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UH Mānoa's Center for Japanese Studies (CJS) has received a transformative $3 million gift from the estate of philanthropist Ina Goodwin Tateuchi.

"Ina always wanted to build bridges between Japan and America," said James Hurdelbrink, president of the Tateuchi Foundation. "She'd be glad to know that the work will continue and is in good hands."

The gift will ensure the Center for Japanese Studies continues to foster the study of Japan across academic disciplines. "We are profoundly grateful to the estate of Ina Goodwin Tateuchi for providing this vital contribution, which will allow the Center to remain a vibrant hub for academic programming concerning Japan," said Peter Arnade, dean of the UH Mānoa College of Arts, Languages & Letters.

Supporting the next generation of scholars and Hawaiʻi's Japan-ready workforce

The gift establishes the Tateuchi Memorial Endowed Scholarship fund that will provide essential support to select undergraduate students at UH Mānoa who are pursuing Japanese language majors or Asian studies with a focus on Japan. Additionally, the scholarship is open to students in other disciplines who demonstrate a strong interest in Japanese studies within their major.

"Our Center for Japanese Studies is the coordinating center for everything relating to Japanese studies at UH Mānoa," said Mark Levin, CJS director and professor at UH William S. Richardson School of Law. "Undergraduates represent the foundation for everything we do. This scholarship award will provide to multiple recipients coverage for full-tuition and related expenses, fostering workforce development for the state and populating the academic community across disciplinary boundaries into the future."

"This extraordinary endowment enables our undergraduate students to focus on their education as they develop advanced Japanese language skills and the multi-cultural fluency that UH Mānoa is known for in Japanese studies," said Joan Pan, CJS associate director. "We are excited for this opportunity to build upon our existing foundation of over 100 years of Japanese studies in the university's history since Dr. Tasuku Harada arrived in Honolulu from Japan in 1920."

A century of Japanese studies

UH Mānoa has been engaged with Japanese studies for more than a century. In 1920, the university appointed Tasuku Harada, the former president of Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan, as its first professor of Japanese studies, helping pioneer the academic study of Japan in American higher education. Today, UH Mānoa offers one of the nation's most comprehensive Japanese studies programs, with courses spanning language, history, politics, law, religion, literature, and the arts.

Learn how this historic gift echoes a pivotal moment in the Center's history and shapes its future.