On Dec. 20 (Saturday), a review meeting of the Off-Campus Challenge Assignments/Off-Campus Challenge Special Assignments/Off-Campus Special Assignment I was held. All 10 teams composed of students registered in each course and their instructors gave a 10 to 15 minute report of their activities that they had been involved in so far.
By sharing the activities with other teams, it seemed that new ideas and themes were inspired. The review meeting served to enhance the motivation for next year’s performance and activities. (Akagi)
Category Archives: Lessons
Preview: Catastrophe & Art, 9th & 10th Sessions
Creative Reconstruction: Catastrophe & Art, the 9th and 10th Sessions will be carried out in 2 consecutive periods. In the 6th Period, we will invite Minami Eguchi, a research follow of the Japan Society for Promotion of Science, and ask her to give a lecture on the theme, “Post War Germany and Art”. In the 7th Period, Prof. Toshiharu Omuka will give a lecture summarizing the talks. Please come and take part, as anyone is welcome to attend. (Akagi)
Date & Time: Dec. 19 (Friday),
6th Period: 16:45 to 18:00 Minami Eguchi,
7th Period: 18:15 to 19:30 Toshiharu Omuka.
Venue: 5C416
Preview: Catastrophe & Art, 8th Session
Creative Reconstruction: Catastrophe & Art, the 8th Session will invite the art historian, Yuko Saito, and ask her to give a lecture on the theme, “Disasters and Monuments: Focusing on the 1920s-40s”. Please come and take part, as anyone is welcome to attend. (Akagi)
Date & Time: Dec. 12 (Friday), 16:45 to 18:00
Venue: 5C416
Calligraphy Team holds “Appreciation of Shosha Calligraphy”
On Nov. 21, the Calligraphy Team visited Iwaki City Tabito Elementary School and Tabito Junior High School in Fukushima and with the children and pupils of both schools held an event to appreciate Shosha Calligraphy. In Fukushima prefecture, many schools take part in the “Fukushima Prefecture’s New Year’s Kakizome Calligraphy Exhibition”, an event of prefecture-wide scale, and the team helped and gave the students support in their practice of this coming year’s assigned theme. The children and pupils all used the various teaching tools that the team had prepared for them and got to work on their assignments in a very serious manner. (kanno)
Kotonoha Team visits the Koike Naganuma Nishi Emergency Temporary Housing
The Koike Naganuma Nishi Emergency Temporary Housing in Minami-Soma City, Fukushima, is a temporary housing project that allows evacuees to come with their pets. The Kotonoha Team focuses its activity on the pets, which are a precious member of the family of the evacuees. We visited 29 homes in July and were able to collect priceless stories and statements full of love for their pets. We are now in the process of creating a booklet filled with their loving words. It is our hope that not only would it be a collection of photographs of cute animals, but that it would serve as a conversation starter for the residents of the temporary housing.
On Nov. 28, we visited the temporary housing again to show and have the residents check the contents of the booklet. We were glad that everyone welcomed the booklet and said that they were looking forward to seeing the finished product. After some revisions based on their remarks, we hope that it will turn out to be an even better booklet. (Chiharu Koike, 3rd year at Comparative Culture Studies)
Information Communication Team: “Iwaki Note (FUKUSHIMA VOICE) with English subtitles” shown at the University of Tsukuba, International Students Center
On Nov. 14 (Friday), the Information Communication Team held a showing of “Iwaki Note (FUKUSHIMA VOICE) with English subtitles” at the University of Tsukuba, International Students Center. After the showing, the student directors and participants all took part in a group discussion and deepened their thoughts and understanding of the movie and of the earthquake.
The foreign students who saw the movie commented that they were glad to learn about the situation in Fukushima, that they saw the strength of Japan and that they wished they could show the movie to the people back in their countries. They also asked the student directors about the safety of the radiation problem in Japan. The cross-border discussion was conducted in a mixture of English and Japanese, and became far more heated than expected. (Iida)
Preview: Catastrophe & Art, 7th Session
Creative Reconstruction: Catastrophe & Art, the 7th Session will invite Setsuko Ozawa, part-time Assistant Professor at Tsuru University and ask her to give a lecture on the theme, “The Hiroshima Panels”. Please come and take part, as anyone is welcome to attend. Please also note that the lecture is on Saturday from 13:30. (Akagi)
Date & Time: Nov. 15 (Saturday), 13:30 to 14:45
Venue: 5C416
Itako team takes part in Hinode Junior High School Festival
Oct. 11 (Saturday): Joint-production of Festival Signboard
In preparation for the school festival at Hinode Junior High School in Itako city, we collaborated with the students of the art club to create the stage signboard. Last year and the year before last, we also made the signboards together using designs that the college students had created. But this year, the junior high school students created the design and we gave them our support to complete it. Since a large number of us divided the work among us, the signboard was finished in less time than we had planned. Then, the art club teacher came up with an impromptu workshop to make key chains with plastic boards. As it gave us a chance to mingle with the students that we could not talk to when making the signboard, we had a very good time.
Nov. 1 (Saturday): Preparations on the eve of the Hinode Junior High School Festival
At the Festival, a section was set up to introduce the light art project for the Lantern Festival at Choonji Temple. It was our hope that the exhibit will introduce to the people who did not come to the Lantern Festival the activities of the Itako team, and that it would inspire some dialog about the region. The concept of the project, photographs of the gatherings with the junior high school students, photographs of the lighted lanterns, the layout of the lanterns and comments by the visitors to the Lantern Festival were displayed in chronological order.
Nov. 2 (Sunday): The day of the Festival
Some people stopped by and carefully looked at the exhibit, and some parents even took photographs in front of the exhibit panels. We also saw some students talking with one another as they looked at the exhibit. We were also awarded a certificate for a special prize in the exhibition division from Hinode Junior High School. By having many people look at our work, I believe that we have achieved our goal to inform people of our activities.
What was surprising was that the Festival Decoration Project that we had done the year before last has been carrying on. It was continued by teachers and students who had volunteered. As with the stage signboard, it make us very happy when proposals by the Itako team are continued by the students. We hope that the events that we were involved in will help strengthen the ties among the local people as they plan and conduct these events, such as in the case this time with Hinode Junior High School.
(3rd Year at School of Art & Design, Ogasawara)
Preview: Catastrophe & Art, 5th/6th Sessions
Creative Reconstruction: Catastrophe & Art, 5th/6th Sessions will be carried out in 2 consecutive sessions. The 6th will invite Naoyuki Kinoshita, Professor at the University of Tokyo and ask him to give a lecture on the theme, “The Russo-Japanese War & The Arts”. The 7th will invite Eriko Kogo, Associate Professor at Meisei University and ask her to give a lecture on the theme, “Disasters and Picture Postcards: Examples from the Great Kanto Earthquake”. Please come and take part, as anyone is welcome to attend. (Akagi)
Date & Time: Nov. 14 (Friday), 6th Session from 16:45 to 18:00, 7th Session from 18:15 to 19:30
Venue: 5C416
Notice: “Iwaki Note (FUKUSHIMA VOICE) with English subtitles” will be shown at the University of Tsukuba, International Students Center
On Nov. 14 (Friday), “Iwaki Note (FUKUSHIMA VOICE) with English subtitles” will be shown at the University of Tsukuba, International Students Center, Room H. Although it is intended for foreign students, Japanese students and people outside the university are also welcome to take part. After the showing, the student directors will offer greetings from the stage and a group discussion involving all participants will be carried out. Please take part. (Iida)
Screening of “FUKUSHIMA VOICE”
Time & date : 11.14（Fri） 16:00～18:30
Place : 留学生センター教室H
Cost: Free!
Eligibility :
International students of the U. of Tsukuba,
Japanese students, faculty and staff,
and people from outside the university!
Program :
15:45 Open
16:00 Introduction & screening（86min）
17:30 Workshop :
Explanation from the production staff,
Q & A, Group Discussion
18:30 End
