Mapping the Land of the Rising Sun: Honors Students Share Japan Study Abroad Experience
July 30, 2026 - Alexandria Hewitt
As part of an immersive, two-week study abroad experience in Kyoto, Japan, Honors College students stepped beyond the classroom, engaging directly with Japanese art, culture, and philosophy in ways that shaped both their academic and creative work.
Students explored Japanese aesthetics, ecological philosophy, traditional arts and crafts, and religious practices that emphasize humanity’s interconnected relationship with the natural world. Their stay included day trips to the outskirts of Kyoto and Nara, Japan's eighth century ancient capital.
Co-led by UNM professors Megan Jacobs and Amaris Ketcham, in partnership with student teacher Rosie Deal, students connected with locals, engaged with scholars, visited sacred sites and museums, and participated in art-making workshops. "It was a joy to see the evolution of students' learning from the classroom in Albuquerque to onsite in Japan. Students applied readings and discussions about contemporary Japanese art, Shintoism, and Buddhism to on-site research, creative workshops, and visiting scholar presentations,” said Professor Jacobs. “One highlight was taking part in a workshop with Professor Yuki Tawada and her students at Kyoto University of the Arts. UNM students brought photographs from home to create a photographic glaze which they applied to handmade clay vessels, originally created by the Ancient Romans and known as "lachrymatory" or tear containers. Select works from the workshop are on view in an exhibition in Tokyo!"
Our students are excited to share their experiences and insights with the UNM community through a public exhibition, and invite you to join us for the opening of Mapping the Land of the Rising Sun.
Spectra Gallery Opening: Mapping the Land of the Rising Sun
Thursday, August 20, 20265:00 – 7:30 pm
Honors College Forum (Building #76)
1924 Las Lomas Rd. NE, Albuquerque, NM 87131
This exhibit explores a range of topics related to Japanese culture. This includes methods of sashiko embroidery on boro cloth in conversation with Mexican embroidery on tortilleros, exploring cultural definitions of womanhood, and investigation of identity through the complexities and variability of the school uniforms of girls and boys in junior high school and high school in Japan.
Mapping the Land of the Rising Sun will remain open to the UNM community and the general public through January 10, 2027.
