Culture

Japan Cultural Expo Announces New Projects for 2021

Tokyo / May 25th,2021 —The Japan Cultural Expo, a nationwide festival of Japanese arts and culture led by the Agency for Cultural Affairs and the Japan Arts Council, has announced the projects selected for the “Creating Cultural Resources Contents” for FY 2021 (April 2021 to March 2022). The projects are outlined as follows.

– Projects Organized or Co-organized by the Japan Cultural Expo
There are 44 large-scale cross-category initiatives which form the core of the Japan Cultural Expo. Many of the projects are planned and held jointly by the Japanese government, Japan Arts Council, cultural facilities, as well as private organizations and companies. Others are planned and implemented by organizations that run activities on a national scale.

– Innovation-oriented Projects
41 novel and innovative cultural and artistic projects held as part of the Japan Cultural Expo that seek to leverage culture to strengthen national branding, grow inbound tourism, and contribute to building the foundations for Japan’s position as a country of art and culture (creating more opportunities to discover and reaffirm the wonders of Japanese culture).

– Cultural Resource Projects
Capitalizing on the opportunity provided by the Japan Cultural Expo, teams of local residents and arts, industry, academia, and government bodies come together to run 23 cultural and artistic projects that leverage local assets with an eye to recovering inbound tourism and promoting domestic travel.

– International Cultural Festival Promotion Projects
Two novel and innovative projects will be held as part of the Japan Cultural Expo that leverage the cultural assets of regional areas to attract visitors from abroad. These fixed-term cultural and artistic projects, such as art festivals, seek to boost inbound tourism by promoting international cultural exchange, and developing and fulfilling cultural and artistic projects with high international recognition.

– Local Cultural Heritage Exhibition Support Projects
These 26 initiatives borrow regional cultural assets owned by the national government and other bodies, while creating easy-to-understand exhibition guides and experiential content to effectively and attractively exhibit and communicate the history, culture, atmosphere, and art of the areas in question.

<FY 2021>
FY 2021 will be the main year for the Japan Cultural Expo, which was launched in 2019, with exhibitions, stage performances and cultural festivals that embody the beauty of Japan to be held nationwide throughout the year.
Events will be held at each venue, taking all possible measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19, with additional efforts on distributing digital content to allow a wide audience both within and outside Japan to enjoy the Japan Cultural Expo online.
In addition to supporting cultural and artistic activities that bring people together, the Japan Cultural Expo will work to recover domestic and future inbound tourism through promoting the project.
Details on the dates and locations of each event will be announced individually on the official website of the Japan Cultural Expo and others.

Note on Covid-19:
– In response to the recent Covid-19 countermeasures, the venues may temporarily close, or events may be cancelled / postponed individually. Please check the official websites of each event for the latest information.
– For an overview of each project, please refer to the URL below or its official website, or contact us.
https://bit.ly/34aEU9H

Use of images on the PDF document provided in the URL above:
* Should you wish to use the images from the PDF document provided, please include full details of the project name, exhibition period, venue, title of the work and year of production, and the credit.
* Please use the whole image from the PDF document. Images may not be photoshopped, including overlaying text or trimming. Please contact the Japan Cultural Expo Secretariat if you have any request.
* Please apply copy protection when posting on a website.
* Please contact the Japan Cultural Expo Secretariat if you require the original data for the images.

– As a result of the Covid-19 crisis response, some projects will be cancelled permanently, however, there are some projects whose contents can be viewed digitally as below.

Digital Contents:
– Hokusai and Edo Culture
Special Exhibition: The Mount Fuji Challenges: Hokusai and Hiroshige”
(https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=XVevMbQqGZz&ts=0)

– Discover Traditional Performing Arts!
Humanity and Nature in Japan As Seen in Traditional Performing Arts: Experiencing the Multifaceted Nature of Traditional Performing Arts, Japanese Aesthetics, and View of Nature
(https://www.ntj.jac.go.jp/english/topics/top/2020/national_theatre_online.html)

– Ballet for Children 2021 “RYUUGUU – The Turtle Princess”
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chhypF-35F8)

– New Opera with Children and an Android “Super Angels”
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1a37-JAV4Fs)

– Traveling Promotion in the Metropolitan Area Introduction of Tohoku’s recovery efforts and charms through the “Tohoku Kizuna Festival” which has assembled the region’s best six historical festivals — one from each prefecture of Tohoku
(http://tohoku-kizunamatsuri.jp/special/en/)