Dear friends and members of the Fellowship,
Next meeting: April 10 (3:00 to 5:00)
Usual Place: International House (国際文化会館)
Dinner afterwards if you can stay.
In the tradition of the Czech Unitarian
Norbert Capeck:
"A Flower Celebration."
Please bring ONE flower (or green branch
from your garden).
(Don't worry we will have extras if
needed.)
We will have a series of readings
(volunteers??)on the themes of equality and inclusive community as
we celebrate our common
humanity, along with individual differences.
Everyone takes a different flower home.
For our discussion:
Please bring an article, a news item,
a song, or a story of a personal experience of discrimination (for example as a
foreigner, a woman, an older person, or having an illness/disability) etc. from
your life recently.
And please bring one item where bias or
preconceived notions (prejudice) have blinded you to reality in
dealing with someone else (you now realize).
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Brief Summary of March 10 meeting
Liliana Morais, she told us, was born and
educated thru college in Portugal, has recently married and now lives in
Chofu. Having just submitted her Ph.d dissertation at Toritsu University she
plans to continue with post-grad research.
She first talked and showed slides of her
nearly 8 years research on 20th century potters in Brazil. (she
received anMA from Sao Paulo University).
Originally many artisans were
part of the Japanese immigrant community. Now there are
craftspeople (some with tenuous or no Japanese ancestry)who work
influenced by the Japanese styles of high fired ceramics.
Especially two fine women potters-- who
left Japan for Brazil in part because as women they faced discrimination--Shoko
Suzuki ad Mieko Ukeseki.
More recently Morais' research focussed on
foreigners (non-Japanese) studying and working in Japan--with the most numbers
in Gumma (Mashiko/Kusama area).
She gave details of some of the 40
individuals of her study including showing us slides of their lives, techniques
and studios, and ceramic work.
Her discussion also included her ongoing
interest in how outsiders can revive depopulated towns and villages where
traditional agricultural lifestyles and industries have collapsed (such as the
porcelain craft /industry in Arita since the 1970's but especially since 1990).
She showed us several projects that offer tourist
accommodations, short term study (up to three months)for young and old,
or hands on experiences in beautiful rural/mountain
locations. Non-natives (often multilingual) and outsider young urbanites
since 2000 have helped start and continue several craft/art cooperatives,
associations and periodic art fairs in Japan and other countries. Recently they
have developed big facilities such as Kourakugama, Saga
(Kyushu), and Cerdeira (a once abandoned village in the
mountains of central Portugal).
Your moderator,
Peggy Kanada
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