Japan Foundation, New York

06/05/2026

🔦JFF Theater Spotlight
🖌️This week's film: SHODO GIRLS!!
Part of The Japanese Spirit of “DŌ”

🏭Satoko (Riko NARUMI) is her high school’s calligraphy club captain, yet she sees calligraphy only as a duty as she practices under her strict father. But when Mr. Ikezawa (Nobuaki KANEKO) is appointed the new club advisor and holds a calligraphy performance set to music, a change develops among the club members and their captain.

🌊This heartwarming coming-of-age drama depicts the unique world of calligraphy through a fractured group of students gradually coming together for their best performance, setting the stage for a moving climax. Through its small-town setting in Ehime on the island of Shikoku, the film also highlights revitalization and perseverance of regional communities in the face of economic hardship.

💻Watch this film for FREE this weekend: https://en.jff.jpf.go.jp/movie/shodo-girls/

JFF Theater｜Moved, Touched & Inspired

06/05/2026

We updated this video on our YouTube Channel! 👇🏼 If you haven't, be sure to watch today!

⏪ICYMI: If you didn’t have a chance to see Kanako Nishi and Allison Markin Powell during their author and translating tour this year, good news: the archive video from their Rizzoli Bookstore NYC stop is now available on our YouTube channel!
Their conversation included Sakura the dog, the world through the eyes of Sakura, the translation process and more 🌸🐶
💻Watch today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHW_s-M1afg

Kanako Nishi x Allison Markin Powell Author & Translator Tour Presenting Sakura was co-presented by the Japan Foundation in collaboration with Kanako Nishi and Allison Markin Powell, supported by HarperVia Books and local venues.

06/04/2026

Beginning Sat. Jun. 20, join us at BAM Film for PALE FLOWER, regarded as one of the greatest Japanese films. Cementing Masahiro Shinoda as a leading voice of the Japanese New Wave, this stark, black-and-white noir depicts the story of a yakuza gangster and a mysterious woman as they drift toward self-destruction.

Presented in 4K Restoration.

📅Sat, Jun 20, 6PM
Sat, Jun 27, 9PM
Tue, Jun 30, 4:30PM

🎟️Grab your tickets now!
https://www.bam.org/film/2026/masahiro-shinoda-pale-flower

06/03/2026

Whether you’re a Japanese cinema novice or teaching Japanese cinema to others, our book recs this week will help deepen your understanding of this medium growing in popularity.

🎬THIS WEEK’S THEME: Understanding Japanese Cinema

📚THIS WEEK’S BOOKS:
Reading a Japanese Film by Keiko I. McDonald – Written by a pioneer of Japanese film studies in the US, this book provides tools to construct a deeper understanding of Japanese films –https://tinyurl.com/readingjapanesefilmmcdonald

What is Japanese Cinema by Yomota Inohiko (translated by Philip Kaffen) – Inohiko provides a concise history of Japanese film and how it tells the story of Japan’s modern age – https://tinyurl.com/japanesecinemainuhiko

Japanese Cinema by Peter Cowie – Cowie traces common themes explored by legendary names such as Kurosawa, Mizoguchi, Ozu, and Naruse - https://tinyurl.com/japanesecinemacowie

💻Looking for something different? To find & pick your next read, visit: libbyapp.com/library/jf
📇Don't have a library card for the digital library? Learn more on how you can get one here: jflalc.org/libby

The JF USA Digital Library is operated in partnership with The Japan Foundation, Toronto & The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles　国際交流基金ロサンゼルス日本文化センター

06/02/2026

BAM Film and the Japan Foundation are very proud to co-present Masahiro Shinoda, a 12-film retrospective presented with new 4K restorations and rare imported 35mm, including five from the Japan Foundation! The series is dedicated to one of the supreme masters of Japanese cinema who sadly passed away in March 2025.

Spanning across a half-century, the series features films such as Pale Flower – a Japanese New Wave masterpiece stylishly depicting the yakuza underground; Double Su***de – a unique fusion of Japanese puppet theater; and energetic early youth films including Dry Lake and A Flame at the Pier.

This month, come to BAM and discover why Shinoda remains one of the most vital voices of postwar Japanese cinema.

The series runs from June 19th through 30th. Tickets now on sale now!:
https://www.bam.org/film/2026/masahiro-shinoda


Pic 5: Samurai Spy ©1965 Shochiku Co., Ltd.

06/01/2026

🚨GRANT PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENT🚨

The Japan Foundation, New York is now accepting applications for the Grant Program for Japan America Society / Japan Society Capacity Building until Wed., Sept. 30.
🔗About the program: https://ny.jpf.go.jp/grants/grants-for-global-partnerships/japan-america-society-japan-society-capacity-building-grant-program/

❓Have questions before you apply? Attend our Zoom info session on 6/17, 2pm! Registration required: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/axPixOTxQCWORgyKWZfaGQ

05/29/2026

🔦JFF THEATER SPOTLIGHT🔦
🎸This week's film: The 100th Love with You
Part of Twist of Time

🎤University student Aoi (miwa) aims to make the most of time before leaving for a year-long study abroad program in England. After a disastrous summer festival performance with the five-piece band STROBOSCORP she formed with her childhood friend Riku (Kentaro SAKAGUCHI), Aoi is hit by a truck—only to wake up the week before the accident, thanks to Riku’s power to turn back time. But his time-traveling secret comes at a huge price.

Set in Setouchi area of Japan, this original film directed by Sho TSUKIKAWA (YU YU HAKUSHO, ROMANTICS ANONYMOUS) blends bittersweet romance with time-travel fantasy.

Singer-songwriter miwa stars as Aoi and performs her original songs written for this film.

💻Watch this film for FREE this weekend: https://en.jff.jpf.go.jp/movie/100-love-with-you/

JFF Theater｜Moved, Touched & Inspired

05/28/2026

🖼️Now on view until Oct. 4: RISD Museum presents The Artistry and Reunion of Two Surimono Albums, an exhibit exploring the stories in two special albums of privately commissioned Japanese woodblock prints compiled in the 1820s to 1830s, reuniting them after almost a century.

Supported through the Exhibitions Abroad Support Program.

🔗About the exhibit: https://ny.jpf.go.jp/event/the-artistry-and-reunion-of-two-surimono-albums/
📝About the program: https://ny.jpf.go.jp/grants/grants/exhibitions-abroad-program/


📸: Sakuragawa Jihinari, Ichikawa Danjūrō VII as Kamakura Gongorō Kagemasa in the play Shibaraku, ca. 1830. Gift of Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, Jr. 34.366. RISD Museum, Providence, RI.

05/27/2026

⏪This week's For Your (Virtual) Shelf is a re-introduction of these origami books! These books include a myriad of unique designs for the crafts-minded of all skill levels. Check out the books in the post below for more info 👇🏼

05/26/2026

🩰Award-winning dancer Midori Kashiwagi will present a FREE Japanese dance showcase Wed., 6/3, 7:30pm at the L'Alliance New York Florence Gould Theater, featuring a unique blend of passion and energy.

🎟️RSVP required: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/midori-kashiwagi-dance-performance-tickets-1985357009259