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Magazine
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Quarterly Magazine on the Czech Section - Expo 2005 Aichi, No.5 July 2004EditorialLadies and Gentlemen, Dear Friends, We are pleased to present you with the latest issue of our magazine; the Czech Republic is the only one of the 125 participating countries to publish such a periodical. Responses to the magazine at home and abroad continue to increase both in terms of numbers and their favorable comments. We are keeping to our commitments presented in the initial issue: first, we are presenting the history of Czechoslovak and Czech participation at World Exhibitions; second, we are presenting the scope and breadth of contacts and relations between our country and Japan; and third we are introducing you to those individuals and events, with which we would like present our country and awaken interest in our beautiful nation at next year's Expo 2005 in Aichi. moreNewsSeven and a half million tickets to Expo sold The gates to the exposition grounds in the Japanese prefecture of Aichi will open in just under a year and seven and a half million tickets have already been sold according to the Japan Association for the 2005 World Exposition. The expected number of visitors for Expo 2005, which is to last 185 days, is between fifteen and twenty-five million. moreNature's Wisdom: The Cultural Program at Expo 2005 in AichiThe Aichi World Exposition is using a poster entitled "Jump into the excitement - The World is coming to Aichi, Japan" to attract visitors. In addition to exhibitions by 125 countries and international organizations, the entire exposition will be linked by its motto "Nature's Wisdom" and an extensive cultural program. moreThe Czech Regions - Ústí nad Labem, Liberec, Hradec KrálovéThe Ústí Region is one of the most heavily industrialized regions in the Czech Republic and for many years has served as the electricity supplier to the whole country, leading it in the mining of soft brown coal and the production of electrical energy. Following the decline in mining in the 1990s and the subsequent land reclamation projects, this region is regaining its reputation as an area of natural beauty seldom equaled in Europe. These features include the Bohemian Switzerland National Park with its Pravčice Gate and other unique sandstone formations. moreA History of World Expositions – Part V "Osaka 1970"Japan was originally to have hosted a World Exposition in 1912, but because of the death of the Emperor Mutsuhito (known after his death as Meiji) in July of that year, it was cancelled. Nor did Lady Luck shine on preparations for another World Exposition planned for Tokyo in 1940. It was only at the third go that preparations for a World Exposition were successful. In early 1965 Japan became a member of the International Exhibitions Bureau (BIE) and only a few months later the Japanese government gave its approval to holding the 1970 World Exposition in Osaka. Following the BIE's acceptance of the Japanese application and the confirmation of exposition's dates and location, nothing stood in the way of the laying of the ceremonial cornerstone, which happened on March 15, 1967. Exactly one year later, the then Crown Prince, today His Majesty Emperor Akihito, was named honorary president of the exposition. Expo '70 was the first World Exposition on the Asian continent. The main theme was "One World - Progress and Harmony for Mankind." The symbol of the Expo was a stylized cherry blossom, with the five petals of its open flower symbolizing five continents joined in harmony in peace. Among those invited to the Expo's ceremonial opening on the morning of March 14 were the Imperial family, the government, members of the Japanese Diet, foreign diplomats (representatives of 84 countries were in attendance) and special guests. Tickets for the opening of the Tokyo World Exposition in 1940 - which never opened - were accepted at the opening ceremony of Expo '70. During the afternoon, the invited guests included senior citizens from the Osaka prefecture, giving them time to see the Expo without having to rush. moreCzechs and Slovaks at World Expositions - Part V "Paris 1937"Preparations for Czechoslovak participation at the 1937 "Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la vie Moderne" [International Exposition of Arts, Crafts and Sciences in Modern Life] in Paris were running behind schedule in part because the Seine had flooded the exhibition grounds. The Commissioner General for Czechoslovak participation was the lawyer Jan Krčmář, a professor at Charles University and the Minister of Education between 1934 and 1936. Krčmář had put together a large organizational team, which resulted in disorganized preparations. It is unfortunate that the lessons provided preparations for the Milan Triennale of 1936 were not learned. Then, only a small team was involved in the preparations and the exhibition's success was based on the careful selection of a small number of exhibits and their ideal presentation. When Dr. Karel Herain, the director of the Museum of Decorative Arts complained about delays in the preparations, Krčmář considered resigning, which led to further delays. It is therefore no surprise that the Czechoslovak Pavilion was opened three weeks after the exposition had begun. A jury had met on September 2, 1936 at the Museum of Decorative Arts to select the design for the national pavilion. Projects by Josef Gočár and Antonín Heythum, Ladislav Sutnar and Bohumil Fuchs, Jaromír Krejcar, Zdeněk Kejř, Ladislav Sutnar and Bohuslav Soumar and Ladislav Machoň and Jaroslav Benda made the short list of projects. The jury unanimously recommended the project by Krejcar, Kejř, Sutnar and Soumar. The pavilion is one of the high points of Czech interwar architecture and even the famed architect Le Corbusier spoke glowingly about the construction of the pavilion. In his design, Krejcar brought together elements of constructivism (a steel frame construction, a narrow pylon) and functionalism (a glass exterior wall with rounded corners). The steel construction was produced by the Vitkovice Steelworks. Thermolux, which absorbed 80% of the warmth generated by the sun, was applied to the pavilion's exterior. However, movement around the pavilion was greatly restricted following the placing of the exibits in it. In contrast, the project of Fuchs and Sutnar which was not selected, had a well-thought out exhibition space with the construction of the pavillion itself based on that primary need. moreKarlovy Vary - An Oasis of FilmThe Karlovy Vary International Film Festival is one of the most prestigious events in Central Europe and is one of the oldest events of its kind on the European continent. The host city of Karlovy Vary is a historic spa town also famed for the manufacture of porcelain. Over the centuries the spa has attracted many famous figures from the worlds of politics and the arts. The local chronicles today still boast of visits by the Russian Czar Peter the Great, the writer Johann Wolfgang Goethe, the poet Friedrich Schiller and the composer Ludwig van Beethoven. moreFrom the Stage to a Presidential ChairIt was quite a few years ago that Jiří Bartoška, the current president of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, decided to exchange his original profession of actor for a presidential role. Not a political job, but as a festival president. Under Bartoška's leadership, the once-important International Film Festival in Karlovy Vary has enjoyed a renaissance following years of neglect resulting from socio-political changes. The return of the festival to the international spotlight once seemed an impossible goal. Last year, Jiří Bartoška together with artistic director Eva Zaoralová celebrated ten years at the head of one of the most respected international cultural events in the Czech Republic and Europe. When the Gallup Institute asked people about their knowledge of the Czech Republic, the Karlovy Vary festival wound up in seventh place, meaning that the public abroad are more aware of it than they were of many historical events. moreCzech Film in JapanCzech film owes its fame in Japan primarily to animated films because in recent years they have been at the center of young audiences' interest. Feature films are not however completely overshadowed by animated pictures - in video rental stores and in some cinemas films by directors such as Jiří Menzel, Věra Chytilová, Jaromil Jireš and Oldřich Lipský can be found. I remember in the early 90s, how shortly after my arrival in Tokyo, I found the film Beauty and the Beast (1978) by the director Juraj Herz in a video rental store in the central district of Shinjuku. On the same shelf, which was marked "Czechoslovakia," I also found Karel Zeman's The Deadly Invention (1958), Oldřich Lipský's The Mysterious Castle in the Carpathians (1981), Jaromil Jireš 's And Give My Love to the Swallows (1972) and Věra Chytilová's Daisies (1967). Once in a while episodes of Zdeněk Miler's "Mole" or Břetislav Pojar's "Garden" would flitter across the television screen. moreWe Enjoy the Same MusicSomewhere in the middle of Europe there hide the small Czech lands, which are in many respects quite unique. Our guiding principles have always included music and the arts. I'm not referring to Antonín Dvořák or Bedřich Smetana and certainly not to Karel Gott. The uniqueness of the Czech lands lies primarily in a strong underground scene whose intensity has not been matched anywhere in the world. The Czech underground came out from under the decades of Communist oppression so strongly that soon after the Velvet Revolution in the early 1990s it became the unofficial "official" style and the symbol of the dissident movement even became the Czechoslovak president. At that time a new, fresh musical movement was literally shaking the world, taking up the baton from music of the sixties, punk and new wave: electronic music in the form of acid house and techno. It is these musical styles that are making the Czech Republic interesting for people across the world. Today, the unique atmosphere of Czech techno parties, the intellectual openness and the openness of the partygoers to the experiments and electricity of techno follow in the footsteps of the wonderful underground movement of the past. It is not at all unusual to hear world-renowned DJs announce in interviews that the Czech Republic has the most interesting dance scene and that it is the country they most happily return to. If this is followed by a question about what other countries in the world are also interesting, Japan is never missing from that list. Just as is the case with the Czech Republic, Japan is quite different from its neighbors - a country with a culture unique in the world. One of the things that makes Japan so different is its level of technological advancement - from our perspective almost futuristic. This may well be the reason that the best known Japanese artists are almost without exception associated with electronic music (e.g. the Yellow Magic Orchestra from the 1970s and 80s) or contemporary techno and hip hop. moreEveryone's Playing TennisDo you know what Czech and Japanese tennis have in common? Both countries began playing the Davis Cup - the most prestigious team tennis competition in the world - in the same year. That year Japan made it to the final for the first, and thus far only, time. No other country except the United States, which established the Davis Cup in 1900, has managed this feat. Although the Japanese team lost on the grass courts of the West Side Tennis Club in 1921, they became one of only eight countries to have played in the Davis Cup finals in its more than one-hundred-year history. The records also show that Japan played the former Czechoslovakia twice: in 1930 Japan defeated Czechoslovakia 3-2 on Prague's Štvanice Island in the European Zone semifinals and five years later Czechoslovakia won 4-1 in a match also held in Prague. moreMaking Headway in the Japanese MarketIn answering the question of which Czech goods or products are best known in Japan, ninety percent of Czechs would probably answer glass and beer. But they would only be partially correct. In recent years, the leading Czech exports to Japan have been products of an entirely different nature: tantalum condensers and engineering technology. Only after these come glass and crystal products and hops - the key ingredient in the brewing of beer. Beer as a finished commodity (Budvar or Pilsner Urquell) is not a significant export item. It is quite easy to explain the fact that condensers are the leading export item. They are manufactured by the AVX factory in the eastern Bohemian city of Lanškroun. AVX is a direct subsidiary of a British firm that is in turn a part of the Kyocera Corporation of Japan. moreFollowing in Matsushita's FootstepsTen years ago no one would have believed that the Czech Republic would soon be awash in a huge wave of Japanese investment. The primary goal of this small country on the frontier between Western and Eastern Europe was to attract firms primarily from the countries of the European Union (EU) and the United States. But the prospect of the Czech Republic joining the EU, which happened on May 1 of this year, together with a highly trained workforce, investment incentives and generally good conditions for doing business were strong attractions for companies from the Land of the Rising Sun as well. moreAn Interview with Mr. Koichi Takahashi, the Ambassador of Japan to the Czech RepublicYou've now been an ambassador in the Czech Republic for more than a year. However, you have had a great deal more experience with the cultures of Central Europe as you've also spent time in Austria and Germany. What has surprised you the most about life in the Czech Republic? I am pleasantly surprised to find that more and more Czech people recognize deliciousness and healthiness of Japanese cuisine and enjoy even such unfamiliar dishes in the Czech culinary tradition as sashimi and sushi. I am also greatly impressed to meet a number of young ministers, deputy ministers, top government officials and business leaders, who are still in their thirties or early forties. moreLet Us PresentGeneral Commissioner's Advisory Board more |
