Table of Contents
JOURNAL> Publication of Japan Studies Review vol. XXI (2017)
by Steven Heine
The latest issue of the Japan Studies Review
is now available. This is a refereed journal published annually by the Southern
Japan Seminar and the Asian Studies Program at Florida International
University. As a publication which addresses a variety of cross-disciplinary
issues in Japanese studies, Japan Studies Review includes contributions dealing
with practical and theoretical topics in the areas of business and economic
issues, politics, education and curriculum development, philosophy and
aesthetics, gender issues, popular culture, and immigration issues.
ISSN 1550-0713
The current JSR 2017 issue [Volume XXI] includes research
articles covering varied interdisciplinary topics and a special section
featuring a bibliographical essay plus additional essays and book reviews.
Appearing in this issue are four articles dealing with a variety
of topics on Japanese society and culture. The first article is by Ben Van Overmeire,
who analyzes Zen Buddhism in the twentieth century in terms of “frame-stories”
from Daisetz Teitarō Suzuki’s book An
Introduction to Zen Buddhism in relation to Janwillem Van de
Wetering’s The Empty Mirror.
The second article, by Rebecca Richko, presents a study of Japan’s low birth
rate and the role of women in contemporary society. The next article is by
Shiho Futugami and Marilyn M. Helms, who explore the underlying factors behind
employment challenges in Japan by reviewing current policies for work involving
age and gender equality. The fourth article, by Bernice J. deGannes Scott,
presents an economic analysis of the United States-Japan automobile trade
conflict of the 1980s.
The special section in this year’s issue contains a biographical
essay by Steven Heine with assistance from Katrina Ankrum. It provides a
detailed overview of compilations of traditional Sōtō Zen commentaries,
primarily from the Edo period but also including some medieval and modern
examples. These manifold works, with more than eighty examples, examine the
content of Eihei Dōgen’s masterwork, the Shōbōgenzō,
as well as the factors that led to the formation of the 95-Fascicle Honzan
Edition first published in 1906.
This issue includes two additional essays. The first one by Junko
Baba is a discussion on the military government’s food policies in World War II
Japan. The second essay is by Cassandra Atherton, who focuses her analysis of
“ocean plain” (wata no hara)
imagery in the animated film Gake
no Ue no Ponyo directed by Hayao Miyazaki.
Furthermore, this volume contains three book reviews of recent
publications on Japanese studies. Daniel A. Métraux reviews a book by Janice P.
Nimura, Daughters of the
Samurai: A Journey from East to West and Back, and a volume by
Richard Reeves titled
Infamy: The Shocking Story of Japanese Internment in World War II.
Finally, Yuichi Tamura reviews a book by Peter Cave titled Schooling Selves: Autonomy,
Interdependence, and Reform in Japanese Junior High Education.
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ARTICLESPortraying Zen Buddhism in the Twentieth Century: Encounter
Dialogues as Frame-Stories in Daisetz Suzuki’s Introduction to
Zen Buddhism and Janwillem Van de Wetering’s The Empty Mirror
Ben Van Overmeire 3
Society’s Influence on Women’s Childbearing Decision in
Contemporary Japan
Rebecca Richko 25
Employment Challenges in Japan: Age and Gender Dimensions
Shiho Futagami and Marilyn M. Helms 51
Government Intervention versus the Market System:
The United States-Japan Automobile Trade
Crisis of the 1980s Revisited
Bernice J. deGannes Scott 69
SPECIAL SECTION: BIBLIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY
Outside of a Small Circle: Sōtō Zen Commentaries on Dōgen’s
Shōbōgenzō and the Formation of the 95-Fascicle Honzan
(Main Temple) Edition
Steven Heine with Katrina Ankrum 85
ESSAYS
Discourse on Food in World War II Japan
Junko Baba 131
“Put it Back in the Ocean. Don’t You Realize It’ll Cause
a Tsunami?”: The Power of Wata No Hara (The Ocean Plain)
in Gake No Ue No Ponyo
Cassandra Atherton 155
BOOK REVIEWS
Daughters of the Samurai: A Journey from East to West and Back
By Janice P. Nimura
Reviewed by Daniel A. Métraux 175
Infamy: The Shocking Story of Japanese Internment in
World War II
By Richard Reeves
Reviewed by Daniel A. Métraux 177
Schooling Selves: Autonomy, Interdependence, and Reform
in Japanese Junior High Education
By Peter Cave
Reviewed by Yuichi Tamura 181
JSR is now planning the next two issues and invites submissions,
whether articles, essays, or book reviews, on topics dealing with Japan or
comparative studies. Submissions can be sent as email attachment to asian@fiu.edu. The editor, Steven Heine, and
members of the editorial board will referee all submissions.Please visit our
archive for PDF versions of the current and past volumes.
