1 July 2015: Calligraphy

Today the students learned the art of calligraphy and its history. There were aspects to understand before writing the characters. For example, the students had to have a certain posture and hold the brush in  a particular way. The students began by practicing brush strokes and from there started to practice writing kanji.

3 July 2014: Japanese Pop Culture NIght

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Yahhou!

Today, the student companies had a recreational indoor soccer tournament. However, because they were preparing for the pop culture festivities later in the night, the Tanabata company was replaced with the sensei/senpai team. All six team squared off in double elimination tournament in which a chance at bragging rights were once again up for grabs. In honor of the World Cup, each company resembled a country of their choice (the Blogging company picked Japan of course). Each match lasted an intense fifteen minutes in which each company displayed their athletic abilities. However, because of time constraints the finals were delayed, so you’ll have to tune in for the results. 

- Antoine

Today, we watched another segment of Princess Mononoke. Dr. Munson didn’t stop the movie at all this time to explain, but the story progressed a lot. In case you haven’t seen Princess Mononoke, it’s a Studio Ghibli film that portrays man’s relationship with nature and spirits. The main characters, Prince Ashitaka and San (Princess Mononoke) struggle against the antagonist, Lady Eboshi, throughout the movie for the balance and well-being of the forest. The movie is filled with action, suspense, sadness, meaningful and deep messages. Dr. Munson stopped the film at a very suspenseful part, to continue it later.

-Amy

Japanese Movie: Princess Mononoke

Lately, the advanced class has been practicing for the final project, which shall remain a secret, but I will reveal one aspect of it: that it involves calligraphy. During every class, the advanced students have been practicing with brush and ink to improve their Japanese handwriting. In addition, Ōtani Sensei has taught the students several songs (in addition to the final project). The advanced students have also been writing compositions and peer editing them for grammar and usage mistakes. The amount of mistakes in the students’ papers has been decreasing rapidly. They are all showing improvement.

- Christina B.

Today was totemo sugoi desu (very awesome). Our last event of the day was pop culture night. It was filled with karaoke, games, and fun and crazy outfits. The students had fun as they got to hang out with their friends and relax with the beautiful voices of many “talented” others. The jeopardy game also had students rely on outside information collected from years of studying Japanese culture. The night ended peacefully as students headed to company meetings or their dorms.

- Matias

GJA Students playing a game of Japanese Pop Culture Jeopardy

28 June 2014: Field Day!

6/28

Yahhou!

On Saturday, the six student companies participated in the academy’s sports festival (undoukai). The 6 companies were as follows:

The Blogging company (of course)

The Recreational company (who were responsible for organizing the festival)

The Variety Show company

The Memory Book company

The Closing Ceremony company

The Tanabata (star festival) company

All 6 companies competed in 7 events which stretched each member’s physical capabilities to the limits in events such as a 3-legged race, blindfolded piggyback, and finally a game of ultimate Frisbee. Unfortunately, your favorite company, us, came in last in the festival, but not without a strong showing of course! Our own beloved writer, Antoine, caught the final catch in the game of ultimate Frisbee to the round out the end of the festivities, so big props to him. In the end, the festival resulted in a tie for first place between the Recreational company and the Variety Show company who bulldozed over all competition throughout the festival. Overall, all of the students enjoyed the undoukai and had a great time competitions for bragging rights among their peers.

-        Antoine

Tyler writing the kanji for "fire" in Calligraphy class

On Saturday, we had a guest speaker, Yuda-san, come to the Academy. She taught us the principles of sadō, (the tea ceremony) and shodō (calligraphy). We were divided into two groups. One group watched Yuda-san perform the tea ceremony, while the other group practiced calligraphy, with the help of the sensei. After half the allotted time had passed, the two groups switched. The tea ceremony originated as a calming, meditative practice that helped practitioners shed the worries of life. It remains so today, and its main tenets reflect Japanese philosophy as a whole. They are communicated in the expression “wa-kei-sei-jaku,” meaning harmony (wa), respect (kei), purity (sei), and tranquility (jaku). Each student drank the bitter green tea, called matcha, and ate a small Japanese sweet.

While some students were drinking tea, others were practicing calligraphy. The process was difficult, especially for students who had no previous calligraphy experience. Those who had barely learned to write Japanese in pencil had an even more difficult time. However, it was very enjoyable for everyone. The process of calligraphy involves a brush, ink, and lots of practice paper. The students used newspaper to practice before moving on to actual sheets of paper. Some students wrote their names, while others wrote kanji like “love” and “understand,” or proverbs such as “even monkeys fall from trees.”

We are extremely grateful to Yuda-san for her time and we all enjoyed the experience.

- Christina B.