Japan Foundation, New York

🔦JFF THEATER SPOTLIGHT
This week's film: THE MIRACLES OF THE NAMIYA GENERAL STORE
Part of Twist of Time

📬Three young drifters —Atsuya (Ryosuke YAMADA), S***a (Nijiro MURAKAMI), and Kohei (Kanichiro)—break into and hide in the long-abandoned Namiya Store after committing petty crimes. Suddenly, letters from the past seeking advice come in, addressed to the original store owner Mr. Namiya (Toshiyuki NISHIDA). As the boys answer the letters themselves, they’re slowly drawn into the lives of strangers across time, setting the stage for one last miracle.

📕This film, based on the novel by award-winning author Keigo HIGASHINO, blends fantasy, high tension drama and time-traveling, creating a story illustrating how human connection can transcend the boundaries of time.

Watch this film for FREE this weekend!: https://en.jff.jpf.go.jp/movie/namiya-general-store/

Part of MASAHIRO SHINODA, the 12-film series at BAM Film: A smart yet dubious ronin Kiyokawa is under the watchful eye of a spy, ready to kill if he betrays the Shogunate. Relying on non-linear flashback storytelling, ASSASSINATION explores themes of loyalty, power, and deception.

🎞️Presented with the Japan Foundation’s 35mm imported print.

ONLY ONE SCREENING on Jun 27 6:45pm!

🎟️on sale now: https://www.bam.org/film/2026/masahiro-shinoda-assassination


© 1964 Shochiku Co., Ltd.

🎦JFF Theater wants to hear from you! From now, until 6/30, answer this short 2 min. survey and you'll get an exclusive look at an upcoming line-up: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=oy_HkJxhhky73GK1b_fZOYCCUdETGLhOkQJ6YlzeQJdUOEROSDdTOE1PQU1YREZXT003MVU0NEJONi4u&route=shorturl

JFF Theater｜Moved, Touched & Inspired

⏪For this week's For Your (Virtual) Shelf, we're re-highlighting these Japanese cinema-centric books, now available on JF USA Digital Library! Check out the post below for more 👇🏼

⏪ICYMI: Were you unable to attend the book talk with Keiichiro Hirano and Kendall Heitzman at the University of Iowa this past April? The archive video is now available on YouTube!

This event included a reading from Keiichiro HIRANO's award-winning ECLIPSE (recently translated in English for the first time), a discussion between Hirano and translator Kendall Heitzman, and a Q&A.

💻Watch today: https://youtu.be/HPWNunavStE?si=CqO9yXqxZQgpSN9h

This book talk event was sponsored by the Japan Foundation and the University of Iowa’s Center for Asian and Pacific Studies (CAPS) and Japanese Program.



📸courtesy of Atsuko Horiuchi

Masahiro SHINODA’s study of a young student radical, with screenplay written by leftist firebrand poet, theater director, and later filmmaker Shuiji TERAYAMA, marks an early blast of the Japanese New Wave’s youth energy.

🎞️Presented with the Japan Foundation’s 35mm imported print.

DRY LAKE screenings:
Jun 25, 9:15pm
Jun 29, 7pm

The 12-film series runs Jun 19-30 at BAM Film!

Tickets on sale now: https://www.bam.org/film/2026/masahiro-shinoda-dry-lake


©1960 Shochiku Co., Ltd.

🔦JFF Theater Spotlight
🖌️This week's film: SHODO GIRLS!!
Part of The Japanese Spirit of “DŌ”

🏭Satoko (Riko NARUMI) is her high school’s calligraphy club captain, yet she sees calligraphy only as a duty as she practices under her strict father. But when Mr. Ikezawa (Nobuaki KANEKO) is appointed the new club advisor and holds a calligraphy performance set to music, a change develops among the club members and their captain.

🌊This heartwarming coming-of-age drama depicts the unique world of calligraphy through a fractured group of students gradually coming together for their best performance, setting the stage for a moving climax. Through its small-town setting in Ehime on the island of Shikoku, the film also highlights revitalization and perseverance of regional communities in the face of economic hardship.

💻Watch this film for FREE this weekend: https://en.jff.jpf.go.jp/movie/shodo-girls/

JFF Theater｜Moved, Touched & Inspired

We updated this video on our YouTube Channel! 👇🏼 If you haven't, be sure to watch today!

⏪ICYMI: If you didn’t have a chance to see Kanako Nishi and Allison Markin Powell during their author and translating tour this year, good news: the archive video from their Rizzoli Bookstore NYC stop is now available on our YouTube channel!
Their conversation included Sakura the dog, the world through the eyes of Sakura, the translation process and more 🌸🐶
💻Watch today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHW_s-M1afg

Kanako Nishi x Allison Markin Powell Author & Translator Tour Presenting Sakura was co-presented by the Japan Foundation in collaboration with Kanako Nishi and Allison Markin Powell, supported by HarperVia Books and local venues.

Beginning Sat. Jun. 20, join us at BAM Film for PALE FLOWER, regarded as one of the greatest Japanese films. Cementing Masahiro Shinoda as a leading voice of the Japanese New Wave, this stark, black-and-white noir depicts the story of a yakuza gangster and a mysterious woman as they drift toward self-destruction.

Presented in 4K Restoration.

📅Sat, Jun 20, 6PM
Sat, Jun 27, 9PM
Tue, Jun 30, 4:30PM

🎟️Grab your tickets now!
https://www.bam.org/film/2026/masahiro-shinoda-pale-flower

Whether you’re a Japanese cinema novice or teaching Japanese cinema to others, our book recs this week will help deepen your understanding of this medium growing in popularity.

🎬THIS WEEK’S THEME: Understanding Japanese Cinema

📚THIS WEEK’S BOOKS:
Reading a Japanese Film by Keiko I. McDonald – Written by a pioneer of Japanese film studies in the US, this book provides tools to construct a deeper understanding of Japanese films –https://tinyurl.com/readingjapanesefilmmcdonald

What is Japanese Cinema by Yomota Inohiko (translated by Philip Kaffen) – Inohiko provides a concise history of Japanese film and how it tells the story of Japan’s modern age – https://tinyurl.com/japanesecinemainuhiko

Japanese Cinema by Peter Cowie – Cowie traces common themes explored by legendary names such as Kurosawa, Mizoguchi, Ozu, and Naruse - https://tinyurl.com/japanesecinemacowie

💻Looking for something different? To find & pick your next read, visit: libbyapp.com/library/jf
📇Don't have a library card for the digital library? Learn more on how you can get one here: jflalc.org/libby

The JF USA Digital Library is operated in partnership with The Japan Foundation, Toronto & The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles　国際交流基金ロサンゼルス日本文化センター