Professor Ruperti awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays

On Wednesday 14 July 2021, Bonaventura Ruperti, Full Professor of Japanese language and literature at the Department of Asian and North African Studies of Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon.

The ceremony was held in Aula Baratto with Fabrizio Marella, Vice Rector for International Relations and International Cooperation at Ca’ Foscari, and S.E. Amamiya Yuji, Consul General of Japan in Milan. 

The Vice Rector thanked the Consul for granting this honour to Professor Ruperti. He highlighted that the Japanese language has been studied at Ca’ Foscari since 1873 and that currently there are over 1000 students and 18 teachers at Ca’ Foscari, which is one of the main centres for Japanese studies in Italy.  

The Order of the Rising Sun was given to Professor Ruperti by S.E. Amamiya Yuji in recognition of the Professor’s achievements in the promotion of academic exchanges between Japan and Italy, as well as in the strengthening of the relations between the two countries. The Consul stated that he was grateful that the ceremony, which should have taken place on 29 April 2020 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, could finally happen. He also highlighted the importance of this award, which is given to individuals who have made a significant contribution to the spread of Japanese culture. 

The award was given with the following statement: 

Professor Ruperti has worked constantly and passionately to promote traditional Japanese theatre in Italy, thanks to a series of projects. Professor Ruperti has invested much care in the realisation of numerous shows: among others, the Kabuki and Sugimoto Bunraku, both of which were set up in Rome in 2010 and 2013 respectively; the tour of Nō shows, held in Rome and Florence in 2016 to celebrate the 150 years of relations between Japan and Italy; and the Nō show organised to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between Japan and the Vatican. 

Moreover, Professor Ruperti has written much on the most varied expressions of traditional Japanese theatre, such as Nō and Jōruri (Japanese puppet theatre). His work contributes to the promotion of knowledge and understanding of Japanese culture in Italy. 

Professor Bonaventura Ruperti has been teaching at Ca’ Foscari for 30 years. In 2000 he became Full Professor at the Department of Asian and North African Studies. In all these years he has been contributing to the promotion and understanding of Japan in Italy thanks to his studies and research on Japanese literature and on traditional Japanese theatre.