Toshiba International Foundation (TIFO), a non-profit organization
funded entirely by Toshiba Corporation, has decided, as part of its
program of supporting research that enhances understanding of Japan,
to provide financial support for the Japanese studies program
conducted by Mori Ogai Memorial Hall in Berlin, Germany. Also, TIFO
will donate cutting-edge audiovisual equipment and notebook computers
in order to enrich Mori Ogai Memorial Hall's Japanese cultural
activities offered to the community.
On June 3, a grant awarding ceremony will be held at Mori Ogai
Memorial Hall. Tadashi Okamura, chairman of Toshiba Corporation, other
Toshiba executives, and Shinji Fukukawa, vice chairman of TIFO and
chairman of the Machine Industry Memorial Foundation, will attend the
ceremony with Prof. Dr. Klaus Kracht, director of Mori Ogai Memorial
Hall and director of the Institute of Japanese Studies, Humboldt
University of Berlin.
Mori Ogai (1862-1922), a distinguished novelist and a physician at
the dawn of Japan's modernization, studied medicine in Germany from
1884 to 1888. After his return to Japan, he wrote Wita Sekusuarisu
(Vita Sexualis), Maihime (The Dancing Girl), Seinen, and several other
highly admired literary works and also translated Goethe's Faust. Mori
Ogai was a pioneer in introducing German literature to Japan and
contributed to the cultural relationship between Germany and Japan.
Mori Ogai Memorial Hall was opened in 1984, commemorating the
centenary of Mori Ogai's stay in Germany. The building was originally
a private residence, which was Mori Ogai's first home in Berlin in
1887. Subsequently, Mori Ogai Memorial Hall became part of the
Institute of Japanese Studies of Humboldt University.
Mori Ogai Memorial Hall has exhibitions of Mori Ogai's works and
related books, collects artifacts associated with him, plans and holds
events, and offers Japanese cultural programs on such subjects as
ikebana, the tea ceremony, and shogi. The Institute of Japanese
Studies of Humboldt University, to which Mori Ogai Memorial Hall
belongs, is widely admired for its activities. It is the country's
sole publisher of a journal of Japanese studies written in the German
language. As one element of the support program, TIFO will provide
financial support for the editing and production of this journal.
TIFO is a non-profit organization established in 1989 and entirely
funded by Toshiba Corporation. TIFO strives to contribute to the
development of international understanding by promoting exchange
activities, including the organization and sponsorship of symposia and
seminars and various other activities that further understanding of
Japan worldwide.
TIFO's recent activities in Europe include the following: support
of the Mazarin Chest Project, a collaborative project for conservation
of the Mazarin Chest, which is an exquisitely decorated 17th century
piece of Japanese lacquer in the Japanese Gallery of the Victoria and
Albert Museum in the UK; production and donation of explanatory panels
in Japanese for the Louvre Museum in France; and production of CD-ROM
catalogs for the collection of netsuke (miniature carved ornaments)
owned by the Naprestek Museum, which houses the largest collection of
Japanese art in the Czech Republic.
Every year TIFO accepts applications for projects whose objective
is to promote understanding of Japan and after careful screening
provides various types of support for selected projects.
Mori Ogai greatly contributed to cultural exchanges between
Germany and Japan and his literary works are translated into German
and various other languages and are read by people interested in
Japanese literature all over the world. TIFO's decision to provide
support to Mori Ogai Memorial Hall reflects TIFO's enthusiastic
endorsement of Mori Ogai Memorial Hall's intention to further
contribute to the promotion of mutual understanding between Germany
and Japan through enrichment of the institution's activities.