COMMUNICATIONS

I joined the Office of International Research Exchange in October 2019. My responsibilities include organizing academic events outside of Japan, supporting foreign scholars who visit Nichibunken from abroad, and surveying trends in Japanese studies in the world. All of this helps to reinforce one of Nichibunken’s fundamental missions: to promote international research and academic exchanges.

Regarding my own research as an art historian, I have most recently been studying the relationship between public spaces and art in twentieth-century American society, mainly through the environmental works by sculptor Isamu Noguchi. In that vein, I am currently researching Japanese-style gardens created outside of Japan. This subject, though relatively unknown, offers interesting research material for considering the shifts in images of Japan in other countries, and how the Japanese have interacted with the world through gardens. Moreover, as gardens are constantly changing, I am also fascinated with the way each of these gardens evolved over time, their gardeners, and the climate and culture of the regions where they are located.

Japanese garden designed by Isamu Noguchi at UNESCO headquarters, Paris, France. Photograph by Matsugi Hiromi.