<p>In this paper, I will look at the broader perspective on medical theory and attitudes towards illness amongst the monastic doctors as well as the commoners prior to the importation of the Western science in pre-modern Japan. In particular, my interest is in the etiology of various types of sickness and how people in Japan [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Enryō Inoue (井上円了) 1858-1919 was a philosopher and a pioneer of occult studies in early modernity in Japan. His views on occult, or Yōkai, was unique in that he categorized anything supernatural or superstitious as well as natural things that are simply unexplained as Yōkai. His aim in occult studies, or henceforth Yōkai studies, was [&hellip;]</p>

<p>On January 19th, 2015, two Japanese journalists, Haruna Yukawa (42) and Kenji Goto (47) were taken hostage by ISIS. The extremist group demanded Japanese government to pay 200 million dollars – the same amount of money the Prime Minister Abe promised to give to aid the countries fighting against ISIS when he was visiting the [&hellip;]</p>

<p>           Having spoken of the scientific attitude in pre-modern Japan through the eyes of Ninja, who supposedly possessed supra human knowledge of the human behavior and natural medicine, it is now time to delve further into the Buddhist conception of how the world operated. In the first part of my research, [&hellip;]</p>

<p>*Work in progress (feedbacks welcome) Introduction Dragon Ball Z has attracted so many people around the world, and it could rightly be described as one of the anime that represents the Japanese popular culture in the 90’s when anime began to be an iconic feature of Japan as promoting its unique national identity. In this [&hellip;]</p>

<p>“Neighbors are presumed to be hostile and may be witches. They spy on you and rob your garden, no matter how poor you may be. You should never discuss your affairs in front of them or let them know in case you acquire sudden wealth by some stroke of magic, for they will denounce you [&hellip;]</p>

<p>I: What is Ninja? As popular as Ninja may be in our modern society, not much is known about them. This is due to the fact that Ninja were an organized intelligence agency that operated covertly in espionage, assassination, counter-intelligence and unconventional warfare. In a way, one could see Ninja as a prototype of the [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Before I start, it must be noted that there are two types of religious people – those who do not impose their religious views onto others and those who do. By ‘those who impose their religious views’, I do not necessarily mean those who aggressively try to convert you as they are speaking to you, [&hellip;]</p>

<p>“Before atrocities are recognized as such, they are authoritatively regarded as either too extraordinary to be believable or to ordinary to be atrocious. If the events are socially considered unusual, the fact they happened is denied in specific instances; if they are regarded as usual, the fact that they are violating is denied: if it’s [&hellip;]</p>

<p>“問題が社会で問題と認められる前に、たいていの場合、それらの「問題」はあまりにもひどすぎて信じられない、もしくはあまりにも日常的すぎて問題にはならない、と見なされます。もしその問題が社会的に「普通じゃない」と見なされると、その問題が起きたこと自体否定され、もし逆にその問題が「普通」と見なされるとその「問題」が法や人権を侵している事実を否定されます。要するに、１．もしその問題が起こっているなら、「そんなにひどくないよ」と軽視され、２．もし本当にひどい場合は、「そんなにひどい事が起こっているはずがない；だって（一部の人以外）誰も問題視してないじゃん。」と促されます。” —キャサリンA.マッキノン、&#8221;Are Women Human? and Other International Dialogues&#8221; AKB48は女性を性的に屈従させる、という“伝統的”な“女性の社会での役割”を促進させる考えに乗っ取った、２１世紀のモラルに反する、反女性的な要素があまりにも多くはありませんか？ AKB48とそれに関わるグループは．．． ＊

<p>When Leibniz wrote to his friend, Bierling, on July 7th 1711 and asked what Dr. Kaempfer was up to, anxious to read his latest work, he was probably referring to Amoenitates Exoticae of 1712.[1] A German naturalist and physician, Engelbert Kaempfer (1651-1716) traveled Holland, Sweden and Russia amongst other places, and he had been compiling [&hellip;]</p>

<p>“Things are generally bad. Decay is universal. Disease lies at the very root of things. If Wagner’s name represents the ruin of music… he is not on that account its cause. All he did was to accelerate the fall, &#8211; though we are quite prepared to admit that he did it in a way which [&hellip;]</p>

<p>&#8220;Things are generally bad. Decay is universal. Disease lies at the very root of things. If Wagner&#8217;s name represents the ruin of music&#8230; he is not on that account its cause. All he did was to accelerate the fall, &#8211; though we are quite prepared to admit that he did it in a way which [&hellip;]</p>

<p>ここ数年で一気に人気を矛した女性シンガーグループ、AKB48、は今や日本を征しアジアならず欧米進出まではかろうとしています。しかし今一度AKB48というグループの社会的役割・影響について考える必要があると思います。ファンの方やAKB48のメンバーを攻撃するつもりはありません、が日本での道徳観が懸念される中、AKB48がもたらす社会現象は９０年代の“オタク現象”につづき、異常なものがあると思われます。ここでは、そんな日本の若者・一般市民の間でのポップカルチャーに対する社会現象を探索していきたいと思います。 ここで扱っていく、いくつかの問題点としては、１）AKB48＝ポップチャルチャーの名の下で、利用される若い女性たち；２）大人たちの説得により、自分たちが歌手として、また日本のアートを率いる代表グループとして思い込まされている現状；３）日本社会での若い女性のあり方、また男性の勝手な理想像等を、“アート”を盾に市民の頭に植え付けている事実；４）これらの行動全てが今後の日本のアート（芸術）の形を下品化させ、社会の女性だけでなく、参加者たちの美観を濁

<p>It has come to my attention that I may need to define what I mean by &#8220;Otaku&#8221; when I use it to criticize those who are Otaku minded. I distinguish three types of people I might call Otaku. The first type refers to Otaku used in Western culture, the second refers to, though less commonly, [&hellip;]</p>

<p>As many of you know, I have been engaged with somewhat amateur debates about the recent Japanese girls only singer groups AKB48 and its cognates. You can read about what they are and how precisely I think they need to be closely monitored at my previous blog entries. Today, I am here to discuss about [&hellip;]</p>

<p>I have written an article about the basic structure of AKB48 and its exploitative method for objectifying young women for public entertainment. Since then, I have created a Facebook group (<a href="http://www.facebook.com/groups/222928411085497" rel="nofollow">http://www.facebook.com/groups/222928411085497</a>) and also a Facebook page (<a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Anti-AKB48-Group-or-Against-the-Commoditization-of-Women-in-Japan/144645835614669" rel="nofollow">h

<p>&#8220;The privileged place held by men in economic life, their social usefulness, the prestige of marriage, the value of masculine backing, all this makes women wish ardently to please men. Women are still, for the most part, in a state of subjection. It follows that woman sees herself and makes her choices not in accordance [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Can zombies run? This is one of the many questions that one may come across when watching any zombie films. For, on the one hand, if their flesh is rotten, rapid motion would be impossible, but on the other hand, if their flesh is not rotten, most of the depictions about zombies in films would [&hellip;]</p>

<p>In the history of philosophy, cannibalism plays a pivotal role in the development of early modern medicine across the world. In its early years, cannibalism, in the form of ingesting mummies, was recommended by Avicenna (980-1037) as a subtle but resolutive remedy that could be used as an antidote to poison, and could cure epilepsy [&hellip;]</p>