Urban Spaces in Japan explores the workings of power, money and the public interest in the planning and design of Japanese space. Through a set of vivid case studies of well-known Japanese cities including Tokyo, Kobe, and Kyoto, this book examines the potential of civil society in contemporary planning debates. Further, it addresses the implications of Japan’s biggest social problem – the demographic decline – for Japanese cities, and demonstrates the serious challenges and exciting possibilities that result from the impending end of Japan’s urban growth.

Presenting a synthetic approach that reflects both the physical aspects and the social significance of urban spaces, this book scrutinizes the precise patterns of urban expansion and shrinkage. In doing so, it also summarizes current theories of public space, urban space, and the body in space which are relevant to both Japan and the wider international debate.

With detailed case studies and more general reflections from a broad range of disciplines, this collection of essays demonstrates the value of cross-disciplinary cooperation. As such, it is of interest to students and scholars of geography and urban planning as well as history, anthropology and cultural studies.

For more information, inspection copies, and ordering, please see the details page at Routledge.com.

Planning is in full swing for the JAWS 2013 conference, which will be held 7-9 March 2013 at the University of Pittsburgh. The website for the conference is now live and can be viewed at https://webspace.utexas.edu/jt27/www/JAWS_2013_Conference/Welcome.html.

Blaine Connor at Pitt has taken on the responsibility of convener of the conference and he and I will be working together on various aspects of the program, etc. Pittsburgh is a great city with a lot of things to do, so it will be a fun place to hold the conference, and the University of Pittsburgh has a strong Japan focus.

Information about submission of paper and panel proposals will be on the website by the end of the summer. Submissions and registration will be done online through the website.

Feel free to email me if you have any questions. I look forward to seeing many of you in Pittsburgh next March!

Cheers,

JT

John Traphagan, Ph.D
Associate Professor of Religious Studies
Faculty Affiliate, Population Research Center
Secretary General, Japan Anthropology Workshop

As the historic capital of the country and the stronghold of the nation’s most celebrated traditions, the city of Kyoto holds a unique place in the Japanese imagination. Widely praised for the beauty of its townscape and natural environments, it is both a popular destination for tourists and home to one and a half million inhabitants. There has been a sustained, lively debate about how best to develop the city, with a large number of local government officials, citizen activists, urban planners, real-estate developers, architects, builders, proprietors, academic researchers, and ordinary Kyotoites involved in discussions, forming a highly peculiar social arena that has no match elsewhere in Japan.

This book, based on extensive fieldwork and interviews, provides an ethnographic study of this particular social field. It analyses how people in Kyoto deal with their most cherished traditions, such as the traditional town houses and the famous Gion matsuri festival, which calls into question several of the standard social scientific assumptions about the functions of cultural heritage for present-day societies. The book looks at the way concerned citizens, government bureaucrats, and other important players interact with each other over contentious modern buildings, often with the best intentions but constrained by set role expectations and by the superior power of national-level regulations and agencies. This book contributes to debates on the social uses of tradition and heritage, and the question of how to create sustainable, liveable urban environments.

For more information, inspection copies, and ordering, please see the details page at Routledge.com.

For details, see the Postings page.

The JAWS Newsletter submission guidelines document is available from the Newsletter page as well.

Project director: Dr Laura Moretti
Venue: Newcastle University, United Kingdom
Time: May 22-24, 2012
Language for applications and during the workshop: English
Application Deadline: January 30, 2012

Application and Selection Process:
Please be aware that EAJS uses an online system to manage submissions to its 8th Workshop for doctoral students.
Click here to be directed to the submissions website at https://www.eajs.eu/index.php?id=563. For further information and to register for this PhD workshop please look at our EAJS website at http://www.eajs.eu/index.php?id=308.

Thank you very much in advance for sharing this information with your colleagues, students, partners and networks. We are looking forward to receiving your applications!

Birgit Schwotzer, Council Assistant
European Association for Japanese Studies (EAJS)
c/o University of Frankfurt
Grueneburgplatz 1
Postbox RuW 71
60629 Frankfurt/Main
Germany
Phone: +49-69-798-34719
Fax: +49-69-798-35024

E-Mail: schwotzer@eajs.eu
Homepage: http://www.eajs.eu

In the Japanese language the word ‘ie’ denotes both the materiality of homes and family relations within. The traditional family and family house – often portrayed in ideal terms as key foundations of Japanese culture and society – have been subject to significant changes in recent years. This book comprehensively addresses various aspects of family life and dwelling spaces, exploring how homes, household patterns and kin relations are reacting to contemporary social, economic and urban transformations, and the degree to which traditional patterns of both houses and households are changing.

The book contextualises the shift from the hegemonic post-war image of standard family life, to the nuclear family and to a situation now where Japanese homes are more likely to include unmarried singles; childless couples; divorcees; unmarried adult children and elderly relatives either living alone or in nursing homes. It discusses how these new patterns are both reinforcing and challenging typical understandings of Japanese family life.

For more information, inspection copies, and ordering, please see the details page at Routledge.com.

Location: Kokugakuin University, Academic Media Center (Shibuya Campus, Shibuya-ku Higashi 4-10-28 Tokyo 150-8440).

Date: 16 October 2011
Conference language: Japanese

Please inform us if you plan to attend (name and affiliation) by Monday, October 10: info@cerc.jp.

For more information, including schedule details, please see the event webpage.