BOSTON (January 31, 2024)—From cult classics to buzzy new releases, five stunning feature films produced in Japan are screening at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), from February 23 through April 4, 2024. This year's UNIQLO Festival of Films from Japan is the seventh-annual showcase of the best of Japanese cinema made possible through the MFA’s 10-year partnership with global apparel retailer UNIQLO. The festival kicks off with a screening of House (Hausu) (1977), an experimental horror film by Nobuhiko Obayashi.
Tickets for all screenings are available for purchase online: $12 for MFA members and $15 for nonmembers:
House (Hausu)
Directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi (Japan, 1977, 88 min.)
February 23, 7:00 pm
In this psychedelic cult classic, a young schoolgirl travels with six classmates to her ailing aunt’s country home. There, the group comes face-to-face with evil spirits, a demonic house cat, a bloodthirsty piano and other ghoulish visions, all realized by director Nobuhiko Obayashi via inventive animation and collage effects.
Monster
Directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda (Japan, 2023, 125 min.)
February 29, 7:00 pm
Palm d’Or winner Hirokazu Kore-eda (Shoplifters; Broker) directs this unique mystery-thriller about the secret lives of children. When her young son Minato starts to behave strangely, his mother turns to the school for answers. As the story unfolds through the eyes of mother, teacher and child, a striking truth begins to emerge. Monster’s aching musical score was the final work by towering composer Riuichi Sakamoto before his death in 2023; the film is dedicated to Sakamoto’s memory.
Blue Giant
Directed by Yuzuru Tachikawa (Japan, 2023, 120 min.)
March 3, 2:30 pm and March 29, 7:00 pm
High school student Dai Miyamoto’s life is turned upside down on the day he discovers jazz. Picking up a saxophone and leaving his sleepy hometown for the bustling nightclubs of Tokyo, Dai finds that the life of a professional musician isn’t for the faint of heart. Director Yuzuru Tachikawa (Mob Psycho 100) brings the award-winning manga to life, capturing raw live jazz performances with emotive color and lyrical imagery.
Seven Samurai
Directed by Akira Kurosawa (Japan, 1954, 207 min.)
March 16, 7:00 pm
Samurai tells the story of a 16th-century village whose desperate inhabitants hire the eponymous warriors to protect them from invading bandits. This three-hour ride from Akira Kurosawa—featuring legendary actors Toshiro Mifune and Takashi Shimura—seamlessly weaves philosophy and entertainment, delicate human emotions and relentless action, into a rich, evocative and unforgettable tale of courage and hope.
Perfect Days
Directed by Wim Wenders (Japan and Germany, 2023, 123 min.)
April 4, 7:00 pm
Kōji Yakusho has won best actor at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival for his outstanding performance as the middle-aged toilet cleaner, Hirayama in Perfect Days. In a combination of four short stories based in Tokyo, the film observes Hirayama’s simple and structured life, but as the film progresses, complexities emerge through a visit from Hirayama’s niece, conversations with an eccentric coworker and encounters with a mysterious man in the park.
UNIQLO and the MFA
UNIQLO became part of the Boston community in the fall of 2015 at historic Faneuil Hall. Five additional store openings followed, including a location on Newbury Street. Since the launch of UNIQLO’s partnership with the MFA in the fall of 2017, educators from the Museum have hosted a range of art-making activities that are free and open to the public at the company’s stores throughout Massachusetts. UNIQLO additionally supports a variety of programs celebrating Japanese art and culture at the MFA, including the Boston Festival of Films from Japan, held annually in February. Since 2018, UNIQLO and the Museum have collaborated on three UT collection series of T-shirts inspired by works from the MFA’s renowned collection of Japanese art, ranging from katagami stencils to ukiyo-e prints.
About the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The MFA brings many worlds together through art. Showcasing masterpieces from ancient to modern, our renowned collection of nearly 500,000 works tells a multifaceted story of the human experience—a story that holds unique meaning for everyone. From Boston locals to international travelers, visitors from across the globe come to experience the MFA. Through both art and audience, the Museum brings together diverse perspectives—revealing connections, exploring differences, creating a community where all belong. Plan your visit at mfa.org.
About UNIQLO LifeWear
Apparel that comes from the Japanese values of simplicity, quality and longevity. Designed to be of the time and for the time, LifeWear is made with such modern elegance that it becomes the building blocks of each individual’s style. A perfect shirt that is always being made more perfect. The simplest design hiding the most thoughtful and modern details. The best in fit and fabric made to be affordable and accessible to all. LifeWear is clothing that is constantly being innovated, bringing more warmth, more lightness, better design, and better comfort to people’s lives.
About UNIQLO and Fast Retailing
UNIQLO is a brand of Fast Retailing Co., Ltd., a leading Japanese retail holding company with global headquarters in Tokyo, Japan. UNIQLO is the largest of eight brands in the Fast Retailing Group, the others being GU, Theory, Helmut Lang, PLST (Plus T), Comptoir des Cotonniers, Princesse tam.tam and J Brand. With global sales of approximately 2.2905 trillion yen for the 2019 fiscal year ending August 31, 2019 (US $21.53 billion, calculated in yen using the end of August 2019 rate of $1 = 106.4 yen), Fast Retailing is one of the world’s largest apparel retail companies, and UNIQLO is Japan’s leading specialty retailer.
UNIQLO continues to open large-scale stores in some of the world's most important cities and locations, as part of its ongoing efforts to solidify its status as a global brand. Today the company has more than 2,200 stores in 25 markets including Japan. In alphabetical order, the other markets are Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Netherlands, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, U.K. U.S. and Vietnam. In addition, UNIQLO established a social business in Bangladesh together with the Grameen Bank in 2010, and today there are several Grameen-UNIQLO stores in Dhaka.
With a corporate statement committed to changing clothes, changing conventional wisdom and change the world, Fast Retailing is dedicated to creating great clothing with new and unique value to enrich the lives of people everywhere. For more information about UNIQLO and Fast Retailing, please visit www.uniqlo.com and www.fastretailing.com.