UCLA Terasaki Center for Japanese Studies

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UCLA Terasaki Center Graduate Student Conference

Aftermath: Critical Approaches to Temporality, Memory, and Subjectivity in Japan

This conference seeks to explore the idea of “aftermath” and its ontological implications across Japanese history and culture. Aftermath is not simply what follows an event, but rather constitutes a potentially generative instant of both rupture and continuity. The aftermath of events can be thought of as representative of a temporal slippage or moment of anachronism, in which a newly Janus-faced present reorients itself toward both the past and the future. Indeed, the creation of new memories and presentiments, as well as their intertwining, begets new socio-political subjectivities and reconfigures lived experiences. The form that aftermaths take is never, however, predetermined: the aftermath of events is marked by uncertainty and ruled by contingency. As such, aftermath is perhaps best thought of as not simply what did happen but what could have happened or should have happened; in other words, aftermath is not an element of causality but rather a complexity of possibilities, losses, and formations.

We are interested in projects that creatively apply such an approach to a variety of aftermaths across time. The ramifications of an event can manifest in a variety of ways, including legally, scientifically or medically, religiously, artistically, and affectively, while the traces of aftermath are evident in a variety of loci, such as place, social organization, population, and narrative. Some catalyzing events could include, but are not limited to, natural and man-made disaster, pandemic, cultural reform, economic collapse, war, empire, and revolution and could take place in pre-modern or modern times, on a collective or individual level.

We welcome applications from various disciplinary backgrounds, including history, anthropology, philosophy, literary and cultural studies, political science, environmental studies, cinema and media studies, gender studies, and more. This year’s conference will take place entirely online, with participants pre-circulating their papers for discussion. Please send inquiries and applications, including a short bio and abstract of no more than 250 words to [email protected].

ABSTRACTS (250 words) DUE BY: August 31, 2020
NOTIFICATION OF ACCEPTANCE BY: End of September 2020
CONFERENCE DATE: Thursday, November 12 - Friday, November 13, 2020
KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Gennifer Weisenfeld, Professor, Department of Art, Art History & Visual Studies, Duke University

https://www.international.ucla.edu/japan/article/225319

Call for Papers 25th Annual Japan Studies Graduate Conference At UCLA Call for Papers 25th Annual Japan Studies Graduate Conference At UCLA

We are incredibly saddened to share the passing of our Board Chair and longtime supporter and friend, Ms. Irene Hirano Inouye on April 7th and wish to extend our deepest condolences to her family and friends during this difficult time.

Ms. Hirano Inouye generously dedicated her time and expertise as the founding Chair of the Terasaki Center Board of Advisors in 2012. She worked together with the Center following the Great East Japan Earthquake to arrange various commemorative events including photo exhibitions held in L.A., Washington, and Chicago and a symposium entitled “Moving Forward: Life after the Great East Japan Earthquake.” She was instrumental in collaborating with the Japan Foundation to launch the Terasaki Center's New Visions of Japan event series in 2012. In 2017 she gave the keynote address honoring Dr. Terasaki’s legacy at the Center’s 25th anniversary gala. Ms. Hirano Inouye made a tremendous impact at UCLA helping the Center raise over $3 million in funding to support student, faculty, and community grants.

Her contributions not only to our Center but to the promotion of Japanese studies and Japan-U.S. relations as a whole have been immeasurable. At the time of her passing Ms. Hirano Inouye had been serving as the founding President of the U.S.-Japan Council since 2009, and prior to that she served as President and founding CEO of the Japanese American National Museum for twenty years. She also administered the TOMODACHI Initiative, a public-private partnership with the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo and the government of Japan that invests in young Japanese and Americans through educational and cultural exchanges and leadership programs. For a full list of her accomplishments and activities, we encourage you to visit the U.S.-Japan Council’s website and read their press release.

The Hirano Inouye family plans to share any plans for a future memorial service after the current COVID-19 crisis has abated. They have asked that, in lieu of flowers or cards, donations be made in Ms. Hirano Inouye’s name to the U.S.-Japan Council.

Ms. Hirano Inouye’s loss is deeply felt throughout all of UCLA, but in midst of mourning her passing we hope to remember and celebrate her many extraordinary contributions to U.S.-Japan relations and pay tribute to her incredible leadership.

https://www.usjapancouncil.org/donate/

Give Online - U.S.-Japan Council The U.S.-Japan Council appreciates the support of individuals, foundations, corporations and government grants that allow us to promote understanding and collaboration between the U.S. and Japan. If you are a …

https://international.ucla.edu/japan/article/212930

UCLA has received a $25 million gift from Tadashi Yanai, the chair, president and CEO of Japan-based Fast Retailing and founder of clothing company Uniqlo. The funds will endow the Tadashi Yanai Initiative for Globalizing Japanese Humanities, which will bolster UCLA’s status as a leading center for the study of Japanese literature, language and culture.

UCLA receives $25 million from Uniqlo founder for Japanese literature and culture studies UCLA receives $25 million from Uniqlo founder for Japanese literature and culture studies

On November 5th at 4 PM LMU will be hosting an event about the economic relationship with Japan and the US with special speaker Minister Takeshi Komoto, a high-ranking economic minister at the Japanese Embassy in Washington DC.

https://bellarmine.lmu.edu/gpi/events/japanandtheusandtheirevolvingeconomicrelationship/

Japan and the US and their Evolving Economic Relationship - Loyola Marymount University The US and Japan are the first and third largest economies in the world and key strategic allies.  And until recently they have been two of the most important countries for maintaining the global trading system.  With the rise of China and the Trump administration’s recalibration of its trade st...

https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/13/asia/typhoon-hagibis-japan-rugby-intl-hnk/index.html

Typhoon Hagibis weakened to a tropical depression as it continued to move across central Japan on Sunday, leaving at least 25 people dead and 175 others injured in its wake, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported.

The storm made landfall just before 7 p.m. Saturday local time on the Izu Peninsula, southwest of Tokyo. According to the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's office, "record-setting heavy rains and windstorms have caused flooding and landslides."
More than 230,000 people were evacuated ahead of the storm, with emergency orders issued for many cities around the greater Tokyo area. Around 27,000 Self-Defense Forces personnel are taking on rescue operations, the Prime Minister's office said.
Along with the 25 deaths, NHK said at least 175 people had been injured and 18 people remain missing.

Japan's deadly Typhoon Hagibis leaves trail of destruction Typhoon Hagibis weakened to a tropical depression as it continued to move across central Japan on Sunday, leaving at least 25 people dead and 175 others injured in its wake, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported.

Chancellor Block is currently in Tokyo celebrating UCLA's 100 year anniversary with the UCLA community in Japan. Congratulations UCLA, and we look forward to welcoming back all of our students next month!

https://newsletter.alumni.ucla.edu/email/Centennial-Asia/2019-07-Chancellor-in-Asia-Tokyo.htm

Celebrate UCLA's Centennial With Chancellor Gene Block in Tokyo

A recent celebration for the "topping off" of the Terasaki Budokan signified the halfway milestone of the building's construction.

"The “topping-off” ceremony was a chance to celebrate the fact that the construction phase on the gymnasium is past the halfway point; the facility is scheduled to open in early spring 2020."

Terasaki Budokan Reaches Milestone Terasaki Budokan Reaches Milestone 0 Highest steel beam is raised on Little Tokyo gymnasium. Posted On June 12, 2019 Sports, Community News Construction workers raise a steel beam at a topping-off ceremony for the Terasaki Budokan last Friday in Little Tokyo. By GWEN MURANAKA, Rafu Senior Editor Two...

The UCLA Terasaki Center for Japanese Studies is accepting papers for our 24th Annual Japan Studies Graduate Conference "Poetics and Politics of the Imagining(s) of Japan"

Please share with your friends and colleagues.

https://www.international.ucla.edu/japan/event/13898

24th Annual Japan Studies Graduate Conference at UCLA 24th Annual Japan Studies Graduate Conference at UCLA

Notices posted in Japanese during natural disasters can be difficult for foreigners to understand. Incorporating yasashii Nihongo (easy Japanese) could improve communication with foreigners who need direct, informal instructions.

A less polite version of Japanese is helping foreigners stay safe during disasters Japan's cities have found there are a growing number of foreign tourists and workers they need to warn when earthquakes, typhoons, and floods happen.

Adapted from the hashtag, questions the nature of women’s business attire.

“Japan's health and labor minister has suggested that putting undue pressure on women to wear high heels could amount to power harassment.”

Can the #Ku-Too movement take down an unwritten rule in Japan? | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News The MeToo movement has inspired similar campaigns around the world. In Japan, a new push is focusing on women's work attire.

celebrates the new 2020 with a festival in their Tokyo Bay showroom.

Toyota Brought the Most Iconic Modified Supras to Celebrate the 2020 Supra in Japan Toyota is fully aware of how big of a deal the new Supra is, with fans have waited over two decades for the new A90. But the car is built in Austra and debuted in Geneva. So to celebrate the physical arrival of the new Supra in Japan, Toyota held a three-day long ‘festival’ at their Mega Web sho...

Trendy pop-ups often feature colorful, eye-catching exhibits such as ice cream and candy, but Japan's newest museum pop-up puts the spotlight on unko, or p**p in Japanese.

Japan's newest museum is dedicated to p**p It's admittedly a surprising subject, to say the least. But Japan's pop-up Unko Museum in Yokohoma is dedicated to p**p. ("Unko" means p**p in Japanese).

Spring is a popular time to visit Japan and view the iconic cherry blossoms, but many other seasonal blooms offer magical sights throughout the season.

Japan's Wisteria Tunnels Are Even More Magical Than Its Cherry Blossoms — Here's Where to See the Best Blooms (Video) Japan's wisteria blooms create mesmerizing tunnels and designs to wander through, and these are some of the locations to see them in all their glory.

Hayabusa2 fired a projectile at asteroid Ryugu in an effort to collect a sample of debris.

Yes, Japan just bombed an asteroid You could call it revenge for the asteroid that obliterated the dinosaurs. Sort of. Eyes on Earth have been impatiently watching Japan’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft for that moment when it would smash the asteroid Ryugu in the face—but for science, not vengeance. JAXA finally did it last night, by shoo...

In preparation for the 2020 Olympics, the Japan Tourism Agency reviewed a number of travel websites and uncovered some unusual mistranslations.

Odd translations found on English websites for tourists in Japan "Forgotten Center" instead of "Lost and Found" is just one of the mistranslations discovered on websites that may puzzle foreign tourists in Japan, the government said Wednesday, urging the operators to fix such problems as soon as possible. With the country readying itself for a...

Hayabusa-2 is the second spacecraft to complete an asteroid landing. It is likely that the spacecraft successfully captured a sample from the asteroid surface.

“The spacecraft snapped continues images during the landing and ascent, so that mission scientists could see how the landing took place.”

Japan Releases Incredible Asteroid Landing Footage From Its Hayabusa-2 Spacecraft Japan has revealed images taken by its Hayabusa-2 spacecraft during last month’s historic asteroid landing, showing the dramatic moment it touched the surface and scooped up material.

Electric vehicles are a potential source of power that could serve as an emergency backup during a natural disaster.

“When a disaster hits, it can take more than a day to restore electricity, and during that period, EVs can be used as an emergency backup to supply energy for heating, cooking, and telephones...”

Japan wants to boost the use of electric vehicles as a power source during natural disasters Mitsubishi Motors supplied EVs as emergency sources of power during a major earthquake in Kumamoto in 2016.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic medals will be created from precious metals extracted from recycled electronics.

“As of late last year, Japan had collected more than 47,000 tons of devices and approximately 5 million used mobile phones.”

Tokyo’s Olympic medals are made from 47 tons of recycled electronics The country of Japan pitched in old electronics to make new gold, silver, and bronze medals.

Hiro Murai, a Japanese-American filmmaker, won a Grammy Award for best music video for directing “This Is America.”

Director Hiro Murai speaks after Grammy win | UNTV News Director Hiro Murai won a Grammy Award for best music video on Sunday (February 10) for ‘This Is America’ along with the video’s star singer Childish Gambino aka actor Donald Glover, and producers Ibra Ake, Jason Cole and Fam Rothstein. The politically charged music video which was released ...

Thanks to K-Pop bands, black sickness masks are becoming a popular trend in Japan.

"Black masks became popular because they could be a fashion accessory. White masks looked like something for patients or hospital staff."

How K-Pop Revived Black Sickness Masks In Japan It’s flu and cold season. That means people in Japan are wearing sickness masks in public. Either they are ill or are trying to avoid a cold. The default is still the white sickness mask, but recently, black ones are becoming more popular among the country’s youth.

Terasaki Center Shinnenkai

“Mirai no Mirai,” a Japanese Anime and major hit film by Mamoru Hosoda, wins at the Annie Awards in Los Angeles.

“The film Mirai no Mirai by Mamoru Hosoda won in the independent feature category at the 46th Annie Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday, February 3. The award is considered to be one of the highest honors in the anime industry.”

Japanese Anime 'Mirai no Mirai' Wins Annie Awards in L.A. | JAPAN Forward The film Mirai no Mirai by Mamoru Hosoda won in the independent feature category at the 46th Annie Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday, February 3. The award is considered to be one of the highest honors in the anime industry. MUTAFUKAZ, a film born of Japanese-French collaboration between Shojiro Nishi...

There are over 50,000 convenience stores (known as konbini or conbini) in Japan with unique goods and services you wouldn’t find in an American convenience store.

Japanese convenience stores - friendly neighborhood one-stop shops - Special Features - Japanese Food - NHK WORLD From healthy snacks to the weird and wonderful, Japanese convenience stores have something for everyone.

The Consulate General of Japan in Los Angeles is currently accepting applications for the 2019 Japanese Studies Students scholarships offered by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (文部科学省 MEXT). For more information, visit our website: http://www.la.us.emb-japan.go.jp/e_web/mext.htm or contact us directly!

Rovers dropped by Japan's spacecraft onto the asteroid have captured a number of photos showing the surface of the asteroid.

"One of the two rovers is believed to have traveled about 300 meters (yards) by hopping on the asteroid, where gravity is too weak for wheeled vehicles, and has sent more than 200 photos and other data to the spacecraft..."

Photos from Japan space rovers show rocky asteroid surface Japan's space agency says more than 200 photos taken by two small rovers on an asteroid show no signs of a smooth area for the planned touchdown of a spacecraft early next year.

Proving that it is never too late to start learning a new language, 90-year-old Setsuko studies English daily so she can guide visitors in Tokyo for the 2020 Olympics.

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-asia-46290959/meet-the-90-year-old-dreaming-of-becoming-a-tokyo-2020-olympics-guide

Olympic dreams at 90 A Japanese grandmother is learning English to help visitors during the 2020 Olympics.

Want to learn more about Japanese culture? If you live in the Los Angeles area, consider checking out the OC Japan Fair (Oct 19 – 21) which features Japanese food, clothing, workshops, and live performances.

OC Japan Fair to celebrate new and traditional culture The ninth annual OC Japan Fair will be held from Oct. 19 to 21 at the OC Fair and Event Center in Costa Mesa.

Japan's released the Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout ( ) destined for the asteroid .

See the First Photo of Asteroid Ryugu from the Hopping MASCOT Lander! A small European probe about the size of a shoebox successfully landed on the asteroid Ryugu overnight last night and its first photo is a doozy: a shadow "selfie" showing the space rock just before the landing.

Three Megacities: A Comparative Approach - Hammer Museum October 3, 2018 - A discussion about what L.A. can learn from Mexico City, Tokyo, and Shanghai—megacities that have all made pledges toward total sustainability.

Have you ever wondered why Japanese steel is so special? Learn about iron and steel production on this self-guided tour through Shimane Prefecture:

Stoke the flames of tradition on Shimane’s ‘Iron Road’ | The Japan Times Shimane Prefecture is an under-discovered wealth of history, natural beauty and high-quality artisan crafts — such as katana-quality steel. On this drive-yourself adventure step straight into Irontown and immerse yourself in the history and culture of tatara steel production.