Japan was hit by a natural catastrophe not seen since the Great Hanshin Earthquake which devastated people’s lives. The ferocity of the natural disaster has left its victims without relatives, husbands, wives, parents, pets,all their personal possessions built up over their entire lives,...

Now in its fourth year, Brighton Japan is growing to become the largest annual Japanese cultural festival in the UK. Taking place in a number of major venues across the city for a whole week, the festival features film, theatre, dance, and food. The highlights of the festival are the two...

At the end of the 19th century, a craze for all things Japanese spread across the Western world. After two centuries of self-imposed seclusion, the country had begun to open up to outside eyes, and its art and craftwork were eagerly sought after by collectors and artists. Because of its links...

Titled ‘Vessel of Sand’ in the original Japanese edition, this classic Seichō novel opens with a brutal, rail-side murder and takes the reader on a spiralling journey deep into the heart of Japanese society. The protagonist, Detective Imanishi, follows an investigation that stretches...

Professor Kemmyo Taira Sato, Director of Three Wheels, a Japanese Buddhist Centre in Acton, has been translating for the last ten years The Letters by Rennyo, which had an enormous influence on Shin Buddhist followers in the Medieval Period in Japan. In order to compile his work on The...

Japanese Plus is designed for adult learners of Japanese interested in updating and refreshing their knowledge about Japan whilst practising their Japanese language skills in a series of evening classes at the Japan Foundation London. This term’s theme...

A collective of gardeners (niwashi 庭師) named Niwa Japan has been involved in a great variety of projects, from restoring ancient gardens to landscaping festivals. In 2011 Takeshi Nagasaki realised that gardeners could play a vital role in the rebuilding process in Tohoku. So he called...

The Japanese Conversation Group provides a friendly and informal atmosphere for Japanese speakers of all nationalities to come together and speak Japanese. Meetings are held on the first Tuesday of every month at The Old Explorer, a central London pub. They begin at 6.30pm with a...

One of the great annual sights in London is the Queen’s Birthday Parade on Horse Guards Parade in Whitehall on Her Majesty’s Official Birthday. All available Foot Guards, Household Cavalry and King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery march past Her Majesty starting at 11.00 am. The event will...

Come and join bon dance workshop and performance , and be a part of Big Dance 2012 ! 1, 8, 15, 22 & 29 June 2012, London This project is for older people in Islington, but people from other part of London are welcome. In the first two weeks, members of London Bon Dancers will give...

All Eyes on Korea: 100 Day Summer Festival June – Sept...

As Japanese director Kaneto Shindo celebrates his centenary, the BFI will hold a two-month tribute both to Shindo and his close collaborator and fellow director, Kozaburo Yoshimura, co-organised by the Japan Foundation. This two-part retrospective presents a selection of major works by both...

Japanese Flower Arranging demonstration by Diane Norman, Ohara Master, illustrating the history of the Ohara School of ikebana. Date: 29 May 2012, 12:30pm Venue: The Brompton Oratory Church Hall, Brompton Road, SW7 2RP Email: junko@ikebanabyjunko.co.uk Entrance fee: Members £5, Non Members...

Internationally renowned for his visually powerful adaptations of Shakespeare, legendary director Yukio Ninagawa returns to the Barbican with his eagerly-awaited production of Shakespeare’s romance tragedy, Cymbeline. Full of sexual jealousy, tension, intrigue and magic, the play follows...

In this seminar Ryoichi Matsuyama will give an update on the state of Japanese tourism, covering the latest trends and challenges for the industry’s future. The updates from last month’s The Global Summit of World Travel & Tourism Council, in Sendai and Tokyo, will also be...

mu:arts joins Big Dance 2012 Big Dance 2012 will be the UK’s biggest celebration of dance. Thousands of event will take place between 18th May to 15th July in all sorts of locations, in all sorts of dance styles. Big Bus Dance 27 May 2012 Young talented Japanese dancers and musicians- Ayaka...

“Articulation” refers to providing consistency and continuity of language learning at all learning, from absolute beginners to advanced learners. Through articulation, language instructors can ensure that learners progressing from a lower to higher level are taught in a way that builds...

TWO OF THE UK’s leading East Asian entertainment sources join forces on 26 May for a party like no other. Taking place at Bloomsbury Lanes, a 5 minute walk from London’s Euston Station, NEO Magazine (Great Britain’s anime, manga and Asian pop culture magazine) and Japan...

Yayoi Kusama, with a career spanning over half a century, is undoubtedly one of the most prolific Japanese artists of her generation. From paintings to installations, her considerable body of work is very diverse, reflecting her own hybrid identity. Kusama is now Japan’s most prominent...

Just over a year after the tsunami sent shockwaves through a country and around the world, we’re putting together a collection of the design and communication world’s greatest stars to share stories about Japan. We want to hear about their visits, their projects, the influence of Japan on...

In this film, which takes place on a small island in Okinawa, many of the characters are trying to come to terms with their past and their present. Masashi has returned to his mother’s hometown to escape from his abusive father, and an older woman, Shiho, is unable to let go of the past. On...

The fourth seminar in our 2012 series Leadership: People and Power in the UK and Japan looks at Women and Leadership. Japan remains one of the OECD’s poorest performers on gender equality issues, despite numerous attempts over the years to improve the situation. Only 11.3% of Japanese...

Following their much anticipated performance of Coriolanus in the Globe to Globe Shakespeare Festival, the stars of the show will be heading to a post-performance reception at Tsuru Bankside. Attendees will have the opportunity to meet the members of the company and their select Globe Theatre...

Date: 21 May 2012 – 22 May 2012 Venue: Shakespeare’s Globe This celebrated company from Kyoto works under the direction of one of Japan’s most imaginative artists, Motoi Miura. Known for its minimalist and avant-garde vision, the company produces an expressive theatre rooted in...

When the protests against the 1960 Japan-America Security Treaty (Anpo) erupted and sixteen million people nationwide took to the streets, photographer Hamaya Hiroshi was among them, documenting the mayhem, hope, and ultimate defeat of the opposition. Julia Adeney Thomas will explore the...

The exhibition by Japanese artist Takumasa Ono will include a wide range of watercolours, screen-prints and Sumi-e, a traditional form of Japanese brushwork, capturing the very best of National Trust properties. Takumasa, who has lived in Gloucestershire since 2002, was the official artist of...

Garden open days 2012 As part of the National Garden Scheme (NGS), we are happy to announce that Three Wheels will be opening its Zen garden to the general public on two weekends this year. The open days are scheduled for the weekend of the 19th and 20th of May, and the weekend of the 16th...

For the second year the Hilton London Metropole has the pleasure to host “A Night for Japan” the 18th of May 2012 from 18:30 to 22:30. Come and join us for a fantastic night of entertainment and food in aid of two charities: the Hilton in the Community Foundation and the Ashinaga...

A stunning contemporary Japanese dance piece choreographed by Yukio Suzuki where the land is the stage. A ring of LED lights producing tens of thousands of colours is placed above the dancers, including Yukio himself, illuminating their relationship with nature, as music distorts time and...

Japan Underground will pull off a very special showcase featuring three of Japan’s hottest indie-rock acts this May. Collectively, the bands have toured with Oasis, rocked America – twice, dominated Japan’s Fuji Rock festival and caused a huge impact on their home country’s indie...

Edwardian London Through Japanese Eyes considers the career of the Japanese artist Yoshio Markino (1869-1956), a prominent figure on the early twentieth-century London art scene whose popular illustrations of British life adroitly blended stylistic elements of East and West. He established...

This landmark novel by one of Japan’s most beloved writers, Soseki Natsume, is a satirical masterpiece, completed in 1906 and based in Natsume’s contemporary Meiji Japan. Told from the surreal perspective of a world-weary cat, the novel is a running commentary on Japanese society and the...