Böcker i Routledge Contemporary Japan Series-serien

Over the last 70 years, Japanese Studies scholarship has gone through several dominant paradigms, from 'demystifying the Japanese', to analysis of Japanese economic strength, to discussion of global interest in Japanese popular culture. This book assesses this literature, considering future directions for research into the 2020s and beyond.

By exploring censorship in a number of different Japanese art forms ¿ from popular music and kabuki performance through to fiction, poetry and film ¿ across a range of historical periods, this book provides a striking picture of the pervasiveness and strength of Japanese censorship across a range of media; the similar tactics used by artists of different media to negotiate censorship boundaries; and how censors from different systems and time periods face many of the same problems and questions in their work. Taken together, the essays in this book demonstrate that censorship at every stage involves an act of human judgment, in a context determined by political, economic and ideological factors.

This book examines five features of Japan¿s `Lost Decades¿: the speed of the economic decline in Japan compared to Japan¿s earlier global prowess; a rapidly declining population; considerable political instability and failed reform attempts; shifting balances of power in the region and changing relations with Asian neighbouring nations; and the lingering legacy of World War Two. To discuss the rebuilding of Japan, the authors argue that it is first essential to critically examine Japan¿s `Lost Decades¿ and this book offers a comprehensive overview of Japan¿s recent 20 years of crisis. The book reveals that the `Lost Decades¿ is not an issue unique to the Japanese context but has global relevance, and its study can provide important insights into challenges being faced in other mature economies. With chapters written by some of the world¿s leading Japan specialists and chapters focusing on a variety of disciplines, this book will be of interest to students and scholars in the areas of Japan studies, Politics, International Relations, Security Studies, Government Policy and History.

This collection focuses on metaphorical as well as temporal and physical border-crossing in writing from and about Japan.With a strong consciousness of gender and socio-historic contexts, contributors to the book adopt an intercultural and interdisciplinary approach to examine the writing of authors whose works break free from the confines of hegemonic Japanese literary endeavour. By demonstrating how the texts analysed step outside the space of 'Japan', they accordingly foreground the volatility of textual expression related to that space. The authors discussed include Takahashi Mutsuo and Nagai Kaf¿, both of whom take literary inspiration from geographical sites outside Japan. Several chapters examine the work of exemplary border-crossing poet, novelist and essayist, It¿ Hiromi. There are discussions of the work of Tawada Y¿ko whose ability to publish in German and Japanese marks her also as a representative writer of border-crossing texts. Two chapters address works by Murakami Haruki who, although clearly affiliating with western cultural form, is rarely discussed in specific border-crossing terms. The chapter on Ainu narratives invokes topics such as translation, indigeneity and myth, while an analysis of Japanese prisoner-of-war narratives notes the language and border-crossing nexus.A vital collection for scholars and students of Japanese literature.

This book explores encounters and interactions between international students and local civil society organizations (CSOs) in Japan.Based on the results of a cross-case analysis, this study reveals the possibilities for international students in Japan of creating social capital in the short term in culturally and socially diverse groups. While a conventional approach sees universities as the main support providers, this research shows the role of local CSOs as alternative actors offering international student support. Unlike the long-standing paradigm viewing Japanese civil society as top-down and closely following the government, this book uncovers many decentralized and bottom-up organizational types. Furthermore, it highlights an active part taken by foreign staff and volunteers in Japanese CSOs, which challenges the guest-host dichotomy of the previous literature.Presenting a reconsidered insight into the role of international students and their interaction with CSOs in community building, this book will appeal to students and scholars of Asian studies and migration studies as well as organizers of CSOs and faculty of international higher education institutions.

Gadjeva uses Kyoto as a case study to explore the innovative mechanisms being used to promote Japanese culture and cultural properties since the outbreak of COVID-19.Beginning by setting out the main initiatives and actors involved in preserving, introducing, and utilizing Kyoto's cultural heritage, Gadjeva proceeds to discuss alternative approaches using digital technologies. These tools include remote access virtual reality, augmented reality, augmented virtuality, and mixed reality. She looks at how such approaches have been applied to Kyoto's digital museums, real-time online experiences, and other virtual projects presenting tangible, intangible, and folk heritage. In doing so she draws on a wide range of interviews with experts from the Japan Foundation, the Kyoto Art Center, and other related institutions to investigate the limitations and possible strategies for further development of these practices. She also interviews scholars, government officials, and experts from Europe about the prospects for further remote online experiences, applied both specifically to Kyoto and more broadly to cultural tourism. Based on the findings, the book discusses particular future challenges and suggests specific policies and project proposals for further remote online experiences of Kyoto's cultural properties.A valuable read for professionals and scholars of cultural and tourism studies, that will be of particular interest to those specializing in Japan.