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Growing Up Japanese

Sending the Kid to Ikebata Nursery School

By Johnson Kong

When the time came for us to look at daycare options for the kid, a Japanese language environment for her social and cultural development was on the top of our lists. We felt that it was important for our child to have the experience of her Japanese identity as well as to build her language skills for communicating with family members. Currently, there are only two options in Toronto: Ikebata Nursery School, located in the same building as the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre at 6 Garamond Court (northeast of Don Mills and Eglinton), and the Japanese Academy of Cultural Exchange, or Hakobune, at 630 Spadina Avenue (southwest of Spadina and College). The only information that I have about Hakobune (416-599-2426) is that it takes children ages 2.5 to 6 years. A Japanese daycare may also be opening in Markham’s J-Town at Woodbine and Steeles. (more…)

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Interview: Hitoshi Murakami

Hitoshi MurakamiHitoshi Murakami is a JET who has started his own photography school in downtown Toronto. How can a person be this brave? Who is this quiet genius? You will surely only find out by reading our interview with Hitoshi.

Q. What made you decide to start your own school?

It just kind of happened… It was one of those things where we started talking about it on a whim and as we continued the conversation we realized that we could actually make something out of it. It all came together when we planned out the curriculum and found that we had something that we really wished was available when we first started out.

Q. You are an administrator at the school, how did you find your teachers? Who are they?

The teachers are actually co-owners who I felt had the ability to impart their knowledge. Stephen Caissie has taught photography workshops in the Beaches and is doing some amazing work with product and portrait photography. Johann Bona is a fashion photographer who trained in Milan and I love his visual signature. You can find out more on our website www.focalpointphotoschool.ca

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From Our Chair: Year In Review

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In April we officially started our new fiscal year. There is a lot of excitement about our plan for the year. It also is wonderful to see so many new faces on the executive committee, many of whom have just returned recently from Japan. This time of year also brings us some departures which always comes with mixed emotions. Many of the departing executive are becoming busier with their life, career and grad school – but hopefully not too busy to still come out to our events!

David Namisato, Website Coordinator (6 years)
Benjamin Singer, Communications Coordinator (2 years)
Angela Libby, Membership Coordinator (1.5 years)
Yuriko Fujita, Events Coordinator (1 year)
Kaki Narh, Conference Coordinator (1 year)
Samantha Russell, Treasurer Support (1 year)

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Interview: Estelle Hebert

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Estelle is a current JET, who is making use of her documentary film-making background to help the disaster stricken area of Tohoku. She launched Brighter Than Tomorrow, a fundraising campaign aimed to support the fishing village of Funakoshi. Her wish is to inform the international community of the on-going struggle this village faces post tsunami. 

In this interview, Estelle tells us about the current conditions on the ground, the aims of her project, and her path to documentary film-making.

Q. Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got into documentary film-making. 

I had an interest in storytelling as well as humanitarian and social issues for as long as I can remember. After making my very first short doc as part of a Documentary class at Dawson College in Montreal, I realized then the power of the camera, and how it was possible to shed some light on issues and stories that needed to be told. I was inspired by all the positive feedback I had received, and it soon became a passion I couldn’t live without. Since then, I’ve had the great opportunity to work and collaborate on a variety of productions—for television, independent projects, etc.—while continuing my studies. In 2007, I moved to Toronto to pursue my studies in Documentary Media at Ryerson University. During that time, I collaborated with young refugees from all over the world, producing a radio/sound documentary. I then understood documentary as a collaborative effort more than anything else, and as a means of creating positive change within a community—big or small. 

 

Q. For many of us, Japan has been everything from a way to escape the daily grind to a teaching career path to just plain japanophile-ism. What made you decide to go to Japan?

 

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Interview: David Namisato

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Did you know that David Namisato first started his comic strip, Life After the B.O.E, for the JETAA Toronto Newsletter? His widely popular comic, which has been taken up by multiple sites, is now available in book form. We catch up with David and talk about his time on JET, work as an illustrator, and future goals.

Q: To start at the beginning, what inspired you to go to Japan?

A: It really wasn’t inspiration. I was in the process of quitting animation school, and didn’t want to pursue a career in art anymore, so I was looking for something to switch to that would make use of my non-art skills. The JET CIR position seemed like a good fit.

Q: Let’s say someone creates a shiny time machine and you’re transported back to your first day in Japan. It’s 2002, you’re a fresh-faced CIR but you have all the experience that allowed you to create Life After the BOE. Anything you would do differently?

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Manju and Mochi 101

A culinary adventure by Sabeen Abbas

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The Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre (JCCC) is located just off the Don Valley Parkway at Wynford Drive. After a stop-and-go ride through post-work traffic, my mom and I arrive a few minutes late for Chef Shoji’s manju and mochi workshop at the JCCC. We sneak into the class as he demonstrates how to mix a paste for dorayaki – a red bean stuffed pancake. He shows us his kitchen tools – two heavy iron skillets with nine circular holes, branding irons with kanji characters. He drops the dorayaki mix made with flour, baking powder, eggs, milk, sugar, soya sauce, and mirin into the iron skillet. He has bent the length of his measuring spoon so that it hooks over his mixing bowl. When bubbles form on one side, he lifts up the pancake with a knife and flips them onto a hot tray to cook the other side. Chef Shoji is a retired auto mechanic who brings a methodical approach from his years of fixing cars to fixing up desserts. There is a tool for everything, he instructs us, and if there isn’t you have to make one.

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An Interview With J.M. Frey

By Lindsay Tsuji

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Former JET and Toronto-based author J.M. Frey was first inspired to write her latest novel in an onsen in Fukuoka. She eventually managed to accomplish her dream of publishing a novel before she was 30.

Since returning to Canada, Frey has completed a master’s degree in communications and currently works for the Writers Guild of Canada as a researcher. Frey has kept busy by getting involved with the Toronto Geek Community, co-hosting a podcast on DorkShelf.com, and appearing on TV as an expert in fandom culture.

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