Events by year: 2021

16 June 2021

Modern Human Society as seen by Primatologists

The dramatic transition to virtual interaction in recent times, brought about through advances in information technology and pandemic-necessitated social distancing, indicates a change in the rule of thumb for mankind for millions of years: that society is created through continued physical interactions. In this webinar, we looked at the evolution of human beings and explore modern human societies from the perspective of primate societies. Dr Juichi Yamagiwa talked about the parallels between ape societies and human societies while Dr Karen B. Strier talked about the parallels between New World monkey societies and human societies.

More info

14 June 2021

Private View: Beauty and Power by Mika Ninagawa

The Private View is a chance to have a first look at the exhibition Beauty and Power by the celebrated photographer and director Mika Ninagawa. Ninagawa was commissioned to take photographs of Japanese para-athletes, capturing their uniqueness, highlighting their power, and revealing their unexpected sides. This exhibition conveys the beauty of their inner strength and their remarkable abilities. Ninagawa brings a new perspective to her images of athletes by integrating them with the visual language of fashion, whether by framing them against her iconic intensified-colour backgrounds or by shooting them in action. By juxtaposing her emblematic studio images with filmic action shots, this exhibition celebrates equality, diversity, and inclusion. She shows that when we accept and embrace uniqueness, our individuality enriches society and makes the world a more fulfilling place.

More info

1 June 2021

Japanese politics and its challenges under the global pandemic

It has been eight months since the Suga administration took office, and there have already been significant challenges in both domestic and foreign policy, including the government’s management of the pandemic, the vaccination programme and the decision whether to go ahead with the Olympics and Paralympics. The Suga administration has also found it hard to position Japan amid ongoing tensions between the US and China. The lack of transparency in Japan’s system of government has given rise to increasing public discontent. In this webinar chaired by Dr John Nilsson-Wright, Professor Makihara explained what is currently going on in Japanese politics, covering both short-term challenges and fundamental structural issues.

Fully bookedMore info

25 May 2021

Jeremy Thomas – Working with Japanese Film Directors

In this webinar, chaired by film producer Shozo Ichiyama, legendary Oscar-winning auteur and film producer Jeremy Thomas discussed the cultural influences surrounding Japanese cinema and what drew him to work with Japanese directors and actors, and explored creative approaches to scripted projects that break through with international audiences.

Fully bookedMore info

20 May 2021

Tokachi Millennium Forest: a Radical Natural Vision

Thirty years ago, Japanese media entrepreneur Mitsushige Hayashi bought 400 hectares of land in the Tokachi region of Hokkaido, with the aim of offsetting the carbon footprint of his newspaper business, Tokachi Mainichi. Ten years later he invited British landscape designer Dan Pearson and Midori Shintani, now Head Gardener at Tokachi Millennium Forest, to help design an ecological public park on the site, with the aim of safeguarding this place for a thousand years. In this talk, chaired by British garden designer and writer Sophie Walker, they discussed the design and development of the forest and gardens, and how a naturalistic strand of European garden and planting design came to find a new natural home in Japan.

Fully bookedMore info

6 May 2021

Suicide and the COVID-19 pandemic: Trends in Japan and around the world

The COVID-19 pandemic is a public health crisis with both physical and mental health consequences. There are concerns that it may lead to an increase in suicides. In the first part of this webinar, we discussed global trends in suicides in high-income and upper-to-middle income countries in the early months of the pandemic. The second half of the webinar focused on the case of Japan, which experienced a notable increase in female suicides during the pandemic. We discussed the likely causes of this increase in suicides and the implications for other countries.

Fully bookedMore info

27 April 2021

Photography after the Tsunami: Lieko Shiga in conversation with Yasufumi Nakamori

Lieko Shiga is a Japanese photographer based in Misato, Miyagi Prefecture, in North-East Japan, whose work focuses on documenting the lives of local people in her community. On 11 March 2011, the Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami destroyed her village of Kitakama, taking the lives of many. After surviving the immediate aftermath, Shiga has recorded local events, capturing the overarching significance of the tragedy, and tracing the transformation of her community. In this webinar chaired by Yasufumi Nakamori, Lieko Shiga spoke about how her art practice and activities became meaningful in capturing and expressing the significance of a devastating event that she experienced directly.

Fully bookedMore info

22 April 2021

New Frontiers: Robotics, Technology, and the Future of Dance

In this talk, Adrienne Hart, Artistic Director of Neon Dance, discussed the new contemporary dance work ‘Prehension Blooms’ with her collaborator Dr Hemma Philamore from the University of Bristol’s Robotics Lab. The work combines dance with robotics to explore loneliness, companionship, and belonging. The creative duo shared early-stage prototype designs and Professor Takashi Ikegami (University of Tokyo) commented on the project as well as offering an insight into his own cutting-edge research centered on complex systems and artificial life. The speakers ended this webinar by sharing their thoughts on how emerging technologies might influence dance in the future.

Fully bookedMore info

16 April 2021

Fake News and Social Media: Perspectives from the UK and Japan

The rise of “fake news” and other forms of misinformation are eroding trust in real news, generating concern in democratic systems worldwide. Fake news has also become an integral part of the political debate and political campaigning. The spread of inaccurate beliefs and misinformation have the potential to undermine democracies and create an atmosphere of uncertainty and confusion. In this webinar, chaired by James Harding, we discussed the current situation in the UK and Japan, the effects of social media on journalism, and the impact of the age of fake news on democracy.

Fully bookedMore info

9 April 2021

Women in Politics in the UK and Japan

Gender balance in politics can improve the quality and responsiveness of public policy, increase public trust in government and provide a better reflection of society. Despite the benefits of greater inclusion of women in politics, women in Japan and the UK still face barriers which restrict them from attaining full participation in political life. While the UK has shown significant progress in this regard, female representation in the Japanese Diet is at only 9.9%. This webinar discussed the importance of women in politics, the current situation in the UK and Japan, the barriers and obstacles to female participation, and gave recommendations to deal with them.

Fully bookedMore info

31 March 2021

Women in Classical Japanese Literature

Classical Japan was scene of a great cultural flourishing, an era of literary and artistic output unrivalled anywhere in the world. Women, though living in an otherwise highly oppressive patriarchal society, were just as significant in this literary environment. In this webinar we explored this extraordinary era of women’s writing with reference to the seminal works of Murasaki Shikibu and Sei Shōnagon: Professor Haruo Shirane posed the question “Why did a woman write the Tale of Genji in the 11th century?”, while Dr Jennifer Guest discussed literary education for women, including how early women writers interacted with Chinese texts, using the Pillow Book as her main example.

Fully bookedMore info

26 March 2021

日本の桜を救ったイギリス人

英国人園芸家のコリングウッド・イングラム（1880-1981）は20世紀初めに日本の桜の虜になり、明治・大正・昭和期に3度訪日して桜の穂木を持ち帰り、ケント州の自庭に植えて素晴らしい「桜園」を創りました。最盛期には130種類近くが植樹され、イングラムはそれらを英国や欧米社会に紹介し、広めました。 イングラムにとって一番大切だったのは桜の「多様性」です。ところが日本では当時、伝統の桜が忘れられて多数の品種が絶滅の危機に瀕していました。明治以来の近代化政策によって、人々は多品種を生んだ桜文化を忘れてしまったのです。日本で絶滅した「太白」桜は、イングラムが1932年、日本に里帰りさせ、イングラムは多様な桜を大事にするよう、日本人に警告を発します。しかし、その後日本はクローンの「染井吉野」に席巻され、まっしぐらに軍国主義の道を歩みます。 

More info
Toggle navigation