2003.02

pmjs logs for February 2003. Total number of messages: 43

Search the pmjs site: search tips

* The Woman Lit by Fireflies (Janine Beichman)
* Special orders of "Early Modern Japan" State of the field volumes (Philip Brown)
* AJLS Call for Papers (Eiji Sekine)
* evaluation needed (Stephen Miller, Richard Bowring, William Londo, Rein Raud, Richard M. Jaffe via Kristina Troost)
* Visiting faculty positions at the University of Colorado (Laurel Rasplica Rodd)
* East Asian Theatre (Barbara Nostrand)
* Study noh/kyogen/buyo in Kyoto (Jonah Salz)
* Update of East Asian Diacritical Fonts and Unicode Page [Mac] (Nobumi Iyanaga)
* member news: Thomas Dreitlein, Bob Leutner, Jonah Salz, Jack Stoneman, Akiko Takata, Glynne Walley
* [Noh and kyogen videos] (Jonah Salz)
* Mikkyo Conference at the Institute of Oriental Culture, Tokyo U. (Monika Dix)
* Poetic categories (Noel Pinnington, Lewis Cook, Rein Raud, David Pollack)
* CSJR Post-doctoral fellowship in Japanese religions (Lucia Dolce)
* Engendering Faith: Women and Buddhism in Premodern Japan (Bruce Edward Willoughby)
* Kyoto Lectures: David Howell talk February 24 (Roberta Strippoli)
* Readings in Japanese History and Literature (Michael Watson, Frederic Kotas)
* Asian Feminist Musical Theatre (Monika Dix)
* Change of Address (Leith Morton)
* Author sought... (fwd) (Michael Watson)
* Encyclopedia of Holy People - Authors Needed (Monika Dix)
* position at Bowdoin College
* list announcement (Michael Watson)
* The development of 'no' as C and N (Janick Wrona, John Bentley, Karel Fiala)
* lecture by Bernard Faure (Bernhard Scheid)
* Vovin (John Bentley, Thomas McAuley, Richard Bowring, Lewis Cook)
* A Reference Grammar of Classical Japanese Prose (John Bentley, Richard Bowring)
* email change (Mary Louise Nagata)

Several messages from March have been included for now to see a thread to the end (?)

Date: Sat, 01 Feb 2003 22:38:27 +0900

From: janine <jani...@...l1.accsnet.ne.jp>

Subject: [The Woman Lit by Fireflies]

Denise, thanks for this query: I hadn't known about Jim Harrison at all, but a quick perusal of
the link you provided, shows he's worth knowing. Please let the list know what your inquiry to
him turns up. I'm especially intrigued by his source for the title, "After Ikkyu."

Janine Beichman
Professor, Dept. of Japanese Literature
Daito Bunka University, Tokyo, Japan

Has anyone read this short story (novella) by Jim Harrison (1990)? When I came across the title I thought it must refer to the Hotaru chapter in Genji, especially since Harrison has published some supposedly Japan-inspired poems (e.g., 1996 After Ikkyu and Other Poems ). But, I have just read--albeit very hastily--the story and I see no relationship to the Genji chapter. In the Harrison story a woman decides to leave her husband and in the course of leaving, spends a night in the open (not exactly the wilds, but not a garden), creates a nest for herself in a thicket and wakes up at one point to find her nest illuminated by fireflies. Maybe what is being illuminated, as it were, is a difference in that Harrison's character is determining for herself to leave a marriage while the point of Genji's lighting up Tamakazura is to make her visible to a potential suitor---although is seems more of a joke for Genji while embarrassing for Tamakazura. But, while the title fits Harrison's story---if one considers only that story, I find it hard to believe he used it naively. I will try to ask him but in the meantime, any thoughts from the collective wisdom of PMJS?
Regards, Denise O'Brien

PS: info re Jim Harrison available via Google or try this link
http://www.albany.edu/writers-inst/harrison_jim.html

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sat, 1 Feb 2003 12:00:28 -0500
From: "Philip C. Brown" <brown....@....edu>
Subject: Special orders of "Early Modern Japan" State of the field volumes

We have had a very gratifying response to the publication of our two "State of the Field" issues of _Early Modern Japan_

10:1 (essays and bibliographies on Historical Demography and the Family, Religion, and Intellectual History),
10:2 (essays and bibliographies on Literature, Art History, Foreign Relations).

As of Thursday last week, I have completely exhausted my supplies of both.

I need to order the printing of additional copies of both to fill our existing backlog of requests. Under the circumstances, I can
take orders for additional subscriptions or single issues of these two publications.

1. If you have very recently sent in regular subscription order, please let me know so that I can count it in the re-publication order.

2. If you wish to subscribe, beginning with one of these issues, the cost is $15 for domestic US subscriptions, $18 US for foreign subscriptions, $7.50 for students (send photocopy of student ID), and $20 for institutions. If you would like to order a single copy of either 10:1 or 10:2, I can also fill those orders. Each number is $7.50 (flat rate for all).

3. Please let me know by e-mail a) that you plan to order, b) which number(s) you want to order or the issue with which you want your subscription to start, c) for multiple copies, how many copies of each number you would like, and finally, drop a check in the mail for the appropriate amount. Please include the address to which you wish copies of EMJ sent.

Please let me know by Wednesday, February 5, so I can process the re-publication and mail out copies as expeditiously as possible.

Checks, money orders and postal money orders should be made payable to The Association for Asian Studies and sent to me at the
address below. We are not able to accept credit card payments.

Best regards.

Philip Brown
Early Modern Japan
Department of History
Ohio State University
230 West 17th Avenue
Columbus OH 43210
USA

NOTE from pmjs editor: please answer to Philip Brown offlist at <brown....@....edu>

(Some of the "pmjs as it comes" subscribers answered directly to the list.

Their messages have been omitted in this digest.) /mgwatson

Date: Mon, 03 Feb 2003 12:55:19 -0500

From: eiji sekine <eiji.sek...@....net>

Subject: AJLS Call for Papers

Dear Netters,

Our apology for cross listing. Here is an electronic copy of the AJLS
Newsletter, including the call for papers announcement for this year's
annual meeting to be held at UCLA.

AJLS Newsletter
Association for Japanese Literary Studies

No. 17 (Spring, 2003) Edited by Eiji Sekine

AJLS ÅE Purdue University ÅE 640 Oval DriveÅE W. Lafayette, IN 47907-2039 ÅE
USA
765.496.2258 (Tel) ÅE 765.496.1700 (Fax) ÅE esek...@...due.edu (Email)
http://www.sla.purdue.edu/fll/AJLS (Web site)

TWELFTH ANNUAL MEETING

HERMENEUTICAL STRATEGIES:
METHODS OF INTERPRETATION IN THE STUDY OF
JAPANESE LITERATURE

NOVEMBER 21-23, 2003
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES

ORGANIZER: MICHAEL F. MARRA, UCLA

CALL FOR PAPERS
The University of California, Los Angeles, will be hosting the Annual
Meeting of the Association for Japanese Literary Studies (AJLS) in 2003. The
conference will be held from November 21-23, 2003, at UCLA. In this
conference presenters will analyze the nature of their daily critical
endeavors, and will discuss issues related to the hermeneutical paths (past,
present, and future) that have been, are, and will be guiding us in the
discussion and interpretation of Japan's literary texts. Papers should deal
with hermeneutical practices relevant to the interpretation of Japan's
literary heritage. We solicit papers and panels related to the following
topics: 1) methodologies relevant to the study of modern Japanese literature
such as phenomenology, hermeneutics, new-historicism, feminism,
deconstruction, cultural studies, film studies, etc; 2) methodologies
relevant to the study of pre-modern Japanese literature such as the study of
poetics (karon, hairon, rengaron, nohgakuron), commentaries (chushakusho),
and other rhetorical techniques; 3) hypotheses on future methodologies to be
envisioned in light of the current digital revolution.

Proposal Deadline: June 30, 2003

Proposals are due by June 30, 2003. E-mail submissions are preferred.

- Panel proposals and individual ones are equally considered.
- Only the members of the AJLS are eligible.
- Papers selected for the conference will be published in our proceedings.

Send your proposals and other inquiries to:

Michael F. Marra, Conference Chair, Department of East Asian Languages and
Cultures, 290 Royce Hall 154003, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1540
E-mail: ma...@...net.ucla.edu;
Tel: (310) 794-8941
Fax: (310) 825-8808
http:/www.humnet.ucla.edu/ealc/faculty/marra/conference/cfp.html

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
PAPER/PANEL PROPOSAL FORM
Hermeneutical Strategies
DEADLINE: June 30, 2003

Title:
________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Name:_______________________________________Status: _____________________

Institution:
________________________________________________________________________

Address:____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

Telephone: _______________________________Fax: _____________________________

E-mail:
__________________________________________________________________________

PLEASE ATTACH YOUR PROPOSAL TO THIS FORM AND SEND TO MICHAEL F. MARRA,
CONFERENCE CHAIR, DEPARTMENT OF EAST ASIAN LANGUAGES AND CULTURES, 290 ROYCE
HALL 154003, LOS ANGELES, CA 90095-1540

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

2002 MEETING REPORT
The Eleventh Annual AJLS Meeting, "Japanese Poeticity and Narrativity
Revisited," was held October 4-6, 2002, at Purdue University. Four guests
from Japan provided us with thought-provoking lectures and a moving poetry
reading performance. Twenty-nine AJLS members presented their papers
discussing a variety of aspects of poetical and narrative characteristics in
Japanese literature. The conference was organized by Eiji Sekine and his
student and staff members from Purdue University. The reception, held at the
SekineÅfs home, offered a good opportunity for the participants to interact
with each other extensively. A stimulating and friendly ambiance of the
conference, together with its successful organization, was highly
appreciated by all participants and audience members.

AJLS ACTIVITIES
- Annual Meeting
An annual meeting is organized by an elected Conference Chair(s) and held at
the host institution. A call for papers is announced in the spring issue of
the AJLS Newsletter. A program of the meeting is published in the fall issue
of the Newsletter.

- PAJLS Publication
All papers presented during the annual meeting can be included in an
officially registered serial titled PAJLS (Proceedings of the Association
for Japanese Literary Studies).

- Membership
The annual fee is $25.00 for regular, student, and institution members
($35.00 for overseas members outside North America). Membership for
2003-2004 provides you with:

ÅE Panel participation for the 2003 meeting to be held at UCLA (if your
proposal is selected).
ÅE Two newsletters
ÅE One copy of the proceedings of the year 2002 meeting to be published in
Fall, 2003.
ÅE One free copy of a back or additional current issue of the proceedings if
you are a student member.

Our publication activities depend on your membership support. If you have
not yet joined us, please do so this time (AJLS membership form is at the
end of this newsletter). Inquiries and orders (with checks payable to AJLS)
should be sent to: AJLS, Purdue University, 640 Oval Drive, W. Lafayette, IN
47907-2039, USA.

CALL FOR THE 2004 CONFERENCE HOST
We are looking for people who will be willing to chair our 2004 and later
conferences. If you are interested in hosting an AJLS meeting, please
contact Professor Ann Sherif at: ann.she...@...rlin.edu or 440.775.8827
(Tel).

JAPANESE LITERATURE MAILING LIST
For subscription, send a message, Ågsubscribe jlit-lÅh to:
majord...@...due.edu. After being confirmed, you can send your messages to:
jli...@...due.edu. If you have a new email address, delete your old address
and add the new one so as to avoid receiving duplicated copies. When you
privately respond to the sender of a message posted on the list, be careful
not to send your message to all subscribers of the list. If you have
questions or problems with the list, email to its owner at:
esek...@...due.edu.

NEW PROCEEDING
Our apology for the delay of the publication of our 2001 conference
proceedings, ÅgJapan from Somewhere Else," PAJLS, vol.3. The volume is
scheduled to be out in February, 2003. Its table of contents will be posted
on our web site at: www.sla.purdue.edu/fll/AJLS.

BACK ISSUES
Back issues of the proceedings are available. Each copy is $10.00 for AJLS
members and $15.00 for non-members. Orders should be sent to the AJLS
office. (Add $10 for mailing if you order from outside the North American
area.)
Please email and let us know if you are interested in any of our
out-of-print issues. We are considering reprinting some of our most popular
issues.

ÅE Poetics of Japanese Literature: vi + 207pp, 1993. Nine essays and
addresses by Kawamoto Koji and Watanabe Kenji.

ÅE Desire for Monogatari: vi + 133 pp, 1994. Eleven essays and an address by
Mizuta Noriko. [out of print]

ÅE Japanese Theatricality and Performance, PMAJLS, vol. 1: v + 218 pp, 1995.
Eleven essays and address by Donald Richie. [out of print]

ÅE Revisionism in Japanese Literary Studies, PMAJLS, vol. 2: vi + 336pp,
1996. Ten essays and addresses by Earl Miner and Takahashi Toru.

ÅE Ga/Zoku Dynamics in Japanese Literature, PMAJLS, vol. 3: vii + 458 pp,
1997. Nineteen essays and addresses by Ueno Chizuko, Watanabe Kenji, Ibi
Takashi, and Kigoshi Osamu. [out of print]

ÅE The New Historicism and Japanese Literary Studies, PMAJLS, vol. 4: xxiii +
432 pp, 1998. Twenty-four essays and addresses by Karatani Kojin and Komori
Yuichi, with an introduction by Esperanza Ramirez-Christensen.

ÅE Love and Sexuality in Japanese Literature, PMAJLS, vol.5: vi + 352 pp,
1999. Twenty-seven essays and addresses by Saeki Junko and Inaga Shigemi.

ÅE Issues of Canonicity and Canon Formation in Japanese Literary Studies,
PAJLS, vol. 1: vi + 532 pp, 2000. Thirty-one essays and addresses by Kubota
Jun, Takahashi Mutsuo, and Suzuki Sadami.

ÅE Acts of Writing, PAJLS, vol. 2: ix + 428 pp, 2001. Twenty-two essays and
addresses by Zdenka Avarcova and Ohsawa Yoshihiro.

--------------------------------------------------------------

AJLS Membership Form

Name: ________________________________________________

Mailing Address:

_______________________________________________________
City State

_______________________________________________________
Country

_______________________________________________________
Zip
______________________________________________________
Tel:
______________________________________________________
Email:
_______________________________________________________
Institution:
_______________________________________________________
Status:

( ) Regular ( ) Student

If you are a student, indicate which free copy you would like:
( ) Poetics
( ) Revisionism
( ) New Historicism
( ) Love and Sexuality
( ) Canonicity
( ) Acts of Writing
( ) Japan from Somewhere Else

-------------------------------------------------------------

AJLS Newsletter Sponsor: FLL, Purdue University
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 5 Feb 2003 08:44:48 -0500
From: "William Londo" <...@...ealbox.com>
Subject: Re: evaluation needed

I want to offer a strong second to everything Richard has said, and I
also suggest looking through the Cambridge History of Japan and picking
out included essays on religion--though these aren't perfect either. I
particularly agree with Richard's point about trying to understand
Japanese Buddhism in a vacuum; it is only one weave (though clearly a
prominent one) in the tapestry of Japanese religion.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 5 Feb 2003 16:06:21 +0200
From: "Rein Raud" <Rein.R...@...sinki.Fi>
Subject: Re: evaluation needed

I would like to say a word in defense of the Matsunagas; it is true that
after their book a lot of new studies have appeared (and I confess I haven't
seen or read all of them), but, provided that one does not rely on this
source only, one can get from it a fairly broad picture of many of the
doctrinal features of various Buddhist schools. It is quite clear, of
course, that to understand Tendai or Shingon, for example, does not mean
just to know what the Tendai or Shingon doctrine teaches, but many good
books in English about Japanese Buddhism do not dwell on doctrinal issues at
all, preferring to discuss the complicated close-to-real-life practice.
Since the discipline has focused on doctrine for very long, the swing of the
pendulum is understandable, but if one does not wish to abandon discussions
of the doctrine altogether, Matsunagas are at least not useless.
So, it probably really depends on what the particular research interests of
the student are, and I can't see how one can come to any harm through
reading the Matsunagas alongside other literature.

Rein Raud

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 5 Feb 2003 13:15:02 -0500
From: "Kristina Troost" <kktro...@...ub.duke.edu>
Subject: Re: evaluation needed

From a member of our Religion department who specializes on Japanese
Buddhism but does not read pmjs.
Kristina Troost
Duke

-----Original Message-----
From: Richard M. Jaffe [mailto:richard.ja...@...e.edu]
Sent: Wednesday, February 05, 2003 12:03 PM
To: kktro...@...e.edu
Subject: Re: FW: [pmjs] Re: evaluation needed

Kris,
I agree that the Matsunaga is so old and doctrinally top heavy that
novices will be misled by the approach. I would suggest that a serious
student with particular interest in Japanese Buddhism would do well to
read in sequence the chapters on religion in the Cambridge History of
Japan. Although some of these essays took decades to see the light of
day, they are much more balanced than the Matsunaga volumes and reflect
relatively new developments in research on Japanese Buddhism. Some, for
example, Barbara Ruch's essay on the Other Side of Culture in Medieval
Japan will counterbalance the doctrinal bias of some articles. I
recommend that the student also include the articles on kami worship in
their reading. Unfortunately, Buddhism seems to drop off the radar in
the nineteenth and twentieth c. volumes. For that more specialized
works may be necessary.
Tamura Yoshiro's Japanese Buddhism: A Cultural History, is another
too brief, but relatively up to date text.
Feel free to forward these comments to the list if you wish.

Regards,
Richard
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 5 Feb 2003 14:08:07 -0700 (MST)
From: Laurel Rasplica Rodd <r...@...t.colorado.edu>
Subject: Visiting faculty positions at the University of Colorado

With apologies for cross-posting, here are announcements of two visiting
positions, one in classical Japanese language and literature, one in
modern Japanese language, at the University of Colorado for
2003-2004.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Classical Japanese language and literature:
The University of Colorado at Boulder, Department of East Asian
Languages and Civilizations invites applications for a full time
one-year instructor of classical Japanese language and literature
beginning Fall 2003. Applicants should be prepared to teach
introductory courses in classical Japanese language, an introductory
course on Japanese masterpieces, undergraduate courses in English on
pre-modern Japanese civilization and pre-modern literature, and a
graduate seminar in some area of classical Japanese literature.
Preference will be given to candidates with a PhD or ABD in classical
Japanese literature and university-level teaching experience.
Applicants should send a cover letter, c.v., three letters of
recommendation, and a statement of teaching experience and
philosophy.

Send materials to:
Japanese Search Committee
East Asian Languages and Civilizations
CB 279
University of Colorado
Boulder, CO 80309-0279

Japanese language:
The University of Colorado at Boulder, Department of East Asian
Languages and Civilizations, invites applications for a full time
one-year instructor in Japanese language beginning Fall 2003. This
position will be filled conditional upon available funding.
Applicants should be prepared to teach modern Japanese and to assist
with training and supervision of graduate teaching assistants.
Preference will be given to candidates with an advanced degree in
Japanese linguistics or related fields, familiarity with current
theories and methods of language pedagogy, and university language
teaching experience. Superior skills in both Japanese and English
required. Applicants should send a cover letter, c.v., three letters
of recommendation, a statement of teaching philosophy, and an
audiotape in Japanese describing teaching experience and pedagogical
approach. Applicants may also include a videotape demonstrating
teaching ability.

Send materials to:
Japanese Search Committee
East Asian Languages and Civilizations
CB 279
University of Colorado
Boulder, CO 80309-0279

The Search Committee will begin screening materials on March 10,
2003, and will continue until the position is filled. Interviews will
be held at the AAS meeting in New York or by phone. The University of
Colorado is committed to diversity and equality in education and
employment.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri, 7 Feb 2003 17:32:03 -0500
From: Barbara Nostrand <nostr...@...oivre.org>
Subject: East Asian Theatre

Dear List.

Does anyone here know someone in Eastern Ontario or Western Quebec who is
interested in East Asian and especially Japanese Theatre? Thank you very much.

Barbara Nostrand
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sat, 08 Feb 2003 17:41:45 +0900
From: Jonah Salz <a9267...@...koku.seikyou.ne.jp>
Subject: Re: Study noh/kyogen/buyo in Kyoto

For those with interest in experiential learning (or have students who
might)... Jonah Salz, Ryukoku University

Traditional Theater Training
July 11-Aug 2, 20...@...to Arts Center

19th annual Kyoto Performance Institute
Applications now being accepted

Applications are now being accepted for a special three-week training course
in Kyoto July 11-Aug 2, 2003. Participants may choose to study noh, kyogen,
or nihonbuyo daily from 5 p.m.-9 p.m., with a recital on August 2. Designed
for first-time students of Japanese arts and veterans wishing to go deeper,
for artists and teachers, Japanese and non-Japanese, these intensive, daily
lessons will offer an unprecedented compression and intimacy.

Classes will be held in air-conditioned studios within the Kyoto Art
Center, Shijo-Muromachi in downtown Kyoto. Participants are limited to 8
persons per class. No Japanese language ability is needed (kyogen requires
basic Japanese conversational ability).

Shingo Katayama, Hiromichi Tamoi and Nobuyuki Oe of the Kanze school will
teach noh, short dances (shimai) and song (utai). Senrei Nishikawa of the
Nishikawa school will teach nionbuyo folk and kabuki-based classical dances.
Akira Shigeyama of the Okura school teach kyogen, short dances (komai) and
the play Shibiri (Cramps!).

Applications including educational and artistic background, statement of
purpose, and a photograph are due March 20 or until courses are filled.

T.T.T. was founded in 1984 to bridge the barriers of time, language, and
money that make studying traditional Japanese forms difficult for short-term
students. Since then 200 students from 18 countries have participated.

For further information, please write:
T.T.T. 2002/Kyoto Art Center 546-2 Yamafusiyama-cho, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto,
604-8156 JAPAN
Tel 075-213-1000 Fax 075-213-1004 haya...@....or.jp
http://www.kac.or.jp/event/kikaku/TTT/ttt_English.html

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sun, 9 Feb 2003 00:51:53 +0900
From: Nobumi Iyanaga <n-iya...@....bekkoame.ne.jp>
Subject: Update of East Asian Diacritical Fonts and Unicode Page [Mac]

Hello,

I would like to annouce that I updated my web page entitled "East Asian Diacritical Fonts and Unicode". Here are some excerpts from that page:

=========

Now that Unicode begins to be used very largely in personal computing environment and Internet, it becomes important to be able to convert to Unicode files that have been created using "legacy codes". In general, this is not very difficult -- for the Mac environment, we can use utilities like Cyclone or TEC OSAX to do such tasks. It is even possible to convert to Unicode files of multilingual text (written using Apple's different language kits), if we use TEC OSAX (on these issues, please see my other web page "Unicode and MacOS, and Code converters"). But this becomes very hard when the texts to be converted use non standard fonts for transliteration of Asian languages, such as Times_Norman or Hobogirin, which have vowels with macron, etc.

Tables of correspondences

This is why I created tables of correspondences for some of the most used fonts among scholars...

=========

Now, you can download from my page conversion tables for the following fonts:

Appeal (you can download the font itself)
BharatiTimes
Hobogirin
ITimesSkRom (you can download the font itself)
Minion-Indologist
MyTimes
Normyn
Times_Norman
TimesCSXPlus TTF

You will find also MacPerl converters for files written in these fonts into Unicode; and some other conversion tools and tips.

I hope this will be useful for some of you.

The URL is:
<http://www.bekkoame.ne.jp/~n-iyanag/researchTools/ diacriticalfontsandunicode.html>

Best regards,

Nobumi Iyanaga
Tokyo,
Japan

P.S. I will post this message to H-Buddhism, PMJS and Nisus mailing list. Please excuse me if you receive it more than once.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 10 Feb 2003 07:34:34 +0900 [incorrect date]
From: jo...@...ld.ryukoku.ac.jp (jonah salz)
Subject: Re: Study noh/kyogen/buyo in Kyoto

Kyoto acclaimed Higaki Ballet Company presents the beautiful romantic
ballet accompanied by the Kyoto Symphony Orchestra the Kyoto Kaikan from
1530 on March 21. Tickets are 4500 to 7000 yen in advance; for further
information, contact the Higaki Ballet Company at 0774-62-0588.
Dr. Jonah Salz
Professor, Faculty of Intercultural Communication
Ryukoku University
Seta Shiga 520-2194
077-543-7875/077-543-7674 fax
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sun, 9 Feb 2003 22:51:33 +0900
From: Michael Watson <wat...@...eijigakuin.ac.jp>
Subject: member news

We welcome six new members to pmjs.

Thomas Dreitlein <pa...@...ress.ne.jp>
Koyasan University. I am an ordained practitioner of Shingon Buddhism at Mt. Koya with some scholarly pretensions.

Bob Leutner <rleut...@...e.weeg.uiowa.edu>
* Associate Professor of Classical Japanese Language and Literature, University of Iowa

With personnel changes at Iowa, I have lately been most actively re-tooling to
teach the full range of Kojiki-to-gesaku "classical" literature. Thanks
already to whoever's page I stumbled onto tonight that gave me the full run of
Genji chapters in romaji for a handout I've now done for tomorrow. Let that
sentence stand as tribute to what a mail list like this can do, just for
starters--no trivial assistance!

Jonah Salz <jo...@...ld.ryukoku.ac.jp>

Director, noho theatre group
Adviser, Traditional Theatre Training
Professor, comparative theatre, Ryukoku University
ph.d. Performance Studies, NYU

Jack Stoneman<jackcstone...@...oo.com>

PhD candidate, Columbia University Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures. Presently conducting
dissertation research as Japan Foundation fellow under Araki Hiroshi of Osaka University. Interests include
pre-modern and modern Japanese literature, Asian art history, Buddhism, translation, noh, ceramics, and Saigyo.

Akiko Takata <Chilr...@....com>

2nd year graduate student at Regional Studies East Asia program, Harvard University.
I received a B.A. in Japanese History in 1998, and a M.A. in Japanese Art History in 2001 from Aoyama Gakuin University in Tokyo. My M.A. thesis was on the problem of the creation date of the Medicine Buddha and its two attendants in the Main Hall of Yakushi-ji temple. I focus on Buddhist art of the 7th and 8th century Japan but I am also broadly interested in works from other time periods and areas.

Glynne Walley <wal...@....harvard.edu>

Graduate student, East Asian Languages and Civilizations, Harvard. I have an MA in Japanese literature from Washington University in St. Louis. My thesis was on the Akutagawa Prize in the 1980s. I am now working on my PhD at Harvard, and am considering working on late-Edo comic fiction. At the moment I am particularly interested in Hiraga Gennai.

* * * * *
To see your online profile, see
http://www.meijigakuin.ac.jp/~pmjs/pmjs-db.html

To revise your profile write to Michael Watson <wat...@...eijigakuin.ac.jp>
or use the form at
http://www.meijigakuin.ac.jp/~watson/pmjs/change.html

P.S. As pmjs numbers grow, the chances of someone somewhere accidentally hitting the send button have also increased.
If you want to answer to someone off-list, do make sure that your reply is addressed to that person and not to the list as a whole.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sun, 09 Feb 2003 23:02:02 +0900
From: Jonah Salz <a9267...@...koku.seikyou.ne.jp>
Subject: [Noh and kyogen videos]

As a recent subscriber to this list, I have just looked up archived information on the videos I translated/adapted. What I liked about these videos, as opposed to NHK-versions, is that actors themselves produced these videos, presenting themselves to the world the way they would like: as performing artists, not mere culture conservators. Here is current information on orders.

THIS IS KYOGEN/BUSU videos by Akira Shigeyama International Projects feature a complete version of Busu (Poison Sugar)(with English subtitles) and a 23-minute introduction to kyogen artistry (in English), available in the U.S. fro...@...f. Laurence R. Kominz, Portland State University, larry <komi...@....edu>. They are $75 individual, $125 for both, plus some shipping charges, through Mr. Kominz.In Japan, they can be purchased through Miho Projects 075-212-4456, yu-...@...x.kyoto-inet.or.jp.

The Kyoto Noh Association's THIS IS NOH/IZUTSU is intended as a set: 40-minute introduction to Noh technique, training, schools, and aesthetics, and a condensed (40-minute) version of Izutsu, the Wooden Water-Well, with Karen Brazell's adapted translation as subtitles. In the U.S. they and the kyogen videos are available through:

Insight Media, Inc.
2162 Broadway
New York, NY 10024
Ph. (212) 721-6316 ext.108
Fx. (212) 799-5309
e-mail - ...@...ight-media.co

They are much less expensive if you can purchase them in Japan, either at Kyoto's Maruzen or directly from the Kanze Noh Theatre. There is even an "educational discount" of 10% on the already low price of 7000 yen for both!

For those serious (or merely amused) scholars, I would be happy to act as go-between for purchases in Japan should U.S. sources prove expensive/inconvenient. Japanese versions of all four videos are available only in Japan.

--
Dr. Jonah Salz
Faculty of Intercultural Communication
Ryukoku University
Seta Shiga 520-2194 JAPAN
077-543-7875
jo...@...ld.ryukoku.ac.jp
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 11 Feb 2003 23:08:19 -0800
From: "Dix Monika" <monika...@...mail.com>0
Subject: SYMPOSIUM: Mikkyo Conference at the Institute of Oriental Culture, Tokyo U.

Mikkyo Conference at the Institute of Oriental Culture, Tokyo University

A conference/workshop entitled "Mikkyo, Ritual and Doctrine" will be held on
Friday, March 7, 2003 between 10 am and 6 pm at the Institute of Oriental
Culture (Toyo bunka kenkyujo) at the Hongo campus of the University of
Tokyo. Speakers will include Fabio Rambelli "Materiality and Performativity
of Buddhist Texts in Medieval Japan", Harriet Hunter "A Reconstruction of Faquan`s Transmission: The Contents of the Shitsuji Category of Teachings", Fumi Ouchi "Role and Community through the Goma Kito of Shozennin", Lucia Dolce "The Hokkeho" and Gaynor Sekimori "Mikkyo and Shugendo". Discussion and information exchange will be integral to the conference. Everyone is welcome. For further
information, please contact Gaynor Sekimori at sekim...@....u-tokyo.ac.jp or by telephone at 03-5841-5859.

Looking forward to your attendance.

Sincerely,

Gaynor Sekimori
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 12 Feb 2003 09:50:47 -0700
From: "Noel John Pinnington" <no...@...rizona.edu>
Subject: Poetic categories

I wonder if the list would mind me asking for some opinions on the analysis of poetry in the late Heian and Kamakura periods.

I have often wondered, looking at categorisations of poems (for example the jittei - yugen, taketakaki, ushin, rakkitei etc), how clear and stable such types are. Are these analyses of poetry attempts to distinguish indefinable and subjective aesthetic qualities, or more formal characteristics? (Or, indeed, may it be that some categories are of mood and others of form?) If one were to give a random set of waka to a number of informed scholars, would they generally distribute them among the ten styles in the same way?

We would probably find the analysis of topic expressed in the organisations of collections - travel, seasons, love etc. - a good deal easier to apply. Were the ten styles, and the various other mood definitions - lingering feeling etc.- actually not that significant for poets? Were there other important classifications that were more transparent?

Noel Pinnington
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 13 Feb 2003 03:38:11 -0500
From: "Lewis Cook" <lc...@...thlink.net>
Subject: Re: Poetic categories

Very interesting questions. I wish I had time to consider before replying. Allow me to punt (and to snip).

I have often wondered, looking at categorisations of poems (for example the jittei - yugen,
taketakaki, ushin, rakkitei etc), how clear and stable such types are.

Not clear at all. There are varieties of "jittei," the earliest apparently being Tadamine's _Waka Tei Jisshu_ (945, authenticity doubted), an edition of which is provided in vol 1 of _Nihon Kagaku Taikei_, followed by Minamoto Michinari's _Waka Jittei_, late 10th c.? (also in op. cit.) It looks from your citations as though you are referring to Teika's jittei (referred to in _Maigetsushou_, the authenticity of which is also doubted, frivolously I believe), frequently cited by medieval authors and eventually regarded as definitive.

Are these analyses of poetry attempts to distinguish indefinable and subjective aesthetic
qualities, or more formal characteristics? (Or, indeed, may it be that some categories are of
mood and others of form?)

Well, I think the idea was somehow to distinguish indefinables ("effing the ineffable") by formalization, mapping subjective qualities onto verbal or at least semantic features, which required resolving mood (where necessary) into form. And I don't think it worked because, as you suggest, some of the "styles" are moods, and some are forms, and there is no clear basis for commensuration. (I'll try to give concrete examples when I have more time.)

If one were to give a random set of waka to a number of informed scholars, would they
generally distribute them among the ten styles in the same way?

Not at all likely. (Evidence against this prospect is abundant in medieval karon texts and commentaries...)

The ten styles were usually proposed (far as I understand) as models for keiko (practice or learning composition) rather than with regard to interpretation or exegesis. The novice was advised to work on certain styles and avoid others, e.g. "rakki" (which I think Teika suggested was inappropriate for a novitiate). (Or more notoriously Teika's _Miraiki_.) But there is some evidence of interest among KKS commentators, for example, in identifying poems which exemplify certain of Teika's "ten styles," though this in turn may have been didactically motivated.
There were certainly other ways of classifying poems -- by topic or sub-topic / dai, most obviously. Could you clarify this last question?

Lewis Cook
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 13 Feb 2003 14:59:41 +0000
From: Lucia Dolce <l...@...s.ac.uk>
Subject: fellowship

Centre for the Study of Japanese Religions, SOAS-University of London

CSJR Post-doctoral fellowship in Japanese religions, 2003-4

Applications are now invited for the one-year CSJR Postdoctoral fellowship in Japanese religions (any area) to be held at SOAS from September 2003.

The main purpose of the fellowship is to enable the holder to bring his/her recently completed PhD thesis to publication during the year at SOAS. Whilst at SOAS, the CSJR Fellow will be expected to contribute a maximum of 3 hours of teaching per week. In addition, s/he will be expected to organise a workshop/symposium in his/her speciality. Financial and administrative support will be available to this end. The Fellow will have access to appropriate study facilities and will be a member of the Senior Common room and a full member of the SOAS library.

The fellow's annual stipend will be Åí20,470 plus London weighting.

It is expected that the successful candidate's doctorate will have been awarded no earlier than September 30, 2000.

Applications consist of a curriculum vitae (to include a list of publications) an abstract/ summary of the applicant's doctoral thesis, a clear statement of the candidate's academic plans for the postdoctoral year and the names of three referees. Five copies of these documents together with a covering note should be sent to Human Resources Department, SOAS, Russell Square, London, WC1H 0XG.

For informal inquiries, please contact Dr.John Breen, Chair, Centre for the study of Japanese religions, SOAS, Russell Square, London, WC1H 0XG.

The closing date for applications is Friday April 4th, 2003.

Interviews will be held during May/June 2003.

For informal enquiries, please contact Dr. John Breen, e-mail: ...@...s.ac.uk
-----------
Lucia Dolce
Centre for the Study of Japanese Religion
Department of the Study of Religions
SOAS, University of London

Currently on leave in Japan
Institute of Indian Philosophy and Buddhist Studies,
The University of Tokyo
E-mails to: L...@...s.ac.uk
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri, 14 Feb 2003 13:45:27 -0500 (EST)
From: Bruce Edward Willoughby <...@...ch.edu>
Subject: Now Available

NEW PUBLICATION

Engendering Faith: Women and Buddhism in Premodern Japan

Barbara Ruch, General Editor

ISBN 1-929280-15-7 (cloth), lxxviii + 706 pp., color and black-and-white
illus., $69.00
Michigan Monograph Series in Japanese Studies, No. 43

"Through these wonderfully written essays by Japanese and Western authors,
Japanese Buddhist women, both nuns and laywomen, stand center stage for
the very first time. This is a pioneer work in two senses. It announces
the urgent need to study the lives of women in all Buddhist traditions,
and it provides us with the methodology to carry out this task. The
authors use art, temple records, and historical and literary writings to
reconstruct the rich history of Buddhist women's lives in Japan. This is
truly an enlightening book. It declares the arrival of a new era in
Buddhist scholarship."
Chun-fang Yu
Rutgers University

"This volume brings together genuinely original scholarship that has
emerged from the pioneering efforts of Japanese and Western scholars and
two groups: the Research Group on Women and Buddhism in Japan, organized
by Professors Nishiguchi Junko and Osumi Kazuo, and the Institute for
Medieval Japanese Studies, directed by Professor Barbara Ruch. These
studies address long-neglected questions about the roles of women in
Japanese Buddhism and represent the welcomed first steps toward disclosing
'the other half of Buddhist history.' Much remains to be done, but the
ground has now been broken and a strong foundation laid by the
interdisciplinary studies presented in this important volume. Barbara Ruch
is to be commended for her vision and her devotion to this project."
Laurel Rasplica Rodd
University of Colorado, Boulder

Engendering Faith is a monumental and pioneering study on women and
Buddhism. It clarifies distinctions necessary for a proper understanding
of just what was understood by "nun" in early Japanese history and offers
a great deal of information, knowledge, and ideas that are of critical
importance to understanding Buddhist history as it relates to women (and
men), and to understanding premodern Japanese culture in general.
The lengthy front matter and twenty chapters open a sorely
neglected area of Japanese cultural history by bringing new research on
women and Buddhism to the English-reading audience of scholars not only in
Japan-related fields but also in religious history, comparative religion,
and women's studies. Richly illustrated and with a comprehensive list of
characters, Engendering Faith is must reading for anyone interested in
premodern Japanese history, culture, and religion.

To order: Contact the Center for Japanese Studies, The University of
Michigan, at the numbers below.
Shipping: $6.00 domestic, $7.50 foreign, for one copy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bruce E. Willoughby, Executive Editor, Center for Japanese Studies,
University of Michigan, 202 S. Thayer St., Ann Arbor, MI 48104-1608
e-mail address: ...@...ch.edu | phone: 734/998-7265 | fax: 734/998-7982
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri, 14 Feb 2003 22:13:20 -0700
From: "Noel John Pinnington" <no...@...rizona.edu>
Subject: Re: Poetic categories

Thank you very much for your incisive reply, Lewis.
It seems that my general impressions have not been way off! I seem to find
that poetic theory, when discussing the poem itself, veers between the
hopelessly vague and the clunkingly technical. I certainly would like to
know more about how form and mood are aligned in the jittei in concrete
examples, if you ever had time.

What lies behind my question is a large issue. It seems to me that aesthetic
theory in Japan pays much less attention than might be expected to the
product - the play, the picture, the piece of music - than it does to the
process - particularly training - and the mind of the artist and, sometimes,
of the appreciator. I have (in an article on nogakuron and michi) ventured
the argument that this is related to the fertility and dominance in medieval
artistic discussions of the image of michi and of Buddhist conceptions of
the individual. Of course there are other factors - for example: art theory
has mainly been produced by artists rather than consumers. To be sure, the
art work is now and then discussed, but not in ways that seems to me really
productive or interesting.

Thus, whilst people have compared Greek drama and noh, no one has found
anything like Aristotle's poetics in traditional discussions of noh. Zeami
does talk about plays, but mainly in terms of formulae for writing them, and
his interest in the impact on audiences is rather focused on the actor than
the play. Zenchiku, on the other hand, categorizes plays by mood. There is a
whole middle ground (between form and mood), however, of questions waiting
to be discussed - for example how do we control the gradual uncovering of
the true nature of the main role in mugen plays, or how do we express
simultaneously the integrity and divided nature of their consciousnesses.
Surely playwrights handled such issues brilliantly (and these are the things
I really enjoy when watching plays) but they did not write about them
interestingly in hidensho - at least not head on. I feel fairly confident of
my knowledge of nogakuron, but I wondered whether something similar might be
true in karon. Is there a sense that karon do not really discuss the poems
themselves satisfactorily?

An example of a potentially productive line might be the rikugi as found in
the kana introduction, or at least those of them that seem to deal with
types of figurative expression. It does not seem to have led anywhere very
interesting though. Zeami himself wondered whether a poem by Teika was to be
understood as figurative or not. Were such questions debated?

Noel Pinnington
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
editor's note--
Rein Raud used circumflexes in the next message for words like yugen and yoen.
As these cause trouble for some mail software, I have written -uu- and -ou- (and "Noh").
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sun, 16 Feb 2003 10:47:01 +0200
From: "Rein Raud" <rein.r...@...l.ee>
Subject: Re: Poetic categories

I think the place where to look for the more exact formulations of poetic
categories are the utaawase judgments, and not the treatises, which, just
like the respective Noh or renga treatises, are normally manuals for learning
how to compose poetry, and not so much abstract theories about them. And
learning by observation and keiko is certainly preferred to constructing
from principles.

The utaawase judge quite frequently says that this poem is of this style,
and although we have reports on debates on the success and failure of hon'i
(whether the "original sense" or a topical assignment has been adequately
captured in a poem or not), I really don't recall any where a judge has said
a poem is yuugen, but another author says it is actually youen or sabi.
However, there seems to be a vague correlation between
school/topic/style/season/imagery/gender (of the poem's persona, not
necessarily of the author). A poem might be assigned to the category of youenn
simply because it is by a Mikohidari-affiliated lady and speaks of love. And
there is quite a lot of politics in the utaawase judgments as well. However,
when Noel asks if the karon treat poems "satisfactorily" then we have to
define first what "satisfactory" means. In my mind, some karon like the
Korai fuuteiisho and the Shunrai zuinou treat poems more satisfactorily than
some others (some, like the Eiga taigai and Kindai shuuka, give the
"superior" poems only as examples, without any comment), and, since it was
common practice to give one's poems to somebody else to have comments
written on them, the poets of the age must have felt these critics discuss
their poems satisfactorily enough.

One related question that I find very intriguing is how much of what was
remained unsaid about the poems (e.g. that in some poems the syllable "hi"
should be read as connoting fire, whereas in others it is not necessary) was
also common understanding among the kadan practicioners. Up to these days,
some editions/editors of classical texts comment at length on things that
are fairly obvious and leave untouched issues that are really confusing.
Sometimes I think there might be a long tradition of such practice as well.

Rein Raud
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sat, 15 Feb 2003 09:27:16 -0500
From: "Lewis Cook" <lc...@...thlink.net>
Subject: Re: Poetic categories

Allow me to cut & snip in reply.

I'd very much appreciate a reference to your article (or a copy?)

Of course there are other factors - for example: art theory
has mainly been produced by artists rather than consumers. To be sure, the
art work is now and then discussed, but not in ways that seems to me really
productive or interesting.

In the case of karon the premise was that there were no passive consumers. Even such voluminous works as Toshiyori's _Zuinou_ and Shunzei's _Korai Futeishou_ and Teika's _Maigetsushou_ were (nominally) "letters" addressed to disciples, poets in training. (I gather that Zeami was writing for actors and / or authors, not for audiences, though isn't it the case with noh that serious consumers were inclined to participate as amateurs, if only imaginatively?) Hence the "ten styles" were not meant as a taxonomic schema to be applied to the appreciation of existing poems but as guidelines for practice and composition.

Again, "karon" is as a rule advice to would-be poets. There is a genre issue here. One formula has it that treatises on canonical poetry fall into three categories: "karon" (composition theory), "kawa" (informal narratives of poetic prowess, more or less) and "kachuu" (commentaries on poems already within the canon). The first presumes an audience which knows how to read. The second tends towards gossip (interesting, though.) The third is concerned with teaching reading, as opposed to composition, though "yomu" (read) tends to equal "yomu" (compose) and the presumed audience is again would-be poets. It is the third that you have to look into to find discussions of poems themselves.(An appendix to the ShinNKBT edition of KKS identifies about 150 pre-Meiji commentaries to KKS, for example, many of which have been published typographically in recent decades.)
Rein Raud's suggestions on utaawase judgements are invaluable; another large genre, one which has been too much ignored. Shunzei and other utaawase judges often 'classify' or categorize poems according to one or another of the "jittei" but as Rein says there is never (in my recollection) much question of disputing such classifications. They are tags, in effect, invoked in support of the judgements.

Is this (Zeami on Teika) a reference to "Yugakushudofuken". Please tell me more.

Lewis Cook
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sat, 15 Feb 2003 10:14:19 -0500
From: David Pollack <poll...@...l.rochester.edu>
Subject: Re: Poetic categories

In relation to this discussion I'd be interested to hear from those who have been in a position to compare what is transmitted in written form as hiden to the skills that are actually transmitted orally and/or in practice. We are told that hidensho contain only the empty shell of teachings whose "real" essence is imparted only to the initiated. Like others, perhaps, I have always cynically taken this to mean that the real issue at stake was financial and that nothing ever was in fact behind the curtain that kept the mysteries from the eyes of the public. I'm certainly willing to believe that in a lifetime of actual instruction and practice and performance one learns "secrets" in any skill. And I know personally for a sad fact the great difference between the do-it-yourself home-repair manual and what the real tradesman knows when he is finally sent for to repair whatever I bungled. In some cases the most important step is omitted, but in others you just have to actually know what you're doing. Is the relationship between hidensho and secret teachings something like that between the repair manual and actually knowing how to do the job? or is it in fact only a financial shell-game?Or is it both?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sat, 15 Feb 2003 17:34:34 -0500
From: "Lewis Cook" <lc...@...thlink.net>
Subject: Re: Poetic categories

I'm not in a position to speak from experience but would imagine that for any of the performing arts (among them traditions of recitation of canonical poetry, and perhaps plumbing and carpentry, as well) direct transmission is nearly indispensable. Certainly more efficient.
But I think it became clear fairly early on (Juntoku-in suggests as much towards the end of _Yakumo Misho_, c. 1220) that there is not much of the art of poetry that can better be taught in person than via writing, and in fact most of the "oral" teachings (kuden) of the way of poetry were apparently committed to writing (sometimes cryptographically) and transmitted textually. And I doubt if much (other than tuition) was lost when these were informally disseminated and eventually published, as many were in the 17th c. and after.
It is no secret that the iemoto system is a kind of nezumi-kou and always has been. (So was the entire modern Japanese economy -- according to some prescient cynics -- until the bubble burst.) But I hope you don't have to be a certified cynic to earn your living from tuition, if that is in question.

Lewis Cook
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 17 Feb 2003 00:32:23 -0800
From: Roberta Strippoli <rober...@...nford.edu>
Subject: Kyoto Lectures: David Howell talk February 24

Apologies for crossposting. Those of you who are in Kyoto may be interested
in the Japan-related talk organized by the Italian School of East Asian
Studies (ISEAS) and the Ecole Francaise dExtreme-Orient (EFEO).

Regards,

Roberta Strippoli
----------
Scuola Italiana di Studi sull'Asia Orientale ISEAS
Ecole Francaise d'Extreme-Orient EFEO

KYOTO LECTURES 2003

Monday February 24th 18:00h

Professor David Howell will speak on:

"Abortion and Infanticide Control in mid-Nineteenth Century Japan"

Abortion and infanticide were significant social problems in the countryside
in mid-nineteenth century Japan. To some extent, moral concerns moved
ideologues and policy makers to dissuade peasants from controlling births.
But perhaps even more so, crusaders against abortion and infanticide were
interested in promoting population growth, which they saw as the key to a
healthy rural economy. This presentation will describe various schemes to
improve local society by seeing to the welfare of unborn fetuses and newborn
children in the Chiba area in the late Tokugawa and early Meiji periods.

David L. Howell is associate professor of Japanese history at Princeton
University and a Visiting Research Scholar at the International Research
Center for Japanese Studies in Kyoto. He is the author of Capitalism from
Within: Economy, Society, and the State in a Japanese Fishery (1995) and the
forthcoming Geographies of Identity in Nineteenth Century Japan. He is
currently working on a study of social disorder and intellectual ferment in
the Tokugawa-Meiji transition.

Italian School of East Asian Studies (ISEAS)
Ecole Francaise dExtreme-Orient (EFEO)
4, Yoshida Ushinomiya-cho, Sakyo-ku
Kyoto 606-8302 JAPAN

ISEAS
Phone: 075-751-8132
Fax: 075-751-8221
e-mail: is...@...lcult.or.jp

EFEO
Phone: 075-761-3946
e-mail: efe...@...x.kyoto-inet.or.jp
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 17 Feb 2003 22:38:42 +0900
From: Michael Watson <wat...@...eijigakuin.ac.jp>
Subject: Readings in Japanese History and Literature

When we were discussing kanbun some time ago on this list, the following book was recommended.

Hiraga Noboru, Readings in Japanese History and Literature. 2 vols. Tokyo: Bonjinsha, 1990.
ISBN 4-89358-049-2240

The author Hiraga Noburu (1922-84) taught Japanese literature at Washingon University. The textbook was the product of many years teaching a graduate level course of readings in kanbun and classical Japanese.

When I ordered the book from Professor Hiraga's widow, I promised to introduce it briefly to the list, as she has a number of copies still available and would like to see them go to a good home. Having now spent some months with the book, I am only too happy to do so. There is much to interest teachers and advanced students.

As the table of contents is in Japanese only, and rather lengthy, I have put a brief summary of its sections on the following web page
http://www.meijigakuin.ac.jp/~pmjs/biblio/hiraga.html
with two graphic files showing what the typical pages from text and annotations look like. (The example is a letter by Fujiwara Shunzei.) As the curious will see, the bulk of the text is reproduced from the author's carefully handwritten manuscript.

Volume one contains the texts (465 pages), volume two the glossary (496 pages).
The explanations in the glossary (goihen) are arranged in the order of the text.
There are 260 passages in all, some complete in themselves, some excerpts from much longer works.

Shyoko Hiraga has set the price of book, including postage and handling, as follows.
6600 yen for orders to addresses in Japan, postage included.
$55.00 for orders to addresses in the United States, postage included.

Shipping to addresses in other country can be arranged, with postage changed at actual cost.
To place an order or ask for further details, contact Shyoko Hiraga <shyokohir...@...oo.com>
(I have not put Mrs. Hiraga's address online to spare her from spammers.)

Michael Watson <wat...@...eijigakuin.ac.jp>

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Mon, 17 Feb 2003 10:35:27 -0500
From: "Frederic Kotas" <f...@...nell.edu>
Subject: Re: Readings in Japanese History and Literature

Just a quick correction: The author's name was Hiraga Noburu, and he taught
at the University of Washington, Seattle. I had the great fortune of
studying under Mr. Hiraga using his text (which at that time did not exist
in book form and was constantly evolving)

Frederic Kotas
Cornell University

----- Original Message -----
From: "Michael Watson" <wat...@...eijigakuin.ac.jp>
To: "Multiple recipients of pmjs" <p...@...eijigakuin.ac.jp>
Sent: Monday, February 17, 2003 8:38 AM
Subject: Readings in Japanese History and Literature

When we were discussing kanbun some time ago on this list, the
following book was recommended.

Hiraga Noboru, Readings in Japanese History and Literature. 2 vols.
Tokyo: Bonjinsha, 1990.
ISBN 4-89358-049-2240

The author Hiraga Noburu (1922-84) taught Japanese literature at
Washingon University. The textbook was the product of many years
teaching a graduate level course of readings in kanbun and classical
Japanese.

When I ordered the book from Professor Hiraga's widow, I promised to
introduce it briefly to the list, as she has a number of copies still
available and would like to see them go to a good home. Having now
spent some months with the book, I am only too happy to do so. There is
much to interest teachers and advanced students.

As the table of contents is in Japanese only, and rather lengthy, I
have put a brief summary of its sections on the following web page
http://www.meijigakuin.ac.jp/~pmjs/biblio/hiraga.html
with two graphic files showing what the typical pages from text and
annotations look like. (The example is a letter by Fujiwara Shunzei.)
As the curious will see, the bulk of the text is reproduced from the
author's carefully handwritten manuscript.

Volume one contains the texts (465 pages), volume two the glossary (496
pages).
The explanations in the glossary (goihen) are arranged in the order of
the text.
There are 260 passages in all, some complete in themselves, some
excerpts from much longer works.

Shyoko Hiraga has set the price of book, including postage and
handling, as follows.
6600 yen for orders to addresses in Japan, postage included.
$55.00 for orders to addresses in the United States, postage included.

Shipping to addresses in other country can be arranged, with postage
changed at actual cost.
To place an order or ask for further details, contact Shyoko Hiraga
<shyokohir...@...oo.com>
(I have not put Mrs. Hiraga's address online to spare her from
spammers.)

Michael Watson <wat...@...eijigakuin.ac.jp>
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 17 Feb 2003 19:54:53 -0800
From: "Dix Monika" <monika...@...mail.com>
Subject: Asian Feminist Musical Theatre

Dear Members,
Maybe some of you might be interested in the following announcement.
(Apologies for cross-postings)

Monika Dix

The Silken Phoenix is a new music theatre work for actress and chamber
music trio (cello, piano, and percussion). Performed by the Core
Ensemble with actress Fiona Choi, it celebrates the life, times and
works of three of Asia's greatest women poets: Ho Xuan Huong of Vietnam,
Izumi Shikibu from Japan, and China's Li Qingzhao. All emerge as strong
personalities and vibrant writers. Representing historical periods from
the 12th century Song Dynasty to the feudal society of the 18th century,
their work still has immediate and direct appeal to audiences. In its
interpretation of these three writers, The Silken Phoenix questions the
stereotype of the passive Asian woman and shows what accomplishment was
possible in a repressive society. The show premiered last month at the
Boston Center for the Arts and will tour the U.S. this coming season.

The music is by composers from Vietnam (P.Q. Phan), Cambodia (Chinary
Ung), China (Kui Dong, Chou Wen-Chung, Bun-Ching Lam, Melissa Hui),
Japan (Keiko Abe, Somei Satoh) and Hong Kong (Melissa Hui). The script
is by novelist and poet Wang Ping, a native of Shanghai.

If The Silken Phoenix might be of interest for programming on your
campus or in your community, I would be happy to forward a demo video
and printed materials for your consideration. The show will tour in
November '03 and in April and May '04.

Cordially.

Margot Emery
For the Core Ensemble
561-582-0603
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 16:54:26 +1100
From: Leith Morton <lg...@...nga.newcastle.edu.au>
Subject: Change of Address

Colleagues,

Here is my new postal address from 1 April 2003 (email will follow
later):

Professor Leith Morton
Room No. 1010, Nishi No.3 Building
Foreign Language Research and Teaching Center
Tokyo Institute of Technology
2-12-1 Ookayama,
Meguro-Ku, Tokyo 152-8550
Japan

Tel: 03-5734-2287 Fax: 03-5734-2938 (+ country codes)
**********************************************
Leith D. Morton
Professor of Japanese
School of Language and Media
University of Newcastle, NSW, 2308
Australia
http://www.newcastle.edu.au/school/lang-media/staff/mortonleith.html
Ext. 61 249 21 5360. Fax. 61 249 21 6949
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 17:03:16 +0900
From: Michael Watson <wat...@...eijigakuin.ac.jp>
Subject: Author sought... (fwd)

Forwarded from H-Japan

Title: Author sought for book on early/ancient Japan
Deadline: 2003-04-01
Description: A specialist in the study of the early/ancient Japan
is sought to write a 170,000-word book on the subject geared
toward students in high school and college. The audience also
will include scholars, teachers, librarians, journalists, and
general readers, so the book needs to be authoritative as well as accessible to a wide range of readers.

The candidate should have a PhD in the history, archaeology, or art (or related field) of the period. Excellent English-language skills and the ability to meet deadlines also are essential. Affiliation with a college or university, museum, or institute is preferred, as are at least some publications in the field. Residence in the United States, Canada, or the UK is preferred. The book also could be written by two or three individuals.

The author will receive a royalty contract.

Interested individuals should email (or mail) a c.v. and one or two short writing samples to:

Henry Rasof
Consulting Editor
116 Monarch St
Louisville, CO 80027

Phone:(303) 664 0183

Email: hra...@....com
...
Announcement ID: 132744
http://www2.h-net.msu.edu/announce/show.cgi?ID=132744
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 07:03:17 -0800
From: "Dix Monika" <monika...@...mail.com>
Subject: Encyclopedia of Holy People - Authors Needed

I am posting the following announcement on behalf of Prof. Phyllis Jestice in hope that some of you might be able to contribute to her project.She is especially interested in having the articles written from an art historical/historical perspective.
(Apologies for cross - postings)

Monika Dix

I have recently been approached by Dr. Phyllis Jestice of the U. of
Southern Mississippi, who is recruiting authors to write for an
encyclopedia project she is editing. This is an encyclopedia of holy
people in the world religions, a 3-volume comparative work to be published
by ABC-Clio. The work will explore the boundaries of holiness in a wide
variety of religious traditions. The articles are short---averaging about
400 words each---to give users of the encyclopedia a good overview of the
topic.

She is having difficulties recruiting experts in Shinto, Confucianism, and
Daoism for the project, and has asked me to post this appeal for help. The
rewards are small---a copy of the encyclopedia for contributors, and for
those who contribute more than 3000 words also a very small cash payment.
But this is a chance to pull together ideas on topics of interest, and to
put in a word in favor of comparative religious studies and make sure that
the saints of Japan aren't neglected. She is looking for suggestions and
authors for about 30 Shinto articles and 50 Confucians and Daoists (of both
Japan and China). Phyllis' own specialty is medieval European
Christianity, and she would appreciate our opinions on holy people
important/interesting enough to be included.

There are some time constraints involved: the articles are short (so short
that it is hoped that people will take on more than one!), but so is the
time available---the articles are needed by early May.

If you are interested in helping, please contact Phyllis directly at:

phyllis.jest...@....edu.
With many thanks.

Dr. Phyllis G. Jestice
phyllis.jest...@....edu
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 25 Feb 2003 07:42:29 +0900
From: Michael Watson <wat...@...eijigakuin.ac.jp>
Subject: position at Bowdoin College

Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine 04011. Interdisciplinary Asian
Studies Program wishes to make a one-year, temporary appointment in a
field of Japanese studies at the assistant professor or instructor
level for the academic year 2003/2004. The discipline is open. An
ability to teach advanced Japanese language is an asset, but it is
not required. PhD preferred, but ABD will be considered. Possible
specialties include but are by no means limited to anthropology;
classical and/or modern literature; film & film theory; sociology;
women's studies; and any of several areas in cultural studies.
Teaching load is two courses per semester. Please include a letter
of application indicating current areas of research and teaching, a
vita, evidence of effectiveness as a teacher, and have three letters
of recommendation sent to Kidder Smith, Asian Studies Program, 7500
College Station, Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine 04011-8475.
Review of applications will begin 12 March. We will conduct
preliminary interviews at the AAS meetings in New York, 28-30 March.
Further information about Bowdoin may be found at
<http://bowdoin.edu>. EO/AA. Women and minorities are especially
encouraged to apply.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 13:57:53 +0900
From: Michael Watson <wat...@...eijigakuin.ac.jp>
Subject: list announcement

We have been joined by four new members:

Rachel Saunders <r.saunde...@...ad.unimelb.edu.au>

Formerly Asia Editor for Routledge, I am now a postgraduate student at the University of Melbourne. My studies span history and art history, and my particular focus at the moment is on falconry during the Tokugawa period.

Brochlos, Astrid <astrid.broch...@...hu-berlin.de>

Berlin Humboldt University, Center of Japanese Language and Culture
PhD: Japanese history; main fields of interest: ancient and medieval history of Japan.
URL: http://www2.hu-berlin.de/japanologie/

Nathen Clerici < nathen.cler...@...orado.edu>

First year graduate student at the University of Colorado in Boulder, studying Classical Japanese
and Buddhism and the Literary Arts.

and finally (a rather longer profile than is the norm)

Patricia Yarrow <patricia.yar...@...orado.edu>

Graduate student in East Asian Literatures and Civilizations at Colorado University in Boulder, CO, USA. Second semester as of 12 Feb 2003 (today). Lived in Tokyo 6 years during the 1990-2000 period. Plan to return and work doing *something*-ESL? More research? Continue into Ph.D territory?

Undergraduate work in Landscape Architecture, which I practiced in San Francisco before switching to computers in 1988, which became I.T. support and later technical writing for application development processes. The market imploded so now I'm studying my other favorite subject full time: Japanese language, literature, history and culture!

Masters' thesis will investigate the Japanese traditional family-run sake' breweries/kumamoto: past and future. If you have any leads on grant money to help me fund my summer trip to Japan to visit several sake sites please let me know. The plan is to visit Kyoto/Nara and one of the sites that makes sake with the original method from around 600 A.D., Akita-ken or Yamagata-ku for a present-day site and Tokyo to investigate some of the latest trends that are supporting these endangered family -run sake' businesses.

Otherwise, my interests revolve around aikido, Yang-style taijichuan, nihon ryori, eternal kanji study, amusing manga (do you have any volumes of "Daitokyo Binbo Inochi Manuaru"?). Since I'm in Boulder, I also work out a lot and have a fine view of the Flatirons from my student apt.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 13:57:50 +0000 (GMT)
From: Janick Wrona <janick.wr...@...tford.oxford.ac.uk>
Subject: The development of 'no' as C and N

Dear all,

I'm looking at Old Japanese sentences ending in the Adnominal form (rentaikei). They are often said to be equivalents of Modern Japanese 'noda' sentences.

Iwasaki (1993) says that when the Conclusive and the Adnominal form merged during Middle Japanese, the function of sentence-final Adnominal forms was transferred to 'noda' constructions.

Does anyone know when 'no' starts occuring in texts as a (pro)noun and complementiser?

Thanks
Janick

Reference:
Iwasaki, Shoichi (1993), "Functional transfer in the history of Japanese language" in P. Clancy (ed.) J/K linguistics.

--
Janick Wrona
Hertford College

University of Oxford
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 08:18:25 -0600
From: "John R. Bentley" <jbentl...@....edu>
Subject: Re: The development of 'no' as C and N

I'm looking at Old Japanese sentences ending in the Adnominal form (rentaikei).
They are often said to be equivalents of Modern Japanese 'noda' sentences.
Iwasaki (1993) says that when the Conclusive and the Adnominal form merged during Middle Japanese, the function of sentence-final Adnominal forms was transferred to 'noda' constructions.

Hmm, I have not read Iwasaki, but I believe his
categorization is somewhat imprecise. According to
Vovin (2003:210) the attributive form of the verb (what
you call the adnominal) begins to appear as a final predicate
somewhere before the end of the eleventh century. This would
put the 'merger' somewhere near end of the Classical period (or Middle
Japanese), but remember that this form is only used in dialog.
A complete merger is perhaps a century later.

Does anyone know when 'no' starts occuring in texts as a (pro)noun and complementiser?

I do not have access to any texts at the moment, but wonder
if this occurs in the 14th-15th centuries.

John Bentley
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 08:20:40 -0600
From: "John R. Bentley" <jbentl...@....edu>
Subject: Re: The development of 'no' as C and N

Oops, forgot to add the bibliography:
Vovin, Alexander. 2003. A Reference Grammar
of Classical Japanese Prose. London: Curzon.

John Bentley
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 16:30:22 +0100
From: "Bernhard Scheid" <bernhard.sch...@...w.ac.at>
Subject: lecture by Bernard Faure

The Institute for Asian Studies of the Austrian Academy of Sciences
in cooperation with the
Institute for East Asian Studies of Vienna University
invites to a lecture on

FROM WOMB TO COSMOS
The Gods of Destiny in East Asian Buddhism

by Bernard Faure (Stanford University)

Time: Mon, March 24, 2003. 17:00
Place: Vienna University, Institute for East Asian Studies, Dep. for
Japanese Studies

Topic:
Beliefs regarding deities that control or protect human destiny, from
birth to (and beyond) death, are found throughout Asia. Sometimes these
deities dwell in the stars or in the underworld, at other times, inside
or on top of the human body. One significant case is that of the
"placenta deity," which came to play a major (if usually hidden) role in
medieval Japan, eventually ascending to the status of primordial god. A
closer look at these mythological figures will reveal some rather
unexpected facets of East Asian Buddhism.

Bernard Faure is one of the most esteemed Western scholars on Japanese
Buddhism, also famous for his studies on Chinese Chan (Zen) and Daoist
traditions. His major works include The Read Threat: Buddhist Approaches
to Sexuality (1998), Visions of Power: Imagining Medieval Japanese
Buddhism (1996), Chan Insights and Oversights: An Epistemological
Critique of the Chan Tradition (1993).

For more information on the Institute for Asian Studies refer to:
http://www.oeaw.ac.at/ias/ http://www.oeaw.ac.at/ias/News.html

Apologies for cross-postings

Bernhard Scheid
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 09:52:11 -0600
From: "John R. Bentley" <jbentl...@....edu>
Subject: Vovin

Dear Members,

I have been kindly advised by several people
(off-list) that Vovin's book has numerous typos
in the Japanese examples, and since I
quoted his book, some may be wondering
what I think of the book.

The book is ambitious in trying to craft
a reference grammar of classical Japanese
prose by using three texts that roughly span the
four centuries of the Heian era. Those texts
are Taketori monogatari, Ise monogatari,
and Hamamatsu Chuunagon monogatari.

Before I say anything more, I should say
that Vovin is not a native speaker of English,
and so much editing has been required. I
was the original (private) editor for the book
when it was still in draft form back in the
summer of 1999. I spent half my summer
editing the English as well as various other
aspects of the very long text (essentially the
glosses for the numerous citations).

I then moved on to NIU, and the manuscript
was submitted for publication at some later date.
I had nothing to do with the manuscript after
that point. From what I have been able to glean
from people, the ms. went through another stage
of editing before going to press. That does not
include the proof stage.

Therefore, I am quite shocked to find so many
typos in the Japanese citations. There are also
a number of typos in some of the romanization.
I honestly wonder what happened between my
stage of editing, and the final proof stage.

Now, while these typos definitely detract from the book,
does this mean that the methodology behind the
grammar is flawed? Is the book therefore misleading?
A poor reference tool?

I would not be so sweeping in my criticism, but in
the end each person needs to make this judgement
on his/her own. But let me add that one of the
important contributions of the book is to get away
from the kokugaku-style analysis that has been
present in grammars of pre-modern Japanese,
even as it distances itself from the western problem
of analyzing Japanese as if it is Latin.

Vovin presents many new and important analyses,
and it would be a shame if the blemishes (many though
they are) were used to uproot the whole tree.

John Bentley
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 16:15:19 -0000
From: "Thomas McAuley" <T.E.McAu...@...ffield.ac.uk>
Subject: Vovin

For information: RoutledgeCurzon recently informed me that the typos
in the Japanese examples in Vovin's book were the result of a technical
error at the printers which unbalanced the typesetting. The book is
currently being reprinted at the printers' expense, and RoutledgeCurzon
will supply a free copy of the new edition to any customers who bought
the old version.

Contact Jonathan Price (jonathan.pr...@...df.co.uk) to have your
name added to the list.

Regards,

T. E. McAuley

Dr. Thomas McAuley
School of East Asian Studies
University of Sheffield
Email: T.E.McAu...@...ffield.ac.uk
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 16:15:34 +0000 (GMT)
From: Janick Wrona <janick.wr...@...tford.oxford.ac.uk>
Subject: Re: The development of 'no' as C and N

Thanks you, Prof. Bentley, for your reply. It was my impression that the merger of
the Adnominal and Conclusive happend somewhat later than the 12th century you
suggest. It's probably true that the merger started around the time Vovin
suggests, but the early cases must be difficult to distinguish from sentence-
final usages of the Adnominal form (the function of which was in paradigmatic
opposition to the sentence-final Conclusive). Standard grammars of Muromachi are somewhat
vague as to how and when the merger happened (e.g. Yanagida (1985)). He just
says that it happend in the Muromachi-period. Edo-grammars are equally vague as
to the emergence of 'no' as N or C. Matsumura (1957) describes 'no' in N and C
contexts, but doesn't tell us when and how it came about. Yanagida says that it
is usually said that 'no' as C and N had not developed in Muromachi, but he seems
to think it came about between Muromachi and Edo.

As you, I think Iwasaki has a problem since it seems that the merger was completed
some time before 'no' as C came about. This makes it difficult to interpret as a
case of 'functional tranfer'.

Cheers

Janick

References:

Yanagida, Seiji (1985), Muromachi jidai no kokugo, Tokyo.

Matsumura, Akira (1957) Edogo, Tokyogo no kenkyuu, Tokyo.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 17:03:52 +0000
From: Richard Bowring <rb...@...mes.cam.ac.uk>
Subject: Re: Vovin

Thank you to Thomas McAuley for the valuable information about a Vovin
revision, especially welcome for those unfortunates such as myself who
bought it sight unseen. The book as it stands is an utter disaster, for
which Routledge should be thoroughly ashamed. I feel extremely sorry for the
author.
That said, however, I am afraid I am not quite as sanguine as John Bentley
is about the revisionary nature of the book. I have found it very
pedestrian, not much of an advance on Ikeda, and of very little use on the
really important questions. Anyone who writes a reference grammar of
classical Japanese prose and decides at the outset not to handle the Genji
must, at the very least, produce a book that does not live up to its title.
I think we would all benefit from a specialist review as soon as possible.
Richard Bowring
University of Cambridge
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 18:11:12 -0500
From: "Lewis Cook" <lc...@...thlink.net>
Subject: Re: Vovin

I am grateful to Richard Bowring for his adverse comments on Vovin, discouraging as these are.
Can we have a rebuttal from John Bentley or Janick Wrona?
(Not to blurb, but _A Descriptive Grammar of Early Old Japanese Prose_, Brill 2001, advertised in the pmjs footer, is the most indispensable book in English I've read in recent years. I hope we can expect a sequel.)

Lewis Cook
c...@...edu

Several messages from March have been included for now to see a thread to the end (?)

Date: Sat, 1 Mar 2003 15:00:48 +0900

From: "Karel Fiala" <fi...@...l.fpu.ac.jp>

Subject: Re: The development of 'no' as C and N

If you look at proceedings of the "Kokugo Gakkai... Taikai", there have
been some papers on "noda" history in recent years. Early occurrences
are observed in kyogen. Evidently, the rise of NODA is very late and
the process must have been more complicated than suggested in Iwasaki
1993.

The merger of RENTAI and SHUUSHI started, in a sense, already in the
Nara period or before (the "TADA no musubi" in the concept of kakari
musubi by Norinaga). However, it seems that even in the 16 century the
merger was not yet completed, evidently. There is a lot of papers on
these problems in Japan.

It is difficult to determine which usages of sentence-final RENTAI are
really semantically unmarked.and, after all, we have no samples
reflecting per cent the colloquial language. We can observe only traces
of the colloquial usage in written texts.
E.g., "Asakusa Feique Monogatari" is very colloquial but you can find
Shuushi in the text.This supports the description in Yanagida.

NODA is a very complex problem, even in modern Japanese. NODA in
Kyoogen seems to have different functions than both RENTAI in the Heian
period and NODA in modern Japanese.
There must have been complex inter-influences not only between the
attributive particle NO and RENTAI, but also between the noun MONO and
NO.

It is not difficult to download literature on the theme, e.g. from the
Kokken home page, etc.
K.Fiala
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sat, 01 Mar 2003 11:58:05 -0600
From: "John R. Bentley" <jbentl...@....edu>
Subject: A Reference Grammar of Classical Japanese Prose

Dear all,

I've changed the subject, so we know this thread is about the book, and not the
author.

I am perhaps not the best person to address these issues, since Professor Vovin
is my sensei, and that biases me somewhat, but as Professor Bowring has brought
up a few issues, let me try to respond briefly. I agree that the absence of Genji
monogatari is regretful. But it seems a bit unfair to simply sweep the book aside
on those grounds without at least mentioning Vovin's reasons for leaving Genji
out: "First, since Genji monogatari represents such an important watershed in the
history of Japanese literature and culture, I wanted to use representative texts
that both predate and postdate it. Second, I did not want to use Genji monogatari
as the basic text for my research, as it is probably better studied
linguistically than others, and in this respect Hamamatsu chuagon monogatari
looked more promising, as it is cited in very few linguistic works." (pg. 6).
Whether you agree with this reasoning or not, at least that is the reasoning
behind the decision. The next step for scholars should be to prove or disprove
the logic of this.

That said, however, I am afraid I am not quite as sanguine as John Bentley
is about the revisionary nature of the book. I have found it very
pedestrian, not much of an advance on Ikeda, and of very little use on the
really important questions.

I think this is an unfair characterization of the book. Perhaps part of the
problem is a specialist in the field expecting something from the work, and then
being disappointed when it is not there. But letÜÉs examine the book from the
perspective of the advanced student, as most of us want tools to teach our
students. Let me cite some specific examples which illustrate how Vovin's work is
a vast improvement on Ikeda.

Vovin devotes an entire section to the phonology and lexicon of classical
Japanese, while Ikeda has less than a page for the lexicon (and it is more an
explanation about semantic change than anything else). Ikeda also has about five
pages devoted to "pronunciation", but this terminology is imprecise, as the
section is actually about spelling changes. Note that modern English spelling
tells us very little about actual pronunciation. In this sense Ikeda is not
precise in terminology, which leads to confusion.

Vovin is also helpful in providing a more precise explanation of what
traditionally are labeled particles. The traditional explanation makes only a
vague distinction between particles that follow nouns and those that follow
verbs. Ikeda calls these case, conjunctive, emotive, final, adverbial, and
exclamatory particles. Vovin categorizes these under nominals (case makers),
verbal affixes (like -aba or -ite), conjunctions (tomo, nagara), and (true)
particles (fa, mo, or zo).

Perhaps the most striking departure from Ikeda is the analysis of verbs. To claim
that Vovin is not much of a revision from Ikeda ignores the facts. Students are
usually required to learn the "bases" of Japanese verbal conjugation (and the
common reason given is to teach the student how to use Japanese dictionaries and
reference material); however, as Vovin notes, this analysis is grounded in a
tradition that could not conduct a deeper analysis on the structure of morphemes
in Japanese because of the syllabic structure of kana. This has contributed to
the cumbersome nature of the traditional analysis of Japanese verbal morphology.
For example, why should teachers continue to divide verbs into so many classes
(Ikeda mentions nine (9) classes), when Bernard Bloch provided a simple two-class
system back in 1946 (cf. Vovin pp. 156-66)? Vovin expands on this by providing a
"strong" and "weak" class of vowel verbs (pg. 170).

The traditional explanation of "bases" is also very complex, and in ways
misleading. Why should the imperative (meireikei) be considered a base when it is
an isolated form? Notice that in Old Japanese the imperative and evidential
(izenkei) are spelled differently, so there was no confusion. Also, Ikeda's label
of the so-called mizenkei (he calls it the "negative form") is also misleading.
Why should a negative form allow non-negative suffixes to affix to it, like the
iterative -afu, the causative-honorific -asu, or the optative (the realization of
a wish or desire) -amafosi?

Vovin also makes a crucial distinction with defective verbs (pp. 172-186), which
are often labeled by traditional grammars as setsuzoku joshi (Ikeda calls these
conjunctive particles). This distinction is not original with Vovin, as he notes
that Samuel Martin first came up with it. It can be added that Peter Hendricks
included these in his 1992 dissertation. I would dare say that ignoring this
important distinction will result in imprecise interpretations of the original
texts.

Rather than continue, I suggest that those interested peruse the book (after the
reprint comes out), and judge for themselves. As I noted at the beginning, I
think some of the criticisms directed at the work are justified (even without the
typos), but a sweeping rejection of the book is harsh in the extreme.

Sorry for the lack of promised brevity.

John Bentley
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sun, 02 Mar 2003 10:42:48 +0000
From: Richard Bowring <rb...@...mes.cam.ac.uk>
Subject: Re: A Reference Grammar of Classical Japanese Prose

Dear All.
I continue to comment because I hope this exchange may lead to some fruitful
ideas about how we should be presenting bungo grammar to our students. I
agree with John Bentley that my disappointment largely stems from the fact
that this book does not answer the many questions that I have about
classical grammar and that is what I expect something called a 'Reference
Grammar' to do. Neither is it the kind of book that one could really use in
class (assuming a paperback version). This is why I brought up Ikeda,
although that was probably a mistake since I doubt whether anyone uses it;
it is easier to simply use a Japanese school grammar book.

So what kind questions do I have that are not answered in RGCJP?

Firstly, there is the fraught matter of the meaning of suffixes such as
'-iker-/-ker-' (p. 30-02). One turns to this discussion with great
anticipation to find a fairly brief recounting of other's people's quite
well-known views followed by 'the whole problem, I believe, remains open and
merits further detailed investigation'. Well, this is honest but leaves me
screaming.

Secondly there is the analysis itself. How do we deal with the fact that we
must teach the 'traditional' system so that students can understand notes
and commentaries while we know very well that it is defective in many vital
aspects. I find myself introducing it and then almost in the same breath
criticising it and pointing out that most of the problems are caused by the
use of kana, which has obscured the original segmentation in the verbal
system to the point that it is almost unrecoverable. It is certainly
important to point out to students that the mizenkei hides a multitude of
sins and that the meireikei + ri is simply a fiction. I am emphatically not
an historical linguist but I do find the kind of analyses produced by Unger,
Whitman et al fascinating and useful, and it would have been a real boon to
have these matters spelled out clearly for students. (I have not, I am
afraid, read your book yet, John; perhaps it is all there.) In this sense, I
suppose I was disappointed that RGCJP was not revisionary enough and does
not delve deep enough into the matter of segmentation, so leaving us in a
kind of limbo. A Reference Grammar should not really leave us with as many
questions as we had in the first place.

I agree that my somewhat intemperate initial response to this book is partly
a result of having found an average of five bizarre errors per page in the
first 30 pages in a book that cost me 60 pounds sterling. Now that we know
the reason for this (although I am still puzzled at how this could happen) I
promise to quieten down and wait patiently for the readable version.

Richard Bowring
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sun, 02 Mar 2003 07:29:42 -0600
From: "John R. Bentley" <jbentl...@....edu>
Subject: Re: A Reference Grammar of Classical Japanese Prose

I continue to comment because I hope this exchange may lead to some fruitful
ideas about how we should be presenting bungo grammar to our students.

I agree with Richard on this, and the more Richard and I flesh
this out, I think the more we agree.

Neither is it the kind of book that one could really use in
class (assuming a paperback version).

The price is quite prohibitive. I can't really say much as my
own book is nearly US $90.

So what kind questions do I have that are not answered in RGCJP?

I agree, and I do that once or twice in my book. As a linguist
some of these questions can only be answered through the
comparative method, comparing Japanese grammar with
Ryuukyuuan and / or Korean. I would say that if one were to
answer all the questions before writing the book, the book would
not get answered. On the other hand, Martin's Reference Grammar
of Japanese is FULL of information, but it is very difficult to
work through.

I believe the PMJS list had this discussion a year or so ago,
and this one almost defies a solution. I get the feeling we are
doomed to live with one foot in both worlds.

and it would have been a real boon to have these matters
spelled out clearly for students.

I again agree with you here.

(I have not, I am afraid, read your book yet, John; perhaps it is all there.)

I dare say that there is not yet a book published
where IT IS ALL THERE.

A Reference Grammar should not really leave us with as many
questions as we had in the first place.

And that is a legitimate complaint.

As I too will do.

John Bentley
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The pmjs discussion John Bentley refers to:
BUNGO - the teaching of Classical Japanese
http://www.meijigakuin.ac.jp/~pmjs/archive/2000/bungo.html
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sat, 1 Mar 2003 21:14:28 -0500
From: Mary Louise Nagata <MLNag...@...puserve.com>
Subject: e-mail chg

Dear friends and colleagues,

I have had some problems with my e-mail during the past weeks and some of
you may have had some problem contacting me. I apologise for any problems
that have occurred. Please send all further e-mail messages to...@...ata.com.

thank you and best wishes to all,

Mary Louise Nagata

::::: pmjs footer:::::

Bentley, John R. Descriptive Grammar of Early Old Japanese. Leiden: Brill, 2001.
Bentley, John R. Historiographical trends in early Japan. Edwin Mellen Press, May 2002.
See online Table of Contents for both publications
http://www.meijigakuin.ac.jp/~pmjs/biblio/byyear.html

Steven D. Carter. Just Living: Poems and Prose of the Japanese Monk Tonna. New York: Columbia University Press, 2003, 243 pp

Mostow, Joshua S., Norman Bryson, and Marybeth Graybill, eds. Gender and Power
in the Japanese Visual Field . Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, June 2003.

Miyake, Marc. Old Japanese: A Phonetic Reconstruction. London:
RoutledgeCurzon, 28 August, 2003.

Michel Hockx and Ivo Smits, ed. Reading East Asian Writing: The Limits of
Literary Theory. (IIAS series, vol. 12.) London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2003.
ISBN 0700717609. Including essays by Rein Raud, Haruo Shirane, Ivo Smits, and others.
http://reference.routledge-ny.com/books.cfm?isbn=0700717609

The Italian Association for Japanese Studies (AISTUGIA) has now a new web
site: <http://www.unive.it/aistugia>

ASCJ - Asian Studies Converence Japan http://www.meijigakuin.ac.jp/~kokusai/ascj/
Saturday, June 21-Sunday 22, 2003.
Sessions on premodern Japan include
Session 7 "Caste and Clan in Medieval Japan "
Session 19 "Poems and Characters: Nukata no Okimi, Saigyo, and Abutsu-ni"
Session 20 "Reconstructing Gender in the Nara Period "