Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 5 of 5
Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network
From Undemocratic To Democratic Civil Society: Japan's Volunteer Fire Departments, Mary Alice Haddad
From Undemocratic To Democratic Civil Society: Japan's Volunteer Fire Departments, Mary Alice Haddad
Mary Alice Haddad
How do undemocratic civic organizations become compatible with democratic civil society? How do local organizations merge older patriarchal, hierarchical values and practices with newer more egalitarian, democratic ones? This article tells the story of how volunteer fire departments have done this in Japan. Their transformation from centralized war instrument of an authoritarian regime to local community safety organization of a full-fledged democracy did not happen overnight. A slow process of demographic and value changes helped the organization adjust to more democratic social values and practices. The way in which this organization made the transition offers important lessons for emerging democracies …
The Contradictions Of Kitabatake Chikafusa's Jinno Shotoki: How The Jinno Shotoki Shows That Japan Is Not Shinkoku, Adam Wheeler
The Contradictions Of Kitabatake Chikafusa's Jinno Shotoki: How The Jinno Shotoki Shows That Japan Is Not Shinkoku, Adam Wheeler
BYU Asian Studies Journal
It is widely held by Japanese and non-Japanese historians alike that Japan has enjoyed an uninterrupted reign by a single royal family for at least the last 1,500 years, if not longer. This unprecedented system of government has given rise to much investigation as to how such a feat could have been accomplished and has also given rise to the belief that Japan is Shinkoku, or “divine land.” Theories on the longevity of the Japanese imperial family have been based on the relationship between them and surrounding families of influence, as well as the tenuous relationship that existed between …
The National Imagination (Spring 2010), Robert D. Tobin, Belen Atienza, Alice Valentine
The National Imagination (Spring 2010), Robert D. Tobin, Belen Atienza, Alice Valentine
Syllabi
What images make people think of the United States of America? Cowboys? The flag? And are there similar icons in other cultures that help define cultural identity? The National Imagination explores the concept of a national community as constructed and critiqued through literary and cinematic narratives, as well as other cultural texts.
Our underlying premise is that national languages and cultures promote the identity of particular communities. We are interested in examining those subjective expressions of culture—images, symbols, narratives—that lead people to feel that they are members of the communities we call nations. We are also interested in discovering points …
Asia Pacific Perspectives Vol. 9 No. 2, June 2010, University Of San Francisco, University Of San Francisco
Asia Pacific Perspectives Vol. 9 No. 2, June 2010, University Of San Francisco, University Of San Francisco
Asia Pacific Perspectives
Contents:
The Sea Otter Islands: Geopolitics and Environment in the East Asian Fur Trade by Richard Ravalli
The origins of the sea otter trade can be traced to inter-Asian fur markets that developed centuries prior to the well-chronicled journeys of Vitus Bering and James Cook in the North Pacific. Japanese merchants and Ainu hunters traded for otter pelts as part of a larger system of exchanges in the Western Pacific. Russian entry to the trade by the early eighteenth century intensified territorial disputes in the Kuril Islands. A series of Russo-Japanese showdowns in the region helped forge an international borderland …
Kind Participation: Postmodern Consumption And Capital With Japan's Telop Tv, Aaron Gerow
Kind Participation: Postmodern Consumption And Capital With Japan's Telop Tv, Aaron Gerow
Aaron Gerow