1CWAJ ANNUAL REPORT 2016-2017

CWAJ

annualreport2016-2017

COLLEGE WOMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF JAPANMessage from CWAJ’s President
Dear Friends,
Warm greetings to you all. I am delighted
to present highlights of our news andactivities from 2016, a very successful year
for CWAJ. Although it was highly unusual
for CWAJ not to hold a Print Show in thefall and to organize a Traveling Show
instead, everyone’s faith and hard work
exceeded our hopes.
The prints from the 60th CWAJ Print Showin 2015 (“Kanreki: A 60-Year Journey”)
were exhibited at Highfield Hall & Gardens
in Falmouth, Cape Cod, in the UnitedStates from June to October 2016. The
opening ceremony was held on June 23rdin the garden of Highfield Hall and thetoast was proposed by the Acting Consul
General of Japan in Boston, Jiro Usui,
together with Peter Franklin, Executive
Director of Highfield Hall & Gardens. Many
guests, CWAJ members and their families
including Overseas Members mainly fromthe US shared this special moment. The“Kanreki” Show was very well received in
the area thanks to Highfield Hall’s wellplanned and interesting programs featuring
many aspects of Japanese culture. We areso grateful for this opportunity to promote
Japanese prints to a US audience. They
were greatly appreciated and sold well.
In Tokyo we held a smaller scale print
exhibition and sale called “Intimate
Dimensions” in the Frederick Harris Gallery
at the Tokyo American Club. This opened
on September 26th for three weeks. Thisshow featured only small prints but
attracted
many
more
visitors
than
predicted.
In October we held the inaugural CWAJ Art
Gala, also at the Tokyo American Club, withlive and silent auctions. This fundraising
event was also very successful, not only
raising much-needed funds for futurescholarships but delighting the guests withexcellent food and wine, and wonderfulentertainment.

This year the 61st Print Show will be heldat Hillside Forum in Daikanyama, a newvenue, from October 25th to 29th, and the
Associate Show will be held at Tokyo
American Club from September 26th toOctober 15th. We look forward to seeing
you all there.
I feel privileged to serve as President of theCollege Women’s Association of Japan foranother year. We are grateful that theTraveling Show, “Intimate Dimensions”,
and the CWAJ Art Gala were all successful
and we would like to thank all those who
supported these events. CWAJ remains
committed to supporting the education of
women and hopes that our scholars will beable to move ahead in society to break theglass ceiling, making the world a better
place. With your interest and support, we
can help them fulfill their far-reaching
dreams. We are deeply grateful toeveryone who contributes to CWAJ.
Best Wishes,
Miyuki Fukuma, CWAJ President

CWAJ Art Gala
The CWAJ Art Gala held on October 8th2016 was a huge success in every way!
180 people (100 guests and 80 members)
enjoyed a fun evening of live and silent
auctions of prints, artworks, and otherexclusive items, live entertainment, anddelicious food and wine at the Tokyo
American Club. Auctioneer Jon Kabira,award-winning radio personality and TV
presenter, led the exciting live auction,
urging the audience to “dig into theirpockets” to support CWAJ’s scholarships -and they did! During the crowdfunding,hands shot up around the room for the
Fukushima
ReliefScholarshipandAsobijutsu art program for children in
Fukushima. The rousing entertainment of
Kodo’s Taiko drum performance and Saori
Mine of Takarazuka fame added to thememorable evening which was emceed by
Kyoko Takano. The Art Gala raised 7.6

Top photo: CWAJ Reunion dinner with guests at Falmouth

APRIL 2017
million yen thanks to the warm
generosity of donors, guests, andperformers.

Live auction at the Art Gala
SAVE THE DATES!

61st CWAJ Print Show
Hillside Forum,
Daikanyama, Tokyo
Wednesday 25th - Sunday
29th October 2017
Following CWAJ’s “Kanreki” –“rebirth” – 60th Print Show in
2015, we relaunch at a brandnew venue in fashionable
Daikanyama! Make a note of thedates and plan to join us for thisrenowned exhibition and sale ofcontemporary Japanese prints.

“Chiseled Variations” –Associate Show
With some 30 works on display,this exhibition shows the exciting
diversity of contemporary
Japanese woodblock printing.
Frederick Harris Gallery,
Tokyo American Club
September 26th (Tues) –October 15th (Sun), 2017

CWAJ Print Show Preview
Celebration
Tokyo American Club
October 5th (Thurs), 2017

Kobe Show
The Kobe ClubNov 15th (Weds) –Nov 19th (Sun), 2017

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CWAJ ANNUAL REPORT 2016-2017

KANREKI: A 60Year Journey
60th CWAJ Traveling Print Show
In June 2016 CWAJ’s 60th Anniversary
Traveling Print Show opened at HighfieldHall&
GardensinFalmouth,
Massachusetts, on Cape Cod.
The
exhibition and sales were very successful
and received wide coverage all summer inthe regional press and on TV.

prints and the other aspects of theexhibition which included a display of 23
student prints from Fukushima, "Handson Art" materials (which CWAJ prepares
annually for the visually impaired
community),
andalso
extensive
descriptions of CWAJ’s history andprograms.
The Print Show was the impetus for acompanion exhibition at the Woods HoleHistorical Museum entitled "The Science
Connection: Woods Hole and Japan."
Highfield Hall also created several special
programs based on Japanese culture,including musical and culinary activities,
and a children’s summer art program.
Our artists and prints received wide
acclaim, making this an entirely successful
and laudatory event for CWAJ.
.

The opening of the exhibition was also atime of celebration for CWAJ.
One
hundred and sixty-eight members andguests traveled to Cape Cod from all over
the US, from Japan, and other countries
around the world. They were joined forthe opening ceremony by two hundred
local dignitaries, including the Acting
Consul General of Japan in Boston. The
local community truly appreciated the

FUKUSHIMA
RELIEF PROJECTSThe Fukushima Relief Projects werelaunched soon after the disasters of 2011.
On the fifth anniversary of the launch ofthese projects, we received the very
welcome news that CWAJ had beenrecognized by Fukushima Prefecture forits continuing support and contribution to
Fukushima. The presentation ceremony
and a lecture were held at the Aprilluncheon by Dr Shinichi Niwa, Professor
at Fukushima Medical University.

Nagomi Mental Health Care Center
CWAJ continued to support the Nagomi
Center in the Soma area which wasestablished to improve the quality ofmental health care, offering medical care
as well as social welfare. A van donated
by CWAJ facilitates transportation forpatients in the area.

The 2016 CWAJ Special Print
Exhibition and Sale,“Intimate Dimensions”

In 2016, as CWAJ took its 60th
Anniversary Print Show to Cape Cod in
the USA and prepared to enter a newphase in Tokyo in 2017, the regular Show
was replaced by a smaller scale but
hugely successful exhibition, “Intimate
Dimensions.”
The Frederick Harris Gallery at the Tokyo
American Club was filled with as manyfor providing such generous financial
support. Two scholarships of 500,000 yen
per year each were awarded to one
undergraduate and one graduate student
for the academic year 2016-2017. Three
students have been selected for the
2017-2018 academic year.

Fukushima Art Project
For the third year running, Asobijutsu(“Art as Play”) was held in three places atthe end of hot July. The program “Let’s
Decorate Your Own Chair” was held bothin Soma and Sukagawa. Under theenthusiastic
guidanceofProfessor
Ebizuka and his staff at the Tama
University of Art, more than 50 children
in each venue enjoyed creating their own
chair by using a hammer, sandpaper andwatercolor.

Fukushima Relief Scholarship
Established in 2012, the Fukushima Relief
Scholarship has now supported morethan ten students at the Fukushima
Medical University School of Nursing.
Most of them have been dedicated tohelping their local community as a nurse,
a midwife or a health adviser. They haveall expressed their appreciation to CWAJ

The third venue was Fukushima Museumof Art where 15 students were challenged
by the new and unique theme of “Let’s
Explore Textures through Frottage”.

small-sized prints as possible, creating arelaxed and welcoming ambience. During
the three weeks of the exhibition, thetimeframe and the compact space offered
many opportunities for visitors and artists
to interact, providing valuable insights.
The popular docent tours held throughout
the exhibition also enhanced enjoyment of
the prints.
Works by recipients of the Young
Printmaker Award (YPA) were also
featuredin“Intimate
Dimensions”,
including a lithograph by the 2013
recipient, Yu Ichino, and three mezzotints
by the 2016 YPA recipient, Hiroyuki Omori.
We would like to express our sincere
gratitude to everyone who contributed sogenerously by exhibiting at the show,
purchasing prints, and volunteering.
Without your support, we could not haveachieved these very gratifying results.

2017 CWAJ Young Printmaker Award
1 award of 500,000 yen
TAMAKI Ayano
Okinawa Prefectural University of Arts, MA
2nd year student
Ms Tamaki plans to use the award money
to purchase silkscreen tools and materials
to explore her artistic production andexhibit the results at a solo exhibition.

20 Prints of Denzen Award winners
charm Print Show visitors in Cape Cod
20 prints selected from the Denzen
Memorial Print Competition held annuallyin Sukagawa were exhibited at the
CWAJ’s 60th Print Show in Cape Cod lastsummer. Visitors were fascinated by theheartwarming and expressive prints
created by children in Japan.

English Program for Children
In
2016,
CWAJ
held
four
fun,
multicultural
Englishprogramsforchildren in Koriyama. The theme for theAugust program was Sports, an obvious
choice in the year of the Rio Olympics.
The children enjoyed getting “goldmedals” for learning vocabulary, games
and storytelling, based around the sports
theme. The December program included
action songs and games on the theme of
winter, and Christmas fun including
storytelling of “The Snowman”, candy
cane craft, and dressing up in a Santaoutfit. A total of 84 children participated.

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CWAJ ANNUAL REPORT 2016-2017

CWAJ
SCHOLARSHIP

Past CWAJ Scholars

Empowering and
Enabling
Leadership
At CWAJ’s annual scholarship luncheon
in May, the guest speaker was Dr
Samata Tamrakar, the recipient of the2015 scholarship funded by the Tokyo
American Club Women’s Group. She said
this: “Your decision [to offer me ascholarship] has played a crucial role inboostingmyconfidence
andhas
empowered me to make changes in mylife so that I can change the lives ofothers in turn... Your dedication andgenerosity have inspired me to carry thistorch of kindness with me and I hope tomake a significant contribution towards
women’s empowerment when I return to
my country.” Although Samata could not
be present at the luncheon in person due
to a personal bereavement, her words
exemplify the aim of the CWAJ
scholarshipprogram:toinspireleadership and inculcate a spirit of giving
back, making changes for the better
throughout our global community.
The May luncheon is inarguably thehighlight of the year. But the work of the

Yoko
Narahashi

Takashi
Inoguchi

YukikoFukagawa

MakotoOgoda

Ewa
Machotka

Casting Director,
Hollywood movie“The Last
Samurai” etc.

Political Science,
President, Univ.
of Niigata
Prefecture

Int’l Economist,
Professor, Graduate
School of Economics
at Waseda Univ.

Lawyer, Author" The reason I,
though blind,became a lawyer"

Associate Professor
at Stockholm Univ.
Asia, Middle East Art
Japanese Art Curator

scholarshipcommittee
beginsin
September the year before when a groupof dedicated and enthusiastic CWAJ
members embarks upon the exciting taskof selecting the recipients of the various
categories of scholarship. The process
begins with the orientation of theselection committee coordinators whothen guide the committee members
through the review of the applications,interviews with the finalists and, finally,
the discussion to choose the winningscholars.
This year has been an exciting one forthe scholarship committee. Our scholars
have ranged from a wide variety of
disciplines – from researching hatespeech to public health to music. We
have continued to develop warm
relationships with our past and present
scholars. Many of the current scholars
and alumni attended the Art Gala and Eri

Nakase, the visually impaired recipient ofa scholarship in 2004, was truly inspiringas the speaker for the evening.
While the selection process requires
many volunteer hours, we would not beable to maintain CWAJ’s core mission ofawarding scholarships without the large
and small donations we receive fromindividuals,
groupsandcorporate
supporters, as well as from the proceedsof the Print Show. In 2016 CWAJ wasable to award nine scholarships, including
two for visually impaired students andtwo for nursing students. Please take alook at the full list of 2016 scholars below
and read more about them on the CWAJ
website. The details of the Fukushima
Relief Scholarships are on page 2. We
invite you to continue to support CWAJ’s
work by making a donation in 2017. For
more details, please see the information
on page 4.

2016 CWAJ SCHOLARSCWAJ Graduate Scholarship forJapanese Women to Study Abroad (SA)Two scholarships of 3 million yen each
SASAMOTO, Naoko
Study program: MA, Public Health, Harvard
T.H. Chan School of Public Health (USA)SUZUKI, Akiko
Study program: PhD, Architecture,
University of Naples, Federico II (Italy)
CWAJ Graduate Scholarship for NonJapanese Women to Study in Japan(NJG)
CWAJ Sano Chikara Scholarship
One scholarship of 2 million yen
BAE, AhRan Ellie (Republic of Korea)
Study program: PhD, Social Studies, Rikkyo
University Graduate School of Social Design
CWAJ Cultural Exchange Graduate
Scholarship for Non-Japanese Women
to Study in Japan (NJG)
One scholarship of 2 million yen
LAZIC, Dragana (Republic of Bosnia andHerzegovina)
Study program: PhD, International andAdvanced Japanese Studies, University ofTsukuba Graduate School of Humanities
and Social Sciences

CWAJ Scholarship for the Visually Impaired
to Study in Japan (SVI-SJ)Two scholarships

CWAJ Fukushima Relief
Scholarship (FRS)

Two scholarships of 1.5 million yen each

2 scholarships of 0.5 million yen each

SAITO, Renaof 1.5program:million ye4th year student, Music (Piano
Study
Major), Toho Gakuen College Music Department

SHIKE, Tomoe
Study program : Nursing Science
Cancer Center, Fukushima Medical
University Graduate Center

YOSHIDA, Yuji
Study program: PhD, Medical Sciences, Tohoku
University Sendai Graduate School
CWAJ-Tokyo American Club Women’sGroup Non-Japanese Graduate Scholarship
One scholarship of 2 million yen
ZAMARBIDE URDANIZ, Alba Victoria (Spain)
Study program: PhD, Urban Planning, Waseda
University Faculty of Creative Science andEngineering

NAGASAWA, Mikihisa
Study program : 3rd year student,
Nursing Science, Fukushima
Medical University School of
Nursing

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CWAJ ANNUAL REPORT 2016-2017

COMMUNITY SERVICEPROGRAMS
Volunteers for the Visually
Impaired (VVI)
At the heart of CWAJ’s community service
initiative, the VVI group has beendeveloping and delivering its pioneering
programs for the visually impaired
community for more than 40 years.
These programs include teaching English
twice weekly at the Japan Vocational
Development Center for the Blind to
improve job skills. Another valuable
program is providing mock interviews to
prepare VI high school students for the
Eiken English proficiency test. The English
Conversation Gatherings are anotherpopular way of providing our VI friends
with an opportunity to enjoy English
conversation through fun cross-cultural
programs. All of the VVI program
information is disseminated through
CWAJ’s newsletter which is distributed toapproximately 150 visually impaired
individuals through various mediums.

CULTURAL PROGRAMS
2016 was an unusual year, not just for
Cultural Programs but for the entire
organization as for the first time in thehistory of CWAJ a fundraising gala washeld. In addition to contributing towards
the Art Gala, the Cultural Programs teamorganized two events.
In September, CWAJ members went to
the Yokohama Museum of Art to see an
exhibition of the work of the pioneer
impressionist artist, Mary Cassatt, known
for her paintings themed around thesocial and private lives of women.
Participants also had the opportunity toattend a talk by the curator of themuseum and afterwards enjoyed lunch
together.

Children’s Special ProjectChildren's English Circle closed its doors
in 2016 after serving returnee children foralmost 40 years. In order to meetchanging needs and to continue with
CWAJ's mission in education, Children'sSpecial Project has been launched. Two
programs are scheduled to start in 2017:an introductory English program forchildren living at St. Joseph's Children's
Home, as well as an after-school program
called "Fun in English" for elementary
schoolchildren at Azabu Kids to Teens
Hall.

Foreign Students’ Circle (FSC)
Japan has become an increasingly
popular destination for foreign students.
Many of them live in the Tokyo
Metropolitan area and spend their time
studying diligently, working hard at theirresearch, and maintaining part-time jobs.
FSC's purpose is to give the students
opportunities to enjoy their stay in Japanby learning and experiencing Japanesecustoms and culture in a relaxing
atmosphere. Past events have included
hanami, Kabuki, day trips, and Japanesecooking. FSC mentors also take care of
students individually by inviting them totheir homes and providing advice about
how to live in Japan.

In November, a musical program wasorganized at Engaku-ji temple located on
the slopes of Kita-Kamakura’s forested
hills and known for its fall colors. The twomusicians, Ms Nobuko Baba on the kotoand Mr Keisuke Zenyoji on the
shakuhachi, played a total of eight pieces
of
music
and
gave
exemplary
performances. The concert was a huge
success and was enjoyed by all.

CWAJPROMOTION EVENTDr Calder’s Lecture

In June, we co-hosted a US/Japan
relations program highlighting the 2016
US
Presidential
Election given by
Professor Kent E. Calder, PhD. Dr Calderis an intercultural expert whose editorials
on urgent political matters have been
published in the Nikkei Shimbun.
Aluncheon for industry leaders and press
plus a seminar for CWAJ members were
held.
Everyone walked away with abetter understanding of how US elections
work, how the 2016 candidates wereselected, and how future policy could be
affected. We are honored by Dr Calder’sgenerous time and commitment.

CWAJ Art Gala
Kodo’s Taiko drum performance,

Fund the Future!
By supporting the CWAJ Scholarship and
Education Programs and the CWAJ
Fukushima Relief Projects, you can makea genuine and long-lasting impact on the
lives of individuals and communities bothin Japan and beyond. CWAJ welcomes
donations of any amount throughout theyear.
The support of the Japan Foundation
Designated Donation Program enables
CWAJ to award more scholarships towomen graduate students who havechosen to study abroad. A tax deduction
receipt from the Japan Foundation isavailable for donors to CWAJ who file tax
return forms in Japan.
For further information about making a
donation to CWAJ, please contact one of
the Donations/Sponsorships Co-Chairs,
Miki Komakoshi or Laura Malory:
donations@cwaj.org

About CWAJ
Founded in 1949, College Women's
Association of Japan (CWAJ) promotes
education and cross-cultural exchange
through its scholarship programs, theannual Print Show, and other programs
that support the community. A volunteer,not-for-profit organization, CWAJ has 450
members from over 20 countries who
work together in many diverse areas ofactivity. Offering opportunities for womenfrom all over the world to share valuable
cultural experiences, CWAJ provides along-term link with Japan as well as theimmediate benefits of a wide range ofactivities in and around Tokyo. Interestedinjoining
CWAJ?
Pleasecontact
membership@cwaj.org
for
moreinformation. If you know of former CWAJ
members who have repatriated and may
be interested in becoming an overseas
member, please contact
cwajoverseas@cwaj.org.
CWAJ College Women’s
Association of Japan(Ippan Shadan Hojin CWAJ)CWAJ Center
2-24-13-703 Kami-Osaki
Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 141-0021
Tel/Fax : 03-3491-2091
www.cwaj.org