The Japan Cultural Institute in Paris：Celebrating Tenth Anniversary in 2007

The Japan Cultural Institute in Paris

The "Cubism in Asia" exhibition, which closed on July 7, attracted some 3,000 visitors. Thanks to coverage by various local media on the Internet and on television, many visitors from Asia and elsewhere who had never been to the Institute before attended this exhibition. Meanwhile the Seijun Suzuki film retrospective, which ended on June 30, drew 2,600 viewers. Undeterred by the fact that most of the prints offered only English subtitles, devoted fans of Suzuki's work came to repeated screenings of the 27 films, 15 of which had never been shown in France before.

The Institute begins its after-summer season with Keisuke Kanai's nouveau-cirque performance "Gai-Kotsu" on September 12 and 13, followed by a demonstration (September 14) and lecture (September 15) on Chakaiseki cuisine by renowned chef Hirohisa Koyama. The demonstration will take place in the Institute's new kitchen on the sixth floor.

Autumn is the season of lectures and films, beginning with a September 25 talk on anime, manga, and fiction by anime and sci-fi writer To Ubukata (known for the TV anime series "Chevalier" about the 18th-century French nobleman Deon de Beaumont). Children's book author/illustrator Hideko Ise and nonfiction writer Kunio Yanagida will speak on September 26 about picture books and child education and development. Then, as part of Foreign Culture Week (held jointly at the end of September every year by various cultural institutes throughout Paris), the Institute will screen Moe no Suzaku directed by Naomi Kawase who received the Grand Prix at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival.

Finally, the Shibusa Shirazu Orchestra, an avant-garde jazz ensemble featuring everything from a big-band horn section to cabaret dancers, will bring the month to a rousing close with performances on September 28 and 29. The Institute's Tenth Anniversary celebration continues unabated!

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