A lustful proposition accompanied by a gruesome threat. A violent, humiliating rejection. A retaliatory—and lascivious—kidnapping. A long search for the one kidnapped. A war of recovery. Slaughter. Victory. Glorification of the heroes. “Happily ever after”—or not. Such an encapsulation bears something like the relation to the great seven-volume epic Ramayana as the AI-generated teaser “Mad […]
Of the thousands of objects in the museum’s collection, most were created by unknown makers. Many works are unsigned, and others have lost attribution over time. For generations, such pieces were categorized as “craft” or “decorative art,” often excluded from the status granted to “fine art.” In the early twentieth century, Japanese thinker Sōetsu Yanagi […]
This rare presentation of Mongolian art explores the rich evolution of Mongolian writing and calligraphic traditions, beginning with the Old Uyghur script from the time of Genghis Khan and its development to the classical Mongolian vertical script, to the creation of the Soyombo script by the Mongolian artist and scholar Zanabazar, to the introduction of […]
This trip is now sold out! If you would like to be put on the wait list, please register ONLY BY USING THE ONLINE LINK. Join us on this fabulous trip. We will have curator-led tours of two extraordinary exhibitions at the Honolulu Museum of Art: Divine Disruption: The Art of Tsherin Sherpa, and Toshiko […]
Put on your favorite walking shoes to join fellow SAA members in exploring Sonoma Botanical Garden in Sonoma. Our guide for this exclusive SAA tour will be Michael Wenzel, Chief Curator of Living Collections, who will focus on the garden’s famous Asian botanicals. Bring a hat, water bottle and plenty of sunscreen in addition to […]
All Society members are invited to attend the Annual Meeting and Reception. Email invitations will be sent to all members in good standing by April 28. Please kindly follow the instructions in the invitation to RSVP. After a short formal meeting to elect new members of the Board of Directors, and a report from the […]
In an age when cultural identities are increasingly fluid, Asia Reimagined invites you to explore how artists, ideas, and aesthetics have long transcended national boundaries and how the artistic soul, be it nomad or explorer, has responded with curiosity and vision. This 14-lecture series examines the ways that creative exchange has influenced both the makers […]
This talk explores Empress Wanrong’s life and image through the contrasting perspectives of East and West. The qipao, her iconic dress, functions as both an emblem of elegance and the lens through which identity, culture, and perception are refracted. Key figures in her story—the Last Emperor Puyi, her eunuch Sun Yaoting, and her English teacher […]
This course will introduce three key works by Ihara Saikaku (1642–1693), widely acclaimed as early-Tokugawa Japan’s greatest writer of fiction. The first lecture will outline the historical and cultural context of Saikaku’s stories and novels: the status-group system imposed by the Tokugawa regime; the rapid growth of cities in 17th-century Japan, the expansion of a […]
Southwest China and Southeast Asia is one of the world’s most diverse regions, with peoples from four major language families. The weaving traditions of this region are equally diverse and colorful and subsequently spread to other parts of Asia. Textile experts Chris Buckley and Serena Lee will introduce the region through field photographs and slide […]