In 2020, Tohoku University concluded a university-level agreement with the University of Oslo, the oldest university in Norway and the alma mater of many Nobel laureates.

The cooperation that led to this agreement was initiated by Japan specialists at the University of Oslo's Department of Culture, Religion and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, together with their counterparts at Tohoku University's Graduate School of Arts and Letters and the Graduate School of International Cultural Studies. Since then, the two institutions have collaborated closely in research and education.

This research forum will feature presentations by graduate students and a bilingual workshop by faculty from both universities, as well as guest scholars from other Japanese institutions.

Graduate students Okano Yūgo and Antonio Fernandez Caro will present on aspects of modern Japanese culture, including literature and religion.

The workshop, titled "Kannon in Modern Ideology and Popular Practices," will include presentations by Clinton Godart (Tohoku University), Ayako Kimishima (Wako University, Tokyo) and Aike P. Rots (University of Oslo).

Date: November 21, 2025
Time: 2:40 - 6 p.m.
Venue: Tohoku University Kawauchi Campus, Multimedia Education and Research Complex, 6F (map)
Language: English and Japanese
Registration not required

This event is co-organized by the International Graduate Program in Japanese Studies (GPJS) and its Hasekura League.

For more information, please visit: https://web.tohoku.ac.jp/modern-japan/events/#2025-11-21