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Japan Now North is a week of activities celebrating art, culture, literature, and film from Japan, held annually since 2018 in Sheffield, the northern hub for Japan Now. These events are co- curated by Professor Kate Taylor-Jones and Dr Mark Pendleton of The University of Sheffield’s School of East Asian Studies in partnership with Modern Culture and the Japan Foundation, and with the support of Arts Council England, Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation, Writers’ Centre Norwich, and the Japan Society.
Taylor-Jones and Pendleton’s research has highlighted the fact that average UK audiences were exposed to a very limited and often stereotypical representation of Japanese contemporary culture. As a result, the goal of Japan Now North has been to diversify the types of East Asian visual and cultural products available to UK audiences outside of London. [1] In order to create a thought provoking programme of events, there has been a particular focus on female artists and those who have engaged with minority experiences inside Japan.
The first festival took place 22 February, 2018 to 3 March, 2018, and featured filmmaker and photographer Mika Ninagawa, writer Tomoyuki Hoshino, photographer and visual artist Suzanne Mooney, and documentary filmmakers Megumi Sasaki and Kyoko Miyake, winner of the Peabody Award. [2] Their held events included:
From Place to Place by Suzanne Mooney– exhibition launch, Visualising Japanese Idols: Mika Ninagawa, UK Premiere of and Q&A with Director Megumi Sasaki, Discussing Documentary Making: student workshop with Jasper Sharp, Megumi Sasaki and Kyoko Miyake, Life after Disaster – a conversation with Richard Lloyd Parry and Mariko Nagai, Tokyo Idols Screening and Q&A with Director Kyoko Miyake, Margins to the Mainstream - Tomoyuki Hoshino, in conversation with Deborah Smith, Urban Modes of Being in Contemporary Japan – a roundtable discussion featuring Suzanne Mooney. [3]
Highlights from the 2019 festival included artists Yurie Nagashima, Risa Tsunegi, Rie Iwatake, and Louise Rouse, novelists David Peace and Yu Miri, manga translator Jocelyne Allen, and director Hikaru Toda. [4] Their Held events Included:
On the Edge: A conversation and book launch with Yu Miri and Morgan Giles, Japan Now North at Millenium Gallery: David Peace, Yurie Nagashima and more, The Feel of the City: A Practical Workshop with Louise Rouse, Translating Manga and Japanese Popular Culture: A workshop with Jocelyne Allen, Of Love and Law: Documentary film screening and Director’s Q&A with Hikaru Toda. [5]
Events have been held across The University of Sheffield, Showroom Cinema, Sheffield Town Hall, Graves Gallery, Bloc Projects, and Roco Creative Co-op.
A third festival is planned for early 2020!