visiting parents

Japanese Language Tables

Intermediate: Thursdays 4:00–5:00 pm, Milton's Cafe (1st Floor), Kansas Union
Advanced: Thursdays, 5:00–6:00 pm, Milton's Cafe (1st Floor), Kansas Union

Moderator: Aoi Saito

Upcoming Japan Events

Please check throughout the fall semester for updates for Japanese events.

Past 2009-2010 Events

Thursday, September 24
Tea & Talk: Paul Dunscomb (University of Alaska), “The Lost Decade: Death Agony of the Postwar Consensus in Japan?” The systemic economic, social, and political crises that swept Japan in the wake of the “bubble economy’s” collapse brought numerous reform proposals from foreign and Japanese sources. Yet for those in a position to make such reforms, the real challenge was to ride out the crisis by making the absolute minimum change necessary to preserve a postwar consensus that particularly advantaged them, thus prolonging the agony and bringing Japan the “Lost Decade,” 1992-2003.

Saturday, October 3
Mid-Autumn Festival Moon-Viewing Party. Join us for East Asian music, poetry, and moon cakes as we celebrate traditions surrounding the full moon.

Past 2008-2009 Events

Monday, September 15
Annual Mid-Autumn Festival Moon-Viewing Party. Join us for East Asian music, poetry chanting, and moon cakes as we raise our (non-alcoholic) glasses to the full moon.
Time: 7:30 pm
Location: East Lawn, Lied Center (KU west campus)

Monday, September 22
Tea & Talk: Patricia Graham, “Chinese and Japanese Arts: Antique or Not, Authentic or Fake?”
The production of copies is part of the tradition of East Asian visual culture. Not all copies are fakes, and many have monetary value, sometimes more than the original. Understanding the different contexts in which copies were produced helps understand how to evaluate them. This presentation introduces the wide variety of Chinese and Japanese arts that are commonly copied, showing how some are copied for legitimate reasons, and others for deception.The issue of forgeries is particularly pertinent and vexing because these have increased substantially and become more difficult to discern in recent years, due to technological advances.
Time: 4 pm
Location: Pine Room, Kansas Union

Friday, October 31
Japanese Maintenance Lecture: Takao Shibata, “Title TBA ” (in Japanese). The Lecture Series in Japanese is sponsored by the Center for East Asian Studies as part of the Advanced Language Maintenance Program.
Time: 12:30-1:30 pm
Location: Alcove A, Kansas Union

Saturday, November 1
Reception for Hosei University students & faculty. Learn about contemporary Japan! Students interested in Japanese culture are invited to attend this free reception welcoming students from Hosei University in Japan. All KU students are invited—you do not need to speak Japanese to attend.
Time: 3:00–4:30 pm
Location: Centennial Room, Kansas Union

Thursday, November 6
Tea & Talk: Akiko Takeyama, “Selling Dreams: The Art of Seduction and Affect Economy in Japan”
Assistant Professor Takeyama (Anthropology & Women’s Studies) will discuss her research on Tokyo’s popular host clubs.
Time: 4 pm
Location: Pine Room, Kansas Union

Murphy Lecture in Art History: John Szostak (Assistant Professor of Japanese Art, University of Hawaii at Manoa), "Recovering Tradition: The Kokuga Society and Modern Japanese Painting Reform."
Time: 6 pm
Location: Room 211, Spencer Museum of Art

Sunday, November 9
“What Makes a Monster? From Godzilla to Spore.”
Are you afraid of monsters?  Come examine what makes a creature monstrous, why we are drawn to beasts that scare us, and how monsters sometimes become our friends. Bill Tsutsui (History) and Randi Hacker (Center for East Asian Studies) will use videos, create-your-own-monster stations, and a scavenger hunt to take the audience into the dark corners of humanity’s psyche, where these creatures lurk! A great event for kids of all ages. Part of the CLAS Acts Lecture Series.
Time: 2-4 pm
Location: Spooner Hall, KU Lawrence campus

Monday, December 1
Revolution in Film: KT (Japan)
A taut spy thriller about the real-life abduction of Kim Dae Jung , later elected president of South Korea, from a Tokyo hotel in 1973. Directed by Junji Sakamoto. Part of the Revolution in Film Series, presented by the KU International Area Studies Centers—the Center for East Asian Studies; the Kansas African Studies Center; the Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies—as part of a year-long program devoted to "Protest & Revolution." (For a full list of films, see http://www.crees.ku.edu/revolution/).
Time: 7 pm
Location: Alderson Auditorium, Kansas Union

Friday, February 20
Japanese Maintenance Lecture: Akitoshi Sogabe (Konan University), Title TBA.
The Japanese Maintenance Lecture is part of the Advanced Language Maintenance Program sponsored by the Center for East Asian Studies. Free and open to the public.
Time: 1 pm
Location: Alcove B, Kansas Union

Friday, February 27
Roundtable Discussion: “What Does ‘Revolution’ Mean in Our Time? Society, Science, and the Arts.”
The idea of revolution as radical social-political change is no longer dominant. In the arts and literature of the latter half of the 20th century, images of change are often playful, parodying rather than confronting. Although there is no artistic “avant-garde” in the modernist sense of the word, art continues to disturb, ask questions, challenge the status quo, and move audiences to think and, it is hoped, to change. Part of the “Changing the World” series co-sponsored by the KU Center for East Asian Studies, Center for Russian, Eastern European, and Eurasian Studies, the Center for Latin American Studies, and the Kansas African Students Center.
Time: 3:00-5:30 pm
Location: The Commons, Spooner Hall

Tuesday, March 24
Tea & Talk: “Global Partners for Local Organic Foods: Connecting the U.S. & Japan through Kansas & Saitama.” Local members of the Global Partners for Local Organic Foods project will discuss the genesis of the partnership and projected outcomes.
Time: 4pm
Location: Pine Room, Kansas Union

Tuesday, April 7
Panel Discussion: “The Financial Crisis: Lessons Learned from Japan and East Asia.” Speakers are Takao Shibata, KU Chancellor’s Lecturer and former General Consul from Japan; Chris Anderson, Associate Professor, Harper Faculty Fellow, KU School of Business; and Gordon Sellon, Senior Vice President and Director of Research, Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank. Part of the CEAS Symposium on East Asia and the Financial Crisis, co-sponsored by the KU Center for International Business Education and Research.
Time: 4:00-5:30 pm
Location: 507 Summerfield

Thursday, April 9
Lecture: James Miller, “Investments Gone Bad: A Comparative Account of Banking Crises in Japan and the United States.” Miller is Adjunct Professor of Law, American University, Washington College of Law. Part of the CEAS Symposium on East Asia and the Financial Crisis, co-sponsored by the KU Center for International Business Education and Research.
Time: 4:00-5:30 pm
Location: 501 Summerfield

Thursday, April 16
Roundtable Discussion: “Changing the World: Revolutionary Thinking about the Environment”
Over the last 200 years the natural environment has played a crucial role in radical social thought. In the early 21st century, the endangered environment has forced thinking that is changing how humans live on this planet. This roundtable focuses on (1) the historical and contemporary ways that revolutionary thinking and social revolutionaries have conceptualized the natural environment, and (2) how the environmental change of the last half century has radically changed our conceptions of our lives. Panelists will address the interaction of all these factors with a focus on different regions of the world. Part of the “Changing the World” series co-sponsored by the KU Center for East Asian Studies, Center for Russian, Eastern European, and Eurasian Studies, the Center for Latin American Studies, and the Kansas African Students Center.
Time: 3:00-5:30 pm
Location: The Commons, Spooner Hall

Monday, April 27
Grant Goodman Distinguished Lecture on Japanese Studies: Samuel Yamashita (Henry E. Sheffield Professor of History, Pomona College), “Coercion, Compliance, and Resistance in Wartime Japan, 1942-1945”
At first glance, everyday life in Japan during World War II calls to mind the American home front: there were the same rousing speeches by the country’s leaders and official spokesmen, the enthusiastic send-offs of servicemen, the mobilization of women for war work, the rationing of scarce commodities, the censorship of war news, and the solemn respect shown the war dead. But the wartime diaries and correspondence of ordinary Japanese reveal that their government exercised such extraordinary control over their lives that most had no choice but to comply with government directives, even when it meant extreme hardship or death. Yet many Japanese were critical of their government’s policies; some recognized the signs of defeat; and a few even defied official directives.
Time: 7:30 pm
Location: Hall Center for the Humanities

A delegation of organic food professionals from Japan, visiting Lawrence as part of an exchange project, Global Partners for Local Organic Foods, will be visiting Lawrence June 24-29. Below are a list of scheduled events.

Wednesday, June 24
Global Partners for Local Organic Foods: Recognition Ceremony For Kansas' Pioneers of Local And Organic Foods
Come and celebrate the Pioneers who helped make local and organic happen in our community. Get a taste of the town's best and learn how buying local is more than a monetary investment in our community. Event presented by the Kansas Rural Center, the Community Mercantile, and Local Burger Restaurant, with grants from the Elizabeth Schultz Environmental Fund and the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership. ($5 admission; tickets available in advance at the Community Mercantile, Local Burger, and Liberty Hall.)
Time: 7 pm
Location: Liberty Hall, downtown Lawrence (7th & Massachusetts Sts.), KS

Saturday June 27
Cooking Japanese with Lawrence's Local Foods
Japanese organic food professionals, visiting Lawrence as part of an exchange project, Global Partners for Local Organic Foods, will peruse the Lawrence farmers market to find ingredients for Japanese dishes they will prepare at the cooking demonstration tent at the market. Free samples and recipes will be available. The Japanese group's visit, as well as one to Japan by Kansas professionals, is funded by a grant to the Kansas Rural Center from the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership. More information available at www.gplof.org
Time: 8:30 am
Location: Downtown Lawrence Saturday Farmers’ Market, New Hampshire St. between 8th & 9th Sts., Lawrence

Monday June 29
Public Forum on Local Organic Foods in Japan
A delegation of organic food professionals from Japan, visiting Lawrence as part of an exchange project, Global Partners for Local Organic Foods, will discuss the local organic food movement in their country and how that compares to what's happening here. The presentation will be in Japanese and English. The Japanese group's visit, as well as one to Japan by Kansas professionals, is funded by a grant to the Kansas Rural Center from the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership. More information available at www.gplof.org
Time: 7 pm
Location: North Lawrence Visitors’ Center (Old Train Depot), Lawrence

2007-2008 Events

Friday, October 5
East Asian Graduate Student Research Forum: Sooa Im, “Beyond the Outlandish Charm: Manpukuji’s Eighteen-Arhat Sculptures.” Art History graduate student Sooa Im will speak about her current research. Attendees are invited to bring a sack lunch.
Time: 12:30 p.m.
Location: 3002 Wescoe, KU Lawrence campus

Friday, October 19
Japanese Maintenance Lecture: Masami Sugimori (Lecturer, KU English Dept), “Language, Literature, and Teaching: A Comparison of Classroom Dynamics in American and Japanese Universities” (in Japanese). Part of the Lecture Series in Japanese as part of the Advanced Language Maintenance Program.
Time: 12:30-1:30
Location: Alcove G (Level 3), Kansas Union, KU Lawrence campus

Thursday, October 25
Tea & Talk: Maki Kaneko. New KU Assistant Professor Kaneko (Art History) will discuss her research on Japanese art.
Time: 4 pm
Location: Malott Room, Kansas Union, KU Lawrence campus

Friday, October 26
East Asian Graduate Research Forum: Mari LaCure (Fine Arts), "Gathered and Waiting: Cross-Cultural Experiences in Japan." Attendees are invited to bring a sack lunch.
Time: 12 noon
Location: 3002 Wescoe, KU Lawrence campus

Wednesday, November 28
Japanese Maintenance Lecture: Akiko Takeyama (Anthropology and Women’s Studies), “Selling Dreams: Commodification of Male Sexuality in Tokyo Host Clubs” (in Japanese). Part of the Lecture Series in Japanese sponsored by the Center for East Asian Studies as part of the Advanced Language Maintenance Program. Free and open to the public.
Time: 2:30 pm
Location: Governor’s Room, Kansas Union, KU Lawrence campus

Friday, February 8
Lunar New Year Party
Come celebrate the Lunar New Year with activities for everyone, including crafts, performances, and East Asian food tastings.
Time: 5-7pm
Location: ECM, 1204 Oread Avenue

Wednesday, February 13
Book Talk: Patricia Graham (CEAS Research Associate) will discuss and sign copies of her new book, Faith and Power in Japanese Buddhist Art, 1600-2005 (University of Hawai'i Press, 2007).
Time: 4pm
Location: Oread Bookstore, Kansas Union

Thursday, March 6
Tea & Talk: Gregory Hadley
“Old Wars, Present Memories: Revisiting the ‘Field of Spears’”
Professor Hadley (Niigata University of International and Information Studies) discusses his book, "Field of Spears," the true story of a B-29 crew that was shot down over a rural Japanese village on July 20, 1945.
Time: 4 pm
Location: Pine Room, Kansas Union

Saturday, March 8
Film: “Waterboys.” Five high school boys decide to learn synchronized swimming, influenced by the new coach of their school's swimming team, Sakuma. However, because of an unexpected incident, Sakuma must go on vacation, leaving the team without supervision. With the Tadano High's summer festival coming very soon, every club from the school is preparing a special event of their own. The boys eventually decide to organize a special sync swimming show, with the help of a dolphin trainer. (2001, 90 minutes) Part of the 2008 East Asia Film Festival.
Time: 2pm
Location: Woodruff Auditorium, Kansas Union, KU Lawrence campus

Thursday, March 27
Grant Goodman Distinguished Lecture in Japanese Studies: William Kelly, “Japan As a Sporting Nation: Baseball, Judo, Sumo, Soccer!”
Professor Kelly (Anthropology, Yale University) will explore sport and sports fans in Japan. 
Time: 7:30 pm
Location: Dole Institute of Politics

Conference
April 10-12
“Olympian Desires: Building Bodies and Nations in East Asia”
This international conference will explore the Olympic games in East Asia and their impact on the politics, cultures, economic conditions, international relations, natural and built environments, and lifestyles of the host countries and the region.
Opening lecture April 10, 7:30 pm, Regnier Hall Auditorium, KU Edwards Campus
Conference April 11-12, Hall Center for the Humanities, KU Lawrence campus. For more information: www.ceas.ku.edu

Friday, April 25
Japanese Maintenance Lecture: Maki Kaneko (Art History), “‘Resounding Spirit’: Avant-garde in Post-War Japan” [in Japanese]. Part of the Lecture Series in Japanese sponsored by the Center for East Asian Studies as part of the Advanced Japanese Maintenance Lecture.
Time: 12:00 pm Location: Alcove K (level 3), Kansas Union

Chancellor's Lecturer Takao Shibata: Fall 2007 Lecture Schedule

Chancellor’s Lecturer Takao Shibata has worked for the Japanese embassies in Sweden, Pakistan, Zimbabwe, and Nigeria, as well as for the Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations and as Consul General of Japan in Kansas City. During his distinguished career as a diplomat, he helped draft the historic Kyoto Protocol in 1997, which defined the parameters governing greenhouse gas emissions in the post-2000 year period.  As Chancellor’s Lecturer, he draws on his vast and diverse experience to broaden student understanding of the world. Click here for a pdf copy of his Fall 2007 schedule.