The Heart of America Japan-America Society comes together in the Kansas City area working towards the understanding and the improvement of relationships between the United States and Japan. The purpose of this site is to inform members and guests of upcoming activities related to Japan and Japanese culture. If you were wondering whether Kansas City had any kind of organization like this. Now you know.
Upcoming Events
May 27th General Meeting - Gift Wrapping in Japanese Culture.
We will have a special guest, Professor Elaine Gerbert from KU. Prof. Gerbert will show us how seemingly simple concept can reveal much about a culture. In the case of Japan, wrapping is one such concept. Taking a cue from British anthropologist Joy Hendry (Wrapping Culture, Clarendon Press, l993), she will explore the relationship of this concept as it relates to areas ranging from gift-giving to language and religion. We will see how it influences other aspects of Japanese culture, such as limited space and secret traditions.
Prof. Elaine Gerbert is interested in Japanese culture of the Taisho era (l912-l926). She received a PhD in Japanese literature from Yale University and has taught at the University of Kansas since 1990. She is an Associate Professor in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures.
June 24th General Meeting - Tanabata Celebration
Let’s step out to the Japanese garden at Loose Park and enjoy a summer evening with Tanabata. Tanabata, or the Star Festival, is actually held on the evening of July 7 in Japan. The festival traces its origins to a legend that the Cowherd Star (Altair) and Weaver Star (Vega) were in love, but separated by the Milky Way. They are allowed to meet just once a year - on the seventh day of the seventh month. Their wishes come true on that evening.
In Japanese homes, each member of the family will write his or her wishes on narrow strips of colored paper and hang them along with other paper ornaments on bamboo branches placed in the backyards or entrances of their homes.
For the June meeting, please bring your wishes and your children or grand children in Yukata (summer kimono), and enjoy Tanabata by making your wishes upon the stars.
Organizational News
Some of you received the email announcement, but we've been informed that Kurashiki Mayor Furiichi, who has visited us and become good friends during the past few years through the Kurashiki Week and Tea Room programs was unfortunately not re-elected for another term this past week. He was beaten by a very narrow margin by Kaori Ito. The transition for the new mayor, Ms. Ito will take place soon, by the middle of May she will be in office.
Japan in the news
Yakuza, the Mob in Japan
The Washington post has an article about organized crime in Japan. Read This Mob is Big in Japan Also here's a book about the subject.
Japan's richest people
In case you care about massive amounts of wealth, maybe you'd like this story at Forbes
Old Photos of Japan
A weblog we just discovered posts a historical photo of Japan every day. This is good stuff.
Old Photos Japan Weblog
Photographs of Japanese-American Evacuation and Resettlement, 1942-1945
The Online Archive of California has created a database of photos from the War Relocation Authority of the Japanese relocation and internment camps. See the Photos Here. Regarding the photo captions, from the Scope and Content page: "It is important to note that the photograph collection, as the official documentation of the WRA, reflects the point of view that the WRA wanted to present to the citizens of the United States during World War II. A number of photographs exist in 5 x 7 format and as enlargements that one assumes were made for public exhibition. The photographs, presumably created for public exhibition, and the captions accompanying them written by WRA staff, present an idealistic view of the relocation centers which clashes greatly with the harsh realities detailed by many survivors and historians in the decades following the internment."
Also watch a government produced war film about the camps on Google Video.
Japan Creates New Official Government Position: "Anime Ambassador"
The newly appointed ambassador, a life-size doll of a cartoon character has been given the mission "..to deepen people's understanding of Japan so they will become friends with Japan." Read More
How do you make an alarm that can warn elderly and people with hearing loss?
If you are Assistant professor Makoto Imai from the Shiga University of Medical Science, you create a system you know will get anyone's attention, the Wasabi Fire Alarm.
Japanese honesty thrives in its 'Lost and Found' culture
New York Times has a piece on how likely you are to recover something you lost on a train or elsewhere in the country, even Tokyo. The answer, very likely.
Kansas City's Best pizza
You have to have a blurb about something American once in while, and what could be more pleasant than the best local pizza in KC? About.com has the article
Japanese Roots
An older article by Jared Diamond, author of Guns, Germs and Steel about the anthropological roots of the Japanese resurfaced lately on the web. Interesting, thorough and worth a read.
Jared Diamond on the Japanese
Engineers at Nagayo University create wearable robotic device designed for carpentry work.
Applied scientists and engineers at Nagayo University in Japan introduced a prototype wearable half-robotic device designed for carpentry workers. The study of carpentry workers utilizing the device in the task of fitting ceiling boards in place concludes marked reduction in muscle output force, thereby reducing arm fatigue. Read Article
Japan, Ink: Inside the Manga Industrial Complex
Wired Magazine has a story about Manga. Here's a snippet: Manga's fortunes are sagging in Japan despite the rise in popularity in the rest of the world. Circulation of the country's weekly comic magazines, the essential entry point for any manga series, has fallen by about half over the last decade. Young people are turning their attention away from the printed page and toward the tiny screens on their mobile phones.
Fans and critics complain that manga — which emerged in the years after World War II as an edgy, uniquely Japanese art form — has become as homogenized and risk-averse as the limpest Hollywood blockbuster. Pervading the nation's $4.2 billion-a-year industry is a sense that its best days have passed. Read Article
The Allure of Japanese Knives
Salon.com has a story on the craftmanship and effectiveness of Japanese knives for cooking. Worth a read.
Sushi on 60 Minutes / AMAZING!
The King Of Sushi, Growing Demand For Sushi Is Having A Big Impact On The Bluefin Population. This 12 minute online video is a really good overview on Sushi prices and the place known as the hub for the best Sushi a fish market called Tsukiji. This is really an amazing and interesting video. We guarantee you will see things you never imagined.
Japan's monks take Buddhism to bars
The BBC has a piece on buddhist monks in Japan who have found a new place to reach out and show how their religious faith is just as relevant in as ever.
Kansas City Gift Ideas
Many of us have close friends and relatives in other cities, including in Japan. About.com has an article with 10 ideas for Kansas City Style gift baskets. Maybe this can help you with your shopping.
First hand accounts of the bombing of Hiroshima
The Voice of Hibakusha are eyewitness accounts of the bombing of Hiroshima are from the program HIROSHIMA WITNESS produced by the Hiroshima Peace Cultural Center and NHK, the public broadcasting company of Japan. The individual accounts were input and translated into english by college students Yumi Kodama, Junko Kato, Junko Kawamoto, Masako Kubota, Chiharu Kimura, and Kumi Komatsu, who were advised by Laurence Wiig.
Japanese Language Learning podcasts
I ran across some links for learning Japanese from the Open Culture website. Learning a new language from books is one thing, but having video and audio files to learn from is a lot more helpful, as you get a real voice, not just the one in your mind, as you read.
A Virtual Reality tour of tokyo
Using photo imagery, you can explore various parts of tokyo right from your web browser. This is thanks to to the Tokyo VR project.
The Kamikaze Diaries
Read an exerpt of a new book about young Japanese pilots who went on these missions. What were they thinking at that time? Remember that Kamikaze missions weren't just during Pearl Harbor, they happened throughout WWII in the pacific theater. Exerpt from The Kamize Diaries by Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney
The Wacky world of Japanese Ice Cream
The hot midwest summer has arrived. Check out these articles on Japanese ice cream that have hit the news recently. Anyone from Japan knows that there is an ever changing flavor fest of snacks, treats and drinks in Japan.
Japanese Ice Cream at Yahoo News
Mainichi News shows you wacky Japanese ice cream
