Manga Hokusai Exhibition
January – March 2018 | Japan Foundation
Touring Sydney and Townsville
Love manga? Love Hokusai? Explore the work of Japan’s early comic genius Hokusai and his impact on contemporary manga culture with this free exhibition.
Manga Hokusai Manga is a family-friendly exhibition that bridges traditional woodblock printing to manga which tours in early 2018 to Western Sydney’s Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre and Townsville’s Perc Tucker Regional Gallery.
Hokusai is one of the most versatile and innovative painter-illustrators of his time. He gained renown in Europe and North America in the late 19th century beginning with his Manga and his ukiyo-e (lit., “pictures of the floating world”) works. Hokusai depicted courtesans and stage actors, published landscapes series, illustrated entertaining narratives and even held painting performances.
Kisaragi Festival 2018
24th February 2018
The Kisaragi Festival celebrates it’s 4th year.All in the one location on celebration lawn at Roma Street Parklands.
Journey into Japan, experiencing the many facets of Japanese culture and society, Kisaragi Festival will feature Japanese music and dance performances, martial arts, bonsai, ikebana, market stalls, artist demonstrations, exhibition and much more. Enjoy the delights of Japanese food with a range of pop-up food stalls. Plus much more, all in the one summer night-time festival.
This is a FREE event.
Melbourne Japanese Summer Festival
25th February 2018
The Summer Festival or “Natsu Matsuri” is an annual event throughout Japan and comes to life this February in Melbourne at Federation Square. Since its inception in 2010, the festival has grown enormously, with attendance to reaching over 42,000 people in summer of 2017.
Traditionally held to honour one’s ancestors, the festival features the “bon odori”, a dance performed in a circle whilst wearing cotton kimono known as yukata. At the Melbourne festival, all visitors are encouraged to learn and join in the dance.
In addition, the festival will showcase a number of performances, including Taiko Drumming, Shamisen and Sumo! The festival will also be packed with a wide range of stalls with traditional Japanese games, activities and foods – including the favourites sushi, okonomiyaki and bento.
The festival provides an excellent opportunity to strengthen the ties between Melbourne and Japan and share the rich Japanese cultural traditions with the Melbourne community.
Japanese Film Festival in Cairns
25th February 2018
The Japanese Film Festival (JFF) is presented and run by The Japan Foundation, Sydney and is now an established calendar event. The JFF started in 1997 with three free film screenings in Sydney and has expanded to 10+ cities. The JFF Mini is a touring component of JFF delivering quality contemporary Japanese cinema to regional centres across Australia.
This year, the festival presents three films in Cairns on Sunday, February 25.
[FILMS] – All films screen ONCE only, please see session times below.– In Japanese with English subtitles unless otherwise stated.
Soba @ Callington | Tasmania
25th February 2018
Join master soba noodle chefs from Japan coming to Callington Mill, Oatlands for a demonstration of every step of the process of soba noodle making using Tasmanian buckwheat which has been ground at Callington Mill.
A range of food and refreshments will be available for purchase in the precinct on the day.
Visitors can also enjoy a range of Japanese cultural and artistic activities, including:
- Calligraphy & Origami;
- Traditional Japanese Tea Ceremony;
- Taiko drummers;
- Kimono display with an opportunity to dress in a kimono and have your photo taken;
- Performance by a visiting Japanese opera singer.
Japan’s approach to a changing world
28th Feb 2018 | La Trobe Asia
Japan faces a rapidly changing international environment. Asia is shifting from an era of peace and prosperity to one of contestation and great power rivalry. North Korea’s nuclear ambitions are unsettling the region. Xi Jinping’s China is more confident, assertive and nationalistic than ever and uncertainty lingers of the role of Japan’s security partner, the United States.
In response to these changes and challenges Japan has set out to change its foreign and defence policy and is seeking a greater regional and global influence. It is taking on a greater role in regional security matters including increasing security co-operation with Australia.
What role is Japan seeking to play? How will it carve out space for itself in a region dominated by giant powers? And how will the region respond to a Japan that plays a greater role?
6:00 pm – 7:30 pm AEDT | State Library Victoria
Australia-Japan-US Relations and the Indo-Pacific Symposium | Perth
1 March 2018
This public symposium seeks to provide a strategic forum for policymakers, scholars, and business leaders in the region to grapple with the emergence of the “Indo-Pacific” as a regional construct.
The economic rise of ASEAN, China and India will change the existing global political and economic order. This symposium constitutes an effort to examine policy options for addressing the regional security and diplomatic problems which will emerge from these significant changes in the international system.
Speakers include:
Ambassador Richard Court AC
Ambassador Sumio Kusaka
Peter Varghese AO
Bruce Miller
Professor Rikki Kersten
Designers discuss Japanese materiality
8th March 2018 | Japan Foundation
Join exhibiting designers Julie Bartholomew, Guy Keulemans, Yusuke Takemura and Bic Tieu in discussing the influence of Japanese materiality in their contemporary practices. In dialogue with exhibition Shifts in Japanese Materiality, this panel talk will share the experiences and processes of object designers, spanning ceramics, glass, lacquerware, and jewellery.
Japanese materiality is often considered untouched and bound to tradition, but contemporary object design practice expands the long history of porous global influences and highlights the fluid nature of Japanese materiality.
Perth Japan Festival 2018
10th March 2018
The Japan Festival Inc. (“JFI”) was established in 2013 as a non-profit organisation with an aim to raise the overall Japanese profile in WA. As part of its activities JFI reached out to these communities to look for ways to become more closely involved with and to contribute to this beautiful multi-cultural society. The idea of Japanese “MATSURI” (meaning “festival” in Japanese) was launched as an opportunity to realise this dream under the name of the Japan Festival Event.
JFI is the responsible entity for the Japan Festival Event. With the support from the City of Perth, Rio Tinto, Woodside, Australian and Japanese friends, the 1st MATSURI in Perth took place in February 2014 at Forrest Place in the Perth CBD. It attracted an estimated 10,000 people and was hailed as a great success, bringing a distinct Japanese flavour and sense of matsuri to the people of Perth.
The matsuri is a free event with lots of fun for kids and families as well as adults, offering a great opportunity for the Perth community to experience Japanese culture.
JLPT in July
1st July 2018
The Japanese-Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) is the largest-scale Japanese language test in the world.
Since 1984, the Japan Foundation and Japan Educational Exchanges and Services have continued to offer the JLPT as a reliable means of evaluating the Japanese proficiency of non-native speakers. The JLPT is widely recognised across corporate and government sectors as a benchmark for proficiency measurement, and is also a strong motivator for students of Japanese language.
In 2018, the JLPT will be offered in Australia in both July and December in Brisbane and Canberra on Sunday 1 July 2018.
Applications open until 4 April 4 2018 (AEST)
Asian Studies Association of Australia Conference 2018
3–5 July 2018
Co-organised by the Sydney Southeast Asia Centre, the China Studies Centre and the School of Languages and Cultures, the 2018 biennial conference of the Asian Studies Association of Australia will bring together almost 1,000 academics with a shared interest in Asia.
The conference theme, Area Studies and Beyond, builds upon traditional interdisciplinary fields of research within Asian Studies and seeks to move beyond them, to celebrate the full breadth and depth of scholarly interest in Asia.