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Eye on JapanTokyo Days –report by
Nadine Willems
Piece of Japan
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Editor: Oliver Moxham, CJS Project CoordinatorCJS Director: Professor Simon Kaner
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CJS ニュースレターへようこそ！

Welcome to the fifth and final April edition of the CJS e-Newsletter – who knew there were five Thursdays
in April? This week we bring you hopeful news from Japan as the initial spike in cases seems to be tapering
off, although much remains to be done to flatten the curve. In this issue we take a look at the new raft ofmeasures being brought in to fight the virus in Japan along with a new article from Nadine Willems on the
ground in Tokyo. For our ‘Piece of Japan’ segment we have recommendations on the theme of historicalfigures following Shakespeare’s birthday last week and the Buddha’s birthday this week (according to thelunar calendar). You can find a message from CJS Director Professor Simon Kaner on the Sainsbury Institutefor the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures website and hear more from our SISJAC colleagues on theirmonthly e-bulletin.
Editor’s note: Japanese names are given in the Japanese form of family name first i.e. Matsumoto Mariko
Amendment: It has come to our attention that there were some errors with Japanese names in our third
issue this month. It has since been amended and an updated version can be found in our online archives.
We apologise to our readership for this oversight.
Eye on Japan: Overdue Government Action | Mask Mischief | Golden Week ‘Staycation’ 日本の最近情報
As COVID19 cases pass 13,000 in Japan, the government has finally begun toinstigate serious measures to combat spread, including the issuing of‘Abenomasks’, emergency funding for homeless and financially struggling
students (JP), listing 10,000 clinics offering online diagnoses for new patients andperhaps even an end to the traditional use of hanko ink stamps used to sign
documents to curb infection rates. The slowing growth of infection cases in Tokyo,
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largely thanks to the efforts of Governor Koike Yuriko as opposed to the inaction of Abe Shinzō’s
government, has given tentative hope that the virus might yet be brought under control. True to Japan’s
legacy of creative public service messages, humourous social distancing posters by graphic design company
Nosigner have been circulated as part of Pandaid to raise awareness, urging people to stay one tuna apart.
Flaws have started to appear, however, in earlier government initiatives with 1,903 complaints of‘Abenomasks’ arriving soiled or defective. Complaints, largely from pregnant women, included masks
arriving with insects inside, moldy or stained. Perhaps they can be resupplied with overpriced masks seizedby the government from unscrupulous vendors. Furthermore, Abe seems to have taken a leaf from acertain individual across the Pacific in using his position to give unfounded medical advice, touting Avigan
as a wonderdrug against the virus despite warnings from medical experts of dangerous side effects andunproven efficacy.
Pachinko parlours refusing to close their doors are being called out by officials, leading to bomb threats (JP)following a name-and-shame of non-compliant parlours by controversial Ōsaka mayor Yoshimura Hirofumi.
Their long queues and refusal to shut may well have something to do with the blanket ¥100,000 handout
announced by the government last week. Pachinko parlours are not the only places still being frequented
for leisure, however, as crowds flocked to leisure spots over the weekend. Officials are strongly urging
people to exercise restraint as the great national holiday of Golden Week begins, where traditionally theentire nation travels on packed public transport to holiday destinations domestically and abroad, althoughdeserted bullet train stations on the weekend suggest the majority may be respecting the need to stayhome. Finally, some news to raise the spirits, the Ue o Muite Sing for Hope Project has seen healthcare
professionals around Japan singing Sakamoto Kyū’s Ue o Muite Arukō to send out a message of hope anddefiance against the virus.
Written by editor Oliver Moxham
Sources can be found in the ‘News from Japan’ section
Tokyo Days – Report by Nadine Willems

東京の日々

TO FEAR OR NOT TO FEAR IN TOKYO“Just by washing your hands properly, you greatly reduce the chances of getting infected. But there issomething lurking in the depths of your heart that you cannot flush away…”
According to a video message circulated by the Japanese Red Cross, the fear produced by Covid-19 mayprove an even deadlier opponent than the virus itself. A sticky and invasive emotion, it leads people toexaggerate bad news and stigmatize other people, threatening to destroy social ties and intensify the
spread of the disease. In the current climate, suggests the Red Cross, distancing oneself from fear
appears at least as important as social distancing. Even if this message primarily addresses the
stigmatization of health workers as carriers of the virus, I also wonder about its wider meaning.
While Tokyo is a full three weeks into a state of emergency, its soft version of a lockdown increasingly
constrains my daily life. I am not quite frightened, but I cannot help but ponder about fear in the time ofa pandemic. Health experts are confident that infection rates have not reached explosive levels in Japan.
Yet, there is little comforting news. The state of emergency, extended ten days ago to the whole country,
is expected to persist beyond the 6 May deadline originally announced. Before the weekend, Tokyo
Governor Koike Yuriko pleaded again for citizens to “stay home, stay in Tokyo, save lives”. Clearly, the2

virus is still with us. How am I to process the constant stream of depressing statistics and conjure thecompelling image of a giant city inhabited by millions of masked humans?
It seems that literary classics may offer some help. As in Italy, France, and many other countries, sales ofAlbert Camus’ The Plague have been booming in Japan. The book, published in 1947, presents a
metaphor for the rise of Nazism, but its investigation of individual choices in the face of a deadly
epidemic in the Algerian city of Oran remains thought-provoking. Camus’ plague is devastating,
unforgiving. It affects adults and children alike. Entirely cut off from the rest of the world, a whole city inlockdown waits for the pathogen to vanish. One character’s assumption, however, is that pestilence lies
within everyone and that “no one in the world, no one, is immune.” The point is that “we must
constantly keep a watch on ourselves to avoid being distracted for a moment and find ourselves
breathing in another person’s face and infecting him.” It is a metaphor, but when one’s world is turned
upside down and certainties are crumbling all around, Camus’ tale of suffering and human resilience isindeed uplifting in any language.
The Japanese are perhaps more familiar than most with natural calamities – earthquakes, tsunami,
droughts and epidemics, such as cholera, typhoid fever and smallpox, mark the country’s history. Still
today, local folklore acts as a reminder of nature’s potential wrath. Many travellers to Japan will haveheard of, or even experienced the magnificent Gion festival in Kyoto, held every summer since 869, which
originated as a religious ceremony performed in appeasement of the gods during an epidemic outbreak.
One of the festival’s main Shinto deities is the Gozu Tennō, literally “bull-headed heavenly king”, thought
to inflict disease as well as willing to cure it in certain circumstances. The associated gōryō cult, meant toward off evil spirits, developed at a time when epidemics spread rapidly in densely populated cities, suchas Nara, and later Kyoto. When I realise that the Gozu tennō has also a dedicated shrine in Tokyo, we
decide to pay a visit.

The “bull-headed heavenly king” Gozu Tennō
Hekijae 辟邪絵（奈良国立博物館）で牛頭天王をつかんで食べる天刑星

It is not that simple though. The shrine is located near Haneda airport, and since we are discouraged fromusing public transport, we have to settle for riding two old bicycles that were hidden away in the cellar.
Under a gorgeous blue sky, it takes us a good two hours to reach Haneda shrine and the adjacent Jishōin,a Buddhist temple also linked to Gozu. One thing is sure, we are far from travelling through a ghostly
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urban sprawl. People are out and about, shopping, jogging, cycling, and even patiently lining up in frontof what must be a prize-winning ramen joint that we pass on the way. Finally making it to ourdestination, however, we are greeted by a deserted shrine, sleepily nesting at the foot of the suspension
bridge that leads to the airport. As it turns out, the bronze statue dedicated to Gozu is asleep too. So as
to avoid virus spreading crowds, the trickle of cleansing water that usually flows from its mouth into astone basin has been stopped.

People flocking to ramen rather than shrines in a time of crisis
There are more stories to tell about Gozu, including that he was historically conflated with Susanoo, thetemperamental brother of Amaterasu, the founding goddess of Japan. But that is for another time. For
now, I follow the advice of the Red Cross to “ignore the whispers of fear” … and wash my hands!

A bronze statue to Gozu lies dormant

Written by Nadine Willems, Lecturer of Japanese History at UEA.
All photos taken by the author.

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For more contagion-related classical literature, director general of the National Institute of Japanese
Literature (国文研) has created a list available on Youtube in both English and Japanese.
Piece of Japan

日本のかけら

Each week, we will bring to you some fresh recommendations from CJS members to
help bring a piece of Japan to you at home through film, books, anime, manga andmore. This week we bring you recommendations on the theme of historical figures
following Shakespeare’s birthday last week and the Buddha’s this week (according to
the lunar calendar). If you have any suggestions for themes or otherrecommendations, send us an email at cjs@uea.ac.uk.
Editor’s note: English e-books and Japanese e-books on Amazon can largely only bepurchased on amazon.co.uk and amazon.co.jp respectively, meaning that English andJapanese e-books cannot be purchased on one account. You can read in bothlanguages on your computer, but it is necessary to have two accounts. Furthermore, if you wish to read ona Kindle you must log in with either an English or Japanese account. Switching accounts on a Kindle will
delete any content already stored on the device, so choose wisely!
Books
本のおすすめRecommendations by Hannah Osborne, Lecturer of Japanese Literature at UEA
The Goddess Chronicle by Kirino Natsuo (2011)女神記
作者：桐野夏生
Under the theme of historical figures this week, I wish to recommend Joshinki, astory of love, betrayal, murder and revenge by the bestselling crime writer,
Natsuo Kirino. Translated in English as The Goddess Chronicle by Rebecca
Copeland, Natsuo uses a contemporary tale through which to revisit, andreimagine the myths surrounding Izanami and Izanagi, the god and goddess said
to have given birth to the islands of Japan.
Available in English and Japanese paperback on Amazon.
Recommendations by CJS Director Professor Simon KanerBooks on William Adams
My selected historical personage is Miura Anjin, Will Adams, the first
Englishman to arrive in Japan, who became shipbuilder to the first Tokugawa
Shogun, Ieyasu, whose family, if Norwich cathedral guides are to be believed,
has some East Anglian connection (there is a dissertation waiting to be written
on this). Not only did he inspire James Clavell’s ‘Shogun’ (1975) and thedeliciously awful TV miniseries of the same name (with Richard Chamberlain
playing the lead role – though not named Adams). I renewed my interested in
Adams when I met colleagues from Hirado when we hosted the British
Association of Japanese Studies at UEA back in 2012 – they were looking for an
archaeologist to go and visit Hirado as they were planning to reinvestigate thepurported grave of Adams – a school teacher in the 1950’s having reported
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finding ‘very long bones’ in the remains of a tomb in the town. I spent a very enjoyable birthday
there savouring the uchiwa-ebi and beach-front onsen, but sadly there were no long bones to beinvestigated at that time. Subsequent research, however, lead on to further investigations asreported in the press just over a year ago. Hirado is well worth a visit (and the long trip from Sasabo,
including a wonderful narrow train tunnel), with its many temples and a superb reconstruction of
the Dutch factory there. Books I have particularly enjoyed on this (in addition to Clavell’s Shogun ofcourse, include Giles Milton’s Samurai William (2003) and William Corr’s Adams the Pilot (1995). For
the atmosphere of Dejima, where the Dutch factory was moved to, it’s hard to beat David Mitchell’s
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet.
Manga & Anime
漫画とアニメのおすすめ
Recommendations by editor
Saint Young Men (2006 – present) by Nakamura Hikaru
セイント

聖 ☆おにいさん 作者：中村光

Christ walks among mortals again, although not quite how the Book of
Revelations predicted – sharing an apartment with Gautama Buddha in
Tachikawa, Tokyo to do some sightseeing. In this quirky, light-hearted
comedy, Nakamura imagines how these two prophets would make sense of
today’s secular world, all the while trying to keep their identities hidden fromthe unwitting populace, not least their inquisitive landlady.
The manga is available in English and Japanese e-books on Amazon.
Film
映画のおすすめRecommendations by the editor
The Wind Rises (2013) by Miyazaki Hayao
風立ちぬ
作者：宮崎駿Miyazaki’s supposedy penultimate Ghibli film before retirement (he sincecame out of retirement in 2017), The Wind Rises is a fictionalised biopic of
Horikoshi Jiro, designer of the Mitsubishi A5M fighter aircraft and its
successor, the Mitsubishi A6M Zero used by the Empire of Japan in the AsiaPacific War. Prevented from becoming a pilot due to his nearsightedness,
Horikoshi turns his passion to aeronautical engineering at Tokyo Imperial
University. His life is pockmarked with tumultuous events, including surviving
the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, witnessing the violent antisemitism ofNazi Germany and working under immense pressure to create a fighter plane to compete with theWest for technologically backwards and resource-starved Japan at the height of war. Miyazaki’s
career-spanning message of the folly of war is tactfully brought into direct contestation with his
nation’s wartime history through the lens of one good man who must reconcile his desire to design
aircraft with the terrible use for which they were made.
Available in English and Japanese on Netflix.

6Miss Hokusai (2015) by Hara Keiichi
百日紅
作者：原恵一Anyone with the faintest familiarity with Japanese art willknow the name of Katsushika Hokusai, painter of such iconic
pieces as The Great Wave off Kanagawa. However, few may
know of his daughter Katsushika Ōi who herself was anaccomplished painter who worked as his production
assistant. While few of her works are known, Hara deftlyinterprets this as Ōi leaving much of her work unsigned in
the film as well as working to complete works neglected byfather. Hara also explores life beyond the celebrity ofpainting in the Katsushika household, looking at Hokusai’srole as a father and the paternal care Ōi was required to provide in his stead towards her sickly,
blind half-sister Nao. A fantastically energetic and colourful production bringing life to the often
unsung heroines in history, which hopefully sets a precedent for rock music in Edo-period films.
Available in Japanese with English subtitles on Amazon.
Upcoming Events & Opportunites

催し物

Drawing Your Manga Character: Online Demonstration with
Kutsuwada ChieJapan HouseFri 1 May, 14:00 – 15:00
Booking essential, free admission
Japan House London is delighted to invite manga enthusiasts,
illustrators and aspiring manga-ka to the first in a series of
online drawing sessions led by UK-based artist Kutsuwada
Chie.
In this one-hour event, participants can learn how to draw asingle character under the guidance of a professional manga
artist, while simultaneously following her step-by-step
instructions and asking live questions.
After the demonstration, participants are most welcome to share their result on social media andtag Japan House using the hashtag #japanhouselondon, #manga and #MuseumsFromHome.
More dates will follow; this page will be updated with information as it becomes available.
*This drawing session is open to all levels and makes use of digital drawing, although participants
are welcome to use any drawing equipment that they have available at home.
About the artist
Kutsuwada Chie was born and brought up in Japan. After graduating from the printmaking
department of the Royal College of Art, London, she is now based in Brighton, working as aprofessional manga artist. Her work Moonlight (2008, collected in The Mammoth Book of Best New
Manga 3 by Constable & Robinson) was shortlisted in the Manga Jiman competition organized by
the Japanese Embassy in the UK. One of her latest projects is a series of illustrated columns for7

Mainichi Weekly (published every two months by one of the major Japanese newspaper companies)
about life and culture in UK. Her books are available in most English-speaking countries and Japan,
and some are translated into Turkish, French, Italian and Spanish. Besides creating manga comics,
she runs manga workshops at schools, libraries, and museums, such as the British Museum, theBritish Library and Victoria and Albert Museum. She has also have worked on projects for Channel 4
and CNN.

JSPS London Pre/Postdoctoral Fellowship for Foreign Researchers(Short Term)
Application Deadline: Monday 8th June, 2020
Fellowships must start between: 1st November 2020 to 31st March 2021.
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) is the leading research funding agency in Japan,
established by the Japanese Government for the purpose of contributing to the advancement ofscience. Our Pre/Postdoctoral Fellowship for Foreign Researchers (Short Term) provides theopportunity for researchers based outside of Japan to conduct collaborative research activities withleading research groups at Japanese Universities and Research Institutions for visits of between 1 to
12 months. Eligible applicants need to be either within 2 years of finishing their PhD at the time of
applying to start their fellowship in Japan or have obtained their PhD at a university outside of Japan
within the last 6 years (on or after 2nd April 2014). Eligible research fields are not limited.
Please visit the JSPS London website here for further information.
Fellow's experiences from former JSPS Fellows who have taken part in this programme can be foundhere.
日本に関する記事

News from JapanFor a running number of reported COVID19 infections, victims and recoveries in Japan, see the
Asahi Shimbun homepage (JP): https://www.asahi.com/
For non-Japanese speakers, the numbers indicate:Nationwide infections: Yesterday (total) Deaths: Yesterday (total) Recoveries: Yesterday (total)
国内の感染者：＋前日（総数）

死者：＋前日（総数） 退院者：＋前日（総数）The BBC’s Rupert Wingfield-Hayes took a look inside a makeshift COVID19 unit just south of the capital:
Coronavirus: Tokyo hospitals trying to stay ahead
Japan Times:
•
•
•
•
•
•

Japan lists 10,000 clinics offering online diagnoses for new patients
Rise in Tokyo coronavirus patients slowing, top expert says
Japan's 'Abenomask' drive tainted by gripes over mold, stains and bugs
Japan to seize high-priced masks from unscrupulous sellers
Abe touts Avigan as COVID-19 treatment despite experts urging caution
Defiant pachinko parlors show limits of Japan’s shutdown request8

••Defying virus warnings, crowds take to Japan's beaches and mountains
Japan's bullet trains and expressways eerily deserted as Golden Week begins

Mainichi Shimbun:•

立憲・枝野氏、ホームレスや困窮学生への支援策提案•

Japan PM Abe directs review of seal-stamping custom, eyeing virus containment•

店名公表のパチンコ店にネットで爆破予告

衆院予算委

大阪府警が業務妨害容疑で捜査

Visit the Pandaid website for comprehensive material for educating on coronavirus. Nosigner has
contributed many such manner posters including advising others to stay one tuna apart.
Reuters explains here the constitutional ramifications on Japan’s state of emergency:‘Lockdown’, Japan-style: Pressure to conform, not penalties for non-compliance
For information on the new government pledge of ¥100,000 to all:How to get the ¥100,000 coronavirus payout from the Japanese government
For some livestream praying before the Great Buddha at Tōdaiji, see this live (if not somewhat inanimate)broadcast on Niconico Livestream (Japanese only)
For a guide by Japan Times to online traditional Japanese theatre:
Traditional Japanese entertainment joins the digital age
For a Japanese government public service video on coronavirus (Japanese only):
3 つの密を避けよう！
For Japanese speakers, here are two articles in English from the Japan Times laying out vocabulary coming
out of the crisis:
The Japanese words used to encourage self-restraint
Cancellations, postponements, suspensions — words that define the times
Click here for a comprehensive online document on Japanese universities adopting distance learning.
For more information on Japanese universities see this twitter thread by Rochelle Kopp, professor at
Kitakyushu University, for resources.
General Links

お役立ちリンク

Embassy of Japan: http://www.uk.emb-japan.go.jp/
Japan Foundation: http://www.jpf.org.uk/
JSPS: http://www.jsps.go.jp/english/
British Association for Japanese Studies: http://www.bajs.org.uk/
Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation: http://www.dajf.org.uk/
Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation: http://www.gbsf.org.uk/
Japan Society: http://www.japansociety.org.uk/
EU-Japan Centre: http://www.eu-japan.eu/
Canon Foundation: www.canonfoundation.org
Applications for JET Programme: http://www.jetprogramme.org/
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Japanese Language Proficiency Exam: http://www.jlpt.jp/e/index.html
UEA Japan Society: ueajapansociety@gmail.com
Taiko Centre East: http://www.taikocentre.org.uk/
Career Forums: http://www.careerforum.net/event/?lang=E
お問い合わせContact Us
If you have any contributions for the next week’s e-newsletter,
please send them to us by 12:00 Wednesday to make the next issue.

The CJS office is located in the Sainsbury Centre for the Visual Arts (the mezzanine floor), although theoffice is temporarily closed as per university guidelines. You can always email us at cjs@uea.ac.uk.
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www.facebook.com/CJSUea/
www.twitter.com/CJS_Uea
Or visit our website: www.uea.ac.uk/cjs

Left: CJS Director Professor Simon Kaner
Right: Editor and CJS Project Coordinator Oliver Moxham
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