Upcoming events

Gallery Tour: SECOND LAW

Join us for a free lunchtime tour of Reijiro Wada’s first solo exhibition in the UK, SECOND LAW, led by Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation staff.

The Second Law of Thermodynamics holds that the universe is always tending towards disorder. Ultimately all structures disintegrate and no system can withstand the flow of time. This is the fundamental direction of nature. How then is it possible that life, as we know it, can give rise to things that are beautiful, sublime and have profound meaning for us?

How far does the glinting light of life reach in a chaotic cosmos?

The Japanese Fiction Boom: From the publisher’s desk

Over the last few years Japanese titles have taken up half of the slots on translated literature bestseller lists. What caused this sudden wave of Western interest in Japanese fiction across all genres? This talk will go behind the perfect storm of reasons that made Japanese literature the biggest publishing trend of recent years. Jane Lawson and Kaja Murawska will also try to answer the question of what aspect of reading experience the Western public was missing and why Japanese writers are uniquely positioned to fill that gap. What are the remaining Japanese titles that are still being overlooked? They will try to share their future predictions as well.

Isn't London a catalyst for storytelling?

In this talk, moderated by Jonathan Watkins, Taihei Soejima will present artworks that explore histories in which multiple truths coexist, employing the contrasting media of generative AI and analogue film, alongside portraiture capturing individuals in multicultural communities undergoing gentrification. He will reflect on how his “unresolved experiences” have been transformed into his current artistic practice, with London acting as a catalyst.