SPECIAL THEME: JAPANESE CINEMA AND YOUTH CULTURE

Issue 31 News and Re views Winter 2009

A PUBLICATION OF THE ASIAN EDUCATIONAL MEDIA SERVICE I CENTER FOR EAST ASIAN AND PACIFIC STUDIES I UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN

multi-dimensional, human actors living in com - plex time s—in this case during the end of World War I I—a central purpose of teaching social studies. On a more personal level, the film shows not just the process of breaking down sim - plified, perhaps glorified views of adult relatives (something teenagers often do with incredible skill), but shows how replacing this image with a more complex and even flawed understanding can

. lead to respect rather than cynicism. C N I Morimoto anchors the film around interviews , S

E that are, at times, painfully honest with R

U four surviving kamikaze pilots as well as T C I

P with survivors from the USS Drexler , sunk D

O by a kamikaze attack. These interviews are O

W combined with historical footage from E

G World War II, as well as additional interviews D E with historians and Morimoto’s family mem - bers in Osaka, with voiceover narration by Wings of Defeat Morimoto. These aspects of the film introduce I Wings of Defeat. Directed by Risa Morimoto. 2007. 90 minutes the larger historical narrative without resorting (full-length) or 56 minutes (abbreviated, educator version). In English to the preachy tone of an educational documen - and Japanese with English subtitles. tary that often causes half the students in a class I Wings of Defeat: Another Journey. Directed by Risa Morimoto. 2008. to tune out while also implying a single, authoritative master 39 minutes. In English and Japanese with English subtitles. “All Planes Now Kamikaze,” reads a Japanese poster narrative that cannot be contra - or teenagers, film can humanize history in a ing images: kamikaze pilots sink from the last months of dicted. Morimoto’s family’s World War II. Fmanner difficult to emulate in other mediums. an American ship; six American contrasting interpretations It can also help students (or adults, for that mat - survivors of kamikaze attacks remi - continued on page 7 ter) move beyond the visceral reactions they have nisce; US propaganda posters depict Japanese as to certain famous historical animals; a Japanese man poses with a teddy bear REVIEW figures and events based on for a snapshot. Risa Morimoto, the film’s director preconceived notions. Few and narrator, sets out to reconcile the conflicting people or events in Japanese history come packed images she hold s— those of the kamikaze as fanat- Contents with more emotional baggage and less humanity ical terrorists she internalized as a child in Long From the Editor ...... 2 for Americans than the famous (or even infamous) Island with those of her late Uncle Toshio, the How to Contact AEMS ...... 2 kamikaze pilots of World War II. A pair of docu - teddy-bear-clinging, middle-aged man in the mentary films, Wings of Defeat and Wings of photo who, she has learned, once trained to be a and 101: A Primer for Defeat: Another Journey , put a human face on both kamikaze pilot. the Confused or Curious ...... 5 these pilots and the men in the ships they attacked Aside from the obvious historical lessons about Reviews: in a sophisticated and accessible manner with World War II, the premise of the film provides Wings of Defeat ...... 1 many potential uses in the classroom. Other than two lessons about imagery that are central to the Josee, the Tiger, and the Fish ...... 3 Ivan Morris’ classic depiction of kamikaze pilots in larger education we all wish to provide our stu - The Taste of Tea ...... 4 Nobility of Failure , no source in English has been dents. On the intellectual level, the film illustrates Train Man ...... 6 produced that portrays the kamikaze pilots as real the importance of questioning and moving beyond Distributors in this Issue ...... 8 people more effectively than Wings of Defeat. the stock images we have of historical events and Wings of Defeat opens with a series of contrast - of understanding the individuals in those events as FROM THE EDITOR

The Asian Educational Media Service (AEMS) is a pro - e open 2009 with a look at Japan through the prism of youth, with reviews of three recent gram of the Center for East Asian and Pacific Studies WJapanese feature films exploring what it means to be young in Japan today, one documentary at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). Our mission is to help educators at all levels, film on Japanese youth of a very different era, and an essay on anime and manga, one of the best known from elementary through college, find multimedia products of Japanese youth culture. resources for learning and teaching about Asia to This focus emerges from our sixth annual Asian Film Festival. On October 3– 5, 2008, AEMS, promote understanding of Asian peoples and cultures. together with the Center for East Asian and Pacific Studies here at the University of Illinois, hosted a Our free services include: three-day film festival in downtown Champaign, Illinois, centered on the theme “Young in Japan.” I News and Reviews, published three times a year; I An online database of audiovisual materials; A diverse Illinois audience of over 1,000 attended the nine screenings and 16 teachers participated in a I Reference service; workshop on Wings of Defeat with Gary Mukai (SPICE, Stanford University) and Roger Purdy (John I Educator workshops on teaching with film; Carroll University). For more information, including a downloadable program book, visit the AEMS I Lesson plans, streaming video, film website : www.aems.uiuc.ed u/event s/filmfestival/filmfest_2008.html. recommendations and other web resources; I A lending library for local educators This issue of our newsletter is an opportunity to share the success of our Asian Film Festival 2008 with a much broader audience. The films we screened were selected from a pool of dozens in a process Please contact us to be added to the mailing list, or for back issues and extra copies of this newsletter. that took many months by a faculty Asian Educational Media Service committee, together with AEMS staff: 805 W. Pennsylvania Avenue Robert Cagle (Cinema Studies, University Urbana, Illinois 61801 USA of Illinois), David Goodman (East Asian www.aems.uiuc.edu Languages and Cultures, University of aem [email protected] Illinois) and Jinhee Lee (History, Eastern 1-888-828-AEMS (1-888-828-2367) Fax: 217-265-0641 Illinois University). To their expertise and good judgment, we add that of our AEMS is funded with generous support from the reviewers. Freeman Foundation. Robert Fish leads us off with a review of Advisory Board the extraordinary documentary on World Lucien Ellington, Editor, Education About Asia; War II kamikaze pilots and their legacy, UC Foundation Professor, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Wings of Defeat. We were privileged to host Karl G. Heider, Professor of Anthropology, University the filmmakers, Risa Morimoto and Linda of South Carolina Hoaglund, in May to lead sessions at our Ellen C.K. Johnson, Professor, College of DuPage Digital Asia Workshop and were deeply Laurel Kendall, Curator, Asian Ethnographic Collections, impressed by both their filmmaking and American Museum of Natural History; Adjunct Professor of Anthropology, Columbia University their teaching. Karen Nakamura brings her Gary Mukai, Director, Stanford Program on expertise on the disabled in Japan to bear International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE) on the unusual love story, Josee, the Tiger David W. Plath, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology and and the Fish. Critically acclaimed in its East Asian Languages and Cultures, UIUC limited U.S. release, The Taste of Tea is Alwyn Spies, Assistant Professor of Japanese, University of British Columbia-Okanagan reviewed by Tim Engles, with special atten - tion to its appeal to middle and high school University Committee students. Rachel Lenz, with her review Nancy Abelmann, Professor of Anthropology Reviews from our 2007 and East Asian Languages and Cultures, UIUC of Train Man and its place in the “Densha Southeast Asian film festival Ramona Curry, Associate Professor, English, Cinema phenomenon,” and Paul Dunscomb, with his overview are now online. Pictured here Studies, and Women’s Studies, UIUC of the origins and history of anime and manga, orient us are scenes from the Thai comedy Citizen Dog, directed Clark E. Cunningham, Professor Emeritus of to the world of Japanese popular culture, so familiar by Wisit Sasanatieng. Anthropology, UIUC to so many of our students. Poshek Fu, Director, Center for East Asian and Pacific Studies, and Professor of History, Cinema Studies On the AEMS website , we have recently published… and East Asian Languages and Culture, UIUC Kimiko Gunji, Director, Japan House, UIUC Under the Publications tab: Jacquetta Hill, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology • New reviews of films from our Asian Film Festival 2007 , which focused on Southeast Asia: and Educational Psychology, UIUC Jin-hee Lee, Assistant Professor of History, Eastern Illinois —Out of Poison Tree , a documentary about Cambodia’s recovery from the Khmer Rouge University genocide, reviewed by Judy Ledgerwood, and Robert S. Petersen, Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts, —Citizen Dog , a surreal Thai comedy poking fun at urban life, reviewed by Ellen Boccuzzi. Eastern Illinois University Ronald Toby, Professor of History and East Asian • A review by Stacey Gross of Learning from Asian Art: Korea, an online curriculum kit from the Languages and Cultures, UIUC Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Staff Under the Other Resources tab: Program Directo r/ Editor: Tanya S. Lee Assistant Program Director: Susan Norris • New current events pages on The Mumbai Terrorist Attacks, Asian Reactions to the U.S. Elections, Events Coordinator: Jason Finkelman and HIV in Asia. I Graduate Student Assistants: Rachel Lenz and —Tanya Lee, Editor Jennifer Veile

DESIGN: EVELYN C. SHAPIRO when they found out their baby had a physical dis - ability, so the notion of a grandmother who is too embarrassed to acknowledge her granddaughter’s existence to her neighbors is not a stretch. It should be mentioned, though, that while the familial and employment circumstances for people with disabilities are bleak, the environment for social services and political rights in contemporary Japan could not be better. People with disabilities (physical, intellectual, and psychosocial) in Japan

. receive a considerable range of social welfare bene - C N I fits, from a generous disability pension to full-time , T

N personal attendant support. People with physical E

M disabilities in the United States do not receive N I

A anywhere near the same level of support by the T R

E government. T N

E Unfortunately there is very little contemporary E

C material in English that could supplement this film A K

I for use in the classroom. The best book for stu - M

S dents might be Hirotada Ototake’s 1998 autobiog - A raphy titled No One’s Perfect (translated by Gerry Josee, the Tiger, and the Fish Harcourt and published by Interna- tional) , which describes the author’s life growing (Joze to tora to sakana tachi) up without any arms or legs in contemporary I Directed by Isshin Inudo. 2003. 116 minutes. In Japanese with English subtitles. Japan. This inspiring and accessible book was a bestseller in Japan, topping the charts for months. osee, the Tiger and the Fish is a film about an incident. He has almost forgotten about her when But it provides little historical or social context, Junlikely love story. Tsuneo, a young and rather he hears that her grandmother has passed away and and so does not give a broader view of what it self-centered college student, stumbles into an old that Kumiko is struggling to live alone. He rushes means to live with physical disabilities in Japan. lady pushing a decrepit baby carriage, and finds a back to her house and they cement their long- Josee is recommended only for college-age audi - young woman inside who turns out to be the repressed feelings for each other by consummating ences because of scenes with nudity, sexual inter - elderly woman’s disabled granddaughter. The pair their relationship. The film avoids a happily-ever- course, gambling, smoking, and violence. Many of lives nearby in a small, dilapidated house in a very after ending however, masterfully pulling together the characters speak in heavy Osaka dialect, which poor Osaka neighborhood. various threads from the beginning and middle of may be difficult even for advanced language stu - The old woman’s granddaughter, Kumiko, was the film and revealing Kumiko’s emotional growth dents though English subtitles are available. The born without the use of her legs. Her grandmother and strength of character. film was beautifully shot on location in Osaka takes her out before dawn each day in the covered Josee, the Tiger, and the Fish is based on a novel with remarkable detail paid to the richness and baby carriage as she is embarrassed by Kumiko’s of the same name by Seiko Tanabe (b. 1928), a vitality of the various neighborhoods. The film condition and does not want the neighbors to prolific and well-known author with over eighty immerses us in the life and color of Osaka while it know of her disabled grandchild. Aside from this books to her name, but unfortunately none in beautifully unfolds a moving coming-of-age story, daily walk, Kumiko never leaves the house. She English translation. Her stories usually center on a true modern classic. I has not attended school and everything she knows the ups and downs of life in the Osaka area of she has learned from books and magazines that Japan where she lives, and her characters are Karen Nakamura is an assistant professor of her grandmother scavenged from her neighbors’ famous for speaking in heavy Kansai dialect. First anthropology at Yale University. Her first book, garbage piles. published in 1985, Josee is Tanabe’s only book in Deaf in Japan: Signing and the Politics of Identity Despite her limited contact with the outside her career of over fifty years that deals directly with (Cornell University Press, 2006) was awarded the world, Kumiko is a gifted cook and Tsuneo finds the topic of disability. Not many readers know that John Whitney Hall Book Prize in Japanese Studies. himself returning day after day to enjoy her meals, Tanabe herself has a mobility impairment, but this She is currently working on issues surrounding bringing Kumiko and her grandmother groceries must surely have colored her impressions of life mental illness in Japan. as an excuse to visit. He is attracted to her aura of with disabilities in Japan, especially growing up in Josee, the Tiger, and the Fish is available on mystery, her wit, and her obvious intelligence. the pre-War period. DVD, Region-2 only, from YesAsia. Price is Well-read and imaginative, Kumiko calls herself Perhaps because of this, Josee is a rather dark $34.25 for purchase. “Josée” after the heroine of a story by French portrayal of life with disabilities. Kumiko is shel - author François Sagan. On one occasion, Tsuneo tered from the world and never allowed to grow Recommended Reading takes Kumiko outside during daylight hours to up until she meets Tsuneo. While it may seem Ototake, Hirotada. 2000. No One’s Perfect. New roam around town. They return at night to an unrealistic to American viewers, the broader lines York: Kodansha International. The autobiogra - outraged grandmother who calls Kumiko “dam - of Kumiko’s life story resonate with those of peo - phy of a young Japanese man born without aged goods” and is embarrassed that her neighbors ple with disabilities whom I have talked with in arms or legs, who has become an activist for might have seen her in public. Japan. I have come across many parents who had the rights of the disabled. Tsuneo doesn’t see Kumiko for a while after this seriously contemplated joint parent-child suicide

www.aems.uiuc.edu 3 All of the actors exhibit a casual, natural grace that enhances the film’s own dream-like atmos - phere, and even the minor actors avoid descent into stereotypical, stock characters. The film also stays with individuals for extended periods of time, allowing viewers to get to a solid sense of their per - sonalities and situations. Again, surreal special effects intriguingly invite interpretation of these inner state s— in addition to the giant version of herself that stalks Sachiko, pink trees shed their leaves in a beautiful suggestion of a snowstorm, a train emerges from Hajime’s forehead and travels skyward, and much more. Since the film pays close attention to the dynamics of this family, instructors could use it to discuss where the Haruno family matches and differs from familial trends in contemporary Japa n. . C How common is it, for instance, for three genera- N I ,

S tions of one family to live under one roof, or for E

R the woman to have a professional career, or for U T

C members of what Americans call the “extended I P

Z family” to live with a related I V “nuclear family” for long periods of time? The Taste of Tea (Cha no aji) The one drawback some might have with classroom I Directed by Katsuhito Ishii. 2004. 143 minutes. use of this film is its length, In Japanese with English subtitles. 143 minutes. Nevertheless, The Taste of Tea has been ritten and directed by relative newcomer absurd poses hailed by many critics as a Katsuhito Ishii and the winner of multiple for Yoshiko’s W contemporary masterpiece international film awards, The Taste of Tea is a artistic efforts, of Japanese cinema, and its relaxed, meandering introduction to the members in between eccentric, gently humorous of the Haruno family, who live in a rural setting secret sessions humanism has made each just outside of contemporary . With the of devoted subsequent effort by the help of dazzling and appropriately surreal imagery, attention to his young writer and director, Katsuhito Ishii, a highly Ishii externalizes the internal lives of his characters, own creative efforts and, we eventually realize, anticipated event. One final indication that this eventually tying their stories together into a heartrending preparations for his own impend- film will resonate with students: readers of the poignant celebration of family love and the indi - ing demise. popular Internet Movie Database (imdb.com), vidual pursuit of dreams. The Taste of Tea is a rich, multigenerational many of whom are younger movie viewers, rate Ishii’s effort to explore inner states is coyly sug - family portrait suitable for students of any age. this film highly; a 7.9 on a 10-point scale may not gested by the parents’ occupation s— Nabuo, the Middle and high school students will appreciate sound stellar, but at this site, it’s a very high rating. father, is a clinical hypnotist who occasionally the extended, sympathetic attention Ishii pays to I practices on his family, the inner and emotional and Yoshiko, the mother, struggles of the two child is a professional animator …a rich, multigenera - protagonists, as well as the Tim Engles is an associate professor of English trying to revive her career. extremely artful fantasy ele - at Eastern Illinois University. He teaches writing Their young daughter, tional family portrait ments, which help to suggest and multicultural American literature courses, and Sachiko, is literally these inner states. Students his primary area of interest is Critical Whiteness overshadowed by a giant suitable for students could be encouraged to Studies. He has also worked as a journalist in version of her alter ego discuss or write about such Turkey, and as an instructor of conversational looming on her horizons, of any age. moments in their own lives, English in South Korea. while her older brother, or to compare this film’s The Taste of Tea is available on DVD from Hajime, struggles to make portrayal of them to those in . Price is $24.98 for purchase. friends at school and to attract the attention of the other films. The film also contains a good deal of proverbial girl of his dreams. Uncle Ayano drops psychological and symbolic depth that lends itself in on the family for some rehab after his own to substantive analysis by high-school and college- battles with love, while grandfather Akira strikes level students.

4 www.aems.uiuc.edu ESSAY Anime and Manga 101: A Primer for the Confused or Curious

apan’s brush with global economic elements of manga with New Treasure the 1960s inaugurating a long line of anime com - Jleadership ended with Island in 1947, not just character ing to American shores. Notably many of these the bursting of the “Bubble design but also complex story lines early shows like Speed Racer , Gigantor (Ironman Economy” and its descent and a cinematic visual style. Tezuka 28) , and Starblazers (Space Battleship Yamato) lost into the trough of the Lost went on to produce nearly 500 manga much of their “Japaneseness,” passing as ordinary Decade (about 1992–2003). over his prolific career, essentially creating TV cartoons without a distinctive Japanese prove - Meanwhile, the rise of China the industry in the process. nance; this is somewhat true even today. often makes one forget that While much of Tezuka’s early output was The real career of manga and anime as Japan remains the world’s second largest economy. targeted specifically at boys and girls, he, along distinctly Japanese export products started in the Yet in the realm of popular culture, especially with many other artists, late 1980s with the visual culture, Japan’s influence remains quite pro - worked in other venues The person most responsible small but important nounced. In art and even live action film, the in the 1950 s— in par - commercial and critical aesthetics of anime (animated video series and ticular, the more adult- for developing the successes of Otomo films) and manga (graphic novels) exert a powerful oriented Red Books, so Katsuhiro’s Akira and influence throughout the world. How did this called for the red ink distinctive look of anime Miyazaki Hayao’s come about? What are the origins of this powerful used for printing the My Neighbor Totoro . medium that more and more defines the interna - cheap, disposable, small and manga is the so-called They were followed by tional image of Japan? format books. Indeed, the rise of a modest Because popular culture plays such a role in the many struggling “god of manga and anime,” but devoted sub-culture accretion of so-called “soft power” for Japan (that kamishibai artists lent creating a videotape is, influence delivered through culture and ideol- their talents to the Red Tezuka Osamu. and later DVD market ogy rather than through coercion), the Japanese Book industry. In fact, for TV series such government has begun to celebrate manga and the Red Books, with as Ranma 1/2 and anime as their nation’s unique contribution to their grown-up themes and more mature story Urusei Yatsura that didn’t necessarily have any global culture and have insisted that both of these lines, created a specific genre of manga popular broadcast exposure. are ultimately derived from through the 1960s called gekiga, or Only as anime, and later manga, became suc - Japan’s rich pre-modern visual dramatic pictures. Gekiga was signif - cessful export commodities did the Japanese gov - culture, notably woodblock icant in the development of manga ernment embrace it as a unique cultural product prints. This claim should be con - as a medium not simply because and try to assert its connection to traditional sidered skeptically. Manga and it was the breeding ground for tal - Japanese visual arts. Certainly when the govern - anime are primarily postwar ented illustrators, but also because ment trumpets anime as an important contributor phenomena growing out of the it established most of the conven - to global culture it would much prefer to talk unique circumstances of the tions that underpin the adult manga about the works of Miyazaki Haya o— whose films postwar era. Perhaps the one industry even today (adult, in this Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away have received carryover from prewar visual arts case simply means a target demo - international acclai m— than, say, Cutey Honey , the is kamishibai , or picture card graphic of males aged 1 5– 40, plucky magical girl whose clothing rarely seems to shows, a form of performance although a significant portion of survive her battles with evil to save the world. Yet art where a narrator tells a story manga is dedicated to women and in volume if not in quality, it’s the likes of using a series of drawings placed girls of similar age). Pokemon and Yu-gi-oh (which exist essentially as on a screen. Highly popular in Two of Tezuka’s early manga extended ads for games), Dragonball Z and Naruto , wartime Japan, this medium were the first to be converted to the young ninja in training who is presently the included its own serialized stories. anime: Mighty Atom, Japan’s first idol of high school children nationwide, that really Kamishibai remained one of the black-and-white anime series in dominate Japan’s output. most popular and cheapest visual 1963, and Jungle Emperor, the While opportunities to encounter anime and arts of the harsh occupation peri - first color series in 1965. Tezuka’s manga have grown exponentially in the United od after the war and many figures exampl e— and commercial States over the last two decades, they still represent who went on to become famous succes s— set the basic pattern for only the tiniest fraction of the total output of manga artists got their start as much of the anime industry. Almost the industry in Japan. Moreover, because here in kamishibai illustrators. inevitably, popular manga series America anime and manga are primarily aimed The person most responsible would make the leap to anime. at a devoted teenage fan base, it’s hard to appreci - for developing the distinctive Tezuka also gets credit for ate the full range of stories available in Japan, look of anime and manga is the anime’s earliest global forays when from family sitcoms, detective stories, and so-called “god of manga and anime,” Tezuka Mighty Atom (Astroboy) and Jungle Emperor romances, to stories centering on cooking, wine, Osamu. Tezuka established many of the critical (Kimba the White Lion) were broadcast on NBC in continued on page 8

www.aems.uiuc.edu 5 Train Man (Densha otoko) I Directed by Murakami Shosuke. 2005. 105 minutes. In Japanese with English subtitles.

nime, manga, video game s— these are the school aged girls in the late 1980s, creating an irra - “novel,” a book that collected the purportedly real- Alegacy Japan is leaving in the hands of today’s tional panic about all otaku. Despite the seemingly life story of a 23-year-old Japanese otaku as told youth. Countless American students from elemen - insurmountable obstacle that is the otaku’s stereo - through postings on the popular online forum tary through graduate school have grown up with - . The book was quickly carried over into in this Japanophilic fan-culture and many have at In America, a fan, even an numerous genres including four separate manga least a casual familiarity with the Japanese fan - (graphic novel) series, an anime (animated TV bas e— some go so far as to proudly claim the title obsessive one, of anime and series), a television drama, and of course, the film. “otaku ” (an obsessive fan of anime, manga, and/or While the movie differs somewhat from the origi - video games). But what they may not know is how manga is simply considered nal story (certain plot elements were changed for far beyond the standard American “geek” arche - dramatic effect), it is nevertheless credited with type the word “otaku” goes, or just how much quirky if he or she draws the widespread success of the franchise and more Japanese society looks down upon otaku and oth - importantly, a marked change in the way otaku are ers who live outside the lines. attention at all. But in Japan, viewed in Japanese society. In America, a fan, even an obsessive one, of “Densha,” the protagonist in Densha otoko anime and manga is simply considered quirky if he otaku are looked upon (dubbed for his screen name on 2channel), is or she draws attention at all. But in Japan, otaku nothing like the serial killer who gave otaku a bad are looked upon as social outcasts, incapable of as social outcasts, incapable name. Instead he is a shy, marginalized young man functioning within the mainstream and unable to ill-equipped to deal with social situations, who form relationships with anyone outside their own of functioning within the acts on instinct to defend a group of women from kind, interacting solely with pictures and com- a drunk on a train and gradually overcomes his puter screens. There is an entire genre of renai mainstream. ineffectualness to find romance with one of them. (also called “dating simulation”) games that cater “Densha” is no murderer, but neither is he the to male otaku and allow them to pretend to suave lady-killer one finds so often on the screen. engage in relationship s— sexual and otherwis e— typical image, Murakami Shosuke’s 2005 film, He is vulnerable, flawed, more than a little unsure with two-dimensional “girls” since they are inca - Densha otoko (Train Man ) forced Japanese society of himself, and this is the magic of the Densha pable of doing so with someone real. The opening to reexamine its opinion of otaku and the resulting otoko franchise: it humanizes otaku. “Densha” isn’t of Densha otoko merely hints at the contempt and media phenomenon has exposed this much- an archetype or a caricature; he is a person with invisibility encountered by otaku in Japan, a nega - ridiculed but often misunderstood subculture to faults and desires simply trying to find his way in tive public image that is compounded by a serial the world. an uncertain world where technology increasingly killer named Miyazaki Tsutomu (aka “the Otaku The Densha otoko (Train Man ) phenomenon takes the place of face-to-face communication. Killer”) who raped and murdered four elementary began in Japan in 2004 with the release of the continued on next page

6 www.aems.uiuc.edu Wings of Defeat Morimoto and write r/ producer Linda continued from page 1 Hoagland followed up Wings of Defeat with the Robert Fish is Director of Education and moving, if not quite as tightly edited film Wings of Lecture Programs at Japan Society, where he also of the image of kamikaze pilots among Japanese Defeat: Another Journey, in which two survivors serves as editor-in-chief of the website About Japan: effectively illustrate the diversity of opinion in from the USS Drexler visit Japan to meet former A Teacher’s Resource (aboutjapan.japansociety.org). Japan regarding memories of the war. It is the kamikaze pilots. This film makes it clear that many Prior to his current position, Fish served as an interviews with four former kamikaze pilots, how - of the most painful and long-lasting wounds of assistant professor of history at Indiana State ever, that are the core of the film. war are not physical but psychological. The octoge - University and has also taught social studies at the While either the full or 56-minute education narian veterans of World War II from both sides secondary school level. version of the film can be used effectively in its of the Pacific poignantly express the pain they still HOW TO PURCHASE: Wings of Defeat is avail - entirety, many teachers may choose to use only feel from the war: an American naval veteran tear - able in both versions on DVD from New Day excerpts. Fortunately, with proper contextualiza - fully suggests, “Let’s let the burden go. I can’t live Media. Price for the DVD is $295/$165 for insti - tion, Wings of Defeat lends itself to excerpted use to like this anymore,” while a Japanese kamikaze tutions and $24.95 for individuals. The educator teach specific lessons. A number of particularly veteran sympathizes with the pain of his former version is also available from SPICE (Stanford poignant (and teachable) moments from the film enemy remembering fallen colleagues, “It’s the Program on International and Cross-cultural stand out. For example, about forty-nine minutes same for us. All our buddies were in their twen - Education) for $69.95. A teacher’s guide , written into the shorter version of the film, Mr. Nakajima, ties.” Teachers can easily use a brief excerpt of this by SPICE, is included with purchase of the a kamikaze gunner who survived because his sui - film to powerfully provoke discussion of the long documentary. cide mission was aborted, explains how he realized term effects of war on soldiers as well as the poten - Wings of Defeat: Another Journey, is also avail - that the war would end after the atomic bombing. tial for reconciliation. able on DVD from New Day Media. Price for the “When I heard about the terrible devastation later, Both films are fine works with multiple class - DVD is $9 9/ $60 for institutions and $14.95 for I truly apologize to the people of Hiroshima and room uses. As with all films relying heavily on oral individuals. Nagasaki, but I thought, ‘Now I can live. ’” That history, teachers should provide students some one, brief scene points to many of the nuances of pointers as to the difficulties of using an oral his- Recommended Resources warfare and history presented in the film: the tory, such as the tendency for memories to change Morris, Ivan. 1988 (1975). The Nobility of Failure: desire of the “suicidal” kamikaze pilots to live, the over time, and the reality that the filmmakers Tragic Heroes in Japanese History. New York : contrast between human feelings for the victims of could only include interviews from a small number Farrar Straus Giroux. atomic bombings and the personal thankfulness of kamikaze. I strongly recommend using these Official film website includes links to a number of that the bombs may have saved someone’s life, and films as a means to teach about World War II, his - peace museums, and to Kamikaze Images, a site the general internal conflict that many people had toriography, and even simple lessons about the analyzing images of kamikaze pilots, as well as to live with after the war. human side of warfare. I recommended reading in both English and Japanese: www.wingsofdefeat.com .

Train Man subcultures and/or the increasingly publicized Recommended Resources on Otaku and Other Japanese Subcultures continued from page 6 social problems facing youth in Japan. As the population and birth rate continue (anime), DVD. Directed by Ikehata The film also allows the audience to glimpse the to decline, the attention of Japan’s government, Takashi. Tokyo: Anime Works, 2007. quiet desperation and loneliness of those with media, and society turns more and more to its Shimoku, Kio. Genshiken (manga). Vol.1–9. Del whom “Densha” corresponds on 2channel, an youth, desperately working to understand the Rey, 2007. Genshiken is a manga and anime Internet group that includes a married couple who younger generations’ increasing aversion to “tradi - television series about a group of otaku who can’t speak to each other; a teenage boy who is too tional” life and motivate them to return to the form a club supporting their lifestyle at college. shy to leave his bedroom; a trio of classic, manga- dwindling group following conventional social It follows their lives, obsessions, the stereotypes obsessed otaku; and a nurse with a broken heart. paths. Densha otoko provides an engaging window and discrimination they occasionally face, and This serves to expand the audience’s conception of through which educators and students may gives audiences an inside look at such popular otaku as well as draw attention to additional social begin to examine the social obstacles faced by otaku practices as cosplay and the creation of problems in Japan. American audiences react simi - Japanese youth as they find themselves under an doujinshi (the manga equivalent of fan-fiction). I larly to the struggles and triumphs of “Densha,” ever-brightening spotlight. Kanehara, Hitomi. Snakes and Earrings. New York: whose endearing awkwardness and perseverance Dutton, 2005. T his Akutagawa prizewinning will make anyone think twice before they dismiss Rachel Charlow Lenz is a graduate student novel evocatively portrays the lives of Japanese someone as nothing more than a geek, and will of Japanese literature at the University of Illinois youth following potentially dangerous subcul - hopefully nudge them towards a more enlightened Urbana-Champaign. Her research interests include tures; due to explicit sexual content of a dis - evaluation of so-called social misfits both in Japan reading manga as literature, translation, and the turbing nature it would only be appropriate for and at home. adaptation of European mythologies for a Japanese the college classroom. The book helps teach Densha otoko is an excellent film resource for audience. She is the graduate student editorial about the broader problems facing Japanese secondary and higher education classrooms. It can assistant at AEMS. youth, how and why they fall out of “the sys - be used in conjunction with numerous other Train Man is available on DVD from Viz tem,” and what happens to them when they do. resources to form a curriculum unit on Japanese Media. Price is 24.98 for purchase.

www.aems.uiuc.edu 7 Asian Educational Media Service Non-Profit Center for East Asian and Pacific Studies Organization University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign U.S. Postage 805 West Pennsylvania Avenue, MC-025 PAID Urbana, Illinois 61801 Permit No. 75 www.aems.uiuc.edu Champaign, IL

Anime and Manga continued from page 5 Paul Dunscomb is associate professor of or personal finance. East Asian History at the University of Alaska The first anime series to make it to America in Anchorage, and director of the UAA Confucius Distributors in this Issue the 1960s and 1970s were valued by distributors Institute. He teaches broadly on Japanese and primarily for their cheapness. It was far less costly Chinese civilization and history. His research New Day Films, 190 Route 17M, to edit and dub an existing product than produce examines the politics of Japan’s occupation of P.O. Box 1084, Harriman, NY 10926. one from scratch. This legacy lives on in the often Siberia, 191 8–1922, and its relationship to the Tel: 888-367-9154. Fax: 845-774-2945. insipid English vocal casts, especially for female evolution of Japanese imperialism. Email: curato [email protected] . Website: roles, that many anime shows are still stuck with Recommended Resources www.newday.com. today. Yet by the late 1980s and early 1990s a sig- nificant part of anime’s appeal was its foreign ori - “Anime and Manga: It’s Not All Make-Believe,” SPICE (Stanford Program on International gins. While anime and manga may now be essay by Toni Levi, March 25, 2008, on using and Cross-Cultural Education), 616 Serra celebrated by the government as Japan’s contribu - manga and anime as teaching tools, at About St., Encina Hall East, Ground Floor, tion to global culture and valued as export prod - Japan: A Teacher’s Resource (aboutjapan. Stanford University, Stanford, CA ucts, they were all originally designed (with a few japansociety.org ), under the Essays tab. 94305-6055. Tel: 650-723-1114 or 800- rare exceptions) for domestic consumption. “Anim e— An Annotated Filmography for Use 578-1114. Fax: 650-723-6784. Website: Created by Japanese for Japanese audiences, they in the Classroom,” by Toni Levi, April 30, http://spice.stanford.edu. are pervaded by assumptions and value s— like 2008, at About Japan: A Teacher’s Resource Viz Media, P.O. Box 77010, San Francisco, acceptable levels of sex and violence and a willing - (aboutjapan.japansociety.org/ content.cfm/ CA 94107. Website: www.viz.com ness to kill off key character s— which may often anime_filmography_1 ). shock and frequently thrill American viewers “Imaging Japan: Teaching History Through Art” YesAsia.com, 9/F, Watson Centre, weary of Hollywood conventions and happy end - curriculum modules, including one on Tezuka 16-22 Kung Yip Street, Kwai Chung, N.T., ings. Anime and manga were never designed to Osamu and Astro Boy, at www.colorado.edu/ Hong Kong. Tel: 866-440-8388. Website: represent Japan to the world, and yet they have cas/tea . www.yesasia.com. ended up doing just that. I