Celebration of the Provision of Asian Languages and Culture in Ireland

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Research to Empower Educational Leaders (REEL) and Drumcondra Education Centre are organizing Celebration of the Provision of Asian Languages and Culture in Ireland taking place in Drumcondra Education Centre on 22nd January.

Date: 22nd January 2018
Time: 7pm
Venue: Drumcondra Education Centre, St. Patrick’s College of Education, Drumcondra, Dublin 9

Speakers:
* Dr Lorna Carson, Trinity College
* Dr Ryoko Sasamoto, DCU
* Dr Karen Ruddock, Director of the Post-Primary Languages Initiative

If you wish to attend this event, please register your interest here:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/asian-evening-at-drumcondra-education-centre-tickets-41953960425

Prades Sextet treats IJA members and friends to a chamber music concert in Dublin

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At the end of November, Ireland Japan Association (IJA) had the pleasure to invite and treat its members and friends to a special members-only event of chamber music performed by The Prades Sextet in a warm, intimate and acoustically excellent setting in Dublin city centre followed by reception.

Mrs. Mari Miyoshi, Ambassador of Japan in Ireland as well as representatives of the Embassy of Japan in Ireland attended event together with members of IJA and Japanese Business Association.

The guests were treated to a passionate musical performance by The Prades Sextet – a group of 6 young, talented world-class artists that met at the Pablo Casals Festival in Prades, France 2016. Since their meeting, Mayu Konoye (20), Christopher Ellis (20), Johannes Gray (20), Takehiro Konoye (20), Ruña ‘t Hart (25) and Martin Moriarty (23) have enjoyed playing together as The Prades Sextet and in various ensembles. The members of the sextet come from Ireland, Japan, The Netherlands and The United States of America. Between them, the members of the sextet are currently studying music at conservatories in Amsterdam, Berlin and Paris.

The group performed:
* Johannes Brahms: String Sextet in B flat Major, Op. 18, No.1 (35’),
* Arnold Schoenberg: Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured Night) Op. 4 for String Sextet (30’),
* Japanese Popular Medley arranged by Hidetake and Hidemaro Konoye,
* Romance for Viola by Hidetake Konoye presented to Crown Prince of Japan on his wedding day.

IJA would like to thank Mr. Yasuyuki Ozeki, IJA Vice-Chairperson, Mr. Hiroaki Ozaki, Director of Ozaki Associates Ltd. and everybody who helped to organize this wonderful event. Big thanks goes also to Connect Ireland for hosting this event and Yamamori Restaurant for providing tasty treats for the event reception.

Chamber Music Concert

 

Chamber Music Concert

Chamber Music Concert

 

Chamber Music Concert

Chamber Music Concert

Finnair introduce Corporate Programme in Ireland

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The Finnair Corporate Programme is an easy and budget-friendly solution for cost-conscious corporate clients. Your business clients can enjoy discounts on flight tickets immediately after enrolling, and the flexible ticket types allow for last-minute changes. Your client can book and purchase flights with you, their preferred travel agent.  On enrolment they provide details of their travel agent.  Finnair will then send you a dedicated client code for automatic application of discounts.

Discounts

There are three membership levels in the Finnair Corporate Programme: Silver, Gold and Platinum. The higher your company’s membership level, the greater the discounts. The membership level is reviewed every six months and is defined based on the flight purchases made during the tracking period.

Your company can enjoy Silver-level membership discounts immediately on enrolment.

*discount from ticket types BUSINESS (C, D), BUSINESS SAVER (I)**, PRO (Y), PRO (B, H), VALUE (K, M) and VALUE (P, T)

** BUSINESS SAVER (I) with advanced purchase rule is not discounted.

*** Silver, Gold and Platinum level discounts on flights to Japan and North America: J, C, D, I, W, Y, B = 11%, A, E, H = 6%

Discounted fares for one-way flights in the Finnair Corporate Programme are only available in travel class Y (ticket type PRO). On return trips travel must start and end in the same country.

For more information go to: https://www.finnair.com/ie/gb/company-travel/corporate-programme or contact the Finnair team in Ireland – Tel: (01) 882 8680 or email finnair@atts.ie

Shoji Screens Ireland joins IJA as a Corporate member

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Ireland Japan Association is delighted to welcome Irish interior and design company Shoji Screens Ireland (t/a WoolinWood) on board as a Corporate member and is looking forward to a long lasting and successful cooperation.

Shoji Screens Ireland produce handmade Asian style shoji screens and insulated sliding wooden shutters.

The idea for Shoji Ireland came into being about 25 years ago. Company’s designer Jim Kennedy, lived, worked and travelled in Japan from 1990 to 1995.  While there, he came to appreciate the beauty of the country and the culture, and to understand the deep idea of how life and nature can blend to create something beautiful.  Shoji screens reflect this idea; combining light, beauty and functionality while creating a calm ambiance.

‘Here in Ireland, a country of travellers who draw inspiration from the world over, we are now making shoji screens for windows and doors to enhance the beauty of our interiors and show how light, nature and privacy can come together to increase comfort and relaxation in the home,’ says Aisling Pierce, WoolinWood Sales Manager.

‘Our designer, who spent a significant period in Japan, along with skilled craftsmen based in Counties Tipperary and Carlow, custom-make our products to the exact requirements of the customer, after a comprehensive consultation and home measurement service for our sliding screens and shutters.  Our free-standing shoji can also be customised (height x width) to fit your home and individual colour requirements can be accommodated. Insulated WoolinWood shutters and doors are a patented product which Jim invented specifically for the draughty Irish context when building his own home here on his return from Japan’ explains Aisling.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More about Shoji Screens Ireland: http://woolinwood.ie/

Japanese Studies in a global context: “The art of friendship” (Symposium)

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International Japanese Studies Symposium: Japanese Studies in a global context ‘The art of friendship’ that is taking place from 30th November – 2nd December 2017 in Dublin, seeks to open up the field of Japanese arts, humanities and social sciences research within a comparative, international perspective.

Co-organised by Osaka University and Trinity College Dublin, it explores key aspects of contemporary Japanese Studies from the late Meiji period to the present day, and seeks to foster closer relationships between Japanese and Irish researchers of Japan.

Featuring guest speakers from the Graduate School of Letters at Osaka University along with scholars from University College Cork, University College Dublin, the University of Limerick, Dublin City University and Trinity College, this symposium will be launched with a keynote presentation by artist, translator and scholar Peter MacMillan.

This event is free of charge and open to the public. All talks will take place in the Neill Theatre, Trinity Long Room Hub. This symposium is part of a series of activities taking place in Trinity College in 2017, marking the 60th anniversary of Japan-Ireland diplomatic relations.

The full symposium programme is available here.

EU-Japan Centre: 30 years together

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EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation is a unique venture between the European Commission and the Japanese Government. It is a non-profit organisation established as an affiliate of the Institute of International Studies and Training (IIST).

It aims at promoting all forms of industrial, trade and investment cooperation between the EU and Japan and at improving EU and Japanese companies’ competitiveness and cooperation by facilitating exchanges of experience and know-how between EU and Japanese businesses.

EU-Japan Centre is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year and have just issued its latest Newsletter to mark this occasion. The publication includes the EU-Japan Centre’s history and milestones, a summary of its current activities and key deliverables as well as a selection of recent industrial reports.

You can read the full Newsletter here: http://www.eu-japan.eu/sites/default/files/publications/docs/october17.pdf

IJA Golf Outing 2017 Results

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This year IJA Annual Golf Outing took place on 5th October in beautiful Milltown Golf Club, Dublin. We would like to thank all the teams who participated and send a special congratulations to the winners – SuMi Trust Team who have won the Cup for the second year in a row!

The list of winners:

1st place & winners of the IJA Golf Cup 2017 – SuMi Trust Team 

  • Colm Geary 
  • Peter Callaghan
  • Karl Purcell
  • David Carroll

1st place & winners of the IJA Golf Cup 2017 – SuMi Trust Team

2nd place – Dillon Eustace Team 

  • Shane Geraghty 
  • Ross McCormack 
  • Conor MacGuinness 
  • Shane Coman

2nd place – Dillon Eustace Team

3rd place – Bank of Ireland Team 1

  • Dan O’Donnell 
  • Liam Mernane 
  • David Carthy 
  • Rory Mullen

3rd place – Bank of Ireland Team 1

 4th place – Bank of Ireland Team 2

  • Derek Collins 
  • Kevin Dempsey 
  • Gerry Burke 
  • Barry O’Neill

4th place – Bank of Ireland Team 2

Congratulations to all teams again and we look forward to our Golf Outing 2018 next year!

 

Lecture by Prof. Aaron Moore: The Crucible of East Asia: War Diaries and the Making of China & Japan, 1937-45

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The UCD Japan Fair is drawing to a close and we would like to invite you to attend the last session taking place today, Thursday 12th October at 6pm at O’Brien Science Centre, Belfield Campus.

The final keynote lecture will be given by Prof. Aaron Moore on ‘The Crucible of East Asia: War Diaries and the Making of China & Japan, 1937-45‘
 
Date: Thursday, 12th October
Time: 6 p.m.
Venue: Moore Theatre, UCD O’Brien Science Centre, D4 Belfield Campus
Cost: Free entrance
***
Prof Moore is the newly appointed Handa Chair of Japanese-Chinese Relations at the University of Edinburgh. He is widely recognized as a scholar who is breaking new ground, a prolific author, and an excellent presenter.
 
His research has focused on the comparative study of life writing among soldiers, children and youth, and civilians during times of war in China, Japan, Russia, and Britain. These documents include published, self-published, and manuscript diaries, letters, and memoirs, as well as crafts, drawings, and material objects. He is currently co-writing a book with Seth Jacobowitz (Yale University) on Japanese popular science, science fiction, and detective novels from the Meiji Period to WWII. His first monograph, Writing War (Harvard University Press, 2013), was a finalist for the RHS Gladstone Prize, and his second book, Bombing the City, which concerns civilian narratives of air raids in Britain and Japan, is to be published by Cambridge University Press at the end of 2017.
***
More information and registration for the event here!

‘Finnair’ Announces Sale Price of €599

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Published Fare Campaign Selling period from 22nd Aug to 14th Oct 2017 From Dublin

Destinations Fares Travel Period

 

TOKYO (TYO), OSAKA (OSA) & NAGOYA (NAG) 599 € 29.10.2017 – 14.12.2017                 
TOKYO (TYO), OSAKA (OSA) & NAGOYA (NAG) 599 € 26.12.2017 – 14.03.2018  
TOKYO (TYO), OSAKA (OSA),

NAGOYA (NAG) &  FUKUOKA (FUK)*

 599 € 02.04.2018 – 31.05.2018                 
Destinations   T-Class

Fares

 Travel Period
TOKYO (TYO), OSAKA (OSA) & NAGOYA (NAG) 999 € 29.10.2017 – 14.12.2017       
TOKYO (TYO), OSAKA (OSA) & NAGOYA (NAG) 999 € 26.12.2017 – 14.03.2018
TOKYO (TYO), OSAKA (OSA),

NAGOYA (NAG) &  FUKUOKA (FUK)*

 999 € 02.04.2018 – 31.05.2018       
Destinations   I-Class

Fares

 Travel Period
TOKYO (TYO), OSAKA (OSA) & NAGOYA (NAG) 2399 € 29.10.2017 – 14.12.2017       
TOKYO (TYO), OSAKA (OSA) & NAGOYA (NAG) 2399 € 26.12.2017 – 14.03.2018
TOKYO (TYO), OSAKA (OSA),

NAGOYA (NAG) &  FUKUOKA (FUK)*

 2399 € 02.04.2018 – 31.05.2018 

 *  Fukuoka service starts on 26.04.2018

Conditions:

Openjaw:                Permitted

Combinability:         With any AY/BA/JL/IB fare

Minimum stay:        Q-class & T-Class: 5 days or First Sunday after departure

I-Class: 3 days

Maximum stay:        12 months

Changes:                Q-Class: anytime permitted with €180

T-Class: anytime permitted with €150

I-Class: anytime permitted with €200

Cancellations:         Q-Class: anytime Non refundable

T-Class: Before dep EUR 150, after dep Non refundable

I-Class: Before dep EUR 200, after dep Non refundable

Stopover:                Q-Class & T-Class: EUR 75 each, 1 in EUR and 1 In JPN each direction

I-Class: FOC each, 1 in EUR and 1 In JPN each direction

Ticket time limit:      3 days after reservation
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Writer Lafcadio Hearn’s Great-Grandson Honoured by Japanese Foreign Minister

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Mr. Bon Koizumi. Photo: Embassy of Japan in Ireland

On 30 July 2017, Mrs. Mari Miyoshi, Ambassador of Japan to Ireland, presented the Japanese Foreign Minister’s Commendation to Mr. Bon Koizumi and Mrs. Shoko Koizumi for their outstanding contribution to the mutual understanding and friendship between Japan and Ireland.

Mr. Bon Koizumi is the great-grandson of the writer and translator Lafcadio Hearn (1850-1904), perhaps “Japan’s best-known Irishman” (John Moran) who was born on Lefkada Island, Greece, to an Irish military surgeon and a Greek mother. He is also known as Yakumo Koizumi in Japan where he found a home, married Setsu Koizumi, the daughter of a Matsue samurai, became a citizen and wrote 14 books on cultural subjects.

Bon and his wife Mrs. Shoko Koizumi have been introducing the life and works of Lafcadio Hearn to countries around the world including Japan, Ireland, and Greece since 1990. Hearn’s understanding of Japanese culture and his ‘open-minded’ spirit helped many to nurture mutual understanding and friendship between Japan and Ireland.  As board members of the Sanin Japan-Ireland Association, Mr. and Mrs. Koizumi have been involved with various activities for the purpose of not only publicising Bon’s great-grandfather but also introducing Irish culture to Japan.  Matsue City, where Lafcadio Hearn used to live, has a strong relationship with Dublin, often exchanging reciprocal visits.

At the presentation ceremony, Ambassador Miyoshi said, “I would like to express my gratitude to Mr. and Mrs. Koizumi for their outstanding contributions to deepening the mutual understanding and friendship between Japan and Ireland over the last decades”, and continued, “On this occasion of the 60th anniversary of Japan-Ireland diplomatic relations, it gives me great pleasure to award the Foreign Minister’s Commendation to Mr. and Mrs. Koizumi’’. Mr. Masuo Nishibayashi, Ambassador of Japan to Greece, also sent Mr. and Mrs. Koizumi a congratulatory message.

Mr. and Mrs. Koizumi commented, “It is an honour for us to accept this award for our activities. We are grateful for the support of the Japanese Embassy in building bridges of understanding and friendship between Ireland and Japan”.