| ID | 104164 |
| Title Proper | Touching Japanese popular culture |
| Other Title Information | from flows to contact for ethnographic analysis |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Condry, Ian |
| Publication | 2011. |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | This essay explores the idea of touch as a means to think about Japanese popular culture in a transnational perspective. In the years since Appadurai coined the idea of 'scapes' of flow, we have witnessed a growing interest in phenomena associated with border crossing. As a counterpoint, I consider several examples of Japanese culture that could be seen as 'transnational flow', but provide different insights if viewed in terms of touch, encounter, and contact. In particular, I consider a Japanese rapper's dismay at the selection of his album cover as one of the worst of 2010, an American reviewer's distaste at a style of Japanese figurine production, and the integration of contemporary art exhibits in a rural island community in Japan. In each case, the moments and spaces of contact point to a way of understanding cultural influence less via the process of crossing borders than in terms of highlighting locations where cultural difference comes into contact. These examples of 'touch' also offer a way of understanding what makes fieldwork and ethnography such a useful analytical perspective for Japanese studies. |
| `In' analytical Note | Japanese Studies Vol. 31, No. 1; May 2011: p11-22 |
| Journal Source | Japanese Studies Vol. 31, No. 1; May 2011: p11-22 |
| Key Words | Japan - Culture ; Japanese Culture ; Japanese Studies ; Naoshima |