Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures
We are delighted to announce that Professor Eugenia Bogdanova-Kummer (Deputy Director and Professor of Japanese Arts at the Sainsbury Institute) has been awarded the Kenneth B. Pyle Prize for Best Article in The Journal of Japanese Studies (JJS) 2025. The prize recognises Professor Bogdanova-Kummer’s outstanding essay: “Zen Violence: The Legacy of Nantenbō Tōjū’s Calligraphy in […]
The Sainsbury Institute, Universidade Lusófona and the University of Ljubljana invite you to an International Seminar Architecture: Design and Research. The online sessions, comprising talks about ongoing research followed by questions and discussion, are open access. The seminars aim to encourage academic exchange between researchers and postgraduate students working in cognate areas in a global context. […]
It is with great sadness that we learned of the passing of Professor Tatsuo Kobayashi, Senior Advisor on Archaeology at the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures, Emeritus Professor of Archaeology at Kokugakuin University in Tokyo, and Honorary Director of the Niigata Prefectural Museum of History, of which he was Director […]
We are pleased to announce that we have chosen from a large number of applications six fellows for the Ishibashi Foundation Network Leader Fellowships in Japanese Arts 2025-2026 following a rigorous selection process. The names of the candidates, their institutions, and the projects they are pursuing as part of the programme are as follows:
It is with deep regret that we pass on the news that Toshio Watanabe, our Professor Emeritus of Japanese Arts and Cultural Heritage passed away unexpectedly but peacefully on 27 July while on holiday with his family in Hokkaido. We take this opportunity to revisit the post we prepared about him when he retired and became […]
The Sainsbury Institute was delighted to welcome Dr Ayelet Zohar, President of the Japan Art History Foundation (JAHF), current visiting scholar at the Sainsbury Institute, and Senior Lecturer at the Art History Department, Tel Aviv University, to give our 250th Third Thursday Lecture. Focussing on the work of Okinawan photographer Mao Ishikawa, the talk explored […]
Following her fascinating talk for our September Third Thursday Lecture, Helen McCarthy, independent scholar and author, answered some questions sent in by attendees. ANSWERED LIVE Q: Did UK fan zines have any contact with fan zines in other countries, sharing their zines & maybe anime tapes? A: That’s a great question. In fact, we had […]
In preparation for Internationalisation Revisited: The global role of Japan and China following the Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Games, an online workshop on 5 and 6 September, we invite presenters to send abstracts of no more than 250 words that consider the role of Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022 in relation […]
The Later Prehistoric Norfolk Project will be exploring a range of prehistoric monuments, from the Early Neolithic through to the end of the Iron Age, to better resolve the dating of the county’s monument sequence. Some of these monuments are threatened directly by climate change and others remain in the plough zone. This year’s work […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
The Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese would like to congratulate the Toshiba International Foundation (TIFO) on their 30th anniversary in April 2019. We recognize the continuing significance of TIFO’s mission statement, encouraging greater understanding of Japanese culture around the world, and are very grateful for two decades of their generous support of the […]
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 […]
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 […]
Report On Thursday 20th September almost 250 people joined us to mark the 200th Third Thursday Lecture given by His Excellency Koji Tsuruoka, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary at the Assembly House. Contributing greatly to longevity of the Third Thursday Lectures, which have been running since 2001, are our funders Yakult UK, the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation and […]
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 […]
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 […]
9 Aug 2016 Publication Nicole Coolidge Rousmaniere contributed an article in remembrance of Lady Lisa Sainsbury, one of the founders of the Institute, and her contribution to Japanese Art Studies in the recently published book, Britain and Japan: Biographical Portrait volume X.Lady Sainsbury, together with her husband Sir Robert, were patrons of the art with […]
Our Friends’ scheme was launched in autumn 2012. Since then we have held over twenty special events for our Friends who have enjoyed closer engagement with the Institute’s activities while helping us promote the study of Japanese arts and cultures. We are very grateful to our Friends for their support. Their kindness and generosity have […]
Research Partnership Sainsbury Institute signs a Memorandum of Understanding with Kanagawa University’s Research Center for Nonwritten Cultural Materials, Institute for the Study of Japanese Folk Culture Sainsbury Institute signs a Memorandum of Understanding with Kanagawa University’s Research Center for Nonwritten Cultural Materials, Institute for the Study of Japanese Folk Culture In March this year, the […]
Memorandum of Understanding Sainsbury Institute signs a Memorandum of Understanding with Kokugakuin University’s Organization for the Advancement of Research and Development The Sainsbury Institute signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Kokugakuin University’s Organization for the Advancement of Research and Development in Tokyo on 8 March 2016. The Memorandum follows a research collaboration agreement made in […]
Griffith Asia Institute Q&A panel Watch the video Australia-Japan Security Relations in a Changing Region On 4 February, the Executive Director, Mami Mizutori participated in a Q&A panel event in Brisbane, Australia. The event titled ‘Australia-Japan Security Relations in a Changing Region’ was organised by the Griffith Asia Institute. As part of a panel of […]
The British Museum acquires a pair of komainu (koma dog) Arita porcelain figures by Komatsu Miwa (1984 – ). The dogs were first exhibited as part of the Gold Medal awarded garden designed by Ishihara Kazuyuki at 2015 Chelsea Flower Show. The Institute’s Research Director, Nicole Coolidge Rousmaniere was instrumental in negotiating the acquisition, who describes Komatsu […]
Okano Junko late last year to early this year completed her secondment based at the Lisa Sainsbury Library as part of the library exchange programme between the Keio library and the Sainsbury Institute. Junko has been working as an acquisition librarian at the Keio University Media Center after graduating from the School of Library and […]
The Sainsbury Institute is saddened to announce the death of its benefactor Lady Lisa Sainsbury. Lady Sainsbury died on 6th February aged 101. It was her vision, and that of her husband Sir Robert, who died in 2000, that led to the establishment of the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures […]
The Sainsbury Institute and the Nara University signed an agreement of cooperation on 8 January. Nara University is a private university founded 45 years ago. They are a specialized university in humanities with a strong focus on archaeology and cultural heritage studies. Dr Simon Kaner has cultivated a good relationship with Nara University through his […]
Members of the International Map Collectors’ Society (IMCoS) will visit the Saisbury Institute on 4 April 2014 to come and see the Cortazzi Map Collection in the Lisa Sainsbury Library. The society based in England with members from all parts of the globe publishes quarterly journals and holds annual international symposia on maps. It also […]
The Sainsbury Institute signed a formal five-year research agreement with National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo (TOBUNKEN) on 24 July 2013. Under the project ‘Shaping the Fundamentals of Research on Japanese Art’, the Sainsbury Institute will develop an on-line English database on Japanese art research outside Japan to compliment the Institute for Cultural Properties, […]
Japanese History – Archaeology Project Online The role of history in education is currently in the headlines in the UK, as the future direction of how children are taught about the past is debated as part of the current government’s education reforms. With the sponsorship of Hitachi Europe and Hitachi Solutions Europe, the Sainsbury Institute […]
As We Enter 2014 One year has passed since the Liberal Democratic Party government, led by Prime Minister Abe Shinzo, was established in late December of 2013. In response, the mood in Japan seems far more positive than a year ago. The first two arrows of Abe’s ‘Three Arrow Policy’ have been successfully implemented so […]
LectureFriday 1 Nov 2013 | 4 pm Royal College of Art, Dyson Building1 Hester Road, Battersea, London SW11 4AN(followed by refreshments and sake) Moriguchi Kunihiko (Yūzen textiles) & Murose Kazumi (Maki-e lacquer-work)with Dr Rupert Faulkner, Senior Curator, Asian Department, Victoria and Albert Museum, London About the Presentations This is an extremely rare opportunity to hear […]
Art Fund COLLECT took place on 10 May 2013 to coincide with the opening of COLLECT 2013 at London’s Saatchi Gallery. The fair was held from 10-13 May. Details of the award can be found here: The Art Fund Crafts Council Professor Nicole Rousmaniere (Research Director) won the Art Fund COLLECT award. Representing the British Museum […]
BBC Radio 4 Podcast: Jomon Pot Simon Kaner (Assistant Director, Sainsbury Institute; Senior Lecturer, University of East Anglia) was on BBC Radio 4 on 29 January as a part of the series ‘A History of the World in 100 Objects.’ He discussed the bottom part of a Jomon pot that was subsequently used as a […]
BBC Radio 4 Podcast: Jomon Pot Simon Kaner (Assistant Director, Sainsbury Institute; Senior Lecturer, University of East Anglia) was on BBC Radio 4 on 29 January as a part of the series ‘A History of the World in 100 Objects.’ He discussed the bottom part of a Jomon pot that was subsequently used as a […]
Friends EventWednesday 16 Jan 2013 | 6 – 8pm (followed by a reception) Sainsbury Institute, 64 The Close, Norwich NR1 4DH Invitation to a Traditional Japanese New Year Party at the Institute Cost: Members £15 / Non-members £20Price includes: a buffet of traditional Japanese New Year food, sushi, sake, wine and other refreshments, plus the […]