Reflections and panel discussion on the springtime seminar hosted at Kogakkan University with the partnership with the City of Ise:
Japan and Ise Study Program 2014 to 2014, Tenth Anniversary
令和５年度「伊勢」と日本スタディプログラムのリユニオン10周年
2025/10/04
2025/10/02
Depopulation in Japan and biodiversity impacts
Depopulation is reshaping Japan's countryside and threatening biodiversity
By Bryony Cottam 26 September 2025
Study finds Japan's abandoned land is harming wildlife instead of helping it
2025/06/11
Organizations hold steady, individuals are held accountable (scapegoats, ritualistic)
Looking for something out of the ordinary to read this summer? This story appeared today via Linkedin.
It is about scandal in organizations or Japanese society: perpetrator apologizes, is banned, finally is rehabilitated. But the organization continues they same as before they scandal.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Here is the link to the 35-minute interview with Dr. Igor Prusa, author of "Scandal in Japan: Transgression, Performance and Ritual" (Routledge, 2024):
Blurb from interview summary page:
These performances—featuring deep bowing, tears, and formal apologies—serve as a form of scapegoating that temporarily satisfies society's need for justice while protecting corrupt systems.
... ...
While Japan maintains its traditional rituals, figures like Donald Trump have disrupted Western scandal narratives by refusing expected contrition, instead transforming potential disgrace into demonstrations of strength.
... ...
While Japan maintains its traditional rituals, figures like Donald Trump have disrupted Western scandal narratives by refusing expected contrition, instead transforming potential disgrace into demonstrations of strength.
2025/05/31
Social isolation (hikikomori) of shut-ins & one program's responses in central Japan
Something like 1.5 million people around the Japanese islands isolate themselves from general social interaction by some estimates. This news story describes a school/training program in the middle of the country for people ages 14 to 46 who seek structure and guidance to return in some way to independent living in wider society.
Outside of Japan, too, other countries are recognizing a similar phenomenon of social isolation. So the approach detailed in this story may be of interest outside of the Japanese context.
Usually the online Japan-Times only shows 1 or 2 paragraphs, unless you subscribe.
But this article if for everyone to read. So they do not block the full text.
2025/02/23
clips of 1920s to 1980 film recording in Japan
Via the Travel Film Archive, search string "Japan" gives many results
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bits of Life In Japan
Length: 3:22 Year: 1921 Sound: Silent
Description: A visit with an all female orchestra in Japan in the 1920's by Burton Holmes
Rice Growing in Fujiyama
Length: 03:12 1920s Sound: Silent
Description: Growing rice in Fujiyama, Japan in the 1920s.
Nikko Temples, Kyoto, Japan
Length: 13:59 1920 Sound: Silent
Description: Street scenes in Kyoto and the shrines and temples of NikkÅ, Japan.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Japan In Cherry Blossom Time
Length: 6:56 Year: 1932
Description: A tour of Japan in the 1930's
The Island Empire
Length: 7:09 Year: 1932
Description: A tour of Japan in the 1930's
New York World's Fair
Length: 9.32 Year: 1939 Sound: Silent
Description: A tour of the 1939 New York Worlds Fair
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Farmers and Fishermen of Japan
Length: 9:00 1950s
Description: Farming and fishing in a small Japanese village at the foot of Mt Fuji
Japan
Length: 7:55 Year: 1953
Description: A film about Japan in the 1950's from the Carl Dudley series This World of Ours.
Japan's Rising Sun
Length: 35:01 Year: 1953 Sound: Silent
Description: A silent travel lecture film made by Mrs Deane Dickason about Japan in 1953.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
New Horizons - Japan
Length: 13:04 Year: 1960
Description: A Pan Am tour of Japan in the 1960s. Narration is in German.
Journey Through Tokyo
Length: 21:30 1960s
Description: A journey through Tokyo in the 1960s.
Japan- An Independent Nation
Length: 23:49 Year: 1980
Description: Explores the cultural, agricultural and industrialization of Japan, from traditional cultural practices to the nation's ever increasing modernization.
2025/02/12
radio story "Japan Rail & shinkansen safety during earthquakes"
about 4 minutes (disaster prevention system), https://theworld.org/stories/2025/02/06/how-japan-keeps-its-trains-safe-from-earthquakes
 | Japan experiences more earthquakes than any country. But its transit system remains remarkably safe. The bullet train, for example, has never seen a death or serious injury due to an earthquake or tsunami. Japan may offer lessons to other countries as climate change causes more natural disasters globally. theworld.org |
2025/02/06
drone 360 snowy view in south central Echizen-city (Fukui-ken), rural west Japan
February 2025 fresh blanket of snow in Hokuriku after recent wintry weather: Thanks to the blanket of white, many of the buildings and lanes stand out. The snow certainly adds a new dimension to verbal portraits of a place. And like any still photo, it captures a specific moment in time, making it possible to revisit again and again in future generations, thus contributing to a long-term view for understanding a place and its people.
2025/01/21
arranging marriages in Japan
crossposting from Media Anthropology, MediAnth, listserv
Erika Alpert answers questions about her book, The Relationship People, posted by Robert Marshall.
Press blurb:
Japan has often been portrayed as a mysterious, sexless, troubled land. Birth rates and marriage rates have been decreasing for decades, and national surveys show that Japanese people are simply having less sex overall. But Japan is not so different from anywhere else—it's simply on the leading edge of worldwide demographic shifts. Because of rigid norms around gender, marriage, childbearing, and work, and relatively strict immigration policies, Japan is also experiencing these shifts more acutely. In The Relationship People, Erika R. Alpert starts by exploring some of the factors that have contributed to later and less marriage and childbearing in Japan and elsewhere. Alpert then goes on to explore the disjuncture between what Japanese singles report as preventing them from getting married and popularly proposed solutions to this problem. Japanese singles point to economic factors, such as low income, as one of their most significant barriers to marriage. However, much of the popular discourse aimed at Japanese singles elides these economic concerns; instead, it encourages them to exert more personal effort to meet people in order to get married. These "marriage activities" (konkatsu) may take the form of signing up with a professional matchmaker, using an online dating site, or going to singles' parties. By examining konkatsu from the perspective of matchmakers, clients, and online daters, Alpert looks at the linguistic processes of connection that underpin konkatsu and its successes—or more often, failures. Institutions of matchmaking and technological structures such as databases and online profiles give shape to the ways singles connect. As this research shows, understanding this linguistic connective tissue enables us to answer questions about what constitutes "attractive" and "marriageable" in Japan, what kind of consciousness konkatsu is supposed to instill in singles, and what role Japan's various partner matching industries might be able to play in alleviating the country's demographic crisis.
2024/10/27
Halloween - "super ordinary" dress-up
via Twitter: "Halloween dress-up to look like 'super ordinary' situations"
https://x.com/nick_kapur/status/1850535311694057598
-see screenshot examples.
https://x.com/nick_kapur/status/1850535311694057598
-see screenshot examples.
2024/10/03
illustrated postcards of Japan & Empire mid-1945 into 1946
Excerpt from full announcement, https://networks.h-net.org/group/discussions/20045539/pacific-war-postcards-east-asia-image-collection-resource-scholars
... Originally, Digital Scholarship Services at Lafayette College scanned, annotated, and posted only the illustrated cards, or less than ten percent of the collection. Thereafter, a digital copy of the whole collection was sent to the National Showa Memorial Museum in Tokyo. Their staff researched the conditions of their production and circulation, transcribed them, and also translated all of them into English. The "Pacific War Postcards" were subsequently the subject of an NHK feature, which aired in December, 2023 (https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20231220/k10014293911000.html).
They are now available in an open-access format, as the latest subcollection of the East Asia Image Collection (https://ldr.lafayette.edu/collections/dz010q56p).
2024/10/02
Ruins of Ichijodani from 1500s frozen in time
Book review: Medieval Ruins is an important contribution to the English-language field of medieval history and archaeology. It is very readable—I have already used excerpts in my undergraduate classes-and provides a much-needed spotlight on some of the lesser known perspectives of common people during the Warring States period.
Citation: Michelle Damian. Review of Pitelka, Morgan. Reading Medieval Ruins: Urban Life and Destruction in Sixteenth-Century Japan. H-Japan, H-Net Reviews. October, 2024.
URL for complete book review: https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=60292
2024/08/30
Smartphones and Ageing in Japan (pdf, Open Access book) - free download
[kudos from reader-reviewers]
Praise for Ageing with Smartphones in Japan
'An excellent and thoughtful book on ageing in Japan, focusing on the use of smartphones, but not limited to it. The truly innovative use of graphic and multimodal ethnography is not only effective but also showcases such methods for others.'
'An excellent and thoughtful book on ageing in Japan, focusing on the use of smartphones, but not limited to it. The truly innovative use of graphic and multimodal ethnography is not only effective but also showcases such methods for others.'
Iza Kavedžija, University of Cambridge
'Highly original, extensively researched and thought-provoking, Haapio-Kirk rewards the reader with lively story-telling and beautifully crafted images that invite another level of sensory and emotional engagement – an impressive achievement.'
Jason Danely, Oxford Brookes University
2024/06/06
fatherhood in 2024 Japan (radio segment June 5)
Compact story on the daily radio show, The World, that introduces the changing meaning and shape of fatherhood in Japan.
2024/05/25
Watching "Walks Japan" on YouTube
Looking around the streetscapes while reading/hearing the commentary (in large font size), this channel on YouTube is good for adjusting visual experience and hearing experience to daily life in Tokyo.
 | Welcome to "Walks Japan" Welcome to our YouTube channel dedicated to helping you learn Japanese effectively and confidently! Whether you're a beginner or aiming for JLPT proficiency, our content is tailored to enhance your Japanese language journey. Dive into our easy Japanese lessons, where you'll master kanji, improve your speaking skills, and explore the nuances of Nihongo. Join us as we guide you through how to learn Japanese efficiently, making your language learning experience enjoyable and rewarding! www.youtube.com |
2024/05/19
Sanja Matsuri 2024 in 2-minutes
via Twitter today, Tokyo expat with camera(s) and an eye for visual interest shares this short video; suitable for students of Japanese society and language at all levels: both for visual exposure and for reflection, too.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= https://x.com/i/status/1792129216588460098
2024/05/10
Kyoto since the 1850s
crossposting from H-Japan humanities network (listserv, h-net.org)
Modern Kyoto Research, a new digital resource for researchers, students, visitors, and general readers interested in debating, analyzing, and learning about change and continuity in Kyoto from the 1850s to the present day.
Building on up-to-date scholarship, and making full use of visual and other primary sources, various thematic units investigate not only how Kyoto's image was constructed in the modern period but open a window on people and places often excluded from popular histories and public promotions. Users will hopefully find the site accessible and visually appealing, as well as critical and diverse in its perspectives on the city/region over the last 170 years.
At present, there are uploaded units on inbound tourism in Kyoto, 1872-1941 (Andrew Elliott), Kyoto and the Asia-Pacific War (Oliver Moxham), Kyoto tourism during the Allied Occupation (Riichi Endo), and war-related sites in contemporary Kyoto (Daniel Milne).
Other units in the pipeline include punk in Kyoto, interwar Geisha in Kyoto, and Kyoto vegetables and food-related regional branding.
Please follow this link to find the site: www.modernkyotoresearch.org
2024/05/09
grants for Japan research (online database)
The External Grants database provides a filterable list of non-JPP affiliated funding opportunities related to Japan Studies.
2024/05/07
documentary film, 100 years after Kanto (earthquake and Korean) massacre
crossposting from Association for Asian Studies - Korean Studies googlegroup
======================
...If you happen to be in Korea or Japan this month, I would like to invite you to a new historical documentary film screening event at the legislature in Seoul or Tokyo (free admission with ID for entrance). 1923 Kanto Massacre is the very first Korea-produced documentary film on the historical event of the massacre of Koreans following the Great Kanto Earthquake in Japan in 1923 which was produced on the occasion of its centenary last year.
The event at the Korean National Assembly building in Seoul starts at 6:30 pm on Tues May 7 (TODAY in KST), followed by that at the Japanese Diet building in Tokyo at 4 pm on Mon May 13 (this coming Monday). Director KIM Taeyong (renown long-time documentary filmmaker) will be present along with the members of the respective Congress. 1923 Kanto Massacre will be released to the public later this summer both in Korea and Japan as well as selected areas in Europe, Australia, and the U.S. (starting in Paris in Nov). Free of charge, but due to limited seating, please RSVP at jlee@eiu.edu.
Event: 1923 Kanto Massacre Documentary Film Screening
(Directed by Kim Taeyeong, Korea,118 minutes)
Date and Location:
6:30 PM May 7 (Tues)
The National Assembly of the Republic of Korea (Members' Office Building), Seoul
4:00 PM May 13 (Mon)
The National Diet of Japan (House of Councillors), Tokyo
The experience of violence has powerful consequences in the transformation of culture. The Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 marked a moment of unprecedented material destruction and cultural rupture in the Japanese empire. The disaster soon became subject to human interpretation and political manipulation, for the trauma of earth tremors and subsequent fire produced not only physical chaos but also rumors and violence against the colonized in the metropole. Such violence manifested itself in the massacre of Koreans immediately following the earthquake--triggered by rumors of arson, murder, rape, and rebellious riots by Koreans in the Tokyo-Yokohama area. Despite the shock of the rumors and the violence, the lack of critical evidence and the contradictions in the testimonies has rendered the incident a historical enigma, panic-driven aberration, or conspiracy in modern Korea and Japan. After a century, film 1923 Kanto Massacre traces the ways in which the historical narratives and memories of the colonial violence have been constructed haunting those whose lives were never the same after encountering the manmade mayhem.
Sincerely,
Jinhee Josephine Lee, Creative Producer of "1923 Kanto Massacre"
History Professor and Asian Studies Chair
Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, IL
2024/03/07
Long ago photos in Japan
MeijiShowa pictures, https://meijishowa.com
and Old Photos of Japan, https://oldphotosjapan.com
are two places to browse lives and livelihoods from lifetimes ago in and around Japan, together with some interpretive commentary.
2024/01/05
visual "look" in Japanese Webpages
Essay from Medium.com
Why Japanese Websites Look So Different by Mirijam Missbichler
8 min read from May 1, 2023
 | & how to analyze design choices without jumping to conclusions medium.com |
Over the years, I have had many encounters with Japanese websites — be it researching visa requirements, planning trips, or simply ordering something online. And it took me a loooong while to get used to the walls of text, lavish use of bright colors & 10+ different fonts...
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