The Activities of the Japan Foundation
Culture: Arts and Cultural Exchange
Introducing Japan’s Rich Arts and Culture to the World
We carry out a variety of attractive projects in a broad range of areas from traditional to contemporary arts, including stage performances, exhibitions, translation and publication, films and television to introduce people around the world to the richness of Japanese arts and culture. Although the ongoing coronavirus crisis makes face-to-face exchanges between people and holding events where people gather difficult, we sought to continue our activities as much as possible while taking measures to prevent infection. We also worked to deliver Japanese culture and arts to an even broader audience and deepen exchanges with people from each country by utilizing online communications.
Holding Large Exhibitions During the Coronavirus Crisis
Between Collectivism and Individualism - Japanese Avant-Garde of the 1950s and 60s Zachęta - National Gallery of Art (Warsaw) 2021
Photo: Jakub Celej / Zachęta Archive, CC BY-SA. 40 International
We successfully held the Between Collectivism and Individualism - Japanese Avant-Garde of the 1950s and 60s exhibition in Poland after two postponements and despite it being a difficult time to hold events. It was the first ever exhibition of a collection of Japanese post-war avant-garde art in the country and attracted almost 40,000 visitors. The exhibition is the fruit of the research that Maria Brewińska, curator of the Zachęta - National Gallery of Art where the exhibition was held, conducted when she visited Japan as one of the recipients of the FY2019 Ishibashi Foundation/The Japan Foundation Fellowship for Research on Japanese Art. Apart from these, we also organized the Rimpa feat. Manga exhibition marking 160 years of Japan-Germany Friendship, and the Japan Pavilion exhibit Co-ownership of Action: Trajectories of Elements at the 17th International Architecture Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia, the first since COVID-19, and received over 170,000 visitors.
International Creations in Performing Arts
Looking Back on Eight International Creations in Performing Arts—Online Talk Session: From the Perspective of Process Observers (February 2022)
Photo: Yuta Hinohara
The International Creations in Performing Arts Program was introduced in the previous year, and in FY2021 it produced eight diverse works of performing arts including plays, musicals, online theater and dance.
To widely disseminate the process of international creation where Japanese and international artists search for new expressions together, and so that the process can be helpful in the planning of future international collaborations, we started a new initiative where a third party acting as an observer records the production process and releases the resulting report. At online symposia held with the observers, we discussed situations surrounding each project and the ideal state of international creation.
International Exchanges Through Books
Books that received grants for translation and publication in FY2021 (a selection) Photo: Yuta Hinohara
HIGASHINO Keigo, Seijo no kyusai [trans: Salvation of a Saint], Finnish edition (Kustantamo Punainen Silakka), KASHIWABA Sachiko, Kimyoji yokocho no natsu [trans: Temple Alley Summer], English edition (Restless Books), MISHIMA Yukio, Kinkakuji [trans: The Temple of the Golden Pavilion], Vietnamese edition (Nhã Nam Publishing and Communications), OE Kenzaburo, Torikae ko [trans: The Changeling], Portuguese edition (Estação Liberdade), YU Miri, JR Ueno eki koen guchi [trans: Tokyo Ueno Station], Italian edition (21lettere), KOSAKAI Fuboku, Shitai rosoku [trans: Body Candles and Other Stories], Arabic edition (Mahrousa Center for Publishing, Press and InformationServices), KOBAYASHI Erika, Toriniti, toriniti, toriniti [trans: Trinity, Trinity, Trinity], French edition (Éditions Dalva), KAWAKAMI Mieko, Natsu Monogatari [trans: Breasts and Eggs], Indonesian edition (Moooi Pustaka), NATSUME Soseki, Wagahai wa neko de aru [trans: I Am a Cat], Albanian edition (OMBRA GVG), TANIZAKI Junichiro, Sasame yuki [trans: The Makioka Sisters] Georgian edition (Diogene Publishers)
We continue to support the translation and publication of Japanese books overseas. In FY2021, we provided grant assistance for 30 translations in 21 countries. Out of those, Temple Alley Summer written by KASHIWABA Sachiko and translated by Avery Fischer Udagawa won the American Library Association's Batchelder Award for outstanding children's book and received a lot of attention.
We also created a "Lifelong Favorites" section of children's books in our Worth Sharing—A Selection of Japanese Books Recommended for Translation list and added 59 Japanese children's books to the section to encourage their translation and publication in various countries.
Another main project of the year is “Writing to Meet You: Letters for Secluded Times”. Three pairs of Japanese and overseas authors wrote about their daily lives during the COVID-19 pandemic and their feelings about creation in essays in the form of bound correspondence, which we published on a website. The exchange of feelings between authors in an age of disconnection drew voices of sympathy that crossed national boundaries.
Japanese Film Screenings Around the World
Opening ceremony of Japanese Film Festival in Malaysia
Japanese Film Festival in Turkey
We held Japanese film screenings in 47 countries and regions with a total of 93,000 audiences despite the significant ongoing impact of COVID-19. Some of the programs were the first screenings after the reopening of movie theaters that had been closed down for a long time due to COVID-19, so they received a lot of coverage from the mass media in their countries as well as the gratitude of audiences and cosponsoring organizations.
Japanese Film Festival in Singapore
At the Japanese Film Festival in Singapore
YAMAZAKI Jun, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Singapore (left) and Kenneth Tan, Chairman of the Singapore Film Society (right)
In Singapore, which commemorated 55 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Singapore this fiscal year, we have held a hybrid Japanese Film Festival (JFF) featuring a combination of screenings at movie theaters and online distribution since FY2020. After the screenings, we used Zoom to hold online Q&A sessions with film-related persons. We also organized programmers' talks and master classes using webinars, all in pursuit of a new kind of film festival that suits the “new normal.”
Japanese Film Website JFF+
Top image on the Japanese Film Website JFF+
At the Japanese Film Website JFF+, we distribute movies from the Japanese Film Festival Online and related events, upload interviews and special features about Japanese films in multiple languages (mainly Japanese and English) and share the appeal of Japanese films from a variety of angles. In FY2021 the website recorded over 1.01 million unique users and approximately 2.97 million page views while the number of subscribers to the site's newsletter rose to around 120,000. https://jff.jpf.go.jp/
Introducing Japanese Television Programs
We implement projects for introducing Japanese television programs that promote an understanding of Japan in countries and regions where there is difficulty in broadcasting and distributing Japanese content. In FY2021, 489 Japanese television programs, including dramas, anime, variety shows, films and documentaries, were broadcast in 76 countries and regions.
Natsuzora: Natsu's Sky
GENIE FAMILY 2020
The Japanese Hospitality Challenge - Bride & Pride Spin off