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
