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Today's Contents:
1. The first bits: Ieyasu
Parade, FM Okazaki. 1. The first bits.
(a) Ieyasu Parade, FM Okazaki:
FM Okazaki The arrival of the radio station completes the development of Aoi Hall, the
radio station joins the International Office, Audio-Visual/streaming control
center, multimedia studio, call center, events hall and distance learning
theater on the ground floor. 12 classrooms, computer lab, faculty offices and
recreation room upstairs. 21 months ago, it was a factory. Next development
planned is a high tech language laboratory for the OCJS.
(b) Jobs:
2. Course information.
3. Staff Interview: Erina Kato (Instruction Coordinator -
Online Center)
4. Japan Guide: Daijuji
Temple - Okazaki
5. About The Yamasa Institute for Japanese Studies
6. Subscription Information
Two
weeks ago I took part in one of the biggest festivals of the year in Okazaki
- the Ieyasu parade. It was an early start (for a Sunday morning) as all
the participants of the parade converged on Okazaki's baseball stadium at 9.00
am to get changed and rehearse for "the battle". There were also a
few pointers as to how to correctly hold your sword and gun, which
took the whole morning and at 1.30pm we made our way down to
the start point at Iga Hachiman-gu. Dressed in armor from the Sengoku Jidai
("Period of the Warring States"), wearing a hat shaped like a wok and straw
shoes, hundreds of samurai, ninjas and others on horseback marched from Iga
Hachiman-gu in Iga-cho to the banks of the Otogawa river by Okazaki Castle. I was
part of a group of 20 which is sponsored every year by the
Okazaki International Association that was mainly made up of non-Japanese. This
drew a few surprised looks and gasps of 'Gaijin Da'! from some of
the locals, but everybody watching the parade gave us all a very warm welcome.
On the hottest day of the year so far and with over 2000 cherry trees
lining the parade route in full bloom, the scene was almost picture perfect.
(The view at night of Okazaki park and the castle is considered to be the
best in the Tokai region). It took over an hour to make the walk from
Iga Hachiman-gu to the river. In the final 'mock battle' down by the river
Otogawa, played in front of thousands of spectators, I nearly got a bit carried away
with my sword swings when we had to charge and engage the 'enemy'
(luckily there were no fatalities!) It was a great experience and
something I would recommend anybody to do it if they get the chance. Many
thanks to the OIA for the opportunity to take part.
AND THE BIG NEWS!
- We now have a community radio station. Continuing the on-going expansion of
the Yamasa Institute and campus, FM Okazaki (76.3FM) is now broadcasting live
from Aoi Hall. If you haven't had the chance to see the studio yet, it's on the
eastern side of the Hall facing the Sakura (Cherry Blossom) trees. The studio
has a large glass wall facing the courtyard so you can sit outside under the
trees, beer in hand and watch the fun. The station playlist is a wide range of
Japanese and Western music, along with local and regional news. Until March, the
station was based at Aichi Sangyo University, where it was encountering
financial difficulties. We purchased a controlling interest and decided to move
the whole of the existing operation to our campus here in Hane-cho. If you
want to listen to the station but aren't in Okazaki, no problem. We will be
streaming the content over the internet from summer - more news on that in the
near future.
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.
(c) 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/
2. Course Information
Accommodation:
From May: Villa 1 full. Small number of rooms available in Villa 2,3,4. Residence U is full but K has rooms available. From June, Villa 1 full. Both U and K have a limited number of rooms available. Space in Villa 2, 3&4. Student Village - shared rooms available and a very limited number of male single rooms but no single female rooms. There are usually some last-minute changes, so check with admissions@yamasa.org for information or see the availability file for details.
Long-term Courses:
Student Visa: Applications for October 2001: 21 already received. The deadline for applications is June 20th, quota is 55 places - 34 to go. If you want to apply for this start-date 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. Due to the time it can take for students to put together the documentation necessary for the visa application we recommend that applications for visa kits be made as early as possible.
Short-term courses:
|
Discovery tour starting on June 29th - itinerary at: http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/english/programs/discovery_tour20010629.html Contact admissions@yamasa.org for details. There are still a few places available - join a very small private tour of all the best parts of Japan. Includes Kyoto, Seto, Atsuta Jingu, Nara, Arimatsu Shibori museum, Isui-en garden, Ago Bay, Handa and Okage Yokocho, Uji, Byoudou-in Temple, Futamigaura, Goza Beach and many other locations. |
Other Discovery Tours all have vacancies - contact admissions@yamasa.org for further information. Tour dates for this year are June 1st, June 29th, July 27th, 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.
3. STAFF INTERVIEW: Erina Kato (Japanese Instruction Coordinator for the OCJS - Japanese)
Erina Kato is an Instruction Coordinator for the new Online Center for Japanese Studies. She lives in Nukatacho, a small town neighbouring Okazaki, with her parents and her younger brother and sister.
 |
| Erina Kato |
Jon: I know you're very busy
with the online center at the moment but could you take a liitle time out for a
newsletter interview?
Erina: Sure, no
problem.
J: What do you do at the
OCJS?
E: I'm the instruction coordinator for the OCJS and
its a fairly broad role. Hard to summarize; its quite a challenge
actually!
J: How did you come to be a
teacher at the online center?
E: I am interested in
international communication and I was looking for a job where I can communicate
with people from other countries.
J: I hear you speak
fluent English......
E: I'm not quite fluent
yet but I can get by quite comfortably. I did a masters degree in
International Communication and for my thesis I had been researching young
homeless people and media in London. I lived in the UK initially for 5 months; 2 months in
Cambridge and 3 months in London. After that I went to the UK every 3 or 4 months for 10
days or 2 weeks to do research for my thesis; interviewing homeless
people and buying back issues of 'The Big Issue' (60,000 Yens worth). I studied at the same Japanese
teaching school as Suzuki Sensei (Silac Coordinator), but not at
the same time.
J: What did you think of the
homeless people? Continued at http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/network/english/newsletter/staff_int_10.html 4. Japan Guide: Daijuji Temple by Barry
Demillion (SILAC student since 5th April) Daijuji is one of the major historical sites of
Okazaki. Founded in 1475 the temple has played a significant role in
Japanese history, contains many items of Japanese cultural significance and
is high on the list of cultural attractions of Okazaki. Daijuji Temple is most famous in Japanese history by
its connection with Ieyasu Tokugawa (1543-1616). This connection is
enormously significant as Ieyasu Tokugawa was the founder of the Tokugawa
Shogunate whose 264-year reign was one of the major turning points in Japanese
history. The importance of Ieyasu Tokugawa to Japan can be grasped by the fact
that Kodansha's widely respected guide to Japan, "Gateway to Japan" placed
Ieyasu Tokugawa as one of the ten most important rulers in Japanese
history. Daijuji was a favored temple during the long
Tokugawa rule. The temple was established by the ancestors of the Tokugawa clan,
the Matsudairas. This family connection made the temple important to
Tokugawa Ieyasu, but in addition to this, the temple was in fact responsible for
saving Ieyasu's life. Before the days when
the Tokugawa shogunate ruled Japan, the Tokugawas were weak compared
to many other, more powerful, clans. During this time Ieyasu
Tokugawa was involved in many battles one of which took place at Daijuji
Temple. During the temple battle Ieyasu fled into the temple where he and
a small number of followers were under siege. Ieyasu was determined to commit
suicide in front of his ancestors. At this time a Daijuji temple priest, Toyo,
intervened. The priest counseled Ieyasu not to give up hope saying, from
the text of a sutra: Enriedo Gongujodo. This translates to English as,
"Leave the depraved land. Pursue the peaceful world." Following the
words of Toyo, Ieyasu fought back and with the help of the temple priests
survived the battle. The rest, as they say, is history and Tokugawa
Ieyasu went on to change Japanese history by unifying Japan under his rule and
laying the groundwork for a long era of peace and political
stability. Of course, Daijuji remained a place of some
importance by the Tokugawas. You can still see the Tokugawa family
symbol throughout the temple grounds. While our Yamasa group was visiting the temple,
we were lucky enough to have Bishop Dwight R. Nakamura, 61st Abbot of the
temple, to show us around. Bishop Nakamura spent about 40 years in Hawaii, and
so was able to explain much of the historical significance of the temple to us
in English. He was also kind enough to offer insights into Buddhist
teaching and ritual.
E: They were really nice. Most of them had a
dream to work or study, to better their lives but they couldn't because of
financial of domestic problems.
J: Do you have
any interesting stories about life in the UK?
Another interesting sight at the temple is the
screen painting by noted artist Reizei Tamechika (also called OKADA TAMECHIKA,
1823-1864). Tamechika studied the ancient art of Yamato-e, a style of
Japanese painting as well as Buddhist-influenced art. This type of art was
important during12th and early 13th centuries in Japan and was inspired by
Chinese T'ang paintings. Reizei Tamechika was partly responsible for a revival
of the Yamato-e paintings. Many examples of Reizei Tamechika's art
appear inside the temple. Be sure not to take pictures when you are inside
this particular hall.
A sight most people would also find interesting
is the hall where the "ihai" are displayed. These are memorial tablets of
the generations of Tokugawa shoguns. Note the size of each tablet. The size
corresponds to the height of the shogun in real life. Ieyasu's tablet is
here, as well as that of another very famous shogun, Tokugawa Yoshimune
(1684-1751). Yoshimune was the eighth shogun in the Tokugawa dynasty
and one of Japan's greatest rulers, introducing many important reforms to
the government. Most might know him from the popular television series
"Abarenbo Shogun," which was first broadcast some years ago in Japan
See http://www.kikutv.com/shows/abarenbo_shogun_10/index.html.
As a fan of the series, I was lucky enough to have my picture taken in front
of Yoshimune's memorial tablet with Bishop Nakamura.
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There is quite a bit of information available on the internet about Tokugawa Ieyasu, the Tokugawa reign in Japan and the importance of Daijuji in the history of both Japan and Okazaki, but nothing tops visiting it in person to feel the history all around you and seeing it with your own eyes.
Transportation: Meitetsu Daijuji bus. 8 min.
walk from the Daijuji bus stop (tel. 21-3917). 10 minutes by car or taxi from
Hiagashi Okazaki train station along route 248.
Sources:
Kodansha's Gateway to Japan
http://www.britannica.com
http://www.reversible.co.jp/town/KEY/walksin.html
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/accreditation1.html
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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