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Japan’s modern monarchy: How it works
Bridge hangs over water with palace in background The Seimon Ishibashi Bridge at Tokyo Imperial Palace.

Japan’s modern monarchy: How it works

Professor of Japanese history Frederick Dickinson explains the significance of the Japanese monarchy as a new emperor takes the throne—and President Trump becomes the first world leader to meet him.
Rare Chinese scroll unfurled at Penn Museum
Seven students gathered together looking at a painted Chinese scroll unrolled on a table.

Students in an art history course study objects each week at the Penn Museum, including a rare 200-year-old painted Chinese scroll. The course, History of Chinese Painting, is taught by Professor Nancy Steinhardt and grad student teaching assistant Chuanxin Weng (pictured center). 

Rare Chinese scroll unfurled at Penn Museum

Students in a history of art course taught by Professor Nancy Steinhardt had the chance to closely examine a rare 200-year-old painted Chinese scroll at the Penn Museum.

Louisa Shepard

Five events to watch for in February
Yellow and red ornate dragon mask used in lion dance

A demonstration of the lion dance, frequently part of Lunar New Year celebrations and a Chinese tradition that ushers in good luck. (Photo courtesy: International House Philadelphia)

Five events to watch for in February

Happening around campus and beyond this February: the annual Lunar New Year celebration at International House, a thought-provoking new speaker series on the future of religion, and an innovative story slam by nurses.
Students take gold in Japanese language contest
Barbara, Kinji, and Zizhou holding awards from the language competition From left to right: Barbara Chen, Penn Japanese Language Program Lecturer Kinji Ito, and Zizhou Wang, pictured at the J.LIVE Japanese language competition in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 11. (Photo courtesy: East Asian Languages and Civilizations)

Students take gold in Japanese language contest

In a Japanese-language speaking competition hosted at George Washington University, two Penn students won among university-level competitors from across the country.
Philadelphia and Meiji Japan symposium marks 150 years of deep ties
Centennial Japanese House Image of the Japanese Dwelling from the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition.

Philadelphia and Meiji Japan symposium marks 150 years of deep ties

Scholars from the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia, and the Meiji Jingu Intercultural Research Institute celebrate the 150th anniversary of Japan’s Meiji Restoration, and the surprising links between Philadelphia and Japan during a political period that set the island nation on a fast track to modernization.
Kroiz exhibit illuminates the abstract in modern Japanese architecture 
Critical Abstraction Japan Exhibit

Reiyukai Shakaden Temple, Tokyo, by Takenaka Corp. Architects; photo by Vincent D. Feldman, 2008. Pictured in the glass case: Bruno Taut’s 1934-illustrated “Thoughts on the Visit to Katsura.”

Kroiz exhibit illuminates the abstract in modern Japanese architecture 

“Critical Abstractions: Modern Architecture in Japan, 1868-2018,” on display through Sept. 24, challenges prevailing ideas on the reasons behind the international appeal of modern architecture made in Japan.
English professor explores poetic expressions of Japanese-American internment
Japanese Internment--Library of Congress A photograph of the Manzanar Relocation Center, located in California, from the perspective of a tower. Courtesy of The Library of Congress Print and Photographs Division
  • Q&A

    • English professor explores poetic expressions of Japanese-American internment

    Josephine Park, professor of English and interim director of the Asian American Studies Program, on the poetry that originated in Japanese-American internment camps, and poetry by incarcerated populations.