Professional Luncheon
Tatsuru Uchida,
Professor of Kobe College,
Author of Best-selling "Nihon Henkyoron"

The speech and Q & A will be in Japanese with English interpretation

Diagnosing the Japanese Identity

Whenever Tatsuru Uchida writes a book, it makes waves.

A professor of modern French philosophy, movies and Budo in the Department of Intercultural Studies at Kobe College, Uchida has written a wide range of best-selling books that have touched on topics ranging from China to Hollywood movies, Haruki Murakami, Jewish culture and Japan's youth.

But it is the blockbuster "Nihon Henkyoron" that has made him a household name in Japan today. In a nutshell, he says, Japan is a country of frontiersmen and women.

In the book, the professor warns that modern Japan faces a national crisis of losing the power to learn and, hence, the loss of frontier traditions. At the same time, however, he says the Japanese language has produced what he calls the "manga brain" that will transform Japan into the manga capital of the world.

The best-selling book came out of debate on the contradictions between the Japanese Self-Defense Forces and war-renouncing Article 9 of the Constitution.

MENU
Sandwich: Chicken, bacon, ham, lettuce, tomato, dijon mustard, mayonnaise on baguette
Hot Plate: Sauteed salmon with asparagus, savoy cabbage, fondant potatoes, red wine & shallot Sauce

Tatsuru Uchida, Author of Best-selling "Nihon Henkyoron"