This study considers food commercials featuring the term otona, meaning ‘adult, mature person’. Although the term is not explicitly gendered, this study demonstrates that food advertising using otona becomes a conduit for the construction of gendered lifestyle formulations via consumption practices offering consumers entrance into a range of gendered adult life stage practices. Unlike the socially aspirational consumption practices described by Agha, the consumption of inexpensive otona-marked products, which cost the same as their non-otona-marked counterparts but are intended by commercial (...) producers to be viewed by prospective consumers as more mature, is linked to the process of entering adulthood. However, whereas male performance of otona masculinity is shown in the commercials to be based on psychological maturity and economic and social independence, female performance of otona femininity is determined by the commercial producers and the product manufacturers to be based on successful performance of external beauty, sexuality and support of male social sphere members. This article shows how otona becomes a catch-all for aspirational gendered performance, arguing that terms like otona are particularly suited for normative gendered performance presentations. (shrink)

As kendo continues to gain in international popularity, there are hopes for its adoption in the Olympic Games as an international competitive event, even while moves to further this aim have not necessarily occurred in Japan or elsewhere. One reason for the efforts to achieve a form of globalization of kendo different from Judo is the attempt to adhere to and preserve the unique concepts kendo, the sport embodies by remaining true to the forms of traditional Japanese culture. This is (...) epitomized by the importance given to zanshin (the combination of posture and fighting spirit after striking), one of the key concepts that constitute yuko-datotsu in kendo. Our purpose in this study is to discuss the intersubjective nature of the decisions regarding the conditions for point-scoring in competitive sports. In particular, we will focus on the aesthetics required for zanshin in kendo, focusing on the theory behind yuko-datotsu (point score), which will also considerably influence its international dissemination. Kendo is characterized from the perspective of western rationalism as an appreciation of form and rules of behavior referred to as formalism and, in this respect, it has unique characteristics differing from those of modern sports that are disseminated internationally. In martial arts, besides refinement and proficiency in the rules of behavior by rigidly adhering to form and rules of behavior and repetition, the aim is to transcend said form and the rules of behavior and embody the spiritual nature dwelling in the background. Kendo should remain traditional path and keep zanshin in the value of point (yuko-datotsu) for its virtue. Kendo has not yet developed into an international competitive sport, but it is in the process of traversing that Geido path as a Do for the purpose of character building through it. Throughout life, one should try to devote oneself to kendo with thought for the value of transcending form and the rules of behaviour, and embodying the spiritual nature of the sport that inheres in its background. That is why one may perceive an evident hesitation or indeed negativity regarding the possible internationalization or development as an Olympic event. (shrink)

This ethnographic research features Shugendō (mountain asceticism), Japan’s centuries-old, mystical tradition. I and approximately fifty other lay participants took part in a three-day Shugendō program for the secular. The program is physically demanding and takes secular trainees to three holy mountains in Yamagata, Japan, where they take part in the water purification and holy fire rituals in the mountain asceticism tradition. Using the theoretical framework of semiotics, I explicate the visual signifiers of this esoteric mysticism in the context of Shugendō (...) teachings represented in twenty photographs taken during the training. The purpose of this article is to promote semiotics as an analytical standpoint alternative to other approaches to studying culture, in this case, a Japanese religion sourced in my fieldwork. I argue that, living in today’s global age and visual culture, college students can and should benefit from learning about semiotics and developing visual literacy for their future career opportunities. (shrink)

Although we have learned much about the neuropsychological control of facial expressions of emotion, there is still much work to do. We suggest that future work integrate advances in our theoretical understanding of the roles of volition and consciousness in the elicitation of emotion and the production of facial expressions with advances in our understanding of its underlying neurophysiology. We first review the facial musculature and the neural paths thought to innervate it, as well as previous attempts at understanding the (...) neural control of facial expressions of emotion, focusing on the voluntary-involuntary dichotomy and studies of hemispheric specialization. In the second section, we discuss four major aspects of the psychology of facial expressions of emotion that have particular import to their neurophysiological substrates. We offer these as a starting point for a better integration of psychological and neurophysiological perspectives in considering the neuropsychological control of facial expressions of emotion. (shrink)

In this paper, I will take advantage of the controversy on the legitimacy of adaptationism in evolutionary biology to further investigate the nature of adaptationistic thinking, or biological explanations in general. To this end, first I will look at the famous and provocative criticism made by Gould and Lewontin (1979) against then-prevalent adaptationism --- a research strategy for accounting for the origin of traits of organisms seemingly adapted to the environment by appealing primarily to natural selection. Then I will consider (...) its counterarguments put forward by Dennett (1995), one of the proponents of adaptationism, in order toscrutinize the intrinsically hypothetical character of adaptationistic thinking. By amplifying Dennett’s points, I will finally reach the conclusion that there are two senses --- objective and subjective --- in which adaptationistic thinking is said to be hypothetical, which nonetheless do not prevent it from qualifying as scientific practice. In the process, I will also gain an insight into the sense in which the theory of natural selection is said to be mechanistic, as a spin-off. (shrink)

The origins of Japan's medical ideas, which are deeply rooted in its religion, culture and history, are not widely understood in medical societies of other countries. We have taken up the task of summarising this tradition here so that some insight can be gained into the unique issues that characterise the practice of medicine in Japan. We borrow from the sayings of Tohkaku Wada, a medical philosopher of late eighteenth-century Japan, for a look at Japanese medical tradition. Wada's medical thought (...) was very much reflective of the Buddhism, Zen, and swordsmanship that informed eighteenth-century philosophy in Japan. His central concepts were “chu” and “sei”, that is, complete and selfless dedication to the patient and the practice of medicine. This paper explores Wada's thought, explaining it mainly from the standpoint of Japanese traditional culture. (shrink)

Notre article se propose d’articuler au domaine de l’esthétique notre expérience en tant qu’organisateur d’expositions présentant des artistes internationaux dans un centre d’art indépendant au Japon. En nous basant sur une théorie de la réception des œuvres, nous proposerons une lecture des appréhensions habituelles des modalités courantes au Japon par le renvoi aux formules de Nishida concernant l’acte artistique. Dès lors se croisent deux notions de marginalité. La première renvoie à l’opposition entre philosophie analytique et philosophie existentielle, la seconde consiste (...) à minorer les formes d’art qui ne renvoient pas au bien de la communauté. (shrink)

One of the most important of Japan's movements in search of a national identity during the 17th-18th centuries was known as kokugaku (national studies). It was the first major movement through which the intrinsic values inherent in ancient Japanese life were rediscovered from studies of early Japanese texts. Motoori Norinaga (1730-1801) was its greatest leader.

In this paper, I discuss the problems of ``order in social situations'' using a computer simulation of iterated N -person prisoners' dilemma game. It has been claimed that, in the case of the 2 -person prisoners' dilemma, repetition of games and the reciprocal use of the ``tit-for-tat'' strategy promote the possibility of cooperation. However, in cases of N -person prisoners' dilemma where N is greater than 2, the logic does not work effectively. The most essential problem is so called ``sanctioning (...) problems''. In this paper, firstly, I discuss the ``sanctioning problems'' which were introduced by Axelrod and Keohane in 1986. Based on the model formalized by Axelrod, I propose a new model, in which I added a mechanism of players' payoff changes in the Axelrod's model. I call this mechanism norm-internalization and call our model `` norm-internalization game ''. Second, by using the model, I investigated the relationship between agents' norm-internalization (payoff-alternation) and the possibilities of cooperation. The results of computer simulation indicated that unequal distribution of cooperating norm and uniform distribution of sanctioning norm are more effective in establishing cooperation. I discuss the mathematical features and the implications of the results on social science. (shrink)

The geographically inequitable distribution of physicians has long posed a serious social problem in Japan. The government tackled this problem by establishing and managing Jichi Medical University (JMU) and regional quotas (RQs) for medical schools. JMU/RQs recruit local students who hope to work as physicians in rural areas, educate them for 6 years without tuition (JMU) or with scholarship (RQs), and after graduation, assign them to their home prefectures for 9 years, including 4–6 years of rural service. JMU/RQs entrants now (...) occupy 11.6% of all medical school entrants. While JMU/RQs have been shown to be highly effective in securing physicians for rural areas, ethical issues related to these policies have been raised, such as whether the government truly needs to implement these policies using tax money, and whether it is acceptable to limit the personal freedoms of the physicians. In this paper, we discuss these issues from the perspectives of social justice, utilitarianism, luck egalitarianism, liberty, medical professionalism and consistency with national health insurance and the Japanese Constitution. We conclude that JMU/RQs are necessary and ethically valid policies, and also propose some institutional improvements to better secure the integrity and maturity of these systems. (shrink)

Experience of matter can be described in the context of time and space, whereas, some people say, experience of mind may be described according to time only. Accordingly, though time and space together are regarded as objective forms, one may have a propensity for treating time alone as a particular form of the subjective consciousness. For space is indeed referred to the self-evidence of being, while time is thought to belong rather to the self-evidence of our own consciousness. According to (...) my opinion, however, even the spatial description is indispensable for the state of “mind”. For instance, the contents of our consciousness can be described only in terms of the localized phases of their images. Contrary to Kant, who regarded time and space together as forms of the outer intuition (i.e. as conditions of sensation), and time alone as form of the inner sense, I have a firm intention to assert them both as two forms of objective being because it is the being itself that can be the ultimate object of any of our cognitive powers — sensation, understanding and reason. Time and space are not forms proper to a particular “being” such as conscious existence like ours; they are also, nay, above all, two objective forms of being in general that transcends all such limited existences. It follows that these forms themselves, once abstracted in our mind, must, first of all, be valid for material beings; after that, i.e. derivatively and analogically, they may also be valid for mind-beings. The main aim of this paper is “dialectically” to elucidate that fact on the subject of time in particular. (shrink)

荷田春満が活躍した「荷田派の時代」に光を当て、近世の祭祀、神社・神職の実践的な活動と国学の思想を関連づけ、神道学による国学研究の枠組みを広げる意欲作。.

闇斎門下の個性豊かな諸家の事跡を通して、垂加神道の史的展開を検討すると共に、『日本書紀』神代巻の解釈に見える思想の根幹を明らかにする。.

「生物学の哲学」では、既存の人文系、哲学系という枠を超えて議論が繰り広げられている。本書は、日本における「生物学の哲学」の中心的研究者たち9人が、進化論を軸に、科学哲学、生物学、システム理論、数学、物 理学、心理学、人類学、歴史学、倫理学など様々な分野と接点を持って、バラエティある話題を展開する。原理的な問題から個別的な問題へと読者を誘う1冊。.

Although advance care planning can lead to more patient-centered care, the communication around it can be challenging in acute care hospitals, where saving a life or shortening hospitalization is important priorities. Our qualitative study in an acute care hospital in Japan revealed when specifically physicians and nurses start communication to facilitate ACP. Seven physicians and 19 nurses responded to an interview request, explaining when ACP communication was initiated with 32 patients aged 65 or older. Our qualitative approach employed descriptive analysis (...) to identify major themes, which included “initiation by patients” and “initiation by healthcare professionals.” In the latter case, seven specific triggers were identified: when the patients’ medical condition changed in terms of symptom relief, when the patients’ medical condition changed in terms of prognostic prediction, when serious events occurred, when a choice of treatment was presented, when the location for end-of-life care was chosen, when the patients’ cognitive function deteriorated, and when serious events settled down. Within this group of healthcare professionals, physicians were more focused on changes in their patients’ medical condition, whereas nurses focused more on their patients’ desire for a long-term perspective. Nurses encouraged patients to consider ACP themselves, which developed into an approach to respect patients’ autonomy. In acute care hospitals, it appeared to be desirable to have an early discussion where patients could understand the significance ACP, which would matter even after their discharge from the hospital. (shrink)

Crew Pairing is one of the most important and difficult problems for airline companies. Nets to fuel costs, the crew costs constitute the largest cost of airlines, and the crew costs depend on the quality of the solution to the pairing problem. Conventional systems have been used to solve a daily model, which handles only regular flights with many simplifications, so a lot of corrections are needed to get a feasible solution and the quality of the solution is not so (...) high. A fully dated model, which handles regular flights and irregular flights simultaneously, is extremely hard and has not been solved directly hitherto. The number of irregular flights tend to increase in Europe and Japan, hence the resolution of the practical fully dated pairing system is desired. This paper presents a new approach which solves directly the fully dated crew pairing by Genetic Algorithms. GA is improved with stochastic processes to attack the fully dated model, and many heuristics are included in the decoding mecanism of the GA. For several hundred flights per day for fully dated 2 months scheduling period, the system found better or equivalent solutions to the human scheduler’s without any simplification from 5 to 20 times faster. (shrink)

Although the neural bases of the brain associated with movement disorders in children with developmental coordination disorder are becoming clearer, the information is not sufficient because of the lack of extensive brain function research. Therefore, it is controversial about effective intervention methods focusing on brain function. One of the rehabilitation techniques for movement disorders involves intervention using motor imagery. MI is often used for movement disorders, but most studies involve adults and healthy children, and the MI method for children with (...) DCD has not been studied in detail. Therefore, a review was conducted to clarify the neuroscientific basis of the methodology of intervention using MI for children with DCD. The neuroimaging review included 20 magnetic resonance imaging studies, and the neurorehabilitation review included four MI intervention studies. In addition to previously reported neural bases, our results indicate decreased activity of the bilateral thalamus, decreased connectivity of the sensory-motor cortex and the left posterior middle temporal gyrus, bilateral posterior cingulate cortex, precuneus, cerebellum, and basal ganglia, loss of connectivity superiority in the abovementioned areas. Furthermore, reduction of gray matter volume in the right superior frontal gyrus and middle frontal gyrus, lower fractional anisotropy, and axial diffusivity in regions of white matter pathways were found in DCD. As a result of the review, children with DCD had less activation of the left brain, especially those with mirror neurons system and sensory integration functions. On the contrary, the area important for the visual space processing of the right brain was activated. Regarding of characteristic of the MI methods was that children observed a video related to motor skills before the intervention. Also, they performed visual-motor tasks before MI training sessions. Adding action observation during MI activates the MNS, and performing visual-motor tasks activates the basal ganglia. These methods may improve the deactivated brain regions of children with DCD and may be useful as conditioning before starting training. Furthermore, we propose a process for sharing the contents of MI with the therapist in language and determining exercise strategies. (shrink)

BackgroundEmotional regulation is important for adolescents’ adaptive development. Preventive interventions for anxiety and depression are necessary for reducing the development of disorders later in life, and emotional regulation is a potentially relevant factor.ObjectiveWe investigated the effects of a mindfulness-based psychological education and prevention program [the Mindfulness and Awareness Program ] on the mental health of junior high school students in Japan.MethodsOur MAP primarily focused on mindfulness meditation to improve emotional regulation, thereby reducing depression and anxiety. The MAP comprised eight sessions (...) administered by a school counselor in a school setting. All participants were 12–13-year-old adolescents from nine classes in two Japanese schools. The program was provided to the intervention group, wherein students were educated on emotional expression, emotional cognition, and emotional regulation. The control group received regular school counseling services.ResultsCompared with the control group, the intervention group showed significant improvement in emotional regulation and a decrease in depression and generalized anxiety. The effect was greater at the follow-up assessment than at the immediate post-intervention assessment, and greater in female students.ConclusionOur mental health prevention program exhibited efficacy in reducing depression and anxiety and enhancing emotional regulation in early adolescence. Further, it appeared to be more effective for female adolescents. (shrink)

Mutations within the Steel and Dominant Spotting loci of mice have led to the recent identification of a growth factor/receptor system required for the normal development of germ cells, pigment cells and hematopoietic cells. Interactions between the products of these genes, Steel factor and c‐Kit respectively, have now been demonstrated to influence various developmental processes, including survival, proliferation, and/or differentiation of cells in a tissue specific manner. In addition, our current understanding of the molecular basis of various Steel and Dominant (...) Spotting alleles coupled with the emerging information on the expression pattern of steel factor and c‐kit transcripts during development, is now beginning to explain the pleiotropic affects of these mutations. (shrink)