children's art exchange, fall 2011 in Konan-city

More than 15 years of elementary & middle school art exchanges and still going strong!
These early November scenes come from the city library in Konan-shi, Shiga-ken.

direct contribution to Tohoku March 11 triple disaster

 Direct Relief  –  a great organization because 100 percent goes to charities. It has an endowment to cover its overhead and costs and works with some excellent Japanese nonprofit organizations that need funding because there is still so much work to do in the Tohoku region. Click here to contribute to tsunami relief through Direct Relief.

old highways of Japan - passing through Shiga prefecture

Thoughtful write-up by Phil at www.photojpn.org

The Tokaido and Nakasendo Roads were the two main roads in Japan during the samurai/Tokugawa period up to 1868. They connected Tokyo (Edo) where the shogun lived and Kyoto where the Emperor lived. Both roads went through Shiga before reaching neighboring Kyoto.

Here's a good map of the coastal Tokaido Road between Tokyo (Edo) and Kyoto. Each lodging town was numbered. Ishibe in Konan was No. 52. So 52 on this map is Ishibe: http://www.hiroshige.org.uk/hiroshige/tokaido_hoeido/images/tokaido_map.GIF Lodging towns No. 50 (Tsuchiyama) to 54 (Otsu) are all in Shiga.

Here's an excellent Web site showing Hiroshige prints of the Tokaido Road: http://www.hiroshige.org.uk/hiroshige/tokaido_editions/tokaido_editions.htm
You can see that Ishibe in Konan was the 52nd lodging town on the Tokaido Road. And you can see various print editions of each town by Hiroshige. The most well-known edition is called Hoeido. Lodging towns No. 50 (Tsuchiyama) to 54 (Otsu) are all in Shiga.

More info about the Tokaido: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/53_Stations_of_the_Tokaido

The other major road that connected Tokyo with Kyoto in the old days was called the Nakasendo Road which went through the interior instead of the Pacific coast: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/69_Stations_of_the_Nakasendo

The Nakasendo (also called Kisokaido) also passed through Shiga on the way to Kyoto. The Tokaido and Nakasendo Roads intersected at Kusatsu and Otsu. There are woodblock prints for all the Nakasendo lodging towns as well.
http://www.hiroshige.org.uk/hiroshige/kisokaido/images/Kisokaido%20map.gif
http://www.hiroshige.org.uk/hiroshige/kisokaido/kisokaido07.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sixty-Nine_Stations_of_the_Kiso_Kaido

Singing, Water, Shiga rowing

about the song in detail:http://photoguide.jp/txt/Lake_Biwa_Rowing_Song

video at length here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOUwlb6P_9s

John Denver once visited Shiga and sang in Japanese too:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sn2R7-1sM_0 Very beautiful voice, (singing phonetically). He got most of it right.

Japanese version (by Kyoto Univ. Rowing Club Alumni)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uH3mtrS3xWo

Photos related to the song:http://photoguide.jp/pix/index.php?cat=273

The girls also sang the song in English on national TV during a well-known amateur singing contest. They were well received.http://photoguide.jp/pix/displayimage.php?album=517&pid=14043

Japan & Lansing Community College in 2011

LCC students will have the opportunity to engage in academic study, service learning, and a business independent study in Lansing’s sister city, Otsu, located in Michigan’s sister state, the Shiga Prefecture. The new Japan Immersion program, running from June 7 through August 17, 2011, will include the following activities: Japanese language and culture study at the Kyoto Institute of Culture and Language. Cultural and service learning opportunities with local nonprofit and governmental organizations. Three-credit LCC independent study in business on the Biwako-Kisen Company (BKC) Michigan boat, a Mississippi River-style stern-wheeler on Lake Biwa. Students will work part-time on the tourist vessel. LCC and BKC have partnered on three student programs between 1982 and 2007 and are pleased to renew their partnership. Shiga Prefecture and the City of Otsu are well removed from the devastation of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, as well as from the ongoing issues with the nuclear power plant in Fukushima. Shiga, and neighboring Kyoto, continues to host literally thousands of international students and tourists year-round. All local Japanese universities are accepting international students as usual -- as are the Japan Center for Michigan Universities (JCMU) and the Associated Kyoto Programs (AKP). Both of these major study-abroad programs also have assessed the situation in this region as safe and will have normal summer programs running this year. The cost of participating in the program -- including LCC tuition, Kyoto Institute of Language and Culture tuition, and air fare – is estimated at $3500. Housing is provided and scholarship funds to cover part of the program cost will be available for students. No prior Japanese language study is required for this program. Applications for this program are due April 20, 2011. For more information or to request application materials, contact Professor Marc Thomas at thomasm6@lcc.edu or 517-483-1912.

the 15th annual art exhibit

highlights from March 1, 2011 at http://briggspubliclibrary.org