Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Anime… : Talk with Hirokatsu Kihara and Michihiko Suwa

18 January 2013 from 6.30pm

The Japan Foundation, London

Japanese animation has enthralled audiences worldwide and through its stories, concepts and visual splendour, the enchantment of the likes of Studio Ghibli and abundance of television series continue to captivate the imaginations of many. But how did such ideas come about, what is it that makes anime so distinct and original, and how has animation developed over the decades to become such a worldwide success?

The Japan Foundation has invited two of the most renowned figures in the industry behind this phenomenon, Hirokatsu Kihara and Michihiko Suwa, to introduce the real world of creating Japanese animation. Through Kihara’s involvement with early Studio Ghibli productions and the current subculture scene and manga, and Suwa’s role as Chief Producer at the Animation department of Yomiuri TV for anime franchises including Detective Conan(aka Case Closed), City Hunter and Inuyasha, they have helped realise a number of world-famous anime television series and movies during their illustrious careers. Despite their differing experiences, productions and working styles, Kihara and Suwa both hold a huge passion, understanding and vision for the medium, expressed through their work and activities.

Having witnessed the Japanese animation industry’s rise to the worldwide phenomenon, Kihara and Suwa will be joined by Helen McCarthy, journalist, author and anime expert, to explore the different sources of anime – both manga adaptations and originally crafted stories – and discuss their position in the Japanese animation industry, suggesting what the future holds for the medium. With Kihara’s experience of the celluloid-era of animation, and Suwa’s experience of its transition to digital, this event will also provide a fascinating insight into the ‘behind the scenes’ of anime production, telling the real story and history around the animated images.

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Anime… : Talk with Hirokatsu Kihara and Michihiko Suwa

The end of the world did not materialise … so I’d like to invite the readers of this Blog to this interesting event.

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Anime… : Talk with Hirokatsu Kihara and Michihiko Suwa

29 January 2013 from 6.30pm

The Japan Foundation, London

Japanese animation has enthralled audiences worldwide and through its stories, concepts and visual splendour, the enchantment of the likes of Studio Ghibli and abundance of television series continue to captivate the imaginations of many. But how did such ideas come about, what is it that makes anime so distinct and original, and how has animation developed over the decades to become such a worldwide success?

The Japan Foundation has invited two of the most renowned figures in the industry behind this phenomenon, Hirokatsu Kihara and Michihiko Suwa, to introduce the real world of creating Japanese animation. Through Kihara’s involvement with early Studio Ghibli productions and the current subculture scene and manga, and Suwa’s role as Chief Producer at the Animation department of Yomiuri TV for anime franchises including Detective Conan (aka Case Closed), City Hunter and Inuyasha, they have helped realise a number of world-famous anime television series and movies during their illustrious careers. Despite their differing experiences, productions and working styles, Kihara and Suwa both hold a huge passion, understanding and vision for the medium, expressed through their work and activities.

Having witnessed the Japanese animation industry’s rise to the worldwide phenomenon, Kihara and Suwa will be joined by Helen McCarthy, journalist, author and anime expert, to explore the different sources of anime – both manga adaptations and originally crafted stories – and discuss their position in the Japanese animation industry, suggesting what the future holds for the medium. With Kihara’s experience of the celluloid-era of animation, and Suwa’s experience of its transition to digital, this event will also provide a fascinating insight into the ‘behind the scenes’ of anime production, telling the real story and history around the animated images.

 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

Japanese Cinema for Busy People – Part 3

 

13 June 2012 – 11 July 2012

The Japan Foundation, London

Looking to expand your knowledge on Japanese cinema? The Japan Foundation is inviting those fascinated by all things cinema, or all things Japanese, to join the third series of Japanese Cinema for Busy People.

Whether you are a dedicated cineaste or a casual moviegoer, all are welcome to join and enjoy! Experts in the field will hold lectures assessing significant topics in Japanese cinema, past and present. As a complement to the BFI and Japan Foundation season Two Masters of Japanese Cinema: Kaneto Shindo & Kozaburo Yoshimura, fill your Wednesday evening with a cinema lecture – without having to do any of the homework!

Dates: 13th, 20th, 27th June, 4th, 11th July – Every Wednesday

 

Week 1 – Wednesday 13 June 2012 – 6.30pm

Beyond Rashomon: A Golden Age of Japanese Cinema, but for Whom?
by Jasper Sharp (Writer and Film Curator)

Jasper Sharp will look beyond the Japanese filmmakers of the 1950s championed in the West to focus on the technological and industrial developments of the era considered the ‘Golden Age’ of Japanese cinema.

 

Week 2 – Wednesday 20 June 2012 – 6.30pm

Fidelity, High and Low: Japanese Cinema and Literary Adaptation
by Lauri Kitsnik (University of Cambridge) 

Lauri Kitsnik will consider how the relationship between literature and film has developed through various periods of Japanese cinema and the way literary classics have been reinterpreted for the screen.

 

Week 3 – Wednesday 27 June 2012 – 6.30pm

The Meaning of Independence in Japanese Cinema: Production, Distribution and Exhibition
by Julian Ross (University of Leeds)

Julian Ross will discuss the meaning of independence in the context of Japan’s film history, and examine the alternatives in distribution, production and exhibition whilst investigating what exactly is gained and lost with the decision to turn independent.

 

Week 4 – Wednesday 4 July 2012 – 6.30pm

Collaboration or Exploitation? The Relationship Between Japanese Directors and their Stars
by Tony Rayns (Writer, Film Critic and Programmer)

Tony Rayns will explore the creative relationships between Japanese directors and their stars, many of which instigated by contractual bounds under the Studio system, and how recurring actors can be both fruitful and restraining in film production.

 

Week 5 – Wednesday 11 July 2012 – 6.30pm

What’s Happening Now in Japanese Cinema?
by Dr Rayna Denison (University of East Anglia)

Dr Rayna Denison will investigate the history behind the rise of thenew “big hit” cycle of Japanese filmmaking and ask why these films are so successful and why, despite their domestic success, they often remain hidden from (English) view.

To register, please e-mail event@jpf.org.uk with your name and the session you would like to attend.

Hard Times in the Hometown: A History of Community Survival in Modern Japan

10 May 2012

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

Daiwa Foundation Japan House

Organised by the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation

By Martin Dusinberre

Published by University of Hawaii Press

Hard Times in the Hometown tells the story of Kaminoseki, a small town on Japan’s Inland Sea. Once one of the most prosperous ports in the country, Kaminoseki fell into profound economic decline following Japan’s reengagement with the West in the late-nineteenth century. Using a recently discovered archive and oral histories collected during his years of research in Kaminoseki, Martin Dusinberre reconstructs the lives of households and townspeople as they tried to make sense of their changing place in the world. In challenging the familiar story of modern Japanese growth, Dusinberre provides important new insights into how ordinary people shaped the development of the modern state.

Chapters describe the role of local revolutionaries in the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the ways townspeople grasped opportunities to work overseas in the late nineteenth century, and the impact this pan-Pacific diaspora community had on Kaminoseki during the pre-war decades. These histories amplify Dusinberre’s analysis of post-war rural decline – a phenomenon found not only in Japan but throughout the industrialized Western world. His account comes to a climax when, in the 1980s, the town’s councillors request the construction of a nuclear power station, unleashing a storm of protests from within the community. This ongoing nuclear dispute has particular resonance in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima crisis.

Hard Times in the Hometown gives voice to personal histories otherwise lost in abandoned archives. By bringing to life the everyday landscape of Kaminoseki, this work offers readers a compelling story through which to better understand not only nineteenth- and twentieth-century Japan but also modern transformations more generally.

* The book will be available on the day at the discounted price of £40.

Dr Martin Dusinberre

Dr Martin Dusinberre is Lecturer in Modern Japanese History at Newcastle University. His research focuses on the social and cultural history of Japan from the mid-nineteenth century to the present day. He has published articles on the Japanese nuclear power industry in The Journal of Asian Studies (2011) and on the pre-war Japanese diaspora in Japan Forum (2008). He has also written for The Guardian, Reuters and the History Workshop website. From 2011 – 2012, he is a Visiting Professor at Heidelberg University, where he is starting a new research project on the maritime history of late-nineteenth-century Japan. He was educated at the School of Oriental Studies, Kyushu University and Oxford University, where he completed his DPhil in 2008. Hard Times in the Hometown is his first book.

Professor Janet Hunter

Professor Janet Hunter (discussant) is Saji Professor of Economic History and Head of the Department of Economic History at the London School of Economics and Political Sciences (LSE). Her research interests lie in the economic development of Japan with particular reference to the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Her publications include: The historical consumer: consumption and everyday life in Japan, 1850-2000 (ed. with P. Francks, 2011),Women and the Labour Market in Japan’s Industrialising Economy (2003, Japanese edition 2008) and History of Anglo-Japanese Relations, 1600-2000: Economic Relations (with S. Sugiyama, 2001). She is currently working on the economic impact of natural disasters in Japan, focussing in particular on the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923.

Coriolanus: A Talk by Globe to Globe Festival Director Tom Bird

5 April 2012

4:30 – 5:30pm, followed by a drinks reception to 6:30pm

Daiwa Foundation Japan House

Chiten theatre company brings the first ever Japanese production to Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, a unique event in the history of Japanese art in the UK.

This celebrated company from Kyoto works under the direction of one of Japan’s most imaginative artists, Motoi Miura. Known for its minimalist and avant-garde vision, the company produces an expressive theatre rooted in the exploration of words, sound and the human body. Originally formed in Tokyo, Chiten moved to Kyoto in 2005. Under the directorship of Motoi Miura, the company is particularly celebrated for its highly contemporary stagings of the works of Chekhov.

Coriolanus is Shakespeare’s greatest political play. The competing claims of democracy and aristocracy are conveyed in harsh and stony language and with relentless speed and single-mindedness. At its heart, however, there unfolds a personal tragedy of one man’s emotional blindness.

Coriolanus is one of the productions within Globe to Globe – all 37 of Shakespeare’s plays in 37 different languages in a kaleidoscopic, six-week festival at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. The Globe to Globe Festival starts on 21 April 2012, with Coriolanus being performed by the Chiten theatre company on 21 and 22 May. For more information, visit: http://globetoglobe.shakespearesglobe.com.

Tom Bird, Director of the Globe to Globe Festival at Shakespeare’s Globe, will discuss his job over the last one and a half years of putting together the world’s largest and most ambitious Shakespeare festival – including the challenges, adventures and characters he’s encountered on the way. In particular he will discuss his travels in Japan and the Globe’s relationship with Chiten in a special event held at Daiwa Foundation Japan House.

Tom Bird

Tom Bird is Director of the Globe to Globe Festival at Shakespeare’s Globe. In producing the festival, he has travelled the world from Armenia to Zanzibar in search of Shakespeare. He has worked for the Globe since 2007. Previous employment includes work for the ground-breaking physical theatre festival Aurora Nova at Edinburgh and for a number of music groups, most notably the Northern Sinfonia. Tom’s roots are in the north-east, and as a playwright he is a regular contributor to Live Theatre’s Short Cutsevents in Newcastle. His short play Kaz and the Cootswas recorded for the BBC Radio 3 Free Thinking Festival in 2009. He was educated at the universities of Edinburgh and Copenhagen.

BOOKING FORM

Principles of Beauty and Form in Japanese Architecture

28 February 2012, from 6.30 pm

The Japan Foundation, London

Japanese architecture, whether it is traditional or modern, is believed to share common principles of beauty and forms that are indigenous to Japan. Influenced by and interacted with various landscapes, the principles have been expressed in many architectural structures in Japan.

In this special lecture, Dr Teruaki Matsuzaki, architecture historian, currently teaching at the ICS College of Arts and the Science and Engineering department of Meiji University Tokyo, will introduce the various principles of beauty and form that have informed Japanese architecture over the centuries, showcasing three distinguished types of examples such as “suspended forms” built in the mountains, “floating forms” constructed on the sea, and the form with the concept of “Ma” in the flatland. He will then explore how these principles are also embodied in the most recent Japanese architecture designed by notable architects including Tadao Ando and Kazuyo Sejima, and what pros and cons they may bring.

This event will extend beyond a simple overview, instead promising to delve into what lies at the heart of Japanese architecture, and perhaps go some way to explain what it is that makes it so particularly distinctive.

Venice Carnival 2012

Il Carnevale di Venezia.

Leadership and History in the UK and Japan

24 January 2012

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

Daiwa Foundation Japan House

Organised by the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation

This first seminar in the 2012 series, Leadership: People and Power in the UK and Japan, will draw on examples from history to set the scene for a year-long discussion of leadership issues in both countries. While lack of leadership is a recurring theme in analyses of Japanese politics, the sharing of power in Britain’s coalition government is giving rise to different concerns. The speakers will contextualise such contemporary debates by reflecting on past crises and successes of leadership and the importance of leadership as a force for change. Subsequent seminars will consider the roles that may be played by individuals and organisations in political, corporate and other spheres in influencing the future direction of society.

Rewriting Meiji Women’s History – The New Woman, Modernity and Hasegawa Shigure

20 July 2011 from 6.30pm

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

In this talk, Dr Patessio will challenge the distinction and gap that exists in Japanese women’s historiography between the Meiji ‘good wife and wise mother’ and the Taisho ‘new woman’ by reviewing understanding of late Meiji women’s (in)ability to participate in, and express their opinions on, social and political life. She will also introduce the life-story of Hasegawa Shigure (1879-1941), a female biographer, playwriter, and editor whose activities she has studied in detail as part of her Japan Foundation Fellowship – a marvel of her time who Dr Patessio believes deserves far more recognition than she has hitherto received.

Dr Mara Patessio was a Japan Foundation Fellow in 2010-11 and has been Lecturer in Japanese Studies at the University of Manchester since 2007. Her undergraduate degree at Venice University in Italy was followed by an M.Phil at the University of Cambridge. From 2004 to 2005 she was a JSPS fellow in Japan before she then moved back to Cambridge as a Leverhulme Trust funded Research Associate, working with Professor Peter Kornicki on a project that investigated Edo and Meiji women readers, writers, and their reading practices.Professor Naoko Shimazu will be the discussant for this event – she is Professor in the Department of History, Classics and Archaeology at Birkbeck College, University of London. Her research interests include the cultural history of diplomacy and the social and cultural history of Japanese society.

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.