Yoko Shioya | New developments in the Japan Society, a promoter of exchange between Japan and the U.S. for 100 years

In Japan, you are known as a researcher in the field of arts and culture programs. You are a frequent contributor of articles on the American performing arts scene to Japanese newspapers and magazines, and you have played an active role in introducing America’s nonprofit arts industry. You have also been a frequent provider of information about performing arts in the U.S. for this website, which we are very grateful for. Now we would like to hear about your role as the Japan Society’s Artistic Director. First of all, what do you do as Artistic Director?: I assumed the position of Director of Performing Arts in 2003, and subsequently became Artistic Director of the Japan Society in 2006. Prior to that, there was no such position at The Society. Its administrative responsibility is equivalent to the vice president’s position, however, since the title vice president sounds too bureaucratic and it doesn’t relay my proper function as a director of programming, “Artistic Director” was applied to me. Currently 60 staff members work at the Japan Society, and five work in the Performing Arts department. The Performing Arts’ program budget was about $1.1 million (about 13,000,000 yen) last year and this fiscal year. Since two halves of these fiscal years (06-07 and 07-08) make up our 100th anniversary season, the budgets in both years are a little larger than usual.
As Artistic Director, my main responsibility is programming for Performing Arts. In addition I manage the Film Program and also handle programming for a part of the Lecture Program. Since film is not my specialty, I don’t handle the actual curation for Film, but I am responsible for setting its direction to distinguish Japan Society’s Film program from other film venues. For example, just this past summer we started a large-scale, non-curatorial film festival focusing entirely on new films made in Japan. We did this to recognize the recent and remarkable surge in the Japanese film-making in the market where, until recently, foreign films dominated. To represent this renaissance, I thought that “curating a program of past/classic films” was not enough to convey the big picture of what is happening in the Japanese film industry. We also started to focus on digging up films which have not been seen outside of Japan simply because they have no English subtitles. To introduce these kinds of films, we create translations, make subtitles onto a computer file, and project them simultaneously on the movie screen. Such procedures require excellent bilingual ability in staff members, and I think that only Japan Society is positioned to manage this service. These are just a few examples of the initiatives I have taken. However, since film is not my area of expertise, actual film selection is handled by my film staff.
I want to ask you later in more detail about the Society’s Performing Arts department and what it does, but before I do that, I’d like to ask how you as a Japanese came to work at Japan Society. What did you study in college?: I had a vague notion that I wanted to study dance, so I went to the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music. However, at that time in the early 1980s there were no teachers on dance as an academic subject. There weren’t even any materials available – books or video tapes – that I could study from. So, I studied under the late professor Fumio Koizumi, who was a pioneer in Japan’s ethnomusicology. Still, I was able to do research and study modern dance through the period between Isadora Duncan and Judson Church movement.
Speaking of how I came to this job at the Japan Society, it may be related to the fact that since I was a high school student, I had been intrigued with Serge Diaghilev, impresario and founder of the Ballets Russes. I was very interested in how to bring together cutting-edge artists from various genres such as music, dance and art; and how to put them together to collaborate to create new work. I had no clue: would he just pick up a phone and call Cocteau? How would he talk to Stravinsky to commission him to write a new music? How would he start the conversation? Was there any standard commissioning fee? How would the contract be made? What would be good time to make event posters, etc. I was very curious about those things.
Now I can see all these are issues fall under “arts management.” But in those days when I was a college student, there was no such word in Japan – there wasn’t even the concept of “arts management.” Moreover, in those days, the Japanese performing arts industry did not seem to have clear-cut business customs nor any answers I was looking for. So, I thought I should put myself in a different industry where I could get decent business experience. I got a job at Hamano Institute Inc., planning, consulting, and producing for a company in the design and architecture field. To produce a commercial building or facilities, a joint effort was required involving architects, interior designers, graphic designers – all “creative” people – and developers, who all worked under common sense of business. Although the design industry was not performing arts, I expected I would be able to gain some practical knowledge in that job.
Now at Japan Society I write contracts with artists, or make proposals to attract funders and corporate constituents for fundraising. I have adopted a lot of skill and knowledge that I practiced in the design industry. To make people commit to something that is not yet visible or tangible – like design work – you have to somehow excite people with your ideas. The skills, language and social rules required in this process is common even in the arts field.
Why did you go to the U.S.?: In short, it was because my husband at the time was a contemporary visual artist and he had a dual citizenship of the U.S and Japan. We moved to the States in 1988 at a time when U.S. seemed better than Japan for any kind of artistic activities. Also I gradually got fed up with dealing in commercial industry, which always chased frivolous trends and accelerated consumption. My direction was always to put myself in a place where I can pursue art for art’s sake, or “beauty” – therefore a job in the design field no longer stimulated my intellectual curiosity. Having said that, though, of course I had to make a living in New York – so I stayed in the design business for a while, receiving work from Japan as a coordinator in the architectural design to liaison between the U.S. and Japan. At the same time, I started to write articles for major Japanese magazines to introduce America’s art support systems, and I received commissions from Japan to do research on this subject. Gradually, I established myself as a researcher and arts writer. I must say that it wasn’t too easy to make a living through this job, though. (laughs).
When did you begin working at the Japan Society?: In 1997. A director at Asian Cultural Council (ACC) told me that someone in Performing Arts at Japan Society wanted to meet me. I just went and it turned out to be a job interview (laughs). Later that year was the 90th anniversary season of Japan Society and they were looking for a full-time staff for the busy season. I had no intention at the time of becoming a full-time “salary-based employee” of any organization, so I turned down the opportunity initially. But, then I was told that the Performing Arts department would give its staff members a lot of comp-time because it involved a lot of overtime work. I was convinced that I could use that free time to continue my own business, and accepted the job. This was a decision that forced me to wear two hats: as a researcher/writer/consultant in the arts in Japan, and a performing arts staff at Japan Society in America. Japan Society has a 100-year history now. I’m sure that the roles and the activities today have changed considerably from those at the time of its start.; Japan Society was founded in the wake of the Russo-Japanese War when influential business people in New York began to recognize that Japan was not a dismissible country. They worked with influential Japanese people to discuss what kind of organization was needed promote mutual understanding in both countries. The result was Japan Society. Although we have some awkward feelings about the name “society” these days, this organization at the time actually functioned as a “society.” Without its theater and other facilities that we have now, it used to provide opportunities for academics, literati, and leaders in business and politics to meet each other. It also organized events to introduce aspects of Japanese culture like ikebana flower arrangement at salons rented at hotels and the like. Another interesting example of activities of early Japan Society is that it produced a first packaged tour to Japan targeting general public of Americans.
The foundation of the present Japan Society was really formed after World War II. In 1952, the head of Chase Manhattan Bank, David Rockefeller III, became President of the Society. In 1953 Performing Arts program was initiated and since then, public programs in the arts were augmented. The current building, designed by Junzo Yoshimura, was completed in 1971. With this architecture containing a theater, gallery, language center and multi-purpose rooms, Japan Society has been able to produce its own original performing arts programs and present them to general public.
Looking back on the last 100 years, Japan Society’s contribution to deepen mutual understanding between the U.S. and Japan has been enormous. For example, there are many influential journalists who were fellows of the Japan Society’s “Media Fellow” program. (Japan Society has assisted American and Japanese journalists in their research and investigation in each other’s country). Also the Society for many years has always maintained close network with “Japan experts” in American academia. In recent years, the number of American people who speak Japanese and who have a deep understanding of Japanese cultural has increased dramatically – likewise there are many Japanese people who speak English fluently these days, and the internet has enabled Americans and Japanese to easily obtain all kinds of information of each other’s country. However, in the past the Japan Society was virtually the only organization which could navigate American people to the culture of Japan: the Society had been long considered the most comprehensive resource center for information on Japan.
Today, however, the Society’s positioning is completely different. First of all, in the past Americans’ interest about Japanese culture was primarily in the traditional. But these days, while conventional interests in “Fujiyama & Geisha” still remain, many are interested geeky “otaku” culture represented by the world of anime and manga comics, and many others are interested in Japan’s technology business. That is, demand on “information of Japan” is much more diverse now than it once was. It is our big challenge to address such diverse characteristics of Japan as one entity called “Japan.”
Furthermore, in such a developed internet era, we can no longer indulge ourselves with the long-standing status of “the most comprehensive recourse of Japan.” In other words, unless we make serious effort to keep seeking an elaborate way to convey the diverse characteristics of Japan, or to deliver new discoveries that the internet cannot provide, we will lose our status. We are challenged to fulfill a new role as a guide to Japan.
What kinds of the way are you trying to do, for instance?: When the Society was planning an exhibition curated by artist Takashi Murakami, the then-Gallery Director as well as staff members in the Communication and Development department wanted to promote it through the “pop art” angle. But I, who was putting series of performing arts program related to the exhibition’s theme, disagreed. I insisted that we should promote it through the theme using the word of “otaku.” They argued that Americans didn’t understand what “otaku” meant, and that “pop art” is the communicative theme title to attract Americans. But I believed that “pop art” in an American context would associate with something completely different from what Murakami was trying to put together. Unlike “pop art,” the word “otaku” has negative connotation. If we ignore the complexity lying below the surface of Japanese pop culture, our program would end up as same as other organization’s programs and we would lose our competitive edge. We should not just show the obvious. As I mentioned earlier, the Society has to have the sensitivity to elaborately illustrate the true and entire personality of Japan.
There’s more. In order to discover Japan, “looking into Japan to see what is going on there” is no longer a sufficient approach. In the past there were only a few Japanese artists active abroad. However, these days it is rather difficult to name a world-class ballet company whose company does not include a Japanese dancer. Not only is the number of those dancers increasing, but the choreographers active abroad are also increasing. The fact that many Japanese artists are thriving outside of Japan suggests that you can find some kind of Japan-ness abroad: a piece born outside of Japan may contain influences of Japan, or it may be a hybrid of Japanese culture. Considering that phenomenon, you would realize that the mere presentation of what you find on Japanese soil is not sufficient to introduce “current Japan as a whole.”
I am now planning to present a series of European productions (or perhaps German productions) for fall 2009 or spring of 2010. One of the groups I am thinking of presenting is a group formed by a German man and a Japanese woman who met when they were studying at New York University. The theme of their work is Japan but it is performed in English; the production staff team is German, and the cast includes New York-based Japanese actor and Berlin-based Japanese dancer. You can’t label this production as simply “Japanese” can you? But you also can’t tear off the label of Japan completely since the work is still deeply rooted in Japan. This is a fine example that represents the great diversity of Japan today. Another example is “Contemporary Dance Showcase from Japan” which we have presented annually for the last 10 years. This season, we will expand this program to “Contemporary Dance Showcase from Japan and East Asia,” introducing dance company from Taiwan and Korea along with three Japanese companies. I have set this new direction because I think we now have a mission to present Japan in a global context.
I would like to ask you to give us an overview of the Japan Society’s performing arts department.: We present performing arts program almost once a month in our theater. We cover all kinds of genres from contemporary music, dance, and theater to traditional performing arts. Some of the programs and projects are conducted on an annual basis: U.S. tours of Japanese contemporary theater companies, which have been supported by the Saison Foundation in Japan; various kinds of traditional Japanese performing arts performed by the highest-ranked performers from Japan; the aforementioned contemporary dance showcase; experimental music concert series curated by the avant-garde musician/composer John Zorn, to introduce the many Japanese artists who have released albums under Zorn’s Tzadik label. Also, every other year we commission a non-Japanese artist to create a new piece inspired or influenced by Japanese culture. I would like to ask next about the U.S. tours. What kinds of works you choose for the tours.; The criteria are: whether the work has the artistic value that warrants our investment of effort and resources to produce the tour: whether there are funds available to support the tour; whether the artist him/herself really wants to tour; whether American presenters would be attracted to the piece; whether the financial and scheduling conditions are feasible for touring. As for Japanese contemporary theater companies, we have so far produced tours for Rinko-gun, Seinendan, Ku Na’uka, SPAC, Kayoko Shiraishi’s Hyaku Monogatari , Takeshi Kawamura’s AOI/KOMACHI , and the company Yubiwa Hotel. Next year, we will produce a tour for the theater company chelfitsch. In terms of attracting other U.S. presenters to produce and organize a tour, dance is relatively easier than theater because dance does not involve language. For theater pieces, you have to discuss with artists how to place translation in the best way. That is why Japan Society has made special efforts to organize tours for theater companies; it isn’t such an easy thing for any other U.S. presenters or agents.
What kinds of venues have joined contemporary Japanese theater’s tour to present them?: We have a large network we like to collaborate with: Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Wexner Center for the Arts in Ohio, Hopkins Center in New Hampshire, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, On the Board in Seattle, Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art, The Flynn Center for the Performing Arts in Vermont, Miami Light Project in Miami, to name a few. Also we contact universities like University of Pittsburgh and the University of Massachusetts. We have maintained database of venues that have joined our tour projects in the past – we can always draw up a list of 20 venues or so.
What do those venues and presenters find interest in Japanese contemporary theater?: Venues that have interest in presenting traditional arts are not so picky that they are willing to present any kinds of the traditional art form: noh, kabuki, or rakugo. However, presenters who take contemporary theater are more selective about content. They have different expectations for a performing arts piece that was not created in the U.S. That doesn’t mean they expect to see a slice of Japan with actors sitting formally on tatami and bowing deeply. I could tell by feeling what kind of stuff American presenters perceive as the kind of “Japan-ness” that would not be created by American artists. In that sense, I must be an American presenter though I am Japanese. The “Japan-ness” is a subtle thing, such as a unique tempo, a way to depict relationship between men and women, or portrait of young people who can’t get along in society, etc. At the same time, those presenters also have an interest in contemporary issues that is common between Japan and the U.S., or internationally – they are attracted to that the issue can be even shared with people in such a different culture.
Can you tell us a little more about what Americans perceive as Japan-ness?: For instance, it could be things like the stage set is extremely elaborately designed and constructed.
Is it a kind of fetishism?: Well, you could say so. In the U.S. it is hard to find such elaborate, detailed and intricate stage set as, for instance, that of the Dumb Type Company. Also, take Rinkogun Theater Compnay’s play The Attic . Americans recognized in the work Japan’s recent social issue of “hikikomori,” or withdraw oneself from society and to cocoon himself, as a common contemporary phenomenon of the younger generation. Also they might have found a Japanese-ness in its direction and stage set – that a dozen actors performed in the confines of such a small box. I think that they see someone like Ko Murobushi’s stoic use of the body on stage as very Japanese, very Butoh-ish.
Does Murobushi’s butoh look stoic to Americans? That would be different from the Japanese perception.: Yes, that’s how it looks in America. Take another example: Shirotama Hitsujiya’s company Yubiwa Hotel. Their theme is “girl” or “girly adult.” A grown-up female can be remained a “girl” in Japan regardless of her age. On the contrary, a female child or teenager is a girl in America and a grown-up female is not a girl anymore. To Americans’ eyes, Shirotama’s “girly adult” look like a strange creature with a unique existence in Japan. Having prepared all of this Japan-ness on a plate, we then have to motivate American audience to physically come to the theater to see these works – otherwise, it would not mean that we’re actually introduce them to American people. That is why we need to find right communicative words that will make Americans want to come and see the plays. It is very important role for us to set a strategy how to promote and market them.
Please explain about commissioning new works.: We have established an endowment of $1.25 million (approx. 140 mil. yen) with the help of a matching grant from Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Generated income from the endowment can only be used for the performing arts program. We use part of the income, usually $40,000 to $50,000, to commission non-Japanese artists to create new work which somehow relates to Japan, such as using traditional Japanese performing arts techniques or collaborations with Japanese artists. One of such commissioning we produced was Basil Twist’s “Dogugaeshi.” We presented its world premiere at the Society’s theater in 2004, and have produced its Japan tour to take place in this fall.
A unique aspect of this commissioning program is that we commission the kind of artist who is willing to do research on Japanese culture as a part of their creative process. We fully assist in the research process. For example, in the case of “Dogugaeshi,” which incorporates a stage mechanism of tradition Japanese puppet theater survived in the Awa region, Basil visited Japan twice to research on the tradition of Japanese puppet theater. We facilitate his trips by preparing an interpreter who is an American scalar of Japanese puppet theater. Then after he returned to the U.S. from the first trip, he said he wanted to collaborate with a shamisen player, so we introduced him to a shamisen artist who is a maser of traditional shamisen as well as an active musician in experimental music. Also, he said that he wanted to use traditional Japanese motifs in the set, so we got him an intern who could research the traditional motifs and find something suitable. We have also arranged an intern for him as his assistant who could help him in research on Japanese traditional patterns, symbols and drawings. After Basil, we commissioned an experimental theater-dance group called Big Dance Theater, who have been known for their incorporation of the Okinawan dance. They created a new work based on Ibuse Masuji’s short novels and we presented the world premiere this past February. Subsequently the piece toured in several cities in the U.S. and returned to New York to be presented in a different venue in this September. We arranged for them to meet Ibuse’s nephew, and their residency in Okinawa to practice Okinawan dance.
Japan Society’s role in this commissioning project is not only giving commissioning money and producing the premiere performance but also providing all kinds of assistance throughout the creative process, through which the artists can deepen his/her understanding of Japan and absorb necessary knowledge to create their new work. In other words, we think of the commission as a way to sow seeds of interest that will lead non-Japanese artists to a deeper interest in Japan. We can give the commission to only a small number of artists; however, we believe the impact will be enormous in a long term. Back in the days when it was hard to make a long journey to Japan, things like this were impossible. But today we can do so much and with great care as long as the artist has the passion to pursue things to fruition. Because we are now in an age when it is so easy to get information about Japan, only this type of commitment like ours can make differences to guide people towards a truly deep understanding. It is not a job that everyone can do. I believe the current and future mission of the Japan Society and my role here is to develop strategies on how to plan and realize such project to lead Americans to real understanding of Japan.