We will grieve not, rather find
Strength in what remains behind;
(William Wordsworth)
March is the season for departures and arrivals in Japan. I arrived in Los Angeles last March just before news of the cherry blossoms, and will now be returning to Japan at the end of March. In fact, this was my fourth post abroad after Brussels, Paris and Dakar. My tenure as director is complete after having enjoyed all four seasons in Los Angeles, and I look forward to admiring the cherry blossoms, which I missed last year, with my husband in Tokyo who will accomplish his third term as a "geographic bachelor" . I am also delighted to rejoin my old colleagues of the Japan Foundation in Japan and continue my work there.
Thanks to the partnership with many experts and institutions, I really enjoyed every moment of my time here . Exhibitions co-organized with LACMA, Getty and UCLA, shamisen and rakugo performances, screenings of Japanese movies, seminars and symposia on Japanese language and Japanese studies, youth exchange programs such as the JET Memorial Invitation and the Kakehashi project, production of Japanese advocacy kits, booths at both TarFest and the Farmer's Market, conversation with students of our Japanese classes and many other activities! Through so many lovely encounters all over the U.S., through such a colorful tapestry of cultural landscapes woven by the memory and history of American people that I had never imagined before my arrival in the U.S., I feel so happy to have been engaged in cultural exchange activities here in the U.S.
As I mentioned in the January 2015 edition of Breeze, it is often said that cultural exchange is an everlasting journey without an end, which links and ties people, generations and nations and develops infinite networks of human beings worldwide. I was so thrilled to broaden and deepen our partnerships with many professionals while organizing cultural projects in the US. Keeping in my mind the precious memories of this country, I am now set to continue my never-ending journey in Japan.
My successor is Mr. Hideki Hara from Japan Foundation in Tokyo. He has extensive knowledge and experience in New York and Toronto, and will arrive in Los Angeles on April 9. I would be grateful if you could kindly extend the same dedication and support, to him, which you have provided me up until now.
The only thing that I regret is not to be able to write any more greetings in Breeze. It has been an enjoyable and stimulating process to express myself in English with careful editing by my native English speaking colleagues. Keeping a happy souvenir of splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower in my heart, I say adieu to JFLA.
Naomi Takasu, Director