1CWAJ ANNUAL REPORT 2014-2015

CWAJ
annualreport2014-2015

COLLEGE WOMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF JAPANAPRIL 2015

CELEBRATING 60 YEARS OF CWAJ PRINT SHOW
Message from CWAJ’s President
Dear Friends,
Across the globe, educated women are
powerful agents of social change,transforming families, institutions andsocieties. As Kofi Annan has said, theeducation of girls and young women is
the “single highest returning investmentin the world today”. For more than 60
years, College Women’s Association ofJapan (CWAJ) has provided scholarships
and travel grants to women wanting topursue university study outside theirhome countries; to visually impaired men
and women from Japan; and, more
recently, to nursing students from
Fukushima.
Thesescholarships
arefunded by individual and corporate
donations as well as the proceeds fromthe CWAJ Print Show, an annual
exhibition and sale of Japanese prints
which attracts worldwide acclaim.

CWAJ has held the Print Show every
year since 1956. This exhibition and saleoforiginal
artworks
servestwo
purposes: to showcase the fascinating
beauty of contemporary Japanese prints
for an international audience and tosecure the funds for the scholarships
and grants that CWAJ has so far
provided to more than 800 students andartists. The image at the top of thispage displays the catalogue covers fromall 59 past Print Shows.
To celebrate the 60th CWAJ Print Show,and to show our appreciation to theprintmaking community and encourageitsfurtherdevelopment,
CWAJ
established
the
60th
Print
Show

CWAJ also provides educational services
in the community for children and adults,
including innovative programs for thevisually impaired community. There is,additionally, a wide variety of crosscultural opportunities for its members,
fostering long-term friendships between
Japanese and international women. CWAJ
fully self-funds all operating expenses aswell as its community outreach andmember programs. 100 per cent of all
donations go to the Scholarship and
Education Programs.
In 2015 we celebrate the 60th Print Show
with exhibitions in Tokyo and Kobe,
followed by Cape Cod in 2016. It is ourhope that this landmark event will attract
significant financial support to enable us
to offer a greater number of scholarships
and to ensure a sustainable future for
CWAJ. We deeply appreciate yourprevious donations. We are delighted toanniversary competition for young artistsof 40 years and under. This year’s
landmark show will feature the top 60
competition entries as well as a special
exhibition, “Kanreki: A 60-year Journey”,
that traces the history of the Print Showin approximately 160 prints contributedby 130 invited artists including the worksof two who participated in the 1st CWAJ
Print Show.
The Associate Show, which is held forthree weeks concurrently with the otherexhibitions, will present the works ofcelebrated artists who contributed to thedirection and the reputation of the show
in its early years.
Inquiries：PrintShow@cwaj.org

announce that the Japan Foundation has
granted us Designated Donation status,
enabling us to offer a greater number ofscholarships in the future. We have also
received a generous grant from The
Tokyo Club to be used for the CWAJ 60th
Print Show Anniversary Scholarship for a
non-Japanese woman studying for a
graduate degree in fine arts or art history
in Japan, and also to fund a history bookcommemorating 60 Years of the CWAJ
Print Show.
It is a privilege to be President of thisimpressive organization with such a
proud history. I look forward to meeting
many of you at our anniversary events
this year.
Sincerely,
Nancy Nussbaum
CWAJ President

The 60th CWAJ Print ShowTokyo
October 30 (Fri)-November 1 (Sun), 2015
At Tokyo American ClubKobe
(In collaboration with Kobe Biennale)
November 6 (Fri)-8 (Sun), 2015
At Kobe Club
Associate Show
October 19 (Mon)-November 8 (Sun), 2015
At Fred Harris Gallery, Tokyo American Club
Travelling Show U.S.A.
June 23 (Thu)-September 4 (Sun), 2016
At Highfield Hall & Gardens(Falmouth, Massachusetts)

2

CWAJ ANNUAL REPORT 2014-2015

59th CWAJ PRINT SHOWThe 59th CWAJ Print Show took place
October 16 – 19, 2014 at the Tokyo
American Club. The exhibition and sale ofcontemporary Japanese prints presented
201 artworks, most of which wereselected by a prestigious jury, with thebalance contributed by 39 invited artists.
One of the most significant features of
the CWAJ Print Show is its beautiful
catalogue — a full-color, bilingual
publication. The catalogue cover in 2014,
the year of the horse, was Nakayama
Tadashi’s elaborate and elegant woodcut,
Running in the Blue Afternoon.
Born in 1927,
Nakayama
exhibited inthe
CWAJ
Print Show
43 times asaninvitedartist. He was very supportive of CWAJ’s
mission and repeatedly donated theproceeds from the sale of his works,
enabling
CWAJ
to
fund
severalscholarships. He firmly refused to disclose
his name as a donor. Sadly, Nakayama
passed away in the summer of 2014.
CWAJ takes this opportunity to express
its deep sympathy and heartfelt gratitude
for his invaluable contribution to thisorganization.

FUKUSHIMA

encouragement that not only helped methen but still hearten me today.”

RELIEF PROJECTSCWAJ responded to the 3/11 disasters in
the Fukushima area by initiating a
number of programs which align with theorganization’s mission of supporting
education,artandcross-cultural
understanding. CWAJ remains committed
to providing support for those who
continue to suffer.
Nagomi Mental Health Care Center
CWAJ’s first relief project was to donate avan to the Nagomi Mental Health Care
Center in Soma City. This provides
transportation for patients and facilitateshome visits by mental care counselors.
CWAJ continues to provide support bycovering the insurance and inspection fee
costs for this van.

In recognition of the “Intangible Cultural
Heritage” status conferred by UNESCO
upon washoku (Japanese cuisine), the2014 Associate Show highlighted theworks of several print artists whocelebrate the world of food: Anza Ayumi,
Kishi Yukie, Kim Sohee, Miyamoto Shoji
and Nene Noriko.
Hands-on Art (HOA), a unique program
designed for visually impaired visitors, isa regular feature of the CWAJ Print Show.
Each year five to seven prints are chosen
and made into tactile prints called “raised
images”.
To support young print artists, CWAJ
established the Art Grant program in 1985,

Fukushima Art Projects
Asobijutsu (art as play) was held on July27, 2014 at Fukushima Prefectural
Museum of Art in Fukushima City, and on
July 28 at Botan Kaikan in Sukagawa City.
Professor Koichi Ebizuka of Tama Art
University led both programs, which gave
the children involved a unique, creative
art experience. In “Let’s draw uniquepictures” at the Museum of Art, children
used various types of tools such as chisels,glue and even their feet to create art.

Fukushima Relief Scholarship
The Fukushima Relief Scholarship (FRS)
supports students in the Fukushima
Medical University School of Nursing. Thisscholarship of 500,000 yen, almost
equivalent to a full year’s tuition, will beawarded again in 2015 for the fourth
time. The first FRS scholars have gone on
to pass the national exams in nursing andpublic health, and are dedicated tohelping their local community. Hiroko
Yamada, currently a public health nurse
supporting evacuation refugees, noted,“The scholarship supported me not only
financially but mentally as well because
my family was in the depths of despair
after the Great East Japan Earthquake.
Everyone at CWAJ gave me words ofSome of the children’s work was thenexhibited at the museum. In “Let’s draw
myself” at Botan Kaikan, the children
made their own image in cardboard. Each
program was attended by about 40
children as well as six FRS scholars whose
nursing skills came in handy treating thechildren’s cuts! Two years in the planning,
this project was well-received and highly
successful. CWAJ is planning to hold more
Asobijutsu programs in 2015 in different
locations in Fukushima.
The Denzen Award is given to the best
print from more than 3,000 works
submitted in the elementary and juniorhigh school divisions in the Denzen

the Young Printmaker Award (YPA) in
2005, and the Artist-in-Residence (AIR)program in 2011. The works of the 2014
YPA recipient, Okada Ikumi, and the 2011
recipient, Hirose Risa, were exhibited at
the 59th CWAJ Print Show together withartworks by the 2013 AIR recipient
Momma Hidemi.

2015 CWAJ Young PrintmakerAward (YPA)
1 award of 500,000 yen
MASUDA Nao
MFA, Tokyo Zokei University
Ms Masuda will use the award topurchase a small intaglio press, hold asolo exhibition and to produce a collectionof her graduation works.

Memorial Print Exhibition, held annually in
Sukagawa City, Fukushima. The twowinners of the 2014 Denzen Award had
their prints exhibited at the CWAJ Print
Show last October and were invited toattend with their parents. The 2015
Denzen Award winners will be exhibitedin the 60th Print Show.
English Program for Children
CWAJ has a long history of providing
cross-cultural
Englishprogramsforchildren and in 2014 we were pleased touse that expertise to brighten up the livesof children in Fukushima by introducing
fun English classes.
On July 20, CWAJ volunteers led two
sessions of classes at PEP Kids Koriyama,
an indoor playground where children play
and also participate in a variety of
programs without fear of possible
exposure to nuclear radiation. A total of
40 children aged from three to seven
took part in easy English lessons with
games, songs and storytelling. One boy
shouted out, “Eigo wa tanoshii” (English
is fun!). The day before, CWAJ joined in
the Manasobi Summer Festival, hosting
an English corner where children could do
crafts, play games, and listen to books
read in English. More than 50 children
took part. These programs will continue
in 2015.

3

CWAJ ANNUAL REPORT 2014-2015

CWAJ SCHOLARSHIP

marginalized in the Philippines who havelittle access to health care.

- Pathways to Global CitizenshipTo develop global
citizens, we mustembracediversity,
including nationalities
and gender,” said Dr.
Masako Egawa, 1984
scholarship recipient,who
addressed
CWAJ’sannualscholarship luncheon
about her experiences studying abroad,
offering straightforward advice on how to
encourage Japanese to be global citizens.
Dr. Egawa was Executive Vice Presidentof the University of Tokyo since 2009
until March 2015, the first woman to holdsuch a distinguished position. She
concluded by thanking CWAJ for having
set her on her own path to global
citizenship.
CWAJ’s scholarship programs, funded bydonations as well as proceeds from theannual Print Show, have helped nearly
800 students to get access to overseas
study opportunities. In 2014 eightstudents received CWAJ scholarships,
including two with connections to Syria
and one from Bangladesh.
With the establishment in 1978 of thefirst scholarship in Japan for visually

impaired men and women, CWAJ has
paved the way for further education andcareer opportunities for more than 60
individuals who are visually disabled.
Makoto Ogoda, 2005 scholarship recipient,
never gave up on his dream to become alawyer. After much effort, he finallypassed the bar exam on his fifth try. In
his subsequent career, he has had to deal
with prejudice but has gradually become
recognized for his achievements. He has
found that his visual handicap gives him
special intuition in his work. Based on his
experiences, he has authored a semiautobiographical novel, Zenmo no boku
ga bengoshi ni natta wake (“The reason ablind guy like me became a lawyer”)
which was dramatized on TV in
December with great success.

These are just a few examples of how
CWAJ scholars in Japan and around theworld are actively working to make theworld a better place. Please see the fulllist of 2014 Scholars below and readmore about them on the CWAJ website.
Read about the Fukushima Relief
Scholarship on page 2.

In September 2014, we welcomed
CWAJ’s60th
Anniversary
overseas
scholar, Sandra Glynn Gayagay, tocelebrate the completion of her 5-year
medical coursework. While in Japan, she
received the happy news of having
passed the national exams. Sandra wasglad to be able to meet CWAJ members
and learn more about our programs. She
expressed her deep appreciation to CWAJ
for supporting her dream of becoming adoctor so as to be of service to theOn the occasion of the 60th Print Show, it
is important to note that it is largely theproceeds from this event which haveenabled CWAJ to continue awarding
scholarships for so many years. As theJapanese economy remains strained
within a challenging global environment,
CWAJ has had to reduce the number ofscholarships. We hope to be able to counton your support of the Print Show to help
more students to access the path toleadership and global citizenship. We also
welcome donations of any size at any
time.

CWAJ-Tokyo American Club
Women’s Group Non-Japanese
Graduate Scholarship

CWAJ Scholarship to the InterUniversity Center for Japanese
Language Studies (IUC)

One scholarship of 2 million yen

One scholarship of 2 million yen

RIFAI, Ghamra(Syrian Arab Republic)
Study Program: PhD, Advanced Material
Science and Technology, Niigata University

MAZZA-HILWAY, Philomena (USA)Study Program: PhD, East Asian
Languages & Civilizations, University of
ChicagoGraduate Scholarship for NonJapanese Women to Study inJapan (NJG)

Fukushima Relief Scholarship (FRS)

2014 CWAJSCHOLARS
Graduate Scholarship for Japanese
Women to Study Abroad (SA)One scholarship of 3 million yen
TAKEUCHI, Akiko
Study program: Master of Public Health,
Columbia University Mailman School of
Public Health (USA)

Scholarship for the Visually
Impaired to Study in Japan (SVI-SJ)
Two scholarships of 1.5 million yen each
IWATA, Shotaro
Study Program: MS, Chemistry, Graduate
School of Engineering Science, Osaka
University
NAKAMURA, Masaya
Study Program: PhD, Educational
Sociology, Graduate School of Core Ethics
and Frontier Sciences, Ritsumeikan
University

One scholarship of 2 million yen
WAHAB, Luna(People’s Republic of Bangladesh)
Study Program: PhD, Physiology, The
Graduate University for Advanced Studies,
National Institute for Physiological
Sciences

Two scholarships of 0.5 million yen each
Fukushima Medical University School of
Nursing
NAGASAWA, Sonoko

3rd year student

TAKAHASHI, Sayaka 3rd year student

4

CWAJ ANNUAL REPORT 2014-2015

COMMUNITY SERVICEPROGRAMS
Volunteers for the Visually
Impaired (VVI)
Throughout
2014
CWAJ
continued
providing innovative programs for theJapanese visually impaired community. At
the Japan Vocational Center for the Blind,volunteers taught English conversation
twice a week as part of the students’ job
training.

At the Special Needs Education School for
the Visually Impaired, University ofTsukuba, high school students were
helped to prepare for the Eiken English
proficiency test. English Conversation
Gatherings provided opportunities topractice English conversation on a wide
range of subjects: firsthand stories about
travelling abroad by visually impaired
guests; the Philippines; and Austrian
Christmas traditions. Three issues of the
VVI Newsletter were distributed by email,in Braille and large print, to more than
200 visually impaired individuals.

CULTURAL PROGRAMS
To promote cross-cultural learning, CWAJ
holds monthly luncheons and occasional
cultural events as well as offering a rangeof special interest groups for its members.
The two cultural events organized in2014 were very different but equallyenriching. On May 10, CWAJ hosted a
special screening of the documentary
Inside Hana’s Suitcase, based on thebook by Karen Levine, the moving storyof a suitcase which had belonged to Hana
Brady, a young Jewish Czech girl who
was sent to Auschwitz. The suitcase wasobtained by the Director of the Tokyo
Holocaust Education Resource Center,
Fumiko Ishioka, who wanted to find away of teaching Japanese children about
the plight of Jewish children in theSecond World War. Ms Ishioka attended
the CWAJ screening and spoke about her
personal experiences in this poignant
odyssey, including the discovery of
Hana’s brother in Canada.
On October 31, at a special lunch event,“The Wonderful World of Washoku”,
Yoshiki Tsuji, President of the Tsuji
Culinary Institute, spoke about traditional
Japanese cuisine and why it deserves the
UNESCO “Intangible Cultural Heritage”
status. His talk was followed by anauthentic kaiseki lunch at Kinsui-tei atHotel Chinzanso.

Japanese elementary school children who
have lived abroad attend CEC to retain
their English language skills. Crafts,
games, reading and writing activities
provided a fun environment in which thechildren could use and share their English
in 32 after-school classes in 2014

Foreign Students’ Circle (FSC).

OTHER FUNDRAISING
In addition to Print Show proceeds anddonations, funds are raised via an annual
raffle which is drawn on the final day of
the Print Show. CWAJ would like toexpress its appreciation to all sponsors ofraffle prizes, particularly Delta Airlines,
which
contributed
tworound-trip
business class tickets to the US. Funds
are also raised via the Cultural Programs,
and VVI and CEC activities. The Friendly
Crafters group also held a raffle in
December, offering beautiful hand-crafted
items as prizes.

You can make a difference!

Children’s English Circle (CEC)

Foreign students from 18 countries
enjoyed experiencing Japanese culture in
programs arranged by FSC. Seven
programs were held in 2014 which
introduced Bonseki (miniature sandlandscapes),
traditional
Japanese
wedding, Imperial Palace garden, Kabuki,
Tea ceremony, and Yabusame (Japanesearchery on horseback). FSC volunteers
also assist foreign students with guidance
and friendship during their stay in Japan.

Monthlyluncheonprograms
withimpressive speakers reinforce our missionof nurturing women leaders across theglobe. In CWAJ’s special interest groups,
members have fun learning and sharing
their cultures in a wide variety of
programs that include ceramics, hiking,foreign language conversation, crafting,choralsinging,
hiking,andbook
discussion.

About CWAJ
Founded in 1949, the College Women's
Association of Japan (CWAJ) continues
to promote education and crosscultural exchange through the CWAJ
scholarships, the annual Print Showand other programs that benefit thecommunity. A volunteer, not-for-profit
organization, CWAJ’s 450 members
from 30 different countries work
together in a unique system of pairing
Japanese and non-Japanese members
for leading every aspect of theorganization. Offering opportunities for
women from all over the world toshare unique cultural experiences with
their Japanese peers, CWAJ provides along-term link with Japan as well as
the immediate benefits of a wide rangeof activities in and around Tokyo.
Interested in joining CWAJ?
Please contact membership@cwaj.org
for more information.

By supporting the CWAJ Scholarshipand Education Programs and the CWAJ
Fukushima Relief Projects you can makea genuine and long lasting impact on
the lives of individuals and communities
both in Japan and beyond. CWAJ
welcomes donations of any amountthroughout the year.
Japan Foundation
In
2014,
the
Japan
Foundation
approved CWAJ’s Designated Donation
application for the CWAJ Cultural
Exchange Scholarship Program for
Women, which enables us to award
more scholarships to women graduate
students who have chosen to study
outside their homeland and to promote
Japan's unique cultural contributions
globally. This program offers donors thepossibility of a tax benefit.
For further information about making a
donation to CWAJ, please contact one of
the Donations/Sponsorships Co-Chairs,
Michiyo Ikenaga or Carmen Ohtaki,
donations@cwaj.org

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