Spring is here! Yoshino shimashou!  The UW webcams bring the beauty of the Seattle campus to you wherever you have an internet connection. Keep watch on the quad yoshino cherry trees as they bloom over the next several weeks, and enjoy the season. The UW Seattle campus has an impressive and well known stand of

Has American foreign policy been a reflection of a desire to promote democracy, or a simple product of hard-nosed geopolitics? Jennifer Miller visits us from Dartmouth and will address this question focusing on the assumption that democratic ideals were crucial, but not in the way most defenders claim.  Go to our events page to register

Tuesday, March 8, 2022 1:00 – 2:00 PM Supported by the Seattle Colleges Performing Arts Fund, the Artist as Storyteller speakers series welcomes BIPOC artists, performers, and activists to share their work and connect with students about what it means to be an artist in today’s social and cultural climate. The series emphasizes the art-making

On Feb 1st, filmmaker Ryūsuke Hamaguchi joined Professors Hitoshi Abe of UCLA and Ken Oshima of Washington University, hosts of the Rethinking of MA series, in an engaging conversation that explored the role of MA in the making of his most recent film Drive My Car, with reference also to some of his earlier works.

A new book by Robert and Saadia Pekkanen (editors) was published last month: the Oxford Handbook of Japanese Politics (Oxford University Press 2021). This handbook is the first / hardback edition. It’s also online through the UW libraries subscription to the Oxford Handbook Online platform. Robert authored a chapter on “Populism in Japan” and Saadia

In this new book, Ted Mack brings the writings of Japanese who emigrated to Brazil in the pre-war era to English language readers.  Aquired Alerity: Migration, Identity, and Literary Nationalism (UCPress 2022) is the first book-length study in English of the Japanese-language literary activities of early Japanese migrants to Brazil. It provides a detailed history

Professor Justin Jesty has been a keen observer and researcher into the role of art in social movements in Japan. In this article (Economist Jan 15th 2022 edition) he brings us up to date on recent interactive installations in rural areas of Japan and the impact the artists are having on communities.

The UW Japan Studies Program has scholarships and fellowships available to graduate and undergraduate students for the coming summer and next academic year. Scholarships for Japan studies are available to JSIS and other UW students (unless otherwise noted) including international students.  See our funding page for details on specific scholarships such as amounts and eligibility criteria,

Paul Atkins, Professor of Japanese at the University of Washington, has been awarded the Kyoko Selden Memorial Translation Prize Japanese in Literature, Thought, and Society by the Department of Asian Studies at Cornell University. This is the first time a UW faculty member has been awarded this prize, which comes with a cash award. Atkins

UW Associate Professor Justin Jesty reports on the recent Butoh workshop and series of performances which he attended this past November. Seattle dance collective DAIPANbutoh held their annual butoh festival, November 19-21 at the Yaw Theater in Seattle’s Georgetown neighborhood. Spanning three nights of performance and two afternoon workshops, the festival was a tour-de-force, featuring