Past I-House Public Programs
To access the archives for continuing series (eg. I-House Academy), please follow the link from the left column.
[ 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 ]
*2012*
"In Praise of Japanese English"
| Date: | Wednesday, February 8, 2012, 7:00 pm |
| Venue: | Lecture Hall |
| Admission: | Free (reservations required) |
| Language: | English/Japanese (without interpretation) |
| Panelists: | Urs Bucher, Ambassador, Embassy of Switzerland in Japan |
| Kurokawa Kiyoshi, Professor, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies | |
| Chelsey Reid, Assistant Language Teacher, Takasaki Girls' High School | |
| Joseph Shaules, Director, Japan Intercultural Institute | |
| Stephan Larus Stefansson, Ambassador, Embassy of the Republic of Iceland in Japan | |
| Moderator: | Akashi Yasushi, Chairman, International House of Japan |
Several decades have elapsed since the poor communicative skills of the Japanese in English were pointed out. Although various measures to deal with this problem have been taken in school education and on the business scene, substantial improvement is yet to be seen. With the help of leading panelists who are actively engaged in using English in their work as a first or second language, this symposium aims at rediscovering the importance of expressing one痴 own opinion in English as a member of the global community and based upon one痴 expertise without too much worrying about accent or other details.
*2011*
[Japan-India Dialogue: Public Symposium 1]
"Asian Renaissance: Learning from Shibusawa, Tata, Okakura and Tagore"
Venue: Iwasaki Koyata Memorial Hall, International House of Japan
Admission: Free (reservations required)
Language: Japanese and English (with simultaneous translation)
Co-organized by International House of Japan and Japan Foundation
From the late 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century, a dynamic interaction between India and Japan was taking place in this vast area called Asia, on a scale unimaginable today. More than a hundred years before the word 堵lobalization existed, Tagore and Okakura Tenshin saw Asia as a 堵lobalized entity. J. N. Tata and Shibusawa Eiichi joined hands to give the Japanese shipping industry a fair wind against the European monopoly of the Indian Ocean. This symposium will attempt to explore how we can create a new Asia, by looking back on the great visions of these past sages.
[Panelists]
KAJI, Masahiko (President, Tata Consultancy Services Japan Ltd.)
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Born in 1947. Received bachelor痴 degrees in Chemistry and Economics from Sophia University. After working for Citibank Japan, the National Bank of Abu Dhabi, and the Australia & New Zealand Banking Group, in 1998 Mr. Kaji became Managing Director of ASB International Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai, which is a subsidiary of Nissei ASB Machine Co., Ltd., Japan, the leading manufacturer in PET technology and molding. He became General Manager, Tata Consultancy Services Japan Ltd. in October 2001, and assumed his current position in January 2004. Mr. Kaji also serves as a board member of the India International School in Japan and the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Japan. He is also known as an alpinist who has been on mountain-climbing expeditions in the Himalayas six times. |
TANKHA, Brij (Professor, University of Delhi; Visiting Professor, Ryukoku University)
 |
Born in Lacknow, India, in 1947. Dr. Tankha earned his B.A. and M.A. from the University of Delhi, and his Ph.D. from Jawaharlal Nehru University. His research interests are nationalism, Pan-Asianism, religion, and Japan痴 relations with Asia. He has been a recipient of a Japan Foundation fellowship, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, and was a visiting professor at Kyoto University, Waseda University and Hitotsubashi University. In 1977, he assumed his current position at the University of Delhi. He is also currently a visiting professor, ICCR Chair for Indian Studies, Ryukoku University, Kyoto. His publications include Narratives of Asia: From India, Japan and China (co-authored; Sampark, 2005) and A Vision of Empire: Kita Ikki and the Making of Modern Japan (Global Oriental, 2006). |
SHARMA, Jyotirmaya (Professor, University of Hyderabad)
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Mr. Sharma has been a fellow of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies and the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, and has lectured at the universities of Baroda, Hull, Oxford, and St. Stephens College, Delhi. He was visiting professor in democratic theory at the South Asia Institute at Ruprecht-Karls University at Heidelberg in 2005. He also held senior editorial positions at the Times of India and The Hindu between 1998 and 2006, and continues to write columns for Mail Today, Hindustan Times and Outlook. The International House of Japan and the Japan Foundation awarded him an Asia Leadership Fellow Program fellowship for 2008. |
SHIBUSAWA, Masahide (President, Shibusawa Eiichi Memorial Foundation)
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Mr. Shibusawa graduated from the Department of Agricultural Economy of the University of Tokyo. He assumed his current position in 1997. He is also the executive director of the MRA Foundation since 1964, the executive director of the Language Institute of Japan since 1968 and executive director of the East-West Seminar since 1970. He has held eminent positions such as the Director-CEO of Tokyo Jogakkan Schools of Women (1994-2003), Visiting Professor, School of Business Administration, Portland State University, Visiting Professor at the University of Alaska and Research Fellow, Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House), London. His publications include Chichi: Shibusawa Keizo (Memoir of a Father Shibusawa Keizo; Jitugyo-no-Nihon, 1968), Taiheiyo-ni Kakeru Hashi: Shibusawa Eiichi no Gyo-seki (Bridge Over the Pacific: A Case History of Relations among US/China/Japan during 1879-1931, Based on the Life and Work of Shibusawa Eiichi; Yomiuri Shimbunsha, 1970), Asia in the World Community (English), ed., with Prachoom Chomchai, (Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 1973), and Taiheiyo- Ajia: Kiken to Kibo (Pacific Asia, Perils and Promises; Simul Publications, 1991). |
[Moderators]
BUTALIA, Urvashi (Director, Zubaan Books)
 |
Ms. Butalia is a well-known figure in gender studies not only in India but also in Europe and the United States. She co-founded Kali for Women, the first feminist publisher in India, which has published various books on gender issues in India. She has been active in the women痴 movement in India. She has also been active in researching the modern history of India, and her book The Other Side of Silence: Voices from the Partition of India (Duke University Press, 2000), an oral history of the tragic separation of India and Pakistan, has been a bestseller in India. She is also an active participant in international citizen痴 exchange conferences, where she speaks on behalf of Indian women. Since 2003, she has been a director of Zubaan Books, the publisher which developed out of Kali for Women. She received a Nikkei Asia Prize in 2003 and the Padma Shri (Indian award for cultural merit) in 2010. The International House of Japan and the Japan Foundation awarded her an Asia Leadership Fellow Program fellowship for 2000. |
TAKENAKA, Chiharu (Professor, Rikkyo University)
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Graduated from the University of Tokyo in 1979. After working for various universities in Japan, including Waseda University and the University of Tokyo, Ms. Takenaka assumed her current position in 2008. She specializes in international politics, comparative politics, and South Asian studies. |
[Japan-India Dialogue: Public Symposium 2]
"A New Asia Seen from Japan-India Dialogue"
Venue: Iwasaki Koyata Memorial Hall, International House of Japan
Admission: Free (reservations required)
Language: Japanese and English (with simultaneous translation)
Co-organized by International House of Japan and Japan Foundation
In cooperation with the India International Centre
India, with its thriving and rapidly growing economy, is increasing its presence in the world. Words used to describe India include IT superpower, burgeoning new middle class and ever-widening social disparity. Yet, to many Japanese India still remains a country with a lot of mysteries, and vice versa. Many corporations that started business in India are faced with challenges caused by a lack of cultural understanding.
In this symposium, the panelists will look at Japan, India and Asia as a whole through economic, diplomatic, political and cultural perspectives, discussing a new Japan-India relationship -- one that is neither an economic/business-only-approach nor merely the promotion of a superficial cultural understanding.
We will aim to go beyond any simplistic framework such as 笛apan-India partnership vis--vis China, and to search for ways for India and Japan, together with their neighbors, including China and the United States, to tackle the common issues the Asian region faces and create a new Asia.
[Panelists]
SAKAKIBARA, Eisuke (President, Institute for Indian Economic Studies / Professor, Aoyama Gakuin University)
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Born in 1941. After graduating from the University of Tokyo, Dr. Sakakibara joined the Ministry of Finance of Japan. He received his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Michigan in 1969. Positions he held include President of the Institute of Fiscal and Monetary Policy, Director-General of the International Finance Bureau, and Vice Minister of Finance for International Affairs. Having retired from office in 1999, Dr. Sakakibara taught at Keio University and Waseda University. His books about India include Indo Kyodaishijo wo Yomitoku (Cracking the India Market; co-authored; Toyo Keizai, 2005) and Indo Azu Nanba Wan (India As Number One; Asahi Shimbun, 2011). |
CHELLANEY, Brahma (Professor, Center for Policy Research)
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Mr. Chellaney is a professor of strategic studies at the Center for Policy Research, an independent think tank based in New Delhi. He was formerly a member of the Policy Advisory Group headed by the Foreign Minister of India. As a specialist on international security issues, he held appointments at various universities in the United States and Australia. He has often appeared on CNN and BBC, among others, and his opinion articles are carried in many important newspapers. His books include the international bestseller Asian Juggernaut: The Rise of China, India and Japan (Harper Collins, 2006) and Water: Asia痴 New Battleground (Georgetown University Press, 2011). |
NANDY, Ashis (Fellow, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies)
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Born in 1937 in Bhagalpur, Bihar, India. Dr. Nandy received his M.A. and Ph.D. from Nagpur and Gujarat Universities. He has been Director at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center at Washington, and Fellow at the Institutes of Advanced Study at Berlin, Nantes and Edinburgh. Originally trained as a sociologist and clinical psychologist, he has been close to social movements and non-state political actors grappling with issues of peace, human rights, environment, intercultural dialogue, and cultural survival. He has authored and edited many books that deal with political cultures, future studies, and dialogue of civilization. |
DESAI, Vishakha (President & CEO, Asia Society)
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Dr. Desai holds a B.A. in Political Science from Bombay University and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Asian Art History from the University of Michigan. She worked as a curator at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, followed by her career at the University of Massachusetts, Boston University, Columbia University, and Williams College. She held several positions at Asia Society, a leading global organization committed to strengthening partnerships among the people, leaders, and institutions of Asia and the United States. Appointed president of the society in 2004, she sets the direction for its diverse set of programs ranging from major US-Asia policy initiatives and national educational partnerships for global learning to path-breaking art exhibitions and innovative Asian American performances. She has also published and edited several books, scholarly catalogues and numerous articles on traditional and contemporary art. |
FUJIWARA, Kiichi (Professor, University of Tokyo)
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A graduate of the University of Tokyo (B.A. and M.A.), Mr. Fujiwara studied at Yale University before he returned to Japan at the Institute of Social Science (ISS) at the University of Tokyo. He has held positions at the University of the Philippines, Johns Hopkins University, the University of Bristol, and was selected as a fellow of the Woodrow Wilson International Center in Washington D.C. His works on international affairs include Senso wo Kioku suru (Remembering the War; Kodansha, 2001), Demokurashii no Teikoku (A Democratic Empire; Iwanami Shoten, 2002) and Kokusai Seiji (International Politics; The Society of the Promotion for the Open University of Japan, 2007). |
OGUMA, Eiji (Professor, Keio University)
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Born in 1962. Graduated from the Department of Agriculture at the University of Tokyo. After working for Iwanami Shoten, a Japanese publishing company, from 1987 to 1996, Dr. Oguma obtained his Ph.D. in Advanced Social and International Studies from the University of Tokyo in 1998. He specializes in Historical Sociology. His publications include A Genealogy of 'Japanese' Self-images (Trans Pacific Press, 2002) and 典he Hidden Face of Disaster: 3.11, the Historical Structure and Future of Japan痴 Northeast (Asia-Pacific Journal, Sept. 2011). |
[Moderator]
HORIMOTO, Takenori (Professor, Contemporary South Asian Politics at Shobi University)
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Received his M.A. (Pol.Sc.) from the University of Delhi. Specialist on South Asian politics and U.S. Asian policy. He has authored and edited ten books, including Indo Gurobaruka suru Kyozo (India: The Big Elephant Globalizes; Iwanami Shoten, 2007) and Gunjitaikokuka suru Indo (India as a Rising Military Power; co-edited; Aki Shobo, 2010), and given 170 India and South Asia related lectures and presentations including being a political commentator on NHK TV programs more than thirty times. |
[IHJ Seminar for Rethinking Japan]
"Japan痴 Challenges and Opportunities—Exploring Its Cultural Future"
Minato Ward, as is fitting for its location at the heart of a global city, Tokyo, has many embassies, business enterprises and international organizations; people of diverse cultural background interact there. Situated in this area, the International House of Japan has, since its establishment in 1952, organized various programs to enhance global understanding, focusing upon intellectual exchange and the promotion of Japanese studies. With this background, we take pleasure in announcing the opening of an intensive program for rethinking Japan.
On March 11, an earthquake and tsunami hit the northern part of Japan, causing huge casualties. The aftereffects are still continuing. Some foreign observers comment that Japan is now standing at a critical juncture with unprecedented challenges. Combining with Japan痴 current agenda, for instance, 斗ost culture, demographic change, an inward looking insularity and a lack of leadership, these issues are posing a shadow upon its future. How can Japan resolve them and envision a bright future for coming generations? Is it possible to find any clues in Japanese culture? Examining these challenges and at the same time searching for opportunities, this seminar aims at exploring Japan痴 cultural future.
[FOR REGISTRATION]
Period: Saturday, August 27, 2011, 10:00 am - Sunday, August 28, 6:00 pm
Venue: Lecture Hall and others, International House of Japan
Language: English (no Japanese translation provided)
Eligibility: Mainly those coming from foreign countries who have spent less than a few years in Japan and feel it necessary to introduce contemporary Japan to the outside world; up to about 40 years of age.
Number of participants: Approximately 20
Admission: 40,000 yen (including five sessions, two lunches, a dinner for the Japanese food culture program, experiencing of Zen meditation, and accommodation at the International House for the night of August 27)
*This program is organized in cooperation with Seishoji temple.
[AGENDA / SCHEDULE]
AUGUST 27 (SAT) 10:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Introduction session
Overall Moderator: Watanabe Yasushi, Keio University
Session I: Reconsidering 鏑ost Japan
Alex Kerr, author, 笛apanese Culture Lost & Found
Session 1 deals with Japan痴 loss of traditional culture after the second world war. It explores the damage done to formerly beautiful landscapes and traditional cities in the process of modernization, especially the impact of massive public works and construction. This session examines Japan痴 rapid leap forward and the pressures of modernity in urban life, discussing the need to rediscover local culture and the tradition of living in harmony with nature. Hopefully this will lead to a sense of ecology, while keeping in mind the grave challenges East Japan faces after March 11.
Session II: Overcoming Japan痴 的nsularity
Glen S. Fukushima, Chairman & Director, Airbus Japan KK
In textbooks on Japan, Japan is often defined geographically as an 妬nsular country surrounded by the sea. Now, deep concerns in and outside of Japan are being expressed about Japan痴 insularity in the psychological sense, the mindset of a younger generation of Japanese who are not interested in going abroad to experience new ideas, perspectives, and discoveries through the encounter with other countries. The closed nature of Japanese society is another aspect of 妬nsularity often pointed out even now. Multiple aspects of Japan痴 妬nsularity cast a shadow upon the future of Japan. To tackle the decline of the Japanese presence on the global stage, this matter needs to be addressed as an important agenda.
Session III: On Leadership
Tanaka Hitoshi, Chairman, Institute for International Strategy, the Japan Research Institute, Ltd.
Various efforts are now underway for reconstruction after the earthquake and tsunami in the Tohoku area. During moments of crisis, Japan痴 lack of leadership is harshly criticized. This vacuum of leadership
and the related lack of vision is seen in the management of not only domestic affairs but also foreign affairs, posing a question toward Japan痴 future direction. Session 3 will dedicate itself to issues of leadership.
Dinner gathering: 摘xploring Japan's Food Culture Through Obento
Elizabeth Andoh, food journalist
Japanese obento (self-contained meals) come in a nearly infinite variety of styles. They can be as simple as a ball of rice, as adorable as Hello Kitty, or as elaborate as a poetic picnic artfully arranged in an exquisite lacquered box. Obento-eating is a well-established and dearly loved custom in Japan, one that provides us with a tasty way to explore Japanese culture.
Accommodations: IHJ
AUGUST 28 (SUN) 7:30 AM - 6:00 PM
A program focusing upon Zen meditation at Seishoji temple
Session IV: Examining Demographic Change
Tachibanaki Toshiaki, Professor, Doshisha University
Japan enjoys the highest life expectancy of the world, but it also has the lowest fertility rates and a hyper-aged society is coming. This demographic
change is the greatest challenge Japan confronts today. In parallel with the transformation of the Japanese family structure, many urgent problems are emerging, for example, the lonely death of the aged (Roojin no Kodokushi), a society lacking in human bonds and relations (Muen Shakai), etc. In session four, we will examine this demographic
challenge as a common issue to be shared by other countries.
Session V: Exploring Japan痴 Cultural Future
Kondo Seiichi, Commissioner of the Agency for Cultural Affairs
笛apanese Culture: Its Characteristics and Role in 21st Century Human Civilization
In sessions 1-4, we studied from various angles some important issues. These challenges do not lend themselves to any easy solution and perhaps delineate too pessimistic a future for Japan. On the one hand, Japan faces these problems; however, bright aspects of Japan, on the other, can be observed by looking at many Japanese talents very active outside of Japan in contemporary arts, literature, architecture, sports, and science. In the final session, we will explore Japan痴 future through the lens of culture in thinking
about Japan痴 possible contribution to the global community.
Wrapping up session facilitated by Watanabe Yasushi
[PROFILES OF LECTURERS]
Alex Kerr is an author specializing in a broad range of Eastern culture, from Japanese traditional arts and the problems of modern development, to the arts of Southeast Asia. Among his publications are Utsukushiki Nihon no Zanzo (Shinchosha, 1993) which was awarded the Shincho Gakugei Prize in 1994 (the first ever by a foreigner) and later translated into English as Lost Japan (Lonely Planet, 1996) as well as Dogs & Demons (Hill and Wang, 2001) and Bangkok Found (River Books, 2010). As a consultant on rural revival, Mr. Kerr has restored dozens of houses in Kyoto and other prefectures, and travels widely throughout Japan lecturing on issues of heritage and environmental preservation.
Glen S. Fukushima is Chairman and Director of Airbus Japan KK. Prior to joining Airbus, the world痴 leading manufacturer of commercial aircraft, in 2005, he held prominent positions including President and Representative Director of the Japan operations of Arthur D. Little, Inc. and President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan. During the height of US-Japan economic tensions during the 1980s and 1990s, he served as Director for Japanese Affairs and Deputy Assistant US Trade Representative for Japan & China at the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR). His publications include Nichibei Keizai Masatsu no Seijigaku [The Politics of US-Japan Economic Friction] (Asahi Shimbunsha, 1992).
Tanaka Hitoshi is the chairman of the Institute for International Strategy at the Japan Research Institute, a senior fellow at the Japan Center for International Exchange, and a visiting professor at the Graduate School of Public Policy, University of Tokyo. During his thirty-six-year diplomatic career, Mr. Tanaka served as Japan痴 Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2002 to 2005. His specialty is Japan-US relations,
Asia Policy and National Security Policy. Major publications include Gaiko no Chikara [The Power of Diplomacy] (Nikkei Publishing, 2009) and Kokka to Gaiko [Nation and Diplomacy] (Kodansha, 2005).
Elizabeth Andoh is an American food journalist. In 1970, after completing formal culinary training at the Yanagihara Kinsaryu School of Traditional Japanese Cuisine in Tokyo, she began her own culinary arts program,
A Taste of Culture. Ms. Andoh痴 programs offer a unique opportunity for foreign residents and visitors from overseas to explore Japan痴 culture through its food. She has authored many award-winning cookbooks, the most recently
published volume is: Kansha: Celebrating Japan痴 Vegan and Vegetarian Traditions (Ten Speed Press, 2010).
Tachibanaki Toshiaki is a professor of economics at Doshisha University in Kyoto. Before assuming his current
position, he served in many research and academic institutions including the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Stanford University, the London School of Economics and Political Sciences (LSE) and Kyoto University. His specialty is Labor Economics and Social Welfare. His numerous publications in English include
Wage Determination and Distribution in Japan (Oxford University Press, 1996) and The New Paradox for Japanese Women: Greater Choice, Greater Inequality (I-House Press, 2010).
Kondo Seiichi is Commissioner of the Agency for Cultural Affairs. Before being appointed his current position on July 30, 2010, he served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) (2006-08) and as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Denmark (2008-10). Mr. Kondo drew up Japan痴 new public diplomacy strategy when he was Director-General, Department of Public Diplomacy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He has written numerous publications
on cultural exchange and public diplomacy.
Moderator
Watanabe Yasushi is Professor, Faculty of Environment and Information Studies, Graduate School of Media and Governance, Keio University. His specialty is Cultural Policy, Cultural Diplomacy and American Studies. He was engaged in advanced research at overseas
institutions and universities including Harvard, Oxford, and Cambridge Universities. His books include
Afutaa Amerika--Bosutonian no kijiku to 澱unka no seijigaku [After America: Trajectories of the Bostonians and the Politics of Culture] (Keio University Press, 2004), Amerikan demokurashii no gyakusetsu [The Paradox of American Democracy] (Iwanami Shoten, 2010), and Soft Power Superpowers: Cultural and National Assets of Japan and the United States (M.E. Sharpe, 2008)
[IHJ Special Program]
"Viewing Nuclear Energy Policy Throughout the World" 
(flyer)
After the Earthquake of 3.11, Japan faces the urgent necessity of reviewing its nuclear energy policy. The Fukushima crisis has brought about an increase in skepticism towards nuclear power and raises major issues of short-time power supply as well as of medium- to long-term energy, economic and environmental policy.
This program will invite specialists in nuclear energy policy in Japan and overseas to speak about current policies and the future, as an opportunity for each of us to think about what course Japan could pursue from now on.
Organizer: International House of Japan
Venue: International House of Japan
Admission: 1,000 yen for each event (Free for IHJ members)
Thursday, June 16, 2011, 18:30-20:00 (Language: In Japanese only)
典he Influence of the Fukushima Accident ~ No Borders in Nuclear Power Accidents
Speaker: Endo Tetsuya (former Chairman of the Board of Governors, International Atomic Energy Association and former Vice Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission of Japan)
Moderator: Akashi Yasushi (Chairman, International House of Japan)
Venue: Lecture Hall, International House of Japan
Friday, June 17, 2011, 19:00-21:00 (Language: With English & Japanese Translation)
Panel Discussion: 典he Trend in World Nuclear Policy
Coordinator: Ueta Kazuhiro (Professor, Kyoto University)
Panelists:
-Li Zhidong (Professor, Nagaoka University of Technology)
-Pierre-Yves Cordier (Nuclear Counsellor, Embassy of France)
-Suzuki Tatsujiro (Vice Chairman, Japan Atomic Energy Commission)
-E. Bruce Howard (Counselor, Science, Environment, and Health, U.S. Embassy)
Venue: Iwasaki Koyata Memorial Hall, International House of Japan
[Symposium “Peace and Culture”]
Cultivating a Culture of Peace in Asia
Building a basis for peace with a culture based on a deep, shared sense of humanity is becoming ever more important in this century that we live in. By highlighting cultural activities in Asia that contribute to peace in the contemporary world, this program will examine how culture can confront the violence and disruptions created by war and conflicts in Asia in the recent past and present and create a basis for peace.
Venue: Iwasaki Koyata Memorial HallAdmission: Free (reservation required)
Language: English/Japanese (with simultaneous translation)
Sponsor: Japan Foundation
In cooperation with Center for the Study of Peace and Reconciliation, Hitotsubashi University, Tessen-kai, INSLA (Integration of Natural Science and Liberal Arts), Arts Initiative Tokyo, and Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture, Tokyo Wonder Site
Symposium Coordinator
Ashiwa Yoshiko
Professor of Anthropology and Global Studies, and Co-director of the Center for the Study of Peace and Reconciliation, Hitotsubashi University. Visiting Scholar at Harvard University in 1992-94 and University of Columbia in 2001-02. Her publications include Making Religion, Making the State (Stanford University Press. co-ed.), "The Politics of
Reviving Buddhist Temple" (Journal of Asian Studies), and Heiwa to Wakai no Shisou o Tazunete (the Thought of Peace and Reconciliation, Otsuki Shoten, co-ed.).
Symposium 1:
“Shura, Okinawa and Peace Seen Through Noh Theater”
Date: Monday, February 7, 2011, 2:00-6:00 pm
In Noh theater, born out of the war age of the fourteenth century, there are many plays with a war theme where the deceased tell their stories of agony and sorrow in fighting on the stage. This program will shed light on contemporary Noh plays especially related to Okinawa and the Asia Pacific War written by the late Tada Tomio* through the voices of practitioners of this art, as an extension of the above tradition and a living contemporary art that can sublimate sorrows and anger into a culture of peace.
*Tada Tomio (1934-2010) A world-renowned immunologist who also wrote modern Noh plays dealing with contemporary issues, such as the effects ofthe Pacific War, among which are Bokonka, Genbaku-ki, Nagasaki no Seibo, and Okinawa Zangetsuki.
Okinawa ZangetsukiPhoto: Kawakami Yoshikazu |
Program (tentative and subject to change)
|
Okinawa Zangetsuki
A man is traveling towards Urasoe with his son who has been crying wanting to see his obanba (great grandmother) who died a year ago. The two visit an onba (yuta, a Ryukyuan spiritual medium) and call upon the spirit of the obanba. Obanba starts to talk about the war that she never mentioned when she was alive. The highlight is the celestial dance of the mother (obanba) in a collaboration of Okinawan dance and Noh.
Short performances of the recitation in Okinawa Zangetsuki and Genbakuki
Yamamoto Tojiro (Kyogen), Nishimura Takao/Tanimoto Kengo (shite), Kakihara Hirokazu (otsuzumi), Koga Hiroki (kotsuzumi), Matsuda Hiroyuki (fue)
Shimizu Kanji
Born in 1953. He studied Noh under the late Kanze Hisao and Kanze Tetsunojo. Designated as an Important Intangible Cultural Asset. In 2005, he starred in a new Noh play by Tada Tomio, Nagasaki no Seibo, performed for the first time with Shimizu's choreography and staging at the Urakami-Tenshudo on the occasion of the Evening for the Sixtieth Commemoration of the Atomic Bombing.
Shida Fusako
Born in Naha, Okinawa in 1937. She has been designated as an Important Intangible Cultural Asset in the field of traditional (Ryukyu) Okinawan dance. At the invitation of institutions in Japan and abroad, she has participated in various projects as a performer, producer and choreographer.
Katsukata=Inafuku Keiko
Professor and Director of the Institute of Ryukuan and Okinawan Studies, Waseda University. Katsukata teaches and writes about Okinawan Studies, Gender Studies, and Ethnicity Studies. Her publications include: Introduction to Okinawan Studies (Showa-do, 2010)
Yamamoto Tojiro
Born in 1937. Kyogen actor of the Okura school. In 1972, he succeeded to the name Tojiro IV. Has been awarded the Medal with Purple Ribbon. Designated as an Important Intangible Cultural Asset. He is also the chairman of the Suginami Noh Theatre.
Symposium 2:
“Arts and Peace in Contemporary Asia”
Date: Wednesday, March 2, 2011 2:00 - 5:30 pm
The experience of war is not a distant memory in Asia, where various wounds of war such as the wars in Indochina and Afghanistan and, numerous ethnic/religious conflicts remain unhealed. How do artists in this region understand and express these past and present conflicts and violence? This program gathers together artists and specialists active in Asia to witness this fresh and critical phase of peace and culture as found in their works.
Dog Hole 10 Wong Hoy Cheong
South China Sea Pishkun Dinh Q. Le
Profiles of Speakers
Untitled Absent Kitchen SeriesKhadim Ali
Khadim Ali
Born in 1978. Originally from Afghanistan; trained in miniature painting at the National College of Arts, Lahore. Ali's series of works references the impact of violence and war, especially on the minds of children. He draws on ancient myths such as the Shahnamah and the Bamiyan Buddhas to express his re-reading of the recent history in Afghanistan and to elucidate the shifting meanings of heroism in his region.
Wong Hoy Cheong
Born in 1960. One of the instrumental figures in the contemporary art scene of Malaysia. Wong addresses concerns and ideas about identity, location, globalization and colonialism, using popular genre conventions, as well as the allure of unusual materials. His work reminds us of the slipperiness that lies between fact and fiction, past and present, and the perpetual reinvention of our own histories.
Born in Ha-Tien, Vietnam, in 1968; currently lives in Ho Chi Minh City. In 1979 moved to the U.S. with his family to escape the invasion of the Khmer Rouge. Through works such as The Farmers and the Helicopters (2006), which edits together interviews with Vietnamese farmers and sequences from Hollywood films he provides a counter narrative to the dominant understanding of the Vietnam War often developed by media and political rhetoric.
Ishiuchi Miyako
Born 1947 in Gunma. Ishiuchi痴 major works include her early three-part series, made up of 添okosuka Story, 鄭PARTMENT and 摘ndless Night. She was awarded the Ihei Kimura Prize in 1979 and was chosen as Japanese representative to the Venice Biennale in 2005. She has been shooting 滴iroshima in which photos of personal items (dresses and other articles) that survived the bombing vividly recall the life of those whose days abruptly ended in that decisive moment.
Ushiroshoji Masahiro
Professor, Faculty of Humanities, Kyushu University. Joined the Fukuoka Art Museum as a curator in 1978. He became the chief curator of Fukuoka Asian Art Museum in 1999 and took up his current position in 2002. He has curated many exhibitions of modern/contemporary art in Asia, including the first two Fukuoka Asian Art Triennales.
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