About Lectures

Speakers have come from a variety industries and specialties, including fashion designer Hanae Mori, contemporary artist Mariko Mori and Nobel Prize winning author Oe Kenzaburo. Architects Shigeru Ban and Tadao Ando, as well as musician/composer Ryuichi Sakamoto have participated recently in our programming. Prominent thought leaders, too, such as Beate Gordon, who drafted the women’s equality clause in Japan’s Postwar Constitution, and Sadako Ogata, the president of the Japan International Cooperation Agency and former United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, have addressed our audience recently.

Throughout the year, the Lectures Program presents approximately 20 lectures and panel discussions. In the 2010-2011 programming year from September through June, we will focus our efforts largely into three program series, consisting of approximately 5 programs per series. We will supplement the series with additional related programming as opportunities arise.

The first of these series, Japanese Culinary Panorama, deals with the influence of Japanese cuisine – and particularly the abundant use of vegetables in Japanese cooking – in the modern American diet. As Americans expand their culinary horizons and seek out healthier dietary alternatives, Japanese cooking offers a broad range of nutritious and satisfying alternatives to traditional American foods.

The second series, Deluxe Redux: New Trends in Japanese Design, is a design series whose programs will explore topics ranging from Japan’s command of low-end, recession-friendly chic to the latest trends in Japan’s luxury goods market. From low-end kitsch to the cultivated high-end, Japan’s designers are profoundly influencing an entire generation of international creativity in apparel, accoutrements and luxury goods.

Finally, Japan’s Sporting Life will be an interview series showcasing one of Japan’s hottest exports of late - its rising international sports stars. While Americans have grown accustomed to seeing talented Japanese in the big leagues, Japanese athletes are making significant inroads in golf, tennis and other areas of sport as well.

Staff

Devin T. Stewart, Senior Director of Corporate, Policy, and Lecture Programs
Ryohei Yamamoto, Program Officer