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An Online Newsletter Showcasing Our Programs for the Month of April 2026! |
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Welcome to the start of our new fiscal year. This April, we invite you to explore a fresh lineup of exhibitions, workshops, and digital releases. Immerse yourself in the Buddhist and spirit worlds through our current exhibitions. Manifesting Icons remains on view through early June, while Guardians of Beringia concludes its run shortly. Visit us soon to experience these unique spiritual landscapes before they close. This month, we debut Same Body, Different Presence, a workshop led by Yuri Yamamura. Drawing on her experience with the Takarazuka Revue and her family’s 200-year legacy in Nihon Buyo, Yamamura guides participants through the postures and vocal expressions of samurai leaders to demonstrate how physical form shapes presence. No prior experience is required, and all backgrounds are welcome. We are also proud to host a book launch for the bestseller Sakura, marking the English-language debut of author Kanako Nishi. Join Nishi and translator Allison Markin Powell in a conversation moderated by Yuki Tejima. The evening will feature a bilingual reading and a discussion on the process of translation and the rise of East Asian fiction by women writers. Our digital streaming service continues to grow with the addition of three new films this month. Members can access these latest titles immediately through JFF Online! One quick note: We've noticed that Google Maps has been incorrectly marking our location. Please make sure your search directs you to Mid-Wilshire, between Masselin and S Curson Ave. The entrance is located on Courtyard Place. You can find a map and street view of our building below for easy reference.
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WORKSHOP
This workshop explores how the presence of the same person can shift through one's way of being through Japanese performing arts. Drawing on her experience performing male roles in the Takarazuka Revue and her background in a family of Nihon Buyo artists with over 220 years of history, Yuri Yamamura guides participants through movements. In the first half, participants practice posture, walking, and vocal expression inspired by historical samurai leaders, experiencing how physical form and intention shape presence. In the second half, without changing the body or the kimono itself, Yamamura demonstrates how a shift of the obi can transform one’s presence. Participants are then introduced to the refined movements of traditional Japanese dance. *No prior experience is required. Participants of all backgrounds are welcome. Special thanks to Mito Kamata for the coordination. |
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ENGLISH BOOK LAUNCH CELEBRATION Celebrate the long-awaited English-language debut of Kanako Nishi with the publication of her novel, SAKURA. Kanako and her translator Allison Markin Powell will be in conversation with Yuki Tejima, who also translates and writes the blog BookNerdTokyo. The event will include a bilingual reading and discussion of contemporary Japanese literature, what it takes to bring a book into translation, and the recent influx of East Asian fiction by women writers. |
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ART EXHIBITION Buddhist sutras explain that donating to projects like paintings and sculptures was a way for Buddhist devotees to accumulate good karma for themselves and their loved ones. Through this, they could be reassured of a good rebirth in a Buddhist paradise. This exhibition emphasizes the production of Buddhist visual culture across Asia and situates Japan’s Buddhist art within that context. By displaying Buddhist sculptures and paintings alongside the materials and tools that would have been used to create them, we show that Buddhist art is the result of skilled labor and quality materials. |
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ART EXHIBITION “KAMI KAMUY” presents an immersive synthesis of sculpture and sound that explores the spiritual convergences spanning the Pacific Rim. In this transpacific dialogue, Visual Anthropologist and artist Dr. Luis Garza (Lou Garza) visually articulates the syncretism between the Ainu concept of Kamuy (nature spirits), the Shinto worship of Kami (deities), and the Mesoamerican notion of Nawal (spiritual force). The exhibition posits that these ancestral cosmogonies are not archaic vestiges, but vital philosophies essential to reimagining our contemporary relationship with the environment. Moving beyond static display, the exhibition fosters a participatory environment designed to re-engage the observer with these nature-centric worldviews. Through the medium of clay and sound, the work reveals that for nomadic and sedentary societies—from the Ainu of Japan to the Tzeltal of Mexico—the boundaries between human and non-human were fluid. Nature was perceived as a community of mythic protagonists intimately woven into human daily life. Dr. Garza’s art manifests the latent continuity of this Proto-Asiatic lineage embedded in our cultural memory, inviting the audience to feel the enduring relevance of these animistic frameworks. |
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ANNOUNCEMENT The long-awaited results of the 2024 Survey on Japanese-Language Education Abroad have now been published on the Japan Foundation website. An English-language version of the report is expected to be released shortly; in the meantime, readers are invited to consult the Japanese edition available below. The report provides a comprehensive overview of the current global landscape of Japanese-language education, including recent enrollment trends, key developments, and related insights. |
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ON DEMAND Starting April 2, three new films will be available for streaming on JFF Theater as part of its monthly lineup update. The April additions include “Sagrada Reset Part 1” (2017) and “Sagrada Reset Part 2” (2017), both directed by Fukagawa Yoshihiro and starring Nomura Shuhei, Kuroshima Yuina, and Taira Yuna, as well as the documentary “Tsukiji Wonderland” (2016) directed by Endo Naotaro. In addition to these new titles, the nine films currently available will remain streaming for a limited time. The April lineup will be available from April 2 at 11:00 AM (JST) through July 2, 2026 at 11:00 AM (JST). |
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Keisho Nihongo Support Programs Applications are now open for the 2026–27 Japanese Heritage Language (JHL) Support Program. Two types of support are available:
In previous years, the application period ran from September through January of the following year. Beginning in 2026, however, the application window will open in April. 2026–27 Application Period: April 1, 2026 – January 31, 2027 This revised timeline is intended to accommodate a broader range of JHL events and to provide schools with greater flexibility in integrating donated materials into their curricula. JHL schools and programs interested in applying for event support or book donations are encouraged to visit the following pages for more information: (Japanese): https://www.jflalc.org/jle-keishonihongo-programsj If you have any questions, please send inquiries to (jared_mcclellan@jpf.go.jp).
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General Invitation to Join JF USA Digital Library We recently renewed and added many new books in coordination with our New York and Toronto offices for our patrons in the US and Canada. There have also been an uptick in the number of applicants as well, which shows that this is a very popular service. We have also updated the application survey and the confirmation emails are still going out once a week on Wednesdays by 6:00PM pacific time. If you register and do not receive a welcome email from us within a Wednesday of registering, please contact us so we can help you out. |
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2026-2027 Japanese Language Grants Now Available! Grant for Nationwide/Statewide/Region-wide Events for Learners Japanese Language Learners Event Grant Grant for Nationwide/Statewide/Region-wide Projects for Teachers Japanese-Language Education Project Grant Grants for Individual Japanese Language Programs Salary Assistance Grant for Japanese-Language Courses Japanese Teaching Material Purchase Grant Advocacy Support Letter If your Japanese language program is in danger of being cut due to COVID-19, we will send a support letter to stakeholders (Superintendent, Principal, Dean, etc.). Click Here to contact us and select Anything Related to Japanese Education. |
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Japanese Language Education Update 147
We would like to thank all the teachers and teachers associations who helped us in identifying candidates for our teacher training program for non-native teachers of Japanese in the US. Thanks to your support, we were able to fill up all the available seats for this special trip and then some. Make sure you check future issues of our newsletter to read about the trip this summer as we will be posting news about it on our social media channels. It was also good to see everyone in Vancouver, BC, last month for the annual AAS conference and spring conference of AATJ. Our New York office organized the Japan Foundation Reception at AAS and we enjoyed meeting colleagues in the fields of Japanese studies. For those interested in our salary assistant grant and teaching material purchase grant (1st deadline), make sure to apply by April 10. You can find the application materials above as well as the results from our 2024 Japanese language education survey abroad (Japanese Only). |
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5700 Wilshire blvd, Suite 100
Los Angeles, CA 90036
jflainfo@jpf.go.jp
323.761.7510
