2026 April 3 (Fri) 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm | (In-Person) | Kang Room (S050), Concourse Level, CGIS South Building, 1730 Cambridge St.

Aesthetics of Care in Japanese Cultural Practices - An Experiment in Conversation

Speaker: YURIKO SAITO, Professor Emerita, Rhode Island School of Design

Moderator: SHIGEHISA KURIYAMA, Reischauer Institute Professor of Cultural History; Director, Edwin O. Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies, Harvard University

*Special Reischauer Institute Japan Forum discussion-based event with pre-circulated reading. VIEW AND DOWNLOAD READING HERE

Yuriko Saito is a distinguished philosopher whose approach to aesthetic analysis looks beyond works of art to spotlight the aesthetics and ethics of everyday life—scrutinizing the care that can be invested in such ordinary practices as folding laundry, conversing with a friend, designing manhole covers, and placing umbrella stands beside ATM machines.

In this special session of the Japan Forum, Professor Saito has kindly agreed to participate in a new experiment: instead of requesting a standard lecture, we have asked her to engage with participants in a modified Fishbowl conversation about the aesthetics of care centered around one pre-circulated chapter of her most recent book, Aesthetics of Care: Practice in Everyday Life. We expect this to lead to some exceptionally lively and stimulating discussions. Please join us! The link to the reading is above.