CJS e-Newsletter June 2020 1(2)June 11, 2020
What’s in thisissue
WelcomeMessage
Eye on Japan
Piece of Japan
Upcoming
EventsGeneral Links
Contact Us

Editor: Oliver Moxham, CJS Project CoordinatorCJS Director: Professor Simon Kaner
Header photo by editor

Welcome Message

CJS ニュースレターへようこそ！

Welcome to the first June issue of the Centre for Japanese Studies e-Newsletter. This week we take a lookat how Japan is attempting to reopen society after a miraculously low infection rate. The end of the state of
emergency has been marked with large protests in Osaka and Tokyo in recognition of the Black Lives
Matter movements occurring around the world, although the national media hasn’t always done an
excellent job of covering them. In our Piece of Japan segment, we celebrate the birthday of karate master
Mas Oyama by bringing you a selection of books and films produced by and featuring Zainichi Koreans,
ethnic Koreans living in Japan like Mas Oyama, looking out how they express their complex identities
through the arts. You can find a message from CJS Director Professor Simon Kaner on the Sainsbury
Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures website and hear more from our SISJAC colleagues on
their monthly e-bulletin.

Written by Oliver Moxham, CJS Project Coordinator and editor
Editor’s note: Japanese names are given in the Japanese form of family name first i.e.
Matsumoto Mariko

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CJS e-Newsletter June 2020 1(2)Eye on Japan: Tokyo on Alert | Looking Forward | People’s Politics

June 11, 2020
日本の最新情報

The initial celebrations of Japan’s surprising success in containing the virus
without a legally enforced lockdown are now being met with caution following arise in daily cases in the capital. This has quelled hopes of a quick reopening ofsociety with theatres struggling to regain their audiences and in the longer term aslimmed-down Olympics being considered to curb the spread of the virus. The
economic impact has even caused crime syndicates to ease up on fraud during thecrisis in recognition of the vulnerable being the hardest hit. This has not stopped,
however, a softening of a re-entry ban which has left foreign residents stranded in the country unable toreturn home.
The Black Lives Matter protests that have rocked the world have spread to Japan, with protesters
peacefully demonstrating in Osaka and Tokyo against racism and police brutality. It has led to such major
companies as SoftBank to create a $100 million fund to back companies led by ethnic minorities.
Unfortunately, it is not all positive responses after NHK came under fire for their racially insensitive
animation attempting to explain the Black Lives Matter movement o a Japanese audience. They have since
taken the video down and apologised, but it can still be viewed on YouTube [JP]. It is shocking to think thatthe country’s major broadcaster could fail to see the tastelessness in the video and is perhaps
representative of the lack of dialogue on racial discrimination which occurs in Japan, the very cause forwhich protestors marched in the two major cities.
In the world of politics, Prime Minister Abe Shinzō is struggling to consolidate his power as his approval
ratings plummet amid the pandemic. Not only has he come under fire for government mishandling of thecrisis, but a series of scandals have further damaged the credibility of his Liberal Democratic Party. A
further blow to his government is the news from Okinawa of a bloc opposed to the relocation of US bases
retaining their majority. The prefecture can also boast superb handling of the pandemic after instigating a
project to provide essential workers with free rental cars and accommodation. Welcome news as thenation tries to keep infection rate down.
Written by Oliver Moxham, CJS Project Coordinator and editor.
Sources can be found in the ‘News from Japan’ section.
Piece of Japan

日本のかけら

Each week we share some fresh recommendations from CJS members to help bring apiece of Japan to you at home through film, books, anime, manga and more. As last week
saw the birthday of legendary Zainichi karate master Mas Oyama (Ōyama Masutastu),
this issue celebrates the place of Zainichi Koreans in Japanese culture. Zainichi typicallyrefers to Koreans who arrived in Japan, or whose ancestors arrived in Japan, during thereign of the Japanese empire over the Korean peninsula for reasons ranging from job
seeking to forced mobilisation during wartime. At the height of their presence in Japan
towards the end of the war almost 2 million Koreans were registered as permanent
residents of the Japanese metropole. Following the end of the war there has been a consistent populationof approximately 600,000 Zainichi Koreans in Japan, some caught in an identity limbo being raised as
Japanese imperial citizens and others fully assuming a Japanese identity like Mas Oyama to avoid
persecution. Generations later, the Zainichi identity persists with many turning to the arts to make sense of
their place in Japanese and Korean culture and history.

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CJS e-Newsletter June 2020 1(2)June 11, 2020

If you have any suggestions for themes or other recommendations, 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 the same Amazon account. You can readin both languages on your computer, but it is necessary to have two accounts.
Furthermore, if you wish to read on a 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, sochoose wisely!
Understanding Japanese history through Korea
Foreword by CJS Director Professor Simon Kaner
It is really only possible to understand early Japanese history with a goodknowledge of contemporary relationships with the Korean peninsula,relationships that were, and continue to be both complex, fascinating and of
the greatest importance. The history of the study of archaeology in the twocountries is equally profound, and exchanges between specialists from Korea
and Japan continue even when political ties are strained. I am currently working
on several projects that involve the archaeology of Korea and Japan that havetaken me to Korea several times over the past couple of years, and I hope to be back in 2021 for the
next conference of the Society for East Asian Archaeology. One of my closest friends in Korea isProfessor Woo Jae-Pyoung of Chungnam National University and Director of the Baekje ResearchInstitute, who I have known since my days as a Mombusho Scholar at Kyoto University, when hewas studying for his PhD at Osaka University. He took us to visit the amazing rock art at Bangudae in
Ulsan on the east coast, a visit which led to rather a wonderful exhibition. The study of Korea andJapanese archaeology has been intertwined since these disciplines emerged: on 1884 the British
engineer and archaeologist William Gowland visited Korea in the company of William Aston, thefirst European diplomatic representative to reside in Korea, renowned for his translation of the
Nihongi into English in 1896, a trip detailed in a recent article in the journal edited by Professor Woo
百済研究 by UEA PhD Luke Edgington-Brown – sadly not yet available online but we have copies in
the Sainsbury Institute library. Just a year ago we had a research visit facilitated by Professor Rhi JuHyung, specialist in Buddhist art at Seoul National University, to sites associated with the kingdomsof Baekje and Silla in preparation for our planned exhibition Nara to Norwich: art and belief at theends of the Silk Roads, currently scheduled for the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts in autumn 2021,
a visit sponsored by the Toshiba International Foundation. And in November I was back in Seoul fora special session on ‘Cultural Heritage’ at the Korean Archaeological Association annual conferenceat the invitation of another old friend, Professor Kim Jong-Il of Seoul National University, who
specialises in the Bronze Age of Germany is now investigating kurgan burial mounds in central Asia.
Along with Gyoung-Ah Lee (University of Oregon) and Gary Crawford (University of Toronto at
Mississauga) I am co-editing the Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of Korea and Japan, a project
we hope to bring to completion in 2021. Sadly over the last couple of years we have lost threepillars of the study of Korean archaeology in western languages, Professor Sarah Milledge Nelson,
Professor Hyung-Il Pai and Dr Martin Bale: I would recommend any of their works – details of which
are easily found online, along with the superb publications of the Early Korea Project.

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CJS e-Newsletter June 2020 1(2)Film

June 11, 2020

映画のおすすめRecommendations by editor Oliver Moxham
Sona, the Other Myself (2009) by Yong-hi Yang
愛しきソナ
監督：ヤン・ヨンヒ
Sona, the Other Myself focuses on 'Sona', the daughter of the director's
brother who moved to North Korea from Japan in the early 1970s. ThroughSona, the film shows the generation that migrated from Japan to North Korea
and their offspring who were born and raised in North Korea. Sona's
upbringing is quite normal, but the special aspects within North Koreansociety make their presence known in a subtle way. By showing the process of the migratory people
establishing their identities within North Korean society, North Korea becomes a region that showsa universal view of human society in general and not just a closed society. This approach is a special
feature of Yang. She adds normalcy through her depiction of a family to 'North Korea', providing afamiliar lens through which to view the secretive state. The film is shot with a mixture of Japaneseand Korean with Japanese subtitles, limiting the accessibility somewhat yet even without access to
the language it is easy to distinguish the family culture of school performances, visiting family
graves and caring for elderly relatives. The home video footage also captures the autocratic culture
in a way that transcends language. As with many Zainichi documentaries, it is scarcely available
online and difficult to find a copy with English subtitles. Check your libraries once they havereopened, or you can order the DVD albeit at unpalatable prices.
Harakiri (1962) by Kobayashi Masaki
切腹
監督：小林正樹This epic masterpiece encapsulates the career of Zainichi director Kobayashi
Masaki, whose films served to share his rejection of military or social authority
wielded at the expense of the individual after he was drafted to fight in theimperial Japanese army in Manchuria. Harakiri follows the tale of a rōnin, amasterless samurai, by the name of Tsugumo Hanshirō who approaches thehouse of Ii with the request to use their grounds to commit seppuku, ritualsuicide that allows a samurai to die honourably. Coming at a time of ‘suicide
bluffs’ where rōnin hope to gain the favour of a house through making such a request without
following through, Tsugumo is told the story of a samurai who came before him with suchintentions and how the house of Ii forced him to keep his word. Undeterred, Tsugumo expresses his
intention to commit seppuku in earnest, but Tsugumo’s presence becomes increasingly suspect as
he lays out the conditions for his ritual.
The original 1962 film is available to stream in Japanese on Amazon.
A 2019 remake is available to stream for free with English subtitles on Amazon prime.

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CJS e-Newsletter June 2020 1(2)June 11, 2020

Fighter in the Wind (2004) by Yan Yun-ho바람의 파이터
Fighter in the Wind is based on the Karate Baka Ichidai book following thedramatized lifestory of Mas Oyama, using a variation of his Korean name Choi
Bae-dal. The story follow’s Bae-dal’s voyage to Japan to fly in their air force,
only to be met with persecution which forces him to band together withanother Korean who has turned to petty crime. After getting caught between
Korean and Japanese gangs, he retreats to the mountains to begin a rigorous
regimen so as to never lose another fight again. Upon returning to civilisation,
he takes on the Japanese name Ōyama Masutatsu and sets off to challenge
the best fighters Japan has to offer.
Available on DVD in Korean with English subtitles.
Books

本のおすすめRecommendations by Hannah Osborne, Lecturer of Japanese Literature at UEA
Zainichi Literature
Zainichi literature is not a straightforward literary category. After Japan’s annexation of Korea in thelate nineteenth century, hundreds of thousands of Koreans from diverse backgrounds came to livein mainland Japan. The range of literature produced by their diaspora is a reflection, not only of thedifferences in terms of lived experiences encountered by each successive generation as they strove
to survive and re-define themselves within the ever-changing context of Japan and Korea’s
relations, but also of the differences within each generation according to gender, socio-economic
status, vocation, access to education, fluency in Japanese, fluency in Korean, political affiliation andmany other factors. Recently, however, the very need for such a literary category has been throwninto question by writers such as Yū Miri, in whose literature ‘Korean-ness’ is just one more marker
of a post-modern, post-colonial, present-day identity. Indeed, her career as a writer has been as
exemplary as any conventionally ‘Japanese’ writer. Yū’s first novel, Furu Hausu (Full House, 1996),
won the Noma Literary prize. She won the prestigious Akutagawa Award for literature with Kazoku
Shinema (Family Cinema, 1997) and her novel Gold Rush (Gōrudo Rashu, 1998) [EN/JP], which
explores the theme of juvenile patricide, was a best-seller and is the first full-length work of fiction
by a Resident Korean writer to be translated into English. As mentioned in a previous CJS
newsletter, her novel, JR Ueno Eki Kōen Guchi (Tokyo Ueno Station, 2014) was also translated into
English last year. Although very few commercial publications of Zainichi literature have beentranslated or produced in English, Melissa L. Wender’s anthology of short stories and verse by eight
different Resident Korean writers has finally helped bring some, as it were, Into the Light (2011).
Besides Yū, another writer, Min Jin Lee, has had enormous success with her tripartite novel written
and published in English, Pachinko (2017) which chronicles a Resident Korean family’s struggles overeight decades and four generations.

Recommendations by the National Institute of Japanese Literature
Director-general Robert Campbell of the NIJL (国文研) has announced that they will be releasing
many of their premodern texts on infectious diseases in response to the pandemic. These will beavailable for free on their homepage at www.nijl.ac.jp with regular updates on the latest texts to bereleased. You can watch Robert explain the move in both English and Japanese on YouTube.

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Upcoming Events & Opportunites

催し物

The Kōfukuji Nan’endō and its Buddhist Art: Building a Realm of Death, Memory, and Family
Dr Yen-Yi Chan - Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Fellow at SISJAC
Sainsbury Institute Third Thursday Lecture
Thursday 18 June
6pm
Book here or email sisjac@sainsbury-institute.org
Our colleagues at the SISJAC are pleased to announce that May's
Third Thursday Lecture will be presented online. You can enjoy thelecture live from the comfort of your own home, complete withslides and an audience Q&A. We look forward to seeing you there
virtually, and we particularly welcome new attendees.
About the Talk
How was memory of a family conveyed and sustained in ancientJapan? This talk investigates this inquiry by examining the creationof the Nan’endō (Southern Round Hall) at Kōfukuji temple in Nara and its Buddhist images in theearly ninth century. Situated at the heart of the city, the Nan’endō is busy with tourists and pilgrims
all year around. The history of the hall began in 813 as a Buddhist memorial for the Northern branchof the Fujiwara clan, who utilised it to commemorate departed family members for centuries. In
what ways did the visual program of the Nan’endō engage with commemorative practices of thefamily? How was memory of the dead conveyed through the material form of the building and its
images? To answer these questions, I will analyse the images of the Nan’endō—consisted of elevensculptures and eight paintings—along with their architectural setting and performance of memorial
rituals. Attention is also given to the architecture of the building and its symbolic meanings. In doingthese, this talk reveals the power of visual space in anchoring memories of the dead, marking
lineage and kinship, and transferring departed spirits from the realm of humans to that of buddhas.
About the Speaker
Dr Yen-Yi Chan is a current Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Fellow at the Sainsbury
Institute. Yen-Yi obtained her Ph.D. from the University of Kansas in 2018,
specializing in Japanese Buddhist art in the Heian and Kamakura periods. Her
research focuses on the roles of religious spaces and icons in the creation ofideas, social relations, and collective memory as well as identity. At the
Sainsbury Institute, she is revising her dissertation into a book manuscript,
which investigates how the architecture of the Nan’endō (Southern Round Hall)
at Kōfukuji and its Buddhist images served as a mnemonic technique to construct ancestralmemory, familial history, and communal identity of the Northern Fujiwara clan from the ninth
through twelfth centuries. Another of her projects examines the reconstruction of Kōfukuji in boththe medieval (12th-13th centuries) and contemporary times. This project aims to show how
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CJS e-Newsletter June 2020 1(2)June 11, 2020individuals and groups imagined the past, revived tradition, and engaged with the heritage sitethrough the utilization of visual spaces, religious images, and mass media. She is also interested inartistic exchanges between Japan and China as well as icon worship and production in the medievaltime, in particular, Song-style (sōfū) sculptures and icons of “living Buddhas (shōjin butsu).” Yen-Yi
also has worked at the National Palace Museum in Taipei, Taiwan and Spencer Museum of Art.

Faces in Profile: Drawing Session with Kutsuwada ChieJapan House
Friday 12 June
2pm-3pm
Free to attend, booking essential
Japan House London’s series of online events looking deeper
into how to draw manga continues with a one-hour drawing
session by UK-based manga-ka Kutsuwada Chie which
explores a different take on facial features.
In this event, participants take on the challenge of drawing a face in profile, as opposed to the usual
front-facing view, and are encouraged to learn how the eyes, nose and mouth change with the
movement of the head.
While following the guide of a professional manga artist, participants are most welcome to ask
questions and try to replicate the drawing or use the artist’s suggestions to make their own work.
More from How to Draw Manga: Online Event Series
Tuesday 16 Jun: How to Draw a Chibi Character with Elena
Vitagliano
The drawing sessions are open to all levels and make use ofdigital drawing, although participants are welcome to use any
drawing equipment that they have available at home.
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].
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 Guardian [EN]:• Japan's public broadcaster condemned over 'offensive' BLM anime
Japan Times [EN]:• Tokyo issues coronavirus alert after 34 new daily cases reported• Japan softens re-entry ban that left foreign residents stranded• Japan considers slimmed-down Tokyo Olympics to curb virus spread
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CJS e-Newsletter June 2020 1(2)
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June 11, 2020

COVID-19 plays the spoiler as stages try to reopen in Japan
Crime syndicate puts brakes on fraudulent activities during pandemic
Protesters hit Tokyo and Osaka streets with rallies against racism and police brutality
SoftBank creates $100 million fund to back companies led by people of color
Abe running out of options for dissolving Lower House as pandemic drags on in Japan
Bloc against U.S. base transfer keeps majority in Okinawa election
Okinawa project supports essential workers with free rental cars and accommodation

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.
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.
お役立ちリンク

General Links
Orientations Magazine
Embassy of Japan
Japan Foundation
JSPS
British Association for Japanese Studies
Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation
Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation
Japan Society
EU-Japan Centre
Canon Foundation
Applications for JET ProgrammeJapanese Language Proficiency ExamUEA Japan Society: ueajapansociety@gmail.com
Taiko Centre East
Career Forums

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.

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CJS e-Newsletter June 2020 1(2)June 11, 2020

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.
To keep up with goings-on at CJS, follow us on social media:

Or visit our website: uea.ac.uk/cjs

Left: CJS Director Professor Simon Kaner
Right: Editor and CJS Project Coordinator Oliver Moxham
If you wish to be removed from our mailing list, please email cjs@uea.ac.uk

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