This thesis identifies the ideals of risshin shusse ("Rising in the world") as portrayed within Meiji period sugoroku boardgames targeted at elementary school students. It compares the actual...Show moreThis thesis identifies the ideals of risshin shusse ("Rising in the world") as portrayed within Meiji period sugoroku boardgames targeted at elementary school students. It compares the actual realities of children at the time to that which is portrayed in the sugoroku and places the primary sources in their historical context.Show less
This thesis explores the motivations of the protagonists of two love suicide puppet plays written by Japanese playwright Chikamatsu Monzaemon: Sonezaki Shinjū and Shinjū Ten no Amijima. Using...Show moreThis thesis explores the motivations of the protagonists of two love suicide puppet plays written by Japanese playwright Chikamatsu Monzaemon: Sonezaki Shinjū and Shinjū Ten no Amijima. Using sociological and (socio)psychological theories - primarily the socioemotional theory of suicide by Seth Abrutyn and Anna Mueller - it seeks to expand on the psychological level of interpretation that traditionally tends to use the giri/ninjō dichotomy. The thesis concludes that the protagonists are motivated by love and suicide suggestion to die together, although the suicide itself is rather the result of a perceived lack of control, the failure of social performance and the influence of negative social emotions.Show less
Okinawa’s position within Japan has been historically regarded with ambivalence in Japanese mainstream discourse, which is particularly visible in Japanese cinema featuring the prefecture. Such...Show moreOkinawa’s position within Japan has been historically regarded with ambivalence in Japanese mainstream discourse, which is particularly visible in Japanese cinema featuring the prefecture. Such films have been predominantly produced by mainland Japanese directors, and have often been criticized for depicting Okinawa in stereotypical and essentializing ways. This thesis places Paradise View, the understudied first feature film of Okinawa-born independent director Takamine Gō, in the above-mentioned context and focuses on the film’s thematic and narrative analysis to put it forward as a case study of a film that actively evades and challenges such representations.Show less
It is well known that Meiji era woodblock print designers Kobayashi Kiyochika 小林清親 (1847-1915) and Toyohara Chikanobu 豊原周延 (1838-1912) fought during the Meiji restoration on the side of the...Show moreIt is well known that Meiji era woodblock print designers Kobayashi Kiyochika 小林清親 (1847-1915) and Toyohara Chikanobu 豊原周延 (1838-1912) fought during the Meiji restoration on the side of the Tokugawa shogunate. However, because the majority of academic secondary literature on prints tends to focus on the Meiji government's grand 'modernisation' project rather than dissenting voices, it has not been widely discussed to what extent their history as Tokugawa loyalists is expressed in their oeuvre. This thesis attempts to take a fresh approach by reexamining the early works by Kiyochika and Chikanobu. A thorough scrutiny of both visual object and historic context will show that there is more to the Meiji print than meets the eye.Show less
This thesis discusses what motivates people in Japan to buy sacred charms (omamori), through the lens of the Japanese ritual worldview. They are traditionally used as a means for protection or as a...Show moreThis thesis discusses what motivates people in Japan to buy sacred charms (omamori), through the lens of the Japanese ritual worldview. They are traditionally used as a means for protection or as a source of beneficial power. In recent decennia, consumer culture has permeated the world of religion in Japan and as a result distributors of religious tokens (temples and shrines) have started to focus more on the visual appeal of charms.Show less
This paper examines the localization practices in Japanese video games and anime in the last thirty years and the effects thereof, taking the Pokémon franchise as case study. Findings seem to...Show moreThis paper examines the localization practices in Japanese video games and anime in the last thirty years and the effects thereof, taking the Pokémon franchise as case study. Findings seem to suggest an increase in the importance of localization, as it developed from the translation of text to the restructuring of narrative and alteration of visual content. Multiple video games and anime have seen significant revisions in their adjustment to the Western market, but none of them have received as much modifications as Pokémon. The methods used in localizing Pokémon have transformed over the years, and its ever-expanding global significance shaped the content of future releases in both Japan and the West.Show less
I will show that contemporary studies have been focusing mainly on the creation of a single, more or less standardized Japanese cuisine, rather than on variations in local cuisine. I will further...Show moreI will show that contemporary studies have been focusing mainly on the creation of a single, more or less standardized Japanese cuisine, rather than on variations in local cuisine. I will further discuss the current situation of the Japanese food culture and rise in the popularity of 'affordable versus expensive food' and how this popularity is used in the domestic tourism sector of Japan. This will be done by two case studies: the first is tourism promotion through television and the second is through travel guide books.Show less
Consuming certain kind of products can shape someone’s identity and status in society. Within this framework, this paper looks at two representations of a specific place and period in time, the...Show moreConsuming certain kind of products can shape someone’s identity and status in society. Within this framework, this paper looks at two representations of a specific place and period in time, the Japan of the 1950s. Japan was recovering from the Second World War, its economy started to slowly grow again and consumption became an important matter in creating a homogenous middle‐class in society. Important in this process was the idea of “electrifying” households. This thesis looks at representations of consuming through the lens of cinema and analyzes how patterns of consuming electronic products such as the “three sacred treasures” (sanshu no shinki), the black and white television, the refrigerator and the washing machine, are displayed and what kind of effect acquiring these products may have on individuals and the people surrounding them. It leads to the following research question: In representing the elements of everyday life in 1950s Japan and displaying the effect of the consumption phenomenon and the electrification of society, what differences in the function of consuming electronics such as the “three treasures” are present in the films "Ohayō" and "Always: Sanchōme no Yūhi?"Show less