Events organized by the Japan Foundation

 It is time again for our annual Japanese Film Week! We have carefully selected five outstanding masterpieces from the last few years, with a variety ranging from hilarious comedy to thought-provoking drama dealing with complex interpersonal relationships. Each of the films are unique in their own way, however their is one common theme that connects them all: that is "bonds". A trusting bond between husband and wife,  a loveing yet powerful bond between mother and child, or the heart-warming bond of a community. Come and starts 2025 with five outstanding Japanese films!  Admission fee for each screening is 1500 HUF!Tickets can be purchased after January 2, 2025 at the ticket office or the website of Toldi Mozi.The movies are screened in Japanese, with English and Hungarian subtitles.https://toldimozi.hu/programok/japan-filmhet-2025 Lineup: ① The First Gentleman (2021, 121 mins)Screening date: January 13, 2025 (from 18:30)Ornithologist Hiyori Soma is married to Rinko, leader of a minority political party. One morning, his beloved wife poses an enigmatic question."Hey, Hiyori, would you have a problem if I became Prime Minister?"He asks her to repeat the question, but she shrugs him off. Still confused, he sets off for a ten-day expedition on a remote island with no cell phone connection to observe birds in the wild. In his absence, Rinko changes the future of the nation!She is selected ad the first female Prime Minister in Japan's history, making Hiyori the first ever Prime Minister's husband.Hiyori was always 100% supportive of Rinko's political ambitions, but could never have imagined the life that awaited him...!TICKET ② After the Sunset (2019, 133 mins)Screening date: January 14, 2025 (from 18:30)Set in the small town in Nagashima, Kagoshima prefecture in southern Japan. Yuichi Hino farms yellowtail fish, a family business, for his livelihood. He lives with his wife, his mother and a 7 year olds son, Towa. However, Towa is not their biological son. He came to live with them when he was 1 year old as a foster child, and now Yuichi and Satsuki want to formally adopt him. As they embark on the special adoption procedures with the Family Court, they soon find out a shocking truth: Towa's biological mother is closer to them than they thought! The tension between the foster parents and the biological mother, the presence of residents on the island and the children growing up there are depicted in a human drama.TICKET ③ YUDO, the Way of the Bath (2022, 126 mins)Screening date: January 15, 2025 (from 18:30)Architect Shiro Miura suddenly returns to his country hometown and the family business he left behind years ago: a public bathhouse called "Marukin Hot Spring". Since the recent death of his father, Shiro's plan  as the eldest son is to close down the antiquate bathhouse and replace it with state-of-the-art condominiums. But he meets with cold reception from his younger brother, Goro, who has kept the bathhouse open since their father's passing.One day when fire breaks out in the boiler room, putting Goro into the hospital, Shiro has no choice but to spend the next few days as bathhouse manager with the aid of trusty part-time worker and bathhouse devotee, Izumi. There, he encounters several bathhouse-loving customers and gets a glimpse of the sheer happiness and democratizing power the place has to offer.As he gradually learns the ins and outs of the trade, and encounters a bunch of loveable people, Shiro finds the constriction inside him beginning to melt.TICKET  ④ Tsugaru Lacquer Girl (2023, 118 mins)Screeding date: January 16, 2025 (from 18:30)Hirosaki City, Aomori Prefecture. Miyako Aoki, who lives with her father, has not found anything she wants to do after graduating from a local high school. She is working at a supermarket to help her family make ends meet. Helping her father, a Tsugaru lacquerware craftsman, is the only thing she can devote herself to. However, her father, who succeeded her grandfather (a highly respected Tsugaru lacquer craftsman), loses the will to continue the business as the industry goes into decline, and the family finds itself scattered. The mother left the family years before because of the poor life and the selfishness of the father, and the elder brother, a hairdresser, chose to live freely instead of taking over the family business. Miyako is unable to openly declare her desire to pursue a career in Tsugaru lacquering, but as she confronts her family and the art of lacquering, she takes on a great challenge.TICKET ⑤ Under the Open Sky (2020, 126 mins)Screening date: January 17, 2025 (from 18:30)Mikami, an ex-yakuza of middle age with most of his life in prison, gets released after serving 13 years of sentence for murder. Hoping to find his long lost mother, from whom he was separated as a child, he applies for a TV show and meets a young TV director Tsunoda. Meanwhile, he struggles to get a proper job and fit into society. His impulsive, adamant nature and ingrained beliefs cause friction in his relationship with Tsunoda and those who want to help him.TICKET

PhD Workshop for Doctoral Students in Japanese Studies in Central and Eastern Europe 2024   The aim of this workshop is to offer a unique opportunity for participants to work together intensively to enhance individual projects and engage in concentrated discussions of common themes and methods. Through presentations and focused sessions, students give and receive critical feedback on thesis projects, fieldwork plans and preliminary results. The informal environment of the workshop provides doctoral students an opportunity to create a multidisciplinary network of advanced graduate students and senior scholars in Central and Eastern Europe in the field of Japanese Studies.   Through a two-day long intensive workshop, students will be asked to read the work of their peers, comment on the work of each other, and prepare for workshop presentations linking their own work to the broader international Japanese studies field. The workshop is scheduled for 3rd and 4th February, 2024, which will take place as a face-to-face conference this year.   We are calling for applications from advanced graduate students who are pursuing PhD degrees in the region. Those who are embarking upon or in the process of writing their PhD dissertations are eligible. Their area of expertise can be in all humanities and social science disciplines (except for Japanese language education), e.g. in politics, history, society, pop culture, literature, arts, language, thought, religion, etc. About 8 participants will be selected to make an approximately 15-minute long presentation on their research and engage in discussions in English. Participant students will be supervised by designated senior scholars through the workshop.   Eligibility The following applicants are eligible: Full time graduate students researching fields related to Japanology, regardless of citizenship, who are enrolled at universities in the Central Eastern European region (13 countries, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech, Hungary, Kosovo, North Macedonia , Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, and Slovenia). Students originally from the Central Eastern European region (with nationality of the forementioned 13 countries), who are enrolled in graduate programs outside of the region, but who have a research field related to Japanese Studies. Applications are particularly welcome from graduate students in the earlyfieldwork through the middle stages of thesis writing.   Application and selection procedures All materials should be sent via e-mail to veronika_erdos@jpf.go.jp no later than Monday, 4th December, 2023.    1) A covering letter (no more than one page), indicating the motivation for attending the workshop as well as the current state of progress of doctoral work. 2) A summary of the dissertation project (450-500 words). 3) A brief professional history (CV), including a list of publications, if any. 4) One reference letter by a senior scholar of your choice.   Notification of Results  11 December, 2023.   For further information on the program, please see the Call for Participants below: Call for Participants   Contact information:  The Japan Foundation, Budapest 1062 Budapest, Aradi u. 8-10. Hungary Tel.: (0036-1) 214-0775/6   Contact info: ERDŐS Veronika (Ms.) The Japan Foundation Budapest T. +36-1-214-0775 F. +36-1-214-0778 Email: veronika_erdos@jpf.go.jp

 When June comes, it can only mean one thing for Japan Foundation: it is time for our annual Japanese Filmweek! We have carefully selected four outstanding masterpieces from the 10's years, with a variety from hearth-warming comedy to touching drama dealing with reconnection with each other. The main characters of this year's movies could not be more different, however, one thing in common: through hardships unnumbered they will fight their way back to each other, whether it is for tha sake of a family, a shopping disctrict or a whole town. All four movies are screened for the first time in Hungary.   Admission fee for each screening is 850 HUF!   Tickets can be purchased after the 9th of June at the ticket office or the website of Toldi Mozi. The movies are screened in Japanese, with English and Hungarian subtitles. https://toldimozi.hu/     Lineup (The order of the screenings has been changed!):     June 21. 18:30   Bento Harassment 今日も嫌がらせ弁当 (2019, 106 perc) あらすじ：https://jfdb.jp/title/9086   Heartwarming drama based on an essay by the same title that adapted a popular blog into book format. Directed by Tsukamoto Rempei of 700 Days of Battle: Us vs. the Police. Single mother Mochimaru Kaoru (Shinohara Ryoko) and her daughter Futaba (Yoshine Kyoko) live on Hachijojima, an island resplendent with nature. When Futaba starts high school she enters her rebellious phase and gives her mother the silent treatment despite her attempts to communicate. Kaoru strikes back by making "chara-ben" lunches with food shaped like characters, which really annoys Futaba. Before long, the lunches transform into a channel of communication to send messages from mother to daughter.   June 22. 18:30   The Takacu River 高津川 (2019, 113 perc) あらすじ：https://jfdb.jp/title/9036   Set along the river basin of Shimane Prefeture's Takatsu River, a government-protected river, this drama portrays various people living in an area burdened by decreasing population as they carry on the tradition of "Kagura" Shinto music and dance which is said to be the roots of Kabuki. Directing from his own screenplay is Nishikori Yoshinari of Railways. Saito Manabu (Komoto Masahiro) operates a ranch on a mountain and worries his son Tatsuya (Ishikawa Raizo) has been making a habit of skipping Kagura practice. Then Manabu learns his alma mater elementary school will be closed down.     June 23. 18:30   Mentai piriri  めんたいぴりり (2019, 115 minutes) あらすじ：https://jfdb.jp/title/9263   Tremendously popular in Fukuoka, "Mentai Piriri" depicts Toshio Kawahara, who founded mentaiko (seasoned cod roe) manufacturer Fukuya and popularized the food in Japan. Winning the Japan Commercial Broadcasters Association Award two years in a row, the TV series was staged into a record-breaking play. Now, it's been adapted into a film. Toshiyuki and Chiyoko run a small grocery store called "Lucky Grocers" in the city of Hakata. Toshiyuki spends days and nights to reproduce "mentaiko", deep-seasoned spicy cod-roe, which he used to eat in Busan where he grew up. One day, Toshiyuki sees a girl in a ragged clothes, attempting to shoplift a product from his store. She is actually his son's classmate and when Toshiyuki finds out that she has lost her parents in the war and has no money to purchase even a rucksack and a pair of shoes for her school excursion, he decides to help her somehow... Based on a true story about a man who created Fukuoka's famous local food, this film depicts people who struggle to survive the economic transition and growth in the post-war period.   June 24. 18:30   Finding Calico 先生と迷い猫 (2015, 107 minutes) あらすじ：https://jfdb.jp/title/5768   A drama inspired by non-fiction book "Maigo no Miechan: Chiiki Neko to Shotengai Saisei no Monogatari" (Mie the Stray: A Story of Community Cats and Shopping Street Revitalization) about a search for a feline. Fukagawa Yoshihiro (In His Chart) directs. Morii Kyoichi (Issey Ogata), a retired school principal, lives alone after the death of his wife. One day, the strait-laced and narrow-minded Morii is visited by Mie, the stray cat his late spouse loved. He tries to shoo her away, but when she suddenly fails to show up, he gets worried and begins to look for her.

JFF, or Japanese Film Festival, is a project of The Japan Foundation created with the aim to share the excitement of Japanese cinema with the world. As one portion of JFF, the Japanese Film Festival Online 2022, will be held in 25 countries simultaneously for two weeks between 14-27 February of 2022.   Last year’s first ever Japanese Film Festival Online spanned five continents and 20 countries. A total of 30 Japanese films, from new releases to classics, were broadcast for free, logging over 210,000 views around the world. At a time when movie theaters in many areas were closed due to the pandemic, the festival was able to share Japanese cinema with the world on a scale never before achieved. The variety of films presented, as well as special interviews with directors, made this festival a well received success.   For its second year, the festival will expand to 25 countries, focusing on areas where access to Japanese cinema is limited. Nepal, Bangladesh, Argentina, Ecuador, and Peru have been added to the festival’s scope. Viewers located in the countries where the online festival will take place will be able to watch 20 films presented with subtitles in 15 languages for free (Hungarian and English subtitles are included). This year’s lineup of films is packed with variety, and is scheduled to be announced in mid-January of 2022. In addition to movies, the festival plans to produce a variety of Japanese cinema related content including events and special feature articles published on the JFF+ website.   Festival Lineup: Title (Japanese - English) Year Genre サマーフィルムにのって It's a Summer Film! 2021 Drama いとみち Ito 2021 Drama あのこは貴族 Aristocrats 2021 Drama すばらしき世界 Under the Open Sky 2021 Drama AWAKE AWAKE 2020 Drama 相撲道〜サムライを継ぐ者たち〜 SUMODO～The Successors of Samurai～ 2020 Documentary みをつくし料理帖 Mio's Cookbook 2020 Historical play 仮面病棟 Masked Ward 2020 Thriller オズランド　笑顔の魔法おしえます。 OZLAND 2018 Drama ReLIFE リライフ ReLIFE 2017 Drama 湯を沸かすほどの熱い愛 Her Love Boils Bathwater 2016 Drama サカサマのパテマ Patema Inverted 2013 Animation ラーメンより大切なもの 東池袋大勝軒50年の秘密 The God of Ramen 2013 Documentary のぼうの城 The Floating Castle 2012 Historical play ツナグ Until the Break of Dawn 2012 Drama しあわせのパン Bread of Happiness 2012 Drama イヴの時間 劇場版 Time of EVE the Movie 2010 Animation 南極料理人 The Chef of South Polar 2009 Drama ハッピーフライト Happy Flight 2008 Comedy 羅生門 RASHOMON 1950 Classical     Futher information on the Festival's website: https://jff.jpf.go.jp/watch/jffonline2022/hungary/   How to watch the movies   During the festival each film will be available for two week on the homepage (https://jff.jpf.go.jp/watch/jffonline2022/hungary/), but once you push the 'Play' button, the 48-hour time limit will start. In this time period, you can rewind or rewatch the films multiple times. For participation, you only need to register on the following website.   Before the festival starts please check the Help bar 's "How to watch" and "FAQ" pages on the website, so you can enjoy the film-screenings without any technical problem. For this, you can also use the following page to check your viewing environment.   https://watch.jff.jpf.go.jp/film/testing-your-viewing-environment/         We will continuously share new information, trailers and related programs on our homepage and Facebook page, do not forget to follow us!   Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/japanalapitvany    

The aim of this workshop is to offer a unique opportunity for participants to work together intensively to enhance individual projects and engage in concentrated discussions of common themes and methods. Through presentations and focused sessions, students give and receive critical feedback on thesis projects, fieldwork plans and preliminary results. The informal environment of the workshop provides doctoral students an opportunity to create a multidisciplinary network of advanced graduate students and senior scholars in Central and Eastern Europe in the field of Japanese Studies.   Through a two-day long intensive workshop, students will be asked to read the work of their peers, comment on the work of each other, and prepare for workshop presentations linking their own work to the broader international Japanese studies field. The workshop is scheduled for 6th and 7th February, 2022, which will take place online this year.   We are calling for applications from advanced graduate students who are pursuing PhD degrees in the region. Those who are embarking upon or in the process of writing their PhD dissertations are eligible. Their area of expertise can be in all humanities and social science disciplines (except for Japanese language education), e.g. in politics, history, society, pop culture, literature, arts, language, thought, religion, etc. About 10 participants will be selected to make an approximately 15-minute long presentation on their research and engage in discussions in English. Participant students will be supervised by designated senior scholars through the workshop.   Eligibility The following applicants are eligible: Full time graduate students researching fields related to Japanology, regardless of citizenship, who are enrolled at universities in the Central Eastern European region (13 countries, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech, Hungary, Kosovo, North Macedonia , Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, and Slovenia). Students originally from the Central Eastern European region (with nationality of the forementioned 13 countries), who are enrolled in graduate programs outside of the region, but who have a research field related to Japanese Studies. Applications are particularly welcome from graduate students in the earlyfieldwork through the middle stages of thesis writing.   Application and selection procedures All materials should be sent via e-mail to tothtimea@japanalapitvany.hu no later than Wednesay, 1st December, 2021. (Deadline has been extended until Wednesday 8th December, 2021.   1) A covering letter (no more than one page), indicating the motivation for attending the workshop as well as the current state of progress of doctoral work. 2) A summary of the dissertation project (450-500 words). 3) A brief professional history (CV), including a list of publications, if any. 4) One reference letter by a senior scholar of your choice.   Notification of Results  8 December, 2021.   For further information on the program, please see the Call for Participants below: Call for Participants   Contact information:  The Japan Foundation, Budapest 1062 Budapest, Aradi u. 8-10. Hungary Tel.: (0036-1) 214-0775/6   Contact info: TÓTH Tímea (Ms.) The Japan Foundation Budapest T. +36-1-214-0775 F. +36-1-214-0778 Email: tothtimea@japanalapitvany.hu

When June comes, it can only mean one thing for Japan Foundation: it is time for our annual Japanese Filmweek! We have carefully selected four outstanding masterpieces from the recent years, with a variety from hearth-warming comedy to touching drama dealing with losses in life. The main characters of this year's movies could not be more different, however, one thing in common: they have reached a crossroad, and have to make major life decisions. However things may turn out or what they choose, we have to face that life goes on, even without us moving forward. All four movies, made in the recent years, are screened for the first time in Hungary.   Admission fee for each screening is 500 HUF!   Tickets can be purchased after the 4th of June at the ticket office or the website of Toldi Mozi. The movies are screened in Japanese, with English and Hungarian subtitles. https://toldimozi.hu/programok/japan-filmhet-2021   Please make sure to check the current regulations of the Hungarian Goverment before purchasing your ticket!   Program: 15th June (Tue), 18:30: ペコロスの母に会いに行く/ Pecoross' mother and her days Directed by: AZUMA Morisaki (2013, 113 p) あらすじ：https://jfdb.jp/title/3974   Yuichi Okano is a baby boomer born and raised in Nagasaki. He has become so immersed in his hobbies-- drawing manga and performing as a musician-- that he’s neglected his work as a magazine ad sales rep. When his mother Mitsue develops dementia, he reluctantly decides to place her in a nursing home. As Mitsue spends time with its idiosyncratic inhabitants, her memories gradually lead her to retrace her past.   Veteran director Morisaki Azuma's adaptation of Okano Yuichi's essay manga following the daily life of a nebbish son and his dementia-stricken mother, with a shocking conclusion: becoming forgetful may not be all that bad. Its talented cast includes Iwamatsu Ryo, Harada Kiwako, and 89-year-old Akagi Harue in her first starring role in a film.   16th June (Wed), 18:30: 駅までの道をおしえて / Show Me the Way to the Station Directed by HASHIMOTO Naoki (2019, 126 p) あらすじ：https://jfdb.jp/title/8953   Her pet dog and constant companion Lou is gone. The grown-ups all say he will never be back, but 8 year-old Sayaka cannot bring herself to believe them. One day near the end of summer, another dog leads her to the coffee shop of an elderly man, Fuse. Having suffered a devastating loss himself, he is also alone. These two, unable to accept what is gone, forge an unlikely friendship.   In life we cannot avoid the loss of those close to us. By sharing that loss with another, however, we can forge something new. By living our limited lives to the full, we can once again experience joy. From a short story by Shizuka Ijuin comes a gem of a motion picture that transcends age, gender, social position, and even species.   In the two main roles are Chise Niisu and Yoshi Oida, two actors 77 years apart in age.     17th June (Thu), 18:30: そらのレストラン / Restaurant in the Sky Directed by FUKAGAWA Yoshihiro (2019, 126 p) あらすじ：https://jfdb.jp/title/8371   Wataru lives happily wit h his wife, Kotoe, and daughter, Shiori, in Setana, Hokkaido. He runs a cheese factory and raises cattle on a ranch wit h a view of the ocean that he inherited from his father. His cheese-making skills are still mediocre, so he is constantly getting scolded by his strict master. But Wataru enjoys a good life with a group of like-minded friends that are always there for each other. Then Kanbe, a young shepherd from Tokyo, joins their circle, and the friends find pleasure in “good food” that they produce themselves and share with one another. Then one day, a chef from a famous restaurant in Sapporo, who is attracted by their food, pays them a visit. They are ecstatic that their products are made even more delicious by this chef, and together they start planning a one-day-only restaurant to spread their joy to other people.   18th June (Fri), 18:30: 初恋～お父さん、チビがいなくなりました / Only The Cat Knows Directed by KOBAYASHI Shotaro (2019, 105 p)  あらすじ：http://chibi-movie.com/   Masaru just retired and he and his wife Yukiko are expecting to have a quiet life with their cat, CHIBI, after their kids have left home.Yukiko feels that she was abandoned by her husband, who has never expressed appreciation for her years of support, let alone his love for her. One day, their loving cat CHIBI disappears. However, Masaru does not seem to care about it at all. His attitude triggers Yukiko to decide that it is time for them to divorce. After a long, intense discussion, Masaru confesses a story to her, which he has held in secret for years. Based on the best selling comic book, “Only The Cat Knows” is about an elderly couple in their 50’s who suddenly face a marriage crisis because of their loving, missing cat named CHIBI. Original comic is written by Keiko Nishi and she has been a popular cartoonist for more than 30 years in Japan. Her works has been made into a movie twice as “Stay”(2007), “Her Granddaughter”(2014) and sold 1.5 million copies in Japan.