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Pittsburgh Taiko- Dynamic Japanese Drumming in Pittsburgh |
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 The JASP is proud to present Pittsburgh Taiko! Pittsburgh Taiko brings Japanese group taiko drumming (kumidaiko) to Western Pennsylvania. Available to anyone interested in learning about the art form, Pittsburgh Taiko seeks to educate members of the community about taiko and about Japanese culture through performances and outreach activities. Join us for the launch celebration! Read More
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Pittsburgh Dragon Boat Festival |
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Come visit us or volunteer at the JASP booth at the Pittsburgh Dragon Boat Festival September 18 at the South Side Riverfront Park from 11 AM to 7 PM We'll be demonstrating traditional Japanese wrapping cloth techniques - furoshiki. You can learn how to wrap and carry a water bottle, make a waist pouch, etc. You can purchase your own furoshiki to take home. Pittsburgh Taiko will be performing, as well. Read More |
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Kenny Endo's 35th Anniversary Concert Tour : "Gateway - 'Ma' vs Grove" Comes to Pittsburgh! |
 The JASP is proud to present the November 6th performance of the Kenny Endo Ensemble Taiko concert at the Manchester Craftsman's Guild.
Kenny Endo is a world famous taiko drum artist who has the honor of being the first non-Japanese national to receive the title of Natori (stage name and master's degree) of Hogakuhayashi - traditional drumming.
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Japan in the Schools |
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It's back to school time again! The JASP offers various Japanese cultural programs to enhance curriculum. Area educators wishing a classroom visit can submit a request on line or by contacting the JASP outreach coordinator, Katsuko Shellhammer at kshellhammer@us-japan.org. To learn more about our other education programs please see the link to our education brochure. Read More |
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Otakon 2010 |
The Japan-America Society of Pennsylvania intern Stephanie Guerdan went undercover July  29-August 1 at Otakon, a Japanese anime and culture convention in Baltimore, MD. For four days she and three friends enjoyed the multitude of Japan- and anime-centric experiences available to attendees of the largest convention of its kind on the east coast.
Otakon
By Stephanie Guerdan
Otakon (a Japanese-style portmanteau of ‘otaku’ (Japanese for ‘nerd’) and ‘convention’) is a huge annual gathering of aficionados of Japanese anime, music, and culture from across the country. It began as a humble 250-attendee ‘con’ held in State College, PA in 1993; over the past seventeen years it has grown so large that its over 30,000 attendees fill hotels for miles around Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. Convention programming fills all four floors of the enormous Baltimore Convention Center as well several ballrooms and conference rooms in the adjoining Hilton. Events run the gamut from movie screenings to Q&A’s, concerts to costume contests, and dances to video game tournaments. Among the almost thirty guests this year were the shamisen-playing Yoshida Brothers, famous fashion designer h.Naoto, and producers and actors from both the American and Japanese sides of the anime industry. One of the highlights of attending a convention is the costumes. Con-goers more often than not take part in the convention tradition of ‘cosplaying’; that is, dressing up as characters from the shows or games they love. The costumes range from basic to intensely complicated, from skimpy to stifling. Some people just buy a copy of their character’s outfit from cosplay supply stores online; others make theirs by hand, or add a fun twist or theme to the characters’ attire. People take pictures, have their pictures taken, and can even win awards for truly well-done costumes.
I’ve always loved to dress up, regardless of the occasion, and I can and love to sew, so my friends and I planned and bought or made a total of sixteen costumes between the four of us – one for each day. My friends and I spent plenty of time posing for pictures and people-watching. We also sat in on several panels, including ones given by American anime dub voice actors Todd Haberkorn, Vic Mignogna, Stephanie Sheh, and Maile Flanagan as well as one by bassist kanon from the J-rock band An Café. We also attended a concert on Sunday afternoon where hip-hop group Home Made Kazoku performed.
All in all the convention was great fun. Otakon attracts all kinds of people, from the borderline geeky to the irredeemably nerdy. The convention experience is really whatever you make of it – you can go to panels and events from when the ‘con’ opens until it closes at 2:00 AM, or you can sit and just enjoy the sights of people walking by – and it’s always fun to see what con-goers make of the opportunities Otakon offers them. It was one of the highlights of my summer (besides, of course, interning at JASP) and I can’t wait to go back!
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Toshiba Appoints Shigenori Shiga, JASP Board Member, Westinghouse Board Chairman |
 Shigenori Shiga is the new Chairman of Westinghouse, replacing Steve Tritch, who retired July 1.
Mr. Shiga has served as Senior Vice President and Chief Coordination Officer for Westinghouse since 2006 and concurrently serves as Executive Vice President of Toshiba Corporation's Power Systems Company. His primary responsibilities are to provide strategic oversight and supervision of the Westinghouse Board of Directors.
In commenting on Mr. Shiga’s appointment, Mr. Tritch said: “I applaud Shigenori Shiga’s appointment. He has been intimately involved with Westinghouse operations since Toshiba Corporation became majority owner in late 2006 and is thoroughly familiar with our goals and strategies. As the nuclear renaissance advances on the global scale, Mr. Shiga’s appointment as Chairman will further reinforce the links and synergies between Westinghouse and Toshiba, and support us in maximizing our combined strategies in the global marketplace.”
Dr. Aris S. Candris, President and CEO, also said: “As Chairman, Shigenori Shiga will bring balance and provide stability within our senior management team, and further reinforce our ability to act in concert with Toshiba. His appointment will also allow my entire staff to further concentrate on growing our business and better meeting our commitments to customer success, technology development, quality, safety, and global industry leadership.” The JASP was honored to have Mr. Candris as the speaker at our annual dinner in 2008.
Replacing Mr. Shiga as chief coordination officer will be Tetsuya Noda, who most recently served as vice president within the coordination division.
Westinghouse Electric Company, a group company of Toshiba Corporation (TKY:6502), is the world's pioneering nuclear energy company and is a leading supplier of nuclear plant products and technologies to utilities throughout the world. Today, Westinghouse technology is the basis for approximately one-half of the world's operating nuclear plants, including 60 percent of those in the United States.
Westinghouse also has four of its AP1000™ nuclear power plants under construction in China, and has contracts for six new AP1000 units in the United States. Additionally, Westinghouse has been selected to provide an additional eight AP1000s in the United States. Contracts for those plants are in various stages of discussion.
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Volunteer Spotlight: Kazuko Macher |
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 The inaugural JASP Volunteer Spotlight features Ms. Kazuko Macher, good friend of the JASP for many years and Volunteer of the Year for the JASP in 2006. Ms. Macher is pictured (on right) at the Japanese Speech and Language Contest with Ms. Yuko Suzuki (left) from the Consulate General of Japan, NY.
Ms. Macher, originally from Osaka, Japan, and her family have lived in the North Hills of Pittsburgh since 1978.
Her first volunteer experience with our organization was in 1989, when the JASP (then the America-Japan Society of Pittsburgh) and Japan Information Center in New York hosted the Japan Festival in Pittsburgh. The four day event was the largest Japan related event ever held in Pittsburgh at that time. Ms. Macher remembers well meeting the governor of Pennsylvania, the mayor of Pittsburgh and the many guests and artists who came from all over Japan to attend the festival.
The most memorable event in her long volunteer history ws the trip to the 5th International Symposium of America-Japan Societies held at Kyoto International Convention Center in Kyoto Japan in April of 2006.
Another favorite event was the 1st Annual Japanese Speech Contest in 1997. Jerome White, Jr. now the famous Japanese Enka Superstar JERO was the winner that year. Ms. Macher helped organize and judged the contest and later took the winning students to the national competition “Japan Bowl” in Washington DC. She has been involved and volunteered every year at the Japanese Speech and Language contests since then.
Ms. Macher is also a lead volunteer in the Japan in the Schools program and has visited many schools presenting Japanese culture to children.
She has been a great help in all aspects of the JASP programs and assured us of her help in the future. We are very fortunate to have her as a volunteer. Arigato Kazuko! |
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Volunteer Meeting |
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You are welcome to join the staff of the JASP and JASP volunteers for a pot luck lunch at the home of the executive director, Donna Lee Siple. The party will be held September 15 from 11:30 AM to 2:00 PM. It will be a great time to reconnect, meet new people with similar interests and enjoy a delicious lunch. If you are interested in volunteering for the JASP you are welcome to attend. RSVP to Katsuko Shellhammer at kshellhammer@us-japan.org. |
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Climbing Fuji-san on the Fourth of July |
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 By Dennis Unkovic, Board Member of the JASP
At 9:00 PM on the Fourth of July, my son Peter (a medical student) and I began to climb Mt. Fuji. We started at the Fifth Station, which is at 5,000 feet. Nine hours later, we reached the top of the Fuji Yoshida Trail. It is truly exhilarating to reach the top and to watch the sun rise from more than 12,355 feet.
During my 60+ trips to Japan since 1985, I have always thought about climbing Mt. Fuji, and this was finally my opportunity. Don’t believe those who say it’s like walking up a trail. Climbing Fuji is no easy task. It is exhausting, but when you finally reach the top it is the thrill of a lifetime.
When Peter and I began our ascent, the temperature at the Fifth Station was about 70 degrees. When we finally reached the top, the temperature had dropped to 30 degrees. It was sleeting with wind gusts up to 50 mph, which made it a bit hard to stand. After congratulations and many photographs, we began our descent. One unpleasant surprise we did not prepare for was that the alternative trail down, the one with the easiest descent, was closed. That meant we had to climb back down the same trail we had just ascended. While the trip down took only 5½ hours, it was equally strenuous.
A famous saying in Japan goes, “Every person must climb Fuji once; but only a fool climbs Fuji twice”. I can assure you, that saying is absolutely true! I’m honored to be among those who have climbed Fuji, and encourage those who may someday in the future climb Fuji to absolutely do so.
This trip might never have come about without the Japan-America Society of PA’s Annual Dinner. My wife Diane purchased a raffle ticket for two ANA roundtrip tickets to Japan. When she won the tickets (to her great surprise), she willingly gave them to me and my son so we could achieve our dream of climbing Mt. Fuji. My thanks to ANA Airlines for this wonderful, once in a lifetime trip, and to the JASP and its Annual Dinner for making it possible. | |
