Dr. Felice Fischer, curator of Japanese and East Asian Art at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, was honored by Japan yesterday for her life's work. 

Ambassador Sumio Kusaka awarded Fischer with the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold, and Silver Rays for her lifetime cultural exchange between Japan and the United States. The Order of the Rising Sun has been awarded to Japanese and non-Japanese for more than 130 years. 

A historian of East Asian art, Fischer has overseen more than two dozen exhibitions in her 42 years at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. She is currently working on a 2015 exhibit, "Ink and Gold, Art of the Kano." She has also written several books.

"This great honor is a credit to Felice's long-standing dedication to cross-cultural engagement," Museum Director Timothy Rub said. "To her study and appreciation of Japanese art, and to Philadelphia."