Skip to main content
Beyond Japan with Oliver Moxham

Beyond Japan with Oliver Moxham

By Centre for Japanese Studies at UEA

Beyond Japan is an interdisciplinary podcast which invites you to take a look at the broad reach of Japanese Studies, both within and beyond Japan. The series is hosted and produced by Oliver Moxham (@OllieMox on Twitter), researcher of language and Japanese war heritage, and brought to you by the Centre for Japanese Studies at the University of East Anglia in collaboration with the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures.

Visit JapanInNorwich.org/Beyond-Japan to get in touch, find more episode-related resources, watch with subtitles and get PDF transcriptions.
Available on
Amazon Music Logo
Apple Podcasts Logo
Castbox Logo
Google Podcasts Logo
Pocket Casts Logo
RadioPublic Logo
Spotify Logo
Currently playing episode

[S1E38] 🏛️ Exhibiting Japan with Professor Nicole Rousmaniere

Beyond Japan with Oliver MoxhamJun 03, 2021

00:00
43:23
[S3E6] 🐳 Animal Agency with Prof Aike Rots

[S3E6] 🐳 Animal Agency with Prof Aike Rots

For Beyond Japan's final episode, Oliver is joined by Aike Rots, Associate Professor of Japan Studies at the University of Oslo, to discuss the agency of animals in influencing human society and cultures. Aike’s collaborative project, Whales of Power, explores how whales have affected ritual practices in coastal communities of East Asia and how those practices have adapted and changed in the 21st century.

Follow the Whales of Power project on Twitter and via their website.

A final message from Oliver:

"After 85 episodes, Beyond Japan now draws to a close as I turn my attention to my PhD research. I would like to thank all the guests who have shared their research with us and to you the listeners who have supported this exciting new medium for sharing academia with the wider world. I intend to return to academic podcasting again in the near future – you can follow my blog at olivermoxham.wordpress.com for updates on that.

For now, enjoy revisiting our back catalogue. As always, thank you for listening."

IMAGE AND AUDIO CREDITS

Intro-outro music: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com

[L] Kujirabune gyōji in Yokkaichi (Mie prefecture). Photograph by Aike Rots (2022).

[R] Benzaiten statue comforting a dolphin soul. Shrine near Yobuko. Photograph by Aike Rots (2022).

Copyright © 2023 Oliver Moxham, ℗  2023 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed for education purposes.

Feb 02, 202354:28
[S3E5] 🪦 Memorialization with Dr Daniel Milne

[S3E5] 🪦 Memorialization with Dr Daniel Milne

Oliver is joined by Daniel Milne, Senior Lecturer at Kyoto University’s Institute for Liberal Arts and Sciences (ILAS), to discuss what happens when we memorialise past conflicts through the Kyoto Buddhist temple Ryōzen Kannon. Daniel and I explore how the meaning of monuments to war dead change over time, and compare Ryōzen Kannon’s approach with that of the national war memorial site of Yasukuni Shrine.

Read Daniel's article with David Moreton, 'Remembering and Forgetting the War Dead at Ryōzen Kannon: A Site of Entangled and Transnational War Memories'.

IMAGE AND AUDIO CREDITS

Intro-outro music: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com

[L] The enormous Ryōzen Kannon Bodhisattva statue that gives the temple its namesake. Photograph by Oliver Moxham, 2018.

[R] Stained glass window from within the Memorial Hall for the Unknown Soldier of WWII at Ryōzen Kannon. Photograph by Oliver Moxham, 2018.

Copyright © 2023 Oliver Moxham, ℗  2023 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed for education purposes.

Jan 05, 202346:16
[S3E4] 📚 History in Fiction with Prof Susan Furukawa

[S3E4] 📚 History in Fiction with Prof Susan Furukawa

Oliver is joined by Susan Furukawa, Associate Professor of Modern Languages and Literatures at Beloit College, to discuss history in fiction through works on the iconic and problematic life of 16th century shogun Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Susan and I look at how Hideyoshi sought to establish his own literary legacy, how he has been made a hero in different ways through the 20th century, and why darker elements of his past have failed to break through in these narratives.

Read Susan's book, The Afterlife of Toyotomi Hideyoshi: Historical Fiction and Popular Culture in Japan.

IMAGE AND AUDIO CREDITS

Intro-outro music: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com

[L] One Hundred Aspects of the Moon #7, Inaba Mountain Moon - The young Toyotomi Hideyoshi leads a small group assaulting the castle on Inaba Mountain; 1885, twelfth month.

[C] Professor Susan Furukawa. Photograph by Nick Mischler.

[R] Important cultural property "Toyotomi Hideyoshi portrait" (part of artwork). Acclaimed in the 3rd year of Keicho (1598), Kōdai-ji Temple, Kyoto.

Copyright © 2022 Oliver Moxham, ℗  2022 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed for education purposes.

Dec 01, 202230:25
[S3E2] ✍️ Manga: Comics as Art with Chie Kutsuwada

[S3E2] ✍️ Manga: Comics as Art with Chie Kutsuwada

Oliver is joined by Chie Kutsuwada, UK-based manga artist, to discuss Japanese comics as art and the global spread of the genre’s art style and readership. Chie and Oliver look at what separates manga from other comic styles, the appeal to recurring themes found in the genre and the escapism it provides.

IMAGE AND AUDIO CREDITS

Intro-outro music: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com

All images provided by Chie Kutsuwada.

Copyright © 2022 Oliver Moxham, ℗  2022 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed for education purposes.

Oct 05, 202237:59
[S3E1] 🤿 Underwater Archaeology with Dr Randall Sasaki

[S3E1] 🤿 Underwater Archaeology with Dr Randall Sasaki

Welcome to the third series of Beyond Japan! In this episode, Oliver is joined by Randy Sasaki, researcher at the Kyushu National Museum, to discuss his specialism of underwater archaeology, otherwise known as maritime or nautical archaeology. Randy and I explore the window shipwrecks provide into international trade spanning hundreds and even thousands of years, as well as the benefits and challenges of sea-based archaeological surveys as opposed to land-based surveys. Randy also shares with us details of his project in Tango, off the northern coast of Kyoto prefecture.

IMAGE AND AUDIO CREDITS

Intro-outro music: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com

[L] "The Sweepstakes Shipwreck 1" by CampCrazy Photography.

[R] "best-underwater-drone" by Bluedreamer2011.

Copyright © 2022 Oliver Moxham, ℗  2022 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed for education purposes.

Aug 31, 202228:12
[S2E30] 🏛️ Discovering Museums with Sophie Richard

[S2E30] 🏛️ Discovering Museums with Sophie Richard

Oliver is joined by Sophie Richard, art historian, museum specialist and acclaimed writer, as we explore art museums in Japan of every variety. From her training at École du Louvre, Sophie has visited museums across the archipelago, broadening her understanding of what a museum can be and inspiring her to write a book on capturing this for the non-Japanese speaking art lover.

Read Sophie's book, The Art Lover's Guide to Japanese Museums.

Museums by order of mention:

So ends the second series of Beyond Japan! As Oliver starts his PhD in the autumn, the third series of Beyond Japan will continue with monthly instalments on the first Thursday of every month from September 2022. In the meantime, do get in touch and let us know what you have enjoyed and what you might like added to the series – we would be particularly interested in knowing if the addition of transcriptions and subtitles has improved the experience for you.

IMAGE AND AUDIO CREDITS

Intro-outro music: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com

[L] The Art Lover's Guide to Japanese Museums.

[R] Oliver at the D T Suzuki Museum (2015). Photograph courtesy of Chhorvy.

Copyright © 2022 Oliver Moxham, ℗  2022 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed for education purposes.

Jul 14, 202245:17
[S2E29] 🚔 Crime & Desistance with Adam Hunt

[S2E29] 🚔 Crime & Desistance with Adam Hunt

Oliver is joined by Adam Hunt, PhD candidate at the University of Sheffield, to compare crime between Japan and the UK and how factors such as attitudes towards former convicts affects “desistance”; that is, attempts to reduce the rate of reoffending.

Read the Japanese Ministry of Defence's 2020 white paper on crime.

Download the full transcript here (PDF)

Watch with subtitles on YouTube

IMAGE AND AUDIO CREDITS

Intro-outro music: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com

[L] Desistance Overview provided by Adam Hunt.

[R] In handcuffs on Pandora by ngawangchodron.

Copyright © 2022 Oliver Moxham, ℗  2022 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed for education purposes.

Jun 22, 202231:05
[S2E28] 🐫 On the Silk Road(s) with Prof Susan Whitfield

[S2E28] 🐫 On the Silk Road(s) with Prof Susan Whitfield

Oliver is joined by Susan Whitfield, Professor in Silk Road Studies at the Sainsbury Institute, to gain a new perspective on the mass of historic maritime and land-based routes known as the Silk Roads. Susan gives us a taste of the material and cultural impact of the enormous trade network stretching to the ends of Europe, Africa and Asia from the 2nd Century BCE, as well as highlighting the role of Japan and China in establishing the network as World Heritage.

Read Susan's article, 'The Expanding Silk Road: UNESCO and the Belt and Road Initiative' (2020)

Read Susan's book, Silk Roads: Peoples, Cultures, Landscapes (2019)

Visit the Nara to Norwich online exhibition

Find out more about the Nara to Norwich project

Download the full transcript here (PDF)

Watch with subtitles on YouTube

IMAGE AND AUDIO CREDITS

Intro-outro music: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com

[L] Caravan on the Silk Road (1375). Gallica Digital Library. ID: btv1b55002481n.

[R] Photographing remains of a 3rd century farmstead in Niya, an oasis kingdom in the Tarim Basin on the Silk Road, and the site of a multi-year Sino-Japanese archaeological collaboration. Provided by Susan Whitfield.

Copyright © 2022 Oliver Moxham, ℗  2022 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed for education purposes.

Jun 04, 202225:09
[S2E27] 🗺️ Maps & Imagined Travel with Dr Sonia Favi

[S2E27] 🗺️ Maps & Imagined Travel with Dr Sonia Favi

Oliver is joined by Dr Sonia Favi, researcher at the University of Turin, to discuss the history of imagined travel. Sonia’s digital exhibition, ‘Travels in Tokugawa Japan (1603-1868): A Virtual Journey’, explores how late-Edo period maps indulged the imagination of those unable to journey across the country, something all too familiar in the wake of COVID-19 travel restrictions.

Download the full transcript here (PDF)

Watch with subtitles on YouTube

IMAGE AND AUDIO CREDITS

Intro-outro music: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com

[L] Nanban byōbu by Kanō Naizen (Folding screen depicting ‘Southern barbarians’ – i.e. European travellers – as they land on Japanese shores). First quarter of the 17th century. Metropolitan Museum of Art.

[R] Measured map of the Tōkaidō Highway by Ochikochi Dōin and Hishikawa Moronobu (1690) 東海道分間絵図; Tōkaidō bunken no zu; 東海道分間之図. John Rylands Research Institute and Library.

Copyright © 2022 Oliver Moxham, ℗  2022 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed for education purposes.

May 25, 202245:17
[S2E26] 👩‍🦯 Infrastructure for the Blind with Maud Rowell

[S2E26] 👩‍🦯 Infrastructure for the Blind with Maud Rowell

Oliver is joined by Maud Rowell, blind freelance journalist and author of Blind Spot: Exploring and Educating on Blindness, to discuss Infrastructure for the Blind. Maud’s upcoming James Holman prize-winning project, ‘Where Birds Won’t Go’, will see her independently travel to the most remote regions of Japan and write a book on her experiences, all the while demonstrating that accessible public infrastructure can benefit us all. She also lays out how informed attitudes towards blind people go a long way to supporting independence.

Read Maud's book, Blind Spot: Exploring and Educating on Blindness.

Watch Dr Mona Minkara's Planes, Trains and Canes travel series.

Download the full transcript here (PDF)

Watch with subtitles on YouTube

IMAGE AND AUDIO CREDITS

Intro-outro music: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com

[L] Cover art for Blind Spot: Exploring and Educating on Blindness by Maud Rowell.

[R] White Cane on Curb Cut with Shadow by cheapsurrealist is marked with CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Copyright © 2022 Oliver Moxham, ℗  2022 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed for education purposes.

May 11, 202234:38
[S2E25] 😸 Pets & Animal Cafés with Brittany Rapone

[S2E25] 😸 Pets & Animal Cafés with Brittany Rapone

Oliver is joined by Brittany Rapone, PhD candidate at the School of Social Sciences at Oxford Brookes University, to discuss attitudes towards pets and animal cafés in Japan. Brittany walks us through the cultural commonality of human-animal relationships and the “rent-a-pet” model of animal cafés in Japan, providing the iyashi, or “comfort”, of animal interaction at an hourly rate.

Download the full transcript here (PDF)

Watch with subtitles on YouTube

IMAGE AND AUDIO CREDITS

Intro-outro music: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com

[L] Cat café photo provided by Brittany Rapone.

[R] "Enticing for an owl cafe" by neil.dalphin is marked with CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Copyright © 2022 Oliver Moxham, ℗  2022 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed for education purposes.

Apr 27, 202226:11
[S2E24] 💀 Public Opinion on Capital Punishment with Dr Viviana Andreescu

[S2E24] 💀 Public Opinion on Capital Punishment with Dr Viviana Andreescu

Oliver is joined by Viviana Andreescu, Associate Professor of Justice Administration at the University of Louisville, to discuss public opinion on capital punishment in Japan. Viviana’s 2020 article, ‘Public opinion and the death penalty in Japan’, took a look at over 2,500 responses of the Japanese General Social Survey to gauge who supports the death penalty and who would recommend it as a member of the relatively new Citizen Judge System.

Download the full transcript here (PDF)

Watch with subtitles on YouTube

IMAGE AND AUDIO CREDITS

Intro-outro music: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com

[L] E. The Hangman's Noose by John Twohig Photography.

[R] Solitary confinement by Chris.Gray.

Copyright © 2022 Oliver Moxham, ℗  2022 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed for education purposes.

Apr 13, 202258:50
[S2E23] 👩‍🎨 Global Crafts: Woodblock Prints with Wuon-Gean Ho

[S2E23] 👩‍🎨 Global Crafts: Woodblock Prints with Wuon-Gean Ho

Oliver is joined by Wuon-Gean Ho, printmaker and research associate at the University of West England’s Centre for Print Research, to discuss the place of mokuhanga, or woodblock printmaking, in the global spread of traditional crafts. Wuon-Gean Ho walks us through her path to mokuhanga,  her experience learning from a master printmaker in Japan and how  learning these traditional methods have shaped her growth as an artist.

Watch Wuon-Gean's V&A film

Download the full transcript here (PDF)

IMAGE AND AUDIO CREDITS

Intro-outro music: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com

[L] Lockdown Chop by Wuon-Gean Ho.

[R] No Lake View, No Cake by Wuon-Gean Ho.

Copyright © 2022 Oliver Moxham, ℗  2022 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed for education purposes.

Mar 30, 202241:09
[S2E22] 👤 The Body Politic with Dr Andreas Musolff

[S2E22] 👤 The Body Politic with Dr Andreas Musolff

Oliver is joined by Dr Andreas Musolff, professor at the School of Politics, Philosophy, Language and Communication Studies at the University of East Anglia, to discuss the body politic and how metaphors for nations vary across the world. Andreas shares the insights from his recent book, National Conceptualisations of the Body Politic: Cultural Experience and Political Imagination, covering an 8-year survey of over 2,000 students across 29 countries.

Download the full transcript here (PDF)

IMAGE AND AUDIO CREDITS

Intro-outro music: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com

[L] Musolff (2021) Fig 1 - Britain as a body politic as portrayed by a UK student.

[R] The frontispiece of Hobbes's Leviathan shows a body formed of multitudinous citizens, surmounted by a king's head.

Copyright © 2022 Oliver Moxham, ℗  2022 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed for education purposes.

Mar 10, 202223:07
[S2E21] 😂 Humour in Art: Kawanabe Kyōsai with Dr Koto Sadamura

[S2E21] 😂 Humour in Art: Kawanabe Kyōsai with Dr Koto Sadamura

Oliver is joined by Dr Koto Sadamura, Robert & Lisa Sainsbury Research Fellow at the Sainsbury Institute, to discuss the place of humour in art through the works of the eccentric 19th century painter Kawanabe Kyōsai. Kyōsai’s specialty of kyōga, or “comic pictures”, have historically been overlooked when compared with his more traditional works, despite being of equal skill and cultural significance. Koto also unpicks how comic devices such as inversion of legendary figures were used to depict humorous situations which people of all classes could relate to, much like the memes of today.

Koto's exhibition, Kyōsai: The Israel Goldman Collection, will be held at the Royal Academy of Arts from 19 March — 19 June 2022.

Mentioned works by Kyōsai:

Demons playing the game of go (Tokyo National Museum)

Shoki chasing demons (Christie's)

For more of Kyōsai's works, see the online collections of the MET and the British Museum.

IMAGE AND AUDIO CREDITS

Intro-outro music: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com

[L] Kawanabe Kyōsai, Night Procession of One Hundred Demons (detail), 1871–89. A pair of six-fold screens; ink and colour on paper, 146.8 x 310 cm each. Israel Goldman Collection, London. Photo: Art Research Center, Ritsumeikan University.

[C] Kawanabe Kyōsai, Cats Carrying Giant Tweezers to Torment a Catfish, 1871–89. Hanging scroll; ink and light colour on silk, 97.8 x 36.1 cm. Koto Sadamura.

[R] Kyōsai, Hell Courtesan (Jigoku-dayū), Dancing Ikkyū and Skeletons (detail), 1871–89. Hanging scroll; ink, colour and gold on silk, 137.1 x 69.3 cm. Israel Goldman Collection, London. Photo: Art Research Center, Ritsumeikan University.

Copyright © 2022 Oliver Moxham, ℗  2022 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed for education purposes.

Mar 03, 202234:06
[S2E20] ⛩️ Global Shinto with Kaitlyn Ugoretz

[S2E20] ⛩️ Global Shinto with Kaitlyn Ugoretz

Oliver is joined by Kaitlyn Ugoretz, anthropologist of religion and a PhD candidate in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies at UC Santa Barbara, to discuss the global appeal of Shinto in the digital era. Kaitlyn introduces us to online Shinto communities as old as the internet itself, as well as the many international faces of Shinto, from official shrines in the USA to localised rituals and Marie Kondo’s brand of spiritualism.

Read Kaitlyn's article, “The untidiness of Marie Kondo’s eclectic spirituality”.

Check out Kaitlyn's YouTube channel, "Eat Pray Anime".

IMAGE AND AUDIO CREDITS

Intro-outro music: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com

[L] Clip art provided by Kaitlyn Ugoretz.

[R] Tsubaki Grand Shrine, Seattle, WA, USA.

Copyright © 2022 Oliver Moxham, ℗  2022 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed for education purposes.

Feb 24, 202253:13
[S2E19] 🤰 Family Planning Policy with Dr Aya Homei

[S2E19] 🤰 Family Planning Policy with Dr Aya Homei

Oliver is joined by Dr Aya Homei from the University of Manchester to discuss family planning, looking at how Japan’s history of medical science has influenced policy and its impact on the current aging population. Aya unpacks historical attitudes in Japan towards child-bearing held by individuals and the nation and explains that through scientific thought of the time, such as eugenics, much can be understood about attitudes today in Japan and East Asia.

IMAGE AND AUDIO CREDITS

Intro-outro music: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com

[L] Graph of birth rates provided by Dr Aya Homei.

[R] "A Japanese newborn- having babies is service to the nation, in a way!" by shankar s. is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Copyright © 2022 Oliver Moxham, ℗  2022 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed for education purposes.

Feb 17, 202246:55
[S2E18] ⚔️ Samurai in Cinema with Dr Jonathan Wroot

[S2E18] ⚔️ Samurai in Cinema with Dr Jonathan Wroot

Oliver is joined by Dr Jonathan Wroot, Senior Lecturer in Film Studies at the University of Greenwich, to discuss Samurai in Cinema. Together, Jonathan and Oliver take a look at the many faces of samurai in Japanese cinema and their global influence on film producers. Jonathan also focusses on Zatoichi, the lone blind swordsman that has graced film and TV in Japan and elsewhere for over 50 years.

Read Jonathan's new book, The Paths of Zatoichi: The Global Influence of the Blind Swordsman - Remakes, Reboots and Adaptations

Credits:

Intro-outro music: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com

[L] The Paths of Zatoichi: The Global Influence of the Blind Swordsman - Remakes, Reboots and Adaptations

[R] Heihachi from Seven Samurai by show and tell

Copyright © 2022 Oliver Moxham, ℗  2022 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed for education purposes.

Feb 10, 202237:22
[S2E17] 🎨 Art & Cultural Exchange with David Elliott

[S2E17] 🎨 Art & Cultural Exchange with David Elliott

Oliver is joined by art historian, curator and writer David Elliott to discuss art as a means of cultural exchange. David shares with us his experience of challenging the Euro-American concept of Modern Art by exhibiting contemporary Asian, African and Latin American artists, as well as his new approach of looking at art history through trousers.

Read David's new book, Art & Trousers: Tradition and Modernity in Contemporary Asian Art

Credits:

Intro-outro music: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com

[L] "Coronavirus" by duncan is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

[R] "Modern Era Retrospective-analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA)" by NASA Goddard Photo and Video is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Copyright © 2022 Oliver Moxham, ℗  2022 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed for education purposes.

Feb 03, 202248:28
[S2E16] 📚 Knowledge Production During Crisis with Dr Eiko Honda

[S2E16] 📚 Knowledge Production During Crisis with Dr Eiko Honda

Oliver is joined by Dr Eiko Honda, Research and Teaching Associate in History at the Nissan Institute of Japanese Studies and former Robert & Lisa Sainsbury Fellow at the Sainsbury Institute, to discuss Knowledge Production During Crisis. As an historian of intellectual history, Eiko will explain the need to move beyond universal narratives from Euro-American institutions and embrace a transnational approach to researching global issues for tackling the crises of today.

Read “Undoing the Discipline: History in the Time of Climate Crisis and COVID-19

Credits:

Intro-outro music: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com

[L] "Coronavirus" by duncan is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

[R] "Modern Era Retrospective-analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA)" by NASA Goddard Photo and Video is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Copyright © 2022 Oliver Moxham, ℗  2022 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed for education purposes.

Jan 27, 202218:28
[S2E15] 👥 Japanese as "Other" with Dr Christopher Harding

[S2E15] 👥 Japanese as "Other" with Dr Christopher Harding

Oliver is joined by Dr Christopher Harding, Senior Lecturer in Asian History at the University of Edinburgh, to discuss “Japanese as Other”. Drawing on his career as a cultural historian and his experience presenting a number of BBC productions on Japan, I ask Chris about how Japanese people have been “othered”, presented as something wholly different from other societies, and how he reconciles with that as someone long accustomed to Japanese culture.

Listen to Chris on BBC Radio 4: Archive on 4: Misunderstanding Japan

Intro-outro music: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com

[L] British-Japanese Alliance Postcard.

[R] Osaka Japan by kevin dooley.

Copyright © 2022 Oliver Moxham, ℗ 2022 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed in a classroom setting.Copyright © 2022 Oliver Moxham, ℗ 2022 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed in a classroom setting.

Jan 20, 202238:47
[S2E14] 👩‍👦 Nostalgia & Motherhood with Dr Forum Mithani

[S2E14] 👩‍👦 Nostalgia & Motherhood with Dr Forum Mithani

Oliver is joined by Dr Forum Mithani, British Academy Post-doctoral Fellow at the School of Modern Languages at Cardiff University, to discuss her research on the role of nostalgia in shaping expectations of motherhood. I ask Forum about the seductive discourse of nostalgia, its popular manifestations in Japan today and how this has led to romantic yet unfeasible notions of how mothers should be based on a fictional notion of the past. Forum also relates her own experience of preparing to be a mother in Japan and how these expectations appeared in medical guidance as well as popular culture.

Read "(De)Constructing Nostalgic Myths of the Mother in Japanese Drama Woman"

Image and audio credits:

Intro-outro music: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com

[L] Entrance curtain of Furusato Sushi Restaurant by Victor Wong

[R] 2009-05-10母親節主日 by ILI_PCT_TW

Copyright © 2022 Oliver Moxham, ℗ 2022 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed in a classroom setting.

Jan 13, 202241:20
[S2E13] 🚇 Social Order: Tokyo's Manner Posters with Chris Schimkowsky

[S2E13] 🚇 Social Order: Tokyo's Manner Posters with Chris Schimkowsky

Oliver is joined by Chris Schimkowsky, PhD candidate at the University of Sheffield, where we will be discussing his research into the "manner posters" on the Tokyo rail network. Manner posters are public service adverts that can be found on trains and at stations across Japan which warn against “low-level deviance” such as wearing your backpack in an inconsiderate position or shaking your wet umbrella onto other passengers. While other scholars have framed this as a means of imposing social order, Chris argues that these posters are a form of customer service, focussing on improving everyone’s experience rather than penalising offenders.

Read more:

'Manner Posters: A Genre Approach', in: Japanese Studies

'Managing Passenger Etiquette in Tokyo: Between Social Control and Customer Service', in: Mobilities

'Crime Prevention in a Low-Crime Nation: An Enquiry into Japanese Bōhan Initiatives', in: Contemporary Japan

Image and audio credits

Intro-outro music: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com

Images provided by Chris Schimkowsky.

Copyright © 2021 Oliver Moxham, ℗ 2021 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed in a classroom setting.

Dec 09, 202130:54
[S2E12] 🤬 Historians & Online Harassment with Dr Paula R. Curtis

[S2E12] 🤬 Historians & Online Harassment with Dr Paula R. Curtis

Oliver is joined by Dr Paula R Curtis, Postdoctoral Fellow with the Terasaki Center for Japanese Studies at UCLA, to discuss Historians and Online Harassment. Paula will share with me her experiences of being harassed by netto-uyoku (ネット右翼), online far-right nationalists who seek to hassle and discredit historians for their critical approach to Japan’s war history, as well as offer advice for researchers of controversial history who run afoul of nationalist netizens.

Read Paula's article, 'Taking the Fight for Japan's History Online'

Read Prof J. Mark Ramseyer's article, 'Contracting for sex in the Pacific War'

Read the Asia-Pacific Journal's refutation of Ramseyer's article, “Contracting for Sex in the Pacific War”: The Case for Retraction on Grounds of Academic Misconduct

Follow Paula on Twitter to see how she handles online harassment.

Image and audio credits

Intro-outro music: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com

[L] Unveiling of Comfort Women Memorial by Melissa Wall

[R] Social Media Keyboard by Shahid Abdullah

Copyright © 2021 Oliver Moxham, ℗ 2021 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed in a classroom setting.

Nov 25, 202125:21
[S2E11] ⚡️ Net-Zero Japan with Prof Hiroshi Ōta

[S2E11] ⚡️ Net-Zero Japan with Prof Hiroshi Ōta

Oliver is joined by Hiroshi Ōta, professor at the School of International Liberal Studies at Waseda University, to discuss Net-Zero Japan. With the COP26 gathering and a recently leaked document revealing the Japanese government as one of many lobbying for climate change to be taken off the UN agenda, I ask Hiroshi about the rhetoric and actions of the Japanese government in the face of climate change. Together we explore why they are reluctant to impose serious reforms of their energy policy and what alternatives exist for their dependency on fossil fuels and nuclear power.

Glossary

METI – Ministry of Economic Trade and Industries

3E+S – The areas of policy covered by METI: Energy Securities, Efficiency, Environmental considerations + Safety.

TIC – Techno-Institutional Complex: Energy, Manufacture & Transport Industry

Anticipatory Governance – Governance that incorporates ideas of foresight, engagement & integrations

Image and audio credits

Intro-outro music: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com

[L] Historical trends in Japan's primary energy supply. Source: Agency  for Natural Resources and Energy, Total Energy Statistics. Japan Atomic  Energy Relations Organisation (JAERO) [53]. 

[R] The great wave by DonkeyHotey

Copyright © 2021 Oliver Moxham, ℗ 2021 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed in a classroom setting.

Nov 18, 202128:48
[S2E10] 📷 Reality or Fantasy? 19th c. Photography of Japan with Zoe Shipley

[S2E10] 📷 Reality or Fantasy? 19th c. Photography of Japan with Zoe Shipley

Oliver is joined by Zoe Shipley, graduate from our MA programme in Interdisciplinary Japanese Studies to discuss her thesis research, “Reality or Fantasy? 19th c. Photography of Japan”. Zoe’s research is based on a family heirloom, the Japan Album, collected by her ancestor Robert T. Rhode between 1877 and 1884. Made up of a collection of commercial photographs and his own work, Zoe addresses how the album highlights the difference between the reality of modernisation occurring at the time with abstractions of tradition through costume and exaggerated scenes to pander to a foreign audience.

Zoe's blog can be followed here: http://www.theenglishjapanesestudent.com

Find out more about our MA in Interdisciplinary Japanese Studies here: https://japaninnorwich.org/masters-programme/

Image and audio credits

Intro-outro music: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com

Images provided by Zoe Shipley from the Japan Album.

Copyright © 2021 Oliver Moxham, ℗ 2021 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed in a classroom setting.

Nov 11, 202117:46
[S2E9] 🧭 Capitals of Fate with Prof Ellen Van Goethem

[S2E9] 🧭 Capitals of Fate with Prof Ellen Van Goethem

Oliver is joined by Ellen Van Goethem, Professor in Japanese Humanities at Kyushu University, to discuss Capitals of Fate. Ellen’s research focusses on the history and archaeology of Japan’s early and frequently changing capitals from the Asuka to the early Heian period. We explore why these capitals were moved, what the criteria was when creating a new capital city and the influence of practices from mainland Asia.

Capitals in chronological order

- Fujiwara

- Nara

- Kuni

- Naniwa

- Nagaoka

- Heian (Kyoto)

- Edo (Tokyo)

Glossary

- Fūsui (風水): Site divination or geomancy, derived from the Chinese term feng shui.

- Shijinsōō (四神相応): Correspondence of the four deities (vermillion sparrow, azure dragon, white tiger, black turtle-snake)

Image and audio credits

Intro-outro music: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com

[L] Replica of Nara’s First Audience Hall. Provided by Ellen Van Goethem.

[R] Lantern depicting the Azure Dragon (Heian Shrine). Provided by Ellen Van Goethem.

Copyright © 2021 Oliver Moxham, ℗ 2021 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed in a classroom setting.

Nov 04, 202137:28
[S2E8] 🌲 Landscapes of Empire with Prof David Fedman

[S2E8] 🌲 Landscapes of Empire with Prof David Fedman

Oliver is joined by David Fedman, Associate Professor of History at the University of California, Irvine, to discuss Landscapes of Empire. David will share his research on the legacy of the Japanese Empire’s foresting initiative on the Korean peninsula, taking a look at collaboration and resistance between colonised Koreans and Japanese imperial authorities, how afforestation was rich with oppressive discourse designed to raise Japanese ecology and lower Koreans, and how the initiative continued to shape the landscape of Korea after the empire fell.

More information on the Japanese colonisation of Korea

Image and audio credits

Intro-outro music: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com

Images: Provided by David Fedman.

Copyright © 2021 Oliver Moxham, ℗ 2021 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed in a classroom setting.

Oct 27, 202149:55
[S2E7] 👘 Dorozome Textiles: Traditional Crafts Today with Dr Charlotte Linton

[S2E7] 👘 Dorozome Textiles: Traditional Crafts Today with Dr Charlotte Linton

Oliver is joined by Dr Charlotte Linton, Robert & Lisa Sainsbury Research Fellow at the Sainsbury Institute, to discuss dorozome (泥染め) textiles and traditional crafts today. Charlotte will share with us how her change from the fashion industry to academia over environmental concerns brought her to the dorozome or mud-dyeing workshop of Amami Ōshima, Okinawa to understand the challenges and benefits of traditional crafting methods in a world dominated by fast fashion.

Image and audio credits

Intro-outro music: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com

[L] The Tatsugo pattern of Oshima tsumugi kimono silk

[R] Kazuhito Kanai of the natural dyeing workshop Kanai Kougei, mordanting silk yarns in the dorota (mud-field), which is naturally rich in iron.

Copyright © 2021 Oliver Moxham, ℗ 2021 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed in a classroom setting.

Oct 20, 202142:34
[S2E6] 🪖 Remembering Kamikaze: Affect & War Memory with Dr Rumi Sakamoto

[S2E6] 🪖 Remembering Kamikaze: Affect & War Memory with Dr Rumi Sakamoto

Oliver is joined by Dr Rumi Sakamoto, Senior Lecturer in Asian Studies at the University of Auckland, to discuss remembering the kamikaze and the role of affect in war memory. Rumi shares with us how the image of the kamikaze has gone from one of shunned fanaticism to self-sacrificing heroism in popular culture through Japan’s post-war history. Looking at their representation in the Yūshūkan Museum of War at Yasukuni Shrine, Rumi also unpacks how affect can draw out a desired emotional response from visitors regardless of their preconceptions of kamikaze and how emotion can lend authenticity to historically problematic narratives.

Recommended documentary, Wings of Defeat

Image and audio credits

Intro-outro music: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com

[L] Shinichi Ishimaru (1922-1945) at the Kanoya Air Base - 日本海軍報道班員

[R] Chinese tourists at Yasukuni Shrine - 靖国神社の中国人旅行者 by Toshihiro Gamo

Copyright © 2021 Oliver Moxham, ℗ 2021 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed in a classroom setting.

Oct 13, 202130:13
[S2E5] 🙇‍♂️ Ritualising Scandal with Dr Igor Prusa

[S2E5] 🙇‍♂️ Ritualising Scandal with Dr Igor Prusa

Oliver is joined by Dr Igor Prusa, lecturer in Media Studies at the Metropolitan University Prague, who will discuss “Ritualising Scandal”. Igor takes us through the surprisingly structured social phenomenon of scandal in Japan, the necessity for tears in a televised confession, and how those who confess can actually come out better for it.

Read Japanese Scandals and their Ritualization (2019)

Image and audio credits

Intro audio: Ryutoro Nonomura, 47, a Hyogo Prefectural assemblyman breaks down at a press conference -- bursting into tears (EuroNews)

Intro-outro music: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com

Images were provided by Dr Igor Prusa.

Copyright © 2021 Oliver Moxham, ℗ 2021 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed in a classroom setting.

Oct 06, 202146:34
[S2E4] 📸 Contents Tourism with Dr Philip Seaton

[S2E4] 📸 Contents Tourism with Dr Philip Seaton

Oliver is joined by Dr Philip Seaton, professor in the Institute of Japan Studies at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, to discuss “Contents Tourism”, travel behaviour motivated by narratives, characters and locations from pop culture. Philip explains how contents tourism stands out from film or literature tourism through its transmedia approach, the term’s origins in Japan and the global nature of the phenomena.

Keen to know more?

Read Contents Tourism and Pop Culture Fandom: Transnational Tourist Experiences (Aspects of Tourism)

Image and audio credits

Intro-outro audio: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com

[L] A Hayabusa plane outside the Chiran Peace Museum for Kamikaze Pilots in southern Kyushu. The panel under the tree explains it was used during filming of the 2007 kamikaze film For Those We Love. Provided by Philip Seaton.

[R] A fan of Shinsengumi takes a photo of a stuffed toy on her mobile phone at the site where Hijikata Toshizo was killed during the Battle of Hakodate in 1869. Provided by Philip Seaton.

Copyright © 2021 Oliver Moxham, ℗ 2021 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed in a classroom setting.

Sep 29, 202148:00
[S2E3] 🔞 Studying Pornography with Maiko Kodaka

[S2E3] 🔞 Studying Pornography with Maiko Kodaka

Oliver is joined by Maiko Kodaka, PhD candidate at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) at the University of London, the challenges that come with researching such a contentious subject and the insights we can gain from it. Maiko will also share her research on josei-muke (女性向け) pornography, or “porn for women”, being produced in the Japanese Adult Video industry and how this new genre has challenged mainstream pornography shot for the heterosexual male gaze.

Keen to know more?

Website of Erika Lust, advocate of feminist pornography 🔞

Journal of Porn Studies 🔞

Image and audio credits

Intro-outro audio: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com

[L] Shunga by Kitagawa Utamaro.

[R] "Pixelated Pornography" by thedescrier is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Copyright © 2021 Oliver Moxham, ℗ 2021 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed in a classroom setting.

Sep 22, 202129:50
[S2E2] 👐 Power Spots with Caleb Carter

[S2E2] 👐 Power Spots with Caleb Carter

Oliver is joined by Caleb Carter, Assistant Professor of Japanese Religions and Buddhist Studies at Kyushu University, to discuss power spots, or pawā-supotto as they are known in Japan. Caleb walks us through how a global movement which began in 1960s USA and UK claiming the healing energies at key sites of natural beauty came to be embraced in Japan, peaking in popularity as recently as 2010. We explore how this communal term has been applied at Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples to a mixed reception from religious authorities, as well as unexpected uses of the term at heritage sites of a more grisly nature.

Image and audio credits

Intro-outro audio: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com

[L] & [R] Visitors drawing on healing energies from power spots. Photographs provided by Caleb Carter.

Copyright © 2021 Oliver Moxham, ℗ 2021 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed in a classroom setting.

Sep 15, 202136:14
[S2E1] 👂 Reinterpreting Difficult Heritage: Mimizuka, "Hill of Ears" with Oliver Moxham

[S2E1] 👂 Reinterpreting Difficult Heritage: Mimizuka, "Hill of Ears" with Oliver Moxham

Welcome back to the second series of Beyond Japan! This week the tables are turned as Professor Simon Kaner, Director of the Sainsbury Institute, interviews host Oliver Moxham on the topic of his recently completed master’s thesis, Reinterpreting Difficult Heritage. The case study of Oliver's research is Mimizuka, the Hill of Ears, a burial mound containing tens of thousands of pickled ears and noses taken from Joseon Korean and Ming Chinese soldiers in Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s 16th century invasion of Korea, the Imjin War. Located in a tourist hub of Kyoto, Higashiyama district, his research explored how the language barrier limits international engagement at the site and how analysing multilingual Google Maps reviews reveals how tourist stakeholders in its war history engage with it and their desire, or lack of, for it to be interpreted by others. Oliver also talks to Simon about the challenges and benefits of taking a digital approach to ethnographic research and offers some reflections on the first series of Beyond Japan.

Image and audio credits

Intro-outro audio: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com

[L] A man dressed in traditional Korean clothing performs in front of Mimizuka's mound. Source: Noriyasu Hagimoto

[R] Excerpt from an extreme Japanese-language Google Maps review on Mimizuka. Source: 湯浅洋一

Copyright © 2021 Oliver Moxham, ℗ 2021 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed in a classroom setting.

Sep 08, 202129:33
[S1E46] 🏞️ Gardens of War Memory with Prof Toshio Watanabe

[S1E46] 🏞️ Gardens of War Memory with Prof Toshio Watanabe

For the series finale, Oliver is joined by Toshio Watanabe, Professor of Japanese Art and Cultural Heritage at the Sainsbury Institute, to discuss gardens of war memory, going over his latest project of transnational gardens across the Pacific with ties to the Asia-Pacific War (1937-45). Toshio invites us to consider gardens as spaces of memory and healing, but also as reminders of colonialism past and present across former territories of the Japanese empire throughout Asia. We also look at gardens as peopled places, looking at the motives for visitors coming to these places: do they come for the memories or just to enjoy nature?

For a comprehensive list of Japanese time periods, please see Japanese History: A Timeline of Periods and Events

Toshio's recommendations for Japanese gardens:

War in Japan

  • Yasukuni gardens dedicated to Japanese military war dead, Tokyo
  • Chidorigafuchi National Cemetery for Japanese war dead, both military & civilian, Tokyo
  • Kaiten Memorial Museum, Ōzushima


Peace in Japan

  • Hiroshima and Nagasaki Peace Parks
  • Aoto Peace Park, Tokyo
  • Fukuchiyama Peace Park, Kyoto Prefecture


War memory of a place still under colonial conditions

  • Various parks of Okinawa


Image and audio credits

Intro audio: hase-dera, kamakura, japan - garden path by OR poiesis

Outro audio: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com

[L] Nagasaki Peace Park monument by MShades is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0

[R] Sakura at Chidorigafuchi Park by Yoshikazu TAKADA is licensed under CC BY 2.0


Copyright © 2021 Oliver Moxham, ℗ 2021 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed in a classroom setting.

Aug 05, 202154:47
[S1E45] 👥 The Ainu in Japan with Amanda McGuire

[S1E45] 👥 The Ainu in Japan with Amanda McGuire

Oliver is joined by Amanda McGuire, PhD candidate at the University of East Anglia, to discuss the Ainu in Japan, exploring their historical and contemporary relationship with the peoples of mainland Japan and what the withdrawal of the Ainu dance from the Tokyo 2020 Olympics Opening Ceremony says about the theme of "unity in Japan".

For a comprehensive list of Japanese time periods, please see Japanese History: A Timeline of Periods and Events

Image and audio credits

Intro-outro audio: tonkori suite by Yirara Hanawo, improvised music with the yonkori, a musical instrument used by the Ainu.

[L] "Ainu group dancing tutorial (11)" by avlxyz is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

[R] "Espaço Tokyo 2020" by Secretaria Especial do Esporte is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0


Copyright © 2021 Oliver Moxham, ℗ 2021 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed in a classroom setting.

Jul 22, 202121:46
[S1E44] 🦈 Prehistoric Tragedy: The Oldest Shark Attack Victim with J. Alyssa White

[S1E44] 🦈 Prehistoric Tragedy: The Oldest Shark Attack Victim with J. Alyssa White

Oliver is joined by J. Alyssa White, PhD candidate in Archaeology at the University of Oxford, to discuss the prehistoric tragedy of the world’s oldest shark attack victim. The 3,000-year-old remains of Tsukumo No. 24 were first excavated in Okayama prefecture in the early 20th century covered in hundreds of small cuts to the bone which had baffled archaeologists until now after Alyssa, along with a team of researchers, compared the damage to that of contemporary shark attack victims. Join us as we explore the final moments of Tsukumo No. 24 in amazing detail.

Read Alyssa's article: 3000-year-old shark attack victim from Tsukumo shell-mound, Okayama, Japan

For a comprehensive list of Japanese time periods, please see Japanese History: A Timeline of Periods and Events

Image and audio credits

Intro clip: tiger sharks by dinger154 is licensed under the Creative Commons 0 License

Intro-outro audio: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com

[L] Excavation photo - Original excavation photograph of Tsukumo No. 24, courtesy of the Laboratory of Physical Anthropology, Kyoto University

[R] "IMG_1794bcra Tiger Shark (Galeocerdo cuvier)" by Kevin Bryant, DMD is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0


Copyright © 2021 Oliver Moxham, ℗ 2021 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed in a classroom setting.

Jul 15, 202122:58
[S1E43] 🌏 Bronze Age Globalization with Dr Mark Hudson

[S1E43] 🌏 Bronze Age Globalization with Dr Mark Hudson

Oliver is joined by Dr Mark Hudson, archaeologist in the interdisciplinary Eurasia3angle research group at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, to discuss Bronze Age Globalization. Mark’s research of Jōmon-era Japan has indicated that socio-cultural exchange occurred between the Japanese archipelago and mainland Eurasia, followed by a re-Jōmonization where external cultures were rejected in a return to the local. I will be asking Mark what prehistoric globalization looked like and how it relates to our contemporary understanding of the process today.

Read Mark's article, Bronze Age Globalisation and Eurasian Impacts on Later Jōmon Social Change

For a comprehensive list of Japanese time periods, please see Japanese History: A Timeline of Periods and Events

Image and audio credits

Intro-outro audio: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com

[L] Map by Junzo Uchiyama from "Bronze Age Globalisation and Eurasian Impacts on Later Jōmon Social Change"

[R] "Jomon Period Domen Clay Mask" by Gary Lee Todd, Ph.D. is marked with CC0 1.0


Copyright © 2021 Oliver Moxham, ℗ 2021 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed in a classroom setting.

Jul 08, 202121:55
[S1E42] 📺 Japan in the British Media with Dr Christopher Hayes

[S1E42] 📺 Japan in the British Media with Dr Christopher Hayes

Oliver is joined by Dr Christopher Hayes, Research Associate at the Sainsbury Institute, to discuss “Binaries of Representation: Japan in the British Media”. Chris will share his insights on British travel shows that see TV personalities like Paul Hollywood or Sue Perkins travel the archipelago and reduce it to binary tropes such as “traditional Japan” and “ultra-futuristic Japan”, or “traditional Japan” and “weird Japan”. Chris also explains how Japan’s own official tourism discourse is complicit in creating these narratives.

Read Chris' article: Othered, Orientalised, and Opposingly Depicted: The Persistence of Stereotyping of Japan in the British Press

Sources

Paul Hollywood Eats Japan

Stacey Dooley Investigates: Young Sex in Japan

Sexless in Japan – BBC News

Image and audio credits

Introduction clip: Japan geeks: Virtual girlfriends from No Sex Please, We're Japanese

Intro-outro audio: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com

[L] "British tourists performing the Shinto temizu purification ritual at the Meiji shrine in Tokyo" by Anguskirk is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

[R] "124/365 — Robo fiddle. #project365 #iphone #Japan #robots #fiddle" by Zen Len is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0


Copyright © 2021 Oliver Moxham, ℗ 2021 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed in a classroom setting.

Jul 01, 202147:20
[S1E41] 👋 Tech, Art & Rehabilitation with Kanako Nakamura

[S1E41] 👋 Tech, Art & Rehabilitation with Kanako Nakamura

Oliver is joined by Kanako NAKAMURA, General Manager of Digital Interactive Rehabilitation System (Digireha for short), to discuss tech, art and rehabilitation. Kanako will explain how technological innovations and digital art can revolutionise monotonous rehabilitation processes for disabled children, creating a joyful, customised experience and fostering interactive relationships with family members.

Visit the Digital Interactive Rehabilitation System website.

Image and sound credits:

Digireha introduction video [デジタルアートやセンサーを用いたリハビリツール『デジリハ』- Digital Interactive Rehabilitation System]


Copyright © 2021 Oliver Moxham, ℗ 2021 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed in a classroom setting.

Jun 24, 202114:54
[S1E40] 👨‍🎨 Futurism: A Global Art Movement with Dr Daria Melnikova

[S1E40] 👨‍🎨 Futurism: A Global Art Movement with Dr Daria Melnikova

Oliver is joined by Dr Daria Melnikova, Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Fellow at the Sainsbury Institute, to discuss the art movement of Futurism in the early 20th century and how collaborating Russian and Japanese artists within the movement challenged its founding principles and Eurocentric nature.

Japanese time periods mentioned:

Taishō period: 1912-1926 AD

Image credits

[L] Kinoshita Shūichirō, A Maiko Hitting a Drum (1921) painting, published as a postcard by the Arts and Crafts Association, Tokyo. Work destroyed (photograph provided by Omuka Toshiharu)

[R] Fumon Gyo, Deer, Youth, Light, Cross (1920) oil on canvas 64.7 x 80 cm, Nara Prefectural Museum


Copyright © 2021 Oliver Moxham, ℗ 2021 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed in a classroom setting.

Jun 17, 202124:35
[S1E39] 🎶 Gagaku: Court Music Through the Ages with Professor Fabio Rambelli

[S1E39] 🎶 Gagaku: Court Music Through the Ages with Professor Fabio Rambelli

Oliver is joined by Professor Fabio Rambelli, lecturer at the University of California’s Department of East Asian Languages & Cultural Studies as well as International Shinto Foundation Chair in Shinto Studies, to discuss gagaku (雅楽), a traditional form of Japanese music which has endured to the modern day largely unchanged for over a thousand years. Fabio shares with us the cultural significance of court music in modern Japan, who played it and why and the global interest in Buddhist culture both tangible and intangible.

Watch Fabio playing the shō

Join Fabio's conference on Gagaku: Cultural Capital, Cultural Heritage, and Cultural Identity

Introduction music: Performance Hideaki Bunno Gagaku Ensemble in Kanazawa Performance Digest

Image credits:

[L] Musicienne de Gagaku, ensemble 'Owari Miyabie' (Maison du Japon, Paris) by dalbera is licensed under CC BY 2.0

[R] Gagaku practice by JuhaOnTheRoad is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0


Copyright © 2021 Oliver Moxham, ℗ 2021 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed in a classroom setting.

Jun 10, 202138:31
[S1E38] 🏛️ Exhibiting Japan with Professor Nicole Rousmaniere

[S1E38] 🏛️ Exhibiting Japan with Professor Nicole Rousmaniere

Oliver is joined by Professor Nicole Rousmaniere, Research Director at the Sainsbury Institute and Professor of Japanese Arts at UEA, to discuss ‘Exhibiting Japan’. Nicole has curated multiple exhibits at the British Museum including their permanent Mitsubishi Gallery as well as temporary exhibits such as the Manga Exhibit and Crafting Beauty in Modern Japan exhibit. As we gear up to a summer of Japan-related exhibits at the Sainsbury Centre, this episode explores the challenges of presenting another nation’s culture, both ethical and practical.

See the British Museum's digital collection here

For more details on Nicole's Accidental Translator lecture

Japanese time periods mentioned:

Jōmon period: 14,000 - 300 BCE

Kofun period: 300 - 538 AD

Edo period: 1603 - 1867 AD

Meiji period: 1868 - 1912 AD

Glossary (in order of appearance):

Kōgei (工芸): Traditional Japanese crafts.

Netsuke (根付): Miniature sculptures originally used as button fasteners dating back to the Edo period.

Orientalism: A term coined by Edward Said in 1978 which refers to the patronising attitude of the West towards Middle Eastern, Asian and North African communities.

Japonisme: A period of popularity and influence of Japanese art and design among a number of Western European artists in the nineteenth century at the start of the Meiji period.

Image credits:

Samurai Armour by ~SMugridge~ is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

Manga Exhibition at the British Museum. by p_a_h is licensed under CC BY 2.0


Copyright © 2021 Oliver Moxham, ℗ 2021 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed in a classroom setting.

Jun 03, 202143:23
[S1E37] 📸 Digitising Cultural Artefacts with Dr Ryōko Matsuba

[S1E37] 📸 Digitising Cultural Artefacts with Dr Ryōko Matsuba

Oliver is joined by Dr Ryōko MATSUBA, Lecturer in Japanese Digital Arts and Humanities at the Sainsbury Institute, to discuss the digitisation process of cultural artefacts. Ryōko is a specialist on Edo printed culture with wide-ranging experience of scanning kabuki prints and many other museum artefacts to create digital copies. As well as allowing for greater accessibility, Ryōko explains how digitisation facilitates international research by broadening online resources and creating new perspectives on delicate artefacts. We also discuss the practical challenges and ethics of digitisation as well as the details of a technical workshop at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts being held this week as part of our Shōtoku Intervention. For more details on the Shōtoku Intervention, you can revisit our Shōtoku miniseries, episodes #32 through #34.

Image credits

Photographs by Dr Ryōko MATSUBA, digitisation with students at the British Museum and Smithsonian


Copyright © 2021 Oliver Moxham, ℗ 2021 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed in a classroom setting.

May 27, 202124:24
[S1E36] 🤖 Robots in Elder Care with Dr Naonori Kodate

[S1E36] 🤖 Robots in Elder Care with Dr Naonori Kodate

Oliver is joined by Dr Naonori Kodate, Associate Professor in Social Policy and Director of Research at University College Dublin, who will introduce us to the growing phenomenon of robotics in elder care. In super-aged Japan, robots are becoming more and more common in assisting care staff in a wide range of activities, from heavy-lifting to night-nursing, as the human workforce decreases due to depopulation and strict migration policies. Nao’s research indicates robots can be more than tools, providing social contact for a demographic commonly afflicted by loneliness. What’s more, as other nations begin to see ageing populations, robots in the care home may soon become the norm.

Sources

Ide, H., Kodate, N., Suwa, S., Tsujimura, M., Shimamura, A., Ishimaru, M., & Yu, W. (2021). The Ageing ‘Care Crisis’ in Japan: Is there a role for robotics-based solutions? International Journal of Care and Caring, 5: 165-171. 

Obayashi, K., Kodate, N., & Masuyama, S. (2020) Can connected technologies improve sleep quality and safety of older adults and care-givers? An evaluation study of sleep monitors and communicative robots at a residential care home in Japan. Technology in Society, 62.

小舘尚文,生活支援技術の受容をめぐる社会・文化・政策的課題―介護ロボットの社会実装を事例に―, In: 「高齢者を支える技術と社会的課題 科学技術に関する調査プロジェクト報告書」、国立国会図書館 調査及び立法考査局; 2021年3月;pp65-80. National Diet Library, Japan.

Image credits

[L] Universal Accessibility Ageing Research Centre, Japan

[R] Circuits of Care film poster


Copyright © 2021 Oliver Moxham, ℗ 2021 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed in a classroom setting.

May 20, 202131:17
[S1E35] 🕊️ Peace, Youth Politics & Article 9 with Professor David Slater

[S1E35] 🕊️ Peace, Youth Politics & Article 9 with Professor David Slater

Oliver is joined by David Slater, Professor of Anthropology at Sophia University in Tokyo, to discuss Article 9 and Youth Politics. Following Japan’s defeat in the Asia-Pacific War and the dismantling of its empire, occupying US forces put a clause in their revised constitution that forbade Japan from engaging in war or having a standing army. This clause, Article 9, has been the subject of much public debate in recent years as government leaders such as former PM Shinzō Abe have sought to revise it, inciting political action from youth activists seeking to keep Japan out of warfare. However, as discussed in our earlier episode of ‘Failed Revolutions’, political activism has a tainted reputation and a repressed history in Japan. David explains the fine line demonstration groups must walk to campaign for political change while avoiding appearing to be political.

Read David's article, 'SEALDs (Students Emergency Action for Liberal Democracy): Research Note on Contemporary Youth Politics in Japan'

Image credits

[L] Children's Monument by jonathan_moreau is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

[R] LAY OF THE (IS)LAND: US ARMY JAPAN COMMANDING GENERAL TOURS U.S. INSTALLATIONS, VISITS JSDF LEADERSHIP by LimpingFrog Productions is licensed under CC BY 2.0


Copyright © 2021 Oliver Moxham, ℗ 2021 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed in a classroom setting.

May 13, 202140:14
[S1E34] 📖 History & Myth in Ancient Texts with Professor Bryan Lowe

[S1E34] 📖 History & Myth in Ancient Texts with Professor Bryan Lowe

As museums across Japan celebrate the 1,400th anniversary of the death of Prince Shōtoku Taishi, the legendary figure who brought Buddhism to Japan, the Sainsbury Institute together with the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts at the University of East Anglia is currently collaborating with major universities and museums in Japan to create a special exhibit commemorating the event. This Shōtoku Intervention will display the Sainsbury Centre’s collection of Japanese Buddhist and Shinto artefacts centred around a rare 13th century Kamakura period statue of a female Shinto deity. To better explain the significance of Shōtoku Taishi, Beyond Japan will be exploring over three episodes the religious, political and historical context of this dynamic period of East Asian history. We hope you enjoy our Shōtoku miniseries.

Oliver is joined by our third and final Shōtoku interviewee Bryan Lowe, Assistant Professor of Religion at Princeton University, who will help us get to grips with the tricky task of reading history from mythology in such ancient texts as Japan’s Kojiki, or “An Account of Ancient Matters” written in 711 and Nihon Shoki, or “Japanese Chronicles” written in 720. Bryan begins by exploring why texts were written in this time and how some texts like Buddhist sutras were written and read for rituals rather than sharing information, yet we can still glean much about life in those times from the context in which they were written. In taking this approach, we try to make sense of legendary figures such as Prince Shōtoku Taishi, seeing what we can learn about the man the legend is based upon and what the legends themselves tell us.

Image credits:

[L] Japan,  late Heian period - Further Discourses on the Supreme Truth (Abidharmakosha-Bhashya) - 1916.1060 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif by anonymous is marked with CC0 1.0

[R] 聖徳太子 [Shōtoku Taishi] by jun560 is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0


Copyright © 2021 Oliver Moxham, ℗ 2021 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed in a classroom setting.

May 06, 202138:21
[S1E33] ♀️ The First Empress Jingū - Powerful Women in Ancient Japan with Professor Chizuko Allen

[S1E33] ♀️ The First Empress Jingū - Powerful Women in Ancient Japan with Professor Chizuko Allen

As museums across Japan celebrate the 1,400th anniversary of the death of Prince Shōtoku Taishi, the legendary figure who brought Buddhism to Japan, the Sainsbury Institute together with the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts at the University of East Anglia is currently collaborating with major universities and museums in Japan to create a special exhibit commemorating the event. This Shōtoku Intervention will display the Sainsbury Centre’s collection of Japanese Buddhist and Shinto artefacts centred around a rare 13th century Kamakura period statue of a female Shinto deity. To better explain the significance of Shōtoku Taishi, Beyond Japan will be exploring over three episodes the religious, political and historical context of this dynamic period of East Asian history. We hope you enjoy our Shōtoku miniseries.

Oliver is joined by our second Shōtoku interviewee Chizuko Allen, Professor of Asian Pacific American Studies at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and researcher of Korea-Japan relations in ancient times, who will discuss the hidden history of the powerful women of Japan’s distant past through the First Empress of Japan, Empress Jingū. Through Jingū and other examples, we can see how empresses played a key role in engaging the Japanese state with continental kingdoms and even lead military campaigns, their record superseding that of their husbands in the ancient records of the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki. She also discusses how this legacy was appropriated by expansionists in the 16th and 19th century before being buried in the post-war period through modern interpretations (or misinterpretations) of these texts.

Chizuko's research profile

Read Empress Jingū: a shamaness ruler in early Japan

Image credits:

[L] Empress Jingu In Korea by Glaurung_Quena is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

[R] Empress Jingu and Takenouchi no Sukune Fishing at Chikuzen LACMA M.84.31.260 by is licensed under CC BY 2.0


Copyright © 2021 Oliver Moxham, ℗ 2021 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed in a classroom setting.

Apr 29, 202124:10
[S1E32] 🎍 Mixed Religions: Buddhism, Shinto & Honji Suijaku with Professor Marcus Teeuwen

[S1E32] 🎍 Mixed Religions: Buddhism, Shinto & Honji Suijaku with Professor Marcus Teeuwen

As museums across Japan celebrate the 1,400th anniversary of the death of Prince Shōtoku Taishi, the legendary figure who brought Buddhism to Japan, the Sainsbury Institute together with the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts at the University of East Anglia is currently collaborating with major universities and museums in Japan to create a special exhibit commemorating the event. This Shōtoku Intervention will display the Sainsbury Centre’s collection of Japanese Buddhist and Shinto artefacts centred around a rare 13th century Kamakura period statue of a female Shinto deity. To better explain the significance of Shōtoku Taishi, Beyond Japan will be exploring over three episodes the religious, political and historical context of this dynamic period of East Asian history. We hope you enjoy our Shōtoku miniseries.

Oliver is joined by our first Shōtoku interviewee, Marcus Teeuwen, Professor of Japanese Studies at the University of Oslo, who will help us understand the changing faiths of Japan in the 7th century through the Buddhist concept of honji suijaku (本地垂迹), a notion which allowed Buddhist monks to explain the gods, or kami, worshipped in Japan at the time as traces of Buddhist deities. Mark explains that our contemporary understanding of religion as competing bodies which seek to shape how people live their lives with the goal of a happy afterlife does not apply in this period of time, that the worship of deities had much more practical intentions and that politics were at the core of the spread of Buddhism.

Mark's research profile

Image credits:

[L] Faux Fox Populi by 顔なし is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

[R] 東大寺盧舎那仏像 - 奈良の大仏 the colossal Buddha of Nara by Hase don is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0


Copyright © 2021 Oliver Moxham, ℗ 2021 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed in a classroom setting.

Apr 22, 202138:16