Events & Programmes Archive

The Japan Foundation is proud to host a very special artist talk where Kohei Nawa will introduce his most representative concepts to date, his inspiration, as well as some pioneering works inspiring a new generation of Japanese creative minds.

In a striking collaboration between the Olivier Award-winning Damien Jalet, who choreographed Hussein Chalayan’s Gravity Fatigue in 2015, and Japanese experimental sculptor Kohei Nawa, Vessel blurs the lines between the human form and its environment. Inspired by the body’s composition predominately being made up of water, the near-naked dancers inhabit a flooded stage, both reflected and hidden by its mirror-like surface. To an electronic score by Marihiko Hara and Ryuichi Sakamoto, seven beings perform strange rituals, exploring the organic structure that floats atop the water, merging together to form a new type of entity in a visually arresting cycle of life and death.

The Japan Foundation is incredibly pleased to be associated with BFI’s special screening of Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Still Walking, followed by a Q&A session with the director himself. Do not miss this rare opportunity to interact with the most critically acclaimed and among the most widely distributed of contemporary Japanese live-action directors.  Still Walking (2008, Japan) Forty-year-old Ryota, with his wife and stepson, visits his elderly parents to commemorate his older brother, who died saving a boy from drowning. Kore-eda’s subtle, moving account of the tensions within a family is his most Ozu-like film, a study of the different assumptions and value systems of different generations. This was the director’s first film to feature veteran actress Kirin Kiki, who would become his regular collaborator.   Screening details Date: Tuesday 16th April 2019, 18:30 Venue: NFT1, BFI Southbank, Belvedere Rd, Lambeth, London SE1 8XT   Tickets open for sale to the general public on 11 April at 4pm. To book, please visit the BFI website here.

This talk provides a rare opportunity to obtain a first-hand glimpse into the hidden world of Japan’s rich and colourful health culture from one of Japan’s most progressive herbalists. Together with Tetsuo Sugimoto, he will also hold a small demonstration to showcase the close relationship between dyeing and Japanese herbs.

Over centuries, Japan has developed a colour palette unique to its nation and with deep connection to its inimitable nature. In conjunction with the Living Colours: Kasane – the Language of Japanese Colour Combinations exhibition at Japan House, the Japan Foundation has invited Sachio Yoshioka, a master dyer, colour historian and author of many books on the topic of Japanese colours – including Nihon no Iro Jiten (Dictionary of Japanese Colours) – to define what the term ‘Japanese colours’ means to him. 

Join us for a talk with dancer-extraordinaire Saburo Teshigawara and Rihoko Sato (KARAS) about their unique creative career and performance style at the Print Room at The Coronet, following the UK Premiere performance of Dosteoevsky's "The Idiot".

Female director and screenwriter Yukiko Mishima joins us in conversation with Dr Irene González-López of Kingston University, revealing the behind the scenes production of her poignant human drama which deliberates on the meaning of "family".

Join us for a sharing of work by international deaf dance choreographer Chisato Minamimura, presented in Dance City’s Theatre, in collaboration with visual artist Graham Patterson and musician Tom White.

The annual Japan Foundation/BAJS Postgraduate Japanese Studies Workshop is now open for registration. This workshop aims to assist the development of the next generation of Japanese Studies researchers and academics currently studying in the UK. Every year it provides a great opportunity for students to receive practical advice on their own research from senior colleagues, and to get to know fellow postgraduate students and members of the Japanese Studies Community.  

There will be a Japanese Youth Conference in Fife on 6th March. 82 P6 and P7 pupils will enjoy activities such as Japanese language lessons, karate, calligraphy, origami and radio exercises. Co-organised by: The Japan Foundation, London Japanese Language and Culture Group for Scottish Schools Crossgates Primary School Hill of Beath Primary School Supported by: The Consulate General of Japan in Edinburgh

Come along and listen to what university students studying Japanese in the UK and Ireland have to say! The finalists will give their speeches and presentations in Japanese to an audience consisting of members of the public, fellow students, teachers, families, key figures from the UK-Japan community and a panel of judges. Free entry, no booking required! The Fourteenth Japanese Speech Contest for University Students is organised by the British Association for Teaching Japanese as a Foreign Language (BATJ) and the Japan Foundation London in joint partnership. The event provides an opportunity for students from the UK and Ireland to demonstrate their Japanese speaking skills. Download our event poster!

The Japan Foundation and British Association for Teachers of Japanese Seminar will take place on 23rd February 2019 at Manchester University. The theme of the seminar is: "Japanese Language Education that aims to Connect People, Its Theories and Practices" The speaker will be Chihiro Kinoshita Thomson, a Professor of Japanese Studies at New South Wales University. The seminar is open to both BATJ members and non-members. Please note the seminar will be held in Japanese.   Participation fee: £5 (flat fee for both BATJ members and non-members; pay at the door) Online participation: This seminar will also be available online as a partial live-streaming test for BATJ members ONLY.  There is no fee for those wishing to participate online.   To see the abstract and to book your place, please click here (Japanese) or here (English) (Currently online registration is open only for in-person participation. The registration for online participation will be opened shortly).