Risa (Lisa) HATANAKA | 畑中 理沙 (she/her)

When Persistence Pays Off: On Translating and Publishing the Work of Kanako Nishi This is one of those publishing stories where the author—and in this case the translator too—waited for years, certain that their work deserved a wider audience, and was forced to stand patiently b…

Allison Markin Powell recounts the experience of translating and publishing the work of Kanako Nishi.

www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...

When completed, the digitized assets will be made accessible through a user-friendly interface in English and Japanese, as part of the Japan Past & Present website.

One more week to get yourself a grant, translators!

Excerpt of a Japanese painting in light colors with a beige background showing a hawk looking to the left. To its left is a sprig of pink flowers, and to its right the truck of a pine tree with pine needles surrounding it.

JPP is pleased to announce the launch of A World of Edo Art. This web portal, spearheaded Linda Hoaglund (director, Edo Avant Garde), brings together 200+ captivating Edo-period (1603–1868) artworks related to animals and nature from around the world. edoart.japanpastandpresent.org

Excerpt of a Japanese painting in light colors with a beige background showing a hawk looking to the left. To its left is a sprig of pink flowers, and to its right the truck of a pine tree with pine needles surrounding it.

ジャパン・パスト＆プレゼント（JPP）は、このたびウェブポータル「江戸絵画の世界」を公開いたしました。本サイトは、ドキュメンタリー映画『江戸アバンギャルド』(Edo Avant Garde)の監督であるリンダ・ホーグランド氏を中心に企画されたもので、世界各地の美術館に所蔵されている、動物や自然を題材とする江戸時代の魅力的な作品200点以上を紹介しています。 edoart.japanpastandpresent.org/jp/

The deadline for JPP's Spring 2026 Project Funding applications is 1 month away! 🚨 JPP Project Funding offers up to $10k support to develop new public-facing resources in the Japanese humanities created by diverse teams around the world! japanpastandpresent.org/en/funding/j...

JPPの2026年春プロジェクト助成金の応募締切まであと4週間となりました！ 🚨 世界中の多様な研究者チームに対し、最高1万米ドルを提供し、日本の人文科学における新しい一般向けリソースの開発を支援します！ japanpastandpresent.org/jp/funding/j...

A photo of laptop screen showing a presentation slide

A screen capture of weather app showing Toronto’s present temperature as -22 degrees celsius with an extreme cold warning alert being activated

Nailed it💅 I’m truly greatful for everyone who came to my session this freezing morning! And what a great discussion! It warmed my heart!

OLA Super Conference December 17, 2025

Sustaining Cultural Exchange in a Complex Information Age: Special Libraries in Cultural Institutions
👤 Risa Hatanaka (she/her) - Librarian, The Japan Foundation, Toronto
📅 Friday, January 30 at 8:15-9:00 AM
📍 ICTC Humber
* Conference registration required at olasuperconference.ca

Image description: Conference date on the left top, followed by "I’m presenting! #OLASC26". Session information follows, including title in the middle left, date, time, and venue in the bottom right followed by conference registration link on the bottom centre. Presenter's name, job title, organization and headshot are in the middle right.

It’s already Day 1 of #OLASC26! Early risers, come see me at the morning session on Jan 30 (Fri) at 8:15-9:00am @ ICTC Humber☀️ I’ll do my best to wake you up & warm you up on the freezing Day 3 morning❄️ Also, feel free to say hello if you pass me by👋
Happy conference, @onlibraryassoc.bsky.social!

📣Call for graduate students in Japan Studies! Application deadline is this Friday the 23rd at 5pm ET⏳

Looking forward to seeing everyone in Vancouver very soon!

tr.jpf.go.jp/conference-a...

On the left: an illustration of a girl sipping tea while reading a book against a pink background. A cat watches her from the corner. On the right: text that reads “ How “cozy lit” became the latest and most shameless form of digital escapism. Think cats. Tea. Rain. The seaside. More cats.”

Cozy lit, a slow and atmospheric genre imported from Japan and Korea, is exploding in popularity in the West—but it’s also morphing into something much more commercial. Writer @gretarainbow.com asks: What are we really consuming? thewalrus.ca/cozy-lit/

‘We collect the record of government’: How the Legislative Library serves Queen’s Park This library survived a fire and holds a book printed before Columbus landed in North America. The Star took a deep dive into the stacks of the library’s rare book

‘We collect the record of government’: How the Legislative Library serves Queen’s Park www.thestar.com/politics/pro...

This library survived a fire and holds a book printed before Columbus landed in North America. The Star took a dive into the rare book collection to see what treasures it holds.

Burnaby Public Library Wrestles with the Costs of DEI | The Tyee Inclusivity staff groups are being cancelled over budget concerns, but more action is promised.

“We’ve made some strides, but we’ve still got a huge way to go,” said chief librarian Beth Davies.

“It feels like a horrible time to put a pause on this work,” said one employee. 📚

#dei #burnaby

'Rental Family' brings real-world insight to modern loneliness Actor Mari Yamamoto drew on her journalist’s eye to bring authenticity to her role in a film about hired stand-in friends and family.

Mari Yamamoto’s character in "Rental Family" helps strangers feel less alone. To play her, the actor dug into the real loneliness shaping life in Japan today.

On the left: an image of a pile of books with a door in the middle on a white background. People are walking toward and into the door.. On the right: text that reads “Forget running groups and work socials. Find a book club. A generation of lonely readers looks to make connections”

What draws people to a book club in 2025? Sure, for some, it’s the books. But for most, it’s something else entirely: a desire for connection. thewalrus.ca/find-a-book-club/

E2838 – 日本の人文学のためのハブ構築の試み：ジャパン・パスト＆プレゼント（Japan Past & Present） カレントアウェアネス-ENo.512 2025.11.06E2838日本の人文学のためのハブ構築の試み：ジャパン・パスト＆プレゼント（Japan Past & Present）柳井イニシアティブ UCLA、早稲田大学・マイケル・エメリック柳...

国立国会図書館の『カレントアウェアネス』最新号で、「ジャパン・パスト＆プレゼント」を紹介する文章を掲載させていただきました。JPP の概要や、研究者・図書館員・学生の皆さまへの活用については、ぜひ下記の記事をご覧ください。 current.ndl.go.jp/e2838

E2838 – 日本の人文学のためのハブ構築の試み：ジャパン・パスト＆プレゼント（Japan Past & Present） カレントアウェアネス-ENo.512 2025.11.06E2838日本の人文学のためのハブ構築の試み：ジャパン・パスト＆プレゼント（Japan Past & Present）柳井イニシアティブ UCLA、早稲田大学・マイケル・エメリック柳...

We are honored to have Japan Past & Present featured in the latest issue of Current Awareness Portal, a publication of the National Diet Library. To learn more about our projects and initiatives, and how JPP can benefit researchers, librarians, students, and more, visit: current.ndl.go.jp/e2838

A poster for the symposium "Humanistic Approaches to the Study of Premodern Japanese Law" Sept 26-27, 2025, UCLA. It features horizontal excerpts of a Japanese painting showing three men in kimono of various colors sitting on the left, some pine trees and clouds in the middle, and a man kneeling reading from a piece of paper on the right.

ジャパン・パスト＆プレゼントのシンポジウム「前近代日本と法―人文科学からのアプローチ」のオンライン参加登録が開始されました。⚖️ 本のシンポジウムは、2025年9月26日から37日までUCLAで開催され、ウェビナー視聴は可能です。さまざまな分野から集まった13名の発表者をはじめ、多くのゲストをお迎えし、前近代日本の法と生活文化、そして法の人文科学的研究の多様な可能性について、さまざまな観点から切り込んでいきたいと考えています。 japanpastandpresent.org/jp/jpp-event...

A poster for the symposium "Humanistic Approaches to the Study of Premodern Japanese Law" Sept 26-27, 2025, UCLA. It features horizontal excerpts of a Japanese painting showing three men in kimono of various colors sitting on the left, some pine trees and clouds in the middle, and a man kneeling reading from a piece of paper on the right.

Japan Past & Present is pleased to announce that online registration is now open for Japan Past & Present’s symposium, "Humanistic Approaches to the Study of Premodern Japanese Law," to be held at UCLA with virtual streaming from September 26–27, 2025. ⚖️ japanpastandpresent.org/en/jpp-event...

🗡#CWADaggers
And the Dagger for Crime Fiction in Translation 2025 WINNER is…

AKIRA OTANI, for ‘The Night of Baba Yaga’
translated by SAM BETT
(Faber & Faber)

🗡#CWADaggers
Here’s this year’s Dagger for Crime Fiction in Translation shortlist:

作家柚木麻子さんの小説「BUTTER」に英文学賞　日本の作家で初 - 日本経済新聞 作家の柚木麻子さんの小説「BUTTER」が、英国の文学賞「ブリティッシュ・ブック・アワード」のデビュー・フィクション部門で受賞したと13日、日本の版元である新潮社が発表した。同社によると、日本の作家では初めてという。受賞作は、首都圏連続不審死事件の木嶋佳苗死刑囚をモチーフにした作品。2024年に英訳が刊行されて以降、大きな話題となり

作家・柚木麻子さんの小説「BUTTER」にイギリス文学賞　日本の作家で初
www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZQO...

受賞したのは「ブリティッシュ・ブック・アワード」のデビュー・フィクション部門。

受賞作は、首都圏連続不審死事件の木嶋佳苗死刑囚をモチーフにした作品。2024年に英訳が刊行されて以降、大きな話題となり最新の発行部数は英国で40万部に達したといいます。

The American Library Association praises servic of Dr. Carla Hayden, decries 'unjust dismissal' of Librarian of Congress. [Image of Dr. Carla Hayden standing in the stacks in a library]

NEW: ALA salutes Dr Carla Hayden for her exceptional service to the nation as the Librarian of Congress. We are deeply disappointed in Dr Hayden's abrupt & unjust dismissal last night, an insult to the scope & breadth of her work.

Read ALA Pres. Cindy Hohl's statement: www.ala.org/news/2025/05...

White House comes out with sharp spending cuts in Trump's 2026 budget plan President Donald Trump’s 2026 budget plan would slash nondefense domestic spending by $163 billion, while increasing expenditures on national security.

⚠️ The White House budget proposal would fully eliminate IMLS—the only federal agency for library services—in FY2026. This would gut access to information and opportunity, especially in rural areas.
We can’t let this stand.
apnews.com/article/trum...
#FundLibraries

A program poster for the “Japan Past & Present: Reimagining a Global Field” Symposium, taking place at Waseda University May 29th to May 31st, 2025. The poster is grayscale and filled mostly with a photograph of an abstract sculpture that looks like an interlocking network of curved and pointed shapes.

ジャパン・パスト＆プレゼントの第1回国際シンポジウム「Japan Past & Present ― グローバルな日本人文科学へ」の参加登録が開始されました。 🗾 このシンポジウムは、2025年5月29日から31日まで早稲田大学で開催されます。世界各国から24名の発表者をはじめ、多くのゲストをお迎えし、日本人文科学の過去、現在、そして未来についてディスカッションを行います。 japanpastandpresent.org/jp/jpp-events

A program poster for the “Japan Past & Present: Reimagining a Global Field” Symposium, taking place at Waseda University May 29th to May 31st, 2025. The poster is grayscale and filled mostly with a photograph of an abstract sculpture that looks like an interlocking network of curved and pointed shapes.

Registration is now open for JPP's international symposium "Japan Past & Present: Reimagining a Global Field" (5/29–5/31)! 🗾 We're excited to host 24 speakers & many more guests from around the world to discuss the past, present, & future of Japanese humanities. japanpastandpresent.org/en/jpp-events

Didn’t see any monsters on my screen - thank you so much for the wonderful interpretation!!

First Love and Beyond: Author SHIMAMOTO Rio on Japanese Romance Fiction YouTube video by The Japan Foundation, Toronto

Two authors in conversation tomorrow! Shimamoto Rio on Japanese romance fiction in conversation with Leslie Shimotakahara. Livestream 6:30-8 EST Feb 12 www.youtube.com/live/T3fS4Bg...