Gene DiNovi’s Jazz Concert : The Nikkei Suite ジーン・ディノヴィ ジャズコンサート「日系組曲」 Rakugo Movie Night “Talk Talk Talk” 落語映画「しゃべれども しゃべれども」 May 2008 2008年5月 Vol.34 Issue 5 1 features 2007-2008 JCCC Board of Directors President Martin Kobayashi VP – Expansion Gary Kawaguchi VP – Management Ann Ashley 日 2 Gene DiNovi Japanese Suite VP – Legacy Arthur Ito VP – Heritage Ken Noma VP – Marketing/Membership Dereck Oikawa 3 Movie Night "Talk Talk Talk" Special Ambassador Sid Ikeda 系 Secretary/VP- Projects Sharon Marubashi 5 Nostalgia Night Treasurer Sri Kugan Past President Steve Oikawa 文 Executive Director James Heron 6 Upcoming Events Directors-at-large Wai Chak Donna Davis Glen Inamoto 化 7-8 Community News Ojan Jamkhou Jane Liu 11 ＪＣＣＣニュース Yuki Nakamura 会 Lorene Nagata Russell Onizuka 12 日系コミュニティーニュース Tak Yoshida Advisors Miki Kobayashi 館 Mickey Matsubayashi Fred Sasaki CALENDAR OF EVENTS Connie Sugiyama 役 MAY/JUNE/JULY 2008 May JCCC Staff 員 James Heron Thu 1 Bakumatsu Exhibit opening Executive Director Fri 2 Bazaar Prep [email protected] 416-441-2345 ext.224 及 Kathy Tazumi Sat 3 Bazaar Accounting/General Administration Manager Thu 8 Origami Workshop [email protected] 416-441-2345 ext.229 び Sat 10 Karate Tournament Christine Takasaki Community Events/Volunteer Coordinator Thu 15 Masako Goto Pottery Exhibit opening [email protected] 416-441-2345 ext.221 ス Sat 17 Karaoke Club Haruko Ishihara Community Rentals Mon 19 JCCC CLOSED (Victoria Day) [email protected] 416-441-2345 ext.228 タ Wed 21 Manju Workshop Christine Seki Corporate Rentals/Programming and Business Development Fri 23 Gene DiNovi Jazz Concert [email protected] 416-441-2345 ext.231 ッ Thu 29 Movie Night Sally Kumagawa Fri 30 Speaker Session Membership/Database Administrator [email protected] 416-441-2345 ext.223 フ Sat 31 Karaoke Club Toshiko Yamashita Sat 31 Mike Shin Charity Golf Heritage/Newsletter Coordinator [email protected] 416-441-2345 ext.227 June Yuki Hipsh Tue 3 Katsura Sanshi Rakugo Receptionist/Giftshop [email protected] 416-441-2345 ext.222 Thu 12 Origami Workshop Constantin Dutescu Sat 14 Karaoke Club meeting Operations and Techinical Coordinator [email protected] 416-460-3522 Sat 14 Saigo Takafumi Lecture Fri 20 Euchre Night The Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre Newsletter Sat 21 Nostalgia Night Editors:James Heron, Kathy Tazumi, Toshiko Yamashita Mon 23 JCCC Annual General Meeting Japanese Translation: Toshiko Yamashita Thu 26 Movie Night Cover Photo: Ayame by Hiroshi Yamamoto Fri 27 Speaker Session Sat 28 Natsu Matsuri and Gujo Odori We welcome your news! Please send articles to: [email protected] or July Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre Tue 1 JCCC CLOSED (Canada Day) 6 Garamond Court, Toronto, ON M3C 1Z5 Mon 7 Kamp Kodomo starts tel 416-441-2345 fax 416-441-2347 www.jccc.on.ca Sat 12 Bon Odori The submission deadline for the June/July 08 combined issue is Fri 25 Speaker Session Wednesday May 14, 2008. Thu 31 Movie Night 日本語の記事も受け付けています。 6/7月号の締め切りは2008年5月14日(水）です。 2 The Nikkei Suite – A Musical Tribute to the Japanese Canadians World Premiere at Gene DiNovi's Japanese Suite Concert Very special piece of music will be debuted and recorded live at the Gene DiNovi Japanese Jazz Suite Concert on May 23, 2008. Gene DiNovi’s “Nikkei Suite” is an essential component of his larger “Japanese Suite.” Its three distinct parts reflect the phases of the community’s history: a) arrival and settlement, b) internment and forced resettlement and, c) the thriving contemporary Nikkei community. Gene has been a great friend and supporter of the Japanese in Canada. Through “A Nikkei Suite” he is able to manifest this affinity, respect and affection artistically. In the fifty years that followed internment and the loss of their property and livelihoods, the Japanese did something exceptional. The Nikkei community thrived: creating leaders in fields such as business, medicine, politics, architecture and the performing arts. They won ultimate vindication, redress and an apology from the Government of Canada for their mistreatment. Five generations after the arrival of the first Japanese immigrant, the Nikkei have created one of the largest Japanese cultural centres in the world; they have made innumerable contributions to Canadian society and remain one of the most respected communities in Canada. Accompanying Gene in the performance are two Order of Cana- da-winning jazz/classical musicians: James Campbell on clarinet and Dave Young on bass. Come and join us on May 23, 2008, when three of Canada’s most respected musicians pay a personal tribute to our community with The Nikkei Suite. Date: Friday May 23, 2008 Time: 7:30pm Admission: $30 for JCCC members, $35 for non-members From left: Dave Young, Gene DiNovi, and James Campbell “Brand New Morning” Gene DiNovi's Latest CD Recorded and Launched at the JCCC Last July Gene DiNovi’s Generations Trio held a highly successful live concert recording of jazz standards and originals in the Kobayashi Hall. The CD, entitled Brand New Morning – will finally be launched at the Japanese Suite Concert (see above article) on Friday May 23, 2008. Produced by Japanese producer Mitsuo Jofu and released on Marshmallow Records, the CD marks an exciting new landmark in the JCCC experience. Gene, of course, will be on hand and happy to sign your copy! The track list includes: Stardust, Red Dragon Fly (Akatombo), Flower of the Night,You Will Still Be Mine and the title tune. 3 Kastura Sanshi’s Return to Toronto After a hugely successful performance last year, Katsura Sanshi, the Rakugo master, will be returning to Toronto for a single performance at the Kobayashi Hall on Tuesday June 3, 2008 at 7:00pm. Please note that the performance is entirely in Japanese so if you’re not a native speaker, come ready to put your Japanese ear to a real test! Tickets start from $30 and are on sale now at the JCCC. Please call 416-441-2345 for more information. Shaberedomo Shaberedomo – Talk Talk Talk A Bittersweet Comedy about Japanese Art of Laughter With Rakugo superstar Katsura Sanshi’s performance coming up on June 3, we are pleased to announce our May movie carries on the facinating theme of rakugo. Shaberedomo Shaberedomo (Talk Talk Talk) is a 2007 Japanese fi lm based on a novel by Takako Sato and directed by Hideyuki Hirayama. The fi lm revolves around the traditional art of rakugo, or comical storytelling. A storyteller, or rakugoka, recites a long and often complicated comical story, taking on different characters through variations in tone and pitch, facial expressions, and slight gestures. Rakugo is sometimes cheekily referred to as sit-down comedy, as the storyteller remains seated throughout, with only a paper fan as prop. Bringing rakugo to the big screen is no easy task but director Hirayama Hideyuki (The Laughing Frog) and lead Kokubun Taichi do a superb job of capturing the spirit of the art in this heartwarming, consistently entertaining fi lm. The rakugo routines are interesting and enjoyable to see and watch, and often remarkably funny. Shaberedomo Shaberedomo is largely people- © 2007 “ TALK, TALK, TALK ” Film Partners driven, presenting very real personalities that are not necessarily likable, but always understandable. Much of the fi lm’s charm comes from gradually learning about the characters and seeing them grow. Mitsuba (Kokubun Taichi) has been studying rakugo for years, but he elicits more yawns than laughs. A decidedly mediocre representative of a dying art, he stubbornly perseveres out of passion and pride. Through an odd turn of events, he ends up teaching rakugo to three students who are even less verbally gifted than him - a sullen beauty (Karina), a loud dialect-speaking kid (Morinaga Yuki), and a tongue-tied baseball player-turned-commentator (Matsushige Yutaka). Though none are particularly interested in rakugo initially, they slowly but surely begin to fi nd their way with words. Mitsuba, meanwhile, is preparing for his biggest challenge: performing his master’s (Ito Shiro) favorite story. Funny, dramatic and moving by turns, the fi lm received glowing reviews upon its release last year and was one of the top fi lms at the 2007 Osaka Film Festival. Date: Thursday May 29, 2008 Time: 7:00pm Admission: $6 for JCCC members, $8 for non-members JCCC Annual General Meeting Notice Masako Goto Pottery Exhibit The membership of the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre Original pieces by Japanese potter is hereby given notice of the 2008 Annual General Meeting on Masako Goto will be featured in Monday June 23, 2008 at 7:30pm at the JCCC, 6 Garamond the Heritage Lounge display case Court, Toronto. If you are interested in getting involved with the from May 15 to June 2008. The JCCC, please consider volunteering as a Board member. For more pottery “houses” she creates are information, please call the JCCC 416-441-2345. all unique and creative, allowing interpretation to be left to the The Bakumatsu Exhibition imagination of the viewer. A must see exhibit! The JCCC Heritage Committee presents an Opening reception and artist exhibition of artifacts from the era of the last talk (in Japanese) will be held days of the samurai - Bakumatsu. The exhibit on Thursday May 15, 2008 is open for the month of May in the JCCC at 7:00pm. Admission is free. Gallery. Hours are 9:00am to 9:00pm Monday Please RSVP to 416-441-2345 or - Friday, 9:00am to 3:30pm Saturday & Sunday. [email protected]. Admission is free. 4 Kamp Kodomo Summer Sessions A Summer of Odori at the JCCC Mark your calendars and don’t miss out on all the summer fun at Gujo Odori Natsu Matsuri the JCCC!!! Kamp Kodomo’s summer session is ready to start Saturday June 28, 2008 registration.