"Loveable Losers: The Taira in Action and Memory," an interdisciplinary academic conference organised by Mikael Adolphson and Anne Commons of the Department of East Asian Studies, ß÷ßäÉçÇø, and Joshua Mostow, Department of Asian Studies, UBC, was held at the Banff Centre on August 13-15, 2011. The conference featured seventeen presentations on the role of the Taira family in Japanese history and culture by scholars from Canada, the USA, Japan and France, including a keynote address by Professor Takahashi Masaaki (Kôbe University, emeritus). The conference was very successful: the presentations sparked interesting and informative responses from the discussants and audience members, and uncovered enlightening new perspectives on the activities and reception of the Taira. A full listing of presenters and paper titles can be found at http://www.eastasianstudies.ualberta.ca/en/TairaConference.aspx.
Keynote Speaker Professor Takahashi
Some conference participants at the Banff Gondola