HWS News
26 August 2025 Tanaka Funds Hong Kong Internship and Kabuki Research
Sandeep Tissaaratchy ’26 and Johnny Bewley ’27 were awarded the Tanaka Fellowships.
Thanks to support from the Tanaka Memorial Foundation, Sandeep Tissaaratchy ’26 and Johnny Bewley ’27 spent the summer engaged in professional experience and research related to Asian studies.
Internship in Hong Kong
Sandeep Tissaaratchy ’26 was awarded a $6,000 travel and living stipend to support an internship with the Centre for Asian Philanthropy and Society (CAPS) based in Hong Kong, and while there, to conduct research for his Honors project. The research and advisory organization works to strengthen private social investment across Asia by producing data-driven insights into philanthropy and corporate social responsibility.
Tissaaratchy says the internship was an important step toward a career that combines research, policy and advocacy. “I wouldn’t even be able to consider this internship without the support from Tanaka. It’s a pathway maker. The Tanaka Foundation has allowed me to pursue what I find interesting and what I think will contribute to my future.”
As a Research Intern, Tissaaratchy worked with a team supporting programs that are experiencing USAID defunding. While in Hong Kong, he also worked on his Honors project on economic development and philanthropy.
"I got to use my IR major to build on context, to support the Doing Good Index, or to explain why certain countries received their status in the index. And also CAPS is an organization with some of the most brilliant minds in Asia," he says.
Published by CAPS, The Doing Good Index is a study that assesses the regulatory and societal environment in which private capital is directed towards social good in Asia.
Last spring, Tissaaratchy studied abroad in Nepal. In addition to coursework on gender, development and social change, he completed an internship with Dignity Initiative Nepal, an organization dedicated to addressing caste-based human rights violations, particularly within the Dalit community.
Last summer, Tissaaratchy was a member of Professor of International Relations Stacey Philbrick Yadav’s research team focused on conflict narratives. He is also one of the top collegiate debaters in the world. Alongside his partner, Lamia Nur Rahman ’26, he placed 17th at the 2024 World Universities Debate Championship.
Faculty-Mentored Research
Johnny Bewley ’27 was awarded $5,000 and engaged in faculty-mentored research with Associate Professor of Asian Studies James-Henry Holland. His project, titled “Analysis of Fuin Giri and Themes Within Japanese Kabuki Theater,” explores the famous kabuki play Fuin Giri, which he saw performed live last year while visiting Japan for International Week at Technos College, supported by the Tanaka Foundation.
“This was an important research topic for me, as it allowed me to connect my many academic interests and experiences of traveling to Japan to pursue new levels of academic research and knowledge,” he says.
Last summer, Bewley conducted research with Associate Professor of Music Charity Lofthouse on Japanese pop music, exploring musical connections between Japan and South America, particularly the music of Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking Japanese artists.
Holland says Bewley’s background in musical theater and anthropology provided "productive avenues" for research questions.
The Tanaka Memorial Foundation established the Tanaka Asian Studies Endowment and annually supports HWS’ Asian Studies Program, the Tanaka Lectureship in Japanese, programming and faculty research. The fund supports an all-expenses-paid experience for a faculty member and students to attend the Technos International Week in Tokyo, Japan, each year; internship experiences in Asia; and an exchange program, which supports two students from Japan visiting Hobart and William Smith.
In the photo at top, Sandeep Tissaaratchy ’26 (center with sign) gathers with his colleagues at the Centre for Asian Philanthropy and Society in Hong Kong.
