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Today's Contents:

1. The first bits: Typhoons, Nob Gallery, Japanese Language Proficiency Test
2. Course information.
3. Staff Interview: Toh Bansho (Vice-President)
4. Things Japanese: Kabuki
5. About The Yamasa Institute for Japanese Studies
6. Subscription Information


1. The first bits.

(a) Typhoons:

Flooding on route 248 in Okazaki
Flooding on route 248 in Okazaki
Yes - it is Typhoon season again. In Issue 12 (2000/09/22) last year we went into the details of what typhoons are, and in this issue what it did to Yamasa. The biggest typhoon to hit Japan so far this year caused havoc in many parts of the country this week. Typhoon number 11 forced cancellations of hundreds of flights and train services, affecting thousands of passengers. It generated winds of over 100 km/hr within a 150 mile radius and killed (to date) 9 people.

On August 21st/22nd, the typhoon paid a visit to Okazaki. Classes at Yamasa had to be cancelled on Tuesday (21st) afternoon and for the whole of Wednesday. This was for a number of reasons - the main one being for the safety of students and teachers. Also there was some concern that due to disruption to many train services, a number of the teaching staff may not have been able to return home from work if they did not leave when the trains were still runnning. On Wednesday morning there was a Typhoon warning issued by Civil Authorities which meant that if Yamasa had opened on Wednesday and the typhoon had caused damage or injured students then we would not be covered by our insurance policy due to the previous warning. Luckily, for those people living in Okazaki, the worst of it passed during Tuesday night/Wednesday morning.

(b) Japanese Language Proficiency Test application:

The Japanese Language Proficiency Test is held in December every year in Japan and applications are now being taken for students enrolling in a course at Yamasa, who will not be in Japan to complete an application in person. If you are going to be studying through December this year and would like Yamasa to apply on your behalf to take the test please contact admissions@yamasa.org stating which level of the test you would to apply for (1,2,3 or 4). Please note that it is not possible to take two exams, for example, Level 2 and Level 3. The deadline for applications to Yamasa is September 1st and the application fee is 5,420 Yen.

(c) Nob Gallery opening party for new artist:

At the Nob Gallery (about 3 minutes walk from Yamasa towards JR Okazaki train station) there is an opening party on Saturday September 1st from 6.00 - 9.00pm for the artist Goro Hirata who has a new collection being displayed. There will be food and drink at the party and anybody is welcome; there is no entrance fee. Goro Hirata will also be at the party to answer any questions you might have and the display will continue from September 1st to September 30th. If you would like to know more information about the gallery in Japanese please take a look at their homepage at http://www2.gol.com/users/nobg/.

(d) Jobs:

Recruitment ongoing for the following positions:

see http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/network/english/careers.html for details and other vacancies, and contact careers@yamasa.org if you are interested in applying. Most are connected with web publishing and translation. Study Japanese for free in exchange for part-time work in the International Office. These are ongoing positions - we need people all year round, so please contact us if you are interested in positions later in the year as well.

(e) Other bits:

Jon Walden
Admissions Coordinator
The Yamasa Institute Aichi Center for Japanese Studies
1-2-1 Hanehigashimachi Okazaki
Aichi Japan 444-0832

Tel: +81 (0) 564 55 8111
Fax:  +81 (0) 564 55 8174 (admissions)
Fax: +81 (0) 564 55 8113 (student affairs)
Email: admissions@yamasa.org
Email: 
newsletter@yamasa.org
URL: http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/
URL: http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/network/

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2. Course Information

Accommodation:

During August all of Yamasa's accommodation is at capacity. Students applying for courses from August may have to stay in the Rec World Hotel for some or all of their stay. In August there are a very limited number of vacancies in the student village and studio apartments. From September there are a number of vacancies in the Student Village and Villa studio apartments but space in Residence U and K is limited. There are usually some last-minute changes, so check with admissions@yamasa.org for information or see the availability file for details.

Accommodation in apartments in the annexe of the Rec World Hotel (near Daijuji temple) will be used whenever Yamasa accommodation becomes full. The prices for the "1K-Single" and "2K-Shared" room options have been discounted and are now the same price as per the Student Village. For more information on the apartments in the Rec World Hotel annexe, please see the following pages:

http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/english/hotel.html (for accommodation description)

http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/english/tankisei.html (for price list of accommodation)


Message from Housing Office: Please also note that it is extremely important that you rank your accommodation preferences clearly. Upgrades are possible in the event of cancellations - so if your first preference is a single room in the village, select "Village single" as first choice, the "Hotel single" as your second choice and so on.


Long-term Courses:

Student Visa: Applications for April 2002: Applications for the student visa beginning in April 2002 are now being taken. (Applications for the October 2001 student visa have now closed and no more applications can be accepted). If you are not sure about the deadlines, please check the deadlines for the student visa listed in each course in the program catalogue. If you wish to apply for the next start-date of April 2002 please complete an application form online (see program catalog for details: http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/english/programs/apply.html) or contact admissions@yamasa.org for more information. The application deadline for the April 2002 student visa start is December 20th 2001.

Short-term courses:

Discovery tour starting on September 7th - itinerary at: http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/english/programs/discovery_tour20010907.html Contact admissions@yamasa.org for details. There are still a few places available - join a very small private tour: Includes Tsumago and Magome (Japanese alps) tour, Tenryu Gorge, Mount Komaga-take, all the best parts of Fuji and the surrounding area including the Five Lakes, Narusawa Ice Cave, Fugaku Wind Cave and Shiraito-no-taki. Also a tour of the Asahi Brewery, Atsuta Jingu and Tokugawa Art Museum as well as many other locations.

Other Discovery Tours all have vacancies - contact admissions@yamasa.org for further information. Tour dates for this year are August 24th, September 7th, October 19th and December 14th.

All SILAC programs have space but accommodation is limited. Contact admissions@yamasa.org as soon as possible for information.

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Bansho Toh
Bansho Toh

3. Staff Interview: Bansho Toh (Vice President - Yamasa Institute)

Bansho Toh is Vice President at the Yamasa Institute and lives in Togo-cho, Aichi gun with his wife.
 
Jon: Can you tell me exactly what your role is at Yamasa?
Bansho Toh: Basically I'm the head administator at Yamasa..
 
J: How long have you been working at the Yamasa Institute?
T: Since 1993.
J: What were you doing before you came to Yamasa?
T: Before coming to Yamsa, I was working at a college as the head of the Japanese department whilst also teaching mathematics and physics.My major at University was physics and between this and teaching I did a variety of different jobs......

J: Everybody working here speaks at least two languages, how about yourself?
T: Being Chinese I can speak Chinese fluently. I can speak Korean fluently and a bit of English, as well. I learned Russian and German along time ago but I have completely forgotten them.
 
J: You seem to work very long hours - when you get time to relax, what do you do?
T: On Sundays I take the opportunity to have a long sleep because I'm so tired. When I get the time I like watching films on TV, playing 'go', reading books, and so on...

J: What do you find most difficult about your job?
 
Continued at http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/network/english/newsletter/staff_int_14.html

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4. Things Japanese: Kabuki

Kabuki is a traditional Japanese theaterical art form founded in the early 17th Century. It was created by a woman called Okuni from Kyoto, and uses song and dance to tell stories of famous historical events or the everyday lives of people from the Edo period (1600-1868). From being performed by a group of women in the ancient capital of Kyoto 300 hundred years ago, it has developed into what it is today - a blend of traditional dance, song and music (provided by few musicians on the side of the stage). In these early days of Kabuki most of the women that acted on stage acted as prostitutes off stage and in an effort to protect public morales, the government banned women from the stage. It has been said that this ban on women was a positive move because it meant that there was more of a focus on skill rather then the beauty of the performers and more of a stress on drama than dance. This resulted in Kabuki plays being written men and performed solely by men - even the female roles. Men who play the roles of women are referred to as .....

Continued at http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/network/english/newsletter/things_japanese_18.html

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5. ABOUT THE YAMASA INSTITUTE'S AICHI CENTER FOR JAPANESE STUDIES

The Yamasa Institute is committed to providing high-quality education in the Japanese language. We are a non-profit organization, a part of the Hattori Group. We are accredited by Association for the Promotion of Japanese Language Education - APJLE, accreditation number B302 - and "the only Institute in the Mikawa region with the appropriate programs, systems, curriculum and facilities required for quality Japanese language education" according to the Ministry of Justice. Further, in recognition of the excellent quality of our programs, we are in the top tier of 'Appropriately Authorized Japanese Language Education Institutes' - in fact, the only school in the Mikawa area with this prestigious recommendation. For full details see the accreditation section on the homepage at http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/english/accreditation.html

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6. SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION

You are being sent this newsletter because at some time you contacted the Yamasa Institute's Aichi Center for Japanese Studies through email, or you contacted an internet-based Japanese language information service which forwarded your email to us. If you do not want to receive further issues of this newsletter, please send a message to unsubscribe@yamasa.org with the word "unsubscribe" in the title. We apologize for any inconvenience.

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