Hot Picks in Japan and the Bay Area (August 2017 Issue)

Konnichiwa everybody,

This month, Tokyo has had what we call a reika (冷夏 – cold summer). It rained for more than 20 days straight, a phenomenon we haven’t seen in 40 years.Due to the weather, farmers are preparing for a bad harvest this year. The cost of crop production will most likely increase, which will be a hardship for the whole country.

August is a very important month in Japanese history (日本史 – nihonshi): on August 6, 1945, an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima (広島). And on August 9, 1945, another atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki (長崎). Japan announced the end of the Pacific War (also known as World War II) on August15, 1945 ( 終戦の日 – shuusen no hi). As a result, Japanese people are concerned about North Korea’s regular nuclear tests and the escalating provocations between Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump. The recent missile that North Korea sent over Hokkaido (北海道) was widely reported on in the news and has been taken very seriously. The government activated the national warning system J-Alert and bullet trains were even temporarily stopped.

On the brighter side, September in the Bay Area has a lot to offer culture-wise, with the upcoming J-Pop Summit and the Japanese movie film festival (映画祭 – eigasai) in San Francisco. They are not to be missed!

VIDEOS ／映像

This month I want to show you these 3 cool videos. Vogue just posted this Conde Nast Traveler video , which introduces some bad ass Japanese female divers (海女- ama).

And Japanese airline ANA released a series of videos on their interactive website, all designed to answer the question, “Is Japan Cool?”. Check out their latest video named “Do” (道), which features 9 Japanese masters who specialize in martial and traditional arts, including the tea ceremony (茶道 – sado) and Japanese archery (弓道 – kyudou).

“The Art of Sushi “ is not just another sushi video; it reveals the beauty of each step of the process, which requires an exacting attention to details. The perfect and delicate gestures of New York-based sushi master Nakazawa Daisuke (中澤大祐) will enthrall you and make you understand why we call sushi chefs “sushi artisans” in Japanese (すし職人- sushi shokunin), if you didn’t know already.

ART　／　アート

If you are a ukiyo-e (浮世絵) fan, you should go see the work of Japanese artist Teraoka Masami (寺岡政美), who mixes East and West cultures in his art. “Select Works (1972 –2002) from Private Collections” shows over 40 pieces, including “Venice Nude Beach,” “McDonald’s Hamburgers Invading Japan” and the “AIDS Series.” The show continues at the Catharine Clerk Gallery in San Francisco through September 2. Please note that some of the images are for mature audiences, so this pick is for my adult clients!

“The Visitor,” a show featuring sculptured characters and objects by Japanese artist Miki Sachiko ( 三木サチコ), looks very cool too. You can see it at the Transmission Gallery in San Francisco until September 23.And last, my favorite Bay Area-based Japanese artist, Masako Miki (マサコ・ミキ), is part of the group exhibition “Earth and Reveries” in Berkeley, at the Kala Gallery through October 7. She will also hold an artist talk on September 23. I had featured her work in my March 2016 issue newsletter, and had loved her show. Please go if you can!

TRIED IT ! ／行ってみました！

I’ve been wanting to try the Japanese restaurant Ippuku (一服) for a long while. I finally had the chance to go and I was not disappointed! Since I moved to the Bay Area, I have been missing Japanese food and I am rarely satisfied with California-based Japanese restaurants. So I was very happy to have found an izakaya (居酒屋) with dishes that feel authentic and like “back home.” If you don’t know about Ippuku yet, you should try it too!

TV DOCUMENTARY ／ドキュメンタリー

An interesting documentary about Ono Yoko ( オノ・ヨーコ ) and her son Sean Lennon was recently released in Japanese with English subtitles. “Family History” (ファミリーヒストリー) is a TV series on NHK that investigates the family history of public figures (著名人). You can see it here:

Part 1: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5xbma9

Part 2: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5xbmam

TOKYO HOT SPOT ／　東京ホットスポット

For those who missed Kusama Yayoi’s (草間彌生) exhibition in Tokyo this year, there’s a good news: the Kusama Yayoi Museum will open in October in Shinjuku and it looks gorgeous! (Please note that you have to reserve your entry by time slot.)

That’s all for today—thank you for reading. Looking forward to seeing you soon at our next lesson!

最後まで読んでいただき、どうもありがとうございます。皆さまにまたお会いできるのを楽しみにしています。よろしくお願いいたします！

★MY PREVIOUS NEWSLETTER CAN BE SEEN HERE

★CALENDAR

■ ~September 2 / Masami Teraoka: Select Works (1972-2002) from PrivateCollections in SF

■ September 1 ~ 10 / Japan Film Festival of SF

■ September 9 & 10 / J-POP Summit in SF

■ September 10 / Matcha Festival in SF

■ ~September 23 / Sachiko Miki: “The Visitor” in SF

■ ~September 23 / Artist Talk with Masako Miki in Berkeley

■ ~ October 1 / “Flower Power” in SF

■ ~ October 7 / “Earth and Reveries” in Berkeley