Japanese Literary Awards

← Back to Home

Mari Yoshihara

よしはら まり

Yoshihara Mari

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1968-05-28 （New York, USA）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese, English
Residence History
New York (birthplace) → Ota, Tokyo (raised) → Hawaii (residence/work)

Career

Occupations
Cultural historian, University professor, Author
Active Years
1997-
Affiliations
University of Hawaiʻi (Department of American Studies), The University of Tokyo, Global Education Center (concurrent professor)
Influenced By
Leonard Bernstein (subject of study), Edward Said (influence from Orientalism studies)

Education

University of Tokyo (College of Arts and Sciences)
College of Arts and Sciences / College, Liberal Arts Program
Degree: Bachelor
Period: 1987-1991
Year of Graduation: 1991
Country: Japan
Undergraduate degree, College of Arts and Sciences
Brown University
Graduate School / Doctoral Program
Degree: PhD
Period: 1992-1997
Year of Graduation: 1997
Country: United States
PhD in American studies/cultural history

Awards

The Japan Essayists' Club Prize (80th)
Work: Dearest Lenny: Leonard Bernstein and the Making of Postwar Japan
Organization: The Japan Essayists' Club
Result: winner
Kawai Hayao Monogatari Prize (11th)
Work: Dearest Lenny: Leonard Bernstein and the Making of Postwar Japan
Organization: Kawai Hayao Monogatari Prize Committee
Result: winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Embracing the East: White Women and American Orientalism

2002 Academic (cultural studies)

A critical study of white American women's engagement with Orientalist representations and practices.

OrientalismGenderCultural history

Musicians from a Different Shore: Asians and Asian Americans in Classical Music

2007 Academic (music and cultural studies)

Examines the role and cultural meaning of Asians and Asian Americans in the classical music world.

RaceMusicCultural capital

Dearest Lenny: Letters from Japan and the Making of the World Maestro

2019 Non-fiction (music & cultural history)

A cultural-historical account tracing Leonard Bernstein's connections with postwar Japan through letters and archival material.

Music historyJapan–US relationsCultural exchange

How to Succeed in American Graduate School

2004 Practical guide

A practical guide offering advice for studying and thriving in American graduate school.

Study abroadGraduate school guidance

Dot-com Lovers: American Men and Women Meeting Online

2008 Essays / reportage

Combines personal online-dating experiences with reflections on dating culture in the internet era.

Online datingDating cultureGender

Sullen Englishes

2023 Autofiction / essays

A collection of autofictional essays reflecting on English and the author's experiences.

LanguageSelfCultural experience

Bibliography

  • Embracing the East: White Women and American Orientalism (2002)
  • How to Succeed in American Graduate School (2004)
  • Musicians from a Different Shore: Asians and Asian Americans in Classical Music (2007)
  • Dot-com Lovers (2008)
  • Basic Knowledge of Erotic English (2010)
  • The Van Cliburn International Piano Competition – A Civic Cultivation of the Arts (2010)
  • How 'Asians' Became Classical Musicians: Race, Gender, and Cultural Capital (2013)
  • Dearest Lenny (2019; Japanese edition 2022)
  • Unpredictable Agents: The Making of Japan's Americanists during the Cold War and Beyond (ed., 2021)
  • Sullen Englishes (2023)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Scholarly yet accessible proseFrequent incorporation of personal, essayistic perspectives
Recurring Motifs
Japan–US cultural exchangeMusic intersecting with race and genderLanguage and selfhood

Legacy

A scholar who bridges American cultural history and music studies, with works in both English and Japanese that have influenced academic discourse and reached general readers.

Trivia

  • Born in New York, raised in Tokyo, and based in Hawaii as a scholar and author.
  • Writes both academic studies and popular essays.