Film: Tokyo Story (1953)
Thursday, September 18, 2025 6:30–8:50 PM
- Location
- DescriptionLearning Beyond the Classics: Voicing Intergenerational Trauma in Postwar Korea and Japan through Contemporary Cinema
Directed by Yasujiro Ozu
With Setsuko Hara, Chishu Ryu, Chieko Higashiyama
Not Rated, 137 minutes
In Japanese with English subtitles
A profoundly stirring evocation of elemental humanity and universal heartbreak, Tokyo Story is a crowning achievement of the unparalleled Yasujiro Ozu. The film, which follows an aging couple's journey to visit their grown children in bustling postwar Tokyo, surveys the rich and complex world of family life with the director's customary delicacy and incisive perspective on social mores. Featuring lovely performances from Ozu regulars Chishu Ryu and Setsuko Hara, Tokyo Story plumbs and deepens the director's recurring theme of generational conflict, creating what is without question one of cinema's mightiest masterpieces.
GET TICKETS
*Free for ND, SMC, HC, and IUSB students.
**Co-presented by the David A. Heskin and Marilou Brill Endowment for Excellence, Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies, Franco Family Institute for Liberal Arts and the Public Good, East Asian Languages and Cultures, Navari Family Center for Digital Scholarship/Hesburgh Libraries. - Websitehttps://events.nd.edu/events/2025/09/18/tokyo-story-1953/
More from Keough School of Global Affairs
- Sep 194:00 PMMVP Fridays: “POV: Writing as Other” with Viet Thanh NguyenJoin the Institute for Social Concerns on Friday afternoons on select home football weekends for MVP Fridays: lectures by national leaders, journalists, and writers on questions of meaning, values, and purpose. Each lecture will take place at 4:00 p.m. in the Geddes Hall Andrews Auditorium. For the weekend of the Purdue game, join us for "POV: Writing as Other" with Viet Thanh Nguyen. Introduction by Azareen Van Der Vliet Oloomi, the Dorothy G. Griffin College Professor of English. Co-sponsored by the Creative Writing Program, the Department of American Studies, the Initiative on Race and Resilience, and the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies. Viet Thanh Nguyen’s novel The Sympathizer is a New York Times bestseller and won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Other honors include the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, the Edgar Award for Best First Novel from the Mystery Writers of America, the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction from the American Library Association, the First Novel Prize from the Center for Fiction, a Gold Medal in First Fiction from the California Book Awards, and the Asian/Pacific American Literature Award from the Asian/Pacific American Librarian Association. His other books are Nothing Ever Dies: Vietnam and the Memory of War (a finalist for the National Book Award in nonfiction and the National Book Critics Circle Award in General Nonfiction) and Race and Resistance: Literature and Politics in Asian America. He is the Aerol Arnold Chair of English, and a professor of English, American studies and ethnicity, and comparative literature at the University of Southern California. Most recently he has been the recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim and MacArthur Foundations, and le Prix du meilleur livre étranger (Best Foreign Book in France), for The Sympathizer.
- Sep 195:00 PMWomen in Leadership: Siobhan Keegan, Lady Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, in Conversation with Dean G. Marcus ColePlease join the Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies and its Clingen Center for the Study of Modern Ireland for a public conversation with Siobhan Keegan, Lady Chief Justice of Northern Ireland. This conversation is part of the Women in Leadership series, which brings to the University of Notre Dame women from across the island of Ireland who are leaders in the fields of politics, civic society, business, and beyond. On Friday, September 19, Dame Siobhan Keegan will join G. Marcus Cole, the Joseph A. Matson Dean and Professor of Law at Notre Dame Law School, in conversation at the University's McKenna Auditorium. The Lady Chief Justice will discuss her study and career path leading up to her current appointment, her experience and views as a woman in leadership, the Rule of Law, and AI in the justice system. A reception will follow the conversation in the McKenna Auditorium gallery. This event is co-sponsored by Notre Dame Law School. About Siobhan Keegan Dame Siobhan Keegan graduated from Queen’s University Belfast in 1993. She has been a High Court Judge, served as Vice Chair of the Bar of Northern Ireland, Chair of the Young Bar, Chair of the Family Bar Association, Chair of the Bar Charity Committee and a member of the Bar Professional Conduct Committee. Dame Siobhan was the Judge in Residence at the Queen’s University Belfast and became a Bencher of the Northern Ireland Inn of Court, an Honorary Bencher of Gray’s Inn and an Honorary Bencher of King’s Inns in 2022. She was a member of the Judicial Studies Board (JSB) and was also the Northern Ireland representative on the FrancoBritish-Irish Judicial Cooperation Committee. Dame Siobhan has been the Presiding Coroner, the Senior Family Judge in the High Court of Northern Ireland, the designated Northern Ireland judicial member of the International Hague Network of Judges, was a Commissioner in the Northern Ireland Judicial Appointments Commission (NIJAC) and is now Chair of NIJAC. Dame Siobhan was made an honorary member of the Society of Legal Scholars. She was sworn in as Lady Chief Justice of Northern Ireland on 2 September 2021. In 2023, Queen’s University Belfast conferred upon her an honorary degree in ‘Doctor of Laws for Distinction in Public Service’. Originally published at irishstudies.nd.edu.
- Sep 225:00 PM"Rock, Resistance, and Resilience": An Evening with Ukraine's Musical Icon Slava VakarchukSlava Vakarchuk is Ukraine's biggest rock star and one of Europe's most fascinating artists and activists. As frontman of the legendary band Okean Elzy, he has brought the sounds of Ukrainian language and culture to stadiums and concert halls around the world. As a civic activist, he has fought for democracy, transparency, and the rule of law in Ukraine during times of struggle and revolution. And as a soldier in Ukraine's Armed Forces, he has worked tirelessly to defend and inspire his people since the onset of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine. Join us at 5:00 p.m. on Monday, September 22, in 1050 Jenkins Nanovic Halls for an intimate discussion about the role of art and music in the fight against aggression and about the promise of hope in an increasingly perilous world. All Notre Dame students, faculty, staff, and visiting scholars are invited to this special event coordinated by the Ukrainian Studies Hub. Originally published at nanovic.nd.edu.
- Sep 2312:30 PMLecture: "The Social Underpinnings of Political Discontent in Latin America"M. Victoria MurilloProfessor of Political Science and International and Public Affairs andDirector of the Institute for Latin American Studies (ILAS)Columbia University Vicky Murillo presents a forthcoming volume co-edited with Gabriel Kessler that addresses the following question: Why are Latin Americans increasingly disillusioned with democracy, even as the region has made social progress? This book project examines the paradox of widespread political discontent amid improvements in poverty reduction, education, and expanded rights. It illustrates how rising expectations and broken promises have generated social frustration and political reactions, which manifest in two distinct forms: they can target all political elites (vertical discontent) or focus on opposing political coalitions (horizontal discontent). Each form poses unique challenges for democracy.M. Victoria Murillo is a professor of political science and international and public affairs at Columbia University, where she is is currently the Director of the Institute for Latin American Studies (ILAS). She specializes in Latin American politics, distributive politics, and institutional weakness, with numerous influential books and articles on these topics. She holds a PhD from Harvard University and previously taught at Yale University. For more information, visit the event page. Sponsored by the Kellogg Institute at the Keough School of Global Affairs.
- Sep 236:00 PMPizza, Pop and Politics: "Democratic Backsliding"Laura Gamboa, assistant professor of democracy and global affairs in the University of Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs, will talk about “Democratic Backsliding” at the first Pizza, Pop and Politics event of the fall 2025 semester. Pizza, Pop and Politics is hosted by the Klau Institute for Civil and Human Rights and ND Votes, a nonpartisan initiative that aims to foster conscientious engagement in political and civic life among students. The student-led initiative’s activities include promoting voter education, registration, and mobilization. Originally published at klau.nd.edu.
- Sep 243:30 PMPanel Disussion: "Friendship Albums and Transnational Bonds"19th-Century Women’s Culture Through the Life and Work of Esmeralda Cervantes Discussion and Panel Join Rare Books & Special Collections from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. for a panel and discussion on the fascinating life of Catalan harpist Esmeralda Cervantes (born Clotilde Cerdá, 1861–1926), moderated by Latin American and Iberian Studies Librarian and Curator Payton Phillips Quintanilla. A child prodigy who toured the Americas in the 1870s, Cervantes meticulously documented her vast network of friends and acquaintances across Europe and the Americas in two personal friendship albums: scrapbooks filled with photographs, autographs, drawings, letters, poetry, and other keepsakes. One album resides at the Biblioteca de Catalunya, and the other is held by the University of Notre Dame. Our guest speakers, Lorena Fuster, University of Barcelona, Philosophy; Merli Marlowe, Barcelona-based film director; Vanesa Miseres, University of Notre Dame, Romance Languages & Literatures; and Erika Hosselkus, University of Notre Dame, Hesburgh Libraries, will use Cervantes’ unique case to explore broader themes of library archives, 19th-century women's sociability, the public and private conversations shaping women's lives, and the nascent stages of transnational feminisms. The panelists will also share how these remarkable albums brought them together for their ongoing academic and creative projects centered on Cervantes. Hands-On Workshop and Reception After the panel, attendees are invited to attend a reception from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. in the Hesburgh Library Scholars Lounge to continue the conversation over light refreshments and engage in a hands-on activity to create their own album pages. Presenters:Lorena Fuster, University of Barcelona, Philosophy — Lorena Fuster is a professor of Philosophy and Feminist Theory at the University of Barcelona. Her research and publications focus on topics that link contemporary philosophy with cultural history. She currently directs the project "The Forgotten Legacy of Clotilde Cerdà/Esmeralda Cervantes: An International Avant-Garde Presence."Merli Marlowe, film director, Barcelona — Merli Marlowe is a singer and filmmaker, and has also written and directed television series and podcasts. She is currently working on a documentary about the harpist Esmeralda Cervantes in collaboration with Lorena Fuster. As a musician, she is the lead singer of the band Les Rencards, with whom she recently released the album Angles morts.Vanesa Miseres, University of Notre Dame, Romance Languages & Literatures — Vanesa Miseres specializes in the cultural and literary landscapes of 19th- and early 20th-century Latin America, with her research and teaching exploring diverse topics such as travel writing, war literature, women writers, and gender, cultural, and food studies. She is the author of Mujeres en tránsito: viaje, identidad y escritura en Sudamérica (1830–1910) (2017) and Gender Battles. Latin American Women, War, and Feminism (2025). She is also the co-editor of Food Studies in Latin American Literature. Perspectives on the Gastronarrative (2021).Erika Hosselkus, University of Notre Dame, Hesburgh Libraries — Erika Hosselkus is Associate University Librarian for the Distinctive and Academic Collections at Hesburgh Libraries. Her portfolio includes research collections, special collections and archives, metadata, and preservation. Prior to this appointment, Hosselkus served as the curator in Rare Books & Special Collections for Latin American and Iberian Studies, and developed a significant collection for this fast-growing area of study.Open to undergraduates, graduate students, faculty, staff, postdocs, alumni, friends, and the public. Sponsored byHesburgh LibrariesFranco Family Institute for Liberal Arts and the Public GoodKellogg Institute for International StudiesOffice of Undergraduate Studies (Teaching Beyond the Classroom Grant)