Kimiko Gunji, Director, Japan House
        | A different kind of classroom exists on the southeast edge of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus, near the fields of the Arboretum and the Veterinary Medicine complex. In contrast to standard classrooms with the requisite trappings of tables, desks and technology, Japan House offers tranquil gardens and the serenity of a traditional Japanese home. It exudes the aesthetics of centuries-old Japanese culture: the hushed sounds of men and women in kimonos performing the traditional tea ceremony; the scent of burning incense wafting throughout the structure; and fragrant buckets of flowers awaiting the intricate and precise shaping and pruning they will undergo during Ikebana (flower arranging) as they are transformed from nature to art. There is the bright green of the matcha (tea) used in performing the traditional tea ceremony, juxtaposed against the soft colors of the tatami mats and the translucence of the tearoom screens used in its three tearooms. Amid this serenity emanate the sounds of learning—learning through classes and performances of traditional Japanese arts: Ikebana; Chado, or the Way of Tea; calligraphy as well as Zen philosophy; and Japanese aesthetics. Japan House facilities and classes are open to the general public, from grade-schoolers to senior citizens, and is indeed a very busy–and very special–place. It has not, however, always enjoyed its present facilities. First created in 1976, it began operations in an old, remodeled Victorian house on the edge of campus. The current facility was built in 1998.
As one of five outreach units of the College of Fine and Applied Arts, Japan House promotes the related missions of education and public engagement outlined by the College and University, and as such undertakes several important supporting missions of its own. The first is to provide an academic, cultural, and natural setting for fostering an appreciation of Japanese culture and related Asian cultural concepts. Built around the concept of Chado, Japan House is a center for teaching and learning about Japanese art and culture. But since its inception, the staff has worked toward a broader goal: promoting cultural tolerance and respect. The lessons learned at Japan House go well beyond the immediate subject matter. Students gain an important sense of cultural tolerance, intellectual curiosity and a global sense of “self,” three attributes crucial in their development as productive global citizens. Programming at Japan House consists of not only academic courses, but also fall and spring open houses at which the tea ceremony is performed and presentations on different aspects of Japanese culture are offered; workshops by visiting artists on topics such as calligraphy; bus tours to regional sites such as Japanese gardens or museums; and many other events. Japan House also regularly collaborates with other units on campus, such as the Center for East Asian and Pacific Studies, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, and Krannert Art Museum to sponsor programs. This year Japan House joined with the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts to present the National Bunraku Theatre of Japan on October 6, 2007. This was a rare opportunity to witness a performance of bunraku, or traditional Japanese puppet theater, recognized by UNESCO as one the world’s great intangible cultural heritages. This preeminent 300-year-old national Japanese theater troupe made its first full scale U.S. tour in almost two decades to only a few select locations, including Boston, Berkeley, Los Angeles, Chicago and Urbana-Champaign. Regularly scheduled Japan House programming includes tea |
| ceremonies, which are available on the second and fourth Thursday afternoon of each month August-May and require reservations and a small fee. Tours of our facilities, however, do not require reservations and are free. These are offered every Thursday afternoon from 1:00 to 4:00 and on the third Saturday of the month from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. The gardens are always open for visitors (the Tea Garden is closed during icy weather but the Dry Gardens are always accessible). Please visit our website at http://www.art.illinois.edu/galleries/japanhouse/index.cfm for more information or check the Japan House blog at www.japanhouse.typepad.com for news and images of the gardens. | |