JAPAN SOCIETY ANNUAL REPORT 2007–08

Transcription

J a pa n S o c i e t y A n n u a l R e p o r t
2 0 07– 0 8
F o u n d e d i n 1 9 07, J a pa n S o c i e t y i s a n o n p r o f i t,
n o n p o l i t i c a l o r g a n i z at i o n t h at b r i n g s t h e
p e o p l e o f J a pa n a n d t h e U n i t e d S tat e s c lo s e r
to g e t h e r t h r o u g h u n d e rs ta n d i n g , a p p r e c i at i o n
a n d co o p e rat i o n . S o c i e t y p r o g ra m s i n t h e ar t s ,
b u s i n e ss , e d u c at i o n a n d p u b l i c p o l i c y o ff e r
o p p o r t u n i t i e s to e x p e r i e n c e J a pa n e s e c u lt u r e ;
to f o s t e r s u s ta i n e d a n d o p e n d i a lo g u e o n i ss u e s
i m p o r ta n t to t h e U . S . , J a pa n a n d Eas t A s i a ; a n d
to i m p r ov e acc e ss to i n f o r m at i o n o n J a pa n .
Cover: Dolls’-Festival Figures in Preparation, about 1880. Hanging scroll, colored lacquers,
white pigment, and gold leaf on paper. Catherine and Thomas Edson Collection, courtesy
of San Antonio Museum of Art. From the Japan Society Gallery exhibition The Genius of
Japanese Lacquer: Masterworks by Shibata Zeshin.
J a pa n S o c i e t y
A n n u a l R e p o r t 2 0 07– 0 8
Co n t e n t s
Directors & Officers
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Letter from the President
3
Centennial Honorary Committee
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Japan Society Centennial
5
Special Events
6
Committees
11
Japan Society Shop
12
Business & Public policy
13
Corporate Program
14
Policy Projects
19
Fellowships & Exchanges
23
A r t s & C u lt u r e 24
Gallery
25
Performing Arts Program
30
Film Program
35
Lecture Programs
40
E d u cat i o n 43
Education Programs
44
Toyota Language Center &
C.V. Starr Library
49
a d m i n i s t rat i o n 51
Financial Statement
52
Japan Society Donors
54
Staff
63
S u m m ary i n J a pa n e s e 65
D i r e c to r s & O f f i c e r s
D i r e c to r s
Kazushi Ambe
Senior Vice President, Human Resources,
Sony Corporation of America
Gregory A. Boyko*
Chairman, Hartford Life Insurance, K.K.
Henry Cornell*
Managing Director, Goldman,
Sachs & Co.
Michael E. Daniels
Senior Vice President, Global Technology
Services, IBM Corporation
Anne d’Harnoncourt†
The George D. Widener Director,
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Robert E. Fallon
Adjunct Professor, Columbia
Business School
Atsuko Toko Fish
U.S.-Japan Cross Cultural
Communication Consultant
Carol Gluck*
George Sansom Professor of History,
Columbia University
Maurice R. Greenberg
Chairman and CEO, C.V. Starr & Co., Inc.
Shigeru Hayakawa
Frederick H. Katayama
Justin Rockefeller
Officers
Anchor, Thomson Reuters
Co-Founder and National Program
Director, GenerationEngage
Michael I. Sovern
Yoshiaki Kawamata
Wilbur L. Ross, Jr.
Jonathan B. Kindred
CEO and Representative Director,
Morgan Stanley Japan Holdings Co., Ltd.
Ambassador and Consul General of
Japan in New York, Consulate General
of Japan
Richard S. Lanier*
Michihisa Shinagawa*
President
Chairman, Japan Society
Executive Committee
President, Asian Cultural Council
President and CEO, Sumitomo
Corporation of America
Kendall Hubert
Alan S. MacDonald
Partner, Graphis Inc.
Vice-Chairman, Citibank, N.A.
Jun Makihara
Chairman and CEO, WL Ross & Co. LLC
Motoatsu Sakurai***
Masako H. Shinn
Joshua N. Solomon
Vice President of Finance &
Administration
Howard Stringer
Chairman, Japan Society
President and CEO, Rockefeller & Co., Inc.
Chairman and CEO, Sony Corporation
Yoshihisa Suzuki
H o n o rary Pat r o n s
Henry A. McKinnell, Jr.**
President and CEO, ITOCHU
International Inc.
H.E. Ichiro Fujisaki
Chairman, Accordia Global Health
Foundation
Former Chairman of the Board and
CEO, Pfizer Inc
Gary M. Talarico
Managing Director, Sun Capital Partners
Paul A. Volcker**
Partner, Bingham McCutchen Murase
Former Chairman of the Board of
Governors, Federal Reserve System
Peter G. Peterson**
Senior Chairman and Co-Founder,
The Blackstone Group
James H. Quigley
Chief Executive Officer, Deloitte
Touche Tohmatsu
Vice President
Director, Corporate & Policy Programs
Susan J. Onuma
Secretary
Ambassador of Japan to the United
States of America
H.E. Motoatsu Sakurai
Ambassador and Consul General
of Japan in New York
H.E. Yukio Takasu
Ambassador, Permanent Representative
of Japan to the United Nations
H o n o rary D i r e c to r s
President, Japan Society
(Ex officio)
Mary Griggs Burke
Yasunori Yokote
President and CEO, Mitsui & Co.
(U.S.A.), Inc.
James G. Wilders Reed
President and CEO, Mizuho Securities
USA Inc.
J APAN S OCIETY A NNU A L R EPO R T 2 0 07– 0 8
Daniel A. Rosenblum
Richard J. Wood
* Member of the Executive Committee ** Life Director *** Honorary Director † Deceased June 2, 2008
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Lisa Bermudez
James S. McDonald
Satoru Murase
President and CEO, Nomura Holding
America Inc.
Senior Vice President & Director
of External Relations
President Emeritus and Chancellor Kent
Professor of Law, Columbia University
David W. Heleniak*
Shigesuke Kashiwagi
Richard J. Wood
Michael I. Sovern**
Managing Partner, Bingham
McCutchen Murase
Professor, International Economic
Law & International Affairs, Columbia
University
Vice Chairman
Managing Director and Chairman,
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts Asia
President and CEO, Mitsubishi
International Corporation
Merit E. Janow*
Shigeru Hayakawa
Deryck C. Maughan
Ryoichi Ueda
President and CEO, Nippon Steel
U.S.A., Inc.
Chairman
Chairman, Neoteny Co., Ltd.
Jiro Murase**
Nobuhiko Ikura
James S. McDonald
Co-Founder, East-West School of
International Studies
Vice Chairman, Japan Society
President and COO, Toyota Motor
North America, Inc.
Vice Chairman, Morgan Stanley
Honorary Chairman
Senior Managing Executive Officer and
CEO for the Americas, The Bank of
Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd.
Tatsuro Goto
Robert S. Ingersoll
William W. Scranton
As of June 30, 2008
L e t t e r Fr o m t h e Pr e s i d e n t
Photo © Ken Levinson.
A Japanese friend from many years ago, the
mayor of a small village in the Tohoku region,
refused to celebrate his village’s centennial.
He argued that they should look forward, not
backward, and celebrate their 101st year, which
they did. As part of that celebration, I was
honored to be made a citizen of that village.
Contrary to my friend’s argument, Japan
Society has just completed a wonderful celebration of its centennial, taking appropriate looks
at a distinguished past of helping the peoples
of Japan and North America learn from each
other. Because of that century of accomplishment, in March we were able to hold a gala in
Tokyo in the presence of Their Majesties the
Emperor and Empress of Japan, an unusual honor
for a foreign organization.
But as my friend urged, the primary focus
of Japan Society’s centennial celebration was
on our second century, not our first. To cite
a few examples:
Gallery exhibitions focused on contemporary
Japanese artists living and working in New York,
and on the transformative lacquer artist Shibata
Zeshin. Electronic access to our high-quality
content on Japan continued to improve. In
addition, we began to make good use of an ultra
high-speed, ultra high-definition video capability
developed in partnership with Keio University,
using it to link Diet leader Kotaro Tamura into
a major conference on the future of sovereign
wealth funds. Japan Society also brought together
an international group of financial regulators
and industry experts to consider the competition among Hong Kong, London, New York and
Tokyo as major financial centers, with a follow-up
conference planned for February of 2009.
The Japan Society Shop, a new project that reinforces the Society as a year-round destination,
sharpened its identity as a unique source of high
quality, high design Japanese gifts. Japan Society
Media Fellow Micah Fink, Producer/Director,
Wide Angle, PBS, explored how Japan’s SelfDefense Forces are transforming to deal with
new strategic challenges. His documentary,
Japan’s About-Face, aired on PBS on July 8, 2008.
Looking backward and forward simultaneously,
the Film Program produced three series: The
Dawn of Japanese Animation reached back to
the silent era, with live benshi narration; eight
1960s Nikkatsu action movies were screened
that had never been shown in U.S. theaters;
and the second annual JAPAN CUTS film
festival reached nearly 6,000 fans. The Education Program’s interactive website, About
Japan, A Teachers’ Resource, and its programs
for teachers and students, continued to grow
and reach wider audiences.
Performing Arts contributed to the growing
mutual interaction between Japan and the U.S.
by touring in Japan Dogugaeshi, an American
work drawing on Awaji puppet theater, commissioned by Japan Society. Two performing arts
events, one in music and one in dance, were
honored by Time Out New York as among the
top ten performances in New York City in the
entire year.
The U.S.-Japan Innovators Network organized
programs on crisis management involving
leaders from New Orleans and Tokyo, on linking
corporate social responsibility with profitability,
and on the importance of non-linear thinking
in innovation. Lecturers included Toyota Motor
Corporation Chairman Fujio Cho, Admiral Timothy J. Keating, Martha Stewart, Professor Donald
Keene , architect Tadao Ando, Akira Kurosawa’s
principal assistant Teruyo Nogami and activist
Tom Hayden.
Finally, the Society continued to build on and
sustain important programming partnerships,
among these a lecture by UN Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon, co-hosted by The Korea Society,
on the important role Japan and the Republic of
Korea can play in fighting climate change, building a more secure world, and reinvigorating the
United Nations itself.
The alliance between these two major democracies—cultural, economic and political—will
continue to shape our world, especially in the
Pacific region, as far into the future as I can see.
Continuing to grow in mutual understanding is
our ongoing work.
Sincerely,
Richard J. Wood
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J a pa n S o c i e t y C e n t e n n i a l H o n o rary Co m m i t t e e
Co - C ha i r s
David Rockefeller
Dr. Shoichiro Toyoda
V i c e C ha i r s
The Honorable J. Thomas Schieffer,
United States Ambassador to Japan
His Excellency Ryozo Kato,
Ambassador of Japan to the U.S.
The Honorable Michael H. Armacost
The Honorable Howard H. Baker, Jr.
The Honorable James A. Baker III
The Honorable Nancy Kassebaum Baker
The Honorable John Brademas
Tom Brokaw
Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski
Mary Griggs Burke
Dick Cavett
Willard G. Clark
The Honorable William Clark, Jr.†
Professor Gerald L. Curtis
Richard and Peggy Danziger
Marian Wright Edelman
Dr. Frank L. Ellsworth
James M. Fallows
The Honorable Thomas S. Foley
Houghton Freeman
Louis V. Gerstner, Jr.
Charles O. Holliday, Jr.
The Honorable Robert S. Ingersoll
The Honorable Daniel K. Inouye
Jasper Johns
Professor Donald Keene
Dr. Henry Kissinger
William P. Lauder
Kurt and Tomoko Masur
Sir Deryck Maughan
Dr. Henry A. McKinnell, Jr.
The Honorable Norman Y. Mineta
The Honorable Walter F. and Joan Mondale
Jiro Murase, Esq.
The Honorable Paul H. O’Neill, Sr.
Dr. George R. Packard
The Honorable Leon Panetta
Professor Hugh Patrick
The Honorable Peter G. Peterson
Donald Richie
The Honorable John D. Rockefeller IV
Charlie Rose
The Honorable Donna Shalala
Isaac Shapiro
Stephen Sondheim
Michael I. Sovern
Julie Taymor
Alair Townsend
Professor Ezra F. Vogel
The Honorable Paul A. Volcker
Jack and Susy Wadsworth
Alan Webber
John W. Weidman
Robert Wilson
The Honorable Timothy E. Wirth
Edgar B. Young ††
Tadao Ando
Setsu Asakura
Tetsuya Chikushi
Shinji Fukukawa
Dr. Yoichi Funabashi
Toyoo Gyohten
Noboru Hatakeyama
Dr. Kazuo Inamori
Arata Isozaki
Hideo Kanze†††
The Honorable Yoriko Kawaguchi
Kakutaro Kitashiro
Yotaro Kobayashi
Ambassador Takakazu Kuriyama
Nobuo Kuroyanagi
Tetsuko Kuroyanagi
Fumihiko Maki
Minoru Makihara
Hideki Matsui
Fujio Mitarai
Kenji Miyahara
The Honorable Kiichi Miyazawa†††
Yuzaburo Mogi
Madame Hanae Mori
Minoru and Yoshiko Mori
Yoshiko Morita
Takeomi Nagayama††††
The Honorable Yasuhiro Nakasone
Taizo Nishimuro
Mansaku Nomura
Shijuro and Sadako Ogata
Ambassador Kazuo Ogoura
Kazuo Ohno
Ambassador Yoshio Okawara
Yoko Ono
Ambassador Hisashi Owada
Ambassador Kunihiko Saito
Tojuro Sakata
Somei Satoh
Ambassador Yukio Satoh
Soshitsu Sen XVI
Masahiro Shinoda
Hiroshi Sugimoto
Tadashi Suzuki
Tasuku Takagaki
Yoshio Taniguchi
Saburo Teshigawara
Dr. Junichi Ujiie
Jiro Ushio
† Deceased January 2008
†† Deceased April 2007
††† Deceased June 2007
†††† Deceased December 2006
As of May 31, 2008
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J a pa n 1 0 0 : C e l e brat i n g a C e n t u ry 1 9 07–2 0 07
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Japan Society’s wide-ranging
centennial celebrations continued
throughout the 2007–08 season
with unparalled programming
and truly special events in
New York City and Japan.
* C e n t e nn i a l E x h i b i t i o n *
Celebrating a Century
An Exhibition from Japan Society’s Archives
Part 3: 1952–1969 • 1 Oc to b e r –1 3 J a n ua ry
Part 4: 1970–1989 • 2 1 J a n ua ry– 3 1 M a r c h
Part 5: 1990–2007 • 1 Ap r i l– 3 0 J u n e
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1 Japan Society was
founded on May 19, 1907
by Lindsay Russell,
Hamilton Holt, Jacob
Schiff, August Belmont
and other prominent
Americans on the occasion
of the May visit to New
York by General Baron
Tamemoto Kuroki and Vice
Admiral Goro Ijuin. In this
archival photograph, Gen.
Kuroki, his wife and entourage welcome Japanese
ships to New York harbor
in 1907. Museum of the
City of New York. The
Byron Collection.
93.1.1.9049.
2 Japan Society’s first
postwar president, John D.
Rockefeller 3rd and Mrs.
Rockefeller with Prime
Minister Shigeru Yoshida
and Mr. Yoshida’s daughter,
Mrs. Takakichi Aso, at a
gala dinner held at the
Waldorf-Astoria in 1954.
3 Japan Society Board
members and executives
ring the closing bell on the
New York Stock Exchange
on December 21, 2007.
Photo courtesy of NYSE.
Japan Society is grateful for the generous support of our
Centennial Sponsors:
The Society would also like to thank the Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller
Fund and David Rockefeller for their very generous Centennial gifts.
Media sponsorship was provided by WNYC and LTB Media. As part of
the Millennium on View Program, Millennium UN Plaza was the preferred
hotel partner of Japan Society’s Centennial.
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Special events
J a pa n S o c i e t y C e n t e n n i a l Ga l a D i n n e r i n J a pa n
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Celebrations of Japan Society’s 100th anniversary continued on
March 4, 2008 with the Centennial Gala Dinner in Japan, held
at the Hotel Okura in Tokyo. Present for the historic occasion
were Their Majesties The Emperor and Empress of Japan. A
toast was given by H.E. Nobutaka Machimura, Minister of State,
Chief Cabinet Secretary, and special greetings were offered by
both H.E. Masahiko Koumura, Minister for Foreign Affairs and
The Hon. J. Thomas Schieffer, United States Ambassador to
Japan. Living National Treasure kyogen actor Mansaku Nomura
performed a special solo kyogen piece, followed by Mansakuno-Kai’s presentation of a selection from The Kyogen of Errors.
1 Guests raise their glasses for a toast in
commemoration of the Society’s centennial. Photo © Hotel Okura.
2 Architect Yoshio Taniguchi and Mrs.
Taniguchi (left) are greeted by Japan
Society President Richard J. Wood (right)
and Kendall Hubert, Japan Society Senior
Vice President and Director of External
Relations (center). Photo © Hotel Okura.
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3 Japan Society President Richard J.
Wood (left) and Chairman James S.
McDonald (right) greet Their Majesties
The Emperor and Empress of Japan.
Photo © Yoshiko Hishida.
4 Dinner guests, including (clockwise from left): Mrs. Yuzaburo Mogi;
Nobuo Kuroyanagi, President and CEO,
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group; Yoriko
Kawaguchi, former Foreign Minister of
Japan; Yasuhiro Nakasone, former Prime
Minister of Japan; and Minoru Makihara,
Senior Corporate Advisor, Mitsubishi
Corporation. Photo © Hotel Okura.
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5 Their Majesties The Emperor
and Empress of Japan arrive
at the Hotel Okura. Photo ©
Yoshiko Hishida.
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6 The Hon. J. Thomas Schieffer,
United States Ambassador to
Japan, offers a special greeting.
Photo © Hotel Okura.
7 Japan Society President
Richard J. Wood and Chairman
James S. McDonald escort
Their Majesties The Emperor
and Empress to their seats
at the Gala dinner. Photo ©
Hotel Okura.
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8 Left to right: Robert Fallon,
Adjunct Professor, Columbia
University Business School;
Justin Rockefeller, Co-Founder
and National Program Director,
GenerationEngage; Mark
Rockefeller, Vice Chairman,
Rockefeller & Co.; and Mrs.
Justin Rockefeller. Photo ©
Hotel Okura.
9 Left to right: Chikage Oogi,
former President, House of
Councillors; Sakata Tojuro
IV, Living National Treasure
kabuki actor; Japan Society
President Richard J. Wood,
and Mrs. Wood. Photo ©
Hotel Okura.
10 H.E. Nobutaka Machimura,
Minister of State, Chief
Cabinet Secretary, offers
a toast in commemoration
of the Society’s centennial.
Photo © Yoshiko Hishida.
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11 Left to right: Film director
Masahiro Shinoda; fashion
designer Hanae Mori; ballet
dancer and actress Tamiyo
Kusakari; and film director
Masayuki Suo. Photo ©
Hotel Okura.
12 Her Majesty The Empress
with Society Chairman
James S. McDonald. Photo
© Hotel Okura.
13 Mansaku-no-Kai performs
at the Gala Dinner. Photo ©
Hotel Okura.
14 Left to right: Yoko Shioya,
Artistic Director, Japan Society;
Sir Deryck C. Maughan, Managing Director and Chairman,
Kolberg Kravis Roberts Asia;
Hideyuki Takahashi, Executive
Managing Director, Nomura
Holdings, Inc.; and Mrs. Takahashi. Photo © Hotel Okura.
15 Film and theater director
Julie Taymor (center) enjoys
conversation with Hiroyasu
Ando, Assistant Cabinet
Secretary (left) and film
director Masahiro Shinoda
(right). Photo © Hotel Okura.
16 Hotel Okura waitstaff
stand by for guests to enter
the banquet hall. Photo ©
Hotel Okura.
17 Left to right: Japan Society
President Richard J. Wood;
Carol Gluck, George Sansom
Professor of History, Columbia
University; and Sadako Ogata,
former United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees.
Photo © Hotel Okura.
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1 Left to right: Fujio Cho, Chairman of Toyota Motor Corporation; Amb. Motoatsu Sakurai,
Consul General of Japan in New
York; and James S. McDonald,
Chairman of Japan Society, at a
private reception in honor of Fujio
Cho. Photo © Ken Levinson.
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2 Carnegie Hall salutes Japan
Society on the occasion of
its centennial with a Mitsuko
Uchida piano concert. Left to
right: Tomoko Masur, Maestro
Kurt Masur, Japan Society
President Richard J. Wood, Mrs.
Richard Wood, Japan Society
Chairman James S. McDonald
and Mrs. James McDonald.
Photo © Satoru Ishikawa.
3 Christo and Jeanne-Claude
join artist ON megumi Akiyoshi
in her FLOWER gallery at the
opening preview and reception
for Making a Home: Japanese
Contemporary Artists in New York.
4 Guests at the annual Japanese
New Year’s Celebration are
entertained by a traditional
shishimai (lion dance). Photo
© Christy Jones.
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5 Guests at the opening night
reception for The Genius of
Japanese Lacquer: Masterworks
by Shibata Zeshin. Photo ©
George Hirose.
6 Left to right: Exhibition curator
Eric C. Shiner; Joe Earle, Vice
President and Director, Japan
Society Gallery; and Mr. and
Mrs. Richard Danziger at the
opening preview and reception
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7 Japan Society hosts a booth
with traditional Japanese “yo-yo
fishing” activity at Japan Day @
Central Park. Photo © Yoko Suzuki.
8 H.E. Ban Ki-moon, SecretaryGeneral of the United Nations
(left) and James S. McDonald,
Chairman of Japan Society
(right) at a private reception in
honor of Secretary-General Ban.
9 Left to right: Fred Katayama,
Anchor, Thomson Reuters; Yoko
Makino; and Gary S. Moriwaki,
President, Japanese American
Association of New York. Photo
© Satoru Ishikawa.
10 Legendary film actor Tatsuya
Nakadai reminisces about his
1977 visit to the Society with
Yoko Suzuki, Japan Society’s
Director of Special Events, at
a reception following a special
screening of Ran. Photo ©
Christy Jones.
11 Susan Hancock welcomes
guests to her residence for a
dinner celebrating the opening
of Making a Home: Japanese
Photo © Yoko Suzuki.
12 Members talk with sake
brewers during a private tasting
at EN Japanese Brasserie. Photo
© Yoko Suzuki.
13 Guests admire the lobby
installation by Yoko Ono at the
opening reception and preview
14 Friends of the Gallery and 333
Club members visit artist Ushio
Shinohara’s studio in Brooklyn
as part of an Artist Studio Tour.
15 333 Club members at an
interactive yakitori tasting at
Tori Shin restaurant. Photo ©
Matthew Myers.
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J a pa n S o c i e t y 2 0 0 8 A n n u a l D i n n e r
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Japan Society’s Annual Dinner, held on June 12 at the Grand
Hyatt New York, featured a keynote address from Citi Chairman
Sir Winfried Bischoff, following an introduction by Japan Society
Vice Chairman Shigeru Hayakawa. The 2008 Japan Society
Award was presented to The Hon. Daniel K. Inouye, U.S. Senator
from Hawaii, and film legend Clint Eastwood, who accepted by
video. Leonard Lopate, host of WNYC’s The Leonard Lopate Show,
served as Master of Ceremonies. Guests were also treated to an
energetic hip-hop dance performance by Ebina Performing Arts,
featuring Kenichi Ebina and Takahiro Ueno.
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1 Left to right: Japan Society President
Richard J. Wood; Japan Society Chairman James S. McDonald, President
and CEO, Rockefeller & Co., Inc.;
Leonard Lopate, host, WNYC’s The
Leonard Lopate Show; 2008 Japan
Society Award recipient The Hon.
Daniel K. Inouye, U.S. Senator from
Hawaii; Ms. Irene Hirano, President,
Japanese American National Museum;
and Ambassador Motoatsu Sakurai,
Consul General of Japan in New York.
2 Sir Winfried Bischoff, Chairman,
Citi, delivers the keynote speech.
4 Left to right: Mrs. Motoatsu Sakurai;
2008 Japan Society Award recipient
The Hon. Daniel K. Inouye; and H.E.
Yukio Takasu, U.N. Ambassador to
Japan. Photo © Satoru Ishikawa.
5 Hip-hop dancer Kenichi Ebina. Photo
© Satoru Ishikawa.
6 Left to right: Japan Society Chairman
James S. McDonald; Japan Society
Vice Chairman Shigeru Hayakawa,
President and COO, Toyota Motor
North America, Inc; Sir Winfried
Bischoff, Chairman, Citi; and Japan
Society President Richard J. Wood.
3 Left to right: Yasunori Yokote, President and CEO, Mitsui & Co. (U.S.A.),
Inc., Mrs. Yokote, and Japan Society
Chairman James S. McDonald. Photo
© Satoru Ishikawa.
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Co m m i t t e e s
E x e c u t i v e Co m m i t t e e
Richard Lanier, Chair
Gregory A. Boyko
Henry Cornell
Carol Gluck
David W. Heleniak
Merit E. Janow
Michihisa Shinagawa
I n v e s t m e n t Co m m i t t e e
Henry Cornell, Chair
Shigesuke Kashiwagi
Jonathan B. Kindred
Wilbur L. Ross, Jr.
Ryoichi Ueda
F i n a n c e Co m m i t t e e
Gregory A. Boyko, Chair
Alan S. MacDonald
Jun Makihara
James H. Quigley
N o m i n at i n g a n d
Co r p o rat e G ov e r n a n c e
Co m m i t t e e
David W. Heleniak, Chair
Robert E. Fallon
Merit E. Janow
Stephen H. Long
Jun Makihara
Deryck C. Maughan
Ryoichi Ueda
A u d i t Co m m i t t e e
Satoru Murase, Chair
Nobuhiko Ikura
Shigesuke Kashiwagi
Stephen H. Long
J a pa n A dv i s o ry Co m m i t t e e
Shoichiro Toyoda, Chair
Kensuke Hotta
Kazuo Inamori
Yotaro Kobayashi
Minoru Makihara
Fujio Mitarai
Yoshihiko Miyauchi
Yuzaburo Mogi
Minoru Mori
Ambassador Moriyuki Motono
Minoru Murofushi
Yoshio Nakamura
Takeo Shiina
Shinjiro Shimizu
Seiji Tsutsumi
Jiro Ushio
Goro Watanabe
Ambassador Koji Watanabe
U . S . -J a pa n M e d i a F e l low s
U . S . -J a pa n I n n ovato r s
Pr o g ra m S e l e c t i o n
n e t wo r k C u lt u ra l
Pr o g ra m Co m m i t t e e
Susan Dentzer
Glen Fukushima
Glenn Hubbard
Kakutaro Kitashiro
Joseph Melillo
Fujio Mitarai
Wilbur L. Ross
Shinjiro Shimizu
Mitsuko Shimomura
Hirotaka Takeuchi
Hiroshi Tsukamoto
Yoshinori Yamaoka
Masakazu Yamazaki
Co m m i t t e e
A dv i s o ry Co m m i t t e e
Douglas McGray
Charles Lane
Daniel Pink
David d’Heilly
Thelma Golden
Yasuki Hamano
Yuko Hasegawa
Minoru Iki
Taneo Kato
Douglas McGray
Dominic Molon
Taeko Nagai
Fumio Nanjo
Shigeaki Saegusa
Ralph Samuelson
Emily Sano
Hiroshi Yanai
N e t wo r k B oar d o f
A dv i s o r s
Merit E. Janow, Chair
Kazushi Ambe
Atsuko Toko Fish
Frederick H. Katayama
Masako Shinn
Joshua N. Solomon
F i l m A dv i s o ry Co m m i t t e e
Donald Richie, Chair
Mary Lea Bandy
Celeste Bartos
Robert Gottlieb
Junji Kitadai
Akira Koike
Keiko I. McDonald
Masayo Okada
Nagisa Oshima
Richard Pena
Daniel Talbot
P e r f o r m i n g A r t s A dv i s o ry
Co m m i t t e e
Laurence Kominz, Chair
Philip Bither
John Gillespie
David G. Goodman
Stephen Greco
Margaret Lawrence
Judy Mitoma
W. Anthony Sheppard
John Weidman
Robert Woodruff
H onorary M embers
James Brandon
Karen Brazell
Donald Keene
Thomas Rimer
Ralph Samuelson
Akihiko Senda
N e t wo r k B u s i n e s s
A dv i s o ry Co m m i t t e e
Jack D. Cogen
Aron Cramer
Michael E. Daniels
Robert E. Fallon
Yoshito Hori
Joichi Ito
Shuhei Kishimoto
Michael Kobori
Terrie Lloyd
Oki Matsumoto
Alicia Ogawa
Debra van Opstal
Thierry Porte
James G. Reed
Ann Rutledge
Hiroaki Saito
Ken Shibusawa
Hirotaka Takeuchi
Alan Webber
Keith Yamashita
n e t wo r k S o c i a l A dv i s o ry
Co m m i t t e e
Ayako Fujii
Rosanne Haggerty
Keiko Kiyama
Megumu Mizuta
Zenko Oda
Kensuke Onishi
Michael Reich
Yoshinori Yamaoka
11
J a pa n S o c i e t y s h o p
The Japan Society Shop, located on the Society’s second floor,
is a unique boutique highlighting contemporary and traditional Japanese design through exclusive and one-of-a-kind
merchandise. In March 2008, the Japan Society Shop was
remodeled and expanded to more than twice its original size.
A wide range of contemporary decorative art, textiles, furniture, jewelry, lacquerware and ceramics welcomes visitors
with an authentic “Made-In-Japan” experience. “Made-inJapan” merchandise embodies a rich craftsmanship based
on a long history of artisan skill, practical beauty and regional
spirit. The Shop’s expert staff field questions about products,
providing customers with a new appreciation and knowledge
about Japan and Japanese culture. Customers are encouraged
to return regularly as new products arrive in conjunction with
Japan Society Gallery exhibitions and ongoing Society-wide
programming, making each visit unique.
All photos © Sheldan Collins.
12
Business & Public Policy
Co rp o rat e P r o g ra m
The 2007–08 Corporate Program season launch coincided
with major political upheaval in Japan as Prime Minister
Abe resigned in September 2007, only one year after taking
office following the end of Koizumi’s five-year leadership.
Abe’s departure opened the door to Yasuo Fukuda, a split
in the Parliament and most worrisome, the specter of Japan
suffering yet again from a series of short-lived, uninspired
and ineffective administrations. Fukuda proved adept at
smoothing relations with Japan’s neighbors, but failed to
inspire confidence in Japanese lawmakers and the public.
Weathering a series of scandals brought on by errant
agriculture ministers, he also struggled to restore public
trust in the country’s tainted pension system and regularly
fought for passage of ordinarily uncontested laws in the
opposition-controlled Upper House. Despite his best
efforts, Fukuda’s popularity continued to fall.
Admist ongoing political turmoil in Japan, the Corporate
Program pursued its mission to showcase the U.S.-Japan
economic and security relationship in the context of broader
regional and global relations among nations. In this vein,
we launched the year with a conference including former
Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage and Heizo
Takenaka, the architect of PM Koizumi’s economic reforms,
examining how political and economic developments in East
Asia are defining U.S.-Japan relations. We hosted a series
of policy and military leaders, including Deputy Secretary
of State John Negroponte, Indian Ambassador to the U.S.
Ronen Sen, Under Secretary of Treasury for International
Affairs David McCormick and Admiral Timothy Keating,
Commander of the U.S. Pacific Command. All cited the
importance of Japan’s relationship with the U.S. in providing
economic and security stability to Asia, while encouraging
Japan to strengthen its bilateral relations with regional
neighbors. The world’s foremost diplomat, United Nations
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, saw the programming
season to a close with his view of contributions by South
Korea and Japan in combating global environmental and
developmental crises.
14
J A PA N S O C I E T Y A NNU A L R E P O R T 2 0 07– 0 8
The subject of financial market regulation and enforcement
arose frequently throughout discussions of Japan’s interaction with the U.S. and other regional players. Notwithstanding the financial deregulation “Big Bang” of 1996, Japan is
still accused of maintaining both closed financial services
markets and regulatory impediments that discourage even
the most tenacious foreign investors. How to make Japanese
businesses and markets more attractive to outside investors
was a theme often visited this year. We hosted a conference
comparing capital market enforcement measures in the
U.S. and Japan with those in the UK. The 11-person panel
included Japan’s former Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa
Shiozaki, SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins and the UK’s
Financial Services Authority Director of Enforcement
Margaret Cole. Later, we welcomed Sarbanes-Oxley Act
co-author Michael Oxley, who spoke on where the postEnron response went right and areas in the regulations
that needed retooling.
The Corporate Program continued its ongoing tradition of
offering members unparalleled access to top-tier business
leaders from both the U.S. and Japan. In the Centennial
Speakers series last fall, we were honored to host former
Fed Chief Paul Volcker, who offered his early yet prescient
assessment of the impact of the subprime loan debacle.
Later Japanese banking and automotive heavyweights
Junichi Ujiie, Chairman of Nomura Holdings, Inc. and Fujio
Cho, Chairman of Toyota Motor Corporation, joined the
series to cite the importance of a global view in securing
the future health of their respective firms.
Though our programs frequently reached beyond the
confines of the bilateral U.S.-Japan relationship, we did
present several programs that looked at particular segments
of both cultures. In addition to taking measure of Japan’s
economic health with Morgan Stanley Japan’s Chief Economic Researcher Robert Feldman and looking at last fall’s
boom in bilateral M&A activity, Debbie Howard, Chairman,
America Chamber of Commerce in Japan, examined the
exacting tastes of Japan’s high-end consumers and later
in the year, Famima Corporation Chairman Shiro Inoue
joined us to study Japan’s profound influence on U.S.
convenience store culture.
2 0 07– 0 8 P r o g ra m H i g h l i g ht s
With J. Patrick Adcock, Senior Vice President for
Environmental Markets, World Energy Solutions,
Inc.; Kevin Butt, General Manager and Chief Environmental Officer, Toyota Motor Manufacturing
North America, Inc.; and Takamitsu Sawa, Professor, Kyoto University and Ritsumeikan University.
Howard Margulis, Partner, Troutman Sanders
LLP, moderating.
1
Co n f e r e n c e s , Pa n e l D i s c u s s i o n s ,
S e m i n ar s & Sym p o s i a
2
1 At the Corporate Program’s
2007–08 season inaugural
conference, Richard Armitage,
former Deputy Secretary of State
and President, Armitage International and Motoatsu Sakurai,
Ambassador and Consul General
of Japan in New York; Honorary
Director, Japan Society, practice
humor diplomacy. Photo © Ken
Levinson.
2 Yasuhisa Shiozaki, Member
of the House of Representatives, Japan and former Chief
Cabinet Secretary (right), along
with Kazumi Okamura, Deputy
Secretary-General, Securities
and Exchange Surveillance Commission, join in a comparative
discussion of capital market
enforcement measures co-hosted
by Harvard Law School’s Program
on International Financial Systems. Photo © Ken Levinson.
East Asia’s Future Role in Defining U.S.-Japan
Relations • 1 8 S e p t e m b er • Co-organized by
Nikkei America, Inc. Supported by Japan Center
for Economic Research.
Offsite event held at Hilton New York. With
Richard Armitage, President, Armitage International and former Deputy Secretary of State.
Tsuyoshi Sunohara, Senior Staff Writer, NIKKEI,
Inc., presiding. Presenters: Heizo Takenaka,
Senior Advisor, Japan Center for Economic
Research, Keio University and Glenn Hubbard,
Dean, Columbia Business School; former
Chairman, President’s Council of Economic
Advisers. Naoaki Okabe, Senior Executive
Managing Officer, Senior Executive Editor,
NIKKEI, Inc., moderating.
Vultures or Doves? How Changing Japanese
Laws & Shifting Perceptions Will Impact U.S.Japan M&A • 2 5 S e p t e m b er • Sponsored by
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP.
With Scott Minars, Partner, Deloitte & Touche;
Julian Pritchard, Partner, Freshfields Bruckhaus
Deringer LLP; and Timothy Wilkins, Partner,
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP.
Multilateralism in Asia: Measuring Risk &
Rewards for the U.S. & Japan • 1 7 O c to b er
With Robert Hormats, Vice Chairman, Goldman
Sachs International Corporation; Glenn Hubbard,
Dean, Columbia Business School; and Evans
Revere, President, The Korea Society. Michael
Auslin, Resident Scholar in Asian Studies,
American Enterprise Institute, moderating.
Global Climate Change: Economic Implications
& Opportunities for the U.S. & Japan •
5 D ece m b er • Sponsored by Institute for
International Socio-Economic Studies.
Hurdles & Rewards: Navigating Japan’s
Financial Services Market • 2 3 J anuary •
Co-organized by Women’s Bond Club; Center on
Japanese Economy and Business, Columbia Business School; and Nomura Holding America, Inc.
With Masatomo Harigaya, Director of International
Equity Sales, Nomura Securities International,
Inc.; Brian Kelly, Chief Investment Officer, Asian
Century Quest Capital, LLC; and Alicia Ogawa,
Director of the Program on Alternative Investments;
Associate Director for Program Development,
Center on Japanese Economy and Business,
Columbia Business School. Leslie Norton, Foreign
Editor, Asia, Barron’s, moderating.
Enforcement in the U.S. & Japan, with
Lessons from the UK • 1 F e b ruary • Sponsored
by Mizuho Securities USA. Co-organized by
Harvard Law School’s Program on International
Financial Systems.
With Paul Atkins, Commissioner, United States
Securities and Exchange Commission; Brandon
Becker, Partner, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale
and Dorr LLP; Co-Chair, Securities Department;
Chair, Broker-Dealer Compliance and Regulation;
Margaret Cole, Director of Enforcement, Financial
Services Authority; Robert Feldman, Director of
Economic Research Department and Managing
Director, Morgan Stanley Japan Securities Co.,
Ltd.; Takatoshi Ito, Professor, Graduate School of
Economics, University of Tokyo; Hideki Kanda,
Professor of Law, University of Tokyo; Kazumi
Okamura, Deputy Secretary-General, Securities
and Exchange Surveillance Commission; Thomas
A. Russo, Vice Chairman, Lehman Brothers Inc.;
Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer,
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.; Takumi Shibata,
President and Chief Executive Officer, Nomura
Asset Management Co., Ltd.; Yasuhisa Shiozaki,
Member of the House of Representatives, Japan
and former Chief Cabinet Secretary; and Linda
Chatman Thomsen, Director, Division of Enforcement, United States Securities and Exchange
Commission. Hal Scott, Nomura Professor of
International Financial Systems, Harvard Law
School, moderating.
Managing Interests, Managing Expectations:
U.S.-China-Japan Relations • 2 6 F e b ruary •
Co-organized by Japan Center for International
Exchange.
With Hitoshi Tanaka, Senior Fellow, Japan
Center for International Exchange; former Deputy
Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan.
15
1
1 Left to right: Richard J. Wood,
President, Japan Society;
Gideon Rose, Managing Editor,
Foreign Affairs; Kent E. Calder,
Edwin O. Reischauer Professor
and Director of the Edwin O.
Reischauer Center for East
Asian Studies, Paul H. Nitze
School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins
University; and Francis Fukuyama, Bernard L. Schwartz Professor of International Political
Economy and Director of the
International Development
Program, Paul H. Nitze School
of Advanced International
Studies, Johns Hopkins University, following Dr. Calder’s
and Dr. Fukuyama’s lecture
on their co-edited book, East
Asian Multilateralism: Prospects
for Regional Stability. Photo ©
Ken Levinson.
2 Sovereign Wealth Fund
conference panelists take
questions from the audience
following the discussion portion of the program. Left to
right: Kotaro Tamura, Member
of the House of Councilors
and Vice Chairman, LDP Committee on Fiscal and Financial
Policy; former Parliamentary
Secretary, Cabinet Office of
Economic and Fiscal Policy, who
joined from Tokyo via a Keio
University high-speed video
link; Edwin Truman, Senior
Fellow, Peterson Institute for
International Economics;
Ann Wyman, Managing
Director, Economic and
Political Strategies, Citigroup
Inc.; John Green, Director of
Research and Asia Practice
Head, Eurasia Group; and
moderator Bob Davis, International Economics Correspondent, The Wall Street Journal.
3 James S. McDonald,
President and Chief Executive
Officer, Rockefeller & Co.
and Chairman, Japan Society
(center) introduces United
Nations Secretary-General
16
2
Ban Ki-moon to Japan Society
Director and GenerationEngage
Co-Founder & National
Program Director Justin Rockefeller. Photo © Ken Levinson.
4 At a reception before his
lecture, Michael Oxley, Of
Counsel, Baker & Hostetler
LLP; former Ohio Congressman, Chairman of the House
Financial Services Committee
and co-author of the SarbanesOxley Act of 2002, engages
Japan Society President
Richard J. Wood and Ryoichi
Ueda, President and Chief
Executive Officer, Mitsubishi
International Corporation;
Director Japan Society. Photo
© Ken Levinson.
5 With program sponsor and
presider Bal Das, Partner,
InsCap Management, LLC;
Chair, India Policy Forum
(right) looking on, H.E. Ambassador Ronen Sen, Ambassador of India to the United
States, responds to an amusing
remark from the audience
following his lecture about
trade and diplomatic relations
among Japan, India and the
U.S. Photo © Ken Levinson.
6 United States Deputy
Secretary of State John
Negroponte squares off with
presider and WNYC radio
talk show host Brian Lehrer,
Host, The Brian Lehrer Show.
7 Following a lecture about
U.S. military posture in Northeast Asia are (left to right):
Jan Berris, Vice President,
National Committee on
U.S.-China Relations; Stephen
Orlins, President, The National
Committee on U.S.-China
Relations; Admiral Timothy
J. Keating, Commander, U.S.
Pacific Command; and Daniel
Rosenblum, Vice President &
Director, Corporate & Policy
Programs, Japan Society.
3
4
5
6
The Konbini Are Coming! Japanese Convenience
Store Culture Takes On America • 1 7 A p ril •
With Shiro Inoue, Chairman, Famima Corporation;
William Rapp, Henry J. Leir Professor of International Trade and Business; and Gavin Whitelaw,
Postdoctoral Fellow, Reischauer Institute, Harvard
University. Chester Dawson, Senior Vice President, SPARX Investment & Research, USA, LLC,
moderating.
East Asian Multilateralism: Prospects for
Regional Stability • 2 2 A p ril
With Kent E. Calder, Edwin O. Reischauer Professor
and Director, Edwin O. Reischauer Center for East
Asian Studies, Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced
International Studies, Johns Hopkins University
and Francis Fukuyama, Bernard L. Schwartz
Professor of International Political Economy and
Director, International Development Program,
Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International
Studies, Johns Hopkins University. Gideon Rose,
Managing Editor, Foreign Affairs, moderating.
Japanese Companies & Employment Litigation:
Special Concerns • 24 A p ril • Sponsored by
Nixon Peabody LLP.
With Philip Berkowitz, Partner, Nixon Peabody
LLP; William Gilbert, Vice President, General
Manager, Human Resources, Canon USA, Inc.;
and George Pierce, Senior Vice President and
General Counsel, Toyota Tsusho America, Inc.
Sovereign Wealth Funds: The Political Risk of
Financial Opportunity • 1 May • Co-organized
by Eurasia Group.
With John Green, Director of Research and Asia
Practice Head, Eurasia Group; Kotaro Tamura,
Member of the House of Councilors, Japan, Vice
Chairman, LDP Committee on Fiscal and Financial Policy and former Parliamentary Secretary,
Cabinet Office of Economic and Fiscal Policy;
Edwin Truman, Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute
for International Economics; and Ann Wyman,
Managing Director, Economic and Political
Strategies, Citigroup Inc. Bob Davis, International
Economics Correspondent, The Wall Street
Journal, moderating.
Compliance Considerations: Potential Pitfalls
for Foreign Companies Operating in the U.S. •
9 May • Sponsored by Epstein Becker & Green P.C.
With Philippa Girling, Director, Global Co-Head
of Operational Risk Management, Nomura
Holdings America; Marian Ladner, Member of
the Firm, Epstein Becker Green Wickliff & Hall;
Michael Levine, Member of the Firm, Epstein
Becker & Green P.C.; and Hajime Matsuura, U.S.
Correspondent, NIKKEI.
Controlling the Rising Costs of Electronic
Discovery in the U.S. • 3 J une • Sponsored by
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP.
With Edward Flanders, Partner, Pillsbury Winthrop
Shaw Pittman LLP; Jeffrey J. Joyce, Vice President,
Kroll Ontrack Consulting; and Wayne C. Matus,
Partner, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP.
Fusae Nara, Partner, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw
Pittman LLP, moderating.
7
United States-East Asia Policy under the Next
President • 2 5 J une • Co-organized by Nikkei
America, Inc. Sponsored by Canon USA, Inc.;
Daiwa Securities America, Inc.; Toyota Motor
North America, Inc.; and Nippon Life Insurance
Company of America. Corporate support by
All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd. Media support by
The Wall Street Journal.
With Matthew Goodman, Managing Director,
Stonebridge International LLC; Michael J.
Green, Senior Advisor and Japan Chair, Center
for Strategic & International Studies; Associate
Professor, Georgetown University; and John
Bussey, Washington Bureau Chief, The Wall Street
Journal. Hidenaka Kato, Senior Staff Writer,
NIKKEI Inc.; Visiting Fellow, Center for Strategic
& International Studies, moderating.
Society and James S. McDonald, President
and Chief Executive Officer, Rockefeller & Co.,
Chairman, Japan Society, presiding.
Co rp o rat e Lu n c h e o n s
Looking Inside the Hearts, Minds & Wallets
of the Japanese Consumer • 1 9 O c to b er •
Supported by Asian Women in Business.
With Debbie Howard, President, American
Chamber of Commerce in Japan and President,
Japan Market Resource Network. Lisa Finstrom,
First Vice President, Citigroup, Inc., presiding.
The State of U.S.-Japan Relations • 3 1 J anuary
With John Negroponte, United States Deputy
Secretary of State. Brian Lehrer, Host, The Brian
Lehrer Show, presiding.
Co rp o rat e L e c t u r e s
Prognosis Japan: Morgan Stanley Japan’s
Chief Economist Assesses the State of Japan’s
Economic Health • 2 8 S e p t e m b er
With Robert Feldman, Head of Japan Economic
Research, Morgan Stanley Japan Securities
Co., Ltd. Margaret Moore, Senior Analyst
and Portfolio Manager, DuPont Capital
Management, presiding.
Securing Japan: Tokyo’s Grand Strategy &
the Future of East Asia • 1 2 D ece m b er
With Richard J. Samuels, Ford International
Professor of Political Science; Director of the
Center for International Studies, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology. George R. Packard,
President, United States-Japan Foundation,
presiding.
U.S. Pacific Command Perspective on
Security in Northeast Asia • 7 May •
Co-organized by National Committee on
United States-China Relations.
With Admiral Timothy J. Keating, Commander,
U.S. Pacific Command. Micah Fink, Documentary
Film Maker, PBS Wide Angle, presiding.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Addresses
UN Global Initiatives & Contributions from
Northeast Asia • 2 6 J une • Co-organized by
The Korea Society.
With Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General, United
Nations. Evans Revere, President, The Korea
H.E. Ambassador Ronen Sen, Indian
Ambassador to the United States, to
Discuss Indo-Japan-U.S. Economic,
Trade & Diplomatic Ties • 1 5 F e b ruary
With H.E. Ambassador Ronen Sen, Ambassador
of India to the United States. Bal G. Das, Partner,
InsCap Management, LLC; Chair, India Policy
Forum, presiding.
The U.S.-Japan Economic Relationship:
Essential in a Changing World • 2 7 March
With David H. McCormick, Under Secretary
of Treasury for International Affairs. Fernando
Gonzalez, Vice President, American International
Group, Inc., presiding.
Reflections on Sarbanes-Oxley: Lessons Learned
and Implications for the Future • 2 A p ril
With Michael Oxley, Of Counsel, Baker &
Hostetler LLP, former Ohio Congressman, Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee
and co-author of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of
2002. James S. McDonald, President and CEO,
Rockefeller & Co. Inc. and Chairman, Japan
Society, presiding.
Carlyle Japan: Looking Past Public Perception
for Buyout Opportunities in Japan • 1 5 May
With Takeshi Isayama, Chairman, Carlyle Japan.
Alicia Ogawa, Director, Program on Alternative
Investments and Associate Director for Program
Development, Center on Japanese Economy and
Business, Columbia Business School, presiding.
17
C e n t e n n i a l Sp e a k e r s S e r i e s
This program was made possible by Citi.
*centennial event*
Remarks by Former Fed Chairman Paul Volcker •
4 O c to b er
With Paul A. Volcker, former Chairman of
the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve
System. Alan Blinder, Gorden S. Rentschler
Memorial Professor of Economics and
Co-Director, Center for Economic Studies,
Princeton University, presiding.
*centennial event*
Nomura Chairman Ujiie Charts Roadmap for
Japan’s Fiscal Recovery • 2 N ove m b er
With Junichi Ujiie, Chairman, Nomura Holdings,
Inc. John Thain, Chief Executive Officer, NYSE
Euronext, presiding.
1
*centennial event*
Toyota Chairman Sees Local Interaction the
Path toward Global Success • 1 4 N ove m b er
With Fujio Cho, Chairman, Toyota Motor
Corporation. Richard J. Wood, President,
Japan Society, presiding.
2
Japan Society wishes to thank the following
corporations for their generous support of the
Corporate Program:
Global Leaders:
American International Group, Inc.
Citi
Continental Airlines
Deloitte & Touche LLP
Mizuho Securities USA Inc.
Toyota Motor North America, Inc.
Corporate Partners:
Mitsui & Co. (U.S.A.), Inc.
WL Ross & Co. LLC
Additional support: Asian Women in Business; All
Nippon Airways Co., Ltd.; Bal Das; Canon U.S.A.,
Inc.; Carnegie Council for Ethics in International
Affairs; Center on Japanese Economy and Business,
Columbia Business School; Daiwa Securities
America Inc.; Epstein Becker & Green, P.C.; Eurasia
Group; Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP;
Harvard Law School’s Program on International
Financial Systems; Institute for International
Socio-Economic Studies; Japan Center for International Exchange; Japan Center for Economic
Research; The Korea Society; National Committee
on United States-China Relations; Nikkei America,
Inc.; Nippon Life Insurance Company of America;
Nixon Peabody LLP; Nomura Holding America,
Inc.; Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP; The
Wall Street Journal; Women’s Bond Club.
18
3
1 Paul Volcker (left), former
Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve
System, gives his thoughts on
the collapse of the subprime
mortgage loan market as
moderator Alan Blinder,
former Fed Vice Chairman and
Gordon S. Rentschler Memorial Professor of Economics
and Co-Director, Center for
Economic Policy Studies,
Princeton University, listens.
2 Preparing for Nomura Holdings, Inc. Chairman Junichi
Ujiie’s Centennial Speakers
Series lecture are ( right to
left): John Thain, Chief Executive Officer, NYSE Euronext;
James S. McDonald, President
and Chief Executive Officer,
Rockefeller & Co. and Chairman, Japan Society; Dr. Ujiie,
David Heleniak, Vice Chairman, Morgan Stanley and
Director, Japan Society; Jun
Makihara, Chairman, Neoteny
Co., Ltd and Director, Japan
Society; Frederick Katayama,
Anchor, Reuters and Director,
Japan Society; and Tadashi
Nunami, General Manager for
the Americas, Bank of Japan.
3 Toyota Motor Corporation Chairman Fujio Cho and
James McDonald, President
and Chief Executive Officer, Rockefeller & Co. and
Chairman, Japan Society,
are greeted by Keiko Ikawa,
Continental Airlines Managing
Director, Asia Pacific Sales,
at a private reception prior to
Chairman Cho’s Centennial
Speakers Series lecture. Photo
© Ken Levinson.
P o l i c y P r oj e c t s
The U.S.-Japan Innovators Network is a unique community
of emerging and established Japanese and American leaders
from business, civil society, the media, and arts and culture,
committed to creating a better future by collaborating on
challenges facing both Japan and the United States in the
21st century. Co-organized with The Japan Foundation
Center for Global Partnership, the Network explores new
potential for U.S.-Japan collaboration by connecting people
and ideas through network-building exchanges, private
retreats, public symposia and long-term projects.
Also in February, Network member Bill Strickland, a leading
American social entrepreneur, gave a talk in New York
keying off his new book, Make the Impossible Possible, sharing
his inspirational story from growing up in a Pittsburgh ghetto
to running the Manchester Bidwell Corporation, a nationallyrecognized organization that successfully balances social
action, artistic creativity and entrepreneurial acumen. Nana
Watanabe, an award-winning photographer and author of
Changemakers II: Working as a Social Entrepreneur (in Japanese), which includes Mr. Strickland, presided.
The Network started the year in November by holding a twoday retreat and symposium in Kyoto, Invigorating Communities,
Designing for Inclusion, co-organized with Innovators Network
member Limbon, Professor of Urban Planning, College of
Social Sciences, Ritsumeikan University, and the Kyoto
Center for Community Collaboration. The retreat brought
together architects, urban planners and leaders in culture
and civil society from the U.S. and Japan to share ideas on
urban revitalization, social inclusion, and the role of arts and
culture in stimulating local economies. A public symposium
followed, where American participants discussed their
work in revitalizing communities in the U.S.
A third major area of focus for the Network was crisis
management and disaster recovery. Led by Network
member Yasushi Aoyama, former Vice Governor, Tokyo
and Professor, Meiji University, Learning from Disaster:
Miyakejima & New Orleans was an exchange that brought
together Americans and Japanese from local governments
and nonprofit organizations who were directly involved in
response operations on the frontlines of two recent natural
disasters, Miyakejima in Japan and New Orleans in the
U.S. In the first phase of this exchange program, eight
Japanese met with their American counterparts in New
Orleans to discuss problems they faced, the knowledge,
skills, and experiences gained, recovery plans for the
affected areas, and shared ideas on how to improve
response operations.
Another major program of the Network looked at how traditional corporate social responsibility in the U.S. and Japan
is being replaced by next-generation models that more
effectively integrate social value into the bottom line. In
February Innovators hosted a public symposium in Tokyo
with the Nihon Keizai Shimbun called For Profit, For Good:
Integrating Social Value into the Bottom Line. The symposium
brought together Network members Keith Yamashita of
Stone Yamashita Partners, Acumen Fund CEO Jacqueline
Novogratz, and Hiroshi Tasaka of Thinktank SophiaBank
with Martin Coles, COO of Starbucks and Darren Huston,
President and CEO, Microsoft Co. Ltd., Japan, to discuss
how creating social value is vital to successful business
strategy. While in Tokyo, Keith Yamashita and Jacqueline
Novogratz conducted a series of seminars on innovation
and leadership with local organizations, including The
American Chamber of Commerce in Japan, Nippon Keidanren (the Japan Business Federation) and Entrepreneurial
Training for Innovative Communities (ETIC).
On a related theme, in collaboration with MCG Jazz, the
Network held two “Jazz is Life” community dialogues in
New York and New Orleans. Innovation & the Art of Future
Building explored the art of recovery from a range of
different perspectives, keying off of conversations with
Network members, including Rosanne Haggerty, founder
of the supportive housing nonprofit Common Ground
Community, Kohei Nishiyama, CEO of design-to-order
company elephant design, Marty Ashby, Executive
Producer of MCG Jazz, and Jay Weigel, Executive/
Artistic Director for the Contemporary Arts Center
in New Orleans.
19
1 Limbon, Architect and
Professor, Urban Planning, College of Social
Sciences, Ritsumeikan
University (fourth from
right, arm extended),
explains some of the
challenges the city of
Kyoto currently faces.
Photo © Betty Borden.
1
2
3
4
R e tr e at & S i t e V i s i t s
Invigorating Communities, Designing for
Inclusion • 5 – 9 N ove m b er • Co-organized by
The Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership; Limbon, architect & Professor, Urban Planning,
College of Social Sciences, Ritsumeikan University;
and Kyoto Center for Community Collaboration.
Offsite event in Kyoto, Tomonoura and
Toyoshima, Japan. With Ruth Abram, President,
Lower East Side Tenement Museum; Ayako Fujii,
Executive Director, Environmental Co-op Union,
Shiga and President, Nanohana Project Network;
Jeanne Giordano, Urban Design Consultant,
Jeanne Giordano Ltd; Taneo Kato, Secretary
General, Asahi Beer Arts Foundation and Executive Director, Yokohama Arts Foundation; Keito
Kohara, Producer, artcomplex group; Limbon,
architect and Professor, Urban Planning, College
of Social Sciences, Ritsumeikan University; Rick
Lowe, artist and founder, Project Row Houses;
Osamu Maebashi, President and CEO, M.crew
INC.; Tomohiko Okabe, Director, FunnyBee Co.
Ltd. and CEO, Okabe Tomohiko Design Studio;
and Villy Wang, President and CEO, BAYCAT.
E xc ha n g e P r o g ra m
Learning from Disaster: Miyakejima & New
Orleans, Part I • 2 8 A p ril– 3 May • Co-organized
by Professor Yasushi Aoyama, Meiji University.
Offsite event in New Orleans, LA. With Yasushi
Aoyama, Professor, Graduate School of Governance Studies, Meiji University and former Vice
Governor of Tokyo; Hiroshi Amemiya, founder and
CEO, Corporate Citizenship Japan Limited; Carol
Bebelle, Founder and Director, Ashé Cultural Arts
Center; Ed Blakely, Director, Office of Recovery
Development & Administration, City of New Orleans;
Shawn Escoffery, Deputy Director, New Orleans
20
Neighborhood Development Collaborative; Rosanne Haggerty, founder and CEO, Common Ground
Community; Sukeyasu Hirano, Mayor, Miyake
Village; Juzo Inose, Managing Director, Tokyo
Consumer’s Co-Operative Union; Martha J. Kegel,
Executive Director, UNITY; Richard McCarthy,
founder and Executive Director, marketumbrella.
org; Vien The Nguyen, Reverend, Mary Queen of
Viet Nam Church; Von Nkosi, Director, Housing
Renewal Division, Office of Recovery Development
& Administration, City of New Orleans; Kouichiro
Sakaue, Director, Miyakejima Volunteer Center;
Kazuyuki Sasaki, Research Fellow, Research Center for Crisis and Contingency Management, Meiji
University; and Yasuo Uehara, Director General,
Tokyo Volunteer Network for Disaster Relief.
2 Shawn Escoffery,
Deputy Director, New
Orleans Neighborhood
Development Collaborative (third from left)
gives Japanese members of the exchange
program, Learning from
Disaster: Miyakejima &
New Orleans, a tour of
the recently demolished
C. J. Peete public housing development in New
Orleans. Photo © Betty
Borden.
3 Panelists discuss the
importance of creating
social value at the
symposium For Profit,
For Good: Integrating
Social Value into the
Bottom Line in Tokyo.
Left to right: Hiroshi
Tasaka, President,
Thinktank SophiaBank;
Jacqueline Novogratz,
Chief Executive Officer,
Acumen Fund; Mari
Hayashi, Senior Manager, Citizenship, Plan-J
Group, Microsoft Co.
Ltd., Japan; and Keith
Yamashita, Chairman,
Stone Yamashita Partners.
Photo © Sai Kenzo.
P u b l i c P r o g ra m s & S e m i n ar s
Invigorating Communities: Learning from
Four Successful Initiatives in the United States
• 8 N ove m b er • Co-organized by The Japan
Foundation Center for Global Partnership;
Professor Limbon, Reitsumeikan University;
and Kyoto Center for Community Collaboration.
Offsite event in Kyoto, Japan. With Ruth Abram,
President, Lower East Side Tenement Museum;
Jeanne Giordano, Urban Design Consultant,
Jeanne Giordano Ltd; Limbon, architect and
Professor, Urban Planning, College of Social
Sciences, Ritsumeikan University; Rick Lowe,
artist and founder, Project Row Houses; and
Villy Wang, President and CEO, BAYCAT.
Beyond Web 2.0: How the Next Tech Revolution
Will Change the World • 2 9 N ove m b er •
Co-organized by The New School.
Offsite event at The New School. With Hiroshi
Tasaka, President, Thinktank SophiaBank and
Professor, Tama University.
4 Professor Yasushi
Aoyama, Professor,
Graduate School of
Governance Studies,
Meiji University (at the
head of the table) and
Father Vien The Nguyen,
Pastor, Mary Queen of
Vietnam Church (far
left), lead a discussion
among Japanese
participants in Learning
from Disaster: Miyakejima
& New Orleans. Photo ©
Betty Borden.
5 Retreat participants
listen to Innovators’
presentations on community revitalization and
inclusion in Kyoto. Left
to right: Ruth Abram,
President, Lower East
Side Tenement Museum; Tomohiko Okabe,
Director, FunnyBee Co.
Ltd. and CEO, Okabe
Tomohiko Design Studio;
Jeanne Giordano, Urban
Design Consultant,
Jeanne Giordano Ltd.;
and Limbon, Architect
and Professor, Urban
Planning, College
of Social Sciences,
Ritsumeikan University.
6 Marty Ashby, Executive Producer, MCG Jazz
(standing), moderates the question and
answer portion of the
symposium Innovation &
the Art of Future Building.
Also on stage are, left
to right: Jay Weigel,
Executive/Artistic
Director, Contemporary
Arts Center; Rosanne
Haggerty, founder and
President, Common
Ground Community;
Kohei Nishiyama, CEO
and founder, elephant
design co., ltd. Photo ©
Betty Borden.
7 Bill Strickland,
President and CEO,
Manchester Bidwell
Corporation, and author
Nana Watanabe field
questions from the
audience during the
lecture Changemakers:
Making the Impossible
Possible. Photo © Satoru
Ishikawa.
8 Yoko Makino (far
right), hosts the reception for the symposium
For Profit, For Good:
Integrating Social Value
into the Bottom Line. Left
to right: Ken Shibusawa,
Chief Executive Officer,
Shibusawa and Company,
Inc.; Haruo Miyagi, President, ETIC; and Yoshimi
Watanabe, Minister of
State for Financial Services and Administrative
Reform. Photo © Fumiko
Miyamoto.
Ja z z i s L i f e Co m m u n i t y
D i a lo g u e S e r i e s
5
6
Improvisation, Creativity, Collaboration: Fueling
Innovation in the 21st Century • 2 8 March •
Co-organized by MCG Jazz & The Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership.
Offsite event in Pittsburgh, PA. With Marty
Ashby, Executive Producer, MCG Jazz; Daniel H.
Pink, author, A Whole New Mind and Free Agent
Nation and Contributing Editor, Wired; Hiroshi
Tasaka, President, Thinktank SophiaBank and
Professor, Tama University; and Alan Webber,
Founding Editor, Fast Company Magazine.
Innovation & the Art of Future Building •
Co-organized by MCG Jazz &
The Japan Foundation Center for Global
Partnership.
In New York and offsite in New Orleans, LA.
With Marty Ashby, Executive Producer, MCG
Jazz; Rosanne Haggerty, President and CEO,
Common Ground Community; Kohei Nishiyama,
CEO, elephant design; and Jay Weigel, Executive/
Artistic Director, Contemporary Arts Center.
2 0 & 2 2 May •
7
The Nature of Innovation • 4 F e b ruary •
Co-organized with Hitotsubashi University.
Offsite event in Tokyo, Japan. With Keith
Yamashita, Chairman and Founder and Susan
Schuman, CEO, Stone Yamashita Partners.
ACCJ CEO Forum Breakfast • 4 F e b ruary •
Co-organized by American Chamber of
Commerce in Japan.
Yamashita, Chairman and founder and Susan
Schuman, CEO, Stone Yamashita Partners.
For Profit, For Good: Integrating Social
Value into the Bottom Line • 6 F e b ruary •
Co-organized by Nikkei and The Japan
Foundation Center for Global Partnership.
Offsite event in Tokyo, Japan. With Martin Coles,
Chief Operating Officer, Starbucks Corporation
and President, Starbucks Coffee International;
Mari Hayashi, Senior Manager, Citizenship, Plan-J
Group, Microsoft Co. Ltd., Japan; Darren Huston,
President and CEO, Microsoft Co. Ltd., Japan;
Jacqueline Novogratz, CEO, Acumen Fund; Hiroshi Tasaka, President, Thinktank SophiaBank and
Professor, Tama University; and Keith Yamashita,
Chairman and founder, Stone Yamashita Partners.
Roundtable on Social Entrepreneurship •
7 F e b ruary • Co-organized by ETIC (Entrepreneurial Training for Innovative Communities).
Offsite event in Tokyo, Japan. With Jacqueline
Novogratz, CEO, Acumen Fund.
8
Innovation Designer • 7 F e b ruary •
Co-organized by the Japan Industrial Design
Promotion Organization (JIDPO).
Offsite event in Tokyo, Japan. With Chikara
Funabashi, President, WillSeed; Kunihiro Maeda,
Director, Kanshin! Inc.; Kohei Nishiyama, founder
and CEO, elephant design; Yasuaki Sakyo, President, Shibuya University; Kinya Tagawa, Design
Engineer, founder and CEO, takram design
engineering; Soichi Ueda, Creative Director and
COO, Spaceport Corporation and Producer, Think
the Earth Project; and Keith Yamashita, Chairman
and founder, Stone Yamashita Partners.
Challenging the Status Quo to Create New Value:
New Models of Innovation & Leadership •
8 F e b ruary • Co-organized by the Nippon
Keidanren U.S. Affairs Committee.
Yamashita, Chairman, Stone Yamashita Partners.
A Conversation with Jacqueline Novogratz,
CEO, Acumen Fund • 8 F e b ruary •
Co-organized by ETIC (Entrepreneurial
Training for Innovative Communities).
Offsite event in Tokyo. With Jacqueline
Novogratz, CEO, Acumen Fund.
Innovation & Large-Scale Change &
Transformation • 8 F e b ruary • Co-organized
by Globis International School.
Yamashita, Chairman and founder, Stone
Yamashita Partners.
P u b l i c at i o n
(IN)SIGHT: Bridging Gaps • J anuary
The U.S.-Japan Innovators Network is
co-organized by The Japan Foundation Center
for Global Partnership.
This Network was generously supported by The
Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership
and Citi.
Additional support was provided by the JapanUnited States Friendship Commission, Jack and
Susy Wadsworth, R&R Consulting, Inc., Justin A.
Rockefeller and Dr. Michitaka Yamamoto.
International transportation was supported
by Continental Airlines and All Nippon Airways
Co., Ltd.
The Network was also made possible in part by
Japan Society’s endowment for policy projects.
Learning from Disaster: Miyakejima & New
Orleans was generously funded by The Ford Foundation. Additional support is provided by Japan
Trade Union Confederation, Tokyo Local (Rengo
Tokyo), Tokyo Consumers’ Co-operative Union,
and Meiji University, Research Center for Crisis
and Contingency Management.
Changemakers: Make the Impossible Possible •
2 7 F e b ruary • Co-organized by The Japan F
oundation Center for Global Partnership.
With Bill Strickland, President and CEO,
Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild and Nana
Watanabe, photographer.
21
F e l low s h i p s & E xc ha n g e s
The U.S.-Japan Media Fellows Program is designed to provide established journalists a uniquely tailored experience in
Japan, with the objective of fostering a greater appreciation
and understanding between the U.S. and Japan. By working
closely with the Foreign Press Center, the U.S.-Japan Media
Fellows Program sends American journalists to Japan for six
weeks. In 1996 the U.S.-Japan Media Fellows Program grew
out of United States-Japan Leadership Program, which was
originally established in 1984, and is the lone Japan Societysponsored fellowship today.
Five American journalists were selected for the 2007–08
class of media fellows: Robert S. Boynton, freelance writer
and Director of NYU’s Department of Journalism; Micah
Fink, Producer/Director, Wide Angle, PBS; Dana Goodyear,
Los Angeles-based staff writer, The New Yorker; Barry Lynn,
freelance journalist and Senior Fellow, the New America
Foundation; and Larissa MacFarquhar, staff writer, The
New Yorker.
Micah Fink, Producer/Director, Wide Angle, PBS, visited
Japan from January 14–February 24, 2008, and explored
how Japan’s Self-Defense Forces are transforming to deal
with new strategic challenges of the current post-Cold
War era. Micah traveled back to Japan three times after
his fellowship ended, and his documentary, Japan’s AboutFace, aired on PBS on July 8, 2008.
22
Robert S. Boynton, freelance writer and Director of New
York University’s magazine writing program in the Department of Journalism, went to Japan from April 2–May 15,
2008. He researched the abduction of Japanese citizens by
North Korea and used the phenomenon as a lens through
which to examine the Korean-Japanese relationship, and
whether the post-2002 situation for Zainichi Koreans
resulted in a new form of Japanese multiculturalism.
Many fellows become involved in non-fellowship related
programs of the Japan Society after they return to the U.S.
Japan Society Fellow Rosanne Haggerty has participated
in a number of U.S.-Japan Innovators Network programs
and events, including the exchange program Learning from
Disaster: Miyakejima & New Orleans, which brought together
eight Americans and eight Japanese from local governments and nonprofit organizations who were directly
involved in response operations on the frontlines of two
recent natural disasters, Miyakejima in Japan and New
Orleans in the United States. Rosanne, along with Japan
Society Fellows Alan Webber, Daniel Pink and Douglas
McGray are active participants in the Society’s U.S.-Japan
Innovators Network.
Selection of the 2007–08 United States-Japan
Media Fellows, United States
1 8 A ugus t
Robert S. Boynton, freelance writer and Director,
Magazine Writing, Department of Journalism,
New York University
Micah Fink, Producer/Director, Wide Angle, PBS
Dana Goodyear, Staff Writer, The New Yorker
Barry Lynn, freelance writer and Senior Fellow,
New America Foundation
Larissa MacFarquhar, Staff Writer, The New Yorker
Fellows’ Orientation & Annual Meeting: United
States-Japan Foundation Media Fellows Program;
Japan Society Local Government & Public Policy
Fellows; U.S.-Japan Leadership Program
1 4 –1 5 S e p t e m b er
1
2
A two-day meeting for newly selected Fellows to
prepare for their Fellowship and for past Fellows
to renew ties and join in the discussions on U.S.Japan relations. Panelists, speakers, presenters,
moderators and special guests: David d’Heilly,
CEO, 2dk; Mark Halperin, ABC News; Maggie
Jones, Contributing Writer, The New York Times
Magazine; Kazuko Koizumi, Media Assistance
Division, Foreign Press Center; Daniel Pink, Contributing Editor, Wired; Ambassador Motoatsu
Sakurai, Consul General, Consulate General of
Japan; Joshua Wolf Shenk, Director, Rose O’Neill
Literary House, Washington College; Yoko Shioya,
Artistic Director, Performing Arts, Japan Society;
and Brad Stone, Technology Reporter, The New
York Times.
Fellowship Residency: 2007–08 United StatesJapan Foundation Media Fellows Program
1 4 J anuary–24 F e b ruary
Micah Fink, Producer/Director, Wide Angle, PBS
Fellowship Residency: 2007–08 United StatesJapan Foundation Media Fellows Program
2 A p ril–1 5 May
Robert S. Boynton, freelance writer and Director,
Magazine Writing, Department of Journalism,
New York University.
3
1 2007–08 U.S.-Japan Media
Fellows, left to right: Barry Lynn,
freelance writer and Senior
Fellow, New America Foundation; Robert Boynton, freelance
writer and Director, Magazine
Writing, Department of Journalism, New York University;
Micah Fink, Producer/Director,
Wide Angle, PBS; Larissa MacFarquhar, Staff Writer, The New
Yorker; and Dana Goodyear,
Staff Writer, The New Yorker.
Photo © Andrew Stuerzel.
2 Previous Fellows and special
guests discuss their experiences
in Japan with the 2007–08
Fellows during Orientation. Left
to right are: Joshua Wolf Shenk,
Director, Rose O’Neill Literary
House, Washington College;
Daniel H. Pink, author and
Contributing Editor, Wired; Brad
Stone, Technology Reporter,
The New York Times; David
d’Heilly, CEO, 2dk; and Maggie
Jones, Contributing Writer,
The New York Times Magazine.
3 Micah Fink and his film crew
with members of the Japanese
Self-Defense Forces on location
in Hokkaido, Japan. Photo ©
Sawa Matsueda Savage.
The United States-Japan Media Fellows Program
was generously supported by the United StatesJapan Foundation. Assistance was provided by
the Foreign Press Center Japan. Transportation
assistance was provided by Japan Airlines.
23
A rt s & C ulture
24
J A PA N S O C I E T Y A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 07– 0 8
J apan Soc i et y G allery
This was a year of important changes at Japan Society
Gallery. Following the appointment of Joe Earle as Director
in September 2007, the Gallery formulated a long-term
program that includes broad surveys of the contemporary
art scene along with more focused exhibitions on the work
of a single historic master, and features media as diverse
as bamboo sculpture, ink painting, stenciled textiles and tin
toys. Starting in 2008, the program will be augmented by a
series of small summer exhibitions that provide an intimate
look at specialized subjects and non-traditional media.
Armed with a detailed schedule that runs into 2011, the
Gallery is now in a strong position to take a strategic
approach to fundraising and audience growth. Thanks to
a special effort to extend the Gallery’s support base, the
Friends of the Gallery totaled 66 at the end of June 2008.
The Gallery team implemented two acclaimed exhibitions
in 2007–08. Making a Home: Japanese Contemporary Artists
in New York, the brainchild of guest curator Eric C. Shiner
and the second of Japan Society’s three centennial exhibitions, featured 33 Japanese-born artists who live and
work in New York, showing how a thriving artistic diaspora
has developed within the global framework that the city
provides. Ranging from established figures such as Yoko
Ono and sound artist Yasunao Tone to newcomers such as
Aya Uekawa and On megumi Akiyoshi, the selected artists
were extremely diverse, a feature of the show that attracted
widespread media attention. Jacob Margolies noted in The
Daily Yomiuri that “this eclectic, and sometimes bizarre,
collection reflects and celebrates the diversity of New York’s
contemporary art scene and the Japanese diaspora that
inhabits it,” while Manami Okazaki in The Japan Times was
one of several journalists to comment on the exhibition’s
approach to the notion of “Japaneseness” in contemporary
Japanese art. “Many of the artists in the show even found
the question of ‘Are you a Japanese artist?’ unimportant.
For them, the use of traits specific to Japan—such as wellknown traditional motifs or neo-Pop—in their art work was
too obvious, or simply not part of their agenda.” Among the
special installations featured in the show, Karen Rosenberg
in The New York Times was especially struck by Ayakoh
Furukawa’s depictions of “her pet hamster in a series of
violent situations” and Satoru Eguchi’s recreation of “his
Brooklyn studio, in paper, clay, and other art materials, down
to a whitewashed wooden MacBook and a cardboard airconditioner mounted in the acetate window.” An ambitious
catalogue extended the scope of the exhibition with major
essays on Japan Society’s pioneering involvement in contemporary Japanese art in the 1960s, and Kusama Yayoi’s
early years in New York.
The third centennial exhibition, The Genius of Japanese
Lacquer: Masterworks by Shibata Zeshin, had previously been
shown in San Antonio and Minneapolis under the title
Zeshin: The Catherine and Thomas Edson Collection. By happy
coincidence Joe Earle, a long-time specialist in the work of
lacquerer and painter Shibata Zeshin (1807–91), had already
taken part in this project by contributing the catalogue
essay. For Japan Society, Earle secured additional loans
from important collections in the United States, Japan and
Europe to make the New York version the most comprehensive survey of Zeshin’s work in over 100 years. The Genius
of Japanese Lacquer received a rapturous review from The
New York Sun’s James Gardner: “The word ’genius’ in the
exhibition’s title is for once fully appropriate. It is nearly
inconceivable that anyone could achieve greater mastery
of any art than Zeshin demonstrates in the lacquer works
now on view... The tact and imagination he displayed . . .
rival the most skillful compositions of the Impressionists
and Post-Impressionists.” Ken Johnson in The New York
Times was no less ecstatic: “In the hands of a skilled ingenious artisan like Shibata Zeshin . . . [lacquer] was a high
art.” Johnson described a set of dining vessels by Zeshin
as “dumbfoundingly gorgeous,” going onto to conclude that
“. . . wizardly craft, fanciful imagination and deep traditionalism combine to disproportionately big effect.”
25
2 0 07– 0 8 P rogra m H i g h l i g h t s
1
*centennial exhibition*
Opening Night Preview
Making a Home: Japanese
Contemporary Artists in New York
3 O c to b e r
Members’ Opening
This exhibition was sponsored in part by Nooka Inc.
4 O c to b e r
Additional support was provided by The Japan
Foundation, the New York State Council on the
Arts, Tug Studio, Jack and Susy Wadsworth, Chris
Wachenheim, and the Leadership Committee for
Making a Home. Media sponsorship was provided
by WNYC and LTB Media. As part of the Millennium on View program, Millennium UN Plaza was
the preferred hotel partner of Japan Society’s Centennial. Transportation assistance was provided by
Japan Airlines.
Exhibition
Exhibitions at Japan Society are also made possible in part by the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest
Endowment Fund and the Friends of the Gallery. Installations at Japan Society Gallery are supported
by a generous gift from Henry Cornell.
26
5 O c to b e r –1 3 J an ua ry
An exhibition featuring the work of 33 Japanese
contemporary artists who call New York City
home, including a broad range of media—from
painting, sculpture, and photography to fashion,
architecture, and sound art—and covering diverse
age groups, identities, experiences, and styles.
Presenting works by artists who have been active
in New York since the 1960s as well as young
artists who have been in the city only a few years,
Making a Home emphasized that Japanese artists
have made the city their home for decades, and
for a variety of reasons. Some came for enhanced
exposure to the international art world; some
came to escape restrictions in Japan; still others
came for the challenge of taking their artwork in
wholly new directions. In each artist’s case, the
city has provided a context and catalyst for his or
her work to flourish and develop. The exhibition
was divided into six sections, each connected
to the notion of what distinguishes a mere
“place” from a “home”: “Building Environments,”
“Intimacy and Identity,” “Coping with Loss,”
“Meditative Space,” “The Process of Making”
and “Referencing the Landscape.”
E x h i b i t i on - R elate d L ecture
P rogra m s
Lecture Programs were made possible by
funding from the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest
Endowment Fund.
Additional support was provided by Jack and
Susy Wadsworth, Chris A. Wachenheim, the Sandy
Heck Lecture Fund, Ms. Hiroko Onoyama, and
Yoshiko and Tim Schilt.
New Yorkers/Nihonjin Artists: What Does
it Mean to Make a Home?
6 N ov e m b e r
See p. 41 for complete program details.
Martha Stewart: A Passion for Making a Home
1 4 N ov e m b e r
1 Installation view, Making
a Home. Foreground:
Space House, 2006–07,
by Misaki Kawai. Acrylic,
fabric, cardboard, wood,
wire, plastic, lighting,
recorded sound, video
monitors. Courtesy of
the artist and Clementine
Gallery. Background
(below): Happo-En in
NY 2007 (Teahouse), by
Yoshiaki Kaihatsu. Polystyrene foam, fluorescent
lights, plywood board, milk
crates. Collection of the
artist. Background (above):
Spring/Summer 2008
United Bamboo Collection,
2007. Photo: Richard P.
Goodbody.
2
a Home. The Boxing Papers
(Shinohara B), 1999, and
Yayoi Kusama C and Cp,
2003, by Kunie Sugiura.
Unique gelatin silver prints.
Collection of Robinson and
Nancy Grover and Collection of Diana and Lewis
Meyers. Photo: Richard P.
Goodbody.
a Home. Foreground:
SuperSpa, 2006–07, by
Miwa Koizumi. Performance/installation: masks,
gloves, boots, bathrobes,
white towels, ring, benches,
buckets, recorded voice,
video, ambient music,
foodstuffs. Collection of
the artist. Right: Boxing
Painting, 2007 and Boxing
Painting, 2005/2007, by
Ushio Shinohara. Acrylic
and gold leaf on canvas
mounted as folding screen,
and videos. Collection of
the artist. Photo: Richard P.
Goodbody.
a Home. FLOWER gallery,
2007, by ON megumi
Akiyoshi. Tempera paint,
frame, sheetrock, Masonite,
MDF, transparent vinyl.
Courtesy of the artist.
Photo: Richard P. Goodbody.
a Home. White Elephant,
2007 by Hiroshi Sunairi.
Ceramic sculpture. Collection of the artist. Photo:
Richard P. Goodbody.
3
4
5
27
*centennial exhibition*
Opening Night Preview
The Genius of Japanese Lacquer:
Masterworks by Shibata Zeshin
1 9 M a r ch
Members’ Opening
Organized by the San Antonio Museum of Art
and Japan Society, and based on the collection
of Catherine and Thomas Edson, with additional
loans from the Khalili Collection of Japanese Art,
the Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation, Florence
and Herbert Irving, the Peggy and Richard Danziger
Collection, Gallery Chikuryudo, and the Klaus F.
Naumann Collection.
Support for this exhibition was provided by the
E. Rhodes & Leona B. Carpenter Foundation,
Vanessa and Henry Cornell, Chris A. Wachenheim,
The Blakemore Foundation, Bonhams, Christie’s
Inc., Mr. and Mrs. Edward A. Studzinski, Kajima
Foundation, Malcolm Fairley Japanese Works of
Art, and the Leadership Committee for The Genius
of Japanese Lacquer: Masterworks by Shibata
Zeshin. Transportation assistance was provided by
Japan Airlines. Media sponsorship was provided by
WNYC and LTB Media. As part of the Millennium
on View program, Millennium UN Plaza was the
preferred hotel partner of Japan Society’s Centennial.
Exhibitions at Japan Society are also made possible
in part by the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Endowment Fund and the Friends of the Gallery. Installations at Japan Society Gallery are supported by a
generous gift from Henry Cornell.
2 5 M a r ch
Exhibition
2 1 M a r ch –1 5 J u n e
A comprehensive selection of work by Japan’s
greatest lacquer artist, Shibata Zeshin (1807–91),
including lacquered boxes, trays, panels, containers, and swords; lacquer paintings in screen,
scroll, and album format; and paintings in ink
and color. The exhibition chronicled Zeshin’s rise
to fame as a painter; his training as a lacquerer
and his experimentation during the 1840s with
revolutionary new techniques; his work both as a
faithful servant of the Meiji government and an
exponent of the elusive aesthetic known as Iki; his
invention and mastery of the technique of lacquer
painting on paper; and his versatility as a painter
in conventional ink and color on silk or paper,
covering a range of styles from Maruyama-style
naturalism to dramatic evocation of myth and
legend. The exhibition was divided into seven sections covering different aspects of Zeshin’s life and
art: “Zeshin’s Leap to Fame,” “Zeshin the Master
Lacquerer,” “Public and Private Realms,” “Iki and
the ’Zeshin Style’,” “Zeshin as Miniaturist,” “Lacquer Paintings” and “Paintings in Ink and Colors.”
E x h i b i t i on - R elate d L ecture
P rogra m s
Endowment Fund.
Heck Lecture Fund, Ms. Hiroko Onoyama, and
Yoshiko and Tim Schilt.
From Edo to Meiji: The Case of Shibata Zeshin
9 April
Hidden Beauty in Edo Design
1 3 M ay
1
28
1 Inro with water plantain
and wood sorrel, about
1860. Lacquered wood;
coral bead; lacquered
toggle. Catherine and
Thomas Edson Collection;
courtesy of San Antonio
Museum of Art.
2 Installation view, The
Genius of Japanese Lacquer.
Foreground: Five trays,
about 1860–90. Lacquered
wood. Catherine and
Thomas Edson Collection,
Museum of Art. Background (left and center):
Panel with waves and crayfish, about 1888–90, and
panel with rice-sheaves,
boat and tree, about
1880–81. Lacquered wood.
The Khalili Collection of
Japanese Art. Background
(right): Panel with vegetable
design, 1888. Lacquered
wood. Gallery Chikuryudo,
Tokyo. Photo: Richard P.
Goodbody.
3 Installation view, The
Genius of Japanese Lacquer.
Hanging scrolls, from
right to left: Willow Tit
Perched Above a Waterfall,
about 1885–90; Rocks
and Waterfall, 1889; Pine,
Wisteria, and Bird Above
a Stream, 1889; Entrance
to a Country Temple in
Autumn, about 1860–90;
and Mount Horai, 1881.
All ink and colors on silk
or paper. Far left: Bird and
Flowering Vine, 1879. Four
sliding panels, ink, color,
and gold wash on silk,
with metal fittings. All
Catherine and Thomas
Edson Collection; courtesy
of San Antonio Museum
of Art. Photo: Richard P.
Goodbody.
2
4 Paper box with
attributes of the Seven
Gods of Good Fortune,
about 1860–70. Lacquered
wood. Catherine and
Thomas Edson Collection;
Museum of Art.
5 The Ibaraki Demon
Snatches Back Her Arm,
1839–40. Hanging scroll,
ink and colors on paper.
Klaus F. Naumann
Collection.
3
4
5
29
P er f or m i ng A rt s
The 2007–08 Performing Arts Season celebrated the old
and ushered in the new under two themes. Turning Japanese
was the ambitious theme in celebration of the second half
of the Society’s centennial, honoring U.S. artists who have
been fascinated, inspired and affected by Japan and its
culture. Programs included the remount and four-city Japan
tour of Basil Twist’s Dogugaeshi, the renowned puppet artist’s homage to traditions of Japanese puppetry originally
commissioned by Japan Society in 2004; Kazuo Ohno 101:
3-Week Butoh Parade, a festival of leading pioneers and
emerging artists in the butoh movement which has been
a source of inspiration in America’s contemporary dance
scene, included Akaji Maro and Kochuten, world premieres
from Akira Kasai and Eiko & Koma, and the first solo
performance in New York since 1999 from Yoshito Ohno,
son of Kazuo Ohno. 2007 culminated in one of the most
ambitious productions in Japan Society history, the recreation of Harry Partch’s noh-inspired experimental opera
Delusion of the Fury—a work that had never been produced
since its premiere in 1969. In addition to onsite performances,
Japan Society organized a city-wide festival of Japanese
and Japan-related performing artists at seven of the most
prominent arts presenters in New York, including BAM
(Brooklyn Academy of Music), Joyce Theatre, Performance
Space 122, HERE Arts Center, Danspace Project, Dance
Theater Workshop, The Kitchen and CAVE.
Spring 2008 took off with programs under the theme New York
Woman, which featured New York-based Japanese women
artists who shatter the stereotype of the “Japanese woman”
as subservient and quietly humble. Artists included jazz
pianist-songstress Akiko Yano, the multi-faceted drummer/
laptop musician Ikue Mori with her numerous collaborators,
Keralino Sandorovich’s award-winning Frozen Beach translated
and directed in a reading by Aya Ogawa, and choreographer
Yoshiko Chuma’s multimedia meditation on war and territory
POOM 2 with her company The School of Hard Knocks. With
bold ferocity and poetic imagination, these women have
sculpted individual artistic visions that weave into the diverse
cultural landscape of the extraordinary city we call New York.
Whitney Hunter as the
Father (center) and
Musical Director Dean
Drummond (right) in
Harry Partch’s Delusion
of the Fury. Photo ©
Chris Waltmann.
30
*centennial event*
Basil Twist’s Dogugaeshi
Featuring live shamisen music by
Yumiko Tanaka
1 2 –1 9 S e p t e m b e r
1
This program was supported by American Express.
Additional support was provided by the Toshiba
International Foundation and The Jim Henson
Foundation.
After a sold-out run, critical acclaim and a Bessie
Award, Dogugaeshi returned to Japan Society,
the home of its commission and 2004 world
premiere. Renowned puppet artist Basil Twist
unfolded an intimate, abstract journey of images
of ancient and modern day Japan, inspired by the
rarefied traditional Japanese dogugaeshi stage
mechanism. Following its New York remount, the
show toured four cities in Japan, produced and
organized by Japan Society.
*centennial event*
KAZUO OHNO 101:
3-WEEK BUTOH PARADE
In celebration of the 101st birthday of Kazuo
Ohno, one of the legendary founders of the butoh
movement, Japan Society presented three rich
weeks of butoh programs, from star pioneers to
emerging new practitioners.
Kochuten + Akaji Maro:
Tiger’s Cave: Butoh Boot Camp choreographed
by Kumotaro Mukai
Yupiters choreographed by Yuko Kobayashi
9, 1 0 , 1 2 & 1 3 O c to b e r
2
These performances were supported by the Agency
for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan.
Two of the latest works from maverick butoh
master Akaji Maro’s star disciples had their U.S.
premieres. The all-male Tiger’s Cave poked fun at
the traditions of strict discipline of butoh training
and the all-female Yupiters delved into a beautiful
world of aquatic creatures.
world premiere
centennial commission
Eiko & Koma with Margaret Leng Tan on
toy and grand piano
Mourning
1 8 –2 0 O c to b e r
1 Basil Twist’s Dogugaeshi,
featuring live shamisen
music by Yumiko Tanaka.
Photo © Tom DiMauro.
2 Kochuten + Akaji Maro’s
Yupiters, choreographed
by Yuko Kobayashi, part
of Kazuo Ohno 101: 3-Week
Butoh Parade. Photo ©
Tom DiMauro.
3 Eiko & Koma’s Mourning,
part of Kazuo Ohno 101:
3-Week Butoh Parade.
Photo © William Irwin.
3
This program was commissioned by Japan Society
and funded by the National Dance Project of the
New England Foundation for the Arts, with lead
funding from Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.
Additional funding was provided by The Andrew
W. Mellon Foundation, The Ford Foundation and
JP Morgan Chase.
In this world premiere work commissioned by
Japan Society especially for the centennial,
internationally celebrated performance duo Eiko
& Koma returned to the home of their 1976 U.S.
debut with a collaboration with avant-garde
pianist Margaret Leng Tan.
31
1
2
1 Akira Kasai’s Butoh
America, part of Kazuo
Ohno 101: 3-Week
Butoh Parade. Photo
© William Irwin.
3
32
2 Kingyo’s Dulcinea,
choreographed by
Yukio Suzuki, part of the
11th Annual Japanese
Contemporary Dance
Showcase Phase 2:
Japan + East Asia.
Photo © Tom DiMauro.
3 Akiko Yano: Voice &
Piano. Photo ©
Tom DiMauro.
4 Yoshiko Chuma
(center) & The School
of Hard Knocks’ POOM 2
A Page Out of Order
M to M. Photo ©
Tom DiMauro.
4
world premiere
Akira Kasai
Butoh America
2 5 –2 7 O c to b e r
This work was commissioned by Japan Society
and supported by the Agency for Cultural Affairs,
Government of Japan, and The Japan Foundation
through the Performing Arts JAPAN program.
Akira Kasai, one of the co-founders of the butoh
movement, was commissioned by Japan Society
to create a new work for an ensemble of emerging American dancers. Butoh America, a stunning
exploration of the ideas behind butoh in the
context of America and its future, had its world
premiere at Japan Society.
U.S. Butoh Marathon
Curated by CAVE
2 7 O c to b e r
This program was presented in association with
3rd NY Butoh Festival.
On October 27, Kazuo Ohno’s actual birthday,
the Butoh Parade culminated with a marathon of
U.S.-based butoh-influenced artists including Jeff
Janisheski & Yanira Castro; Moeno Wakamatsu;
Koichi & Hiroko Tamano; Juan Merchan; Shinichi
Iova Koga; and Ximena Garnica. Participating artists were curated by CAVE, organizers of the 3rd
NY Butoh Festival.
Yoshito Ohno
Emptiness (Kuu)
2 7 O c to b e r
This performance was supported by the Agency for
Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan.
The culminating event on Kazuo Ohno’s birthday
was a haunting meditation on life and mortality
through this solo performance by his son Yoshito
Ohno, who appeared in New York for the first
time since 1999.
*centennial event*
Harry Partch’s
Delusion of the Fury
4–8 December
These performances were made possible by Citi.
Additional supported was provided by the National
Endowment for the Arts and The Blanche and Irving
Laurie Foundation. The project was developed in
association with Harry Partch Institute at John J.
Cali School of Music, Montclair State University.
Japan Society commissioned and produced a recreation of the noh-inspired experimental opera
Delusion of the Fury (1969), the largest scale work
by iconoclastic American composer and theorist
Harry Partch (1901–74) as the culminating event
of Turning Japanese. Renowned theater director John Jesurun directed the production with
choreographer Dawn Akemi Saito, and awardwinning composer/conductor and Harry Partch
expert Dean Drummond as musical director with
Partch’s original instruments. This unprecedented
project was hailed as “a once-in-a-life-time
concert” by the Village Voice.
11th Annual Contemporary Dance Showcase
Phase 2: Japan + East Asia
Makotocluv (Japan), Kingyo (Japan), Yun
Myung Fee (Japan), Sun-Shier Dance Theatre
(Taiwan) & Yong-In Lee/UBIN Dance (Korea)
1 1 & 1 2 J an ua ry
The Showcase was supported by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Korean Cultural Service,
NY, Performing Arts Market Seoul, and the Taipei
Cultural Center of TECO in New York.
Now in its 11th year, the dance showcase for
the first time expanded its horizons to include
cutting-edge artists from Korea and Taiwan. The
quotidian humor of Makotokluv, a meditation
on Don Quixote by Kingyo and Yun Myung Fee’s
frenetic solo work were selected from Japan,
in addition to the charming work of Sun-Shier
Dance Theatre from Taiwan and Yong-In Lee’s
exquisite solo dance from Korea.
Akiko Yano: Voice & Piano
8 & 9 F e b r ua ry
Yamaha Piano was provided courtesy of Yamaha
Artist Services, Inc.
An exceptional artist who has been acclaimed as
a serious composer, jazz pianist and pop singer,
Akiko Yano, a household name in Japan for years,
performed a special set of Japanese pop and
folk tunes with her trio Cliff Almond and Chris
Minh Doky.
33
Tzadik Label Music Series III:
Ikue Mori: Celebrating 30 Years of Life, Love
and Music in NYC
Curated by John Zorn
2 1 & 2 2 M a r ch
These performances were presented in association
with Tzadik.
Drummer/composer/laptop wizard Ikue Mori
celebrated 30 years of her life and music in NYC
over two evenings with many of her collaborators:
Bhima Swarga, her music-video unit with Matt
Welch and gamelan ensemble Dharma Swara;
and vocalist Makigami Koichi in the world premiere of their new collaborative piece; Phantom
Orchard (with harpist Zeena Parkins); Mephista
(with pianist Sylvie Courvoisier and percussionist Susie Ibarra); and special guest percussionist
Cyro Baptista.
Play Reading Series:
Frozen Beach by Keralino Sandorovich,
translated and directed by Aya Ogawa
7 April
This program was supported in part by the
Kinokuniya Bookstore.
This black comedy/coming-of-age/horror play
by Japanese director/writer/rock star “Kera” was
1999 winner of the prestigious Kunio Kishida
Prize. Writer/director and Artistic Director of
knife inc. Aya Ogawa translated the work into
English and directed the reading.
1
1 Vocalist Makigami
Koichi (left) and laptop
composer Ikue Mori
(right) performing in
Tzadik Music Label Series
III: Ikue Mori, Celebrating
30 Years of Life Love &
Music in NYC. Photo ©
Tom DiMauro.
Yoshiko Chuma & the School of Hard Knocks
POOM 2 : A Page Out of Order M to M
7–1 0 F e b r ua ry
The world premiere of unstoppable choreographer/
multimedia artist Yoshiko Chuma was a layered
meditation on borders and history. Melding cinematic devices with text and dance, the work featured live music by Han’nya Teikoku shakuhachi
trio and vocalist Sizzle Ohtaka from Japan.
Wor k s h op s & R elate d E v ent s
BYOF (Bring Your Own Flowers)
part of Performa07
By Ei Arakawa & Amy Sillman
3
2 N ov e m b e r
Performance Workshop with Hiroshi Koike
2 9 N ov e m b e r
frank l. ellsworth performing arts
lecture series
Komomo: Geisha in Contemporary Japan
Support for Turning Japanese was provided
by the Asahi Beer Arts Foundation and the
Japan National Tourist Organization (JNTO).
Special thanks to the Consulate-General of
Japan in New York and the Agency for Cultural
Affairs, Government of Japan.
2 2 M ay
This program was supported by Kodansha International, Ltd.
The Art of Traditional Japanese Hospitality:
Two-day Workshop in Dance & Ritual with
Geisha Komomo
2 1 & 2 2 M ay
34
Japan Society 2007–08 Performing Arts
Programs were generously supported by The
Starr Foundation; the Lila Wallace-Reader’s
Digest Endowment Fund; the Doris Duke
Charitable Foundation; and the Endowment
for the Performing Arts.
Additional support was provided by The
Globus Family, Dr. John K. Gillespie,
The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Inc., and the New York State
Council on the Arts, a State agency.
Transportation assistance was provided
by All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd.
Plasma display was provided by Pioneer
Electronics (USA) Inc.
4 The Frank L. Ellsworth
Performing Arts Series
lecture “Komomo: Geisha
in Contemporary Japan,”
featured Geisha Komomo
(right) and photographer
Naoyuki Ogino (left),
with Christopher Benfey
(center left) moderating.
Photo © George Hirose.
F i l m P rogra m
From 1960s action films and prewar silent animations to the
hottest new films from Japan, the Film Program presented
three series this year that spanned many genres, while
exemplifying the expansive history of Japanese cinema.
In September, the program launched Monthly Classics,
designed as an annual series compiled by a special guest
curator that screens one film per month. Author and critic
Mark Schilling curated the inaugural series, NO BORDERS,
NO LIMITS: 1960s Nikkatsu Action Cinema, encompassing
eight films that had never been shown in U.S. theaters.
In its second year, the Globus Film Series presented the
Dawn of Japanese Animation for four consecutive days in
February. During this highly popular series, more than 40
short films from the 1920s–40s were presented with live
benshi narration.
JAPAN CUTS: A Festival of New Japanese Film, the second
annual summer film festival held at the Society, presented
more than 80 films. With a total attendance of nearly
6,000 people throughout 12 action-packed days, our
audiences increased by 30 percent over the previous
year’s festival.
The Warped Ones, part
of NO BORDERS, NO
LIMITS: 1960s Nikkatsu
Action Cinema. Photo ©
Nikkatsu Corporation.
35
F i l m Ser i e s
m o n t h ly c l a s s i c s
NO BORDERS, NO LIMITS:
1960s Nikkatsu Action Cinema
2 8 S e p t e m b e r –2 M ay
This series was supported by the New York State
Council on the Arts, a State agency. The Special
Student Discount was made possible by the
generous support of The Globus Family.
Nikkatsu, Japan’s oldest major film studio,
methodically churned out over 500 Nikkatsu
Action genre films. Guest curator Mark Schilling
selected eight films long overlooked by critics
and audiences, presented here for the first
time in the U.S. with new digital subtitles.
A Colt is My Passport (Takashi Nomura, 1967)
The Warped Ones (Koreyoshi Kurahara, 1960)
Like a Shooting Star (Toshio Masuda, 1967)
Red Handkerchief (Toshio Masuda, 1964)
Gangster VIP (Toshio Masuda, 1968)
Plains Wanderer (Buichi Saito, 1960)
Glass Johnny: Looks Like a Beast
(Koreyoshi Kurahara, 1962)
Roughneck (Yasuharu Hasebe, 1969)
1
g lo b u s f i l m s e r i e s
Dawn of Japanese Animation
1 3 –1 6 F e b r ua ry
This series and the special Student Discount
program were made possible through the generous
support of The Globus Family. Additional support
was provided by the New York State Council on the
Arts, a State agency.
Screened in the U.S. for the first time, nearly
40 short animation films from the 1920s–40s
were presented each night in four differing
themes, matched with a silent live-action film
of the same genre and era. Silent films presented
with live narration with Japan’s premiere benshi,
Midori Sawato.
Part 1: Chambara Action & Adventure
12 animations; 1 live-action film
Part 2: Horror & Comedy
Part 3: Propaganda
Part 4: Music & Dance
Special Screening: Orochi
(Buntaro Futagawa, 1925)
36
3
2
1 A Colt is My
Passport, part of
NO BORDERS, NO
LIMITS: 1960s Nikkatsu Action Cinema.
Photo © Nikkatsu
Corporation.
2 Gangster VIP, part
of NO BORDERS,
NO LIMITS: 1960s
Nikkatsu Action
Cinema. Photo ©
Nikkatsu Corporation.
4
3 Hyoe and Heibe’s
Tengu Hunt, part of
Dawn of Japanese
Animation. Photo ©
Matsuda Film Production and Digital
Meme.
4 Sankichi the Monkey: The Air Combat,
part of Dawn of
Japanese Animation.
Photo © Matsuda
Film Production and
Digital Meme.
JAPAN CUTS: A Festival of
New Japanese Film
2 –1 3 J u ly, 2 0 0 8
This series was supported by grants from The
Japan Foundation and the New York State Council
on the Arts, a State agency. Additional support
was provided by Sapporo USA, Inc. and Kyotofu.
Transportation assistance was provided by All
Nippon Airways Co., Ltd.
With nearly 20 feature film premieres and over
60 shorts, JAPAN CUTS, the only large-scale
annual Japanese film festival in North America,
presented the first taste of Japan’s most recent
films ranging from major blockbusters and breakthrough films, to the internationally acclaimed
and highly controversial. *Co-presented with the
New York Asian Film Festival from July 3–6.
Long Cuts
18 U.S. and NY premiere feature films plus a
sidebar tribute to late filmmaker Kon Ichikawa.
Accuracy of Death* (Masaya Kakei, 2008);
NY premiere
Adrift in Tokyo* (Satoshi Miki, 2007);
NY premiere
Always: Sunset on Third Street—2*
(Takashi Yamazaki, 2007); NY premiere
Dainipponjin* (Hitoshi Matsumoto, 2007);
NY premiere
Filmful Life (Shunji Iwai, 2006); U.S. premiere
Gummi, Chocolate, Pine (Keralino Sandorovich,
2007); international premiere
The Inugami Family (part of Inugami x 2:
A Tribute to Kon Ichikawa) (Kon Ichikawa, 1976);
international premiere
The Mourning Forest (Naomi Kawase, 2007);
NY premiere
Murder of the Inugami Clan (part of Inugami x 2:
A Tribute to Kon Ichikawa) (Kon Ichikawa, 2006)
Near Equal Yayoi Kusama: I Adore Myself
(Takako Matsumoto, 2008); U.S. premiere
Sad Vacation* (Shinji Aoyama, 2007);
NY premiere
Sakuran (Mika Ninagawa, 2007); NY premiere
Sukiyaki Western Django* (Takashi Miike,
2007); NY premiere
Tarachime (short shown alongside The Mourning
Forest) (Naomi Kawase, 2006)
United Red Army* (Koji Wakamatsu, 2008);
U.S. premiere
Yasukuni* (Li Ying, 2008); NY premiere
1
1 Waiting line for
one of eight sold
out screenings
during JAPAN
CUTS: Festival
of New Japanese
Film. Photo © Ryo
Nagasawa.
2 The Mourning
Forest, part of
JAPAN CUTS:
Festival of New
Japanese Film.
Photo © KUMIE/
Celluloid Dreams
Production/
Visual Arts
College Osaka.
2
37
1 Sakuran, part of JAPAN
CUTS: Festival of New
Japanese Film. Photo ©
2007 SAKURAN Film
Committee © Moyoco
Anno/Kodansha.
2 Kisaragi, part of
JAPAN CUTS: Festival of
New Japanese Film. Photo © 2007 “KISARAGI”
Film Partners.
3 Near Equal Kusama
Yayoi: I Adore Myself,
part of JAPAN CUTS:
Festival of New Japanese
Film. Photo © 2008
B.B.B.inc. © YAYOI
KUSAMA.
1
4 Fine, Totally Fine,
part of JAPAN CUTS:
Festival of New Japanese
Film. Photo © 2007
“Fine, Totally Fine”
Film Partners.
5 A Gentle Breeze in
the Village, part of
JAPAN CUTS: Festival
of New Japanese Film.
Photo © 2007 “Tennen
Kokekko” Film Partners
©KURAMOCHI
FUSAKO/SHUEISHA.
6 Speed Racer. Photo ©
Warner Bros. Pictures.
7 Wings of Defeat. Photo
© National Archives and
Research Administration.
8 Q&A with director
Koji Wakamatsu, live
from Tokyo via high
speed Internet network.
Photo © Ryo Nagasawa.
2
3
38
4
5
Short Cuts
Over 60 short films from Japan’s emerging
independent filmmakers, video artists and a
special highlight on Naomi Kawase. **Part of
Nippon Connection Film Festival on Tour.
7
The Origin of Naomi Kawase: 5 films
JVC Tokyo Video Festival**: 6 films
Digista Vol. VI**: 13 films
Planet + 1 Selection: Immoral Films**: 4 films
Open Art Animation**: 9 films
Vortex and Others—5 Short Works by
Yoshihiro Ito**
893239 (Yakuza Short Films)**: 8 films
Lazarus—The House of the Rising Sun**
(Kishu Izuchi, 2007)
Shadow of Sand** (Yusuke Kaida, 2007)
Route 20** (Katsuya Tomita, 2007)
A Permanent Part-Timer in Distress**
(Hiroki Iwabuchi, 2007)
A Girl in the Sunset: 4 films
Meet Cuts
Introductions, Q&As and discussions with
directors Naomi Kawase, Takako Matsumoto
and screenwriter Masayuki Kakegawa. Director
Koji Wakamatsu’s live Q&A via high-speed
Internet network courtesy of Keio University.
6
Spec i al Screen i ng s
Wings of Defeat
1 8 M a r ch
The NY premiere of a documentary directed by
Risa Morimoto that uncovers candid, heartbreaking testimonies from surviving kamikaze pilots.
Special guest Q&A with former kamikaze pilots
Takehiko Ena and Takeo Ueshima, and U.S. Navy
veteran Fred Mitchell.
Speed Racer
5 M ay
Co-presented with Warner Bros. Pictures.
A special sneak preview screening of the film
based on the famed Japanese TV anime series,
Mahha Go Go Go!, written and directed by the
Wachowski brothers.
Ran
21 June
Co-presented with Film Forum and Japan
Foundation.
A special screening of the Akira Kurosawa classic
followed by a reception with Tatsuya Nakadai to
celebrate Film Forum’s seven-week retrospective
of the legendary actor.
8
Turtle Bay Cuts
Free screening of an award-winning film for
the community of Turtle Bay and beyond.
A Gentle Breeze in the Village
(Nobuhiro Yamashita, 2007); NY premiere
Japan Society 2007–08 Film Programs were
generously supported by The Lila WallaceReader’s Digest Endowment Fund.
39
L ecture P rogra m s
From late 19th-century fine arts to citizen movements in
21st-century Japan, the 2007–08 season presented lectures
and panel discussions on the most vital issues and trends in
Japanese culture. Additionally, Lecture Programs launched
a series of podcasts, providing an international audience
with access to our programs. As a special feature of the
centennial, Japan Society co-organized with Asahi Shinbun
Deliveries of Creation: New Modes of Interactive Art in the
20th Century. Held in Tokyo, this symposium featured Julie
Taymor and Amon Miyamoto discussing how the high-tech
environment is shaping not only their careers but also their
artistic intentions and relationship to their audiences. Our
Centennial Speakers Series events included Beate Gordon,
author of the clause of the Japanese Constitution guaranteeing equal rights for women; Martha Stewart, who discussed
her passion about home-making and the influence of Japan
on her work; Donald Keene on his nearly 50 years as one of
the leading voices bringing Japanese culture to the English
speaking world; and architect Tadao Ando, who engaged
the audience in a spirited discussion of his work and career.
Among the season’s many distinguished speakers was
Masahiro Sasaki, who discussed the life of his younger sister, Sadako, whose courage in folding 1,000 papers cranes
as she passed away from the effects of the atomic bomb
helped inspire the Japanese postwar peace movement.
Teruyo Nogami, principal assistant to Akira Kurosawa, gave
an insider’s view of the making of many of the most important films of the 20th century. Another highlight featured
activist Tom Hayden and scholar James Orr discussing the
role of citizens movements in Japan and the United States.
Audiences also enjoyed the 10th anniversary of our annual
sake tasting and lecture, at which John Gauntner discussed
how 100 years of sake appraisal has changed the industry.
Finally, a series of lectures related to each Japan Society
gallery exhibition addressed key intellectual themes and
explored issues raised by the art that went beyond the
context of the exhibitions themselves.
40
Centennial speaker Donald Keene,
Shincho Professor Emeritus of
Japanese Literature at Columbia
University, greets guests at the
reception following his lecture
reflecting on his more than 60-year
career as a leading scholar of both
traditional and modern Japanese
culture. Photo © Ken Levinson.
David Leheny on Think Global, Fear Local:
Sex, Violence & Society in Contemporary Japan
1 3 M a r ch
With David Leheny, Henry Wendt III ’55 Professor
of East Asian Studies, Princeton University. Shigeo
Hirano, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Columbia University, moderating.
m a k i n g a h o m e e x h i b i t i o n ta l k s
Endowment Fund.
Heck Lecture Fund, and Ms. Hiroko Onoyama.
John Nathan: Living Carelessly in Tokyo &
Elsewhere
3 1 M a r ch
With John Nathan, Takashima Professor of
Japanese Cultural Studies, University of California
at Santa Barbara. Thomas Hare, Professor of
Comparative Literature, Princeton University,
moderating.
1
1 4 N ov e m b e r
With Anne Allison, Professor and Chair of the
Department of Cultural Anthropology, Duke University and Thomas Looser, Associate Professor
of East Asian Studies, New York University.
With Martha Stewart, founder, Martha Stewart
Living Omnimedia. (Also part of the Centennial
Speakers Series.)
centennial speakers series
The Centennial Speakers Series was generously
sponsored by Citi.
*centennial event*
Deliveries of Creation: New Modes of
Interactive Art in the 21st Century
8 N ov e m b e r
L ecture Ser i e s
With New York-based artist Naoto Nakagawa
and Dore Ashton, Professor of Art History,
Cooper Union School of Art. Eric C. Shiner,
curator of Making a Home, moderating.
5 M ay
Beate Gordon: Participating in the Birth of the
Japanese Constitution
Co-sponsored by The Asahi Shimbun. Transportation
assistance was provided by All Nippon Airways
Co., Ltd.
Offsite event in Tokyo. With Academy Awardnominated director Julie Taymor; musical theater
and opera director Amon Miyamoto; video game
designer Tetsuya Mizoguchi; Toshio Tsuchiya,
Executive Director of the Internet Division of
Nippon Television; Satoshi Endo, Chief Contents
Officer, ASCII; Kazukiyo Matsuba, Senior Staff
Writer, Arts & Culture News Department, The
Asahi Shimbun; and Yoko Shioya, Artistic Director,
Japan Society.
6 N ov e m b e r
Anne Allison: Millennial Monsters—
Japanese Toys & the Global Imagination
Sym po s i u m
8 M a r ch
New Yorkers/Nihonjin Artists: What Does it
Mean to Make a Home?
With Beate Gordon, civil rights activist, and leader
in postwar cultural exchange between Japan and
the United States. Helen Hardacre, Reischauer
Institute Professor of Japanese Religions and
founder of the Constitutional Revision Research
Project at Harvard University, moderating.
1 4 N ov e m b e r
With Martha Stewart, founder, Martha Stewart
Living Omnimedia. (Also part of the Making a
Home Exhibition Talks.)
t h e g e n i u s o f j a pa n e s e l a c q u e r
e x h i b i t i o n ta l k s
Endowment Fund.
Heck Lecture Fund, and Ms. Hiroko Onoyama.
From Edo to Meiji: The Case of Shibata Zeshin
9 April
With James L. McClain, Professor and Chair of
History, Brown University and David L. Howell,
Department Chair and Professor of East Asian
Studies and History, Princeton University. Joe
Earle, Vice President, Japan Society and Director,
Japan Society Gallery, moderating.
Hidden Beauty in Edo Design
Reflections on a Lifetime Engaged with Japanese
Culture: An Evening with Donald Keene
3 0 J an ua ry
With Donald Keene, Shincho Professor Emeritus
of Japanese Literature, Columbia University.
Thomas Hare, Professor of Comparative Literature,
Princeton University, moderating.
1 3 M ay
With Sharon S. Takeda, Senior Curator and
Department Head, Costumes and Textiles, Los
Angeles County Museum; independent scholar
Terry Satsuki Milhaupt; and Joe Earle, Vice
President, Japan Society and Director, Japan
Society Gallery.
authors on asia
Tadao Ando: Creating Dreams
Godzilla & Japanese Culture
5 F e b r ua ry
2 3 O c to b e r
With architect Tadao Ando. Robert Ivy, Editor-inChief, Architectural Record, introducing.
With William Tsutsui, Professor of Modern
Japanese History and Department Chair at the
University of Kansas and Kerry Novick, President,
Small Screen Distribution.
1 Centennial speaker Martha Stewart, founder,
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, discusses
her lifelong passion for “making a house a home”
and her interest in Japan and Japanese art forms.
Photo © Julie Lemberger.
41
general lecture s
Memoirs of Sadako & Hiroshima:
Personal Accounts of an A-Bomb Survivor
1
2
3
4
s at ya g r a h a f o r u m
Reflections on Citizen Movements:
Peace & Politics in the U.S. & Japan
2 7 M ay
With Masahiro Sasaki; James Orr, Chair and
Associate Professor of East Asian Studies, Bucknell
University; and Steven Okazaki, director of the HBO
documentary White Light/Black Rain. Sheldon Garon,
Professor of History, Princeton University, moderating.
With American social activist and former California
State Senator Tom Hayden; James Orr, Chair and
Associate Professor of the Department of East Asian
Studies, Bucknell University; and Amy Goodman,
co-founder, Executive Producer and Host of
Democracy Now!
Through the Eyes of Flowers: The Seasons
of Japanese Culture
50 Years with Akira Kurosawa: An Evening with
Teruyo Nogami
2 9 O c to b e r
25 June
Held in conjunction with The New York Botanical Garden
exhibition Kiku: The Art of the Japanese Chrysanthemum,
co-organized by Japan Society, the Ministry of the Environment of Japan and The New York Botanical Garden.
With Yozaburo Shirahata, Professor, International
Research Center for Japanese Studies in Kyoto;
Liza Dalby, author of East Wind Melts the Ice—
A Memoir Through the Seasons; and Todd Forrest,
Vice President of Horticulture and Living Collections,
The New York Botanical Garden.
With Teruyo Nogami, script supervisor and principal
assistant to Akira Kurosawa and Michael Jeck, Japanese
film specialist.
11 September
*centennial event*
Annual Sake Tasting & Lecture
The 100-Year History of Sake Appraisal
3 April
Co-sponsored by the Sake Export Association.
With sake expert John Gauntner, a founding member
of the Sake Export Association.
42
Japan Society 2007–08 Lecture Programs were made
possible by funding from the Lila Wallace-Reader’s
Digest Endowment Fund.
Additional support was provided by Jack and Susy
Wadsworth, Chris A. Wachenheim, the Sandy Heck
Lecture Fund, Ms. Hiroko Onoyama, and Yoshiko and
Tim Schilt.
1 Celebrating Japan
Society’s centennial
and the 10th-year
anniversary of the
annual sake tasting
and lecture, Japan
Society President
Richard J. Wood (left)
and founding members
of Sake Export Association open a sake cask
(Kagami-Biraki). Photo
© George Hirose.
2 Centennial speaker
Beate Gordon discusses
the process of writing a
constitution for Japan
as an occupied state as
well as the long-term
effects of the constitution on Japan and Japanese women with Helen
Hardacre, Reischauer
Institute Professor of
Japanese Religions and
Society and founder of
the Constitutional Revision Research Project
at Harvard University.
3 Julie Taymor (center)
and Amon Miyamoto
(right) discuss how the
changing climate in
high-tech environment
is shaping not only their
careers but also their
artistic intentions and
relationship to their
audiences at Deliveries
of Creation: New Modes
of Interactive Art in the
21st Century, a symposium held in Tokyo.
4 American social
activist and former
California State Senator
Tom Hayden speaks
with journalist Amy
Goodman, co-founder,
Executive Producer and
Host of Democracy
Now! about global social
movement models as
applied to the Vietnam
and Iraq wars and
long-term conflicts over
remembrance regarding
Manzanar and World
War II. Part of the
“Satya Graha Forum,
Reflections on Citizen
Movements: Peace and
Politics in the U.S. and
Japan.” Photo © George
Hirose.
E d u c at i o n
43
E d u c at i o n P r o g r a m s
Education Programs bring Japan to American classrooms
and children. During 2007–08, teachers and students
enhanced their knowledge about Japan through a variety of
programs, including a series of professional development
workshops, weekend programs for children in fun and interactive settings, and the launch of a new interactive website
for educators, About Japan: A Teacher’s Resource.
About Japan: A Teachers Resource (aboutjapan.japansociety.
org) represents Japan Society’s impetus to extend its reach
to schools nationwide. An interactive website featuring
essays geared to K–12 educators, lesson plans and a wide
variety of resources for the classroom, the site’s popularity
has grown rapidly since it was launched at the opening
of the school year, with new materials added on almost
a daily basis.
Three 30-hour comprehensive professional development
courses for educators helped improve teaching about Japan
in K–12 schools. In Japan’s Long 20th Century, participants
examined the rapid changes in Japan’s culture, economy
and political system from a multidisciplinary perspective.
Japan in The Pacific War & World War II helped teachers analyze Japan’s role in this war as a military, political and social
phenomenon. Japan 1600–1900: From Samurai to Modern
explored how Japan transformed from a land ravaged by
internal warfare before 1600 to a budding international
power by the dawn of the 20th century. All workshops
featured educators working with leading scholars to create
new teaching materials. A series of popular one-day workshops on topics such as utilizing kamishibai to teach literacy,
haiku poetry and Japanese religion offered an introduction
to more specialized topics and resulted in the creation
of many innovative and sophisticated lessons about Japan
being taught in schools throughout the New York metropolitan area.
44
J A PA N S O C I E T Y ANNUA L R E P O R T 2 0 07– 0 8
Education Programs also continued its well-received programs for students, including a summer immersion program
in which students created and performed a modern version
of a classic noh drama. A highlight of the workshop was the
chance to work directly with the famous Tessen-kai Noh
Theater Group from Japan. Numerous one-day programs
for students were offered throughout the school year, including special student-oriented film screenings as well as the
opportunity to view a performance and ask questions of
Midori Sawato, Japan’s most famous silent film narrator.
Education Programs play an important role in providing
educational outreach activities related to Japan Society’s
gallery, performing arts, film and policy programs. During
the past year, we continued our Responding to series, in
which two groups of students are paired during each Japan
Society Gallery exhibition, with activities including gallery
lessons, scholarly lectures and artists’ demonstrations,
culminating in an exhibition of student work created in
response to their extended experience. We also continued
the development of a docent corps for gallery exhibitions,
recruited and trained a student docent corps, and offered
our popular interactive gallery tours for school groups.
Throughout the year, Education Programs ran public
programs for children and families that allowed children
to learn about and experience Japanese culture. Family
program highlights included a New Year’s festival as well
as a program featuring an original children’s theater production of the classic story of Sadako and 1,000 cranes, after
which the children were able to see one of Sadako’s original
cranes, fold their own paper cranes and speak with Masahiro
Sasaki, Sadako’s older brother.
2 0 07– 0 8 P r o g r a m H i g hl i g h t s
P r o g r a m s f o r E d u c ato r s
30-hour in-house courses
f o r e d u c at o r s
Japan’s Long 20th Century
1 3 –1 7 A u g u s t
In cooperation with the New York City Department
of Education.
With Donald Roden, Associate Professor of History, Rutgers University; Jeffrey Long, Associate
Professor of History, Bloomsburg University;
Robert Fish, Director of Education and Lecture
Programs, Japan Society; and William Tsutsui,
Professor of History and Department Chair,
University of Kansas.
1
Japan in the Pacific & World War II
1 9 –2 3 F e b r ua ry
of Education.
With Michael Barnhart, Distinguished Teaching
Professor, SUNY-Stony Brook; Samuel Yamashita,
Henry E. Sheffield Professor of History, Pomona
College; Scott O’Bryan, Assistant Professor
of East Asian Languages and Cultures and of
History, Indiana University-Bloomington; and
Antonia Levi, Associate Professor, Department
of University Studies (retired), Portland State
University.
Japan 1600–1900: From Samurai to
Modern Japan
1 6 & 3 0 M a r c h , 1 3 A p r il , 1 1 & 1 8 M ay
of Education.
With James McClain, Professor of History, Brown
University; David Howell, Professor of East Asian
Studies and History and Department Chair,
Princeton University; Helen Hardacre, Reischauer
Institute Professor of Japanese Religions and
Society, Harvard University; and Joe Earle, Vice
President, Japan Society and Director, Japan
Society Gallery.
2
Discover Kamishibai: A Versatile Tool in
a Balanced Literary Curriculum
2 8 O c to b e r
With Tara McGowan, storyteller; Kamishibai Kidz.
o n e - d ay i n - h o u s e p r o g r a m s
f o r e d u c at o r s
Memoirs of Sadako & Hiroshima: Personal
Accounts of an A-Bomb Survivor
11 September
With Masahiro Sasaki, Sadako Sasaki’s brother;
James Orr, Associate Professor of East Asian
Studies and Department Chair, Bucknell University; Steven Okazaki, director of White Light/Black
Rain; and Sheldon Garon, Professor of History,
Princeton University.
Haiku Workshop for K–12 Educators
4 N ov e m b e r
In cooperation with the United Nations International School Haiku Contest.
With William Higginson and Penny Harter,
authors of The Haiku Handbook.
1 K–12 educators learn
about ways to present
modern Japanese history to their students in
this workshop led by
Dr. William Tsutsui.
Photo © Kazuko
Minamoto.
2 Gene Maeroff moderates a panel discussion
with The Honorable
James B. Hunt Jr. and
Dr. Susan Fuhrman on
American education
about Japan during the
Alumni Reception for
Educators. Photo ©
George Hirose.
Religious Practice & Belief in Modern Japan
3 N ov e m b e r
With D. Max Moerman, Associate Professor
of Asian and Middle Eastern Cultures, Barnard
College and Associate Director of the Donald
Keene Center for Japanese Culture and the
Columbia Center for Japanese Religions,
Columbia University.
45
1
1 Japan Society
Educator Suzanne
de Vegh introduces
children to the exhibition
The Genius of Japanese
Lacquer, Masterworks
by Shibata Zeshin in the
Art Cart series program
“Amazing Japanese
Lacquer: Design Fun!”
Photo © George Hirose.
2 Led by Tessen-kai Noh
Theater Group, students
perform an original noh
play as the culmination
of the two-week summer
immersion program for
high school students.
Photo © Kazuko Minamoto.
2
46
3 After performing an
original play introducing
traditional Japanese folktales, actors interact with
children and help them
make kabuto (samurai
helmets) and koinobori
(carp kites) during the
Society’s annual kodomo
no hi (Children’s Day)
celebration. Photo ©
George Hirose.
Kameron Steele, theater director; and Aya
Ogawa, Senior Program Officer, Performing Arts,
Japan Society.
Art Cart: Contemporary Japanese Music
1 0 F e b r ua ry
With Yumi Kurosawa, koto performer and
Suzanne de Vegh, Program Officer, Education &
Lecture Programs, Japan Society.
o n e - d ay w o r k s h o p s f o r s t u d e n t s
Propaganda Animation Films 1920s–40s
Art Cart: Amazing Japanese Lacquer:
Design Fun!
1 5 F e b r ua ry
2 0 A p r il
In cooperation with the Japan Society
Film Program.
With Hikari Hori, Visiting Professor of East Asian
Languages and Cultures, Columbia University;
Yutaka Matsuda, Matsuda Film Productions; and
Midori Sawato, Benshi narrator.
In cooperation with Japan Society Gallery.
Additional support was provided by the Milton
and Sally Avery Arts Foundation.
With Suzanne de Vegh, Program Officer,
Education & Lecture Programs, Japan Society.
Art Cart: Chanoyu
8 June
P r o g r a m s f o r Fa m i l i e s
j a pa n ’s a n n u a l f e s t i v i t i e s
With Yoshihiro Terazono, Tea Master, Urasenke
Tea Ceremony Society and Suzanne de Vegh,
Program Officer, Education & Lecture Programs,
Japan Society.
Japan’s Star Festival (Tanabata):
Legends & Customs
7 J u ly
With Theatre Arts Japan-KIDS-, dir. Eriko Ogawa
and Gay Merrill Gross, origami artist.
3
Exploring Japan’s Mystical Folktale Creatures &
Ghosts through Kamishibai Storytelling
2 8 O c to b e r
With Tara McGowan, storyteller.
*centennial event*
100th Anniversary Alumni Reception for
Educators: About Japan Website Launch &
American Education About Japan
24 A u g u s t
With Margaret Crocco, Professor of Social
Studies and Program Coordinator, Teachers
College, Columbia University; Robert Fish,
Director of Education and Lecture Programs,
Japan Society; Sheen Saleem, educator, Half
Hollow Hills HS West; Mark Willner, former
Chairman, Social Studies Department, Midwood
High School at Brooklyn College; Gene I. Maeroff,
Senior Fellow, Hechinger Institute at Teachers
College, Columbia University; The Honorable
James B. Hunt Jr., former Governor of North
Carolina; and Susan Fuhrman, President,
Teachers College, Columbia University.
3 & 4 N ov e m b e r
In cooperation with the International Shinto
Foundation.
With members of the International Shinto
Foundation.
In cooperation with the Japan Society Performing
Arts Program.
With Samuel Leiter, Broeklundian Professor of
Theater, Brooklyn College; Sarah Cusick, Chair,
Theater Department, Columbia Preparatory
School; Sachiyo Ito, Artistic Director/Performer,
Sachiyo Ito & Company; Lisa D’Amour, playwright;
Loren Edelson; Tessen-kai Noh Theater Group;
9 September
In cooperation with Sony Wonder Technology Lab.
With Theatre Arts Japan-KIDS-, dir. Eriko Ogawa;
Masahiro Sasaki, Sadako Sasaki’s brother.
School Visit by Masahiro Sasaki:
Memoir of Sadako
10 September
At Stuyvesant High School. With Masahiro Sasaki
and 200 students of U.S. history and Japanese
language courses.
Japan’s New Year’s Day Celebration: Oshogatsu
1 3 J an ua ry
Featuring booths led by over 40 performers,
artists, specialists, educators and volunteer
students from Keio Academy of New York and
Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School.
Doll Festival (Girls’ Day): Hinamatsuri
2 March
With Masayo Ishigure, koto performer and Keiko
Sawaguchi, educator, Alternative Learning Center
Choir Academy.
Special Luncheon with
Mr. and Mrs. Masahiro Sasaki
13 September
In cooperation with the September 11th Families
Association.
With Masahiro and Yaeko Sasaki; September 11th
Families Association; Amb. Motoatsu Sakurai,
Consulate General of Japan in New York; and the
United Nations Office of Disarmament Affairs.
s p e c i a l fa m i ly p r o g r a m s
Celebrating Japan’s Children’s Day through
Performance & Crafts-Making: Kodomo no hi
Homes & Houses Japan/New York
4 M ay
7 O c to b e r
With Theatre Arts Japan-KIDS-, dir. Eriko Ogawa.
In cooperation with Center for Architecture
Foundation.
With Lita Riddock, architect/educator and
Suzanne de Vegh, Program Officer, Education &
Lecture Programs, Japan Society.
Explore Performing Arts of Japan!: Create
Contemporary Kabuki & Noh Dramas
1 6 –2 0 & 2 3 –2 8 A u g u s t
Sadako & One-Thousand Cranes: Play Reading &
Performance by Theatre Arts Japan-KIDS-
Shichigosan (7-5-3) Ceremony
pr o g r a m s f o r s t u d e n t s
summer immersion workshop
for high school students
s a d a ko & 1 , 0 0 0 pa p e r c r a n e s
r e l at e d p r o g r a m s
art cart programs
Art Cart: Where Do You Call Home?
1 1 N ov e m b e r
openhousenewyork (OHNY)
With Victoria Moller, Education Associate, Japan
Society and Suzanne de Vegh, Program Officer,
7 & 8 O c to b e r
In cooperation with the Japan Society Gallery.
With members of the Japan Society Docent Corps.
47
G a llery L e s s o n s & G a llery
R el at e d P r o g r a m s
d o c e n t t o u r s f o r g a l l e ry v i s i t o r s
Making a Home: Japanese Contemporary
Artists in New York
The Genius of Japanese Lacquer: Masterworks
by Shibata Zeshin
2 1 M a r c h –1 5 J u n e
a d u lt & u n i v e r s i t y g r o u p t o u r s
Artists in New York
by Shibata Zeshin
1
ko n n i c h i w a f r i e n d s fa m i ly t o u r s
2 1 M a r c h –1 5 J u n e
Making a Home: Japanese Artists in New York
1 3 O c to b e r , 1 0 N ov e m b e r & 8 D e c e m b e r
g a l l e ry l e s s o n s p r e - k– g r a d e 1 2
With Victoria Moller, Education Associate, Japan
Society and Suzanne de Vegh, Program Officer,
Artists in New York
by Shibata Zeshin
1 2 A p r il , 1 0 M ay & 1 4 J u n e
With Victoria Moller, Education Associate,
Japan Society.
Education & Lecture Programs, Japan Society
and Joseph Keehn II, museum educator.
by Shibata Zeshin
2 1 M a r c h –1 5 J u n e
student docent program
With Joseph Keehn II, museum educator.
Making a Home: Japanese Artists in New York
O c to b e r – D e c e m b e r
responding to . . . series
Responding to Making a Home: Japanese Artists
in New York
O c to b e r – D e c e m b e r
Education & Lecture Programs, Japan Society
and Victoria Moller, Education Associate,
Japan Society.
Responding to The Genius of Japanese Lacquer:
Masterworks by Shibata Zeshin
Japan Society 2007–08 Education Programs
were made possible by generous funding from
The Freeman Foundation.
Additional support was provided by The Norinchukin
Foundation, Inc., Lesley Nan Haberman, Joshua N.
Solomon, and Ms. Hiroko Onoyama.
2 1 M a r c h –1 5 J u n e
48
About Japan: A Teachers’ Resource was
supported by The Japan Foundation Center
for Global Partnership.
2
1 Family program
participants make paper
cranes at Sony Wonder
Technology Lab with
Masahiro Sasaki, older
brother of Sadako Sasaki,
whose 1,000 paper cranes
speak for an international
peace movement. Photo
© George Hirose.
2 Student docent
Alfagracia de la Rosa
applies the knowledge
gained in the student
docent program to lead
a tour of the exhibition
Making a Home. Photo
© George Hirose.
Toyota L a n g u ag e Ce n t er
The Society’s Japanese language education program, which
began in 1972 with just a single class, has grown into one
of the largest and most respected in the nation. Today, the
Toyota Language Center offers 12 comprehensive levels of
Japanese, as well as a variety of specialized courses and
workshops including a shodo (Japanese calligraphy) course,
ensuring that there is a class for any level of Japanese
student. In addition, the Center caters to native Japanese
speakers by providing three levels of English conversation
(ESL) classes and a Japanese Language Teacher Training
Program at the beginning and intermediate levels.
C.V. Starr Library
The C.V. Starr Library houses approximately 14,000 volumes,
in addition to a language library and an impressive rare book
collection. Its holdings include a comprehensive collection
of books (primarily in English) on Japanese art, history,
culture, society, politics, economics, religion and many
other subjects. An ideal place for research on Japan and
Japan-U.S. relations, the library has also become one of
the favorite attractions of Japan Society visitors.
Students in a level 2
Japanese class at the
Toyota Language Center
with their instructor,
Tomoyo Kamimura.
Photo © Roy Mittelman.
49
1 Shodo teacher Masako
Inkyo works with a student.
Photo © Roy Mittelman.
2 Students in a Level 2
Japanese class at the Toyota
Language Center. Photo ©
Roy Mittelman.
1
2
Mini-Workshops: Learn to Read Hiragana &
Katakana
Economics & Business: Advanced
Reading Course I
Japanese Language Teacher Training
Follow-Up Program
20, 21 September
25 September–4 December
2 O c to b e r – 4 D e c e m b e r
2 3 , 24 J an ua ry
2 9 J an ua ry– 4 A p r il
2 9, 3 0 M ay
3 J u n e –1 2 A u g u s t
Enables beginning students to master efficiently
the reading of hiragana and katakana.
Guides advanced language students in reading
the Nihon Keizai Shimbun and the Japanese
versions of Newsweek and Forbes, and also
covers important business customs.
A continuation of the teacher training program,
providing the skills necessary to teach Japanese
at the intermediate level.
Japanese Language Courses
14, 15, 21 & 22 June
Total immersion for people who plan to travel or
move to Japan or for students unable to attend
regular weekday classes.
Shodo Workshops I, II, III , IV &
Advanced Course
2 8 J an ua ry–7 A p r il
Intensive Japanese Weekend Courses
4 J u n e –1 5 A u g u s t
1 0 , 1 1 , 1 7 & 1 8 N ov e m b e r
Twelve levels of Japanese, from beginning
to advanced.
1, 2, 8 & 9 March
2 O c to b e r – 6 D e c e m b e r
1 8 N ov e m b e r
Offered in cooperation with the Japan External
Trade Organization (JETRO), this test provides
a standardized means for students to assess
their mastery of Japanese business language
and custom.
24 S e p t e m b e r –7 D e c e m b e r
English Conversation Courses
JETRO Business Japanese Proficiency Test
5 F e b r ua ry– 8 A p r il
6 M ay–24 J u n e
Intensive Practical Japanese: Business & Culture
8 J u ly–2 6 A u g u s t
2 3 A p r il–2 2 M ay
2 1 A p r il–2 7 J u n e
Three levels of English as a Second Language
(ESL) in 30- or 38-hour sessions.
Helps students master the fundamentals of
Japanese conversation, with special emphasis
on business and social occasions.
A hands-on workshop on the techniques of shodo,
a calligraphic art form that uses a brush and
charcoal ink on paper, wood plaques and fabric.
Kanji I, II, III
Japanese Language Teacher Training Program
2 9 A p r il–2 9 M ay
4 J u n e –2 6 A u g u s t
Teaches essential classroom teaching skills to
native and fluent speakers of Japanese who have
had little or no formal training in the teaching of
Japanese as a second language.
Designed to enable those proficient in Japanese
to read Japanese newspapers with ease.
50

JAPAN SOCIETY ANNUAL REPORT 2007–08

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