:: Shingetsu Institute ::

BEN-AMI SHILLONY IN TOKYO FOR LECTURE ON AUSCHWITZ AND HIROSHIMA

Ben-Ami Shillony (Shingetsu Member No. 74), who is a professor at Hebrew University in Jerusalem and one of the most senior Japanologists in Israel, will be delivering a lecture next week at the International House of Japan. The theme of his lecture -- Auschwitz and Hiroshima -- falls within the scope of interest of the Shingetsu Institute, and so we are announcing the lecture here. The details are as follows:

Auschwitz and Hiroshima: What Can the Jews and the Japanese Do for World Peace?

Ben-Ami Shillony, Emeritus Professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Moderator: Susumu Shimazono, Professor at the University of Tokyo

If we look back at the issue of peace and security in the 20th century, Auschwitz and Hiroshima were the momentous events for the Jews and the Japanese respectively. Beyond their geographical scope, even at the dawn of the 21st century, Auschwitz and Hiroshima have symbolic implications for peace-making in the world. It is interesting, however, to note that Israel and Japan took totally different paths in pursuing peace after the Second World War. The Jews choose to be militarily strong for their national security, whereas the Japanese stand with a pacifist constitution renouncing war. Now, Japan domestically faces an intensifying debate over revising its "Peace Constitution," in particular Article Nine, in parallel with the rise of nationalism and the problematic prime ministers’ visits to Yasukuni Shrine; and in the international arena it is being pressured to become a "normal" nation, making a military contribution to the maintenance of peace and security in the world. In comparing their paths up to now, Professor Shillony will talk about whether these two different peoples with many similarities can learn from each other's past and what they can do in contributing to world peace.

Ben-Ami Shillony: Born in Poland in 1937 and an immigrant to Israel in 1948, Professor Shillony is a noted scholar of East Asian and Japanese studies in the Middle East. After receiving his master's degree in History from Hebrew University, he spent two years studying the Japanese language at International Christian University in Tokyo, and then earned his PhD in Japanese History at Princeton University under the supervision of Professor Marius B. Jansen. His writings on the Japanese monarchy and emperor system as well as on the cultural traits of the Jews and the Japanese from a comparative point of view are widely recognized as groundbreaking studies. In 2000, the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold and Silver Star (Kunnito Zuihosho) was bestowed on him for his longtime dedication to promoting Japanese studies abroad. His major publications include Enigma of the Emperors: Sacred Subservience in Japanese History (Global Oriental, 2003), The Jews and the Japanese: The Successful Outsiders (Charles E. Tuttle, 1992), Politics and Culture in Wartime Japan (Oxford University Press, 1981), and Revolt in Japan: The Young Officers and the February 26 Incident (Princeton University Press, 1973). These books have also appeared in Japanese translation.

Date / Time Thursday, October 4th, 2007, 7:00 pm

Venue: Lecture Hall, International House of Japan

Language: English / Japanese (simultaneous interpretation provided)

Free for I-House members, otherwise \1,500 (\1,000 for students)

Reservations required

Program Department, International House of Japan

5-11-16 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-0032

Mon.-Fri., 9:00 am-5:00 pm

Tel. 03-3470-3211

Fax 03-3470-3170

E-mail: program@i-house.or.jp