Published at 13:36, Thursday, 05 July 2012

A MAJOR festival of Japanese culture comes to Cumbria next week.

Kendal Brewery Arts Centre is holding its inaugural Bunkasai – Japanese for culture festival – from this Sunday to next, featuring the finest in Japanese popular art, film and food.

The centrepiece of the festival is an exhibition by the legendary Manga artist Takao Saito, author of the famous Golgo 13 series of graphic novels, with 17 prints of his work on display.

Another highlight of the festival will be the four-week residency of fellow artist Kayo Nakamura, a recent graduate from the Kyoto Seika University which is recognised as one of the world’s leading institutions producing of Manga artists.

There will be a 10-day programme of Japanese cinema, including children’s Anime titles, J-horror and the UK’s first showing of Full Metal Alchemist, following its recent premiere in London. Food-lovers can also experience a menu of Japanese street food, such as okonomiyaki – a traditional pancake – and ramen noodles in the Warehouse Café.

Brewery chief executive Richard Foster says: “The Bunkasai is part of our contribution to the Cultural Olympiad for which we wanted to organise a festival which would really appeal to young people.

“This will be a fantastic opportunity to experience the world of Manga and we have been lucky to attract some of the most respected artists over to the UK from Japan to give us the benefit of their expertise first hand.”

For a full programme of events visit www.breweryarts.co.uk

Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk