Comments on: Atsuko Hirai, the Kazushige Hirasawa Professor Emerita of History, dies at age 78 /news/2014/07/15/atsuko-hirai-the-hirasawa-professor-emerita-of-history-dies-at-78/ Fri, 26 Jun 2015 16:36:00 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.2 By: Pamela R. /news/2014/07/15/atsuko-hirai-the-hirasawa-professor-emerita-of-history-dies-at-78/#comment-58633 Thu, 17 Jul 2014 15:17:29 +0000 /news/?p=80219#comment-58633 I am very sad to hear this news. I took an introductory Japanese history class with Professor Hirai and was struck by her eloquence, elegance, and wonderful sense of humor. She was also a mesmerizing interpreter of song with a beautiful soprano voice. She will be greatly missed.

]]> By: Mark Kennedy /news/2014/07/15/atsuko-hirai-the-hirasawa-professor-emerita-of-history-dies-at-78/#comment-58382 Wed, 16 Jul 2014 19:08:07 +0000 /news/?p=80219#comment-58382 It is with great sadness that I read about the passing of Professor Atsuko Hirai. Hirai-sensei was my senior advisor for History and encouraged me to apply for a Fulbright scholarship to Japan which, with the aid of her recommendation, was an opportunity that enabled me to return to Japan immediately upon graduation from ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ in 1990. It was a milestone during my life-long pursuit of learning about Japan and its intriguing history.

Hirai-sensai was defintely a tough grader, but she was completely devoted to the development of her students. ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ was lucky to have had her as a member of their faculty.

Regards,

Mark Kennedy ’90 (BA, History and Japanese)
Tokyo

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