America’s leading taiko drummers and one of Japan’s true taiko legends converge to create a heart-thumping drum spectacular when TAIKOPROJECT brings LifeRhythm to the Bing Theatre in the Los Angeles County Museum of Arton Saturday, April 19 at 7:30 pm. Since its founding in 2000, TAIKOPROJECT has been dazzling audiences with its unique contemporary blend of taiko with storytelling, music and choreography. LifeRhythm, the group’s 7th annual taiko extravaganza, comes with an innovative new twist: a full evening collaborative concert with former Artistic Director of Kodo, Ryutaro Kaneko. Kaneko is known for leading Kodo, the world’s premiere taiko ensemble,...
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From  the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center On the Veranda: Miso Tasting Saturday, April 19, 1pm – 3pm Miso is a traditional Japanese seasoning produced by fermenting rice, barley, and/or soybeans with salt . The result is a thick paste used for sauces and spreads, pickling vegetables or meats, and mixing with dashi soup stock to serve as miso soup called misoshiru, a Japanese culinary staple.  The workshop by the Miyako Oriental Foods Inc. will have an assortment of miso dishes where guests can enjoy tasting the variety of miso cooking. Miyako Oriental Foods Inc. was incorporated in...
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Cultural News’s editor and publisher, Shige Higashi, will be a guest speaker in California State University, Los Angles on Monday, April 21 at 4:30 pm. The theme of Higashi’s lecture is “Life and Hope at the Third Anniversary of Japan’s Largest Earthquake and Tsunami: My Seventh Visit to Disaster Areas in Tohoku.” The lecture sponsored by the Japanese Studies Center and the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures will be held at Music Hall (Music Hall Building #1A) in the campus. California State University, Los Angeles is located at 5151 State University Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90032. This lecture...
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PILGRIMAGE: Seats still available on bus to 45th Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage from Los Angeles. LOS ANGELES — College students will once again take the lead role during the 2014 Manzanar At Dusk program, sponsored by the Manzanar Committee, scheduled from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM on Saturday, April 26, 2014, at the Lone Pine High School gymnasium, located at 538 South Main Street (US Highway 395), in Lone Pine, California, across the street from McDonald’s. The Manzanar At Dusk program follows the 45th Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage, scheduled for 12:00 PM that same day, at the Manzanar National Historic Site, between the towns...
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The Gardena Valley Japanese Cultural Institute (GVJCI) is offering a chartered bus for individuals to join the 45th annual Manzanar Pilgrimage on Saturday, April 26, 2014.  This is the second year in a row that the GVJCI is able to offer this opportunity to join in the commemoration of the forced incarceration of persons of Japanese descent during WWII at this desolate Owens Valley location. “We were pleased with the demand for the bus from last year.  We hope that many more individuals can take this opportunity to visit this historic landmark that represents the tenuous civil rights that...
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+ From Families for Safe Energy + Childhood in Fukushima, Finding Hope in Adversity April 27, 4 – 6 pm New Gardena Hotel, 1641 West Redondo Beach Blvd, #1, Gardena, CA 90247 Suggest donation: $10 The children of Fukushima have suffered unimaginable hardships.  Families and friends have been torn apart, and communities remain divided. Even after three years, the painful situation persists.  What can we do to help recover these lost childhoods? How do we nurture each child’s self-worth? Sensuke Shishido, a former elementary school principal from Fukushima, and popular speaker and educational commentator throughout Japan, believes that we...
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The Japanese American Cultural and Community Center is pleased to announce it has been awarded a Multicultural Undergraduate Summer Internship Grant from the Getty Foundation.  The purpose of the grant is to increase the diversity in professions related to museums and visual arts.  The internships are intended specifically for outstanding students who are members of groups currently underrepresented in these professions, including individuals of African American, Asian, Latino/Hispanic, Native American and Pacific Islander descent. The Visual Arts Intern will work directly with the Visual Arts department, experiencing first-hand the work, organization and installation that goes into setting up this...
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+ From Little Tokyo Community Council + “Stories From Tohoku” a documentary film capturing the stories of survivors of Japan’s 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster and the enduring connection of Japanese Americans to Japan will have two Los Angeles screenings as part of the 30th Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival: Tuesday, May, 6, 7:00 pm Wednesday, May 7, 4:30 Tateuchi Democracy Forum, Japanese American National Mueum The film was well-received and sold-out two screenings when it premiered at the CAAMFest in San Francisco in March. Following the screenings there will be a Q&A session with Dianne Fukami, director...
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Gardena Valley Japanese Cultural Institute and Cultural News co-sponsor Okinawa slide show and book signing by an author of a new guide book about Ryukyu Islands including Okinawa on Sunday, May 4 at 1:00 pm at Nisei Veteran Hall in the JCI, Gardena. For information, call the JCI at (310) 324-6611 or Cultural News at (213) 819-4100. Tax attorney, university professor, and inveterate traveler, Robert Walker, publishes “Okinawa and Ryukyu Islands: The First Comprehensive Guide to the Entire Ryukyu Island Chain” by Tuttle Publishing. Author Robert Walker who is Law Professor at University of Maryland – Asian Division in...
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From Segerstrom Center for the Arts Music Sensation Yoshiki Kicks Off World Tour in Segerstrom Center for the Arts Debut Yoshiki, Asia’s foremost rock icon and multi talented music superstar, will bring his new live show, Yoshiki Classical, to Segerstrom Center for the Arts in a special one-night-only concert on Friday, April 25 at 8 p.m. in the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. The show will feature music from Yoshiki’s latest album that includes collaborations with some of music’s most renowned artists and legendary producers. Along with Billboard Magazine, MTV, Reuters and AOL, Classic FM applauds Yoshiki Classical...
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Gardena Valley Japanese Cultural Institute $25 workshop fee per person
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JFLA Lecture Series 18  KOKESHI: The Tohoku Artisan Spirit  by Manami Okazaki  Thursday, April 17th, 7:00PM Kokeshi are traditional Japanese dolls from Tohoku region that are made of wood.  Manami Okazaki, a journalist and author based in Japan will talk about Kokeshi and the Tohoku artisan spirit.  In her talk she will cover the various types of Kokeshi, the production process, as well as the bucolic regions where they are made in Tohoku, how they were affected by 3/11, and how Kokeshi relates to contemporary aesthetic sensibilities like Kawaii culture.  She will be bringing Kokeshi dolls and photographic prints for a pop-up exhibit. Date: Thursday, April 17, 7:00PM Venue: The...
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