1CWAJ ANNUAL REPORT 2015-2016

CWAJ

annualreport2015-2016

COLLEGE WOMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF JAPANAPRIL 2016

Message from CWAJ’s President
Dear Friends,
Warm greetings to you all. I am delighted
to be bringing you a report of CWAJ’s
activities last year as well as some
information about exciting future events.
Our very successful 60th CWAJ Print
Show was held in both Tokyo and Kobe.
We were deeply honored by the presenceof Her Imperial Majesty the Empress atthe opening reception at the Tokyo
American Club on the evening ofThursday October 29th. The Empress
spoke with great warmth and generosity
to the artists, scholars and CWAJ
members, all of whom were profoundly
moved by her presence. It was an
unforgettable evening for CWAJ and wewere thrilled that 20 overseas members
from six countries were able to join us for
thissignificant
milestone
intheorganization’s history. We would like totake this opportunity to thank our donors,
benefactors
andartistsfor
theirconsistent support over the past 60
years.

60th Print Show
Travelling Show in Cape Cod
Kanreki: A 60 Year Journey
The 60th CWAJ Exhibition ofContemporary Japanese Prints
Highfield Hall & Gardens,
Falmouth, MA, USA
June 26th – September 14th 2016
Community Open House:
June 26th, 1:00 – 3:00 pm
Associated programming on-going
throughout summer 2016

New
Beginnings
FUKITA
Fumiaki

CWAJ’s 60th Print Show will be travelingin its entirety to Highfield Hall & Gardens
in Falmouth, Cape Cod, in the UnitedStates from June to September 2016. We
are so grateful to everyone at Highfield
Hall for all they are doing to promote thefull range of CWAJ’s activities, including
introducing Japanese culture to thecommunity. Many Japanese members willtravel to the US to join their Americanand other overseas colleagues incelebrating this special occasion andrecognizing the work of the members in
the US who have helped realize thisexhibition. We are hoping that sales will
be as successful as they were in Japan,
raising much-needed funds for futurescholarships.

We look forward to welcoming you to the61st Print Show in October 2017.

Here in Tokyo, please join us for Intimate
Dimensions, a special print exhibition andsale from Monday September 26th –Sunday October 16th at the Tokyo
American Club. And be sure not to missthe CWAJ Art Gala on Saturday October
8th!

Best Wishes,“Intimate Dimensions”－ absolute gems
In place of a full-scale Print Show,
this delightful special print exhibitionand sale features some 80 smallersized prints.

September 26th- October 16th 2016at the Frederick Harris Galleryof the Tokyo American Club

Division
KIGGELL, Ralph
15 x 45 cm

In 2015, CWAJ also celebrated the 40th
anniversary of Volunteers for the Visually
Impaired (VVI), which continues toprovide innovative programs for thevisually impaired community in Japan.
It is an honor to serve as President of theCollege Women’s Association of Japan, avolunteer organization which believes
passionately in the education of women.
We encourage all of our scholars toachieve their highest goals, striving with
dignity and enthusiasm to make theworld a better place. We are truly gratefulfor your interest and support that makes
it possible for them to fulfill their dreams.

Miyuki Fukuma
CWAJ President

CWAJ Art Gala
Saturday October 8th 2016
Join us for an elegant evening in
support of CWAJ’s Scholarship and
Education Programs!
Live entertainment, live and silent
auctions of artworks and otherexclusive items!

Venue: Tokyo American Club
Time: 6:30 – 11 pm

Bird
MURAI
Masanari

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CWAJ ANNUAL REPORT 2015-2016

The CWAJ Print Show, which has built a
reputation for introducing contemporary
Japanese prints to a sophisticated global
audience, celebrated its 60th anniversary
in 2015. The 60th Print Show was heldfrom Friday October 30th to Sunday
November 1st at the Tokyo American Club,and the following weekend at the Kobe
Club. Both shows were very wellattended by the art-loving public,
including a large number of international
travelers.

At the opening reception, CWAJ was
honored by the presence of Her Imperial
Majesty the Empress, visiting the Print
Show for the first time since she attended
the 25th Show in 1980. After the toast
given by one of the artists, Mr Fumiaki
Fukita, HIM the Empress toured theexhibition for much longer than originallyscheduled. The winner of the Grand Prize,
Satomi Tanaka, and other young prize
winners and scholars were deeply
impressed by her warm encouragement.

Taking two years to plan and prepare,this landmark show featured two
exhibitions: the 60th Anniversary Grand
Prize Competition for aspiring young
printmakers, with the top 60 entries on
display, and a special exhibition, Kanreki:
A 60-Year Journey, which traced thehistory of the Print Show in 161 prints by
135 invited artists. From masterpieces of
the 1950s and ‘60s, which even today
show no sign of age, to audacious andambitious works by young artists, theshow provided a unique opportunity to
explore the diversity and excellence ofJapanese hanga over the last six decades.

The Associate Show, The Beginning of
the Journey, displayed rare prints createdby some of the artists who had exhibitedin the 1st CWAJ Print Show.
The Hands-on-Art program for visually
impaired visitors was offered on a larger
scale than usual. The frottage workshop
using sculptures by Mr Koichi Ebizuka
drew enthusiastic responses.
To commemorate the 60th Anniversary, ahistory book titled CWAJ Print Show: A
60-Year Journey was prepared andpublished by a small group of CWAJ
members. This will serve as an invaluable

the financial support which enabled me toconcentrate on my studies.”

Fukushima Art Projects
Five years since the 3/11 disasters in the
Fukushima
area,
CWAJ
remains
committed
tohelpingthelocalcommunity recover through programs
which align with CWAJ’s mission of
supporting education, art and crosscultural understanding.

Nagomi Mental Health Care Center

Asobijutsu (art as play) was held again
for a second year in 2015. There were
two programs: “Let’s Draw a Unique
Picture with Tools” on August 8th at the
Sukagawa Chamber of Commerce Bldg,
and “Make your own Flag and Catch theWind” on August 10th at Soma City
Central Children’s Center.

The donation to Nagomi Mental HealthCare Center in Soma City of a van which
provides transportation for patients andfacilitates home visits by mental carecounselors was CWAJ’s first relief projectin Fukushima. In 2015 CWAJ continued toprovidesupportbycovering
theinsurance costs for this van.

2016 CWAJ Young Printmaker Award
One award of 500,000 yen
OMORI Hiroyuki
MFA, Tohoku University of Art and Design
Mr Omori will use the award money topurchase a copperplate press machine.
He plans to establish and share a studiowith other art college graduates.

The 61st Print Show will be held in
October 2017. We anticipate the next
60 years with determination to build
on our proud traditions andachievements.

submitted in the elementary and juniorhigh school divisions in the Denzen
Memorial Print Exhibition, held annually in
Sukagawa City, Fukushima. Again in
2015, the two winners had their prints
exhibited at the CWAJ Print Show andwere invited to attend with their parents.
The 2016 winners’ prints are included in
the exhibition of CWAJ’s 60th Print Show
at Highfield Hall & Gardens in Cape Cod
this summer, along with 20 other prints
from the Denzen competition.

English Program for Children

Fukushima Relief Scholarship
Since 2012, the Fukushima Relief
Scholarship (FRS) has supported students
at the Fukushima Medical University
School of Nursing who are dedicated tohelping their local community. Thisscholarship will be awarded again in 2016,
with eligibility expanded to include
students at the Graduate School of
Nursing. The students have noted in theirreports how the patients they cared for in
their practicums worried about thecontinuing post-disaster problems suchas housing, follow-up care, etc. inaddition to their medical issues. Sonoko
Nagasawa thanked CWAJ “for providing
enthusiastic energy and hope, as well as

resource in the study of the evolution ofJapanese hanga.

A total of 83 children took part in thesecreative and fun art programs led byProfessor Koichi Ebizuka of Tama Art
University. One of CWAJ’s Fukushima
Relief Scholars, who attended to provide
any necessary medical care, remarked,“Free from the usual restraints, children
were simply enjoying what they were
doing. I was overwhelmed by the powerof their smiling faces.” Asobijutsu has
been highly praised for providing aunique, liberating and creative art
experience for children in Fukushima. The
program will be held again in 2016.
The Denzen Award is given to the best
print from more than 3,000 works

CWAJ’s English program for children in
Fukushima began in 2014 and continued
in 2015. CWAJ volunteers visited in
March, July and December to hold a totalof eight programs at PEP Kids Koriyama
and one program at Aoi Mado. A total of
132 children participated, aged from two
to eight. The programs included teaching
vocabulary, games, storytelling, andsinging songs. Each one had amulticultural
theme,
suchas
Spring/Easter,Summer/Animals,
Winter/Christmas, designed to make it
fun and interesting. This program willcontinue in 2016, as requested by PEP
Kids Koriyama.

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CWAJ ANNUAL REPORT 2015-2016– Receiving and Giving for the Future
The highlight of the scholarship selection
process is always the presentation of the
new scholars at the May luncheon. The
scholarship selection work starts in
September with the orientation of theselection committee coordinators, whowill guide the selection committee
members through the review of theapplications, interviews of the finalists
and, finally, the discussion to choose thewinning scholar or scholars. After that,the coordinators complete all thepaperwork and prepare the scholars for
the May luncheon.
In April 2015, a devastating earthquake
struck Nepal, the home country of one of
our new scholars, Dr Samata Tamrakar.
CWAJ members collected donations
during the luncheon for the earthquake
victims and Samata used these funds tohelp at her home hospital when she
returned to assist in Nepal later in May.
On Friday October 30th 2015, a scholar
alumni reunion welcomed nine pastscholars, including one travel grantee, as
well as a number of CWAJ’s past
Presidents, some visiting from overseas.
They all enjoyed either a docent tour orexperienced Hands-on Art before thereunion and were delighted to have thischance to appreciate the beautiful prints.
After enjoying a drink and a chat withcurrent CWAJ members, the scholars
introduced themselves and talked about
their current work, activities and studies.

Former CWAJ President, Marilyn Gosling,
was powerfully impressed by the stories
she heard and thanked the scholars forsharing their accounts of the way inwhich their CWAJ scholarships hadchanged their lives – and how theirsubsequent
lives
and
work
have
influenced many others. “These inspiring
stories remind us all of what CWAJ
members work for, the ultimate purposeof Print Show and the scholar selection
process.” She also thanked the organizers
on behalf of everyone present.

The CWAJ 60th Print Show Anniversary
Scholarship was awarded in 2015 tocommemorate the milestone anniversary.
Generously funded by The Tokyo Club,
this special scholarship was designed toencourageanon-Japanesewoman
graduate student majoring in fine arts or
art history at a Japanese university. The
scholarship recipient, Ms Wang Jie, notedthat this support “will be invaluable
towards my future in the field of art
restoration.”
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 2015 CWAJ wasable to award nine scholarships, including
two for visually impaired students andtwo for nursing students. Please take alook at the full list of 2015 scholars below
and read more about them on the CWAJ
website. Read about the Fukushima Relief
Scholarship on page 2.
We invite you to continue to support
CWAJ’s work by making a donation in
2016. For more details, please see theinformation on p. 4.

2015 CWAJ SCHOLARSCWAJ 60 Print Show Anniversary
Scholarshipth

One scholarship of 1.5 million yen (Fundedby The Tokyo Club)
WANG, Jie (People’s Republic of China)
Study Program: MA, Conservation,
Department of Conservation, Graduate
School of Arts, Kyoto City University of Arts

CWAJ Graduate Scholarship forJapanese Women to Study Abroad(SA)
One scholarship of 3 million yen
IMAHASHI, Mayumi
Study program: Master of Public Health,
University of Texas, School of Public Health(USA)

CWAJ Cultural Exchange Graduate
Scholarship for Japanese Women to
Study Abroad (SA)One scholarship of 3 million yen
ITABASHI, Taeko
Study Program: MSc, Columbia University
Graduate School of Journalism (USA)(This Scholarship is supported by the JapanFoundation)

CWAJ Graduate Scholarship for
Non-Japanese Women to Studyin Japan (NJG)
CWAJ Sano Chikara Scholarship
One scholarship of 2 million yen
JUNG, Hojung (Republic of Korea)
Study program: PhD, Graduate Schoolof information Science and ElectricalEngineering, Kyushu University

CWAJ-Tokyo American Club
Women’s Group Non-Japanese
Graduate Scholarship
One scholarship of 2 million yen
TAMRAKAR, Samata (Federal
Democratic Republic of Nepal)
Study Program: PhD, Neurosurgery,
Osaka City University Graduate Schoolof Medicine

CWAJ Scholarship for the Visually
Impaired to Study in Japan (SVI-SJ)
Two scholarships
of 1.5 million
eachyeTwo scholarships
of 1.5yen
millionIZUMI, Masayuki
Study Program: Doctor of Dentistry, Oral
Physiology, Tohoku University Graduate
School of Dentistry
TOKUMITSU, Makoto
Study Program: BA, Social Work course,
Department of Urban Social Services,
Faculty of Human Studies, Taisho
University, 4th year student

CWAJ Fukushima Relief Scholarship(FRS)
Two scholarships of 0.5 million yen each
Fukushima Medical University School of
Nursing
NAGASAWA, Sonoko 4th year student
TAKAHASHI, Sayaka 4th year student

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CWAJ ANNUAL REPORT 2015-2016

COMMUNITY SERVICEPROGRAMS
Volunteers for the Visually
Impaired (VVI)
Another milestone for CWAJ in 2015 was
VVI’s 40th anniversary. More than 150
members
andguestsattendedacelebration
markedwith
inspiringspeeches and performances by visually
impaired alumni scholars and otherguests.

VVI’s core pioneering programs for theJapanese visually impaired community
continued throughout 2015. At the Japan
Vocational
CenterfortheBlind,
volunteers taught English conversation
twice a week as part of the students’ job
training. At the Special Needs Education
Schoolfor
the Visually Impaired,
University of Tsukuba, high school
students were helped to prepare for the
Eiken English proficiency test interview.
Three issues of the VVI newsletter were
distributed by email, in Braille and large
print, to more than 200 visually impaired
individuals. There were additionally two
unique opportunities to practice English
conversation in a multi-cultural setting.
First, VVI was honored to be invited to
the Austrian Embassy to learn firsthandabout Austria from Ambassador Bernhard
Zimburg. The second occasion was an
outingwithforeignstudents
toexperience blind bowling.

CULTURAL PROGRAMSOTHER FUNDRAISINGThe 60th CWAJ Print Show was amomentous landmark and we celebrated
yearlong. It all began in April at the
Andaz Hotel when an audience of 150
gathered to hear guest speaker, Norman
Tolman, renowned gallery owner andJapanese print expert, weave the story of
his early years in Japan with the rise of
CWAJ and its pivotal role in promoting
Japanese prints in Japan and around theworld. Attendees were thrilled to receive
a complimentary copy from Mr Tolman of
his book, Collecting Modern Japanese
Prints, Then and Now. 2005 SVI scholar
Makoto Ogoda also spoke, crediting his
mother and CWAJ for helping him achieve
his dream to be a lawyer.

The 2015 Raffle was a great success,with the draw taking place on the final
day of the Print Show. CWAJ would like toexpress its sincere appreciation to allsponsors of raffle prizes, particularly
Turkish Airlines, which contributed tworound-trip business class tickets to any of
its destinations around the world. In
additionto
PrintShow proceeds,
donations and the Raffle, funds are also
raised via the Cultural Programs, and VVI
and CEC activities.

The celebration continued in May with “A
Jazzy Afternoon with Kyoko Takano”.
Formerly a member of the Takarazuka
Revue Company (as Ray Sanjyo), Kyoko
is now an active member of CWAJ. She
performed jazz numbers, arias andTakarazuka classics with opera singer
Mariko Nishigawa. Kaerutachi, a chanson
bar in Ginza, was filled to beyond
capacity for both shows, making this ahighlyenjoyable
andsuccessful
fundraiser for CWAJ.

Children’s English Circle
CEC
piloted two new programs in 2015
(CEC)
and will continue these in 2016: English
programs for children living at the St
Joseph Children’s Home; and an afterschool program at Azabu Kids-to-Teens
Hall. CEC also continues its after-school
sessions for Japanese elementary school
children who have previously lived abroad,helping them to retain their English
language skills.

Foreign Students’ Circle (FSC)
Origami, outdoor tea ceremony, Kabuki,
and tours of the Yasuda Residence in the
Yanaka area and Shomyoji Temple were
some
of
the
Japanese
culturalexperiences enjoyed by 26 foreign
students through FSC programs. They
also took part in bowling with CWAJ’s
visually impaired community in a joint
program organized with VVI. Foreign
students are also given social andpractical support by FSC volunteers.

And then in October, during the week ofthe exciting CWAJ 60th Print Show, anumber of special cultural events were
held for overseas visitors to enjoy withlocal members: a lecture and workshop
about washi, a walking tour of Kamakura
and Enoshima hosted by the Hiking Group,
and a three-day trip to Matsue and Izumo
Grand Shrine. The “reunion” dinner on
Saturday night reunited more than 80
members from around the world.
Monthly luncheon programs featured
impressive speakers on a wide spectrumof issues. In CWAJ’s special interest
groups, members had fun learning andsharing their cultures in a variety of
programs that included ceramics, hiking,
French and Japanese conversation,
crafting, choral singing, and book
discussion.

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,
Michiyo Ikenaga or Laura Malory:
donations@cwaj.org

About CWAJ
Founded in 1949, the College Women's
Association of Japan (CWAJ) promotes
education and cross-cultural exchange
through its scholarship programs, theannual Print Show, and other programs
that benefit the community. A volunteer,not-for-profit organization, CWAJ has 450
members from 30 different countries who
work together in a unique system of
pairing Japanese and non-Japanese
members to provide leadership in every
area of activity. Offering opportunities for
women from all over the world to sharevaluable cultural experiences, CWAJ
provides a long-term link with Japan aswell as the immediate benefits of a wide
range of activities in and around Tokyo.
Interested in joining CWAJ? Pleasecontact
membership@cwaj.org
formore information. If you know of former
CWAJ members who have repatriatedand may be interested in becoming anoverseas 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