Harvard University, Reischauer Institute for Japanese Studies

Harvard University, Reischauer Institute for Japanese Studies is Harvard’s center for the study of Japan and a major hub for Japanese studies in the United States. Based at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the institute advances research, teaching, and public engagement on Japan across the humanities and social sciences. Its work connects faculty, students, visiting scholars, and the wider public through lectures, conferences, workshops, and collaborative academic programs that place Japan in both historical and contemporary perspective. The institute sits within Harvard’s regional studies framework and supports scholarship on Japanese politics, history, religion, literature, art, anthropology, sociology, and related fields. A concrete part of its academic role is the administration of student support and training opportunities tied to Japanese studies, including grants and fellowships for Harvard students and researchers. It also hosts visiting scholars and organizes events that bring specialists from Japan and other countries into conversation with Harvard faculty and students. The institute’s programming reaches beyond campus through public lectures and intellectual exchange designed for broader audiences interested in Japan. The Reischauer Institute carries the name of Edwin O. Reischauer, the Harvard scholar of Japan and former United States ambassador to Japan, reflecting a long institutional commitment to deep knowledge of Japan and U.S.-Japan understanding. Within Harvard, it functions as a focal point for interdisciplinary study of Japan, helping sustain language study, original research, and scholarly networks. Its role is not limited to one scholarship line or a single department; it serves as an enduring academic institution that supports Japanese studies at undergraduate, graduate, and professional levels while contributing to national and international conversations about Japan.