Dear faculty, staff, students, and members of our broader community,
Director and Professor Ted Mack
Welcome to the 2024-2025 academic year! I hope your autumn quarter was smooth and productive, and that you’re as enthusiastic as we are about the upcoming winter and spring quarters.
So far this academic year, we have already hosted (in-person or virtually) the author Shibasaki Tomoka, former Vice-Minister of Defense Tokuchi Hideshi, Professor Joshua Mostow (UBC), Professor Gomibuchi Noritsugu (Waseda), and filmmaker Yujiro Seki. In the new year, we look forward to welcoming Professor Matias Ariel Chiappe Ippolito (Colmex) on Feb. 7, the author Li Kotomi on March 5, and Professor Kenneth Mori McElwain (U. of Tokyo) for the Griffith and Patricia Way Lecture on April 22. We hope that you will come and join us for these (and other) great upcoming events.
Celebrating Transitions
I was honored to succeed Professor Marie Anchordoguy as head of the program this past summer. Marie’s remarkable career includes 35 years at the University of Washington, over a decade of which she served as chair of the UW Japan Studies Program. Her extraordinary contributions were fittingly recognized with the 2024 Japanese Foreign Minister’s Commendation. On behalf of all my colleagues, I extend our heartfelt gratitude to Marie for her dedication and leadership.
This year also marks the retirement of Martha Walsh, who supported the Journal of Japanese Studies and the Japan Program for an impressive forty years. Additionally, Ellen Eskenazi, our Associate Director for the past 17 years, has transitioned to a new role as Program and Operations Specialist in the Jackson School. Their decades of service have been invaluable, and we thank them for their tireless commitment.
We’re thrilled to welcome Paul Carrington to our team as our new financial officer and look forward to bringing in a new team member to continue Ellen’s important work.
Introducing the UW Center for Japanese Studies
Amid these transitions, we are pleased to share some exciting news: the UW Japan Studies Program has been renamed the UW Center for Japanese Studies! While our mission remains unchanged, the new name better reflects our role as the hub for Japanese research, teaching, events, and collaborations across the entire UW campus. The Center brings together faculty from diverse departments — including Art and Art History, Asian Languages and Literature, Built Environments, History, and the Jackson School — supporting degrees and programs in various fields.
Importantly, the Center for Japanese Studies remains distinct from the Jackson School Japan Studies program, which continues as a degree-granting program in International Studies, emphasizing interdisciplinary approaches rooted in the social sciences.
Beyond academia, the Center works with community partners such as Seattle Town Hall, Elliott Bay Books, and Third Place Books to host events that engage and inspire the public.
Looking Ahead
As we close out the year, I want to wish you all a joyful and healthy holiday season. I invite you to explore our many upcoming events in the new year. Details are available on our website.
Ted Mack
Director, UW Center for Japanese Studies
Professor, Modern Japanese Literature, Department of Asian Languages and Literature
Autumn 2024