Japanese Culture

IN NOVEMBER, Park Elementary Principal Diane Lenzi spent 18 days in Japan on a Fulbright Memorial Fund scholarship to study the Japanese school system. So it was only appropriate that when a delegation of Japanese educators expressed interest in learning about American schools, Lenzi invited them to Park. Last week, the Japanese group visited Lenzi's school and Brooklyn Park Middle. Lenzi was the third county educator in as many years to be selected for the Fulbright honor. She was chosen for a proposal based on Park's continuing study of international cultures.

Last winter, Leann Kwak put her senior year at Arundel High School on hold to pursue her dreams as a chart-topping pop singer. For nearly three months, thousands of TV viewers determined whether or not she'd move on to the next round of the competition. But this wasn't "American Idol. "Kwak, a Korean-American born and raised in Odenton, was a Top 24 finalist on "K-Pop Star," the South Korean equivalent to "Idol. " And while she didn't win, Kwak says that concentrating on her goal kept her motivated while living in a foreign country.

CHICHI JIMA, Japan - This remote scythe-shaped island appears small and insignificant from the deck of a ferry. Visitors stagger down the gangplank after the 25-hour trip from Tokyo to find palm trees and white-sand beaches reminiscent of countless other specks of paradise dotting the Pacific. A closer look at Chichi Jima's residents, however, reveals something a bit incongruous. Among the local Japanese citizens shopping on the sleepy main street or waiting at one of the two stoplights are many with distinctly European features.

From Friday through Sunday, Otakon will take over the Baltimore Convention Center. All those anime fans are coming for the costumes, the movie premieres, the performances, and whatever else they do at the convention to celebrate Japanese culture . They don't seem like the drinking type. And yet, after they watch whatever movie this is above - something called "Bunraku" starring Demi Moore and Ron Perlman in full "Beauty and the Beast" regalia - geeks, you'll need a drink.  None of the Japanese bars in town seem to have drink specials for the weekend.

Last winter, Leann Kwak put her senior year at Arundel High School on hold to pursue her dreams as a chart-topping pop singer. For nearly three months, thousands of TV viewers determined whether or not she'd move on to the next round of the competition. But this wasn't "American Idol. "Kwak, a Korean-American born and raised in Odenton, was a Top 24 finalist on "K-Pop Star," the South Korean equivalent to "Idol. " And while she didn't win, Kwak says that concentrating on her goal kept her motivated while living in a foreign country.

From Friday through Sunday, Otakon will take over the Baltimore Convention Center. All those anime fans are coming for the costumes, the movie premieres, the performances, and whatever else they do at the convention to celebrate Japanese culture . They don't seem like the drinking type. And yet, after they watch whatever movie this is above - something called "Bunraku" starring Demi Moore and Ron Perlman in full "Beauty and the Beast" regalia - geeks, you'll need a drink.  None of the Japanese bars in town seem to have drink specials for the weekend.

The 16th-century Japanese art of swordplay demands that its warriors begin "as still as a mountain," then pounce "as powerfully as a raging river.""This is not the Errol Flynn school of swashbuckling sword fighting," said William Buckley, a 53-year-old Hampstead resident who teaches computer science at Catonsville Community College."

Homemade noodles hang on a drying rack next to a gigantic pot of chicken noodle soup made from scratch. Culinary arts students at the Center for Applied Technology North in Severn savor small cups of their steaming creation. They give much of the credit for their successes and their love of cooking to their teacher, Bruce S. Davis.But they aren't the only ones who appreciate Davis' enthusiasm for learning and culinary technique.Davis left yesterday for a three-week trip to Japan through the Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher Program, which has sent 600 American teachers and administrators abroad every year since 1997.

A fascination with Japanese culture, driven by the popularity of imported cartoons, motivated a group of middle-schoolers to spend part of their summer tackling a very difficult language. During the recent summer foreign language exploration program at Mayfield Woods Middle School, the pupils were "totally immersed in the culture. It was a real hit with the students," said Edna Turner, summer school principal. From June 28 to July 12, about 20 children spent three hours a day learning Japanese as part of the county's Comprehensive Middle Summer School program.

A collection of Japanese rice paper prints dating from the 19th century will be displayed in Western Maryland College's Gallery One through Jan. 22.The exhibit is free and open to the public. The gallery is on the third floor of the college's Hoover Library in Westminster.It is open from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday. Saturday the gallery will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.The delicate color woodblock prints are being exhibited at the college as part of the January Term course, "History of Japan: 1600 to the Present," being taught by Dr. Richard Titlow, an educator at several area colleges and universities, including WMC.Dr.

Otakon isn't the only place in Baltimore where Japanese culture is being celebrated this weekend. Want to take a break from Otakon for a little bit? Here are three events you might want to check out: Sake The Fells Point bar Bad Decisions will be hosting a Sake Weekend on Friday and Saturday. Friday, several different kinds of sake will be available, as well as a menu of shochu and sake cocktails (shochu is Japan's other alcoholic beverage of choice). Saturday will feature a four-course dinner beginning at 6 p.m., with each course accompanied by the appropriate sake.

DVD THE GOLDEN AGE / / Universal Pictures. Available Tuesday. DVD: $19.98. HD-DVD: $39.98. ....................... Ten years after first donning that imposing red wig, Cate Blanchett reprises her role as Queen Elizabeth I in Elizabeth: The Golden Age. While the sequel lacks much of the crackling tension and intrigue that made 1997's Elizabeth so successful, Blanchett is no less impressive. Nominated for an Oscar for the role, she exudes intelligence and authority as she commands her court while still conveying a deep sense of regret and isolation in her private life.

It started in 1995 when Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Hideo Nomo proved a Japanese pitcher could succeed in the major leagues. Ichiro Suzuki eventually followed, and showed that a Japanese slap hitter can dominate here. Then came Hideki Matsui, who demonstrated that the Japanese can hit for power and drive in runs, too. And this year major league baseball has been smacked upside the noggin by Boston Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka and his multitude of pitches and arm angles. A dozen years after the advent of Nomomania, the debate has ended.

Sitting with classmates around a grill at the Sakura Japanese Steak House, Mackenzie Wiedecker and Caitie Boles watched as a chef prepared their lunch on the grill in front of them. They said they were excited to use chopsticks to eat the rice, vegetables, chicken and steak the chef was cooking. The two seventh-graders had walked the short distance from West Middle School to the Westminster restaurant as part of a class field trip. The pupils had been learning about Japan, and the trip was designed to give them a first-hand look at aspects of Japanese art, architecture, culture - and food.

A fascination with Japanese culture, driven by the popularity of imported cartoons, motivated a group of middle-schoolers to spend part of their summer tackling a very difficult language. During the recent summer foreign language exploration program at Mayfield Woods Middle School, the pupils were "totally immersed in the culture. It was a real hit with the students," said Edna Turner, summer school principal. From June 28 to July 12, about 20 children spent three hours a day learning Japanese as part of the county's Comprehensive Middle Summer School program.

CHICHI JIMA, Japan - This remote scythe-shaped island appears small and insignificant from the deck of a ferry. Visitors stagger down the gangplank after the 25-hour trip from Tokyo to find palm trees and white-sand beaches reminiscent of countless other specks of paradise dotting the Pacific. A closer look at Chichi Jima's residents, however, reveals something a bit incongruous. Among the local Japanese citizens shopping on the sleepy main street or waiting at one of the two stoplights are many with distinctly European features.

Otakon isn't the only place in Baltimore where Japanese culture is being celebrated this weekend. Want to take a break from Otakon for a little bit? Here are three events you might want to check out: Sake The Fells Point bar Bad Decisions will be hosting a Sake Weekend on Friday and Saturday. Friday, several different kinds of sake will be available, as well as a menu of shochu and sake cocktails (shochu is Japan's other alcoholic beverage of choice). Saturday will feature a four-course dinner beginning at 6 p.m., with each course accompanied by the appropriate sake.

When Alexis de Tocqueville visited America some two hundred years ago, he marveled at the volunteer spirit of its citizens and their passion for charitable works for the betterment of their communities. That spirit has grown to the point that today philanthropy is culturally ingrained into the American experience.But American-type charity has spread far beyond our borders. With globalization, the pace of change throughout the world has increased, bringing with it intense social problems. Many of these problems can be addressed more efficiently, and with greater permanence, through the application of charitable efforts.

Hanamura Japanese Restaurant acts as a goodwill ambassador to acquaint American diners with traditional Japanese cuisine and culture. "Kohn bann wah," or "good evening," the menu greets. "We decided to open in Columbia because it is a beautiful place," said Mandy On, who manages the restaurant. "It's very pretty, very quiet." According to On, the restaurant's name means "flower village." "The owner, who is from Japan, wanted to find a name that matches the Columbia setting but that also reminded him of Japan," she said.

IN NOVEMBER, Park Elementary Principal Diane Lenzi spent 18 days in Japan on a Fulbright Memorial Fund scholarship to study the Japanese school system. So it was only appropriate that when a delegation of Japanese educators expressed interest in learning about American schools, Lenzi invited them to Park. Last week, the Japanese group visited Lenzi's school and Brooklyn Park Middle. Lenzi was the third county educator in as many years to be selected for the Fulbright honor. She was chosen for a proposal based on Park's continuing study of international cultures.