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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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
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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...
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hapa.me – 15 years of the hapa project, a new exhibition by artist Kip Fulbeck, will open at the Japanese American National Museum on Saturday, April 7 and remain on view through October 28, 2018. The installation pairs photographs from Fulbeck’s groundbreaking 2006 exhibition, titled kip fulbeck: part Asian, 100% hapa, with new portraits of the same individuals. The photographs are accompanied by each subject’s handwritten responses to the typically posed question, “What are you?” http://www.janm.org/exhibits/hapa-me/  
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Craft and Folk Art Museum 5814 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036 (323) 937-4230   www.cafam.org Exhibition: Bamboo May 27 – September 9, 2018 The Bamboo exhibition explores the evolution of Japanese bamboo basketry from a purely functional art form into complicated, distinctly Japanese sculptural forms of variable scale. A major selection of historical and contemporary works from the Los Angeles-based Cotsen Collection are central to the exhibition, as well as a large-scale, interactive bamboo installation by Japan-based artist Akio Hizume. This exhibition is supported by Japan Foundation, Los Angeles, with additional support from the Pasadena Art Alliance and the...
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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...
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Jazz Concert Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple Makoto Takenaka, piano with guest artist Peter Hata, guitar Date: Saturday, August 11, 2018 Time: 7:30 pm Place: Higashi Honganji, 505 E. 3rd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90013 Free Parking Fee: $20.00, $10 for 12 & under Info: (213) 626-4200 at temple (626) 824-5580 (cell) revpeterhata@gmail.com Please RSVP by Sunday, August 5 Pay in advance or at the door; walk-ins OK until full Makoto Takenaka was born in Connecticut, and raised in Kyoto, Japan. He acquired a BA and MA in Tokyo, then came to the U.S. to study at the Berklee College...
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Orange County Buddhist Church Junior YBA presents Jazz Benefit Concert Saturday, August 11th @ 2:00 pm Featuring Makoto Takenaka Makoto Takenaka was born in Connecticut, and was raised in Kyoto, Japan. He acquired a BA and MA in education in Tokyo, then came to the US to study at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. After graduating Magna Cum Laude, he became the first Japanese assistant professor at Berklee, and was promoted to associate professor. He integrates Japanese traditional tunes into Jazz-Fusion. Orange County Buddhist Church at Main Hondo 909 S. Dale Ave., Anaheim 92804 Tickets: $25 Adults,...
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24th Nikkei Games “Games for the Generation” Track and Field Invitational August 4, 2018, Check-in time from 8:00 am to 8:45 am Ocean View High School in Huntington Beach 17071 Gothard Street, Huntington Beach, 92647 Applications for the Aug. 24 Nikkei Games are now on-line at www.nikkeigames.org This Invitational Track and Field meet is open to individuals and/or families in Japanese and/or Japanese American sponsored programs from the age of one year old to over 80. This fun family day event concludes around 1:00 pm, bring grandparents, bento, drinks, and shade. School rules do not permit food or drinks...
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