Cultural News 2019 February Table of Contents New Year Party with Okinawan Music and Dance Japanese style tea enthusiasts kick off year-round activities by first tea gathering Kabuki Music: Tokyo-based shamisen masters perform with Los Angeles-based artists Japanese Garden themed float at the 2019 Rose Parade USC Pacific Asia Museum – “Tsuruya Kokei: Modern Kabuki Prints Revised & Revisited” New York – Metropolitan Museum of Art – “The Tale of Genji: A Japanese Classic Illuminated” Obituary –  Mona Lutz: Advocate of Ikebana International and world-renowned bamboo collector Obituary – Hayahiko Takase: Architect by profession, cultural treasure within Japanese American...
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Huntington Library East Asian Garden Lecture Series A Whimsical Picture with a Grim Message: The Inshoku yōjō kagami and the Imagination of the Body in Early Modern Japan Feb. 19 (Tuesday) 7:30 p.m. at Rothenberg Hall Shigehisa Kuriyama, professor of cultural history at Harvard University, will discuss the Inshoku yōjō kagami (Rules of Dietary Life), a Japanese woodblock print produced around 1850. The image appears to whimsically depict the traditional East Asian view of the body, but it in fact reflects the transformative impact of Western medicine and the rise of the money economy. Properly understood, says Kuriyama, no...
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Laemmle Glendale Theatre 207 N. Maryland Ave, Glendale, CA 91206 Animation  “Mirai,” screening thru Feb. 21 https://www.laemmle.com/films/44529 Academy Award Nominee for Best animated feature film of the year From acclaimed director Mamoru Hosoda (Summer Wars, Wolf Children) and Japan’s Studio Chizu comes MIRAI, a daringly original story of love passed down through generations. When four-year-old Kun meets his new baby sister, his world is turned upside down. Named Mirai (meaning “future”), the baby quickly wins the hearts of Kun’s entire family. As his mother returns to work, and his father struggles to run the household, Kun becomes increasingly jealous...
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UCLA Nikkei Student Union Annual Cultural Night set for Feb. 22, 2019 https://www.facebook.com/uclanikkei/?ref=page_internal
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Arizona Matsuri Feb. 23-24, 2019, 10:00AM – 5:00PM Heritage & Science Park, 7th Street and Monroe Phoenix, AZ For more information, visit azmatsuri.org
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Event: Hannari – Traditional Beauty and Pursuits of Creation Date: Feb 23, 2019 Time: starts 2:00 pm / Door opens 1:30 pm Location: Atwater Playhouse & Acting School 3191 Casitas Ave – Suite 100, Los Angeles 90039 (Parking available) Cost: General Admission: Pre-sale: $40 / At the door: $45 / Student: $35 All the tickets come with a Japanese souvenir. Japanese traditional and contemporary dance performance by Shiho Tendou (Third generation of Tendou Ryu Iemoto and dancer/choreographer/kimono model), featuring Kagura dance, Japanese Taiko, Opera, Flamenco guitar guest performers and more! Shiho Tendou is a Traditional Japanese dance performer from...
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Japanese American National Museum 100 N Central Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90012 www.janm.org Author Discussion – American Sutra: A Story of Faith and Freedom in the Second World War Saturday February 23, 2:00 – 4:00 PM Duncan Ryuken Williams, a Soto Zen Buddhist priest and Director of the USC Shinso Ito Center for Japanese Religions and Culture, will speak about his new book, American Sutra: A Story of Faith and Freedom During the Second World War (Harvard University Press, February 2019), about the Japanese American Buddhist experience in the WWII incarceration camps. Williams will explore questions of faith, identity, and...
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The Terasaki Nibei Foundation 11570 W Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064 Tue, Feb. 26, 2019, 6:00PM for Dinner, 7:00PM for Talk “Koto and Rose Parade”  By Koto Master Saeko Kujiraoka Dinner reservation by Feb. 22 at nibei@nibei.org or (310) 479-6101 ext. 134
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University of Southern California American Sutra: Talk by Duncan Williams in Conversation with Varun Soni Tuesday, February 26, 2019,  6:00PM – 8:15PM The Fishbowl, University of Southern California RSVP Duncan Williams will speak about his new book American Sutra: A Story of Faith and Freedom During the Second World War (Harvard University Press, Feb. 2019) on the Japanese American Buddhist experience in the WWII incarceration camps. He will explore questions of faith, identity and resilience in the face of dislocation, loss and uncertainty. Following his presentation, Williams will be in conversation with USC Dean of Religious Life and Vice-Provost, Varun...
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UCLA Tadashi Yanai Initiative for Globalizing Japanese Humanities will present “The Art of The Benshi” film screening from March 1-3 at Billy Wilder Theater, 10899 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90024. Tickets are $10. From Tokyo, film narrators or benshi performers Kataoka Ichiro, Omori Kumiko, and Sakamoto Raiko will be in person. https://www.cinema.ucla.edu/events/2019/art-of-the-benshi A Diary of Chuji’s Travels + Shorts, March 1, 7:30pm Blood Spattered Takadanobaba (Chikemuri Takadanobaba, Japan 1928) Narrated by Kataoka Ichiro The Sword that Slashes Human and Horse (Zanjin zanba ken, Japan 1929) Narrated by Omori Kumiko A Diary of Chuji’s Travel (Chuji tabi nikki, Japan...
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Portland Japanese Garden https://japanesegarden.org February 9 – March 24, 2019 Subtle Forms of Nature’s Artistry in Stone The Ice and Stone: Suiseki Viewing Stones from The Huntington Paired with Photographs by Michael Kenna Portland, Ore. – Suiseki is the Japanese art of stone appreciation. Formed over centuries by wind, water and erosion, viewing stones are valued for their distinct shape, color, and texture. Viewing stones take many forms including distant mountains, plunging cascades, and other natural wonders. Traditionally, they are placed on a fine bed of sand in shallow bronze or ceramic trays creating distillations of nature enjoyed indoors....
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Japanese American National Museum and The Nippon Foundation collaborate on research about young Nikkei around the world LOS ANGELES – The Japanese American National Museum is collaborating with The Nippon Foundation on a large-scale, global research project to learn how young people of Japanese ancestry (Nikkei) experience and express their Japanese heritage. This project, the first of its kind, aims to deepen the understanding of Nikkei communities in the Japanese diaspora, including their differences and similarities, and their needs and challenges now and in the future. The project will target Nikkei ages 18 to 35, regardless of when their...
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