Table of Contents
JOURNAL>
Publication of Japan Studies Review vol. XXII (2018)
by Steven Heine
The Japan Studies Review (JSR) is
an annual peer-reviewed journal sponsored by the joint efforts of the Asian
Studies Program at Florida International University. JSR remains an outlet for
publications related to Southern Japan Seminar events that encourages
submissions from a wide range of scholars in the field. The 2018 issue (Volume
XXII) features five articles branching into different aspects of Japanese
studies.
This year’s journal begins with an analytical study by Giancarla
Unser-Schutz titled, “How to Fit in: Naming Strategies among Foreign Residents
of Japan,” highlighting how foreigners living in Japan adapt their names and
the multifaceted difficulties they experience with the way their names are
treated. The second article titled, “Youth Nationalism in Japan during the Lost
Decades” by Zeying Wu, explores Japanese youth experiences during the economic
growth of the 1970s–1980s and the stagnation of the 1990s, while addressing how
experiences during the Lost Decades shaped their national identity with
distinct political undertones. A third article, “Narratives of the Early Stage
of American Occupation in Okinawa” by So Mizoguchi, delves into comparative
studies of the early stage of occupation that emphasizes how tales of postwar
Okinawa are distinguished from those of mainland Japan. Furthermore, Noboru
Tomonari in “Mikuni Rentarō’s Novel and Coming Out as Burakumin,” discusses
Rentarō’s biography as one of the most versatile actors of Japanese cinema and
his work The Portrait of Rie, mainly to express his identity and
discourse on buraku as a significant part of minority history in modern
Japan. Finally, “Bureaucracy Meets Catastrophe: Global Innovations from
Two Decades of Research” by Margaret Takeda, Ray Jones, and Marilyn
Helms is
an intricate collective study that reviews emerging themes from recent studies
on global disaster management by focusing on important natural catastrophes in
Japan and elsewhere.
In addition, there are two
essays included in this issue. Joan Torres-Pou presents the intertextuality of
two Central American writers’ travelogues, namely Enrique Gómez Carrillo and
Arturo Ambrogi, written in the West but marked by unique preconceived
Eurocentric visions of Japan and a sense of Otherness. The second essay by
Kinko Ito summarizes the oral history of a young Ainu mother known as Tomoyo
Fujiwara, comprised of a series of interviews sharing her personal experiences
while living in contemporary Japan. There are three book reviews. Kimura
Kiyotaka’s Shōbōgenzō zenbon kaidoku [Deciphering the Shōbōgenzō Fascicles]
is reviewed by Eitan Bolokan; Mark Ravina’s Understanding Japan: A Cultural History is reviewed
by Daniel Métraux; and Steven E. Gump reviews Matt Goulding’s Rice, Noodle,
Fish: Deep Travels through Japan’s Food Culture.
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, Dr. Steven Heine,
and members of the editorial board will referee all submissions.Please visit our website for submission requirements at http://www.asian.fiu.edu/jsr. PDF versions of the current along with past volumes are available online.
