Japan House

Since I’m always looking for exciting cultural events here in Los Angeles, I was very excited to come across the Japan House, an innovative, new project hosted by the Agency for Cultural Affairs to promote Japanese culture overseas. Other locations include London and Sāo Paulo.

I really admire the effort they’re putting into sharing Japanese culture and innovation with the rest of the world. This is a great project I foresee Malaysia adopting in the future, as there are so many wonderful things Malaysian culture has to share with the world.

Japan House takes up two floors in the Hollywood & Highland Center. The center includes a library and salon (both still under construction), and also a shop, which sells beautiful Japanese products. Many of the items incorporate state-of-the-art technology and are designed with chic, minimalistic aesthetic in mind. I love this design approach because of the clean lines and modern design.

The items blend Eastern traditions with scientific innovations inspired by the West, which I love because the concept of combining cultures to create a new, hybrid culture is an example of how unity transcends geography and ancestry.

I came across a sleek, black bookmark made of lightweight, waterproof material; on it was the Kanji for love. I fell in love with the bookmark and bought it as a memento.

I’m excited about the library, which will have a variety of books on Japanese culture. I love learning about different cultures, and I look forward to visiting this library after the construction is complete. And I very much look forward to the opening of the salon, which will host everything from guest speakers to special cooking presentations. I can’t wait to attend all the interesting events to come. I was also told that there are plans for a Japanese bistro on the top floor, which only makes me more eager to visit.

I went to Japan House for an exhibition called Anrealage: A Light Un Light (January 1, 2018 – March 21, 2018).

The inaugural exhibition presented works from the fashion label ANREALAGE and Kunihiko Morinaga, the next-generation designer. The show featured designs on the theme of light, showing us new and incredible ways photosensitive fabrics utilize light.

These ingenious, experimental creations force us to change how we see, wear, and think about the future of fashion. I believe the future is to integrate technology into everyday lifestyle products.

The art pieces were incredible to see. One example was what appeared to be an ordinary white dress that transforms into a mesmerizing, kaleidoscopic pattern when a smartphone LED shines on it.

Another piece was a white topcoat that turned black under sunlight.

But my favorite exhibit was the Room of Light and Sound. The artist(s) who designed this exhibit mixed hearing and sight by using music and amazing visuals together. Visitors listened to binaural beats on headphones while we watched a video of runway models wearing the latest fashion. As the models strut down the catwalk, visual representations of the music bombarded them from all angles. The effect was a spectacular synesthetic experience that blurred the line between audio and visual.

Also, shoutouts to the Japan House concept movie.

It’s a montage of stunning scenes from different times and places in Japanese history. The scenes were of culturally significant places, modern technologies, various subcultures, food, and nature. The film is a visual feast, marrying both modern and traditional Japanese culture. I was very impressed by the film’s conceptual style. I highly recommend checking it out.

Japan House is a local treasure and a rich cultural resource for anyone in LA. Kudos to the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs for their excellent exhibitions.