150 Years Austro-Japanese Relations

"Archduke Franz-Ferdinand's Arrival at Shinbashi-Station in Tokyo", 新橋ステーション御着之圖.

© Weltmuseum Vienna

Practical Media Project for Students of Japanese Studies about the Milestones of a Long-Lasting-Friendship.

October 2019 will mark the 150th anniversary of the Austro-Japanese friendship-, trade and shipping treaty of 1869. The period is characterized by Japan’s opening after more than 250 years of self-imposed isolation and seclusion policy towards foreign countries (Edo-Period, 1600-1868). In 1853, Commodore Matthew Perry of the United States Navy, commanding a squadron of military vessels, had forced the military regime of the Tokugawa-Shoguns to agree to negotiations about a treaty of trade and tariffs. Various European countries followed. The Austro-Hungarian Empire was the last country to sign such a treaty.

The project

During the course of this lecture, guided by the journalist Judith Brandner, the students will do journalistic research about selected topics of the bilateral relations between Austria and Japan. The contributions will be presented on this website, using various forms of media such as audio, still images or video. At the end of the term, the results will showcase the broad variety and the many aspects of the bilateral relations. Selected articles will be published in "Brücke", the publication of the Austrian Japanese Society ÖJG.


Topics

  • History of Austro-Japanese Relations
  • Crazyness About Japan
  • Dōmo Arigatō, Mr. Roboto
  • The History of Japanese Studies in Vienna
  • Michiko Milena Flašar
  • Japan at Weltmuseum Wien
  • Robert Jungk and Hiroshima
  • Floridsdorf and Katsushika
  • How Kyūdō came to Vienna
  • Ongaku no Miyako
  • The Image of Japan in Austrian Popular Music
  • The Iwakura Mission