Embassy of Japan in Myanmar

2011

Judo Japan Cup Championship 2011

The 8 th Judo Japan Cup Championship co-hosted by the Embassy of Japan and Myanmar Judo Federation and supported by the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Yangon (JCCY) was held at the Theing Phyu Indoor Stadium in Yangon on December 6 and 7, 2011.

One hundred and twelve contestants from seven teams participated in the championship with much vigor and strength. After tight competitions, Maung Thuya Zaw and Ma Aye Malar won the most progressive male and female players' prize, and Maung Kup Kyin Pawn and Ma Ei Phyu Sin won the best male and female players' prizes respectively.

At the awarding Ceremony, Mr. Hana an executive committee member of JCCY presented the prizes to the most progressive players and the best players. Thanks to JCCY's support, two digital cameras were given to the most progressive players and 21 inches televisions were given to the best players respectively. Finally, the Japan Cup was awarded by Ambassador Mr. Saito to the Ministry of Industry team which won the greatest number of medals in this championship.

The Embassy of Japan hopes that this event promotes Japanese traditional sport, Judo in Myanmar and the friendship between Japan and Myanmar.

The Japanese Music Concert by GITAMEIT MUSIC CENTRE

On November 15, the Japanese Music Concert by Gitameit Music Centre took place in the Assembly Hall of the Embassy of Japan.

Gitameit Music Centre in cooperation with the Embassy has been heartily promoting the friendship between Japan and Myanmar though this concert and other music activities. For example, in Mekong- Japan Exchange Year 2009, the choir of Gitameit Music Centre visited Japan by the invitation of the Government of Japan under the JENESYS ( Japan-East Asia Network of Exchange for Students and Youths ) Programme and introduced Myanmar music and dance at the Opening Ceremony of Mekong-Japan Exchange Year.

This was the fourth Japanese Music concert, and this time the concert featured especially for children invited from orphanages and monastic primary schools in Yangon for the first time, hoping to provide opportunity to introduce Japanese music to Myanmar children. In this concert the programme included choir songs, ensemble pieces of piano, violin and cello, and also the performances by the pupils of Gitameit Music Centre. Nearly two hundred children enjoyed the wide variety of Japanese music.

The Embassy of Japan hopes that this event stimulates Myanmar children to deepen their interest in Japan and strengthens the friendship between Japan and Myanmar through both counties' music.

Traditional Dances from Okinawa and Myanmar

On Saturday, October 29, 2011, the Japanese Embassy and the Myanmar Ministry of Culture co-hosted the event “Traditional Dances from Okinawa and Myanmar” at National Theatre, Yangon. Nearly nine hundred audiences gathered for this event.

Okinawa is the southernmost part of Japan and is famous for their beautiful nature and their colorful and unique culture. The Okinawa dance group, who came to Myanmar, was organized by NPO Okinawa Culture Association and has already visited a total of 38 countries and 58 cities in the world.

Students from the Myanmar National University of Fine Arts and Culture also participated in the performance. The programme consisted of a variety of dances, such as traditional court dances and folk dances for festival. At the end of the programme, dancers from Okinawa and Myanmar danced together on stage and also, the audience joined in the music and dances.

The Embassy of Japan believes that this event not only gave us the chance to show the culture of Okinawa/ Japan, but moreover, given us the opportunity of cultural exchange and consolidation of friendship between Japan and Myanmar.

Japanese Traditional Dance & Music Performance/ Japanese Food & sake presentation

The Embassy of Japan in cooperation with Yangon Japanese Association presented the performance of Japanese traditional Dance & Music at Park Royal Hotel, Yangon on October 22, 2011.

This event was organized to express appreciation for the generous support offered to Japan after the Great East Japan Earthquake form the people of Myanmar and to show Japan's will and strength towards the reconstruction from the aftermath of the earthquake.

At this event, professional artists of International Dance Club and Minyo Umewaka-kai performed various Japanese traditional dances and folk music including pieces originating from eastern Japan. Beautiful IKEBANA (Japanese traditional flower arrangement) by U George San Tun and photographs by JENESYS Alumni Network with their wishes, prayers and support to Japan were also exhibited. The audience also enjoyed watching KAMISHIBAI (Japanese picture storytelling) regarding disaster prevention and tasted Japanese foods and sake after the performance. In total 460 people came and there was much heated atmosphere.

The success of this event hopefully gives momentum to strengthen not only the mutual friendship between Japan and Myanmar but also Japan's reconstruction from the aftermath of the earthquake.

Awarding Ceremony for Photo-Haiku contest was held

The Embassy of Japan held the awarding ceremony for Photo Haiku Contest at Ambassador's residence on September 30, 2011.

Haiku is one of the traditional Japanese poetry format which is the world's shortest, but it can still vividly convey a poet's emotion. Recently Photo-Haiku (Haiku accompanying a photographic image), a modern form of art, is becoming popular in Japan.

This was the second Photo-Haiku Contest following last year, and this time a Japanese Section was set for the first time. Photographs of “HIDDEN JAPAN” photo exhibition which was shown from July 22 to August 14 at Gallery 65 were assigned for this contest. Two Fine Works and the Best Work were selected for each Myanmar and Japanese Section out of 87 works. The prize winners and their works are mentioned below.

JAPANESE SECTION

The Best Work

情の根　英雄の源　古代念　　　　　　　　　　　ヤダナー・エイプリル

(Provisional translation) Roots of emotion, rise of hero, spirit of ancient　　　 Yadana April

The Fine Works

いつみのるいまはかれくきとおくまち　　　　　　　エーエー・タン

(Provisional translation) When will the vine bear fruit, being still withered, with earnest desire 　　　　Aye Aye Than

かげのしたしぜんのみやげこいどかな　　　　　　　サン・トーダー

(Provisional translation) Ander the shadow, the blessings of nature, a small well 　　　　　San Thaw Dar

MYANMAR SECTION

The Best Work

တက္ဆင္းျဖတ္သန္းၾက ေျခရာခ်င္းလည္းထပ္ခဲ့ရ ဘဝမ်ားလိုပ　　　 လြင္မာသန္ ့

The Fine Works

ေလာကဒဏ္မေၾကာက္ ႏွင္းေတြၾကားမွာထင္း႐ူးေပါက္ စိတ္ထားခပ္ေျမႇာက္ေျမႇာက္　　　 ရဲႏိုင္ထြန္း

ပင္လယ္ထဲကၽြန္းေရာက္ ေသျခာျပန္ၾကည့္ေနာက္တစ္ေခါက္ သဲျပင္ထဲကေက်ာက္ 　　　 ေအာင္ကိုကိုခိုင္

The Embassy of Japan hopes that Myanmar people will deepen their understanding and interest in Japanese culture through Photo-Haiku.

The Japanese Film Festival 2011was held in Manadalay and Yangon

The Japanese Film Festival 2011 was held at Win Lite Cinema in Mandalay from August 27 to 30 and at Nay Pyi Taw Cinema in Yangon from September 3 to 6. The Festival were supposed to be held in March in succession with Nay Pyi Taw where Japanese Films were shown for the first time, but suspended holding due to the Great East Japan Earthquake.

The Japanese Film Festival has been held annually by the Embassy of Japan in collaboration with Japan Foundation. This year, the festival commemorated its 12 th time and featured a story of a Japanese lady who runs Japanese restaurant in Finland “Kamome Diner” on the first day, an animation “ The Girl Who Leapt Though Time” on the second day, a story about a group of youth trying to alleviate peoples' emotional pain “ The Bandage Club” on the third day, and a period film “The Twilight Samirai” with famous actor, Hiroyuki Sanada on the last day.

A large number of audiences came to enjoy Japanese Films both in Mandalay even though of the recent flood and in Yangon where almost every show were filled to capacity.

The Embassy of Japan will continue this annual Film Festival with the hope that it will introduce Japanese culture and tradition to the people of Myanmar.

UKIYO-E Lecture and Demonstration

On August 23, 2011, Japanese Embassy and the Japan Foundation co-hosted a Lecture and Demonstration on a Japanese traditional woodblock printing (UKIYO-E) with UKIYO-E experts from Japan at the Assembly hall of the Embassy of Japan. We were pleased to have many people; artists and Japanese language learners participate in the event. We are, at the same time, very sorry that there were also many people who we could not accommodate in the event due to the limited space available.

The Lecturer of the event was Ms. Yukiko Takahashi, a publisher who succeeded the Takahashi UKIYO-E Studio as the sixth generation. She explained about variety of aspects of UKIYO-E including its history. Ms. Kyoko Hirai, a printer, demonstrated the printing technique using one of the famous UKIYO-E by Katsushika Hokusai, “Kanagawa-oki Namiura”. Also, number of UKIYO-E and its tools were displayed in the hall.

On the previous day, August 22, 2011, a workshop had been held for the students of the national University of Arts and Culture. The students not only listened to the lecture by Ms. Takahashi but also experienced printing a simple UKIYO-E.

The Embassy of Japan believes that these events offered a unique opportunity for people to see and experience one of the Japanese traditional Arts form, UKIYO-E. We hope to continue such opportunity to introduce Japanese traditional Arts and Culture to the people of Myanmar.

Photo Exhibition "Hidden Japan"

An opening ceremony for the Photo Exhibition “Hidden Japan”, presented by the Japan Foundation and the Embassy of Japan, was held on July 22, 2011 at Gallery 65　(No.65 Yaw Min Gyi Road, Dagon Tsp, Yangon). Nearly seventy people from the Ministry of Culture, Myanmar Association of Japan Alumni (MAJA), Photographic Society, artists associations and art galleries in Yangon gathered for the event. At the ceremony, Mr. Kazuyuki Takeuchi, Charge d'affaires ad interim made a welcoming speech followed by a background explanation of the exhibition.

The exhibition is composed of eighty-five black and white photographs taken by a Japanese photographer Mr. Kijuro Yahagi. He not only takes photos but also carries out graphic design, furniture design, sculpture and architecture. His collections can be found in many museums around the word.

In taking the photos, Mr Yahagi traveled 20,000 kilometers throughout Japan. In his journey he came across various types of “nature”. He concludes by saying that his journey was a valuable one that allowed him to explore the very deepest layers of Japan, which were hidden in nature.

The Exhibition will continue until August 14, 2011. The Embassy of Japan hopes that many people could come to the gallery and feel and find out the layers of “Japan” hidden in his photos.

*The Embassy of Japan is organizing a “Photo-Haiku Contest” together with this exhibition. We are asking entries of Haiku (=Japanese style poem) inspired by any of the photos exhibited. For more information, please refer to the handout at the gallery or call the Information and Culture Section at the Embassy.

　　

The Prize Awarding Ceremony for 6th Japanese Literature Translation Contest

The Prize Awarding Ceremony for 6 th Japanese Literature Translation Contest was held in conjunction with The 12 th Japanese Speech Contest at a Hotel in Yangon on June 25 th 2011.

The 6 th Japanese Literature Translation Contest hosted by the Embassy of Japan with the cooperation of the Myanmar Association of Japan Alumni (MAJA) and supported by the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Yangon (JCCY) had been held in Yangon and Mandalay on March 20, 2011.

There were three levels for the contest; namely basic, intermediate and advanced and the contestants chose one level according to their proficiency. This year, the prescribed literatures to be translated into Myanmar were, “ Eyes of Nature ( 自然の目 ) ” in “ KADENSHO ( 花伝書 ) ” by Sofu Teshigahara ( 勅使河原蒼風 ) for the basic, “ Seibei and Gourd ( 清兵衛と瓢箪 ) ” by Naoya Shiga ( 志賀直哉 ) for intermediate level, and “ Honkaku-Bo's Posthumous Manuscripts ( 本覚坊遺文 ) ” by Yasushi Inoue ( 井上靖 ) for the advanced level.

Among a total of 162 contestants, 87 for basic level, 60 for intermediate level and15 for advanced level, the prize winners for each level were as follows.

Basic level

Intermediate level

Advanced level

First

Ma Thiri Naing

Ma Chit Su Wai

Ma Thet Thet Maw

Second

Ma Thet Thet Win Maung

Ma Khin Yamone Lwin

Ma Yin Myint Tun

Third

Ma Thant Thazin

Ma Thu Thu In

Ma Mon Myat Thu

NOTE: Please accept our apology for inaccurate prize winners' announcement of the second and third prize of the basic level at the awarding ceremony. The actual prize winners are as described above.

JCCY Chairman Mr. Takeuchi awarded 21-inch SANYO television to the first prize winners of advanced level and digital cameras to the first prize winners of intermediate and basic level. MAJA also donated generous prizes such as a digital camera and others for the second prize winners of each level.

The Embassy of Japan hopes to hold similar contests and activities which present fine targets for Japanese language learners and to further disseminate the Japanese language in Myanmar.

　

The 12th Japanese Speech Contest

The 12th Japanese Speech Contest co – hosted by the Embassy of Japan and the Myanmar Association if Japan Alumni(MAJA) , supported by the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Yangon (JCCY) was held in a Hotel in Yangon on June 25 th 2011 and nearly 250 people attended the occasion.

A total of 40 entrants were screened into 15 finalists who participated in the contest. The topic was open and allowed the contestants to make unique speeches on wide-ranging issues, based on their own experiences and opinions. Although the five- minute speech itself was quite challenging, the Question and Answer session somehow relaxed the contestants as well as the audience with humorous exchanges between the judges and the contestants.

The prize winners were announced shortly after the contest to which the audience gave great cheers. Ma Chit Su Wai who presented “Indispensable Things” and shared her opinion about the importance of knowledge and education for nation's development won the first prize. Please see the table below for the prize winners and their topics of speeches.

Prize

Name

Topic of Speech

First

Ma Chit Su Wai

Indispensable Things

Second

Ko Aung Kyaw Soe

Happiness in Mind

Third

Ma Cho Zin Thaung

Dream

Fighting Spirit Prize

Ma Thazin Lin Htun

I will be mad at you if…

JCCY Chairman Mr. Takeuchi awarded 21 ” SANYO television the first prize winner. The co-hosting MAJA also provided a digital camera for the second prize winner. Additionally, all the prize winners will have the privilege to be recommended as candidates for future training programs in Japan for outstanding Japanese language learners.

The Embassy of Japan intends to continue the speech contest which presents fine targets for Japanese language learners in Myanmar to further improve their proficiency of Japanese language.

　　

Japanese Language Learner's Gathering; “an Introduction to Haiku”

The Embassy of Japan organized the Gathering of Japanese Language Learners; “an Introduction to Haiku” on May 13. Haiku is one of the traditional Japanese poetry which is the world's shortest form but conveys a poet's impression, sensation and surprise of a specific fact of nature. A total of 136 participants including teachers and students from Japanese language schools in Yangon attended the event at the Embassy of Japan.

At the Opening, Ms. Masako Sato, chief of information and culture section gave a brief explanation of the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake which hit northeastern Japan on March 11. Then, one minute's silent prayer was offered for the victims of the earthquake and tsunami.

What followed was the introductory lecture on HAIKU by an Embassy staff U Ye Lwin (Ye Mya Lwin). During the workshop session, all participants were divided into ten groups and composed a Haiku. Each group selected one Haiku within the group and representatives of each group presented the selected work. Among those ten works, three best works were further selected. They were:

ေလေတြ ကယိမ္းႏြဲ႕၊ ဖားေအာ္သံကဟိန္းကာထြက္၊ မိုးဦးညအိပ္မက္။

( Breeze is waving, frogs are singing together, dream of monsoon night)

Saw Lin Aung (Kigayaki)

ေရႊဖားေအာ္သံစီ၊ ေရာင္စံုထီးေတြလႈပ္ရွားသည္၊ ၀ ႆန္ဦးရာသီ။

(Croak of the golden frogs, moving colourful umbrellas, season of monsoon.)

Phyu Phyu Thant (Manaw Rama)

ေဖြးျဖဴျဖဴစံပါယ္၊ မိုးဖြဲေတြနဲ႕ေရာရွက္ႏြယ္၊ ျမက္ခင္းစိမ္းစိုတယ္။

(White jasmine flower, mixing with raindrops, moistened green lawn.

Nyein Chan (Dhamma Rekhita)

The embassy of Japan hopes that this event stimulates Japanese language learners to deepen their understanding and interest in Japan.

The Japanese Film Festival 2011was held in Nay Pyi Taw

The Japanese Film Festival 2011 was held at Aung Tha Pye Cinema in Nay Pyi Taw on March 12 and 13. The Japanese Film Festival has been held annually by the Embassy of Japan in collaboration with Japan Foundation. This year, the film festival commemorated its 12th time, and this was the first time to be held in Nay Pyi Taw showing Japanese film for the first time in the town.

At the Opening, H.E. Mr. Takashi Saito, Ambassador of Japan gave a short remark followed by a brief explanation of the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake. Then, one minute's silent prayer was offered for the victims of the earthquake and tsunami before the film started.

This festival featured a story of a Japanese lady who runs a Japanese restaurant in Finland “Kamome Diner”and an animation “ The Girl Who Leapt Though Time” on the first day, a story about a group of youth trying to alleviate peoples' emotional pain“The Bandage Club”and “The Twilight Samirai”with a world famous actor, Hiroyuki Sanada on the second day.

The Film Festival in Yangon and Mandalay initially scheduled to be held after Nay Pyi Taw were postponed to a later date in 2011, taking into consideration of the situation of thousands of people being severely affected by the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake. For the time being, the rescheduled date has not been set yet.

The Embassy of Japan will continue this annual Film Festival with the hope that it will introduce Japanese culture and tradition to the people of Myanmar.

The Sixth Japanese Literature Translation Contest was held

The Sixth Japanese Literature Translation Contest hosted by the Embassy of Japan with the cooperation of the Myanmar Association of Japan Alumni (MAJA) and supported by the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Yangon (JCCY) was held in Yangon and Mandalay on March 20, 2011.

There were three levels for the contest; namely basic, intermediate and advanced and the contestants chose one level according to their proficiency. This year, the prescribed literatures to be translated into Myanmar were, “Eyes of Nature (自然の目)” by Sofu Teshigawara (勅使河原蒼風) for the basic, “Seibei and Gourd (清兵衛と瓢箪)” by Naoya Shiga (志賀直哉) for intermediate level, and “Honkaku-Bo's Posthumous Manuscripts (本覚坊遺文)”by Yasushi Inoue (井上靖) for the advanced level.

Although this is a challenging contest requiring a very good command not only of Japanese but also of Myanmar for translating, a total of 162 contestants, 96 from Yangon and 66 from Mandalay took the chance.

The announcement of Prize Winners and Awarding Ceremony will be held in conjunction with the Japanese Speech Contest 2011 for which the date has not been set yet.

The Embassy of Japan intends to organize similar contests and activities which present fine targets for Japanese language learners in Myanmar and to further improve their proficiency of Japanese language.

2010

Japan Cup Karatedo Championship　2010

The Japan Cup Karatedo Championship co-hosted by the Embassy of Japan and Myanmar Karatedo Federation and supported by the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Yangon (JCCY) was successfully held at the Aung San Indoor Stadium in Yangon on December 14 and15, 2010.
This is the second championship following the first one held in Mekong-Japan Exchange Year 2009. In this championship, Karatedo equipments provided by Grant Assistance of Cultural Grassroots Project of Government of Japan in 2010 were used for the first time.

In the Opening Ceremony, H.E Mr. Takashi Saito, Ambassador of Japan made a speech and President of Myanmar Karatedo Federation; Dr. Win Zaw presented a commemorative gift to the Ambassador.

Altogether 158 contestants competed in individual or team kata and individual or team kumite with much vigor and strength. This event involved a junior championship for the first time together with the senior championship which made up eighteen teams from various government ministries and from States and Divisions.

After tight contests, Mr. Aung Khant and Ms. Mai Oliver Yin Hwa Thung Lwai won the best male and female players’ prizes respectively. Mr. Manabu Takeuchi, Vice President of JCCY awarded the trophies, 21 inches television and DVD Player sets to the best male and female players respectively. Women’s team of Ministry of Sport and men’s team of Ministry of Forest won the Japan Cup Championship. H.E. Mr. Saito, Ambassador of Japan and Director-General of Sports and Physical Education Department, U Thaung Htaik awarded the Japan Cup to those outstanding teams.
The Embassy of Japan hopes that this event promotes Japanese traditional sport, Karate in Myanmar and the friendship between Japan and Myanmar.
　

KARIN & QUARTET Music Concert

KARIN QUARTET Music Concert ~Japanese contemporary music on traditional instruments~, co-hosted by the Embassy of Japan and the Japan Foundation was held on December 11, 2010 at Strand Hotel in Yangon.

The QURATET composed of KARIN (25 String Koto), Akihito Obama (Shakuhachi, a Vertical Bamboo Flute), Mami Ishizuka (Piano) and Aki-ra Sunrise (Percussion), all who came from Japan.The concert presented unique and exciting music, which was based on Japanese tradition but had an essence of music from the around the globe with contemporary perception.The seven hundred audiences in the hall sang, cheered and clapped their hands with the music.

On the following day of the concert, the QUARTET held a workshop at Gitameit Music Centre.The participants listened to and compared the rhythm and tone of Japanese traditional music and those of contemporary music.They also participated in creating a tune together using their own musical instruments.

The Embassy of Japan hopes to provide such occasions again to introduce various aspect of Japanese culture to people in Myanmar.
　　　

Seminars on Japanese Language Teaching

The Embassy of Japan and Myanmar Association of Japan Alumni (MAJA) co-hosted the seminars on Japanese Language teaching at the hall of Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers and Commerce (UMFCCI), Yangon on November 21 and 22, 2010.

Four experts from Osaka University and Japan Foundation, Bangkok and a JENESYS Young Japanese Teacher dispatched by Japan Foundation to MAJA gave lectures in this seminar.

The plenary lectures were presented in the morning on the first day. Afterwards, four sectional workshops were held. A total of 90 Japanese language teachers and learners actively participated this two-day seminar and learnt teaching methods.
The Embassy of Japan is willing to hold similar seminars in the future with the aim of promoting the Japanese Language education and further disseminating the Japanese Language in Myanmar.

　　　

Kazuki Yano Pantomime Show in Yangon

Kazuki Yano Pantomime show, co-hosted by the Embassy of Japan and the Japan Foundation was held on October 7-9, 2010.

The show took place at Mary Chapmen School for the Deaf on October 7, at Chatrium Hotel and at the Assembly Hall of the Embassy for the children from orphanages and monastic primary schools around Yangon on October 8 and at Chatrium Hotel for the public on October 9. A total of about 1,500 people gathered to see the show.

During the performance for Children, the children burst into laughter and cheers when Mr. Yano jumped into the audience or mimed motorbikes and elevators together with children pulled up to the stage. The room was filled with laughter and applause during the public performance as well. Although the room was full and there were even people watching from the hallway, the audience was drawn into the world of Mr. Yano’s Pantomime.

For many people, it was their first experience to see a pantomime show and it seemed that they truly enjoyed the event. The Embassy of Japan hopes to provide such occasions to introduce various aspect of Japanese culture to people in Myanmar.
　　　

Japan Cup JUDO Championship 2010

The 7th Japan Cup Judo Championship co-hosted by the Embassy of Japan and Myanmar Judo Federation and supported by the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Yangon (JCCY) was successfully held at the Thuwunna Indoor Stadium in Yangon on September 21 and 22.
Eighty seven contestants from seven teams participated in the championship with much vigor and strength. After the tight competitions, Maung Phyo Ko Ko and Ma Ei Phyu Zin won the most progressive male and female players’ prize, and Maung Hein Lat Zaw and Ma Zin Mi Mi Than won the best male and female players’ prizes respectively.

At the awarding Ceremony, U Aye Kyi, vice-president of Myanmar Judo Federation awarded the prizes to the most progressive players, and Mr. Hiroe, President of JCCY, awarded the trophies and the prizes to the best male and female players. Thanks to JCCY’s support, two sports bags were given to the most progressive players, 21 inches Televisions and DVD players were presented to the best players. Finally, The Japan Cup were given by Charge d’ Affairs Mr. Takeuchi to the Ministry of Industry -1 team which won 6 gold, 5 silver and 7 bronze medals.

The Embassy of Japan hopes that this event promotes Japanese traditional sport, Judo in Myanmar and the friendship between Japan and Myanmar.

　

The Japanese Song Contest NODOJIMAN 2010

The Japanese Song Contest NODOJIMAN2010 was held on August 14th in Yangon in cooperation with Myanmar Association of Japan Alumni (MAJA), Yangon Japanese School and Gitameit Music Centre. After the initial screening, 20 singers were chosen to participate in the contest.More than 400 audiences heartily enjoyed the Japanese Songs entertained by the contestants.

Shortly before the awarding session, this year’s Special Guest, Zaw Win Htut, a famous rock singer entertained a mini concert to the audience.

In the awarding session, the trophies were awarded by Ambassador Nogawa, while guitars were given by Zaw Win Htut with his signatures on. Maung Hpong Latt Aung, who sang SPIZs’ “Kimi ga Omoide ni Narumaeni” won the first prize. Maung Zaw Win Phyu, who sang REMIOROMEN’s “Konayuki”, and Maung Aung Myo Oo, who sang EXILE’s “Lovers Again” won second and third prize respectively.Then, this year’s the special prize named as “Ambassador’s prize” was awarded to Maung Win Min Oo, who sang “Kokonishika sakanai Hana” by KOBUKURO.

The Embassy of Japan hopes that this event stimulated not just the participants but also the audience to deepen their interest in Japanese music and language.

　　　

Photo-Haiku contest was held

On July 9th, the Embassy of Japan organized Photo Haiku Contest.

Haiku is one of the traditional Japanese poetry format which is the world’s shortest but still able to vividly convey a poet’s emotion. Recently Photo-Haiku (Haiku accompanying a photographic image), a modern form of art, has become increasingly popular not only in Japan but also in the world.

Five photographs were assigned for this contest and 25 Haiku out of 248 were selected as good works. Among them, 15 finalists were qualified to participate in the final contest. In the final contest, the contestants explained their works followed by the question and answer session.

After a tight competition, five works were selected as the Fine Work for each photo. The Best Work was selected among the five fine works.

The prize winners and their works are here.
The Embassy of Japan hopes that Myanmar people will deepen their understanding and interest in Japanese culture through Photo-Haiku.
　　　

Myanmar-Japanese Interpretation Contest was held on July 9, 2010

The Myanmar-Japanese Interpretation Contest was held at the Embassy of Japan on July 9, 2010. Five finalists were selected for the final competition after the 2 screening tests, which consisted of speech test and written test both in Japanese and Myanmar languages.

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In the final contest, each contestant interpreted what had been said on the tape at every brief interval, both from Myanmar and from Japanese. The marking criteria were based on accuracy, fluency and presentation. Shortly after the competition, the result was announced and the three prize winners were:

First Prize Winner, Ma Htet Htet Maw

Second Prize Winner, Ma Phyu Phyu Zin, and

Third Prize Winner, Ko Zayar Lin

Afterwards, the three judges, expert on both Japanese and Myanmar languages, gave comments on the contestants. They also encouraged the Japanese language learners in the audience to take part in the future interpretation contests and how interpretation work will open the career opportunities for them in the future.

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Ambassador Mr. Yasuaki NOGAWA, in his speech, said that skilled interpreterswill take valuable roles in helping efficient communicationbetween Myanmar and Japanese people in various fields such as tourism, business and so on in Myanmar.

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The Embassy of Japan hopes that this contest will present fine targets for Japanese Language learners and stimulate them to further improve their proficiency of Japanese Language.
　　　

The　First　Prize Winner　Ma Htet Htet Maw

The Second Prize Winner Ma Phyu Phyu Sin

The Third Prize Winner Zayar Lin

Japanese Language Learner’s Gathering; “TANABATA-NO-HI”

On July 7, the Embassy of Japan organized the Gathering of Japanese Language Learners to commemorate “TANABATA-NO-HI” (Star Festival).A total of 35 participants including teachers and students from Japanese language schools in Yangon celebrated the event at the Embassy of Japan.
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The event started with the presentation on how “Hiragana” created from “Kanji” by Ms. Fukuda, a Japanese Calligrapher. Then, the demonstration of “Sho-Do” (Japanese calligraphy) followed. During the practical session of “Sho-Do”, everyone chose a letter and wrote it in four styles, the original “Kanji” in “Kaisho” (square style), “Gyosho” (semi-cursive style), “Sosho” (cursive style) and “Hiragana”.

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Following the presentation on “TANABATA-NO-HI”, an old tale about the day of “TANABATA-NO-HI” and how to make a “SASA-KAZARI” (Bamboo decoration) were introduced to the participants. All participants made “SASA-KAZARI”, wrote down their wishes on the paper strips by small writing brushes and hanged them on the bamboo tree.

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All participants enjoyed “TANABATA-NO-HI”, a Japanese cultural event as it gave them the knowledge both on the historical and the practical aspects of the Day.

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The embassy of Japan hopes that this event stimulates Japanese language learners to deepen their understanding and interest in Japan.

11th Japanese Speech Contest and Prize Awarding Ceremony for 5th Japanese Literature Translation Contest were held

　　　The 11th Japanese Speech Contest and the 5th Japanese Literature Translation Contest were held at PARKROYAL Hotel on June5, 2010.

　The event began with the speech contest which was co- hosted by the Embassy of Japan and Myanmar Association of Japan Alumni (MAJA) and sponsored by Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Yangon (JCCY). 15 finalists out of 43participated against in the final contest. The topic for this contest was free and they made speeches based on their own experiences and views. During the question and answer session, humorous exchange between judges and a participant truly entertained the audience.

　　After the final competition, awarding ceremony for both Translation Contest and Speech Contest followed.

　　The 5th Translation Contest took place in Yangon and Mandalay simultaneously on February 21, 2010. It was organized by the Embassy of Japan with cooperation of MAJA and Supported by JCCY. There were three levels set for the contest, namely Basic, Intermediate and Advanced. 224 contestants took part in the contest and the best three contestants for each level, totaled 9 were awarded.

　　JCCY donated two 21” televisions and two DVD players for the First Prize Winners of Translation Contest Advanced level and Speech Contest, two electronic dictionaries for the First Prize Winners of Translation Contest Intermediate and Basic Level. MAJA also provided generous prizes.

Additionally, one of the winners of the Speech Contest will have an opportunity to attend a two-week training course in Japan in September 2010.

The audience gave great cheers when each prize winner was announced during the awarding ceremony. The prize winners expressed their delight and determination to further develop their Japanese proficiency. The prize winners are as follows.

　　　　The Embassy of Japan intends to organize similar contests and activities targeted to Japanese language learners in Myanmar to encourage them to further develop their proficiency of Japanese language.

Speech Contest Prize Winners

　First: Ma Phoo Hgon The “Myself in Ten Years Time”

　Second: Ma Toshiba Pwin Phyu “My Treasure”

　Third: Ma San San Win “My First Acquaintance to Japanese Language”

　Fighting Spirit Prize: Ma Phoo Pwin Phyu “The Life of a University Student Studying Japanese”

Translation Contest Prize Winners

　BasicFirst：Ma Htet Htet Lwin

　Second：Ma Phoo Pwin Phyu

　Third：Maung Thet Nyi Oo

　Intermediate First: Ma Htet Htet Maw

　Second: Ma May Pan Ei Phyu

　Third: Ma Soe Sandi Thet Phyu

　AdvancedFirst: Maung Thet Phoo Lwin

　Second: Ma Thet Mon Thant

　Third: Maung Zayar Lin

U Myint Wai, President of MAJA awarded Ma Toshiba Pwin Phyu the 11th Japanese Speech Contest Second Prize

The 11th Japanese Speech Contest Prize Winners

Mr. Kaneko Vice President of JCCY awarded Maung Thet Phoo Lwin

The 5th Japanese Translation Contest

First Prize.

The 5th Japanese Translation Contest Prize Winners

Ma Phoo Ngon The

The First Prize winner for

11th Japanese Speech Contest

Japanese Language Learner's Gathering; "KODOMO-NO-HI"

On May 5, the Embassy of Japan organized the Gathering of Japanese Language Learners to commemorate of “KODOMO-NO-HI” (Children’s Day).A total of 108 participants including teachers and students from Japanese language schools in Yangon celebrated the event at the Embassy of Japan.

The event started with a presentation on the origin and traditional commemoration of “KODOMO-NO-HI”. It was followed by introduction of a child’s song for “KODOMO-NO-HI” to the audience and the demonstration of how to make a “KABUTO” (helmet of SAMURAI). When the practical session of making“KABUTO”came, everyone made his or her own and came up with different sizes and somehow funny shapes of “KABUTO” helmets. Other activities followed were the Japanese Drum "TAIKO" and Japanese traditional toys to the audience, who played and experienced the real sense of “KODOMO-NO-HI” Day.

After the play session, a picture-story of “KAMI-SHIBAI” was shown and two short Anime of a Japanese old tale were screened.

All participants enjoyed “KODOMO-NO-HI”, a Japanese cultural event as it gave them the knowledge both on the historical and the practical aspects of the Day.

The Embassy of Japan hopes that this event stimulates Japanese language learners to deepen their understanding and interest in Japan.

The Japanese Music Concert by GITAMEIT MUSIC CENTRE

On February 27, the Japanese Music Concert by Gitameit Music Centre, hosted by the Embassy of Japan, took place in Yangon. The programme included not only choir songs but also ensemble pieces of flute, piano and guitar. Five hundred and fifty audiences enjoyed the wide variety of music. It is the third performance for Gitameit to perform in this format, and they have always received a huge support from Japanese music fan.

In this concert, the members of Gitameit Music Centre performed traditional and modern pieces of both Japanese and Myanmar music. The audience enjoyed the beauty of Japanese and Myanmar music to their heart's content.

Gitameit Music Centre has been heartily promoting the friendship between Japan and Myanmar though music. For example, in January last year, which was Mekong- Japan Exchange Year, the choir of Gitameit Music Centre visited Japan at the invitation of the Government of Japan under the JENESYS (Japan-East Asia Network of Exchange for Students and Youths) Programme, together with young musicians from other Mekong countries. During their stay in Japan, they, as representatives of Myanmar artists, introduced Myanmar music with some dance performance at the Opening Ceremony of Mekong-Japan Exchange Year, which was held in Tokyo.

The Embassy of Japan hopes that this event strengthens the friendship between Japan and Myanmar through both counties’ music.

The 6th Judo Japan cup a Mekong-Japan Exchange Year 2009 Closing Event

. The 6th Japan Cup Judo Championship co-hosted by the Embassy of Japan and Myanmar Judo Federation, and supported by the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Yangon (JCCY) was successfully held at the Thuwunna Indoor Stadium in Yangon as a Mekong-Japan Exchange Year closing event on December 26 and 27.

115 contestants of seven teams from various government ministries participated in the championship with much vigor and strength.

After a number of the tight contests, Mr. Hlaing Htwe and Ms. Ei Phyu Zin won the most progressive male and female athlete prize, Mr. Kap Kyim Paun and Ms. Zin Mi Mi Than won the best male and female athletes’ prizes respectively. JCCY provided two 21 inches Televisions and DVD players for the best athletes’ prize and the most progressive athlete prize. At the awarding Ceremony, Director General of Sports and Physical Education Department, U Thaung Htaik and Mr. Yoshinori Komaru, Treasurer of JCCY awarded the trophies and the prizes to the best male and female athletes respectively.

The Ministry of Industry-1 team received 6 gold, 5 silver and 7 bronze medals and won the Japan Cup Championship. H.E. Mr. Yasuaki Nogawa, Ambassador of Japan awarded the Japan Cup to them.

The Embassy of Japan hopes that this event promotes Japanese traditional sport, Judo in Myanmar and the friendship between Japan and Myanmar.

The Japanese Film Festival held in Yangon and Mandalay as a Mekong-Japan Exchange Year 2009 Closing Event

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The Japanese Film Festival was held in Yangon at Thamada Cinema from December 10 to 13 and in Mandalay at Win Lite Cinema from December 17 to 20 as part of Mekong-Japan Exchange Year 2009 Closing Event.

The festival commemorated its eleventh time, and was co-hosted by the Embassy of Japan and the Japan Foundation. This is the second film festival following the one which was held from January to February during Mekong- Japan exchange Year 2009.

The opening ceremony was held on the first day of the festival - December 10th with the opening speech delivered by H.E. Mr. Yasuaki Nogawa, Ambassador of Japan and Colonel Aung Myo Myint, Managing Director of Myanmar Motion Pictures Enterprise, Ministry of Information.

This festival featured a story of an elderly couple who live in Kyoto “Turn Over”on the first day, a story about teenage high school girls“blue” on the second day, a story about a group of young people working in a sugarcane plantation in Okinawa“Breath in, Breath out”on the third day, and a film by a famous director, Takeshi Kitano “A Scene at the Sea” on the last day.

The Embassy of Japan will continue this annual Film Festival with the hope that it will introduce Japanese culture and tradition to the people of Myanmar.

Mekong-Japan Exchange Year Event, JENESYS Young Japanese Judo Team visited Myanmar

Young Japanese Judo Team from Kodokan visited Yangon, Myanmar under the Japan-East Asia Network of Exchange for Students and Youth (JENESYS) “Young Judo players dispatch Programme” from November 23 to 28.

This Programme was one of the closing events of Mekong-Japan Exchange Year and was the first program which dispatches Japanese to Mekong countries.

The Judo Team which consisted of nine players and a trainer from KantoGakuenUniversity and Fukuoka University of Economics enjoyed a training program and an exhibition match with Myanmar Judo players from Myanmar Judo Association, including those who were expected to take part in the 25th Southeast Asian Games.

The eager and fruitful exchange between the Japanese and Myanmar players stimulated each others. Though their languages were different, Judo deepened their friendship.

Young Japanese Judo Team also visited various places, such as Thuwunna National Sport Training Ground which were built by Japanese government’s assistance in 1987 and Pagodas, and learned the culture and history of Myanmar

The Embassy of Japan hopes that the dispatch program, the first of its kind, further promotes the Japanese traditional sport, Judo in Myanmar and the friendship between Japan and Myanmar.

Mekong-Japan Exchange Year Event, Lecture and Photo Exhibition by JENESYS Photographers

On October23,inYangon, Lecture and Photo Exhibiton by two young Myanmar Photographers took place as a Mekong-Japan Exchange Year Event, hosted by the Embassy of Japan and Myanmar Photgraphic Society.

This event started with the ribbon cutting by H.E.Yasukaki Nogawa, Ambassdor of Japan, U Pe Myint Oo, Chairman of Myanmar Photographic Society, Mr.Kyaw Kyaw Winn and Mr.Htin Aung, who participated in the JENESYS (Japan-East Asia Network of Exchange of Students and Youths) Invitation Programme for Creators last year and this year respectively. This was followed by a welcome speech by Ambassador Nogawa and speech by U Pe Myint Oo, who thanked the Government of Japan for extending support to young Myanmar Photographers. Thereafter, both Mr.Kyaw Kyaw Winn and Mr.Htin Aung gave half an hour lecture under the theme " Japan seen from a Myanmar Photographer" with many s lides of their photos, which they took during their three months' stay in Japan.

In total one hundred and thirty people (photographers, Japanese language school students and journalists) participated in the event. They listened with great interest to the lecture, in which lecturers explained their experiences in Japan. This included their exchange with young artists from other East Asiancountries, traditional elements of Japan, such as festivals and modern elements of Japan such as "Maid Cafe" and Akihabara.

U Pe Myint Oo said in his opening speech that this kind of exchange with a foreign countries was the first experience for Myanmar Photographic Society in its fifty years' history. The two photographers said that they were really happy to share their experiences in Japan with many people at thise vent.

The Embassy of Japan hopes to promote further cooperaton with Myanmar Photographic Society and thorough photos introduce the true image of Japan to Myanmar people.

The Mekong-Japan Exchange Year, The Second Japanese Song Contest (Nodo-Jiman)

The Second Japanese Song Contest (Nodo-Jiman) was held on October 17 in Yangon in cooperation with the Myanmar Association of Japan Alumni (MAJA), YangonJapaneseSchool and Gitameit Music Centre as a Mekong-Japan Exchange Year event. In total 76 entries were registered and, after the initial screening, 22 singers were chosen to participate in the contest.The number of audience was more than 600.

Mr. Kyaw Thiha Htun, who sang SMAP’s “Sekai ni Hitotsu Dake no Hana” won the first prize. Ms. New Mar Win, who sang Ayaka’s “Mikazuki”, and Mr. Zay Yar Naing, who sang Tulip’s “Saboten no Hana” won second and third prize respectively.Ambassador’s prize was awarded to Mr. Ler Htoo, who sang “Shimanchu nu Takara” by BIGIN.

The first prize winner Mr. Kyaw Thiha Htun expressed his excitement by saying “I am more than happy to win the first prize, but at the same times feel sad because I can’t participate in the next contest. I hope many people will participate in the next contest”.

Some audience gave the following comments;

“I was surprised to learn that all the participants sang Japanese songs very well”, “I really enjoyed many Japanese songs today”.

The Head of the Judges - Ms. Murogaki, a music teacher from Yangon Japanese School winded up the occasion by saying, “All the contestants were really good singers. Therefore, it was very difficult for the judges to decide the prize winners”, “It is important, in singing a Japanese song, to understand the meaning of each Japanese word”

The Embassy of Japan hopes that this event stimulated not just the participants but also the audience to deepen their interest in Japanese music and language.

The Mekong-Japan Exchange Year, Japanese Toys and Street Magic Show

On September 3 and 4 in Yangon Japanese Toys and Street Magic Show took place as a Mekong-Japan Exchange Year Event, hosted by the Embassy of Japan and Japan Foundation.

One hundred and twenty Japanese language school students and one hundred and seventy-four young children participated in the event on the first and second day respectively.

At this event, Mr.Ishikawa introduced traditional Japanese toys, including a tea-carrying boy which was invented three hundred years ago. Mr.Tobe performed Street Magic Show, which featured friendship between Myanmar and Japan. At the end of the event, the participants had a chance to wear Japanese Happi(jacket usually worn at festival) and Hachimaki(head sash) and to have their photos taken with a Japanese Hero. They were also happy to actually play with the tradtional toys.

Probably this event was the first time that Japanese traditonal toys and street magic were introduced to Myanmar. The Embassy of Japan hopes that through this event, many young children and students gained a happy memory of Japan.

The Mekong-Japan Exchange Year, Japanese Culture Event in Nay Pyi Taw and Mandalay (August 26,28)

On August 26 in Nay Pyi Taw and on August 28 in Mandalay, the Embassy of Japan hosted the Japanese Culture Event as a Mekong-Japan Exchange Year event with the attendance of H.E.Yasuaki Nogawa, Ambassador of Japan.

In Nay Pyi Taw, U George San Tun, the only Ikebana (Japanese flower arrangement) expert in Myanmar, conducted Ikebana demonstration. This was the first culture event in Nay Pyi Taw, which was hosted by the Embassy of Japan. Thirty-five people attended, among which included government-related people, including the spouse of Minister of Hotel and Toursim, Deputy Minister of Hotel and Tourism, former Japanese Government Scholarship students and some NGO members. Ikebana is one of the most popular Japanese traditional culture in Myanmar, which was testified by spontaneous and active question and answer session after the demonstration.

In Mandalay, three local Karatedo&Aikido Clubs participated in the first part of the event and conducted demonstration. In the second part of the event, U George San Tun impressed the audience by yet another Ikebana demonstration. In total more than five hundred people came and there was much heated atmosphere. After the event, Japanese fans in Mandalay gave comments such as; "The contrast between the first part and the second part, namely dynamism of Karatedo& Aikido and elegance of Ikebana was memorable." "I was much impressed by the event, because the introduction of Japanese culture was done by Myanmar experts."

The Embassy of Japan will try to organize more culture events in cities outside Yangon, based on positive response given to the two events in Nay Pyi Taw and Mandalay.

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The Mekong-Japan Exchange Year Event JUNKO KOSHINO COLLECTION LECTURE & DEMONSTRATION

Frontline of Japanese Life and Cultural Exchange

On August 23, a fashion event by a world famous Japanese designer, Junko Koshino took place as a Mekong-Japan Exchange Year Event at the Strand Hotel in Yangon.

It was a historic event, because this was the first time that a world-class fashion show by a world-renowned designer was held in Myanmar, which caused a great excitement among local people.

Prior to the event, on August 22 a Gala Dinner and Fashion Show was hosted by the JUNKO KOSHINO Inc., which was attended by Myanmar government dignitaries including Deputy Minister of Hotel and Tourism, Myanmar and Japanese sponsors and diplomatic corps.

On August 23, the Embassy of Japan and Japan Foundation co-hosted the above mentioned event, Junko Koshino Collection, , Lecture & Demonstration with the cooperation of JUNKO KOSHINO Inc., which was sponsored by numerous Japanese and Myanmar companies. Around 800 audience were enraptured by this high light of the Mekong-Japan Exchange Year at the Strand Hotel, which celebrated its 108th history this year. Among the audience textile factory owners and workers, fashion industry-related people such as local designers, make-up artists, famous singer, actors and actresses were included.

During the lecture, Ms. Junko Koshino said, “This fashion show is like a delicious food. I hope that all of you will get lots of nutrition through today’s event.” After the event, the excited audience gave comments such as;

“This event was indeed nutritious!” “I have never been exposed to such beauty.”

“My design of clothes will be greatly influenced by today’s event.”

To realize this epoch-making event, not only fashion models of Japan and Myanmar appeared on the stage together, but also staff in different fields (sound, lighting, stage-setting, fitting, hair and make-up) worked together. This cooperation between Japanese and Myanmar experts behind the stage embodied the main theme of the Mekong-Japan Exchange.

A Myanmar staff commented on his experience of working with his counterparts as follows; “Working with the Japanese was truly inspirational for me. I will never forget it.”

The Mekong-Japan Exchange Year Event Concert of Piano&Flute (August 1-2, 2009)

On August 1 in Yangon and on August 2 in Mandalay, the Concert of Piano & Flute took place as a Mekong-Japan Exchange Year, hosted by the Embassy of Japan and Japan Foundation.

In Yangon around 400 people and in Mandalay 300 people gathered on the occasion.

At this concert, Japanese flutist, Mr.Hiroshi Matsunshima and pianist, Mrs. Yoshimi Matsushima performed pieces which varied from Japanese folklore to South American Tango and European classics. The audience enjoyed, in particular, the beauty of Japanese traditional and modern music, which was effectively expressed by western instruments, piano and flute. The concert raeached the climax, when the musicians played Myanmar Water Festival music as a surprise, which was recevied by big applause by the audience.

This concert was a rare chance to experience Japanese culture, especially for residents in Mandalay. After the concert, many Japanese fans in Mandalay expressed their hope that they would like to attend such event more frequently in future. The Embassy of Japan will try to organize more culture events not just in Yangon but also in Mandalay.

The Mekong-Japan Exchange Year Event Anime　Ambassador　Doraemon (June 2, 2009)

On July 2, the Embassy of Japan hosted Anime ambassador "Doraemon the Movie; Nobita’s　Dinosaur 2006”show as a Mekong-Japan Exchange Year event.

Since Doraemon was appointed as “Anime Ambassador” by the Ministry of foreign Affairs in Japan with aim of increasing interest in Japan through Anime in March 2008 (Please see here for the Inauguration ceremony).Since then, “ Nobita’s Dinosaur 2006”has been shown in many countries worldwide.

The movie, which was on the screen for the first time in Myanmar, was screened twice: one in the morning and another in the afternoon, and altogether 279 people, 173 children from orphanages and 106 students and teachers from Japanese Language Schools, enjoyed the event. Japanese Language Learners and of course children were very interested in the everyday life in Japan shown in the movie and watched attentively.

The Embassy of Japan hopes that this event stimulated the audience to deepen their understanding. and interest in Japan.


Anime Ambassador Doraemon		Children enjoying the movie

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