Center for Japanese Studies’ Annual Mochitsuki

For those of you who have never made mochi 餅 (or who simply love it), be sure to attend the University of Michigan’s annual mochitsuki event! It’s free to the public. Here is an article on last year’s event, and there’s a video below on mochi-making masters.

 

Kagami mochi - Image by tanakawho

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The University of Michigan’s Center for Japanese Studies invites you, your family, and friends to celebrate 2011 at our annual

Mochitsuki

Saturday, January 8, 2011
1-4pm

East Hall Math & Psychology Atriums
530 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1043

Event includes:

  • Mochi (sticky rice treats)
  • live music
  • Kakizome (calligraphy)
  • Origami
  • Kamishibai (storytelling)
  • Manga-drawing
  • Japanese games

FREE / OPEN TO THE PUBLIC / FAMILIES WELCOME

 


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Job openings: KCJS professors needed

The Kyoto Consortium of Japanese Studies is looking to fill two professor positions, one for the upcoming academic year and one for the next. The deadline date for the 2011-12 application is JANUARY 3, 2011; for 2013-14, the deadline is FEBRUARY 18, 2011 . See the announcement below for more information.

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ANNOUNCEMENT OF FACULTY POSITION(S)
KYOTO CONSORTIUM FOR JAPANESE STUDIES
Academic Year 2011-12*
Academic Year 2013-14

*Please note that we are recruiting for NEXT academic year. We are seeking to replace the KCJS Professor who had been appointed for AY 2011-12 but has had to relinquish her appointment.  – Ginger Marcus, Chair, KCJS Governing Board

The Kyoto Consortium for Japanese Studies (http://www.kcjs.columbia.edu) seeks faculty members with extensive experience in Japanese studies for either a full academic year or a single semester as KCJS Professor. Applicants should hold tenure or be on tenure track at a KCJS member university.  Applications from all disciplines and ranks are welcome.

KCJS is a two-semester academic program in Kyoto with an enrollment of 40 to 50 undergraduate students from KCJS member universities and other institutions. It is governed by a board of faculty representatives from the 14 universities that make up the consortium and is managed administratively by the Office of Global Programs at Columbia University. The KCJS fall semester begins in early September and ends in late December; the spring semester begins in mid-January and ends in late April. The KCJS curriculum consists of intensive language courses as well as disciplinary courses in the humanities and social sciences focusing on historical and contemporary Japan.

The full-year KCJS Professor will teach two courses in the fall semester and one course in the spring; single-semester KCJS Professors will each teach two courses. In the fall semester, the KCJS Professor normally offers a survey course covering the full range of Japanese history with emphasis varying by discipline. Additional responsibilities include intellectual and social interaction with students; counseling and advising students in cooperation with the KCJS Resident Director and staff; serving as a member of the admissions committee; and liaison between the KCJS Resident Director and staff in Kyoto and the KCJS Governing Board in the U.S.

The usual arrangement continues the KCJS Professor’s salary and benefits from the home institution. KCJS will provide funding to the home university for salary and benefits at a standard and reasonable rate. Housing and roundtrip transportation for a spouse or partner and up to two dependent children not yet graduated from high school are provided.

Applicants should submit a c.v., a letter describing their intellectual interests and  experience in teaching and advising undergraduates, and recent syllabi for undergraduate courses. They should specify the preferred appointment: full year, fall semester, or spring semester. A full-year applicant should include a description of about half a page for each of 4-5 proposed courses, at least 2 of which should be broad survey courses with a comprehensive historical scope; a single semester applicant should describe 2-3 proposed courses, one of which should be the broad survey course. Applicants should provide contact information for two references. All application materials should be sent electronically by JANUARY 3, 2011 (’11-’12) or FEBRUARY 18, 2011 (’13-’14) to Fay Ju  (fjj1@columbia.edu) in the Office of Global Programs at Columbia University.

A subcommittee of the KCJS Governing Board will select the KCJS Professor. Questions may be addressed to the KCJS Governing Board Chair, Ginger Marcus, at vsmarcus@wustl.edu .

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KCJS Summer Program in Advanced and Classical Japanese

For those of you looking for advanced language study options abroad, the Kyoto Consortium of Japanese Studies offers both advanced Japanese and Classical Japanese options for a six week summer program.

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Photo by scarletgreen

The Kyoto Consortium of Japanese Studies (KCJS) is pleased to announce the third year of its Summer Program in Advanced and Classical Japanese. In 2011, the program will begin on June 2 and end on July 15. This six-week program, held at Doshisha University in Kyoto,  offers intensive training in advanced and classical Japanese for highly motivated undergraduate and graduate students who have completed three years of Japanese or the equivalent. Students enroll in either the advanced or the classical course, each of which carries eight points of credit on a Columbia University transcript upon completion.

Language instruction will be provided by the regular faculty of KCJS, which is now in its 22nd year as a highly successful junior-year-abroad program in Kyoto, and by visiting faculty from member schools of the KCJS consortium. Classes will be small, with 5-7 students in each of the four sections of modern Japanese, and an anticipated 8-12 in classical Japanese. Conversation partners will be arranged for students of modern Japanese to provide additional speaking practice. Field trips (including one overnight trip), guest lectures, and other activities that utilize Kyoto’s rich cultural resources complement classroom instruction.

Students live in apartments near the campus arranged by KCJS, but a limited number of homestays are also available.

The tuition is $3,900 and financial support at various levels is available from KCJS for those students in need; the program should also be eligible for Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS)  summer language support for graduate students. The application deadline is March 1, 2011.

For further details about the KCJS Summer Program in Advanced and Classical Japanese, please visit http://kcjssummer.columbia.edu.

Henry Smith
Columbia University
Director, KCJS

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Friends of the Princeton University Library Research Grant Program

Each year, the Friends of the Princeton University Library offer short-term Library Research Grants to promote scholarly use of the library’s research collections. Up to $3,500 is available per award and last year the Friends made 22 awards totaling over $50,000.

Applications will be considered for scholarly use of archives, manuscripts, rare books, and other rare and unique holdings of the Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, including Mudd Library; as well as rare books in Marquand Library of Art and Archaeology, and in the East Asian Library (Gest Collection). Special grants are awarded in several areas: the Program in Hellenic Studies supports a limited number of library fellowships in Hellenic studies, and the Cotsen Children’s Library supports research in its collection on aspects of children’s books.

The Maxwell Fund supports research on materials dealing with Portuguese-speaking cultures. The Sid Lapidus ’59 Research Fund for Studies of the Age of Revolution and the Enlightenment in the Atlantic World covers work using materials pertinent to this topic.

For more information, or to apply, please go to
http://www.princeton.edu/rbsc/fellowships/f_ships.html

The deadline to apply is January 15, 2011.

Linda Oliveira
Library Secretary Specialist
Rare Books and Special Collections
Princeton University Library

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Japanese Translator Needed

This will be the first time we’ve posted up job openings here, but we hope to provide as much useful information on the field as we can, so here it goes!

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Japanese Translator Needed:

Regenstein Library (at the University of Chicago) is looking for someone to translate about 3 pages in Japanese ref: the genealogy of the Wolio people in Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Contact David Bade at dbade@uchicago.edu if you’re interested and would like more details.

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Smart vending machines make corporate big brother a little more creepy

Image from macdevcenter.com

Japan is known worldwide for its innovative, if not sometimes bizarre, ventures into new technology. It’s also known for having vending machines on almost every block in most urban areas, carrying everything from bottled drinks to women’s underwear (though the latter is certainly not as common, mind you).

Today’s fun link is an article from Akihabara News on the newest technology developed for the bottled drink consumer: a high-tech vending machine featuring an interactive touch screen (47 inches) and smart technology to improve marketing strategy at the same time as it sells you your goods. According to the article:

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Image from waylou.com

What makes this vending machine even more interesting is that there is a camera above the screen that determines the age and gender of a person standing in front of it, which the machine uses to “subtly” offer demographically-targeted drink selections, as well as collect marketing data based on customer’s actual choices – no identifiable images or information are stored. That point-of-sale marketing data is pushed to a central management server via WiMAX.

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The vending machine displays only those items which are not sold out, and can be paid for using hard cash, touch-free train cards like Suica, and cell phones. Honestly, the more advanced interactive technology like this becomes, the more I think about how the tech in Minority Report is going to look incredibly realistic in another fifteen years. Heck, it’s not even looking that far off now.

To see the vending machine in action, check out the embedded video in the Akiba article here. See the NHK news report on these vending machines below.

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Additional articles:

Asiajin
Trends Updates
Reuters

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Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarships

Those with advanced language skills looking to do research will be interested in funding opportunities from Rotary International. The Rotary Club offers academic year Ambassadorial Scholarships (1 year of study abroad). The academic year scholarship awards scholars $27,000 USD.

The Ambassadorial Scholarships program supports the mission of The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace by:

  • Increasing awareness of and respect for cultural differences by sending ambassadors of goodwill to study in another country
  • Instilling in scholars the Rotary ideal of Service Above Self through active participation in Rotary service projects
  • Encouraging scholars to dedicate their personal and professional lives to improving the quality of life for the people of their home communities and countries
  • Developing leaders who can address the humanitarian needs of the world community
  • Impacting all areas of the world through a balanced geographical distribution of scholars Encouraging Rotarians worldwide to increase the educational opportunities for scholars from low-income countries
  • Fostering a lifelong association between Rotary and its scholars

Interested applicants must apply for Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholarships through their local Rotary club. Before completing the application, contact your local Rotary club to make sure that the district participates in this program. Because timelines vary, only your local club can provide specific information about application deadlines. For 2012-13 awards, club deadlines may be as early as 1 March 2011 or as late as 15 August 2011. Remember that availability varies by Rotary district. If your local district is not offering scholarships at this time, try inquiring next year.

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Japan-specific information:

All Academic-Year Ambassadorial Scholars (excluding Japan Ambassadorial Scholarship recipients) are required to pass the Level I of the Japanese Language Proficiency Examination (日本語能力試験) administered by the Japanese government every December as part of their pre-departure preparation. Please schedule this exam as soon as possible. Information on this examination can be found at http://momo.jpf.go.jp/hiroba/home.html. Scholars who are unable to pass Level I of the Japanese Language Proficiency Examination are urged to contact their Scholarship Coordinator immediately to discuss other alternatives.

The Club Locator indicates that there are 1,000 Rotary Club locations in Japan.

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Application process
Program year 2012-13

November/December 2010

* Application materials for 2012-13 Ambassadorial Scholarships become available on the RI website.
* Applicants must contact the nearest Rotary club to
o Determine whether scholarship funding is available
o Ask about local application deadlines
o Obtain application materials

January-15 July 2011

Applicants should complete the 2012-13 application, carefully researching possible institutions of study. There is no need to apply for or take language tests at this time.

September-15 December 2011

All 2012-13 scholarship applicants will receive notification of their study institution assignments (as long as their applications were submitted by the 1 October district deadline).

February 2011

All 2012-13 scholarship recipients will receive a packet of information from the Foundation. This material outlines the steps they’re required to complete in preparation for their term.

For more information, see:
http://www.rotary.org/en/StudentsAndYouth/EducationalPrograms/AmbassadorialScholarships/Pages/Howtoapply.aspx

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Making the Most of Online Dictionaries

This is my eighth year of Japanese study, and over the years I have collected more than a few online dictionaries. I also own a Sharp Papryus PW-AT790, purchased in Japan in 2009, which I rather like. However, a lot of the time I’m reading Japanese on the computer or translating, so it’s more convenient for me to use an online dictionary. I actually use all of these depending on the situation and have ordered them from ones appropriate for beginners to ones for more advanced learners.

Continue reading →

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Website announcement: Japan Air Raids Archive

People with an interest in military history and WWII will be pleased to find this wonderful new bilingual digital archive on Japan air raids. It has only recently opened, but it looks like it will continue to become a fantastic collection of historical materials.

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New website announcement: http://www.japanairraids.org/


Photo from japanairraids.org

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We are pleased to announce the launching of a new website, http://www.japanairraids.org/, a bilingual digital archive dedicated to the international dissemination of information about the United States Army Air Force air raids against Japan. While in its infancy, the website features air raid survivor interviews, primary documents produced by the U.S. and Japanese governments, photographs, moving images, and sound recordings. We encourage educators to inform students about the website, which can act as a one-stop shop for them to conduct original research. Given our wish to significantly expand the offering of primary documents and survivor interviews, we welcome any suggestions for funding possibilities.

Cary Karacas
Assistant Professor of Human Geography
City Universityof New York
The College of Staten Island
cary.karacas@csi.cuny.edu

Bret Fisk
independent scholar, writer, and translator

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“Shugendo Now” at the International Buddhist Film Festival

For those of you in the San Francisco area, there’s a feature documentary tomorrow and Thursday on shugendō, Japanese mountain asceticism, in the modern age. It looks really amazing, so see the site and trailer below for more information!

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Next week (6 & 9 December) there will be a pair of screenings of the feature documentary “Shugendo Now” in the San Francisco Bay area during the International Buddhist Film Festival. Please see full screening details below. You are invited to view our trailer and accompanying press materials at the following site:

www.shugendonow.com

See the URL below for a review by Paul Swanson that features our and two other recent films on Japanese religions (“Where Mountains Fly” by Sandra and Carina Roth & “Shugen: Haguro-san Aki-no-mine” by Kitamura Minao) in the fall 2010 issue of the Japanese Journal of Religious Studies.

Issue 37, number 2, article # 861

http://nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/publications/jjrs/jjrs_cumulative_list.htm#latestissue

SHUGENDO NOW AT THE INTERNATIONAL BUDDHIST FILM FESTIVAL

6 December 2010
California Film Institute
San Rafael, California 7pm

http://www.cafilm.org/rfc/films/1476.html

9 December 2010
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
San Francisco, California 7:30 pm

http://www.ybca.org/tickets/production/view.aspx?id=12338

Full IBFF program and events calendar is available here:

http://www.cafilm.org/rfc/films/1458.html

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Mark Patrick McGuire
Humanities / Campus Sustainability Initiative
John Abbott College

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Image from Happenstand

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