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LECTURES AND EVENTS

JST 2024.10.21, Monday
2024 ASJ Young Scholars’ Programme

Synopsis:

The Young Scholars’ Programme was initiated by the Society on 20 November 2006, at the suggestion of the Honorary Patron of the Society, HIH Princess Takamado, to give researchers at doctoral level the opportunity to present their research on Japan and/or Asia and answer questions on it in English. From 2021 the Young Scholars’ Programme was held for the first time online, allowing young scholars to participate from all over the world. The ASJ Young Scholars selected this year are as follows - Ms. Beatrice-Maria Alexandrescu, Ms. Hitomi Imamura, Mr. Trevor H. Menders and Ms. Berfu Şengün. Please see the brief biographies and abstracts for the presentations, in alphabetical order below. The Asiatic Society of Japan is very honoured to host this special online event showcasing the research of young scholars from around the world. .

The Young Scholars’ Programme is a very important part of the Society’s activities and it is hoped that as many members as possible can attend.

* ‘Imagining Buddhist Feminine Corporeality: Transcended and Transgressed Women's Bodies in Five Setsuwa Tales from the Nihon Ryōiki’

Ms. Beatrice-Maria Alexandrescu

Brief bio

Ms. Alexandrescu received a BA in Japanese language and literature and German language and literature (2018), an MA in East-Asian Studies (2020) and an MA in German Studies (Intercultural Communication Strategies – A Literary and Linguistic Approach) (2020) from The University of Bucharest. She is currently enrolled as a PhD candidate at The University of Bucharest. In her doctoral dissertation, she analyzes the translation and introduction of Mishima Yukio’s novels from Japanese into Romanian.

Abstract
Starting from Barbara Ambros’ perspective on Women in the Japanese Religion (2015), as well as from Rachel Dumas’ analysis of particular aspects of the Feminine in Japan – both in the Contemporary culture (2018), as well as in the Medieval Literature (2013), the main scientific goal of the present research consists of an extension of the previous observations by the literary investigation of five setsuwa from Nihon Ryōiki which display fundamental changes as far as a woman’s body is concerned. It is this particular context which prompts the concepts of woman’s physical transcendence and transgression – as crucial factors which lead to a major change from non-acceptability to inclusion in the minima moralia of the Buddhist thinking. The setsuwa selected for the present study are: 『塔を建てむとして願を発しし時に、生める女子の舎利を捲りて産れし縁』 Tō wo taten toshite gan wo okoshishi toki ni, umeru wominago no sari wo nigirite umareshi en “On the Birth of a Girl with Shari in Her Hand, Owing to Her Parents’ Vow to Build a Pagoda” (2:31), 『女人の悪鬼に点されて食噉はれし縁』Nyonin no akki ni kegasarete kurawareshi en “On a Woman Devoured by an Evil Demon” (2:33), 『女人大きなる蛇に婚せられ、薬の力に頼りて、命を全くすること得し縁』Nyonin ōkinaru hemi ni kunagai serare, yaku no chikara ni tayorite, inochi wo mattaku suru koto eshi en “On a Woman Who Was Violated by a Large Snake but Survived, Due to the Power of Drugs” (2:41), 『産み生せる肉団の作れる女子の善を修し人を化せし縁』 Uminaseru shishimura no nareru womina no zen wo shūshi hito wo keseshi en “On a Girl Born of a Flesh Ball Who Practiced Good and Converted People” (3:19), respectively 『女人の石を産生みて、之を以て神とし斎きし縁』Nyonin no ishi wo umite, kore wo motte kami toshi itsukishi en “On A Woman Who Gave Birth to Stones and Honored Them as Gods” (3:31). As secondary research goals – we aim at exploring the discourse on the female anatomy within the Buddhist canon first by focusing on various forms of feminine corporeality (as they are depicted either as transcending or as being transgressed in the above-mentioned tales) and also by examining the way that the unnatural change of the human body is regarded as a part of an acceptable, spiritually justified process. By the analysis of the above-mentioned texts, we should be able to display the greater context of the setsuwa tales with the aim of deconstructing the bodily performance of femininity, thus offering a critique of five early medieval Buddhist narratives of gendered experiences of destruction, violence and hybridity between humanity and sacredness.

* ‘How do the financial disadvantages experienced by single-mother households in Japan impact upon their children’s educational outcomes? An exploratory qualitative study’

Ms. Hitomi Imamura

Brief bio

Ms. Hitomi Imamura received her Master of Science in Education, Power and Social Change in 2019 from Birkbeck, University of London. She is currently enrolled as a fourth year PhD Candidate in Education and Society at University of West London. She was awarded Studentship from Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation in 2022, 2023 and John Crump Studentship from British association for Japanese studies in 2024.

Abstract
Despite perceptions of low poverty rates in Japan, single-mother households face significant economic challenges with limited research on how this impacts children’s education. Japan’s 2020 education reform has exacerbated inequalities by giving wealthier families more access to private education widening the gap between them and children from less stable financial backgrounds. This reflects Bourdieu’s theory of cultural capital, where social advantages are passed down, perpetuating inequality. Rising divorce rates and the impoverishment of single-mother families pose a concern to the academic success and well-being of children coming from these families. My presentation summarises my doctoral work focusing on how economic hardship affects the education and career prospects of children from single-mother households. Qualitative interviews with NPO representatives, single-mothers, and their adult children explored the root causes of their poverty and its impact on educational outcomes. The study confirmed that single-mothers’ financial struggles negatively affect children’s academic performance. Unexpectedly, it also revealed significant psychological stress on both parents and children with children facing stigmas and emotional strain following parental divorce. The findings underline the need for further support for NPOs, single-mothers and their children to ensure that they receive opportunities to reach their full potentials. The research suggests that national policies alone are insufficient; broader societal attitudes towards single-mother families must also shift to break the cycle of poverty and improve educational outcomes.

* ‘To Dance at the Suzaku Court: Towards an Allied Arts History of Japan through the Tale of Genji’

Mr. Trevor H. Menders

Brief bio

Trevor Menders is a doctoral candidate in the Harvard University Department of History of Art and Architecture (MA 2023) and a Fulbright Graduate Research Fellow at Osaka University. His research concerns the intersection of the visual and performing arts in medieval through early modern Japan. He holds a BA cum laude with departmental honors from Columbia University in East Asian Languages and Cultures (2018) and has previously attended Tokyo University of the Arts as a Fulbright Fellow and the Yokohama Inter-University Center as a Toshizo Watanabe Fellow.

Abstract
“Allied arts” today refers to the relationship between architecture and decorative arts, using the necessity of handicraft to the built environment to focus on the sociocultural relationship between makers and builders. However, at the height of the term’s use in the early twentieth century, it encompassed a broad swath of the cultural world, speaking directly to the inextricability of stage performance and painting. This model has since fallen out of vogue, but in an academic world increasingly focused on interdisciplinary inquiry, how can we mobilize this framework beyond its original western context? To answer this question, this presentation turns to one of the most mediated cultural objects in Japanese history, Murasaki Shikibu’s c. 1008 Tale of Genji. Through examination of a painting attributed to Tosa Mitsuyoshi (1617–1691) of the Tale’s seventh chapter, the presentation proposes that attention to the painting’s depicted bugaku dance Seigaiha “Blue Sea Waves” heightens the textual and temporal specificity of the illustration; that this specificity activates previously unexamined aspects of Genji’s art historical legacy; and that these aspects in turn connect early modern Genji painting to struggle amongst seventeenth-century Japanese elite for cultural and political hegemony. In doing so, the presentation establishes the social engagement of Genji painting in the early seventeenth century as well as the importance of the allied arts approach for an increasingly nuanced understanding of Japanese history.

* ‘A Self-Discovery Journey: Examining the Ten Tamakazura Chapters in The Tale of Genji ’

Ms. Berfu Şengün

Brief bio

Berfu Şengün is a PhD candidate in Japanese Studies at Universität Zürich, Switzerland. Her doctoral dissertation focuses on the narratological analysis of the Ten Tamakazura Chapters (Tamakazura Jūjo) of The Tale of Genji, using Mikhail Bakhtin’s theory of the novel. She conducts her research under the supervision of Professor Simone Müller and her committee members: Professor Daniel Struve (Université Paris Cité), Professor Hidenori Jinno (Waseda University), and Professor Raji C. Steineck (Universität Zürich). Berfu Şengün received her bachelor’s degree (2016) in Sinology and a master’s degree (2020) in English Language and Literature from Turkey. She also received a second master’s degree in Japanese Studies (2023) from Université Paris Cité, France. From September 2023 to July 2024, she was a Visiting Research Fellow at Waseda University in Japan and was sponsored by a Meiji Jingu doctoral scholarship.

Abstract

While Tamakazura’s physical journey is framed by the search for her parents, her psychological journey grows from a deeper search for meaning, self-discovery, and a place within Heian society. When Hikaru Genji inserts Tamakazura into his newly built Rokujō estate under the false pretense of finding his long-lost daughter, he places her there as an ornament to promote his power and prosperity. Moreover, Tamakazura’s function as yukari (connection) and katami (keepsake) of her mother and her role as a surrogate daughter to Genji position her as an object of desire and the receiver of the male gaze. Although other characters’ perspectives inform the reader about her personality and physical appearance, Tamakazura’s innermost thoughts, emotions, and struggles build the reader’s understanding of her autonomy and character agency.

This study examines Tamakazura’s character in the Ten Tamakazura Chapters (Tamakazura Jūjō), a side story within the 11th-century masterpiece The Tale of Genji. It focuses on the theme of seeing and being seen to explore how the perception of others and her reflection shape Tamakazura’s character. According to Mikhail Bakhtin, the hero always has an “unrealized potential and unrealized demands. 　　

The future exists, and this future ineluctably touches upon the individual, has its roots in him” (1981, p.37). This unrealized growth potential contributes to the literary characters’ unfinished nature. Following Bakhtin’s approach to characters, this paper argues that Tamakazura emerges not as a fixed character but as a dynamic being, constantly evolving and mimicking real people throughout her story. 　　

　 The Asiatic Society of Japan is deeply appreciative of the Hugh E. Wilkinson Foundation for its contribution to support the Young Scholars’ Programme. The Hugh E. Wilkinson Foundation was inaugurated at the 2018 Asiatic Society of Japan’s Young Scholars’ Programme which was held at Aoyama Gakuin University and 2024 marks the seventh year that the Foundation has supported the programme. The Foundation awards research grants to the four successful young scholars to continue and deepen their academic studies. Professor Hugh E. Wilkinson was President of the Society from 2003-2005.

Online Lecture Programme 2024/2025 Schedule

JST 2024 November 11th, Monday
Mr. Glen S. Fukushima, Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress (US-Asia relations), and SIPC Vice-Chairman

“The Japan-America Student Conference (JASC): History, Legacy, and Prospects, 1934-2024”

JST 2024 December 16th, Monday

Ms. Julia Hutt, former Curator of Japanese art, specializing in lacquerware and ivory carvings, in the Asian Department at the Victoria & Albert Museum, and former tutor and lecturer at Sotheby’s Institute of Art, London

JST 2025 January 27th, Monday

Dr. Yoshiko Imaizumi, Senior Research Fellow (Research Advancement Division Chief), specializing in Meiji Jingu History, Meiji Jingu Intercultural Research Institute

2024 YOUNG SCHOLARS' PROGRAMME

Applications are welcome. Final submission date is August 19th (Monday), midnight JST.

Call for Papers

The Asiatic Society of Japan (ASJ) is Japan's oldest learned society, with its inaugural meeting in Yokohama in 1872. Inspired by the Royal Asiatic Societies of their day, ASJ's founders coordinated activities "to collect and publish information on subjects relating to Japan and other Asiatic Countries." Yet they intentionally differentiated ASJ from these affiliated societies at the outset by having established a "Society for scholarly gentlemen" rather than a society of scholars. The founders and earliest members were pillars of Japan's modernization and industrialization at the dawn of the Meiji Period. Physicians, engineers, barristers, missionaries, military officers, professors, and diplomats numbered among them, including Dr. James Hepburn, Sir Ernest Satow, Basil Hall Chamberlain, and William Aston. Today, the Society serves members of a general audience that have shared interests in Japan and the country’s myriad of connections with the world.

The Young Scholars’ Programme was initiated by the Society in 2006 at the suggestion of the Honorary Patron, HIH Princess Takamado, to give researchers at doctoral level the opportunity to present their research on Japan and/or Asia and answer questions on it in English. This year’s event will be held on Monday, 21 October. It will be held either entirely online or hybrid, so young scholars from around the world are encouraged to apply.

Requirements

The closing date for nominations this year is midnight on Monday, 19 August. All nominated candidates (to be first selected by a university professor or other nominator) should submit the following:

a) A provisional title for their presentation

b) Details of their field of research

c) A CV or brief biography

d) A formal letter of recommendation on headed notepaper from his/her academic supervisor supporting the application*

* Candidates may submit their materials directly to the Asiatic Society of Japan, via e-mail, to info@asjapan.org. However, the letter of recommendation should be submitted to info@asjapan.org by the academic supervisor (not the candidate).

Award

☆ Certificate of Recognition from the ASJ Board and HIH Princess Takamado, the Honorary Patron of the Asiatic Society of Japan

☆ Research award of 50,000 yen, courtesy of the Hugh E. Wilkinson Foundation

☆ Article to be submitted to the Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan, the Society’s

annual journal

Results

A maximum of four young scholars (up to age 35, although consideration will be given to those up to age 40) will be selected to give a presentation for 20 minutes each. Candidates will be notified of the selection results at the beginning of September.

* For further details, please e-mail the ASJ Office at info@asjapan.org, and title your e-mail ‘2024 Young Scholars’ Programme’

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