Catch Totto-Chan at NYICFF!
Totto-Chan screens at NYICFF! Go to the festival website at https://nyicff.org/tickets/ and enter promo code JapanCultureNYC2025 to claim your 10% discount.
Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window
Saturday, March 15 at 5:45 p.m.
SVA Theatre – 333 W. 23rd Street (between 8th and 9th Avenues)
Admission: $20
As the New York International Children’s Film Festival draws to a close, we have a special opportunity for JapanCulture•NYC readers! Together Films, an innovative marketing and sales company based in London and NYC serving the international film community, is offering a 10% discount to the screening of Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window on Saturday, March 15 at 5:45 p.m.
Go to the festival website at https://nyicff.org/tickets/ and enter promo code JapanCultureNYC2025 to claim your 10% discount.
Selected as one of NYIFF’s spotlight films, Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window is making its North American Premiere. It tells the powerful story of an imaginative girl learning to be herself even as the world around her changes. Anime NYC and Kinokuniya USA are presenting partners, and Koji Yakusho, who won Best Actor at Cannes for his role in Perfect Days, voices one of the characters!
Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window
About Totto-Chan
Director: Shinnosuke Yakuwa
Animation | 2023 | 114 min.
Recommended ages: 8+
Japanese with English subtitles
“Sit down! Stop talking. Pay attention!” School is hard enough, but little Totto-Chan just can’t seem to be still. Inquisitive by nature, she’s constantly inspired by the world around her—and in 1940s Japan, the wonders of Western modernization bring new and exciting ways to traditional Japanese life.
When her behavior proves to be too distracting to the rest of the class (according to her teachers, at least), her parents make it their mission to find the right place for her. Totto-Chan is no ordinary child, and her new school takes place in no ordinary classroom but in an old streetcar. Her classmates are equally extraordinary, each with their own abilities and ways of thinking.
With a schoolmaster who affirms rather than tamps down their joyous curiosity, Totto-Chan and her classmates flourish in an environment filled with acceptance and freedom of expression. The coming changes to Japan will make adjusting to new life even more challenging, but Totto-Chan, charming, chaotic, sometimes troublemaking, and often irrepressible, will be just fine as long as she can be herself.
Based on the best-selling memoir of famous Japanese television personality Tetsuko Kuroyanagi, Totto-Chan is a tender reminder the things that make us different are the very things that make us special.
Support JapanCulture•NYC by becoming a member! For $5 a month, you’ll help maintain the high quality of our site while we continue to showcase and promote the activities of our vibrant community. Please click here to begin your membership today!
Explore The Sacred World of Sumo
Explore the sacred world of sumo at The Public Theater
SUMO
Now through Sunday, March 30
The Public Theater – 425 Lafayette Street (at Astor Place)
Admission: $93* | $65* Side seats | $73 Public Supporters and Partners
The New York premiere of SUMO by Lisa Sanaye Dring is running now through March 30. A co-production of Ma-Yi Theater Company and La Jolla Playhouse, SUMO is directed by Obie Award winner Ralph B. Peña.
About the Play
Step into the sacred world of sumo wrestling with Dring’s mesmerizing new drama. Entrenched in an elite sumo training facility in Tokyo, six men practice, eat, love, play, and ultimately fight. Akio arrives as an angry, ambitious 18-year-old with a lot to learn. Expecting validation, dominance, and fame, and desperate to move up the ranks, he slams headlong into his fellow wrestlers. With sponsorship money at stake, their bodies on the line, and their futures at risk, the wrestlers struggle to carve themselves—and one another—into the men they dream of being. SUMO is a thrilling new play set in an elite and rarely explored world. This powerhouse drama features live taiko drumming by Shih-Wei Wu.
For performance times and to purchase tickets, please visit The Public Theater’s website. The listed ticket prices include a $10 per ticket service fee. The fee is waived for Public Theater Supporters & Partners and when purchasing at the Taub Box Office.
SUMO. Photo: Joan Marcus
Support JapanCulture•NYC by becoming a member! For $5 a month, you’ll help maintain the high quality of our site while we continue to showcase and promote the activities of our vibrant community. Please click here to begin your membership today!
Unique Wellness Experience
Kokoro Gathering – Japanese Principles of Intentional Living
Saturday, March 15 from 1:00 p.m. until 4:30 p.m.
Japan Village – 934 3rd Ave, Brooklyn
Admission: $55
Join Peatix in celebrating International Women’s Day at a unique wellness experience at Kokoro Gathering, an afternoon dedicated to nurturing your mind, heart, and spirit.
Led by four renowned Japanese wellness practitioners, this thoughtfully designed event offers more than inspiration; it provides practical techniques that integrate seamlessly into your daily routine. Each workshop focuses on actionable strategies that create meaningful change in your life, work, and home environment. In addition to the workshops, there will be light refreshments, community connection opportunities, and access to post-event resources.
To purchase tickets, please visit Peatix’s website.
Four Transformative Workshops
ZEN PRACTICES FOR MODERN LIFE with Yoko Ohashi (Brooklyn Zen Center)
Learn practical meditation techniques and experience a guided practice designed to help you incorporate mindfulness into your daily routine with simple rituals that create calm during challenging situations.
THE ART OF MINDFUL SPACE ORGANIZATION with Junko Matsushita
Unlock new strategies to reduce stress, declutter your mind, and maximize your day with valuable tips for boosting your productivity and well-being through organized spaces.
HARMONIOUS SPACE DESIGN PRINCIPLES with Ai Matsui Johnson
Understand how Feng Shui can help create harmonious environments and pick up practical tips on arrangement and placement techniques to channel optimal energy flow in your living spaces.
JAPAN'S SECRET TO A HEALTHY LIFE with Dr. Michiko Yoshifuji
In this session, Dr. Yoshifuji will delve into traditional Japanese self-care rituals, unveiling time-honored practices designed to foster a deeper connection between your body and mind.
Meet the Experts
YOKO OHASHI
A dedicated meditation advocate from Osaka, Japan, Ohashi serves as a community leader at Brooklyn Zen Center. With her background in fine arts and current studies in divinity, she offers a unique perspective on integrating mindfulness into modern life.
JUNKO MATSUSHITA
Based in New York since 2010, Matsushita specializes in organization coaching for career-driven women. Her approach blends life coaching principles with customized strategies that create harmony, efficiency, and balance by integrating Japanese mindfulness practices.
AI MATSUI JOHNSON
Founder of Ai Feng Shui Interior Consulting and author of A Little Bit of Feng Shui, Matsui Johnson combines her expertise in Feng Shui, interior design, and decluttering to create personalized, harmonious spaces that reflect and empower her clients' lives.
DR. MICHIKO YOSHIFUJI
As a Doctor of Acupuncture and owner of ROOTS Mindful Acupuncture in Midtown NYC, Dr. Yoshifuji is dedicated to providing holistic, patient-centered care that improves overall health and quality of life through traditional Japanese wellness practices.
About the Organizer
Kokoro Gathering is an exclusive event series organized by Peatix. Since 2011, Peatix has effectively connected more than 130,000 organizers worldwide through shared experiences via its user-friendly event platform. Learn more about their global community of event creators at https://peatix.com/us/about-us
Support JapanCulture•NYC by becoming a member! For $5 a month, you’ll help maintain the high quality of our site while we continue to showcase and promote the activities of our vibrant community. Please click here to begin your membership today!
NYC-Based Jazz Composer to Present Suite Honoring 3.11 Survivors
UNBREAKABLE HOPE AND RESILIENCE: A Special Concert from Japan Celebrating Stories of Humanity and Resilience
Monday, March 17 at 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.
Dizzy’s Club – 10 Columbus Circle | Global Live Stream – jazzlive.com
Admission: $45 Table Seating | $35 Bar Seating | $20 Students | $9.99 Live Stream
Experience a groundbreaking fusion of jazz and theater in UNBREAKABLE HOPE AND RESILIENCE, a deeply moving suite based on real-life interviews with survivors and volunteers of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. Created by Migiwa "Miggy" Miyajima, a New York-based award-winning composer and six-time Grammy-nominated producer, this work captures what hope and resilience look like in our real lives through the power of music and performance.
This suite brings together world-class jazz musicians from New York and accomplished actors from the city's vibrant theater scene, seamlessly connected under the Miyajima’s direction.
Selected as part of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Women’s Month, this concert is one of only three performances this March to be streamed live globally.
How to Watch
Join in person on Monday, March 17 at Dizzy’s Club in Columbus Circle or watch from anywhere in the world via the online broadcast. This is a rare opportunity to witness a performance that redefines the boundaries of jazz storytelling.
To purchase tickets, please visit jazz.org/dizzys, or to watch the global live stream, subscribe and watch at jazzlive.com.
Miggy Augmented Orchestra presents UNBREAKABLE HOPE & RESILIENCE SUITE
Composer, Conductor: Migiwa “Miggy” Miyajima
Actors: Megan Masako Haley, Ashton Muñiz, Arielle Gonzalez
Trumpets: Dan Urness, David Smith, Stuart Mack, Rachel Therrien
Trombones: Ryan Keberle, Jason Jackson, Evan Amoroso, Gina Benalcazar-Lopez
Sax/Flute/Clarinet: Ben Kono, Todd Bashore, Sam Dillon, Quinsin Nachoff, Carl Maraghi
Rhythm Section: Pete McCann, Martha Kato, Jared Beckstead-Craan, Tim Horner
Production Assistant: Joseph Herbst
To learn more about Miyajima, please visit her website.
Support JapanCulture•NYC by becoming a member! For $5 a month, you’ll help maintain the high quality of our site while we continue to showcase and promote the activities of our vibrant community. Please click here to begin your membership today!
Monday Michiru Returns to Joe’s Pub
Japanese American songstress (and the daughter of legendary jazz pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi) returns to Joe’s Pub this week for a performance. Photo by Takashi Matsuzaki
Monday Michiru
Thursday, March 6 at 7:00 p.m. (doors open at 6:00 p.m.)
Joe’s Pub – 425 Lafayette Place (at Astor Place)
Admission: $36
Japanese American songstress Monday Michiru returns to Joe's Pub presenting her unique style of original music inspired by soul, jazz, Brazilian, and other urban flavors supported by some of New York's top musicians. Joining her on stage are Misha Tsiganov, Sean Harkness, Fima Ephron, Adrian Harpham, and Sumie Kaneko.
There is a two-drink or one-food item minimum per person. To purchase tickets, please go to publictheater.org.
Photo by Takashi Matsuzaki
About Monday Michiru
Named to reflect both her Japanese and American Italian heritages, Monday Michiru started her musical endeavors with studying classical flute then expanded to singing and songwriting. The daughter of famed jazz musicians Toshiko Akiyoshi and Charlie Mariano and stepdaughter of venerable flautist Lew Tabackin, Michiru easily adapted the language of jazz heard at home into her other musical influences, which range from soul to urban club to Brazilian and more.
Her 1987 debut in Japan was not in music but as an actress, which garnered her Best New Actress awards that allowed her to expand her career by acting in movies, theater, and television, as well as hosting her own video programs and modeling for major commercial ads.
Since her solo record debut in 1991, Michiru has consistently released albums as a solo artist as well as a featured guest on international projects. Her musical style runs the gamut from house to jazz to Latin to soul, an indefinable hybrid that is undeniably hers. To learn more, please visit her website.
Support JapanCulture•NYC by becoming a member! For $5 a month, you’ll help maintain the high quality of our site while we continue to showcase and promote the activities of our vibrant community. Please click here to begin your membership today!
“Biri Gal” at Japan Society
Sayaka Kobayashi, the inspiration behind the Japanese film Flying Colors (Biri Gal / ビリギャル), will give an author talk and book signing at Japan Society on Thursday, February 27 at 7:00 p.m.
Author Talk & Signing: Meet Real-Life Biri Gal Sayaka Kobayashi
Thursday, February 27 at 7:00 p.m.
Japan Society – 333 E. 47th Street (between 1st and 2nd Avenues)
Admission: $25 | $23 Seniors, Students, and Persons with Disabilities | $20 Japan Society Members
Sayaka Kobayashi is the real-life inspiration behind the 2015 Japanese movie Flying Colors (Biri Gal / ビリギャル), which is based on her journey from a troubled middle school student on the verge of expulsion to passing one of Japan’s most difficult university entrance exams. Now, on the 10th anniversary of this beloved film, Japan Society presents Kobayashi for a talk about her life, career, writing and motivation.
Sayaka Kobayashi
About Sayaka Kobayashi
Struggling with poor academic performance throughout high school, Kobayashi dedicated herself to an intense study regimen for a year and a half, and after tremendous effort, she succeeded in securing admission to the prestigious Keio University. Her story became the best-selling book The Story of a Gal at the Bottom of her School Year who Raised her Standard Score by 40 Points in One Year and Got Accepted into Keio University, written by her dedicated tutor, Nobutaka Tsubota. This book, which has sold more than one million copies, led to Flying Colors (Biri Gal / ビリギャル).
Since her Keio success, Kobayashi earned a master’s degree in cognitive science from Columbia University in 2024, and she has recently written the book How I Fell in Love with Learning, a guide that explores the essential elements for effective learning.
To purchase tickets to this event, please visit Japan Society’s website. Our friends at Japan Society are offering JapanCultureNYC members a discount to this event! Members will receive a separate email with the code for $10 tickets. Not member of JapanCultureNYC? Join now by going to https://www.japanculture-nyc.com/membership.
How I Fell in Love with Learning by Sayaka Kobayashi
About the Book
How I Fell in Love with Learning (私はこうして勉強にハマった) was published by Sanctuary Publishing in Japan in July 2024. Sayaka Kobayashi unpacks her success story through the lens of cognitive science, drawing on insights gained at Columbia University. The book explores three essential elements for effective learning: strong motivation, the right strategies and study methods and a supportive environment that sustains the learner’s enthusiasm. By focusing on these key factors, How I Fell in Love with Learning offers a practical guide to study techniques for anyone. The book is accessible to everyone from middle school students to parents and educators, providing tools to improve academic performance alongside guidance on fostering a love of learning and confidence-building.
Autographs and Book Sales
Attendees of Japan Society’s Sayaka Kobayashi talk and signing will be able to purchase copies of How I Fell in Love with Learning at the event or bring books from home for a signing session following the author’s talk. Please note How I Fell in Love with Learning is available only in Japanese.
Support JapanCulture•NYC by becoming a member! For $5 a month, you’ll help maintain the high quality of our site while we continue to showcase and promote the activities of our vibrant community. Please click here to begin your membership today!
Charlie Chaplin’s Confidante in spotlight off-broadway
Off-Broadway play about Toraichi Kono, Charlie Chaplin’s majordomo and confidante who was arrested for espionage during World War II
My Man Kono
Now through Sunday, March 9
A.R.T./New York Mezzanine Theatre – 502 W. 53rd Street (between 10th and 11th Avenues)
Admission: $77 | $66 Seniors | $39 Students (prices include fees)
Pan Asian Repertory Theatre presents the world premiere of My Man Kono, a play by LA-based writer and producer Philip W. Chung directed by Jeff Liu, an Artistic Producer for the Ojai Playwrights Conference.
In the heyday of silent films, Japanese émigré Toraichi Kono, in pursuit of the American Dream, becomes a loyal confidante of film star Charlie Chaplin. But at the dawn of WWII, he is swept up in anti-Japanese hysteria and accused of espionage. Conlan Ledwith portrays the silent screen star with Brian Lee Huynh as his man Kono.
“It’s a fascinating and distinctively American story about a figure from our cultural history we should know better,” writes Zachary Stewart in his review of the biographical off-Broadway production on theatermania.com.
Remembering Executive Order 9066
This Wednesday, February 19 Pan Asian Rep is celebrating the AANHPI community on AANHPI Affinity Night/Day of Remembrance. The evening is in recognition of the 83rd anniversary of Executive Order 9066, President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s directive issued February 19, 1942, authorizing the forced relocation and incarceration of more than 120,000 Japanese Americans, two-thirds of whom were U.S. citizens, in remote internment camps. Pan Asian Rep is offering a special discount to theatergoers on February 19. Enter code AANHPI at checkout for $55 tickets.
To purchase tickets, please visit panasianrep.org.
Conlan Ledwith (left) as Charlie Chaplin and Brian Lee Huynh as Toraichi Kono in My Man Kono. Photo: ©Russ Rowland
Performance Schedule
Tuesdays through Saturdays at 7:00 p.m.
Saturdays and Sundays at 2:30 p.m.
The run time is approximately two hours including an intermission.
Support JapanCulture•NYC by becoming a member! For $5 a month, you’ll help maintain the high quality of our site while we continue to showcase and promote the activities of our vibrant community. Please click here to begin your membership today!
NYC-Based J-pop Cover Band to Perform
Akari Village, a J-pop cover band based in the East Village of New York City
Akari Village | Amber Balleras | Owen Chen Trio
Sunday, February 16 at 7:30 p.m. (Doors: 7:00 p.m.)
Berlin – 25 Avenue A (at E. 2nd Street)
Admission: $13.61 (including fees)
Akari Village is a J-pop cover band based in the East Village. With a playlist ranging from old ‘80s City Pop to anime theme songs to today’s hits, Akari Village will bring their energy to Berlin, NYC’s premier small music venue. They’ll be joined by Amber Balleras and Owen Chen Trio.
To purchase tickets, please visit Berlin’s website.
Akari Village
Will Okada – Vocals/Violin
Nozomi Yoshinaka – Guitar
Shiharu Yamashita – Vocals
Winston Yang – Piano
Marwan Ramen – Bass
Jacob Byrd – Drums
Follow Akari Village on Instagram.
Akari Village
Akari Village: J-Pop + Anime Live
Thursday, March 6 from 8:30 p.m. until 10:30 p.m.
The Red Pavilion – 1241 Flushing Avenue, Brooklyn
Admission: $17.28 – $64.29
Akari Village also has an upcoming performance at The Red Pavilion, an Asian neo-noir cabaret and nightclub in Bushwick, Brooklyn, in early March. Walk-ins welcome. There is a one-drink minimum per person for table service. To purchase tickets, please visit The Red Pavilion’s website.
Support JapanCulture•NYC by becoming a member! For $5 a month, you’ll help maintain the high quality of our site while we continue to showcase and promote the activities of our vibrant community. Please click here to begin your membership today!
Rakugo at Japan Village
Rakugo, a traditional Japanese storytelling art, comes to Japan Village
Discover the Art of Rakugo!
Sunday, February 16 from 1:00 p.m. until 2:00 p.m.
Japan Village – 934 3rd Avenue (2nd Floor), Brooklyn
Admission: Free
Japan Village and the English Rakugo Association present rakugo this Sunday in The Loft on the second floor.
What Is Rakugo?
Rakugo, a traditional art of Japanese storytelling with a 400-year-old history, features a lone rakugoka (storyteller) performing on a koza, a small, slightly elevated platform on a stage. Seated on a zabuton (cushion), the storyteller uses only a sensu (folding fan) and tenugui (hand towel) as props. This minimalist staging emphasizes the performer's storytelling skills.
Through quick voice changes, expressive facial expressions, and slight head turns, the rakugoka brings multiple characters to life—whether it's a hilarious comedy, a heartwarming tale, or a dramatic story. The punchline, or ochi, gives rakugo its name: “Rakugo” literally means “fallen words,” with the “fall” being the comedic twist at the end of the story that is characterized by clever wordplay.
Rakugo in English
In the 1980s, Katsura Shijaku wowed audiences in the U.S. and Canada by performing rakugo in English, gaining international recognition and helping to introduce this traditional Japanese art form to global audiences. At Japan Village, Kanariya Eisho will perform, showcasing how the English Rakugo Association uses the art form not only to share Japanese culture but also as an entertaining and creative way to help storytellers sharpen their English communication skills.
For more information about the English Rakugo Association, please visit their website.
Support JapanCulture•NYC by becoming a member! For $5 a month, you’ll help maintain the high quality of our site while we continue to showcase and promote the activities of our vibrant community. Please click here to begin your membership today!
Valentine’s Shakuhachi with Piano & Cello
Valentine’s Shakuhachi with Piano and Cello
Saturday, February 15 from 7:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m.
Saint John’s in the Village – 218 W. 11th Street
Admission: $20
Show your love for music at this post-Valentine’s Day concert. Shakuhachi Grand Master James Nyoraku Schlefer will perform with cellist Sahara von Hattenberger and Joanne Kang on piano with music by Miki Minoru, Marty Regan, Justin Jay Hines, Randall Woolf, and Schlefer himself. The one-hour concert with its distinctive combination of instruments features a wonderful variety of contemporary musical styles including minimalist, romantic, jazzy, and impressionistic.
Program
Forest Whispers by Marty Regan
Bow Down by Randall Woolf
Aki no Kyoku by Miki Minoru
Sidewalk Dances by James Nyoraku Schlefer
Original Sound by Justin Jay Hines
Please visit Eventbrite to purchase tickets. For more information about Schlefer, please visit his website.
Support JapanCulture•NYC by becoming a member! For $5 a month, you’ll help maintain the high quality of our site while we continue to showcase and promote the activities of our vibrant community. Please click here to begin your membership today!
Japan Society Pays Tribute to Legendary Filmmaker
Japan Society pays tribute to legendary filmmaker Nobuhiko Obayashi with a series featuring his “seishun eiga”
Obayashi ’80s: The Onomichi Trilogy & Kadokawa Years
Friday, February 7 through Friday, February 14, 2025
Japan Society – 333 E. 47th Street (between 1st and 2nd Avenues)
Admission: $16 | $12 Japan Society Members
Japan Society presents a tribute to Japanese director and screenwriter Nobuhiko Obayashi, whose career spanned 60 years and multiple genres. Curated by Japan Society Film Programmer Alexander Fee, Obayashi ’80s: The Onomichi Trilogy & Kadokawa Years comprises six films screened across five days.
About the Film Series
The teenage symphonies of Nobuhiko Obayashi (1938-2020) are wound in a melancholy nostalgia for a period indelibly lost to time—that inexpressible gap between adolescence and adulthood. Braiding visually expressive fantasias with striking formal experimentation and pop-art boldness, Obayashi’s idiosyncratic cinematic language produced some of Japan’s most beloved seishun eiga (youth films) in the 1980s. Captivating generations of filmgoers with his earnest portraits of young love and vanished worldviews, Obayashi’s films were further bolstered by film studio Kadokawa’s innovative tactics of popularizing dreamy pop idols such as Hiroko Yakushimaru and Tomoyo Harada.
With a career overshadowed abroad by the oddball eccentricity of his electric 1977 debut House, the 1980s would prove to be the high-water mark of Obayashi’s popularity, epitomized by his endearing Onomichi trilogy—set in the filmmaker’s hometown of Onomichi, the site of Yasujiro Ozu’s Tokyo Story. Framed in 35mm viewfinders, against wildly ingenious chroma-key composites and characterized by his unflagging optimism for the youth of Japan, Obayashi’s youth passages are caught up in the ages of transition, demonstrably attuned to the extraordinary nature of ordinary adolescence.
To purchase tickets, please visit Japan Society’s website.
Schedule
Friday, February 7
I Are You, You Am Me (Exchange Students)
7:00 p.m. | 112 min.
A playful mélange of amateur small-gauge, black-and-white, and color photography, Obayashi’s first entry in his hometown trilogy spins into a gender-swap youth film when two classmates switch bodies after a steep fall.School in the Crosshairs
9:15 p.m. | 90 min.
A psychotronic fantasy forged into a young girl’s destiny to defend the planet, School in the Crosshairs is a cosmic overload of extraterrestrial fascists, preternatural powers, and Obayashi’s uniquely adroit filmmaking abilities.
Saturday, February 8
The Little Girl Who Conquered Time
5:00 p.m. | 104 min.
Schoolgirl Kazuko begins to experience time leaps backwards and forward in time, disorienting her as she yearns to stay in the present. Obayashi’s second Onomichi film is a genuine expression of the transcendence of love—one cast across the stars for a young girl who lives in tomorrow.Lonely Heart (Miss Lonely)
8:00 p.m. | 112 min.
The final installment in Obayashi’s Onomichi trilogy is celebrating its 40th anniversary. It is a virtuosic ode to first love and the intrinsic emotions that arise with it as a young boy falls in love and encounters a mysterious girl in the viewfinder of his analog camera.
Sunday, February 9
The Island Closest to Heaven
5:00 p.m. | 103 min.
Fulfilling her late father’s dream to take her to “the island closest to heaven,” bookish teen Mari ventures solo to a paradise-laden archipelago in search of the mythic locale.School in the Crosshairs
7:15 p.m.
Thursday, February 13
His Motorbike, Her Island
7:00 p.m. | 96 min.
A nostalgia-filled reminiscence, Obayashi’s monochromatic dream playfully worships the biker culture of yesteryear, delivering a sentimental and liberating take on young love.I Are You, You Am Me (Exchange Students)
9:15 p.m. | 112 min.
Friday, February 14
The Little Girl Who Conquered Time
7:00 p.m. | 104 min.His Motorbike, Her Island
9:15 p.m. | 96 min.
About Nobuhiko Obayashi
Born in Onomichi, Hiroshima Prefecture, in 1938, Nobuhiko Obayashi’s 60-year film career began with avant-garde experimental shorts in the 1960s. Throughout the 1970, he directed highly stylized and whimsical television commercials, which allowed him to experiment with different techniques and to develop his creative flair. His mainstream films, as featured in Japan Society’s series, focused on the innocence of youth, young love, loss, and nostalgia. In his later works, Obayashi weaved social commentary, such as anti-war themes, into his storytelling.
Obayashi died of lung cancer in April 2020 at the age of 82.
Support JapanCulture•NYC by becoming a member! For $5 a month, you’ll help maintain the high quality of our site while we continue to showcase and promote the activities of our vibrant community. Please click here to begin your membership today!
Candlelight Concerts Feature Joe Hisaishi
The music of Joe Hisaishi, known for Studio Ghibli and “Beat” Takeshi film scores, is featured at two upcoming Candlelight Concerts in NYC
Candlelight: The Best of Joe Hisaishi
Thursday, February 13 at 8:30 p.m.
Wednesday, March 19 at 8:30 p.m.
St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church – 157 Montague Street, Brooklyn
Admission: $46.50 - $78.50 on February 13 | $35 - $65 on March 19
The music of Joe Hisaishi is the focus of two upcoming Candlelight Concerts. Tickets are available and can be purchased at the event site Fever. The Highline String Quartet will perform Hisaishi’s music at St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church under the gentle glow of candlelight (or electric tealights). Candlelight concerts bring the magic of a live, multi-sensory musical experience to awe-inspiring locations in New York.
About Joe Hisaishi
Born Mamoru Fujisawa in Nagano, Joe Hisaishi is the beloved, award-winning composer renowned for collaborating with Hayao Miyazaki, writing the scores for all but one of the animator’s Studio Ghibli films. He has also composed the music for several films by “Beat” Takeshi Kitano, including Hanabi and Kikujiro. The recipient of seven Japanese Academy Awards, he was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Original Score for The Boy and the Heron. In 2023, Hisaishi was bestowed the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette by the Japanese government.
Tentative Program
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind – “Kaze no Tani” (Opening Theme)
Laputa: Castle in the Sky – “Kimi wo Nosete” (Carrying You”)
My Neighbour Totoro – “Kaze no Toori Michi” (“Path of the Wind”)
My Neighbour Totoro – “Tonari no Totoro” (Main Theme)
Kiki's Delivery Service – “Umi no Mieru Machi” (“A Town with an Ocean View”)
Kiki's Delivery Service – “Tabidachi” (“Journey”)
Princess Mononoke – “Main Theme”
Spirited Away – “Inochi no Namae” (“Name of Life”)
Spirited Away – “Chihiro's Waltz”
Ponyo – “Gake no Ue no Ponyo” (“Ponyo on the Cliff”)
The Wind Rises – “A Journey (A Dream of Flight)”
Kikujiro – “Summer”
The Tale of Princess Kaguya – “When I Remember This Life”
Howl's Moving Castle – “Merry Go Round of Life”
Concert approved by Wonder City, representing Joe Hisaishi. Guests must be eight years old or older. Anyone under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult.
Support JapanCulture•NYC by becoming a member! For $5 a month, you’ll help maintain the high quality of our site while we continue to showcase and promote the activities of our vibrant community. Please click here to begin your membership today!
Miné Okubo’s Portraits at SEIZAN Gallery NYC
Miné Okubo, Untitled, 1940s from SEIZAN Gallery
Miné Okubo: Portraits
Now through Saturday, March 1
SEIZAN Gallery – 525 W. 26th Street (between 10th and 11th Avenues), Ground Floor
Admission: Free
SEIZAN Gallery is presenting Miné Okubo: Portraits, the gallery's first solo exhibition featuring work by one of the most influential Japanese American artists of the 20th Century. Until March 1, 2025, works by Okubo will be on public display, some for the first time, including eleven portraits completed in the late 1940s. Okubo achieved early success as an artist and continued to be extraordinarily prolific throughout her life until her death in 2001. She is most renowned for Citizen 13660, a groundbreaking memoir that combines visual art and narrative to record her experience living in Japanese American internment camps during World War II.
About Miné Okubo
Born in Riverside, California, in 1912, Miné Okubo was a nisei, or second-generation Japanese American. After earning an MFA in art and anthropology from the University of California, Berkeley, she was awarded the prestigious Bertha Taussig Fellowship to study in Paris under Fernand Léger. When World War II broke out, Okubo returned to the United States in 1939 on the last ship from Europe. Back in California, she contributed to mural projects under the Federal Art Project and curated exhibitions.
From 1942 to 1944, Okubo was detained at the Tanforan Relocation Center in San Bruno, California, and at the Topaz Internment Camp in Utah. While in these camps, she created more than 2,000 drawings using charcoal, watercolor, pen, and ink. During this time she taught art to others in the incarcerated population, alongside Chiura Obata and other notable artists. Published in 1946, Citizen 13660 includes nearly 200 illustrations documenting daily life in the camps. It received the American Book Award in 1984.
Miné Okubo, Untitled, 1940s from SEIZAN Gallery
Life and Work in New York City
After her release from Topaz in 1944, Okubo relocated to New York City, where she went on to have a successful career as a commercial illustrator for prestigious publications such as The New York Times, LIFE, and Fortune while continuing her painting practice. Her debut assignment was illustrating the magazine's April 1944 "Japan" issue. Portraits—especially of women and children—remained a central focus of her work. In "Personal Statement" she wrote "From the beginning, my work has been rooted in a concern for the humanities."
The eleven portraits featured in this exhibition were created in the late 1940s, just a few years after Okubo’s release from the camps. These bold, powerful works share stylistic connections with her earlier charcoal drawings from the internment period, which are also displayed in the gallery. While her camp drawings often convey the despair and trauma of the incarcerated, the later portraits—rendered in colorful pastel—capture energy, strength, and compassion. The anonymous figures exude vitality and humanity, celebrating everyday life and signal an early transition to Okubo's iconic, color-rich style.
Recognition and Legacy
Her contributions have been recognized in numerous ways. In 1965, CBS-TV featured her in the documentary Nisei: The Pride and the Shame. In 1972, her first retrospective was held at the Oakland Museum. In 1981, Okubo testified before the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (CWRIC), advocating for the inclusion of internment history in educational curricula.
Okubo’s works are now archived at the Center for Social Justice & Civil Liberties at Riverside Community College District and featured in prominent museum collections, including the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Japanese American National Museum, and the Oakland Museum. Her legacy endures in exhibitions like The View from Within curated by Karin Higa in 1992 at the Japanese American National Museum as well as on-going group exhibition Pictures of Belonging: Miki Hayakawa, Hisako Hibi, and Miné Okubo at the Smithsonian American Art Museum curated by ShiPu Wang through August 17, 2025.
SEIZAN Gallery
Located in Chelsea, SEIZAN’s hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 11:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. and Sunday and Monday by appointment. For more information, please visit SEIZAN Gallery’s website.
Support JapanCulture•NYC by becoming a member! For $5 a month, you’ll help maintain the high quality of our site while we continue to showcase and promote the activities of our vibrant community. Please click here to begin your membership today!
All-Asian American, All-Femme Cast in Shakespearean Play
All-Asian American, all-femme cast in modern-verse version of Shakespeare’s Cymbeline
Cymbeline
Friday, January 18 through Saturday, February 15, 2025
Tuesday through Friday at 7:00 p.m.
Saturdays at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.
Sundays at 3:00 p.m. (Except Saturday, January 18, which will be at 7:00 p.m.)
Classic Stage Company/Lynn F. Angelson Theater – 136 E. 13th Street (between 3rd and 4th Avenues)
Admission: $55 Premium Seating | $45 Standard Seating | $25 Students
The National Asian American Theatre Company (NAATCO), in partnership with Play on Shakespeare, presents the world premiere of Andrea Thome’s modern-verse translation of Cymbeline, a play originally written by William Shakespeare. Cymbeline features an all-Asian American, all-femme cast directed by Stephen Brown-Fried.
About Cymbeline
In a world shattered by tyranny and poisoned by misogyny, Cymbeline tells the story of a young woman's flight from despair to heroism as she rediscovers her lost siblings and brings order to a kingdom ruled by chaos. Performed by an ensemble of eleven women, Cymbeline is a story of hope and rebirth in the unlikeliest of circumstances.
The title character is portrayed by Amy Hill, a Japanese American actress whose television roles include Grandma Kim in Margaret Cho’s sitcom All-American Girl, Lourdes Chan in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, and Kumu in the reboot of Magnum P.I.
Acting alongside Hill will be Purva Bedi, Annie Fang, Anna Ishida, Narea Kang, Jennifer Lim, KK Moggie, Maria-Christina Oliveras, Julyanna Soelistyo, Sarah Suzuki, and Jeena Yi. Asian American women also play a big role behind the scenes of Cymbeline as well, with scenic design by Ant Ma, costumes by Mariko Ohigashi, lighting by Yiyuan Li, and sound design by Caroline Eng. To purchase tickets, please visit NAATCO’s website.
Amy Hill
About NAATCO
Actors Richard Eng and Mia Katigbak founded the National Asian American Theatre Company (NAATCO) in 1989 to offer more opportunities for Asian Americans in American theatre, including the actors on stage and the directors, designers, and technicians behind it. NAATCO also strives to reach their non-Asian American audiences by cultivating “an appreciation of Asian American contributions to the development of theatre arts in America.” Visit NAATCO’s website to learn more.
Support JapanCulture•NYC by becoming a member! For $5 a month, you’ll help maintain the high quality of our site while we continue to showcase and promote the activities of our vibrant community. Please click here to begin your membership today!
HARAJUKU BURLESQUE THEATRE AT JAPAN SOCIETY
Shuji Terayama's Duke Bluebeard's Castle ©Yoji Ishizawa
Duke Bluebeard’s Castle
Wednesday, January 15 at 7:30 p.m. — Followed by an opening night reception
Thursday, January 16 at 7:30 p.m. — Followed by an artist Q&A
Friday, January 17 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, January 18 at 7:30 p.m.
Japan Society – 333 E. 47th Street (between 1st and 2nd Avenues)
Admission: $48 | $36 Japan Society members
Japan Society presents the North American premiere of a new production of Duke Bluebeard’s Castle in partnership with Under the Radar, America’s premier experimental performance festival, celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.
Written by revolutionary Japanese angura (underground) theater artist and multi-hyphenate Shuji Terayama, Duke Bluebeard’s Castle is now re-envisioned by illustrious experimental theater director Kim Sujin and performed by the all-female avant-garde ensemble Project Nyx. As part of Under the Radar 2025, Duke Bluebeard’s Castle will have only four performances. The runtime is 135 minutes and will be performed in Japanese with English supertitles.
Ticketholders for performances on Thursday through Saturday will also receive complimentary, same-day admission for one person to Bunraku Backstage, on view at Japan Society Gallery through Sunday, January 19. To view the exhibition please show ticket/receipt to the Welcome Desk for free admission before the performance. PLEASE NOTE: This exhibit will not be available to the public on Wednesday, January 15. Purchase tickets at Japan Society’s website.
Shuji Terayama's Duke Bluebeard's Castle ©Yoji Ishizawa
About Duke Bluebeard’s Castle
In this new take, director Kim Sujin gives the play an entrancing and nightmarish Harajuku burlesque makeover. The 30-member company includes the all-female ensemble Project Nyx, the Gothic-Lolita cabaret music duo Kokusyoku Sumire, and the award-winning magician Syun Shibuya. This stage show further twists Terayama’s aggressively subversive play into a macabre, magic-infused Lolita fashion spectacle saturated with dark magic tricks, fiddlers and accordion players, aerial dance, and more.
Set in the backstage of a theater in Japan, the play begins with the arrival of a character, The Girl Set to Play the Seventh Wife, as a theater troupe prepares to perform a play called Duke Bluebeard’s Castle. Determined to uncover the truth behind the mysterious disappearance of her missing stagehand brother, she becomes trapped in the twists and turns of the script, which weaves metaphysical layers of the Gothic horror over top of the play, drawing into question the very nature of theater itself.
About Shuji Terayama
Throughout his career, Shuji Terayama, a legendary founding figure of Japan’s raucous avant-garde angura theater movement in the 1960s and ’70s, was repeatedly drawn to the French gothic horror Le Barbe Bleue (Bluebeard), a magic-infused folktale about a nobleman who murders his six wives. Terayama’s obsession with the story of Bluebeard’s seventh wife and the mysterious room in Bluebeard’s castle that she is forbidden to enter culminated in this late-career magnum opus script, a twisting game of cat-and-mouse that asks the question: On the theater stage, where magic and the mundane and fantasy and reality freely mix, can anyone truly determine what is truth, and what is a lie? Terayama wrote Duke Bluebeard’s Castle, nominally drawing from Bela Bartók’s famous operatic version of the French legend, and directed it for his company, Tenjo Sajiki, in 1979 at the Seibu Theater in Shibuya, Tokyo. The premiere production was titled Duke Bluebeard’s Castle – from Bartók and was billed by the company as a work full of “fashion, magic, evil, and eroticism.”
Coinciding with the performances on January 15 through 18, rarely seen artifacts of Terayama’s scripts, letters, photos, and other items from the La MaMa Archive will be displayed in Japan Society’s foyer. All items are collected from presentations of Terayama’s work at La MaMa Experimental Theater Club, including La Marie-Vision, directed by Terayama himself and performed by American actors in 1970, and Directions to Servants, by Terayama’s Tenjo Sajiki company in 1980.
Kim Sujin © Courtesy of Japan Society
About Kim Sujin
Multiple award-winning director Kim Sujin has garnered an international reputation for his experimental theater productions and is recognized as a direct inheritor of the angura movement from founders such as Juro Kara and Shuji Terayama. After graduating from Tokai University, Kim studied under director Yukio Ninagawa and was a member of the Ninagawa Studio, where he learned the basics of theater by appearing in productions such as Chikamatsu Shinju Monogatari (The Tale of Chikamatsu).
In 1978, he joined Juro Kara's company, Jokyo GekijoTheater. He received direct instruction from Ninagawa and Kara, two leading figures in the "underground small theater" scene. Kim quickly established himself through his distinct “tent theater” performances, a unique style of experiential theater inherited from Juro Kara. Kim later founded his theater company, Shinjuku Ryozanpaku, in 1987. He has been directing all of Shinjuku Ryozanpaku productions since the company's launch and is recognized for his dynamic directional skills that make full use of the tent and theater space. Since its inception, the company has travelled across the world. The company had its US debut in 1999 with Kara’s A Cry from the City of Virgins, presented at Japan Society.
Starting in 2016 and continuing over several years, Kim directed Juro Kara's major plays, including Vinyl Castle, Kara-ban Kaze no Matasaburo, Mud Mermaid, and A Cry from the City of Virgins, for the prestigious venue Theater Cocoon in Tokyo as a materialization of the late Yukio Ninagawa's wish. In 2023, he won the 57th Kinokuniya Theatre Award for Individual Achievement, and this year, Kinokuniya Theatre announced the Group Achievement Award to Kim’s Shinjuku Ryozanpaku for its 59th Award. Kim has served as the resident director of Project Nyx’s productions since its founding in 2006. He continues to direct productions around the world and is currently a visiting professor at Chonju National University in Korea.
Shuji Terayama's Duke Bluebeard's Castle ©Yoji Ishizawa
About Project Nyx
Based on the art and costumes of Akira Uno and the direction of Kim Sujin, Project Nyx was founded in 2006 by Kanna Mizushima, an actress and company member of Shinjuku Ryōzanpaku who plays the role of The Fifth Wife in Duke Bluebeard’s Castle. This all-female experimental theater unit breathes life into art that has drifted into obscurity or oblivion, ranging from timeless masterpieces to lesser-known gems, and reviving them as contemporary performances with an avant-garde spin.
Project NYX has also been recognized in Japan as a current leading interpreter of Japanese angura theater, revitalizing these works in the twenty-first century. By bringing together artists from various genres, Project NYX aims to create new entertainment that transcends the expected boundaries of theater, merging music, dance, and fine art. Since its inception, it has promoted an "exquisite entertainment theater" with a mysterious, glamorous, and avant-garde visual style, continuously expressing the beauty and strength of women. In recent years, Project Nyx has also taken on the challenge of developing "female kabuki," creating a style that blurs, crosses, and transcends preconceived gender boundaries and gender roles on and around the theater stage.
Support JapanCulture•NYC by becoming a member! For $5 a month, you’ll help maintain the high quality of our site while we continue to showcase and promote the activities of our vibrant community. Please click here to begin your membership today!
AAPI Dance Festival
Kanon Sugino among the AAPI dancers performing for the Asian American Arts Alliance’s two-day festival
A4 AAPI Dance Festival at APAP
Saturday, January 11 from 1:45 p.m. until 3:45 p.m.
Sunday, January 12 from 4:15 p.m. until 6:15 p.m.
The Ailey Citigroup Theatre – 405 W. 55th Street
General Admission: $25 | Two-Day Pass: $30
The Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company and Asian American Arts Alliance (A4) present two afternoons of thrilling AAPI dance, with performances from the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company, Jadin Wong Fellow Kanon Sugino, Jadin Wong Artist of Exceptional Merit Nikaio Bulan Sahar Thomashow (they/he) and KAŌS Dance Collective, Jadin Wong Artist of Exceptional Merit Luna Beller-Tadiar, Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company, and J CHEN PROJECT.
The AAPI Dance Festival at APAP is a part of the Dance Managers Collective Showcase. For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit A4’s website.
Day 1 Program
1:45 p.m. – TBD by Nikaio Bulan Sahar Thomashow (they/he) and KAŌS Dance Collective
“As the Roots Undo” centers around the idea that the longer you stay in a new place, the more you distance yourself from the version of you that existed before. The original piece is meant to be a snapshot depicting the feeling of living through each seemingly identical day, understanding the necessity of adaptation in order to survive. The dancers see that they’re not alone and find strength in collective perseverance.
2:00 p.m. – “Mirage no Wana” by Kanon Sugino
This work is an exploration of Japanese culture, heritage, language, societal norms, body image, and mental health, portraying the multidimensionality of the culture and its people. Amidst the richness and beauty of Japan is a concealed toxic and self-deprecating culture.
Dancers: Manatsu Aminaga, Kira Shiina, and Kanon Sugino
2:15 p.m. – “Leaving Pusan” by Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company
“Leaving Pusan” tells the story of Dana Tai Soon Burgess’s great grandmother’s emotional and physical departure from Korea in 1903. She voyaged to Oahu, Hawai'i, on the Gaelic, the first steamship that delivered Koreans to work on the sugar cane and pineapple plantations, and worked on the Del Monte plantation her entire life.
2:45 p.m. – “AAPI HEROES” (Excerpt) by J CHEN PROJECT
“AAPI HEROES” entertains and pays homage to the vibrant legacy of Asian American history. We follow our young explorer, Kai, on a captivating journey across time to discover iconic Asian American figures such as Anna May Wong, Hollywood’s first Chinese American star, and Bruce Lee, a legend in martial arts and philosophy. It also brings to life the mythic NuWa, Goddess of Creation, and the global K-POP phenomenon.
Dancers: Chieh Hsiung, Sumire Ishige, Maya Lam, and Carl Ponce Cubero
3:15 p.m. – Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company
Experience the artistry of Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company, celebrated for its authentic and diverse programs that spotlight AAPI dance and foster cross-cultural collaboration. This dynamic performance highlights the Company’s innovative approach to blending tradition with modernity:
“Lion in the City”
A thrilling reimagining of the beloved Lion Dance, celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Hip-Hop. Nai-Ni Chen’s collaboration with Rokafella and Kwikstep unites Chinese movement with urban dance in a joyous prayer for peace.“Tiger and Water Lilies”
Grace and power converge in this BalletMet commission, blending Asian traditions with contemporary ballet as dancers portray the duality of motion versus stillness.“Carousel”
Step into a dreamlike world inspired by European carousels and equestrian elegance, filled with whimsy and vibrant characters.“Unfolding”
A poetic collaboration with Korea’s Hanulsori troupe, inspired by shared cultural heritage and the timeless principles of Yin and Yang.
Day 2 Program
4:15 p.m. – “All the Pretty Visitors” by Nikaio Bulan Sahar Thomashow and KAŌS Dance Collective
In “All the Pretty Visitors,” we question: How are we the visitors – when our souls are tied to this land? Why must we be forced into shadows and shame – when our rejoice is just as sacred? We, the Aswang, dance in celebration and defiance – dance the dances of those we’ve devoured.
4:30 p.m. – “Mercury” by Luna Beller-Tadiar
In “Mercury,” a mercurial body becomes a substrate, a platform for shifting codes of use, uncannily animated by unseen forces. Undeniably live, yet, to a modern/colonial viewer, not quite human, this figure plies the continuities between brown colonized bodies, robots, NPCs, and AI. Inspired in part by “invisibilized” Filipino service labor, in this piece social worlds erupt into the nowhere, non-space of the virtual, making sensible the ghost in the machine.
4:45 p.m. – “Leaving Pusan” by Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company
5:15 p.m. – “AAPI HEROES” (Excerpt) by J CHEN PROJECT
5:45 p.m. – Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company
Support JapanCulture•NYC by becoming a member! For $5 a month, you’ll help maintain the high quality of our site while we continue to showcase and promote the activities of our vibrant community. Please click here to begin your membership today!
Japanese Jazz Pianist to Perform in NYC
Japanese jazz pianist Miho Nobuzane performs at Klavierhaus in New York City as part of the series From Tokyo to Times Square by Decibel
From Tokyo to Times Square: Miho Nobuzane
Tuesday, January 7 at 7:00 p.m.*
Klavierhaus – 790 11th Avenue (between 54th and 55th Streets)
Admission: $30 in advance | $35 at the door | $15 Students
Don’t miss an unforgettable evening with pianist Miho Nobuzane, a versatile musician whose captivating performances blend jazz, Brazilian rhythms, and dynamic improvisations. This concert is part of the Japanese jazz piano series From Tokyo to Times Square by Decibel, a nonprofit dedicated to live music, and celebrates the rich musical and cultural connections between Japan and New York.
For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit Decibel’s website at decibelpresents.com.
About Miho Nobuzane
Born in Osaka, Japan, Miho Nobuzane began her piano journey at the age of four. After studying classical piano, she discovered her passion for jazz and Brazilian music, which led her to New York City, where she quickly became a distinguished figure in the Brazilian jazz scene.
Nobuzane has collaborated with legendary musicians including Bernard Purdie, Martha Reeves & the Vandellas, Bakithi Kumalo, Filo Machado, Paula Lima, Nanny Assis, Lincoln Goines, and many more. She has performed at iconic venues like Blue Note NY, Iridium NY, Long Beach Jazz Festival, as well as in Brazil, Hawaii, and Japan.
Miho’s three albums — Make You Happy, Simple Words ~Jazz loves Brazil, and Anata Ni Deaeta — showcase her incredible talent as both a composer and performer.
About From Tokyo to Times Square
From Tokyo to Times Square is a unique concert series featuring top Japanese jazz pianists performing live in New York City. The series, which began in November 2024, spans seven months, with one pianist performing each month, showcasing the talent and creativity of Japan's jazz scene. Kyoko Oyobe and Yayoi Ikawa performed in November and December, respectively, and the series continues until May.
Upcoming Performances
All set times are at 7:00 p.m.*
Miki Hayama – February 4
Eri Yamamoto – March 4
Martha Kato – April 1
Rina Yamazaki – May 27
*The original post of this event stated that there is also a set at 8:30 p.m., but there is not. The only performances will be at 7:00 p.m. JapanCulture•NYC regrets the error.
Support JapanCulture•NYC by becoming a member! For $5 a month, you’ll help maintain the high quality of our site while we continue to showcase and promote the activities of our vibrant community. Please click here to begin your membership today!
Vintage Kimono Sale at Kaede Kimonos
Kaede Kimonos Holiday Kimono Sale
Saturday, December 21 from 9:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m.
Kaede Kimonos – 224 W. 35th Street (between 7th and 8th Avenues), Suite 1406
Visit Kaede Kimonos for their last vintage kimono sale of the year and enjoy discounts of 30% to 50% off their inventory. Get a sneak peek at their 2025 kimono collection as well.
Free Japanese snacks for the first 10 customers!
The event is free to enter, but if you print your Eventbrite ticket, you have a chance to win a kimono. To register, please visit the Kaede Kimonos Eventbrite page.
For customers who are unable to attend in person but are interested in the sale, contact Kaede Kimonos (347-450-5692 or DM on Instagram). The staff will FaceTime or Skype with customers to help them shop.
Support JapanCulture•NYC by becoming a member! For $5 a month, you’ll help maintain the high quality of our site while we continue to showcase and promote the activities of our vibrant community. Please click here to begin your membership today!
JapanCulture•NYC’s Holiday Gift Guide
Reported and compiled by JapanCulture•NYC’s Fashion Editor Jen Green
JapanCulture•NYC’s 2024 Holiday Gift Guide is here with a round-up of all-Japanese holiday markets or pop-up shopping events this December. This curated list will help you find that special gift while supporting local businesses or vendors in a one-stop-shopping situation.
Image credit: Bin Bin Sake
Bin Bin Sake Holiday Market
29 Norman Avenue, Brooklyn
Sunday, December 8 from 11:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.
The first market this season is Bin Bin Sake’s third annual holiday market this Sunday, December 8. Holiday gifts, Japanese crafts, and delicious treats by local artists and vendors will be available for sale. There’s four six for’s jewelry, home goods like Wuhao’s tenugui and Towka’s candles, and art prints from illustrator Megan Troung, plus much more. For the foodies on your shopping list, there are some tasty gifts such as MiMAKi’s premium umeboshi sour pickled plums and fresh onigiri from HIBINO day by day.
For a full list of vendors, please see Bin Bin’s Instagram post here. In addition, there will be bottle engraving and Bin Bin merchandise, perfect for that sake lover in your life. As you shop, be sure to participate in the free sake tasting!
Image and photo credit: Niji
Niji Holiday Market
Japan Village – 934 3rd Avenue, Brooklyn (2nd floor)
Saturday, December 14 and Sunday, December 15 from Noon until 6:00 p.m.
Niji Japanese makers market is back at Japan Village for their holiday shopping event. Explore unique creations from more than 20 Japanese craft vendors for the ultimate gifts this season. Jewelry offerings range from Pucci Ropa’s handmade metal pieces to Rockin’ Wasabi’s origami jewelry and chocolateclayyy’s sculpted earrings. For home goods gifts, vendors such as HANATURAL will be selling handmade Japanese-inspired soaps along with pottery by some local potters like Namiko Kato and Hiroko Yokotagawa. Kawaii-style gifts will be available from HikariwoSagasu, Boy Oh Boy Co., and Tharaphy NY. For a full list of vendors, please see Niji’s Instagram post here.
A Night with the Makers: Holiday Edition
The Makers Guild – 51 35th Street, Brooklyn (2nd floor)
Saturday, December 7, Saturday, December 14, and Saturday, December 21 from 4:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m.
The Makers Guild is hosting a holiday shopping series every Saturday until Christmas. It’s not just shopping; it’s an experience with live music, complimentary drinks, tastings, gift guides, and other activities. Of the participating shops, four of them are Japanese women-owned businesses that you need to be sure to check out:
Logo and right photo from n+a; bottom right photo by Jen Green
n+a jewelry was established in 2007 by Japanese sisters Noriko and Akiko Sugawara from Yokohama, Japan. Pulling inspiration from both the city and nature, while combining it their unique perspectives and Japanese sensibilities, the sisters create original and timeless designs.
Logo and left photo from Tadaima; right photo by Jen Green
Tadiama bakery has been a staple at The Makers Guild with a fan following and long lines for their delicious baked goods and intricate, beautifully garnished beverages. But it’s more than a bakery; it’s a quaint Japanese gift shop, too. With items like candles, stationery, and home décor that owner, Ayaka Ando, sources on her trips back home to Japan, you can pick up a gift for someone while you treat yourself to one of those coveted Tadiama pastries.
On December 14 Tadiama is hosting a fine coffee pop-up featuring 95RPM Coffee Roaster, serving hand-brewed coffee from this Brooklyn based micro-roaster.
Photo from IPPIN PROJECT’s website
IPPIN PROJECT is collective of Japanese artisans’ products that are handcrafted using traditional Japanese techniques to create high quality designs. The products they carry are not mass-produced in Japan; they are made from limited materials by skilled artisans. IPPIN PROJECT also produces custom-made furniture using traditional Japanese materials with a contemporary twist. From pottery to kitchenware and home decor to jewelry, IPPIN PROJECT offers many options for the ultimate gift.
Photo from Kajiha’s website
KAJIHA’s owner Sonoko Kaneko uses natural resources to create botanical arrangements, objects, preserves, and natural-scent products in her Brooklyn studio, which is connected to IPPIN PROJECT.
Outside the hours of A Night with the Makers, KAJIHA also offers workshops where you can create your own unique gift. Spots are limited as the workshops are done in small groups for one-on-one attention with the instructor. Please check out the schedule here and consider giving a gift you’ve made yourself.
Graphic by TEN TEN
TEN TEN NYC Presents: Kawaii Holiday
Ideal Glass Studios – 9 West 8th Street, New York
Saturday, December 14 and Sunday, December 15
Ticketed time slots: December 14 at 1:00 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.; December 15 at 10:00 a.m.
TEN TEN NYC is hosting THE kawaii event of the holiday season in NYC, and it’s so much more than a holiday market. Join them for a two-day celebration of Japanese “kawaii” culture that includes music, art, performance, workshops, and a market of local vendors. Immersive installations by local artists offer the perfect backdrop while the kawaii fashion challenge is a great chance to show off your festive kawaii holiday looks.
Sebastian Masuda, Godfather of Kawaii, is hosting a workshop on Saturday, December 14 as well as bringing items from his iconic Harajuku shop 6%DOKIDOKI for their first NYC pop-up! Saturday’s workshop is your chance to make a custom 12-inch teddy bear with decora materials provided by Sebastian Masuda Studio Tokyo. Tickets to this limited-seat experience also include VIP perks such as a lecture by Masuda and a photoshoot opportunity.
Other artists and designers participating in the market are Breanna Watson with various accessories featuring her illustrations, Harrison Scott with his iconic bags, Shampooty with one-of-a-kind collectibles that evoke childhood nostalgia in a cheeky way, and many more!
Come out to this Kawaii Holiday Wonderland to get festively creative, have fun, and get some shopping done.
But Wait, There’s More . . .
In addition to these holiday markets, here are two more opportunities to secure a Japanese gift this season at these month-long shopping events:
Photo credit: CIBONE’s Instagram
YAMMA Holiday POP UP
CIBONE 50 Norman Avenue, Brooklyn
Now through Sunday, January 5, 2025
Every day from 11:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. (Closed every third Tuesday)
Curated by YAMMA brand director Nana Yamasaki and hosted at CIBONE in Greenpoint, this holiday pop-up features brands Yammakko, HARAPPA, Yammaman. Known for genderless and timeless pieces made from traditional Japanese cotton Aizu Momen, YAMMA brand’s styles boast clean lines and colorful combinations. Aizu Momen is durable cotton made by using a traditional craft techniques that have been preserved in old Aizu region in Fukushima Prefecture.
Image credit: Niji’s Instagram
Niji Japanese Seasonal Shop
Tangram Flushing 133-33 39th Avenue, Flushing
Saturdays and Sundays in December from Noon until 6:00 p.m.
A second Niji market is set up all month long at Tangram in Flushing, Queens. Items range from fresh fruit from Japan to accessories, pottery, soaps, stickers, and more! HANATURAL will also sell their handmade Japanese-inspired soaps here. Bun’s Blooms brings her joyous art to stickers and keychains.
Heartfish Press is selling festive wreaths and hosting a workshop on Sunday, December 22. Here is another opportunity to create a thoughtful handmade gift that the recipient will cherish. For more details and to register in advance, please check out Niji’s website.
Support JapanCulture•NYC by becoming a member! For $5 a month, you’ll help maintain the high quality of our site while we continue to showcase and promote the activities of our vibrant community. Please click here to begin your membership today!
TSUMUGU to Screen at Dances with Films
Tsumugu: Spinning the Thread of Life
Thursday, December 5 at 6:00 p.m.
Regal Union Square – 850 Broadway at 13th Street
Admission: $20
A Japanese manga artist and a survivor of childhood trauma shares profound insights from her personal journey, revealing the importance of nourishing both body and spirit. She emphasizes the value of eating well and continuing to pursue your passions, even when facing hardships. These practices, she shows, are essential to sustaining life.
In Tsumugu: Spinning the Thread of Life, Japanese filmmaker Toko Shiiki tells the story of Masami Taira, who was abandoned by her mother and abused by her stepmother at a young age. Her debut manga, Kuroido Ganka, was published by Kodansha in 1998, and although she doesn’t have current commissions for manga, she continues to draw every day.
Tsumugu: Spinning the Thread of Life, is a ten-minute documentary screening as part of the Dances with Films festival at Regal Union Square from Thursday, December 5 through Sunday, December 8. Please note: The film is the fourth of four documentaries in the Doc Shorts Blk 2. To purchase tickets, please visit DWF’s website.