April 12, 2004

Boise State University Welcomes Michiko Takaoka

Michiko Takaoka will present a lecture at 2 p.m., Wednesday, April 28 in the Hatch C Ballroom of the Student Union. The basis of the presentation is Takaoka’s Friendship Doll Program and different aspects of Japanese culture. The presentation, free and open to the public, is an important opportunity to strengthen and renew the relationship between Japan and the United States. Takaoka is director of the Japanese Cultural Center at the Mukogawa Fort Wright Institute in Spokane, Wash. In 1992, she started the Friendship Doll Program, which sends Japanese dolls to schools, educational programs, and cultural organizations throughout the U.S. In March 2004, she was appointed as a Special Advisor for Cultural Exchange by Japans Agency for Cultural Affairs. Her program is based on a 1927 program in which dolls were exchanged between the United States and Japan as tiny ambassadors of goodwill. Miss Nara, the doll originally sent to Idaho from Japan, will be on display. Takaoka has personally discovered 44 of the 58 original Japanese Friendship Dolls and has traveled extensively writing, researching, cataloging and arranging for their conservation. Takaoka will also discuss: “Japanese Culture as Influenced by Historical and Geographical Conditions,” and “The Compact Culture: Small is beautiful, Simplicity is Best.” -30- Contact Tetsuya Ehara Modern Langauges 208 426-2622 Media Contact Kathleen Craven communications and marketing 208 426-3275 Bill Schnupp communications and marketing 208 426-3196