The following are all special events related to Japan in the Triangle area which we know about. If you know of an event, but don't see it here, please be sure to let us know!

Fall 2007 Events

04 Oct 2007 / 4:00pm / Graham Memorial 039 - Lecture on Japanese Modernism      From the Asian Studies event page: "Flânerie Gone Bad?: Ryoki (Curiosity-Hunting) and the Exploration of the City in 1920s and 1930s Japan" One of the leading new scholars of Japanese modernism, Jeffrey Angles, will be discussing his research on urban culture in the 1920s and 30s. Professor Angles is also the guest editor of a forthcoming special issue of US-Japan Women's Journal devoted to avant-garde poet Ito Hiromi. This is a lively talk complete with "curious" images of the 1920s and 30s and a provocative view of Japanese popular literature. Sponsored by UNC-CH Departments of Asian Studies, English and Comparative Literature, and History, and the Carolina Asia Center. For more information, please contact Jan Bardsley at bardsley@email.unc.edu; 919-962-1534. 10 Oct 2007 / 8:00pm / Griffith Film Theater - Densha Otoko, Cine-East: New East Asian Cinema film series      The third film in Duke University's fall 2007 Cine-East: New East Asian Cinema film series, Densha Otoko (Train Man) is a romantic comedy about an unlikely relationship between an otaku and a stylish office lady. The film will be shown in Griffith Film Theater in the Bryan Center on Duke's West Campus. From the series description page: Train Man (Densha Otoko) (dir. by Murakami Masanori, 2005, 101 min, Japanese with English subtitles) Computer engineer Otaku (the Japanese term for "geek") is an average young man, dressed in unstylish clothes and dorky glasses. But as luck would have it, he encounters a pretty young woman on a commuter train and saves her from a lecherous molester, falling in love with her at first sight. A few days later he receives a thank-you message from the woman along with a set of Hermes teacups. Having never had a girlfriend or received a gift from a girl in his life, Otaku seeks out his pals on his IRC website for advice using his codename Train_Man (Densha Otoko): "How should I ask her out?" Deeply interested in Train_Man's first love, his IRC pals eagerly supply him with advice. Encouraged by their support, Train_Man undergoes a total makeover for his first-ever date with "Hermes." Little does he know that he is about to ignite an Internet phenomenon... Train Man: Densha Otoko is the film inspired by the phenomenal bestseller by Hitori Nakano that has taken Japan by storm. Based on true events that took place on a popular Internet Relay Chat (IRC) website in Japan called "2ch," this fairy-tale-like story has become a media sensation, and been adapted in book, comic, television drama, and movie formats. This film was an instant hit, grossing over 35 million dollars in Japan. 11 Oct 2007 / 4:00pm / Hamilton Hall 569 - "The Teeth and Claws of the Buddha: Religious Warriors and Samurai in Medieval Japan"- Presentation with Mikael Adoplphson of Harvard University      From the Asian Studies event page: The talk is part of a series, "Japanese Warriors: Past and Present," which is supported by the Carolina Asia Center, the Department of History, the Curriculum on Peace, War, and Defense, and the Global History Group at UNC Chapel Hill. If you need more information about the presentation, please contact Daniel Botsman at botsman@unc.edu. 05 Nov 2007 / 3:00pm / Pleasants Family Room, Wilson Library - Lecture with Toshiyuki Takamiya      From the Asian Studies event page: Toshiyuki Takamiya, professor of English at Keio University in Tokyo, which is one of the two top universities in Japan, and owner of over 100 medieval manuscripts and a good many more early modern printed books, will be visiting UNC to give a talk at the Library on digitalization of medieval manuscripts and early printed books. 15 Nov 2007 / 7:00pm / FedEx GEC Auditorium - Triangle Taiko - Japanese Drumming      From the Asian Studies event page: Combining music and movements drawn from the martial arts, taiko is a high-energy tradition of drumming that originated in Japan and is exhilarating to watch and hear. "Taiko" means large drum, and the sound and sight of a taiko ensemble is hard to forget! Enjoy a dynamic performance from Triangle Taiko, the only taiko ensemble in North Carolina. 12 Dec 2007 / 8:00pm / Griffith Film Theater - Paprika, Cine-East: New East Asian Cinema film series      The final film in Duke University's fall 2007 Cine-East: New East Asian Cinema film series is a mind-twisting, animated thiller. The film will be shown in Griffith Film Theater in the Bryan Center on Duke's West Campus. From the series description page: Paprika (dir. Kon Satoshi, 2006, 90 min, Japanese with English subtitles) Following its own brand of dream logic, Paprika is an eye-opening mind trip that never fails to dazzle. With PAPRIKA, Satoshi Kon (TOKYO GODFATHERS, MILLENNIUM ACTRESS) unleashes another eye-popping anime adventure. The visually striking thriller is set in the not-too-distant future, where doctors are developing a groundbreaking new psychotherapy treatment called PT. This coincides with the invention of a device called the "DC Mini," which enables researchers to enter the dreams of a subject and explore matters of the unconscious mind. But one day, a "DC Mini" prototype goes missing, and the doctors are thrown into a world of confusion. They realize how dangerous a turn of events this could be, and to ensure that things don't spiral out of control, they embark on a mad quest to track down the missing prototype. The pretty but timid Dr. Atsuko Chiba teams up with the food-loving Dr. Tokita to find his assistant, Himuro, who has disappeared. Unfortunately, it is at this time that Atsuko's boss, Torataro Shima, tries to commit suicide. Dr. Tokita calls in an old friend, Detective Konakawa, to help the team find an answer to the rapidly devolving problem. As the characters use their dreamworld alter egos to enter the dreams of troubled patients, the line between reality and unreality begins to blur, until no one knows for sure what is real and what isn't. An adaptation of a story by the acclaimed Japanese writer Yasutaka Tsutsui, PAPRIKA tells a tough-to-decipher, but spellbinding, tale. Kon's thought-provoking film features an absurdly catchy J-pop score and an unforgettable visual landscape.