Tag Archive for: IJA

IJA celebrates its biggest event of the year – Annual Dinner 2018

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16th February 2018 was a special day in the calendar of events for Ireland Japan Association as its members and friends came together to celebrate one of the biggest and most anticipated events of the year – IJA Annual Dinner.

Photo: Doylecollection.com

This year the Annual Dinner took place at The Westbury Hotel, one of the most iconic and beautiful locations in Dublin. IJA was delighted to welcome H.E. Mrs. Mari Miyoshi, Ambassador of Japan in  Ireland, and Mr. Nicky Comyn, IRFU Junior Vice President as honorary guests at the event.

On arrival, all dinner guests were treated to a sake reception with compliments from the Embassy of Japan in Ireland.

Event continued with speeches given by Ms. Darina Slattery, IJA Chairperson, H.E. Mrs. Mari Miyoshi, Ambassador of Japan in Ireland, and Mr. Nicky Comyn, IRFU Junior Vice President.

Dinner guests enjoyed a 3 course menu followed by prize giving raffle which was generously sponsored by IJA members. The grand prize this year was 2 return flights to Japan sponsored by Finnair.

IJA would like to thank Council members for their time and hard work helping to make this event such a successful celebration for everybody.

IJA would like to thank Corporate members who supported this event: Finnair, Allied Irish Banks, Bank of Ireland, KWE Ireland, PM Group, Matheson, SuMi Trust, Unique Japan Tours and Yamamori Restaurants.

Big thank you goes also to our friends from Japanese Saturday School in Dublin who made the beautiful origami decorations for the dinner tables and Miss Laura Hegarty for the wonderful ‘Koto’ performance.

IJA Annual Dinner 2018 was one of the 60th Anniversary events commemorating diplomatic relationship between Ireland and Japan.

 

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

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/

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.
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More information and registration for the event here!

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”.

Finnair joins IJA as a Corporate member and offers shortest route between Europe and Asia

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The Ireland Japan Association (IJA) is delighted to welcome one of the leading European airlines – Finnair – on board IJA as a Corporate member and is looking forward to a long lasting and successful cooperation promoting links between Ireland and Japan.

Flying from Dublin Airport via Helsinki, Finnair offers the geographically shortest route, smooth and uncongested transits, and straighter flights that generate fewer emissions between more than 70 European destinations and 17 Asian megacities.

The travel time with Finnair from Dublin Airport to Tokyo is 14hr 30 mins, Dublin to Hong Kong is 13hrs 25 mins and Dublin to Beijing is 13hrs 30 mins to mention but a few saving passengers between four to five hours on other airlines connections from Dublin Airport.

Finnair flies to four destinations in Japan: Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka (27/4/17-28/10/17), six destinations in China: Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Chongqing, Xian and Guangzhou. Finnair also fly to Singapore, Seoul, Bangkok and Delhi. Finnair fly direct to Krabi Phuket and Goa (new service) in the Winter season (Nov-Mar).

For more information of Finnair go to www.finnair.ie
Telephone: +353 (0)1 695 0015 (local network charge)
Open: Mon–Fri 8 a.m.–6 p.m., Sat-Sun and public holidays 8 a.m.–4 p.m.

 

 

Half-Century in Dublin: Memoirs of Yoshiko Ushioda

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Caring for Japanese Art at the Chester Beatty Library is a memoir of Yoshiko Ushioda (translated by Etsuko Kanamori), looking back at more than five decades of life in Dublin.

The story begins in 1960, when she traveled from Tokyo with her young son to join her husband, a research-fellow at University College Dublin. Beginning as a volunteer at the Chester Beatty Library in 1970, she would go on to become curator and accompany masterpieces loaned by The Chester Beatty Library to special exhibitions all around the world. Both inspiring and heartfelt, Mrs. Ushioda’s memoir will be of interest to both lovers of Japanese Art and those interested in Irish-Japanese relations.

Yoshiko Ushioda was born in 1931 in Mito, Japan, and moved to Dublin in 1960. In 1970, she began volunteering at the Chester Beatty Library, and was promoted to curator of the Japanese Arts Collection in 1980. She retired in 1996, and currently lives in Dublin with her huband. Mrs. Ushioda is also a founder member of Ireland Japan Association.

Etsuko Kanamori was born in 1959 in Nagasaki and has worked as an interpreter and translator for Ericsson Japan, Fukuoka, Shin-Yokohama and Yokosuka Research Park. She currently lives in Dalkey, Ireland.

The book can be pre-ordered here!

 

Japanese pianist Satoko Inoue on tour in Ireland

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This summer is bringing lots of amazing Japanese talent to Ireland and we are delighted to announce the concert tour of renowned Japanese pianist Satoko Inoue in three concerts taking place across Ireland this June.

Concerts will be focusing on classical music and music of living composers from Ireland and Japan, celebrating the links between Ireland and Japan with four new works written specially for these concerts featuring pianist and speaker. All the texts (ghost stories and folk tales) are by Lafcadio Hearn/Koizumi Yakumo.

Concerts in Ireland:
Friday 23rd June | 8PM | Regional Cultural Cente, Letterkenny (Tickets – €10 / €5 at door)
  • C.P.E. Bach (from ‘Die sechs Sammlungen von Sanaten, freien Fantasien und Rondos für Kenner und Liebhaber’)
  • Fantasia Ⅰ (Fünfte Sammlung)
  • Rondo Ⅱ (Dritte Sammlung)
  • Claude Debussy – Clair de lune
  • Toru Takemitsu – Rain Tree Sketch 1 (1982)
  • Yuji Itoh – Yuruginaki-Kokoro (2011)
  • John McLachlan – Nuance (2003)
  • Jean-Luc Darbellay – Ciel étoilé (2014)
  • Paul Hayes – Lost in Baha (2001)
  • World premieres with texts from Lafcadio Hearn
    – John McLachlan – Fragment (2016)
    – Paul Hayes – The Second Heaven of Desire in Old Tramore (2016)

Sunday 25th June | 12PM | Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin (Admission Free)

  • Diana Rotaru (1981-) – Prélude Parisien no.1 DEBUMESSQUISSE (2007)
  • Akemi Naito (1956-) – Rain, Calling Autumn (1994)
  • Yuji Itoh (1956-) – Yuruginaki-Kokoro (2011)
  • Jo Kondo (1947-) – Interlude (2017)
  • Paul Hayes (1951-) – 27th January 1995 (1995)
  • David Rosenboom (1947-) – Kicking Shadows (2007)
  • John McLachlan (1964-) – Fragment (after Lafcadio Hearn) (2017)

Tuesday 27th June | 8PM | Large Room, City Hall, Waterford City (Tickets €10 / €5 at door)

  • Toru Takemitsu – Rain Tree Sketch 1 (1982)
  • Satoshi Tanaka – Oracle (2011)
  • Akemi Naito – UBAZAKURA (2017) – world premiere
  • Yuji Itoh – The Reconciliation (2017) – world premiere
  • The Lafcadio Hearn pieces – Speaker John McLachlan
  • John McLachlan – Fragment (after Lafcadio Hearn) (2016)
  • Paul Hayes – The Second Heaven of Desire in Old Tramore (2017)

Lafcadio Hearn, known also by the Japanese name Koizumi Yakumo, was an Irish writer, known best for his books about Japan, especially his collections of Japanese legends and ghost stories.

Pianist Satoko Inoue is renowned throughout Japan, Europe and in United States as a leading interpreter of contemporary solo piano music. She has premiered works by some of Japan’s foremost composers including Jo Kondo, Yori-aki Matsudaira, Yoritsune Matsudaira, and Toshi Ichiyanagi. She is well-known for playing Jo Kondo’s complete piano works and performing works of other contemporary composers such as Toru Takemitsu, John Cage, Morton Feldman, Henry Cowell, Luciano Berio, Giacinto Scelsi, Luc Ferrari, Doina Rotaru, and others.

Besides performing in Japan, Satoko Inoue has performed in major European festivals including Darmstadt, the International Experimental Music Festival in Bourges, and had solo recitals in Bucharest, Bern and Buenos Aires. She has featured in solo concerts in the US, Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Ireland, Turkey, Romania, Egypt, and Argentina. She has recorded three solo CDs and has further CDs on the labels Edition Hundertmark (Germany), Emec Discos (Spain), and ALM Records (Japan). Inoue is also Associate Professor at the Kunitachi College of Music in Tokyo.

Satoko’s tour is part of the events celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the diplomatic relations between Japan and Ireland.

Tag Archive for: IJA

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