INDEPENDENCE, Calif.— Manzanar National Historic Site invites visitors to participate in a weekend of special events in conjunction with the Manzanar Committee’s annual Pilgrimage. The event’s theme is 50th Manzanar Pilgrimage: An Enduring Legacy For Civil Rights. All are welcome and the events are free. Pilgrimage Weekend begins Friday, April 26, with a public reception hosted by the Friends of Eastern California Museum from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. The Eastern California Museum is located at 155 Grant Street in Independence. It features exhibits including Shiro and Mary Nomura’s Manzanar Collection, the Anna and O.K. Kelly Gallery of Native...
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INDEPENDENCE, Calif — Manzanar National Historic Site is hosting a new photography exhibit on the visitor center’s gallery wall. MANZANAR PILGRIMAGE: Photographs from Manzanar National Historic Site 1983-2018 features the works of Mark Kirchner and Geri Ferguson. The show will run from April 14 to July 28, 2019. It features 35 black and white photographs taken by Mark Kirchner beginning in November of 1983 and ending in 2018. Geri Ferguson will be exhibiting a selection of her portrait photographs taken at the Annual Manzanar Potluck and Pilgrimage from the early 1980’s. The exhibit is featured in honor of the...
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Japan Foundation Los Angeles Lecture Series Cherry Blossoms Odyssey Thursday, April 18, 2019, 7:00PM The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles 5700 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 100 Los Angeles, CA 90036 Admission: Free Click here to register. Cherry blossoms are symbols of beauty. They originated in Japan more than 2,000 years ago and can now be seen all over the world. But the role of sakura in Japanese history has been checkered and not always positive. In her speech, Naoko Abe will explain how the incredible diversity of cherry blossoms, which evolved during the two centuries when Japan was essentially closed to...
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Japan House Los Angeles Exhibition KESHIKI: The Landscape Within Contemporary Japanese Ceramics from the Brodfuehrer Collection April 17, 2019―June 9, 2019 Monday – Saturday: 10AM – 8PM Sunday: 10AM – 7PM Location: Hollywood & Highland Center, Gallery Level 2 Fee: Complimentary japanhousela.com After the twelve-year collecting journey in Japan, Gordon Brodfuehrer of San Diego brings his Japanese contemporary ceramic collection of more than 60 pieces to Hollywood for public viewing. On April 17, Japan House Los Angeles opens the ceramic exhibition with the title of “KESHIKI: The Landscape Within – Contemporary Japanese Ceramics from the Brodfuehrer Collection ” at...
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Celebrating the 30th anniversary of this contemporary artist’s first solo show—held at the USC Pacific Asia Museum in spring 1989—it displays 77 prints by this artist widely celebrated as one of Japan’s leading contemporary print artists. The British Museum lauded Kōkei for producing Japan’s “most notable Kabuki prints” in the post-war era. Known for his bold, even disturbing, portraits of Japan’s leading actors in a dynamic theatrical form, Kōkei responds to the idiosyncratic late-18th century kabuki prints by the great Sharaku. A master in his own right, Kōkei captures the intense color, movement and emotion of kabuki. Yet Kōkei...
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Japanese Arts Exhibition & Lectures at Scripps College open to the public in conjunction with the exhibition “Folding Space: Japanese Screens” in the Clark Humanities Museum, Scripps College 3 April – 3 May 2019 4 lectures in April, 2019 Wednesday evenings 7:00 pm at the Clark Humanities Museum at the center of the Scripps College campus 1030 N Columbia Ave, Claremont, CA 91711 www.scrippscollege.edu April 3 “Alternative Approaches to Beauty Painting in Meiji Japan” by Yirika Wakamatsu, Professor at Occidental College April 10 “Japanese Dance” by Umekawa Ichinosuke, kabuki actor & traditional dancer April 17 “The Rugged Beauty of...
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Sixth annual Imagine Little Tokyo Short Story Contest winners to be revealed at public reception at Union Church Actors to Present Dramatic Readings of Three Winning Stories The Little Tokyo Historical Society has selected the winners for the sixth annual Imagine Little Tokyo Short Story Contest, which included adult, youth and Japanese-language categories. Winners will be revealed at a public reception on Thursday, April 18, from 6 to 8 PM at Union Church, Los Angeles. At the reception, actors Jonathan Ohye and Scott Keiji Takeda will present dramatic readings of the English-language winners’ work, while actress Megumi Anjo will...
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As a followup to very exciting, and successful, Cherry Blossom Festival at the Shoseian Tea House in Brand Park, Glendale, California, the Friends of Shoseian will have a guest lecturer from London on Sunday, April 21 to give a presentation on the importance of the cherry blossom itself. If you did not get the chance to visit the tea house during the Cherry Blossom Festival, this would be a great time to come and see the newly-remodeled Shoseian Tea House. It has truly been an amazing transformation. This event is free. No RSVP is required  “The Sakura Obsession” Guest...
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Japanese American National Museum Little Tokyo, Los Angeles Kaiju VS Heroes Sep 15, 2018 – July 7, 2019 janm.org/kaiju-vs-heroes Kaiju-Con June 15, 2019 Kaiju vs Heroes: Mark Nagata’s Journey through the World of Japanese Toys, which features hundreds of contemporary and vintage Japanese vinyl toys, has been extended on view at the Japanese American National Museum through July 7, 2019. The exhibition is included in regular admission to the museum. In conjunction with the exhibition’s extension, the museum will host a day-long separately ticketed Kaiju-Con on June 15, 2019. Kaiju-Con will include a vendor hall, workshops, panel discussions, and...
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COSTA MESA, Calif – The 20th Annual Newport Beach Film Festival will be held at Triangle Cinema in Costa Mesa from April 25 – May 2. Among the festival’s programs, the Pacific Rim Showcase Celebration will honor the best in Asian and Australian filmmaking.  The celebration program consists of the Spotlight screening of the participating countries’ films and the after party. In this year, Pacific Rim Showcase Japanese Spotlight is set for Wednesday, May 1 with a feature screening of Day and Night (2019, 134 min. Japanese title: Day and Night) directed by Michihito Fujii. Gritty crime drama Day...
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The Metropolitan Museum of Art on Fifth Avenue in New York The Tale of Genji: A Japanese Classic Illuminated March 5 – June 16, 2019 https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2019/tale-of-genji This will be the first major loan exhibition in North America to focus on the artistic tradition inspired by Japan’s most celebrated work of literature, The Tale of Genji. Written by Murasaki Shikibu, a lady-in-waiting in the early eleventh-century imperial court, and often referred to as the world’s first psychological novel, the tale recounts the amorous escapades of the “Shining Prince” Genji and introduces some of the most iconic female characters in the...
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  Cultural News 2019 April Issueon sale now What is “Reiwa”? Who is Shakuhachi maker in Los Angeles? Find  answers at Cultural News 2019 April issue. Contents of the Cultural News 2019 April issue: New Japan ear to be called “Reiwa,” or beautiful harmony. Obituary: Mme. Sosei Shizuye Matsumoto, 103, spread Japanese tea ceremony in U.S. for seven decades. Los Angeles: 5 noteworthy women to be honored in Japanese American community. Shawn Schroeder: Shakuhachi maker in Los Angeles. Hinamatsuri at Detroit Institute of Arts. USC Pacific Asia Museum exhibition – Tsuruya Kokei: Modern Kabuki Prints Revised & Revised. Japan...
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