Students are seeing major changes to the language departments at Illinois College.
The school approved a Japanese floor on the third floor of Lincoln Hall due to healthy growth in the minor and a rise in student interest. After several years experiencing extremely low upperclassmen enrollment, the French major is however being eliminated.
The changes are part of a balancing act to accomodate rising interest in Japanese and still meet the needs of those who want to pursue French.
With Japan a major economic power in the world, the Japanese minor has seen a growth in student interest, said Jim Marshall, associate dean of the college.
“We’re dearly hoping for a major,” said Japanese instructor Mioko Webster. The school is seeking to add a new tenure-track professor to the Japanese program to offer more upper-level classes.
The Japanese floor follows after the Spanish and German houses on campus. The language houses are designed for students to have intensive experience learning a language and culture, and to provide programming and opportunities for the rest of the campus to learn about those cultures.
Students are supposed to speak Japanese on the floor, although there are varying levels of Japanese skills among the residents. The students asked for a Japanese house in the spring of 2009.
About 30 students are enrolled in the four offered Japanese courses, which range from beginner, intermediate, advanced and independent.
Showing posts with label japan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label japan. Show all posts
Monday, 12 October 2009
Tuesday, 22 September 2009
Japanese 'Book of Tea' translated into Arabic..
Abu Dhabi's KALIMA project announced publishing the translation of Japanese Okakura Kakuzo's "The Book of Tea" into Arabic for the first time.
The Japanese book is considered to be one of the most important classic works in the world, and has been translated since it was first written nearly a century ago to dozens of languages.
It is thought to be the first book dealing with the tea ritual and its philosophy in relation to Oriental culture and spirituality. In the book, Kakuzo shows how tea has affected nearly every aspect of Japanese culture, thought, and life.
The 1906 book had attempted to correct the lack of knowledge by Westerners regarding the significance of tea ceremonies in Japanese culture. He also sought to defend Japanese culture from wide misconceptions at the time.
"This book offers us a key lesson that motivates us to pay more attention to our deep-rooted identity, which is what the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH) sets to achieve in general, and an aim of KALIMA in particular," said Dr. Ali bin Tamim, Kalima Project Manager.
"The translation is only a thorough understanding of ourselves through the diverse contexts of others," he added.
The work, published in elegant copies that include pictures and illustrations, is translated by Samer Abu Hawwash, who has worked on a number of KALIMA translations. KALIMA, a translation initiative by ADACH, aims to provide Arab readers with the latest publications in the international scene.
It seeks to translate at least 100 books every year from world languages into Arabic.
The Japanese book is considered to be one of the most important classic works in the world, and has been translated since it was first written nearly a century ago to dozens of languages.
It is thought to be the first book dealing with the tea ritual and its philosophy in relation to Oriental culture and spirituality. In the book, Kakuzo shows how tea has affected nearly every aspect of Japanese culture, thought, and life.
The 1906 book had attempted to correct the lack of knowledge by Westerners regarding the significance of tea ceremonies in Japanese culture. He also sought to defend Japanese culture from wide misconceptions at the time.
"This book offers us a key lesson that motivates us to pay more attention to our deep-rooted identity, which is what the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH) sets to achieve in general, and an aim of KALIMA in particular," said Dr. Ali bin Tamim, Kalima Project Manager.
"The translation is only a thorough understanding of ourselves through the diverse contexts of others," he added.
The work, published in elegant copies that include pictures and illustrations, is translated by Samer Abu Hawwash, who has worked on a number of KALIMA translations. KALIMA, a translation initiative by ADACH, aims to provide Arab readers with the latest publications in the international scene.
It seeks to translate at least 100 books every year from world languages into Arabic.
Wednesday, 16 September 2009
Famous Japanese cartoonist disappears
Popular Japanese cartoonist Yoshito Usui, whose manga and animation series 'Crayon Shin-chan' has attracted a worldwide fan base, has gone missing on a hiking trip, police said Wednesday.
Usui, 51, left his home north of Tokyo Japan last Friday for a day-trip to mountains in nearby Gunma, a prefectural police official said.
But he has since been unaccounted for with calls to his mobile phone left unanswered, the official said. 'We are searching for him in the mountains.'
Usui made his debut as a manga author in 1987 and gained popularity in the 1990s with 'Crayon Shin-chan' featuring the daily life of Shinnosuke, a mischievous five-year-old Japanese boy.
'We are seriously worried,' said a spokesman for publisher Futabasha Publishers Ltd., which has released some of his comics.
Usui, 51, left his home north of Tokyo Japan last Friday for a day-trip to mountains in nearby Gunma, a prefectural police official said.
But he has since been unaccounted for with calls to his mobile phone left unanswered, the official said. 'We are searching for him in the mountains.'
Usui made his debut as a manga author in 1987 and gained popularity in the 1990s with 'Crayon Shin-chan' featuring the daily life of Shinnosuke, a mischievous five-year-old Japanese boy.
'We are seriously worried,' said a spokesman for publisher Futabasha Publishers Ltd., which has released some of his comics.
Thursday, 10 September 2009
Japanese fishing village goes ahead with dolphin hunt
A Japanese coastal town has gone ahead with its controversial dolphin hunt, shrugging off protests from animal-rights activists, local officials said Thursday.
Fishermen in Taiji town caught about 100 bottlenose dolphins and 50 pilot whales on Wednesday, in their first catch since the fishery season started on September 1, Wakayama prefectural official Yasushi Shimamura said.
They plan to sell about 50 dolphins to aquariums nationwide and release the remainder back into the sea, while the whale meat will be sold for human consumption, an official at a local fishermen's cooperative said.
The Japanese town's annual dolphin hunt drew international attention earlier this year after the release of award-winning eco-documentary 'The Cove', in which a team of film-makers covertly covered the event in graphic detail.
After the film's release, the Australian coastal city of Broome ended its sister-city relationship with Taiji to protest the hunt.
Town officials said they would not slaughter any of the dolphins caught on Wednesday, but denied it was due to international pressure.
"We didn't release the rest of the dolphins because there have been protests against dolphin hunting from animal rights activists," said a fisheries cooperative official, who declined to give his name. "From the viewpoint of resource control, we've been occasionally releasing them on our own judgement in the past."
Hunting dolphins and small whales is not prohibited by the International Whaling Commission's ban on commercial whaling, but Japan's Fisheries Agency restricts the practice by handing out annual quotas to several fishing towns.
This year, Taiji was allocated a quota of about 2,300 small cetaceans including dolphins, prefectural official Shimamura said. Cetaceans are largely- hairless aquatic mammals, such as dolphins, whales and porpoises.
The southwestern Japanese town has strongly defended its tradition of hunting whales and dolphins.
"People in Taiji, as well as Wakayama prefecture ... hope that animal rights activists understand the cultural difference between them and us," Shimamura said.
Fishermen in Taiji town caught about 100 bottlenose dolphins and 50 pilot whales on Wednesday, in their first catch since the fishery season started on September 1, Wakayama prefectural official Yasushi Shimamura said.
They plan to sell about 50 dolphins to aquariums nationwide and release the remainder back into the sea, while the whale meat will be sold for human consumption, an official at a local fishermen's cooperative said.
The Japanese town's annual dolphin hunt drew international attention earlier this year after the release of award-winning eco-documentary 'The Cove', in which a team of film-makers covertly covered the event in graphic detail.
After the film's release, the Australian coastal city of Broome ended its sister-city relationship with Taiji to protest the hunt.
Town officials said they would not slaughter any of the dolphins caught on Wednesday, but denied it was due to international pressure.
"We didn't release the rest of the dolphins because there have been protests against dolphin hunting from animal rights activists," said a fisheries cooperative official, who declined to give his name. "From the viewpoint of resource control, we've been occasionally releasing them on our own judgement in the past."
Hunting dolphins and small whales is not prohibited by the International Whaling Commission's ban on commercial whaling, but Japan's Fisheries Agency restricts the practice by handing out annual quotas to several fishing towns.
This year, Taiji was allocated a quota of about 2,300 small cetaceans including dolphins, prefectural official Shimamura said. Cetaceans are largely- hairless aquatic mammals, such as dolphins, whales and porpoises.
The southwestern Japanese town has strongly defended its tradition of hunting whales and dolphins.
"People in Taiji, as well as Wakayama prefecture ... hope that animal rights activists understand the cultural difference between them and us," Shimamura said.
Thursday, 6 August 2009
Japantown: A taste of culture in San Francisco
A stroll through San Francisco's Japantown takes you past exquisite Victorian homes that escaped the urban-renewal wrecking ball, significant historic sites and elegant temples.
Today Japantown - generally comprising an area between Fillmore and Laguna to the east-west and Geary and Bush to the north-south - is only a remnant of its pre-World War II self. This is because Japantown was emptied during the war when its citizens were forced into internment camps. After the war, some Japanese returned, creating the core of today's Japantown, or Nihonmachi. The area suffered a second blow during the '50s and '60s, when block after block of Victorians were razed to widen Geary Boulevard and create the Japan Center malls.
At Post and Buchanan, the heart of Japan Center, look up at the five-tiered Peace Pagoda. Rising 100 feet over Japantown, the pagoda was designed by Japanese architect Yoshiro Taniguchi and presented as a gift to San Francisco from sister city Osaka. Flanking the pagoda are indoor malls filled with restaurants and shops. Near the entrance to the Kintetsu Mall is an interpretive sign for the first stop of the Japantown History Walk, a self-guided tour through Japantown focusing on history and culture.
From the pagoda, cross Post to walk through Osaka Way (Buchanan Street), the outdoor pedestrian mall. Look at the circular benches and lotus-blossom fountains (now waterless) designed by sculptor Ruth Asawa. Wonderful shops line the mall. Step into the Paper Tree (1743 Buchanan St.), an origami store with a gallery of intricate origami works.
At Sutter, turn right and walk past gorgeous Victorians to the Japanese American Citizens League headquarters (1765 Sutter St.). The JACL works to ensure civil and human rights for Japanese Americans. At Sutter and Laguna, you will find two of Japantown's many religious institutions: the Buddhist Soto Zen Mission Sokoji (1691 Laguna St.), where students of Zen come to meditate, and the Christ United Presbyterian Church (1700 Sutter St.).
Turn left on Laguna and walk north one block to Bush to see the Konko Church of San Francisco (1909 Bush St.). "Konko" means "teaching of the golden light" and teaches Tenchi Kane No Kami, the parent of the universe existing in all things. Open the door and walk inside to feel the room's peaceful simplicity.
Today Japantown - generally comprising an area between Fillmore and Laguna to the east-west and Geary and Bush to the north-south - is only a remnant of its pre-World War II self. This is because Japantown was emptied during the war when its citizens were forced into internment camps. After the war, some Japanese returned, creating the core of today's Japantown, or Nihonmachi. The area suffered a second blow during the '50s and '60s, when block after block of Victorians were razed to widen Geary Boulevard and create the Japan Center malls.
At Post and Buchanan, the heart of Japan Center, look up at the five-tiered Peace Pagoda. Rising 100 feet over Japantown, the pagoda was designed by Japanese architect Yoshiro Taniguchi and presented as a gift to San Francisco from sister city Osaka. Flanking the pagoda are indoor malls filled with restaurants and shops. Near the entrance to the Kintetsu Mall is an interpretive sign for the first stop of the Japantown History Walk, a self-guided tour through Japantown focusing on history and culture.
From the pagoda, cross Post to walk through Osaka Way (Buchanan Street), the outdoor pedestrian mall. Look at the circular benches and lotus-blossom fountains (now waterless) designed by sculptor Ruth Asawa. Wonderful shops line the mall. Step into the Paper Tree (1743 Buchanan St.), an origami store with a gallery of intricate origami works.
At Sutter, turn right and walk past gorgeous Victorians to the Japanese American Citizens League headquarters (1765 Sutter St.). The JACL works to ensure civil and human rights for Japanese Americans. At Sutter and Laguna, you will find two of Japantown's many religious institutions: the Buddhist Soto Zen Mission Sokoji (1691 Laguna St.), where students of Zen come to meditate, and the Christ United Presbyterian Church (1700 Sutter St.).
Turn left on Laguna and walk north one block to Bush to see the Konko Church of San Francisco (1909 Bush St.). "Konko" means "teaching of the golden light" and teaches Tenchi Kane No Kami, the parent of the universe existing in all things. Open the door and walk inside to feel the room's peaceful simplicity.
Thursday, 23 July 2009
Japanese cult hit “Voltron” heads to big screen
The producers behind “Get Smart” and “The International” have acquired the rights to make a live-action feature based on the Japanese robot-lion property “Voltron.”
Based on Japanese anime properties Beast King GoLion and Kikou Kantai Dairugger XV, “Voltron” features a “Transformers”-like conceit, in which a band of five robot-lions combine to form one super lion. A group of five pilots control the lions, which are charged with defending the planet Arus from villain King Zarkon, who dispatches evil creatures called Robobeats to fight the Voltron robots.
“Voltron” aired on U.S. television in 1984 and 1985. Since then, the property has remained a favorite in diverse communities, from the fanboy to the hip-hop worlds.
Based on Japanese anime properties Beast King GoLion and Kikou Kantai Dairugger XV, “Voltron” features a “Transformers”-like conceit, in which a band of five robot-lions combine to form one super lion. A group of five pilots control the lions, which are charged with defending the planet Arus from villain King Zarkon, who dispatches evil creatures called Robobeats to fight the Voltron robots.
“Voltron” aired on U.S. television in 1984 and 1985. Since then, the property has remained a favorite in diverse communities, from the fanboy to the hip-hop worlds.
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