The University of ����ԴDz� Campus Center Ballroom transformed into a colorful hub of games, workshops and music on November 7, as more than 800 people gathered for Nippon Culture Day. The annual event, hosted by the Department of (EALL), offered a full day of hands-on activities highlighting Japanese language, art and community traditions.

Attendees moved from table to table, trying everything from calligraphy and gift-wrapping to traditional Japanese card games such as hanafuda and karuta. Students practiced koto (Japanese string instrument) and sanshin (Okinawan string instrument), folded intricate origami and tested their skills at manga (comic book) character drawing and katakana (character) recognition game. Members of the Japanese Culture Club also supported a station, helping guests of all ages jump in.

“Our department has long been engaged in the study of Japan,” said Hiromi Uchida, a Japanese language instructor. “We see this event as a valuable opportunity for both learning and community building, and we hope to continue making Nippon Culture Day an exciting and enjoyable experience for all students and the community.”

Traditions up close

Nippon is the Japanese word for Japan. Culture-focused workshops ran throughout the morning and afternoon. ������Ƶors sat for abacus lessons, learned the basics of ikebana (flower arrangement) in small-group sessions and experienced the quiet focus of a tea ceremony inside Jaku’an, the campus tea house.

Information tables connected students with academic and professional opportunities tied to Japan. Representatives from ������Ƶ ����ԴDz�’s (COS), , Japanese Exchange and Teaching Program and spoke with attendees about travel and study opportunities. Japan Airlines also provided details about career tracks.

As the afternoon continued, the event shifted to live performances featuring koto and sanshin demonstrations. The day ended with a bon dance, inviting everyone to celebrate together.

Nippon Culture Day is co-sponsored by the ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� and COS. Located within the , the EALL department has hosted the free event for more than 20 years.

Mary G. McDonald, who taught and later directed the (CJS) at the University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz�, has received one of Japan’s top honors for her decades of work advancing ties between the U.S. and Japan.

At a special ceremony on September 26 at the Japanese Consulate in Honolulu, McDonald received the . The award recognizes her decades of work advancing academic exchange, cultural understanding and international collaboration.

“This recognition is entirely due to the tireless dedication to strong community and educational ties,” said McDonald. “I thank the government and people of Japan and Hawaiʻi for the opportunities our ������Ƶ students and faculty have enjoyed in Japan. I thank the late Dr. Genshitsu Sen for his generosity to ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� students, emphasizing peace through The Way of Tea. ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� is truly an excellent place to study Japan, it has been a privilege to play a small part.”

Building bridges

McDonald served on the ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� faculty for 26 years. She guided countless students and scholars through programs that deepened ties between Japan and Hawaiʻi. As director of CJS, she strengthened inter-university exchange programs and supported initiatives that brought Japanese culture and research into the heart of the university. She also served on the selection committee for the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program, also known as JET, helping many participants begin their journeys living and working in Japan.

Mark Levin, the current director of CJS, recalls how McDonald represented the perfect role model in directing the ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� Center for Japanese Studies.

“She engaged with students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community in her soft-spoken but persuasive manner. Among the accomplishments of her term was overseeing the renovations of Jaku’an, the teahouse located on the ������Ƶ campus, smoothly overcoming a host of logistical challenges from start to finish,” Levin said.

Leadership honored

At the ceremony, Consul General Yoshinori Kodama praised McDonald’s leadership, especially in study abroad programs and her dedication to advancing Japanese studies in Hawaiʻi.

The celebration also featured a congratulatory message from Robert Huey, a professor emeritus of the and a kampai (cheers) toast by Jean Ariyoshi, former First Lady of Hawaiʻi.

Acclaimed novelist Crystal Hana Kim brought her powerful stories of love, loss and Korean history to the University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz�. The hosted her as the featured speaker in the Hee Kyung Lee Kwon Speaker Series.

About 60 students and faculty gathered on September 18, for the event at the Center for Korean Studies, where Kim read from her two novels, shared her research process, and spoke about writing between two cultures and languages. She also reflected on her interest in Korean history and her experiences as a Korean American author.

“I’m deeply honored to have been selected as the second Hee Kyung Lee Kwon Speaker. Hee Kyung Lee Kwon’s life story inspires and resonates with my lineage,” said Kim. “To arrive here as a picture bride hoping for a greater education, to build a life in a new country and contribute to the Independence Movement of Korea—what an admirable, formidable figure.”

Award-winning author

During her visit to ������Ƶ ����ԴDz�, a crew from the Korean Broadcasting System filmed her lecture for a documentary on the Korean diaspora that will air in November in South Korea.

Kim authored The Stone Home, a finalist for the Maya Angelou Book Prize, and If You Leave Me, which was named a best book of the year by more than a dozen publications. She received the National Book Foundation’s 5 Under 35 Award and the PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers.

Honoring lineage

On campus, Kim included time with graduate students in Assistant Professor David Krolikoski’s Korean literature seminar, where she spoke about translation, craft and her inspirations.

“It has been comforting to be in an academic space where my culture is so deeply valued,” said Kim. “On a personal level, when my father immigrated to the United States, he first landed in Hawaiʻi. To finally visit this land while pregnant holds much meaning to me as I think of the history and lineage of the Korean diaspora.”

Campus partners

The Hee Kyung Lee Kwon Speaker Series is co-sponsored by ������Ƶ ����ԴDz�’s Center for Korean Studies, Department of English, Creative Writing Program, and Department of Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies.

More than 800 students and community members filled the Campus Center Ballroom at the on October 25 for the annual Nippon Culture Day. The event showcased a vibrant blend of traditional and contemporary Japanese culture. Organized by the Japanese section of the (EALL), the annual showcase offers cultural immersion for Hawaiʻi high schoolers, college students and members of the public.

Participants had the chance to dive into various Japanese art forms and practices through interactive workshops on topics such as calligraphy, ikebana (flower arranging), Okinawan language and manga/anime drawing. For those interested in strategy, there were sessions dedicated to igo, a classic Japanese board game.

“What we hope to accomplish with Nippon Culture Day is to expose students and the community to Japanese culture in all its dazzling diversity. Many are learning Japanese language and interested in pop culture products like anime and manga, but here they will get a taste of everything from daily cultural rituals to ancient court music,” said Andre Haag, a professor of Japanese literature and associate chair at EALL.

Perpetuating classic sounds

Audiences were treated to the soothing sounds of the koto, a 13-stringed zither, and the sanshin, an Okinawan three-stringed instrument. Three student musicians from ������Ƶ ����ԴDz�’s (COS) were featured sanshin performers on stage.

Adding depth to the event, a high school student visiting from Japan offered insights into classical Japanese literature, discussing how iconic Japanese authors drew heavily from nature to help shape their narratives.

Nippon Culture Day is co-sponsored by the ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� and COS. Located within the , the EALL department has hosted the free event for more than 20 years.

Two students majoring in at the University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz� have been awarded the MEXT (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) Scholarship by the Japanese government. Koy Yoshizumi and Marques Batoon, are among only four students in the country to receive the highly regarded scholarship this year, and began their yearlong studies in Japan this October.

“I feel truly blessed to receive this scholarship,” said Yoshizumi, who is taking classes at Keio University in Tokyo. “I want to take every opportunity that comes my way, and I guess I want to ‘put myself out there’ a little more.”

Yoshizumi, who grew up in Kapolei, first became interested in Japanese culture through anime, a passion that has fueled his academic journey.

Batoon, a double major in Japanese and , is studying at Doshisha University in Kyoto. His year abroad offers him the chance to work on a unique project.

“One of my goals is to complete my Japanese language study app game and play it with the classmates here who are also studying Japanese,” Batoon said.

His fascination with the language began in the fourth grade when his best friend, moved to Hawaiʻi from Japan and spoke English and Japanese.

Both Yoshizumi and Batoon represent the thriving (EALL) department at ������Ƶ ����ԴDz�, the largest of its kind in the nation, offering courses in Japanese, Chinese and Korean. The department continues to produce globally engaged graduates, many of whom go on to work in fields ranging from academia to government service.

“I hope that the awardees will make a year in Japan as MEXT scholars a fruitful one, by studying hard, by experiencing different aspects of Japanese society and culture firsthand, and by growing as individuals,” said Miki Ogasawara, an instructor who teaches Japanese at ������Ƶ ����ԴDz�.

In 2023, two more EALL students at ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� were among the four recipients nationwide to be awarded the MEXT scholarship.

EALL is housed in the ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� .

Three prominent figures in Korean literature and art highlighted an event hosted by the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (EALL) in September. Attendees had the opportunity to hear from feminist poet Kim Hyesoon, visual artist Fi Jae Lee and poet and translator Jack Jung.

Kim, a recipient of literary honors, including the Griffin Poetry Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award, performed a bilingual poetry reading in both Korean and English. She was joined by Jung, who is currently translating her collection Thus Spoke No (forthcoming from Ecco, 2026). The reading was followed by an art talk from Lee, whose work is regularly featured in Kim’s books and has been showcased in exhibitions worldwide. Lee discussed the inspirations and themes behind her installations, drawings, and paintings.

“As a literature major, I enjoyed getting to know people in the literary circle and hearing from authors as they reflected on their own works,” said Dasom Han, an EALL graduate student who attended the event. “It was great to hear also from the illustrator and the translator at the poetry reading. Learning about how a book is published and translated to another language reminded me that publishing is a collective work and that the writer is not the only authority of a book.”

The event, held at the Center for Korean Studies Auditorium, also included a Q&A session, where community members and students could interact with the speakers. Following the presentations, there was a book signing with the poet and translator.

The next day, a translation workshop offered EALL graduate students a deep dive into the complexities of translating Korean poetry, led by Jung. Kim also attended to listen to and respond to student translations of her poetry.

Hee Kyung Lee Kwon Speaker Series

This speaker series is dedicated to the celebration of Korean women’s literature and culture. It will feature individuals who have made a significant contribution to the field as authors, artists, translators, scholars, etc. The series was made possible thanks to the contribution of Esther Arinaga to commemorate her mother, Hee Kyung Lee Kwon. Lee Kwon was born in Daegu in 1894 and emigrated to Hawaiʻi in 1912, where she supported the Korean Independence Movement abroad from 1915 to 1945.

For further details, inquiries can be directed to event coordinators David Krolikoski or Emily Yoon at dkroli@hawaii.edu or ejyoon@hawaii.edu.

EALL is housed in ������Ƶ ��ā�ԴDz�’s .

In a story of both serendipity and shared passion, two University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa alumni, Shoichi Iwasaki and Rumiko Shinzato, reunited after more than thirty years to co-author , the first textbook of its kind for English speakers.

The scholars bemoaned the lack of an Okinawan-language textbook in English and decided to write one themselves to preserve and teach the endangered Okinawan language. The resulting text was published by ������Ƶ Press in May.

“I am passionate about letting people know the fate of the 3,000–5,000 languages that may vanish from the face of the earth in the next 100 years. Okinawan is just one of such languages,” said Iwasaki.

For Shinzato, the motivation was personal: “I wanted to give back something meaningful to my homeland, the people and our ancestors, as they have given me so much.”

While working on his master’s in at ������Ƶ Mānoa, Iwasaki briefly met Shinzato, who was working on her PhD in . Years later, the professors reunited and co-wrote the recently published book.

Iwasaki credits Shinzato with the idea to structure the textbook around the story of an American exchange student living with a host family in Okinawa. Shinzato also recorded native speakers’ voices to supplement the book’s written dialogues.

Critically endangered language

According to the authors, the Okinawan language, part of the Ryukyuan language family, faces a dire future. Once the primary tongue of the Ryukyu Kingdom, Okinawan was systematically suppressed after Japan annexed the region in 1879.

In 2009, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) officially declared the language “endangered.” Fifteen years later, many now consider the language “critically endangered,” as it is predominantly spoken by older generations and rarely passed on to children.

Cultural and educational impact

In Hawaiʻi, the Okinawan diaspora remains an integral part of �Ჹ�ɲ���ʻ��’s rich cultural fabric, with nearly 50,000 people of Okinawan descent living in the islands.

The textbook has been met with high praise from experts in the field. “I wish it had been available when I took my first steps in the language. With the learning of Okinawan made such a pleasant experience, this will become the standard English-language work, hard to beat in the years to come,” said Leon Serafim, a retired professor of Japanese and former director of the ������Ƶ Center for Okinawan Studies.

The multidisciplinary center, based on the Mānoa campus, offers courses, sponsors cultural events, and supports exchange programs. ������Ƶ ��ā�ԴDz�’s Hamilton Library houses the Sakamaki-Hawley Collection, one of the world’s most significant Okinawa-related archives.

A three-year collaboration between faculty and students in the University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz�’s (EALL), scholars in Japan, and the Honolulu Museum of Art has borne fruit: a bilingual cross-platform publication that focuses on 18th century scrolls recently discovered inside a collection at the Honolulu Museum of Art (HoMA).

Nestled within the Lane Collection, an archive curated by the late art dealer and ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� alumnus Richard Douglas Lane, lay a two-scroll set known as the Jūban Mushi-awase, or A Match of Crickets in Ten Rounds of Verse and Image.

“These scrolls depict a literary event in 1782 Edo (Tokyo), where poets and painters gathered to explore the relative virtues of two humble insects—the bell cricket and the pine cricket,” said Robert Huey, a ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� EALL professor emeritus. “In East Asian literature, these insects have long symbolized the sadness of autumn and the pain of separation.”

• Related ������Ƶ News story: 18th century Japanese poem contest thrills ������Ƶ scholars, September 26, 2023

Seeds of collaboration

The project’s seeds were planted in 2020, when EALL scholars Huey, Assistant Professor Andre Haag, PhD students Hilson Reidpath, Tanya Barnett and alumna Francesa Pizarro teamed up with researchers in Japan to explore the rare scroll set.

“Many of the Japanese scholars we were collaborating with were specialists in these 18th century literary figures and the forms of poetry we were examining,” said Barnett, a PhD candidate who specializes in modern Japanese literature. “The breadth of their knowledge was astounding and a real privilege to learn from.”

Minami Kiyoe, who oversees the Lane Collection at the museum, works closely with the ������Ƶ and Japan research teams.

• Related ������Ƶ News story: Japanese literature students prepare to catalog rare book collection, November 1, 2022

Showcasing scholarly perspectives

Thanks to a generous grant from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, the teams officially embarked on their collaborative journey in 2021. This spring, their efforts culminated in the publication of bilingual book .

The book features a transcription of the original text, a modern Japanese translation and a full English translation. In addition, all the team members wrote essays or research papers related to some aspect of the work.

“These elements together fulfilled one of the goals of the project, which was to truly showcase distinct approaches taken to the same material by Japanese and American scholars,” said Huey.

On display

This April, HoMA included the scrolls in the exhibit “.” The exhibit runs through July 28.

All images of paintings in this article are from the Collection of the Honolulu Museum of Art. Purchase, Richard Lane Collection, 2003 (TD 2011-23-415).

About 850 students packed the Campus Center Ballroom at the to soak in a diverse selection of traditional and contemporary elements of Japanese culture. Organized by the Japanese section of the (EALL), the annual Nippon Culture Day event on October 20 featured a plethora of educational workshops for Hawaiʻi high school and college students, such as origami (paper folding), calligraphy, gift wrapping, Okinawan language, hanafuda playing cards, manga/anime drawing, and traditional kimono and 13-string koto (zither instrument) demonstrations.

“Most workshops offer hands-on ‘make and take’ sessions that students won’t be able to experience in the classroom,” said Yumiko Tateyama, a Japanese language instructor at EALL. “We hope that the students will take with them a newfound knowledge of the historical roots and meaning behind traditional arts and crafts that are presented.”

The event is co-sponsored by the and the and also spotlighted tea ceremony and ikebana (flower arrangement) activities for attendees.

Traditional cards, reigi lessons

Nippon is the Japanese word for Japan, and Kaito Yamanaka, a junior at ������Ƶ Mānoa majoring in Japanese and economics, hopes to make a living there after college. This year, Yamanaka volunteered at the karuta exhibit. The ancient card game traces back to 16th century Japan and requires players to match cards associated with short poems or phrases recited during the game.

“I’ve played karuta since I was small, so I enjoyed teaching it to others and seeing them have fun with the game,” Yamanaka said.

One of the newest workshops featured at this year’s event focused on reigi, which is the Japanese words for etiquette and manners. Organizers invited Keiko Okawa, a consul from the Consulate-General of Japan in Honolulu, to shine light on a critical custom— bowing.

“I told the participants that the key to a proper bow is breathing. Thus, you can put your heart to your movement. You inhale as you bow, pause to exhale, and then inhale again as you rise,” Okawa explained. “I believe that learning how to bow properly will be helpful to you when you travel to Japan and want to express your sincere gratitude to someone, or when you work for a Japanese company.”

Okawa also taught students other protocols practiced in Japan’s professional sector, including how to properly present a business card.

Local companies and organizations such as Hawaiian Airlines and Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa were also present at the event to provide students the opportunity to network and learn about future career prospects.

EALL is housed in the ������Ƶ Mānoa .

Reviving elements of art from the past is not something that is only tied to our present. There are times in history when cultures have recognized the importance of ensuring that certain practices are not lost.

On September 15 at Hamilton Library, scholars took a look back in time when the Japanese people sought to reclaim elements from the country’s golden age of literature and art. During the 18th century, uta-awase or poetry contests were reintroduced in Japan in an attempt to revive the celebrated Heian period (794–1185).

• Related ������Ƶ News story: Classical Japanese poetry contest inspires ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� students, December 20, 2022

One 10-round contest in particular which required players to compose poems that pitted the literary qualities of bell crickets (suzumushi) and pine crickets (matsumushi) against each other, is documented on a set of post-medieval scrolls called “Jūban Mushi-awase” (Insect Contest in Ten Rounds). The two-scroll set is housed at the Honolulu Museum of Art (HoMA). Faculty and staff from the University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz� (EALL) were tasked with translating the scrolls’ hard-to-read cursive style text and lavish paintings which depict live insects featured in table-top displays the uta-awase contestants constructed to present their poems.

“It is satisfying for our students to know that the work they put into this translation can be used by the museum whenever it displays the scrolls or makes them available to researchers,” said Robert Huey, an EALL professor emeritus internationally recognized for his expertise in classical and medieval Japanese poetry. “The scrolls themselves may seem effete, even out of touch, but their focus on reviving an ancient past was part of a growing intellectual movement to shake off the oppressive feudalism of the Tokugawa shogunate, which led, ironically, to the Meiji Restoration and Japan’s rapid modernization in the 19th and 20th centuries.”

At the workshop, Huey gave a historical overview of poetry contests and examined in detail how the text and image in three of the entries worked with each other in the scrolls and also intertextually with Japanese literary works from 900 years earlier.

Deciphering history

Since 2021, the translation project has brought together scholars out of EALL such as Huey, Assistant Professor Andre Haag, PhD students Hilson Reidpath, Tanya Barnett and alumna Francesa Pizarro with researchers from Japan and HoMA. The scrolls are part of the Lane collection, which is approximately 11,000 Japanese paintings, woodblock-printed books and manuscripts collected by late art dealer Richard Douglas Lane, a ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� alumnus.

The team from ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� has produced an English translation of the scrolls and penned short essays on some aspects such as text, paintings and historical elements. Reidpath, an EALL graduate student and aspiring professor was among those who presented some of the project’s findings at the workshop. He recalls how complex translations were for him in the beginning.

“It is quite satisfying to be here a few years later after that long afternoon in Moore Hall [in 2020] where we struggled to read a few characters,” Reidpath explained.

Samurai ties, patrolman

A research deep dive into the rare scrolls revealed many of the Japanese aristocrats who competed in the 1782 contest were novice writers. A patrol officer, legal officer and the daughter of a local samurai family were among the competitors. Researchers were only able to discover the woman’s first name, Yasoko. She was one of two females who competed.

Translation of Yasoko’s poem
In the field / of many maiden flowers / the voice of the pine cricket /
intently waiting for someone – / its chirp unrelenting.

Vault visit

This September, HoMA welcomed the Japanese scholars involved in the ongoing collaborative research project inside the museum’s vault to examine the scroll set inch-by-inch for the first time. Headed by Professor Morita Teiko (Kyoto Sangyō University), Iikura Yōichi, a professor emeritus (Osaka University) and joined by other researchers such as Matsumoto Ōki, an associate professor (Kansai University), they presented their findings at the Hamilton Library workshop which included some specifics on the contestants and how the event paid homage to the Heian period.

������Ƶ ����ԴDz� continues to pursue other collaborative projects with researchers in Japan and HoMA. Minami Kiyoe, who oversees the Lane Collection at the museum, works closely with the ������Ƶ and Japan research teams.

• Related ������Ƶ News story: Hamilton Library houses rare poetry scroll from medieval Japan, September 7, 2023

HoMA will be exhibiting the scrolls in spring 2024 as part of a larger exhibit on the enduring impact of the Heian period in Japanese literature and art. A book featuring the English translation, a modern Japanese translation, and detailed scholarship on the scrolls in English and Japanese is also expected in 2024, to coincide with the HoMA exhibit.

EALL is in the ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� .

All images of paintings in this article are from the Collection of the Honolulu Museum of Art. Purchase, Richard Lane Collection, 2003 (TD 2011-23-415).

Scholars from the (NIJL), one of Japan’s most premier humanities research institutes, and the Honolulu Museum of Art (HoMA) trekked to the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in August to mark their seven-year long partnership with the university and also welcomed ’s newest resource, a 16th century handwritten kansubon (scroll) authored by Japanese poet Asukai Yoritaka. The 30-poem sequence, “Ei sanjusshu waka,” is considered a treasure for its whimsical use of auxiliary verbs and phrases.

“By tracing the scroll’s journey from medieval Japan, through various hands, to its current location in the Hamilton Library, we’re reminded of the power of literary artifacts and their ability to inspire across generations and geographical boundaries,” said Pier-Carlo Tommasi, a professor in ������Ƶ ��ā�ԴDz�’s (EALL).

Yoritaka’s poetry is part of Tommasi’s curriculum in his Introduction to Classical Japanese course where students delve deeply into waka (poem) translation. Tommasi played a key role in organizing a three-day workshop series which showcased talks from distinguished researchers at ������Ƶ Mānoa, NIJL and HoMA on Japanese literature.

������Ƶ Mānoa PhD student Zi “Chelly” Ye was among the event’s presenters on August 28 and focused on how Yoritaka’s waka sequence gives readers a glimpse into his imaginative world

She meticulously translated poems two and nine, which spotlight the fragrance of ume (plum) blossoms and finding coolness in summer.

Yuki no naka no uguisu (Warblers in the snow)
ume ga ka no (Awaiting the fragrance of plum blossoms)
saku o ososhi to (That are late blooming)
uguisu no (This early morning)
kesa wa mazu nuu (The impatient warblers started weaving)
yuki no hanagasa (A sun hat of snow!)

“I quickly discovered that analyzing waka poetry requires the same skill sets for good historical research,” said Ye. “One has to carefully scrutinize canonical works and directories of kakekotoba (pivot words) and utamakura (place names) for hints and clues before one can make hypotheses about the meanings of each word and finally explain the whole story.”

Scholars from NIJL were particularly impressed with Ye’s dissection of the waka entries. Hajime Kawakami, an assistant professor at NIJL, spent a couple weeks as a visiting scholar at ������Ƶ Mānoa EALL and was sitting in the audience during Ye’s presentation.

“Her analysis was anchored in rigorous philological methodology, demonstrating a profound grasp of poetic themes and aesthetics,” said Kawakami. “Her thorough examination of prior works and nuanced translations reaffirmed the impressive caliber of Japanese literary studies overseas. I can see a bright future for this field at ������Ƶ Mānoa and am deeply grateful for the opportunity to contribute to and learn from such a vibrant academic community.”

The workshop series concluded with a dinner reception at the Consulate-General of Japan in Honolulu. This year’s NIJL–HoMA–������Ƶ Mānoa delegation visit was sponsored by the Center for Japanese Studies, the EALL Japanese Language and Literature fund and Hamilton Library.

EALL is housed in the ������Ƶ Mānoa .

It is not every day that museum visitors get the opportunity to engage hands-on with ancient treasures in an underground vault. Through a collaboration with the Honolulu Museum of Art (HoMA), students from the University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz� in the were allowed the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to tour HoMA’s vault, which contains one of the finest sets of Japanese woodblock prints and manuscripts on Oʻahu.

“������Ƶing the Lane Collection at HoMA was a special experience that has left a lasting impression on me,” said student Sarah Domingo. “Seeing those books and works of art from the Edo period made me feel connected to history and I was able to get a better understanding of the historic and cultural significance these books have.”

Four undergraduate and five graduate students in Professor Pier Carlo Tommasi’s “JPN 461: Introduction to Classical Japanese” and “JPN 641: Traditional Literary Theory” classes visited HoMA on March 31. There, they were guided through the marvels and mysteries of the Lane Collection by HoMA Research Associate Kiyoe Minami.

“Activities like this are important for undergraduate students to better understand what it means to do archival research,” said Tommasi. “They also make the learning process much more effective and enjoyable.”

At the museum, Tommasi mixed up the students, splitting them into two groups as the Lane vault only fits up to eight people at one time. Once in the vault, students had the rare opportunity to view the art pieces.

“Unlike looking at art works in a glass case at the museum or viewing the images of works online, there is much to be gained from looking at the actual works up closely,” said Minami. “For example, the weight of the book, the feel of the paper, the difference in the ink condition, etc. I would be glad if the students find it enjoyable to study Japanese literature and culture through this experience at the Lane vault.”

In the vault, the undergraduate students also gave short presentations on books that they had studied previously for the “”—an assignment in Tommasi’s fall 2022 JPN 461 class, in which students had each been assigned a book from the Lane Collection to digitally browse and analyze. At the end of the semester, they submitted a written report along with an English translation of the title to be added to the HoMA database. The field trip to the Lane vault was a full-circle moment for these students, who were able to view the physical books that they had previously only studied in digital formats.

• Related ������Ƶ News Story: Japanese literature students prepare to catalog rare book collection, November 1, 2022

“Seeing the pieces in the Lane Collection in person and up close made me realize the craftsmanship and dedication that went into creating these books and art. It is amazing how they are still in great shape after all these years,” said Domingo. “What was most impactful and meaningful for me was being able to see the book, published in 1805, in person that I had researched online about last semester, as it has brought my studies to life.”

Set in Hokkaido, Tokyo and Hawaiʻi, the world premiere play adaptation of Dance Dance Dance leads audiences on one man’s journey to open doors to “other” places. The University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz� and production is based on the novel published by Japanese author Haruki Murakami. Adapted and directed by ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� MFA candidate Maggie Ivanova, the play blurs the lines between various realities framed by magical realism and incorporates scenes set in Sapporo and an old multi-storied building in downtown Honolulu.

“The creative team and I approach Sapporo and Honolulu as places where ancestors can visit and co-exist with the characters,” Ivanova explained. “The legacy of the land and all that came before is there. But we need to slow down, listen to, and recognize the connections that are still there. The mana (power) of place and objects is potent and present, lending to the magical realism characterizing this piece.”

In 2012, Murakami received an honorary doctorate at ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� while he was a visiting professor at the Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures.

The idea of adapting one of Murakami’s novels for the stage was on Ivanova’s radar for several years prior to her admission to ������Ƶ ����ԴDz�.

“Of all the novels he has written, Dance Dance Dance provides a closure at the end that many of Murakami’s other works don’t,” she said.

Ticket prices range from $8–$18 for the in-person production at the Earle Ernst Lab Theatre on January 25–28 at 7:30 p.m. and January 29 at 2 p.m.

The play includes strong language, sexual content, simulated smoking and references to murder.

For more information visit the .

University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz� students enrolled in Professor Pier-Carlo Tommasi’s Introduction to Classical Japanese course in the (EALL) this fall channeled their inner poet. Tommasi co-hosted the 2022 Intercollegiate Classical Japanese Poetry Contest on December 6 alongside Professors Marjorie Burge (University of Colorado Boulder) and Jeffrey Niedermaier (Brown University) to encourage students to pen 31-syllable poems, a traditional Japanese literary form known as waka.

“The arts and the humanities—especially language-related ones—should serve as a means of self-cultivation and self-empowerment. This is especially true when it comes to classics, whose ‘utility’ is often questioned by the public opinion,” said Tommasi. “In my JPN461 class, I encourage my students not just to memorize ancient grammar rules and patterns, but to take ownership of their learning process through open-ended, creative and multilingual assignments.”

The literary contest resembled a modern take on traditional poetry competitions in Japan known as utaawase, which traces back to the Heian period (794–1185). Contestants were divided into teams and composed poems through a series of rounds. Following each round, a poem from each team went head to head to determine which composition was stronger.

Tommasi’s contest was conducted via Zoom where submitted poems were anonymously matched in pairs and judged collectively. The audience shared constructive criticism and cast votes online to decree the winner for each round.

“I could feel that all of the poems had a personal flavor to them, as if they could have only been written by each person,” said Rui Kono, a ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� student. “That balance of traditional aesthetics and contemporary worries and celebration was a fusion that brought lots of feelings to my heart as I listened. Through that, I wondered if the participants of utaawase in Heian Japan felt the same way I did just now? It’s a rare experience being able to live history like this.”

Kiyoe Minami, a research associate at the Honolulu Museum of Art, was among the guests who attended the virtual contest and casted votes.

“I was surprised to see that the students were not native speakers of Japanese, yet they were composing poems using the Japanese language of the Heian period. They also used special techniques in the composition of waka poems, such as allusions, pivot words, etcetera,” Minami said.

Fifteen students from ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� participated along with six students from Brown University and four from University of Colorado Boulder. Organizers arranged it so the contest was completely anonymous and did not provide any prizes in an effort to encourage students to enjoy an atmosphere of harmony and congeniality.

“I liked that the different colleges were split as left and right teams rather than as individual colleges,” said Monique DeLara, a ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� student. “The anonymity of the poems was reassuring. As an intro course for many students, the feedback was for the most part very friendly.”

EALL is in the ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� .

For more on the Intercollegiate Classical Japanese Poetry Contest go to the News and Events section of the EALL website.

Nearly 700 people participated in Nippon Culture Day, which returned to the University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz� campus this fall after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nippon (the Japanese word for Japan) Day is an annual event featuring an array of workshops providing high school and college students an opportunity to learn about Japanese culture.

On October 28, the celebration organized by the Japanese section of the (EALL)in the featured traditional and contemporary activities such as origami (paper folding), hanafuda (card game), calligraphy and tea ceremony.

The free event was held at the Campus Center Ballroom and the East-West Center’s Jaku’an Tea House. The and the co-sponsored the event aimed at providing students with a newfound knowledge of the historical roots and meaning behind the traditional Japanese arts and crafts.

• Related ������Ƶ News story: Traditional Japanese tea house marks 50 years at ������Ƶ ����ԴDz�, November 22, 2022

“Our university has been a premiere center for the study of Japan for the past one hundred years. In this sense, we see the Nippon Culture Day as a precious opportunity for learning and community building,” said Pier-Carlo Tommasi, a professor in the EALL department.

The , which was launched by ������Ƶ to promote the development of a multilingual workforce, brought in Hawaiian Airlines and Outrigger to offer students career counseling and employment opportunities. Vice Consul Miho Sakai of the Consulate General of Japan in Honolulu also made a special appearance.

Two University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz� doctoral candidates earned a 2022 award, while three past recipients are conducting research that was affected by the pandemic. The five awardees received funding to cover expenses, such as travel, living costs and research activities, totaling more than $222,000 combined.

The Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad program provides opportunities for doctoral candidates to conduct dissertation research abroad in modern foreign languages and area studies.

2022 recipients

Hosub Hwang is a third-year PhD candidate in the studying modern Korean history under Associate Professor Cheehyung Harrison Kim. Hwang’s one-year research trip to South Korea will begin in March 2023. Hwang intends on writing a historical ethnography on the use of urban spaces by participants and activists involved in anti-authoritarian social movements in South Korea in the 1970s–80s.

“I want to understand how people of that period were shaped by their everyday experiences in the cityscape surrounding them, and how they in turn used these spaces, such as cafes or pubs or in sweatshops,” Hwang said. “I find it especially interesting as this period is when you have the expansion of these social movement networks taking shape on the national level.”

Caroline Baicy completed all required coursework and will now focus on a dissertation in the Department of History. Baicy will analyze how metropolitan spaces, predominantly in North America and Europe, exhibited cultures from the Cordillera mountain range in the island of Luzon in the Philippines. Baicy’s eight-month research trip to Spain and the Philippines will begin in February 2023. Associate Professor Vina Lanzona is Baicy’s advisor and dissertation committee chair.

“Through my research and time spent in archives in Spain and the Philippines, I hope to gain an understanding of how these exhibitions developed through the various perspectives including the performers, Filipinos who are not from the region, colonial administrators, and people who experienced these expositions at the turn of the century,” Baicy said.

2021 recipients

Erin McConkey is a fourth-year PhD candidate in the studying the social construction of bodies and disease through the cultural, political and economic processes surrounding snakebite envenomation (exposure to toxins resulting from a bite) in Thailand. McConkey’s one year research trip to Chiang Mai began in June 2022.

“This project is important because a snakebite defies conventional medical categories, which complicates its treatment,” McConkey said. “I work with doctors, nurses, veterinarians, scientists, snake handlers and snakes themselves to understand how they make sense of their experiences with snakebite and antivenom, the life-saving medication which treats it. With this research, I hope to contextualize discrepancies in the medico-scientific imagining of snakebite.”

Tanya Barnett is a fifth-year doctoral candidate of modern Japanese literature in the . Barnett’s research examines the connection between the genre of adventure fiction and Japanese literary production in the 1910s–20s, with a specific focus on queer narratives of adventure, exploration and discovery that take place in spaces interior to the nation-state of Japan.

“Dissertation fellowships in general are incredibly competitive and it’s such an arduous application process, so to receive the award feels like a validation of my dissertation research,” Barnett said. “It’s a great feeling to know that I have the resources necessary to complete archival research for my project.”

2020 recipient

Foley Pfalzgraf is a fifth-year PhD candidate in the . Pfalzgraf will partner with the University of the South Pacific, Emalus Campus in Vanuatu in spring 2023 to conduct mixed-methods research into the impacts of nature-based solutions on communities across the archipelago.

“As nature-based solutions continue to expand globally and in Vanuatu, there is an impetus to consider the extent to which these programs provide environmental and social justice to communities, while also examining alternative adaptation and mitigation activities pursued by Vanuatu’s communities and government,” Pfalzgraf said.

Learn more about the program

������Ƶ ����ԴDz�’s Graduate Division will host an information session for students interested in the program on November 17, 3:15–4:15 p.m. via Zoom. Speakers will include McConkey, Barnett and Fellowships, Scholarships and Professional Development Coordinator Kristen Connors.

For more information on the Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad program, .

—By Marc Arakaki

A collaborative project between the University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz� (EALL) in the and the Honolulu Museum of Art (HoMA) will provide students the opportunity to help catalog one of the most important archives of Japanese rare books and prints in Hawaiʻi.

At the end of the fall semester, EALL students in Professor Pier-Carlo Tommasi’s Introduction to Classical Japanese course will conduct research projects and contribute to the cataloging of the Lane Collection, approximately 11,000 Japanese woodblock-printed books and manuscripts collected by late art dealer Richard Douglas Lane, a ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� alumnus.

“As a scholar and instructor, one of my goals is to diversify the field and provide students with community-building opportunities. Such activities lead them to reimagine their contribution to knowledge production, augmenting their skills and envisioning possible career paths both in the public and the private sectors,” said Tommasi.

This fall, HoMA Research Associate Kiyoe Minami visited the ����ԴDz� campus to present to students about the collection, which features manuscripts such as makeup and hairstyles on trend during the Edo period (1603–1868), a 400-year-old mathematics manual on geometrics, and recipes for beginner cooks.

“It was sort of strange to learn that even if these items were from a few hundred years ago, they showed that the people of the time had similar interests as today, like fashion, health, fortune telling, manga and games,” said student Sho Tanaka. “[It] made me think about the importance of preserving, cataloging and displaying these historical items to better understand our history and where we come from.”

The HoMA–EALL collaborative project is meant to draw attention to the ways in which Hawaiʻi’s interconnectedness with Japan has, through the movements of the transpacific diaspora, helped shape the Hawaiian Islands’ culture. Under the guidance of ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� Emeritus Professor Robert Huey, ������Ƶ has embarked on various collaborative initiatives with HoMA and the National Institute of Japanese Literature the last six years which has yielded workshops and projects.

On Saturday, October 1, Professor Tommasi’s class also went on a guided tour of HoMA’s exhibition, Japanese Design: Rinpa, which explores 17th century style paintings with compositional features such as asymmetry, innovative color combinations, contrasting patterns, and semi-abstraction.

“I could definitely sense the similarities and connections between the visual arts and language in a classical Japanese setting,” said student Sidney Ihm. “It is really cool to experience first-hand the connections between the literature and the visual art aspects of classical Japan.”

The ongoing collaboration between ������Ƶ, HoMA and NIJL has also paved the way for EALL to recently join the Global Consortium for Japanese Textual Scholarship, which aims to build a space for participating organizations to work together through online-based activities related to premodern Japanese texts, such as training human talent, sharing information, and exchanging opinions on databases.

A special opportunity to see and feel the past through ancient Japanese text became a hands-on learning experience at for students from the University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz� in the .

• Related ������Ƶ News story: Rare Japanese scrolls gifted to Hamilton Library, January 24, 2020

Undergraduate students in Professor Pier Carlo Tommasi’s “Introduction to Classical Japanese” class examined textual artifacts in the library’s —a set of pre- and early-modern materials called kotenseki, to which undergraduate students are seldom granted access. The experience offered students a glimpse into the realm of archival research, and allowed them to gain newfound knowledge about traditional book culture.

“This experience was very special,” said ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� student Monique DeLara. “Before this semester, I didn’t really have an appreciation for objects even a hundred years old. Witnessing how much care went into handling these books and being able to look through them myself helped me put into perspective how even everyday objects like letters, a journal or textbook are an important peek into how things were done then compared to today or another several centuries (or even decades!) into the future.”

Students took a “speed-dating” approach in engaging with the ancient artifacts. Each student viewed a different object for three to five minutes on a cycle, taking notes and observing similarities and differences. When writing down observations, students focused on relevant features, such as the item’s format (book-binding type, print/manuscript), paper quality (color and thickness), writing style and text-image relationship. Students then formulated hypotheses about the possible readership and functions of the textual artifacts.

“Being able to physically touch the pieces was something that I would have probably never had the chance to do unless I was in this class,” said ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� student Shun Mizuno. “Just knowing that I am in contact with something that has essentially time traveled is a very magical feeling, as well as thinking of the past individuals which have handled these pieces.”

The “kotenseki project” will continue over the next couple of months, and will include the exploration of other important Japanese antiques at the Honolulu Museum of Art.

For more, visit the .

The University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz� , the first Korean language and culture education center in the U.S., received another (NSEP) grant to support the program through 2024. The funding, which includes the grant and additional student support, is worth approximately $4 million.

NSEP was established within the U.S. Department of Defense to support and develop expertise in languages and cultures critical to U.S. national security and international competitiveness.

The first flagship grants were awarded to universities in 2002 for Arabic, Chinese, Korean and Russian; ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� was selected for Korean. Since then, the center has been a leader in Korean language education, dedicated to training students with high proficiency in Korean to become the next generation of global Korean specialists.

In spring 2007, at the request of NSEP, ������Ƶ ����ԴDz�’s non-degree program was transitioned to the Korean Language Flagship Center. The center immediately developed the flagship MA degree program in 2007 and the flagship BA degree program in 2008, in cooperation with the . The Korean flagship undergraduate program consists of coursework, followed by a one-year overseas capstone component. The center also offers various study abroad scholarships in addition to ROTC flagship scholarships.

The Korean Language Flagship Center cultivated more than 200 Korean specialists as of fall 2019. Due to COVID-19, it swiftly and safely relocated program participants back to Hawaiʻi in early March 2020. Faculty and staff implemented a domestic immersion program for students to complete their capstone experience that will keep them on track to successfully finish the program in June 2020 with professional proficiency in Korean.

—By Karin Mackenzie

The University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz� (LLL) held its first online graduate student conference on April 18. Originally designed as an in-person format, the conference was revamped to an online platform due to the COVID-19 crisis. Organizers said the 24th annual event went smoothly and successfully.

Dean Laura Lyons delivered a welcome and acknowledged the following student chairs and their innovative work:

• Victoria Lee, second language studies
• Tyler Miyashiro, East Asian Languages and Literatures
• Thu Hà Nguyen, second language studies
• Denis Melik Tangiyev, second language studies
• Chao Truong, second language studies
• Kristen Urada, second language studies

The following MA and PhD students delivered presentations reflecting the wide range of outstanding scholarship and research that takes place within the college:

• Jenniefer Corpuz, English
• Lane “Laneski” Davey, English
• Bonnie Fox, East Asian Languages and Literatures
• Jacob Hakim, linguistics
• Christie Honoré, English
• Micah Lau, English
• Christina Lee, English
• LynleyShimat Lys, English
• Thu Hà Nguyen, second language studies
• Michaela Nuesser, second language studies
• Joana O’Steen, English
• Jeffrey Otto, second language studies
• Kevin Rickman, second language studies
• Lucía Camardiel Sardiña, Languages and Literatures of Europe and the Americas
• Ching Shek, East Asian Languages and Literatures
• Melinda S. Smith, English
• Yunhe Sun, East Asian Languages and Literatures
• Mie Tobias, second language studies
• Chau Truong, second language studies
• Jue Wang, second language studies
• Boeui Woo, East Asian Languages and Literatures
• Ruri Yoshii, East Asian Languages and Literatures

Atsushi Hasegawa, an assistant professor of Japanese Language and Linguistics, delivered the keynote address. LLL Excellence in Research Award recipients Theres Grüter, Sharon Joy Bulalang and Haerim Hwang were featured speakers.

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—By Karin Mackenzie