Culture and Education - 2011 CGJD Topics- The Consulate-General of Japan in Denver

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2011 CGJD Topics

2011 National Day Reception (12/1/2011)

On Thursday, December 1, 2011, Consul General and Mrs. Ono hosted the 2011 National Day Reception, commemorating the birthday of His Majesty the Emperor of Japan at theSheraton Hotel in Denver.

In spite of the heavy snow, approximately 220 guests, including Federal and State Government officials, City officials, consular officers from other countries, leaders of Japanese American communities, representatives of cultural and ecducational organizations which promote friendship between Japan and Rocky Mountain Region, and Japanese and US businesses, participated.

The program started with national anthems of the United States of America and Japan which was presented by a Japanese singer Mr. Hikaru Hirata.

In his remarks, Consul General Ikuhiko Ono introduced that His Majesty the Emperor of Japan will become 78 years old on December 23, this year., He also expressed sincere appreciation to the US Government and its people for their kind assistance after the Great East Japan Eqrthquake on March 11, this year.

Following an opening remarks from Consul-General Ono, Ms. Sandi Moilanen, Assiciate Division Director, Global Business Development and International Trade, State of Colorado, attending on behalf of Governor Hickenlooper, presented a proclamation by the Governor, declaring the Day of December 23 as the National Day Japan in the State of Colorado. The City of Denver also kindly forwarded a proclamation by Mayor Hancock.

The guests enjoyed the pleasant conversation fore the rest of the evening.

For Consul-General Ono’s opening speech, please click here(English and Japanese-translation are available.)

Lecture on Japanese Movies during the Starz Denver Film Festival(11/09/2011)

The Denver Film Society successfully organized the 34th Starz Denver Film Festival which gathered more than 50,000 audience to the series of movies. During the Festival, the Denver Film Society, in cooperation with the Consulate of Japan at Denver and Japan Foundation, featured nine Japanese films.

In conjunction with the presentation of Japanes films, the Consulate of Japan co-sponsored the lecture on Japanese films, featuring the popular film critiqe Mr. Howie Movshovitz, Director of Film Education at the University of Colorado, Denver as a guest speaker at the Domo Restaurant in Denver. Mr. Movshovitz described the unique use of "space" in Japanese films and shared his enthusiasm on Japanese films with almost 100 audience. After the lecture, the Consul General and Mrs. Ono hosted a reception at the Restaurant and the participants enjoyed their conversation with Mr. Movshovitz and Consulate staff.

Consul-General made a courtesy visit to governor Hickenlooper(11/18/2011)

On Friday, November 18th, Consul-General Ono paid a courtesy visit on Honorable Hickenlooper, Governor of the State bof Colorado. They exchanged their ideas to strengthening the Colorado-Japan relationship. Consul General Ono also expressed his sincere appreciation to the Governor and Colorado people for their kind assistance after the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, this year and eplained Japan' s recovery efforts from the Earthquake and Tsunami.

Consul-General and Mrs. Ono visited the Nisei War Memorial and governor Ralph Carr’s Memorial at the Fairmount Cemetery(11/10/2011)

On Thursday, November 10th, the day before the Veteran’s Day, Consul General and Mrs. Ono visited the Nisei War Memorial and Governor Ralph Carr’s Memorial at the Fairmount Cemetery, accompanied by Ms. Cindy Kondo and Ms. Tay Kondo of the Nisei Veterans Heritage Foundation, Consul General and Mrs. Ono paid respect to the Nisei and Governor Ralph Carr, and dedicated flowers to their memorials.

Visit of Takayama City Mayor Kunishima and Denver-Takayama Sister City Reception at CG’s Residence(10/18/2011)

On Tuesday, October 18th, Mayor and Mrs. Kunishima of the City of Takayama and the Takayama-Denver Friendship Association officials visited Consul-General Ono at his residence for a reception which Consul General and Mrs. Ono hosted. Also, the guests from the City of Denver and those who are dedicated to Takayama-Denver exchanges joined the Reception. During the reception they exchanged their opinions on how to further promote the friednship between the Cities of Takayama and Denver.

Later in the evening on that day, Consul General and Mrs. Ono, along with Mayor and Mrs. Kunishima, participated in the reception hosted by Mayor Hancock of the City of Denver.

Tsugaru Shamisen Tour(2/20-23/ 2011)

The Monsters of Shamisen (Kevin Kmetz and Mike Penny) went on a four day Tsugaru Shamisen Tour from February 20th to the 23rd. The tour started in Salt Lake City, Utah and continued to Denver and Ft. Collins, Colorado, and ended in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In their complete tour, they had a total of 800 guests attend their performances.

The concert was split into three acts. The first act started off with the two players giving a brief description of the meaning for the different sounds of their melody. It then continued with them playing some of their more traditional Japanese folk song pieces. For the second act they switched to some classical music pieces. Finally, for the third act, they changed pace again and wrapped up with some anime songs and some American rock music. This was quite a treat for the audience, as they were able to enjoy such a diverse set of Tsugaru Shamisen music.

In the surveys conducted after the performance, there was an overwhelming positive response from the audience. Hopefully, this event has brought some understanding and appreciation of traditional Japanese instruments and music to the public, who rarely have the opportunity to experience such things.

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