In the 2017-2018 academic year, in order to promote interest in Japanese culture and excellence in Japanese studies at UVA, the Department of East Asian Languages, Literatures and Cultures launched an annual prize competition for critical essays by UVA students about works of Japanese literature, Japanese culture, or Japan-US relations. Translations (J-E) with a critical preface are also considered. The contest is open to undergraduate and graduate students of all majors. Submissions are nominated by professors. The winning entries, archived here, are selected by a committee composed of DEALLC faculty members. This contest is made possible by a generous gift from Mr. Aaron Nir (BA '87) and his wife Satoko, and is designated the Michiko N. Wilson Award to acknowledge and memorialize the forty years of Ms. Michiko N. Wilson's career at the University of Virginia as Professor of Modern Japanese Literature and Language.

We are proud to showcase the vibrance of Japanese studies at UVA through the range of ideas and interests explored in these excellent student papers.