country that is totally closed off from all exterior surroundings is very difficult do, as there are very few countries that even have the resources for such an endeavor. This is the perceived vision of what Japan was like during the Tokugawa period, where the Shoguns employed an idea of Sakoku in Japan. But what does Sakoku mean? There is a literal translation of closing down the country, but the foreign relations policy did not follow this word for word translation . Along with the Tokugawa…
leadership structure verses the western horizontal-egalitarian leadership structure (Lewicki, J.R., Saunders, D., & Barry, B., 2011). Kelly is a Canadian citizen and employed as an Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) by the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program (JET) in Soto, Japan. A conflict occurs between Kelly and her Japanese supervisor, Mr. Higashi over the allocation of contractual leave entitlements. This discussion will address the development of the conflict between the JET staff and the…
There hasn’t yet exactly been an effective collective state response when responding to the issue, there have been numerous treaties and long-term endeavors proposed, however, a lack of progress continues for many countries around the globe, especially for China and the United States. Individuals, businesses and the governments of various nations are forthcoming ways to respond to the issue, however, there have been considerable setbacks and other conflicts down the line. A prime example would…
Most of Marukami’s fictional stories exemplify patriarchy in Japan, during which his female characters are positioned as objects for the subjectivity of males. The women used in Murakami ‘sworks are not empowered by feministic views; thus, the female subjects do not stand up for their own well-being. Throughout Haruki Marukami’s stories, female characters are used to represent the realities that several females faced in contemporary Japan, such as: isolation and seclusion, contradictive…
visual and material culture. My academic interests center on cross-cultural interactions during the early modern period manifested in visual and material culture. I am particularly interested in the relationship, fostered by trade, between China, Japan and the Netherlands. During the seventeenth and eighteenth century, Dutch society experienced a dramatic transformation with the establishment of the…
Why do you wish to participate in a science & engineering research internship in the U.S.? What type of research are you most interested in conducting and are there any potential host labs at Rice University that you would particularly like to work with? (Maximum of 500 words)* One of the reasons why I would like to participate in the program is that I would like to have a research experience in the US, which is the most advanced in technology. The other reason is that I would like to work with…
Realism As It Relates to the Diaoyu-Senkaku Island Dispute China and Japan; two of the most powerful countries in the world, clashing over 7 square kilometers of island space. While it may seem counterintuitive for two superpowers to fight over such a small amount of land, the reasons behind these actions are explicable by the Realist school of thought. The tensions at play here are occurring as a result of the inherent power struggle described by Realism, wherein actors are constantly…
some have found loopholes such as Australia and Japan. Both have defied the areas need to succeed such as domesticable plants and animals, population size, cultural diffusion, climate, and natural resources. Australia is a highly developed area, and is continuing to grow yet came from a time where there were no cities on it at all with no real plants or animals. Somehow this country found its path and stuck with it to become what it is today. Japan started out with few cities, no natural…
India are prime examples of this. While most of these countries came under the control of those powers, Japan was pretty much able to control who came in and out of the country and this allowed them to remain independent. Japan was populated with many clans, which would mean any western power that wanted to colonize Japan, would have to deal with each individual clan. Another reason that Japan would be difficult to colonize could’ve been…
Hiromi Goto’s Chorus of Mushrooms is a novel based on three generations of Japanese Canadian women: Naoe, Keiko, and Muriel, who are experiencing an identity crisis. Naoe, an elder in the home, is an anguished woman who attempts to come to terms with her immigration to Canada, while Keiko, Naoe’s daughter, struggles to assimilate into the Canadian culture leaving her Japanese heritage behind. Muriel, (Naoe refers to her as Murasaki), is Keiko’s daughter who is born in Canada. Growing up,…