2004.11

pmjs logs for November 2004. Total number of messages: 52

* Concert and Talk on Japanese Traditional Music (The Medieval Japanese Studies Institute)
* Gion Matsuri in the Tokugawa Era (Brian Ruppert, Sharon Domier, Matthew Stavros)
* Let's say zither, not lute ... --> lute lore --> No Apology Needed --> historical writing: what is at stake? who is the audience? (Steven Nelson, ML Nagata, David Pollack, Morgan Pitelka, Robert Morrell, Larry Shumway, Robert Borgen, Anthony Bryant, Beatrice M. Bodart-Bailey, Michael Jamentz, Morgan Pitelka)
* Pre-modern Japanese Studies Group announcement (Lewis Cook)
* Database of Japanese Academic Journals (Keller Kimbrough, Hideyuki Morimoto, Sharon Domier, Kristina Troost)
* speaker, Sogi, Konishi (Janine Beichman, Michael Watson, Lewis Cook)
* historical development of yakuza jargon (Maria Chiara Migliore, Lewis Cook, Sharon Domier)
* Frois's Topsy-turvy in English (Robin Gill)
* Murasaki's Genji in American Libraries (Jonathan Dresner, David Pollack, Elliot Berlin)
* Lotus sutra (Richard Bowring, David Pollack, Christian Morimoto Hermansen, Rein Raud, Elliot Berlin, William Bodiford, Jacqueline Stone)
* Vacancy Announcement (Elizabeth Oyler)
* new members/profiles: Michael Emmerich, James Guthrie, Andreas Marks, Jason Newton, Shobha Rani Dash, Luciana Galliano, Yukiko Nishimura, Peter Nosco

Date: Fri, 5 Nov 2004 10:52:44 +0900
From: "chusei nihon" <chusei-ni...@...cy.ocn.ne.jp>
Subject: Concert and Talk on Japanese Traditional Music

The Medieval Japanese Studies Institute and Center for the Study of Women, Buddhism and Cultural History present on Sunday, November 28, 2004, from 2-4p.m. at Shokokuji monastery Main Hall in Kyoto a "Kansha no Concert" .

The programme will include the noted shakuhachi artist Preston Houser who will play an offertory piece to the memory of 13th century Zen abbess Mugai Nyodai, whose meinichi is November28.

This offertory will be followed by a talk by Kobe University Professor of Music Terauchi Naoko on the role of gagaku music in Japanese temples and shrines with gagaku musicians from the historic Osaka Shitennoji group GARYOUKAI performing selected works from the gagaku repertoire, under the direction of its leader Ono Makoto.

The programme will be followed by a modest reception to meet the musicians and Institute staff.

This Concert and Talk is offered free with gratitude to those who have joined the Institute / Center as yearly members. For others (who are nonetheless urged to become members) the cost is 1000 yen (500 yen for students).

The Main Hall of Shokokuji is reached by subway to Karasuma-Imadegawa, and entering from the road heading north off of Imadegawa between two Doshisha University buldings, a 5 minute walk.

For further information and application please contact:
Phone & Fax: 075-212-1206
E-mail: chusei-ni...@...cy.ocn.ne.jp
URL: <http://www.chusei-nihon.net/>

Date: Sun, 7 Nov 2004 12:33:37 -0600

From: Brian Ruppert <rupp...@...c.edu>

Subject: Gion Matsuri in the Tokugawa Era

To PMJS,

I am writing because a very talented graduate student here

is investigating the social context for the Gion Matsuri in

the Tokugawa Era. He has uncovered a number of useful

manuscript materials that reveal a lot about that context,

but he can find almost no research (nor primary sources, for

that matter) that is specifically about the religious aspect

of the Gion Festival. Wakita Haruko's work has a different

focus as well as era of coverage, so that hasn't really

helped much. He's also collected a few other things, and is

capable of reading written manuscripts, but does not feel

comfortable as yet that he's gotten all materials that might

help with the question of the ritual or religious aspect.

And, frankly, I'm also unaware of research out there, other

than what I can find through search engines for Japanese

articles like "MagazinePlus." Any information regarding the

materials on or studies of this problem are welcome.

Sincerely,

Brian Ruppert

Associate Professor

Director of Graduate Studies

Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures

University of Illinois

Date: Mon, 8 Nov 2004 14:34:04 +0000

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

Subject: new members/profiles

Before I welcome our new members, let me apologize for the delay in sending out recent mail--I had limited internet access over the last week.

Michael Emmerich <mde2...@...umbia.edu>

profile = Graduate student at Columbia University interested in Genji monongatari and its translations into modern and contemporary Japanese.

James Guthrie <rcg...@...mail.com>

affiliation = Applying to U.Penn's Ph.D. program, former MA student of Joan Piggott

profile = Presently teaching Japanese language and culture for Richmond City Public Schools in Richmond, VA. Applying to U.Penn. for Ph.D. program in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies. My areas of interest are pre-modern Japanese political development (court and kingship studies), the lives of the "common" people of Nara and Heian Japan, and the study of the supernatural in pre-modern Japan.

Andreas Marks <ama...@...-bonn.de>

profile = Ph.D. candidate, University of Bonn, Department for Oriental Art History. General research area is the work of the woodblock print artist Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III). My dissertation will focus on his Tokaido-series.

Jason Newton <ega0...@...f.ac.uk>

affiliation = Affiliated with East Asian Studies, Sheffield University, England

profile = I am studying Japanese & Linguistics at the University of Sheffield, England. My main areas of interest include understanding classical grammar, the transition of the language through time and issues of translating classical texts.

**** new affiliation / email *****

Scot Hislop <scothis...@....com>

affiliation = Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Post-doctoral Fellow

Loren Waller <ldw2...@...umbia.edu>

I am currently pursuing my PhD at Columbia University. My current research interests include early poetry (particularly Kiki kayo) in social and textual contexts, mythology, gender issues, Kokugaku scholarship, and philological analysis of the Manyoshu.

Date: Mon, 08 Nov 2004 10:04:49 -0500
From: Sharon Domier <sdom...@...rary.umass.edu>
Subject: Re: Gion Matsuri in the Tokugawa Era

If your student can read Japanese or some Japanese, I see that there are a
number of good books on his topic. Please use the Japanese academic national
union catalog (NACSIS) new version called Webcat Plus
http://webcatplus.nii.ac.jp
One of the benefits of Webcat Plus over the
old Webcat is that you can see the table of contents and a brief summary so
you know how much of the book is relevant to your topic.

Type in keywords Gion matsuri (leave off the hiragana ri) and shinkou.

I am sure that you can help him narrow it down to a few secondary sources
that he can read.

Good luck!

Sharon

Date: Mon, 8 Nov 2004 12:15:57 -0500

From: Matthew Stavros <mstav...@...nceton.EDU>

Subject: Re: Gion Matsuri in the Tokugawa Era

On the religious aspects of the Gion-sai, let me recommend several things.

Begin with the _Yasaka jinja kiroku_(八坂神社記録). Published in book form in Taisho 12, it is a collection of records kept by shrine scribes and priests from the earliest times until the Tokugawa period. It includes the rather well-known "Gion shigyo nikki" (祇園執行日記).

Also, consider 『神道大系神社編10 祇園』. Newly-printed and well-organized collection of original sources.

There are several sources on rituals going on at Gion-sha in the run up to the festival in 群書類従.

Finally, there's a monjo collection out there but it's slipping my memory right now.

For context, hasn't Kawashima Masao written quite a bit on the Gion-sai, or is his work limited to an earlier period?

Matthew Stavros

//Many of the following messages are directly or indirectly in response to David Pollack's posting

//"Chinese and Japanese Lute Lore"--included in last month's log but given again here for convenience's sake. /ed

Date: Fri, 22 Oct 2004 13:20:47 -0400

From: David Pollack <poll...@...l.rochester.edu>

Subject: Chinese and Japanese Lute Lore

This may be something that everyone else but me already knew about, but

I ran across what seems a very useful online collection of ancient

Chinese and Japanese materials pertaining to music and especially the

qin (kin/koto) and si (ssu/oogoto) that I thought I might share:

http://www.linkclub.or.jp/~qingxia/link.html

the magnification feature is especially useful.

David Pollack

Date: Tue, 9 Nov 2004 13:51:49 +0900

From: "Steven G. Nelson" <snel...@...osei.ac.jp>

Subject: Let's say zither, not lute ...

Just a short note from a musicologist who cares about these things.

Van Gulik's pioneering work on the qin/kin used the translation lute, but there are a number of reasons why this is no longer suitable, the main one being that there is a very different family of instruments in East Asia (pipa/biwa) which can only be called lutes in terms of their construction. The standard translation for qin/kin is zither. Of course, one may debate the necessity of having a standard translation, but I'm pretty confident that the merits outweigh the demerits in this case.

Date: Tue, 9 Nov 2004 06:37:27 EST

From: Ingrid Parker <INGP...@....com>

Subject: Re: lute lore

I often find wonderfully useful pointers here and did again with the web site David Pollack posted about lute lore. Many thanks.

And Steven Nelson's remarks on the proper translation of biwa (lute) and koto (zither) were also very welcome. I have used these terms for years after looking at pictures of both instruments and reading descriptions of their use in Japan.

This small matter by no means detracts from my admiration for Robert van Gulik's stature as a scholar and detective novelist.

In general, let me say that I read PMJS faithfully and am grateful to all of you.

I.J.Parker (Ingrid)

Date: Tue, 09 Nov 2004 08:04:36 -0500

From: Rose Bundy <bu...@...o.edu>

Subject: query about study abroad site

good morning,

My apologies for the cross-posting.

This seemed a good place for this question. Do any of your schools have an exchange with Ritsumeikan Daigaku. If so, how is it going? Are you satisfied? Are students able to get langs courses and levels they need? Are the non-lang courses sufficient and good? How is the dorm situation? Have they been able to participate in t hat technology and management program?

If your institution had a chance to have an exchange and decided against it, why? Responding off-list is fine.

Thanks for your help.

Rose Bundy bu...@...o.edu

Assoc. Prof., Jse Lang. and Lit.

Kalamazoo College

Date: Tue, 09 Nov 2004 11:16:14 -0600

From: "Anthony J. Bryant" <ajbry...@...iana.edu>

Subject: Re: lute lore

INGP...@....com wrote:

I have to admit a frustration here. Nothing to do with you, it's just that you reminded me of it.

A biwa is NOT a lute. Why do we call it lute? Well, lutes are a bit more exotic, but one might as well call it a guitar and with little difference. A biwa is a biwa. A sho is a sho. A shamisen is a shamisen. I don't mind a footnote or explanation where necessary, but I bristle at such things.

I've seen references to Heian nobles playing chess. Say what? Chess? How cool. Knights and pawns and rooks. No, dammit, they were playing shogi. Possibly. They may have been playing go, actually, but the overenthusiastic translator may have just substituted "chess". Chess is not a "generic" board game. It is a specific game.

Am I the only one frustrated by these things? (Or should I just dial back the morning coffee quotient?)

Tony

Anthony J. Bryant

Website: http://www.sengokudaimyo.com

Date: Wed, 10 Nov 2004 09:53:39 -0700

From: "Larry V. Shumway" <larry_shum...@....edu>

Subject: Re: lute lore

Hi Tony:

Just dial back on the coffee. The biwa is a lute. Lute is the generic

designation of any string instrument with a neck, which a biwa has. This

applies to the shamisen as well as numerous traditional instruments found in

almost all countries. Thus the biwa would be described in generic terms as

a short-necked, pear shaped plucked lute, with frets, played with a large

plectrum. Since words are obviously inadequate for further description a

picture would be necessary to fill in the rest. Cheers, Larry V. Shumway

Date: Wed, 10 Nov 2004 16:16:31 -0500

From: Mike Smitka <smit...@....edu>

Subject: lute lore

Since I deal mainly with undergrads, I am torn both ways. A musicologist need not be told that whatever a "biwa" is, it is not going to be the same as a European lute. But for the truly unsophisticated, it adds a point of reference. Yes, then we have to fight the misperception, and sometimes consciously using an ambiguous word can help sensitize students to the need for caution -- distint times and cultures invite misinterpretation.

Does calling a shamisen a "banjo" help? Well, the timbre and the use of a pick are common, and even some of the playing style, plus there are analogs in many other musical cultures. So if I'm speaking to someone totally naive of things Japanese, that might be helpful... It's a combination of audience and one's own prose style, whether you're trying to keep "strange" words to a minimum, as distractions from the story.

For the same reason, I find macrons overdone. If I see a name, I typically know what it really is; macrons convey little additional information, and are ugly. If I didn't know Japanese, they wouldn't help at all, they'd just confuse. Either way, best to dispense....

Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 21:24:31 +0900

From: "Steven G. Nelson" <snel...@...osei.ac.jp>

Subject: A semi-apology

Well, I'm sorry for apparently having opened a can of worms on the subject of what to call the pipa/biwa. Larry's answer on the biwa being a lute in terms of modern organology (the study of music instruments), in which string instruments are divided into five classes depending on their construction, was expressed much more elegantly than my initial call for a certain standardization in terminology. I am also much indebted to Van Gulik's work, for which I have the greatest respect. But I cannot help wishing that he hadn't called the qin/kin a lute. If you are bothered by the standardization of terminology, then you must of course be bothered by Chancellor and Regent and all of those other terms that even the best of the translators use. So, what to do? Leave everything in the original language?

And I cannot agree on macrons (or some indications of double vowels, or whatever you want to call them) being unnecessary. If you find them ugly, what about German or French or any of those other languages that use signs other than those of the alphabet? Isn't it just a question of what you are used to, and what may be helpful for each of us as we try to understand each other's languages? Since it indicates vowel length precisely, I myself prefer the doubling of the vowel (as in Tookyoo), but I know that I am in a small minority there, so please don't feel obliged to remind me.

This has become less of an apology than I had intended, so I will leave it there.

Regards,

Steven Nelson

Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 09:18:16 CST

From: ML Nagata <nagat...@....edu>

Subject: Re: lute lore

Let me add to that. The people who make and repair violins, violas,

cellos, etc. instruments of this type are also called luthiers, likely for

the same reason.

ML Nagata

On 10 Nov 2004, Larry V. Shumway wrote:

> Hi Tony:

> Just dial back on the coffee. The biwa is a lute. Lute is the generic

> designation of any string instrument with a neck, which a biwa has.

> This applies to the shamisen as well as numerous traditional instruments

> found in almost all countries. <...>

Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 09:40:48 -0500

From: David Pollack <poll...@...l.rochester.edu>

Subject: Re: [pmjs] lute lore

i have to agree about finding a familiar term to get the general idea across, though of course we don't want to have confucius playing the clavichord (as keene has pointed out, or was it waley). a picture and recording always trump any number of words. and even the word "lute" does not mean one thing, since over time it has been used to refer to many things, with its origins in the arabic oud (al'oud, like al'jebr, al'kimiya and other such terms). it first shows up in painting with four strings and plucked with a quill, and later with five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten courses (not strings) and plucked with fingers (tips? nails? major ethnomusicological argument here). just as viols and recorders (and shawms, sackbutts and cornettos) came in a variety of sizes, the "chest of lutes" ranged from soprano to basso. there were a wide variety of tunings. and a lute was distinct from a bandora, chittarone, guitar, and even theorbo or archlute, which had as many as fourteen courses and stood as tall as today's double-bass.

* note from pmjs ed.itor: the images that David originally included can be seen here:

http://www.meijigakuin.ac.jp/~pmjs/archive/2004/lutelore.html#lutes

david pollack

Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 10:30:33 -0800

From: Morgan Pitelka <mpite...@....edu>

Subject: PMJS: see ya, "biwa"; don't boot "lute"!

Dear Anthony and colleagues,

The coffee quotient is high here as well. I, for one, get frustrated for the opposite reason. Refusing to translate Japanese terms into English when we are writing for an English-language readership is, I think, a form of intellectual cowardice. We should be willing to take a stand on the meaning of terms, however fluid, fragmentary, and contingent, or we risk objectifying and exoticizing our subject matter and marginalizing our work. We write, after all, for an English-language readership, not a Japanese one.

Of course there are exceptions. Sometimes a specialized Japanese term must be foregrounded to allow philological or linguistic analysis. Perhaps the term became a proper noun or was used in a complicated pun. Likewise, in some cases we are writing for a narrow audience of specialists. In a journal like Monumenta Nipponica, for example, which is avowedly aimed at Japanologists, it makes complete sense to employ Japanese terminology without hesitation because the expectation is that all readers will either know the term or know how to discover its meaning.

In books and articles published for a broader readership, however, what is the point of insistently employing an eminently translatable word like "chado" instead of the translation "way of tea"? "Utsushi" instead of "reproduction"? Or "katana" instead of "long sword"?

Perhaps you would object that all those terms can be interpreted in different ways, and that the English-language translations loose the nuanced texture of the Japanese original. Maybe you think that we should use the Japanese terms to distinguish between "chado" and "chanoyu," and between "katana" and "tachi." I would respond that all scholarship is interpretation. We are constantly making choices of this sort when we research and write, not only in Japanese but in English as well. The play of meaning, the possibility of new interpretations and misinterpretations - these are precisely what make scholarship interesting. If we want our work to matter to anyone other than Japanophiles and Japanologists, we must operate in the rubric of English-language scholarship, which means making these hard choices.

Most frustrating of all, to me, are those books and articles that DO take an intellectual stand by providing an English-language translation of a difficult or esoteric Japanese term, but then continue to use the Japanese term. A few pages or chapters later, most non-specialist readers have forgotten the term and feel lost. This approach succeeds only in alienating readers and in creating the false impression that the author knows Very Important Things. Things that are obviously too important to bother translating into English.

Morgan

*****************

Morgan Pitelka

Asian Studies Department

408 Johnson Hall

Occidental College

1600 Campus Road

Los Angeles, CA 90041

*****************

Date: Fri, 12 Nov 2004 00:18:40 -0500

From: "lcoqc" <lc...@...thlink.net>

Subject: Pre-modern Japanese Studies Group announcement

The Zenkindai Kenkyukai (Pre-modern Japanese Studies Group) is pleased to announce its first meeting:

Saturday, November 20, 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. at 511 Kent Hall, Columbia University

The Pre-modern Japanese Studies Kenkyukai offers an interdisciplinary forum for presentation of informal papers and reading workshops by and for researchers engaged with pre-modern texts. The focus is on cultures of literacy, understood broadly to include orality, reading, composition, pragmatics of transmission / reception, archiving, and exegetics, or the uses and abuses of commentary.

Our first meeting will allow time for exploratory discussion of questions of direction, planning for future meetings, and other matters of interest to participants. All are welcome to attend.

Please refer to our webpage for details and schedule:

http://www.columbia.edu/cu/ealac/jpnlit/zkdkkk.html

Date: Fri, 12 Nov 2004 10:59:36 -0600

From: "Robert E Morrell" <rober...@...sci.wustl.edu>

Subject: Re: PMJS: see ya, "biwa"; don't boot "lute"!

This seems to be a good time to re-introduce that

long-standing, unresolved, argument about how and when

to translate Buddhist terms. Let's start with _dharma_

in its two major senses: (1) Buddhist Teaching, and

(2) ultimate element/constituent. Two generations ago

one could render the first sense as "Law," and the

second as, say, element. Today, the cognoscenti insist

that this is utterly unacceptable, since dharma in

Sanskrit has many meanings which simply cannot be

expressed even through our very rich English

vocabulary. I agree with Morgan that:

Refusing to translate Japanese terms into English when we are writing for an English-language

readership is, I think, a form of intellectual cowardice. We should be

willing to take a stand on the meaning of terms, however fluid,

fragmentary, and contingent, or we risk objectifying and exoticizing

our subject matter and marginalizing our work. We write, after all, for

an English-language readership, not a Japanese one.

I would also agree that there are exceptions (e.g.,

nirvana) -- but we should make them only with great

reluctance, even in a journal like Monumenta Nipponica.

Not every "Japanologist" is going to be familiar with

technical terms in all areas of Japanese study. For

example, I am pretty sure that most students of

Japanese music, or even literature, are unlikely to to

recognize a term such as, say, "honji suijaku." So

it's probably as good idea to try to translate the term

while putting the original in parentheses. This way

everyone is happy (although I doubt that everyone will

be happy with this response.)

Bob M

Date: Fri, 12 Nov 2004 10:51:20 -0700

From: "Larry V. Shumway" <larry_shum...@....edu>

Subject: Re: No Apology Needed

Hi Steven:

I hope this does not sound like I am beating a dead horse, but your feelings

about Van Gulik's calling the qin a lute are well founded. You are right.

It is not a lute but a zither, albeit a different type of zither than the

zheng, koto, or kayagum but nonetheless a zither. Such generic terms can

function well in translating instrument names from the original language.

Problems that you mention arise when non-music people are not aware of the

terms used in organology, though the continued use of them would certainly

help spread abroad their usefulness. Since musical instruments are concrete

objects, pictures solve the problems of filling in the details lacking in

the generic terms. As for generic terms for abstract things, such as you

mention, Chancellor and Regent, it would seem more problematic coming up

with generic equivalents for such things, let alone finding wide agreement

on them. I would cheer on those brave souls who would try to do it, however.

Cheers, Larry Shumway

Date: Fri, 12 Nov 2004 11:31:56 -0800

From: Robert Borgen <rbor...@...avis.edu>

Subject: Treasuring our Loot

I agree with everything Morgan Pitelka said and would like to add one additional reason for preferring English translations, imperfect though they are, when writing in English. Sprinkling too much Japanese on our English prose gives it an excessively exotic taste. To me, a little bit of "wabi" and "sabi" (wasabi?) goes a long way. Too much of it, and we make the Japanese seem uniquely inscrutable and ourselves incomprehensible.

Robert Borgen

Date: Sat, 13 Nov 2004 23:09:05 +0900

From: "Bodart-Bailey" <bod...@...uma.ac.jp>

Subject: Re: No Apology Needed

Steven Nelson wrote:

"what about German or French or any of those other languages

that use signs other than those of the alphabet?"

You might consider this odd, but we Germans and French and assorted others

actually consider those signs you so disparagingly refer to as being part of

the alphabet ...

Cheers,

Beatrice M. Bodart-Bailey

Date: Mon, 15 Nov 2004 10:39:14 CST

From: nagat003 <nagat...@....edu>

Subject: Re: Treasuring our Loot

I would also like to add that using Japanese terms also limits our

audience. There are other scholars out there who may be interested in our

topics, but are not specialists in Japan. How can we talk to them if we do

not find some good way to translate Japanese terms?

ML Nagata

On 12 Nov 2004, Robert Borgen wrote:

> I agree with everything Morgan Pitelka said and would like to add one

> additional reason for preferring English translations, imperfect though

> they are, when writing in English. Sprinkling too much Japanese on our

> English prose gives it an excessively exotic taste. To me, a little

> bit of "wabi" and "sabi" (wasabi?) goes a long way. Too much of it,

> and we make the Japanese seem uniquely inscrutable and ourselves

> incomprehensible.

> Robert Borgen

Date: Mon, 15 Nov 2004 16:22:57 -0500
From: "R. Keller Kimbrough" <rkkim...@...by.edu>
Subject: Database of Japanese Academic Journals

Dear List Members,

Does anyone know if there is a Japanese counterpart to JSTOR and/or the
Chinese Academic Journals Database? JSTOR allows for full electronic access
to the contents of 449 English-language academic journals; more amazingly,
the Chinese Academic Journals Database is said to allow for full electronic
access to over 5,000 Chinese-language academic journals published in the
People's Republic, going back to 1994.

My department is considering asking our library to subscribe to the Chinese
Academic Journals Database, and the question came up in a department meeting
as to whether or not there is a similar database for Japanese-language
journals. Does anyone know?

Best wishes,
Keller Kimbrough
Colby College

Date: Mon, 15 Nov 2004 18:41:17 -0600

From: "Anthony J. Bryant" <ajbry...@...iana.edu>

Subject: Re: Treasuring our Loot

nagat003 wrote:

I would also like to add that using Japanese terms also limits our

audience. There are other scholars out there who may be interested in our

topics, but are not specialists in Japan. How can we talk to them if we do

not find some good way to translate Japanese terms?

Let me offer a personal anecdote. Many years ago, when I was an undergrad and barely conversant in Japanese beyond "nanji desu ka?", I developed an interest in historical Japanese things -- things that are lumped under the phrase "yuusoku kojitsu" -- and found reading Japanese translated texts horribly frustrating. They didn't tell me anything *I* wanted to know, because every writer seemed to be using his own translations for some things. Seidensticker calls em "singlets" (isn't that a sheet?) while someone else calls them "unlined garments" and others may say "single-layered robes" and so on. Yeah, but none of these tell me whether the same garment is being referred to.

Not all "trousers" are the same thing. Some are hakama. Some are sashinuki. Some are ooguchi. Some are kobakama.

Not all "over-robes" are the same thing. (And what's with "cloak"? A cloak has no sleeves and hangs around the body from a single opening at the neck -- if you HAVE to translate, say "robe" -- that at least has sleeves and wraps around the body.)

Seidensticker mentioned the mother of Kiritsubo giving the emperor keepsakes, including a "bodkin." Say WHAT?

I wanted to know what these things were. I wanted to know what people were wearing. What they were playing. What they were doing.

One might as well translate sashimi as "fish sticks" and so on.

That is why we have footnotes, or glossaries. I have no problem translating something if there is a clear, understandable English analogue (e.g., "mon" --> "gate") but for things that don't exist in English, I have no problem using Japanese words. How else did words like "kimono," "rickshaw," "samurai," and so on come into our language? Someone, somewhere, decided not to use the rediculous "robe," "person-powered conveyance," and "knight" (what a problem that would have been!), and they should be thanked. Why not follow in their footsteps?

Tony

-- Anthony J. Bryant

Website: http://www.sengokudaimyo.com

Date: Tue, 16 Nov 2004 13:15:33 +0900

From: "Steven G. Nelson" <snel...@...osei.ac.jp>

Subject: Re: No Apology Needed

Dear Beatrice,

OK, I surrender.

I meant nothing disparaging with my remark about diacritical marks in various languages; indeed, I meant to imply that they are a necessary part of many languages, including some systems of Japanese romanization. Did you read my message in its original context?

I have learned my lesson; becoming a read-only member is clearly the only sensible alternative with so many sensibilities so prone to take offense.

Steven Nelson

Steven Nelson wrote:

"what about German or French or any of those other languages

that use signs other than those of the alphabet?"

You might consider this odd, but we Germans and French and assorted others

actually consider those signs you so disparagingly refer to as being part of

the alphabet ...

Cheers,

Beatrice M. Bodart-Bailey

Date: Thu, 18 Nov 2004 14:58:36 -0500 (EST)

From: Hideyuki Morimoto <hm2...@...umbia.edu>

Subject: Re: Database of Japanese Academic Journals

It is certainly hoped that NACSIS-ELS will further expand its coverage. NII will be holding a series of meetings on GeNii in the middle of December, where we may be able to learn some positive developments in this regard.

===================================================================

Hideyuki Morimoto

Japanese Cataloger

C.V. Starr East Asian Library

300 Kent Hall, mail code 3901

Columbia University Voice: +1-212-854-1510

1140 Amsterdam Ave. Fax: +1-212-662-6286

New York, NY 10027

U.S.A. Electronic Mail: hm2...@...umbia.edu

Date: Thu, 18 Nov 2004 15:06:43 -0500

From: sdom...@...rary.umass.edu

Subject: Re: Database of Japanese Academic Journals

Dear Keller,

There is no Japanese equivalent to JSTOR or China Academic Journal. The

closest you can come is the NACSIS-ELS and Kenkyu Kiyo Portal, which provide a

small number of full-text journals of scholarly societies. Japan takes its

If your college is offering you something, I would suggest the following

equivalents )

Magazine Plus through Nichigai Associates - this is an article database for

journal articles and popular magazine articles. You still need to get the

articles through ILL, but at least you have the citations.

And, if they have money to spare you should look at Japan Knowledge Index,

which is a big collection of online encyclopedia, dictionaries, and other

sources.

Contact Mr. Mitake at Kinokuniya for information on online subscriptions.

Sharon

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

Subject: new members

Date: Thu, 18 Nov 2004 17:19:06 -0500

We welcome four new members to pmjs: Shobha Rani Dash, Luciana Galliano, Yukiko Nishimura, and Peter Nosco.

Shobha Rani Dash <chusei-ni...@...cy.ocn.ne.jp>

affiliation = Medieval Japanese Studies Institute, Center for Women, Buddhism and Cultural History

M.A. in Buddhist Studies, University of Delhi

M.Phil in Buddhist Studies, University of Delhi

M.A. in Buddhist Studies, Otani University, Kyoto

Ph.D. in Buddhist Studies, Otani University, Kyoto

Presently working as a research staff in Medieval Japanese Studies Institute, Center for Women, Buddhism and Cultural History located in Kyoto.

Luciana Galliano <l...@...hibun.ac.jp>

affiliation = Venice University "Ca' Foscari"

profile = Musicologist and scholar in musical aesthetics, Luciana Galliano combines a prevailing competence in contemporary music with a strong interest in Asian music. She lived for many years in Japan (1987-1991) researching traditional and modern Japanese music. She collaborated with Luciano Berio to the background researches for his 1992 Norton Lectures. In 1998, she published "Yougaku. Percorsi della musica giapponese nel Novecento" (revised edition "Yougaku. Japanese Music in the Twentieth Century", Scarecrow Press 2002).

She is the director of the Music Section for CESMEO (International Institute for Advanced Asian Studies), and teaches Anthropology of Music at Venice University Ca' Foscari. Currently, she is researching on Japanese music at the International Research Center for Japanese Studies in Kyoto.

Yukiko Nishimura <Yukiko_Nishim...@...mail.com>

affiliation = PhD student, SOAS, University of London

profile = Research topic: the Worship of Avalokitesvara in the Nara period.

I am interested in the history of art, the religion and the history of the Nara period.

Peter Nosco <peter.no...@....ca>

affiliation = Univ. of British Columbia

profile = I do research on the intellectual and social history of early modern Japan at the Univ. of British Columbia, where I am a professor in and also Head of the Asian Studies Department. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu!

-- change of address / affiliation

Megumi Inoue <<min...@...any.edu>

SUNY at Albany

Date: Thu, 18 Nov 2004 17:44:11 -0500

From: "Kristina Troost" <kktro...@...ub.duke.edu>

Subject: Re: Database of Japanese Academic Journals

Dear All,

I want to add to Sharon's very helpful posting; MagazinePlus is very

useful for Japanese scholarly journals, but it does not cover popular

journals nor does it have a subject thesaurus behind it. It has

features not available in the publicly available version of Zasshi kiji

sakuin at NDL (http://opac.ndl.go.jp/) and unlike NDL's site is

available in the afternoon in the U.S. (NDL shuts down for maintenance

from 2-5 am Japan time). The NDL version has greater coverage, however,

as it goes back to 1948. So depending on faculty interest, WebOya which

costs roughly the same for one simultaneous user site license

supplemented by the use of Zasshi kiji sakuin may make better sense. It

covers popular journals and has a powerful search engine, subject

thesaurus and classified searching (I realize that this is pmjs, and

thus of considerably less relevance).

However, one other possibility to consider (especially for small liberal

arts colleges) is the fact that Nichigai allows you to pay per use (the

program is called Nichigai Assist). I/We have found that three

databases are of the greatest value: MagazinePlus, BookPlus (which has

bibliographical data going back to 1926, and tables of contents since

1986 -- a lot of this is also found in Webcat plus, though the search

engines differ) and Web Who which is a fantastic resource for

biographical and bibliographical data for anyone who was active from

Meiji on.

Once again the person to contact is Daikichi Mitake at Kinokuniya.

Here is info. He can arrange trials for various databases, if you want.

Full Name: Daikichi Mitake

Job Title: General Manager

Company: Kinokuniya U.S.A.

Business Address: 1581 Webster Street

San Francisco, CA 94115

Business: +1 (415) 567-7625

Business Fax: (415) 567-4109

E-mail: mit...@...okuniya.com

E-mail Display As: Daikichi Mitake

Web Page: http://www.kinokuniya.co.jp/english/

And while I am at it, I should also put a plug in for the various

workshops the NCC (http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~ncc/) plans to sponsor on

Japanese electronic resources -- what's available and how to use them to

your best advantage. Most of these are still in the planning stages,

but for more information, please contact Victoria Bestor.

Kristina Troost

Duke

Date: Thu, 18 Nov 2004 15:39:00 -0800

From: Morgan Pitelka <mpite...@....edu>

Subject: historical writing: what is at stake? who is the audience?

Tony and colleagues,

Thank you for your response, Tony, which is helpful and generous. I think it points to the central issue here. You assume, I think, that we write for other specialists in our narrow field; dare I say, for other Japanophiles. And perhaps a few of us do. Much of your work, for example, is probably aimed at an audience of samurai aficionados who go into the experience of reading about Japan wanting to learn specialized terminology, as you yourself did. And in my recent work on the material culture associated with Tokugawa Ieyasu, I have found your online articles devoted to Japanese armor to be very helpful! Bravo, and thank you!

However, I am trying to argue that focusing on the minutiae that so often dominate certain kinds of historical and art historical studies in Japan is not appropriate for a historian of Japan working at a liberal arts college or a research university outside of Japan. Although I write about the most esoteric topics (tea history, ceramic history, material culture) I MUST position my writing vis-a-vis larger historical and theoretical debates in global history and cultural studies. When I write up my recent research on Ieyasu, I am not going to spend much time talking about what the Japanese names for the different kinds of battlefield trousers were, but I am going to talk about theories of collecting and kingship drawn from European historiography.

Why? To get tenure! To get book contracts! To win fellowships! To attract diverse students! To educate people other than those who come into my courses already hooked on Japan! Most of all, because I am not writing for you, Tony, who surely know more about Japanese military garb than I could ever dream of, or for Japanese historians, who have read Ieyasu's letters backwards and forwards and upside down and written whole books on the way that his cursive "soro" is articulated in this document versus that document. I am writing for English-language historians of all specialties, and for advanced undergraduates. This doesn't mean my writing is either ignorant or derivative of Japanese scholarship, merely that I am writing from a different perspective and for a different audience. We have to remember, when we return from Japan after years of work in archives and as members of research groups, that the stakes and the audience have changed.

Morgan

*****************

Morgan Pitelka

Asian Studies Department

408 Johnson Hall

Occidental College

1600 Campus Road

Los Angeles, CA 90041

1-323-259-1421

mpite...@....edu

Date: Fri, 19 Nov 2004 19:11:46 +0900

From: ジャメンツ <Michael.Jame...@....seikyou.ne.jp>

To: Multiple recipients of pmjs <p...@...eijigakuin.ac.jp>

Subject: No apologies from this galoot, yet

I would like to second Anthony Bryant's recent post and offer an argument in support of the suggestion that we embed Japanese terminology in our English when there is no equivalent English word. It is perhaps quixotic, but I hope the work created in our buraku will someday have meaning to readers in other communities outside our own, particularly that in Japan. Using one of Anthony Bryant's examples, if we write sashinuki, the idea becomes immediately available to Japanese scholars and those in other scholarly communities who deal with such matters and who might read our work in English (this does make our writing more obscure to the undergraduate readership, but translations or neologisms seem likely to be misleading and may be equally obscure).

Another benefit of using a romanized version of a Japanese term is the economy of language. I often think of the translation of the the title of the Ozu film "Ochazuke no aji," "The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice," and find myself thinking more has been lost than gained by trying to substitute an explanation for the original word. Of course, we must explain in English what it is we write about. I work with a literary genre called ganmon, which I can boil down to two or three words in English (if required to be brief), which could also be translated simply as a "prayer." Such reductions tend to obliterate precisely what I think important about the term and thus I try to stick with the word ganmon after defining it for the reader in a note or glossary.

M. Jamentz

Date: Thu, 25 Nov 2004 09:30:40 +0900

From: Janine Beichman <jani...@...l1.accsnet.ne.jp>

Subject: speaker, Sogi, Konishi

Does anyone know if Konishi Jin'ichi explained the concept of the

speaker, or 話主 (as opposed to author　作者), in his book 宗祇 Sougi? I

thought he did but looking through it now can not find the reference.

Or, does anyone know of another Japanese source in which the concept

(useful in weaning students away from psuedo-biographical readings) is

explained?

-----

Janine Beichman, Ph.D.

Professor, Department of Japanese Literature

Daito Bunka University, Tokyo, Japan

Date: Sat, 27 Nov 2004 16:52:49 -0500

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

Subject: Re: speaker, Sogi, Konishi

I can recommend one general resource for Japanese terminology on narratology, Janine. A translation by Endo Ken'ichi of Gerald Prince's _A Dictionary of Narratology_ (Lincoln and London: University of Nebraska Press, 1987) as _ Monogatariron jiten_ (Revised edition. Shouhaku sousho. Gengokagaku no bouken 4. Shouhakusha, 1997). The translator has added a very useful bibliography of existing Japanese translations of works on narrative study. Prince's thin little volume has meanwhile reappeared in 2003 in a lightly revised edition with updated bibliography of its own.

http://webcat.nii.ac.jp/cgi-bin/shsproc?id=BA31426612

http://www.amazon.co.jp/exec/obidos/ASIN/0803287763/

Michael Watson

Date: Thu, 25 Nov 2004 11:58:20 +0100

From: "Maria Chiara Migliore" <mariachiara.migli...@...neo.unile.it>

Subject: historical development of yakuza jargon

Dear All,

I wonder if somebody on PMJS list could help me with a bibliography on the historical development of yakuza jargon.

Thank you

maria chiara migliore

Date: Sat, 27 Nov 2004 19:50:21 -0500

From: "Lewis Cook " <lc...@...thlink.net>

Subject: Re: speaker, Sogi, Konishi

Janine Beichman wrote:

> Does anyone know if Konishi Jin'ichi explained the concept of the

> speaker, or 話主 (as opposed to author 作者), in his book 宗祇 Sougi? I

> thought he did but looking through it now can not find the reference.

> Or, does anyone know of another Japanese source in which the concept

> (useful in weaning students away from psuedo-biographical readings) is

> explained?

Allow me to ask for citations of the term 話主. Norinaga uses the term 作主 (glossed as "tsukurinushi") in _Tama-no-ogushi_, but I don't recall he, or anyone else, using the term 話主 I don't doubt that the term has been used, am just seeking information about actual instances.

The term 話者 ("washa" for "narrator") may have been introduced by Mitani Kuniaki, who used it frequently in the 80s, but I am only guessing about its provenance and would appreciate any further information on this, as well.

With the indispensable help of Karen Brazell, I did a partial translation of Konishi's Sougi book (published in JJS c. 1974). Don't recall his use there of the term in question.

Isn't it more likely to turn up, if at all, in Konishi's multi-volume history of Japanese literature?

Best,

Lewis Cook

Date: Sat, 27 Nov 2004 18:55:17 -0500

From: "Lewis Cook " <lc...@...thlink.net>

Subject: yakuza jargon

Dear Prof. Migliore,

Please let us know what is already included in your bibliography, so we can see what might be missing.

Best regards,

Lewis Cook

Dear All,

I wonder if somebody on PMJS list could help me with a bibliography on

the historical development of yakuza jargon.

Thank you

maria chiara migliore

Date: Sat, 27 Nov 2004 15:36:27 -1000

From: Jonathan Dresner <dres...@...aii.edu>

Subject: Murasaki's Genji in American Libraries

The OCLC library consortium compiled a list of the 1000 books most frequently held in US libraries: Murasaki's _Genji Monogatari_ made the list, but nothing else remotely in the premodern Japanese category did. My blogging compatriot Konrad Lawson wants to know (http://www.froginawell.net/japan/index.php?p=25) if there are other Japan books which we think should be worth that wide of a distribution. I think the lack of any Buddhist texts, or other Japanese literary works, is the most obvious omission even given the rather skewed nature of the holdings represented. Other thoughts?

Jonathan Dresner

http://www.uhh.hawaii.edu/~dresner

Date: Sun, 28 Nov 2004 15:36:35 -0500

From: "robin d gill" <robin...@...lsouth.net>

Subject: Frois's Topsy-turvy in English

Okagesama de, Paraverse Press has published a full English translation of Luis Frois S.J.'s 1585 list of 611 ways Europeans and Japanese are contrary. The 1,222-line original grew into a huge book of 740 pages, TOPSY-TURVY 1585 (ISBN 0-9742618-1-5 $33.33). A long foreword treats the history of Topsy-turvy (from Herodotus and Il Biruni to "Ripley's Believe it or not!") and the relationship of Frois's Tratado (treatise) to the Jesuit policy of Accommodation. A midword considers the alternative antipode, China. There is no index (the printer had a 740 pg limit), but the 611 contrasts listed after the Table of Contents partially compensate.

Those of you unfamiliar with Frois's "Tratado" might note that the list, entertaining for mixing contrasts about life-and-death issues with trivia such as the side of the melon we sniff or the side of the body we bare to a fire, was discovered by Josef Franz Schutte, S.J. and, translated from Portuguese into German, published by Sophia U. in 1955. Two popular (bunko) Japanese translations attest to its general interest.

The first edition, as is the case with all of my self-produced and published books to date, is not without typos, stylos, and occasionally worse (please think of it as an exceptionally attractive reading copy!); but, for all of that, you should find the idea/dollar ratio more than acceptable. I would be grateful for advice, corrections and glosses (which may include mention of your own book/s) in order to improve the next editions (plural for I am also preparing a short "popular" version). Sample pages may be found at paraverse.org. If you have questions or Amazon gives you any trouble, please write me directly!

robin d. gill

uncoolwa...@...mail.com

http://www.paraverse.org

Date: Mon, 29 Nov 2004 14:03:09 -0500

From: David Pollack <poll...@...l.rochester.edu>

Subject: Re: Murasaki's Genji in American Libraries

i've always been of the opinion that the lotus sutra is one of the most important works to have students read as a foundation for understanding japanese literature, art, religion, and culture in general. it's available in english in various complete translations, as well as on the web in english and no doubt other languages, and the text can be supplemented with tanabe's edited book "the lotus sutra in japanese culture" (hawaii, 1989).

david pollack

Jonathan Dresner wrote:

Date: Mon, 29 Nov 2004 14:14:58 -0500

From: Sharon Domier <sdom...@...rary.umass.edu>

Subject: yakuza jargon

Dear Prof. Migliore,

There is no quick and easy answer to this question, so you are probably

wondering where to start with your research. I am sure that other people

didn't want to retrace your steps, so they were hoping you would supply more

information (like - didn't know where to start, or, I have no access to

reference tools, or, I checked... titles).

But, to help you out, and because I was curious, I did about 5 minutes of

checking.

I would suggest using something like:

Ingo daijiten (Koseisha, 2000)

Or Nihon kokugo daijiten.

The Ingo daijiten has not only terminology and essays but also source

materials identified.

You could also look at books about yakuza that include terminology:

Nihon no yakuza by Kako Koji. Daiwa Shobo, 1993. Table of contents include

Yakuza no ingo.

The first two books are commonly used printed reference tools.

The third one I found using NACSIS Webcat Plus - searching yakuza and ingo.

Try it: http://webcatplus.nii.ac.jp

Best wishes,

Sharon Domier

Date: Mon, 29 Nov 2004 14:24:14 -0500

From: "E Berlin" <eber...@...jgroup.com>

Subject: Re: Murasaki's Genji in American Libraries

Is Burton Watson's translation of the Lotus Sutra considered the current

standard?

Thanks.

Elliot Berlin

Date: Mon, 29 Nov 2004 14:41:58 -0500

From: David Pollack <poll...@...l.rochester.edu>

Subject: Re: Murasaki's Genji in American Libraries

as far as i can tell it's as good as everything else watson does, but the translation published by weatherhill as "the threefold lotus sutra" is nice too. watson's translation is available online at

<http://www.sgi-usa.org/buddhism/library/Buddhism/LotusSutra/index.html>

since it's part of the soka gakka international website there's the inevitable link to ikeda daisaku's endless thoughts on the subject at the bottom of the page.

Date: Mon, 29 Nov 2004 14:47:10 -0500

From: "E Berlin" <eber...@...jgroup.com>

Subject: Re: Murasaki's Genji in American Libraries

David,

Thanks for the quick reply.

Elliot Berlin

Date: Mon, 29 Nov 2004 20:13:58 +0000

From: Richard Bowring <rb...@....ac.uk>

Subject: Lotus sutra

The Lotus sutra is indeed fundamental to much Japanese culture, but the idea that David Pollack or anyone else for that matter might actually sit down and read it for pleasure strikes me as quite bizarre. I have never found it anything but taxing. Readers in American libraries must be made of stern stuff.

Richard Bowring

On 29 Nov 2004, at 19:03, David Pollack wrote:

Date: Mon, 29 Nov 2004 22:51:56 -0500

From: David Pollack <poll...@...l.rochester.edu>

Subject: Re: Lotus sutra

perhaps u.k. libraries could stock the manga and anime versions?

i've always regretted that helen mccullough couldn't have included a section or two of the lotus sutra in "classical japanese prose," especially since it seems so much more important and interesting than some of the stuff she did include. but of course it was written in chinese, not japanese. (odd, i have no idea whether the work was as important to the way things developed in chinese culture as it was in japan.)

as for being taxing, one needn't read the whole thing - after all, a large part of the population never thought it necessary to recite more of the "daimoku" than the title, even if we know they heard all the stories told on street corners. and, by way of comparison, i can think of little as taxing as those long passages in "numbers" and "deuteronomy" that appear to have been written by statisticians, and most people cut straight to the prophets. the lotus sutra does tell some wonderful parables in mind-boggling and stunningly beautiful language (ok, so the movie version would cut a few of the names of deities and monks. and then, just in case prose wasn't your thing, the buddha is good enough to tell it all over again in poetry. and he even goes to the trouble of detailing his views on pedagogical technique in chapters that are at least as important a source on what it meant to read as the passages in genji that discuss fiction, and deserve to be read along with them.

but, lacking houben, i blither.

d pollack

Date: Tue, 30 Nov 2004 04:24:54 +0000

From: "Christian Morimoto Hermansen" <christian_herman...@...mail.com>

Subject: Re: Murasaki's Genji in American Libraries - Lotus Sutra

If Burton Watson's translation of the Lotus Sutra is the standard in English or not I don't know, but I find Leon Hurvitz's "Scripture of the Lotus Blosom of the Fine Dharma" (isbn 0-231-03920-4) very good and informative for its careful notes.

Best,

Christian M. Hermansen

Date: Tue, 30 Nov 2004 07:53:41 +0200

From: "Rein Raud" <rein.r...@...l.ee>

Subject: Re: Lotus sutra

I wholly agree with Richard on the subject of the Lotus sutra.

Isn't it a Western/modern attitude, by the way, that the only adequate way

to "consume" a text is to actually read it? I have always had the opinion

that during most periods of Japanese cultural history the semantic content

of the sutra was of much less importance than the solemnity of the

atmosphere during chanting or the material of which the boxes where made in

which it was kept. Even if Sei Shonagon compiles a list of sutras in the

Makura no soshi and puts the Lotus on top, does any of us seriously believe

she has read it? Another way to use a text is to quote it, which didn't

imply reading it then more than it does now, at least not through. Just as

in our times books may be used as symbolic tokens in gift exchanges by many

more people than for reading, texts have a multitude of other uses (we know

of manuscripts as items for status boosting, for instance). In any case, we

should beware of attributing our own scholarly habits to the people whose

ways we study. To put it more radically, perseverant reading of the Lotus

sutra for its semantic content is misunderstanding it.

Rein Raud

Date: Tue, 30 Nov 2004 22:59:47 +0900

From: Janine Beichman <jani...@...l1.accsnet.ne.jp>

Subject: Re: speaker, Sogi, Konishi

I found a citation for washu, speaker,　話主 on p. 228 of Konishi

Jin'ichi's Sougi 宗祇 published by Chikuma Shobou 筑摩書房 in 1971 as

vol. 16 of the Nihon Shijin sen 日本詩人選 series. Without explanation,

Konishi just says, of a link from MInase Sangin, that the speaker is a

traveller, 話主は旅人で . Konishi, as I said already, was influenced by

New Criticism (yes, I know it's no longer new, but that is what it is

called) when he worked with Brower and Miner on what became Japanese

Court Poetry. Perhaps he had also read some New Criticism before. In any

case, I believe the term first becomes a basic one in English language

literary criticism in the mid-20th century and that Konishi's use in

Sogi may be the earliest use of the term in the current sense of the

word in criticism written in the Japanese language. However, I should

add that my interest in this problem does not really arise from any

interest in how critical terms make their way from one language to

another, but rather in finding a Japanese context for the term which I

can rely on when trying to teach my students to stop thinking of the

author as the speaker in Japanese lyric poetry, that is, in tanka,

haiku, and shi (yes, I am calling all three forms lyric poetry,

expecting that someone will refine the assertion.)

Janine Beichman

Date: Tue, 30 Nov 2004 14:59:05 -0500

From: "E Berlin" <eber...@...jgroup.com>

Subject: Re: Murasaki's Genji in American Libraries - Lotus Sutra

Since Mr. Pollack has endorsed the Weatherhill version as well, I've made my

choice by applying the classic American standard: I ordered the Weatherhill

because it's cheaper! I'm just not willing to overpay for enlightenment.

I also appreciate the general endorsement of the idea that a non-scholar,

such as myself, should feel free to skip the boring parts.

Elliot Berlin

Date: Tue, 30 Nov 2004 12:53:57 -0800

From: William Bodiford <bodif...@...a.edu>

Subject: Re: Lotus sutra

At 04/11/29, Rein Raud wrote:

>I wholly agree with Richard on the subject of the Lotus sutra.

>Isn't it a Western/modern attitude, by the way, that the only adequate way

>to "consume" a text is to actually read it? . . . .

<snip>

> . . . To put it more radically, perseverant reading of the Lotus

>sutra for its semantic content is misunderstanding it.

I certainly agree that we must not overlook the importance of non-literate usages of the Lotus (and other scriptures)---their importance as material manufacture, mediums of exchange, and symbolic functions (etc.). Nonetheless, I think it would be equally mistaken to assume that ordinary Japanese people did not know the semantic content of those scriptures. At the very least, they knew the Lotus's vocabulary and the Lotus's stories (parables). Many people --- even illiterate people --- regularly chanted it from memory. Even today key sections of the Lotus appear in the standard single volume collections of "scriptures to be chanted" that Japanese families typically store in their butsudan. I have meet lay people who regularly chant the Lotus (in Japanese yomi-kudashi) as their Buddhist practice. Priests in temples (i.e., the literate members of premodern society) were even more likely to chant the Lotus (in bo-yomi) on a regular (if not daily) basis. For this reason, one finds Lotus vocabulary and motifs everywhere in premodern literature: sermons, poems, war tales, academic treatises, and so forth. I have never read Makura no soshi in the original, but I have not doubt that a careful skimming of that text will reveal not just mention of the title of the Lotus but also use of its vocabulary and imagery. English translations, however, tend to skip over Buddhist vocabulary or (worse) translate it in non-Buddhist ways. . . .

For several years I have been teaching courses on Buddhist scriptures as literature in translation. Of course we skip over most (but not all) of the boring sections. (Actually, some of the boring sections work great as verbal chants.) In some year we also read "literary" works (poetry, drama, tales) that draw on imagery from the scriptures that we are reading. Students love studying Buddhist texts in this way. I highly recommend including selections from the Lotus and other Buddhist scriptures in any course on premodern literature in translation.

_______________

William Bodiford (bodif...@...a.edu)

Phone: 310--206-8235; FAX 310--825-8808

Dept. of Asian Languages and Cultures

290 Royce Hall; Box 951540

UCLA

Los Angeles CA 90095-1540

_______________

These statements are my own, not those of the University of California.

Date: Tue, 30 Nov 2004 12:57:10 -0600

From: Elizabeth Oyler <eaoy...@...sci.wustl.edu>

Subject: Vacancy Announcement

PMJS members,

I have been asked to pass the following job announcement along.

Thank you,

Elizabeth Oyler

VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT

DIRECTOR(S)

Kyoto Center for Japanese Studies

and

Stanford Center for Technology and Innovation

The Stanford University Overseas Studies Program (OSP) seeks Director(s) for the two

educational programs it currently administers at the Stanford Japan Center in Kyoto,

Japan.

The Kyoto Center for Japanese Studies (KCJS) is a rigorous, two-semester academic

program for undergraduates whose focus of interest is Japanese language and cultural

studies. KCJS is managed by Stanford University on behalf of a consortium of American

universities whose students make up the majority of participants. More detailed

information on this program is available at <http://KCJS.stanford.edu>http://KCJS.stanford.edu.

The Stanford Center for Technology and Innovation (SCTI) is a program available to

Stanford undergraduates that combines a spring quarter of academic study with the option

of a subsequent paid summer internship in Japan. The program is designed in

collaboration with Stanford's School of Engineering. More detailed information on this

program is available at <http://osp.stanford.edu>http://osp.stanford.edu.

Directors are responsible for the continued development and support of the programs,

ensuring the highest quality in all academic and administrative aspects. The Directors are

charged with nourishing an intellectual and social environment that is supportive of

excellence and high academic standards. Specific duties include:

Academic

* Create and implement distinct curricula in coordination with the KCJS Governing

Board and Stanford OSP; develop new and innovative courses that make use of the

unique opportunities in Kyoto.

* Identify local faculty to teach courses or tutorials at appropriate academic levels;

promote interaction among local faculty and visiting KCJS/SCTI and Stanford

professors.

* Oversee the language program.

* For SCTI, develop internship sites at Japanese and multinational firms for 35 Stanford

students concentrating in engineering, science, finance, management, and political

economy.

* Develop student admission criteria in collaboration with KCJS Governing Board and

Stanford OSP.

* Teach one course per term.

* Provide academic advising, supervise research projects and independent studies, enable

student and faculty use of local libraries and other scholarly resources.

* Develop linkages with local academic communities, government agencies in the U.S.

and Japan, alumni and donors.

Student Life

* Maintain a regular presence at the Center providing advice and resources to students on

academic, intellectual and personal matters.

* Manage student homestay and residential apartment program.

* Organize and deliver orientation programs for incoming students.

* Maintain discipline at the Center and handle emergencies in partnership with Stanford

OSP, local security and medical resources.

* Organize social and cultural events for students.

* Facilitate student involvement in community activities and cultural opportunities.

Administration/ Budget/Technology

* Manage center staff including hiring, training, motivating, evaluating performance and

setting salaries.

* Work directly with Stanford OSP to prepare annual budget; manage all fiscal activities

for a ~$2 million budget.

* Manage relations with landlord and local organizations to ensure compliance with local

laws and regulations.

* Manage facilities and property and arrange for service contracts and legal services as

needed.

* Manage the technological infrastructure for academic and administrative purposes, in

coordination with Stanford OSP

Relations with KCJS Governing Board and Stanford OSP

* Work in close contact with all administrative staff of Stanford OSP and the Chair of the

KCJS Governing Board.

* Support the effective participation of the KCJS Professor-in-Residence and the

Stanford Faculty-in-Residence.

* Host visitors and maintain contact with advocates for the program.

QUALIFICATIONS

* Experience with American undergraduates at institutions similar to those in the KCJS

consortium.

* Ph.D. in Japan-related field and undergraduate teaching experience.

* Language fluency in English and Japanese.

* Japanese cultural fluency.

* Ability to undertake international travel.

* Experience with overseas study programs preferred, but not required.

APPLICATION DEADLINES: Applications accepted until position is filled

STARTING DATE: Negotiable

EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS: The Director(s) will be employees of Stanford

University, paid in local Japanese currency, and eligible for Stanford University benefits

programs. Salary will be commensurate with experience.

Resumes/applications should be directed to:

Irene Kennedy, Associate Director

Overseas Studies Program

Sweet Hall 138

Stanford University

Stanford, CA 94305

FAX: 650-725-7355

Or may be sent electronically to: <mailto:kyotosea...@...nford.edu>

STANFORD UNIVERSITY IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

Elizabeth Oyler

Assistant Professor, Japanese

Department of Asian and Near Eastern Languages and Literatures

Campus Box 1111

One Brookings Drive

Washington University

St. Louis, MO 63130

Phone: 314-935-4327

Date: Tue, 30 Nov 2004 18:08:41 -0500

From: "Jacqueline Stone" <jst...@...nceton.EDU>

Subject: Re: Murasaki's Genji in American Libraries - Lotus Sutra

I would also speak up in favor of Leon Hurvitz's translation from the

standpoint of anyone who wants to study an English version of the Lotus

Sutra against Kumarajiva's Chinese (Miaofa lianhua jing, T no. 262), the

Chinese version most commonly used in Japan. The Hurvitz translation, while

perhaps not quite as "readable" as some others, is extremely faithful to the

Chinese.

Jackie Stone

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