September 7, 2018
No. 2018-015-1/4

Press Release

The Japan Foundation Awards 2018 Go toYoko Tawada, Toshio Hosokawa, and Spanish-Japanese Cultural
Center of the University of Salamanca
Since 1973, the Japan Foundation has annually presented the Japan Foundation Awards to individuals andorganizations that have made significant contributions to promoting international mutual understanding andfriendship between Japan and other countries through academic, artistic, and other cultural pursuits.
For 2018, which marks the 46th anniversary, the three recipients listed below have been selected after proceeding
through the screening of 72 applications nominated by experts and the general public.
The awards recipients will be presented with a certificate and an award of 3 million yen at the awards ceremony,
which will take place in October.

The Recipients■Yoko Tawada (Poet and Writer)
A bilingual writer broadening the horizons of Japanese literature
Yoko Tawada is a bilingual writer who freely transcends the borders and languages ofJapan and Germany, creating a steady stream of poetry and novels over the years. Her
writings have been the focus of many international literary conferences and society
meetings in Japan, North America, and Europe. By energizing international,
cross-cultural communication, she has contributed immensely to the advancement ofmutual understanding transcending the walls of nations and cultures. We hope that she
will continue to boldly blaze new paths through uncharted realms and to delight us withan ever richer music of words.

© Yves Noir■Toshio Hosokawa (Composer)
A globetrotting composer at the forefront of Japan’s classical music scene
Pursuing his creative activities in mainly Europe and Japan, Toshio Hosokawa has
firmly cemented his reputation as an inspired composer by crafting diverse workscommissioned by major music festivals, orchestras, opera houses, and artists acrossEurope and North America. Many of his works, including the operas Hanjo andMatsukaze, have been premiered by world-class artists and continue to be performed
globally as part of the contemporary repertoire. Through those performances his music,
embodying messages that Japanese must never forget, has helped to advance mutual
understanding between Japan and other countries. We hope that in the years ahead
he will continue to shine brightly as an outstanding creator of musical artistry.

© Kaz Ishikawa■Spanish-Japanese Cultural Center of the University of Salamanca
A hub for communicating Japanese culture in Spain
One of Europe’s oldest universities, the University of Salamanca is a world-classcenter of scholarship and international exchange. It is home to Empress Michiko Hall,
the only cultural center in the world granted permission to bear the Empress’ name,and has a library with many books related to Japan. For years, the university’s
Spanish-Japanese Cultural Center has promoted academic and cultural exchange inways that have strengthened the bonds of friendship between Japan and Spain, andfostered mutual understanding in the international community. This year marks theuniversity’s 800th anniversary and the 150th anniversary of the establishment ofSpanish-Japanese diplomatic ties, and we hope that the university and its
Spanish-Japanese Cultural Center will continue to flourish many years to come.
Past recipients of the Japan Foundation Awards (year conferred)
Akira Kurosawa (1982), Donald Keene (1983), Seiji Ozawa (1988), Toru Takemitsu (1993), Ikuma Dan (1998), Hayao Miyazaki(2005), Haruki Murakami (2012), Isao Tomita (2015), and others＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿[Inquiries] The Japan Foundation Communication Center Kumakura (Ms.)
Tel: +81-(0)3-5369-6075 Fax:+81-(0)3-5369-6044 E-mail: press@jpf.go.jp

No. 2018-015-2/4■Yoko Tawada (Poet and Writer) [Japan]
Yoko Tawada freely transcends the borders and languages of her native Japan
and Germany, her home since 1982, creating a steady stream of poetry and novels
over the years. Her works in German and Japanese have received high acclaim,
attested by the many prestigious awards she has earned in both countries. As abilingual writer of such caliber, she is a unique figure not seen before in modern
Japanese literary history, and she vibrantly points to a new direction for the future ofworld literature.
Rather than write certain works in Japanese and others in German, Tawada has
explored the realm between the two languages through diverse approaches,
including composing a text in one language and then translating it into the other, orsimultaneously creating German and Japanese versions of the same story. She also
avidly gives readings at venues around the world, holding more than 1,000 to date.
This passionate outreach has helped to attract a global following for Tawada’s writings, which have been translated
into many languages, and have been the focus of many international literary conferences and scholarly society
meetings in Japan and the West. In these and other ways, her creations have energized international
communication across borders and languages.
Writing in two languages and pursuing activities not confined by national borders, Tawada has pioneered a newtransboundary realm of literature, while helping to further free Japanese literature from the language barriers that
confine it. Attuning her ears to the wondrous music of words that resonates within and outside her native tongue, shetakes us along on mirthful adventures to the fertile plain between languages, where we travel the depths of humanabsurdity, comicalness, and fear. This experimental endeavor is a journey to the world of profoundly human 21stcentury literature.
Through her cross-cultural literary activities Tawada has helped to advance true mutual understanding that breaks
through the walls of nations and cultures. We present her with the Japan Foundation Award in the hope that she willcontinue to boldly blaze new paths through uncharted realms and to delight us with an ever richer music of words.
【Profile】
Yoko Tawada was born in Tokyo in 1960, educated at Waseda University and has lived in Germany since 1982,
where she received her Ph.D. in German literature. She received the prestigious Akutagawa Prize for The
Bridegroom Was a Dog. She writes in both German and Japanese, and in 1996, she won theAdalbert-von-Chamisso Prize, a German award recognizing foreign writers for their contributions to German culture.
She also received the Goethe-Medal, an official decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany and the prestigious
Kleist Prize (2016).
【Photo】

Yves Noir＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿[Inquiries] The Japan Foundation Communication Center Kumakura (Ms.)
Tel: +81-(0)3-5369-6075 Fax:+81-(0)3-5369-6044 E-mail: press@jpf.go.jp

No. 2018-015-3/4■Toshio Hosokawa (Composer)[Japan]Toshio Hosokawa, pursuing his creative activities in mainly
Europe and Japan, has firmly cemented his reputation as
one of Japan’s leading composers by crafting diverse
works commissioned by major music festivals, orchestras,
opera houses, and artists across Europe and NorthAmerica.

Hosokawa studied composition at the Berlin University ofthe Arts for ten years starting in 1976. Since theperformance of his compositions at the Darmstadt
International Summer Courses for New Music in 1980, hehas produced many outstanding works that always left theworld waiting for the next. Among them are creations thatwere premiered to great success by some of the world’s
top conductors and performers, and continue to be
performed today around the world as part of the contemporary repertoire. Examples include Hanjo (2004), an opera
commissioned by the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, Circulating Ocean (2005), an orchestral work commissioned by
the Salzburg Festival and premiered by the Vienna Philharmonic, Matsukaze (2011), an opera based on a Noh playof the same name and directed by Sasha Waltz, and Horn Concerto – Moment of Blossoming, commissioned jointly
by the Berlin Philharmonic, Barbican Centre, and Concertgebouw.
As Hosokawa has expressed in interviews, a central theme that drives his compositions is the conflict between thehuman desire to be one with nature and the reality that humans are destroying nature. He listens closely to the manydifferent sounds of the natural world and weaves them into a score together with the emotions that arise from futile
situations. The shock he felt from the Great East Japan Earthquake inspired him to compose two pieces in memoryof the victims, Threnody for Viola Solo (2011) and Meditation for orchestra (2012), as well as another two that depict
a mother who has lost her child to the tsunami generated by the earthquake—Klage for soprano and orchestra(2013) and the opera Stilles Meer (2014). In July of this year, his sixth opera, Erdbeben. Träume was premiered inStuttgart. This work was produced based on the novel by Heinrich von Kleist The Chile Earthquake (1806).
Hosokawa’s musical compositions, embodying messages that Japanese must never forget, have been performed
across the world, contributing to the advancement of mutual understanding. We are awarding him with the JapanFoundation Award in anticipation of his further contributions in the years to come.
【Profile】
Born in Hiroshima in 1955. He studied in Germany for ten years starting in 1976, learning composition under Isang
Yun at the Berlin University of the Arts, and under Klaus Huber at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg. In 1980, heparticipated for his first time in the Darmstadt International Summer Courses for New Music, and presented his works
there. He then launched his career as a composer active mainly in Europe and Japan. As one of Japan’s leading
composers, he has earned international acclaim for his many works commissioned by major orchestras, music
festivals, opera houses, and artists across Europe and North America. In 2012, he was elected to the Bavarian
Academy of Fine Arts and received the Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon from the Government of Japan. He
currently serves as Music Director for the Takefu International Music Festival, and as a guest professor at TokyoCollege of Music and at Elisabeth University of Music (in Hiroshima, Japan).
【Photo】 Kaz Ishikawa＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿[Inquiries] The Japan Foundation Communication Center Kumakura (Ms.)
Tel: +81-(0)3-5369-6075 Fax:+81-(0)3-5369-6044 E-mail: press@jpf.go.jp

No. 2018-015-4/4■Spanish-Japanese Cultural Center of the University of Salamanca [Spain]
The University of Salamanca is celebrating its 800th anniversary thisyear as one of Europe’s oldest universities, serving as a world-classcenter of scholarship and international exchange that has led in
disciplines such as international law, philosophy, and literature frommedieval times to today. Since the establishment of diplomatic ties
between Japan and Spain, the university has hosted many Japanese
researchers, students, and diplomatic service trainees.
The current Emperor and Empress of Japan have visited the university
twice. On their first visit, they were Crown Prince and Crown Princess.
Their visits inspired the establishment of the Spanish-Japanese
Cultural Center of the University of Salamanca in 1999. Since then, theCenter, which will mark its 20th anniversary in 2019, has consistently
played a central role in the maintenance and strengthening ofJapanese-Spanish relations. Its facilities include the Empress MichikoHall, the only cultural center in the world to have been granted
permission to bear the Empress’ name, and the Ambassador Eikichi
Hayashiya Library of Japanese Studies, a repository of books relatedto Japan.
The Spanish-Japanese Cultural Center actively carries out a broad array of extremely high-quality activities
throughout the year to promote exchange with Japan, including programs for Japanese language education andintroducing Japanese culture, and seminars on Japan’s history, politics, international relations, and society. Every
year it hosts the Japan Culture Week with the full support of the Japanese Embassy in Spain and the JapanFoundation. This event spans many different activities for sharing Japanese culture with participants, who include not
only Spanish students, but also the university’s international researchers and students, as well as local residents. In
2017, the Center featured a number of programs attended by the university’s president and other leaders. Theprograms include the Fourth Symposium of the Spanish Association of Japanese Language Teachers, a Japanesedoll exhibition, and “Japanese Design Today 100,” a traveling exhibition organized by the Japan Foundation. Theseand other projects have earned the Spanish-Japanese Cultural Center high acclaim both domestically andinternationally.
For many years, the Spanish-Japanese Cultural Center has promoted academic and cultural exchange in ways thathave advanced the bonds of friendship between Japan and Spain, and mutual understanding in the international
community, making a contribution highly deserving of the Japan Foundation Award. We bestow this award in a yearthat marks the 150th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Spain and the800th anniversary of the University of Salamanca, with the hope that the Spanish-Japanese Cultural Center willcontinue to flourish for many years to come.
【Photo】 The gate of Spanish-Japanese Cultural Center of the University of Salamanca■About the Japan Foundation （http://www.jpf.go.jp/e/index.html）
The Japan Foundation is Japan's only institution dedicated to carrying out comprehensive international cultural
exchange programs throughout the world. The Japan Foundation was established in October 1972 as a special
legal entity supervised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In October 2003, it was reorganized as an independentadministrative institution. The Japan Foundation has 25 overseas offices in 24 countries (including two Asia Centerliaison offices). To cultivate friendship and ties between Japan and the world, the Japan Foundation creates global
opportunities to foster friendship, trust, and mutual understanding through culture, language, and dialogue.

＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿[Inquiries] The Japan Foundation Communication Center Kumakura (Ms.)
Tel: +81-(0)3-5369-6075 Fax:+81-(0)3-5369-6044 E-mail: press@jpf.go.jp