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January - December 2017
Arts & Culture

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Lectures

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The Japan Society

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Lecture by Tim Hitchens, British Ambassador to Japan
Thursday 12 January 2017(reception afterwards until 8.30pm)

6.00 for 6.30pm

Nomura International plc
One Angel Lane
London EC4R 3AB
Free.
Members of the Japan Society and their guests only.
Booking essential (deadline Monday 9 January)

The current British Ambassador to Japan,
Tim Hitchens, will complete his tour of duty
at the end of 2016. In this 2017 annual update
for the Japan Society, Mr Hitchens will lookback over his four years in Japan, as well
as reflecting on the past eventful year inparticular. This talk comes at an importanttime, in the wake of the UK’s BREXIT decisionand the recent US Presidential election.
Both might be expected to have significant
influence over the economy and security,
both globally and regionally, and make theJapan-UK partnership increasingly relevant.
The event will be chaired by Mr Hitchens’
predecessor, Sir David Warren.
The Society’s annual lecture by the current
British Ambassador is always relevant,thought-provoking and useful to people
from across its membership, as well as being
extremely well attended. The Ambassador
will speak for 30-40 minutes, after which there
will be time for off-the-record discussion andquestions.

Tim Hitchens read English at Cambridge. He
joined the Foreign & Commonwealth Officein 1983 and held posts in Tokyo (1985-1989),
Islamabad and Paris, as well as serving as
Assistant Private Secretary to the Queen. He
was Director for Europe in the Foreign andCommonwealth Office from 2008 to 2010
and then Director for Africa from 2010 to2012, before serving as British Ambassador to
Japan from 2012 to 2016.

This is always a very popular event andearly booking is recommended. Places arelimited to two per membership initially;
additional guests will be placed on a waiting
list. We thank members in advance for theirunderstanding.

There will be a reception immediately after
the lecture. The Japan Society is extremely
grateful to leading Corporate Member,
Nomura International plc, for hosting thisevent.
Hosted by:Sw

Silk, Porcelain and Lacquer: China and Japan and their Tradewith Western Europe and the New World – Teresa Canepa
Monday 16 January 20176.45pmThe Swedenborg Society
20-21 Bloomsbury Way(Hall entrance on Barter St)
London WC1A 2TH
Free
Booking recommended

Focusing on the prolific trade, overseas
transport and consumption of Chinesesilk and porcelain, and Japanese lacquer
between 1500 and 1644, this lecture willshow how the material culture of late Ming
China and Momoyama / Early Edo Japan on
one side of the globe, and Western Europe
and the New World on the other, became
linked for the first time through an exchangeof luxury Asian manufactured goods forsilver.
Drawing on Teresa Canepa’s multi-disciplinary
research for her PhD dissertation and book,the lecture will explore the fascinating andcomplex commercial, cultural and artistic
exchanges that occurred between the Eastand West in the early modern period. It will
focus on the trade and consumption of threevery different Asian goods: silk, porcelain
and lacquer, first by the Iberian kingdomsof Portugal and Spain in the 16th century,and then also by the trading companies
formed by the Northern Netherlands /Dutch Republic and England in the early 17th
century. In particular, Dr Canepa will show
the influence that European merchants andmissionaries exerted on the goods made toorder for them in both China and Japan.

Teresa Canepa is an independent researcher
and lecturer in Chinese and Japanese export
art. She completed a PhD in Art History at
Leiden University, The Netherlands. The
main focus of her research is the Portuguese
and Spanish trade in Chinese porcelain
and Japanese lacquer in the 16th and early
17th century, on which she has published anumber of articles and lectured widely.
Dr Canepa’s new book, Silk, Porcelain andLacquer: China and Japan and their Tradewith Western Europe and the New World,
1500-1644, will be available for sale on thenight for the discounted price of £60 (retailprice £75).

Gaea Girls Film Screening and Q&A
Tuesday 24 January 20176.00 for 6.30pm

Royal Anthropological Institute
50 Fitzroy Street
London W1T 5BT
Free
Priority for members
Booking essential. Places are limited and earlybooking is recommended.

Filmed over a period of three months, Gaea
Girls (Kim Longinotto and Jano Williams,
2000) is a film about courage, transformationand dreams in the extraordinary worldof Japanese women’s wrestling or joshi
puroresu. It marked the fifth collaborative film
between Longinotto and Williams examining
gender defined and gender defying roles incontemporary Japan.

doing so, Gaea Girls addresses the broader
question of women’s empowerment inJapan.

Although Gaea Japan was disbanded in
2005, in 2015 its founder Chigusa Nagayo
announced of a new wrestling group,
Marvelous, which launched in 2016. As theviolent spectacle of joshi puroresu continues
to prove popular, Longinotto and Williams’
work allows us to reflect upon the daily
routines and social conditions of this sport’s
female participants.

Kim Longinotto has received numerous
awards for her observational documentaries,
including a BAFTA for her documentary Pink
Saris (2010).

Gaea Girls centres around the hopes andfears of the beleaguered Gaea Japan squad,
whose reputation hangs by a thread after aseries of setbacks in the ring. At the heart of
the film is Nagayo, who attempts to fashion agroup of new recruits in her own formidable
image; the arresting documentary focuseson the physicality – indeed brutality – of thedemanding training regime undertaken by
the Gaea girls in tournament preparation. In

21 February – Node: An Elderly Village
Community in the Global Worldat Royal Anthropological InstituteThe screening will be followed by a drinks
reception and a Q&A with director Kim
Longinotto, whose collection is housed anddistributed by the Royal AnthropologicalSociety.

This is the first in a series of screenings coorganised by the Japan Society and the Royal
Anthropological Institute that will revisit
Japanese films housed in the RAI’s collection.

21 March – Memories of the Ainu Past andPresent
at SOAS, in association with the Japan
Research Centre

Co-organised by:Experience the Art and Craft of Wasanbon
Wednesday 1 February 20173.00 to 4.30pm
or 6.30 to 8.00pm(two available sessions)

Daiwa Foundation Japan House
13 / 14 Cornwall Terrace
London NW1 4QP
Booking essential (priority for members)£12 per head

Wagashi are Japanese sweets, and they comein many stunning varieties, each belonging
to traditions developed since the Edo period.
This workshop is a rare opportunity to learn
about the art of wasanbon, a particular type ofwagashi which shares its name with the finegrained sugar used to make it.
Wasanbon are shaped using intricate carved
wooden moulds, or kashi kigata, and thisworkshop will be led by Ayumi Uehara, aconfectioner whose father Yoshihiro Ichihara is
one of the last living artisans who continues tocarve them by hand.

In this workshop Uehara will explain how
wasanbon sugar is made and guide attendees
through the process of binding the sugar andshaping it in the moulds. Uehara will discuss thecourtly tea culture which gave rise to wagashi
and at the end of the workshops attendees will
be served served with green tea and a mixtureof just-made and several-day-old wasanbon.
Workshop numbers will be limited to 15 persession and priority given to members.

A story of locality and the creation of regional identity inJapan, from the viewpoint of producer, Hidetaka Ino
Thursday 9 February 20176.30pmThe Swedenborg Society
20-21 Bloomsbury Way(Hall entrance on Barter St)
London WC1A 2TH
Free
Booking recommended

augment5 Inc. has recently attracted
attention worldwide for its independent
productions. Their stunning films, featuring
views of a Japan which they find particularly
beautiful, have gone viral among an internet
audience. We are delighted to welcome
producer Hidetaka Ino for this special event
featuring some of his key works, including
the True North, Akita series.
Ino will speak about the concept of locality
in Japan, as he sees it, and how this is being
developed. His True North series takes its
title from the nautical term, referring to thegeographical North Pole; the imaginary
northern axis around which the earth turns.
Ino hopes that the Japanese North canbecome a measure of beauty and abundance.

Hidetaka Ino was born in Aichi Prefecture
in 1983 and has been involved in a range ofdifferent internet businesses since his student
days. He is President of augument5 Inc. Sinceestablishing the company, he has acted asconsultant for the internet and development
divisions of large corporations, while alsoachieving large worldwide audiences for his
own films. Since 2013 he has focussed on film
production.

J
L

Japan Society Book Club:
Lost Japan by Alex Kerr
Monday 13 February 20177.00pmThe Japan Society
13 / 14 Cornwall Terrace
London NW1 4QP
Free for Japan Society Members:
Booking recommended
The Book Club is held on the second Monday of every month

An enchanting and fascinating insight into
Japanese landscape, culture, history and future.
Originally written in Japanese, this passionate,vividly personal book draws on the author’s
experiences in Japan over thirty years. Alex
Kerr brings to life the ritualized world of Kabuki,
retraces his initiation into Tokyo’s boardrooms
during the heady Bubble Years, and tells thestory of the hidden valley that became hishome.
But the book is not just a love letter. Haunted
throughout by nostalgia for the Japan ofold, Kerr’s book is part paean to that great
country and culture, part epitaph in the faceof contemporary Japan’s environmental andcultural destruction.
The book club is held every month. There is norestriction on the nationality of the authors read,but books should be available in translationin both Japanese and English. The discussion
is conducted mainly in English, but you canchoose the language in which you read thebook. The intention is simple: to explore thethemes of the book, express personal opinions
on the style and content, discuss how the bookhas changed (or not) in translation and to havea relaxed discussion with others who have
similar interests.
Alex Kerr (b.1952) is an American writer andJapanologist. Originally from the Bethesda areain Montgomery County, Maryland, Kerr’s father,a naval officer, was posted in Yokohama from1964 to 1966. Kerr returned to the states andstudied Japanese Studies at Yale University.
After studying Chinese Studies at the Universityof Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, Kerr moved backto Japan full-time in 1977. He lived in Kameoka,
near Kyoto, working with the Oomoto
Foundation, a Shintō organisation devoted
to the practice and teaching of traditional
Japanese arts. An expert on Japanese culture
and art, he frequently writes and lectures inJapanese. Through his experiences in Japan,
as related in his books, he has become an avid
art collector and patron of Japan’s traditional
theatre and other arts.

Joint Lunch with JCCI: Sir David King
Tuesday 14 February 201712.30pm for 1.00pm

National Liberal ClubWhitehall Place
London SW1A 2HE£50 per head:members of the Japan Society, the JCCI and their guests
Booking essential
Booking deadline: Friday 10 February

2016 saw the Paris Agreement enter into force,marking a turning point in the fight against
climate change. Under the agreement 194
countries, including the UK, Japan and theUS, have put forward commitments to cut
carbon emissions and agreed limits to global
temperature rises from 2020.
As we enter 2017, the current state ofnegotiations on climate change and their
future development remains of strong
interest among Japanese companies
investing in the UK – not least in light of therecent US Presidential Election. With climatechange scepticism a key feature of hiselection campaign, how President Trump’s
administration will affect global policy in thisarea remains to be seen.
Against this backdrop of uncertainty, Sir
David King, the UK Foreign Secretary’s
Special Representative for Climate Change,
will discuss future developments on climatechange and the transition to a low carbon
economy, considering potential challenges
facing the sector going forward.

Sir David King was appointed as the UK
Foreign Secretary’s Special Representative
for Climate Change in September 2013. Sir
David was previously the Government’s
Chief Scientific Advisor from 2000 – 2007. Healso served as the Founding Director of theSmith School of Enterprise and Environment
at Oxford, 2008 – 2012. Some of his otherappointments have included the Chair of
Future Cities Catapult, Chancellor of the
University of Liverpool, Senior Scientific
Advisor to UBS, and Adviser to President
Kagame of Rwanda.
His discipline is in physical chemistry
working in surface science and catalysis. He
has published over 500 papers on surface
science and heterogeneous catalysis, and on
science and policy, for which he has received
many awards and medals. He has received 23
Honorary Degrees from universities aroundthe world.
Following a two-course lunch, Sir David
will speak for about 20 minutes, after
which there will be time for questions until
2.30pm.

In association with:

Exploring Japanese Art in Norwich
Thursday 16 to Friday 17 February 2017(a) 9.45am London Liverpool Street, to travel together to Norwich, or(b) by 1.50 pm, assemble at:
Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts
University of East Anglia
Norwich NR4 7TJ
Booking essential (On receipt of bookings for this event, we will
send a detailed itinerary and confirm which elements of the visit you
would like to participate in.)
Norwich is one of the cultural capitals of the UK,
and as the home to the Sainsbury Institute for
the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures boasts
a thriving programme of Japan-related events.
We are delighted to be organising a special
visit to coincide with the Masters of JapanesePhotography exhibition at SISJAC’s sisterorganisation, the Sainsbury Centre for VisualArts, while also giving members the chance to
see behind-the-scenes at SISJAC itself.
Masters of Japanese Photography explores
the work of three of the most prominent
Japanese photographers of the second halfof the 20th century: Nobuyoshi Araki, Eikoh
Hosoe and Kikuji Kawada. It features 65 prints
drawn from the artists’ studios as well as fromprivate collections. Dating between the 1960s
and the early 2000s, the images represent a
survey of recurring themes, ranging from thedepiction of the human body to the enduring
presence of nature.
We will join the SISJAC monthly Third
Thursday lecture in which Tetsuei Tsuda of
the Tokyo National Research Institute forCultural Properties will be speaking on Nise-e,
or Japanese ‘likeness’ pictures. After staying
overnight in Norwich, participants will visit
SISJAC on Friday morning, when librarian Akira
In association with:

Hirano will introduce some of the treasures
held in the Lisa Sainsbury Library.
Provisional ProgrammeThursday 16 February
10.00am depart London Liverpool Street*
12.45pm Lunch at Sainsbury Centre for VisualArts
2.00pm Tour of Masters of JapanesePhotography Exhibition, led by curator
Monserrat Pis Marcos, followed by time to
explore other parts of the collection.
4.00pm Free time. Travel to central Norwich,check in at hotel if staying overnight. Visit
Norwich Cathedral (closes 6pm).
6.00pm SISJAC Third Thursday Lecture by
Tetsuei Tsuda. Norwich Cathedral Hostry
8.00pm Post-lecture dinner with SISJAC
Friday 17 February
10.00am Visit to SISJAC. Introduction totreasures of the Lisa Sainsbury Library* Participants may travel from London as agroup, or independently, meeting at SCVA intime for the tour. We can provide suggestions
for hotels/B&B, but individuals should arrange
their own overnight accommodation. Entry to
SCVA is priced at £7/£6 concessions.

‘New’ Abenomics and Japan’s Labour Market Policy – Hiroaki N
Richard Watanabe
Monday 20 February 20176.45pmThe Swedenborg Society
20-21 Bloomsbury Way(Hall entrance on Barter St)
London WC1A 2TH
Free
Booking recommended

This talk addresses the ‘new’ Abenomics,
which was announced in September 2015,
by focusing on the labour market policy. In
addition to the three policy arrows of theoriginal Abenomics, which were combinedas the first new arrow aimed at GDP 600
trillion yen, the new Abenomics added
two new arrows aimed at improving thefertility rate and reducing the number ofworkers who leave work because of elderly
care (kaigo rishoku). To realize these newpolicies, the Abe administration proposed
to limit overtime work and improve thework conditions of non-regular workers byintroducing ‘equal pay for equal work’ andraising the minimum wage.
However, this labour market policy iscontradictory to the previous deregulatory
policy that has made the work situation of nonregular workers more unstable and is likely
to increase the working poor. Despite being
useful for striking a better work-life balance
and increasing women’s labour market
participation, the reform of working hours
aimed at reducing overtime and improving
labour productivity may also result in worktime deregulation aimed at reducing labourcost. This talk emphasizes that these reform
measures are not only about improving

work conditions but also about achieving
economic growth. The labour market policyin the new Abenomics can be characterised
as based on economic nationalism, partof the Abe administration’s grand strategy
for revitalizing the economy and achieving
a greater role and competitiveness in the
global political economy.
Hiroaki Richard Watanabe (D.Phil., Universityof Oxford) is a lecturer at the School of East
Asian Studies, University of Sheffield. He isan expert in comparative/Japanese political
economy and the international relations inEast Asia. His recent publications include
Labour market deregulation in Japan and
Italy: Worker protection under neoliberal
globalisation (Routledge, 2014) and ‘The
struggle for revitalisation by Japanese labour
unions: Worker organising after labour-market
deregulation’, (Journal of Contemporary Asia,
2015). He has appeared in TV programs for
Channel NewsAsia Singapore and BBC Newsand provided his opinion on Abenomics,
the Japanese emperor’s abdication, TPP and
President Obama’s visit to Japan.

Node Film Screening and Q&A
Thursday 23 February 20176.00 for 6.30pm

Royal Anthropological Institute
50 Fitzroy Street
London W1T 5BT
Free
Priority for members
Booking essential. Places are limited and earlybooking is recommended.

Hirogawara is a village with a long lasting
tradition of forestry located in a mountainarea of Kyoto prefecture, Japan. Althoughmunicipal records drafted in 2009 recorded a
population of 120 residents amongst its five
districts, over half of these citizens also havean urban household in Kyoto. These iribito(newcomer) villagers who predominantly
reside in the city are situated alongside adwindling population of mostly elderly
jinomon (native) residents. Therefore theinteractions taking place in Hirogawara
provide an interesting case-study of atypically underpopulated village in a rural
Japanese region which is undergoing a formof social change cultivated by globalised
mobility.

Node (Atsushi Koike, 2010) captures
Hirogawara residents reflecting on the
traditions of their environment in a periodof transition. There is a prevalent connection
to ancestry which manifests itself in themaintenance of the Hirogawara landscape by
its villagers. In this film, public space comesto constitute social memory, which is relayedby the villagers who recount meaningful
autobiographical stories linked to theirnative environment. Whilst traditional public
spaces and private interiors are conservedby members of the community, the aging
population of Hirogarawa is also seen to
struggle with the workload of maintaining
its surrounding forests.
The
Royal
Anthropological
Institute
welcomes the first public screening ofNode in the U.K. The evening will openwith a reflection on and introduction to
the microcosmic issues that can be seen in
Hirogawara through Node and will conclude
with a drinks reception.
Atsushi Koike was born in 1983 in Shiga,
Japan. He studied Documentary film making
in The film school of Tokyo for two years
from 2006 and visual anthropology at the
University of Tromsø in Norway in 2010.

This is part of a series of screenings coorganised by the Japan Society and the Royal
Anthropological Institute that will revisit
Japanese films housed in the RAI’s collection.
21 March – Memories of the Ainu Past andPresent
at SOAS, in association with the Japan
Research Centre

Co-organised by:An evening with Alex Kerr
Monday 27 February 2017

F6.30pmRestaurant Tsuru
Broadgate
201 Bishopsgate
London EC2M 3AB
Price: £30 per person
Members of the Japan Society + guests
Booking deadline: Friday 24 February
Places are limited and early booking is recommended.
On the occasion of his visit to the UK toparticipate in Japan Now, we are delighted
to host an informal dinner event with theauthor of Lost Japan, Alex Kerr.
Alex Kerr and his Chiiori Trust have been
involved with rural revitalisation andpreservation of heritage buildings in Japan.
Over a Japanese meal, Japan Society
members and their guests are invited to
discuss with the author recent developmentsin this area.
The event starts at 6:30pm with a chatover drinks. Food will be served at 7:00pm.
Following the dinner, the evening willcontinue with an informal roundtablediscussion with the writer and will end at
9:00pm. The restaurant will remain open
if participants wish to stay for further
conversation.
The dinner includes a katsu curry set-menu(katsu curry, miso soup, salmon sashimi andedamame), served with green tea or an Asahi
beer. Other drinks may be ordered on a payas-you-go basis. Vegetarian menu is alsoavailable. Please let us know if you have any
dietary requirements when you book.

Alex Kerr (b. 1952) is an American writer andJapanologist. Originally from the Bethesda
area in Montgomery County, Maryland,
Kerr’s father, a naval officer, was posted in
Yokohama from 1964 to 1966. Kerr returnedto the Unites States and studied JapaneseStudies at Yale University.
After studying Chinese Studies at the
University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar,
Kerr moved back to Japan full-time in 1977.
He lived in Kameoka, near Kyoto, working
with the Oomoto Foundation, a Shintoorganisation devoted to the practice andteaching of traditional Japanese arts.
An expert on Japanese culture and art, hefrequently writes and lectures in Japanese.
Through his experiences in Japan, as related
in his books, he has become an avid art
collector and patron of Japan’s traditional
theatre and other arts.

Flora Japonica exhibition – private view
Wednesday 1 March 20172.00pm to 3.45pm

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Richmond
Surrey TW9 3AB
Members of the Japan Society and their guests
Free – booking essential
Booking deadline: Friday 24 February 2017
Places are limited and early booking is recommended

Botanical art has always been an importantpart of Japanese culture and continues toflourish, with both professional artists andalso a large number of amateurs producing
excellent botanical illustrations. Combining
elegance and sense of design with scientificrigour, the botanical paintings show wild
Japanese plants in perfect detail, capturing
the diversity and artistic beauty of nature in
Japan.
The Flora Japonica exhibition at the Royal
Botanic Gardens, Kew celebrates the richnessof Japanese native flora and its artistic
representation portraying about 80 Japanesewild plants by 36 of the most eminentcontemporary Japanese botanical artists
as well as historic drawings and paintingsof celebrated artists such as Dr Tomitaro
Makino, Sessai Hattori and Chikusai Kato,
which have never before been exhibitedin Europe. In addition, the exhibition also
features paintings of Japanese plants by nonJapanese artists in the Kew’s Collection andpieces from Japanese artists in the Shirley
Sherwood Collection.

Joining Kew’s celebration of Japanese floraand botanical art, we are delighted to invite
members and their guests to a private viewof the exhibition, led by Masumi Yamanaka,
botanical artist and co-curator of theexhibition. Born in Nara but now basedin UK, Yamanaka is an artist specialising in
ceramic design and botanical illustration.
She has illustrated a number of monographs
as well as contributing a significant numberof illustrations to different botanical art
magazines and publications. Yamanaka has
shown work at the London Flower Show and
Kew’s Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical
Art among others and was also awarded The
Margaret Granger Memorial Silver Bow by
the Society of Botanical Artists. Since 2007,
she has been a freelance artist based in the
Herbarium at Kew.

In association with:

Japanese Conversation Group
Tuesday 7 March 2017(and every first Tuesday of the month)

6.30pmThe Brewmaster
37 Cranbourn Street
London WC2H 7AD
Standard Admission ￡5.50(£1 Discount for: Japan Society members/Students/
Regulars)

The Japanese Conversation Group provides
a friendly and informal atmosphere forJapanese speakers of all nationalities to cometogether and speak Japanese. Meetings areheld on the first Tuesday of every month.
They begin at 6.30pm with a pay-as-you-gobar, and finish around 11.00pm.
You will receive all discounts for which you
qualify. The Regular Attendee Discountwill apply if you attended at least 50% of
meetings during the previous calendar
year, or once you attend six meetings in thecurrent year.

Please visit the Japanese Conversation Groupwebsite http://jcg.org.uk for further details
on their programme, which may be subject
to change.

Japan Society Book Club:
Record of a Night Too Brief by Hiromi Kawakami
Monday 13 March 20177.00pmThe Japan Society
13 / 14 Cornwall Terrace
London NW1 4QP
Free for Japan Society Members
Booking recommended
The Book Club is held on the second Monday of every month

One morning, a woman treads on a snake. She
comes home that evening and realises thesnake has moved into her house and is saying
she is her mother... So begins the story of awoman trying to live with a snake, with herself– or perhaps with something else altogether.
This volume includes the three stories ‘Treadon a Snake’, ‘Missing’ and ‘Record of a Night Too
Brief’ which together won the Akutagawa Prizein 1996. Filled with fantastically multicoloured
images and unexplained collapses in time andplace, these highly surreal, meticulously worked
stories of longing and disappearance, loveand loathing are the work of an enormously
talented writer at the top of her game.
The book club is held every month. There is norestriction on the nationality of the authors read,but books should be available in translationin both Japanese and English. The discussion

is conducted mainly in English, but you canchoose the language in which you read thebook. The intention is simple: to explore thethemes of the book, express personal opinions
on the style and content, discuss how the bookhas changed (or not) in translation and to havea relaxed discussion with others who have
similar interests.
Hiromi Kawakami (b. 1958) is a Japanese writerknown for her off-beat fiction. Born in Tokyo,
Kawakami graduated from Ochanomizu
Women’s College in 1980. She made her debut
as “Yamada Hiromi” in NW-SF No. 16 in 1980
with the story ‘Diptera’ and also helped edit
some early issues of NW-SF in the 1970s. She
reinvented herself as a writer and wrote her
first book, a collection of short stories entitled
God published in 1994. She is also known as aliterary critic and a provocative essayist.

From Dying Race to Indigenous People: the struggle over Ainu
representation in modern Japan – Richard Siddle
Monday 20 March 20176.45pmThe Swedenborg Society
20-21 Bloomsbury Way(Hall entrance on Barter St)
London WC1A 2TH
Free – booking recommended

The Ainu are the indigenous people ofnorthern Japan. Dispossessed of theirancestral land and resources in Hokkaido
by the expansion of a vigorous colonialstate, traditional lifeways collapsed as
hunting and fishing territories were settled
by waves of immigrants and transformed
into agricultural land. Government policies
of relocation and assimilation aimed at theeventual extinction of the Ainu as a people,
aided by a system of ‘native education’ that
actively discouraged Ainu language andcustoms. Parallel to this economic, politicaland social marginalisation was an ideologicaldiscourse proclaimed by officials, scholars
and educators that represented the Ainu as a‘dying race’ (horobiyuku minzoku), primitive
savages with no place in the modern world.
Nevertheless, the Ainu have refused topassively acquiesce to this dominantstereotype. At the beginning of the twenty
first century the cultural symbols of arevitalised and contemporary Ainu identity
have become prominent as Ainu activists
press their claims on the basis of their distinct
indigenous ethnicity. This talk will provide
an overview of modern Ainu history andintroduce the Ainu struggle for rights andidentity as an indigenous people that has

been underway since the 1960s and peakedwith the enactment of the controversial anddivisive Ainu Cultural Promotion Act in 1997.
Although finally recognised by the Japanese
government as an indigenous people in2008, Ainu, as both individuals and an
ethnic group, still face challenges in today’s
Japan, not least over the authenticity of acontemporary Ainu identity.
Richard Siddle is a Professor in the Facultyof Media and Communication at Hokkaido
University where he teaches and researches
on minorities and multiculturalism in Japan
from the perspectives of social history andsocial anthropology. Publications include
Race, Resistance and the Ainu of Japan(Routledge, 1996), Japan and Okinawa:
Structure and Subjectivity (with Glenn Hook,
Routledge, 2003) and Critical Readings on
Minorities and Multiculturalism in Japan (Brill,2013).

Memories of the Ainu Past and Present
Tuesday 21 March 20177.15pmSOAS Alumni Lecture Theatre (SALT)Paul Webley Wing (Senate House)
SOAS University of London
10 Thornhaugh Street
Russell Square
London WC1H 0XG
Free – booking essential

Co-organised by the Japan Society and theRoyal Anthropological Institute (RAI), thisis the third and last in the current series ofscreenings that revisit Japanese films housedin the RAI’s collection. On this occasion, weare delighted to present two documentaries
considering the Ainu people in Japan in termsof ritual, memory and identity.
The main film of the evening is The Ainu Bear
Ceremony, a short documentary (27 minutes)
made in 1931 by Scottish anthropologist Neil
Gordon Munro (1863-1942). A pioneer scholarof the Ainu people in Hokkaido, Munro
recorded this traditional Ainu ceremony, now
no longer performed, in which a bear was
ritually killed and eaten by the participants.
Screened will be the shortened, RAI edited
1961 version of The Ainu Bear Ceremony,
which removed certain intertitles and images
from the original film.

The evening will continue with a screeningof extracts from Marcos Centeno Martin’s
documentary Ainu. Pathways to Memory(2014, Japanese, English and French withEnglish Subtitles). This film not only aims torecover the history of the Ainu people often
erased from the official record and scarred bydiscrimination, but also to explore what being
Ainu means today.
Alongside the screenings, the event will also
include a discussion of the films with George
Barker from the Royal Anthropological
Institute (RAI) and Dr Marcos Centeno Martin
from SOAS University of London. They willconsider the legacy and impact of the Munro
documentary and the logic behind the RAI’s
1961 edit as well as the situation of the Ainu
people in contemporary Japan. A Q&A withthe audience will follow the screenings andthe discussion.

Co-organised by:

In association with:

Brexit and the City: Economic arguments for leaving the EU – J
Gerard Lyons
T
Wednesday 5 April 201712.30pm for 1.00pm

BDO LLP
55 Baker Street
London W1U 7EU
Free – booking essential(priority for members)
Booking deadline: Friday 31 March

Following the result of the EU referendum inJune 2016, Prime Minister Theresa May has
committed to trigger Article 50 of the Treatyof Lisbon by the 31 March 2017 and formally
begin negotiations on the UK’s exit from theEuropean Union.
As part of our commitment to presenting adiversity of approaches on this subject, The
Japan Society has invited Dr Gerard Lyons, cofounder of ‘Economists for Brexit’, to present
his view on the economic implications, andpotential benefits, of leaving the EU.
We are very grateful to BDO LLP, one of ourcorporate supporters, for kindly hosting thisevent.
Dr Gerard Lyons is one of the UK’s leading
economists and is an expert on the global
economy, financial markets and monetary
policy, with an excellent forecasting record.
He has testified to the US Senate Banking
and Foreign Affairs Committees and to
Committees in both Houses of the UK
Parliament, spoken at the EU-China Summit
in Beijing, and on the globalised televised
BBC Debate from Davos.

He is a Board Member of Bank of China (UK),
Chief Economic Strategist and shareholder
at Netwealth Investments, advisor tofinancial consultants Parker Fitzgerald andChief Economic Advisor to think tank Policy
Exchange. He is on advisory boards at:
Warwick Business School; the Grantham
Institute on Environmental Change at the
London School of Economics and Imperial
College; and the Official Monetary Financial
Institutions Forum, and is advising on a
project at the Centre for Social Justiceaddressing low UK productivity and its
wider economic and social impact. He is
Vice Chairman of the 48 Group, Committee
Member of the Hong Kong Association andhe co-founded Economists for Brexit.
From January 2013 to May 2016 he was in a
non-political role of Chief Economic Advisor
to Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London.
Previously he spent 27 years in senior roles
in The City at Chase Manhattan, Swiss Bank
Corporation, DKB International and Standard
Chartered Bank. He has been ranked top
global forecaster (out of 350) and the month
before the financial crisis was one of only two
UK economists predicting a deep imminent
recession. He is a public speaker and author.
In association with:

Japan Society Book Club:
Tales of Ise
Monday 10 April 2017		7.00pmThe Japan Society
13 / 14 Cornwall Terrace
London NW1 4QP
Free for Japan Society Members:
Booking recommended
The Book Club is held on the second Monday of every month

Along with the Tale of Genji and One Hundred
Poets, One Poem Each, the Tales of Ise isconsidered one of the three most importantworks of Japanese literature. A poem-talecollection from the early Heian period, it
contains many stories of amorous adventures,
faithful friendship and travels in exile, framing
the exquisite poems at the work’s heart.
The Tales of Ise has influenced waka, Noh,tales and diaries since the time it was written,
and is still the source of endless inspiration in
novels, poetry, manga and cartoons.

The book club is held every month. Thereis no restriction on the nationality of theauthors read, but books should be available
in translation in both Japanese and English.
The discussion is conducted mainly in English,
but you can choose the language in which
you read the book. The intention is simple:
to explore the themes of the book, express
personal opinions on the style and content,
discuss how the book has changed (or not)in translation and to have a relaxed discussion
with others who have similar interests.

From page to screen to page again: writing and reading
Japanese film scripts – Lauri Kitsnik
Monday 24 April 20176.45pmThe Swedenborg Society
20-21 Bloomsbury Way(Hall entrance on Barter St)
London WC1A 2TH
Free – booking recommended

Japanese cinema has often been exploredfrom the perspective of auteur directors andfilm masterpieces, but much less attention
has been paid to another significant aspectof filmmaking – scriptwriting. However,in Japan, scriptwriters have long beenrecognised as important figures in theJapanese film industry and film scripts(shinario in Japanese) have played an
important part both in cinema’s production
and reception.
In this talk, Lauri Kitsnik will discuss thehistorical representation of screenwriters
as film authors by looking at their working
methods and writing spaces within the studiosystem. He will also address the appearanceof a new kind of reader that was promptedby the abundant publishing of film scripts fora wider audience since the 1950s. Consumed
in this manner, scripts arguably complement
as well as contest screen viewing experience
while proposing alternative film histories.
Dr Kitsnik is particularly intrigued by theattention that screenwriting and screenplays
have received in Japan not only as apreparatory phase in film production but asa practice in its own right. This trend was at
its most prominent and visible in the 1950s,

commonly called the Golden Age of Japanesecinema. Leafing through film journals fromthat period, one cannot avoid noticing fulltexts of screenplays that take up a third or soof each volume. While usually coinciding withthe film’s premiere, scripts often ended up
appearing a little earlier, perhaps suggestingthat Japanese film-goers were little bothered
about getting to know the twists of the plot
before actually seeing the film. At the sametime, this practice suggests that there existed
a wide and skilled readership among thegeneral public that could visualise screen
images out of a text.
Lauri Kitsnik (MA Tokyo PhD Cantab) is
Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Fellow at the
Sainsbury Institute for the Study of JapaneseArts and Cultures in Norwich. His interests
include world film history, comparative film
theory, adaptation and screenwriting. His
work has appeared in the Journal of Japaneseand Korean Cinema, Journal of Screenwriting
and Women Screenwriters: An International
Guide.

Sheer Pleasure: Frank Brangwyn and the Art of Japan – A
private tour of the exhibition, permanent collection and gallery
Tuesday 25 April 20172.00pm to 3.30pm

William Morris Gallery
Lloyd Park, Forest Road
Walthamstow
London E17 4PP£12 per head
Members of the Japan Society and their guests only
Booking deadline: Friday 21 April 2017
Places are limited and early booking is recommended.
To mark the 150th anniversary of the birthof Anglo-Welsh artist Frank Brangwyn RA(1867-1956), William Morris Gallery is staging
a special exhibition showing the rarely
displayed Brangwyn collection of Japanese
prints and paintings. On show are not only
works of art including ukiyo-e prints by
Utagawa Hiroshige and Katsushika Hokusai,
but also works, sketches, and key block prints
made by Brangwyn in collaboration with
London based Japanese artist, Urushibara
Yoshijiro. Work by Rebecca Salter RA, who
studied printmaking in Kyoto, complements
the display with a contemporary perspectiveon the Anglo-Japanese connections throughthe art of Japanese woodblock printing.
Brangwyn’s love of Japanese art and his own
practice influenced by Japan artistic traditions
will be at the centre of the private tour that
the Japan Society is pleased to present to its
members and their guests. This special visit
to Sheer Pleasure: Frank Brangwyn and the
Art of Japan will be guided by the curator of
the exhibition Carien Kremer.

Participants will also have the opportunity tovisit the splendid permanent collection andthe house which was William Morris’ homefrom the age of 14 - 22 and which contains a
tea room and charming garden. The William
Morris Gallery won the Art Fund Prize forMuseum of the year in 2013, so this private
tour is also a great opportunity to discover ahidden gem in north-east London.
Carien Kremer is senior curator at the William
Morris Gallery and curator of Sheer Pleasure:Frank Brangwyn and the Art of Japan. Carien
worked on the award-winning 2012 redisplayof the collections and many of the Gallery’shigh profile exhibitions since, including
those by David Bailey, Yinka Shonibare, Bob
and Roberta Smith and Clare Twomey. Carien
studied at Erasmus University in Rotterdam.

Reimagining Japanese craft traditions in the modern age –Shinichiro Hashiguchi
Wednesday 26 April 20176.30pmLecture Theatre
Chelsea College of Arts
UAL London
16 John Islip Street
London SW1P 4JU
Free – booking recommended

The Japan Society and Chelsea College ofArts (CCA) are delighted to welcome awardwinning Osaka-based architect, Shinichiro
Hashiguchi, for this special lecture. In it
Hashiguchi will be discussing his practiceand the ways he has been working withskilled crafts people and their companies to
explore new ways to give life to the products
they create.
When you visit a museum or art gallery, thechances are that you will see among theexhibits art objects which it would be almost
impossible to recreate today. Craft techniques
and traditions, refined and perfected overgenerations, are gradually being lost as
lifestyles and consumer demands change.
This is true of Japan’s crafts as of those inmany other parts of the world. In responseto this, Shinichiro Hashiguchi has created aseries of tea rooms which use unexpectedmaterials and explore their qualities.
The lecture is part of a wider collaborative
project between the Japan Society,Hashiguchi Architect & Associates andChelsea College of Arts. From 25 April - 6
May 2017, Shinichiro Hashiguchi’s OpenWeave Tea Room will be on display on
CCA’s Rootstein Hopkins Parade Ground.
In association with:This enchanting space is created using finetwisted strings used in making fusuma andwhich demonstrate the delicate craft of theloom, refined and perfected over the years.
Visitors will also be able to view three tea
rooms designed and built in response by
Chelsea’s BA Interior Spatial Design students.
Shinichiro Hashiguchi graduated from
Kindai University Graduate School, before
studying under Izue Kan. He establishedHashiguchi Architect and Associates in
2000. The practice has been recognised foroutstanding design by numerous awards
including the Good Design Award in 2012
and 2016 and the Design for Asia Award in2012 and 2015 and 2016 and the AACA Awardin 2016. Alongside his creative activities, he iscurrently a PhD candidate researching washi
materials at Kyoto Prefectural University.
Related opportunities
We have a limited number of places forvolunteers to assist with the construction of
the Open Weave Tea Room on 20 & 21 April(Thurs & Fri). If you are interested in being
involved, please let us know on events@
japansociety.org.uk

Kokedama workshop – Create a moss ball plant
Friday 28 April 20173.00 to 4.30pm or 6.00 to 7.30pm

Daiwa Foundation Japan House
13 / 14 Cornwall Terrace
London NW1 4QP£25 -30 per head
Booking deadline: Wednesday 26 April 2017
Places are limited and early booking is recommended

The art of kokedama draws on techniquesfrom bonsai and tray landscapes to create astriking display. Literally meaning ‘moss ball’,the kokedama plant has its roots wrapped ina ball of soil and moss from where the bonsai
or small houseplant emerges creating beautiful
silhouettes and natural artistic compositions.
In this kokedama workshop, participants willlearn how to create their own moss ball plant
which they can take home afterwards. Indoor
plant care guidelines will also be explained. All
supplies (plant, moss and soil and decorative
materials such as the display tray or string
hanger) are included.

This workshop will be led by Stefan Thomasfrom Tranquil Plants who will give a presentation
on Japanese kokedama and provide stepby-step guidance to create the moss ballplant. Inspired by botanical decoration, Stefan
specialises in bonsai and kokedama and has apersonal passion for the intriguing history andhorticultural allure of this type of planting.
When booking, please specify which session
you wish to book and whether you wish to use
a bonsai (£30) or a palm (£25) in your kokedama.
Light refreshments will be provided.

Japan Society Book Club: Horses, Horses, In the End the Light
Remains Pure by Hideo Furukawa
Monday 8 May 2017		7.00pmThe Japan Society
13 / 14 Cornwall Terrace
London NW1 4QP
Free for Japan Society Members – booking recommended
The Book Club is held on the second Monday of every month

Horses, Horses, in the End the Light Remains
Pure is a multifaceted literary response to theearthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdown
that devastated northeast Japan on March 11,
2011. The novel is narrated by Hideo Furukawa,
who travels back to his childhood home near
Fukushima after 3/11 to reconnect with aplace that is now doubly alien.
His ruminations conjure the region’s storiedpast, particularly its thousand-year historyof horses, humans, and the struggle witha rugged terrain. Standing in the morning
light, these horses also tell their stories,
heightening the sense of liberation, chaos,and loss that accompanies Furukawa’s richrecollections. A fusion of fiction, history, andmemoir, this book plays with form and feelingin ways reminiscent of Vladimir Nabokov’s
Speak, Memory and W. G. Sebald’s The Rings
of Saturn yet draws its own, unforgettable
portrait of personal and cultural dislocation.

The book club is held every month. Thereis no restriction on the nationality of theauthors read, but books should be available
in translation in both Japanese and English.
The discussion is conducted mainly in English,
but you can choose the language in which
you read the book. The intention is simple:
to explore the themes of the book, express
personal opinions on the style and content,
discuss how the book has changed (or not)in translation and to have a relaxed discussion
with others who have similar interests.

A dialogue between fire and clay: pottery and the appeal of theanagama kiln – an evening with Kazuya Ishida, potter
Thursday 11 May 20176.30pmThe Swedenborg Society
20-21 Bloomsbury Way
London
WC1A 2TH
Free – booking recommended

With the advent of open fires, humans
discovered that clay hardened when it washeated. When the fire place was covered inorder to achieve high temperatures morereliably, the kiln was born. In the quest for evermore durable and more beautiful pottery,firing techniques continued to develop andimprove. Until relatively recently, the wood
fired anagama kiln was commonly used.
Firing an anagama kiln is generally perceived
to be inefficient because each firing requires a
great deal of wood fuel, is very labour intensive
and takes several days, so they are seen lessoften. Together with the disappearance of
anagama, we are losing traditional craft skills.
However, with the application of wood ash,‘nature’s own glaze’, pottery which has been
fired over a long time in heat regulated byskilled craftsmen has a powerful beauty which
only nature can produce. For many people, its
appeal is irresistible.
In this lecture, Kazuya Ishida, a young, up-andcoming potter from a Bizen-yaki family will
discuss the attraction of pottery through an
introduction to his own work, and from theperspective of the anagama kiln. His mission is
to bring the tradition and skills of Bizen pottery
to a wider audience and, in doing so, not simply

to imitate, but to encourage it to take root
locally to create something new which reflectsthat locality. During this lecture, Kazuya Ishida
will demonstrate pottery throwing on a wheel.
The Oxford Anagama ProjectThis project began in 2015, when Japaneseand British potters and anthropologists came
together to build and fire an anagama kiln
in woodland owned by Oxford University.
Participants include potters from Bizen in
Japan and Whichford Pottery, university staff
and numerous volunteers. The project spansvarious academic disciplines, including art,
anthropology and environmental studies.
Kazuya Ishida was born in Bizen in Okayama
Prefecture in 1986, the oldest son of potter
Yasuhiro Ishida. In 2011 he began working at
Kigbeare Studio in Devon, then moved toWhichford Pottery in Oxford in 2012, where hecontinued to develop his craft. He returned toJapan in 2013 to set up his own workshop in
Inbe in Bizen. He has won many prizes for his
work over the years. Since 2015, he became
involved in kiln building, as the Japaneselead on the Oxford Anagama Project, and has
conducted many workshops in the UK as wellas promoting the anagama.

The Meiji Ensoniment: Conflicting Ears and the Decision to
Change Japanese Musical Culture – Jonathan Service
Monday 15 May 20176.45pmThe Swedenborg Society
20-21 Bloomsbury Way(Hall entrance on Barter St)
London WC1A 2TH
Free – booking recommended

In Doremi o eranda Nihonjin (2007), Yuko
Chiba notes that a radical transformationin music-theoretical knowledge, musicalpractice, and aural habitus took place inJapan from the late-nineteenth to the midtwentieth centuries. In this talk, JonathanService asks why and how this transformation
occurred. He will begin by outlining two
schematic ears: an élite ‘samurai’ ear andthe ear of the ‘educated Western visitor’.
Through a reading of the diaries and reportsof representatives from these two groups inthe late-nineteenth century, he will show justhow different the musical cultures of Japanand ‘the West’ were perceived to be. Indeed,
the music of the other was often denied thestatus of organized sound and was heard
instead as noise.
Given these differences, Dr Service willnote the insufficiency of the thesis that thetransformation in Japanese aural culture canbe ascribed to a process of straightforward
cultural diffusion. He will argue instead that
this transformation resulted from a choicethat was made on non- or extra-musicalgrounds – a decision made in the politicalsphere at a time of gunboat diplomacy; inother words, a decision made on the basisof asymmetrical power relationships rather

than aesthetics. From the perspective ofmusic, this decision appeared ‘empty’: it
did not prescribe any specific details, butrather a set of broad (political) goals. The
immediate response, therefore, involved
the hard theoretical work of defining theconcept (as Eishi Kikkawa remarks, the term‘music’ ongaku can be traced to this period).
It was this theoretical ‘filling-in’ of an empty
decision that was, Jonathan Service argues,
the critical juncture in the transformation inmusical practice and aural sensibility notedby Chiba.
Dr Jonathan Service is the Okinaga JuniorResearch Fellow in Japanese Studies at
Wadham College, University of Oxford.
He graduated from Harvard University
with a doctorate in Japanese and music.
He studies the transformation in musicalculture and aural sensibility in Japan fromthe mid-nineteenth to the mid-twentiethcenturies. He is particularly interested in thesynergies that developed between Western
theories of music and Japanese or East
Asian theories of music and the impact thatthese theories had on musical practice. He
is currently completing his first monograph,
Orchestrating Modernity.

Japan Room Lecture
The Colourful Festivals of Kyoto
Tuesday 30 May 20176.30pmLodge Room No 11
The Freemasons’ HallGreat Queen Street
London WC2B 5AZ
Japan Society members: £9Non-members: £15
Booking deadline: Friday 26 May 2017

Most famous for being considered a sacredpart of Japan, the old Imperial capital of Kyoto
seasonally adds splashes of colour to the cityby celebrating up to five hundred annual
festivals in and around many of its historicaland spiritual attractions. The majority ofthese festivals were traditionally rituals held
to protect Kyoto.
In this lectures Pauline Chakmakjian will cover1) the three, major matsuri held in the City of
Kyoto each year, 2) some of the lesser-known
festivals and their significance and 3) a few
of the more unusual festivals held every year.

Pauline Chakmakjian is a Visit Kyoto
Ambassador and a writer and speaker onJapanese and British Masonic history.
Please let us know if you would like to take anoptional tour of the Freemason’s Hall at 5.15
for 5.30pm.

Dogs Without Names – film screening and Q&A with director T
and contributors
G
Wednesday 31 May 20176.30pmPhoenix Cinema
52 High Road
London N2 9PJ£10, £8 (concessions), £6 (children)
Tickets can be booked calling the Phoenix Cinema box office on
020 8444 6789 or online on the Phoenix Cinema website: http://
phoenixcinema.co.uk/

Following the death of her beloved golden
retriever, a film maker channels her grief into
making a documentary about people who
rescue dogs and cats ‘without names’ – in otherwords, those with no one to care for them.
Akane Yamada’s moving docu-drama looks
at animal adoption centres and shelters
around Japan including those struggling tohandle the countless lost dogs and cats in the
20-kilometre ‘red zone’ around the Fukushima
nuclear reactor. She meets and interviews
many involved in such organisations and sees
anew the power of our bonds with theseanimals and our responsibilities should we opt
to care for them.
We are delighted to welcome director Akane
Yamada to the UK for this special screening andare grateful to Small Hope Bay Productions andPhoenix Cinema for their support.

Please be aware that the screening starts at
6.30pm and there are no trailers before the film.
The screening will be followed by Q&A with thedirector and representatives of organisations
featured in the film.
Dogs Without Names 「犬に名前をつける日」(Japan 2015, 107 mins, English subtitles）
Starring Satomi Kobayashi and Takaya Kamikawa
Director: Akane Yamada
Akane Yamada has over 30 years experience
as a film and television director. Recent
productions include The Happiness of
Mucchan (NHK, 2014) which tracks Mucchan, adog abandoned in the 20 kilometer ‘red zone’
around the Fukushima nuclear reactor, andThe woman who sleeps with 1,000 cats (Fuji
Television, 2015) featuring Yuri Nakatani, of NPO
Minashigo Dogs and Cats Rescue in Hiroshima.

In association with:

Trooping the Colour 2017 – Special Seats at the Major
General’s Review
Saturday 3 June 20179.15 for 10.00am

Horse Guards Parade
Whitehall London
SW1A 2NS
Japan Society members only: £12
Booking dealine: Friday 12 May

One of the great annual sights in London
is the Trooping the Colour ceremony 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 11.00am.

Members should be seated by 10.00am, but
we are arranging to meet at 9.15am for coffee
and a short talk. The cost of this is included in
the price for the event. The talk will explainin more detail the conduct of the parade,its history and tradition. The event ends atapproximately noon.

The Household Troops are the personal
soldiers of The Queen. It is important toremember that these are also fighting troops;
many of those on parade will be veterans ofvarious campaigns including Afghanistan
and Iraq. About 1,000 men in bearskins,tunics and full uniform will be on parade;
there will be Massed Bands, a Mounted Band,and a large number of cavalry. The troops will
be reviewed and then will march past twice.

Full details will be sent to those who book.

The Society has once again made application
for a number of seats for the dress rehearsal,
held two weeks before the real parade. The
Queen will not be present on 3 June, but thisDress Rehearsal will be taken by the Generalin command of all Household Troops.

This is always a popular event – please
register your interest by 12 May. Once weknow the result of our application for places,
we will notify you. Should the number ofpeople wishing to attend exceed the numberof tickets, we will allocate places by ballot.

Behind the Scenes at Hankyu Department Store’s celebrated
British Fair
Monday 5 June 20176.30 pm

The Frameworks
4th Floor Nutmeg House
60 Gainsford Street
London SE1 2NY
Free – booking recommended

Join us for an evening discussing Hankyu’s
British Fair concept, hearing from those whohave been involved and looking at future
opportunities. From its beginnings in 1970
as the ‘Traditional Royal British Exhibition’,the now ‘British Fair’ with its record sales
figures has become synonymous with theHankyu Department Store, and celebrates its
50th incarnation in 2017. The fair is not only
a popular event selling British products, butalso an occasion for its Japanese audience toenjoy British culture and lifestyle. In this sense,
the Hankyu British Fair epitomises the role ofthe department store as a space for exchange
and communication between producers andconsumers.
The Japan Society is pleased to welcome
Wataru Kuwahara, who has been responsible
for the Hankyu British Fair for over 10 years. Mr
Kuwahara will provide a backstage view of thefair and how it is planned and produced. He
will discuss the image of British culture among
the Japanese consumer and the role Japan’s
department stores play in the Anglo-Japanese
economic exchange at grassroots level. Also
joining the discussion will be Keiji Hayashi
from Hankyu Hanshin Express, who manages
the local relationship with the exhibitors in theUK, and John Shepherd, Managing Director ofPartridges, who has been a participant in the
Fair. They will share their varying experiences
and points of view to present a multifaceted
perspective on the Hankyu British Fair and theopportunities it presents.
Wataru Kuwahara joined the Hankyu
Department Store company in 1989. After
working in the sales, marketing and planning
divisions, he became the manager of the
British Fair taking care of the planning andorganisation of the event.
Keiji Hayashi works as a project and businessdevelopment manager at Hankyu Hanshin
Express (UK). He joined the company in2000 after working at Central Saint Martins,
University of The Arts London.
John Shepherd is the Managing Directorof Partridges of Duke of York Square on theKings Road and has many years’ experiencein the world of food. He is credited as beinga specialist in this field and also provides
consultancy to locations which wish to startup markets, with guest appearances on the
BBC’s Apprentice, Sky’s Cooks to Market aswell as a column in Speciality Food Magazine.

In association with:

Japan Society Book Club: The Samurai by Shusaku Endo
Monday 12 June 2017		7.00pmThe Japan Society
13 / 14 Cornwall Terrace
London NW1 4QP
Free for Japan Society Members – booking recommended
The Book Club is held on the second Monday of every month

Set in the period preceding the Christianpersecutions in Japan, The Samurai traces thesteps of some of the first Japanese to set footon European soil. Rokuemon Hasekura, a lowranking warrior, is chosen as one of Japan’s
envoys to the Viceroy of Mexico and Pope Paul
V. The emissaries set sail in 1613, accompanied
by an ambitious Franciscan missionary whohopes to bargain trading privileges with theWest for the right to head his order in Japan.
The arduous journey lasts four years, andthe Japanese travel from Mexico to Rome,
where they are persuaded that the successof their mission depends on their immediateconversion to Christianity. In fact, theenterprise has been futile from the startand the mission returns to Japan where thepolitical tides have shifted: the authorities are
pursuing an isolationist policy and a ruthlessstamping out of all Western influences. In theface of disillusionment and death, samurai
Rokuemon’s only support and solace comefrom the spiritual lord he is not even sure hebelieves in.

The book club is held every month. Thereis no restriction on the nationality of theauthors read, but books should be available
in translation in both Japanese and English.
The discussion is conducted mainly in English,
but you can choose the language in which
you read the book. The intention is simple:
to explore the themes of the book, express
personal opinions on the style and content,
discuss how the book has changed (or not)in translation and to have a relaxed discussion
with others who have similar interests.

Hokusai: beyond the Great Wave – private view of the British
Museum exhibition with curator Tim Clark
Tuesday 13 June 20174.30pmBritish Museum (Room 35)
Great Russell Street
Bloomsbury
London WC1B 3DG
Free – booking essential
Japan Society members only (no guests)
Booking deadline: 31 May 2017

Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849) is widely
regarded as one of Japan’s most famousand influential artists. He produced works ofastonishing quality right up until his death at
the age of 90. This new exhibition at the British
Museum will lead the visitor on an artistic
journey through the last 30 years of Hokusai’s
life – a time when he produced some of his
most memorable masterpieces.
Throughout the exhibition, outstanding
examples of Hokusai’s work will show theartist’s creative breadth and depth. A selectionof superb landscapes is introduced with theiconic Great Wave – itself part of a print seriesof views of Mt Fuji. Intimate domestic scenes
capture fleeting moments in private lives.
Exquisite depictions of flora and fauna display
an innate skill in representing the natural world.
The artist’s imagination is given full rein in the
portrayal of supernatural creatures such as
ghosts and deities.
By kind permission of the British Museum, theJapan Society is delighted to invite its members
to an exclusive private view of ‘Hokusai: beyond
the Great Wave’ led by exhibition curator Tim
Clark. We will assemble at the entrance to theexhibition for prompt entry at 4.30pm and thetour will last until 5.30pm when the Museum

closes. Please note that it is not possible toarrange earlier entry to the exhibition as part ofthis tour.
Tim Clark is Head of the Japanese Section in
the Department of Asia at the British Museum.
He has curated many exhibitions on aspects ofJapanese art and authored and co-authorednumerous books about Japanese pictorial art.
In 2011 he published a small monograph for
British Museum Press, Hokusai’s Great Wave.
He has co-curated the exhibition Hokusai:
beyond the Great Wave with Asano Shūgō andis leading the related AHRC-funded research
project Late Hokusai: Thought, Technique,Society, in collaboration with SOAS, Universityof London.
Please note that the number of places atthis event is very limited and tickets willbe allocated by ballot. Please register yourinterest by 31 May, and tickets will be allocatedby a random draw shortly after the booking
deadline.
Photo: Clear day with a southern breeze (Red Fuji) fromThirty-Six Views of Mt Fuji. Colour woodblock, 1831. © The
Trustees of the British Museum

In association with:

Women in the World of Haruki Murakami – Gitte Marianne
HansenMonday 19 June 20176.45pmThe Swedenborg Society
20-21 Bloomsbury Way(Hall entrance on Barter St)
London WC1A 2TH
Free – booking recommended

Haruki Murakami’s most well-known
character-type is without doubt thelonesome protagonist – the male narrator
who tells his stories through the Japanesemale pronoun boku (‘I’). The few available
literary analyses of gender representationsin Murakami’s work have generally led totwo critical conclusions about his character
construction. First, that his fiction mirrors
Japanese patriarchy and second, that hepositions female characters traditionally as
objects for male subjectivities and sexualities.
While some of Murakami’s stories do fit
such generalizations, these criticisms appear
incomplete. Murakami’s works are not just‘boku-stories’(male-narrated-I-stories)that reproduce established gender roles
and exploit the female through the malenarrative. His works also portray female main
characters, protagonists and narrators thatact as subjects in their own worlds, using
their own language and first person pronoun(watashi) to convey stories of their own, as
evident in Sleep (1989), The ice man (1991)
and The little green monster (1991).
Murakami’s female characters are therefore
not limited to stories about the ‘mysterious
young girl’ and ‘disappeared woman’ as

told by his well-known male boku-narrators.
Readers also encounter female charactersthat are housewife-narrators and strongwilled protagonists, a character developmentthat mirrors women’s shifting position andparadoxical empowerment in contemporary
Japanese society and feminist thought.
Dr Gitte Marianne Hansen is a lecturer inJapanese Studies at Newcastle University
and an Associated Researcher at Nordic
Institute of Asia Studies (NIAS), University of
Copenhagen. An AHRC Leadership Fellow(Feb 2017-July 2018), Dr Hansen is currently
working on the project Gendering Murakami
Haruki: Characters, Transmedial Productions
and Contemporary Japan. She holds a
PhD from the University of Cambridgeand studied and worked as a Teaching andResearch Assistant to Professor Norihiro Katoat Waseda University in Tokyo (2004-2009).
Her work focuses on Japanese culture since1980, especially issues related to genderand character construction in literature,
manga and other forms of narrative andvisual culture. She is the author of Femininity,
Self-harm and Eating Disorders in Japan:
Navigating contradiction in narrative andvisual culture (Routledge, 2016).

Joint Lunch with JCCI: with special guest Nick Clegg MP
Wednesday 21 June 201712.30pm for 1.00pm

National Liberal ClubWhitehall Place
London SW1A 2HE£50 per head
Members of the Japan Society, the JCCI and their guests
Booking deadline: Friday 16 June

On Wednesday, 29 March 2017, Prime Minister
Theresa May invoked Article 50 of the Lisbon
Treaty, formally beginning negotiations on
Britain’s departure from the European Union.
In the run up to the EU Referendum, Rt
Hon Nick Clegg MP – former Deputy Prime
Minister and leader of the Liberal Democrats– was a leading campaigner to remain in the
EU. Recently appointed Liberal Democrat
Brexit spokesperson, Mr Clegg has raised anumber of challenges to the government on
their proposed Brexit strategy, questioning
the impact of a ‘hard Brexit’ on both the UK
economy and wider geopolitical relations.
For their second joint lunch of 2017, theJapan Society and the Japanese Chamberof Commerce and Industry in the UK aredelighted to welcome Mr Clegg, who will
speak on the key issues facing the UK during
the Brexit process. He will also consider therole of business and what companies can do
to influence the ongoing negotiations.

Nick Clegg MP is a Liberal Democrat
politician who served as Deputy Prime
Minister in Britain’s first post war Coalition
Government from 2010 to 2015 and as
Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2007
to 2015. He is the Member of Parliament for
Sheffield Hallam, where he was first elected
in 2005, and was previously a Member of theEuropean Parliament.
During the coalition years he establishedhimself as the highest profile pro-European
voice in British politics and is well known andrespected in capitals across the continent.
Following the UK referendum on EU
membership in June 2016, Nick returned to
the Liberal Democrat front bench as Shadow
Secretary of State for Exiting the European
Union and Shadow Secretary of State forInternational Trade in order to hold theGovernment to account over its plans for
Brexit.
Following a two-course lunch, Mr Clegg
will speak for about 20 minutes, after
which there will be time for questions until
2.30pm.

In association with:

Miso Inspired Supper Club – With Japan Society andClearspring – Hosted by Jay Morjaria
Tuesday 27 June 20177.00pmPrintworks Kitchen
20-26 Rosebery Avenue
London EC1R 4SX£35 – Japan Society members£40 – non-members
Booking deadline: Friday 23 June 2017

We are delighted to announce an informal
Japan Society supper club, organised inpartnership with Clearspring and chef, Jay
Morjaria. Responding to requests from ourmembers, this event combines an exciting
dining experience with a relaxed opportunity
to meet and get to know other members. We
look forward to seeing you there, but please
be quick – places are limited!
Inspired by Clearspring’s extensive organic
vegan range, Jay Morjaria has created a
special well-balanced menu which features
miso at its heart. Each dish, from the starterto the pudding, incorporates miso! Start theevening off with a glass of sake, after which
you will enjoy a five course, tapas-style meal,
served as sharing platters for groups of four
people. A glass of prosecco will be servedwith the meal, and other drinks may bepurchased from the bar. At the end of theevening you will go home with a goodie bagfrom our partners, Clearspring.
The menu* at this event includes:
1. Tacos – crispy tofu with a hatcho misomole, pickles, guacamole, coriander
2. Cauliflower fritters with a chipotle &barley miso sauce

3. Seasonal greens with a brown rice miso
satay sauce
4. Miso mushroom ragu with penne
Caesar salad with miso ranch dressing, garlicand herb croutons.
5. Chocolate brownie with miso
*Depending on availability of seasonal
ingredients, this menu may be subject to lastminute change. Please ensure you notify usof any food allergies when you book.
Jay Morjaria is a Chef, F&B consultant,
Author and founder of Sutra Kitchen, Central
London’s first Vegetarian and Vegan cooking
school. Jay works with well-known brands
and start-ups to advise them how to create
innovative dishes and build new restaurant
concepts.
The Clearspring brand promises premium
quality Japanese specialities and organic
fine foods that are authentic, versatile andsupport good health. Made to traditional
recipes by master artisan producers, theybring you full, authentic flavours of some of
the most exciting food cultures from aroundthe world.

In association with:

Japan Society Golf Tournament 2017
Thursday 29 June 2017JT
8.30amEssendon Country Club
Bedwell Park
EssendonHatfield AL9 6HNJapan Society Members and their guests:£70 per head (all-in price for the day)
Booking deadline: Monday 19 June 2017

The Japan Society’s Annual Golf Tournament,
for the Asprey and Garrard Plate, is due to takeplace at Essendon Country Club on Thursday
29 June, with a shotgun start at 9.30am. The
format will be Stableford and players haveto be ready by 9.00am for transport to their
allocated teeoffs.
The all-in price is £70, including breakfast,
18 holes of golf and a two-course lunch oncompletion.
BDO, a leading member of the Japan Society,is once again generously providing the prizes
and there will be competitions for ‘Nearest
the Pin’ and ‘Longest Drive’; a mobile
halfway house will be on hand to provide
refreshments.

Designed by Fred Hawtree, the old Course
was opened about forty-one years ago and isa testament to parkland courses. Undulatingin nature, the course provides a real test for
golfers of all abilities whilst they can enjoy
the spectacular views.
Probably the most demanding par 5 is the
12th, with tee shots halted by a sloping,narrow, tree lined fairway. The final hole,whilst being a long par 3, has a green well
below the tees and will hopefully ensure agood end to a most enjoyable roundIn association with:

Japan Airlines / Football Samurai Academy 5-a-side
Tournament​
Sunday 2 July 2017

4.00pmPark Lodge
North Acton Playing Field
Noel Road
London W3 0JF
Free – Japan Society members and their guests only
Booking deadline: Friday 23 June

Players Needed!
The Japan Society is once again recruiting
members for a team to compete in theFootballSamuraiAcademy5-a-side
Tournament. We are looking to improve oursemi-final appearance at last year’s event.
Whether you currently play football or
enjoyed playing at school, university or for aclub, we need you. Players of all abilities, men
and women, are welcome, and if demand issufficient we will form two teams.
Now in its third year, the tournament takes
place on the Football Samurai Academy’s
3G artificial pitch in North Acton, following
their U6 and U13 5-a-side tournaments

earlier in the day. Players are required to wear
full football kit with either trainers or astro
trainers (no football or rugby boots). Matches
are 10 minutes long (NO half time) withrolling substitutions and teams will consist of
up to 10 players.
During the day there will be food and drink
stalls, community groups and many otheractivities, and the Samurai Academy’s five
adjacent tennis courts will be open foreveryone. Even if you aren’t playing, please
do come and support us!
Companies interested in fielding their own
teams should contact Samurai Academy
directly at hello@footsamurai.com.

In association with:

Japan Society Book Club: The Samurai by Shusaku Endo
Monday 10 July 2017		7.00pmThe Japan Society
13 / 14 Cornwall Terrace
London NW1 4QP
Free for Japan Society Members – booking recommended
The Book Club is held on the second Monday of every month

I Want to Kick You in the Back follows Hatsu,
who is in her first year of high school and having
a hard time fitting in with her classmates. She
meets Ninagawa, an outcast who is obsessedwith a model/pop idol but who has no interestin the actual girls around him. Gradually, Hatsu
develops an impulse towards Ninagawa, notof love or infatuation, but one that can best be
described as a desire to kick him in the back.
This novella does a great job of exploring theambivalent feelings of a teenager in search ofa meaningful relationship.

The book club is held every month. Thereis no restriction on the nationality of theauthors read, but books should be available
in translation in both Japanese and English.
The discussion is conducted mainly in English,
but you can choose the language in which
you read the book. The intention is simple:
to explore the themes of the book, express
personal opinions on the style and content,
discuss how the book has changed (or not)in translation and to have a relaxed discussion
with others who have similar interests.

CaCarmen Blacker Lecture 2017 – The archaeology of Ritual Sites
and the Origins of Japanese Shrines and Festivals
Monday 17 July 20176.45pmThe Swedenborg Society
20-21 Bloomsbury Way(Hall entrance on Barter St)
London WC1A 2TH
Free – booking recommended

For this year’s Carmen Blacker Lecture
we are delighted to welcome Mamoru
Saso, Professor of Japanese Archaeology
and History of Japanese Religion at the
Kokugakuin University and Director ofthe
Kukugakuin
University
Museum.
The Carmen Blacker Lecture Series honours
the memory and scholarship of Carmen
Blacker (1924-2009) and is organised jointly
by the Sainsbury Institute for the Study ofJapanese Arts and Cultures and the Japan
Society. Each year a senior scholar is invited
to speak on a theme related to Blacker’s
research in the area of Japanese religion andfolklore.
Shinto shrines are places of worship formany in Japan. Considered sacred, pilgrims
visit shrines to commune with the tutelaryspirits. Rituals and festivals are held regularly
to maintain harmony between people andnature.
This talk will focus on Omiwa Shrine, the oldest
surviving shrine in Japan, and Munakata
Grand Shrine and the associated ritual sites on
the island of Okinoshima. Through images oflandscapes and excavated artefacts, Professor

Mamoru Saso will discuss the formationof ritual sites during the fourth and fifth
centuries and the relationship between theenvironment and the kami spirits nurtured
through festivals. He will also explore how
ritual practices played an important part instate formation and in the development ofJapanese mythology.
Mamoru Saso received his PhD in Religious
Studies from Kokugakuin University in 2006.
Since 1985, he assumed various roles for
the Board of Education at Chiba Prefectural
Government, including Senior Researcher for
Awa Museum and Head of Cultural Education
and Properties Division, Department of
Educational Promotion. In 2009 he became
Associate Professor at Kokugakuin University
and then Professor in 2010. In 2015, he wasappointed Director of Kokugakuin University
Museum. His recent publications include
Nihon Kodai no Saishi Kōkogaku (Archaeology
of Ritual and Religion in Ancient Japan,
Yoshikawakōbunkan, 2012) and Kami to Shishano Kōkogaku (Archaeology of Kami and theDead, ed., Yoshikawakōbunkan, 2016). He won
the Society of Shinto Studies Award in 2004.

Co-organised by:

The Present and Future of Financial Technology – A Tool for
Financial Inclusion with Doreming
Tuesday 25 July 2017		6.30pmMitsubishi Corporation International (Europe) Plc
Mid City Place
71 High Holborn
London WC1V 6BA
Free of charge – Booking essential
Booking deadline: 21 July 2017

We increasingly hear references to ‘FinTech’in our everyday. No longer solely a topic ofinterest to the financial or computing media,
it is frequently the subject of lifestyle andnews stories.
London has positioned itself at the centreof the FinTech revolution. Initiatives fromnational and local government, as well as
financial and technological industries serve
to attract investment and industry leadersdriving change both for us as individuals andas businesses. Among those working in thisfield are significant numbers of people whohave come to London from Japan.
Through a series of linked seminars, theJapan Society is celebrating this new phasein the UK-Japan relationship, while exploring
the opportunities and challenges presented
by the new technology in many different
spheres of activity. Focussing on four people,
working under the broad umbrella of FinTech,we will investigate some of the ways in which
it will have an impact our future lives.
This first seminar will feature Tomohiko
Nakamura, Country Manager of Doreming

In association with:

Ltd, UK. A spin-off from Kizuna Japan,
Doreming provides real time payroll services
to companies, which allow them to give
employees easy access to their earnings andgreater control of cash flow. Operating as asocial business, Doreming aims to increasefinancial inclusion and support people withlimited access to banking services.
In his presentation, Tomohiko Nakamura will
share his own experience, as entrepreneur
and now as UK representative of a Japanesestart-up company. He will look at thecontribution financial technology services
can make in meeting the challenge of social
inclusion and helping ‘to end poverty inall its forms’, the first of the UN Sustainable
Development Goals. Following an open
session for questions and discussion, theevening will conclude with an informal
networking reception.
The series will continue in the autumn withseminars led by Akio Kurata founder and CEO
of Equity-X, Ali Adnan co-founder of Authlete
and Makoto Fukuhara, Managing Director of
Skwile. Each seminar will focus on a different
application of financial technology.

Tanabata: Celebrate the Japanese Star Festival at Kew Gardens
Wednesday 2 & Thursday 3 August 201710.30am – 4.30pm

Bamboo Garden and Minka House
Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew
RichmondStandard Kew admission charge
No booking required – just turn up on the day!

Tanabata is a Japanese festival that celebrates
the coming together of two stars, Orihime
and Hikoboshi, who can only meet oncea year, on the 7th day of the 7th month. In
collaboration with Kew Gardens, the Embassyof Japan and Japan House London, Japan
Society welcomes all visitors to once againcelebrate Tanabata with us and to enjoy
workshops, activities and performances
marking this ancient summer event.

Tanabata Festival Programme (tbc)

Try your hand at Japanese calligraphy andwrite your wishes on colourful tanzaku (wishstrips) during our all-day workshops at the
Minka House. Learn how to make the best
origami, follow the Tanabata Treasure Trailand discover the fascinating story of Tanabatathrough kamishibai (Japanese storyboard
theatre). You can also visit the Open Weave
Tea Room to observe a tea ceremony andtry a cup of Japanese tea. During the day,taiko drummers will perform in the bamboo
garden and other locations at Kew.
Don’t miss out on taking part in the
Tanabata festival!

In association with:

EventsTimes

Origami workshops

All day (drop-in)

Calligraphy workshops

All day (drop-in)

Try on a yukata• 11.00 - 12.30• 14.00 - 16.00

Bamboo tour

• 11.00• 14.00

Tanabata kamishibaistorytelling• 12.00 - 12.30• 13.30 - 14.00• 15.00 - 15.30

Tea ceremony + tea
tasting••••

Tea room lectures
by Shinichiro Hashiguchi• 13.00 -13.30• 15.30 -16.00

Joji Hirota and the London Taiko Drummers• 11.00 -11.15 (Orangery)• 13.00 -13.15 (Palm House)• 13.30 Procession to Minka• 14.30 -14.50 (Minka House)• 15.30 -15.45 (Japanese
Gateway)

11.30 -12.00
12.30 -13.00
15.00 -15.30
16.00 -16.30

Japanese Whisky Tasting at Anzu Restaurant
Monday 7 August 2017

6:30pm for 7:00pm

Anzu
1 Norris Street
St. James’s Market Square
London SW1Y 4RJ£45 per person
Booking deadline: Friday 4 August 2017

Due to popular demand our Japanese whisky
tasting event is returning this year, hosted by
Anzu, a new Japanese restaurant in the heartof London. Japan Society is pleased to offer
its members and guests the opportunity toexperience the distinctive, wonderful tastesof Japanese whiskies whilst meeting oldfriends and making new ones.
An exclusive five course Japanese tastingmenu has been created to match fiveexquisite Japanese whiskies, which include a
12 year old single malt whisky and whiskiesfrom the prestigious distillery Nikka.
With an intimate atmosphere and luxury
dining room, places are limited so pleasebook quickly. Non-members are also very
welcome to join us for this event.
Anzu is a newly opened Japanese bar andrestaurant located centrally in St James’sMarket Square. Offering an a la cartebrasserie-style menu which can be paired
beautifully with cocktails, Japanese whiskiesor sake.

The menu* at this event includes:
1. 12 year old Single Malt served with Pork
and King Crab Gyozas
2. Nikka Pure Malt Black served with Seared
Tuna with Sesame and Pickled Daikon
3. Akashi White Oak Sherry Cask served with
Runner Beans and Black Goma
4. Nikka from the Barrel served with Lamb
Rump and Red Chilli Miso
5. Nikka Coffey Malt served with Miso
Caramel Ice Cream Sando, Chocolate
Guinness Cake and Caramel Popcorn.
*Depending on availability of seasonal
ingredients, this menu may be subject
to last minute change. Please ensure
you notify us of any food allergies anddietary requirements when you book. An
alternative vegetarian menu is also available
for this event.

In association with:

Japan Society Book Club: Hiroshima by John Hersey
Monday 14 August 2017		7.00pmThe Japan Society
13 / 14 Cornwall Terrace
London NW1 4QP
Free for Japan Society Members – booking recommended
The Book Club is held on the second Monday of every month

Hiroshima is a book by Pulitzer Prize-winning
author John Hersey. It tells the stories ofsix survivors of the atomic bomb dropped
on Hiroshima, covering a period of time
immediately prior to and one year after theatomic bomb was dropped on August 6,
1945. It was originally published in The New
Yorker. Although the story was originallyscheduled to be published over four issues,
the entire edition of August 31, 1946 wasdedicated to the article. The article andsubsequent book are regarded as one of theearliest examples of the New Journalism, inwhich the story-telling techniques of fiction
are adapted to non-fiction reporting.
John Richard Hersey (1914-1993) was bornin Tientsin, China, to American missionaries.
He graduated from from Yale University andstudied eighteenth century English literature
in Cambridge University. From 1939 to ’45 heworked for Time magazine, and returned toChina as a war correspondent in Chungking.
From 1943 to 1945, Hersey worked out ofSicily and Russia, and in 1944 he publishedthe Pulitzer Prize-winning A Bell for Adano,
the story of an occupied village in Italy. In
1946, he published Hiroshima, adjudged
the finest piece of American journalism of
the 20th century by a 36-member panel
associated with New York University’sjournalism department.
The book club is held every month. Thereis no restriction on the nationality of theauthors read, but books should be available
in translation in both Japanese and English.
The discussion is conducted mainly in English,
but you can choose the language in which
you read the book. The intention is simple:
to explore the themes of the book, express
personal opinions on the style and content,
discuss how the book has changed (or not) intranslation and to have a relaxed discussion
with others who have similar interests.

In conversation with Philip Harper, Japan’s first and only
British toji (sake brew-master)Thursday 17 August 2017

6:30pmDaiwa Foundation Japan House
13/14 Cornwall Terrace (Outer Circle)
London NW1 4QP£30 British Sake Association and Japan Society members£35 guests and others
Booking deadline: Monday 14 August 2017
To register your place, please email events@britishsakeassociation.org

Toji is usually translated as “master brewer”
referring to the person responsible for theentire brewing process in a particular sakebrewery. Highly skilled in the craft of sakebrewing, a toji has to work over the years togain the necessary knowledge and training
about the practical business of producing
sake and, as a final step, to pass an exam on
topics such as fermentation and chemistry toqualify as a sake master brewer.
In collaboration with the British Sake
Association, Japan Society is pleased toinvite its members to an evening with Philip
Harper, Japan’s first and only British toji. This isa very special joint event: expect a discussion
and tasting of aged sakes, temperature andyeasts.
Accompanying the sake, we will serve amixed sushi bento box with a side dishof broccoli and aubergine sesame sauce(vegetarian sushi is also available).

In an informal atmosphere, Philip will talk about
his experience in the sake world and discuss
the production process of a sake brewery. It will
also be a chance for you to ask Philip all thosequestions you have wanted to ask about sake.
Philip Harper was born in Birmingham andraised in Cornwall. After graduating in English
Literature at Oxford University, he went toJapan in 1988 on the Ministry of Education’s
JET Programme, and worked as an English
teacher in public schools in Osaka. Following
this experience, he started working at Ume
no Yado, a Japanese sake brewery in a rural
town within Nara Prefecture. After around ten
years or work and training, he qualified as amaster brewer and has worked at breweries
in prefectures including Ibaraki, Osaka andKyoto. Philip is the author of The Insider’s
Guide to Sake (1998) and The Book of Sake: A
Connoisseurs Guide (2006), both published by
Kodansha International.

Interested in sake? Japan Society is preparing more sake-related events for this autumn.
Please check our website www.japansociety.org.uk for further details or follow us on:
JapanSocietyLondon

japansocietylon
In association with:T
RThe Art of Nishiki Weaving in Japan. Preservation and
Restoration of Yarn Dyed Textiles – with Amane Tatsumura
Monday 21 August 20176.45pmThe Swedenborg Society
20-21 Bloomsbury Way(Hall entrance on Barter St)
London WC1A 2TH
Free – booking recommended

Nishiki-ori brocades are magnificently
elaborate and multi-coloured figured silk
textiles, hand-woven on takabata looms,
which were introduced to Japan from China
over 1,200 years ago. Reflecting the highmonetary value of the product, the characterfor nishiki (錦) is made up of two othercharacters, 金 meaning gold or money and 帛,
meaning silk. The word nishiki has historically
been used to describe something of great
beauty, in phrases such as ‘nishiki no mihata’banners flown by imperial troops; ‘kokyo ni
nishiki o kazaru’ (lit. decorate the hometown
with nishiki brocade) used to describe
someone returning home in triumph; and‘kinshu’ to refer to spectacular autumn leaves(kin is an alternative reading of the characternishiki). However, today nishiki weaving is inreal danger, with a lack of skilled craft workers
to carry on the tradition.
We are delighted to welcome Amane
Tatsumura to give the Society’s August lecture.
Tatsumura, who is actively working to preserveand continue the techniques used in yarndyed weaving, will speak about the revivalof this tradition. The Tatsumura family hasstudied the various traditional skills involvedin the historic production of woven textiles,
such as methods of spinning cocoons and theconstruction of looms and other equipment,
and as far as possible use those techniquesin their weaving today. Through these efforts
to restore the traditional methods, it has
been possible to create employment forcraftspeople whose work has been in decline,
while preserving techniques and ensuringthat these skills are passed on and recorded.
Amane Tatsumura was born in 1974, theoldest son of Koho Tatsumura, one of theleading masters of the art of nishiki weaving
in Japan. After graduating from Tokyo Zokei
University, he concentrated on the weavingof nishiki brocade, learning how to weave
on a takabata loom. Amane Tatsumura has
followed in his father’s footsteps in continuing
this tradition and has worked to restore theyarn-dyed weaving tradition and promote its
growth. He is a special lecturer attached to
the Project Faculty of Doshisha University.

Joint Lunch with the JCCI: The UK-Japan 21st Century
Group’s 34th Annual Meeting
Thursday 7 September 201712.30 for 1.00pm

The Cavalry & Guards Club
127 Piccadilly
London W1J 7PX£57 per head for members of the Japan Society, the JCCI and theirguests.
Booking deadline: Monday 4 September
Payment must be made in advance, by bank transfer, credit/debitcard or cheque made payable to the Japan Society.
The guests at the next Japan Society and JCCI
Joint Lunch will be the co-Chairmen of the
UK-Japan 21st Century Group, Mr Yasuhisa
Shiozaki and The Rt Hon the Lord Lansley,
together with other British and Japanese
members of the Group.
The 21st Century Group is a non-Governmental
forum. It was set up in 1984 to help cement
closer links between British and Japanesepoliticians, business and media figures, andacademics. It meets each year, alternating
between Japan and the UK, to discuss
issues of mutual national interest, reporting
direct after each meeting to the British andJapanese Prime Ministers. Membership of thegroup varies from year to year but includes
Members of the UK Parliament and of theDiet, experts on the issues being discussed,
senior business representatives and wellknown media commentators.

of interest in UK/Japan relations directly withthe members of the Group. There will be
designated rapporteurs on each table, who
can feed back any specific points after thelunch as necessary.
We are indebted to Honda Motor Europe
Ltd who have generously funded theparticipation of delegates from the 21stCentury Group.
This is an important event: dialogue with theparliamentary and other delegates who will
be going straight on to debate the same issues
over the weekend, will give our membersa chance to provide input to key questions
and also to ensure that the members of theGroup are aware of the issues faced by those
involved in UK-Japan relations here in the UK.

For this lunch, members of the 21st Century
Group will be spread through tables of ten,otherwise made up of members of the Japan
Society and of the JCCI; all attendees will beallocated seats. The co-Chairmen will makebrief speeches, but the aim of the lunch will
be to enable the members of the Society
and the Chamber to discuss current issues
In association with:supported by:JAJapan Society Book Club: The Moon over the Mountain by
Atsushi Nakajima
Monday 11 September 2017		7.00pmThe Japan Society
13 / 14 Cornwall Terrace
London NW1 4QP
Free for Japan Society Members – booking recommended
The Book Club is held on the second Monday of every month

Ancient China is illustriously brought to lifein these folk tales, legends, and stories ofhistorical figures. When they first appeared inJapanese periodicals in 1942 and 1943, theysparked a promising career for author Atsushi
Nakajima, who tragically died of asthma
complicated by severe pneumonia shortly
thereafter, but whose work has continued
to grow in Japanese regard ever since. This
collection marks the first time these works
have been translated into English.
Atsushi Nakajima was a Japanese writerknown for his meticulously researched shortstories based on Ancient China. Nakajima wasborn in Tokyo, and his father was a scholar
specialising in Classical Chinese. Nakajima
was sent to Palau in 1941 to teach Japanese
but returned in 1942 after being tormented
by severe asthma, and died later that year
after contracting pneumonia. He completed
one major novel, Light, Wind and Dreams,
based on the life of Robert Louis Stevenson.

The book club is held every month. Thereis no restriction on the nationality of theauthors read, but books should be available
in translation in both Japanese and English.
The discussion is conducted mainly in English,
but you can choose the language in which
you read the book. The intention is simple:
to explore the themes of the book, express
personal opinions on the style and content,
discuss how the book has changed (or not) intranslation and to have a relaxed discussion
with others who have similar interests.

History and Reception of Horoscope Astrology in Japan – fromJ
esoteric tradition to the boom in fortune telling, with Ryuji KagamiF
Tuesday 12 September 2017

6:30pmThe Swedenborg Society
20-21 Bloomsbury Way(Hall entrance on Barter St)
London WC1A 2TH
Free – booking recommended

Western horoscope astrology has its rootsin the astronomical observations of ancient
Babylonia. From there it spread, over thecourse of many years, to Greece, India, theArab world, Europe and China. It was brought
to Japan by Kukai, one of the founder of
esoteric Buddhism, as part of the manuscripts
he brought back from China such as the
Sukuyo-kyo. During the Heian period it
gained in popularity alongside the Japanesedivination system Onmyōdō, which had its
origins in Taoism and the theories of yin andyang and the five elements.
Though having the same point of origin,horoscope astrology developed in different
directions on the east and west edges of theEuropean continent, beginning to converge
again in the early 20th century. The astronomer
and mathematician, Aritaka Kumamoto,studied in Europe with funding from the
Meiji Government. Here he encountered theteachings of Rudolf Steiner and, in the UK
met the ‘fathers of modern astrology’, Alan
Leo and Sepharial. Upon returning to Japan,
Kumamoto published on and translated

European astrology texts, introducing thehoroscope astrology to the modern Japaneseaudience.
Ryuji Kagami, one of Japan’s leading
astrologers, will trace the history of horoscope
astrology in Japan from its roots in esoteric
Buddhism to the contemporary boom in
fortune telling. He will also reflect on thereception of this astrology in Japan, bringing
to light a little known chapter in the history of
UK-Japan cultural exchange.
Ryuji Kagami was born in Kyoto. He graduatedfrom International Christian University with amaster’s degree in comparative cultures andis a researcher and translator of astrology andpsychology. Kagami began contributing toastrology magazines as a high school student
and is one of Japan’s foremost astrologers.
He writes astrology columns for popularmagazines and does astrology reports. He isa board of member of Japan Transpersonal
Association, and a guest professor at St. Agnes
University, Kyoto, and Kyoto Bunkyo University.

Japan Society Rose Fund – an update from Yuji Suzuki, SanaburiFoundation
Thursday 14 September 2017

6:00 for 6.30pm

Suntrap
91 Bell Street
Marylebone
London NW1 6TL
Free – booking recommended

Japan Society members will well remember
their feelings on hearing of the devastating
earthquake and tsunami on 11 March
2011, and watching with great sadness as
the tragic aftermath unfolded over thesubsequent days and weeks. Members andmany others immediately responded withgenerous donations to support the recoveryof the region.
The Japan Society’s Tohoku Earthquake
Relief Fund raised over £750,000 and weworked with the Sanaburi Foundation in
Sendai to identify and support local activity
throughout the region. Known in Japan as
the Rose Fund, this support was distributed
to local NPOs and voluntary organisations
working with members of their communities
to meet needs identified by those on the
ground.
We are delighted to welcome Yuji
Suzuki, Secretary General of the SanaburiFoundation, who will be passing throughLondon on a short visit. He will be joining us
for an informal session, in which he will speak
about some of the projects supported by

the Fund as well as reflecting on the current
situation in Tohoku, six and a half years after
the disaster. Although short notice, we aresure that many members and others who
contributed to the Fund will be interested
to hear both about achievements since 2011
and about challenges still remaining.
Yuji Suzuki is the Senior Managing Director &Secretary General of the Sanaburi Foundation,
a community foundation established after 11
March 2011 to address community issues andto serve as a local intermediary organization
for recovery in Miyagi, Fukushima and Iwate
Prefectures. The Foundation supports thebusiness community with start-up funds forentrepreneurs, works to increase donor andcivic engagement, makes grants or loans
in response to locally assessed needs, andpromotes and facilitates collaboration andpartnerships among individuals, businesses,
non-profit organisations and government.
Prior to his current position, Yuji worked
for the Japan Office of International YouthFoundation and helped corporations
develop their CSR programs.

In association with:

Yuko Nasaka and Kim Lim Exhibition at Sotheby’s S|2
Gallery – A Private View with Deputy Director Bianca Chu
Friday 22 September 201710:30am

S|2 Gallery
31 St. George Street
London W1S 2FJ
Members of the Japan Society only
Free – booking essential
Booking deadline: Wednesday 20 September 2017
Place are limited so early booking is recommended

In addition to already well-known figures suchas Yayoi Kusama and Yoko Ono, a number ofother Japanese women artists from the samegeneration have been “rediscovered” in thepast decade. Yuko Nasaka was one of the firstand few women to be invited by leader Jiro
Yoshihara to join the Gutai art group in 1963.
Though she has exhibited widely in Japan
since then, her work is rarely seen in exhibitions
outside her home country. The presentationof her work at Sothesby’s S|2 Gallery in London
is her first exhibition in Britain.
Japan Society members are invited to a special
viewing of this exhibition led by Bianca Chu,
Deputy Director of Sothesby’s S|2 Gallery, whowill give a brief insight of the works and careerof Nasaka and contextualise the exhibition
within the field of Post-war Japanese Art.
The tour will also include a viewing of theexhibition by Singaporean-British sculptor
and printmaker Kim Lim, who is best known
for her exploration of form through balanced
wood structures and detailed stone-carved
sculptures.
Following the tour of the exhibition, lightrefreshment with tea, coffee and pastries will
be served.

Yuko Nasaka was born in Osaka in 1938.
After graduating from Osaka Shoin Women’s
University, Nasaka began experimenting with
abstraction during the early 1960s. She wasinvited by the mentor and leader of the Gutai
Art Association, Jiro Yoshihara to join the artgroup and presented her first solo exhibitionat the Gutai Pinacotheca in 1964. Nasaka
would continue to play a significant part in thecritical transformation of Gutai over the years.
Kim Lim was born in Singapore in 1936. She
studied sculpture and wood carving at St.
Martin’s in London and developed as a print
maker at the Slade. In 1979, the first retrospectiveof Lim’s work was held at the Roundhouse
Gallery and Lim’s stone sculptures were also
exhibited at Yorkshire Sculpture Park in 1995.
Editions of Lim’s works such as her Intervals
series from 1973 are part of the Tate collection.
Bianca Chu is deputy director at S|2 Gallery,
the private sale and gallery arm of Sotheby’sContemporary Art Department. Before
joining Sotheby’s this year, she worked as
Associate Director for Christie’s, engaging withestablished collectors as well as contemporary
art aficionados and new collectors.

In association with:AS

Ayakashi – An Evening of Unnerving Japanese Literature on
Stage
Saturday 23 September 2017

7:00 for 7:30pm

The Horse Hospital
Colonnade, Bloomsbury
London WC1N 1JD£15 advance ticket - booking deadline: Wednesday 20 September 2017£18 on the door (Please note that only cash will be accepted on theday)Japanese folklore and literature take to thestage in a one-time performance of Ayakashi,a double bill of ghost storytelling and staged
reading, specially picked to match thedungeon-like beauty of The Horse Hospitalin Russell Square. In collaboration withtheatre company Doubtful Sound, the Japan
Society is pleased to present this uniqueshow in which actors from London andTokyo collaborate in adapting and reading
Japanese modern stories and traditionallegends on stage.

Doubtful Sound is a bilingual theatrecompany from Tokyo, now based in London.
They create theatre works inspired bytraditional Japanese stories and folktales
from around Japan.

The evening will start with storytellingof Japanese folktales from Yamagata andIshikawa. Doubtful Sound has chosen someof the darker tales from their repertoire forthis event. Growing private parts, snake
wives, dancing necromantic cats, and ‘thewoman who wouldn’t eat’ all feature in thesetales from rural Japan.

Shinako Wakatsuki is an actress and cofounder of Doubtful Sound, working withboth the Tokyo and London troupes. She
trained in Nihon-buyo from the age of three,and graduated from Royal Holloway with an
MA in theatre studies.

Following the storytelling, Japanese actress
Kisato Nishi will perform a staged reading of
Natsume Soseki’s The Tower of London. The
story combines Natsume’s real observationsof the Tower of London while he was living
here in the early 1900s with fictional visions
the tower conjured up.

Kisato Nishi studied at the Faculty of Letters
Gakushuin University, graduating with an MA
in Cultural Studies on Corporeal and Visual
Representation. She currently works at the
Drama Studio of the New National Theatre inTokyo.

The show runs approximately 1 hour and 30
minutes, including one 15 minute interval.
Language: English & Japanese (with English
subtitles).

Japan Matsuri 2017
Sunday 24 September 2017P
10.00am – 8.00pm

Trafalgar Square
Westminster
LondonWC2N 5DN
Free

London’s very own festival of Japaneseculture – Japan Matsuri – returns on Sunday,
24 September 2017 in Trafalgar Square in thecentre of the city. A regular fixture now in
the London calendar, this free annual festival
brings people together to enjoy Japanese
food, music, dance, and activities for all thefamily.
Everything kicks off at 10.00am and runs
through till 8.00pm. With two stages, thereis plenty to see all day with an exciting
programme of martial arts, the thrillingsounds of taiko drumming and festival dance.
There is also the opportunity to join in withthe ever popular Nodojiman karaoke contest(application deadline 3 September).
The programme of stage performancefor this year is still being finalised, and willfeature exciting new acts as well as the return

In association with:of favourites from previous Matsuri. Follow
Japan Matsuri on Facebook (@Japan.Matsuri.
London) or on www.japanmatsuri.com for
all the latest news.
Enjoy the atmosphere with Japanese festival
food from the numerous stalls. Join in the
fun in the family activities area with gamesand dressing in kimono. Try your hand at
Japanese cartoons on the manga wall.
Japan Matsuri is organised jointly by theJapan Association, Japanese Chamber ofCommerce and Industry, the Japan Society
and Nippon Club, with support from theEmbassy of Japan and Japan House London.
Come and meet Japan Society staff at ourstall on the north terrace in front of the
National Gallery (opposite St. Martin in the
Fields).

Praemium Imperiale - El Anatsui at the Royal Academy
Monday 25 September 20178.30 - 9.45am

Academicians’ RoomRoyal Academy of Arts
Burlington House
Piccadilly, London W1J 0BD
Free of charge
Japan Society members and a guest

In conjunction with the Japan Art Association
and October Gallery, we are delighted toinvite members to an exclusive arts event tocelebrate the recent announcement of the2017 recipients of the Praemium Imperiale.
The 2017 Sculpture laureate is the Ghanaian
artist El Anatsui, whose work is currently
showing in the Academicians’ Room of theRoyal Academy of Arts. We are very fortunate
to be able to offer a few places to a short talk byGerard Houghton, Director of Special Projects
at October Gallery, who has worked closelywith El Anatsui since 1991 and is particularly
knowledgeable about the artist’s activities inJapan.
Every year, The Japan Art Association gives
the Praemium Imperiale awards to artists infive different categories (Painting, Sculpture,
Architecture, Music and Theatre/Film) inrecognition of their international impact intheir chosen field. This year’s recipients wereannounced on 12 September. Next year will
see the Praemium Imperiale celebrate its 30th
anniversary and the Royal Academy of Arts,
their 250th anniversary.

El Anatsui’s complex artwork defies traditional
categories. He is well known for malleable
sculptures created from discarded metal,
such as cassava graters or liquor bottle tops.
Often large in scale, their size and luminous
nature can render them immersive. Histransformation of these found materials
enhances their significance and imbues themwith a certain dignity – something he deeply
values. His long held opinion is that “art issomething that grows from the environment,
it is not something you have to create.” Bornin Ghana, he moved to Nigeria in 1975, where
he is based today. He has been collected bymajor international museums, including theMetropolitan Museum of Art, Tate Modern,
the Centre Pompidou and the Smithsonian
Institution, among many others. In 2015, he
was awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime
Achievement at the Venice Biennale. He was
the subject of large-scale retrospective inJapan that travelled to several venues (201011). In 2015, a major work was included in
the exhibition The Contemporary 2: WhoInterprets the World? at the 21st Century
Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa,
Japan. He is the first Ghanaian recipient of thePraemium Imperiale.

Fukushima Devil Fish: Susumu Katsumata’s Anti-Nuclear Manga – Lwith Ryan Holmberg
t
Monday 25 September 2017

6:45pmThe Swedenborg Society
20-21 Bloomsbury Way(Hall entrance on Barter St)
London WC1A 2TH
Free – booking recommended

One of the regulars of the legendary
alternative manga monthly Garo in themagazine’s heyday of the late 1960s and early
1970s, Susumu Katsumata (1943-2007) has
the curious distinction of having risen within
the world of political cartooning and literary
comics while studying toward a graduate
degree in nuclear physics in Tokyo.
While best known for his stories about lifeand myth in the Japanese countryside,
Katsumata also drew frequently about
political and social issues since the mid 1960s,
including numerous satirical strips about
nuclear arms and the influence of big science
within Japanese universities. After the antinuclear power movement gelled in Japanin the late 70s, Katsumata began illustrating
critical science books about the history anddangers of nuclear power. He also drewfrequent humor strips on related topics, aswell as moving stories about the “nuclear
gypsies” who maintained Japan’s nuclear
plants under oppressive work conditions.
This talk will survey Katsumata’s work on
the subject of nuclear power, which is thelargest, most diverse, and most trenchantsuch oeuvre in Japanese visual art prior to
the 2011 meltdowns in Fukushima. The talkwill serve as a preview of two forthcoming
publications, a collection of Katsumata’s
manga titled Fukushima Devil Fish (SISJAC
and Breakdown Press) and a history ofantinuclear thought, protest, and cartooningin Japan around Katsumata’s career, titled
No Nukes for Dinner: How One Japanese
Cartoonist and His Country Learned toDistrust the Atom (publisher TBD).
Ryan Holmberg is an Academic Associateof the Sainsbury Institute for the Study ofJapanese Arts and Culture. As a freelanceart historian and critic, he is a frequent
contributor to The Comics Journal, Artforum
International, and Art in America. As an editor
and translator of manga, he has worked with
Breakdown Press, Drawn & Quarterly, Retrofit
Comics, PictureBox Inc, and New York Review
Comics. He is also the author of Garo Manga:
The First Decade, 1964–1973 (Center for Book
Arts, 2010) and No Nukes for Dinner: How
One Japanese Cartoonist and His Country
Learned to Distrust the Atom (forthcoming).

In association with:

Landscapes of lights and shadows. Legacies and innovation in
the production of chochin – with craft-maker Kenichi Fushitani
Wednesday 27 September 20176.30pmThe Swedenborg Society
20-21 Bloomsbury Way(Hall entrance on Barter St)
London WC1A 2TH£5 per person
Booking deadline: Monday 25 September 2017

The craft of making chochin, the Japanese
paper lantern, is said to date back to the
Muromachi period (c. 1333 – 1573) when
it was introduced to Japan from China. At
that time it took the form of kago chochin,a basket lantern made of a rigid frame ofbamboo and covered with paper. By the endof the Muromachi era, a collapsible version of
the chochin appeared and was mainly usedin Buddhist temples and funerary practices.
In the Edo period (1603–1867), paper
lanterns were widely produced and became
affordable, entering into the everyday lifeof common people and businesses. During
this period, the city of Nagoya was one of
the centres in the manufacturing of chochin,
thanks to its good supply of washi andbamboo, the main materials for producing
paper lanterns. Moreover, the increasing
population of the city provided the workforce
needed to produce the component parts ofchochin.

At this event, Japan Society warmly welcomes
Kenichi Fushitani, the second generationof chochin craftmaking company Fushitani
Shoten in Nagoya. Fushitani will look back at
the history and techniques of paper lantern
manufacturing in Nagoya and at how thechochin style of lighting has shaped the livesof Japanese people. Employing traditional
techniques passed on in his family since theEdo period, Fushitani will also offer a live
demonstration of the handmade process ofmaking a lantern.
Kenichi Fushitani is the head of Fushitani
Shoten. This family company was founded byhis father Koshichi Fushitani who decided tostart his own business in 1962, after serving aten-year apprenticeship in the traditional Edo
techniques of chochin. As his eldest son, Ken
Fushitani is now the second generation of thefamily to lead the company. He values using
the traditional techniques, materials and tools,
but also wants to stay relevant to modern life.
Although chochin for religious purposes (forfunerals, festivals & shrines) are still their main
products, his goal is to also make high quality
items for people to use in their everyday life.

In association with:

Japan Society Book Club: The Eternal Zero by Naoki Hyakuta
Monday 9 October 2017		7.00pmThe Japan Society
13 / 14 Cornwall Terrace
London NW1 4QP
Free for Japan Society Members – booking recommended
The book club is held on the second Monday of every month‘Your grandfather was a coward.’ That is the
angry recollection with which a former Zerofighter pilot greets two Japanese siblings who
know next to nothing about the war in the
Pacific. The testimony rattles and confuses
aspiring lawyer Kentaro and journalist Keikosince the only thing they know about their
grandfather, Kyuzo Miyabe is that he dieda kamikaze. At the heart of this book is amystery about a long-dead man, his actions
and intentions, and his understanding of themeaning of wartime loyalty and sacrifice.
Naoki Hyukata (b. 1956) is a Japanese authorand screenwriter, best known for his 2006
novel The Eternal Zero, his controversial
period as a governor of government
broadcaster NHK, and his denial of the
Nanking Massacre.

The book club is held every month. Thereis no restriction on the nationality of theauthors read, but books should be available
in translation in both Japanese and English.
The discussion is conducted mainly in English,
but you can choose the language in which
you read the book. The intention is simple:
to explore the themes of the book, express
personal opinions on the style and content,
discuss how the book has changed (or not) intranslation and to have a relaxed discussion
with others who have similar interests.

Japanese Castles and the Making of Regional, National andWorld Heritage – with Oleg Benesch
Monday 16 October 2017

6:45pmThe Swedenborg Society
20-21 Bloomsbury Way(Hall entrance on Barter St)
London WC1A 2TH
Free – booking recommended

Castles are among Japan’s most iconic
structures, and are recognized worldwide.
They are powerful symbols of local, regional,
and national identity. This exalted status ofJapan’s castles obscures their troubled modern
history, however, when the vast majorityof premodern structures were abandoned,
dismantled, or destroyed immediately
following the Meiji Restoration of 1868. By theturn of the twentieth century, however, castles
were being rediscovered and reinvented asphysical links to an idealized martial past, andthe 1920s saw major movements to rebuild
lost castles across Japan.
From the late nineteenth century to thepresent day, castles have played a key role in thedevelopment of concepts of cultural heritagein Japan. This has been a highly international
process, with Japanese attitudes influenced
especially by European trends, while Japaneseapproaches to heritage protection havehelped define global standards.
This talk explores the modern history ofJapanese castles as sites of public history andheritage, including the destruction of castles
in the Meiji period and the Second World
War, the great proliferation of concrete castles

in the early postwar, the global recognitionof Japanese castles by UNESCO, and theimmediate challenges faced by castles in thetwenty-first century.
Dr Oleg Benesch is Senior Lecturer in History
at the University of York, specializing in thehistory of early modern and modern Japanand China. His publications and researchinterests cover a variety of fields, including
Japanese intellectual, religious, and social
history, Chinese intellectual history, as well as
the transnational history of modern East Asia.
Dr Benesch’s first book, Inventing the Way of
the Samurai: Nationalism, Internationalism, andBushido in Modern Japan (Oxford University
Press, Sept. 2014), examines the historicaldevelopment of the ostensibly traditional
Japanese ethic of bushido—the ‘way ofthe samurai’—from the nineteenth century
onward. He is currently working together
with Prof Ran Zwigenberg of the Pennsylvania
State University to complete a manuscript
examining the history of Japanese castles in
the modern period. For more information,please see www.olegbenesch.com

London-brewed sake tasting with Izakaya pairing at Okan
Ramen
Thursday 19 October 2017
1st session 6:00 for 6:30-8:30pm
2nd session 8:30 for 9:00-11:00pm
Okan Ramen
338 Coldharbour Lane
London SW9 8QH£40 per head - Priority for Japan Society members
Booking deadline: Friday 13 October 2017

We are delighted to announce a truly special
evening in which the founders of the UK’s
first sake brewery share their story and theirlocal sakes paired with very special Japanese
comfort food, organised in partnership with
Kanpai London Craft Sake and Okan Ramen.
You’ll be greeted with a welcome drink anda starter to enjoy while Kanpai founders Lucyand Tom Wilson explain what inspired themto open a sake brewery in south London.
Following the introduction, you will beserved a tapas-style sake-paired meal. This
includes very premium small batch sakes notavailable anywhere else!
Kanpai London Craft Sake is a microbrewery
set up and launched by Tom & Lucy Wilson in2017. After falling in love with sake in Japan andspending years brewing and experimenting
at home, they believe they have successfully
honed their techniques and developed theirown unique ‘London’ robust style.
Okan Ramen. Following the success of Okan
Okonomiyaki in Brixton Village, in which she
brought the flavours of her Osaka hometown
to London, the wonderful Moto has now
opened a sister restaurant which showcases
ramen and all things noodle.

Menu*:
Cold starter with Nigori Cocktail- Tofu okra hiyayakko with yuzu kosho- Onasu – fried auburgine aubergine cookedwith honey, soy and ginger- Romanesco gomae
Hot nibbles with Special Edition Kanpai
Sparkling Hopped Junmai- Karaage- Kushikatsu – tomato&chashu pork
- Chicken Tsukune
Main with Kanpai Junmai #3
Tsukemen – pork or veg
Puddings with Special Edition Kanpai Junmai #2- Yuzu cheese cake- Shiso sorbet
Soba Buckwheat tea*A vegetarian option is also available. Please
inform us of any food allergies when booking.
We are extremely grateful to Kanpai London
Craft Sake and Okan Ramen for generously
hosting this event.

In association with:Tf

The Present and Future of Financial Technology: Security
for Open Banking Financial APIs – with Authlete
Wednesday 25 October 2017

6:30pmMitsubishi Corporation International (Europe) Plc
Mid City Place
71 High Holborn
London WC1V 6BA
Free of charge – Booking essential
Booking deadline: Monday 23 October 2017

The third seminar in our series dealing withFinTech related topics, features Ali Adnan, cofounder and Director at Authlete. This series oflectures seeks to explore different aspects of
the FinTech revolution and to highlight someof the Japanese organisations and individuals
who have chosen to base themselves in
London’s technology hub.
APis are an enabler to turn a business ororganization into a platform and the API
Economy is expected to reach US$2.2 Trillion
by the end of 2018 which is a number thatis higher than the GDP of France. Thousandsof services generate billions of dollars inrevenue from offering API’s such as Google,
Facebook, Expedia and Ebay, just to mentiona few. In fact, we live in a world where mostonline services whether big or small havealready implemented API’s or in the process of
implementing one.
Ali will discuss the connected world that welive in and the variety of on-line services thatare interlinked to deliver more convenienceto the user; and on how Open Banking in the
UK and Japan will deliver innovation and drivecompetition. He will also touch upon the use
cases of OAuth 2.0 that secures API’s and OpenIn association with:

ID Connect that allows services to offer theirusers the ability to log-in to third party sites
with a single sign-on; and the importanceof implementing an authorization focused
solution.
Following an open session for questions anddiscussion, the evening will conclude with aninformal networking reception.
We are extremely grateful to Mitsubishi
Corporation for generously hosting thisseminar.
Ali Adnan is Co-founder and Board Directorof Authlete. Born and raised in Japan, Ali is a
British citizen who comes from a multicultural
background and speaks several languages.
Ali has led high-tech European and Japanesestart-ups for over 15 years creating value
by bringing people together from varied
backgrounds.
AUTHLETE provides the solution to implement
OAuth 2.0 and OpendID Connect standards tosecure API’s including Financial API’s that canbe adopted quickly and securely.

Financial Technology – The Present and the Future ofVirtual Currencies. Do they herald a new era?
Wednesday 1 November 2017

6:30pmMitsubishi Corporation International (Europe) Plc
Mid City Place
71 High Holborn
London WC1V 6BA
Free of charge – Booking essential
Booking deadline: Friday 27 October 2017

We increasingly hear references to ‘FinTech’in our everyday. No longer solely a topic
of interest to the financial or computing
media, it is frequently the subject of lifestyleand news stories. Through a series of linked
seminars, the Japan Society is celebrating
this new phase in the UK-Japan relationship,
which sees many Japanese individuals
and companies active within London’stechnology hubs.
For this our fourth seminar, we are delighted towelcome Dr Robert Learney and Mr Yuichiro
Kawasaki, to introduce this important topic.
Dr Learney will discuss the current status ofdigital currencies and their future potential.
Yuichiro Kawasaki will introduce MUFG’s
showcase model of digital currency in Japan.
Virtual currencies have attracted considerable
attention in recent years, with bitcoin being
the most familiar. What lies behind this is
the increasing use of virtual currencies ina wide range of situations and services,
including their acceptance by big companies
in commercial transactions and their use byindividuals for speculation purposes.

In association with:

However, on the other hand, virtual
currencies, being “invisible” money, also
have a number of shortcomings. The mostsignificant of these is the lack of official
recognition by governments, which canmake them a double-edged sword in termsof guaranteeing transactions.
Following an open session for questions anddiscussion, the evening will conclude with aninformal networking reception.
We are extremely grateful to Mitsubishi
Corporation for generously hosting this seminar.
Dr. Robert M. Learney was formerly Associate
Director of the Imperial College’s Centre for
Cryptocurrency Research and now leads theBlockchain work at the Digital Catapult in
London.
Yuichiro Kawasaki is the head of Global
Innovation Team for EMEA region at
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG). He
is responsible for scouting start up FinTech
companies in EMEA to form potential
partnerships with MUFG to develop thedigital business strategy in Asia.

SaSixth Form Japan Day 2017:a global perspective, a door to new opportunities​
Thursday 9 November 2017 10.20am to 4.00pm(Registration from 10.00am)
SOAS University of London
Russell Square Campus
London WC1H 0XG
Free of charge to schools
Booking deadline: Monday 23 October 2017
(Please book early to avoid disappointment)

The Japan Society, in association with
Ritsumeikan University (UK) and SOAS, ispleased once again to invite sixth form students
to attend its popular FREE one-day course
about Japan, its culture and its role in the global
community.
The day is designed to give insights into aspectsof Japan, traditional and modern, throughlectures and practical workshops. It is aimed atstudents who are studying Japanese, but will
also be of interest to those who have not had
the opportunity to do so formally at school,
but who are considering Japanese studies atuniversity in the UK. Students will also havethe chance to speak with representatives ofuniversities offering Japanese studies.
The course will feature lectures by Mr Ian
Cheung, UK Sales Manager of ClearspingLtd., Professor Monte Cassim of Ritsumeikan
University and a talk by final year Japanesestudies students from SOAS. Elective practicalworkshops in small groups will allow students
to take part in a range of activities, including:calligraphy, cookery (sushi), Oekakinden -Smart
Wearable Sports Technology, manga, origami,
sumi-e and yosakoi soran. Students can indicate
their preference for workshops on the booking
form. We will endeavour to accommodate
In association with:everyone’s preferences however we cannot
guarantee students will get their top choices.
Booking information
Reserve your place today! Places will be issued
on a first-come-first served basis. Students
may attend on their own or accompanied bya member of staff. To book, please fill in our
online booking form and send to education@
japansociety.org.uk. Please also read andacknowledge on the booking form that you
have read our terms and conditions.
During the day students will have the opportunity
to join three out of seven possible workshop
sessions. Please head to our website and use thebooking form to specify workshop preferred
options. We will try, where possible, to give
students their chosen workshops, but please
note that this may not be possible in all cases. To
help us match interests, please rank the workshop
options 1-7, where 1 is the top preference.

Please note, in the past we have held this event
at Vernon Square Campus which had coachparking. This year it will be held at Russell
Square Campus which has no parking spaces
available and alternatives will need to be found.
We apologise for any inconvenience.

Japan Society Book Club: The Thief by Fuminori Nakamura
Monday 13 November 2017		7.00pmThe Japan Society
13 / 14 Cornwall Terrace
London NW1 4QP
Free for Japan Society Members – booking recommended
The book club is held on the second Monday of every month

Nishimura is a seasoned pickpocket, weaving
through Tokyo’s crowded streets, in searchof potential targets. He has no family, nofriends, no connections... But he does havea past, which finally catches up with him
when his old partner-in-crime reappears andoffers him a job he can’t refuse. Suddenly,
Nishimura finds himself caught in a web sotangled and intricate that even he might not
be able to escape.
Fuminori Nakamura was born in 1977 andgraduated from Fukushima University in
2000. In 2002, he won the prestigious Shincho
Newcomer’s Award for his first novel, A Gun,and in 2005 he won the Akutagawa prize for
The Boy in the Earth. The Thief, winner of the2009 Oe Prize, Japan’s most important literary
award, is his first novel to be published in
English.

The book club is held every month. Thereis no restriction on the nationality of theauthors read, but books should be available
in translation in both Japanese and English.
The discussion is conducted mainly in English,
but you can choose the language in which
you read the book. The intention is simple:
to explore the themes of the book, express
personal opinions on the style and content,
discuss how the book has changed (or not) intranslation and to have a relaxed discussion
with others who have similar interests.

B–Beyond FinTech. Who will benefit from an open ecosystem?
– with Skwile
Tuesday 14 November 2017

6:30pmMitsubishi Corporation International (Europe) Plc
Mid City Place
71 High Holborn
London WC1V 6BA
Free of charge – Booking essential
Booking deadline: Thursday 9 November 2017

The final seminar of our FinTech series willfeature Makoto Fukuhara, managing director
at Skwile Ltd., who will discuss how financial
technology can provide a solution to the cash
flow problems frequently faced by small andmedium-sized enterprises. In this session, we
will take a closer look at the uses of financial
technology to solve social problems.
Business surveys consistently indicate that,while the UK scores highly with regard to thenumber of new businesses established eachyear, many of these struggle to survive pasttheir first trading year. One of the main issues
facing small and medium-sized enterprises iscash flow. During periods of high economic
growth or for larger businesses, it is relatively
easy to raise finance by prioritising market
share over sales, net capital or profit. However,during periods of economic recession, SMEs
often have limited assets and find it difficult
to gain the finance they need.
Against this background, companies such as
Skwile combine know-how and IT in the fieldof finance, including fund management andrisk management, and develop and provide
the financing platforms “FundlinQ” and“Cashflow-CaFE (Cash Flow Engine)” based
In association with:on their own indicators and risk models.
Following an open session for questions anddiscussion, the evening will conclude with aninformal networking reception.
We are extremely grateful to Mitsubishi
Corporation for generously hosting thisseminar.
Makoto Fukuhara is Managing Director at
Skwile Ltd. He has been in IT-Finance formore than 20 years, having worked with IBM
amongst others. He is driven by a desire to
use technology to make life easier for small
businesses and give them access to the sortof information that is normally the preserveof larger businesses.
Skwile Ltd. is a FinTech start-up at theleading edge of changing the SME credit
market. It offers a cloud-based service, called“Cashflow-CaFE (Cash Flow Engine)”, whichworks as a value chain between SMEs andtheir accountants, making both businesses
effective. Cashflow-CaFE provides the factbased insights that enable them to see
current and future cash health.

A Japanese View on World Energy Future: Outlook for
Global Energy-Environmental Challenges Up to 2050
Monday 20 November 2017 10.00am to 11.45am (registration: 9.45am)
JETRO London Office
Mid City Place
71 High Holborn
London WC1V 6BA
Free of charge – Booking essential
Members of the Japan Society and their guests or those introduced
by JETRO only
Booking deadline: Wednesday 15 November 2017
JETRO (Japan External Trade Organization)
London, the Japan Society and JOGMEC(Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National
Corporation) London would like to invite you
to a seminar on a Japanese view on worldenergy outlook with special focus given to
analyzing the impacts of “peak oil demand
scenario”, as well as the issues related to thechallenges for climate change.
Professor Ken Koyama, Chief Economist andManaging Director of Institute of Energy
Economics, Japan (IEEJ), will present anoutline of the IEEJ’s latest long-term Energy
Outlook up to 2050, followed by comments
and discussion by prominent energy experts.
Professor Koyama will also touch upon
Japan’s latest energy policy challenges toachieve government energy-mix target for
2030.
Minister Plenipotentiary with Embassy ofJapan, Mr Takashi Okada will offer some brief
remarks at the opening of the seminar.

Organised by:Commentators:
Professor Paul Stevens, Distinguished
Fellow, Energy, Environment and Resources,
Chatham House
Peter Hughes, Director, Peter Hughes Energy
Advisory Ltd.
Professor Ken Koyama received his BA andMA degrees in Economics from Tokyo’s
Waseda University, and his PhD from the
University of Dundee where his thesis wastitled Japan’s Energy Strategies toward the
Middle East. He joined the IEEJ in 1986 andhas held various positions within the Institute,such as Senior Economist and later Head of
the World Oil and Energy Group, and SeniorResearch Fellow in the Energy and Strategy
unit. Alongside his current position, Professor
Koyama has also taught at the University ofTokyo’s Graduate School of Public Policy
since 2010.

In association with:JD

Japan’s Foreign and Security Policy Under the ‘Abe
Doctrine’ – with Christopher W. Hughes
Monday 20 November 2017

6:45pmThe Swedenborg Society
20-21 Bloomsbury Way(Hall entrance on Barter St)
London WC1A 2TH
Free – booking recommended

Prime Minister Abe Shinzo’s foreignand security policy —highly charged
with ideological revisionism— contains
the potential to shift Japan onto a newinternational trajectory. Its degree ofarticulation and energy makes for a doctrine
capable of displacing the ‘Yoshida Doctrine’that has been Japan’s dominant grandstrategy in the post-war period.
Many have argued that Abe will remain
pragmatic and not challenge the statusquo. However, Abe has already begun
to introduce radical policies that look totransform national security, US-Japan allianceties, and relations with China and East Asia.
The ‘Abe Doctrine’ is dynamic but also highrisk. Abe’s revisionism contains fundamental
contradictions that may ultimately limit theeffectiveness, or even defeat, his doctrine.

Christopher W. Hughes is Professor ofInternational Politics and Japanese Studies,
and
Pro-Vice-Chancellor,
Universityof Warwick, UK. He has held visiting
professorships
atHarvard
University,
University of Tokyo and Waseda University.
He is the author of Japan’s Reemergenceas ‘Normal’ Military Power (2004), Japan’sRemgards Anilitarisation (2009), and Japan’s
Foreign and Security Policy under the ‘Abe
Doctrine’ (2015). He is co-editor of The Pacific
Review.

Japan Society Christmas Party 2017
Wednesday 6 December 2017Jb6.30 to 8.00pm

Embassy of Japan
101-104 Piccadilly
London W1J 7JT£20 per head
Members and their guests only
Booking essential (deadline Friday 1 December 2017)

This year’s Christmas Party will once again
be held in the Ballroom of the Japanese
Embassy, by courtesy of The Ambassador.
This annual gathering provides memberswith a great opportunity to catch up withfriends at the close of the year and start
thinking ahead to new challenges in 2018.
Members may bring guests but space may
well be limited, so early booking is advised;
places will be allocated on a first-come-firstserved basis.
We are extremely grateful to our hosts the
Embassy of Japan.

Names are required for the Embassy
security in advance therefore early booking
is advised. You will be sent a confirmationof your booking to print out and show on
arrival.
Please bring photographic identification
with you as those without may be denied
entrance.
Cancellation policy: a full refund will begiven where notice of cancellation is received
by Friday 1 December 2017. In other cases,
refunds will be given at the discretion of theJapan Society and event partners.

Supported by:Japan Society Book Club: Something Strange Across the Riverby Kafu Nagai
Monday 11 December 2017		7.00pmThe Japan Society
13 / 14 Cornwall Terrace
London NW1 4QP
Free for Japan Society Members – booking recommended
The book club is held on the second Monday of every monthFirst published in 1937, Something Strange
Across the River is both modern andnostalgic. It shows a changing city, it’s slums,
backstreets, temples and shrines, a city filledwith erudite establishments and brothels.
It shows a man trying to justify his life, anda glimpse into the creative process and agentle eulogy on things passing.
Kafu Nagai (1879-1959) was the pseudonymof the Japanese author, playwright, essayist,and diarist Nagai Sokichi. His works are noted
for their depictions of life in early 20th-century
Tokyo, especially among geisha, prostitutes,
cabaret dancers, and other denizens of thecity’s lively entertainment districts.

The book club is held every month. Thereis no restriction on the nationality of theauthors read, but books should be available
in translation in both Japanese and English.
The discussion is conducted mainly in English,
but you can choose the language in which
you read the book. The intention is simple:
to explore the themes of the book, express
personal opinions on the style and content,
discuss how the book has changed (or not) intranslation and to have a relaxed discussion
with others who have similar interests.

The Man who Knew about Furnaces: Thomas Walton (18331897), a British glassmaker in early Meiji Japan – with Sally Haden
Monday 18 December 2017

6:45pmThe Swedenborg Society
20-21 Bloomsbury Way(Hall entrance on Barter St)
London WC1A 2TH
Free – booking recommended

In the spring of 1873 the foundations for arevolutionary new glass factory were laidin Shinagawa, Tokyo, the like of which had
never been seen in Japan before. Employing
British experts and, within ten years, making
all kinds of common and industrial goods,
it completely transformed the Japaneseapproach to glass, and set the seed for thecountry’s primary role in glassmaking acrossthe world today. This lecture presents thestory of one of those British men, Thomas
Walton, the man who knew about furnaces.
At the time, Japanese glass craftsmen
understood very little about how glass wasthen being made in Europe, where ordinary
products such as glass for windows, thedomestic table and science had long beenmastered. But from about the 1860s as Japanbegan to modernise, they wanted to learn all
the latest Western techniques, recipes andfashions so they could bring to market thekinds of glassware which modern Westerncountries had.

The beating heart of any glass factory is aset of furnaces, and it was Thomas Waltonfrom Manchester, England, who shouldered
the responsibility of setting up Japan’s first
Western-style industrial glass furnaces in the1870s. This illustrated lecture will explore hisbackground in the Victorian glass industry,his interesting experience at Shinagawa andthe significance of his contribution to Japan.
Sally Haden was born in 1948 into a family
steeped in British manufacturing, including
the Victorian glass industry. It was thediscovery eleven years ago that her Scottish
great grandfather taught glassmaking inearly Meiji Japan which set her on the path
to becoming a glass historian, with a special
interest in the transfer of glass technology
to Japan. Her writing has been published by
the Society of Glass Technology, the Glass
Association, and the Association for Glass
Art Studies, Japan, and she has twice visited
Japan to do first hand research and meetleading glassmakers and manufacturers.