Japanese Pop Culture Final
Ukiyo
"Floating World") describes the urban lifestyle, especially the pleasure-seeking aspects, of the Edo-period Japan (1600-1867). The Floating World culture developed in Yoshiwara, the licensed red-light district of Edo (modern Tokyo), which was the site of many brothels, chashitsu, and kabuki theaters frequented by Japan's growing middle class.
Define "haikai imagination" according to Shirane
"Haikai imagination" (Shirane 1998): 1) Interaction of diverse languages and subcultures, and humor resulting out of the mix. 2) Taking pleasure in recontextualisation = defamiliarization 3) Ability to interact in a playful, lively dialogue
1948 Eugenic Protection Law
"abortion law" Object of this law is to prevent birth of inferior descendents from the eugenic point of view, and to protect the life of the mother as well in post-war Japan, the Socialist Party proposed the Eugenic Protection Law (ja:優生保護法 Yūsei Hogo Hō) which was enacted in 1948 to replace the National Eugenic Law of 1940.[22] The main provisions allowed for the surgical sterilization of women, when the woman, her spouse, or family member within the 4th degree of kinship had a serious genetic disorder, and where pregnancy would endanger the life of the woman. The operation did not require consent of the woman and her spouse, but the approval of the Prefectural Eugenic Protection Council. Therefore, this law violated the most basic human right.[23] The law also allowed for abortion for pregnancies in the cases of rape, leprosy, hereditary-transmitted disease, or if the physician determined that the fetus would not be viable outside of the womb. Again, the consent of the woman and her spouse were necessary. Birth control guidance and implementation was restricted to doctors, nurses and professional midwives accredited by the Prefectural government. The law was also amended in May 1949 to allow abortions for economic reasons at the sole discretion of the doctor, which in effect fully legalized abortion in Japan.[23] Despite the unambiguous wording of the law, the law was used by local authorities as justification for measures enforcing forced sterilization and abortions upon people with certain genetic disorders, as well as leprosy, as well as an excuse for legalized discrimination against people with physical and mental handicaps Laws that decreed compulsory sterilization of the disabled were abolished with the approval of the Mother's Body Protection Law ((母体保護法) on June 18, 1996.
Describe three key components of a haiku
"comic verse", modern term 1) closeness to nature 2) kigo = references to a particular season 3) suggests rather than define meaning - often incomplete sentences - not directly subjective, yet not purely objective = resonates with human experience = appearance of spontaneity - purpose of haiku: use the mundane while exceeding the mundane
Mizuko kuyô
"fetus memorial service", is a Japanese ceremony for those who have had a miscarriage, stillbirth, or abortion. This practice has become particularly visible since the 1970s with the creation of shrines devoted solely to this ritual
What does the expression mizuko refer to?
"fetus memorial service", is a Japanese ceremony for those who have had a miscarriage, stillbirth, or abortion. This practice has become particularly visible since the 1970s with the creation of shrines devoted solely to this ritual. Reasons for the performance of these rites can include parental grief, desire to comfort the soul of the fetus, guilt for an abortion, or even fear of retribution from a vengeful ghost.
Shintō
-A set of local beliefs -Spirits -Ancestor worship -"More than a religion" encompasses idea, attitudes and ways of doing things that have become an integral part of the Japanese people, faith of the deity -Shinto arose with the advent of Japanese civilization and has developed through the centuries
BL manga
-Made by women for a female audience, depicts storylines of 2 or more male characters that enter into romantic or sexual relations with other male characters -Majority or creators & readers are heterosexual women
Yôkai
-catch all term (endless possibilities), a class of supernatural monsters, spirits, and demons in Japanese folklore. -The word yōkai is made up of the kanji for "bewitching; attractive; calamity"; and "spectre; apparition; mystery; suspicious"
Enka
-is a popular Japanese music genre considered to resemble traditional Japanese music stylistically -combines japanese scales with highly melodramatic tones, timeless essence, exacerbation of emotion "sound of tradition" Enka is not promoted outside of Japan internationally but within Japan it is very known There are enka like songs in other countries like Taiwan, Hong Kong
What is a mandala, and what constitutes one specificity of Japanese mandala (mandara)?
-is a spiritual and ritual symbol in Hinduism and Buddhism, representing the universe -There are numerous mandala forms in Japan, but the most widely known is the Ryōkai MandalaJumps to our Mandala Glossary Page 両界曼荼羅 (Mandala of the Two Realms or Two Worlds)
Haikai
-popular linked verse -It meant "vulgar" or "earthy", and often derived its effect from satire and puns
Rokudō (six Budhist destinies)
1) hells 2) hungry ghosts 3) animals 4) jealous gods (asura) 5) humans 6) gods
What are the four divisions of Edo society?
1. Samurai 2. Peasants 3. Artisans 4. Merchants
Haiku
1. The essence of haiku is "cutting" (kiru). This is often represented by the juxtaposition of two images or ideas and a kireji ("cutting word") between them. 2. Traditional haiku consist of three phrases of 5, 7, and 5 3. A kigo (seasonal reference)
From within themes seen in class, give two examples of "refiguring of cultural memory"
1. war memory -Japan's Army "Cute"? Less threatening to Japanese people After WW2 education was about how awful war was, now its a public relations stunt essentially to war memory and suffering, so trying to separate this from the past War memory. Normalizing military values and military goals in non-military situations Making war and the military feel like normal parts of everyday life 2. "Haikai imagination" -Interaction of diverse languages and subcultures, and humor resulting out of the mix. -Taking pleasure in recontextualisation = defamiliarization -Ability to interact in a playful, lively dialogue = refiguring of cultural memory
Sai no kawara ("Riverbank of Judgment")
Children's Limbo in Japan. Explores Japanese Buddhist mythology regarding the sandy beach called Sai no Kawara (Sainokawara), a riverbed in the netherworld where the souls of departed children do penance
Komatsu Kazuhiko
Cultural anthropologist, folklore, oral tradition (modern day researcher)
King Enma/Yama
In East Asian and Buddhist mythology, Yama (sometimes known as the King of Hell, King Yan or Yanluo) is a dharmapala (wrathful god) said to judge the dead and preside over the Narakas ("Hells" or "Purgatories") and the cycle of afterlife saṃsāra
Mizuki Shigeru
Japanese manga author and historian, best known for his series GeGeGe no Kitarō originally titled Hakaba Kitarō
Jizô
Jizo is believed to have sworn not to attain Buddhahood, choosing rather to instruct the denizens of six worlds. His decision to postpone his Buddhahood, for the time between Gautama Buddha's death and the arrival of Maitreya Buddha, was also taken in order to empty hell of all its prisoners. Jizo presides over a world that few like to think about. He is the protector of children, especially those who die before their parents. They include mizuko, the souls of aborted, stillborn or miscarried babies
Ten Kings of Hell
Judges of Hell, Ten Kings of Hell, Demons of Hell. Describes the ten judges of hell, who review the behavior of the deceased while s/he was still living, and then send the departed soul back into one of six states of transmigration (reincarnation); introduces the demons who inhabit the lower regions, including the old hag Datsueba (literally "old woman who robs clothes")
"June", speciality magazine
June is the earliest yaoi (BL) magazine, which began in 1978 as a response to the success of commercially published manga
Kibyôshi ("yellowbacks")
Kibyōshi (literally, yellow booklets), picture books in which the image and text are intended to be enjoyed together, flourished in the thirty-one years between 1775 and 1806
Kusôzu (paintings of the nine stages)
Kusôzu, "painting of the nine stages of a decay corpse," emerged in the 13th century, though the Buddhist teaching was introduced in Japan several centuries earlier. Kukai (774- 835), in fact, wrote poems (kusôkanshi) based on the series. The subject is always a woman and in scrolls the images are viewed right to left.
Masaoka Shiki
Masaoka Shiki, pen-name of Masaoka Noboru, was a Japanese poet, author, and literary critic in Meiji period Japan. Shiki is regarded as a major figure in the development of modern haiku poetry. He also wrote on reform of tanka poetry
Lafcadio Hearn
Patrick Lafcadio Hearn, known also by the Japanese name Koizumi Yakumo, was a writer, known best for his books about Japan, especially his collections of Japanese legends and ghost stories, such as Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things
Ukiyo-e
Printed or painted ukiyo-e images of this environment emerged in the late 17th century and were popular with the merchant class, who had become wealthy enough to afford to decorate their homes with them (floating world)
Onbasama/Ubasama
Sekiwaki Ubaido Shrine, known to the locals as "Onba-sama," where women pray for an easy delivery and postpartum health and safety.
Jikkai (ten Buddhist worlds)
Six destinies (rokudō 六道): 1) hells 2) hungry ghosts 3) animals 4)jealous gods (asura) 5)humans 6)gods Ten worlds (jikkai 十界): 1-6 7)sravaka 8)pratyekabuddha 9)bodhisattva 10)buddha
Hokusai manga
The Hokusai Manga is a collection of sketches of various subjects by the Japanese artist Hokusai. Subjects of the sketches include landscapes, flora and fauna, everyday life and the supernatural.
Chi no ike (Blood Bowl Pool)
Women, according to tradition, inevitably fell into this hell due to the evil karma accrued from the dispensing of menstrual blood and blood from childbirth that seeps into the ground and then spoils deities sacred to the native Shinto religion as well as Buddhists deities and monks. Offerings made from water which has been stained by blood (even from soiled clothes that were washed in rivers) in turn, rather than placate the Deity or Buddha, would instead anger them. The promotion of the idea of women being intrinsically polluted and thus absolutely unable to avoid the Blood Pool Hell was promoted primarily by the Soto Zen sect as well as that pollution to be passed onto the activities and purposes of men.
Woodblock print
Woodblock printing is a technique for printing text, images or patterns used widely throughout East Asia and originating in China in antiquity as a method of printing on textiles and later paper -ukiyo-e
Yanagita Kunio
a Japanese scholar and considered the father of Japanese native folkloristics, or minzokugaku
Shasei ("copied from life")
a form of art, realism, copy from life
Taishû engeki
a genre of popular theatre in Japan, frequently described as "light theatre", and compared to forms such as musical theatre and the revue -Samurai dramas, plays set in tokugawa japan Conflict between duty and human feelings Stock characters around yakuza Swordfighting (chanbara) Kabuki elements-onnagata, kata, mie Troops played often by men as female characters??
Oku ka, kaesu ka ("keep or send back?")
a question of the child's fate was a standard query that a midwife would ask after successful delivery. typically did not ask the mother but the mother in law or male household head
Tateyama
a town located in Nakaniikawa District, Toyama Prefecture, Japan
Yakuza
also known as gokudō (極道 "the extreme path", [gokɯdoː]), are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan.
Yaoi manga
contains sexual imagery than Shonen-al, less focus on building a plot, more focus on erotic scenes- a part of BL manga
Inoue Enryô "Yôkai hakase"
examined phenomenon related to Spiritualism and was named "doctor of ghosts"
How would you compare kibyôshi to contemporary manga?
genre of Japanese picture book kusazōshi (草双紙) produced during the middle of the Edo period, from 1775 to the early 19th century. Physically identifiable by their yellow-backed covers, kibyōshi were typically printed in 10 page volumes, many spanning two to three volumes in length, with the average number of total pages being 30.Considered to be the first purely adult comicbook in Japanese literature, a large picture spans each page, with descriptive prose and dialogue filling the blank spaces in the image. manga has steadily become a major part of the Japanese publishing industry. people of all ages read manga. The medium includes works in a broad range of genres: action-adventure, business and commerce, comedy, detective, historical drama, horror, mystery, romance, science fiction and fantasy, sexuality, sports and games, and suspense, among others. Manga stories are typically printed in black-and-white
Takarazuka
he Takarazuka Revue is a Japanese all-female musical theater troupe based in Takarazuka, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan
Amida
is a celestial buddha according to the scriptures of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Amitābha is the principal buddha in Pure Land Buddhism
Buddhist hells
is a term in Hindu and Buddhist cosmology usually referred to in English as "hell" (or "hell realm") or "purgatory". A Naraka differs from the hell of Christianity in two respects: firstly, beings are not sent to Naraka as the result of a divine judgment or punishment; and secondly, the length of a being's stay in a Naraka is not eternal, though it is usually incomprehensibly long, from hundreds of millions to quintillions (1018) of years. A being is born into a Naraka as a direct result of his or her accumulated actions (karma) and resides there for a finite period of time until that karma has achieved its full result. After his or her karma is used up, he or she will be reborn in one of the higher worlds as the result of karma that had not yet ripened.
Man'yôshû
is the oldest existing collection of Japanese poetry, compiled sometime after AD 759 during the Nara period. The anthology is one of the most revered of Japan's poetic compilations
Toryama Sekien
is the pen-name of Sano Toyofusa, an 18th-century scholar, kyōka poet, and ukiyo-e artist of Japanese folklore
Mizuko
literally "water child", is a Japanese term for a dead fetus or, archaically, a dead baby or infant
Folklore
manners, customers, observances, superstitions, ballads, proverbs & of the olden time
Ge ge ge no Kitarô/Habaka Kitarô
originally known as Kitarō of the Graveyard (墓場鬼太郎 Hakaba Kitarō), is a manga series created in 1960 by Shigeru Mizuki. It is best known for its popularization of the folklore creatures known as yōkai, a class of spirit-monster to which all of the main characters belong. This story was an early 20th-century Japanese folk tale performed on kamishibai
Mu'enbotoko
spirit without connection to the living
Kannon
the Goddess of Mercy (Avalokiteshvara), is an extremely popular deity in Japan and is represented in many forms
Torii
the gateway of a Shinto shrine, with two uprights and two crosspieces
Katsushika Hokusai
was a Japanese artist, ukiyo-e painter and printmaker of the Edo period.[1] Born in Edo (now Tokyo), Hokusai is best known as author of the woodblock print series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (富嶽三十六景 Fugaku Sanjūroku-kei, c. 1831) which includes the internationally iconic print, The Great Wave off Kanagawa
Hyaku monogatari kaidan kai
was a popular didactic Buddhist-inspired parlour game during the Edo period in Japan The game was played as night fell upon the region using three separate rooms. In preparation, participants would light 100 andon in the third room and position a single mirror on the surface of a small table. When the sky was at its darkest, guests gathered in the first of the three rooms, taking turns orating tales of ghoulish encounters and reciting folkloric tales passed on by villagers who claimed to have experienced supernatural encounters. These tales soon became known as kaidan. Upon the end of each kaidan, the story-teller would enter the third room and extinguished one andon, look in the mirror and make their way back to the first room. With each passing tale, the room slowly grew darker and darker as the participants reached the one hundredth tale, creating a safe haven for the evocation of spirits. However, as the game reached the ninety-ninth tale, many participants would stop, fearful of invoking the spirits they had been summoning
Abe no Seimei
was an onmyōji, a leading specialist of onmyōdō during the middle of the Heian period in Japan.[2] In addition to his prominence in history, he is a legendary figure in Japanese folklore and has been portrayed in a number of stories and films. Seimei worked as onmyōji for emperors and the Heian government, making calendars and advising on the spiritually correct way to deal with issues (Onmyōdō is a traditional Japanese esoteric cosmology, a mixture of natural science and occultism)
Matsuo Bashô
was the most famous poet of the Edo period in Japan. During his lifetime, Bashō was recognized for his works in the collaborative haikai no renga form; today, after centuries of commentary, he is recognized as the greatest master of haiku
