Workshop of Japanese nihonga painting by Mayumi Goto
A nihonga workshop was held at the Faculty of Arts.
A report from Iaponica Brunensia 2023
On 15th and 16th September, the fifth edition of the international Japanese studies conference Iaponica Brunensia, organized by the Department of Japanese Studies, took place at the Faculty of Arts of Masaryk University.
Even though our conference has been held every two years since 2015, this time we met again after four years after a hiatus caused by covid, when everything was only online. However, the meeting was all the more cordial and we hope that all the participants, who came not only from Europe but also from the United States and Japan, enjoyed their stay with us.
Thanks to the support of the Japan Foundation, this year we were even able to invite two keynote speakers, James Shields from Bucknell University (USA) and James Farrer from Sophia University (Japan), who graced us with very interesting lectures. The opening of the conference was also attended by the Ambassador of Japan to the Czech Republic, H.E. Hideo Suzuki, who gave an opening speech and also presented a book donation from the Nippon Foundation, which will significantly expand the collection of Japanology literature available in the Faculty Library.
At the conference, in a pleasant atmosphere, which was enhanced by a number of student visitors (who praised the conference highly afterwards), we heard a total of 19 papers on Japan from various disciplines, ranging from religious studies, gastronomy, history, and media studies, to literature and linguistics. We believe that Iaponica Brunensia not only served as a source of inspiration and motivation for further research, but that its homely atmosphere continues to make it a place where participants can build important contacts and relationships.
We would like to thank all those who contributed to the success of this year's edition with their paper or participation in the organisation and, encouraged by the positive feedback, we will be happy to start the preparations for the next edition again when the time comes and look forward to seeing regular and new participants again in 2025. Below you can see some photos from the conference and the Ambassador's visit.
