Tokugawa State

Blogging of baseball has fallen by the wayside as I focus on my first Masters essay, to do with the nature of the Tokugawa state. I’ve also cut my working hours, limiting myself to reading and writing time, and fun time on weekends. Maybe this was a bit drastic- I might be picking up some more tutoring work, but baseball blogging takes up the prime hours of my productive morning reading sessions, so sadly I’ll just be loosely following the Japan Series. Hanshin aren’t in it anyway

The Tale of Genji – Which Translation?

With essays, seminar reading and tutoring conspiring to fill up my life, I’ve decided the time is ripe to take on The Tale Of Genji, Japan’s classic novel, considered by some to be the world’s first novel. In short, its stature is unrivalled, and its really really long.

Before I can read Genji, I need to decide on a translation- should I tackle Seidenstickers, or Tyler’s? Which will I get more out of? Which will I enjoy the most? The idea of picking a translation is an interesting one- with such a long, and ancient book (Genji was written around 1000), should I be striving to pick the one thats the most accurate, or the one thats the most enjoyable? What factors come into play when you choose a “good” translation over a “bad” one? Although my own experience with translation is highly limited, even my Japanese homework has led to surprisingly difficult decisions about how best to render a meaning into English- after quickly discarding literal translation as the route to take, you need to decide how best to capture the spirit of the text, be it a passage, or book. Yet this brings with it its own connotations- using turns of phrase, and a distinct personal style, no two translations will ever be the same.

The art of translation- for it is an art- is one that I think is beyond my capabilities. Anyway, any advice on Genji okutte kudasai.

Very Brief Update

Aaaah, mind melt. I’ve spent the whole day, from the very definite a.m. of 8.30, to about 7 tonight, reading and writing about Tokugawa polity and the nature of the bakufu. And to make matters worse, Kyojin won the Climax Series today, setting up a Giants-Fighters Nippon series finale. In other news I ordered by shiny Samsung netbook! Too tired to write anymore now, but I’d like to make time to watch the Japan Series games if possible, and maybe blog on them.

Financial Lucidity; Or What I’m Going To Spend My Money On Next

I’m suffering the strains of London living and no income at the moment, trapped in a bubble of knowing I could squander money I’ve saved up in Korea and before on temporary joys, or become too obsessed with saving every penny at the other end of the scale (although that’s hardly likely is it).

Anyway, despite this the drips and drops of tutoring I’ve been doing in Maths and English are turning into more of a trickle now, if not a fully fledged stream. It should keep me going…but I have my sights fixed on this beautiful shiny thing…

It’s a shiny Samsung NC10 Netbook, perfect for taking notes in the SOAS library without carting my laptop around, using on trains and planes, and generally keeping me even more connected with the internet than I need to be. In the long view its also a blogging tool which I could take on a long travel trip…a trip I’m planning on taking in the next couple of years.

Which brings me right back round to the beginning- my main concern about my finances is not having enough money for travel. Still, as I’ve basically decided I’ll work for a year in London after finishing my Masters, this shouldn’t be a big concern- I’ll have a year to save the 10k or so required for a large scale journey- back to Asia, Japan, China, Cambodia, Burma, Indonesia, Australia, Peru, Chile, Brazil, Argentina, Panama, the States, Canada, Morocco, Turkey, South Africa…the list goes on and on and on.

Becoming A Master

I realised I hadn’t really posted about my Masters yet, which might be a good thing to do as time progresses. Things so far have been a lot busier than I expected, although I don’t really know why- I shouldn’t be surprised that becoming a Master involves lots of work. I’m taking three courses- Japanese Modernity- essentially modern Japanese history- International Politics of East Asia, which does what it says, and Intermediate Japanese Two, the language module between Intermediate Japanese One and Advanced Japanese.

The Modernity module has been rather stress-high so far, with bulky readings every week and a rather intense, “every man for himself” atmosphere in the seminar. Politics is more relaxed- less required reading, more reading around the topics that interest you, and a positive discussion for the seminar. The language module is probably the best so far- only 5 of us in the seminar, so plenty of time to speak, and I already feel like I’ve learnt a hell of a lot.

This weekend I’ll be reading about Tokugawa Society in c.18th Japan, conceptions of Asia, Asian regionalism, imperialism and nationalism, and translating a Japanese paragraph. Eventually though I’ll be able to hone in on stuff that really interests me- Meiji Imperialism, Taisho and Showa fun, contemporary expressions of Japanese nationalism and maybe some stuff on China. I’ll post more as time progresses, but this weekend I plan to read until my eyes bleed…no fun for Steve methinks…

Do I Emirate It?

Escape To The Country

I left the reading and stress

Art Yuppies At Home

A Times advert on my tube from Highbury & Islington to Kings Cross St.Pancras told me that “the average Londoner wakes up at 6.04am”. I probably read this message at around 10, and I doubt I’ll see it much earlier. On the same journey I’d seen graffiti on the railtracks declaring “Art Yuppies Go Home”. Despite this, and the seriously hard work that goes on in this city of 6.04am risers, I can’t help but feel that London is uniquely suited to “Art Yuppies”. It’s certainly well suited to me. The area around SOAS is Central London at its very best- old buildings, great academic institutions and great public buildings- the British Library, the National Gallery, and the British Museum, to name three. There is also a proliferation of Japanese eateries- “Samurai”, “Wasabi” and “Itsu” all seem to be leading the charge with low-priced, reasonable quality sushi. When I left the UK, Yo!Sushi served up a pair of salmon nigiri’s for around £3.50- now Wasabi can do the same for £1. Edamame are everywhere, if you look for them- and to top all of this Japan-ness off, there’s the Japan Centre in Piccadilly, with an expensive but thorough selection of Japanese goods and groceries.

SOAS itself is very different to Nottingham- while the huge library is impressive, and I approve of its general old-ness, its not got the communal sense that a campus university has. Step out, around the corner, and you are into UCL. A few more metres and more universities open up to you. It may be ideally suited to research, and a good spot for a Masters course, but I wouldn’t have wanted to do my undergraduate degree here. Still, I’m going to be seeing a LOT of the library, as my reading lists are intense and workload more than expected. I’ll try to keep posting about things, and taking photographs, although there may be a bit of a hiatus while I settle into the course.

Books Round-Up (You Gotta Have Wa / The Meaning of Ichiro)

Heroic Eleventh Innings Victory for the Tigers!

Evil Yomiuri vs Hanshin, Game 1 (Tokyo Dome)

15th September 2009

Kyojin are the only Japanese team I hate, and my feelings for them were only confirmed by reading Whitings’ You Gotta Have Wa, exposing them as it did in all their establishment, conservative, machine-like “glory”. Anyway, today we take them on at Tokyo Dome, having been moved up to 3rd place in the league as much (if not more) by successive Swallows’ failures than by our own successes (although we did manage to beat Yokohama 2-1 on sunday).