Beyond Japan with Oliver Moxham

As museums across Japan celebrate the 1,400th anniversary of the death of Prince Shōtoku Taishi, the legendary figure who brought Buddhism to Japan, the Sainsbury Institute together with the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts at the University of East Anglia is currently collaborating with major universities and museums in Japan to create a special exhibit commemorating the event. This Shōtoku Intervention will display the Sainsbury Centre’s collection of Japanese Buddhist and Shinto artefacts centred around a rare 13th century Kamakura period statue of a female Shinto deity. To better explain the significance of Shōtoku Taishi, Beyond Japan will be exploring over three episodes the religious, political and historical context of this dynamic period of East Asian history. We hope you enjoy our Shōtoku miniseries.

Oliver is joined by our second Shōtoku interviewee Chizuko Allen, Professor of Asian Pacific American Studies at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and researcher of Korea-Japan relations in ancient times, who will discuss the hidden history of the powerful women of Japan’s distant past through the First Empress of Japan, Empress Jingū. Through Jingū and other examples, we can see how empresses played a key role in engaging the Japanese state with continental kingdoms and even lead military campaigns, their record superseding that of their husbands in the ancient records of the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki. She also discusses how this legacy was appropriated by expansionists in the 16th and 19th century before being buried in the post-war period through modern interpretations (or misinterpretations) of these texts.

Chizuko's research profile

Read Empress Jingū: a shamaness ruler in early Japan

Image credits:

[L] Empress Jingu In Korea by Glaurung_Quena is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

[R] Empress Jingu and Takenouchi no Sukune Fishing at Chikuzen LACMA M.84.31.260 by Fæ is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Copyright © 2021 Oliver Moxham, ℗ 2021 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed in a classroom setting.

As museums across Japan celebrate the 1,400th anniversary of the death of Prince Shōtoku Taishi, the legendary figure who brought Buddhism to Japan, the Sainsbury Institute together with the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts at the University of East Anglia is currently collaborating with major universities and museums in Japan to create a special exhibit commemorating the event. This Shōtoku Intervention will display the Sainsbury Centre’s collection of Japanese Buddhist and Shinto artefacts centred around a rare 13th century Kamakura period statue of a female Shinto deity. To better explain the significance of Shōtoku Taishi, Beyond Japan will be exploring over three episodes the religious, political and historical context of this dynamic period of East Asian history. We hope you enjoy our Shōtoku miniseries.

Oliver is joined by our first Shōtoku interviewee, Marcus Teeuwen, Professor of Japanese Studies at the University of Oslo, who will help us understand the changing faiths of Japan in the 7th century through the Buddhist concept of honji suijaku (本地垂迹), a notion which allowed Buddhist monks to explain the gods, or kami, worshipped in Japan at the time as traces of Buddhist deities. Mark explains that our contemporary understanding of religion as competing bodies which seek to shape how people live their lives with the goal of a happy afterlife does not apply in this period of time, that the worship of deities had much more practical intentions and that politics were at the core of the spread of Buddhism.

Mark's research profile

Image credits:

[L] Faux Fox Populi by 顔なし is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

[R] 東大寺盧舎那仏像 - 奈良の大仏 the colossal Buddha of Nara by Hase don is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Copyright © 2021 Oliver Moxham, ℗ 2021 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed in a classroom setting.

Oliver is joined once more by Professor Simon Kaner, Executive Director at the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts & Cultures, for a reflective episode on international research post-pandemic. Much has changed in international academic fields as Japanese Studies since March 2020 in response to restricted domestic and international movement. Academic institutes such as the Sainsbury Institute have drastically altered their approach to fostering international research projects with such digital initiatives as this very podcast. Simon will share with us how else these projects have been altered by the pandemic, the pros and cons of such changes and how he believes future international research will look once we’re out the other side.

Simon's research profile

Sainsbury Institute website

Image credits:

[L] "Plane Taking Off - St. Martin/St. Maarten" by justin_levy is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

[R] "Creative Company Conference 2011" by Sebastiaan ter Burg is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

Copyright © 2021 Oliver Moxham, ℗ 2021 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed in a classroom setting.

Oliver is joined by Dr Enrico Crema of the University of Cambridge to discuss how big data is revolutionising our understandings of prehistoric societies, laying out shifts in demographics and cultural exchange that occurred with early migration from the Korean peninsula to the Japanese mainland. Enrico explains the breadth and range of the ENCOUNTER project he is heading and how by analysing the impressive archaeological record found in Japan allows for new depths to our understanding of immigration and cultural boundaries long before recorded history, precisely at the shift from the Jōmon era to the Yayoi era (c. 300 BCE). We apologise for the slightly reduced audio quality of this week’s episode brought about by unavoidable technical issues.

Enrico's research profile

Image credits:

[L] "連綿と続く米への情熱 Perpetual Passion for Rice" by Yuya Sekiguchi is licensed under CC BY 2.0

[R] Hypothesised timing of the spread of wet-rice farming (from Kobyashi, K.  2009 Kinkichihoito no chiiki he no kakusan. in: Nishimoto, T. (Eds.). Yayoi-jidai no hajimari to sono nendai, Yuzankaku, Tokyo, pp. 55–82.

Copyright © 2021 Oliver Moxham, ℗ 2021 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed in a classroom setting.

Oliver is joined by Dr Andrew Littlejohn of Leiden University to discuss disaster heritage around the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011. This heritage typically consists of ruins from catastrophic natural disasters that, while initially may be preserved for commemorative purposes, can end up being articulated to attract tourism to sites of mass death. Together we explore how disaster heritage fosters debate around the relationship between humans and their environments, as well as its potential to disrupt authorised heritage discourse. We also consider whether any disaster can be called ‘natural’ given the intrinsic human element to all disasters.

Andrew's research profile

Glossary

3/11: Shorthand used to refer to the Great East Japan Earthquake and ensuing tsunami and nuclear disaster that took place on 11 March 2011.

Anthropogenic disaster: a disaster caused by human action or inaction.

Ishinomaki’s Okawa Elementary School: a public elementary school building in Miyagi Prefecture where more than  80 pupils and teachers lost their lives in the 2011 tsunami. 

Minamisanriku Disaster Prevention Centre: a central disaster heritage site of the 3/11 tsunami in Fukushima

Ontological dissensus: debates around the relationship between people and the environments they live within i.e. the change of a religious practice to local heritage.

Shinsai ikō (震災以降): literally ‘disaster remains’, memorial buildings or structures related to the disaster.

Tensai (天災): natural or ‘heavenly’ disaster

Image credits

[L] "Boat on the Roof" by Pavel Polukhin is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

[R] "南三陸町志津川 防災対策庁舎（東北トリップ）" (Minamisanriku Disaster Prevention Centre) by jetalone is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Copyright © 2021 Oliver Moxham, ℗ 2021 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed in a classroom setting.

Oliver is joined by Professor David Rear of Chuō University to discuss the once-dominant discourse of nihonjinron, or “Japanese-ness”, which has shaped many aspects of Japanese society over the last century through its ideas of Japanese uniqueness and group-consciousness. David gives us a brief history of the discourse, how a discourse can shape society and new discourses of internationalisation and individuality which he argues have seen the decline, if not the end, of nihonjinron as the dominant narrative. As there are quite a few Japanese terms thrown around in this week’s episode, a brief glossary has been included below.

David's research profile

Glossary (in order of appearance):

Nihonjinron (日本人論) – literally "theories/discussions about the Japanese". A genre of texts that focus on issues of Japanese national and cultural identity and how Japan and the Japanese should be understood.

Kokoro (心) – “Heart” or “soul”. Within nihonjinron, it refers to Japanese-ness as being something Japanese are born with. As such, nihonjinron argues that Japan and Japanese people cannot be fully understood by non-Japanese.

Kokusaika (国際化) – “Internationalisation”. Originated in the ‘80s during Japan’s economic boom period to attract foreign investment, divided between “outward kokusaika”, where Japanese learn English and go abroad to promote Japan, and “inward kokusaika”, which created a discursive barrier between Japanese and foreigners arriving in Japan who need to adapt to Japanese culture. More recently it has sought to encourage diversity and almost directly opposes nihonjinron arguments of homogeneity (see tayōsei).

Kosei (個性) – “Individuality”, not necessarily in terms of independence but as skill or talent that can be learned and put to use for the nation when referred to politically.

Jibunrashisa (自分らしさ) – “Being true to yourself”. Can be found in commercial advertising with kosei to refer to putting yourself before society’s demands.

Tayōsei (多様性) – “Diversity”. Used today with kokusaika to encourage assimilation of foreigners into society in the context of depopulation and labour shortages.

Orientalism – Coined by Edward Said in 1978, orientalism refers to the othering and stereotyping of Eastern nations with Western nations as Occident vs Orient, "Us and Them".

Image credits:

[L] Dándole forma a mi artículo sobre la teoría nihonjinron (me tiene enganchada ^^) by Lau_chan is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

[R] Tokyo subway at rush hour by transitpeople is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Copyright © 2021 Oliver Moxham, ℗ 2021 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed in a classroom setting.

Welcome to a special Japanese-language episode of Beyond Japan. For our English-speaking listeners, please follow this link where our episode with Professor Kikuchi Yoshio on the Kofun of Fukushima is available with English subtitles.

日本学を多角的な視点からアプローチするポッドキャスト「ビヨンド・ジャパン」をお聞きいただきありがとうございます。このポッドキャストはセインズベリー日本藝術研究所とイーストアングリア大学の日本学センターがお届けします。私はセインズベリー日本藝術研究所でプロジェクトサポートオフィサーを務めているオリバー・モクサムです。日本の戦争の遺産に関する研究をしています。よろしくお願いします。

今週のお話し相手は福島大学の菊地芳朗教授で、議題は福島県の古墳と東日本大震災以降の発掘調査です。古墳の文化的な意義、また大災害以降の修復について話します。どうぞお聞きください。

来週のエピソードは英語に戻りますが、もし今後も日本語のエピソードが聞いてみたい、という方はぜひご連絡ください。

菊地教授のプロフィール

Oliver is joined by Professor Kikuchi Yoshio of Fukushima University to discuss excavating kofun burial mounds in Fukushima following the Great East Japan Earthquake. We will explore the cultural significance of kofun in the area and the challenges surrounding their excavation in the last ten years.

If you enjoyed this Japanese-language episode, please get in touch and we may produce more Japanese episodes in future.

Kikuchi Yoshio's research profile [JP]

Image credits:

[L] 大安場古墳1号墳 by 小池 隆 is licensed under CC BY 3.0         

[R] 高橋淳一Nippon Jin写真展-087 by gwai is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Copyright © 2021 Oliver Moxham, ℗ 2021 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed in a classroom setting.

Oliver is joined by Professor Wolfram Manzenreiter of the University of Vienna to discuss Japanese Diasporas, taking a look at what can be learned from diaspora communities both in the millions, such as those of Brazil, the USA and Peru, and in the thousands in areas like Mexico, Paraguay and Canada. We will also consider the connection between these communities and their indigenous roots in Japan, as well as the relationship between historic Japanese migration and the strategies of the Japanese empire.

Wolfram's research profile

Read Squared diasporas: Representations of the Japanese diaspora across time and space

Image credits:

Fieldwork photographs by Professor Wolfram Manzenreiter

Copyright © 2021 Oliver Moxham, ℗ 2021 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed in a classroom setting.

Oliver is joined by Aike Rots, Associate Professor of Japan Studies at the University of Oslo, to discuss Heritage-Making in Japan, examining how the process of ‘heritagisation’ can secularise and politicise religious sites, such as Shinto shrines and natural areas of religious significance to Okinawan and Ainu communities, and the role of nationalism within heritage.

Aike's research profile

Sacred Heritage in Japan edited by Aike Rots and Mark Teeuwen

Image credits:

[L] "Evening light, Kiyomizu-dera temple, Kyoto" by Dimitry B is licensed under CC BY 2.0

[R] "Sefa Utaki-15.jpg" by alainkun is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Copyright © 2021 Oliver Moxham, ℗ 2021 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed in a classroom setting.

Oliver is joined by Dana Mirsalis, PhD candidate at Harvard University, to take a look at Shinto in Modern Japan. Together we unpack the tricky task of defining what Shinto is, whether it is an unofficial Japanese religion, a Japanese religion or even a religion at all. We also explore the ways Shinto shapes and is engaged with by contemporary Japanese as well as the shifting roles of women within the priesthood.

Dana's research profile, website and Twitter (@DanaMirsalis)

Image credits:

[L] Priesthood students of Kōgakkan University by Dana Mirsalis

[R] "Sumiyoshitaisha Shinto Shrine, Osaka, Japan" by Geoff Whalan is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0         

Copyright © 2021 Oliver Moxham, ℗ 2021 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed in a classroom setting.