Rescuing Jewish Refugees

（31) ［English Edition］
VOICES From
THE NEW YORKERS
A Very Good Year
for the Winery Dogs
Justin Tedaldi
Japanese
rock
fans
have a special
bond with the
Winery Dogs,
an American
power trio
consisting of
music vets
Mike Portnoy
(Dream Theater) on drums, Billy
Sheehan (Mr. Big) on bass, and
Richie Kotzen (Poison) on guitar
and lead vocals. Its members have
been touring Japan for decades,
and the Winery Dogs played their
first-ever show last July at Japan
Youth Hall Hikaru in Tokyo.
Less than a month after that
gig, the group made its U.S. debut
in New York City at B.B. King
Blues Club & Grill in Times
Square, and returned again in
October for a special celebration
of “That Metal Show” host Eddie
Trunk’s 30th anniversary in
broadcasting. (Trunk was instrumental in suggesting that Kotzen
join the group).
New York and Japan will cross
paths again as the Winery Dogs
return to B.B. King on March 2526 in support of a new special edition of their self-titled debut
album arriving April 15. It’s
paired with the bonus disc
Unleashed in Japan 2013, featuring even heavier takes on tunes
performed throughout their
careers.
In an interview I conducted
with Sheehan in 2011 about his
experiences touring Japan with
Mr. Big, he told me, “We push
hard in our appreciation for what
we have now as a result of the
fans there. We don’t forget it for a
minute. That’s pretty awesome.”
For more information, visit
www.thewinerydogs.com.
(Justin has written about
Japanese music and performing
arts since 2005. For more of his
stories, visit
www.examiner.com/user/1861736
/articles.)
週刊NY生活　SHUKAN NEW YORK SEIKATSU
“The Ultimate Treasures
of
Japanese
Art”
Exhibition from Brooklyn
Museum on Display at
Japan Society Gallery
Through June 8
Japan Society Gallery (333, E.
47th street between First and
Second Avenue) opened the exhibition, “North, South, East and
West: The Ultimate Treasures of
Japanese Art” on March 7, running
through June 8. Its goal is to rediscover the diversity in Japanese art
through a display of a collection
from the Brooklyn Museum of
Art.
The exhibition is structured by
“North, South, East and West,”
showing how Japan developed and
departed from being a homogeneous nation.
As cultural techniques and
styles migrated from China and
Korea to Japan through its southern region and moved northwards,
the exhibition showcases how the
cultural influences spread from the
south towards the west, east and
eventually north. 71 works dating
from prehistoric times to the pre-
2014年（平成26年）3月22日（土）
NYクール日本
COOL JAPAN from New Yorkers’ Viewpoints
sent day are displayed, including
not only well-known Japanese traditional arts such as folding
screens, ceramics, sculpture and
ukiyo-e, but also Ainu coats
woven with fibers of bark. Crafts
and beaded ornaments that are
rarely shown to the public are also
on display.
Admission is $12 for adults,
$10 for seniors and students. Free
for members and youth 16 and
under. Free for all on Fridays
6:00p.m. - 9:00 p.m.. A Japanese
audio tour is held on Fridays from
6:00PM. Open on Tuesdays Thursdays 11:00a.m 6:00p.m., Fridays 11:00a.m. 9:00p.m., Saturdays and
Sundays
11:00a.m.
5:00p.m.,
Closed
on
Mondays and Holidays. Visit
www.japansociety.org for
more information.
(Ryoichi Miura/Translated by
Mari Henmi)
Kofun Haniwa style clay figures by Isamu Noguchi donated in 1962
Rescuing Jewish Refugees
A Touching Legacy Introduced
at Japan Week
Japan Week, hosted by Japan
National Tourism Organization
(JNTO), took place at Grand
Central Terminal March 6-8.
A Taisho-era style bar was
erected for the event, along with
booths run by several tourismrelated organizations. Smartphones equipped with an EnglishJapanese interpreter and watches
featuring the latest technology
were also on display.
Visitors were glued to a video
telling the lives of more than 6000
Jewish refugees who fled Nazi
forces to Japan on transit visas
issued by Chiune Sugihara, who
was Japanese vice consul in
Lithuania.
Japan Travel Bureau (JTB) in
New York, attempting to attract
foreign tourists, received a call
from a Jewish organization asking
if they would assist the evacuation
of Jewish refugees.
JTB used liners between
Vladivostok, Russia, and Japan
weekly to transport thousands of
people. JTB employee, Tatsuo
Osako, worked as an escort.
Osako later said in his essay,
“Most certainly, we, the Bureau
men, fulfilled our duty proudly
and diligently.”
Osako made 29 round trips
across the rough Sea of Japan during the harsh winter of 1940 1941, transporting refugees. He is
pictured to the left in the photo
above.
(Ryoichi Miura/Translated by
Hiroko Makabe)
NY COOL JAPAN is the English Edition of SHUKAN NY SEIKATSU
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