The Kumamoto Artpolis exhibition finished on the 27th of September at both the Japan Foundation Gallery and the Tusculum, home of the Australian Institute of Architects.

On Friday 19 September, Professor Tom Heneghan, Chair of Architecture at Sydney University and a contributor to the Kumamoto Artpolis project, gave a talk at the Japan Foundation entitled ‘Constructing Japan’. It was a wonderful complement to the exhibition itself, as Professor Heneghan gave many insights into the designs of particular structures, and how much consideration had been given to environmental impact, functionality and enjoyment for future users of the buildings.

In June this year, the Japan Foundation hosted an international program entitled ‘Environment: Symbiosis with Nature, and a Sustainable Society’. The project was organised as part of the JENESYS (Japan - East Asia Network of Exchange for Students and Youths) Program with activities taking place in Tokyo, Takamatsu and Kyoto.
Program participant, Danielle Domone from Green Capital - Total Environment Centre provides us with a report on the project activities and her impressions of the program.

From this issue, Sensei’s Pages is now only available online. We have used this opportunity to update our web site and web resources. In this issue we would like to introduce our online web resources and suggest some ideas for using them.

Language Consultants at the Japan Foundation Sydney have now created Stage 3 of the Online Basic Course. This course is the next step from Stage 2 and will revise and build on grammar and vocabulary learnt in Stage 2. The format and activities will be similar whilst the content and level of difficulty will be a continuation from Stage 1.

The 8 units are:
1. Year End Cleaning
2. Shopping
3. Mysterious Old Woman
4. Asking The Way
5. Tatsuya’s Birthday
6. Wedding Anniversary
7. Class Reunion
8. Revision Test

The Japan Foundation will hold an Intensive Seminar for Senior Secondary Teachers of Japanese from 19 to 22 January 2009. Applications are open to high school teachers of years 10-12 and must be submitted through Educational Authorities in each state by the end of October 2008.

Manga de manabu Nihongo kaiwajutsu = Using Manga to Improve your Japanese Conversation Skills / Kaneko Shirō … [et al.].
Tōkyō : Aruku, 2007.
ISBN: 978-4-7574-1108-1
Call #: 817.8 MAN

The Library’s opening days for September -October are as follows:

Opening hours:
Mon-Fri (except Wed): 11.00 am - 5.30 pm
Wed: 11.00 am - 6.00 pm
Sat (every third week): 11.00 am - 4.00 pm
Sun: Closed

There is a book returns chute at the library entrance.  It is available during the Chifley Plaza building operation hours:
Mon-Fri: 6.30 am - 10.00 pm
Sat : 8.30 am - 10.00 pm
Sun/Public Holidays: Closed

Yokohama Triennale 2008, Japan’s largest international contemporary art exhibit, began on 13 September in the city of Yokohama.

The theme of this year’s exhibition is ‘Time Crevasse’ and under this theme, works by 74 artists from 25 different countries and regions will be exhibited, including large scale installations, film and videos, photography, sculpture and live performances.

This is an amazing showcase of a diversified world to be woven together by renowned artists from all corners of the globe.

Photo by Ryoji Watabe　Courtesy of Shiseido Gallery

The Kanagawa Biennial World Children’s Art Exhibition encourages the dreams and creativity of children who will be the leaders of the future. By inviting children aged between 4 and 15 worldwide to submit an artwork, this event fosters further understanding of the world’s diverse cultures and differences in global lifestyles.

Born and raised in Japan, Ken Yonetani, who now lives and works in Australia, is known for his fragile sugar sculptures and ceramic panels. He has been selected to represent Australia in the 2009 Venice Biennale. These incredibly fragile works remind us of our precious reefs and marine life affected by the heating of our oceans.

Japanese violin virtuoso Aiko Goto appears courtesy of the Australian Chamber Orchestra of which she has been a member since 1998.
Join Aiko as she celebrates ten years in Australia and prepare to be amazed with her mastery of the violin.

Since the 12th century, The Tale of Genji has inspired Japanese artists to visualise the fascinating world of the story’s main character the Shining Prince (Hikaru Genji) in countless hand scrolls, folding screens, hanging scrolls and albums. This exhibition features about 70 works drawn from the Gallery’s collection as well as loans from other Australian major public and private collections of Japanese art and aims to show the imaginative power of Japanese artists in adapting the classical theme on various media.

How do we define a piece of literature as an enduring classic? Does it depend on the characters? Does it depend on the descriptive language and sense of place? Does it depend on its cultural influence? If these things define a classic then The Tale of Genji most certainly fits the bill. If only in terms of longevity then The Tale of Genji wins hands down, as 2008 marks the 1000th anniversary since references to the tale first appeared in recorded history.