history

Founded in 1904, the Japan Society is one of the oldest of more than 35 independent Japan-America Societies in the United States and is the only Massachusetts organization committed to fostering economic and cultural ties with Japan. A non-profit organization, the Society's funding is obtained through membership and admission fees, corporate donations, individual contributions and foundation grants.
The Japan Society of Boston began in 1904 as an informal discussion group sympathetic to Japan in the Russo-Japanese War. It was officially founded in 1920 several months after the visit of the Japanese flagship SS Kasuga. During the 1920s and 1930s Japan Society membership numbered as many as 400 people and included scholars from Harvard, Museum of Fine Arts curators and staff, the few permanent Japanese residents of Boston, art collectors, and other "Boston Brahmins" who found much to admire in Japanese culture. During the 1920s and 1930s Japan Society membership numbered as many as 400 people.
The Japan Society sponsored social events, hospitality for visiting Japanese dignitaries (notably Prince and Princess Takamatsu in April 1931), cultural events such as concerts by local musicians and tea ceremonies, and occasionally lectures on current events. These activities came to an end with the outbreak of World War 2. The Society was revived in 1953, the year the Crown Prince and Princess first visited Boston, and was legally incorporated for the first time in 1958. In 1960 the Society received a grant from the Japan Society, Inc. (New York) and hired Martha Henderson (now Coolidge ) as executive secretary, with an office at the Dept. of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, Harvard. The Society’s social and cultural activities continued and a new focus on business programs was developed. However these business activities did not prove to be self-sustaining and were discontinued when the grant ran out after several years. The cultural highlight of these years was a Bugaku performance on the Boston Common which drew a crowd of 20,000. The Society was revived in 1953, the year the Crown Prince and Princess first visited Boston, and was legally incorporated for the first time in 1958.
From the mid-sixties to the mid-seventies Russell S Codman, Jr., who also served as Honorary Consul of Japan in Boston, was president of the Society and John Patterson, formally a foreign service officer in Yokohama, served as executive secretary. The Society's activities were almost purely social and occured only twice or so each year. The cultural highlight of the 1960's was a Bugaku performance on the Boston Common which drew a crowd of 20,000.
   
In 1974 Prescott C. Crafts, Jr., an officer of the First National Bank of Boston was elected president of the Japan Society and the Board of Directors was enlarged and animated. In 1976 the Society, with a membership of about 159, arranged with the World Affairs Council for part-time staff and use of the Council’s office space and facilities in order to become more truly public in nature. Programs of cultural, political, and economic substance were developed, initially on a bi-monthly basis. Membership and activity expanded rapidly during a period when public interest in Japan burgeoned. Local institutions, from great universities and museums to small clubs and businesses, sponsored lectures on Japan, Japanese films and performances, etc., and the Japan Society assumed a new role as information center for these events. Membership and activity expanded rapidly during the late 1970's, when public interest in Japan burgeoned.
In 1980 under the leadership of new President Vernon R. Alden the Society received a grant from the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission allowing for additional staff, and in 1982 Patricia Govens was hired as the first executive director. As public interest in Japan continued to grow, the Society developed new programs and services for American and Japanese business, language classes, orientation sessions for Japanese and Americans, and reached out to the community with major performing arts and film programs. Political, economic, and social events continue, with the total number of programs now at 30-40 per year. Highlights include series of contemporary Japanese films (cosponsored with the Japanese consulate and others ), two sell-out performances of the Osaka Bunraku Troupe, and high-level symposia on U.S.-Japan relations. In the 1980's, political, economic, and social events continue, with the total number of programs now at 30-40 per year.
The Japan Society is now entering a new era with a new president, Peter Grilli, staff of four, active Board of Directors, and a membership of over 1300 individuals and 130 corporations and still growing.