SAVE THE DATE; Baseball: Twins vs.Texas Rangers

Posted by Kanna on Mar 13, 2012 in Events, Featured, General | 0 comments

BASEBALL: TWINS VS. TEXAS RANGERS

Date:  Saturday, April 14th, 2012

Game Time:   12:10pm

Seats:   Home Plate View (HPV) Upper deck.

Join JASM in a group outing to see the Twins play against the Texas Rangers and their new Japanese ace pitcher, Yu Darvish!  Darvish used to play on the Nippon Ham Fighters and was quite a sensation in Japan. Tickets are $25 each and are limited (this is a discounted group price!)

Please *RSVP with an advanced purchase by Wednesday, April 4th.  JASM members will sit together and to cheer on the home team. Go Twins!

RSVP by Paypal, phone (612-627-9357), or e-mail (jasm@us-japan.org)

Number of tickets

1 – $25.00 USD 2 – $50.00 USD 3 – $75.00 USD 4 – $100.00 USD 5 – $125.00 USD 6 – $150.00 USD 7 – $175.00 USD 8 – $200.00 USD 9 – $225.00 USD 10 – $250.00 USD

Attendee name(s)

SAVE THE DATE; Annual Meeting in April

Posted by Kanna on Mar 13, 2012 in Events, General | 0 comments

ANNUAL MEETING

Date: Tuesday, April 3rd, 2012

Time: 6:30pm

Place: Riverplace Conference room, 1st floor (near Kikugawa)
43 Main St SE Minneapolis, MN 55414

Plan to come to the JASM Annual Meeting to hear about the past year and to learn about the plans and goals for the 2012 year, our 40th Anniversary. New JASM members are especially welcome to this event for the opportunity to network and meet other JASM members in an informative meeting. We welcome both corporate and individual members to attend this important JASM gathering. Light refreshments will be served. Please *RSVP by Thursday, March 29th. Meeting is expected to last between 45 minutes to an hour, with independent socializing and dining at Kikugawa afterwards.

Kizuna-One Year Later

Posted by Kanna on Mar 8, 2012 in Events, General | 0 comments

Please join the gather to show support for the victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. Meet at the Spirit of Peace statue and we will fold cranes for hope and peace.

When; Saturday, March 10th
Where; Lyndale Park Peace Garden (4214 Roseway Road, Minneapolis, Minnesota)
Time;6pm-9pm
Free Admission

Please bring some candles for lightning to commemorate the souls of numerous quake victims, 15,645 people at present.

The 6th Kanna Club in March

Posted by Kanna on Mar 6, 2012 in Events, Featured | 0 comments

RSVP NOW!
The January Kanna Club was at the Sajiya Restaurant in St. Paul with 28 participants coming out to partake in delicious food and good company.  It was a memorable event that welcomed many new faces and JASM members as well.

Unfortunately, we canceled the February Kanna Club, although we will be back on March 20th at Kikugawa. More information will be given on this page next month and also in the March JASM Newsletter!

What is Kanna Club?

!! RSVP NOW !! 

Please use this form for reserve your seat.

Sign up early to make sure we have enough room for you! We look forward to welcoming you on the 24th!

Kanna Club Registration

JASM member $10.00 USD Non-member $12.00 USD

Arranged by Kanna Sato and Liz Brailsford

Kizuna Project(Pictures from Children at affected areas)

Posted by Kanna on Mar 6, 2012 in Events, Featured, General | 1 comment

The Kizuna project, supported by Consulate General of Japan at Chicago, is an exhibition of pictures drawn by children from the areas effected by the Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan.

We would like to share the thanks and appreciation of these children and their families to all who helped and donated last year.

Students from six different elementary schools from the towns of Onagawa, Miyagi Prefecture; Matsushima-City in the Nobiru area, Miyagi Prefecture; and the village of Iitate, Fukushima Prefecture drew pictures. The themes are “Thank you, people from around the world”, “Myself in 10 years”, and “Things I want to do”. These pictures were displayed with encouraging photos and messages from around the world at Global Festival Japan in Tokyo – Hibiya park and at World Collaboration Festival in Nagoya.

Japan America Society of Minnesota would like to express “Thank you” to everyone who supported the Japan Earthquake and Tsunami relief efforts by displaying these pictures at Japanese Restaurants and Japanese item stores that are currently contributing to JASM.

We thank our corporate members for supporting this project. Please visit these Japanese Restaurants and Japanese item stores, and please enjoy the children’s art full of their hopes.  This exhibition will be held from March 19th until 31st at the venues below.

-Kikugawa at Riverplace(43 Main Street SE  Minneapolis, MN 55414 /#612-378-3006)

-Sakura St.Paul (350 Saint Peter St # 195  Saint Paul, MN 55102/#651- 224-0185)

-Tomodachi Rosedale Center (156 Rosedale Shopping Center  Roseville, MN 55113/#651-631-1777)

-Origami Minneapolis Downtown(30 North 1st Street  Minneapolis, MN 55401/#612- 333-8430

New books in the JASM Library!

Posted by Kanna on Feb 23, 2012 in Gallery, General | 0 comments

The New Japanese novels translated in English were donated by JLPP (Japanese Literature Publishing Project; 現代日本文学の翻訳・普及事業）to the JASM Library.

The New Books are….

JASM library is housing a lot of kinds of books. All JASM members are able to borrow these books. Please come to the JASM office and enjoy the collection!

How to be a JASM member?

Learn about JLPP; Japanese/English

JASM Office
Riverplace 43 Main Street S.E.,
Minneapolis, MN 55414

Great Success of J-Quiz

Posted by Kanna on Feb 22, 2012 in Events, Featured, Fundraising | 1 comment

On Saturday, February 18^th, J-Quiz, the Upper Midwest High School Japan Language and Culture Competition, was held at Normandale Community College in Bloomington. Students from high schools in Minnesota were invited to compete in this competition.  8 high schools, 83 students and 30 teams competed this year for the Grand Prize: a trip to Washington, D.C. to attend the Sakura Festival and to compete in the National Japan Bowl. Like the J-Quiz, this nationwide contest tests high school students in their Japanese language and culture skills. Participating in this program can have a lasting impact on the lives of young people.

In order to make this program possible, JASM need your help to raise $10,000 to fund the competition,  and to send the winning students to Washington, D.C, April 12-14, 2012. Students and teachers value the trip as a unique incentive for students to study Japanese and for schools to continue offering courses in Japanese at the high school level.

Please help us with a donation! For more information, call the JASM office at 612-627-9357.

Winners of 2012

Level2 Edina high school in Minnesota

Level3 Shakopee high school in Minnesota

Level4 Memorial high school in Wisconsin

Also, we would like to thank  corporate sponsors which accepted to support this program :

Andersen Windows,  Delta Airline, Dorsey & Whitney, Electromed, Inc.,  McQuay International,  Mall of America,  Taiyo International,  Tomodachi,  Lion Precision,  Hubbard Broadcasting, Inc., Dunn Bros Coffee, Kikugawa Japanese Restaurant,  Fujiya Japanese Restaurant,  Origami Japanese Restaurant,  Japan Foundation in Los Angles,  

The 5th Kanna Club

Posted by Kanna on Jan 18, 2012 in Events, Featured | 6 comments

The January Kanna Club will be held on Tuesday, January 24th, at Saji Ya in St. Paul.  The doors will open at 5:30 pm, and the program will run from 6-8 pm.  For this Kanna Club, there will be games! Registration will start on the 16th of January, so sign up early to make sure we have enough room for you! We look forward to welcoming you on the 24th!

The Bonus question for the month is:  The Japan Soccer Association and Wakayama Kumano-Nachi Shrine contain a symbol of a bird. What is the name of this bird?

What is Kanna Club!?

Price: $10 members, $12 non-members 

Japanese Movie Information

Posted by Kanna on Jan 18, 2012 in Featured, General | 0 comments

Norwegian Wood:Japanese Movie Comes Town!

**Special price of $6 for JASM member!!
For Immediate Release

Minneapolis, MN, January 17, 2012 – The Film Society of Minneapolis St. Paul presents Norwegian Wood, showing theatrically on Screen 3 at St. Anthony Main Theatre Fri, Jan 27 through Thu, Feb 2. The film is based on Haruki Murakami’s bestselling novel Norwegian Wood, published in 1987 and since translated into 33 languages.

ノルウェーの森：Norwegian Wood tells the story of a teen romantic triangle set in tumultuous 1960′s Tokyo. Beautifully directed by Tran Anh Hung (Academy Award nominee for The Scent Of Green Papaya and Golden Lion winner for Cyclo), the cast includes Japanese rising star Kenichi Matsuyama (Death Note, Detroit Metal City) and Oscar-nominee Rinko Kikuchi (Babel), alongside newcomer Kiko Mizuhara. Mark Lee Ping Bin (In The Mood For Love) provides the gorgeous cinematography; and the genius soundtrack for string quartet and orchestra was composed by Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood, known for his outstanding work on There Will Be Blood (2007).

Set in a time of global instability, Haruki Murakami’s Norwegian Wood pulls three young people into an emotional story of loss and heartbreak. As students around the world unite to overthrow the establishment, Toru Watanabe’s personal life is similarly in tumult. At heart, he is deeply devoted to his first love, Naoko, a beautiful, intelligent and introspective young woman, whose angst lays the groundwork for Watanabe’s inner conflict. Their complex bond was forged by the tragic death of their best friend years before, and Watanabe lives with this memory and an influence of death everywhere. That is, until the outgoing, vivacious, supremely self-confident Midori marches into his life, and Watanabe must choose between his past and his future.

Norwegian Wood, Director Tran Anh Hung, 133 min, Japan, 2010,

In Japanese with English subtitles.

Showing – Fri, Jan 27 through Thurs, Feb 2

The Film Society of Minneapolis St. Paul presents the very best of national and international independent cinema on Screen 3 at St. Anthony Main Theatre, 115 SE Main Street, Minneapolis, MN 55414. www.mspfilmsociety.org 

J-Quiz Japanese Competition Quiz for High School Students

Posted by JASM Interns on Dec 19, 2011 in Events, Featured | 2 comments

On Saturday, February 18, 2012, high school students from all over Minnesota and Wisconsin will gather together to put their knowledge of Japanese Language and Culture to the test!
 
Teams of students from each school will compete in 3 levels of difficulty.  Students will first write an essay, then participate in a preliminary round of questions regarding Japanese Language and Culture. The winners are sent to Washington D.C. to compete in the national Japan Bowl and attend the Sakura Festival.
 
This year again, we are inviting family of the students, and any interested parties to come and watch the finals of J-Quiz!  Please come and support your student, or all students with an interest in Japan.
 
There will also be a Flea Market offering Japanese items to support the winners’ trip to Washington DC. If you wish to donate curios or Japanese crafts, please contact the JASM office. JASM is also recruiting event sponsors. For more information, please feel free to contact the JASM office.
 
When:
Saturday, February 18, 2012

7:30 am – 7:55 am Registration
8:00 am – 8:30 am Opening Ceremony
8:40 am – 11:40 am Project & Preliminary & Culture Class
12:30 pm – 3:20 pm Final Round
3:20 pm – 3:30 pm Closing Ceremony & Award Presentation

The Final Rounds begin at 12:30! All are invited to watch the finals!
(If you are a parent, please ask your student which level they are in, and at what time their final round is!)

Where:
Normandale Community College
France Avenue South and 98th Street in Bloomington

Entrance
Please use the main entrance in the College Center.