KAGAMI by Ryuichi Sakamoto and Tin Drum

KAGAMI

Tuesday, June 13 through Sunday, July 2
Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays at 12:30, 2:00, 3:30, 5:00, 6:30, and 8:00 p.m.
Fridays and Saturdays at 12:00, 1:30, 3:00, 4:30, 6:00, 7:30, and 9:00 p.m.
Sundays at 12:00, 1:30, 3:00, 4:30, 6:00, and 7:30 p.m.

The Shed – 545 West 30th Street (between 10th and 11th Avenues)

Admission: $38 | $33 Seniors and Students

Created by legendary composer, producer, artist, and environmental activist Ryuichi Sakamoto (Yellow Magic Orchestra, The Last Emperor, The Revenant) and Tin Drum, KAGAMI represents a new kind of concert, fusing dimensional moving photography with the real world to create a never-before-experienced mixed reality presentation. Audiences will wear optically transparent devices to view the virtual Sakamoto performing on piano alongside dimensional art aligned with the music.

KAGAMI, which translates to “mirror” in Japanese, features Sakamoto playing ten original compositions including well-known works “Energy Flow” and “Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence,” along with rarely played pieces, such as “The Seed and the Sower.” Presented in surround sound, the experience will be both collective and individual, inviting observers to connect to the work—and each other—throughout. While audiences may view the show in a seated format, they will also be free to wander and explore during the hour-long event.

To purchase tickets, please visit The Shed’s website.

Important Note

The mixed reality headsets used in KAGAMI will not fit comfortably over prescription eyewear. Guests requiring vision correction should wear contact lenses if able to do so. A limited number of corrective lenses will be available, but these do not guarantee perfect vision correction. Headsets are not approved by the manufacturer for use by children under the age of 14, and children under that age will not be permitted.

About Ryuichi Sakamoto

Ryuichi Sakamoto was a composer, producer, artist, and environmental activist born in Tokyo, making his debut in 1978 with the album Thousand Knives. Sakamoto’s diverse résumé includes pioneering electronic works in the legendary techno group Yellow Magic Orchestra and producing globally inspired pop albums and numerous classical compositions, two operas, and nearly 45 original film scores for directors, including Bernardo Bertolucci, Pedro Almodóvar, Brian De Palma, and Alejandro González Iñárritu. His film soundtracks have won prestigious awards, including an Academy Award and two Golden Globes. Sakamoto’s activism was widespread and included various environmental conservation efforts and promoting denuclearization and world peace. After 3.11 in Northeastern Japan, he became a strong voice of support for the victims of the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdown in Fukushima.

Sakamoto made considerable contributions to the art world with both solo and collaborative installations and multi-piece exhibitions presented in galleries and museums worldwide. Most recently, M WOODS (Beijing) presented the largest and most comprehensive collection spanning 30 years devoted to Sakamoto’s artworks in various media, centering around eight large-scale sound installations.

In 2017, the documentary Ryuichi Sakamoto: CODA (Stephen Nomura Schible) was released, coinciding with the release of his renowned 14th solo album, async. Additionally, Sakamoto presented unique performances at the Park Avenue Armory (NYC), later released worldwide as the film Ryuichi Sakamoto: async Live at the Park Avenue Armory.

Premiering at the Holland Festival 2021, Sakamoto and longtime collaborator Shiro Takatani presented a new theater piece, TIME. TIME continues to tour the world, bringing the artist duo’s last collaboration to longtime and new fans alike.

On January 17, 2023, his 71st birthday, Sakamoto released 12, his 15th solo album. The new album is a collection of 12 songs selected from musical sketches Sakamoto recorded like a sound diary during his two-and-a-half-year battle with cancer.

Ryuichi Sakamoto passed away in March 2023.

There is, in reality, a virtual me.
This virtual me will not age, and will continue to play the piano for years, decades, centuries.
Will there be humans then?
Will the squids that will conquer the earth after humanity listen to me?
What will pianos be to them?
What about music?
Will there be empathy there?
Empathy that spans hundreds of thousands of years.
Ah, but the batteries won’t last that long.

— Ryuichi Sakamoto, 2023

The making of KAGAMI. Photo courtesy Tin Drum.

About Todd Eckert

Todd Eckert was first published as a music journalist at age 14 and became an editor of the US national OnlyMusic Magazine at 17. He produced the award-winning feature film Control about Ian Curtis, the lead singer of Joy Division. In 2012, he joined the mixed reality technology group Magic Leap and served as director of content development before leaving to found Tin Drum in 2016. Eckert directed Marina Abramovic in The Life, which premiered in 2019 as the world’s first mixed reality, large-scale public performance. 

About Tin Drum

Tin Drum is the world’s premier studio producing content for mixed reality devices. Founded in 2016 by Todd Eckert, this collective of artists, engineers, designers, and technologists blends uniquely dimensional form with the real world to create experiences impossible through other media. The results are without modern precedent and are changing the definition of engagement in recorded performance. Tin Drum creates content in collaboration with world-renowned artists, creators, and performers. In partnership with Christie’s, Tin Drum was the first to sell a mixed reality production at auction.

Celebrate NYC-Japan Friendship at 2nd Annual Japan Parade

Japan Parade

Saturday, May 13 from 1:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m.

Central Park West from 81st Street to 67th Street

Admission: Free

The second annual Japan Parade in New York City will be held on Saturday, May 13, beginning at 1:00 p.m. Starting on Central Park West at West 81st Street and traveling south to West 67th Street, the parade will celebrate, express, and bring awareness of the friendship between New York City and Japan with a thank you from the Japanese community. Olympic Gold Medalist Kristi Yamaguchi will be the Parade’s Grand Marshal. Former NY1 reporter Sandra Endo, current news correspondent on KTVV Los Angeles, Fox 11 News, and a feature reporter for Good Day LA, will serve as Emcee.

Official Japan Parade poster by art contest winner Gary Bitsicas

This year’s Japan Parade will feature a live performance by the cast of The 2.5-Dimensional show from Japan, “Live Spectacle ‘NARUTO.’” NARUTO is one of the most internationally recognized and popular manga series of all time. The franchise has sold more than 250 million copies worldwide to date. Written and illustrated by creator Masashi Kishimoto, NARUTO was first published in Shueisha’s magazine Weekly Shonen Jump in 1999, where it was serialized and ran for 15 years.

ⒸMasashi Kishimoto, Scott/SHUEISHA/Live Spectacle “NARUTO” Production Committee 2022

JAPAN Fes at Japan Parade

Concurrently with the Japan Parade, the Japan Street Fair will be held on W. 72nd Street, between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue.

The Japan Street Fair will feature tents offering entertaining and educational cultural activities including calligraphy, water balloon yo-yo fishing, origami, photo opportunities, and a giveaway. In collaboration with JAPAN Fes, one of the largest organizers of Japanese food festivals in the world, hosting more than 20 Japanese food fair events a year in New York City, the Street Fair will also feature about 20 tents serving authentic Japanese food. The latest information on Japan’s many tourist destinations will be made available at other tents, and as with last year, there will also be a tent where visitors can donate to charitable causes that support victims of the ongoing war in Ukraine and the recent earthquake in Turkey and Syria. The Japan Street Fair is your chance to experience a Japanese festival, or matsuri, unlike any other.

“I am truly honored to act as Grand Marshal for this year’s Japan Parade. My Japanese heritage is something I’m proud of and I’m happy to celebrate the goodwill of our relationship with Japan and the engagement and solidarity with the Japanese American community.”

—Kristi Yamaguchi

Participating groups include Anime NYC, COBU (Drum), Harlem Japanese Gospel Choir, International Karate Organization Kyokushinkaikan, The Japanese Folk Dance of NY, Katsura Sunshine (Rakugo Comedian), Midori & Friends (Music Education Group), Soh Daiko (Drum), TATE Hatoryu NY (Sword Fighting), Yosakoi Dance Project 10tecomai, Young People's Chorus of NYC, and many more.

The Diamond Sponsors of this year’s Japan Parade (as of April 5) include All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd., Hisamitsu America, Inc., Japan Airlines Co., Ltd., and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, Limited. The Platinum Sponsors include ITOCHU International Inc., Marubeni America Corporation, Mitsubishi Corporation (Americas), Mitsui & Co. (U.S.A.), Inc., Nomura America Foundation, Sumitomo Corporation of Americas Foundation, and Tokio Marine America.

Photo Credit: AP

"The Japan Parade is a huge 'Arigato!' from the Japanese community to New York City," says Honorary Chairman, Ambassador Mikio Mori, the Consul General of Japan in New York. "It will be the second annual celebration of Japanese culture and the many vibrant connections between Japan and this great city. We plan to outdo the inaugural parade in terms of marchers, contents, and food tents all highlighting the uniqueness of Japan, while also solidifying with Asian communities during AAPI Heritage Month. We hope that these festivities bring the Japanese and all of New York City even closer together, adding to our friendship for generations to come.”

“After the huge success of last year’s inaugural Parade, we are very excited to be back in New York City for our second year, demonstrating the diversity and pride of the Japanese community,” said Japan Parade Executive Producer Kumiko Yoshii. “Last year, we had a crowd of over 20,000 with approximately 2,400 participants, marching down Central Park West. We look forward to building on this success and showcasing more groups from New York and Japan. We especially want to thank our sponsors and supporters, without whom this event would not be possible.”

“The Japan Parade’s utmost goal is to be a foundation to forge new connections, and to be an inspiration to strengthen existing relations between Japan and the United States, as well as between the Japanese American community and the people of New York City,” said Japan Day Chairman of the Board of Directors, Daisuke Ugaeri, who represents the notable Japanese and Japanese American companies that make up the Japan Day Inc. Board of Directors. “To that end, I am humbled and empowered by the invaluable support of our sponsors, the trust placed in us by our parade participants, and the tireless efforts of our staff and volunteers who all truly believe in the good our event is capable of achieving. It is my greatest hope that all who visit, experience, and immerse themselves in Japan Parade 2023 will not only enjoy themselves to the fullest, but also walk away with a newly cultivated or renewed appreciation of the unique wonder and beauty of Japanese culture.”

Go early to enjoy the street fair and grab a spot along the parade route. Enjoy a full day of Japanese culture at Japan Parade! For more information, please visit Japan Parade’s website.

About Kristi Yamaguchi

Kristi Yamaguchi captured the gold medal in figure skating at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France. She is also a two-time World Champion and US National Champion. Yamaguchi is a member of the US Figure Skating Hall of Fame, the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame, and the US Olympic Hall of Fame. She recently received the USOPC Jesse Owens Olympic Spirit Award for “serving as a powerful force for good in society.”

Following a long and successful career in professional figure skating, which included ten years of touring with Stars On Ice, Yamaguchi took to the dance floor to win the mirror ball trophy with partner Mark Ballas in season six of the popular TV show Dancing With The Stars.

In 1996, she founded Kristi Yamaguchi’s Always Dream, whose mission is to give children from low-income families access to high-quality books in the home environment. The organization aims to close the opportunity gap and digital divide with an innovative, family engagement literacy program. For her work with her Always Dream organization, Yamaguchi received the 2019 Heisman Humanitarian Award.

In 2012, Yamaguchi added New York Times Best-Selling author to her list of achievements by introducing her first children’s picture book, Dream Big, Little Pig!, and then following up with It’s a Big World, Little Pig! and Cara’s Kindness. Kristi resides in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, two-time US Olympian and Stanley Cup Champion, Bret Hedican, and their daughters, Keara and Emma.

About Sandra Endo

Sandra Endo is a television news correspondent on KTTV Los Angeles, Fox 11 News. Endo covers breaking news in feature reports for a Good Day LA. Prior to moving back to her hometown of Los Angeles, Endo spent most of her career on the East Coast a political reporter, host, and anchor for NY1. She covered a wide array of campaigns, the transit strike of 2005, and the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Later, as a Washington, DC-based reporter for CNN, Endo’s stories appeared on primetime shows such as AC 360 with Anderson Cooper. She reported on the devastating tsunami and earthquake that struck Japan in 2011, as well as the international conflicts in Egypt and the US involvement in Libya.

Endo is a second-generation Japanese American whose grandfather was interned during WWII. She believes it is important to teach her two young children their cultural heritage to keep traditions alive and to learn from the past.

About Japan Day

Japan Day Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, is the primary organizer of the Japan Day @ Central Park festivals since 2007 and of the Japan Parade and the Japan Street Fair since 2022. Japan Day Inc.’s activities are made possible by the support of the local leading Japanese American companies that compose Japan Day Inc.’s Board of Directors; the Consulate General of Japan in New York; and all the individuals, organizations, and companies that sponsor, donate, or volunteer and be a part of this great celebration.

JAPAN SOCIETY’S KODOMO NO HI

Children's Day: Kodomo no Hi

Sunday, May 7
Session 1: 10:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.
Session 2: 1:00 p.m. until 3:00 p.m.

Japan Society – 333 E. 47th Street (between 1st and 2nd Avenues)

Admission: $15 | $10 Japan Society members | Free children ages 2 and under and Cool Culture members

Carp streamers flying can only mean one thing: Children’s Day is here!

Share the joy of childhood as Japan Society celebrates Japan’s national holiday packed with fun for the whole family. Every child is a star as they pose with life-sized samurai armor displays and take to the stage in a popular sword-fighting workshop led by Kyo Kasumi from TATE Hatoryu NY. Families will also be captivated by the beauty of traditional Japanese dance through an enchanting performance by Sachiyo Ito & Company.

Image © Ayumi Sakamoto

Children can design their own koinobori carp streamer and wearable origami kabuto helmet. The excitement doesn’t end when you leave: There will be take-home craft kits for you to continue the fun at home!

For more information and to register, please visit Japan Society’s website.

Looking to deepen your understanding and appreciation of Japanese culture? Look no further than JapanCulture•NYC's membership program!
As a member, you'll gain access to exclusive content about events, workshops, and resources that will immerse you in the fascinating world of Japanese art, cuisine, history, and more. Whether you're a seasoned Japanophile or just beginning to explore this rich cultural tradition, our membership program offers something for everyone. From crafting classes to kimono-wearing workshops, from sake tastings to film screenings, you'll discover new facets of Japanese culture and connect with like-minded individuals who share your passion.
So why wait? Sign up for our membership program today!

“WITH THE DEAD” AT GREEN-WOOD

With the Dead: A Performance by Eiko Otake

Saturday, May 6 from 3:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m.
Sunday, May 7 from 11:00 a.m. until noon

Green-Wood Cemetery – 500 25th Street, Brooklyn

Admission: Free

With the Dead is a place-inspired performance conceived and performed at Green-Wood Cemetery by acclaimed movement-based, interdisciplinary artist Eiko Otake. It is presented in conjunction with Mother, her installation in Green-Wood’s Historic Chapel. In it, through video and sculpture, Otake converses and dances with her mother, who died in 2019. Beginning in the Historic Chapel and leading participants outdoors, the artist considers what the dead might want from the living and whether through performing she could practice as well as learn about her own dying.

For more about Eiko Otake, please visit her website.

“We all came from a mother, even if some people never met their mothers. From their own birth, mothers contain all the eggs that they will ever have in life. We have been formed from unmeasurable time. Remembering or imagining a mother’s life and body is also to reflect on our own life and body, and beyond.”
 — Eiko Otake

The dramaturg for With the Dead is Iris McCloughan.

Photo Credit: Maria Baranova

This event is free, but registration required. To register, please visit The Green-Wood Historic Fund’s Eventbrite page and select your preferred date. Consider making a donation to The Green-Wood Historic Fund so that they can continue to offer free and low-cost programs throughout the year.

METROGRAPH HOSTS SAKAMOTO RETROSPECTIVE

Ryuichi Sakamoto: A Celebration

Friday, May 5 through Thursday, May 18

Metrograph – 7 Ludlow Street (between Canal and Hester Streets)

Admission: $17

Metrograph, the iconic New York City cinema, presents a film celebration of the late Ryuichi Sakamoto, one of the most innovative and influential composers of the 20th century. The retrospective, which runs from May 5 through May 18, is a fitting tribute to a true iconoclast who helped shape the sounds of modern music and film.

Sakamoto first gained recognition as a founding member of the Japanese electronic music group Yellow Magic Orchestra in the late 1970s. He later went on to establish a successful solo career, producing a wide variety of music that blended elements of classical, rock, and electronic styles. His groundbreaking work on film scores, which began with his collaboration with director Nagisa Oshima on the 1983 film Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, in which he also starred opposite David Bowie and Takeshi Kitano, earned him worldwide acclaim.

The Metrograph retrospective features a selection of Sakamoto's most memorable film scores, including his collaborations with legendary filmmakers such as Bernardo Bertolucci, Pedro Almodóvar, Jun Ichikawa, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, and Alejandro G. Iñárritu. In addition to Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, screenings include The Last Emperor, for which Sakamoto won an Academy Award for Best Original Score; the experimental biopic Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis; and The Revenant, which marked Sakamoto’s return to film composition after throat cancer treatments.

On Sunday, May 14, Metrograph is hosting a special Q&A session with and writer Sadie Rebecca Starnes and Sakamoto's long-time collaborator, filmmaker Stephen Nomura Schible, who directed the 2017 documentary Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda. The documentary, which explores Sakamoto's life and career, features interviews with the composer and his collaborators, and provides a fascinating insight into his creative process.

Don't miss your chance to celebrate the life and work of Ryuichi Sakamoto at Metrograph. For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit Metorgraph’s website.

Portrait © 2015 Wing Shya

Select Films

The Revenant

Saturday, May 6 at 1:00 p.m.
Wednesday, May 10 at 4:00 p.m.

Dir. Alejandro Iñárritu
2015 | 156 min.

Electronic experimentalist Sakamoto may have seemed an unusual choice to score a Western set on the 1820s frontier, but Iñárritu’s choice to have him do so paid off dividends. Triumphantly returning to film composition after treatment for throat cancer, Sakamoto, in collaboration with Alva Noto and Bryce Dessner of The National, created a grandly glacial soundscape to accompany Leonardo DiCaprio’s gravely wounded fur trapper Hugh Glass on his agonizing, hallucinatory mission of vengeance, towards a climactic confrontation with rival Tom Hardy that unleashes a terrible, glorious burst of aural violence.

The Last Emperor

Saturday, May 6 at 9:00 p.m.
Sunday, May 7 at 1:15 p.m.
Tuesday, May 9 at 6:15 p.m.
Thursday, May 11 at 4:00 p.m.
Wednesday, May 17 at 3:45 p.m.

Dir. Bernardo Bertolucci
1987 | 163 min.

Sakamoto, his work featured alongside that of David Byrne and Cong Su, composed nine of the 15 original pieces on the soundtrack of Bertolucci’s film, a dazzlingly lavish, non-linear biopic on the decadent early life, love, and ignoble exile of Pu Yi (John Lone), China’s last ruling emperor, much of it shot on location in Beijing’s Forbidden City. A meeting between traditional Chinese instrumentation and contemporary avant-garde sensibilities, Sakamoto, Byrne, and Su’s soundtrack would win Best Original Score at the 60th Academy Awards.

Tony Takitani

Friday, May 5 at 4:45 p.m.
Saturday, May 6 at 4:10 p.m. and 7:15 p.m.
Sunday, May 7 at 1:00 p.m. and 5:20 p.m.
Monday, May 8 at 9:15 p.m.
Tuesday, May 9 at 7:15 p.m.
Wednesday, May 10 at 9:30 p.m.
Thursday, May 11 at 7:15 p.m.

Dir. Jun Ichikawa
2004 | 75 min.

Based on a short story by Haruki Murakami, Ichikawa’s graceful, coolly elegant film tells the story—with the help of a drily detached third-person narrator—of the lonesome existence and sudden romantic awakening of its title character (Issey Ogata), who finds happiness in married life after years of isolation, with his only complaint that his lovely wife, Eiko (Rie Miyazawa), has a passion for designer clothes that threatens to drive a wedge between them . . .

A sublimely sensitive work of sly social commentary, newly restored, with Ryuichi Sakamoto’s delicate score adding subtle emotional shading.

Ryuichi Sakamoto in Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence

Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence

Friday, May 12 at 4:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 13 at 12:30 p.m.
Thursday, May 18 at 6:45 p.m.

Dir. Nagisa Ōshima
1983 | 123 min.

Sakamoto’s first film score was for Ōshima’s taut World War II-set drama in which the musician also starred as Captain Yonoi, the bushido code-obsessed commandant of a Japanese POW camp in occupied Java who enters a war of wills with unbreakable South African internee David Bowie, a conflict fraught with repressed, forbidden lust. In addition to proving himself a commanding, focused screen actor, Sakamoto delivered a plaintive, haunting score of delicate synths expressing the characters’ unspoken desires, its glass harp-sampling title track becoming a minor radio hit when matched with lyrics by David Sylvian and released as “Forbidden Colours.”

Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis

Friday, May 12 at 6:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 14 at 9:15 p.m.
Wednesday, May 17 at 9:00 p.m.

Dir. John Maybury
1998 | 87 min.

Derek Jacobi stars as Francis Bacon in John Maybury’s experimental biopic of the revolutionary painter, inspired by the authorized biography The Gilded Gutter Life of Francis Bacon and employing distorted visuals that approximate the tormented grotesquerie of the subject’s canvases, which focuses on Bacon’s tumultuous relationship with his penny-ante East End hoodlum muse George Dyer (a pre-Bond Daniel Craig, in his breakthrough role). Sakamoto’s drone and noise-heavy score adds immeasurably to the overall sense of disgust and disorientation in a film that endeavors not just to recap the facts of Bacon’s life, but to filter them through his anguished vision.

Ryuichi Sakamoto: CODA

Sunday, May 14 at 6:50 p.m.
Wednesday, May 17 at 6:45 p.m.
Thursday, May 18 at 9:20 p.m.

Dir. Stephen Nomura Schible
2017 | 100 min.

A precious glimpse into the creative process of the late synth-pop star, film composer, and activist Ryuichi Sakamoto, Stephen Nomura Schible’s deeply affecting film picks up with its introspective subject as he returns to music-making after having been diagnosed with cancer, channeling his new awareness of his mortality into his latest work.

Q&A with director Stephen Nomura Schible and writer Sadie Rebecca Starnes on Sunday, May 14th

The Films of Shinji Somai at japan society

Globus Film Series—Rites of Passage: The Films of Shinji Somai

Friday, April 28 through Saturday, May 13

Japan Society – 333 E. 47th Street (between 1st and 2nd Avenues)

Tickets: $15 | $12 seniors and students | $10 Japan Society members
Screening of Typhoon Club + Opening Night Party: $18/$15/$14

Japan Society is presenting the first North American retrospective on Japan’s foremost cineaste of the 1980s with the 2023 Globus Film Series Rites of Passage: The Films of Shinji Somai. Beginning Friday, April 28 with the sold-out world premiere of the 4K restoration of Typhoon Club this series spotlights director Shinji Somai, who is widely lauded in his native Japan but remains largely unrecognized in the West.

Series highlights include pop idol Hiroko Yakushimaru’s breakthrough Sailor Suit and Machine Gun—with screenings of both the theatrical and 1982 (kanpeki-ban) complete version; the North American Premiere of the 4K Luminous Woman restoration; and imported, archival prints of both Somai’s epic maritime tragedy The Catch and the pop-inflected Tokyo Heaven.

“A major figure in Japanese cinema, Shinji Somai’s recognition and influence are rarely discussed outside of Japan,” said Alexander Fee, Japan Society’s Film Programmer, “this series offers a special chance to rediscover one of Japan’s greatest filmmakers, whose formative works established a unique approach to filmmaking that continues to inspire the current generation today.”

Read Criterion Collection’s look at this series here.

Sailor Suit and Machine Gun ©1981 Kadokawa Corp.

About Shinji Somai

A pioneering filmmaker during what is oftentimes referred to as the “lost decade” of Japanese cinema, Somai came to prominence during the 1980s—a time when the nation’s film industry found itself in flux, perturbed by the collapse of the Japanese studio system in the previous decade. This transitional period would lead to the rise and development of independent productions, leaving Somai to serve as a crucial bridge into the post-studio era. Characterized by his demanding work ethic and innovative use of long takes, Somai forged a unique identity, working predominantly within the genre trappings of seishun eiga (youth films) and directing some of the era's most original and enduring works, five of which comprise Kinema Junpo's critics list for the best Japanese films of all time.

Somai’s acclaimed oeuvre encompasses an eclectic mix of generic and stylistic conventions, ranging from Kadokawa pop idol vehicles to Nikkatsu’s Roman Porno to independent art dramas—all underpinned by the filmmaker’s potent evocation of adolescence. Documenting the tempestuous rigors of youth, Somai’s output would remain a persistent influence on filmmakers to come—from Shunji Iwai and Shinji Aoyama to Kiyoshi Kurosawa and Ryusuke Hamaguchi. Somai’s frequent depictions of bodies of water—including torrential downpours and typhoons—parallel the emotional turbulence and volatility of youth, externalizing the alienating depths of growing up in an increasingly chaotic world.

Screening Schedule

Friday, April 28

Typhoon Club with Opening Night Party at 7:00 p.m.
Dir. Shinji Somai | 1985 | 115 min. | Japanese with English subtitles
With Youki Kudoh, Yuichi Mikami, Yuka Onishi

World Premiere of 4K Restoration. Shinji Somai’s beloved cult film Typhoon Club is widely heralded as the director’s seminal feature, considered to be one of the greatest Japanese films ever made. Offering a caustic immersion into the lives of disaffected junior high students on the cusp of adulthood, Typhoon Club features a lively cast of young talent—including idol Youki Kudoh (The Crazy Family, Mystery Train)—facing existential intrigues, budding sexuality, and rising social tensions in the days leading up to a typhoon’s arrival. Stranded in their schoolhouse as the storm settles in, the group undergoes an awakening as they dispel all—insecurities, fear, and desire—under the swell of the tempest. A Cinema Guild release.

Please note: This screening and Opening Night Party are SOLD OUT. Recently acquired by Cinema Guild, future release plans for Typhoon Club along with Somai’s 1983 postmodern road movie P.P. Rider are in the works, so if you can’t attend the April 28 show, you’ll have a chance to see it soon! Plus, there are nine screenings of six other Somai films in this Globus Film Series that you won’t want to miss!

P.P. Rider

Saturday, April 29

P.P. Rider at 2:00 p.m.
Dir. Shinji Somai | 1983 | 118 min. | Japanese with English subtitles
With Tatsuya Fuji, Michiko Kawai, Masatoshi Nagase

Based on a story by Leonard Schrader (The Man Who Stole the Sun), P.P. Rider follows three friends—Jojo, Jishu, and Bruce—who, after witnessing the kidnapping of their class bully, try to rescue their tormentor from the grip of his yakuza captors. Aside from the occasional detour, the trio trail their kidnapped classmate across the country, running into a cast of seedy characters along the way—including a pair of layabout cops and a wiry, washed-up gangster played by Tatsuya Fuji (In the Realm of the Senses). Playful and referential, Somai’s farcical seishun eiga employs a variety of stylistic techniques and gags to offer an escapist summer fantasy of carefree misadventures in turn broaching a darker undercurrent despite its tongue-in-cheek demeanor. A Cinema Guild release.

Love Hotel at 5:00 p.m.
Dir. Shinji Somai | 1985 | 88 min. | Japanese with English subtitles
With Minori Terada, Noriko Hayami

Echoes of the past reverberate when an ex-call girl and a debtor meet two years after the desperate and fateful night that first brought them together. An existential study of two lonely and tortured souls, Somai’s torrid pinku eiga follows the pair as they kindle a newfound friendship amid the chaos of their broken and dispirited lives. Somai, who started his career as an assistant director at Nikkatsu in the '70s, would not direct a feature for the studio until Love Hotel. Love Hotel is a melancholic entry into the studio’s legendary Roman Porno catalogue, set against the backdrop of a shimmering neon cityscape and soundtracked by Momoe Yamaguchi’s heartrending crooning.

Sailor Suit and Machine Gun (1982 Complete Version) at 7:00 p.m.
Dir. Shinji Somai | 1981/1982 | 130 min. (Complete), 112 min. (Theatrical) | Japanese with English subtitles
With Hiroko Yakushimaru, Tsunehiko Watase, Akira Emoto

Based on the popular youth novel by Jiro Akagawa, Sailor Suit and Machine Gun focuses on the life of schoolgirl Izumi Hoshi (Kadokawa idol Hiroko Yakushimaru) who inherits the reins of a dying yakuza clan and is thrown headfirst into a gangster feud. Vying for respect in an adult world, Izumi takes charge and challenges the violent drug cartel that threatens her clan. Between Somai’s skillful direction, a hit theme song and Yakushimaru herself—dressed in her iconic sailor fuku—Sailor Suit and Machine Gun had all the makings of a smash hit, emerging as a cultural phenomenon that catapulted Yakushimaru to widespread popularity and perfectly captured the zeitgeist of '80s Japan.

Luminous Woman

Friday, May 5

Sailor Suit and Machine Gun (Theatrical Version) at 6:00 p.m.

Luminous Woman at 8:30 p.m.
Dir. Shinji Somai | 1987 | 118 min. | Japanese with English subtitles
With Keiji Muto, Monday Michiru, Narumi Yasuda

Monday Michiru will introduce the film!

North American Premiere of 4K Restoration. A burly hulk of a man (pro-wrestler Keiji Muto) makes his way from Hokkaido to the decrepit trash heaps of outer Tokyo, searching for his beloved in what is perhaps Somai’s strangest feature. When he finds himself pulled into the gladiator pits of a Tokyo nightclub, the mountain man agrees to fight in exchange for information on his lost love. Operating within a bizarre carnivalesque realm of tightrope acts, acrobatic jesters and opera, Somai’s magenta-tinged Luminous Woman inhabits a dreamlike Tokyo underworld populated by tragic figures bearing forgotten hopes and dreams.

The Catch

Friday, May 12

The Catch at 7:00 p.m.
Dir. Shinji Somai | 1983 | 140 min. | Japanese with English subtitles
With Ken Ogata, Masako Natsume, Koichi Sato

Imported 35mm Print. In Somai’s relentless and near-mythical tale of the high seas, a young man takes on the intergenerational calling of his girlfriend’s family—that of a tuna fisherman. Abandoning his father’s vocation, Shinichi (Koichi Sato) turns to his girlfriend’s father, Fusajiro, a leather-faced fisherman played by Ken Ogata, to teach him the ways of the sea but struggles to assimilate to the rugged and callous lifestyle. His doting girlfriend, Tokiko, finds herself caught in a current of emotional devastation as she tends to both men, witnessing the arduous occupation harden and shape Shinichi as he obsesses over mastering his new trade. Playing out as a family tragedy of repeated cycles of trauma and pain, Somai’s maritime odyssey is a modern-day Melvillian epic.

Tokyo Heaven

Saturday, May 13

Luminous Woman at 2:00 p.m.

P.P. Rider at 5:00 p.m.

Tokyo Heaven at 7:30 p.m.
Dir. Shinji Somai | 1990 | 109 min. | Japanese with live English subtitles
With Riho Makise, Kiichi Nakai, Tsurube Shofukutei

Imported 35mm Print. Up-and-coming model Yu (Riho Makise) finds her career aspirations abruptly cut off after being run over in a car accident, waking up shortly afterwards in the sweet hereafter. Tricking a heavenly emissary to send her back to earth, Yu returns to a world where she cannot come into contact with those who know of her demise, which includes her lecherous producer, who is attempting to cover up news of her death. Befriending lowly salaryman Fumio (Kiichi Nakai), Yu is given a new lease on life as she finds happiness living—not as a campaign idol but as an ordinary teenage girl. Capturing Tokyo at the tail-end of Japan's Bubble era, Somai’s charming pop fantasy is a lighthearted reflection on the transience of life and the simple pleasures of human connection and existence.

To purchase tickets, please visit Japan Society’s website.

For JapanCulture•NYC Members

Japan Society is offering a discount code exclusively for JapanCulture•NYC members who want to attend the Rites of Passage screenings! That’s right, JapanCulture•NYC has a new membership program, and receiving discounts such as this is one of the benefits. To receive the code for $2 off any General Audience ticket, become a member of JapanCulture•NYC today! (This code for Rites of Passage cannot be used for additional discounts on Student/Senior/Japan Society member tickets.) JapanCulture•NYC membership is only $5 a month! For details and to register, please click here.

Sakura

Sakura

Saturday, April 22 at 6:00 p.m.

Goldish – 71 Murray Street (between W. Broadway and Greenwich Street)

Admission: $150

Ninja Ballet returns to New York City to grace the intimate space at Goldish, after a whirlwind tour in Mexico. In Sakura, artistic director Shoko Tamai hosts an Earth Day dance theatre celebration of the spring season, along with a traditional Japanese tea ceremony. Light refreshments will be served.

To purchase tickets, please visit Shoko Tamai’s Eventbrite page.

Photo by MANONCE

Performing Artists

Choreography — Shoko Tamai
Guest Dancer — Elisa Toro Franky
Shakuhachi — Adam Robinson
Drum (Music Arrangement) — Mal Stein
Artwork — Pedro Cuni
Tea Master — Yoshitsugu Nagano

About Ninja Ballet

Established 2017, Ninja Ballet is a fusion Eastern and Western dance methodology, practice, and performance. The company seeks to stimulate cross-cultural learning and environmental awareness through dance, music, and visual arts, while inspiring a new generation of enlightened movement artists. For more information, please visit their website.

IFC TO SCREEN A LOOK AT JAPAN’S DYSTOPIAN FUTURE

PLAN 75

Friday, April 21 through Thursday, April 27

IFC Center – 323 6th Avenue at W. 3rd Street

Admission: $17 general | $14 seniors and children

IFC Center presents the U.S. theatrical premiere of PLAN 75, director Chie Hayakawa’s feature film debut in which the lives of three ordinary citizens intersect in a new reality as they confront the crushing callousness of a world ready to dispose of those no longer deemed valuable.  

Synopsis

In a near dystopian future, Japan's government launches PLAN 75, a program encouraging the elderly to terminate their own lives to relieve its rapidly aging population's social and economic burdens.

Legendary Japanese actress Chieko Baishō stars as Michi, a 78-year-old who considers signing up for the program after losing her meager but fulfilling hotel job and the means to live independently. A young Plan 75 salesman Himoru (Hayato Isomura) initially believes in the program's benefits and serves as the human face of the program. Maria (Stephanie Arianne), a Filipina care worker living overseas, reluctantly accepts a position with PLAN 75 to send money home to her ailing daughter.

On the surface, the plan and its hawkers exude a kindness that serves as the film's chilling vision of bureaucratic indifference and our increasing loss of interconnectedness. However, Hayakawa’s view is far from grim, as these characters soon learn to reckon with their own lives and what it truly means to live.  

Chieko Bashō in PLAN 75

"With stinging precision, Hayakawa reveals a culture that seems almost mobilized to destroy its own soul.”
— Slant Magazine

"Chieko Baisho gives a truly magnificent and moving performance.”  
— DEADLINE 

“Completely surprising and beautiful...marks the arrival of an exciting new writer-director.”
— Vulture

Showtimes

There are four showtimes each day PLAN 75 is screening at IFC Center: 1:45 p.m., 4:25 p.m., 7:10 p.m., and 9:45 p.m.

Q&A with director Chie Hayakawa will take place after the 7:10 p.m. screenings on Friday, April 21 and Saturday, April 22 and after the 4:25 p.m. screening on Sunday, April 23.

To purchase tickets, please visit IFC Center’s website.

About the Filmmaker

Born in Tokyo, Chie Hayakawa studied photography at School of Visual Arts in New York. Her short film Niagara was selected at Cinéfondation/Cannes Film Festival 2014, won the FIPRESCI Award at Vladivostok International Film Festival, and received two Grand Prizes at International Women’s Film Festival in Seoul and PIA Film Festival.

Hayakawa’s short film version of PLAN 75 served as the opening segment of Ten Years Japan, an anthology of five shorts in which five different directors present how they envision Japan will be in ten years. Executive produced by Hirokazu Kore-eda, Ten Years Japan had its world premiere at the Busan Film Festival in 2018, followed by an international festival tour and successful theatrical releases.

JAA’s 18th Sakura Matsuri

Saturday, April 22 from 11:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m.

Flushing Meadows Corona Park

Admission: Free         

The Japanese American Association will hold its 18th Sakura Matsuri at Flushing Meadows Corona Park on Saturday, April 22. The program begins at 11:00 a.m. rain or shine and features performances by taiko drumming group Soh Daiko, the Japanese Folk Dance Institute of New York, the JAA Chorus, and the New York Okinawa Club with Jimpu-Kai New York. In addition, there will be a tea ceremony on the lawn by the Urasenke Tea Ceremony Society. Yours truly is honored to serve as emcee.

Bring a blanket and a bento and enjoy the cherry blossoms! For more information, please visit JAA’s Facebook page.

The History of JAA’s Sakura Trees

Symbolizing the friendship between Japan and the U.S., in 1912 Japan gave a gift of sakura trees the Washington, D.C., as well as 2,000 sakura trees to New York City, thirteen of which were planted in Claremont Park, now Sakura Park. JAA’s “21st Century New York Cherry Blossom Project” began on Arbor Day, April 24, 1992, at City Hall Park. Sakura seeds donated by The Cherry Association of Japan were presented by then JAA President Shigeru Inagaki to Betsy Gotbaum, then Commissioner of New York Parks.

The seeds were nursed in the greenhouses of Van Cortlandt Park, and JAA volunteers planted 168 trees in a design created by the noted landscape artist Kan Domoto with George Yuzawa in 2001. Working in close cooperation with the Flushing Meadows Corona Park staff, JAA has donated and planted hundreds of sakura trees.

2023 Honoree

This year a cherry tree will be planted in honor of Mr. Takeshi "Tak" Furumoto, who was born in a Japanese American internment camp during World War II, was raised in his parents' native Hiroshima after the atomic bombing, returned to the US for college, and eventually served our country in Vietnam. He has dedicated his life to the betterment of the Japanese American community, and this year he was successful in helping the state of New Jersey adopt January 30 as the Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution.

 Disclosure: The author is a Vice President of JAA and the chair of the Sakura Matsuri committee.

Shibutani Book Launch

Tuesday, April 18 from 5:30 p.m. until 7:00 p.m.

Yu and Me Books – 44 Mulberry Street

Admission: Free

Olympic ice dancing medalists Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani will be at Yu and Me Books in Chinatown for the launch of their new book, Amazing: Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Who Inspire Us All.

About the Book

This beautifully illustrated children’s picture book highlights the achievements of many Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders who have made invaluable contributions to the world. Written with journalist Dane Liu and illustrated by Aaliya Jaleel, Amazing’s inclusivity sets it apart in its exploration of thirty-six inspirational AAPI figures, including civil rights hero Daniel Inouye, immigrant astronaut Kalpana Chawla, and biracial entertainer Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

The Shibutanis felt compelled to create a book showing the undeniably positive impacts that Pacific Islanders and Asian Americans have made in this country and around the world. With quick and accessible biographies written with Liu, readers will learn about important figures who have shaped life-altering policy, made indelible marks on pop culture, and achieved their greatest dreams—paving the way for future generations to make lasting change.

“A thoughtful and comprehensive survey of the ways in which Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have shaped, and will continue to shape, the United States. Throughout, the prose is clear, concise, and well crafted, incorporating details that will enthrall young readers.”
—Kirkus Reviews

About the Shibutanis

Maia and Alex Shibutani are two-time Olympic bronze medalists who became the first ice dancing team of Asian descent to medal at the Olympics. Off the ice, the “ShibSibs” are goodwill ambassadors and storytellers who are active on social media. Amazing: Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Who Inspire Us All is their third book; they launched their “Kudo Kids” series of children’s middle grade mystery books in 2020.

About Yu and Me Books

Established by Lucy Yu, Yu and Me Books is the first Asian American female-owned bookstore in New York. A bookstore that’s also a café/bar, Yu and Me focuses on the strong, diverse voices of the AAPI community, with a focus on immigrant stories.

Akiko tokuoka and the japanese aesthetics of voguing

Akiko Tokuoka was inspired by a non-Japanese person who was inspired by Japan.

Although the New York-based dancer was born and raised in Kyoto—a popular tourist destination and Japan’s cultural hub—she had no formal training in Japan’s traditional arts, such as tea ceremony, calligraphy, and Nihon buyo, traditional Japanese dance.

“I was not familiar with it at all,” she says.

She admits that her home country’s time-honored traditions have always been part of her DNA. But she had to come to New York before she could fully appreciate them.

Early Influences

“I loved Black culture, Black music, hip-hop when I was young,” she says. “When I was 16 years old, I started that kind of dance first.”

Iconic Japanese pop star Namie Amuro, to whom Tokuoka refers as “the Japanese Beyoncé,” was her biggest influence.

“She could really sing and dance well. And I wanted to be like her; that’s the reason I started dancing.”

Tokuoka came to New York to pursue a career in contemporary dance and to learn English. The longer she stayed in New York, however, the more she felt an interest in her country’s traditions awaken within her.

“I realized that I have to learn traditional Japanese things. I have to learn traditional Japanese dance,” she says. “This helped expand my career and my philosophy. I started studying under [acclaimed dancer/choreographer] Sachiyo Ito Sensei in 2010 and learned from her for four or five years.”

However, she never abandoned her original goal of performing in other genres, finding a balance between both worlds.

Scene from WAKASHU by Akiko Tokuoka (far right). Photo by John Mazlish.

Come On, Vogue

Tokuoka went to New York City night clubs, sometimes doing dance battles. She eventually segued from hip-hop to house music, which is characterized by faster beats and more steps. There, she discovered voguing, the Black and Latinx communities’ stylized form of dance that grew out of the LGBTQ ballrooms of Harlem and rose to prominence with Madonna and the 1990 documentary Paris Is Burning.

Almost two decades after the documentary put the spotlight on voguing, Tokuoka found a community among the “houses” that keep the vibrant voguing traditions alive. Going to clubs every week, Tokuoka gradually became familiar with the dancers as well as the dances. She was invited to audition to become a member of the House of Ninja more than 13 years ago, and she’s been a member ever since.

“I really love how they describe Japan through their movements,” says Tokuoka of her House of Ninja partners. “It expands my inspiration, too.”

The “mother” of the House of Ninja, the late Willi Ninja, was inspired by Japan. Known as the godfather of voguing, Willi Ninja is credited with perfecting the dance’s clean lines and poses. He appeared in Paris Is Burning, saying that he wants to take voguing to Japan and have it accepted there.

they’re not as different as you’d think

To the uninitiated, Nihon buyo and vogue may seem like two disparate dance forms. Tokuoka disagrees; she finds many similarities between them.

“To dance with kimono is a totally different thing compared to other dance styles because there is a limitation,” Tokuoka explains.

Because the kimono restricts movement of the legs, Tokuoka says traditional Japanese dancers use their hands a lot and emphasize the angles of the neck and torso.

“That part is voguing dance,” she says. “Voguing dance and dancing in Japanese kimono really match. . . Part of voguing dance is we [go from] pose to pose to pose. Also, when we perform Japanese cultural dance, we look like we’re posing for pictures.”

the birth of wakashu

Tokuoka brought those similarities to life with her show Wakashu: Timeless Beauty of the Third Gender, which premiered at The Secret Theatre in Woodside, Queens, and ran for two nights in mid-November 2022.

Scene from WAKASHU by Akiko Tokuoka (far right). Photo by John Mazlish.

With Wakashu, Tokuoka seamlessly blended delicate elements of Japanese culture and energetic voguing to a fluid, beautiful, and expressive performance. She and her fellow dancers—her House of Ninja collaborators Javier Madrid (aka ICONIC Javier Ninja) and John-Deric Mitchell (aka Star Ninja)—wore kimono and hakama, gestured with Japanese fans, performed a tea ceremony, and wistfully watched cherry blossoms in full bloom until their petals scattered to the ground. All the while, they danced to koto and shamisen music, overlaid with house beats, moving powerfully across the stage, striking poses, and blurring the lines between a contemporary dance form and one that’s hundreds of years old.

“I did my best to create a show that has Japanese elements,” says Tokuoka, although she also says she did not “consciously combine” Nihon buyo with voguing. She forms the idea of the show first, and “the choreography comes naturally.”

Scene from WAKASHU by Akiko Tokuoka (far right). Photo by John Mazlish.

From concept to stage, Tokuoka spent only three months developing Wakashu. She received a grant from the Queens Council on the Arts in late June and had to present her work before the end of the year. Creating a new work from the beginning, securing a venue, holding rehearsals, and travelling to Japan to attend a wedding after the premiere made for a pressure-packed second half of 2022. But bringing together people who know her as a traditional Japanese dancer and those from her voguing world made it worthwhile.

Teaching japanese people about japanese traditions

“This is my mission. Every time I go back to Japan, they forget [Japanese traditions]. People in Japan don’t notice [Japanese traditions] at all . . . They are chasing other countries’ culture all the time. They love Hollywood movies; they love K-pop. They’re chasing other stuff—that’s what I see—instead of rooting themselves in what they already have.”

Wakashu embodies her mission of reminding her fellow countrymen of Japan’s ancient aesthetics, even with contemporary twists and turns thrown in.

The cast of WAKASHU bows to the diverse crowd

 more on akiko tokuoka

When she’s not creating her own productions, Akiko Tokuoka performs with other companies. She appeared in The Brooklyn Nutcracker, which incorporated various world dances into the classical Christmas ballet, and she was a part of the Japanese comedy game show BATSU! New York in the East Village. You can follow Tokuoka on Instagram at @nyc.performanceartist.

Cards & Collectibles Show

Lo-Zilla Presents: 1st Ever Cards & Collectibles Show

Saturday, April 15 from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.

Moore Catholic High School – 100 Merrill Avenue, Staten Island

Admission: $10 Early Bird from 9:00 a.m. | $7 General Admission from 10:00 a.m.

Event planner Lo-Zilla is hosting its first ever cards and collectibles show at Moore Catholic High School on Staten Island. More than 100 Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Dragon Ball Z, and sports-related vendors will be on hand. Moore Catholic High School will be flooded with cards, plushies, comics, funko pops, and much more! Meet voice actor Emily Cramer and see original artwork by Jeff Brennan.

There will be free Starbucks coffee all day and food available for purchase from The Four Seasons.  

Visit Lo-Zilla’s website to register. This is a must-see event for anyone—young and old—interested in these collectibles. Go early and spend the entire day at the Lo-Zilla Cards & Collectibles Show!

About Emily Cramer

Voice actor Emily Cramer

Emily Cramer is a voice actor and singer whose work can be heard internationally in commercials, animated television shows, movies, video games, dark rides, and audio dramas.

Her most notable titles are currently Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS, The Winx Club, Bread Barbershop, Battle Game In 5 Seconds, EDF World Brothers, many Yu-Gi-Oh! video games, and Genshin Impact.

Before falling in love with voiceover, Cramer performed for many years in Broadway and national touring productions of Shrek the Musical, Mary Poppins, Les Misérables, and School of Rock. For more information about Cramer, please visit her website.

Masayo Ishigure: Koto, Bass Koto, and Shamisen

Thursday, April 6 at 7:30 p.m.

Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall – 57th Street and 7th Avenue

Admission: $40 to $50

Masayo Ishigure will perform a koto and shamisen recital to commemorate the 30th anniversary of her professional career in the United States. This program offers a glimpse into the history of Japanese music and can be enjoyed by a wide range of audiences.

Performers

• Masayo Ishigure: Koto, Bass Koto, and Shamisen

• Zac Zinger: Shakuhachi

• Nathan Koci: Piano

• Noriko Tsuboi: Koto and Bass Koto

• Miyabi Koto and Shamisen Ensemble

Program

• Tadao Sawai – "Sakura Sakura"

• Tadao Sawai – "Ginga" ("Galaxy")

• Zac Zinger – Untitled

• Hikaru Sawai – "Gin-yu-ka" ("Minstrel Song")

• Hideaki Matsumoto – "Chizuru / Whereabouts of the Wind"

• Tadao Sawai – "Flying like a Bird"

To purchase tickets, please visit Carnegie Hall’s website.

Masayo Ishigure

About Masayo Ishigure

Masayo Ishigure began playing koto and jiuta shamisen at the age of five in Gifu Prefecture and later studied under Tadao and Kazue Sawai. In 1986 she became a special research student at Sawai Koto Institute. She moved to the U.S. in 1992 to teach koto and shamisen classes at Wesleyan University in Connecticut.

In 2005 she was invited to play the koto on the soundtrack of the Academy Award-winning film Memoirs of a Geisha with music by John Williams, Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma, and others. Newsweek nominated Ishigure in the magazine’s 2007 issue of 100 Japanese People the World Respects. Late prime minister Shinzo Abe recognized her as one of five Japanese women active in New York. Ishigure taught koto classes at Columbia University from 2010 through 2021, and she gives private lessons in New York City.

About the Miyabi Koto and Shamisen Ensemble

Classical and contemporary Japanese koto and shamisen ensemble “MIYABI” was founded in 1996 in New York City as a branch of the Sawai Koto Academy of Japan. Led by Ishigure, repertoire ranges from classical to contemporary koto music. The founder of Sawai Koto Academy, Tadao Sawai, is known as one of the greatest players and composers of koto music in the 20th century.

The ensemble dedicates itself to playing Tadao Sawai‘s koto music. It has played many concerts in the New York Metropolitan area, the eastern United States, Hawaii, Australia, South America, and Japan.

Made in Japan: 20th-Century Poster Art

Now through Sunday, September 10

Poster House – 119 W. 23rd Street (between 6th and 7th Avenues)

Admission: $12 | $8 Seniors, Students, Educators, Veterans, and Visitors with Disabilities

Japanese poster design reflects the country’s rich visual culture and printmaking tradition and was used throughout the 20th century to represent the country to domestic and international audiences. Two world wars in addition to rapid industrialization, urbanization, and the rise of mass media fundamentally transformed modern Japan, and its specific journey as both an aggressor and a victim of war reinforced the nation’s efforts to revamp its image. Within this context, posters became an essential commercial art form that fused modern identity with consumerism, mirroring and shaping the social, political, and ideological values of the time. 

During the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–45) and World War II (1939–45), posters were designed to inspire patriotism, circulate propaganda, and encourage consumer restraint in support of the war effort. During the postwar period, however, unparalleled growth in the manufacturing sector catapulted the Japanese economy to the position of second largest in the world, creating limitless opportunities for poster advertising as Japanese corporations became household names and global brands. Following the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and the 1970 Osaka World Expo, Japan’s international standing shifted again, emboldening Japanese artists and designers to conceive new forms of graphic media that mixed aspects of traditional Japanese aesthetics with Western design idioms. Between the 1980s and the early 21st century, Japanese posters functioned beyond the realm of the merely commercial, allowing designers to address such social issues as pollution, climate change, sustainability, nuclear disarmament, and global peace and reconciliation. 

This exhibition explores the cultural and political shifts within modern Japan that influenced the functions and messaging of its advertising posters, and how those posters were subsequently received by the public.

Nihon Buyo UCLA Asian Performing Arts Institute 1981

Gallery Hours

Poster House is open Thursday through Sunday from 10:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m., except on Friday, when it is open until 9:00 p.m. Admission is free on Fridays as well. For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit Poster House’s website.

Made in Japan in the Poster House Shop

Poster House has a nice selection of books, notecards, and other items that feature Japanese graphic design. To purchase online, visit the shop here.

The Hunting Gun

Now through Saturday, April 15

Baryshnikov Arts Center – 450 W. 37th Street (between 9th and 10th Avenues)

Admission: $35-$150

Three letters.
One tragedy.

Josuke Misugi receives three letters from different women: his wife, his mistress, and her daughter. The first is from young Shoko, who just discovered her mother’s affair through the reading of her diary. The second is from his wife, Midori, revealing she’s known about the infidelity from the start. And the third is a farewell from Saiko, his lover of thirteen years: “By the time you read this, I will no longer be among the living.”

Weaving these three viewpoints with consummate skill, Yarushi Inoue, one of Japan’s most celebrated authors, gives universal resonance to Misugi’s demise. He turns what could have been the mundane account of adultery into a compelling love story that is considered a classic of world literature.

This stage adaptation is a monologue for three voices, and a single actress embodies all three women, transforming before our eyes. At the end of her letter, Shoko drops her school uniform to reveal Midori’s exuberant outfit who, in turn, undresses to slip into Saiko’s funeral kimono.

Behind a scrim presenting fragments of letters, the increasingly tormented hunter Josuke Misugi cleans his gun. He seems to exist in a different time space. The simple action he performs, which would normally take only a few minutes, is stretched through the entire duration of the play: picking up his gun in ultra-slow motion, inspecting it, meticulously cleaning its barrels, and finally standing to aim at his wife’s back.

Borrowing from Japanese Zen aesthetics, the set’s floor is successively draped with three fundamental elements: water, stone, and wood. After Shoko wanders in a lily pond, the waters withdraw to reveal a terrain of smooth black stones. Then, at the climax of Midori’s rage, the stones magically vanish to expose a wooden deck on which Saiko recites her suicide letter.

Background image photo by Mark Seliger.

Remaining Performances

Tuesday, April 4 at 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, April 6 at 7:30 p.m.
Friday, April 7 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 8 at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, April 9 at 2:00 p.m.
Wednesday, April 12 at 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, April 13 at 7:30 p.m.
Friday, April 14 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 15 at 7:30 p.m.

The performance will be in Japanese with English supertitles. Run time is 105 with no intermission. To purchase tickets, please visit The Hunting Gun’s website.

Mikhail Baryshnikov in The Hunting Gun. Photo by Pasha Antonov.

About Mikhail Baryshnikov 

Born in Riga, Latvia, and living in New York City, Mikhail Baryshnikov has distinguished himself as an extraordinary dancer and performer in theater, television, and film. In a career spanning more than 50 years, he has worked with George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, and many other illustrious choreographers and directors. From 1979 until 1989 he was artistic director of American Ballet Theater, where he introduced a new generation of dancers and choreographers. From 1990 until 2002, Baryshnikov was director and principal dancer of the White Oak Dance Project, co-founded with choreographer Mark Morris.

In 2005, he opened the Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC), a creative space designed to support multidisciplinary artists from around the globe. Baryshnikov’s many awards include the Kennedy Center Honors, the National Medal of Arts, the rank of Officer of the Legion of Honor of France, Japan’s prestigious Praemium Imperiale International Arts Award in Theatre/Film, and most recently the Royal Academy of Dance ‘s Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Award.

Miki Nakatani as Shoko in The Hunting Gun. Photo by Stephanie Berger.

About Miki Nakatani

Miki Nakatani was born in Tokyo in January 1976 and started her career in 1993. She has won six Japan Academy Prizes for her work: Best Supporting Actress for When the Last Sword Is Drawn (2003, directed by Yojiro Takita), Best Leading Actress for Memories of Matsuko (2006, directed by Tetsuya Nakajima), Best Leading Actress for Jigyaku No Uta (2007, directed by Yukihiko Tsutsumi), Best Supporting Actress for Zero Focus (2009, directed by Isshin Inudo), Best Actress Award for Hankyu Railway – A 15 Minute Miracle (2011, directed by Yoshishige Miyake), and Best Supporting Actress in a Leading Role for Ask This of Rikyu (2013, directed by Mitsutoshi Tanaka). Appearances in foreign productions include Silk (2007, directed by François Girard) and FOUJITA (2015, directed by Kohei Oguri).

In 2011, she made her debut as a stage actress in The Hunting Gun at USINEC, Montreal. In the same year, she staged a return performance in Japan, winning the Kinokuniya Theatre Award Actress of the Year and the Yomiuri Theatre Awards for Best Actress. The following year, she won the Yomiuri Theatre Award for Best Actress for her performance in Lost in Yonkers by Neil Simon.

GUITAR MASTERS SERIES: TSUTOMU NAKAI

Monday, April 3 from 7:00 p.m. until 8:15 p.m.
Monday, April 3 from 8:30 p.m. until 9:45 p.m.

Zinc – 82 W. 3rd Street (between Thompson and Sullivan Streets)

Admission: $25 in advance | $30 at the door

Jazz Guitarist Tsutomu Nakai is one of the hottest and in-demand musicians in New York City right now. His exceptionally unique guitar work is beautiful and strong, yet versatile. His mastery of improvisation is evident while emphasizing the melody above all else. This is the essence of Nakai’s style.

Tsutomu Nakai at Zinc Bar NYC 2017

He brings his quartet to Zinc on Monday, April 3 for an evening of standards and original music. Pianist Lafayette Harris, bassist Lonnie Plaxico, and drummer Dwayne "Cook" Broadnax will perform with him.

For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit Zinc’s website.

RAM Concert

Saturday, April 1 at 8:00 p.m. (Doors open at 7:30 p.m.)

Scorca Hall at National Opera Center – 330 7th Ave 7th Floor

Admission: $25 | $10 Seniors and Students

This Random Access Music (RAM) concert features the world premiere of guest composer Margaret Brouwer’s “Sonata” for clarinet and piano; a world premiere by RAM composer Masatora Goya; and more music from RAM composers Seth Boustead, Gilbert Galindo, and Daniel Hass.

Payment by cash or credit will be accepted at the venue. To make reservations, please send an email to ram.nyc.info@gmail.com. For more information, please visit RAM’s website.

RAM Players

• Thomas Piercy, clarinet

• Sabina Torosjan, violin

• Daniel Hass, cello

• Marina Iwao, piano

Meet the composers at and after the concert!

Program

Guest composer Margaret Brouwer
“Sonata” for clarinet and piano (2022)
World Premiere of International Clarinet Association consortium commission 

RAM composers

Seth Boustead
“Dissonance Still Talking” for clarinet, violin, cello, piano (2007)

Gilbert Galindo
"Currents" for violin, cello, and piano (2021) NY Premiere

Masatora Goya
“How We Became Stardust" for clarinet, violin, cello, and piano (2023) World Premiere

Daniel Hass
“The Lord of Toronto, His Pavin” for cello and piano (2022)

Night Market: Asian Food & Sakura Festival

Friday, March 31 from 4:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m.

MIKA – 25 Thames Street, Brooklyn

Admission: $12 in advance / $15 at the door

MIKA and Upstairs are turning all 8,700 square feet of MIKA’s space into a night market featuring a mouthwatering, traditional Asian menu and sakura-themed food, drinks, and products. There will be sakura accessories, Pokémon goods, crafts and more throughout MIKA’s indoor and outdoor patio spaces.

Wear your cherry blossom outfits and join the fun!

Food for Purchase ($10-$15)

• Award-Winning Tonkotsu Ramen

• Sakura Pescatarian Ramen

• Takoyaki

• Yakitori

• Vegan Curry Rice

• Onigiri

• Tokyo Fried Chicken

• Gyoza

• Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken

• Golden Fish Ball

• Fried Mushroom

• Sakura Jelly

• Ube and Matcha Cheesecake

• Super Omakase Strawberry

• Sakura-, Ube- and Matcha-Mochi Filled Cookies

Beverages (for Free Drink Ticket Holders Only)

• Chu-Hi (shochu cocktails) sponsored by Iichiko and Takara Sake

• Beer by DUBCO

• Yuzu-flavored Mocktails by Moshi

Beverages Available for Purchase

• Special Sakura, Matcha, Yuzu, Lemon, Calpico, and Oolong Chu-H

• Special Sake Flight Menu with Sakura Sake Cocktails by Kubota and Kato Sake Works

For a full list of vendors and to purchase tickets, please visit the Upstairs Night Market website.

Yumi Kurosawa Trio at Joe’s Pub

Thursday, March 30 at 7:00 p.m. (Doors open at 6:00 p.m.)

Joe’s Pub – 425 Lafayette Street (at Astor Place)

Admission: $25 / $15 Students

Yumi Kurosawa is one of today's most exciting soloists on Japan's national instrument, the koto. Marking the debut of her new album Metamorphosis, Kurosawa creates a transformative listening experience through her new compositions.

The Yumi Kurosawa Trio blends the violin, percussion, and koto and draws upon many musical influences to reveal Kurosawa’s abundant curiosity and remarkable capacity. Latin percussion, shakuhachi, and alto saxophone add a variety of tonal colors. The idea of borderless music is reimagined to create something unique and special. 

This album recording and the world premiere of several music pieces are commissioned by Chamber Music America’s Artistic Projects program funded through the generosity of Howard Gilman Foundation. Produced by Arturo O’Farrill and Kabir Sehgal. For more information about Yumi Kurosawa, please visit her website.

Photo by Gail Hadani

Performers

Yumi Kurosawa — 20-string koto
Naho Parrini — violin
Eric Phinney — percussion

Special Guests

Carlos Maldonado — Latin percussion
Zac Zinger — shakuhachi and alto saxophone

 There is a minimum two-drink or one-food order per person. To purchase tickets, please visit Joe’s Pub’s website.

Photo by Gail Hadani

WHAT’S UP CONNECTION

Wednesday, March 29 at 9:30 p.m.

Alamo Drafthouse Brooklyn – 445 Albee Square West, Brooklyn

Admission: $10

Film distributor Kani Releasing is hosting a one-night-only screening of What’s Up Connection, Japanese punk auteur Masashi Yamamoto’s zany road trip comedy in which one Hong Kong family takes on a Japanese conglomerate to save their fishing village, at Alamo Drafthouse Brooklyn. Yamamoto will join via Zoom for a post-screening Q&A moderated by film critic Kazu Watanabe.

About What’s Up Connection

When Hong Kong teenager Chi Gau Shin (Tse Wai Kit, School on Fire) wins a trip to Japan, he unleashes a chain of events that will soon bring him from the secluded fishing village of Po Toi O to Tokyo, by way of Kamagasaki—the so-called slums of Osaka. Upon returning home with a merry band of schemers, Gau Shin finds his family of resourceful counterfeiters on the verge of expropriation. A multinational conglomerate led by a ruthless Japanese developer has found the village and is determined to raze it to build the new center of world trade.

A rare bilingual Japan-Hong Kong co-production that unfolds as part unhinged globalization mini-epic, fringe documentary, and breathless, kaleidoscopic evocation of a specific pan-Asian cultural experience as the 1990s drew near, What’s Up Connection is bursting at the seams with possibility. It brings Yamamoto’s project—of capturing beauty and resilience in the margins of capital—to its maximalist apex.

To purchase tickets, please visit Alamo Drafthouse’s website.

In Cantonese and Japanese with English subtitles

About Masashi Yamamoto

Born in Ōita Prefecture, indie auteur Masashi Yamamoto attended Meiji University but left early to concentrate on making independent 8mm films. In the late ‘70s to early ‘80s, he produced music for the Japanese rock band JAGATARA and has since cast punk icons Akemi Edo, Kou Machida, and Sakevi Yokoyama in his films.

His Carnival in the Night (1983) was the first independent Japanese film to be officially invited to screen at both the Cannes International Film Festival's Critics' Week and the Berlin Film Festival's Young Forum. Robinson's Garden (1987) won the Zitty Award at Berlinale and earned Yamamoto the Directors Guild of Japan’s New Directors Award. Following the completion of Atlanta Boogie (1996), he lived in New York for a year as a research fellow for Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs, during which time he distributed his film Junk Food (1997) across the US.

In 2012, he created Cinema ☆ Impact, a filmmaking workshop that produced and released 15 films from up-and-coming directors, including Nobuhiro Yamashita (Linda Linda Linda), Ryosuke Hashiguchi (Like Grains of Sand, Hush!), and Ryūichi Hiroki (Ride or Die, Vibrator). The work born from Cinema ☆ Impact was screened at film festivals in the US, Hong Kong, Japan, and Berlin.

He has also acted in films such as A Forest with No Name (Shinji Aoyama) and March Comes in Like a Lion (Hitoshi Yazaki). His latest film, Wonderful Paradise (2020), screened at the Lausanne Underground Film & Music Festival, Fantasia International Film Festival, Nippon Connection, and JAPAN CUTS in New York.