Annual Report of the ASJ Council for 2007
The year's activities began in fine style, with the Annual General Meeting held at the Canadian Embassy, thanks to the kind hospitality of H.E. the Ambassador, Mr. Joseph Caron; the speaker was, very appropriately, the man who had designed the garden on the embassy roof, and the meeting was graced, as in past years, by the presence of our Honorary Patron, H.I.H. Princess Takamado, who makes a point of attending whenever she can, and in fact attended our October and December meetings as well. At the AGM, her Highness was called upon to present the Prince Takamado Award for Scholarship and services to a distinguished scholar of Buddhism, who is a member of our Council, Dr. Hubert Durt. For the October meeting we followed the previous year's procedure of having four young scholars giving short presentations, a practice which Her Highness had especially urged us to adopt, so as to accustom young Japanese scholars to answering questions in English as well as presenting a paper. On that occasion we were also very happy to have with us our past President Dr. George Sioris, who was in Japan on a brief visit.
For our December meeting, we were delighted to have the Canadian Embassy once more as our venue, while in March we were kindly hosted by H.E. the Irish Ambassador, Mr. Brendan Scannell, and Mrs. Scannell at their residence in Moto-Azabu, and were sumptuously feasted. The other meetings were all held at the Shibuya Kyôiku Gakuen, for the regular use of which we repeat our most grateful thanks. The meetings were followed in many cases by mini-receptions, for which Mrs. Shigeko Tanaka had, as in previous years, laid in a supply of wines acquired at bargain prices. This year Mrs. Tanaka also undertook to provide some simple snacks, as Mrs. Uta Schreck's declining physical condition prevented her from preparing her famous open sandwiches which we had enjoyed in the past. We would like to express especial thanks to Mrs. Tanaka and also to her husband, Prof. Ryozo Tanaka, who is always there to provide the transport and help carry all the materials in and out of the school - a most un-professor-like duty!
Apart from the meetings, our other big activity, of course, is the publication of the Transactions, and here our thanks go to our very capable and devoted editor, Prof. Robert Morton; also, in the work of preparing the text he is aided by Prof. Ciaran Murray, who, with the help of his wife, Fumiko Daido Murray, produces camera-ready copy of the whole volume, thereby dramatically cutting printing costs. As in 2006, besides Vol. 20, which was ready for distribution at the AGM, a special supplement was prepared for distribution in mid-year, this time with the theme "Life and Learning"; 32 members contributed interesting short articles, many of them having to do with what brought them to Japan in the first place, and the volume was well received.
Record of Meetings
The speakers at the monthly meetings and the titles of their papers were:
| January 22nd, Rev. Shunmyô Masuno "The Sense of Beauty and the Zen Sense of Values in a Japanese Garden" (Annual General Meeting) |
| February 19th, Mrs. Marion Pennink "The Huoshan Model ‐ A Panacea against Poverty in China?" |
| March 19th, Mrs. Kyoko U. Mimura "Sôetsu Yanagi and Bernard Leach: Mingei and the Emergence of the Ethical Pot" |
| April 17th, Dr. Peter O'Connor "The Irish in the East: Irish Publicists in East Asia, c. 1890s - 1945" |
| May 21st, Dr. Robert Eldridge "Miyazawa Kiichi: His Life and Times" |
| June 18th, Dr. Edward Marx "The Origins of English Haiku" |
| September 25th, Mr. Timothy Harris "The Noh Drama and the Modern Stage" |
| October 22nd, four young scholars (in alphabetical order) Mr. Tomoaki Murakami "Japanese Policy and UN Peace-keeping Operations: A Historical Perspective" Ms. Aya Maeda "How Suicide is Conceived of in English and Japanese Contemporary Discourse" Mr. Nobuyuki Nakamura "The United States-Japan Student Association: From Before the War to its Rebirth in the Postwar Period" Mr. Naoya Hashimoto "Down's Syndrome and the Effects of Pre-natal Testing" |
| November 26th, Prof. Patrick Carey "Shimoda to Edo: A Reflection on the Passage of 150 years" |
| December 10th, Fr. Gaston Petit, OP "The Influence of the Japanese Aesthetic on the Art of Gaston Petit" |
Membership
The number of members in good standing remained absolutely steady, at 320, as compared with 318 in 2006 and 320 in 2005. There were 44 new individual members, as compared with 29 new individual members and one new institutional member in 2006.
Unfortunately, never a year goes by without our having sadly to record the deaths of members. This year, as indicated above, we said farewell to a faithful Council member, Mrs. Uta Schreck, who, as House Committee Chair, had so often enhanced the pleasure of our meetings with her inimitable open sandwiches, a happy marriage of Japanese and European ingredients. Some of us still try to recapture the magic of those sandwiches, and Uta, surely one of our most diffident members, is fondly remembered and greatly missed.
Council
There was one notable addition to the ranks of the Council this year. We were joined by Miss Sarah Moate, who undertook the vital function of programme coordinator and unfailingly kept the Society supplied with a range of interesting speakers, relieving Prof. Colegrove of this duty, while he continued to apply his organizational talents to his other presidential duties. The contributions of the key members of the editorial team producing the Transactions have already been mentioned, and the monthly Bulletins have continued to be prepared by Prof. Hugh Wilkinson with the assistance of Mrs. Simmons and Mr. Culliford, who not only transferred his typewritten drafts to their computers but also provided their ears to catch what was said during the question and answer periods at the meetings. Mrs. Tanaka continued her notable service of making the rounds of the museums and obtaining complimentary or discount tickets and leaflets relating to exhibitions, for distribution at our meetings. With the gradual withdrawal of Mrs. Schreck, she has also provided refreshments, recently aided by Mrs. Rika Fukumoto and Mrs. Miki Haji. We are most grateful to these ladies for helping when they can.
Apart from the regular Council members, our thanks also go to Mr. Joan M. Vigo, who responded to our Internet call for a website manager and performs this function from Barcelona. He is full of bright ideas for updating the site, so please bear with us while we move into the 21st century. We would also like to express our gratitude to former Council member Mark Lee Ford for remaining in touch with Mr. Vigo to ensure a smooth takeover. Mr. Vigo is, from now, an Honorary Council member.
Last but by no means least, we must take the opportunity to thank our office secretary, Miss Haru Taniguchi, for the constancy and cheerfulness which she brings to her duties. This year she has not only dealt with all the regular office work, but has had to cope with crises like the breakdown of office machinery; and she also adds those little touches which might otherwise get missed, such as preparing o-seibo presents for our benefactors.
In conclusion, it is these benefactors that we would like especially to thank. First among these are Captain P.N. Tsakos and the Maria Tsakos Foundation, who generously defray all the costs of publishing and printing the Transactions, a donation which has, in turn, enabled us to publish two well-received supplements. Next, our deep thanks go to Yushodo Co., Ltd., who have continued to provide us with office space and allowed us to use their conference room for our Council meetings. These were held on Yushodo premises every month except June, when for the last time we enjoyed Mrs. Uta Scheck's hospitality in her lovely house in Hiroo. Our thanks go further to Shibuya Kyôiku Gakuen, in whose large lecture room the majority of our meetings were held, as reported above. It is no exaggeration to say that the Society would not be able to carry on without their assistance! Thanks to their valuable contributions and the continued efforts of our Council and other members, we have been able once more to report a successful year's activities.
However, it cannot be over-emphasized that, in this age, learned societies such as this depend for their survival on talented people being willing to contribute their talents. It is very encouraging that we have taken on more young blood this past year, and we invite young scholars and others with the talents that we need to come and join us on the Council. The payment is zero but the satisfaction may be uncountable.
Officers, Council and Committee Members for 2007
President:
- Dr. C. Lee Colegrove
- Prof. Masahira Anesaki
- Dr. Hubert Durt
- Mr. Hiroshi Sakamoto
- Prof. Hugh E. Wilkinson
- Prof. Robert Morton
- Mrs. Doreen Simmons
- Mr. Julian Culliford
- Mr. Ichiro Kawai
- Mr. Masayasu Kunisawa
- Ms. Sarah Moate
- Mr. Keith McPhalen
- Prof. Patrick Carey
- Dr. Charles M. De Wolf
- Dr. Robert D. Eldridge
- Ms. Mihoko Horiguchi
- Mr. Yasunobu Kenny Kyogoku
- Dr. Ciaran Murray
- Mrs. Uta Schreck
- Mrs. Shigeko Tanaka
- Mrs. Yumiyo Tokugawa
- Mr. Yoshinori Matsushima
- Dr. George Sioris (President Emeritus and editorial adviser)
- Dr. Erich Berendt
- Dr. Michael Cooper
- Sir Hugh Cortazzi
- Dr. Mark Lee Ford
- Dr. Peter McMillan,
- Prof. Akimasa Mitsuta
- Mr. Mitsuo Nitta
- Dr. Ronald Suleski
Copyright © 1994-2012 The Asiatic Society of Japan. All rights reserved.