 |
CENTRE FOR JAPANESE RESEARCH
|
|
|
|
Centre for Japanese Research:
Washed by the waves of Waka Bay: Translating the Poetry Contest in Six Hundred Rounds
Dr. Thomas E. McAuley
Lecturer in Japanese Studies, School of East Asian Studies, University of Sheffield, UK
Jan. 29 (Wed), 2020
12:00- 1:00 pm
Asian Centre Room 604
The monumental 'Poetry Competition in Six Hundred Rounds' (
Roppyakuban uta'awase; 1192-93) is the largest extant mediaeval Japanese poetry competition judged by a single individual, Fujiwara no Shunzei (1114-1204), the premiere poet of his age. Its 1200 waka poems, critical comments by the participants, Shunzei's judgements, and an 'Appeal' (
Chinjō) against them by the monk Kenshō (1130?-1209?), who strongly disagreed with Shunzei's assessment of his work, provide an invaluable resource for learning about issues such as: contemporary attitudes to novel and conservative poetic competition; competing views on poetics; the nature of criticism; and the use of diction in the topic-based poetic composition of the time.
Following the recent publication of the first complete English translation and commentary of the work (2020; Brill), this presentation will discuss the constraints and decisions which shaped the production of the final version of the text. It will address the challenges of rendering the text into English while retaining the character and tone of the original, meeting the requirements of the translation to provide both enjoyment and education, and also the expectations of the target readership of a volume of Japanese waka poetry.
Click
here for more information.
Rethinking the Cultural Cartographies of Tokyo in Japanese Media
January 31, 2019
2:00 pm - 4:30 pm
Asian Centre, Room 604
No other city has lent itself to the spatial imaginary of Japanese cultural production than Tokyo. Capital of Japan, undisputed center of politics and business, home of the publishing industry, most populous metropolis in the world: Tokyo maps itself onto the rest of the nation in ways both profound and pervasive. This workshop will explore some of these mappings in media - literally and literarily - through presentations by four leading scholars of Japan. Presentations will be primarily in Japanese, with Q&A in Japanese and English.
Click here for more information.
*This workshop is sponsored by the UBC Asian Studies Department and the Centre for Japanese Research
CJR Lunchtime Lecture Series:
Japanese Rare Books (Wahon) and Bindings: A Guide to Characteristics and Handling
Dr. Takahiro Sasaki
Chair and Professor of the Keio Institute of Oriental Classics
Feb 5th, 2020
12:00- 1:00pm
Asian Centre Room 604
- Please note this workshop will be delivered in Japanese.
- No food or drinks allowed in this session.
- RVSP not required.
- All of the images courtesy of Dr. Sasaki.
Japanese rare books (wahon) represent a rich diversity of bindings, sizes, and shapes, as well as a spectrum of cover styles, paper colors, and designs. This variety of forms is closely related to their content, thus we can better understand what is inside classical books by learning about their formats. This lecture will introduce the types of wahon binding and their characteristics while enabling us to practice handling through interaction with a range of old books.
Click
here for more information.
Opportunity: Bilingual Graduate student
for one month classroom in Japan
Memorandum of Understanding
Signing Ceremony
On November 13, past CJR co-director Christina Laffin represented the Centre at a signing ceremony for a Memorandum of Understanding with the Institute of International Studies at Gakushuin Women's College. Professor Laffin offered a lecture in Japanese on the institutional history of Japanese literary studies outside Japan and plans were made for a series of future events and opportunities involving faculty and students. We look forward to collaborating with Gakushuin Joshidaigaku and are grateful for their willingness to work together in enhancing and supporting research.
Click
here for full ceremony update!
Left to right, Institute of International Studies Director Jun Konno, President Norishiro Kondo, past CJR co-director Christina Laffin, Professor Emeritus Kazuo Tokuda.
That's all for now
Have a great week (Merry Christmas)!
|
|
Keep updated with all CJR-related events through:
|
|
|
|
|
|
