Beyond Japan with Oliver Moxham

For Beyond Japan's final episode, Oliver is joined by Aike Rots, Associate Professor of Japan Studies at the University of Oslo, to discuss the agency of animals in influencing human society and cultures. Aike’s collaborative project, Whales of Power, explores how whales have affected ritual practices in coastal communities of East Asia and how those practices have adapted and changed in the 21st century. Follow the Whales of Power project on Twitter and via their website. A final message from Oliver: "After 85 episodes, Beyond Japan now draws to a close as I turn my attention to my PhD research. I would like to thank all the guests who have shared their research with us and to you the listeners who have supported this exciting new medium for sharing academia with the wider world. I intend to return to academic podcasting again in the near future – you can follow my blog at olivermoxham.wordpress.com for updates on that. For now, enjoy revisiting our back catalogue. As always, thank you for listening." IMAGE AND AUDIO CREDITS Intro-outro music: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com [L] Kujirabune gyōji in Yokkaichi (Mie prefecture). Photograph by Aike Rots (2022). [R] Benzaiten statue comforting a dolphin soul. Shrine near Yobuko. Photograph by Aike Rots (2022). Copyright © 2023 Oliver Moxham, ℗  2023 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed for education purposes. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/beyond-japan/message

Oliver is joined by Daniel Milne, Senior Lecturer at Kyoto University’s Institute for Liberal Arts and Sciences (ILAS), to discuss what happens when we memorialise past conflicts through the Kyoto Buddhist temple Ryōzen Kannon. Daniel and I explore how the meaning of monuments to war dead change over time, and compare Ryōzen Kannon’s approach with that of the national war memorial site of Yasukuni Shrine. Read Daniel's article with David Moreton, 'Remembering and Forgetting the War Dead at Ryōzen Kannon: A Site of Entangled and Transnational War Memories'. IMAGE AND AUDIO CREDITS Intro-outro music: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com [L] The enormous Ryōzen Kannon Bodhisattva statue that gives the temple its namesake. Photograph by Oliver Moxham, 2018. [R] Stained glass window from within the Memorial Hall for the Unknown Soldier of WWII at Ryōzen Kannon. Photograph by Oliver Moxham, 2018. Copyright © 2023 Oliver Moxham, ℗  2023 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed for education purposes. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/beyond-japan/message

Oliver is joined by Susan Furukawa, Associate Professor of Modern Languages and Literatures at Beloit College, to discuss history in fiction through works on the iconic and problematic life of 16th century shogun Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Susan and I look at how Hideyoshi sought to establish his own literary legacy, how he has been made a hero in different ways through the 20th century, and why darker elements of his past have failed to break through in these narratives. Read Susan's book, The Afterlife of Toyotomi Hideyoshi: Historical Fiction and Popular Culture in Japan. IMAGE AND AUDIO CREDITS Intro-outro music: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com [L] One Hundred Aspects of the Moon #7, Inaba Mountain Moon - The young Toyotomi Hideyoshi leads a small group assaulting the castle on Inaba Mountain; 1885, twelfth month. [C] Professor Susan Furukawa. Photograph by Nick Mischler. [R] Important cultural property "Toyotomi Hideyoshi portrait" (part of artwork). Acclaimed in the 3rd year of Keicho (1598), Kōdai-ji Temple, Kyoto. Copyright © 2022 Oliver Moxham, ℗  2022 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed for education purposes. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/beyond-japan/message

Oliver is joined by Chie Kutsuwada, UK-based manga artist, to discuss Japanese comics as art and the global spread of the genre’s art style and readership. Chie and Oliver look at what separates manga from other comic styles, the appeal to recurring themes found in the genre and the escapism it provides. IMAGE AND AUDIO CREDITS Intro-outro music: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com All images provided by Chie Kutsuwada. Copyright © 2022 Oliver Moxham, ℗  2022 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed for education purposes. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/beyond-japan/message

Welcome to the third series of Beyond Japan! In this episode, Oliver is joined by Randy Sasaki, researcher at the Kyushu National Museum, to discuss his specialism of underwater archaeology, otherwise known as maritime or nautical archaeology. Randy and I explore the window shipwrecks provide into international trade spanning hundreds and even thousands of years, as well as the benefits and challenges of sea-based archaeological surveys as opposed to land-based surveys. Randy also shares with us details of his project in Tango, off the northern coast of Kyoto prefecture. IMAGE AND AUDIO CREDITS Intro-outro music: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com [L] "The Sweepstakes Shipwreck 1" by CampCrazy Photography. [R] "best-underwater-drone" by Bluedreamer2011. Copyright © 2022 Oliver Moxham, ℗  2022 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed for education purposes. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/beyond-japan/message

Oliver is joined by Sophie Richard, art historian, museum specialist and acclaimed writer, as we explore art museums in Japan of every variety. From her training at École du Louvre, Sophie has visited museums across the archipelago, broadening her understanding of what a museum can be and inspiring her to write a book on capturing this for the non-Japanese speaking art lover. Read Sophie's book, The Art Lover's Guide to Japanese Museums. Museums by order of mention: Hara Museum ARC (Gunma Prefecture) Archi-Depot Museum (Tokyo) Teshima Art Museum (Kagawa Prefecture) Kyu Asakura House (Tokyo) Izamui Noguchi Garden Museum (Shikoku) Kan Yasuda Sculpture Museum (Bibai, Hokkaido) D. T. Suzuki Musuem (Kanazawa) Edo Tokyo Museum Intermediatheque (Tokyo) Byodoin Temple Museum (Kyoto) Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum Historical Village of Hokkaido (Sapporo, Hokkaido) Shikoku-mura (Takamatsu, Shikoku) Mingeikan Japan Folk Crafts Museum (Tokyo) The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo Crafts Gallery (see more at JapanInNorwich.org) So ends the second series of Beyond Japan! As Oliver starts his PhD in the autumn, the third series of Beyond Japan will continue with monthly instalments on the first Thursday of every month from September 2022. In the meantime, do get in touch and let us know what you have enjoyed and what you might like added to the series – we would be particularly interested in knowing if the addition of transcriptions and subtitles has improved the experience for you. IMAGE AND AUDIO CREDITS Intro-outro music: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com [L] The Art Lover's Guide to Japanese Museums. [R] Oliver at the D T Suzuki Museum (2015). Photograph courtesy of Chhorvy. Copyright © 2022 Oliver Moxham, ℗  2022 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed for education purposes. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/beyond-japan/message

Oliver is joined by Adam Hunt, PhD candidate at the University of Sheffield, to compare crime between Japan and the UK and how factors such as attitudes towards former convicts affects “desistance”; that is, attempts to reduce the rate of reoffending. Read the Japanese Ministry of Defence's 2020 white paper on crime. Download the full transcript here (PDF) Watch with subtitles on YouTube IMAGE AND AUDIO CREDITS Intro-outro music: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com [L] Desistance Overview provided by Adam Hunt. [R] In handcuffs on Pandora by ngawangchodron. Copyright © 2022 Oliver Moxham, ℗  2022 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed for education purposes. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/beyond-japan/message

Oliver is joined by Susan Whitfield, Professor in Silk Road Studies at the Sainsbury Institute, to gain a new perspective on the mass of historic maritime and land-based routes known as the Silk Roads. Susan gives us a taste of the material and cultural impact of the enormous trade network stretching to the ends of Europe, Africa and Asia from the 2nd Century BCE, as well as highlighting the role of Japan and China in establishing the network as World Heritage. Read Susan's article, 'The Expanding Silk Road: UNESCO and the Belt and Road Initiative' (2020) Read Susan's book, Silk Roads: Peoples, Cultures, Landscapes (2019) Visit the Nara to Norwich online exhibition Find out more about the Nara to Norwich project Download the full transcript here (PDF) Watch with subtitles on YouTube IMAGE AND AUDIO CREDITS Intro-outro music: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com [L] Caravan on the Silk Road (1375). Gallica Digital Library. ID: btv1b55002481n. [R] Photographing remains of a 3rd century farmstead in Niya, an oasis kingdom in the Tarim Basin on the Silk Road, and the site of a multi-year Sino-Japanese archaeological collaboration. Provided by Susan Whitfield. Copyright © 2022 Oliver Moxham, ℗  2022 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed for education purposes. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/beyond-japan/message

Oliver is joined by Dr Sonia Favi, researcher at the University of Turin, to discuss the history of imagined travel. Sonia’s digital exhibition, ‘Travels in Tokugawa Japan (1603-1868): A Virtual Journey’, explores how late-Edo period maps indulged the imagination of those unable to journey across the country, something all too familiar in the wake of COVID-19 travel restrictions. Download the full transcript here (PDF) Watch with subtitles on YouTube IMAGE AND AUDIO CREDITS Intro-outro music: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com [L] Nanban byōbu by Kanō Naizen (Folding screen depicting ‘Southern barbarians’ – i.e. European travellers – as they land on Japanese shores). First quarter of the 17th century. Metropolitan Museum of Art. [R] Measured map of the Tōkaidō Highway by Ochikochi Dōin and Hishikawa Moronobu (1690) 東海道分間絵図; Tōkaidō bunken no zu; 東海道分間之図. John Rylands Research Institute and Library. Copyright © 2022 Oliver Moxham, ℗  2022 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed for education purposes. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/beyond-japan/message

Oliver is joined by Maud Rowell, blind freelance journalist and author of Blind Spot: Exploring and Educating on Blindness, to discuss Infrastructure for the Blind. Maud’s upcoming James Holman prize-winning project, ‘Where Birds Won’t Go’, will see her independently travel to the most remote regions of Japan and write a book on her experiences, all the while demonstrating that accessible public infrastructure can benefit us all. She also lays out how informed attitudes towards blind people go a long way to supporting independence. Read Maud's book, Blind Spot: Exploring and Educating on Blindness. Watch Dr Mona Minkara's Planes, Trains and Canes travel series. Download the full transcript here (PDF) Watch with subtitles on YouTube IMAGE AND AUDIO CREDITS Intro-outro music: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com [L] Cover art for Blind Spot: Exploring and Educating on Blindness by Maud Rowell. [R] White Cane on Curb Cut with Shadow by cheapsurrealist is marked with CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 Copyright © 2022 Oliver Moxham, ℗  2022 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed for education purposes. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/beyond-japan/message

Oliver is joined by Brittany Rapone, PhD candidate at the School of Social Sciences at Oxford Brookes University, to discuss attitudes towards pets and animal cafés in Japan. Brittany walks us through the cultural commonality of human-animal relationships and the “rent-a-pet” model of animal cafés in Japan, providing the iyashi, or “comfort”, of animal interaction at an hourly rate. Download the full transcript here (PDF) Watch with subtitles on YouTube IMAGE AND AUDIO CREDITS Intro-outro music: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com [L] Cat café photo provided by Brittany Rapone. [R] "Enticing for an owl cafe" by neil.dalphin is marked with CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. Copyright © 2022 Oliver Moxham, ℗  2022 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed for education purposes. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/beyond-japan/message

Oliver is joined by Viviana Andreescu, Associate Professor of Justice Administration at the University of Louisville, to discuss public opinion on capital punishment in Japan. Viviana’s 2020 article, ‘Public opinion and the death penalty in Japan’, took a look at over 2,500 responses of the Japanese General Social Survey to gauge who supports the death penalty and who would recommend it as a member of the relatively new Citizen Judge System. Download the full transcript here (PDF) Watch with subtitles on YouTube IMAGE AND AUDIO CREDITS Intro-outro music: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com [L] E. The Hangman's Noose by John Twohig Photography. [R] Solitary confinement by Chris.Gray. Copyright © 2022 Oliver Moxham, ℗  2022 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed for education purposes. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/beyond-japan/message

Oliver is joined by Wuon-Gean Ho, printmaker and research associate at the University of West England’s Centre for Print Research, to discuss the place of mokuhanga, or woodblock printmaking, in the global spread of traditional crafts. Wuon-Gean Ho walks us through her path to mokuhanga,  her experience learning from a master printmaker in Japan and how  learning these traditional methods have shaped her growth as an artist. Watch Wuon-Gean's V&A film Download the full transcript here (PDF) IMAGE AND AUDIO CREDITS Intro-outro music: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com [L] Lockdown Chop by Wuon-Gean Ho. [R] No Lake View, No Cake by Wuon-Gean Ho. Copyright © 2022 Oliver Moxham, ℗  2022 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed for education purposes. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/beyond-japan/message

Oliver is joined by Dr Andreas Musolff, professor at the School of Politics, Philosophy, Language and Communication Studies at the University of East Anglia, to discuss the body politic and how metaphors for nations vary across the world. Andreas shares the insights from his recent book, National Conceptualisations of the Body Politic: Cultural Experience and Political Imagination, covering an 8-year survey of over 2,000 students across 29 countries. Download the full transcript here (PDF) IMAGE AND AUDIO CREDITS Intro-outro music: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com [L] Musolff (2021) Fig 1 - Britain as a body politic as portrayed by a UK student. [R] The frontispiece of Hobbes's Leviathan shows a body formed of multitudinous citizens, surmounted by a king's head. Copyright © 2022 Oliver Moxham, ℗  2022 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed for education purposes. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/beyond-japan/message

Oliver is joined by Dr Koto Sadamura, Robert & Lisa Sainsbury Research Fellow at the Sainsbury Institute, to discuss the place of humour in art through the works of the eccentric 19th century painter Kawanabe Kyōsai. Kyōsai’s specialty of kyōga, or “comic pictures”, have historically been overlooked when compared with his more traditional works, despite being of equal skill and cultural significance. Koto also unpicks how comic devices such as inversion of legendary figures were used to depict humorous situations which people of all classes could relate to, much like the memes of today. Koto's exhibition, Kyōsai: The Israel Goldman Collection, will be held at the Royal Academy of Arts from 19 March — 19 June 2022. Mentioned works by Kyōsai: Demons playing the game of go (Tokyo National Museum) Shoki chasing demons (Christie's) For more of Kyōsai's works, see the online collections of the MET and the British Museum. IMAGE AND AUDIO CREDITS Intro-outro music: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com [L] Kawanabe Kyōsai, Night Procession of One Hundred Demons (detail), 1871–89. A pair of six-fold screens; ink and colour on paper, 146.8 x 310 cm each. Israel Goldman Collection, London. Photo: Art Research Center, Ritsumeikan University. [C] Kawanabe Kyōsai, Cats Carrying Giant Tweezers to Torment a Catfish, 1871–89. Hanging scroll; ink and light colour on silk, 97.8 x 36.1 cm. Koto Sadamura. [R] Kyōsai, Hell Courtesan (Jigoku-dayū), Dancing Ikkyū and Skeletons (detail), 1871–89. Hanging scroll; ink, colour and gold on silk, 137.1 x 69.3 cm. Israel Goldman Collection, London. Photo: Art Research Center, Ritsumeikan University. Copyright © 2022 Oliver Moxham, ℗  2022 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed for education purposes. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/beyond-japan/message

Oliver is joined by Kaitlyn Ugoretz, anthropologist of religion and a PhD candidate in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies at UC Santa Barbara, to discuss the global appeal of Shinto in the digital era. Kaitlyn introduces us to online Shinto communities as old as the internet itself, as well as the many international faces of Shinto, from official shrines in the USA to localised rituals and Marie Kondo’s brand of spiritualism. Read Kaitlyn's article, “The untidiness of Marie Kondo’s eclectic spirituality”. Check out Kaitlyn's YouTube channel, "Eat Pray Anime". IMAGE AND AUDIO CREDITS Intro-outro music: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com [L] Clip art provided by Kaitlyn Ugoretz. [R] Tsubaki Grand Shrine, Seattle, WA, USA. Copyright © 2022 Oliver Moxham, ℗  2022 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed for education purposes. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/beyond-japan/message

Oliver is joined by Dr Aya Homei from the University of Manchester to discuss family planning, looking at how Japan’s history of medical science has influenced policy and its impact on the current aging population. Aya unpacks historical attitudes in Japan towards child-bearing held by individuals and the nation and explains that through scientific thought of the time, such as eugenics, much can be understood about attitudes today in Japan and East Asia. IMAGE AND AUDIO CREDITS Intro-outro music: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com [L] Graph of birth rates provided by Dr Aya Homei. [R] "A Japanese newborn- having babies is service to the nation, in a way!" by shankar s. is licensed under CC BY 2.0 Copyright © 2022 Oliver Moxham, ℗  2022 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed for education purposes. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/beyond-japan/message

Oliver is joined by Dr Jonathan Wroot, Senior Lecturer in Film Studies at the University of Greenwich, to discuss Samurai in Cinema. Together, Jonathan and Oliver take a look at the many faces of samurai in Japanese cinema and their global influence on film producers. Jonathan also focusses on Zatoichi, the lone blind swordsman that has graced film and TV in Japan and elsewhere for over 50 years. Read Jonathan's new book, The Paths of Zatoichi: The Global Influence of the Blind Swordsman - Remakes, Reboots and Adaptations Credits: Intro-outro music: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com [L] The Paths of Zatoichi: The Global Influence of the Blind Swordsman - Remakes, Reboots and Adaptations [R] Heihachi from Seven Samurai by show and tell Copyright © 2022 Oliver Moxham, ℗  2022 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed for education purposes. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/beyond-japan/message

Oliver is joined by art historian, curator and writer David Elliott to discuss art as a means of cultural exchange. David shares with us his experience of challenging the Euro-American concept of Modern Art by exhibiting contemporary Asian, African and Latin American artists, as well as his new approach of looking at art history through trousers. Read David's new book, Art & Trousers: Tradition and Modernity in Contemporary Asian Art Credits: Intro-outro music: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com [L] "Coronavirus" by duncan is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0 [R] "Modern Era Retrospective-analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA)" by NASA Goddard Photo and Video is licensed under CC BY 2.0 Copyright © 2022 Oliver Moxham, ℗  2022 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed for education purposes. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/beyond-japan/message

Oliver is joined by Dr Eiko Honda, Research and Teaching Associate in History at the Nissan Institute of Japanese Studies and former Robert & Lisa Sainsbury Fellow at the Sainsbury Institute, to discuss Knowledge Production During Crisis. As an historian of intellectual history, Eiko will explain the need to move beyond universal narratives from Euro-American institutions and embrace a transnational approach to researching global issues for tackling the crises of today. Read “Undoing the Discipline: History in the Time of Climate Crisis and COVID-19” Credits: Intro-outro music: jasonszklarek / MotionElements.com [L] "Coronavirus" by duncan is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0 [R] "Modern Era Retrospective-analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA)" by NASA Goddard Photo and Video is licensed under CC BY 2.0 Copyright © 2022 Oliver Moxham, ℗  2022 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed for education purposes. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/beyond-japan/message