Partying with Mika’s Spirit

What a party!
100 friends gathered at Cafe Slow to celebrate Mika’s exhbition, “Hana-tachi no Natsukashii Ashita (The Flowers and their Nostalgic Tomorrow)”
Musicians dedicating their music were internationally well-known classical musicians Seppo Kimanen and Yoshiko Arai, jazz pianist Ritsuco Endo, and vocalist Fuyuta Matsuya. We showed a video message and song by singer Shigeko Suzuki, as well as parts of the recently completed film Kotsunagi, about the history of the dispute over traditional common lands in Iwate Prefecture. My friend Misago Chizuru, writer and Tsuda Juku University professor of public health, also spoke. My elder brother, the architect Goichi Oiwa, co-hosted the party with me.

This occasion also was a celebration of the Sloth Club’s tenth anniversary. It took place at the hub of our slow movement, Cafe Slow that relocated to its current location 14 months ago. Now, it’s only five minutes walk from Kokubunji station, about 20 minutes from Shinjuku. It is making its presence felt in the area as one of the best natural-food restaurants and a gathering place for cultural creatives in search of a new lifestyle that emphasizes ecology, natural birthing and parenting, and social justice. It is also the birthplace of the Candle Night movement, which has now spread all over Japan and overseas.

On the 18th and 19th of this month, Cafe Slow will host two more events celebrating the Sloth Club’s tenth anniversary. I will be there too.

Mika’s Art Show

This Sunday evening will be the opening of my mother’s art, at Cafe Slow in Kokubunji, Tokyo. The show will be up from July 3-12, so please stop by.

From Finland to the rice fields

The Japan-Finland Slow Life Seminar, “Time, Technology, and Well-Being” finished on a great note. The last day at Meiji Gakuin Shirokane Campus featured keynote speeches by Timo Airlaksinen and Heta Gyulling from the Philosophy department of the University of Helsinki. In the evening session, between the two wrap-up sessions we were lucky to have a mini-concert by internationally renowned musicians Seppo Kimanen and Yoshiko Arai, founders of the Siberius Quartet.

I was pretty tired after all these events. Still, this morning I joined my students at Maioka Nature Park in Totsuka. We transplanted rice seedlings into the tambo, or rice fields. Now, I am refreshed.

Towards an Economy of Happiness

I will be speaking on the topic of moving from GNP to GNH at an event on June 25 at the German Institute for Japanese Studies, in Tokyo. More information on the event can be found here.

I look forward to seeing friends new and old at this event, and sharing a lively discussion.

Finland

I was in Finland from the end of April to early May. So now I know everything about Finland — ask me anything! Haha. I am totally ready for the seminar that I have jointly planned and organized with my Finnish friend, Seppo Kimanen, the renowned cellist and the cultural attache of the Finnish Embassy in Japan. Here are some details about the upcoming seminars I’ll be participating in, starting on May 30, 2009. Two philosophers from Helsinki University and the inventor Yasuyuki Fujimura will join us as well. Feel free to stop by.

Update from Totsuka

This weekend I’ll be attending the International Eco-Village Conference in Tokyo.  My lecture will be on April 26th, titled Re-Localization and Slow Life.  I will also be MC-ing a workshop called Eco-Villages and Mental Illness.  This dovetails with my newly released Yukkuri Notebook on Bethel House, an alternative mental health center in Urakawa, southern Hokkaido.  Please come if you are in the Tokyo area.

Last week, I had the opportunity to interview Kazuhiro Soda, the director of the film Mental (Seishin).  I was so impressed with his film and luckily was able to interview him just before he left for New York.  Stay tuned for more information on this.

Tonight (Friday, the 24th), I will host the next Cafe de la Terra.  This is a discussion series held at my local Buddhist temple, Zenryou-ji.  We are trying to bring back the ancient tradition of culture, arts, philosophy, and festivals centered around neighborhood temples.  Sometimes we serve homemade food and organic coffee and tea.  Tonight’s featured guests are  Bethel House director Mukaiyachi Ikuyoshi and his wife Etsuko.  The event starts at 7 p.m.

Finally, I am off to Finland on the 27th in exploration of the Slow Life there…

Peace and Green Boat 2008

On November 21, I will leave from Kobe to join the Peace and Green Boat.  I will be the main coordinator of the programs taking place on board.  Guest lecturers on board besides myself include Douglas Lummis, Chinen Ushi, Okinawan rapper Kakumakushaka, and many scholars and activists from Korea.  I am very excited.

More information about the Peace and Green Boat can be found on their website.

Helena in Japan

My friend and renowned ecologist Helena Norberg-Hodge is now in Japan, and I’ve been fortunate enough to spend time with her, interviewing her in hopes that we can eventually publish our talks in book form.  Today is the first day of the World Buddhist Forum in Tokyo, where she will be one of the keynote speakers along with Joanna Macy.  Unfortunately I cannot participate this weekend, but on Sunday I will continue with my interview with her and on Monday I will join her onstage for a gathering at the University of Tokyo.  There, she will be showing a rough cut of her forthcoming documentary film, “The Economics of Happiness.”