Japan Now

Explore contemporary writing and culture from Japan

With a new wave of Japanese fiction hitting UK bookshelves, meet the writers alongside translators and contemporary artists at this annual event, exploring gender, history, society and everything in between.

Full programme:

11.05am – 12.15pm: Yu Miri and Hikaru Toda

How do Japanese artists confront taboo subjects through their work? Hikaru Toda’s Of Love and Law charts the experiences of Japan’s first law firm to be set up by an openly gay couple, whose work lifts the lid on the country’s hidden diversity. She’s joined by Yu Miri, a Japanese-born Korean national whose novel Tokyo Ueno Station, views contemporary Japan from an outsiders’ perspective through its critique of the imperial system.

12.35pm – 1.45pm: Kyoko Nakajima and David Peace

East meets West with two leading novelists whose historical works explore the convulsive change in mid-century Japan. Kyoko Nakajima discusses The Little House set between the early 1930s economic boom and Japan’s defeat in World War II. David Peace’s Tokyo Year Zero and Occupied City, scour the ruined streets of the Japanese capital in the aftermath of the conflict.

Lunch break: 1.45pm – 2.45pm

2.45pm – 3.45pm: Sayaka Murata and Yuya Sato

Sayaka Murata author of Convenience Store Woman and Yuya Sato, author of Dendera, both create richly imagined worlds; the first based on the mundane realities of urban life, the other lifted from ancient Japanese ritual. Together they reflect the diversity of contemporary Japanese fiction.

4pm – 5.15pm: Tomoko Yoneda

Tomoko Yoneda has travelled the world as a photographer. How does her global perspective relate back to her Japanese homeland, and her perception of place change over time? She reflects on her practice at this illustrated event.

Programmed by Modern Culture in partnership with the Japan Foundation and the University of Sheffield.

Supported by Arts Council England, Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation, the National Centre for Writing and the Japan Society

Part of the Japan-UK season of culture 2019-20

Books by the participating authors will be available for purchase and signing throughout the event. Coffee, tea and refreshments will be available to buy in the Knowledge Centre before and in between sessions

Details