Honors Projects for East Asian Languages and Literature

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The Oil Peddler and the Courtesan: A Translation of a Traditional Chinese Story
(1975) Lieu, Lorraine Sun Ying
"Mai-yu-lang tu-chan Hua-k'uei" ( The Oil Peddler and the Courtesan) is the third story in the traditional Chinese short story collection Rsing-shih ttung-yen edited by Feng Menglung in the late Ming Dynasty. Rising-shih ttung-yen is itself one of the three collections compiled and edited by Feng Meng-lung, collectively known as the San-yen. San-yen is important in the history of Chinese literature in that the stories included exemplifies the hua-pen genre. It includes stories of Sung, Yuan, Ming origin as well as Meng's own creations. There are four available translations of Mai-yu-lang tu-chan Huak'uei, namely two in English, one in French and one in German: Yang, Hsien-yi and Gladys Yang. "The Oil Vendor and the Courtesan. The Courtesan's Jewel Box. Foreign Language Press, Peking, 1957. Wang, Chi-chen. The Oil Peddler and the Queen of Flowers. Traditional Chinese trales. New York: Greenwood Press, 1968. Schlegel, G.. "Le Vendeur d'huile qui seul possede la reine-de-beaute ou Splendeurs et miseres des courtisanes chinoises. Paris, 1877. Grisebach, E.. German translation of above. Chinesische Novellen. Unfortunately, neither of the English translations aimed to achieve completeness, often with large segments left out at the translators' discretion. Therefore it is the hope of this translator to provide a rendition as complete and faithful as possible without sacrificing good English and good taste.
Onna Daigaku and Selected Works of Monzaemon Chikamatsu and Ihara Saikaku
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2014-01-15) Sugiyama, Denice; East Asian Languages and Literature
Onna Daigaku or The Greater Learning for Women, written in 1716, is attributed to Ikken Kaibara. Kaibara, a scholar of Japanese literature, had a great knowledge of Chinese literature and was known as a famous moralist. Onna Daigaku is attributed to Kaibara because it closely resembles the content of the chapter entitled "Women's Education" in his treatise on education, Wazoku Dojikun (1710). Wakako Hironaka writes in the Kodansha Encyclopedia. Onna Daigaku is considered the most important because of the influences it had in defining the position of women and their role in the narrow confines of Japan's family system.1 In Ken Hoshino's translation of Onna Daigaku he breaks the work into six chapters. These sections are: 1) Girl's Instructions 2) Demarcation Between the Sexes 3) Seven Reasons for Divorce 4) The Wife's Miscellaneous Duties 5) The Treatment of Servants 6) The Infirmities of Women. Let me summarize the major points of Onna Daigaku. The qualities a woman should have are "gentle obedience, chastity, mercy and quietness,"2 while the five undesirable traits are "indocility, discontent, slander, jealousy, and silliness. "3 The worst of these five is silliness. A woman should endure without anger and suffer with patience and humility. A woman should always be alert and watch her own conduct. A woman should never overindulge in prayer or neglect the household. A woman should not selfishly think of her own parents first, but rather her husband's parents.
Exploring Gender Construction and Performance In Japanese Comics
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2014-01-15) Shinsato, Stacie; East Asian Languages and Literature
In looking at Japanese comics, otherwise known as manga, a reader may find the idea of a boy turning into a girl when inadvertently splashed with comical, if not incredible. The storyline of this manga becomes an illustration of the complex ideas of gender creation established by Judith Butler in Gender Trouble. The theories that are set forth by Butler can be difficult to understand; with the aid of this manga entitled Ranma ½, by Rumiko Takahashi, the intricate theory becomes easier to comprehend. Through the examination of three integral relationships within the comic, involving the character and self, character and others and the characters and the reader, this thesis shows how gender is created and perpetuated within both the microcosm of the comic world and within our own lives.
An American Girl Explores The Mysterious Japanese Woman Through Moralogy
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2014-01-15) Sakai, Sharon; Hirai, Bernice; East Asian Languages and Literature
There is a new consciousness about the role of women in societies throughout the world. Today's woman is more career-oriented and gaining new freedom and legal protection. In contrast to this trend, the mythical Japanese woman who is supposed to be the perfect mother and wife was in my opinion an almost impossible phenomenon. In fact, much of what I had heard or read in Japanese society studies struck me as unbelievable. How could a society produce women who were so soft, yet enduring and dependable? I went to Japan to put to test all that I was taught about the Japanese society and language. If Japan really did produce such ideal women, I wanted to adopt the spirit of the Japanese woman. To my disbelief, the Japanese women were almost as accommodating and soft as they are touted to be. Unfortunately for them, however, their men are not as gentlemanly or accommodating as one would expect them to be for being treated so well. This compounded the mystery for me. How could these millions of women cope with such a society that expects so much of them, yet seemed to reward them with so little? The social ills of Japan such as student radicals, "education mammas," high suicide rates, even among children came to my mind; an oppressive society would create such problems.
A Study of Factors Influencing 1st and 2nd Person Pronoun Usage in the Japanese Language as Observed Through a Select Group of Japanese Tourists
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2014-01-15) Okuda, Charlene; East Asian Languages and Literature
The Japanese language possesses an array of personal pronouns in comparison to other languages. For example, in the case of second person pronouns or You-words, versus the French "tu" and "vous," the Spanish "tu" and "Usted," the German "du" and "sie," and the English "you" as discussed by Brown and Gilman (1960), Japanese has "anata," "kimi," “omae," and the more vulgar "kisama" and "temee" (not to mention variations of the above such as "anatasama" and "omaesan").
Comparative Study of the Influence of Cultural and Linguistic Differences on Child-Rearing Practices in Japan and America
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2014-01-15) Nekoba, Maxine; East Asian Languages and Literature
American occupation in Japan began shortly after the surrender by the Japanese towards the end of World War II. At about this same time there was a renewed influx of western thoughts and ideas into Japan. However, despite these influences from the West, the Japanese people have still been able to retain at least some of the main characteristics of their traditional Japanese society which can be contrasted to the values and characteristics of American society. Therefore, in comparing the Japanese and American societies, I would like to examine the following questions in this paper. What are these characteristics of Japanese society that make it distinctive? How are these characteristics perpetuated through the child-rearing practices used? Then finally, how is this reflected in the respective languages? First of all, one of the characteristics of Japanese personality is the sense of group as of a central importance to the Japanese person. That is to say, the Japanese individual exists only in terms of the groups to which he belongs and has little identity apart from these chosen groups.1 one example of this Japanese group identification is that when asked about their jobs, the Japanese person has the tendency of naming the company he works for rather than naming his specific job title or occupation. In other words, “rather than saying ‘I am a typesetter’ or ‘I am a filing clerk,’ he is likely to say, ‘I am from B Publishing Group’ or ‘I belong to S company’”.2
Japanese and American Perceptions of Each Other and Themselves: An analysis of Japanese fiction occurring during World War Two and the postwar period
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2014-01-15) Nakamoto, James; Cohn, Joel; East Asian Languages and Literature
Certain beliefs, preconceptions, and stereotypes of Japanese and Americans influence their views of each other and themselves. However, these preconceptions are not fixed. A particular catalyst, such as a first meeting, can either dispel long-held beliefs or modify them. A brief encounter might also lead to the creation of stereotypes where none had existed before. One of the more pronounced changes in Japanese and American views of each other occurred between World War Two and the postwar era. During this time, Japan's role in the world changed from that of an Asian military power to an occupied nation. This political change along with a greater American presence in Japan provided two important catalysts that shaped and reshaped the thought of Japanese and Americans. The creation, modification and even reinforcement of Japanese and American perceptions of each other and themselves are found in a wide range of Japanese stories that take place during World War Two and the American military occupation. In his essays on Ireland, Oscar Wilde "questioned the assumption that just because the English are one thing, the Irish must be the opposite" (Wilde and the English Question, Kiberd, p. 13). This notion that people of different societies share very little in common is widely employed in Japanese literature. Rather than comparing similarities, Japanese and foreign characters often focus heavily on the differences between themselves.
The Burden of Enlightening The Masses: The Chinese Experiment Through Literature
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2014-01-15) Morgan, Caroline; Yue, Ming-Bao; East Asian Languages and Literature
In this paper, I should like to take a look at careers of Zhao Shuli and Gao Xiaosheng, two authors who wrote Chinese Fiction in the 1950's, and 1970's and 80's respectively. They are celebrated by the Communist government as "model peasant writers," and come from different social classes: Zhao Shuli is supposedly to have been of pristine peasant origin (an issue that is discussed in detail in Chapter three) and Gao Xiaosheng of "intellectual" origin. Both of their careers raise questions concerning the credibility, authenticity, and authorship of their oeuvre. I shall employ arguments relating to these questions to ascertain what lessons might be learned by those who would engage in "Hawaiian literature" as defined below. A great deal of empty discussion has taken place in the last generation concerning what "Hawaiian literature" might include. There seems to be no end to the unprincipled use to which some people will put the word "Hawaiian" when it serves their own ends. Hawaiian literature is defined by a native Hawaiian, Dr. Haunani-Kay Trask as literature written by Native Hawaiians, wherever they may live. The present writer concurs with this definition. The word "Chinese" in my reading possesses a similarly hollow ring which has not dissuaded millions of people from identifying with it. Certainly, the corpus of the surviving Chinese traditions is grander, richer and extensive than any other. The analogy will by no means be an equal one not only since the presented writer, although a Hawaiian in blood and at heart, has been educated in the Euroamerican manner with only a smattering of Chinese and Japanese ameliorated by only a rudimentary command of the Hawaiian language and only a fair acquaintance with Hawaiian culture.
Yukio Mishima's The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With the Sea: A Nietzchean Study
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2014-01-15) Miyataki, Linn; Viglielmo, Valdo; East Asian Languages and Literature
Like Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, Yukio Mishima's novel The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea seemed to test a new system of values. What are good and evil? Is a man judged by his pursuit of the former and his efforts to eliminate the latter? Or can a man be judged by the strength of his will; is it a superior man who strives for something beyond good and evil? The power of The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea lies in the "chill factor," in the actions and psyches of the characters who believe that a superior man must reach beyond the conventional morals of an "empty world," to strive for something beyond emotional sentimentality. Achieving detachment exhibits the strength of the will as an isolated factor; "absolute dispassion" is the goal. The ideas of Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche on the will to power, the Superman (Ubermensch), the Master Morality versus the Slave Morality, and his reevaluation of morals beyond good and evil exist in Mishima's work to an extraordinary degree. The purpose of this paper is to provide a connection for the reader between Mishima's novel and Nietzsche's ideas.
The Japanese Woman in a Changing Society
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2014-01-15) Lee, Marilyn; East Asian Languages and Literature
Each and every human being in this world is unique, an individual in a world of other "individuals". And yet, we as individuals exhibit certain qualities, certain patterns of behavior that set us apart in groups, the groups formed by the boundaries of the cultures we are born into. As individuals we are taught the rules of our society, of our own particular culture, through an unconscious learning process—a process so subtle as to make us think that we thought up the rules ourselves. Since the end of Japanese isolationism, when the world was awakened to Japan and its unique society, people have been writing about Japanese women. However, almost without exception, the foreigners who have been writing about them have portrayed the Japanese woman as a ''victim" of her society, her culture, her environment. In this thesis I intend to show her in a different light, not as a "victim" but as a product of her changing society—the Japanese woman of today, in 1975.
Annotated Translation Of A Chinese Short Story
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2014-01-15) Lau, Chau Mun; East Asian Languages and Literature
"The Everlasting Couple" is the ninth tale from Hsingshih Heng-yen (Tales to Rouse the World), A Ming anthology of vernacular short stories edited by Feng Meng-lung at the end of the Ming Dynasty, between the years of 1620 and 1628. In addition to this, Feng also edited Ching-shih tung-yen (Tales to Warn the World) and Yu-shih ming-yen (Tales to Illuminate the World). These three works are more commonly known as the san-yen. The san-yen, each contains forty tales, were selected from the extensive collections of the Sung, Yuan, and Ming dynasties. These short stories had their origins as "prompt-books", used by the professional story-tellers in a comparatively low stratum of society. For during the Tang-Sung periods, storytelling was regarded only as folk entertainment and had no status with the scholarly world. As a result, few story-tellers would bother to develop their "prompt-books" into full-length stories. Thus, it is really a matter of good luck for Chinese literature that these "prompt-books" later came to the attention of competent scholars like Feng who undertook themselves to give these crude tales some elaborate emendation. But it was not until the May 4th movement that this type of Vernacular literature acquired such a prominent place in Chinese literature.
Non-Locality And The Omnipresent: Converging Paradigms Of East And West
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2014-01-15) Karlsson, Jim; East Asian Languages and Literature
In this paper, I intend to explore apparent parallels between concepts of modem physics and East-Asian philosophical and religious ideas. I am focusing on the perception of matter and energy from a scientific viewpoint and the physical vs. spiritual in religious thinking and how they seem to depict the same underlying essence of all things. Specifically I will look at East-Asian monist-idealist schools of thought and concepts of modem science such as Bohm's holographic universe, zero-point energy and probability waves. I will not attempt to prove a strong connection between religious and scientific discoveries, but the scope of this paper will be to point out similarities, address problems regarding the acceptance of new worldviews, and to clarify some misconceptions of previous attempts to "prove" a strong connection between quantum physics and East-Asian philosophical thought.
The Concepts Of Love In Classical Japanese Poetry
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2014-01-15) Kaneshige, Gladys; East Asian Languages and Literature
Although this paper is far from adequate in its discussion of the concepts of love in classical Japanese poetry, I hope to outline a general idea of what aspects of society have influenced love poetry, how love was therein defined, what imagery and themes were commonly used for the various definitions and during the different stages of love, and the possible reasons for the chosen imagery. Aside from these objectives, I cannot say what the merits of this paper are for the readers. Speaking for myself, this paper has given me the opportunity to find out more about classical Japanese literature and think about the various aspects which it introduces. Not only did I gain additional knowledge of the field, but also the discipline of thinking out a difficult question and the determination to continue my endeavor until it is completed.
Towards a New Concept of the Trilogy: Natsume Soseki's Sanshiro, Sore Kara, and Mon
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2014-01-15) Johnson, Sonya; East Asian Languages and Literature
Natsume Soseki is regarded by Japanese critics and public alike as the greatest writer of modern Japan. Every school child reads his works of lightning wit and charm, Wagahai wa Neko de Aru (I am a Cat, 1905-1906), and Botchan (1907). Novels by Soseki of far greater depth, however, such as Mon (The Gate, 1910), Kojin (The Wayfarer, 1912-1913), Meian (Light and Darkness, 1916), and others, are not read as widely by the public, but retain their power and immediacy. Kokoro (1914) is, however, quite widely appreciated. Many believe that Soseki's novels such as the aforementioned are somehow reserved for the "intellectual." While they are so multifaceted that volumes have been written on them, these later works are very accessible. Soseki desired, above all, to communicate with his readers. He was one of the single most influential advocates for prose to be written closer to how it was actually spoken, rather than in the stiff literary style that had been used in Japan for centuries. Soseki certainly practiced in his own prose what he preached. Furthermore, even in his most solemn works, Soseki's wit is never completely buried. While the works may be pessimistic, they are never despairing or nihilistic. If a glancing wit can be said to be an index of accessibility, then Soseki certainly passes muster. Finally, Soseki made a very great effort both in style and content to write for the average moderately well-educated person, which today includes most of Japan's population. He is one of the few writers in the world who wrote literature that is at once popular and at the same time delves deeply into universal and existential questions of mankind: questions about man's relationship to fellow man, to himself, and to God.
Kawabata Yasunari's Tanpopo: A Critical Analysis
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2014-01-15) Ikeda, Janet; East Asian Languages and Literature
In 1968 Kawabata Yasunari became the first Japanese novelist to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Subsequently, he traveled to Oslo to accept the prize and from then on became a major public figure in the literary world. No longer just a well-known writer in Japan, Kawabata's life proceeded to accelerate toward an international sphere of activities with demands for personal appearances, trips abroad and a constant stream of attention from the press. After his acceptance of the Nobel Prize he spent a semester at the University of Hawaii as a guest lecturer in the spring of 1969. It is there he wrote an essay entitled "The Existence and Discovery of Beauty"1 while staying at the Kahala Hilton. With much of his time absorbed by traveling and lecturing it is not remarkable that little time was left for just writing. In fact, the serialization of what was to become Kawabata's last novel, Tanpopo (Dandelions), was begun in June of 1964 and abandoned while still incomplete in 1968 after the announcement of the Nobel-Prize recipients. Tanpopo remained-temporarily unfinished until Kawabata's unexpected suicide in 1972 when it was left to rest eternally incomplete. In this paper I shall examine Kawabata's last work in the original Japanese, as no English translation is yet available, and attempt to determine whether Tanpopo, despite its incompleteness, can be viewed as a substantial work of Kawabata.
Kanji Learning Strategies and Learning Preferences of Japanese Language Learners
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2014-01-15) Ganir, Paul; Kondo-Brown, Kimi; East Asian Languages and Literature
Students studying a second language often encounter many challenges. In the Japanese language, one substantial learning obstacle lies in its complex writing system, particularly with kanji, or Chinese characters. Many kanji possess similar features, such as shape and sound, causing common recognition mistakes and memory errors. To reduce confusion and improve kanji learning, students frequently use techniques provided by instructors or generated on their own. Because each student has unique preferences, each employs a different set of strategies and with different frequencies. This study investigates how Japanese language learners use these kanji learning strategies. First, it explores the variety of strategies and how frequent students use them. Second, it compares how these preferences vary between students enrolled in "lower-level" vs. "upper-level" courses. Third, it considers the cognitive preferences of students to relate which strategies are likely to suit them. Data was collected from 246 students enrolled at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa taking Japanese language courses in 2005 through surveys. Findings suggest writing repeatedly is the most preferred learning tactic, with other tactics such as reading and writing and visualizing and writing also being used commonly. Lower-level and upper-level students show similar tactic preferences with minor differences. Furthermore, students predominantly favor kinesthetic, and to a lesser extent visual, approaches. These results imply that kanji tactics which reinforce kanji information through multiple cognitive paths, especially visually and kinesthetically, are preferred. However, because students interpret information uniquely, it is important not to neglect other strategies.
An Annotated Translation of the Poems of Ariwara no Narihira from the Shinkekinshu
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2014-01-15) Funatsu, Jean; East Asian Languages and Literature
The love of beauty and elegance best describes the Heian period in which Ariwara no Narihira lived.1 And these ideals became an inherent part of Narihira, for he was born in 825, the son of Prince Aho and Princess Izu.2 Both were related to the Emperor Heijo, thus making him the Emperor’s grandons.3 Although Narihira possessed a right to the succession of the throne, he was not given a princely title, but granted the kabana title of Ariwara son in 826.4 Thus, nurtured in the center of courtly refinement, Narihira grew to be a man of elegance and became skillful at composing poetry.5 In 862, the Emperor conferred upon Narihira the Junior Fifth rank, Upper Grade.6 And in 863, he was appointed assistant captain of the Middle Palace Guards, Left Division. In the ensuing years, Narihira was transferred to the post of Provisional Minor Captain of Inner Palace Guards, Left Division. After a promotion to Junior Fourth rank, Lower Grade and several changes in posts, in 878 he was appointed Provisional Governor of the Province of Sagami. He later transferred his governorship to the Province of Mino. That was his final office for in 880, Narihira died at the age of fifty-five.7
A Partial Contrastive Study Of Compounds In Mandarin And Hyphenated Compounds In English
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2014-01-15) Fujii, Lillian; Hshieh, Hsin-I; East Asian Languages and Literature
The topic of this thesis is a partial contrastive study of compounds in Mandarin and hyphenated compounds in English. The comparison will be done mainly in regards to the function and word order of the constituent parts. That is, I will concentrate on comparing the English and Chinese compounds, and pointing out some of the more interesting features in regards to the functions of the constituent parts and the general structure of the compounds. I lack a strong background in Chinese linguistics. However, I have tried to compensate by relying on Y. R. Chao's A Grammar of Spoken Chinese, and by soliciting the aid of my advisor, Dr. Hsin-I Hsieh. Most of the technical terms as well as examples that I am using are directly from Y. R. Chao's text. However, some other terms that I use were of my own choice. Therefore, in order to give this discussion a measure of uniformity, I will define terms as specifically as possible. I will not make a special glossary, but will define the terms as they appear.
The Evolution of Honorable Death in Japanese Literature
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2014-01-15) Toma, John; East Asian Languages and Literature
During the Pacific War (1941 - 1945), the world was introduced to the brutality, endurance and fanaticism of the Japanese soldier. Unforeseen by the Allied Forces, when conventional methods of warfare became ineffective, Japan turned to a battle tactic involving suicidal naval airmen known as the kamikaze. Oblivious to any instinct of self-preservation, the kamikaze pilots conducted suicide missions by crashing their planes into American carriers. Between April 6 and June 22 of 1945, the kamikaze pilots flew over three thousand sacrificial raids against Allied Naval forces and sank at least thirty-six ships while damaging at least four hundred ships.
The Tales of Myoren in Konjaku Monogatarishu, Kohon Setsuwashu, Ujishui Monogataraishu, and the Shigisan Engi Enaki
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2014-01-15) Tokushige, Jessie; East Asian Languages and Literature
The story of Tobikura in Ujishui Monogatarishi, a narrative collection compiled at the beginning of the 13th century, introduced me to the short prose tales that are characteristic genre of classical literature. This fanciful tale narrating how Monk Myoren's magic begging boelw absconded with an entire storehouse filled with rice by carrying it up into the air, was told with such directness and simplicity that it held a special charm for me.

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