nichibunken newsletter85

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No. 85 September 2012 ISSN 0914-6482

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Greetings rom the New DirectorKOMATSU Kazuhiko

Founded in 1987 as Japanese studies overseas gainedmomentum with the growth o Japans economy andoperated through unds provided rom the national treasury,Nichibunken supports the research o Japanese studies

scholars rom overseas and promotes interdisciplinary andcomprehensive team research among scholars rom bothJapan and abroad. In May 2012, i t celebrated its 25thanniversary. Nichibunken invites Japanese studies specialistsrom all over the world to deepen their research as visitingresearchers or or graduate study; it gathers inormationo all kinds needed or international collaborative andcooperative research on Japans culture and history; and itbuilds numerous networks among research institutes andindividual scholars. In particular, the Nichibunken Librarycollection o works on Japan in other languages is highlyregarded among Japan specialists.

h e po lit ical, eco nom ic, and cu ltu ral co ndi tio nssurrounding Japan have been undergoing great changesin the twenty-ve years since Nichibunkens ounding. Inthe context o an increasingly globalized world, research inJapanese studies is being more actively pursued rom thebroad perspective o Japan in the world or Japan in Asia,heightening the need or research rom multiple viewpointsbased on international collaboration and cooperation. I willbe actively involved in instituting changes in Nichibunkensmanagement and research support programs in order toaddress the needs o this new phase in our institutional

development.We look or ward to your continued interest inNichibunkens activities and your abiding support andgoodwill.


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2 Nichibunken Newsletter No. 85

Topics

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Nichibunkens wenty-fth Anniversary:May 23 Evening ToughtsINOUE Shichi (Prof.)

Greetings rom the Honorary Advisor, UMEHARA akeshi

At Nichibunken, our oices in the research wingare separated rom the administration wing. hey arelocated in dierent parts o the complex, on oppositeends o the central garden courtyard. When we acultymembers go to visit the oices, we walk along thecorridor that passes along the courtyard. Likewise, whenoce sta come to see us in our oces, they make theirway along these same corridors.

Te distance is not to be underestimated. It is quitear.

O course, we take care o brie communicationsby phone or email. We do not need to meet in person

or simple communications. Some matters, though,are better considered together ace-to-ace. And whenthere are committee meetings, or instance, everyoneneeds to get together in one place. On such occasions,we are made to hasten through these long corridors. Weare reminded o the distance between the research wingand the administration wing.

Admittedly, the path we tread takes us past windowslooking out onto the spacious courtyard, and the view isnot bad at all. Visitors to Nichibunken are ull o praise.Tis is an amazing setting. Im jealous that you get to

work here, they say.


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http://bunka.nii.ac.jp/ 24 7 6 10

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Greetings

MARUKAWA Yz

(Assoc. Prof.)

S i n c e j o i n i n g t h e a c u l t y o Nichibunken in April 2012, I havebeen involved in research on developingNichibunkens database outreachactivities as an associate proessor at theOce or Virtual Resources.

At the Nat iona l Ins t i tu te o Inormatics (NII), I was engagedin research and development aimedat making available inormation on Japanesecultural properties using associative searchingtechnology. Associative searching is a search

method developed based on the idea oassociative inormatics, which studies methodsor siting inormation valuable to the userrom sources o diverse inormation. It oersthe means or horizontal search o dierentdatabases without being concerned with theirdierences. One o the ruits o our research atRDCIA is Cultural Heritage Online (http://bunka.nii.ac.jp). his portal site providesinormation about cultural properties in thecollections o art and other museums all over

Japan. As o July 2012, it contains 60,000 entriesaccompanied by images and 100,000 entriesi those without images are counted. hey canbe viewed using associative search unctions. Iyou have not already explored the site, I highlyrecommend it.

ransmission o cultural property inormationis a eld where the humanities and social sciencesand inormation engineering come together. Ibecame interested in interdisciplinary researchas a university student and in graduate schoolstudied methods or probing three-dimensionalunderground s t ructures us ing magnet icprospecting technologies at archaeological sites.Later the target o my research shited romphysical structures to catalogs o collectionsand other listings o cultural properties, butbasically I am still engaged in studying howto discover new value rom vast quantities odata. I look orward to putting the experienceI have gathered so ar to use in contributing todissemination o inormation in a way unique toNichibunken, which itsel houses the wealth o

valuable resources.


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Nichibunken Newsletter No. 85 5

Messages

Nichibunken Reminisces

C. Andrew GERSTLE

(Prof., University of London)

Nichibunken has had decisiveimpact on my own research overmany years. I was ortunate to havebeen invited as a Visiting Researcherto Nichibunken during its rst yearin 1988. Te Center was in RakusaiNew own, beore the eyama castlewas built (an interesting experience to participate in thejichinsaiceremony to placate the mountains spirits). Itwas a time o dreaming about what Nichibunken could

and would do, at the peak o those heady bubble timeswhen anything and everything seemed possible or Ja-pan and Japanese Studies. Unusually, visiting sta wereencouraged to join in the discussions about undamen-tal policies that would shape Nichibunken.

Some suggestions I, among others, made were that: 1)all positions, permanent and visiting, should be openlyadvertised; 2) the journals should not be like the Japa-nese university kiy (bulletin), with only local researchand no outside reereeing, but open to the world andpeer-reviewed; 3) non-Japanese should be given the

chance to lead research projects; 4) a certain proportiono proessors and associate proessors should be non-Japanese; and 5) methods should be developed to en-gage in projects with scholars outside Japan. Tese ideas,at the time, were welcomed or already held by many atthe Center but were seen as threatening by some seniorscholars, who were worried about Nichibunken losingcontrol o its uture, and who saw their role as correct-ing (tadasu) oreign research on Japan.

It has been encouraging to watch rom aar, withoccasional visits, Nichibunken develop into the mature,exciting and open research center that it is today, vigor-

ously engaging with a wide range o researchers, bothwithin and outside Japan.

My second visit to Nichibunken was in 2005. I hadhelped organize an exhibition on Osaka Kabuki at theBritish Museum that was being held also at the OsakaMuseum o History and the Waseda University TeatreMuseum during the year. I was intrigued by RyksaiJokei, the rst to create actor prints in Osaka in the late18th century. His style was realistic, particularly or onna-

gata, who were presented as male actors, in contrast toEdo style where onnagataportraits were virtually no di-

erent than beautiul women prints. I was searching orthe source o his realism in the Nichibunken Library,and began to examine the work o one o his teachers,sukioka Settei (1726-86). A chance encounter with

1988

2005

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Former Visiting Research Scholar

Nov. 1988May 1989, Sept. 2005Sept. 2006

19881119895

2005920069


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a rare Settei book in Nichibunken led to an entirely newdirection or my research and to unexpected consequences:Onna shimegawa oeshi-bumi(c.1768) was a shungaparody othe womens conduct bookOnna imagawa oshie-bumi(1768).

I ound the content o this parody shungabook so ascinat-ing that I began working with Proessor Monta Hayakawaon shunga and we published this shunga book (and lateranother) in the Nichibunken enpon series. Focusing oneducational parody books, I then argued in my most recentpublicationEdo onna no shungabon (Heibonsha, 2011) that shunga was an integral part o dailylie beore the 20th century and that women were also cus-tomers, and nally that the modern taboo on shungahas letus with an incomplete and distorted view o the Edo period.

Although perhaps not appreciated by everyone, the largeNichibunken collection o shunga and the public onlinedatabase, assembled through the tireless eorts o ProessorHayakawa, are rare treasures among Japanese libraries and

museums.My ortuitous encounter with Setteis shungabook in theNichibunken Library has developed into an internationalproject on shunga led by Proessor Hayakawa, imothyClark (British Museum) and mysel, which will culminatein a special issue oJapan Review and a major exhibitionat the British Museum (October 2013) and hopeully at aokyo venue). Tis project and exhibition would not havebeen possible without the vision o Nichibunken in seekingto understand deeply and critically all aspects o Japaneseculture, including shunga. I am most grateul or the col-laboration and support o Nichibunken on this internationalproject.

Image o sukioka Setteis shunga and shunga books recommended as

essential or a brides trousseau. From Konrei hiji-bukuro, c. 1771 (parody

oKonrei keshi-bukuro, 1750).

Collection o International Research Center or Japanese Studies

(1726-86) (c.1768) (1768)

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2013 10

1771 (1750 )


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Nichibunken imeX. Jie YANG (Prof., University of Calgary)

At Nichibunken, time indeed does seem to move

at a pace quite dierent rom the rest o the world.Consider we visiting scholars who gather here romother countries. Here on weekdays, our time is virtuallyall our own. Aside rom the in-act quite requentoutings or research and presentations o papers at otherinstitutions and events, we can absorb ourselves in ourreading. Te luxury o working until late at night in theully equipped librarysometimes practically alonedoubles the value o our days.

On the weekends Nichibunkens power takesmore active orm. Leaders and authorities in variousields both among the Centers own aculty as well

as rom outside gather or the seminars and studymeetings scheduled in its halls. One cannot resistwan tin g to att en d the se me et in gs to li st en in onthe discussion among them, even their inormalconversation is enlightening. In addition, there aremany opportunitieswhich are part o the duties oour position as visiting researchersto present ourresearch ndings in venues open to the public, such asthe monthly Nichibunken Forums and the hursdaySeminars, and through contributions to the Centerspublications. here also are countless lunch or dinner

meetings and other inormal gatherings to meet withother scholars. I can hardly describe how many fasheso inspiration I have gained rom such gatherings, otenaccompanied by the pleasures o wine. Quite in themost natural way, my sojourn at Nichibunken turnedinto a reassessment o the work I have done so ar andan important starting point to urther developments inmy research.

Nichibunken time lastsone year and no longer thanthatand it is always out-o-the-ordinary time. For

each ind iv idual scholar ,the chance or this kind oexperience is all the moreunorgettable because it hasbeen obtained only aterlong years o service in oneshome institution. Everyvis iting researcher becomesdetermined ater leavingNichibunken to treasure thenetworks with other scholars

built up while here, andmaintain themeven i onlyon the virtual leveland Iam certainly one o these.

An aternoon at the Nichibunken

Photo by Pro. X. Jie YANG

Former Visiting Research Scholar

Nov. 1988May 1989, Sept. 2005Sept. 2006

1999 5 2000 4

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Research

Unorgettable eam Research Experience

P. A. GEORGE

(Prof., Jawaharlal Nehru University)

226235 20

Pro. George, second rom the right

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I was at Nichibunken or one year, rom June 2010to May 2011, organizing a team research project on thetheme o Fusion o Religion and Folklore in Literature:A Reinterpretation o Miyazawa Kenjis World View.More than 20 specialists rom all over Japan participatedin the project. I organized this team research project outo my long held rm conviction that Kenjis works werenot only infuenced by Buddhism but also other religiousteachings including traditional Japanese olk religionand olkloric belies. Te aim o this project was to bringinto light the notions o universality and egalitarian-

ism and Japaneseness and spirit o harmony embodiedin Kenjis literary works by reexamining his poetry andchildrens stories rom the perspective o the teachings ovarious religions and Japans distinctive olkloric tradi-tions, and thereby shedding resh light on Miyazawasworks, so that the stereotypical image o Kenji couldbe changed even i that accounts only or a little. I donot really know how I should thank Nichibunken oraccepting the project I proposed and providing me thebase or this team research project to unold.

I had heard about the team research projects held atNichibunken beore also, but knew nothing about themethod o their actual implementation. Inviting schol-ars who would join my project, scheduling o researchmeetings, writing o progress reports and compilationo the nal report; to me everything was a completelynew experience as I had never undertaken such projectearlier. When my project was accepted by Nichibunken,though perplexed slightly in the beginning, I did notworry much because I knew that I would be guided bypioneers in the eld o olklore studies and MiyazawaKenji studies, including Proessor Komatsu Kazuhiko,Director-General o Nichibunken and an authority in

the eld oykai-gaku, ghost-lore studies, in Japan. rueto my expectation, an array o outstanding scholarsin the ield o olklore studies, religion, literature, artand literary criticism, comparative literature as well asspecialists on Miyazawa Kenji, well known within andwithout Japan, joined me soon. Tanks to their extraor-dinary cooperation and encouragement, I could success-ully complete this one year project in time.

During the project period o one year we held totalsix seminars o two days duration each, i.e., once in ev-ery alternative month. All seminars except the third onewere held in Nichibunken. he third one was held atMiyazawa Kenji Associations Ihatov Center in Hana-maki city, Iwate preecture, on 6-7, November 2010.Besides paper presentations by the members o the


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eam Research, Fusion o Religion and Folklore in Literature: A Reinterpretation o Miyazawa Kenjis World View

2 6 3 22 11 6 7

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project, we had also special lectures delivered by prominentscholars and specialists in the related elds, every time. Teseseminars were extremely meaningul and intense discussionsand ruitul exchange o views took place every time. heproject was ended on 31 May 2011, and all the members othe research team submitted the nal drat o their papers byAugust 2011. hese papers, ater editing and prooreading,were published in a book by Hzkan, the prestigious, well

known publisher o Kyoto in March 2012.Publication o this book in less than a year ater the

completion o team research project would not have been pos-sible without the timely intervention and support by ProessorKomatsu Kazuhiko, Director-General, Nichibunken, and thewholehearted cooperation rom other members o the team.I am also extremely grateul to Mr. Akitsuki o Hzkan andhis sta or the tremendous eort they made and cooperationthey extended towards the publication o the ruit o our proj-ect within the stipulated time rame.

Te rich and stimulating experiences o such a wonderul

team research project would not have been possible without thebacking and vision o Nichibunken and its proessors. I wouldlike once again to express my sincere gratitude. So precious wasmy experience that i I have an opportunity again, I would cer-tainly like to plan another team research project at Nichibunken.


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GS( )

40

GS ( )

GS, I Love You40

Grown-ups just dont understand usintonedJapanese rockn roll ans, reerr ing to group soundsthat were all the rage around 1967-69. Adult societydisparaged GS as music by and or bad boys.Listening to the igers and rockin and rollinsuchwere the rather tame orms o rebellion indulged byyoung people in the late 1960s.

Tose were the days when our hearts throbbed origers members Julie with the glance ans swoonedor, oppo with his sweet voice o melodies, and Peawith the charming smile. In a white boat foating onthe Milky Way, we were in the land o dreams, just youand me (Ginga no romansu [Romance in the MilkyWay], 1968). hose were the days when young loverscouldnt even hold hands.

More than 40 years have passed, and you and Iwho swore eternal devotionhave scattered ar andwide. Where are you? What are you doing?

Te very notion o a serious academic study o groupsounds sometimes draws scornul remarks. But suchcritics are just old ogeys. What they think doesnt reallymatter or us. What does matter is reviving the passion

and excitement o those days. What matters is realizingthe heterotopia o bringing together lovers through themusic o the igers. ime fows by ar too quickly, oursis a world o a one, unchanging love (Love, Love, Love,1970). When did scholarship become the uneeling,dried-up preserve o old ogeys? Now is the time toRing the Bell o Anger (Ikari no kane o narase; 1970),and restore the potentiality o aect and thought.

GS, I Love You: New eam Research ProjectSocial and Cultural-historical Analysis oJapanese Popular Music in 1960s:Study o Te igersISOMAE Junichi (Assoc. Prof.)


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Published by International Research Center or Japanese Studies

3-2 Oeyama-cho, Goryo, Nishikyo-ku, Kyoto 610-1192 JAPAN

Phone: +81-75-335-2222 Fax: +81-75-335-2091

610-1192 3-2

: 075-335-2222 Fax: 075-335-2091

Edited by SANO Mayuko, Markus RERMANN

AKEANI Naoko

http://www.nichibun.ac.jp

Aug. 31, 2012)Teodore F. COOK Jr., William Paterson Univ., U.S.A.(June 1, 2012May 31, 2013)Kulatilaka KUMARASINGHE, Univ. o Kelaniya, Sri

Lanka (June 1, 2012March 31, 2013)Jrg B. QUENZER, Univ. o Hamburg, Germany ( July1Sept. 30, 2012)Kacem ZOUGHARI, Center o Japanese Studies,INALCO, France ( July 8, 2012June 30, 2013) [NO Sung-hwan,Univ. o Ulsan, Korea] (Aug. 1, 2012July 31, 2013) [CHEN Xiaoa,Zhejiang Gongshang Univ., China] (Sept. 1, 2012Aug.31, 2013) [LIM Jie-sun, Yonsei

Univ., Korea] (Sept. 1, 2012Aug. 31, 2013)Wybe Paul KUIER, Seoul National Univ., Korea,(Sept. 1, 2012Aug. 31, 2013)

JSPS Research Fellows

Bjrn E. BERGLUND, Lund Univ., Sweden (April19May 18, 2012)Per LAGERS, Swedish National Heritage Board,Sweden (April 19May 18, 2012)

Visiting Research Fellows

Stina JELBRING, Stockholm Univ., Sweden (April

120, 2012)Frederick DICKINSON, Univ. o Pennsylvania, U.S.A.(April 1June 22, 2012) [YOO Kil-dong,Hanyang Womens Univ., Korea] (June 1July 31, 2012)David UHER, Palacky Univ. Olomouc, Czech Republic(June 17August 24, 2012) [ZHANG Yanru, Institute o World History Studies,Chinese Academy o Social Sciences, China] (July 12Aug. 10, 2012)

Aida SULEYMENOVA, Far Eastern Federal Univ.,Russia] (July 26Aug. 22, 2012)Mark Cody POULON, Univ. o Victoria, Canada(Aug. 15, 2012June 5, 2013)

#166: April 5: Hans Martin KRMER (Assist. Pro oRuhr Univ. Bochum and Visiting Research Scholar oNichibunken), An Other Other? he Qurn, Islam,and Religious Identity in Modern Japan

#167: May 10: Richard J. Smethurst (Pro o Univ. oPittsburgh), sukioka Kgyo and the Popularization oNoh in Modern Japan#168: June 7: Freder ick DICKINSON (Assist . Pro.o Dept. o History, Univ. o Pennsylvania and VisitingResearch Fellow o Nichibunken), aish as Interwar:Relections on Japan in the History o the ModernWorld#1 69 : Ju ly 5: An dr ija na CV E KOVIK (Vis iti ngPro. o European Film and Teatre Academy ESRA-Paris-Skopje-New York and JF Research Fellow o

Nichibunken), Archetypes in Japanese Films: heWanderer Archetype rom Myth to Street#170: Sept. 6: Soyombo BORJIGIN (Pro. o Te Choi.Lubsangjab Univ. o Language and Civilization andVisiting Research Scholar o Nichibunken), Shintoand Shamanism: Te Indigenous Religions o Japan andMongolia

Visitor

July 13: Assoc. Pro. Larisa USMANOVA, Kazan StateUniv., Russia

Comings

New AppointmentsVisiting Research ScholarsBORJIGIN Lubsangjabyn Soyombo, he Choi.Lubsangjab Univ. o Language and Civilization,Mongolia (April 1, 2012March 31, 2013) [WEI Lixin,Guangdong Univ. o Foreign Studies, China] (April 1,2012March 31, 2013)

[JIN Zhehui,Beijing Language and Culture Univ, China] (April 1,2012March 31, 2013)[NUKI Emiko, Univ. o Wisconsin, U.S.A.] (April 1

Center News March-September 2012

nichibunken newsletter85

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