Tuesday, December 24, 2013

愛する人に気持ちを伝える手段として食がある / Food! That is how you can let your beloved ones know about your feelings.

Hello, everyone!
How are you feeling in the threshold of the New Year?
皆さん、こんにちは!
新年まであとわずか、いかがお過ごしでしょうか?

It is me, Elena reporting from snow-covered Moscow.
It seems to become colder everywhere these days. 
And what do we do when it's cold? 
Yes, exactly we try to warm our bodies with hot drinks and hot food of course.
すっかり雪景色となったモスクワからElenaが届けします!
近頃めっきり寒くなってきましたが、わたしたちは、寒い時何をするでしょうか? 
-そう、もちろん温かい飲み物と食べ物で身体を温めます。

And what does winter mean to you? Why do you like it? 
Promise me that you will find a couple of minutes in these hectic days of the Christmas fuss to think of it.
では、冬はあなたにとってどのような存在でしょうか?なぜ冬が好きなのですか?
クリスマスの時期は、大変忙しい日々かと思いますが、ぜひぜひ考えてみてください!

A little hint  it maybe an awesome contrast between cold outside and warm inside: 
cold wind and warm feelings to the ones you love or cold snow and hot soup...
ヒント→それはもしかすると寒い屋外と温かい室内が生み出すコントラストのせいかもしれません。冷たい風と愛する人への温かい気持ち、冷たい雪と温かいスープ、などなど。

Soup…
スープ。。。

In the beginning of December we welcomed Mrs. Mayumi Yanai in one of the oldest cinemas of Moscow. Mrs. Mayumi Yanai has been a chief producer in Japan's oldest cooking TV program "KYO-NO-RYORI" (English Title: Today’s Cooking) for over 20 years. 
12月初旬、私たちはモスクワ市内で最も古い映画館の中の一館に矢内真由美さんをお招きしました。矢内さんはNHKの長寿料理番組「きょうの料理」のチーフプロデューサーを20年以上にも渡って務められています。

She introduced a documentary film about Mrs. Yoshiko Tatsumi and her soup, titled "Tennoshizuku Tatusmi Yoshiko Inochi no Soup/ Drops of Heaven".
今回の訪露では、料理家・辰巳芳子さんの一年間を描いたドキュメンタリー映画「天のしずく 辰巳芳子 “いのちのスープ”」をご紹介頂きました。

The movie is full of unforgettable flavors and breath-taking views of Japan. 
But I should say that there is much less about food in the film than you imagine when you see the title. Deep philosophical thoughts pervade it.
映画は、日本の忘れ難い味わいと息を呑む様な風景に満ちていますが、タイトルから想像されるほどには、料理のことはあまり語られません。深い哲学的な想いが映画全体に込められています。


"Cookery guru serves wisdom with her soups..."
料理家は、スープと共に英知をも提供しています。


Let me introduce an article in Japanese written by ex-JF blogger Any. 
You can find it here → http://roshianow.jp/arts/2013/12/17/46449.html
元基金ブロガーのAnyさんによる日本語の記事はこちらのリンクから→ http://roshianow.jp/arts/2013/12/17/46449.html 

The English version is below!
記事の英語訳はこちらから↓ 

5hours before screening/ the kitchen of the Japan Foundation Moscow Office: "I wanted to introduce to the Russians this Brown Rice Soup - the most traditional and the simplest in cooking one." – says Mrs. Mayumi Yanai folding ingredients – roasted brown rice, natural kelp and organic grown pickled plum

 

"Japanese people, who have the longest lifespan, used to treat and respect Nature as God and appreciate the bounty of Nature. That is how Japanese used to treat food. I want people to understand it." – says Mrs. Mayumi Yanai.


The world is seized with the Japanese food boom. In Russia it is the same. 
"Unfortunately it is mostly sushi, sashimi, tempura and udon"which people all over the world know as the Japanese cuisine. The main concept of the Japanese cuisine is not known yet.

The preparation of authentic Japanese food is not so complicated. "The point is that you have to prepare meals by making the best use of the original taste of each ingredient. It is exactly what sets in order our bodies. I believe this way of eating will save the world." - says Mrs. Yanai.  

The screening of this documentary film was arranged not only in order to introduce Japanese food abroad but also to attract people's attention to the problem called «koshoku», which means eat alone and feel lonely. There are a lot of families in Russia where both parents work and children have meals by themselves. So it is quite a pressing problem here, too.

Warm words about the warm soup…


After the screening, we received a lot of comments from the audience. 
"Fast-paced lifestyle produces 'fast food'. We are so much in a hurry every day that we are even sometimes unable to realize our emotional state. We have to slow down and let it have "slow life and slow food," said one young woman with her eyes full of tears.

A 73-year-old woman said that Japanese are really philosophic people. They love nature, spending their time to observe it, and living in unison with it.

Mrs. Yoshiko Tatsumi’s message reached people in Moscow

  
Mrs.Mayumi Yanai, Senior Producer/ NHK Educational Corporation
矢内真由美さん((株)NHKエデュケーショナル  シニアプロデューサー)
"I am convinced that from our first to last breath soup and broths can help us find comfort and peace. And this is the mission lying beyond the soup’s vapors." - these are the last words Yoshiko Tatsumi says to us in the film. The producer says that World Peace comes with meals and asks people to value the time they spend eating the same dinner together with their families. People eat food not only to recover energy. Food feeds our bodies as well as our souls.

We hope that this film will make more Russians gather at their kitchens every day to have meals together. 

It feels like even frozen Moscow has become a bit warmer


May you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
メリークリスマス&ハッピーニューイヤー!

Monday, December 2, 2013

"Ganbarou" means "stay strong"./「がんばろう」という言葉の意味は、「stay strong (強くあれ)」ということ。












After Super Typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) hit the Visayas Region on November 8, the Philippines has been receiving aid and support from local and foreign donors.  We have been hearing and seeing stories of acts of kindness: from the different countries who have sent their doctors and nurses to give medical assistance to the people of Leyte, Samar and Cebu; and the different international organizations who sent tons of relief goods to the affected areas; to ordinary citizens who have decided to share whatever they have with their fellow Filipinos.  These acts of kindness have moved many to come up with ways on how to help.
11月8日、大型の台風30号(「ハイヤン」またはフィリンピン名「ヨランダ」)がフィリピン・ヴィサヤ諸島に直撃し、フィリピンは、国内外から様々な救援・サポートを受けています。わたしたちは、その救援活動の中でのいたわりある親切な行動を実際に目撃したり、耳にしたりしています。海外の国々は、自国の医者・ナースを派遣し、レイテ、サマール、セブの被害を受けた人々への医療サポートを提供しています。国際機関の多くは、たくさんの救援物資を届けました。また、少しでも役に立たないかと、自分の持っている物品を救援物資として寄付する一般の人々もいます。これらの心ある行動は、多くの人の心を動かし、更にどのようにサポートをすれば良いのか、ということを思い起こさせました。



The Japan Foundation, Manila has decided to launch the “GanbarouPilipinas” project. It is our way of showing our support to those who were greatly affected by the typhoon. "Ganbarou" means "Stay strong" in Japanese. The message "Ganbarou Tohoku, Ganbarou Nippon" has been commonly seen and heard all over Japan after the earthquake and tsunami in 2011.  Through the “GanbarouPilipinas” project, JF Manila has started posting various lessons learned from post disaster relief and recovery operations in Japan and other countries.  These articles range from disaster preparedness tips for kids to inspiring stories of survival from those who have experience calamities.
 マニラ日本文化センターでは、今回の台風で甚大な被害を受けた人々をわたしたちなりの方法でサポートしていくことが出来るように「GanbarouPilipinas(がんばろうフィリピン)」プロジェクトを立ち上げました。「がんばろう」は日本語で「Stay strong(強くあれ)」という意味です。2011年東日本大震災の際には、「がんばろう東北、がんばろう日本」というメッセージを日本中でよく目にしましたが、この「GanbarouPilipinas(がんばろうフィリピン)」プロジェクトを通して本センターは、災害後の復旧、復興に要するオペレーション術など、日本や海外の国々が学んできた様々な教訓を伝える記事の掲載を始めました。これらの記事は、子どもの防災についてのアドバイスから、大惨劇から生き残った人々の感激のエピソードまで様々な情報を届けています。

Ganbarou Pilipinas!
がんばろうフィリピン!


To know more about #GanbarouPilipinas and other JF Manila events, visit https://www.facebook.com/jfmanila  or https://twitter.com/JFManila.
「#がんばろうフィリピン」及びマニラ日本文化センターでのイベントの詳細はこちらから。
https://www.facebook.com/jfmanila  /  https://twitter.com/JFManila

Monday, November 11, 2013

エジプトのアニメ・マンガオタク大集合!「The Grand J-Pop Culture Festival」/The Grand J-Pop Culture Festival - the Biggest Gathering of "Otaku" in Egypt

Aharan wa saharan! カイロから、AkiNevineがお届けします。
Ahlan wa sahlan! Aki & Nevine reporting from Cairo!

2011年の革命以来、エジプトは激動の日々が続いています。ニュースではデモや衝突、軍事クーデター、座り込みの強制排除といった物騒な内容ばかり報道されるので、エジプトは相当危険な状態になっているに違いない、と思われているかもしれません。実際、平穏無事な日々は3か月と続かないのですが、怯えて家にこもっていては生活できませんので、人々はサーフィンをするようにエジプト情勢の波を乗り越え、日常生活を送っています。
Since the 2011 revolution there have been many periodical violent upheavals in Egypt. During the past two years most of the news broadcast about Egypt abroad was mainly about demonstrations, clashes, sit-ins and the military coup d’état. To anybody following the news it must seem like Egypt is a very dangerous place to be in right now. In fact, there are uneventful intervals of peace and calm which usually last only 3 months. However, people cannot live cooped up in their homes all the time so they try to live their daily lives as normally as possible while navigating the turbulence affecting their routines. 
タハリール広場に近いカイロ日本文化センターでも、広場で衝突が起きて閉館することもありますが、騒動が落ち着いたところを見計らって楽しいイベントを開催し、多くの人々に参加いただいています。
Our Office is located near Tahrir Square, so whenever there are any disturbances in the area we have to close the office. However, we immediately take advantage of the calm intervals to hold our events in which many people do participate. 

今回はエジプトのアニメ・マンガ関連イベントを2つ紹介しましょう。
This time we would like to introduce you the two of our events related to manga and anime.
ピラミッド前にグレンダイザー出現!
Kageyama-san & Egyptian cosplayers with Grendizer in front of three pyramids
(©GO NAGAI/DYNAMIC PLANNING, Special thanks to Wajima city tourist bureau)


1エジプトのアニメ・マンガオタク大集合!「The Grand J-Pop Culture Festival
    The Grand J-Pop Culture Festival - the Biggest Gathering of “Otaku” in Egypt   


エジプトを始めとする中東でも日本のアニメやマンガ、ポップスは大人気です。最近では、若者たちはアニメやマンガを観て楽しむだけではあきたらず、その気持ちを仲間同士で語り合ったり、イラストやマンガを描いたり、アニメソングやJ-POPを歌いたい、コスプレをしたい、という人が増えてきました。そんな彼らの日本のアニメやマンガに対する熱い気持ちを思い切り表現してもらうべく、国際交流基金カイロ日本文化センターでは、3月8日・9日にザマレグのサウイ文化センターでエジプト初のアニメ・マンガイベントを開催しました。
Even in the Middle East, and especially in Egypt, Japanese pop culture, anime and manga are very popular. Recently, young people want not only to watch anime and read manga, but also to get together with their friends to share their passion for manga and anime, draw manga and illustrations, sing their favourite anime and J-pop songs, and do cosplay. Believing that they needed to have a platform to fully express this passion, the Japan Foundation Cairo Office organized the first anime and manga event in Egypt, at El Sawy Culturewheel in Zamalek on March 8 and 9, 2013. 
会場入り口では、輪島市の永井豪記念館よりはるばるエジプトまでやってきた6mのグレンダイザーバルーンがお出迎え。このグレンダイザー君は、昨年はイラクの国際見本市にも登場し、イラク人から大好評だった人気者。会場ではエジプト人の漫画家を目指す若者たちの集団Egy-Mangaの作品展示や、漫画家の卵、Wahaba君による「マンガ似顔絵コーナー」、日本のマンガ雑誌やコミックス、アラビア語訳の日本の本などが読める「マンガ喫茶」、レンタルコスプレ衣装による「コスプレ体験コーナー」、日本への想いをメッセージやイラストにして描いてもらうコーナー、折り紙や書道コーナーと盛りだくさんのアトラクションを用意、800名を越える来場者を迎え、会場は文化祭のように熱気に満ちていました。
 Standing at the entrance to welcome all visitors was a 6 meter-tall Grendizer balloon brought to Egypt specifically for this purpose from the Go Nagai Memorial Hall in Wajima City. Grendizer had also participated last year in the Baghdad International Trade Fair, where it received favorable attention. Our event included many attractive sections. For example, an exhibition for works by the members of the Egy-Manga group who plan on becoming professional manga-ka, and a manga-portrait section by the young manga artist “Wahba.” What’s more, we had a Manga Café where visitors could read manga magazines, comics, Arabic translations of Japanese books, as well as a Cosplay experience section where special costumes could be borrowed, a section for writing messages to Japan on a big banner, and an origami and Japanese calligraphy section. There were more than 800 visitors, and the event was very lively and became an enjoyable cultural festival.

初めての"コスプレ"を楽しむ来場者たち
Visitors enjoyed their first "cosplay"
マンガ喫茶
Manga cafe

午後にはコスプレショーの開始。30組のエントリーがあり、「ブリーチ」や「デスノート」、「ナルト」などのキャラクターの衣装を身につけたエジプト人コスプレーヤーたちが登場、最初は少し照れていましたが、観客からの声援を受けるとだんだんノッてきて、ポーズをとり始めました。ショーが終わった後も、会場のいたるところでコスプレーヤーたちを囲んでの撮影会が行われていました。
In the afternoon we had the Cosplay Show. Over 30 Egyptian participants dressed up as their favourite characters from anime and manga series such as BleachDeath Note and Naruto, and went on stage to display their costumes. At first they were a little shy but as the crowd cheered them on, they got over their shyness and started posing as the characters. Even after the Show ended, the cosplayers were surrounded by fans wanting to take pictures with them.

エジプトのコスプレーヤーたち
Egyptian cosplayers
お次はゲスト審査員にアニメソング歌手の影山ヒロノブさんを迎えての「J-Pop Singing Contest」。予選を通過した10組32名が参加し、大好きな日本の歌を熱唱。優勝はボーカロイドの「ルカルカナイトフィーバー」を踊りながら熱唱した飯島レイラさん。影山賞はアインシャムス大学日本語学科の学生10名による、ドラマ「タンブリング」の主題歌「まなざし」、基金賞は「ナルト疾風伝」のエンディングテーマ「道~to you all~」を歌ってくれた声優志望の高校生ラムザさんが受賞しました。
Next, we had the J-Pop Singing Contest in honour of anime song singer Hironobu Kageyama, who served as one of the jury members. 10 bands/ soloists of a total of 32 singers passed the preliminary stage and participated in the live competition. They all performed their favourite Japanese songs with great enthusiasm. The first place winner was Laila Iijima who both sang and danced to the music of “Luka Luka Night Fever.”  The Kageyama Prize was awarded to the band consisting of 10 students from the Japanese Language Department of Ain Shams University. They performed the theme song “Manazashi” from the TV drama series Tumbling. The Japan Foundation Special Prize was awarded to Ms. Ramza, a high school student with the exceptional voice, who wants to become a voice actress in future. She sang “Michi ~ to you all~” from the anime series Naruto Shippuden. 

声優志望のラムちゃん
"Ram chan," who wants to be a voice actress, sang "Manazashi"
コンサートで歌うアニメソング歌手影山ヒロノブさん
Japanese anime song singer Hironobu Kageyama on the stage

そして夜はメインイベント「影山ヒロノブアニメソングコンサート」。アニメ「ドラゴンボール」シリーズの歌で有名なアニメソング歌手の影山ヒロノブさんによる、中東で初のアニメソングコンサートです。ハムシーンが吹きすさぶ中、影山さんがドラゴンボールの主題歌「We Gotta Power」を歌い始めると、会場はたちまち興奮と熱狂に包まれました。コンサートは日本でも大ヒットした「ドラゴンボールZ」の主題歌「CHA-LA-HEAD-CHA-LA」で最高潮に達し、500名を超える観客は「ちゃーらー、へっちゃらー」とサビの部分を日本語で合唱しました。
At night we had the main event “Hironobu Kageyama Anime Song Concert.” It was the first concert in the Middle East for anime song singer Hironobu Kageyama, who is well-known as the singer of the Drangonball anime series songs. In the fierce khamaseen winds Kageyama-san began the concert with his hit song “We Gotta Power” from “Dragonball,” and the audience immediately erupted into a frenzy of cheering. When the concert reached its peak with the famous Dragon Ball Z theme song, which was a huge hit in Japan, all the 500 audience members were singing along with Kageyama-san the Japanese chorus “Cha la head cha la.”


影山さんのコンサート風景
Kageyama-san's anime song concert
3月9日にはピラミッド前で、グレンダイザーと影山さんとエジプト人コスプレーヤーたちが日本へのメッセージが描かれたバナーをもって記念撮影会を開催。午後はサウイ文化センターで影山さんを迎えて、日本のアニメソングについてのトークライブを開催、エジプト人のアニメ・マンガファンたちと影山さんとの素敵な交流日と なりました。
On March 9, Kageyama-san, Grendizer and the Egyptian cosplayers went to the Pyramids, carrying the banner with all the messages written by Egyptians to Japan and had a photo session. In the afternoon Kageyama-san headed back to El Sawy Culturewheel for a talk about Japanese anime songs. All in all, it was a lovely day full of lively interaction between Kageyama-san and the Egyptian anime and manga fans. 
アニメソング歌手影山ヒロノブさんと記念撮影するをするエジプトのコスプレーヤーたち
Japanese anime song singer Hironobu Kageyama with Egyptian cosplayers

 残念ながらこのイベントの前後、ポートサイード事件の判決に関連し、各地で衝突が起き、このイベントはあまりニュースになりませんでした。しかし、参加者たちの心には大きな種をまいたらしく、漫画家の卵たちがマンガ同人誌を発行したり、展覧会を開催したり、アニメ好きの若者たちが「EG CON」というアニメイベントの開催に向けて動き出しました。
Unfortunately, at that time there were many riots all over Egypt related to the the Port Said Stadium violence trial, and so there wasn’t much press coverage for our Festival and other events. Nevertheless, it seems the event left a deep impression on the fans: After the event, the young manga-ka have been issuing their own magazine and organizing exhibitions, and anime lovers just got started to prepare for the holding of an anime event called EGCON.

  第一回 4コマ漫画コンテスト&エジプトマンガ展
      (20136/267/8作品募集、8/49/19 作品展示@カイロ日本文化センター)
      The First Four-frame Manga Contest & Egyptian Manga Exhibition
  (Application: June 26 – July 8, 2013; Exhibition: August 4 – September 19, 2013, at the Japan Foundation Cairo Office)
エジプトでマンガ家を目指している若者たちは、絵は上手な人が多いのですが、ストーリーマンガとなるとなかなか作品を完成させられる人がいません。いきなり長編マンガを描こうとして挫折しているようなので、「4コマ漫画」でストーリーを作る練習をしてみたらどうか、ということで、カイロ日本文化センターではこの夏、「試験」「恋」「失敗」というテーマ4コマ漫画を募集し、コンテストを開催しました。
The young Egyptians who want to become professional manga-ka are very good at drawing, but when it comes to making up a complete story, there are few who can do it. Many seem frustrated because they try to write a long manga story but fail. So we thought about providing a chance for them to train through making up a manga with only four frames. Accordingly, last summer we organized a four-frame manga contest with one of the following themes: exams, love or failure.

一位入選作 The first prize "Love" By Yousif el-sayed Zedan

30作品を超える応募があり、入賞10作品に対してマンガ原作者の岩見吉朗京都精華大学マンガ学部准教授から講評をいただきました。SF、ラブストーリーなど様々な作品がありましたが、冗談好きなエジプト人の割にはコメディが少ない事が意外でした。また、外国人が憧れる「千夜一夜」的なアラブ世界や、古代エジプトの歴史などはあまり興味がないらしく題材になることはありませんでした。今後、エジプトからどのようなマンガが生まれてくるか楽しみです。
We had over 30 entries, and after choosing the best 10 works we sent them to Professor Yoshiro Iwami, associate professor in the Manga Department of Kyoto Seika University to receive his remarks on the works. The genres included science fiction and romance, but the number of humorous manga submitted by the joke-loving Egyptians was surprisingly few. Despite their popularity in overseas countries, it also seems that the participants were not very interested in the “Arabic style” per the Arabian Nights or in Ancient Egypt either, and so these themes were not present in the submitted works. We look forward to finding out what type of manga will be coming out of Egypt in the future. 


入賞者たち
Prize winners