Events & Programmes Archive

(Japanese is below / 日本語は英語の下にあります) English / 英語 The aim of this workshop is to increase the repertoire of teaching activities for teachers by using artwork and picture books in order to cultivate art appreciation, power of observation, thinking ability, language ability and creativity. This workshop will use the works of the artist Anno Mitsumasa as a resource. While experiencing the rich world of the artworks, through dialogue and collaboration we will explore the possibilities of creating classroom activities that value deep learning through the activation of imagination and creativity. This is a place where participants will be able to discuss and learn in small groups. We welcome teachers and also anyone who has an interest in educational activities using picture books. -        Participation is free, but booking is essential. Date/time: This workshop will be repeated twice. Please select the workshop on the date you can attend. First workshop: 19th October 2019 (Saturday) 14:00 to 17:00 (ten participants) – Book your place for the First Workshop Second workshop: 26th October 2019 (Saturday) 14:00 to 17:00 (ten participants) – Book your place for the Second Workshop Venue: The Japan Foundation, London (map) /101-111 Kensington High Street, London, W8 5SA Workshop schedule         13:45 – Meet at the entrance of the Japan House London gallery (basement)         14:00 – 14:15 Self-introductions         14:15 – 15:00 Introducing the concept of educational activities using art         15:00 – 15:40 Creating ideas for activities         15:40 – 16:00 Break         16:00 – 16:40 Ideas sharing and group presentations         16:40 – 17:00 Summary and reflections   Japanese  / 日本語 ワークショップでは、教師として活動のレパートリーを広げることを目的として、美術作品や絵本を活用し、鑑賞力、観察力、思考力、言語能力と創造性を育てるためのアクティビティを考えます。今回のリソースは安野光雅 の作品です。豊かな作品世界を味わいながら、個人の想像力と創造性の活性化、他者との協力や対話による学びの深まりを重視した教室活動の可能性を探ります。少人数でじっくり語り合い、学び合う場です。現職教師の方はもちろん、絵本を活用した教育活動に関心がある方のご参加を歓迎します。   事前予約制（参加費無料）　※ご都合の良い日程でお申込みください 日時： ①10月19日（土）14:00-17:00（定員：10名）お申込みはコチラ ②10月26日（土）14:00-17:00（定員：10名）お申込みはコチラ 場所：国際交流基金　ロンドン日本文化センター　（マップ）101-111 Kensington High Street, London, W8 5SA  スケジュール   13:45                Japan House London展示会場の入り口　（地下）　集合 14:00-14:15      自己紹介＆交流 14:15-15:00      美術作品を活用した教室活動の紹介 15:00-15:40      オリジナル活動案作成 15:40-16:00      休憩 16:00-16:40      発表 16:40-17:00      まとめ＆振り返り

The Japan Foundation is delighted to partner with the British Film Institute and Independent Cinema Office in presenting Singing Lovebirds (1939) directed by Masahiro Makino, as part of the Musicals! The Greatest Show on Screen season. Director Makino was considered the Busby Berkeley of Japan and in this warm-hearted musical about the tangled love lives of the samurai, the influences of Hollywood are clear. Fusing jazz numbers with traditional Japanese joruri provides a very hummable mix of east and west. Fans of Kurosawa might be surprised to see Shimura, star of Seven Samurai, in a singing role.

Since her debut in 2004 with a collection of short stories Blue (Aoi), Kanako Nishi’s star has risen rapidly in the Japanese literary world. Born in Tehran, and raised in Cairo and Osaka, Nishi has been praised by critics for her unorthodox style and the use of language in her books which are often written using the distinctive Kansai dialect. The praise has also materialised into awards she has garnered, among them the Oda Sakunosuke Prize in 2006, the Kawai Hayao Literary Prize in 2012, and the prestigious Naoki Prize in 2015 for her novel Saraba! (2014). Notably, she is also an accomplished author of children’s books with one of her representative works, Entaku (Entaku: Kokko Hitonatsu no Imagine, 2011), having been adapted into film by Isao Yukisada in 2014. Her other novels have inspired many filmmakers as well as enthusiastic readers from different generations. In conjunction with her much anticipated appearance at this year's Times and Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival, Nishi, in conversation with literary translator Polly Barton, will talk about her work aimed at both adult and younger readerships, reflecting on the inspiration behind her stories and her writing style, including how she draws on her own international upbringing to shape her narratives. They will also discuss some of the major themes explored in Nishi’s novels such as individualism, society, power, and what the author wishes to express through her literature. Though many of Nishi’s books are yet to be translated, this talk will provide a first insight into the creative process of one of Japan’s best-loved novelists, whose debut on a global stage has been eagerly anticipated.   A small selection of Nishi’s works translated into English: Merry Christmas, English trans. Allison Markin Powell, fiftystorms.org https://fiftystorms.org/merry-christmas-by-kanako-nishi Burn, English trans. Allison Markin Powell, Freeman's: Power, Fall 2018 issue https://www.amazon.com/dp/0802128203

This two-day conference will address the socio-cultural complexities of Okinawan identity over the course of history, and explore the intersection between art, politics, and identity from an interdisciplinary perspective. The object of the conference and its ensuing studies is to shed light on how Okinawan arts and cultures have been shaped by internal political situations and by a triple subjugation to the United States, Japan, and China. In this conference, we will bring together a unique selection of scholars in art history, history, politics, sociology, and visual arts, primarily to identify historical and political processes behind art and cultural forms. To view the full poster for this event, please click here.

“Four striking works align, taking the audience on an exploration of reflection, purification, self and identity. Together we navigate an energetic path that illuminates the significance of our connection as human beings through unspoken word.” The Japan Foundation is delighted to partner with Fabula Collective on a contemporary dance production presented at Sadler’s Wells this October. A mixed bill performance choreographed by James Pett, Travis Clausen-Knight, and Japanese contemporary dance artist Kahiko Narisawa, the project emphasises the collaboration between Japanese and British dancers, bridging the cultures of the two countries and facilitating a meeting of minds to exchange skills, knowledge, technique and creative ideas. The performance will be followed by a conversation between the dance artists and Sanjoy Roy, dance writer and critic for the Guardian.

  Takeshi Yashiro is a Japanese animator and television commercial director. Having graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts in 1993, he helmed numerous commercials produced by Taiyo Kikaku Co. Ltd. before focusing on finessing his stop-motion animation techniques and beginning to make his own animated films. His short film Moon of a Sleepless Night (2015) was a Jury Selection at the 20th Japan Media Arts Festival and a sample of his most recent work, Gon, The Little Fox (2019) has been exhibited at the Content Tokyo 2019 as well as participating in Marché International du Film d'Animation in Annecy. On the rare occasion of his appearance at the Kotatsu Japanese Animation Festival in Cardiff, the Japan Foundation is delighted to welcome Takeshi Yashiro for a special talk event this October. In this illustrative talk, Yashiro will divulge his professional transition from directing large-scale commercials to creating stop-motion films where his role varied from writer and animator to designer of sets and puppets. He will also discuss his dedication to the painstaking work of hand crafted stop-motion animation and talk us through the stages of producing an animation, from storyboard to screen.

We are working with the Old Penarthians Rugby Club and Cardiff University to run an upcoming event on 6th October celebrating the Rugby World Cup. There will be two identical sessions taking place on the day and participants choose which one to take part in. The event is open to participants aged eight to fourteen along with their parents or guardians. Session One: 2:00pm to 3:30pm Session Two: 4:00pm to 5:30pm The maximum number of participants per session is 40. Activities planned: -        Warm-up exercises while learning some Japanese. -        Rugby-themed Japanese language activity. -        Japanese culture session learning about the Welsh rugby team’s training camp in Japan, origami, and Japanese tea.   Organised with:

Japanese pop with a UK jazz-funk twist: performed by the critically acclaimed James Taylor Quartet and UK-based singer Naomi Suzuki. The evening celebrates the Japan-UK Year of Culture with the Bridge Together Project - presenting much loved J-pop classics specially re-arranged for an incredible night highlighting a shared love of great music and connections between the two cultures. Special guest stars make this concert an unmissable experience. Yuriko Kotani, the BBC New Comedy Award winning comedian, will open the event and superstar actress and singer Mari Natsuki is travelling from Japan especially to give an exclusive performance. There will also be a traditional daikagura routine by Michiyo Kagami - a unique combination of talents!

Celebrating the opening of two special displays at the British Museum of loaned Buddhist and Shinto treasures, Nara: sacred images from early Japan (3 October – 23 November 2019), this international symposium with prominent scholars will provide an important historical and cultural background to three key periods in Nara in the past.

The Japan Foundation and the Centre Européen d'Études Japonaises d'Alsace (CEEJA) are now accepting applications for the Europe-Japan Intellectual Exchange Session 2019 in Alsace, scheduled for September 30th - October 1st 2019. The Japan Foundation and CEEJA have carried out a series of seminars since 2007, with an aim to encourage networking among young researchers on Japan in Europe and further promote Japanese studies in Europe. The title of this year's study seminar is "Representations of Japanese Culture and Arts in Europe: from 'Japonism' to 'Cool Japan'. （ヨーロッパにおける日本の文化・芸術のイメージ　－「ジャポン二スム」から「クールジャパン」へ）Please note that the language of this event will be Japanese with no interpretation.  Applicants from Europe are being sought from a wide range of fields including Sociology, Arts, Literature, History, Language, Philosophy, Political Science, Economics etc. Applicants must currently be on a graduate or post-graduate scheme or hold a junior teaching/research position at an academic institution in Europe.  For more details and applications, please click here. (Japanese version).  The deadline for applications is July 12th 2019. 

This year is the eleventh Japan Matsuri and the Japan Foundation will be participating again this year. The Japan Matsuri is a great festival of Japanese culture held at Trafalgar Square. Come and visit our stand to get information about the Japan Foundation, Japanese culture and language. We will be planning some fun activities and talking about learning Japanese in the UK. For more information about Japan Matsuri, please see their official website at JapanMatsuri.com.

Join us for a lecture on kagura, given by Professor Terence Lancashire of Osaka Ohtani University. From ancient times, various traditional entertainments have been created and evolved in Japan’s long history. These range from the court ensemble of gagaku to the theatre of noh, kabuki and puppetry and various instrumental ensembles including the three stringed shamisen and 13 stringed koto. In contrast to these urban forms there are a wide variety of folk performing arts which includes the shrine ritual entertainment of kagura. Kagura, a ritual entertainment performed primarily in Shinto shrines, is one of the five main categories of Japanese folk performing arts as defined by the Agency for Cultural Affairs. Having its origins in the mythical dance of the goddess Ame no Uzume no Mikoto before a cave in which the sun goddess, Amaterasu Omikami, has hidden herself, kagura has been realised in various forms of entertainment over its long history. The oldest is the dance of miko, shrine maidens. But through the course of its history, it has also developed into theatrical representations of ancient Japanese myths and historical episodes. Through this special talk, which will provide an overview of Japanese folk performing arts, you will discover the historical background and characteristics of this time-honoured traditional art, as well as learn how the custom has stood the test of time leading up to present day.