AR03-04 9th/patch pass
Transcription
AR03-04 9th/patch pass
Japan Society Annual Report 2006–07 Founded in 1907, Japan Society is a nonprofit, nonpolitical organization that brings the people of Japan and the United States closer together through understanding, appreciation and cooperation. Society programs in the arts, business, education and public policy offer opportunities to experience Japanese culture; to foster sustained and open dialogue on issues important to the U.S., Japan and East Asia; and to improve access to information on Japan. Front cover: Photo © Christine Knorr. Japan Society Annual Report 2006–07 Photo © Peter Aaron/Esto. Contents Directors & Officers 2 Letter from the President 3 Centennial Honorary Committee 4 Japan Society Centennial 5 Special Events 6 Committees 10 Global Affairs 11 Corporate & Policy Programs 12 Policy Projects 17 Fellowships & Exchanges 20 Arts & Culture 22 Gallery 23 Performing Arts Program 28 Film Program 33 Lecture Programs 38 Education 41 Education Programs 42 Toyota Language Center & C.V. Starr Library 47 Administration 49 Financial Statement 51 Japan Society Donors 52 Staff 63 Summary in Japanese 65 Directors & Officers Directors Deryck C. Maughan Officers Yoroku Adachi Managing Director & Chairman, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts Asia Michael I. Sovern President and CEO, Canon U.S.A., Inc. Honorary Chairman James S. McDonald Gregory A. Boyko James S. McDonald Chairman and CEO, Hartford Life International, Ltd. Chairman, Japan Society President and CEO, Rockefeller & Co., Inc. Henry Cornell Henry A. McKinnell, Jr.** Hideyuki Takahashi Managing Director, Goldman, Sachs & Co. Chairman of the Board and CEO, Pfizer Inc Vice Chairman Michael E. Daniels* Masato Mori Richard J. Wood Senior Vice President, Global Technology Services, IBM Corporation President and CEO, Nippon Steel U.S.A., Inc. President Chairman Jiro Murase** Kendall Hubert Anne d’Harnoncourt Managing Partner, Bingham McCutchen Murase The George D. Widener Director, Philadelphia Museum of Art Senior Vice President & Director of External Relations Satoru Murase Partner, Bingham McCutchen Murase Raymond M. Cochran Chairman, Korea Exchange Bank Kyota Omori Vice President & Treasurer, Director of Finance & Administration Atsuko Toko Fish Managing Executive Officer and CEO for the Americas, The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. Daniel A. Rosenblum U.S.-Japan Cross Cultural Communication Consultant William G. Parrett Vice President & Director, Corporate & Policy Programs Robert E. Fallon Chief Executive Officer, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Carol Gluck* Susan J. Onuma George Sansom Professor of History, Columbia University Peter G. Peterson** Shinichi Goto Wilbur L. Ross, Jr. Senior Vice President, Toyota Motor North America, Inc. Chairman and CEO, WL Ross & Co. LLC Honorary Patrons H.E. Ryozo Kato Joshua N. Solomon Maurice R. Greenberg Secretary Senior Chairman, The Blackstone Group Chairman and CEO, C.V. Starr & Co. Co-founder, East-West School of International Studies David W. Heleniak Michael I. Sovern** Vice Chairman, Morgan Stanley President Emeritus and Chancellor Kent Professor of Law, Columbia University Ambassador of Japan to the United States of America H.E. Kenzo Oshima Merit E. Janow Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Japan to the United Nations H.E. Motoatsu Sakurai Professor, International Economic Law & International Affairs, Columbia University Howard Stringer Frederick H. Katayama Hideyuki Takahashi* Anchor, Reuters Vice Chairman, Japan Society President and CEO, Nomura Holding America, Inc. Mary Griggs Burke Ryoichi Ueda Tatsuro Goto President and CEO, Mitsubishi International Corporation Robert S. Ingersoll Susumu Kato* President and CEO, Sumitomo Corporation of America Richard S. Lanier* Chairman, Japan Society Executive Committee President, Asian Cultural Council Ambassador, Consul General of Japan in New York Chairman and CEO, Sony Corporation Honorary Directors William W. Scranton Paul A. Volcker** Former Chairman of the Board of Governors, Federal Reserve System Edgar B. Young † Stephen H. Long President, International Operations, Citigroup Inc. Richard J. Wood President, Japan Society Jun Makihara Chairman, Neoteny Co., Ltd. Motokazu Yoshida* President and CEO, Mitsui & Co. (U.S.A.), Inc. * Member of the Executive Committee ** Life Director † Deceased April 2007 2 Japan Society Annual Report 2006–07 Directors are listed as of February 28, 2007 to reflect the work of those who contributed their time in the service of Japan Society’s centennial celebration. Please visit www.japansociety.org for a current listing. Letter From the President When Japan Society was founded in 1907 by a group of New York leaders responding to the visit of General Baron Tamemoto Kuroki, its founders correctly anticipated the importance of the Japan-U.S. relationship. In his keynote address 100 years later at the Society’s Centennial Gala, former President Bill Clinton highlighted key contemporary issues in which the Japan-U.S. relationship is extremely important: coping with climate change, finding a peaceful solution in the Korean peninsula, integrating China into the international system, and supporting Russia’s transition to a market economy and a democratic society. As Mr. Clinton put it, progress in these areas “could not have happened without Japan.” Photo © Ken Levinson. The work of Japan Society—improving mutual understanding between our peoples—is important because the Japan-U.S. relationship is important. Our founders would be surprised and pleased to learn that in this, its 100th year, Japan Society in New York City has become North America’s single largest producer of high-quality content about Japan for an English-speaking audience. In the fall of 2007 the gallery mounted a major exhibition of modern Japanese ceramics: Contemporary Clay: Japanese Ceramics for the New Century curated by Joe Earle, Chair of the Department of Art of Asia, Oceania, and Africa at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, who joins Japan Society in September 2007 as Vice President and Director, Japan Society Gallery. The centennial exhibitions are Awakenings: Zen Figure Painting in Medieval Japan (March 28–June 17, 2007) and Making a Home: Japanese Contemporary Artists in New York (October 5, 2007–January 13, 2008). In this centennial year our Performing Arts Program has already presented performances of pioneering contemporary Japanese theater and dance as well as international works inspired by Japanese performing arts, and this summer, outdoor noh and kyogen. In addition, this summer saw the Society’s first-ever large-scale festival of newest Japanese films, JAPAN CUTS, mounted by our Film Program. Our Centennial Speakers Series began in January with exclusive discussions by top Japanese and U.S. business leaders, policymakers and academics who have worked to shape the current nature of Japan-U.S. relations. Among the featured speakers were Eikoh Harada, Governor Shintaro Ishihara, Yuzaburo Mogi, Joseph Nye and Ezra Vogel, with many more to come during the second half of the Society’s centennial celebrations, which run through May 2008. In June, Japan Society mounted TECH EPOCH, an 11-day program featuring advanced robots with opportunities for audience interaction. This series linked the corporate and policy programs, the arts and education. The Education Program has expanded its work with New York area students and teachers, and, through a new website, will provide Japan-related curricular materials to teachers outside the region. Using digital media to share the content Japan Society produces, and to interact with and receive content from people in many locations, will be an increasingly important part of our future. A new partnership with Keio University enables real-time, ultra high-speed, ultra highdefinition digital links with Keio and other leading universities around the world. The U.S.-Japan Innovators Project used the Keio University partnership to great effect by bringing in a speaker from San Francisco to its public symposium in Tokyo on January 23 and a speaker from Tokyo to its New York public symposium on May 24. The Innovators Project, having completed a successful third year, is building a network of Japanese and American leaders who can collaborate on new solutions to pressing social concerns to improve the quality of life, not just in Japan and the United States, but throughout the world. Sincerely, Richard J. Wood 3 Japan Society Centennial Honorary Committee Co-Chairs David Rockefeller Dr. Shoichiro Toyoda Vice Chairs The Honorable J. Thomas Schieffer, United States Ambassador to Japan His Excellency Ryozo Kato, Ambassador of Japan to the U.S. 4 Japan Society Annual Report 2006–07 The Honorable Michael H. Armacost The Honorable Howard H. Baker, Jr. The Honorable James A. Baker III The Honorable Nancy Kassebaum Baker The Honorable John Brademas Tom Brokaw Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski Mary Griggs Burke Dick Cavett Willard G. Clark The Honorable William Clark, Jr. Professor Gerald L. Curtis Richard and Peggy Danziger Marian Wright Edelman Dr. Frank L. Ellsworth James M. Fallows The Honorable Thomas S. Foley Houghton Freeman Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. Charles O. Holliday, Jr. The Honorable Robert S. Ingersoll The Honorable Daniel K. Inouye Jasper Johns Professor Donald Keene Dr. Henry Kissinger William P. Lauder Kurt and Tomoko Masur Sir Deryck Maughan Dr. Henry A. McKinnell, Jr. The Honorable Norman Y. Mineta The Honorable Walter F. and Joan Mondale Jiro Murase, Esq. The Honorable Paul H. O’Neill, Sr. Dr. George R. Packard The Honorable Leon Panetta Professor Hugh Patrick The Honorable Peter G. Peterson Donald Richie The Honorable John D. Rockefeller IV Charlie Rose The Honorable Donna Shalala Isaac Shapiro Stephen Sondheim Michael I. Sovern Julie Taymor Alair Townsend Professor Ezra F. Vogel The Honorable Paul A. Volcker Jack and Susy Wadsworth Alan Webber John W. Weidman Robert Wilson The Honorable Timothy E. Wirth Edgar B. Young † Tadao Ando Setsu Asakura Tetsuya Chikushi Shinji Fukukawa Dr. Yoichi Funabashi Toyoo Gyohten Noboru Hatakeyama Dr. Kazuo Inamori Arata Isozaki Hideo Kanze †† The Honorable Yoriko Kawaguchi Kakutaro Kitashiro Yotaro Kobayashi Ambassador Takakazu Kuriyama Nobuo Kuroyanagi Tetsuko Kuroyanagi Fumihiko Maki Minoru Makihara Hideki Matsui Fujio Mitarai Kenji Miyahara The Honorable Kiichi Miyazawa†† Yuzaburo Mogi Madame Hanae Mori Minoru and Yoshiko Mori Yoshiko Morita Takeomi Nagayama ††† The Honorable Yasuhiro Nakasone Taizo Nishimuro Mansaku Nomura Shijuro and Sadako Ogata Ambassador Kazuo Ogoura Kazuo Ohno Ambassador Yoshio Okawara Yoko Ono Ambassador Hisashi Owada Ambassador Kunihiko Saito Tojuro Sakata Somei Satoh Ambassador Yukio Satoh Soshitsu Sen XVI Masahiro Shinoda Hiroshi Sugimoto Tadashi Suzuki Tasuku Takagaki Yoshio Taniguchi Saburo Teshigawara Dr. Junichi Ujiie Jiro Ushio † Deceased April 2007 †† Deceased June 2007 ††† Deceased December 2006 As of June 29, 2007 J A PA N 1 00 : Celebrating a Century 1907–2007 Japan Society celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2007–08 with over 100 events and special centennial programs held throughout New York City and Japan. Japan Society is grateful for the generous support of our Centennial Sponsors: 1 The Society would also like to thank the Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller Fund and David Rockefeller for their very generous Centennial gifts. Media sponsorship is provided by WNYC and LTB Media. As part of the Millennium on View Program, Millennium UN Plaza is the preferred hotel partner of Japan Society’s Centennial. *CENTENNIAL EXHIBITION* Celebrating a Century An Exhibition from Japan Society’s Archives Part 1: 1907–1918 • 1 Part 2: 1919–1941 • 1 F E B R U A RY– 3 1 M AY JUNE–31 AUGUST 2 The first two sections of a five-part rotating exhibition of select archival materials from Japan Society’s 100-year history, including photographs, letters, ephemera and books, exhibited on the Society’s A level (exhibition concludes in June 2008). * C E N T E N N I A L P U B L I C AT I O N * Japan Society: Celebrating a Century 1907–2007 9 M AY A book commemorating Japan Society’s centennial by Michael A. Auslin, revised and updated from Edwin O. Reischauer’s Japan Society 1907–1982: 75 Years of Partnership Across the Pacific (the Society’s 75th anniversary publication). 3 1 Japan Society President Lindsay Russell and Executive Committee member Hamilton Holt (Editor and Proprietor of the New York Independent) at a dinner held in their honor at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo on September 25, 1911. Illustration from Tokyo Graffic. 2 A luncheon in honor of Ambassador Masayuki Tani, held at the Plaza in March 1956. 3 His Imperial Highness Prince Naruhito and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd view the Japan Society Gallery exhibition Spectacular Helmets of Japan: 16th–19th Centuries in 1985. Photo © William Irwin. 4 4 A 1987 gala evening in honor of His Imperial Highness Crown Prince Akihito (left to right): Billy Taylor, Carol Vaness, His Imperial Highness Crown Prince Akihito, Aprile Millo, Her Imperial Highness Princess Michiko, Japan Society Chairman Cyrus Vance and Ron Richardson. Photo © Osamu Honda/Japan Society. 5 Special Events 1 Japan Society Centennial Gala Dinner 2 1 Guests enjoy the festive evening at the Hilton NY Grand Ballroom. Photo © Satoru Ishikawa. 2 Left to right: Richard J. Wood, President, Japan Society; The Hon. J. Thomas Schieffer, U.S. Ambassador to Japan; The Hon. John D. Rockefeller IV, U.S. Senator, West Virginia; actor Ken Watanabe; Dr. Shoichiro Toyoda; and David Rockefeller. Photo © Osamu Honda. 6 Japan Society Annual Report 2006–07 The Gala Dinner celebrating Japan Society’s 100th anniversary, held on May 9, 2007 at the Hilton New York, was an historic evening and an important night for U.S.-Japan relations. Actor and Master of Ceremonies George Takei welcomed nearly 1,000 guests gathered to honor Japan Society’s past, present and future. Former President Bill Clinton, introduced by The Hon. Paul A. Volcker, delivered a thoughtful and compelling keynote speech to conclude the momentous evening. Special guests of honor included Co-Chairs of the Centennial Honorary Committee David Rockefeller and Dr. Shoichiro Toyoda, as well as The Hon. John D. Rockefeller IV, who shared his insight on the Society’s centennial. H.E. Motoatsu Sakurai, Ambassador and Consul General of Japan in New York, presented the Foreign Minister’s Commendation to Japan Society on behalf of Japan’s Foreign Minister Taro Aso, following remarks from Japan Society’s chairman and president. Living National Treasure kabuki actor Sakata Tojuro IV treated the audience to a magnificent performance. Dr. Shoichiro Toyoda, Honorary Chairman of Toyota Motor Corporation, received the Japan Society Centennial Award. 4 3 6 5 7 3 Former and current ambassadors greet former President Bill Clinton (left to right): The Hon. J. Thomas Schieffer, U.S. Ambassador to Japan, and Mrs. Schieffer; The Hon. Howard H. Baker, Jr., former U.S. Ambassador to Japan; former President Bill Clinton; The Hon. Nancy Kassebaum Baker, former U.S. Senator; H.E. Kenzo Oshima, U.N. Ambassador to Japan, and Mrs. Oshima; and The Hon. Walter F. Mondale, former U.S. Ambassador to Japan. Photo © Zack Seckler. 4 Amb. Motoatsu Sakurai, Consul General of Japan in New York, presents the Foreign Minister’s Commendation to Japan Society President Richard J. Wood (left) and Chairman James S. McDonald (right). Photo © Satoru Ishikawa. 8 9 5 Dr. Shoichiro Toyoda (left) receives the Japan Society Centennial Award from Japan Society Chairman James S. McDonald and Senator John D. Rockefeller IV (right). Photo © Satoru Ishikawa. 6 Actor Ken Watanabe (left) with David Rockefeller. Photo © Zack Seckler. 7 Former President Bill Clinton delivers the keynote speech. Photo © Zack Seckler. 8 The Hon. Paul A. Volcker welcomes keynote speaker Bill Clinton (left) to the stage. Photo © Satoru Ishikawa. 9 Performance by Sakata Tojuro IV, Living National Treasure kabuki actor. Photo © Zack Seckler. 10 Martha Stewart meets Sakata Tojuro IV following his kabuki performance, as Wilbur L. Ross, Jr. looks on (far left). Photo © Satoru Ishikawa. 10 11 11 Master of Ceremonies George Takei addresses the audience. Photo © Zack Seckler. 1 6 2 7 3 8 4 5 9 12 10 13 11 1 Left to right: Joe Earle, Chair, Art of Asia, Oceania and Africa, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Dr. Kurt A. Gitter; and Alice R. Yelen at the opening preview and reception for Contemporary Clay: Japanese Ceramics for the New Century. Photo © George Hirose. 2 Halsey and Alice North with ceramic artist Sueharu Fukami at the opening preview and reception for Contemporary Clay: Japanese Ceramics for the New Century. Photo © George Hirose. 3 Hisashi Yamada, Director of Urasenke Chanoyu Center, Yoko Makino (center) and Gina L. Chu (right) at the opening preview and reception for Contemporary Clay: Japanese Ceramics for the New Century. Photo © George Hirose. 4 Dr. and Mrs. Richard J. Wood (left) greet Sir Howard Stringer, Chairman and CEO of Sony Corporation, at a reception in Tokyo introducing Dr. Wood as the new President of Japan Society. Photo © Naho Baba. 5 Ann Nitze (left) and Judith Wood (right) with Yukio Lippit, Assistant Professor, Department of History of Art & Architecture, Harvard University, at a dinner celebrating the opening of Awakenings: Zen Figure Painting in Medieval Japan. Photo © George Hirose. 6 Guests at Japan Society’s Centennial Kick-Off Celebration following Big Dance Theater’s performance of The Other Here (left to right): Amon Miyamoto, Japanese theater and Broadway director; Annie-B Parson, Co-Director, Big Dance Theater; Richard S. Lanier, President, Asian Cultural Council; Richard J. Wood, President, Japan Society; and Paul Lazar, Co-Director, Big Dance Theater. Photo © George Hirose. 7 At the annual Japanese New Year’s Celebration, guests sample traditional New Year’s foods. Photo © George Hirose. 8 Left to right: Actress Asaka Seto, singer and pianist Akiko Yano, and film director Masayuki Suo following the international premiere screening of I Just Didn’t Do It. Photo © George Hirose. 9 Noh & Kyogen in the Park actors Nomura Mansai, Nomura Yuki and Umekawa Rokuro and musician Kamei Hirotada (left to right) are joined by Japan Society Artistic Director Yoko Shioya and audience member Mayuko Kawakita at the opening night champagne reception. © George Hirose. 14 10 Left to right: Dean Joseph S. Nye, Jr., Distinguished Service Professor at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government; Richard J. Wood, President, Japan Society; Yoko Makino; and The Hon. John Brademas, President Emeritus of New York University, at a dinner hosted by Ms. Makino at her residence following a lecture by Prof. Nye. Photo © Yoko Suzuki. 11 Film director Alejandro González Iñárritu and actors Rinko Kikuchi and Gael García Bernal at a special preview screening of Babel. Photo © George Hirose. 12 H.I.H. Princess Takamado and acclaimed architect Yoshio Taniguchi at a reception in Tokyo introducing Richard J. Wood as the new President of Japan Society. Photo © Naho Baba. 13 Left to right: Dr. John K. Gillespie, Stephen E. Globus and noh actor Umekawa Rokuro, at the opening night champagne reception of Noh & Kyogen in the Park. Photo © George Hirose. 14 Elizabeth Andoh, a writer and lecturer specializing in Japanese food culture, conducts a special demonstration and food tasting entitled “Washoku: Bringing Harmony to Table,” held at the home of Halsey and Alice North. Photo © Yoko Suzuki. 9 Committees Executive Committee* Richard Lanier, Chair Michael E. Daniels Carol Gluck Susumu Kato Satoru Murase Hideyuki Takahashi Motokazu Yoshida Seiji Tsutsumi Jiro Ushio Goro Watanabe Ambassador Koji Watanabe Program Committee* Merit E. Janow, Chair Robert G. Scott Wilbur L. Ross, Jr. Ryoichi Ueda Susan Dentzer Atsuko Toko Fish Maurice R. Greenberg Susumu Kato Jun Makihara Joshua N. Solomon Hideyuki Takahashi Finance Committee* Art Advisory Committee Robert G. Scott, Chair Dr. Samuel Sachs, II, Chair Gregory A. Boyko Susumu Kato Stephen H. Long Jun Makihara Wilbur L. Ross, Jr. Michael Cunningham Anne d’Harnoncourt Margot Paul Ernst Barbara B. Ford Richard S. Lanier Thomas Lentz Stephen L. Little Anne N. Morse Amy G. Poster Julian Raby Emily J. Sano Lea R. Sneider Yoshiaki Shimizu Jeremy Strick Investment Committee* Henry Cornell, Chair Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee* David W. Heleniak, Chair Robert E. Fallon Merit E. Janow Susumu Kato Jun Makihara Deryck C. Maughan Henry A. McKinnell, Jr. Kyota Omori Audit Committee* Satoru Murase, Chair Stephen H. Long Masato Mori William G. Parrett Japan Advisory Committee* Shoichiro Toyoda, Chair Kensuke Hotta Kazuo Inamori Yotaro Kobayashi Minoru Makihara Fujio Mitarai Yoshihiko Miyauchi Yuzaburo Mogi Minoru Mori Ambassador Moriyuki Motono Minoru Murofushi Yoshio Nakamura Takeo Shiina Shinjiro Shimizu 10 Honorary Members Sondra Castile Sherman E. Lee John Rosenfield Corporate Council Michael Auslin Susumu Awanohara Philip Berkowitz William Ferguson Lisa Finstrom Michael Green Mark Halperin Shigeru Handa Keiko Ikawa Fred Katayama Michael Krupa Edward Lincoln Jun Makihara Satoru Murase Alicia Ogawa James Reed Ann Rutledge George Warnock Japan Society Annual Report 2006–07 Film Advisory Committee Donald Richie, Chair Mary Lea Bandy Celeste Bartos Robert Gottlieb Junji Kitadai Akira Koike Keiko I. McDonald Masayo Okada Nagisa Oshima Richard Pena Daniel Talbot Performing Arts Advisory Committee Laurence Kominz, Chair Philip Bither John Gillespie David G. Goodman Stephen Greco Margaret Lawrence Judy Mitoma W. Anthony Sheppard John Weidman Robert Woodruff Yoshito Hori Joichi Ito Shuhei Kishimoto Michael Kobori Terrie Lloyd Oki Matsumoto Alicia Ogawa Debra van Opstal Thierry Porte James G. Reed Ann Rutledge Hiroaki Saito Ken Shibusawa Hirotaka Takeuchi Alan Webber Keith Yamashita U.S.-Japan Innovators Project Cultural Advisory Committee Honorary Members James Brandon Karen Brazell Donald Keene Thomas Rimer Ralph Samuelson Akihiko Senda David d’Heilly Thelma Golden Yasuki Hamano Yuko Hasegawa Minoru Iki Taneo Kato Douglas McGray Dominic Molon Taeko Nagai Fumio Nanjo Shigeaki Saegusa Ralph Samuelson Emily Sano Hiroshi Yanai U.S.-Japan Innovators Project Board of Advisors U.S.-Japan Innovators Project Social Advisory Committee Susan Dentzer Glen Fukushima Glenn Hubbard Kakutaro Kitashiro Joseph Melillo Fujio Mitarai Wilbur L. Ross Shinjiro Shimizu Mitsuko Shimomura Hirotaka Takeuchi Hiroshi Tsukamoto Yoshinori Yamaoka Masakazu Yamazaki Ayako Fujii Rosanne Haggerty Keiko Kiyama Megumu Mizuta Zenko Oda Kensuke Onishi Michael Reich Yoshinori Yamaoka U.S.-Japan Innovators Project Business Advisory Committee Jack D. Cogen Aron Cramer Michael E. Daniels Robert E. Fallon *All executive committee listings are as of October 19, 2006 to reflect the work of those who contributed their time in the service of Japan Society’s centennial celebration. Global Affairs Outspoken Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara fields questions from members of the press following his evening critique of the U.S.-Japan alliance. Photo © Ken Levinson. Corporate & Policy Programs Japan Society’s Corporate & Policy Programs 2006–07 programming season launched amidst significant political changes in Japan. September 20, 2006 brought an end to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi’s administration, as noteworthy for its success in revitalizing the Japanese economy as for its failure to repair damaged relations with China and South Korea. There was much speculation surrounding incoming Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Would he be able to continue his predecessor’s structural reforms that had so successfully brought the Japanese economy back from 15 years of stagnation? Would he demonstrate the political will to reach out to Japan’s neighbors who took offence to Kozumi’s repeated public visits to Yasukuni Shrine? While the Corporate & Policy Programs covered a wide range of topics over the course of the season— from digital privacy issues and Japan’s continued economic recovery to corporate social responsibility and Japan’s Financial Instruments and Exchange Law, referred to as J-SOX—the underlying theme throughout was Japan’s evolving role on the regional and global stages. Policy makers, business people and academics visited to offer various perspectives on how Japan could provide political and economic leadership in a changing regional landscape, and how the U.S.Japan relationship could continue to form the underpinnings for security and stability throughout Asia. On the policy side, former Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly joined us to discuss Sino-Japanese tensions and security implications for the U.S. Following a breakthrough agreement in the stalled Six-Party Talks to end North Korea’s nuclear arms program, lead U.S. negotiator Christopher Hill, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, gave his assessment of the negotiations and the prospects for denuclearization. We were joined in April by the Ambassadors and Consuls General in New York from Japan and India to examine the future of Indo-Japan economic relations. In May, Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara offered his frank views on ways to improve and strengthen the U.S.-Japan alliance in the face of China’s military rise. 12 Japan Society Annual Report 2006–07 In business, we had the pleasure of taking a group of distinguished U.S. executives, including New York Stock Exchange Chairman Marshall Carter and Estée Lauder President and CEO William Lauder, to exchange views with Nippon Keidanren executives on corporate social responsibility strategies U.S. and Japanese multinationals use when operating in China and other overseas markets. In December, we welcomed New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine, who discussed the importance of Japanese business investment to his state’s economy. In late January, the CEOs of the Tokyo and New York Stock Exchanges visited to speak about steps their exchanges are taking to meet the demands of global financial markets. Along with Korea Society, we co-hosted USTR’s Wendy Cutler, who negotiated the recent Korean-U.S. free trade agreement. Ms. Cutler evaluated the deal and offered her thoughts on how the KORUS FTA will affect trade between the U.S. and Japan. Among academics who spoke this season, Harvard’s Professor Ezra Vogel provided historical perspective on the recent political tensions plaguing the JapanChina relationship in a program titled “Japan: From China War to China Peace.” Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government’s Joseph Nye later picked up on this theme, broadening it to look at Japan’s regional relations, and examined Japan’s desire to project that proper balance of hard and soft power throughout East Asia. Finally, we hosted two individuals who represent successful examples of cross-border culinary soft-power projection. Eikoh Harada, Chairman, President and CEO of McDonald’s Holdings Co. (Japan), discussed how combining American-style business strategies with distinctly Japanese menu offerings and customer service reversed McDonald’s downward trend in Japan and substantially increased revenues. Yuzaburo Mogi, Chairman and CEO of Kikkoman, spoke about his firm’s arrival in Wisconsin 50 years ago to manufacture locally the now ubiquitous Kikkoman soy sauce. 2 0 0 6 – 07 P R O G R A M H I G H L I G H T S 1 1 Panelists and moderator gather after a discussion of the challenges for post-Koizumi Japan. Left to right: Michael Auslin, Associate Professor of History, Yale University; Director, Project on Japan-U.S. Relations; Yuki Tatsumi, Research Fellow, Henry L. Stimson Center; Adjunct Fellow, International Security Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies; moderator Edward Lincoln, Director, Japan-U.S. Center, Stern School of Business, New York University; Jing Huang, Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy Studies, Brookings Institution; and Naotaka Matsukata, Chair, Strategic International Business Practice Regulated Industries & Government Relations, Hunton and Williams LLP. Photo © Ken Levinson. 2 William Lauder, President and CEO of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc., spoke at a conference on corporate social responsibility in Tokyo co-sponsored by Nippon Keidanren; the Council for Better Corporate Citizenship; and Japan Society. conferences, panel discussions, seminars & symposia E-mail, Blogs & Privacy: What Japanese Firms in the U.S. Need to Know • 2 1 S E P T E M B E R • Sponsored by Nixon Peabody LLP. • With Philip Berkowitz, Partner, Nixon Peabody LLP; Jerome Coleman, Partner, Nixon Peabody LLP; and George Pierce, Vice President and General Counsel, Toyota Tsusho America, Inc. Bill Alpert, Senior Editor, Barron’s, moderating. Sino-Japanese Tensions & Implications for U.S. Policy • 2 1 S E P T E M B E R • Co-organized by National Committee on U.S.-China Relations. • With Michael A. McDevitt, Director, Center for Strategic Studies, The CNA Corporation; James Kelly, Former Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs; and Alan Romberg, Senior Associate, Henry L. Stimson Center. Stephen Orlins, President, National Committee on United States-China Relations, moderating. Leadership in Post-Koizumi Japan: Expectations & Regional Implications • 1 1 O C TO B E R • With Michael Auslin, Associate Professor of History, Yale University; Director, Project on Japan-U.S. Relations; Jing Huang, Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy Studies, Brookings Institution; Naotaka Matsukata, Leader, Global Business Strategy Practice, Alston & Bird LLP; and Yuki Tatsumi, Research Fellow, Henry L. Stimson Center and Adjunct Fellow, International Security Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies. Edward Lincoln, Director, Japan-US Center, Stern School of Business, New York University, moderating. 2 “Japan’s Comeback”—Has Structural Reform Revitalized the Economy? • 3 N OV E M B E R • Co-organized by Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Inc. Supported by Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry of New York, Inc. Sponsored by Nippon Life Insurance Company of America and Daiwa Securities America, Inc. • Offsite event held at Grand Hyatt New York. With Atsutoshi Nishida, President and CEO, Toshiba Corp. Panelists: Robert Dugger, Managing Director, Tudor Investment Corporation; Yutaka Kosai, Senior Adviser, Japan Center for Economic Research; Hiroshi Mikitani, Chairman and CEO, Rakuten, Inc.; and Thomas Pugel, Professor of Economics and Global Business, Stern School of Business, New York University. Naoaki Okabe, Senior Executive Officer and Editorial Page Editor, Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Inc., moderating. Japanese & U.S. Perspectives on Why Corporate Social Responsibility is Good for Your Company’s Bottom Line • 1 5 N O V E M B E R • Co-sponsored by Nippon Keidanren and the Council for Better Corporate Citizenship. • Offsite event held at Nippon Keidanren Hall, Tokyo. With Marshall Carter, Chairman, New York Stock Exchange; Hiroshi Hirose, Director and Managing Executive Officer, Sumitomo Chemical Company, Ltd.; William Lauder, President and CEO, The Estée Lauder Companies Inc.; James S. McDonald, President and CEO, Rockefeller & Co., Inc.; Chairman, Japan Society; and Nobuo Tateisi, Executive Advisor, OMRON Corporation; Chairman, the CBCC. Masakazu Kubota, 13 Managing Director, Keidanren and the CBCC; James S. McDonald, President and CEO, Rockefeller & Co., Inc.; Chairman, Japan Society; and Richard J. Wood, President, Japan Society, moderating. Internet Governance: The New World Order in Cyberspace • 1 0 J A N U A RY • Sponsored by Institute for International Socio-Economic Studies. • With Izumi Aizu, Deputy Director, Institute for HyperNetwork Society; Senior Research Fellow, The New Institute for Social Knowledge and Collaboration, Tama University; Jordyn Buchanan, Site Reliability Manager, Google and Chair, Whois Task Force, ICANN; and Wendy Seltzer, Visiting Assistant Professor of Law, Brooklyn Law School and Fellow, The Berkman Center for Internet & Society, Harvard Law School. CSR: Best Practices & Legal Risks • 1 4 F E B R U A RY • Sponsored by Epstein Becker & Green, P.C. • With Michael Levine, Member of the Firm, Epstein Becker & Green, P.C. and Stewart Mitchell, Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer, Sharp Electronics Corporation. Hajime Matsuura, Correspondent, NIKKEI Inc., moderating. J-SOX Readiness: Potential Impact & U.S. SOX Lessons Learned • 2 2 F E B R U A RY • Sponsored by Protiviti, Inc. • With Dominick R. Sabella, Senior Vice President and Group Head, Comptrollers Group, Headquarters for the Americas, The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd.; Yasumi Taniguchi, Managing Director, ERM and Internal Audit Practice, Protiviti Japan Co., Ltd.; and Alice Young, Partner and Chair, Asia Pacific Practice, Kaye Scholer LLP. William Holstein, Editor-in-Chief, Directorship, moderating. Ambassadorial Dialogue: The Future of Indo-Japan Economic Relations • 4 A P R I L • Co-sponsored by the India Policy Forum. • With Neelam Deo, Ambassador and Consul General in New York, Consulate General of India and Motoatsu Sakurai, Ambassador and Consul General in New York, Consulate General of Japan. Bal Das, Partner, InsCap Management, LLC; Chair, India Policy Forum, moderating. Age Discrimination & U.S. Law: What Japanese Firms Need to Know • 1 8 A P R I L • Sponsored by Epstein Becker & Green, P.C. • With Michael McKenna, Senior Consultant, Japan Intercultural Consulting; William Milani, Member of the Firm, Epstein Becker & Green, P.C.; and Debra Raskin, Partner, Vladeck, Waldman, Elias and Englehard, P.C. Michael Levine, Member of the Firm, Epstein Becker & Green, P.C., moderating. 14 Japan Society Annual Report 2006–07 *centennial event* TECH EPOCH Digital Social Responsibility: Searching for Ethics on the Internet • 7 J U N E • Sponsored by Morrison & Foerster LLP. Supporting Organization: JETRO New York. • With Craig Newmark, Founder and Customer Service Representative, Craigslist.org. Panelists: John Delaney, Partner & Technology Transactions Practice Group Co-Chair, Morrison & Foerster LLP; Dunstan Hope, Director, Advisory Services, Information and Communications Technology, Business for Social Responsibility; and Dave Morgan, Founder and Chairman, Tacoda, Inc. Brad Stone, Technology Correspondent, The New York Times, moderating. Balancing East Asia’s Potential: Leveraging Japan’s Leadership to Build Regional Economic Stability • 2 1 J U N E • Co-organized by Nikkei America, Inc. Supported by Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry of New York, Inc. Sponsored by Toyota Motor North America, Inc.; Canon USA, Inc.; Nippon Life Insurance Company of America; and Daiwa Securities America, Inc. Corporate Supporter: All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd. Media Supporter: The Wall Street Journal. • With John Bussey, Editor, The Wall Street Journal Asia and Deputy Managing Editor, The Wall Street Journal; Edward J. Lincoln, Clinical Professor of Economics and Director, Center for Japan-U.S. Business and Economic Studies, Leonard N. Stern School of Business, New York University; and Naoki Tanaka, President, The 21st Century Public Policy Institute. Tetsuya Jitsu, Chief Editor, Washington, D.C. Bureau, NIKKEI, Inc., moderating. corporate lectures Dr. Ian Bremmer on Markets & Increasing Risk: The J Curve • 1 9 S E P T E M B E R • With Ian Bremmer, President, Eurasia Group. Hideyuki Takahashi, President and CEO, Nomura Holding America, Inc.; Vice Chairman, Japan Society, presiding. Japanese Economic Recovery & Future Prospects 2 3 O C TO B E R • With Hiroshi Watanabe, ViceMinister of Finance for International Affairs of Japan. Wilbur L. Ross, Chairman and CEO, WL Ross & Co. LLC; Director, Japan Society, presiding. • Amb. Christopher Hill Discusses Recent Progress & Next Steps in the 6-Party Talks • 6 M A R C H • Co-organized by The Korea Society. • With Christopher Hill, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, United States Department of State. Nicholas Kristof, Columnist, The New York Times, presiding. Ichigo’s Scott Callon Leads Japan’s Once-ina-Lifetime Shareholder Revolt • 3 M AY • With Scott Callon, Partner and CEO, Ichigo Asset Management, Ltd. Wilbur L. Ross, Chairman and CEO, WL Ross & Co. LLC; Director, Japan Society, presiding. corporate luncheons Microsoft Japan CEO on Digital Life: Lessons Learned • 2 8 S E P T E M B E R • With Darren Huston, President and CEO, Microsoft Co. Ltd., Japan and Corporate Vice President. Jun Makihara, Chairman, Neoteny Co., Ltd.; Director, Japan Society, presiding. Dupont Chairman & CEO on Transformation & Sustainable Growth • 1 7 O C TO B E R • With Charles Holliday, Chairman and CEO, E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company. Dennis Cuneo, Senior Vice President, Toyota Motor North America, Inc., presiding. High Hurdles: The Airbus Challenge in Japan • Glen S. Fukushima, President and CEO, Airbus Japan K.K. Richard J. Wood, President, Japan Society, presiding. 2 6 O C TO B E R • With Merrill Lynch Japan President Discusses the Firm’s Turnaround • 1 2 D E C E M B E R • With Izumi Kobayashi, President, Merrill Lynch Japan Securities, Co. Kyota Omori, Managing Director and CEO for the Americas, The Bank of TokyoMitsubishi UFJ Ltd.; Director, Japan Society, presiding. NJ Governor Corzine on Japan’s Role in Bolstering State’s International Trade • 1 3 D E C E M B E R • Media Sponsor: NIKKEI America, Inc. Supporting Organization: JETRO New York. • With Jon Corzine, New Jersey State Governor. Henry Cornell, Managing Director, Goldman, Sachs & Co.; Director, Japan Society, presiding. TSE’s Nishimuro Discusses Strategies to Maintain Exchange’s Global Competitiveness • 3 0 J A N U A RY • With Taizo Nishimuro, President and CEO, Tokyo Stock Exchange, Inc. John Thain, CEO, NYSE Group, Inc., presiding. KORUS FTA: Bilateral Benefits & Implications for U.S.-Japan Trade • 2 5 A P R I L • Co-organized by The Korea Society. • With Wendy Cutler, Assistant United States Trade Representative for Japan, Korea and APEC Affairs. Leslie Norton, Foreign Editor, Asia, Barron’s, presiding. UNIQLO: From Tokyo to New York to Global Brand • 2 6 A P R I L • With Nobuo Domae, CEO, UNIQLO USA, Inc.; Executive Vice President, Member of the Board, FAST RETAILING CO., LTD. Jotaro Hamada, Managing Director, International Franchise Management, Citigroup Inc., presiding. 1 1 New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine with Japan Society directors Henry Cornell, Managing Director, Goldman, Sachs & Co. (left) and Jun Makihara, Chairman, Neoteny Co., Ltd. (right). Photo © Ken Levinson. 2 9 2 Christopher Hill, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, United States Department of State fields a question from the audience on the 6 Party Talks as presider Nicholas Kristof, Columnist, The New York Times looks on. Photo © Ken Levinson. 3 Founder and Customer Service Representative of Craigslist.org, Craig Newmark (left) responds to a question from the audience in a discussion of Internet privacy issues moderated by The New York Times Technology Correspondent Brad Stone. Photo © Ken Levinson. 4 NYSE Group CEO John Thain and Tokyo Stock Exchange President and CEO Taizo Nishimuro discuss their pending business alliance over lunch. Photo © Ken Levinson. 3 5 Hiroshi Watanabe, Vice-Minister of Finance for International Affairs of Japan, takes a question from the audience as presider Wilbur L. Ross, Chairman and CEO, WL Ross & Co. LLC; Director, Japan Society looks on. Photo © Ken Levinson. 4 8 6 Nobuo Domae, CEO, UNIQLO USA, Inc. and Executive Vice President, Member of the Board, Fast Retailing Co., Ltd., comments on his firm’s recent expansion into the U.S. apparel market. Photo © Ken Levinson. 7 Neelam Deo, Ambassador and Consul General in New York, Consulate General of India (right) and Motoatsu Sakurai, Ambassador and Consul General in New York, Consulate General of Japan (center) join to discuss the future of Indo-Japan Economic Relation in an ambassadorial dialogue moderated by Bal Das, Partner, InsCap Management, LLC and Chair of the India Policy Forum. Photo © Ken Levinson. 8 Moderator Dennis Cuneo, Senior Vice President, Toyota Motor North America, Inc. (left) and Charles Holliday, Chairman and CEO, E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, share a light moment over lunch before Mr. Holliday’s discussion of Dupont’s reduced environmental footprint. Photo © Ken Levinson. 5 6 7 9 Merrill Lynch Japan Securities President Izumi Kobayashi and Joyce Phillips, Head of International Retail Banking, Citigroup, Inc. enjoy the reception prior to Ms. Kobayashi’s lecture. Photo © Ken Levinson. 1 centennial speakers series This program was made possible by Citigroup Inc. *centennial event* Recipe for Success: Revamping the Corporate Menu at McDonald’s Japan • 1 1 J A N U A RY • With Eikoh Harada, Chairman, President and CEO, McDonald’s Holdings Company (Japan), Ltd. James S. McDonald, President and CEO, Rockefeller & Co., Inc.; Chairman, Japan Society, presiding. *centennial event* Japan: From China War to China Peace • 20 FEBRUARY • With Ezra Vogel, Henry Ford II Professor Emeritus of the Social Sciences, Harvard University. Michael Auslin, Associate Professor of History, Yale University, presiding. *centennial event* Exploring Japanese Food Culture • 5 M A R C H • Co-organized by NIKKEI America, Inc. and JETRO New York. In-kind support provided by Asahishuzo Co., Ltd.; ITO EN (North America) INC.; Sapporo USA, Inc.; and Suntory International Corp. • With Yuzaburo Mogi, Chairman and CEO, Kikkoman Corporation. Panelists: Elizabeth Andoh, author; Director, A Taste of Culture; Daniel Boulud, Chef-Owner, DANIEL; and Masaharu Morimoto, Chef-Owner, Morimoto New York and Philadelphia. Jeffrey Steingarten, author and food critic, Vogue Magazine, moderating. *centennial event* Balancing Hard & Soft: Japan’s Search for Stability in East Asia • 7 M A R C H • With Joseph Nye, Distinguished Service Professor, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Mark Halperin, Political Director and Correspondent, ABC News, presiding. 16 Japan Society Annual Report 2006–07 2 3 *centennial event* Tokyo Governor Ishihara Critiques the U.S.Japan Alliance • 1 7 M AY • With Shintaro Ishihara, Governor of Tokyo. Sandra Endo, Political Reporter, NY1 News, presiding. 1 Eikoh Harada, Chairman, President and CEO, McDonald’s Holding Company (Japan) Ltd. confers with Japan Society Chairman James S. McDonald, President and CEO, Rockefeller & Co., Inc. prior to his Centennial Speakers Series lecture. Photo © Ken Levinson. Japan Society wishes to thank the following corporations for their generous support of Global Affairs Corporate & Policy Programs: 2 Centennial Speakers Series lecturer Yuzaburo Mogi (right), Chairman and CEO of Kikkoman Corporation, is joined by NIKKEI America, Inc. President Kiyoshi Hasegawa at the Japanese Food Culture Symposium. Photo © Ken Levinson. global leaders: American International Group, Inc. Citigroup Inc. Continental Airlines Deloitte & Touche, LLP Mizuho Securities USA Toyota Motor North America, Inc. corporate partners Mitsui & Co. (U.S.A.), Inc. WL Ross & Co. LLC. additional support: Asahi Shuzo Co., Ltd., Asian Women in Business, Astellas USA Foundation, All Nippon Airways Co., LTD. (ANA), Canon USA, The Council for Better Corporate Citizenship, Consulate General of Japan in New York, Daiwa Securities America Inc., Epstein Becker & Green, P.C., India Policy Forum, Institute for International SocioEconomic Studies, Japan Airlines, Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of New York, Inc. , ITO EN (North America) INC., JETRO New York, The Korea Society, Morrison & Foerster LLP, National Committee on United States-China Relations, Nikkei, Inc., Nikkei America, Inc., Nippon Keidanren, , Nippon Life Insurance Company of America, Nixon Peabody LLP, Protiviti, Inc., Sapporo USA, Inc., Suntory International Corp., The Wall Street Journal. 3 Centennial Speakers Series lecturer Joseph Nye (left), Distinguished Service Professor, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University responds to a question from presider Mark Halperin, Political Director and Correspondent, ABC News. Photo © Ken Levinson. Policy Projects The U.S.-Japan Innovators Project, Japan Society’s Policy Project co-organized by The Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership, is a multi-year, multidisciplinary initiative connecting creative Japanese and Americans to explore new avenues for collaboration and creating positive social change on global challenges facing both countries in the 21st century. In the winter of 2006–07, 28 Japanese and American innovators gathered at the International House of Japan in Tokyo for the second Innovators Project retreat, (IN)SPIRE: Bridging Gaps. During the two-and-a-halfday retreat, Japanese and American social and business entrepreneurs, artists, designers and other leaders examined key unmet needs identified in the first retreat in San Francisco (June 2006) and thought through ways in which innovators could begin to address them. Some key unmet needs included building essential skills for innovators (improvisation, business acumen, storytelling and scaling); building communities for sustainability; and new paths for community funding. In addition, retreat participants identified an unmet need that Japan Society was already addressing and should continue to do so in the years ahead: to provide a “space”—both virtual and actual—for Japanese and American innovators to connect, share ideas and collaborate. Innovators regularly meet with people in their own field of expertise, but rarely have the opportunity to discuss major issues, or big ideas, with people who approach the same problem or idea from a completely different professional perspective. A multidisciplinary, multi-national approach was especially appealing, they said. The day after the retreat Japan Society co-organized a day-long public symposium, Affecting Change Through Social Innovation: Design, Scalability & Financing. The event, commemorating Japan Society’s 100th and Keio University’s 150th anniversaries, brought together social entrepreneurs from Japan and the United States to discuss design, building out and financing. These three interrelated issues are critical to both Japanese and American social entreprenuers, whether they are just beginning to put their ideas into practice, or are more established and looking for ways to increase their impact. In the spring of 2007, Japan Society invited six of the innovators to the Society to help think through the future of the U.S.-Japan Innovators Project, with the ultimate goal of creating a self-sustaining, open source network of Japanese and American innovators. This “mini-retreat” was the first stage in developing a “place” for innovators to meet. The Society asked the six innovators their advice on a range of issues, including identity, mission, who is a member and harnessing technology. The thoughtful and invigorating discussions helped the Society lay the groundwork for the establishment of the U.S.-Japan Innovators Network. Taking advantage of some of the participants in the May retreat, Japan Society organized a provocative public symposium, Improvisation, Creativity, Collaboration: Fueling Innovation in the 21st Century, which inaugurated the New York studio for Keio University’s Research Institute for Digital Media and Content. The studio, based at Japan Society, brought in participant Daniel Pink live from Tokyo via state-of-the art video conferencing. 17 2 0 0 6 – 07 P R O G R A M H I G H L I G H T S u.s.-japan innovators project This project was generously funded by The Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership, the co-organizer of the project. This project was generously supported by Citigroup Inc. International transportation was supported by Continental Airlines and All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd. Additional support was provided by Japan Society's endowment for policy projects. *centennial event* (IN)SIGHT: Bridging Gaps • 1 7–2 2 J A N U A RY • Additional support was provided by the JapanUnited States Friendship Commission, and Jack and Susy Wadsworth. • Offsite retreat held in Tokyo, with additional site visits in Japan. With Yasushi Aoyama, Professor, Graduate School of Public Policy, Meiji University; Marty Ashby, Executive Producer, MCG Jazz; David d’Heilly, President and founder, 2dkCo., Ltd.; Marc Freedman, CEO and Founder, Civic Ventures; Hideki Fujioka, Urban Development Dept., Business Headquarters Deputy, Unit Manager, Cosmos Initia; Kumi Fujisawa, Vice President, Thinktank SophiaBank; Chikara Funabashi, President, WillSeed; Rosanne Haggerty, founder and President, Common Ground Community; Dervala Hanley, Strategist, Stone Yamashita Partners; Scott Heiferman, founder, Meetup.com; Katsuji Imata, Co-Director, CSO Network Japan; Hideyuki Inoue, Representative, ETIC; Koichi Kaneda, Deputy General Manager, CSR Promotion Department, Daiwa Security Group; Hiroki Komazaki, Representative Director, NPO Florence; Kaori Kuroda, Co-Director, CSO Network Japan; Limbon, architect and Professor of Urban Planning, Ritsumeikan University; Kohei Nishiyama, CEO and founder, elephant design; Kensuke Onishi, President, PeaceWinds; Daniel H. Pink, author of A Whole New Mind and Free Agent Nation, Contributing Editor, Wired and Japan Society 2006 U.S.-Japan Media Fellow; Ann Rutledge, Principal, R&R Consulting; Dai Sato, screenwriter, Eureka Seven, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo; Max Schorr, Publisher and Founding Editor, GOOD magazine; Ken Shibusawa, President, Shibusawa & Co.; Mitsuko Shimomura, Chair and CEO, Center for Health Care & Public Concern; Cameron Sinclair, co-founder, Architecture for Humanity; Bill Strickland, President and CEO, Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild; Hiroshi Tasaka, President, Thinktank SophiaBank and Professor, Graduate School, Tama University; and Alan Webber, Founding Editor, Fast Company magazine. 18 Japan Society Annual Report 2006–07 *centennial event* Affecting Change Through Social Innovation: Design, Scalability & Financing • 2 3 J A N U A RY • Co-organized by The Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership and Keio University; in cooperation with The Research Institute for Digital Media and Content, Keio University. Additional support was provided by the Japan-United States Friendship Commission, and Jack and Susy Wadsworth. • Offsite event held at Keio University in Tokyo. Public symposium with Hideyuki Inoue, Managing Director, Social Venture Center, Entrepreneurial Training for Innovative Communities (ETIC) and Assistant Professor, Keio University; Jiro Kokuryo, Professor, Faculty of Policy Management, Keio University; Masami Komatsu, CEO, Music Securities Corporation; Hiroki Komazaki, CEO, NPO Florence; Jun Murai, Vice President, Keio University; Tomohiko Okabe, CEO, Okabe Tomohiko Design Studio and Director, Funnybee Corporation; Cameron Sinclair, cofounder, Architecture for Humanity; Bill Strickland, President and CEO, Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild; Villy Wang, President and CEO, BAYCAT (via videoconference from San Francisco); Alan Webber, Founding Editor, Fast Company magazine; and Richard J. Wood, President, Japan Society. *centennial event* The Next Phase: Innovators Network (IN) • 2 3 –2 4 M AY • Additional support was provided by The Henry Luce Foundation and Jack and Susy Wadsworth. • Retreat with Marty Ashby, Executive Producer, MCG Jazz; Kumi Fujisawa, Vice President, Thinktank SophiaBank; Chikara Funabashi, President and CEO, WillSeed; Rosanne Haggerty, founder and President, Common Ground Community; Hiroshi Tasaka, President, Thinktank SophiaBank and Professor, Graduate School, Tama University; and Alan Webber, Founding Editor, Fast Company magazine. *centennial event* Improvisation, Creativity, Collaboration: Fueling Innovation in the 21st Century • 2 4 M AY • Coorganized by The Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership; in cooperation with The Research Institute for Digital Media and Content, Keio University; media sponsor NIKKEI America, Inc.; supporting organization GOOD magazine. Additional support was provided by The Henry Luce Foundation and Jack and Susy Wadsworth. • Public symposium with Marty Ashby, Executive Producer of MCG Jazz; Daniel H. Pink, author of A Whole New Mind and Free Agent Nation, Contributing Editor, Wired and Japan Society 2006 U.S.-Japan Media Fellow; Hiroshi Tasaka, President, Thinktank SophiaBank and Professor, Graduate School, Tama University; and Alan Webber, Founding Editor, Fast Company magazine. 1 Marty Ashby, Executive Producer, MCG Jazz, accompanied by Satoshi Takeishi on drums and Noriko Ueda on bass as part of the public symposium on Improvisation, Creativity, Collaboration: Fueling Innovation in the 21st Century. Photo © Aya Akeura. 2 Max Schorr, Publisher and Founding Editor, GOOD magazine speaking during the retreat (IN)SIGHT: Bridging Gaps. Photo © Hidenori Kondo. 3 Kaori Kuroda, Co-Director, CSO Network Japan, in a breakout session during the retreat (IN)SIGHT: Bridging Gaps. Photo © Hidenori Kondo. 4 Alan Webber, founder, Fast Company magazine and Daniel Pink, author of A Whole New Mind, in a dialogue on “Innovation and Action in The Conceptual Age” during the retreat (IN)SIGHT: Bridging Gaps. Photo © Naho Baba. 5 Cameron Sinclair, founder, Architecture for Humanity, speaking at the public symposium Affecting Change Through Social Innovation: Design, Scalability & Financing. Photo © Satoru Inoue. 6 Rosanne Haggerty, founder and President, Common Ground Community and Kohei Nishiyama, CEO and founder elephant design, speaking at a breakout session during the retreat (IN)SIGHT: Bridging Gaps. Photo © Hidenori Kondo. 7 Dai Sato (right), screenwriter for Eureka Seven; Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex; Cowboy Bebop; and Samurai Champloo, speaking on “Monogatari: The Power of Storytelling” during the retreat (IN)SIGHT: Bridging Gaps. Photo © Hidenori Kondo. 8 Chikara Funabashi, President, WillSeed, leading the ice breaker session during the retreat (IN)SIGHT: Bridging Gaps. Photo © Naho Baba. 2 1 3 4 5 6 7 8 Fellowships & Exchanges The U.S.-Japan Media Fellows Program is the sole fellowship sponsored by Japan Society today. Born out of the United States-Japan Leadership Program, which began in 1984 and evolved into one of two separate fellowships in 1996, the U.S.-Japan Media Fellows Program is designed to provide established journalists with a uniquely tailored and in-depth experience in Japan, with the objective of fostering a greater appreciation and understanding between the U.S. and Japan. Each year the Fellowships & Exchanges Program, working closely with the Foreign Press Center, sends American journalists to Japan for six weeks. Three American journalists were sent to Japan for the 2006 U.S.-Japan Media Fellowship. Daniel Pink, Contributed Editor, Wired and author of the bestselling books Free Agent Nation and A Whole New Mind, examined the Japanese cultural and business aspects of manga, or Japanese comics. He was particularly fascinated with a phenomenon unlikely to happen in the U.S.—the production and sale of fan-produced manga based on the original work of published manga artists and writers. 20 Japan Society Annual Report 2006–07 Joshua Wolf Shenk, essayist, Director, Rose O’Neill Literary House, Washington College, and author of the critically acclaimed book Lincoln’s Melancholy: How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled His Greatness, explored the juxtaposition of two developments in Japan: the rise in depression-related phenomena such as Internet suicides and the hikikomori (shut-ins) and the influence of “cool” Japan worldwide. Brad Stone, currently the Technology Reporter for The New York Times, wrote several pieces for Newsweek, Newsweek International and Newsweek.com on subjects ranging from how Internet startups are reviving the lost art of entrepreneurialism in Japan to Japan’s booming arcade industry. Many Fellows become involved in non-fellowshiprelated programs at Japan Society after they return to the U.S. Japan Society Fellows Alan Webber and Daniel Pink took part in the U.S.-Japan Innovators Project’s first public symposium in May, which focused on the importance of jazz and “right brain” qualities like improvisation and playfulness in collaboration and innovation. Both are participants in the Society’s U.S.Japan Innovators Project. Brad Stone moderated a June Corporate Program conference titled Digital Social Responsibility: Searching for Ethics on the Internet. 2 0 0 6 – 07 P R O G R A M H I G H L I G H T S f e l lo w s h i p s Fellowship Residency: 2006 United StatesJapan Foundation Media Fellows Program • 9 J U LY–2 8 A U G U S T • Brad Stone, Silicon Valley Correspondent, Newsweek. Fellowship Residency: 2007 United StatesJapan Foundation Media Fellows Program • 8 A P R I L–2 0 M AY • Daniel Pink, author and Contributing Editor, Wired. Fellowship Residency: 2007 United StatesJapan Foundation Media Fellows Program • 2 2 M AY– 3 J U LY • Joshua Wolf Shenk, essayist and Director, Rose O’Neill Literary House, Washington College. 1 2 The United States-Japan Media Fellows Program was generously supported by the United States-Japan Foundation. Assistance was provided by the Foreign Press Center Japan. Transportation assistance was provided by Japan Airlines. 3 1 Daniel Pink (right) speaking with Kenichiro Mogi, Sony Computer Science Laboratory, Tokyo, at a public forum on creativity and right-brain thinking held at the Mori Arts Center. 2 Joshua Wolf Shenk (left) with Issho Fujita, a Zen monk. 3 Brad Stone (center) with Professor Yasushi Aoyama and his graduate students at Meiji University. 21 Arts & Culture Gorgeous Effigy (Kayo) (detail) by Yoshikawa Masamichi, 2003. Porcelain with bluish-green glaze (seihakuji). Collection of Halsey and Alice North. Photo by Richard P. Goodbody. Japan Society Gallery Over more than three decades, Japan Society Gallery has established a reputation as one of the country’s leading centers for the study, publication and exhibition of Japanese visual culture in all its aspects. Working with a national and international roster of museums, academics, curators and artists, this year the Gallery resumed its practice of holding two substantial exhibitions each year, one in the fall and one in the spring, garnering high critical praise from leading newspapers and eliciting an enthusiastic public response. This year was also typical in that the first exhibition was prepared by a sister institution and brought to the Gallery at relatively short notice, while the other was a long-term project, curated by distinguished specialists commissioned by Japan Society. Organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Contemporary Clay: Japanese Ceramics for the New Century came to Japan Society in September 2006 in an expanded version featuring many additional loans from New York collectors. The first show of its kind for more than a decade, Contemporary Clay’s educational mission drew favorable comment from the New York Sun: “. . . the rich story of postwar ceramics production in Japan is virtually unknown. By introducing us to these important works of art, this handsome survey. . . will go far to change this situation, making it clear that Japanese ceramists have always been light years ahead of the pack.” The exhibition also attracted the attention of Matthew Gurewitsch of The Wall Street Journal, who wrote that “. . . nature and memory remain the wellsprings of creativity, creating affinities where one least expects.” In his detailed analysis of the exhibition’s six sections Gurewitsch noted that “The list of astonishments goes on,” and pointed out the constantly varying aesthetics of the works on display: “witty silk-screened stoneware. . . chocolate butter cream on an ash-glazed jar. . . silver-misted quilted silk. . . rich syrupy moss greens. . . little bottles that seem to whirl in place like dervishes.” The second exhibition, held in spring 2007, was Awakenings: Zen Figure Painting in Medieval Japan, described by its curators as “. . . a search for new ways to understand Zen communities in medieval Japan.” Awakenings reminded viewers that beyond our received Western notion of Zen as a religion characterized by baffling paradoxical statements, sudden enlightenment and sketchy ink paintings, there exists a precious corpus of images of both deities and spiritual leaders that played a key role in the sect’s early development in both China and Japan. Representations of the Buddha and bodhisattvas; Bodhidharma, the first Patriarch of Zen; Chinese and Japanese masters; and various exemplars and assimilated local deities showed visitors how figure paintings played an essential role in shaping this dynamic new religious movement. Curated by some of the country’s most respected scholars and featuring priceless loans from leading public and private collections in Japan, Europe and the United States, Awakenings continued Japan Society’s proud tradition of mounting exhibitions of an ambition and sophistication that bears comparison with the largest international art museums. Awakenings attracted widespread national and international press attention, being described by the Financial Times as “quietly spectacular” and by Holland Cotter of The New York Times as “visually transporting.” In his extensive review Cotter emphasized the exhibition’s success in correcting the received “1950s hipster notion of what ’Zen painting’ means” and presenting a “realm of medieval religious devotion that would seem to have little connection to a modern Zen of rock gardens and teapots.” Describing the show as having a “dream-state feel,” he observed that “Each image holds your attention, centers you right where you are. Even after you’ve left and your eyes have adjusted to the everyday light, you really feel you’ve been somewhere out of the ordinary. And you have.” The Gallery also enjoyed great success with its traveling exhibition, Hiroshi Sugimoto: History of History, co-organized by Japan Society and the Freer Gallery of Art & Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. History of History opened on June 3 to loud acclaim at the Institute for Contemporary Culture (ICC) at the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto. Following its run in Toronto, History of History will travel to the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. 23 2 0 0 6 – 07 P R O G R A M H I G H L I G H T S Opening Night Preview & Members’ Opening • 28 SEPTEMBER Exhibition • 2 9 S E P T E M B E R –2 1 J A N U A RY A vibrant survey featuring creative and iconoclastic works by the finest contemporary Japanese ceramic artists, this ground-breaking exhibition focused on the collection of Halsey and Alice North was curated by Joe Earle, former Matsutaro Shoriki Chair of the Department of Art of Asia, Oceania, and Africa at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and since September 2007, Japan Society’s new Vice President and Director of the Gallery. After opening in Boston in fall 2005, the greatly expanded exhibition, with many loans from leading New York collectors, debuted at Japan Society with a breathtaking kaleidoscope of colors, forms, glazes, textures and sizes that demonstrated the multifaceted character of the contemporary Japanese ceramic scene. Organized into six sections, Contemporary Clay showed sculptural works by the influential postwar generation led by Yagi Kazuo; vessels created by artists working in Japan’s ancient stoneware centers; forms inspired by natural phenomena; innovative explorations of the porcelain medium; experimental, even eccentric pieces by individualist artists; and a wideranging survey of recent ceramics from Kyoto. exhibition-related lecture programs Lectures programs for Contemporary Clay: Japanese Ceramics for the New Century were made possible by funding from the Lila WallaceReader’s Digest Endowment Fund and the Sandy Heck Lecture Fund. 1 Feasting on Ceramics: A Celebration of Nature’s Bounty & Human Creativity • 7 N O V E M B E R • See page 39 for complete program details. Contemporary Clay: Japanese Ceramics for the New Century Organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Support for this exhibition was provided by the Leadership Committee for Contemporary Clay: Japanese Ceramics for the New Century: Charles Danziger, Thomas C. Danziger and Laura B. Whitman, Diarmaid B. O’Sullivan, Karen Skurka, and Chris A. Wachenheim. Transportation assistance was provided by Japan Airlines. 1 Fragments with Gold Glaze (Kinsai no tohen) by Yamada Hikaru, 1989. Stoneware, iron, vinyl line. Collection of Halsey and Alice North. Photo by Richard P. Goodbody. 24 Japan Society Annual Report 2006–07 Exhibitions at Japan Society are made possible in part by the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Endowment Fund and the Friends of the Gallery. Installations at Japan Society Gallery are supported by a generous gift from Henry Cornell. Contemporary Japanese Ceramics: New Visions & Evolving Traditions • 3 0 N O V E M B E R • See page 39 for complete program details. Contemporary Japanese Ceramics: The Collector’s Eye • 1 3 D E C E M B E R • See page 39 for complete program details. 2 Wind (Kaze) by Kohyama Yasuhisa, 2004. Stoneware. Collection of Halsey and Alice North. Photo by Richard P. Goodbody. 3 Installation view, Contemporary Clay: Japanese Ceramics for the New Century. Foreground: A Cloud Remembered (Kumo no kioku) by Yagi Kazuo, 1959. Stoneware, on wood base. The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, U.S.A. Background: Iga-ware Faceted Flower Vase (Iga mentori hanaire) by Tsujimura Shiro, 2004. Stoneware. Collection of Halsey and Alice North. Photo by Richard P. Goodbody. 4 The Prayer (La Prière) by Matsuda Yuriko, 2004. Porcelain. Collection of Halsey and Alice North. Photo by Richard P. Goodbody. 5 Faceted Covered Vessels with Pale-blue Glaze (Seihakuji mentori futamono) by Yagi Akira, 2004. Porcelain. Collection of Halsey and Alice North. Photo by Richard P. Goodbody. 2 4 3 5 *centennial exhibition* Awakenings: Zen Figure Painting in Medieval Japan Organized by Japan Society, the Agency for Cultural Affairs of Japan and the Independent Administrative Institution National Museum of Japan (Tokyo National Museum, Kyoto National Museum, Nara National Museum and Kyushu National Museum). Awakenings was made possible by Fidelity Investments through the Fidelity Foundation. This exhibition was also generously funded by a grant from the E. Rhodes & Leona B. Carpenter Foundation. Additional funding was provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, Jack and Susy Wadsworth, The Blakemore Foundation, Chris Wachenheim, the Asian Cultural Council, the New York State Council on the Arts, the Mary Livingston Griggs and Mary Griggs Burke Foundation, the Abbot Tani Foundation, and The Cowles Charitable Trust. Additional support was provided by the Leadership Committee for Awakenings: Zen Figure Painting in Medieval Japan: Dr. Gail D. Hashimoto, Diarmaid B. O’Sullivan, Chris A. Wachenheim, and Jack and Susy Wadsworth. This exhibition was supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities. Transportation assistance was provided by Japan Airlines. Media sponsorship was provided by WNYC and LTB Media. As part of the Millennium on View program, Millennium UN Plaza is the preferred hotel partner of Japan Society’s Centennial. Exhibitions at Japan Society are also made possible in part by the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Endowment Fund and the Friends of the Gallery. Installations at Japan Society Gallery are supported by a generous gift from Henry Cornell. Opening Night Preview • 2 7 Members’ Opening • 2 8 MARCH MARCH Exhibition • 2 8 M A R C H –1 7 J U N E The first systematic introduction to the subject of medieval Zen figure painting mounted by a U.S. museum in over 30 years, Awakenings explored the origins and traditions of figure painting associated with Zen Buddhist communities of medieval Japan and introduced a contemporary shift in the way that scholars interpret Zen paintings. For the first time, the intercultural contexts and specific characters through which Zen communities 26 Japan Society Annual Report 2006–07 2 1 represented themselves were examined. Coorganized by Japan Society and the Agency for Cultural Affairs of Japan, and the Independent Administrative Institution National Museum of Japan, the exhibition featured 47 Japanese (Zen) and Chinese (Chan) painted works from the 12th to the 16th centuries and included a National Treasure and 11 Important Cultural Properties. Awakenings was co-curated by Gregory Levine, Associate Professor, Department of History of Art, University of California, Berkeley; and Yukio Lippit, Assistant Professor, Department of the History of Art and Architecture, Harvard University. Yoshiaki Shimizu, Professor of Japanese Art History, Princeton University, served as senior advisor to the exhibition. Accompanying volume published by Japan Society and distributed by Yale University Press. exhibition-related lecture programs Lectures programs for Awakenings: Zen Figure Painting in Medieval Japan were made possible by funding from the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Endowment Fund, Jack and Susy Wadsworth, and the Sandy Heck Lecture Fund. Zen Art in Historical & Comparative Context • page 39 for complete program details. 1 5 M AY • See Zen & Popular Culture: Interpretations, Reinterpretations, Misinterpretations • 1 4 J U N E See page 39 for complete program details. • 1 & 2 Bukan, Kanzan, and Jittoku by Reisai (act. mid-15th c.), Japanese, Muromachi period, 15th c. Pair of hanging scrolls, ink and colors on paper. Property of Mary Griggs Burke. Photo © Bruce Schwarz. 3 Installation view, Awakenings: Zen Figure Painting in Medieval Japan. Left: Slumbering Budai. Attributed to Muqi Fachang (Chinese, worked mid-to late 13th century). Ink on paper. Kyoto National Museum. Right: Hotei. Kano Masanobu (1434–1530). Ink and light colors on paper. The John C. Weber Collection. Photo by Steven Williams. 4 Installation view, Awakenings: Zen Figure Painting in Medieval Japan. Shakyamuni Descending the Mountain. Painter unknown, 13th century. Ink on paper. Seattle Art Museum. Photo by Steven Williams. 5 Installation view, Awakenings: Zen Figure Painting in Medieval Japan. Left: The Four Gentlemanly Accomplishments. Oguri Sokei (worked late 15th– early 16th century). Ink and light colors on paper. Kyoto National Museum. Important Cultural Property. Center: Zen Patriarchs. Attributed to Kano Motonobu (1477–1559). Ink and colors on paper. Tokyo National Museum. Important Cultural Property. Right: White-Robed Guanyin. Zhengwu (Chinese, worked 14th c.). Ink on silk. Kyoto National Museum. Important Cultural Property. Photo by Steven Williams. 3 4 5 Performing Arts This year Japan Society successfully completed a five-year matching grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation for an endowment for the Performing Arts. Awarded in 2001, the Duke Foundation grant not only made this endowment project possible, but also provided support for the 2001–06 seasons and to establish a commissioning program. This season’s world premiere by Big Dance Theater is the third commission in this series. The Society is most grateful to the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation for is exceptional generosity and to those corporations, foundations and individuals who generously contributed to this campaign. During the fall of 2006, the Performing Arts Program presented performances under two themes. From costume-play fetishisms and Lolita complexes, women have come to occupy an almost obsessive focus within Japanese culture. Girl, Girly, Girlish examined the images of girlhood and ideas of femininity in contemporary Japan with: YUBIWA Hotel’s audacious and tender dance-theater piece CANDIES: girlish hardcore; and the second installment in the Tzadik Label Music Series, New Voices from Japan II: Power of the New Japanese Woman. J-Comedy celebrated the centuries-old traditions and current trends of Japanese comedy in performance with a three-city tour of Rakugo: Japanese Traditional Comedy, featuring rakugo legend Katsura Utamaru; and Tokyo Vaudeville Show 28 Japan Society Annual Report 2006–07 Theater Company’s production of Ryoma’s Wife, Her New Husband and Her Lover by leading comic scriptwriter Koki Mitani. A staged reading of The Three Hagi Sisters by Ai Nagai, one of Japan’s most beloved women playwrights, completed both season themes. In the spring of 2007 the Performing Arts Program kicked off Japan Society’s centennial celebration with the world premiere from New York’s award-winning Big Dance Theater, The Other Here, based on the works of Japanese author Masuji Ibuse and commissioned by Japan Society. This year also marked the 10th anniversary of the Contemporary Dance Showcase, which took place at The Joyce Theater. The rest of the spring and summer programming, presented under the theme Noh~NOW!, encompassed a four-city tour of Takeshi Kawamura’s contemporary noh plays AOI/ KOMACHI; Benjamin Britten’s opera Curlew River, inspired by the noh play Sumidagawa in a production directed by Yoshi Oida; works-in-progress showings from two New York-based artists of Yukio Mishima’s Modern Noh Plays; mech[a]OUTPUT, a multimedia dance work based on the noh Dojoji from choreographer Koosil-Ja; and outdoor takigi (bonfire) style performances of classic noh and kyogen in Dag Hammarskjold Park, across the street from the Society’s building, featuring the most distinguished noh and kyogen artists in Japan today. 2 0 0 6 – 07 P R O G R A M H I G H L I G H T S performances YUBIWA Hotel in CANDIES: girlish hardcore Written & directed by Shirotama Hitsujiya 1 4 –1 6 S E P T E M B E R These performances were supported by The Saison Foundation for Japan Society’s Japanese Theater NOW initiative and the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan. The ground-breaking performance company led by Hitsujiya (recognized as one of “The World’s 100 Most Influential Japanese Women” by Newsweek Japan) weaved an imagistic journey from girlhood to old age. Tokyo Vaudeville Show Theater Company in Ryoma’s Wife, Her New Husband and Her Lover Written by Koki Mitani 5 –7 O C TO B E R 1 This award-winning play set at the dawn of the Westernization of Japan was written by one of Japan’s leading playwrights and starred popular stage and screen actor B-saku Sato and Mitsuru Hirata. Loosely inspired by real events, this cynical comedy follows the story of Oryo, the widow of Ryoma Sakamoto (the freedom-fighting samurai often called Japan’s George Washington), and her love affairs after her husband’s assassination. Rakugo: Traditional Japanese Comedy 2 & 3 NOVEMBER 2 The three-city tour of Rakugo was organized and produced by Japan Society and was supported by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan. Touring cities: Washington, DC & Portland, OR. Best described as the traditional Japanese vaudeville-entertainment of comic story-telling, rakugo presents a solo performer seated on a cushion who acts out anecdotes playing multiple characters. This program featured four routines celebrating the four seasons, including a traditional paper-cutting (kamikiri) accompanied by live shamisen music. Four rakugo stars performed in the program: Sanshotei Yumetaro, Sanshotei Charaku, Hayashiya Imamaru and the legendary Katsura Utamaru. Play Reading Series: Contemporary Japanese Plays in English Translation The Three Hagi Sisters, written by Ai Nagai & directed by Cynthia Croot 1 YUBIWA Hotel’s CANDIES: girlish hardcore. Photo © Tom DiMauro. 2 Mitsuru Hirata (left) as Matsubei, B-saku Sato (center) as Kakubei and Michiko Ameku (right) as Oryo in Tokyo Vaudeville Show Theater Company’s production of Ryoma’s Wife, Her New Husband and Her Lover. Photo © William Irwin. 13 NOVEMBER The Play Reading Series was supported, in part, by the Kinokuniya Bookstore. A comic spin on Chekhov’s classic The Three Sisters, this play challenged ideas at the foundation of feminism in Japan. Playwright Ai Nagai joined rehearsals in New York to collaborate with American artists towards the public reading. 29 1 2 3 4 1 Oni (guitar, left) and Pika (drums, right) perform as Afrirampo, part of Tzadik Label Music Series: New Voices from Japan II, Power of the New Japanese Woman. Photo © William Irwin. 2 Koosil-Ja stars in her multimedia dance performance mech[a]OUTPUT, based on the noh play Dojoji. Photo © William Irwin. 3 Michael Bennett as The Mother in Benjamin Britten’s opera Curlew River, inspired by the noh play Sumidagawa. Photo © Tom DiMauro. 4 Paul Lazar (left) and Molly Hickok (right) in the world premiere of Big Dance Theater’s The Other Here, commissioned by Japan Society. Photo © William Irwin. 5 Kanze Tetsunojo as the Ghost of Aritsune’s Daughter in Izutsu. Photo © William Irwin. 30 Japan Society Annual Report 2006–07 5 T Z A D I K L A B E L M U S I C S E R I E S : N E W VO I C E S F R O M J A PA N I I Power of the New Japanese Woman Curated by John Zorn Featuring Afrirampo, ni-hao!, Yuka Honda and Miho Hatori tion. Pulling from the short stories of Japanese novelist Masuji Ibuse and the traditional dance of Okinawa, choreographer Annie-B Parson and director Paul Lazar wove together a mélange of surreal investigation of mortality in a revelatory collision of East and West. 9 & 10 DECEMBER Presented in association with Tzadik. These performances were supported by The New York State Music Fund, established by the New York State Attorney General at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors. The second installment in the Tzadik label new music series presented four of the most cuttingedge Japanese female artists in the new music scene. The first evening featured two wild girl bands from Japan: noise-influenced guitar-drum duo Afrirampo and pop-punk-trio ni-hao!; the second night presented the two members of the nowdefunct hit band Cibo Matto, NY-based Yuka Honda and Miho Hatori, in their own new bands. 10th Annual Contemporary Dance Showcase at The Joyce Theater Pappa TARAHUMARA, Kim Itoh + The Glorious Future, Leni Basso & Noism07 1 6 –2 1 J A N U A RY These performances were supported by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan. To celebrate its 10th year, the Showcase took over on of the most prominent dance venues in NYC, The Joyce Theater, and featured the cream of the crop in Japanese contemporary dance, many of whose U.S. or NYC debuts had been produced by Japan Society over the last decade: genre-bending Pappa TARAHUMARA, postbutoh dance of Kim Itoh + Glorious Future, multimedia collages by Leni Basso, and the pure physical aestheticism of Noism07. *centennial event* W O R L D P R E M I E R E J A PA N S O C I E T Y CO M M I S S I O N Big Dance Theater in The Other Here 7–1 0 F E B R U A RY The Other Here was commissioned by Japan Society, and co-produced with Big Dance Theater. Co-commissioners for this project were the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at the University of Maryland, Dance Theater Workshop, and Works & Process at the Guggenheim. This commission and production was supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Additional support for The Other Here was provided by Association of Performing Arts Presenters Ensemble Theatre Collaborations Grant Program, a component of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation Theatre Initiative and the Asian Cultural Council. Special thanks to Amon Miyamoto and ANA, All Nippon Airways, for support of the company’s residency in Okinawa. Layered with the award-winning company’s fearless fusion of dance, music and visual design, this Japan Society commission from Big Dance Theater kicked of the Society’s centennial celebra- *centennial event* AOI/KOMACHI Contemporary theater adapted from noh Written & directed by Takeshi Kawamura 2 2 –2 4 M A R C H These performances were presented by Japan Society in partnership with The Japan Foundation. The North American tour of Takeshi Kawamura’s AOI/KOMACHI was organized by Japan Society and co-produced by Japan Society and the Committee for the North American Tour of the Contemporary Noh Theatre Series I AOI and KOMACHI, and was supported by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japan, and The Saison Foundation for Japan Society’s Japanese Theater NOW initiative. Touring cities included Washington, DC, Hanover, NH and Boston, MA. This double-bill of hallucinatory works from famed auteur Takeshi Kawamura kicked-off the season theme Noh~NOW! Reinterpreted from the classic noh plays Aoi no Ue and Sotoba Komachi these contemporary plays of poisonous love and violent vengeance featured award-winning actress and former Takarakuka idol Rei Asami and legendary butoh artist Akira Kasai. *centennial event* Curlew River 20th-century opera influenced by Sumidagawa by Benjamin Britten 1 2 –1 4 A P R I L Curlew River was a production by Rouen/HauteNormandie Opera, 2005, originally premiered at the International Festival of Lyric Art of Aix en Provence in 1998. L’Opera de Rouen/HauteNormandie is supported by the City of Rouen, the Ministere de la Culture et de la Communication/ DRAC Haute-Normandie, the Region HauteNormandie, the Conseil General de la SeineMaritime and the Conseil General de l’Eure. Based on the classic noh play Sumidagawa, the opera Curlew River was composed by British composer Benjamin Britten in 1964. This original production from Rouen/Haute-Normandie featured an international cast from the U.K., France and the U.S. Acclaimed Paris-based actor/ director Yoshi Oida directed the production with conductor David Stern. *centennial event* and The Watermill Center, HERE Artists Residency Program (HARP), LMCC, The Field, Maria Pessino, Susan Steele, Irving Benson, Naomi Bethlahmy. Two arresting plays adapted from the classic noh repertoire by the infamous Yukio Mishima were explored in this work-in-progress initiative. Director Leon Ingulsrud staged a reading of his English translation of Hanjo and New York-based company The South Wing, led by director Kameron Steele, staged a workshop production of AOI! based on Mishima’s The Lady Aoi. *centennial event* TECH EPOCH Koosil-ja in mech[a]OUTPUT Contemporary Dance inspired by Dojoji 3 1 M AY–2 J U N E These performances were made possible by Japan Society. This project was supported by The American Music Center Live Music for Dance, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and generous individual contributions. Additional support was provided by The Experimental Television Center’s Presentation Funds, supported by the New York State Council on the Arts. Award-winning New York-based multimedia artist and choreographer Koosil-ja presented a dance performance based on the noh play Dojoji. The theater was turned into an interactive game space with a jagged hanamichi (entrance path) running into the audience seats for this story of a spurned woman and her transformation, told through the juxtaposition of song, movement, live music, video and live 3-D game space. *centennial event* Noh & Kyogen in the Park Traditional Takigi Noh (outdoor bonfire noh) at Dag Hammarskjold Park 1 9 –2 1 J U LY, 2 0 07 These performances were supported by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan. Additional support was provided by The Ford Foundation. Japan Society was granted permission to use of a portion of Dag Hammerskjold Park for this program by the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. A rare opportunity to experience stellar noh and kyogen performances in the outdoor takigi noh style, this program featured Hojo, a forgotten play from the late 16th-century Taiko-noh repertoire re-staged by acclaimed artist Umewaka Rokuro; the classic noh play Izutsu performed by Tessen-kai, led by Kanze Tetsunojo; and Igui, an exuberant kyogen piece starring Nomura Mansai with his seven-year-old son Yuki. WORKS-IN-PROGRESS Yukio Mishima’s Modern Noh Plays Hanjo directed by Leon Ingulsrud AOI! (based on The Lady Aoi) directed by Kameron Steele of The South Wing 1 1 & 1 2 , 1 8 & 1 9 M AY The South Wing’s AOI! was supported by Robert Wilson RW Works, The Byrd Hoffman Foundation 31 national tours Rakugo Traditional Japanese Comedy (The Arthur M. Sackler and Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC; Portland State University, Portland, OR) Takeshi Kawamura’s AOI/KOMACHI (Kennedy Center, Washington, DC; at Boston Center for the Arts by Japan Society of Boston, Boston, MA; Hopkins Center, Hanover, NH) workshops & related events Acting Intensive with Yoshi Oida 2 5 –2 8 O C TO B E R Presented in association with Stella Adler Studio of Acting. Butoh Workshop & Audition with Akira Kasai 1 2 , 1 4 , 1 6 N OV E M B E R An Evening with Takeshi Kawamura & Richard Foreman 1 Akira Kasai (left) as Komachi and Toru Tezuka (right) as the Film Director in Takeshi Kawamura’s contemporary noh play KOMACHI, inspired by the noh play Sotoba Komachi. Photo © Tom DiMauro. 19 MARCH Co-presented with Martin E. Segal Theatre Center; the Ph.D. Program in Theatre and Continuing Education, The Graduate Center, CUNY. 2 Legendary artist Katsura Utamaru in Rakugo: Traditional Japanese Comedy. Photo © William Irwin. Noh Movement Workshop 2 1 J U LY, 2 0 07 Led by members of Tessen-kai. 1 Japan Society 2006–07 Performing Arts Programs were generously supported by The Starr Foundation; the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Endowment Fund; the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation; and the Endowment for the Performing Arts. Additional support was provided by The Globus Family, Dr. John K. Gillespie, Asahi Beer Arts Foundation, The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Inc., and the New York State Council on the Arts, a State agency. Transportation assistance was provided by ANA, All Nippon Airways. Plasma display was provided by Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. 2 32 Japan Society Annual Report 2006–07 Film Program Alongside a number of premiere screenings and exclusive film events during 2006–07, the Film Program kicked off two very exciting new annual programs: the Globus Film Series, a thematic series to commemorate The Globus Family’s generous support to the Society; and the first annual JAPAN CUTS: Festival of New Japanese Film. This year, we also successfully increased our audience by 150 percent over the previous season. In conjunction with the Performing Arts program season theme Girl, Girly, Girlish, the Film Program presented the first Globus Film Series, Lolita in Full Bloom: 1980s Irresistible Heroines in the fall, with five films rarely screened outside Japan starring the leading “girls” of film who took Japan by storm in the 1980s. To introduce these films to New York audiences, the Film Program translated one of the films, Sailor Suit and Machine Gun in its entirety and created English subtitles, as well as adapting and enhancing the subtitles for Little Girl Who Conquered Time and W’s Tragedy. In celebration of Japan Society’s centennial, the Film Program inaugurated JAPAN CUTS: Festival of New Japanese Film to showcase the wide variety of films produced in Japan today. The 11-day extravaganza in July 2007 included 18 U.S. and New York premieres of feature films, over 60 short films, a free screening for families, guest directors from Japan, Q&As, parties and many related events. The New York Times called JAPAN CUTS, “a rich and varied selection of recent Japanese films.” Continuing the Student Sponsorship Initiative started last year, enabled by support from The Globus Family, 700 special student discount tickets were made available during the festival, attracting students from all over New York City. Highlighting films with an international perspective, the Film Program hosted the New York premiere of Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles, a film by the Chinese director Zhang Yimou, working with renowned Japanese actor Ken Takakura. A preview screening of the Academy Award winner Babel, a film that takes place in the U.S., Mexico, Japan and Morocco, was also presented, introduced by director Alejandro Gonzáles Iñarritu and actors Riyako Kikuchi and Gael García Bernal. Masayuki Suo, director of Shall We Dance? and a longtime friend of the Film Program, returned to Japan Society with the international premiere of his new film I Just Didn’t Do It. In the spring, transgressive documentary director Kazuo Hara brought his first narrative film, Many Faces of Chika, to the Society for its North American premiere, followed by an intimate discussion about his new experiences in feature filmmaking. 33 2 0 0 6 – 07 P R O G R A M HIGHLIGHTS film series G LO B U S F I L M S E R I E S LOLITA IN FULL BLOOM: 1980s Irresistible Heroines 1 0 –1 9 N OV E M B E R This series was supported by The Globus Family, The Japan Foundation and the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency. Opening night’s LOLLIPOP PARTY was co-sponsored by The Globus Family and L Magazine. The Student Sponsorship Initiative was supported by The Globus Family and the Criterion Collection. A series of five popular films from the 1980s rarely screened outside Japan, featuring female pop stars known in Japan as “idols.” Presented in conjunction with the Performing Arts Program’s fall 2006 season theme Girl, Girly, Girlish. 1 FILMS Exchange Students (Nobuhiko Obayashi) Sailor Suit and Machine Gun (Shinji Somai) Typhoon Club (Shinji Somai) The Little Girl Who Conquered Time (Nobuhiko Obayashi) W’s Tragedy (Shinichiro Sawai) *centennial event* JAPAN CUTS: Festival of New Japanese Film 5 –1 5 J U LY, 2 0 07 This series was supported by The Japan Foundation, the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency, and Sapporo USA, Inc. The LAUNCH PARTY was sponsored, in part, by Suntory. The ONIGIRI PARTY was sponsored, in part, by The Globus Family. The Special Student Discount was made possible by support from The Globus Family. This annual film festival was launched as a part of the Society’s centennial celebrations. With rising demands for new domestic films and directors in Japan, JAPAN CUTS brought a sizable slice of Japan’s dynamic contemporary film culture to New York City. LONG CUTS 5 –1 5 J U LY Co-presented, in part, with New York Asian Film Festival by Subway Cinema. Eighteen U.S. and New York premieres of the best in feature films, from blockbusters, cutting-edge independent films and animation, to documentaries. FILMS Ants (Kaoru Ikeya); New York premiere Big Bang Love (Takashi Miike); U.S. premiere The Blossoming of Etsuko Kamiya (Kazuo Kuroki); U.S. premiere; introduction by playwright Masataka Matsuda 34 Japan Society Annual Report 2006–07 2 Dear Pyongyang (Yonghi Yang); New York premiere Death Note (Shusuke Kaneko); New York premiere, introduction and Q&A by the director Death Note: The Last Name (Shusuke Kaneko); New York premiere; introduction and Q&A by the director Exte: Hair Extensions (Sion Sono); U.S. premiere; introduction and Q&A by the director Faces of a Fig Tree (Kaori Momoi); U.S. premiere Freesia (Kazuyoshi Kumakiri); U.S. premiere Into a Dream (Sion Sono); U.S. premiere Kamome Diner (Naoko Ogigami); New York premiere; introduction and Q&A by the director Komaneko—The Curious Cat (Tsuneo Goda); New York premiere Matsugane Potshot Affair (Nobuhiro Yamashita); U.S. premiere Memories of Matsuko (Tetsuya Nakashima); U.S. premiere Monsieur Greenpeas (Yasuo Kurita); U.S. premiere; introduction and puppet animation demonstration by the director Nightmare Detective (Shinya Tsukamoto); New York premiere The Prisoner (Masao Adachi); U.S. premiere Sway (Miwa Nishikawa); New York premiere; introduction and Q&A by the director 1 Typhoon Club, part of the Lolita in Full Bloom: 1980s Irresistible Heroines film series. Photo © The Directors Company. 2 Sailor Suit and Machine Gun, part of the Lolita in Full Bloom: 1980s Irresistible Heroines film series. Photo © 1981 Kadokawa Herald Pictures, Inc. 3 Faces of a Fig Tree, part of JAPAN CUTS: Festival of New Japanese Film. Photo © 2006 AGORA Co., Ltd. 4 Komaneko—The Curious Cat, part of JAPAN CUTS: Festival of New Japanese Film. Photo © TYO/dwarf/KOMANEKO Film Partners. 5 Ants, part of JAPAN CUTS: Festival of New Japanese Film. Photo © Ren Universe, Inc. 6 Kamome Diner, part of JAPAN CUTS: Festival of New Japanese Film. Photo © Kamome Company Photo: Yoko Takahashi. 3 7 Death Note, part of JAPAN CUTS: Festival of New Japanese Film. Photo © 2006 “DEATH NOTE” Film Partners © 2006 Tsugumi Ohba Takeshi Obata. 4 5 6 7 35 SHORT CUTS 5 –1 5 J U LY Short films from the forefront of Japan’s emerging independent filmmakers and video artists. FILMS Digista*; 21 films Flowers of Waseda*; 5 films German + Rain* (Satoko Yokohama) Image Rings Presents Immoral Films*; 3 films JVC Tokyo Video Festival Special*; 7 films Look of Love* (Yoshiharu Ueoka) Open Art*; 14 films Strange Fruit*; 6 films Video Art Night: More than Nature (curated by Marco Antonioni) Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival Special*; 3 films 1 *Compiled by Nippon Connection, the Japanese film festival in Frankfurt, Germany. TURTLE BAY CUTS 8 J U LY Gamera the Brave (Ryuta Tasaki); NY premiere. A free family screening for the Turtle Bay community and beyond. DISCUSSION 1 2 J U LY With Miwa Nishikawa, director of Sway. Marian Masone, Film Society of Lincoln Center, moderating. 2 NY-JAPAN CUTS 1 2 J U LY Three Japan-related film screenings and a networking salon for New York and Japan-based filmmakers and industry professionals. FILMS KUSAMA: Princess of Polka Dots (Heather Lenz); introduced by the director Summer of the Serpent (Kimi Takesue); introduced by the director Shall We Sing? (Reina Higashitani); introduced by the director 3 36 Japan Society Annual Report 2006–07 special screenings Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles 24 AUGUST Co-presented with SONY Pictures Classics. Special preview screening of the film starring celebrated Japanese actor Ken Takakura, directed by one of China’s foremost directors, Zhang Yimou. Babel 2 4 O C TO B E R Co-presented with Paramount Vantage. A special preview screening of the Academy Award-winning film, introduced by director Alejandro González Iñárritu, and actors Rinko Kikuchi and Gael García Bernal. I Just Didn’t Do It 1 0 J A N U A RY 4 Sponsored by Fuji Television Network, Inc., Altamira Pictures, Inc., Toho Co., Ltd. Reception supported by Sapporo USA. The international premiere screening of Masayuki Suo’s (director of Shall We Dance) newest film, introduced by Mr. Suo and actress Asaka Seto. An Evening with Kazuo Hara & Sachiko Kobayashi 1 M AY North American premiere screening of Many Faces of Chika (Mata no hi no Chika), the first fiction feature film directed by acclaimed documentarian Kazuo Hara. Following the screening, Hara and partner Sachiko Kobayashi, screenwriter/producer of the film, discussed their filmmaking process with Ed Halter of The Village Voice. Japan Society 2006–07 Film Programs were generously supported by the Lila WallaceReader’s Digest Endowment Fund. 5 Transportation assistance was provided by All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd. 1 Marc Walkow moderates a Q&A with director Shusuke Kaneko (center), after a sold-out screening of his film Death Note during JAPAN CUTS: Festival of New Japanese Film. Photo © David Hou. 2 Monsieur Greenpeas director Yasuo Kurita demonstrates puppet animation, part of JAPAN CUTS: Festival of New Japanese Film. Photo © David Hou. 3 A crowd waits in line for tickets to one of several sold-out screenings during JAPAN CUTS: Festival of New Japanese Film. Photo © Ryo Nagasawa. 4 Ken Takakura in Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles. Photo © 2006 CTB Film Company. 5 Rinko Kikuchi in Babel. Photo © Paramount Vantage. 6 Director Masayuki Suo introduces his film I Just Didn’t Do It at the international premiere. Photo © George Hirose. 6 37 Lecture Programs From medieval Zen to the front line of robotics technology, Lecture Programs presented programs on the most vital issues and trends in Japanese culture. Highlighting the 2006–07 season was a two-day symposium, Designing the Future: Japan’s Tech Revolution, in which distinguished speakers ranging from corporate executives to leading designers from Japan and the United States explored the latest trends and future of design and technology. The event featured a keynote dialogue between Jim Wicks, Corporate Vice President of Consumer Experience Design Group, Motorola, Inc. and Shunji Yamanaka, President, Leading Edge Design Corp., on how to anticipate future needs in the design process. This program was part of TECH EPOCH, an 11-day summit showcasing Japanese technological and design innovation, including interactive demonstrations, cuttingedge robotics and innovative automotive technology. 38 Japan Society Annual Report 2006–07 Among the season’s many distinguished speakers was David Bouley, chef and owner of Bouley, who discussed his passion for sake and Japanese food at the annual sake tasting and lecture. At “Japan Now: Country Positions in Architecture,” internationally acclaimed architect Toyo Ito explained the essential concepts driving the creative process behind his past, current and future projects. Another highlight was “Meditation as Art—Art as Meditation: Thought on the Relationship of Non-Intention to the Creative Process,” where author and psychiatrist Mark Epstein explored the intersection between Zen Buddhism, meditation and the artistic process. A series of lectures related to each Japan Society Gallery exhibition addressed key intellectual themes and explored issues raised by the art that went beyond the context of the exhibitions themselves. 2 0 0 6 – 07 P R O G R A M H I G H L I G H T S symposium *centennial event* TECH EPOCH Designing the Future: Japan’s Tech Revolution 8 & 9 JUNE This program was generously supported by Toyota Motor North America, Inc. Transportation assistance was provided by Japan Airlines, Media sponsorship was provided by WNYC, and as part of the Millennium on View program, Millennium UN Plaza is the preferred hotel partner of Japan Society’s Centennial. With Hitoshi Abe, Chair, Department of Architecture, UCLA and Principal, Atelier Hitoshi Abe; Adam Balkin, Technology Reporter, NY1; Naomi Hirose, Executive Director, General Manager, Marketing & Consumer Relations Department, Tokyo Electric Power Company; Karim Lakhani, Assistant Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School; Tatsuya Matsui, Flower Robotics, Inc.; Christopher Mount, Director of Exhibitions and Public Programs, Parsons School of Design; Kohei Nishiyama, CEO and founder, Elephant Design; Naoaki Nunogaki, General Manager, Tokyo Design & Research Laboratory, Toyota Motor Corporation; Ken Okuyama, CEO, Ken Okuyama Design; Clifford Pearson, Deputy Editor in Chief, Architectural Record; Takanori Shibata, Senior Research Scientist, Ubiquitous Functions Research Group, Intelligent Systems Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology & SORST, Japan Science and Technology Agency; Tomotaka Takahashi, Principal, Robo-Garage; Nicholas Thompson, Senior Editor, Wired Magazine; Toyoyuki Uematsu, Senior Advisor in Charge of Design, Panasonic; Jim Wicks, Corporate Vice President of Consumer Experience Design Group, Motorola, Inc.; and Shunji Yamanaka, President, Leading Edge Design Corp. lecture series ARCHITECTS FORUM Japan Now: Country Positions in Architecture 1 N OV E M B E R Co-organized by the College of Architecture, Art and Planning, Cornell University. With Hiromi Hosoya, Hosoya Schaefer Architects; Toyo Ito, Toyo Ito & Associates Architects; Momoyo Kaijima, Atelier Bow-Wow; Mitsuhiro Kanada, ARUP; Taira Nishizawa, Taira Nishizawa Architects; and Sanford Kwinter, Associate Professor of Architecture, Rice University. Contemporary Clay Exhibition Talks Held in conjunction with the Japan Society Gallery exhibition Contemporary Clay: Japanese 1 Ceramics for The New Century. Lecture programs for Contemporary Clay: Japanese Ceramics for the New Century were made possible by funding from the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Endowment Fund. Additional support was provided by the Sandy Heck Lecture Fund. Feasting on Ceramics: A Celebration of Nature’s Bounty & Human Creativity Awakenings Exhibition Talks Held in conjunction with the Japan Society Gallery exhibition Awakenings: Zen Figure Painting in Medieval Japan. Lecture programs for Awakenings: Zen Figure Painting in Medieval Japan were made possible by funding from the Lila WallaceReader’s Digest Endowment Fund, Jack and Susy Wadsworth, and the Sandy Heck Lecture Fund. 7 NOVEMBER Zen Art in Historical & Comparative Context With Elizabeth Andoh, Director, A Taste of Culture culinary arts program, Tokyo; Tadashi Ono, Executive Chef, Matsuri restaurant; and Harris Salat, freelance writer. 1 5 M AY Contemporary Japanese Ceramics: New Visions & Evolving Traditions 30 NOVEMBER With Louise Cort, Curator for Ceramics, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; Joe Earle, Chair, Department of Art of Asia, Oceania, and Africa, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Halsey and Alice North, private collectors of contemporary Japanese ceramics and principal lenders to the exhibition; and Richard J. Wood, President, Japan Society. Contemporary Japanese Ceramics: The Collector’s Eye 13 DECEMBER With Victoria Chan-Palay, collector of ancient Southeast Asian art and contemporary Japanese ceramics; Beatrice Chang, Director, Dai Ichi Arts, Ltd.; Steven Korff, collector of 20th-century and contemporary Japanese and American ceramics; Joan Mirviss, Director, Joan B. Mirviss Ltd.; and Richard J. Wood, President, Japan Society. With Barbara Brennan Ford, Curator of Japanese Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Sarah E. Fraser, Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Art History, Northwestern University; Gregory Levine, Associate Professor, Japanese Art, History of Art Department, U. C. Berkeley; Yukio Lippit, Assistant Professor of Japanese Art, Department of the History of Art and Architecture, Harvard University; and Yoshiaki Shimizu, Frederick Marquand Professor of Art and Archaeology, Princeton University. Zen & Popular Culture: Interpretations, Re-interpretations, Misinterpretations 14 JUNE With Kenneth Kraft, Professor of Religion, Lehigh University; Sun Ock Lee, founder, SunMuGa Dance Company; and Helen Tworkov, President of the Board, Tricycle Foundation and founder. Tricycle: The Buddhist Review. 1 Robot creator Tomotaka Takahashi, with his robots FT and Chroino, explains his vision for the relations between humans and robots at Designing the Future: Japan’s Tech Revolution. Photo © Ken Levinson. 39 general lectures Keio University at 150: Connecting the Globe at the Speed of Light 6 SEPTEMBER With Yuichiro Anzai, President, Keio University and the Research Institute for Digital Media and Content; and Professor Hugh Patrick, R.D. Calkins Professor of International Business Emeritus, Columbia Business School, Director, Center on Japanese Economy and Business, and Co-Director, APEC Study Center, Columbia University. 1 L E C T U R E & TA S T I N G For the Love of Sake: David Bouley’s Passion 30 SEPTEMBER Co-sponsored by the Sake Export Association. With David Bouley, Chef and owner, Bouley. Cultural Preservation for the Next Generation 15 NOVEMBER Co-organized by Kyoto International Culture Foundation. With Lauren Cornell, Executive Director, Rhizome.org.; Heather Hurst, Anthropology Ph.D. candidate at Yale University and 2004 MacArthur Fellowship recipient; and Hiroshi Senju, Nihon-ga artist. 2 Meditation As Art—Art As Meditation: Thoughts on the Relationship of Non-Intention to the Creative Process 26 APRIL Co-sponsored by the Tricycle Foundation. With Mark Epstein, author and psychiatrist; Philip Glass, composer; and Roshi Pat Enkyo O’Hara, Abbot, Village Zendo. Arts and Culture Lecture Programs were made possible by funding from the Lila WallaceReader’s Digest Endowment Fund. Additional support was provided by the Sandy Heck Lecture Fund. 3 1 Jim Wicks (right), Motorola’s Corporate VP of Consumer Experience Design Group and Shunji Yamanaka, Japanese industrial designer, discuss the future of technology and design during the keynote dialogue of the symposium Designing the Future: Japan’s Tech Revolution. Photo © Julie Lemburger. 2 Keio University President Yuichiro Anzai talks about the significance and the future vision of the university’s Research Institute for Digital Media and Content at his lecture, “Keio University at 150: Connecting the Globe at the Speed of Light.” Photo © Aya Akeura. 3 Chef David Bouley speaks about his passion for sake and Japanese food ingredients that he utilizes at some of his acclaimed restaurants at “For the Love of Sake: David Bouley’s Passion.” Photo © Julie Lemburger. 40 Japan Society Annual Report 2006–07 4 4 Gregory Levine, Associate Professor, Japanese Art, History of Art Department, U. C. Berkeley, explicates notions of “zen” in his presentation at the panel discussion: “Zen Art in Historical and Comparative Context.” Left to right : Professor Levine; Yukio Lippit, Assistant Professor of Japanese Art, Department of the History of Art and Architecture, Harvard University; Sarah E. Fraser, Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Art History, Northwestern University; Yoshiaki Shimizu, Frederick Marquand Professor of Art and Archaeology, Princeton University; and Barbara Brennan Ford, Curator of Japanese Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Photo © George Hirose. Education Students participate in a gallery lesson where they respond to artwork verbally, visually and through movement activities. Photo © George Hirose. 41 Education Programs Education Programs brings Japan to the classroom and to the children of the New York metropolitan area. During 2006–07, teachers and students enhanced their knowledge about Japan through a variety of programs, including a study trip to Japan, partnerships, weekend programs for children and the education website, Journey through Japan. We led 11 prominent professors of education from across the United States on a study tour of Japan’s education system, where participants got a behind-the-scenes view of Japan’s K–12 schools and universities, exchanged ideas with educators and government officials, and visited historic sites in Kyoto, Nara and Hiroshima. Through two 30-hour comprehensive professional development courses for educators, our program helped improve teaching about Japan in K–12 schools. In “From Emaki to Manga: The Development of Japanese Literary Art & Multi-Functionalism,” participants examined the development of Japanese illustrated literary art from emaki (illustrated handscrolls) of the Heian period to modern manga (graphic novels). In “Religion in Japanese Culture & History,” educators examined the central role religion has played in the history of Japanese politics, economics, warfare and the arts, with an emphasis on how to integrate these themes into their teaching. A series of extremely popular one-day workshops informed educators on Japanese puppetry, haiku and how to use kamishibai storytelling to teach literacy, resulting in the creation of many innovative and sophisticated lessons about Japan for schools throughout the New York metropolitan area. A highly successful summer immersion program taught students to produce documentary 42 Japan Society Annual Report 2006–07 films on Japanese food, performing arts and expatriates living in New York, and a special film screening through our school partner alliance program on Japanese baseball was attended by hundreds of students. Education Programs plays an important role in providing educational outreach activities related to gallery, performing arts and policy programs. In the past year, we were particularly pleased to initiate the Responding to series, in which two groups of students study and respond to each Japan Society Gallery exhibition through gallery lessons, scholarly lectures and artists’ demonstrations, culminating in an exhibition of student work. We also saw the development of a docent corps for gallery exhibitions, as well as continuing our popular interactive gallery tours for school groups. Education Programs also ran numerous programs for students and families featuring interactive demonstrations with Japanese robots and future automobile technology. These programs were part of TECH EPOCH, an 11-day summit featuring the latest trends in Japanese technology and a highlight of the Society’s centennial celebrations. Throughout the year, we ran popular public programs for children and families to learn about and experience Japanese culture. Family program highlights this season included a New Year’s festival with games, music and other festive and educational activities, as well as a special program introducing traditional Japanese puppetry (ningyo joruri), during which children and families learned about this unique art form and participated in a performance. 2 0 0 6 – 07 P R O G R A M H I G H L I G H T S 1 K–12 educators learn about ways to incorporate Japanese kamishibai (picture-board) storytelling into their classrooms, led by Margaret Eisenstadt, storyteller and founder of Kamishibai for Kids. Photo © George Hirose. 2 Participants in the Leadership in Education Study Tour to Japan are greeted by the Dean of the Japan Professional School of Education in Tokyo. Photo © Kazuko Minamoto. programs for educators 3 0 - H O U R I N - H O U S E CO U R S E S F O R E D U C ATO R S S T U DY TO U R TO J A PA N Leadership in Education Study Tour to Japan From Emaki to Manga: The Development of Japanese Literary Art & Multi-Functionalism 6 –1 7 N O V E M B E R 2006 Leadership in Education Study Tour participants: Kristin Berman, The College of New Rochelle; Margaret Crocco, Teachers College, Columbia University; Namulundah Florence, Brooklyn College, CUNY; Sherry Gibbon, Hobart & William Smith Colleges; Olga Hubard, Teachers College, Columbia University; Dorit Kaufman, Stony Brook University; Guofang Li, Michigan State University; Janet Miller, Teachers College, Columbia University; Catherine O’Callaghan, Iona College; Sherry Schwartz, SUNY at Geneseo; and Judit Szente, University of Central Florida. 2 1 –2 5 A U G U S T In cooperation with the New York City Department of Education. With Ken Barrett, Tenafly High School; William Crow, Education Department, The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Lori, D’Amico, English teacher, Hunter College High School; Nicole FabricandPerson, Lafayette College; Barbara Ford, Curator, Department of East Asian Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Elizabeth Hammer, Education Department, The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Antonia Levi, Portland State University; Andrew Watsky, Vassar College; and Hisashi Yamada, Director, Urasenke Chanoyu Center. Religion in Japanese Culture & History 1 7 & 3 1 M A R C H , 2 1 & 2 8 A P R I L , 1 2 M AY In cooperation with the New York City Department of Education. With Kevin Carr, University of Michigan; Helen Hardacre, Harvard University; Max Moerman, Barnard College; and Janine Sawada, University of Iowa. O N E - DAY I N - H O U S E P R O G R A M S F O R E D U C ATO R S Haiku Workshop for K–12 Educators 2 1 O C TO B E R With Stanford M. Forrester, haiku poet and haiga artist. 1 Japan’s Indigenous Religion: Shinto in Annual Rituals 2 2 O C TO B E R In conjunction with the Shichigosan ceremony. With Max Moerman, Barnard College. Discover Kamishibai: A Versatile Tool in a Balanced Literacy Program 2 9 O C TO B E R In conjunction with “Exploring Japan’s Mystical Folktale Creatures & Ghosts through Kamishibai.” With Margaret Eisenstadt, storyteller and founder, Kamishibai for Kids. Japan’s Traditional Puppet Theater (Ningyo Joruri) 2 5 F E B R U A RY In conjunction with “Art Cart: Puppets Come Alive!” With J. Martin Holman, Professor, University of Missouri-Columbia. 2 43 programs for families J A PA N ’ S A N N U A L F E S T I V I T I E S Japan’s Star Festival (Tanabata): Legend & Customs 8 J U LY With Gay Merrill Gross, origami artist; and actors Mitsuteru Matsuda and Suzue Nitobe. Shichigosan (7-5-3) Ceremony 2 1 & 2 2 O C TO B E R In cooperation with the International Shinto Foundation. With members of the International Shinto Foundation. Exploring Japan’s Mystical Folktale Creatures & Ghosts through Kamishibai 2 9 O C TO B E R With Nadine Grisar, storytelling specialist, PS 217; and Aya Akeura, Press Officer, Japan Society. Japan’s New Year’s Day Celebration: Oshogatsu 1 4 J A N U A RY Featuring booths led by over 30 artists, presenters, specialists and volunteer students from Keio Academy of New York. 1 Doll Festival (Girls’ Day): Hinamatsuri 3 MARCH programs for students SUMMER IMMERSION WORKSHOP FOR HIGH *centennial event* TECH EPOCH Interactive Robot Demonstration SCHOOL STUDENTS 5 & 7 JUNE Japan Through Film With Hiroshi Hashimoto, Executive Coordinator, Corporate Communications, Toyota Motor North America, Inc.; Takanori Shibata, Senior Research Scientist, Intelligent Systems Research Institute; and Tomotaka Takahashi, Robot Creator, Robo Garage. 1 0 –1 4 & 1 7–2 2 J U LY In conjunction with Downtown Community Television Center. With Regge Life, documentary film producer/ director, and instructors from Downtown Community Television Center. O N E - DAY W O R K S H O P S F O R S T U D E N T S Exploring Haiku & Haiga: Nature Inspired Poems & Paintings 10 NOVEMBER With Stephen Addiss, University of Richmond. Meet ni-hao! 8 DECEMBER In cooperation with the Japan Society Performing Arts Program. With the band ni-hao! *centennial event* TECH EPOCH College & University Student Roundtable Discussion 5 JUNE With Hiroshi Hashimoto, Executive Coordinator, Corporate Communications, Toyota Motor North America, Inc.; Selma Sabanovic, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Takanori Shibata, Senior Research Scientist, Intelligent Systems Research Institute; and Tomotaka Takahashi, Robot Creator, Robo Garage. Kokoyakyu: High School Baseball Film Screening & Panel Discussion for High School Students Thornton Donovan School 1 2 J A N U A RY 6 F E B R U A RY In cooperation with the Japan Society Film Program. With Kenneth Eng, film director; Linda Hoaglund, Film Advisor, Japan Society; Ryohei Yamamoto, Program Officer, Lecture Programs, Japan Society; and student athletes from Keio Academy of New York. With Brian Camp, anime film critic and author; John Holt, Animation Director, Animation Collective, New York; Kazuko Minamoto, Deputy Director of Education & Family Programs, Japan Society; and Robert Fish, Director of Education & Lecture Programs, Japan Society. 44 Japan Society Annual Report 2006–07 With Keiko Sawaguchi, educator, Columbia Grammar School; Masayo Ishigure, koto performer; and Mayuki Murase, Director, New York branch of the Mataro Doll Academy. Celebrating Children’s Day in Japan (Kodomo no hi): Kamishibai Storytelling & Crafts-Making 5 M AY With Tara McGowan and Kamishibai Kidz. ART CART PROGRAMS Art Cart: Earth & Fire: Japanese Ceramics & the Art of Nature 12 NOVEMBER In cooperation with Japan Society Gallery. With Keiko Ashida, ceramics artist; and Victoria Moller, Education Associate, Japan Society. Art Cart: Puppets Come Alive! The Art of Traditional Japanese Puppet Theater: Ningyo Joruri 2 5 F E B R U A RY With J. Martin Holman, Professor, University of Missouri-Columbia. Art Cart: Sumi-e & Zen Portraiture 1 APRIL In cooperation with Japan Society Gallery. Additional support for the Art Cart for Awakenings: Zen Figure Painting in Medieval Japan was provided by the Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation. With Linda and Kate Mulhauser, sumi-e artists; Suzanne de Vegh, Program Officer, Education & Lecture Programs, Japan Society; and Victoria Moller, Education Associate, Japan Society. 1 During a two-week summer program, high school students created three short documentary films chronicling aspects of Japanese life in New York City, which were later screened at Japan Society. Photo © Kazuko Minamoto. 2 Children playing fukuwarai games, one of many traditional activities featured during Japan Society’s Oshogatsu (New Year’s Day) festival. Photo © George Hirose. 3 Families enjoy a performance of the tale of Orihime and Hikoboshi, the two star-crossed lovers whose meeting is celebrated during Japan’s annual Star Festival (Tanabata). Photo © George Hirose. 2 3 Art Cart: Chanoyu 24 JUNE With Mayuko Matsuda and members of the Mushakouji Senke Bokusuikai NY branch; and Suzanne de Vegh, Program Officer, Education & Lecture Programs, Japan Society. Awakenings: Zen Figure Painting in Medieval Japan R E S P O N D I N G TO. . . S E R I E S 2 9 M A R C H –1 7 J U N E Responding to Contemporary Clay In cooperation with Japan Society Gallery. With members of the Japan Society Docent Corps. O C TO B E R –J A N U A RY A D U LT & U N I V E R S I T Y G R O U P TO U R S special family programs Contemporary Clay: Japanese Ceramics for the New Century Big Bird in Japan 2 9 S E P T E M B E R –2 1 J A N U A RY 19 APRIL In cooperation with Japan Society Gallery. With Suzanne de Vegh, Program Officer, Education & Lecture Programs, Japan Society. In cooperation with Sony Wonder Technology Lab. With Kazuko Minamoto, Deputy Director, Education & Family Programs, Japan Society. *centennial event* TECH EPOCH Touch, Feel & Interact with Robots 10 JUNE With Corrine Doron, Program Manager, Sony Wonder Technology Lab; Hiroshi Hashimoto, Executive Coordinator, Corporate Communications, Toyota Motor North America, Inc.; Takanori Shibata, Senior Research Scientist, Intelligent Systems Research Institute; and Tomotaka Takahashi, Robot Creator, Robo Garage. gallery lessons & gallery-related programs D O C E N T TO U R S F O R A D U LT S In cooperation with Japan Society Gallery. With William Thrasher, independent curator and adjunct faculty member, Rhode Island School of Design; Keiko Ashida, ceramics artist; Suzanne de Vegh, Program Officer, Education & Lecture Programs, Japan Society; and Victoria Moller, Education Associate, Japan Society. Responding to Awakenings M A R C H –J U N E In cooperation with Japan Society Gallery. With Yoshiaki Shimizu, Frederick Marquand Professor of Art and Archaeology, Princeton University; Margo Magid, sumi-e artist; Suzanne de Vegh, Program Officer, Education & Lecture Programs, Japan Society; and Victoria Moller, Education Associate, Japan Society. Awakenings: Zen Figure Painting in Medieval Japan 2 9 M A R C H –1 7 J U N E In cooperation with Japan Society Gallery. With Suzanne de Vegh, Program Officer, Education & Lecture Programs, Japan Society. G A L L E RY L E S S O N S P R E - K– G R A D E 1 2 Education Programs were made possible by generous funding from The Freeman Foundation. These programs were supported by Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. Additional support was provided by Mr. and Mrs. Dean R. Thacker and Lesley Nan Haberman. Contemporary Clay: Japanese Ceramics for the New Century 2 9 S E P T E M B E R –2 1 J A N U A RY In cooperation with Japan Society Gallery. With Victoria Moller, Education Associate, Japan Society. Awakenings: Zen Figure Painting in Medieval Japan 2 9 M A R C H –1 7 J U N E Contemporary Clay: Japanese Ceramics for the New Century 2 9 S E P T E M B E R –2 1 J A N U A RY In cooperation with Japan Society Gallery. With Victoria Moller, Education Associate, Japan Society. In cooperation with Japan Society Gallery. With members of the Japan Society Docent Corps. 1 46 Japan Society Annual Report 2006–07 1 Ceramic bowl created by a student participant in the Responding to Contemporary Clay education program. This piece was purchased by Japan Society and now sits in the President’s office. Photo © Sheldan Collins. Toyota Language Center The Society’s Japanese language education program, which began in 1972 with just a single class, has grown into one of the largest and most respected in the nation. Today, the Toyota Language Center offers 12 comprehensive levels of Japanese, as well as a variety of specialized courses and workshops including shodo (Japanese calligraphy), ensuring that there is a Japanese class for every level of student. In addition, the Center caters to native Japanese speakers by providing three levels of English conversation (ESL) classes and a Japanese Language Teacher Training Program at the beginning and intermediate levels. C.V. Starr Library The C.V. Starr Library houses approximately 14,000 volumes, in addition to a language library and an impressive rare book collection. Its holdings include a comprehensive collection of books (primarily in English) on Japanese art, history, culture, society, politics, economics, religion and many other subjects. An ideal place for research on Japan and Japan-U.S. relations, the library has also become one of the favorite attractions of Japan Society visitors. 47 2 0 0 6 – 07 P R O G R A M H I G H L I G H T S Mini-Workshops: Learn to Read Hiragana & Katakana Japanese Language Teacher Training Follow-Up Program 21, 22 SEPTEMBER 3 O C TO B E R – 5 D E C E M B E R 2 5 , 2 6 J A N U A RY A continuation of the teacher training program, providing the skills necessary to teach Japanese at the intermediate level. 2 5 , 2 9 M AY Enables beginning students to master efficiently the reading of hiragana and katakana. JETRO Business Japanese Proficiency Test Japanese Language Courses 1 9 N OV E M B E R 25 SEPTEMBER–8 DECEMBER Twelve levels of Japanese, from beginning to advanced. Offered in cooperation with the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), this test provides a standardized means for students to assess their mastery of Japanese business language and custom. English Conversation Courses Shodo Workshops I, II, III & Advanced course 2 9 J A N U A RY– 9 A P R I L 3 0 M AY–1 0 A U G U S T 3 O C TO B E R –7 D E C E M B E R 25 SEPTEMBER–8 DECEMBER 6 F E B R U A RY–1 0 A P R I L 9 M AY–2 0 J U LY 1 M AY–1 9 J U N E 3 0 J U LY–2 9 A U G U S T 1 0 J U LY–2 8 A U G U S T This hands-on workshop introduces the techniques of shodo, a calligraphic art form that uses a brush and charcoal ink on paper, wood plaques and fabric. FThree levels of English as a Second Language (ESL) in 30- or 38-hour sessions. 1 Teacher training aide Mami Miyashita with students in the Japanese Language Teacher Training Program. Photo © Roy Mittelman. 2 Shodo students practice their work. Photo © Roy Mittelman. Kanji I, II, III 25 SEPTEMBER–8 DECEMBER 2 9 J A N U A RY– 9 A P R I L 3 1 M AY– 9 A U G U S T Designed to enable those proficient in Japanese to read Japanese newspapers with ease. Economics & Business: Advanced Reading Course I 26 SEPTEMBER–5 DECEMBER 3 0 J A N U A RY– 3 A P R I L 5 J U N E –7 A U G U S T Guides advanced language students in reading the Nihon Keizai Shimbun and the Japanese versions of Newsweek and Forbes, and also covers important business customs. Intensive Japanese Weekend Courses 1 1 , 1 2 , 1 8 & 1 9 N OV E M B E R 1 3, 4, 10 & 11 MARCH 1 6 , 1 7, 2 3 & 2 4 J U N E Total immersion for people who plan to travel or move to Japan or for students unable to attend regular weekday classes. Intensive Practical Japanese: Business & Culture 2 5 A P R I L–2 4 M AY Helps students master the fundamentals of Japanese conversation, with special emphasis on business and social occasions. Japanese Language Teacher Training Program 2 4 A P R I L–2 4 M AY Teaches essential classroom teaching skills to native and fluent speakers of Japanese who have had little or no formal training in the teaching of Japanese as a second language. 48 Japan Society Annual Report 2006–07 2