Stories from Past Interns
Daniel S. Briggs
(Dartmouth College, 2010)- Daniel is a rising Senior at Dartmouth College. He is majoring in Japanese Language and Comparative Literature. During his time at TUJ, he worked with Professor Nagai Mariko to compile a bibliography of primary and secondary sources on early 20th-century Japanese authors (Hino Ashihei, Nagai Kafu, Takamura Kotaro, and others) in and out of translation for a study of domestic literary responses to the second world war. Professor Nagai also provided guidance and suggestions for Daniel's preliminary thesis research on Kunikida Doppo, Miyazawa Kenji and the evolution of literary naturalist movements.
In addition to his work at TUJ, Daniel was the Director's Assistant on Dartmouth's Language Study Abroad program at Kanda University of International Studies in Makuhari. In the little free time he had, he wandered through used bookstores, sat under trees, and frequented a number of ramen shops.
Kenji Praepipatmongkol
(Dartmouth College, 2010)- Kenji is a freshman at Dartmouth College planning to major in Asian Studies with a minor in Art History. He was funded by Dartmouth’s John Sloan Dickey Center for International Understanding for this two-month internship at TUJ. During this time, he assisted Professor Noriko Murai in compiling a bibliography of the English-language literature on modern and contemporary Japanese art. He was also involved in doing comparative research on the use of the label “Asian art” in Japan and Thailand: the conceptual existence and the critical relevance of such a label. Working with ICAS staff and the other interns, he was also involved in organizing the academic conference “The Politics of Popular Culture”.
Kenji also enrolled in an intensive beginner’s Japanese class, and had a chance to explore other areas of Japan, including Kyoto. During his free time, he explored the various art museums and galleries in and around Tokyo, which complemented and enriched his academic study of art history.
Christine Cho
(Harvard College, 2010)- Christine Cho is a rising junior at Harvard University majoring in Economics. During her summer internship at ICAS, she worked under ICAS Director Robert Dujarric doing research regarding Japan’s relatively low presence overseas, specifically in the areas of academia and business. Christine’s work involved using online databases to find trends in overseas statistics and make cross country comparisons, and also incorporated Japan’s current issues with population decline and immigration. In addition to her research, Christine was involved in organizing an academic conference titled “The Politics of Popular Culture” alongside other interns.
Besides her main work at TUJ, Christine was able to partake in a number of events including lecture presentations given at Tokyo and Meiji University, as well as discussion panels at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan and the International House of Japan. Topics ranged from Japan’s fashion industry to the election process that swept the country throughout the summer. The ICAS program at TUJ provided Christine with opportunities to gain a better understanding of Japan both through her research and the various events made possible by the internship.
Asuka Ichikawa
(University of British Columbia, 2010)- Asuka Ichikawa interned at TUJ's Institute of Contemporary Asian Studies during the summer of 2010. As a junior at the University of British Columbia majoring in international relations, she worked with Professor Matthew Linley to research and co-write a paper about the Japanese public opinion about immigrants in Japan. She collected and organized the data using the digital archives of Japanese newspapers at the National Diet Library and online database for public opinion surveys. Alongside her main project, she also worked with Professor Kyle Cleveland and other interns to help prepare for the TUJ academic conference on “the Politics of Popular Culture.”
The internship at ICAS has also provided opportunities for her to attend various events in Tokyo, including the lectures on US-Japan relations at Tokyo University, luncheons at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan and Symposium on Human Security which was collaboratively organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, the United Nations and Waseda University. As a Japanese student interning at ICAS, she was able to study her country from both the domestic and international perspectives. She would like to thank the TUJ faculty for an inspiring summer.
Maya Inamura
(Columbia University, 2010)- Maya Inamura is a sophomore at Columbia University planning to major in East Asian Languages and Cultures with an emphasis on Japanese studies and philosophy. During her ten-week internship at the TUJ Institute of Contemporary Asian Studies in the summer of 2010, she worked with ICAS director Kyle Cleveland to organize a number of events and programs, all of which had roots in study of contemporary Japan. She worked to help organize and conduct the two-part "Politics of Popular Culture" academic conference held in June, which brought lecturers from a number of global academic institutions to discuss modern Japanese culture through the lenses of sociology and ethnography. In addition, Maya worked on the launch of the new Japanese major program at TUJ, and the Summer Institute of Studies in Japanese Popular Culture, both of which are coordinated by ICAS.
Wenwen Hu
(Graduate student, Columbia University, 2010)- Wenwen Hu works with Professor Khojasteh as a research associate on a project concerning warehouse order picking optimization. She is mainly responsible for modeling formulation, simulation and report writing. Before coming to TUJ, Wenwen just got her master degree in Statistics from Columbia Univeristy. She also holds a dual bachelor degree in Economics and Math from Wuhan University. While in China, she worked as an intern at China Merchant Bank and China Everbright Bank as an analyst.
During her internship, she also participated in some activities held by the university. In the culture exchange discussion, she listened to students with different cultural backgrounds, and also noted that thanks to her internship experience she has learned that Japanese culture is very different from that of China or the US. "Being in Tokyo allows me to feel it instead of just learning from textbooks."
Iddoshe Hirpa
(Harvard College, 2009)- Iddoshe Hirpa is a junior at Harvard College joint concentrating in History of Art and Architecture and East Asian Studies. In the summer of 2009, she spent her time at ICJS as a research assistant to Professor Noriko Murai, assistant professor of art history at Temple. As a research assistant, she worked with Professor Murai on a project concerning ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arrangement. She collected and summarized bibliographic resources from various libraries in the Tokyo metropolitan area, conducted interviews, and provided logistical support for a trip to the Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial in Niigata Prefecture. Iddoshe also took classes at various ikebana schools, including the Sogetsu and Ikenobo schools. In July 2009, she helped Professor Murai facilitate a talk held at Temple given by Profesor Anne McCauley of Princeton University, an expert on 19th and 20th century photography.
The flexibility of the internship afforded Iddoshe the opportunity to visit many museums and galleries in the area, including the Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, the Suntory Museum, and Galerie Omotesando. She was also able to do some translation work for London Gallery, a gallery in Roppongi that specializes in the sale and exhibition of pre-modern Japanese art.
Ada Lio
(Harvard College, 2009)- Ada Lio was an intern at TUJ Institute of Contemporary Asian Studies during the summer of 2009. As a rising junior majoring in economics at Harvard University, she was the recipient of the Harvard Reischauer Institute Japan Summer Internship Program grant, which funded her two-month travel to Tokyo, Japan. During her internship at ICAS, Ada worked on several projects, which included serving as a research assistant for ICAS Director Robert Dujarric and researched issues related to Japanese society in the twenty-first century, with a focus on how Japan is lagging in the service sector in international competition. She also worked under the guidance of Dr. Keith Dinnie, the Associate Professor of Business at TUJ and collaborated on writing an article on "Enhancing China's Image in Japan: Developing the Nation Brand through Public Diplomacy." She also served as an assistant event coordinator for TUJ's Professor Kyle Cleveland and helped prepare for the TUJ academic conference on "Youth Work in Contemporary Japan." In addition to her works at ICAS, Ada also attended conferences at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan and Research Institute of Economy, Trade & Industry (RIETI), and immersed herself in Japanese culture as much as possible by eating a lot of sushi and climbing Mount Fuji.
Alison Zhao
(Johns Hopkins, 2009)- Alison Zhao was an intern at TUJ Institute of Contemporary Asian Studies during the summer of 2009. For the first half of the internship, she helped ICAS prepare for an academic conference on "Youth Work in Contemporary Japan". For the second half, she worked with other interns on researching the problems of 21st century Japan. Specifically, she looked at how Japan compared with others, in terms of how many professors and students are sent abroad, how many Japanese scholars contribute to the international academia, and how many Japanese nationals are in international organizations and multinational corporations.
She is currently a senior at Johns Hopkins University, double majoring in International Relations and East Asian Studies. She holds a Bologna Center Diploma in International Studies from the Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).
Andrew Duff
(Yale and SAIS, 2008)- Andrew Duff was at ICAS during the summer of 2008, working with other interns to research the subject of Chinese immigration to Japan. Specifically, he looked at media resources, interviewed academics and assisted the director with logistics. Prior to interning at TUJ, Andrew studied Mandarin and conducted research in Dalian, China. He now works in Tokyo for The Nikkei, a financial newspaper. Andrew is a graduate of Yale and the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
Ming-Yee Lin
(Yale College, 2008)- Ming-Yee was a part-time intern at TUJ during the summer of 2008. As a sophomore and East Asian Studies major at Yale, Ming-Yee spent 8 weeks in Tokyo participating in an intensive language program while interning at TUJ after class each day. Her primary role was that of a research assistant for the Institute for Contemporary Asian Studies (ICAS), which hosts a number of seminars, conferences, and events on various topics related to Japan. Besides helping ICAS prepare for conferences held that summer, Ming-Yee and two other interns researched for a conference on Chinese immigrants in Japan that was held during the summer of 2009. Her focus was on gathering information from Chinese sources, including newspapers, blogs, and journals. Ming-Yee said "At the end of summer, the three of us were able to see how much we had accomplished by compiling our findings into a paper. Interning at TUJ definitely enhanced my summer experience in Japan by allowing me to learn more about the country than the language and make a tangible contribution to ICAS."
Aleksandra Kuczmarska
(Harvard College, 2008)- Aleksandra Kuczmarska was a full-time intern at TUJ during the summer of 2008.
"During the time of my internship, I was a rising junior and Psychology major at Harvard. Because of the funds that the Reischauer Institute had given me, I was able to live in Japan do work that I had never done before. My role was that of a research assistant for the Institute for Contemporary Asian Studies (ICAS). In that capacity, I conducted research on Chinese immigration into Japan that culminated in a contribution to a conference held the following summer, while additionally helping to organize ongoing conferences at TUJ. I personally gathered information from scholarly and academic journals written in English. At the end of summer, I helped write up a paper on our findings with two other interns. Through my work with TUJ, I was able to learn about Japan's culture and about a field that I had never before explored."
Michael Murray
(Yale College, 2007)- Michael Murray is Yale College class of 2010. An East Asian Studies major focusing on Japanese history and politics, Michael has studied at the Hokkaido International Foundation and the Kyoto Consortium for Japanese Studies. Upon graduation, Michael will continue his study of Japanese language at Yokohama's Inter-University Center. Michael hopes to pursue a career in East Asian policy making and analysis.
Michael's internship at TUJ was composed of two roles. As a research assistant for ICAS Director Robert Dujarric, Michael gathered information for a number of Robert's publications and presentations. As an assistant event coordinator, Michael helped TUJ's Professor Kyle Cleveland host an academic conference.
