Japan Special: Ryuichi Sakomoto, Japanese Short Stories, Sou Fujimoto
Ryuichi Sakomoto on his inspirations, Sou Fujimoto on bringing nature into architecture, plus Japanese short stories and novel recommendations.
A Japanese-themed edition of Front Row as the Oscar-winning composer Ryuichi Sakamoto, whose scores include Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence and The Last Emperor, talks to Stig about being inspired by nature, and how he came back from treatment for throat cancer to write the music for The Revenant.
The editor of The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories, Jay Rubin, tells how he curated the selection and reflects on his career as one of Haruki Murakami's main translators. And Junko Takekawa, Senior Arts Programme Officer at the Japan Foundation and a guest curator at this year's Cheltenham Festival of Literature, selects some of her favourite Japanese novels.
The architect Sou Fujimoto describes how the boundaries between nature and buildings, inside and outside, inspire his work - and reveals the artistic potential of a pile of crisps!
Presenter: Stig Abell
Producer: Sarah Johnson.
Last on
Ryuichi Sakamoto
The documentary film is in UK cinemas from 29 June 2018Ìý, certificate PG.
Images:
Main image above, and image to the left: stills taken from the film Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda,
produced and directed by Stephen Nomura Schible
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Japanese short stories
, curated by Jay Rubin is out now, in hardback and as an eBook.
Image: Jay Rubin
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Sou Fujimoto
exhibitionÌýis at Japan House, London until 05 August 2018.
Image: Sou Fujimoto
Image credit: Vintiner David
Japanese literature recommendations
Junko Takekawa, Senior Arts Programme Officer at the , London gives her personal favourite three modern Japanese books:
Villain by Shuichi Yoshida, translated by Philip Gabriel
Mikumari by Misumi Kobo translated by Polly Barton
Tomorrow by Mitsuharu Inoue.Ìý NotÌýavailable in an EnglishÌýtranslation.
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Image: A writers' event at the Japan Foundation
Image credit: The Japan Foundation
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Credits
| Role | Contributor |
|---|---|
| Presenter | Stig Abell |
| Interviewed Guest | Ryuichi Sakamoto |
| Interviewed Guest | Jay Rubin |
| Interviewed Guest | Junko Takekawa |
| Interviewed Guest | Sou Fujimoto |
| Producer | Sarah Johnson |
Broadcast
- Thu 28 Jun 2018 19:15Â鶹Éç Radio 4
Â鶹Éç Arts Digital
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