Harvard University, Reischauer Institute for Japanese Studies

Harvard University, Reischauer Institute for Japanese Studies is Harvard’s center for the study of Japan and a major hub for Japanese studies in the United States. Based at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the institute advances research, teaching, and public engagement on Japan across the humanities and social sciences. Its work connects faculty, students, visiting scholars, and the wider public through lectures, conferences, workshops, and collaborative academic programs that place Japan in both historical and contemporary perspective.

The institute sits within Harvard’s regional studies framework and supports scholarship on Japanese politics, history, religion, literature, art, anthropology, sociology, and related fields. A concrete part of its academic role is the administration of student support and training opportunities tied to Japanese studies, including grants and fellowships for Harvard students and researchers. It also hosts visiting scholars and organizes events that bring specialists from Japan and other countries into conversation with Harvard faculty and students. The institute’s programming reaches beyond campus through public lectures and intellectual exchange designed for broader audiences interested in Japan.