Yanai Initiative for Globalizing Japanese Humanities
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yanaiinitiative.bsky.social
Yanai Initiative for Globalizing Japanese Humanities
@yanaiinitiative.bsky.social
Yanai Initiative for Globalizing Japanese Humanities: UCLA & Waseda University reimagining the Japanese humanities for the world.
The Yanai Initiative is pleased to invite proposals for a symposium entitled “Experimental Translations in/with East Asian Languages,” to be hosted at UCLA on April 10-11, 2026. Deadline November 30, 2025, 11:59 PM (PT). See more information threaded below. ⬇️
November 9, 2025 at 6:46 PM
The Yanai Initiative is excited to share that The Graffiti, the second installment in its Bungaku Bideo series, has won the Best Narrative Short Award at the 2025 Ottawa International Animation Festival! 👏
October 2, 2025 at 7:12 PM
柳井イニシアティブ「文学ビデオ」シリーズ第2弾、作家・高柳誠さんとアニメーション作家・折笠良さんによる『落書』が、アヌシー国際アニメーション映画祭Off-Limits賞に続き、2025年オタワ国際アニメーション映画祭でBest Narrative Short Award (最優秀ナラティブ作品賞)を受賞しました! この賞は短編ではグランプリに次ぐ、カテゴリー最高賞です。👏
October 2, 2025 at 7:10 PM
中心となるプログラム「紙フィルムの世界」では、現代の技術でデジタル化された34本の紙フィルム作品を弁士の語りと音楽のライブパフォーマンスとともにご紹介いたします。また、特別プログラム「日本アニメの誕生から紙フィルムまで」では、 紙フィルムを同じ時代の関連アニメーション作品とともに取り上げ、紙を使ったアニメーションの広がりを紹介します。知られざる紙フィルムの世界、そして紙とアニメーションの世界をぜひご堪能ください!

上映会は6月~7月にかけて東京、京都、大阪、広島、新潟、愛媛で行われます!ツアーの詳細についてはこちらご覧ください: www.waseda.jp/culture/news...
June 7, 2025 at 10:41 PM
日本にはかつて、紙のフィルムで作られた子ども向けの短編映画がありました。映画といえばセルロイドのフィルムで上映されるものだった時代、1932~38年の短い期間だけ、家庭用のおもちゃとして「紙フィルム」作品が売られていたのです。子どもたちは紙フィルムを専用の手回しの映写機で上映してもらって遊んだようです。映像の多くはアニメーション。映画館で観る映画が白黒だった時代に、紙フィルムではカラーで印刷された鮮やかな色彩の映画が観られました。素朴でかわいらしいキャラクターや動物のおとぎ話、とぼけた侍たちの時代劇、時代を反映した戦争モノまで、たくさんの作品が作られています。
June 7, 2025 at 10:41 PM
The Yanai Initiative presents a special series of screenings that with two distinct programs: “From the Birth of Japanese Animation to Paper Films,” which places paper films within the context of early animation in Japan; and “The World of Paper Film,” a rich and varied selection of 34 paper films.
June 7, 2025 at 10:23 PM
In an age when most films were printed on celluloid, a few companies in Japan embarked on an experiment: producing and selling short, often animated films printed on paper. Sold as toys for just six years (1932-1938), these “paper films” were screened using special hand-cranked projectors.
June 7, 2025 at 10:23 PM
The Yanai Initiative is pleased to co-present a screening of the film Asia is One (1973) by the Nihon Documentarist Union, which follows migrants from Okinawa to Taiwan, documenting colonial legacies in the Pacific. Join us 6/6, 6:30pm (Dodd 147) for an introduction by Dr. Nina Horisaki-Christens.
May 24, 2025 at 2:25 AM
If you're in the Los Angeles area there's still time to join us for this special event (4/4), offered in partnership with Japan Foundation LA & Japan House LA, featuring 4 Japanese spoken theater performers showcasing their craft! To register or see more info, visit: www.jflalc.org/event-detail...
March 26, 2025 at 1:56 PM
Folks in Urbana-Champaign will be able to catch the films on 3/28 at the Spurlock Museum! www.spurlock.illinois.edu/events/event...
March 24, 2025 at 11:04 PM
Japanese paper film screenings and performances will take place at the Chicago Logan Center for the Arts on 3/27: events.uchicago.edu/event/245081...
March 24, 2025 at 11:04 PM
We are delighted to be welcoming the Japanese Paper Film Project (@kamifirumu.bsky.social) to UCLA at the Billy Wilder Theater April 13th! 🎞️ Come enjoy a selection of rare 1930s paper film (kami firumu) and experience these pieces of early film history! www.cinema.ucla.edu/events/japan...
March 24, 2025 at 11:04 PM
The Yanai Initiative for Globalizing Japanese Humanities invites graduate students from non-U.S. institutions in Japanese humanities fields to apply to come to UCLA as Visiting Graduate Researchers during the 2025-2026 academic year!

柳井イニシアティブでは2025‐2026年度の招聘研究員としてUCLAに迎える日本文化研究の大学生を募集します!
January 7, 2025 at 7:20 PM
The 2nd Directors' Fortnight at Cannes Film Festival 2024 in Tokio will be held from 12/8~12/19 at Human Trust Cinema Shibuya! On the 14th (Sat) and 18th (Wed), the animation “Extremely Short” will be screened. Please take this opportunity to come and see the film! www.cannes-df-in-tokio.com
December 7, 2024 at 6:48 PM
カンヌ国際映画祭監督週間 2024 in Tokioが12/8(日)~19(木)までヒューマントラスト シネマ渋谷にて開催されます! 14日(土)及び18日(水)には、柳井イニシアティブが企画・制作する新シリーズ「文学ビデオ」の第一作目『とても短い』が上映されます。是非来てください! www.cannes-df-in-tokio.com
December 7, 2024 at 6:46 PM
Join us at Japan Foundation Los Angeles on 12/4 at 7pm for "An Evening with Tomoka Shibasaki: Readings & Conversation"! 📖 Tomoka Shibasaki, Yanai Initiative Visiting Professor, will discusse her literary works, including the award-winning Spring Garden (Haru no niwa). www.jflalc.org/event-detail...
November 27, 2024 at 4:46 PM
Get your tickets now to the 11/24 film screening Asako I & II, featuring the author Tomoka Shibasaki whose novel Netemo sametemo the film adapts! 🎞️📖 Presented by Acropolis Cinema and the Yanai Initiative. For more information, visit: dice.fm/event/k688dl...
November 15, 2024 at 10:53 PM
また、ポーランドで開催された第31回エチュード&アニマ国際映画祭 2024では、 グランプリ・金のジャバウォッキー賞を受賞しました!🎞️ 作家の皆さん、おめでとうございます! etiudaandanima.pl/en/winners-a...
November 14, 2024 at 9:23 PM
​『とても短い』は、カンヌ監督週間でのプレミア上映からわずか数か月で、第19回札幌国際短編映画祭最優秀コンテンポラリー・エクスペリメンタル賞を受賞しました! sapporoshortfest.jp/24/awards/
November 14, 2024 at 9:23 PM
作家・古川日出男氏とアニメーション作家・山村浩二氏による短編アニメーション映画『とても短い』について、嬉しいニュースをお伝えします。この作品は、古川日出男氏の短編小説「とても短い」を原作とし、柳井イニシアティブが企画・制作する新シリーズ「文学ビデオ」の第一作目となります。
November 14, 2024 at 9:23 PM
“Extremely Short” was also awarded the Grand Prix Golden Jabberwocky at the 31st International Film Festival Etiuda & Anima 2024 in Poland! 🎞️ Congratulations to the artists! etiudaandanima.pl/en/winners-a...
November 14, 2024 at 9:21 PM
Just months after it premiered at Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, “Extremely Short” has won Best Contemporary & Experimental Short at the 19th Sapporo International Short Film Festival! 🎊 sapporoshortfest.jp/24/awards/
November 14, 2024 at 9:21 PM
We are delighted to share some exciting news about “Extremely Short,” a short film by animator Yamamura Kōji. Based on Furukawa Hideo’s short story "Totemo mijikai," this is the first film in a new series called “Bungaku Bideo” conceived & produced by the Yanai Initiative.
November 14, 2024 at 9:21 PM
This event will be followed on 11/14 by a special author spotlight with Yanai Initiative Visiting Professor and author Tomoka Shibasaki, whose novel Netemo sametemo the film adapts. She will discuss her literary works and perform a reading of forthcoming work! www.jflalc.org/event-detail...
November 7, 2024 at 4:36 PM
Calling those in the Seattle area! On 11/13 will be a film screening of Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s “Asako I & II” at the University of Washington, Seattle. 🎬 Presented with support from the Yanai Initiative and Japan Foundation Los Angeles. www.jflalc.org/event-detail...
November 7, 2024 at 4:35 PM