Since 2014 I have posted an annual list of 3.11 events in the Boston area but I have learned that most events have been discontinued. As far as I know, Tewassa, a Cambridge-based volunteer organization, is the only group holding a 3.11 memorial event in the Greater Boston area this year.
Harvard University has been hosting talks on 3.11 since the disaster. This year's talk, "Recovering Agency: The Politics of Reconstruction in Post-Tsunami Tohoku" occurred last month on February 13th and is available as a podcast. The talk was delivered by Andrew Littlejohn, postdoctoral tellow in the Program on U.S.-Japan Relations with Prof. Daniel Aldrich from Northeastern University serving as discussant. Prof. Aldrich's work on resilience in post-disaster recovery areas around the globe is really interesting and worth exploring if you have an interest in disaster recovering and building resilience even in non-disaster areas.
Tewassa,
a Cambridge-based volunteer group that produces "message quilts" for
schools and organizations in the Tōhoku region, will be holding their annual memorial event.
Date & Time
Saturday, March 10, 2018
2:00 - 4:00pm
Public Transit & Parking
GrayMist
is accessible by the 72 and 75 buses from Harvard Square. There is free
on-street parking along Huron Ave. and neighboring streets.
Students from Tohoku University of Art and Design installed an art and friendship exhibit titled "HOME" at the Boston Children's Museum to mark the
anniversary of 3.11.
"HOME” is an exhibit that explores the meaning and influence of home from the perspective of Japanese students. The exhibit will showcase artwork created by the students of the “Art Thinking” project team at Tohoku University of Art & Design (TUAD) in Japan. This is their sixth annual international friendship project bringing their art exhibition and hands-on activity programs to Boston.
Using the theme HOME, the artists encourage Museum visitors to explore how home shapes identity, a sense of belonging, and responsibility toward others. This gallery exhibition asks the visitors “What is the definition of home to you?” and “What makes your home special?”
In this gallery exhibition, located next to the Museum’s Japanese House exhibit, an authentic 100-year old house from Kyoto, Japan, the artworks will share the ideas of today’s multifaceted youth culture of Japan, and demonstrate each individual’s thoughts and narratives. Through their art expressions, they share their unique own identities and stories.
The Art Thinking project is part of TUAD’s school curricula and research to create a space for community building through art experience. Artists in this show are students from the Tohoku region of Japan, where many of them witnessed and experienced the loss of homes and hometowns during the earthquake and tsunami of 2011. Through the art, these students search for the meaning of home and welcome Museum visitors to share ideas.
Date & Time
Open through Sunday, September 30, 2018
Admission
Please see the museum's website for admission details.
Please note that "Adults unaccompanied by children must leave proper photo identification
at the Admissions Desk. Examples: State Driver’s License or Passport."
Parking
Parking around MIT is very challenging so if you can take the T you should. There are some two hour metered parking spaces on Vassar St. and nearby streets. The nearest parking garages are in Kendall Square.
[The Shining Star of Losers Everywhere] (ESPN)
Directed by Mickey Duzyj. 2016. USA. 19min.
In
2003, Japan was plunged into economic darkness, and people needed a ray
of hope. They found one in Haru Urara, a racehorse with a pink Hello
Kitty mask and a career-long losing streak.
[Wasabi]
Directed by Bunji Sotoyama. 2016. Japan. 29min.
Aoi
is a high school student living with her father, Kazuo, who suffers
from depression. Kazuo is unable to run his sushi restaurant due to his
illness, leaving Aoi no choice but to succeed her father to save the
restaurant. She turns to a magical baseball pitch to find her fate.
[Complex x Complex]
Directed by Miyuki Fukuda 2015 Japan. 24min.
Eighth
grader Yui longs to be a grown-up. She considers armpit hair the symbol
of adulthood, so her classmate Takeo—who has the thickest underarm hair
in the class—becomes her idol. Is it love? A coming-of-age story about
puberty, love, and halting conversation.
[I & Myself]
Directed by Hisanori Tsukuda. 2017. Japan. 5min.
Mizuho
came to Tokyo to make her dream a reality, but things have not been
going well for her. She finds herself thinking, "What did I come to
Tokyo for ... ?" Depressed and on her way home one day, she is stopped
by a lady, who, to her astonishment, is another version of herself.
[Sociopaths]
Directed by A.T.. 2015. Japan. 6min.
A girl encounters an android on the street. Unnerved by the experience,
she decides to follow the android to give it a "message.”
[Post X years later]
Directed by Hideaki Ito. 2015. Japan. 86 min.
In the aftermath of WW2 the Bikini Atoll was used by the United States as a testing ground for Nuclear and Thermonuclear technology until 1957. In 1954 the largest test - the detonation of a Hydrogen bomb in Operation Castle Bravo - resulted in a significant amount of fallout that impacted inhabited areas. Among the exposed in the incident was the Japanese fishing boat Daigo Fukuryu Maru with a crew of 23, who at the time was outside of the "danger zone" declared by the US Government. While history has documented the plight of the Daigo Fukuryu Maru, the reality is many other boats also outside the "danger zone" were similarly exposed. Now 59 years later, a documentary crew in Japan revisits the incident and interviews surviving fishermen, including some from other Japanese boats in the area, to bring to light an ordeal whose full impact has been kept in the dark by both the US and Japan governments.
The 9th annual Boston Asian American Film Festival runs from October 19th to the 22rd. Three Four films in this year's festival have Japanese American themes. I'm very excited that Japanese American filmmaker Konrad Aderer is returning to Boston for the New England premiere of Resistance at Tule Lake, this year's Centerpiece Film. The last time he was in Boston was five years ago when his first documentary, Enemy Alien, was co-presented by BAAFF at the 2012 Boston Palestine Film Festival. Check out the other films here.
It Is What It Is 2016 | 8 mins | Documentary| Japanese-Iranian
Directed by Cyrus Yoshi Tabar
It
is What it Is Filmmaker Cyrus Yoshi Tabar, a first-generation
Iranian-Japanese-American, has a photo of his grandparents holding him
as an infant. The photo captures his first and last encounter with
them. Seeking to understand the fracture in his family, Cyrus embarks
on a journey into the dark and nebulous corners of family history.
Fragmented and cloudy images of his family speckle his investigation
as he talks to his aunt and sister, but discovers that a family’s
narrative isn’t linear and that truth’s elusive.
Dorothy Takahashi, a Japanese American dancer born in 1917, performed under the stage name Dorothy Toy with her partner Paul Wing. During WWII, her family was incarcerated at Topaz. Dorothy escaped incarceration by going to New York with Paul. She was believed by many to be Chinese but gossip columnists outed her as Japanese, costing her film roles. Dancing Through Life tells her story.
NBC News: Dorothy Toy, the ‘Chinese Ginger Rogers,’ Found Stardom Amid World War II
99
year old Dorothy Toy Fong is a living dance legend. She began as a
child after a vaudeville theater manager noticed her dancing in front of
her parent's restaurant. During the 1930's, 40's and 50's, she teamed
up with Paul Wing and would eventually become the most famous Asian
American dance duo in this country's history. Known for dancing on her
toes, she developed a unique, athletic style of performing. Toy and Wing
were pioneers, performing on Broadway and in Hollywood films. They were
also the first Asian Americans to dance at the London Palladium.
Koji
Oshima is the proud owner of a small corner grocery store, but he must
now abandon everything and report to an assembly center. His belongings,
his business – everything must be sold or left behind, except what he
can carry in one large duffel bag.
Up against a wall, Koji
receives only one low-ball offer for his store, which he has no choice
but to accept. The lone bright spot during this turmoil is the
friendship Koji develops with a precocious nine-year-old girl. On the
day of his departure, however, Koji is saddened to learn that even this
friendship has been tainted by the larger forces of fear and wartime
hysteria.
This is director Konrad Aderer's second feature length documentary about the Japanese American incarceration. Although Konrad's family was incarcerated at other camps, he told me that he chose Tule Lake as the subject of his film because he said he's always been interested in the Japanese and Japanese Americans who resisted.
2017 | 80 mins | Documentary | Japanese-American
Directed by Konrad Aderer
RESISTANCE
AT TULE LAKE tells the long-suppressed story of 12,000 Japanese
Americans who dared to resist the U.S. government's program of mass
incarceration during World War II. Branded as 'disloyals' and
re-imprisoned at Tule Lake Segregation Center, they continued to protest
in the face of militarized violence, and thousands renounced their U.S.
citizenship. Giving voice to experiences that have been marginalized
for over 70 years, this documentary challenges the nationalist,
one-sided ideal of wartime 'loyalty'.
See trailers for 14 films in this year's festival:
Edit History
10/17/17 10:59pm: Added It Is What It Is. Not sure How I missed it!
Update 5/11/17: Due to the weather forecast for Saturday, the Brookline Cherry Blossom Festival organizers decided to move the matsuri indoors to the rain location at the Schluntz Gym.
Boston's two largest Japanese festivals are coming up! In the past five years attendance at both festivals has grown around six-fold. The Japan Festival Boston started off in Copley Square with 10,000 festivalgoers in 2012. Last year 60,000 people attended the festival on the Boston Common. Attendance at the Brookline Cherry Blossom Festival has grown from around 250 people in 2012 to over 1,500 last year.
Japan Festival Boston is New England's largest matsuri. This year there will be 76 regular booths, 37 food booths, 50 performances on 2 stages, 50 workshops, and a Cosplay Deathmatch. Check their Facebook page for updates.
As usual there will be lots of arts organizations and businesses, many of whom have participated in past years including Tewassa, GrayMist Studio & Shop, SAORI Worcester, Kaji Aso Studio, Chikako Mukai of Chikako Designs, Julie Kohaya of Heavenly Cranes Jewelry, and amezaiku artist Candy Miyuki (listed as Candy5). There will be at least a couple of businesses selling kimono and yukata – Nomura Kimono Shop from Japan and Ohio Kimono will both be back for their second year at the festival. An interesting new vendor is NPOReborn Kyoto which "works to nurture the independence of the women and young in developing countries through instruction of cloth fabrication and textile technology using donated Kimono from all over the Japan." See video from Kigali Today, although most of it is in Kinyarwanda, the interview with executive officer Yasuko Yamahira is in English. Another interesting new booth is a peace group called PeaceProject869. "We make opportunities to consider “What is Peace for you?” by [f]olding origami cranes for people whom we meet all over the world through our studying abroad."
The food offerings are growing more diverse and branching out from the Japanese community to include poke restaurants, fusion rice burgers, spam musubi, and more chain restaurants. This year's food vendors
include a mix of independent local businesses and chains with Boston locations that are based in Japan and other places, as well as a few others.
Daiei Trading, one of the largest Japanese food importers in the US, will also have two booths.
Although the organizers have increased the number of food booths – up from 22 last year – I'm not sure that will result in shorter lines since turnout is likely to be much higher than last year. In past years, the lines have been insanely long so you should take
snacks, especially if you're going with children or others who can't wait to eat. There are fast food places near
the Boston Common but most are on the other side of the Common away
from the festival. The festival has reduced the Fast Pass to $30 (it was $50 when they introduced it last year). This allows you to bypass the main line at a booth, although for popular booths there may still be a line for Fast Pass cardholders. It's well worth it if you're going with a family or group, but not very economical for individuals. Make sure to read carefully - there are restrictions.
See photos & video from 2016 Japan Festival Boston.
See photos from 2015 Japan Festival Boston.
See photos from 2014 Japan Festival in Boston.
How you can help
The festival is not cheap to produce and JREX is crowdfunding with Indiegogo (in past years they have used GoFundMe).
There is also a 21+ benefit concert with pop musician Shinji Harada on May 1st. Tickets are $10 for students, $20 for general admission and $60 for VIP.
Photography Note
I don't remember if this was on their website last year but I noticed this disclaimer at the bottom of the booth list. The festival is highly photographed by media, the festival organizers, and professional and amateur photographers and last year they used a drone to get footage so it's most likely impossible to avoid being photographed.
Disclaimer: **Visitors, stage performers, and others
at this festival will take videos, photos, and other media which may be
posted online, in print, and in other mediums. It is possible that
exhibitors’ booths may be captured in the aforementioned photos, videos,
etc. Please be advised that by agreeing to participate in this
festival, you are also consenting to being photographed and/or
videotaped.**
Japan Festival Boston Tips
The Japan
Festival Boston can be a challenging event for people with
disabilities. The crowds are enormous, it's not always easy to move
around, and while the booths are all set up along paved walkways, some
things (food booths, stages) are set up in grassy areas. Booths are often mobbed which can make shopping difficult. While people
with disabilities do attend (the Boston Higashi School
always has a booth) it may be difficult for people with mobility issues
and those who deal with crowd anxiety/phobia or have difficulty with loud noise. While the Boston Common is
the largest location the festival has been held at the crowds are still
intense. Advice I would offer to anyone, although especially those with
disabilities:
Even if you
stay for all seven hours of the festival you will not be able to do
everything. Pick the things you're most interested in seeing/doing
and
prioritize getting to those booths/workshops/performances. Expect that
everything will take longer than you think it will. It took me several
hours to walk around and see all the booths last year and I wasn't
stopping at all of them. I would not have been able to get food had a
friend not given me her Fast Pass.
In past locations it has been possible to hear the performances
while walking around the festival but I didn't find that to be the case
last year. If you want to see/listen to a performance you will need to
plan to be in the immediate vicinity of that stage.
If you plan to watch performances but aren't able to sit on the ground
or stand for long periods, you will need to bring your own chair, although many people stand so it can be difficult to see.
Parking under the Boston Common tends to fill up quickly and is
expensive so if you can take the T, it's a much better option. If you
have to drive, consider making a reservation via a site like Parkopedia or parking in a garage in
Chinatown. There is some on-street metered parking that is free on Sundays but it's very difficult to park in that area.
Check the
weather and dress appropriately. Dress in layers if you plan to stay
there all day. If you have a yukata or kimono feel free to wear it.
Pack sunscreen. You may also want to pack a hat.
Everyone in your party should have a fully charged cell
phone.
Pick a meeting time/location away from the main festival area if you get separated from your party. I would also recommend that if you are planning to go with small
children that you consider having them carry some kind of ID with your
contact info on it. Last year I saw a small child separated from his
adults. It appeared that he was too young to know their phone number and
may also not have been an English-speaker.
Unless you don't mind standing in line for over an hour, bring your own
food or buy a $30 Fast Pass.
Pack as large a bottle of water as you can carry.
There are portable toilets along Beacon and Charles Streets but if the crowds are dense it may take a while to walk there.
Bring cash and make sure you have a lot of small bills. I believe that all the food vendors are cash only. Some of the commercial vendors take credit cards, but not all.
If you plan to do a lot of shopping, bring a bag to carry your purchases. Some vendors will provide bags, but not all do.
Ittoku, the popular izakaya in Brighton who was the Brookline Cherry Blossom Festival's first food vendor beginning in 2014, will be back along with Itadaki, Japonaise Bakery, and Hana Japan
(who host their own Natsu Matsuri every August). New vendors this year are the Japanese cream puff chain, Beard Papa's, and local fish market, Sakanaya. The food lines aren't
as long as the Japan Festival Boston but if you have young children you
should plan ahead.
See photos from 2016 Brookline Cherry Blossom Festival.
See videos from 2015 Brookline Cherry Blossom Festival.
See photos from 2014 Brookline Sakura Matsuri.
Admission
Suggested Donation: $5 students, $10-20 families
All proceeds support the BHS Japan Exchange Program Scholarship Fund and promotion of the arts
Brookline Cherry Blossom Festival Tips
Brookline
High School is fully handicap accessible and the courtyard where the
festival is held is a small enough space that you can hear all of the
performances regardless of where you are (seeing might be harder if you're on the back end of a line or crowd). The crowd ebbs and flows and most people stay for the full four hours although at peak
times it could be challenging for people with crowd anxiety/phobia and
definitely for those with issues with noise.
Parking is very limited so take the Green Line if you can. The closest stop is Brookline Hills on the D Line. If you
have to drive, allow extra time to find parking. There is no parking lot - it's
all on street parking (non-metered).
If you have sensitive hearing, bring earplugs. Taiko drums are LOUD.
Hopefully it won't rain but if it does and the event is held in the gym
instead of the courtyard, it will be painful.
Check the
weather and dress appropriately. Dress in layers if you plan to stay
there all afternoon. If you have a yukata or kimono feel free to wear
it.
Pack sunscreen. Many parts of the courtyard are not in shade. You may also want to pack a hat. Sadly, not necessary this year. Forecast calls for rain so the matsuri will be indoors.
If you have seasonal allergies, medicate. I volunteered at the
Tewassa booth a couple of years ago and even though I was medicated I
was covered in pollen and itching when I left. There are a lot of trees
and other plant life in the courtyard.
The courtyard is concrete so you may want to bring your own chair or a blanket.
The food lines aren't as bad at the Brookline Cherry Blossom
Festival as
they are at the Japan Festival Boston but there are fewer options. If
you are coming with small children or finicky eaters, you should bring
snacks. If you come later, there is a chance that food will be sold out.
There are no restaurants within close walking distance of Brookline High School.
Pack a bottle of water.
There is access to bathrooms and water fountains inside Brookline High School.
Bring cash and make sure you have small bills. The food vendors are cash only and I believe the few other booths that sell or accept donations are also cash only.
Disclosure:
I would like to note that I am friends with some of the organizers of
both of these festivals, however I publicize them because they are the
largest Japanese cultural events in the Boston area, not just because my
friends organize them. :)
If you are aware of a 3.11 event that I have not listed, please post
a comment with a link to the event or details if the info isn't on a
public webpage. I will update this post if I learn of any other events.
Although the world's attention has moved on to other disasters, some
groups in Boston continue to be involved in educating the public and supporting Japan through
this crisis. If you are interested in learning
more, please consider attending one of these events. Events are listed in chronological order.
Update 3/1/17: I just learned that MIT Japanese Tea Ceremony will not hold their annual 3.11 Japan Memorial Charity remembrance and fundraising event this year.
Tewassa,
a Cambridge-based volunteer group that produces "message quilts" for
schools and organizations in the Tōhoku region, will be holding a memorial event.
Public Transit & Parking
GrayMist
is accessible by the 72 and 75 buses from Harvard Square. There is free
on-street parking along Huron Ave. and neighboring streets.
Children of the Tsunami Screening & Fundraiser for Ashinaga
Children of the Tsunami (watch for free on vimeo)
Directed & written by Dan Reed
2012 | Japan | 59 mins | Documentary
On March 11th 2011 Japan was hit by the greatest tsunami in a thousand years. Through
compelling testimony from 7-10 year-old survivors, this film reveals
how the deadly wave and the Fukushima nuclear accident have changed children's lives forever. The
story unfolds at two key locations: a primary school where 74 children
were killed by the tsunami; and a school close to the Fukushima nuclear
plant, attended by children evacuated from the nuclear exclusion zone.
The Tufts Japanese Culture Club's event is a fundraiser to benefit Ashinaga, a Japan-based non-profit that provides financial, educational, and emotional support to children worldwide "who have lost one or both parents as a result of illness,
accident/disaster, or suicide, as well as children who have a parent
with a disability that prevents them from working". Since 2011, the Tufts JCC* has been very active in fundraising and educating the Tufts community on the ongoing post-3.11 challenges.
Snack Sale & Crane Folding
Stop by the Mayer Campus Center to purchase mochi, cookies and rice crackers! JCC* students will also be folding origami cranes for a senbazuru (one thousand origami cranes) which will be installed later in the Tisch Library.
From 2011 to 2013, RYUSUKE HAMAGUCHI and Ko Sakai conducted a series of
interviews with residents in the Tohoku region of northern Japan, an
area heavily hit by both the earthquake and tsunami of March 2011. Their
research resulted in three films which have since come to be known as
the Tohoku Trilogy: The Sound of the Waves (Nami no oto 2011), Voices
from the Waves (Nami no koe 2013), and Storytellers (Utau hito, 2013).
In Voices from the Waves, residents from the region face the camera in
close-up view to deliver recollections of the earthquake and tsunami.
Centering on the rich regional folk tradition of storytelling, the film
explores the experience of discovery in the encounter between speaker
and listener. Through Hamaguchi’s lens, Voices from the Waves poignantly
showcases how a single event may live a thousand lives through the act
of telling and how different voices can render that one event into
similar yet unique pieces of storytelling. This interaction between
speaker and listener becomes an empowering and transformative process,
an affirmation of human resilience, and provides hope for recovery and a
return to normalcy in the region. (Screening time: 103 minutes,
Japanese with English subtitles)
Reischauer Institute Japan Forum special film presentation
Students from Tohoku University of Art and Design are coming to Boston Children's Museum for the fifth year to mark the anniversary of 3.11. For the third year the students will
have an art and friendship exhibit. The public is invited to attend the
exhibit opening. The exhibit is open through Monday, September 30, 2017. Children can meet the artists from Japan and engage in a
hands-on activity. See photos from 2014 (here and here)
when they had fun making monsters. The exhibit is brought to the museum
by artist Minatsu Ariga and her “ART THINKING” project team at the
university.
Exploring trains as a symbol of determination and kindness carrying HOPE to our Future!
This art exhibition “トレイン トレイン TRAIN TRAIN” invites visitors on an imaginary adventure to our future.
Trains
are not quitters. They just keep moving forward every day whether in
the rain, in the wind, against the summer heat, or against the winter
snow. Trains often remind us of the importance of hard work, patience,
tenacity, and willpower.
Trains carry many things and
people, and trains help them reach to their destinations. Trains remind
us of the importance of kindness, generosity, and compassion for all
humanities and the earth we live in.
In this art
exhibition, artists use “trains” as their storytellers and welcome us to
reflect our lives through exploring those stories. Where is your train
going? Between a station and a station, trains connect us together and
lead us to our tomorrow with hopes and dreams.... Please also tell us
your train stories. What is your train story like? Is it romantic,
dynamic, soulful, gentle...?
The artworks in this
exhibition are created by the members of the “ART THINKING” project team
at Tohoku University of Art & Design in Japan. After the
devastating earthquake and tsunami in their hometown in March 2011, they
decided to use the special power of ART to make the world a better
place and connect with many friends like you! So they bought this
exhibition to Boston as their fourth annual international friendship
making project.
Our hope is that this exhibition also brings
opportunities for the visitors to peek into today’s youth culture and
children’s experience in Japan. Visitors are encouraged to make
connections and share their own stories. Through this cross-cultural
experience in this art exhibition “トレイン トレイン TRAIN TRAIN”, we hope to
engage visitors in joyful discovery of learning and foster their
appreciation of the world.
Admission
Please see the museum's website for admission details.
Please note that "Adults unaccompanied by children must leave proper photo identification
at the Admissions Desk. Examples: State Driver’s License or Passport."
This
year is the fifth annual Cranes on the Square event organized by local
Japanese language teacher Timothy Nagaoka.
Volunteers will teach people how to fold origami cranes which
will form a temporary public art piece in Copley Square then be
collected and delivered to people in the disaster area. See photos from last year's event here.
Date & Time
Sunday, March 12, 2017
11:30am - 4:30pm
San Francisco, California, 1942.
Exclusion Order posted at First and Front Streets directing removal of persons of
Japanese ancestry from the first San Francisco section to be effected by the evacuation. Dorothea Lange, National Archives Identifier: 536017
Today is the 75th anniversary of the Day of Remembrance, the day President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which allowed the US government to incarcerate Americans and foreign nationals during WWII. The largest DOR event being organized in the Boston area by the New England chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League and the MIT Center for International Studies is on Saturday. There is also an event at Tufts on Thursday.
If anyone knows of any other DOR events happening later this month, please let me know and I will update this post. You can also submit events to the Never Again Facebook community that was put together by people in the national Japanese American community. The community is public but note that the Events page doesn't seem to be visible if you don't have a Facebook account.
Please
join Tufts Japanese Culture Club and Muslim Student's Association to
commemorate Day of Remembrance. Together, we remember the lives affected
and lost by Executive Order 9066, which President Franklin D. Roosevelt
signed and authorized the forced removal of 120,000 Japanese Americans
from their homes on the West Coast during World War II. Through our
personal stories of family members interned and Islamophobic violence
following 9/11, we strive to illuminate moments in American history in
which groups are casted as “enemy alien” and disloyal. We must view
today’s Executive Orders against immigration as fully connected to the
past.
This evening's event will feature:
- "PILGRIMAGE", a documentary by Tad Nakamura
that tells the inspiring story of how an abandoned WWII concentration
camp for Japanese Americans has been transformed into a symbol of
retrospection and solidarity for people of all ages, races and
nationalities in our post 9/11 world.
- PERSONAL STORY SHARING
about our families' experiences in internment and following 9/11. Hear
from Japanese Culture Club and Muslim Student's Association members, Anna
Kimura, Joseph Tsuboi, Chelsea Hayashi, Shaan Shaikh, and Nazifa
Sarawat.
The
panel will begin with reflections on the 75th anniversary of internment
of Japanese Americans, then assess and respond to issues raised by the
current wave of Islamophobia and xenophobia.
Parking & Transportation
Two hour metered street parking is limited due to construction and Cambridge tickets aggressively. There are several nearby parking garages, but all are expensive.
The 8th annual Boston Asian American Film Festival runs from October 20th to 23rd. This year's festival has films from a Japanese American filmmaker, a
Japanese-Brazilian filmmaker, a Japanese animator, and a film about a
local Japanese American mental health activist. Check out the other films here.
I'm really excited that Emerson College alum Matthew Hashiguchi's film Good Luck Soup will be screened for free at BAAFF! The film is being co-presented with Emerson's Bright Lights Series. Good Luck Soup is a transmedia documentary. Check out the film's interactive site. This is Matthew's second film at BAAFF. People Aren't All Bad with Yutaka Kobayashi was in the 2012 Shorts Program.
Directed by Matthew Hashiguchi 2016 | 70 mins | USA | Documentary
After
years of rejecting his Japanese heritage, filmmaker Matthew Hashiguchi
sets out on a humorous yet insightful journey to discover if his joyful
grandmother and other family members also struggled with their Japanese
American identities, just as he did while growing up in a predominantly
white neighborhood in the Midwest. Along the way, Matthew uncovers the
family’s decades-long struggle to assimilate into the Midwest and
obtains insightful, yet humorous wisdom from his grandmother on how she
overcame racial adversity after leaving the WWII Japanese American
Internment Camps.
Leandro Tadashi, a Japanese-Brazilian filmmaker, filmed Bá in Brazil. The full film can be seen on Vimeo (click the blue "CC" for subtitles in English, Japanese, Spanish, French and Portuguese!). I emailed with Leandro and learned that his grandmother, Yuriko Miamoto Shimata, plays Bruno's Bá. She also starred in his 2011 short Oyasuminasai. Unfortunately, Leandro won't be able to make it for the Q&A.
Bá
Written & directed by Leandro Tadashi 2015 | 14 mins | Brazil | Drama
Tells the story of a little Japanese-Brazilian boy named Bruno,
whose life is turned upside down when his "Bá" (from Bāchan, grandma in
Japanese) is brought to live in his house.
Pata
Directed by Kathryn Klingle
2016 | USA | 9 mins | Documentary
"Pata" explores what role chronic depression has played in the life of Pata Suyemoto--teacher, artist, mental health activist.
Asian CineVision has an interesting interview with Masayuki Kusaka, the producer of Harry on the Clouds. The film was originally produced as a music video for the Japanese band, RAM WIRE, with the title 僕らの手には何もないけど (Bokura no te ni wa nani mo naikedo) "Although there is nothing in our hands". They changed the soundtrack and sent it off to film festivals around the world. [Special thanks to Sachiko T for translation help!]
Harry on the Clouds
Directed by Aya Shiroi (城井文)
2016 | Japan | 4 mins | Drama (Animated)
Mother sheep can't wake up because Harry was gone. But Harry is looking his mother from the clouds.
See trailers for 16 films in this year's festival:
Directed by Shirley Kazuyo Muramoto-Wong
2014 | 56 mins | Documentary
“Hidden Legacy: Japanese Traditional Performing Arts in the World War
II Internment Camps” is the full title of this documentary, using
historical footage and interviews from artists who were interned to tell
the story of how traditional Japanese cultural arts were maintained at a
time when the War Relocation Authority (WRA) emphasized the importance
of assimilation and Americanization. Various essays and studies
concerning the camps have been published, but have focused on the
political and legal aspects of the internment, while hardly mentioning
cultural and recreational activities in the camps. When cultural and
recreational activities have been documented, they have focused on
American culture, such as baseball and swing music. This film will be
the first major presentation of the existence of traditional music,
dance and drama in the camps. It is possible only because Shirley
Kazuyo Muramoto-Wong has been searching, researching and collecting for
over 20 years information on who these artists were. She has collected
interviews, oral and visual histories, as well as artifacts from the
internees and relatives of internees, including teachers, students, the
performers, and the incredible artists who made instruments, costumes,
and the props needed for a full performance from scraps of wood,
toothbrush handles, gunny sacks, paint, and whatever they could scrape
up. Her own family’s history with the camps led her to become a kotoist
and teacher of the Japanese koto (13-stringed zither).
Very little is known of the existence of traditional Japanese
performance arts in the camps. The artists Muramoto-Wong has
interviewed are all Americans, all born here, but practiced Japanese
arts before the war, during, and after the war, because they loved the
art. This made them “social activists” in their own quiet way,
continuing the music and dance they loved, helping others to learn and
enjoy these arts, and to help draw their attention away from their
surroundings, giving them pride and self-esteem. Their efforts kept
Japanese cultural arts alive in our communities today.
We have interviewed 30 artists in the fields of music (koto, nagauta
shamisen, shakuhachi, shigin, biwa), dance (buyo, obon) and drama
(kabuki) who were interned at Tule Lake, Manzanar, Amache/Granada,
Rohwer, Gila River, and Topaz. We have interviewed Prof. Minako Waseda
of Geijutsu Daigaku University of Music and Arts, and Kunitachi College
of Music, both universities in Tokyo, whose research thesis,
Extraordinary Circumstances, Exceptional Practices: Music in Japanese
American Concentration Camps, had written the only scholarly work that
had been published on this subject. We are also interviewing students
of these arts in America, some who learned from these artists, and some
who are carrying on the tradition in our communities today, and some who
have taken this knowledge, and expanded creatively and artistically in
various imaginative ways.
Film locations include camps at Manzanar, Tule Lake, Heart Mountain;
locations in Japan, such as Osaka, Kyoto, 3 Tokyo music universities
(Tokyo Ongaku Daigaku, Geijutsu Daigaku, Kunitachi College of Music);
Cherry Blossom Festivals in San Francisco and Cupertino; San Jose Obon
Festival; Chidori Band 59th Anniversary Concert; Japanese American
Museum of San Jose; dance studio of Bando Misayasu (aka Mary Arii Mah),
and koto studio of Shirley Kazuyo Muramoto-Wong.
Event Information
Film screening followed by Q&A with creative director Shirley Kazuyo Muramoto-Wong and
actress Takayo Fischer with koto performance by Shirley Kazuyo Muramoto-Wong.
Date & Time
Monday, October 24, 2016
3:00 - 6:00pm
Location
UMass Boston
McCormack Hall, Ryan Lounge, Room M-3-721 (3rd floor)
Dorchester, MA 02125
Morrissey Satellite Lot (75 Morrissey Boulevard) Herb Chambers
property next to the Boston Globe building
St. Christopher’s Church across from the Bayside Lot
Admission
Free
Date & Time
Wednesday, October 26, 2016
7:00 - 9:00pm
Location
Wellesley College
Acorns House (building not on map - head toward the lake, pass Clapp Library and Acorns House is to the right of Harambee House)
106 Central Street
Wellesley, MA 02481
Date & Time
Thursday, October 27, 2016
6:30 - 8:30pm
Location
Brandeis University
Mandel Center for the Humanities, Room G12
415 South Street
Waltham, MA 02453
Directions/Parking
After 5pm visitors may park anywhere. Tower Lot is closest to the Mandel Center.
Admission
Free
Special thanks to Kimi Maeda for making the introductions that allowed us to get Hidden Legacy screened at Brandeis!
About the Creative Director
Shirley Kazuyo
Muramoto-Wong was raised in a musical family whose roots lie in the Chikushi
Kai School of kotoists in Japan. Her mother is a respected head of
the Chikushi Kai in the Bay Area, with close ties to her teachers in
Japan. Shirley was taught within that tradition, learning and constantly
performing the core of traditional pieces shared by all koto groups and
also the repertoire particular to the Chikushi Kai. Importantly, it is
a group which is also open to contemporary music for the koto, so that
her repertoire encompasses such works as the compositions of Tadao
Sawai, Katsutoshi Nagasawa and Shinichi Yuize. From that spirit of
open-mindedness (within tradition), Shirley also pursued her interest in
jazz and as it extends to the koto, and improvisation.
In
1976, Shirley received her “Shihan” degree (instructor’s license) with
“Yushusho” (highest) honors from the Chikushi School in Fukuoka, Japan,
and her "Dai Shihan" Master’s degree from the same school in 2000 for
her mastery of the koto.
A
dedicated musician for over 50 years, Shirley strives to involve
diverse genres of art and music in her performances. She teaches
private students, and has offered classes in koto music at public
schools and at universities, most notably classes at UC
Berkeley. Shirley has incorporated storytelling, poetry, hip-hop,
gospel, bluegrass, jazz, European classical, and has arranged world
songs from countries such as China, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Philippines and
so on, for koto, as well as performing and arranging traditional and
contemporary Japanese songs, and composing her own koto pieces. She
also is the leader of the world jazz fusion group, the Murasaki
Ensemble.
“The
koto is an extremely versatile instrument,” says Shirley. “Though it
seems limited and simple in its nature, it’s possible to extract a
myriad of textures and sounds through various techniques and even
percussive rhythms by incorporating the body of the instrument itself.
The koto is initially easy to play, but it really takes years of
practice to be able to produce a good sound.”
Shirley’s
koto influences include koto masters Katsuko Chikushi, Kimio Eto, Kazue
Sawai, and June Kuramoto. Her jazz influences come from the members of
the her jazz group, the Murasaki Ensemble, who are Vince Delgado on
percussion, Jeff Massanari on guitar, Matt Eakle on flute, and Alex Baum
on bass.
Because of Shirley’s versatility on the koto, she has performed for many notable people and celebrities, such as: Senator
Diane Feinstein, George Lucas/Lucas Films, former Prime Minister
Yasuhiro Nakasone, Walter Shorenstein, Larry Ellison and Mikael
Gorbachev. She has also performed at many eclectic events from the
Fillmore and Union Street Jazz Festivals to the AT&T Golf Tournament
hosted by Clint Eastwood, Christina Aguilera, and the Sacramento,
Marin, and Fremont symphony orchestras. Shirley has performed at
numerous community events, and given of her time to many of them,
including annual Cherry Blossom Festivals in San Francisco and
Cupertino, many Obon festivals in Oakland, Palo Alto, Mountain View and
San Jose, just to name a few. In 2012, Shirley was honored by the Hokka
Nichibei Kai Bunka Japanese American Cultural Association of America by
being inducted into their Hall of Fame.
Shirley has
been most interested in researching Japanese traditional performance
arts in the World War II concentration camps, after finding out that her
mother learned to play the koto from koto teachers at Topaz and Tule
Lake camps during WWII. In 2012, she was awarded a National Parks
Service, Japanese American Confinement Sites grant to turn her
decades-long research into a documentary film. The film, “Japanese
Traditional Performance Arts in the World War II Internment Camps”
completed in 2014, includes interviews and stories from 21 people who
experienced Japanese performing arts in the camps, or were taught by
teachers from the camps, archival photos as well as actual film footage
of performances in the camps. Hidden Legacy has
been screened publicly at numerous community showings, at universities
including UC Berkeley, UCLA, Stanford, Tokyo Arts, Waseda, Musashino and
Doshisha Universities, and aired on public TV across the United States
since its premiere.
Takayo Fischer
Actress
Takayo Fischer learned kabuki, buyō, and shamisen while she
was interned at the Rohwer War Relocation Center in Arkansas during
WWII. She is best known for her roles as Mistress Chang in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End and as Suzanne, the secretary to Brad Pitt's character, Billy, in the film Moneyball.
Takayo is active with the renowned Asian American theater organization
East West Players in Los Angeles and has acted on Broadway.
Tewassa,
a Cambridge-based volunteer group that produces "message quilts" for
schools and organizations in the Tōhoku region, will be holding their annual memorial event. 
