Visitors from Ehime Prefecture

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoaʻs (UHM) Center for Japanese Studies and former summer Ehime interns (Mr. Jake Yasumori, Ms. Kara Nakagawa, Ms. Yu Sasaki, and Ms. Caira Sato) welcomed visitors from Ehime Prefecture to the UHM campus on Friday September 28, 2018.

CJS and the Japan-America Society of Hawaiʻi select UHM students to serve as summer interns annually.

Asian-Pacific Law and Policy Journal Holds Mini-Symposium, “Chrysanthemum Rising: A Symposium on Sexuality & Civil Rights in Japan & Okinawa”

This post was contributed by Brandon Marc Higa, Executive Editor of the Asian-Pacific Law and Policy Journal, and JD Candidate at the William S. Richardson School of Law.

On Saturday, March 3, The Asian-Pacific Law and Policy Journal, in partnership with LAMBDA Legal at the William S. Richardson School of Law and the Pacific Asian Legal Studies will host a mini-symposium entitled, “Chrysanthemum Rising: A Symposium on Sexuality & Civil Rights in Japan & Okinawa.” This event featured WSRSL alumnae Associate Justice Sabrina McKenna, Hawaii Supreme Court (’82) and Megumi Honami (’15). WSRSL faculty participating in the event include Mark Levin (Director of the Pacific-Asian Legal Studies Program), Tae-Ung Baik, Carole J. Peterson, Linda Krieger, and Mandy Finlay.

The one-day symposium was planned as a revisitation of a symposium held by APLPJ in 2012, titled Rainbow Rising: Gender, Solidarity, and Scholarship on Gender Identities and Sexualities in Asian and Oceanic Law & Policy. Rainbow Rising brought together leaders and advocates for LGBT+ rights throughout Asia and the Pacific and started a dialogue on the issues facing this community throughout the region. Six years later, Chrysanthemum Rising continued that conversation with an opportunity to hear from lead advocates from Japan and Hawaii on the topic of equality for same-sex couples. The event served as a reminder of the significance that American jurisprudence and societal developments can have on our fellow democratic allies in the Asia Pacific region.

Chrysanthemum Rising was supported by The Center for Japanese Studies, UH Student Equity Excellent Diversity Office, and the Student Activities and Program Fee Board.

Additional information about the Chrysanthemum Rising event is posted on APLPJ’s website at – https://blog.hawaii.edu/aplpj/chrysanthemum-rising-a-discussion-on-sexuality-civil-rights-in-japan-okinawa/

Scale model of Jakuan tea house built by UHM Architecture students

Sinclair Library has a scale model (5ft x 5ft) of the campus Jakuan Tea House on display, built by UH Mānoa School of Architecture students for their Spring semester project. The model is on display in the Library’s lobby through August 15, 2018.

Hello from Ehime!

The 2018 UH Mānoa Summer Interns with the Ehime Prefectural International Center (EPIC), Ms. Tasha Hayashi and Ms. Caira Sato arrived in Matsuyama yesterday and send their greetings!

2018 Ehime Summer Interns

2019 Monbukagakusho (MEXT) Research Student Scholarship

On Thursday, April 26, 2018 Ms. Lisa Sakamoto, Program Coordinator at the Honolulu Consulate General of Japan, and Ms. Tomomi Hatta, Vice-Consul, visited UH Mānoa and provided an informational presentation on the 2019 Monbukagakusho (MEXT) Research Student Scholarship to UHM Graduate Students.

For more information on the application process and general guidelines, please visit the following website: http://www.studyjapan.go.jp/jp/smap_stopj-applications_research.html

For sample exams: http://www.studyjapan.go.jp/en/toj/toj0302e-32.html

For questions, contact Lisa Sakamoto at lisa.sakamoto@hl.mofa.go.jp

Summer Internship Program 2018 at Ehime Prefectural International Center (EPIC)

In 2003, educational exchange programs between Ehime and Hawaiʻi were established to strengthen their relationship following the Ehime-maru incident in 2001 that resulted in the loss of four students and five faculty members of the Ehime Prefectural Uwajima Fishery High School. This summer internship program for current UH students to work at EPIC and other municipal international centers in Ehime prefecture. The main objective of the program is to foster friendship and understanding between the two communities.

Timeframe:

May – August 2018 (approx. 60 days).

See the 2017 outline of interns’ schedule and activities as a general reference.

Summary of Work Responsibilities:

1. Assist EPIC staff in answering general inquiries both from the people of Ehime
   and foreigners.
2. Plan, coordinate, and execute cross-cultural seminars that include topics on
   Hawaiian and American cultures (including visits to schools).
3. Support and assist the Ehime-Hawaiʻi related programs.
4. Assist in the update and management of the website and publications for EPIC.
5. Work hours: Monday through Friday from 9 am to 5:15 pm.

Internship includes:

• Roundtrip ticket (Honolulu-Ehime), living stipend, housing (pending funding).
• The selected candidate must have a valid passport and pay for his/her own
  passport/visa fees.

Eligibility:

• Applicant must be a United States citizen currently enrolled as an undergraduate or graduate student at UH in a field related to EPIC’s interests.  Applicant must be enrolled during the proposed internship period.
• Applicant should possess moderate Japanese language skills, have experience working or living in an international context, and have some knowledge of Hawaiian culture. Applicant should also possess good interpersonal skills and be able to multi-task.
• Your application for an internship should be supported by your university. A minimum requirement is a letter from one of your professors supporting your application.
• The final candidates will be selected by the authority of Japan-America Society in Hawaiʻi and University of Hawaiʻi. Placement is subject to availability of meaningful assignments.

Application and Guidelines:

2018 Ehime Summer Internship Program Application

• Extended Deadline for application and other documents: March 5, 2018 (Monday)
• Finalists will be interviewed on March 12, 2018 (Monday) starting at 3:00pm. Students will be contacted to schedule the interview.

2018 EPIC internship guidelines

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This post was updated on Feb. 14, 2018 with an extension to the application deadline.

New publication by Professors Nancy Stalker (History) and Mire Koikari (Women’s Studies)

Associate Professor of History, Nancy K. Stalker, is the editor of the new Oxford University Press’ publication entitled Devouring Japan: Global Perspective on Japanese Culinary Identity. Professor of Women’s Studies, Mire Koikari, also contributed a chapter to the book on the relationship between SPAM, canned meat, and Okinawan food. The title of Professor Kokair’s chapter is, “LOVE! SPAM! Food, Military, and Empire in Post-World War II Okinawa.

Description as posted on the publisher’s website:

In recent years Japan’s cuisine, or washoku, has been eclipsing that of France as the world’s most desirable food. UNESCO recognized washoku as an intangible cultural treasure in 2013 and Tokyo boasts more Michelin-starred restaurants than Paris and New York combined. International enthusiasm for Japanese food is not limited to haute cuisine; it also encompasses comfort foods like ramen, which has reached cult status in the U.S. and many world capitals. Together with anime, pop music, fashion, and cute goods, cuisine is part of the “Cool Japan” brand that promotes the country as a new kind of cultural superpower.

This collection of essays offers original insights into many different aspects of Japanese culinary history and practice, from the evolution and characteristics of particular foodstuffs to their representation in literature and film, to the role of foods in individual, regional, and national identity. It features contributions by both noted Japan specialists and experts in food history. 

The authors collectively pose the question “what is washoku?” What culinary values are imposed or implied by this term? Which elements of Japanese cuisine are most visible in the global gourmet landscape and why? Essays from a variety of disciplinary perspectives interrogate how foodways have come to represent aspects of a “unique” Japanese identity and are infused with official and unofficial ideologies. They reveal how Japanese culinary values and choices, past and present, reflect beliefs about gender, class, and race; how they are represented in mass media; and how they are interpreted by state and non-state actors, at home and abroad. They examine the thoughts, actions, and motives of those who produce, consume, promote, and represent Japanese foods.

Devouring Japan will be available in Hamilton Library soon.

In Memoriam: Victor M. Mori, M.D. (1924-2018)

It is with great sadness that we report the passing of Dr. Victor Mori. Dr. Mori was a prominent third-generation Honolulu physician who worked as a surgeon for thirty years (1959-1989). He was also the grandson of Dr. Tasuku Harada, the first professor of Japanese Studies at the University of Hawai‘i. Dr. Mori was a generous supporter of the Center. He attended UHM Center for Japanese Studies’ public lectures and seminars frequently, and created a scholarship fund that continues to generously support Japan-focused graduate students at UHM today.

He is survived by his son Michael and daughter Karin, three grandsons (Victor, Vincent, and Kainoa), his sister Margaret Hirozawa, and brother Ramsay.  He is predeceased by wife Marilyn Jean, brother Arthur, sister Pearl and son Russell.

Please refer to the following for more information on Dr. Mori.

Densho Encyclopedia “Victor Mori”: http://encyclopedia.densho.org/Victor%20Mori/
Star Advertiser Obituary: http://obits.staradvertiser.com/2018/03/25/victor-m-mori-md/

Donations in Dr. Mori’s memory can be sent to either the Tasuku Harada Educational Fund giving.uhfoundation.org/give-now (enter fund number 12354902) or to the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii jcch.com/donate.

Shinshu University and William S. Richardson School of Law exchange visit

On Feb. 20, Mark Levin welcomed Professors Shingo Mikamo, Yunchi Tsai, and Hiroshi Kobayashi of Shinshu University in Matsumoto, Japan to discuss renewal of the UHM William S. Richardson School of Law (WSRSL) – Shinshu University exchange relationship first established in 2004 by Dean Larry Foster.  Since 2004, 8 WSRSL faculty have visited at Shinshu for a week of mid-summer teaching and lectures in their Institute for Social Sciences and Faculty of Economics and Law.

Professor Mark Levin’s editorial in the British Medical Journal’s Tobacco Control

Mark Levin, Director, Pacific-Asian Legal Studies Program and Professor of Law, was the lead author of an editorial in the British Medical Journal’s Tobacco Control, published “Online First” earlier this month. The commissioned editorial accompanies a new research paper (by Drs. Kaori Iida and Robert Proctor) that dives into industry documents to uncover historic back-level connections between global tobacco industry players and Japan’s Smoking Research Foundation, an entity still in active operation. Levin et al. address apparent similarities in design and operation between the JSRF and the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World, just established with nearly USD $1 billion in committed funding from Philip Morris International.

The editorial is available online with open access. Japanese language translations of both the research paper and the editorial accompany the pieces online.

[Jan. 25, 2018]

Congratulations to former CJS visiting scholar, Ms. Mizuho Kajiwara, on her new publication!

2015-2016 CJS Visiting Scholar, Ms. Mizuho Kajiwara, stopped in at CJS on Friday (1/19/18) to bring us copies of her just published book on the U.S.-Pacific Command, entitled アメリカ太平洋軍 – 日米が融合する世界最強の集団 (Amerika Taiheyogun Nichibei ga yugo suru sekai saikyo no shudan), which was published by Kodansha. Ms. Kajiwara is a journalist with the Asahi Shimbun.

Professor Patricia G. Steinhoff interview on ThinkTech Hawaii

On January 3, 2018, Dr. Steinhoff was interviewed by Roger Jellinek, host of Book Worlds on ThinkTech Hawaii, about her recent book, “DESTINY: The Secret Operations of the Yodogo Exiles”

From ThinkTech Hawaiiʻs video description:

A North Korean Political Fantasy. Today on Book Worlds Roger and Patricia G. Steinhoff discuss the translation of the Japanese bestseller, “DESTINY: The Secret Operations of the Yodogo Exiles” by Koji Takazawa, published by University of Hawaii Press.

News

[June 29, 2018]

Japan Collection Endowment established in UH Mānoa Library