The United States & Japan: 150 Years of Transpacific History

From its beginnings marked by the arrival in Japan of Commodore Matthew Perry’s “Black Ships” in 1853 and the signing of the Treaty of Peace and Amity in 1854, the bilateral association between Japan and the United States has grown into one of the closest political, cultural and economic relationships of our time. This panel discussion examines the key themes and issues that have shaped the U.S.-Japan relationship over the past 150 years. Panelists are Carol Gluck, George Sansom Professor of History, Columbia University and a leading authority on modern Japan from the late 19th century to the present; John Dower, Ford International Professor of History; Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Pulitzer-prize winning author; Ian Buruma, the author of, most recently, Inventing Japan: 1853-1964 (2003), and currently Luce Professor of Democracy, Human Rights and Journalism, Bard College; and Junji Kitadai, historian, journalist and translator of the recently published Drifting Toward the Southeast: The Story of Five Japanese Castaways (2003). 

Followed by a reception and booksigning.

Presented as part of U.S.-Japan 150 Years, a year-long celebration commemorating the 150th anniversary of U.S.-Japan relations.