Past Events

In this lecture Christine Guth will discuss Japanese crafts during the Momoyama and Tokugawa periods drawing critical attention to the dynamic, multidirectional network of forces that undergird Japan’s extraordinarily rich, diverse and aesthetically sophisticated artifactual culture.

This talk will introduce the connection between Japanese avant-garde calligraphers and abstract painters from Europe and the United States as one of the most fascinating examples of the early postwar global art exchanges, drawing attention to calligraphy as a phenomenon of the global postwar avant-garde.

Using Ponting’s own books, records of those he met in Japan such as Basil Hall Chamberlain, and meticulous research in local archives, Anne Strathie has retraced Ponting’s footsteps to piece together his time in Japan and understand its impact on his work and career.

In this lecture Chris Roberts will discuss his latest researches into British extraterritoriality in Japan and how Britain’s experiences in Japan went on to guide its approach to the subject in Korea.

This lecture will illustrate the contents of the Japanese Maps Collection of the University of Manchester Library: the digitisation process, the creation of the metadata, and how the digitised materials are being used by the library to foster research and public engagement.

Japan has a long history of disaster movies. This lecture will explain some of the key similarities and differences between Hollywood disaster narratives and Japanese ones, including definitions of what a ‘disaster’ and ‘disaster narratives’ are.

Please join us on Friday 26 March to discuss with director Toko Shiiki about the filmmaking process and the stories behind her documentaries set in Fukushima in the aftermath of the nuclear disaster.

The current British Ambassador to Japan, Paul Madden, will complete his tour of duty at the end of February 2021. In his annual update for the Japan Society, Mr Madden will look back over his four years in Japan, as well as reflecting on the past eventful year in particular.

This lecture will start with the story of Elizabeth Anderson (1906-1993), who worked at Bletchley Park from 1939, learnt Japanese at the Bedford Japanese School and then was sent to Mauritius as a translator and teacher.

This talk is designed to provide an overview of the trajectory of Britain’s relations with Japan since their modern opening in 1854 until the end of the alliance in 1922.