Endlessly curious about Godzilla, environmental history, and the Japanese economy.
Passionate about diversity, program-building in higher education,
and BBQ (among many other things).
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Bill Tsutsui is an award-winning scholar and teacher, an experienced academic leader,
and an outspoken supporter of the public humanities, international education, and more inclusive, accessible colleges and universities. He researches, writes, and speaks widely on Japanese economic and environmental history, Japanese popular culture (especially the Godzilla movies), Japanese-American identity, and issues in higher education. He is highly opinionated about BBQ, proud to have once driven the Zamboni at an NHL game, and slightly embarrassed to be Level 40 in Pokemon Go. |
News and Upcoming Events
Appointment: President and CEO, Ottawa University
Effective July 1, 2021
Read the announcement here.
Lecture: "Yokai and Japanese Monster Culture"
USJC Midwest Region Bento Talk
Japan Information Center, Chicago
May 24, 2022
Feature Blog: "Imagining Japanese Monsters with Dr. Bill Tsutsui"
Humanities in American Life blog, Federation of State Humanities Councils
May 19, 2021
Read it here.
Interview on Toho Kingdom
July 22, 2021
Read it here.
Feature Article: "A Godzilla Crash Course"
The Harvard Crimson, April 15, 2021
Read it here.
Radio Interview: Sirius XM BYUradio "Top of Mind"
April 7, 2021
Media Source: Robert Ito, "When King Kong Accidentally Met Godzilla"
The New York Times, March 30, 2021
Read it here.
Feature Article: "Round 2: 'Godzilla vs. Kong'"
The Harvard Gazette, March 29, 2021
Read it here.
Publication: "Ordinary Happiness in Extraordinary Times"
Connect Magazine (Arkansas Humanities Council), Fall 2020
Read it here.
Podcast Interview: "Japan's Premier Prime Ministers,
Growing Up with Godzilla, and the Challenges for Higher Education"
Asia Global Podcasts with Alejandro Reyes, October 7, 2020
Listen here.
Publication: "From Abe to Suga: Japan's Quest for Inspiring Leadership"
AsiaGlobal Online, Hong Kong University, September 30, 2020
Read it here.
Profile Article: "Arkansas' King of the Monsters"
AY Magazine, October 2020
Read the piece by Dustin Jayroe here.
Media Source: NBC News Asian America feature on Godzilla and the Atomic Bombs
Read it here.
Effective July 1, 2021
Read the announcement here.
Lecture: "Yokai and Japanese Monster Culture"
USJC Midwest Region Bento Talk
Japan Information Center, Chicago
May 24, 2022
Feature Blog: "Imagining Japanese Monsters with Dr. Bill Tsutsui"
Humanities in American Life blog, Federation of State Humanities Councils
May 19, 2021
Read it here.
Interview on Toho Kingdom
July 22, 2021
Read it here.
Feature Article: "A Godzilla Crash Course"
The Harvard Crimson, April 15, 2021
Read it here.
Radio Interview: Sirius XM BYUradio "Top of Mind"
April 7, 2021
Media Source: Robert Ito, "When King Kong Accidentally Met Godzilla"
The New York Times, March 30, 2021
Read it here.
Feature Article: "Round 2: 'Godzilla vs. Kong'"
The Harvard Gazette, March 29, 2021
Read it here.
Publication: "Ordinary Happiness in Extraordinary Times"
Connect Magazine (Arkansas Humanities Council), Fall 2020
Read it here.
Podcast Interview: "Japan's Premier Prime Ministers,
Growing Up with Godzilla, and the Challenges for Higher Education"
Asia Global Podcasts with Alejandro Reyes, October 7, 2020
Listen here.
Publication: "From Abe to Suga: Japan's Quest for Inspiring Leadership"
AsiaGlobal Online, Hong Kong University, September 30, 2020
Read it here.
Profile Article: "Arkansas' King of the Monsters"
AY Magazine, October 2020
Read the piece by Dustin Jayroe here.
Media Source: NBC News Asian America feature on Godzilla and the Atomic Bombs
Read it here.
Recent Events and Publications
Keynote Address, USJETAA (US Japan Exchange & Teaching Program Alumni Association)
JET35 Alumni Reunion, Seattle
May 20, 2022
More information here.
Webinar: "Godzilla over the Years: The Changing Landscape of the Godzilla Movies"
Japan Society of Boston
7:00pm EDT, April 28, 2022
More information here.
Panel Commentator: "Pop Culture Samurai: Representations of Pre-modern Japan in New Media"
Association for Asian Studies Conference
Honolulu, Hawai'i
March 25, 2022
Film Screening, Introduction and Discussion: Screen/Society - Mothra (1961)
Rubenstein Arts Center, Duke University
7:00pm, March 19, 2022
More information here.
Webinar Moderator: "Paul Dunscomb on Squeeze Play:
The Crisis in Japanese Professional Baseball of 2004 and the Resilience of Heisei Japan"
Japan Studies Association
February 24, 2022
More information here.
Moderator: "The Future of Japan Studies"
Plenary Roundtable, Japan Studies Association Annual Conference
Honolulu, Hawai'i and Online
January 7, 2022.
More information here.
Webinar Moderator: "Living Traditions: Anime and Manga"
Japan Society and Portland Japanese Garden
February 15, 2022
Recording available here.
Appointment: Edwin O. Reischauer Distinguished Professor
Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies and Department of East Asian Languages & Civilizations
Harvard University
July 2020-June 2021
Read more about my appointment here.
Invited Lecture: "Godzilla and the Imagination of Anxiety, from Hiroshima to COVID-19"
Chapman University
December 2, 2021
Conference: "The United States, War, and the Environment in the Twentieth-Century Pacific World"
University of Kansas, Lawrence
October 15-16, 2021
Moderator: "Godzilla: A Pioneer of Global Popular Culture"
Sponsored by Japan Foundation, New York
August 31, 2021
Watch the video here.
Webinar: "Godzilla and the Imagination of Anxiety, from Hiroshima to COVID-19"
Connected Conversations Webinar
Idaho Humanities Council
May 18, 2021, 6-7pm Mountain
Keynote Address: "Simple Pleasures, Powerful Insights: The Arts and Humanities in a Troubled World"
Arts and Humanities Symposium
Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts
Hot Springs, Arkansas
May 7, 2021
Webinar: "The Hot Dog of the Sea? Surimi and Kamaboko in Historical and Environmental Perspective"
Japan America Society of Greater Austin
May 4, 2021, 6-7pm Central. More information and sign-up here.
K-12 Teacher Workshop:
"Godzilla in the Classroom"
NCTA/Program for Teaching East Asia
University of Colorado, Boulder
April 10, 2021
Details here.
Webinar: "Understanding Godzilla, from Hiroshima to COVID-19"
Tulsa Global Alliance
March 29, 2021, 5:30pm Central
Lecture: "Making American Cheese:
Editing, Dubbing, and Difference in the Globalization of Godzilla"
Mahindra Humanities Center New Faculty Lunch
Harvard University
April 1, 2021
Keynote, "Virtual Career Panel for Students Studying Japanese"
Kizuna Across Cultures, Global Classmates Community
March 6, 2021
Webinar Moderator:
"Japanese Pop Culture's Response to COVID-19"
Japan-America Society of Dallas/Fort Worth
March 18, 2021, 7pm Central
Details here.
Webinar: "The Velveeta of the Sea? Surimi and Kamaboko in Historical and Environmental Perspective"
Japan Studies Association
January 27, 2021
Webinar Speaker: "Godzilla's Enduring Popularity"
Japan-America Society of Dallas/Fort Worth
December 2, 2020
More information here.
K-12 Teacher Workshops (Japan Society, New York City)
November 7, 2020
Houston, Texas
December 5, 2020
New York, New York
Session Introduction: "Cultural and Education Exchange"
2020 US-Japan Council Public Symposium
November 19, 2020
More information here.
Lecture: "Surimi, Japanese Fisheries, and Global Markets:
Environment, Technology, and Politics in the Making of Engineered Seafood"
Reischauer Institute Japan Forum, Harvard University
October 30, 2020, 4-5:00pm ET
More information here.
Discussion Leader: NCTA Summer Movie Nights
Program for Teaching East Asia, University of Colorado Boulder
June 24 Gojira, July 14 Your Name
More information here.
Media Source: TAB (Universo Online, Brazil) feature on UFOs, Natural Disasters, and the Apocalyptic Imagination in Japan
Read it here (if you know Brazilian Portuguese).
Appointed as Member of the Japan-United States Friendship Commission (JUSFC)
and a Panelist of the United States-Japan Conference on Cultural & Educational Interchange (CULCON)
May 1, 2020
Read more about the JUSFC, an independent U.S. federal agency, here. And about my appointment here.
Publication: “The Thrill of Victory, the Agony of Defeat – and the Yawn of Postponement?”
AsiaGlobal Online, Hong Kong University, April 2, 2020
Read it here.
Interview and Book Discussion: Godzilla Mon Amour
"Arts and Letters," KUAR (NPR 89.1 Little Rock, Arkansas)
Listen here.
Publication: “History of Japanese Labor and Production Management”
Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Business and Management, Oxford University Press, May 2019 (peer reviewed)
Publication: (with Kimmo Ahonen and Simo Laakkonen) “Apocalyptic Urban Future: Atomic Cities and Cinema”
in Simo Laakkonen, J.R. McNeill, Richard P. Tucker, and Timo Vuorisalo, eds.,
The Resilient City in World War II: Urban Environmental Histories, Palgrave Macmillan, 2019
JET35 Alumni Reunion, Seattle
May 20, 2022
More information here.
Webinar: "Godzilla over the Years: The Changing Landscape of the Godzilla Movies"
Japan Society of Boston
7:00pm EDT, April 28, 2022
More information here.
Panel Commentator: "Pop Culture Samurai: Representations of Pre-modern Japan in New Media"
Association for Asian Studies Conference
Honolulu, Hawai'i
March 25, 2022
Film Screening, Introduction and Discussion: Screen/Society - Mothra (1961)
Rubenstein Arts Center, Duke University
7:00pm, March 19, 2022
More information here.
Webinar Moderator: "Paul Dunscomb on Squeeze Play:
The Crisis in Japanese Professional Baseball of 2004 and the Resilience of Heisei Japan"
Japan Studies Association
February 24, 2022
More information here.
Moderator: "The Future of Japan Studies"
Plenary Roundtable, Japan Studies Association Annual Conference
Honolulu, Hawai'i and Online
January 7, 2022.
More information here.
Webinar Moderator: "Living Traditions: Anime and Manga"
Japan Society and Portland Japanese Garden
February 15, 2022
Recording available here.
Appointment: Edwin O. Reischauer Distinguished Professor
Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies and Department of East Asian Languages & Civilizations
Harvard University
July 2020-June 2021
Read more about my appointment here.
Invited Lecture: "Godzilla and the Imagination of Anxiety, from Hiroshima to COVID-19"
Chapman University
December 2, 2021
Conference: "The United States, War, and the Environment in the Twentieth-Century Pacific World"
University of Kansas, Lawrence
October 15-16, 2021
Moderator: "Godzilla: A Pioneer of Global Popular Culture"
Sponsored by Japan Foundation, New York
August 31, 2021
Watch the video here.
Webinar: "Godzilla and the Imagination of Anxiety, from Hiroshima to COVID-19"
Connected Conversations Webinar
Idaho Humanities Council
May 18, 2021, 6-7pm Mountain
Keynote Address: "Simple Pleasures, Powerful Insights: The Arts and Humanities in a Troubled World"
Arts and Humanities Symposium
Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts
Hot Springs, Arkansas
May 7, 2021
Webinar: "The Hot Dog of the Sea? Surimi and Kamaboko in Historical and Environmental Perspective"
Japan America Society of Greater Austin
May 4, 2021, 6-7pm Central. More information and sign-up here.
K-12 Teacher Workshop:
"Godzilla in the Classroom"
NCTA/Program for Teaching East Asia
University of Colorado, Boulder
April 10, 2021
Details here.
Webinar: "Understanding Godzilla, from Hiroshima to COVID-19"
Tulsa Global Alliance
March 29, 2021, 5:30pm Central
Lecture: "Making American Cheese:
Editing, Dubbing, and Difference in the Globalization of Godzilla"
Mahindra Humanities Center New Faculty Lunch
Harvard University
April 1, 2021
Keynote, "Virtual Career Panel for Students Studying Japanese"
Kizuna Across Cultures, Global Classmates Community
March 6, 2021
Webinar Moderator:
"Japanese Pop Culture's Response to COVID-19"
Japan-America Society of Dallas/Fort Worth
March 18, 2021, 7pm Central
Details here.
Webinar: "The Velveeta of the Sea? Surimi and Kamaboko in Historical and Environmental Perspective"
Japan Studies Association
January 27, 2021
Webinar Speaker: "Godzilla's Enduring Popularity"
Japan-America Society of Dallas/Fort Worth
December 2, 2020
More information here.
K-12 Teacher Workshops (Japan Society, New York City)
November 7, 2020
Houston, Texas
December 5, 2020
New York, New York
Session Introduction: "Cultural and Education Exchange"
2020 US-Japan Council Public Symposium
November 19, 2020
More information here.
Lecture: "Surimi, Japanese Fisheries, and Global Markets:
Environment, Technology, and Politics in the Making of Engineered Seafood"
Reischauer Institute Japan Forum, Harvard University
October 30, 2020, 4-5:00pm ET
More information here.
Discussion Leader: NCTA Summer Movie Nights
Program for Teaching East Asia, University of Colorado Boulder
June 24 Gojira, July 14 Your Name
More information here.
Media Source: TAB (Universo Online, Brazil) feature on UFOs, Natural Disasters, and the Apocalyptic Imagination in Japan
Read it here (if you know Brazilian Portuguese).
Appointed as Member of the Japan-United States Friendship Commission (JUSFC)
and a Panelist of the United States-Japan Conference on Cultural & Educational Interchange (CULCON)
May 1, 2020
Read more about the JUSFC, an independent U.S. federal agency, here. And about my appointment here.
Publication: “The Thrill of Victory, the Agony of Defeat – and the Yawn of Postponement?”
AsiaGlobal Online, Hong Kong University, April 2, 2020
Read it here.
Interview and Book Discussion: Godzilla Mon Amour
"Arts and Letters," KUAR (NPR 89.1 Little Rock, Arkansas)
Listen here.
Publication: “History of Japanese Labor and Production Management”
Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Business and Management, Oxford University Press, May 2019 (peer reviewed)
Publication: (with Kimmo Ahonen and Simo Laakkonen) “Apocalyptic Urban Future: Atomic Cities and Cinema”
in Simo Laakkonen, J.R. McNeill, Richard P. Tucker, and Timo Vuorisalo, eds.,
The Resilient City in World War II: Urban Environmental Histories, Palgrave Macmillan, 2019