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The Institute for Japanese Studies and Japanese Graduate Studies Association present:
Happiness in Ordinary Places: Lessons from Edo Japan
Abstract: How can one evoke a happy ordinary place? Sad places, sublime places, places that promise adventure, mystery, or romance—all these are relatively easy to portray. But how can one communicate the promise of ordinary happiness? What sorts of pictured places inspire viewers to think: “There is nothing special there, but life there seems happy”? Certain prints in 19th century Japan are quite effective in inspiring this thought. As we probe the secret of their effectiveness, we discover something startling—that the key elements in their evocation of happiness are mostly things that wouldn’t readily occur to us today. And so these prints prompt us, ultimately, to reflect anew not only on the imagination of everyday life in late Edo Japan but also on our own horizons of happiness. Download the PDF flyer here.
Shigehisa Kuriyama is Reischauer Institute Professor of Cultural History at Harvard University. His research probes broad philosophical issues through the lens of specific topics in comparative cultural history (Japan, China, and Europe). His book The Expressiveness of the Body and the Divergence of Greek and Chinese Medicine (Zone, 1999) has been translated into Chinese, Greek, Spanish, and Korean. His articles and edited volumes span studies probing the history of punctuality, perception and representation, the metaphysics of muscularity, the nature of money, and the long, but now forgotten reign of the imagination of excrement.
Since 2005, Professor Kuriyama has also been active in promoting the creative use of digital technologies to expand the horizons of teaching and scholarly communication. His most recent publication, Fluid Matter(s) (2020), is an experimental e-book that explores the expressiveness of narratives unbound from the fixed images and words of the printed page.
If you require an accommodation, such as live captioning, to participate in this event, please contact EASC at easc@osu.edu. Requests made at least two weeks in advance of the event will generally allow us to provide seamless access, but the university will make every effort to meet requests made after this date.
This event is supported by the Brad Richardson Memorial Lecture Fund and a U.S. Department of Education Title VI grant to The Ohio State University East Asian Studies Center.
The Brad Richardson Memorial Fund Lectures were inaugurated in 2016 to address higher contemporary issues in Japanese studies and Japan’s international relations.
Bradley M. Richardson, Professor Emeritus in Political Science, the founding Director of The Ohio State University Institute for Japanese Studies and a former Honorary Consul General of Japan for Ohio who continually tried to raise awareness of Japanese studies and U.S./Japan relations. We seek to continue his legacy through various academic, educational and outreach programs made possible with this funding.
Order of the Rising Sun Award (2008): Brad Richardson was honored with the Order of the Rising Sun, a national decoration that the Japanese government awards to individuals who have contributed greatly to the nation and the public in politics, business, culture and the arts. Brad Richardson was recognized for his outstanding accomplishments in Ohio State’s goals in international relations, education and exchange that relate to Japan to the U.S, Ohio and local communities.
Honorary Consul General of Japan for Ohio: Brad Richardson was Honorary Consul General of Japan for Ohio from 1999- 2004 to strengthen the U.S.–Japan relations, especially through Japan’s growing ties with the State of Ohio.
Japan-America Society of Central Ohio (JASCO): Bard Richardson was a founding member of the Executive Board of the Japan-America Society of Central Ohio (JASCO) in 1997 and served many roles on its board and programming committee through 2015.
Ohio-Saitama Sister State Relationship: Through the Ohio-Saitama Sister State relationship, he established the Ohio-Saitama Company Internship program in which 88 Ohio students from 13 universities and 29 students from Saitama universities participated during 1991-2014.
Leadership on campus: Brad Richardson was the Founding Director of the Institute for Japanese Studies (IJS) from its inception in 1985 until 2002. He also was the Director of the East Asian Studies Center (EASC) during 1977-1980 and 1999-2002.
Scholarly pursuits: Brad Richardson was a leading scholar in Japanese politics as well as a notable academician, lecturer and author on Japanese culture, business and politics, and received the Ohio State University Distinguished Scholar Award in 1996.
Education: Brad Richardson received his PhD from University of California at Berkeley, his MA from Columbia University and his AB from Harvard College. His languages included Japanese, Spanish, German, and French. At Ohio State, he taught Government and Politics of Japan, including comparative political behavior. He had over 20 publications, such as, “Political Parties in Japan,” and “Japan’s 1955 System and Beyond,” in Political Parties and Democracy, eds. L. Diamond and R. Gunther, John Hopkins University Press, 2002; and “Political Traditions and Political Change: The Significance of Postwar Japanese politics for Political science,” Annual Review of Political Science, (with D. Patterson) 4, 93-115, 2001.
Support the Brad Richardson Memorial Fund by giving any amount you wish. The online contribution minimum is $5, amounts less than $5 can either be made in cash or check (details on description tab).
