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Junko Takekawa’s Recommended Japanese Books – The Times and Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival 2023
13/10/2023


During The Huddle Free Programme at The Times and Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival on 8 October, our Senior Arts Programme Officer shared her six Japanese book recommendations.


Keep diving into Japanese literature and share your thoughts on social media, tagging us @jpflondon for X (Twitter) and Instagram and @JapanFoundationLondon for Facebook when you post!


Here’s the list below:

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Junko Takekawa’s Recommended Japanese Books – Cheltenham Literature Festival 2022
28/10/2022
 


Our Senior Arts Programme Officer joined one of the events with Daniel Hahn as part of the Cheltenham Literature Festival on 16 October where she introduced her selection of recommendations. Find the list attached:


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Japan 2020 Season at the BFI in partnership with the Japan Foundation!
14/05/2020
 

The Japan Foundation is delighted to partner with the British Film Institute on their extensive season of Japanese films, exploring a collection of the best works and putting a spotlight on key filmmaker figures which helped in bringing their nation's cinema to prominence on a global scene.


For more information on the season, as well as a detailed breakdown of the films available, please click here.



Messages of Hope and Friendship #5
13/05/2020
 

What am I doing? 
Iwasaki Takahiro, Artist


It’s mid-March, and I am at home in Japan waiting following lectures I have in London and Salford, cities located in a country that I call the hometown of my expression. The exhibitions scheduled for this year have all been cancelled or postponed. 


To kill the time while stuck at home waiting, and to help with my rehabilitation for a thumb injury, I bought my first ever games console and have been researching day and night. Only now have I gained the fresh insights from the way that the story progresses by scrolling horizontally like a scroll painting and the single viewpoint spatial recognition of the FPS (First Person Shooter) game, "007".


Just as with the advent of the plague and AIDs, during which society entered new phases, we must also unceasingly seek new social models.


 


IWASAKI Takahiro is a prominent contemporary sculptor based in Hiroshima. After finishing his Ph.D at the Hiroshima City University, he went on to study for his M.F.A at Edinburgh College of Art. His iconic series, Out of Disorder (2006) cemented his standing in the international contemporary art scene. Out of Disorder was a sculptural installation in which mundane, everyday objects such as a towels, toothbrushes and rolls of duct tape were presented sprouting delicate architectural miniatures Iwasaki sculpted from their fabric. More recently in 2017, his work Turned Upside Down, It’s a Forest was presented at the 57th Venice Art Biennale where he held a solo exhibition as a representative artist in the Japan Pavilion. The exhibition featured sculptures of Japanese structures reflected on themselves and was designed to encourage people to look at things from different vantage points set up for each piece. His works have been taken up by many international exhibitions including Yokohama Triennale (2011) and the 2013 Asian Art Biennale in Taiwan. His other recent solo exhibitions include "Takahiro Iwasaki Dust (10-10) and Moment (10-18)", Kurumaya Museum of Art, Tochigi, Japan (2015); "Takahiro IWASAKI Many a Muckle Makes a Mickle", Kurobe City Art Museum, Toyama, Japan and "In Focus", Aron Gallery, Asia Society, New York (2015).



An introduction to the Bunraku puppet theatre: Kanadehon Chushingura
05/05/2020
 

In this short article, Professor Andrew Gerstle shares his expertise on a Japanese traditional art form and introduces you to one of the most popular plays in the bunraku puppet theatre, Kanadehon Chushingura (仮名手本忠臣蔵), which premiered in Osaka in 1748.


Click the PDF icon below to read.


Professor Andrew Gerstle, a Fellow of the British Academy, was born in the USA, and studied Japanese culture at Columbia, Waseda (Tokyo) and Harvard Universities. A specialist on drama, literature and popular culture of the Tokugawa era, his current project is on erotic books (shunga), and plans to publish a translation of Onna dairaku takara-beki (Great Pleasure for Women and their Treasure Boxes, c. 1757). He taught at the Australian National University from 1980-1993, where he became Professor. From 1993 he has been Professor of Japanese Studies at SOAS, University of London. He published his first book on the playwright Chikamatsu Monzaemon (1653-1725) in 1986, and later a translation of five Chikamatsu plays. He has led international research projects in Australia and the UK, resulting in many edited/joint publications. In 2005 he co-curated an exhibition on Osaka Kabuki at the British Museum, which went on to the Osaka Museum of History and the Waseda University Theatre Museum in Tokyo. This led him into the visual culture of 18th-19th century Japan where he encountered shunga (spring pictures), Japanese traditional erotic art. Realizing its importance and the taboo in modern Japan over it, he organized a research project that led to the British Museum exhibition in 2013, 'Shunga: Sex and Pleasure in Japanese Art', which subsequently inspired the first Shunga exhibition in Japan in 2015, thereby breaking a modern taboo.


Publications include Shunga: Sex and Pleasure in Japanese Art (co-author), British Museum Press, 2013; Edo onna no shungabon (Erotic 18th Century Books for Women, 2011); Chikamatsu: Five Late Plays (2001); Kabuki Heroes in the Osaka Stage, 1780-1830 (2005); Onna shimegawa oeshi-bumi (2007); and Bidô nichiya johôki (2010), two translations of erotic books for women.


He is currently in discussion with British Museum colleagues and others on the project, 'The Role of Art Salons in 18th-19th Century Japan'.

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Manga Recommendations You Should Read Now
30/04/2020
 

In this short article, manga artist Shangomola Edunjobi shares his suggestions for five series to get you started on your new interest - or add to an existing one! Click the PDF icon below to discover the handpicked titles and what makes each one a great read while isolating.


Author/Artist Shangomola Edunjobi (or Shango) began his comics career in 2014 when his One Page Comic ‘Scarlet’ took first prize in the London Graphic Novel Network A3 comic competition 2014. Since then he has been a two-time finalist in the Japanese Embassy’s MANGA JIMAN comic competition 2016 and 2017, and in collaboration published The One Page Comic Collection. Shangomola has gone on to win the Silver award in the International Manga Award 2018 with his most recent work, MISEYIEKI. He has also contributed to the 2019 Citi MANGA exhibition at the British Museum as its Curator of tone. He is a UK based creator with a degree in graphic design and a passion for creating ethnic diversity in comics.

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Five Japanese Works for the Age of the Covid-19 Virus
24/04/2020
 

In this short article, Professor Stephen Dodd shares his expertise on Japanese literature and invites you to read a selection of his recommendations best suited for the times we find oursleves in now.


Click the PDF icon below to read.


Professor Stephen Dodd is a translator and an expert academic in the field of Japanese literature. After teaching briefly at UC Santa Barbara (1993), he became Assistant Professor in Japanese Literature at Duke University (1993-94). From 1994, he has been teaching at SOAS, University of London, where he was Professor of Japanese Literature until 2019. He has lectured on a long list of courses over the years, including various aspects of modern Japanese literature, such as women’s writing, the development of a modern self-identity, and literary representations of the city. His research interests include gender studies and translation studies. Among recent publications are The Youth of Things: Life and Death in the Age of Kajii Motojiro (2014); and “Space and Time in Modern Japanese Literature” in Hutchinson, Racheal and Morton, Leith Douglas (eds.), Routledge Handbook of Modern Japanese Literature (2016).


His most recent literary translation is Life For Sale (Inochi urimasu, 1968; 2019) by Yukiko Mishima.

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Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2019 comes to an end
01/04/2019


The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2019: People Still Call It Love: Passion, Affection and Destruction in Japanese Cinema


2 February – 28 March 2019


"Once more, we see the season snowballing in terms of size and reach, with a total of 18 films this year – two more than 2018 – based around such universal themes as passion, desire, affection, romantic love, young love, maternal love, paternal love, mad love, bad love, and all permutations thereof.Jasper Sharp (All the Anime)



Following 137 screenings nationwide over a two month period, the largest edition of the Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme to date draws to a close. Featuring a lineup of 18 works, ranging from blockbuster action, retrospective classics, anime, to boundary-pushing documentaries, the programme toured 19 cities around the country, including new partner venues in Halifax (Square Chapel), and Newcastle (Tyneside).


In this 16th edition of the programme, we were proud to bring more attention and prominence to the influence of women on Japanese cinema by including several films which have been directed by female filmmakers or adapted from literature written by female writers.


This year we also welcomed three very special guests, Keisuke Yoshida (director of Thicker Than Water), Hikaru Toda (director of Of Love & Law) and Yukiko Mishima (director of Dear Etranger), all of whom took part in post-screening discussions of their films in London and around the UK.

Below are some of this year’s highlights:



Director Keisuke Yoshida visited the UK to attend screenings of his film Thicker Than Water, one of two titles directed by him in 2018, being closely followed by his latest work, Come On Irene. Having been very well received at international festivals, including a sell-out screening at New York’s JAPAN CUTS festival, Thicker Than Water impressed our UK audience with shows in seven cities. Appearing at two London screenings of the film at ICA (which marked the UK premiere), Yoshida then travelled to Derby (QUAD), Chester (Storyhouse), Bristol (Watershed), and Sheffield (Showroom).



Another highly anticipated appearance as part of the season was that of rising female filmmaker Hikari Toda at the screenings of her documentary Of Love & Law at London (Curzon Soho), Sheffield (Showroom), and Manchester (HOME). Already popular within the film festival circuit having screened to large audience at BFI’s Flare and London Film Festivals, Toda’s sensitive exposition of LGBTQ issues and the lives of minorities in Japan was warmly received by the programme’s audience, ahead of the film’s theatrical release in the UK.



And then in late March, we were joined by Yukiko Mishima, director of poignant family drama Dear Etranger. Following the film’s widely popular screening at 11 cinemas nationwide, director Mishima joined us for an exclusive ‘Filmmaker Talk’ at The Soho Hotel in London where she discussed her work and career with Dr Irene González-López.



In addition to this standalone talk, Yukiko Mishima embarked on a mini-tour of the UK, attending special Q&A screenings in Edinburgh (Filmhouse), Nottingham (Broadway), and Exeter (Phoenix).



Among the titles, we were proud to bring to the audiences a brand new release, Born Bone Born, which premiered in the UK simultaneously with its Japan-wide roadshow. Based on an acclaimed short of the same title, this is the second feature from director Teruya Toshiyuki (a.k.a. Gori) which won him the Audience Award at JAPANCUTS. The film’s light-hearted and humanistic approach to family grief and regional traditions had universal appeal in the UK, while its London screening was supplemented by a delightful live performance of authentic Okinawan music.


ICA’s fastest selling screening of the season was that of viral sensation Dad’s Lunch Box, which was made all the better with a very special giveaway of cute Japanese lunchboxes (provided by Japan Centre) to one lucky winner of each screening across the country. Furthermore, all screenings of Born Bone Born were accompanied by a giveaway of limited Okinawa-themed goody bags, courtesy of the Okinawa Film Office.


The programme was also well received among critics and independent reviewers. Here's a few snippets of some reviews:


"It's a unique and sometimes once-only opportunity to see a selection of rare films that otherwise have a very limited distribution in the west." Noel Megahey (The Digital Fix)


"We always love to hear from the working acts behind the screens and this year’s tour is supported by some great-looking Q&As. Four films in the programme are directed by women, two of whom join the UK tourRadiant Circus


Since 2004, the Japan Foundation has organised a touring Japanese film programme in close partnership with distinguished film venues across the UK. Each year, a handpicked selection of films are carefully chosen to highlight trends in Japanese cinema and showcase the versatility and uniqueness displayed by Japanese filmmakers. … [A] beautifully curated programme …” Rob Aldam (Backseat Mafia)


 


And here are some lovely comments from our audiences!


“Keep up the good work! This is an excellent festival and I intend to keep coming back every year. I particularly enjoy seeing rarely (or never) shown classics - please do keep including them!”


The Japan Foundation does a remarkable job at promoting Japanese cinema.


“It is an excellent opportunity for a non-Japanese to get an idea of both Japan now and it's past - to understand the country better. For a Japanese person, more chance to see good Japanese films.”

いつもよい映画を見せてくれます。

Thank you to everyone who attended the Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme this February and March! We look forward to seeing you again at the 17th edition in 2020!


Thank you also to our filmmaker guests, partner venues, our major supporters (Japan Airlines, Yakult and the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation), sponsors in kind (Japan Centre and the Okinawa Film Office) and our cultural partners (the Japan Society and Modern Culture) who helped make this season a success!



JFTFP18: Sixteen films; Eighteen venues; 131 screenings – done!
29/03/2018


The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2018: (Un)true Colours: Secrets and Lies in Japanese Cinema #JFTFP18


2 February – 28 March 2018


"Consisting mainly of contemporary works, with the odd anniversary screening and classic to enrichen the mix, this annual Touring Programme offers the best opportunity for UK audiences to experience the latest movements in Japanese cinema." Chris O’Keeffe (Screen Anarchy)

Following 131 screenings nationwide over a two month period, the largest Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme to date drew to a close in late March. Featuring 16 titles, ranging from crime thrillers, classics, period pieces to anime, the programme toured to 18 venues around the country, including new venues in Colchester (Firstsite), Chester (Storyhouse) and Lewes (Depot).

This year we also welcomed three very special guests, Kosuke Mukai (screenwriter of Gukoroku – Traces of Sin), Masahiro Motoki (cast of The Long Excuse) and Yu Irie (director of Memoirs of a Murderer), all of whom took part in post-screening discussions of their films in London and around the UK.

Below are some of this year’s highlights:



Screenwriter Kosuke Mukai visited the UK to attend screenings of the most recent film he worked on, Gukoroku – Traces of Sin, adding to his already impressive canon of work (which includes The Cowards Who Looked to the Sky). Appearing at two London screenings of the film at ICA (one of which officially opened this year’s programme), Mukai then travelled to Watershed in Bristol, and Macrobert Arts Centre in Stirling.



Another high-profile appearance as part of the season was that of popular Japanese actor Masahiro Motoki at the screening of his film The Long Excuse at ICA, London. Perhaps best known for starring in the Academy Award winning Departures, Motoki’s presence attracted one of the biggest audience numbers at this year’s festival, leading to another sold out screening!


And then in March, we were joined by Yu Irie, director of crime thriller Memoirs of a Murderer. Following the film’s widely popular screening at ICA, London in February, Irie joined us for an exclusive ‘Filmmaker Talk’ at the Soho Hotel in London.




In addition to this standalone talk, Yu Irie embarked on a tour around the UK, attending special Q&A screenings in Sheffield (Showroom), Nottingham (Broadway), and as far as Belfast (Queen’s Film Theatre).



Among the titles, Yoshihiro Nakamura’s twist on the ninja legend, MUMON: The Land of Stealth, proved to be an audience favourite, with the highest turn out rate up and down the country. We have a sneaky suspicion this popularity had something to do with the cast – the film starring none other than Arashi’s Satoshi Ono in the role of the protagonist. The film's screening at ICA was the fastest selling film of the season! Furthermore, certain screenings of the film nationwide were accompanied by the presence of a mysterious ninja handing out goody bags to the lucky few members of the audience, see below.



The programme was also well received among critics and independent reviewers. Here's a few snippets of some reviews:


"The Japan Foundation programme has really triumphed recently in providing a window for UK audiences to experience the kind of films that we don’t usually associate with Japan, films overlooked by the festival circuit and by more traditional channels of distribution, of which contemporary mystery and crime dramas are a prime example." Jasper Sharp, All the Anime


"It is the most vital festival in the UK for audiences who want to see Japanese cinema and this year’s selection promises to be its biggest and best." Jason Maher (V Cinema Show)

Since 2004, the Japan Foundation has organised a touring Japanese film programme in close partnership with distinguished film venues across the UK. Each year, a handpicked selection of films are carefully chosen to highlight trends in Japanese cinema and showcase the versatility and uniqueness displayed by Japanese filmmakers. … [A] beautifully curated programme …” Rob Aldam (Backseat Mafia)


And here are some lovely comments from our audiences!


Compliments on making this a truly nationwide event programme!

This is an excellent festival. I have come for a couple of years previously and intend to keep coming. Keep up the good work!

Thank you for always introducing me to various works discussing different themes. Please carry on.

Thank you to everyone who attended the Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme this February and March! We look forward to seeing you again at the 16th edition in 2019!



JFTFP17: That's a wrap!
30/03/2017


The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2017: Odd Obsessions: Desires, Hopes and Impulses in Japanese Cinema
#JFTFP17
3 February – 29 March 2017


"The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme keep(s) going from strength to strength, and make(s) real efforts to get Asian films exhibited beyond the metropolitan hub" Anton Bitel, Sight and Sound

Following 103 screenings nationwide over a two month period, the largest ever Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme drew to a close in late March. Featuring 14 titles, ranging from contemporary films, classics, documentary and anime, the programme toured to 15 venues around the country, including new venues in Stirling (Macrobert Arts Centre) and Inverness (Eden Court).

This year we also welcomed three very special guests, Naotaro Endo (director of Tsukiji Wonderland), Daishi Matsunaga (Pieta in the Toilet) and Shuichi Okita (The Mohican Home Comes), all of whom took part in post-screening discussions of their films in London and around the UK.

Below are some of this year’s highlights:


Director Daishi Matsunaga visited the UK to attend screenings of his debut feature film Pieta in the Toilet. In addition to appearing at the film’s UK premiere at ICA, Matsunaga also travelled to Watershed in Bristol, Showroom Cinema in Sheffield and Quad in Derby.


Another of the 9 UK premieres shown as part of the season was Shuichi Okita’s latest film The Mohican Comes Home. Two of Okita’s films have been released in the UK (Woodsman and the Rain and The Story of Yonosuke) and his fans turned out in numbers for the screening at the ICA!

Okita also attended screenings of The Mohican Comes Home at the Queen’s Film Theatre in Belfast and Exeter Phoenix.


And then in March, we were joined by Naotaro Endo, director of the season’s featured documentary, Tsukiji Wonderland. Following the film’s sell-out screening at ICA, London in February, Endo joined us for an exclusive ‘Filmmaker Talk’ at the Soho Hotel in London, before embarking on a tour around the UK, attending screenings in Broadway in Nottingham, Filmhouse in Edinburgh and Exeter Phoenix.



Among the titles, Naoko Yamada's anime A Silent Voice proved a huge hit, selling out screens up and down the country. The film's London premiere at ICA as part of the programme was the fatest selling film in the programme. On the day of the screening the queue was stretching out of the door - see below!



The programme was also well received and was ranked among TimeOut magazine's top 10 film events in February. Here's a few snippets of some reviews:

"We’re big fans of the way that the Japan Foundation takes a bundle of recent and classic Japanese films around the UK every year. (This year’s selection is) another fine collection." Spank the Monkey (Mostly Film)

"The Japan Foundation Touring Programme is one of those all too rare events in the world of Japanese cinema that just might demonstrate that all is not lost by promoting a renewed image of Japan, thanks to its original and varied programme." Gabriel Bernard (ZOOM Japan)

The Japan Foundation tours have always triumphed by not limiting their footprint to a single city. Since the season began in 2004, the selection has grown from a small handful of 5 titles to a staggering 14. (…A) fantastic opportunity to catch more Japanese films on the big screen in a single weekend that you’re likely to see across the whole of the rest of the year. Use it or lose it!
Jasper Sharp (All the Anime)


And here are some lovely comments from our audiences!


All events, every year, something new comes to us. It's really great!

Thank you for your efforts. Great work! Thank you so much for showing so many wonderful films.

I'd love to see more Japanese films in cinemas! There isn't enough and it is very popular!


Thank you to everyone who attended the Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme this February and March! We look forward to seeing you again at the 15th edition in 2018!



Performing Arts Japan Programme for Europe 2017-2018
12/10/2016
 

The Japan Foundation is now accepting proposals for projects to receive Performing Arts Japan Programme for Europe (PAJ Europe) Touring and Collaboration grants for the 2017-2018 fiscal year. To apply for the programme, please read the information on the Performing Arts Funding page carefully and contact the relevant Japan Foundation office in Europe to discuss eligibility. The deadline for projects taking place between 1 April 2017 and 30 June 2018 is Monday, 31 October 2016.

Overview


Performing Arts Japan Programme for Europe (PAJ Europe) was started by the Japan Foundation in 2006 to revitalise and facilitate the exchange between leading artists in Europe and Japan. The main feature of this scheme is that this grant will be made available to those organisers based in Europe who are planning to organise Japan-related performing arts projects in European regions. The applications will be screened by an annually appointed panel of advisors who are specialists in the area of performing arts in Europe. Successful applicants will receive grants towards part of the cost of implementing their project.



To date, PAJ Europe has funded 128 projects (including 70 touring and 58 collaboration projects) of Japanese performing arts in both traditional and contemporary art forms. In the 2016-2017 fiscal year, 12 projects (5 Touring and 7 Collaboration projects) were selected under the programme, for a total amount of €149,000.



The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2016
11/12/2015

IKIRU: The Highs and Lows of Life in Japanese Cinema: 5 February to 26 March 2016


This year’s programme is titled ‘Ikiru: The Highs and Lows of Life in Japanese Cinema’, and taking inspiration from Akira Kurosawa’s classic Ikiru (“To Live”) will look at the way in which Japanese filmmakers have been observing and capturing people’s lives. This year’s programme is the largest yet and will feature a mixture of classics, animation and contemporary films, catering for all audiences’ tastes!


The season will open at the ICA, London on Friday, 5 February 2016 before touring to a further 12 venues until late March 2016. We are delighted to announce that this year’s participating venues are:


ICA, London
Phoenix, Leicester
mac birmingham, Birmingham
Watershed, Bristol
QUAD, Derby
Showroom Cinema, Sheffield
Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Aberystwyth
Dundee Contemporary Arts (DCA), Dundee
Filmhouse, Edinburgh
Exeter Phoenix, Exeter
Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal, Cumbria
Broadway Cinema, Nottingham
HOME, Manchester


Specific information of each cinema’s line-up, screening dates and times will be added to www.jpf-film.org.uk shortly, so please keep checking back. We look forward to seeing you all at the programme soon!



News Archive

Free Japanese Film Streaming!
Performing Arts Japan Programme for Europe 2016-2017
Performing Arts Japan Programme for Europe 2015-2016
Yokohama Triennale opens Friday, 1 August 2014
Chiharu Shiota to represent Japan at the 56th International Art Exhibition, the Venice Biennale in 2015
Japan Pavilion at the 14th International Architecture Exhibition, the Venice Biennale in 2014
Koki Tanaka to represent Japan at the 55th International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale
Atsuko Tanaka Retrospective at Ikon Gallery and Curator Talks
Tabaimo to represent Japan at the Japan Pavillion as part of the 54th International Art Exhbition la Biennale di Venezia.
Akiko Fukai Online Interview
Performing Arts Network - New Articles Added
Applications invited for the Performing Arts Japan Programme for Europe (PAJ)
Yokohama Triennale Opens
11th International Architecture Exhibition "Out There. Architecture Beyond Building" opens next month
Yokohama Triennale - New Information Available
Architect Junya Ishigami Selected to Exhibit at 11th International Architecture Exhibition at the Venice Biennale 2008
Tokyo Performing Arts Market Registration Opens
The Japan Foundation Sends UK Based Specialists to the Middle East
Performing Arts Network Updated
Update on the Mazarin Chest Conservation Project
"Traditional Music Today: Performing Arts in Japan" has now been published!

Perspectives Newsletters Archive

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