DIJNEWSLETTER

ISSN 1433-6685

Information from the German Institute for Japanese Studies

DIJ Newsletter JUNE 2004 1

22

June 2004

lthough a separate category of“religious comics” is notknown to the world of Japa-

nese manga, many of the comics dealwith religious topics. Especially mangaaimed at youth use motifs that recallreligious myths and apocalyptical im-agery, such as end-of-the-world vi-sions, the emergence of a savior, or thefight between good and evil. Otherspresent important figures from reli-gious history, religious concepts, orpractices. The thematic diversity re-flects various intentions: Manga can ex-press personal religiosity or the religio-philosophical reflections of individualartists, but they can also aim at reli-gious education or represent a reli-gious community. The most renownedexample of the former is the manga cre-ated by the veteran author Tezuka Osa-mu (1928–1989). The stories in his chefd’oeuvre Hi no tori (The Phoenix) andthe multivolume biography of the Bud-dha Budda reflect his own understand-ing of the historical Buddha as well astopics such as reincarnation, immortal-ity, and the meaning of life and death.The moving biography ouof the crip-

ple and murderer Gao in Hi no tori, forinstance, gives a concrete form to thefundamental Buddhist teaching that“all life is suffering” and illustrates Te-zuka’s personal response to the ques-tion of how one can uphold (or gain) apositive attitude toward life despitetragic circumstances.

Comics with educational or mis-sionary intentions deal with variousaspects of the teachings, practices andhistory of a religion. To mention just afew examples, manga biographies de-pict the life of Buddha or other exem-plary Buddhists in Japanese history;introductions explain the central textsof Japanese Buddhism, such as the Lo-tus Sutra; self-help books illustrate therelevance of Buddhist teachings forcoping with everyday life; manga ofnew religious communities describetheir teachings and systems of reli-gious practice; still others are dedicat-ed to religious customs such as annualfestivals.

The relationship between religionand caricature or illustrated stories isin no way a recent development: theearliest examples of caricature draw-

ings have been found in Bud-dhist temples near Nara. Manyof the scrolls thought to be theprecursors to contemporarymanga were created in a reli-gious context or deal with re-ligis issues. The most well-known examples of religious“cartoons” include the scrollsChôjûgiga (12th century) by themonk Toba. One of the scrollsshows animals parodying Bud-dhist monks through their hu-man-like appearance. Otherscrolls from this period portraylife in the six Buddhist worldsin a grotesque fashion, as forexample, in the case of the hun-gry ghosts. Also the Zen Bud-dhist drawings created sincethe 17th century as well as thefolkloric woodblock prints of

Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849) oftenstrike humorous notes. This (self-)iron-ic approach to religion has been contin-ued to the present day. Thus, TezukaOsamu in his Buddha biography de-picts a disappointed Buddha sur-rounded by crocodiles who must learnthat he cannot relinquish his life forthem because consuming him wouldinflict diarrhea and meningitis uponthem (fig. 1). The comics by ÔkawaRyûhô, the head of the new religiousmovement Kôfuku no Kagaku, alsocontain elements of humor: in Tengokuno mon (The Gate to Heaven) the narra-tor is surrounded by cherub-like be-ings in the chapter “Love.” One ofthese “angels” immediately realizesthe explanations of the virtue “love” inpractice by beginning to wash the nar-rator’s forehead with a tiny cloth,while another is buried under a moun-tain of balls with ai (love) written onthem (fig. 2).

What makes manga an attractivemedium as a transmitter of religiouscontents? And what effect does the artform have on these contents? Has onlythe aesthetic of the pictorial representa-tions changed in comparison to thepast by adapting to the zeitgeist? Itseems to me that the emphasis of themessages has shifted together with theaesthetic adaptations. Manga mediate

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Table of Contents

Title Story 1

DIJ Events 3

DIJ Publications 4

Conference Reports 5

Book Review 5

Other Matters / Outlook 6

German Institute for Japanese StudiesManaging editor: Matthias Hoop3-3-6 Kudan-Minami Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0074, JapanTel.: +81-3-3222-5077Fax: +81-3-3222-5420E-mail: dijtokyo@dijtokyo.orgHomepage: http:�www.dijtokyo.org

“This is a serious story!”Religions and Manga

by Monika Schrimpf

Fig. 1. Not for crocodile consumption? Tezuka Osamu’sdisappointed Buddha. © Kôdansha

2 DIJ Newsletter JUNE 2004

religious messages in the form of nar-rations, which are focused on peopleand their emotions. Manga are there-fore particularly suited for the presen-tation of biographies and hagiogra-phies in particular. The specificdrawing techniques of Japanese com-ics amplify this tendency since they fo-cus the reader’s attention rather to-wards individual persons than on thepresentation of certain scenes. In longsequences of picture frames, “closeups” of facial expressions (fig. 3), ges-tures, body postures and movementsare presented without accompanyingtext in order to build up tension or cre-ate the illusion of motion. In addition,the focus on physiognomic detailslends the protagonists their dynamic-emotional expressivity, which is typi-cal of comics. In this manner, a fewpages suffice to characterize personali-ties and sketch emotional develop-ments. Due to their visual qualitiessuch images are especially easy toremember and comprehend. Biograph-ical comics in particular offer the op-portunity to emphasize certain charac-teristic features through their visualrepresentation. For example, in hisBuddha biography Tezuka portrays

the historical Buddha mostly with abenevolent and acquiescent mien. Thisimpression is reinforced by the con-trast with the people surrounding theBuddha who respond to his compo-sure with extreme emotionality:whether it is the murderer Angulimâlawho cannot bear Buddha’s serene ex-pression and reacts hypnotized,scared, unsure and, finally, with anger(fig. 4), or Buddha’s cholericly scream-ing rival Gayâ Kâshyapa (fig. 5). On theother hand, the young Buddha in Ôka-wa Ryûhô’s Budda saitan (The Return ofthe Buddha) appears to have a sad andwise look; his body emaciated (fig. 6).And the face of Nobori Ryûta’sNichiren in a manga biography pub-lished by Sunmark bespeaks tenacityand determination (fig. 7). In additionto allowing pointed characterizationsof personalities, the representation ofemotions such as surprise, annoyance,fear, etc., contributes to the “humaniza-tion” of the lofty protagonists, and thusto bring them closer to the reader andfacilitate the reader’s identificationwith them. In this way, the charactersof Buddhist religious history becomealive and receive specific personalities.

Especially in the comics created byKôfuku no Kagaku the possibilities ofvisual representation are used to illus-trate the teachings of the religious com-munity. Quite often the same facestransmigrate through ages and places,e.g., from Buddha’s lifetime in India tothe early modern age in Europe andinto contemporary Japan. This enablesthe author to illustrate the idea of rein-

Fig. 2. In “The Gate to Heaven” angelic creatures washthe narrator’s forehead and are buried under the weightof love. © Kôfuku no Kagaku Shuppan

Fig. 5. The composed Buddha and his cholericrival. © Kôdansha

Fig. 6. The haggard Buddha by ÔkawaRyûhô. © Kôfuku no Kagaku Shuppan

Fig. 7. Nichiren’sfeatures aremarked by deci-siveness in amanga drawn byNobori Ryûta. ©Kino Kazuyo-shi, ShiratoriHaruhiko, No-bori Ryûta,Sunmark

Fig. 3. A monk accompanying Nichiren be-comes aware of an enemy sneaking up. Apearl of sweat symbolizes his fear. © KinoKazuyoshi, Shiratori Haruhiko, NoboriRyûta, Sunmark

Fig. 4. Buddha defeats the murderer Angu-limâla with his gaze. © Kôdansha

DIJ Newsletter JUNE 2004 3

carnation and concurrently emphasizethe claim to timelessness and univer-sality. The diverse utilizations of themanga medium by this particular com-munity indicate a tendency to illustrateabstract teachings with stories. For ex-ample, in “The Gate to Heaven” (Ten-goku no mon) the four basic principlesof “love,” “knowledge,” “reflection,”and “further development” are ex-plained in four stories. The chapter onlove depicts how the hardened heart ofa young, unfeeling woman is changedthrough an accident that brings herclose to her death and thus to the spir-itual beings of other cosmic dimen-sions. She learns that “to love” meansnot to receive love but to “give love”and she is given the chance to live anew life which she leads as a new per-son (fig. 8). The protagonist’s attrac-tiveness and her horror as she becomesaware of her apparent death, her grad-ual change of attitude under the guid-ance of a heavenly teacher called Mercy(quite possibly the god Mercury), andher happiness about returning to earth,draw the reader into the story and am-plify the lasting imprint of the mes-sage.

By mediating religious beliefs andideals in stories, religious manga con-tinue an old tradition of Buddhistscriptures: both the Jâtaka narrativesabout the previous existences of theBuddha as well as the parables of theLotus Sutra illustrate certain virtuesand ideals in the form of short and attimes dramatic stories.

After all, religious manga remainmedia of entertainment. They spread anew light on legends, they captivatethrough their stories full of love, be-trayal, horror and beauty, and they can

even make the reader laugh. But frivol-ity must not be allowed to get the up-per hand. Because, as his rival, GâyaKashyapa, remarks on Buddha’sfriendship with the crocodiles, “such athing may happen in a manga for kids,but this is a serious story!”

References:Kino Kazuyoshi (editor); ShiratoriHaruhiko (author); Nobori Ryûta (il-lustrator). Manga Nichiren nyûmon:Hokekyô ni junjita kyûdôsha no shôgai.Tôkyô: Sanmâku Shuppan, 2001Ôkawa Ryûhô. Budda saitan. Manga demiru ‘Kôfuku no Kagaku’ 3. Tôkyô:Kôfuku no Kagaku Shuppan, 2001(first ed. 1993)Ôkawa Ryûhô. Tengoku no mon. Mangade miru ‘Kôfuku no Kagaku’ [1].Tôkyô: Kôfuku no Kagaku Shuppan,2002 (first ed. 1992)Tezuka Osamu. Budda 11, Tôkyô:Kôdansha, 2003 (first ed. 1983)

Conference

Changing Corporate GovernanceSystems – Germany and Japan inComparison(Tôkyô, February 20–21, 2004)

This two-day conference, jointly orga-nized by the German Institute forJapanese Studies, the Japan InvestorResearch and Investor Support, Inc.(J-IRIS), and the Research Institute ofEconomy, Trade and Industry (RIETI),sought to compare structures andmechanisms of corporate governance.To our understanding, corporate gov-ernance stands for the ways and meansused by investors to secure their in-vestment in a corporation, and to influ-ence management to act according totheir interests. In the German and Jap-anese context, “investor” would notonly mean the shareholders of a corpo-ration, but also other stakeholders likeemployees, suppliers, and othergroups. The research on corporate gov-ernance is still dominated by compari-son between the Anglo-Saxon and oth-er systems, whereas Germany andJapan are often seen as similar. Thus,this event is considered to be especiallyimportant since it compares two sup-posedly similar but in fact quite differ-ent arrangements.

The first part of the conference wasa half-day symposium on the after-noon of February 20 held in the TôkyôChamber of Commerce and Industry. It

was aimed at providing the broaderJapanese public with information onthe most recent developments in thefield in Germany. The keynote lecturewas given by Gerhard Cromme, headof the German Corporate GovernanceCommission and of ThyssenKrupp’ssupervisory board. The lecture was fol-lowed by a panel discussion wherewell-known experts from the scientificcommunity (Yoshimori Masaru, Yoko-hama National University) and from amultinational enterprise (WolfgangStegh, Representative and ManagingDirector BASF Japan, Ltd.) exchangedtheir views with Gerhard Cromme.Ogino Hiroshi, senior researcher of thedaily newspaper Asahi Shinbun chairedthe discussion.

The second day – Saturday, Febru-ary 21 – was dedicated to scientific ex-change and the comparison of recentdevelopments in Japan and Germany.In a different location – the ResearchInstitute of Economy, Trade and Indus-try – eight specialists on corporate gov-ernance issues, Matsuda Takeshi (MeijiUniversity), Yoshimori Masaru (Yoko-hama State University), MichaelNietsch (University of Mainz), SekiTakaya (J-IRIS), Marcel Tyrell (Univer-sity of Frankfurt), Miyajima Hideaki(Waseda University), Gregory Jackson(RIETI) and Kubo Katsuyuki (WasedaUniversity), discussed with the orga-nizers and approximately fifty partici-pants questions relating to the role ofcorporate governance in different sys-tems, legal changes, the link betweenfinancial system and corporate gover-nance, and the linkage between corpo-rate governance and employment.

The high number of participantsand requests for further information aswell as offers for further cooperation isindicative of the conference’s success-ful approach to the topic. The paperswill be published in a special issue of acorporate-governance related journalto ensure that the discussions reach awide audience.

Workshop

Consultation, Counseling, and Heal-ing in Japanese New Religious andNew Spirituality Movements

(Tôkyô, March 13, 2004)

Many of the new religious move-ments in Japan offer their members in-dividual assistance to deal with prob-lems encountered throughout life. Thissupport may range from moral guid-ance, consultation on daily affairs andindividual counseling to resolve con-

DIJ EVENTS

Fig. 8. After her journey to the other world, anew life begins for the young Ai-chan.© Kôfuku no Kagaku Shuppan

4 DIJ Newsletter JUNE 2004

flicts, to the healing of physical illnessand injuries. In particular the so-callednew spirituality movements (shin reiseiundô) deal with the “spiritual” healthof their clients.

The aim of this workshop was todiscuss the forms, contents and inten-tions of religious “life assistance” fromdifferent perspectives. The papers pre-sented several approaches to theseproblems as practiced by a number ofreligious groups. Based on the field-work of the speakers, the papers of thefirst section discussed the topic ofconsultation, guidance or therapeuticmodes in Sôka Gakkai (Levi McLaugh-lin, Kokugakuin University), Shinnyo-en, PL Kyôdan (Monika Schrimpf, DIJ)and GLA (Christal Whelan, Nichi-bunken/Boston University). Mc-Laughlin concluded that in Sôka Gak-kai, therapeutic effects dependcompletely upon the members’ own re-sources and social support at the grass-roots level rather than the intentions ofa religious leadership. According toSchrimpf, horizontal relationshipsamong believers are a primary sourceof personal assistance in crises andconflicts also in the Shinnyo-en and PLKyôdan movements. However, equal-ly important is the strongly moral con-sultation given by religious authoritieswho are regarded as capable of con-necting with a transcendent reality. InGLA, on the other hand, actual psycho-therapist techniques of introspectionare practiced in which the present lead-er Takahashi Keiko plays a crucial role.

In addition to these empirical stud-ies, the papers of the second sectiontouched upon the term “spirituality”and its practical application in the fieldof healthcare. Horie Norichika (Uni-versity of the Sacred Heart, Tôkyô) in-troduced the history of the term andemphasized that the term is used indifferent meanings in the fields of reli-gious studies, psychology and media.Especially in the realm of new spiritu-ality movements, the katakana word su-pirichuaritî is used to disassociate fromkanji compounds using the word reiand its association with spirits of thedead. Practical consequences of no-tions of spirituality for concepts ofhealthcare were the topic of the paperby Furusawa Yumi (University ofTôkyô), who talked about the growingawareness of the need for spiritual careamong psychological counselors inhospitals, particularly those hospitalsaffiliated with religious institutions.One incentive for this development isthe American chaplain system.The final discussions gave careful con-sideration to the different motives be-hind consultation, healing or similaractivities in religious movements.

Moreover, it was discussed whetherterms like psychotherapy or counsel-ing are appropriate to describe theseactivities in each respective case.

Conference

The Centennial of a Historical Wa-tershed: Legacies of the Russo-Japa-nese War, 1904-05

(Tôkyô, March 27, 2004)

The foundation of the modern Japa-nese state was characterized by fre-quent warfare. However, even thoughthe foundation of the Japanese nation-state was induced by the penetration ofEuropean and US-imperialism intoEast Asia, Japan, prior to 1941, foughtwars mainly against its Asian neigh-bors. Two wars against Russia(1904/05 and 1918–1922) and a smallskirmish with Germany in 1914 werethe only exceptions. However, on thewhole, no war was of equal signifi-cance for the future course of Japan’sdevelopment than the Russo-JapaneseWar of 1904/05. Japan’s victory overwhat had been considered the world’sleading military power demonstratedJapan’s development into a militaryforce to be reckoned with; a force,which was soon recognized as a “first-rate power” by the imperialist coun-tries. Japan’s victory over Czarist Rus-sia resulted in completely new notionsof Japan’s role in world politics, butalso a – though short-lived – enthusi-asm for Japan in many Asian countries,where Japan was considered a poten-tial liberator from colonial rule.The conference “Legacies of the Russo-Japanese War, 1904–05,” coorganizedby Sven Saaler from the DIJ and Rolf-Harald Wippich from Sophia Universi-ty, explored questions relating to theconsequences of the Russo-JapaneseWar for Japan’s position in world poli-tics and Japan’s ambivalent role as anemerging colonial power on the onehand, and the hopes in Asia for Japanas a liberator on the other. After anoverview of the historical place of theRusso-Japanese War, given in the key-note speech by Tsuzuki Chûshichi(Professor emeritus, Hitotsubashi Uni-versity), Inaba Chiharu (Meijô Univer-sity), Igor Saveliev (Niigata Universi-ty) and Lee Eun-Jeung (University ofHalle-Wittenberg) explored the conse-quences of the Russo-Japanese War forthe countries involved, including Ko-rea, whose independence was one ofthe main issues on the eve of the out-break of war. In the second panel of thisone-day conference, the presentations

of Enatsu Yoshiki (Hitotsubashi Uni-versity), T. R. Sareen (Professor emeri-tus, University of New Delhi) andSelçuk Esenbel (Bog3aziçi University,Istanbul) analyzed the repercussions ofthe war in other Asian countries. AsEnatsu Yoshiki’s presentation demon-strated, the war that was led mainly onChinese territory, triggered reforms inChina that he explained by analyzingthe micro level of local administrationin Northeastern China (Manchuria).Sareen and Esenbel in their presenta-tions looked into reactions in India andthe Ottoman Empire, respectively,where – at least temporarily – enthusi-astic hope for Japan as a potential liber-ator from Western colonial rule was ev-ident. Due to the Japanese policy ofcolonizing and eventually annexingKorea, in a few years, however, enthu-siasm waned, and disillusionmentwith Japan soon set in. In Japanese his-toriography, these later developmentsare paid little attention, and thus theRusso-Japanese War is still over-whelmingly judged as positive inpresent-day Japan, as one commenta-tor from the floor noted. The lively dis-cussion demonstrated that these kindsof political-historical questions, whichalso make up the background of theongoing history textbook controversy,are still topical issues that generatemuch interest.

Peter J. Hartmann: Konsumgenos-senschaften in Japan: Alternativeoder Spiegelbild der Gesellschaft?Entwicklungen und Strukturen amBeispiel der Präfektur Ôsaka [Japa-nese Co-ops: Alternative or Mirrorof Society? Its Development andStructure Exemplified by a CaseStudy of O1saka]. Munich: Iudicium,2003 (Monographien aus demDeutschen Institut für Japanstudi-en, vol. 29), 628 pp. (ISBN 3-89129-507-3)

Japanese Co-ops are providers of safefood to millions of housewives orga-nized in small groups. They perceivethemselves as “schools of democracy,”“the housewife’s window to society,”and “instruments for the creation ofnew local communities”; in short, anantithesis to industrial society – atleast, this is what Japanese researchwould have liked us to think in thepast.

The reality, however, is quite differ-ent: almost completely ignored by re-searchers, from the beginning Japanese

DIJ PUBLICATIONS

DIJ Newsletter JUNE 2004 5

Co-ops extended their activities to awide range of areas including healthcare, housing, insurance, etc., and theirmember bases, world views, aims, andstrategies vary conspicuously. For thefirst time, the present study attempts tolook at the Japanese Co-op system in itsentirety and arrives at some rather lessspectacular conclusions.

Isa Ducke (ed.): E-Democracy in EastAsia? How the Internet Affects Poli-tics and Civil Society in Japan, SouthKorea, and Taiwan. Munich: Iudici-um, 2004 (Miscellanea aus demDeutschen Institut für Japanstudi-en, vol. 17), 119 pp. (ISSN 0941-1321)

New technologies offer new network-ing opportunities that may affect theinvolvement of a broader audience. Aworkshop held at the DIJ in 2003 dis-cussed the ways such technologies –especially the Internet – affect the polit-ical involvement of citizens in electionsand local government initiatives, aswell as NGOs and citizens’ groups. Theworkshop looked at the various toolsemployed and how effective these are.Discussions dealt with the impact ofthe Internet on a variety of politicalactors, including political parties andcandidates, mainstream and minori-ties, non-governmental organizations(NGOs), the vast majority of citizens,and small citizens’ groups with specialconcerns.

The results of this workshop are as-sembled in a short collection of articles.It includes papers written by Lee Eun-Jeung (“Netizens and South KoreanPolitics: Citizens’ Power during thePresidential Election 2002”) andChung Peichi (“The Local Dimensionof Identity Construction in a Web-Based Political Organization: The Tai-

wan Independence Party”) on Japan’sneighbors, and several linked presen-tations on Japan written by Isa Duckeon “Citizens’ Groups in Japan: InternetUse and ‘Success,’” Iris Wieczorek’s ar-ticle on “Can the Internet Propel thePolitical and Social Role of JapaneseNGOs? A Case Study of Anti-Dam Ac-tivism in Japan,” and Leslie M. Tkach-Kawasaki on “Japanese CandidatesOnline in 2001.” These papers are fol-lowed by a summary of the discussionsand conclusions (Isa Ducke and LeslieM. Tkach-Kawasaki).

The volume is available from theDIJ in Tôkyô.

Annual Meeting, Association for Asian Studies (AAS)(San Diego, March 4–7, 2004)

The Annual Meeting of the Associa-tion for Asian Studies (AAS) held inSan Diego, California, consisted ofmore than two hundred panels wherea broad variety of topics was dis-cussed, with “border-crossing” as thecentral topic uniting (or transcending)the disciplines as well as various areasof Asian Studies. Not only several ofthe official border-crossing sessions,but also many of the other panels dealtwith questions relating to Asian re-gionalism or Asian diaspora, but alsowith topics such as “The Global Soy-bean.”

Sven Saaler from the DIJ participat-ed in panel 210 with the title “JapaneseViews on Sino-Japanese Relations inthe Early Twentieth Century: Reassess-ments of Japan’s Pan-Asianism.” Thepanel, organized by Itoh Mayumi (Uni-versity of Nevada, Las Vegas), ex-plored Sino-Japanese relations fromthe angle of Japanese Pan-Asianists,who worked for Sino-Japanese cooper-ation, but in historiography are usuallyinterpreted merely as forerunners ofexpansionism. In his paper “Pan-AsianSocieties in Prewar Japanese ForeignRelations: Uchida Ryôhei and theKokuryûkai,” Saaler tried to shedsome light on the role of small politicalpressure groups (seiji kessha) in earlytwentieth-century Japan, of which theKokuryûkai (Amur Society or BlackDragon Society) is probably the mostnotorious one, but has not yet beenstudied in depth, neither in Japan norin Japanese studies. Saaler argued that

the Kokuryûkai eventually did con-tribute to a large degree to Japaneseexpansionism, but in the early years ofits existence it worked intensively forSino-Japanese cooperation againstRussia. However, in the end, regional-ist concepts of cooperation fell victimto the temptations of national-imperi-alist expansion. Similarly, ItohMayumi in her presentation on Tôya-ma Mitsuru and his relation to Sun Yat-Sen and Chiang Kai-Shek, and DickStegewerns (Ôsaka Sangyô University)in his presentation on Sugimori Kôjirôexplored central figures in Sino-Japa-nese relations and their ambivalentroles, which to date have not been sys-tematically analyzed by historical re-search. In the panel discussion it be-came clear that due to a strongemphasis on Japanese expansionism,early forms of Asian regionalism stillrequire further consideration in histor-ical research, and many topics appearopen to discussion and systematic re-search.

Wolfgang Seifert and Asa-BettinaWuthenow (eds.): Anbauten Um-bauten: Beiträge zur Japan-For-schung; Festgabe für WolfgangSchamoni zum 60. Geburtstag vonseinen Schülern, Mitarbeitern undKollegen [Extensions Reconstruc-tions: Essays in Japanese Studies;Dedicated to Wolfgang Schamoniin Honor of His Sixtieth Birthdayfrom His Students, Coworkers, andColleagues]. Munich: Iudicium,2003, 480 pp. (ISBN 3-89129-733-5)

Not only the essay “Ein kleines lexi-kographisches Ôgai-Bouquet” [A Lit-tle Lexicographical Ôgai Bouquet](Irmela Hijiya-Kirschnereit and JürgenStalph) but also the Festschrift as awhole is a flower bouquet for Wolf-gang Schamoni on the occasion of hissixtieth birthday. The collection of aca-demic articles, translations, literarypieces, fieldwork reports and essays byforty authors was published to honorthe accomplishments of Schamoni un-der whose guidance the Department ofJapanese Studies at the University ofHeidelberg was established in 1985.The majority of the contributions dealwith Japanese literature, Schamoni’smain research topic, but the volumealso reflects the variety of his other in-terests. In its six chapters on “Litera-ture,” “Translation and Language,”“Culture and Society,” “Politics andHistory,” “Language Studies and Di-

CONFERENCE REPORTS

BOOK REVIEW

6 DIJ Newsletter JUNE 2004

dactics of Japanese” and “Literary At-tempts and Essays” we find to a lesserextent articles on cultural, social, andhistorical issues. Appended at the endof the collection is a comprehensive listof Schamoni’s publications.

Fourteen of the forty essays are inthe chapter “Literature,” and six ofthese fourteen are translations. Specialemphasis appears to have been givento translations from and discussions ofthe genre of shaseibun with writers suchas Takahama Kyoshi, Tokutomi Roka,and Nagatsuka Takashi. Asa-BettinaWuthenow’s article (regrettably placedtoward the end of this chapter as num-ber 13) lucidly contextualizes thisgenre historically and with regard toliterary studies. Further translations aswell as essays that contain large por-tions of translations from the Meiji pe-riod until today provide insights intoethnographic fields (Momotarô) andpresent several literary figures (HottaYoshie, Mori Ôgai, Ikezawa Natsuki,Inoue Hisashi). The translation ofIkezawa Natsuki’s “Reports of theBus” (pp. 121–137) is particularly en-joyable. It consists of twelve “Reports,”one to two pages long, about variousfunny, grotesque, and surprisingevents all related to a peculiar bus. The“Reports” are taken from the novel andpolitical satire Aufstieg und Fall des Ma-cias Guili [Rise and Fall of Macias Guili]that was translated by Otto Putz intoGerman in 2002. (For further informa-tion on the writer and a review of thebook see Lisette Gebhardt in Japanfor-schung: Mitteilungen der Gesellschaft fürJapanforschung, 2002,2, pp. 28–31.) Oth-er Japanese writers such as MurakamiHaruki and Natsume Sôseki as well asdiscussions on literary theory and thegenre of mass literature and on the de-velopment of rhetoric in Japan are alsocovered. Given the eminence of prize-winning female authors in modernJapanese literature, it is unfortunatethat no female writer was included inthis chapter.

The authors of the second chapter“Translation and Language” dealmainly with sociolinguistics and trans-lation issues. The necessity to considersocio-political contexts is argued byWolfgang Seifert in his discussion onthe social and political term seikatsusha,and how the translation of the termmust be very sensitive to the social andpolitical contexts in which it is used.Further articles deal with questions oftemporality, translations of names, Jap-anese loanwords in German and thedegree to which Japanese poetry can betranslated as poetry into other lan-guages. A refreshingly provocativecontribution is that of Peter Acker-mann, who asks if translations may

also or should even irritate, and whowarns of translations which are too en-gaged in smoothing out differences inform and content in order to meet theexpectations of the (German) reader,since much of cultural difference isthus assimilated and lost.

In the third chapter of the book,“Culture and Society,” the tendency torelate literary themes and productionto social and cultural contexts is re-markable, particularly in Hilaria Göss-mann’s contribution on issues of iden-tity in the autobiographic works of theJapanese-Korean writer Yû Miri, butalso in an essay on the lyrics of the popgroup Tôkyô Pudding (Tôkyô purin),texts that, as Manuel Metzler pointsout, mirror the bursting of the Japanesebubble economy. In the same chapter,librarian studies on the Alt-Japan-Kata-log [Old-Japan Catalog] (Britta Wolder-ing) contextualize and historicize theirobjects of inquiry. Lastly, an essay onthe ethical issue on how to deal withcultural difference in intercultural con-flicts in the workplace is presented byAkira Takenaka.

The following chapter deals withvery diverse historical and politicalquestions in Japanese studies. Tempo-ral focus is on the Meiji period and onearly Japanese socialism or the begin-nings of the women’s movement in Ja-pan. The political situation of Okina-wa, a historical report on Russia byJapanese who were shipwrecked in theEdo period, a German image of Japanfrom 1860, or the literary representa-tion of the Japanese modernizationprocess in depictions of the city ofTôkyô are other themes that are furtherelaborated. Exciting reading is UlrikeWöhr’s contribution on New Womenand journalistic strategies in the Taishôperiod. Wöhr traces the ways womencould, for the first time, establish a po-sition as writers in the discursive pub-lic, where previously they only hadbeen depicted as objects.

The fifth chapter “Language Stud-ies and Didactics of Japanese” containsmainly contributions by former orpresent Japanese language teachers atthe Department of Japanese Studies atHeidelberg University and presentspractical and theoretical problems oflanguage education. The analysis ofShôji Iijima summarizes and discussesthese problems, in particular, the issueof time necessary to teach and learn theJapanese language and writing systemwithin the context of a German univer-sity with its partly obligatory curricu-lum.

The last and shortest chapter of thecollection presents literary experi-ments and essays. Original and funreading is the “Little Texts for Wolf-

gang Schamoni,” as the author OttoPutz calls his German texts inspired byJapanese haiku. Also amusing are hisversions of Zen kôan, which challengethe readers philosophically: “Wieklingt es, wenn man ein Haiku in einenTeich wirft? Hängt der Klang vom Al-ter des Teichs ab?” [What does it soundlike when a haiku is thrown into apond? Does the sound depend uponthe age of the pond?] (p. 469).

The collection is interesting due toits diversity. However, its strong andinsightful points are in the various con-nections made by most authors be-tween literature/language and the so-cial and historical context whereintexts are produced.

(Andrea Germer)

Celebrating a Change of Directorship(Tôkyô, July 1, 2004)

Irmela Hijiya-Kirschnereit’s eight-yearterm of office as director of the GermanInstitute of Japanese Studies will cometo an end on September 30, 2004. Thechange of directorship will be celebrat-ed on July 1, 2004, at the Suntory Hall,Tôkyô. Detailed information will ap-pear in the next DIJ Newsletter (num-ber 23).

Film Presentation

“Shugen – Hagurosan Akinomine”

(June 22, 2004, 6 p.m., location: MaisonFranco-Japonaise, Tôkyô)

In cooperation with the Maison Fran-co-Japonaise the DIJ will present thefilm “Shugen – Hagurosan Akinomi-ne” (2004, 115 minutes) by the directorKitamura Minao (producer: VisualFolklore Inc.). The documentary filmshows for the first time the completeritual of the Akinomine retreat, whichtakes place every year at the end ofAugust at Mount Haguro. In this nine-day ascetic practice of the Shugendôtradition (Buddhist-Shintô combinato-ry mountain cult), the participants rit-ually experience death and the tenworlds of existence such as hells, hun-gry ghosts, beasts, humans, Bodhisatt-vas, Buddhas, etc. The film is in Japa-nese. Handouts in English will be

OTHER MATTERS/ OUTLOOK

DIJ Newsletter JUNE 2004 7

prepared and Gaynor Sekimori (Uni-versity of Tôkyô), who has participatedin this ritual several times, will give ashort introduction in English. After thefilm there will be an opportunity forquestions and discussions. The filmwill be shown in the auditorium of theMaison Franco-Japonaise.

For more information see http://www.dijtokyo.org or http://www.mfj.gr.jp/index.html.

Symposium

Takeuchi Yoshimi – Thinker of a Dif-ferent Modernity in East Asia?

(Heidelberg, September 7–11, 2004)

This international symposium on theJapanese Sinologist, translator, thinkerand cultural critic Takeuchi Yoshimi(1910–1977) will be the first one held ina Western country (the conference lan-guages will be English and Japanese).It is jointly organized by the Depart-ment of Japanese Studies, University ofHeidelberg, and the DIJ. Takeuchi’smerits in research on modern Chineseliterature are uncontested. A new read-ing of his interpretation of the writerLu Xun (1881–1936) is gradually mak-ing itself heard. The main reason forthe newly awakened interest in Take-uchi, however, is that his historicalthought gives important impulses tothe present debate on regionalism inEast Asia. The topic of Takeuchi’s re-flections is the tension between Japa-nese nationalism and “Asianism”emerging in modern Japanese history,a tension which is usually dismissedby other Japanese intellectuals. Thesymposium in Heidelberg will attemptto critically reconstruct some elementsof the referential framework for anEast-Asian regionalism as developedby Takeuchi, to “translate” them for theWestern world and thus create an idea-historical foil to evaluate present cul-tural-historical legitimations of “EastAsia.” Each of the four conference daysis dedicated to a special aspect: “TheThinker Takeuchi Yoshimi,” “TakeuchiYoshimi as Sinologist,” “Contributionsof Takeuchi to Historiography” and“Legacy and Perspectives.”

Call for Papers

Japanstudien: Jahrbuch des Deut-schen Instituts für Japanstudien

Japanstudien is a peer-review journalpublished once a year by the German

Institute for Japanese Studies, Tôkyô.This journal includes articles on theculture, economy, society and politicsof modern Japan as well as Germany-Japan relations. Contributions on thesetopics are welcome from scholars inany academic discipline. Most issues ofJapanstudien focus on a particular topic.The subject of volume 17, which is ex-pected to be published by autumn2005, is:

Germany in Japan

On the occasion of the initiative “Ger-many in Japan 2005/2006” the nextvolume of Japanstudien will be dedicat-ed to the relations between Japan andGermany in the modern era. Since theMeiji period both countries have en-joyed continuous periods of contactthat have led to processes of mutualreception and cooperation in culture,science, economics, and politics. Thisvolume shall seek to shed light on thehistorical background of these process-es on the Japanese side by examiningthe changes in interactions with Ger-many in modern day Japan. The pri-mary aim of the book, however, is todocument current foci of cooperationand interaction in Japan. In which are-as of culture or science can we observeconscious or subconscious dealingswith Germany? In which sectors and inwhat forms does the Japanese econo-my seek exchanges with Germany?Which areas of German politics attractattention in Japan, and in which fieldsare cooperation and dialogue sought?Who are the agents maintaining theserelationships, and what are their mo-tives?

A further topic to be addressed isthe Japanese perceptions of Germanythat have shaped the diverse processesof reception and cooperation. The vol-ume will examine the reasons for thepopularity of certain aspects of Ger-man culture, science, politics, econom-ics, and technology. To what degree isthis popularity influenced by certainimages of Germany, and what effect donational stereotypes have? What arethe roots of such stereotypes, and howdid they evolve into their currentform? Thus, the papers in this volumeshall also address the changes in Ja-pan’s understanding of Germany. Fi-nally, the analysis of how Japaneseagents situate themselves and theircountry in relation to Germany in theabove mentioned fields will provideinsights into the construction of Japa-nese self-images.

Manuscripts should not exceed10,000 words. Abstracts (of about 400words) together with a short bio of theauthor are to be submitted electronical-

ly to the institute by August 15, 2004(editor: Monika Schrimpf). Acceptedmanuscripts should arrive by Decem-ber 15, 2004. Articles previously pub-lished or submitted for publicationcannot be accepted.

Details of previous issues as well ascontents and articles of Japanstudiencan be found on our homepage(http://www.dijtokyo.org). For fur-ther information on volume 17, pleasecontact Monika Schrimpf (schrimpf@dijtokyo.org).

Dissertation Fellows

Claudia Christ, psychology, Japanesestudies, German as a foreign language,Ph.D. candidate at the University ofTrier: “Differential Terror ManagementEffects on Just-World Belief, Draconity,Self-Esteem and Religious Attachmentamong Religiously Active and Non-Active People in Japan and Germany”(March 2004–February 2005).

Viktoria Heindorf, Japanese studies,business administration, ethnology,Ph.D. candidate at the University ofMunich: “Performance of QualificationSystems in Phases of Rapid Technologi-cal and Structural Change: How theChallenges of the Second IT RevolutionAre Met in Japan and Germany” (April–June 2004).

Hsiu-Jane Chen, biology, history of sci-ence, Ph.D. candidate at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin: “Scientific Trans-fer between Germany and Japan? Japa-nese Medical Students and Experts inGermany between 1865 and 1914”(May–December 2004).

8 DIJ Newsletter JUNE 2004

Published by: IUDICIUM VerlagGmbH, Hans-Grässel-Weg 13, D–81375München. Printed by: Strauss Offset-druck GmbH, Robert-Bosch-Str. 6–8,D–69509 Mörlenbach. Publicationdates: each June, October, February;not on sale in bookshops.

On April 23, 2004, Antje Vollmer, vice-president of the German Bundestag, visited the German Institute for Japanese Studies. During her visitMs. Vollmer was able to gain some insights into the work done at the DIJ, she listened to several presentations on ongoing research and discussedtopics relating to the field of Japanese religions, Japanese foreign relations with China and Korea, as well as controversies surrounding the historytextbook issue in Asia with the DIJ research fellows.