The National Japan Bowl

Welcome to
The National Japan Bowl
Friday, April 3, 2009 12:30pm~
The National 4-H Youth Conference Center
7100 Connecticut Avenue, Chevy Chase, Maryland 20815
@Auditorium
Free /無料
Help us welcome over 200 high school students and teachers from across the
United States to Washington for the 17th National Japan Bowl, sponsored by
the Japan-America Society of Washington DC. Please come cheer the students
on as they showcase their language abilities and cultural knowledge. Also,
join us for our program of special cultural events! All events are free and open
to the public.
ジャパンボウルは、全米で外国語として日本語を学んでいる高校生が日本語能力
のみならず、日本の文化、習慣、歴史、地理、時事、日米関係などの知識につい
て競い合うクイズ形式の大会です。日本語学習に対する意欲や、日本への関心を
更に高め、卒業後も持続して学習してほしいとの期待も込められており、教育活
動の一環として位置づけられています。
参加者は日本語学習年数によって 3 つのレベルに分かれ、3人 1 組のチームで大
会 に挑みます。全米優勝決定戦の早押しクイズは、知識のみならず、応用能力、
チームワークなども要求されます。最上級レベルの優勝チームには、日本研修旅
行が授与されます。日本語を学習中の高校生の全米トップを決めるチャンピオン
シップに、ぜひ足をお運びください。全てのプログラムは無料です。
2009 Championship Rounds
April. 3rd (Fri)
1:30p.m-5:00p.m
1:45 - 2:00pm Explanation of Championship Rounds
2:00 - 2:30pm Championship Round Level 2
2:40 - 3:10pm Championship Round Level 3
3:20 - 3:50pm Championship Round Level 4
4:00 - 5:00pm Award and Closing Ceremony
Special Guests
12:20 - 1:00 pm
Mr. Conan Grames – “Yojijukugo”
As offered by Manga University, this course will take you deep inside the
world of yojijukugo, four-kanji expressions that make up some of the bestknown and loved Japanese idioms. For more information, please visit
http://www.japanime.com/
1:00 – 1:30 pm
The father of Sudoku, Mr. Maki Kaji
Maki Kaji is one of the founders of the Japanese-based
logic puzzle company, Nikoli Co. Ltd. Kaji created the
name of the world famous puzzle Sudoku. Sudoku means
bachelor numbers, with a sense of humor, “the single-digit
number should be kept alone like a bachelor
and unmarried.” He is known as The Godfather of
Sudoku. Kaji started Nikoli in 1980 and has created more
than 250 types of logic puzzles. Many of Nikoli’s puzzles are handcrafted which makes
the company one of a kind in the world.
5:00 – 5:40 pm
J-Pop Star Ai Kawashima
A young girl pursuing her dream to be heard
At age 4, Ai was adopted by her parents from an orphanage. By age
16, she’d lost both of her parents to illness. Facing her stark situation, she began to sing on
her own and with no outside prompting on the streets in Tokyo managing to perform over
1000 times. Her debut single sold 1 million units. It’s a few months after her beloved
mother past. At 22, She’s already built 2 schools in conjunction with a charity in Cambodia
and Burkina Faso (Africa). “I was born and raised in the peaceful country of Japan. I knew
little about what was happening in the world. Music has given me a way to let my voice be
heard”, she wrote in her autobiography. “I kept doing whatever I could do, hoping it could
somehow become my lifework rather than just a dream or a goal.”
Underneath she’s still a big kid who loves manga and anime with unbridled enthusiasm.
Her love of the popular manga title “One Piece” lead her seek and, with her talent, to be
chosen as the artist doing the theme song for the “One Piece” movie version. On top of
that she was able to land a voice acting role as one of the characters in the film.
About Ai Kawashima, singer, songwriter, producer and book author
Born Feb 21, 1986. Her debut single, released in 2003, “Asu he no Tobira”, under the
pseudonym “ai” of “I Wish”, sold a million units topping the Oricon Chart. Since then,
she’s had many more singles and albums ranked in the chart. Her autobiography “ Saigo
no Kotoba” ranked number one on the best seller lists and sold 300,000 copies. She’s
completed an astonishing 1000 street performances.
About Ai Kawashima and School Charity
Working with charity organizations, she built 2 schools at Cambodia and Burkina Faso
(West Africa). The third school is under construction in Liberia and the forth one has been
planned. Official website: www.kawashimaai.com
5:45 – 6:30 pm
Pandora’s Playground
Pandora’s Playground will provide Japanese
traditional performances such as Shishimai,
Koma mawashi, and Nankin Tamasudare.
7:30 – 8:30 pm
Artists from “Pop the Rock Japan Music Showcase” (PTRJMS)
TenBu Productions provides management services to Japanese
theatrical and musical talent in the United States. PTRJMS is a
new spring concert created by TenBu, which will take place at
5PM on April 4th. Participating artists include Psychic Lover,
Unicorn Table, Sister Mayo, Takayoshi Tanimoto, and Shing02
with DC Icewater. These artists cover a wide range of musical
style, from Rock to anime/game music, to hip-hop and more.
They will all be on hand for a Q&A discussion session. For more
information, please go to http://www.tenbuproductions.com/ or www.akibafest.com.
*Seats are limited, so please register for the event in advance.
Name: _______________________________________________
Email address: ______________________________________________________
The Japan-America Society of Washington, D.C.
1819 L Street, N.W., 1B Level Washington, D.C. 20036
Tel: (202) 833-2210 Fax: (202) 833-2456
E-mail: [email protected]