Japan Society Inc

“The form 990 is initially reviewed by the finance committee chairman and then made available to the board of directors prior to filing with the internal revenue service.”

“The society requires the board of directors and executive officers to complete the conflict of interest form. The forms are then reviewed for any possible conflicts.”

“The society's salary structure, including officer compensation is reviewed through external market data to determine the competitiveness of actual salaries.”

“The society does not make its governing documents or conflict of interest policy available to the public. The society's financial statements are posted on the internet.”

“Our fall exhibition, out of bounds: women artists of fluxus (10/13/23-1/21/24), explored the pivotal role of japanese women in fluxus, an influential post-war avant-garde art movement. This exhibit highlighted 4 pioneering yet overlooked japanese women artists based in nyc -- shigeko kubota (1937-2015), yoko ono(1933-), takako saito (1929-) and mieko shiomi (1938-) -- and saw artworks originally conceived in the 1960s reactivated and staged throughout the duration of the exhibition. Enrichment events included: 1. 10/27/24: sound artist/former fluxus member yasunao tone staged a sound event with 2023 artist-in-residence tomomi adachi. 2. 11/18 & 19/24: composer keiko uenishi performed mieko shiomi's 1963 work < boundary music > in the gallery. 3. 1/09/25: curator's talk. 4. 1/17/25: fluxfilms, a 1-hour series of short films made by fluxus artists. 5. Lectures, school tours, & educational programs extended the exhibition beyond our galleries. Supported, in part, by public funds from the new york city department of cultural affairs in partnership with the city council, and by a grant from the national endowment for the arts. Gallery attendance: 4,884 in the spring, we opened the exhibition, none whatsoever: zen paintings from the gitter-yelen collection (3/8-6/16/2024). Japan society (js) gallery presented an exploration of the origins of zen buddhism through ink paintings and calligraphies by painter-monks spanning over four centuriesfrom zen master hakuin ekaku (1685-1768) to a few of the many famed monks and artists influenced by his works. Spanning three gallery spaces, as well as js gallery's external sky room, the exhibition was comprised of a robust installation of 20 significant paintings by hakuin in our first gallery, and paintings by hakuin's various followers from the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries in our second and third galleries. The historical zen paintings were complemented by a pop-up installation in our sky room featuring a few contemporary calligraphies that demonstrated zen painting's ongoing influence. The simple, monochrome ink paintings were exhibited along each wall of our galleries. The unique exhibition design, which featured a vibrant carpet and limited wall text, generated a peaceful atmosphere appropriate to the sustained contemplation of zen paintings. A total of 4,584 people visited japan society to tour none whatsoever. Fourteen nyc schools brought 436 children for tours. Ancillary programming brought many others to our building, uniting fans of zen buddhism, film aficionados, and curious k-12 students through this exhibition. Supported, in part, by the e. Rhodes and leona b. Carpenter foundation. Japan society gallery programs were made possible by leadership support from booth ferris foundation and the new york state council on the arts with the support of the office of the governor and the new york state legislature. Exhibitions and arts & culture lecture programs were made possible, in part, by sompo holdings, inc.; the lila wallace-reader's digest endowment fund; the mary griggs burke endowment fund established by the mary livingston griggs and mary griggs burke foundation; the masako mera and koichi mera, phd fund for education and the arts; peggy and dick danziger; and friends of the gallery. Support for arts & culture lecture programs was provided, in part, by the sandy heck lecture fund. Transportation assistance was provided by japan airlines, the official japanese airline sponsor for japan society gallery exhibitions. Gallery attendance: 4,584”

“Js performing arts presented a season of 8 programs, most in the japanese language. Fall saw john cage's japan (sept. Dec. 23), a 4-part series exploring japan's influence on the renowned composer john cage: 1. Cage shuffle (9/28-29/23), a chance-based work of dance-theater conceived by paul lazar and annie-b parson based on texts by cage; 2. Ryoanji (10/21-23), a multimedia concert curated by cage expert tomomi adachi, performed by new york's international contemporary ensemble alongside japanese musicians via livestream from kanazawa, japan; 3. Noh-opera / noh-tation (11/16/23), in which adachi realized cage's unfinished noh opera project; and 4. Cage shock (12/7/23), an homage to cage's impactful concert tour to japan in 1962. All sold out weeks in advance, necessitating additional performances and a livestream component for cage shock. Spring 2024 performing arts programming included hamlet | toilet (1/10-13), an irreverent mashup of shakespeare and japanese bathroom culture by acclaimed director yu murai; nihon buyo in the 21st century (1/24-26), traditional dance derived from kabuki and featuring the esteemed hanayagi motoi and rising star azuma tokuyo; and the good story murders (3/18), a contemporary play reading by playwright aya takaha and director tai thompson, both women artists upcoming in their fields. This event featured deaf actor april cheng, and the performance and q&a were asl-interpreted. The season culminated with beyond ballet, beyond hip-hop (5/10-11/24), a double bill of north american dance premieres, featuring the all-female hip-hop-centered dance ensemble mwmw, and prima ballerina hana sakai in an eco-themed dance with a script by visionary playwright toshiki okada. The season was made possible, in part, by public funds from the new york city department of cultural affairs in partnership with the city council. Major support was generously provided by doug and teresa peterson; howard gilman foundation; and hisamitsu america, inc. Endowment support was provided by the lila wallace-reader's digest endowment fund, the john and miyoko davey endowment fund, and the endowment for the performing arts, established with a leadership gift from the doris duke charitable foundation. Additional support was provided by the fan fox and leslie r. Samuels foundation, richard and momona royce, nancy and joe walker, dr. And mrs. Carl f. Taeusch ii, dr. Jeanette c. Takamura, estate of alan m. Suhonen, and friends of the performing arts. All nippon airways co., ltd. Was the official airline of the japan society performing arts program. Yamaha was the official piano provider of japan society. Season attendance: 3,673”

“The media & marketing department's role is to elevate awareness for the institution and its various initiatives, while collaborating with program, development, and executive teams to drive year-round event attendance, registrations, donations, membership, and brand engagement all guided by our u.s.-japan bridge-building mission. Through our collective efforts, we aim to cultivate new, diverse audiences and members, deepen engagement with existing patrons, and build long term, sustainable relationships beneficial to all areas of the organization. At japan society, the m&m team is managed by the director of media & marketing and encompasses the following areas: digital (website, social media, email), marketing/advertising/creative strategy development and execution, graphic design (digital and print), external partnerships, pr management and strategy, and community engagement. In 2023-24, we continued to broaden our geographic reach, through co-sponsorship and cross-promotion of events with organizations across the country and globally, as well as through our traditional media outreach and social media promotion. In addition, the m&m team has worked across development departments to better shape the storytelling of japan society's mission in efforts to boost fundraising, member acquisition and sponsorship, to better prepare the organization for the future and meet the current moment.”

“Foreign currency exchange losses -328,584.”