{"id":78819,"date":"2025-11-05T01:00:50","date_gmt":"2025-11-05T01:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sms-bridges.com\/staging\/?p=78819"},"modified":"2025-12-03T08:27:41","modified_gmt":"2025-12-03T08:27:41","slug":"japan-foundation-budapest-grows-readers-audiences-and-learners-across-cee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sms-bridges.com\/staging\/japan-foundation-budapest-grows-readers-audiences-and-learners-across-cee\/","title":{"rendered":"Japan Foundation Budapest grows readers, audiences and learners across CEE"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Founded in 1991, the Japan Foundation\u2019s Budapest office serves Hungary and 12 countries across Central and Eastern Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Literature<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The office runs a public library on Japan and the Japanese language, and it supports the publication of Japanese literature in Hungarian and other regional languages through grant programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lecture on Yukio Mishima\u2019s works at the Japan Foundation Budapest. | \u00a9 Japan Foundation Budapest<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Momentum is strongest around books. In September, readers packed the room for novelist Mieko Kawakami\u2019s talks in Budapest, drawing more than 260 attendees to listen, ask questions and linger\u2014a snapshot of how Hungary is reading Japan with fresh curiosity. In 2025, the centenary of Yukio Mishima\u2019s birth, the office hosted lectures by the scholar from Japan on modern Japanese literature and his work. \u201cThrough such initiatives, we aim to present a broad spectrum of Japanese literature to the Hungarian public, from classical to contemporary,\u201d said Masanori Takaguchi, director of the Japan Foundation, Budapest. \u201cInterest in Japanese literature is high in Hungary,\u201d added Kohei Oki, deputy director.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Students take part in a Japanese language course supported by the Japan Foundation Budapest. | \u00a9 Japan Foundation Budapest<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Literary exchange runs both ways. Hungarian author and this year\u2019s Literary Nobel Prize winner L\u00e1szl\u00f3 Krasznahorkai stayed in Japan as a Japan Foundation fellow in 2000 and 2005; his experiences inform \u201cA Mountain to the North, a Lake to the South, Paths to the West, a River to the East,\u201d also published in Japanese.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Budapest office\u2019s mix of programs helps people across Central and Eastern Europe understand Japan in ways that are personal and lasting, while supporting practical exchange, from welcoming visitors to shaping tastes in food and travel.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

To deepen understanding, the office regularly invites Japanese and local lecturers to bridge popular culture and tradition, from the \u201cAttack on Titan\u201d manga to the history of ninjas and customs around mourning and remembrance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Visual arts, performing arts and film<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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The \u201cI Love Sushi\u201d exhibition, presented in collaboration with the Hungarian Museum of Trade and Tourism, highlights Japan\u2019s culinary culture. | \u00a9 Geza Nagy<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Exhibitions, performances and screenings carry the story beyond the page. Recent collaborations with the Hungarian Museum of Trade and Tourism brought \u201cI Love Sushi\u201d in 2023 and \u201cJapanese Design Today 100\u201d earlier this year. In November, nihonga painter Mayumi Goto will lead workshops in Hungary, Bulgaria, Czechia and Slovakia. \u201cWe support various performances with a grant system,\u201d said Takaguchi. The foundation aims to have one stage performance each year, such as a traditional nihonbuyo dance by Rankoh Fujima or a concert by violinist Ikuko Kawai with the Hibiki Duo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Performer Fujima Rankoh presents a traditional nihonbuyo dance as part of a Japan Foundation Budapest cultural program. | \u00a9 Japan Foundation Budapest<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Film remains a reliable doorway into culture. \u201cEvery year we organize a Japanese Film Week with a local cinema, and we also run an online streaming platform with a rotating selection of films with subtitles in local languages; in August we held an open-air screening of \u2018Before the Coffee Gets Cold\u2019 for about 500 viewers,\u201d Takaguchi said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Language and community<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Open-air screening during the Japan Foundation Budapest\u2019s Garden Cinema event. | \u00a9 Japan Foundation Budapest<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Japanese language specialists strengthen networks of learners, teachers and institutions across the region. For learners, classes and exchanges run online and in person. \u201cLet\u2019s connect! Central and Eastern Europe and Japan\u201d links participants across borders, while book and cinema clubs in Japanese build confidence and community alongside a video contest. For teachers, the office hosts seminars and symposia, including a large annual training that brings Japanese-language instructors from across Central and Eastern Europe to Budapest for learning and collaboration. For institutions, the team offers discussion and support as programs take shape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the numbers from 2021 to 2024<\/h3>\n\n\n\n