Event for the 100th Anniversary of Portuguese Language Education Held 30th September -1st October

June 7, 2017

On Friday 30 ^th September and Saturday 1 ^st October 2016, an event took place to celebrate the 100 ^th anniversary of the commencement Portuguese language education at TUFS.

On first day on 30 ^th September, following a summary of the establishment of Portuguese studies and its history, President Tateishi gave his greetings. Afterwards, following introductions to the attending ambassadors including Mr. Francisco Esteves Soriano, Portuguese ambassador to Japan, and Mr. Andr�� Aranha Corr��a Do Lago, Brazilian ambassador to Japan, author Mr. Marco Lucchesi, who we had invited from Brazil, gave a lecture entitled 'Modern Literature and Portuguese'. Following this was a performance of 'Saudade no Kaze' by pianist Tokue Hiroko.

On the second day on 1 ^st October, Emeritus Professor Kinshichi Norio gave a lecture entitled 'Looking Back on 100 Years of Portuguese Language at TUFS', which was followed by a panel discussion entitled 'Portuguese and Globalisation'. Following that, Maria de Deus Beites Manso from the University of ?vora; Joseph A. Levi of the University of Washington; and Masahi Hayashida (professor at Osaka University, member of the Portuguese Studies Academy and TUFS graduate) each gave presentations on their research fields.

In the discussion that followed, on the topic of 'Discussing Portuguese Language Education at TUFS' five Portuguese language graduates of various generations shared their stories about their lives and about Portuguese language in each of their experiences.

The event ended in great success, with people attending including Portuguese language graduates from TUFS.

Along with the event, there was an exhibition of Portuguese photographer and Kyoto resident Pedro Medeiros' 'Carta ao Futuro (Letters to the Future)' (sponsored by the Portuguese Embassy in Japan).

A detailed report by the professors of Portuguese can be viewed here (link in Japanese).