On 16th September 2025, in Serbia’s pavilion, at World EXPO in Osaka, the bilingual edition of the book “Pokondirena tikva” by Jovan Sterija Popović, published by the Foundation “For Serbian People and State” and Association of Serbian-Japanese Friendship “Hanami”. The book promotion was attended by students, professors and devotees of Serbian literature and culture.
One act from this Serbian classic was performed by Serbian actress Jovana Steić and Japanese actor Tôru Kizu.
“Pokondirena tikva” was written almost two hundred years ago, in 1838, and it is a valuable classic of Serbian literature, whose messages and morals can also be applied nowadays.
Adrijana Barši, President of the Association “Hanami”, emphasized that their projects were always directed towards bilingual editions. “The first Serbian-Japanese online newspaper was also bilingual, just as the book we are promoting today. Sterija’s play is written in dialogues and that is why it is quite suitable for acting in Serbian and, as of today, in Japanese. Our final goal is to have Japanese theatres and youth troupes stage this play by Steria and then to welcome them to Belgrade EXPO 2027”, Barši said.
This book promotion is the continuation of the successful cooperation between Serbia and Japan in the sphere of culture and education, with the aim of bringing Serbian literary heritage closer to the Japanese public..
So far, we have published several books dealing with painting, while today we are speaking about an important comedy, the work from dramatic art. The title itself points to the plot of the play. Namely, the gourd, which was used for making a popular water vessel both in Serbia and in Japan, while the word “kondir” refers to a pitcher used only in nobler houses – hence the title of the play: a gourde would like to become a pitcher, although it is impossible”, Natalija Jovanović, Publication Director of the Foundation, explained..
This is only the first step in the cooperation of the Foundation with Japan, and we expect many important joint projects in the future as well, as concluded by the representatives of the Association “Hanami” and the Foundation “For Serbian People and State”.
