Informasia #2, February 16, 2026

Informasia #2, February 16, 2026

Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/6338045613

February 16, Tarinainanika, stage performance artists in Japan

Tania Coke and Kentaro Suyama

"Journey to the East: The Arrival of Corporeal Mime in Japan"

Vimeo video: https://vimeo.com/1165337975

Audio: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TVCZdkZkc2wNwgBE4SXS4qavH5FpvD8y/view?usp=sharing

Who

Tania Coke and Kentaro Suyama.

Recommended by Tim Harris.

Abstract

Étienne Decroux's (from Paris) Corporeal Mime is Informasia's second presentation aboutbody motion. How to express drama on stage without the standard academic devices of words, writing, and speaking. Tania Coke and Kentaro Suyama brought this theatrical form to Tokyo, then Osaka. They will explore the connections between corporeal mime and traditional Noh theatre and themodern Butoh.

Informasia's first dance and physical movement presentation, including pole dancing, was by Caitlin Coker (no relation) in November 2023. Limber up and please join us!

Our Speakers

Tania Coke and Kentaro (Ken) Suyama. "Our company name is 'tarinainanika' from the Japanese 足りない何か or "missing something".

She and Ken met in London, then moved to Tokyo, and finally established their theatric training school in an abandoned tatami factory in Osaka.

Publications

A representative few past newsletters:

#65 1st Oct 2025 https://www.tarinainanika.com/so/a2PcNJnG3?languageTag=en

#64 1st Sep 2025 https://www.tarinainanika.com/so/a8PZ_Ipsy?languageTag=en

#63 1st August 2025 https://tarinainanika.com/so/65PXYRXI9?languageTag=en

E-mail

Tania and Kentaro share: tarinainanika@gmail.com

Website

Taranainaika is their studio name.Taranainaika website:

https://www.tarinainanika.com/

Speaker's website: https://www.~/

Recommended by Tim Harris.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Informasia #3, March 16, 2026

Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/6338045613

The Road to Spring Castle:

Translation, Kotodama, the Literature of IshimureMichiko

Vimeo video: https://vimeo.com/1174171198

Audio: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Xewam1a4y9tcHLW5QaNFFjMJJhNGwKjU/view?usp=sharing

Who

Bruce Allen is a longtime translator of Japanese to English, and also a regular, along with his nephew from time to time, of the Informasia Zoom sessions. I captured him at our 2025 Informasia Tokyo Holiday party into agreeing to share his pathway as a translator. With my own admittedly basic Nihongo, I am in awe of his ability. Let’s hear his story. In sharp contrast to last month’s presentation about nonverbal dance theater, this is completely oriented around text and reading.

Abstract

What do translators have to negotiate? Allen focuses on kotodama (the spirit of words), narrative styles, dialects, first impressions, deeper nuance, the solidary work imbedded in broader context, causes, implications, and more.

Our Speaker

https://apjjf.org/authors/view/14935

Bruce Allen is a recently retired professor in the Department of English Language and Literature at Seisen University, Tokyo, where he taught courses in translation, environmental literature, and comparative literature.

Publications

He specializes in the writing of Ishimure Michiko and has translated her novel Lake of Heaven [天湖] (Lexington Books, 2008), her Noh play Shiranui [不知火] (Lexington Books, 2016), and a documentary film about her work, Toward the Paradise of Flowers [花の億土へ] (Fujiwara Shoten Publishing Co., 2014). He translated Ishimure’s historical novel about the Shimabara Rebellion, Hara Castle [春の城, Haru no Shiro].

He has co-edited and contributed two chapters to a collection of ecocritical essays on Ishimure Michiko’s writing; Ishimure Michiko’s Writing in Ecocritical Perspective: Between Sea and Sky (Lexington Books, 2016). He also co-translated a collection of ninety tales from the Konjakumonogatari shu; Japanese Tales from Times Past: Stories of Fantasy and Folklore from the Konjaku Monotatari Shu, (Tuttle, 2015).

E-mail

beallen@icloud.com

At the request of Patricia Yarrow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

INEXT INFORMASIA LECTURE~DATE CHANGED to April 27th!

Informasia #4, Monday, April 27, 2026

Peter Matanle

Towards an Agenda for Researching Global Population Decline: Japan as the Depopulation Vanguard Country for Northeast Asia

Vimeo video: https://vimeo.com/1187085721#t=0

Audio: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qzQsmbpCoThF-EpSST1HjD_FekZDrijC/view?usp=sharing

Who

Dr Peter Matanle is Visiting Researcher at the Asian Demographic ResearchInstitute, Shanghai University, China. He received his BA from the University of Cambridge, and PhD from the University of Sheffield, UK. Until July this year he was Senior Lecturer at the School of East Asian Studies, University of Sheffield. His most recent co-authored publication in Nature Sustainability (Uchida, Matanle, Yang, Fujita & Hiraiwa, 2025; DOI: 10.1038/s41893-025-01578-w) researches depopulation and biodiversityin Japan’s rural agricultural regions. He has authored many articles, chapters, books, and website contributions on this and other topics related to the human geography of East Asia.

Brief cv: https://www.asiaresearchnews.com/content/peter-matanle

Abstract

For the first time in human history stable, wealthy, and healthy societies across the world are having fewer children than they need to reproduce themselves. By 2050 the UN estimates that more than 80 countries will be in continuous population decline. Most of these are developed countries in Europe and Asia, but other world regions are also affected. As yet, little is known about the potential impacts this global transformation may have on society, the economy, and the natural environment.

In Asia, Japan was the first to encounter population decline, beginning in 2008. Other Asian countries, including China and South Korea, are following suit. With similar geographies and developmental pathways, it is possible to think of Japan as the forerunner and exemplar for understanding the outcomes of depopulation in Northeast Asia – what I term a ‘Depopulation Vanguard Country’ (DVC). Can we do similarly for other world regions and identify countries whose experiences of depopulation will be instructive for their neighbours as they tackle the grand challenges of our age?

Many people assume that depopulation will have negative socio-economic but positive environmental impacts. What happens when the labour force contracts but there are no longer enough migrants to fill the gaps? Does nature really rebound when there are fewer people around to work the land? Are these assumptions true? Have these outcomes happened in Japan?

In this talk I will propose a global theory for Depopulation Vanguard Countries (DVCs), identify DVCs for each world region, and focus on Japan as a case study. I will conclude by suggesting a research agenda for identifying current and future risks and opportunities for countries as they begin to depopulate. By doing so I hope to answer some of these questions ... or at least stimulate a fruitful discussion about our shared future in a rapidly changing world.

Our Speaker

Dr Peter Matanle, Visiting Researcher, Asian Demographic ResearchInstitute, Shanghai University, China.

Recent Publications

12 June 2025. "Biodiversity change under human depopulation in Japan". University of Sheffield. Nature Sustainability. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-025-01578-w

Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus Archives (three articles, 2017-2020). https://apjjf.org/authors/view/14698

https://apjjf.org/wp-content/https://apjjf.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/5018-1.pdf

16 July 2025. Scroll.in, July 2025.

https://scroll.in/article/1084320/is-population-decline-good-for-nature-japan-shows-that-may-not-be-the-case

E-mail

peter.matanle@cantab.net

Recommended by Joel Littler.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Informasia #5, May 18, 2026

Susanna Fessler

Lecture Title

Vimeo video: posted after the lecture

Audio: posted after the lecture

Who

Text

Abstract

Text

Our Speaker

Text

Publications

Text

Exhibition

Text

E-mail

Text

Speaker's website: https://www.~/

Recommended by Alex Byrne.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Informasia #6, June 15, 2026

Speaker

Lecture Title

Vimeo video: posted after the lecture
Audio: posted after the lecture

Who

Text

Abstract

Text

Our Speaker

Text

Publications

Text

Exhibition

Text

E-mail

Text

Speaker's website: https://www.~/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Informasia #7, July 20, 2026

Speaker

Lecture Title

Vimeo video: posted after the lecture
Audio: posted after the lecture

Who

Text

Abstract

Text

Our Speaker

Text

Publications

Text

Exhibition

Text

E-mail

Text

Speaker's website: https://www.~/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Informasia #8, August 18, 2026

Speaker

Lecture Title

Vimeo video: posted after the lecture
Audio: posted after the lecture

Who

Text

Abstract

Text

Our Speaker

Text

Publications

Text

Exhibition

Text

E-mail

Text

Speaker's website: https://www.~/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Informasia #9, September 21, 2026

Speaker

Lecture Title

Vimeo video: posted after the lecture
Audio: posted after the lecture

Who

Text

Abstract

Text

Our Speaker

Text

Publications

Text

Exhibition

Text

E-mail

Text

Speaker's website: https://www.~/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Informasia #10, October 19, 2026

Speaker

Lecture Title

Vimeo video: posted after the lecture
Audio: posted after the lecture

Who

Text

Abstract

Text

Our Speaker

Text

Publications

Text

Exhibition

Text

E-mail

Text

Speaker's website: https://www.~/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Informasia #11, November 16, 2026

Speaker

Lecture Title

Vimeo video: posted after the lecture
Audio: posted after the lecture

Who

Text

Abstract

Text

Our Speaker

Text

Publications

Text

Exhibition

Text

E-mail

Text

Speaker's website: https://www.~/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Informasia #12, December 21, 2026

Speaker

Lecture Title

Vimeo video: posted after the lecture
Audio: posted after the lecture

Who

Text

Abstract

Text

Our Speaker

Text

Publications

Text

Exhibition

Text

E-mail

Text

Speaker's website: https://www.~/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~