JAPAN HOUSE

Japan House reopens for the school year!

It's hard to believe that the school year is upon us but we are happy to be open once again here at Japan House.  Public tours will be available on Thursday afternoons between 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m., and on the third Saturday of every month between 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. No reservations are needed for these free tours so please stop by.

Our tea ceremonies are offered on the second and fourth Thursday of every month.  The fall 2007 dates are thus:

August 23, 2007
September 13, 2007
September 27, 2007
October 11, 2007
October 25, 2007
November 8, 2007
December 13, 2007

Reservations are needed for the tea ceremony and they often fill up quickly so please call 244-9934 if you are interested. The cost is $5 per person. It is a very special way to experience Japan House. We hope to see you.

Summer 2007

Japan House will be open for tours this summer on Thursday afternoons from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. as well as on the first and third Saturday of the month, from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. Tea ceremonies will resume in the fall and can be reserved by calling our office after it reopens on August 13, 2007.

Please take time to enjoy the Japan House gardens this summer.

Visit from the Consul General

It was an honor to welcome the Consul General of Japan at Chicago, Mr. Kenji Shinoda, and Interim Dean of the College of Fine and Applied Arts, Robert Graves, to Japan House for a bowl of tea.

International Humanitarian Award

Director Kimiko Gunji was awarded the Champaign-Urbana International Humanitarian Award in ceremonies on Wednesday, October 18, 2006. As the award program states:

In her role as teacher of Japanese art and culture and as Director of Japan House at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Professor Kimiko Gunji has touched hundreds of lives, leaving each with a better appreciation of the essential elements of another culture....

The instruction, outreach, and public service that Kimiko Gunji so brilliantly and unstintingly offers help people to develop a spriritual connection with the arts and to derive insight and understanding into themselves and each other. With her unlimited energy and enthusiasm, her deep knowledge of Japanese arts and culture, and her devotion to international understanding and world peace, Kimiko Gunji has made, and continues to make, a difference in the lives of people in the United States and Japan--a difference that contributes to building a better world.

I think I can speak for all the supporters of Professor Gunji and Japan House and say that we are delighted to have her recognized! Congratulations Professor Gunji!

From left to right behind Professor Gunji: Japan House supporters Jack Young, Ingrid Hutchings, Carol Malmgren, Paul Luedtke, Morton Weir, Bruce Hutchings, Ceil Weir, Mary Ann Luedtke and Virgie Young