CJS Seminars
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Item Spring 2025 CJS Bento Box Event(2025-04-17)CJS graduate student presentations -- Bento Box Series -- Spring 2025Item The Transformation of National Security in Asia(2025-03-25)National security in the Indo-Pacific has changed significantly over the last decade, with the rise of China being the central focus of the United States, which has enhanced security ties with the Quad (Japan, Australia, India), South Korea, the Philippines, and others, including Europe. In addition to military assets, economic competitiveness has emerged as a critical component of national security. Where is the U.S.-China rivalry headed, and what is Japan’s role?Item 20250408-Found in Translation(2025-04-08)Item Spirit of Tea and Peacefulness(2025-02-10)Item Found in Translation(2025-04-08) Linda HoaglundRenowned translator Linda Hoaglund will share what she has learned from subtitling films and translating books and essays by Japan’s most esteemed animator, filmmakers, and artists. Linda Hoaglund has subtitled 300 Japanese films into English, including Spirited Away and other Studio Ghibli films, Seven Samurai and other Akira Kurosawa films, Battle Royale and other Fukasaku Kinji films, Shoplifters and other Kore-eda Hirokazu films. She has also translated the books, Little Boy: The Arts of Japan’s Exploding Subculture, Pleats Please by Issey Miyake, and Just Enough Design by Sato Taku. She has translated two Heisei Nakamura-za Kabuki performances at Lincoln Center in NY, essays by Kirino Natsuo, Ichiuchi Miyako, Murakami Takashi and others. She also translates branding copy for Japan’s most respected corporations.Item What Haruki Murakami talks about when he talks about freedom(2024-10-14) Department of East Asian Languages & LiteraturesThe reasons for Haruki Murakami’s world popularity have been a popular topic for academic discussions as well as social media posts by his general readers. His readable Japanese, his unique storytelling style, and the lack of “cultural odor” in his stories are surely the keys that have attracted readers both domestically and internationally. On the other hand, many of Murakami’s translators explain that his works became popular when the society experienced big social and/or political change and people’s fear and anxiety increased. I argue that Murakami’s stories encourage readers to be themselves without losing a control of their mind and life, when social roles and social orders are destabilized. In this talk, I explain how he understands living one’s own life as well as the idea of freedom in the world that is globally becoming a consumerist and information society. The talk will also touch on Murakami’s thorough research about Aum Shinrikyo, the cult group that perpetrated the Tokyo subway sarin gas attack in 1995, a crucial even that made Murakami think deeply about what freedom really is.Item The Spirit of Tea and Peacefulness(2024-02-14)This is a flyer for a Center for Japanese Studies seminar: The Spirit of Tea and Peacefulness February 2024.Item Aichi University Mini-Symposium 2024 - Women's Issues in Japan Today(2024-03-07)This is a flyer for a special symposium.Item Center for Japanese Studies Bento Box May 2024(2024-05-20)The Bento Box series, started in Spring 2022 by CJS Director Mark Levin, provides a venue for graduate students to present their Japan-related research in an informal setting in front of their friends and other graduate students enjoying bentos and the presentations. Additionally, presenters can receive feedback on their presentations from guests in attendance.Item The oink in Okinawa: Rooting through changes in Okinawa's heirloom pigs and cuisine(2024-04-22) Schrager, Benjamin; Sakuma, SayakaA rich culture of rearing and eating pigs emerged during the independent Ryukyu Kingdom. As Japan colonized Ryukyu and renamed it Okinawa Prefecture, pigs persisted as a resilient and distinct characteristic of Okinawan society. This presentation develops the idea of a companion breed to explore the unique relationship between Okinawans and their heirloom pigs. Here, we explore how this special partnership enabled unique socio-ecological formations to emerge and evolve. Historically called “island pigs” (shima buta) and today widely called “Agu,” Okinawa’s oldest heirloom pig breed is a small black pot-bellied pig that likely first arrived in the latter part of the 14th century but only thrived after the introduction of sweet potatoes in the early 17th century. This presentation focuses on local responses to three changes in sovereign administration. The first change is the interwar effort by the Japanese government to introduce Western bacon-type breeds like the Berkshire to replace island pigs. The second change is the postwar effort by the US government to disseminate Western pig breeds and industrialize pig husbandry. The third change is the post-reversion effort of Japanese industries to market value-added “Agu” pork as heirloom pig from Okinawa. These changes elicited a range of responses in Okinawa as relations to heirloom pigs and cuisine have continued to evolve.