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The Center for Japanese Studies
The Center for Japanese Studies, housed in the Institute for Asian Studies at PSU, supports research on Japan and the Japanese-American experience. CJS provides a forum for related academic activities and the free exchange of ideas. The Center is commited to preparing PSU students to become leaders in business, government, arts, and the academy by fostering cross-cultural understanding. It seeks to facilitate understanding of Japan as well as the Japanese-American experience among students, faculty, and the greater Portland community through a variety of curricular and outreach programs. Greetings from the Center Director
2007 was a banner year for the Center for Japanese Studies in many ways. First of all I want to extend heartfelt thanks to all of our donors and collaborators who made it possible for us to provide the programming in Japanese culture and scholarship that our students and our community need to remain well informed about Japan. It is only through the generosity of our supporters that we are able to carry out our mission. Our three "Gold Medal Donors"in '07 include Adolf Hertrich, whose $100,000 donation in December will become the Center's first ever endowment. Mr. Hertrich has asked that the interest from this endowment be used as scholarship support for students in advance Japanese language courses. Tim and Martha McGinnis donated $25,000, and Sam Naito donated $10,000 to be used to cover the center's operating and programming expenses. Tim and Martha McGinnis'donation was used in part to fund our beautiful November art exhibition, "The Theatre Prints of Tsukioka Kogyo." Our premiere events in '07 were "Japan in Motion,"including two public performances --Kyogen comedy by PSU students in July, and in August, "Butoh Now," featuring the world-renowned dancer Kasai Akira, together with students he trained at PSU. In November the CJS art exhibition, "The Theatre Prints of Tsukioka Kogyo," ran for the entire month in the Littman Gallery, PSU's finest art exhibition facility. Over 900 visitors came to the show, which featured 45 beautiful prints from a privately owned collection on loan from Pittsburgh. The gala opening celebration featured a slide presentation on Meiji Period culture and art by Prof. Bruce Coats of Scripps University, and other guest speakers came to PSU to give presentations about noh drama and ukiyo-e print art during the month of November. The year '07 saw many other CJS events at PSU, including several collaborations with other organizations. Co-presenters included Portland JACL ( "A Day of Remembrance", Pacific University (the Kogyo exhibition), and JASO/Pacific Northwest Film Center (a Japanese contemporary film festival in April). This year is already off to a good start. We have several events in February and early March, including presentations on the plays of Mishima Yukio, the adaptation of Manga for the US market, and JACL's 2008 "A Day of Remembrance." Be sure to check the events section of this website for exact times and dates. We look forward to having you join us. Warm regards, Larry Kominz Director, Center for Japanese Studies Professor, Japanese Language and Literature Oregon and Beyond
Located in downtown Portland, PSU has the most comprehensive program in Japanese Studies in the greater Portland metropolitan area that includes Vancouver, Washington. Internationally-recognized faculty offer a variety of courses in Japanese language, art, economics, geography, history, international management, literature and theater, and politics. PSUs special relationship with Waseda University, Japan's preeminent private university located in Japan's capital Tokyo makes PSU an especially exciting center of Japanese studies. Waseda selected PSU as the location for its American branch. Numerous exchange programs are available for students from both universities. Likewise, faculty of the two universities have a variety of research options available for study outside their home cities. PSU also maintains a longstanding relationship with Hokkaido University, one of Japan's premier public universities. Hokkaido University is located in Sapporo, Portland Sister City in Japan. Summer exchange opportunities allow studies to not only study Japanese in Japan but also to live with a Japanese host family during their time in Sapporo. The Center for Japanese Studies facilitates student and faculty exchanges with Waseda and Sapporo universities and other Japanese instutions of higher learning through a series of scholarships and grants. |
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