I’m very excited to be kicking off the spring season with you as I’m just back from Washington, DC where things couldn’t have been lovelier with the National Cherry Blossom festival and peak bloom in full force. Thanks to MUFG Bank, we just hosted “New Era in U.S.-Japan Relations,” an invitational event held on March 20th at the Willard Hotel. It’s one of my favorite venues, steps away from the White House where presidents used to come for a drink in the lobby that led to the now infamous “lobbyists” hoping to bend ears, a practice that started with President Ulysses S. Grant. With a focus on the U.S.-Japan alliance in the context of new political leadership in both nations, in-depth discussions considered trade, economic security, energy, and the evolving dynamics of U.S.-Japan relations. Speakers, myself among them, included business leaders such as Mitsubishi Heavy Industry’s Takajiro Ishikawa, MUFG’s Masatoshi Komoriya, and PJT Partners Eri Kakuta along with policy leaders such as Dr. Kenneth Weinstein of Hudson Institute, Glenn Nye of the Center for the Study of Presidency and Congress, former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves, former U.S. Senator Ben Cardin, former U.S. Senator Roy Blunt, and Rahm Emanuel, former U.S. Ambassador to Japan, who all but announced that he is running for president to assess Washington’s new landscape.

I particularly appreciate how this type of gathering brought together many of our Board and corporate members to DC to set the stage for the future. As Japan Society moves towards its 120th Anniversary in 2027, we are proud to have MUFG Bank, Ltd. as Champion Sponsor, partnering with us on our 120th Anniversary initiatives and related programs. That MUFG, which has over 300+ years of history in Japan that traces back to the samurai spirit, felt the need to bring this distinguished group together in DC in partnership with Japan Society tells me that there is a bright future for U.S.-Japan no matter what happens in politics whether in Washington or Tokyo!

Beyond politics and just in time for spring here in New York we welcomed over 500 guests at the opening of Kotobuki: Auspicious Celebrations of Japanese Art from New York Private Collections, our vibrant new spring exhibition celebrating the joy experienced through Japanese art. Kotobuki, which features masterpieces of Japanese art spanning the 12th to the 21st centuries drawn entirely from private collections, also honors the long and rich life of our guest curator Miyeko Murase, Takeo and Itsuko Atsumi Professor Emerita of Japanese Art History at Columbia University, who recently passed away peacefully at the age of 100.

Fittingly, just before you enter the show, there is a stunning calligraphic interpretation of the character for kotobuki (longevity) by Morita Shiryu (1912-1998) on loan from the Gitter-Yelen Collection. Also just outside the Gallery door is a sparrow, a bird considered to be an auspicious symbol of good fortune and prosperity, seen here in the form of a 16th-century Oribe ware incense container that accompanied exhibition curator Dr. Miyeko Murase for most of her life. As Dr. Murase said in January 2025 as she was curating her last show, “I bought this when I was still an undergraduate student, before I came to the United States. I found it in Kyoto. This was before my art history days, so I must have a good eye… it’s my favorite.” Kotobuki is the first complete exhibition organized by our Senior Gallery Director Michele Bambling, whose vision and tribute to her dissertation advisor make this a special full circle and auspicious moment for us at Japan Society. The exhibition showcases art from the private homes and collections of 14 notable lenders, and this unique presentation could only have been created by and held at our Japan House. Much like the sakura season, this short and absolutely gorgeous show is not to be missed—it will be on view only through May 11.