article in Japan Times for those with Ainu or Japan interests
2019/12/19
upcoming exhibition - National Ainu museum
2019/12/15
in Japan when you want to 'disappear' from your customary life
September 2019 was the 48 minute broadcast of a subject in the Undercover Asia series (season 6).
"Johatsu" is a term for 'evaporating' or suddenly falling out of social visibility, free from the obligations or abuses or pressures of the life you live.
Services and laws make the incidence of this voluntary disappearance expand year by year.
A related discussion of the matter is online at https://theculturetrip.com/asia/japan/articles/living-in-the-shadows-chasing-the-evaporated-people-of-japan/
Every year, nearly 100,000 Japanese vanish without a trace. They are known as johatsu, or evaporated people. What drives them to engineer their own disappearance?
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ABOUT THE SHOW: CNA's flagship investigative series Undercover Asia shines a light on some of the darkest corners of our society, and digs deep into the most pressing social-economic and political issues of our time.
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CNA: https://cna.asia2019/11/20
Leprosy in Japan's history, book review
via Humanities Network, H-Japan
Susan L. Burns. Kingdom of the Sick: A History of Leprosy and Japan. Honolulu:University of Hawai'i Press, 2019.
344 pp. $68.00 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-8248-7901-3.
2019/11/18
photo exhibition - Showa period Japan
Commentary about an exhibition in Canada of Japanese photographers with scenes from Showa days.
At the end of the article is a link to the curator's own remarks of the collected pictures,
2019/10/30
making Matcha in Kagoshima
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSz6y5kEdxo –documenting how to make the fine tea
2019/10/24
specialized vocabulary... Flooding: what to do next
The frequency and degree of disasters in Japan and the rest of the world will be increasing. Seen today at JapanTimes online, the summary (4 pages) in Japanese or English editions could be helpful to become familiar with talking about disaster and recovery.
article, https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/10/24/national/flood-recovery-manual-typhoon-hagibis/
excerpt
The 32-page guide titled "Recovering From a Flood Disaster" was created by the Disaster Connection Japan Network, an organization comprising some 40 nonprofit and volunteer groups engaged in disaster-relief activities, based on the groups' experiences in flood-hit areas.
The manual is free but in Japanese. Matsuyama said that there is no plan yet to make an English version.
An application for the manual can be filled out on the organization's blog (blog.canpan.info/shintsuna/)
The website also offers a downloadable four-page leaflet summarizing the advice. It is available in Japanese and English.
EN, http://blog.canpan.info/shintsuna/img/RECOVERING_FROM_A_FLOOD_DISASTER.pdf2019/10/17
Nagoya’s censored art exhibition and the “comfort women” controversy
Freedom Fighting: Nagoya's censored art exhibition and the "comfort women" controversy |
| An exhibition of censored artwork in Nagoya city triggers a furious debate on artistic expression. The artistic director of the Aichi Triennale 2019 had few illusions when he planned an exhibition called "After Freedom of Expression". By choosing items that poked painfully at some of Japan's most tender spots - war crimes, subservience to America and the status of the imperial family - Tsuda Daisuke wanted to "provoke discussion" on the health of freedom of expression in the country. But what followed, he says, was "beyond our expectations". ... FULL TEXT of this article online, https://apjjf.org/2019/20/McNeill.html
2019/09/18video, Foundation for Ainu CultureSee the channel on Youtube for videos from the Foundation for Ainu Culture. Browsing these short movies can contribute to more vivid descriptions of the past and present of Ainu people around Japan today. See also the newsletter of the research center hosted at Hokkaido University in Sapporo to see the topics presented each semester by guest researchers and Ainu experts, Center for Ainu and Indigenous Studies, [CAIS] Hokkaido University aynu teetawanoankur kanpinuye cise https://www.cais.hokudai.ac.jp/english/ browse the video channel at Youtube> https://tinyurl.com/ainufoundation
2019/07/27virtually in Japan - video channel of streetscape walks https://www.youtube.com/user/Rambalac/videos has dozens of HD video to share: suitable for close-up view of behind the scenes/unrehearsed life in Japan in as much as a dSLR and microphone on a stabilizing gimbal can convey the texture, light, sound, and feeling of public spaces. 2019/07/02ekiben - nice summary, well-illustrated The art of food and display, along with the context of rail travel, come together to form another brief article from the guest writers at Atlas Obscura. Using the searchbox for 'Japan' will bring a dozen or two other topics from the Web project, too. 2019/06/15Telephone for grief after the Japanese tsunami Video story at bbc.com from June 9, 2019 Camera: Taiki Fujitani, Producer: Sarah Cuddon and Sophia Smith Galer [preamble] In the small town of Otsuchi in northern Japan, 2,000 residents were lost in the tsunami in 2011. One resident, who had already been grieving his cousin before the tsunami hit, had the idea of placing an old phone booth at the bottom of his garden with a disconnected rotary phone. He would ring his cousin's number and his words would "be carried on the wind" as he spoke to him. After the tsunami hit, and word about the wind phone spread, many more people have come to Otsuchi in Iwate prefecture, to call those they have lost. You can find out more about the wind phone by listening to the World Service's Heart and Soul programme, https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3csz4jr see also 2016 radio (online playback or download mp3) segment, https://www.thisamericanlife.org/597/one-last-thing-before-i-go or the radio show's transcript, https://www.thisamericanlife.org/597/transcript 2019/05/07illustration, pretty big ReiWa Here is a good illustration of the love for really big things on this kite that shows the new Reiwa.
2019/04/18early Japan ethnography 1950s-60s (taidan), Plath - VogelWith permission of the Midwest Japan Seminar, Japan Foundation and host at Ohio Wesleyan University, here is the Youtube link to the hour-long conversation recently between long-time friends and colleagues, Prs David Plath and Ezra Vogel. Hearing first-hand of their early years in the field and in Japanese Studies circles is eye-opening for one and all, no matter your scholarly generation or genealogy. Feel free to share widely with others. 2019/04/10poems from Japan (in English translation)Back in 2015 an artist was commissioned to hand-carve the translated Japanese poems of several centuries onto some of the large stones in the Japanese-style garden at the Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park in west Michigan. You can find out more about the choice of poets and see the dozen or so poems here, https://mishigan.blogspot.com/2019/04/poems-from-japan-in-english-at-meijer.html
2019/04/06eclectic articles - Japan examples, "Atlas Obscura"Typing a country or city into the searchbox at atlasobscura.com brings up a far-ranging collection of articles contributed by local writers. In early April 2019 there were a few Japan examples. This sample of stories is worth a look, or might prompt readers to look for the sorts of places, events, people being documented online.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= via Atlas Obscura in Brooklyn, NY The Beloved Japanese Novelist Who Became a Queer Manga Icon Nobuko Yoshiya's stories of frustrated, forbidden love helped establish a genre read by millions. by Sabrina Imbler April 04, 2019 https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/yoshiya-nobuko-queer-manga EXCERPT ...Yoshiya never married; instead she lived with a female partner, Chiyo Monma, for 50 years. Despite a life lived against the grain, Yoshiya became one of Japan's most beloved artists. She published feminist stories that focused on the strong emotional and romantic bonds between women—one with the notable title Danasama muyo (Husbands Are Useless). The impact of her novels is still being felt, far beyond the feminist and queer communities where she has become a particularly celebrated icon. Her writing laid the groundwork for shōjo manga, a genre of comics and graphic novels aimed toward teen girls that includes iconic titles such as Sailor Moon and Revolutionary Girl Utena—widely devoured by millions upon millions all over the world. "There is not a single woman alive who doesn't know who Yoshiya Nobuko is," declared a 1935 profile published in the magazine Hanashi. The Haunting Beauty of the Reconsecration of Shinto Shrines Photographer Yukihito Masuura spent more than a decade documenting rituals that connect past and present. by Jessica Leigh Hester April 05, 2019 https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/photographs-of-shinto-shrines-japan EXCERPT ...Through Masuura's lens, the images feel monumental. To hear him tell it, they hold everything a viewer needs to know about the subject of his recent series: the process of reconstructing and reconsecrating Japan's Shinto shrines. For Masuura, this old wood represents the tug of the past in the present. Yūbari King Melon The most expensive melon in the world is a status symbol in Japan. https://www.atlasobscura.com/foods/yubari-king-melon EXCERPT ... Fewer than 10,000 people remain in the sleepy former mining town of Yūbari on Japan's Hokkaido Island. A crippling financial crisis in the early 2000s drove nearly 90 percent of the town's population to seek residence elsewhere in the country. And that fiscal tragedy is crueler yet for the sad irony of the town's famous export: the Yūbari King melon, one of the most expensive fruits in the world. 2019/04/01about the forthcoming "ReiWa" nengo announced April 1Wikipedia already has posted the update:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_era_name [cf. in Japanese, https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%85%83%E5%8F%B7] "The new era Reiwa (令和)[1] is expected to start on 1 May 2019, the day when Emperor Akihito's elder son, Naruhito, is expected to ascend to the throne as the 126th Emperor of Japan" Not everyone knows that the name of each era does not have to match the years of the emperor or empress' reign, as in recent periods. The era-name was changed when natural disasters spoiled a given period, for example. By switching to a more favorable name, the idea was to change the fortunes of people's lives. Looking again at Wikipedia there is fuller discussion of the concept. Historical nengō
Prior to the Meiji period, era names were decided by court officials and were subjected to frequent change. A new era name was usually proclaimed within a year or two after the ascension of a new emperor. A new era name was also often designated on the first, fifth and 58th years of the sexagenary cycle, because they were inauspicious years in Onmyōdō. These three years are respectively known as kakurei, kakuun, and kakumei, and collectively known as sankaku. Era names were also changed due to other felicitous events or natural disasters.
In historical practice, the first day of a nengō (元年 gannen) starts whenever the emperor chooses; and the first year continues until the next lunar new year, which is understood to be the start of the nengō's second year 2019/03/21Japan Artisan (series) - short documentary about wasabi farmer (Shizuoka)"The freshest wasabi starts sweet and is followed by the spiciness." (subtitled in English) - documentary series on the subject of artisans in Japan.
2019/01/25sample 7 words of 43 selected Japanese words (new book by Mari Fujimoto)Sampling of 7 of the words featured in Mari Fujimoto's January 24, 2019 book.
Book link at amazon (Canada), Ikigai & Other Japanese Words to Live By Hardcover Mari Fujimoto (Author, Queens College, New York), Simon Winchester (Foreword), Michael Kenna (Photographer) https://www.amazon.ca/Ikigai-Other-Japanese-Words-Live/dp/19111308892019/01/23about Zainichi Koreans living in Japan for generations (new book announced)cross-posted from H-Japan with permission of the author, Jackie Kim-Wachutka. https://networks.h-net.org/node/20904/discussions/3580589/new-book-announce= ment-zainichi-korean-women-japan-voices excerpt, Featuring in-depth interviews from 1994 to the present, three generations of Zainichi Korean women-- those who migrated from colonial Korea before or during WWII and the Asia-Pacific War-- and their Japan-born descendants share their version of history, revealing their lives as members of an ethnic minority. Discovering voices within constricting patriarchal traditions, the women in this book are now able to tell their history. Ethnography, interviews, and the women's personal and creative writings offer an in-depth look into their intergenerational dynamics and provide a new way of exploring the hidden inner world of migrant women and the different ways displacement affects subsequent generations. 2019/01/09wedding documentary in Fukui-ken (34 minutes) Customs and planning for weddings in Japan have changed since the Showa period. But in Echizen-city the kimono merchants and downtown business association have come up with a fall event to attract visitors and local interest. The clothing and customs of parents and grandparents are put on display by preparing for a demonstration of the earlier styles and rituals. A colleague based in the area who used to work in TV news and entertainment keeps his skills sharp by producing short documentaries like this one. With his permission, here is the link for "Showa no Hanayome Gyoretsu" to enjoy the Japanese-only language track, https://youtu.be/7PiEP2IgjjQ 2019/01/04social changes - story about "monk ticketed for driving in Buddhist robes" As society changes and things get more complicated in Japan, this story illustrates what happens when high-tech police in Fukui-ken see a monk wearing his Buddhist robes and driving a car. =-=-=-=-=-= EXCERPT: ... ...Fukui Prefecture's regulations for enforcing the Road Traffic Law state that driving a vehicle in clothing that might affect safe driving is prohibited. The police officer is believed to have decided that the monk's robe violated this regulation and so cited him with a traffic ticket.
According to local reports, the monk was driving to a memorial service when he was stopped in Fukui on Sept. 16 around 10 a.m. The monk was told he could not wear kimono to drive and received a ticket with a ¥6,000 fine. The violation, according to the ticket, was "driving in attire that hinders vehicle operation."
The monk is refusing to pay the fine and said he would like to "clearly state at a trial that I can drive safely in a monk's robe."
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