On October 27-28, 2006, leading scholars and publishing experts from Japan and the U.S. will gather at Columbia University to explore the ways in which the material history of books and the institutions of publication have changed over time both inside and outside Japan. The two-day event, titled "The Past and Future of the Book: Transition and Translation in Japanese Publishing Culture," marks the Twentieth Anniversary of the Donald Keene Center of Japanese Culture. Through a multifaceted examination of past as well as present transitions in Japan's publishing world, the symposium seeks to illuminate the forces that will shape the production of knowledge in and about Japan in the future. Funding for the symposium has been provided by the Hiroshi Nitta Fund of the Donald Keene Center of Japanese Culture, the Weatherhead East Asian Institute, the Medieval Japanese Studies Foundation, and the C.V. Starr East Asian Library. Individuals planning to attend the "Past and Future of the Book" symposium may also wish to visit the New York Public Library’s exhibition "Ehon: The Artist and the Book in Japan," which opens on October 20.

Symposium schedule