NICHI BEI FUJIN KAI - General Meeting

A lecture about March 11th took place during Nichi Bei Fujin Kai’s general meeting. The Nichi Bei Fujin Kai was established in 1930 to strengthen US-Japan ties. And each year the group invites 4 guest speakers to their meeting. Masako Unoura held the lecture; she is the Vice-Chairman of the Nichi Bei Fujin Kai. Mrs. Unoura was at her hometown in Miyagi when the earthquake and tsunami hit Japan, and spent 24 hours on top of a roof. Interview, Masako Unoura: "When I try to talk about my experience, many images pop into my head. So it was very difficult to speak out. I want to inform people that Japan's recovery will take 10, maybe even 20 years. That is why I feel that it is my duty to speak out." Members decided to send scarves to the affected areas in Japan. They've gathered over 150 scarves so far.

Brand New Art Installation Show - “Grand Vista”

An entertainment show called “Grand Vista” was held at J Lounge on October 22nd. Sueko Oshimoto made 19 kimono pieces that reflected the theme, “Moon and Sun”. The kimonos were specially made for the dancers that performed on stage. The event was held for the exchange of ideas between next generation US-Japanese artists. Over 300 people attended and enjoyed the fusion of Japanese kimono, dance and music. Interview, Sueko Oshimoto: "Japanese kimonos are usually appreciated for their beauty and nothing more. I wanted a new and different way to spread the Japanese culture." Grand Vista plans to hold the second part of this event at CBS’s Radford Studio next year.

Asian Adult Amateur Baseball Classic

The press conference for the Inaugural Baseball Tournament between 4 ountries took place on October 19th. This year will mark the start of the annual tournament and it will feature players from Japan, Korea, Taiwan and the US. This started in an effort to bring awareness to Asian amateur baseball leagues in LA. With a representative player from each team, the round-robin tournament will run over 4 days. SCJBL commissioner, Mr. Akira Sato will represent the Japanese community. Interview, Akira Sato: "This is called the amateur version of the WBC and in real life Japan has won twice. I hope to meet expectations by winning in this tournament." The competition started today and the finals will take place next week on November 6th.

Halloween Special - Hollywood Makeup

Cute and adorable Moka will change into an old, scary witch with the help of Madeline! (Makeup Artist/E.I. student) All you need is a makeup brush, sponge and 4 different colors of oil-based face paint. If you get the 4 pointers, you will easily be able to create a professional makeup look! 1) Tap and Roll. Using a sponge, color in the face with green face paint. Instead of stretching the paint, tap and then roll to get the right texture. Face paints are available at Halloween stores, and markets during the Halloween season. And no worries, the paint will wash off easily with water. 2) Adding Shadows. To add shadows to the cheek, have your model suck in their cheeks and then you can color in the concave area with black paint. Add shadows to the temple to get better results! You will get a skeleton-like look! 3) Covered in Wrinkles. When adding forehead wrinkles, have your model raise their eyebrows. Then you can trace the creases with a thin line using the black paint. Have your model make wrinkles in other areas and trace over to add realistic wrinkles! 4) Lip Wrinkles. Last are the lips. Have your model pucker up, then lightly tap on olive green paint with a sponge. By puckering up, you get a wrinkled lip in a flash. You can add white lines next to the wrinkles to add depth to the makeup. That’s it! That is all you need for realistic Hollywood style makeup! Sweet and cute Moka is a wrinkly old witch! Even someone who is clumsy can do it by following the 4 pointers! With this makeup and a witch costume, you will stand out in a crowd! It’s so realistic! If you’re tired of just putting on costumes, why don’t you give face painting a try?