This roundtable discussion will explore Bronisław Piłsudski as an ethnographer, focusing especially on his research among the Ainu in Northeast Asia. A pioneering ethnographer, Piłsudski’s work on Ainu culture and language remains esteemed among both locals and researchers of the region. The discussion will look at Piłsudski’s life and career, as shaped by the tumultuous historical period.

Participants:
doc. dr. Andžej Pukšto (Head of the Political Science Department, Faculty of Political Science and Diplomacy, Vytautas Magnus University), dr. Kanako Uzawa (co-curator of the exhibition, an Ainu scholar, advocate, and artist), dr. Jadwiga Rodowicz-Czechowska (co-curator of the exhibition, japanologist, Deputy Director for Development at the Józef Pilsudski Museum in Sulejówek), Prof. Emeritus Dr. Alfred Majewicz (linguist, researcher of Bronisław Piłsudski’s scientific legacy), dr. Danuta Onyszkiewicz (anthropologist, great-granddaughter of Józef Piłsudski), Simon Wright (Director of Programming at Japan House London).

Moderator – doc. dr. Kristina Jonutytė (social anthropologist, Associate Professor at the Institute of Asian and Transcultural Studies, Vilnius University, and a research fellow at the Mongolia and Inner Asia Studies Centre, University of Cambridge).

The discussion will be held in English, without Lithuanian translation.

When? February 5, 2026, 5 PM

Where? House of Histories (T. Kosciuškos St. 3, Vilnius)