Fun Link Friday: Tea-making Robot

Posted on March 30, 2018 by Paula

Although I try to keep our Fun Link Fridays in English so that they’re accessible to readers of all levels, I can’t resist this hilarious tea-making robot, which appeared yesterday in Yahoo! Japan news.

Identified as Sadō Robo 151A, this device has been designed to replicate traditional Japanese tea ceremony, from the adding of tea powder and hot water to the vigorous vigorous whisking thereof. It even presents little mochi sweets, which as we all know, should complement any good cup of bitter green tea.

Created by the three-person research team ａＮｏ研 (anoken), they clearly had a fun time with it. They set out wanting to make something interesting, and had the added humor to even create a little room model for the robot, complete with a tokonoma hanging scroll that says “delicious.” If you look at the video below, you’ll see the robot lacks some of the finer graces of a tea master, but maybe you’ll find it charming in its own way nonetheless:

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Livetweet Threads from AAS: Publishing in Scholarly Journals on Japan

Posted on March 27, 2018 by Paula

Over the course of the weekend I attended the Association for Asian Studies 2018. There I was at a roundtable “Publishing in Scholarly Journals on Japan” that featured a lot of really useful information for those of us in the humanities and social sciences seeking to publish our scholarship in places like Monumenta Nipponica, Japan Forum,  Journal of Japanese Studies, Pacific Affairs, Social Science Japan Journal, or Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies.

Though I live-tweeted much of the event, this was the one day the internet in the hotel venue was TERRIBLE, so I ended up having to switch between my phone and computer rapidly as I troubleshooted and it didn’t end up all in one thread. Sorry about that! Here I am compiling the various threads from the roundtable in one place. If you click on each of the embedded tweets below, it will take you to the individual thread on a given topic. Sadly embeds don’t let you click “view thread” directly like on Twitter. But at least all of the sub-threads are in one spot now and hopefully will be useful to folks both in Japanese and other area studies. Enjoy!

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That’s all! If you check out the #AAS2018 hashtag or sift through other recent tweets you’ll find other panels I livetweeted on premodern and early modern Japan/East Asia, as well as the thread on the new publication of the Cambridge History of Japan to be released in the next year. Enjoy!

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Book Announcement: Cultivating Femininity: Women and Tea Culture in Edo and Meiji Japan

Posted on March 25, 2018 by Paula

Cultivating Femininity:
Women and Tea Culture in Edo and Meiji Japan

by Rebecca Corbett

The overwhelming majority of tea practitioners in contemporary Japan are women, but there has been little discussion on their historical role in tea culture (chanoyu). In Cultivating Femininity, Rebecca Corbett writes women back into this history and shows how tea practice for women was understood, articulated, and promoted in the Edo (1603–1868) and Meiji (1868–1912) periods. Viewing chanoyu from the lens of feminist and gender theory, she sheds new light on tea’s undeniable influence on the formation of modern understandings of femininity in Japan.

Corbett overturns the iemoto tea school’s carefully constructed orthodox narrative by employing underused primary sources and closely examining existing tea histories. She incorporates Pierre Bourdieu’s theories of social and cultural capital and Norbert Elias’s “civilizing process” to explore the economic and social incentives for women taking part in chanoyu. Although the iemoto system sought to increase its control over every aspect of tea, including book production, eighteenth- and nineteenth-century popular texts aimed specifically at women evidence the spread of tea culture beyond parameters set by the schools.The expansion of chanoyu to new social groups cascaded from commoner men to elite then commoner women. Shifting the focus away from male tea masters complicates the history of tea in Japan and shows how women of different social backgrounds worked within and without traditionally accepted paradigms of tea practice. The direct socioeconomic impact of the spread of tea is ultimately revealed in subsequent advances in women’s labor opportunities and an increase in female social mobility. Through their participation in chanoyu, commoner women were able to blur and lessen the status gap between themselves and women of aristocratic and samurai status.

Cultivating Femininity offers a new perspective on the prevalence of tea practice among women in modern Japan. It presents a fresh, much-needed approach, one that will be appreciated by students and scholars of Japanese history, gender, and culture, as well as by tea practitioners.

http://www.uhpress.hawaii.edu/p-9907-9780824872076.aspx

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Resource: Utah Nippō Newspaper Online

Posted on March 21, 2018 by Paula

As with our previous posts on digitized Nikkei newspapers, the digitization of the Utah Nippō is an important contribution to historical resources on the history of Japanese Americans. Hosted by the J. Willard Library at the University of Utah, this newspaper is one of three Japanese newspapers that were allowed to be published during World War II. From the website:

The Yuta Nippō is a Japanese American newspaper published in Salt Lake City, Utah, from 1914 to 1991. It was founded by Issei Uneo Terasawa (1881–1939). Terasawa began the Nippō as a Japanese language daily with a Buddhist orientation, since the existing Japanese language newspaper in Salt Lake City, the Rocky Mountain Times, had a Christian orientation. Building a circulation of over 800 within a year of its 1914 founding, it later acquired and merged with the Times in 1927 and went from a daily to publishing three times a week in 1932. It is notable for being one of just three Japanese American newspapers in the continental United States that published through the World War II years, since it was located outside the West Coast restricted area.

The database itself is easy to navigate, with search options by key term, date, headlines, etc. If you’re not looking for something specific, you can browse all of the issues and narrow the field by year. Clicking on a particular issue brings up the issue plus a sliding frame (seen below) where you can preview all the pages in the issue and navigate to the ones you want.

Since each page is embedded in a PDF format, it’s possible to zoom and manipulate them as you would any other document, as well as download each page for your own research. Pretty great! And while the OCR recognition isn’t perfect, you can, in fact, locate and peruse the OCR text at the bottom of the page as a part of the metadata.

So if this era of history is up your alley, take some time to look through the Utah Nippō!

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Book Announcement: Tokyo Roji: The Diversity and Versatility of Alleys in a City in Transition

Posted on March 18, 2018 by Paula

Tokyo Roji
The Diversity and Versatility of Alleys in a City in Transition
By Heide Imai

The Japanese urban alleyway, which was once part of people’s personal spatial sphere and everyday life has been transformed by diverse and competing interests. Marginalised through the emergence of new forms of housing and public spaces, re-appropriated by different fields, and re-invented by the contemporary urban design discourse, the social meaning attached to the roji is being re-interpreted by individuals, subcultures and new social movements. The book will introduce and discuss examples of urban practices which take place within the dynamic urban landscape of contemporary Tokyo to portray the life cycle of an urban form being rediscovered, commodified and lost as physical space.

https://www.routledge.com/Tokyo-Roji-The-Diversity-and-Versatility-of-Alleys-in-a-City-in-Transition/Imai/p/book/9781138949102

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Job Opening: Consulate-General of Japan in Chicago, political assistant

Posted on March 16, 2018 by Paula

The Consulate-General of Japan in Chicago is seeking a Political Assistant at the Political Section.

Full-time position.

Application Deadline: March 29, 2018

Duties:

– Research and analysis in the areas of politics in the Midwest; Data entry for statewide, congressional and some local elections from open sources;
– Daily news monitoring and email reporting on political development in the jurisdiction;
– Speech and presentation drafting for the Consul-General;
– Organize meetings with the three branches of the local government, media and other organizations; Administer projects and make relevant logistical arrangements;
– Administrative duties within the Consulate, including assistance at its events and official visits.

Full application information and submission directions:

http://www.chicago.us.emb-japan.go.jp/files/000343135.pdf

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Job Opening: Visiting Assistant Professor, Japanese Studies, Fall 2018, College of William and Mary

Posted on March 15, 2018 by Paula

For full details, see: https://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=56558

The Department of Modern Languages & Literatures at the College of William and Mary invites applications for a one-semester, non-tenure-track visiting faculty position that will begin August 10, 2018. We seek an individual with expertise in Japanese Studies. The successful applicant will be expected to be an effective teacher and will have a 3-course teaching load. The successful candidate will be expected to teach a cinema class and one or more courses in his/her specialization. M.A. with A.B.D. status is required, in Japanese Studies or another Japan-related field. Native or near-native fluency in both Japanese and English is required. A Ph.D. is preferred at the time of appointment (August 10, 2018). Demonstrable experience in teaching at the college level is preferred.

For full consideration, submit application materials by the review date, April 5, 2018.

Website: https://jobs.wm.edu/postings/31062

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Job Opening: Postdoctoral Researcher in Pre-1900 Japanese Studies, University of Chicago

Posted on March 14, 2018 by Paula

For full details, see: https://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=56559

The University of Chicago’s Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations invites applications for a Postdoctoral Researcher position at the rank of Instructor in Pre-1900 Japanese Studies.

The successful candidate, appointed at the rank of Instructor, will teach two undergraduate courses over the course of the academic year and will be expected to participate actively in the graduate workshops, symposia, and other events associated with the Japanese Studies program.

The initial appointment is for two years, and renewal for a third year is possible, contingent upon budgetary approval and satisfactory review of performance. Salary is competitive and includes benefits. The anticipated start date for the appointment is September 1, 2018.

Review of applications will begin on April 15, 2018, and will continue until the position is filled or the search is closed.

Website: http://ealc.uchicago.edu

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Fellowship: Reischauer Policy Research Fellows Program

Posted on March 13, 2018 by Paula

Reischauer Policy Research Fellows Program

Program Overview:

Inaugurated in May 2013, the Reischauer Policy Research Fellows Program is a critical element of the Reischauer Center at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington, DC. It is designed to support the Center’s various research initiatives, while also providing recent undergraduate or graduate students with broad practical experience regarding the public and private-sector analysis process. Fellowships are paid and tenable for one academic year beginning in August 2018 with the potential for renewal for an additional year. More information about our activities can be found on the Reischauer Center’s website (www.reischauercenter.org) and Facebook page (@ReischauerCenter). Please direct any questions about the position or application process to the Research and Program Coordinator at <reischauer@jhu.edu>.

Job Description:

Research Fellows personally assist Dr. Kent Calder, Director of the Reischauer Center, with projects related to the Center’s mission of supporting the study of transpacific and intra-Asian relations. Recent topics include, but are not limited to: policy best practices in U.S.-Japan relations such as infrastructure, public diplomacy, and agriculture; the role of cities in global governance; the functioning of Washington’s ‘idea industry’ and government-business relations; global energy policy; and comparative Eurasian political economy. Fellows also provide logistical support for seminars, luncheons, and conferences offered by the Reischauer Center. They are able to interact with senior researchers affiliated with the Center as part of our Visiting Scholars Program, who typically join us for one academic year from various government agencies in Japan. Furthermore, Fellows are welcome to participate in events in the larger Johns Hopkins SAIS community and are frequently able to attend courses relating to Japan Studies and Asian political economy.

For more information see the following announcement: Reischauer Center Research Fellow

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Job Opening: Asian history, University of Melbourne-Victoria

Posted on March 13, 2018 by Paula

Institution: University of Melbourne – Victoria, School of Historical and Philosophical Studies, Faculty of Arts
Location: Australia
Position: Lecturer

School of Historical and Philosophical Studies
Faculty of Arts

Salary: AUD98,775 – AUD117,290 p.a. plus 17% superannuation

The School of Historical and Philosophical Studies (SHAPS), which is a part of the Faculty of Arts, was formed in 2011 comprising the programs of History, History and Philosophy of Science, Philosophy, Classics and Archaeology, The Grimwade Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation, and The Program in Jewish Culture & Society. SHAPS teaches a wide range of subjects across these disciplines and has a large Honours and Postgraduate cohort, and also receives a high level of nationally competitive research grants. This position is located within the History department and reports to the Head of School in SHAPS.

This position is funded via the Hansen Trust, which has been established, in perpetuity, to transform the teaching of History at the University of Melbourne. It aims to develop and instil a passion for History within students and the broader community, to deepen student engagement with their learning, to emphasise the importance of this field of study, and to support a range of initiatives in the Faculty of Arts to build excellence and innovation in teaching and learning programs. For more information on the Hansen Trust please see: http://arts.unimelb.edu.au/shaps/news/hansen-trust.

The Hansen Lecturer will be a History specialist in some area of Asian history since 1500, with suitable research, language capability, a capacity for teaching excellence and a commitment to and enthusiasm for the university teaching of History. Preference may be given to applicants with expertise in north-east Asian or Vietnamese history and more broadly to areas that will complement existing Asian history capacity. The appointee will work to develop new areas of teaching, research and research training as well as support existing programs.

The Hansen Lecturer in Asian History will be responsible for teaching at both the undergraduate and graduate levels and will assist in the development of new subjects and re-development of existing subjects as appropriate; capacity to supervise Research Higher Degree students is also a requirement. The appointee will undertake research resulting in publications with leading publishers in the field, and apply for competitive research grants, foster engagement links with external networks/partners nationally and internationally and will take on administrative tasks associated with the appointment and as assigned by the discipline and school.

Close date: 6 Apr 2018

For full position information and to apply online go to:
http://jobs.unimelb.edu.au/caw/en/job/894105/hansen-lecturer-asian-history

Contact:

For enquiries only:
Associate Professor Kate McGregor
Tel +61 3 8344 3379
Email k.mcgregor@unimelb.edu.au

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