Japanese Anime - Wed 10 September 2008

From 10:05 pm this Wednesday, 10 September 2008, SBS is screening Miyazaki Hayao’s anime Kiki’s Delivery Service.

Kiki, a young witch, has turned 13, and according to the ancient tradition she must leave home to find her own place in the world. She flies her broom to a coastal town where she finds a room above a local bakery, run by Mrs Osono, and sets up a delivery service. Despite a few misadventures, Kiki is doing fine until one day she discovers that her powers have disappeared – she cannot fly her broomstick and she can no longer communicate with her cat Jiji. Ursula, a painter Kiki has met on one of her delivery runs, explains artist’s block and how something similar may have affected Kiki.

This is the fifth Studio Ghibli anime film, produced, written, and directed by Hayao Miyazaki in 1989. It was the fourth theatrically released film from the studio, and was also the second feature film that Miyazaki directed but did not originally write himself. The movie won the Animage Anime Grand Prix prize in 1989. The movie is based on Eiko Kadono’s novel of the same name, which is the first in a series originally published by Fukuinkan Shoten in 1985.

Dubbed in English. Several towns in Australia are said to have provided the inspiration for the setting!

Japanese Anime - Wed 3 September 2008

From 10:05 pm this Wednesday, 3 September 2008, SBS is screening Miyazaki Hayao’s anime Laputa: Castle in the Sky .

According to legend, humans were fascinated with the sky; therefore they created increasingly sophisticated ways of lifting aircraft from the ground. This eventually led to flying cities and fortresses. Over time, the cities came crashing back to the ground, forcing the survivors to live on the ground as before. One city, Laputa, is said to remain in the sky, concealed within the swirling clouds of a violent thunderstorm. While most people consider it to be fictional, some believe the legend is true and have sought to find the ancient city. Airships still remain in common use.

This is a film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, released in 1986. It is the first film created and released by Studio Ghibli, although is considered the second by some since Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind was created by the founding members two years before. Laputa: Castle in the Sky won the Animage Anime Grand Prix in 1986.

Dubbed in English.

Iron Chef returns

If the Olympics didn’t quench your desire for competition, tune in to SBS from 8:30pm Saturday night (Aug 30) when the Iron Chef returns to Australian TV screens.

This is not a program for learning how to cook. It is a feverish competition among world-class chefs with the over-the-top appeal of pro wrestling. The ingredients are unconventional; the preparations are sheer genius. Iron Chef pushes the boundaries of taste.

Fukui-san!!

Japanese Speech Contest

Just a reminder that the 2008 Japanese Speech Contest is on this Sunday, August 31 at ECU Mt Lawley.

Times of events are:

10:15 Primary schools performance
11:00 High School division speeches
2:00 Open Beginner division speeches
2:30 Open division speeches

Come on down and support the speakers and performers!

Japanese Anime - Wed 27 August 2008

From 10:05 pm this Wednesday, 27 August 2008, SBS is screening Miyazaki Hayao’s anime Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.

A thousand years have passed since the violent collapse of industrial civilisation. Small pockets of humanity survive on the fringes of a vast polluted forest, the Toxic Jungle, inhabited by giant mutated insects, of which the Ohmu, are the greatest threat. The plant life and the spores from the jungle are poisonous to humans. Anyone who ventures into the jungle must wear breathing masks to protect their lungs.

The Valley of the Wind is a small community of humans protected by sea breezes from the toxic spores. Their young princess, Nausicaä, tries to understand, rather than destroy the Toxic Jungle.

Dubbed in English.

Regular Japanese-English conversation event: kaiWA

Next 会WA: Thu 21 August 08

The fortnightly Japanese-English conversation exchange 会WA (kaiWA) has been hugely popular of late, with over 40 people showing up some weeks!

The event is hosted and organised by the JET Program Alumni Association of WA, and is a great chance to practise your English or Japanese, or to learn more about going to teach English in Japan on the JET program.

For those who need a refresher, see our article on the inaugural event.

JETAAWA asks for a gold coin donation for participation (and, as JETAAWA is non-profit, that money all goes back into your body in food form during the evening).

会WA is held at Bar on Barracks on the corner of Hay and Barrack Sts in Perth city every second Thursday – the next edition is 21 August 2008, and thereafter it will be 4 Sep, 18 Sep, 2 Oct… and so on.

It starts from 5:30 pm and will run until everyone gets sick of each other (usually about 8:30), so don’t worry if you can’t be there spot on the start time.

Haiku Contest 2008

Old leaves have fallen
The summer green has faded
The cold wind remains

The City of Perth Library is holding an English haiku contest this year, with money prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd places. Entries are strictly only accepted between Monday 21 July – 6pm Thursday 7 August 2008, and will have to be better than our effort above to get the cash.

Submit entries marked “Haiku 2008” either:

• in person to the Library, 573 Hay St Perth
• by mail, GPO Box C120 Perth 6839
• by email, library.perth@cityofperth.wa.gov.au

They won’t be returned unless you include a SASE. Winners will be listed on the Library’s website and featured on the Library’s Poetry Wall from Monday 1 September.

We assume you need to stick to the 5-7-5 syllable format.
Other conditions are:

• haiku or senryu OK
• entries must be previously unpublished and unentered in previous Library comps
• max 5 entries per entrant, all to be on 1 A4 page
• entrant’s name must be at the bottom of the page
• a separate sheet must have name & contact details, as well as the first line of each poem
• font size to be at least 22; any font is OK
• entries judged purely on the text
• any pictures / decorations must fit on the page with the haiku.

Get writing!

Japanese Speech Contest 2008

ECU and JLTAWA have organised a Japanese Show & Speech extravaganza to be held in Lecture Theatre 3 [Bdg 17.157] at ECU Mt Lawley on Sunday 31 August.

The opening event, from 9:30-12:00 noon, is a Japanese Show where primary schools from across WA show off their “Japanese performance”, such as singing, dancing, or recitation.

The main event is the Japanese speech contest, from 12:30-4:30pm. There are 3 divisions:

• High School Senior (Years 11-12)
• Open Beginner (<300 hrs Japanese study)
• Open

If you win the WA round, you will be invited to Sydney to take part in the National Finals, with more prizes to come.

For further eligibility, check the entry guidelines here – for example, you are ineligible if you have spent 3 years in Japan.

Entries need to be in by Friday 15 August. Here are the entry forms for:

• Primary School Japanese show
• Speech contest – and some handy hints

For all enquiries, please contact Dr Junko Iwasaki at ECU:

• phone: 9370 6424
• fax: 9370 6593
• email: j.iwasaki@ecu.edu.au

Japanese Movies: June 23 & 25 2008

SBS is being kind to us lately (except for that horrible Casshern), with two flicks on this week. One is a WWI anime from Hayao Miyazaki, Porco Rosso, the other an Oscar-nominated samurai film with a gentler side, The Twilight Samurai.

Porco Rosso

SBS, Monday 23 June 2008 from 10:55pm, in English

Porco Rosso is set in Italy in the early 1930s where air pirates, bounty hunters and high flyers of all sorts rule the skies. The most cunning and skilled of these pilots is Porco Rosso, a man cursed with the head of a pig after watching the spirits of the pilots rise to the heavens after they were killed in the last air battle he fought in. He now makes a living taking jobs, such as rescuing those kidnapped by air pirates.

Donald Curtis, Porco’s rival in the air and in catching the affections of women, provides a constant challenge to the hero, culminating in a hilarious, action packed finale.

The Twilight Samurai (Tasogare Seibei)

SBS, Thursday 26 June (late Wed night) from 12:20am, subtitled

The Twilight Samurai is a 2002 Japanese film directed by Yoji Yamada. Set in mid-19th century Japan, a few years before the Meiji Restoration, it follows the life of Seibei Iguchi, a low-ranking samurai employed as a bureaucrat. Poor, but not destitute, he still manages to lead a content and happy life with his daughters and senile mother. Sadly, through an unfortunate turn of events, the turbulent times conspire against him.

The film is different from many other samurai-themed films in that it concentrates on showing the main character’s everyday struggles, instead of focusing on action-oriented battles. Thus, the film carries only two fight scenes.

The Twilight Samurai was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 76th Academy Awards, losing to the Canadian film Les Invasions Barbares. Twilight Samurai also won an unprecedented 12 Japanese Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Screenplay.

会WA - Free Japanese - English conversation event

Next 会WA: Thu 26 June 08

Last week’s inaugural 会WA (kaiWA) was a great success, with about forty people turning up – many more than expected. Still, JETAAWA is never satisfied with its achievements, so it wants even more people there next week!

For those who need a refresher, see our article on last week’s event, or recall that the WA Alumni Association of the JET Program is now holding a fortnightly conversation event called 会WA.

JETAAWA asks for a gold coin donation for participation (and, as JETAAWA is non-profit, that money all goes back into your body in food form during the evening).

会WA is held at Bar on Barracks on the corner of Hay and Barrack Sts in Perth city every second Thursday – the next edition is 26 June 2008.

It starts from 5:30 pm and will run until everyone gets sick of each other, so don’t worry if you can’t be there spot on the start time.

Come down and practise your English or Japanese, meet some new people, or learn about the JET Program teaching English in Japan!

会WA is planned to be held:
June 12, June 26, July 10, July 24... and so on.