Founded in 1907, Japan Society in New York City presents sophisticated, topical and accessible exper
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Today, Japan Society has evolved into a world-class, multidisciplinary hub for global leaders, artists, scholars, educators, and English and Japanese-speaking audiences. At the Society, more than 100 events each year feature sophisticated, topically relevant presentations of Japanese art and culture and open, critical dialogue on issues of vital importance to the U.S., Japan and East Asia. Activit
ies at Japan Society are set against a stunning backdrop of indoor gardens, a reflecting pool and a waterfall. Facilities include a 262-seat theater, art gallery, language center, library and conference rooms. Japan Society's landmark building—located near the United Nations on 47th Street and First Avenue—was designed by architect Junzo Yoshimura and opened in 1971 as the first building in New York City by a leading Japanese architect. The classic elegance and simplicity of Yoshimura's original vision has been preserved even as the building has been enhanced by a substantial renovation. Japan Society was founded on May 19, 1907 by a group of prominent New York business people and philanthropists, many of whom shaped the policies of exchange and collaboration that guided the Society until the outbreak of World War II. After the war, activities slowly resumed, and the stewardship of John D. Rockefeller 3rd from 1952 to 1978 led to a unified vision, a firm financial foundation, and a revitalized mission that continues to inspire and sustain the organization today.
The countdown may be over, but there's still time to celebrate the New Year at Japan Society's family-friendly event on Jan. 28! 🎍
Come ring in the Year of the Dragon with hands-on kids' workshops and traditional activities like mochitsuki (rice pounding), kite making and a shishimai lion dance procession—plus, a riveting taiko drumming performance for the whole family! Learn more: japansoc.org/Oshogatsu2024
Japan Society sends sympathy and good wishes to all those affected by the Noto Peninsula earthquake and Haneda Airport crash in Japan this week.
Amid ongoing rescue efforts and massive infrastructure damage, the earthquake has claimed at least 62 lives. Additionally, five crew members lost their lives in the Coast Guard relief plane that collided with the JAL passenger plane landing from Sapporo. The successful evacuation of all 379 passengers aboard the JAL flight is being called miraculous by experts.
“In these tragedies I see both a silver lining and a uniquely Japanese reason for optimism,” writes Japan Society President & CEO Joshua W. Walker.
Read the full statement here: japansociety.org/news/japan-disasters-january-2024/
Hamlet, the brooding Prince of Denmark, grapples with a new kind of inner turmoil in acclaimed Japanese playwright Yu Murai and KPR ／開幕ペナントレース’s hilariously nonsensical reimagining of the Shakespearean classic.
Presented in partnership with Under The Radar Festival, “Hamlet | Toilet” opens in just one week! Get tickets to the play’s New York premiere today.
“KPR is known for tongue-in-cheek, absurdist adaptations of Western masterpieces, dialogue brimming with puns and word play reflecting Japanese popular culture… and ultimately universal aspects of human endeavor.” — Asian Theatre Journal
🧻 Running Jan. 10–13 at Japan Society
🎟 japansoc.org/HamletToilet
Photos by © Takashi Ikemura
Embodying strength, luck and benevolence, the dragon is the only mythical creature of all the animals in the Chinese zodiac. 🐉
In Japanese folklore, these serpentine legends are often depicted as water deities, emerging from rivers and cloudy skies, and revered as bestowers of rainfall. Their ability to shape-shift into human form (and vice versa) also marks the dragon as a potent symbol of transformation.
Happy New Year from all of us at Japan Society! May your 2024 be filled with the magic and transformative power symbolized by the fearless dragon.
🖼️ Kanō Hōgai, "Two Dragons (in Clouds)," 1885. Philadelphia Museum of Art.
#あけましておめでとうございます
As we count down the final hours of 2023, we invite you to take a moment to support Japan Society by donating to our annual fund today: https://ow.ly/tRGb50QlYbR
Your gift, no matter how large or small, directly enables us to create diverse programs across Japanese arts and culture, promote educational opportunities for NYC school children and convene business and world leaders through our Business & Policy Forum programs.
Thank you for your continued support, and we look forward to seeing you in the New Year!
Vintage "nengajo" (Japanese New Year's postcards) celebrating the Year of the Dragon 🐉📮
Sent to friends, family and coworkers, the exchanging of nengajo is an important New Year's tradition in Japan, dating back to the beginning of the 7th century. Popular nengajo designs often feature the zodiac animal of that year—as seen in these dragon-themed cards from 1916 and 1928.
🎊 If you want to learn more about Japanese New Year's traditions, come celebrate with us at our annual Oshogatsu event on Jan. 28! Families can create their own nengajo, try their hand at mochitsuki (rice pounding), calligraphy and more! Learn more: japansoc.org/Oshogatsu2024
Thanks to your support, 2023 was an amazing year of accomplishment and impact. As we embark on yet another momentous year at Japan Society, it's not too late to support us by donating to our annual fund: https://ow.ly/6h0o50QlY9G
Over the past year, we...
✏️ Educated people of all ages in Japanese language, culture and shodo (Japanese calligraphy) through nearly 400 courses and workshops at our Language Center.
🧑🎓 Sparked the curiosity of thousands of New York City school children through our School Partnership Program.
🎞️ Cultivated appreciation for Japanese film through "JAPAN CUTS: Festival of New Japanese Film"—the largest festival of its kind in North America.
🎨 Inspired audiences with diverse and outstanding gallery exhibitions like "Kyohei Inukai" and "Out of Bounds: Japanese Women Artists in Fluxus."
Your gift today will ensure an exciting and impactful 2024, and we can't wait to share what's to come!
Japanese words for the Oshogatsu (New Year's) season. What other words should we add to the list? 🎍
✨ Kagami Mochi (かがみもち)
✨ Ozoni (おぞうに)
✨ Kadomatsu (かどまつ)
✨ Otoshidama (おとしだま)
✨ Koma (こま)
✨ Hanetsuki (はねつき)
✨ Takara Bune (たからぶね)
Wishing you all a warm and joyful holiday. 良いお年を！
Have you ever played an all-white chess game? Or connected with someone from inside of a large black bag? 👀♟️✨
We love seeing you interact with the works on view in ! From one of Yoko Ono's earliest performance pieces, "Bag Piece" (1964), to Takako Saito's multi-sensory "Sound Chess" (1977) and more, this exhibition recreates a series of iconic artworks from the 1960s—and visitors are invited to do more than just observe.
You still have a few weeks left to visit "Out of Bounds: Japanese Women Artists in Fluxus" before it closes next month!
📸:
As the New Year approaches, we want to thank you for your continued support of Japan Society. With your help, we’ll continue to build community while promoting cross-cultural understanding and education through our diverse programs—into 2024 and beyond!
Please consider supporting Japan Society this year-end season with a gift to our annual fund. Your gift today empowers us to:
🎨 Create innovative exhibitions, film series, talks and performing arts programs.
🏫 Conduct educational programming that provides access to Japanese arts and culture for the City's one million K-12 students.
🌐 Strengthen U.S.-Japan ties by convening business and world leaders in our Business & Policy Forum programs.
Donate now: https://ow.ly/JGux50QjMNv
From Japan’s “magician of images,” ZIGEUNERWEISEN (1980) ruminates on the peculiar events that befall a love triangle in Taisho-era Japan, spinning tales beyond comprehension.
Seijun Suzuki’s ZIGEUNERWEISEN makes its international 4k debut this Saturday as one of the closing night titles our “Taisho Roman” series!
Toshio Matsumoto’s DOGRA MAGRA screens one last time as part of our “Taisho Roman” series TONIGHT at 9 pm! Make sure to pick up a free zine ft. our exclusive interview with the film’s producer, Shuji Shibata.
+ For the series’ closing night this Saturday, we’ll be presenting Akio Jissoji’s occult retelling of the history of Tokyo in TOKYO: THE LAST MEGALOPOLIS. All attendees get a limited-edition Japan Society Film button! ✨
View all series films & showtimes: https://japansoc.org/TaishoRoman
Pick up Japanese onomatopoeia, master the fundamentals of kanji and learn to read hiragana in our mini-online workshops! Coming up at the Language Center:
✍️ Japanese Onomatopoeia Workshop (this Friday at 6:30 pm ET!)
✍️ FREE Japanese Trial Lessons
✍️ Fundamentals of Kanji Workshops
✍️ Learn to Read Hiragana & Katakana Workshops
+ for native Japanese speakers—join our 英会話体験講座 (English Trial Lesson) on Jan. 11, 2024! 🧑🏫
Learn more: japansoc.org/languageworkshops
Thrilled to present this hilarious (and beautifully nonsensical) production alongside Under The Radar Festival this coming January! 🚽
Tickets to Yu Murai's "Hamlet | Toilet" at Japan Society are on sale now: japansoc.org/HamletToilet
Your mind wanders to your middle school recitation of Shakespeare's "To be, or not to be?" (which is the only line you still remember), and you realize this production has made it abundantly clear this is not the question.
This coming January, and present "Hamlet | Toilet"—a hilariously nonsensical reimagining of the Shakespearean classic by Japanese playwright Yu Murai + .tokyo. Head to our bio to grab tickets for this show and more.
"House Surgery" by Katsuhiro Miyamoto & Associates (1997). 🩹
Built in 1900, this Takarazuka City home was deemed "completely collapsed" (hence its nickname, Zenkai House) following the Great Hanshin Earthquake of 1995. To avoid the demolition of his family home, architect Katsuhiro Miyamoto restored the building, securing steel beams and columns to its original wood frame.
A story of rebirth and innovation, Zenkai House is one of the many exceptional Japanese homes to appear in architect Naomi Pollock's () new book, “The Japanese House Since 1945"—which we had the pleasure of diving into at her book talk at Japan Society earlier this month.
💭 What other examples of exceptional Japanese houses come to mind?
“I cannot not do DOGRA MAGRA… This may be the last time I can make a feature-length film…' [Toshio] Matsumoto’s words were mixed with passion and faintheartedness."
With our final 35mm screening of DOGRA MAGRA this Friday as part of TAISHO ROMAN, we're thrilled to share our interview with the film's producer, Shuji Shibata. Reminiscing on the making of Toshio Matsumoto's final feature, the casting of rakugo master Shijaku Katsura and the legacy of Kyusaku Yumeno's novel, Shibata's interview will be available on-site in a printed Zine for our Friday screening! japansoc.org/MemoryTraces
The spellbinding works of Japanese avant-garde poet, dramatist, filmmaker and experimental polymath Shuji Terayama ( in 1935).
ICYMI: We'll be screening Terayama's GRASS LABYRINTH (second photo) on an imported print—together with Teinosuke Kinugasa’s silent-era masterpiece A PAGE OF MADNESS—on 12/15 as part of our “Taisho Roman" film series.
🎟️ japansoc.org/TaishoRoman
#寺山修司
Kijū Yoshida and Mariko Okada during the filming of their first independent feature A STORY WRITTEN WITH WATER.
Screening at Japan Society on an imported 35mm print tomorrow alongside A PROMISE as part of Film at Lincoln Center's final night of 'The Radical Cinema of Kijū Yoshida': japansoc.org/StoryWritten
Happy Birthday to legendary Japanese composer Joe Hisaishi, pictured here with Hayao Miyazaki (right) in 1988.
Born Mamoru Fujisawa in Nakano, Tokyo, Hisaishi has composed the soundtrack for every film Miyazaki directed at Studio Ghibli—including the unforgettable melodies of PRINCESS MONONOKE (1997), SPIRITED AWAY (2001) and, most recently, THE BOY AND THE HERON (2023).
What's your favorite Hisaishi soundtrack? Let us know in the comments 🎶👇
If you missed LEIMAY's sold-out performance of "Extinction Rituals" at Japan Society this past summer, make sure to check out the Brooklyn-based artist duo's NEW video installation at Chelsea Factory this week! Details below 👇🍃
🎞️ Don’t miss “Extinction Rituals - Video Installation” this December!
🍃 Extinction Rituals is a multidisciplinary project conceived and directed by Chelsea Factory Resident Artist duo Ximena Garnica and Shige Moriya of LEIMAY. Portrayed through video and dance, Extinction Rituals is inspired by acts of remembrance, celebrating the life and loss of animals, plants and environments from the places Ximena and Shige call home—Japan, Colombia, and NY.
Two ways to experience this immersive piece!
✨Video Installation: Thurs, 12/7 - Sun, 12/10
✨LUDUS, movement-based class: Sat, 12/9 & Sun, 12/10 at 10:00am
👉 For more details and tickets, visit: chelseafactory.org/upcoming
❄️ Winter Japanese courses are here! ❄️
Kicking off next week, our upcoming 5-week semester features online + in-person options at all levels. Get started with a Level 1 course, practice communicating with Conversational Japanese or check out our online workshops for specialized lessons in kanji and more.
Also open for registration:
✏️ Spring English Courses (英会話)
✏️ Japanese-Language Teacher Training (日本語教師養成講座)
Register today: japansoc.org/LanguageCenter
#英会話
It’s not too late to make a difference this week! Your donation today will play a crucial role in advancing Japan Society’s mission of sharing Japanese culture with communities in New York and beyond. By supporting us, you help deliver the very best of Japan—through innovative programs in education, arts and culture, as well as business and policy—to the world.
From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you for your ongoing support. Make a 100% tax-deductible contribution this Giving Tuesday week: https://ow.ly/8z9h50QeEc7.
Make a Donation — Japan Society —
'The Radical Cinema of Kijū Yoshida' opens today at Film at Lincoln Center! We're thrilled to co-present the final night of their essential retrospective with two screenings at Japan Society on Dec. 8—Yoshida’s first independent feature, A STORY WRITTEN WITH WATER (1965), and his idiosyncratic 80s comeback, A PROMISE (1983).
A STORY WRITTEN WITH WATER (12/9 at 6 pm)
🎟️ https://japansoc.org/StoryWritten
A PROMISE (12/9 at 9 pm)
🎟️ https://japansoc.org/Promise
Support Japan Society this ! For over a century, we've relied on the generous support of individuals like you to fulfill our mission of sharing Japanese culture with communities in New York and beyond.
From vital school partnerships that touch the lives of our youngest community members to world-class exhibitions, awe-inspiring performances, film festivals and global policy forums—our work is rooted in forging deep connections, or "kizuna" (絆), that bind people together. And it's people like you who make our work possible.
Help us tell the story of Japan by making a 100% tax-deductible contribution today: https://ow.ly/zh5550Qc2ap
👩🎨 Calling all creative kiddos! Join us for "Family Art Day: Inspiration from Women of Fluxus" on Sunday, December 3!
Guided by a museum educator, families will explore iconic artworks in Japan Society's critically acclaimed exhibition—"Out of Bounds: Japanese Women Artists in Fluxus"—before moving onto a Fluxus-inspired art-making activity. 🎨✨
Space is limited! Learn more: japansoc.org/FamilyArtDay
📸 Ayumi Sakamoto
"Flux Napkins" anyone? 👄🍽️ This playful work by artist Shigeko Kubota is one of the many eclectic objects on view in our current exhibition, "Out of Bounds: Japanese Women Artists in Fluxus."
A heads-up that our gallery will be closed today (Thanksgiving Day) and on November 24. Come visit us after the break to see why is a New York Times Critics Pick! In the meantime, wishing you all a joyful holiday!
🖼️ Shigeko Kubota, Flux Napkins, ca. 1967. Digital Image © The Museum of Modern Art/Licensed by SCALA / Art Resource, NY.
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Japanese posters for films featured in our "Taisho Roman" series—kicking off on Dec. 9 with Toshio Matsumoto’s DOGRA MAGRA on a rare #35mm import! Get showtimes & tickets at japansociety.org/film 🎞️✨ #TaishoRoman #FilmSeries #SeijunSuzuki
Welcomed the King of Monsters last night for an advanced screening of #GodzillaMinusOne! 💥Thank you Toho Godzilla for sharing this epic new film with us. ICYMI, catch it on the big screen when it comes to theaters nationwide on December 1!#Godzilla #ゴジラマイナスワン
Come with us to a members-only screening of Hayao Miyazaki’s THE BOY AND THE HERON at Japan Society! 🪶 Thank you to GKIDS for helping us pull off this very special event. Studio Ghibli’s latest masterpiece hits theaters nationwide on Dec. 8! #TheBoyandtheHeron #Ghibli
Kicking off on Dec. 9, “Taisho Roman: Fever Dreams of the Great Rectitude” offers transgressive visions of Japan’s own Belle Époque, or Roaring 20s. Spanning six otherworldly gems from some of Japan’s most radical and outré filmmakers, including: 🎞️ An ultra-rare 35mm import of Toshio Matsumoto’s DOGRA MAGRA 🎞️ A new 4K restoration of Seijun Suzuki’s ZIGEUNERWEISEN 🎞️ Shuji Terayama’s psychosexual adaptation of Kyoka Izumi’s novella in GRASS LABYRINTH 🎞️ HORRORS OF MALFORMED MEN (“beautiful, haunting, and oneiric”—Midnight Eye) …and more. Tickets on sale now: japansoc.org/TaishoRoman
💡 #Thanksgiving tip: Try adding a few cups of dashi, or Japanese soup stock, to your turkey tray for some extra umami this year! Here’s Maiko Kyogoku, owner of New York-based restaurant Bessou, with a few ideas to give your holiday feast a Japanese spin. Watch the full online workshop to access more Japanese-inspired recipes, like shiokoji butter brined turkey, blistered green beans, shish*to peppers and more. Register for free to access the video here: japansoc.org/ThanksgivingJapanStyle
👩🏫💕 What’s the most profound teaching advice you’ve ever received? On the occasion of #WorldTeachersDay today, we visited Japan Society’s beloved Language Center Director, Ms. Tomoyo Kamimura, who shared this slice of wisdom.
🎉 Happy 60th Birthday to the Asian Cultural Council! Thank you for your incredible support of Japan Society's exhibitions and performing arts programs throughout the past six decades. Here's to fostering creativity and cross-cultural connections for more generations to come. #60YearsOfACC
John Cage, one of the 20th century’s most iconoclastic avant-garde artists, was profoundly influenced by his experiences in Japan in the early 1960s. Here's Laura Kuhn, executive director of the John Cage Trust, with a few words on our fall performing arts series, "John Cage's Japan." 🎙️✨ We're less than one week away from the series' first performance! Running for two nights only on Sept. 28 & 29, Paul Lazar's "Cage Shuffle" is the perfect introduction to Cage's music, featuring a mesmerizing blend of spoken word and movement choreographed by Tony Award-winner Annie-B Parson. 🎟️ Get tickets & learn more here: japansoc.org/JohnCage #JohnCage #CageShuffle
The incredible #Yosh*takaAmano at Japan Society last night ❤️ Thank you to everyone who came out to see #AngelsEgg this weekend. If you love Amano's work as much as we do, make sure to check out his exhibition at Lomex Gallery! "Yosh*taka Amano - The Birth of Myth | 神話誕生" is now open through Oct. 28! #天使のたまご
🎶 What exactly is "Cage Shuffle"? Paul Lazar, co-founder of New York's beloved Big Dance Theater, provides a glimpse into this mesmerizing blend of spoken word and movement based on stories written by #JohnCage over 60 years ago—including those referencing the pioneering American composer's connection to Japan, Zen and his Japanese friends. Opening Sept. 28 & 29 at Japan Society.
Inspired by the work of Riyoko Ikeda (THE ROSE OF VERSAILLES) with art direction from the late Shichiro Kobayashi (ANGEL’S EGG, BERSERK), Kunihiko Ikuhara’s lavishly animated ADOLESCENCE OF UTENA (1999) follows Ohtori Academy’s latest transfer—a mysterious school girl on a quest to become a prince. Screening next Friday at 7 pm! 🥀⚔️ #MonthlyAnime #Utena #少女革命ウテナ
Director Keishi Otomo on the irreplaceable magic of analog filmmaking in his sweeping Sengoku-era romance, THE LEGEND & BUTTERFLY (2023) 🦋 The film, which had its NA Theatrical Premiere at #JAPANCUTS last Sunday, was shot across various historical sites in Kyoto during a time when the city’s tourism was at an all-time low due to the pandemic. “That’s what allowed us to film in these amazing locations,” Otomo added. “I wanted to take that opportunity to really confirm the difference between filming in real life and on location, versus doing things virtually.” #JAPANCUTS2023 #レジェンドアンドバタフライ #FilmFestival
A Japanese Barbie commercial from 1994 promoting the new “Paint n’ Dazzle” model. 💡 Fun fact: The first-ever Barbie doll was manufactured in Japan in 1959. When the iconic American toy hit Japanese markets, however, it flopped. Barbie’s adult-like features and Western beauty standards didn’t appeal to Japanese children, who much preferred the doe-eyed “Licca-chan” doll. It wasn’t until the 1980s, when Mattel teamed up with Takara (the Japanese toy company behind Licca) to create a Barbie tailored to the Japanese market, that sales finally improved. #Barbie #BarbieMovie #Liccadoll
英語で人をForeignerと呼ぶのは失礼ですか？🤷♂️ If you’re a native English speaker, you’re probably aware that calling someone a “foreigner” isn’t the best way to make friends. The word “foreigner” embodies a deeper, darker nuance—which some native Japanese speakers learning English may not be aware of. Here’s Ben Milam, Japan Society’s bilingual ESL instructor, with some helpful tips! 📝🚨お申込み受付中📝🚨 日英バイリンガルの大人気アメリカ人講師・ベン先生による日本語話者対象の英会話です。JS語学センターでは、９/２０から様々なレベルのクラスを開講します。NYのジャパン・ソサエティーでしか受けられないオンラインの対話式授業に、世界中からご参加いただけます。 Registration is now open for our online Fall English courses, kicking off September 20! Learn more at the 🔗 below. 詳細・お申込 👉 japansoc.org/English #オンライン英会話 #英語の勉強 #英会話
Experience the traditional dance and music of Okinawa this spring! Featuring kumiodori, popular folk dances and live ensemble music, this vibrant in-person program invites audiences to relish in the rich history and heritage of Japan's southernmost prefecture. 🗓️ Friday, March 18 at 7:30 pm—followed by a MetLife Meet-the-Artists Reception 🗓️ Saturday, March 19 at 7:30 pm—followed by an artist Q&A 🎟️ http://ow.ly/jkof50IciMW
One of the most well-known and recited of all Buddhist holy texts is the Heart Sutra, also known as Heart of the Prajna-Paramita Sutra. Artist Shikō Munakata was a devout follower of Buddhism, and the sutra was an inspiration for several works on display in “Shikō Munakata: A Way of Seeing.” Learn more about the Buddhist philosophies, motifs and figures at the heart of Munakata’s oeuvre with D. Max Moerman, professor and chair of Asian & Middle Eastern Cultures at Barnard College, in a special YouTube premiere event on Tuesday, March 8 at 6 pm. #SeeingMunakata ✨👉 Register in advance to tune in: http://ow.ly/pe2l50IahKb 🚨 Don't miss the final days of the exhibition before it closes on March 20. The gallery will be open Monday-Sunday during closing week—learn more about extended hours here: http://ow.ly/g5ch50IahVK
Sneak peak of Japanese artist Sachiyo Takahashi’s (Nekaa Lab) microscopic theater performance about a sheep in search for the meaning of life. In this dreamlike fable, Takahashi manipulates tiny figurines, which are magnified in real time and projected onto a screen with live music accompaniment ☁️🐑 Showing November 4–7 at Japan Society in NYC. More info + tickets here: http://ow.ly/hNyD50GrDZc
The Change You Want to See Gallery
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New York Society for Ethical Culture
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