In this performance inspired by Kengo Kito: Unity on the Hudson, Sachiyo Ito & Company presents classical dances that express reverence for nature. Sachiyo Ito will demonstrate classical dance form and gestures and perform solo contemporary works, “To the Water” and “Memories,” which she choreographed to reflect water, nature, and humanity, accompanied by a poetry reading. Followed by Q&A with the performers.

About Sachiyo Ito & Company

Sachiyo Ito & Company is known for performing and teaching classical dance forms, including Kabuki, Noh, Okinawan Court, and Jiuta-mai, and for presenting contemporary works choreographed by Sachiyo Ito, which preserve the aesthetics of traditional Japanese dance. The Company has performed at Japan Society, Asia Society, and Lincoln Center, among other venues. For more information, please visit dancejapan.com.

About Kengo Kito: Unity on the Hudson

Using more than 2,100 colorful hula hoops, Kengo Kito conceives a monumental, site-specific work symbolizing humanity’s interconnectedness and our relationship with the Hudson River. Unity on the Hudson is the inaugural exhibition of the Hudson River Museum’s transformational new West Wing galleries, which include a cantilevered glass overlook with dramatic, three-sided panoramic views of the Hudson River and the majestic Palisades.

Unity on the Hudson creates an uplifting and memorable space in which to reflect on community and collective action, particularly ongoing efforts to protect the Hudson River ecosystem. Kito notes, “The process of transformation of consciousness through connection is an element that is crucial in the effort to improve the condition surrounding the River . . . environmental issues are the responsibility of not just one singular person but of the community as a whole.”

The exhibition, offered in English, Japanese, and Spanish, includes an interactive area where visitors are invited to contribute their personal stories about interconnectedness and unity.

The artist envisions an immersive experience where visitors walk around and under the multicolored intersecting circles as a metaphor for our bonds with each other and with nature. Curving lines, created by deconstructing and reconnecting different hoops, flow throughout the galleries like water, heightening our awareness from one point, ourselves, to something larger—expansive, yet fluid and intertwined.

The exhibition runs through Sunday, September 24. To learn more, please visit Hudson River Museum’s website.

About Kengo Kito

Kengo Kito received a BFA from Nagoya University of Fine Arts and Music in 2001 and completed his postgraduate studies at Kyoto City University of Fine Arts and Music in 2003. In addition to his work as an artist, he is currently Associate Professor at Kyoto University of Art and Design.

Unity on the Hudson is a triumphant return to New York for Kito, who had a residency and a dynamic show at the Brooklyn campus of Long Island University in 2009. The artist first showed a hula hoop installation in 2021 at Japan House, Los Angeles; this is the first time one of his hula hoop environments has been exhibited on the East Coast.

Susan McCormac 7/26/23 Susan McCormac 7/26/23

NowHere Gallery to Exhibit Works by Yoichiro Yoda

Yoichiro Yoda: The Crossing

Thursday, July 27 through Sunday, August 27

Opening Reception: Thursday, July 27 from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m.

NowHere – 40 Wooster Street (between Grand and Broome Streets)

Admission: Free

SoHo gallery NowHere will host the exhibition The Crossing with recent artworks by New York-based Japanese painter Yoichiro Yoda.

About the Artist

Born in Kagawa, Japan, and raised in New York City, Yoichiro Yoda is an artist who is driven by fixations and obsessions. Like a storyteller of mythic tales, he has created an entire cosmology from the topics, places, and people that prey on his mind. This pantheon includes everything from old movie palaces to the stately days of luxury sea travel to George Washington and his legendary deeds to a young woman Yoda met once at a theater years ago. By deploying these things across his paintings—by bringing them to life—Yoda shows us the topology of a world of his own creation.

*The Long Room (Fraunces Tavern)* by Yoichiro Yoda

Compressing History

In Yoda’s reality, history is compressed, manipulated, and adorned. The eras of silent films and the Revolutionary War live side-by-side here, connected at first by the tenuous fibers of simply being paintings by the same artist. But as we see the work all together, we find common thematic concerns. Nostalgia, for one thing, is prominent. But it’s an uncanny sort of nostalgia in which things feel slightly off, misremembered, or interpreted to the point of being just strange enough that mere sentimentality, a pitfall of much nostalgia, is left behind.

Unique Sense of Humor

Yoichiro Yoda, in some ways, lives in different times at once. His loving offerings to the memories of New York’s grand movie theaters of the past, crossed with his thoroughly contemporary comics work, in which we are treated to his quite unique sense of humor, are both of our era and not. For Yoichiro Yoda, the world is haunted by the ghosts of then and now. Learn more about Yoda at his website.

Space is limited at the opening reception, so please reserve your spot through NowHere’s Eventbrite page.

*Eliza’s Birthday Party* by Yoichiro Yoda

About NowHere

NowHere is a hub for emerging Japanese artists. The focus of the SoHo gallery is on creatives who come from Japan to New York City, whether for a visit or to stay. They feature work from a broad spectrum of media, from digital to fashion, culinary arts to photography, and everything in between. NowHere is dedicated to building community and expanding their artists’ networks.

NowHere is open Wednesday through Sunday from 11:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. No appointment required.

For more information, please visit NowHere’s website.

Susan McCormac 7/26/23 Susan McCormac 7/26/23

Shoko Nagai at Barbès

Shoko Nagai's TOKALA

Friday, July 28 from 8:15 p.m. until 9:30 p.m. (Doors open at 8:00 p.m.)

Barbès – 376 9th Street, Brooklyn

Suggested Donation: $20

Shoko Nagai's TOKALA explores the captivating sounds that bridge the ancient bond between Japan and the Middle East through the Silk Road. This remarkable cultural exchange has left an indelible mark on Japanese culture. Through the music of TOKALA, we are invited to appreciate and understand the enduring connection between the Far East and the rich Islamic world of the Middle East.

Shoko Nagai (center) performs with Satoshi Takeishi (percussion) and Frank London (trumpet) at Barbès in March

PERFORMERS

Shoko Nagai – Accordion, Voice, Piano
Satoshi Takeishi – Percussion
Frank London – Trumpet

No ticket is needed for entry, but Barbès staff will collect donations during the performance.

Shoko Nagai is a 2023 NY Foundation for the Arts Fellow in Music/Sound and a 2023 M³ (Mutual Mentorship for Musicians) Fellow. Learn more about her unique musical journey, please visit her website.

Shoko Nagai (center) with Frank London (left) and Satoshi Takeishi

Susan McCormac 7/24/23 Susan McCormac 7/24/23

Japanese Enka at The Red Pavilion

Tokyo Boogie Night

Thursday, July 27 from 7:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. (Doors open at 7:00 p.m. with music beginning at 7:30 p.m.)

The Red Pavilion Brooklyn – 1241 Flushing Avenue, Brooklyn

Admission: $10 in advance | $15 at the door

Join the Red Pavilion for the first and only Tokyo Boogie Night in New York City dedicated to vintage Japanese enka, jazz, boogie, and blues featuring Kuni Mikami and the Tokyo Boogie Band! Celebrate Japanese culture, music, and dance with a unique, nostalgic 1960s twist.

Kuni Mikami and the Tokyo Boogie Band

Kuni Mikami – Keyboards
Asako Takasaki – Vocals
Frank Han – Vocals
Daisuke Konno – Drums
Bonz Sato – Sax
Tomoya Ogawa – Guitar

About Kuni Mikami

Japanese jazz pianist Kuni Mikami came to New York in 1975 and has performed at major jazz clubs and concert halls. Mikami toured in jazz legend Lionel Hampton’s band, and he played with the Duke Ellington Orchestra at Birdland. In 2003, he and mime performer Haruka Moriyama created “iMimenation.” He is the author of two jazz piano instructional books in Japanese. Learn more at his website.

This event welcomes guests 21 and older. There is a one-drink minimum for table service.

To purchase tickets, please visit Tock.com.

Susan McCormac 7/24/23 Susan McCormac 7/24/23

JAPAN CUTS Film Festival Returns to Japan Society

JAPAN CUTS: Festival of New Japanese Film

Wednesday, July 26 through Sunday, August 6

Japan Society – 333 E. 47th Street (between 1st and 2nd Avenues)

Admission: $18 Nonmembers | $14 Japan Society Members | $16 Seniors and Students

Japan Society presents 16th annual JAPAN CUTS: Festival of New Japanese Film, its first fully in-person JAPAN CUTS since 2019. The largest festival showcasing contemporary Japanese cinema in North America, this year’s JAPAN CUTS takes place from July 26 through August 6 and features more than 25 films. From major blockbusters to indie darlings, narratives, documentaries, experimental and short films, and anime, the festival truly celebrates the breadth of Japanese cinema.

There will be five International Premieres, ten North American Premieres, seven U.S. Premieres, three East Coast Premieres, and three New York Premieres. Six special guests and two parties are also on the schedule. One of the special guests is acclaimed actor Yuya Yagira, who will receive the JAPAN CUTS 2023 CUT ABOVE Award for Outstanding Achievement in Film for his role in the festival’s Centerpiece film, Under the Turquoise Sky by director KENTARO. Yagira has starred in more than 50 films and television series, and with his performance as the lead role in Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Nobody Knows, he became the youngest actor ever to win the Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival.

To purchase tickets, please visit Japan Society’s website. Great news for JapanCulture•NYC members! Japan Society is generously offering a 15% discount for all screenings. If you are a JapanCulture•NYC member, you’ll receive a special discount code via email. Not a member yet? It’s easy! Simply go to JapanCulture-NYC.com to register!

JAPAN CUTS Full Schedule

Wednesday, July 26

The First Slam Dunk – 7:00 p.m. SOLD OUT
Dir. Takehiko Inoue | 2022 | 124 min. | Japanese with English subtitles | With Shugo Nakamura, Jun Kasama, Shinichio Kamio, Subaru Kimura, Kenta Miyake
East Coast Premiere. Winner of the Japan Academy Film Prize for Best Animation of the Year. SLAM DUNK is a beloved manga which was serialized from 1990-1996 and has sold m 170 million copies globally. THE FIRST SLAM DUNK marks original manga creator Takehiko Inoue’s directorial debut and is the first new feature-length film from the iconic franchise in 33 years. The film follows Shohoku High School basketball team point guard Ryota Miyagi (Shugo Nakamura) as he takes the stage at the Inter-High School National Championship, and the pressure to challenge the reigning champions is on! Can Ryota and his teammates defeat the imposing Sannoh Kogyo High School?
Followed by Opening Night Party

Thursday, July 27

SHORT CUTS Program 1 – 3:30 p.m.
Flashback Before Death
Dir. Rii Ishihara and Hiroyuki Onogawa | 2022 | 30 min. | Japanese with English subtitles | With Rii Ishihara, Masatoshi Kihara, Hanae Seike
North American Premiere. The directorial debut of composer Hiroyuki Onogawa—best known for his collaborations with Sogo (Gakuryu) Ishii starting with August in the Water (1995)—and his wife, Rii Ishihara, Flashback Before Death is a cryptic and eerie short composed of disassociated flashbacks that follow a young man’s return home in 1930s Japan.

Silent Movie
Dir. Masamichi Kawata, Satoru Hirohara, and Hiroshi Gokan | 2022 | 56 min. | Japanese with English subtitles | With Ichiro Kataoka, Hiroaki Kawaguchi, Ikuhiko Aoyama
International Premiere. Nine students and three alumni from Tokyo University of the Arts’ Film Department create eleven silent films spanning samurai tales, mysteries, thrillers, animation, and even giant monsters. See the next generation of filmmakers play with cinema’s past. All films narrated by renowned benshi storyteller Ichiro Kataoka.

JOO5311 – 6:00 p.m.
Dir. Hiroki Kono | 2022 | 93 min. | Japanese with English subtitles | With Kazuaki Nomura, Hiroki Kono
International Premiere. Winner of the Grand Prize at the 2022 Pia Film Festival, this impressive bare-bones debut feature by actor-turned-director Hiroki Kono (Special Actors) follows 26-year-old salaryman Kanzaki (Kazuaki Nomura) as he attempts to leave Tokyo for an unidentified location hours away. Unable to go by taxi, he solicits the help of a petty thief (Kono) to drive him in exchange for ¥1 million in cash—a mysterious offer with grim implications. A deeply affecting minimalist road movie that makes daring use of long takes, handheld camera work and silence—written, directed, edited and co-starring Kono—J005311 is low-budget independent filmmaking par excellence.

Best Wishes to All – 9:00 p.m
Dir. Yuta Shimotsu | 2023 | 89 min.| Japanese with English subtitles |. With Kotone Furukawa
North American Premiere. What would you do for happiness? Director Yuta Shimotsu answers in his feature film debut. Executive produced by Takashi Shimizu (creator of Ju On: The Grudge) and starring Kotone Furukawa (Berlinale Silver Bear winner for Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Wheel Of Fortune And Fantasy), Best Wishes to All follows a young woman’s visit to her grandparents’ home and her discovery of what’s brought them happiness—a revelation that will lead her to question her choices, sanity, and reality itself. Best Wishes to All starts slow and builds to a frantic, manic, and disturbingly satisfying end.

Friday, July 28

SHORT CUTS Program 2 – 3:30 p.m.
Detouring Blue
Dir. Ryo Kimura | 2023 | 24 min. | Japanese with English subtitles | With Saori Mori, Mai Hikagedate, Ami Kamimura
New York Premiere. In the dark of the Tokyo night, two women talk about their past, their youth, and their dreams. Beautifully shot and told with vivid colors, Detouring Blue looks at the wistfulness of the past, the weight of the present—and if who we were can ever be who we are today.

Okamoto Kitchen
Dir. Gerald Abraham | 2023 | 12 min. | English | With Cristina Vee.
East Coast Premiere. A crowd-funded anime from LA’s very real Japanese fusion comfort food truck Okamoto Kitchen, JAPAN CUTS presents the start of this global project blending Japanese and Western talent to create a unique cross-cultural flavor. Featuring character designs by Takuya and Asusa Saito, key art by anime studio Magic Bus, music by Layla Lane, and starring voice actress Cristina Vee.

Setagaya Game
Dir. Go Ohara and Ken Ohara | 2022 | 40 min. | Japanese with English subtitles | With Reiji Takahashi, Akari Natsume, Sho Iizaka.
International Premiere. Big action on a little budget, brothers Go and Ken Ohara bring together years of stunt and action directing experience to tell the tale of Takeru (Reiji Takahashi) and the deadly game he’s forced to play. The clock is ticking for him to save a life, but is the game really what it seems?

I Am What I Am – 6:00 p.m.
Dir. Shinya Tamada | 2022 | 105 min. | Japanese with English subtitles | With Toko Miura, Atsuko Maeda
North American Premiere. Thirty-year-old Kasumi (Toko Miura in her first starring role since Drive My Car) works at a call center and lives at home with her family, often pestered by her worrisome mother who desperately wants her to get married, even going so far as to set up an omiai, or arranged marriage interview, to marry her off. The reality is that Kasumi cannot harbor romantic feelings for others. Aided by her cheerful and equally outsider friend Maho, played by the ever-charming Atsuko Maeda, Kasumi simply desires to live without the rigid gender roles and expectations that dictate how young women should submit themselves to constructed ideals of love and marriage. An anti-rom com by any measure, I Am What I Am is a liberating departure from the conceit that romantic love equates happiness and a life fulfilled.

Plastic © 2023 Nagoya University of Arts and Sciences

Plastic – 9:00 p.m.
Dir. Daisuke Miyazaki | 2023 | 104 min | Japanese with English subtitles | With An Ogawa, Takuma Fujie, Kyoko Koizumi
Q&A with director Daisuke Miyazaki.
International Premiere. Decades after the breakup of their favorite band Exne Kedy and the Poltergeists (a fictional project by artist Kensuke Ide and producer You Ishihara of Yura Yura Teikoku fame), music obsessives Jun and Ibuki (An Ogawa, Heaven Is Still Far Away) bond over their mutual love for the ‘70s glam rock band, falling deeply in love in the process. But as difficulties arise in their dreams and priorities, the couple break apart. The surprise announcement of an Exne Kedy reunion, however, brings promise of a new tomorrow. The latest from director Daisuke Miyazaki (Tourism), Plastic is a life-affirming jolt to the system, celebrating the cosmic power of music and the joys of growing up and falling in love in a charming and heartfelt coming of age tale.

Saturday, July 29

Father of the Milky Way Railroad – Noon
Dir. Izuru Narushima | 2023 | 128 min. | Japanese with English subtitles | With Koji Yakusho, Masaki Suda, Nana Mori
U.S. Premiere. Virtually unknown as a writer in his lifetime, the poet and novelist Kenji Miyazawa (1896-1933) is among Japan’s most read and beloved authors of children’s stories. This moving biopic—based on the best-selling, Naoki Prize-winning novel named after Miyazawa’s most famous story—traces the genius writer’s brief but amazing life through his relationship with his loving father Masajiro (Koji Yakusho), a successful pawnbroker and modern man of the Meiji era who struggles to keep up with his eccentric son’s ambitions. A wonderfully heartfelt tribute to the “Hans Christian Andersen of Japan,” played with gusto by Masaki Suda (Teiichi: Battle of Supreme High).

I Am a Comedian – 3:30 p.m.
Dir. Fumiari Hyuga | 2022 | 108 min. | Japanese with English subtitles | With Daisuke Muramoto
North American Premiere. After winning a 2013 manzai competition with his partner (performing together as Woman Rush Hour), standup comedian Daisuke Muramoto begins using his act to address politically verboten social issues such as nuclear disasters and Zainichi Korean discrimination. Before long, the pair’s television opportunities disappear—a consequence of the widely understood but unwritten rule that comedians making political comments in Japanese media are simply “not tolerated.” In this intimate documentary, director Fumiari Hyuga (Tokyo Kurds) follows Muramoto for three years as he continues to challenge the status quo as a comedian while facing the added challenges of his father’s disapproval and a worldwide epidemic.

Tokyo Melody: A Film about Ryuichi Sakamoto – 7:00 p.m. SOLD OUT
Dir. Elizabeth Lennard |1985 | 62 min. | 16mm | Japanese, English, and French with English subtitles | With Ryuichi Sakamoto, Akiko Yano
Opening comments by Akiko Yano; Screening followed by a Q&A with Director Elizabeth Lennard.
Imported 16mm Print. Filmmaker and photographer Elizabeth Lennard secures unprecedented access to Ryuichi Sakamoto during the recording of his 1984 album Ongaku Zukan in this brief-yet-insightful Franco-Japanese television co-production. A sampling of studio sessions and performances (including a piano duet with then-wife Akiko Yano), archival footage and talking head interviews, Tokyo Melody finds the eccentric artist at his creative peak, pushing the envelope to new sonic frontiers as he reflects on modern life, shifting technologies and his own creative processes. Lennard captures an awe-inspiring portrait of the extraordinary musician—one that taps into the very nature of the artist’s raison d’être and remains a testament to Sakamoto’s profound brilliance.

Hand – 9:00 p.m.
Dir. Daigo Matsui | 2022 | 99 min. | Japanese with English subtitles | With Akari Fukunaga, Daichi Kaneko
North American Premiere. Since her youth—and not-so-subtly informed by her own father—25-year-old Sawako (Akari Fukunaga) has had a deep curiosity about older men. Sawako’s observations and liaisons are humorous and amusing even as her fascination manifests into a scrapbook of candid photos of unassuming older “happy” men. Adroitly adapting Nao-Cola Yamazaki’s novel of the same name, Hand engages headfirst with female desire, male fragility, and self-discovery through the eyes of its witty and mild-mannered protagonist. Belonging to a string of new pinku productions celebrating 50 years of Nikkatsu’s Roman Porno, Daigo Matsui’s charming erotic tale stays true to the softcore label’s legacy (most notably, a requisite sex scene every ten or so minutes) while refreshingly modernizing its roots.
This film is unrated but not recommended for audiences under 18 years of age due to strong sexual content.

Sunday, July 30

Sanka: Nomads of the Mountain – Noon
Dir. Ryohei Sasatani |2022 | 77 min. | Japanese with English subtitles | With Kiyohiko Shibukawa, Rairu Sugata, Naru Komukai
North American Premiere. A stirring 1960s-set coming-of-age drama that confronts societal progress and development in Japan’s mountainous regions, Sanka: Nomads of the Mountain focuses on the life of young Norio, a Tokyo transplant who has come to live in his grandmother’s village. Living under the shadow of his strict and demanding father, Norio befriends a group of Sanka, a wandering people, who reside in the foothills beyond his home. Beautifully shot and bolstered by compelling performances, Sanka‘s human drama delivers a melancholic and moving reflection on the societal conflicts and turmoil prevalent in postwar Japan, while also depicting the struggles of a nomadic tribe when its way of life is threatened by the onset of modernity.
Winner of the JAPAN CUTS Award at the 2022 Osaka Asian Film Festival

Single8 – 2:30 p.m.
Dir. Kazuya Konaka | 2022 | 113 min. | Japanese with English subtitles | With Yu Uemura, Akari Takaishi
New York Premiere. After seeing Star Wars for the first time in the summer of 1978, high schooler Hiroshi (Yu Uemura) can’t stop thinking about the film’s famous opening shot of a Star Destroyer entering the frame. This obsession eventually leads him to propose making a film with his classmates for their summer festival group project, a sci-fi love story called “Time Reverse.” But will his crush Natsumi (Akari Takaishi) accept the lead role? A nostalgic, feel-good comedy that hearkens back to director Kazuya Konaka’s salad days as a student filmmaker, Single8 celebrates youth, creativity, and the life-changing possibilities of cinema.

The Legend and Butterfly © 2023 THE LEGEND & BUTTERFLY Production Committee

The Legend & Butterfly – 5:30 p.m. SOLD OUT
Dir. Keishi Otomo | 2023 | 168 min. | Japanese with English subtitles | With Takuya Kimura, Haruka Ayase
Introduced by and followed by a Q&A with director Keishi Otomo.
North American Theatrical Premiere. A sweeping historical romance created to celebrate Toei’s 70th anniversary, The Legend & Butterfly casts megastars Takuya Kimura as Oda Nobunaga and Haruka Ayase as his wife, Nohime. While Oda Nobunaga is one of Japan’s most well-documented historical figures, virtually no information about Nohime remains, and The Legend & Butterfly fills this mystery with a turbulent, thoroughly modern romance. A Sengoku era take on the expression “behind every great man lies a great woman,” The Legend & Butterfly sees more than 30 years of defining moments in Japanese history driven by powerful, private moments between Nobunaga and Nohime.

Tuesday, August 1

Amiko – 6:00 p.m.
Dir. Yusuke Morii | 2022 | 104 min. Japanese with English subtitles | With Kana Osawa, Arata Iura, Machiko Ono
North American Premiere. This remarkable debut from director Yusuke Morii is set in the mountainous vistas of a provincial coastal town brimming with day-to-day excitements for oddball grade-schooler Amiko, whose endless imagination fixates on insects, schoolyard crushes and even the mole on her mother’s chin. Despite her good intentions, Amiko is often misunderstood, remaining at odds with family and classmates who find her strange and whimsical ways off-putting. Featuring a truly captivating breakthrough performance by newcomer Kana Osawa—one that recalls the tour-de-force resilience of Tomoko Tabata in Moving—and a score by popular folk musician Ichiko Aoba, Amiko is charged with a palpable sense of childhood wonderment that consistently finds new and surprising ways of seeing the world, even in the face of tragedy and misfortune.

Wandering – 9:00 p.m.
Dir. Sang-il Lee | 2022 | 150 min. | Japanese with English subtitles | With Suzu Hirose, Tori Matsuzaka
U.S. Premiere. A sprawling account of the alleged kidnapping of a nine-year-old young girl by a university student and the years-long repercussions of the event, Wandering delves into the gray area of the circumstances in question. Fifteen years after their initial encounter, Sarasa runs into her accused captor Fumi, bringing forth a deluge of memories and recollections. Based on the novel by Yu Nagira, Wandering dwells on challenging ethical and moral complexities with director Sang-il Lee (Villain, Rage) offering no easy answers in this compelling, thought-provoking drama.
Recommended for mature audiences.

Wednesday, August 2

Saga Saga – 6:00 p.m.
Dir. Aimi Natsuto | 2023 | 114 min. | Japanese with English subtitles | With Rena Matsui, Sae Okazaki, Sara Kurashima
U.S. Premiere. After a brief stint as an actress in Tokyo, 28-year-old Kyoko (Rena Matsui) returns to her hometown in Saga Prefecture, Kyushu. Before long she meets Nahoko (Sae Okazaki), an eccentric young woman who introduces herself as a fan but is secretly stalking Kyoko. She also meets Anna (Sara Kurashima), a high school student under the care of her deceased mother’s best friend, whom Kyoko unwittingly learns is her half-sister. What connects these three lonely women, they soon discover, is more than just coincidence but a shared history of family trauma. An elegant, ambitious, and complex sophomore feature by writer/director Aimi Natsuto (Jeux de plage).

Winny – 9:00 p.m.
Dir. Yusaku Matsumoto | 2023 | 127 min. | Japanese with English subtitles | With Masahiro Higashide, Takahiro Miura, Hidetaka Yoshioka
North American Premiere. In this thrilling procedural based on true events, Masahiro Higashide (Asako I & II) plays real-life computer programmer Isamu Kaneko, inventor of the peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing program Winny, released in 2002. After Winny users are arrested for illegally uploading games and movies, Kaneko is apprehended by the Kyoto Prefectural Police department under dubious circumstances with the charged crime of intentionally “proliferating piracy” and abetting the violation of copyright laws. Recognizing the implication of Kaneko’s unjust arrest on Japan’s future computer engineers, Toshimitsu Dan (Takahiro Miura), a lawyer specializing in cybercrime, takes on the unprecedented case.

Thursday, August 3

When Morning Comes, I Feel Empty – 6:00 p.m.
Dir. Yuho Ishibashi | 2022 | 76 min. | Japanese with English subtitles |With Erika Karata, Haruka Imou, Kazuma Ishibashi
Followed by a Q&A with Director Yuho Ishibashi.
International Premiere. A delicate and gentle drama, Yuho Ishibashi’s sophomore effort softly envelops the viewer into the day-to-day life of part-time konbini worker Nozomi, charmingly played by Asako I & II’s Erika Karata. Living a simple, carefree life, Nozomi’s preoccupations include tending to home repair, awkwardly chatting with younger coworkers under the humdrum of convenience store Muzak, and stocking shelves—as well as the occasional late shift. A chance encounter with a former junior high classmate reconnects her to the world and through subtle intimations, Nozomi’s past unfolds, detailing her professional career as an overworked corporate assistant. A sensitive exploration of vying for one’s own happiness, When Morning Comes, I Feel Empty is a deeply humanizing affirmation that a fulfilling life can exist outside of societal pressure and expectation.
Winner of the JAPAN CUTS Award at the 2023 Osaka Asian Film Festival

Convenience Story – 9:00 p.m.
Dir. Satoshi Miki | 2022 | 97 min. | Japanese with English subtitles | With Ryo Narita, Atsuko Maeda
New York Premiere. Stuck in a rut as a deadbeat screenwriter with a reputation for unoriginal “male fantasy films,” Kato (Ryo Narita) struggles to find inspiration for his next script. That is, however, until a supernatural occurrence at a konbini transports him to an alternate dimension where he meets young, pretty Keiko (Atsuko Maeda) and her eccentric, classical music-obsessed husband. Will they provide the creative spark he needs? This latest offbeat fantasy from Satoshi Miki (It’s Me, It’s Me) takes a playful jab at the filmmaking industry and its surreal absurdities, co-scripted by longtime Japan Times film critic and writer Mark Schilling.

Friday, August 4

Under the Turquoise Sky Centerpiece Film & Party – 7:00 p.m. SOLD OUT
Dir. KENTARO | 2021 | 95 min. | Japanese and Mongolian with English subtitles | With Yuya Yagira, Amra Baljinnyam, Akaji Maro
Introduction and Q&A with Director KENTARO and Actor Yuya Yagira; Followed by Centerpiece Party.
U.S. Premiere. An international co-production bringing together a Japanese, Mongolian, French, Australian, and Chilean team, Under the Turquoise Sky from director KENTARO follows the spoiled Takeshi (played by Japanese star Yuya Yagira) who is sent out to the Mongolian countryside by his wealthy grandfather (legendary actor and Butoh master Akaji Maro). Together with his Mongolian guide (Mongolian leading man Amra Baljinnyam), Takeshi’s travels lead to stunning vistas, profound mysteries, and personal growth. A lush road movie with touches of the surreal, Under the Turquoise Sky casts a spell with humblingly beautiful directing, acting and cinematography.
The screening is followed by the Centerpiece Party.

“I believe that life is also like a road movie. Like life itself, the magic of a road movie is that you do not know where it takes you. The saturated primary colors of the Mongolian landscape serve as an example, like a reticent mentor of deep simplicity, in contrast to the protagonist Takeshi’s habitual materially rich and modern, yet monochromatic lifestyle. The landscape thus serves as a supporting “actor,” confirming the necessary presence of Amra in guiding Takeshi through an almost-shamanic rite of passage to finally understand his destiny.” —KENTARO
Under the Turquoise Sky is the recipient of the FIPRESCI International Film Critics Award

Saturday, August 5

The Fish Tale – Noon
Dir. Shuichi Okita | 2022 | 139 min. | Japanese with English subtitles | With Non, Yuya Yagira, Kaho
East Coast Theatrical Premiere. Director Shuichi Okita (Mori, The Artist’s Habitat) paints a whimsical portrait of very real celebrity fish expert Masayuki Miyazawa (called Meebo in the film). The Fish Tale follows Meebo’s ichthyological obsession from the rough waters of their initial years as an outcast to a rising tide of friends, family, and celebrity. Inspirationally, actress Non is cast in the lead male role, and her outsider energy enchants every frame of the film. Quickly, heartfelt, and oddball, Non delivers a joyous performance that makes it impossible not to get caught in the net of Meebo’s fish fixation.

Under the Turquoise Sky Encore Screening – 3:30 p.m. SOLD OUT
Introduction and Q&A with Director KENTARO and Actor Yuya Yagira

© People Who Talk to Plushies Are Kind Film

People Who Talk to Plushies Are Kind – 6:30 p.m.
Dir. Yurina Kaneko | 2023 | 109 min. | Japanese with English subtitles | With Kanata Hosoda, Ren Komai, Yuzumi Shintani
U.S. Premiere. An adaptation of the Ao Omae novella of the same name, People Who Talk to Plushies are Kind is a warm and comforting alternative to the typical youth film. Concentrating on a trio of college students, Plushies tracks their extracurricular immersion into the student-run Plushies Club. A safe haven for withdrawn and sensitive youths who prefer the company of stuffed animals, the students find differing qualities in the reflective space as director Yurina Kaneko confronts issues of masculinity, gender, and acceptance in contemporary society.

From the End of the World – 9:30 p.m.
Dir. Kaz I Kiriya | 2023 | 135 min. | Japanese with English subtitles | With Aoi Ito, Katsuya Maiguma, Aya Asahina | Special cameo by Shunji Iwai
U.S. Premiere. Kazuaki Kiriya’s first feature film in eight years is the story of the final two weeks of the planet Earth and the young girl (Aoi Ito) who has the power to save it. The imaginative director of Casshern and Goemon returns to the big screen with a film ripe with his trademark daring visuals and a mind- and time-bending narrative. From the ancient past to the far future, From the End of the World is a science fiction feast both deeply intimate and epic in scale that traces the ley lines of dreams, destiny, and a young girl’s heart.

Sunday, August 6

MONDAYS: See you “this” week! – Noon
Dir. Ryo Takebayash | 2022 | 83 min. | Japanese with English subtitles | With Wan Marui, Makita Sports
North American Premiere. Live. Work. Repeat. Akemi Yoshikawa (Wan Marui) pulls an all-nighter to finish an important project for a client, only to find herself working on this same project again and again. Akemi soon understands she’s stuck in a time loop, and the only way out is to convince all her co-workers and boss (played by the prolific Makita Sports) of the time-bending situation they’re in. A zany, fast-faced comedy filled with twists, turns and PowerPoints.

The Three Sisters of Tenmasou Inn – 2:30 p.m.
Dir. Ryuhei Kitamura | 2022 | 150 min. Japanese with English subtitles | With Non, Mugi Kadowaki, Riku Hagiwara
U.S. Premiere. In this supernatural tearjerker adapted from the manga by Tsutomu Takahashi, the waystation between life and rebirth is a traditional Japanese ryokan by the sea called Tenmasou Inn. When Tamae (Non) arrives there after a car accident leaves her body in a coma, she is greeted by Nozomi (Yuko Oshima), the inn’s polite proprietress, and laid-back Kanae (Mugi Kadowaki)—half-sisters that Tamae never knew she had. Despite protestations from the irascible matriarch Kyoko (Shinobu Terajima), the effervescent Tamae starts working at Tenmasou, taking time to process her liminal state while discovering the history she shares with her sisters, including their absent father.

Susan McCormac 6/12/23 Susan McCormac 6/12/23

The Festival of Japan: Drums + Dance

The Festival of Japan: Drums + Dance
Presented by The Japanese Folk Dance Institute of New York

Saturday, June 17 at 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, June 18 at 2:00 p.m.

Abrons Arts Center Playhouse Theater – 466 Grand Street (between Pitt and Willett Streets)

Admission: $25 ($30 Door) | $20 Seniors | $15 Students

The Japanese Folk Dance Institute of New York celebrates its 30th anniversary with The Festival of Japan: Drums + Dance, a collaborative dance performance between JFDINY’s own dance ensemble Minbuza, accompanied by world renowned taiko ensemble Sukeroku Taiko from Japan.

Powerful taiko performances will be weaved throughout a full repertoire of more than one thousand years of folk dance, including “Tsugaru Aiya Bushi” (umbrella and fan dance from Aomori) and “Onikenbai” (demon-masked sword dance from Iwate that is on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage List).

Tsugaru Shamisen Singer/Player Yuzu Natsumi will also join as a special musical guest.

For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit JFDINY’s website.

Susan McCormac 6/7/23 Susan McCormac 6/7/23

Klavierhaus to Spotlight Japanese Pianists

Love Letter from Japan

Wednesdays in June at 6:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Klavierhaus – 790 11th Avenue (between 54th and 55th Streets)

Admission: $25 in advance | $30 at the door

Klavierhaus, New York City’s premier fine piano showroom, presents some of the finest Japanese pianists in the world this June.

Produced by Jim Luce and Charles Carlini, the series promises to be a month-long celebration of the deep musical and cultural ties between Japan and New York City.

Each Wednesday in June, with sets at 6:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., you can witness some of the most talented Japanese pianists in New York City, showcasing their unique styles and sounds to create an unforgettable musical experience.

Grab your tickets now at Klavierhaus’s website and immerse yourself in the captivating sounds of Japanese jazz pianists. JapanCulture•NYC.com members will receive a special promo code for a $5 discount. Not a member? Join now by clicking here.

Love Letter from Japan Lineup

June 9 – Miki Hayama

Grammy-nominated pianist Miki Hayama studied jazz piano with the renowned jazz pianist Sadayasu Fujii in Kyoto and came to New York in 2003 after graduating from the Osaka College of Music. She has toured and/or recorded with Roy Hargrove, JD Allen, Kenny Garrett, Vincent Herring, Christian McBride, Ralph Peterson, Greg Osby, Mark Shim, and others. She is featured in a rare solo piano setting at Klavierhaus at 7:30 p.m.

June 14 – Yayoi Ikawa

As a composer and arranger, Yayoi Ikawa received commissions from Modern Music Society of Tokyo, the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, and Montreal-based sculptor David Baumflek. She is a veteran of bands led by Reggie Workman, Michael Carvin, Howard Johnson, Michal Urbaniak, Butch Morris, Craig Harris, Lenny Pickett, Frank Lacy, Lonnie Plaxico, Fostina Dixon, and others. She is featured in a rare solo piano setting at 6:00 p.m.

June 21 – Toru Dodo

Grammy-nominated pianist Toru Dodo was born in Tokyo and started playing classical piano at age four. In 1995, after graduating Meiji University in Tokyo, he attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston and graduated summa cum laude in 1998. Following his graduation from Berklee, Dodo moved to New York. Dodo has released five solo albums, all produced by legendary guitarist Yoshiaki Masuo for the Japanese label Jazz City Spirits. He has performed with Kenny Garrett, Benny Golson, Curtis Fuller, Louis Hayes, Ruth Brown, and Terumasa Hino, among others. At this concert, he will be joined by special guest singer Alicia Olatuja.

June 28 – Miki Yamanaka

Japanese-born pianist Miki Yamanaka has called New York City home since 2012 and in the past decade has wasted no time establishing herself as one of the leading personalities of her generation on the piano and beyond. Critics laud her “light, expressive touch and solidly crafted, mainstream approach” (Mike Jurkovic in All About Jazz), while audiences delight in not only her playing, but her vibrant personality as well. Yamanaka has gained international recognition from her albums as a leader; her most recent and most intimate release, Stairway to the Stars, features Jazz masters Mark Turner and Orlando le Fleming. Additionally, Yamanaka has emerged as a leader of the New York Scene via her notable residencies at mainstay West Village sister clubs Smalls and Mezzrow. During the pandemic, she developed a successful in-home live-streaming weekly concert series titled “Miki’s Mood,” where she features a veritable who’s who of NYC talent (including her husband and frequent collaborator, drummer Jimmy Macbride). The series showcases her vast knowledge of Jazz standards and tunes, often featuring themed offerings of various composers from both the Great American Songbook as well as iconic Jazz composers.

“Our Japanese Jazz Piano Series is a celebration of the deep musical and cultural ties between Japan and New York City. We are thrilled to bring together some of the most talented Japanese pianists in the city to share their unique musical perspectives with audiences."
— Jim Luce

About the Series

The Japanese Jazz Piano Series is the inaugural event of the new weekly Klavierhaus Wednesday Night Concert Series, which features curated sets of today’s most interesting pianists in jazz today. It is a must-see event for anyone who loves jazz music. Whether you're a longtime fan of Japanese jazz or simply looking for a night of great music, this series promises to deliver an unforgettable experience.

Susan McCormac 6/6/23 Susan McCormac 6/6/23

Oscar Oiwa to Exhibit METROPOLIS at NowHere

Oscar Oiwa METROPOLIS

Thursday, June 8 through Sunday, July 16
Opening Reception: Thursday, June 8 from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m.

NowHere – 40 Wooster Street (between Grand and Broome Streets)

Admission: Free

SoHo gallery NowHere will host the exhibition METROPOLIS with recent artworks by Japanese Brazilian artist Oscar Oiwa.

Oscar Oiwa has special attachments to numerous cities. These places—Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo, Paris, and New York—deeply inform his art and the logic behind it. In this exhibition’s large-scale piece Zeus, for example, we see three of these cities writ large by Oiwa. These fantastical versions of each place are rendered, in marker, in hyper-realistic fashion. The proximity between the real and the unreal is the life of the piece, and it reflects the experience of intimately knowing a favorite city, where memory, reality, dream, and geography all collide.

The Olympic games, with their connections to both the ancient and the contemporary worlds, were also a catalyst for Zeus. The games take over a city, present it to the world, recontextualize it, and compel its citizens to reevaluate their hometown. For Oiwa, the Olympics have both positive and negative impacts on their host cities. This ambivalence plays out in his work.

Gods and mascots. In a show that evokes both Zeus, the thunderbolt-wielding patriarch of the fearsome Greek Olympians, and Sam the Olympic Eagle, the cheery representative of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, Oiwa levels the importance of the two. We might wonder whether any similarities might exist between them. Is a god merely a form of mascot? Might mascots find themselves elevated to the position of gods? In the art of Oscar Oiwa, anything seems possible.

To learn more about Oiwa, please visit his website.

About NowHere

NowHere is open Wednesday through Sunday from 11:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. No appointment required.

For more information, please visit NowHere’s website.

Susan McCormac 6/6/23 Susan McCormac 6/6/23

KAGAMI by Ryuichi Sakamoto and Tin Drum

KAGAMI

Tuesday, June 13 through Sunday, July 2
Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays at 12:30, 2:00, 3:30, 5:00, 6:30, and 8:00 p.m.
Fridays and Saturdays at 12:00, 1:30, 3:00, 4:30, 6:00, 7:30, and 9:00 p.m.
Sundays at 12:00, 1:30, 3:00, 4:30, 6:00, and 7:30 p.m.

The Shed – 545 West 30th Street (between 10th and 11th Avenues)

Admission: $38 | $33 Seniors and Students

Created by legendary composer, producer, artist, and environmental activist Ryuichi Sakamoto (Yellow Magic Orchestra, The Last Emperor, The Revenant) and Tin Drum, KAGAMI represents a new kind of concert, fusing dimensional moving photography with the real world to create a never-before-experienced mixed reality presentation. Audiences will wear optically transparent devices to view the virtual Sakamoto performing on piano alongside dimensional art aligned with the music.

KAGAMI, which translates to “mirror” in Japanese, features Sakamoto playing ten original compositions including well-known works “Energy Flow” and “Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence,” along with rarely played pieces, such as “The Seed and the Sower.” Presented in surround sound, the experience will be both collective and individual, inviting observers to connect to the work—and each other—throughout. While audiences may view the show in a seated format, they will also be free to wander and explore during the hour-long event.

To purchase tickets, please visit The Shed’s website.

Important Note

The mixed reality headsets used in KAGAMI will not fit comfortably over prescription eyewear. Guests requiring vision correction should wear contact lenses if able to do so. A limited number of corrective lenses will be available, but these do not guarantee perfect vision correction. Headsets are not approved by the manufacturer for use by children under the age of 14, and children under that age will not be permitted.

About Ryuichi Sakamoto

Ryuichi Sakamoto was a composer, producer, artist, and environmental activist born in Tokyo, making his debut in 1978 with the album Thousand Knives. Sakamoto’s diverse résumé includes pioneering electronic works in the legendary techno group Yellow Magic Orchestra and producing globally inspired pop albums and numerous classical compositions, two operas, and nearly 45 original film scores for directors, including Bernardo Bertolucci, Pedro Almodóvar, Brian De Palma, and Alejandro González Iñárritu. His film soundtracks have won prestigious awards, including an Academy Award and two Golden Globes. Sakamoto’s activism was widespread and included various environmental conservation efforts and promoting denuclearization and world peace. After 3.11 in Northeastern Japan, he became a strong voice of support for the victims of the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdown in Fukushima.

Sakamoto made considerable contributions to the art world with both solo and collaborative installations and multi-piece exhibitions presented in galleries and museums worldwide. Most recently, M WOODS (Beijing) presented the largest and most comprehensive collection spanning 30 years devoted to Sakamoto’s artworks in various media, centering around eight large-scale sound installations.

In 2017, the documentary Ryuichi Sakamoto: CODA (Stephen Nomura Schible) was released, coinciding with the release of his renowned 14th solo album, async. Additionally, Sakamoto presented unique performances at the Park Avenue Armory (NYC), later released worldwide as the film Ryuichi Sakamoto: async Live at the Park Avenue Armory.

Premiering at the Holland Festival 2021, Sakamoto and longtime collaborator Shiro Takatani presented a new theater piece, TIME. TIME continues to tour the world, bringing the artist duo’s last collaboration to longtime and new fans alike.

On January 17, 2023, his 71st birthday, Sakamoto released 12, his 15th solo album. The new album is a collection of 12 songs selected from musical sketches Sakamoto recorded like a sound diary during his two-and-a-half-year battle with cancer.

Ryuichi Sakamoto passed away in March 2023.

There is, in reality, a virtual me.
This virtual me will not age, and will continue to play the piano for years, decades, centuries.
Will there be humans then?
Will the squids that will conquer the earth after humanity listen to me?
What will pianos be to them?
What about music?
Will there be empathy there?
Empathy that spans hundreds of thousands of years.
Ah, but the batteries won’t last that long.
— Ryuichi Sakamoto, 2023

The making of KAGAMI. Photo courtesy Tin Drum.

About Todd Eckert

Todd Eckert was first published as a music journalist at age 14 and became an editor of the US national OnlyMusic Magazine at 17. He produced the award-winning feature film Control about Ian Curtis, the lead singer of Joy Division. In 2012, he joined the mixed reality technology group Magic Leap and served as director of content development before leaving to found Tin Drum in 2016. Eckert directed Marina Abramovic in The Life, which premiered in 2019 as the world’s first mixed reality, large-scale public performance.

About Tin Drum

Tin Drum is the world’s premier studio producing content for mixed reality devices. Founded in 2016 by Todd Eckert, this collective of artists, engineers, designers, and technologists blends uniquely dimensional form with the real world to create experiences impossible through other media. The results are without modern precedent and are changing the definition of engagement in recorded performance. Tin Drum creates content in collaboration with world-renowned artists, creators, and performers. In partnership with Christie’s, Tin Drum was the first to sell a mixed reality production at auction.

Susan McCormac 5/9/23 Susan McCormac 5/9/23

Celebrate NYC-Japan Friendship at 2nd Annual Japan Parade

Japan Parade

Saturday, May 13 from 1:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m.

Central Park West from 81st Street to 67th Street

Admission: Free

The second annual Japan Parade in New York City will be held on Saturday, May 13, beginning at 1:00 p.m. Starting on Central Park West at West 81st Street and traveling south to West 67th Street, the parade will celebrate, express, and bring awareness of the friendship between New York City and Japan with a thank you from the Japanese community. Olympic Gold Medalist Kristi Yamaguchi will be the Parade’s Grand Marshal. Former NY1 reporter Sandra Endo, current news correspondent on KTVV Los Angeles, Fox 11 News, and a feature reporter for Good Day LA, will serve as Emcee.

Official Japan Parade poster by art contest winner Gary Bitsicas

This year’s Japan Parade will feature a live performance by the cast of The 2.5-Dimensional show from Japan, “Live Spectacle ‘NARUTO.’” NARUTO is one of the most internationally recognized and popular manga series of all time. The franchise has sold more than 250 million copies worldwide to date. Written and illustrated by creator Masashi Kishimoto, NARUTO was first published in Shueisha’s magazine Weekly Shonen Jump in 1999, where it was serialized and ran for 15 years.

ⒸMasashi Kishimoto, Scott/SHUEISHA/Live Spectacle “NARUTO” Production Committee 2022

JAPAN Fes at Japan Parade

Concurrently with the Japan Parade, the Japan Street Fair will be held on W. 72nd Street, between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue.

The Japan Street Fair will feature tents offering entertaining and educational cultural activities including calligraphy, water balloon yo-yo fishing, origami, photo opportunities, and a giveaway. In collaboration with JAPAN Fes, one of the largest organizers of Japanese food festivals in the world, hosting more than 20 Japanese food fair events a year in New York City, the Street Fair will also feature about 20 tents serving authentic Japanese food. The latest information on Japan’s many tourist destinations will be made available at other tents, and as with last year, there will also be a tent where visitors can donate to charitable causes that support victims of the ongoing war in Ukraine and the recent earthquake in Turkey and Syria. The Japan Street Fair is your chance to experience a Japanese festival, or matsuri, unlike any other.

“I am truly honored to act as Grand Marshal for this year’s Japan Parade. My Japanese heritage is something I’m proud of and I’m happy to celebrate the goodwill of our relationship with Japan and the engagement and solidarity with the Japanese American community.”
—Kristi Yamaguchi

Participating groups include Anime NYC, COBU (Drum), Harlem Japanese Gospel Choir, International Karate Organization Kyokushinkaikan, The Japanese Folk Dance of NY, Katsura Sunshine (Rakugo Comedian), Midori & Friends (Music Education Group), Soh Daiko (Drum), TATE Hatoryu NY (Sword Fighting), Yosakoi Dance Project 10tecomai, Young People's Chorus of NYC, and many more.

The Diamond Sponsors of this year’s Japan Parade (as of April 5) include All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd., Hisamitsu America, Inc., Japan Airlines Co., Ltd., and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, Limited. The Platinum Sponsors include ITOCHU International Inc., Marubeni America Corporation, Mitsubishi Corporation (Americas), Mitsui & Co. (U.S.A.), Inc., Nomura America Foundation, Sumitomo Corporation of Americas Foundation, and Tokio Marine America.

"The Japan Parade is a huge 'Arigato!' from the Japanese community to New York City," says Honorary Chairman, Ambassador Mikio Mori, the Consul General of Japan in New York. "It will be the second annual celebration of Japanese culture and the many vibrant connections between Japan and this great city. We plan to outdo the inaugural parade in terms of marchers, contents, and food tents all highlighting the uniqueness of Japan, while also solidifying with Asian communities during AAPI Heritage Month. We hope that these festivities bring the Japanese and all of New York City even closer together, adding to our friendship for generations to come.”

“After the huge success of last year’s inaugural Parade, we are very excited to be back in New York City for our second year, demonstrating the diversity and pride of the Japanese community,” said Japan Parade Executive Producer Kumiko Yoshii. “Last year, we had a crowd of over 20,000 with approximately 2,400 participants, marching down Central Park West. We look forward to building on this success and showcasing more groups from New York and Japan. We especially want to thank our sponsors and supporters, without whom this event would not be possible.”

Japan Parade 2022 Folk Dance Institute.jpg

Japan Parade 2022 Young Peoples Chorus.jpg

Japan Parade 2022 Sailor Moon blowing kisses.jpg

Japan Parade 2022 Sachiyo Ito and Company.jpg

Japan Parade 2022 wedding procession.jpg

“The Japan Parade’s utmost goal is to be a foundation to forge new connections, and to be an inspiration to strengthen existing relations between Japan and the United States, as well as between the Japanese American community and the people of New York City,” said Japan Day Chairman of the Board of Directors, Daisuke Ugaeri, who represents the notable Japanese and Japanese American companies that make up the Japan Day Inc. Board of Directors. “To that end, I am humbled and empowered by the invaluable support of our sponsors, the trust placed in us by our parade participants, and the tireless efforts of our staff and volunteers who all truly believe in the good our event is capable of achieving. It is my greatest hope that all who visit, experience, and immerse themselves in Japan Parade 2023 will not only enjoy themselves to the fullest, but also walk away with a newly cultivated or renewed appreciation of the unique wonder and beauty of Japanese culture.”

Go early to enjoy the street fair and grab a spot along the parade route. Enjoy a full day of Japanese culture at Japan Parade! For more information, please visit Japan Parade’s website.

About Kristi Yamaguchi

Kristi Yamaguchi captured the gold medal in figure skating at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France. She is also a two-time World Champion and US National Champion. Yamaguchi is a member of the US Figure Skating Hall of Fame, the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame, and the US Olympic Hall of Fame. She recently received the USOPC Jesse Owens Olympic Spirit Award for “serving as a powerful force for good in society.”
Following a long and successful career in professional figure skating, which included ten years of touring with Stars On Ice, Yamaguchi took to the dance floor to win the mirror ball trophy with partner Mark Ballas in season six of the popular TV show *Dancing With The Stars*.
In 1996, she founded Kristi Yamaguchi’s Always Dream, whose mission is to give children from low-income families access to high-quality books in the home environment. The organization aims to close the opportunity gap and digital divide with an innovative, family engagement literacy program. For her work with her Always Dream organization, Yamaguchi received the 2019 Heisman Humanitarian Award.
In 2012, Yamaguchi added New York Times Best-Selling author to her list of achievements by introducing her first children’s picture book, *Dream Big, Little Pig!*, and then following up with *It’s a Big World, Little Pig!* and *Cara’s Kindness*. Kristi resides in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, two-time US Olympian and Stanley Cup Champion, Bret Hedican, and their daughters, Keara and Emma.

About Sandra Endo

Sandra Endo is a television news correspondent on KTTV Los Angeles, Fox 11 News. Endo covers breaking news in feature reports for a Good Day LA. Prior to moving back to her hometown of Los Angeles, Endo spent most of her career on the East Coast a political reporter, host, and anchor for NY1. She covered a wide array of campaigns, the transit strike of 2005, and the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Later, as a Washington, DC-based reporter for CNN, Endo’s stories appeared on primetime shows such as AC 360 with Anderson Cooper. She reported on the devastating tsunami and earthquake that struck Japan in 2011, as well as the international conflicts in Egypt and the US involvement in Libya.

Endo is a second-generation Japanese American whose grandfather was interned during WWII. She believes it is important to teach her two young children their cultural heritage to keep traditions alive and to learn from the past.

About Japan Day

Japan Day Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, is the primary organizer of the Japan Day @ Central Park festivals since 2007 and of the Japan Parade and the Japan Street Fair since 2022. Japan Day Inc.’s activities are made possible by the support of the local leading Japanese American companies that compose Japan Day Inc.’s Board of Directors; the Consulate General of Japan in New York; and all the individuals, organizations, and companies that sponsor, donate, or volunteer and be a part of this great celebration.

Susan McCormac 5/5/23 Susan McCormac 5/5/23

JAPAN SOCIETY’S KODOMO NO HI

Children's Day: Kodomo no Hi

Sunday, May 7
Session 1: 10:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.
Session 2: 1:00 p.m. until 3:00 p.m.

Japan Society – 333 E. 47th Street (between 1st and 2nd Avenues)

Admission: $15 | $10 Japan Society members | Free children ages 2 and under and Cool Culture members

Carp streamers flying can only mean one thing: Children’s Day is here!

Share the joy of childhood as Japan Society celebrates Japan’s national holiday packed with fun for the whole family. Every child is a star as they pose with life-sized samurai armor displays and take to the stage in a popular sword-fighting workshop led by Kyo Kasumi from TATE Hatoryu NY. Families will also be captivated by the beauty of traditional Japanese dance through an enchanting performance by Sachiyo Ito & Company.

Children can design their own koinobori carp streamer and wearable origami kabuto helmet. The excitement doesn’t end when you leave: There will be take-home craft kits for you to continue the fun at home!

For more information and to register, please visit Japan Society’s website.

Looking to deepen your understanding and appreciation of Japanese culture? Look no further than JapanCulture•NYC's membership program!
As a member, you'll gain access to exclusive content about events, workshops, and resources that will immerse you in the fascinating world of Japanese art, cuisine, history, and more. Whether you're a seasoned Japanophile or just beginning to explore this rich cultural tradition, our membership program offers something for everyone. From crafting classes to kimono-wearing workshops, from sake tastings to film screenings, you'll discover new facets of Japanese culture and connect with like-minded individuals who share your passion.
So why wait? Sign up for our membership program today!

Susan McCormac 5/5/23 Susan McCormac 5/5/23

“WITH THE DEAD” AT GREEN-WOOD

With the Dead: A Performance by Eiko Otake

Saturday, May 6 from 3:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m.
Sunday, May 7 from 11:00 a.m. until noon

Green-Wood Cemetery – 500 25th Street, Brooklyn

Admission: Free

With the Dead is a place-inspired performance conceived and performed at Green-Wood Cemetery by acclaimed movement-based, interdisciplinary artist Eiko Otake. It is presented in conjunction with Mother, her installation in Green-Wood’s Historic Chapel. In it, through video and sculpture, Otake converses and dances with her mother, who died in 2019. Beginning in the Historic Chapel and leading participants outdoors, the artist considers what the dead might want from the living and whether through performing she could practice as well as learn about her own dying.

For more about Eiko Otake, please visit her website.

“We all came from a mother, even if some people never met their mothers. From their own birth, mothers contain all the eggs that they will ever have in life. We have been formed from unmeasurable time. Remembering or imagining a mother’s life and body is also to reflect on our own life and body, and beyond.”
— Eiko Otake

The dramaturg for With the Dead is Iris McCloughan.

This event is free, but registration required. To register, please visit The Green-Wood Historic Fund’s Eventbrite page and select your preferred date. Consider making a donation to The Green-Wood Historic Fund so that they can continue to offer free and low-cost programs throughout the year.

Susan McCormac 5/5/23 Susan McCormac 5/5/23

METROGRAPH HOSTS SAKAMOTO RETROSPECTIVE

Ryuichi Sakamoto: A Celebration

Friday, May 5 through Thursday, May 18

Metrograph – 7 Ludlow Street (between Canal and Hester Streets)

Admission: $17

Metrograph, the iconic New York City cinema, presents a film celebration of the late Ryuichi Sakamoto, one of the most innovative and influential composers of the 20th century. The retrospective, which runs from May 5 through May 18, is a fitting tribute to a true iconoclast who helped shape the sounds of modern music and film.

Sakamoto first gained recognition as a founding member of the Japanese electronic music group Yellow Magic Orchestra in the late 1970s. He later went on to establish a successful solo career, producing a wide variety of music that blended elements of classical, rock, and electronic styles. His groundbreaking work on film scores, which began with his collaboration with director Nagisa Oshima on the 1983 film Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, in which he also starred opposite David Bowie and Takeshi Kitano, earned him worldwide acclaim.

The Metrograph retrospective features a selection of Sakamoto's most memorable film scores, including his collaborations with legendary filmmakers such as Bernardo Bertolucci, Pedro Almodóvar, Jun Ichikawa, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, and Alejandro G. Iñárritu. In addition to Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, screenings include The Last Emperor, for which Sakamoto won an Academy Award for Best Original Score; the experimental biopic Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis; and The Revenant, which marked Sakamoto’s return to film composition after throat cancer treatments.

On Sunday, May 14, Metrograph is hosting a special Q&A session with and writer Sadie Rebecca Starnes and Sakamoto's long-time collaborator, filmmaker Stephen Nomura Schible, who directed the 2017 documentary Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda. The documentary, which explores Sakamoto's life and career, features interviews with the composer and his collaborators, and provides a fascinating insight into his creative process.

Don't miss your chance to celebrate the life and work of Ryuichi Sakamoto at Metrograph. For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit Metorgraph’s website.

Select Films

The Revenant

Saturday, May 6 at 1:00 p.m.
Wednesday, May 10 at 4:00 p.m.

Dir. Alejandro Iñárritu
2015 | 156 min.

Electronic experimentalist Sakamoto may have seemed an unusual choice to score a Western set on the 1820s frontier, but Iñárritu’s choice to have him do so paid off dividends. Triumphantly returning to film composition after treatment for throat cancer, Sakamoto, in collaboration with Alva Noto and Bryce Dessner of The National, created a grandly glacial soundscape to accompany Leonardo DiCaprio’s gravely wounded fur trapper Hugh Glass on his agonizing, hallucinatory mission of vengeance, towards a climactic confrontation with rival Tom Hardy that unleashes a terrible, glorious burst of aural violence.

The Last Emperor

Saturday, May 6 at 9:00 p.m.
Sunday, May 7 at 1:15 p.m.
Tuesday, May 9 at 6:15 p.m.
Thursday, May 11 at 4:00 p.m.
Wednesday, May 17 at 3:45 p.m.

Dir. Bernardo Bertolucci
1987 | 163 min.

Sakamoto, his work featured alongside that of David Byrne and Cong Su, composed nine of the 15 original pieces on the soundtrack of Bertolucci’s film, a dazzlingly lavish, non-linear biopic on the decadent early life, love, and ignoble exile of Pu Yi (John Lone), China’s last ruling emperor, much of it shot on location in Beijing’s Forbidden City. A meeting between traditional Chinese instrumentation and contemporary avant-garde sensibilities, Sakamoto, Byrne, and Su’s soundtrack would win Best Original Score at the 60th Academy Awards.

Tony Takitani

Friday, May 5 at 4:45 p.m.
Saturday, May 6 at 4:10 p.m. and 7:15 p.m.
Sunday, May 7 at 1:00 p.m. and 5:20 p.m.
Monday, May 8 at 9:15 p.m.
Tuesday, May 9 at 7:15 p.m.
Wednesday, May 10 at 9:30 p.m.
Thursday, May 11 at 7:15 p.m.

Dir. Jun Ichikawa
2004 | 75 min.

Based on a short story by Haruki Murakami, Ichikawa’s graceful, coolly elegant film tells the story—with the help of a drily detached third-person narrator—of the lonesome existence and sudden romantic awakening of its title character (Issey Ogata), who finds happiness in married life after years of isolation, with his only complaint that his lovely wife, Eiko (Rie Miyazawa), has a passion for designer clothes that threatens to drive a wedge between them . . .

A sublimely sensitive work of sly social commentary, newly restored, with Ryuichi Sakamoto’s delicate score adding subtle emotional shading.

Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence

Friday, May 12 at 4:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 13 at 12:30 p.m.
Thursday, May 18 at 6:45 p.m.

Dir. Nagisa Ōshima
1983 | 123 min.

Sakamoto’s first film score was for Ōshima’s taut World War II-set drama in which the musician also starred as Captain Yonoi, the bushido code-obsessed commandant of a Japanese POW camp in occupied Java who enters a war of wills with unbreakable South African internee David Bowie, a conflict fraught with repressed, forbidden lust. In addition to proving himself a commanding, focused screen actor, Sakamoto delivered a plaintive, haunting score of delicate synths expressing the characters’ unspoken desires, its glass harp-sampling title track becoming a minor radio hit when matched with lyrics by David Sylvian and released as “Forbidden Colours.”

Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis

Friday, May 12 at 6:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 14 at 9:15 p.m.
Wednesday, May 17 at 9:00 p.m.

Dir. John Maybury
1998 | 87 min.

Derek Jacobi stars as Francis Bacon in John Maybury’s experimental biopic of the revolutionary painter, inspired by the authorized biography The Gilded Gutter Life of Francis Bacon and employing distorted visuals that approximate the tormented grotesquerie of the subject’s canvases, which focuses on Bacon’s tumultuous relationship with his penny-ante East End hoodlum muse George Dyer (a pre-Bond Daniel Craig, in his breakthrough role). Sakamoto’s drone and noise-heavy score adds immeasurably to the overall sense of disgust and disorientation in a film that endeavors not just to recap the facts of Bacon’s life, but to filter them through his anguished vision.

Ryuichi Sakamoto: CODA

Sunday, May 14 at 6:50 p.m.
Wednesday, May 17 at 6:45 p.m.
Thursday, May 18 at 9:20 p.m.

Dir. Stephen Nomura Schible
2017 | 100 min.

A precious glimpse into the creative process of the late synth-pop star, film composer, and activist Ryuichi Sakamoto, Stephen Nomura Schible’s deeply affecting film picks up with its introspective subject as he returns to music-making after having been diagnosed with cancer, channeling his new awareness of his mortality into his latest work.

Q&A with director Stephen Nomura Schible and writer Sadie Rebecca Starnes on Sunday, May 14th

Susan McCormac 4/28/23 Susan McCormac 4/28/23

The Films of Shinji Somai at japan society

Globus Film Series—Rites of Passage: The Films of Shinji Somai

Friday, April 28 through Saturday, May 13

Japan Society – 333 E. 47th Street (between 1st and 2nd Avenues)

Tickets: $15 | $12 seniors and students | $10 Japan Society members
Screening of Typhoon Club + Opening Night Party: $18/$15/$14

Japan Society is presenting the first North American retrospective on Japan’s foremost cineaste of the 1980s with the 2023 Globus Film Series Rites of Passage: The Films of Shinji Somai. Beginning Friday, April 28 with the sold-out world premiere of the 4K restoration of Typhoon Club this series spotlights director Shinji Somai, who is widely lauded in his native Japan but remains largely unrecognized in the West.

Series highlights include pop idol Hiroko Yakushimaru’s breakthrough Sailor Suit and Machine Gun—with screenings of both the theatrical and 1982 (kanpeki-ban) complete version; the North American Premiere of the 4K Luminous Woman restoration; and imported, archival prints of both Somai’s epic maritime tragedy The Catch and the pop-inflected Tokyo Heaven.

“A major figure in Japanese cinema, Shinji Somai’s recognition and influence are rarely discussed outside of Japan,” said Alexander Fee, Japan Society’s Film Programmer, “this series offers a special chance to rediscover one of Japan’s greatest filmmakers, whose formative works established a unique approach to filmmaking that continues to inspire the current generation today.”

Read Criterion Collection’s look at this series here.

*Sailor Suit and Machine Gun* ©1981 Kadokawa Corp.

About Shinji Somai

A pioneering filmmaker during what is oftentimes referred to as the “lost decade” of Japanese cinema, Somai came to prominence during the 1980s—a time when the nation’s film industry found itself in flux, perturbed by the collapse of the Japanese studio system in the previous decade. This transitional period would lead to the rise and development of independent productions, leaving Somai to serve as a crucial bridge into the post-studio era. Characterized by his demanding work ethic and innovative use of long takes, Somai forged a unique identity, working predominantly within the genre trappings of seishun eiga (youth films) and directing some of the era's most original and enduring works, five of which comprise Kinema Junpo's critics list for the best Japanese films of all time.

Somai’s acclaimed oeuvre encompasses an eclectic mix of generic and stylistic conventions, ranging from Kadokawa pop idol vehicles to Nikkatsu’s Roman Porno to independent art dramas—all underpinned by the filmmaker’s potent evocation of adolescence. Documenting the tempestuous rigors of youth, Somai’s output would remain a persistent influence on filmmakers to come—from Shunji Iwai and Shinji Aoyama to Kiyoshi Kurosawa and Ryusuke Hamaguchi. Somai’s frequent depictions of bodies of water—including torrential downpours and typhoons—parallel the emotional turbulence and volatility of youth, externalizing the alienating depths of growing up in an increasingly chaotic world.

Screening Schedule

Friday, April 28

Typhoon Club with Opening Night Party at 7:00 p.m.
Dir. Shinji Somai | 1985 | 115 min. | Japanese with English subtitles
With Youki Kudoh, Yuichi Mikami, Yuka Onishi

World Premiere of 4K Restoration. Shinji Somai’s beloved cult film Typhoon Club is widely heralded as the director’s seminal feature, considered to be one of the greatest Japanese films ever made. Offering a caustic immersion into the lives of disaffected junior high students on the cusp of adulthood, Typhoon Club features a lively cast of young talent—including idol Youki Kudoh (The Crazy Family, Mystery Train)—facing existential intrigues, budding sexuality, and rising social tensions in the days leading up to a typhoon’s arrival. Stranded in their schoolhouse as the storm settles in, the group undergoes an awakening as they dispel all—insecurities, fear, and desire—under the swell of the tempest. A Cinema Guild release.

Please note: This screening and Opening Night Party are SOLD OUT. Recently acquired by Cinema Guild, future release plans for Typhoon Club along with Somai’s 1983 postmodern road movie P.P. Rider are in the works, so if you can’t attend the April 28 show, you’ll have a chance to see it soon! Plus, there are nine screenings of six other Somai films in this Globus Film Series that you won’t want to miss!

Saturday, April 29

P.P. Rider at 2:00 p.m.
Dir. Shinji Somai | 1983 | 118 min. | Japanese with English subtitles
With Tatsuya Fuji, Michiko Kawai, Masatoshi Nagase

Based on a story by Leonard Schrader (The Man Who Stole the Sun), P.P. Rider follows three friends—Jojo, Jishu, and Bruce—who, after witnessing the kidnapping of their class bully, try to rescue their tormentor from the grip of his yakuza captors. Aside from the occasional detour, the trio trail their kidnapped classmate across the country, running into a cast of seedy characters along the way—including a pair of layabout cops and a wiry, washed-up gangster played by Tatsuya Fuji (In the Realm of the Senses). Playful and referential, Somai’s farcical seishun eiga employs a variety of stylistic techniques and gags to offer an escapist summer fantasy of carefree misadventures in turn broaching a darker undercurrent despite its tongue-in-cheek demeanor. A Cinema Guild release.

Love Hotel at 5:00 p.m.
Dir. Shinji Somai | 1985 | 88 min. | Japanese with English subtitles
With Minori Terada, Noriko Hayami

Echoes of the past reverberate when an ex-call girl and a debtor meet two years after the desperate and fateful night that first brought them together. An existential study of two lonely and tortured souls, Somai’s torrid pinku eiga follows the pair as they kindle a newfound friendship amid the chaos of their broken and dispirited lives. Somai, who started his career as an assistant director at Nikkatsu in the '70s, would not direct a feature for the studio until Love Hotel. Love Hotel is a melancholic entry into the studio’s legendary Roman Porno catalogue, set against the backdrop of a shimmering neon cityscape and soundtracked by Momoe Yamaguchi’s heartrending crooning.

Sailor Suit and Machine Gun (1982 Complete Version) at 7:00 p.m.
Dir. Shinji Somai | 1981/1982 | 130 min. (Complete), 112 min. (Theatrical) | Japanese with English subtitles
With Hiroko Yakushimaru, Tsunehiko Watase, Akira Emoto

Based on the popular youth novel by Jiro Akagawa, Sailor Suit and Machine Gun focuses on the life of schoolgirl Izumi Hoshi (Kadokawa idol Hiroko Yakushimaru) who inherits the reins of a dying yakuza clan and is thrown headfirst into a gangster feud. Vying for respect in an adult world, Izumi takes charge and challenges the violent drug cartel that threatens her clan. Between Somai’s skillful direction, a hit theme song and Yakushimaru herself—dressed in her iconic sailor fuku—Sailor Suit and Machine Gun had all the makings of a smash hit, emerging as a cultural phenomenon that catapulted Yakushimaru to widespread popularity and perfectly captured the zeitgeist of '80s Japan.

Friday, May 5

Sailor Suit and Machine Gun (Theatrical Version) at 6:00 p.m.

Luminous Woman at 8:30 p.m.
Dir. Shinji Somai | 1987 | 118 min. | Japanese with English subtitles
With Keiji Muto, Monday Michiru, Narumi Yasuda

Monday Michiru will introduce the film!

North American Premiere of 4K Restoration. A burly hulk of a man (pro-wrestler Keiji Muto) makes his way from Hokkaido to the decrepit trash heaps of outer Tokyo, searching for his beloved in what is perhaps Somai’s strangest feature. When he finds himself pulled into the gladiator pits of a Tokyo nightclub, the mountain man agrees to fight in exchange for information on his lost love. Operating within a bizarre carnivalesque realm of tightrope acts, acrobatic jesters and opera, Somai’s magenta-tinged Luminous Woman inhabits a dreamlike Tokyo underworld populated by tragic figures bearing forgotten hopes and dreams.

Friday, May 12

The Catch at 7:00 p.m.
Dir. Shinji Somai | 1983 | 140 min. | Japanese with English subtitles
With Ken Ogata, Masako Natsume, Koichi Sato

Imported 35mm Print. In Somai’s relentless and near-mythical tale of the high seas, a young man takes on the intergenerational calling of his girlfriend’s family—that of a tuna fisherman. Abandoning his father’s vocation, Shinichi (Koichi Sato) turns to his girlfriend’s father, Fusajiro, a leather-faced fisherman played by Ken Ogata, to teach him the ways of the sea but struggles to assimilate to the rugged and callous lifestyle. His doting girlfriend, Tokiko, finds herself caught in a current of emotional devastation as she tends to both men, witnessing the arduous occupation harden and shape Shinichi as he obsesses over mastering his new trade. Playing out as a family tragedy of repeated cycles of trauma and pain, Somai’s maritime odyssey is a modern-day Melvillian epic.

Saturday, May 13

Luminous Woman at 2:00 p.m.

P.P. Rider at 5:00 p.m.

Tokyo Heaven at 7:30 p.m.
Dir. Shinji Somai | 1990 | 109 min. | Japanese with live English subtitles
With Riho Makise, Kiichi Nakai, Tsurube Shofukutei

Imported 35mm Print. Up-and-coming model Yu (Riho Makise) finds her career aspirations abruptly cut off after being run over in a car accident, waking up shortly afterwards in the sweet hereafter. Tricking a heavenly emissary to send her back to earth, Yu returns to a world where she cannot come into contact with those who know of her demise, which includes her lecherous producer, who is attempting to cover up news of her death. Befriending lowly salaryman Fumio (Kiichi Nakai), Yu is given a new lease on life as she finds happiness living—not as a campaign idol but as an ordinary teenage girl. Capturing Tokyo at the tail-end of Japan's Bubble era, Somai’s charming pop fantasy is a lighthearted reflection on the transience of life and the simple pleasures of human connection and existence.

To purchase tickets, please visit Japan Society’s website.

For JapanCulture•NYC Members

Japan Society is offering a discount code exclusively for JapanCulture•NYC members who want to attend the Rites of Passage screenings! That’s right, JapanCulture•NYC has a new membership program, and receiving discounts such as this is one of the benefits. To receive the code for $2 off any General Audience ticket, become a member of JapanCulture•NYC today! (This code for Rites of Passage cannot be used for additional discounts on Student/Senior/Japan Society member tickets.) JapanCulture•NYC membership is only $5 a month! For details and to register, please click here.

Susan McCormac 4/19/23 Susan McCormac 4/19/23

Sakura

Sakura

Saturday, April 22 at 6:00 p.m.

Goldish – 71 Murray Street (between W. Broadway and Greenwich Street)

Admission: $150

Ninja Ballet returns to New York City to grace the intimate space at Goldish, after a whirlwind tour in Mexico. In Sakura, artistic director Shoko Tamai hosts an Earth Day dance theatre celebration of the spring season, along with a traditional Japanese tea ceremony. Light refreshments will be served.

To purchase tickets, please visit Shoko Tamai’s Eventbrite page.

Performing Artists

Choreography — Shoko Tamai
Guest Dancer — Elisa Toro Franky
Shakuhachi — Adam Robinson
Drum (Music Arrangement) — Mal Stein
Artwork — Pedro Cuni
Tea Master — Yoshitsugu Nagano

About Ninja Ballet

Established 2017, Ninja Ballet is a fusion Eastern and Western dance methodology, practice, and performance. The company seeks to stimulate cross-cultural learning and environmental awareness through dance, music, and visual arts, while inspiring a new generation of enlightened movement artists. For more information, please visit their website.

Susan McCormac 4/18/23 Susan McCormac 4/18/23

IFC TO SCREEN A LOOK AT JAPAN’S DYSTOPIAN FUTURE

PLAN 75

Friday, April 21 through Thursday, April 27

IFC Center – 323 6th Avenue at W. 3rd Street

Admission: $17 general | $14 seniors and children

IFC Center presents the U.S. theatrical premiere of PLAN 75, director Chie Hayakawa’s feature film debut in which the lives of three ordinary citizens intersect in a new reality as they confront the crushing callousness of a world ready to dispose of those no longer deemed valuable.

Synopsis

In a near dystopian future, Japan's government launches PLAN 75, a program encouraging the elderly to terminate their own lives to relieve its rapidly aging population's social and economic burdens.

Legendary Japanese actress Chieko Baishō stars as Michi, a 78-year-old who considers signing up for the program after losing her meager but fulfilling hotel job and the means to live independently. A young Plan 75 salesman Himoru (Hayato Isomura) initially believes in the program's benefits and serves as the human face of the program. Maria (Stephanie Arianne), a Filipina care worker living overseas, reluctantly accepts a position with PLAN 75 to send money home to her ailing daughter.

On the surface, the plan and its hawkers exude a kindness that serves as the film's chilling vision of bureaucratic indifference and our increasing loss of interconnectedness. However, Hayakawa’s view is far from grim, as these characters soon learn to reckon with their own lives and what it truly means to live.

"With stinging precision, Hayakawa reveals a culture that seems almost mobilized to destroy its own soul.”
— Slant Magazine
"Chieko Baisho gives a truly magnificent and moving performance.”
— DEADLINE
“Completely surprising and beautiful...marks the arrival of an exciting new writer-director.”
— Vulture

Showtimes

There are four showtimes each day PLAN 75 is screening at IFC Center: 1:45 p.m., 4:25 p.m., 7:10 p.m., and 9:45 p.m.

Q&A with director Chie Hayakawa will take place after the 7:10 p.m. screenings on Friday, April 21 and Saturday, April 22 and after the 4:25 p.m. screening on Sunday, April 23.

To purchase tickets, please visit IFC Center’s website.

About the Filmmaker

Born in Tokyo, Chie Hayakawa studied photography at School of Visual Arts in New York. Her short film Niagara was selected at Cinéfondation/Cannes Film Festival 2014, won the FIPRESCI Award at Vladivostok International Film Festival, and received two Grand Prizes at International Women’s Film Festival in Seoul and PIA Film Festival.

Hayakawa’s short film version of PLAN 75 served as the opening segment of Ten Years Japan, an anthology of five shorts in which five different directors present how they envision Japan will be in ten years. Executive produced by Hirokazu Kore-eda, Ten Years Japan had its world premiere at the Busan Film Festival in 2018, followed by an international festival tour and successful theatrical releases.

Susan McCormac 4/17/23 Susan McCormac 4/17/23

JAA’s 18th Sakura Matsuri

Saturday, April 22 from 11:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m.

Flushing Meadows Corona Park

Admission: Free

The Japanese American Association will hold its 18th Sakura Matsuri at Flushing Meadows Corona Park on Saturday, April 22. The program begins at 11:00 a.m. rain or shine and features performances by taiko drumming group Soh Daiko, the Japanese Folk Dance Institute of New York, the JAA Chorus, and the New York Okinawa Club with Jimpu-Kai New York. In addition, there will be a tea ceremony on the lawn by the Urasenke Tea Ceremony Society. Yours truly is honored to serve as emcee.

Bring a blanket and a bento and enjoy the cherry blossoms! For more information, please visit JAA’s Facebook page.

The History of JAA’s Sakura Trees

Symbolizing the friendship between Japan and the U.S., in 1912 Japan gave a gift of sakura trees the Washington, D.C., as well as 2,000 sakura trees to New York City, thirteen of which were planted in Claremont Park, now Sakura Park. JAA’s “21st Century New York Cherry Blossom Project” began on Arbor Day, April 24, 1992, at City Hall Park. Sakura seeds donated by The Cherry Association of Japan were presented by then JAA President Shigeru Inagaki to Betsy Gotbaum, then Commissioner of New York Parks.

The seeds were nursed in the greenhouses of Van Cortlandt Park, and JAA volunteers planted 168 trees in a design created by the noted landscape artist Kan Domoto with George Yuzawa in 2001. Working in close cooperation with the Flushing Meadows Corona Park staff, JAA has donated and planted hundreds of sakura trees.

2023 Honoree

This year a cherry tree will be planted in honor of Mr. Takeshi "Tak" Furumoto, who was born in a Japanese American internment camp during World War II, was raised in his parents' native Hiroshima after the atomic bombing, returned to the US for college, and eventually served our country in Vietnam. He has dedicated his life to the betterment of the Japanese American community, and this year he was successful in helping the state of New Jersey adopt January 30 as the Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution.

Disclosure: The author is a Vice President of JAA and the chair of the Sakura Matsuri committee.

Susan McCormac 4/17/23 Susan McCormac 4/17/23

Shibutani Book Launch

Tuesday, April 18 from 5:30 p.m. until 7:00 p.m.

Yu and Me Books – 44 Mulberry Street

Admission: Free

Olympic ice dancing medalists Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani will be at Yu and Me Books in Chinatown for the launch of their new book, Amazing: Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Who Inspire Us All.

About the Book

This beautifully illustrated children’s picture book highlights the achievements of many Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders who have made invaluable contributions to the world. Written with journalist Dane Liu and illustrated by Aaliya Jaleel, Amazing’s inclusivity sets it apart in its exploration of thirty-six inspirational AAPI figures, including civil rights hero Daniel Inouye, immigrant astronaut Kalpana Chawla, and biracial entertainer Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

The Shibutanis felt compelled to create a book showing the undeniably positive impacts that Pacific Islanders and Asian Americans have made in this country and around the world. With quick and accessible biographies written with Liu, readers will learn about important figures who have shaped life-altering policy, made indelible marks on pop culture, and achieved their greatest dreams—paving the way for future generations to make lasting change.

“A thoughtful and comprehensive survey of the ways in which Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have shaped, and will continue to shape, the United States. Throughout, the prose is clear, concise, and well crafted, incorporating details that will enthrall young readers.”
—Kirkus Reviews

About the Shibutanis

Maia and Alex Shibutani are two-time Olympic bronze medalists who became the first ice dancing team of Asian descent to medal at the Olympics. Off the ice, the “ShibSibs” are goodwill ambassadors and storytellers who are active on social media. Amazing: Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Who Inspire Us All is their third book; they launched their “Kudo Kids” series of children’s middle grade mystery books in 2020.

About Yu and Me Books

Established by Lucy Yu, Yu and Me Books is the first Asian American female-owned bookstore in New York. A bookstore that’s also a café/bar, Yu and Me focuses on the strong, diverse voices of the AAPI community, with a focus on immigrant stories.

Susan McCormac 4/17/23 Susan McCormac 4/17/23

Akiko tokuoka and the japanese aesthetics of voguing

Akiko Tokuoka was inspired by a non-Japanese person who was inspired by Japan.

Although the New York-based dancer was born and raised in Kyoto—a popular tourist destination and Japan’s cultural hub—she had no formal training in Japan’s traditional arts, such as tea ceremony, calligraphy, and Nihon buyo, traditional Japanese dance.

“I was not familiar with it at all,” she says.

She admits that her home country’s time-honored traditions have always been part of her DNA. But she had to come to New York before she could fully appreciate them.

Early Influences

“I loved Black culture, Black music, hip-hop when I was young,” she says. “When I was 16 years old, I started that kind of dance first.”

Iconic Japanese pop star Namie Amuro, to whom Tokuoka refers as “the Japanese Beyoncé,” was her biggest influence.

“She could really sing and dance well. And I wanted to be like her; that’s the reason I started dancing.”

Tokuoka came to New York to pursue a career in contemporary dance and to learn English. The longer she stayed in New York, however, the more she felt an interest in her country’s traditions awaken within her.

“I realized that I have to learn traditional Japanese things. I have to learn traditional Japanese dance,” she says. “This helped expand my career and my philosophy. I started studying under [acclaimed dancer/choreographer] Sachiyo Ito Sensei in 2010 and learned from her for four or five years.”

However, she never abandoned her original goal of performing in other genres, finding a balance between both worlds.

Scene from WAKASHU by Akiko Tokuoka (far right). Photo by John Mazlish.

Come On, Vogue

Tokuoka went to New York City night clubs, sometimes doing dance battles. She eventually segued from hip-hop to house music, which is characterized by faster beats and more steps. There, she discovered voguing, the Black and Latinx communities’ stylized form of dance that grew out of the LGBTQ ballrooms of Harlem and rose to prominence with Madonna and the 1990 documentary Paris Is Burning.

Almost two decades after the documentary put the spotlight on voguing, Tokuoka found a community among the “houses” that keep the vibrant voguing traditions alive. Going to clubs every week, Tokuoka gradually became familiar with the dancers as well as the dances. She was invited to audition to become a member of the House of Ninja more than 13 years ago, and she’s been a member ever since.

“I really love how they describe Japan through their movements,” says Tokuoka of her House of Ninja partners. “It expands my inspiration, too.”

The “mother” of the House of Ninja, the late Willi Ninja, was inspired by Japan. Known as the godfather of voguing, Willi Ninja is credited with perfecting the dance’s clean lines and poses. He appeared in Paris Is Burning, saying that he wants to take voguing to Japan and have it accepted there.

they’re not as different as you’d think

To the uninitiated, Nihon buyo and vogue may seem like two disparate dance forms. Tokuoka disagrees; she finds many similarities between them.

“To dance with kimono is a totally different thing compared to other dance styles because there is a limitation,” Tokuoka explains.

Because the kimono restricts movement of the legs, Tokuoka says traditional Japanese dancers use their hands a lot and emphasize the angles of the neck and torso.

“That part is voguing dance,” she says. “Voguing dance and dancing in Japanese kimono really match. . . Part of voguing dance is we [go from] pose to pose to pose. Also, when we perform Japanese cultural dance, we look like we’re posing for pictures.”

the birth of wakashu

Tokuoka brought those similarities to life with her show Wakashu: Timeless Beauty of the Third Gender, which premiered at The Secret Theatre in Woodside, Queens, and ran for two nights in mid-November 2022.

With Wakashu, Tokuoka seamlessly blended delicate elements of Japanese culture and energetic voguing to a fluid, beautiful, and expressive performance. She and her fellow dancers—her House of Ninja collaborators Javier Madrid (aka ICONIC Javier Ninja) and John-Deric Mitchell (aka Star Ninja)—wore kimono and hakama, gestured with Japanese fans, performed a tea ceremony, and wistfully watched cherry blossoms in full bloom until their petals scattered to the ground. All the while, they danced to koto and shamisen music, overlaid with house beats, moving powerfully across the stage, striking poses, and blurring the lines between a contemporary dance form and one that’s hundreds of years old.

“I did my best to create a show that has Japanese elements,” says Tokuoka, although she also says she did not “consciously combine” Nihon buyo with voguing. She forms the idea of the show first, and “the choreography comes naturally.”

From concept to stage, Tokuoka spent only three months developing Wakashu. She received a grant from the Queens Council on the Arts in late June and had to present her work before the end of the year. Creating a new work from the beginning, securing a venue, holding rehearsals, and travelling to Japan to attend a wedding after the premiere made for a pressure-packed second half of 2022. But bringing together people who know her as a traditional Japanese dancer and those from her voguing world made it worthwhile.

Teaching japanese people about japanese traditions

“This is my mission. Every time I go back to Japan, they forget [Japanese traditions]. People in Japan don’t notice [Japanese traditions] at all . . . They are chasing other countries’ culture all the time. They love Hollywood movies; they love K-pop. They’re chasing other stuff—that’s what I see—instead of rooting themselves in what they already have.”

Wakashu embodies her mission of reminding her fellow countrymen of Japan’s ancient aesthetics, even with contemporary twists and turns thrown in.

The cast of WAKASHU bows to the diverse crowd

more on akiko tokuoka

When she’s not creating her own productions, Akiko Tokuoka performs with other companies. She appeared in The Brooklyn Nutcracker, which incorporated various world dances into the classical Christmas ballet, and she was a part of the Japanese comedy game show BATSU! New York in the East Village. You can follow Tokuoka on Instagram at @nyc.performanceartist.

Susan McCormac 4/14/23 Susan McCormac 4/14/23

Cards & Collectibles Show

Lo-Zilla Presents: 1st Ever Cards & Collectibles Show

Saturday, April 15 from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.

Moore Catholic High School – 100 Merrill Avenue, Staten Island

Admission: $10 Early Bird from 9:00 a.m. | $7 General Admission from 10:00 a.m.

Event planner Lo-Zilla is hosting its first ever cards and collectibles show at Moore Catholic High School on Staten Island. More than 100 Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Dragon Ball Z, and sports-related vendors will be on hand. Moore Catholic High School will be flooded with cards, plushies, comics, funko pops, and much more! Meet voice actor Emily Cramer and see original artwork by Jeff Brennan.

There will be free Starbucks coffee all day and food available for purchase from The Four Seasons.

Visit Lo-Zilla’s website to register. This is a must-see event for anyone—young and old—interested in these collectibles. Go early and spend the entire day at the Lo-Zilla Cards & Collectibles Show!

About Emily Cramer

Emily Cramer is a voice actor and singer whose work can be heard internationally in commercials, animated television shows, movies, video games, dark rides, and audio dramas.

Her most notable titles are currently Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS, The Winx Club, Bread Barbershop, Battle Game In 5 Seconds, EDF World Brothers, many Yu-Gi-Oh! video games, and Genshin Impact.

Before falling in love with voiceover, Cramer performed for many years in Broadway and national touring productions of Shrek the Musical, Mary Poppins, Les Misérables, and School of Rock. For more information about Cramer, please visit her website.

Hudson River Museum Presents: Japanese Dance by Sachiyo Ito & Company

About Sachiyo Ito & Company

About Kengo Kito: Unity on the Hudson

About Kengo Kito

Yoichiro Yoda: The Crossing

About the Artist

Compressing History

Unique Sense of Humor

About NowHere

Shoko Nagai's TOKALA

PERFORMERS

Tokyo Boogie Night

Kuni Mikami and the Tokyo Boogie Band

About Kuni Mikami

JAPAN CUTS Full Schedule

The Festival of Japan: Drums + DancePresented by The Japanese Folk Dance Institute of New York

Love Letter from Japan

Love Letter from Japan Lineup

June 9 – Miki Hayama

June 14 – Yayoi Ikawa

June 21 – Toru Dodo

June 28 – Miki Yamanaka

About the Series

Oscar Oiwa METROPOLIS

About NowHere

KAGAMI

Important Note

About Ryuichi Sakamoto

About Todd Eckert

About Tin Drum

Japan Parade

JAPAN Fes at Japan Parade

About Kristi Yamaguchi

About Sandra Endo

About Japan Day

Children's Day: Kodomo no Hi

Ryuichi Sakamoto: A Celebration

Select Films

Globus Film Series—Rites of Passage: The Films of Shinji Somai

About Shinji Somai

Screening Schedule

For JapanCulture•NYC Members

Performing Artists

About Ninja Ballet

PLAN 75

Synopsis

Showtimes

About the Filmmaker

The History of JAA’s Sakura Trees

2023 Honoree

About the Book

About the Shibutanis

About Yu and Me Books

Early Influences

Come On, Vogue

they’re not as different as you’d think

the birth of wakashu

Teaching japanese people about japanese traditions

more on akiko tokuoka

Lo-Zilla Presents: 1st Ever Cards & Collectibles Show

About Emily Cramer

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The Festival of Japan: Drums + Dance
Presented by The Japanese Folk Dance Institute of New York