9-15 December, 1993
IDEOLOGY AND INSTITUTIONS
Erasmus Workshop for Japanese Studies

By Marc Buijnsters

Can it possible that mountaineering, the arms industry, whaling, and
Archeology have something in common? Obviously the answer would seem to be
negative, but last December there was a link between these completely
different subjects chosen at random. From the 9 to the 12 of that month the
early Erasmus workshop for Japanese Studies was held at the University of
Leiden under chairmanship of Professor W. Boot of that university. This year's
theme was Ideology and Institutions IN JAPAN and for three days both
participants and auditors could listen to the presentation of papers thet
dealt with a great diversity of aspects on this topic.
The papers were given by some 35 representatives, both staff members and
students, of the university of Bonn, Cambridge, Copenhagen, Leiden, Napels,
Oxford, Paris, Stirling, Venice, and Vienna. Each participants was given 20
minutes after which there was some time for discussion under the guidance of
one of the staff members. The subjects of the papaers was arranged
thematically as much as possible which provided a coherent structure for the
workshop.
The main themes on the first day were Archeology and Religion. One of the
papers dealt with the clay figurines found all over Japan and the role they
played in ritual. The significance of the figurines, of which the majority
dates back several thousand years BC, seems to be connected with rituals
concerning fertility and prosperity but, because they sometimes placed
deliberately and carefully in tombs, they may have played an entirely
different role. One of the suggestions made during the discussion afterwards
was whether they could have been children's toys. Other papers of that day
dealt with subjects like Kami-shibai (picture story telling), the phases in
the formation of the Japanese early state, and the interpretation of the
criticsm of the famous Japanese monk Nichiren.
Social aspects and politics were leading themes in second day. One of the most
interesting papers dealt with the role of the Japanese arms industry in
Southeast Asia. Core of the investigation was the big business lobby group,
Keidanren, and its Defence Production Comittee played in the arms industry
after the 1953 Korean cease fire. Information from classified documents sheds
some ligth on the missions led by these groups to ascertain a strong position
on the export market for armaments in Southeast Asia in general and South
Vietnam in the late fifties in particular. Another political and equally
sensitive theme was dealt with a paper on the institution of Japanese whaling
that discussed the different attitudes towards this subject between the
whaling community and the japanese government versus the Western enviromental
movement.
On the last day of the workshop historical and philosophical issues played a
major role. Papers were presented on subjects such as the role of Jesuit
educational institutions in japan between 1580 and 1614, the system of Insei
(the government of the abdicated emperor), the effect of the Mongol invasions
on Japan's military organization.
One could argue that such diversity of topics, brought together under one
common theme, would give these workshop an incoherent character and therefore
cause interest to fluctuate. For, what does someone, who is specialized in
archeological aspects of Japan, care for the political intricacies of japan
several thousand years later. But quite the opposite is true. The true
strength and value of such workshop is that it enables each of the
participants to get some insigth in various fileds of japanese Studies that
is not restricted to one's own field. From this point of view this workshop
was certainly a great success.