CJS e-Newsletter Spring 2020-21

May 20, 2021
What’s in thisissue
WelcomeMessage
MA inInterdisciplinary
Japanese
Studies
Online Summer
Programme
SCVA Summer
Exhibits
Beyond Japan
PodcastEditor: Oliver MoxhamCJS Director: Professor Simon KanerContributor: Dr Christopher Hayes
Header photo by editor

CJS Colleague
Updates
General Links
Contact Us

Welcome Message

CJS ニュースレターへようこそ！

Welcome to the Spring 2021 Centre for Japanese Studies e-Newsletter. In this issue we bring you a full rosterof events, both online and in-person, to fill your summer days. Following last year’s success, we will behosting our second Online Summer Programme in Japanese Studies in the run up to the Tokyo Olympics. Ourcolleague Dr Christopher Hayes has written a piece on how he expects the Olympics to finally turn out
following months of speculation. Several events will also be held over the summer, including exhibits at the
Sainsbury Centre for Visual arts such as our exhibition Faces of Faith: Religious Statuary in Early Japan and a
special guest exhibition by Leiko Ikemura. Finally, we have several updates from our CJS colleagues to sharewith you.
We always welcome feedback and are very happy to pass on Japan-related news of relevance to ourreadership – so do get in touch and let us know what you think.
Stay safe and well,
Simon and Oliver
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 Spring 2020-21
MA in Interdisciplinary Japanese Studies

May 20, 2021
学際日本学

Last year, the University of East Anglia together with the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts
and Cultures were delighted to announce the launch of our MA programme in Interdisciplinary JapaneseStudies. For our inaugural year, we were delighted to welcome 8 students to the programme and to Norwich.
We now invite prospective students to join our blossoming programme this September 2021. Feel free to get
in touch with any questions you may have about the course. See our webpage for more information or apply
here directly.
Administered through UEA’s Interdisciplinary Institute for the Humanities, home to the Centre for JapaneseStudies, this MA course is a collaboration of Japan specialists from both the University and the Sainsbury
Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures. Lecturers with academic focus on Japan from several
schools of study at UEA, as well as academic staff of the Sainsbury Institute together have developed an
innovative interdisciplinary curriculum for students who want to know about Japan, its place in the world,
and its transforming cultural identity. For a taste of diversity amongst our lecturers, watch our new video on
YouTube or check our Beyond Japan podcast episodes #1-#7 for in-depth discussion with the teaching team.
Online Summer Programme in Japanese Cultural Studies 2021

The Centre for Japanese Studies at the University of East Anglia and the Sainsbury Institute for the Study ofJapanese Arts and Cultures are pleased to invite applications for a special Online Summer Programme inJapanese Cultural Studies, running from Monday 12th to Friday 23rd July 2021.
This is an entirely new programme, building on the success of our first programme in 2020. The programme
will be organised around three core themes: science, sport, and sustainability. In particular, the programme
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will approach these from an interdisciplinary arts and humanities perspective and explore theinterrelationships between science and humanities. These themes are particularly appropriate in 2021, where
we find ourselves in the midst of a global crisis, the coronavirus pandemic. It is also an Olympic year, with
Tokyo hosting the postponed 2020 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games. In these difficult times, it is vitalthat we build resilience, promote wellbeing, and look towards a sustainable and responsible future, in linewith the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.
The course will be directed by Professor Simon Kaner, Executive Director of the Sainsbury Institute andDirector of the Centre for Japanese Studies at UEA, Dr Christopher J. Hayes, and Dr Matsuba Ryoko. The
programme will offer the chance for digital encounters with academics from both organisations. There will
also be opportunities to engage online with participants from around the world and to join a growing
network of programme alumni.
The Online Summer Programme in Japanese Cultural Studies will include a guided and interactive explorationof digital resources available for the field, including materials from the Sainsbury Institute’s world-renowned
collections. While much of the content can be accessed at a time most convenient to the participant, there
will be daily live sessions through Zoom, held at 13:00 BST. Participants who engage with all aspects of the
programme will receive a Certificate of Attendance.
Programme dates: 12-23 July 2021
The programme will be delivered in English. No prior knowledge of Japan or Japanese is required.
There is no cost for participation.
Registration: To register your place on the Online Summer Programme in Japanese Cultural Studies 2021,
please fill out the registration form which can be accessed by clicking the button below.
By registering for the programme, you agree to follow the guidelines for participants which will be sent toyou.
Registration deadline: Friday 28 May 2021
Book your place here

Summer Exhibits at the Sainsbury Centre

セインズベリーセンター夏の展示

The Sainsbury Institute has been busy collaborating with our colleagues at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual
Arts to host a roster of Japan-related exhibits this summer as museums tentatively reopen to the public once
more.
Faces of Faith: Early Japanese Religious Statuary at the Sainsbury Centre
Opens Friday 18 June
Description by Oliver Moxham
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As part of my MA course in Museum and Heritage Studies, I took part in athree-week internship with the Sainsbury Centre to design an exhibit to joinmuseums in Japan celebrating the 1,400th anniversary of the death of Prince
Shōtoku Taishi, the regent who brought Buddhism to Japan. Faces of Faith iscentred around the rare 13th century wooden statue typically on display in
the Living Area, “Female Shinto Deity” (right), and seeks to put into context
the significance and value of such religious artefacts in Japan as well as the
dynamic history of East Asia Prince Shōtoku represents.
Of course, dealing with a semi-legendary figure from the 7th century poses
many questions. Who was Prince Shōtoku? Did he really fly up to Mt. Fuji on
horseback? Why was Buddhism so significant and where does Shinto fit into
it? The exhibit breaks down these questions into three themes, looking at thehistorical, political and religious context of Japan in the 7th century. To
nourish any inquisitive minds whose curiosity has been piqued by the exhibit,
a dedicated “Shōtoku miniseries” has been produced by Beyond Japan with
an episode dedicated to each theme (see below).
Finally, as an extension of Faces of Faith, the Sainsbury Institute will be holding two sessions at the Sainsbury
Centre demonstrating the digital scanning of the Centre’s Japanese collection. The first will be held on
Thursday 27th May and livestreamed – follow JapanInNorwich.org or @CJS_Uea on Twitter for the latest
updates!
Leiko Ikemura: Usagi in Wonderland
Opens Sunday 11 July
Tickets: £8 or FREE for Members and UEA/NUA Student Members
Book your tickets here
Japanese-Swiss artist, Ikemura Leiko, presents a selection of paintings,
sculptures, drawings and photography in her first UK exhibition. Ikemura has
selected 50 works that span three decades of her career. Her art appeals to ourimagination with its childlike purity.
The exhibition’s dominant theme is the connectivity of all aspects of nature, be it human, animal, plant or
mineral, in an eternal circle of life. Through her fantastical figures and primeval landscapes, Ikemura explores
fragility, transience and slow evolutionary change – choosing to address environmental issues from an
empathetic, global perspective.
Usagi, meaning ‘rabbit’ in Japanese, is a recurrent mystical motif in Ikemura’s work, representing rebirth,
fertility and renewal. Her bronze sculpture, Usagi Kannon (Rabbit Bodhisattva of Mercy), will stand in the
Sainsbury Centre Sculpture Park from autumn 2021, providing a place of refuge to visitors wishing to shelter
beneath its generous skirt.
The exhibition has been developed in collaboration with the Sainsbury Institute to coincide with the Japan-UK
Season of Culture.
Supported by The Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation, Henry Moore Foundation, Japan-UK Season of Culture
and the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures.
Image Credit: Trees out of Head, Leiko Ikemura, 2015/20 © Leiko Ikemura and VG Bild-Kunst 2021

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ポッドキャスト再視聴

Beyond Japan Podcast
Beyond Japan, upon releasing its 35th episode, has now reached thephenomenal landmark of over 3,500 plays in 2021. You can find Beyond
Japan on Spotify, Apple, Google, Anchor and many other servers.
Alternatively, you can subscribe to our YouTube channel for the latest
episodes.
Recently, Oliver was invited to write an article for the University of
Sheffield’s School of East Asian Studies (SEAS) e-Newsletter, describing
what he has done since graduating from Sheffield and his motives
behind Beyond Japan.

As mentioned in our exhibits section, Beyond Japan recently produced a“Shōtoku miniseries”, marking the 1,400th anniversary of the death of Prince Shōtoku Taishi by exploring thereligious, political and historical context of Japan in the 7th century. You can catch up on these episodes
below.
New episodes come out every Thursday. More information is available here.

SHŌTOKU MINISERIES[Ep. #32] Mixed Religions: Buddhism, Shinto & Honji Suijaku
with Professor Mark Teeuwen

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[Ep. #33] The First Empress Jingū: Powerful Women in Ancient Japan
with Professor Chizuko Allen[Ep. #34] History & Myth in Ancient Texts
with Professor Bryan Lowe

Olympics Predicitions

五輪の予想

Race to the 2020 Olympics: False starts, Covid postponement, and remaining hurdles
By Dr Christopher J. Hayes
Research Associate, Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures,
University of East Anglia
In July, the Tokyo 2020 Olympics will (hopefully) finally go ahead after a year’s
postponement due to the global Coronavirus pandemic. When Japan previously hosted theSummer Olympics in 1964, it was a transformative event, showcasing a new Japan to theworld replete with new infrastructure in Tokyo and the opening of the Shinkansen line. Known as the TV
Olympics because they were the first to be broadcast live internationally, these Games changed the way thatJapan was perceived internationally. The 2020 Olympics were meant to be similarly transformative, with thenPrime Minister Abe stating in 2014 that he wanted to see robots compete in their own parallel competition,
as well as being the “Recovery Olympics”, showing how Japan had bounced back from the 2011 Great East
Japan Disaster.

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It was not until March 2021 that the decision was made to ban international spectators from the Games, but
it remains doubtful whether events will have an audience at all, with the decision on whether to allow
domestic spectators delayed until June as the third state of emergency goes into effect in six prefectures
across Japan. Nonetheless, International Olympic Committee Vice President John Coates has declared that
the Olympics will not be cancelled nor postponed.
Even if the Olympics go ahead, they will not be a dazzling display of global unity, not least for the lack ofinternational spectators. Last year, when the organising committee were insistent that the Games would goahead in summer 2020, national Olympic committees called for postponement and several teams dropped
out. With so much uncertainty still around and many countries experiencing fresh waves and newCoronavirus variants amid vaccine shortages, it is entirely possible that some countries will be unable toparticipate.
There is also the disunity with the Japanese public. Since the Games were first announced, they have been
fraught with controversy: the decision to hold the Games during Japan’s intense summer, the displacement ofpeople caused by Olympic site construction, concerns about radiation levels in Fukushima, the dropping of an
Ainu performance from the opening ceremony, the revelation that the Olympic logo was plagiarised, theexponential rise of costs, and sexist remarks by then-Olympic President Yoshiro Mori, to name a few.
Opposition to the Games has grown, with a recent poll suggesting that 60% of people in Japan want theGames to be cancelled. Another poll found that 80% of Japanese think the Games should be cancelled or
postponed. However, with the Beijing Winter Olympics taking place in 2022, another delay is unlikely.
Many Japanese see the Olympics as a distraction, when the government’s focus should be on addressing thecoronavirus pandemic. Last week, organisers requested 500 nurses volunteer at the Games, drawing
widespread anger at the prioritisation of the Olympics over the pandemic. Prime Minister Suga has sincestated that he has “never put the Olympics first”, but he has put them above public opinion if the polls are
any indicator.
Christopher Hayes is a Research Associate at the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts andCultures, part of the University of East Anglia in Norwich, United Kingdom. His research interests include
contemporary British media representation of Japan, the persistence of Orientalist discourses, and foreign
tourist perceptions of the country. He is currently engaged in two research projects: first, he is investigating
British media representation of Japan in the context of the Tokyo Olympics and the global Coronavirus
pandemic; second, he is analysing official discourses about Japan in tourism materials as forms of selfOrientalism and how they relate to mediatised representations of Japan in the UK.
CJS Colleague Updates
Depicted Okinawa Women: The Study of Representations of Okinawa Women
Eriko Tomizawa-Kay, a lecturer in Japanese Language and Culture in PPL has been awarded
a two-month fellowship with the Japan Foundation, commencing later this year. This
programme provides overseas scholars and researchers in the field of Japanese studies
with opportunities to conduct research in Japan, with the aim of supporting them, andpromoting Japanese studies overseas.
Eriko’s project is titled: Depicted Okinawa Women: The Study of Representations of Okinawa Women; its aim
is to historically investigate and verify how the image of Okinawan women were depicted in modern times
following the establishment of the Ryūkyū Domain; and to study the positions of Okinawan women's art in
the 1900s, including pre-war representations.

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Decentralism and the study of local and regional art have been discussed in Japanese Art History for several
years. However, this has not yet been sufficiently achieved in the art relating to Okinawan women.
Furthermore, the study of Okinawan Women and Arts within the context of War and its aftermath are very
limited outside of the Okinawa Prefecture. The fellowship will focus on these significant but hitherto
neglected aspects.
The still under-researched area of the relationship between Okinawan art and gender is an ideal topic toprovide new perspectives from outside Japan. The key issues of the research plan are, first, to conduct joint
research with scholars based in Japan regarding the ‘image of Okinawan women’ in Japanese art history.
The fieldwork has been planned in collaboration with Okinawan scholars and institutions, such as the
Okinawa Prefectural University of Arts where the Eriko has been offered affiliation as a guest research fellow,
which adds additional support and resources over the duration of the fieldwork in Okinawa.
This project will form part of a long-term plan to investigate modern Okinawan paintings in a transnational
context.
Nadine Willems’ book shortlisted for Gladstone Prize
We are excited to announce that our colleague Dr Nadine Willems has had herlatest book Ishikawa Sanshirō's Geographical Imagination: Transnational
Anarchism and the Reconfiguration of Everyday Life in Early Twentieth Century
Japan, published by Leiden University Press in 2020, has been shortlisted for the
Gladstone Prize by the Royal Historical Society. The prize rewards a work ofhistory on a topic not primarily related to British history.
We applaud Nadine for this great recognition of her work and wish her the best of luck as her book goes
through the final hurdle.
To hear more about Nadine’s research on Ishikawa Sanshirō, you can listen back to her Beyond Japan episodeon Dissenting Voices in Modern Japan.
CJS Research Webinar Series

日本学センターウェビナーの一覧表

This semester we have had the pleasure of hosting four excellent seminars across a range of topics. Our final
webinar on the UK-Japan pre-war alliance which was aired today will be available shortly. You can now
rewatch all webinars via our YouTube channel through the links below:

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[February] Rule of Law & Representative Democracy in Japan
with Professor Kabashima Hiroshi[March] The Politics of Painting: Japanese Art During WWII
with Professor Asato Ikeda[April] Komikkusu Media - The History and Affordances of Manga's Paperbacks
with Professor Bryan Hikari Hartzheim[May] Britain's Road to Unlikely Alliance with Japan, 1894-1902
with Dr Antony Best

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May 20, 2021
催し物

Upcoming EventsThe EU’s Strategy for the Indo-Pacific: Stroking the Panda or
Poking the Dragon?
Webinar jointly organised by European institute for AsianStudies and University of East Anglia
Wednesday 26 May | 13:30 GMT
Book here

Moderator: Ra MASON, Sasakawa Lecturer in International Relations and Japanese Foreign Policy,
School of Politics, Philosophy, Language & Communication Studies, University of East Anglia.
Speakers include: Garima Mohan, George Cunningham and Philip Shetler-Jones.
With 60 percent of the world’s maritime trade passing through its seas, the Indo-Pacific is a region
producing over 40 percent of global GDP. This makes it a crucial area for most economies across theglobe, including the European Union. Lacking all-encompassing security structures, the region is facing
rising tensions, including geopolitical rivalries, contested territories and territorial waters. Recognising
the area’s growing importance, the EU’s recently launched Indo-Pacific Strategy to safeguard its
members’ interests and to promote stability, democracy and international law. Aside from theeconomic significance of the region, its geopolitical dynamics are undergoing important changes
This EIAS-UEA webinar will assess the EU’s Strategy for the Indo-Pacific including its implementationand potential impact.

SISJAC Third Thursday Lectures
Visual story-telling of the Matagi hunters of Tōhoku
Thursday 20 May 2021 | 18:00 GMT
Book here
Matagi are traditional hunters living in small villages andsettlements in the highlands of northern Honshu, the mainisland of Japan. From its origins, back in the 16th century,
they have made a living of selling meat, skins and otherproducts derived from hunting. Their main prey is theJapanese black bear, a subspecies listed as vulnerable
according to the International Union for the Conservation of
Nature (IUCN). These communities, however, never facehunting as a recreational or sporting activity. For the Matagi,
Nature is a conscious presence, personified in the Goddessof the Mountain (Yama-no-Kami); a deity who is envious of other women and thus has forbidden themfrom entering her domains for over five centuries.
Following the Fukushima incidents in 2011, the state prohibited many Matagi communities fromselling bear meat, due to the high risk of it being intoxicated by radiation. In 2017 the Japanese
authorities lifted the veto, and the Matagi could resume what has been their main economic activity
for centuries. Nevertheless, this community faces a more than likely extinction of its cultural heritage.
The global aging of the Japanese population, legal and regulatory limitations on hunting, andattachment to values and religions that no longer germinate among the younger generations, are

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some of the main reasons that leave these hunters without much hope of preserving their legacy inthe early 21st century.
However, the need to preserve the Matagi cultural heritage has prevailed over religious convictions
and, in the face of the disinterest of young men, the first cases of Matagi women –accepted andtrained as hunters– have recently emerged. Women who, as is currently the case on a global scale andin all strata of society, claim an equal position in every field.
The researcher Alex Rodal and the photographer Javier Corso from OAK embarked on capturing thestories of the Matagi between 2017 and 2019, travelling to Akita and Yamagata prefectures. There,
they had the privilege of being the first visual storytellers from outside Japan in portraying the life ofMatagi hunters, specifically that of the groups established in Oguni and Animatagi.
In this Third Thursday Lecture, Alex and Javier will discuss their fascinating project that resulted inpublication of a beautifully crafted book.
About the Speakers
ALEX RODAL · OAK Chief Research Officer & Criminologist
Graduated in Criminology at the ‘Universitat Oberta de Catalunya’ (UOC). Rodal is passionate about
the study of Criminological theories that seek to explain the genesis of crime in society. His scientificvocation leads him to constantly nourish new knowledge of disciplines as diverse as psychology,sociology, anthropology, medicine, chemistry or journalism. These aptitudes make him a born
researcher, whose skills are currently at the service of the production company and agency of
documentary projects OAK stories. There he works as Head of Research and coordinates the preproduction of all projects.
JAVIER CORSO · OAK Director & Photographer
Javier Corso (1989) is a photographer, founder and director at OAK STORIES and National Geographic
Explorer. His agency works as a production company and creative agency for companies andorganizations such as National Geographic Partners (Spain) and United Nations Habitat. His
photographic work originates from the need to communicate about aspects of the human condition
through means of local, smaller-scale stories.
Corso began working as a documentary photographer in 2011. His photographs have been publishedin National Geographic, TIME, Al Jazeera and GEO magazine among others. His work has also been
exhibited at The Cervantes Institute in New York, the Florida Museum of Photographic Arts, Circulo de
Bellas Artes (Madrid), Palau Robert (Barcelona) and the International PHOTON Festival (Valencia). His
work is part of the traveling exhibition “Creadores de Conciencia” which compiles the work of 40
authors under the topic "committed photographers" of Spain.
In 2018 he was nominated for the World Press Photo 6x6 Global Talent Program and his project
MATAGI received the National Geographic Society Early Career Grant.
Our colleagues at the Sainsbury Institute hold monthly lectures around Japanese arts and cultures
every third Thursday. You can find out more about their upcoming events here.

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日本にて新型コロナウィルスの情報

COVID News from JapanFor a running number of reported COVID19 infections, victims and recoveries in Japan, see the
Asahi Shimbun homepage [JP].
Infections: 690,831

Hospital Admissions: 70,709

Recoveries: 603,015

Deaths: 11,858

For non-Japanese speakers, the numbers on the webpage indicate:
Infections: Yesterday(total)感染者：＋前日（総数）

Hospital Admissions: Yesterday

Recoveries: Yesterday

Deaths: Yesterday(total)(total)(total)

入院者:＋前日

退院者：＋前日

死者：＋前日

（総数）

（総数）

（総数）

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.
General Links

お役立ちリンク

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

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お問い合わせContact Us
If you have any contributions for the next e-newsletter,
please send them to us by 1st October 2021 to make the next issue.
Send us an email at cjs@uea.ac.uk.
To keep up with goings-on at CJS, follow us on social media:

Or visit our website: japaninnorwich.org
If you wish to be removed from our mailing list, please email cjs@uea.ac.uk

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