Center for Japanese Studies
Winter 1997 Newsletter

Contents

From the Director

Hitomi Tonomura

Greetings to all CJS friends and associates! We began 1997 with our annual admissions cycle for our M.A. program that promises to bring in a new cohort of fresh minds to our Center in September. Professor Hitoshi Miyake, our winter-term Toyota Visiting Professor, shared his expertise in Shugendô with seventeen students who registered for his mini-course. And we look forward to welcoming Professor Hiroyoshi Ishikawa, our spring-term Toyota Visiting Professor, in April. The Center has inaugurated a new Occasional Lecture Series (see calendar) which meets in the afternoon for two hours and is designed to provide a longer period of discussion than the well-established Thursday Noon Lecture Series has been able to allow. Many of the Center’s faculty members will be participating in the annual meeting of the Association for Asian Studies to be held in Chicago in mid-March. In preparation, the AAS office, located downstairs, is buzzing with energy. Meanwhile, we are busy getting ready for the upcoming celebration of the Center’s Fiftieth Anniversary during the 1997 fall term.

Many recipients of the Newsletter who are unfamiliar with the University of Michigan often ask me if we are located near Detroit. A simple answer will not suffice. More than just a matter of physical distance between Ann Arbor and Detroit (less than an hour by car), it is the question of the relationship between CJS and the practical world of business beyond the campus. CJS is indeed intricately tied to that world, even if most of us rarely leave Ann Arbor.

The Center’s relation with the Japanese community outside the ivory tower is a relation that is an important component of our operational mission. The Consulate General, newly established in January 1993 in response to the growing Japanese population here, often provides us with ideas and guidance for our cultural activities and mediates our contact with potential visitors. JBSD (formerly called JSD), composed of approximately 250 member corporations, is an increasingly influential organization with a 24-year history. JBSD has supported CJS in concrete ways. Many of our students have benefited from internship experiences with corporations linked to JBSD. CJS is also involved with the Detroit Japanese School (DJS) that meets each Saturday to provide serious Monbushô-based (Japanese Ministry of Education-based) curricula to children in kindergarten through high school. Currently, 840 students are enrolled in the DJS, the fourth-largest overseas Japanese School in the world. Twenty years ago, there were only a few dozen Japanese children who needed Japanese schooling here. JSD members were the driving force behind the establishment of the School and individual members of JBSD continue to be its major organizers and sponsors. CJS serves as a conduit for supplying teachers to the School from among University of Michigan students. In addition, some CJS faculty children have benefited from the school’s excellent program.

Although goals may differ, these organizations and CJS share an interest in promoting a better understanding of Japanese society and culture. The Consulate General strongly encourages active engagement with the local community. The well-being of Japanese educational and corporate institutions depends heavily on the goodwill and understanding of the regional community. JBSD’s Women’s Club actively responds to requests for demonstrations of various aspects of Japanese culture at such places as nursing homes and schools. The JBSD Foundation annually makes generous awards to a large number of schools and other non-profit organizations. The Detroit School’s Parents Association also runs its support program, especially during the holiday seasons. CJS has its own outreach program targeted mostly at elementary, middle, and secondary schools.

The rapidly changing outline of the global economy has steadily transformed the structure of society right in our backyard, a region that has been the focal point of recent U.S.-Japan trade negotiations. As we anticipate our Fiftieth Anniversary, we find ourselves in a context which has greatly transformed from the Center’s founding years. We might therefore take this moment to look closely at our own position vis-à-vis our Detroit area friends in considering our Anniversary theme, "Japan in the World; the World in Japan."

From Publications

Bruce Willoughby

At the end of 1996, we published Regent Redux: A Life of the Statesman-Scholar Ichijô Kaneyoshi, by Steven D. Carter, a biography of a fifteenth-century politician and literary figure who three times held the office of regent. We followed that title in 1997 with The Distant Isle: Studies and Translations of Japanese Literature in Honor of Robert H. Brower, edited by Thomas Hare, Robert Borgen, and Sharalyn Orbaugh. The Distant Isle is a collection of articles on language, literature, literary criticism, and translation that covers the ancient to modern periods. Contributors include: Robert Borgen, Steven D. Carter, Anthony H. Chambers, Edwin A. Cranston, Gary DeCoker, Charles Fox, Janet Goff, Thomas Hare, T. J. Harper, Marvin Marcus, Robert E. Morrell, Clinton D. Morrison, Sharalyn Orbaugh, Charles J. Quinn, Jr., and Laurel Rasplica Rodd.

A number of manuscripts are in production and will be available by the end of the year. Righteous Cause or Tragic Folly: Changing Views of War in Modern Japanese Poetry, by Steve Rabson, is a book that will complement our other books on Japanese war poetry: Long, Long Autumn Nights: Selected Poems of Oguma Hideo, translated by David Goodman, and Black Eggs, by Kurihara Sadako, translated by Richard Minear. Continuing our strong list in medieval studies are a new translation of Kagerô nikki, by Sonja Arntzen; Writing and Renunciation in Medieval Japan: The Works of the Poet-Priest Kamo no Chômei, by Rajashree Pandey; and a translation of Saigyô monogatari, by Meredith McKinney. Child of Darkness: "Yôko" and Other Stories, by Furui Yoshihiko, translated, with an introduction and critical comments by Donna Storey, follows the success of The Wild Goose, by Mori Ôgai, translated by Burton Watson, and continues our expansion into translations of modern literature. We are also working on Studies in Modern Japanese Literature: Essays and Translations in Honor of Edwin McClellan, edited by Dennis Washburn and Alan Tansman; contributors include: Paul Anderer, Carole Cavanaugh, Robert Lyons Danly, Susanna Fessler, Elaine Gerbert, Ken K. Ito, Kyoko Kurita, Phyllis I. Lyons, Andrew Markus, Minae Mizumura, James R. Morita, Christopher Michael Rich, Jay Rubin, William F. Sibley, Stephen Snyder, Tomi Suzuki, Alan Tansman, Richard Torrance, John Whittier Treat, Dennis Washburn, and Angela Yiu, with a postscript by Eto Jun.

Finally, a number of titles have been suggested for our reprint series. We cannot publish all of them, but we will pursue publication of those we feel are needed for classroom use. For information about these and other books, please contact the Publications Program at 734-998-7265; fax: 734-998-7982; e-mail: bew@umich.edu; on the World Wide Web at CJS Publications; or by mail at the Center address.

From the Librarian

Yasuko Matsudo

Recently, we have acquired a number of new titles in our collection of multi-volume sets and series.

Japanese People and Culture: A major reprint series titled Denki Sôsho (200 vols.) has been released by Ôzorasha. This is a collection of biographies of individuals who have made outstanding contributions in various fields, such as education, politics, medical science, religion, philosophy, journalism, and the women’s movement. We have received more than 70 volumes since the beginning of this year through a multi-month acquisition plan designed to spread out the high cost. Another reprint series from Ôzorasha titled Nihonjinron (40 vols.), edited by Hiroshi Minami, is a collection of selected books on Nihonjin published from 1891 through 1944 by prominent writers including Shôyô Tsubouchi and Yonejirô Noguchi. While these two series are filling some gaps in our collection, a couple of new sets have been added most recently. Gendai Nihon Bunkaron (13 vols.), from Iwanami, with Hayao Kawai as general editor, is a collection of articles by more than 100 currently active writers, scholars, artists, and critics. Yoshikawa Kôbunkan has announced more than 40 titles of books by eminent scholars in history, anthropology, and other disciplines to be released under the title Rekishi Bunka Raiburarî. From Yûzankaku, we have Nihon no shoku Bunka (12 vols.), which is a unique collection of more than 150 selected articles on gastronomic culture mainly from academic journals. For instance, volume 6, the first release, is on Japanese cake, tea, and wine.

Other subjects: Nihon Modanizumu Sôsho (238 vols.), from Yumani Shobô, is also a major reprint series of books and periodicals published in the early Shôwa period through 1931 on the modernist movement in Japan. This collection includes rare and otherwise unavailable titles. In the area of film studies, the reprint edition of Yûshôdô’s Kinema Junpô (1924-1925) and San’ichi Shobô’s Nihon Eiga Shoki Shiryô Shûsei (14 vols.) will arrive soon. For women’s studies, Gendai Nihon Josei no Shutai Keisei (9 vols.), by Domesu Shuppan, will complement Nihon Josei Undô Shiryô Shûsei (10 vols.), by Fuji Shuppan. The following two sets are among new titles in literature: Nihon Bungaku o Yomikaeru (20 vols.), from Yûseidô, and Nanpô Chôyô Sakka Sôsho: Jawa (Java) (15 vols.), from Ryûkei Shosha. The latter is a revealing collection of works by writers who were sent to Southeast Asia during the last Pacific War.

Faculty and students are welcome to request titles by filling out the Asia Library’s Book Purchase Request form available at our office. As for titles published outside Japan, ask for the Purchase Request Form at the Reference Desk of the Graduate Library.

Japan at UM Online

To find out more about the Center for Japanese Studies (CJS) you can now explore our web-site. The web page provides information on the center and its staff, funding opportunities, academic programs and faculty, upcoming events including the noon lecture series, recent publications, resources on Japan available at the University and elsewhere, and more. The electronic version of our newsletter is also available on our page. Our URL is: http://www.umich.edu/~iinet/cjs/.

The URLs for other Japan-related web-sites at Michigan are:

Japanese Language Program (JLP):http://www.lsa.umich.edu/asian/japanese/ Asian Languages & Cultures Department (ALC): http://www.lsa.umich.edu/asian/ Asia Library: http://www.lib.umich.edu/asia/
Animania: The University of Michigan Japanese Animation Film Society: http://www.umich.edu/~animania/
International Institute (II):http://www.umich.edu/~iinet/
Office of International Programs (OIP): http://www.umich.edu/~iinet/oip/
International Center (IC): http://www.umich.edu/~icenter/
Language Resource Center (LRC): http://www.umich.edu/~langres/

Faculty and Associate News

John Creighton Campbell (Political Science) edited Containing Health Care Costs in Japan (University of Michigan Press, 1996) with Naoki Ikegami, Professor and Chair of the Department of Hospital and Medical Administration, Keiô University. Based on conferences held in Washington D.C., and Izu, Japan, this volume of studies offers analyses of key issues of cost-containment by Japan specialists followed by reactions from American experts on health care delivery and finance. The book provides an authoritative study of successful cost-containment in the Japanese health care system that is neither a statistical illusion nor a result of sociocultural factors. It details Japan’s comprehensive fee schedule that uses multiple insurers, rewards inexpensive services and makes expensive ones unprofitable, which has resulted in the provision of quality health care to the entire population at roughly half the cost of American health care. The book should be a significant resource for policymakers and scholars interested in comparative health care systems as well as those interested in health care reform in the U.S.

Yuki Johnson (Japanese) published "The Ba Construction and Volitional Expressions" in Princeton Japanese Pedagogy Workshop 3 (1995).

Noriko Kamachi (History) recently published two articles: "Amerika no Chûgoku Kenkyû gojûnen: Journal of Asian Studies o chûshin ni," (American Studies of Modern China since the 1940s: Themes and trends in The Journal of Asian Studies), Chûgoku: Shakai to bunka, No. 11 (1996), published by the Association for Studies of Chinese Society and Culture in Tôkyô; and "Shinki kaoku no ‘kyoho’ no ninmen: Chûgoku daiichi rekishi toankan zo shuntianfu quanzong hoteiken toan shiryô no shôkai o kanete" (Appointments and dismissals of village official in late Qing China: A study based on the archives in the Shuntianfu Archives at the First Historical Archive in Beijing), Kindai chûgoku kenkyû iho, No. 17 (1995), published by Tôyô Bunko in Tôkyô. She has also translated John K. Fairbank’s Chinabound: A Fifty-Year Memoir (Harper and Row, 1982), with co-translator Kenichirô Hirano. The Japanese title is Chûgoku kaisôroku, and the book is published by Misuzu Shobô (Tôkyô, 1994).

Leslie Pincus (History) has just published Authenticating Culture in Imperial Japan: Kuki Shûzô and the Rise of National Aesthetics (University of California Press, 1996). She examines the complicity of Japanese thinkers of the 1920s and 1930s with a repressive and imperialist state apparatus when they drew on the cultural resources of a forgotten past to imagine a realm of authenticity impervious to the fragmenting processes of modernization and, ultimately, equated authenticity with something irreducibly Japanese. Professor Pincus explores how this cultural complicity took shape and what it reveals more generally about the troubled relationship between modernity and national culture. She focuses on the work of philosopher Kuki Shûzô, reading against the grain of traditional interpretation to reveal the disturbing proximity between aesthetic modernism and political fascism in Japan. Following Kuki’s tracks through philosophical debates in Germany, France, and Japan, Pincus offers provocative suggestions for present-day cultural theory and postcolonial studies, redefining modernity itself beyond the dichotomy of East and West.

Esperanza Ramirez-Christensen (Japanese Literature) published "Renga Discourse and the Dissemination of Classical Literature" in Florilegium Japonicum: Studies Presented to Olof G. Lidin on his 70th Birthday, edited by Bjarke Frellesvig and Christian Morimoto Hermansen (Copenhagen: Akademisk Forlag, 1996).

Visiting Scholars

In winter 1997, CJS has had, and, during spring 1997 term, CJS will have two Toyota Visiting Professors on campus. Hitoshi Miyake holds the Toyota Visiting Professorship in Japanese Studies for the winter term. Educated at Keiô University (B.A., 1956 and Ph.D., Religion, 1969) and Tôkyô University (M.A., Religion, 1959 and Ph.D., Humanities, 1962), he began his career in 1962 as a research assistant at Keiô University, was promoted to Associate Professor in 1968, and to Professor in 1975. From 1974-75, he was a visiting scholar at the Center for the Study of World Religions at Harvard University. Professor Miyake is currently a Professor at Keiô University, having also served as Dean of the Graduate School of Human Relations from 1991-95.On campus from January 1 through March 31, 1997, Professor Miyake taught a one-credit, graduate-level seminar course titled "Folk Religion in a Changing World: Shugendô, Japan’s Mountain Asceticism." A prolific author, his most recent publications include (all titles in Japanese): Shugendô and Japanese Religion (Shunjû-sha, 1996), The History of Miyako City: Its Folk Traditions (2 vols., Miyako City Office, 1995), and The Elements of Japanese Folk Religion (Kôdansha, 1994).

Hiroyoshi Ishikawa, Professor of Social Psychology at Seijô University, will be the Toyota Visiting Professor for spring term. He received his Ph.D. from Hitotsubashi University in 1956. He has been Visiting Professor at Columbia and Rutgers Universities in 1983-84 and returned to Rutgers in 1993-94. He is currently researching the social psychology of sexuality-a study involving a cross-cultural analysis of American and Japanese societies-and a cross-cultural study of Youth Movements in the U.S. and Japan from hippies to yuppies or baby boomers. He proposes to study the history of sexuality in the postwar period based on a precise chronology, and he intends to compare the main results of the statistical research on human sexuality. On campus from April 1 to July 31, 1997, Professor Ishikawa will conduct a one-credit mini-course titled "Problems of Sexuality in Modern Japan." His major publications include: Yokubô no Sengoshi (Desires of the Japanese in Postwar Period, 1990); and Wakamono no Yomikata (Social Psychology of Young People in Japan, 1991). In 1990, he was honored with the "Man of the Year Award" by the Polish Academy of Sex Science.

Student News

The Japanese Studies Programs Doctoral Fellowships for conducting research in Japan in the humanities, arts, and social sciences were awarded to the following (project titles follow names): Bethany Grenald, "Gender and Ecological Constraints in a Japanese Fishing Village"; Catherine Ryu, "The Discourse of Hakasana in Heian Literature"; Chan Song, "Corporate Bankruptcies in Japan: Are They Efficient?"

Bethany Grenald (Anthropology) delivered a paper on her research in Japan titled "Gender and Ecological Change in a Japanese Fishing Community" at the American Anthropological Association Annual Meeting in November 1996. She also delivered a paper in November at Chiba University.Eric Rath (History) returned to U-M last October after three years of training and Ph.D. research in Japan, completing his final year as a researcher in the Women’s History Research Center at Kyôto Tachibana University. He presented papers at Tachibana and at the Kyôto NCC research group on his dissertation research on medieval noh history. He has been accepted to the SSRC dissertation writing workshop in January. Next March, he will give a paper in a panel about actors’ writings at the AAS meeting in Chicago. A portion of his research will be published in the next issue of Tachibana’s Bulletin of Institute for Women’s History and Culture, due out this spring. Finally, Eric’s study of traditional arts ended on a high note in a nagauta shamisen concert with his teacher in Kyôto one day prior to his return to the U.S.

Alumni and Reader News

If you are visiting Delray, Florida, stop by The Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens staffed by CJS alumni Tom Gregerson (’75), Senior Curator, and Larry Rosensweig (’76), Director. Larry celebrated 20 years as Morikama’s first and only Director in August. Tom will complete 19 years in January. The Morikami kicked off its 20th Anniversary year in November with three new exhibits designed and installed by Tom: The Morikami Portraits: Photographs by Akira Suwa; Flora and Fauna: The Japanese Influence on Late 19th and Early 20th Century Western Art; and A Splendid Elegance: Japanese Lacquer Boxes from the Elaine Ehrenkranz Collection (through January 19, 1997). Tom is curating two more exhibitions for this anniversary year: Twenty Years of the Morikami (January 14-July 20, 1997) and Emblems of Celebration (February 6-July 6, 1997).

The Morikami opened to the public in June, 1976. Its new museum facility opened in January, 1993. Its latest major expansion is in the design phase, with construction of a $3-4 million Japanese garden planned for mid-1997. Designed by Kurisu International of Portland, Oregon, the Morikami’s new garden will allow visitors to walk through a history of Japanese garden evolution from the Heian to Heisei periods. The Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens web page may be viewed at URL: http://www.icsi.com/ics/morikami/.

Anne Hooghart, a 1995 CJS graduate (M.A., Japanese Studies), is currently teaching Japanese at Battle Creek Lakeview High School and Kellogg Community College. She is conducting cross-cultural training at local Japanese transplant companies and involved in a new effort to establish a network of Japanese language teachers in the state of Michigan.

Conferences

The Association for Asian Studies Annual Meeting will be held from March 13-16, 1997 at the Chicago Sheraton in Chicago, Illinois. Pre-registration for the conference closed February 10. Special student rates are available. Abstracts for the 1997 meeting will be available electronically prior to the March meeting on the World Wide Web (http://www.easc.indiana.edu/~aas). The printed volume of abstracts will not be sent to all registrants, but will be available on-site in Chicago at the special "show price" of $5 and can be purchased at registration or at the AAS publications booth. They will also be available by mail at the regular price plus postage. For further information, please contact the AAS office at: 1 Lane Hall, 204 S. State Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109; tel: 313-665-2490; fax: 313-665-3801; e-mail: Postmaster@AASianst.org.

The Ninth Annual Lake Erie Teachers of Japanese (LETJ) Conference will be held at the University April 5-6, 1997. The theme for this year is "‘Proficiency’ in Japanese Language Teaching: Current Issues in Theory and Practice." Professor Theodore V. Higgs, Chairman of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at San Diego State University, will open the conference with a keynote address on "Testing Oral Proficiency: Introduction to VOCI." The conference intends to examine the pros and cons of proficiency-oriented instruction in Japanese language teaching from both theoretical and practical perspectives. The conference solicits papers addressing issues in reading, speaking, listening, and/or writing skills related to proficiency-based instruction as well as testing proficiency.

For additional information, contact: Yuki Johnson, University of Michigan, Department of Asian Languages and Cultures, 3070 Frieze Building, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1285; tel: 313-647-2091; fax: 313-647-0157. If you are not currently on the Lake Erie Teachers of Japanese Conference mailing list, and wish to have information on the conference mailed to you, please send an e-mail message to: yukijohn@umich.edu. On-line registration is now available for the conference. To register please see the University of Michigan Japanese Language home page at: http://www.lsa.umich.edu/japanese.

The 5th Annual Teachers’ Institute in Asian Studies (TIAS) will be held at the University of Michigan from June 16 to 19, 1997. This conference is designed for 6th through 12th grade teachers who wish to supplement their knowledge of Asia. This year’s theme is "Understanding Youth Culture." We will offer curriculum ideas and resources, participatory activities, lectures by University of Michigan scholars, and cuisine from various Asian restaurants. Registration for the 4 days will be $50 or $15 per day, lunch included. For more information, contact: Eleanor Budd, Program Assistant, Teachers’ Institute in Asian Studies, 108 Lane Hall, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1290; tel: 313-764-6307; e-mail: umcjs@umich.edu.

Asian Summer Language Institute

The Department of Asian Languages and Cultures will offer summer intensive courses in Japanese and other Asian languages from June 9 to August 15, 1997. These courses are designed for rapid language acquisition with high-quality, intensive training. There will be four Japanese courses offered. In the first- through third-year Japanese courses attention will be paid to the social and cultural use of the language. Students in the sciences and business administration who plan careers related to Japanese technology can study Technical Japanese. This is a wonderful opportunity for U-M students to fulfill language requirements or get a head start on next year’s coursework. Classes meet three hours a day, five days a week. They are held during the day with additional language laboratory work required outside of class. Each course is worth ten academic credits. The Asian Summer Language Institute offers an enriched environment for a well-rounded language study experience. Extracurricular activities include: a lunchtime brown-bag lecture series, a talk on career opportunities, museum tours, and origami lessons, in addition to regularly scheduled language tables. A Japanese-language film series is also planned for entertainment and as an opportunity for informal learning.

The deadline for application is March 20, 1997. Currently enrolled University of Michigan students must still apply for admission into the program. Students from other institutions, professionals and interested persons from the community may apply as non-degree seeking students. High school students must be graduating seniors to apply. Applicants will be asked to take a placement test so that they may be assigned the appropriate course. The test will be administered Friday, June 6, 1997. For information and an application, contact: Asian Summer Language Institute, University of Michigan, Department of Asian Languages & Cultures, 3070 Frieze Building, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1285; tel: 313-764-8286 or 313-647-0157; e-mail: um-asli@umich.edu;

Other Summer Programs

The East Asia Program of Cornell University announces a series of summer workshops on reading kanbun for graduate students and faculty. Professor Eiichi Ishigami of the University of Tôkyô Historiographical Institute will lead the 1997 workshop and will focus on Heian materials. Subsequent workshops will focus on Kamakura, Muromachi, and possibly pre-Heian materials. The main language of the workshop will be Japanese. Sessions will be held Monday through Friday from July 21 to August 15, with Friday sessions devoted to translation. Participants will be housed in a Cornell residence. Cost of the program-fees and lodging with meals-will be about $1,350 but fellowship aid will be available. Participants should have a general knowledge of classical Japanese and preferably some experience with classical Chinese or kanbun. For application and flyer, contact: Ms. Gay Nicholson; tel: 607-255-6222; e-mail: grn2@admin.is.cornell.edu.

The Japan Studies Program at the University of Kentucky announces its Summer Session in Japan, to be held July 1 to August 5, 1997. The summer session is based in Yatsushiro, Kyûshû, Japan and sponsored by the University of Kentucky Japan Studies Program. The five-week session will provide a rich experience for learning Japanese language while experiencing Japanese culture. Students will also be able to pursue their own research and projects by enrolling for six college credit hours through the University of Kentucky. The cost of the 1997 Summer Field Seminar in Japan will be $3,800. For more complete information, please refer to the website: http://www.uky.edu/ArtsSciences/RAE/Japan/summer.html.

The Nagoya Feminine Culture Junior College announces its 1997 Summer Culture Course. This year’s program will run from June 23 to July 11 and aims to help international students get a closer look at Japan, its traditions, and culture. It is offered free of charge, except for airfare, to female students presently pursuing Japanese studies. Brochures with application forms are available at the CJS office.

Stanford University will have its summer Chinese and Japanese Language Program from June 24 to August 22, 1997. The deadline for application is April 4, 1997. For further information, contact: The Department of Asian Languages, Building 250, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-2034; tel: 415-725-2742; fax: 415-725-8931. For an application please write: Summer Session Office, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-3005; tel: 415-723-3109.

Japan and Business

The East Asia Business Program recently sponsored a seminar on "Negotiating with the Japanese" from January 22-24, 1997. The seminar emphasized problem solving and hands-on experience, featuring lecture and discussion, videotapes of negotiating situations, and a simulated negotiation with Japanese counterparts. It focused on theory, practical techniques, and basic preparation crucial to successful negotiations with the Japanese. The program is designed for all managers, executives, and representatives responsible for formulating negotiating strategies, for conducting actual negotiations, or for implementing agreements with Japanese firms. The East Asia Business Program will also sponsor a "Seminar on Japanese Business for University Students" from May 9-11, 1997.

The Japan Technology Management Program (JTMP) will sponsor the "Lean Manufacturing Seminar" from May 1-2, 1997 at the Dearborn Inn. For further information on upcoming seminars contact Heidi Tietjen, East Asia Business Program, 108 Lane Hall, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1290; tel: 313-764-2349 or 313-936-2188 (East Asia Business Program); tel: 313-763-3258 (JTMP); fax: 313-936-2948.

Fellowships and Deadlines

Regrettably, the Asia Library Travel Grant program, which formerly was offered through the University of Michigan East Asia National Resource Center (EANRC), comprised of the Center for Japanese Studies and the Center for Chinese Studies, has been discontinued by the EANRC program coordinator at the U.S. Department of Education. If you need further clarification, send e-mail to: umcjs@umich.edu.

The Japan Center for Michigan Universities (JCMU) is now accepting applications for their Visiting Lecturer Program. The lecturer must be distinguished in his or her field and preference is given to scholars with a research interest in Japan or business leaders with experience in Japan. For more information contact Dr. Dawn Pysarchik, Associate Dean, International Studies and Programs, 207 MSU International Center, East Lansing, MI 48824-1035; tel: 517-335-2351. The Japan Center for Michigan Universities also seeks Japanese language instructors for its Summer 1997 Intensive Japanese Program. Qualifications include fluency in Japanese and English, a master’s degree or above in Japanese, and experience in teaching the Japanese language to native English speakers at the university level. The length of appointment is May 21-August 6. Send a cover letter, references, and curriculum vitae to: John Hazelwinkel, Program Coordinator, Japan Center for Michigan Universities, MSU International Center, East Lansing, MI 48824-1035; fax: 517-432-2659.

The Japan America Society of Chicago Scholarship Foundation is pleased to announce two awards of $4,000 each to individuals whose research indicates an awareness of factors affecting U.S.-Japan bilateral relations. Full-time graduate students or senior undergraduates (baccalaureate degree by July 1, 1997) enrolled in post-secondary institutions in Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, or Wisconsin may apply. Applicants must demonstrate Japanese language competency and they must be U.S. citizens. The application deadline is April 14, 1997. Applications should include: curriculum vitae; proposal statement (3 pages double-spaced); description and amounts of other scholarships and projects applied for; evidence of full-time enrollment in an accredited post-secondary institution at the time of application in one of the eligible states; official undergraduate and/or graduate transcripts; two letters of recommendation. Apply to: Scholarship Foundation, Japan America Society of Chicago, 225 West Wacker Drive, Suite 2250, Chicago, Illinois 60606; tel: 312-263-3049; fax: 312-263-6120.

The Michigan Journal of Political Science, a biannual scholarly publication edited by undergraduates at the University of Michigan, recognizes the best undergraduate submission to the Journal each year with the Grace Award. Established in 1985, the award honors the late Frank Grace, Professor of Political Science from 1943-1983. The prize is $500 and publication in the Journal. Submit 2 copies, typed and double-spaced (papers should be approximately 10 to 50 pages in length); a separate sheet with name, current and permanent address, phone number, e-mail address and any relevant biographical information; and a copy on a 3.5 inch diskette in Microsoft Word? format (either IBM or Macintosh) to: Submissions Editor, Michigan Journal of Political Science, 5620 Haven Hall University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1045; email: mjps.editors@umich.edu. The Journal also seeks submissions relating to any aspect of political science from graduate and undergraduate students.

The Midwest Conference on Asian Affairs (MCAA) is holding five student research paper competitions. Four Percy Buchanan Prizes are offered, one each for graduate papers on any topic in the following general geographical areas of study: Northeast Asia, China and Inner Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. There is an undergraduate Sidney DeVere Brown Prize on any topic of Asian studies. Papers for the S. D. Brown prize must be submitted by the faculty advisor and accompanied by a letter from the faculty indicating that the student was an undergraduate at the time that the research paper was written. Each prize is $100. Travel expenses of up to $100 will be awarded for the winner to present the paper and receive the award in person at the annual MCAA meeting, to be held September 26-28, 1997 at Northern Illinois University in Dekalb, Illinois. Only students who are enrolled in a college or university in the area commonly defined by the AAS as the “Midwest” are eligible. Mail two copies of the paper by June 1, 1997 to: Professor Louis G. Perez, Department of History, Illinois State University, Normal, IL 61790-4420. Winners will be notified by July 1, 1997. Decisions made by the judges are final.

Social

The Zatsudan Club is a Japanese conversation group for native and non-native speakers which meets more or less regularly to chat over coffee in Ann Arbor. They are always seeking new friends to join them. For more information, contact Anne Hooghart; tel. 616-965-2326 (leave a message); e-mail: Anne_M._Hooghart@glfn.org.

University Musical Society

Kodô, which means both "heartbeat" and "children of the drum," performed taiko drumming at the Power Center on February 24 and 25 at 8 p.m. Specializing in taiko, a traditional Japanese drum, the group has lived communally on Sado Island in the Sea of Japan since 1971 and has toured around the world. This was the musical company’s ninth visit to Ann Arbor.