Foreign Minister’s Commendation - Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures, and Professor Simon Kaner
2024/11/7
On 7 November 2024, Ambassador Hiroshi Suzuki presented the Foreign Minister’s Commendation to the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures, and to Professor Simon Kaner, its Executive Director as well as Director of the Centre for Japanese Studies, University of East Anglia.
Since its establishment in 1999, the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures has functioned as a research institute in its specialised field, working in partnership with the University of East Anglia, the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, and the British Museum, while supporting researchers through its fellowship programme. It has also promoted awareness of Japanese arts and culture in the UK through a variety of lectures, publications, events and exhibitions, and has made a significant contribution to academic and cultural exchange between the UK and Japan over the 25 years since its establishment.
Professor Kaner, as a specialist in Japanese prehistory and Jomon culture, has communicated the appeal of Jomon culture to the world through numerous exhibitions and symposia, including “The Power of Dogu: Ceramic Figures from Ancient Japan” at the British Museum (2009) and “Circles of Stone: Stonehenge and Prehistoric Japan” at the Stonehenge Visitor Centre (2022). He has also contributed to the promotion of Japanese Studies and cultural exchange in the UK in other ways. In particular, he set up the Centre for Japanese Studies at the University of East Anglia in 2011, where he continues to serve as its Director, and launched a new Masters in Interdisciplinary Japanese Studies course at the University of East Anglia in 2020.
At the ceremony, Ambassador Suzuki noted that this year marked the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Sainsbury Institute, and expressed his respect and appreciation for the significant contribution the Sainsbury Institute and Professor Kaner had made to the development and promotion of Japanese Studies in the UK as well as to cultural exchange between the two countries over the years.
In response, Professor Kaner, in the capacity of Director of the Sainsbury Institute, expressed their gratitude to those involved and stated that they would continue to play an active role in furthering academic and cultural exchange between the UK and Japan.
Since its establishment in 1999, the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures has functioned as a research institute in its specialised field, working in partnership with the University of East Anglia, the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, and the British Museum, while supporting researchers through its fellowship programme. It has also promoted awareness of Japanese arts and culture in the UK through a variety of lectures, publications, events and exhibitions, and has made a significant contribution to academic and cultural exchange between the UK and Japan over the 25 years since its establishment.
Professor Kaner, as a specialist in Japanese prehistory and Jomon culture, has communicated the appeal of Jomon culture to the world through numerous exhibitions and symposia, including “The Power of Dogu: Ceramic Figures from Ancient Japan” at the British Museum (2009) and “Circles of Stone: Stonehenge and Prehistoric Japan” at the Stonehenge Visitor Centre (2022). He has also contributed to the promotion of Japanese Studies and cultural exchange in the UK in other ways. In particular, he set up the Centre for Japanese Studies at the University of East Anglia in 2011, where he continues to serve as its Director, and launched a new Masters in Interdisciplinary Japanese Studies course at the University of East Anglia in 2020.
At the ceremony, Ambassador Suzuki noted that this year marked the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Sainsbury Institute, and expressed his respect and appreciation for the significant contribution the Sainsbury Institute and Professor Kaner had made to the development and promotion of Japanese Studies in the UK as well as to cultural exchange between the two countries over the years.
In response, Professor Kaner, in the capacity of Director of the Sainsbury Institute, expressed their gratitude to those involved and stated that they would continue to play an active role in furthering academic and cultural exchange between the UK and Japan.
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