Japanarchy

If you didn't get a confirmation email from me,

2007-12-19T15:33:00.000-06:00

it means I didn't receive your final exam. There are still three of you whose exams I haven't received. Please contact me asap if you sent an exam, but did not receive a reply from me.

The first to cross the finish line is ...

2007-12-17T07:52:00.000-06:00

Joe!

Joe was the first to submit his final. He did so over the weekend and already has been spotted (with an as yet unidentified comrade) in warmer environs.

Your Final Exam

2007-12-09T16:30:00.000-06:00

Welcome to your Japanarchy class "take-home" final exam!

Instructions
Although I anticipate most of you will be able to submit your exams by Monday, December 17th, you have until 9:45 a.m. on Wednesday, December 19th at the absolute latest to submit your completed final exam. (You may submit your exam at any time prior to the 19th.)

Email your exam directly to me. Do NOT send your exam as an attachment, but in the body of an email message.

I will be happy to answer any and all procedural questions you may have, but I won't answer any questions that might involve providing you with information that could be used in an exam response.

Part One: Short Answer Questions (56%)

Answer ONLY 8 of the following 10 questions with a one-paragraph response. Make sure to support your ideas with SPECIFIC examples from assigned material and class discussions.

1. In what way or ways was Kanno Sugako's political sensibility consistent over the course of her life?

2. How do the workers portrayed in The Factory Ship respond to cumulative stress and oppressive working conditions? Describe the effectiveness or possible sustainability of the responses you choose to address in your answer.

3. In the short story "Sayonara T'sai-chien," why does Hwang suggest the Japanese tourists were given a hard time at the airport and why is this detail significant?

4. What does Okuzaki Kenzo want in the film The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On, and what tactics does he employ to this end?

5. What is significant about the encounter Amamiya Karin has when she travels to North Korea in the film Atarashii kamisama (The New God)? Who is involved?

6. What do YOU think Mokuren's "real job" is in Lonely Hearts Killer? What specific textual evidence supports your opinion?

7. Describe and critique how the phrase "personal responsibility" (jiko sekinin) has been used in reference to some Japanese aid workers, activists, volunteers, journalists, and students who have gone to Iraq. (Make sure to address who uses the expression and why or to what end?)

8. According to Ramsey Kanaan, how are we already living in a “world of anarchy”? What specific examples did he provide when he spoke to our class?

9. Pick one of the anarchists we have studied this semester and make an educated guess as to how she or he might understand (or have understood) the testimony of the veterans interviewed in the documentary Japanese Devils? (Make sure you provide evidence to back up your answer!)

10. In your own words, explain Naito Chizuko’s concept of “the empty center” and briefly discuss how it relates to at least one other work (reading or film) or figure we’ve studied this semester.

Part Two: Essay (44%)

Compare and/or contrast the novel Lonely Hearts Killer to any 3 of the assigned texts, blog readings, or films from this semester. Your essay should begin with an introductory paragraph that clearly and specifically explains how you interpret the novel as a whole and/or how you see it fitting into this course. Then, you should write 1-3 paragraphs for each of the three sources you choose to address in relation to LHK. You should develop a specific argument or claim for each section in which you compare/contrast LHK to another work and avoid simply listing differences or similarities. You might consider, for example, the significance of very similar or wildly different themes, motifs, political questions, or settings. Make sure to use textual evidence, backing up your claims with specific examples. Avoid vague statements and generalizations. A conclusion is not necessary, but if you find that your essay leads to a conclusion, feel free to include one.

If you want a sense of how your essay will be graded, you can refer to the rubric below, which is adapted from and consistent with the types of essay grading rubrics you can find here and here.

An “A” essay will demonstrate your command of the course material. You will address all the tasks required by the prompt. Your analysis will be cogent, interesting, and sophisticated. Your ideas will be original (or at least very insightful) and go beyond what was discussed in class and/or on the blog. Your arguments and responses will be supported by appropriate and specific examples. The logical connections between your ideas will be clear and explicit. Your paragraphs will be effectively constructed, your transitions will be clear, and you will make few or no minor or technical errors.

A “B” essay will show a good understanding of the course material and tasks required by the prompt. Your ideas will go beyond the obvious. You may make some minor factual or conceptual errors, but you will demonstrate a solid grasp of key course concepts. You will develop arguments with appropriate textual evidence and supporting detail. You may have a few mechanical or grammatical errors.

A “C” essay will show a basic understanding of the course material and information involved in the assignment. You may have some factual, interpretive, or conceptual errors. You may only partially develop your response, and your analysis may be overly general or vague. Some of your ideas may be undeveloped or unsupported. You may make only limited use of textual evidence. Your essay may contain information that is not germane to what the prompt requires.

A “D” essay shows little command of the course material or has significant factual and conceptual errors. You may confuse or not understand key concepts. You may not develop your ideas or points. You may not make use of textual evidence. Your essay may have some major grammatical or proofreading errors.

An “F” essay shows little or no understanding of the course material or contains plagiarized passages. There may be no discernable point. You may simply list ideas or facts or write about unrelated topics.

Finally, you have an extra credit option for the final exam. Professor Kota Inoue, who visited the UI this past semester, told me about an interesting question he sometimes asks his students, and I've adapted it for our class. Here it is:

Everyone in our class has been challenged in one way or another -- perhaps even on a fundamental level. We have studied a variety of controversial issues, such as whether or not violent means of resistance can be justifiable. The course may have been uncomfortable at times, but my hope is that the discomfort helped you expand your intellectual horizons. However, my hopes alone can't determine your experience. You all have to find your own challenges in this or any other course. Explain what the challenge(s) was (were) for you. If you have felt any intellectual or emotional discomfort in this class, please consider that experience as a way to define your challenge(s). If you have not felt discomfort, you might consider what aspects of this course made you wonder or feel confused or even "turned off." There will be clues as to the nature of what challenged you in those experiences. If you felt no discomfort and were somehow able to embrace all the material without difficulty, you should still feel free to reflect and comment on how you experienced the course material. Your response will be evaluated in terms of the thoughtfulness of your reflections in relation to the specific material we studied in the course.

Look Back in Anger

2007-12-08T21:23:00.000-06:00

This new article might be helpful for you to read as you prepare for the final exam in that it addresses some issues and problems we have studied.

A reminder, some photos, and a monologue!

2007-12-06T10:23:00.000-06:00

If you are grateful for the following reminder, you can thank Cam'c. Please remember that you should review the translations Shiori made for us for next week, as well as posts related to news and current events. To do so, you'll want to go through the blog archives for this semester, especially the posts you'll find here,
here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Now, here are the photos from Jenn and Stone!

And finally, Cecilia has written a monologue and generously given me permission to post it below. She says that she will revisit and revise the piece as part of a collection of women's monologues. Enjoy!!

Kaneko Fumiko
(The Words of a Revolutionary:
As Imagined by Cecilia Copeland Haertsch)

As I look back on my life I am left with questions. I don’t think, looking back that I would’ve done anything differently. No, I did the best I could at the time, the best I knew how. But, as I look back at the people I’ve known some good, some bad… I have questions.

How is the world the way it is? How can people be surrounded by so much beauty and be so ugly? How can people be heartlessly cruel as if they had no emotions at all? How can people blindly believe in a fantasy of hierarchy when the truth, so blatantly obvious to me, is that each of us- all of us are the same. There is not one person who should have the right determine the fate of the rest. No-one should be able to send another to their death. No-one should be able to tell a person to kill in their name. No group should be able to declare war on another. What is war? It is a joke being played on people. A game, in which, so called underlings, are sacrificed for the sake of land or worse… the whim of a person who has the power to make it so.

We are capable of so much, desirous of greatness, but what stands in our way? We do. We, as people stand in our own way. We hurt each other, we control each other, punish each other for wrongs we imagine. We follow the word of our social betters or higher up’s as if they were gospel. We pretend that they hold a more important place, and that to disobey them is to go against nature in some way. That is not so. It is nature to follow our own hearts. How are we to ever know what is in our own hearts if are never given the opportunity to find out? How are we to comprehend the possibilities of our future if all of our past was spent being indoctrinated into a mindset of subordination?

It is not death I fear. I fear compliance. I fear making myself small. I fear living a life accepting what is wrong with the world without protest. I fear looking the other way while I hear the screams of innocent people being tortured. Like so many people did as I cried out in pain. I fear turning my back on the truth. I fear many things, but not death. To die is natural. To live in fear is not. To die is part of life, but if one never truly lives what value is their life? I would rather live fully, and if by doing so means to die, than I will have lived. Truly lived, rather than taking up space in the world as an inanimate object that moves about and consumes and produces waste. To think, and love, and make changes in the world is what life is.

I am now facing a non-life. I look into my future and I see a life without choice. I see an existence of nothingness. All the pain and suffering I have known is worth it, if I can spend the night in the arms of my love. All is worth it, if I can reach out to touch a small blade of grass with my fingertip. I have known real freedom in my life.

And now I will exercise it by doing the only thing I can to celebrate life. I will kill myself. Rash? No. Logical, peaceful, happy. Life should be lived to the fullest. Life should be about doing everything one believes in. Life should be about living in opposition of that which one does not agree with. My life has been taken away. My ability to make an impact on the world has been confined to a cell. I will not be confined! By taking my own life, I take it back!

LHK recap

2007-12-06T08:28:00.001-06:00

While we did get a good sense of the range of ways in which we might interpret Lonely Hearts Killer yesterday, we certainly didn't exhaust all the possibilities. There are also many characters and scenes we didn't discuss. Before we shift gears to conclude the course, I wanted you all to think about the novel a little bit more. In addition to thinking about whether the novel itself is "anarchist fiction," which wouldn't have to mean you think certain characters are anarchists, of course, I'd like you to think about how you experienced the novel. From your comments, I know some of you found it depressing. Others found it hopeful. That makes perfect sense to me, because I've experienced it both ways. I think there are also many understandable reasons to be frustrated by the novel, to be "hooked" on it, or even to want to intervene in the ending or other scenes somehow. How did you feel about it and why? Try to be as specific as possible in your answers.

Also, I'd like you to discuss some of the characters, scenes, and issues we didn't address in class. For example, what did you make of the discussion between the young couple that Inoue and Iroha overhear at the dim sum restaurant in the first chapter? Did it remind you of anything? Or what did you think of Kisaragi and Udzuki?

“Koda-kun” by Shiga Naoki (translated by Shiori Yamazaki"

2007-11-30T23:32:00.000-06:00

Shiori translated the post that appeared here on the Irregular Rhythm Asylum blog. Shiga is the same anarchist and punk singer who made this "dismantle the emperor system" poster. He is currently traveling around the world. The names in Shiori's translation are like in English with the surname last and given name first. I look forward to your comments!

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2007
"Koda-kun" by Naoki Shiga
translated by Shiori Yamazaki

There is an inn in Amman in Jordan, where Shosei Koda, who was killed in Iraq, had once stayed. One backpacker set out for Iraq by himself from this inn three years ago.

Iraq has been in a state of invasion by the US Army from the Gulf War up until the present. The US Army has killed countless Iraqis during this invasion. The Japanese government also has dispatched the SDF (Self Defense Force) troops to support the US Army. There are many guerrillas, of course, in Iraq (the US calls guerrillas terrorists), who resist these invading armies.

Under these circumstances, Koda-kun was captured three years ago by the guerillas who were resisting the US army’s invasion. The guerrillas demanded that the Japanese government withdraw the SDF troops from Iraq, as a condition of Koda-kun’s release.

The news about Koda-kun being taken as a hostage spread all over Japan. However, the Japanese government didn’t accept the guerrilla’s demand. And he was killed. Mass communication and public opinion expressed sympathy toward him before he was killed. As soon as he was killed, however, mass communication and public opinion, from the government on down, all of the sudden, started to criticize Koda, depicting him as the bad guy, who had selfishly gone to Iraq. In the end, they tried to deny his entire existence by using the word “jikosekinin [self-responsibility].”

Since that day, I’ve never been able to forget about his death. There are, of course, occasions when I forget, but it’s stuck somewhere in my heart all the time.

Why is that? Is it because I am the same age as him? Or is it because I am a traveler like him? Or is it because I’ve opposed all sorts of wars such as the one being carried out by the US army? Or opposed the Japanese government’s reaction toward him? Or opposed the mass communication and public opinions, who kept insulting him, a man who had already died?

Probably, all of these things have stuck in me. Most of the mass communication didn’t talk about such a thing as “why” he went to Iraq. What on earth did he want to do in Iraq?

The answer was written down on a note, which was left at KODA hotel (Mr. Samer, an employee of the inn where Koda-kun stayed, named it after Koda-kun to mourn him).

Koda-kun wanted to help Iraqi kids who had been hurt by the war, and he tried to look at reality with his own eyes, the reality which TV doesn’t show. And he acted.
There are pictures in the note which Koda-kun passed Mr. Samer before leaving for Iraq.

There are Iraqi children in this picture who have been hurt by the US army’s bombings. (Koda-kun’s family made a copy of this picture and sent it to Mr. Samer later.)

I had no idea for what reason Koda-kun tried to go to Iraq until I came to the inn, “Koda Hotel” in Amman. So, I want to introduce it here for those like me who didn’t know about it. (The reason why he tried to go to Iraq has been referred to in some books and magazines.)

I couldn’t for the life of me forget about Koda-kun’s death. I offered rice hot from the pot and vodka for Koda-kun’s picture, which was decorated in Koda Hotel. Also, I chanted a sutra and said a mass for him. This picture [of Koda-kun] is the one which Koda-kun’s family passed on to Mr. Samer.

Nothing changes, however, even after a fake monk or a high priest holds a mass. The thing that’d change is just my feelings. I just take over his will as I like – his wish to help Iraqi children. And I act to disallow this kind of situation [which is portrayed in the] pictures of Iraqi children, who have been hurt by bombings. I will also live his life as well. I like to think of it in this way.

I can’t help feeling that Koda-kun, who is on trip, is in this inn in Amman. I also feel that he is supporting us who are traveling around the world like him. This might be an illusion, but I feel it is so.

(These notes are the story that I gathered from what Mr. Samer of Koda Hotel told me. I hope you can read it well.)

P.S.1 Many refugees, whose homes in Iraq were taken, have been escaping to Jordan and Syria. The Iraqi doctor who I talked to told me about the many killings by the US Army. Our talk was interrupted because we were at a loss for words, because of either sadness or anger.

And on the same night, a few Japanese, Iraqi, American, Australian, Germans and I went to see a movie called “the Zigizigi Land,” which is about a Palestinian who works as a taxi driver in the US. The movie opens up the pathology of the whole American society, cynically and sharply shown through the conversation between the Palestinian driver and the passengers. It criticizes severely the apartheid toward Palestinians by the Israeli government.

I thought that it is a significant thing to be able to talk about the Palestinian problem through one movie with everyone, as individuals, beyond our nationalities, races, and situations such as being Iraqi, American, Japanese, Australian, or German. I also think that it is [because of] the power of movie or art.

Besides, we all are against the war as individuals when we get rid of our delicate positions. I think that it is the first step to change how each government deals with Palestinian apartheid, Israel’s invasion, and the US Army’s invasion of Iraq, starting with the Japanese government who supports them. Then, if we could take them into our daily lives practically, even it’s slow, I think they would have widespread grassroots support.

P.S. 2 I went to the Palestinian refugee’s area in Lebanon. Kids full of energy were running around downtown among the remains of gunfire. The city was full of life with various kinds of shops. The Palestinian flags were displayed and the posters of Palestine releases were put up all over the town. The road of returning to Palestine hasn’t ended yet. Even if the world forgets when it’s convenient, they’d live like weeds which grow through asphalt.

I went to a shop there which sells Palestine releases. I bought some T-shirts and Palestine stoles. Please purchase them when they get to IRA soon if you are interested. (They are here! IRA)

Labels: Anti-War, Palestine, shiga
POSTED BY IRA_K AT 2:57 PM

Samer notes:

There was a phone call to Cliff Hotel from an Arabian man (I think he is a Taxi driver.) at around 4 in October 19th, 2004.

“There is a Japanese person who wants to go to your hotel. Can you tell me the address?” he said.

Koda came to Cliff Hotel with the driver 5 minutes later.

He didn’t even mention about Iraq at first, but said “I want to stay at a dormitory,” so I took him to his room and was writing his name (check-in). (The interaction around here is a little different from the book by Yuji Shimokawa, but I’ve just recorded the story of Samer himself.) [Yuji Shimokawa wrote a book called “Why Shousei Koda was killed?”]

Then, he suddenly said “I want to go to Iraq. Can you tell me where I can use a service?”

“It is too dangerous to go there by a service,” I said because the people who use a service are only tourists and there is a risk of being targeted.
And Koda said “I have to go.”

I asked the reason, and he said “I want to help Iraqi children. I want to go to Iraq, look at what is going on with my own eyes, and tell the Japanese people when I return to Japan.”

I answered “you can only go by bus if you really want.” He said “OK. Please make a reservation now.” I could have made a reservation if I wanted to, but I thought there’d be a chance that I could stop him, so I lied saying “it’s too late to make a reservation today.” He returned to his room saying “then please make a reservation on tomorrow’s bus.”

It was around 4:30pm when Koda came out from his room and went out to buy a sandwich and ate it at the balcony in the back of reception.

After that, he went back to his room, and after a while, he was looking at an information note standing in front of the bookshelf in the lobby. And he went back to his room right after that.

He looked different from other tourists. (he seemed like he was thinking about something.)

After half an hour, he came out from his room, sat on a chair for a long time in the balcony, and was looking out the street. I was worried about him, so I went out to the balcony and talked to him asking “do you still want to go to Iraq?” He just answered “yes” with a serious face. I asked a guy who was staying at the Cliff hotel at that time to talk to Koda. I wanted him to quit thinking about going to Iraq by talking to a Japanese person.

That guy went out to the balcony, and talked with Koda. I tried to make him comfortable by telling some jokes “haven’t you changed your mind? If you really go to Iraq, you will be on Aljazirra (a news program of a satellite TV company in Qatar.)”
The other guy laughed at it, but Koda didn’t show a smile. He seemed upset.

After that, Koda and that guy talked for a long time. After they finished talking, the Japanese person said “He’s insisting on going to Iraq. No one can stop him.”

Koda woke up at around 10 the next morning (October 20th), asked me “did you make a reservation?” I answered saying “I did it for the bus leaving 6pm,” but it was a lie, because I thought there was a chance I could still stop him. He checked out at noon and was sitting the couch in the lobby, and I asked him many times “you haven’t changed your mind about going to Iraq?” but he said “no, I haven’t.”

I had to make a reservation by 2pm if I needed to make a reservation, so I asked him once again before 2. But he didn’t change his mind about going to Iraq. So, I had to make a reservation for a bus. I couldn’t stop him.

Koda passed me one thing at around 2 or 3 pm saying “please keep this until I get back from Iraq.” It was a stone that he picked up at the Dead Sea, a towel, and pictures of Iraqi children. There were about 10 pictures, and portrayed children who hurt by the war. Koda said “I got them from a Japanese person.”

After he died, I sent them to his family, and they sent me back one copy of the pictures and Koda’s picture. (they are in Samer’s book.)

The picture of children who they sent me was ok. Those pictures were the children who were hurt much worse than that. I think Koda wanted to do something for these kids.

Koda kept reading the information note until the departure, except for a time when he went out. The Japanese man (who talked with Koda last night) and I went to the bus terminal with Koda to see him off at around 5pm. He said “Assalam/Good-bye,” and took off on the bus.

2 hours after we saw him off, I decided to make a phone call to the Japanese Embassy. I said “A Japanese person, who is called ‘Shousei Koda’ left for Iraq 2 hours ago. I don’t think he has reached the border yet. I want you to stop him if possible.” The embassy said just “Thank you for your call. Please let us know if you get some more information.”

After that, I called someone who I know working at a hotel in Bagdad and asked if a Japanese person came or not, but I was told that he hadn’t. I was sure that Koda would go to the hotel because I told him about it, so I called again after a while. Then he said “A Japanese guy sure came by, but we can’t guarantee his safety, and the hotel could be targeted instead, so we couldn’t let him stay.”

A person from United Nation, who Mr. Samer knows, called the hotel at around midnight on 26th and said “A Japanese person was captured as a hostage in Iraq. Please watch either Aljazeera or NHK.” I turned on TV, and found Koda, who was surrounded by an armed group. I was so surprised and shocked.

When I found that Koda was captured by the element of al Qaeda lead by Zarqawi, I felt desperate like “if the Japanese government didn’t do anything during the time al Qaeda is demanding, he will be killed for sure.”

After that, people came from the Japanese government (foreign ministry) to Cliff Hotel, and asked me about various kinds of things concerning Koda. But when the three including Takato-san [and Imai-kun] were captured as hostages in Iraq a half years ago [2004], various kinds of people like the foreign ministry, the SDF, the Jordan government, came many times, and asked me many more things, and it was chaos.
But, this time with Koda wasn’t like that.

I’m wondering if they were thinking that he would be rescued like the three, and not be killed. I thought, however, “this is dangerous.” The al Qaeda group who caught Koda was too dangerous.

Later, there were two reports saying “Asian’s dead body was found,” but it wasn’t Koda. But I learned that he was found dead at 10pm on the 30th by the news. There was a phone call from the Japanese government that told me that he had been killed.

2 days later, I received a phone call from his family, and I apologized. They said “it’s not your fault.” When I found out that Koda was killed, I swore that I would name the hotel after Koda when I own it- which is my dream- and never forget about him.

A few months later, I called the Japanese Embassy, and asked them to tell Koda’s family “I want to name the hotel ‘KODA HOTEL’.” 1 week later, his family sent me a fax saying “thank you very much. When you make a hotel, please use his name, either KODA or SHOUSEI is fine.”

But, I was told that the City of Jordan can’t allow me to use “KODA HOTEL.” (I wonder if that was because it’s a personal name or because of the incident.) Actually, there are some procedures to change the name of the hotel which I will take over, and it takes time and money. It is too much, so I will start with the hotel’s name as it is now, but when I have more time and money, I will try to change it to ‘KODA HOTEL.’

But if I could open a hotel, I’ll write ‘KODA HOTEL’ in Japanese under the hotel’s name (so that the city wouldn’t know it.) try not to forget about him ever, and I don’t want people to forget about him.

[the translator’s note: Mr. Samer did open his own hotel whose name is KODA HOTEL on October 1st this year.]

Permission to post photos

2007-11-29T11:26:00.000-06:00

Hi everyone,

Jenn (with Stone's help, I believe) took pictures of the class when Ramsey Kanaan visited us. I would like to post some of them on the blog. While not everyone is shown in the photos, many of you are. If you would prefer I didn't post pictures of you, please send me an email indicating your wishes before class next week.

Stories

2007-11-27T20:00:00.001-06:00

I translated the following excerpt from the opening of Empires and Assassinations: Looking at the Organization of Modern Japanese Media Through Gender (2005) by Naitô Chizuko, the author of the "empty center" essay we read at the beginning of the semester.

Stories pervade – everywhere. One could even say that stories are not only that which is written to be literary, but that which is routinely born out of an arrangement of words. For example, a storytelling quality is pronounced in the language the news media use to relate certain kinds of incidents in ways that inspire in readers a desire to know.

The gap between her pedigree as an elite graduate of the private Keiô University and the reality of her life as a "woman of the night" is attracting attention to the murder of Ms.□□□□ , a 39 year old OL ["office lady"] at Tokyo Power whose body was discovered in an apartment in Tokyo's Shibuya District. What was the reason that led her to loiter around love hotels at night? (Shûkan Post, April 4, 1997)

When news of this incident first broke, the top-tier elite Keiô graduate and Tokyo Power OL's nightlife as a street prostitute drew attention, and various media outlets, beginning with this publication, investigated the details of her mysterious personal life. (Shûkan Gendai, August 9, 1997)

These excerpts come from weekly news journal reports on the so-called "Tokyo Power OL Incident" of 1997. The victim was a woman, and the notion that this woman was a "top tier elite OL" by day, but had a completely different face by night was scrutinized repeatedly as a source of "attention" by the media. The reason why relates to the various particulars of this incident that lent themselves to it being narrated as a story.

First and foremost, the mark of woman alone holds news value for its difference when both the sender and receiver of information are assumed to be male in the masculinized media world. Deviance from the norm or standard is more likely to pique curiosity, so it is desirable for a protagonist to have some distinguishing characteristic, scar, or differential negative in a story. Second of all, the extreme "gap" between her afternoons and evenings opens up a wide range for story development and promises of the depth so appealing in stories. The seeming endlessness of the story can raise the curiosity and expectations of readers higher and higher as they are drawn further along for the ride. Third of all is her "mysterious personal life," which is imbued with sexual meaning. You want to know because it is "mysterious," and a sexual element is added to that desire, so the desire then multiplies and becomes a force that propels the story. In a context such as this, the story will always move in ways that discriminate against that character.

Through the novel you are reading, Hoshino, himself a former journalist, is exploring similar questions.

Even if you've only read the assigned first chapter, you already know the mass media show up in this story. I will make periodic media-related posts over the next few weeks so that we might think about the issues raised in the novel expansively.

Tonight, I'll begin by telling you about a seemingly dramatic news story the media didn't cover much at all. In August of 2005, a fifty-year old woman drove up to the residence of former Japanese PM Koizumi. When she was unable to reach Koizumi, she began stabbing herself. The following was one of only a handful of news reports on this particular incident.

A woman driver tried to forcibly enter the Prime Minister's Official Residence on Tuesday and then stabbed herself when she was stopped by police, officials said. The woman slashed herself in the neck, abdomen and wrists as police tried to wrestle her from her car, police said. Police said the woman was a 50-year-old homemaker from Nagano city. About 20 to 30 handbills bearing slogans opposing Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's government were found in the car, police said. Police riot squad officers and about 50 reporters were at the scene.

Despite the presence of reporters, print and television media attention to this event amounted to little more than this cursory description. Whether or not the woman survived the suicide attempt and what her “handbills” indicated about her grievances were not accorded even scant attention. Perhaps some of you who may be very net-savvy might find out more?

First Impressions

2007-11-26T13:51:00.000-06:00

What do you think of Lonely Hearts Killer so far? What do you think of Inoue? Do the public responses to the death of the young emperor remind you of anything? Use the comments below to share your thoughts on the novel thus far. This is the capstone text for our class. We'll find virtually all of the major themes we've encountered thus far in the novel, and sometimes they might show up in unexpected ways. If you've read ahead or finished it, please don't include any "spoilers" in your comments so that your classmates can still be surprised by the various twists and turns ahead.

Shiori's gift for you to enjoy over the break!

2007-11-21T20:41:00.000-06:00

Norma Field visited the UI last fall, and she spoke to my classes, as some of you will remember. She also gave an amazing public lecture that still airs on UITV sometimes. You should check it out if you weren't able to catch her lecture. In addition to her stunning scholarly output on Japanese literature (everything and everyone from The Tale of Genji to Sôseki to Takiji), Professor Field writes and speaks about everything from Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution and "comfort women" to depleted uranium.

She also does quite a bit of non-academic writing. Sakamoto Ryûichi, the composer/artist/activist whom some of you might know, has been drawing attention to a plutonium reprocessing plant in Rokkasho (Aomori). A uranium-enrichment plant is already there and has been in operation since 1992. Sakamoto and others are opposing this reprocessing plant. Norma Field was asked to contribute a poem to the ongoing campaign to stop the reprocessing plant. The piece she wrote has been set to music by OTO. To hear it, click here and then scroll down to "Before Then."

Well, your gift from Shiori Yamazaki is the following translation of an essay Norma Field wrote (in Japanese) a couple of years ago. It's very germane to the material we've covered in class lately, and I'm interested to hear what you all think of it. Enjoy! (Thanks, Shiori!)

"Thinking About 60 Post-WWII Years Through Keywords" (Asahi newspaper 8/17/05)
by Norma Field
translated by Shiori Yamazaki

The discussion over the nature of Japan and Japanese-ness has gained momentum. The fluctuating image of the self, as represented by economic power or corporate society, draws on the movement to reexamine the relationship between the organization and the individual, asking “what is myself?” How should we think about our identity?

Identity

“I didn’t have anything to do with it” this is the necessity of “individual” solidarity.

I was invited to a class which dealt with my book “In the Realm of a Dying Emperor” at a Japanese university last month.

It is a book which featured minority Japanese who expressed their opinions when Emperor Hirohito fell, and how self-restriction (called “jishuku” “self control”) covered society.

Mr. Shoichi Chibana burnt Japan’s national flag at the National Athletic Meet in Okinawa. Mrs. Yasuko Nakatani disagreed with her husband, who died while in the self defense force, being enshrined in Yasukuni Shrine. Mr. Hitoshi Motojima spoke up at congress, saying “Emperor [Hirohito] is somewhat responsible for the [second world] war.” They were all subjected to harsh criticism, such as those asking “how could you be Japanese saying that?”

During the class, one student spoke up saying “I am different from both someone who likes the Emperor or cannot forgive [the emperor]. I don’t have any relationship with those people in this book.”

I also heard the voice “I don’t know how to react [to anti-Japanese Chinese] because I haven’t had patriotic education, unlike Chinese people who demonstrate against Japan.” I don’t have any relationship with either the emperor system or patriotism – there was a strong impression because it sounded like a manifestation of an attitude of refusal.

I was born and raised in Japan. I have often visited Japan since I went to the US and became an adult. And now, I’ve been living in Japan for the first time in 16 years.

It was natural for passengers sitting on Tokyo trains to hold the belongings of people standing standing in front of them from the end of 50s to the beginning of 60s. Also, I think that indeed many ordinary people in Japan were thinking about the “relationship” between their own war and after-war experience, and the “jishuku” phenomena at the end of 80s.

Now, isn’t it a new kind of identity to deny the relationship between others or social events? It is the identity that you base on your position that says “I didn’t have anything to do with it.”

This is truly my own problem as well. This Iraq War: my colleague in Chicago University and I didn’t earnestly oppose it. We disagreed with it and joined anti-war meetings, but that was all.

Because “I didn’t have anything to do with it.”

We, the anti-Vietnam war generation, would stand up even if we had to give up our job, if our own children were sent to the battle field. However, the young people who live at the bottom of the social scale go to the actual battlefield during this present day without the military draft. That is the system that makes people perceive what is their own war as “a thing unrelated [to them].”

The Japanese people burned with democratic and anti-war feelings since the lost battle. However, the government mostly succeeded in taking away political interest from the nation by distributing the income-doubling policy right after “the campaign against the Japan-US Security Treaty in 60s.” It’s been now rare to see “the citizens, who aren’t concerned in an affair, widely stand up” situation.

Recently, liberalization of market economics even cut off individual attribution and relationships. Now, the situation is that “consumption is the most sparkling moment for an individual.”

Society is such that the massive majority of Japanese nationals believe that they are members of a nation enjoying an economic success. This sense, part of the core of Japanese national identity, is continuing even after the corruption of the bubble economy that can be called the “uneasy and lavish period.” This majority directs their annoyed attention to individuals who prosecute the oppressions that hide in daily life, saying “I am living this everyday life without any complaints.”

That feeling was in the root when they tried to suppress those three’s opinions, including Mr. Chibana. Likewise, there was that feeling against the three who became hostages in Iraq last year [2004]. They acted as individuals sympathetic to the Iraqis, who are not close to them. That was an annoying behavior for the people who want to live daily life insensibly.

Unfortunately, this is a result of a society which became fixated on prosperity, [prosperity] which is supposed to be a device. However, I don’t necessarily think that the current condition is hopeless.

When they were captured, there was a citizen’s group which sought for a way to release [them] working with Iraqi collaborators in Japan. It was a grass roots coalition, which draws the line between them and the government’s theory.

The reason why the Japanese citizens could have this kind of connection is because of the accomplishments of the peace movement, and their prosperity which allowed them learn about worlds beyond the US and Europe. I want to think that there is one side like that.

The world needs another kind of coalition, different from corporations or nations more and more. I want to connect up with the hope for a new identity forged on the possibility of peace and prosperity.

Rants and Raves

2007-11-14T19:41:00.001-06:00

I really love the discussion under Randy's post on Thursday and hope you continue it over the break. I'd also like you to use this post to share your lingering responses to the film today. I was really pleased with your responses in class, but I know that not everyone had the chance to speak and that some of you had much more to say, so before we start talking about the next reading, feel free to rant, rave, vent, etc.

Also, Sara recently had a birthday, and "mmartah" will have one next week. Maybe there are other November birthdays we have yet to acknowledge too? Please say "happy birthday" if you run into Sara or "mmartah."

Reeducation Camps

2007-11-13T18:09:00.000-06:00

I know many of you were very curious about the reeducation camps mentioned in last week's film. My guess is that some of you are imagining long rounds of self-criticism sessions when you think of reeducation camps in China after the war. You might imagine horrible conditions. Or maybe you imagine nonstop indoctrination. You might be struggling to reconcile what you imagine with what the men in the film described as their feelings of gratitude to the Chinese who reeducated them. For the curious among you, I'm providing the following links, which will give you some perspectives and additional questions to consider. We can follow up in class with a little discussion.

An article from the China Daily

An essay from the Guardian UK that challenges the silence around the camps in the film we watched last week

An article that situates the camps in the context of changing China-Japan relations

An article by Yuki Terazawa that you'll need to read from a campus computer unless you subscribe to Project Muse

Reduced Office Hours This Week

2007-11-12T15:42:00.000-06:00

I won't be holding office hours on Thursday this week, so please come by on Wednesday between 1-2:30 if you need to see me before break. I'll hold additional office hours after the break, but you can always ask me questions via email if you have questions that require an immediate answer.

Randy sent me this email after class on Wednesday. He said it would be okay for me to post it.

2007-11-08T19:52:00.000-06:00

Hey Adrienne,

I asked my brother about the experiment that I told you about in class and he said it was the Milgram Authority Experiments. They were conducted at Yale University in the early 1960s. It was interesting because the professor polled several psychology students to see what they thought the outcome would be, and almost all of them said only a sadistic few (1-2%) would actually go to the highest level of shocks. As I mentioned in class, a majority of subjects went to the highest level. Wikipedia has a pretty good explanation on the experiments and some of their results (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milgram_experiment). All in all, the experiment gives a lot of credibility to Stone's comment of 'So what? This will always happen due to human nature' as well as a good piece of evidence toward the Anarchist creed of nobody holding more power over others.

I don't want to get too long winded about it tonight since I still have the Norma Field reading to get through [Adrienne's note: Randy is in both of my classes this semester], so I'll talk to you in class tomorrow,

Randy

[Another note from Adrienne: in a follow-up email, Randy also wrote, "The Milgram Experiments show how difficult it is to break away from obediance to figures who are perceived as authority. It presents a good argument that individuals in power must always be kept in check."]

Yukiyukite shingun

2007-11-08T19:05:00.000-06:00

That's the original title of The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On. This movie might make you uneasy, but probably (or most often) not in the same way as the last one we watched. As I mentioned, there are no readings this week. You are, therefore, also getting one blog-free week. That's right; everyone gets to skip making blog comments this week. But, I still want to give you some stuff to enjoy, so this is a "free" post. Comments are welcome, of course, but not required this week.

If you know Japanese, you can watch the first scene and follow it. The wedding speech includes some info that might strike you as unconventional.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find subtitled clips of this scene.

Here are some fun things for you to enjoy instead of work this week.

This is a documentary by Jong Pairez (see earlier post) about a Critical Mass action in Manila.

Here's a scene from a movie I'll bet few of you have seen: Reds. It features this scene in which a communist journalist, John Reed, speaks with anarchist Emma Goldman.

Here's David Graeber, an anarchist anthropologist, talking on the Charlie Rose show.

"Displacement Series" by Jong Pairez in Tokyo!

2007-11-08T11:13:00.000-06:00

If you go to Tokyo to see this exhibit, you'll be excused from class. :) I wish I could take us all to the exhibit for a field trip. If you were an anarchist in Tokyo, you'd probably go see this.

Displacement Series

At: Irregular Rhythm Asylum Radical Bookshop Tokyo
Media: Photographs, Installation, Performance

"Displacement Series" is a first solo exhibition by Jong Pairez- a migrant from the Philippines.

This exhibition uses combination of various media and medium not just for presentation but also to conduct studies and observation of Displacement and Geography. Hence, this exhibition is rather a project of sorts than a mere aesthetic presentation of objects that we commonly see in art galleries.

To enable studies and observation of Displacement and Geography, the exhibition is divided into three parts, resembling the process of migration, namely, Phase One: Pre-departure, Phase Two: Departure, Phase Three: Arrival.

Although each of these individual phases is independent from one another and will be exhibited separately, all of them will converge in the last phase- but not to conclude the whole exhibition but to simply observe how these three phases has its own singular narrative.

Schedule: From November 10 until December 15, 2007
Exhibition Hours: 13:00-20:00 (Thursdays to Tuesdays except Wednesdays)

Website: http://jeanmakisig.blogspot.com

Admission: FREE!

Maps:

English

Japanese

Access:
15 Minutes walk from Shinjuku Gyoen-mae Station, Maronouchi Line

Address:
Irregular Rhythm Asylum
Open 13:00 - Close 20:00
1-30-12-302 Shinjuku Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-0022, Japan
Tel/Fax: 03-3352-6916 (domestic);
+81-3-3352-6916 (from abroad)
http://a.sanpal.co.jp/irregular

Points of reference

2007-11-06T19:21:00.000-06:00

We'll answer most of your questions about the film tomorrow. We may not get to the re-education camps til next week, but since you are so curious, I'll make sure we get to it for sure then (if not tomorrow).

This post is a kind of "orientation" to some of the material you will hear tomorrow. My guess is that many of you will be familiar with the more contemporary versions of some of the actions described by the vets in the film.

The first vet you'll meet in the film will discuss (in great detail) what is now called "waterboarding," for example. You might know that waterboarding has figured prominently in the confirmation hearings for Attorney General nominee Michael Mukasey. According to this source, waterboarding is when "the prisoner is bound to a board with feet raised, and cellophane wrapped round his head. Water is poured onto his face and is said to produce a fear of drowning which leads to a rapid demand for the suffering to end." A towel is used instead of cellophane in the story you will hear.

You will also hear some vets talk about rape and other forms of sexual violence. Even though one man indicates that it was illegal under military law, he explains that it still happened and that as long as a soldier made sure he wasn't discovered, he wouldn't be punished. You'll hear about how some men avoided discovery. This also might be an issue familiar to you if you remember the rape and murder of Abeer Qassim Hamza. If you don't remember, you can find quite a bit online. If you're pressed for time, you can read this.

In terms of our class so far, we've studied people who wanted to abolish the emperor system and stop the aggressive imperial push to colonize and expand. We've learned how they were punished for resisting what would develop into the kind of system we'll be exploring this week and next. Hopefully, you're already getting a sense of where this material fits into the larger picture of this class.

As you watch the film, I also want you to think about how Huang might have thought about Baba and the other men in "Sayonara Tsai-chien." What might Huang have imagined that could have predisposed him to dislike the Japanese tourists so much? Several of you commented about this aspect of that story, and maybe the film will give you a new window into thinking about how we might understand Huang's subjectivity.

Finally, those of you who attended Prof. Inoue's lecture will be interested to know that one of the vets (Mr. Suzuki) uses the word naichi (内地) to refer to Japan.

Managing some heavy material with preparation and a special guest

2007-11-03T15:32:00.000-05:00

You've probably noticed that the reading load gets very light until we read Hoshino Tomoyuki's Lonely Hearts Killer, which I will email you all this week. Aside from the readings I post on the blog, you won't have any additional readings for a few weeks. The reason for the lighter load relates to the difficulty of the material we'll be dealing with in class. The film we will watch this Wednesday is definitely one of the toughest things I teach. I know folks usually don't like "spoilers" for movies, but I think it's very important that you are all emotionally prepared for what you'll see (and hear) on Wednesday.

Please make sure to read both of the following links before class.

Matsui Minoru Interview

"Stubborn Legacies of War: Japanese Devils in Sarajevo" by Linda Hoaglund

You'll also get a special "reward" after the film.

We are incredibly fortunate to have the International Writing Program here at the UI. We started the semester with a tour of the library exhibit (led by Chiaki Sakai), and that exhibit is soon coming to a close as this year's IWP writers prepare to return to their homes in various countries. Among the writers who came to Iowa City this fall is KIM Reon. You can read examples of her writing by clicking here and scrolling down to her bio, where you'll be able to access the files to download. The following is an excerpt from "Father's Winter."

Eunhee remembered how at the demonstration that day everything was slow and drawn-out, like a long take in a movie. Of course, it might have only felt that way because she couldn’t make a sound except for the rustle of her dry mouth. Perhaps because there weren’t any so-called security leaks, her classmates were able to circle the street an unprecedented number of times even with the Yeongdeungpo police right under their noses. Even so, there were over twenty of them.

When the tear gas began to explode below, Eunhee and her friend stayed on the roof, chanting. They had to stay there until they were brutally dragged away. Only after the scene in the street was broken up and several men who were theater employees rather than police officers came running and pleaded with them to stop, did they stomp back down the steep stairway, huffing and puffing. Or, they might have been pushed down at the hands of those men. At any rate, the men disappeared briefly to call the police, and Eunhee and her friend agreed to slip in amongst the theater patrons rather than stand and fight alone.

Ms. Kim is leaving Iowa City on the 10th, but has agreed to stop by our class and share some thoughts that will add quite a lot to our course. I think it will also be good for us all to leave the classroom with her words in our minds instead of the with the feelings we'll have while watching the film. She will join us around 5:30 or so on Wednesday.

The Asian American Coalition at the UI invites you to "Guns and Tampons"

2007-10-31T22:06:00.000-05:00

The following is an invitation from the UI Asian American Coalition I just received.

Hanalei Ramos presents Guns and Tampons

Come check out this dope performance!!!

Brought to you by the Asian American Coalition

Thursday, November 8, 2007
7:00pm - 9:00pm
Illinois Room (348) Iowa Memorial Union

Come join us in welcoming Hanalei Ramos to the University of Iowa. Hanalei Ramos is a Filipina American writer and spoken word artist from New Jersey and will be presenting excerpts from her award winning spoken-word performance Guns and Tampons: A History of Violence Against Women I Know. The performance is based on the experiences of several women who consider themselves victims and suvivors of abusive relationships with family, lovers, and friends. Find out more at http://www.hanaleihanalei.com.

* There will also be a guest reading by University of Iowa student Helene Achanzar

"Me Write Pretty Someday" writing workshop led by Hanalei Ramos.

* If you just can't get enough of Hanalei, please join us at the Asian Pacific American Cultural Center on November 9 @ 6:30 PM. She will be conducting a creative writing workshop. Snacks and refreshments will be provided. The APACC is located at 223 Lucon Drive (off of Melrose)

Find the yam!

2007-10-31T09:32:00.000-05:00

Please take a moment to make sure you are familiar with this map. Taiwan is the island south of Shanghai, Korea, and Okinawa that is shaped like a sweet potato or yam. You can click on the image above to view a larger version that is easier to read.

Click here to check out the MySpace page of an anarchist in Taiwan. And here is a related blog in Chinese and English.

Based on your comments so far, I know some of you already know that sovereignty continues to be a matter of political interest in (and in relation to) Taiwan. It's not uncommon for discussions to focus on only two possible scenarios: an "independent" Taiwan and a Taiwan "unified" (or "reunified" depending on one's position) with China. As you might expect, anarchists' visions for the future of Taiwan involve a "third way." But to understand what they want, we ought to think about what the "independent" and "unified" options mean.

If you haven't studied anything about Taiwan before, you might find the following short articles helpful.

The China that isn't China

Taiwan Aboriginal Rights WebPage

A TALE OF TWO NATIONALISMS

Keep in mind that the Chinese government considers Taiwan part of China. The Taiwanese government considers itself independent. Unlike other governments that see themselves as administering or ruling independent countries, the Taiwanese government doesn't enjoy the kind of formal or official recognition we might assume would be there. Nonetheless, Taiwan engages in trade and legal relations with other countries that may not recognize Taiwan as independent.

What does this say about the meaning of sovereignty in the age of globalization?

The US recognizes only "one China," but that doesn't mean the US is invested in promoting Chinese reunification plans. To see how the US Dept. of State views Taiwan, please see The Taiwan Relations Act.

We'll talk a lot about colonial tourism in class today, but bring any questions you have to add to the mix.

Imai Noriaki on the Death of Minowa Noboru

2007-10-30T08:12:00.000-05:00

Here's yet another gift from Shiori, and this one is closely related to the one below. Imai Noriaki was only 18 yrs. old when we went to Iraq to study the effects of depleted uranium. We will learn more about depleted uranium (D.U.) in a few weeks, but for now, please know that it's serious stuff even though the word "depleted" might make it sound less dangerous than "regular" uranium. D.U. weapons can penetrate armor, and upon impact, they produce radioactive dust. A number of Japanese activists have been trying to raise awareness about D.U. For example, click here to see Morizumi Takashi's photos of children affected by D.U. use during the first Gulf War. [Warning: there are some very upsetting images.]

Imai was one of the three hostages mentioned in the earlier post. Although he and his family suffered threats and harsh rebukes after his release, some people did express solidarity or at least empathy. The translated "letter" below is Imai's response to the death of a man whose words had obviously touched Imai. Shiori translated it for our class. Please take a few minutes to look up information on Minowa Noboru online.

Shiori actually met and interviewed Imai last semester. If you'd like to learn more about Imai, you can click here to listen to her extended interview with him on "The Insurgency Hour," a weekly radio show produced by former Japanarchy students Nate George and Amanda Seals and featuring many other students from my course "Insurgency and the Globalization of Discontent" last semester.

Oh, and one other thing: Imai is from Hokkaido, the same island of Japan where Takiji lived. You'll even see mention of Otaru below!

You can see the original post here.

March 18, 2007

To Mr. Noboru Minowa

Yesterday I went to the house of recently deceased former parliamentary Vice Minister of Defense Mr. Noboru Minowa [pictured here] to offer incense. I had heard and known that he died on the 14th of May last year, but I didn’t mourn last year. I went to Mr. Minowa’s house in Otaru, Hokkaido, because I made sure to go there when I went back home this time.

I don’t have a direct connection with Mr. Noboru Minowa. However, we have had ties at various places. I went to his lecture when he was still alive, although I forgot if it was on the 26th or 27th of January 2004. After that, when I was captured as one of the hostages in Iraq in April 2004, Mr. Minowa took certain actions. Emeritis Professor Chikara Tsuboi at Sapporo Gakuin University, who was close to Mr. Minowa, happened to be there yesterday and talked about that time. “Once there was an incident when the Red Army high jacked an airplane during the time when Mr. Minowa was still a member of parliament. There were more than 100 hostages. (Note by Nori: I think he probably means the incident of the airplane “Yodo.”) Mr. Shinjiro Yamamoto, who was a member of parliament and close to Mr. Minowa, volunteered to take the place of the hostages and got onto the airplane. Mr. Minowa often used to say ‘He was a samurai,’ and volunteered to take your place when your incident happened, saying ‘I don’t have much time left,’” he said. Also, Mr. Tsuboi gave me three documents, faxes in English and Japanese which were sent to Al-Jazeera during that time, and also contained comments after the incident.

While Mr. Tsuboi was talking, Mrs. Minowa was listening to him quietly, nodding her head. Although Mrs. Minowa is 79 years old, she seemed to me very strong and noble. When Mr. Tsuboi finished talking, I bowed to Mrs. Minowa and Mr. Tsuboi and said “I am sorry for getting you into so much trouble,” and Mrs. Minowa said to me “No, no. I’m glad you are alive and became strong.”

I thanked them and left Mr. Minowa’s house. I walked toward Otaru station to go back to Sapporo. The sky is still bright and blue. It has turned orange a little by little and I think I was walking trying not to think about anything, although I don’t know if I was relieved a little. I stood in front of the station when arriving at the Otaru station and checking the bus schedule for Miyanosawa. I could see the main street facing the railway station and there was the ocean right there. I don’t really understand it well, but it was a beautiful ocean. After I came back, I’d been thinking “the ocean in Hokkaido is not so [good],” but it wasn’t bad to look at the ocean which was spread and surrounded by white snow and snow-covered mountains like this. No, I rather forgot about these kinds of scenes.

I took out the faxes, which Mr. Tsuboi gave me, from my bag before the bus comes. And, I saw his messages. “I have lived long enough. I am prepared to be a hostage as a replacement of three Japanese hostages who you captured.”

Now, may Mr. Noboru Minowa’s soul rest in peace here.

noriaki_20045 at 17:56

Hoshino Tomoyuki on the death of a Japanese journalist in Burma

2007-10-30T07:46:00.000-05:00

The following is another gift from Shiori Yamazaki. She translated the September 29th entry from Hoshino Tomoyuki's web journal, which you can see here. Hoshino is the author of the last work we will read together this semester. In this journal entry, he compares Nagai Kenji's death to a hostage situation we will discuss later this semester. Just to give you the basics, a Japanese aid worker, student researcher, and photojournalist were taken hostage in Iraq three years ago. When they were released, the former hostages were met with tremendous hostility upon their return to Japan. Critics claimed the three had not exercised "personal responsibility" and had created problems by going to Iraq in the first place (even though a sense of personal responsibility motivated their decision to go to Iraq as volunteers). We'll talk about this use of "personal responsibility." Politicians demanded the three pay the government reparations for the costs of repatriation, and the released hostages' families were also subjected to harassment.

Please read Shiori's translation of Hoshino's journal entry and take a few minutes to look up information on Nagai Kenji's death. Then, post your comments and questions below.

2007年9月29日（土）
There was an incident where Mr. Kenji Nagai [pictured here], who was a freelance journalist, was killed by security troops in Myanmar. Why hasn’t Prime Minister Fukuda said something like “it’s annoying when someone goes to such an area without permission”? As far as I’ve seen in the media, there have been no words such as “it’s their fault (Jikosekinin = personal responsibility)” or “He deserved to die”, although I don’t know what’s been said on the internet.

I wonder what could possibly be different between this and the hostage incident in Iraq three years ago. Does this mean that being killed is harrowing and heroic, like Mr. Hashida, who was also a freelance journalist and was killed in Iraq, but being alive and a hostage makes one annoying?

I thought about the difference between this incident and the one three years ago.

The government of Myanmar wants to control the information inside Myanmar. They want to justify their armed oppression by making this demonstration look small, both inside the nation and internationally. This is why they’ve been trying to shut out all of the media.

The one who wanted to shut out the media in Iraq was the American government and military. That’s because they feared they couldn’t justify their attacks if the media was there to record the times they launched inhumane assaults. During a situation like that, the hostage incident occurred and then Chief Cabinet Secretary Fukuda (now Prime Minister) said something meaning “nuisance” at the very beginning, as if he spoke for America’s sense of irritation. He led the public opinion in every possible way towards the “self responsibility theory” by leaking fake information which says “there exists a suspicion this is just a performance” with the former Prime Minister, Koizumi’s Secretary Iijima.

That is to say, if the side they want to control is their enemy or not, who steps forward differs. It needn’t be said that journalists and volunteers who support humanity exist independently and separate from the intentions of those authorities. The authorities are not supposed to be able to exclude those individuals if the state is truly democratic, and not despotic.

It can not be allowed for us to use Mr. Nagai’s death as a tool for our own catharsis.
# by hoshinotjp | 2007-09-29 05:53 | 政治

Your final extra credit opportunity of the semester

2007-10-27T16:12:00.000-05:00

This coming Friday, Professor Kota Inoue of the University of Redlands will be giving a free public lecture that is directly related to some of the themes we've covered this semester. You can earn extra credit for attending the talk and even more extra credit for writing a short (1-2 page) response paper. In addition to his scholarly work, Prof. Inoue also has some interesting experience as an activist. I can tell you about that in class. Unfortunately, he won't be arriving in time to visit our class this week, but he will be coming to my Thursday class, which meets from 2:30-3:45. If anyone is interested in joining that class for the day, let me know asap. I think we have room for about five of you to join us, so I'll let people join based on a "first come, first serve" basis. Below you'll find the information on the talk (and some other things).

"Colonialism on the Beach, Colonialism in the Woods: Cultural Imagination of the Imperial Metropolis Tokyo"

A Center for Asian and Pacific Studies public talk by

Professor Kota Inoue, The University of Redlands

Friday, Nov. 2, 2007
302 Schaeffer Hall from 4:00 to 5:30 pm

The grand narrative of the history of modern Japanese literature has been that of awakening individualism ostensibly prompted by the country's encounter with the West in the mid-19th Century. This view of modern Japanese literature, helped in part by the dominant idea of history that equates modernity with Western culture, is facing increasing challenges. One of the reasons for the change is the growing awareness of the connection between modernity and colonization. Literature of modern Japan up to 1945, when the country's colonial empire was dismantled, has now been studied in relation to Japan's colonialism by some critics in the last two decades. The new direction of research suggested by these works could potentially lead to a substantial revision of our basic undrestanding of modern Japanese literature. However, in the pursuit of the new direction, the issue of colonialism and literature has so far too often been narrowly understood as that of colonial literature -- literature by or about the colonized -- especially its representation of the colonial Other. This talk widens the path of inquiry by taking up unlikely texts from the 1920s, usually known as one of the most liberal and cosmopolitan periods in modern Japan, and teasing out their colonial relevance, whether in the form of participation in or resistnace to colonial logic. The broad connection made between colonialism and literature, it is hoped, will help us think about the relationships of dominace in other times and places, such as postwar Japan and beyond.

Professor Inoue is currently working on a book manuscript that examines colonization of the everyday through closely analyzing suburban space in Japanese literature and cinema. His research interests include postcolonial interventions, critique of globalization, configuration of power in modernity, and cultural forms of resistance to the state authority in Japan.

I also wanted you to know that Prof. Inoue has been to Iowa once before, but it wasn't the happiest of times for him as you'll see in the photo below. He was moving from Chicago to Irvine, California when his car, affectionately known as "Sunshine Boy," broke down near Wilton, Iowa. Let's make this next trip to Iowa a much, much better one for him!

Finally, I really love this photo of Prof. Inoue with Yuri Kochiyama, whom a few of you know from my "Insurgency" class.

And now for something completely different!

2007-10-25T18:29:00.000-05:00

Or maybe it's not so different. You'll have to read the next story and decide for yourself.

Your next assignment is to read "Sayonara Tsai-chien" (1975) by Hwang (or Huang) Chun-ming (in your coursepack). So far, we've studied people who had strong feelings about, among other things, the emperor system, capitalism, and colonialism. I'm looking forward to hearing (and reading) what you think of how these issues (and even more) show up in Hwang's story.

We're also taking a bit of a leap forward in time, but the background for our story extends back to the times we've been studying thus far.

Hwang (pictured here) was born a few years after Takiji was killed, but some of the characters in this story are a little older, as you'll see.

Hwang also writes works for children. You can read an interview with him here.

Hwang's son Kuo-chun (born in 1971), who was also a writer, killed himself three years ago. Take a look at this article and tell me your thoughts.

Finally, I'm really curious what you all already might know about Taiwan. Do you know where it is? I think you'll find this short article interesting in light of our course topic. Some of you might be able to identify the perspective of the article, which isn't simply a criticism of a Japanese politician's remarks. What is going here? Can you think of different groups who might have had a problem with Aso's remarks? In Japan? In Taiwan? In China?

Thanks to Chelsea, Kate, and Stone!

2007-10-25T10:17:00.000-05:00

New posts will be made this weekend, but for now, I thought you all might want to thank your classmates for the delicious and delightful Japanarchist cookies! That was such a treat! Jenn took photos of the cookies (and Mr. Kanaan), and I will post them here once I've had a chance to get your permission to post class photos next week and Jenn's had a chance to transfer all the photos off her camera.

Midterm Questions and Review Strategies

2007-10-22T12:05:00.001-05:00

Please post any last-minute questions you have in the comments section below. I'll do my best to answer all your questions, but you can also tap your collective resources and answer one another's questions (for blog credit). If you have any neat study or review strategies, please share them with one another. As I may have mentioned, I do not grade on a curve, so you are not in competition with one another to earn the best grades.

Ramsey Kanaan

2007-10-17T22:03:00.000-05:00

Your reward for all your hard work preparing for and completing the midterm will come in the form of this guy, Ramsey Kanaan, a real, live anarchist who happens to be the founder of AK Press, which distributes The Autobiography of Osugi Sakae and publishes lots and lots of other books. He'll be flying in from his home in Oakland, California for some events in Chicago, but he is graciously arriving a few days early to spend some time with us in Iowa City. After the midterm, you'll be free to ask him any and all questions about anarchism, publishing, community organizing, music, etc. This will be your big chance to ask all the "big concept" questions we haven't fully explored. You won't have to relate your questions to Japan or any of the people or events we have studied.

Here are some facts about Mr. Kanaan (whom you can also find on Wikipedia) to pique your curiosity and maybe help generate some questions. He's been an anarchist for about 25 years. In his youth in the early 1980s, Ramsey fronted the punk band Political Asylum. Click here to see a "tribute page" to the band on MySpace. He currently performs with the Bay Area-based group Folk This!

He does more than publish books and sing, of course. Back when he still lived in Scotland, he was a leading force in the Poll Tax Rebellion that played a big role in bringing down Margaret Thatcher's administration.

To listen to a talk he gave at a Renewing the Anarchist Tradition conference in 2001, click here.

You can watch and hear him talk here.

You can access some audio from a talk he gave in Australia here and here.

Hint

2007-10-17T21:32:00.000-05:00

Some of you might be using a blog for the first time in this class. You might not know that every post is archived. If you look at the sidebar on the right and scroll down, you'll find links to the archives. Our class began in August 2007 (NOT August 2005), so you can start there to focus on the posts for our class. As you study for the midterm, I'd encourage you to go back over the blog posts as part of your review.

Reminder: "Playing" This Weekend

2007-10-17T21:20:00.000-05:00

Please come, one come all to the UDF!!!
Undergraduate Directing Festival
This Thursday Friday and Sat at 8pm in the Theatre Building, Theatre B
Tickets are 4 dollars for students and 6 for others.

This invitation comes from Cecilia Copeland Haertsch, writer of 'Playing' the first one act of the night.

There are four one act plays in the festival and the running time is about an hour and fifteen minutes.

'Playing' is about a relationship in trouble, and how the outcome hangs on the balance of a Chess Game.

Extra Credit Opportunities This Weekend!

2007-10-17T20:42:00.000-05:00

If you are able to attend any of the conference panels listed below, you can earn extra credit by writing a short (1-2 page) response paper. The more panels you attend and discuss, the more extra credit you can earn.

"North Korea: Policy, Modernity, Fantasy -- International Conference," will take place Friday and Saturday, Oct. 19 and 20, at the International Programs Commons, 1117 University Capitol Centre. The conference is free and open to the public.

Friday October 19

9:00-9:30 Opening remarks by Dean William Reisinger, International Programs, University of Iowa

Session 1 North Korea in the World
9:30-10:15 Gavan McCormack “North Korea and the Birth Pangs of a New Northeast Asian Order: Setting the Twentieth Century to Rest”

10:15-11:00 Charles Armstrong “Socialism, Sovereignty, and the North Korean Exception”

11:00-11:30 Discussant’s comment by Jeff Baron, questions and further discussion

1:40-2:15 Greetings from President Sally Mason, University of Iowa

Session 2 Inside North Korea
2:15-2:45 Steven Chung “Reading Sin Sang-ok’s Cinematic Discourse across the Border”

2:45-3:30 Sonia Ryang “Biopolitics, or, the Logic of Sovereign Love: Love’s Whereabouts in North Korea”

3:30-4:00 Discussant’s comment by Scott Schnell, questions and further discussion

4:30-6:30 Film viewing “A State of Mind”

Saturday October 20

9:00-9:30 Coffee

Session 3 Migrants and Defectors
9:30-10:15 Hyun Ok Park “From National to Market Utopia: North Korean Migrants, Peace, and Humanism”

10:15-11:00 Michael Doveton “Atomization in North Korea: Through the Eyes of the ‘Defectors’”

11:00-11:45 Discussant’s comment by Adrienne Hurley, questions and further discussion

Session 4 Human Rights Update
1:45-2:30 Peter Beck “The Plight of North Korean Women in China”

2:30-3:15 Tessa Morris-Suzuki “Border Crossings: Refugees, ‘Returnees,’ and North Korea’s Regional Relations”

3:15-4:00 Discussant’s comment by Jae-on Kim, questions and further discussion

4:15-5:15 Documentary show “North Korea: A Day in Life”

Organizers gratefully acknowledge funding from University of Iowa International Programs Major Project Grant, Northeast Asia Council of Association for Asian Studies, and Center for Asia and Pacific Studies, University of Iowa.

Anonymous Messages for Prof. Schnell

2007-10-17T20:34:00.001-05:00

One of my very favorite things to do is to have guests visit my classes. I think the more "voices" you get in your college experience, the more you learn. (If all you got was me, by the way, you would be in big trouble!) I've been lucky enough to be able to bring at least one and usually more guests to my classes each semester since I came to the UI. Tonight was really special, because not only did you get to engage the author of our reading, but he is a UI professor and someone whose courses you can take (if you haven't already done so).

Since Prof. Schnell said he wouldn't really believe you in person, here's your chance to leave anonymous answers to the following question in the comments section below.

"Is this work [on Ema Shû's The Mountain Folk] interesting?"

Please feel free to leave other comments related to the reading and Prof. Schnell's visit.

Anarchists and others come to the defense of a transgender worker in Japan

2007-10-15T20:07:00.000-05:00

The following is another gift to the class from Shiori. She translated this post on the Irregular Rhythm Asylum Blog from last November and included some explanatory notes. I think you'll find the last part the most interesting. Shiori also wanted you to have a few definitions. Jikyokan: a place for homeless people to stay. Precariat: people in precarious social and personal situations that are tied to precarious or unstable working situations. For example, the term is often used to refer to low-paying service sector jobs without benefits, long-term security, or possibilities for “advancement.” Precariat activists draw attention to the actual conditions of temporary and precarious employment. More information in Japanese is available here.

ubiqueer D.I.Y. Bar final

Nov. 18th ubiqueer D.I.Y. Bar final. Benefit Night for “Jikyokan” struggle

Because this is the last “ubiqueer” in Akane, we’ll hold the benefit without any group charges or dress codes.

This is an event in collusion with Litchi-san from Mumumu (aka Greyful-san). Please assist the fund-raising to support the Jikyokan Trial Struggle on that day. I will inform you later here and on Mumumu concerning the funds raised and amount of money sent.

Date and time: From 7:00pm on November 18th (Sat) maybe until the first train leaves the next morning

Place: Akane in Waseda, Tokyo

Details for the day:
*Charge (for admission): ￥200 for anyone + donation (a reasonable amount)
* food: something vegetable. I might let you know the menu right before the event.
* alcohol: cheap but good. Starts from ￥250 for some beer, and others.
* sound: the deep pop sounds of DJ meenie Kotomicha-san (honeorimusume) vs. My Grumble. I wonder if this might be the last performance by DJ crash of team “Escola de Sarava Obeya”?
* disguising as a woman: if you want to do it, you can, just do it, yo.
* disguising as a man: if you want to do it, you can, just do it, yo.
* disguising: as you wish
* bring stuff in: Will be a bother
* show up: I’ll be happy
* other: Contact ambiguousmenace(AT)gmail.com with any questions

About ubiqueer/A-menace from now on:
I’ll continue the activities like picnics, getting back to parks and streets. I’ll continue this web blog, as well.

POSTED BY IRA_K AT 7:59 PM

There was a sudden notice to fire K-san, who had been working for the project of on-location consultation for homeless people in Osaka for a year and a half, since September 2004. Firing K-san is an unfair decision. It’s gender discrimination. Prejudiced speech was directed at K-san. “Make yourself clear, are you a man or woman?”, “we’ll be despised by homeless people,” and K-san’s work was taken away. The employer, Social Welfare Corporation Osaka Jikyokan, admitted that there is no fair reasoning for K-san’s layoff, but has neither admitted their sexual harassment nor withdrawn K-san’s dismissal. K-san stood up for the struggle of a trial, in order to request the employer’s apology for sexual harassment toward transgender people, and a withdrawal of the dismissal, because K-san doesn’t want to give in.

Union Bochi Bochi will do our best fighting in solidarity with K-san. However, a trial costs a lot of money. We desperately are in need of fund-raising. Please give your warm support for this struggle, for neither allowing throwing workers away nor discrimination against minorities.

The precarious workers union "Union Bochi Bochi" calls on all to support the fight against discrimination and sexual harrassment of workers from sexual minorities.

K-san’s feeling

I’ve been going through the harsh reality of a temporary laborer after the notice of sudden unemployment. I reported that I was transgender, and was hired when I started to work. My work is to go around and consult with homeless people. I think I had worked harder than other people as a temporary worker. However, the new supervisor didn’t try to understand minorities and it seemed that he only thought to remove the people who have different natures. As a result, he started to make working impossible for me.

Many people have to put up with the position of being a temporary worker, whether s/he likes it or not, under the severe employment situation. Anyone could face the danger of standing at a weak position where they might be targeted to be socially removed. At the collective bargaining, an executive of Jikyokan said “of course a temporary worker is fired when his employment was over.”

I often hear the word precariat recently, but I think we should consider the situation of temporary workers to be a problem for all of society. I was told “if you don’t like it, move to another company,” but I wish for a society where no one can say that kind of thing, and just throw away workers. I earnestly believe that no one can live at ease when society doesn’t respect individuals.

I realized the limitations of individual protest, and felt strongly the need of a labor union. There are people who gave in and quit their job before me. I thought that the same thing will happen again if we leave the working environment as it is. If we don’t ask, we won’t get. I won’t tolerate throwaway workers. I won’t tolerate discrimination against minorities.

That’s why I decided to take this to court.

Please support me.

http://rootless.org/botiboti/jikyoukan.pdf

The dirt on your midterm exam

2007-10-14T17:02:00.000-05:00

Your midterm will have four sections.

The first consists of 10 true/false questions, which will make up 10% of your exam grade. These questions cover all of the course material thus far (more or less). One (rather simple) question relates to the geography of Japan -- specifically an area discussed in relation to one of our readings.

The second short answer section calls for you to identify (briefly) 5 of 8 events, terms, or phrases, and this section also counts for 10%.

Then, you'll have a timeline question that will count for 20% of your grade.

Finally, your essay will count for 60% of your midterm exam grade. You'll have two essay prompts focusing on a particular theme from which to choose. One prompt will require that you draw on examples from all of the readings and films we've covered thus far. This option will be less conceptually challenging, but will require you to demonstrate familiarity with all of the course material. The other option will only require you to use examples from three readings or films (of your choosing), but will be more conceptually challenging and require a more sophisticated and original argument.

Questions for this week

2007-10-14T14:24:00.000-05:00

This is a photo of Takayama in the fall.

Here are some initial questions on your reading I'd like you to answer in the comments section below:

1. How does the Umemura Rebellion in Hida relate to issues we have studied thus far?

2. What was EMA Shû’s personal relationship to the history of the Umemura Rebellion?

3. What historical events and issues we have studied thus far influenced EMA?

4. What is significant about the story of Kappaya Oraku?

5. Although EMA’s text is set in the past, Professor Schnell suggests it is also a form of “veiled protest” of developments during EMA’s time. How is that the case? How does EMA’s protest relate to our class topic?

6. Like Takiji, EMA was known as a proletarian writer. What similarities and differences do you see between EMA and Takiji?

EMA Shû's Mountain Folk

2007-10-10T17:44:00.000-05:00

Prof. Scott Schnell of the Anthropology Department will visit our class next week to discuss his essay "Ema Shu's 'The Mountain Folk': fictionalized ethnography and veiled dissent."

Before accessing the article, please check your University of Iowa email account for further information!

Some pictures

2007-10-10T08:31:00.000-05:00

Click here to see some photos and info (in Japanese) from a conference on the death of Osugi and its meaning today.

to those of you who didn't buy your book when i told you to

2007-10-05T14:56:00.000-05:00

I heard from the folks at Prairie Lights that more than a few people went there over the past few days to buy The Autobiography of Osugi Sakae and that there weren't any copies left. It's probably not possible to order a copy in time for next week, but all is not lost, my poor planners. I'll never know who you are if you take advantage of the library reserves. I have placed the book on reserve (to be checked out only for 4 hours at a time) in the Main Library.

Inquiring Minds Want to Know...

2007-10-04T20:03:00.000-05:00

John emailed me a great question this afternoon, and I wanted to put it out there for everyone to address together. On the first day of class, I told you that one of the basic beliefs shared by the people we are studying was the following:

"Because no one's life matters more than another's, all forms of differential power and hierarchy must be abolished."

John asked, "How literally should this be taken? Also, am I correct in assuming that in an ideal Japanese-Anarchist society then, there is absolutely no power difference between any of its members?"

As a follow-up to John's question, I'd like you to consider whether the people we've been studying seem to have taken this idea literally. How literally did they seem to take it? And what evidence do you have for your answer?

Thanks, John!

An imaginary conversation between two Iowa City anarchists

2007-10-04T00:37:00.000-05:00

JJ: Osugi Sakae! What a fraud! He claimed to promote “free love.” What he should have said was “free love for me.” Kamichika Ichiko was financially supporting Osugi and his other lovers, so it’s hard to blame her for getting mad enough to stab him. What a jerk! I’m not saying that what the military police did was right, but why do we need to hold Osugi up as some kind of anarchist hero? Why is he more famous than Itô or even Kanno Sugako?

MM: Say what you like about his personal life, but he was a stalwart radical who never gave up, not even after the High Treason Incident. After the earthquake, when 6,000 Koreans were massacred in Tokyo and Yokohama by vigilantes, the military police picked up Osugi, Itô, and Osugi’s 6 year-old nephew Munekazu and killed them, right? Amakasu Masahiko, the military police lieutenant who orchestrated the arrests and killings, was only very briefly imprisoned for his actions. Was he rewarded for killing radicals with an official post in Japanese-Occupied Manchuria? We need to reclaim Osugi’s life and respect his contributions to the movement!

JJ: Does he have to be a hero? Just because someone was the victim of terrible state repression doesn’t mean that person has to be revered, does it? Can we hate the crime without loving the victim? I don’t mean to suggest that he didn’t contribute anything of value to the movement, but he’s not exactly the kind of anarchist I want to emulate (or even hang out with). Why do you have to turn him into a saint? Do I have to love every anarchist without question?

MM: Your only problems with him are related to his personal life, aren’t they? Well, how can any of us really know what went on between any two (or four) people who are not here to tell us. Even if they were here, only those people could really know anyway. What we do have are his writings, the records of his arrests, and the reality of his murder. All of those things make me respect and admire him and want for him to be remembered as an anarchist who made a difference.

JJ: You make it sound so mysterious, but we do know enough to understand that Kamichika was hurt and upset enough by Osugi’s “free love” to want to stab him. Of course, we don’t know everything, but I know enough to say that I wouldn’t welcome that brand of “free love” in my community. It's sexist, and that's not anarchist.

MM: I think it’s really sad that you’re letting your own moral or imaginative limitations keep you from understanding how important his legacy is to all of us. I don't need him to have been someone's perfect lover or husband. And even if he was sexist, as you see it, I don't think that takes anything away from the good work he did. Can't you tolerate even a little ambivalence in a hero?

JJ: I think you're the one who can't handle ambivalence, because you won't hear criticisms of Osugi.

MM: We should see what everyone in Adrienne's class thinks. Maybe they can come up with some better ways to look at Osugi's life.

If you read Japanese...

2007-10-03T23:41:00.000-05:00

You can find lots of Osugi's writings here. The piece entitled "On Male-Female Relations" (and addressed to Itô Noe) might be interesting for those of you who are in 4th year Japanese right now. Give it a try. :)

A message from Osugi Sakae

2007-10-03T20:44:00.000-05:00

Saluton, kamaradoj!

Mia nomo estas Osugi Sakae. Krom mia furioze aventurema vivo priparolis en mia aŭtobiografio, Mi teniĝis specialan lokon en mia koro por Esperanto. Kiel mirinda estus se ni ĉiuj povus komuniki reciproke en ununura lingvo! Povas iuj el vi kompren mi? Mi estas malfeliĉa al pens jam nun, en 2007, via klaso estas farita En la angla kaj ne Esperanto. Mi ..us sopir pli bona, bedaŭrinde, tamen.

Vi ŝat mia aŭtobiografio? Vi trov mi ĉarm?

Se vi estas konfuzitajn, kamaradojn, vin povus trovi ĉi tiu video helpema.

Before we leave The Factory Ship

2007-10-03T19:27:00.000-05:00

Even though we all seemed a little sleepy, I was really happy with your responses to the reading this afternoon. On the way home, I remembered one thing I ought to have asked you that we didn't address in class. What are the movies the men see about? How is this significant?

A few vocabulary words for the next two weeks

2007-10-03T10:17:00.000-05:00

What great comments below! Today will be a breeze thanks to all the excellent work you've done in setting us up for a great class discussion!

Today, I will introduce 2 words that we will discuss even more next week.

硬派（こうは）: Kôha

軟派（なんぱ）: Nanpa

Have any of you heard of these terms before?

(If you want to view the Japanese characters above and can't, you should adjust your browser preferences to view Japanese.)

The Super-Big Takiji Post!

2007-09-30T12:26:00.000-05:00

Instead of several small posts on Takiji this week, I decided to give you a big one. My hope is that you'll have enough here to spark a lively discussion on a very significant writer in the comments section below. In other words, I'm hoping you will respond to one another below as well. Of all the novels and stories I teach, The Factory Ship tends to be one of my students' favorites. I'm looking forward to learning if that will be the case for you all. There are also a few scenes that sometimes spark fierce debates. We'll see what you all do with this week's material!

First: A Note on Names

Some famous people are referred to in special ways or just by a single name. I can mention "John and Yoko" or "Kobe and Shaq," and you'll know the people I mean (probably), and I can mention Picasso or Da Vinci, and the effect is the same. In the case of Japanese literature, some of the most famous (early) modern and premodern authors are known by their given names. KOBAYASHI Takiji is known as Takiji. He was murdered when he was very young, which might have something to do with why he is, affectionately for some of us, referred to as Takiji. For those of you who've taken other classes with me, you'll know that Ichiyô, Bashô, Saikaku and others are also nown by their given names. And yet other writers are known by their surnames (or family names). MISHIMA and ÔE, for example, are known by their surnames, and so are some much earlier writers like CHIKAMATSU. Sometimes people writing at more or less the same time and with more or less the same level of fame are referred to in different ways, so there is no fixed rule, but it does seem that by the 1930s, more and more writers were getting referred to by their surnames. And yet ... the contemporary novelist YOSHIMOTO Banana is referred to as Banana. But if you were named Mahoko and took the pen name Banana, people would probably call you Banana too.

On a related note, which characters in The Factory Ship have names and which don't? What's up with that?

Second: Takiji's Life and Death

Takiji was a proletarian writer and activist. What does that mean? Have you ever heard the term before? Why do you think I am having you read this novel in a class on anarchism?

As I briefly mentioned in class, at the age of 29 (in 1933), Takiji was tortured to death by the Japanese military police. Anyone want to guess why? This is a photo of his comrades gathered around his brutalized corpse. One of my students in the first Japanarchy course described this as "the most haunting image" he had ever seen.

When Professor Norma Field of the University of Chicago was here last year, she talked to my classes about Takiji. Among the many things she shared that I will never forget was the story of how the following photos were removed from one of the only places where they could be seen. She is writing about the circumstances behind that decision for an upcoming book, but we can talk about it in class too if we have time.

I was familiar with the photo above, but I had never seen these photos before her visit. They are difficult to see.

Norma Field also told us that the police used torture techniques on Takiji that were taken from one of his novels, March 15, 1928. What do you think of that?

We have an excellent documentary on Takiji in the UI library. Unfortunately, it's not subtitled, but if you want to watch it in Japanese, it's 『時代を撃て・多喜二』 (22619 VHS) in Media Services in the Main Library! It's really good.

Third: The Factory Ship Manga

In Japanese, the title of The Factory Ship is 蟹工船 (Kani Kôsen), which is really a crab-factory (or crab canning) ship.

I told you about a contest for people under 25 to write a short essay about the work you are currently reading. The winner will be flown to Otaru, Japan for the awards ceremony. I hope those of you who can read and write in Japanese will give this a try! (Big cash prizes too!) See me if you have any questions. The contest is connected to the release of a new comic book (manga) called Manga kani kôsen! Below are the first pages of this companion piece to the novel you are reading. Enjoy! (We have it in the UI library.) To view a larger version, just click on any image below. It begins with Takiji's grieving comrades gathered around his corpse. They are in shock at the tragedy of his horrible murder. They know he couldn't have suffered a heart attack like the military police claimed. (He was, after all, an excellent swimmer with a strong heart.) This scene is used to introduce the story "The Factory Ship."

Fourth: Location

Click on any of the images below to see a larger version. The stamp features Takiji and the work we are reading this week and was issued in 2000. The photos are of the Sea of Okhotsk & Kamchatka.

Finally: An extra reading for those who know about the TV show "24" and want more ideas to discuss in class

Try reading "The Epistemology of Torture: 24 and Japanese Proletarian Literature" by Heather Bowen-Struyk!

extra credit opportunity tomorrow

2007-09-27T20:06:00.001-05:00

Click on the image above to view a larger version of the poster with all the details on tomorrow's talk, which is free and open to the public! If you attend the talk and write a short response paper, you can earn extra credit!!

the emperor and the prime minister

2007-09-26T19:25:00.000-05:00

Randy is really on the ball, and he caught me up on the latest news after class! As of today, Japan has a new prime minister, FUKUDA Yasuo (right). The emperor (left) was present at the ceremony. Abe, the old PM, is center. Any thoughts on the photo (and news) in relation to our class (or anything else)?

UI Japanese Culture Association

2007-09-26T19:15:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow (Thursday) night at 7pm, the JCA is hosting a special, extended tour of the East Asia Writers Exhibit in the library. Chiaki Sakai will be explaining even more about the exhibit you all saw earlier this semester. If you are interested in the JCA or just want to learn more about the exhibit, meet at the North Entrance of the Main Library at 7pm tomorrow night!

Thank you, Hyunok!!!!

2007-09-26T18:50:00.000-05:00

One person made it possible for all of us to view the drama today, and that person is the amazing, generous, and wonderful ...
Hyunok!

Please leave your messages for Hyunok in the comments section below.

Revolutionary Suicide?

2007-09-26T09:06:00.000-05:00

I'm really enjoying your comments. I'm not surprised that some of you find KANEKO Fumiko to be a more accessible figure, someone with whom you might identify more easily than KANNO. I'm struck again, as I re-read your assigned material for this week, by KANEKO's youth and how incredibly full and complex her short life was.

Black Panther Party co-founder Huey P. Newton's book Revolutionary Suicide was published in 1973. Newton (pictured here in the Oakland County Jail in 1967) was concerned with some of the same problems that concerned KANEKO. For example, he articulates a concept he calls "revolutionary suicide."

... [It] is better to oppose the forces that would drive me to self-murder than to endure them. Although I risk the likelihood of death, there is at least the possibility, if not the probability, of changing intolerable conditions. [...] Revolutionary suicide does not mean that I and my comrades have a death wish; it means just the opposite. We have such a strong desire to live with hope and human dignity that existence without them is impossible.

Later, he explains:

The concept of revolutionary suicide is not defeatist or fatalistic. On the contrary, it conveys an awareness of reality in combination with the possibility of hope -- reality because the revolutionary must always be prepared to face death, and hope because it symbolizes a resolute determination to bring about change.

What do you think KANEKO would have thought of Newton's idea? Is there anything specific from your readings that you can relate to Newton's theory? How do you understand "nihilism" in KANEKO's case?
KANEKO and PARK, March 10, 1926

False alarm

2007-09-25T08:11:00.001-05:00

Click here for yesterday's updated story on FERPA, which indicates I can, in fact, still call you by name without getting your permission first.

KANEKO Fumiko

2007-09-24T13:50:00.000-05:00

PARK Yeol and KANEKO Fumiko

KANEKO Fumiko was only about 8 yrs. old when KANNO Sugako was executed.

As you'll see in the film we watch in class, Kaneko was deeply affected by poetry. If you can read Japanese, you can see Kaneko's own poetry here. In one poem, she writes about how she's known nothing but sadness since the tender age of six. Based on your readings, what do you make of that?

And what do you think of her now that you've also learned about KANNO?

I'm pretty sure I've already alluded to this in class, and you've also read some information too, but I want to make sure everyone knows there was a huge earthquake in the fall of 1923 that devastated Tokyo, Yokohama, and the surrounding areas. The earthquake was followed by a tsunami. There was no Richter scale at the time, but it's been estimated to have been around an 8, which is massive. The huge earthquake in Kobe in 1995 was a 7.3, and the one that killed about 100,000 people in Mexico City in 1985 was an 8.1 (just to give you some points of reference). Folks in Mexico City have been remembering the 1985 earthquake in lots of ways recently.

If you click here, you can follow where severe earthquakes are currently being recorded. You can learn about the earthquakes in Peru and Indonesia earlier this month, for example.

The 1923 earthquake in Japan is important in the movie we'll watch. Anti-Korean and anti-anarchist sentiments (combined, of course, with martial law conditions) fueled a post-quake massacre, which we will discuss. The following are photographs of the devastation and a map indicating the relative concentrations of deaths from the Izu Peninsula in Shizuoka Prefecture all the way up into Saitama Prefecture.

Announcement

2007-09-21T18:47:00.000-05:00

According to today's newspaper, I am no longer able to use your names in class or on the blog without first obtaining your permission. This story indicates that the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) now requires that I refrain from calling you by name to prevent violations of your privacy. If you would like to permit me to use your name in class and/or on the blog, please let me know in the comments section below or in my office hours. If I do not receive your permission, I will no longer use your name in class or on the blog. I will, however, need you to pick a "handle" or alias to use on the blog for grading purposes. You can provide this information to me in person or via email.

Extra Credit Opportunity!

2007-09-20T00:26:00.001-05:00

I just learned about an upcoming public lecture by Dr. Christine Ivanovic, a visting scholar. I don't know anything about her other than she teaches German and Slavic literature at the University of Tokyo. She's giving some other talks, but I figured this one might be of interest to some of you. I'm sorry that I have no description for her lecture. But, if you want some extra credit (maybe to make up for missed blog comments), you can attend the talk and write a short (1-page) response paper.

Tuesday, Sept. 25, 4:00 p.m. E132 AJB
"Transforming the 'Empire of Signs': Tokyo's Acoustic Media Profile"

An answer to a question and more questions

2007-09-19T19:28:00.000-05:00

Randy asked me a question after class, and I figured some other people might be wondering the same thing, so I thought I'd share the conversation with everyone.

Randy: I noticed there were some blog comments "deleted by the author" and wondered if someone had been posting rants or "down with anarchy" comments. I was especially curious when a comment on the Abe resignation post was "deleted by the author."

Adrienne: I didn't delete those comments. They were deleted by the people who wrote them. People who are logged into blogger or gmail can go back and delete comments they make.

If you were curious, you can thank Randy.

Now, here are my questions for you all:

1. I had you go through the readings in class and also shared some information with you about what I think matters when it comes to Kanno's story. What do YOU think of Kanno Sugako? (There are no wrong answers.)

2. Pretend you have a friend or loved one who is really curious about our class, but who doesn't know anything about the material we are studying. How would you describe Kanno Sugako and the High Treason Incident to that person?

3. Was there anything in the assigned readings that bothered or upset you? If so, what was it, and why did it affect you that way?

Prison News from Japan

2007-09-18T07:58:00.000-05:00

Shiori Yamazaki has translated the following recent news article for us. While we will be studying earlier stories of imprisonment in the coming weeks, I think you'll want to discuss this story.

Convicts: wanting to be imprisoned in solitary confinement even if it means violating rules intentionally…. Community cells are stressful, so this desire is increasing in number even though it delays parole

“I want to be imprisoned in solitary confinement because of the hassle of human relations.” Recently, the number of convicts intentionally breaking the rules has been increasing with this kind of motivation in Aomori Jail (Aomori City). According to the officials, it is a national tendency, and the convicts who had been punished because of neglecting their work has increased three times within the last 5 years. (Gou GOTO)

There are 702 convicts in Aomori Jail. There are about the same number of solitary confinement cells as community cells (6 people maximum), and this jail holds persistent offenders whose sentences are shorter than 8 years.

According to the same officials, “One day, suddenly, people were rejecting their work, saying ‘I don’t want to work,’ in order to stay in solitary confinement. These people have stood out for 4 or 5 years. The impression now is that there are several people like this in a week.” Actually, there is not enough solitary confinement, so an extra cot is put in the solitary confinement cell, allowing for two people in one cell.

In general, if they violate rules, it is unlikely that they can get out of jail with parole before they serve the full term of imprisonment. Once they are in solitary confinement, they are prohibited to have visitors and to read newspapers or magazines. Hideaki Yaginuma, who is the head officer of correction treatment (in charge of planning) at the same jail, attests “Even though they receive less reward money, they say ‘it is fine,’ and stay in solitary confinement for a half year.”

Many of the prisoners, of all age groups, who wish to stay in solitary confinement, are exhausted by human relations in community cells. Concerned parties at the same jail analyze this saying, “Originally, many convicts are not good at human relations, but recently their sense of privacy might have grown stronger.”

There are no statistics to prove the increase of those who want to stay in a solitary confinement. However, according to a report which Ministry of Justice assembled, the number of the convicts, who received punishment by “neglecting their work,” was 4798 in 2001 (13.9% of the prison population) and increased suddenly to 13,236 in 2006 (22.1% of the prison population).

The Correction Bureau of the Ministry of Justice points out the holding of excessive numbers of convicts in jail as an explanation, saying “when there are more people, the stress that convicts have increases, of course. It is possible to assume that the number of people who want to be alone increases, too.” According to the same bureau, the rate of holding convicts nationally is 103.7%. In addition, 8 people are held in a community cell which usually holds 6 people maximum.

In May, Japan opened its first jail to be funded privately called “Mine Social Rehabilitation Promotion Center” (which holds 1,000 people in Mine, Yamaguchi), which cares about the stress from human relations and more than 90% of convicts can live in their “own room.” Professor Koichi Hamai, specializing in criminal studies at Ryukoku University says “It is necessary for jails, as well as old jails, to have enforcement to relieve convicts’ stress by building more solitary confinement or by providing active counseling.”

(Mainichi Shimbun/ Daily Newspaper: Sep 9, 2007; Tokyo morning edition)

Check out the news from Japan today!

2007-09-12T11:12:00.001-05:00

I think you'll find a pretty significant story.

Some stuff to help you

2007-09-11T19:29:00.001-05:00

Cecilia has already endorsed the movie, so hopefully you all are excited to see it! I'm pretty sure you won't be bored; I'll just say that. The following names, etc. might be helpful when you make comments here after watching the movie tomorrow. You will have an assignment after the film. The only people who will read that will be Shiori and me, so you can post ideas from your assignment or raise other issues for the class as you like.

Pictured here on the left is ITÔ Hidehito, in the middle is AMAMIYA Karin, and on the right is TSUCHIYA Yutaka, the director. ITÔ and AMAMIYA are in the ultra-right nationalist punk band called "The Revolutionary Truth."

TERAYAMA Shuji was an avant-garde playwright, filmmaker, and artist. The film opens with a quote from him, and he's also referenced a bit later. You can see some of his stuff here. Yikes! You might, for example, check out The Emperor Tomato Ketchup.

SHIOMI Takaya is the Japanese Red Army guy who accompanies AMAMIYA to North Korea.

I have a feeling that some of you might want to read this after watching the movie too. Click forward and back to read the whole thing.

Shiori's first gift to the class

2007-09-11T07:58:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone,

As I mentioned, Shiori Yamazaki will provide us with timely translations of recent material from Japanese anarchist blogs and other related sources. These will be some of our most interesting blog posts, because they will give you a better sense of what anarchists in Japan are doing today. This first one also is directly germane to the film we watched the first day of class. It comes from this post on the Irregular Rhythm Asylum blog. Irregular Rhythm Asylum is an Infoshop in Tokyo. Can anyone tell us what an Infoshop is? The person discussed in this post is called "N-kun." That's kind of like "Mr. N," (or "young Mr. N"). "Kun" is a suffix attached to the name (usually of boys or young men, but not exclusively) as a term of address and is used (generally, but not always) by someone older.

Enjoy and comment!

Don’t allow oppresion by the Osaka police!
Give back N-kun right now!

The bloody oppresion by the Osaka Police happened again. N-kun, who is a member of Kama-pato (Kamagasaki patrol) was arrested in the afternoon of August 24th around 1 o’clock after his work place, another member’s place, and one other place were searched. The reason for his arrest was “violating the Road Trucking Vehicle Law,” which is an uncommon law. Also, they said N-kun was driving a diesel motor car, which was not allowed to be used in the city of Osaka last year. However, he hasn’t driven this car for more than 6 months.

Amazingly, it is said that this is the first case in Japan in which someone was arrested because of this kind of incident. Then why did the Osaka Police have to arrest N-kun?

It is because N-kun was fighting on the front line to protest the attacking of day-labor workers and homeless workers by forced evacuation from Nagai park, or forced elimination from the resident card. This is why the Osaka Police arrested him with the tiny crime right before the opening ceremony of the World Championships in Athletics.

This is exactly the preventive detention that tries to suppress the voice of protest against the World Championships in Athletics opening ceremony. We don’t allow such oppresion by the Osaka Police.

As you already know, Osaka City was forced to remove the tents and huts from Nagai Park where N-kun and his comorades were living on February 5th of this year. The removal was forced by ignoring a petition signed by 5,000 people opposing the forced removal, fabricating “the community’s voice to require the removal,” and putting so much tax money into the removal without responding to any of the homeless comrades’ requests or questions.

Why did they force such violence? The reason is obviously for the World Championships in Athletics, which the Emperor attends.

The forced removal of homeless people is not unrelated to the Emperor System and international events.

So far, the homeless people who were seen as an obstruction were eliminated like garbage every time the Emperor or his family attended some ceremonies, such as international events like the Olympics, where national aggrandizement is needed. There were removals at Utsubo Park last year (for the world rose conference), at Nagoya Shirakawa Park in 2005 (for the Aichi international exposition), at Nagai Park in ’97 (Namihaya National Athletic Meet), and also a storm of homeless removal raged at the World Cup of soccer in 2002.

Also, Osaka City enforced the removal of 2,088 homeless people and day-laborers from their residents’ cards and are planning to cut the budget of the “elders’ special work project” (300,000,000 yen a year), which is a project to protect elderly day-laborers and homeless people, because “there is no budget.” On the other hand, they put 4,000,000,000 yen of tax money toward the World Championships in Athletics.

Osaka City is trying to take more from the comrades’ conditions of living through so-called “environmental beautification” and “park maintenance” programs by the World Championships in Athletics, which the Emperor attends. And now, as if responding to the movement, the police arrested N-kun with a “minor offense” and suppressed the voice of protest by using this absurd technique!

The administration and the administration of justice are trying to abduct the poor people’s conditions of living one-by-one through forced removal from Utsubo/Osaka Castle Park and Nagai Park, the last year’s September 27th oppression (when 5 comrades fighting for anti-removal were arrested, and then released with a suspended sentence on August 9th this year), enforced removal from residents’ cards, and the plan of a budgetary cutback of special work projects.

We can’t allow this oppression. This is a war against poor people; the World Championships in Athletics is taking place under the condition of a “throwing people away” policy.

We want to appeal to many people to raise the voice of protest with us.

Oppose the World Championships in Athletics that excludes homeless people!
Osaka police give back N-kun at once!
Demolish oppression! Win the battle!

Kamagasaki Patrol Association
kamapat@infoseek.jp　090-8380-0269（Uchiyama）

Give us your voice of protest against the Osaka police!
Osaka Police Headquarters
3-1-11 Otemae, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi,
540-8540
TEL06-6943-1234

ROOM CHANGE!! 104 EPB

2007-09-10T08:53:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone,

Starting THIS WEEK, our class will meet in 104 EPB (English Philosophy Building). This room doesn't have the echo problem, and it's not too far from our original classroom. Please go directly to 104 EPB for class on Wednesday.

News from Japan

2007-09-08T10:10:00.000-05:00

Periodically, I will post links to Japanese news articles for you to discuss. This article on the recent typhoon in today's Asahi news includes the following lines:

More than 20 people were washed away or stranded in sandbars on the swollen Tamagawa river in western Tokyo.

Many were homeless people living in shacks or dry riverbeds.

Also of interest is this report on agreements made by the Abe and Bush administrations at the APEC conference in Australia (where, by the way, some Japanese anarchists have gone to protest).

Finally, this report addresses the homeless population called "Net Cafe Refugees." Based on your responses to Kansai Kouen, I think that some of you may have quite a bit to say about that one.

Some of you have asked questions on the blog that haven't been answered yet. We will get to all those questions in class in time, but let me know if your curiosity is overwhelming.

Japanarchists in the news!

2007-09-06T20:51:00.000-05:00

Four of your classmates are in today's Daily Iowan! (I'm glad I read the paper!) The article on Art-Think certainly relates to our discussion at the end of class yesterday. You can click on the images below to view larger versions.

A recap and some stuff to help you next week

2007-09-05T19:31:00.000-05:00

FUKUZAWA was not assassinated by angry samurai. He eventually founded an elite private university (Keio University) that is still one of the top schools in Japan. But peasants did revolt, and many anarchists, socialists, and communists did try to make common cause with peasants and workers. And much of what you all played out today was not so different from what really happened, as we will soon start learning. Above all, I'd like you to think of the historical moment we explored today as a desperate, scary, and, yes, even noisy time for lots of people in Japan.

When I look at your blog discussions (and excellent questions) and reflect back on class today, I think we've already layed out the major themes for the semester. In fact, your questions really anticipate where the class is headed. There's just one last thing we need to understand before moving on, and that's how and why some folks have (and still do) adore what NAITÔ calls the "empty center." If we are going to take seriously the anarchist notion that the emperor system should be abolished, shouldn't we first understand what people who love and revere the emperor system believe and feel?

To that end, you will watch the film The New God (新しい神様）in class next week. After the film, Shiori will give you an assignment in class, so bring a pen and paper.

The film was made in 1999 and was directed by TSUCHIYA Yutaka, who is known as a "leftist" documentarian. His subjects, whom he treats very sympathetically, are members of a nationalist and ultra-right wing punk rock band. I especially want you to pay attention to how the woman in the film (AMAMIYA Karin) describes her feelings about the emperor.

There is one thing I should explain as background before you watch the film. AMAMIYA travels to North Korea, where she meets with very significant figures from the Japanese Red Army (JRA)/ Red Army Faction who have been living there since hijacking a plane (with swords) in 1970. You can see them pictured in the "wanted" poster below. The plane was named the Yodo-go, and this hijacking is often called the Yodo-go Incident. She travels with SHIOMI Takaya, who spent twenty years in prison for his connection to the planning of the incident.
JRA followers saw themselves as participating in a global revolution. I doubt many of you will remember this, but even in the initial hours after the Sept. 11 hijackings, there was speculation as to whether the JRA was responsible. This might seem surprising, but a few media outlets even reported the JRA had claimed responsibility for the Sept. 11 hijackings, and one JRA member (KIKUMURA Yû) is currently held in the Federal Supermax prison in Florence, Colorado, so the idea that Japanese revolutionaries might have attacked the Pentagon and the Twin Towers was perhaps not as outlandish to some officials and reporters who were familiar with their history.

Just to be very clear at the outset, the JRA members are definitely not nationalists. In fact, their political orientation is quite different from the punk singers you will see. (But SHIOMI and AMAMIYA find common ground in their shared feelings about the U.S.) Maybe you all can help clarify this for one another by using the "comments" section below to discuss what "nationalism" is.

UPDATE: We have a new room!!! 104 EPB!!

Library Exhibit Trivia Challenge

2007-09-05T19:18:00.000-05:00

Angela and Randy are, for reasons I will explain later, unable to participate in this contest. But here's where you can post your answers to Chiaki Sakai's Trivia Challenge! The first person to get them all correct will win a prize (to be presented two weeks from today).

Some images to check out for our next class

2007-09-04T11:14:00.000-05:00

After our library trip tomorrow, I will give you a very brief history lesson that ends with the Russo-Japanese War.

The following political cartoon about that war appeared in the Des Moines Register and Leader on April 2, 1905.
Source
In the "blink of an eye," what changed? Well, we'll talk about this tomorrow. And yes, even folks in Iowa were paying attention to the developments I will tell you about in class.

Also in April of the same year, the following cartoon appeared in a newspaper in Cleveland.
Source

You might be interested in seeing some more here and here.

How did we get here?

2007-09-01T10:29:00.001-05:00

Wow! The discussion under the Kansai Kouen post is already quite impressive. Keep it up! I am also enjoying getting to know you all through the "introductions" you are sharing.

Remember that my goal in the first class was to throw us all into the middle of a contemporary issue that concerns many anarchists (and others) in Japan today. My hope is that you came away from class with enough questions, frustrations, or curiosity to want to know and understand more. From your discussion below, it seems like the strategy is working. On Wednesday (after our library tour), we will start our semester-long journey to find out: how did we get here?

If you checked out the websites for the Kamagasaki Patrol and/or the BLHRRI, you probably encountered some mention of the emperor and the emperor system. What on earth does homelessness have to do with the emperor system, you might ask? Well, we will start learning the background issues that will help us understand why, for example, the Kamagasaki Patrol folks say, "the forced eviction of homeless people and the Tenno (emperor) system/national events have a close relationship."

You can help make our next class especially productive by posting your comments, questions, and answers to the discussion questions for the speech by NAITÔ Chizuko in the "comments" section below. We will be using her argument as a general framework as we learn more about the emperor system.

Don't forget to check out the 1889 Constitution. We are using NAITÔ's speech to help us jump back in time to the turn of the last century in order to begin understanding "how we got here." We will soon learn quite a bit about the High Treason Incident she discusses. For now, I really want you to pay closest attention to Chapter One in the constitution so that we can appreciate what the emperor system meant at that time.

If this is the first time you are taking a Japan-related course, you will probably find this site to be very helpful.

Finally, just as an example of how the emperor system shows up in anarchist organizing and actions today, I want you to take a look at this poster:

The split-image of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko is accompanied by the slogan “Dismantle (kaitai) the Imperial House (kôshitsu).” This poster was used in antiwar protests in 2004. Among all the placards and signs decrying Japan’s Self-Defense Forces (SDF) being sent to Iraq and the war itself, these anti-imperial signs perhaps seemed out of place and maybe even anachronistic to some, especially given the lack of say either royal figurehead had in whether or not Japan participated in the wars on Iraq and Afghanistan. After all, while the emperor carries out certain state-related rituals, his relationship to political decision-making, like the queen's, is popularly seen as nonexistent.

Well, as we will soon see, it's not that simple, which is probably why SHIGA Naoki, the punk singer who designed this poster, decided to violate the bodies of two royal figures by splicing them together like that.

Kansai Kouen: Public Blue

2007-08-29T21:19:00.000-05:00

Click here to see the website for the film we watched today. I really enjoyed hearing your initial reactions in class! Starting next week, you all will be discussing a lot more, and I can already tell that this will be a lively and very productive class! In the meantime, please leave comments about the film below. You can describe your reactions, ask questions, and raise any issues that seem significant to you. Also, I encourage you to respond to one another. You will learn much more from one another in this class than you will learn from me.

Click here to check out the website for the Kamagasaki Patrol.

In class, after Tiffany asked her question, I wrote the word "burakumin" on the board when responding to her. You can find some more information on this website.

Here's the trailer for the film we watched:

Introductions

2007-08-29T20:38:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the "new and improved" Japanarchy class!

This afternoon, I asked you to find out a few things about a classmate. Please click on "comments" below to introduce that person to us all.

(Chad was speedy and already left an introduction under the "syllabus" post, so make sure to check there too!)

Fall 2007 Class Info

2007-08-17T09:59:00.000-05:00

The complete syllabus will be made available to students on the first day of class. The basics are posted here for easy reference.

8/29 Introduction to the course and Kansai Kouen

9/5 The Origins of the Japanese Empire and the Structure of the Emperor System

Prior to coming to class, read "Literature in Japanese and the Emperor System" by NAITÔ Chizuko (in the coursepack) and the 1889 Japanese Constitution, which you can access here. Please pay particular attention to Chapter One of the Constitution.

For further general background, you might find this site useful.

9/12 New Nationalisms

You will watch the film The New God. You can read about it here.

There are no readings for this week. Because the following four weeks involve substantial reading, I have allowed this time for you to manage the reading load.

9/19 KANNO Sugako and the High Treason Incident

Read Kanno Suga, Reflections on the Way to the Gallows, and Kanno Suga: “The unswerving path” in your coursepack.

9/26 KANEKO Fumiko and PARK Yeol

Read The Road to Nihilism and Kaneko Fumiko: “The will to die” in your coursepack. In class, we will also watch and discuss a Korean TV movie about Kaneko that was aired just a little over a year ago, on the anniversary of Korean independence.

10/3 KOBAYASHI Takiji and the Police State

Read The Factory Ship in your coursepack.

10/10 OSUGI Sakae

Read The Autobiography of Osugi Sakae.

10/17 EMA Shû’s Mountain Folk

Professor Scott Schnell of the Anthropology Department will be visiting our class to discuss his research on Ema. Prior to class, please read this essay by Prof. Schnell.

10/24 Midterm Exam

After the midterm, we will watch a film TBA.

10/31 HWANG Chun-ming and Taiwan

Read “Sayonara Tsia chien” in your coursepack prior to coming to class.

11/7 The Emperor’s Soldiers: Part I

Assigned reading TBA. We will watch this film in class.

11/14 The Empire’s Soldiers: Part II

We will watch the film The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On in class. Please note there are no readings (other than routine blog posts) for this week. Please get started on Lonely Hearts Killer.

11/28 Lonely Hearts Revolution: Part I

Read Chapter One of Lonely Hearts Killer by HOSHINO Tomoyuki.

12/5 Lonely Hearts Revolution: Part II

Read Chapters Two and Three of Lonely Hearts Killer.

12/12 Irregular Rhythms: Anarchism in Japan Today

Readings TBA.

12/17 Take-home final exam due by 5pm.

Precarity in Japan

2007-08-15T07:58:00.000-05:00

If "precarity" is a new word for you (like it was for me a few years ago), click here to start learning about the term and the movement.

You might also want to check out this Reclaim the Streets "sound demo" video.

The Japanarchy class returns!

2007-07-21T12:34:00.000-05:00

The Japanarchy class is back for the fall of 2007. The "new and improved" version of the course will feature more on Kanno Sugako, Kaneko Fumiko, and Osugi Sakae. We'll also explore contemporary anarchist actions and movements in Japan.

Below is the announcement from the first time I offered this course.

This time, we'll be meeting on Wednesdays from 3:30-6:30pm in BCSB. Check ISIS for further details.

Stay tuned for updates!

Osaka, 1990

2007-07-15T12:54:00.000-05:00

Original Artwork by John!

2005-12-10T16:05:00.000-06:00

The Japanarchistas Come Through!

2005-12-08T19:59:00.000-06:00

Image from Irregular Rhythm Asylum (check out the link to the right)

Wow.

I'll say it again.

Wow.

Thank you all for being a part of my first semester at UI.

I got home and started reading your papers and projects.

Wow.

Wow.

Thank you.

Nazty's presentation today was a treat, and the film Colin and Ivan shared was so moving.

And the papers and projects I've read so far have had me in tears (for all the best reasons).

Wow.

Thank you.

心中

2005-12-06T11:57:00.000-06:00

There are so many layers of allusions and messages in LHK that we really will only be able to scratch the surface in class. You might, for example, want to research the title of the last chapter (especially all you film majors). You'll also want to think a bit about Hoshino's use of 心中 ("love suicide"). The very famous playwright Chikamatsu Monzaemon (1653-1725) wrote about fifteen shinjû-mono (or pieces about love suicides). Tragic tales of courtesans working in the "pleasure districts" who turned to love suicide with their sweethearts (who, perhaps, were unable to come up with the money to release the women from indentured servitude) were pretty popular at the time and were often the featured plots in bunraku puppet theater.

Much later, in the 1940s, the novelist Dazai Osamu was notorious for what we might call his love suicidality. He did eventually kill himself in 1949 with his gf at the time (Yamaguchi Tomie).

But check this out: he'd tried before. When he was 21, he invited a gf to join in a love suicide, but only she died!

In my exaggerated memory of studying him, he'd engaged in lots of "failed" attempts before he finally did it, but upon checking, it looks like there were only two priors (with the women dying in each case), before he "succeeded" with Yamaguchi.

Still!

If Dazai had come up to me and said, "Hey, let's go commit love suicide," I'd have thought twice.

thought you might find this interesting

2005-12-05T02:08:00.000-06:00

Hey everyone,

A friend of mine has attended a few union/anti-Koizumi rallies in Tokyo recently and sent me some email messages about who went, spoke, etc. The following excerpt seemed worth sharing for a variety of reasons, one of which relates to the lack of space for "non-affiliated" people. I can't help but think of some of the lines in LHK ...

This event was similar to the last event in one (to me) disturbing way: whether you look at the seating chart that is provided along with the program, or listen to the organizers tell the crowd to get ready for the march after the stage-event, there is NO mention ever made of people who are not affiliated with some soshiki (organization). I finally asked one of the many attendants where I might sit, and that seemed to baffle the person, but he ended up asking where I was from (Kanto) and he pointed to a section, still a bit confused. And when people were asked to get in line for the march, it was by organization and region, with no mention of unaffiliated folks. I asked Mr. Naito, the "mysterious" chukakuha (core) activist about this, and he noted that there might be some non-affiliated people in the group for those involved in "local groups" (chiiki dantai). Thinking back to my conversations with Naito (in their offices afterwards) and reflecting on matters a bit more, it becomes clear just how much the virtual requirement to belong to an official organization of some sort--a particular teacher's union from such and such district, the JR workers of X, a Communist Party member, and so forth--must have a strong deterrent effect on oppositional expressions, be they anti-Iraq-war, anti-revision of Article 9, or even the opposition to the Atarashii kyokasho (revisionist textbooks).

"does justice begin then in fragmentary glimpses/of things barely imagined?"

2005-12-01T19:23:00.000-06:00

Hey everyone!

I'll bet you all are wishing Chuck was teaching the class after today, and I can't blame you! I feel the same way.

Nico, John, and Nate already started writing about their reactions below. I hope more of you do too. Tessa already shared with me her response to Chuck's poem "a spade a spade (grocery for the poor)," and I'm sure others of you have poems you'd like to discuss too. He read from two of his books today, Northern Fields and Crossing the Kattegat.

I got a little teary several times, especially during "hasta la victoria siempre" and definitely with "when you live in your car." That image of Chuck and his old girlfriend finding the monument to the murdered union folks really gets to me, as does the line: "does justice begin then in fragmentary glimpses/of things barely imagined?" I hope our class has provided lots of those "fragmentary glimpses."

One of the last poems Chuck read was "a hard row to hoe." It was the angry one that ended with the line about the "privileged and the powerful" who "die without ever understanding/that they have lived their whole lives as assholes/with not even the briefest of inklings." Man, I love that poem too.

I imagine some of you still have questions for Chuck. Post them as comments, and then we all can ask him on Tuesday if you'd like.

A Different Kind of Day

2005-12-01T14:10:00.000-06:00

Even though we have fairly limited contact, I've learned some special things about each of you. For example, I learned that both John and Neil are artists. John can draw like nobody's business, and Neil can work with both clay and metal. Nazty Nate has a really great radio show (and even knows my favorite bands). Andria, as many of you know, can translate Japanese literature and knows a lot about Yû Miri. Tom, of the unmistakable handwriting, is a computer science whiz. Colin is triple-majoring in Poli Sci, Journalism, and Japanese. Ryan and Tessa both know a lot about Japanese pop culture. Ryan used to head the anime club, and Tessa is a walking encyclopedia of Japanese boy-band trivia. Nico works as a meat-cutter (and is going to Japan in April!). Tim R. has an impressive command of different film genres (from lots of countries). Both Timothy W., who has a cat, and Nicky T, whose Japanese is really good, have read a lot of Murakami Haruki and are, generally, better read than I am. Meghan reads Angela Davis for fun and already knew a lot about anarchism before our class. Christopher is always the first person to raise feminist issues in his writing and even in class sometimes. Akiko is always the first person to express sympathy for characters who "act out" (like Hoshino in Lily Chou Chou and Inoue in LHK). Amanda has worked on local political campaigns and is very media savvy. Nick H. is into independent film and has been batting 1000 when it comes to cracking me up this semester.

I learned something special about Chuck after our first day of class. Nicky T and I were walking to the Java House, where I had an appointment with the director of the International Writing Program. Chuck was there when we arrived, and the three of us talked for a bit until the director got there. Chuck took off, and the director asked me, "How do you know Chuck?" I replied that he was in my class. The director lowered his voice and said, "You know, he's a poet. A good poet."

That got me curious, so I got a hold of some of Chuck's books, and, sure enough, it turns out we've been having the Japanarchy class with quite a poet – and, in Chuck's words, "something of an anarchist."

In the publisher's introduction to Chuck's book Crossing the Kattegat, Joe Grant writes, "Though Chuck has degrees in Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, English, and a number of other subjects, he's rarely employed by a regular school system. On paper he looks great. In person he looks scruffy and has an attitude. He rarely gets past the second interview for the simple reason that he cannot tolerate pretense, rules that make no sense and directives from principals to buy new clothes."

Chuck has lived everywhere from Vermont to Czechoslovakia and to China, and he's worked as everything from a teacher to a ditch digger.

Gerald Nicosia, who wrote Home to War: A History of the Vietnam Veterans' Movement, says that Chuck "writes with frightening intensity and almost unlimited profundity about a world gone hopelessly wrong, whose only possible redemption lies inside, in the heart that never ages and the wit that will always enjoy its own company."

Meridel LeSueur wrote, "Chuck's word is plowed up with a hand plow, from the furrow, from our experience, native and rich and deep."

When Chuck talks about himself though, he says, "The thing I don't want on the back of my book is a bunch of crap about my degrees, or who I studied with, or my M.F.A. from the University of Iowa blahblahblah..."

It's funny. Remind me to read you the rest of that quote in class.

I didn't want to let the semester finish without us getting the chance to hear Chuck read some of his poems. So, listen up, kids, cuz the poet's in the house.

No Office Hours on Thursday 12/1

2005-11-30T19:15:00.000-06:00

Sorry, but I need to cancel my office hours for tomorrow. Please, please email me/holla if you wanna meet, and I will set up an alternate time with you. In the meantime, write lots of stuff about LHK!!

LHK and Chuck

2005-11-30T00:00:00.000-06:00

Nice comments, folks!

I think we got a pretty good sense of the trajectory of different points of view out there on LHK today – especially that "responsibility" question, which seemed to generate some real disagreement. If you want, I'll tell you about Hoshino's recent rants about "responsibility." (Those of you who can read Japanese can check out his online journal on his website to get a head start. See the link to the right.)

Click on this and then go to the "Japan Book News" icon, and you can see an essay Hoshino wrote that's been translated. (You'll need Adobe Acrobat to read it.)

You might also want to see Hoshino quoted in an essay on Ôe.

Alas, there's not much else out in English yet. I'm working on that.

You all can meet him when he comes here for the East Asia Writers' Symposium on Feb. 24-25 (along with the supremely cool Naitô Chizuko). Lemme know if you wanna meet with them to chat.

I was very surprised and interested to see what Timothy W. thought Mokuren's real job was in his comment. Wow. I was thinking something else. (My anarchist reading actually hinges on her performing a very different kind of "job.") What do the rest of you think? And Timothy, tell me/us what got you to that reading.

Fascinating. (In the words of Tessamotastic.)

I'm looking forward to you all telling me more about what's up with this novel. And Nico and Ryan, you guys zoomed through it. (One sitting, Nico? Wow.) What was it like for you guys? What did you like about it?

I gave you some poems by Chuck a while back. Before class on Thursday, you might want to Google him a bit (Chuck Miller). Here are some starts:

One of Chuck's books
short article on Chuck

Not a pretty picture ...

2005-11-28T23:37:00.000-06:00

What do you make of the First World privilege Inoue "enjoys" (for lack of a better word)?

Here is a 3-part argument to consider.

1. There is always a political component to oppressive conditions.

(I suppose you could even say oppression is by definition a political issue if by "political" we mean something that affects the interests of authority, government, the State, status, our old buddy Differential Power, etc.)

2. Anger is an under-standable response to oppression.

(And not just for the oppressed themselves. The anger/rage oppressive conditions produce can spread out in many directions, including to the oppressors, those who might otherwise benefit from the oppression, or those who cannot tolerate the suffering of others.)

3. In the absence of a political analysis to understand that rage/anger, the anger (which still is gonna get expressed) will come out in twisted and distorted ways that don't reflect its political origins.

An anarchist answer to this argument could be the "No Gods, No Masters" solution (extended to include no nations, no politics, and no power imbalances that would allow room for oppression).

Is LHK an anarchist novel?

This and that

2005-11-19T23:54:00.000-06:00

What a good-lookin' class!

Please read the following NY Times piece and consider it in relation to LHK.

Ugly Images of Asian Rivals Become Best Sellers in Japan

Some highlights:

A young Japanese woman in the comic book "Hating the Korean Wave" exclaims, "It's not an exaggeration to say that Japan built the South Korea of today!" In another passage the book states that "there is nothing at all in Korean culture to be proud of."

In another comic book, "Introduction to China," which portrays the Chinese as a depraved people obsessed with cannibalism, a woman of Japanese origin says: "Take the China of today, its principles, thought, literature, art, science, institutions. There's nothing attractive."

The two comic books, portraying Chinese and Koreans as base peoples and advocating confrontation with them, have become runaway best sellers in Japan in the last four months.

Oh, and you know what else makes reading LHK a big, danged deal now more than ever? Check this out:

Imperial Succession Panel

And as if all that wasn't enough, Yasukuni-gate is still an issue:

Hu Jintao raises Yasukuni Issue w/GWB

A sneak preview of what to expect in "Untold Horrors" next semester:

Unit 731 & Biological Warfare

Some protest photos from Kyoto:

Kyoto Demo

Finally, if you know Japanese and have Real Player, check out:

AcTV Japan

Announcement from CCL: J-Film Classes Next Semester!

2005-11-18T15:15:00.000-06:00

The courses will be taught by visiting lecturer Chika Kinoshita, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations and the Committee on Cinema and Media Studies at the University of Chicago. Ms. Kinoshita is completing a dissertation on the films of Kenji Mizoguchi and is the author of publications in a number of major English and Japanese journals.

We hope students take advantage of this unique opportunity to study Japanese cinema at the University of Iowa next semester.

048: 106: Topics in Asian Cinema: History of Japanese Cinema
10:55 am - 12:10 pm TTh
6:00 - 9:00 pm T

This course offers an introduction to the historical and theoretical study of Japanese cinema. Course screenings include some of the films made by well-known auteurs like Kurosawa Akira, Ozu Yasujiro, and Mizoguchi Kenji, politically and/or aesthetically militant directors' works from the 1960-70s, and genre films made in the 1960s-80s. We will consider both formal and historical questions, focusing on such themes as Japanese cinema's relationship with the classical Hollywood style in light of contemporary discussions in the field. Our goal is to develop an informed understanding of historical and individual film styles in Japanese cinema by examining editing, lighting, camerawork, acting, and narrative structure. At the same time, in order to articulate these films' relations with society and culture, we contextualize them in specific moments in history, such as the post-WWII economic growth. Grades for the course will be based on weekly film journals, two take-home essay exams (3-5 pages) and a final paper (10 pages).

048: 304: Special Topics in Asian Cinema: Gender and Sexuality in Japanese Cinema
2:30 pm - 5:45 pm T
2:30 pm - 3:45 pm Th

This course examines a wide range of Japanese films-from Ozu Yasujiro's silent work to the contemporary woman director Kawase Naomi's films-that have not yet been scrutinized from feminist and/or queer perspectives. We will make connections between historical and anthropological writings on gender and sexuality in Japanese studies and film and critical theory. We will discuss historical and theoretical topics such as the "modern girl," the home front, domesticity and consumption, the sexual revolution, masculinity and homosociality, and women's filmmaking. This course seeks to go beyond an analysis of the plot and characterization by paying attention to performance and mise-en-scène through which genders and sexualities take shape on and off screen, No knowledge of Japanese language is required. Grades for the course will be based on a short midterm paper, a class presentation, and a critical essay.

All About Lily Chou Chou

2005-11-18T13:34:00.000-06:00

Christopher said:

"I thought the film said a lot about teenage alienation. The violence and ridicule the kids directed at each other reminded me of Gold Rush."

There was some confusion about the characters. I think the flashback structure can make it a tough film to follow, especially given the interwoven stories of the different youth.

Hasumi
Hasumi Yûichi is our "main character," the boy who goes by the name of "Philia" as the Lily fansite manager. His pregnant and remarried mom is the hairdresser, and Yûichi lives with her, his new stepdad, and his new step-brother. He is the kid who gets busted for shoplifting the Lily cd, who gets beat up by Hoshino and his crew for supposedly "telling" (perhaps about the rape of Kuno, the pianist), etc. At the beginning of the film, while his mom and a customer are watching tv coverage of the busjacking, the customer comments on how "scary" kids are today. She asks Hasumi's mom if her boy is okay and if he wants to dye his hair. The mom says he is a good kid and hasn't wanted to dye his hair. You'll recall that he gets his hair colored (by his mom) after he kills Hoshino.

Hoshino
Hoshino Shusuke is the boy who gives the class speech, is teased, and who has a near-death drowning experence in Okinawa. After the traumatic trip to Okinawa, Hoshino (whose mother is the "MILF" in the film) assumes the role of the class thug. The first scene after the trip when we see this is when he beats up the baby-dread kid, cuts a lock of his hair, and then has him strip and swim in the marsh. Hoshino is also "Blue Cat" online. He is killed after the Lily concert by Hasumi, whose concert ticket Hoshino had tossed away in a final act of bullying. We also learn that Hoshino's family had run the factory where the kids rape Kuno (the pianist) and that they had lost the business.

Tsuda
Tsuda Shiori is the girl pimped by Hoshino into the so-called "compensated dating" with older men. She becomes friends with Hasumi, who escorts her to the "dates." You'll recall she kicks Hasumi and walks into the water after the first "date" scene. She's the girl whose room is filled with stuffed animals and whose cell phone is adorned with tons of decorations. After stealing the wallet from a "john" (who catches up with her), Tsuda takes Hasumi to a restaurant, where she orders almost everything on the menu. She kills herself by jumping from the radio (?) tower after she learns to fly a kite.

Kuno
Kuno Yoko is the pretty Debussy-playing pianist who is treated very badly by some of the girls in her class. Hasumi seems to have a crush on her. She is raped and beaten by Hoshino and his thugs (at the behest of a thug-girl). They also shave her head. While she is taken to the factory building to be raped, Tsuda is meeting the nice boy who has a crush on her on the roof.

Osanai
The teacher who gets Hasumi at the cd store after he lifts the Lily cd and gets caught. She also buys him the cd and listens to it with him on the train ride back to school. Later, she offers Kuno a wig and a hat in the hallway after Kuno returns with the shaved head.

Lily Chou Chou

Lily is FICTIONAL.

Lily is an alternative/performance pop singer/artist in the spirit of both UA and Bjørk (my opinion) or, according to some, Faye Wong. Her music is associated with the "Ether," which I'll let you all discuss in terms of its significance in the film (as a common language for fans, as a theme, as a feeling, etc.). Lily is born on the day when John Lennon is murdered (December 8, 1980), and the concert (when Hasumi kills Hoshino) is held on her birthday.

Discussion Questions:

1. From Niko: Why was it all about Lily Chou Chou? What is she in all this? What is she?

2. From Akiko: I didn't understand why Hoshino suddenly changed. Also, I wondered why the teacher didn't do anything after Hasumi told her about the cd Hoshino broke. I'm interested in the gap between Hoshino's "blue cat" identity and his daily life self. (On a related note, Tom asks, "I'm curious as to how Hoshino becomes such a malicious asshole.")

3. From Ryan: I wonder what exactly we are supposed to take away from this movie? I think it does a good job of showing how someone might descend into violence, as well as showing how someone can only be pushed so far before breaking. And, once broken, can they be repaired?

P.S 3 of you wrote about wanting to cry while watching the film. I really hope you write to the blog about why. I cried when I first saw it.

More News to Chew

2005-11-16T11:22:00.000-06:00

US/Japan Alliance and the "rest of Asia"

Yasukuni still an issue

Bush and Koizumi "best friends"

U.S. Base Expansion Protest in Japan and Extraditing Fujimori

2005-11-14T12:04:00.000-06:00

3,200 people formed a "human chain" around the "Camp Zama" U.S. military HQ yesterday to protest the planned expansion of U.S. bases. There were other anti-base expansion protests (by groups in the thousands) in different parts of Japan too. In addition to this story, I hope you all are following the news about Alberto Fujimori's extradition saga.

First Impressions

2005-11-10T19:21:00.000-06:00

I was really surprised (and pleased) to learn that some of you started reading Lonely Hearts Killer. Ryan is almost finished with it already! We will be spending the rest of the semester with this novel, but before I start giving you questions and staking my own claims, I wanted you to have some freedom to rant/rave about the novel on your own terms. Feel free to post comments with any of your initial thoughts, observations, or links you might see to earlier material we've studied. You are only required to have read up to page 37 (end of the first chapter) by next Tuesday.

Control, Art, and the Rebel Reader

2005-11-09T00:23:00.000-06:00

A poet loses control when her/his work comes in contact with an audience. (How do we pronounce "a Merican"?) That's part of the usual contract between writer and reader, etc. We can probably say this about artists and art in general. That loss became intolerable for Alfredo Heredia, whose poem we read today. (FYI: this concern over a loss of "interpretive control" is an issue in the first chapter of Lonely Hearts Killer.)

I think the more serious disagreements that did emerge today were inextricably linked to violent and sexual content. Representational violence is also behind Heredia's disavowal of his poem. Here's some of what he said:

"I wouldn't write that poem or one like it now. When I was fourteen, I saw a boy my age get killed and later wrote about it in a piece of prose. I described it as a flashback. I don't think I could even write about that now, and that really happened. I don't want to romanticize violence. Writing that poem was a kind of showing off, a way of responding to the sense that this is what's expected of people like myself."

The poem was recognized at a poetry festival in Los Angeles. Shortly after the event, he got a call from a filmmaker. She said she was interested in his poem about "gangs in the army." Heredia was repelled, uncomfortable with the way in which his poem was being received and the role he was being solicited to fulfill. The speaker in the poem and his friends are, of course, nowhere identified as gang members, but because they are Latino and Asian and in LA (and because they fight), they were already coded as such for the filmmaker.

Now, and even more so at the time that Yû wrote Gold Rush, boys who killed were also already coded with specific traits in Japanese literature and mass media. (Akiko indicated this in her comment to an earlier post about how, a few years ago, stories of youth violence were everywhere in Japan.) Our class is bringing a somewhat different and somewhat diverse set of assumptions and experiences to our engagement with Kazuki as the "teen killer." (Timothy W. described this as the "the fleshy bits" surrounding similar or familiar frames that "vary to seemingly infinite degrees.")

What we bring to the novel will shape what we think it's about. In the case of Gold Rush, the emotional force of some of our reactions might be quite intense. With Lonely Hearts Killer, my guess is that the responses could vary according to a slightly different compass.

But then, maybe you all are already accustomed to thinking of youth violence as a political issue or of politics as visceral/personal?

Ishihara's mouth

2005-11-08T12:12:00.000-06:00

I changed the plan for today again. You'll see in a bit.

Please weigh carefully the significance of the following, especially in relation to other recent J-news I've shared with you all.

Ishihara on China

Wow

2005-11-07T21:23:00.000-06:00

I love my Japanarchistas!

Hopefully Setsu will send me the photos soon and you all will give me the okay so that I can put your fabulous faces up on the blog. You are a supremely cool class. I am truly humbled by your insights and honesty. For those of you who've been diligent on the blog, thank you! I know I made the right decision to come to Iowa because of you. (Colder weather notwithstanding.)

What great blog comments!

So, I'm reviewing "All About Lily Chou Chou" after I'd already come up with a Gold Rush discussion plan for tomorrow. I'm tossing my plan aside for now, because I really think we need to watch an hour and ten minutes of the film together before moving forward into a discussion of Gold Rush and the rest of the film. You all are so ready for it. That will also give you the chance to finish the book before we discuss it. And I left enough "give" in the rest of the course for us to pursue anarchism from a different angle for a while.

I'm going to ask you to imagine what it felt like to be 14. If you read this before class, please start thinking about it. Try to recall what was important to you when you were 14. What was hard? What did it feel like to have a crush on someone? Did you have a favorite singer or band? Can you remember a time when you felt humiliated? Can you remember a time when you felt helpless or wanted more power? What did you think about your future then? What did you want more than anything else? How far away did your current age seem from where you were then? How much do you identify or sympathize with your 14 year-old self?

Chuck was born in 1939. I was born in 1968. Some of you were born in 1980. Some of you are barely 30. Some of you are in your mid-20s. Some of you aren't even 20 yet. All of us were, at one point, 14. When were you 14? What was happening in the world?

In the film, you'll see scenes that reference a busjacking incident I mentioned in class last time. This was one of the "those 14 year-olds are now 17" incidents that peppered the J-media in 2000. I'll want you to think critically about the fear of the teenage (or even "tween") menace while we move through the next week or so.

Scared of 17 year-olds

Eureka! Another film inspired by the busjacking and starring the unfortunately ubiquitous Yakusho Kôji役所広司

Extra Credit Reminder

2005-11-07T12:57:00.000-06:00

Wednesday, November 9, 2005

Public lecture: "Japanese American Evacuation out of Tokyo, Japan"

Julie Otsuka, author of When the Emperor was Divine

7:30 pm

Buchanan Auditorium, John Pappajohn Business Building, the University of Iowa

Good idea? Why or why not?

2005-11-06T22:09:00.000-06:00

For Tessa and Andria!

2005-11-03T21:16:00.000-06:00

Tessa wanted a Gold Rush post. I hope this doesn't deter you all from reading and commenting on earlier blog entries, especially the one below for 10/30 with the links to news reports. I'll also be very sad if you skip your classmates' comments.

So, how do you think Yû Miri represents the various kireru moments in this novel?
Do you think her depiction of Kazuki is realistic?
Does this novel offer meaningful insights into child abuse and/or "youth violence"?

Andria asked about why Yû wrote Gold Rush and what happened to the "Sakakibara" boy. I won't really be answering either of her questions here, but maybe you'll enjoy reading how I dodge them. =)

Seriously, I need to think a bit about how I want to discuss the latter, so please forgive me for only answering part of your question now. (I'm not trying to be mysterious; I just like to be circumspect when talking about a real person before I move into "TMI" mode.)

I will say, in relation to the killing of Hase Jun, that the "Sakakibara" boy put the head in a bag and hid it in a tree trunk. He retrieved it the next day and placed it in front of the school entrance gate. The boy's body was left in a shallow "grave." As I mentioned in class, the murders happened in March (Yamashita Ayaka) and May (Hase Jun) of 1997, and the "Sakakibara" boy was arrested in late June. After some tips/leads, the cops got a hold of some of his essays from school. Lots of people knew he'd been killing animals and waving other red flags, but the police were looking for an adult initially, so it was a while before he made the suspect list. (Some of the police theories at first were so weird. Remind me to tell you about these too.) Those are some basic facts, of which there are many more.

Try to imagine the level of anxiety that developed between the murders and the arrest. See, for example:

The parks of Kobe are empty -- again.

I think this prolonged moment of not-knowing is worth keeping in mind.

The case generated an incredible amount of material (film, fiction, etc., etc.). I'm sure some of you have seen some of the Columbine-inspired films, books, etc. like Gus Van Sant's movie Elephant from a few years back. We're going to talk about this when we see the bus-jacking sequence in All About Lily Chou Chou.

The news stories about the "Sakakibara" boy (now a young man) remain pretty sensationalized for the most part. A google search should show you that. The Japanese media, like their US counterparts, view such topics (which come marked with the promise of sensational violence or lurid spectacle) as surer paths to sales and profits than thoughtful pieces that discuss the complexities of young people's lives. Hmmm. I knew I wasn't doing this right. I meant to say, "Sadistic child-killer released from prison and at large! When and where will he strike again?" (This parodic aside will mean something to you if you've read the Sakakibara link on the 10/30 post.)

Okay, onto Andria's other question. The advertising campaign for Gold Rush drew very heavily on public interest in the Sakakibara case, but I honestly don't remember Yû speaking about the incident at the time. Other writers, such as Murakami Ryû, said a lot in the wake of the killings and the boys' arrest. (Ask me about that some time, cuz what he had to say is really interesting.) I do, however, seem to recall Yû saying that the book was an attempt to make sense of incidents like the Sakakibara killing, but I could be confusing her with another writer (Sakurai Ami) who also wrote a novel (14) on the subject at the same time. Those of you who read Japanese can check out the following blog on 14:

桜井亜美

Kazuki is obviously different from the Sakakibara boy, whose family lived in the cozy "New Town" suburb of Kobe (with its uniformly groomed streets, etc.), and Gold Rush poses some questions unrelated to that case. In other words, there are as many (if not more) differences as there are similarities. (For example, the "Sakakibara" boy killed birds, cats, a girl, and a mildly disabled boy. Kazuki's victims: a guard dog and his dad for starters.) It is fiction, to be sure. I'll see if I can dig up some of her interviews at the time to see what, if anything, Yû said about why she wrote it. Maybe you all can find something too.

Your quiz responses were quite good. I might post some of them over the weekend too.

No Office Hours Today

2005-11-03T10:16:00.000-06:00

Must conserve voice for class.
Sorry!
I will make appointments with you, so holla if you need something.

Announcement and Your Notes

2005-11-02T02:10:00.000-06:00

Thanks to Amanda for the following heads up, which is also an extra credit opportunity. (Same as always: write a 1-2 page response essay on what you thought.)

Wednesday night (tonight) at 7pm in the Asian Pacific American Culture House, a young Korean man residing in Japan will talk about his experiences as a follow-up to the APA student group's screening of GO this past Friday!!

This event will also be a great follow-up on John's presentation.

Here are your (mostly) anonymous notes from today with your new fictional names (so that you can respond to comments more easily). I had a feeling you might self-censor less if we started this way. For this post, feel free to comment anonymously (with your new temporary names) or your real names.

Huey: "I thought it was interesting to have a different teacher in a class about anarchy; it was our own little substitute dictator of sorts ... well not quite. I think it was definitely a positive experience that presented a different method of teaching and looking at material, which I think is a very valuable thing in a class that looks so heavily at differential power and institutions."

Maki: "I really enjoyed having Setsu come to teach our class last Thursday. It was a nice change of pace to be taught in a different style while the material still pertained to our class. Also, what I thought was great was the discussion circle we formed. I enjoy these a lot because it's nice to see people's faces when they talk, a much more personal experience. I think it would be great if she were able to come back and give another talk and teach another lesson."

Javier: "Setsu was a very interesting teacher. She was very different, a more commanding and authoritative person (not in a bad way). She was very knowledgeable and definitely was well versed in the article we read. She provided a very clear response to the essay and we were able to clearly understand where she stood on issues. Very enjoyable, wish I could've spent more time with her."

Celine: "I thought Shigematsu-san was awesome! I thought we had a really great discussion. However! Sometimes I feel like the discussion got a little bit too feminist. (Not that that's a bad thing.) But I'm always curious about how the boys in the class really feel about all the feministy talk."

Keisuke: "I think it was really weird. I don't think it had quite the same dynamics that class usually has – that and the pressure that was put on us so Hurley-sensei didn't seem like a bad teacher! I think if we have a guest speaker in the future, we should have a lecture followed by a Q&A instead of a discussion."

As'ad: "I thought it was great to have another teacher. I really like the current teacher. She is wonderful! Setsu Shigematsu had great information to share, She brought this class another great mind to bounce ideas off of. Her knowledge of subjects seemed endless. What a great resource. Thank you for having Setsu Shigematsu come to our class!"

Guiseppe: "She is a very interesting speaker. Captivating and well-spoken. Setsu was like a whirlwind of spoken word. I took notes, but I'm not sure I caught all of it. What else can I say? It is not difficult to see why she is so sought after. As for the difference of teachers, both are effective with not drastically different styles."

Ernie: "I liked the teacher who came in. She was smart and thought-provoking. I could tell she was very into what she was teaching."

Devendra: "Our last class was a great experience. Getting a fresh, educated viewpoint was totally fantastic. The discussion was fun and intriguing, and while I was unable to contribute as well as other, more brilliant students, it was a rewarding experience overall. [Editorial note: ALL my Japanarchistas are brilliant!! I'll have none of that self-effacing talk in here!] It was great by virtue of being different. This does not imply that class isn't usually great, because I enjoy class on a regular basis as well."

Alexander: "The presentations today were great!! They were easy to understand and very, very interesting. I was impressed because they knew a lot about the topics and were very professional. I don't want to give a presentation in class, but I want everyone else to give one. Ha ha! It was very fun."

Zolton: "I liked the change of having another person come in and talk to us. She was uber-impressive. I got a lot more out of the article with her talking to us about it – all my half-formed ideas (and then some) were put together clearly. On the other hand, I still prefer our round-table discussions. Shigematsu-san's presentation was very much on her take, and I like getting lots of peoples' takes on what we read in class."

Anastasia: "I really enjoyed having Shigematsu in class. I really liked how she gave her point of view of the article. Her points were very interesting and made me see the article in a different aspect. I also liked how she was willing to listen to other people's aspect of the article. She was a very interesting and powerful guest in our class. She did a good job."

Mao: "I found our guest interesting. She was a tad intimidating because she was so passionate and intense. The whole discussion was interesting, but I didn't feel that I had enough background to properly discuss it with someone so knowledgeable and aggressive. I found it strange that people aren't talking more about these women. I guess I always think of subjects in the "marketplace of ideas" notion, that is tons of people writing until a prevailing idea comes out."

Trina: "I really wish the class had been longer or that she could have been here for two classes. I felt like we were just starting to get to the really 'good stuff' when Timothy was talking with Setsu at the end about terrorism. But it's not like I posted any questions to her on the blog, so I have no right to complain. Other than that, it was one of the best classes I've ever had. Thanks. Ijô desu."

Hercules: "I thought it was interesting to have a new teacher for a day, but the class altogether seemed more strict or serious. I like this class because it is so free-spirited. Even when we are tackling serious subjects, we can still laugh and have fun discussing it. I really liked when you asked who liked Gold Rush and then called them all sickos. It made me laugh. I thought we lacked that spirit with a different teacher."

Hugo: "Having Setsu lead our class discussion last week was interesting. I liked the way she outlined the article and pointed out critiques of the article. In fact, once someone pointed out how the woman who wrote the article wasn't into revolutionaries, I had a whole different perspective on it. I liked the discussion that occurred in class, about actions people take and whatnot. She brought a lot of insight."

Aristotle: "I found the guest instructor session to be much like our other round table discussions in that everyone was encouraged to participate and that the class was active throughout the discussion. I thought our guest was well prepared and was obviously skilled at leading a discussion while presenting specific points. Overall, I think the day went well and made an excellent, non-disruptive change of pace while still being useful to the overall class content."

Precarity

2005-10-31T00:03:00.000-06:00

I recently ran across several references to "precarity," which appears to be generating attention among some anarchist and RTS (reclaim the streets) activists in Japan. I think this will be useful info for some of your final projects, and it will also be worth considering again when we get to Lonely Hearts Killer.

Infamous DVD Zine
Don't Tell Us To Work
Precarious Labour: UK perspective
PAFF (a really interesting link in Japanese)
Precarity DVD

See also:

NEET News

Of related interest is a campaign more of you might know:

Buy Nothing Day
無買デー

And finally, since Andria has been asking about where the happy anarchists are, the following links range from somewhat playful to positive/hopeful/engaged (even though the issues are serious). Not all of the sites are anarchist, but anarchists do read them. I don't think the "Nagoya Heavy Drinking Brigade" (an affinity group that turns out for some protests) has a website, but they are kind of funny. Maybe you all can track them down online.
"Irregular Rhythm Asylum"
反戦翻訳団−Antiwar Translation Brigade−
Tokyo Progressive
Katie Sierra Interview in Japanese

The beginning of what will be a long discussion about youth and violence...

2005-10-30T12:36:00.000-06:00

Instead of giving you a "thesis" or some guiding questions, I wanted to begin what will be a sustained discussion of youth and violence by directing you to news articles and high-profile cases. I want you to get a sense of what kinds of news stories circulate in Japan. I'd like you to start reading and engaging these articles on your own terms. The following are just a few examples; you'll be getting many more in the coming weeks.

Policing, Youth, and "Foreigners"
19 year-old kills parents
15 year-old kills parents
"Super Free" Rapes
7 year-old girl murdered
GPS to track kids
"Sakakibara" post from my other class

Ôe is in the news

2005-10-29T20:59:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone,

I hope you enjoyed our guest speaker. I'll be anxious to hear what you all thought about Dr. Shigematsu's presentation and visit to our class. As is always the case, any reaction and response you have is a-okay. You probably also have some additional thoughts on the article, so post away! You can also post questions to Dr. Shigematsu, and I'll make sure she reads them.

You all made me very proud on Thursday!!

I have read through your project proposals and am really thrilled with the range of creative ideas you've developed!! Way to go! I'll have individual comments for you all when we meet on Tuesday!

By now, you are probably reading Gold Rush. The last two works we are reading differ (in many ways) from everything we've studied up until now. The last part of the course is designed to present you with some contemporary fiction, problems, and questions, and the burden now will fall more heavily on you all to sort through and make sense of what these texts mean (to you, to us, in Japan, and in general). In other words, while I will still have plenty to share and ask, the interpretive burden is now yours. I'm really excited to see what you will do with it. I should also mention that very few students in the U.S. have studied Gold Rush, and you will be the very first people to read Lonely Hearts Killer in English. Pretty exciting, huh?

Finally, our old buddy Ôe will now have a major literary prize in his name. I really hope he chooses Hoshino Tomoyuki, the author of our last text this semester. In the coming weeks, I'll tell you why. You can learn more about the prize here:

The Ôe Prize

If you're not ready to die for it, put the word 'freedom' out of your vocabulary.

2005-10-26T00:02:00.000-05:00

Malcolm X said that.

In his famous and widely available "Ballot or the Bullet" speech, Malcolm X also said, "I don't mean go out and get violent; but at the same time you should never be nonviolent unless you run into some nonviolence. I'm nonviolent with those who are nonviolent with me. But when you drop that violence on me, then you've made me go insane, and I'm not responsible for what I do."

You can listen to Malcolm X give the speech here.

You might be interested to know that Malcolm X is quoted at length by the main character (the "zainichi" Korean boy) in the film Go. When he starts fighting his Japanese classmates, he refers to Malcolm X's philosophy on violence. I believe one of the phrases he invokes is:

"I don't call it violence when it's self-defense. I call it intelligence."

Malcolm X said all that about 8 years before the events Setsu Shigematsu will tell us about on Thursday.

Imagine you are Malcolm. Or Nagata Hiroko. Or Shigenobu Fusako. How do you define self-defense?

What's insane?
What's too far?
What's not far enough?

What do you think of the essay "Three Women Who Loved the Left"???

And just to remind you, you've seen Shigenobu before.

Housekeeping

2005-10-24T20:10:00.000-05:00

1. Homework
*Don't forget that your project proposals are due at the beginning of class on THURSDAY!
*Read "3 Women Who Loved the Left" (in your coursepacket) by Thursday too! Setsu Shigematsu will lead our class discussion on the article.
*I'd start reading Gold Rush pretty soon too. This is the perfect time to get ahead.
*Keep in mind what I said about Gold Rush and representational violence (gang rape, etc.) and please see me if you have ANY concerns at all!

2. Reminder
*Sandakan 8 was made in 1974, a time when more people were just beginning to learn about this history of "karayuki-san."
*When you read "3 Women Who Loved the Left," keep in mind that many of the events described took place around this same time, in the early 1970s. You might consider how women in the article (or perhaps someone like the young woman in the film) could have been motivated by current events and unveiled histories to work for the better world they believed was possible.

3. Part 2 of the Film
*We'll pick up after she meets a bf in Sandakan. The guy is an 18 year-old Japanese son of poor silkworm cultivators. His family went broke, and he went to Borneo to make enough money to survive and bail them out. You'll miss the big romantic scene. Sorry.
*The film moves into 1927, and the Japanese army arrives in Sandakan (during an imperial celebration), and we finally learn why so many Japanese prostitutes are stationed in Borneo and why so many Japanese colonizers/settlers are there too. Of course, you all already know this, but it was quite shocking to some Japanese audiences at the time (even though some of the younger generations' parents would have remembered some of this, at least in bits and pieces.) Think about how, even within a single generation, huge events can be "forgotten." What's up with that?

4. Something else
*Finally, in an earlier blog entry I indicated there would be a significant elision at the end of the film. Well, when I was just screening the rest of the video for class, I noticed it wasn't showing up like it did on the 35 mm print. I am very curious about this and will try to learn more. It seems plausible that someone had enough sense to remove the phrase. Basically, it said something like:
"This film depicted a horrible history that ended with the beginning of the Pacific War."
Um, well, not really, as you all know. BUT, Kumai Kei, the director, didn't know about comfort women at the time. It would be another 20 years before that story was "discovered" at the level of general public discourse.

Pictures From a Stage Version of Sandakan 8