Public Lectures

Lecturer:

Koji Sakai
(Part-time Lecturer Otemae College)

The appeal of cafe culture and the power of space (from the perspective of healing and connection)

Cafes are not just restaurants, but also cultural hubs and healing spaces. In this course, we will trace the history of cafes and explore the impact that cafe culture has had on society. We will also delve into the psychological effects of spatial design and their role as community spaces. We will propose ways to enjoy cafe culture from a new perspective and introduce the charms of unique cafes from around the world. We will touch on the connections between people and creative ways to enjoy cafes, and think about how much potential there is in familiar spaces.

Lecturer:

Katsuhiro Inoue
(Curator, Ashiya City Tanizaki Junichiro Memorial Museum)

Junichiro Tanizaki's Footsteps in the Hanshin Area: "The Makioka Sisters" and Other Works

The connection between the literary master Tanizaki Junichiro and the Hanshin area began with the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 (Taisho 12). Tanizaki, a boy of Edo born in Nihonbashi, Tokyo, fled the disaster to the Hanshin area. At the time, the literary master was just approaching 40 years old. What was intended to be a temporary escape ended up lasting for 20 years. Tanizaki was in the prime of his life in the Hanshin area, and it was during this time that he entered a golden age as a writer... This program will focus on his masterpiece, "The Makioka Sisters," and will talk in an easy-to-understand way about the literary master Tanizaki and the world of his works from the Hanshin area period, touching on the regional characteristics of the Hanshin area, the historical background, and his private life.

Lecturer:

Sen Muneshu
(The 14th head of the Mushakoji Sen School of Tea Ceremony, Futetsusai
Visiting Professor Otemae University)

"Japanese spirit and Western learning"

People in the Kanto area, centered around Tokyo, tend to group the cities of Keihanshin under the concept of "Kansai" and think of them as being equal. However, from the perspective of those of us who live in Kansai, this is a very simplistic way of thinking. Each of the three cities mentioned above has a different history and culture, and although the area is much smaller than the entire Kanto region, their personalities are truly diverse.
In particular, the area around Kobe City, known as the Hanshin area, has characteristics that are completely different from those of Kyoto and Osaka. In a word, this can be described as "Japanese spirit with Western learning."
This time, I would like to talk about the cultural characteristics of the Hanshin region from the perspective of the tea ceremony, which is my specialty.

Lecturer:

Naoko Tsujimura
(Associate Professor Faculty of Intercultural Japanese Studies Otemae University)

Hanshin Area and Haiku - A Look at Classical Haiku -

The collection and research of classical haiku in the modern Hanshin area is noteworthy. The Wakuro Library by Kawanishi Wakuro (Kobe) and the Kakie Library by Okada Rihei (Itami) are known as leading collections of haiku literature. The publication of research results by haiku poet Noda Betenro and others was also promoted. As the modern and sophisticated culture known as Hanshin modernism spread, what did they seek in the world of classical haiku such as Basho and Onitsuki? I would like to explore this question using the haiku magazine "Karaikou" published in Kobe by Noda Betenro, who was the principal of Hotoku Commercial School (now Hotoku Gakuen, Nishinomiya).