Okakura Kakuzo & Meiji Japan

April 5, 2009

Okakura on horseback

The workshop on April 5th hopes to take advantage of the presence of Gardner Symposium speakers as well as the considerable expertise on Meiji Japan in the New England area to reassess the historical legacy of Okakura Kakuzo. This reassessment will take into account recent scholarship, primarily in Japanese and English, on Okakura's life, writings, relationship to cultural production, and later reception (both domestic, interregional, and international).

In Coordination with:

The Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum Special Exhibition & Symposium

JOURNEY'S EAST: Isabella Stewart Gardener and Asia (February 21-May 31, 2009)

INVENTING ASIA: American Perceptions & Influences Around 1900 (Symposium: April 3-4, 2009)

Sponsored by:

The Rockefeller Fund, Department of History of Art and Architecture

See also: Conference, 2009


April 5, 2009


Seminar Room 133
The Barker Center for the Humanities
12 Quincy Street
Cambridge, MA 02138 


9:30-10:00 am - Breakfast

10:00 am

Yukio Lippit (Harvard University) Introductory Remarks

10:05 am

Noriko Murai (Temple University, Tokyo). “Okakura Kakuzo Versus Okakura Tenshin.”

11:05 am

Kinoshita Nagahiro (Yokohama National University). “Okakura's Art History.”

12:05-1:00 pm - Lunch

1:00 pm

John Rosenfield (Havard University). "On Okakura's Relationship with Sister Nivedita"

1:10 pm

Victoria Weston (University of Massachusetts, Boston). “Okakura's Critique of Morotai.”

2:10 pm

Allen Hockley (Dartmouth College). “Other Tea Cults.”

3:10-3:30 pm - Coffee break

3:30 pm

Chelsea Foxwell (Reischauer Institute Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Chicago). “New Art and the Display of Antiquities in Mid-Meiji Tokyo.”

4:30 pm

Alice Tseng (Boston University). “Theorizing Architecture as Fine Art in the Meiji Period.”

5:30 pm

Eugene Wang (Harvard University) Closing Remarks


Chelsea Foxwell
(Reischauer Institute Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Chicago)

Allen Hockley (Dartmouth College)

Noriko Murai
(Temple University, Tokyo)

Kinoshita Nagahiro
(Yokohama National University)

John Rosenfield
(Harvard University)

Alice Tseng
(Boston University)

Victoria Weston
(University of Massachusettes, Boston)

Chelsea Foxwell (final version) (Reischauer Institute Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Chicago)
Allen Hockley 1 (Dartmouth College)
Allen Hockley 2 (images)
Noriko Murai (Temple University)
John Rosenfield (Harvard University)
Alice Tseng (Boston University)
Victoria Weston (University of Massachusettes, Boston)

Directions to Harvard Square

By Car
Due to heavy construction in and around Harvard Square please allow an extra 15-20 minutes of travel time. 

From the West (I90 – Massachusetts Turnpike): Take Exit 18 (Cambridge/Allston). Bear right after the toll booth at the end of the exit ramp. At the third set of lights (over the bridge), turn left onto Memorial Drive. After the second set of lights, turn right onto JFK Street. Go through two sets of lights. At the third set of lights, turn right. This is the center of Harvard Square. Please see the list below for parking in Harvard Square.

Public Parking Around Harvard Square: As a convenience for our visitors we list below several commercial garages which may offer spaces. None is endorsed by Harvard.

Pilgrim Parking/Church Street
41 Church Street
(617) 661-5614

Harvard Square Garage
15 Eliot Street
(617) 354-4168

University Place Garage
124 Mt Auburn Street
(617) 491-0801

By Air
From Logan Airport
By subway (the “T”): Take the SILVER Line to South Station. Switch to the RED LINE outbound (toward ALEWIFE), go six stops and get off at HARVARD. The subway ride from Logan Airport takes approximately 45 minutes. The fare is $2.00.

By Taxi
The ride to Harvard Square takes about 20-30 minutes, depending on traffic, and costs about $35.

From South Station (Bus/Train Station)
Take the RED LINE toward ALEWIFE from South Station six stops to HARVARD SQUARE.

Campus Map

The Barker Center is located at 12 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA 02138. The building can be found in the lower right-hand corner of the following map:

Barker Center

Other images of the Harvard campus can be found at map.harvard.edu