Here you will find the latest on Japan Past & Present and the Yanai Initiative in the news.

JPP

• Tadashi Yanai gives $31 million to support hub for Japanese humanities research at UCLA (UCLA Newsroom, Oct 3, 2024)

• Japan's Richest Person Donates $31 Million to UCLA Program (Bloomberg, Oct 3, 2024)

• UCLAと柳井イニシアティブがデジタルハブを開設 (Waseda University News, May 20, 2021)

• UCLA Announces New Digital Hub For Globalizing Japanese Studies (UCLA College, May 18, 2021)

The Yanai Initiative

General

• UCLA College honors 5 visionary supporters with centennial awards (UCLA Newsroom, Apr 8, 2024)

• Continued funding for Yanai Initiative aimed at globalizing Japanese humanities (Waseda University News, Jun 9, 2021)

• $25M donation makes Yanai Initiative a permanent program (The Daily Bruin, Jan 29, 2020)

• UCLA gets $25-million gift from Uniqlo CEO for Japanese humanities endowment (The Los Angeles Times, Jan 16, 2020)

• UCLA receives $25 million from Uniqlo founder for Japanese literature and culture studies (UCLA Newsroom, Jan 15, 2020)

Bungaku Bideo

• Bungaku Bideo “Extremely Short” selected for the 31st International Film Festival Etiuda & Anima 2024 (Waseda University News, Nov 8, 2024)

• Bungaku Bideo “Extremely Short” selected for the 19th SAPPORO SHORT FEST 2024 (Waseda University News, Oct 15, 2024)

• Transpacific Animation Effort ‘Extremely Short’ Makes World Premiere at Cannes Directors’ Fortnight (Animation Magazine, May 10, 2024)

• Film commissioned by UCLA professor earns spot at Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes (UCLA Newsroom, May 7, 2024)

The Art of the Benshi

• Silent Film Reinvented: The Art of the Benshi 2024 World Tour (Waseda University News, May 16, 2024)

• ‘The Art of the Benshi’ is coming to Chicago: A lost page in movie history, rediscovered (Chicago Tribune, Apr 11, 2024)

• Benshi Performers Pass Along a Way of Thinking (Hyperallergic, Apr 9, 2024)

• On the Scene: The Deeply Moving and Immersive “Art of Benshi” (The Knockturnal, Apr 9, 2024)

• 無声映画の新たな可能性を世界に発信 (Waseda University News, Mar 18, 2024)

• The Art of the Benshi 2024: World Tour Japan's Silent Film Narrators to Run April 5-26 (The Selig Film News, Feb 2, 2024)

• Japanese Silent Film Tour ‘The Art of the Benshi’ to Debut at BAM (Indie Wire, Feb 1, 2024)

• ‘Art of the Benshi’ tour will showcase century-old Japanese film tradition (UCLA Newsroom, Feb 1, 2024)

BeHere / 1942: A New Lens on the Japanese American Incarceration

• Augmented Reality App Lets Users 'Witness' WWII Removal Of Japanese Americans (LAist, May 9, 2022)