Japan Society Film

06/12/2026

"Japan Society was able to lure her [Meiko Kaji] to New York City for screenings of her films this past spring. The 10-film retrospective, which included “Lady Snowblood” and three entries in the “Sasori” series, attracted sold-out crowds, delighting both Kaji and the program’s curator, Alexander Fee. She even sang “The Flower of Carnage” and “My Grudge Blues” on stage, thrilling her local fans."

Read The Japan Times profile on Meiko Kaji below:

The star of “Lady Snowblood” and other 1970s action films looks back on the serendipities that shaped her early career — and her dogged determination to hone her craft.

06/10/2026

🚨Tickets for JAPAN CUTS Powered by Canon are now live!🚨

Discover the best and boldest in contemporary Japanese cinema with this year’s slate of 30+ films—from independent art films and classics to documentaries and commercial hits! North American’s largest film festival of new Japanese film runs July 8-18.

Still available:
✨ All-Access Pass: VIP receptions with celebrity guests, limited-edition merchandise bundle, VIP concierge service, and more!
Not a member? Join now to get member-priced 🎟️!

Browse all 30+ premieres here: japansoc.org/JCUTS2026

06/09/2026

80s idol, actress and singer Hiroko Yakushimaru—star of SAILOR SUIT AND MACHINE GUN (1981) and the embodiment of Kadokawa’s innovative media mix strategy—was in 1964. One of Kadokawa’s Sannin-musume (“Three Sisters”)—alongside Noriko Watanabe and Tomoyo Harada—Yakushimaru was recruited to revitalize the stagnating film industry of the late 70s. Some of her most well-known films include MAIN THEME, DETECTIVE STORY and SCHOOL IN THE CROSSHAIRS.

To commemorate 50 years of Kadokawa’s once-dominant brand of pop cinema, the international 4K premiere of representative work W’S TRAGEDY (seen in the second and last slide) starring Yakushimaru will be presented as part of next month: japansoc.org/Ws-tragedy

06/06/2026

Hirokazu Kore-eda ( ) with the child actors—Ayu Kitaura, Momoko Shimizu, Hiei Kimura and Yuya Yagira—of NOBODY KNOWS (2004).

Kore-eda's latest film SHEEP IN THE BOX will have its North American premiere, alongside a revival of OUR LITTLE SISTER, as part of JAPAN CUTS: japansoc.org/JCUTS2026

06/05/2026

Hirokazu Kore-eda’s resonant OUR LITTLE SISTER forgoes a traditional plot in favor of an abundance of slice-of-life vignettes and everyday incidents. Three twenty-something sisters—Sachi, Yoshino and Chika—live together in their grandmother’s old family home in Kamakura’s seaside idyll. At their estranged father’s funeral in Yamagata—a figure they haven’t heard from in 15 years—the sisters meet their teenage half-sister Suzu (Suzu Hirose) whom they capriciously invite to move in with them. Koreeda’s blissful domestic drama tracks the sisters’ lives as seasons inevitably pass, enriched by the growing bonds of sisterhood and familial understanding.

Introduced by Suzu Hirose on 7/12: japansoc.org/littlesister

06/03/2026

🎬 LINEUP ANNOUNCED! 🎬 We’re beyond thrilled to unveil the complete lineup for the 19th annual Powered by Canon—North America’s largest festival of contemporary Japanese film, returning to Japan Society this summer from July 8–18.

Join us for 11 days of unrivaled premieres, special guests, and the boldest voices in Japanese cinema today, including the premiere of A PALE VIEW OF HILLS and a revival of OUR LITTLE SISTER with CUT ABOVE Award Honoree Suzu Hirose, SHEEP IN THE BOX with director Hirokazu Koreeda, world premieres of newly restored 4K shorts by Gakuryu (Sogo) Ishii, indie darlings and more.

🔓 Member presale starts TODAY! Upgrade your festival experience with our passes:
✨ Festival Pass: Your golden ticket to see every single film in the lineup.
✨ All-Access Pass: VIP receptions with celebrity guests, limited-edition merchandise bundle, VIP concierge service, and more!
Not a member? Join now before tickets open to the public!

Browse all 30+ premieres here: japansoc.org/JCUTS2026

05/28/2026

Mieko Harada (RAN, THE YOUTH KILLER) on the cover of “Asahigraph”, July 23, 1976.

The (dated) cover copy reads: “In an entertainment industry full of bland, unremarkable pretty girls, her [Mieko Harada’s] performance in the film LULLABY OF THE EARTH gave her a mysterious presence. Currently a 17-year-old in her third year at Tokyo Metropolitan Yoyogi High School, she says, ‘I’m not sure whether I should go to university or not.’ It seems she doesn’t yet consider acting her ‘true calling.’ Rather, she comes across as a young lady at a difficult age where cheerfulness and naivety are subtly intertwined.”

05/22/2026

Hideaki Anno ( ) with Asumi Miwa and Tadanobu Asano on the set of LOVE & POP, 1997.

05/16/2026

“Soaked by typhonic showers throughout, THE YOUTH KILLER ends in fire and darkness, an infernal combination befitting this Dante-like saga.”

Screen Slate on tonight’s 16mm screening of Hasegawa’s THE YOUTH KILLER: japansoc.org/youthkiller

A grungy portrait of total nihilism, Kazuhiko Hasegawa's The Youth Killer (1976) opens innocently enough. A pair of aproned young people play outside, trading singsong rhymes and dancing about. This scene of childlike abandon offers the slimmest respite in what quickly becomes a long rainy day's jou...

05/14/2026

Kenichi Hagiwara and Fumi Dan taking a break from filming BITTERNESS OF YOUTH at the Toho Studios pool, 1974.

"Kazuhiko Hasegawa's Anarchic Ethos" closes out this weekend with rare 16mm imports of THE YOUTH KILLER and Tatsumi Kumashiro's BITTERNESS OF YOUTH: japansoc.org/hasegawa