Welcome to the third in a four part series of entries about my successful application for a Monbusho Research Scholarship. If you haven’t already, I recommend reading parts one and two. This entry deals with my process for filling out the application and contacting professors.

Filling out the Application
The majority of the application is pretty straightforward; names, addresses, dates, that sort of thing. You can write it in English or Japanese; I went with English. Just go over the application guidelines and follow them to the letter.

Make your application look as pretty as possible. Since I have graphic design training, I was able to import the Monbusho PDF application into Adobe Illustrator and fill in the information there, so everything had a nice, typeset look to it. If that’s not possible for you, I recommend finding a typewriter and typing up your application. Failing that, write as neatly as possible with a black pen. Proofread everything carefully to make sure you don’t have any spelling or grammatical mistakes. Print out clean laser copies of the application on a good quality paper. Separate the different copies in clearly labeled, brand new folders. Again, every aspect of your application should exude earnestness and professionalism.

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Welcome to the fourth and final entry in a series about my successful application for a Monbusho Research Scholarship. If you haven’t already, I recommend reading parts one, two, and three first. This final entry deals with the interview process.

In June 2007 I received word that I had passed the initial application stage and had been selected to for an interview and a series of language proficiency exams. (more…)

This blog entry is about my trip to Japan at the beginning of April, to study calligraphy at Shikoku University as a Monbusho scholar. At that point my ankle was on the mend from an injury sustained in January, and I could put weight on it and get around with a cane. But it was still quite tender.

It was a long trip; I flew from Minneapolis to Chicago via American Airlines, then Chicago to Tokyo via Japan Airlines, and finally flew from Tokyo to Osaka. I spent the night in Osaka, and then took a bus to Tokushima, where my school is located. (more…)

I just wanted to quick mention that there’s an article about Tonoharu in today’s (Friday May 16th) print edition of The Wall Street Journal. I can’t seem to find a link to it online, but if you happen to subscribe to or have access to the paper itself, look out for it!

Also, thanks to WSJ reporter Jamin Brophy-Warren who was kind enough to cover my book and interview me, despite having to navigate the irritating eleven hour time difference.

*UPDATE*: Here’s a link to it: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121089762572397267.html
The part about Tonoharu is about halfway down the page.

There’s a paragraph-long review of Tonoharu: Part One in this week’s EW (the magazine with the GROSSEST initials in the publishing world). May 23 cover date, page 126. As always, I can’t seem to find a weblink to it…

They gave me a “B”. That’s pretty good, right? I wouldn’t even want an “A”, because then it’s like I’m the teacher’s pet or something.

Anyway, check it out. The same issue also features a cover story about Sex and the City, all the more reason to take a look at EW this week…

Thanks to EW reviewer Sean Howe for the writeup, and to Lemel Williams for letting me know about the review.

*UPDATE*:  I just found a link to the review online:
http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20200850,00.html

Pictured: Me interperting an ancient text

At the beginning of April, I came to Japan on a Monbusho Scholarship to study Japanese Calligraphy at Shikoku University. Previous blog entries about exactly what the Monbusho Scholarship is and how I got involved in it can be found here.

Now that I’ve been here in Japan for almost two months now, I think I have enough of a sense of what the experience is shaping up to be to write an overview of what a typical week is like.

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Pictured: Shikoku U

Last week’s entry was about what a typical week is like for me as a Monbusho Research Scholar in the Calligraphy Department of Shikoku University in Tokushima, Japan. This week I want to write about the people I’ve meet here, and about my surroundings.
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