About

Mission & History

Board of Directors

Staff

Financials

Careers

日本語

Visit

Location & Hours

Rent Our Space

Accessibility

Press

Press Center

Stay in Touch

Join Our Email List

Contact Us

Corporate

Become a Member

Make a Donation

Corporate Support

Foundations & Government

Planned Giving

Special Events

Both performances on September 11 are sold out. The Story Box will run through October 9 at various locations in NYC. Check <a href="https://here.org/shows/the-story-box/" target="_blank">here</a> for a list of venues and times.

<h5>Theater</h5>
Saturday, September 11 at 4 pm 
 Saturday, September 11 at 7 pm
Co-presented with HERE

Written and performed by Suzi Takahashi and directed by Kristin Marting, The Story Box explores the importance of safeguarding our civil rights through the lens of Japanese American identity. Using kamishibai (a traditional Japanese storytelling method), coupled with Takahashi’s own family history and original music, this show takes audience members on a 230-year journey through our country's problematic treatment of Asian immigrants. In this outdoor event on 47th Street in front of Japan Society, each audience member receives a suitcase to sit on—a prop that alludes to Japanese Americans taking "only what they could carry" during their relocation during WWII. What will you find in your suitcase?

All patrons attending performances will be required to show proof of vaccination (NY Excelsior pass or vaccination card) and be masked. 

Tickets: Pay What You Wish

Location: On 47th Street between First and Second Avenue, in front of Japan Society’s building (333 East 47th Street, Manhattan)

This public event, permitted under New York City's Open Culture Program, commences a series of performances of The Story Box in outdoor spaces in each of the five boroughs of New York City.

Tickets

Written and performed by Suzi Takahashi and directed by Kristin Marting, The Story Box explores the importance of safeguarding our civil rights through the lens of Japanese American identity.

fall21-PA-StoryBox

<div class="divider"></div>

Image: The Story Box © Photo of Suzi Takahashi by Paula Court, Family Photos courtesy of Suzi Takahashi, Graphic Design by Alex M. Lee

The Story Box is co-presented and produced by HERE. In addition to this September 11 Manhattan performance, the show will be performed in each of the other Boroughs through partnerships with Asian American Arts Alliance, Bronx Academy of Art and Dance, Flushing Town Hall, New York Economic Development Corporation, Snug Harbor Cultural Center, Staten Island Arts, and Target Margin Theater. The Story Box has been developed with support from Alfred University, Bethany Arts Community, Bristol Valley Theatre and National Park of Women’s Rights, and the Venturous Theatre Fund of the Tides Foundation. Additional support provided by The Venturous Theatre Fund of the Tides Foundation; and GREEN / ARTS LIVE NYC. GREEN / ARTS LIVE NYC is made possible with support from New York Community Trust and Con Edison’s Arts Al Fresco Series, administered by City Parks Foundation in collaboration with the Horticultural Society of New York, New Yorkers for Culture & Arts, NYC Department of Transportation, OpenCultureWORKS, and Street Lab.

<img style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px;" src="https://images.contentful.com/zwqohdz2e0fx/3uvo0hJR85vqCgK7TuawGT/3c4298d11f03bc6d41d5eb33704b9cdd/HERE_Logo_18-19Gradient.png" alt="" width="auto" height="25" />

 2021-2022 Performing Arts Season

<table style="border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0; margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px;">
 <tbody>
 <tr>
 <td style="padding-bottom: 10px">Lead Sponsor</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td style="vertical-align: middle; padding-right: 26px;"><img style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px;" src="https://jscommunity.japansociety.org/image/PA_MetLife_214.png" alt="MetLife Foundation" width="214" height="25" /></td>
 </tr>
 </tbody>
</table>

The season is made possible, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. 

<img style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px;" src="//images.ctfassets.net/zwqohdz2e0fx/5ypprxzQGivKZPiPqceaQp/3221d2dae5a9641546172131c697f6e6/nyc_cultural_affairs_logo.png" alt="" width="" height="30" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
<img style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px;" src="https://images.ctfassets.net/zwqohdz2e0fx/3Ko8ijbZbegeMo7shRiBTS/9e8893fcbfccd4736a86a61e14385085/NYSCA_Green.jpg" alt="" width="" height="30" /> 

Major Support is generously provided by Doug and Teresa Peterson, with endowment support from the Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Endowment Fund and the Endowment for the Performing Arts, established with a leadership gift from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. 

Additional support is provided by Helen and Kenneth A. Cowin, Dr. Jeanette C. Takamura, Dr. and Mrs. Carl F. Taeusch II, Mr. Alan M. Suhonen‡, Sarah Billinghurst Solomon and Howard Solomon, Paula S. Lawrence, Dr. Stephen and Mrs. Michiko Levine, Marjorie Neuwirth, Hiroko Onoyama, Lyndley and Samuel Schwab, and Nancy and Joe Walker. Transportation assistance is provided by All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd. Yamaha is the official piano provider of Japan Society. MetLife Meet-the-Artists Reception is provided by MetLife Foundation. 

<a href="http://www.fly-ana.com/"><img style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px;" src="https://images.ctfassets.net/zwqohdz2e0fx/2GyisQCua2vvhJsl31ee8Q/78a4de01f7bc81c012b782cca8dd4cb6/041921-LOGO-ANA_130.png" alt="" width="130" height="37" /></a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;


&dagger; In memoriam.

The Story Box 

In tandem with the release of Okada Toshiki & Japanese Theatre, Japan Society will host scholars featured in the book to discuss the impact playwright/director Okada has made on the international theater scene. 

Portrait of Okada Toshiki (left) and the cover of his book (right).

Okada-PA-1920x1080

Book Launch & Conversation: Okada Toshiki & Japanese Theatre 

For this one-of-a-kind in-person performance, Brooklyn-based media designer Tei Blow will transform Japan Society’s stage into an immersive soundscape featuring the ethereal voices of Shomyo no Kai—Voices of a Thousand Years.

Shomyo-Diamond-Smoke-1920x1080

Shomyo: Buddhist Ritual Chant—Spiral Mandala Ceremony 

Commemorating the 50th anniversary of the 1971 Okinawa Reversion Agreement, a group of the islands' most exquisite dancers will perform a diverse repertoire of Okinawan traditional performing arts accompanied by live music. 

Waves Across Time: Traditional Dance and Music of Okinawa


fall21-PA-traditional-okinawa

Waves Across Time: Traditional Dance and Music of Okinawa  

In this program, Oki performs solo pieces as well as contemporary works, performed by his internationally-known Oki Ainu Dub Band, that fuse Reggae, African and Electronica with Ainu folk melodies.

fall21-PA-oki-ainu

OKI: Music of the Ainu

Upcoming

Buy Tickets

 The Contemporary Dance Festival, one of New York City’s most anticipated contemporary dance events, kicks off in 2022 with artists from Japan, Taiwan and Korea.

Contemporary Dance Festival: Japan + East Asia


fall21-PA-Dance

Contemporary Dance Festival: Japan + East Asia

The real and the surreal come together at a small French restaurant in Japan in Cooking Up, written by emerging female playwright and director Shoko Matsumura.

1920x1080-CookingUp

Cooking Up

Inspired by the writings of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, author of The Little Prince, SHEEP #1 follows the adventures of a sheep in search of the meaning of life. 

fall21-PA-sheep1

SHEEP #1

Japanese-American playwright/director Aya Ogawa presents this final version of their intimate autobiographical piece that explores their fractured relationship with their long-deceased, enigmatic father.

Performances

Shomyo: Buddhist Ritual Chant—Spiral Mandala Ceremony

Upcoming

Book Launch & Conversation: Okada Toshiki & Japanese Theatre

Shomyo: Buddhist Ritual Chant—Spiral Mandala Ceremony

Waves Across Time: Traditional Dance and Music of Okinawa

OKI: Music of the Ainu

Past

Contemporary Dance Festival: Japan + East Asia

Cooking Up

SHEEP #1

The Nosebleed

About

Visit

Press

Stay in Touch