CJS Spring 2013 Newsletter

Spring 2013 Welcome to the new UEA Centre for Japanese Studies e-newsletter, marking the beginning of the Year of the Snake. Please let us know about any events or news you think would be of interest to the Japanese studies community in Norwich. The deadline for the next issue is 30 April 2013.

How to connect with Japan-related teaching, research and events through the Centre for Japanese Studies? It’s simple:   

Keep an eye on the website (www.uea.ac.uk/cjs) for full details of Japanrelated teaching and research, details of the members of CJS. Check out the CJS blog to see what the members of the CJS are up to Sign up to become a CJS Volunteer and help out at our events. Email cjs@uea.ac.uk with your reasons for wanting to become a CJS volunteer.

Headline news: washi comes to Norwich On Tuesday 12 March (18:00-20:30) you are invited to an evening inspired by ‘washi’ (traditional Japanese paper) at the Council House at UEA. The evening will include performances of traditional Japanese ‘nagauta’ (including dance, shamisen and songs), the world premier of contemporary works inspired by washi by Sonic Arts and the School of Music at UEA, a talk and demonstration by renowned ‘origata’ artist Yamane Kazuki, and a reception hosted by the Centre for Japanese Studies.

These events mark the start of a festival of washi, traditional Japanese paper, in Norwich. Focused on a special exhibition of exquisite contemporary and historic examples of washi at the Gallery of the Norwich University of the Arts, the festival will also feature two associated exhibitions of specially commissioned washi artworks, washi-making workshops, talks and a conference (Saturday 16 March). A new book on washi will be available, written by Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Fellow and exhibition curator Nancy Casserley. Full details of all these events are provided below.

This programme of washi-related events is organised by the Norwich University of the Arts, the International Association of Hand Paper Makers and Artists, the Washi: Soul of Japan Committee, the Economic Botany Collection at Kew Gardens, the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures and the Centre for Japanese Studies, UEA. Supported by the Japan Foundation, the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation, Doshisha University and Echizen-Washi.

What’s coming up? Dates for your diary 

SATURDAY 16 FEBRUARY ‘Little Sunshine, Little Rainfall’. A Japanthemed puppet show presented by A Thousand Cranes at the Norwich Puppet Theatre http://www.puppettheatre.co.uk/whats-on/puppetry/the-red-balloon904512129.

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THURSDAY 21 FEBRUARY ‘Innovating tradition: the conservation of Japanese scroll paintings in Britain’ by Sugiyama Keisuke, Hirayama Conservation Studio, The British Museum. Sainsbury Institute Third Thursday Lecture. 18.00 Weston Room, Norwich Cathedral Hostry. Free admission. All welcome. Enquiries: sisjac@sainsbury-institute.org

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THURSDAY 21 FEBRUARY ‘Japanese archaeology: British perspectives’. Seminar at Daiwa House, London. Organised by the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation and the Centre for Archaeology and Heritage at the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures. Free admission. All welcome. 18:00-20:30. Register via www.dajf.org.uk.

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MONDAY 25 FEBRUARY ‘Art Sections of Japanese Department Stores and the New Middle Class's Consumption of Nihonga (Japanese style paintings)’ Dr Oh Younjung, Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Fellow. Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures. Sainsbury Lecture in Japanese Art. 17:00 Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Cambridge. Free admission. All welcome.

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TUESDAY 26 FEBRUARY, ‘DISCO Inc.’s will be giving a Career Seminar at UEA to discuss the various career opportunities available to students wanting to work in Japan and/or for Japanese corporations. Come along for the chance to meet directly with a DISCO Inc. representative and ask any questions you may have regarding your global job search! The presentation is aimed primarily at Japanese-English bilingual students, but any technical major students not fluent in Japanese but interested in working in Japan are also welcome. For further details and to make a booking, visit: https://www.employability.uea.ac.uk/events/eventdetails.asp?eventid=1041

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WEDNESDAY 27 FEBRUARY ‘The Hidden Blade’ (Directed by Yamada Yoji, 2004). Japanese film screening organised by the School of Film, Television and Media as part of the Manga Movies Project. 18:00. UEA Lecture Theatre 3 (Entrance Opposite the Library). Free admission. All welcome. http://www.mangamoviesproject.com/screenings.html

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WEDNESDAY 27 FEBRUARY ‘Morito Tatsuo’s “Bunka Kokka-ron”: The State, the Citizen, and Democratic Culture in Early Postwar Japan’.

Dr Peter Siegenthaler, Robert & Lisa Sainsbury Fellow, Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures. Japan Research Centre Seminar Series. 17:00 SOAS, Russell Square, London. College Buildings, G50. Free admission. All welcome.

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FRIDAY 1 – SUNDAY 3 MARCH: ‘Tokyo International Literature Festival’. UEA’s British Centre for Literary Translation will be represented

by Kate Griffin. Details at http://tokyolitfest.com/.

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TUESDAY 5 MARCH: BCLT is offering a ‘Japanese-English literary translation masterclass’ in Tokyo with distinguished literary translator Michael Emmerich, supported by editor Elmer Luke. Sponsored by the Nippon Foundation. The masterclass will be held at the Nippon Foundation in Tokyo (www.nippon-foundation.or.jp). Further details are provided in the pdf sent with this e-newsletter and further enquiries should be addressed Sarah Bower at sarah@sarahbower.co.uk

Washi: the Art of Japanese Paper Exhibition and associated activities at Norwich University of the Arts Further details at www.nua.ac.uk/washi TUESDAY 12 MARCH - SATURDAY 20 APRIL ‘Washi: The Art of Japanese Paper’. Exhibition at The Gallery, Norwich University of the Arts.

TUESDAY 12 MARCH: An evening of washi-inspired performance and Centre for Japanese Winter Reception. 18:00-20:30. Council House, UEA. Please register your interest at cjs@uea.ac.uk SATURDAY 16 MARCH: ‘Washi: the art of Japanese paper’. One-day conference at Norwich University of the Arts. Register at washi@nua.ac.uk SUNDAY 17 MARCH: Japanese papermaking demonstration and masterclass, with Japanese paper makers. Norwich University of the Arts. Register at washi@nua.ac.uk.

LIMITED PLACES THURSDAY 21 MARCH ‘Washi: the art of Japanese paper’. Talk by exhibition curator Nancy Casserley. Sainsbury Institute Third Thursday Lecture. 18:00 Norwich Cathedral Hostry. Admission Free. All welcome.

The Art and Soul of Paper Exhibitions and associated activities at Anteros Arts Foundation and Mandell’s Gallery, Norwich Further details at www.artandsoulofpaper.com

MONDAY 11 MARCH – SATURDAY 20 APRIL: ‘The Art and Soul of Paper’.

Exhibition at Anteros Arts Foundation, Magdalene Street, Norwich MONDAY 11 MARCH – SATURDAY 6 APRIL: ‘The Art and Soul of Paper’.

Exhibition at Mandell’s Gallery, Elm Hill and in the Gallery Windows at 20 Elm Hill.

SATURDAY 16 MARCH – SATURDAY 20 APRIL: Paper installation by Tatiana Ginsberg and other signature pieces of paper art in the Art Shop Project, Earlham Road MONDAY 18 MARCH: 'In Collaboration with Paper'. Talk by Tatiana Ginsburg, Norfolk Contemporary Craft Society. 19:00-21:00: The Curve, The Forum, Norwich.

(Pay at the door) SATURDAY 23 MARCH: 'Beginners Papermaking from Plants'. Workshop with Prue Dobinson at Anteros Arts Foundation, Magdalene Street, Norwich. 10:00-16:00. (book through enquiries@anteros.co.uk) 

THURSDAY 14 - FRIDAY 15 MARCH: Sasakawa Lecturers’ Conference, Oxford Brookes University. All welcome. Admission Free. For details: http://www.nissan.ox.ac.uk/engaging-japanese-studies-revisiting-questionwhy-japan-matters.

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SATURDAY 16 MARCH ‘Japanese Computer Games and Entertainment’. Symposium organised by the School of Language and Communication Studies. 12:45-18:00 (opening 12:15). UEA Lecture Theatre 2. Free admission. All welcome. Further details in the pdf sent with this enewsletter. http://www.uea.ac.uk/lcs/news//asset_publisher/IiaKX8RARGME/blog/japanese-computer-games-andentertainment/10165?redirect=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.uea.ac.uk%2Flcs%2Fn ews%3Fp_p_id%3D101_INSTANCE_IiaKX8RARGME%26p_p_lifecycle% 3D0%26p_p_state%3Dnormal%26p_p_mode%3Dview%26p_p_col_id%3Dc olumn-1%26p_p_col_count%3D1.

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TUESDAY 19 AND WEDNESDAY 20 MARCH ‘The archaeology of ritual and approaches to religious geography: landscapes and cityscapes of the sacred in Japan and Europe’. University of Tubingen. Organised by the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures and the Department of Archaeology, University of Tubingen. http://sainsburyinstitute.org/news-events/workshop-at-university-of-tubingen/

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FRIDAY 17 MAY: ‘The Body in Japanese Popular Culture’. Workshop.

Programme to be announced. UEA, Norwich. Organised by Dr Ulrich Heinze, CJS, and Dr Louella Matsunaga, Oxford Brookes University.

What are CJS members up to? 

As this issue of the CJS Newsletter goes out, CJS Director Simon Kaner is visiting Japan, participating in conferences on wetland archaeology in Niigata and on the UNESCO World Heritage Site nomination of the sacred island of Okinoshima in Fukuoka. He also went to Hirado in Nagasaki to launch a new research project into the archaeology associated with the first Englishman in Japan, William Adams, or Miura Anjin. While in Japan, Simon is meeting with UEA Japanese alumni in Tokyo and Osaka. Earlier in January in London he attended a reception hosted by the Governor of Tokyo to in support of Japan’s bid to host the 2020 Olympics, and the launch of Japan400 (see below).

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Ulrich Heinze, Sasakawa Lecturer in Contemporary Japanese Visual Culture attended a special reception at the Embassy of Japan on 23 January to mark the success of the Sasakawa Lectureship scheme, supported by the Nippon Foundation. He is organising two conferences (see above, 14-16 March and 17 May) and his new book on ‘Japanese Visual Worlds’ will be launched on 15 February 2013. Details at http://www.transcript-verlag.de/ts2149/ts2149.php

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Nicole Rousmaniere, Research Director of the Sainsbury Institute, gave a lecture at the recent Taisho conference in Leiden (www.taishoconference.org), January 10-12, and a talk on ‘Early Porcelain Production in Japan from 1616-1690, from a late start to a large international market’ at the Museum of World Cultures in Gothenburg, Sweden on January 19.

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Akira Matsuda, Lecturer in Japanese Artistic and Archaeological Heritage in WAM attended a conference at the Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties (Nabunken) in December. Meanwhile in January he was elected Secretary of the World Archaeology Congress at its 7th four-yearly Congress in Jordan. The next Congress will be in Kyoto in 2016. Watch this space! His new book on Public Archaeology was published in Japanese by Doseisha.

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Nana Sato-Rossberg, Yakult Lecturer in Japanese in LCS, gave a talk on ‘The Current Status of Translation Studies in Japan’ at the Free University, Berlin on 10 January http://www.geschkult.fuberlin.de/e/oas/japanologie/institut/gastvortraege/1001 2013.html. Nana is also organising a symposium on computer gaming in Japan on March 16.

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On Wednesday 6 February Nana organised ‘Being a Professional JapaneseEnglish Translator!?’, a special seminar organised by the School of Language and Communication Studies, marking the establishment of a new relationship between LCS and Kobe College. Speakers included Professor Tanabe Kikuko, Professor Okumura Kathy, Prof Nakamura Masahiro and students from LCS.

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British Centre for Literary Translation (BCLT) International Programme Director, Kate Griffin will take part in the Tokyo International Literary

Festival 1 – 3 March 2013. Speakers include J M Coetzee, Junot Diaz and Jonathan Safran Foer. http://tokyolitfest.com/. 

Current and former students of Japanese archaeology and heritage who took part in a Daiwa Award-funded research visit to Japan to investigate the longterm impact of the March 2011 Great East Japan disaster on cultural heritage and Japan, will present their findings at a special workshop at the Daiwa Foundation House on February 21, before the symposium, Japanese Archaeology: British Perspectives. Ioanneta Vergi (WAM MA in Cultural Heritage with a Japanese Strand, 2012) is now working on a PhD at the University of Southampton. Megan Nash Good (WAM MA in Cultural Heritage 2013) is currently working as an intern at the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures, and Luke Edgington Brown is working on his PhD on Kofun archaeology in WAM and at the British Museum.

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A warm welcome to Norwich to the new Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Fellow at the Sainsbury Institute, Dr Peter Siegenthaler. Peter is Senior Lecturer at the Department of History, Texas State University, San Marcos ‘Townscape protection and community preservation: shifting power in historic preservation activities in post war Japan’. Other Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Fellows in 2012-2013 are Dr Young-joon Oh (Design and early 20th century Japanese department stores), Nancy Casserley (Japanese paper, washi) and Werner Steinhaus (archaeology). Full details are available at www.sainsburyinstitute.org/fellowships. The deadline for applications for the 2013-2014 Fellowships is March 1.

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Also visiting Norwich this spring are Professor Niimoto Riyo (Kyoto University of Art and Design, creative writing), Professor Mizoguchi Koji (Kyushu University, archaeology), Professor Sano Midori (Gakushuin University, art history), and Professor Akama Ryo (Ritsumeikan University, art history).

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INTO UEA continues to attract Japanese students. Doshisha Women's College are sending about 30 students from 17 February until 9 March.

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UEA’s School of Nursing will once again be hosting a delegation of nurses and nursing lecturers from the Niigata University of Health and Welfare from 19 - 25 March.

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Norfolk author and artist Jane Callender has published a new book on shibori dying: http://www.callishibori.co.uk/publications.htm

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2013 marks the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first English ship in Japan. The voyage of the English East India Company ship the Clove, under its colourful captain John Saris, is being marked by a year-long series of events under the rubric Japan400. For further details see www.japan400.com (including a play about Miura Anjin (William Adams) at Sadler’s Wells theatre http://www.sadlerswells.com/show/Anjin-The-Shogun-and-theEnglish-Samurai)

Useful links:  Embassy of Japan and Webmagazine: http://www.uk.emb-japan.go.jp/  Japan Foundation: http://www.jpf.org.uk/  JSPS: http://www.jsps.go.jp/english/  Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation: http://www.dajf.org.uk/  Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation: http://www.gbsf.org.uk/