Japanese garden is often regarded as the quintessential symbol of traditional culture in Japan, representing the purest form of Japaneseness. However, once we start to examine its history in detail, it becomes clear that in many cases the Japanese garden assumes a clearly transnational character. We will focus on the development of modern Japanese garden from mid-19th to mid-20th century in their transnational context and explore what all this means.

At the Summer Teacher Institute entitled War in the Pacific at the National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Michael-Ann Cerniglia of Sewickley Academy delved into the museum’s immense physical and digital collections. These resources are designed to be used as the definitive WWII educational resource in classrooms across the country. Now, she is able to share individual copies of this curriculum guide with teachers in the Pittsburgh area. This workshop is a unique opportunity for anyone teaching World War II. In this workshop, participants will:

Professors Maclachlan and Shimizu will give a joint presentation on how Japan's domestic structural changes have interacted with global trends including the rise and fall of negotiations over the Trans Pacific Partnership.

Interested in global public health issues? Join us as we hear from Sarah Angel Markwardt and Miriam (Mimi) Frisch from Magee Womancare International and Partners in Health respectively.

Tea Ceremony of Chado (The Way of the Tea), is a traditional Japanese art involving ritualistic preparation of tea. Influenced by Zen Buddhism philosophy, the core teaching of chad is to attain a spiritual state of selflessness and peacefulness through making and sharing one bowl of tea. Learn the history and philosophy of the Japanese tea ceremony while tasting Japanese tea and sweets. This program is part of the celebration of the NEA Big Read project locally hosted by Gumberg Library at Duquesne University.

As part of our new series How To Asia, representatives from the Tri-State Sikh Cultural Society will teach students how to tie a Sikh turban. The turban is one of the most visible signs of the Sikh faith. Our presenters will show students how to tie the turban and talk about the meaning of the turban for the Sikh religion and culture. Participants will have a chance to try their hand at tying a Sikh turban on themselves.

Please join us for a special opportunity to tour the Indian Nationality Room with architect Deepak Wadwani. He developed the room's monastery courtyard design after a visit to the ancient Nalanda University in India. The Indian Nationality Room celebrates the country's educational heritage during the third through ninth centuries, known as India's Golden Age, which culminated at Nalanda. It features replicas of stone columns, brick floors, walls, pilasters, and sculptures still visible at the archeological site.

As part of our series How to Asia, Tiantian Maggie Lyu will teach students the folk art of paper cutting. Its history dates back more than two thousand years. Participants will have a chance to create their own paper cuttings.

Tiantian Maggie Lyu is a graduate student in Foreign Language Education at the University of Pittsburgh. She started paper cutting when she was ten years old. She has taught Chinese paper cutting at the Carnegie Library and is eager to share this traditional art form with everyone.

The pots may be shallow, but bonsai is a deep art form. With origins in Chinese pending, bonsai has developed in Japan for a thousand years. Past-president of the Pittsburgh Bonsai Society Daniel Yomp will give attendees the history, species and design principles of bonsai, followed by a demonstration with a shrub.

Daniel spent three years working and studying at a bonsai nursery in Osaka, Japan and currently teaches at Phipps Conservatory. Register at www.japansocietypa.org/events

Stephan Haggard, Krause Distinguished Professor from the University of California, San Diego will give a lecture based on his book Hard Target: Sanctions, Inducements and the Case of North Korea. North Korea poses a number of challenges to the new Trump administration, from its nuclear and missile programs to the possibility of political instability. Diplomacy with North Korea is further complicated by pressing humanitarian and human rights questions and the complexities of dealign with China as a partner in negotiations with North Korea.