Japan Foundation at the 2011 Language Show Live

21 October 2011 – 23 October 2011 from 10.00am

National Hall
Olympia Exhibition Centre
Hammersmith
London
W14 8UK

Come and see the Japan Foundation at the 2011 Language Show Live – the UK’s largest language event.

We welcome all Japanese learners, teachers, and anyone else with an interest in sharing or learning about Japanese language and culture.

The Japan Foundation exhibit will feature:

:: Fun Japanese language games and quizzes, including the chance to win a Japan Foundation goodie bag!
:: A name-writing corner – learn how to write your name in Japanese
:: Origami – learn how to make Japanese kabuto (samurai’s helmet) simply from folding paper
:: The chance to practice Japanese with native Japanese speakers
:: Stacks of information about learning and teaching Japanese language, and advice from Japan Foundation staff

Additionally, we will be holding a FREE Japanese language taster session on Friday October 21st, from 15:00 to 15:30.  Tickets will be issued by Language Show organisers on the day and will be given out based on a first come first served basis, so we recommend that you get to the show early to avoid disappointment. Class tickets are available to collect from the ‘Taster Class Ticket Desk’.

The Japan Foundation will also be sharing the stand with JP-Books, who offer a large range of Japanese language learning materials.

Click here to read about Japan Foundation’s activities at last year’s Language Show.

Register in advance for the language here for FREE entry!  We look forward to meeting you!

Taste Japan! Charity for Tohoku!

Taste Japan! Charity for Tohoku!

17 June 2011 from 6.00pm

As Japan struggles to fight against the consequences of the Tohoku earthquake on March 11, which has been designated as the most devastating disaster since World War II, this event aims to raise funds and awareness while enjoying quality Japanese food, sweets and sake (rice wine).

Event contents:
-Tasting Japanese Sake, Food and Sweets
-Short story about Japanese Sake and Food  (Rie Yoshitake, Sake Samurai Association UK representative)
-Screening of a movie made by people in Tohoku
-Japanese traditional music (Japanese drums and shamisen).

The Japan Foundation, London
Russell Square House, 10-12 Russell Square
London WC1B 5EH

Booking: Not essential, but early bird offer requires booking.
Entrance Fee :￡10 (early bird), booking required from here.
￡15 (on the door)

All proceeds go to the Japan Society Tohoku Earthquake Relief Fund.

Free for under 15s

For more information, please click here.

Tadasu Takamine: Body, Mind and Expression

The Japan Foundation presents….

Japanese artist Tadasu Takamine, formerly a member of radical performance group Dumb Type, continues to take a similarly radical, and often confrontational, approach to his work. In installation and performance, as well as theatrical productions, Takamine uses a variety of approaches and range of media including images, sound, and 3D objects, placing him in a unique position as an artist who is impossible to classify or pigeonhole. One commonality which can often be seen in his work though is an awareness of the relation between the body and expression.

Takamine’s consciousness of social and political issues is also very much at the centre of his work and he is not one to shy away from challenging the viewer. This can be seen in his Venice Biennial exhibit God BlessAmerica (2002) and in Kimura-san (1998). Some of Takamine’s works have been the subject of criticism due to his bold and blunt expressions, as well as its often intimate and personal nature.

In this talk and following conversation with Prof. Fran Lloyd, Faculty of Art, Design & Architecture, Kingston University we have a chance to hear from Takamine about his unique artistic career and philosophy. This event also offers an opportunity to explore issues such as artistic expression and communication between the artist and society.

Date: 20 June 2011 from 6.30 pm

Venue: The Japanese Foundation,

Russell Square House,

10-12 Russell Square,

London,

WC1B 5EH

Booking

This event is free to attend but booking is essential. To reserve a place, please email your name and the title of the event you would like to attend to event@jpf.org.uk.

A Talk by Documentary Film Director Kazuhiro Soda

Special Film Event – A Talk by Documentary Film Director Kazuhiro Soda.

Award-winning Japanese director Kazuhiro Soda is a documentary filmmaker who produces work which is consistently both captivating and intriguing. His past films Campaign and Mental have been screened at many prestigious film festivals, garnering awards and acclaim, and highlighting Soda as a talent to watch out for.

This year, Soda returns with his new work Peace, exploring the apparently ordinary lives of a few residents of Okayama. Prior to the premiere of Peace at this year’s Sheffield Doc/Fest, the Japan Foundation has invited Soda to talk about his latest work, as well as the observational style and methods he employs as a filmmaker. Yet to be commercially released, Peace has already been creating buzz in the international film circuit, receiving awards including Best Documentary at the Hong Kong International Film Festival.

This is a very special opportunity to learn about the work, inspirations and practical approach of Japan’s most exciting and highly regarded documentary filmmaker.

Date:

10 June 2011 from 6.30pm

Venue:

The Japan Foundation, London
Russell Square House, 10-12 Russell Square
London WC1B 5EH

Booking
This event is free to attend but booking is essential. To reserve a place, please email your name and the title of the event you would like to attend to event@jpf.org.uk.

Organised in association with Sheffield Doc/Fest.
Kazuhiro Soda’s latest film Peace will be premiered as part of this year’s Sheffield Doc/Fest line-up.

To reserve a place to attend this event, please email your name and the event title to event@jpf.org.uk

Work and Pensions in the UK and Japan

After the posts dedicated to the earthquake I think it is time to start, again, to highlight interesting events taking place across London. The next event is held at the DAIWA Anglo-Japanese Foundation:

Work and Pension in the UK and Japan

This third seminar in the 2011 series, Uncertain Futures: The Individual, Society and the State in the UK and Japan, will consider issues relating to employment, retirement and pension reform. Fiscal restraints and demographics are contributing to ongoing policy discussions on working life and pension provision in both countries. Our speakers are well placed to set out changing aspects of government policy and to compare historical legacies and the transformation of welfare regimes. Political shifts in the UK and Japan have brought new ideas to bear on these difficult issues. How current governments are responding to social needs and economic circumstances will form the basis of the seminar discussion.

7 April 2011

6:00 – 7:45pm, followed by a drinks reception to 8:45pm

Daiwa Foundation Japan House

Organised by the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation

Booking Form