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Japan Studies Review JAPAN STUDIES REVIEW VOLUME VIII 2004 Published By THE SOUTHERN JAPAN SEMINAR and FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY JAPAN STUDIES REVIEW Volume Eight 2004 Interdisciplinary Studies of Modern Japan Steven Heine Editor John A. Tucker Book Review Editor Editorial Board Asuka Haraguchi, Florida International University Yumiko Hulvey, University of Florida John Maraldo, University of North Florida Mark Ravina, Emory University Ann Weymeyer, University of Florida Brian Woodall, Georgia Institute of Technology Copy and Production Kelly Kulyen Jessica Reyes Cristina Sasso JAPAN STUDIES REVIEW VOLUME EIGHT 2004 A publication of the Southern Japan Seminar and Florida International University CONTENTS Editor’s Introduction i Re: Subscriptions, Submissions and Comments iii ARTICLES Importance of “Local” in a Centralized Educational System: A Blumerian Study of School Uniform Changes in Japan Yuichi Tamura 1 Party Faction and Coalition Dynamics in Japan Monir Hossain Moni 25 Kawabata’s Mirrored Poetics Masaki Mori 51 Zatō Plays in Kyōgen: Satire and Symbolism Junko Baba 69 FEATURED ESSAYS Japanese Business Schools as Senmon Gakkō, with Special Reference to the U.S. CPA Examination Kiyoshi Kawahito 85 The Place of Japanese Philosophy James W. Heisig 97 BOOK REVIEWS The Great Wave: Gilded Age Misfits, Japanese Eccentrics and the Opening of Old Japan By Christopher Benfey Reviewed by Daniel A. Metraux 111 Sento at Sixth and Main: Preserving Landmarks of Japanese American Heritage By Gail Dubrow with Donna Graves Reviewed by Masaki Mori 113 The Human Tradition in Modern Japan Edited by Anne Walthall Reviewed by Tinaz Pavri 116 Christianity in the Crucible of East-West Dialogue: A Critical Look at Catholic Participation and God, Zen, and the Intuition of Being By James Arraj Reviewed by James W. Heisig 118 CONTRIBUTORS/EDITORS EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION Welcome to the eighth volume of the Japan Studies Review (JSR), an annual peer-reviewed journal sponsored by the joint efforts of the Southern Japan Seminar and the Institute for Asian Studies at Florida International University, with partial funding from the Japan Foundation. 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 four articles on a variety of topics related to Japanese society, including centralized as well as local educational systems, party faction and coalition dynamics in politics, the mirror poetics of Kawabata’s “Snow Country,” and the symbolism of blind characters in Zatō plays. The first article, “Importance of ‘Local’ in a Centralized Educational System: A Blumerian Study of School Uniform Changes in Japan” by Yuichi Tamura, examines whether the Ministry of Education’s guidelines set on global and national levels are incorporated by “local” educational systems. Analyzing the changes of school uniforms through records, surveys, and interviews in Joyo and Nara City junior high schools, it is observed that local variations in school regulations are determined by educators’ interpretations of students’ rule violations, community culture, and other factors. Following this, “Party Faction and Coalition Dynamics in Japan” by Monir Hossain Moni analyzes the loss of Japan’s political stability in 1993 causing disorder in existing political structures. The rapid shuffling of power due to conflicts between organizations, loss of credibility, and corruption, has made it difficult to devise basic policies on certain key issues, thereby leading to people’s mistrust. At the time of the election of Koizumi in 2001, the question was asked whether he would make for a truly different approach. The third article, “Kawabata’s Mirrored Poetics” by Masaki Mori, describes how Kawabata Yasunari’s fiction-making techniques in “Snow Country” combine ideas and techniques of Western literature with classical Japanese poetics, such as tanka and haiku poems. The lengthy passage of Kawabata’s mirror scene reveals his appreciation for Japanese literary ambiguity, which includes multiple levels of meaning and symbolism. ii The final article, “Zatō Plays in Kyōgen: Satire and Symbolism” by Junko Baba, deals with the physical blindness of its characters as a metaphor for mental blindness and also as a devastating criticism of the higher social ranks. Also featured in this issue are two essays. One is “Japanese Business Schools as Senmon Gakkō, with Special Reference to the U.S. CPA Examination” by Kiyoshi Kawahito, who points out the difficulties of being an accounting student in Japan and the problems being faced by those interested in making the CPA examinations. Second, James W. Heisig’s essay, “The Place of Japanese Philosophy,” focuses on the universality of philosophy and the contributions of Japanese thought to the philosophical traditions of East and West. Additionally, the volume contains four book reviews of recent publications on Japanese studies. Christopher Benfey’s study of how the encounter between Japanese and American scholars during the Meiji period influenced each others’ lives and works is reviewed by Daniel A. Metraux of Mary Baldwin College; Gail Dubrow and Donna Graves’s work concerning the rapidly disappearing landmarks of Japanese American migrants and their efforts to preserve these, which reveals hardships faced in America by Nisei, is reviewed by Masaki Mori of the University of Georgia; Anne Walthall’s edited volume introducing the lives of modern Japanese men and women which are not often described in historical studies is reviewed by Tinaz Pavri of Spelman College; and James Arraj’s book focusing on the question of whether Buddhist enlightenment can be compared to the Christian spiritual experience is reviewed by James W. Heisig of Nanzan University. Please note: Japanese names are cited with surname first except for citations of works published in English. Steven Heine, Editor iii Re: Submissions, Subscriptions and Comments Submissions for publication, either articles or book reviews, should be made in both hard copy and electronic formats, preferably Word for Windows on a disk (please inquire about other formats). The editor and members of the editorial board will referee all submissions. Annual Subscriptions are $10.00 (US). Please send a check or money order payable to Florida International University. 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 Miami, FL 33199 Professor Heine’s office number is 305-348-1914. Faxes should be sent to 305-348-6586 and emails to [email protected]. All comments and feedback on the publications appearing in Japan Studies Review are welcome. IMPORTANCE OF “LOCAL” IN A CENTRALIZED EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM: A BLUMERIAN STUDY OF SCHOOL UNIFORM CHANGES IN JAPAN Yuichi Tamura State University of New York at Geneseo While the centralized character of Japanese education has been widely discussed in the scholarship of Japan studies and comparative education, little attention has been given to educational decision-making at local levels.1 This paper questions the centralization assumption and examines the local contingencies of educational decisions in Japan. While I do not dispute the significance of the Ministry of Education for setting a standard to be followed by schools, local implementation of the Ministry’s guidelines is contingent upon how educators at each school interpret these to fit their needs. Using recent changes in rules as a case, I will show how educators’ interpretations of some conditions at these institutions resulted in variations in rule changes. In the 1980s and the 1990s, many schools evaluated the appropriateness of regulations and subsequently relaxed their control of students’ lifestyles.2 The Ministry of Education issued the instruction to all schools to reassess rules in April 1988,3 which claimed to 1 Merry White, The Japanese Educational Challenge: A Commitment to Children (New York: The Free Press, 1988), pp. 169-170; Edward R. Beauchamp, Japanese and U.S. Education Compared (Bloomington, IN: Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation, 1992), pp. 9-12; James J. Shields, Japanese Schooling: Patterns of Socialization, Equality, and Political Control (University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1989); Harry Wray, Japanese and American Education: Attitudes and Practices (Westport, CT: Bergin and Garvey, 1999), pp. 30-31; Sakamoto Hideo, Taibatsu no kenkyū [Research on Corporal Punishment] (Tokyo: Sanichi shobo, 1995); and Shoko Yoneyama, The Japanese High School: Silence and Resistance (London: Routledge, 1999). 2 Ministry of Education, Nichijo no seito shido no arikata ni kansuru chosa kenkyū hokokusho [Survey Report on Everyday Student Guidance] (1991, 1998); and Nakane Tsuneo, Gakko no jitsujō [Current State of Schools] (Tokyo: Fubosha, 1998). 3 The instruction by the Ministry classified school rules into three main 2 YUICHI TAMURA have set the stage for the nationwide deregulation of schools’ control over students’ appearance and deportment.4 Following the instruction to revise rules, the Ministry of Education in collaboration with the Association of Secondary School Principals in Japan conducted nationwide surveys on student guidance.5 The Ministry's reports quantitatively documented the pervasiveness of school rule changes in the late 1980s and the 1990s. In the 1991 report, 69% of secondary schools responded that they had revised their rules
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