Hanoi shooter to train Japanese athlete

Dang Hong Ha

National key shooter Dang Hong Ha, 30, is to coach four Japanese shooters in a two-week course following an invitation from the Japanese Shooting Federation.

Ha, who has been training with the sport for a decade in the women's air mobile target rifle event, is the owner of a 60-medal collection and the first Vietnamese shooter to professionally coach a foreign team.

Ha will coach Japanese shooters in standard and mixed air mobile target rifle. She is set to leave for Tokyo today.

"I was contacted last year by Yuzuru Nagayama, an official of the Japanese shooting federation," Ha said yesterday.

"I'm so happy. It's a challenge and honor for me and Vietnam shooting. I'll try to do my best with my experience and skills that I've gained from Vietnamese coaches in the national and Hanoi team," she said on Tuesday.

The Hanoian shooter set up a new record at the National Sports Games in Da Nang last December with 382 points after 40 shots, surpassing her old record of 378 points at the National Shooting Championship that has remained unbroken since 2004.

She also won a silver medal in the team event at the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, last November.

Her best is 389 points from 40 shots during training in Hanoi.

At the International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup in Munich, Germany last July, Ha scored 361 points to rank 13th.

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Ha Noi shooter to train Japanese

Eagle-eye: Shooter Dang Hong Ha will leave to coach Japanese marksmen in standard and mixed air mobile target rifle over a two-week course. — VNA/VNS Photo

HA NOI — National key shooter Dang Hong Ha, 30, is to coach four Japanese shooters in a two-week course following an invitation from the Japanese Shooting Federation.

Ha, who has been in the sport for a decade in the women's air mobile target rifle, with a 60-medal collection, is the first Vietnamese shooter to professionally coach a foreign team.

Ha will coach Japanese shooters in standard and mixed air mobile target rifle. She will leave for Tokyo tomorrow.

"I was contacted last year by Yuzuru Nagayama, an official of the Japanese shooting federation," Ha said yesterday.

"I'm so happy. It's a challenge and honour for me and Viet Nam Shooting. I'll try to do my best with my experience and skills that I've gained from Vietnamese coaches in the national and Ha Noi team."

The Hanoian shooter broke her personal best record at the National Sports Games in Da Nang last December with 382 points after 40 shots, surpassing her old record of 378 points at the National Shooting Championship that has remained unbroken since 2004.

She also won a silver medal in the team event at the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, last November.

Her personal best is 389 points from 40 shots during training in Ha Noi.

At the International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup in Munich, Germany last July, Ha scored 361 points to rank 13th. — VNS

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Hanoian shooter to coach in Japan

HA NOI – National key shooter Dang Hong Ha, 30, is to coach four Japanese shooters in a two-week course following an invitation from the Japanese Shooting Federation.

Ha, who has been in the sport for a decade in the women's air rifle mobile target, with a 60-medal collection, is the first Vietnamese shooter to professionally coach a foreign team.

Ha will coach Japanese shooters in standard and mixed air rifle mobile target. She will leave for Tokyo on Thursday.

"I was contacted last year by Yuzuru Nagayama, an official of the Japanese shooting federation," Ha said yesterday.

"I'm so happy. It's a challenge and honour for me and Viet Nam Shooting. I'll try to do my best with my experience and skills that I've gained from Vietnamese coaches in the national and Ha Noi team."

The Hanoian shooter broke her personal best record at the National Sports Games in Da Nang last December with 382 points after 40 shots, surpassing her old record of 378 points at the National Shooting Championship that has remained unbroken since 2004.

She also won a silver medal in the team event at the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, last November.

Her personal best is 389 points from 40 shots during training in Ha Noi.

At the International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup in Munich, Germany last July, Ha scored 361 points to rank 13th. – VNS

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Japanese cartoon festival to be held in Hanoi

An array of eight famous Japanese animated films produced in the early
2000s will be screened at the National Cinema Centre from January 12-16,
2011.

The event is being jointly held by the
Japanese Culture Department, the Japanese Cultural Exchange Centre in
Vietnam , the Cinematographic Department and the National Cinema
Centre.

The festival will especially feature “Spirit
away” directed by Miyazaki Hayao in 2001, which won the Golden Bear
award in 2002 and was among the Oscar competitors for best animated
feature film at the 75 th annual Academy Awards ceremony.

“Spirit away” tells about the adventures of a 10-year-old girl,
Chihiro, who is accidentally thrown into a “spirit” world. While working
at a bathhouse catering to spirits and gods, she tries to rescue her
parents from a spell that transformed them into pigs.

Prior to the event, popular voice actress Mitsuki Saiga, guitarist
Kazuya Nishikawa and several film makers will engage in an exchange with
Vietnamese audience.

Cartoon pilgrims may get free
tickets at the Japanese Cultural Exchange Centre in Vietnam at 27
Quang Trung, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi as from 2.pm on January 5./.

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Japanese martial arts performed in Hanoi

The Japanese Embassy in coordination with the Aikido Yukishudokan and
Kendo Hanoi Clubs held a performance of Aikido and Kendo in Hanoi on
December 4.

Speaking at the event, Japanese
Ambassador to Vietnam Yasuaki Tanizaki said that Aikido and Kendo are
Japan ’s two traditional martial arts that represent the unique
cultural identity of the people in the country of cherry blossoms.

He expressed his wish that the performance would help Vietnamese
people, especially young people, understand more about the Japanese
culture, and strengthen the friendship and mutual understanding between
the two nations.

Aikido was formed in Japan and
developed throughout the world in the middle of the 20 th century.
Aikido practitioners do not use attacking movements but take advantage
of their rivals’ strength to master them.

Formed
1,200 years ago, Kendo uses bamboo-made sticks to attack the rival with
the aim of strengthening physical and spiritual health as well as
improving concentration on study and work./.

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Japan’s symphony orchestra to perform in Vietnam

The Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra (TMSO) of Japan and the
Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra will hold a concert under the baton
of Japanese famous conductor Honna Tetsuji at the Hanoi Opera House on
Nov. 7.

The performance will include Toyama Yuzo’s
Rhapsody for Orchestra, one of the most popular and favourite work in
Japan , and the Rhapsody Vietnam by Do Hong Quan, Chairman of the
Vietnam Musicians’ Association.

The Japanese and Vietnamese artists will also perform P. I. Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 in E minor op. 64.

The Japanese leading orchestra then will have two other performances
in Hanoi on Nov. 9 and Ho Chi Minh City on Nov. 12.

Japanese violinist Tamaki Kawakubo will join TMSO in these
performances. She will play the Violin Concerto in D major op. 77 and
the Symphony No. 1 in C minor op. 68 of J. Brahms.

Kawakubo began violin studies at the age of five in Los Angeles ,
California , the US . She won the grand prize of the 2001 Pablo de
Sarasate International Violin Competition and shared the silver medal,
the highest award at the 2002 International Tchaikovsky Competition./.

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Japanese artist performs ancient comic monologue

Rakugo master Utazo Katsura will treat Hanoi audiences to a
traditional Japanese form of entertainment in performances on Oct.
19-20.

Rakugo is a unique form of Japanese comic
monologue originating in the 16th century but coming into full flower
during the Edo era of the 17-18th century. The art has been passed
down orally from master to apprentice, from one generation to another.

Katsura is a member of Rakugo Artists Association, attaining the rank of rakugo master in 2005.

He has since been actively appearing in Tokyo and been
enthusiastically sharing with the world the fun of rakugo, performing
the seated monologues to audiences in Thailand , the US and Brazil
.

While there have always been a language barrier
preventing foreigners from fully enjoying rakugo, Katsura will perform
the monologues in English as well as in Japanese, with Vietnamese
subtitles.

Sitting on a stage and with only a paper
fan and small cloth as props, Katsura acts out long and complex comic
stories. Famed rakugo stories include the Time Noodle and Gonsuke's
Fish, but the highlight of his performance is The Tree-Head Man, which
he delivers with an avant-garde rock music soundtrack.

Such a fusion of traditional and contemporary styles is one of
Katsura's unique attempts to make rakugo funny and new to modern
audiences, according to organisers from the Japan Foundation Centre for
Cultural Exchange.

The performances will take place
at Vietnam Contemporary Song, Dance and Music Theatre, 16 Le Thai To
street, and the Hanoi University of Social Sciences and Humanities,
336 Nguyen Trai street .

Free tickets are available at the Japan Foundation Centre for Cultural Exchange, 27 Quang Trung street./.

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Hanoi hosts traditional Japanese entertainment

Utazo Katsura, a master of the traditional Japanese entertainment
Rakugo, will perform in Hanoi at the Dance and Light Music Theatre and
the Hanoi University of Social Sciences and Humanities on October 19 and
20.

The events, held by the Japan-Vietnam Culture
Exchange Centre, will offer Vietnamese audiences the opportunity to
explore Japanese traditions as well as watch a Rakugo performance.

Rakugo stories such as “Time Noodle” (Toki-sob), “Gonsuke’s Fish”
(Gonsuke-zakana) and “The Tree-Head Man” (Atama-yama) will be told with
rock music playing and a combination of traditional and modern features.

Rakugo consists of a solitary storyteller, sitting on stage,
equipped with only a paper fan sensu and a small cloth tenugui as props,
as they recount stories while sitting down.

Utazo Katsura,
who has practiced the art since 1991, is one of the two leading artists
of this kind in Japan. He also tells funny stories in English or in
Japanese with English sub-titles, helping foreigners to fully enjoy
Rakugo performances./.

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Japanese TV highlights VN’s ancient Oc Eo culture

The Japanese TV channel BS, is filming a documentary on the ancient Oc
Eo culture in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang to highlight its
unique cultural characteristics, according to the Ministry of Culture,
Sports and Tourism (MoCST).

As part of the project, from September 19-29, the film group will shoot
scenes in Ho Chi Minh City, Quang Nam and An Giang provinces where the
Oc Eo culture is found. The Japanese funded film will be approved by the
MoCST before it is shown in Japan.

Discovered by a
French scholar Louis Malleret and made public in 1944, the Oc Eo culture
grew and developed in the southern delta, largely in An Giang, from the
first to the sixth century AD.

In addition to An
Giang, the scientists have discovered over 100 sites belonging to Oc Eo
culture across the Mekong Delta provinces and parts of the south-eastern
region with more than 50,000 artefacts made from various materials such
as terra-cotta, stone, agate and metal.

The most common is ceramics, reflecting the cultural identity and origin of the culture.

Vietnam is currently proposing UNESCO recognise the ancient Oc Eo culture as a cultural heritage./.

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Japanese Tomizawa dies after Moto2 crash

Spanish and Italian national flags are flown at half mast to pay tribute to Japanese Moto2 rider Shoya Tomizawa during the podium ceremony of the MotoGP during the San Marino motorcycling Grand Prix at the Misano circuit September 5, 2010. Tomizawa, 19, has died after a crash during Sunday's San Marino Grand Prix, the second death in the sport in two events

Photo: Reuters

Nineteen-year-old Japanese Moto2 rider Shoya Tomizawa has died after a crash during Sunday's San Marino Grand Prix, the second death in the sport in two events.

Doctor Claudio Costa, part of the motorcycling world championship's medical team, told reporters the news.

Riders in the premier MotoGP class were also informed after their race, won by Dani Pedrosa.

"I found out now, when things like this happen nothing else matters," world champion Valentino Rossi told Mediaset television. "He was a lovely guy, it was a horrible accident."

Suter's Tomizawa was travelling at full speed when he fell off before a corner and was hit violently by the bikes of Alex De Angelis and Scott Redding, who both also tumbled but looked relatively unhurt.

A 13-year-old also died in a minor race before the Indianapolis MotoGP in the sport's last grand prix in August.

Motorcycling has always been among motorsport's most dangerous pursuits given riders are often thrown from their bikes and run the risk of hitting objects or being struck by other riders.

Huge speeds

"You forget sometimes how easily something like this can happen. Sometimes our sport is just too dangerous," MotoGP rider Andrea Dovizioso said.

Moto2, the new name for the former 250cc category below MotoGP, still generates huge speeds and officials said they decided to continue with the race after the crash because of the fear of other accidents if a red flag was suddenly shown.

They added that Tomizawa was alive when he was taken from the track and rushed to a local hospital on Italy's east coast. He was pronounced dead soon after.

The official news of his death had not filtered through before the start of the MotoGP race so the event went ahead.

Rossi, who suffered a broken leg in an accident before the Italian Grand Prix in June, led riders in a tribute to another dead Japanese colleague Daijiro Kato earlier in the week in a ceremony at Misano.

Kato, who lived in the Misano area, died after an accident at the Japanese Grand Prix in 2003.

Rossi has worked hard with other riders to try to make the sport safer but has said there is a limit to how much they can do.

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Hoi An-Japan cultural exchange opens

A Hoi An-Japan cultural exchange opened in Hoi An ancient town in the central province of Quang Nam on August 21.

During the two-day event, various cultural activities will be held,
including an exhibition showcasing photos on Hoi An ancient town and
documentary photos on Hoi An-Japan cultural exchanges and an artistic
painting exhibition entitled “Colours of Heritages”.

There will be a seminar on cultural heritage preservation and tourism
development, an introduction of Japanese cuisine and performances of
Japanese musical instruments and children’s games.

In the opening night, Vietnamese and Japanese artists jointly performed
special dances from both countries such as lion and royal dances.

The event, co-organised by the Japanese Embassy in Vietnam, the Japan
International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Hoi An People’s
Committee, offers a chance for artists in particular and the people of
the two countries in general to exchange and share their own special
cultural characteristics, thus helping boost the friendship between the
two nations./.

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