The Japan Foundation 50th Anniversary Website

Weaving Ties with the World for 50 Years and Onward

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Japan Foundation, we launched a special website titled Weaving Ties with the World for 50 Years and Onward and published a commemorative booklet with the same title. On this website, we look back at the Japan Foundation's 50-year history along with world events and photos from this time period and use a variety of data to unravel the Japan Foundation's programs that extend across the world. We also conducted interviews with people involved in the Japan Foundation programs held at venues around the world and created special feature articles that look closely at the Japan Foundation's past and future. Here, we mainly introduce special feature articles for each program field.

To read the entire articles:
Special website commemorating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of
the Japan Foundation

Souls in Resonance, The Legacy of Japonismes 2018

Japonismes 2018: les âmes en résonance (Souls in Resonance), which marked the 160th anniversary of Japan-France diplomatic relations, was held mainly in Paris in 2018. The Japan Foundation has been focusing on the introduction of Japanese culture and art overseas since its founding, and this large-scale Japanese cultural festival served as the culmination of its efforts. We follow the trajectory of the festival, which was produced on an unprecedented scale, with the Japan Foundation serving as the Secretariat and hosting numerous events.

The Petit Palais in Paris, the venue for the Jakuchū, the Colorful Realm of Living Beings exhibition.

As Japanese-Language Learners are Growing in Asia, Responding to the Diversifying Learning Motives There

People from Asia make up the majority of overseas learners of Japanese. Their motivations for learning also change depending on the various educational policies of each country and its relationship with Japan. You can learn about the Japan Foundation's Japanese-language learning programs that respond to changes in the times and society and the diversifying demands for Japanese-language learning as well as the circumstances of people from various countries who are learning Japanese.

Presentation activities by the 13th batch of Indonesian students of the 2019 Japanese-Language Pre-training Program for Indonesian and Filipino Candidates for Nurses and Certified Care workers under Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA)

"Art involves a struggle to try to learn about other people, ourselves, and to finally create together. That's something that is missing from cultural exchange more generally."

International Collaborative Productions Generate Art through the Process of Working to Understand Different Cultures

Photo: YAKOU Masahiko

"Literature is one of humanity's most sophisticated creations using language. I believe that the act of thoroughly understanding and translating literature written in a foreign language is simultaneously the most difficult and the best form of international exchange."

Ways of Life, Figures of Youth, and Regional Diversity…
Acquiring Deeper Understanding of Different Cultures through Books

American Scholar Revealed the Profound World of The Tale of Genji

Through the Japanese Studies Fellowships program, the Japan Foundation invites scholars and researchers engaged in Japanese studies to Japan and provides them with opportunities to conduct research and studies. We take a look back at the exhibition The Tale of Genji: A Japanese Classic Illuminated at the Japanese cultural festival Japan 2019 (held in the United States in 2019), which was supervised by Harvard University Professor Melissa McCormick, a former Japan Foundation fellow (1995 and 2013).

The banner for the 2019 exhibition The Tale of Genji: A Japanese Classic Illuminated displayed in the main entrance hall of the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Spiritual Recovery through Local Traditions and Culture: Overcoming the Disaster

The Great East Japan Earthquake occurred on March 11, 2011, causing extensive damage in Japan's north-eastern Tohoku region. In the years that have followed this disaster, the Japan Foundation has implemented a wide range of reconstruction assistance projects in the area. Here, we would like to share how the Japan Foundation has been involved in the process of helping local residents connect with the world through international cultural exchange programs, using the traditional culture of the disaster-stricken areas as a source of support.

The transnational collaborative performance and workshop Genealogy of the Lion/Deer Dance at the Sanriku International Arts Festival 2019.
The Sanriku International Arts Festival 2019 Photo: IDA Yuki

"We should not simply impose the Japanese way of doing things. It is important to understand others and to feel that you are also growing through this learning process and are happy with it. I believe that this will lead to international exchange in the truest sense."

"Learning from One Another and Growing Stronger Together"
Bonds with Asia Nurtured through Sports

Photo courtesy of Giravanz Kitakyushu

"I think that Sanriku and Bali are far away from each other and our cultures are completely different, but there is a commonality in our local dances. I would never have realized this if we hadn't joined the exchange."

Spiritual Recovery through Local Traditions and Culture: Overcoming the Disaster