Lighting up Japan’s spirit at the 20th annual Japan Week festivities

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — The College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures at Seton Hall University invites the community to “Japan Week 2017: Lighting Up The Spirit of Japan” from Monday, March 27, through Friday, March 31. Japan Week strives to build a bridge between cultures that will enable the sharing of knowledge and experiences of Japan through lectures, symposia, workshops, events and award presentations. All events are free and open to the public.

“Now in its 20th year, Japan Week seeks to foster a greater understanding of Japan and its people. It is our hope that participants will become leaders in a flourishing dialogue between Japan and the United States and will work towards building a more peaceful global community,” professor Shigeru Osuka, director of Japan Week, said in a press release.

The Seton Hall University Japan Week 2017 schedule is as follows:

Monday, March 27

• Noon to 1 p.m. Kendama Play & Experience. Kendama is a traditional Japanese toy, which has three cups and a spike that fits into the hole in the ball. Experience Kendama and learn secret skills. All participants receive prizes. Hosted by the Asian Studies Association and Japanese language classes. In Pirates Cove, University Center.

• 2 to 3:15 p.m. Race and the Japanese-American Experience during World War II. Ann Giblin-Gedacht, History Department, “A Grave Injustice Was Done: Reflections on Japanese Internment for 75th Anniversary of Executive Office 9066.” Hosted by the Office of International Programs. In Beck Rooms, Walsh Library.

Tuesday, March 28

• 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Masaru Sato, director of the Japan Information Center at the Consulate General of Japan in New York, discusses Japan’s diplomacy and Japan-U.S. relations, exploring current international relations. In his position since January 2017, he has served in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 1991. He received a law degree from the University of Tokyo and a master’s degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Hosted by the Asian Studies Program and the Japanese Program. In Beck Rooms, Walsh Library.

Wednesday, March 29

• 3:15 to 3:45 p.m. SHU Cosplay Contest. Participants are encouraged to dress up for first- to third-place awards judged on most accurate, cutest and most creative costumes. Small prizes for all. Hosted by the Asian Studies Association. In Pirates Cove, University Center.

Thursday, March 30

• 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. The art of Japanese calligraphy. Participants learn how to use the calligraphy brush properly and how to express feelings in Japanese calligraphy. On the calligraphy paper, participants will learn to write Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji. Learn your own name in Japanese. Some calligraphy gifts will be presented. Hosted by Eri Kaneda, a 2016-17 exchange student from Seton Hall’s Japanese sister school, Sophia University in Tokyo. In Beck Rooms, Walsh Library.

• 12:20 to 12:40 p.m. Japanese Language and Digital Storytelling Awards Ceremony. The Japanese Program presents its top and most motivated learners of the Japanese language through the Digital Storytelling Awards. Awards will be presented by Christopher Kaiser and Michael Stone. These digital storytelling masterpieces will be reshown during the Petersheim Academic Exposition on Tuesday, April 20. Hosted by the Language Resource Center and the Digital Humanities Committee. In Beck Rooms, Walsh Library.

Friday, March 31

• 9 a.m. to 3:40 p.m. The 20th annual Graduate Student School Teacher Symposium on Japanese Students features student research and panel discussions with Shigeru Osuka, Michael Stone and Ann Giblin-Gedacht. The keynote address, “The 1960 U.S.-Japan Security Treaty Uprising and Landscape of Expression in Postwar Japan,” will be presented by Nick Kapur, assistant professor of history at Rutgers University-Camden, whose research focuses on modern and contemporary Japan and U.S-Japan relations as well as global and transnational history and environmental history. From 2012 to 2014, Kapur served as project manager for Harvard’s Digital Archive of Japan’s 2011 Disasters. In addition, he has recently published on environmental relations between the United States, China and Japan since 1970.

For more information about Japan Week 2017, contact Shigeru Osuka at 973-275-2712 or [email protected]. Seton Hall University is located at 400 South Orange Ave., South Orange.

  Rutgers, Seton Hall University