New Developments at the Sainsbury Institute and in Japanese Studies at the University of East Anglia
The Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures (SISJAC) is delighted to announce the appointment of Mami Mizutori as Executive Director of the Institute from 1 May 2011. Ms Mizutori is currently a Senior Fellow at SISJAC and previously worked for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, her last post being Director for Financial Affairs, following appointments in London and Washington.
Ms Mizutori joins the Sainsbury Institute as it embarks upon its second decade of facilitating and delivering innovative research into all aspects of Japanese arts and cultures. The Founding Director, Dr Nicole Coolidge Rousmaniere continues to be centrally involved in the research of the Institute, currently primarily focused on an unprecedented study of the Japanese ceramic collections at the British Museum.
The Institute is also pleased to be closely associated with the development of Japanese studies at the University of East Anglia (UEA). UEA is establishing a new Centre for Japanese Studies in spring 2011, which will bring together a number of initiatives fostering Japan-related teaching and research. These include new degree-level Japanese language programmes, based in the School of Language and Communication Studies, supported by Yakult UK Inc., and new programmes in Japanese Cultural Heritage and Museology and Japanese Art and Archaeology in the School of World Art Studies and Museology (WAM). These new programmes complement existing strengths in Japanese visual media and contemporary society (including anime and manga) and translation studies.
These developments will facilitate linkages with other developments across UEA, including the new MSc in forensic science. To further support this, a new research centre, the Sainsbury Centre for Japanese Archaeology and Heritage (SCJAH) will be created, forming a bridge between SISJAC and WAM.
SCJAH will be a fully integrated part of the Sainsbury Institute for Art (SIfA), a new initiative which will enhance collaboration between the various Sainsbury art benefactions in Norwich (the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures, the Sainsbury Research Unit for the Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas) and the School of World Art Studies and Museology at UEA.
The new Centre for Japanese Studies at UEA will be directed by Dr Simon Kaner, currently Assistant Director at SISJAC. Dr Kaner will now divide his time between SISJAC, where he will become Associate Director with responsibility for academic programmes and community engagement, and the new Centre for Japanese Studies.
The Sainsbury Institute takes this opportunity to thank everyone who has supported us in realising the vision of our benefactors, Sir Robert and Lady Sainsbury. We look forward to welcoming you to our events in the future, and to building on our achievements to date in order to develop a better understanding of Japan and its place in the world, through the finest research into its arts and cultures.