Trinity Centre for Asian Studies

Dust off those dancing shoes for our 119th birthday! 👞✨

Take a look back at the incredible artists who have walked through our doors—like "Shall We Dance?" Director Masayuki Suo and actress Tamiyo Kusakari pictured here for the lecture "Shall We Dance? Goes to America" at Japan Society in 1998! 🥂 Make a toast with us and celebrate the joy of cinema at our members-only birthday screening of the film tomorrow.

Grab your seats: https://japansoc.org/4tOD1cX

On Friday, 15 May, Professor Nathan Hill and Dr Hongfei Wang attended the Ireland Japan Association (IJA) Annual Dinner 2026 at the beautiful College Green Hotel in Dublin.

H.E. Mr. Manabu Miyagawa, Ambassador of Japan to Ireland, and Mrs. Noriko Miyagawa also attended the dinner and shared warm and inspirational remarks with all attendees.

Throughout the 2025–26 academic year, the Trinity Centre for Asian Studies (TCAS) and the IJA have maintained a close and productive collaboration.

Earlier this year, the two organisations successfully co-hosted a book talk by author Ms Azumi Uchitani, which Mr Neil Cowhey, Chairperson of the IJA, warmly mentioned in his welcome remarks at the dinner.

The evening provided a valuable opportunity to reconnect with colleagues and friends, exchange ideas, and discuss Japanese Studies at Trinity and more broadly in Ireland.

A special highlight of the evening was the Lucky Draw, where Ms Azumi Uchitani generously sponsored four copies of her book Yoshuku: The Japanese Art of Manifesting as prizes.

Dr Hongfei Wang was delighted to be selected as the winner of the US edition.

It was a memorable evening, and TCAS looks forward to continuing its collaboration with the IJA to further strengthen Japanese Studies and cultural exchange in Ireland.

Ireland Japan Association
Embassy of Japan in Ireland
Japan Society
Ireland at Expo 2025

Reminder: places are filling quickly for Gateway to Japan: Secondary School Summer Programme 2026🇯🇵 at UCD!

1-week immersive programme where students will explore Japanese language and culture through hands-on workshops, cultural activities, manga, music, sports, and interactive exchange experiences.

📍 University College Dublin, Belfield
📅 15-19 June 2026
⏰ 10:00-15:00 Daily
💶 Course fee €100

If you know any secondary school students who may be interested, please share this opportunity with them and their families.

Info: https://www.ucd.ie/japan/newsevents/japaneselanguageandculturesummerprogrammes/

Come discover Japan beyond the textbook, make new friends, and experience an unforgettable week of culture, creativity and collaboration.



Embassy of Japan in Ireland
Experience Japan Ireland Japan Association Ireland Japan Chamber of Commerce Trinity Centre for Asian Studies UCC - Department of Asian Studies
TCD Japanese Society DCU Japanese Society UCD Japanese Society Japanese Language Teachers of Ireland (JLTI)

Languages Connect Post-Primary Languages Ireland

Do you love it when there's a 'K' in front of anything culture-wise? This event is definitely for you!

📢 🇰🇷 QUIZ ON KOREA 2026 – IRELAND PRELIMINARY DEADLINE EXTENDED 🇮🇪

Good news! Applications for the Quiz on Korea 2026 hosted by the Korean Embassy in Ireland have now been extended until 28 May 2026!

If you love Korean culture, K-pop, K-dramas, food, history, language, or traditions, this is your chance to test your knowledge and take part in a fun cultural event right here in Dublin.

📅 Saturday, 30 May 2026
📍 Griffith Barracks Multi-Denominational School, Dublin 8
🕑 Quiz Time: 2PM–4PM

✨ Special Hanbok Try-On Experience ✨
Visitors can also try on traditional Korean hanbok before and after the quiz:
🕐 1PM–2PM
🕓 4PM–5PM

🏆 The winner of the Ireland Preliminary will represent Ireland at the Grand Final in Seoul in September 2026, with round-trip flights, accommodation, and expenses covered.

📢 Important Information:
• Applications are now open until 28 May 2026
• The event is open to everyone
• Participants under 18 may take part in the Ireland Preliminary, however anyone under 18 who wins will not be eligible to travel to Korea for the Grand Final

📝 Apply via email: [email protected]
📌 Email title: “Application for 2026 Quiz on Korea”
🔗 https://overseas.mofa.go.kr/ie-en/brd/m_23773/view.do?seq=761926&page=1

Don’t miss your chance to celebrate Korean culture, test your knowledge, and experience hanbok right here in Dublin!

We've just received a Major Book Donation from Professor Lai Guolong!

On 20 May 2025, TCAS received a remarkable donation of over 1,000 books, delivered in 60 boxes shipped from Florida to Dublin!

These came from Professor Lai Guolong of Westlake University, China, marking the third major book donation we've received and certainly the largest so far.

ABOUT Prof Lai
Professor Lai Guolong, originally from Xiaoshan, Hangzhou, is a distinguished

scholar of Chinese archaeology, art history, and historical linguistics. He received his Bachelor of Laws in International Law from Jilin University in 1991 and his MA in Shang and Zhou Archaeology and Palaeography from Peking University in 1994.

Following graduation, he worked at the National Museum of Chinese History (now the National Museum of China).

In 2002, he earned his PhD in Art History from the University of California, Los Angeles. From 2002 to 2004, he conducted postdoctoral research at Columbia University on the preservation and modernisation of Chinese cultural heritage, while also teaching Chinese archaeology and art history.

In 2004, he joined the University of Florida, where he taught for nearly two decades before becoming the first overseas humanities professor appointed by Westlake University.

At Westlake University, Professor Lai has played an important role in advancing humanities education, offering courses in global art history and linguistics, while developing new initiatives in archaeology, cultural heritage, writing systems, and historical linguistics.

We are deeply grateful for Professor Lai’s generous support!

This growing collection will make an important contribution to Asian Studies resources at Trinity and support future teaching and research across disciplines.

Our TCAS Book Talk Series continues with:
"Denial, Deterrence, and Disenchantment: Why Many Do Not Immigrate"

📍 LTEE2 Lecture Theatre (Science 1st Call), B/04 (A), Hamilton East End, Trinity College Dublin

📅 Friday, 12 June | 3.30 pm – 4.30 pm

We invite colleagues and students to a timely book talk by Jacob Thomas, Assistant Professor at Corvinus University of Budapest and Research Fellow at Princeton University’s Centre for Migration and Development.

Drawing on survey and interview data from more than 2,500 potential immigrants from mainland China, this talk examines an important but underexplored question:

Why do many people who consider migration ultimately decide not to move?

The book explores three key mechanisms shaping immobility:

• governments denying visas
• policies and social forces deterring applications
• growing disenchantment with migration itself

Thomas develops a new push-retain-pull-repel model to explain how migration decisions are shaped not only by opportunity, but also by structural and social constraints.

The talk also examines how migratory possibilities are stratified across socioeconomic groups and how factors that facilitate migration can simultaneously inhibit it.

🎟 Book tickets:

https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/denial-deterrence-and-disenchantment-why-many-do-not-immigrate-tickets-1987325425846?aff=oddtdtcreator

This event will be of interest to those working in migration studies, sociology, political science, China studies, and global mobility research.

Join us on Tuesday 12 May at 18.15 at IFI DUBLIN Irish Film Institute (IFI) for the first screening of the wonderful YAKUSHIMA’S ILLUSION by Japanese writer-director Naomi Kawase, presented as part of EAFFI Discoveries.

'Vicky Krieps stars in Naomi Kawase’s humanistic Japanese hospital drama... Writer/director Kawase presents a delicately-handled study of the country’s challenging organ donation landscape' (Screendaily)�

🎟️ Bookings / Tickets on sale 🎟️
ifi.ie/film/eaffi-discoveries-yakushimas-illusion/

‘Corry (Vicky Krieps), a French expert in pediatric heart transplant, is sent to a transplant center in Kobe, Japan – an assignment weighted with cultural complexity. Organ donation remains a deeply taboo and sensitive subject in Japan, rooted in beliefs about the soul’s continued presence in the body after clinical death. While visiting Yakushima’s ancient forest, she meets Jin (Kanichiro), a free-spirited photographer, and the two fall for each other. One day Jin vanishes – is he dead, or one of Japan’s so-called Jōhatsu, people who disappear overnight to escape their former lives? Naomi Kawase’s new film (Vision, EAFFI 2020) is a luminous meditation on loss, connection, and the ephemeral nature of being.’

Official Selection, Locarno International Film Festival 2025

Additional information: eaffi.ie/discoveries/yakushimas-illusion

The East Asia Film Festival Ireland (EAFFI) is supported by the The Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon

On Friday, 8 May 2026, the Trinity Centre for Asian Studies (TCAS) hosted an engaging talk, “Cross Strait Relations - Taiwan and China: Status Quo or Conflict,” delivered by former Ambassador Kevin Magee.

The audience greatly enjoyed the talk and was inspired by the speaker’s insights. During the Q&A session, attendees raised thoughtful questions and participated in an engaging and insightful discussion.

Before the lecture, Professor Carmel O’Sullivan, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (AHSS) Trinity College Dublin, warmly welcomed Ambassador Kevin Magee to her office.

Following the lecture, a number of our honorary guests, including former diplomats and professors, continued conversations at the Trinity Senior Common Room, where they exchanged views on topics of shared interest in a more informal setting.

The event formed part of the TCAS Diplomatic Talk Series, which aims to encourage informed dialogue on contemporary Asian affairs through public engagement and academic exchange.

hashtag hashtag hashtag hashtag

Prof. Nathan Hill Meets Delegation from Shanghai Jiao Tong University!

On Thursday, 14 May 2026, Trinity College Dublin welcomed a delegation from Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU), led by Jiang Lifeng, Party Secretary of the Lifelong Education College at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

During the visit, the delegation met with Professor Carmel O’Sullivan, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (AHSS), Professor Nathan Hill, Director of the Trinity Centre for Asian Studies (TCAS), and Ms Niamh Burke, Associate Director of Trinity College Dublin Global.

The SJTU delegation also included Wang Xintong, Vice Dean of the Lifelong Education College; Xia Shuyi, Director of the International Education Innovation Centre; and Shan Feng, Director of the International Education Development Centre.

The meeting provided an opportunity for both institutions to discuss international education, academic exchange, and future possibilities for collaboration between Trinity College Dublin and Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

The visit reflects TCAS’s continued commitment to fostering international partnerships and strengthening academic links between Ireland and China.