What’s happening?
December 2015 Events Performances New Year’s Eve Dinner and Dance Thursday, December 31, Cocktails at 6 pm, Dinner at 7 pm | $110 | Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre (6 Garamond Ct., Toronto) | More info: jccc.on.ca > Join us in the Kobayashi Hall on the last day of 2015 for a night filled with dinner and dance. Ralph and Theresa Yuan will provide the music for dancing and fun on Toronto’s finest double sprung dance floor. A prime rib buffet dinner will be provided by Calvert’s Catering. Each ticket includes dinner, dancing, party favours, midnight champagne and snacks. Seating can be arranged for 8-10 persons per table. Don’t delay—tickets were sold out last year. Purchase tickets before Friday, December 11.
Hatsune Miku Expo 2016 Toronto
New Year’s Eve Bell Ringing Ceremony The 1,200-pound Temple Bell was a gift from Japanese Canadians living in Ontario to the province in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Japanese settlement in Canada, back in October of 1977. The provincial government graciously accepted the gift and chose to locate it on the west island of the province’s premier park, Ontario Place. This service is held on New Year’s Eve to express gratitude for the past year and to reflect on the interdependency of all life. The bell is tolled 108 times on New Year’s Eve, which symbolizes the 108 passions that afflict human beings and bind them to the world of delusion. It is a reminder of the need to free oneself from the entanglements of self-centredness as one faces the new year. This is called Joya no kane or “Bell of the last night.” Thursday, December 31, 11:15 pm to 11:45 pm | Ontario Place (955 Lake Shore Blvd. W., Toronto) More info: tbc.on.ca
Exhibitions Handcrafted Form: Tradition and Techniques Until Tuesday, January 12, 2016 | The Japan Foundation (2 Bloor St. E., Hudson’s Bay Centre 3F, Toronto) More info: jftor.org/events/handcrafted-form > People in Japan are surrounded by utilitarian craft objects that have been brought into being and nurtured within their daily lives. By making the most of the raw materials of each craft—ceramics, textiles, metal work, lacquerware, wood and bamboo work, paper, etc.—and contriving to use the techniques appropriate to each, goods have been created that
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combine ease of use with beauty. This exhibition introduces hand-crafted objects made from traditional materials with traditional techniques from all over Japan. Representative objects designated as “Traditional Craft Objects” under the Japanese government’s Traditional Manufactured Goods Law form the core of the exhibition, supplemented by works of craft artists.
Friday, May 20, 2016, 8 pm–10 pm | $53.39– 102.89 | Sony Centre for the Performing Arts (1 Front St. E., Toronto) | More info: mikuexpo. com/na2016/ > Join Hatsune Miku at her first live concert in Toronto! Hatsune Miku is a 16-year-old Japanese idol singer with more than 2.5 million international followers on Facebook. She has also previously collaborated with big-name artists like Lady Gaga and Pharrell Williams, and even made an appearance on the David Letterman show. But what makes her truly distinguished is that she is actually not a human, but a 3D virtual humanoid persona, voiced by a singing synthesizing technology called ‘Vocaloid.’ After the first successful round of concerts in New York and Los Angeles in 2014, she is returning to North America in spring 2016 with an expanded tour schedule in response to increasing overseas demands. Tickets for the Toronto performance are on sale now, so don’t miss this rare opportunity to meet Hatsune Miku “in person”!
Other Jodo Ongoing | $35 monthly for adults, $25 monthly for youth and seniors | Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre (6 Garamond Ct., Toronto) More info: jccc.on.ca > A new martial arts class commonly known as “Jodo” started at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre in November. In 1968, Jodo became an art under the All Japan Kendo Federation curriculum. Today, Jodo demonstrations are held throughout Japan and practised worldwide. Jodo activities in Canada are overseen by the Canadian Kendo Federation. Classes are held on Sundays from 3:30 pm