Film Review: Mifune – The Last Samurai

A celebration of the greatest actor from the Golden Age of Japanese Cinema!

Doing the rounds of this year’s film festivals and screened at this year’s British Film Institute’s London Film Festival is ‘Mifune: The Last Samurai’, a new documentary directed by the Oscar winning Director Steven Okazaki (‘Days of Waiting’, ‘Unfinished Business’), produced by Toshiaki Nakazawa (‘13 Samurai’, ‘Hara Kiri: Death of a

Japan Matsuri 2016 London

Celebrating 125 years of Friendship!

Date: Sunday 25th September

Time: 10:00 – 20:00

Venue: Trafalgar Square

Admission: Free (no tickets)

http://www.japanmatsuri.com

Interview: Sebastian Masuda – Art Director and J-Pop Culture Pioneer

Internationally-renowned artist Sebastian Masuda brings global participatory art project to London with NHK WORLD TV for Hyper Japan!

In the run up to Hyper Japan, which took place on July 15 – 17 July, internationally-renowned artist and Japanese pop culture expert Sebastian Masuda – who is art director for Kawaii International  – brought his global art project to London with NHK WORLD TV.

Time After Time Capsule is a five-year participatory artwork in which Masuda, invites people to share their love of kawaii. It has been created in collaboration with NHK WORLD TV to

Yago no Kai (Yajūrō–Shingo Company) European Tour 2016

A great introduction to an art which is still able to reach an overseas audience!

In Paris the Yago no Kai Kabuki Company’s performances took place in the Grande salle, the 300 seater theatre, at the Maison de la Culture du Japon à Paris (May 12-14).

Two other European countries are scheduled on their whistle-stop tour this May, in Switzerland at La salle Théodore Turrettini at the Bâtiment des Forces Motrices in Geneva (May 17 & 18), and in Spain Kabuki returns for the first time since 1987, after an

Event: A Fusion of Asian Culture For All The Family

In Association with Gapura Limited!

Date: 14 May 2016

Venue: Chiltern Hills Academy, Chesham, Bucks, HP5 3AD

Tickets: £2.50 (Children under 2 years FREE)

The South East Asian Community presents an  extravaganza of Asian delights that is sure to seduce your senses. There will be traditional performances, a fashion show, a kids corner, workshops and cooking demos, as well as

Music Review: No Cars – YOKO GOES TO BOLLYWOOD

The album gives people lots of smiles, and one can’t resist laughing, thinking ‘they are bonkers’!

Follow NO CARS (read Diverse Japan’s interview with the band) as they travel down the Silk Road to India; their journey is not an easy one as hunger, thirst, and vast amounts of tip-ex await them but it is certainly enjoyable. Luckily for us these intrepid travellers have recorded their adventures as infectious pop-punk melodies in the album YOKO GOES TO BOLLYWOOD.

These three Japanese girls and their Raccoon drummer have created a rather fun story in their latest album. It gives you the chance to imagine the quartet as they walk all the way to

Reel Japan Film Festival 2016

Press Release.

Real Cinema. Real Culture. Reel Japan.

Date: Bank Holiday Weekend, Sat April 30th/Sun May 1st

Tickets: Available from April 1st, £5 per film（limited to 100 seats per screening) Day ticket £15 (4 screenings), Weekend ticket £25 (8 screenings)

Venue: The Yard Theatre Unit 2A, Queen’s Yard, White Post Lane, Hackney Wick, London, E9 5EN

Hit The Road With NHK WORLD TV This Spring

Japan’s international English-language channel launches travel season

This spring NHK WORLD TV, the 24-hour international English language channel from Japan’s public service provider NHK, presents an exciting season of travel programmes offering unique insights into Japanese culture, both ancient and modern.

Kicking off this April, the season of travel programmes form part of NHK WORLD TV’s extensive resource of materials for anyone studying Japanese, planning a trip, or interested in learning more about the country in the run up to Japan’s Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Memorial Concert For Japan Earthquake & Tsunami 2016

Kakehashi Project: “The Unity Bridge Project”

11^th March 2011 was a devastating day in Japanese history. A 9.0 magnitude earthquake, the most powerful to ever be recorded in Japan, hit the country’s east coast and triggered a massive tsunami that devastated the Tōhoku region. The wave travelled 10km inland in some areas of the country, and over 15,000 people were killed by the event. To this day, Japan is still in shock about the disaster but they are determined to remain brave in the

Interview: NO CARS Talk Samosa, Cress, And The Mystery of Yoko

A tongue-in-cheek pub-rock band that merges jazz, punk and even Punjabi!

NO CARS are having the time of their lives on stage as they play their headline show at the Spice of Life in London. Dressed in brightly coloured Saris and a racoon onesie, the band is getting the audience to chant “Samosa” alongside them before they dive head first into their comic set of songs. If there’s one thing that should be taken from this performance, it’s that NO CARS know how to put on an entertaining

December 2015 Tea Tasting Event At Minamoto London

Sample some of the best high quality Japanese teas available in the UK!

Venue: Minamoto Kitchoan 44 Piccadilly, London

Date: 19th December 2015

Time: 14.00– 19.00

Admission: FREE

Review: The Newly Refurbished Toshiba Gallery At The Victoria And Albert Museum

‘Design is not for philosophy, it’s for life’ (Issey Miyake)

After the post Second World War attempt by the Allies in occupied Japan to disband the zaibatsu business conglomerates, which was partially successful, Japanese industry began setting itself strategies at regular intervals for the development and manufacture of products. Each revolved around particular group of five facets of design and manufacture – for instance a single strategic phase might involve something like:

No Cars Announce Date For Third Album Launch Party London

PRESS RELEASE – “Yoko Goes To Bollywood”

No Cars are 3 girls and a raccoon!

Date: Friday 4th December 2015
Venue: Paper Dress Vintage Bar & Boutique, London
Doors: 7.30pm / Support acts: 7.45pm / NO CARS: 9.45pm
Address: 352A Mare Street, E8 1HR
Nearest station: Hackney Central (Overground Zone 2)

Audience members are asked to dress up in the theme of India or Bollywood to participate in the 

Halloween Party 2015 With Japanese Music 18+

An evening of live music and fancy dress!

Date: Thursday 29th Oct 2015

Venue: BETHNAL GREEN WORKING MEN’S CLUB 42-44 POLLARD ROW LONDON E2 6NB

http://workersplaytime.net/CONTACTUS.html

Time: Opens 7:30pm Starts 8pm til 1am

Price: ADV £4 / DOOR´£5

‘ABU Robot Contest “Badminton Robo-Game” Battle To Be The World’s Best’

NHK World TV showcases first Robominton on 31^st October, 2015

Times: 0:10-1:00/06:10-7:00/12:10-13:00/18:10-19:00   

This summer, 18 teams from the Asia-Pacific region took part in the 14^th ABU Robocon held in the ancient city of Yogyakarta, Indonesia.  The ABU Robocon is an annual contest where university, college and polytechnic students build handmade robots to battle it out in

Film Review: Obon Brothers – A Film By Akira Osaki

A charming and heart-warming portrayal of a man down on his luck!

Akira Osaki (read interview here) has not had an easy time in the Japanese film industry. After the failure of his debut film Catchball-Ya, Osaki struggled to secure funding for a new film. Again and again his projects were dropped in the early stages, and this made him frustrated about the film industry he was working so hard to be accepted in. This anger has been translated into his latest film, Obon Brothers, a dark comedy penned by his close-friend, and

Event: Charity Kimono Culture Evening London

In support of Aid For Japan!

Date: Friday 30th October 2015

Time: 7:30pm

Venue: Richmond Old Town Hall, Whittaker Ave, Richmond TW9 1TP

Help us raise money for children orphaned by the March 2011 tsunami by enjoying an evening of Japanese kimono, food and music. The tickets are just £40 each and all proceeds go to

Film Review: Ryūzō And The Seven Henchmen (Ryūzō to Shichinin no Kobuntachi)

A fast paced and quick witted comedy!

Produced by Office Kitano and released in Japan on 25^th April 2015 the film stars the 74 year old Tatsuya Fuji as Ryūzō, whose performance is the mainstay of the film’s success, and is directed by the critically acclaimed Beat Takeshi (aka Takeshi Kitano). The film is a delightful and, in places, very funny romp into the twilight existence of a group of Yakuza headed up by the

Interview: Film Director Akira Osaki

“My films won’t all be about losers, I do want to make something different in the future!”  – Akira Osaki

Akira Osaki is an independent filmmaker whose latest production, Obon Brothers, was screened in London (represented by Third Window Films) as part of the 23rd Raindance Film Festival. Hailing from Gunma prefecture in Japan, Osaki is a humble and friendly director, who has worked predominantly as an Assistant Director. Much like the lead character in his film, Takashi Kitano , Osaki was looking for his big break in the Japanese