Upcoming Japan Events in Boston
Business Forum, Film Festival, Live Stage Performance, and more!
Monday January 22 – Sunday February 5, 2018
Japan Society of Boston Events
VOLUNTEER NIGHT AT JSB
Tuesday, January 30, 2018 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM Japan Society of Boston at CIC 50 Milk Street, 18th Floor Kitchen, Boston, MA 02109
This year, the Japan Society of Boston has a lot of exciting new volunteer opportunities! Join us for an evening discussion and planning event to help shape the next year of Japan in Boston.
If you are committed to volunteering with us for twenty or more hours this year, we invite you to attend. We will be organizing a few new projects that will rely on volunteer support to succeed.
The evening will begin with half an hour of socializing and light snacks, followed by break-out group discussions on topics such as:
What kinds of community platforms would help all of us connect better around shared interests and needs? How can we use media to spread more Japan across Boston? How can we support and strengthen existing Japan-based projects? What additional programs can Japan Society host to bring the best of Japan to Boston?
JAPAN BOSTON BUSINESS FORUM
The US Outlook for Economic Engagement in the Asia-Pacific Region
Thursday, February 1, 2018 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM
Japan Society of Boston Cambridge Innovation Center, 20th Floor 50 Milk Street, Boston, MA 02109
Gather with like-minded professionals connected to Japan to hear from Wendy Cutler, Vice President and Managing Director of the Asia Society Policy Institute. Wendy is one of America’s most respected trade negotiators and played a central role in negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Ms. Cutler will share up-to-the-minute insight about TPP11 and how Japan and the US are positioning their domestic industries as multi- and bi-lateral deals are developing. Join Wendy and JSB to gain valuable insight into what was gained and lost in the process of TPP’s negotiation and political demise in America, with emphasis on the opportunities being pursued by our nations today. And, of course, to build relationships with people like yourself who are active in US/Japan trade.
Event Agenda
12:00pm Light lunch and networking
12:25pm Presentation
1:30pm END (mingling afterward)
Free for Japan Society of Boston members, $15 for non-members.
BROWN BAG LUNCHEON
Tuesday, February 13, 2018 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
JSB Office at Cambridge Innovation Center
Meridian Room, 50 Milk St., 5th Floor Boston, MA 02109
Bridging Countries with Organic Farming
With Speaker Yoko Takemura From Assawaga Farm
Yoko Takemura lived and worked in countries all over the world before moving to Brooklyn, NY, where she joined a community garden and discovered the wonders of growing vegetables. It wasn’t long before she began applying for apprenticeships on organic vegetable farms outside of the city. Now she and her husband have started their own certified organic vegetable farm in Northeast Connecticut, where they grow a diverse range of vegetables and mushrooms, with a special emphasis on Japanese heirloom and traditional varieties. Having worked on farms both in the US and Japan, they aspire to adopt a mix of farming practices and customs.
Mark your calendars for the second Tuesday of each month!
The Brown Bag Series is an ongoing occasion to gather and talk about Japan together. Speakers are selected from across New England as well as special visiting guests. After a brief presentation about the speaker’s unique Japan experience or specialty, we enjoy a group discussion together on the topic.
All Brown Bag meetings are from 12-1p on the 5th floor of 50 Milk St. After signing the log-book at the front desk, proceed up the elevators on the left to the 5th floor. Please feel free to bring your own lunch.
JAPANESE LANGUAGE GATHERING
Tuesday, February 13, 2018 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Meridian Room, 5th Floor, CIC Boston 50 Milk St. Boston, MA 02109
Let’s get together and practice speaking Japanese! We will have soft drinks, snacks, and a simple game or short lesson to get conversation flowing. We hope that our guests will meet others and find new paths for improving and enjoying their Japanese language skill.
The primary language at this event will be Japanese, and we welcome students and native speakers of Japanese alike. Come improve your Japanese language skill in a casual environment, and meet new friends who share your love of Japan! We expect all guests to come with a friendly disposition to learn and help others learn.
Enjoying Japan in Boston?
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This bi-weekly email is just the beginning. We need your support for this public service and our many other activities. Your support helps us share Japan-themed experiences with thousands of people. Members also receive discounts at events and at selected Japanese vendors around Boston. If Japan experiences have been meaningful in your life, we have a lot more we can do together!
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OTHER JAPAN EVENTS AROUND BOSTON
Discussion
THE IMPACT OF DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGIES ON EMPLOYMENT: IMPLICATIONS FOR AGING JAPAN
Tuesday, January 23, 2018 12:30 PM – 2:00 PM
Bowie-Vernon Room (K262), CGIS Knafel Building, 1737 Cambridge Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
Professor Atsushi Seike of Keio University will be leading this discussion. A labor economist, he has authored many articles and books and received numerous academic prizes for his publications including the 48th Nikkei Prize for Excellent Books in Economic Science in 2005. He has also served as a member of the Global University Leaders Forum (GULF) and Global Agenda Council on Aging both at the World Economic Forum.
Opening Reception
LASTING IMPRESSION OF JAPAN: OPENING RECEPTION AND GALLERY TALK
January 23, 2018 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Malden Public Library 36 Salem St., Malden, MA 02148
An Opening Reception and Gallery Talk will be held on Tuesday, January 23, for the “Lasting Impressions of Japan: Hokusai & Hiroshige and Beyond,” exhibition at the Malden Public Library. The exhibition also includes stunning examples of Japanese traditional dress and ceramic art, including formal, semi-formal, and casual kimono, haori jackets from the collections of the Malden Historical Society.
Startup Investing
X-HUB TOKYO PITCH NIGHT
January 24, 2018 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
District Hall at the Seaport 75 Northern Ave, Boston, MA 02210
The Captains of Innovation Team at the Cambridge Innovation Center has recently partnered with Deloitte Tohmatsu Venture Support and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to host the accelerator program X-HUB Tokyo. Over the course of this program, five Japanese startups have further developed their product/service and have received professional support and guidance from the DTVS team. Over dinner provided by Gather, you will have the opportunity to listen to pitches by these five startups, each of whom will be syncing with us live from Japan.
Film Festival
THE BOSTON FESTIVAL OF FILMS FROM JAPAN
February 1 – 28, 2018
Museum of Fine Arts, Avenue of the Arts, 465 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115
MFA Film is thrilled to present a vibrant new annual festival showcasing the very best recent films produced in Japan. The festival kicks off on February 1 with a free English language screening of the 2016 anime Your Name, a film with gorgeous imagery and deep emotional resonance that quickly became one of the most popular films of all time in Japan. The 7:30 pm screening will be preceded by a celebration in the MFA’s Linde Family Wing for Contemporary Art, starting at 6 pm and featuring live music by DJ Ian Condry, art-making activities and Japanese candies and confections at Taste Café. Attendees also get free admission to Takashi Murakami: Lineage of Eccentrics before and after the film screening.
This year’s lineup also includes: Tokyo Idols, Teiichi: Battle of Supreme High, Jellyfish Eyes, Resistance at Tule Lake, Rage, Harmonium, Blade of the Immortal, Over the Fence, and Oh Lucy!
Live Performance
THE KING & I: HIP-HOP VERSION
February 2nd and 3rd, 2018 7:00 PM
Showa Boston’s Rainbow Hall 420 Pond Street Boston, MA 02130
Showa’s annual Musical Production for 2018 is a magnificent performance of The King and I; Hip-hop Version, performed by an all Japanese female cast.
For more than 17 years Showa’s musicals have been a highlight of the year with such famous shows as West Side Story, My Fair Lady, Beauty and the Beast, Grease and faculty member Tom Griffith’s Manjiro to name a few.
Admission is free of charge, with first come, first serve seating
Documentary
RESISTANCE AT TULE LAKE
Sunday, February 4, 2018 1:30 PM – 2:55 PM
Museum of Fine Arts, Avenue of the Arts 465 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115
Second Screening Thursday, February 8, 2018 from 6:00 – 7:25 PM
During World War II, up to 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry were incarcerated in camps in the western US. The dominant narrative about these camps tells us that Japanese Americans behaved as a “model minority,” cooperating without protest and proving their patriotism by enlisting in the Army. Konrad Aderer’s documentary overturns this misconception, telling the story of 12,000 Japanese Americans labeled “disloyal” because they dared to resist the US government’s mandate of mass incarceration at Tule Lake Segregation Center. Through rare footage and the voices of survivors and their descendants, Resistance at Tule Lake illuminates stories of dissent marginalized for 70 years—even more vital today amidst new threats to the rights of immigrants and minorities.
Part of the Boston Festival of Films from Japan.
Click Here for our Frequently Updated Page of Ongoing Exhibits
The Japan Society of Boston, 50 Milk Street, 18th floor, Boston, MA 02109 Contact email: Info@JapanSocietyBoston.org