Wires and Trees

Here's to a better 2024...

I arrived at Ubusuna Jinja shortly after midnight. On my way I could smell the smoke from the two blazing barrel fires at the shrine. The rain had stopped, but the wind was still strong. Because of the weather, not many people ventured to the shrine at midnight like in previous years. Except for the shrine elders, none of my neighborhood friends were there. I dropped off last year's ofuda from the house and my office. I was eager to rid myself of anything from 2023.

The line to offer New Year's prayers was short. When it was my turn, I climbed the steps, threw some money in the offering box, rang the bell, bowed, clapped twice and prayed. I prayed for world peace and health and prosperity for my friends and family. And I prayed and pleaded for my own health, and for a better 2024. Please. A better 2024. 2023 was awful. Yes, Hanshin won the Japan Series. But that was the only good thing to happen. A better 2024. Please.

After my prayer I accepted the omiki (sacred sake) and chatted with two of the shrine elders. Then I wandered around and took a few photos. I decided to wait for a while, with hopes that some of my friends might come.

The fires were warm and comforting, the flames crackling as they consumed the very dry wood that was fed to them. It started to rain again, and the wind got stronger. Bursts of wind caused the flames to jump and emit sparks as far as four meters away.

An older woman approached me and asked in Japanese, "Is this your first time here?"

"No. I have lived in this neighborhood for over 20 years. I come here every year."

Her family approached and asked the woman if she was speaking to the foreigner in English. She told them, no, he can speak Japanese, Kansai-ben. They laughed and went to take selfies in front of the shrine.

My friends weren't coming. I decided it was time to leave. I went home and finished the Yoshida Rui New Year's Special.

A better 2024. Or how about a great 2024?

Happy New Year from「VAoJ」. 今年もよろしくお願いします.

New Book Announcement: A LONG time in the making! "Anthropology through the Experience of the Physical Body"

Finally! The new book edited by Kaori Fushiki and Ryoko Sakurada has been published! The origins of this book go back to May, 2014 and the panel "Anthropology through the Experience of the Physical Body" at the International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Studies conference in Chiba, Japan. It has been a long and difficult road.

Book description (from Amazon.jp): This book seeks to break new ground, both empirically and conceptually, in examining changing understandings of the physical human body from a variety of anthropological perspectives. In doing so, it interrogates how the body has been and continues to be conceptualised, experienced and interacted with. After an introductory appraisal of recent approaches to understanding the body, the book provides empirically rich accounts from East and Southeast Asia of how cultural, environmental and social norms shape human physicality. The contributions are organised in four broad themes. Part I, ‘Body and Space’, offers two contrasting case studies from Malaysia, both of which examine gender norms associated with marriage and pregnancy, including the taboos associated with these rites of passage. Part II, ‘Imperfect Bodies: Communication and the Body as Media’, analyses two case studies―Deaf people in Japan and masked theatre performance in Bali, Indonesia, to reflect on changing attitudes towards disability, which reflect broader social norms and cultural beliefs about the nature of disability and its place in society. Part III, ‘The Body and Image’, provides a pair of case studies from Singapore, on male fans of the popular manga boys’ love genre and on ways that the Chinese zodiac system is determined from birth and continues to be spiritually embedded in the body of a Chinese individual through ritual practices. Part IV, ‘The Body as Container: Taming the Bodies?’, presents a single case study from Thailand of spirit possession among schoolchildren. Though wide-ranging, all the case studies posit that the body is a site of constant negotiation. The way the body is presented and the way it is seen are shaped by a complex array of social, cultural, political and ideational factors. Anthropology through the Experience of the Physical Body is a valuable interdisciplinary work for advanced students and researchers interested in representations of the body in East and Southeast Asia and for those with wider interests in the field of critical anthropology.

Of interest to VAoJ readers might be chapter 4, The Embodiment of the Deaf in Japan: A Set of Heuristic Models for Identity, Belonging and Sign Language Use. I will post more specifics when I actually receive my own print copy, hopefully soon. It is currently available on Amazon in Kindle format; the print format will be available is March, 2024.

Many thanks to the editors, contributors and production staff.

"Character for tax (税) picked as kanji of 2023" - and I my salary is less than it was two years ago...

Photo and story from Japan Today, 12/12/23.

I would have actually voted for "(Hanshin) Tigers" as the kanji of the years. But...

The money that I now actually make has decreased in the last two years. My winter bonus this year is more than $100 less than it was two years ago. Why? My university tells me that since my salary increases (by a very small amount) every year, I am now in a higer tax bracket, thus the government takes more money from my paycheck. At the same time, the cost of everything (groceries, etc.) has increased. Is this fair? I think not. The government certainly needs to reduce taxes and work to decrease the price of necessities for its residents. But at the same time, it seems that employers need to better support their employees (or has the idea of managers/employers as onjin「恩人」become obsolete?). At the same time, I might add, my university has not increased research funds for its faculty for well over 20 years, and no longer furnishes computers, printers, etc. to professors (instead we are supposed to use our own research funds which are supposed to be used for actual reseach activities) for these vital tools we need to do our very job, i.e. teaching). And, again, at the same time, teachers need to pay for more online services and software to do our job. Recently, my university has announced that since "COVID-19 is under control," they will be canceling the Zoom accounts of faculty and staff. WTF?

Let's hope for a Happy New Year on may levels...

Anthropology of Japan in Japan (AJJ) 2023 Conference at Meiji Gakuin University Shirokane Campus, December 2-3

Subtitle: アレ！VAOJ@AJJ 2023...

Once again, the AJJ is meeting with a wide range of interesting participants, research topics and presentations. Of special note is a two panel first book launching of the forthcoming book, Teaching Japan: A Handbook (MHM Limited/Amsterdam University Press, forthcoming 2024). Many of the contributing authors will be presenting their individual chapters; one author will talk about teaching the visual anthropology of Japan. The conference will also award the inaugural Harumi Befu and Mark Bookman prizes for emerging scholars. And John McCreery will be giving the keynote address, “Is Japan Doomed? And Anthropology?” You can find details at the url below.

Conference information: https://www.ajj-online.net/2023/11/15/programme-for-2023-annual-meeting/

UPDATE: Unfortunately, our VAOJ guy was diagnosed with Corona and influenza. So he has had to pull out of the AJJ.

Late afternoon autumn lighting...

Hanshin Tigers Victory Parade in Osaka (11/23/23); photos by Gern Blanston

As I, along with my fellow faculty, staff and students, were required to work on the Labor Thanksgiving national holiday, I was fortunate that my good friend, Gern Blanston, was in town. He went to the Hanshin Tigers Victory Parade in Osaka. The photos on this post are by him (Thanks Gern!). He reported to me that because of the crowd size, it was difficult to get good photos of the parade itself. So he focused on the crowd. 350,000 fans were reported to go to the parade in Osaka. You can find many photos of the parades in Hyogo and Osaka for Hanshin (Central League Champs and winner of the the Japan Series) and the Orix Buffaloes (Pacific League Champs), both Kansai teams, online.

Information about the Victory Parades for the Hanshin Tigers (and Orix Buffaloes): https://hyogo-osaka-victoryparade2023.com/

Saw this driving to work today (on the outskirts of Hirakata-shi, Osaka)

What is this?

When my wife saw it, she called it a zombie bus. With a little checking I found out she wasn't far from the truth. A little late for Halloween, but it's a haunted bus!

Japanimedia: The world's first large bus-type haunted house "Obakebus by ZAUNTED" appears.

https://japanimedia-ex.com/blog/the-worlds-first-large-bustype-haunted-house-obakebus-by-zaunted-appears/

OBAKEBUS: High-speed self-propelled realistic abandoned bus haunted house “Obake Bus”

https://obake.red/travel/bus/

The Tigers Win!

Food Terrorism and Japanese Baseball: A Hanshin Tigers Case Study@SWCAS 11/4/23

Presenting at SouthWest Conference on Asian Studies.

Virtual Panel 4.2 Understanding East Asia:
Language Differences, Japanese Baseball, and Beyond
Saturday, November 11, 2023, 7:30 - 8:45 AM

Abstract: The term “food porn” describes cuisine related media with sensual content intended to provide unattached pleasure and gratification for viewers. Japan has a similar term, meshi tero (“food terrorism”) that differs slightly in that it implies more of a deliberate attack or form of harassment that creates yearning, jealousy or resentment, causing victims to seek and indulge in delicious refreshments. There are many examples of such media in manga, anime, books, television dramas and online social networks. This presentation explores a different and unexpected setting, Japanese professional baseball food and drink, using the popular Hanshin Tigers baseball team and their stadium gourmet menu campaigns as a case study. This examination will add to previous research that investigates pre- and post-COVID 19 intersections of eating/drinking behavior and food terrorism media representations.

For more information: https://www.swcas.net/

The timing is perfect; Hanshin is up 3 games to 2 vs. the Orix Buffaloes in the Japan Series. Eat, drink and Go Tigers!