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Live at  the Kisanii Hub

Featuring "Echoes"

In Partnership with

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Our community was invited for an array of arts events to honour Japanese culture on The Esplanade!

Jamii has developed a cultural experience curated by the Jamii team and the Japanese community in the Esplanade,

to invite Esplanadians to explore different aspects of Japanese culture.

"Live at the Kisanii Hub featuring Echoes” was an invitation to pause and reflect on the sacrifices of generations before us through captivating live performances, origami and calligraphy workshops, in addition to a movie screening of a film provided by the Japan Foundation. Through this series of events, we invited our community members to be part of the butterfly effect: as you know, the smallest flutter of a butterfly’s wing can ripple around the world to effect global change.


As part of this series of events, Jamii has committed to make 1,000 origami cranes, which are a symbol of hope and a sign of friendship between the Esplanade community and a community in Japan. Esplanadians joined us and made a few of the 1000 cranes, which were later sent to Japan in commemoration of the 77th year of the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. 

Video by Recro Digital Marketing

Video by Recro Digital Marketing

LIVE PERFORMANCE OF "ECHOES"

From July 28 to July 30, 2022

David Crombie Park | The Esplanade & Princess St

Vibrations from Japan to The Esplanade: Jamii was proud to welcome "Echoes", a dance production directed by Takako Segawa. This dance piece is inspired from the theory that even the smallest flutter of a butterfly’s wing ripples around the world to effect global change.

In addition to exploring themes of migration, "Echoes"  pays tribute to the Japanese experience of internment camps in Canada. The dance piece is performed by Takako Segawa, Noriko Hashimoto, Yurika Murakami and Tomomi Sakajiri.

Along with the dance piece of Echoes, The Kisanii Hub also featured live music by Linda Caplan, Japanese calligraphy with Yukako Ichiki, brush ink painting with Hiroshi Yamamoto, and origami at the event.

Linda Kakō Caplan, Canada’s premier koto artist, is a Tobiume Tsukasa Dai Shihan (Grandmaster) from Japan’s Chikushikai Koto and Shamisen School. Her repertoire ranges from Japanese classical pieces to folk to contemporary works. www.lindacaplan.com

 

Yukako Ichiki is a master calligraphy artist and has won many competitions in Canada.

 

Award-winning artist Hiroshi Yamamoto graduated Kyoto Industrial Design Institute and Kyoto Japanese Art School, and studied under Mr. Rokuro Yamamoto, a specialist in Nihonga. Hiroshi had over 20 individual exhibitions, in both Japan and Canada. https://www.hiroshiyamamoto.com/

It was a true honor for Jamii to welcome such talented artists in our community and through their work, create invisible bridges between cultures.

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Photos by Laura Dittman

In this short video below, Japanese Canadian dancer Takako Segawa pays tribute to her fellow countymen from 1942. Like many of them from Japan, she absorbed 'sho ga nai' from the motherland--a blend of stoicism and practicality that means, "It is what it is. Get on with it." In this dance, Takako channels the spirits of these ancestors, acknolwedges their troubles, and in her own way, bestows healing.

1,000 ORIGAMI CRANES IN THE MAKING

From July 18 to July 27, 2022

Jamii's Home | 250 The Esplanade, Unit 105

"Senba-zuru" in Japanese tradition is a set of a thousand origami cranes strung together with a thread. The crane is symbolic of happiness and a long life, and the wings are believed to provide protection.

Strings of 1,000 origami cranes are often given to people suffering from illness or injury as a way of bringing them back to health

Senba-zuru has become a symbol of peace after the story of Sadako Sasaki, a two-year-old Hiroshima resident who was exposed to dangerous amounts of atomic radiation in WWII. When she was 12, she began folding 1000 paper cranes wishing for recovery from leukemia as a result of being exposed to the atomic radiation.

The Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima commemorates Sadako with a statue of her holding a crane. Many strings of 1,000 origami cranes are strung up around the park and at other significant sites in Japan as a gesture of peace, good fortune, and healing.

The Jamii community is inviting you to take part in the creation of Senba-suru during a series of drop-in origami sessions. Each crane we string together a symbol of our community coming together, and honouring the August 6, 2022 commemoration of the 77th year of Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. No registration needed, come to Jamii's Home at 250 The Esplanade #105 (By the three at the courtyard of Berkeley Castle) any time within the time frames below.

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Photo Credit: Envato

Photos by Isorine Marc

MOVIE SCREENING: "DAD'S LUNCH BOX"
"Papa no obento wa sekaiichi"

July 27, 2022

Jamii's Home | 250 The Esplanade, Unit 105

In Partnership with

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This film was inspired by a real-life story of a Japanese father, who prepared bento lunch boxes for his daughter every single day during her time in high school. This leads to delicious, interesting or offbeat creations. The film showcases the bond between father and daughter as he put an effort into equipping his daughter with more than just sustenance for school.

Directed by

FUKATSU Masakazu

Cast

WATANABE Toshimi - Dad

TAKEDA Rena - Midori

Staff

ONO Toshitsugu - Screenplay

OKOZYO - Cinematography

Production Company

"DAD'S LUNCH BOX" Film Partners

Distributor (Japan)

PONY CANYON

Official Site

http://papaben-movie.com

Film Festival, Award

2017 San Sebastian International Film Festival, Culinary Zinema

2017 Silk Road International Film Festival, Japan Film Week

JAPANESE CALLIGRAPHY WORKSHOP
with Yukako Ichiki

July 20, 2022

Jamii's Home | 250 The Esplanade, Unit 105

As a part of a series of lead-up events to the live dance performances of "Echoes", Jamii offered community members the chance to engage with Japanese calligraphy – an art form that celebrates the beauty of the Japanese language led by the talented Yukako Ichiki. A group of 16 joined us to learn about the significance of a variety of Japanese characters as each brush stroke tells a story.