taking place at JACCC in the Center Building and on the Plaza. Visit the Nisei Week website for the full festival schedule. JACCC Center Building Schedule August 11-12 10 am–5 pm Ikebana Exhibition (Ikebana Teachers Association of Southern California): George J. Doizaki Gallery Tea Ceremony: Omote Senke...
Read more »

July 2018 Heavy Rain Damage Report in Kure City (46th Edition) As of August 15, 2018, 2:00PM, Japan Time Reported by Disaster Management Headquarters of Kure City Casualty Total Death: 24 Missing: 1 Injured: 22 Tenno Area Death: 11   Missing: 1 Yoshiura Area Death: 3 Yasuura Area Death: 4 Chuo Area Death: 2 Aga Area Death: 1 Ondo Area Death: 2 Kamagari Area Death: 1 Houses damaged by mudslides and floods: 2,829 including total loss of 264 Roads and public facilities damaged by mudslides and floods: 1,061 locations Chronological Report The rain started on Tuesday, July 3 and continued...
Read more »

Dear Readers of Cultural News, I visited Kure City in Hiroshima from Aug. 4 – 9 for fact-finding of the massive flood disasters occurred in July 6-9. After 10 days absent in Los Angeles, I am catching up local events such as Nisei Week festival and Japanese film screenings. The August and September join issue of Cultural News will be printed on August 25. From now on, I am sending you updates of Hiroshima Flood Disaster via emails. And overview articles of the disaster will appear in the monthly issue of Cultural News. Thank you for your patience for...
Read more »

Source: Ogden City Civic Alerts, August 3, 2018 On August 14, 2018, Ogden City in Utah will name the basketball court at Liberty Park in the honor of Ogden native Wataru “Wat” Misaka, local basketball standout and the first non-Caucasian player in the National Basketball Association, known then as the Basketball Association of America. The newly resurfaced public court will be named “Kilowatt Court” after Misaka’s nickname “Kilowatt,” earned for his speed as a small, but fast point guard. Born in Ogden, Utah on December 21, 1923, Misaka played basketball for Ogden High School, Weber College and the University...
Read more »

Nisei Week Ceramics Exhibit The California Japanese Ceramic Arts Guild August 11-12, 2018 10:00 am – 5:00 pm Japanese American Cultural and Community Center Garden Room A 244 S. San Pedro Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012 (213) 628-2725 Hana: Celebrating Flowers Guest Artist: Kaz Kitajima Exhibiting Artists: Eiko Amano, Reiko Berg, Mariko Bird, Debbie Henson, Celeste Iida, Sandy Kitayama, Yoko Miyahira, Jinzo Mori, Serina Nakazawa, Yasuko Ozawa, Kathy Yoshihara
Read more »

Japanese Teahouse Tours June 11, July 9 & Aug. 13 (Mondays) 11:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m. Learn about the history of the Japanese Garden’s ceremonial teahouse and the traditions behind its use. Informal tours are offered at 20-minute intervals on the second Monday of every month. Known as Seifu-an (the Arbor of Pure Breeze), the teahouse was built in Kyoto in the 1960s and was gifted to the Pasadena Buddhist Temple, where it was used to promote the philosophy of Chanoyu (the Way of Tea). In 2010, the structure was donated to The Huntington; and, after renovation in Kyoto, it was...
Read more »