The Bento Box series, started in Spring 2022 by CJS Director Mark Levin, provides a venue for graduate students to present their Japan-related research in an informal setting in front of their friends and other graduate students enjoying bentos and the presentations. Additionally, presenters can receive feedback on their presentations from guests in attendance.
The Bento Box takes place once a semester, typically in the Tokioka Room (Moore Hall 319), and is a 1-hour event split between two presenters.
Bento Box VIII
Monday, May 20, 2024 | 3:30p – 5:00p | Tokioka Room (Moore 319)
Dr. Adam Manfredi, Ph.D.
Japanese and Comparative Literature
Washington University, St. Louis, MO.
“Murakami Haruki and Japan’s 1968”
David Wallace, Ph.D. Candidate
Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures
University. of Illinois Urbana Champaign
“Decades of Resistance: Method and Motivation in the Struggle Against New Tokyo International Airport (1964-Present)”
Bento Box VII
Friday, March 8, 2024 | 3:00p – 4:15p | Tokioka Room (Moore 319)
Richard Barnes
Ph.D. Candidate
History Department
“Bones in the Earth”
J.D. Parker
Ph.D. Candidate
Educational Foundations Global and International Education Program – College of Education
“The Development of Human Rights Education in Japan: A Comparative Case Study of Local Implementation of Global Educational Policy”
Bento Box VI
Thursday, October 12, 2023 | 12:00p – 1:15p | Tokioka Room (Moore 319)
Brandon Marc Higa
S.J.D. Candidate
William S. Richardson School of Law
“Same-sex Marriage in Japan: A Constitutional Analysis of Five Major Trial Court Decisions”
Tokikake Ii
Ph.D. Candidate
UH Mānoa Deparment of History
“Images of Tōhoku in Light of its Industrial and Economic Endeavors in Postwar Japan (Mid-1950s to Early 1970s)”
Bento Box V
Friday, April 14, 2023 | 12:00p – 1:30p | Tokioka Room (Moore Hall 319)
Anna Yu
M.A. Student
UH Mānoa Asian Studies Department
“Virtual (Dis)Embodiment: Performing Androgyny among Japanese Virtual YouTubers”
Taiki Sano
Ph.D. Student
UH Mānoa Anthroplogy Department
“Japan Dreams of Poke: The Secret Life of Poke in Japan”
Bento Box IV – “Thinking Okinawa”
Wednesday, January 25, 2023 | 12:00p – 1:3op | Tokioka Room (Moore Hall 319)
A co-sponsored event with the Center for Okinawan Studies, this was the very first in-person Bento Box (the prior three were virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic)
Yuko Ida
Ph.D. Student
UH Mānoa Educational Foundations Department
“Teachers Speak Back: Precarization of Teaching and Psychologizing Social Problems in Okinawa”
Tatsuki Kohatsu
Ph.D. Student
UH Mānoa Geography and Environment Department
“Bordering the Western Pacific: Militarization of the Ryukyu Archipelago”
Bento Box III
Thursday, November 10, 2022 | 12:00p – 1:3op | VIRTUAL
Matthew Gozun
J.D. Student
William S. Richardson School of Law
“Making Ikumen Out of You: Will Japan’s Amended Child Care and Family Leave Law Convince More Men to Take Paternity Leave”
Makoto Kurokawa
J.D. Student
William S. Richardson School of Law
“Insights on the Possibility of Inclusiveness of Women in Law Studies of Japan”
Bento Box II
Thursday, April 28, 2022 | 12:00p – 1:00p | VIRTUAL
Dr. Andre Haag, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
East Asian Languages and Literatures Department
Bento Box I
Wednesday, March 2, 2022 | 12:00p – 1:15p | VIRTUAL
Nicole Hamamura
Undergraduate Student
“Women’s Rights in Japan”
Nadine Sauer
Undergraduate Student
“The Japanese Self-Defense Forces: Their Evolution and Departure from Its Original Goal”