Japan Studies Review
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JAPAN STUDIES REVIEW Volume Thirteen 2009 Interdisciplinary Studies of Modern Japan Steven Heine Editor John A. Tucker Book Review Editor Editorial Board Yumiko Hulvey, University of Florida John Maraldo, Emeritus, University of North Florida Laura Nenzi, Florida International University Mark Ravina, Emory University Ann Wehmeyer, University of Florida Brian Woodall, Georgia Institute of Technology Copy and Production Christina Donahue Jennifer Garcia Joanna Garcia Liettel Ortega Jane Marie Russell Anna Scharnagl JAPAN STUDIES REVIEW VOLUME THIRTEEN 2009 A publication of Florida International University and the Southern Japan Seminar CONTENTS Editor’s Introduction i Re: Subscriptions, Submissions and Comments iii ARTICLES The Triviality of a Pop Song: How Murakami’s Characters Overcome Detachedness Christopher Mihalo 3 The Healing Process in Two Religious Worlds Leila Marrach Basto de Albuquerque 25 Ganguro in Japanese Youth Culture: Self-Identity in Cultural Conflict Xuexin Liu 51 The Soka Gakkai in Cambodia Daniel A. Métraux 71 Why Did Japan Fail to Achieve Full-Fledged Democracy before World War II? – An Analysis of Class Relations and Forces Using Marxian Class Theories Yukio Yotsumoto 91 New Trends in the Production of Japanese Ladies’ Comics: Diversification and Catharsis Kinko Ito 111 Disaster-Relief Confucian-Style: Ninomiya Sontoku’s Philosophical Approach to Late-Tokugawa Poverty John A. Tucker 131 Sacred Pariahs: Hagiographies of Alterity, Sexuality, and Salvation in Atomic Bomb Literature Yuki Miyamoto 149 FEATURED ESSAY Dōgen and Plato on Literature and Enlightenment Carol S. Gould 169 BOOK REVIEWS Full Metal Apache: Transactions between Cyberpunk Japan and Avant-Pop America By Takayuki Tatsumi Reviewed by Natsuki Fukunaga 187 Hip-Hop Japan: Rap and the Paths of Cultural Globalization By Ian Condry Reviewed by Xuexin Liu 189 Japanese Prayer Below the Equator: How Brazilians Believe in the Church of World Messianity By Hideaki Matsuoka Reviewed by Daniel A. Métraux 192 Searching for Home Abroad: Japanese Brazilians and Transnationalism By Jeffrey Lesser, ed. Reviewed by Reviewed by Ronan A. Pereira 194 Before Internment: Essays in Prewar Japanese American History By Yuji Ichioka Reviewed by Daniel A. Métraux 199 CONTRIBUTORS/EDITORS EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION Welcome to the thirteenth volume of the Japan Studies Review (JSR), an annual peer-reviewed journal sponsored by the joint efforts of the Institute for Asian Studies at Florida International University and the Southern Japan Seminar. JSR continues to be both an outlet for publications related to Southern Japan Seminar events and a journal that encourages submissions from a wide range of scholars in the field. Appearing in this issue are eight articles covering a variety of issues in Japanese studies. The first article, titled “The Triviality of a Pop Song: How Murakami’s Characters Overcome Detachedness,” is by Christopher Mihalo. He follows the main character, Toru, and details the events that lead to his ultimate reentry into society. The second article, “The Healing Processes in Two Religious Worlds,” is written by Leila Marrach Basto de Albuquerque. She examines the use of hands for religious healing, as seen in the laying-on of hands (or passe), and with the Johrei Messianic technique. Following this, the third article is “Ganguro in Japanese Youth Culture: Self-Identity in Cultural Conflict” by Xuexin Liu. She explains the results of a study about the ganguro phenomenon among Japanese youth. Liu explains the urban fashion trend’s various roots in African-American hip-hop culture, as well as the concept of “black face” as a counterculture against Japanese notions of propriety, gender roles, and cultural identity. On a different note, the fourth article is “The Soka Gakkai in Cambodia,” written by Daniel A. Métraux. This article examines the modern trajectory of the Japanese New Religious movement Soka Gakkai in Cambodia after the fall of the Khmer Rouge in 1979. Métraux discusses the small but growing number of Cambodians that are turning to Soka Gakkai, an imported Buddhist sect, rather than native Khmer Buddhism. The fifth article, “Why Did Japan Fail to Achieve Full-Fledged Democracy before World War II? – An Analysis of Class Relations and Forces Using Marxian Class Theories,” is by Yukio Yotsumoto. She presents various theories of democratization against the backdrop of Japan’s prewar labor conditions. Yotsumoto argues class relations and labor conditions did not allow democracy to fully develop until after World War II. The sixth article, “New Trends in the Production of Japanese Ladies’ Comics: Diversification and Catharsis” by Kinko Ito explores the ii various types of ladies’ comics in Japan and gives great insight into this fascinating world. The seventh article, “Disaster-Relief Confucian-Style: Ninomiya Sontoku's Philosophical Approach to Late-Tokugawa Poverty” is written by John A. Tucker. This article mostly focuses on 19th century Japanese agricultural leader, philosopher, moralist and economist, Ninomiya Kinjirō, and his belief on how the Daigaku’s philosophy should be applied to better society. The last article, “Sacred Pariahs: Hagiographies of Alterity, Sexuality, and Salvation in Atomic Bomb Literature” is by Yuki Miyamoto. She gives many compelling reasons and examples of how the Yumechiyo, an A-bomb survivor, is portrayed as a pariah the television drama Yumechiyo Nikki, or the Diary of Yumechiyo. This year’s issue also includes one essay, “Dōgen and Plato on Literature and Enlightenment” by Carol S. Gould, who argues that both Plato and Dōgen are iconoclasts in their respective philosophical realms who ask similar questions about self-reference and identity. By examining Dōgen’s Genjokōan and Plato’s Theatetus and Symposium, Gould concludes that the differences between Dōgen and Plato lie primarily in the cultural values of their times. Lastly, this volume includes five book reviews. Takayuki Tatsumi’s analysis of U.S.-Japanese relations through postmodern science fiction is reviewed by Natsuki Fukunaga of Marshall University. Ian Condry’s exploration of hip-hop Japan is reviewed by Xuexin Liu of Spelman College. Hideaki Matsuoka’s reflection about the growth of the Church of World Messianity in Brazil and other Japanese new religions is offered to us by Daniel A. Métraux of Mary Baldwin College. Jeffrey Lesser’s collection of scholarly writings about ethnicity and identity issues of migrants with Japanese ancestry in Brazil and Japan is presented by Ronan A. Pereira of the Brazil-based Universidade Estadual Paulista. Lastly, Yuji Ichioka’s overview of Japanese-American history in the 1920s and 1930s is also reviewed by Daniel A. Métraux of Mary Baldwin College. Steven Heine iii Re: Submissions, Subscriptions, and Comments Submissions for publication, whether articles, essays, or book reviews, should be made in both hard copy and electronic formats, preferably Word for Windows on a disk or CD (please inquire about other formats). The editor and members of the editorial board will referee all submissions. Annual subscriptions are $25.00 (US). Please send a check or money order payable to Florida International University to: c/o Steven Heine, Professor of Religious Studies and History Director of the Institute for Asian Studies Florida International University University Park Campus, DM 300 B Miami, FL 33199 Professor Heine’s office number is 305-348-1914. Faxes should be sent to 305-348-6586 and emails sent to [email protected]. Visit our website at http://asianstudies.fiu.edu/page.php?c=eg_jsr. PDF versions of past volumes are available online. All comments and feedback on the publications appearing in Japan Studies Review are welcome. ISSN: 1550-0713 Articles THE TRIVIALITY OF A POP SONG: HOW MURAKAMI’S CHARACTERS OVERCOME DETACHEDNESS Christopher Mihalo Creighton University After returning from Princeton in what was his first extended stay in the United States, Japanese author Haruki Murakami witnessed two tragic events in native Japan. On January 17, 1995 a massive earthquake registering 7.2 on the Richter scale shook Kobe, thus killing over 6,000 people and causing major damage to the city itself. Shortly after this in March, the terrorist group AUM Shinryko attacked the train system of Japan by releasing deadly sarin gas onto various lines causing over 5,000 people to seek medical attention. This incident marked the first time any major terrorist activity had occurred within Japan since World War II, and still stands today as the most severe broad attack on the nation.1 When one considers these two events in relation to one another, an immediate link between the two incidents seems hard to make. After all, one was an unforeseeable natural disaster and the other a premeditated attack. The only common theme one can formulate between these events is that regardless of a reason, terrible, almost meaningless violence occurs, and there is nothing an average person can do to prepare himself for such events. Unsurprisingly, Murakami became intrigued with these attacks and went on to write Underground, a collection of essays pertaining to the sarin gas attacks. Murakami’s first formal return to the romantically-driven novel came as Sputnik Sweetheart, in which critics like Michael Fisch see him finally offering some solution to the detachment his characters in past novels have experienced.2 Rather than conclude that violent events prevented communication, Murakami extrapolates upon the idea that people 1Jay Rubin, Haruki Murakami and the Music of Words (London: Harvill Press, 2002), p. 239. 2Murakami Haruki Sputnik Sweetheart, trans. Philip Gabriel (New York: Vintage Books, 2001). Michael Fisch, “In Search of the Real: Technology, Shock, and Language in Murakami Haruki’s Sputnik Sweetheart,” Japan Forum 16 (2004): 361-383. Commercialization 4 CHRISTOPHER MIHALO really can relate on more than a superficial linguistic level, but only after experiencing some sort of shock, after which a person is able to understand another’s condition. Instead of living in realities constructed for a small number of people detached from society, one can live in a community with others.