Japanese Popular Culture Syllabus

Dr. Toby Slade tobyslade@me.com Monday 11:00 - 12:30, Monday 13:30 -15:00

Course Description
This course examines contemporary Japanese popular culture from historical and theoretical perspectives. The course will examine cultural objects which are as recent as possible in an attempt to survey Japanese culture as it is now. The scope of objects and practices examined will be wide ranging, including architecture, advertising, consumption, cinema, anime, manga, magazines, literature, fashion, music, food and art. The course will stress primary engagement with these cultural forms and the active testing and calibration of cultural theory.

Course Requirements & Evaluation

Grades for this course will be based on a nal presentation, a research paper and class participation. There will be both weekly readings and short primary research each week which will be discussed in depth and for which students should prepare. Because the course examines contemporary culture for which multiple perspectives are critical participation in this discussion will be very important and it is emphasized in the grades. A nal research paper and presentation will be based around a single theme of the course for which students will be expected to complete detailed reading and original research. Grades will be distributed as follows: Research Paper Final Presentation Class Participation 30% 30% 40%

Class Participation
Each week will be structured around a cultural object or practice and students will be expected to read one article and also to try to experience one example of that object or practice. For instance, in the week about manga students will be expected to read one contemporary manga book and report back on it to the class. Or in the week about anime they will be expected to watch a contemporary example. Sometimes this might require some extra time and initiative but it will enable us to anchor and test current theories.

Readings
Each week there will be one compulsory reading and other suggested readings. A photocopied reader of the compulsory readings will be available in the second class for around 1000 yen.

Schedule & Readings

*Each week there is one compulsory reading and other optional readings. Students will be asked to pick a theme for which they want to prepare and read about in more detail in order to report back to the class. *Each week a particular cultural object or phenomenon will be examined to anchor theoretical discussion.

1. Introduction: Culture & Nationality (5th October) Nations as a Categorization Tool for Culture Perspective, Othering and Exoticism
Ronald Richie, The Image Factory: Fads & Fashions in Japan, Reaktion Books, London, 2003. Forward and The Image Factory. Treat, John Whittier. "Introduction: Japanese Studies into Cultural Studies" in Contemporary Japan and Popular Culture, J. W. Treat (ed.), University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, 1996. Pp. 1-14. Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities: Reections on the Origins and Spread of Nationalism, Verso, London, 1991 [1983]. Chapter 1 Theodor Adorno & Max Horkheimer, The Cultural Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception in The Cultural Studies Reader, 2nd Edition, S. During Ed., pp. 29-41 Routledge 1999. Azuma Hiroki, Superat Japanese Postmodernity Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles, Home Page: http://www.hirokiazuma.com/en/texts/superat_en1.html, 22 March 2006. Peter N. Dale, The Myth of Japanese Uniqueness, St. Martins Press, New York, 1986. Introduction. Edward Said, Orientalism, Vintage Books, New York, 1978.

2. Urbanity, Advertising and Architecture (12th October) The Spaces of Popular Culture in Modernity and Post-modernity Critical Mass, Stimulus Shields & the Appropriateness of Spaces Object for Discussion: The Development and Changes at Shibuya Crossing or similar urban area
Isozaki Arata, Of City, Nation, and Style in Masao Miyoshi & H.D. Harootunian, Postmodernism in Japan, Duke University Press, Durham, 1989. Roland Barthes, Empire of Signs, Richard Howard (trans.), Hill and Wang, New York, 1983. Jennifer Robertson, Native and Newcomer: Making and Remaking a Japanese City, University of California Press, Berkeley, 1991. Jordan Sand, House and Home in Modern Japan: Arhcitecture, Domestic Space and Bourgeois Culture, 1880-1930, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 2003. Introduction. Miriam Silverberg, Erotic Grotesque Nonsense: The Mass Culture of Japanese Modern Times, University of California Press, Berkeley, 2006. Part 1. Edward Seidensticker, Tokyo Rising: The City Since the Great Earthquake, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1991. Selections.

3. Class, Gender and Race (19th October) Other Stratications of Culture Object for Discussion: Shopping in Ginza or similar shopping location (Present Day)
Yuko Hasegawa, Post-identity Kawaii: Commerce, Gender and Contemporary Japanese Art in Consuming Bodies: Sex and Contemporary Japanese Art, Fran Lloyd (ed.), Reaktion Books, London, 2002. Anne Allison, Nightwork: Sexuality, Pleasure and Corporate Masculinity in a Tokyo Hostess Club, University of California Press, Berkeley, 1994. Jennifer Robertson, Takarazuka: Sexual Politics and Popular Culture in Modern Japan, University of California Press, Berkeley, 1998. Sharon Kinsella, Cuties in Japan in Women Media and Consumption in Japan, Shov & Moeran (eds.), University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, 1995. Hiroshi Ishida, Social Mobility in Contemporary Japan, Palgrave Macmillan, London, 1992. Hiroshi Ishida & David Slater, Social Class in Contemporary Japan, Routledge, New York, 2009. (If available)

4. Cinema (26th October) Masterpieces and Popular Films Object for Discussion: Seven Samurai (1954) and Kamikaze Girls (2004) or another two historical and contemporary Japanese lms
Marilyn Ivy, Discourses of the Vanishing. Modernity, Phantasm, Japan, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1995. Steven Heine, Ie-ism (Sacred Familism) and the Discourse of Postmodernism in Relation to Nativism/ Nationalism/Nihonism in Japan in Traditional and Postmodern Perspectives. Charles Wei-Sun Fu & Steven Heine (eds), State University of New York Press, New York, 1995. Donald Richie, Japanese Cinema: Film Style and National Character, Anchor, New York, 1971. Donald Richie, The Films of Akira Kurosawa, University of California Press, Berkeley, 1984. Darrell William Davis, Picturing Japaneseness: Monumental Style, National Identity, Japanese Film, Columbia University Press, New York, 1996. Gergory Barrett, Archetypes of the Japanese Cinema: The Sociological and Religious Signicance of the Principle Heros and Heroines, Associated University Press, London,1989.

5. Anime (2nd November) Robots, Monsters and Super-girls Object for Discussion: Neon Genesis Evangelion (1996) or similar anime
Susan Napier, From Impressionism to Anime: Japan as Fantasy and Fan Cult in the Mind of the West, Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 2007. Chapters 6 & 7. Susan Napier, Elegies in Anime: From Akira to Princess Mononoke: Experiencing Contemporary Japanese Animation, Palgrave, New York, 2001. pp. 219-238. Anne Allison, The Japan Fad in Global Youth Culture and Millennial Capitalism. in Mechademia: Emerging Worlds of Anime and Manga, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, 2006. Mio Bryce, Cuteness Needed. The New Language/Communication Device in a Global Society in International Journal of the Humanities, 2004. Vol 2 No 3. Philip Brophy, Sonic - Atomic - Neumonic: Apocalyptic Echoes in Japanese Animation in A. Cholodenko (Ed.), The Illusion of Life 2: More Essays on Animation, Sydney: Power Publications, Sydney, 2007. Philip Brophy, Neon Genesis Evangelion: The Tyranny of the English Voice in Anime, in Realtime, Number 31 (June/July 1999)

6. Magazines (9th November) Instructions for Everything: Communication and Reproduction of Styles & Values Object for Discussion: CanCam (Current Issue) or similar magazine
Barbara Sato, The New Japanese Woman: Modernity, Media and Women in Interwar Japan, Duke University Press, Durham, 2003. Barbara Sato, An Alternate Informant: Middle Class Women and Mass Magazines in 1920s Japan in Tipton & Clark (eds.) Being Modern in Japan, Australian Humanities Research Foundation, Sydney, 2000. Joseph J. Tobin, Introduction in Re-made in Japan: Everyday Life and Consumer Taste in a Changing Society, Yale University Press, New Haven, 1992. pp. 1-41. Keiko Tanaka, Japanese women's magazines and the language of aspiration in D. P. Martinez (Ed.) The Worlds of Japanese Popular Culture, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1999. pp. 110-132.

7. Manga (16th November) Alternate Universes and Hyper-realities Object for Discussion: One Piece (Current Issue) or similar manga
Susan Napier, Vampires, Psychic Girls, Flying Women and Sailor Scouts: Four Faces of the Young Female in Japanese Popular Culture in The Worlds of Popular Culture, D.P. Martinez (ed.), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2008.

Sharon Kinsella, Adult Manga: Culture and Power in Contemporary Japan, University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, 2000. Susan Napier, Why Anime and Anime and Local/Global Identity in Anime: From Akira to Princess Mononoke: Experiencing Contemporary Japanese Animation, Palgrave, New York, 2001. pp. 3-34. Peter Matanle et al., Men under Pressure: Representations of the Salaryman and his Organization in Japanese Manga. Organization 2008. Vol 15(5). Online at: http://org.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/15/5/639 Maia Tsurumi, Gender Roles and Girls Comics in Japan: The Girls and Guys of Ykan Club in Craig, Timothy J. (ed.). Japan Pop! Inside the World of Japanese Popular Culture, M.E. Sharpe, New York, 2000. pp. 171-185.

*No Class 23rd November 8. Literature (30th November) Desire, Alienation and Fiction Object for Discussion: Tanizakis Naomi (1924) or Mikas Koizora (2007) or similar historical or contemporary work of literature
Dana Goodyear, I NOVELS: Young women develop a genre for the cellular age, The New Yorker, December 22, 2008. Tanizaki Junichir, Naomi, Trans. Anthony Chambers, Tuttle, Tokyo, 1985. Toby Slade, Junichiro Tanizaki's 'Naomi' and the Power of Foreign Clothing in Modern Japanese Fiction in Fashion in Fiction: Text and Clothing in Literature, Film and Television, McNeil, Karaminas & Cole (eds.), Berg, Oxford, 2009. Donald Keene, Dawn to the West, Vol. 3, Japanese Literature of the Modern Era: Fiction, Columbia University Press, New York, 1999. Aoki Tamotsu, Murakami Haruki and Japan Today in Contemporary Japan and Popular Culture, J. W. Treat (ed.), University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, 1996. Pp. 265-274. John Whittier Treat, "Yoshimoto Banana Writes Home: The Shjo in Japanese Popular Culture." in Contemporary Japan and Popular Culture, J. W. Treat (ed.), University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, 1996. Pp. 275-308.

9. Fashion (7th December) Clothing and the Economics of Aesthetics Object for Discussion: Outts in Harajuku (Present day)
Toby Slade, Japanese Fashion: A Cultural History, Berg, Oxford, 2009. Introduction Ronald Richie, The Image Factory, Fads & Fashions in Japan, Reaktion Books, London, 2003. Chapter 3, Fashions Tongues. Yuniya Kawamura, The Japanese Revolution in Paris Fashion, Berg, Oxford, 2004. Chapter 5. Kuki Shz, The Structure of Iki, (trans. John Clark), Power Publications, Sydney, 1997. Introduction. Philomena Keet, The Tokyo Look Book: Stylish to Spectacular, Goth to Gyaru, Sidewalk to Catwalk, Kodansha International, Tokyo, 2007. Introduction & Chapter 1. Hirano Kenichir, The Westernization of Clothes and the State in Meiji Japan in The State and Cultural Transformation: Perspectives from East Asia, Hirano Kenichir (ed.), United Nations University Press, Tokyo, 1993. Jean Baudrillard, Simulacra and Simulation, University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, 1996.

10. Music (14th December) J-Pop, Idols, Imitators and Identity Object for Discussion: Namie Amuro Best Fiction (2008) or similar J-pop album
SMAP, Sex and Masculinity: Constructing the Perfect Female Fantasy in Japanese Popular Music, Popular Music and Society 27(3). Ian Condry, Hip-Hop Japan: Rap and the Paths of Cultural Globalization, Duke University Press, Durham, 2006.

Aoyagi, Hiroshi. Pop idols and the Asian identity. Japan Pop! Inside the World of Japanese Popular Culture. Ed. Timothy Craig. Armong, NY: M.E.Sharpe, 200. 309-326. Christine R. Yano, "The Marketing of Tears: Consuming Emotions in Japanese Popular Song." in Japan Pop! Inside the World of Japanese Popular Culture T. Craig. Armonk (ed.), M. E. Sharpe, New York, 2000. Pp. 60-74. Can Japanese Sing the Blues? "Japanese Jazz" and the Problem of Authenticity in Japan Pop! Inside the World of Japanese Popular Culture. T. Craig. Armonk (ed.), M. E. Sharpe, New York, 2000.Pp. 27-59.

11. Food (21st December) Notions of Purity in National Culture and Cuisine Object for Discussion: Menu at Hamadaya Japanese Restaurant (Present day) or similar Japanese restaurant
John Clark, Food Stories, Gastronomica 4(2) 2004. Katarzyna J. Cwiertka, Modern Japanese Cuisine: Food, Power and National Identity, Reaktion Books, London, 2007. M. Yamamoto, Japanese Food: A Feast for the Eyes in Y. Tsuchiya (ed.), A Feast for the Eyes: The Japanese Art of Food Arrangement, Kodansha, Tokyo, 1985. pp.35-51 Allison, Anne. Japanese Mothers and Obentos: The Lunch-Box as Ideological State Apparatus. Anthropological Quarterly 64, no. 4 (October 1991): 195-208. Michael Ashkenazi and Jeanne Jacob. Aesthetics. in The Essence of Japanese Cuisine: An Essay on Food and Culture,University of Pennsylvania Press,Philadelphia, 2000. Paul Noguchi, Savor Slowly: Ekiben: The Fast Food of High-Speed Japan. Ethnology 33, no. 4 (Autumn 1994): 317-330.

12. Unpopular Culture (11th January) High and Low Japanese Cultural Products Object for Discussion: Takashi Murakamis My Lonesome Cowboy (1998) or similar contemporary artwork.
Murakami Takashi, Superat Manifesto in Superat, MADRA Publishing, Tokyo, 2000. Jean Baudrillard, After the Orgy, in The Transparency of Evil: Essay on Extreme Phenomena, Verso, New York, 1993. Thomas Lamarre, Otaku Movement in Japan After Japan: Social and Cultural Life from the Recessionary 1990s to the Present, Yoda & Harootunian (eds.) Duke University Press, Durham, 2006. Omuka Toshiharu, The Emergence of a Mass Audience for Modern Art in Japan in Eye of the Beholder: Reception, Audience and Practice of Modern Asian Art, Clark, Peleggi & Sabapathy (eds.), Wild Peony, Sydney, 2006. Alexandra Munroe, Japanese Art After 1945: Scream Against the Sky, Harry N. Abrams, New York, 1994. Introduction. Toby Slade, The Japanese Consumer in The Fashion History Reader: Global Perspectives, Routledge, New York, 2009.

13. Summary Discussion & Conclusions (18th January) Japanese Popular Culture: Themes, Continuities and Grand Narratives Object for Discussion: Japan: History, People, Culture as a whole
Reading: Student Research Preparation for nal presentations and term paper

14. Peer Review (25th January)

Reading: Student Research Preparation for nal presentations and term paper

15. Presentations (Make-up class date TBA)

Final Paper Due

Professor Information:

Toby Slade

Toby Slade is an Assistant Professor at the University of Tokyo researching Asian modernity and the history and theory of fashion. His previous research has focused on Asian responses to modernity seen through art objects of the everyday like fashion, the suit and its role in modernity, the ideas of style and the classic, and the governing dynamics of systems of fashion. His doctoral research at the University of Sydney examined the Modernity of Japanese clothing and the implications of that unique sartorial history for contemporary theories of fashion. He also lectures at Keio University and at Sophia University and has lectured at the University of Technology Sydney in fashion history and theory. In December 2009 his book Japanese Fashion is due to be published by Berg covering the entire sweep of fashion and clothing in Japan from the earliest times to today. For more information please check: http://web.me.com/tobyslade/Site/Home.html