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| Japanese Sumi Art: The Beauty of Nature |
 Translated as ‘black ink painting’, the intriguing art of sumi-e has been widely praised for its timeless elegance and its ability to capture the essence of a subject matter with a few eloquent strokes. Though simple in appearance, every brush stroke applied is a meaningful gesture in dialogue between the artist and the stroke.
In this exhibition, sumi-e specialist Hiroko Nagafuchi and her students will exhibit their paintings at the Japan Foundation gallery from 8 – 23 March. Nagafuchi will also be running workshops for those visitors who’d like to try their hand at sumi-e, the workshops will be held over two sessions on Saturday 13 March at 11am or 1pm. For further details including cost and booking details please click here. |
| When: |
8 – 23 March 2010 |
| Where: |
Meet the Artists: Friday 12 March, 6.30pm – 8pm |
| Workshops: |
Saturday 13 March, 11am or 1pm |
| Admission: |
*Exhibition is free
Workshop - $15 General/ $10 Japan Foundation Members |
| Where: |
Japan Foundation Gallery
Mon – Fri & Saturday 13 March (closed 22 March), 11am to 4pm |
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| Further details online, click here |
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| Gazing at the Contemporary World: Japanese Photography from the 1970s to the Present |
 Already having travelled to Lithuania, Germany, Uzbekistan, Italy, Egypt, Latvia, Jordan, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia, Gazing at the Contemporary World: Japanese Photography from the 1970s to the Present will turn Sydney’s Japan Foundation Gallery into its new home from 22 February – 4 March.
Curated by Rei Masuda, Chief Curator of the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, it features 76 photographs showing a panoramic view of Japan’s changing society and landscape. Internationally renowned Nobuyoshi Araki, Shomei Tomatsu and Daido Moriyama are among the 23 featured photographers, with stills that capture the changes that have occurred over the past 30 years. |
| When: |
22 February - 4 March 2010 |
| Where: |
Japan Foundation Gallery, Mon – Fri , 11am to 4pm |
| Admission: |
Free |
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| Further details online, click here |
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| Eigo Rakugo – Japanese comedy performance in English |
 English Rakugo returns to Sydney! Rakugo performer Katsura Asakichi has been performing in English since 2000 and will regale Sydney audiences with the Japanese art of ‘sit-down’ comedy this April.
Rakugo is a traditional form of comic storytelling which dates back more than 300 years. Performers use facial expressions, changes of voice and mannerisms to portray different characters and comical situations drawing on everyday life.
Fresh from a tour of Australian cities including performances at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Katsura Asakichi’s unique brand of comedy will be sure to make you laugh until you cry. Don’t miss out on this chance to see rakugo in action in English. |
| When: |
Thursday 1 April 2010, 6.30pm (for 7pm start) – 8pm |
| Where: |
Eastern Avenue Auditorium, Eastern Avenue, University of Sydney |
| Admission: |
Free. Bookings essential.
RSVP reception@jpf.org.au or phone 02 8239 0055 |
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| For full details including performance dates around Australia, click here |
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| The Japanese art of oral storytelling and the Australian connection – Rakugo Lecture by Dr Ian McArthur |
 As a precursor to the Eigo Rakugo performance, The Japan Foundation, Sydney presents an introduction to rakugo. Dr Ian McArthur, a leading expert in rakugo, will give a lecture discussing the art of rakugo and its surprising link to Australia. Dr McArthur will also demonstrate rakugo techniques followed by a question and answer session with the audience. |
| When: |
Friday 26 March 2010, 6pm (for 6.30 start) – 8pm |
| Where: |
Multipurpose Room, The Japan Foundation, Sydney |
| Admission: |
Free. Bookings essential.
RSVP reception@jpf.org.au or phone 02 8239 0055 |
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| Further details online, click here |
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| Japanese Cinema |
 3 March: All About Our House (2001, PG)
17 March: The Twilight Samurai (2002, M)
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| Further details and synopses online, click here |
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| Facetnate! 2010 – Applications close 19 March |
In February 2008, the Japan Foundation, Sydney, launched Facetnate!, a support program for new visual artists, with a vision to further cultural exchange through contemporary arts.
We are now accepting proposals for the Facetnate! 2010 program. Australia-based emerging visual artists and/or curators are welcome to apply.
Proposals will be for visual art works - fine art, craft, film, new media, or other visual art – and should clearly demonstrate a strong Japan influence. Successful applicants will be required to coordinate a solo/group exhibition or event as part of a collective project, which will run for the duration of 2010, following a launch in July.
The deadline for proposals is Friday 19 March 2010.
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| For further details and to obtain an application form, please click here |
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| Happy Family Plan DVD release and new competition |
 The wait is over! Our two-disc special edition DVD of Happy Family Plan goes on sale on 24 March 2010. The DVD will be available for sale at selected retailers and online, click here for details on how to buy.
To celebrate the release of the DVD we are launching a new competition. For the chance to win Madman DVDs go to the Happy Family Plan website and submit your idea for a quirky Japanese game show! |
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| New Voices 3 – Published in print and online |
 The third volume of New Voices, The Japan Foundation, Sydney’s academic journal has been published and is now available in print and online. The journal aims to support emerging Japanese studies scholars by providing a platform for the promotion of outstanding research by students and early career researchers. New Voices Volume 3 contains articles adapted from recent Honours and Masters theses of students from Australian universities. |
| For further details and to view the journal in full, please click here |
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| New Voices 4 – Call for papers |
The Japan Foundation, Sydney is now seeking submissions for New Voices Volume 4. We are currently soliciting original papers from recent Honours and Masters graduates who completed their Honours or Masters thesis at an Australian or New Zealand University between January 2007 and December 2009.
The deadline for submissions is 31 July 2010.
For further details and an information package click here or contact the Japan Foundation, Sydney (Japanese Studies & Intellectual Exchange Department) on Ph: 02 8239 0055 or email: newvoices@jpf.org.au |
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| New acquisitions |
| A list of newly acquired titles in February is now available - New item section. |
| A pickup from new acquisitions – February 2010 |
 Japan, sport and society : tradition and change in a globalizing world / edited by Joseph Maguire and Masayoshi Nakayama.
London : Routledge, 2006.
ISBN: 0-7146-8293-4
Call #: 780.13 JAP
Evolving for centuries in relative isolation, sport in Japan developed a unique character reflective of Japanese culture and society. Japan, Sport and Society is comprised of ten essays by Japanese authors and divided into three parts according to area of interest as follows: 1. Making of sport and modern Japanese society, 2. Social reconstruction, reproduction, and sport, and 3. Modernization, globalization and sport: a critical examination.
Click image to enlarge. |
| Read more online, click here |
 Socializing identities through speech style : learners of Japanese as a foreign language / Haruko Minegishi Cook.
(Second language acquisition ; 32)
Bristol, U.K. : Multilingual Matters, c2008.
ISBN: 978-1-84769-100-2
Call #: 810.13 COO
Drawing on the perspective of language socialisation and a theory of indexicality, this book explores ways in which learners of Japanese as a foreign language and their Japanese host families socialise their identities through style shift between the masu and plain forms in a homestay context. Qualitative analysis of dinnertime conversations demonstrates how learners are implicitly and explicitly socialised into the norms of style shift in Japanese in interaction with their host family members.
Click image to enlarge. |
| Read more online, click here. |
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| Library Calendar |
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| -Shaded days indicate the library is closed. |
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 |
| For more details, click here |
| Library Website |
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| Japanese Foreign Policy Lecture and Book Launch – Dr Kyoko Hatakeyama |
 In a lecture entitled ‘Japan at a Foreign Policy Crossroad: New Direction or More of the Same’, Dr Kyoko Hatakeyama will discuss the possible changes in Japanese foreign policy under the new government led by the Democratic Party of Japan. The lecture will also include the launch in Australia of ‘Snow on the Pine: Japan’s Quest for a Leadership Role in Asia’, co-authored by Dr Hatakeyama and Dr Craig Freedman of Macquarie University. Audience members will also have the chance to win a Sony Cybershot camera and two signed copies of ‘Snow on the Pine: Japan’s Quest for a Leadership Role in Asia’.
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| When: |
Thursday 11 March 2010, 6pm – 8.30pm |
| Where: |
Blake Dawson, Level 36, Grosvenor Place, 225 George St, Sydney |
| Admission: |
Free. Bookings Essential. |
| RSVP: |
craig.freedman@efs.mq.edu.au or phone 02 9850 7444 |
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| Symposium - Japanese Communities in Transition: Australia 2010 |
| The Japanese Studies Centre at Monash University presents a symposium exploring aspects of Japanese settlement issues in Australia. The papers will showcase research on areas such as Japanese international students, senior members of the Japanese community, intermarriage and Japanese working holiday makers. |
| When: |
Saturday 13 March 2010, 9.30am – 5pm |
| Where: |
Japanese Studies Centre, Building 54, Monash University, Clayton Campus |
| Registration: |
Please contact japanese.studies.centre@arts.monash.edu.au by Friday 5 March |
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| Further details online, click here |
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| The Art of Utamaro Film Series – Art Gallery of NSW |
In conjunction with the ‘Hymn to Beauty: The Art of Utamaro’ exhibition, the Art Gallery of NSW is hosting a free series of Japanese films through March and April. Pictures of the Floating World presents classic cinema by some of Japan’s most significant directors. The films depict life in the great urban centres in the Tokugawa period and the floating world of beautiful women, artists, courtesans, actors, landscapes and samurai warriors. |
| For further details and a list of films and screening dates, click here |
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Around Australia is a list of Japan-related events being held around the country. The Japan Foundation, Sydney is not affiliated with these events unless otherwise noted, and is not responsible for these events or the content of linked websites.
For further details on any of these events, please contact the event organisers directly. |
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| Contemporary Japanese Fashion and FRUiTS Exhibitions |
| Lake Macquarie City Art Gallery’s current exhibitions include ‘FRUiTS: Tokyo street style – photographs by Shoichi Aoki’ and ‘Contemporary Japanese Fashion: the Gene Sherman Collection’, including pieces by Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto and Akira Isogawa. |
| When: |
5 February – 14 March 2010 |
| Where: |
Lake Macquarie City Art Gallery, First Street, Booragul, NSW |
| Admission: |
Free |
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| Further details online, click here |
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| The Endless Garment Exhibition |
The Endless Garment celebrates the virtuosity and future directions of the new craft of machine knitting which is changing the way fashion is designed and made. The exhibition will showcase the work of 10 Australian and international designers, including Issey Miyake and Yoshiki Hishinuma.
Dai Fujiwara, Creative Director of ISSEY MIYAKE Creative Room, will give a special public lecture at Storey Hall on 17 March from 6-8pm. |
| When: |
12 February – 21 March 2010 |
| Where: |
RMIT Gallery, 344 Swanston Street, Melbourne |
| Admission: |
Free |
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| Further details online, click here |
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| Hymn to Beauty: The Art of Utamaro – Art Gallery of NSW |
 The ukiyo-e woodblock print is undoubtedly one of the most recognisable of Japan’s diverse art forms, and Kitagawa Utamaro (1753?-1806) is its quintessential exponent. Already celebrated as a master of the ukiyo-e print during his lifetime in late 18th-century Japan, he was introduced to the West at the turn of the 20th century as a painter of the Green Houses (Yoshiwara pleasure quarters).
Featuring around 80 prints from the renowned collection of the Asian Art Museum, National Museums in Berlin, this exhibition is the first extensive survey of Utamaro’s work in Australia and also includes work by his contemporaries and followers.
Click image to enlarge. |
| When: |
13 February 2010 – 2 May 2010 |
| Where: |
Upper Asian Gallery, Ground Level, Art Gallery of NSW, Art Gallery Road, The Domain, Sydney |
| Admission: |
Adult $8, Member/Concession $5, Family $20 |
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| Full details online, click here |
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| Global Voices from Japan Column Contest |
| Global Voices from Japan invites writers with an interest in Japan to submit articles to the ‘Japan Through Foreign Eyes’ column contest. The columns may be on a wide variety of subjects from current affairs to cultural issues and personal opinion. Major prize winners will be awarded cash prizes and winning articles will be published on the Global Voices from Japan website and distributed worldwide through the Kyodo news network. The deadline for submissions is 31 March 2010. |
| Full details online, click here |
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ISSUE 27
MARCH 2010 |
In this issue:
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| The
Japan Foundation, Sydney |
Shop 23, Level 1
Chifley Plaza
2 Chifley Square
SYDNEY NSW 2000 |
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| Art
& Culture Dept. |
| Phone:
(02) 8239 0055 |
| Fax:
(02) 9222 2168 |
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| Japanese
Studies & Intellectual Exchange
Dept. |
| Phone:
(02) 8239 0055 |
| Fax:
(02) 9222 2168 |
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| Japanese
Language Dept. |
| Phone: (02)
8239 0077 |
| Fax: (02)
9222 2169 |
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| Library |
| Phone:
(02) 8239 0011 |
| Fax:
(02) 9222 2164 |
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