Author Archives: Paula

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About Paula

Paula lives in the vortex of academic life. She studies medieval Japanese history.

Book Announcement: Prostitutes, Hostesses, and Actresses at the Edge of the Japanese Empire: Fragmenting History

Prostitutes, Hostesses, and Actresses at the Edge of the Japanese Empire: Fragmenting History Nobuko Ishitate-Okunomiya Yamasaki Book Description: Analysing materials from literature and film, this book considers the fates of women who did not or could not buy into the … Continue reading

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Book Announcement: Maiko Masquerade: Crafting Geisha Girlhood in Japan

Maiko Masquerade: Crafting Geisha Girlhood in Japanby Jan Bardsley Maiko Masquerade explores Japanese representations of the maiko, or apprentice geisha, in films, manga, and other popular media as an icon of exemplary girlhood. Jan Bardsley traces how the maiko, long stigmatized … Continue reading

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Book Announcement: Mobilizing Japanese Youth: The Cold War and the Making of the Sixties Generation

Mobilizing Japanese Youth: The Cold War and the Making of the Sixties Generation Christopher Gerteis In Mobilizing Japanese Youth, Christopher Gerteis examines how non-state institutions in Japan—left-wing radicals and right-wing activists—attempted to mold the political consciousness of the nation’s first postwar generation, … Continue reading

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Resource: Library and Archive Travel Grants

Not everyone is based at an institution where they have access to a Japan Studies collection, particularly a comprehensive one that may have the specialist materials they need. Fortunately a lot of larger institutions with these holdings sponsor library or … Continue reading

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Book Announcement: Interpreting the Mikado’s Empire: The Writings of William Elliot Griffis

Interpreting the Mikado’s Empire:The Writings of William Elliot GriffisEDITED BY JOSEPH M. HENNING For more than fifty years, William Elliot Griffis (1843–1928) chronicled a rapidly changing Meiji Japan and its people. He was unequaled in the length of his writing … Continue reading

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Book Announcement: Japan’s Private Spheres: Autonomy in Japanese History, 1600-1930

Japan’s Private Spheres: Autonomy in Japanese History, 1600-1930 Author: William Puck Brecher Japan’s Private Spheres: Autonomy in Japanese History, 1600-1930 traces the shifting nature of autonomy in early modern and modern Japan. In this far-reaching, interdisciplinary study, W. Puck Brecher explores the … Continue reading

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Fun Link Friday: Pixel Animation Battle of Sekigahara

Pixel art has been around for decades, and whether you’re playing a video game or enjoying some 8-bit nostalgia of daily life in Japan, it’s always a joy. A couple of weeks ago Spoon & Tamago featured the work of … Continue reading

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Resource: Grassroots Operations of the Japanese Empire Translated Primary Sources for Teaching Purposes

Today’s resource post is Grassroots Operations of the Japanese Empire: Translated Primary Sources for Teaching Purposes. Begun in 2021 by Sayaka Chatani, Assistant Professor of History at the National University of Singapore, the website provides a wide variety of primary … Continue reading

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Book Announcement: The Last Female Emperor of Nara Japan, 749-770

The Last Female Emperor of Nara Japan, 749-770by Ross Bender The last female emperor of Nara Japan was Kōken/Shōtoku Tennō, who ruled from 749 to 770, with an interregnum from 758 to 764. She was the last in a series of … Continue reading

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Fun (?) Link Friday: Meguro Parasitological Museum

When was the last time you thought about… parasites? Maybe watching a horror movie or taking your pet to the vet. But if you’re interested in exploring scientific knowledge about these creepy wigglies for fun, Japan has a museum for … Continue reading

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