UNAGI top five
UNAGI top five: a selection of useful recommendations for our readers for your upcoming weeks.
1. 100 YEARS OF JAPANESE CINEMA AT BFI SOUTHBANK, LONDON
Japan 2021: 100 Years of Japanese cinema is taking place in the British Film Institute, Southbank London till the end of December. An intensely packaged schedule at the BFI sees their timetable and screens devoted to 100 years of Japanese cinema.
Love Letter, Japan (1995). Film directed by Shunji Iwai.
BFI has been a long term advocate for Japanese film educating UK audiences through festivals, seasons, books and videos. BFI London Film Festival in 1957 opened with Akira Kurosawa’s Throne of Blood. This year hosts a two-part season on Japanese cinema from a focus on the Golden Age of raw studio system and the rise of the radical New Wave and independent filmmakers of the later 20th century.
For more information: https://www.bfi.org.uk/japan-2021
2. 踊り子 (DANCER) - VAUNDY ON SPOTIFY
Vaundy (バウンディ) is a Japanese singer and song writer. From creating music on cubase in high school, Vaundy is now gaining international attention for his latest releases. Dancer MV is directed by Kodai Kobayashi (小林光大) and features actress and model Nana Komatsu (小松菜奈).
Vaundy is available to stream on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/4xk70Qur2QeRmWIzWPC63V?si=1f9b57e11052458d
3. YOUR HOME IZAKAYA BY TIM ANDERSON ON AMAZON
Looking for a cookbook as a present? Your Home Izakaya is a perfect cookbook for anyone that wants to make impressive dinner party food with minimum fuss and maximum flavour.
Tim Anderson’s latest cookbook has landed in the Financial Times Best of Books 2021 and succeeds as an approachable introduction to traditional Japanese izakaya cooking. Originating from sake stores that allowed patrons to have a drink, the Izakaya started serving small social dishes perfect for eating alongside boozing. This book is a how to guide to stock your own Japanese kitchen, bar and impress your friends with a few cocktails while you are at it.
We cannot wait to prep the addictive cabbage （やみつきキャベツ）and a unagi favourite, some Okinawan style Taco-rice (タコライス).
Able to purchase on Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Your-Home-Izakaya-Drinking-Dining/dp/1784883859
4. FUROSHIKI WRAPPING WORKSHOPS AT PANTECHNICON, LONDON
In Japan gift giving is an important cultural ritual, and the presentation is just as important as the present. Pantechnicon are hosting a variety of festive workshops, including a master class on the ancient art of Japanese gift wrapping, furoshiki.
With sustainability being at the forefront of our consciousness and traditional wrapping paper with tape producing excessive waste, furoshiki is a great reusable alternative.
For more information on upcoming workshops: pantechnicon.com
5. NOGUCHI AT THE BARBICAN, LONDON
An essential visit for any design fanatic. Barbican welcomes infamous Japanese American sculptor Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988), one of the most prolific artists of the 20th century. Noguchi is most well known for his Akira paper lanterns and his furniture design, but the exhibition explores his whole career as a ‘true artistic polymath’ through each medium against the backdrop of his life. The Barbican is the perfect location for the exhibit, with the brutalist structure allowing the design classics to really shine.
‘Embracing social, environmental and spiritual consciousness, Noguchi believed sculpture could 'be a vital force in our everyday life' and saw art 'as something which teaches human beings how to become more human.’
For more information on the exhibition which runs till Sun 23 Jan 2022, click here: https://www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on/2021/event/noguchi