Strategic Communications and Marketing News Bureau

Featured open house talk at U. of I.’s Japan House will focus on Edo culture

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – A presentation on Edo culture by a visiting speaker will be among the highlights at the annual fall open house at the Japan House at the University of Illinois from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Oct. 20.

Located at 2000 S. Lincoln Ave., Urbana, Japan House is an educational and cultural facility focusing on Japanese arts. It is affiliated with the university’s College of Fine and Applied Arts.

“Japan Cool: Edo Culture Revealed,” is the title of the featured talk, which will be presented at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. by Takuji Okuno, a professor of sociology at Kwansei Gakuin University, Osaka, Japan. Okuno’s presentation will explore the way in which many forms of contemporary Japanese popular culture, such as anime, are actually rooted in the traditional Edo culture of Japan, which dates from about 1600 through the 1850s.

Other activities planned include tours of Japan House’s gardens with its designer and builder, James Bier, at 1 and 3 p.m.

Throughout the day, members of the Urbana-Champaign Association of Chado Urasenke Tankokai will present tea ceremonies.

More information about the open house, and other upcoming Japan House events – including “Simple Elegance,” a Nov. 10 trunk show and sale featuring jewelry, wearable artwork and textiles – is available online, or by calling 244-9934.

Read Next

Health and medicine Dr. Timothy Fan, left, sits in a consulting room with the pet owner. Between them stands the dog, who is looking off toward Fan.

How are veterinarians advancing cancer research in dogs, people?

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — People are beginning to realize that dogs share a lot more with humans than just their homes and habits. Some spontaneously occurring cancers in dogs are genetically very similar to those in people and respond to treatment in similar ways. This means inventive new treatments in dogs, when effective, may also be […]

Honors From left, individuals awarded the 2025 Campus Awards for Excellence in Public Engagement are Antoinette Burton, director of the Humanities Research Institute; Ariana Mizan, undergraduate student in strategy, innovation and entrepreneurship; Lee Ragsdale, the reentry resource program director for the Education Justice Project; and Ananya Yammanuru, a graduate student in computer science. Photos provided.

Awards recognize excellence in public engagement

The 2025 Campus Awards for Excellence in Public Engagement were recently awarded to faculty, staff and community members who address critical societal issues.

Uncategorized Portrait of the researchers standing outside in front of a grove of trees.

Study links influenza A viral infection to microbiome, brain gene expression changes

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — In a study of newborn piglets, infection with influenza A was associated with disruptions in the piglets’ nasal and gut microbiomes and with potentially detrimental changes in gene activity in the hippocampus, a brain structure that plays a central role in learning and memory. Maternal vaccination against the virus during pregnancy appeared […]

Strategic Communications and Marketing News Bureau

507 E. Green St
MC-426
Champaign, IL 61820

Email: stratcom@illinois.edu

Phone (217) 333-5010