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EVENTS & PROGRAMS
The Center for Japanese Studies sponsors and organizes more than fifty events per year. They include lectures, films, conferences, demonstrations, performances, receptions, exhibits, etc. All events are admission free and most are open to the public.
The CJS Noon Lecture Series features approximately twenty Japan scholars and specialists each year from a wide variety of academic and professional backgrounds. The talks take place on Thursdays during the fall and winter terms at 12 noon in Room 1636 of the School of Social Work Building.
The CJS Free Film Series, offered each summer and fall, features 16mm and 35mm films from Japan shown on the big screen in Askwith Auditorium in Lorch Hall. The Summer Series typically begins in July and normally features four to six films. The Fall Series normally begins at the end of September and features eight to twelve films. CJS also occasionally presents, supports, or provides other Japanese film-related events.
CJS also hosts conferences and workshops. In 2004, CJS hosted a conference organized by a former visiting professor titled Researching Social Class in Japan. In September 2007, CJS hosted and co-sponsored the workshop, "The Language of Clothes: Status, Gender, and Law in the History of Attire in Japan, China, and Great Britain, from Ancient through Modern Times." In addition, CJS provides information on other Japan studies conferences around the world through electronic sources.
CJS presents special one-time events such as: Momoi in America, a series of events featuring actress/director Kaori Momoi (November 2007); X-Treme Private Documentary: Kazuo Hara + Michael Moore (May 2007); an evening Q&A with Japanese entertainment celebrity, Kent Derricott (October 2005); a series of events with acclaimed film director Kiju Yoshida and actress Mariko Okada (November 2003); and Onnagata: The Making of a Woman with Onoe Umenosuke (October 2003). In addition to the one-time events, CJS hosts annual events such as a Mochitsuki which is open to the public and features mochi-making in the traditional way, games, music, and other forms of entertainment.
CJS sponsors various exhibits of Japanese and East Asian art at the University of Michigan Museum of Art. Occasional lectures, panel discussions, and symposia are also organized by Center staff and faculty. In addition, the Center hosts welcome receptions for Toyota Visiting Professors and other social functions for the Japan studies community at the University of Michigan.
October 2008 Events
October 09, 2008
12:00PM - 01:00PM, Room 1636 (SSWB)
Description:
Keller Kimbrough, Assistant Professor, Literature; University of Colorado, Boulder
October 10, 2008
07:00PM - 09:00PM, Askwith Auditorium, Lorch Hall, 611 Tappan Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1106
CJS Free Film ~ MY NEIGHBORS THE YAMADAS
Description:
Directed by Isao Takahata; 1999; 104 minutes; English subtitles; Rated PG
October 16, 2008
12:00PM - 01:00PM, Room 1636 (SSWB)
Description:
Abstract: One-sided approaches to Japan's national identity stressed nihonjinron, Japan incorporated, defeated and nuclear allergic Japan, Japan as part of the West, and revisionist Japan. My own work has examined Japan's debate on the Gorbachev era and the end of the cold war, Japanese perceptions of China, Russia, the two Koreas, and regionalism, and Japan's quest for a great power identity. Part of a project on comparisons of national identities in China, Japan, and South Korea, my approach in this talk assesses stages in the formation of Japan's national identity, the struggle since the late 1990s over identity, and its impact on international relations.
This will be an interdisciplinary talk combining history, sociology, and political science with concentration on how cultural factors influence international relations. It will be up-to-date, drawing on writings in
2007-08 on: Japan's response to the Korean nuclear crisis; the fragility of improved Sino-Japanese relations; parallels in 1907, 1987, and 2007 in debates over the meaning of internationalism and Asianism; and receptivity to changes in South Korea and the application of U.S. values to the Northeast Asian region. I argue that U.S.-Japanese relations are more troubled than at any time since the 1940s and that Japan’s strategic thinking toward Asia remains at an impasse. Varied themes are linked to a systematic analysis of national identity as an organizing theme rooted in the distinct history of East Asian states.
Bio: Gil Rozman is a specialist on Northeast Asia concentrating on four states--China, Japan, Russia, and South Korea--,whose work ranges from comparative, historical studies to the impact of perceptions on international relations, and recently to regionalism in Northeast Asia and national identities. He approaches sociology as a means to analyze domestic forces that shape world affairs. Since a doctoral dissertation comparing cities in Qing China and Tokugawa Japan, he has continued to do research on Japan relying heavily on Japanese newspapers, journals, and academic writings.
October 17, 2008
07:00PM - 09:00PM, Askwith Auditorium, Lorch Hall, 611 Tappan Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1106
CJS Free Film ~ PRINCESS MONONOKE
Description:
Directed by Hayao Miyazaki; 1997; 134 minutes; dubbed; Rated PG13
October 23, 2008
12:00PM - 01:00PM, Room 1636 (SSWB)
"The Last Tuna? Japanese Food Culture and Global Fisheries," Theodore Bestor - CJS Noon Lecture
Description:
Bio: Ted Bestor is a professor of social anthropology and Japanese studies and chair of the Department of Anthropology at Harvard University. His most recent book, "Tsukiji: The Fish Market at the Center of the World," is an ethnography of the world's largest wholesale market for fresh and frozen seafood. Bestor's next is book, tentatively titled "Global Sushi," will examine the global fishing industry, the popular culture of sushi, and the environmental crisis of overfishing.
October 24, 2008
07:00PM - 09:00PM, Askwith Auditorium, Lorch Hall, 611 Tappan Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1106
Description:
Directed by Rintaro; 2001; 108 minutes; dubbed; Rated PG13
October 30, 2008
12:00PM - 01:00PM, Room 1636 (SSWB)
"Daily Life and Demographics in Japan, 700-1150," Wayne Farris - CJS Noon Lecture
Description:
Abstract. For centuries, scholars have wondered what daily life was like for the common people of Japan, especially for long bygone eras such as the ancient age (700-1150). This talk attempts to solve this mystery. Using the discipline of historical demography, the speaker first shows that for most of this era, Japan's overall population hardly grew at all, hovering around six million for almost five hundred years. The reasons for the stable population were complex.
Bio: William Wayne Farris received his doctorate from Harvard University in 1981 and now holds the Sen Soshitsu XV Distinguished Chair in Japanese History and Culture at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. His research and writing have focused on the social and economic history of Japan to 1700, including such topics as disease and famine, agricultural technology and commerce, and aspects of the daily life of common people. His major publications include "Population, Disease, and Land in Early Japan, 645-900" (Harvard University 1985), "Heavenly Warriors: The Evolution of Japan's Military, 500-1300" (Harvard University 1992), "Sacred Texts and Buried Treasures: Issues in the Historical Archaeology of Ancient Japan" (University of Hawaii 1998), and "Japan's Medieval Population: Famine, Fertility, and Warfare in a Transformative Age" (University of Hawaii 2006), which was named as an Outstanding Academic Title for 2006.
October 31, 2008
07:00PM - 09:00PM, Askwith Auditorium, Lorch Hall, 611 Tappan Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1106
CJS Free Film ~ BOOK OF THE DEAD
Description:
Directed by Kihachiro Kawamoto; 2005; 70 minutes; English subtitles, This film is not rated.
Suite 4640, 1080 S. University Ave., Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1106
umcjs@umich.edu ph: 734.764.6307 fax: 734.936.2948
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