Events 2019

Annual & Special Events
26 FebLecture by Paul Madden CMG, British Ambassador to Japan, at Nomura International

19 JunJapan Society Annual General Meeting 201928 JunJapan Society Annual Dinner – with Eddie Jones at Twickenham Stadium, supported by JTI

29 SepJapan Matsuri 2019 at Trafalgar Square, with Japan Association, JCCI, Embassy of Japan, and the Nippon Club

10 DecJapan Society Christmas Party, at the Embassy of Japan

LArts & Culture
20 JanPrivate View: Karen Knorr, Once Only Only Once at White Conduit Projects

24 FebJapan Society Choral Workshop, with UK Japan Choir at Grosvenor Chapel

27 MarPrivate View: Jake Tilson, Finding Tsukiji at White Conduit Projects

3 Apr

Private View: Explore the Japanese collection at the British Library

17 MayArtist Talk: Ryohei Kan in conversation with Andrew Nishiyama Taylor at Yamamoto Keiko Rochaix

15 JunDorozome (mud dyeing) Talk & Workshop with Dye Garden Tour at the Horniman Museum

6/8 Aug

Ainu Othello – Special Talk & Dinner plus Theatre Performance at Thenga Café and Tara Theatre

22 AugPrivate View: The Citi exhibition Manga マンガ– exhibition at British Museum

30/31 Aug Rakugo Perfomances and Workshop with the Canary English Rakugo Company with Japan House London
10/11 Sep Saori Freestyle Weaving Workshops at Craft Central (workshops also held on 20/21 Oct and 8/9 Dec)
11 Nov

Minyo Crusaders Pre-show Talk at Jazz Café

12 Nov

Panel Discussion: Art and Political Censorship in Japan at Thenga Café with Art Action UK

Business
Lectures & Seminars
9 AprThreats and Opportunities in Today’s Middle East – with Lt Gen (Retd) Sir Tom Beckett, hosted by IISS

19 JunBritain and Europe. Post-European Union Elections Analysis – with Professor Anand Menon, hosted by Mizuho

27 Aug

An Analysis of the Abe Administration’s Policy on Russia – with Dr James D.J. Brown, hosted by Mizuho

LChairman’s Lunches and Breakfasts (private, off the record meetings with an informal talk by the guest of honour)
4 Apr

Zanny Minton Beddoes, Editor-in-Chief, The Economist, at the Oriental Club with Nikko AM

16 SepLabour Peer, The RT Hon. The Lord Adonis, hosted by PWC LLP

8 Oct

Yutaka Harada, Policy Board Member, The Bank of Japan, hosted by BDO LLP with Bank of Japan

25 NovGlen S. Fukushima, Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, hosted by Deloitte LLPIn Partnership with Other Organisations
Joint Lunches with the JCCI
6 Mar

Sir Simon Fraser, Former Head of the UK Foreign Office and Diplomatic Service, at Drapers’ Hall

5 Sep

The UK-Japan 21st Century Group’s 36th Annual Meeting, at the National Liberal Club

Others4 Mar

Japan Securities Summit, hosted by the JSDA with ICMA

12 JunSustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Role of the Private Sector, hosted by Mitsubishi Corporation
International (Europe) Plc

Bilingual Public Speaking Club – held on a regular basis in collaboration with Association of Speakers Clubs (ASC).
The first bilingual Japanese-English public speaking club in the UK, open to all people who would like to improve their skills
at speaking in public in Japanese and English. Pilot sesssion was held on 28 Aug at Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation andautumn sessions were held at Civil Service Club (2 Oct) and at Nomura International plc (13 Nov).

LecturesJapan Society Lectures (at the Swedenborg Society unless otherwise stated)
21 JanThe Importance of Cultural Diversity. A Long-term Comparative Perspective between Prehistoric Japan andBritain – with Junzo Uchiyama

18 FebTranslating Yukio Mishima’s The Frolic of the Beasts – with Andrew Clare

28 FebRosetsu’s One-Inch Square Picture and the Culture of Exhibitions in 18th Century Kyoto – with Matthew
McKelway at Rudolf Steiner House, with the Columbia University Club of London

18 MarCan a ‘Religion’ Be Translated through ‘Culture’? Tenrikyō’s Cultural Approach in France – with Masato Kato

15 Apr“Like Bombs”: Narrative, Memory, and Linguistic Terrorism in Contemporary Okinawan Fiction – with Vicky
Young

23 MayThe Emperor System in Japan. Origins, Evolution and the New Imperial Era – with William Horsley

28 MayJapan Room Lecture: A Glimpse into East-West Relations in the Antiquarian Book Trade at Japan Room, The
Freemasons’ Hall17 Jun

Family Firms as Institutions. Cultural Reproduction and Status Maintenance among Multicentenary Shinise inKyoto – with Innan Sasaki and Davide Ravasi

22 JulCarmen Blacker Lecture 2019: Dragon Bones, Sacred Pillars and Holy Tombs: Some ArchaeologicalObservations on Traditional Japanese Religion – with Simon Kaner (18 July, with SISJAC at Cathedral Hostry,Norwich)

19 AugMANGA in a Global Society. The Origins and Development of a Genre – Special Lecture with Fusanosuke
Natsume, Manga Critic and Columnist, with the British Museum and the Japan Foundation

16 SepThe Art of Culinary Diplomacy in the Mid-19th Century. Britain and Japan at the Table – with Yoshiko Goto

29 OctJapan Room Lecture: Nazani Tea Time from Ancient Greece to Mugicha at Japan Room, The Freemasons’ Hall

18 NovWhy does Japan still Use ‘Orphanages’ rather than Family-based Foster Care and Adoption? – with Michael
Rivera King

16 DecColin Alexander McVean, a Scottish Engineer in early Meiji Japan – with Colin Houston

Lifestyle
8 Feb

Afternoon Tea and Film Screening with Director Keisuke Yoshida, with Japan Foundation

11 MayJapanese Garden Community Picnic at Hammersmith Park, with the Embassy of Japan

26 JunJapan Society Golf Tournament 2019

7/8 AugTanabata: Celebrate the Japanese Star Festival at Kew Gardens, with the Embassy of Japan

5 Oct

Collar Cup Golf Tournament 2019

Book Club (held on the second Monday of each month)
14 JanConvenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

11 FebThe Gossamer Years: The Diary of a Noblewoman of Heian Japan by Michitsuna no Haha

11 Mar

The Early Cases of Akechi Kogoro by Edogawa Ranpo

8 Apr

No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai

13 MayThe Hunting Gun by Yasushi Inoue

10 JunFloating Clouds by Fumiko Hayashi

8 Jul

Beasts Head for Home by Kobo Abe

12 AugIn the Woods of Memory by Shun Medoruma

9 Sep

Go by Kazuki Kaneshiro

14 Oct

The Girl I Left Behind by Shusaku Endon 11 Nov
9 Dec

The Nakano Thrift Shop by Hiromi Kawakami
Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawas Japanese Conversation Group – held on the first Tuesday of every month at The Brewmaster:d An opportunity for Japanese speakers of all nationalities to come together and speak Japanese.

Schools Education
All YearJapan in Your Classroom School Visits: during 2019, over 40 visits were made to primary and secondary schools in theUK giving pupils an introduction to Japanese, culture, and language.

School Links: establishing new partnerships whilst providing targeted support to help strengthen existing links
through bilateral exchange trips, conferences, and curriculum-support projects.

Loan Resources: a variety of materials and authentic cultural artefacts representing both traditional and modern
aspects of Japan on loan to primary and secondary schools throughout the year to support teachers with their Japanrelated topics.
Cherry Trees for Schools: over 400 applications have been received from schools since last November for Cherry
Trees for Schools, a part of The Sakura Cherry Tree Project which celebrates the friendship between Japan and UK bydonating cherry trees to schools.

Coventry Young Ambassadors: The education team continues to support the ‘Cities of Peace Noh Theatre Project’with the Coventry Young Ambassadors Programme.
New Resource Development: the education team has collaborated with a number of teachers and specialists todevelop a range of new Japanese-related teaching resources to be released throughout the 2019-2020 school year.
February

Peace Poems written by the students from the Coventry Young Ambassadors Programme were displayed at theJapanese Embassy on 6 February.

The education team was invited to a discussion panel at Japan in the World Conference at University of East Anglia
on 16 February to share the type of work the Japan Society does in terms of supporting the teaching and learning ofJapan and its culture here in the UK.
March

Visit from Takamatsu Daiichi High School to Newstead Wood School and Bury St Edmunds County Upper School.

17 MayAn all-day Kamishibai Workshop with performance with a small group of pupils from Granton Primary School in
Edinburgh, led by Fergus McNicol and supported by Mio Shudo. This workshop culminated in the creation ofkamishibai video resources to be disseminated to schools early in the 2019-2020 school year.

18 JuneLaunch of Travel to Tokyo. Japan Society supported the launch event and continues to advise on Japan-related
content for this nationwide Olympics focused programme.

3 JulyLeicestershire Young Ambassadors Japan Conference. 180 pupils from 10 schools in Leicestershire took part in theLeicestershire Young Ambassador Japan Conference held at the University of Leicester to mark the run-up to the 2020
Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, as well as to celebrate the links between sports and culture.

7 Nov

Sixth Form Japan Day 2019 organised with Ritsumeikan University and hosted by SOAS, attended by over 100
students interested in learning more about Japan and exploring opportunities for further study of Japan post school.

18-19 Nov

A group of teachers and students from Komaki Elementary School, Nagano, visit Cropwell Bishop Primary School andHeymann Primary School, Nottingham.

Small Grants

In 2019, the Japan Society Small Grants scheme gave £20,286 of funding in support of 33 projects taking place in various parts ofthe UK. In particular, our Small Grants Scheme focuses its support on education and community projects, where a small amount ofadditional funding can make a big difference and in many cases, where our grant will enable event organisers to reach a wideraudienceor provide opportunities for the public to engage directly with performances or exhibitions.

Eighteen of the grants awarded were for projects taking place in schools or for activity involving young people. This included aJapanese tea bowl making workshop at the Skip Garden where local children from schools in Islington and Camden were invited tocreate their own tea bowl and learn about the tradition of the tea ceremony. Tibberton Community Primary School in Gloucestershire
held their own celebration of Children’s Day and Royal Harbour Academy’s Japan and Art Day introduced students to a wide range ofJapan related activities like manga drawing, martial arts and sushi tasting.

The 14th Andover (Stockbridge) Scout Group enjoyed a Japan themed summer camp, crafting their own samurai armour out of
cardboard and trying their hand at taiko drumming in the open air, and Newport Girls’ High School invited a class of Year 5 students
for a ‘Taste of High School’ session with the school’s own Japanese Society, who taught the students some Japanese and provided alittle insight into Japanese life, as well as allowing them to try their hand at sushi making and origami workshops.
Once again the Society supported Ohisama Ahaha Brighton’s Japanese Cultural Festival which saw local people come together toenjoy Japanese food, music and crafts in a warm, family friendly setting.
In August, Tara Arts presented Ainu Othello, a stage adaptation of the Shakespearean tragedy Othello, set in Hokkaido in 1860.
Support from the Japan Society allowed the project to broaden its reach by including subtitles during the performances, giving theaudience a greater insight into the story and the diversity of both modern and historical Japanese culture.

Charlotte Linton and craftspeople from the Kanai Kougei workshop of Amami Oshima gave a lecture and mud-dyeing (dorozome)
workshop at South London’s Horniman Museum, offering a unique insight into the traditional craft technique of mud dyeing.
Following the lecture a select few participants were given the rare opportunity to try first hand dyeing a cloth using mud brought
over to the UK especially from the island.

In Glasgow, the exhibition ‘The Kimono: A Portrait of a Japanese Family’ presented a personal collection of kimono dating backfrom the 1950s to more recent pieces, including day-wear as well as traditional ceremonial wear. The exhibition shared a particularsocial history of one Japanese family, in the setting of Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s House for An Art Lover.