What's On

In celebration of Japanese literature in the UK, join us this March for this rare talk event with multiple award-winning author SHIBASAKI Tomoka and renowned Japanese literary translator Polly Barton. Fluently changing subject between third-person and first-person, SHIBASAKI’s first English-translated book, Spring Garden, is a poetic but foreboding narrative of Taro and his neighbour, NISHI, who holds an obsessive interest towards the old house next door.

In this special talk, Tomoka and Polly will discuss the dazzling novels Spring Garden and the newly translated A Hundred Years and a Day.

'A master class in novel writing… Tomoka Shibasaki rightly won the Akutagawa Prize in 2014 for this sublime novella of dislocation and regret, and Polly Barton’s light, understated translation does it immense justice' - Japan Times

SHIBASAKI Tomoka

SHIBASAKI Tomoka is a Japanese novelist. Her debut novel Kyō no dekigoto (A Day on the Planet) was adapted into a film by YUKISADA Isao in 2004. Her 2007 novel Sono machi no ima wa (That Town, Today) received multiple awards including the Geijutsu Sensho Newcomers Prize. In 2010, her novel Netemo sametemo (Whether Asleep or Awake) received the Noma Literary New Face Prize; the book was subsequently adapted for the screen by HAMAGUCHI Ryusuke as Asako I & II and screened at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.

In 2014, SHIBASAKI won the Akutagawa Award for Spring Garden, translated into English by Polly Barton and published by Pushkin Press. Her 2023 novel Tsuzuki to hajimari (Continuing and Beginning) received the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's Art Encouragement Prize and the Tanizaki Junichiro Prize. Her 2018 work A Hundred Years and a Day was translated into English by Polly Barton and published by Stone Bridge Press in 2025. Her latest novel is Kaerenai tantei (The Detective Who Couldn't Go Home), published in 2025.

Polly Barton

Polly Barton is a writer and Japanese literary translator. Her translations include A Hundred Years and a Day and Spring Garden by SHIBASAKI Tomoka, Butter by YUZUKI Asako, Hunchback by ICHIKAWA Saou, Where the Wild Ladies Are by MATSUDA Aoko, and Mild Vertigo by KANAI Mieko. She is the author of Fifty Sounds, Porn: An Oral History. Her debut novel What Am I, A Deer? comes out in April.

YAGI Emi Photo: © ABE Mayumi 

Japanese literature has never been so popular in the UK!

Following the successful talk tour by YUZUKI Asako and TSUJIMURA Mizuki, the Japan Foundation is delighted to present two authors from Japan whom you should watch out for: YAGISAWA Satoshi, the author of the worldwide best-selling novel Days at the Morisaki Bookshop and its sequel, as well as our previous guest YAGI Emi (Diary of a Void) whose new book When the Museum is Closed is now available in English.

Although the two authors have different writing styles and storylines, both sincerely face and examine in their books the lives of women in a complex modern world and their journeys of coping with relatable personal issues.

They will talk about their own books in London and Manchester.

YAGISAWA Satoshi

Debuted in 2010 with Morisaki Shoten no hibi (Days at the Morisaki Bookshop), which was adapted into a hit film and followed up with a sequel publication. His Morisaki Bookshop series has since been translated worldwide, become an international bestseller and was shortlisted for the British Book Awards. His other works include the Junkissa Torunka (Torunka Cafe) series. His hobbies include playing the guitar and he loves coffee and cats.

YAGI Emi

Born in Nagano in 1988, is the award-winning author of Diary of a Void and When the Museum is Closed. Her work has been translated into 25 languages and acclaimed internationally. Her first novel, Diary of a Void, won the Osamu Dazai Prize. She lives in Tokyo and is an editor at a leading women’s magazine.

The #JFTFP26 official programme is now live!

Dates: Friday 6 February to Tuesday 31 March 2026

Venue: Cinemas nationwide

Get your tickets for the UK’s biggest Japanese film festival, the Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme, starting in February!

From one of the most talked-about social dramas by TAKASHI Miike, Sham, to The Hotel of My Dream, a light comedy based on the novel by the YUZUKI Asako (Butter), our diverse programme offers something for everyone.

We have even invited three filmmakers from Japan to visit various cities – do not miss our exclusive Q&A sessions!

Are you ready?

Directors Q&A Sessions:

IIZUKA Kasho (Director, Blue Boy Trial) 12 Feb: HOME, Manchester 13 Feb: Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), London 14 Feb: Chapter, Cardiff	YOSHIDA Daihachi (Director, Teki Cometh) 14 Feb: Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), London 15 Feb: QUAD, Derby 16 Feb: Showroom, Sheffield 17 Feb: The Ultimate Picture Palace (UPP), Oxford	KAI Sayaka (Director, Adabana) 25 Feb: Storyhouse, Chester 26 Feb: Riverside Studios, London 27 Feb: Queen’s Film Theatre (QFT), Belfast 3 Mar: Hyde Park Picture House, Leeds

View our full exciting line-up at our official website:

https://www.jpf-film.org.uk/