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12/12/2024 0 Comments

Benshi

The Benshi Tradition and the Silver Screen: A Japanese Puppetry Spin-off​

December 12 & 13 at 7:30 pm
Benshi, Japan’s riveting “movie talkers” of the silent film era, drew in audiences with their live film narration and dramatic character portrayals, often with musicians providing accompaniment. This rich period of early Japanese cinema has a direct structural connection to the Japanese puppet theater tradition, in which chanters narrated stories and gave voice to silent puppets alongside theatrical shamisen music. In this two-night program, modern benshi star Ichiro Kataoka and NY-based shamisen player Sumie Kaneko come together for two screenings of stories set in the samurai era.

Japan Society

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7/18/2024 0 Comments

"Great Absence" New York Premiere

"Great Absence" 
​『 大いなる不在』 
Oinaru Fuzai

New York Premiere – Followed by Lifetime Achievement Award Presentation for Tatsuya Fuji, Q&A with Kei Chika-ura and Tatsuya Fuji, and Reception. 

Dir. Kei Chika-ura, 2023, 133 min., DCP, color, in Japanese with English subtitles. With Tatsuya Fuji, Mirai Moriyama, Yoko Maki, Hideko Hara.

Thursday, July 18, 2024
6:30 pm
​Japan Society, NYC
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7/17/2024 0 Comments

"Shadow of Fire" Centerpiece Film with Reception

"Shadow of Fire" ​
『ほかげ』
Hokage
U.S. Premiere & Centerpiece Film – Followed by Mirai Moriyama CUT ABOVE Award presentation, Q&A with Shinya Tsukamoto and Mirai Moriyama, and Reception. 

Dir. Shinya Tsukamoto, 2023, 95 min., DCP, color, in Japanese with English subtitles. Shuri, Mirai Moriyama, Oga Tsukao, Hiroki Kono.

Wednesday, July 17, 2024
6:30 pm
​Japan Society

Part of JAPAN CUTS: Festival of New Japanese Film 2024
July 10—21, 2024

JAPAN CUTS is the largest showcase of contemporary Japanese cinema in North America and an annual highlight of New York’s cinema scene.

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5/6/2024 0 Comments

"Lumberjack the Monster" North American Premiere

"Lumberjack the Monster" 
『怪物の木こり』
Kaibutsu no Kikori

Dir. Takashi Miike, 2023, 118 min., DCP, color, in Japanese with English subtitles. With Kazuya Kamenashi, Nanao, Riho Yoshioka, Shota Sometani, Shido Nakamura.

​Monday May 6, 2024
8PM
Japan Society, NYC

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3/31/2024 0 Comments

Mobile Suit Gundam SEED FREEDOM Screening

『機動戦士ガンダムSEED  FREEDOM』
Kido Senshi Gandamu Shido Furidamu

The East Coast Premiere of the feature film Mobile Suit Gundam SEED FREEDOM.
With Gundam displays from Tamashii Nations and Bandai Namco Toys & Collectibles America, and a conversation with Alyson Leigh Rosenfeld. (U.S. voice of Lunamaria Hawke)

Sunday, March 31, 2024
​4:00 pm
​Japan Society, NYC
japansociety.org/events/mobile-suit-gundam-seed-freedom/

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2/25/2024 0 Comments

FX’s "Shōgun" with Cast and Producers

Sunday, February 25, 2024 4:00 pm
Japan Society, NYC

​Cast and Producers In Attendance
Justin Marks, Co-Creator, Executive Producer, Showrunner, Writer
Rachel Kondo, Co-Creator, Executive Producer, Writer
Michaela Clavell, Executive Producer 
Hiroyuki Sanada, Producer / Star, “Toranaga”
Anna Sawai, Star, “Lady Mariko”
Eriko Miyagawa, Producer
Frederick H. Katayama, Moderator

FX’s Shōgun, an original adaptation of James Clavell’s bestselling novel, is set in Japan in the year 1600 at the dawn of a century-defining civil war. Producer Hiroyuki Sanada stars as “Lord Yoshii Toranaga” who is fighting for his life as his enemies on the Council of Regents unite against him. When a mysterious European ship is found marooned in a nearby fishing village, its English pilot, “John Blackthorne” (Cosmo Jarvis), comes bearing secrets that could help Toranaga tip the scales of power and devastate the formidable influence of Blackthorne’s own enemies — the Jesuit priests and Portuguese merchants. Toranaga’s and Blackthorne’s fates become inextricably tied to their translator, “Toda Mariko” (Anna Sawai), a mysterious Christian noblewoman and the last of a disgraced line. While serving her lord amidst this fraught political landscape, Mariko must reconcile her newfound companionship with Blackthorne, her commitment to the faith that saved her and her duty to her late father.

The 10-episode limited series features an acclaimed Japanese cast, unprecedented for an American production, including Tadanobu Asano as “Kashigi Yabushige,” a notorious backstabber and close ally of Toranaga; Hiroto Kanai as “Kashigi Omi,” the young leader of the fishing village where Blackthorne’s ship was found; Takehiro Hira as “Ishido Kazunari,” a powerful bureaucrat who is Toranaga’s chief rival; Moeka Hoshi as “Usami Fuji,” a widow who must find new purpose amidst her lord’s fight; Tokuma Nishioka as “Toda Hiromatsu,” Toranaga’s trusted general and closest friend; Shinnosuke Abe as “Buntaro” (“Toda Hirokatsu”), Mariko’s jealous husband; Yuki Kura as “Yoshii Nagakado,” the brash son of Toranaga with a strong desire to prove himself; Yuka Kouri as “Kiku,” a courtesan renowned for her artistry throughout Japan; and Fumi Nikaido as “Ochiba no Kata,” the revered mother of the heir who will stop at nothing to put an end to Toranaga and his threat to her son’s power.
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Shōgun is created for television by Rachel Kondo & Justin Marks, with Marks serving as showrunner and executive producer alongside Michaela Clavell, Edward L. McDonnell, Michael De Luca and Kondo. The series is produced by FX Productions.
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2/23/2024 0 Comments

"Her Love Boils Bathwater" New York Premiere + Q&A and Reception

『湯を沸かすほどの熱い愛』
Yu wo Wakasu Hodo no Atsui Ai

Friday, February 23, 2024 7:00 pm
​Japan Society, NYC

New York Premiere. Introduced by filmmaker Ryota Nakano and followed by a Q&A and reception. Rie Miyazawa stars as Futaba, a single mother diagnosed with terminal cancer. With little time left, she sets out on a mission to reconnect her family, reuniting with her husband, reassuring her daughter, and bringing both together to save the family business. A popular and critical hit, Her Love Boils Bathwater won Rie Miyazawa Best Actress and Hana Sugisaki Best Supporting Actress at the Japan Academy Awards, and the film was Japan’s official entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars.
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Dir. Ryota Nakano, 2016, 125 min., DCP, color, in Japanese with English subtitles. With Rie Miyazawa, Hana Sugisaki, Joe Odagiri.

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12/3/2023 0 Comments

"Monster" Screening with Yuji Sakamoto, at Japan Society

Special screening of Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Latest Film, “Monster”(怪物), with the guest speaker Yuji Sakamoto, who won the best screenplay at Cannes film festival 2023.
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11/28/2023 0 Comments

"Godzilla Minus One" Special Screening

『ゴジラ-1.0』 
Gojira Mainasu Wan
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Tuesday, November 28, 2023
7:00 pm
Japan Society, NYC
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11/18/2023 0 Comments

"Poupelle of Chimney Town" with Creator Akihiro Nishino

"Poupelle of Chimney Town" 
​『えんとつ町のプペル』
​ japansociety.org/events/poupelle-of-chimney-town/

Saturday, November 18, 2023
​6:00 pm
Japan Society
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10/14/2023 0 Comments

"Godzilla 1954" Screening

Screening of the original 35mm  "Godzilla " from 1954.
Oct 14, 2023
9pm 
Japan Society
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10/6/2023

"Blue Giant" North American Premiere with Hiromi

​BLUE GIANT
​Friday, October 6, 2023  
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7:00 pm
Japan Society


​North American Premiere with jazz legend and Blue Giant soundtrack composer Hiromi Uehara in-person. Screening followed by Q&A with Hiromi. Dai Miyamoto’s life is turned upside down the day he discovers jazz. A former high school basketball player, Dai picks up a saxophone and begins practicing day and night, determined to become one of the greatest of all time. He leaves his sleepy hometown for the bustling nightclubs of Tokyo, but soon finds the life of a professional musician is not for the faint of heart. His passion eventually wins over the cocky but talented pianist Yukinori, and after Dai convinces his friend Shunji to learn the drums, they launch a new jazz trio whose rough sound contains a raw energy that quickly wins attention from local audiences. But what does it take to truly be great? From director Yuzuru Tachikawa (Mob Psycho 100) and based on the award-winning manga by Shinichi Ishizuka, Blue Giant is a moving ode to the power of music and the artist, featuring electric performances and a stunning jazz soundtrack featuring renowned jazz artist Hiromi.

9/10/2023

"Angel's Egg" Screening with Yohitaka Amano

『天使のたまご』 
Tenshi no Tamago
Sunday, September 10, 2023

6:00 pm
​Japan Society, NYC

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Special event with Yoshitaka Amano in-person. Screening followed by Q&A with Yoshitaka Amano and reception. A groundbreaking collaboration between two anime legends that intertwines Mamoru Oshii’s personal reflections on theology, existentialism and evolution with Yoshitaka Amano’s fantastical ink art style, Angel’s Egg remains a rarely screened and hard-to-find cult classic. Taking place in a seemingly quiescent time, two nameless strangers—a girl bearing a mystical egg and a man with a cruciate cane—journey across a primordial realm of decadent ruins, primitive fish and fossilized relics. An allegorical fantasy enriched by symbolism and biblical allusion, Oshii’s beautifully melancholic OVA ruminates on the tragic underpinnings of existence in a world untouched by God.
This event is presented in partnership with LOMEX Gallery (86 Walker Street), who will be presenting the exhibition Yoshitaka Amano – The Birth of Myth opening on September 9 from 6 to 8 pm. For more information, visit lomex.gallery.

7/30/2023 0 Comments

Japan Cuts 2023: "The legend and butterfly"

Sunday July 30, 2023
​5:30pm
Japan Society, NYC

レジェンド&バタフライ

Rejendo ando Batafurai
Introduced by and followed by a Q&A with director Keishi Otomo. Learn More
North American Theatrical Premiere. A sweeping historical romance created to celebrate Toei’s 70th anniversary, The Legend & Butterfly casts megastars Takuya Kimura as Oda Nobunaga and Haruka Ayase as his wife, Nohime. While Oda Nobunaga is one of Japan’s most well-documented historical figures, virtually no information about Nohime remains, and The Legend & Butterfly fills this mystery with a turbulent, thoroughly modern romance. A Sengoku era take on the expression “behind every great man lies a great woman,” The Legend & Butterfly sees over 30 years of defining moments in Japanese history driven by powerful, private moments between Nobunaga and Nohime.
Dir. Keishi Otomo, 2023, 168 min., DCP, color, in Japanese with English subtitles. With Takuya Kimura, Haruka Ayase.

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7/29/2023 0 Comments

Japan Cuts 2023: "Tokyo Melody"

Tokyo melody: un film sur Ryuichi Sakamoto

Opening comments by Akiko Yano; Screening followed by a Q&A with Director Elizabeth Lennard.
Saturday, July 29th, 2023
7pm

Imported 16mm Print. Filmmaker and photographer Elizabeth Lennard secures unprecedented access to Ryuichi Sakamoto during the recording of his 1984 albumOngaku Zukan in this brief-yet-insightful Franco-Japanese television co-production. A sampling of studio sessions and performances (including a piano duet with then-wife Akiko Yano), archival footage and talking head interviews, Tokyo Melody finds the eccentric artist at his creative peak, pushing the envelope to new sonic frontiers as he reflects on modern life, shifting technologies and his own creative processes. Lennard captures an awe-inspiring portrait of the extraordinary musician—one that taps into the very nature of the artist’s raison d’être and remains a testament to Sakamoto’s profound brilliance.
Dir. Elizabeth Lennard, 1985, 62 min., 16mm, color; in Japanese, English and French with English subtitles. With Ryuichi Sakamoto, Akiko Yano.

At Japan Society


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8/20/2022 0 Comments

"Maypole"

"Maypole" 
​A short film project by ​Copake Players.
0 Comments

7/26/2018

JAPAN CUTS 2018: Q&A with Kirin Kiki

JAPAN SOCIETY FILM
Mori, The Artist’s Habitat モリのいる場所 (Mori no Iru Basho)
North American Premiere

Intro and Q&A with star Kirin Kiki, with CUT ABOVE Award ceremony

3/17/2016

"Nuclear Nation 2" Screening

Thursday, March 17, 2016
​7:00 pm
Japan Society 

11/20/2015

"House" Screening

Friday, November 20, 2015
7:00 pm
Japan Society, NYC

7/21/2012 0 Comments

Masami Nagasawa at Japan Cuts 2012


Japan Cuts 
(The New York Festival of Contemporary Japanese Cinema)
 of 2012 showcased the US Premiere of Love Strikes! モテキ (Moteki) with an appearance of actress Masami Nagasawa, this year's recipient of NYAFF's Rising Star Asia Award. Co-presented with The New York Asian Film Festival. The evening also featured a live performance by COBU. 
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    Ayumi Sakamoto is a Queens-local photographer, based in New York City, 
    She photographs to care, communicate and respect.
    ​For inquiry and comment, please send me an email at [email protected]
    ​

AYUMI SAKAMOTO © 2023. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.