Slashing Swords and Samurai with 13 Assassins 十三人の刺客 This Friday at the NFB

The Canada Japan Society is continuing our Japanese Movie Nights at the National Film Board of Canada with a showing of Takashi Miike’s 2010 award-winning samurai film: 13 Assassins 十三人の刺客.

The story is actually quite simple. Loosely based on fact, the events take place in the later Edo era where a cruel and evil Lord is soon to be promoted to an influential position in the Shogunate. High ranking officials are powerless to stop this from happening politically and are horrified that this will be disastrous for the country. One official takes action and recruits 13 samurai to undertake a suicide mission to kill the Lord.

The film is a remake of Eiichi Kudo’s acclaimed 1963 black and white samurai drama of the same name, and showcases an all-star cast including Koji Yakusho, Inagaki Gorou, Takayuki Yamada, Hiroki Matsukata, and Kazuki Namioka. It was nominated for 10 Japanese Academy Awards in 2011 and won 4.

This is no traditional Jidaigeki samurai film. Director Miike made his name on overtly violent, exploitative, and controversial movies such as Audition, Ichi the Killer, and Visitor Q. He has mellowed somewhat in his old age, though that is not to say there is no violence or weirdness in this film. Miike brings his unique storytelling and strangeness to the film, and the climactic battle scene (which takes up almost half of the film) puts scenes from Kill Bill, “300” and Azumi to shame.

All in all, if you don’t mind revenge films, samurai, swords and battle, it will be a great way to spend a Friday night.

We hope to see you there.

13 Assassins
Friday, April 20th, 2012
The National Film Board Theatre
150 John Street (at Richmond)
7 PM Start
CJS Members $5, Non-Members $10

PS. Don’t forget about our post party following the film at EVEREST. It’s a great time to chat with others about the film, learn more about the CJS, and hear about our exciting events coming up in the spring.

トロント日加協会(CJS) 主催 第４回 新住民のためのカナダ生活情報セミナー

The Canada Japan Society Presents:“Surviving in Canada –Information for Newcomers”

トロント日加協会(CJS) 主催

第４回　新住民のためのカナダ生活情報セミナー

4月17日火曜日　6.30 PM – 9.30 PM

トロント国際交流基金 (The Japan Foundation, Toronto)

日加協会(CJS)主催の第4回カナダ生活情報セミナーのご案内です。 当セミナーはトロントに滞在してる日本人を対象に開催されます。講演の内容は下記のとおり多岐に渡ります。

†トロントのコミュニティカレッジや語学学校で英語を勉強する†永住権を取得する†日本人へのサポート体制やネットワーキングづくり†カナダ社会への適応について(日々の生活で直面する問題など)トロントで生活を始めたばかりの皆様にとっては見逃せないセミナーです。また、語学留学やワーキングホリデーでトロントに滞在されている皆様にはネットワーキングの場として当セミナーをぜひご活用ください。

講演は日本語と英語で行われます。終了後に質疑応答の時間がありますので、ご質問がある方はこの機会をぜひ利用してください。また、レセプションでは講演者や他の参加者と話をする絶好の機会です。新来者以外の方々のご参加も大歓迎です。

参加費は当イベントの費用として使わせていただきます。参加ご希望の方はtoshie@cjst.orgまでご連絡ください。皆様のご参加を心よりお待ちしております。

2012年　4月17日火曜日
6:30 p.m – 受付開始

6:45 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. 講演- 質疑応答
8:30p.m. – 9:30 p.m. レセプション(軽食と飲み物)
トロント国際交流基金(The Japan Foundation, Toronto)
131 Bloor Street West, Suite 213
Toronto, Ontario, M5S 1R1
参加費: $5

SAKE TASTING at Ichimokukai on Thursday, April 12

It’s BACK! The CJS is proud to present the return of SAKE
TASTING at our long-running Ichimokukai event.
Actually in April the event will be a “Nimoku-kai”; due to
scheduling constraints the event will take place on the SECOND Thursday of the
month. Ichimoku-kai literally means the
"first Thursday meeting" and since 1995 it has been the Canada Japan
Society of Toronto's monthly social event, naturally on the first Thursday of
every month. It is a great place to make new friends, practice your English
and/or Japanese, informally network, learn more about life in Canada and Japan,
and most of all have fun! Our attendees are usually around 50 percent Canadian
and 50 percent Japanese, all with a common interest or connection with Japan.
At Ichimoku-kai you will receive special food and drink discounts, get to talk
to lots of interesting people, and have the chance to win some exciting door
prizes.
As mentioned, in April we will feature a special SAKE
TASTING featuring a variety of Junmai, Junmai Ginjo, and Junmai Daiginjo Sakes,
as well as a selection of Shochu and Umeshu, courtesy of Ozawa Canada
(www.ozawa.ca).
Ichimokukai doors open at 6:00. Sake Tasting begins at 7:00.
Sake tasting tickets begin at $1 each.
For those of you who aren’t into SAKE, no worries. Our
regular Ichimoku-kai will be going on as well.
We hope to see you there.

Ichimokukai
Thursday, April 12, 2012
6-10 pm
Manpuku
105 McCaul Street
Units 29-31 (in the Village by the Grange building, south of
the Food Court)

There is a $5 cover charge for non-CJS members. Discounts
are available for groups of three or more people.

CJS Receives Commendation from Consul-General of Japan in Toronto

On March 9, 2012, the board of directors of the Canada-Japan Society (CJS), together with directors and key members of the Japanese Visitors' Association (JAVA) and the JET Alumni Association (JETAA), were invited to the official residence of Mr. Eiji Yamamoto, Consul-General of Japan to Toronto, for a special reception and commendation. As volunteer organizations with strong connections to Japan, each with a long history in Toronto, CJS, JAVA and JETAA were honoured for our various efforts in promoting understanding and friendship between Canada and Japan. Each group received a Certificate of Commendation from Mr. Eiji Yamamoto and heartfelt speeches were made by the Consul-General and representatives of each group. This special occasion was also an opportunity to gather with members of the Japanese and Canadian communities to reflect on the terrible tragedy of the Great East Japan Earthquake of last year, and renew our commitments to providing assistance and support as Japan strives to recover. We at CJS are deeply honoured by this recognition, and we are extremely grateful to Mr. Eiji Yamamoto and staff at the Consulate General for extending the invitation and for the wonderful hospitality showed to us on that evening.

(In the photo, from left to right, are Stephen Hodder, CJS Director; Ken Bole, CJS President (holding the Certificate of Commendation); Mr. Eiji Yamamoto, Consul-General of Japan to Toronto; Jeff Harju, CJS Vice-President; Don Waters, CJS Treasurer; and Lisa Houston, CJS Communications Director.)

March 16, 2012: CJS Movie Night is "My Grandpa" and will feature a Commemorative Tea Ceremony

The Canada-Japan Society, for our March Movie Night, is proud to present Yoichi Higashi's heart-warming and comedic film, "My Grandpa" (わたしのグランパ).

This 2003 film tells the tale of an aging gangster just released from a long stint in prison, who returns to live with his son's family. His grand-daughter, after a hesitant start, takes a liking to this charming stranger when he comes to her aid against school bullies, even though she is troubled by how a killer can be welcomed as a returning hero by the neighbourhood. The movie is about their new relationship and how they come to truly understand each other. It is a human drama about life and death - and things in between - shown from a uniquely Japanese perspective.

The film is based on the novel by Yasutaka Tsutsui and stars the charismatic Bunta Sugawara in what was, at the time, his first film in over 12 years. The movie won six awards in various film festivals that year, including two "Newcomer of the Year" awards for Satomi Ishihara, who played the grand-daughter.

The evening will also feature a commemorative Tea Ceremony dedicated to the victims of the March 11/11 Great East Japan Earthquake (東日本大震災). The CJS is honoured to welcome Tea Master Tomori Nagamoto, who will perform the tea ceremony with Kyoko Nitta, both members of the Urasenke Tea Ceremony Society. This introduction to the tea ceremony will offer guests the opportunity to experience first-hand an important element of Japanese traditional society, as well as reflect on the anniversary of the tragic events of one year ago.

We hope you will join us.

MY GRANDPA (in Japanese with English subtitles)

Friday, March 16, 2012

The National Film Board Theatre

150 John Street (at Richmond)

7:00 pm start

CJS Members $5

Non-Members $10

The film will be followed, as always, by our post-film gathering at EVEREST, which is a casual way to meet new people and talk about the film over good food and drink.