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Speaker: Vicki L. Beyer, author of 10 Temples on 2 Wheels
Topic: "Why Stop at the Great Buddha?"
When: Starting at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, 25 January 2009
Admission: Buy a copy of 10 Temples on 2 Wheels from our shop. Since 1980, when she first arrived in Japan with a newly minted bachelor’s degree and
a job teaching at a high school in Kumamoto,
Vicki Beyer has spent more than 20 years living, studying, traveling, and
working in Japan. Her first publication, on the history of Nagasaki, came out in 1982. An avid traveler, she has lived and worked in five countries and visited more than 40.
Beyer arrived in Japan
intending to teach English for two years and then return to the U.S.to attend law school. At the end of her two years, she was having
such a good time learning Japanese that she got a job as a legal assistant with
a law
firm and stayed a little longer. In 1984
Beyer returned to the U.S.
and enrolled in the University of Washington School of Law. From 1985 she commenced a joint degree
program, to earn a Master of Arts in International Studies at the University of Washington’s Jackson School of
International Studies together with her law degree. These studies led her to being awarded a
Mombusho scholarship to conduct research on international business negotiations
at Aoyama Gakuin University
in 1987.To supplement her scholarship funds, Beyer did
free-lance legal translation. Her magnum
opus translation during this period was the Consumption Tax Law when it was
enacted in 1989. She also wrote a
regular commentary column on Japanese legal events for the Roppongi Bar
Association monthly newsletter.
When Beyer finally finished law school in 1990, she was admitted to the
Washington State Bar and became a legal academic, specializing in the Japanese
legal system and international taxation. She began her academic career as an Assistant
Professor of Law and Co-director of the Asia-Pacific Law Center at University Australia and then became
an Associate Professor, Associate Dean, and Director of the Law School Program
at Temple University, Japan Campus. During this time her publications were all
academic, focusing on Japanese corporate and taxation law and legal
translation.After a decade in academia, in the 21st
century Beyer moved her legal expertise in-house, becoming regional employment
counsel for an American financial services company. She wrote book reviews for The Daily Yomiuri
for a time and began travel writing about two years ago with a number of
articles. 10 Temples on 2 Wheels: Exploring Kamakura by Bicycle or on Foot is
her first book and she is currently planning her next book, on seven lucky gods
walks.
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