The Dilena Takeyama Center

is pleased to invite you to the opening reception for

"Voices from Japan:Tanka--After the Tsunami"

an exhibit of tanka poetry, photography, video and calligraphy

5:00 pm - 8:00 pm, Thursday, Jan 31

Special Performances

“When the Catfish Dances” performed by Brenda Wong Aoki with Mark Izu

Live calligraphy demonstration by Aoi Yamaguchi

Location

Art Gallery

Cesar Chavez Student Center

San Francisco State University

(415) 336-7599

About the Exhibit--Jan. 28-Feb. 14

EACH DAY, a new poem appears in the Asahi Shimbun.  The poets: fishermen, housewives and loved ones testify to the physical and emotional damage left in the wake of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.  The earthquake measured magnitude 9.0, the most powerful ever to hit Japan. The resulting waves reached up 10 stories before rushing six miles inland, collapsing homes, shops, schools and temples. The Fukushima nuclear power plant was devastated.  More than a year later, Isao Tsujimoto of the Studio for Cultural Exchange in Tokyo assembled and selected a collection of 75 poems, 30 of which are on display along with original photography, video and calligraphy. These works convey the resilience of the Japanese people and their sense of loss and hope.Tanka – After the Tsunami seeks to remember over 15,000 lives lost and recognizes the recovery and healing that continues today. 

PRODUCED BY Dilena Takeyama Center for the Study of Japan and Japanese Culture and The Cesar Chavez Student Center Art Gallery at San Francisco State University. Presented in cooperation with Isao Tsujimoto of Studio for Cultural Exchange in Tokyo and first presented in New York.

CONTRIBUTORS: Asahi Shimbun, Kanji Chiba, Darrell Miho, Saori and Yasuhito Sasaguchi, Aoi Yamaguchi, American School in Japan, Konko Church of San Francisco. Poems translated by Laurel R. Rodd, Professor of University of Colorado, Amy V. Heinrich, former Director of C.V. Starr East Asian Library at Columbia University and Joan E. Ericson, Professor of Colorado College.

COLLABORATORS: Consulate General of Japan-San Francisco, Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California, The Poetry Center at SFSU, The Richard Oakes Multicultural Center at SFSU, Rise Japan, Japan Program at SFSU, Japan Society of Northern California, Japanese Student Association at SFSU, Ai Love Japan.

Gallery Hours and Directions

The Art Gallery is located on the Terrace Level of the Cesar Chavez Student Center on the SFSU Campus. Gallery Hours are Monday-Friday, 10 am to 6 pm. Click here for information and maps on how to get to the campus.