Celebrating Hachiko: Author Talk with PAmela S. Turner

Monday, October 2nd, 2023

6:00 PM - 7:00 PM EDT

About the Event:

Hachiko is well known as the Japanese Akita dog who waited for his owner at Shibuya train station for almost 10 years after the owner's passing. The Japan Society of Boston is celebrating the 100th anniversary of Hachiko's birth with an author talk with Pamela S. Turner, writer of Hachiko: The True Story of a Loyal Dog, a children's book that spread the story of his unwavering loyalty to many. 

Pamela Turner will be discussing this book along with her other publications such as Samurai Rising, as well as other topics such as her own personal connection to Japan and her writing process. She will be joined in conversation by Professor Susan Napier, a local expert on Japanese culture and art. 

This is a free, hour long talk with Q&A hosted on zoom. 

A portion of donations received for this event will be given to Big East Akita Rescue. They are a nonprofit, hands-on, volunteer run Akita rescue group covering the Northeast to help unwanted, abused, and neglected Akitas in need. Please consider donating to help support their cause. 

About The Speaker:

Pamela S. Turner has an abiding fascination with science, animals, evolution, and a special interest in Japanese history. She is the author of award-winning books for young readers, including Hachiko: The True Story of a Loyal Dog, Samurai Rising, a YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award finalist, as well as Crow Smarts and The Frog Scientist, both winners of the AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books. When not writing, she practices kendo (Japanese sword fighting) and volunteers as a wildlife rehabilitator specializing in crows and ravens.

Before becoming a writer, Pamela was a legislative assistant for foreign affairs for a California congressman, and after receiving a Master's in Public Health from UC Berkeley became an international health consultant. She and her husband, whom she met while studying abroad in Kenya, have lived all over the world, and have three children each born in a different country. She now divides her time between Oakland, California, Newberg, Oregon, and Tokyo, Japan.

About The Host:

Professor Susan Napier has taught at Tufts University since 2006 and is the author of five books on Japanese culture and anime, most recently Miyazakiworld: A Life in Art, focusing on the films of Hayao Miyazaki, co-founder of the famed Studio Ghibli. Professor Napier's research interests include gender issues, Green and Blue Humanities, history and theory of animation, Japanese animation (anime) and comics (manga), modern Japanese literature, and popular culture, especially science fiction and fantasy.

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