Submissions welcome! Japan-related event in London to add? Just click the green ‘+ Post Your Event’ button. It’s free, & easy to do.
BUTOH RESIDENCY offers three days of live performances, films and a workshop that see Japanese and European musicians, dancers and artists working together to advance the global recognition of Butoh – both as a uniquely Japanese art form and as a vibrant international platform for communicating in or beyond all languages. Collaborating artists include pianist and vocalist Aya Ogawa and dancer Mushimaru Fujieda from Japan; Butoh-Techno from Poland, French electronic musician Pascal Savy and, on film, performances by the late Sapporo based dancer Yoko Muronoi.
BUTOH RESIDENCY offers three days of live performances, films and a workshop that see Japanese and European musicians, dancers and artists working together to advance the global recognition of Butoh – both as a uniquely Japanese art form and as a vibrant international platform for communicating in or beyond all languages. Collaborating artists include pianist and vocalist Aya Ogawa and dancer Mushimaru Fujieda from Japan; Butoh-Techno from Poland, French electronic musician Pascal Savy and, on film, performances by the late Sapporo based dancer Yoko Muronoi.
WORKSHOP
Mushimaru Fujieda Workshop on “Natural Physical Poetry” accompanied by Aya Ogawa
“Our mission for Okinawa Day 2019 is to introduce Okinawan culture further in the UK and enrich the existing relationship between Okinawa and the UK which has been established through our previous Okinawa Day events. We are also keen to reach an ever-larger UK audience to participate in future Okinawa related events and to create an Okinawan cultural hub in the UK.
Okinawa Day 2019 will also offer entertainment for kids, making it a unique opportunity for families to enjoy the richness of Okinawan culture. We are planning to present the following events at the main square – performing arts (folk and classical songs accompanied by sanshin lute, drumming performance and Eisa dance, etc). ”
The prospective program includes:
・Ryukyu (Okinawa) and Amami traditional music, Eisa dance, Karate performance, Ukulele music with Hula dance.
Performances of Okinawa-related music, dance, martial arts by individuals and groups from the U.K., France, Amami islands and Okinawa islands
・Entertainment for kids stall
・Food and drink stall
Display of Okinawan food and drink outlets including Awamori (Okinawan liquor), fruit juice, Okinawan sweets and more.
・Arts and Crafts Stalls from Okinawa
Display of Sanshin and other unique and original arts and crafts objects from Okinawa and our original t-shirts.
HYPER JAPAN 2019 will bring the best of Japan to London, celebrating J-culture with traditional and contemporary exhibitors and performances, food and drink, and unique shopping opportunities.
Grimeborn Opera Festival
8pm 23rd August
3pm 24th August
8pm 24th August
Origami and music. A multi-media opera installation. Verity Lane‘s two-part project draws on her 10 years’ experience of living in Japan, exploring classical Japanese traditions with a uniquely avant-garde twist.
A brand-new performance project with music, stories and concept by Verity Lane, Origami Soundscapes: Flower, Bird, Wind & Moon explores ancient symbolism and Japanese birdsong, featuring a large-scale origami performance by Coco Sato, percussion, shakuhachi and storytelling.
The Crane reimagines a Japanese folk story about a magical crane that takes human form, set around Hokkaido’s Otowa Bridge. This mystical opera installation explores traditional Japanese aesthetics through a blend of Noh theatre conventions, traditional and contemporary dance, avant-garde music and animation.
Sung in English and Japanese without surtitles.
Music and Libretto (English and Japanese) by Verity Lane
Supported by Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation
https://www.facebook.com/events/342669456446524/
*****************************
Verity Lane/music, words, creative directer
Coco Sato/Giant Origami
Beibei Wang/Percussion
Mirei Yazawa/Dance
Tomoko Komura/Voice
Hester Dart/Voice
Kiku Day/Shakuhachi
Rowan O’Brien/Animator
****************************
Verity Lane
Born in Tottenham and spending nearly a decade in Japan, visual artist, composer and writer Verity Lane specialises in creating highly visual performance installations for traditional Japanese instruments. and beyond.
Her recent multi-media projects include A Thousand Bamboo in a Dancing Wind (performance installation for 300 shakuhachi, 2 dancers, projection and performance poetry, commissioned by The World Shakuhachi Festival, held at Goldsmiths, 2018), Yugenism: Animated Soundscapes of the Japanese Sublime (supported by Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation and Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation), and Japanese Sandscapes: The Tale of Mt Fuji where she worked with artists including Ko Ishikawa (sho/Reigakusha), Etsuko Takezawa (koto/shamisen) and Kaho Aso (traditional Japanese dance/kotsuzumi). Both projects saw Lane launch herself within London’s avant garde music scene, selling out venues across London.
https://www.facebook.com/pg/veritycomposer/
Coco Sato is an award-winning Japanese artist based in the UK. Her work uses origami to change the way people see the world.
https://www.facebook.com/GiantOrigami/
Mirei Yazawa is a performance artist based in London.
Beibei Wang is a genre defying percussionist based in London.
https://www.facebook.com/beibeiwangmusic/
Tomoko Komura is a London based performer from Japan, trained at the London International School of Performing Arts with an MFA in Lecoq-based Actor-Created Theatre (2006). She has performed and toured in shows by award-winning theatre companies such as Theatre Ad Infinitum (Ballad of the Burning Star), Theatre Témoin (Jukai) and Out of Chaos (Out of Chaos).
Kiku Day is a shakuhachi player based in Denmark.
http://www.kikuday.com/
Hester Dart is a London based contralto and graduate from the University of Leeds. They study with Prof. Neil Baker and are currently finishing their second year at the Morley College Opera School. Hester is particularly interested in promoting the work of
LGBTQ+ composers and musicians. They would like to contribute towards a more inclusive and accessible environment within classical music and opera.
Rowan O’Brien is a renowned animator and 3D artist from the West Coast of Ireland. He mixes sketches, objects, computer animation, and video in his work. He has screened and exhibited work across Europe, South Korea and Japan, where he lived and studied Japanese fabric craft known as oshie.
Japanese animation has embraced robotics, cybernetics and artificial intelligence as major themes. More interestingly, it uses these themes to explore complex moral and social questions: humanity’s responsibility for its actions, response to the other, greed, short-termism, failure to care for the ecosystem that sustains us.
This anime film season examines the challenge of the man-machine interface through eight films, running 12 – 30 September, on various aspects of humanity’s response to technological change.
All films will screen in Japanese with English subtitles.
Anime’s Human Machines is an Official Event of the Japan-UK Season of Culture 2019-2020, presented by the Barbican in association with the Japan Foundation, and has been kindly supported by Wellcome and The Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation.
Tickets are now on sale for JAEFF 2019: Nation!
This year’s festival will be held at the Barbican Centre, Close-Up Film Centre and MetFilm School from Friday 20 September through Sunday 22 September. JAEFF 2019: Nation will see five feature-length films screened alongside seven short-form films. We will again be hosting a panel discussion at the Barbican, and are very excited to announce a free filmmakers’ workshop at the MetFilm School.
London’s very own festival of Japanese culture – Japan Matsuri – returns on Sunday, 29 September 2019 in Trafalgar Square in the centre of the city. A regular fixture now in the London calendar, this free annual festival brings people together to enjoy Japanese food, music, dance, and activities for all the family.
The concept of the theme this year is “Future generations”.
Everything kicks off at 10.00am and runs through till 8.00pm. With two stages, there is plenty to see all day. The programme of stage performance for this year is still being finalised and will feature exciting new acts as well as the return of favourites from previous Matsuri.
Enjoy the atmosphere with Japanese festival food from the numerous stalls. Join in the fun in the family activities area with games and dressing in kimono. Try your hand at Japanese cartoons on the manga wall.
Japan Matsuri is organised jointly by the Japan Association, Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Japan Society and Nippon Club, with support from the Embassy of Japan.
The 63rd BFI London Film Festival has announced its full programme, which includes several notable films from Japan, including Takeshi Miike’s upcoming FIRST LOVE, a romantic story set against a yakuza backdrop.