Exhibition

August Exhibition: "Lafcadio Hearn vs. Mokujiki Shonin" Kamikiri (paper cutting artwork) by Katsuyuki Yagi

Lafcadio Hearn vs. Mokujiki Shonin: The stories of two nomads
Kamikiri (paper cutting artwork) by Katsuyuki Yagi

Exhibition Aug. 3 - Sept. 6, 2019

Aug. 5 (Mon.) opening reception 19:00 - 21:00 VIP Room

Lafcadio Hearn, also known by his Japanese name Yakumo Koizumi, was a writer known for his books about Japan, particularly Yokai stories of supernatural monsters, spirits, and demons in Japanese folklore. Originally born in Greece, he was raised in Dublin, educated in England and France, and worked in United State before moving to Japan in 1890. In addition to Hearn's writings, he taught literature at Tokyo and Wasuda universities, influencing many well-known Japanese writers at that time.

OYAKO (Parents and Children) Group Photography Exhibition

OYAKO (Parents and Children)
Group Photography Exhibition
July 8- August 9, 2019

photo by Eiichiro Sakata

Oyako Day is on the 4th Sunday of July and in celebration of that special bond, this month's exhibition is a group show featuring images of parents and children in Japan and overseas. Photographs from China, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Mongolia, to Syria, Palestine, Ethiopia, Uruguay, United States, and under the sea are included in this show. The pictures were selected from a mix of 25 well-known and up-and-coming photographers who have focused their cameras on parents and children.

Class Rooms

KnK Exhibition: photos by Kyo Shimizu

June 8 - July 5, 2019

Opening reception: June 10

Improving the lives of children in the world.

What is necessary to study? Is it stationary? Is it a classroom? It is so hard for working children to go to school. If they could spare just a little time for studying, even it wasn't at a school, it would be their "Class Room". The learning is not limited to academics. Other activities including music, sports, art, and even just having fun are important. If more children in the world could spend time in a learning environment, it will help them to prepare for the future. In the nearly 20 years that I have been involved with the NGO, KnK Japan, I have visited several overseas sites and met numerous children. Sometimes it's depressing to see children in the difficult situations, but it can also be moving seeing them trying their best with clear eyes. I wish to share what's happening, which is why I took up photography. I will not say that I have changed the children's world through my photos, but I hope to make their lives better as a humanitarian photographer.

Kyo Shimizu

Portraits of African Musicians 2019

photo exhibition by Tsunehiro Takakuwa
May 7 - June 7, 2019

It has been more than a quarter century since I first set foot on the good earth of Africa in 1991.

Since then, as if possessed, I have traveled incessantly to Africa, encountered tremendous African musicians and taken numerous portraits of them with a large 4x5-inch format camera. It is my belief that a portrait taken using a large format camera can capture the whole of its subject's life and strongly express it including his/her soul.

For people in Africa, song, dance and rhythm are an indispensable part of their daily lives. In one sense, these photos are unsolicited love letters from me to them.
As I encountered the lively, engaging faces and figures of these people, which seemed to be prototypically human and represent something that the Japanese were losing, I was smitten with Africa. Smitten, indeed.

April. 2019 Emperor Akihito's abdication and Imperial family

March 30 - May 6, 2019

The Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan is very pleased and honored to present this special photography exhibition of the Imperial Family in the same month as Emperor Akihito prepares to retire from official duties on April 30. His elder son Crown Prince Naruhito will become Emperor the following day on May 1, ushering in a new period and bringing the Heisei era to a close.

A law was passed last year to allow Emperor Akihito to retire, the first such abdication in 200 years. The 85-year-old Emperor implied in an address to the nation in August 2016 that he was concerned his age will hinder him from performing his duties as "the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people" as stated in Japan's post-war Constitution.

Kakejiku Art
Group Exhibition
March 2 to March 29, 2019

Kakejiku are hanging scrolls that were brought from China to Japan as a tool to spread Buddhism 1,500 years ago. Nowadays, Kakejiku needs an evolution to transform itself into a new form of art and interior decoration.
We are a team of Japanese craftsmen and talented artists/designers who aim to create a new style to enjoy life with Kakejiku art. We believe that it is one of the best interior decorations for art lovers with its advantages of lightness and compactness.
In our exhibition at FCCJ, we are exhibiting 33 Kakejiku scrolls coordinated by designers from DAS Designers Association. We hope you will enjoy these artworks and support our team in the future.

Artists

Standing Rock - # NO DAPL Movement -
Photographs by Nob Toshi Mizushima

Feb. 2 to March 1, 2019

In 2014, the proposal was passed to construct the Dakota Access Pipeline (The Black Snake). The plan was to build a 1,172-mile underground oil pipeline crossing from North and South Dakota, through Iowa, and Illinois.

The Year of the Earth Boar
Group exhibition curated by Niya Niya Studio

Illustration Group Exhibition (Jan. 12 - Feb. 01, 2019)

Happy New Year,

Welcome to year of the boar, the 12th and last animal in the Chinese calendar. With its chubby face and big floppy ears, the boar is a symbol good fortune and wealth. Under the influence of the peaceful and sensible boar, 2019 is expected to be joyous year and a time to reflect on the past 11 years. To celebrate the start of the year, the following artists have created their image of our portly friend.

FCCJ Exhibition Committee

PORTRAITS from my IMAGINATION
Photo exhibition by Benjamin Lee

Dec. 8 - Jan. 11, 2019

Benjamin Lee's career has taken him from creative advertising in London (1974-1987), to working for international advertising agencies and magazines like Vogue, Elle, Esquire, Bazaar. Being base in Tokyo and beyond (1987-2018) has opened the door to more creative and experimental image making. Imaginative portraits of Yayoi Kusama, Frank Gehry, Picasso, Issey Miyake, Sayoko Yamaguchi, Haruki Murakami, Rei Kawakubo, and Kengo Kuma are few of the people featured in this exhibition. From 2011 to 2014, Benjamin photographed renowned Japanese artists, Yayoi Kusama, for a whole issue of discover Japan and created a special exhibition "Yayoi Kusama / the Universe of an Imagination" at Gyre Gallery in Omotesando. In addition to photographs, the show included sculptures and silkscreens of Kusama, which was supported by Louis Vitton. Benjamin has probably photographed Yayoi Kusama more than any other photographer!!!

The Exhibitions Committee

FCCJ Photo Archives Exhibition
Oct. 29 - Dec. 07, 2018