Step back in time to see what Japan was like in the 1970s and 1980s. In series two of Glimpses of Japan, we have unearthed more fascinating cultural films aimed at introducing Japanese society and culture to English audiences. The films cover issues still relevant today such as the ageing population, women’s rights and education, providing a valuable insight into the Japan of 30 years ago which begs the question – has anything changed?

Join us on selected evenings in November & December for a casual film & talk series that will attempt to answer the question of how much, or how little, life in Japan has changed in the 30 years since the films were made. Each week audiences will watch a 30 minute film, followed by a talk and Q&A session with a leading Japanese studies expert covering the topics touched on in the film and how they relate to Japan today.

 

Film & Talk Series

 

Dates:               Wednesday 16 & Monday 28 November, Thursday 8 & Wednesday 14 December 2011
Time:                6.30pm – 8pm (Doors open 6.00pm)
Venue:              16 Nov & 14 Dec – Multipurpose Room
                        28 Nov & 8 Dec - Gallery
                        The Japan Foundation, Sydney – Multipurpose Room L1 Chifley Plaza, 2 Chifley Square, Sydney
Admission:         Free. Bookings Essential.
RSVP & Enquiry: reception@jpf.org.au or phone 02 8239 0055

 

16 November
School Days (1970s)
 
This film profiles three junior high school students living very different lives. Yoshitaka attends a private school in Tokyo, catches the subway with his friends and is a member of the baseball and traditional Japanese music clubs. Shinichiro lives in a fishing village in Kyushu and enjoys going out on his family’s boat to catch eels and dive for clams. Sanae is the daughter of a rice farmer from Niigata. A member of her school drama club, she helps with chores during the winter months when her family home becomes a ski lodge. Along with footage of their daily lives, we hear from each student in their own words about their hopes and dreams for the future.
 
PaulMr Shun Ikeda, The Australian National University
Shun Ikeda is Head of the Japan Centre in the School of Culture, History and Language in the College of Asia and the Pacific at the Australian National University. Specialising in Comparative Education focusing on the history of educational reforms in Japan for his research, he teaches Japanese language and Japan-related area-studies courses at all levels. Mr Ikeda did his doctoral course work at the State University of New York at Buffalo and taught at Harvard University and Middlebury College Summer School before taking up the current position at the ANU. His current research interests include the lesser known educational reform in the Taishō period, “Rinji Kyōiku Kaigi 1917-1919”, and its comparison with the “Rinji Kyōiku Shingikai” in the 1980s. Mr Ikeda has also been directing students’ Kabuki plays at the ANU for more than twenty years.
 
28 November
Understanding the Japanese (1970s)
 
This film provides a snapshot of Japan through the eyes of foreigners living in Japan. Comprising of a panel discussion moderated by Gregory Clark, a former Australian diplomat and a professor at Sophia University, the film explores the impressions of a group of British, Australian, American and Canadian people living and working in Japan.

Interspersed with footage of daily life in Japan, the panellists discuss issues including group dynamics in Japanese society, customs such as Omiai (arranged marriages) and the differences in work culture between Japan and the West.
 
PaulProfessor Hugh Clarke, University of Sydney
Professor Hugh Clarke is Emeritus Professor of Japanese at the University of Sydney, where he was Professor of Japanese Studies from 1988-2005. From 2006-2011 he was a visiting professor at Waseda University and has over forty years experience teaching in Sydney, London and Japan. Professor Clarke gained his Ph.D. on the phonology of Japanese dialects in 1973 and his main research and teaching interests are in Japanese language pedagogy, Japanese literature, Okinawan studies, theory and practice of translation. He has published extensively on Japan, including textbooks for Japanese language learning and articles on various aspects of Okinawan Studies.
 
8 December
Women’s Life (1975)
 
Produced in 1975, International Women’s Year, this film introduces us to a variety of Japanese women, ranging from office workers in Shinjuku to a station master in the wilds of Japan’s snow country. One of the women profiled is Fusae Ishikawa, a feminist who was instrumental in helping Japanese women gain the right to vote after WWII and went on to serve as a politician in the Diet well into her 80s. The film also highlights the changes occuring in Japanese society at the time, showing women in Ibaraki prefecture carrying on the tradition of Yuki pongee silk weaving, while in new suburbs just outside Tokyo, ‘Apartment complex housewives’ herald the start of Japan’s economic boom.
 
PaulDr Laura Dales, University of Western Australia
 Laura Dales is Assistant Professor in the Discipline of Asian Studies at the University of Western Australia. Her research interests and publication themes include women’s groups, sexuality and gender in Japan, agency and feminist ethnography. Recent publications include the monograph Feminist Movements in Contemporary Japan (Routledge, 2009). Laura is currently researching women’s singlehood, marriage and intimacy in contemporary Japan. She has also worked as an advisor for the Osaka Gender Equality Foundation.
 
14 December
Graying of Japan (1981)
 
This film examines a major issue facing Japanese society - the combination of a declining birthrate and ageing population. The film contrasts life in rural and urban areas for older people, starting with New Year celebrations in a small village in Nagano. As young people return to the village from cities like Tokyo, the elders prepare traditional decorations and special dishes. Rehearsals for the annual New Year festival are also underway, with the senior men of the village instructing their grandchildren on how to perform the ritual dances. The film continues back in Tokyo, visiting a second-hand electrical goods shop where retired office and factory workers put their skills and experience to good use in post-retirement jobs.
 
PaulDr Katrina Moore, University of New South Wales
Katrina L Moore, Ph.D. is a lecturer in anthropology in the School of Social Sciences and International Studies at the University of New South Wales. She specialises in the study of ageing and gender in Japan. Her research interests include theories of the self, cultures of retirement, and marital relationships in later life. She has published articles on leisure and recreation, senior citizens’ practice of Noh theatre, and sexuality in later life. She is currently preparing a book manuscript on women in the amateur Noh theatre in urban Japan.