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Journal of the American Association of Teachers of Japanese
Journal of the American Association of Teachers of Japanese
jll.pitt.edu | Vol. 54 | Number 1 | April 2020 | DOI 10.5195/jll.2020.89
jll.pitt.edu | Vol. 54 | Number 1 | April 2020 | DOI 10.5195/jll.2020.123
ISSN 1536-7827 (print) 2326-4586 (online)
REVIEWS
Japanese Up Close—15 Lessons on Society and Culture in
Japanese クローズアップ日本事情１５−日本語で学ぶ社会と文化
By Mizue Sasaki. Tokyo: The Japan Times. xi, 208 pp. ¥2,500.
Reviewed by
Naomi Geyer
Targeting students with upper-intermediate to advanced proficiency,
Japanese Up Close—15 Lessons on Society and Culture in Japanese
(hereafter JUC) is a textbook for nihon jijō “Japanese society and culture”
courses to deepen and broaden learners’ understanding of Japan and shed
light on some of the multicultural aspects prevalent today. The textbook
consists of fifteen thematic units covering various topics such as travel,
food, traditional and pop cultures, sports, technology, environment,
education, and economy. These are independent units progressing from
basic everyday topics to more abstract and specialized ones.
The first five units introduce basic knowledge about Japan and its
people. Unit 1, “What kind of country is Japan?,” includes subtopics such
as geography and population, seasons and weather, and volcanos and
forests. It introduces cultural information such as sakura zensen (cherry
blossoms front) and how to deal with earthquakes while in Japan. Unit 2,
New articles in this journal are licensed under a Creative Commons
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This journal is published by the University Library System, University of
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138 | Japanese Language and Literature
“City life, country life,” covers topics such as Japan’s cities, the
revitalization of rural communities, the kominka (old house) boom, while
also asking learners questions about lifestyle issues in their own countries.
Unit 3, “Getting around Japan,” takes up the topic of travel as well as
subtopics like the Shinkansen, airplanes, subways, Japan’s minute-by-
minute rail service, how to choose the right route, and transit passes. These
observations are followed by Unit 4 on food, titled “Let’s eat!,” discussing
Japan’s food trade and self-sufficiency, school lunches, local food
consumption, the spread of Japanese food culture, michi-no-eki (roadside
service stations), Japan’s delectable water, “Grade-B cuisine,” local
delicacies, and foreign cuisines in Japan. Unit 5, “Events for enjoying the
seasons,” introduces a calendar of seasonal events, organized by month,
from January to December with added explanations.
The next group of units deals with Japan’s history, traditional and
popular culture, and sports. Unit 6, “Reflections on Japanese history,”
provides a comprehensive overview of Japanese history starting from the
Jōmon and Yayoi periods and extending to the Meiji period and beyond.
The two culture units, “Experiencing traditional culture (unit 7)” and
“Modern culture and pop culture (unit 8),” present an extensive sampling
of Japanese culture. The subtopics of unit 7 are waka, haiku, senryū (types
of Japanese poetry), gagaku (traditional Japanese music), the bon dance,
kabuki, nōgaku, sadō/cha-no-yu (tea ceremony), and kadō/ikebana (flower
arrangement). Unit 8 covers topics such as smartphones, animation, and
pop music. The following unit on popular sports, “Enjoying sports,”
touches on popular sports such as sumo and baseball and introduces
several famous Japanese athletes abroad.
The last five units turn to more social-oriented themes. Unit 10, “The
march of science and technology,” illustrates how the Japanese
government funds science and technology and lists several innovations in
science and technology (among others, 3D printers, planetarium projectors,
and canned bread with a long shelf life). These types of innovation must
be accompanied by considerations for the environment, which are the
theme of unit 11, “Things we can do to save the earth.” Issues such as
global warming, greenhouse gas emissions, and the “3Rs (reduce, reuse,
recycle)” are reviewed. The next unit, “Education and children,” takes a
look at the steady decline in the number of children in Japan, the country’s
school system and educational curriculum, as well as “education aside
from coursework” such as club activities and students cleaning their own
classrooms. Unit 13, “Industrial structure and economy,” provides an
overview of the industrial structure of Japan before it turns to more
Japanese Language and Literature | jll.pitt.edu
Vol. 54 | Number 1 | April 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.5195/jll.2020.123
Reviews | 139
specific topics such as “expansion of exports from the primary and
secondary sectors,” “globalization and the future of Japan’s industries,”
and “artificial intelligence and its impact on industry.” Unit 14,
“Government and the constitution,” reviews Japan’s constitution,
parliamentary cabinet system, the National Diet and elections. The last
unit introduces the theme “Aiming for a multicultural society (unit 15).”
Japan’s globalization is examined in subtopics like “foreigners living in
Japan,” “steadily rising inbound tourists,” and “to achieve a multicultural
society.”
Each unit follows the same format: an introduction called Tobira,
section 1 (reading material), section 2 (model dialogues) and a page with
additional information. The introduction consists of a thematic photograph
encapsulating the unit theme and a question about the photograph. For
instance, the travel unit starts off with a photograph of bowing figures in
uniform lined up in front a train with the caption “Have you seen this
before? Who do you think they are?” The answers to these questions are
found on the last page of the unit. The group shot in front of a train, for
instance, turns out to be of maintenance staff about to clean the interior of
a shinkansen.
The reading material in section 1 introduces the unit theme from
various viewpoints. It consists of five to seven subtopics, is four to eight
pages long (depending on the unit theme) and contains ample visual aids
(photographs, illustrations, figures, tables, etc.) to help with learners’
comprehension and classroom interaction.
Section 2 contains one or two model dialogues addressing the overall
theme and is usually two pages long. Overall, while section 1 presents
expository texts on subtopics in formal written style, the dialogue section
introduces various levels of formality in spoken Japanese, depending on
the setting of conversation and its participants. The participants are
learners of Japanese living in Japan and native speakers of Japanese whom
they encounter in their daily lives, such as teachers, friends, and host
family members.
Each subtopic or dialogue in both sections 1 and 2 is followed by a
relevant task. Users are instructed to explore the topics, gather specific
information, discuss in pairs or groups, and/or develop presentations about
topics introduced by the reading materials and dialogues. Some tasks are
accompanied by relevant photographs, graphs, and tables, to give users the
opportunity to familiarize themselves with the application of such data in
Japanese.
Japanese Language and Literature | jll.pitt.edu
Vol. 54 | Number 1 | April 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.5195/jll.2020.123
140 | Japanese Language and Literature
Each unit ends with a colorful page of photographs. These provide
answers to the questions asked in the introductory page, give cultural
background for the unit’s theme photo, and supply additional information
on the unit theme.
A substantial appendix section completes the fifteen units. Unit-by-
unit worksheets check learners’ understanding of the presented content.
There are two types of questions: multiple-choice questions, where
learners choose the correct vocabulary to complete summary sentences of
the reading material; and vocabulary output questions, where learners add
key words after reading the definition or explanation of vocabulary. The
worksheets are followed by a list of words in kanji and hiragana and their
English translations. Since the textbook is intended for upper-intermediate
learners, the list includes the vocabulary that is covered in N1, 2, and 3 of
the Japanese Language Proficiency Test. The final portion of the appendix
consists of English translations of the reading texts in section 1 of each
unit.
For those who would like to acquire knowledge about Japan in a
systematic manner, this textbook provides an excellent sampling of themes,
from everyday topics such as food, travel, and seasonal events, to topics
that are more abstract and/or specialized, such as government and the
constitution, economy, and environmental issues, demonstrating the
breadth of topics that can be covered in a nihon jijō (Japanese society and
culture) course. In addition, the book strives to include diverse angles on
opposing notions such as past versus present, urban versus rural, and
domestic versus foreign. As the author states, this diversity of viewpoints
and juxtapositions aims to boost learners’ interests and multicultural
awareness. Covering the contents of this textbook in class can undoubtedly
foster a broad, systematic knowledge of Japan. Learners are provided with
the vocabulary to discuss diverse topics and with opportunities to develop
critical thinking skills through comparing and contrasting different
cultures. It is possible to use JUC as a main textbook, but each unit can
also be studied in a stand-alone lesson—an option that adds flexibility.
Users can easily adjust the way they use the textbook. Those with limited
time have the choice to pick parts they need to study or teach.
Not only does the textbook showcase various topics of Japanese
society and culture, it also attempts to make significant contributions to
the teaching of these topics. The major strength of JUC lies in the tasks of
a diverse nature that users find throughout the volume. In the introduction,
the author argues that effective learning happens when learners engage not
only in receptive but also in active learning that gives them ample chance
Japanese Language and Literature | jll.pitt.edu
Vol. 54 | Number 1 | April 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.5195/jll.2020.123
Reviews | 141
for output. The book offers such opportunities through various tasks
introduced in Sections 1 and 2. While some prompt learners to provide
spontaneous opinions (for instance, by asking learners to compare their
own society and culture to those of Japan), most of the tasks guide them
to engage in mini-projects involving the introduced topics. Among these
are tasks that ask learners to go outside of the classroom to observe,
investigate and interact with people using the target language. In
conjunction with these activities, JUC suggests concrete locations and
organizations where learners can experience Japanese culture, such as the
Baseball Museum and the Suginami Animation Museum. Such
information would be of particular interest for those who are teaching and
learning Japanese in Japan or for those who are preparing to study abroad
there. Despite their appeal, some of the tasks that require learners to
actually reside in Japan may pose issues for those who do not.
Section 2 (model dialogues) of each unit provides examples of how
classroom and other interactions may look like when discussing the unit
theme, and helps learners utilize the vocabulary and other knowledge they
acquired in the lesson. The variety of settings (a chat among friends,
classroom talk, exchanges during a field trip, a dinner conversation with
the host family, and so on) permits the inclusion of different speech styles.
In some instances, the model dialogues serve to connect an abstract unit
theme to learners’ everyday life. For instance, in the unit on Japan’s
industrial structure and economics, dialogues on a part-time job at a
convenience store and on online shopping translate the complex topic into
something more accessible.
Another strength of JUC is the quality and quantity of visual aids.
Numerous photographs, tables, and graphs support learners’
comprehension and attend to their affective needs. An ample offering of
tables and graphs helps them organize their knowledge and utilize the
acquired data in classroom discussions and presentations. Even though
some units contain specialized and abstract vocabulary, the visual aids
make the volume accessible and user-friendly.
Overall, JUC would undoubtedly be of great interest to both teachers
and learners of nihon jijō. The book provides a useful sampling of topics
that can be explored further through activities designed to be performed
inside and outside the classroom. In many ways, it qualifies as a resource
for upper-intermediate and advanced Japanese language classes. However,
because it is intended as a nihon jijō textbook, JUC does not offer lists and
explanations of relevant grammatical structures, instructions geared
towards effective reading (e. g., pre-reading questions and explanation of
Japanese Language and Literature | jll.pitt.edu
Vol. 54 | Number 1 | April 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.5195/jll.2020.123
142 | Japanese Language and Literature
phrases), or instructions as to what learners are expected to do with the
conversations in section 2, as you may expect in intermediate and
advanced Japanese language textbooks. Therefore, using this textbook in
Japanese language classes may require instructors to be proficient in
content-based instruction. Depending on the level and interest of students,
the book can introduce a variety of topics and engaging tasks for an upper-
level, content-based language classroom.
In sum, JUC is an excellent textbook of nihon jijō for learners of
Japanese at upper-intermediate and advanced proficiency, suitable for the
classroom or for independent study. Ample visual aids make even
sophisticated topics accessible. Learners will benefit from performing
different tasks introduced throughout the volume to explore and
investigate Japanese culture on their own, to interact with their classmates
and with people outside of the classroom, and to make presentations about
their findings.
Residual Futures: The Urban Ecologies of Literary and Visual
Media of 1960s and 1970s Japan
By Franz Prichard. New York: Columbia University Press, 2019.
268 pp. + x. Paperback, $35.00.
Reviewed by
Atsuko Sakaki
This book is ambitious and exuberant—not so much in its scope (which is
highly selective and specialized) as in its urgent and earnest call for a
conversation between diverse intellectual inquiries, from urban studies to
literary studies to media studies. Prichard gives uninhibited voice to social
and political problems to which we have been alerted by many intellectuals
of our time, such as the inequality, banality, and precarity of lives lived in
late capitalist urban space, as visually and textually mediated, as well as
to the critical discourse that engages with these registers. As the book
proceeds in addressing these current issues, the reader hears a chorus of
other thinkers as well, some of whom it foregrounds more than others.
Framing its immediate referents historically and geopolitically, as
stipulated in its subtitle, the book complicates temporality. The primary
sources—film, fiction, photography, and essays on them—that Prichard
discusses have both addressed results of the then recent past political crises
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Vol. 54 | Number 1 | April 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.5195/jll.2020.144
