しあわせ » London

Kanken London 2010

ロバート — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 08:13:40 +0000

This year’s kanjikeiten will be held on Sunday 31st of October at SOAS UCL London.
They have a Google webform this year for candidates to request application forms. The deadline is the 28th September. You can sit more than one level if you want but this year I’ll only be attempting 8 kyu. It may take me a few years to reach my 5 kyu goal of the 1006 primary school kanji. It’s not the kanji so much as the vocabulary and usage.

Be aware that British Summer Time ends on the 31st, so make sure you turn up on time for the test!

(I had a rather interesting search term in my blog stats today. “Heisig classes in Tokyo” Good Luck with that, Heisig seemed very anti-teacher and only an individual could manage his method. And only the Internet has kept his book in print… )

Also open for applications is the 2010 JLPT held at SOAS. This year they have online application and are again limiting candidates to 1000 across all levels. I must get back on track with JLPT. The leap to 2 was too daunting, but now there is the intermediate N3 I should give it a go. Just not this year!

Ninagawa at the Barbican in May

ロバート — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 16:25:23 +0000

Ninagawa returns to the Barbican Theatre London for 4 days in May (5th to the 8th) in what might be becoming an annual event I hope. I’ve seen the two previous productions, Coriolanus and the kabuki version of Twelfth Night. This time it’s not Shakespeare. It’s a play about the famous swordsman Musashi, the author of the Book of Five Rings.
It’ll be entirely in Japanese with English surtitles. The Japanese is usually difficult and fast, however I found the women’s voices easier to follow and it helped that I knew the English versions of both the previous plays and could even remember some speeches from Coriolanus I had memorised for an exam over 20 years ago. I must re-read Eiji Yoshikawa‘s epic novel so I can follow things a bit easier. It’s a great book, although I believe the play starts where this book ends so maybe I’ll be able to find out what happens to Otsu.
I hope for some great swordplay, the literally blood-spattering finale of Ninagawa’s Coriolanus in the manner of Kurosawa’s Sanjuro was such an impressive image. I have expectations of some skillful stagecraft.

My wife tells me the lead actors are quite famous in Japan and expects there to be lots of Japanese women there because the actor, Tatsuya Fujiwara, is a bit of a heart-throb! You might have seen him as Light in DeathNote. It’s only playing for 4 days and when I booked tickets last night, all the cheap seats were unavailable and a fair amount of the stalls and circle were sold as well. So available seats are from ￡28 to ￡40.

The cheap seats might still be available as freebies if you are under 25 as part of Barbican’s free-B events

Review of the production in Japan.

image from kirainet’s flickr photostream used under creative commons license

After Kanken 2009

ロバート — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:56:51 +0000

Yesterday I sat the kanji kentei 漢字検定 in London. There were surprisingly few candidates there. Less than 30 for all levels by my reckoning. This is a real pity as it’s an interesting and challenging test of real Japanese reading and writing ability. I hope the numbers are sufficient to keep it being held regularly in London.
Probably because of the smaller numbers it was much more smoothly run than JLPT at SOAS in my experience. They would actually do well to tell those doing the JLPT about the Kanken and keep an email mailing list to remind past applicants about forthcoming tests.

Anyhow…
I signed up for 2 tests, but due to a lack of time and hence a lack of study I decided to concentrate on the lower test, 9 kyu, instead of 8 kyu. In theory you could sit as many tests as you want, each taking 40 minutes, but in practice those taking more than one test only took two. The plus is you don’t have to wait another year, the minus is you may be paying out extra money for a test you don’t take or mightn’t pass.
I might have passed 9 kyu. I’ll know within 2 weeks. (Again much faster than JLPT and it involves a human marker rather than machine marking.) I was reasonably confident going in having gotten good marks in the practice tests I’ve been taking. However the pass mark is a high 80%. It hinges on vocabulary. I know the target kanji, I know their readings, Where it starts to get difficult is putting this together with vocabulary and my vocabulary isn’t as good as an eight year old’s!

My advice, for what it is worth, is learn vocabulary using the target kanji.
The most useful tool I had was my Nintendo DS and a title called 正しい漢字かきとりくん (Tadashii Kanji kakitorikun). The original edition. There is an extended kanken version, but this is too advanced until you are ready for the post primary school grades. Although it’s test questions are more comprehensive.
The advantage of using DS is you have to write your answers and you get instant feedback of whether you are correct and the quality of your writing. The style of questions are the sort you will get on the kanken.
The teacher behind the method used in kakitorikun has an interesting paper on his method, the Kageyama method.
The other resources I used were the official kanken books, both the step up book and best of all the practice test book.
For a while (when I had the time by a computer) I used renshu.org, which has a great set of quizzes specifically for kanken and uses a spaced repetition formula. I also made a number of vocabulary lists on smart.fm.

So, today, I started once again revising for 8 kyu and with luck will take it next year. Will I try 7 kyu as well I wonder….

D.T. Suzuki Documentary screenings

ロバート — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 20:05:49 +0000

If you have ever read about Buddhism you are certain to have come across the writings of D.T. Suzuki.
I was recently contacted by a director of a film about Suzuki’s life. There are screenings in the UK in November. While the film isn’t in Japanese, I think it will be of interest to people interested in Japanese culture and Buddhism. I’ll let Michael Goldberg tell you himself after the jump.

There will be 3 free public screenings of “A ZEN LIFE – D.T. Suzuki” at universities in the UK next month.

“A ZEN LIFE – D.T. Suzuki” is a 77-minute documentary in English about Daisetsu Teitaro Suzuki (1870-1966) the Japanese lay Buddhist, prolific writer and teacher credited with introducing Zen Buddhism to the West.

With an excellent grasp of English, Daisetsu Suzuki was highly successful at getting Westerners to appreciate the Japanese mentality, and Japanese to see the merit of Western logic. He earned widespread respect for his deep insights into Eastern and Western religions and philosophies. The effect he had on Western psychology, philosophy, religious thinking, and the arts was profound.

A variety of excerpts from Dr. Suzuki’s talks about Zen and Buddhism, Christianity, and psychoanalysis punctuate the film. Inter-faith dialogue and mutual respect were, in his mind, keys to peace. Interwoven with film footage, photos and audio recordings of D.T. Suzuki are interviews of many people who knew him, including Huston Smith, Gary Snyder, Robert Aitken, William Theodore de Bary, Donald Richie, Mihoko Okamura, and Dr. Albert Stunkard, with rare historical footage of Fr. Thomas Merton, John Cage, Erich Fromm, and the voice of Christmas Humphreys.

A pioneer in improving East-West relations, his numerous writings in English and Japanese, translated into many languages, serve as an inspiration even today. Daisetsu Suzuki’s message is all the more important now, in light of contemporary conflicts stemming from divergent ways of thinking.

SCREENINGS IN THE UK

Glasgow
Monday, 23 November, 6:30 pm
Interfaith Chapel, University of Glasgow, West Quadrangle
Screening followed by Q&A with director
No reservation necessary
For further information about the Glasgow screening,
please contact Joan Keenan, Interfaith Chaplaincy,
on 0141 330 5419 or joan.keenan@admin.gla.ac.uk

Manchester
Tuesday, 24 November, 5:15 – 7:30 pm (doors open 5 pm)
Arts Lecture Theatre, Lower Ground Floor, Samuel Alexander Building
University of Manchester
Screening followed by Q&A with director
No reservation necessary for the Manchester screening

London
Thursday, 26 November, 6:30 – 8:30 pm (reception afterward)
Brunei Lecture Theatre, SOAS, Russell Square
University of London
Screening followed by Q&A with director and panel discussion
Please reserve in advance for the SOAS event by contacting
info@azenlife-film.org, ts@soas.ac.uk, or tl3@soas.ac.uk
or call 01442 890882

These events are sponsored by
The Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation
The Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation

2 preview clips can be found on YouTube:

Very truly yours,
Michael Goldberg
Executive Producer / Director
The DT Suzuki Documentary Project
Japan Inter-Culture Foundation
www.azenlife-film.org

Frank Chickens Rides Again!

ロバート — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 11:30:27 +0000

Frank Chickens will be at the Japan Matsuri in Spitafields Market on Saturday 19 September. They expect to be on stage around 1:20 until 1:50.

Practice your singalong with this video of We Are Ninja (Not Geisha) on YouTube.

Nagisa Oshima season at the BFI

ロバート — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 15:16:30 +0000

A season of films by Oshima the director of the infamous Realm of the Senses (愛のコリーダ), and the notable Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence (with a famous soundtrack) is playing at the NFT London from today until the end of October. Details on BFI’s website.

Kanken Kanji Aptitude Test London 2009

ロバート — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 12:12:14 +0000

This years Kanken Kanji Aptitude Test will be held at SOAS London on Sunday the 8th of November. The deadline for applications is Monday 5th October. It is possible to sit more than one level of the test on the day and the test fee is a reasonable £23 to £35 per paper.
I need a bit more motivation or focus in my Japanese studies so I’ll give it a go this year. Last year unfortunately I couldn’t sit it.
JLPT candidates could give it a go as a bit of a warm-up for the JLPT. Heisig devotees could prove their real competence and their method’s efficacy by passing level 2 perhaps. Hell I’d be impressed if they could pass level 5 after a couple of years starting from scratch.

Terracotta Film Festival London

ロバート — Mon, 11 May 2009 12:20:45 +0000

As part of the Terracotta Film Festival at the Prince Charles cinema over the bank holiday weekend, there are three Japanese films being screened.

After School Saturday 23 May 16:15
High Kick Girl Sunday 24 May 18:40
Ghost in the Shell 2.0 Friday 22 May 20:45

Details at the festival site. There are also films from Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, and Malaysia if you are a fan of Asian cinema.

Thanks to Paul at London Japanese Language Meetup for the heads-up!

Urashima Taro Puppet Show – updated.

ロバート — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 11:48:37 +0000

I was recently sent a press release by Nakamura Aya-san the creator / performer of the interesting puppet performance Urashima Taro. It’s nice to see that the people I write about read my little blog, if a little daunting at times though.
The show has now finished development and is showing at various venues in London.
I saw the show for the first time last May and it should be interesting to see how it has developed.
I can heartily recommend Shunt as a venue and night out, so combine it with seeing this play.

From Nakamura Aya-san

Rouge28 Theatre is presenting the final stage of Urashima Taro. This piece
combines bunraku-style puppetry, Japanese toy theatre, shadows and dramatic
acting to unfold a cruel and sinister tale inspired by an ancient Japanese myth.
It tells the story of a young fisherman who finds himself trapped by some
mysterious ladies.

We have received support from Arts Council England, UK-Japan 150, the Puppet
Centre Trust and Central School of Speech and Drama to develop this final stage
of the piece.

We will be performing Urashima Taro between mid-March and mid-April at Shunt
Lounge, Little Angel Theatre, Horse+Bamboo Theatre Centre and Central School of
Speech and Drama. You can find details bellow.

The performance at the Little Angel Theatre will be followed by a discussion
about the influence of Bunraku on contemporary British Theatre. Guest speakers
will include Nenagh Watson (former doo-cot) and Mark Down (Blind Summit).

Performances:

- Horse+Bamboo Theatre Centre in Rosendale (Lancashire) on Friday the 13th
of March at 7.30pm.

- Shunt Lounge on 25th, 26th, 27th, 28th of March and 1st, 3rd and 4th of
April at 8pm except Saturdays at 9pm. You can not book performances in advance,
all tickets are allocated on a first come first served basis.

- Little Angel Theatre on Thursday the 2nd of April at 8pm.

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Japanese Language Theatre at The Barbican

ロバート — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 15:19:10 +0000

As part of the Bite09 season at the Barbican in London there are two plays that will be performed in Japanese (with English surtitles). Both by Internationally renowned companies.

The first is Shun-kun 春琴 by Complicite.
The lead in Japan was Japanese actress Eri Fukatsu. I presume she reprises the role here.

The other is an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night by NinaGawa, Sochiku Grand Kabuki.
I have seen a previous adaptation of Coriolanus by this company and they are impressive stagings. The Japanese feels very fast, possibly because they are trying to fit in a longer text. I found the women easier to understand but I was able to follow the speeches I had learnt at school (in English). The ending was suitably manga-esgue with Coriolanus spraying red arterial blood all over the white costumes in the best tradition of a samurai duel.
This play is Twelfth Night done in the manner of Kabuki. My wife tells me the actor is a very famous Kabuki actor. Judging by the photographs the play gets the full Kabuki treatment. Niwagawa company is very famous and at the time of writing this there aren’t many seats left.

Tickets for these plays are from £10 to £40.