The thesis discusses the hybridity of Japanese sartorial culture with a focus on the works of Issey Miyake. It explores the boundaries between culture, body and sartorial design. Moreover, how do...Show moreThe thesis discusses the hybridity of Japanese sartorial culture with a focus on the works of Issey Miyake. It explores the boundaries between culture, body and sartorial design. Moreover, how do the designs of Issey Miyake express his Japanese identity while also crossing borders between East and West?Show less
"How can the onryō tradition help us interpret the contemporary phenomenon of cutesified onryō parodies?" Through analyzing the emergence and appeasement of three distinct historical types of onryō...Show more"How can the onryō tradition help us interpret the contemporary phenomenon of cutesified onryō parodies?" Through analyzing the emergence and appeasement of three distinct historical types of onryō, the context necessary for understanding the place of the 'cutesified onryō' will take shape. Next, some examples of this new onryō will be discussed to see what the recurring themes are. And lastly, a more in-depth case study of a manga centered around a cutesified onryō will be carried out. It will be argued that cutesification functions not only as a form of appeasement, but also as 'domestication'. The onryō’s history of empowerment and role-breaking is subverted as they are forced back into gendered societal roles.Show less
This thesis provides an analysis of three marginal historical movements from the inter-war period in the 20th century; German neocolonialism, Japanese Pan-Asianism and Pan-Africanism. All three...Show moreThis thesis provides an analysis of three marginal historical movements from the inter-war period in the 20th century; German neocolonialism, Japanese Pan-Asianism and Pan-Africanism. All three movements represent trends that present alternative views of the dominant ideologies of the century which they were ultimately suppressed by with the onset of the Second World War. Based on what documentation they left behind however, a model can be constructed that attempts to explain how these movements could have survived or otherwise have seen a resurgence in the absence of global liberalism and communism. Alternative histories found in video games, such as the popular Hearts of Iron IV expansion made by its (non-academic) community The New Order: Last Days of Europe provide an opportunity to put this model into practice, but the shortcomings in its existing narrative regarding Africa must first be addressed.Show less
This thesis argues that during the Abe and Suga administrations, Japan has been successful at pushing some of its key security objectives into the agendas of strategically important Southeast Asian...Show moreThis thesis argues that during the Abe and Suga administrations, Japan has been successful at pushing some of its key security objectives into the agendas of strategically important Southeast Asian states through the process of tactical hedging. Tactical hedging has allowed the Abe and Suga administrations to be flexible with its policy approach to the rise of China, allowing Japan to be firm on security issues in Southeast Asia when needed, while allowing room for friendly economic competition. This flexibility made security cooperation with Japan more viable for Southeast Asian states, as none of the countries wish to pursue a hard-line China containment policy. The Free and Open Indo-Pacific vision, which has seen notable alterations by the Abe and Suga administration to address the needs of their Southeast Asian partners, and Japan refraining from openly criticizing the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) are examples of Japan taking the concerns of its Southeast Asian partners into account. While still at an early stage, the results of Japan’s tactical hedging can be seen within Japan’s improved security relations with Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam. These three countries, which belong to the largest economies of ASEAN, and are faced with China’s growing assertiveness in the South China Sea, will therefore be used to support the importance of tactical hedging for security cooperation in East Asia.Show less
This thesis argues that during the Abe and Suga administrations, Japan has been successful at pushing some of its key security objectives into the agendas of strategically important Southeast Asian...Show moreThis thesis argues that during the Abe and Suga administrations, Japan has been successful at pushing some of its key security objectives into the agendas of strategically important Southeast Asian states through the process of tactical hedging. Tactical hedging has allowed the Abe and Suga administrations to be flexible with its policy approach to the rise of China, allowing Japan to be firm on security issues in Southeast Asia when needed, while allowing room for friendly economic competition. This flexibility made security cooperation with Japan more viable for Southeast Asian states, as none of the countries wish to pursue a hard-line China containment policy. The Free and Open Indo-Pacific vision, which has seen notable alterations by the Abe and Suga administration to address the needs of their Southeast Asian partners, and Japan refraining from openly criticizing the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) are examples of Japan taking the concerns of its Southeast Asian partners into account. While still at an early stage, the results of Japan’s tactical hedging can be seen within Japan’s improved security relations with Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam. These three countries, which belong to the largest economies of ASEAN, and are faced with China’s growing assertiveness in the South China Sea, will therefore be used to support the importance of tactical hedging for security cooperation in East Asia.Show less
This thesis aims to assess whether China and Japan’s strategies have both followed a similar economic diplomacy strategy when engaging with third countries and the corresponding projects, the Belt...Show moreThis thesis aims to assess whether China and Japan’s strategies have both followed a similar economic diplomacy strategy when engaging with third countries and the corresponding projects, the Belt and Road Initiative and the Free and Open Indo-Pacific strategy. While a specific motivation can be hard to pinpoint, the economic diplomacy tools they used are identifiable from agreements, public correspondence by officials or news articles that discuss reactions to the projects. Considering the case studies and the blueprints of the Free and Open Indo Pacific strategy and the Belt and Road Initiative, it is possible to conclude that Japan follows with the FOIP nearly the same or at least a very similar strategy to the BRI of China. The case studies do not always remain within the established movements of the BRI and FOIP in the used framework. The movements are along the axes of economic diplomacy primarily are between commercial and trade diplomacy. China in particular shows that it is willing to go further than Japan with using the tools of commercial diplomacy. Moreover, China is also willing to go further than Japan if they are not getting a formal participation in the BRI from another country, compared to the FOIP.Show less
In the last decade, Japan has seen a sharp increase in labour migrants and research shows these migrants don’t always integrate easily and are often the subject of discrimination. Research on...Show moreIn the last decade, Japan has seen a sharp increase in labour migrants and research shows these migrants don’t always integrate easily and are often the subject of discrimination. Research on migrants, however, has mostly focussed on either the barriers to integration on the work floor or on the policies of the government, without focus on integration. This thesis links these two important research bodies, by studying immigration policy in relation to integration on the work floor. Using Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and a case study of the recent amendments of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition act, it studies the attention given to the topics of labour, national security and human security. Results show that even though the government its policies play a key role in integration, the act holds little attention to the social aspect of integration. This social aspect consists of preventing discrimination and creating mutual understanding between Japanese citizens and migrants. Analysis shows that even though more labour opportunities to enter Japan were created in the amendments in 2014 and in 2018, migrants taking those opportunities (HSM, Technical Intern Trainees, SSW and health & care workers) still have difficulty integrating in Japan.Show less
In this thesis, I argue that English education in Japan is failing to teach learners English. An outdated educational paradigm that is too focused on written understanding and test-based English,...Show moreIn this thesis, I argue that English education in Japan is failing to teach learners English. An outdated educational paradigm that is too focused on written understanding and test-based English, and educational policy that fails to modernize this paradigm create a problematic base for learners and teachers alike. Teachers feel unequipped to teach communicative skills and have to deal with a lack of motivation in the classroom. Learners do not feel a drive to learn English, yet there is a cultural crisis surrounding a strongly felt but undefined need to learn English. These factors contribute to the issue of Japan's lacking English skills.Show less
In this thesis I will explore a set of landscape photographs made by Uchida Kuichi (1844-1875) in the 1870s. Uchida had become photographer under a Japanese master who had received education in the...Show moreIn this thesis I will explore a set of landscape photographs made by Uchida Kuichi (1844-1875) in the 1870s. Uchida had become photographer under a Japanese master who had received education in the field of chemistry from a Dutch institute in Nagasaki. He was requested to document the Meiji emperor’s grand tour of Japan in 1872. The pictures Uchida took were not a reportage in the modern sense of the word. Uchida Kuichi’s landscape photography shows the synthesis of early modern ideas about landscape depiction in a modern medium. The photographer seems to have made deliberate choices to soften the innate quality of this medium to produce ‘modern’ or ‘western style’ depiction with a vanishing point perspective, and he has avoided using a downward looking point of view. His landscape photos mostly have a level point of view and the vanishing point perspective is ‘flattened’ by stressing the horizontals and/or the vertical lines. Instead of linear perspective, depth is created by having large objects in the foreground. His landscape of the Nagasaki bay is to be understood symbolically, suggesting a harmonious relationship between modernity (a modern steam factory and foreign trading steam ships) and tradition (a Shinto shrine and a traditional village), while the gaze of the two traditionally dressed men under large pine trees (a traditional symbol of auspiciousness) is out towards the sea that in de Meiji era was opened. Thereby, he seems to have underlined the “Japaneseness” of the landscape in an era where the idea of state or nation was upcoming. The series can be read as showing a national landscape where modernity was firmly rooted in tradition, with the emperor – whose gaze was materialized – as the personification of continuity.Show less
