What if statistics could solve a literary mystery centuries in the making? That’s exactly what Department of Asian Languages and Literature Professor Paul Atkins, along with mathematics Ph.D. students Herman Chau and Michael Zeng, set out to do. Using data analysis and machine learning, the three discussed how they used statistical analysis of hiragana usage

The “Omoro sōshi” — a rich tapestry of 1,500 songs, poems, and prayers — offers a rare glimpse into the everyday lives, landscapes, and spirit of the Ryukyu Islands’ golden age. On April 8, as part of the 2025 Washin Kai Spring Lecture, Department of Asian Languages & Literature Associate Professor Davinder Bhowmik introduced the

Ultra-Low Birth Rate in East Asia: Crisis Discourses and Collaborative Responses The purpose of the conference is to deeply consider how young women (and their female and male counterparts) across East Asia are inadvertently, in some cases, and intentionally in others, challenging socio-cultural, gender, labor, family and national-cultural norms and expectations. We will look closely

Join us in-person to learn about research fellowship opportunities in Japan through the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS). Funding is available for: Graduate Students Postdoctoral Scholars Professors (of any level) Researchers (of any level) JANUARY 16, 2025 Noon – 1:00 PM Thomson Hall 317

On August 1, 2024 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan announced Jackson School Professor Emerita Marie Anchordoguy as a recipient of the 2024 Foreign Minister’s Commendations; Anchordoguy, whose work focuses on the political economy of Japan, was acknowledged for her 35-year academic career promoting the research of Japan in the United States. “The Foreign

Join us in welcoming Professor Edward (Ted) Mack to the position of Chair of the University of Washington Japan Studies Program. Professor Mack teaches modern Japanese-language prose in the department of Asian Languages and Literature. His research focuses on literary works written and read throughout the world, including in North and South America. His most recent book, Acquired

Join us for the 2024 Griffith and Patricia Way Lecture Thursday, April 25 5:30 – 7:00 PM Kane Hall 225 Walker-Ames Room Reception to follow What was the moment of death supposed to look like for people living in premodern Japan? While most people surely envisioned seeing the Buddha and his retinue descend at this

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2024 3:30 – 5:00 PM TEAL Reading Room, GOWEN HALL Open House / Grand Re-opening Celebration: The library completed the reading room renovation late last year, and it was the first ever renovation since the library moved to Gowen Hall in 1976. To celebrate this milestone, and to introduce the library to those

Panel Title Date | Time Room Location Japan Faculty   A038 – The Place of “Language” in Japan Studies/Research   Thursday, March 14 7:00 – 8:30 PM Jefferson A 4th Floor – Union St. Seattle Grand Sheraton Davinder Bhowmik, AL&L   A037 – Discourses of Youth in Imperial Japan: Rethinking Complex Realities of Race, Class,

Professor Ted Mack of the department of Asian Languages and Literature has been awarded the first Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Prize for East Asian Studies by the Modern Language Association in recognition of his monograph Acquired Alterity:  Migration, Identity, and Literary Nationalism (University of California Press, 2022).  This is the first book-length study in English