Sunday, Sep. 11, 2011

Free 'rakugo' performance on tap in Kyoto

An English "rakugo" comic storytelling performance will be staged at 1 p.m. on Sept. 18 in Chuo Ward, Osaka. Eight programs will be performed by nine storytellers.

Admission is free. The venue is the hall on the fourth floor of the Osaka Museum of History, located in front of Exit 9 of Tanimachi 4-chome Station on the Tanimachi or Chuo subway lines. The venue will open at 12:30 p.m.

A party will be held after the show from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Reservations are required by Sept. 15, and the fee to join the party is ¥3,500. The rakugo event will finish around 3:30 p.m. and party participants should gather at the entrance hall on the first floor at 4:30 p.m.

On Sept. 18, the Kansai Music Conference will also be held in the museum, featuring various musical events.

For more information and reservations to join the after-show party, contact the organizer at ofukuyose@gmail.com or go to their website at ofukuyose.blog9.fc2.com (in Japanese).

Lecture on Japanese education in Vietnam

Japanese-language education and Japanese studies in Vietnam will be discussed at 2 p.m. Tuesday at a forum in Kyoto organized by the International Research Center for Japanese Studies.

Nguyen Thi Thanh Tam, senior lecturer of Foreign Trade University Hanoi and vice president of Institute for Technology and Development, a member of the Vietnam Union of Science & Technology Association, will give a lecture in Japanese. A discussion session will take place after the lecture.

The venue will open at 1:30 p.m. No admission or advance applications are required.

The venue is Heartpia Kyoto, which is connected to Exit 5 of Marutamachi Station on the Karasuma subway line. For further information, contact the organizer at (075) 335-2078.

Lessons on tea ceremony offered in Osaka

Osaka International House Foundation is seeking participants for tea ceremony lessons to be held Sept. 30, Oct. 7 and Oct. 14 in Tennoji Ward, Osaka.

Participants must attend all three lessons, which will run from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Fifteen people will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.

The lessons will be in Japanese. Participation is ¥1,000. Those who wish to participate should apply in advance by phone, fax or via the Web with your name, telephone number, nationality and gender.

The venue is the Japanese room in Osaka International House, which is a 10-minute walk from Tanimachi 9-chome Station on the Tanimachi subway line. For reservations and more information, contact the organizer at (06) 6773-8989 or visit www.ih-osaka.or.jp (in Japanese, English, Chinese, Korean, Spanish and Portuguese).

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