The Category of ‘Religion’ in Contemporary Japan
The Category of ‘Religion’ in Contemporary Japan

Author: Mitsutoshi Horii

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2018-04-17

Total Pages: 291

ISBN-13: 3319735705

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This book critically examines the term ‘religion’ (shūkyō) as a social category within the sociological context of contemporary Japan. Whereas the nineteenth-century construction of shūkyō has been critically studied by many, the same critical approach has not been extended to the contemporary context of the Japanese-language discourse on shūkyō and Temple Buddhism. This work aims to unveil the norms and imperatives which govern the utilization of the term shūkyō in the specific context of modern day Japan, with a particular focus upon Temple Buddhism. The author draws on a number of popular publications in Japanese, many of which have been written by Buddhist priests. In addition, the book offers rich interview material from conversations with Buddhist priests. Readers will gain insights into the critical deconstruction, the historicization, and the study of social classification system of ‘religion’, in terms of its cross-cultural application to the contemporary Japanese context. The book will be of interest to students and scholars across a range of disciplines including Japanese Studies, Buddhology, Religious Studies, Social Anthropology, and Sociology.

Religious Discourse in Modern Japan
Religious Discourse in Modern Japan

Author: Jun'ichi Isomae

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2014-06-05

Total Pages: 500

ISBN-13: 9004272682

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Religious Discourse in Modern Japan explores the introduction of the Western concept of “religion” to Japan in the modern era, and the emergence of discourse on Shinto, philosophy, and Buddhism. Taking Anesaki’s founding of religious studies (shukyogaku) at Tokyo Imperial University as a pivot, Isomae examines the evolution of this academic discipline in the changing context of social conditions from the Meiji era through the present. Special attention is given to the development of Shinto studies/history of Shinto, and the problems of State Shinto and the emperor system are described in relation to the nature of the concept of religion. Isomae also explains how the discourse of religious studies developed in connection with secular discourses on literature and history, including Marxism.

Computational Methods in Systems Biology
Computational Methods in Systems Biology

Author: Olivier Roux

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2015-09-01

Total Pages: 302

ISBN-13: 3319234013

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This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Computational Methods in Systems Biology, CMSB 2015, held in Nantes, France, in September 2015. The 20 full papers and 2 short papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 43 full and 4 short paper submissions. The papers cover a wide range of topics in the analysis of biological systems, networks and data such as model checking, stochastic analysis, hybrid systems, circadian clock, time series data, logic programming, and constraints solving ranging from intercellular to multiscale.

The God Susanoo and Korea in Japan’s Cultural Memory
The God Susanoo and Korea in Japan’s Cultural Memory

Author: David Weiss

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2022-01-13

Total Pages: 354

ISBN-13: 1350271209

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This book discusses how ancient Japanese mythology was utilized during the colonial period to justify the annexation of Korea to Japan, with special focus on the god Susanoo. Described as an ambivalent figure and wanderer between the worlds, Susanoo served as a foil to set off the sun goddess, who played an important role in the modern construction of a Japanese national identity. Susanoo inhabited a sinister otherworld, which came to be associated with colonial Korea. Imperialist ideologues were able to build on these interpretations of the Susanoo myth to depict Korea as a dreary realm at the margin of the Japanese empire that made the imperial metropole shine all the more brightly. At the same time, Susanoo was identified as the ancestor of the Korean people. Thus, the colonial subjects were ideologically incorporated into the homogeneous Japanese “family state.” The book situates Susanoo in Japan's cultural memory and shows how the deity, while being repeatedly transformed in order to meet the religious and ideological needs of the day, continued to symbolize the margin of Japan.

Japanese Mood and Modality in Systemic Functional Linguistics
Japanese Mood and Modality in Systemic Functional Linguistics

Author: Ken-Ichi Kadooka

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company

Published: 2021-03-15

Total Pages: 187

ISBN-13: 9027260230

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This book is a cross-linguistic and interdisciplinary exploration of modality within systemic functional linguistics (SFL). Drawing upon the broad SFL notion of modality that refers to the intermediate degrees between the positive and negative poles, the individual papers probe into the modality systems in English and Japanese. The papers cover issues such as the conceptual nature of modality in both languages, the characterization of modulation in Japanese, the trans-grammatical aspects of modality in relation to mood and grammatical metaphor in both languages, and the modality uses and pragmatic impairment by individuals with a developmental disorder from a neurocognitive perspective. The book demonstrates a functional account of Japanese within an SFL model of language with a fresh perspective to Japanese linguistics. It also refers to cross-linguistic issues concerning how the principles and theories of SFL serve to empirically elaborate descriptions of individual languages, which will lead to the enrichment of the theory and practice of linguistics and beyond.

Individuality in Early Modern Japan
Individuality in Early Modern Japan

Author: Peter Nosco

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-09-13

Total Pages: 278

ISBN-13: 1351389610

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Two of the most commonly alleged features of Japanese society are its homogeneity and its encouragement of conformity, as represented by the saying that the nail that sticks up gets pounded. This volume’s primary goal is to challenge these and a number of other long-standing assumptions regarding Tokugawa (1600-1868) society, and thereby to open a dialogue regarding the relationship between the Japan of two centuries ago and the present. The volume’s central chapters concentrate on six aspects of Tokugawa society: the construction of individual identity, aggressive pursuit of self-interest, defiant practice of forbidden religious traditions, interest in self-cultivation and personal betterment, understandings of happiness and well-being, and embrace of "neglected" counter-ideological values. The author argues that when taken together, these point to far higher degrees of individuality in early modern Japan than has heretofore been acknowledged, and in an Afterword the author briefly examines how these indicators of individuality in early modern Japan are faring in contemporary Japan at the time of writing.

Handbook of Superconductivity
Handbook of Superconductivity

Author: David A. Cardwell

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 2022-07-05

Total Pages: 1292

ISBN-13: 1000600084

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This is the second of three volumes of the extensively revised and updated second edition of the Handbook of Superconductivity. The past twenty years have seen rapid progress in superconducting materials, which exhibit one of the most remarkable physical states of matter ever to be discovered. Superconductivity brings quantum mechanics to the scale of the everyday world where a single, coherent quantum state may extend over a distance of metres, or even kilometres, depending on the size of a coil or length of superconducting wire. Viable applications of superconductors rely fundamentally on an understanding of this intriguing phenomena and the availability of a range of materials with bespoke properties to meet practical needs. While the first volume covers the fundamentals of superconductivity and the various classes of superconducting materials, Volume 2 covers processing of the desired superconducting materials into desired forms: bulks, films, wires and junction-based devices. The volume closes with articles on the refrigeration methods needed to put the materials into the superconducting state. Key Features: Covers the depth and breadth of the field Includes contributions from leading academics and industry professionals across the world Provides hands-on guidance to the manufacturing and processing technologies A comprehensive reference, the handbook is suitable for both graduate students and practitioners in experimental physics, materials science, and multiple engineering disciplines, including electronic and electrical, chemical, mechanical, metallurgy and others.

Decolonising the Study of Religion
Decolonising the Study of Religion

Author: Jørn Borup

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2023-12-18

Total Pages: 205

ISBN-13: 1003817629

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Decolonising the Study of Religion analyses historical and contemporary discussions in the study of religion and Buddhism and critically investigates representations, possibilities, and challenges of a decolonial approach, addressing the important question: who owns Buddhism? The monograph offers a case-based perspective with which to examine the general study of religion, where new challenges require reflection and prospects for new directions. It focuses on Buddhism, one religion which has been studied in the West for centuries. Building on postcolonial theories and supplemented with a critical analysis of identity and postsecular engagement, the book offers new possibilities and challenges to the study of religion. It critically investigates decolonisation in the study of religion, subscribing to a third way between ‘objectivist’ and ‘subjectivist’ positions. Analysing the postcolonial and decolonial critique of the study of religion, with a particular focus on Buddhist studies in the West and in Japan, this book will be of interest to researchers in the field of Religious Studies, Buddhism, Japanese religions, anthropology, Asian Studies and those interested in religion and decolonisation.

Literature After Fukushima
Literature After Fukushima

Author: Linda Flores

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2023-03-28

Total Pages: 199

ISBN-13: 1000836282

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Literature after Fukushima examines how aesthetic representation contributes to a critical understanding of the 3.11 triple disaster – the Great East Japan earthquake, tsunami, and multiple meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Through an examination of key works in the expanding corpus of 3.11 literature the book explores how the disaster—both its immediate aftereffects and its continued unfolding—reframed discourse in various areas such as trauma studies, eco-criticism, regional identity, food safety, civil society, and beyond. Individual chapters discuss aspects of these perspectival shifts, tracing the reshaping of Japanese identity after the triple disaster. The cultural productions explored offer a glimpse into the public imaginary and demonstrate how disasters can fundamentally redefine our individual and shared conception of both history and the present moment. Literature after Fukushima is the first English-language book to provide an in-depth analysis of such a wide range of representative post-3.11 literature and its social ramifications. Contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of the post-disaster climate of Japanese society and adding new perspectives through literary analysis, this book will be of interest to scholars and students of Japanese and Asian Studies, Literary Studies, Environmental Humanities, as well as Cultural and Transcultural Studies.