The Japan Cultural Institute in Cologne
YOSHIOKA Chisato

It has been already six months since I arrived in Cologne, a city famous for its carnival, or the “Fifth Season” as it is known in Germany. I have still only managed to master half of what I need to for the job, but in addition to feeling the need to quickly get used to it, I also hope I will be able to maintain this sense of freshness as well. The workplace at which I embrace these feelings is located in one corner of a large park. I have a great view of that park from my desk, and the ability to enjoy the changing personality of the four seasons in the verdant park make it the ideal workplace.

The keywords this year, 2019, at this wonderful workplace, the Japan Cultural Institute in Cologne, are “50th Anniversary” and the “Online Japanese-Language Course.”

Our 50th Anniversary

September 2019 will mark a half century since the Japan Cultural Institute in Cologne (hereinafter “Institute”) was established. Since the foundation of this office for the Japan Foundation in the German speaking world, the Institute has carried out countless projects based around the three pillars of arts and cultural exchange, Japanese-language education, and Japanese studies. The Institute’s Japanese-language course, which play a role of our Japanese-language education programs, was launched one year after the Institute was established, so it too will celebrate its 50th anniversary next year.

Thus, the Institute has watched over the Japanese-language course learners for many years, one notable characteristic of the course in the past dozen years or so has been “diversity.” (See the reports from 2008 and 2018 for more information). Meanwhile, “Nihongo Shaberieren” is a course for experiencing Japanese culture which was born out of the desire to provide learners with different cultural backgrounds and values with an opportunity to learn and use Japanese through dialog and cooperation, to have fun, experience joy, and to connect with each other. (See the reports from 2012, 2014, 2017 and others for more information).

The Online Japanese-Language Course

The new class being added to the Japanese-language courses at the Institute in 2019 is the online Japanese-language course. The course is being run on the JF Japanese e-learning Minato platform (hereinafter “Minato”) developed and operated by the Japan Foundation for the study of the Japanese language. Students progress through the Japanese courses online, while the teachers provide online mini-lessons and occasionally correct student writings.

The Institute’s Japanese-language courses have been revised several times in the past (see the reports from 2004, 2009), but this time we are attempting to extend the course beyond geographical and time limitations. My hope is that this will enable a greater number of people to learn about Japan, its culture, and language, including those who wish to study Japanese but cannot find classes nearby, or live too far away to commute to the Institute.

There is a Japanese proverb that says, “He that would know what shall be must consider what has been”, or, one must study the old to know the new. This is one of the things that I have felt since arriving here in Germany. I must take on what my predecessors achieved, develop it further, and then pass it on to the future. And the Institute embodies a present that is woven from both the old and new of Germany and Japan.

The next time you have the opportunity to visit Germany, I hope you also consider visiting Cologne as well.