FallSpring 2014 2013 Volume 18, No. 1 Newsletter of the Center for Japanese Studies School of Pacific and Asian Studies University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa Please submit materials to [email protected] Visit our website at www.hawaii.edu/cjs Director’s Message: Good News Regent Randy Moore Tours SPAS “Four More Years” for Our National Resource Center for East Asia & Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowships, 2014-2018 Thanks to the excellence of our faculties in Asian and Pa- cific languages and area studies, SPAS again won funding from the Title VI International and Foreign Language Education program of the U.S. Department of Education. This means our National Resource Center for East Asia can continue to build model curriculum in Chinese, Korean, and Japanese lan- SPAS students and faculty welcomed UH Board of guages and area studies. Our next NRCEA projects will accel- Regents Chairman Randolph G. Moore on December 4, erate student skills in Japanese and Korean classes, add two 2014. Regent Moore is in the back row, 4th from the semesters of fifth year Chinese, design a course on Asia-Pacific right, with SPAS Dean R.A. Sutton. Globalization, and work with our College of Education in fu- UHM Students Travel to Japan ture teacher training. The NRCEA will help Hamilton Library add materials in Japanese, Chinese, and Korean. Most impor- The Japan Foundation’s “KAKEHASHI Project -The tantly, FLAS fellowships will continue to support students Bridge for Tomorrow” sponsored 23 UHM students and 2 studying Chinese, Korean, and Japanese languages. Under- UHM faculty leaders, Lonny Carlile and Gladys Nakahara, graduate and graduate students can apply on STAR using the on a ten-day cultural study tour to Japan, June 23-July 3, Keyword “FLAS.” A new provision in the FLAS regulations 2014. The tour touched down in Tokyo and Fukuoka. Stu- asks us to consider financial need so potential applicants should dents visited museums and cultural landmarks and ex- complete the 2015-16 FAFSA as soon as possible. In this time plored modern venues in Shinjuku, Akihabara, Harajuku, of smaller federal budgets, we are grateful for four more years. and Shibuya. In Kyūshū, particpants visited the University of Kitakyūshū where they networked with local students “Forty More Years” for Jaku’an Tea House and tried local cooking (pettanyaki), Japanese archery, street Thanks to Dr. Genshitsu Sen, Sōshitsu Sen XV performances, and yosakoi dancing. Other highlights in- cluded planting rice in Itoshima and visiting the famous Forty years have passed Itō Denemon mansion, site of an ongoing NHK drama since Dr. Sen of Urasenke series. Overall, the tour was an opportunity for UHM stu- donated the Jaku’an Tea dents to experience Japan in a unique and in-depth way House to the University of that also resulted in many lasting friendships with Japanese Hawai‘i. Many decades of students. students have studied Way of Tea in the teahouse, while our tropical climate took its toll on the building. After two years of planning, reno- vations to Jaku’an took place in Fall 2014. Dr. Sen sent materi- als and artisans from Kyōto, who worked for two months to replace the roof, roof tiles, downspouts, pillars, decking, and tatami. We express our great thanks to Dr. Sen and his archi- tects and artisans, the UH Planning & Facilities offices, the East -West Center for cooperation in their garden, and to the neighboring dormitory residents who endured the construction noise. We are so thankful to Dr. Sen for the next forty years of Chanoyu in beautiful Jaku’an, 寂庵,literally sabi hut, or Cottage of Tranquility.—Mary McDonald The Kakehashi Group at Kokura Castle in Kitakyūshū, Japan. J-Current • Fall 2014 2 J-Current, Fall 2014 JET Teachers Off to Japan Ehime Prefecture Partners Visit Each summer, Ehime Prefecture invites two UHM stu- dents to intern in the Ehime Prefecture International Cen- ter. Our Ehime Prefecture partners visited the Center for Japanese Studies on October 13 and 14, 2014. Prefectural officials visiting were Mr. Hitoshi Takaoka, Executive Di- rector, Ehime Prefectural International Association Ms. Hitomi Kikuchi, Vice Director, Ehime Prefectural Interna- tional Association, and Ms. Noriko Omori, Director, Ehime Prefectural International Center (EPIC). High School Students visiting from Ehime were from Matsuyama East High School, Naoki Aono, Yuki Kondo, Yumeno Nakane, and Seina Saiki; from Imabari West High Thirty five recent college graduates left Honolulu on School, Satoshi Nagai, Soki Yamamoto, Moe Sunada, and August 2, 2014 to join the Japan Exchange and Teaching Serina Izumi. Programme. The new JET teachers gathered at the Consu- Welcoming the Ehime Visitors to UH were former late General of Japan in Honolulu on Friday, August 1, Epic Interns Rochelle Ohata and Joseph Peters, UH stu- 2014, for pre-departure orientation and a farewell reception. dent friend of Ehime Dane Sako, Lonny Carlile, Gay Sat- Acting Consul General Kazunari Tanaka congratulated suma, and Mary McDonald. them on joining the 135,000 past and present JET teachers from many countries. UHM faculty attending were Pricilla Faucette (Second Language Studies), Lonny Carlile and Mary McDonald (Center for Japanese Studies). Rochelle Ohata’s Ehime Internship Reflection I am very grateful to have been a Summer 2014 Ehime Prefectural International Center intern in Ehime, Japan. It was a wonderful and enriching learning experience. I met many amazing individuals, created international ties, and improved my Japanese language as well as my public speak- ing skills. This internship taught me how to adapt to an- United Japanese Society of Hawaiʻi Honors other culture, allowed me to share my love of Hawai‘i, and The United Japanese Society of Hawaiʻi held its provided experience working in an office setting. I think the 56th Annual Installation and Recognition Banquet on internship is unique in that interns are able to experience a June 28, 2014. Attending from UHM were SPAS typical Japanese work setting, as well as visit classrooms to Dean R. Anderson Sutton, Center for Okinawan teach students about Hawaiian culture then go outside to Studies Director Joyce Chinen, Center for Japanese experience Japanese culture. I got much out of my experi- Studies Director Mary McDonald, and Associate Di- ence and hope I was able to return at least a small portion rector Gay Satsuma. of what I received. Being an EPIC intern was a major step- ping stone in my life and I am truly thankful to EPIC, JASH, and CJS for this once in a lifetime opportunity. Interns Rochelle Ohata Rochelle and Donovan received leis made by Gay Satsuma, Joyce Chinen, UJSH President-Elect and Donovan Goto the students at Fuzoku Elementary School (2015) Cyrus Tamashiro, and Mary McDonald J-Current • Fall 2014 3 J-Current, Fall 2014 邦楽 Crown Prince Akihito Scholar traditional music is referred to as (hougaku), and contempo- rary music for traditional instruments as 現代邦楽 (gendai hougaku). John Chow Seymour Writes From Kanagawa Therefore the name of this institute in Japanese is the 「現代 邦楽 研究所」(gendai hougaku kenkyuujo). Here, I participate in a mixed- instrument ensemble and in an all-flute ensemble, reading through a new piece of gendai hougaku music every few weeks. I also re- ceive lessons on playing both traditional and contemporary music on Japanese flutes from an excellent flute performer, Nishikawa Kohei-Sensei. I attend weekly lectures on a variety of topics re- lated to both traditional and contemporary hougaku. As if all this, plus the compositions I am working on, weren't Hiking in the Ko'olau Mountains, Seymour and a friend, Etsuko Sakairi, of the enough to keep me busy, I am also taking lessons in a specific Seymour holds a Japanese folk- Hawai'i Gagaku Society after a concert at genre of Japanese music called Gagaku, a very old genre from the 篠笛( music flute called a shinobue), UHM. Seymour holds a Japanese flute called a Heian era. I first learned about Gagaku at UH from the venerable a gift from UHM's Gagaku Sensei, 龍笛(ryuuteki), while Sakairi holds a ceremo- Rev. Masatoshi Shamoto. nial branch used in a dance. Masatoshi Shamoto-Sensei, and—thanks to his introductions—I am able to continue studying Gagaku in Japan from the Japan Six years ago, when deciding where to pursue my Ph.D studies Gagaku Society (日本雅 楽會). in Music Composition, I chose the University of Hawaiʻi due to its I am very grateful for the Crown Prince Akihito Scholarship: reputation as a strong school for Ethnomusicology, specifically the to the community in Hawaiʻi for starting the scholarship, to the study of music-making practices from East Asian and Pacific cul- committee members and trustees at the Japan-America Society of tures. At UH, I was able to study a variety of musical genres from Hawai'i who maintain it and make it possible, and to my profes- Japan, as well as from Korea, China, and Indonesia, in addition to sors—those in Hawaiʻi who encouraged and helped me, and contemporary "Western" musical compositions. As a flute player, I those in Japan who are willing to work with a foreigner who ap- learned to play over a dozen varieties of flutes from these cultures. preciates Japanese cultural traditions. My major field is Composition, and UH's Composition Area, building on the school's emphasis on world music studies, concen- trates on the practice of composing new music for traditional Asian Ryukoku Schools’ Visit instruments. Understanding how to write well for these instru- Extending a warm welcome to visitors from Ryukoku ments means understanding the traditional genres each instrument University on June 9 were Vice Chancellor Reed Dasenbrock, is involved in and the ways that contemporary players use their in- Assistant Vice Chancellor for International Programs R.