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Painting Without Painting: Paradise Bound (270 Augusta Ave.)

Painting Without Painting: Paradise Bound (270 Augusta Ave.)

Article by Katie Yantzi (JET 2011-2013, Akita Prefecture). Reprinted with permissions from Archenemy Magazine. 

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Just steps away from the bustle of Kensington market lies a quiet haven of art from across the Pacific. Though the actual degree of quiet depends on what’s spinning from the record player. Paradise Bound (270 Augusta Ave.) is a shop that sells a fascinating pairing of things owner Grey Coyote loves most: good tunes and good old Japanese art.

“Old” is definitely the operative word here. Coyote has rare original works dating from the eighteenth century, which likely once belonged to samurai. The intricately designed pieces adorning the shop’s walls are known as kakejiku, meaning “hanging scroll,” and they can fetch anywhere from $100 to $3000.

“There are many artisans involved in the whole process,” says Coyote as he points out the various components of each scroll—the handmade silk; washi, meaning the sturdy Japanese paper; the delicate ink scenes; and jikusaki, the roller ends used to hold the scrolls in place. Finally, one artisan, “a mounting artist, much like our framing artists”, assembles the final scroll.

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Life After JET: A Former CIR’s Passion for Humanitarian Work

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Article by Patricia Nip

When I first met Mike Connolly in November of 2011, we were in the living room of a reclaimed house in Ishinomaki.  I had just arrived for a week of volunteering in the tsunami ravaged coastal region just north of Sendai.  During the grand tour, I was told that I was in good company because there were two other Canadians in the house that was serving as the headquarters for the volunteer group It’s Not Just Mud.  The first one that I met had been my ride from the train station, and now I was meeting the mysterious Mike.  As we were introduced, I couldn’t shake a strange sense of déjà vu.

A few days later, Mike and I were sent off together on a tsunami clean up request.  We made our way to what used to be the Kikuchi family’s small family business.  Their simple wish was to regain access to the second floor of the building, where their family had lived before the tsunami debris filled the first floor and made it impossible to access the stairwell.  It was during the course of our path clearing, potentially tetanus causing endeavours that the mysterious source of my déjà vu became clear to me.  Mike Connolly, was Mike-sensei… (more…)

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Event Report: AGM

Trailblazing JETAA’s Future Year: The Annual General Meeting

This past year JETAA Toronto has seen a multitude of events, many of which have successfully promoted Japanese culture and sought out mutual friendships with Japanese-related organizations throughout the city. This of course reflects JETAA’s raison d’être and mandate, which was created back in 1991 and continues to be our purpose going forward. Like all goal-oriented organizations, though, it needs great leadership to organize, implement and monitor these objectives.

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Event Report: Midnight Curling

Sweeping Success: JETAA’s Annual Midnight Curling

It was cold, it was snowy, it was wet, and just plain mucky outside. Yet despite these setbacks, a crowd of 30 or so curling-enthusiasts showed up to JETAA’s Annual Midnight Curling event on Feb 1st, which turned out to be a sweeping success.

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To start the night off individuals met at Loon’s Pub, which is located in Toronto’s west end on Roncesvalles Avenue. JETAA members and Japanese community members a like enjoyed a few pints of beer over the blazing hockey game on TV, in a truly Canadian manner before setting off to the High Park Curling Club (http://www.highparkclub.com/)

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