Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures
We are pleased to announce the inaugural Sainsbury Institute Studentship in Japanese Art History, to be awarded to an outstanding student in the MA course in Interdisciplinary Japanese Studies at the University of East Anglia, specializing in Japanese art history. The Studentship carries a value of full domestic fees for the course. The MA in […]
School of Oriental and African Studies seeks to appoint a Lecturer (equiv. assistant professor) or Senior Lecturer (equiv. associate professor) in the Arts of Japan, starting in September 2022. Supported by the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures, the appointment will lead to further collaboration between SOAS and the Sainsbury Institute […]
Date: Friday 25th February 2022 Where: Norwich, UK Booking required. Please apply via this link. Next year, the Sainsbury Institute and University of East Anglia will be hosting the annual BAJS/Japan Foundation Postgraduate Workshop 2022. This workshop aims to assist the development of the next generation of Japan specialists in the UK. It is a […]
The latest issue of the online New York Times Style Magazine: Japan features a conversation between Reserach Director Nicole Coolidge Rousmaniere and Japanese manga artist Mari Yamazaki. They had met through Nicole’s curatorial work at The Citi Exhibition Manga at the British Museum in 2019 where Mari’s work Olympia Kyklos formed a part of the […]
The Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Fellowships, established in 2000 through generous funding from Lord Sainsbury of Turville, are designed to strengthen academic ties with Japanese studies programmes in Asia, Europe, Oceania and North America. The Fellowships provide recipients with an opportunity to work in a scholarly environment conducive to completing a publication project. The Institute […]
The debut episode of CJS podcast BeyondJapan is now live! Join Oliver Moxham in conversation with Professor Simon Kaner on the significance of Japanese archaeology for the global history of humanity: Welcome to the debut episode of our new podcast series ‘Beyond Japan’, where we explore the interdisciplinary nature of Japanese Studies through academics from […]
We are celebrating the Summer Solstice weekend with the launch of the Online Jomon Matsuri, a festival exploring various aspects of this remarkable period of Japanese prehistory and its global significance for understanding human history. We had planned to be at Stonehenge this weekend for the Midsummer sunrise itself on Sunday morning, following the opening […]
We hope that this finds you, your families and colleagues safe and well at this time of great disruption and uncertainty around the world as a result of the Covid-19 Coronavirus pandemic. The lock-downs, changes in working practices, social distancing and other measures have had a major impact on all of our plans for 2020. […]
Welcome to our new website. We now have a page dedicated to online resources and we hope to add more links as we adapt to the new reality under the Coronavirus pandemic. We hope the new website will continue to serve as a resource for the Japanese studies community and beyond. In the meantime, do […]
The British Museum has been collecting artworks made by Japanese Living National Treasures since 2007, but what is a Living National treasure and why are they so important to Japanese Cultural Heritage? In this film Nicole Rousmaniere, research director of SISJAC and Hayashida Hideki of the Japan Kōgei Association talk all about the Living National […]
APPLICATION DEADLINE: 29 FEB 2020 The Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Fellowships, established in 2000 through generous funding from Lord Sainsbury of Turville, are designed to strengthen academic ties with Japanese studies programmes in Asia, Europe, Oceania and North America. The Fellowships provide recipients with an opportunity to work in a scholarly environment conducive to completing […]
The Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures, in association with the Faculty of Letters at the University of Tokyo, invites applications from undergraduates in any discipline for the 5th Winter Programme in British Archaeology and Cultural Heritage (5-14 February 2020 inclusive). This year our focus is on the prehistoric sites and landscapes associated with the […]
Sainsbury Institute’s Handa Archaeology Fellow Junzo Uchiyama’s co-authored article ‘Common Carp Aquaculture in Neolithic China Dates Back 8,000 Years’ has been published on 24th September 2019 in Nature. A team of international researchers analysed teeth of carp found in China and by comparing the body-length distributions the team found evidence that carp aquaculture existed 8,000 years ago, a […]
Why Japanese? Japanese is such a fascinating language to learn with its unique writing system and rich cultural background. There are now millions of people learning Japanese around the world, drawn to the language and country through everything from pop culture such as Manga, Anime and video games to the more traditional arts, such as […]
On Saturday 22nd July, twenty two international scholars of Japanese arts and cultures arrived in Norwich to participate in the second Ishibashi Foundation Summer Fellowship. Organised by the University of East Anglia and the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures, and generously funded by the Ishibashi Foundation, the three week-long programme […]
Obada Kassoumah talks explains the challenges and triumphs of translating sports manga Captain Tsubasa into his native Arabic. Featuring a pirated Arabic version of a beloved Japanese anime and the sound of someone knocking the door. Content warning: 1980s graphics Double content warning: drunk football coach
This striking modern-looking 17 metre long theatre curtain was painted on the 30 June 1880 by artist Kawanabe Kyōsai. It was painted in one 4 hour long session when the artist was drunk. The Citi exhibition Manga 23 May – 26 August 2019 Supported by Citi Logistics partner IAG Cargo
Manga Exhibition curator tour! Professor Nicole Coolidge Rousmaniere went live on the British Museum’s Facebook page on 4th July 2019 and gave an exclusive tour of the Manga Exhibition.
Curator Nicole Rousmaniere loves manga A LOT! In this short intro to the Citi exhibition Manga she speaks about what is so special about the show and shares some of her favourite manga. The Citi exhibition Manga 23 May – 26 August 2019 Supported by Citi Logistics partner IAG Cargo Music: Artist: Lee Rosevere Title: […]
About the Programme The Faculty of Letters of the University of Tokyo, in conjunction with the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures, invites applications from undergraduate students who are not of Japanese nationality and interested in Japanese archaeology and heritage to take part in a two-week Summer School programme in Japan. […]
Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures together with the University of East Anglia are delighted to announce the launch of our new MA programme in Interdisciplinary Japanese Studies, beginning in autumn 2020. Administered through UEA’s Interdisciplinary Institute for the Humanities, home to the University’s Centre for Japanese Studies, this MA course is a […]
Jesus and Buddha are back in Vol 13 of Saint Oniisan. Join Nicole for this exciting unboxing event! Enter a graphic world where art and storytelling collide in the largest exhibition of manga ever to take place outside of Japan.
The Sainsbury Institute offers its warmest congratulations to Japan on the accession of His Majesty Emperor Naruhito on Wednesday 1st May 2019 and looks forward to continuing to promote the study and understanding of Japan and its place in the world into the new Reiwa era. If you would like to offer your own congratulations, […]
The Sainsbury Institute was deeply saddened to learn of the death of Professor Donald Keene in Tokyo on Sunday 24 February at the age of 96. The doyenne of Japanese literary studies, Professor Keene was a great friend of the Institute. In 2001 he gave the inaugural address marking the establishment of the Institute, in […]
The Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures, and the Centre for Japanese Studies at the University of East Anglia are now inviting applications for an intensive three-week postgraduate Ishibashi Foundation Summer Fellowship in Japanese Arts and Cultural Heritage. The academic leads on this programme are SISJAC’s Dr Jennifer Coates and Dr Eugenia Bogdanova-Kummer. Dates: […]
Professor David Richardson, Vice Chancellor of the University of East Anglia and Chair of the Sainsbury Institutefor the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures visited Japan for the third time in December 2018. He was accompaniedby his wife, Dr Andrea Blanchflower, and Professor Simon Kaner, Executive Director of the Sainsbury Institute andDirector of the Centre […]
The “Japan-UK Season of Culture 2019-20” bridges the Rugby World Cup 2019 and the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Japan will organise the Japan Season of Culture in the UK, and the UK will oversee the UK Season of Culture in Japan in parallel. This was agreed between the Prime Ministers of Japan and the UK […]
Professor David Richardson, Vice Chancellor of the University of East Anglia and Chair of the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures visited Japan for the third time in December 2018. He was accompanied by his wife, Dr Andrea Blanchflower, and Professor Simon Kaner, Executive Director of the Sainsbury Institute and Director […]
How does Jesus spend his birthday? According to manga artist Hikaru Nakamura, being deeply jealous of Santa Claus, arguing with patisserie staff and confessing to a priest. Find out more in this special festive edition of Curator’s Corner with Nicole Rousmaniere.
Nicole Rousmaniere follows on from her episode on Japanese manhole covers with a short discussion on some of the Manga collected by the British Museum. The Citi exhibition ‘Manga マンガ’ opens 23 May 2019. Supported by Citi Logistics partner IAG Cargo
This series celebrates the work of living Japanese artists and craftspeople. Onishi Isao makes exquisitely beautiful wooden lacquer trays, bowls and plates. Each item takes one full year to create. He painstakingly shapes the raw wood, paints on hundreds of paper-thin layers of lacquer and polishes the pieces to a high shine. Every object is […]
This series celebrates the work of living Japanese artists and craftspeople. Using the traditional Japanese techniques of ‘sashimono’ and ‘kogei’, Suda Kenji creates artworks which are perfectly functioning miniatures of everyday objects that are almost startling in their beautiful perfection. This film series has been produced with the support of JTI.
The Sainsbury Institute reports its activities on an annual basis through a series of E-magazines and Annual Reports. These include information about research projects and networks, lectures, conferences and workshops. Sainsbury Institute Annual Report 2016-2017 The Annual Report gives details of our Fellowship programmes, with updates on past and current research fellows, and developments in […]
Mami Mizutori leaves her role as Executive Director and is replaced by Simon Kaner to take up her new appointment as United Nations Assistant Secretary-General On 28 February 2018, Mami Mizutori will end her tenure as Executive Director. She will be replaced by Simon Kaner, Head of the Centre for Archaeology and Heritage on 1 […]
This series celebrates the work of living Japanese artists and craftspeople. Mori Junko employs traditional Japanese metalworking techniques including hand-forging steel with thousands of individually hand-cut nails crafted together to create compelling sculptural forms. Her signature piece is now in the Museum’s Japanese collection. She takes inspiration from the world around her and uses her […]
This series celebrates the work of living Japanese artists and craftspeople. Hosono Hitomi makes extraordinary, beautiful ceramic works and her ‘Large Feather Leaves Bowl’ is a highlight of the Museum’s Japanese collection. She painstakingly attached 1,000 individual leaves, the entire process taking one year to complete. The leaves appear to be gently rustling in the […]
Why you should love Japanese manhole covers Professor Nicole Coolidge Rousmaniere talks about the wonders of manhole covers in Japan
While walking through the streets of Nagaoka in Japan, Curator Nicole Rousmaniere noticed she was standing on a prehistoric Japanese pot…well, a representation of one of these pots. ‘Dezain manhōru’ are designed manhole covers, and Nicole has recently acquired one for the British Museum’s collection.
The Handa Japanese Archaeology Fellowship was established in 2003, and is funded through the International Jomon Culture Conference by the Japanese philanthropist Handa Haruhisa. The fellowships are designed to allow a particularly promising Japanese archaeologist to spend a year with the Sainsbury Institute. There have to date been five Handa Japanese Archaeology Fellows. Handa Japanese […]
The Sainsbury Institute and the Global Exchange Organisation for Research and Education of Gakushuin University, Japan, signed a memorandum of understanding for research exchange and collaboration in July 2016. This is a further boost to the Institute’s well established network of research partners. The memorandum would help foster a stronger research presence through development of […]