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Creating a new cultural art that connects Okinawa to the future

Research Institute of Okinawa Prefectural University of Arts

Based on the key concepts and principles on which the Okinawa Prefectural University of Arts was founded, the Research Institute researches and investigates local traditional arts and related fields, focusing particularly on their relation to the local community. The institute attempts to bring about awareness of the distinctive characteristics of these traditional arts. The purpose of the institute is to contribute to the creation, continuation through education, and the development of traditional art culture.

Research Institute of Okinawa Prefectural University of Arts

In order to achieve these objectives, the Research Institute implements the following projects:

  1. Research and investigation into regional traditional arts and related fields of study;
  2. Research and investigation into technical methods for the education of succeeding generations in the traditional arts;
  3. Collection and usage of various documents, and other resource materials;
  4. Publication of research results as well as organization of lectures;
  5. Organization of and participation in academic gatherings;
  6. International exchange;
  7. Pursuit of other subjects of interest that the institute deems necessary.
Chart of OPUA Research Institute Founding Principles

Research Institute Building

Structure Steel Reinforced Concrete Block 3-Story Building with a Basement Floor
Floor Area and Facilities Basement Floor 83.67㎡ Machine room
1st Floor 698.97㎡
  • Studio, recording room
  • Students lounge
  • Conference room / Performing room
  • Offices
2nd Floor 665.93㎡
  • Research room
  • AV lecture room
  • Library
  • Director’s office
  • AV library
  • Voice analysis room
  • Researcher’s rooms
3rd Floor 692.59㎡
  • Small hall (capacity: 120 people)
  • Research room
  • Weaving-dyeing research room
  • Fabric property research room
  • Dyeing research room
  • Waiting room
2,141.16㎡

Public Lectures held by the Research Institute

These are also open to students.

Scenes of lectures held during 2009

Fiscal
Year
Series Names Lecture Titles
2017 Special lecture series Professor Yoshikuni Yanagi Final Lecture, "Okinawan Back-strap Loom and Kasuri"
Cultural lecture series Workshop on Kecak
Cultural lecture series Balinese and Javanese Gamelan Course
Cultural lecture series Introductory Gamelan Course for Children
CUO open lecture series Okinawa and Films
Cultural lecture series International Image Interoperability Framework and its Applicability to Image Data
Public lecture series How to Read Ancient Document with Special Focus on Hiragana
Cultural lecture series Textiles and Traditions in Laos
Cultural lecture series How to Read Ancient Document
Cultural lecture series Exploring the Structures of the Okinawan Arts
2016 CUO open lecture series Bingata Patterns: the latest Research
Cultural lecture series Demonstration of and Lecture on Balinese dance: Live Gamelan Performance
Cultural lecture series Balinese Music Course for Children
Cultural lecture series Lecture on Indonesian Gamelan
Cultural lecture series Okinawa and the Four Seasons
Public lecture series Introduction to Back-strap Loom Weaving
Cultural lecture series The Development of Modern Okinawan Art
2015 Special lecture series Professor Eikichi Hateruma Final Lecture, "My Ryukyuan Literature Research: Issues to be Resolved"
Special lecture series Special Lecture by Visiting Professor Shinobu Yoshimoto, "Exploring the History of Okinawan Traditional Textiles"
Special lecture series Special Lecture by Visiting Professor Masao Gabe, "My Okinawan Studies, Focusing on Historical Sources"
CUO open lecture series Yoshitaro Kamakura and Ryukyuan Arts
Cultural lecture series Performing Arts Culture in China and Taiwan
Public lecture series Gamelan Music Courses for Public I &II from elementary school students to adults
Cultural lecture series The History and Culture of Yaeyama
2014 Special lecture series Special Lecture by Visiting Professor Masao Gabe, "Regulating Freedom of Speech and Ruling Okinawa"
Public lecture series Balinese Dance Course: the Foundations of Women's Dance and Rejang Dewa
Cultural lecture series Gamelan Music Courses for Public I & II from elementary school students to adults
Cultural lecture series The Ocean and Okinawan Art Culture
Cultural lecture series Okinawa and Aesthetic Sensibility
2013 Special lecture series Special Lecture by Visiting Professor Masao Gabe, "Topics on Modern Japan and Okinawa"
Cultural lecture series International Cooperation and Regional Culture
Public lecture series Workshop: Introduction to Weaving
Cultural lecture series Former Prefectural Vice Governors on Okinawan Problems of their Eras
Cultural lecture series Introductory Balinese Gamelan Music
Cultural lecture series The History and Culture of Miyako Island
2012 Cultural lecture series Amami Culture from Okinawan Perspective
Cultural lecture series Looking Back on Okinawa in the Reversion Era: Newspaper reporters' perspectives
Public lecture series Special Training Course on Card Weaving
Cultural lecture series Discoverers of "Beauty" in Okinawan Culture
2011 Cultural lecture series Asian Traditional Performing Arts and School Education
Cultural lecture series Teenage Experience of the Pacific War
Cultural lecture series Balinese Gamelan Course (Intermediate)
Cultural lecture series Balinese Gamelan Course (Introductory)
Cultural lecture series Invitation to the Culture of Okinawan Crafts
Cultural lecture series Lecture on Ryukyuan Performing Arts I: Appreciation, and Commentary on Masterly Performance
  • CUO = The Consortium of Universities in Okinawa

Regarding Off-Campus Classes

The Research Institute has been conducting OPUA Off-Campus Classes in places such as outlying islands as well as the northern area of Okinawa’s main island since 2009. This Off-Campus program was established with the purpose of sharing the results of the arts and culture studies conducted by experts in the field with these communities, contributing to the revitalization of local culture where the off-campus class is held as well as promoting mutual exchange between the university and the local communities in which it holds its classes.