The Miyagi Museum of Art

 In Japan, autumn is expressed with various words: Autumn is the season for good appetite, harvest, reading and so on. Another word that cannot be missed is art. As most students know, the Miyagi Museum of Art (宮城県立美術館) is just in front of Tohoku University's Kawauchi campus. It is one of the largest and most prominent museums in Miyagi prefecture.

 The exhibitions there range from large-scale ones to works by famous artists from the local area. Recently, there was a two-month special exhibition of Marc Chagall, a French artist who used all kinds of means, such as painting, tapestries, ceramic, stage sets, and stained glass, to express himself. One of his amazing works is a painting on the ceiling of the Opera Garnier in Paris. This work was reproduced on the ceiling of a wide room in the museum using an advanced camera.

 The upcoming exhibition is a collection by Toru Sunouchi (洲之内 徹), an art dealer who was active from the 1960s through the 80s. He was also a popular art critic, and there were many fans who appreciated reading his essays in various media. Even though he was a dealer, he did not relinquish works that he felt attached to. There are anecdotes that he sometimes had trouble with customers because of not selling his favorite paintings. The displayed collection at the museum includes the ones he retained this way, so you can enjoy seeing some Japanese modern art.

 Just next to the main building sits “The Sato Churyo Gallery (佐藤忠良記念館).” The sculptor Churyo Sato was born in Miyagi prefecture in 1912. He has been highly acclaimed both inside and outside of Japan. Most of his sculptures are male figures, and some can be found in the museum garden too.
 Since the museum is just across the street, we recommend you stop by for a change of pace!

Seminar on “University Globalization”

On Tuesday, October 22, a seminar will be held to discuss university globalization at Sakura Hall on Katahira Campus. Although the discussion will be mainly on educational circumstances in Japan as compared with other countries, the event will be conducted in English.

Japanese education has been criticized for not nurturing writing capabilities for self-expression. It is often said that many Japanese students studying abroad run into obstacles when intermingling with international students or having to write their first assigned papers—they do not know how to express their own thoughts in words. This is not due to a lack of English proficiency. This issue cannot be overlooked any more. To discuss this situation, seminar participants from various countries, such as England, Germany, Poland, and Singapore, will attend. Most of them are currently residing and working in Japan, and will share stories and ideas from their own countries regarding university globalization. So their opinions should be useful as references, since they will be based on their real transnational experiences. Japanese high school teachers will attend as guests as well.

The event is especially interesting from the perspective of international comparison, so it should be of interest, even to those who are not studying pedagogy. For those who have classes on Katahira, it is worth a look!

University Fair in Russia

Last week, the 6^th university fair in Russia was held. This event was hosted by Tohoku University, and was realized thanks to cooperation from Novosibirsk State University and M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University.

On the rainy day of October 8^th, the fair started in Novosibirsk. There were five participating universities—Chiba University, Hokkaido University, Meiji University, Tokushima University, and us. Our President Prof. Susumu Satomi also participated in it, and gave a speech at its opening ceremony. Although it took place on a weekday, many students came to the event. In addition, many of them have been studying Japanese, and even spoke Japanese well! So it is no wonder they were looking for a faculty of Asian studies to enhance their knowledge of Japan.

FGL 2013 Entrance Ceremony

Today is the first day of the fall semester.
It is the third year for the FGL program, and 17 students from seven countries enrolled in English degree programs this fall. The entrance ceremony was held last week, and professors from all three courses came and met all the students for the first time.

From today, students will have to take about 20 classes every week on physics, biology, mathematics and chemistry in addition to Japanese language, sports and some humanities subjects. The professors are also from various countries. We will eventually do some interviews with them and try to post them on the blog. So please look forward to them!