Japan

MICHAEL J. MANSFIELD was born in New York City in 1903. A Democratic congressman for the state of Montana, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1942 and then to the Senate in 1952, where he served as majority leader from 1961 to 1977. He was appointed as the U.S. ambassador to Japan in 1977. During his eleven-year tenure, he dealt successfully with a number of economic and political issues between the United States and Japan, describing the relationship as "the most important bilateral relationship in the world, bar none." DOROTHY BRITTON is a Japan-born English author, composer, and poet. She has traveled throughout Japan, and has written extensively about the country. Her works include National Parks of Japan, The Japanese Crane: Bird of Happiness, Twenty Folk Songs of Japan, and many translations. She is a keen conservationist. AZBY BROWN is an American architect and Associate Professor of architectural design at the Kanazawa Institute of Technology. His books The Genius of Japanese Carpentry and Small Spaces were published by Kodansha International. He has resided in Japan since 1985. FREDERICK HIROSHI KATAYAMA has traveled throughout Asia as a business reporter for NHK News. A former Tokyo correspondent for Fortune magazine, he won a citation of excellence from the Overseas Press Club of America. He holds a masters degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. MARTHA J. McCLINTOCK received her Ph.D. in the History of Japanese Art from the University of Michigan. She lives in Tokyo, where she pursues and publishes her research on Meiji-period literati painters. She is also a translator of art-related essays and art exhibition catalogs.