SynergyPub Date : 2024-07-09DOI: 10.24818/syn/2024/20/1.03
Mengfei Pan
{"title":"PICTORIAL MAPS AND THE RISE OF MODERN RESORT IN ŌISO IN THE MID-MEIJI PERIOD","authors":"Mengfei Pan","doi":"10.24818/syn/2024/20/1.03","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24818/syn/2024/20/1.03","url":null,"abstract":"This study explores three pictorial maps produced in the mid-Meiji period (1868–1912) featuring Ōiso and the relationship between these maps and the rise of Ōiso as a modern resort. Ōiso was a town located on the highway Tōkaidō connecting Edo (or Tokyo after 1868) and Kyoto. It became a modern seaside resort after the late 1880s. Previous studies on visual and cartographic representations of towns and cities in Japan, for example, Kindai nihon no shikakuteki keiken [Visual experiences of modern Japan] (Nakanishi and Sekido 2008), have already narrowed the analytical focus and shifted away from the metropolises to provincial cities and hot spring towns. However, some questions, such as the social functions of these materials, remain unexplored. This study analyzes three maps and argues that these maps highlight Ōiso as an attractive place, particularly by featuring its villa residents from the high society. Visually, they resemble the conventional meisho zue [pictures of famous places] developed in the Edo period (1603-1867) and share with other city/town maps produced in the Meiji period in showing preferences for bird’s-eye views and emphasizing symbols of modernity such as railroads and electricity. The depiction of villa clusters is a remarkable feature of the three maps. However, rather than encouraging actual visits to the villas, the mapmakers – the local shop owners and administrators – achieved in producing these maps as souvenirs and creating a public desire for the lifestyle of high society.","PeriodicalId":38079,"journal":{"name":"Synergy","volume":"85 26","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141664352","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
SynergyPub Date : 2024-07-09DOI: 10.24818/syn/2024/20/1.04
Dennis Prooi
{"title":"THE GERMAN IDEALIST CONCEPTION OF FREEDOM IN MODERN JAPANESE PHILOSOPHY: A SURVEY","authors":"Dennis Prooi","doi":"10.24818/syn/2024/20/1.04","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24818/syn/2024/20/1.04","url":null,"abstract":"This paper surveys the transmission of the German idealist conception of freedom to Japan during the Meiji period and explores its significance to the subsequent development of the Kyoto School of Philosophy. My discussion focuses on, first, mapping the context in which Kiyozawa Manshi first adopted the German idealist conception of freedom; second, showing how Tosaka Jun criticized Nishida philosophy as a disguised form of German idealism; and third, considering Nishitani Keiji’s rejection of the conception of freedom found in Western existentialism in favor of a conception anchored in Nishida philosophy. I show how none of these three philosophers rejects liberalism in toto, but how they reject one form to adopt another.","PeriodicalId":38079,"journal":{"name":"Synergy","volume":"118 18","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141665453","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
SynergyPub Date : 2024-07-09DOI: 10.24818/syn/2024/20/1.02
Yoko MATSUMOTO-STURT
{"title":"FROM NOH PLAYS TO MODERN ANIME: THE ROLE OF PEONY FLOWERS IN JAPANESE CULTURAL IMAGERY","authors":"Yoko MATSUMOTO-STURT","doi":"10.24818/syn/2024/20/1.02","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24818/syn/2024/20/1.02","url":null,"abstract":"This paper examines the symbolism of the peony flower as an attribute of female demons or kijo in traditional and contemporary media. The peony, which symbolises the supernatural power of kijo, is depicted on the demon fan used in Noh theatre and remains in Japanese cultural memory. Over time, the meaning of this symbol has become ambiguous or lost, making it difficult for modern audiences to interpret. This study explores the linguistic, iconographic, and cultural sources of the peony on the demon fan and discusses how traditional aesthetic methods such as mitate (analogical representation) are used by contemporary media creators to revive the multilayered meanings of symbols.","PeriodicalId":38079,"journal":{"name":"Synergy","volume":"104 35","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141666397","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
SynergyPub Date : 2024-07-09DOI: 10.24818/syn/2024/20/1.05
Michiko Urita
{"title":"A SONG OF CONTINUITY: KAGURA SECRET SONG AND THE VICENNIAL RENEWAL OF ISE JINGŪ ON THE EVE OF THE MODERN PERIOD","authors":"Michiko Urita","doi":"10.24818/syn/2024/20/1.05","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24818/syn/2024/20/1.05","url":null,"abstract":"During the transition from the Edo period to the Meiji Restoration, Ise Jingū (Ise Grand Shrine) underwent significant changes due to Westernization and modernization, culminating in the Jingū reformation of 1871. However, in the latter part of the Meiji era, there was a resurgence of interest in restoring ancient rituals and preserving the shrine's core principles. This paper focuses on the pivotal 1889 vicennial renewal at Ise Jingū to understand how shrine priests sustained ritual continuity amidst modernization. Specifically, it examines the sacred music (mikagura) and the kagura secret song (hikyoku) introduced during this ceremony. Mikanagi Kiyonao's writings provide valuable insights into the origins and influences of linguistic and ritual elements. As the 63rd Shikinen Sengū reconstruction ritual approaches in 2033, this paper offers insights into Ise Jingū's resilience.","PeriodicalId":38079,"journal":{"name":"Synergy","volume":"78 22","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141664685","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
SynergyPub Date : 2024-07-09DOI: 10.24818/syn/2024/20/1.08
Roman Paşca
{"title":"THE TEACHER WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO: BETWEEN VULNERABILITY AND EMPOWERMENT IN THE LIFE STORY OF A JAPANESE LANGUAGE TEACHER","authors":"Roman Paşca","doi":"10.24818/syn/2024/20/1.08","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24818/syn/2024/20/1.08","url":null,"abstract":"This article, the second part of a larger project focusing on identity construction for nonnative Japanese language teachers, examines the life story of Dana, with a particular focus on the tattoo as life story. I explore the role of Dana’s dragon tattoo in order to examine the function it plays in constructing her identity. My conclusion is twofold: firstly, I argue that the tattoo represents a thin border between the self and the other, while being, at the same time, a canvas onto which Dana projects herself. Dana’s story is also a story of personal growth in which she chooses to make her vulnerabilities visible in order to confront them, thus trying to solve the clash between social and cultural expectations and her true self. Secondly, with regard to methodology, I suggest that by incorporating the tattoo into life story research we can identify and unpack a deeper meaning to the story.","PeriodicalId":38079,"journal":{"name":"Synergy","volume":"124 48","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141666178","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
SynergyPub Date : 2024-07-09DOI: 10.24818/syn/2024/20/1.06
Nina HABJAN VILLAREAL
{"title":"JOURNEY AS SELF-REFLECTION - KAIKŌ TAKESHI’S “ESCAPE” FROM JAPAN","authors":"Nina HABJAN VILLAREAL","doi":"10.24818/syn/2024/20/1.06","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24818/syn/2024/20/1.06","url":null,"abstract":"This paper sets out to analyze Kaikō Takeshi’s travelogue \"Kako to mirai no kuniguni – Chūgoku to Tōō\" (“Countries of Past and Future – China and Eastern Europe”), which describes Kaikō’s first experience of Eastern Europe and China. As a writer who got to be well-recognized for his reportage writing and novels based on his own experience, Kaikō’s initial struggle abroad turned out to be the opportunity that lit his inner desire to continue searching for the truth, leading him towards the exploration of the boundaries between fiction and non-fiction, which is the writing he is still most well remembered for today.","PeriodicalId":38079,"journal":{"name":"Synergy","volume":"69 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141662941","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
SynergyPub Date : 2024-07-09DOI: 10.24818/syn/2024/20/1.07
Ikuya Kano
{"title":"RESEARCH ON THE IMPACT OF TELEWORK ON WORK-LIFE BALANCE IN JAPANESE HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT","authors":"Ikuya Kano","doi":"10.24818/syn/2024/20/1.07","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24818/syn/2024/20/1.07","url":null,"abstract":"To increase workers' own Work-life Balance (WLB) satisfaction under telework in Japan, a high level of interest in the workplace or monitoring, a reduced telework workload, autonomy in the performance of duties, and interdependence of duties are effective. High interest from the workplace or monitoring and reduced telework workload also increases the level of satisfaction with the company's WLB measures. Telework in Japanese companies presents different challenges from job description-based job performance systems, and we need to explore effective ways of using telework and improving its efficiency in Japanese-style Human Resources Management (HRM) in the future.","PeriodicalId":38079,"journal":{"name":"Synergy","volume":"121 27","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141665419","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
SynergyPub Date : 2024-01-09DOI: 10.24818/syn/2023/19/2.06
A. Enache, M. Militaru, Raluca-Nicoleta Șerban
{"title":"PITFALLS OF TRANSLATION: ENGLISH WORDS AND PHRASES DIFFICULT TO RENDER IN ROMANIAN","authors":"A. Enache, M. Militaru, Raluca-Nicoleta Șerban","doi":"10.24818/syn/2023/19/2.06","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24818/syn/2023/19/2.06","url":null,"abstract":"Translation is a complex art and the translator often faces the many challenges of conveying the full depth and nuance of one language into another. In this article, we explore the intriguing terrain of translating English words and phrases into Romanian, shedding light on instances where direct equivalence proves elusive. Through an examination of real-life examples, we navigate the inherent complexities and idiosyncrasies of language. This study showcases a curated selection of English words and phrases that resist straightforward translation into Romanian. Drawing from various contexts, we delve into terms such as \"entitlement,\" \"serendipity,\" or \"holier-than-thou,\" demonstrating the unique cultural and linguistic gaps that emerge during the translation process. We try to provide insightful analyses and proposed translations, considering the subtleties and cultural connotations that may be lost or gained. By dissecting these linguistic challenges, we aim to enhance the understanding of the intricate interplay between languages and cultures. As language continues to evolve and global communication grows ever more important, this exploration of untranslatable English terms serves as a compelling case study. It underscores the need for a nuanced and adaptable approach to translation, one that respects the richness of both the source and target languages. Through this investigation, we aim to contribute to the ongoing dialogue on the intricacies of language and cross-cultural communication.","PeriodicalId":38079,"journal":{"name":"Synergy","volume":"42 42","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139442232","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
SynergyPub Date : 2024-01-09DOI: 10.24818/syn/2023/19/2.08
Alina Alexandra Apreutesei
{"title":"THE USE OF REQUESTS IN PANDEMIC PRESS RELEASES. A CROSS-CULTURAL CASE STUDY","authors":"Alina Alexandra Apreutesei","doi":"10.24818/syn/2023/19/2.08","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24818/syn/2023/19/2.08","url":null,"abstract":"The current paper presents an analysis of the realisation of requests in three European linguacultures - British English, Spanish, and Romanian - as expressed in weekly press releases during the Covid-19 pandemic. A comparative study that looks into the Request Speech Act, more precisely into its various forms of expression and its conventional realisation patterns, was conducted according to a cross-cultural pragmatic analysis framework. The conclusive observations underline the fact that each linguaculture constructs a culture-bound pattern for the realisation of the Request Speech Act, despite certain similarities explicable due to common origins or global linguistic influences.","PeriodicalId":38079,"journal":{"name":"Synergy","volume":"88 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139444652","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
SynergyPub Date : 2024-01-09DOI: 10.24818/syn/2023/19/2.04
Monica Alina Toma
{"title":"L’AMOUR IMPOSSIBLE DANS LE SILENCE DE LA MER DE VERCORS ET DANS LE FILM HOMONYME DE PIERRE BOUTRON","authors":"Monica Alina Toma","doi":"10.24818/syn/2023/19/2.04","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24818/syn/2023/19/2.04","url":null,"abstract":"Over the years, numerous studies have explored the interesting film adaptation of Vercors’s short story \"Le Silence de la Mer\" by Melville (1949), but few articles have taken into consideration the new, intriguing adaptation of this famous writing by Pierre Boutron (2004). This article aims to explore the theme of love between enemies in the visions of Vercors and Boutron, starting from the theories of impossible love articulated by Albert Farchadi.","PeriodicalId":38079,"journal":{"name":"Synergy","volume":"88 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139444654","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}