Thursday, July 9, 2015

The 1st ISPS Handa Global Cup (1)

  From June 25, to 28, the International Sports Promotion Society (ISPS) held the inaugural ISPS Handa Global Cup at Vintage Golf Club in Yamanashi Prefecture. It was the first international tournament in Japan with a global broadcast reaching about 170 million households around the world.


  In this competition, Toshinori Muto finally claimed victory.
  Muto finished the four-day tournament at 14-under, tied with Filipino player Angelo Que. 
  Que seemed to be in good shape on the final day, finishing the round at seven-under, one of the two best scores of the day.
  On the other hand, Muto took three bogeys and six birdies, finishing the round at three-under. He said later in an interview, "I had many bogeys on the back nine and was a bit nervous. But it was nice I was able to birdie 16 and 18. "
  Then for the playoff, the two golfers played the 577-yard, par-5 18th hole. They both finished with par on the first playoff hole, but in the second try, Muto birdied and Que had to settled for par. 
  Finally, Muto defeated Que.
  Muto was awarded 20 million yen, a Toyota Prius hybrid, rice sake, watches and a green haori, a Japanese traditional jacket.

  The reason he was awarded such a jacket is because Dr.Handa had an idea that, in a like manner the Masters Golf Tournament awards its winners green jackets every year, the ISPS Handa Global Cup should give green haori to the champion.  This idea, Dr.Handa thinks, contributes to propagating the unique Japanese tradition across the world. 





Toshinori Muto (right), the winner of the first ISPS Handa Global Cup,
and his caddy hold up a flag with the logo of ISPS,
which stands for International Sports Promotion society,
 after Muto won in a playoff at the Vintage Golf Club,
in Yamanashi Prefecture, on June 28.

ISPS



(source: THE JAPAN TIMES, July.8, 2015)
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/2015/07/15/special-supplements/show-features-fantastical-dramas-showa-tunes/


   

International High School Arts festival (4)

  At the end of the ceremony, Dr.Handa, who also runs a chain of cram schools called Misuzu Gakuen in Japan which helps high school students prepare for university entrance exams, advised Japanese high school students to "just do what you have to do right now."
  He then added, "People worry because they have time to worry. When you find yourself worrying, stop and just do what you have to do."





The arts festival welcomes both domestic and international high school students.

IFAC




(source: THE JAPAN TIMES, July.7, 2015)
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/2015/07/07/special-supplements/coming-aspiring-artists-recognized-talents/#.VZ5Mb_0w_mI 




International High School Arts festival (3)

  IFAC Chairman Dr.Haruhisa Handa said to students, parents,embassy officials and other guest at the venue that this admission-free festival focuses on it openness to any high school student, and that the criteria of awards showcases the 'untested potential' of the students.
 In addition, he expressed his strong hope that he would like Japanese high school students students to interact with high school students from around the world. 

  Emphasizing the significance of young people's development of international friendship,   Dr.Handa restated a passage from Wolfgang von Goethe, "Those who knows nothing of foreign languages know nothing of their own," that could be translated from the original German "Wer fremde Sprachen nicht kennt, weiß auch nichts von seiner eigenen."

 Dr.Handa hopes that next year, more foreign students will participate , so that they can see and experience art created by not only Japanese but non-Japanese students, make friends with each other, and have a significant experience in Japan with their teachers and parents.

(source: THE JAPAN TIMES, July.7, 2015)
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/2015/07/07/special-supplements/coming-aspiring-artists-recognized-talents/#.VZ5Mb_0w_mI

International High School Arts festival (2)

 Besides, non-Japanese award winners from Ireland, UK, Israel, Indonesia, Egypt, Cambodia, Singapore, Thailand, China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos, Benin and Russia were also invited to the ceremony.
 Of them, Singaporean Ashia Abdullah Kobayashi of St.Margaret's Secondary School won The Japan Times Award for her painting "Crossing," in which an anthropomorphized lion and other animals in an office are depicted.


IFAC Chairman Dr.Handa(center) stands between
high school students, Kenta Mark Boyd Coronan(left) and
Nanami Kuriyama, the two winners of the Prime Minister Awards
in the 16th International High School Arts Festival
at the Ritz  Carlton, Tokyo
on June 27.



IFAC

International High School Arts festival (1)

 The 16th International High school Arts festival, sponsored by the IFAC was held at The Ritz Carlton, Tokyo, on June 27.
 This year, students from Japan and 15 other countries put more than 11,000 pieces of works up for the festival, including fine art and calligraphy. Of them, 408 works were exhibited at the National art Center, Tokyo.
 28 Japanese students and a Singaporean student won special awards presented by the prime minister, other ministers and media.

 In the fine arts division, the top Prime Minister Awards went to Kenta Mark Boyd Coronan, a senior at Honjo-Daiichi school, Saitama Prefecture.Coronan said, "I'm so honored to receive this award. I didn't think I'd win it because I didn't win anything the past two years. This art festival is a place where I'm on equal footing with the world and wining such an honorable award is very meaningful." His work "Sunbeams of Warmth," manifests warm sunbeams in a forest of bamboos and other trees.

 In the calligraphy division, Nanami Kuriyama, a senior at Omiya Koryo High school, Saitama Prefecture, won the prize. Kuriyama said, "I'm truly grateful to have been selected for the prestigious Prime Minister Award this year. She wrote excerpts from the "Treatise of calligraphy" written by Sun Guoting during China's Tang Dynasty.



(source: THE JAPAN TIMES, July.7, 2015)
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/2015/07/07/special-supplements/coming-aspiring-artists-recognized-talents/#.VZ5Mb_0w_mI

Saturday, July 4, 2015

Tokyo Global Concert (4)

 The second part was a stage for Carreras, the main guest of the concert.
 He sang, "Era de maggio", "Piscatore e Pusillico," "T'estimo," "Vurria" and "Me so  'MBriacato 'o Sole." and other famous opera numbers.
  His voice was powerful with his emotion delicately expressed, and fascinated the whole audience. 
 During the concert, He requested the air conditioning to be turned off, but the excitement of the audience contributed to rising the heat in the hall more than the lack of the air conditioning.
 For the encore, Dr.Handa, Coad and Carreras sang together the poplular Japanese song "Kawa no Nagare no Yoni." Their voice together made an exquisite harmony so that the audience give cheers and a standing ovation.
 Besides, Carreras sang "Core 'Ngrato" and "Vierno" during the encore.




From left, Dr.Haruhisa Handa, the chairman of IFAC,
Jose Carreras
and Conal Coad, a bass
preparing to take a bow.


IFAC




  

Tokyo Global Concert (3)

 The concert also featured IFAC Chairman Dr.Haruhisa Handa, a baritone, and Conal Coad, a bass from New Zealand. 
 The first part of the concert began with Dr.Handa and Coad singing solo accompanied on piano by Yuhei Kimura and Phoebe Briggs. The songs not only included famous arias such as "Li Dissoluto Punto" from "Don Giovanni" and "Dio di Giuda!" from "Nabuccho," but also classics, including "I Got Plenty O'Nuttin," "First Love" and "An Evening Primrose." The first part ended with "Furusato" sang by both Dr.Handa and Coad, then "danny Boy" by Dr.Handa.


(source: THE JAPAN TIMES, June.23, 2015)
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/2015/06/22/special-supplements/audience-gets-rare-treat-world-renowned-tenor/#.VZaS1P0w_mI