KCJAS.ORG | Heart of America Japan-America Society

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

June 23rd Meeting - Ghosts and Demons

Dianne Daugherty will be presenting the world of Japanese ghosts and demons through stories and examples in literature, art and film at our June meeting. Disturbing and frightening you say?? Perhaps. Fun and insightful?? So much so that you might not be able to fall asleep that night. We'll see you there! Dianne has suggested related reading/films that you could digest before June if you like. See below:

July 25th Japan Heritage Night at Royals

Royals play the Texas Rangers for Japan Heritage Night. Japan-related activities begin at 3:30pm with a game time at 6:10pm. Cultural activities in the Outfield Plaza include performances by Ki-Daiko, KU Japanese Student Okinawa Dance Group and Jo Yamanaka and the J-Band from 3:30 pm. Many Kid’s Activities including miniature golf, the “Little K”, batting cages, etc. Ki-Daiko and KU Dance Group will perform on the field during the pregame events

Tickets can be purchased on line – detailed information to follow. Ticket Prices:

View Level Infield: $10 (Regular Price $16)
Field Plaza: $15 (Regular Price $26)
Field Box: $18 (Regular Price $33)

Japan on the web

The best origami you've ever seen

You'll probably find this story interesting. The most "high resolution" origami around. Created by a guy at NASA. Even better? He used his skills to advance several technologies in scientific areas completely unrelated.

Cool links for May 2009

Make fun Sushi-style Rice Crispy Treats
Japan Culture and Film discussion at Fora.tv
Sakura Matsuri Cherry Blossom Festival in Brooklyn
Controversial Old Japan Maps
Japanese Couples turn to U.S. for Wedding Savings

Japan's Cherry Blossoms on the Travel Film Archive

We found this little piece of nostalgia from 1932. You know Youtube by now, well they have a collection of historic travel videos called the Travel Film Archive. We liked this little gem, though the narrator seems subtly amateurish.

Museum Digital Collections

For those who love art and history, here are some links to well known museums in Japan and their digital collections. From carvings, calligraphy and everything else. Photos of things dated over 5000 years ago. Amazing!

Vending Machines in Japan

I've been wanting to show some of the superior aspects of vending machines in Japan for some time. It's disappointing about the lack of variety and technology in vending in the United States. Certainly not all vending machines in Japan are bursting with innovation and flavor, but thankfully they are different and should give us ideas of what is possible. Vending Craze in Japan via DarkRoastedBlend.com

Internment Camp Yearbook scanned

When you think internment camp, perhaps despite realizing the time people had to spend in there, you might not consider just how deep the community settled within itself, either by desire, constraints or influence. Regardless, yearbooks were made and printed. Link

Hiroshima: The Lost Photographs

A design site called "The Design Observer" talks about a very intriguing and historically significant dumpster find. Take a look.

Tama the Station Master Cat

There's a cute story about a stray cat that was given a job as Station Master at the Kishi train station. Pure silliness you say? Well maybe, but the tourism dollars this little idea has generated are nothing to laugh at. Read about Tama. | Another Tama Article And if that's not cutesy enough for you, how about a monkey serving drinks at a tavern?

Free Pimsleur Japanese Learning Audiobooks

The Kansas City library is a partner with Netlibrary.com. You can sign up for a login at Netlibrary.com associated with the KC library. From there, you'll find some great Pimsleur Japanese Audiobooks to download / checkout for a limited period of time. Learn more about Netlibrary.

Swimsuit Girls of Old Japan

Check out this classy photo gallery on flickr of some of the swimsuit fashions of days gone by. Don't worry, it's all modestly safe for viewing, and quite interesting. Swimsuit photos of Old Japan.

Japanese-American relocation photo archive.

The University of California has a portal called the Calisphere and an archive of the relocation of Japanese-Americans during WWII. See the archive here.

Geisha profession on the rise thanks to increased popularity from media exposure

We probably never could guess this would happen, but due to recent movies and programs about Geisha, there has been growth in the geisha profession in Japan. More young women are signing up to Geisha houses for their training as Maiko. Read Article. Also watch this short video from the BBC.

Programs made about Geisha aren't new. Perhaps some of you remember this John Wayne movie, "The Barbarian and the Geisha"

Japan officially recognizes Ainu as indigenous people for first time

Japan's parliament voted Friday to recognize the Ainu ethnic group as the country's indigenous people for the first time and urged steps to reverse a century of discrimination and poverty.

The votes in both houses of the Diet, Japan's parliament, overcame a long-standing refusal to acknowledge that any other race predated the appearance of the Japanese in the archipelago. The resolution is not binding, but is expected to lead to more concrete measures. Read Article